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“One does not forget, it all comes back”: elderly people with intellectual disability review adversities and stress-protection in their lives
- Authors:
- SCHEPENS Hadewych R. M. M., VAN PUYENBROECK Joris, MAES Bea
- Journal article citation:
- Quality in Ageing and Older Adults, 20(4), 2019, pp.190-205.
- Publisher:
- Emerald
Purpose: People with intellectual disability are reported to encounter many negative life events during their increasingly long lives. In the absence of protective elements, these may cause toxic stress and trauma. Given the reported negative effects of such adverse events on their quality of life (QoL), the perspective of older people with intellectual disability themselves may be of relevance. The paper aims to discuss these issues. Design/methodology/approach: The authors questioned nine participants with mild intellectual disability, aged 61–88 years old, in four 90-min focus group sessions and thematically analysed the data. Findings: Many recent and bygone negative life events still weighed heavily on the participants. Negative interactions, experiences of loss, lack of control and awareness of one’s disability caused stress. Their emotional response contrasted with their contentment, compliance and resilience. Having (had) good relationships, having learnt coping skills, remaining active, talking about past experiences and feeling free of pain, safe, well supported, capable, respected and involved seemed to heighten resilience and protect participants from toxic stress. Research limitations/implications: Monitoring and preventing adverse (childhood) experiences, supporting active/emotional coping strategies, psychotherapy and life story work may facilitate coping with negative events and enhance QoL of elderly people with intellectual disability. Originality/value: Elderly people with mild intellectual disability run a higher risk of experiencing (early) adverse events in life. They are very capable of talking about their experiences, QoL, and the support they need. Focus groups were a reliable method to capture their insights. (Edited publisher abstract)
The importance of sources of meaning in life of community dwelling psychologically frail older people
- Authors:
- HOEYBERGHS Lieve Josee, et al
- Journal article citation:
- Working with Older People, 23(2), 2019, pp.65-76.
- Publisher:
- Emerald
Purpose: Psychological frailty adds most to overall feelings of frailty, but is often neglected, although meaning in life is important for psychological well-being. The purpose of this paper is to explore the sources of meaning in life within psychologically frail older people. Design/methodology/approach: Data (n= 16,872) generated from the Belgian Ageing Studies were collected, using the Comprehensive Frailty Assessment Instrument and the Sources of Meaning Profile (SOMP-R) instrument. Psychometric properties of the SOMP-R were explored using factor and reliability analysis and one-way-ANOVA analysis were used to asses mean differences. Findings: Financial security, meeting basic needs and personal relations play an important role as sources of meaning in life. Moreover, the SOMP-R showed excellent psychometric properties. Research limitations/implications: Due to the cross-sectional design of this study, evolution in time and causal links could not be assessed. Practical implications: The findings of this study emphasize that sources of meaning in life are relevant and can be assessed using the SOMP-R upon which individually tailored care plans can be developed. The results show that, meaning in life as such plays an important role for psychologically frail older people. As a consequence, this offers insights to support these older people. Caregivers and policymakers might therefore take these results into account. Guarantee and/or follow up a frail individual’s financial security, assessing and enabling one’s personal relationships and meeting their basic needs are very important when taking care of psychologically frail older individuals. Social implications: Besides the practical implications, the social inclusion of psychologically frail older people seems to be relevant. Originality/value: To the best of the authors’ knowledge, the association between meaning in life and psychological frailty in later life is not yet investigated. Further the findings of this study emphasize that sources of meaning in life are relevant and can be assessed using the SOMP-R upon which individually tailored care plans can be developed. (Edited publisher abstract)
Applicability of the DUNDRUM-1 in a forensic Belgium setting
- Authors:
- HABETS Petra, DARME Inge Jean, KENNEDY Harry G.
- Journal article citation:
- Journal of Forensic Practice, 21(1), 2019, pp.85-94.
- Publisher:
- Emerald
Purpose: Criteria to determine in which level of security forensic patients should receive treatment are currently non-existent in Belgium. Research regarding the assessment of security level is minimal and few instruments are available. The DUNDRUM toolkit is a structured clinical judgement instrument that can be used to provide support when determining security level. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the applicability and validity of the DUNDRUM-1 in Flanders. Design/methodology/approach: The DUNDRUM-1 was scored for 50 male patients admitted at the forensic units in the public psychiatric hospital Rekem. Some files were rated by three researchers who were blind to participants’ security status, resulting in 33 double measurements. Findings: Almost all files (96 per cent) contained enough information to score the DUNDRUM-1. Average DUNDRUM-1 final judgement scores were concordant with a medium security profile. No difference was found between the current security levels and the DUNDRUM-1 final judgement scores. Inter-rater reliability was excellent for the DUNDRUM-1 final judgement scores. On item level, all items had excellent to good inter-rater reliability with the exception of one item institutional behaviour which had an average inter-rater reliability. Practical implications: The DUNDRUM-1 can be a useful tool in Flemish forensic settings. It has good psychometric properties. More research is needed to investigate the relationship between DUNDRUM-1 scores and security level decisions by the courts. Originality/value: This is the first study that investigated the applicability of the DUNDRUM-1 in a Belgian setting, also a relative large number of repeated measurements were available to investigate the inter-rater reliability of the DUNDRUM-1.
