Secil Aldemir

The severity of Internet addiction risk and its relationship with the severity of borderline personality features, childhood traumas, dissociative experiences, depression and anxiety symptoms among Turkish University Students

The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship of Internet addiction (IA) risk with the severity of borderline personality features, childhood traumas, dissociative experiences, depression and anxiety symptoms among Turkish university students. A total of 271 Turkish university students participated in this study. The students were assessed through the Internet Addiction Scale (IAS), the Borderline Personality Inventory (BPI), the Dissociative Experiences Scale (DES), the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire (CTQ-28), the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) and the Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI). The rates of students were 19.9% (n=54) in the high IA risk group, 38.7% (n=105) in the mild IA risk group and 41.3% (n=112) in the group without IA risk. Correlation analyses revealed that the severity of IA risk was related with BPI, DES, emotional abuse, CTQ-28, depression and anxiety scores. Univariate covariance analysis (ANCOVA) indicated that the severity of borderline personality features, emotional abuse, depression and anxiety symptoms were the predictors of IAS score, while gender had no effect on IAS score. Among childhood trauma types, emotional abuse seems to be the main predictor of IA risk severity. Borderline personality features predicted the severity of IA risk together with emotional abuse, depression and anxiety symptoms among Turkish university students.

Relationship of Internet addiction with impulsivity and severity of psychopathology among Turkish university students.

The previous studies have found a relationship between IA and both impulsivity and psychopathology when they were considered separately. The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship of Internet addiction (IA) with impulsivity and severity of psychopathology among Turkish university students. We also wanted to control the effect of impulsivity dimensions on the relationship between IA and psychopathology. A total of 319 university students from two universities in Ankara participated to the study. Students were assessed through the Internet Addiction Scale (IAS), the Symptom Checklist-Revised (SCL-90-R) and the Barratt Impulsiveness Scale-11 (BIS-11). Correlational analyses revealed that severity of IA was related to both SCL-90-R and BIS-11 scores. Among SCL-90-R subscales, severity of obsessive-compulsive symptoms (OCS) was the only predictor for IAS score. Hierarchical regression analysis indicated that interpersonal sensitivity, additional to attentional and motor impulsiveness, was the predictor of IAS score. Although severity of IA is associated with wide range of psychopathology, particularly OCS, interpersonal sensitivity seems to be the main dimension that predict severity of IAS additional to impulsiveness (attentional and motor). Impulsivity seems to be an important construct when considering IA and its treatment among Turkish university students.

The impact of sensation seeking on the relationship between attention deficit/hyperactivity symptoms and severity of Internet addiction risk

The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship of attention deficit/hyperactivity symptoms (ADHS) with severity of Internet addiction risk (SIAR), while controlling the effects of variables such as depression, anxiety, anger, sensation seeking and lack of assertiveness among university students. Cross-sectional online self-report survey was conducted in two universities among a representative sample of 582 Turkish university students. The students were assessed through the Addiction Profile Index Internet Addiction Form Screening Version (BAPINT-SV), the Psychological Screening Test for Adolescents (PSTA) and the Adult Attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder Self-Report Scale (ASRS). The participants were classified into the two groups as those with high risk of Internet addiction (HRIA) (11%) and those with low risk of Internet addiction (IA) (89%). The mean age was lower in the group with HRIA, whereas depression, anxiety, sensation seeking, anger, lack of assertiveness and ADHS scores were higher in this group. Lastly, a hierarchical regression analysis suggested that severity of sensation seeking and ADHS, particularly attention deficiency, predicted SIAR. The severity of sensation seeking and ADHS, particularly attention deficit symptoms, are important for SIAR. Awareness of sensation seeking among those with high ADHS may be important in prevention and management of IA among university students.

Sleep deprivation in the last trimester of pregnancy and inadequate vitamin D: Is there a relationship?

Background Disturbed sleep is a significant health issue for pregnant women. Inadequate vitamin D intake is common among pregnant women and can affect many bodily systems. The purpose of this cross‐sectional study was to test the hypothesis that serum vitamin D levels are low in pregnant women who have poor sleep quality in their last trimester. Methods We enrolled 92 pregnant women who were admitted to the Maternity Clinic of Turgut Ozal University (Ankara, Turkey) in their last trimester. Venous blood sampling was performed to determine serum 25‐hydroxyvitamin D levels. Sleep quality was measured by the Pittsburgh Sleep Questionnaire. The Student t test and Chi‐square test were used to evaluate the relationships between variables. Logistic regression analysis was used to identify independent predictors of the vitamin D level. Results The median score of the Pittsburgh Sleep Questionnaire was 6.2 ± 3.3 (range, 1–17). We determined that 43.5% (40) of participants had poor sleep quality. The mean number of sleep hours at night was 8.6 ± 1 hours (range, 6.30–11 hours), and the mean sleep latency was 20.3 ± 12.7 minutes (range, 5–60 minutes). Vitamin D levels were measured for 87 participants; the median serum level of 25 (OH) vitamin D was 22.9 ± 16.2 ng/mL (range, 4.9–99 ng/mL). Among all patients, we did not determine any significance between the vitamin D‐deficient group and the non–vitamin D‐deficient group with regard to the Pittsburgh Sleep Questionnaire Inventory (PSQI) total score and subcomponents scores of the questionnaire (p > 0.05). Among 37 patients with poor sleep quality and for whom the vitamin D level was measured, 56.8% (21) women had vitamin D deficiency, and 81% (30) women had vitamin D insufficiency. However, we did not find any significance between participants with poor sleep and participants with good sleep quality with regard to age, occupational status, relationship with her partner, prepregnancy body mass index (BMI), weight gain during pregnancy, being primiparus, length of labor, and mode of delivery. Our findings further showed that being in a low income family was associated with poor sleep quality. Conclusion Inadequate vitamin D and poor sleep quality are prevalent in pregnant women, but low levels of vitamin D are not associated with poor sleep quality. Further studies with larger sample sizes and studies that include preterm deliveries and special sleep disorders should be performed to understand this issue better.

