The concept of love of life, which refers to a positive attitude towards one's own life, care for it and attachment to it, has recently captured the attention of researchers in the field of positive psychology. Despite its growing importance, there is a lack of research investigating the underlying mechanisms through which love of life impacts the flourishing and well-being of individuals. For the first time, the present study examined the mediating roles of optimism and hope in the association between love of life and flourishing in Turkish youth. The study comprised 374 young adults, aged between 18 and 24 years (55.3% female; Mean age = 20.94; SD = 1.78 years), who participated in an online survey assessing their levels of love of life, optimism, hope, and flourishing. Results from the mediation analysis revealed that love of life significantly predicted optimism, hope, and flourishing. Furthermore, optimism and hope had significant predictive effects on flourishing. Importantly, optimism and hope played a partial mediating role in explaining the positive influence of the love of life on individuals' flourishing. The findings suggest a positive association between love of life and heightened levels of optimism and hope. These psychological attributes, in turn, emerge as crucial factors contributing to increased flourishing. These results hold significant implications for the development of interventions focused on understanding how to foster the love of life and flourish through the cultivation of psychological strengths.

Context: The impact of abnormal cortisol secretion on cognitive functions in patients with mild autonomous cortisol secretion (MACS) remains uncertain. Objective: To assess cognitive functions, determine serum brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) concentration in patients with MACS, and investigate the association between cognitive subdomains and BDNF. Methods: We prospectively recruited 84 participants—28 patients with MACS, 28 patients with nonfunctional adrenal adenoma (NFAA), and 28 control subjects matched for age, gender, body mass index (BMI), visceral adiposity, and educational level. The serum BDNF concentration of participants was measured. The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition–focused interviews and Montreal Cognitive Assessments (MoCA) were carried out by an experienced psychiatrist. Results: Patients with MACS had a higher serum BDNF concentration than the NFAA (P = .001), while that of patients with NFAA was lower than the controls (P = .044). Linear regression analysis revealed BMI and morning cortisol after overnight 1 mg dexamethasone (DST) were mostly associated with BDNF (P < .05). No significant difference was found in MoCA scores between MACS and NFAA groups (P = .967), whereas those were lower than the control group (P = .004). When the cognitive subdomains were examined separately, MACS group performed higher memory score than NFAA (P = .045), but lower language scores than both the NFAA (P = .024) and control groups (P < .001). In the whole group, BDNF concentration was positively correlated with memory score (r = 0.337, P = .002), whereas DST was negatively correlated with language score (r = −0.355, P = .008). Conclusion: Low-grade hypercortisolism is associated with elevated BDNF concentrations, which may be a protective factor for memory function in patients with MACS relative to those with NFAA.

Amaç: İnternette oyun oynama davranışı olan genç erişkinlerde internet bağımlılığı, başa çıkma stratejileri ile agresyon ve saldırganlığın internette oyun oynama bozukluğu belirtilerinin şiddeti üzerine etkilerinin incelenmesi amaçlanmıştır. Gereç ve Yöntemler: Ruhsal durum muayenesi ve SCID-5/CV değerlendirmesi sonrasında 18-25 yaş aralığında 54 erkek ve 56 kadın genç erişkin çalışmaya dahil edilmiştir. Katılımcılara, Sosyodemografik veri formu, Young İnternet Bağımlılığı Testi Kısa Formu, İnternet Oyun Oynama Bozukluğu Ölçeği Kısa Formu, Buss-Perry Saldırganlık Ölçeği, Stresle Başa Çıkma Tutumları Envanteri uygulanmıştır. Bulgular: Katılımcıların yaş ortalaması 20,0±2,36’dır. Kadın katılımcıların yaş ortalaması 20,14±2,36, erkek katılımcıların yaş ortalaması ise 19,85±2,37 olarak saptanmış olup aralarında istatistiksel olarak anlamı farklılık gözlenmemiştir. Erkeklerin kadınlara göre İnternette Oyun Oynama Bozukluğu Ölçeği ve Young İnternet Bağımlılığı testinden aldıkları puanların anlamlı derecede daha yüksek olduğu saptanmıştır. Stepwise Regresyon analizi sonucuna göre internet bağımlılığı ve fiziksel agresyon skorları oyun bağımlılığı üzerine pozitif yordayıcı faktörler olarak saptanmış iken dış yardım arama negatif yordayıcı faktör olarak bulunmuştur. Sonuç: İnternette oyun oynama bozukluğu ile ilişkilendirilen faktörler hem neden, hem de sonuç olarak birbirlerini etkileyen, karmaşık süreçler gibi gözükmektedir. İnternette oyun oynama bozukluğu olan bireylerin anlaşılmasında ve buna uygun müdahale stratejilerinin geliştirilmesinde başa çıkma stratejileri ve agresyon özellikleri değerlendirilmelidir. İnternette oyun oynama bozukluğunun daha iyi anlaşılabilmesi için prospektif nitelikte, geniş katılımcılarla gerçekleştirilecek ve kontrol grubu içeren çalışmalara ihtiyaç vardır.

