Sense of identity and depression in adolescents.

The objective of this study was to investigate the relationship between sense of identity and depression in a group of adolescents. Thirty-one depressed adolescents and 31 control subjects were included in the study. They were evaluated using the Sense of Identity Assessment Form (SIAF), Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HDRS), Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), and Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI). Depressed adolescents were reevaluated during the eighth week of antidepressant treatment. Higher baseline SIAF scores were detected in depressed adolescents as compared with non-depressed subjects. After antidepressant treatment, there was a significant decrease in SIAF scores in the depression group. Correlation analysis indicated that there are significant, positive relationships between SIAF, depression, and anxiety scores. The regression analysis results suggested that the change in SIAF scores can accurately predict 91.6% of the remitters and 42.8% of the non-remitters. Collectively, these findings indicate that there is a close association between depression symptoms and identity confusion-related distress in adolescents.

[Identity confusion and psychopathology in late adolescence]. / Gençlerde Kimlik Bocalamasi ve Psikopatoloji.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship of identity confusion with clinical diagnoses and personality pathology. METHOD: Participants in the first part of the study were 950 high school students or graduates. The participants were 484 males and 466 females ranging in age between 16 and 25 years of age (X = 18.3, sd = 0.8). We first administered the Instrument for Assessing Identity Confusion (IFAIC), and following a random sampling procedure we selected 30 participants with an IFAIC score > or = 1 standard deviation above the mean score to constitute the identity confusion group, and 30 participants with an IFAIC score < or = 1 standard deviation below the mean score to constitute the non-confusion group. The 60 participants included in the second part of the study were clinically assessed by means of SCID-I and SCID-II interviews. FINDINGS: The percentage of the participants receiving at least one axis I diagnoses was 73.3 % in the identity confusion group as opposed to 6.6 % in the non-confusion group. Likewise, participants in the identity confusion group fulfilled more personality disorder criteria than those in the non-confusion group. When the groups were compared for each personality disorder criteria, significant differences were observed in terms of avoidant, dependent, obsessive-compulsive, self-defeating, borderline and schizotypal personality disorders. CONCLUSION: Findings of the present study do not support the view that identity confusion is a condition emerging exclusively in adolescents with borderline or psychotic personality organization.

Same-sex sexual orientation, childhood sexual abuse, and suicidal behavior in university students in Turkey.

This questionnaire study investigated the prevalence of, and interrelationships among, self-reported same-sex sexual orientation, childhood sexual abuse, and suicidal behavior in 1262 university students in Turkey. Approximately 7% of the sample reported lifetime or current same-sex sexual attractions, 5% reported that they engaged in same-sex sexual behavior, and almost 2% self-identified as either homosexual or bisexual. Overall, almost 10% of the sample acknowledged some form of a same-sex sexual orientation. Twenty-eight percent of the participants reported at least one instance of sexual abuse during their childhood. Almost 42% of the students reported suicidal ideation during the past 12 months or lifetime, and 7% reported that they attempted to kill themselves during their lifetime or in the past 12 months. Five hypotheses about the interrelationships among same-sex sexual orientation, childhood sexual abuse, and suicidal behavior were developed and tested in the study. Self-reported childhood sexual abuse was associated with same-sex sexual behavior. Participants who engaged in same-sex sexual behavior and those who identified themselves as homosexual or bisexual perceived more distance between themselves and their fathers than those who did not. Being sexually abused by someone of one's own sex was related to same-sex sexual orientation in male participants but not in female participants. Childhood sexual abuse was found to be an independent predictor of both suicidal ideation and attempts during the past 12 months. Only identifying oneself as homosexual or bisexual was associated with an increased risk for suicidal ideation during the past 12 months.