João Carlos Alchieri

Parâmetros psicométricos: uma análise de testes psicológicos comercializados no Brasil

As tecnicas utilizadas na avaliacao psicologica tem provocado questionamentos nas comunidades cientificas e profissionais brasileiras, tanto no que se refere a qualidade dos instrumentos, de maneira geral, ao uso que os psicologos fazem dos instrumentos, bem como em relacao a validade geral dos resultados da avaliacao psicologica. O presente trabalho teve como objetivo identificar as principais informacoes psicometricas a respeito dos instrumentos psicologicos presentes em seus manuais, tais como editora, data de publicacao, variavel medida, padronizacao, validade e precisao. Foram consultados 146 instrumentos de avaliacao comercializados no Brasil por onze editoras. Os resultados indicaram que somente 28,8% desses instrumentos relatam estudos de precisao, validade e padronizacao. Esses resultados sugerem que a Psicologia brasileira tem-se caracterizado por despender pouca atencao aos fundamentos cientificos de sua pratica profissional.

Instrumentos de avaliação mais conhecidos/utilizados por psicólogos e estudantes de psicologia

The present work aims to identify the well known and also the most used psychological instruments by Brazilian psychologists from the following regions of the country: Amazonas, Distrito Federal, Mato Grosso, Sao Paulo, Rio Grande do Sul, Parana, Santa Catarina, Alagoas, Bahia, Minas Gerais, Rio Grande do Norte, Rio de Janeiro, Maranhao, Goias, Paraiba e Sergipe. In this study 304 subjects participated (17-58years old), 82,2% (F=250) female and 15,8%(F=48) male, students and psychologists. It was drawn up a list of 145 psychological instruments commercialized by the following publishing houses: CEPA, Vetor, Casa do Psicologo, Edites, CETEPP, Mestre Jou, Editorial Psy, Mamole, Artes Medicas, Edicon, Entreletras. The results indicated that the number of unknown/ unused instruments is bigger than known/used and the personality assessments are the well known/ most used.

Avaliação psicológica da personalidade de condutores: uma revisão de literatura

Resumo Todos os anos milhoes de brasileiros sao avaliados psicologicamente para conduzir veiculos, com base na legislacao vigente. O objetivo deste trabalho foi revisar os estudos empiricos brasileiros sobre avaliacao psicologica de caracteristicas da personalidade utilizados nos processos avaliativos de condutores. Identificaram-se publicacoes nesta tematica no pais, os principais temas e metodos utilizados, bem como listaram-se os procedimentos e resultados obtidos. Conclui-se que as pesquisas sobre personalidade de motoristas sao escassas e restritas nos seus resultados com base na generalizacao, sem resultados conclusivos que justifiquem a necessidade de avaliacao deste construto psicologico para conduzir veiculos. Palavras-chave: Personalidade de condutores; Avaliacao psicologica de motoristas; Motoristas; Revisao de literatura; Psicologia do trânsito. Psychological assessment of the personality of drivers: a review of literature

The Therapeutic Potentials of Ayahuasca in the Treatment of Depression

Major depressive disorder (MDD) is generally classified as a mood disorder with a profound effect on the individual’s behavior and quality of life. According to the World Health Organization, in about 20 years, depression will be the disorder with the most significant repercussions, both socially and economically. Despite the substantial progress in the development of new antidepressants, their effectiveness remains low, with remission of about 50 % after a single regime of treatment. The most common form of pharmacological treatment of MDD is based on selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), designed to increase extracellular levels of the neurotransmitter serotonin. Unfortunately, antidepressants currently available based on SSRIs may take several weeks to achieve the desired therapeutic effects. Therefore, massive effort has been devoted to find alternative treatments for MDD. For example, the use of ketamine, of (±)-1-(2,5-Dimethoxy-4-iodophenyl)-2-aminopropane (DOI), and β-carbolines is under current investigation. Based on evidence from the literature and a pilot study conducted by our group, we speculate about the possible therapeutic potential of ayahuasca for MDD. In part, such conjecture is based on the fact that ayahuasca combines N,N-dimethyltryptamine (DMT), acting particularly on serotonin neurotransmission through 5-HT2A receptors and monoamine oxidase inhibitors (MAOI), both involved, at least indirectly, with pharmacological formulations intended for MDD treatment. In this chapter, we will review the major aspects of MDD such as diagnosis, current pharmacological treatments, and the motivations to use ayahuasca as a novel alternative.

