Envy manifestations and personality disorders.

Personality disorders are frequently associated with socially unacceptable behaviours that might not be always considered deviant. On the other hand, envy has been linked with various forms of maladjustment such as interpersonal conflicts, low self-esteem, depression, anxiety, aggressiveness, and even criminal behaviour such as vandalism and even murder. According to the DSM-IV, none of the personality disorders, except the narcissistic personality, is formally associated with envy. Nevertheless, this "deadly sin" is so omnipresent in human relationships that it cannot be restricted only to the narcissistic personalities. Most scholars recognise that people would deny that they envy someone else since envy is socially considered as highly undesirable; verbal reports are expected to be biased. To circumvent this difficulty, a projective questionnaire is proposed. We constructed two questionnaires: a direct version (DV) and an indirect version (IV). The sample consisted of 786 students from high school and university. Results suggest that the indirect version provides a more accurate assessment of envy.

The Quebec Adolescent Refugee Project: psychopathology and family variables in a sample from 35 nations.

OBJECTIVE: This study presents the results of a psychiatric epidemiological survey using a sample of adolescents from refugee families. METHOD: The sample included 203 adolescents, aged 13 to 19 years, coming from 35 countries. Psychopathology was assessed with the Diagnostic Interview Schedule for Children Version 2.25 and general functioning with the Children's Global Assessment Scale (CGAS). RESULTS: The total rate of psychopathology excluding simple phobia was 21% compared with 11% in a province-wide survey of young adolescents. Overanxious disorder had a high prevalence of 13%. The rates of major depression and conduct disorders were also high, at 5% and 6%. The rate of 3% of attempted suicide was similar to the rate found in Montreal high schools. Girls had a higher rate of psychopathology than boys, with a gender ratio similar to the one found in the provincial survey. Father's long-term unemployment in the first year of settlement was associated with psychopathology for the whole sample, and family structure was associated with psychopathology for boys only. CONCLUSIONS: The high rate of psychopathology in this group confirmed results from other surveys with similar samples. On the other hand, the CGAS scores indicated that many of the adolescents with a diagnosis had good social adaptation.