Browsing by discipline "Psykologia"

Introduction: Sleep related problems affect wellbeing extensively. Sleep problems share many common background factors with personality, such as individual way of processing cognitions and emotions. By understanding the interactions between personality and sleep, it is possible to develop better and more individual-friendly ways to treat sleep related problems. In this review, personality is approached from the framework of the Big Five personality traits, which are: extraversion, neuroticism, conscientiousness, agreeableness, and openness. The purpose of this review is to sum up the current results of the research conducted in the field of personality traits and sleep, to direct the future research on the field and to discuss the limitations of the current research. Results: There are interactions between personality traits and sleep. Neuroticism affects the quality and the amount of sleep negatively. However, the causality might go the other way around: sleep deprivation and problems falling asleep might cause later neuroticism. Extraversion has a relationship with better quality of sleep, diminished amount of sleep and fluctuating circadian rhythm between weekdays and weekends. Conscientiousness affects the quality of sleep, the regularity of the circadian rhythm and the morningness of the circadian rhythm. Individuals who have high openness have diminished need for sleep and they have coping-mechanisms that protect them against the negative effects of stress. Agreeableness has a relationship with better sleep in terms of quality and quantity, and with constant circadian rhythm between weekdays and weekends. The personality traits’ interactions include conscientiousness’ protective effect against neuroticism when considering sleep quality. Also, the differences in sleep quantity are statistically best explained with two traits: openness and neuroticism. Discussion: The interaction between personality traits and sleep has been investigated mainly from the point of view of personality traits. When the interactions are studied from the point of view of sleep it is possible to merge the effects of the personality traits and derive preliminary personality trait profiles for different aspects of sleep. The profile for good quality of sleep seems to be high extraversion, high consciousness, high openness, high agreeableness, and low neuroticism. The profile for poor sleep quality is almost reverse: high neuroticism, low extraversion, low consciousness, and low openness. Apart from the quality, it’s also possible to derive subjective sleep deprivation profile: high neuroticism and low extraversion or interestingly high extraversion if only the amount of sleep is being studied. Limitations of the current research in the field include a tendency to use university student samples, self-assessment inventories as the sole information source and the over-simplifying approach of merely studying one personality trait instead of the whole personality profile. Examining the personality trait profiles could lead to more statistically significant results and thus it might increase the practical implications in the field of personality and sleep.

Children and adolescents have a high rate of participation in organized sports and physical activities. Participation in contact sports has been shown to be related to an elevated risk of suffering a concussion, which makes the management of concussions in child and adolescent athletes an important public health concern. Most of the research on concussion has been conducted on adults and the management protocols of concussions in both adult and youth athletes is based on this research. In this thesis I aim to provide an overview of the common symptoms and consequences of sports-related concussions, the effect of recurring concussions, and the special concerns relating to sports-related concussions in child and adolescent athletes. Research suggests that despite significant overlap, clinical and neuropsychological symptoms of a concussion may resolve at a different rate. In addition, neurophysiological functions appear to be altered for a far longer period than either clinical or neuropsychological symptoms. This is a cause for concern, as return-to-play (RTP) policy of concussed athletes is often based on clinical symptoms alone. A conservative RTP policy should be considered especially in concussed child and adolescent athletes, as they seem to recover slower than adults. Supervision is essential in concussion management, as youth athletes are often unaware of previously sustained concussions, premature RTP may expose the athlete to an elevated risk of suffering a second injury, and recurring concussions have been shown to have accumulating effects on neurocognitive functions.

Physical activity has a positive impact not only on physical and mental health but also on cognitive functions. It seems that physical activity improves performance in a variety of cognitive tests and slows down the natural cognitive decline associated with aging. During adolescence the plasticity of the brain is greater and parts of the brain that are essential for cognitive functions develop significantly. At the same time there is some evidence that globally increasing physical inactivity and obesity might influence negatively on health of the brain and further on cognitive functions. From this point of view physical activity may have an underestimated role supporting cognitive development in youth. Physical activity has a positive effect on performance in a variety of cognitive tests in adolescence. Physically active adolescents outperform physically inactive controls in verbal and numerical abilities, different reasoning ability tests and especially in tests that measure executive functions and attention. Physical exercise has a positive effect also on emotional well-being, behaviour and academic achievement. Based on the articles of this thesis regular organized physical exercise that is vigorous and includes a cognitive component has the strongest impact on cognitive performance. In some studies the association between physical activity and cognitive and academic performance was stronger in girls than boys. This finding could be explained by the fact that physical exercise decreases symptoms of anxiety and depression and that girls have more of these symptoms than boys. The underlying mechanisms of the association include learning and developmental mechanisms and physiological mechanisms that include functional and structural features of the brain. Physical exercise increases cerebral blood flow and oxygen intake in the brain and upregulates multiple neurotrophic factors that are essential for new neurons. Regular physical exercise possibly leads to more efficient neuronal networks and permanent cortical changes in adolescent’s brain. Scarce literature and various study designs might explain some of the inconsistency in the results. In the future more research is needed about what kind of physical exercise by type, intensity and duration is the most effective on cognitive development in adolescence. Increasing amount of literature supports the idea that physical activity is a lifestyle factor that has a holistic impact on health and well-being throughout the lifespan.

