Browsing by master's degree program "Master's Programme in Psychology"
Now showing items 101-120 of 241
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(2023)Objectives This study examined depression risk by defining its latent distribution in the general population. Within the fields of behavioral genetics and epidemiology, such distributions of liability are presumed normally distributed. However, this assumption has never been confirmed for depression risk, and in recent research permitting non-normality has produced different results than assuming normality. Defining the shape of the latent distribution of liability for depression would add to our knowledge of depression as a construct, aid future researchers in choosing suitable research methods and pave the way for predictions on depression onset. Methods The data was the 2015–2018 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES). Respondents’ liability for depression was measured with the 9-part Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9). The respondents were 18-80+ years old, 5214 of them were women and 4985 were men. Davidian Curve Item Response Theory (DC-IRT) was fitted for the entire data (n = 10 199) and separately for the data collected between 2017–2018 (n = 5065). The DC-IRT allows for the estimation of the latent trait distribution simultaneously with the item parameters. The parameters were estimated using the response patterns from the questionnaire and Davidians semi-nonparametric distribution estimate. The methods ability to detect a latent normal distribution was also tested with simulated data. Results For the entire data, the estimated shape of the latent distribution of liability was bimodal, with the right peak more pronounced than the left. For the 2017–2018 data, the shape was unimodal, although left-skewed. With the simulated data the DC-IRT method failed to detect the latent normal distribution when the sample size was large (10 000) and the ordinal data was highly skewed. Conclusions The bimodality of the latent distribution of liability for depression would challenge the current consensus of depression as a continuous trait, but these results should be taken with a grain of salt. According to the simulation study the DC-IRT method is not fool proof when it comes to large sample sizes and highly skewed data. Nevertheless, there was no indication of normality for the latent distribution of liability for depression. In the light of this study the latent risk for depression cannot be assumed normally distributed, which ought to be accounted for in the methodology of future studies. In addition, the possible bias introduced by the DC-IRT under certain conditions is valuable information for future applications of the method.
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(2022)Objective. Depression is a significant public health risk and linked to numerous somatic diseases. The relationship between depression and cardiovascular diseases has been quite robustly indicated in previous studies. This correlation has occurred even when depressive symptoms remained below the diagnostic threshold. This study examined the longitudinal association between depressive symptoms and serum lipids. Additionally, body mass index and physical activity were explored as mediators in this relationship. Methods. The longitudinal data (n = 1323) for the study was drawn from the prospective population-based ongoing research project The Cardiovascular Risk in Young Finns Study. The age of the subjects was between 30 and 45 in 2007. Depressive symptoms, body mass index, and physical activity were measured in 2007 and serum lipids (total cholesterol, HDL cholesterol, LDL cholesterol, triglycerides) were measured in 2011. Depressive symptoms were assessed using a modified version of the Beck Depression Inventory. Linear modelling was used to analyze the association between depressive symptoms and serum lipids. Next a causal mediation model was formed to examine the mediation effects of body mass index and physical activity. Results. Depressive symptoms were associated with lowered HDL cholesterol and elevated triglycerides. No relationship was found between depressive symptoms and total cholesterol or LDL cholesterol. Both higher body mass index and lower physical activity mediated the association between depressive symptoms, HDL cholesterol and triglycerides. Conclusions. The partial association between depressive symptoms and serum lipids observed in this study was not fully consistent with previous scientific literature where depressive symptoms have quite often explained the variance of LDL cholesterol. The difference in results may be partly explained by the longitudinal design of this study. This study offers novel information on the relationship between depressive symptoms and serum lipids. Based on the modelling it was possible to infer that the association was likely causally mediated by body mass index and physical activity. In the future it is vital to further explore the longitudinal relationship between depression and serum lipids
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(2022)Tavoitteet. Masennuksen ja sydän- ja verisuonisairauksien tiedetään olevan yhteydessä toisiinsa. Aiemmissa tutkimuksissa masennusoireiden on havaittu olevan yhteydessä sydämen vasemman kammion suurempaan massaan ja heikompaan diastoliseen toimintaan. Aiemmat tutkimukset ovat perustuneet poikkileikkausasetelmiin, joten yhteyden suuntaa tai sen taustalla vaikuttavia mekanismeja ei tunneta. Tämän tutkimuksen tavoitteena oli tarkastella masennusoireiden prospektiivista yhteyttä vasemman kammion massaan ja diastoliseen toimintaan sekä selvittää systolisen verenpaineen ja painoindeksin merkitystä mahdollisina yhteyttä välittävinä tekijöinä. Menetelmät. Tutkimuksen aineisto (N=1268) oli peräisin suomalaisesta väestöpohjaisesta Lasten Sepelvaltimotaudin Riskitekijät -seurantatutkimuksesta. Masennusoireet mitattiin vuonna 2007 Beckin Depressiokyselyn muokatulla versiolla. Myös systolinen verenpaine ja painoindeksi mitattiin vuonna 2007. Vasemman kammion rakennetta ja toimintaa tutkittiin sydämen kaikukuvauksella vuonna 2011. Vasemman kammion massalle käytettiin indeksointia ’kammion massa (g) / pituus (m)^2.7’. Vasemman kammion diastolista toimintaa arvioitiin kammion täyttöpaineen perusteella, joka laskettiin kammion diastolisen sisäänvirtausnopeuden ja mitraaliläpän liikenopeuden suhteena (E/e’ suhde) doppler-tekniikan avulla. Pitkittäisasetelmaan perustuen masennusoireita tarkasteltiin kammion muutoksille altistavana tekijänä, ja systolisen verenpaineen ja painoindeksin merkitystä yhteyttä välittävinä tekijöinä selvitettiin kausaalisen mediaatioanalyysin avulla siten, että sukupuoli, ikä ja sosioekonominen asema otettiin huomioon. Tulokset ja johtopäätökset. Korkeampi pistemäärä masennusoirekyselyssä oli yhteydessä suurempaan vasemman kammion massaan mutta ei täyttöpaineeseen neljä vuotta myöhemmin. Masennusoireiden yhteyttä vasemman kammion massaan välittivät korkeampi systolinen verenpaine ja suurempi painoindeksi. Erityisesti painoindeksin merkitys oli huomattava. Tulosten perusteella painon nousun ehkäisy on keskeistä pyrittäessä pienentämään masennusoireiluun liittyvää sydän- ja verisuonisairausriskiä.
