Psychic Vulnerability Research Articles

Bodies and spaces of insanity. Towards a new bond of care between the territory and psychiatric vulnerabilities

The paper reflects about the relationship between space and the body affected by psychiatric vulnerability. In 1978, with Law no. 180, Italy, the first nation in the world, closed psychiatric hospitals and established a system of treatment for mental discomfort widespread in the territories. However, this system has not yet been implemented and, at the same time, especially as a result of the CoViD-19 outbreak, psychic vulnerability continues to grow. In this perspective, the paper questions what new links of care can be woven between territory and mental health. It presents a survey on how the relationship between bodies (with particular regard to the female ones) and madness developed in Italy, through the reading of spatial – architectural and urban – devices which, since the birth of the psychiatric discipline in the mid-nineteenth century, have been used over time to ‘manage’ mental illness. The reflections here proposed dialogue with urban planning, summoning it to deal with the concept of ‘city that care’, understood as a project of mental health and social cohesion based on a new ‘alliance among bodies’ and between them and territorial resources.

“Nothing about us, without us”. Practical elaboration of experience experts in primary care

The health care sector sensed already for several years a shift in primary care to more complex situations and support questions. Tackling these challenges requires an integrated collaboration between health, wellbeing and social care. There was an urge to bring in a different approach of care. In order to fulfill that need Flanders was defined into 60 geographical areas in 2020: ‘The primary care zones’. Capturing local needs and working bottom-up became the foundation of the organization. The focus on goal-oriented, customized and integrated care made it possible to fill out the gap created by more complex situations.
 Representatives from health providers, welfare workers, local authorities and the person in need of care are brought together. The primary care zone promotes collaboration between these different partners. This extensive network ensures that primary care regions can as well pick up and unroll local needs as charges unrolled by the government.
 Person-centered care is the key to success of this new approach. Care and support goals from the people itself, depending on their quality of life, are the starting point. This in combination with more recognition for informal care, makes sure that socially vulnerable people are able to take control of their own life and the necessary care to sustain this. In order to realize a care policy in function of person-centered care, we need to listen to the people who live in our primary care zone. There’s continually increased attention and effort to cocreate and build our organization with socially vulnerable people. Self-determination and autonomy are ever highly valuated. As organization there’s the expectation of building bridges between professionals, but also between the professional and the client.
 The focus in the relationship between clients and professionals shifted the past years. There’s more attention for participation and democratic decision making and for the perspective of the people itself. Clients are not to be seen as passive recipients anymore. They say: ‘nothing about us, without us.’ and who are we to protest?
 In order to do so we established a group of 15 experts. From October 22 until November 23 we will meet up monthly to exchange ideas. The group has experience in different domains: informal care, chronic illnesses, poverty, addiction, psychic vulnerability, elderly care and disabilities. The experts hope to dive deeper into our participation process to show and explain to you how to co-design a care journey that responds to people’s needs. 
 Taking their experience in account, will help our board to pick up local needs and to adjust primary care to them. Focus on strength and possibilities of the people in the group are hereby necessary to accomplish our goal. Together with the group we strive to share the ownership on our plan of action We want them to have an impact on the policy and to cocreate an organization not only for them, but with them.

Borderline personality disorder and end of life: a major challenge

The care of patients suffering from a borderline personality disorder confronted with death is a relational and clinical challenge for interdisciplinary teams. In this specific context, the particular psychic vulnerability of these patients highlights multiple issues. Based on the scarce existing literature and our clinical experience, this article presents management strategies in order to best support this population weakened by serious illness as well as the interdisciplinary teams that care for them.

