Moderator role of self-compassion in the relationship between borderline features and suicide ideation in adolescents

Introduction

Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) is an impairing disorder with distinct features such as instability in self-image, relationships and affect. Considering the developmental nature of BPD, borderline features are not rarely exhibited in adolescence. These features tend to be associated with depression and suicide ideation, as well as with a negative self-to-self relationship. Self-compassion has been consistently identified as a positive attitude with oneself when experiencing suffering.

Objectives

The aim of the current study was to explore the role of self-compassion in the relationship between borderline features and suicide ideation, when controlled depressive symptoms.

Methods

Sample was composed by 665 adolescents (58.5% females and 41.5% males), with a mean of 15.54 years of age (SD = 1.52), who completed self-report questionnaires. Data was analyzed using SPSS (version 23) and PROCESS Macro.

Results

showed that girls presented higher borderline features and suicide ideation and lower self-compassion compared to boys. The moderation model explained 66% of suicide ideation, with gender and depression as covariates. The interaction of borderline features and self-compassion had a unique and significant effect on suicide ideation, when controlled depression and gender. Adolescents with higher levels of borderline features and lower self-compassion presented significantly higher suicide ideation, compared to those with higher self-compassion.

Conclusions

These findings suggest that developing self-compassion in adolescents with evident borderline features might attenuate their tendency to think about committing suicide.

Pertinence and development of cibd – clinical interview for bipolar disorder

Introduction

Bipolar disorder (BD) is frequently underdiagnosed and due to poor screening, the average time between onset of symptoms and diagnosis is more than 7-years (Mantere et al., 2004). Improper diagnosis has serious consequences in intervention (Ghaemi et al., 2001), and previous assessment instruments are now considered insufficient to detect intervention changes, and to provide a more functional and integrated view of BD.

Objectives

Our study aims to develop a new DSM-5 based Clinical Interview for Bipolar Disorder (CIBD), providing criteria to diagnose BD, but also the individual’s perceptions dealing with BD symptoms. This interview follows the same structure of CIPD (Martins et al., 2015), which has shown acceptability by the participants and experts.

Methods

CIBD was developed by a multidisciplinary team considering the DSM-5 criteria for Bipolar Disorders. There was a thorough research regarding assessment and evaluation of BD, and several suggestions from an international task force of specialist working with BD patients were considered, when writing the questions for the interview. A detailed description of CIBD development is presented. The authors of the interview have extended experience in the management and assessment of BD patients, and CIBD is now being assessed by a wider non-related panel, regarding pertinence and clarity.

Results

Preliminary assessment and qualitative feedback from participants that were interviewed is shown, with an overall positive feedback.

Conclusions

CIBD assesses both the diagnosis/presence of mood episodes (hypo/mania, and depressive) and symptoms’ psychosocial correlates. CIBD detects subtle changes caused by intervention adding a much needed recovery focused perspective.

Disclosure

No significant relationships.

Validation of the self-compassion scale in a community sample of Portuguese pregnant women

Introduction

In recent years, researchers and clinicians have shown an increasing interest in self-compassion. Indeed, several studies have suggested that self-compassion is a positive factor for mental and physical health. The Self-Compassion Scale (SCS; Neff, 2003) has been widely used to assess six dimensions of self-compassion (self-kindness, self-judgment, common humanity, isolation, mindfulness and over-identification) among diverse populations. Recently, it has also been used in perinatal samples but its psychometric properties in pregnant women is still unexplored.

Objective

This study aims was to investigate the reliability and the validity of the SCS using Confirmatory Factor Analysis in a sample of Portuguese pregnant women.

Methods

Participants were 417 pregnant women with a mean age of 33 years old (SD = 4.74) in their second trimester of pregnancy (M = 17.26, SD = 4.78, weeks of gestation). Participants completed the Portuguese version of the SCS while waiting for the routine prenatal consultation in Maternity Hospital, Portugal.

Results

A was tested and results showed that the six-factor model had a good fit to the data (TLI = 0.93, CFI = 0.94, RMSEA = 0.06). The total SCS presented a good internal reliability (α = 0.91) and their subscales showed Cronbach's alphas ranging between adequate (α = 0.77) and good (α = 0.87).