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(2022)Objective: Paranormal thinking refers to beliefs in supernatural phenomena that have not been scientifically proven to exist (e.g., telepathy, sixth sense). Despite increased scientific knowledge, paranormal thinking is still common in the general population. According to one explanatory model, paranormal thinking can be used as a coping strategy for dealing with stress in bourdensome and challenging conditions. While paranormal thinking is known to associate with many mental disorders, evidence is still scarce on the association between depression and paranormal thinking. A few previous studies have found a positive correlation between depression and paranormal thinking, but longitudinal studies are totally lacking. This study aimed to investigate (1) whether depressive symptoms are cross-sectionally associated with paranormal thinking, (2) whether mild, moderate, and severe depression are differently associated with paranormal thinking, and (3) whether depressive symptoms predict the development of paranormal thinking over a 4- or 15-year follow-up. Methods: The participants (N=1064–1348, born between 1962–1977) came from the population-based Cardiovascular Risk in Young Finns Study. Paranormal thinking was assessed with The Spiritual Acceptance vs. Rational Materialism questionnaire in 1997, 2001 and 2012, depressive symptoms with The Beck Depression Inventory in 2012, and mild depressive symptoms with The Modified Beck Depression Inventory in 1997, 2001 and 2012. The data was analyzed with regression analyses that were adjusted for participants’ age, sex, and socioeconomic factors in adulthood and their parents’ socioeconomic factors in childhood. Results and conclusions: High depressive symptoms were cross-sectionally associated with higher paranormal thinking. Additionally, participants with mild depression (but not participants with moderate or severe depression) had on average higher paranormal thinking when compared to those without depression. Depressive symptoms did not predict the development of paranormal thinking over the 4- or 15-year follow up. Overall, the findings in this population-based longitudinal sample suggest that depressive symptoms co-occur with but do not predict paranormal thinking. Future studies could examine the psychological mechanisms behind the co-occurrence between depressive symptoms and paranormal thinking; in particular, whether paranormal thinking can act as a coping mechanism when exposed to depression-related strain.
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(2023)Objective: The effects of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) on physical and mental health have been widely recognized, but the research on the effects of ACEs on parenting is limited. Maternal ACEs can lead to vulnerability to subsequent stress. Transition to motherhood can be stressful, especially when becoming a parent is complicated by experiences of reproductive trauma (infertility and/or reproductive loss). It is important to examine these associations to prevent intergenerational effects of maternal trauma. The aim of this thesis is to examine the effects of ACEs and reproductive trauma on Emotional Availability (EA) and Parenting Self-Efficacy (PSE) during pregnancy and/or postpartum. This is the first study to also include analysis of possible moderating effects of maternal ACEs on the associations between reproductive trauma and parenting outcomes. Methods: The current investigation is a part of a larger study on the effectiveness of community-based parenting interventions for at risk families conducted by Tampere University, University of Helsinki, and University of Turku. The sample included 251 mothers, comprising 100 expecting mothers and 151 mothers with a 0–12-month-old infant. 67% of the sample participated in community-based interventions around the capital area of Finland, and they were asked to participate in the study at the start of the intervention. 33% of the sample were recruited during routine visits to the well-baby clinics in the capital area of Finland. The current investigation was conducted using baseline data collected at the beginning of the interventions. This self-reported questionnaire included measures for ACEs (Revised inventory of Adverse Childhood Experiences), self-reported parenting outcomes EA (Emotional Availability Self-Report) and PSE (Parenting Self-efficacy Scale), and experiences of reproductive trauma (infertility and/or reproductive loss). The effects of ACEs, reproductive trauma and moderating effects of ACEs on reproductive trauma on parenting outcomes were analyzed using linear regressions. Results and conclusions: Maternal ACEs were associated with lower prenatal EA and prenatal PSE in expecting mothers, but not in mothers with infants. Reproductive trauma or the interaction of ACEs and reproductive trauma were not associated with either parenting outcome in expecting mothers or mothers with infants. It is possible that parenting representations during pregnancy are more vulnerable to the effects of ACEs and that positive experiences of birth and interacting with the baby moderates these effects. Longitudinal studies are needed to further examine the effects of ACEs and parenting outcomes in the transition to parenthood. Reproductive trauma does not seem to present as a risk factor for problematic parenting, but further research is required to examine the effects of more complex cases of trauma and possible moderating factors in the context of reproductive trauma and parenting.
