The Opinions of Italian Psychology Students About People Diagnosed with Depression and Schizophrenia: A Comparative Study

This study explored the opinions about depression and schizophrenia among Italian psychology students, and whether students’ opinions changed during education. Of the 705 students who read a description of depression (N = 275) or schizophrenia (N = 430) and then completed a questionnaire on their opinions about the disorder, 490 made a correct diagnosis (depression = 243/275; schizophrenia: 247/430) and were included in the study. Compared to schizophrenia-group students, depression-group students: more frequently mentioned psychosocial factors and less frequently heredity among the causes; were more convinced about the usefulness of psychological therapies and less about pharmacotherapies; had more prognostic optimism; had lower perception of unpredictability and dangerousness. Compared to first-year students, fifth-year students (depression = 105; schizophrenia = 162): in both diagnostic groups more frequently cited heredity among the causes; in depression group, had lower perception of unpredictability; in schizophrenia group, had higher perception of dangerousness and more prognostic pessimism. More education about stigma should be provided to psychology students

An examination of the relationships between the psychobiological model of personality and cognitive theory in patients diagnosed with major depression and healthy individuals

PubMed ID: 28046195Objective: This study aimed to investigate the relationships among temperament-character traits, dysfunctional attitudes, and automatic thoughts as well as to compare the patient group with a diagnosis of Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) and the healthy control group in terms of these variables. Method: 127 patients with a diagnosis of Major Depressive Disorder and 128 healthy subjects participated voluntarily in the study. The Temperament and Character Inventory (TCI), the Dysfunctional Attitude Scale (DAS), Automatic Thoughts Questionnaire (ATQ), and the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) were administered to the participants. Results: It was seen that the patient group had higher harm avoidance as well as lower self-directedness, cooperativeness, and persistence. Moreover, it was seen that the individuals in the patient group had increased frequency of dysfunctional attitudes and automatic thoughts pertaining to depression, when comparing to the control group. In addition, according to the results of the multiple mediating variables analysis, dysfunctional attitudes and automatic thoughts are fully mediated in the relationship between harm avoidance, self-directedness, and depression. Conclusion: This study shows that cognitive theory and the psychobiological personality model may be used together to explain depression. Accordingly, it can be said that harm avoidance and self-directedness are the risk factors for depression. Based upon the results of this research can be use for preventing depression. Moreover, the effectiveness of cognitive psychotherapy for people who have depression can be augmented by taking these temperament and character traits into consideration

Exploring dimensions of the beck depression inventory in a clinical sample

To examine the dimensions of the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) in psychiatric patients, BDI responses of 354 patients with various psychiatric diagnoses were factor analyzed. Results indicate that the items on the BDI assess two primary dimensions of depression: cognitive and somatic-affective symptoms. Internal consistency reliabilities for the items comprising each of the factors were acceptable. Analyses showed that women scored significantly higher than men on both the factors and on total depression. In future research, it may be useful to develop scoring systems based on these two dimensions, both to differentiate between types of and levels of depression, and to consider implications for treatment response

Computer-aided supporting tool for LCA evaluation of energy efficiency of the buildings – assessment method and case studies

Abstract In the paper methods and the development of computer tool for the comprehensive life cycle assessment evaluation of the new or renovated buildings is presented. To support decision making process, computer tool was developed and consists of two computational units: the building description unit (BDU), and the life cycle assessment tool (Etool). BDU enables the determination of energy needs and final energy demand for the operation of EPBD systems. For the purpose of environment impact assessment, the life cycle inventory database is integrated into the BDU. Data are exported to LCA evaluation tool Etool that include two assessment modules: life cycle environmental impact module for mid-point and end-point assessment taking into account impact groups and damage factors from IMAPCT2002+ and ReCiPe methods and life cycle costs assessment module for evaluation of costs optimal values of energy efficiency measures for nearly zero energy buildings (nZEB). In the paper case studies are presented and discussed. The results show that energy use has dominant influence on buildings’ environment impacts and that life cycle cost analysis show optimal thermal insulation thickness higher than required in current regulative.</jats:p

Testing a Transdiagnostic Model Including Distal and Proximal Risk Factors for Depression and Anxiety

This study aimed to test a transdiagnostic model for depression and anxiety by including childhood trauma and parenting as the distal factors and neuroticism, emotion dysregulation, and repetitive negative thinking (RNT) as the proximal factors. Data were obtained from clinical (major depression, panic, generalized anxiety, or comorbid disorders) and nonclinical samples. Results showed that healthy controls had lower scores than the clinical sample in all measures. Moreover, participants with a single diagnosis had lower scores than those with comorbid diagnoses. The structural regression confirmed that the proximal factor represented by neuroticism, emotion dysregulation, and RNT had a mediating role between the distal factor represented by childhood trauma and negative parenting and emotional symptoms. Results refer to common vulnerability factors underlying depression and anxiety. Such findings indicate the transdiagnostic nature of the variables, provide new insight into psychopathology, and contribute to the development of common psychotherapy programs for emotional disorders

Hydrological and thermal response of green roofs in different climatic conditions

Abstract The paper presents a study on the thermal and hydrological response of lightweight extensive green roofs with lightweight mineral wool growing media in different European climate conditions. The green roof heat and mass transfer model was developed and experimentally validated. It was then integrated into a developed software tool for the whole year analysis of the green roof thermal and hydrological performance. The results of performed numerical analysis showed that heat losses in heating season and heat gains in summer months of the green roof is smaller compared to the reference non-vegetated roof in all considered climate conditions and depends on thickness of lightweight mineral wool growing media and especially on the green roof’s irrigation scenario. The results of numerical analyses also demonstrated that the water retention of green roofs can be considerably improved if irrigation scenario considers the weather forecast. The weather forecast based green roofs´ irrigation also improves retention at stormwater events.</jats:p