Conclusions

Overall, these findings suggest that the Portuguese version of the SCS is a valid and reliable measure to assess self-compassion among pregnant women. Thus, SCS could be useful in diverse settings in the perinatal period.

Disclosure of interest

The authors have not supplied their declaration of competing interest.

Tomato floral induction and flower development are orchestrated by the interplay between gibberellin and two unrelated microRNA-controlled modules

Age-regulated microRNA156 (miR156) and targets similarly control the competence to flower in diverse species. By contrast, the diterpene hormone gibberellin (GA) and the microRNA319-regulated TEOSINTE BRANCHED/CYCLOIDEA/PCF (TCP) transcription factors promote flowering in the facultative long-day Arabidopsis thaliana, but suppress it in the day-neutral tomato (Solanum lycopersicum). We combined genetic and molecular studies and described a new interplay between GA and two unrelated miRNA-associated pathways that modulates tomato transition to flowering. Tomato PROCERA/DELLA activity is required to promote flowering along with the miR156-targeted SQUAMOSA PROMOTER BINDING-LIKE (SPL/SBP) transcription factors by activating SINGLE FLOWER TRUSS (SFT) in the leaves and the MADS-Box gene APETALA1(AP1)/MC at the shoot apex. Conversely, miR319-targeted LANCEOLATE represses floral transition by increasing GA concentrations and inactivating SFT in the leaves and AP1/MC at the shoot apex. Importantly, the combination of high GA concentrations/responses with the loss of SPL/SPB function impaired canonical meristem maturation and flower initiation in tomato. Our results reveal a cooperative regulation of tomato floral induction and flower development, integrating age cues (miR156 module) with GA responses and miR319-controlled pathways. Importantly, this study contributes to elucidate the mechanisms underlying the effects of GA in controlling flowering time in a day-neutral species.

Engaging with the affiliative system through mindfulness: The impact of the different types of positive affect in psychosis

OBJECTIVES

We aimed to explore associations between positive and negative symptoms, mindfulness, positive affect, and social safeness; and to understand the mediator role of positive emotions in the relationship between mindfulness and social safeness.

METHOD

Fifty-six participants with a psychotic disorder were assessed with measures of mindfulness, negative and positive symptoms, positive affect, and social safeness.

RESULTS

All variables were associated with each other except for positive symptoms and active affect. Mindfulness predicted social safeness through safe affect, when controlling for positive and negative symptoms.

CONCLUSIONS

This study contributes to knowledge of mechanisms behind social safeness adding the role of mindfulness and activation of positive emotions. The continuing study of mindfulness as an important mechanism for social safeness will allow further improvement of interventions for psychosis.

Assessing suicide risk with the Clinical Interview for Psychotic Disorders (CIPD): Preliminary reliability and validity of the Suicide Risk Scale for Psychosis (SRS-P)

Background

Suicide risk is an important variable to consider both in assessment and throughout the therapeutic process in psychotic disorders. The SRS-P is an 18-item scale computed from the patient and clinician-rated scores obtained in the CIPD. The scale comprises lifetime assessment of depressed mood, anhedonia and its current interference and severity, current and past feelings of hopelessness, suicidal ideation, ‘voices’ about suicide, and suicide-related behaviors.

Aims

To assess reliability and convergent validity of the SRS-P in a sample of participants with psychosis.

Methods

The sample comprised 22 participants (68.2% male), single (72.7%), between 19 and 47 years old (M = 31.05; SD = 7.088), with 4–17 years of education (M = 11.77; SD = 3.176), employed (50%). The most prevalent diagnosis was schizophrenia (68.2%) and the participants had a mean of 1.90 hospitalizations (SD = 2.548). The mean age of illness onset was 23.57 years (SD = 5.555). The participants were assessed with the CIPD, Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scales-21, Forms of Self-Criticism and Reassurance Scale, Self-Compassion Scale, Other as Shamer Scale and the Empowerment with Psychotic Symptoms Scales.