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(2024)Objective: Obesity and poor mental health frequently co-occur in adulthood, but their comorbidity and causality during adolescence remain less explored. This study aimed to investigate how symptoms of depression, symptoms of anxiety, self-esteem, and psychological resilience associate to physical growth in Finnish youth. Methods: This study included 1,286 on average 11.2-year-old children (51% girls) from the Finnish Health in Teens (Fin-HIT) cohort study, of which 814 were followed for an average of 4.3 years. Symptoms of depression and symptoms of anxiety were evaluated with Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale for Children (CES-DC) and Screen for Child Anxiety-Related Emotional Disorders (SCARED) at the age of 11. Self-esteem was assessed with Self-Perception Profile for Children (SPPC) at the age of 11. Baseline categorical psychological resilience was cross-classified into four phenotypes based on combination of exposure to early stressful life events (SLEs), assessed with Life Events as Stressors in Childhood and Adolescence, and psychological health, assessed with CES-DC and/or SCARED and SPPC. Weight, height, and waist circumference were self-reported at ages 11 and 15. Sex- and age-specific BMIz was calculated based on IOTF guidelines, and WtHr as waist circumference divided by height. Linear regression models were used to examine the associations between mental health indicators and BMIz/WtHr, while multilevel modeling was used to examine how the mental health indicators associate with change in BMIz/WtHr during the follow-up period. Results: Higher depressive symptoms were associated with a higher WtHr at baseline (p = .001) and a decrease in BMIz (p = .02) and WtHr (p = .001) over the follow-up period. Symptoms of anxiety were associated with a higher WtHr at baseline (p = .017) and a decrease in BMIz (p = .035), and after adjusting for age and sex also with a decrease in WtHr (p = .02). Higher self-esteem was associated with a lower baseline BMIz and WtHr (both p < .001), with a lower follow-up BMIz (p = .041) and WtHr (p = .096), as well as an increasing BMIz (p = .009) and WtHr (p = .016). Belonging to the resilient group was associated with a lower BMIz (p = .04) and WtHr (p = .004) at baseline, as well as a greater increase in BMIz (p = .009) and WtHr (p = .016) during the follow-up period when compared to the non-resilient group. Conclusion: Indicators of mental health and psychological resilience were associated with physical growth in adolescence, and their impact varied over time. These results underline the importance of considering mental health indicators in understanding and addressing adolescent obesity and its dynamics during this critical developmental period.
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(2022)Objectives: Hobbies are thought to only reduce stress but this is not necessarily the case for every hobby. For example LARPing is meaningful for its participants and it gives new experiences, but it also has demands that can cause stress. The aim of this Master's Thesis is to study using recently developed questionnaire what elements cause stress in LARPing and are they connected to experienced stress in LARP. Based on the personal experiences and research, the authors of the questionnaire assumed that larp stress would be mostly explained by 12 different factors. The factors were either time-related or related to other features such as performance and living up to expectations, living up to social demands, feelings of being excluded, harassment and insecurity, emotional strain, poor practical arrangements or low hype before the LARP. Methods: The stress related to LARPing was studied with a new survey that mapped experienced stress, possible causes of stress, coping stretegies and background information. 62.3% of the respondents of this online survey were females, 22.5% males and 9.0% non-binary. Factor analysis was conducted to variables measuring causes of stress to see if the 12 hypothesised factors emerged. To test the validity of the questionnaire in measuring LARP-related stress, the relationship between the founded factors and experienced stress in LARP was examined by a one-way regression analysis. Results and conclusions: Causes of LARP stress were in part in agreement with the hypotheses. Stress about being part of the group, performance, practical arrangements and harassment were consistent with the hypothesis. However, also unexpected factors emerged, such as stress about memoryload, having a meaningless role, quality of the props, bleed, low hype, lack of fun and insecurity. One factor could not be interpreted adequately. These factors explaned 62.84% of the variance. Of the 12 factors only being part of the group (explained variance 34.59%), quality of props (explained variance 1.57%) and the unknown factor (explained variance 1.50%) were validated by being associated with experienced total LARP stress. Being part of the group seems to be relevant cause of stress in LARPing wich is understandable considering the communal nature of LARPing. This information could be taken into a consideration when organizing LARPs. Increased sense of community could support the well-being of players in LARPing.
