Human Friedrich Unterrainer

• PD mult. Dr.Dr.
• Professor (Full) at Sigmund Freud University Vienna

The use of nicotine poses a global health risk, both for users and often also for those around them. The use of nicotine products is well described in the literature, particularly as a means of emotion regulation and performance enhancement. The aim of this study is to investigate the influence of personality organization on the relationship betwee...

Objectives This study investigates the relationship between the primary emotions CARE, LUST, SEEKING, PLAY, SADNESS, ANGER, FEAR and gaming disorder (GD), exploring the potential mediating role of attachment (avoidant/anxious), given its influence in prior research. Methods Data were collected from 490 participants (378 female) via an online surve...

Background Oceanic feelings, which reflect a sense of boundlessness, unity but also fragmentation can evoke spiritual experiences and possibly lead to psychosis proneness. This study explores oceanic feelings psychometrically, by examining their connections with spirituality, schizotypy, and personality organization. Methods A sample of 480 adult...

Objective: The Clinical Outcomes in Routine Evaluation—Outcome Measure (CORE-OM) is a pantheoretical mental health assessment instrument that has been translated into over 50 languages. Despite its widespread international use in clinical practice and research, the psychometric properties of CORE-OM require further investigation. Method: We explore...

This essay employs the Icarus myth as a metaphor to examine the role of transcendence in addiction. Icarus’ disregard for boundaries, driven by his quest for transcendence, mirrors the behavior of individuals with addictive tendencies. Addiction, a chronic disorder marked by compulsive substance use or behaviors, is characterized by loss of control...

Background The Clinical Outcomes in Routine Evaluation – Outcome Measures (CORE‐OM) is a pantheoretical diagnostic instrument that has been widely used in mental health research. Nevertheless, the exploration of the factor structure of the CORE‐OM yields diverse results. Aims This study aimed to explore the internal structure of the German CORE‐OM...

Background Insecure adult attachment has previously been linked to more severe psychopathology and to alterations within neuronal connectivity on a structural as well as functional level. Little is known about the resting state functional connectivity (rs-FC) of the attachment system in patients suffering from poly-drug use disorder (PUD). Methods...

Objectives This study presents the German version of the Bergen Yale Sex Addiction Scale (BYSAS). The questionnaire screens for different risk levels of problematic excessive sexual behavior (“hypersexuality”). Methods Based on an online sample (N = 492), a confirmatory factor analysis as well as other reliability analysis were conducted. Demograp...

The effectiveness of psychodynamic psychotherapy for children and adolescents (PPCA) has been increasingly demonstrated by a growing number of meta-analyses. However, very little is still known about the therapeutic factors responsible for this effectiveness. On the one hand, some authors have suggested that PPCA works because of specific therapeut...

Religiosity and spirituality, as an integral part of subjective well-being and mental health, have experienced increasing interest in recent decades, particularly in the Anglo-American world. Correspondingly, the Multidimensional Inventory of Religious/Spiritual Well-Being (MI-RSWB) has been developed in the European context in order to contribute...

There is still paucity of knowledge about which factors can mediate the link between obesity and mental health problems. This study aims to investigate psychological mediators of the association between different weight profiles (healthy, overweight, and obesity) and symptoms of depression, anxiety, and stress. A sample of 407 adults (> 18 years ol...

A Neuro-Psychoanalytic Approach to Memory and Perception: Implications for Long-Term Psychotherapy Henriette Löffler-Stastka* Department of Psychoanalysis and Psychotherapy, Medical University of Vienna, 1090 Vienna, Austria. *Correspondence: Henriette Löffler-Stastka, MD, Univ. Professor henriette.löffler-stastka@meduniwien.ac.at Keywords: memor...

Objectives: Current literature links substance abuse with primary emotions and dissociative symptoms, but little research combines these relationships. This study investigates the clinical significance of these concepts and the mediating role of dissociative symptoms in the relationship between primary emotions and substance abuse. Methods: Study 1...

Objectives Recent years have seen an increased interest regarding theoretical and empirical associations of adult attachment security and primary affective traits concerning psychiatric disorders. In this study, network analysis technique is applied to dissect the links between both psychodynamic personality constructs and an array of psychopatholo...

Objective The present study investigates what may influence individuals to experience their religiosity/spirituality as either subjectively positive [religious or spiritual (r/s) wellbeing] or as negative (r/s struggles). Drawing on existing literature attachment insecurity and the seven primary emotions as outlined by Jaak Panksepp in Affective Ne...

