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Most people hold beliefs about personality characteristics typical of members of their own and others' cultures. These perceptions of national character may be generalizations from personal experience, stereotypes with a "kernel of truth," or inaccurate stereotypes. We obtained national character ratings of 3989 people from 49 cultures and compared them with the average personality scores of culture members assessed by observer ratings and self-reports. National character ratings were reliable but did not converge with assessed traits. Perceptions of national character thus appear to be unfounded stereotypes that may serve the function of maintaining a national identity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although much is known now about behavioural, cognitive and physiological consequences of insomnia, little is known about changes after cognitive behavioural therapy for insomnia on these particular factors. We here report baseline findings on each of these factors in insomnia, after which we address findings on their changes after cognitive behavioural therapy. Sleep restriction remains the strongest determinant of insomnia treatment success. Cognitive interventions addressing dysfunctional beliefs and attitudes about sleep, sleep-related selective attention, worry and rumination further drive effectiveness of cognitive behavioural therapy for insomnia. Future studies should focus on physiological changes after cognitive behavioural therapy for insomnia, such as changes in hyperarousal and brain activity, as literature on these changes is sparse. We introduce a detailed clinical research agenda on how to address this topic., (© 2023 The Authors. Journal of Sleep Research published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of European Sleep Research Society.)

Introduction: Insomnia is a sleep disorder that particularly affects teenagers. Its psychic and physical consequences are major and make it a public health priority. The main purpose of the study was to provide contemporary data on adolescent sleep and to explore the intrications between insomnia and mood disorders while investigating the chronotype responsibility., Method: A battery of questionnaires was offered to 1,036 French teenagers, enrolled in secondary school, aged between 12 and 20 years old and living in urban areas for middle school students and in rural areas for high school students. It was mainly composed of the Insomnia Severity Index (ISI), the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) and the - Morningness-Eveningness Questionnaire (MEQ). The authorities responsible for ethics and professional conduct have issued a favorable opinion., Results: This study demonstrated that anxiety, depression, gender and age were factors linked to insomnia, reaffirming a female predisposition and asserting a high school entry effect (especially at 15 years old). The results also indicated that a tendency to vesperality increased the risk and the level of insomnia, thus evoking the responsibility of circadian typologies in this sleep disorder., Conclusion: This study underlines the importance of prevention and screening for insomnia when entering high school, as well as the need, in sleep disorder clinics and in psychotherapy, to deal with individual circadian rhythms, their consequences and organizational choices in the sleep/wakefulness articulation., (Copyright © 2021 L'Encéphale, Paris. Published by Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.)

In our research, we examined the efficacy of an Internet-based stress management program. Our interest in evaluating this type of intervention is based on the increasing accessibility of the Internet today, the growth of Internet-based interventions for various psychopathological problems, and the observation that despite the prevalence of stress among university students, only a fraction of students ever seek professional help., Methodology: "I'm managing my stress" ("Je gère mon stresse"), an Internet-based self-help program composed of four sessions, was examined in this study. The aforementioned program is based on cognitive-behavioral therapy and was inspired by the "Funambule" program in Quebec. Four questionnaires (Perceived Stress Scale, Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale, Scale of Satisfaction in Studies, and General Health Questionnaire) uploaded online were answered thrice: during "preintervention", "postintervention", and "follow-up" stages, the latter of which occurred three months after the intervention. The sample comprised 128 university students, with the majority being women (81.25%). The subjects were divided randomly into two groups (an experimental group and a control group that did not follow the program)., Results: The self-esteem scores of the control group were significantly higher than those of the experimental group at the preintervention stage, but this difference disappeared at the postintervention and follow-up stages. There were also significantly lower scores on the General Health Questionnaire subfactors of somatic symptoms and anxiety/insomnia in the experimental group than in the control group during the postintervention stage, though no differences were observed before the intervention. These differences no longer remained after three months. ANOVA revealed significant effects of the intervention over time in the experimental group. Effects were observed at both the postintervention and follow-up stages for self-esteem, perceived stress, satisfaction in studies, and in the somatic symptoms, anxiety and insomnia and severe depression aspects of the General Health Questionnaire (Cohen's d = 0.38 to 4.58). In contrast, no effects were observed in the control group., Conclusion: This type of Internet-based program has the ability to reach a large number of students due to its rather short format and accessibility. It has already shown improvements in terms of the levels of perceived stress, psychological distress and satisfaction with studies. The option of online interventions could appeal specifically to students who do not seek professional help. However, even though these results are promising at the postintervention stage, they are limited, as indicated by the lack of significant differences between the two groups after the initial three months of follow-up. We still, specifically, need to improve this intervention program and, generally, need more research to address the methodological problems raised by this type of intervention., Trial Registration: ISRCTN registry, ISRCTN13709272., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

