Dysfunctional Behavior Research Articles

Childhood Environmental Instabilities and Their Behavioral Implications: A Machine Learning Approach to Studying Adverse Childhood Experiences.

Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) include a range of abusive, neglectful, and dysfunctional household behaviors that are strongly associated with long-term health problems, mental health conditions, and societal difficulties. The study aims to uncover significant factors influencing ACEs in children aged 0-17 years and to propose a predictive model that can be used to forecast the likelihood of ACEs in children. Machine learning models are applied to identify and analyze the relationships between several predictors and the occurrence of ACEs. Key performance metrics such as AUC, F1 score, recall, and precision are used to evaluate the predictive strength of different factors on ACEs. Family structures, especially non-traditional forms such as single parenting, and the frequency of relocating to a new address are determined as key predictors of ACEs. The final model, a neural network, achieved an AUC of 0.788, a precision score of 0.683, and a recall of 0.707, indicating its effectiveness in accurately identifying ACE cases. The model's ROC and PR curves showed a high true positive rate for detecting children with two or more ACEs while also pointing to difficulties in classifying single ACE instances accurately. Furthermore, our analysis revealed the intricate relationship between the frequency of relocation and other predictive factors. The findings highlight the importance of familial and residential stability in children's lives, with substantial implications for child welfare policies and interventions. The study emphasizes the need for targeted educational and healthcare support to promote the well-being and resilience of at-risk children.

An examination of the mediating role of maladaptive emotion regulation strategies in the complex relationship between interpersonal needs and suicidal behavior.

Studies have shown that psychological factors, notably interpersonal needs and emotion regulation, play a significant role in suicidal behavior. Interpersonal needs are significant contextual components that affect emotion regulation and contribute to a wide range of dysfunctional behaviors, such as suicidal behavior. It has been postulated that emotion regulation mediates the associations between proximal and distal risk factors of suicidal behavior. The sample consisted of 340 community-dwelling individuals (62.5% women; SD = 0.48) with an age range of 18 through 55 (M = 30.23; SD = 8.54) who completed the interpersonal needs questionnaire, the suicide behaviors questionnaire-revised, and the cognitive emotion regulation questionnaire. The Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) approach was utilized to evaluate a mediation model. The findings indicate that interpersonal needs (i.e., perceived burdensomeness r = .55, p <.01 and thwarted belongingness r = .25, p <.01) and putatively maladaptive cognitive emotion regulation strategies (i.e., self-blame; r = .38, p <.01, catastrophizing; r = .55, p <.01, rumination; r = .40, p <.01, and other blame; r = .44, p <.01) have strong associations with suicidal behavior, and these strategies have a mediating effect on the association between interpersonal needs and suicidal behavior. Our findings show that contextual-interpersonal needs, which underpin suicidal behavior, are significantly influenced by maladaptive emotional processes. Thus, therapeutic outcomes might be enhanced by focusing on the content of the associated cognitions and trying to reduce maladaptive regulatory processes like rumination and catastrophization.

Impact of Cognitive Behavior Therapy on Sexual Dysfunction of Women in Reproductive Age: A Systematic Review

Background A large number of women suffer from sexual dysfunction. Cognitive behavior therapy (CBT) is a psycho-educational therapy the main purpose of which is to help the individual alter their dysfunctional beliefs and behaviors. We investigated the impact of CBT on reproductive-aged women’s sexual function. Methods The present study is a systematic review and meta-analysis in which a number of databases (Web of Science, PubMed, Scopus, Cochrane Library, and Embase) were searched from inception to November 2023. Clinical trials examining the impact of CBT on female sexual dysfunction were included. This study evaluated female sexual function and its components, including satisfaction, discomfort, lubrication, arousal, climax, desire, and assertiveness. We used Review Manager version 5.3 for performing the meta-analysis. P values less than 0.05 were considered statistically significant. Results Seven articles including a total of 448 women with sexual dysfunction were reviewed. The participants’ mean age in the CBT groups was 33.43 ± 6.04 years and that of the control group was 33.24 ± 5.97, which were not significantly different. Our results indicated that CBT is efficient in improving the total score of women’s sexual function (SMD = 1.34, 95% CI = (1.02, 1.65), I2 = 86%), sexual satisfaction, lubrication, desire, orgasm, and assertiveness compared with the control group. However, CBT had no positive effect on reducing sexual pain. Conclusion Based on the result of the current study, CBT can be suggested as an effective treatment method along with other treatments for women with sexual problems.

