[The association between religious coping styles and psychopathological symptomatology within a Christian population]. / De samenhang tussen religieuze coping­stijlen en psychische klachten in een christelijke bevolkingsgroep.

BACKGROUND: Religious coping can be seen as a method which applies religious resources, including prayer, and trust and appeals to God, in order to deal with stressful situations. AIM: To gain insight into the associations between religious coping styles and mental health and to investigate whether the use of the coping styles differs between mental health care clients and non-mental health care clients with a Christian background. METHOD: The sample consisted of 655 Dutch participants with a Christian worldview, aged 18 to 79 years (M = 42.6, SD = 14.2). 60.9% were female and 49.5% higher educated. Intra- and extramural clients in mental health care were involved. A cross-sectional, online survey was used, combined with an available client database. RESULTS: More use of the collaborative coping style was associated with less psychological complaints. More use of the (passive-)deferring and selfdirecting coping styles was associated with more psychological complaints. Christian mental health care clients used the collaborative and the deferring coping styles less often compared to Christian non-clients. CONCLUSION: The collaborative religious coping style is positively associated with mental health. Mental health care clients amongst them use this style less often compared to non-clients. Awareness of religious coping styles and appropriate support are indicated.

Adversity and psychosis: a 10-year prospective study investigating synergism between early and recent adversity in psychosis.

OBJECTIVE: Recent studies have suggested that early adverse events, such as childhood trauma, may promote enduring liability for psychosis whereas more recent adverse events may act as precipitants. Examination of these environmental dynamics, however, requires prospective studies in large samples. This study examines whether the association between recent adverse events and psychosis is moderated by exposure to early adversity. METHOD: A random regional representative population sample of 3021 adolescents and young adults in Munich, Germany, was assessed three times over a period of up to 10 years, collecting information on sociodemographic factors, environmental exposures, and measures of psychopathology and associated clinical relevance. Evidence of statistical non-additivity between early adversity (two levels) and more recent adversity (four levels) was assessed in models of psychotic symptoms. Analyses were a priori corrected for age, gender, cannabis use, and urbanicity. RESULTS: Early and recent adversity were associated with each other (RR = 1.32, 95% CI 1.06-1.66; P = 0.014) and displayed statistical non-additivity at the highest level of exposure to recent adversity (χ(2) = 4.59; P = 0.032). CONCLUSION: The findings suggest that early adversity may impact on later expression of psychosis either by increasing exposure to later adversity and/or by rendering individuals more sensitive to later adversity if it is severe.

Experience sampling research in psychopathology: opening the black box of daily life.

A growing body of research suggests that momentary assessment technologies that sample experiences in the context of daily life constitute a useful and productive approach in the study of behavioural phenotypes and a powerful addition to mainstream cross-sectional research paradigms. Momentary assessment strategies for psychopathology are described, together with a comprehensive review of research findings illustrating the added value of daily life research for the study of (1) phenomenology, (2) aetiology, (3) psychological models, (4) biological mechanisms, (5) treatment and (6) gene-environment interactions in psychopathology. Overall, this review shows that variability over time and dynamic patterns of reactivity to the environment are essential features of psychopathological experiences that need to be captured for a better understanding of their phenomenology and underlying mechanisms. The Experience Sampling Method (ESM) allows us to capture the film rather than a snapshot of daily life reality of patients, fuelling new research into the gene-environment-experience interplay underlying psychopathology and its treatment.