Results

The SRS-P has shown good reliability (α = .87) and validity in relation to depressive symptoms (r = .67; P = .001), anxiety (r = .74; P < .001), stress (r = .59; P = .004), inadequate self (r = .43; P = .046), hated self (r = .54; P = .009), reassured self (r = –.65; P = .001), self-compassion (r = –.63; P = .002), shame (r = .46; P = .033) and empowerment regarding positive symptoms (r = –.54; P = .015).

Conclusions

The SRS-P presented adequate reliability and convergent-divergent validity. Further studies are planned in order to test the factorial structure of the scale and confirm the presented results in a larger sample.

Disclosure of interest

The authors have not supplied their declaration of competing interest.

Empowerment With Psychotic Symptoms Scale (EWPSS): Exploratory Study of the Scale's Psychometric Properties

Background

Empowerment has been defined as the ability to act autonomously, the willingness to take risks and being aware of responsibility. The importance of this construct in psychosis has been emphasized by recovery models. An integrant part of the Clinical Interview for Psychotic Disorders (CIPD), the EWPSS is a visual analog scale in which the participants assess their sense of empowerment regarding symptoms (delusions, hallucinations, negative symptoms and disorganization). EWPSS focuses on personal empowerment (self-worth and self-efficacy) as it could apply to symptoms.

Aims

To preliminarily assess the psychometric properties of the EWPSS in a sample of participants with psychosis.

Methods

The sample comprised 22 participants (68.2% male), 72.7% single, 50% employed, between 19 and 47 years old (M = 31.05; SD = 7.088), with 4–17 years of education (M = 11.77; SD = 3.176). The most prevalent diagnosis was schizophrenia (68.2%) and the participants had a mean of 1.90 hospitalizations (SD = 2.548). The participants were assessed with the CIPD (EWPSS) and Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scales-21.

Results

EWPSS has shown acceptable reliability for all dimensions (with alphas ranging between .54 and .78). Empowerment with delusions was associated with the other dimensions, excepting for empowerment with negative symptoms (which in turn was not associated significantly with any dimension). Empowerment regarding hallucinations and with disorganization were only associated with empowerment with delusions, which was also associated with anxiety symptoms (r = –.52, P = .016).

Conclusions

The EWPSS presented adequate reliability and validity. Further studies intended to explore the factorial structure of the EWPSS are under development.

Disclosure of interest

The authors have not supplied their declaration of competing interest.

Iodine deficiency a persisting problem: assessment of iodine nutrition and evaluation of thyroid nodular pathology in Portugal

BACKGROUND

The goal of eliminating iodine deficiency (ID) by the year 2000 has still not been achieved in several countries. More than 2 billion people worldwide (over 260 million school age children) remain ID. In Europe, there are still countries, such as Portugal, without national general population data on iodine nutrition (IN). This study aims at evaluating combined complementary data of the IN of the general population through urinary iodine concentration (UIC) and the thyroid histology profile from the inland region of Beira Interior (BI), in Portugal.

METHODS

UIC from a population sample of 214 volunteers (131 females and 83 males), with ages ranging from 8 to 97 years (mean 51.5 years ± SD 20.74 years), from BI was determined; the thyroid histology pattern in BI (6-year period) was evaluated; and the iodine content of the largest surface water reservoir of BI, never previously reported, was measured.

RESULTS

Median UIC of 62.6 μg/L was measured. Over 92 % of the population had UIC less than 100 μg/L. From 279 histology reports evaluated, the incidence of the different types of thyroid nodular pathology in BI was established. There were 60 histologic diagnoses of malignancy. The observed ratio of papillary to follicular carcinoma relatively close to 1 and the fairly high percentage of anaplastic carcinomas are characteristic of ID areas.

CONCLUSIONS

The findings of this first general population study on IN from the inland region of BI, Portugal, document significant ID. This problem, with its serious public health implications, could be corrected by having affordable iodised salt widely and generally available and by promoting a proactive population attitude generated by ample public information and educational programs as to the negative consequences of ID.

