Background: Personality traits are related with risk of hazardous alcohol use and alcohol dependence. The Substance Use Risk Profile Scale (SURPS) measures personality traits associated with addictive substance abuse. We examined psychometric properties of the SURPS in Lithuanian population. Materials and methods: Two hundred forty-seven participants (mean age 37.22 ± 0.78 years), were recruited from the local community and from an inpatient addiction treatment centre. Internal consistency, stability, factor structure, content validity, and external validity of the SURPS were examined. Hazardous alcohol use was evaluated by Alcohol Use Disorder Identification Test (AUDIT). Alcohol dependence diagnosis was established by International Classification of Diseases-10 (ICD-10). We also performed gender analyses for associations of personality traits with alcohol dependence and hazardous use of alcohol. Results: The SURPS scale demonstrated appropriate internal validity, good temporal stability, and adequate criterion validity and construct validity. The SURPS scores of hopelessness, anxiety sensitivity and impulsivity were higher in the alcohol dependence group than in the control group for both males and females. Impulsivity and sensation seeking were associated with hazardous alcohol use and these associations were more prevalent in females. Conclusions: Lithuanian translation of the SURPS scale was appropriate. The SURPS demonstrated good sensitivity for discriminating on alcohol dependence and was more sensitive for discriminating on hazardous alcohol use for females.
People seeking higher privileges or disability benefits are prone to simulate cognitive difficulties (van Oorsouw, Merckelbach, 2010). The most common is the simulation of memory impairment, but there is no adapted test in Lithuania that could identify it. The purpose of this study is to determine Rey Fifteen-Item Test (FIT; Rey, 1964; Lezak, Howieson, Bigler, Tranel, 2012) sensitivity and specificity by comparing three groups of subjects: healthy responders, who perform tests, as usual, healthy responders, who were instructed to simulate memory impairments and patients with traumatic brain injuries. The study included 91 subjects aged 18 to 86 years (M=42.04 SD=13.5). The study used the “Short Term Memory Test” (STMT; Vasserman, Dorofeeva, Meyerson, 1997), the FIT, socio-demographic questions. The results of the study revealed that the malingerers and nonmalingerers did not differ in the STMA scores. Whereas in patients with traumatic brain injuries STMA scores were significantly lower. Nonmalingerers and patients with traumatic brain injuries performed better on FIT than malingerers. The probability that the malingerers score lower than people with memory difficulties is 62 up to 78 percent; FIT sensitivity ranges between 73 and 90 percent, specificity between 41 and 72 percent, depending on the RPOT cut-off score.
Insultą patyrusių pacientų grupė yra specifinė imtis, kuriai būdingi įvairūs insulto sukelti padariniai, sunkinantys kasdienį funkcionavimą: kognityvinių funkcijų sutrikimas, depresiškumas, sumažėjęs saviveiksmingumas. Darbo tikslas – įvertinti insultą patyrusių pacientų kognityvinių funkcijų, depresiškumo ir saviveiksmingumo ypatumus. Tyrimo objektas ir metodika. Tyrime dalyvavo 22 insultą patyrę pacientai. Amžius nuo 61 iki 89 metų (M=78,09; SD=8,6). Tiriamiesiems buvo pateikti socialiniai ir demografiniai klausimai. Insultą patyrusių pacientų kognityvinės funkcijos matuotos naudojantis Adenbruko kognityvinio tyrimo metodika (III versija). Depresiškumui matuoti naudotas Paciento sveikatos klausimynas, saviveiksmingumui – Saviveiksmingumo klausimynas insultą patyrusiems pacientams. Tyrimo rezultatai atskleidė, kad 81,8 proc. insultą patyrusių pacientų patiria kognityvinių funkcijų sutrikimus, 63,6 proc. būdingas depresiškumas. Insultą patyrę pacientai pasižymi gana aukštu saviveiksmingumu.
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