Biomedical subjects

Eric Rassin

Publications and source records attributed to Eric Rassin.

9 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2006

The assessment of anhedonia in clinical and non-clinical populations: further validation of the Snaith-Hamilton Pleasure Scale (SHAPS).

BACKGROUND: Anhedonia, the inability to experience pleasure, is a major endophenotype of depression. In addition to this, it is an important clinical feature of schizophrenia and substance abuse disorders. Valid instruments to measure anhedonia are sparse. METHODS: In the present study, a short, 14-item instrument, the Snaith-Hamilton Pleasure Scale (SHAPS) to measure anhedonia in normal and clinical samples was further validated. Various aspects of the reliability and validity of the SHAPS that have not been addressed before, were examined in three separate studies. First, we assessed the internal consistency, convergent and discriminative validity of the SHAPS in a non-clinical sample. Second, the test-retest reliability of the SHAPS was investigated in another sample. In the third study, the internal consistency, convergent and discriminative validity of the SHAPS was tested by administering the scale in three clinical samples of psychiatric inpatients. RESULTS: The SHAPS was found to be highly reliable in terms of internal consistency and test-retest stability. Further, the SHAPS correlated in a theoretically meaningful way with other measures of affect and personality. Patients with a depression, psychosis or substance dependence scored significantly higher on the SHAPS than non-patient controls. Patients with a depression displayed the highest SHAPS-score. LIMITATIONS: The absence of structured assessment data to validate the clinical diagnoses. CONCLUSIONS: The current study shows that the SHAPS is a reliable and valid questionnaire to assess hedonic tone in patient and non-patient populations. Because it is a brief scale it seems to be a very useful instrument for measuring anhedonia in clinical and research settings.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2006

Abnormal and normal obsessions: a reconsideration.

Contemporary cognitive approaches to obsession assume that the content of clinical obsessions does not differ from non-clinical obsessive intrusions. This assumption goes back to a classic study by Rachman and De Silva [(1978). Abnormal and normal obsessions. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 16, 233-248]. In the present paper, it is argued that Rachman and De Silva did not postulate a complete indifference between clinical and non-clinical obsessions. Study 1 is a simple statistical analysis of data presented by Rachman and De Silva. This analysis suggested that psychologists are able to discriminate clinical and non-clinical obsessions beyond chance level, merely by looking at the content of obsessions. In study 2, a list of 23 clinical and 47 non-clinical obsessions was presented to 11 psychotherapists and 90 psychology undergraduates. Both therapists and students were able to distinguish clinical and non-clinical obsession beyond chance level. It is concluded that some clinical obsessions can be identified as being evidently abnormal, and that additional theory and research is needed to identify the causes of these recognisable obsessions.

Data Interpretation, Statistical↗

PubMed2005

From dissociation to trauma? Individual differences in dissociation as predictor of 'trauma' perception.

In clinical literature, dissociative complaints are generally considered to be the result of traumatic experiences. However, it has been argued that dissociative complaints, in turn, may indulge over-reporting of traumatic experiences. Hence, correlations between dissociation and self-reported trauma may not only reflect the causal path from trauma to dissociation, but possibly also an increased trauma-item endorsement due to dissociation. To test the idea that dissociation fosters a positive response bias on trauma self-reports, participants completed a dissociation scale, and subsequently rated the perceived trauma of ambiguous stimuli. Results indicated that some dissociative complaints indeed predicted increased scores on the trauma ratings, while other manifestations of dissociation were negatively correlated with perceived trauma ratings. Hence, there is reason to argue that people differ in their readiness to perceive a situation as traumatic. However, the association between self-reported dissociation and the perception of 'trauma' is not quite clear-cut.

Adult↗

PubMed2005

Nazi cruelties: Are they literally hard to imagine?

In four experiments, the characteristics of participants' mental imagery of World War II were investigated. In the first experiment, mental images of WWII were found to lack clarity compared to mental images of a Medieval war. In a second experiment, the association between the lack of clarity of WWII mental images, and the underestimation of Nazi cruelties was explored. In line with the expectation based on source monitoring theory, participants whose mental imagery was less clear more readily endorsed an item modelling denial of Nazi cruelties. In a third experiment, these findings were replicated. In experiment 4, participants' WWII mental images were manipulated by means of film footage. Ultimately, it is argued that viewing film footage of poor quality results in unclear mental images of WWII, and that lack of clarity of WWII imagery is associated with a tendency to Nazi cruelties.

