Self-transcendence Research Articles

The relationship between cognitive reappraisal strategy and skin picking behaviours in a non-clinical sample depends on personality profile

The purposes of the present study were to: 1. examine the relationship between naturally occurring personality profiles and skin picking in a non-clinical sample; 2. verify whether personality patterns may interact with emotion regulation strategies in their effect on skin picking.The study sample consisted of 240 adults (207 women and 33 men; age M = 23.87; SD = 5.32). Variables were assessed using Temperament and Character Inventory, Emotion Regulation Questionnaire and Skin Picking Scale-Revised.The study identified three personality clusters. It was found out that individuals belonging to the cluster characterized by elevated Novelty Seeking (NS), elevated Harm Avoidance (HA), elevated Self-Transcendence (ST), average Reward Dependence (RD), decreased Persistence (P), decreased Self-Directedness (SD) and decreased Cooperativeness (CO) declared the highest level of skin picking behaviours. Moderation analyses revealed that cognitive reappraisal strategy was associated with a lower level of skin picking but only among individuals characterized by low NS and HA, as well as high RD, SD, C and ST.Results suggest that personality profile may constitute an important risk factor which underlies skin picking development and may change the effectiveness of applying emotion regulation strategies in skin picking treatment.

Psychiatric Assessment in Patients with Mild Temporal Lobe Epilepsy.

Objectives The findings of previous studies focused on personality disorders in epileptic patients are difficult to interpret due to nonhomogeneous samples and noncomparable methods. Here, we aimed at studying the personality profile in patients with mild temporal lobe epilepsy (mTLE) with psychiatric comorbidity. Materials and Methods Thirty-five patients with mTLE (22 males, mean age 40.7 ± 12.1) underwent awake and sleep EEG, 3T brain MRI, and an extensive standardized diagnostic neuropsychiatric battery: Temperament and Character Inventory-Revised (TCI-R), Beck Depression Inventory-2, and State-Trait Anxiety Inventory. Drug history was collected in detail. Hierarchical Cluster Analysis was performed on TCI-R data, while all other clinical and psychological variables were compared across the resulting clusters. Results Scores of Harm Avoidance (HA), Reward Dependence (RD), Persistence (P), Cooperativeness (C), and Self-Transcendence (ST) allowed the identification of two clusters, describing different personality subtypes. Cluster 1 was characterized by an early onset, more severe anxiety traits, and combined drug therapy (antiepileptic drug and Benzodiazepine/Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors) compared to Cluster 2. Conclusions Our findings suggest that different personality traits may play a role in determining the clinical outcome in patients with mTLE. Specifically, lower scores of HA, RD, P, C, and ST were associated with worse clinical outcome. Thus, personality assessment could serve as an early indicator of greater disease severity, improving the management of mTLE.

Influence of business ethics practices on organizational based self-esteem : Focus on the moderation of CEO’s entrepreneurship and self transcendence

기존 문헌들은 윤리경영제도가 다양한 조직의 변수에 영향을 준다는 것을 밝혀왔다. 그러나 윤리경영제도의 시행은 최고 경영자의 실천의지가 중요하다. 조직 내 제도의 구성과 이행은 최고 경영자의 정신과 가치가 반영되어 있기 때문에 이러한 요인들이 조직 내 제도 이행에 큰 영향을 주기 때문이다. 본 연구에서는 윤리경영제도와 구성원의 조직기반자긍심 간의 관계에서 최고 경영자의 기업가정신과 자기초월가치가 어떻게 영향을 미치는지 살펴보고자 한다. 이를 위해 본 연구는 국내 주요 기업 100곳의 최고 경영자와 인사담당자, 조직 구성원을 대상으로 설문조사를 실시하여 연구 분석을 진행하였다. 실증분석 결과 윤리경영제도와 조직구성원의 조직기반자긍심간에 유의미한 관계가 있음을 분석하였고, 최고 경영자의 기업가정신이 윤리경영제도와 조직기반자긍심간의 관계를 유의미하게 조절하는 것으로 나타났다. 본 연구는 위의 분석 결과를 바탕으로 이론적, 실무적 시사점을 제시하였다.

