[A postrationalist approach to emotional reciprocity in psychotherapy]. / Reciprocità emotiva in psicoterapia: un approccio postrazionalista.

In a postrationalist approach to cognitive psychotherapy the therapeutic relationship becomes a tool for exploring, by which, the patient manages to understand the rules which govern the rigid logical processes of his own personal meaning organization. A more accurate knowledge of one's own attitudes is the crucial variable that lets the patient assimilate problematic experiences. The therapist role assume the form of a "strategical oriented emotive disturber" who is extremely careful to utilize the emotional swings that he live in reciprocity with the patient, and who is aware of is own, as it is his emotions which modulate the patient's perceptions and understanding of problems.

Optimism and its impact on mental and physical well-being.

Many studies have been carried out about the effectiveness of optimism as a psychological phenomenon, leading to various theoretical formulations of the same concept, conceptualized as "disposition", "attributional style", "cognitive bias", or "shared illusion". This overview is an attempt to explore the "optimism" concept and its relations with mental health, physical health, coping, quality of life and adaptation of purpose, health lifestyle and risk perception. Positive and negative expectations regarding the future are important for understanding the vulnerability to mental disorders, in particular mood and anxiety disorders, as well as to physical illness. A significant positive relation emerges between optimism and coping strategies focused on social support and emphasis on positive aspects of stressful situations. Through employment of specific coping strategies, optimism exerts an indirect influence also on the quality of life. There is evidence that optimistic people present a higher quality of life compared to those with low levels of optimism or even pessimists. Optimism may significantly influence mental and physical well-being by the promotion of a healthy lifestyle as well as by adaptive behaviours and cognitive responses, associated with greater flexibility, problem-solving capacity and a more efficient elaboration of negative information.

Depressive episodes in Sardinian emigrants to Argentina: why are females at risk?

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVE: To compare the frequency of ICD-10 depressive episodes in a community sample of Sardinian immigrants in Argentina and a community sample of Sardinian residents in Sardinia, Italy. METHOD: A search of telephone directories provided all subscribers with Sardinian surnames in the Argentinean area involved. A 75.8% of all subjects thus identified took part in the study (n = 210). The characteristics of randomisation methods used to identify the community sample in Sardinia (n = 1040) have already been published elsewhere. All subjects were interviewed using the Composite International Diagnostic Interview Simplified. RESULTS: A higher frequency of depressive disorders was observed among the Sardinian immigrants in Argentina (26.7 vs. 13.5%, P < 0.0001). Females in particular showed a higher risk with respect to the Sardinian sample resident in Sardinia. DISCUSSION: On comparison of the present findings with the lifetime rate of depressive episodes in Sardinian immigrants in Paris (France), reported in a previous research study, a lower prevalence was observed among the latter group than in Sardinian immigrants in Argentina but the young male immigrants in Paris were at risk. CONCLUSION: The results obtained seem to suggest that emigration to a country where economic conditions have since dramatically changed may predispose subjects to depressive disorders, particularly when compared to the percentage of affected subjects in their native population and among subjects who had emigrated to more economically stable countries. Further epidemiological studies are warranted in order to confirm the present results and to clarify the determinants of the major risk for females in such a condition.

Social Phobia in an Italian region: do Italian studies show lower frequencies than community surveys conducted in other European countries?

BACKGROUND: The lifetime prevalence of Social Phobia (SP) in European countries other than Italy has been estimated to range from 3.5% to 16.0%. The aim of this study was to assess the frequency of SP in Sardinia (Italy) in order to verify the evidence of a lower frequency of SP in Italy observed in previous studies (from 1.0% to 3.1%). METHODS: A randomised cross sample of 1040 subjects, living in Cagliari, in rural areas, and in a mining district in Sardinia were interviewed using a Simplified version of the Composite International Diagnostic Interview (CIDIS). Diagnoses were made according to the 10th International Classification of Diseases (ICD-10). RESULTS: Lifetime prevalence of SP was 2.2% (males: 1.5%, females: 2.8%) whereas 6-month prevalence resulted in 1.5% (males: 0.9%, females: 2.1%). Mean age at onset was 16.2 +/- 9.3 years. A statistically significant association was found with Depressive Episode, Dysthymia and Generalized Anxiety Disorder. CONCLUSIONS: The study is consistent with findings reported in several previous studies of a lower prevalence of SP in Italy. Furthermore, the results confirm the fact that SP, due to its early onset, might constitute an ideal target for early treatment aimed at preventing both the accumulation of social disabilities and impairments caused by anxiety and avoidance behaviour, as well as the onset of more serious, associated complications in later stages of the illness.