Search

Maternal depression and anxiety are associated with infant and mother self- and interactive difficulties. Although maternal depression and anxiety usually co-occur, studies taking this comorbidity into account are few. Despite some literature, we lack a detailed understanding of how maternal depressive and anxiety symptoms may be associated with patterns of mother-infant interaction. We examined associations of maternal postpartum depressive and anxiety symptoms with infant and mother self- and interactive patterns by conducting multi-level time-series models in a sample of 56 Turkish mothers and their 4-month infants. Time-series models assessed the temporal dynamics of interaction via infant and mother self- and interactive contingency. Videotaped face-to-face interaction was coded on a 1s time base for infant and mother gaze and facial affect, infant vocal affect, and mother touch. Results indicated that mothers with high depressive symptoms were vulnerable to infants looking away, reacting with negative touch; their infants remained affectively midrange, metaphorically distancing themselves from mothers' affect. Mothers with high anxiety symptoms were vulnerable to infants becoming facially dampened and mothers reacted with negative facial affect. Altered infant and mother self-contingency patterns were largely opposite for maternal depressive and anxiety symptoms. These patterns describe foundational processes by which maternal postpartum mood is transmitted to the infant and which may affect infant development.

Objective: This study aimed to evaluate the validity and reliability of the Turkish version of Client Attachment to Therapist Scale (CATSTR) which provides a framework for measuring and conceptualizing the relationship between the therapist and the client., Method: The study included 191 individuals with a mean age of 24.41 years who had received a minimum of 5 and a maximum of 15 sessions of therapy for different psychological problems. All participants completed the CATS-TR, the Early Close Relationships-R (ECR-R), the Bell Object Relations Inventory (BORRTI), and the Working Alliance Inventory (WAI-SF), and a Client Information Form handed to the clients in a closed envelope by their respective therapists., Results: Exploratory and Confirmatory Factor Analysis results indicated an acceptable fit for the CATS-TR which comprised the Secure, Fearful/Avoidant and Preoccupied/Merger subscales, with internal consistency levels ranging between 0.71 and 0.85. Criterion validity analyses showed that the scores on the CATS-TR Fearful/Avoidant and Preoccupied/Merger subscales correlated with the scores on the ECR-R Avoidance/Anxiety subdimesnions and the BORRTI Object Relations subdimension in the expected directions. Also, the mean score on the CATS-TR Secure Attachment subscale was a significant predictor of the therapeutic alliance assessed by the WAI-SF and its subscales., Conclusion: This study has demonstrated that the CATS-TR has an acceptable level of validity and reliability with results indicating its usefulness for research and clinical settings in Turkey investigating the common factors bringing about change in psychotherapy.

Objective: The aim of this research was to assess gaze behaviors and facial affect expressions in mother-infant interaction within the frame of self-contingency and interactive contingency, reflecting self-regulation and interactive regulation, respectively. In Model 1, second-by-second changing gaze behaviors (on partner's face/off partner's face) and in Model 2, facial affect expressions (from positive to negative) were examined. Self-contingency reflects the variability or stability in gaze directions and facial affect expressions in each partner. Interactive contingency reflects the degree of mother-infant gaze and facial affect attunement or interactive regulation relative to each other., Method: Sample was composed of 56 healthy mother-infant dyads. All infants were 4 months old, and mean maternal age was 29.61 (SD=3.71). Mother-infant interactions were filmed at the lab. Interactions were coded second-by-second for mother-infant gaze behaviors and facial affect expressions with video microanalysis method. The analysis method was multilevel-multivariate time series analysis., Results: According to Model 1-2, mother-infant gaze behaviors and facial affect expressions were neither too stable nor too variable, rather, the change in gaze behaviors and facial affect expressions in each partner showed predictable patterns. Mothers regulated their gaze behaviors and facial affect expressions in relation to that of their infants. Infants regulated their facial affect expressions in relation to their mothers' facial affect expressions, but infant gaze interactive contingency to mother gaze was marginally significant., Conclusion: In interactions, infants and mothers regulate the rhythms of their own behavior and at the same time contingently coordinate with that of the partner. This bi-directionally regulating environment is the foundation of infants' relationship expectations and bio-socialbehavioral regulation capacity, which may be related to psychopathology in future.

