Biomedical subjects

Cora Weber

Publications and source records attributed to Cora Weber.

4 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2003

[Disturbed regulation of self-esteem in patients with overt versus covert self-destructive behaviour].

OBJECTIVES: According to psychoanalytic models self-harming patients are characterised by an unstable self-system and a disturbed regulation of self-esteem. This is presumed to be denied or dissociated to a greater degree by those who harm themselves secretly (factitious patients) as compared to those who show open self-harm. It is hypothesised and empirically tested that self-destructive patients have more profound disorders of narcissistic self-regulation than patients without self-destruction, and that this should be more evident in patients with overt self-destructive behaviour. METHODS: The sample consists of 354 psychosomatic patients, 32 of whom demonstrated self-destructive behaviour (18 exclusively overt and 6 exclusively covert types of behaviour, according to Willenberg et al.). The narcissism inventory was applied. RESULTS: Self-destructive patients showed higher levels on the "threatened self"-dimension than psychosomatic patients without self-harm. Overtly self-harming patients showed a higher degree of narcissistic self-regulation than covertly self-destructive patients. CONCLUSIONS: This supports theoretical assumptions of a disturbed regulation of self-esteem in self-destructive patients, especially in overtly self-harming patients.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2002

Impact of a relaxation training on psychometric and immunologic parameters in tinnitus sufferers.

OBJECTIVE: Tinnitus often entails severe psychological distress. Reversely, tinnitus may be considered as a chronic stressor. Based on this hypothesis, we investigated whether improving stress-managing capabilities would influence psychological and stress-related immunological parameters in chronic tinnitus sufferers. METHODS: Tinnitus (TPs, n=26) and non-tinnitus participants (NTPs, n=13) took part in a standardised 10-week relaxation program. An additional group of tinnitus sufferers (n=18), randomly assigned to a waiting list, served as control (TC) subjects. Mood, perceived stress, global quality of life, and tinnitus disturbance were assessed before and after the intervention. The stress-sensitive immunological parameters TNF-alpha, IL-6, and IL-10 were measured before, during, and at the end of the intervention. RESULTS: The program resulted in a significantly decreased perception of stress, anxious depression, anger, and tinnitus disturbance, paralleled by a reduction of TNF-alpha. No alterations were noted for IL-6 or IL-10. For the NTPs and TCs, no relevant psychological or immune changes could be observed. CONCLUSION: The data suggest that (1) the training offered improved stress-managing capabilities in chronic tinnitus sufferers, and (2) TNF-alpha may be conceived as a stress marker.

Adult↗

PubMedDate not supplied

[From applied psychosomatic medicine to integrated medicine - experiences with the Steglitz allocated bed model].

Changes in the German hospital system like the introduction of the DRG compensation system suggest the usefulness of considering the modification of inpatient psychosomatic treatment options. Patients in a university hospital underwent diagnosis-related psychosomatic treatment in the wards of other departments after instituting the allocated bed model. The report presented here points out chances and risks of such a change. First psychodiagnostic assessments indicate a significant improvement of symptoms in these patients. Despite the overall positive result obtained thus far, the institutional and administrative framework conditions for such a change should be carefully considered and further evaluated.

Adolescent↗

PubMedDate not supplied

The Perceived Stress Questionnaire (PSQ) reconsidered: validation and reference values from different clinical and healthy adult samples.

OBJECTIVE: The aim was to translate, revise, and standardize the Perceived Stress Questionnaire (PSQ) by Levenstein et al. (1993) in German. The instrument assesses subjectively experienced stress independent of a specific and objective occasion. METHODS: Exploratory factor analyses and a revision of the scale content were carried out on a sample of 650 subjects (Psychosomatic Medicine patients, women after delivery, women after miscarriage, and students). Confirmatory analyses and examination of structural stability across subgroups were carried out on a second sample of 1,808 subjects (psychosomatic, tinnitus, inflammatory bowel disease patients, pregnant women, healthy adults) using linear structural equation modeling and multisample analyses. External validation included immunological measures in women who had suffered a miscarriage. RESULTS: Four factors (worries, tension, joy, demands) emerged, with 5 items each, as compared with the 30 items of the original PSQ. The factor structure was confirmed on the second sample. Multisample analyses yielded a fair structural stability across groups. Reliability values were satisfactory. Findings suggest that three scales represent internal stress reactions, whereas the scale "demands" relates to perceived external stressors. Significant and meaningful differences between groups indicate differential validity. A higher degree of certain immunological imbalances after miscarriage (presumably linked to pregnancy loss) was found in those women who had a higher stress score. Sensitivity to change was demonstrated in two different treatment samples. CONCLUSION: We propose the revised PSQ as a valid and economic tool for stress research. The overall score permits comparison with results from earlier studies using the original instrument.

Abortion, Spontaneous↗