Search results for ‘Subject term:"mental health problems"’ Sort:
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Failure and delay in treatment-seeking across anxiety disorders
- Authors:
- JOHNSON Emily M., COLES Meredith E.
- Journal article citation:
- Community Mental Health Journal, 49(6), 2013, pp.668-674.
- Publisher:
- Springer
Anxiety disorders are a significant mental health problem. Despite the availability of effective treatments most sufferers do not seek help. The current study assesses delays in treatment-seeking, failure to seek treatment, and reasons for delaying treatment for individuals with anxiety disorders. Data were drawn from the Collaborative Psychiatric Epidemiological Surveys including 3,805 participants and analyses focused on treatment-seeking variables. Results indicate that individuals with anxiety disorders are less likely to seek treatment from a professional and more likely to experience delays in obtaining both any treatment, and effective treatment, than individuals with other forms of mental illness (in this case unipolar depression or substance use disorders). Deficits in mental health literacy (knowledge and beliefs about mental illness) were commonly endorsed as reasons for having delayed seeking treatment. The current study highlights the importance of improving knowledge about anxiety disorders to improve treatment-seeking. (Publisher abstract)
Quantifying violence in mental health research
- Authors:
- HARRIS Stephanie T., OAKLEY Clare, PICCHIONI Marco
- Journal article citation:
- Aggression and Violent Behavior, 18(6), 2013, p.695–701.
- Publisher:
- Elsevier
Research into mental illness and its relationship with violence has been constrained by inconsistencies in the definition and measurement of violent behaviour. The author conducted a systematic literature search of Scopus, EMBASE, PsycINFO, and Ovid Medline with search terms relating to the measurement, rating and quantification of violent behaviour in mentally disordered populations. The authors identified nine tools designed to assess violence and critically evaluated them. Broadly, measurement tools tended to focus on multiple, but different, facets of violence, which included: severity of act, severity of outcome, frequency and intent, with each suggested as a valid outcome measure for violent acts. The use of multiple sources of information to inform assessment appears to provide detail; however, that detail is then often diluted as a result of dichotomisation of sample groups. This presents methodological challenges for the field. Future studies should give consideration to the trade-off between preserving the richness of data and the difficulties associated with recruiting large patient samples. Studies should move from simply defining violence towards quantification across different dimensions of violence and using multiple sources of information. Abbreviations: MOAS, Modified Overt Aggression Scale; LHA, Lifetime History of Aggression scale; QOVS, Quantification of Violence Scale; CVS, Crime and Violence Scale; Attacks, Attempted and Actual Assault Scale; VAS, Visual Analogue Scale (Publisher abstract)
Test-retest reliability of PsyCheck: a mental health screening tool for substance use treatment clients
- Authors:
- JENNER Linda, et al
- Journal article citation:
- Advances in Dual Diagnosis, 6(4), 2013, pp.168-175.
- Publisher:
- Emerald
The PsyCheck screening tool was designed for use by non-mental health specialists to detect common mental health problems. In order to examine the test-retest reliability of the PsyCheck screening tool, 50 drug users in Melbourne were given the Self Reporting Questionnaire (SRQ; PsyCheck version) in their first three months of treatment at two time points, between five and nine days apart. The results suggest that the SRQ (PsyCheck version) has good test-retest reliability and confirms that the SRQ (PsyCheck) is a stable and reliable instrument for use within drug treatment settings. The implications of the use of screening tools not validated within alcohol and drug treatment setting are discussed. (Edited publisher abstract)
Factors affecting attitude towards seeking professional help for mental illness: a UK Arab perspective
- Authors:
- HAMID Aseel, FURNHAM Adrian
- Journal article citation:
- Mental Health Religion and Culture, 16(7), 2013, pp.741-758.
- Publisher:
- Taylor and Francis
- Place of publication:
- Philadelphia, USA
This study examined various factors affecting attitude towards seeking professional psychological help (ATSPPH) in Arabs living in the UK: causal beliefs, shame-focused attitudes, confidentiality concerns, ethnic identity and demographic variables. Participants completed an online questionnaire and results indicated that Arabs showed significantly less positive ATSPPH and had stronger causal beliefs in supernatural and non-Western physiology than British Caucasians. Confidentiality concerns, but not shame-focused attitudes were significant predictors of ATSPPH; confidentiality concerns were more significant for Arabs than for British Caucasians. Implications are drawn from the results. (Publisher abstract)
Do maternal and paternal mental illness and substance abuse predict treatment outcomes for children exposed to violence?
- Authors:
- RISSER Heather J., et al
- Journal article citation:
- Child Care in Practice, 19(3), 2013, pp.217-220.
- Publisher:
- Taylor and Francis
This study examined whether having a parent with a mental illness or a parent who abuses substances predicts treatment outcomes for children receiving community-based services for exposure to violence. From 2001 to 2011, data were collected from 492 children from one-and-a-half to seven years old and their primary caregivers enrolled in Safe From the Start services. Results indicated significant improvements pre-intervention to post-intervention in child emotional and behavioural problems, as measured by the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL). One-way bivariate analyses indicated that children of mothers or fathers with a mental illness and children of mothers who abused substances had higher CBCL scores at intake. Repeated-measures analyses of variance revealed a main effect such that maternal and paternal mental illness and maternal substance abuse were associated with poorer CBCL scores. The only parental risk factor to moderate the association between treatment and CBCL scores was paternal mental illness. Treatment was associated with greater improvement in CBCL scores for children of fathers with, relative to those without, mental illness, and the effect was due to higher CBCL scores at intake for children of fathers with mental illness rather than lower outcome scores. Results suggest that Safe From the Start services which provide early intervention can be effective in improving children's emotional and behavioural functioning. Additionally, the effectiveness of services appears to be robust to parental risk factors such as mental illness and substance abuse.
