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The relationships between quality of life, psychopathological manifestations and coping relatedvariables (coping resources, social support, sense of coherence) were examined among individualswho have perceived several severe traumata. One hundred Iranian refugees resettledin Sweden have been investigated by theSymptomChecklist (SCL-90-R), the Beck DepressionInventory (BDI), the Coping Resources Inventory (CRI), and the Interview Schedule for SocialInteraction (ISSI), the Sense of Coherence Scale (SOC), and the WHOQoL-100 questionnairein a cross-sectional study. Individuals, traumatized by combat experiences as a soldierduring the war, with low BDI scores showed on average the significantly highest overall qualityof life, the best physical health, the highest scores according to the sense of coherence mostpronounced for “Meaningfulness,” and the best availability of social integration comparedto participants who did not had these experiences in combats and those with the experiencebut scored high in the BDI. Quality of life, coping resources, and social support werefound closely related to psychopathological manifestations. Motivational orientations (highlydeveloped Meaningfulness—SOC) and various coping competencies probably enable sometraumatized individuals to resist against several traumata and to live in a good quality of lifewithout psychopathological disturbances.

The purpose of the present study was 1) to assess the predictive value of conduct problems prior to the age of 12 for the severity of antisocial behaviour during adolescence, and 2) to investigate the relationships between personality traits/parental rearing and childhood conduct problems/teenage antisocial behaviour. A group of 193 delinquents was assessed by means of the Antisocial Behavior Checklist (ABC), the Retrospective Childhood Problems (RETROPROB), the Temperament and Character Inventory (TCI) and the EMBU questionnaire on parental rearing. The extreme groups of delinquents as defined by childhood conduct problems, differed significantly on the experience of a rejecting father and a self-directed character. Furthermore, some specific predictive patterns for current antisocial behaviour by childhood conduct disorder and both personality dimensions and parental rearing factors emerged. The findings are discussed in the light of the interactive nature of relations between personality and parental rearing in the development of antisocial behaviour among adolescents.

A number of recent studies have shown avoidant coping to be related with diverse types of somatic and mental pathology. In order to investigate the relevance of coping for both psychological and somatic problems in delinquent subjects, 185 boys from juvenile correction and 96 boys from secondary schools in Arkhangelsk, Northern Russia, were assessed by means of the Coping Scale for Children and Youth, the Youth Self-Report and the Giessen Subjective Complaints List - youth form. The results from the delinquent subjects partly confirmed previous findings on the dominant role of behavioural avoidance in the relationships between coping styles and both behavior/emotional problems and somatic complaints. Further implications of the results are discussed.

The purpose of the study was to investigate possible relationships between quantitative and qualitative social support measures and mood in cervical (n = 30) and endometrial (n = 30) cancer patients and their spouses before and after treatment. Furthermore, the experience of locus of control was studied in light of mood and social support in women after treatment. The first interview with the patients was conducted on the day before the women started treatment, a second interview, 6 months later and a third one, 12-15 months after the initiation of treatment. The interviews with the spouses were conducted on the telephone before the initiation of their partners' treatment and 12-15 months later. Social support was assessed by the Interview Schedule for Social Interaction (ISSI), the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) was used to measure the level of depressive symptomatology, and the locus of control orientation was assessed by the Locus of Control (LOC) scale. Women with cervical cancer reported BDI values that were significantly higher than in the endometrial group both before and after treatment. Women with cervical cancer also showed a significantly higher level on the BDI score on both occasions than did the corresponding group of spouses. The scores for ISSI were within normal limits in both groups of women. Furthermore, LOC was significantly correlated with adequacy of social interaction in women when controlled for social desirability, whereas LOC was unrelated to BDI. No significant correlations were found among the spouses concerning social network variables and dysphoric mood. The necessity of developing models for the psychological and behavioural risk assessment and for the elaboration of adequate treatment strategies is emphasized.

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to assess the level of post-traumatic stress in juvenile male rape victims and to test for its relationships with perceived parental rearing and personality dimensions. METHOD: Fifteen subjects (mean age of 16 years) were recruited from a correctional camp for juvenile criminals in Arkhangelsk, Russia. They were investigated by means of the "Revised Impact of Event Scale," the "Child Self-Report Post-Traumatic Stress Reaction Index," the "Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale," the "EMBU" (perceived parental rearing) and the "Temperament and Character Inventory" (TCI). RESULTS: The level of post-traumatic stress, in most cases moderate to high, correlated with the temperament dimensions of harm avoidance and reward dependence. As concerns parental rearing, the total level of post-traumatic stress reaction was negatively correlated with paternal emotional warmth and positively with paternal rejection. CONCLUSIONS: The experience of post-traumatic stress is influenced by temperamental characteristics as well as by perceived parental rearing practices. Assumingly, these factors also play a role in becoming a rape victim, which deserves further investigation.