Objectives To date there is no universally accepted model that describes the development of substance related addictive behavior. In order to address this gap, the study sought to examine whether the association between primary emotions and the inclination toward addictive behavior is mediated by an anxious attachment style. Methods The total samp...

Objectives Primary emotion traits and attachment patterns, have been linked to various mental disorders. This study aims to shed more light on the less studied relationship with eating disorder (ED) symptoms. Methods A total of 921 non-clinical subjects (69.9% females) were assessed for primary emotions traits (B-ANPS-GL), attachment insecurity (E...

Background Although there is a very high comorbidity between tobacco dependence and other addictive disorders, there are only few studies examining the implementation and outcomes of a tobacco cessation program in patients with addictive diseases. Therefore, the aim of this study is to investigate to what extent a standardized tobacco cessation pro...

Hintergrund: Die Rolle der Emotionsregulation im Einklang mit frühkindlichen Bindungserfahrungen ist im multifaktoriell bedingten Spektrum der Essstörungen von hoher Relevanz. Dementsprechend konnten in Bezug auf Primäremotionen und Bindungsmuster in der Forschung bereits mehrfach Zusammenhänge dieser Konstrukte mit verschiedenen psychischen Erkran...

Background Oceanic feelings represent a phenomenological structure of affective sensations that characteristically involve feelings of self-dissolution and feelings of unity and transcendence. This study presents the preliminary version of a self-report instrument to measure individual dispositions toward oceanic feelings in order to enable further...

[Title: Primary emotions and attachment in mental disorder Objectives: There is increasing evidence for associations between primary emotions and attachment with mental illness. This study illuminates the mediation relationship of these psy-chodynamic constructs in relation to psychiatric disorders. Methods: 921 subjects (69.9 % female) were exam...

This study investigated how sleep quality affects the global severity of psychiatric symptoms, including suicidality, in young adults. Poor sleep quality has a significant impact on mental health and should therefore be given special attention in suicidal treatment. 1,214 participants (914 females; age: M = 25.81, SD = 6.35) completed the Brief Sym...

Binge eating disorder (BED) is a complex mental health problem entailing high risk for obesity, overweight, and other psychiatric disorders. However, there is still unclear evidence of the prevalence of personality disorders (PDs) in BED patients. We conducted a systematic review and a Bayesian meta-analysis for studies examining the prevalence of...

Recent evidence on the association between vitamin D and cognition in mentally healthy individuals is inconsistent. Furthermore, the link between vitamin D and cognitive ability in individuals with bipolar disorder has not been studied yet. Thus, we aimed to investigate the association between 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25(OH)D), 24,25 dihydroxyvitamin D...

In Greek mythology, Sisyphus, king of the Corinthians, dared to deceive the gods and was condemned to roll a boulder to the top of a mountain for all eternity. Shortly before reaching the summit, however, the boulder rolled back down into the valley, and the arduous task had to begin anew. Many of the contents of this classic myth are reminiscent o...

Objectives Mindfulness-based interventions (including self-compassion interventions) are effective in improving stress management at psychological and physical levels. Mindful Self-Compassion (MSC) is a newly developed program particularly aimed at increasing self-compassion. The main objective of this study was to determine whether the psychophysi...

Objectives To date there is no universally accepted model that describes the development of substance related addictive behavior. In order to address this gap, the study sought to examine whether the association between primary emotions and the inclination toward addictive behavior is mediated by an anxious attachment style. Methods The total samp...

Objectives This study presents the German version of the Brief Affective Neuroscience Personality Scales (BANPS), which includes an additional subscale for the dimension LUST. The BANPS represents a shortened version of the Affective Neuroscience Personality Scales (ANPS), a self–report instrument to assess individual dispositions toward primary em...

Religiosity and spirituality (R/S) have been described extensively as being an integral part of subjective well-being and mental health, especially in Anglo-American regions. Accordingly, the Multidimensional Inventory for Religious/Spiritual Well-Being (MI-RSWB) was developed in the European context to be able to contribute to the further developm...

Metabolic syndrome (MetS) is related to depression and contributes to reduced life expectancy in individuals with mental disorders. Stress coping strategies are important factors in the development and maintenance of depressive disorders and have been related to metabolic disturbances. The aim of this study was to determine whether there is a diffe...

Religiosity/spirituality (R/S) has been associated with personality functioning and mental health in a variety of ways, with R/S regarded as both a facilitating and a detrimental factor. The fuzziness of this relationship calls for a multidimensional breakdown of the concept of R/S. To meet this demand, the Multidimensional Inventory of Religious/S...

