Biomedical subjects

Mattias Desmet

Publications and source records attributed to Mattias Desmet.

6 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2007

Alexithymia and interpersonal problems.

This study examines whether alexithymia relates to specific interpersonal problems, based on data collected in a sample of mental health outpatients (N = 404) and a student sample (N = 157). Linear regression analysis, in which the effects of group, gender, and age were controlled, indicated that two interpersonal problems were significantly and reliably related to alexithymia: cold/distant and nonassertive social functioning. The theoretical relevance of the results for attachment and psychoanalytic theory is indicated, as well as implications of the findings for clinical practice.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2006

Relationship patterns in alexithymia: a study using the core conflictual relationship theme method.

BACKGROUND: Alexithymia is a disturbance in regulating affective states. Clinical observations suggest that alexithymic patients relate to others in a specific way. This paper explores whether specific relationship or transference patterns are typical of alexithymia. SAMPLING AND METHODS: Relationship patterns were assessed by means of the Core Conflictual Relationship Theme method, standard categories version. This method examines transference patterns and was applied to clinical interview data collected from a sample (n = 31) of mental health outpatients. Alexithymia was assessed by means of a score on the 20-item Toronto Alexithymia Scale corrected for the degree of depression (measured by the Beck Depression Inventory-II). Data were analysed by means of the leaps and bounds regression algorithm for selecting optimal subsets of indicators and by bootstrapping to determine 95% confidence intervals. RESULTS: First, we observed that alexithymia can be meaningfully explained by typical wishes, typical subjective perceptions of how others respond and one's own typical responses to others. This result indicates that the more marked a patient's alexithymic traits are, the more probable it is that specific transference themes come to the fore. Second, a set of three core indicators of trait alexithymia was mapped: little concern about being good to others, a strong perception of others as cooperative, and weak levels of reacting to others and to conflict by means of somatic symptoms. CONCLUSION: Alexithymia is related to a double interpersonal indifference: not much is expected from others, nor is there a personal urge to fulfill the expectations of others. Moreover, in alexithymia somatic symptoms proved to be non-reactive to interpersonal situations. Implications for diagnosis and treatment are highlighted. Limitations of our study are that alexithymia was only assessed with a self-report measure and that conclusions are based only upon data from a heterogeneous mental health sample.

Adjustment Disorders↗

PubMed2006

Core transference themes in depression.

BACKGROUND: Psychodynamic and psychoanalytic theories assume that depression is concomitant with typical transference patterns. We tested whether depression can indeed be understood in these terms, and determined a parsimonious set of transference themes that are most typical of depression. METHOD: Transference patterns were assessed with the Core Conflictual Relationship Theme (CCRT) method, which examines transference patterns (wishes, responses of the other, and responses of the self), and which was applied to clinical interview data from mental health outpatients. Depression was assessed with the Beck Depression Inventory-II. Data were analyzed by means of the leaps and bounds regression algorithm and bootstrapping. RESULTS: Depression can significantly be explained by typical wishes, typical subjective perceptions of how the other responds, and typical responses of the self to the other. We mapped a set of four transference themes that are most representative of depression: (1) a strong wish to feel happy guides interactions, (2) the perception that others dislike one is typical, (3) one's own reactions of disliking others are apparent, and (4) one experiences feelings of helplessness. LIMITATIONS: No control group was used. The limited amount of research in the field and the various methodological approaches in different studies make it difficult to compare our findings. CONCLUSION: Linking depression to transference patterns is valid. The set of transference themes that were selected cohere in a meaningful way. These themes can be expected when clinically treating depressed patients.

Adult↗

PubMed2006

The factorial structure of the Dutch translation of the inventory of interpersonal problems: a test of the long and short versions.

In this article, the authors study the factorial structure of 2 versions (64 items and 32 items) of the Dutch translation of the Inventory of Interpersonal Problems (IIP; L. M. Horowitz, L. E. Alden, J. S. Wiggins, & A. L. Pincus, 2000) in both a clinical sample (n = 382) and a student sample (n = 287). First, the authors test whether both inventories are constituted by correlated uni-dimensional subscales, and they conclude that this is true only for the short version. Second, the authors study whether the correlations between the subscales follow a circumplex pattern. This proves to be true for both versions. Coefficients alpha and correlations between the IIP-64 and IIP-32 subscales are discussed.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2006

Personality disorders and romantic adult attachment: a comparison of secure and insecure attached child molesters.

This study analyzed personality disorders in a group of 33 securely and 51 insecurely attached child molesters. A total of 51 child molesters were selected from a community based educational training program, and the other group was selected from a Belgian prison (n = 33). Research shows that adult attachment styles and personality disorders share a common underlying structure. It is remarkable that very little is known about differences between securely and insecurely attached child molesters. In this study, the authors found that the schizoid personality disorder differed between securely and insecurely attached child molesters. These findings have implications for the aetiology and treatment of child molesters. Future research is necessary to determine patterns of attachment in relationship to personality disorders.

Adult↗

PubMed2006

[Which core conflictual relationship themes are consistent with depressive symptoms? An exploratory study].

OBJECTIVES: We study the pattern of interpersonal alliances typical of depressive symptoms by means of the Core Conflictual Relationship Theme (CCRT) method. In an exploratory manner we examine which CCRT-coded wishes, perceived responses from the other and associated responses of the self predict the magnitude of a score on the Beck Depression Inventory-II. METHODS: Interview data from 31 mental health patients were coded (CCRT expanded standard categories system). Relations between the CCRT categories and the dependent variable were examined by combining 1000-fold forward stepwise regression analyses, and multiple regression analyses in which confidence intervals were estimated with the bootstrap technique. RESULTS: Three CCRT categories that jointly explain more than half of the variance were selected: diminished levels of the wish to be understood, and elevated levels of disliking others and of feeling helpless. CONCLUSIONS: The results and implications for psychotherapy are discussed within a psychoanalytic context. Suggestions for further research are indicated.

Adult↗