Browsing by Author "Toševski, Dušica Lečić (6602315043)"

Background/Aim. In spite of the growing body of evidence in the field of personality disorders, these disorders still retain the lowest diagnostic reliability of any major category of mental disorders. The aim of this study was to investigate the differences of personality profiles in patients diagnosed with personality disorder in comparison with the group of healthy control subjects, as well as to establish to what extent the five-factor personality model domains determine the specific clusters of personality disorders. Methods. The study group comprised 97 patients diagnosed as personality disorders (according to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders - DSM-IV criteria), aged between 18 and 65 years [mean = 35.78 years, standard deviation (SD) = 13.72 years], 67% were female. Control group included 58 healthy subjects (student population) aged between 20 to 35 years (mean = 22.48 years, SD = 2.56 years), 56% were female. The assessment was carried out by the new version of the NEO Personality Inventory-Revised (NEO-PIR), form S, and the Structured Clinical Interview (SCID II) for DSM-IV disorders. Results. The three clusters were found by the use of regression analysis: Cluster A - eccentrics (low scores in agreeableness), cluster B - dramatics (high score in extroversion, low score in agreeableness, and cluster C - anxious (low score in extroversion). The findings showed that the high level of neuroticism was a non-specific predictor of all three clusters, while dimension openness to experience had no predictive power for any of the three clusters. Conclusion. Our findings support the meta-analysis which suggests consistently high level of neuroticism and low level of agreeableness in most personality disorders. The study showed that it is possible to conceptualize personality disorders by using five-factor personality model of normal personality. Integrating the psychiatric classification with the dimensional model of general personality structure could enable the uncovering of essential parameters for setting the diagnosis. © 2020 Inst. Sci. inf., Univ. Defence in Belgrade. All rights reserved.

Bacground/Aim. Researchers suggest that among people with schizophrenia, the prevalence of depressive symptoms ranges from 7% to 80%. The rate of depressive symptoms among people with schizophrenia varies widely because of the phase of the disease, type of study applied, rating scale for depressive symptoms and diagnostic criteria. The aim of this research was to determine the prevalence of depressive symptoms and the clinical correlation of depressive symptoms with other clinical parameters (type and severity of psychotic symptoms, severity of illness, insight and global functioning) among patients with schizophrenia in acute and remission phases. Methods. This prospective clinical study enrolled 100 consecutive patients with schizophrenia both in acute and remission phases. Psychometric assessments were made using the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS) for rating the symptoms of schizophrenia, Scale to Assess the Unawareness of Mental Disorder (SUMD), Calgary Depression Scale for Schizophrenia (CDSS), and Global Assessment of Functioning Scale. Results. The prevalence of depressive symptoms among patients with schizophrenia in the acute phase was 23% at the study group, while in the remission phase it was 13%. In the acute phase, the CDSS scale correlated with a depressive and positive subscale of the PANSS scale as well as SUMD scale. In the remission phase, the CDSS scale correlated only with a depressive subscale of the PANSS scale. The CDSS scale did not correlate with the negative subscale of the PANSS scale. The subjective nature of depressive symptoms is more pronounced in the remission phase. Conclusion. Our findings showed that depressive symptoms were more pronounced in the acute psychotic phase than in the remission phase of schizophrenia. Targeted, patient oriented, and algorithm-based approach for treatment management, with taking into account different phenotypic expressions of the disorder (patients with and without affective symptoms) is warranted in patients with schizophrenia. © 2018, Inst. Sci. inf., Univ. Defence in Belgrade. All rights reserved.

Objective The aim of this cross-sectional study was to identify if there was a specific difference between patients with functional dystonia (DysF) and those with adult-onset, isolated idiopathic (“primary”) dystonia (DysP) in terms of psychiatric disorders, psychological stressor, dissociation correlates, and personality traits. Methods Thirty-nine clinically definite DysF and 30 DysP patients matched by age, gender and dystonia distribution underwent psychiatric interview based on DSM-5 criteria and additional testings for global cognitive and psychiatric functions (Mini-Mental State Examination, Hamilton Depression and Hamilton Anxiety Rating Scale, Apathy Scale, Somatoform Dissociation Questionnaire-20, Dissociative Experiences Scale II, and the five-dimensional Revised Neuroticism-Extroversion-Openness Personality Inventory). Results Almost half of our DysF patients had prior psychiatric treatment, which was significantly more frequent when compared to DysP. Patients with DysF in comparison to DysP also had considerably more frequent preceding stress, higher apathy, dissociative and somatoform scores, as well as significantly higher rate of la belle indifférence sign. This sign, stress before dystonia and prior psychiatric disorder independently predicted having DysF. Some of psychiatric disorders (i.e. substance-related disorders, schizophrenia, adjustment disorder, borderline personality disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder, psychotic depression, delusional disorder) were exclusively present among DysF patients. DysF compared to DysP patients had lower scores for both extroversion and openness to experiences. Conclusion Our data found different pattern of psychiatric comorbidity and personality traits between DysF and DysP patients, including a higher prevalence of psychological stressor and dissociative correlates, indicating at least a partial role of psychological mechanisms in the pathogenesis of DysF. © 2017 Elsevier Inc.

Objective The aim of this cross-sectional study was to identify if there was a specific difference between patients with functional dystonia (DysF) and those with adult-onset, isolated idiopathic (“primary”) dystonia (DysP) in terms of psychiatric disorders, psychological stressor, dissociation correlates, and personality traits. Methods Thirty-nine clinically definite DysF and 30 DysP patients matched by age, gender and dystonia distribution underwent psychiatric interview based on DSM-5 criteria and additional testings for global cognitive and psychiatric functions (Mini-Mental State Examination, Hamilton Depression and Hamilton Anxiety Rating Scale, Apathy Scale, Somatoform Dissociation Questionnaire-20, Dissociative Experiences Scale II, and the five-dimensional Revised Neuroticism-Extroversion-Openness Personality Inventory). Results Almost half of our DysF patients had prior psychiatric treatment, which was significantly more frequent when compared to DysP. Patients with DysF in comparison to DysP also had considerably more frequent preceding stress, higher apathy, dissociative and somatoform scores, as well as significantly higher rate of la belle indifférence sign. This sign, stress before dystonia and prior psychiatric disorder independently predicted having DysF. Some of psychiatric disorders (i.e. substance-related disorders, schizophrenia, adjustment disorder, borderline personality disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder, psychotic depression, delusional disorder) were exclusively present among DysF patients. DysF compared to DysP patients had lower scores for both extroversion and openness to experiences. Conclusion Our data found different pattern of psychiatric comorbidity and personality traits between DysF and DysP patients, including a higher prevalence of psychological stressor and dissociative correlates, indicating at least a partial role of psychological mechanisms in the pathogenesis of DysF. © 2017 Elsevier Inc.