Recent studies based on the psychobiological theory of personality by Cloninger postulate a relationship between certain personality traits and various psychopathological manifestations. To test this theory, we administered the Temperament and Character Inventory and the Youth Self-Report to 188 male delinquents from a juvenile correction centre in Northern Russia, and to 111 age-matched male controls recruited from among schoolchildren. As assumed by previous studies, psychological symptoms were primarily positively correlated with harm avoidance and negatively correlated with self-directedness. At the same time, the higher levels of aggressive and delinquent behaviour were positively correlated with novelty-seeking and negatively correlated with co-operativeness. The possible mechanisms underlying these findings are discussed.

The purpose of this study was to investigate possible relationships between parental rearing practices and problem behaviours in a sample of male delinquent adolescents versus controls. A total of 133 subjects from a juvenile correction centre and 108 matched school-children in the Arkhangelsk region, Russia, were assessed by means of the EMBU questionnaire and Youth Self-Report. Delinquents were more severely treated by parents and had more pronounced problem scores. Furthermore, problem scores were found to be highly correlated with parental rejection and lack of emotional warmth in both delinquents and controls. Parental rearing practices may influence the development of problem behaviours. The implications of these findings with regard to preventive measures are discussed.

A comparison between 192 male delinquent adolescents and 121 controls from Northern Russia using the Temperament and Character Inventory (TCI) and Own Memories of Parental Rearing (EMBU) questionnaire on perceived parental rearing showed significant differences. The delinquent group had a higher level of Novelty Seeking, Harm Avoidance, and Self-transcendence, and also scored lower on Self-directedness. Delinquents who committed nonviolent crimes (thefts) appeared to have a higher level of Harm Avoidance compared with those who committed violent crimes (hooliganism, robbery, rape, and murder). As concerns perceived parental rearing practices, delinquents experienced more parental rejection and overprotection. Most of the personality dimensions were found to be highly correlated with the level of parental emotional warmth. Furthermore, both temperament traits and maternal rearing practices predicted the development of character dimensions. Findings are discussed in light of the interactive nature of parent-child relationships and of character development.

Possible differences in personality were investigated in a sample of endometrial (n = 30) and cervical (n = 30) cancer patients and related to sexual behavior. The assessments were based on the Karolinska Scales of Personality (KSP) and semistructured interviews. The endometrial group reported both a higher age at sexual debut and a lower number of sexual partners whereas the corresponding figures for the cervical group were within the range of representative data from the general population. Strikingly, numerous significant correlations between personality characteristics and behavioral aspects appeared in the cervical group. In a discriminant analysis between the two cancer groups, verbal aggression, number of sexual partners, irritability, use of alcohol, age at sexual debut, impulsivity and social desirability appeared to be the most powerful variables. In view of the similarity of cervical cancer women in terms of personality and sexual behavior to normative data the elaboration of adequate and large-scale preventive measures aimed at young age groups is warranted.

The objective of the study was to describe the personality characteristics of women with endometrial (n = 30) or cervical cancer (n = 30) and to test the hypothesis of diagnosis-specific personality profiles. The Karolinska Scales of Personality were administered at the first interview with the women before the initiation of treatment. Significant differences occurred both between the two clinical groups and in comparisons with healthy controls. Whereas the personality profile of the cervical group was almost identical to the controls, the endometrial group scored significantly lower on aggression scales and higher on social desirability and socialization. The findings of a normal personality profile in cervical cancer patients allow us to abandon some of the existing misconceptions and encourage us to consider personality factors in the management of those patients.

Since parental maltreatment is commonly reported in studies of juvenile delinquency, our study aimed at a systematic investigation of perceived parental rearing by means of EMBU questionnaire in young male criminals (N = 190) compared to a matched control group (N = 120) in Russia. The results revealed significant differences between delinquents and non-delinquents in terms of the experience of more rejection, abuse, punishment and lack of emotional warmth in the former group. It became obvious that many of the differences were gender-specific, suggesting the crucial role of the fathers in the rearing practices towards their offsprings. The necessity of further study on the interrelationship between family variables and environmental correlates in an interactional model of delinquency is pointed out.

Objective. To investigate the relationships between personality traits, depressive symptomatology and continuous muscle tension. Methods. These were investigated by means of a visual analog scale and the presence of continuous muscle tension during repeated isokinetic shoulder flexions in patients with muscle or joint pain and controls. Results. A significantly higher level of muscle tension between contractions was found in the patient groups in painful muscles. The patients with primary fibromyalgia and trapezius myalgia differed in degree of depressive symptomatology compared to controls. Conclusion. Inhibition of aggression correlated significantly with the tension level between contractions during the isokinetic test indicating interaction between psychological and somatic factors.