Objective: This study aimed to build and examine the Turkish Working Alliance Inventory (WAI) short form which was originally developed by Horvath and Greenberg (1989) based on Bordin's pan-theoretical conceptualization of therapeutic alliance., Method: The Hacettepe University Psychotherapy Research Laboratory data set which included the masters's or doctoral level clinical psychology practitioners- patient pairs (83 sessions from 58 therapist and 83 patient). Short forms (e.g. therapist-client versions) that were built based on Tracey and Kokotovic's (1989) and Hatcher and Gillaspy's (2006) studies were analyzed with confirmatory factor analysis approach. During these analyses, the WAI measurements from the third sessions were based., Results: Confirmatory factor analysis results showed that the short forms which were suggested in the aforementioned literature, had good fit for both therapist and patient sample. Correlations between original Turkish forms and subscales, internal consistency levels and fit indices were reviewed together to reach a final decision. The short form which was suggested by Tracey and Kokotovic showed more appropriate statistical results. The final forms' Cronbach Alpha's levels were 0.90 and 0.86 for therapist and patient forms respectively., Conclusion: Considering consistency with the observer form items (Soygüt and Uluç 2009) addition to inter-correlations, internal consistency levels and fit indices, the WAI-Short Forms were built    for therapist and patient. Our findings suggested that the WAI-Short Forms for therapist and patient have acceptable levels of reliability and validity for clinical and research settings in Turkey.

Objectives: The aim of this study was to compare the MMPI Lineer T scores and MMPI-2 Uni form T scores in Turkish Sample., Method: 50 adult (30 female and 20 male) who volunteered to participate in the study completed MMPI and MMPI-2. Participants'' age ranged from 18 to 55 (X=24.96, SD=8.66). There were at least 3 weeks between two tests' application. MMPI lineer Tscore, MMPI-2 uni form Tscore and MMPI-2 lineer T score compared by 3X2 Repeated-measures ANOVA., Result: According to the results there were not significant difference between the mean scores' of MMPI and MMPI-2's sub scales. Change in number of item and content did not lead to significant difference. However the minimal differences were thought to based on the method of computing T scores. Also, in Hypochondriasis, Depression and Hysteria sub scales of MMPI-2 there were group differences among men and women., Discussion: These findings supported the idea about the psychometric equivalence of the Original MMPI and MMPI-2. Also there were no profile differences between two tests. Therefore the results support the idea knowledge of old profiles can be used in new ones. However during the transition from MMPI to MMPI-2, it may be helpful to alert about differences in some subscales for women.

This study aimed to compare the quality of life of children and adolescents in various stages of their chronic kidney disease (CKD) who were managed with different treatment modalities to that of children and adolescents without any chronic disease. The study included 18 renal transplant and 21 dialysis patients (8 on hemodialysis, 13 on peritoneal dialysis) and 16 patients who did not yet require renal replacement therapy. The control group consisted of 37 children without any chronic disease. Psychosocial Health Summary scores, Physical Health Summary scores, and Total Scale scores of Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory scores were estimated for the groups. CKD patients had lower scores in all scales of Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory than the control group. There were no differences in self-reported scores on the Pediatric Quality of Life scale scores between treatment groups; however, parents of the transplant patients had reported higher (more favorable) Physical Health Summary scores than those of the dialysis patients. Reports of parents and their children differed only in Physical Health Summary scores in the dialysis group; self-reports of the children were more favorable. These findings show that children and adolescents with CKD experience impaired quality of life on the physical and psychosocial functioning domains in comparison with healthy controls. The study findings implicate the need for further studies to investigate the quality of life in CKD patients at different stages as well as the perceptional differences between pediatric and adolescent CKD patients and caregiver proxy-reports about their quality of life.