Self-compassion Predicts Higher Affective Well-being and Lower Stress Symptoms Through Less Dysfunctional Coping: A Three-wave Longitudinal Study During the COVID-19 Pandemic

This study examined whether self-compassion at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic predicted higher subjective well-being and lower psychopathological symptoms through more functional and less dysfunctional coping. Among 430 adults, self-compassion, coping, life satisfaction, positive and negative affect, and depressive, anxiety, and stress symptoms were assessed longitudinally over 6 weeks (from 04/2020 to 07/2020). Structural equation modeling revealed that self-compassion at T1 predicted more functional and less dysfunctional coping at T2 (controlling for coping at T1) and more positive and less negative affect and lower stress symptoms at T3 (controlling for these measures at T1). More functional and less dysfunctional coping at T2 (controlling for coping at T1) predicted higher subjective well-being and lower psychopathological symptoms at T3 (controlling for these measures at T1), with the sole exception that functional coping was not significantly associated with anxiety symptoms. In addition, we found that less dysfunctional coping mediated (a) nearly one-third (30.77%) of the association between higher self-compassion and less negative affect and (b) nearly half (46.15%) of the association between higher self-compassion and lower stress symptoms. These findings support the idea that a self-compassionate attitude prevents dysfunctional thoughts (e.g., self-blame) and behaviors (e.g., substance use) during stressful times, which in turn reduces negative affect and symptoms of stress.

Eating behavior in patients with metabolically associated fatty liver disease

The purpose of this study was to study the phenotypes of eating behavior in patients with NAFLD and their determining factors. Discussion: fatty liver disease has a high prevalence (24-26%) with an upward trend in both developed and developing countries, and in the coming years may become one of the main causes of liver transplantation. The clinical features of the disease are in most cases its asymptomatic course, which can progress to fibrosis/cirrhosis and is associated with the risk of a number of serious extrahepatic diseases (cardiovascular, oncological and others). The mechanisms underlying the formation of increased health risks and disease prognosis are multifactorial. Metabolic disorders, orthorexia nervosa, eating disorders and vegetative effects are considered as possible pathogenetic mechanisms for increasing the risk of NAFLD incidence. Conclusion: the study showed that complex behavioral psycho-social factors are involved in the pathogenesis of NAFLD, and changing eating behavior is an important component of therapy. Dysfunctional eating behavior can be a barrier to long-term success from therapy.

Do changes in beliefs and behaviours moderate improvement in insomnia after acquired brain injury?

Key mechanisms of change in cognitive behavioural therapy for insomnia in the general population encompass changing sleep-related beliefs and behaviours. In a population with acquired brain injury, cognitive behavioural therapy for insomnia is effective as well, but little is known about the mechanisms of change. The aim of this study was to evaluate how changing sleep-related beliefs and behaviours were associated with improvement in insomnia following blended cognitive behavioural therapy for insomnia in a population with acquired brain injury. A secondary analysis was performed on data of a randomized-controlled trial, including 24 participants that received blended cognitive behavioural therapy for insomnia, and 24 participants that received treatment as usual. Results showed that following blended cognitive behavioural therapy for insomnia, significantly more participants improved on dysfunctional beliefs and sleep-related behaviours and this was associated to improvement in insomnia severity. For sleep-related behaviours, the association between improvement on behaviour and improvement on insomnia was significantly moderated by blended cognitive behavioural therapy for insomnia. However, the relation between dysfunctional beliefs and insomnia was not moderated by type of treatment. Similar results were found for acquired brain injury-adapted versions of the questionnaires in which up to half of the items were excluded as they could be regarded as not dysfunctional for people with acquired brain injury. These results show that improvement on insomnia severity is related to improvement in dysfunctional beliefs and behaviours, and cognitive behavioural therapy for insomnia efficacy may be moderated by the improvement in behaviours in particular. A focus on these behaviours can enhance treatment efficacy, but caution is needed regarding the behaviours that may reflect adequate coping with the consequences of the acquired brain injury.

