Subjective wellbeing and psychological symptoms of university students during the COVID-19 pandemic: Results of a structured telephone interview in a large sample of university students.

University students are at elevated risk for psychological distress, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic. The aim of this study was to warmly contact our students and investigate the psychological impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the subjective wellbeing (SWB) and levels of psychological symptoms (such as depressive and anxious feelings) of university students in Belgium. All bachelor and master students of the Vrije Universiteit Brussels (N = 15,475) were invited for a brief structured telephone interview in March, 2021. In total, 7,154 students were assessed by a structured interview, based on the Kessler Psychological Distress Scale (K6) and the Anamnestic Comparative Self-Assessment (ACSA). Compared to a representative sample, students considered their life during the pandemic as less satisfying compared to their life before the pandemic. Overall, all students have suffered from COVID-19 and the measures taken to contain the pandemic. Twenty percent of our sample of 7,154 VUB students scored above the K6 cutoff, indicating a heightened risk for having a diagnosable mental illness severe enough to cause functional limitations and to require treatment. This study highlights the need for psychological support for all students, during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Assessment of Pathological Traits in DSM-5 Personality Disorders By the DAPP-BQ: How Do These Traits Relate to the Six Personality Disorder Types of the Alternative Model?

The six personality disorder (PD) types in DSM-5 section III are intended to resemble their DSM-IV/DSM-5 section II PD counterparts, but are now described by the level of personality functioning (criterion A) and an assigned trait profile (criterion B). However, concerns have been raised about the validity of these PD types. The present study examined the continuity between the DSM-IV/DSM-5 section II PDs and the corresponding trait profiles of the six DSM-5 section III PDs in a sample of 350 Dutch psychiatric patients. Facets of the Dimensional Assessment of Personality Pathology-Basic Questionnaire (DAPP-BQ) were presumed as representations (proxies) of the DSM-5 section III traits. Correlational patterns between the DAPP-BQ and the six PDs were consistent with previous research between DAPP-BQ and DSM-IV PDs. Moreover, DAPP-BQ proxies were able to predict the six selected PDs. However, the assigned trait profile for each PD didn't fully match the corresponding PD.

Starting from scratch: prevalence, methods, and functions of non-suicidal self-injury among refugee minors in Belgium.

BACKGROUND: As many refugee minors have gone/go through stressful life experiences and uncertainty, one might expect mental health issues, including self-injury. However, literature on non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI) in refugee minors is scarce. This study explores the prevalence, methods, and functions of NSSI in refugee minors in Belgium, and compares research results to the existing literature on NSSI in Western adolescents. METHODS: Data were obtained from 121 refugee minors (mean age = 16.12, SD = 1.23; range 14-18 years) through schools located in the Flemish and Brussels-Capital regions of Belgium. The sample consists of 39.7% girls and 60.3% boys. Self-report questionnaires were used to explore socio-economic data, NSSI behaviour (e.g. The Brief Non-Suicidal Self-injury Assessment Tool; BNNSI-AT) and emotional and behavioural difficulties (The Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire; SDQ). Non-parametric Chi square tests were used for statistical comparisons of the obtained data as well as independent-sample t-tests and Fisher's exact tests. RESULTS: Results show a lifetime NSSI prevalence rate of 17.4%. Being accompanied or not, having both parents around, or living in an asylum centre did not influence NSSI prevalence. An average of 2.65 methods of NSSI was applied (SD = 2.50; range 1-9). The mean number of functions per person was six (SD = 4.97, range 0-16), with automatic functions reported the most. The data do point towards a greater psychological strain, with 68.4% reporting more than five acts of NSSI. Results of the SDQ's Total Difficulties Scale and, more specifically, of the Emotional Problems, Conduct Problems, Peer Problems and Impact Scales indicate a substantial risk of clinically significant problems within the NSSI group. The Peer Problems and Impact Scales also point towards a high risk for suicidality amongst self-injuring refugees. CONCLUSIONS: Prevalence rates, methods and functions are comparable to Western samples. However, the higher incidence of the NSSI and the results on the SDQ also emphasise the vulnerability of refugee minors.