Quantum Phase Transitions with Parity-Symmetry Breaking and Hysteresis

Symmetry-breaking quantum phase transitions play a key role in several condensed matter, cosmology and nuclear physics theoretical models1-3. Its observation in real systems is often hampered by finite temperatures and limited control of the system parameters. In this work we report for the first time the experimental observation of the full quantum phase diagram across a transition where the spatial parity symmetry is broken. Our system is made of an ultra-cold gas with tunable attractive interactions trapped in a spatially symmetric double-well potential. At a critical value of the interaction strength, we observe a continuous quantum phase transition where the gas spontaneously localizes in one well or the other, thus breaking the underlying symmetry of the system. Furthermore, we show the robustness of the asymmetric state against controlled energy mismatch between the two wells. This is the result of hysteresis associated with an additional discontinuous quantum phase transition that we fully characterize. Our results pave the way to the study of quantum critical phenomena at finite temperature4, the investigation of macroscopic quantum tunneling of the order parameter in the hysteretic regime and the production of strongly quantum entangled states at critical points5.

The role of self-compassion in lifetime history of depression: A study in Portuguese pregnant women

Introduction

Although self-compassion has been pointed as an effective strategy for coping with depression, there are not any studies investigating its association with lifetime history of depression (LTHD).

Objective

To compare self-compassion levels in pregnant women with vs. without LTHD and to analyze if self-compassion dimensions are significant predictors of LTHD.

Methods

Four hundred and twenty-seven pregnant women with a mean age of 33 years (±4.785) in their second trimester of pregnancy completed the Self Compassion Scale validated for pregnancy (SCS; Bento et al., 2015) and a new self-report questionnaire to evaluate the presence of LTHD according to DSM-5 criteria for depression.

Results

Ninety-seven (23.0%) women had LTHD. Bisserial Spearmen correlations between LTHD and SCS total score were significant, negative and moderate (r = –0.31). SCS subscales, except Common Humanity, showed significant correlations: Self-Kindness/SK (r = –0.130), self-judgement (SJ) (0.313), isolation (0.357), mindfulness (r = –0.102), over-identification (OI) (r = 0.393). Independent sample t tests revealed that women with vs. without LTHD had significantly lower levels of total SCS, SK and Mindfulness scores and higher levels of SJ, Isolation and OI.Logistic regression (assumptions were fulfilled, Tabachnick and Fidell, 2007) showed that the SCS explained 26.7%–43.6% of the LTHD variance and correctly classified 86.9%; the odds ratio (OR) was.865 (95% CI 0.834–0.898; P < 0.001). The model composed by the correlated dimensions explained 15.9%–24.0% and correctly classified 80.6%. Odds ratios: SK = 0.017; SJ = 0.021; isolation = 16.027; mindfulness = 0.167 and OI = 20.178 (all P < 0.05).

Conclusions

Self-compassion, specifically the ability to treat oneself with care and understanding and to be aware and accepting one's present-moment experiences, decrease the probability of having LTHD.

Disclosure of interest

The authors have not supplied their declaration of competing interest.

Disordered Eating Behaviors, Perfectionism And Perseverative Negative Thinking–study In a Clinical Sample

Introduction

In a recent study developed with a community sample, we have found that although PNT mediated the relationship between perfectionist cognitions and bulimic behavior, the effect of perfectionism on other disordered eating dimensions, such as diet, was independent of the PNT levels (Monteiro et al., 2015).

Objective

To investigate if PNT mediates the relationship between perfectionism and disordered eating behaviors in a clinical sample.

Methods

Fifty-two patients with eating disorders/ED (mean age = 22.54 ± 7.637; mean BMI = 20.07 ± 4.192; 14.5% Anorexia Nervosa cases; 7.8% Bulimia Nervosa and 9.0% EDNOS) were assessed with the ED section of the Diagnostic Interview for Genetic Studies and fill in the Portuguese validated versions of Eating Attitudes Test/EAT-25 (to evaluate Bulimic behaviors/BB, Diet and Social pressure to eat), Multidimensional Perfectionism Scales (to evaluate perfectionism composite dimensions Evaluative Concerns/EC and Perfectionistic Strivings/PS) and Perseverative Thinking Questionnaire/PTQ-15 (to evaluate Repetitive Thought/RT, Cognitive interference and unproductiveness/CIU). Only variables significantly correlated with the outcomes (EAT-25_Total and its dimensions) were entered in the regression models. Mediation analyses using Preacher and Hayes bootstrapping methodology were performed.

