Jakob Smári

Autism Diagnostic Interview-Revised and the Childhood Autism Rating Scale: convergence and discrepancy in diagnosing autism.

The agreement between the Autism Diagnostic Interview–Revised (ADI-R) and the Childhood Autism Rating Scale (CARS) was investigated in the diagnostic assessment of 54 children aged 22–114 months referred for possible autism. The observed agreement between the two systems was 66.7% (Cohens kappa = .40) when the ADI-R definition for autism was applied (i.e., scores reaching cutoff in three domains on the ADI-R), but increased considerably with less stringent criteria; that is, scores reaching cutoffs in two domains and in one domain on the ADI-R. As predicted, the CARS identified more cases of autism than the ADI-R. Children classified as autistic according to both instruments had significantly lower IQ/DQ and more severe autistic symptomatology than those classified with the CARS only.

The relationship between satisfaction with life, ADHD symptoms, and associated problems among university students.

Objective: To ascertain whether ADHD symptoms, and associated problems, are negatively related to subjective well-being. Method: The Satisfaction With Life Scale (SWLS) was completed by 369 university students, along with the Reasoning & Rehabilitation (R&R) ADHD Training Evaluation (RATE), the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV) Scale for current ADHD symptoms, and the Depression Anxiety Stress Scales (DASS). Results: The SWLS was negatively correlated with all the other measures, and the strongest correlations were with the Total RATE score. A multiple regression analysis showed that the variables in the study accounted for 22% and 25% of the variance of the SWLS among males and females, respectively. Among males poor social functioning was the best predictor of dissatisfaction with life, whereas among females it was poor emotional control. Conclusion: Both ADHD symptoms and associated problems are significantly related to poorer satisfaction with life. (J. of Att. Dis. 2009; 12(6) 507-515 )

Validity of self-report and informant rating scales of adult ADHD symptoms in comparison with a semistructured diagnostic interview.

In a study of ADHD symptoms in the relatives of probands diagnosed with ADHD, the validity of self-reported and informant-reported symptoms in childhood and adulthood was investigated with a semistructured diagnostic interview, the Schedule for Affective Disorders and Schizophrenia for School-Age Children (K-SADS) adapted for adults, as a criterion. The participating relatives were 80 women and 46 men aged 17 to 77. Rating scales based on the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (4th ed.) were completed by participants and informants. Internal consistency of the scales and interrater reliabilities of the diagnostic interview were satisfactory. Correlations between ratings across sources of information supported convergent and divergent validity. Self-report scales and informant scales predicted interview-based diagnoses in childhood and adulthood with adequate sensitivities and specificities. It was concluded that the rating scales have good psychometric properties, at least in at-risk populations.

Emotion regulation in pathological skin picking: findings from a non-treatment seeking sample.

Pathological skin picking (PSP) is characterized by excessive picking of the skin, resulting in significant distress or functional impairment. The aim of the present study was to investigate the emotion regulation hypothesis of PSP. University students with PSP (n = 55) and without history of PSP (n = 55) were asked to retrospectively rate the intensity of affective states before, during, and after skin picking episodes. The results showed that for a majority of the PSP sufferers, intensity of certain negative affective states (i.e. anxiety, tension or boredom) was pronounced just before picking, and diminished significantly in the period from before to after picking. Relief and gratification increased during picking whereas guilt increased afterwards. A similar pattern emerged in the control group, although a much lower level of intensity was reported. Participants were also asked to fill out questionnaires concerning emotion regulation difficulties, emotion reactivity, depression, anxiety and worry. Hierarchical logistic regressions demonstrated that emotion regulation difficulties as well as emotion reactivity predicted PSP diagnosis after depression, anxiety and worry were controlled for. Furthermore, emotion regulation difficulties statistically mediated the relationship between emotion reactivity and PSP. Overall, the findings support an emotion regulation model of PSP.

Prevalence Estimates of Gambling Participation and Problem Gambling among 16-18-year-old Students in Iceland: A Comparison of the SOGS-RA and DSM-IV-MR-J

The aim of this study was to estimate gambling participation and problem gambling among Icelandic adolescents. Participants were 750 16–18-year-old students, 371 girls and 379 boys. The rate of problem gambling was estimated with the SOGS-RA and DSM-IV-MR-J. Results indicated that 96% of adolescents had gambled in their lifetime, 79% at least once in the preceding year and about 10% gamble at least once a week. A psychometric evaluation of the two screening scales revealed satisfactory reliabilities and factor structures for both scales. The DSM-IV-MR-J identified 2% of the participants as problem gamblers while SOGS-RA identified 2.7%, and problem gambling was more common among boys than girls. It was concluded that problem gambling among adolescents is an area of concern for the Icelandic community that needs to be further investigated.