Study of the formation of women’s spirituality aiming to conciliate self-transcendence and self-identity: Focus on Letty Mandeville Russell, Maria Harris, and Anne E. Streaty Wimberly

Study of the formation of women’s spirituality aiming to conciliate self-transcendence and self-identity: Focus on Letty Mandeville Russell, Maria Harris, and Anne E. Streaty Wimberly

Parental style and Cloninger's model in psychosis

Parental style and Cloninger's dimensions are associated with psychosis, but it is still unclear whether temperament, character and parenting variables are linked to specific psychotic symptoms. This study extends previous research exploring these issues. 78 patients with psychosis and 156 control subjects were recruited. Parental style was evaluated using the Measure of Parental Style. Temperament and character were evaluated using the Temperament and Character Inventory-Revised. Psychotic symptoms were assessed using the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale. T-tests, correlations and moderation and mediation analyses were performed. Patients reported dysfunctional parenting and had higher scores for harm avoidance (HA) and self transcendence (ST), and lower scores for self directedness (SD) and cooperativeness (CO) than controls. Maternal indifference, abuse and overcontrol were correlated with positive symptoms (PS). Novelty seeking (NS), reward dependence, SD, CO were correlated with PS; HA and ST were correlated with negative symptoms. After adjusting for age, gender and family history of psychopathology lower CO partially mediated the relationship between maternal abuse and PS; the positive NS-maternal abuse interaction was associated with PS. Different parenting and personality variables may be associated with different psychotic symptoms. NS and CO may be part of a pathway between maternal abuse and PS.

SELF-TRANSCENDENCE IN OBSESSIVE COMPULSIVE DISORDER: AN EXPLORATORY STUDY OF PSYCHOPATHOLOGICAL, SOCIODEMOGRAPHIC AND CLINICAL ASPECTS

The obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is a chronic disease that can cause serious functional and family impairment. According to Cloninger 's personality model some temperament and character factors have been associated with specific psychopathology and disease severity of OCD. However, some trait characters like self-transcendence (ST) still wasn’t properly explored in this context. Descriptions of religious content of OCD symptoms are found in sacred books from the 2nd century and are called scrupulosity. There are few studies evaluating the role of spirituality in the OCD concept, which differs from religion, since spirituality could be defined as the focus on spiritual things and the spirit world rather than on earthly and physical things, while religion is a set of beliefs and rituals that claim to put his followers in a right relationship with God. This article aims to assess whether the construct of SF in Temperament and Character Inventory (TCI) may be related to the concept of spirituality and if it could have a protective property in OCD psychopathology. This is an exploratory case-control study involving 49 patients with OCD divided into two groups: high and low ST. Variables with a P<0,2 in the univariate analysis, respecting multicollinearity and clinical-epidemiologic relevance, were included in a multiple logistic regression analysis (with forward variable selection and Wald statistics to denote significance of variables in the model) to determine if the factors were independently associated to higher ST. Results: High ST was associated to the diagnosis of major depression (Odds ratio =7.87, p=0.042), and to the scores of contamination and cleaning dimensions according of the DYBOCS (Dimensional Yale Brown Obsessive-Compulsive Scale) (Odds ratio =1.56, p=0.004). Patients with high ST also showed higher family suffering (p=0.02) and better quality of life (QoL) (specifically on physical dimension (p=0.05) and social concerns (p=0.03)), but those variables did not remain at the regression model. According to literature, the association of high ST and Harm Avoidance and low Self-Directness traits can constitute a schizotypy marker, and therefore may represent vulnerability to mood disorders, such as major depression. This aspect could also explain the association of high-ST with higher family suffering (also found in this study), since these patients have higher unemployment and social withdrawal and thus require greater family care. One hypothesis to explain the strong association to major depression comorbidity is that the ST is high in more severe OCD patients as those with comorbid major depression and, in this case, it could be associated with magical thinking, thought-action fusion and even psychotic symptoms. That is, instead of representing transpersonal identification and spiritual acceptance transcendence could reflect loss in the definition of the self. However, longitudinal studies are necessary to further investigate the direction of cause and effect of these aspects. ST could not be considered a protective factor in OCD as it is associated with worsening of contamination/cleaning OCD symptoms and comorbid depression.

Influence of Personality Traits on the Severity of Alcohol Use Disorders.