Objective: This study aimed to examine the reliability and validity of the Turkish version of the Working Alliance Inventory-Observer Form (WAI-O) (Titchenor and Hill, 1989)., Method: The study included 18 videotape records of 6 therapists conducting short-term cognitive behavioral therapy. The videotape records were chosen randomly from the pool of Hacettepe University Psychotherapy Research Laboratory (HU-PRL) and coded by 3 judges. Intra-class correlation (ICC) coefficients for the scale were calculated using the average measure method to determine the inter judge reliability coefficients for the data obtained from the 3 judges., Results: The ICC coefficients were 0.73, 0.70, and 0.78 for the bond, goal, and task dimensions, respectively. The ICC coefficient was 0.75 for the inventory total score. The internal validity of the scale was alpha=0.90. The item total correlation ranged between 0.84 and 0.96., Discussion: On a preliminary basis our findings indicate that the Turkish version of the WAI-O Short Form has acceptable levels of reliability and validity for clinical and research use in Turkey.

Objective: The aim of this study was to investigate the reliability and validity of the Turkish Cognitive Therapy Adherence and Competence Scale (CTACS) (Liese, Barber, and Beck, 1995). The scale is based on the evaluation of video taped therapy sessions using a certain coding system., Method: In the content validity study, 4 judges placed items within the intended theoretical construct with a high degree of consensus. In the following part of the study, 2 judges coded 20 video taped therapy sessions randomly selected from a pool recorded at the Hacettepe University Psychotherapy Research Laboratory., Results: The internal validity of the scale was alpha=0.84 for adherence and alpha=0.83 for competence. The intra-class correlation (ICC) coefficients were calculated using the absolute consensus method to determine inter-judge reliability coefficients for the data obtained from 2 judges. Mean ICC was 0.70 for the adherence dimension and 0.60 for the competence dimension. The relationship between adherence and competence was examined using Pearson's correlation coefficients, which were r=0.95 (n=20, P<0.001) for the first judge, r=0.97 (n=20, P<0.001) for the second judge, and r=0.95 for both judges., Conclusion: As preliminary evidence our findings suggest that the Turkish CTACS has acceptable levels of content validity and inter-judge reliability for use in clinical and research settings.

Objective: Examination of the psychometric properties and content areas of the revised MMPI's (MMPI-2 [Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-2]) content scales is required. In this study the criterion-related validity of the MMPI-2 Depression, Anxiety, and Anger Content scales was examined using the following conceptually relevant scales: The Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI), and State Triad Anger Scale (STAS)., Method: MMPI-2 Depression, Anxiety, and Anger Content scales, and BDI, BAI, and STAS were administered to a sample of 196 students at Middle East Technical University (n= 196; 122 female, 74 male). Regression analyses were performed to determine if these conceptually relevant scales contributed significantly beyond the content scales. The MMPI-2 Depression Content Scale was compared to BDI, the MMPI-2 Anxiety Scale was compared to BAI, and the MMPI-2 Anger Content Scale was compared to STAS., Results: The internal consistency of the MMPI-2 Depression Content Scale (alpha = 0.82), the MMPI-2 Anxiety Content Scale (alpha = 0.73), and the MMPI-2 Anger Content Scale (alpha = 0.72) was obtained. Criterion validity of the 3 analyzed content scales was demonstrated for both males and females., Conclusion: The findings indicated that (1) the MMPI-2 Depression Content Scale provides information about the general level of depression, (2) the MMPI-2 Anxiety Content Scale assesses subjective anxiety rather than somatic anxiety, and (3) the MMPI-2 Anger Content Scale may provide information about the potential to act out. The findings also provide further evidence that the 3 conceptually relevant scales aid in the interpretation of MMPI-2 scores by contributing additional information beyond the clinical scales.