Psychometrics and Validity of the Dutch Experiences in Close Relationships–Revised (ECR–r) in an Outpatient Mental Health Sample

The Experiences in Close Relationships-Revised (ECR-r) is a self-report instrument to assess adult attachment style that seems to have appropriate psychometric qualities. The ECR-r has been most widely studied in student and community samples. In this study we report factor structure, reliability, and construct validity of the Dutch translation of the ECR-r in an outpatient mental health sample (N = 262). The original factor structure could satisfactorily be replicated, the reliability of the ECR-r was also stable over time, and there was good evidence for its construct validity

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Prevalence and predictors of posttraumatic stress disorder and depressive symptoms among child survivors 1 year following the Wenchuan earthquake in China

The purpose of this study was to estimate the prevalence rates of probable posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and depression and to explore potential risk factors among child and adolescent survivors 1 year following the 2008 Wenchuan earthquake. 3052 participants were administered the Child PTSD Symptom Scale, the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale for Children, and the earthquake experience scale. Results indicated that the prevalence rates of probable PTSD and depression were 8.6 and 42.5 %, respectively.

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Professionals under pressure : the reconfiguration of professional work in changing public services

Over the past decades, professional public services have been burdened with demands for accountability and with businesslike managerial systems that are endemic to the private sector. In this volume, a team of international experts shows that these influences are relative. They present theoretical and empirical insights on broader changes in and around professional work in healthcare, social welfare, education, and policing.

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Psychoanalysis and politics. Histories of psychoanalysis under conditions of restricted political freedom (Book review)

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Post-traumatic stress symptoms among former child soldiers in Sierra Leone: follow-up study

BACKGROUND: Former child soldiers are at risk of developing post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), however, the trajectory of symptoms has yet to be examined. AIMS: The risk and protective factors associated with PTSD symptom change among former child soldiers in Sierra Leone were investigated. METHOD: Data from 243 former child soldiers (mean age 16.6 years, 30% female) were analysed. RESULTS: Self-reported rates of possible PTSD using standard cut-off points declined from 32% to 16% 4 years later (P<0.05).

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Police officers: a high-risk group for the development of mental health disturbances? A cohort study

Objectives Policing is generally considered a high-risk profession for the development of mental health problems, but this assumption lacks empirical evidence. Research question of the present study is to what extent mental health disturbances, such as (very) severe symptoms of anxiety, depression and hostility are more prevalent among police officers than among other occupational groups. Design Multicomparative cross-sectional study using the data of several cross-sectional and longitudinal studies in the Netherlands.

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Persistent mental health disturbances during the 10 years after a disaster: four-wave longitudinal comparative study

AIM: Although some studies have examined the long-term effects of disasters, very little is known about severe persistent symptoms following disasters. The aim of the present study was to examine persistent mental health problems and to what extent disaster exposure predicts long-term persistent disturbances.

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Perceived Demands During Modern Military Operations

Using a cross-sectional design, this study explored operational demands during the International Security Assistance Force for Afghanistan (2009-2010) across distinct military units. A total of 1,413 Dutch soldiers, nested within four types of units (i.e., combat, combat support, service support, and command support units) filled out a 23-item self-survey in which they were asked to evaluate the extent to which they experienced operational characteristics as demanding. Exploratory factor analysis identified six underlying dimensions of demands.

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Persistence of stress sensitization following deployment in soldiers with a history of early life trauma

Background: Stress sensitization, i.e., increased responsiveness to stressful life events has been found in high trauma exposed adults within the first 18 months following trauma exposure (Smid et al., 2012) as well as in young children (Grasso, Ford, & Briggs-Gowan, 2012). However, it is unclear whether stress sensitization may persist over time. We hypothesized that soldiers exposed to high levels of early life trauma would be at risk of persistence of stress sensitization 2 years following deployment.

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Neural pattern similarity predicts long-term fear memory

Although certain changes in the brain may reflect fear learning, there are no known markers that indicate whether an aversive experience will develop into fear memory. We examined the moment-to-moment dynamics of human fear learning by applying multi-voxel pattern analysis to single-trial blood oxygen level-dependent magnetic resonance imaging data. We found that the long-term behavioral expression of fear memory could be predicted from neural patterns at the time of learning.

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