Comment: Injuries that Hurt – A Comment to “Embitterment – Conception of a Potential Moderator to Dysfunctional and Aggressive Behaviour in Children and Adolescents”

AbstractThis comment discusses the article of Balder and Linden (2022), who debate the existence and role of embitterment in child and adolescent psychopathology. This topic appears highly relevant, but broader literature should be integrated when talking about embitterment. First, we question the conceptualization of embitterment as an emotion. We conceptualize it as a long-term emotion episode that stems from events involving severe and unresolved hurt feelings, also referred to as attachment injuries and narcissistic injuries. When overly intense, they might lead to PTED. In contrast to Balder and Linden (2022), we argue that specific psychotherapeutic treatments exist. Nonetheless, we join Balder and Linden (2022) in calling for more attention for embitterment and hurt feelings and their role in developmental psychopathology.

When competitive rewards create obsessions with bottom‐line outcomes: A social interdependence theory perspective of the mediating role of bottom‐line mentality

SummaryWe rely on social interdependence theory to examine bottom‐line mentality (BLM) as a motivational state that explains the effects of competitive rewards on oppositional actions in the forms of decreases in interpersonal organizational citizenship behavior (OCBI) and increases in social undermining. In line with social interdependence theory, we also examine learning goal orientation as a motivational attribute that can weaken these effects, suggesting that in comparison to employees low on learning goal orientation, employees high on the attribute are less likely to respond to their BLMs (that result from competitive rewards) with dysfunctional behaviors, because these employees will pursue their bottom‐line outcomes with an innate motivation to learn. We tested our hypotheses with three studies: an experimental study, a multisource, field study from a U.S. corporation, and a diverse, multisource, time‐lagged field study. Results from the experimental study and first field study revealed that BLM mediated the negative relationship between competitive rewards and OCBI; the second field study replicated these findings and demonstrated support for our full moderated mediation model. We provide theoretical and empirical support for the notion that BLM can serve as a motivational state that explains the effects of competition on workplace behaviors and learning goal orientation influences these effects.

Dysfunctional behaviours in the Ghanaian public service: can spirituality and ethics offer solutions?

PurposeConcerns regarding the dysfunctional behaviours of public officials have sparked renewed interest in public service ethics and spirituality. While national and organizational systems have been established to eliminate dysfunctional behaviours such as corruption, sexual harassment and misuse of confidential information, the practice continues to have a demoralizing impact on developing countries. The study aims to intend to investigate the empirical relation between the application of spirituality and ethics in reducting dysfunctional behaviours within Ghana's Public Sector.Design/methodology/approachThe study conducted a qualitative case analysis that utilized 28 semi-structured interviews and four focus groups. Interviews and group discussions with public sector staff, managers and policymakers were used to collect qualitative data. This approach facilitated an in-depth investigation into their views on dysfunctional actions and the possible impact of workplace spirituality and ethics in the Ghanaian public service.FindingsThe study uncovered a persistent recurrence of dysfunctional behaviours, such as fraudulent activities, resource misuse, unofficial work and inappropriate use of official time. There was uncertainty regarding the effectiveness of integrating ethics and spirituality to curtail dysfunctional behaviours. Nevertheless, the results supported adopting spiritual and ethical rejuvenation in the public service as a universal solution to overcome these behaviours.Originality/valueThis study enhances comprehension of dysfunctional behaviours in Ghana's public service by providing insights into how spirituality and ethics can transform it. The potentials of workplace spirituality and ethics can lead to a strong public service that embodies accountability, integrity and effectiveness, thereby serving as a pivotal device for Ghana's holistic advancement.