The recognition of child abuse and the perceived need for intervention by school personnel of primary schools: Results of a vignette study on the influence of case, school personnel, and school characteristics.

In 2015, 523 reports of suspected child abuse and neglect (CAN) were brought to the attention of the Confidential Center of Child Abuse and Neglect (CCCAN) of Brussels. Around 38% of these reports came from school personnel. This study investigated which factors affect the recognition of CAN by school personnel of Dutch-speaking primary education in Brussels and their intervention need. Two hundred seventy-nine staff members of 16 schools professionally working with children, filled in a Questionnaire Assessment of Situations of CAN. The instrument consists of 24 vignettes describing CAN. Respondents were asked questions regarding recognition and intervention need about each vignette. Detection, severity assessment, the need for professional help, the need for referral to a CCCAN and the need to involve judicial authorities were mainly associated with case characteristics. Although most situations of CAN were detected, situations of emotional abuse were less often recognized. Situations involving non-Western victims were considered to be more severe and the perceived need for involvement of professional help, CCCAN and judicial authorities was larger. Ethnic stereotypes affect the actions undertaken in case of CAN. Awareness of these reactions may result in equal treatment for all victims. Staff characteristics were little associated with detection and intervention need.

Age Neutrality of Categorically and Dimensionally Measured DSM-5 Section II Personality Disorder Symptoms.

Studies on the face validity of DSM-5 Section II categorical personality disorder (PD) symptoms indicate a bias against older adults. To extend these results, this article explores whether categorically and dimensionally scored PD symptoms of DSM-5 Section II, as measured in the Assessment of DSM-IV Personality Disorders (ADP-IV; Schotte & de Doncker, 1994), corroborate potential age bias across younger (aged 18-34), middle-aged (35-59 years), and older adults (aged 60-75). Differential item functioning (DIF) analyses, following a classical test theory approach, showed that 2 of the 79 symptoms were measured differently across 3 age groups when categorically assessed, and 4 when dimensionally measured. Nevertheless, subsequent differential test functioning analyses supported a low aggregated impact of DIF on the dimensional scales, justifying mean-level comparisons across age groups. Generalizability of the results is discussed in light of methodological issues concerning the research of age neutrality of PD symptoms, including the employed measurement instrument, PD symptom measurement approach, and sample and age range used to describe older adults.

Age neutrality of the young schema questionnaire in patients with a substance use disorder.

BACKGROUND: Young's Schema Focused Therapy (SFT) is gaining popularity in the treatment of older adults. In the context of this therapy, the Young Schema Questionnaire (YSQ) was developed to assess the early maladaptive schemas (EMS). EMS are considered to be relatively stable over time, but research shows that questionnaires often lack face validity in older adults, which makes it difficult to investigate EMS in older adults and their stability across the lifespan. METHODS: In the present cross-sectional study, we investigated the age neutrality of the Young Schema Questionnaire--Long Form in young (aged 18-34 years), middle-aged (aged 35-59 years), and older (aged 60-75 years) adults in a clinical sample of substance use disorders (N = 321) by examining potential differential item functioning (DIF). While investigating the stability of the schemas, we controlled for substance dependency and clinical symptoms by means of, respectively, the Drug Use Screening Inventory - Revised and the Symptom Checklist-90-R. RESULTS: The Bonferroni-adjusted Liu-Agresti Cumulative Common Log-Odds Ratio confirmed large DIF for six items, divided across five schema scales (Mistrust/Abuse, Subjugation, Entitlement, Enmeshment and Self-sacrifice). Of the six items that presented DIF, only one item showed differential test functioning (Entitlement). Overall results show only 3% DIF, implying age neutrality of the questionnaire. CONCLUSIONS: Current results corroborate that most EMS scales are equally measured across age, and reliable comparisons can be made across the lifespan, allowing for good clinical practice and further research on SFT in older adults. Only for Entitlement, Enmeshment, and Insufficient Self-control, caution is needed when comparing mean scores across the age groups.

Prevalence of DSM-IV personality disorders in patients with chronic fatigue syndrome: a controlled study.

