Psychological medicine
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Psychological medicine · Mar 2015
Understanding the elevated suicide risk of female soldiers during deployments.
The Army Study to Assess Risk and Resilience in Servicemembers (Army STARRS) has found that the proportional elevation in the US Army enlisted soldier suicide rate during deployment (compared with the never-deployed or previously deployed) is significantly higher among women than men, raising the possibility of gender differences in the adverse psychological effects of deployment. ⋯ These results are valuable in excluding otherwise plausible hypotheses for the elevated suicide rate of deployed women and point to the importance of expanding future research on the psychological challenges of deployment for women.
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Psychological medicine · Mar 2015
ReviewDemoralization: a systematic review on its clinical characterization.
Demoralization has been described as a psychological state characterized by helplessness, hopelessness, a sense of failure and the inability to cope. ⋯ Studies addressing the incremental value of demoralization in psychiatry and psychology are needed. However, demoralization appears to entail specific clinical features and may be a distinct condition from major depression.
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Psychological medicine · Mar 2015
What determines continuing grey matter changes in first-episode schizophrenia and affective psychosis?
Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) studies have shown that brain abnormalities in psychosis might be progressive during the first years of illness. We sought to determine whether first-episode psychosis (FEP) subjects show progressive regional grey matter (GM) changes compared with controls, and whether those changes are associated with diagnosis, illness course or antipsychotic (AP) use. ⋯ Our results suggest that the progression of brain abnormalities in FEP subjects is restricted to those with a poor outcome and differs between diagnosis subgroups. AP intake is associated with a different pattern of GM reductions over time.