METAMORFOSES INTERCULTURAIS: O IMPACTO DA IMIGRAÇÃO NA SAÚDE MENTAL DE IMIGRANTES UNIVERSITÁRIOS LATINO-AMERICANOS

ABSTRACT: In contemporary educational scenario, marked by globalization and the valuing of academic education, immigrants leave their place of origin seeking better educational opportunities. When moving from their home countries, these immigrants will have to deal with the distance from the cultural and social references that guided their daily life and with the cultural and educational difference of the new context, which in turn, can generate a state of psychic vulnerability and suffering. Faced with this problem, this research aimed to understand the impacts of international migration on the mental health of undergraduate students at the Federal University of Latin American Integration (UNILA). To this end, we sought to identify the pre and post-migratory risk factors for students' mental health, post-migration psychological symptoms, and pre- and post-migratory protective factors. We conducted a qualitative investigation, with a descriptive, exploratory, and transversal character. For data collection, we used an intercultural sociodemographic form and semi-structured interviews. We systematized the results using the content analysis technique. Participants pointed out the difficulties they found, but immigration/academic mobility was also seen as the possibility to continue a life project.

MO956APPRAISAL OF PSYCHO-SOCIAL BURDEN AND QUALITY OF LIFE OF KIDNEY DONORS- IS THERE A DEEP ROOTEDAPPREHENSION ?

Abstract Background and Aims Living kidney donation is a very complex psychological experience for donor candidates as well as the recipients improving self-esteem and donor-recipient relationships on one hand while may add on to emotional stresses increasing psychic vulnerability and predisposition to the development of mental disorder. The present study aimed to look into psychosocial outcome among donor characteristics and quantification of the psychological impact of kidney donation. Method This was a retrospective random study conducted among 506 renal transplant donors from 2010 till 2018 at Department of nephrology and transplantation at a tertiary care centre in northern part of India. Results Majority of donors were females ie mothers (38.1%) and wife (35.5%). A total of 18.6% developed one or more co morbid illness following transplantation. Most of the donors (98.9%) were motivated by affection and love for the recipient and out of them (89.1%) felt that there were the first choice among the available donors. A majority of them (94.5%) felt that donation had positively affected their relationship and were respected. These donors showed lesser degree of both depressive and anxiety (HAD score 3.5) and depressive score (BDI II 4.8). Donation had upgraded the stature of the donor in the family and recipient which proved statically significant predictor on donor related outcome. Donors well being was dependant on recepients wellbeing and 20% of the donors felt or were made to feel the guilt of the graft failure or a poor outcome. Conclusion The study showed a positive acknowledgement for the donors from the recipients and society thus giving a meaning to life Need of the hours is greater post donation monitoring as well as due recognition among donors which can improve long term donor outcomes.

MO949APPRAISAL OF PSYCHO-SOCIAL BURDEN AND QUALITY OF LIFE OF KIDNEY DONORS- IS THERE A DEEP ROOTED APPREHENSION

Abstract Background and Aims Living kidney donation is a very complex psychological experience for donor candidates as well as the recipients improving self-esteem and donor-recipient relationships on one hand while may add on to emotional stresses increasing psychic vulnerability and predisposition to the development of mental disorder. The present study aimed to look into psychosocial outcome among donor characteristics and quantification of the psychological impact of kidney donation. Method This was a retrospective random study conducted among 506 renal transplant donors from 2010 till 2018 at Department of nephrology and transplantation at a tertiary care centre in northern part of India. Results Majority of donors were females ie mothers (38.1%) and wife (35.5%). A total of 18.6% developed one or more co morbid illness following transplantation. Most of the donors ( 98.9%) were motivated by affection and love for the recipient and out of them (89.1%) felt that there were the first choice among the available donors. A majority of them (94.5%) felt that donation had positively affected their relationship and were respected. These donors showed lesser degree of both depressive and anxiety (HAD score 3.5) and depressive score (BDI II 4.8). Donation had upgraded the stature of the donor in the family and recipient which proved statically significant predictor on donor related outcome. Donors well being was dependant on recepients wellbeing and 20% of the donors felt or were made to feel the guilt of the graft failure or a poor outcome. Conclusion The study showed a positive acknowledgement for the donors from the recipients and society thus giving a meaning to life Need of the hours is greater post donation monitoring as well as due recognition among donors which can improve long term donor outcomes.