Perpetrators of abuse against older women: a multi-national study in Europe
- Authors:
- DONDER Liesbeth De, et al
- Journal article citation:
- Journal of Adult Protection, 13(6), 2011, pp.302-314.
- Publisher:
- Emerald
Results from part of the prevalence study Abuse and Violence against Older Women in Europe, conducted in Finland, Austria, Belgium, Lithuania and Portugal in 2010, are presented in this paper. The study focused on home-dwelling women aged 60 years or older and included interviews with 2,880 older women. This paper explores the findings concerning perpetrators of abuse among older women living in the community and whether differences between perpetrators of different forms of abuse could be detected. The results showed that 28.1% of older women reported experiencing at least one kind of violence and abuse in their own home in the last 12 months by someone who was close to them. The findings indicated that emotional abuse occurs most often, followed by financial abuse, and that the current partner or spouse most often commits the abuse, but that depending on the type of abuse different perpetrators are more likely. The paper includes tables showing rates of different kinds of abuse and perpetrators of abuse, including types of abuse, levels of severity, and victim characteristics.
Supporting social inclusion of youth at risk using social software: impact, sustainability and evaluation, one year after pilot testing
- Authors:
- DEKELVER Jan, VAN DEN BOSCH Wouter, ENGLEN Jan
- Journal article citation:
- Housing Care and Support, 14(2), 2011, pp.61-66.
- Publisher:
- Emerald
The aim of this case study was to report the experiences of four social work organisations in four different European countries (Belgium, Austria, Poland and Scotland) and their efforts to integrate the use of social media into their work with young people at risk. The activities of and challenges met by the organisations in the two years they took part in the EU-INCLUSO (FP7) project and the year after the end of the project (2010) are reported. The initial findings were supplemented and updated by recent, in-depth interviews with representatives from the pilot organisations. The findings indicate that the use of social media to support the work of organisations working with youth at risk has much potential and proved to be worthwhile based on the experiences of the organisations that took part in the EU-INCLUSO project. However, the authors warn that successful adoption within the organisation depends on management support, sufficient resources and staff coaching and training. The choice of which tools to use in a particular situation is largely influenced by the preferences of the young people involved, putting emphasis on co-designing social media strategies together with the target group. Most of the organisations report that currently available social media tools, while useful, are not always ideal and make the case for custom-built tools.
Problem behaviour in a Flemish therapeutic centre for children and youth with EBD: group workers, teachers and youth as different informants
- Authors:
- SOENEN Bram, et al
- Journal article citation:
- Therapeutic Communities: the International Journal of Therapeutic Communities, 32(1), Spring 2011, pp.35-53.
- Publisher:
- Emerald
The aim of this study was to look at the characteristics of children and young people placed in a therapeutic centre offering residential care and day treatment for children and youth with emotional and behavioural disorders (EBD) in West Flanders, Belgium. An additional aim was to see if there were any specific differences in the profiles identified by using group workers, teachers and youth as different informants. Data was collected for all 434 young people at the therapeutic centre. From the individual’s files, information was gathered on the type of treatment, diagnosis, age, gender, and IQ. The Child Behaviour Checklist was completed for each child by a group worker, the Teacher Report Form by a teacher, and the Youth Self Report by the youths themselves. Correlations between the different informants were sought, and a profile of the children and adolescents was developed based on the data from each informant. The results show the complex nature of the problem behaviour of youth in care. Disagreements between the different informants were found, especially regarding internalising problem behaviour, underscoring the need for multiple informants in clinical practice.
Life Space Crisis Intervention and the contextual theory: common grounds in history. Renewed reflections about treatment of children with emotional and behavioural disorders in their family
- Authors:
- D’OOSTERLINCK Franky, et al
- Journal article citation:
- Therapeutic Communities: the International Journal of Therapeutic Communities, 32(1), Spring 2011, pp.3-17.