Background Yoga involvement can be understood as a degree of immersion in the philosophical/spiritual teachings of Yoga. Previous research has shown a positive association between Yoga involvement and mental health. This study further investigates the effect of Yoga involvement on several parameters of psychological well-being and distress amidst a...

The aim of this Research Topic, Human Connection as a Treatment for Addiction, is to bring together scholars from various fields to explore the question of whether intentionally increasing meaningful, caring interaction between people may reduce substance and/or non-substance related addictive behaviors. Previous research supports the role that soc...

Background In the field of mental health, religiosity and spirituality have gained particular attention in recent decades. However, only a few studies to date have investigated the effects of different types of religiosity and spirituality. In association with the recent introduction of a Swedish version of the multidimensional inventory of religio...

A relevant comorbidity of bipolar disorder (BD) is eating disorders (EDs). Crossed vulnerability factors as eating disorder-specific symptoms (EDSSs) may trigger the onset of both disorders in either direction. The Structured Inventory for Anorexic and Bulimic Eating Disorders for Self-Report was used to examine the occurrence of EDs in euthymic/su...

Background It is becoming increasingly apparent that the COVID-19 pandemic not only poses risks to physical health, but that it also might lead to a global mental health crisis, making the exploration of protective factors for mental well-being highly relevant. The present study seeks to investigate religious/spiritual well-being (RSWB) as a potent...

Introduction The evidence for the positive effects of mindfulness-based interventions on psychological well-being and physical health has been convincing in recent years. As a specific form of such an intervention, the Mindful Self-Compassion (MSC) training program was developed to promote self-compassion and mindfulness. An initial study on an ada...

Background The prevalence of metabolic syndrome and overweight/obesity is increased in bipolar disorder (BD) compared to the general population and is related to suicidality. The aim of this study was to examine the association between both the rate of suicidal ideation and suicide attempts and metabolic variables in individuals with BD. Methods A...

Background In recent years, there have been many studies using the Affective Neuroscience Personality Scales (ANPS) to investigate individual differences in primary emotion traits. However, in contrast to other primary emotion traits proposed by Jaak Panksepp and colleagues, there is a considerable lack of research on the LUST (L) dimension – defin...

Background As evidenced by current literature, there is a crucial link between emotion regulation, attachment, personality patterns, and substance abuse. However, knowledge regarding the exact interactions of these specific parameters in terms of substance abuse development is still sparse. Therefore, this study is aimed to shed light on how two sp...

Background: The questionnaire for the assessment of mental pain after traumatic experiences (FESSTE-30) is the first instrument in the German language which can be used for the standardized operationalization of mental pain in research and expert review process. The primary aim of the present study was to present quality criteria of the questionnai...

Background: There is convincing evidence that individuals suffering from Substance Use Disorder (SUD) often present insecure attachment patterns. In contrast, a strong therapeutic alliance in treatment of SUD has been found to lead to a more positive treatment outcome. However, insecure attachment has been observed to be linked with weaker therapeu...

Background: Studies investigating the relationship between religiosity/spirituality and mental health have suggested both positive and negative associations, highlighting the importance of multifaceted assessment of these rather broad constructs. The present study aims at contributing to this field of research by providing a validated Swedish versi...

Als größter Anbieter stationärer Langzeitdrogentherapie sieht sich der Verein Grüner Kreis seit seiner Gründung der Therapeutischen Gemeinschaft (TG) verpflichtet. Diese versteht sich als therapeutisches Lernfeld, in welchem sich jedes Mitglied der Gruppe mit allen seinen Talenten und auch mit seinen Defiziten einbringen kann.

Insecure attachment, impaired personality structure and impaired emotion regulation figure prominently in substance use disorders. While negative emotions can trigger drug-use and relapse, cognitive reappraisal may reduce emotional strain by promoting changes in perspective. In the present study, we explored behavioral and neural correlates of cogn...

Background: Substance use disorders have a multifactorial aetiology and are widespread in all parts of society. Long-term abstinence from all psychotropic substances, including substitutes, remains an elusive goal for many addicts. Aim: For a number of previously active drug addicts, the spiritual programme of Narcotics Anonymous (NA) seems to be a...

Background: Although the term “mental pain” is often the subject of expert opinions regarding claims for damages, there is still no standardized questionnaire in the German-speaking area to operationalize this concept. Therefore, the aim of this work is the development and validation of a self-assessment measurement for psychological pain after tra...