Results

EC, PS, CIU and RT were significant predictors of EAT_Total. PA, CIU and PR were significant predictors of BB. EC and PS were significant predictors of Diet. CIU partially mediated the relationship between EC and EAT_Total (95% CI = 0.0025–0.3296) and between EC and BB (95% CI = 0.0037–0.1877).

Conclusion

Also in a clinical sample, CII, the most pernicious dimension of PNT, mediates the relationship between perfectionism and disordered eating behavior, particularly bulimic behavior; diet is predicted by perfectionism independently of PNT.

Disclosure of interest

The authors have not supplied their declaration of competing interest.

In vitro and in vivo assessment of the effect of Laurus novocanariensis oil and essential oil in human skin

Laurus novocanariensis is an endemic plant from the Madeira Island forest that derives a fatty oil, with a strong spicy odour, from its berries that has been used for centuries in traditional medicine to treat skin ailments. This work aimed to investigate the effect of the application of both the oil and its essential oil on normal skin, to assess their safety and potential benefits. Diffusion studies with Franz cells using human epidermal membranes were conducted. The steady-state fluxes of two model molecules through untreated skin were compared with those obtained after a 2-h pre-treatment with either the oil or the essential oil. Additionally, eleven volunteers participated in the in vivo study that was conducted on the forearm and involved daily application of the oil for 5 days. Measurements were performed every day in the treated site with bioengineering methods that measure erythema, irritation and loss of barrier function. Slightly higher steady-state fluxes were observed for both the lipophilic and the hydrophilic molecule when the epidermal membranes were pre-treated. Nevertheless, such differences had no statistical significance, which seems to confirm that neither the oil nor the essential oil impaired the epidermal barrier. Results collected with the Chromameter, the Laser Doppler Flowmeter and the visual scoring are in agreement with those established in the in vitro study. They indicate that the repeated application of the oil did not cause erythema, because the results observed in the first day of the study were maintained throughout the week. Application of the oil did not affect the skin barrier function, because the transepidermal water loss remained constant throughout the study. The stratum corneum hydration was slightly reduced on days 4 and 5. This work shows that both the oil and the essential oil were well tolerated by the skin and did not cause significant barrier impairment or irritation.

Inhibitory effects of cadmium on carbonic anhydrase activity and ionic regulation of the estuarine crab Chasmagnathus granulata (Decapoda, Grapsidae)

This work was aimed at evaluating the gill carbonic anhydrase (CA) activity of the estuarine crab Chasmagnathus granulata exposed in vivo to cadmium, at different salinities. The in vivo effect of the specific inhibitor acetazolamide (AZ) was also assayed. Besides, the inhibition of CA activity by different heavy metals (cadmium, copper, zinc) and AZ were evaluated under in vitro conditions. For the in vivo assays, adult males were acclimated to salinities of 2.5 or 30/1000. The corresponding 96-h LC50 of cadmium was 2.69 mg l-1 at 2.5/1000, and > 50 mg l-1 at 30/1000. Cadmium only caused a significant lower CA activity than control at 2.5/1000. EC50 for CA inhibition was estimated to be 1.59 mg l-1 at 2.5/1000. Statistical differences in Na+ hemolymphatic levels (P < 0.05) were only detected at 2.5/1000, between 0 and 1.25 mg l-1 of cadmium, but no statistical differences were observed for Cl- levels at any assayed salinity. As CA inhibition registered at 2.5/1000 was followed by only changes in Na+ concentration, it is likely that cadmium exposure could differentially affect ions permeability, among others factors. The concentrations that inhibited in vitro 50% of enzymatic activity (IC50) were 2.15 x 10(-5), 1.62 x 10(-5), 3.75 x 10(-6) and 4.4 x 10(-10) M for cadmium, copper, zinc and AZ, respectively. The comparison with IC50 values of other aquatic species, indicates a higher CA sensitivity for C. granulata to pollutants.