Social Adaptation Self-evaluation Scale Scores Research Articles

Improvement in social anxiety following a return-to-work intervention for patients with depression.

Purpose:To retrospectively examine depression and social anxiety improvement in patients on sick leave due to depression who participated in a return-to-work intervention (RTW-I) program.Methods:Patients visited a psychiatric outpatient clinic simulating workplaces to learn recurrence prevention skills through RTW-Is, including group cognitive behavioral therapy, from April 1, 2013, to September 30, 2017. The Beck Depression Inventory-Second Edition (BDI-II), Social Adaptation Self-Evaluation Scale (SASS), and Liebowitz Social Anxiety Scale (LSAS) scores of 112 patients were analyzed before and after the intervention program. Missing postprogram data were substituted using the last observation carried forward scores. Next, 45 patients who responded to the work continuity survey 1 year after RTW-I were categorized into Group A (patients who continued working: 37) and Group B (those who did not continue: 8).Results:The mean BDI-II scores significantly decreased from preintervention 19.4 to postintervention 7.9 (t = 13.303, P < .001). The mean SASS scores significantly increased from preintervention 31.9 to postintervention 36.0 (t = −5.953, P < .001). The mean LSAS scores significantly decreased from preintervention 54.7 to postintervention 37.0 (t = 8.682, P < .001), and all scores demonstrated an improvement. Patients who continued working showed improved depressive and social anxiety symptoms. The BDI-II and SASS scores showed no significant differences between the groups, but the postintervention LSAS scores were significantly different (P = .041). LSAS score changes: Group A = −26.2; Group B = −9.8; estimated difference: −17.920, 95% CI: −32.181 to −3.659, P = .015.Conclusions:The RTW-I program improved depressive and social anxiety symptoms. Patients with improved scores continued working for 1 year after the intervention.Trial registration: This trial was retrospectively registered with the UMIN Clinical Trial Registry (UMIN-CTR) (ID: UMIN000037662) on August 10, 2019.

The relationship between levels of solution-focused thinking and internalized stigma and social functionality in mental disorders.

This study was conducted to determine the effect of the level of solution-focused thinking on internalized stigma and social functionality in mental illnesses. This descriptive study was conducted with 497 patients with various mental disorders. A negative and strong correlation was found between the Solution-Focused Inventory and Internalized Stigma of Mental Illness Scale scores of the participants (r = -0.682, p = 0.001). A positive and weak correlation was found between the participants' Solution-Focused Inventory and Social Adaptation Self-Evaluation Scale scores (r = 0.396, p = 0.001). It was determined that, as the solution-focused thinking levels of individuals with mental disorders increase, their level of internalized stigma decreases, and their social functionality increases.

Ventrolateral prefrontal hemodynamic responses in autism spectrum disorder with and without depression.

In clinical settings, autism spectrum disorder (ASD) with comorbid depression is often difficult to diagnose, and should be considered in treatment. However, to our knowledge, no functional imaging study has examined the difference between ASD adolescents with and without comorbid depression. We aimed to compare the characteristics and prefrontal brain function of ASD with and without depression in order to identify a biological marker that can be used to detect the difference. Twenty-eight drug-naïve adolescents with ASD (14 ASD with and 14 ASD without depression) and 14 age- and gender-matched adolescents with typical development were evaluated using several variables. These included intelligence quotient, autism quotient, depression severity using the Beck Depression Inventory 2nd edition (BDI-II), and level of social functioning using the Social Adaptation Self-evaluation Scale (SASS). In addition, frontotemporal hemodynamic responses during a verbal fluency task (VFT) were measured using functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS). The ASD group, including both of the ASD with and ASD without depression groups, showed smaller hemodynamic responses than the typical development group in portions of the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC), bilateral ventrolateral prefrontal cortex (VLPFC) and anterior part of the temporal cortex (aTC) during the VFT. Moreover, the smaller hemodynamic responses in the right VLPFC during the VFT in the ASD group were associated with the worse BDI-II and SASS scores. Furthermore, the ASD with depression group showed smaller hemodynamic responses in the right VLPFC during the VFT than the ASD without depression group in a direct comparison. Adolescents with ASD showed reduced activation in broad frontotemporal regions during a cognitive task compared with those with typical development. More specifically, the right VLPFC activation reflected the level of self-estimated depression and social functioning in the ASD subjects, and could be used to discriminate between ASD adolescents with and without depression.

