Contextual influence of the COVID-19 pandemic on pregnant women's emotional regulation abilities.

INTRODUCTION: Emotional regulation is a key factor that could determine the quality of becoming a parent. Since pregnancy is accompanied by changes in the emotional system, fluctuations in emotional regulation may also occur during this period. In 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic had major psychological repercussions on the general population which could have also affected emotional regulation capacities. OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study was to determine whether emotional regulation has characteristics during pregnancy and to evaluate the influence of the COVID-19 pandemic on the emotional regulation of pregnant women. METHOD: One hundred fifty-one women aged between 19 and 42 years old participated in this study. Their emotional regulation abilities were assessed using the Difficulties Emotion Regulation Scale before and during the pandemic. A two-factor multivariate analysis of covariance, "parental status" (pregnant vs. childless) and "time of data collection" (before vs. during COVID-19), was conducted to compare the emotional regulation abilities of pregnant women with those of childless women before and during the pandemic. RESULTS: (1) Prior to the pandemic, pregnant women exhibited better emotional regulation skills than childless women, characterized by greater acceptance and understanding of their emotions. (2) During the pandemic: (a) pregnant women's emotional regulation scores were comparable to those of women without children. (b) They also had more difficulty than pre-pandemic pregnant women in identifying their emotions. CONCLUSION: The lack of improvement in emotional regulation skills in pregnant women during the COVID-19 pandemic is a specific impact of COVID on this population. This could affect their mental health, as well as the emotional adjustment of the mother towards her baby.

[Emotion regulation in adolescents with conduct disorder and controls]. / Régulation émotionnelle chez des adolescents présentant des troubles des conduites et chez des témoins.

OBJECTIVES: Although many authors have highlighted similarities between conduct disorder (CD) and alexithymia, little empirical research has actually investigated the contribution of emotion processing to CD. The purpose of this study was to explore the relationships between CD and scores on affect regulation scales among 75 adolescents: a group of 30 adolescents with CD and a group of 45 controls, ranging in age from 13 to 18. METHOD: All participants filled in a socio-demographic questionnaire. CD diagnosis was assessed in regard to DSM-IV criteria using the specific CD section of the Kiddie-Sads. Affect regulation was measured with two self-reports: TAS-20 (Toronto Alexithymia Scale), known as the gold standard for alexithymia measurement, and DERS (Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale), a recently validated scale. In addition, since depression may influence the correlations between CD and alexithymia, it was also measured with the BDI. In order to have more information on the CD group, the CTQ was also used. One way analyses of variance adjusting for age were used for mean score comparisons. Partial correlations adjusting for age were used to investigate the link between the CD severity (the severity index was calculated from the Kiddie-Sads) and affect regulation scores. Finally, discriminant analyses were conducted to explore whether affect regulation could correctly categorize controls and adolescents with CD. RESULTS: These results provided some additional data in order to understand the relationship between affect regulation and CD. Controls and adolescents with CD had significantly different emotion regulation scales scores at both scales (TAS-20 and DERS) and in most of their dimensions. Moreover, they also point out the positive correlation between difficulties in affect regulation and CD severity. To our knowledge, this is the first study to have investigated relationships between CD and alexithymia using a severity index of CD. Finally, discriminant analyses showed that the two emotion regulation scales permitted the significant discrimination of both groups. These results are consistent with previous works highlighting the theoretical relationship between deficit in mental elaboration and acting-out. They point to the need to develop therapeutic programs in order to improve emotion regulation of teenagers with CD. Finally, an additional analysis showed a relationship between emotional neglect in childhood (measured with CTQ) and the CD severity. A task for future research would be to study the relationships between attachment, emotional regulation and CD in adolescence.

[Specific aims of consultations for learning disorders]. / Objetivos específicos de la consulta de aprendizaje.

AIM: To describe the contribution made by consultations for learning disorders through their specific aims. DEVELOPMENT: The prognosis of children with specific learning difficulties, suffering from dysphasia, dyslexia, dyscalculia, dyspraxia, dysexecutive or dysattentional syndrome, partly depends on whether the methods and materials required for their re-educational and pedagogical adaptation are financed, made available and explained to the child's family in the cases that have been classed as the severest. This is the goal of the 37 reference centres that have been set up in France in the last five years. This work describes the objectives of this consultation, as well as specific ways in which useful information about the child can be shared. CONCLUSIONS: Consultation for learning difficulties involves an interdisciplinary assessment that allows the case of a child with learning disorders to be placed within a new set of dynamics.

