No abstract

Obsessive-compulsive disorder is one of the most common, debilitating, and expensive illnesses for the medical systems focusing on mental health. Given the heterogeneity specific to obsessive-compulsive symptomatology, experts have proposed several explanatory models over time to point out the mechanisms leading to such pathology. This research study – organised into two parts – analyses existing empirical data regarding two explanatory cognitive models of obsessive functioning, namely Mancini’s cognitive model and Young’s schemas and dysfunctional modes model. The first part comprises three systematic reviews with three qualitative analyses and a meta-analysis regarding the three main hypotheses of Mancini’s model. The meta-analyses have shown an average-sized effect of deontological guilt in the emergence of OCD-like behaviours in the non-clinical population compared to inducing altruistic guilt. However, the qualitative analyses suggest evidence regarding the association between disgust, Not Just Right Experience (NJRE) and OCD symptomatology. The second part of the research comprises a theoretical review of the studies focusing on Young’s schema therapy mode model to explain obsessive mental functioning. The present research studies on the topics are scarce, but they suggest that the two cognitive models point out accurately the mechanisms of obsessive functioning. Findings also show that there are attempts to reunite the two models in a more complex explanatory model. The aspects above may lead to the development of more effective intervention protocols for this type of pathology.

The purpose of study is to shape a socio-psychological profile of computer science students and to investigate the relationship between students' social and psychological characteristics and the choice for this specialization. Variables like parent's education, number of family members, previous academic results, emotional or multiple intelligence scores were taken into consideration. Previous academic results, mother's education level and verbal intelligence seem to have to most powerful influence. Despite students' orientation for specific activities, high scores for other types of intelligence were identified for most of them. Results are important for teachers, psychologists and counselors working in the academic area.

Background: The covert or indirect type of aggression has a risk of converting in violent acts and, considering that, it is very important to identify it in order to apply effective preventive measures. In cases of psychotic patients, the risk of becoming violent is harder to predict, as even neuter stimuli may be perceived as threat and trigger aggression. Treating all the psychiatric patients as potential aggressive subjects is not the best preventive measure as only a few of them are aggressive and this measure may further enhance the stigma on mentally ill patients. There is a current need for better understanding of covert aggression and to find objective measures, such as biological markers, that could be indicative of potential violent behavior. In this work, we try to investigate the role of cortisol and oxytocin as potential biomarkers of aggression in patients with psychosis. Material and Methods: We analyzed the level of peripheral oxytocin (pg/mL) and cortisol level (ng/mL) in 28 psychotic patients (they were not on psychotropic treatment at the moment of admission and those with substance abuse or personality disorder were excluded from the study) and correlated it with the intensity of aggression reported by the patient (overt and covert type) using the Overt Covert Aggression Inventory and the level of observed aggression of the patient in the past 7 days (rated by the health care provider) using the Modified Overt Aggression Scale. Results: We found that psychotic patients with a higher level of covert aggression had a lower level of cortisol (61.05 ± 8.04 ng/mL vs. 216.33 ± 12.6.9 ng/mL, p ˂ 0.01) and a higher level of oxytocin (102.87 ± 39.26 vs. 70.01 ± 25.07, p = 0.01) when compared with patients with a lower level of covert aggression. Furthermore, we observed significant negative correlation between cortisol and covert aggression (r = −0.676, p < 0.001) and between oxytocin and covert type of aggression (r = 0.382, p = 0.04). Moreover, we found that a lower level of cortisol together with a higher level of oxytocin are significant predictors of a style of internalized manifestation of aggression, with the predictive model explaining 55% of the variant of the internalized manifestation of aggression (F (2.25) = 17.6, p < 0.001, β = 0.35, R2 = 55.2). We did not find significant correlations between cortisol and overt aggression, and neither between oxytocin and overt aggression. Positive correlations were also found between the overt type of self-reported aggression and overt aggression reported by the rater (r = 0.459, p = 0.01). Conclusions: The importance of a predictive model in understanding covert aggression is imperative and the results of our study show that oxytocin and cortisol warrant to be further investigated in establishing a definitive predictive model for covert aggression.

After the fall of communism in Romania, the situation of the Rroma community became dramatic. Massive unemployment, the loss of traditional crafts of this ethnic group, the preservation of early marriage customs resulted in large families facing extreme poverty, dysfunctional relationships and domestic violence. The purpose of the research was to determine the degree to which a parental education module, adapted to Rroma families, may result in increased family cohesion and adaptability, increased emotional warmth exhibited in the parent-child relationship, reduced rejection and over protectiveness of children by their parents. The lot of 20 subjects consists of children from Rroma families from a village in the Northern part of Romania.