Objectives. Bipolar disorder is a mood disorder in which the mood varies between depressive state and mania or hypomania. In earlier studies it has been observed that the depressive episode of bipolar disorder might be often inaccurately diagnosed as recurrent depression or unipolar depression. This might lead to lengthening of the symptoms and at worst, to use of antidepressants without the simultaneous use of mood stabilizers which in turn might lead to mania or hypomania. Thus, the objective of this review is to study the distinctive factors of the depressive episodes between bipolar disorder type I and II and unipolar depression, emphasizing genetic factors, the symptoms during depressive episodes, comorbid disorders, subthreshold hypomanic symptoms and the effects of pharmacotherapy during the depressive episodes. Results and conclusions. In the review it was found that many factors distinguished the depressive episodes of bipolar disorder and unipolar depression although for comorbid disorders, especially for alcohol and substance dependence and abuse, the number of depressive episodes, and the severity of depressive symptoms the evidence was contradictory. The family history of bipolar disorder, the depressive symptoms and the age at the onset of the mood disorder were found to be associated with the onset of bipolar disorder. The use of antidepressants in bipolar disorder without the simultaneous use of mood stabilizers was noted to possibly lead to a switch from depression to mania or hypomania. Bipolar disorder was also found to share genetic factors with depression and schizophrenia which supports the idea that mood disorders constitute a dimension. In the future, it would be important to increase the accuracy of diagnostics and diagnostic criteria should be re-evaluated. Moreover, the caregivers should be educated about the differences between the depressive episodes in bipolar disorder and unipolar depression and the assessment of family history of bipolar disorder should be established as a basic procedure in the assessment of a mood disorder. Also, one should pay more attention to the occurrence of subthreshold hypomanic symptoms and the use of pharmacotherapy and its effects on the individual during the treatment of a depressive episode. It would also be important to develop a pharmacological treatment that could be used in the treatment of both unipolar depression and bipolar depressive episode.

Study objectives: The efficacy of cognitive behavioural therapy based interventions in treating sexually abused children and adolescence is examined in this meta-analysis . Sexual abuse of minors is a serious issue with severe short and long-term consequences on physical and mental health. Previous reviews have shown cognitive behavioural therapy treatments to be effective in treating sexually abused children and adolescence. This meta-analysis adds latitude to this field of study by including more recent studies that have been excluded from earlier reviews. Methods: In all of the studies included all the participants were under 18, they have been sexually abused and they have received cognitive behavioural therapy treatment. Studies were researched through two different databases using different keywords and references of the previous meta-analyses were checked. 18 studies fitting the criteria were found. For each study one effect size, Cohen’s d, were calculated. In the meta-analysis random effects model were used and studies were weighted by variance. Heterogeneity of the studies was examined with Q-test and publication bias with Funnel plot and Fail -safe N-test. Results and conclusions: Cognitive behavioural therapy based interventions are effective. The average effect size was d=0.67 and it was statistically significant. The included studies were heterogeneous and affected by publication bias. The results support the use of these kinds of interventions in treating sexually abused minors.

Sedentary behaviour has been found to increase the risk of cancer, coronary heart disease, and mental disorders. It is important to know which factors affect sedentary behaviour in order to motivate people to take care of their psychological as well as physical health by being physically more active. This literature review considers the relationships between physical activity, temperament and personality. The correlative relationships between physical activity and individual differences have been studied quite thoroughly. Out of the five personality traits in the Big Five personality theory extraversion, conscientiousness, openness to experience, and emotional stability have been found to correlate with physical activity. In addition to the correlations conscientiousness, extraversion, emotional stability, and openness to experience have also been found to increase physical activity. Furthermore, the conscientiousness, extraversion, openness to experience, as well as agreeableness of physically more active adults have been found to reduce less over time than on physically less active adults. Additionally, physical activity has been found to increase the persistence and maintain the emotional stability among children. Summarizing, certain personality traits may affect the development of a physically active lifestyle, and physical activity may respectively contribute to the development and stability of personality traits. There is a need to study the relationships between physical activity, temperament and personality since the associations and the causal connections between the phenomena are not yet precisely known. The definitions used in the studies should be unified and the measurement methods and the statistical analyses should be further developed. More longitudinal research should be conducted. Furthermore, studies focusing on the mechanisms between physical activity, temperament and personality are needed. Additionally, it is important to study the differences between different modes of physical activity in terms of how they relate to temperament and personality. These future examinations might be useful for people who design and implement physical activity interventions.