The Importance of a Multi-Disciplinary Approach to the Endometriotic Patients: The Relationship between Endometriosis and Psychic Vulnerability.

Endometriosis is a chronic inflammatory condition, which is distinguished by the presence of the endometrial-like glands and stroma outside the uterine cavity. Pain and infertility are the most commonly expressed symptoms, occurring in 60% and 40% of cases, respectively. Women with endometriosis, especially those with pelvic pain, also have a greater vulnerability to several psychiatric disorders. There is, in particular, a tendency to contract affective or anxiety disorders as well as panic-agoraphobic and substance use disorders. Endometriosis with pelvic pain, infertility and psychic vulnerability usually leads to disability and a markedly lower quality of life for women of reproductive age. Thus, the burden of endometriosis is not limited to the symptoms and dysfunctions of the disease; it extends to the social, working and emotional spheres, leading to a severe impairment of global functioning. An analysis of scientific literature revealed a close relationship between specific temperamental traits, the expression of several psychiatric symptoms, chronicity of pain, risk of substance use and lower probability of a positive outcome. Endometriosis symptoms and the impact of related psychological consequences, increased vulnerability and the possible onset of psychiatric symptoms may influence coping strategies and weaken resilience, so triggering a vicious cycle leading to a marked deterioration in the quality of life. A multidisciplinary approach consisting of a medical team composed of gynecologists, psychologists, psychiatrists, experts in Dual Disorder, algologists and sexologists, would guarantee the setting of a target and taking the best decision on a personalized treatment plan. That approach would allow the prompt detection of any psychopathological symptoms and improve the endometriosis-related physical symptoms, bringing a healthier quality of life and a greater likelihood of a positive outcome.

Enjeux psychiques et psychopathologiques des croyances conspirationnistes : de la crise sanitaire du COVID-19 à la crise existentielle

ObjectivesResearch on conspiracy theories (CT) has increased significantly in recent years. Studies come from various disciplines in the field of the humanities and social sciences. They show in particular that adherence to CT rebounds at every moment of “crisis”. The health crisis we are experiencing is no exception: COVID-19 pandemic entails an “infodemic”, according to Tedros Ghebreyesus, General Director of the World Health Organization. Indeed, we are witnessing the production, and international dissemination, of false informations, including conspiracy explanations of the coronavirus and its consequences. This outbreak of CT is an opportunity to examine the psychological and psychopathological issues of this phenomenon in the face of the “crisis”, whether collective or individual, health or existential. MethodologyWe present a review of the important international scientific literature regarding CT related to the health crisis of the COVID-19. ResultsWork that addresses CT related to the COVID-19 crisis has resulted in more than fifty publications in recent months. This research is mainly in the fields of social psychology, medical psychology, differential psychology, political science and public health. The rates of adherence to CT related to COVID-19 are of great concern. The literature mentions predisposing factors to the adherence or diffusion of CT on COVID-19: inclination for CT in general, low level of education, low knowledge of the disease, high level of anxiety, acceptance of xenophobic policies, unfavourable attitude towards marginal groups, nationalist stance. Unsurprisingly, there is widespread agreement in the literature that the conspiracy-prone fringe of the population is less likely to comply with government recommendations related to contamination risks, such as handwashing, social distancing, wearing masks, and using diagnostic tests. This crisis thus demonstrates once again that the circulation of false news and adherence to CT is not just a marginal and inconsequential thinking: it concerns a very large part of the population, with a potentially tragic impact in terms of public health. While there is usually no significant difference in adherence to CT according to gender, it would seem that women are less affected by CT related to the COVID than men, regardless of their political affiliation. Finally, studies on the links between adherence to COVID-related CT and stress levels do not seem to reach a consensus. The same uncertainty can be found in work on other types of CT. ConclusionThese results suggest that in order to understand the psychological causes of CT, it may be useful to address the psychodynamic issues underlying adherence to these beliefs. In particular, a psychopathological approach to this phenomenon enables to understand these beliefs as a defensive solution to cope with psychic vulnerability. CT involves overproducing meaning, as delusion does: CT can be considered as the collective, cultural equivalent of a delusional production. Moreover, it is impervious to arguments and evidences, in the same manner as delusion. However, it differs from it by at least two major characteristics: it is shareable and socializing; it gives rise to a consistent attitude.

