Terms Of Pessimism Research Articles

PRIMARY EPISODE OF BIPOLAR AFFECTIVE DISORDER

Background. Bipolar affective disorder (BAD) is a topical issue of contemporary psychiatry. The features of the primary episode (PE) of the disease are extremely important for prognosis, treatment and rehabilitation measures of BAD. Individual psychological features of the patients with PE of BAD are still unexplored that complicates development of new methods of prediction, treatment and prevention of BAD. Objective. The aim of the study was to investigate individual psychological features of the patients with a primary episode of bipolar affective disorder, taking into account the gender factor and clinical variant of the BAD debut. Methods. 153 patients (65 men and 88 women) with a primary episode of bipolar affective disorder were examined. The patients were divided into three groups according to the clinical variant of the course of PE of BAD: depressive variant, manic variant and mixed variant. The examination was carried out using the Standardized multifactor method of personality research (SMMPR). Statistical processing of the data was performed using the non-parametric Mann-Whitney test. Results. The most significant differences in the quantitative indicators of SMMPR were found when comparing depressive and manic, as well as depressive and mixed variants of PE of BAD, and lesser – when comparing manic and mixed variants. Most of all, these differences were expressed in terms of pessimism, impulsiveness, individualism and optimism. Conclusions. Some peculiar features of male and female patients with depressive, manic and mixed variants of PE of BAD promoting to search for new methods of prediction, treatment and prevention of BAD have been defined.

Introduction

Introduction

Whiners and deniers – What does self-rated health measure?

Self-rated health is a widely used measure of health typically obtained from a question, “How do you rate your health?” Despite the measure’s popularity, debates continue as to what exactly self-rated health captures. This study augments the rich literature on the construct of self-rated health using a unique measurement approach. We conceptualize self-rated health as consisting of two components: latent health and reporting behaviour. We operationalize a preference-standardized health-related quality of life as a measure of latent health, and its systematic deviation from self-rated health as a measure of reporting behaviour. Using the 2005 Canadian Community Health Survey, we assess comparatively how the deviations between self-rated health and latent health, measured by the Health Utilities Index Mark 3, vary systematically by demographic, socioeconomic, and cultural factors. We present reporting behaviour by these factors in terms of pessimism and optimism relative to the assessment of the average Canadian. Our analysis shows reporting behaviour statistically and clinically significantly varies by age and socioeconomic status: those aged 80+ years and those with less income and education exhibit optimism about their health. In addition, our analysis indicates a tendency for persons with healthier lifestyles to be slightly pessimistic about their health. Our results imply that it may be misleading to take self-rated health at face value as a measure of health status for applications where preferences should be standardized. For this popular measure to continue to play an important role in population health research and policy development, its users must acknowledge and understand the determinants of self-rated health, including reporting behaviour.

Insight and progress in rehabilitation after brain injury

The importance of insight processes after brain injury is stressed. Research in a general rehabilitation population has shown relations between insight and rehabilitation gain only when insight is defined in terms of pessimism or optimism, with optimists making more progress. The aim of this study was to examine these findings within a brain-injured population. Eighteen subjects with acquired brain injury completed ratings across four domains of function: cognitive, physical, executive and psychosocial. These ratings were compared with professional ratings on the same scales. Despite the use of carefully defined and measured indices of insight, no correlations were found with rehabilitation gain. Previous studies are re-examined in the light of these findings and it is concluded that the concept of insight requires further elaboration and research before definitive statements can be made about its influence on rehabilitation gain.