Pragmatic features in patients with schizophrenia.

Schizophrenia is a heterogeneous disorder. Despite the fact that communication and language skills may be impaired in schizophrenia, only a few studies have examined specific aspects of pragmatic competence in these patients. Therefore, this study aimed to compare the pragmatic skills of schizophrenic patients and a control group. Forty-three schizophrenic patients with a Mean ± SD age of 40 ± 1.21 years old and a control group were assessed using the Adult Pragmatics Profile (APP), which is a validated tool consisting of three scales: verbal, nonverbal and paralinguistic. The participants in the schizophrenia group demonstrated significant impairments in pragmatic abilities compared to the participants in those the control group. The most remarkable difference was in the nonverbal scale (5.00 ± 1.09), while the lowest difference was seen in the verbal scale (18.30 ± 3.91). Within the nonverbal subscales, eye contact was the most impaired. Schizophrenic patients presented with impairments in their pragmatic skills (verbal, nonverbal and paralinguistic). As pragmatic skills play a paramount role in social communication, it is of great significance to address these impairments to enhance patients' quality of life.

Pragmatic deficits are a core feature in schizophrenic patients.Schizophrenic patients had the lowest scores on the nonverbal scale, and they showed the lowest impairment on the verbal scale.Schizophrenic patients scored the lowest on the turn-taking subscale of the verbal scale, the eye contact of the non-verbal scale and the vocal intensity subscale of the paralinguistic scale of the APP.

Comparing the Effects of Contact-Based Education and Acceptance and Commitment-Based Training on Empathy toward Mental Illnesses among Nursing Students.

Objective: Empathy is an important and valuable tool in therapeutic communication. Improvement barriers of empathy in psychiatric nursing education are associated with challenges, such as stress due to negative attitudes toward psychiatric disorders. The current study aimed at comparing the effects of contact-based education and commitment and acceptance-based training on empathy toward mental illnesses among nursing students. Method: In this clinical trial, 111 nursing students were selected using cluster and quota sampling methods in Mashhad, Iran. They were divided into 3 groups: (1) contact-based education (interpersonal contact among individuals with improved mental illnesses), (2) acceptance and commitment-based training, and (3) control group. The study tool was Jefferson Nurses Empathy Questionnaire, which was completed in 3 stages of pretest, posttest, and follow- up. Data were analyzed by repeated- measures ANOVA. Results: There was no significant difference between contact-based education and acceptance and commitment-based training groups in increasing the average score of total empathy during pretest, posttest, and 1-month follow- up (p = 0/92). However, a significant difference was found between contact-based education and control group (p = 0/004) and between acceptance and commitment-based training and control group (p = 0/02). Conclusion: Both methods of contact-based education and acceptance and commitment-based therapy were effective in increasing the level of empathy into mental illnesses in nursing students.

[Temperament and character personality dimensions in patients with bipolar I disorder]. / Bipolar duygudurum bozuklugu-1 hastalarinda mizaç ve kisilik özelligi boyutlari.

OBJECTIVES: To compare Cloninger's dimensions of temperament and character in patients with bipolar I disorder (BP-I) and healthy controls from the general population. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This cross sectional study included 96 BP-I patients (according to DSM-IV-TR criteria) that were admitted to a psychiatric hospital in Iran due to an acute episode of mania or depression, or a mixed episode during 2011. Following stabilization of the acute phase, the patients completed the 125-item Temperament and Character Inventory-Persian Version of (TCI-125-PV). The scale's 7 dimensions of temperament and character were compared between the bipolar group and 1212 healthy controls via independent samples t-test. Moreover, the correlation between temperament and character scores, and age, duration of disorder, and mood variables (depression and mania scores) were assessed using Pearson's correlation coefficient. RESULTS: The bipolar patients had significantly higher harm avoidance (P= 0.001), and lower reward dependency (P= 0.001), persistence (P =0.044), cooperativeness (P= 0.001), self-directedness (P= 0.001), and self-transcendence (P= 0.004) scores than the controls. Female patients had lower reward dependency (P= 0.001), self-directedness (P= 0.001), and cooperativeness (P= 0.001) scores than male patients. In addition, TCI-125- PV scores were not strongly correlated with depression or mania scores, duration of disorder, or marital status. CONCLUSION: The personality profiles of the BP-I patients differed from those of the controls. Lower self-directedness and cooperativeness scores in the bipolar group appeared to be associated with more immature personality traits.