Biomedical subjects

Udo Simson

Publications and source records attributed to Udo Simson.

3 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2006

[Impact of attachment style, social support and the number of implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD) discharges on psychological strain of ICD patients].

OBJECTIVE It is well known fact, that the life of ICD patients is often affected by anxiety and depression. The number of ICD discharges is only a contributing factor explaining the variance of anxiety and depression. There have to be other factors that have more influence on the physical strain of ICD patients. In this study we examined the impact of attachment style and social support in addition to the number of ICD discharges. METHODS 119 out-patients at an out-patient ICD unit were examined consecutively with the following self report scales: (1) the State-Trait-Anxiety Inventory (STAI), (2) the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), (3) a short form of a social support questionnaire (F-SOZU), (4) the Bielefeld Partnership Expectations Questionnaire (BFPE) and (5) a specifically designed questionnaire for the assessment of sociodemografic data. To determine the frequency and timing of the ICD discharges we analysed the ICD data. RESULTS 38 % of the ICD patients reported enhanced anxiety levels and 37 % reported enhanced depression levels. Only 38 % of the ICD patients received discharges at all. Elevated levels of anxiety and depression were found in patients who showed insecure attachment styles, low social support, long-term treatment in hospital and a higher number of ICD discharges. To explain the variance of anxiety we found social support, attachment style, and the number of ICD storms to be contributing factors. To explain the variance of depression we found social support and time spent in hospital in the previous year to be contributing factors. CONCLUSIONS Almost half of the ICD patients suffer considerably from anxiety and/or depression. These patients have to be identified and treated psychotherapeutically. Patients who show insecure attachment styles, receive low social support, undergo long-term treatment in hospital and receive a higher number of discharges, especially so called ICD storms, bear the highest risk to develop psychological strain. Attachment style and social support have even more impact on the development of anxiety and depression than the number of ICD discharges. It has to be shown in future studies whether psychotherapy can improve the quality of life of ICD patients.

Aged↗

PubMed2005

[Alexithymia in a clinical sample].

OBJECTIVES: The Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS-20), is currently the most widely used measure of alexithymia. An alternative measure of alexithymic characteristics is the Levels of Emotional Awareness Scale (LEAS). Aim of the study was to investigate, wether LEAS and TAS-20 scores are associated with interpersonal problems, sociodemografic variables, and psychological strain in a construct conform direction. METHODS: 146 psychosomatically ill in-patients completed the TAS-20, the LEAS, the Symptom Check List (SCL-90-R) and the inventory for the assessment of interpersonal problems (IIP-D). RESULTS: Low emotional awareness (LEAS) was associated with male gender, absence of a stable partnership and low educational level. In contrast to LEAS, TAS-20 was significantly correlated with the majority of the SCL-90-R and IIP scales. CONCLUSIONS: The correlations between TAS-20 and IIP scales may be an indication for the validity of the measurement. The association between low emotional awareness and sociodemografic variables are costructconform and indicate a strong relationship between LEAS and variables, that represent real life.

Adult↗

PubMedDate not supplied

[Changes in alexithymia and emotional awareness during psychotherapeutic inpatient treatment].

The aim of the study was to investigate whether alexithymia and emotional awareness could be improved by psychotherapeutic inpatient treatment. The role of alexithymia and emotional awareness in predicting the treatment outcome was investigated. 48 psychosomatically ill patients completed German versions of the Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS-20), the Levels of Emotional Awareness Scale (LEAS), the Symptom Check List (SCL-90-R), the Global Assessment Scale of Function (GAF) and the "Beeinträchtigungs-Schwere-Score" (BSS) to assess the severity of patient psychological impairment. Psychotherapeutic inpatient treatment was associated with a decrease in alexithymia as measured by TAS-20. The expected improvement of emotional awareness failed to be statistically significant. This may be due to the smaller retest reliability of the LEAS. High scores in emotional awareness before therapy as measured by LEAS emerged as a predictor of successful psychotherapy with respect to GAF.

Adult↗