Studies have consistently reported the link between depression and Alzheimer's disease. The purpose of this thesis is to clarify this link and to examine depression as a risk for Alzheimer's disease as well as its prodrome. On the grounds of research, history of depression seems to be both an individual risk factor and a prodrome for Alzheimer's disease. Depression earlier in life, even dozens of years before the onset of Alzheimer's, is related to the increased risk for Alzheimer later in life. It also seems possible, that the severity and number of depressive symptoms and episodes may increase the risk for Alzheimer. However, for some elderly people depression seems to be the first symptom of a dementia disease. Depression close before getting the diagnosis of Alzheimer's seems to be associated with Alzheimer's especially when there's cognitive decline along with depression: either pseudodementia or MCI. In the future, depression must be seen as a risk for Alzheimer's that can be affected. Thus, effective and early treatment of depression may then decrease the risk for Alzheimer's and possibly prevent it. More attention should also be paid on geriatric depression, especially when along with memory problems or decline in other cognitive skills.

Intellectual disability is a disability characterized by varying degrees of intellectual functioning limitations. Approximately one third of people with intellectual disabilities have problems regulating emotions and behavior management problems. In general, people with intellectual disabilities are offered psychodynamic individual therapy, psychodynamic group therapy, cognitive behavioral therapy, counselling and systematic family therapy as an intervention. The purpose of this thesis was to examine the suitability and effectiveness of the mindfulness-based interventions for people with intellectual disabilities. As a point of interest was the effects of mindfulness-based interventions for decreasing aggression, depression and anxiety. This thesis also examined the effects of effectiveness in mindfulness-based interventions when staff members working with people with intellectual disabilities and parents of people with intellectual disabilities had mindfulness training and practice. Furthermore, the effects of mindfulness-based interventions for people with intellectual disabilities to have a greater self-determination and mindfulness-based intervetions as cost-effective interventions was discussed. The studies show sings of the effectiveness of mindfulness-based interventions for decreasing aggression, depression and anxiety with people with intellectual disabilities. Trainig staff led to benefits for people with intellectual disabilities, decreased use of physical restraint for aggressive behaviour and increased job satisfaction. Training parents led to reduced stress and improved parent–child interactions. Despite the long duration of mindfulness intervention and its cost mindfulness-based interventions are still cheaper for society. This is caused by the positive effects of mindfulness therapy, such as reduced acts of violence with people with intellectual disabilities and because of that costs of staff’s lost days of work and cost of medical and rehabilitation because of injury caused by people with intellectual disabilities were reduced. In addition to these positive effects offering mindfulness-based interventions to people with intellectual disabilities, mindfulness might be useful for people with intellectual disabilities to have a greater self-determination in everyday life. The use of restriction measures for calming people with intellectual disabilities is considered as a factor that weakens their delf-determination. As people with intellectual disabilities being able to calm themselves the use of restriction measures would be decreased.

Models of moral judgment and decision-making are traditionally divided into rationalist and intuitionist models depending on whether moral judgments are thought to be the result of a rational reasoning process or moral intuitions. The social intuitionist model represents intuitionist models of moral judgment and suggests that moral judgments are the result of affectively based moral intuitions and that moral reasoning mainly occurs as a post-hoc rationalization. The objective of this thesis is to review recent neuroimaging studies on moral decision-making and to evaluate the validity of the social intuitionist model in that moral judgments are caused by moral intuitions and not by moral reasoning. Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) studies examining the neural correlates of moral decision-making indicate that affective processing and abstract reasoning can both result in moral judgments. Brain areas associated with emotion become more activated in moral personal dilemmas than in impersonal dilemmas, whereas impersonal dilemmas engage brain regions associated with working memory. In addition, utilitarian judgments made in difficult personal dilemmas depend more on brain areas associated with cognitive conflict monitoring and cognitive control compared with deontological judgments. Electroencephalographic (EEG) studies support the idea that moral intuitions arise early in the decision-making process. However, affective processing may begin even in the later stages of moral decision-making after moral intuitions have been initiated, thus questioning the role of emotion in moral intuitions. The social intuitionist model has both gained support and been criticized. In the light of neuroimaging studies, it appears that moral reasoning has a more significant role in moral judgments than assumed in the model. In addition, moral intuitions may not be affectively based as assumed in the social intuitionist model. It might be necessary to update the model regarding the role of reasoning in moral judgments and the relationship between emotion and moral intuition. In the future, more comparable experimental designs should be employed to make the comparison of the variety of neuroimaging studies more sensible.

Mental training, or motor imagery training, refers to cognitive rehearsal of a motor task without overt physical movement. The focus of this thesis is to present an overview of motor imagery research and the neural mechanisms behind motor imagery. I also review some recent studies about motor imagery training and at the end of this thesis I shortly introduce the PETTLEP-model of motor imagery training. Imaging of performing the motor task relies widely on the same neural mechanisms than performance of the same task, and studies have shown that mental training can improve the actual performance. Motor imagery has been studied in the field of cognitive neuroscience and sport psychology, but there has been a lack of communication between these research fields. This has for example lead to the confusion of the different definitions. Current research knowledge suggests that motor imagery training can be most effective when combined with physical training.