Læknablaðið : fylgirit - 03.01.2017, Side 15

X V I I I V Í S I N D A R Á Ð S T E F N A H Í
F Y L G I R I T 9 1
LÆKNAblaðið/Fylgirit 91 2017/103 15
er mikill og árangur meðhöndlunnar oft lítill. Hugsanlega mætti þróa
sértækt meðferðarinngrip fyrir þennan sjúklingahóp.
E 24 Intrusive Images among Patients in a Partial Hospital Program
Andri Björnsson1, Inga Wessman2, María Þorgeirsdóttir3, Þröstur Björgvinsson4
1Psychology, University of Iceland, 2University of Iceland, 3University Hospital of Iceland,
4McLean Hospital/Harvard Medical School
asb@hi.is
Introduction: Recurrent intrusive images are common in nonclinical
and clinical samples. Although image characteristics are similar across
psychopathology, the theoretical and research literature has mainly
focused on intrusive images in obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). The
present study aimed to assess prevalence and characteristics of intrusive
images among patients in a partial hospital program, and, further, take
initial steps in examining whether intrusive images result in negative
appraisals and compulsive strategies.
Method: Participants were recruited from a partial hospital program
located in the Northeast of the United States of America. Twenty-eight
patients were included in the study and were administered the Imagery
Interview, the Mini-International Neuropsychiatric Interview (MINI), and
self-report questionnaires. The sample mostly consisted of non-Hispanic
whites, and included almost equal percentages of females and males with
a mean age of thirty-eight.
Results and discussion: Twenty out of twenty-eight patients reported
having recurrent intrusive images in the past 6 months. All patients with
images appraised the intrusive image as having a negative meaning
about themselves, other people, and/or the world or future. Eight out of
the twenty patients with an intrusive image reported performing at least
one compulsive strategy, and these patients reported significantly more
symptom severity and less wellbeing compared to patients without an
intrusive image. Therefore, targeting intrusive images and reactions to
them may enhance treatment outcomes for patients with different mental
disorders.
E 25 Parental psychological distress and the explanatory role of life
stress and psychosocial resources
Rúnar Vilhjálmsson1, Inger K. Hallström2, Guðrún Kristjánsdóttir1
1Faculty of Nursing, UI, 2Child, Family and Reproductive Health, University of Lund
runarv@hi.is
Introduction: Although public discourse typically describes childbirth
and child rearing as an enjoyable experience for parents, studies of
parents with dependent children tend to show that they experience more
psychological distress than other adults. Past research indicates that
psychological distress varies across parental groups, and that life-stress
and psychosocial resources are important factors explaining parental
distress. The study compares symptoms of depression and anxiety in
six parental groups, i.e., fullnest parents, empty nest parents, parents of
preschool children, parents of 6-12 year olds, parents of teenagers, and
parents of adult children still living at home.
Methods: The study is based on a random sample of 591 parents of
children under 18 who were among adult participants in a national health
survey of Icelanders conducted in the Spring of 2015 (response rate nearly
60%). The questionnaire asked about sociodemographic background,
symptoms of anxiety and depression (SCL-90), life stress (domestic,
financial, and work-related), and psychosocial resources (self-esteem,
mastery, and social support). The data were analyzed using multivariate
statistical methods.
Results: The study found substantial and statistically significant differ-
ences in anxiety and depression between the different parental groups.
Group differences were largely explained by variations in domestic, work
related and finincial stressors, and psychosocial resources (self-esteem,
mastery, and social support).
Conclusion: Efforts to reduce parental distress have considerable public
health potential, not only for parents but also for the psychosocial adju-
stment of their children. Such efforts should include attempts to ease
common parental stressors, and bolster parental psychosocial resources
where such resources are lacking.
E 26 The VisDys project: Vision and dyslexia
Heiða M. Sigurðardóttir
Department of Psychology, Icelandic Vision Lab, University of Iceland
heidasi@hi.is
Introduction: 100 years ago, severe reading problems were described
as “letter-blindness” or “word-blindness”. These early researchers
acknowledged that such reading problems were not due to low-level
visual deficits but attributed them to what might now be called deficits in
high-level vision. They apparently believed that the deficits were restrict-
ed to letters and words and would not generalize to other visual objects.
However, letters and words are visual objects and all objects have to go
through extensive processing within the visual system before they can be
recognized. We now have extensive knowledge of the steps taken to reach
this goal, and this knowledge has guided our recent work on dyslexia.
Methods: Several visual tests were administered to groups of matched
dyslexic and typical readers, as well as a non-clinical sample of people
with varying degrees of a history of reading problems.
Results: People with poor performance for matching faces tended to have
a greater history of reading problems. Difficulties with face matching
consistently predicted dyslexia over and above that of matching novel
objects, matching noise patterns that shared low-level visual properties
with faces, and classifying stimuli as a face. People with dyslexia were also
impaired at implicitly learning which simple objects tended to co-occur.
This effect was not accounted for by intelligence, ability to remember indi-
vidual shapes, or spatial attention paid to the stimuli, but other attentional
problems may play a mediating role.
Conclusion: It is time to seriously consider the possibility that develop-
mental dyslexia involves problems with experience-dependent high-level
vision.
E 27 The key to increasing student motivation and engagement?
Introducing a practical assessment tool for motivation
Ásta B. Schram
The School of Health Sciences, UI
astabryndis@hi.is
Introduction: Achievement and learning is strongly related to motivation
(Schunk, Pintrich, & Meece, 2008). Thus, it is important to know how
to keep students motivated. The MUSIC Model of Motivation (www.
themusicmodel.com) was developed after a thorough study of moti-
vation theories and research and is comprised of five components that
are strongly related to motivation and engagement in the classroom. The
acronym spells the first/second letter of each component in the model,