Abdullah Yıldırım

Psychometric properties of the Turkish version of the Sleep Hygiene Index in clinical and non-clinical samples

OBJECTIVE Sleep is one of the most significant of human behaviors, occupying roughly one third of human life. Sleep is a process the brain requires for proper functioning. Sleep hygiene can be described as practices to ease sleep and to avoid factors which decrease sleep quality. Inadequate sleep hygiene generally results in disturbance of daily life activities due to inability to sustain sleep quality and daytime wakefulness. Therefore, the importance of development and utilization of measures of sleep hygiene increases. The aim of the study was to assess psychometric properties of the Sleep Hygiene Index (SHI) in clinical and non-clinical Turkish samples. METHOD Data were collected from 106 patients with major depression consecutively admitted to the psychiatry clinic of Yüzüncü Yıl University School of Medicine and 200 were volunteers recruited from community sample who were enrolled at the university. The SHI, Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), Insomnia Severity Index (ISI) and Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS) were administered to the subjects. Factor structure of the SHI was evaluated with explanatory and multi-sample confirmatory factor analyses. Pearson product-moment correlation coefficients of the SHI with the PSQI, ISI and ESS were computed. Item analyses, internal consistency coefficients and intra-class correlations between two repeated applications in both patient and healthy subjects were calculated. RESULTS The SHI revealed a unidimensional factor structure. Significant strong partial associations of the SHI with depression, insomnia and poor sleep quality and a modest partial association with sleepiness were detected. Cronbachs alphas for the SHI in community sample and patients with major depression were 0.70 and 0.71, respectively. Additionally, we found acceptable three-week temporal reliability in terms of intra-correlation coefficients of r=0.62, p<0.01 for the community sample and of r=0.67, p<0.01 among patients with major depression. CONCLUSION The SHI revealed adequate validity and reliability to be used by researchers in Turkish sample. Current results were discussed in light of previous findings and theoretical considerations.

Rectal indomethacin use in pain relief during hysterosalpingography: A randomized placebo controlled trial

To evaluate the effectiveness of a rectal nonsteroidal anti‐inflammatory drug (indomethacin) for pain relief during a hysterosalpingography (HSG).

Neurological soft signs, dissociation and alexithymia in patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) and healthy subjects

A body of evidence has supported that patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) have increased rates of various neurological soft signs (NSS) compared to controls. Various lines of research has documented robust relationships between OCD and dissociative symptomatology. The study aimed to examine the associations between obsessive-compulsive symptoms, dissociative experiences alexithymia, and NSS. The study included thirty OCD patients and thirty healthy controls, matched for age, marital status, education, and income. The Neurological Evaluation Scale (NES), Padua Inventory-Revised (PI-R), Dissociative Experiences Scale (DES) and Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS-20) were administered. In comparison to healthy controls, patients with OCD had difficulty sequencing for complex motor acts and greater absorption/ imaginative involvement. Using latent class analysis, the study sample was classified into two homogenous subsets as mild NSS (n = 45) and severe NSS (n = 15). Majority of the participants who were grouped into severe NSS latent class were OCD patient (n = 14, 93.3%). Furthermore, those with severe NSS reported greater levels of alexithymia and more severe obsessive-compulsive symptoms, particularly precision. We concluded that relationships between OCD severity and NSS appear to be of crucial importance. Our data along with accumulated evidence suggest that OCD associated with pronounced NSS may represent a specific subtype of the disorder.

Childhood maltreatment is associated with attachment insecurities, dissociation and alexithymia in bipolar disorder

Child maltreatment is a public health issue that is a well-established risk factor for many psychological conditions, including bipolar disorder. The current study is one of the first to investigate associations among child maltreatment, dissociative symptomatology, alexithymia, anxiety, depression, and attachment insecurities. 40 patients with bipolar disorder-I and 40 healthy subjects matched for age, gender, and education participated in the study. The Dissociative Experiences Scale (DES), Somatoform Dissociation Questionnaire (SDQ), Childhood Trauma Questionnaire (CTQ-28), Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS-20), Depression Anxiety Stress Scale (DASS-21), and Experiences in Close Relationships-Revised (ECR-R) were completed by participants. In comparison to control participants, patients with bipolar disorder-I reported significantly more frequent abusive experiences in childhood, higher levels of attachment insecurities, more severe pathological and somatoform dissociation, as well as higher scores on measures of alexithymia, anxiety, depression and psychological stress. Reports of psychopathology among first-degree relatives (OR = 102.169, 95%IC = 4.596-2271.255; P < 0.01) and childhood emotional trauma (OR = 1.032; 95%CI = 0.782-1.363, P = 0.05) significantly contributed to bipolar disorder-I diagnosis. In contrast, absorption was negatively associated with bipolar illness (OR = 0.852; 95% CI = 0.747-0.973, P < 0.05). Our results showed significant associations between childhood trauma exposure and risk of bipolar disorder. Moreover, the results demonstrate that emotional abuse exposure predicts bipolar illness.

