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Biomedical subjects

Harald Merckelbach

Publications and source records attributed to Harald Merckelbach.

48 records · Page 3Linked to original sources
PubMed2002

Three traditional and three new childhood anxiety questionnaires: their reliability and validity in a normal adolescent sample.

The current study examined the psychometrics of three traditional [i.e., the trait anxiety version of the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory for Children (STAIC), the Revised Children's Manifest Anxiety Scale (RCMAS), and the Fear Survey Schedule for Children - Revised (FSSC-R)] and three new childhood anxiety scales [the Multidimensional Anxiety Scale for Children (MASC), the Screen for Child Anxiety Related Emotional Disorders (SCARED), and the Spence Children's Anxiety Scale (SCAS)] in a large sample of normal adolescents (N=521). Childhood anxiety scales were generally found to be reliable in terms of internal consistency. Furthermore, evidence was obtained for the convergent and divergent validity of the various anxiety questionnaires. That is, anxiety questionnaire scores were found to be substantially intercorrelated. Particularly strong associations were found between total scores of the STAIC and the RCMAS, total scores of the SCARED and the SCAS, and between subscales that intend to measure specific categories of anxiety symptoms. Childhood anxiety questionnaires were substantially connected to an index of depression, although correlations among anxiety questionnaires were generally higher than those between anxiety scales and a measure of depression.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2002

Fear of storms and hurricanes in Antillean and Belgian children.

The present study assessed fear of hurricanes in children who had been confronted with this natural event (i.e., Antillean children, n=161). Their fear levels were compared to those of children who are unfamiliar with such an event (i.e., Belgian children, n=185). Antillean children reported significantly higher levels of fear of storms than Belgian children did, thus providing support for the notion that exposure to dangerous events promotes children's fears of those events. Surprisingly, however, Antillean children had lower scores on the 'Hurricanes' item than Belgian children. Plausibly, differences in how children interpreted this item may have accounted for this unexpected finding. That is, ratings of Antillean children were probably based on actual experiences with hurricanes, whereas scores of Belgian children presumably reflected appraisal of threat in case they would be confronted with such an event. Implications of this finding for the assessment of childhood fears are briefly discussed.

Belgium↗
PubMed2002

Alters in dissociative identity disorder. Metaphors or genuine entities?

How should the different identities (i.e., alters) that are thought to be typical for dissociative identity disorder (DID) be interpreted? Are they just metaphors for different emotional states or are they truly autonomous entities that are capable of willful action? This issue is important because it has implications for the way in which courts may handle cases that involve DID patients. Referring to studies demonstrating that alters of DID patients differ in their memory performance or physiological profile, some authors have concluded that alters are more than just metaphors. We argue that such line of reasoning is highly problematic. There is little consensus among authors about the degree to which various types of memory information (implicit, explicit, procedural) may leak from one to the other alter. Without such theoretical accord, any given outcome of memory studies on DID may be taken as support for the assumption that alters are in some sense "real." As physiological studies on alter activity often lack proper control conditions, most of them are inconclusive as to the status of alters. To date, neither memory studies nor psychobiological studies have delivered compelling evidence that alters of DID patients exist in a factual sense. As a matter of fact, results of these studies are open to multiple interpretations and in no way refute an interpretation of alters in terms of metaphors for different emotional states.

Amnesia↗
PubMed2002

Autobiographical memory specificity, intrusive memory, and general memory skills in Dutch-Indonesian survivors of the World War II era.

A lack of specific autobiographical memory may result from exposure to psychological trauma, intrusive memories of adverse events, and/or a general memory deficit. This study explored the role of these variables in 25 patients with various psychiatric diagnoses and 15 healthy controls. All participants had been exposed to war atrocities during their childhood in Indonesia. Patients produced significantly less specific memories than did controls. In addition, rather than performance on general neuropsychological memory tests, the frequent occurrence of intrusive memories and the avoidance of reminders of trauma predicted less autobiographical memory specificity. These results replicate and extend earlier findings on intrusive and nonspecific autobiographical memory in depressed samples to a group of people who experienced war atrocities in childhood.

Adaptation, Psychological↗
PubMed2002

Aggression and threat perception abnormalities in children with learning and behavior problems.

The current study investigated the connection between aggression and the perception of threat in a group of children with learning and behavior problems (N = 103). Aggression was assessed by means of the aggressive behavior subscales of the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL), Teacher Report Form (TRF), and Youth Self-Report (YSR). Perception of threat was measured by studying children's reactions to a series of stories depicting ambiguous social situations. Results demonstrated small but significant correlations between self-reported aggression (as indexed by the YSR) and threat perception abnormalities. That is, high levels of aggression were associated with a high frequency of threat perception, high ratings of threat, high levels of negative feelings and cognitions, and an early detection of threat. Furthermore, no substantial connections emerged between children's level of aggression as rated by parents (CBCL) and teachers (TRF) and threat perception indices. Finally, regression analyses revealed that in particular YSR social problems was a better predictor of most threat perception abnormalities than YSR aggressive behavior. Implications of these findings are briefly discussed.