Aggressive behaviors and oppositional defiant disorder: An analysis of the relationship between aggressive behaviors in childhood

Child development is a period of learning processes, which is why dysfunctional behaviors are common. However, these behaviors may exist situationally or, depending on their persistence, may constitute oppositional defiant disorder. The aim of this article was to carry out a systematic review of studies focusing on certain aggressive behaviors in childhood and the possibility of a relationship with the diagnosis of ODD (Oppositional Defiant Disorder), seeking to identify their causes and repercussions from early diagnosis. The search for articles was carried out in the Scielo; Lilacs; BVS databases during the months of March to May, using the terms: "Oppositional Defiant Disorder", "Childhood", "Aggressiveness" and "Behavior". Thus, this is a systematic review of the literature of an exploratory and descriptive nature in the year 2023. The final database included in the analysis consisted of 7 articles published from 2019 to 2023. However, the selected studies show a clear relationship between the influence of context on the development of oppositional defiant disorder in childhood, so children who develop in environments with aggressive communication tend to be more likely to be diagnosed with ODD (Oppositional Defiant Disorder).

COVID-19 Salgını Döneminde Anksiyete: Yaygınlığı, Etkileri ve Yatkınlık Faktörleri

Although infectious diseases have emerged in various periods of history, the outbreaks seen worldwide due to globalization have started to increase in recent years. Epidemics had significant effects on the psychological health of individuals. The most important effect of COVID-19 pandemic on individuals was anxiety. In the days when other pandemic diseases are at the door, the understanding of anxiety during the COVID-19 pandemic in individuals is a very important issue. In the COVID-19 outbreak, the general sample, university students, those diagnosed with COVID-19, and healthcare workers were the groups most affected by anxiety. In different countries, moderate anxiety symptoms in different waves of the epidemic ranged from 6.3% to 66.8% in the general sample, between 18.6% and 87.7% in university students, between 13.0-60.3% in people diagnosed with COVID-19, and between 13.0-51.6% in healthcare workers. In the follow-up studies, it was noted that the anxiety symptoms did not regress to the pre-pandemic level for a long time in these samples. According to the findings, anxiety associated with COVID-19 is associated with psychological health. As COVID-19-related anxiety increased, negative emotions, dysfunctional behaviors, sleep problems and depressive symptoms increased.The fact that anxiety is common, persistent and associated with other psychological symptoms during the epidemic made it necessary to understand the underlying factors of anxiety. Findings indicate that anxiety sensitivity, disgust susceptibility/sensitivity, intolerance to uncertainty, and health anxiety play a role in explaining anxiety symptoms associated with COVID-19. These susceptibility factors may contribute to the development of cognitive-behavioral oriented therapeutic and preventive intervention programs both during/after epidemic and future epidemics especially in the general sample, university students, those diagnosed with COVID-19, and healthcare workers.

Determinants of Dysfunctional Audit Behavior: Internal and External Factors

Determinants of Dysfunctional Audit Behavior: Internal and External Factors

The effect of social proximity, attribution, and guilt on accepting dysfunctional customer behavior

AbstractThis study examines how construal levels affect the acceptability of dysfunctional customer behavior following service failure in restaurants. Across three experimental studies with online panel respondents (n = 555), we found that consumers feeling psychologically close to service providers are less likely to deem deviant actions acceptable. This stems from the trust they place in socially close service providers and their perceptions of failure controllability. Additionally, anticipated guilt plays a pivotal role in reducing the acceptability of dysfunctional behavior, particularly when seen as opportunistic. Our findings have implications for both academics and managers in understanding and addressing customer behavior post-service failures.