Background: The last literature review on psychopathological features in Myotonic Dystrophy type 1 had been conducted by Ambrosini and Nurnberg in 1979. Since that date, many researches had been carried out., Objective: The aim of this study is (i) to systematically obtain and evaluate the relevant literature on psychopathological features, personality, and coping in individuals with adult phenotypes of Myotonic Dystrophy type 1. (ii) To summarize current research findings and draw conclusions for future research., Methods: A systematic search was conducted on Pubmed, PubPsych, PsycInfo, Science Direct, and Scopus covering the period of January 1979 to July 2017., Results: In view of our literature review, patients show mild psychopathological problems, such as interpersonal difficulties, lack of interest, dysphoria, concern about bodily functioning, and hypersensibility. However, they do not experience more psychiatric disorder in comparison to the general population, except for personality disorders and depression. We discussed problems concerning depression's assessment tool. Patients also present symptoms of several personality disorders: avoidant personality disorder was the most common. Finally, coping strategies relative to limitations resulting from their disease have a negative impact on their quality of life., Conclusions: In conclusion, Myotonic Dystrophy type 1 patients did not present homogeneous psychopathological and psychological features. However, based on tendencies observed among Myotonic Dystrophy type 1 patients, elements to conceptualize their social difficulties are provided.

University students often face different stressful situations and preoccupations: the first contact with the university, the freedom of schedule organization, the selection of their master's degree, very selective fields, etc. The purpose of this study is to evaluate a model of vulnerability to stress in French college students. Stress factors were evaluated by a battery of six scales that was accessible online during 3 months. A total of 483 students, aged between 18 and 24 years (Mean = 20.23, standard deviation = 1.99), was included in the study. The results showed that 72.9, 86.3, and 79.3% of them were suffering from psychological distress, anxiety and depressive symptoms, respectively. More than half the sample was also suffering from low self-esteem (57.6%), little optimism (56.7%), and a low sense of self-efficacy (62.7%). Regression analyses revealed that life satisfaction, self-esteem, optimism, self-efficacy and psychological distress were the most important predictors of stress. These findings allow us to better understand stress-vulnerability factors in students and drive us to substantially consider them in prevention programs.

