TY - JOUR
T1 - Attachment, Mentalizing and Personality Pathology Severity in Premeditated and Impulsive Aggression in Schizophrenia
AU - Bo, Sune
AU - Abu-Akel, Ahmad
AU - Bertelsen, Preben
AU - Kongerslev, Mickey
AU - Haahr, Ulrik Helt
N1 - Funding Information: Inpatients were assessed within the institution facility and outpatients were interviewed in facilities related to general psychiatric units or in their homes. Demographic and background information regarding the patients were collected from interviews, medical records, and jurisdictional psychiatric reports. The study was approved by the Regional Research Ethics Committee of Region Zealand, Denmark. Tables 1 and 2 respectively present the demographic and the clinical data of the study participants.
PY - 2013/4
Y1 - 2013/4
N2 - Decades of research have displayed a robust relationship between schizophrenia and aggression, with the majority of studies focusing on the role of comorbid Axis I disorders, including drug and alcohol abuse, psychosis, and other sociodemographic and clinical variables. However, only a few studies have examined the role of mentalizing abilities (i.e., the ability to understand mental states) and personality pathology severity, and none have examined the role of attachment representations believed to play a role in aggression. Furthermore, there is a paucity of research that differentiates between premeditated and impulsive aggression in schizophrenia. To this end, we conducted a cross-sectional study of 108 patients with schizophrenia to explore if a specific combination of mentalizing abilities, attachment representations and personality pathology severity pertain to premeditated aggression, while controlling for clinical and sociodemographic variables. Findings reveal that a constellation of diminished mentalizing, an attachment pattern characterized by positive self-representations and negative representations of the other, and severe personality pathology, was associated with premeditated aggression. These results suggest that risk assessment of aggression and future intervention programs targeted at reducing severe aggression in schizophrenia could benefit from including psychological functions such as mentalizing, as well as assessing personality pathology severity and attachment representations.
AB - Decades of research have displayed a robust relationship between schizophrenia and aggression, with the majority of studies focusing on the role of comorbid Axis I disorders, including drug and alcohol abuse, psychosis, and other sociodemographic and clinical variables. However, only a few studies have examined the role of mentalizing abilities (i.e., the ability to understand mental states) and personality pathology severity, and none have examined the role of attachment representations believed to play a role in aggression. Furthermore, there is a paucity of research that differentiates between premeditated and impulsive aggression in schizophrenia. To this end, we conducted a cross-sectional study of 108 patients with schizophrenia to explore if a specific combination of mentalizing abilities, attachment representations and personality pathology severity pertain to premeditated aggression, while controlling for clinical and sociodemographic variables. Findings reveal that a constellation of diminished mentalizing, an attachment pattern characterized by positive self-representations and negative representations of the other, and severe personality pathology, was associated with premeditated aggression. These results suggest that risk assessment of aggression and future intervention programs targeted at reducing severe aggression in schizophrenia could benefit from including psychological functions such as mentalizing, as well as assessing personality pathology severity and attachment representations.
KW - Attachment
KW - aggression
KW - mentalizing
KW - personality pathology
KW - schizophrenia
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84878509322&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - https://doi.org/10.1080/14999013.2013.787562
DO - https://doi.org/10.1080/14999013.2013.787562
M3 - Article
SN - 1499-9013
VL - 12
SP - 126
EP - 138
JO - International Journal of Forensic Mental Health
JF - International Journal of Forensic Mental Health
IS - 2
ER -