Not so healthy, not so comfortable: Health anxiety in people living with HIV and its relationship to quality of life and psychosocial functioning

Background: People living with Human Immundeficiency Virus (PLWH) are often inclined to attribute their bodily sensations to HIV (Human Immundeficiency Virus) without considering those as malign or benign. Thus, it’s thought that health anxiety may be high in these individuals. We aim to determine the levels of health anxiety in PLWH and its relation with quality of life and psychosocial functioning. Methods: PLWH, Type-I diabetes mellitus (DM) patients and healthy individuals were included. CD4+T lymphocytes counts and HbA1C values were obtained. Sociodemographic data form, General Health Questionnaire (GHQ), Health Anxiety Inventory (HAI), Social Adaptation Self Evaluation Scale (SASS), SF-36 QoL Form, Beck Depression and Beck Anxiety Scale (BDI, BAI) were applied to subjects. Comparisons and regression analyzes were made. Results: Total of 228 subjects were included in study. Health anxiety levels in HIV group were higher than control groups. SASS scores were not different than in Type-I DM group’s scores, whereas the BDI, BAI, and GHQ scores were worse in the HIV group than in the other groups. There was a significant difference in the QoL between healthy controls and HIV group. CD4+ T lymphocyte count had the highest explanotory power for the psychometric scores. Conclusions: PLWH have higher health anxiety than controls. Psychosocial functioning and QoL are impaired in people with high health anxiety levels. CD4+ T lymphocyte count is strongest explanatory factor on almost every subscale. The disease itself seems to disrupt the quality of life and psychosocial harmony beyond the psychological picture it creates.

Social adaptation status of Syrian refugee physicians living in Turkey.

Since the beginning of the civil war in Syria, over 3.5 million Syrians have fled to Turkey. Considering the massive burden of healthcare service needs of this population, the Turkish government has launched an initiative as employing Syrian doctors to provide health services to their citizens in Refugee Health Centres. In this study, we aimed to explore the social adaptation status of Syrian physicians living in Turkey using a structured questionnaire and the Social Adaptation Self Evaluation Scale (SASS). Between November 2016 and April 2018, 799 physicians who participated in "Syrian Physicians' Adaptation Training" were enrolled in the study and underwent a structured questionnaire that questioned socio-demographic data and the SASS. The participants were divided into two groups as having poor and normal/high SASS scores. The binary SASS groups were compared with some demographic data. The median SASS score of the respondents was found as 43 (min. 10, max. 60, IQR 10) which can be accepted as normal. In the binary grouping, it was seen that 107 (13.39%) participants had poor social adaptation, whereas 692 (86.61%) participants had normal or high social adaptation scores. The physicians who were certain about not going back to Syria had significantly higher SASS scores. The social adaptation scores of the Syrian physicians were considerably high. The adaptation status was found to be associated with some characteristics like living in Turkey for a long time and having pre-knowledge about the Turkish healthcare system.

Risk factors for further sick leave among Japanese workers returning to work after an episode of major depressive disorder: a prospective follow-up study over 1 year

ObjectivesWe aimed to investigate the risk factors for further sick leave episodes among Japanese workers returning to work after time off with a major depressive disorder.DesignA prospective study with 1...

Psychopathology among individuals seeking minimally invasive cosmetic procedures.

In recent years, so many people want to alter their physical appearance with the purpose of raising their social and psychological well-being and the demand for minimally invasive cosmetic procedures (MICPs) has continued to rise. Our study aims to investigate the psychological profile of people seeking cosmetic procedures. The present observational cross-sectional study was conducted with a sample of 54 participants seeking cosmetic procedures (botulinum toxin injections, soft tissue filler injection, mesotherapy, platelet-rich plasma, and dermaroller treatments). Those patients were compared to the control group, who did not have any kind of cosmetic procedure (including cosmetic surgery) before and who did not want to have any of these procedures. The research volunteers were invited to complete the demographic questionnaire (e.g., age, gender and history of procedures) as well as psychological scales. Psychological scales includes the validated and reliable The Brief Symptom Inventory (BSI), Automatic Thoughts Scale (ATS), and Social Adaptation Self-Evaluation Scale (SASS). Users of MICP were mostly female (n=46, 85%) and had some high school education or higher and showed higher scores on General Severity Index (P=.013), anxiety (P=.018), depression (P=.004), interpersonal sensitivity (P=.008) of BSI and also higher on ATS (P=.022) and lower on SASS (P=.001) scores that mean less social adaptation. There was a statistically positive correlation between age and GSI, anxiety, depression, interpersonal sensitivity, somatization scores of BSI, and negative correlations between SASS scores and age and number of past procedures. Our study findings highlight the importance of understanding individuals' psychological symptoms who are seeking cosmetic procedures.