The Bermond-Vorst Alexithymia Questionnaire cutoff scores: a study in eating-disordered and control subjects.

BACKGROUND: The evaluation of alexithymic deficits has become increasingly desirable in health and psychopathology research. The purpose of this study was to calculate alexithymia cutoff scores for a recently developed self-report alexithymia questionnaire: the Bermond-Vorst Alexithymia Questionnaire Form B (BVAQ-B). SAMPLING: Three hundred subjects (47 eating-disordered patients and 253 healthy individuals) completed the BVAQ-B and the 20-item Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS-20). METHODS: The TAS-20 was used as a gold standard for this research, with its previously established cutoff scores serving as diagnostic criteria for determining the presence or absence of alexithymia. The BVAQ-B cutoff score selection was based on the examination of psychometric data (i.e., the sensitivity and specificity of the BVAQ-B scores and receiver operating characteristic curve analyses) and of clinical data (i.e., BVAQ-B mean score of the control subjects, who were mostly nonalexithymic, and BVAQ-B mean score of a group of patients with eating disorders, the majority of whom were alexithymic). RESULTS: This research found that the most appropriate BVAQ-B cutoff scores for determining the absence and presence of alexithymia were 43 and 53, respectively. CONCLUSION: In light of these findings, we believe that the BVAQ-B may also lend itself to a categorical evaluation of alexithymia, with these cutoff scores determining its absence or presence.

[Relations between alexithymia and anhedonia: a study in eating disordered and control subjects]. / Etude des relations entre alexithymie et anhédonie chez des femmes présentant des troubles du comportement alimentaire et chez des témoins.

INTRODUCTION: Alexithymia and anhedonia both refer to a deficit in emotion regulation. Although these 2 concepts have been conceptualized to be closely linked, very few studies aimed at examining carefully their interrelations. OBJECTIVES: Therefore, the purpose of the present study was to investigate the relationships between scores on alexithymia and anhedonia self-reports, and to assess whether the results were influenced by the presence of an emotional disorder. LITERATURE FINDINGS: The 20-item Toronto Alexithymia Scale is the self-report most frequently used to assess alexithymia. Nevertheless, the results of recent studies comparing the psychometric properties of the TAS-20 and another alexithymia self-report - the Bermond-Vorst Alexithymia Questionnaire (BVAQ) - have recommended the BVAQ over the TAS-20. DESIGN: Thus, both questionnaires were included in the present study. In addition, since depression and anxiety may influence the correlations between alexithymia and anhedonia scores, we also measured depression and anxiety and these scores were used to control for their potential confounding effect in the analyses. Two groups of participants were included in this study: 46 eating disordered female patients (ED) and 198 female control subjects. All the participants filled up the Bermond-Vorst Alexithymia Questionnaire-form B (BVAQ-B), the 20-item Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS-20), the Chapman and Chapman Social Anhedonia Scale (SAS) and Physical Anhedonia Scale (PAS), the 13-item Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) and the Spielberger State and Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI-Y). The analyses consisted, first, in establishing the matrix of correlations between these self-reports total scores, using Pearson's coefficients of correlation. Then, TAS-20, BVAQ-B, SAS and PAS scores were correlated, adjusting for BDI and STAI scores, using partial correlation analyses. Mean scores comparisons according to the group of participants, and to the presence/absence of alexithymia, as well as to the presence/absence of anhedonia were performed using ANCOVAs or Mann-Whitney tests. RESULTS: As predicted, BDI and STAI scores were found significantly and positively correlated with alexithymia and anhedonia scores in both participant groups. After controlling for depression and anxiety scores, TAS-20 and PAS scores remained significantly correlated, but not TAS-20 and SAS scores. BVAQ-B scores remained significantly correlated with PAS and SAS scores in the control group, but only with the PAS scores in the ED group. ED patients had higher alexithymia and anhedonia scores than the controls. In total, among the alexithymic individuals, 8.9% were social anhedonics, and 31.1% had a physical anhedonia. Conversely, among the participants with a physical anhedonia, two third were alexithymics. The same proportion of participants with a social anhedonia was alexithymic (66.7%). CONCLUSION: The results of the present study are informed about the relationships between alexithymia and anhedonia. They also stress the need to rely on several alexithymia measurements, and they further demonstrate the necessity to compare the associations between different affect regulation dimensions in normal and psychopathological disorders.