Revisão das pesquisas brasileiras em avaliação psicológica de habilidades e inteligência de condutores

The field of psychological assessment of drivers is characterized by difficulties and limitations in both its fundamentals and professional practice, calling for studies which systematize its developments. In this sense, the object of this study is to review the Brazilian empirical studies on the instruments for psychological assessment of the abilities and intelligences adopted in the evaluation processes of drivers. Publications dealing with this topic in the country, as well as their main themes and methods were identified, and the results obtained were listed. Only 15 publications were found. It is concluded that, in fifty years, the research on the abilities and intelligences of drivers have brought limited contributions to the issue of validity of the process, not having been found a solid field of knowledge in relation to the constructs and assessment criteria of their behavior.

Validade preditiva de instrumentos psicológicos usados na avaliação psicológica de condutores

RESUMO – Este estudo analisou a possibilidade de prever infracoes de trânsito cometidas por motoristas profissionais a partir dos resultados dos testes psicologicos aplicados no processo de habilitacao. Coletaram-se os dados de 68 condutores que exercem atividade remunerada em dois momentos, o primeiro, na aquisicao da habilitacao, e, o segundo, cinco anos depois, na renovacao. As analises nao demonstraram diferencas significativas nos escores medios dos testes entre os grupos de motoristas com e sem registro de infracao. Tambem nao foram evidenciadas correlacoes significativas entre os escores dos testes e as pontuacoes das infracoes. Concluiu-se que altos ou baixos escores nos diversos instrumentos nao sao criterios capazes de definir se um motorista cometera mais ou menos atos infracionais. Palavras-chave: avaliacao psicologica de condutores; validade preditiva; infracao de trânsito; testes psicologicos; psicologia do trânsito. ABSTRACT - This study analyzed the possibility to predict traffic infractions committed by professional drivers from test results obtained during the psychological assessment procedure when applying for a license. Data was collected from 68 professional drivers on two separate occasions: upon the acquisition of the license, and five years later, upon license renewal. The analysis did not demonstrate meaningful differences in the average test scores between the groups of drivers with and without a record of infraction. Also no meaningful correlations were evidenced between the test scores and the points attributed to the infractions. It was concluded that neither high nor low scores on the several instruments constitute criteria capable to define whether a driver will commit more or less infractional acts. Keywords: psychological assessment of drivers; predictive validity; traffic infraction; psychological tests; traffic psychology.

Aspectos psicossociais do paciente com ceratocone

INTRODUCTION: Keratoconus is a progressive and non-inflammatory ectasia of the cornea, mostly bilateral causing low vision because of the irregular astigmatism. The influence of the disease on quality of life is dependent on limiting factors and personality type. PURPOSE: To verify quality of life and personality type of the person with keratoconus. METHODS: Sixty-eight individuals with keratoconus and 52 without the ocular disease were studied. The following data were collected: personal demographic data, keratoconus measurements and specific questions, complete ophthalmologic examination, measurement of quality of life and personality type using standardized instruments. RESULTS: Both groups were demographically similar and comparable. SF-36 and MIPS differed between keratoconus and control patients. SF-36 scores showed that the keratoconus group had lower scores regarding the physical component (353.0 ± 58.2 x 379.1 ± 52.9) (p=0.005) as well as the mental component (326.3 ± 89.9 x 364.2 ± 66.4) (p=0.004), mainly functional capacity (86.3 ± 9.7 x 92.6 ± 9.7) (p<0.0001) and general health (76.8 ± 16.9 x 83.5 ± 16.5) (p=0.014). MIPS scores showed that patients with keratoconus were significantly more pain avoiding (p=0.007) presented more, imaginative intuition (p=0.004), asocial withdrawal (p=0.014) and anxious hesitation (p=0.010) than the control group. CONCLUSION: The results showed psychosocial impairment in the keratoconus group. Keratoconus influenced the quality of life expressed by the SF-36. MIPS showed keratoconus patients to be more pain avoiding, with more imaginative intuition, asocial withdrawal and anxious hesitation than the control group.

Motivação à prática de atividades físicas: um estudo com praticantes não-atletas

The study aimed at investigating the motivation to practicing physical activities (PA) among non-atlhetes in the city of Natal/RN. 309 practitioners of PA participated in the survey, aging between 16 and 74 years of age, equally distributed by gender. They answered the Revised Motivation for Physical Activity Measure (MPAM-R) that has five factors: Enjoyment, Health, Appearance, Competence and Social, and socio-demographic questions. In general, the main motive presented by the participants to practice PA was Health. It was verified yet, that women and the elderly had a higher average for the Health factor; among the exercise practitioners, a higher average in the Appearance factor was found; and a higher average in the Social factor was found among those that practice PA with accompaniment. It is concluded that the objectives of this study were achieved; these findings enable a better understanding of what motivates people to perform physical activity. However, further studies are suggested considering other variables.