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(2021)Tavoitteet. Tutkimuksen tavoitteena on selvittää 3-6-vuotiaiden suomalaislasten seksuaalisuuteen liittyvää tietotasoa kuva-avusteisen haastattelun keinoin. Pienten lasten seksuaalisuuteen liittyvää tietotasoa on tutkittu vähän, ja vain harvoin on haastateltu lapsia itseään. Tutkimukset aiheesta painottuvat parinkymmenen vuoden päähän, ja Suomessa tutkimusta aiheesta ei ole tehty juurikaan. Tässä tutkimuksessa selvitetään leikki-ikäisten seksuaalitietotasoa liittyen sukuelinten nimeämiseen, lisääntymiseen, raskauteen ja syntymään, aikuisten väliseen seksuaaliseen käytökseen ja turvataitoihin. Lisäksi tutkitaan, ovatko lasten ikä ja sukupuoli yhteydessä tietotasoon. Tieto aiheesta on hyödyksi muun muassa ikätasoisen seksuaalikasvatuksen menetelmien ja materiaalien suunnittelussa. Menetelmät. Tutkimukseen osallistui 132 lasta, joista 70 oli poikia ja 62 tyttöjä. Lasten iän keskiarvo oli 4,7 vuotta. Tutkittavat lapset rekrytoitiin kahden eri paikkakunnan kunnallisista varhaiskasvatusyksiköistä. Lapsille tuttu varhaiskasvatuksen opettaja haastatteli lapsia annetun haastattelurungon mukaan. Haastattelumenetelmänä käytettiin tutkimusta varten tehtyä strukturoitua kuva-avusteista haastattelua, jossa lapsille näytettiin kymmenen piirroskuvaa lapsista ja aikuisista erilaisissa arkisissa tilanteissa. Kuvissa esiintyi mm. raskaana oleva nainen ja alasti leikkiviä lapsia, ja lapsilta kysyttiin kuviin liittyviä, pääasiassa avoimia kysymyksiä. Lasten vastaukset pisteytettiin asteikolla 0-2 ja analysoitiin tilastollisesti. Tulokset ja johtopäätökset. Lasten seksuaalisuuteen liittyvä tietotaso oli melko heikko kaikilla mitatuilla osa-aluilla. Tietotaso oli vahvin liittyen genitaalien nimeämiseen ja turvataitoihin, ja heikoin liittyen lisääntymiseen ja aikuisten väliseen seksuaaliseen käytökseen. Ikä oli yhteydessä tietotasoon kaikilla muilla osa-alueilla, paitsi kahdessa viimeksi mainitussa. Tutkimus osoitti myös, että lapset eivät aina vastanneet kysymyksiin tietotasonsa mukaisesti ja osa lapsista arasteli aiheesta puhumista. Varhain alkavalla ja kokonaisvaltaisella seksuaalikasvatuksella voidaan tukea lapsen minäkuvaa, terveyttä ja turvallisuutta. Kaikkien lasten oikeutta ikätasoiseen tietoon seksuaalisuudesta ja mahdollisuutta puhua aiheesta avoimesti turvallisten aikuisten kanssa tulee edistää.
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(2020)The evaluation of arguments has not previously been approached from the perspective of cognitive factors that mirror decision-making in real time. This study examined how the reinforcement of intuitive and analytical thinking affects the identification of argumentation errors and the difficulty of choice manifested by evaluators in conflict situations. The results were partly in line with the assumptions: argumentation errors were identified in the context of analytical thinking more efficiently than in the context of intuitive thinking. In part, the results were contrary to assumptions. The effect of strengthening analytical thinking was smaller than expected and was possibly influenced by subjects' expectations of the experimental situation. The reinforcement of intuitive thinking, in turn, led to a seemingly contradictory result, as the difficulty of decision-making seemed to either increase or decrease depending on the evaluation method. Indeed, the results provided support for the view that the time spent by individuals to respond reflects uncertainty in response, whereas moving the mouse reflects the difficulty of decision in a conflicting situation as well as the difficulty of the tasks. The results suggest that the evaluation of arguments can be rapid and relatively certain, even if it simultaneously includes ambivalent features that increase decisional conflict.
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(2020)Aims It has previously been established that job strain and psychosocial job resources are considerably multidimensional among Finnish physicians. Psychological network analysis offers the means to investigate many psychosocial work characteristics simultaneously. The aim of this study was to investigate the networks these work characteristics form and to find out whether more strained physicians differ from their less strained colleagues in terms of the nature of these networks. Methods The study sample (N = 2825) was based on the Finnish study project Lääkäreiden työolot ja terveys 2006 (Work environment and health of physicians). Organizational justice, job control, work-home conflict and job strain were measured by self-report items. Confirmatory and exploratory factor analyses were conducted to investigate the structure of these phenomena. The analyses of connections between these phenomena were conducted by estimating regularized partial correlation networks. Results Psychosocial aspects of work were found to be connected in ways that largely validate previous research results. Procedural justice, the feeling of hurry, the feeling of inadequate competence and distractions of workflow were particularly central phenomena. This study found no group differences. Conclusions As it has previously been established, psychosocial work characteristics are a considerably multidimensional entity. Procedural justice is a highly central phenomenon among work characteristics, and it is strongly and positively connected with job control. There were no clear differences in the overall structure and strength of networks between highly strained and less strained physicians. Future network analyses of psychosocial work characteristics should continue to emphasize diverse and valid measurement.
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(2020)Objectives. The semantic fluency task is a widely used clinical tool for diagnosing Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Performance differences between semantic categories such as animals versus tools have been widely studied, but in the present study, we examine finer-grained performance within the animal-category. We compare amnestic Mild Cognitive Impairment (aMCI) and very early AD patients with healthy controls to investigate whether the groups move in semantic space differently and examine whether the patient groups exhibit decline in discrimination of semantically similar objects, which is putatively a very early sign of AD. Methods. In the semantic fluency task, participants (42 healthy, 24 aMCI, 18 AD) named as many animals as they could within a minute. We condensed the semantic space using a dimensionality reduction algorithm (t-SNE) on the word2vec vector-model. Sub-categories were formed of the t-SNE result based on visual inspection. Moving in semantic space was estimated with the number of words, sub-categories, and switches and returns to sub-categories. Multinomial logistic regression models were used to predict the diagnostic group with these independent variables. Results and conclusions. We discovered eight meaningful sub-categories inside the animal-category and found differences between groups in how they utilised the semantic space. Our results did not provide direct support for decline in processing semantically similar objects in prodromal AD. In classifying the groups, only returning to sub-category provided additional information on top of the number of words produced. Our findings provide new perspectives on navigation in sub-category level fine-grained semantic space in the context of prodromal AD.
