Browsing by discipline "Psykologi"

Traumatic childhood experiences predispose psychiatric symptoms in adulthood. Sexually abused children have more behavioral problems, depressive symptoms, feel more shame and have lower self-esteems compared to other children. Borderline personality disorder (BPD) is characterized by fear of abandonment, aggression towards self and others, difficulty of controlling feelings and behavior, instability of identity and self-destructive behavior, and these traits could hypothetically stem from shameful and traumatic childhood experiences. BPD has a relatively strong genetic component, but the specific etiological factors are still unclear. In this review, the aim is to see whether there is a connection between child sexual abuse and BPD, how specific forms of abuse correlate with BPD and ultimately, to show whether child sexual abuse is a relevant factor in the etiology of BPD. Studies show that childhood sexual abuse was significantly common in the histories of people with BPD. People suffering from BPD had experienced childhood sexual abuse more often than people with depression, schizophrenia or healthy controls had. However, there was no difference in the prevalence of sexual abuse between BPD and other personality disorders. In these studies, there was no difference in the familiarity of the perpetrator, but on average people with BPD had experienced sexual abuse slightly earlier in childhood. Reliable conclusions could not be made about duration, frequency, seeking help, nature of abuse or use of force due to scarcity and narrow focus of previous research on the subject. The results presented in this review suggest that childhood sexual abuse does not play a part in the development of BPD as an independent causative factor. However, the lack of uniform usage of the term ”sexual abuse” and the interrelatedness of sexual abuse, other forms of abuse and family environmental factors all pose challenges for interpreting the results. The observed connection between BPD and childhood sexual abuse could be explained by the cumulative problems associated with underprivileged families, which can result in neglect and thus being more vulnerable to abuse. Additional longitudinal and meta-analytical research is needed to clarify the connections.

Studies have shown that significant proportion of people with eating disorders have reported childhood sexual abuse. However, the link between childhood sexual abuse and eating disorders is still unclear. Eating disorder is a severe condition, and therefore it is important to find out the mechanisms underlying it. The purpose of current thesis is to examine whether there is an association between childhood sexual abuse and eating disorders later in life. Studies on this subject are mostly cross-sectional – therefore, the existence of causal links remains unclear. The few longitudinal studies evaluating the link between childhood sexual abuse and eating disorders have produced mixed results. From a biological point of view, the link between childhood sexual abuse and eating disorders could stem from the dysregulation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis. Alternatively, the link could result from traumatization, as the trauma model posits. It is probable that the link is a complicated one, with many mediators and moderators influencing it. According to the existing literature, it seems that sexual abuse is a risk factor for developing an eating disorder, especially bulimia nervosa and binge-eating disorder. According to studies, treatment outcomes for eating disorder patients with a history of childhood sexual abuse have been poor. Thus, early intervention of child sexual abuse is important to prevent the development of eating disorders. In future, there is a need for more, prospective longitudinal studies on this subject that help to understand the link between child sexual abuse and eating disorder.

Objectives: Psychotic symptoms are often seen as a sign of severe psychopathology. However, the high prevalence of symptoms in relation to the low prevalence of psychosis raises the question of the clinical significance of childhood psychotic symptoms. In this thesis, I examine the clinical significance of psychotic symptoms in childhood. I review results on the prevalence and persistence of psychotic symptoms in childhood and associations between childhood psychotic symptoms and later psychotic and non-psychotic psychopathology. Methods: The thesis was made as a literature review. Literature was collected from the PubMed and Google Scholar databases using the following keywords and their various combinations: psychotic, psychosis, psychotic symptom, psychotic-like, schizophrenia, hallucination, delusion, and childhood, children, child, pediatric or young. In addition, some of the literature was found in the reference lists of other research reports. The choice of literature was made according to the relevance of the topic. Results and conclusions: Childhood psychotic symptoms are associated with later psychotic disorders, but the majority of children having psychotic symptoms do not suffer from later psychotic disorder. Symptoms have also been shown to be associated with non-psychotic disorders, poorer global functioning and suicidal behavior. Studies show that the prevalence of psychotic symptoms is quite high in childhood, but the majority of symptoms disappear over time. The high prevalence and transience rates of psychotic symptoms in childhood suggest that symptoms also occur in non-clinical populations. It’s possible that the psychotic symptoms reported by a child reflects immature thinking patterns or imagination instead of being psychotic. The methods used in the studies and thus the results are variable, which makes it difficult to draw clear conclusions.

