The mind possessed: well-being, personality, and cognitive characteristics of individuals regularly experiencing religious possession

Objective: To further our understanding of religious possession experiences by focusing on personality, cognitive, and quality of life outcomes. Methods: Data collection was undertaken at Umbanda sessions in Brazilian cities. Participants were mediums who regularly experienced possession (n=334) or those who attended the same rituals but had never been possessed (n=54). Results: We found that mediums were not significantly different across variables from the control group, except for anxiety, which was lower among mediums. Correlational and regression analysis showed that the level of meaningfulness attributed to possession and fusion with the spiritual entity were strongly positively correlated with most quality-of-life dimensions, and negatively with anxiety; in addition, level of meaningfulness predicted lower anxiety, and psychological quality of life was predicted by level of fusion and meaningfulness. Contrary to expectations, there were no detrimental effects of a lower level of bodily control over the possession experience. Conclusion: Together, these results suggest that individuals regularly experiencing possession within a religious context are psychologically similar to those who attend the same rituals without experiencing possession, and that the way they appraise their experiences as meaningful, as well as the level of spiritual fusion, are predictors of well-being.

A dimensional measure of schizotypy: cross-cultural adaptation and validation of the Oxford-Liverpool Inventory of Feelings and Experiences short version for Brazilian Portuguese (O-LIFE-S)

Abstract Introduction The Oxford-Liverpool Inventory of Feelings and Experiences (O-LIFE) is a widely-used scale, and the first to include a dimensional approach to understanding schizotypy. Objective To adapt the short version of the O-LIFE (O-LIFE-S) into Brazilian Portuguese. Method a) Two independent bilingual professionals translated the original instrument into Brazilian Portuguese; b) a third bilingual professional summarized the two translations; c) a fourth bilingual expert translated the Portuguese version back into English; d) this back-translation was adjusted by a committee of psychology experts; e) a pilot study was conducted with 10 participants from the general population. Results O-LIFE-S was considered ready to be used in a formal validation study in Brazil. Conclusion The scale appears to cover the dimensional approach to schizotypy. However, a future validation study needs to be conducted to determine the internal consistency and reliability of the Brazilian Portuguese version of the O-LIFE-S .

Relevancia del antecedente de absceso perirrenal en pacientes sometidos a nefrectomía simple retroperitoneal / Relevance of Perirenal Abscess in Patients undergoing Retroperitoneal Simple Nephrectomy

Las infecciones supurativas del riñón y del espacio perinefrítico son poco comunes, sin embargo, se asocian a una morbimortalidad elevada, afectando a ambos sexos por igual excepto los casos de absceso cortical que es 3 veces más común en el hombre que en la mujer. La incidencia se incrementa con la edad y habitualmente se asocia a uropatía obstructiva. Los abscesos renales representan 0,2% de todos los abscesos intraabdominales, de los cuales el 10% de los abscesos corticales rompen a través de la cápsula formando un absceso perinefrítico, el cual es difícil de manejar y conlleva un peor pronóstico, con una alta mortalidad a pesar de tratamiento quirúrgico oportuno

Supurative infections of the kidney and perinephritic space are rare, however, are associated with high morbidity and mortality, affecting both sexes equally except for cases of cortical abscess which is 3 times more common in men than in women. The incidence increases with age and is usually associated with obstructive uropathy. Renal abscesses represent 0.2% of all abscesses. intraabdominal, of which 10% of cortical abscesses break through the capsule forming a Perinephritic abscess, which is difficult to manage and leads to a worse prognosis, with high mortality despite prompt surgical treatment.

How to tell a happy from an unhappy schizotype: personality factors and mental health outcomes in individuals with psychotic experiences

Objective: It is unclear why some individuals reporting psychotic experiences have balanced lives while others go on to develop mental health problems. The objective of this study was to test if the personality traits of harm avoidance, self-directedness, and self-transcendence can be used as criteria to differentiate healthy from unhealthy schizotypal individuals. Methods: We interviewed 115 participants who reported a high frequency of psychotic experiences. The instruments used were the Temperament and Character Inventory (140), Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV, and the Oxford-Liverpool Inventory of Feelings and Experiences. Results: Harm avoidance predicted cognitive disorganization (β = 0.319; t = 2.94), while novelty seeking predicted bipolar disorder (β = 0.136, Exp [β] = 1.146) and impulsive non-conformity (β = 0.322; t = 3.55). Self-directedness predicted an overall decrease in schizotypy, most of all in cognitive disorganization (β = -0.356; t = -2.95) and in impulsive non-conformity (β = -0.313; t = -2.83). Finally, self-transcendence predicted unusual experiences (β = 0.256; t = 2.32). Conclusion: Personality features are important criteria to distinguish between pathology and mental health in individuals presenting high levels of anomalous experiences (AEs). While self-directedness is a protective factor, both harm avoidance and novelty seeking were predictors of negative mental health outcomes. We suggest that the impact of AEs on mental health is moderated by personality factors.