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(2023)Johdanto: OECD ja EU ovat arvioineet mielenterveyteen liittyvien ongelmien aiheuttavan työelämässä Suomessa lähes 5 miljardin euron vuosikustannuksen. Työn kuormittavuudella on tutkimusten mukaan todettu olevan yhteyttä muun muassa työuupumukseen ja muihin mielenterveysongelmiin. Lapsuuden sosioekonomisella asemalla on havaittu olevan yhteys työn kuormittavuuteen ja mielenterveyteen. Persoonallisuudella on tutkimuksissa puolestaan todettu olevan vaikutuksia työhyvinvointiin. Pro gradu -työssä halutaan selvittää muovaako persoonallisuus lapsuuden sosioekonomisen taustan yhteyttä työkuormitukseen. Syy-yhteyksien parempi ymmärtäminen voi auttaa kohdentamaan toimenpiteitä ja mahdollisia interventioita työn kuormittavuuden ja siitä aiheutuvien kustannusten alentamiseksi. Menetelmät: Tutkimusaineistona on Lasten Sepelvaltimotaudin Riskitekijät -tutkimusaineisto, jossa pitkittäisaineistoa on kerätty vuodesta 1980 alkaen. Klusterianalyysin avulla määriteltiin persoonallisuusprofiilit. Logistisella regressioanalyysillä tutkittiin persoonallisuusprofiilien sekä Big 5 persoonallisuuspiirteiden muovaavaa vaikutusta lapsuuden sosioekonomisen taustan ja työkuormituksen välillä. Tulokset: Klusterianalyysin tulosten perusteella löydettiin joustava, viileä ja hauras -persoonallisuusprofiilit. Tulokset vahvistivat neuroottisuuden, joustavan ja hauraan persoonallisuusprofiilin suorat yhteydet korkeaan ja matalaan työkuormitukseen. Uusina merkittävinä havaintoina oli kahden eri persoonallisuuspiirteen muovaava vaikutus yhdessä lapsuuden sosioekonomisten tekijöiden kanssa: erityisesti matala sovinnollisuus lapsuuden matalan sosioekonomisen taustan tilanteessa lisäsi riskiä kuulua korkean työkuormituksen kategoriaan ja matala tunnollisuus lisäsi todennäköisyyttä kuulua matalan työkuormituksen kategoriaan. Pohdinta: Kokonaistarkastelussa havaittiin persoonallisuuspiirteiden muovaava vaikutus työkuormitukseen. Olisi tärkeää pohtia miten sovinnollisuutta lisääviä elementtejä voitaisiin tuoda mukaan jo kouluihin ja varhaiskasvatukseen. Havaintoja voidaan hyödyntää organisaatioissa muun muassa henkilövalinnoissa, esimiestyön kehittämisessä, stressin hallinnassa ja hyvinvoinnin lisäämisessä organisaatioissa.
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(2024)Objectives: Persistent physical symptoms (PPS) associated with indoor environment or chronic fatigue decrease patients’ quality of life. In addition, these symptoms contribute to increased healthcare utilization, and they elevate the risk of work disability. However, treatment and rehabilitation of these symptoms is still insufficient in Finland. Previous studies have shown that comorbid illness worry is associated with exacerbated PPS severity. Therefore, this study aims to investigate the effectiveness of individual case formulation combined with a guided internet-based treatment and to explore whether illness worry modifies its effectiveness. Methods: The data for the study has been obtained from a randomized controlled trial (clinicaltrials.gov, ID: NCT04532827) studying the effectiveness of eHealth intervention for PPS associated with indoor environment or chronic fatigue. Those study participants who were randomized into treatment group (n = 50) received treatment as usual combined with individual case formulation and internet-based treatment based on acceptance and commitment therapy. Participants in the control group (n = 53) received only treatment as usual. The effects of the treatment on the severity of somatic symptoms and on self-assessed workability as well as the modifying effect of illness worry were investigated using linear mixed models. The effects were investigated at the end of the treatment as well as at the six- and 12-month follow-ups. Results: The treatment was associated with a reduction in the severity of somatic symptoms at the six- and 12-month follow-ups, and with an improvement in workability at the end of the program as well as at the six- and 12-month follow-ups. Illness worry did not modify the association between the treatment and workability. However, illness worry was associated with more severe somatic symptoms. At the six-month follow-up, there were indications of a modifying effect of illness worry, but the modifying effect was not statistically significant at other follow-up points. Conclusions: Internet-based treatment can be recommended as a first-line treatment and rehabilitation for persons experiencing persistent physical symptoms. However, high illness worry may potentially be one factor that diminishes the effectiveness of treatment, so it should receive more attention in healthcare.
