Lan Hong

Effects of Electro-Acupuncture on Personality Traits in Depression: A Randomized Controlled Study

ObjectiveTo explore the personality-adjusting effect of electro-acupuncture treatment for depression and compared this treatment with paroxetine treatment.MethodsA non-blinded, randomized controlled trial was adopted. Sixty depressed patients, who met trial criteria, were randomly assigned to the treatment and the control groups. In the treatment group, electro-acupuncture treatment was used, and paroxetine treatment was used in the control group. During the 24-week study period, 12 patients dropped out and 48 patients completed the study. The Minnesota Multiple Personality Inventory (MMPI) was adopted as the evaluation tool. At the same time, the Self-rating Depression Scale (SDS), Self-rating Anxiety Scale (SAS) and Montgomery-Asberg Depression Rating Scale (MADRS) were used to evaluate the psychological state. Evaluations were done before and after treatment.ResultsAfter treatment, patients’ psychological state improved significantly in both groups (P<0.01). For the treatment group, within-group comparison between baseline and after 24 weeks of treatment showed that severity of depression had significantly decreased (P<0.01). MADRS and SDS scores decreased significantly (P<0.05) and MMPI subscale scores for hypochondriasis, depression, psychopathic deviate, psychasthenia, social introversion and fake decreased significantly (P<0.05). For the control group, severity of depression also decreased significantly. MADRS and SDS scores decreased significantly (P<0.05); and MMPI subscale scores for hypochondriasis, depression, hysteria, paranoia, and psychasthenia decreased significantly (P<0.05). Between-group comparison demonstrated that for the MMPI subscales paranoia and social introversion, the decrease of score was greater in the treatment group than in the control group (P<0.05). However, there were no other significant differences between the control group and the treatment group.ConclusionElectro-acupuncture is effective for treating depression and affects personality traits.

Personality Development since Childhood Associated with Adult Chronic Insomnia: A Study by Wang’s Memory-Tracing Personality Development Inventory (WMPI)

OBJECTIVE This study aimed to analyze the deviation in normal personality development in chronic insomnia patients. MATERIAL & METHODS Eighty-one patients with chronic insomnia and 290 healthy controls were assessed with Wangs Memory Tracing Personality Development Inventory (WMPI). Differences between the two groups were explored to identify developmental characteristics. RESULTS Significant differences were found in three phases. During the chronological ages of 3-6 years old, the differences are relatively minor, and manifest in a lower independence level in patients (p<0.05). In older individuals, personality development deficits present mainly as abnormal thinking, excessive interpersonal anxiety, and less independence (p<0.05). Subjects of different ages present with their own developmental characteristics. Generally, patients younger than 36 years of age had a lower developmental level in independence and across emotional dimensions. In summary, there are significant differences in personality development between primary insomniacs and healthy controls (p<0.05). CONCLUSION Individuals are prone to develop chronic insomnia in adulthood if they exhibit a deviation from normal, or expected, personality development while in childhood. Abnormal development of personality correlates with the incidence of chronic insomnia. Subjects with lower independence in self-cognition tend to pursue perfectionism which may associate with a predisposition for chronic insomnia. Patients at different ages present different characteristics in personality development.

Outcomes of an online computerized cognitive behavioral treatment program for treating chinese patients with depression: A pilot study

OBJECTIVE This pilot study examined the feasibility, safety, and effectiveness of using an online computerized cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) for treating Chinese patients with depression. METHODS Seventy-five Chinese patients with depression in outpatient clinics were randomized into a 5-week intervention. The intervention group received the Chinese translated version of MoodGYM in addition to usual treatment, and the control group continued with usual treatment. Participants completed the 20-item Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CES-D) pre- and post-intervention. RESULTS We conducted multivariate linear regression analyses to compare the change in CES-D scores for completers after the intervention. Seventy-eight percent (n=29) of participants in the intervention group and 84% (n=32) of patients in the control group completed the post-treatment assessments, and no serious adverse events were reported. Results indicated that while both groups significantly improved at post test, the intervention group improved significantly more than the control group (t(59)=2.37, p=0.02). CONCLUSION Computerized CBT can be a cost-effective adjunct to medication treatment, particularly in areas with limited access to mental health services. The use of online computerized CBT has been found to be effective in many studies in Western countries, but has not been studied among Chinese outpatients. This study suggests that online computerized CBT is acceptable, and that MoodGYM is a feasible and efficacious augmentative treatment, specifically when used within an outpatient clinic population. With this small sample size we were able to demonstrate that the addition of MoodGYM to usual care improved treatment outcomes for outpatients with depression in China.

The Theory and Practice of Personality Development Measurements

To determine the structure of memory-tracing developmental levels, we created the Wang Wei-dong Memory-Tracing Personality Development Inventory (WMPI) based on the perspective of abnormal personality development theory in Chinese medical psychology. We used literature analysis, qualitative research, and our own analysis to build the theoretical basis and structure of the WMPI and compiled items while considering traditional Chinese medicine and psychology. We also assessed the reliability and validity of the inventory by means of explorative factor analysis and confirmatory factor analysis. The final WMPI was comprised of 9 subscales, 37 dimensions, and 248 items and it was divided into childhood, adolescence, and adulthood stages. The reliability of the entire inventory was 0.990, and the reliability of the 9 subscales was between 0.780 and 0.963. The RMSEA of every subscale was less than 1, and the NNFI and CFI were nearly 0.90, which indicated the inventory had good quality. The reliability and validity tests demonstrated holism and the developmental viewpoint of traditional Chinese medicine, which played a guiding role in the process of compiling the WMPI. The WMPI has good reliability and construct validity.