European Psychiatry - Volume 33 - March 2016

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S524 24th European Congress of Psychiatry / European Psychiatry 33S (2016) S349–S805
Disclosure of interest The authors have not supplied their decla-
ration of competing interest.
EV545
Swedish translation and reliability of
the Morningness-Eveningness
Questionnaire
M. Ståleby ∗ teingrimsson , M. Ioannou
Institute of Neuroscience and Physiology, Psychiatry and
Neurochemistry, Gothenburg, Sweden
∗ Corresponding author.
Introduction Chronotherapy is used as an adjuvant treatment
for depression in addition to pharmacological and psychological
treatments. The Morningness-Eveningness Questionnaire (MEQ) is
used to classify a person’s sleep and activity pattern. The aim was
to translate the MEQ to Swedish and evaluate the reliability. In
addition, MEQ scores between a healthy study group and patient
group were compared. Lastly, patient MEQ andMADRS scores were
checked for correlation.
Method The MEQ was translated and back-translated. The MEQ
was administered to a healthy study group (n = 285) where a sub-
set of these filled out the MEQ a second time. Cronbach’s ˛ was
used for internal consistency and Wilcoxon signed rank test and
Spearman correlationwas used for test-retest reliability. Spearman
correlationwas used for the patient group (n = 26) MEQ andMADRS
scores.
Results Internal consistency of the MEQ was 0.903. Wilcoxon
signed rank test showed small statistically significant differences
between test and retest and Spearman correlation for the total score
was 0.97. The MEQ scores of the healthy study group and patient
group showed similar mean scores and distribution. There was
no statistically significant difference between the means (P = 0.34).
There was no correlation between patient MEQ and MADRS score
(r= 0.01).
Conclusion MEQ is a reliable scale in a Swedish healthy popula-
tion as well as inpatients with depression.
Disclosure of interest The authors have not supplied their decla-
ration of competing interest.
EV546
Ethnicity and depression among
maritime university students in
Canada
A. Steenbeek ∗, D. Langille , K. Wilson , A. Muir
1 Dalhousie University, Nursing, Halifax, Canada
2 Dalhousie University, Community Health and Epidemiology,
Halifax, Canada
∗ Corresponding author.
Introduction Depression is among the most common mental ill-
nesses in Canada. Although many factors contribute to depression,
stress is among the most commonly reported. Studies suggest that
marginalized groups often experience high levels of stress.
Objective To examine associations between ethnicity and
depressive symptoms among university students.
Aim To identify if ethnic groups, particularly Aboriginal students,
are at greater risk of depression.
Methods Online survey data were collected from students
attending eight universities in the Canadian Maritime Provinces
(n = 10,180). Depressive symptoms were assessed using the 12-
item version of the Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression
Scale. Ethnicity was organized into five groups: Caucasian only,
Aboriginal only, Aboriginals with other ethnicities, Mixed Ethnicity
(not including Aboriginal), andOther (single ethnicity not including
Aboriginal or Caucasian). Unadjusted and adjusted logistic regres-
sion models were used to assess associations between ethnicity
and elevated depressive symptoms. Adjustedmodels accounted for
demographic, socioeconomic, and behavioural characteristics.
Results In adjusted analyses for men, Mixed (OR: 2.01; 95% CI:
1.12–3.63) and Other ethnic students (OR: 1.47; 95% CI: 1.11–1.96)
were more likely to have elevated depressive symptoms than
Caucasians. There were no differences between those who were
Aboriginal and those who were Caucasian. In unadjusted and
adjusted analyses for women, depressive symptoms in ethnic
groups (including Aboriginals) were not significantly different from
Caucasians.
Conclusion Among male university students in the Maritime,
ethnicity (other than being Aboriginal) was associatedwith depres-
sive symptoms in comparison to Caucasians, after adjusting for
covariates. However, amongwomen, ethnicitywas not significantly
associated with depressive symptoms.
Disclosure of interest The authors have not supplied their decla-
ration of competing interest.
EV547
Predicting symptoms in major
depression after inpatient treatment:
The role of alexithymia
T. Suslow ∗, M. Rufer , A. Kersting , V. Guenther
1 University ol Leipzig, Psychosomatic Medicine, Leipzig, Germany
2 University of Zurich, Psychiatry, Zurich, Switzerland
∗ Corresponding author.
Introduction Alexithymia has been considered to have a negative
influence on the course of symptoms in various psychiatric disor-
ders. Only few studies examined in depressed patients whether
alexithymia predicts the outcome of therapeutic interventions or
the course of symptoms in naturalistic settings.
Aims In the present prospective study, it was investigated
whether alexithymia is associated with depressive symptoms after
a multimodal inpatient treatment.
Methods Forty-five inpatients suffering fromacutemajor depres-
sionwere examined in the initial phase of treatment and then again
after seven weeks. Patients took part in a multimodal treatment
program comprising psychodynamic-interactional oriented indi-
vidual and group therapy. The majority of patients were taking
antidepressants during study participation. To assess alexithymia
and depressive symptoms, the 20-item Toronto Alexithymia Scale
(TAS-20), the Beck Depression Inventory II (BDI-II) and the Hamil-
ton Depression Scale (HAMD) were administered at baseline and
follow-up.
Results High scores in the Externally Oriented Thinking (EOT)
facet of alexithymia at baseline predicted high severity of
depressive symptoms at follow-up (for self-reported as well as
observer-rated scores). This relationship was not confounded by
initial depressive symptoms.
Conclusions Inpatients suffering from major depression with a
more pronounced external cognitive style might benefit less from
multimodal inpatient treatment. Patients high on EOT could avoid
reflecting on negative emotions. Psychological interventions might
modify or account for alexithymic characteristics to improve the
course of depressive symptoms in these patients.
Disclosure of interest The authors have not supplied their decla-
ration of competing interest.