A systematic inquiry into recollections of childhood experience and their relationship to adult defence mechanisms

Article Abstract:

The development of personality is usually assumed to be related to experiences of childhood. However, there has been little research on the direct relationship between perceived childhood experiences and the types of psychological defense mechanisms, mature or immature, that a person relies upon in later life. Part of the problem comes from the inaccurate nature of defining and observing defense mechanisms and then classifying them as either mature or immature. Nevertheless, a paper-and-pencil test known as the Defense Mechanisms Inventory (DMI) was given to 114 subjects, who also took the Parental Bonding Instrument (PBI) questionnaire, to determine whether any correlations existed between the early parent-child relationship and the types of defense mechanisms employed by the individual later in life. Defenses measured on the DMI (which does not register the so-called mature defenses of sublimation, suppression, anticipation, altruism, or humor) included turning against the self (TAS), turning against the object (TAO), projection (PRO), reversal (REV; e.g. denial or repression), and principalization (PRN; e.g. intellectualization or rationalization). It was found that reversal was more common in people with less education, while turning against the object was more common in those with more education. It was not considered surprising that overprotection, as measured on the PBI, was not strongly related to any of the defense mechanisms examined. The modest association of projection with little maternal or paternal care is interpreted to mean that adults who lacked care are more likely to blame others. Also, attention from the father is often accompanied by demands for improved behavior, in which case the defense mechanisms that develop will most likely be PRN and REV, to help the subject manage paternal pressure. (Consumer Summary produced by Reliance Medical Information, Inc.)

Psychological aspects, Analysis, Children, Parent and child, Parent-child relations, Ecology, Environment and children, Defense mechanisms (Psychology), Defense mechanism test

---

Coherence on electroencephalography and aberrant functional organisation of the brain in schizophrenic patients during activation tasks

Article Abstract:

Many contemporary theorists believe that schizophrenia is a brain disease, but precise identification of the processes involved, or even the affected areas of the brain, has been difficult. Most consistent among the findings is that the left frontal lobe, which is involved in cognitive processing, may be impaired. The observation that schizophrenics perform poorly on cognitive tasks compared with normal subjects is supportive of this idea. The present study used electroencephalography (EEG) to measure the electrical activity in the brains of medicated and nonmedicated schizophrenics and in controls while they performed tasks requiring either primary left or primary right brain processing. The subjects were 30 schizophrenics, 10 of whom were not taking medication, and 30 controls matched for age, sex, handedness (left or right), and intelligence. It was expected that the greatest differences would be found between the EEG results of schizophrenics and controls during cognitive tasks, which mainly require left-brain processing. In fact, controls did show significantly more electrical activity than schizophrenics in the left side of the brain during cognitive tasks; activity in other areas of the brain showed a corresponding decrease. When challenged with right brain tasks, the EEG recordings were similar for both groups. EEG data were able to discriminate between patients in both groups in 81.4 percent of the cases. It is therefore suggested that schizophrenics have abnormal functioning in the left hemisphere of their brain. (Consumer Summary produced by Reliance Medical Information, Inc.)

Causes of, Physiological aspects, Schizophrenia, Schizophrenics

---

Sleep electroencephalography in depressive illness: a collaborative study by the World Health Organization

Article Abstract:

Affective illness, such as depression, has been associated with abnormal electroencephalograms (EEGs; graphic recordings of the electrical activity of the brain) obtained during sleep. Sleep continuity seems to be disturbed in those with affective disorders and the architecture, or progression through its stages, of sleep is altered. Specifically, when compared with nondepressed control subjects, depressives have more awake-time during the night, more early-morning awakening, and changes in the stages of sleep. The results are reported of a cross-cultural study designed to determine the reliability and consistency of sleep-EEG abnormalities in depressives. Data were collected from a total of 133 patients worldwide, of which 67 were depressed and 66 were matched nondepressed controls. For depressives, the severity of depression was rated, and sleep-EEG recordings were made for three consecutive nights for all subjects. The presence of sleep-related EEG abnormalities in depressed patients was confirmed. Depressed patients showed a decrease in total sleep time and sleep efficiency as compared with controls, the percentage of time spent in sleep stages two and three was reduced for depressives, and the REM (rapid eye movement) phase of sleep, during which dreaming occurs, was attained more quickly in depressives than in controls. REM sleep was deeper as well. The study found no cultural differences between controls and depressives with regard to EEG findings. (Consumer Summary produced by Reliance Medical Information, Inc.)

Research, Evaluation, Depression, Mental, Depression (Mood disorder), Sleep

Similar abstracts:

• Abstracts: The syphilis epidemic in Connecticut: relationship to drug use and prostitution. Adolescent health care providers: establishing a dialogue and assessing sexually transmitted disease prevention practices
• Abstracts: How muscles use fuel. The effect of oral sucrose on exercise tolerance in patients with McArdle's disease. Glucose-induced exertional fatigue in muscle phosphofructokinase deficiency
• Abstracts: Acute appendicitis in the preschool child. Pregnancy and cystic fibrosis. Appendicitis in cystic fibrosis
• Abstracts: Beyond the best interests of a child: bone marrow transplantation among half-siblings. The constitutional right to health care: denial in the court
• Abstracts: Blunt splenic injuries: nonsurgical treatment with CT, arteriography, and transcatheter arterial embolization of the splenic artery

This website is not affiliated with document authors or copyright owners. This page is provided for informational purposes only. Unintentional errors are possible.