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Mentalization shows promise moderating psychopathic aggression
The lack of affective responsiveness to others’ mental states – one of the hallmarks of psychopathy – is thought to give rise to increased interpersonal aggression. Attachment-Related Mentalization Moderates the Relationship Between Psychopathic Traits and Proactive Aggression in Adolescence. Taubner S, White LO, Zimmermann J, Fonagy P, Nolte T. Source Department of Psychology, University of Kassel, Kassel, Germany, Svenja.taubner@uni-kassel.de. Abstract The lack of affective responsiveness to others’ mental states – one of the hallmarks of psychopathy – is thought to give rise to increased interpersonal aggression. Recent models of psychopathy highlight deficits in attachment security that may, in turn, impede the development of relating to others in terms of mental…
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Using the mood disorder questionnaire and bipolar spectrum diagnostic scale to detect bipolar disorder and borderline personality disorder among eating disorder patients
Screening scales for bipolar disorder including the Mood Disorder Questionnaire (MDQ) and Bipolar Spectrum Diagnostic Scale (BSDS) have been plagued by high false positive rates confounded by presence of borderline personality disorder. This study examined the accuracy of these scales for detecting bipolar disorder among patients referred for eating disorders and explored the possibility of simultaneous assessment of co-morbid borderline personality disorder. Methods: Participants were 78 consecutive female patients who were referred for evaluation of an eating disorder. All participants completed the mood and eating disorder sections of the SCID-I/P and the borderline personality disorder section of the SCID-II, in addition to the MDQ and BSDS. Predictive validity of the…
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NY Times: Thinking Clearly About Personality Disorders
This weekend the Board of Trustees of the American Psychiatric Association will vote on whether to adopt a new diagnostic system for some of the most serious, and striking, syndromes in medicine: personality disorders. Thinking Clearly About Personality Disorders By BENEDICT CAREY For years they have lived as orphans and outliers, a colony of misfit characters on their own island: the bizarre one and the needy one, the untrusting and the crooked, the grandiose and the cowardly. Their customs and rituals are as captivating as any tribe’s, and at least as mystifying. Every mental anthropologist who has visited their world seems to walk away with a different story, a new…
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Specific Brain Region Tied to Empathy
Now that we know the specific brain mechanisms associated with empathy, we can translate these findings into disease categories and learn why these empathic responses are deficient in neuropsychiatric illnesses, such as autism. Specific Brain Region Tied to Empathy (read the Article at PsychCentral) By TRACI PEDERSEN Associate News Editor Reviewed by John M. Grohol, Psy.D. on October 26, 2012 An international team of researchers has demonstrated, for the first time, that a particular area of the brain — called the anterior insular cortex — is where human empathy originates. “Now that we know the specific brain mechanisms associated with empathy, we can translate these findings into disease categories and…
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High personality disorder comorbidity rates identified in anxiety
A meta-analysis covering 30 years of research has identified high rates of comorbid personality disorders across a number of anxiety disorder (AD) subtypes. High personality disorder comorbidity rates identified in anxiety By Ingrid Grasmo, medwireNews Reporter A meta-analysis covering 30 years of research has identified high rates of comorbid personality disorders across a number of anxiety disorder (AD) subtypes. Of interest, the research findings published in the Journal of Affective Disorders found that a substantial proportion of patients with AD also presented with an avoidant personality disorder. Oddgeir Friborg (University of Tromsø, Norway) and co-authors say this finding should be addressed in the routine clinical assessment and treatment of AD…
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African Americans can be particularly vulnerable to the challenges of mental illness
Sneed was diagnosed with early onset bipolar disorder and borderline personality disorder at the age of 13. She was academically gifted and graduated from high school and college early but struggled socially and emotionally. She sought mental health treatment for years. Black Folks and Mental Health: Why Do We Suffer in Silence? ByNIA HAMM DESPITE DEVASTATING RATES OF SUICIDE AND ILLNESS, MANY AFRICAN AMERICANS CONTINUE WITHOUT THE HELP THEY NEED TO GET BETTER With the exception of African American celebrities or public figures who experience mental trauma, such as Illinois Representative Jesse Jackson Jr., or commit suicide as in the death of hip-hop legend Chris Lighty, mental health remains largely absent…