Adult↗

PubMed2005

Cognitive self-consciousness and meta-worry and their relations to symptoms of worry and obsessional thoughts.

The relation between cognitive self-consciousness and meta-worry, and their association with symptoms of worry and obsessional thoughts were examined. 53 undergraduate students completed the expanded version of the Cognitive Self-consciousness Scale, the Meta-worry subscale of the Anxious Thoughts Inventory, the Penn State Worry Questionnaire, and the Padua Inventory-Revised. Analysis showed that cognitive self-consciousness and meta-worry were moderately correlated (r =.57). Further, both constructs were positively associated with symptoms of worry and obsessional thoughts. When controlling for cognitive self-consciousness, metaworry remained significantly correlated to both types of symptoms. Yet, when controlling for meta-worry, correlations between cognitive self-consciousness and symptoms of worry and obsessional thoughts clearly attuned and were no longer significant. These findings suggest that meta-worry is more important for understanding excessive, intrusive thought patterns than the mere tendency to monitor one's thoughts.

Adult↗

PubMed2005

Characteristics of true versus false allegations of sexual offences.

The goal of the study was to establish whether false allegations of sexual offences with an unknown perpetrator can be distinguished from accurate allegations. Case files of 27 true allegations of sexual offences with an unknown perpetrator were compared to those of 14 false allegations. The comparison was guided by a list of 43 criteria that are hypothesized to differentiate between true and false allegations of sexual assault. Analyses indicated the employed criteria differentiated true from false allegations to a certain extent. However, the discriminative strength of some criteria appeared to be stronger than that of others. Research is required to assess further the discriminative power of these criteria.

Female↗

PubMed2003

How to suppress obsessive thoughts.

Thought suppression (i.e. consciously trying to avoid certain thoughts from entering consciousness) has been argued to be an inadequate strategy in case of unwanted intrusions. That is, thought suppression seems to result in more rather than less intrusions. Although this experimental finding has been explained in terms of failing attempts to distract oneself from the target thought, the White Bear Suppression Inventory (WBSI; a scale that measures chronic thought suppression tendencies) does not address the means by which respondents try to suppress unwanted thoughts. To examine which strategies of mental control people use to suppress unwanted thoughts, obsessive-compulsive disorder patients (N=47) completed the WBSI, the Thought Control Questionnaire, and two measures of psychopathology. Results suggest that the crucial mechanism in thought suppression may not be distraction, but self-punishment.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2003

The paradoxical effects of suppressing anxious thoughts during imminent threat.

In line with the ironic processing theory of Wegner (Psychol. Rev. 101 (1994) 34), it is often argued that the suppression of anxiety-related thoughts results in a paradoxical increase of anxiety and thought intrusions, both after and during the thought suppression. In a sample of undergraduate students (14 men, 18 women), we investigated the effects of suppressing anxious thoughts about an imminent painful electrocutaneous stimulus. During thought suppression, self-reported anxiety and frequency of anxious thoughts did not increase, and duration of anxious thoughts decreased. After thought suppression, participants experienced an increase in self-reported anxiety and the frequency of anxious thoughts. There was no effect upon thought duration. The results support the idea that suppression of anxiety-related thoughts may result in a paradoxical increase in anxiety, and may cause and/or maintain anxiety problems.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2002

Alters in dissociative identity disorder. Metaphors or genuine entities?

How should the different identities (i.e., alters) that are thought to be typical for dissociative identity disorder (DID) be interpreted? Are they just metaphors for different emotional states or are they truly autonomous entities that are capable of willful action? This issue is important because it has implications for the way in which courts may handle cases that involve DID patients. Referring to studies demonstrating that alters of DID patients differ in their memory performance or physiological profile, some authors have concluded that alters are more than just metaphors. We argue that such line of reasoning is highly problematic. There is little consensus among authors about the degree to which various types of memory information (implicit, explicit, procedural) may leak from one to the other alter. Without such theoretical accord, any given outcome of memory studies on DID may be taken as support for the assumption that alters are in some sense "real." As physiological studies on alter activity often lack proper control conditions, most of them are inconclusive as to the status of alters. To date, neither memory studies nor psychobiological studies have delivered compelling evidence that alters of DID patients exist in a factual sense. As a matter of fact, results of these studies are open to multiple interpretations and in no way refute an interpretation of alters in terms of metaphors for different emotional states.

Amnesia↗