Psikoloji Bölümü Yayın Koleksiyonu
Permanent URI for this collectionhttps://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12416/417
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Article Citation - WoS: 7Citation - Scopus: 7Locus of Control as a Mediator of the Relationships Between Motivational Systems and Trait Anxiety(Sage Publications inc, 2024) Turan, Aysu; Demir, Yagmur; Kaynak, HandeThe Reinforcement Sensitivity Theory, first proposed by Gray and later revised, describes three motivational systems: Behavioral Inhibition System (BIS), Behavioral Activation System (BAS), and Fight-Flight-Freeze System (FFFS). Studies have shown that high BIS and FFFS activation are positively related to anxiety symptoms, yet the relationship between BAS and anxiety remains unclear. Research data have also suggested that anxiety symptoms occur with the loss of perceived control. Thus, although studies on the direct effect of locus of control (LOC) on trait anxiety have accumulated for many years, the issue of how LOC may mediate the relationship between BIS/BAS/FFFS sensitivity and anxiety has not been addressed. This study aimed to explore the mediating role of LOC orientation on trait anxiety among young adults in association with these three motivational systems. Cross-sectional data were obtained from 422 volunteers. The BIS/BAS Scale, Trait Anxiety Inventory, and Rotter's Internal-External LOC Scale were applied. A series of mediation analyses were performed to estimate total, indirect, and direct effects. The results showed that BIS and FFFS positively predicted trait anxiety. In addition, LOC positively predicted trait anxiety and BIS. The results of the mediation analyses indicated that LOC functioned as a partial mediator between BIS and trait anxiety. This finding revealed that a high BIS level, one of the motivational systems, was associated with external LOC, which in turn contributed to reporting high trait anxiety in young adults. Hence, BIS and external LOC orientation could be suggested as risk factors for trait anxiety. As the external LOC orientation of individuals with high punishment sensitivity increased, their trait anxiety levels also increased. Therefore, it was suggested that it might be useful to be aware that LOC orientations of individuals with BIS sensitivity may pose a risk for trait anxiety.Article Citation - WoS: 13Citation - Scopus: 13Sleep, Sleep Spindles, and Cognitive Functions in Drug-Naive Patients With First-Episode Psychosis(Amer Acad Sleep Medicine, 2020) Yazihan, Naksidil Torun; Yetkin, SinanStudy Objectives: Various lines of clinical findings have suggested abnormalities in macro- or microstructural parameters of sleep in patients with schizophrenia. Meanwhile findings are inconclusive due to some confounding factors, such as the heterogeneity of the disorder, drug regimen, and duration of the illness. There are a few studies in the literature that have been conducted on drug-free patients with first-episode psychosis (FEP). Based on this knowledge, we aimed to explore sleep characteristics, sleep spindles, and neuropsychological profiles of the drug-naive patients with FEP. Methods: The study sample consisted of 21 drug-naive patients with FEP and 21 healthy participants. Polysomnography recordings were conducted for 2 subsequent nights. A neuropsychological test battery was administered for assessing cognitive functions. The Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale was applied to measure symptom severity of the patients. Spindle detection was performed visually. Results: According to the results of the study, the patient group's percentage of stage N2 sleep and sleep efficiency index was lower than in the control group. Among sleep spindle parameters, spindle density was found to be reduced in the patient group. The results of neuropsychological tests measuring executive functions, learning, and memory support the idea that there is a global cognitive deterioration from the early course of the disorder. In the psychotic group, negative symptoms were negatively correlated with verbal memory, learning, verbal fluency, and semantic organization. We found that the percentage of stage N3 sleep decreased while negative symptom severity increased. In addition, the percentage of stage N1 sleep increased as negative symptom severity increased. Reduction in stage N3 sleep was associated with an impairment in learning, verbal fluency, and response inhibition. The sleep spindle density and cognitive functions did not show any associations. Conclusions: Taken together, these findings suggest that patients with FEP show global cognitive impairment (except for attention and processing speed), which is associated with changes in sleep architecture and higher score in a scale assessing negative symptoms. We conclude that cognitive function and spindle parameters differ nonlinearly among patients with FEP.Article Citation - WoS: 16Citation - Scopus: 16Measuring Dysfunctional Grief Due To a Covid-19 Loss: a Turkish Validation Study of the Pandemic Grief Scale(Routledge Journals, Taylor & Francis Ltd, 2022) Evren, Cuneyt; Evren, Bilge; Dalbudak, Ercan; Topcu, Merve; Kutlu, NilayThe global death toll to date of the COVID-19 pandemic has been enormous, and millions of people are grieving these losses. The aim of the current study is to validate a Turkish version of the Pandemic Grief Scale (PGS), which is a brief English-language mental health screener to identify probable cases of dysfunctional grief associated with a COVID-19 death. Participants were assessed using the PGS, Patient Health Questionnaire-4 (PHQ-4) and Work and Social Adjustment Scale (WSAS). We surveyed 758 Turkish native speakers who participated online. Confirmatory factor analysis showed that the factor structure of the PGS was satisfactory. The scale was internally consistent with a Cronbach's alpha of 0.77 and a composite reliability of 0.90. The PGS demonstrated construct validity with strong correlations with suicidal ideation and substance use coping. Positive correlations of the PGS with the PHQ-4 and the WSAS demonstrated adequate convergent validity. The