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Whether complex posttraumatic stress disorder (CPTSD) and borderline personality disorder (BPD) diagnoses differ substantially enough to warrant separate diagnostic classifications has been a subject of controversy for years. To contribute to the nomological network of cumulative evidence, the main goal of the present study was to explore, using network analysis, how the symptoms of ICD-11 PTSD and disturbances in self-organization (DSO) are interconnected with BPD in a clinical sample of polytraumatized individuals (N = 330). Participants completed measures of life events, CPTSD, and BPD. Overall, our study suggests that BPD and CPTSD are largely separated. The bridges between BPD and CPTSD symptom clusters were scarce, with “Affective Dysregulation” items being the only items related to BPD. The present study contributes to the growing literature on discriminant validity of CPTSD and supports its distinctiveness from BPD. Implications for treatment are discussed.

H igh risk of mental health problems is associated with loneliness resulting from social distancing measures and "lockdowns" that have been imposed globally due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This study explores the interconnectedness of loneliness, anxiety and depression on a symptom level using network analysis. A representative sample of participants (N = 1041), who were of at least 18 years of age, was recruited from the Republic of Ireland (ROI). Loneliness, anxiety and depression were assessed using validated instruments. Network analysis was used to identify the network structure of loneliness, anxiety and depression. Loneliness was found to be largely isolated from anxiety and depression nodes in the network. Anxiety and depression were largely interconnected. "Trouble relaxing," "feeling bad about oneself" and "not being able to stop or control worrying" were suggested as the most influential nodes of the network. Despite the expectation that loneliness would be implicated more robustly in the anxiety and depression network of symptoms, the results suggest loneliness as a distinct construct that is not interwoven with anxiety and depression.

His interests are in the areas of psychological trauma, posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), gerontology, psychiatric epidemiology, behavioural psychiatry, and history of psychological trauma prior to the 19th century.

This study aimed to estimate the association between anxiety associated with COVID-19 and somatic symptoms, using data from a large, representative sample (N=2025) of the UK adult population. Results showed that moderate to high levels of anxiety associated with COVID-19 were significantly associated with general somatic symptoms, and in particular with gastrointestinal and fatigue symptoms. This pattern of associations remained significant after controlling for generalised anxiety disorder, pre-existing health problems, age, gender and income. This is the first evidence that anxiety associated with COVID-19 makes a unique contribution to somatisation, above and beyond the effect of generalised anxiety disorder.