Development and Preliminary Psychometric Properties of an Instrument for the Measurement of Obsessional Dissociative Experiences: The Van Obsessional Dissociation Questionnaire (VOD-Q)

A growing body of research evidence documents the substantial associations between obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) and dissociation. This article describes the development and preliminary psychometric properties of the Van Obsessional Dissociation Questionnaire (VOD-Q). Obsessional dissociation is defined as a tendency to dissociate in reaction to distressing, unwanted and intrusive thoughts, images and impulses. The screening tool is conceptualized to tap obsessional dissociation across three dimensions: obsessional absorption, obsessional depersonalization/ derealization and obsessional amnesia. The VOD-Q, the Padua Inventory-Revised (PI-R), the Dissociative Experiences Scale (DES), and the Obsessive Belief Questionnaire (OBQ-44) were administered in this study. The results showed that the VOD-Q had excellent test-retest reliability (ranging from 0.73 to 0.90) and internal consistency (ranging from 0.90 to 0.97). The VOD-Q total and subscale scores were significantly associated with measures of obsessive-compulsive symptoms and dissociative experiences. OCD patients scored significantly higher on the VOD-Q than community participants. Based on the present findings, the VOD-Q appears to be a reliable and valid instrument for the measurement of obsessional dissociative experiences.

A psychometric investigation into the Turkish version of the SLEEP-50 Questionnaire

The aim of the study is to investigate the psychometric properties of the Turkish version of the SLEEP-50 Questionnaire (SLEEP-50), designed to assess probable caseness of sleep disorders in general population based on the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 4th Edition Text Revision. Five hundred and twenty-two college students, aged between 18-44 years, participated in the study. Using the cutoff values informed by initial validation study, we detected the prevalence rates of sleep disorders. Internal consistency and test-retest reliability of the SLEEP-50 were evaluated. The Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) was administered along with the questionnaire to assess convergent validity. The internal consistency of the overall questionnaire was excellent (Cronbach’s α=.91). Substantial kappa values showed that temporal stability of the SLEEP-50 was adequate. All sleep disorders detected by the SLEEP-50 were found to be significantly associated with the poor sleep quality as indexed by the PSQI. The Turkish version of the SLEEP-50 revealed adequate psychometric properties.

Psychometric properties of the Turkish version of the Depression Anxiety Stress Scale-21 (DASS-21)

ABSTRACT The study examined the psychometric properties of the Turkish version of the DASS-21. Thirty patients with major depression and 30 patients with anxiety disorders and 250 health controls participated in the study. We tested six alternative models using CFA. We found that tripartite model comprised of anhedonia and physiological hyperarousal along with a general negative affectivity outperformed alternative models. The DASS-21 distinguished clinical groups from healthy controls. The scale had excellent internal reliability, with Cronbach’s alphas ranging from 0.87 to 0.90, and temporal stability, with intra-correlations ranging from 0.82 to 0.93. The Turkish version of the DASS-21 appears to have adequate psychometric properties in clinical and non-clinical samples.

Psychometric Properties of the Turkish Version of Sleep Hygiene Index in Clinical and Non-clinical Samples

Objective Sleep hygiene can be described as practices to ease sleep and to avoid factors which decrease sleep quality. Inadequate sleep hygiene generally results in disturbance of daily life activities due to inability to sustain sleep quality and daytime wakefulness. The aim of the study was to assess psychometric properties of the Sleep Hygiene Index in clinical and non-clinical Turkish samples. Methods Data were collected from 106 patients with major depression and 200 were volunteers recruited from community sample who were enrolled at the university. The Sleep Hygiene Index (SHI), Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), Insomnia Severity Index (ISI) and Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS) were administered to the subjects. All depression patients and thirty-two healthy volunteers underwent a twenty-day test-retest procedure. Factor structure of the SHI was evaluated with explanatory and multi-sample confirmatory factor analyses. Pearson product-moment correlation coefficients of the SHI with the PSQI, ISI and ESS were performed. Item analyses, internal consistency coefficients and intra-class correlations between two repeated applications in both patient and healthy subjects were calculated. Results Cronbachs alphas for the SHI in community sample and patients with major depression were 0.70 and 0.71, respectively. Scale scores had comparatively good temporal stability over a three-week time for either clinical or non-clinical samples. SHI had good internal reliability. Conclusion The findings of this present study suggest that the SHI may be a useful research or clinical assessment tool for evaluating sleep hygiene to guide case formulation, treatment planning in depression as well as nonclinical population.