Aim: Literature reports particularities in certain psychological dimensions, such as personality traits, early maladaptive schemas and attachment styles among patients dependent on alcohol. Several international studies have also emphasized significant gender differences in psychological profiles. However, in France, only a few studies have dealt with this subject. Our aim was on the one hand to study the characteristics of alcohol-dependent patients in these variables, and on the other hand to search for gender differences., Method: The personality dimensions were assessed with the French Big Five Inventory (Fr-BFI), the attachment style with Bartholomew's Relationship Scales Questionnaire (RSQ), and early maladaptive schemas with the short version of Young's questionnaire (YSQ-S1). Seventy-three subjects were included: 39 alcohol-dependent patients (19 men and 20 women) and 34 healthy control subjects (17 men and 17 women). The scores of alcohol-dependent patients were compared with those of a healthy control group (n=34, 17 men, 17 women) and available standards. We also compared the scores of men and women with alcohol dependence between them, and we compared the scores of men and women to those of the control group and those of the reference sample of the same sex., Results: This is an ongoing study and we publish here the first results. Compared with control subjects, and the reference sample, alcohol-dependent patients showed significantly higher levels of neuroticism and lower levels of extraversion. Furthermore, differences in attachment styles were observed compared to the control group: alcohol-dependent patients presented a less secure attachment, seemed more fearful and detached, but the results remained within the normal standards. Compared to the control subjects, alcohol-dependent patients showed a significant increase in scores regarding many schemas: emotional deprivation, abandonment, abuse/mistrust, isolation, imperfection, dependence, symbiotic relationship, subjugation, and emotional inhibition. Men and women with alcohol dependence did not show a significant difference between them concerning the dimensions of personality, the schemas, and attachment styles. In addition, the comparison of each sub-group (male/female) with the control group of the same sex and standards available showed specific features: for dimensions of personality, alcohol-dependent men presented a high level of neuroticism and a low level of extraversion, while the women showed no specific features. Concerning attachment, both men and women differed from the control group. Their attachment was more fearful and men showed a less secure and more detached attachment. As for patterns, three are higher among men and women with alcohol dependence compared to controls of the same sex: emotional deprivation, abuse/mistrust, and imperfection. In addition, these schemas seem to be more specific according to gender: alcoholic women differed from controls of the same sex at the subjugation schema, which was not the case for men, while only men differed from men of the control group by higher scores in insufficient self-control, dependency and symbiotic relationship., Discussion: This study shows not only particularities in patients with alcohol dependence concerning personality dimensions, styles of attachment and early maladaptive schemas, but also gender differences when comparing each subgroup (men and women) with controls of the same sex. Even if these results need to be confirmed by using a larger sample, the particularities deserve consideration, especially gender differences in view of appropriate psychotherapeutic strategies., (Copyright © 2016 L’Encéphale, Paris. Published by Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.)

This study analyses the short term effects of a cognitive-behavioral group therapy with 60 patients suffering from social phobia according to the diagnostic criteria of the DSM IV. The therapeutic program is based on 12 sessions of 2 hours (for 6 to 9 subjects) and includes exposure, cognitive restructuring and social skills training. The sample included 34 women and 26 men, with an average age of 34.8 years (SD=9.3). Most patients presented generalized social phobia (n=42; not generalized social phobia: n=18), and 24 received at least one comorbid axis I diagnosis. Subjects were evaluated before and after the therapy with instruments measuring the intensity of social phobia (Liebowitz Social Anxiety Scale), the assertiveness (Rathus Assertiveness Schedule), the disability associated with the disorder (Sheehan Disability Scale), anxiety and depression (Hospital Anxiety Depression Scale and Beck shortened Depression Inventory), and self-esteem (Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale). The results show significant differences (p<0.001) between the pre and the post-test for all instruments. The effect sizes (ES) range from 1.29 (Liebowitz Scale, total score) to 0.51 (Sheehan item 3), exhibiting patients' improvement on all variables. The highest effect sizes are observed with the instruments specifically designed for the assessment of social phobia (Liebowitz, Rathus and Sheehan scales). Our patients show the major improvements in the Liebowitz Scale (ES=1.29), the best indicator for social phobia, concerning the intensity of anxiety in social situations (ES=1.28) and concerning the frequency of avoidance (ES=1.16). Logically, the effect sizes are somehow lower on Sheehan (ES=1.06) and Rathus (ES=1.00) scales, which are less specifically centered on the score symptoms of social phobia. The improvement is also significant but less remarkable in the other measurements. The Hospital Anxiety Depression Scale reveals a reduction in the level of anxiety and depression, however more significant for anxiety (ES=0.88) than for depression (ES=0.60), that is consistent with the fact that social phobia is an anxious disorder. The shortened Beck Depression Inventory confirms the level of depression decreases after therapy (ES=0.67) and we also observe a significant enhancement of self-esteem (ES=0.85). These findings confirm the short-term strong effectiveness of this therapeutic program. The present study shows that the therapeutic cognitive-behavior group techniques used are specifically effective both on the principal symptoms of social phobia as on other psychological aspects, which were not specifically the focus of this therapy, like general anxiety, depression, and self-esteem. However, this efficient study on 60 subjects needs to be extended to the evaluation of long term effects. It also needs to be reproduced to assess personality disorders that may make the treatment more difficult and are frequently comorbid with generalized social phobia.