Paranoia, self-consciousness, and social cognition in schizophrenics

The validity of the Paranoia Scale of Fenigstein and Vanable (1992) was investigated in a schizophrenic population. The scale was found to be correlated with clinical ratings of paranoia and marginally with a situational test of paranoia. Further, Fenigstein and Vanables study of the relation between paranoia and self-consciousness was extended from a normal population to schizophrenic patients. Contrary to Fenigstein and Vanable, paranoia was found to be related to private, but not to public self-consciousness. This finding is discussed in the light of possible differences in self-processes between normals and schizophrenics. Finally, Fenigstein and Vanables arguments concerning paranoid personalism in social cognition were investigated. It was expected that paranoia and public self-consciousness would be related to extreme evaluations of people. This was partly confirmed for paranoia, but not for public self-consciousness. The implications are discussed.

Dispositional coping, psychological distress and disease-control in diabetes

Abstract One hundred and sixty insulin-dependent diabetics were contacted through the Icelandic Diabetics Association. They were asked to fill in the Coping Inventory for Stressful Situations (CISS) and a measure of depression and anxiety (Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale) as well as to answer several questions related to their control of and attitude to their illness. Of the total diabetics contacted, 120 participated in the questionnaire (75%). Relationships were investigated between the dimensions of dispositional coping (task-orientation, emotion oriented coping and avoidance) on the one hand, and selfreported adaptation to the disease, as well as anxiety and depression on the other. Coping was found to be related to psychological distress as well as to self-reported control of the disease. Task-oriented coping was by and large related to positive outcomes, emotion-oriented coping to negative outcomes, and avoidance was largely unrelated to the measured outcomes. These relationships were, however, somewhat different for men and women.

Motor Inhibition, Reflection Impulsivity, and Trait Impulsivity in Pathological Skin Picking

Pathological skin picking (PSP) is often recognized as an impulse control disorder. The current study sought to investigate the relationship between PSP and different forms of impulsivity. University students that met criteria for PSP (n = 55) and university students without history of PSP (n = 55) answered a multidimensional impulsivity questionnaire (the UPPS Impulsive Behavior Scale) and completed 2 neurocognitive tasks that assess impulsivity (the Stop Signal Task and the Information Sampling Task). The PSP group scored significantly higher than the control group on the negative and positive urgency subscales of the UPPS, but the groups did not differ on other subscales or the neurocognitive tasks. Logistic regression demonstrated that the urgency scales added to the prediction of PSP after negative affect and other forms of impulsivity were adjusted for. The results indicate that PSP sufferers are characterized by emotion-based impulsivity and do not appear to be impulsive in other ways.

Measuring Obsessions Without Worry: Convergent and Discriminant Validity of the Revised Padua Inventory in an Icelandic Student Population

The revised Padua Inventory (Padua Inventory-Washington State University Revision or PI-WSUR) was investigated in an Icelandic student population ( n = 431). The inventory was explicitly constructed to minimize the overlap between the measurement of obsessionality and worry. Its relationships with the Maudsley-Obsessive-Compulsive Inventory (MOCI) and the Penn State Worry Questionnaire (PSWQ) were investigated. The factor structure of the PI-WSUR was studied as well as the relations of PI-WSUR subscales with corresponding scales on the MOCI (checking, contamination). It was further investigated whether a factor analysis of the PI-WSUR together with PSWQ would indicate that the PI-WSUR and its different components were relatively uncontaminated by variance shared with worry. The results generally supported the psychometric properties of the Icelandic version of the PI-WSUR as well as its relative independence of PSWQ specifically.

OBSESSIVE-COMPULSIVE SYMPTOMS AND SUPPRESSION OF PERSONALLY RELEVANT UNWANTED THOUGHTS

Abstract Consequences of thought suppression were compared in people characterized by different levels of obsessive-compulsive symptoms. Eighty-five female students were asked to retrieve an uncomfortable thought. Then they were instructed either to think about anything they liked or to do the same with the exception that they were not to think about the uncomfortable thought. The subjects subsequently wrote down their stream of thought. Then all subjects were asked to think without any limitation for a second period. There was a significant interaction between obsessive-compulsive symptoms measured with the Maudsley Obsession-Compulsion Inventory and initial instruction, with regard to the occurrence of the uncomfortable thought during the first period, for two out of three measures. Alternative explanations of the results are discussed.