The link between creativity and psychopathology is legendary and has been studied until today. The first part of the present paper describes the current stage of literature with a clear focus on psychopathologies and personality traits, which are closely linked with psychosis and psychosis-proneness. The second part outlines how these traits might...

The relationship between trauma, consequences of trauma and personality structure: A mediation analysis Background: This study deals with the hitherto scarcely explored relationship between the extent of traumatization, psychopathological consequences and personality structure. It is examined whether the structural integrity of the personality has...

Background: The Multidimensional Inventory for Religious/Spiritual Well-Being (MI-RSWB 48) was developed in order to address a religious/spiritual dimension as being an important part of psychological well-being. In the meantime, the instrument has been successfully applied in numerous studies. Subsequently, a short version, the MI-RSWB 12 was cons...

In “Attachment Across the Life Cycle”, John Bowlby wrote: “Once we postulate the presence within the organism of an attachment behavioural system regarded as the product of evolution and as having protection as its biological function, many of the puzzles that have perplexed students of human relationships are found to be soluble”. One such puzzle...

Book Review [written in English language]: Menschen auf der Suche. Beratung und Psychotherapie im Umfeld von sogenannten Sekten und weltanschaulichen Gemeinschaften vor dem Hintergrund systemischen Denkens. By Sylvia Neuberger. Wien: facultas Universitätsverlag, 2018. Pp. 122. ISBN 978-3-7089-1759-7. To be published in: Religion in Austria,5, 361-...

In the postscript to "Attachment Across the Life Cycle", John Bowlby wrote: "Once we postulate the presence within the organism of an attachment behavioural system regarded as the product of evolution and as having protection as its biological function, many of the puzzles that have perplexed students of human relationships are found to be soluble"...

Background Substance use disorders (SUDs) have been described as a dysfunctional way to compensate for deficiencies in that person’s underlying attachment system. Furthermore, the neuropeptide oxytocin (OT), which is a critical component of the neurobiology of the attachment system, has been shown to effectively reduce addictive behavior and theref...

The aim of the present study was to compare religious spiritual well-being between three Muslim Iranian samples: old and mid- dle-aged adults, university students and psychiatric outpatients. The sample was a convenience sample of 561 individuals in Tehran, Iran, who completed the Multidimensional Inventory for Religious Spiritual Well-Being (MI-RS...

The evolution of the contemporary Therapeutic Community (TC) for addictions over the past 50 years may be characterized as a movement from the marginal to the mainstream of substance abuse treatment and human services. TCs currently serve a wide array of clients and their diverse problems; through advances in research in treatment outcomes, the com...

Supervision is an essential part of the training and work environment of health professionals, especially of psychotherapists and clinical/health psychologists. However, although the supervisory process is always a relational one and may therefore be influenced by attachment dynamics, the importance of the supervisory relationship for the professio...

Shame has been registered as a part of psychosocial distress in patients with psoriasis. This study investigated 44 patients with psoriasis and 88 age- and sex-matched individuals without skin disease. Skin shame, multifarious expressions of shame, psychological symptoms, health survey, dermatological quality of life, disease burden and disease sev...

An increasing amount of evidence indicates the significance of attachment in the etiology of poly-drug use disorder (PUD). The aim of this study was to investigate associations between PUD and adult attachment in particular, with a focus on white matter (WM) fiber tract integrity. For this purpose, we selected several regions-of-interest based on p...

Background While traditional psychoanalysis has been criticized as insufficient for the treatment of substance use disorder (SUD), recent progress in the field of neuropsychoanalysis has generated new and promising hypotheses regarding its etiology. However, empirical research applying this framework has been sparse. Aim and Scope The present over...

Background: Attachment and spirituality are thought to have deep evolutionary roots but are always interpreted within the framework of culture, religion and personal beliefs. While insecure attachment has been observed to be positively related with psychopathology, a positive mental health effect has often been described for spirituality. To exami...

Objectives: Previous research has suggested Mindful Self Compassion (MSC) as being beneficial for people dealing with a variety of mental health issues in outpatient area. Method: A clinical trial was conducted with 200 psychiatric inpatients testing the efficacy of a specially designed six week MSC program compared to a control intervention of Pro...

The recent years have witnessed a growing interest in clinical research on the experience of shame and its associations with psychological functioning and well‐being. Shame is a self‐regulatory function of the body in adapting to the social environment as well as maintaining and restoring self‐esteem and self‐acceptance

Attachment refers to a psychobiological principle that is deeply rooted in evolutionary development; it is thought to contribute a major advantage in the survival of the social group. Within individual development it indicates a primary motivational system that guides the initial transactions between mother and baby and furthermore mediates affecti...