Comparison of Neurological and Cognitive Deficits in Children With ADHD and Anxiety Disorders

Objective:To compare the neuro-cognitive profiles among initial clinic referred medication naive sample of children with anxiety disorders (ANXs) and ADHD in a youth sample. Method: Three groups of patients, ANX (n = 40), ADHD (n = 48), and ANX + ADHD (n = 33), aged 7 to 12 years, were compared with respect to their Physical and Neurological Examination for Subtle Signs (PANESS) and cognitive measures (digit span, digit symbol, Trail Making Test [TMT]-A and TMT-B, Stroop test). Results: ADHD group performed worse than the other two groups with regard to soft signs and cognitive test performance; ANX + ADHD were impaired relative to ANX but better than ADHD. Significant differences were found for gait and station problems, overflows and timed movements, TMT error points, and Stroop interference scores. ADHD patients had more difficulty in warding off irrelevant responses and lower speed of time-limited movements. Conclusion: This clinical evaluation study suggested that ANX and ADHD seem to have significantly different neuro-cognitive features: Poorest outcomes were observed among children with ADHD; rather than problems of attention, inhibitory control deficits were the most prominent differences between ANX and ADHD; and the presence of ANX appears to have mitigating effect on ADHD-related impairments.

Relation of Anxiety and Depressive Symptoms with Perceived Social Support According to Gender Within Infertile Couples

Relation of anxiety and depressive symptoms with perceived social support according to gender within infertile couples Objective: Evaluation of infertile couples’ emotional symptoms and perceived social supports according to gender differences. Method: Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) and Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support (MSPSS) were administered to 66 primarily infertile couples that did not have psychiatric Axis-I disorders according to DSM-IV. Results: According to the scale’s average points, the samples’ depressive symptom levels did not indicate clinical depression; rather, anxiety levels were in normal ranges. Comparing participants’ anxiety according to gender, female participants were more anxious than male participants. Couples reported less anxiety and depression as long as they perceived higher social support. It was found that the combined infertility group, in which both women and men have problems to conceive, had more perceived social support from significant other and friends than in the female-originated infertility group. Also, results revealed that the male-originated infertility group reported more perceived social support from significant other compared to the female-originated infertility group. Conclusion: Social support and emotional stress of females in infertile couples are more than males’, and perceived sufficient social support decreases couples’ emotional symptoms.

EPA-1126 – The relationship between attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder symptoms and substance/alcohol use among turkish university students

Introduction Attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is characterized by attention problems, deficient impulse control, and hyperactivity in childhood and persists through adulthood. Adult ADHD symptoms (ADHDs) are known to associate with comorbid psychiatric disorders, particularly substance/alcohol use (SA). Aim The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between ADHDs with SA among university students. Methods Among a total of 803 randomly selected students from two universities, regarding exclusion criteria 582 was remained and grouped into three groups due to the Turkish version of the Adult ADHD Self-Report Scale (ASRS) cut-off scores, namely, highly likely (HLG), likely (LG) and without ADHD (WG), respectively. They were assessed through online close-ended questions and likert-typed data form related to substance use and CAGE, assessment for Alcohol abuse risk. Chi-square was used. Results Using cigarette and substances, namely, cannabis, ecstasy, inhalants, benzodiazepine and without awareness of the individual were higher in the HLG than the WG. While hookah, energy drink use and CAGE were higher in HLG, only CAGE was significantly different than the WG. Moreover, the HLG reached substance more easily and reported more relative and friend users around them whereas WG reported more people without substance use. Conclusions Consistent with previous studies, students with severe ADHDs had higher rates of SA and negatively affect their lives. Also, since individuals with ADHDs have more risk of SA, they can have more access to potential other than WG. Therefore, clinicians should carefully assess ADHDs and take SA into consideration.

EPA-1122 – The relationship of attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder symptoms with risky behaviours and psychological symptoms among turkish university students

Introduction Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a childhood-onset neurodevelopment disorder, which around 2/3 of the patients may still have ADHD symptoms (ADHDs) during adulthood. Symptoms’ presentation can turn into ongoing attention problems, disorganization and symptoms of emotional dysregulation throughout adulthood. Adult ADHDs may lead familial, academic and occupational dysfunction, risky behaviours and selfmutilation. Aim The study aims to investigate the relationship of ADHDs with risky behaviours and psychological symptoms among students. Methods Among a total of 803 randomly selected students from two universities, regarding exclusion criteria 582 was remained and grouped into three groups due to the Turkish version of the Adult ADHD Self-Report Scale (ASRS) cut-off scores, namely, highly likely (HLG), likely (LG) and without ADHD (WG), respectively. They were assessed through online close-questioned and likert-type data form related to risky behaviours and psychological symptoms. Chi-square test and ANOVA were used. Results The size of three groups were 15,1%(n=88), 22,2%(n=129) and 62.5%(n=365), respectively. Although gender was insignificant across groups, age mean was lower for HLG than WG (not shown). The rates of psychological symptoms such as depression and anxiety symptoms, interpersonal sensivity, seeking excitement, risky behaviours and self-mutilation were higher in the HLG (not shown). Conclusions Consistent with previous studies, the HLG had more associated comorbid psychiatric disorder symptoms. Thus, assessment of ADHDs in university students may useful for realizing risky behaviours and psychological symptoms for this population.