BACKGROUND: It is not yet clear whether chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) is associated with elevated levels of personality disorders. PURPOSE: This study aims to determine the prevalence of DSM-IV axis II personality disorders among patients with CFS. METHODS: We examined the prevalence of personality disorders in a sample of 92 female CFS patients and in two well-matched control groups, i.e., normal community individuals (N = 92) and psychiatric patients (N = 92). Participants completed the assessment of DSM-IV personality disorders questionnaire (ADP-IV), which yields a categorical and dimensional evaluation of personality disorder features. RESULTS: The prevalence of personality disorders in CFS patients (16.3 %) was significantly lower than in psychiatric patients (58.7 %) and was similar to that in the community sample (16.3 %). Similar results were found for dimensional and pseudodimensional scores, except for the Depressive (DE) and Obsessive-Compulsive Personality Disorder (O-C) subscales. Patients with CFS had significantly higher levels of DE features compared to normal controls and similar dimensional scores on the O-C scale compared to psychiatric controls. CONCLUSIONS: Although the CFS sample was characterized by depressive and obsessive-compulsive personality features, this study provides no evidence for the assumption that these patients generally show a higher prevalence of axis II pathology. Given the conflicting findings in this area, future studies using multiple measures to assess personality disorders in CFS are needed to substantiate these findings.

Experiential versus analytical emotion regulation and sleep: breaking the link between negative events and sleep disturbance.

Despite a long history of interest in emotion regulation as well as in the mechanisms that regulate sleep, the relationship between emotion regulation and sleep is not yet well understood. The present study investigated whether "an experiential approach"-defined by coping through affectively acknowledging, understanding, and expressing actual emotional experience and affective feeling about a situation-compared with a "cognitive analytical approach"-defined by the cognitive analysis of the causes, meanings and implications of the situation for the own self-would buffer the impact of an emotional failure experience on (1) emotional experience and (2) sleep structure assessed by EEG polysomnography. Twenty-eight healthy volunteers participated in this study. A direct comparison of the two emotion regulation strategies revealed that participants who were instructed to apply an experiential approach showed less fragmentation of sleep than participants who were instructed to apply an analytical approach. The use of an experiential approach resulted in a longer sleep time, higher sleep efficiency, fewer awakenings, less % time awake, and fewer minutes wake after sleep onset. Implications of the differential effects of these two forms of emotion regulation on sleep are discussed.

Use of the Temperament and Character Inventory (TCI) for assessment of personality in chronic fatigue syndrome.

BACKGROUND: Chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) is characterized by severe and prolonged fatigue, along with a set of nonspecific symptoms and signs, such as sore throat, muscle pain, headaches, and difficulties with concentration or memory. OBJECTIVE: The study examined whether CFS is associated with specific dimensions of Cloninger's psychobiological model of personality. METHOD: Personality profiles were compared between 38 CFS patients and 42 control subjects by means of the Temperament and Character Inventory (TCI). RESULTS: The CFS group showed significantly higher scores on Harm-Avoidance and Persistence. CONCLUSION: The current study shows a significant association between specific personality characteristics and CFS. These personality traits may be implicated in the onset and/or perpetuation of CFS and may be a productive focus for psychotherapy.

[Validation of the "Assessment of DSM-IV Personality Disorders (ADP-IV)" Questionnaire]. / Validierung der deutschen Version des Fragebogens zur Erfassung von DSM-IV Persönlichkeitsstorungen (ADP-IV).

OBJECTIVES: The "Assessment of DSM-IV Personality Disorders (ADP-IV)" represents a 94-item questionnaire that allows for a categorical and dimensional assessment of the DSM-IV personality disorders. METHODS: Psychometric properties of the German ADP-IV were investigated in 400 psychotherapy outpatients and a community sample of 385 persons. The SCID-II interview and a standardised expert consensus rating were employed for the assessment of concurrent validity. RESULTS: The ADP-IV showed satisfactory reliability; the median Cronbach's alpha for the subscales was .76 (range .65-.87), the median retest reliability .79 (range .37-.88). Factor analysis revealed an 11-factor solution that explained 49.4% of the variance. The median correlation of the dimensional ADP-IV subscale scores with the SCID-II and the expert consensus ratings were .51 (range: .34-.72) and .44 (range: .27-.62), respectively. The kappas for the chance corrected agreement of categorical ADP-IV diagnoses with the SCID-II diagnoses and the expert ratings were .35 and .29 for any personality disorder and a median of .37 and .30 for the specific personality disorders. CONCLUSIONS: The ADP-IV shows satisfactory reliability and a validity that is comparable and partly superior to other self-rating instruments. The advantages of the instrument are its brevity, the inclusion of distress ratings, and the dimensional scoring that allows for the construction of detailed profiles of personality pathology. Moreover it is freely available in the internet: (http://zmkweb.uni-muenster.de/einrichtungen/proth/dienstleistungen/psycho/diag/index.html).