Social Function and Frontopolar Activation during a Cognitive Task in Patients with Bipolar Disorder

Background: It is important to understand the neural basis of functional impairments in patients with bipolar disorder (BD) in order to be able to address the recovery. Recently, neurocognitive impairment emerged as a predictor of psychosocial function. A number of functional brain imaging studies have shown that social function is associated with activation of the prefrontal cortex during a cognitive task in healthy adults, and in patients with major depressive disorder and schizophrenia. However, few studies have been conducted in patients with BD. Methods: We performed multichannel near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) imaging to investigate the activation of the prefrontal cortex during a verbal fluency task (VFT). We also used the Social Adaptation Self-Evaluation Scale (SASS) to assess social functioning in patients with BD. Thirty-three depressed patients with BD and 65 age-, gender- and task performance-matched healthy controls (HCs) participated in this study. Results: Depressed patients with BD showed reduced activation in the broader bilateral prefrontal cortex during the VFT compared to HCs. Moreover, a significant positive correlation was observed between the total SASS scores and right prefrontal activation in patients with BD. In the SASS subscores, the interest and motivation factor was also positively correlated with frontopolar activation. Conclusions: These results suggest an association between social function and prefrontal activation in depressed patients with BD. The present study provides evidence that NIRS imaging could be helpful in understanding the neural basis of social function.

Association between longitudinal changes in prefrontal hemodynamic responses and social adaptation in patients with bipolar disorder and major depressive disorder

BackgroundPatients with affective disorders exhibit changes in regional brain function and show abnormal social adaptation. However, to our knowledge, no near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) study has examined the relationship between these two phenomena longitudinally. This study examined the region-specific functional abnormality associated with bipolar disorder (BD) and major depressive disorder (MDD), and the association between particular longitudinal changes in regional activation and social adaptation. MethodsWe evaluated frontotemporal functioning during a verbal fluency test (VFT) for patients with BD (N=18), those with MDD (N=10), and healthy controls (HCs; N=14) using NIRS. NIRS measurements and the Social Adaptation Self-evaluation Scale (SASS) were administered twice with an interval of approximately 6 months. ResultsThe BD and MDD groups showed lesser activation than the HCs in the bilateral ventro-lateral prefrontal cortex and the anterior part of the temporal cortex (VLPFC/aTC). Longitudinal changes in SASS scores were positively associated with the extent of change in left VLPFC/aTC activation in the BD group and with right VLPFC/aTC activation in the MDD group. LimitationsOur small sample size limited statistical power, and the effect of medication and multiple comparisons cannot be excluded, although these effects were considered in the interpretation of the present results. ConclusionLongitudinal increases of VLPFC/aTC activation were associated with improvement in social adaptation in patients with BD and those with MDD. NIRS measurement could be a useful tool for objective evaluation of changes in social adaptation in BD and MDD.

Assessment of depressive symptoms and functional outcomes in patients with major depressive disorder treated with duloxetine versus placebo: primary outcomes from two trials conducted under the same protocol

Return of functional ability is a central goal in the treatment of major depressive disorder. We conducted two trials with the same protocol that was designed to assess functioning after 8 Weeks of treatment with duloxetine. The a priori primary outcome was improvement in the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HAMD) item 7 (work/activities). Secondary outcomes included improvement in depressive symptoms assessed by the HAMD Maier subscale, and improvement in functioning assessed by the Sheehan Disability Scale (SDS), and the Social Adaptation Self-evaluation Scale (SASS). Patients were randomly assigned to duloxetine 60 mg/day (Trial I, n = 257; Trial II, n = 261) or placebo (Trial I, n = 127; Trial II, n = 131). Changes from baseline were analyzed using a mixed-effects model repeated measures approach. At Week 8, duloxetine was superior to placebo in improving HAMD work/activities (p < 0.001) in Trial II, but not Trial I (p = 0.051), and Maier scores (p < 0.01) in both trials. At Week 12, duloxetine was superior to placebo on improving SASS scores in both trials, and the SDS in Trial II. Treatment with duloxetine was associated with significant improvement in depressive symptoms compared with placebo, but improvement in HAMD work/activities was inconsistent at 8 weeks.

Improvement of the noradrenergic symptom cluster following treatment with milnacipran

Depression has a major impact on social functioning. Decreased concentration, mental and physical slowing, loss of energy, lassitude, tiredness, and reduced self-care are all symptoms related to reduced noradrenergic activity. Depressed mood; loss of interest or pleasure; sleep disturbances; and feelings of worthlessness, pessimism, and anxiety are related to reduced activity of both serotonergic and noradrenergic neurotransmission. The importance of noradrenergic neurotransmission in social functioning is supported by studies with the specific norepinephrine reuptake inhibitor reboxetine. In healthy volunteers, reboxetine increases cooperative social behavior and social drive. A placebo-controlled study in depressed patients comparing reboxetine with the selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) fluoxetine showed significantly greater improvement in social adaptation with reboxetine. Two recent studies have examined the effect of the serotonin and norepinephrine reuptake inhibitor milnacipran on social adaptation. A study in depressed patients found that at the end of 8 weeks of treatment with milnacipran, 42.2% patients were in remission on the Social Adaptation Self-evaluation Scale (SASS). Another study in depressed workers or homemakers found that mean depression scores were significantly reduced after 2 weeks, whereas the SASS scores were significantly improved after 4 weeks. A preliminary study comparing depressed patients treated with milnacipran or the SSRI paroxetine showed that milnacipran treatment resulted in a greater number of patients in social remission. The available data thus suggest that milnacipran may improve social functioning, with a possibly greater effect than the SSRI paroxetine. These preliminary data suggest further evaluation of social dysfunction and its treatment outcome in future trials of milnacipran.