[The weight contract during the hospitalization of anorexic patients]. / Le contrat de poids lors d'une hospitalisation pour anorexie mentale.

The weight contract is a traditional practice of the classical modalities of hospitalization of anorexics subjects. However, it is usually practised using different methods according to hospitals. It was explained on the theoretical side by our team but never exposed in its practical side. We propose to explain here in detail our practice of the weight contract. The information reported in this article is the result of articles review published by the professor Jeammet's team and of information resulting from meetings with experts of this team. First of all, we will expose the current context of care in the institut mutualiste Montsouris as well as the negotiation of the weight contract. Then, we will expose the method of care regarding somatic aspects, renutrition, body care, chemotherapy and family preoccupation. Lastly, we will explain in which situations the contract is sometimes renegotiated. In conclusion, we will summarize the utility of such a tool.

[Validity of the BVAQ: a study in eating disorder patients and controls]. / Validité du questionnaire d'alexithymie de Bermond et Vorst: étude chez des sujets présentant des troubles du comportement alimentaire et chez des témoins.

UNLABELLED: Alexithymia core features are the difficulties in identifying and describing feelings; the difficulties in distinguishing feelings from the bodily sensations of emotional arousal; an impaired symbolization, as evidenced by a paucity of fantasies and other imaginative activity; and a tendency to focus on external events rather than inner experience. Several measures of alexithymia have been developed, including interviewer-rated questionnaires and self-report questionnaires. Among the self-report questionnaires, the 20-item Toronto Alexithymia scale (TAS-20) is the most commonly used, but it fails to measure all the core features of alexithymia. A recently developed instrument, the Bermond-Vorst Alexithymia Questionnaire (BVAQ), allows the measurement of the alexithymia core features, as well as an additional one. It appeared to present good psychometric properties, notably the abbreviated BVAQ-form B. The results of recent studies comparing the psychometric properties of the TAS-20 and the BVAQ have recommended the BVAQ over the TAS-20. However, this questionnaire needed further validation. OBJECTIVES: Thus, the aim of the present study was to determine the convergent, discriminant and concurrent validity of the Bermond-Vorst Alexithymia Questionnaire -- form B (BVAQ-B) in a clinical sample of 59 eating disorder patients, as well as in 191 controls. The TAS-20 constituted the gold standard for the assessment of the BVAQ-B' convergent validity. To compare the concurrent validity of the BVAQ-B and the TAS-20, participants also completed several self-reports investigating different dimensions of emotion regulation capacities: the 13-item Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), the Spielberger State and Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI-form Y), as well as the Chapman and Chapman Physical and Social Anhedonia Scales (PAS and SAS). One way analyses of variance were used for mean scores comparisons. Convergent validity was determined using Pearson coefficients of correlation. RESULTS: Results of the analyses suggested the BVAQ-B has a satisfying convergent and discriminant validity. This was observed in both the clinical and control samples. Moreover, the comparison of the convergent validity of the BVAQ-B and the TAS-20 revealed several differences between these two alexithymia self-report questionnaires. The BVAQ-B appeared less sensitive to the subjective emotional state of the participants than the TAS-20. Whereas it was argued the TAS-20 overlaps with other emotional state scores, the BVAQ-B would allow to measure alexithymia more specifically. In addition, the present results allowed to further determine the relations between alexithymia and other dimensions of emotion regulation capacities. The analyses confirmed that alexithymia is linked to other emotion regulation dimensions such as depression and anxiety. Moreover, alexithymia was associated with physical and social anhedonia, two dimensions that received less interest in the alexithymia literature to date. This study also showed that control and clinical sample have different emotion regulation capacities. Eating disorder patients were not only more alexithymic and more depressed, but also more anxious and more anhedonic than the controls. Finally, this study revealed that alexithymia differs whether the alexithymic individuals are patients or controls. Healthy alexithymic individuals (ie, individuals categorized as alexithymic in the control group) seemed characterised by a selective deficit of emotional cognition, with sparing of emotional experience (Bermond's type II alexithymia). Alexithymics individuals of the eating -disorder group seemed particularly unabled to experience affect. This pattern could correspond to Bermond's type I alexithymia, which is characterised by the absence of emotional experience and, consequently, by the absence of the cognition accompanying the emotion. In summary, results of the present study add to the literature debating on whether alexithymia is similar in different types of population.