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(2020)Objectives: Stroke is one of the most common causes of long-term adult disability. The fastest recovery occurs during the first months of post-stroke. Still, patients in rehabilitation wards spend most of the time in nontherapeutic activities. There are promising findings on using music listening as part of the rehabilitation of stroke patients in the rehabilitation ward environment. Nevertheless, the implementation of music listening therapy still requires more research. This pilot study was designed to determine usability of music listening devices (MP3 player compared to a tablet computer with Spotify), to evaluate whether music listening can facilitate recovery after stroke and to study the subjective benefits that occur as a result of music listening on stroke patients. Methods: In total 24 subacute phase stroke patients (age 51–82 years) in a rehabilitation ward took part in the study. Patients listened to music using either MP3 device (n = 8) or Spotify on a tablet computer (n = 16). Patients listened to their favourite music for approximately one hour a day, during 2–3 weeks period. Neurological examination and brief cognitive testing were performed at the beginning and the end of the study. Patients filled questionnaires on functioning, quality of life, mood, and motor and cognitive deficits as well as role of music in life and experiences on music listening before and after the music listening intervention. At the end of the study, patients also evaluated the usability of the music listening technology. Rehabilitation ward nurses observed patients during the usage of music listening devices at the beginning, middle and end of the study. Results and conclusions: There were no changes in functioning, quality of life and mood measures, apart from the improvement in the neurological examination compared to pre-examination. There were no differences in the impacts of music listening between groups. The usability of the MP3 player and the tablet computer and Spotify were evaluated as quite good on average by patients and there were no differences between groups in this evaluation. In qualitative analysis, there seemed to occur more problems in the tablet group, but usage became easier over time. Stroke patients felt that music listening was rewarding and beneficial to their recovery and they were eager to recommend music listening as a part of stroke rehabilitation. Stroke patients felt that music listening was useful to them with both devices and beneficial to their rehabilitation. Stroke patients were eager to recommend music listening as a part of the stroke rehabilitation. Based on the results of this study, music listening therapy can be recommended as a part of the rehabilitation of subacute phase stroke patients.
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(2020)Epilepsy surgery is an effective treatment in drug-resistant epilepsy and in addition to seizure reduction, surgery also seems to improve employment among epilepsy patients. While seizures and many psychosocial factors predict the employment outcome after epilepsy surgery, not all changes in employment observed over time can be attributed to these factors. This study investigated whether the level of cognitive functions or changes in cognitive functions predicted employment two years after the surgery. Furthermore, the study investigated whether changes in epileptic seizures, employment and cognitive functions could be observed after the surgery in comparison to pre-surgery level. For this registry study, data of 46 epilepsy surgery patients was acquired from medical reports and neuropsychological test records of HUS Neurocenter Neuropsychology unit. Predictors of postoperative employment were analyzed with univariate and multivariate logistic regression analysis. In this study 83% of the patients were seizure-free two years after the surgery. Employment status improved statistically significantly and 13 % of the patients not working preoperatively were employed or studying after the surgery. No change or only small changes were observed in cognitive functions after the surgery when compared to preoperative level. None of the changes in cognitive functions predicted employment after the surgery, but of the postoperative cognitive functions verbal reasoning (Similarities) and verbal fluency were significant predictors of postoperative employment, even though only verbal reasoning remained statistically significant in multivariate analysis. Seizure frequency was not associated with employment two years after the surgery. Of psychosocial factors employment pre-surgery and the number of antiepileptic drugs used were the strongest predictors of employment after the surgery. This study supports the earlier observations that good seizure outcome is not alone sufficient to explain the employment outcome after the surgery, but other predictors are likely to have an influence on employment as well. However, cognitive functions do not appear to have a significant effect on postoperative employment two years after the surgery, instead postoperative employment is best explained by preoperative employment and the number of antiepileptic drugs used.
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(2020)Objectives. Narcissism is a concept often used in everyday language to signify an overly positive self-image, but as a scientific term, it has multiple layers. There are many different disciplines studying narcissism, and recently the recognition of two phenotypic dimensions of narcissism has emerged. The two different dimensions of narcissism are an overt grandiose side and a covert vulnerable side. The most widely used measure of trait narcissism is the Narcissistic Personality Inventory (NPI), a self-report questionnaire measuring non-pathological narcissism. Even though the measure has been proved useful, self-reports are sensitive to self-enhancing bias, a central characteristic of narcissism. This has led to research based on methods measuring implicit responses, including physiological reactions that are difficult to hide. Research has already found an indication of a differing physiological reactivity to psychosocial stress, such as social evaluation, in individuals with high trait narcissism. The current study used measures of heart rate and facial muscle activity to measure changes during a negative evaluation, changes that can reflect hidden emotions. In addition, self-reports were used to measure explicit emotional responses to the evaluation and to measure trait narcissism. The aim was to examine whether people scoring high in trait narcissism had different physiological and self-reported emotional reactions to negative social evaluation than those scoring low in trait narcissism. Methods. The study sample consisted of students from different universities in the Helsinki metropolitan area. The final sample included 52 participants, of which 63.2% were women, and the mean age was 27.16 years. The research followed a one-way repeated measures design, with feedback (negative vs. neutral) as a factor. All participants received both negative and neutral feedback from successive memory tasks. Prior to the lab session, participants had answered an e-form, including background information and the Narcissistic Personality Inventory (NPI). During the lab session, participants’ emotional states were measured with self-reports (subjective estimates on memory task performances, emotional reactions checklist, and Self-Assessment Manakin [SAM] including the emotional states valence, arousal, and dominance), and different physiological measures (heart rate with electrocardiography [ECG] and facial muscles zygomaticus major, orbicularis oculi, and corrugator supercilii with facial electromyography [EMG]). The data was analysed with paired samples t-test, Wilcoxon signed-rank test, and multilevel (hierarchical) linear modeling (MLM). Results and conclusions. Negative feedback predicted more negative self-reported emotional valence and lower dominance, independent of trait narcissism. As for the physiological measures, negative feedback predicted lower heart rate and higher activity in the face muscle corrugator supercilii (CS), which is thought to reflect negative emotions. The physiological reactions were also independent of trait narcissism. However, trait narcissism predicted higher activity in CS despite the nature of the feedback. In conclusion, individuals with prominent narcissistic traits differed from those with non-prominent traits in only one aspect; they had an overall heightened activity in CS when being evaluated. On the other hand, previous research has also found CS activity to be associated with heightened attention, therefore an overall vigilance for self-related information could be an alternative explanation for the reaction of individuals with high trait narcissism. The results partially support the earlier discoveries of people with prominent narcissistic traits reacting with a heightened physiological responsiveness and vigilance to situations potentially threatening their self-view. However, the reactivity could also reflect alertness to all kind of self-relevant feedback, not just self-threatening information. The NPI used in the current study is thought to reflect more the grandiose dimension, and future research should therefore investigate emotional responses to self-threatening information in vulnerable narcissists. Also, further research on attentive processes in trait narcissism, both grandiose and vulnerable dimensions, are needed.