Relationships between stress, social adaptation, personality traits, brain-derived neurotrophic factor and 3-methoxy-4-hydroxyphenylglycol plasma concentrations in employees at a publishing company in Japan

There is growing evidence that blood levels of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) and 3-methoxy-4-hydroxyphenylglycol (MHPG), a major metabolite of noradrenaline, are related to depression-associated personality traits as well as to depressive, suicidal and anxious states. Psychological job stress is well known to lead to symptoms of depression, anxiety and suicide. We have recently reported that psychological job stress among hospital employees altered blood levels of BDNF and MHPG (Mitoma et al., 2008). In the present study, we re-examined the effects of social adaptation and personality traits, as well as those of psychological job stress, on plasma levels of BDNF and MHPG in healthy employees (n=269, male/female=210/59, age=49±10years) working in a publishing company in Japan. The values (mean±SD) of scores on the Stress and Arousal Check Lists (s-SACL and a-SACL), Social Adaptation Self-evaluation Scale (SASS), plasma MHPG levels and plasma BDNF levels were 6.0±3.4, 5.7±2.3, 33.7±6.8, 5.8±4.3 and 4.6±3.1ngml–1, respectively. A positive correlation was found between plasma MHPG levels and scores on the s-SACL, but not the a-SACL. A positive correlation was also found between SASS scores and plasma MHPG levels and between SASS scores and plasma BDNF levels. A negative correlation was found between plasma BDNF levels and s-SACL scores. Furthermore, a positive correlation between NEO-Five factor Inventory (Openness) scores and plasma MHPG levels was observed, as well as between NEO-Five factor Inventory (Extroversion) scores and plasma BDNF levels. These results suggest that levels of plasma BDNF and plasma MHPG might be associated with psychological job stress and certain personality traits among employees in the publishing industry in Japan.

Treatment of Seasonal Affective Disorder with Duloxetine: An Open-Label Study

The aim of this observational study was to evaluate the effects of duloxetine in the treatment of seasonal affective disorder (SAD). 26 SAD patients were treated with open-label duloxetine 60-120 mg per day over 8 weeks. Ratings included the Structured Interview Guide for the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (SAD version; SIGH-SAD) and the Clinical Global Impression (CGI). To estimate treatment effects on social functioning in SAD we employed the Social Adaptation Self Evaluation Scale (SASS), the Sheehan Disability Scale (SDS), and assessments of days lost due to illness and days with reduction in productivity. Duloxetine led to a significant improvement (p<0.001) of SIGH-SAD, CGI severity, SASS, and SDS scores. Days lost due to illness and days with reduction in productivity were significantly diminished during treatment (p<0.001). Treatment with duloxetine over 8 weeks yielded a response rate (SIGH-SAD<50% of baseline value) of 80.8% and a remission rate (SIGH-SAD<8) of 76.9% in the intention to treat sample. The drop-out rate due to side effects was 15.4%. Our preliminary results indicate that duloxetine might be effective and able to ameliorate the negative social consequences of SAD.

The Maudsley early onset schizophrenia study

To examine the contribution of premorbid function, duration of untreated psychosis (DUP), age of onset, severity of symptoms at presentation, and number of subsequent hospitalisations to the outcome of early onset schizophrenia (EOS; onset before 17th birthday). Twenty-three EOS patients (mean age at onset 15.16 +/- 1.39 years) were re-assessed after a mean interval of 4 +/- 1.08 years. At baseline and follow-up clinical diagnoses were confirmed using the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV Axis I Disorders and symptoms were assessed with the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale. Premorbid function, as measured with the Premorbid Adjustment Scale, age of onset and DUP were assessed at baseline only. Outcome was evaluated using the Social Adaptation Self-Evaluation Scale (SASS) and the Global Assessment of Functioning (GAF) Scale. Mean DUP was 2.95 +/- 3.59 months and mean total PAS score was 6.65 +/- 3.02. They had an average of 2.09 +/- 1.44 hospitalisations and their mean SASS and GAF scores were 37.27 +/- 6.5 and 54.19 +/- 18.99, respectively. Poor childhood premorbid function and the severity of negative symptoms at baseline were correlated with worse SASS and GAF scores. No other significant associations were found. Poor childhood function is the most significant predictor of outcome in EOS.