Introduction: Alcohol Use Disorders (AUD) are the most prevalent psychiatric diagnosis in the general population. The study of personality characteristics, using Cloninger Personality Inventory (TCI-R), allows us to know the evolution of these patients at the beginning of treatment. Material and Method: We conducted a cross-sectional, observational and descriptive study for 3 years with a total of 304 patients. We studied the severity of their alcohol disorder by the Alcohol Dependency Intensity Scale (EIDA), Scale of Obsessive Consumption Compulsive (OCDS) and European version of the Addiction Severity Index (EUROPASI); we studied the relationship with the personality traits of TCI-R. Results and conclusions: The personality lines influence the evolution of alcohol use disorder (AUD). People with higher scores on Reward Dependency (RD), Persistence (P), Cooperation (CO) and Autotranscendence (ST) have a better prognosis while people with higher scores on Search for Novelty (SN) and Avoidance of Damage (AD) have a worst prognosis. Women present differences in consumption in relation to men, as a consequence of their personality. Women have lower scores in Persistence (P) y Self-Transcendence (ST) which are associated with the greater severity of their addiction.

The Risk Model of Developing Schizophrenia Based on Temperament and Character.

Cloninger's psychological model of temperament and character confirms that the personality development is influenced by biological and psychological processes. The aim of this study is to examine personality dimensions and to determine which variable separates the healthy from the ill in the best way and could be a possible psychological marker for the presence of the illness. This research included 152 subjects, 76 patients with schizophrenia and 76 healthy controls, selected on the basis of medical interviews, random population sampling model from a wider social community using the independent T-Tests. The Temperament and Character Inventory (TCI), which compared personality traits of the patients with schizophrenia and the healthy control group, was used. Dependence of variables in these categories was assessed using the Chi-square and Fisher's tests, and the impact of variables on schizophrenia was tested using univariate and multivariate binary logistic regression. The same method was used for making the mathematical model. Unlike the control group, patients with schizophrenia exhibited higher Harm avoidance (HA) and Self - transcendence (ST) scores as well as lower Self - directedness (SD) and Cooperativeness (C) scores. Multivariate binary logistic regression showed that Responsibility, Purposefulness, Resourcefulness, Cooperativeness and Compassion dimensions were significantly more present in the patients with schizophrenia. The new variable Model (area=0.896, p<0.0005) is composed of five TCI parameters. It proved to be a reliable marker for separation the healthy from the ill ones (area=0.896, p<0.0005). It has a good sensitivity (80%) and specificity (84%). Research has emphasized variables in the temperament and character inventory, which are the best markers for distinguishing between the healthy and the ill, thus making the mathematical model.

Temperament and character in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus

BackgroundIn addition to identified neuropsychiatric characteristic of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), changes in personality seem to occur in patients with SLE. Even in absence of an axis I psychiatric diagnosis, personality variations play important role in general wellbeing of these patients. This study investigated personality features in patients with SLE using Temperament and Character Inventory (TCI). MethodIn this case-control study personality features of 59 patients with confirmed diagnosis of SLE were evaluated using Persian version of TCI-125 questionnaire. Collected data from patients with SLE were statistically compared with normative data for Iranian population. ResultsAmong four subscales of temperament, reward dependence (RD) and harm-avoidance (HA) were significantly lower than general population. Self-directedness (SD) character dimension was significantly lower in SLE patients compared to normative data. No significant difference was noted in novelty-seeking (NS) and persistence (PS) temperament scales and cooperativeness (CO) and self-transcendence (ST) character scales. ConclusionPersonality changes in SLE is characterized by higher HA and RD along with low SD. These features are associated with higher anxiety, social withdrawal and lower resourcefulness and purposefulness.