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(2022)Tavoitteet Ihmisen tarkkaavaisuus suuntautuu usein spontaanisti pois ulkoisista informaation lähteistä kohti omia ajatuksia, tuntemuksia tai kuvitelmia, jotka eivät liity ympäristön aistiärsykkeisiin. Ajatusten harhailuun painottuvien ajanjaksojen aikana aistiärsykkeiden prosessointiin liittyvän P300-vasteen amplitudi eli jännitevaste pienenee. Lisäksi on havaittu, että ulkoisen tehtävän vaatimustaso vaikuttaa ajatusten harhailuun. Tämä tutkimus selvitti i) harhailevatko ajatukset helppojen tehtävien aikana enemmän kuin vaikeiden, ii) millaisia ajatussisältöjä ajatusten harhailun aikana ilmenee sekä iii) miten ajatusten harhailu vaikuttaa ärsykeprosessointiin. Lisäksi tarkasteltiin, miten edellisestä kohdeärsykkeestä kulunut aika vaikuttaa ajatusten harhailuun ja P300-vasteen amplitudiin. Menetelmät Tutkimuksessa mitattiin aivosähkökäyrää (elektroenkefalografiaa, EEG) 28 henkilöltä (14 naiselta ja 14 mieheltä), joista enemmistö oli korkeakouluopiskelijoita. Koehenkilöiden ikä vaihteli välillä 22-36 (ka = 26 vuotta). Tutkimus koostui valintatehtävästä (helppo) ja työmuistitehtävästä (vaikea), jotka molemmat esitettiin koehenkilölle tietokoneen näytöllä. Koehenkilöiden ajatusten sisältöä mitattiin 10-osaisen Thought probe -kyselyn avulla, jota esitettiin tehtävien välissä. Tulokset Tulokset osoittivat, että helpossa tehtävässä tehtiin vähemmän virheitä ja vastausajat olivat nopeampia vaikeaan tehtävään verrattuna. Nämä tulokset vahvistivat, että tehtävän vaikeustason manipulaatio oli onnistunut. Ajatusten harhailua esiintyi vaikeiden tehtävien kohdalla vähemmän verrattuna helppoihin tehtäviin. Helpon tehtävätyypin aikana tehtäviin kohdistuvia ajatuksia esiintyi harvemmin. Vaikeiden tehtävien aikana koehenkilöiden ajatuksissa toistuivat tehtävän suoritukseen ja strategioihin liittyvät teemat. Ajatussisällöt jaettiin neljään komponenttiin, jotka olivat Episodisen sosiaalisen kognition komponentti, Tarkoituksellisen ajattelun komponentti, Mielikuvituksellinen komponentti ja Ruminaatio-komponentti. P300-vaste oli odotetusti voimakkaampi vaikeiden tehtävien kohdalla verrattuna helppoihin tehtäviin. Edellisestä kohdeärsykkeestä kuluneen ajan kasvaessa koehenkilöt alkoivat valmistautua seuraavan kohdeärsykkeen esiintymiseen. He kiinnittivät enemmän huomiota ärsykkeisiin, jotka esitettiin pidemmän kohdeärsykkeiden välillä esitettyjen (engl. non-target, NT) ärsykkeiden sarjan jälkeen. Koehenkilöt alkoivat keskittyä ärsykkeisiin vaikean tehtävätyypin kohdalla enemmän, kun NT-ärsykkeiden määrä kasvoi. Päinvastoin ajatusten harhailu lisääntyi helpon tehtävätyypin kohdalla sitä enemmän, mitä pidempään NT-ärsykkeitä esitettiin. Johtopäätökset Tulokset ovat yhteneväisiä tutkimuksen hypoteesien ja aiempien tutkimustulosten kanssa. Kognitiivisesti kevyemmissä tehtävissä ajatusten harhailua ilmeni enemmän kuin haastavammissa tehtävissä. Helppojen tehtävien aikana tehtäväsuuntautuneita ajatuksia raportoitiin vähemmän, kuin vaikeiden tehtävien aikana. Vaikka ajatussisältöjä ja jännitevasteita on kartoitettu ja mitattu erikseen jo aiemmin, ei vastaavaa yhdistelmätutkimusta, jossa selvitettiin sekä tehtävän vaikeuden että ajatussisältöjen vaikutusta jännitevasteisiin, ole vielä juurikaan tehty. Tarkkaavaisuus vaikuttaa olevan hyvin tilannesidonnaista ja ympäristöön mukautuvaa. Tulevissa tutkimuksissa voitaisiin selvittää, miten tilannesidonnainen tarkkaavaisuuden säätely mahdollisesti toimii esimerkiksi autoa ajaessa eri ympäristöissä.
