Evaluation of LiNES: A New Measure of Trauma, Negative Affect, and Relationship Insecurity Over the Life Span in Persons With FND, 2019, Levita et al

[Andy]

Objective:
The authors evaluated potential predisposing vulnerabilities and perpetuating factors among individuals with functional neurological disorder (FND) by using the novel Lifespan Negative Experiences Scale (LiNES), which assesses retrospective self-report of interpersonal trauma, negative affect, and relationship insecurity at three developmental stages: childhood, adolescence, and adulthood.


Methods:
The LiNES, Childhood Abuse and Trauma Scale (CATS), Relationship Scales Questionnaire (RSQ), and Positive and Negative Affect Schedule (PANAS) were administered to 71 individuals with FND. The reliability and validity of LiNES were examined by correlation with the other measures. FND patients’ responses on LiNES were compared with those of 170 healthy control subjects.


Results:
LiNES scores in the FND group were internally consistent and correlated highly with CATS, RSQ, and PANAS scores. At each developmental stage, LiNES trauma scores were higher among patients with FND, compared with control subjects. The FND subgroup, which comprised patients who also had nonepileptic attack disorder, had higher trauma scores, compared with the FND-only subgroup. Compared with control subjects, patients with FND reported greater negative affect and relationship insecurity in adulthood. Lifetime LiNES scores for interpersonal trauma and relationship insecurity predicted FND group classification with >80% accuracy.


Conclusions:
This study provides further support for the links between FND and trauma, negative affect, and insecure attachment. Recognition of these factors is likely to be important for treatment and stratification of important subpopulations in research. These findings provide new insights into the association between the timing of negative experiences and their effect, with LiNES emerging as a potentially useful measure for patients presenting with FND.

Paywall, https://neuro.psychiatryonline.org/doi/10.1176/appi.neuropsych.19050121
Not available via Sci hub at time of posting.

 

[rvallee]

Real scientists try to prove themselves wrong because they care about getting it right.

Mediocre scientists fish for everything that hints at proving themselves right, because all they care about is being recognized by their peers as being right.

The most amazing part is that it obviously follows that sicker people will face more problems in their lives, even more so when they get no support, rather than the other way around, Occam's razor and all. But it's so much more interesting to catch smoke with a net than finding the fire, I guess.

Somehow, the movie was not even the worst thing involving CATS in the last few days.

 

[James Morris-Lent]

The most amazing part is that it obviously follows that sicker people will face more problems in their lives, even more so when they get no support, rather than the other way around, Occam's razor and all.

Let's say that emotionally traumatic events or whatever does causally predispose to FND or other conditions. It doesn't follow that anything to do with ongoing emotional trauma perpetuates the condition, nor does it follow that any psychotherapy will be beneficial.

With that in mind there is therefore no useful information to be gained from these studies; the only clear consequence is that you bug people into thinking about whatever awful things happened to them. Of course people will just interpret any result to mean that psychotherapy must be beneficial.

 

[Mithriel]

It also misses the glaring fact that childhood abuse involving being slapped round the head or malnutrition or neglect leading to developmental delay can cause neurological problems directly without involving the emotions.

Being in a car crash bangs the brain about, relationship problems can cause self neglect or increased smoking which lowers blood oxygen levels or increased drinking which damages brain cells.

Lets assume direct brain damage before we invoke black box emotional processes.