- Publisher:
- Emerald
The Orthopedagogical Observation and Treatment Centre (OOBC) in Belgium combines special education and day-care treatment for children and young people with emotional and behavioural disorders (EBD). One of their central methods is Life Space Crisis Intervention (LSCI), a therapeutic, verbal method of intervention for young people in crisis. This method addresses mainly the school and day care environment. The aim of this study was to explore the gains in treating young people with EBD and their families by combining LSCI with a family theory. The contextual theory (CT) is based on intergenerational patterns of the family. The article considers whether the elements of both theories are compatible, and whether they can complement and reinforce one another. Many parallels were found in both theories’ roots and substantive concepts. The findings illustrate that LSCI and CT can work together to achieve a more profound treatment, in which both the individual and the family can be worked on. The resulting treatment is referred to as ‘Integrative Family Oriented Treatment’.
Older people’s perceptions of assistive technology – an exploratory pan-European study
- Authors:
- WILLIAMS Veronika, MCCRINDLE Rachel, VICTOR Christina
- Journal article citation:
- Journal of Integrated Care, 18(1), February 2010, pp.38-44.
- Publisher:
- Emerald
This paper describes a survey undertaken to explore how assistive technology in the form of a wrist-worn device is perceived by older people. The survey was part of a larger study funded by EU Framework 6, ENABLE, which involved development of a wrist-worn assistive technology device capable of providing a variety of functions such as an alarm system, falls detection, navigation through GPS and an event reminder, thus enabling older people and their carers to live more independently and with reassurance. The purpose of the survey was to gain insights into the general issues that concern older people if they are required to wear and use assistive technology, and to identify more specifically the views of older people on the potential functionalities of the intended, future wrist-worn device. The questionnaire was sent out to participants in the UK, Czech Republic, Greece, and Belgium, and 158 completed questionnaires were returned. The results demonstrated a number of older people engaging with technology; a large number used a mobile phone, and almost half owned and used a computer and the internet. The device functions relating to emergency alarm systems and fall detections were rated as important. However, despite the potential benefits, it is clear from the results of the survey that privacy and confidentiality are significant concerns which can impede successful implementation.
Effects of the combination of Life Space Crisis Interventions and a level system at the therapeutic treatment centre ‘Heynsdaele’ - a special school and home for youth with behavioural and emotional problems
- Authors:
- SOENEN Bram, et al
- Journal article citation:
- Therapeutic Communities: the International Journal of Therapeutic Communities, 30(2), Summer 2009, pp.200-216.
- Publisher:
- Emerald
The Provincial Institute Heynsdaele in the Province of East-Flanders consists of a residential facility and a school for special education for boys aged 12 to 21 with emotional and behavioural disorders. This article describes a project to meet the needs of this target group by using appropriate strategies. The project started by making an inventory of the problem areas of the institute by performing interviews, observing classes and living groups, and studying documentation on the organisation. Based on this data, 3 problem areas were identified: aggression, illicit drug abuse and non-attendance. In order to address these problem areas, 2 strategies were implemented. The first, Life Space Crisis Intervention (LSCI), is a therapeutic and verbal strategy used to intervene when children are in crisis. The other, a level system, sets limits to severe disruptive behaviour, to reward positive behaviour in different levels and to identify non-responsive students. The results demonstrated that LSCI and the level system had a positive effect on the academic performances and on reducing the disruptive behaviour of the youngsters. During 1 month in both 2006 and 2008, pre-post measurements of school results, conflicts, signalisation moments and the amount of non-attendance were registered by educators and teachers. Positive results were found on all of these themes. Because of the promising results of this project, the authors emphasise the value of coaching and supporting staff members in using these strategies in daily practice.
Perceptions of staff members on the implementation of conflict management strategies in educational and therapeutic strategies in educational and therapeutic environments for children and youths with emotional and behavioural disorders
- Authors:
- D’OOSTERLINCK Franky, et al
- Journal article citation:
- Therapeutic Communities: the International Journal of Therapeutic Communities, 30(2), Summer 2009, pp.157-172.
- Publisher:
- Emerald
A common experience for staff members working in educational or therapeutic settings for children with emotional and behavioural disorders is the lack of coping strategies in dealing with conflict and crisis situations. The aim of this study was to evaluate whether or not the training and implementation of Life Space Crisis Intervention, a conflict management model, empowered the staff members in handling conflicts. In August 2002 and May 2004 respectively, 46 and 52 staff members in 6 semi-residential facilities in East Flanders received a 5-day training course in Life Space Crisis Intervention (LSCI). Feedback forms were completed by the staff immediately after the training and after 1 year of using the LSCI method in daily practice. An indepth qualitative analysis revealed an enhancement of staff members’ knowledge and coping strategies in handling conflicts. Additionally, they stressed the need for sufficient staff resources and time to implement and sustain LSCI. Despite these difficulties, the majority of the participants strongly believed in the applicability of the method and the usefulness of the training.