M Amir - Academia.edu (original) (raw)

Papers by M Amir

Quality of Life Research, 1996

A new subjective measure of Quality of Life (QOL), the Subjective Domains of Quality of Life Meas... more A new subjective measure of Quality of Life (QOL), the Subjective Domains of Quality of Life Measure (SDQLM), developed by Bar-On and Amir,1 is a qualitative and quantitative self-structured method shown to have internal reliability and construct validity compared with quantitative pre-structured measures and evaluations by spouses and physicians. To earlier analyses on a sample of male hypertensives and normotensives, we added a content analysis which is reported here, in which the elicited QOL domains were assessed according to whether the respondent evaluated his QOL domains as positive, negative or neutral/mixed. The content analysis showed that respondents may be classified on a continuous scale from stable positive to stable negative evaluations of their QOL domains (before-after measurement). The scale was assembled by ordinal ranging of the answers at two points in time (one year apart). A respondent who evaluated his domain as positive at both such points was ranked highest on the scale, negative at both points the lowest and the two remaining possibilities constituted the middle range. Analysis of the data showed that the SDQLM with this additional content analysis correlated significantly with depression scale scores, sexual functioning, physical fitness, work satisfaction, quality of sleep, hardiness, education and age, as well as individual self-rating of QOL. The subjective measure based on self-elicited domains with PNE was shown to be an important construct compared with pre-structured measures of QOL.

British Journal of Dermatology, 2002

Background Psoriasis may have a severe impact on patients' quality of life (QOL) in several ways,... more Background Psoriasis may have a severe impact on patients' quality of life (QOL) in several ways, an impact mediated by the mental or physical difficulties they have to deal with during the course of the disease and the various treatment regimens. In addition, psoriatic patients often suffer from experiences of stigmatization (EOS) related to the disease. Objectives This study was designed to test the hypotheses that psoriasis patients report higher levels of stigmatization than a comparison group, and that their EOS play a role in mediating the impact of the severity of psoriasis on their QOL. Methods One hundred patients with psoriasis (study group) and 100 patients with mixed skin problems (comparison group) were matched according to age, sex and education. All subjects answered questionnaires on EOS and QOL. A dermatologist diagnosed the diseases and measured severity scores. The Psoriasis Area and Severity Index score was used for psoriasis and a linear severity score for the comparison patients. The mediating effect of EOS was analysed using structural equation modelling (SEM). SEM is a multivariate statistical method used to examine the consistency of a theory relating one group of variables (termed a Ôlatent constructÕ) to another: in the present study, the relationship between EOS and QOL. Results Psoriatic patients were found to report significantly higher levels of EOS related to the disease, compared with the comparison group. No significant differences were found regarding QOL or severity of disease. Clinical severity of psoriasis was found to correlate negatively with QOL in psoriasis patients. EOS were found to have a complete mediating effect for the severity of disease on the QOL in patients with psoriasis. This result was not found among the comparison group patients.

Personality and Individual Differences, 1997

Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica, 1997

The aim of this study was to explore the association between stressful life events (SLE) and the ... more The aim of this study was to explore the association between stressful life events (SLE) and the development of panic disorder (PD) in an Israeli sample. A total of 44 PD patients and a matched control group were studied with regard to SLE over the life cycle (in childhood, adolescence, adulthood and the year preceding the outbreak of the disorder). The major findings were as follows, (i) With regard to the total number of life events experienced in childhood and adolescence, the PD group had experienced significantly more life events than the control group, (ii) No differences were detected in the total amount of SLE between the PD group and the control group with regard to adulthood and the year preceding the outbreak of the disorder, although the PD group had more life events relating to loss in adulthood, whereas in the year before the outbreak of PD life events relating to ‘love and family’, negative and loss events were more prevalent. These results expand previous findings by demonstrating that SLE in childhood and adolescence may contribute to the development of PD in adulthood.

Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, 1999

Suicide and suicidal behavior have been found to be increased among posttraumatic stress disorder... more Suicide and suicidal behavior have been found to be increased among posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) patients. The present study examined suicide risk and Plutchik&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;#39;s coping styles in PTSD patients. 47 PTSD patients were compared with 42 patients with mixed non-PTSD anxiety disorders and 50 healthy control subjects, matched for age and gender, on a measure of suicide risk. The PTSD patients scored significantly higher than the two control groups on the suicide risk measure. Furthermore, in the PTSD group, suicide risk was significantly negatively correlated with the coping mechanisms of mapping, minimization and replacement and positively correlated with the coping style of suppression. Furthermore, the coping styles significantly explained the variance of the suicide risk measure for all three groups. The cognitive map of PTSD patients highly resembles other populations with high suicide risk. Clinicians treating victims of traumatic events should focus on problem-solving therapies in order to help these patients deal less rigidly with everyday stresses and by this decrease the suicide risk.

Clinical Rheumatology, 2001

Fibromyalgia (FS) is an idiopathic chronic pain syndrome defined by widespread non-articular musc... more Fibromyalgia (FS) is an idiopathic chronic pain syndrome defined by widespread non-articular musculoskeletal pain and generalised tender points. As there is no effective treatment, patients with this condition have impaired quality of life (QoL). The aim of this study was to assess the possible effect of balneotherapy at the Dead Sea area on the QoL of patients with FS. Forty-eight subjects participated in the study; half of them received balneotherapy, and half did not. Their QoL (using SF-36), psychological well-being and FS-related symptoms were assessed prior to arrival at the spa hotel in the Dead Sea area, at the end of the 10-day stay, and 1 and 3 months later. A significant improvement was reported on most subscales of the SF-36 and on most symptoms. The improvement in physical aspects of QoL lasted usually 3 months, but on psychological measures the improvement was shorter. Subjects in the balneotherapy group reported higher and longer-lasting improvement than subjects in the control group. In conclusion, staying at the Dead Sea spa, in addition to balneotherapy, can transiently improve the QoL of patients with FS. Other studies with longer follow-up are needed to support our findings.

Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica, 1998

This study describes a follow-up of 15 non-injured women, all from the same socio-economic backgr... more This study describes a follow-up of 15 non-injured women, all from the same socio-economic background, who were exposed to a terrorist attack in Israel. All of the women participated in group debriefing with brief group psychotherapy, involving six meetings during the first 2 months following the event. Two days after the attack, and 2 months and 6 months after the event, the women were administered a post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) diagnostic scale, the Impact of Event Scale (IES) and the SCL-90. At 6 months, four subjects (27%) were diagnosed with full PTSD. The IES showed significantly higher scores at the first measure than at the other two measures. Furthermore, the phobic anxiety subscale score immediately after the event was significantly associated with the General Severity Index of the SCL-90 and the severity of PTSD symptomatology at 6 months. The present paper discusses the effectiveness of psychological intervention following trauma, and raises questions concerning the need to invest public resources in this kind of intensive intervention. Suggestions are proposed regarding the desired emphasis of the psychological treatment in order to improve its benefits to victims.

Journal of Psychosomatic Research, 1997

The aims of the present study were to inquire into the prevalence of fibromyalgia syndrome, to as... more The aims of the present study were to inquire into the prevalence of fibromyalgia syndrome, to assess nonarticular tenderness, to measure fibromyalgia syndrome-related symptoms, quality of life, and functional impairment among posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) patients as compared with control subjects. Furthermore, the differences between the PTSD patients with and without fibromyalgia syndrome were studied. Twenty-nine PTSD patients and 37 control subjects were assessed as to the diagnosis of fibromyalgia syndrome according to the American College of Rheumatology. Tenderness was assessed manually and with a dolorimeter. Fibromyalgia syndrome-related symptoms, quality of life, physical functioning, PTSD symptomatology, and psychiatric features were assessed by valid and reliable self-report inventories. Results showed that the prevalence of fibromyalgia syndrome in the PTSD group was 21% vs. 0% in the control group. Furthermore, the PTSD group was more tender than the control group. PTSD subjects suffering from fibromyalgia syndrome were more tender, reported more pain, lower quality of life, higher functional impairment and suffered more psychological distress than the PTSD patients not having fibromyalgia syndrome. It is suggested that previous reports on diffuse pain in PTSD in fact described undiagnosed fibromyalgia syndrome. The link between psychological stress and pain syndromes is emphasized.