THE TEMPERAMENT AND CHARACTER TRAITS IN PATIENTS WITH MAJOR DEPRESSIVE DISORDER AND BIPOLAR AFFECTIVE DISORDER WITH AND WITHOUT SUICIDE ATTEMPT

Suicide and mood disorders (especially major depressive disorder (MDD) and bipolar affective disorder (BD)) represent a significant global health burden. Major depressive disorder and bipolar affective disorder have been associated with increased risk for suicide. Some specific suicide risk factors might be found in underlying individual personality traits. Specific personality features may predispose an individual to mood disorders (MDD or BD) hence increased suicide risk. The specificity of this research is in the assessment of personality features during the acute phase of illness immediately after suicide attempt which resulted in psychiatric inpatient treatment. The study included 119 unrelated Caucasian participants with MDD-severe depressive episode without psychotic symptoms (MDD) and BD-severe depressive episode without psychotic symptoms (BD-sDE). Both groups of patients with MDD and BD-sDE were divided into the suicide attempters and non-suicidal group. The diagnoses of the severe depressive episode without psychotic symptoms in major depressive disorder (MDD; F32.2) and bipolar disorder (BD-sDE; F31.4) were made according to ICD-10 (WHO 1992) diagnostic criteria. Methods of suicide attempts were also assessed according to ICD-10 and a self-report questionnaire, the Temperament and Character Inventory (TCI) was applied. The participants who exhibited suicide attempt had significantly higher scores on harm-avoidance (HA) (p<0.001), significantly lower score on persistence (PS) (p=0.037) and lower score, however not statistically significant, on novelty-seeking (NS) (p=0.319) regarding temperament dimensions. In character dimensions, the patients with suicidal attempt had significantly lower scores on self-directedness (SD) (p<0.001) and significantly lower scores on cooperativeness (CO) (p=0.001). Patients who had suicide attempt may have some significantly different personality traits than non-suicidal patients with mood disorders. The combination of high harm-avoidance (HA) and low self-directedness (SD) may be specific for depressive episode while the combination of high HA, novelty-seeking (NS), and self-transcendence (ST) with low SD may be related to suicide attempts during the depressive episode in bipolar disorder. The novelty-seeking (NS), self-transcendence (ST) and self-directedness (SD) may be specific for suicidal group of bipolar patients.

폴 틸리히에게 있어서 인간, 신 그리고 자기초월의 영성

이 논문은 폴 틸리히의 신학에 있어서 인간의 유한성, 신 그리고 자기초월의 개념들을 고찰해보고, 그것들이 현대의 교회들과 사람들이 필요로 하는 영성 이해를 위해 어떤 의미를 가지고 있는지 탐구한다. 오늘날의 사회에서 가장 심각한 문제들 중 하나는 깊이의 차원의 상실이다. 이 문제는 근원적 영성의 회복이 더욱 필요한 시대적 상황을 만들어 내고 있다. 이러한 상황을 위해 틸리히는 보다 더 적합하고 관련성이 있는 영성 이해를 위한 신학적 기초를 마련해주고 있다. 첫째, 틸리히는 현대 종교가 특히 종교적 상징들의 사용에 있어서 깊이를 상실했고, 사람들은 무한적 관심의 의식을 상실했다고 비판한다. 이러한 문제들에 응답하면서, 틸리히는 종교는 궁극적 관심이며, 신은 인간 실존이 가지고 있는 질문들에 대한 궁극적 대답이라고 주장한다. 수직적 관점에서 틸리히는 신을 존재 그 자체 그리고 존재의 깊이로 해석한다. 둘째, 존재론적 분석을 통해 틸리히는 인간은 비존재의 위협 속에 실존하기 때문에 유한성을 가지고 있는 것으로 분석한다. 그러므로 인간의 유한성은 불안, 무의미함, 그리고 소외로 특징지어진다. 신은 존재의 근거로서 존재의 힘이며 이것은 불안과 무의미함을 정복하는 용기의 출처가 된다. 인간은 또한 존재의 근거와의 재결합을 통해 소외를 극복할 수 있다. 끝으로, 틸리히는 초자연주의와 자연주의를 넘어서는 제 3의 길로서 자기초월적 신 관념을 제안한다. 자기초월의 개념을 설명하기 위해서 틸리히는 탈자 개념을 사용한다. 탈자는 자아 밖으로 나갔다가 다시 새롭게 자아에게로 돌아오는 경험을 의미한다. 틸리히에게 있어서 신과 세계는 탈자적, 자기초월적 또는 내재적 초월의 관계성 속에 있다. 이러한 범재신론적 신론은 초월과 내재의 이분법적 문제를 해소한다. 결론을 맺으며, 이 논문은 틸리히의 신학이 오늘 이 시대의 영성 이해를 위한 세 가지 의미 있는 통찰을 제공해준다고 평가하고 있는데, 그것은 깊이의 영성, 자기초월의 영성 그리고 전인적 영성이다.