Rapid antidepressant effects of the psychedelic ayahuasca in treatment-resistant depression: a randomized placebo-controlled trial

Background Recent open-label trials show that psychedelics, such as ayahuasca, hold promise as fast-onset antidepressants in treatment-resistant depression. Methods To test the antidepressant effects of ayahuasca, we conducted a parallel-arm, double-blind randomized placebo-controlled trial in 29 patients with treatment-resistant depression. Patients received a single dose of either ayahuasca or placebo. We assessed changes in depression severity with the Montgomery-Åsberg Depression Rating Scale (MADRS) and the Hamilton Depression Rating scale at baseline, and at 1 (D1), 2 (D2), and 7 (D7) days after dosing. Results We observed significant antidepressant effects of ayahuasca when compared with placebo at all-time points. MADRS scores were significantly lower in the ayahuasca group compared with placebo at D1 and D2 (p = 0.04), and at D7 (p < 0.0001). Between-group effect sizes increased from D1 to D7 (D1: Cohens d = 0.84; D2: Cohens d = 0.84; D7: Cohens d = 1.49). Response rates were high for both groups at D1 and D2, and significantly higher in the ayahuasca group at D7 (64% v. 27%; p = 0.04). Remission rate showed a trend toward significance at D7 (36% v. 7%, p = 0.054). Conclusions To our knowledge, this is the first controlled trial to test a psychedelic substance in treatment-resistant depression. Overall, this study brings new evidence supporting the safety and therapeutic value of ayahuasca, dosed within an appropriate setting, to help treat depression. This study is registered at http://clinicaltrials.gov (NCT02914769).

A randomized placebo-controlled trial on the antidepressant effects of the psychedelic ayahuasca in treatment-resistant depression

Major Depressive Disorder affects about 350 million people worldwide, and about one-third of the patients are considered treatment-resistant. Furthermore, available antidepressants take usually two weeks for the onset of their antidepressant effect. Recent open label trials show that psychedelics, such as ayahuasca and psilocybin, hold promise as fast-onset antidepressants. Although promising, these studies were not controlled for the placebo effect. To address this issue, and to further test the antidepressant effects of ayahuasca, we conducted a parallel arm, double-blind randomised placebo-controlled trial, in patients with treatment-resistant major depression. Thirty-five patients with treatment-resistant major depression received a single dose of ayahuasca or placebo. We measured as primary outcome the change in the Hamilton Depression Rating scale (HAM-D) seven days after the dosing session, and as secondary outcomes the changes in Montgomery–Åsberg Depression Rating Scale (MADRS), and response rates at one day (D1), two days (D2) and seven days (D7) after dosing, and remission rates at D7. This study is registered with http://clinicaltrials.gov (NCT02914769). We observed robust evidence of rapid antidepressant effects of a single dosing session with ayahuasca when compared to placebo. HAM-D scores at D7 were significantly lower in patients treated with ayahuasca than in those treated with placebo (p=0·019; Cohen’s d=0·98). MADRS scores were significantly reduced in the ayahuasca group compared to the placebo group at all endpoints (at D1 and D2, p=0·04; at D7, p<0·0001). Between-group effect sizes increased from D1 to D7 (D1: Cohen’s d=0·84; D2: Cohen’s d=0·84; D7: Cohen’s d=1·49). Response rates were high for both groups at D1 and D2, and were significantly higher in the ayahuasca group only at D7 (64% vs. 27%; OR = 4·95; p = 0·04; NNT = 2·66). Remission rate was not significantly different between groups. Our study provides new evidence of rapid antidepressant effects of ayahuasca for treatment-resistant major depression.Recent open label trials show that psychedelics, such as ayahuasca, hold promise as fast-onset antidepressants in treatment-resistant depression. In order to further test the antidepressant effects of ayahuasca, we conducted a parallel-arm, double-blind randomized placebo-controlled trial in 29 patients with treatment-resistant depression. Patients received a single dose of either ayahuasca or placebo. Changes in depression severity were assessed with the Montgomery-Asberg Depression Rating Scale (MADRS) and the Hamilton Depression Rating scale (HAM-D). Assessments were made at baseline, and at one (D1), two (D2) and seven (D7) days after dosing. We observed significant antidepressant effects of ayahuasca when compared to placebo at all timepoints. MADRS scores were significantly lower in the ayahuasca group compared to placebo (at D1 and D2: p=0.04; and at D7: p<0.0001). Between-group effect sizes increased from D1 to D7 (D1: Cohens d=0.84; D2: Cohens d=0.84; D7: Cohens d=1.49). Response rates were high for both groups at D1 and D2, and significantly higher in the ayahuasca group at D7 (64% vs. 27%; p=0.04), while remission rate was marginally significant at D7 (36% vs. 7%, p=0.054). To our knowledge, this is the first controlled trial to test a psychedelic substance in treatment-resistant depression. Overall, this study brings new evidence supporting the safety and therapeutic value of ayahuasca, dosed within an appropriate setting, to help treat depression. Clinical trial registration ID #NCT02914769