COVID-19 and intellectual disability/autism spectrum disorder with high and very high support needs: issues of physical and mental vulnerability

Purpose The COVID-19 outbreak has profoundly plagued the world, and current health efforts are focused on providing prevention and ensuring access to intensive services for people with the most severe symptomatology. Many reports have already described substantial psychological distress in the general population. Nevertheless, disasters tend to affect vulnerable subjects disproportionately, and individuals with intellectual disabilities/autism spectrum disorder with high and very high support needs (PwID/ASD-HSN) seem to be counted among the hardest hit populations. The present paper aims to provide a comprehensive discussion and evaluation of COVID-19 related issues specific to PwID/ASD-HSN. Design/methodology/approach Commentary on available literature and analysis of new preliminary data on PwID/ASD-HSN’s physical and psychic vulnerability factors. This knowledge is fundamental to provide families and caregivers special advice to counteract the risks associated with the current pandemic. Findings PwID/ASD-HSN represent one of the most vulnerable population to the COVID-19 outbreak and the associated factors of mental distress for several reasons, including multimorbidity, low levels of health literacy, difficulties to understand and communicate, reliance on other people for care, low compliance with complex hygiene rules, the strong need of routine/sameness and low adaptive skills. Originality/value In the present work, the authors analyze the specific factors of physical and mental vulnerability in PwID/ASD-HSN, corroborating the dissertation with a discussion on the first data published worldwide and with preliminary data collected on the Italian territory for what concerns prevalence rates of COVID-19 and complications in persons with PwID/ASD-HSN and signs and symptoms of psychic distress during the mass quarantine period.

Considerações sobre o assédio moral como fator contribuinte para os episódios depressivos no trabalho: a violência velada e o adoecimento mental do trabalhador

O trabalho é um importante elemento constituinte da identidade e subjetividade do ser humano, ao passo que também pode participar dos processos de construção do sofrimento físico ou psíquico decorrentes de demandas que vão além do que o indivíduo pode desempenhar em se tratando de suas potencialidades e limitações, sobretudo se ocorrem num ambiente com pouca de qualidade de vida no trabalho. O presente estudo, realizado mediante levantamento temático na literatura nacional, objetivou discutir a relação do assédio moral praticado nas organizações com eventuais prejuízos à saúde mental do trabalhador, especificamente o episódio depressivo. Com base nos principais indexadores científicos (Scielo, BVS-Psi, PepsiCo e Google Scholar) e a partir dos descritores “assédio moral and depressão”, com delimitação cronológica até julho de 2018, verificamos uma significativa quantidade de textos acerca do tema assédio moral, porém com pouca quantidade de textos correlacionando o assédio moral e os episódios depressivos no trabalho. Nossas considerações finais, contudo, apontam para a íntima relação entre assédio moral e a vulnerabilidade psíquica no trabalhador, e, por isso, propomos algumas ações estratégicas para a atuação da área de Gestão de Pessoas nas organizações, visando a prevenção e combate ao assédio moral.