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(2024)Objectives. Increasing attention has been paid to the quality of children's investigative interviews since the beginning of the 2000s, when it was noticed that a large number of suggestive utterances were used in the interviews. Since then, the methods of investigating suspected violence and sexual crimes against children have developed and the quality of interviews has improved. The NICHD protocol is based on extensive research and knowledge of how children behave as witnesses, and it is used in the interviews nowadays. In this study, I examine the quality of children's investigative interviews conducted by police officers. Traditionally, quality has been examined by paying attention to the utterances used by the interviewer. In this study, I will also find out to what extent the NICHD protocol is followed in the essential parts preceding the actual interview: establishing rapport, establishing and practicing the ground rules of the interview, and practicing extensive narration (practice interview). Methods. The study sample consists of 80 interviews, from which the utterances presented by the polices were categorized (n = 13 549) in accordance with previous research practice. In addition, the quality of rapport was assessed from each interview using a model developed for this study. For each interview, the rules and practice interview were also examined. Results and conclusions. Almost a quarter of the interviews (24 %) were interviews with good rapport, the majority (65 %) were interviews with moderate rapport, and the remaining 11 % were interviews with weak rapport. The ground rules were established and practiced in 58 % of the interviews. A practice interview was carried out in 61 % of the interviews. The prevalence of utterance types followed the results of previous studies: most of the utterances used were facilitative, and suggestive utterances were rare. The quality of the rapport and the frequency of the types of utterances used were related to each other; interviews with weak rapport contained more suggestive utterances than interviews with moderate or good rapport. This may indicate non-commitment to the use of the NICHD protocol. Children's questioning can be further improved by paying closer attention to rapport building, the types of utterances used, reviewal of ground rules and practicing extensive narration.
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(2019)Aims. Mental disorders in adolescence are common, and when left untreated, they can significantly affect the developmental phase of adolescence, impacting development throughout life. Changes in experiencing emotions are typical in mental disorders, however, normal fluctuation of emotions in adolescence may impact the early detection of disorders in young people. Currently there is little research on the connection between temporal fluctuation of emotions and mental disorders in adolescence. This thesis is studying the variation in temporal fluctuation of emotions, mental alertness and self-control in adolescents that have at least one mental disorder, or no mental disorders, as well as the connection between such temporal fluctuations with different mental disorders. In addition, this thesis is studying the connection between the number of simultaneous mental disorders and the intensity of emotions, mental alertness and self-control. Methods. The studied group consisted 342 16–18-year-old adolescents from Helsinki, out of which 69.6% were girls. The data used in the study was part of the second stage of the SleepHelsinki! cohort study by the University of Helsinki. “MINI” interview technique was used for assessing the mental disorders and PsyMate™ application (which is based on the ESM method) was used for assessing the temporal fluctuation of emotions, mental alertness and self-control. The connections were examined with linear mixed models. Results and conclusions. The study did not detect any difference in the observed temporal fluctuation of emotions when comparing the adolescent that had at least one mental disorders with those that did not have any mental disorders. A greater number of detected mental disorders had a connection with weaker joyfulness and satisfaction, more intense depression, anxiety and irritability, as well as better experienced self-control. The number of disorders was not detected to have an affiliation with mental alertness. The study did not detect a systematic connection between temporal fluctuation of emotions and mental disorders, but some reference of connection between certain disorders and temporal fluctuation of emotions was detected. In the future it would be beneficial to study these connections while considering the impact of situational factors into emotions. 40 % of the adolescent observed in this study had at least one current mental disorder. Therefore, the common occurrence of mental disorders in the adolescent indicates the necessity to improve the understanding of the characteristic features of adolescent mental disorders, such as their impact in the changes in emotions.
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(2022)Objectives: Depressive disorders, which are a key component of mental distress, are one of the most important public health problems. Depressive disorders often begin in adolescence. Research shows that depressive disorders are associated with low socio-economic status, which is generally associated with poorer health. However, previous research findings on the association of health with components of socio-economic status, such as income level, are contradictory. This study examined whether psychological distress in adolescence is associated with later lower socioeconomic status of the individual and whether childhood household income shapes this association. Methods: The study was based on the UK Household Longitudinal Survey Understanding Society data, which was first collected in 2009 (n=5666). The survey used data from four different measurement periods. Adolescent psychological distress was measured using a 12-item General Health Questionnaire (GHQ). Socioeconomic status was measured by the level of education (low, medium, high), income and employment (paid, unpaid) of the subjects. The income level of the childhood family was measured by looking at the household income in the first stage of the data collection. Results and conclusions: Adolescent psychological distress was associated with later low educational attainment, but not with lower employment or wage levels. Higher childhood household income was found to have a weakening effect on the association between psychological distress and lower education. The income level of the childhood household can be tentatively found to attenuate the negative effects of psychological distress on later socioeconomic status.
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