The influence of impression management scales on the Personality Assessment Inventory in the epilepsy monitoring unit

Psychological and psychiatric aspects of psychogenic non-epileptic seizures (PNES): A systematic review

Psychogenic non-epileptic seizures (PNES) are common in neurological settings and often associated with considerable distress and disability. The psychological mechanisms underlying PNES are poorly understood and there is a lack of well-established, evidence-based treatments. This paper advances our understanding of PNES by providing a comprehensive systematic review of the evidence pertaining to the main theoretical models of this phenomenon. Methodological quality appraisal and effect size calculation were conducted on one hundred forty empirical studies on the following aspects of PNES: life adversity, dissociation, anxiety, suggestibility, attentional dysfunction, family/relationship problems, insecure attachment, defence mechanisms, somatization/conversion, coping, emotion regulation, alexithymia, emotional processing, symptom modelling, learning and expectancy. Although most of the studies were only of low to moderate quality, some findings are sufficiently consistent to warrant tentative conclusions: (i) physical symptom reporting is elevated in patients with PNES; (ii) trait dissociation and exposure to traumatic events are common but not inevitable correlates of PNES; (iii) there is a mismatch between subjective reports of anxiety and physical arousal during PNES; and (iv) inconsistent findings in this area are likely to be attributable to the heterogeneity of patients with PNES. Empirical, theoretical and clinical implications are discussed.

Is organizational citizenship behavior an attractive behavior for managers? A Kano model approach

Purpose

– Literature review indicates lack of using the Kano model in organizational behavior domain and managers’ satisfaction. The purpose of this paper is to propose a Kano-based model for managers’ satisfaction.

Design/methodology/approach

– In order to examine one of the proposed behaviors in this model, the role of employees’ organizational citizenship behavior (OCB) as an attractive behavior, has been investigated. The statistical population includes managers of the Isfahan’s financial service industries. After distributing questionnaires, 224 accurate questionnaires have been used for data analysis. In designing the survey questionnaire, the OCB questionnaire developed by Podsakoff et al. (1990) and Bell and Menguc (2002) has been used. For each of the OCB dimensions, some questions have been initially designed; then after collecting data, by using Kano evaluation table, the behavior types have been determined.

Findings

– Findings imply that by using the Kano model, five types of behaviors, i.e. must-be, one-dimensional, attractive, indifferent, and reverse can be identified. The findings related to case study also indicate that out of five dimensions of OCB, three dimensions of altruism, sportsmanship, and civic virtue are located in Attractive category; the courtesy dimension is located in must-be category; the conscientiousness dimension is located in one-dimensional category; and in reverse category, no dimension is located. In general, OCB is located in attractive category.

Research limitations/implications

– By using the results of this survey, a new classification of employees’ behaviors types can be suggested. The results of this study can help employees in understanding what kind of their behaviors causes managers’ satisfaction.

Originality/value

– The results of this study have an important contribution in the literature of the Kano model and OCB.

Quality of life in psychogenic nonepileptic seizures and epilepsy: the role of somatization and alexithymia

It is clear that many individuals with psychogenic nonepileptic seizures (PNESs) often present with poorer quality of life compared with those with epileptic seizures (ESs). However, the mechanisms linking seizure diagnosis to quality-of-life outcomes are much less clear. Alexithymia and somatization are emotional markers of psychological functioning that may explain these differences in quality of life. In the current study, patients from an epilepsy monitoring unit with vEEG-confirmed diagnosis of PNESs or ESs were compared on measures of alexithymia, somatization, quality of life, and a variety of demographic and medical variables. Two models using alexithymia and somatization individually as mediators of the relations between diagnosis and quality of life were tested. Results indicated that patients with PNESs had significantly poorer quality of life compared with those with ESs. Alexithymia was associated with poor quality of life in both groups but did not differentiate between diagnostic groups. Further, alexithymia did not mediate the relationship between diagnosis and quality of life. Somatization was associated with poor quality of life, and patients with PNESs reported greater somatization compared with patients with ESs. Somatization also significantly mediated the relationship between diagnosis and quality of life. In conclusion, somatization may be one mechanism affecting poor quality of life among patients with PNESs compared with ESs and should be a target of comprehensive treatments for PNESs. Alexithymia proved to be an important factor impacting quality of life in both groups and should also be targeted in treatment for patients with PNESs and patients with ESs.