Pessimistic Thoughts Research Articles

オプティミストは健康か?

The purpose of this study is to develop the Japanese version of the Life Orientation Test(Scheier & Carver, 1985), and to examine the relationship between the tendency of optimism and the physical and psychological health. 1,149 university students were requested to perform the Japanese version LOT and the following scales: Cornell Medical Index (CMI), Feeling of Health Inventory, General Self-Efficacy Scale (GSES) and Self-rating Depression Scale (SDS), which were used as indices of psychological health. The scores of height, weight, systolic and diastolic blood pressure, and the result of urinary examinations (albumin, urinasanguinis and score of blood sugar) were used as indices of of physical health. As the result of a factor analysis, two factors were extracted for LOT: positive thinking for the present and the future (P-thinking), negative thinking for the past (N-thinking). On the relationship between the tendency of optimism and psychological health, multiple regression analysis revealed that P-thinking influenced to the psychological health, correlating with it. Furthermore the result of the ANOVA suggested that an individual who showed higher P-thinking or lower N-thinking was healthier subjectively. Especially, the tendency not to think optimistic influenced for the depressive mood. On the physical health, all subiects were divided into three groups: slim, standard, and obese groups, according to their BMI scores. The results of the ANOVA suggested that subjects in the obese group had more N-thinking than Ss in the slim group. As a result of t-test revealed that high blood pressure group showed more N-thinking than the standard group. Therefore, it was proved that an individual, who was not healthy physically, tended to have N-thinking. It was suggested that an individual, who think optimistic, can behave actively without fear for failure, and might get success. lt was also suggeted that pessimistic thinking was a cause of becoming depressive and optimistic thinking decrease depressive mood.

Reconstruction of MADRS in Benin: a contribution to the study of its cross-cultural validity

SummaryIn order to evaluate the validity of the Montgomery and Asberg Depression Rating Scale (MADRS) in a Black African context, the MADRS construction study was replicated in Benin (West Africa) following the same initial procedure. Ninety-two Beninese French-speaking, major depressed out-patients were rated with the French version of the CPRS and were administered 75 mg/day clomipramine for 4 weeks. Forty-nine patients were rated at the end of the period. A list of items with a frequency higher than 70% was pre-selected from this data in strict accordance with the Montgomery and Asberg procedure; the ten items most sensitive to change Were then extracted from this list. The new scale shared eight of the ten MADRS items. Only pessimistic and suicidal thoughts, perhaps culture-bound, were absent and replaced in the new list by reported muscular tension and reduced sexual interest. None of the classic African symptoms involving somatic complaints or persecution ideas were selected by the procedure. The interest of using a shortened version of the MADRS, limited to the common eight items, is discussed.

Psychopathology during long‐term lithium treatment of patients with major affective disorders

Thirty-seven patients with major affective disorders according to DSM-III and on continuous lithium treatment were followed during a 7-year period. Outcome was assessed by use of the Comprehensive Psychopathological Rating Scale and by the need for additional psychotropic medication and for hospital and outpatient care. Anamnestic variables and patient's attitudes to their lithium medication were also included in the analysis of outcome, as were laboratory data, including lithium parameters. An increase in psychopathology was demonstrated in a significant number of patients and was attributed mainly to an increase in the depressive symptoms, with a significant increase in the rated scores for fatiguability, pessimistic thoughts, reduced sleep, and inner tension. Suicidal thoughts were common, but no suicide attempts were made. A significant number of patients complained of failing memory, but no significant progression was demonstrated during the 7-year study period. The increase in the depressive symptoms was closely correlated with the number of hospital admissions for depressive recurrence and with the number of days in hospital. The following factors showed a significant relationship with the increase in depressive symptoms: serum lithium levels, large increase in the elimination half-life of lithium, low level of social functioning, low TSH values, and need of concomitant administration of antidepressants and benzodiazepines.

Relationships between clinical symptoms and monoamine metabolite concentrations in biochemically defined subgroups of depressed patients

In 28 patients with primary depression, relationships were sought between rating scores on the Montgomery-Asberg Depression Rating Scale and the concentrations of the monoamine metabolites 5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid (5-HIAA), homovanillic acid (HVA) and 4-hydroxy-3-methoxyphenylglycol (HMPG) in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF). Among the single items in the rating scale, reported sadness correlated negatively with HMPG. No other significant relationships were found in the total group of patients. However, in subgroups with low or high concentrations of monoamine metabolites, several significant relationships were found, such as a negative correlation between inner tension and concentration difficulties, respectively, and 5-HIAA in the low-HMPG subgroup. Curvilinear relationships were found between pessimistic thoughts and 5-HIAA in the high-5-HIAA subgroup and between apparent sadness and 5-HIAA in the low-HMPG subgroup. Suicidal thoughts tended to correlate in a curvilinear way with the ratio of HMPG/5-HIAA in the low-HVA and the high-HMPG subgroups, but the curves were mirrored. The results indicate that relationships between clinical symptoms and monoamine metabolite homeostasis in CSF are qualitatively and quantitatively different in defined high-and low-monoamine subgroups of depressed patients.

The Place of Theory in Educational Research

very much aware that educational research is a minor activity compared with education as a whole. All of us probably feel on occasion that there is little hope that educational research, given the small national effort devoted to it, will have any real impact on education as a whole. Such pessimistic thoughts are not historically, I think, supported by the evidence, especially when we look at the evidence outside of education as

Editorial [Intro to the Special Issue on Nonlinear Circuits

The Special Issue on Nonlinear Circuits includes nine papers and five correspondence items. Given the extremely short lead time between the first announcement and the deadline for submission, this performance demonstrates the vigor of the field. The contents display the variety of problems attacked, the multiplicity of methods used, and the variety of concepts presented. This performance puts to lie all those whose pessimistic thoughts lead them to claim that circuit theory is "dead." All authors deserve a special vote of thanks for their efforts, both in performing their research and in meeting the demands of reviewers and editors.