Impact of personality and coping mechanisms on health-related quality of life in liver transplantation recipients

With the great development of liver transplantation in China, long survival and quality of life after liver transplantation have been matters of growing interest. This study was designed to investigate the impact of personality and coping skills on the quality of life after liver transplantation. METHODS:Fifty-five outpatients who had been followed up after liver transplantation at our center were assessed by general quality of life inventory (GQOLI-74 ), a medical coping modes questionnaire (MCMQ), an eysenck personality questionnaire (EPQ), and a general condition questionnaire (GCQ). RESULTS: The score for material well-being was the lowest (63.22±12.67) and for psychological well-being the highest (73.43±12.60) in 4 dimensions of the GQOLI in post transplantation patients. Their main coping method was confrontation (21.40±3.70). The main characteristics of their personality were extraversation (E score 12.96±4.13) and neuroticism (N score 8.20±4.90) . The total score of the GQOLI was positively correlated with confrontation and E score, and it was negatively correlated with acceptance and N score. The physical well-being positively associated with the E score. The psychological well-being was positively correlated with confrontation and L score, and was negatively correlated with acceptance, P and N score. Social well-being was positively correlated with confrontation and E score, and was negatively correlated with acceptance and N score. Material well-being was not correlated with coping methods and personality. CONCLUSION:The quality of life in post liver transplantation patients is associated with their psychological characteristics.

The Relationship between Mental Disorders and Personality of Outpatients in a Psychiatric Clinic in Nanjing, China

Psychosis has increasingly become a social problem,emphasizing the need to understand the relationship between mental disorders and personality.This study aimed to investigate the relationship between mental disorders and personality among psychiatric outpatients based on real-world data.Symptom Checklist 90(SCL-90)and Eysenck Personality Questionnaire(EPQ)were used to evaluate the personality and psychopathological symptoms of patients(n=8409)in the Psychiatric Outpatient Department at Nanjing Drum Tower Hospital.t-test was used to compare scores between patients and national norms.Pearson’s correlation coefficient and path analysis were used to explore the relationship between mental health status and personality.The correlation coefficient between the neuroticism(N)score and each factor score of the SCL-90 test,as well as the correlation between psychoticism(P)and hostility and paranoia,exceeded 0.4.Path analysis revealed that the standardized path coefficients of N score and SCL-90 were all higher than 0.4.In addition,the standardized path coefficient of hostility and paranoia on P score were 0.313 and 0.280,respectively.Interpersonal sensitivity,depression and obsessive-compulsive symptoms were affected by extraversion(E)score,with standardized path coefficients of-0.149,-0.138,and-0.105,respectively.The path analysis also showed the direct and indirect effects of age,gender,education,and marital status on SCL-90.Patients characterized as melancholic had higher scores in all factors of SCL-90.In conclusion,mental health was related to personality traits of neuroticism,psychoticism and introversion.

THE INVESTIGATION AND ANALYSIS OF THE PSYCHOLOGICAL DISORDERS OF THE PUPILS（9～12YEARS OF AGE）OF XI＇AN CITY

pupils aged 9～12 years from six primary schools were cross-sectionally investigated on the psychological disorders with Conner Scale and EPQ. The results showed that the incidence of psychological disorders was 18. 2%,with 21. 3% in male and 15. 5% in female. The incidehees were significantly difrerent between male and remal (P<0. 05). The incidences or learning difficulty,hyperactivity and impulsive behavior were 8. 2%, 5. 3%,and 5.3% respectively.The family factors influencing the psychological disorders were the pupils'birth problems,the relationship between the pupils and their parents, and the parents'inappropriate prospect for the pupils.The investigation also found that the pupils with psychological disorders had more poor experiences or their family and school and more of them had obvious personality tendencies towards unstability or emotion,eccentricity and social immaturity as compared with the normal pupils. The effective measures to promote pupils'psychological health were suggested in this article.

A Simultaneous Multidisciplinary Evaluation of Irritable Bowel Syndrome in Egyptian Patients: Dietary, Psychiatric, Microbiologic and Autonomic Aspects

Background and Aim: Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is a common medical disorder that may be severe enough to impair the quality of life. This study aimed to assess the role of each of dietary, psychiatric, autonomic, and microbiology background and their interactions in Egyptian patients with IBS. Patients and Methods: Forty adult patients diagnosed with IBS, equally divided into 2 groups the diarrhea predominant and the constipation predominant, were recruited from the Endoscopy Unit. Dietary assessment was done by monthly food frequency questionnaire. Psychiatric assessment was done by both the Eysenck Personality Questionnaire (EPQ) and Hopkins Symptom Checklist (HSCL-90). Microbiologic evaluation was done by faecal cultures and neurophysiologic autonomic evaluation was done via the sympathetic skin response and the parasympathetic R-R interval variation. Another 20 healthy subjects were included as control group. Results: All IBS patients were young, with significant female predominance (P = 0.007), particularly in IBS-C group (20/20;100%, P = 0.003). Psychologically, abnormal scores of neuroticism, extraversion and criminality, and depression, obsessive compulsion, somatization, sensitivity and anxiety in both IBS groups with particularly extraversion, criminality and depression were significantly higher in constipation subtype. Microbiologically, Bacteroids were significantly related to IBS, while Klebsiella was significantly deficient without significant difference between its groups. On the contrary, neither diet nor autonomic activity showed any significant relation. Conclusions: IBS is a disorder induced by many factors and affected by several interacting agents, thus revealing controversial results when studied simultaneously.