PGS discriminates well between persons with and without dysfunctional grief using an optimized cut score of >= 3 (89% sensitivity and 72% specificity). The PGS also demonstrates incremental validity by explaining most of the variance (43%) in functional impairment due to a COVID-19 loss beyond measures of depression and generalized anxiety. These findings closely replicate the original validation study on the PGS in English and suggest that the current Turkish version of the PGS is a valid and reliable measure to assess the severity of dysfunctional grief associated with a COVID-19 death.Article Citation - WoS: 6Citation - Scopus: 4Predictors of Stress Generation in Turkish Young Adults: the Role of Rumination and Excessive Reassurance Seeking(John Wiley & Sons Ltd, 2020) Tuna, EzgiThe stress generation model posits that not only stressful life-events predict depressive symptoms, but also depressive-prone individuals think and behave in ways that make them more vulnerable to experience life-stress. Evidence has supported the bi-directional relationship between stress and depressive symptoms, and there has been an attempt in identifying vulnerability factors for stress generation. Yet, there is a need for studies focusing on multiple risk factors and a replication of findings in non-Western samples. The aim of the present study was to examine the role of rumination and excessive reassurance seeking (ERS) in stress generation in a sample of Turkish young adults. A sample of 318 Turkish college students reported on their rumination, ERS, intensity of stressful life-events and depressive symptoms. A subsample of 162 participants also completed a measure of life-events 5 months later. Cross-sectional results showed that rumination and ERS contribute to life-stress over and above depressive symptoms and gender. Mediational analyses indicated that ERS does not mediate the relationship between rumination and life-stress at 5 months. Rather, rumination fully mediated the relationship between ERS and future life-stress. Results provide evidence for stress generation, and highlight the interconnection between rumination and ERS.Article Citation - WoS: 161Citation - Scopus: 156Measuring Anxiety Related To Covid-19: a Turkish Validation Study of the Coronavirus Anxiety Scale(Routledge Journals, Taylor & Francis Ltd, 2022) Evren, Bilge; Dalbudak, Ercan; Topcu, Merve; Kutlu, Nilay; Evren, CuneytThe aim of the current study is to validate the Turkish version of the Coronavirus Anxiety Scale (CAS). Participants were assessed across the CAS, Obsession with COVID-19 Scale (OCS) and Fear of COVID-19 Scale. We surveyed 1023 Turkish native speakers who participated online. Confirmatory factor analysis showed that the factor structure of the CAS was satisfactory. The scale was internally consistent with a Cronbach's alpha of 0.80. Positive correlations of the CAS with the OCS and the Fear of COVID-19 Scale demonstrated adequate convergent validity. These findings suggest that the CAS is a valid and reliable measure to assess the severity of dysfunctional coronavirus related anxiety.Article Citation - WoS: 31Citation - Scopus: 32Oral Trail Making Task as a Discriminative Tool for Different Levels of Cognitive Impairment and Normal Aging(Oxford Univ Press, 2013) Bastug, G.; Ozel-Kizil, E. T.; Sakarya, A.; Altintas, O.; Kirici, S.; Altunoz, U.The Trail Making Test (TMT) is a useful measure of executive dysfunction in elderly subjects. This study aims to investigate the discriminative validity of the oral version of the TMT (OTMT), which can be administered to subjects with visual or motor disabilities, in elderly patients with Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI; n = 30), Alzheimer's disease (AD; n = 30), and healthy controls (HCs; n = 25). The WAIS-R Digit Span Backwards Subscale, written form of the Trail Making Task, the Clock Drawing Test, the AD Assessment Scale-Cognitive Subscale, and the OTMT were also administered to all participants in order to examine the concurrent validity of the OTMT. The OTMT part B discriminated between patients with MCI, AD, and HC correctly. The OTMT completion time was not correlated with age, but was negatively correlated with education. In conclusion, the OTMT (mostly part B) is a valid and practical measurement tool for different levels of cognitive impairment, especially for patients with visual or motor disabilities for whom the classical written form is not feasible.Article Citation - WoS: 1Citation - Scopus: 2Associated Factors of Psychological Symptoms Among Unemployed Turkish Adults: the Role of Personality Factors and Rumination(Sage Publications inc, 2020) Tuna, Ezgi; Balci, SeymaUnemployment has been associated with adverse mental health outcomes including depression and suicide. In the last decades, unemployment rates have increased substantially in Turkey; yet, factors and mechanisms that play a role in experiencing psychological symptoms among unemployed individuals are not well understood. The aim of this study was to investigate the role of personality characteristics on psychological symptoms among unemployed Turkish adults and to test the mediating role of rumination as a dysfunctional cognitive strategy. The sample consisted of 217 unemployed Turkish adults who completed self-report measures on neuroticism, external locus of control, rumination, and psychological symptoms. The results of the structural equation modeling indicated that rumination partially mediated the relationship between personality variables (i.e., neuroticism and external locus of control) and psychological symptoms, thus verifying the hypothesis of the study. The direct paths from trait neuroticism and external locus of control to psychological symptoms were also significant. Results revealed that a tendency to attribute future outcomes to external factors and an increased tendency to experience negative emotions are associated with engaging passively in rumination, which in turn predicts psychological symptoms. Interventions are suggested to focus on effective coping strategies along with increasing individuals' perceived control over life and future.