A biopsychosocial model as a guide for psychoeducation and treatment of depression.

Effective treatment of severe or chronic unipolar depression requires the combination of pharmacological and psychotherapeutic interventions, and demands a theoretical paradigm integrating biological and psychosocial aspects of depression. Supported by recent research, we propose in our article a biopsychosocial diathesis-stress model of depression. Its basic aim is psychoeducational: to provide therapists, patients, and their environment a constructive conceptual framework to understand depressive complaints, vulnerability, and stress. The core of the model consists of the concept of psychobiological vulnerability, which is determined by risk factors-of a biogenetic, psychological, somatic, and societal nature-and by protective factors. Life events with an idiosyncratic, stress-inducing value interact with this vulnerability, triggering severe or chronic distress that affects the individual's resilience and leads to symptoms of depression. The pathogenesis of depression is symbolized by a negative downward loop, in which interactions among symptoms, vulnerability, and stressors drive the patient toward a depressive condition. Moreover, experiencing recurrent depression influences psychobiological vulnerability, the occurrence of stressors, and tremendously increases the risk of further relapse. The model stresses the self-evident integration of biological and psychological therapeutic interventions that need to focus on symptom reduction and on relapse prevention. Moreover, it offers the patient and therapist a psychoeducational context in which the individual's vulnerability and depressive symptoms can be treated. Finally, applications of the depression model as a therapeutic approach to severe depression in the phases of remoralization, symptom reduction, and relapse prevention are presented.

The ADP-IV questionnaire: differential validity and concordance with the semi-structured interview.

The Assessment of DSM-IV Personality Disorders questionnaire (ADP-IV) is a self-report measure of the DSM-IV Axis II personality disorders (PDs). The ADP-IV assesses for each DSM-IV criterion its typicality as well as the accompanying distress and impairment. This study investigates two important aspects of the construct validity of the ADP-IV: (a) the differential validity (i.e., the ability to differentiate between a sample of the general Flemish population ( n = 659) and a sample of psychiatric inpatients ( n = 487) with a high prevalence of clinical PD diagnoses, and patients with and without a PD in the psychiatric sample; (b) the convergent validity with the SCID-II semi-structured interview in a population of psychiatric inpatients ( n = 59). The results indicate a good differential validity: the dimensional scales and the categorical measures discriminated well between both groups and between patients with and without a PD diagnosis in the psychiatric sample. Concerning the concordance with the SCID-II, a decent level of agreement is exemplified by a correlation of.67 between the dimensional total scores of both instruments and by kappa coefficients for an "any" Axis II diagnosis at the.50 level. In conclusion, the results indicate that the ADP-IV is an efficient method for assessing PD in dimensional and categorical ways.

Assessment of DSM-IV personality disorders in obsessive-compulsive disorder: comparison of clinical diagnosis, self-report questionnaire, and semi-structured interview.

In patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder, personality disorders are not many times assessed according to DSM-IV criteria. The purpose of the present study is to examine the prevalence of personality disorders diagnosed according to the DSM-IV in a severely disordered OCD population (n=65) with three different methods of assessing personality disorders (structured interview, questionnaire, and clinical diagnoses). Furthermore, correspondence between these different methods was investigated and their construct validity was examined by relating the three methods to external variables. Each method resulted in a predominance of Cluster C personality disorders, and obsessive-compulsive personality disorder had the highest prevalence. However, there was generally low correspondence regarding which patient had which personality disorder. Results concerning the relation of external variables were the most promising for the structured clinical interview.