Authenticity as Self-Transcendence: The Enduring Insights of Bernard Lonergan. By Michael H. McCarthy

Authenticity as Self-Transcendence: The Enduring Insights of Bernard Lonergan. By Michael H. McCarthy

T27 - From Personality Traits And Interleukin Levels To Genetic Markers Of Mood Disorders Spectrum In Adolescents And Young Adults

Background Data in literature support the inflammation component in Bipolar disorder (BD). Stress may induce inflammatory changes in the immune system by activating the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis. Recent studies confirmed that genetically determined personality traits are responsible for personal resources of stress resistance and thus they can play an important role in bipolar disorder development especially in young patients. There is no doubt that BD is a complex mental illness with a relevant genetic component. However, previously used strategies to identify genetic biomarkers have not produced the expected results. Actually there is no biological markers that can help to early diagnose and effective pharmacotherapy especially in adolescents and young adults. GWAS skip genes with relatively little impact on the disease. They prevent therefore identify genes in psychiatric disorders with cumulative polygenic inheritance and epigenetics influences. That's why we made an attempt to reverse the methods by “from candidate gene to protein” to “from protein to candidate gene” with regard to personality traits. Methods 33 patients (aged 12-24), with a diagnosis MD meeting spectrum BD criteria, were included to this study. Participants were assessed by using structured diagnostic interviews according to ICD-10 and DSM-IV and completed the Temperament and Character Inventory (TCI). The evaluation was conducted in the state of severity of the symptoms (visit 0) and after reaching the stabilize mood (visit K). We studied a panel of 6 cytokines (IL-1β, 2, 4, 6, 8 and 10), known to interact with BD. Serum concentrations of all these molecules were measured using the commercial available DIAplex kit. The genes selection for analyzes includes multi-level approach with use of the own results of personality traits measure and cytokines level obtained in patients with BD spectrum from Polish population as well as databases and pathway analysis using in silico tools. Results Comparing the results of patients at 0 to K no significant differences in cytokine serum levels were observed. Correlation analysis showed a significant higher IL-8 serum levels in non-depressed vs depressed patients (p=0.017) as well as higher concentration of IL-6 in young adults (18>years) compared to teenagers (p=0.030). Patients at 0 obtained higher score in Harm Avoidance (HA) dimension (P=.023). Correlation analysis of cytokine serum concentration and main dimension of personality traits showed significant positive relationship between IL-2 and persistence (P) (p=0.017) as well as negative relationship between IL-6 and Self Transcendence (ST) (p=0.035). Discussion Obtained results indicates that interesting candidate genes to association study may be IL-2,6 and 8. However most promising connector of all analyzed traits in analyzed group is IL-6. In silico analyses according to i.e. gene prospector and other free available data bases confirms that IL-6 is strong candidate gene for association analysis including gene expression in the lymphocytes of patients with bipolar disorder. IL-6 is able to activate HPA axis and is involved in the development of despair-like behaviors triggered by inflammation. The single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) rs1800795 (-174 G/C) and rs1800796 ( 572G>C) known from inflammatory autoimmune disease were not analyzed in bipolar disorder. Preliminary results suggest that proposed approach should be used in reanalysis on a larger study group to enable genotyping and association analysis.

Parkinsonian motor impairment predicts personality domains related to genetic risk and treatment outcomes in schizophrenia