Background Skin shame plays an important role in the psychological distress of dermatological patients. However, it is rarely examined in research or clinical practice due to the lack of availability of a robust measure of skin shame. This study sought to adapt and validate the Skin Shame Scale (SSS-24) for use in the German-speaking population. M...

The aim of this study was to explore the viability of a bifactor model for the Inventory of Personality Organization (IPO), which is a self-report measure of personality functioning based on Kernberg’s model of personality organization. A heterogeneous, predominantly clinical sample (N = 616) completed the German 83-item version of the IPO. Confirm...

Substance use disorders (SUDs) are defined by obsessive and uncontrolled consumption, which is related to neurobiological changes. Based on previous work, this study investigated potential alterations in brain structure in poly-drug use disordered (PUD) patients in comparison to controls from the normal population. This study involved a sample of 1...

Background: Current literature suggests a tenuous link among childhood trauma, personality organization, adult attachment, and emotional functioning in various psychiatric disorders. However, empirical research focusing on the interaction of these concepts is sparse. Therefore, this study intends to investigate the influence of personality organiza...

Objective: The aim of this multicenter study was to investigate the differences in personality traits, particularly Neuroticism, in three clinical samples and three student samples in Austria and Italy and their impact on suicide. Methods: In total, 1,043 people (410 psychiatric inpatients and 633 university students) were tested in three region...

Background: Research involving animal models has repeatedly proposed dysregulations in subcortically rooted affective systems as a crucial etiological factor in the development of a variety of psychiatric disorders. However, empirical studies with human participants testing these hypotheses have been sparse. Associations between primary emotions sy...

Background: Substance use disorders (SUDs) represent a worldwide epidemic with extensive costs to the individual and to society. Occasionally described as an attachment disorder, they have been linked to various impairments in self-regulation and social functioning. However, while there have been significant advances in the development and validati...

This study was designed to investigate the validation of a Farsi version of the Multidimensional Inventory for Religious Spiritual Well-being (MI RSWB 48) in a convenience sample of 442 Iranian people. Respondents completed a series of demographic questions and the MI RSWB 48. The Cronbach's α coefficient was .82. The MI RSWB 48 items identified tw...

The field of suicide prevention has been enriched by research on the association between spirituality and suicide. Many authors have suggested focusing on the various dimensions of religiosity in order to better understand the association between religion and suicidal risk, but it is unclear whether the relationship between spirituality and suicida...

Abstract Background Ambulance personnel, as well as other emergency services like fire-fighters or the police force, are regularly confronted with experiences of extreme psychological distress and potentially traumatizing events in the line of their daily duties. As a consequence, this occupational group is exposed to an elevated risk of developing...

Die weltweite Bewegung der Anonymen Alkoholiker hat die spirituelle Dimension als zentral in ihrem Grundkonzept verankert und kann auf eine viele Jahrzehnte dauernde, erfolgreiche Arbeit zurückblicken. Kaum geklärt ist allerdings die empirische Befundlage hinsichtlich der Fragestellung, welche Rolle die Integration einer spirituellen Komponente für...

Begründet in der psychoanalytischen und sozialarbeiterischen Ausbildung, wird Supervision in verschiedensten Tätigkeitsbereichen zur Entwicklung und Erhaltung der Arbeitsfähigkeit helfender Personen eingesetzt. Die Modelle der Supervision greifen dabei vielfach auf verschiedene Konzepte in der Psychotherapie zurück. Analog zur psychotherapeutischen...

Interventional studies in the recent past have shown that an individual’s religious-spiritual (R/S) well-being helps in coping with chronic disease. In this quasi-experimental study, we performed two different interventions in 24 patients with systemic sclerosis, lupus erythematosus and melanoma. One group of patients performed religious-spiritual...

Background: There is substantial evidence that traumatic experiences in childhood increase the likelihood of mood pathology and addictive behaviors in adolescence and young adulthood. Furthermore, both forms of psychopathology have been linked to deficiencies in personality organization and a common primary emotion core. In this study, we intended...

Vor gut 15 Jahren fassten die kanadischen Psychologen Delroy Paulhus und Kevin Williams die Persönlichkeitsmerkmale Narzissmus, Machiavellismus und Psychopathie als „Dunkle Triade der Persönlichkeit“ zusammen. Der mystisch anmutende Begriff verweist auf eine neugierige Hinwendung zu unliebsamen oder bedrohlichen Aspekten menschlichen Erlebens und V...