Acceso a medicamentos para estudiantes que asisten al área de salud de la VOAE en ciudad universitaria de la UNAH

La Universidad Nacional Autónoma de Honduras (UNAH), a través de la Vicerrectoría de Orientación y Asuntos Estudiantiles (VOAE), ofrece a los estudiantes universitarios los servicios de bienestar estudiantil con diferentes áreas de atención para mantener una calidad de vida sana y disminuir el estrés. La investigación se enfocó en la población estudiantil que asiste al área de salud de ciudad universitaria, en busca de atención médica. Se encontró en el informe del área de salud y en la investigación realizada, que más del treinta y cinco por ciento (35 %) de la población total utiliza los siguientes servicios: consulta médica, odontológica, psicológica, análisis clínico y farmacia. Debido a los hallazgos encontrados, se propone la creación de un “Programa de educación en medicina preventiva en ciudad universitaria”, el cual consistirá en la implementación de una unidad ejecutora de todas las acciones coordinadas por el área de salud de la VOAE y las unidades académicas del área de salud involucradas y definidas para llevar a cabo actividades de formación y capacitación en materia de medicina preventiva, con el fin de educar para la prevención en salud oral, física, mental y vulnerabilidad psíquica. Lo anterior se logrará realizando conferencias, charlas y diferentes talleres de capacitación de manera continua y de ser posible con obligatoriedad, para incidir en la disminución de la medicina curativa del cuadro básico de enfermedades de ciudad universitaria, procurando reducir la cuenta presupuestaria institucional en la prescripción de medicamentos.Revista Portal de la Ciencia, No.11, diciembre 2016, 29-39

PRODUÇÃO CIENTÍFICA BRASILEIRA SOBRE SOFRIMENTO PSÍQUICO E DEPRESSÃO DA EQUIPE DE ENFERMAGEM NA EMERGÊNCIA

Os profissionais da enfermagem que trabalham nos setores de emergência e urgência estão mais suscetíveis ao sofrimento psíquico e à depressão, pois o ambiente profissional com as características e organização do trabalho de implica em constantes situações estressoras. Objetivo: identificar a produção científica brasileira sobre as causas do sofrimento psíquico e depressão da equipe de enfermagem que atua nos serviços de emergência. Metodologia: revisão integrativa de caráter exploratório e descritivo nas bases de dados Literatura Latino-Americano e do Caribe em Ciências da Saúde (LILACS) e o repositório Scientific Electronic Library Online (Scielo), com as palavras-chave: “sofrimento psíquico” e “emergência” e “depressão”, no período de 2010 a 2016, resultando em uma amostra de sete estudos. Resultados: causas da depressão e sofrimento psíquico são a violência sofrida no seu ambiente de trabalho, os atendimentos emergenciais e os fatores organizacionais como o ambiente físico, normas institucionais, burocracia, comunicação, autonomia, recompensas, segurança) que com outros fatores como os pessoais e do trabalho, a dificuldade em separar o que é estresse físico ou psicológico e a vulnerabilidade psíquica a qual estes profissionais estão expostos, fatos estes que que podem estar associadas a sintomas de sofrimento psíquico e depressão. Conclusão: é necessário a elaboração de ações de prevenção e promoção da saúde do trabalhador que atuam na emergência, principalmente com foco multiprofissional. Ações como a elaboração de grupos de discussão e a prática da escuta qualificada com o auxílio de um psicólogo, poderiam ser implementadas.

Panic disorder: clinical phenomena and treatment options

Panic disorder is a common mental disease with high psychiatric comorbidity. It is considered that a combination of genetic predisposition and a special psychic vulnerability plays a key role in the occurrence of panic disorder. Clinically proven efficacy in the treatment of panic disorder have benzodiazepines, tricyclic antidepressants, monoamine oxidase inhibitors, selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors and selective serotonin and norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors; antidepressants from other pharmaceutical groups are also used. Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors are the first line medicines in the treatment of panic disorder. Atypical antipsychotics may be used for the therapy augmentation in addition to first line drugs. Psychotherapy is used along with medications, and a combination of pharmacotherapy and cognitive behavioral therapy is the best method of treatment.