Objective. The topic of this study is classification in psychology and the aim is to introduce, why classification is important in psychology, what classification is used for in psychology and how classification is done in psychology. In addition the study introduces attributes and assumptions of the most common statistical methods used in psychology. The aim was to create a coherent totality, which can be used when either choosing a method for study or evaluating methods of previous studies. The study also describes common challenges regarding classification and ways to evaluate classification solutions. The statistical methods focus on unsupervised learning methods, which are used when the structure and number of classes are unknown. Hierarchical, centroid-based and distribution based clustering are introduced alongside with latent class analysis. For supervised learning methods, neural networks, Bayesian methods and decision trees are considered. Methods. Since this study is based on statistics, most of the literature used is considering statistical methods. In addition, studies of psychology which use methods relevant for this study are used as reference. Results. Classification in psychology is important in measuring, communicating about and understanding phenomena. It has made diagnostics, recognizing risk groups and specifying attributes and features possible. Classification has also challenges. Psychological phenomena can be heterogenetic, unstable and used parameters do not necessarily measure intended phenomenon. Classification methods are numerous and every method has its own attributes, weaknesses and strengths. And every solution is only a data dependent model. Statistical methods are in totality useful tools in psychological studies and literature. Understanding of these statistical methods enables producing accurate models and also evaluating them.

Objectives. Alzheimer’s disease’s (AD) prevalence is currently explosively increasing because of progressive aging of the population. It causes serious problems among individuals and in community basis. AD is a progressive disease which causes gradual deterioration of different aspects of cognition (especially memory), behavioral- and emotional symptoms and problems with social relationships and everyday life. Non-pharmacological treatments are needed for comprehensive rehabilitation because medical interventions have very limited effectiveness. The goal of this review is to answer the question: Are creative therapies (music-. dance/movement- and art therapies) effective treatments as a part of comprehensive rehabilitation of AD? Method. Literature of this review was searched from PubMed, PsychINFO and Google Scholar database. Results and conclusion. Research about creative therapies are still very limited but there is already evidence especially about how music therapy can positively affect patients’ behavioral symptoms and emotional problems. Still there is lack of evidence about effectiveness of creative therapies to cognitive problems of AD.

Depression is a significant personal and societal burden, and it is unequally divided in population. The most important risk factors for depression are gender, age, socioeconomic status, marital status and negative experiences in childhood. This literary review considers the connection of depression and socioeconomic status. The study considers 18 exploratory articles of the topic. Low socioeconomic status is associated with psychiatric morbidity. The association with depression is more incoherent, but still significant. Low socioeconomic status is connected especially with the prevalence of depression, that is 1.8 times higher in the lowest class compared to the highest class. The connection with the incidence of depression is weaker. Socioeconomic background has an influence on depression already in childhood, and the socioeconomic background is also inherited in generations. The connection is two-directional because depression can also have negative effects on one’s socioeconomic status. Many physiological, behavioral and social factors have an impact on the connection of depression and socioeconomic status. The social distribution of depression is mainly explained with the stress theory, that focuses on the stress exposure, and on the other hand on social resources to cope with that stress. Lifestyle, diseases, social support, psychosocial stress and access to health care are some important mediators of the connection. That is how the problems are accumulating to those in the weakest positions. In summary, depression is more common in the lowest socioeconomic class. Society structures support the resources on some of its members, and exposes those same individuals to fewer harmful experiences. Also, those in the lower socioeconomic class might be easier left outside of mental care. It is important to take these things into account in political decision-making, mental care and health care.

Masennus on valitettavan yleinen mielialahäiriö. Lisäksi sen yleisyyden on todettu lisääntyneen huomattavasti, mutta silti sen tutkimus ja hoito eivät ole tuottaneet vielä toivottua tulosta. Tämän takia on ehdotettu, että sitä pitää tarkastella oireiden verkostona. Verkostoteorian mukaan taustalla ei ole masennusta aiheuttavaa taustatekijää vaan jokin verkostossa keskeinen masennusoire saa aikaan muita oireita ja näin syntyy kokonaisuus, jota kutsumme masennukseksi. Yksi näkökulma masennuksen taustalle on, että masennus olisi evoluution saatossa syntynyt adaptaatio. Tutkijoiden enemmistön näkemys vaikuttaisi kuitenkin olevan, että kliininen masennus olisi adaptiivisista reaktioista syntynyt toimintahäiriö. Yksittäiset masennusoireet voisivat mahdollisesti olla adaptiivisia, mutta diagnostiset kriteerit täyttävässä kliinisessä masennuksessa oireet esiintyvät ryppäissä. Masennusoireet riippuvat enemmän tilanteesta kuin henkilöstä. Ihmisen kohdatessa erilaisia vastoinkäymisiä oireprofiilit eroavat selkeästi toisistaan. Kun menettää läheisen tai epäonnistuu itselleen tärkeässä tavoitteessa, syntyy erilaisia masennusoirekokonaisuuksia. Masennuksen hoidon kannalta olisi ratkaisevaa ymmärtää, mitkä oireet ovat riskitekijöitä laukaisemaan masennuksen missäkin tilanteessa. Sen ehkäiseminen olisi helpompaa, jos tiedettäisiin, mitkä tekijät aiheuttavat nyky-yhteiskunnassa masennusta. Masennuksen yleisyys saattaa johtua stressaavasta työkulttuurista ja helposti yksinäisestä yksilökeskeisestä kulttuurista. Verkostoteoria voisi tuoda uutta ymmärrystä siihen, missä vaiheessa todennäköisesti adaptiiviset reaktiot muuttuvat diagnosoitavan masennuksen oireverkostoksi.