Eating behavior in patients with metabolically associated fatty liver disease

The purpose of this study was to study the phenotypes of eating behavior in patients with NAFLD and their determining factors. Discussion: fatty liver disease has a high prevalence (24-26%) with an upward trend in both developed and developing countries, and in the coming years may become one of the main causes of liver transplantation. The clinical features of the disease are in most cases its asymptomatic course, which can progress to fibrosis/cirrhosis and is associated with the risk of a number of serious extrahepatic diseases (cardiovascular, oncological and others). The mechanisms underlying the formation of increased health risks and disease prognosis are multifactorial. Metabolic disorders, orthorexia nervosa, eating disorders and vegetative effects are considered as possible pathogenetic mechanisms for increasing the risk of NAFLD incidence. Conclusion: the study showed that complex behavioral psycho-social factors are involved in the pathogenesis of NAFLD, and changing eating behavior is an important component of therapy. Dysfunctional eating behavior can be a barrier to long-term success from therapy.

Is society caught up in a Death Spiral? Modeling societal demise and its reversal.

Just like an army of ants caught in an ant mill, individuals, groups and even whole societies are sometimes caught up in a Death Spiral, a vicious cycle of self-reinforcing dysfunctional behavior characterized by continuous flawed decision making, myopic single-minded focus on one (set of) solution(s), denial, distrust, micromanagement, dogmatic thinking and learned helplessness. We propose the term Death Spiral Effect to describe this difficult-to-break downward spiral of societal decline. Specifically, in the current theory-building review we aim to: (a) more clearly define and describe the Death Spiral Effect; (b) model the downward spiral of societal decline as well as an upward spiral; (c) describe how and why individuals, groups and even society at large might be caught up in a Death Spiral; and (d) offer a positive way forward in terms of evidence-based solutions to escape the Death Spiral Effect. Management theory hints on the occurrence of this phenomenon and offers turn-around leadership as solution. On a societal level strengthening of democracy may be important. Prior research indicates that historically, two key factors trigger this type of societal decline: rising inequalities creating an upper layer of elites and a lower layer of masses; and dwindling (access to) resources. Historical key markers of societal decline are a steep increase in inequalities, government overreach, over-integration (interdependencies in networks) and a rapidly decreasing trust in institutions and resulting collapse of legitimacy. Important issues that we aim to shed light on are the behavioral underpinnings of decline, as well as the question if and how societal decline can be reversed. We explore the extension of these theories from the company/organization level to the society level, and make use of insights from both micro-, meso-, and macro-level theories (e.g., Complex Adaptive Systems and collapsology, the study of the risks of collapse of industrial civilization) to explain this process of societal demise. Our review furthermore draws on theories such as Social Safety Theory, Conservation of Resources Theory, and management theories that describe the decline and fall of groups, companies and societies, as well as offer ways to reverse this trend.

EMDR in Three Adults With Severe Intellectual Disability and Posttraumatic Stress Disorder: A Multiple-Baseline Evaluation

Research on trauma treatment in people with severe intellectual disability (SID; IQ 20–35) is scarce, and controlled studies are lacking. This study examined the effectiveness of eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR) therapy using the storytelling method in three adults with SID and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). A multiple-baseline design was used to examine the effects of EMDR storytelling method on PTSD classification, PTSD symptoms, challenging behaviors, and dysfunctional behaviors in three adults with SID and PTSD. EMDR resulted in a significant decrease in PTSD symptoms, challenging behaviors, and most dysfunctional behaviors. None of the participants had a PTSD classification anymore after EMDR. Findings suggest EMDR to be effective in the treatment of PTSD in adults with SID. Follow-up research with a larger sample size is required.

Trauma and Percieved Internal Support of Police Officers in Kenya

Purpose: This paper explores how Police officers in Kenya and elsewhere in the globe play an irreplaceable role of ensuring security, law and order but are exposed to a wide range of potentially psychologically traumatizing events in the course of duty without adequate internal trauma informed support. This trauma potentiates them to develop Post Traumatic Stress Disorder which is associated with many dysfunctional behaviors like assault, homicide and suicide. &#x0D; Materials and Methods: Hermeneutic phenomenology approach is used to collect information from scholarly articles and media reports on the subject of police trauma and internal support. This data is then assessed to generate findings presented in this paper. Thirty case studies of Kenya police perpetrated assault, homicide or suicide are also selected randomly from the media to support the scholarly findings about work related police trauma and internal support.&#x0D; Findings: Kenyan police officers are exposed to traumatic events but police training and culture encourages hardiness, masculinity and repression instead of trauma informed coping. The case studies reveal that traumatized police officers in Kenya develop severe Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) which then presents in various psychological disorders and deviance like assault (14%), murder (30%), suicide (90%) and homicide (17%).&#x0D; Implications to Theory Practice and Policy: Police management should put in place trauma informed curriculum in police training and practice. Psychological and situational mediators should also be established as a priority for trauma prevention, mitigation and stress management. Researchers should go beyond highlighting police psychological morbidity to investigate models and interventions that work to prevent and speedily resolve police trauma.

