[Intolerance of uncertainty and worry among patients with generalized anxiety disorder and obsessive-compulsive disorder]

The aim of the present study was to compare intolerance of uncertainty and worry among patients with generalized anxiety disorder [GAD], obsessive-compulsive disorder [OCD] and normal individuals. Thirty one patients with GAD, thirty one patients with OCD and thirty one normal individuals were selected via inconvenient sampling. Data gathering was done using Intolerance of Uncertainty Scale [IUS] and Penn State Worry Questionnaire [PSWQ]. The data were analyzed in multivariate analysis of variance model [MANOVA]. The results showed significant differences in the subscales "uncertainty leads to the inability to act" and "uncertainty is stressful and upsetting", and in "worry" between three groups of GAD, OCD and normal [p<0.0001]. The differences between OCD and GAD groups with normal group were significant in intolerance of uncertainty and two subscales: "unexpected events are negative and person should avoid them" and "uncertainty is unfair" [p<0.0001]. Intolerance of uncertainty is a common feature of OCD and GAD. Coping strategies for decreasing uncertainty differentiate these two disorders

[Structural associations of neo personality dimensions with symptoms of anxiety and depressive disorders]

The aim of this study was to determine common and specific factors of anxiety and depressive disorders based on the NEO personality dimensions. Four hundred and thirteen students of Tabriz University [200 males, 213 females] selected by cluster sampling responded to the following questionnaires: NEO Five-Factor Inventory [NEO-FFI], Beck Depression Inventory-II [BDI-II], Anxiety Sensitivity Index [ASI], Penn State Worry Questionnaire [PSWQ], Maudsley Obsessive-Compulsive Inventory [MOCI], Social Phobia Inventory [SPIN], and Phobic Stimuli Response Scales [PSRS]. The data were analysed using the confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation modeling. The findings suggest a better fitness of the five-factor structure for anxiety and depressive disorders compared with the six-factor structure. The findings support the validity of only three NEO personality factors. Of various structural models evaluated, the best fitting pertained to the structure in which higher-order dimensions of neuroticism, extraversion and conscientiousness significantly predicted anxiety and depressive disorders. Neuroticism is a common factor between anxiety and depressive disorders, extraversion is specific to depression, and social phobia and conscientiousness are specific factors for obsessive-compulsive disorder

Validation of the Farsi version of the schizotypal personality questionnaire in a student sample

This study was carried out to evaluate the psychometric properties of the Farsi version of Schizotypal Personality Questionnaire [SPQ] in a student sample. 727 university students [442 males, 285 females] with a mean age of 23, who were selected using stepwise stratified method, and 15 patients with schizophrenia who were selected using convenience sampling, completed SPQ. The SPQ is a 74 items self-report questionnaire, which assesses nine DSM-III-R criteria for Schizotypal Personality Disorder. Data were analyzed by SPSS-16 and using Pearson's correlation coefficient, independent t-test, multivariate analysis of variance, and exploratory factor analysis. Cronbach's alpha for the total questionnaire and its subscales were 0.90 and 0.59-0.82 respectively. SPQ accurately differentiated patients with schizophrenia from normal population. The exploratory factor analysis for SPQ confirmed the accuracy of three-factor structure introduced by Raine [cognitive-perceptual, interpersonal, and disorganized]. SPQ is a valid and reliable instrument for assessing symptoms, dimensions, and factors of Schizotypal Personality Disorder

Causal model in emotional intelligence, schizotypy and psychopathology

To assess the relationship of emotional intelligence, schizotypy and psychopathology. In this descriptive-analytical study 150 normal high school students [94 girls and 56 boys] aged 14 to 17 years [15.5 +/- 0.67] in the educational year 1387-1388 in Shahr-e-Rey, completed schizotypal trait questionnaire [STA], Modified Schutte [Emotional Intelligence] El Scale [MSEIS], and three subtests of Symptom Checklist-90-Revised [SCL-90-R], namely, psychoticism, hostility, and paranoid ideation. Data analysis was done by SPSS 11.5 and LISREL 8.54 using independent t-test U, Mann-Whitney test, and path analysis. Path analysis revealed a causal relationship between El and psycho-pathology [t=-4.03, p<0.05]; as well as a causal relationship between emotion appraisal and magical thinking [r=-2.25, p<0.05], paranoid ideation [t=2.03, p<0.05] and schizotypy [t=-3.39, p<0.05]. An accurate assessment of the relationship between factors revealed that emotion appraisal has a causal effect on schizotypy and psychopathology. Emotion appraisal is the perception and evaluation of the emotional situation in oneself as well as others. In fact, individuals with positive emotion appraisal and evaluation are at lower risk of developing signs of schizotypy and psychopathology