Black Rage: On Cultivating Black National Belonging

In performances in Atlanta; Philadelphia; Washington, DC; Los Angeles; Rio de Janeiro; Chicago; and Denver in 2012, Ms. Lauryn Hill carved out space to voice black rage. In videos uploaded to YouTube, Hill sings, raps, talks, and riffs varied renditions of the song “Black Rage (Sketch),” a remix of Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II's “My Favorite Things.” During her November performance at the Electric Factory in Philadelphia, drumbeats punctuated Hill's rapping and singing. Her performance took the audience on a journey meant to leave no one behind; it moved from the highly choreographed rendition of the song with musical accompaniment and Hill acting as lead vocalist and band conductor to her slowly speaking the lyrics of the song and occasionally offering analysis of her words over the shouts and applause of audience members. She explains the line “when I'm feeling sad,” saying “that's a depressive mood.” As the title of her song suggests, in each reiteration Hill issues a different draft of the song, sketching her sound, mood, tempo, and emphasis with each new audience. Although renditions of the song shift, the lyrics consistently recount the physical, psychic, economic, and environmental vulnerability of black people in the United States. The lyrics transform the original song's references to beloved objects—“blue satin sashes” and “snowflakes”—into ironic things such as “Black human packages tied up in strings,” which Hill described in her Philadelphia performance as a reference to bureaucracy but which also resonates with familiar images of lynching. Shifting from the original song's depiction of the curative capacity of things to offset feeling bad, Hill explains that her set of things prevents fear: “I simply remember all these kinds of things and then I don't fear so bad!”

Clínica intercultural: a escuta da diferença

The migration process involves the experience of living with different cultures and diff erent world views, going beyond the geographical displacement. Given the involuntary nature of their displacement, refugees and immigrants post-natural disasters bring with them an even greater specificity of such experience. The various changes generated by the migration process as a whole can lead immigrants to a state of psychic vulnerability. Aware of these issues, in 2012 the university extension project Clinica Intercultural began its activities. The Center’s main goal is to provide psychological care for immigrants and refugees through a qualified hearing of psychological distress. This is done by taking into account the cultural dimension in search of the person’s dynamic equilibrium, by recognizing their role in the psychic structure. Over the time, the project sphere of action extended beyond the limits of clinical psychology, consolidating its political and social character in relation to immigration in the Brazilian context. This article is an experience report that presents the path of Clinica Intercultural with its respective activities, public profile and clinical devices. The work has achieved the following positive results: recognition expansion of the clinic work in the community; the systematic awareness of some services about the issue; and the political engagement with other institutions, contributing to hosts and integration strategies of immigrants and refugees in the metropolitan region of Florianopolis.Keywords: Intercultural Clinic Psychology, immigrants, refugees, ethnopsychiatry.

Making up 'national trauma, in Israel: From collective identity to collective vulnerability.

We sketch a variety of institutional, discursive, professional, and personal 'vectors', dating back to the 1980s, in order to explain how 'national trauma' was able to go from a cultural into a professional category in Israeli mental health during the Al-Aqsa Intifada (2000-2005). Our genealogy follows Ian Hacking's approach to transient mental illnesses, both illustrating its fertility and expanding its horizon. Thus, we also explore the dynamics that developed in the Israeli mental health community with the advent of 'national trauma': while the vast majority of Israeli psychologists and psychiatrists did not adopt the category, they embraced much of its underlying logic, establishing a link between Israeli identity and the mental harm said to be caused by Palestinian terror. Remarkably, the nexus of national identity and collective psychic vulnerability also prompted the cooperation of Jewish and Palestinian-Israeli mental health scholars seeking to explore the psychological effect that the minority status of Israeli Palestinians had on them during the Al-Aqsa Intifada.