Objective: There are differences among studies examining comorbid somatization in alcohol and heroin addicts. The literature is unclear whether substance use disorders are related with somatization symptoms or with a high rate of alexithymia, depression, and anxiety associated with somatization. Therefore, the primary aim of this study was to compare heroin and alcohol addicts with regard to comorbidity of somatization and other psychiatric symptoms. In addition, we aimed to evaluate the relationship between somatization, addiction severity, depression, anxiety and alexithymia levels. Method: A total of 170 male outpatients, of whom 79 had been diagnosed as alcohol dependent and 91 as opiate dependent, were included in the study. A Sociodemographic Data Form, Addiction Profile Index, Symptom Checklist 90, and Toronto Alexithymia Scale-20 were administered to the patients. Results: Somatization, depression, anger and hostility, interpersonal sensitivity, and psychoticism were significantly higher in heroin addicts than in alcohol addicts. In a stepwise linear regression model with somatization symptoms as the dependent variable and addiction severity, anxiety, depression, obsessive compulsive, anger and hostility, phobic anxiety, interpersonal sensitivity, psychoticism, paranoia, and alexithymia symptoms as independent variables, anxiety symptoms and alexithymia were found to be positive predictors of somatization symptoms. Conclusion: It needs to be considered that in addictions to different substances, different psychiatric comorbid symptoms may occur. In addition, it is recommended that heroin- or alcohol-addicted patients with high somatic symptoms should be screened for anxiety disorders and alexithymic personality traits. Amaç: Alkol ve eroin bağımlılarında eşlik eden somatizasyon belirtilerini inceleyen çalışmalarda farklılıklar mevcuttur. Yazın, madde kullanım bozukluklarının, somatizasyon belirtileri ile veya somatizasyona yüksek oranda eşlik eden aleksitimi, depresyon ve anksiyete ile ilişkili olup olmadığı konusunda net değildir. Bu nedenle eroin ve alkol bağımlılarının somatizasyon başta olmak üzere diğer psikiyatrik belirtilerin eştanı açısından karşılaştırılması birincil amaç olarak belirlenmiştir. Ayrıca, bağımlılık şiddeti, depresyon, anksiyete ve aleksitimi düzeylerinin somatizasyon ile ilişkisinin değerlendirilmesi amaçlanmıştır. Yöntem: Ayaktan tedavi gören, alkol bağımlılığı tanısı alan 79, opiyat bağımlılığı tanısı alan 91 erkek hasta olmak üzere toplam 170 hasta çalışmaya dahil edilmiştir. Hastalara Sosyodemografik Veri Formu, Bağımlılık Profil İndeksi Uygulayıcı Formu, Psikolojik Belirti Tarama Listesi ve Toronto Aleksitimi Ölçeği-20 ölçekleri uygulanmıştır. Bulgular: Eroin bağımlılarında somatizasyon, depresyon, öfke ve düşmanlık, kişiler arası duyarlılık ve psikotizm belirtileri alkol bağımlılarından anlamlı olarak fazla görülmüştür. Somatizasyon belirtilerinin bağımlı değişken, bağımlılık şiddeti, anksiyete, depresyon, obsesif kompülsif, öfke ve düşmanlık, fobik anksiyete, kişiler arası duyarlılık, psikotizm, paranoya ve aleksitimi belirtilerinin bağımsız değişken olduğu stepwise doğrusal regresyon modelinde anksiyete belirtilerinin ve aleksitiminin somatizasyon belirtilerini pozitif yönde öngörücü olduğu bulunmuştur. Sonuç: Sonuç olarak, farklı bağımlılık maddeleri ile ortaya çıkan bağımlılıklarda eşlik eden farklı psikiyatrik belirtilerin olabileceği göz önünde bulundurulmalıdır. Ayrıca eroin ve alkol bağımlılarında somatik belirtileri yüksek olanların anksiyete bozuklukları ve aleksitimik kişilik özellikleri açısından taranması önerilir