Families and Their Firms Behaving Badly: A Review of Dysfunctional Behavior in Family Businesses

Family business research across academic disciplines has increasingly considered the causes of “bad behavior” in family firms and its impact. A review of this literature is important because different emphases in different disciplines may obscure the nature of dysfunctional behaviors in family firms. After reviewing 160 studies from 64 journals, we propose family firm dysfunction is better understood by emphasizing the roles the family and the firm’s external environment play because negative behavior often traces to family interactions predating firm engagement and to external pressures. We also present research questions to guide future studies on family firm dysfunction across disciplines.

Opening new vistas on obsessive-compulsive disorder with the observing response task

Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), a highly prevalent and debilitating disorder, is incompletely understood in terms of underpinning behavioural, psychological, and neural mechanisms. This is attributable to high symptomatic heterogeneity; cardinal features comprise obsessions and compulsions, including clinical subcategories. While obsessive and intrusive thoughts are arguably unique to humans, dysfunctional behaviours analogous to those seen in clinical OCD have been examined in nonhuman animals. Genetic, ethological, pharmacological, and neurobehavioural approaches all contribute to understanding the emergence and persistence of compulsive behaviour. One behaviour of particular interest is maladaptive checking, whereby human patients excessively perform checking rituals despite these serving no purpose. Dysfunctional and excessive checking is the most common symptom associated with OCD and can be readily operationalised in rodents. This review considers animal models of OCD, the neural circuitries associated with impairments in habit-based and goal-directed behaviour, and how these may link to the compulsions observed in OCD. We further review the Observing Response Task (ORT), an appetitive instrumental learning procedure that distinguishes between functional and dysfunctional checking, with translational application in humans and rodents. By shedding light on the psychological and neural bases of compulsive-like checking, the ORT has potential to offer translational insights into the underlying mechanisms of OCD, in addition to being a platform for testing psychological and neurochemical treatment approaches.

Determinan Perilaku Disfungsional Auditor Dimoderasi Sifat Machivellian

Objectives: This study aims to assess the impact of professional commitment, task complexity, and time budget pressure on auditors' dysfunctional behavior, considering Machiavellian traits as a moderating variable.Design/method/approach: Employing an associative quantitative approach, the research gathered data through the distribution of questionnaires to auditors in public accounting firms in the South Jakarta area. Probability sampling, utilizing the Slovin formula, was employed, resulting in 81 eligible respondents. Data analysis utilized the bootstrapping method, facilitated by SmartPLS version 4 software. Results/findings: The results reveal that professional commitment, task complexity, time budget pressure, and Machiavellian traits all exert a significant positive influence on auditors' dysfunctional behavior. Notably, Machiavellian traits only moderate the relationship between task complexity and auditors' dysfunctional behavior. In contrast, professional commitment and time budget pressure are not moderated by Machiavellian traits concerning auditors' dysfunctional behavior.Theoretical contribution: This study contributes to the literature by demonstrating that auditors' dysfunctional behavior is influenced by a combination of internal and external factors, supporting attribution theory.Practical contribution: The study offers insights for public accounting firms to focus on providing attention, supervision, and motivation to auditors, mitigating dysfunctional behavior and enhancing audit quality.LimitationsThis study’s limitations include its execution during peak season, leading to a predominance of junior and senior auditors responding to questionnaires, and a potential shortfall in questionnaire returns.