Subject(s)
Coronary Artery Disease/blood , Depressive Disorder/blood , Hydrocortisone/blood , Female , Humans , MaleABSTRACT
Using a field sample of 101 virtual teams, this research empirically evaluates the impact of traditional hierarchical leadership, structural supports, and shared team leadership on team performance. Building on Bell and Kozlowski's (2002) work, we expected structural supports and shared team leadership to be more, and hierarchical leadership to be less, strongly related to team performance when teams were more virtual in nature. As predicted, results from moderation analyses indicated that the extent to which teams were more virtual attenuated relations between hierarchical leadership and team performance but strengthened relations for structural supports and team performance. However, shared team leadership was significantly related to team performance regardless of the degree of virtuality. Results are discussed in terms of needed research extensions for understanding leadership processes in virtual teams and practical implications for leading virtual teams.
Subject(s)
Group Processes , Interpersonal Relations , Leadership , Personnel Management/methods , Telecommunications , Adult , Female , Humans , Male , Middle Aged , Young AdultABSTRACT
BACKGROUND/AIMS: Differences in the clinical presentation of men and women with borderline personality disorder (BPD) are of potential interest for investigations into the neurobiology, genetics, natural history, and treatment response of BPD. The purpose of this study was to investigate gender differences in axis I and axis II comorbidity and in diagnostic criteria in BPD patients. METHODS: 110 women and 49 men with BPD were assessed with the computer-based version of the Munich-Composite International Diagnostic Interview and the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV Personality Disorders. Gender differences were investigated for the following outcomes: (a) lifetime, 12-month and 4-week prevalence of axis I disorders; (b) axis II disorders, and (c) DSM-IV BPD diagnostic criteria. RESULTS: With regard to lifetime prevalence of axis I disorders, men more often displayed a substance use disorder, in particular alcohol dependency (65 vs. 43%); on the other hand, women more frequently had an affective (94 vs. 82%), anxiety (92 vs. 80%) or eating disorder (35 vs. 18%), in particular anorexia nervosa (21 vs. 4%). Regarding the 12-month prevalence, we found significantly more women suffering from anorexia nervosa (13 vs. 0%). Considering the 4-week prevalence, there were no significant gender differences. With regard to axis II disorders, men had a higher frequency of antisocial personality disorder (57 vs. 26%). Regarding the BPD diagnostic criteria, men more often displayed 'intensive anger' (74 vs. 49%), whereas women more frequently showed 'affective instability' (94 vs. 82%). CONCLUSION: In this German study, we could replicate and extend the findings from previous US studies, where men and women with BPD showed important differences in their pattern of psychiatric comorbidity. The implications for clinicians and researchers are discussed.
Subject(s)
Borderline Personality Disorder/epidemiology , Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders , Mental Disorders/epidemiology , Adult , Alcoholism/diagnosis , Alcoholism/epidemiology , Alcoholism/psychology , Anorexia Nervosa/diagnosis , Anorexia Nervosa/epidemiology , Anorexia Nervosa/psychology , Anxiety Disorders/diagnosis , Anxiety Disorders/epidemiology , Anxiety Disorders/psychology , Bipolar Disorder/diagnosis , Bipolar Disorder/epidemiology , Bipolar Disorder/psychology , Borderline Personality Disorder/diagnosis , Borderline Personality Disorder/psychology , Comorbidity , Cross-Sectional Studies , Depressive Disorder/diagnosis , Depressive Disorder/epidemiology , Depressive Disorder/psychology , Female , Germany , Humans , Male , Mental Disorders/diagnosis , Mental Disorders/psychology , Middle Aged , Personality Assessment , Personality Disorders/diagnosis , Personality Disorders/epidemiology , Personality Disorders/psychology , Sex Factors , Substance-Related Disorders/diagnosis , Substance-Related Disorders/epidemiology , Substance-Related Disorders/psychology , Young AdultABSTRACT
Borderline personality disorder (BPD) is characterized by a heterogeneous symptomatology with instability in impulse control, interpersonal relationships and self-image. BPD patients display repeated self-injury, chronic suicidal tendencies and emotional dysregulation, mainly dysregulation of negative affect. In its etiology, genetic and environmental factors have been suggested. Recently, an investigation in male healthy volunteers found gene-gene effects of the catechol-O-methyl-transferase (COMT) low-activity (Met(158)) and the low-expression allele of the deletion/insertion (short/long or S/L, respectively) polymorphism in the serotonin transporter-linked promoter region (5-HTTLPR) on the central processing of aversive stimuli. The purpose of the present study was to test for association between BPD and the COMT Val(158)Met single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP), the 5-HTTLPR S/L variant and the interaction of these two gene variants. One hundred sixty one well-defined Caucasian BPD patients and 156 healthy controls were recruited from central Germany. In BPD patients, the genotype COMT Met(158)Met was over-represented compared to healthy controls (P = 0.0085; adjusted P = 0.034). We observed no differences in 5-HTTLPR genotypes between BPD and controls (P = 0.286). Additionally, the COMT Met(158)Met genotype was significantly over-represented in BPD patients carrying at least one 5-HTTLPR S allele (P = 0.0007; adjusted P = 0.028). Logistic regression analysis confirmed an interaction of the COMT Met(158) and the 5-HTTLPR S allele (P = 0.001). These data suggest an involvement of altered dopaminergic and/or noradrenergic neurotransmission as well as an interactive effect of COMT and 5-HTTLPR gene variants in the etiology of BPD, and underline the usefulness of analyses of gene-gene effects in diseases of complex inheritance with multiple genes involved.