Identifying endophenotypes of schizophrenia is of critical importance and has profound implications on clinical practice. Here we propose an innovative approach to clarify the mechanims through which temperament and character deviance relates to risk for schizophrenia and predict long-term treatment outcomes. We recruited 61 antipsychotic naïve subjects with chronic schizophrenia, 99 unaffected relatives, and 68 healthy controls from rural communities in the Central Andes. Diagnosis was ascertained with the Schedules of Clinical Assessment in Neuropsychiatry; parkinsonian motor impairment was measured with the Unified Parkinson’s Disease Rating Scale; mesencephalic parenchyma was evaluated with transcranial ultrasound; and personality traits were assessed using the Temperament and Character Inventory. Ten-year outcome data was available for ~40% of the index cases. Patients with schizophrenia had higher harm avoidance and self-transcendence (ST), and lower reward dependence (RD), cooperativeness (CO), and self-directedness (SD). Unaffected relatives had higher ST and lower CO and SD. Parkinsonism reliably predicted RD, CO, and SD after correcting for age and sex. The average duration of untreated psychosis (DUP) was over 5 years. Further, SD was anticorrelated with DUP and antipsychotic dosing at follow-up. Baseline DUP was related to antipsychotic dose-years. Further, ‘explosive/borderline’, ‘methodical/obsessive’, and ‘disorganized/schizotypal’ personality profiles were associated with increased risk of schizophrenia. Parkinsonism predicts core personality features and treatment outcomes in schizophrenia. Our study suggests that RD, CO, and SD are endophenotypes of the disease that may, in part, be mediated by dopaminergic function. Further, SD is an important determinant of treatment course and outcome.

Michael H. McCarthy, Authenticity as Self-Transcendence – The Enduring Insights of Bernard Lonergan

Michael H. McCarthy, <i>Authenticity as Self-Transcendence – The Enduring Insights of Bernard Lonergan</i>

P.4.b.001 - Self-transcendence in obsessive compulsive disorder: an exploratory study of psychopathological, sociodemographic and clinical aspects

Abstract The obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is a chronic disease that can cause serious functional and family impairment. According to Cloninger 's personality model some temperament and character factors have been associated with specific psychopathology and disease severity of OCD. However, some trait characters like self-transcendence (ST) still wasn’t properly explored in this context. Descriptions of religious content of OCD symptoms are found in sacred books from the 2nd century and are called scrupulosity. There are few studies evaluating the role of spirituality in the OCD concept, which differs from religion, since spirituality could be defined as the focus on spiritual things and the spirit world rather than on earthly and physical things, while religion is a set of beliefs and rituals that claim to put his followers in a right relationship with God. This article aims to assess whether the construct of SF in Temperament and Character Inventory (TCI) may be related to the concept of spirituality and if it could have a protective property in OCD psychopathology. This is an exploratory case-control study involving 49 patients with OCD divided into two groups: high and low ST. Variables with a P

Intersubjectivity, Illeity, and Being‐in‐Love: Lonergan and Levinas on Self‐Transcendence

Intersubjectivity, Illeity, and Being‐in‐Love: Lonergan and Levinas on Self‐Transcendence

Authenticity as Self-Transcendence: The Enduring Insights of Bernard Lonergan

Authenticity as Self-Transcendence: The Enduring Insights of Bernard Lonergan

Personality profiles in adults with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).

BackgroundPrevious studies suggested that the presence of ADHD in children and young adolescents may affect the development of personality. Whether or not the persistence of ADHD in adult life is associated with distinct personality patterns is still matter for debate. To address this issue, we compared the profiles of the Temperament and Character Inventory (TCI) that assesses personality dimensions in 119 adults ADHD and 403 controls.MethodsANCOVA were used to examine group differences (controls vs. ADHD and ADHD inattentive type vs. ADHD combined + hyperactive/impulsive types) in Temperaments and Characters. Partial correlation coefficients were used to assess correlation between TCI and expression and severity of symptoms of ADHD.ResultsHigh novelty seeking (NS), harm avoidance (HA) and self-transcendence (ST) scores as well as low self-directedness (SD) and cooperativeness (C) scores were associated with ADHD diagnosis. Low SD was the strongest personality trait associated with adult ADHD. Cases with the ADHD inattentive type showed higher HA and lower SD scores compared to the combined and hyperactive/impulsive types. High HA scores correlated with inattention symptoms whereas high NS and ST scores were related to hyperactive symptoms. Finally low SD and high NS were associated with increased ADHD severity.ConclusionsDistinct temperaments were associated with inattentive versus hyperactive/impulsive symptoms supporting the heterogeneous nature of the disorder.

Authenticity as Self-Transcendence: The Enduring Insights of Bernard Lonergan, written by Michael H. McCarthy

Authenticity as Self-Transcendence: The Enduring Insights of Bernard Lonergan, written by Michael H. McCarthy