Three-Factor structure of self-report schizotypal traits in a French nonclinical sample

Evidence suggests that the structure of psychosis-proneness in the general population may involve three distinct related dimensions. Therefore we conducted a study, using a wider range of measures, to explore the factorial structure of schizotypy assessed by a mixed self-report Schizotypal Traits Questionnaire (mSTQ) in young French healthy individuals. Raine’s Schizotypal Personality Questionnaire [SPQ] and four of the Chapman’s scales [Magical Ideation Scale-MIS;Perceptual Aberration Scale-PAS;Revised Physical Anhedonia Scale-PhA and Revised Social Anhedonia Scale-SA] were combined to form a mSTQ which was administered to 232 French undergraduate students aged from 18 to 25 years old. A Principal Component Analysis [PCA] was carried out on scores for each scale to examine the factorial structure of schizotypal traits in this sample. PCA evidenced a three-factor model of schizotypy in the sample as a whole and even in the lower score sub-sample. The three factors were “positive or cognitive-perceptual”, “negative or social-interpersonal” and “disorganization” latent. Schizotypy, as assessed by these scales, is a multidimensional construct composed by at least three dimensions in this nonclinical sample. This factorial structure is similar to those of schizophrenia symptoms which raise the hypothesis of a continuum from normality to schizophrenia via schizotypal

Personality correlates of reporting Chinese words from the Deutsch "high-low" word illusion by Chinese-speaking people

Objective When English-speaking people listen to the Deutsch ＂high-low＂ word illusion, they report hearing English words. Whether Chinese-speaking people report Chinese words when listening to the illusion, or whether any reported words might be correlated with personality traits as previous investigations have demonstrated for listening to music in other cultures, is open to question. The present study aimed to address this. Methods A total of 308 right-handed, healthy volunteers （177 women and 131 men） were given the illusion test and asked to answer the Zuckerman-Kuhlman personality questionnaire （ZKPQ）. Their depressive tendency was measured by the Plutchik-van Praag depression inventory （PVP）. Results There was no gender effect regarding either the PVP score or the number of reported Chinese words from the illusion. Women scored higher on ZKPQ neuroticism-anxiety than men. The number of meaningful Chinese words reported was correlated with the ZKPQ impulsive sensation-seeking, aggression-hostility, and activity scores. Some words reported by participants who scored higher on these three traits were related in meaning to those scales. Conclusion Our preliminary results suggest that when Chinese-speaking people listen to the Deutsch ＂high-low＂ word illusion, they might use personality-related, specific cognitive schemata.

Needle Sensation and Personality Factors Influence Therapeutic Effect of Acupuncture for Treating Bell＇s Palsy： A Secondary Analysis of a Multicenter Randomized Controlled Trial

Background： It has not been solved what kind of needle sensation might influence outcomes of acupuncture treatment. Effects of personality factors on the therapeutic effect of acupuncture have not been investigated. This study aimed to find the effects of the traits of personality on the objective outcome when different acupuncture techniques were used in treating patients with Bell＇s palsy. Methods： We performed a secondary analysis of a prospective multicenter randomized controlled trial of acupuncture for Bell＇s palsy. Patients were randomly assigned to the de qi and control groups, respectively. The primary outcome was facial nerve function at month 6. The intensity of each needle sensation was rated by a visual analog scale. Psychosocial thctors were assessed by the pretreatment mediator questionnaire： 16 Personality Factor Questionnaire （16PF） was used tbr assessing personality factors and digit cancellation test for assessing attention. Results： After 6 months, patients in the de qi group had better facial function （adjusted odds ratio [OR]： 4.16, 95% confidence interval [CI]： 2.23-7.78）. Path analysis showed that intensity of needle sensation of fullness had direct effect on House-Brackmann （HB） score at month 6. In de qi group, the low HB score on day I （OR： 0.13, 95% （_7： 0.03-0.45） and the low Social Boldness score （OR： 0.63, 95% CI： 0.41-0.97） in 16PF were associated with better facial function. In control group, low HB score on day 1 （OR： 0.25, 95% CI： 0.13-0.50）, low Vigilance score （OR： 0.66, 95% CI： 0.50-0.88）, and high Tension score （OR： 1.41,95% CI： 1.12 1.77） in 16PF were related to better facial function. Conclusions： The needle sensation of fullness could predict better facial function and personality traits might influence outcomes of acupuncture treatment. Both of them should be considered seriously in acupuncture treatment and research.