Role of the Family Support in Psychotic Decompensation During Pregnancy and Postpartum Among Patients with Schizophrenia

Introduction The pregnancy and the postpartum are two periods of intense psychic vulnerability in particular for women suffering from schizophrenia. The role of the family is paramount during this difficult period. Aims To investigate the role of the family assistance in the triggering of the psychotic decompensation and relapses of women suffering from schizophrenia during pregnancy and postpartum. Methods This was retrospective descriptive study, including 30 women patients suffering from schizophrenia and mothers of a child of less than two years. Data was collected from patients’ clinical files. Information obtained was recorded on a pre-established questionnaire. Results The average age of the patients was 39 years. 80% of the patients were married at the time of the study. The quality of the marital relation was considered to be rather good in 66.66% of the cases, rather bad in 26.66% and was absent for two patients. 40% of the patients faced marital conflicts during the pregnancy and 47% during the postpartum. A good marital support was noticed in 67% of the cases during the pregnancy and 63% of the cases during the postpartum. The patients' mothers were present during the pregnancy in 53% of the cases and during the postpartum in 60%. The patients who were hospitalized for a psychotic decompensation of the postpartum were in 75% of the cases those whose mothers were absent. Conclusion The support of the family during the pregnancy and the postpartum is important in the prevention of psychotic decompensation of the patients suffering from schizophrenia.

EPA-1276 – Internet use and abuse: attachment and new forms of psychopathology

DSM 5 (2013) solicits more empirical data on Internet Addiction (IA) before its inclusion in the Manual. The objective of the present study was to deepen the relation between internet use and abuse among adolescents and attachment variables. AIMS The aim of the study was to define a psychological profile of adolescents that may enable to discriminate the variables that mark the border between internet use and abuse. 435 adolescents (F=221; M=214) aged 13 to 18 years (mean=15,25; S.D.=1,75) completed the following measures: BFAS - The Bergen Facebook Addiction Scale (Andreassen, et. Al. 2012); SPQ - Shorter Promis Questionnaire (Italian adaptaation Baiocco et.al. 2005); MPIQ - Mobile Phone Involvement Questionnaire (Walsh et.al., 2010); UCLA - Loniless Scale (Russel, 1996); Self Disclosure Online (Schouten et.al. 2007); IPPA – Inventory of Parent and Peer Attachment (Armsed e Greenberg, 1989; SCL-90 - Symptom Check List (Derogatis, 1980) Camir (Pierrehumbert 1996). Data showed that ‘digital’ identity is common within the new multitasking generation of not-clinical adolescents, whereas internet abuse is linked to psychic vulnerability and to emotional neglect. Attachment security, as manifested by secure perception of attachment to parents and friends, the capacity to express emotions, the ability to balance online and offline friendships and psychological wellbeing predict an adequate use of Facebook, preventing internet abuse.

Ambivalent / Preoccupied Attachment and Emotional Vulnerability in Adolescence

Attachment research, which began with children but was subsequently extended to adolescents and adults, has informed psychoanalytic theory and deepened our understanding of the essential continuities and discontinuities of development. This paper briefly reviews attachment theory and considers the relevance of ambivalent-preoccupied attachment, one of two types of insecure attachment, for understanding psychic vulnerability during adolescents. How current social and economic conditions have exacerbated the effects of ambivalent-preoccupied attachment on the attainment of the developmental tasks of adolescence is also considered.

Ambivalent / Preoccupied Attachment and Emotional Vulnerability in Adolescence

Attachment research, which began with children but was subsequently extended to adolescents and adults, has informed psychoanalytic theory and deepened our understanding of the essential continuities and discontinuities of development. This paper briefly reviews attachment theory and considers the relevance of ambivalent-preoccupied attachment, one of two types of insecure attachment, for understanding psychic vulnerability during adolescents. How current social and economic conditions have exacerbated the effects of ambivalent-preoccupied attachment on the attainment of the developmental tasks of adolescence is also considered. Keywords: Attachment, development, psychopathology, adolescence, psychotherapy