Psychological medicine
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Psychological medicine · Apr 2012
Increased risk of mortality associated with social isolation in older men: only when feeling lonely? Results from the Amsterdam Study of the Elderly (AMSTEL).
Loneliness has a significant influence on both physical and mental health. Few studies have investigated the possible associations of loneliness with mortality risk, impact on men and women and whether this impact concerns the situation of being alone (social isolation), experiencing loneliness (feeling lonely) or both. The current study investigated whether social isolation and feelings of loneliness in older men and women were associated with increased mortality risk, controlling for depression and other potentially confounding factors. ⋯ Feelings of loneliness rather than social isolation factors were found to be a major risk factor for increasing mortality in older men. Developing a better understanding of the nature of this association may help us to improve quality of life and longevity, especially in older men.
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Psychological medicine · Apr 2012
Dissociation and emotion regulation in borderline personality disorder.
Although some evidence suggests that borderline personality disorder (BPD) is primarily a disorder of the emotion regulation system, findings remain inconsistent. One potential explanation for this is the moderating role of dissociation. ⋯ These results suggest that careful attention must be paid to the moderating effect of dissociative symptoms on the psychophysiological responses of BPD patients. Furthermore, the findings have important implications for the assessment and treatment of BPD, including the need to carefully assess BPD patients for dissociative symptoms and to incorporate the treatment of dissociation.