Objective This study investigated the relationships among interoceptive awareness, difficulties in emotion regulation, and alexithymia in a group of outpatients undergoing consultation liaison psychiatry (CLP).Methods Three hundred forty outpatients who applied to the Consultation Liaison Psychiatry Department were included in the study. Thirty-four patients who did not complete the questionnaires for various reasons were excluded from the study. Multidimensional Interoceptive Awareness (MAIA-2), Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale (DERS-16), and Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS-20) were applied to the participants. Statistics were performed with SPSS 21.0. Mediation analysis examined the relationship between interoceptive awareness, difficulties in emotion regulation, and alexithymia.Results It was found that 32% of outpatients who applied to CLP exhibited high alexithymic features. According to the study’s results, interoceptive awareness had a significant negative relationship with difficulty in emotion regulation (r=-0.487, p<0.001). According to mediation analysis, difficulty in emotion regulation mediated the relationship between interoceptive awareness and alexithymia (β=-0.313; 95% confidence interval, -0.405 to -0.227; p<0.001).Conclusion This study demonstrated the mediating effect of emotion regulation difficulties on the relationship between interoceptive awareness and alexithymia in outpatients applying to CLP. The use of interoception-based practices by mental health professionals working with CLP may reduce emotion control and alexithymia symptoms in this patient group.

The Shitsu-Taikan-Sho (Alexisomia) Scale is a self-report scale for measuring alexisomia, defined as the difficulty in awareness and expression of somatic emotions or feelings. The scale is available in Japanese and Finnish versions. This research aims to examine the psychometric properties of the Turkish version of the Shitsu-Taikan-Sho (Alexisomia) Scale. The study sample consists of 320 patients who applied to the outpatient clinic of consultation-liaison psychiatry. Participants completed the Sociodemographic Information Form, the Turkish version of the Shitsu-Taikan-Sho (Alexisomia) Scale, and the Toronto Alexithymia Scale. Internal consistency and test–retest reliability were used for reliability analyses. Exploratory factor analysis, confirmatory factor analysis, and co-validity analyses were used for validity analyses. According to the exploratory factor analysis results, a 3-factor, 18-item model for the Turkish version of the Shitsu-Taikan-Sho (Alexisomia) Scale explained 48.3% of the variance (Kaiser–Meyer–Olkin = 0.866; χ ² = 1535.3, P < .001). Confirmatory factor analysis results indicated a good fit (χ ² = 234.893; SD = 132; χ ²/SD = 1.779; CFI = 0.927; GFI = 0.923; RMSEA = 0.049). In the co-validity analysis, a significant correlation was found between Toronto Alexithymia Scale-20 and Turkish version of the Shitsu-Taikan-Sho (Alexisomia) Scale (r = 0.556, P < .001). Cronbach’s alpha coefficient was 0.825 for the total score, 0.711 for lack of health management based on bodily emotions, 0.794 for difficulty in describing bodily emotions, and 0.775 for over adaptation. The interclass correlation coefficient between the 2 measures of Turkish version of the Shitsu-Taikan-Sho (Alexisomia) Scale was 0.883 (P < .001). The Turkish adaptation of the Shitsu-Taikan-Sho (Alexisomia) Scale demonstrated adequate psychometric properties. It is an appropriate scale for evaluating the concept of alexisomia in the population of consultation-liaison psychiatry.