Adolescent↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Peritraumatic dissociation as a predictor of post-traumatic stress disorder: a critical review.

In psychiatric literature, dissociative reactions at the time of a traumatic event (i.e., peritraumatic dissociation) are considered to be risk factors for the development of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). In this article, we critically review research concerned with the link between peritraumatic dissociation and PTSD. Our main point is that studies in this area heavily rely on retrospective reports of dissociative reactions during the trauma. We argue that this methodology has important limitations since people in general and PTSD patients in particular find it difficult to give accurate descriptions of past emotional states. Restrictive factors that play a role in this context have to do with forgetting, attribution, and malingering.

Dissociative Disorders↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Dissociation and fantasy proneness in psychiatric patients: a preliminary study.

Nonclinical studies found that dissociative experiences are intimately linked to a trait known as fantasy proneness. We examined the links among dissociative symptoms, fantasy proneness, and impulsivity in psychiatric outpatients. Our sample consisted of 22 patients with schizophrenia, 20 patients with a diagnosis of borderline personality disorder, and 19 patients with a major depressive disorder. For the whole sample, levels of dissociation were found to be related to fantasy proneness and impulsivity. There were group differences in dissociative symptoms, with patients with borderline personality disorder reporting more such symptoms than patients with either schizophrenia or major depressive disorder. The overlap between dissociation and fantasy proneness may have important ramifications for studies addressing comorbid phenomena of dissociative symptoms.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Dissociative symptoms are related to endorsement of vague trauma items.

In current psychiatric literature, the received view is that dissociative symptoms originate from aversive childhood events. To a large extent, this view is based on cross-sectional studies that do not rule out a scenario in which dissociative tendencies contribute to self-reports of childhood trauma. In two studies, we tested one particular implication of this scenario, namely, that dissociative symptoms are related to endorsement of vague rather than specific items about childhood trauma. In study 1 (N = 43) and study 2 (N = 127), nonclinical participants completed standard measures of dissociation, childhood trauma, and fantasy proneness. We performed correlational and regression analyses on the data. Fantasy proneness and responses to broad trauma items, but not responses to factual trauma items predicted dissociation levels. This pattern of findings shows that the link between trauma and dissociation is considerably more complex than is often assumed. As well, it suggests that at least in nonclinical samples, dissociative symptoms may breed endorsement of vague trauma items.

Adolescent↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Autobiographical memory specificity and the course of major depressive disorder.

This study examined the stability of autobiographical memory dysfunction (i.e., difficulties in retrieving specific memories) during the course of major depressive disorder, its relation to early adverse experiences, and its influence on the course of depressive disorder. Using the Autobiographical Memory Test (AMT), specificity of autobiographical memory was assessed in 25 subjects with a current depressive disorder at baseline, and at 3 and 7 months follow-up. Also, information about self-reported childhood traumatization, and demographic and clinical variables was obtained. Autobiographical memory performance was relatively stable over time despite clinical improvement in the sample. It was not related to depression severity at baseline, while higher levels of childhood traumatization were correlated with more specific memory performance to negative cue words at baseline, but not during follow-up. Specific autobiographical responses to negative cue words predicted a better prognosis, whereas specific responses to positive cue words were not related to prognosis. Autobiographical memory dysfunction in depression appears to be stable over time, is related to short-term prognosis in depression, and may act as a vulnerability factor that influences the long-term course of depressive disorders.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Dissociative symptoms and amnesia in Dutch concentration camp survivors.

We examined to what extent dissociative phenomena in concentration camp survivors are related to post-traumatic stress symptoms. Self-reports of amnesia for traumatic war events and other dissociative experiences were studied in a sample of 31 Dutch survivors of World War II (WWII) Japanese concentration camps. Seventeen survivors treated for war-related psychiatric symptoms were compared to 14 concentration camp survivors who had no psychiatric diagnosis. Although survivors who received treatment scored significantly higher on the Impact of Event Scale and the Post-Traumatic Symptom Scale than control survivors, the two groups did not differ in terms of accessibility of war memories or dissociative experiences. Levels of post-traumatic stress symptoms were not significantly correlated with dissociative experiences. In both groups, reports of psychogenic amnesia for traumatic events were rare. Our results support previous studies demonstrating that post-traumatic stress symptoms are not necessarily accompanied by dissociative experiences. They also contradict the suggestion that amnesia is a common phenomenon in people who have been exposed to war atrocities.

Adolescent↗