Already a long ago some patients suffering from nonfluent aphasia, having lost their ability to speak complitely or partly, have been noticed to be able to sing words and phrases. Various singing-based speech rehabilitation methods have been developed since then, melodic intonation therapy (MIT) being probably the most well known of them. MIT is an intensive rehabilitation method that consists of several elements: simple melodic intonation that follows the prosody of a normal speech, rhythmic syllables, left hand tapping and multiple repetitions. The aim of this review was to present literature concerning the effectiveness of MIT, and the behavioral and neural mechanisms behind it. Some evidence has been found of the effectiveness of MIT both in the acute phase of the disorder and in the sub-acute and chronic phases. In several studies MIT has been compared with regular speech therapy. However, only preliminary conclusion should be made based on these studies, since they often lacked adaquate control and had too small sample sizes. Also, there is no full consensus concerning the bahavioral mechanisms that make MIT effective. Some studies suggest that it is the rhythmic component that makes the method work. On the other hand, in some studies the melodic intonation in itself has been said to play a crucial role. Results from brain imaging studies suggest that the way in which MIT helps in the speech rehabilitation is that it activates the right hemisphare through singing. This was also the initial idea of the inventors of MIT. At least some aphasia patients having gone through MIT have showed increased activity in the right hemisphere, especially in the sub-acute phase, as well as anatomical changes in the right subcortical areas in association with the rehabilitation. For patients whose left hemisphere language areas are complitely distroyed, MIT may be an especially effective treatment method for language rehabilitation.

Increasing academic interest has been targeted towards psychological factors behind elite athletes' performances. Mental toughness (MT) is an umbrella term created to depict these characteristics. MT is commonly seen as a caravan of psychological resources that supports pursuing sporting goals in both practice and competitive situations. Emotion and thought regulation and traits and attitudes such as determination and dedication to sport have been thought to be some of the most pivotal examples of MT characteristics. Although there are naturally differences between the psychological demands of different sports and their practices and competitions, MT is still seen as an adept construct to describe the psychological characteristics supporting performing at the highest level. The aim of this review is to examine the common aspects of the definitions of MT, what is known about the development of MT, the associations with sports performances and the mechanisms MT works behind performance in elite sports context. In addition to the likely genetic basis of MT, also parents in childhood and coaches with other sports personnel during later sports career play a significant role in the development of MT. A training environment that is supporting and challenging at the same time is seen optimal considering the development of MT. Higher MT scores have been connected rather systematically with both better results and higher levels of competition. Of the characteristics of MT, control of negative thoughts and emotions, self-confidence and dedication to sports have been the ones to be associated most strongly with better performances. The meanings of thought and emotion control have been thought to emphasize in demanding, pressured situations and in adversities during sports career. Dedication, conscientiousness and determination are seen as important features behind purposeful training and creating and following competition plans. Practicing these, frequently highlighted as important, characteristics could be particularly beneficial for elite athletes from the early stages of the career. It has also been noted that many characteristics of MT, for example emotion regulation and perception of self-efficacy support also psychological well-being. Although the first MT development interventions have yielded promising results, the results are still relatively scarce and need more attention to be focused in future.

Extensive amount of health information is available to people especially online, and most Finns have searched the internet for health-related guidance. However, some of the information is erroneous. At individual level, relying on false health assumptions can result in weakened health, whereas at societal level it can lead to, for instance, increased costs. Nevertheless, correcting misinformation can be challenging. The impact of prior information on people’s attitudes and decision making after receiving and accepting new, corrective information is called the continued influence effect. The continued influence effect has been studied quite much but less attention has been paid to its diverse examination from the perspective of health. The objective of this literature review is to clarify the general psychological factors that affect the challenges in correcting health-related misinformation. Studies showed that ensuring the cohesion of the general view about the topic was more effective in correcting false information than merely providing accurate facts. The corrections were the most influential when they included a sufficient explanation for the incorrectness of the original information. In addition, it was noticed that people might have evaluated wrong both the reliability of their memory and the probability of the risks of health disadvantages. People were also more favourable towards health-related knowledge that was in line with their previous expectations. Social consensus was sometimes used as a heuristic in evaluating claims, but yet the familiarity of the claim could create a false illusion of consensus. Moreover, it was noticed that the faster the correction of misinformation happened in media, the more efficient the correction was. Thus, it seems that when it comes to correcting false health information, it is important to tell why misinformation occurred in the first place and also ensure that the corrective information is sufficiently explained and is compatible with other related concepts. Taken into account the expectations and assumptions that are related to health, corrective information should be constructed with the target audience in mind in order to be effective. In addition, it is more difficult to change long-standing false beliefs compared to more recent ones. Therefore, reacting fast is required from media and the establishment when misinformation spreads. This review provides a comprehensive summary about the general psychological challenges in correcting misinformation from the perspective of health-related topics. However, due to the limited themes of the research literature, the conclusions remain partially uncertain. In order to get more knowledge about the continued influence effect precisely in health issues, it would be important to broaden the research topics even more in the future.