Expert opinions on community services for people with intellectual disabilities and mental health problems
- Authors:
- HEMMINGS Colin, AL-SHEIKH Alaa
- Journal article citation:
- Advances in Mental Health and Intellectual Disabilities, 7(3), 2013, pp.169-174.
- Publisher:
- Emerald
A total of 14 multidisciplinary professionals from specialist intellectual disabilities services in the UK were interviewed about their opinions on four key areas of community service provision. These included the review and monitoring of service users, their access to social, leisure and occupational activities, the support, advice and training around mental health for a person's family or carers and “out of hours” and crisis responses. The interview data was used for coding using the NVivo 7 software package and then analyzed using thematic analysis. Analysis of participants' views on these key essential service components produced wider themes of importance. The ten major emergent themes for services were: their configuration/structure, their clarity of purpose/care pathways, their joint working, their training, their flexibility, their resources, their evidence-base, being holistic/multidisciplinary, being needs-led/personalised and providing accessible information. Selective quotations are included in the article to illustrate the main themes. These views of experts can help inform further research for the development and the evaluation of services. (Edited publisher abstract)
Economic evaluation of the anti-stigma social marketing campaign in England 2009-2011
- Authors:
- EVANS-LACKO Sara, et al
- Journal article citation:
- British Journal of Psychiatry, 202(s55), April 2013, pp.s95-s101.
- Publisher:
- Cambridge University Press
Evidence on the economic impact of social marketing anti-stigma campaigns in relation to people with mental illness is limited. To describe the economic impact of the Time to Change (TTC) anti-stigma social marketing campaign, data collected for the evaluation of TTC were combined with the social marketing campaign expenditure data to investigate differences in knowledge, attitudes and behaviour in relation to campaign awareness. To evaluate the return on investment, a decision model that estimated the impact on employment for people with depression was applied. Based on average national social marketing campaign costs, the economic benefits outweighed costs even if the campaign resulted in only 1% more people with depression accessing services and gaining employment if they experienced a health improvement. The cost per person with improved intended behaviour was at most £4 if we assume the campaign was responsible for 50% of the change. Costs associated with improved knowledge and attitudes, however, were more variable. The findings suggest that the TTC anti-stigma social marketing campaign is a potentially cost-effective and low-cost intervention for reducing the impact of stigma on people with mental health problems. (Edited publisher abstract)
Parentification and mental health symptoms: mediator effects of perceived unfairness and differentiation of self
- Authors:
- JANKOWSKI Peter J., et al
- Journal article citation:
- Journal of Family Therapy, 35(1), 2013, pp.43-65.
- Publisher:
- Wiley
Noting that parentification (which occurs when one or both parents position a child to function in an adult role in the family system) can result in positive and negative outcomes for individuals, this study investigated the association between parentification and mental health. It was designed to test a theoretical model of the relationship between parentification tasks and mental health symptoms. The research involved a sample of 783 college students from a large state university in the southern US. It used a range of self-report measures to assess dimensions of dysfunctional parentification, differentiation of self and mental health symptoms. The article describes the study methodology and its findings. It reports that the results supported the proposed model in which the relationship between parentification and mental health symptoms was mediated by perceived unfairness and differentiation of self, and considers the clinical implications of the findings.
A novel treatment resource for co-occurring symptoms
- Authors:
- McCALLUM Stacey L., et al
- Journal article citation:
- Advances in Dual Diagnosis, 6(4), 2013, pp.155-167.
- Publisher:
- Emerald
This paper describes the development of a self-directed treatment tool which uses cognitive behavioural therapy techniques to reduce anxiety symptoms in patients seeking treatment for alcohol-related problems. The booklet was formatted for the patients to completed over four weeks, with each week targeting a different CBT technique. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 15 patients presenting to hospital for alcohol related problems and 10 practitioners working at inpatient, outpatient and residential treatment facilities in Adelaide, South Australia. The majority of patients (80 percent) and practitioners (90 percent) felt the booklet was a practical, usable educational resource for patients sufferening from co-occuring anxiety symptoms in substance abuse facilities. Participants also outlined the limitations of the resource. It was suggested that the booklet would be most suitable for patients with moderate to high cognitive ability, who also exhibit a motivation to change alcohol consumption and have access to additional support. Findings suggest suggest that the booklet may be most useful for improving treatment accessibility and treatment seeking behaviours, rather than reducing practitioner-patient contact. (Edited publisher abstract)
Siblings of people diagnosed with a mental disorder and posttraumatic growth
- Authors:
- SANDERS Avihay, SZYMANSKI Kate
- Journal article citation:
- Community Mental Health Journal, 49(5), 2013, pp.554-559.
- Publisher:
- Springer
This study examines the potential for posttraumatic growth (PTG) for siblings of persons diagnosed with a mental disorder. Using the posttraumatic growth Inventory the authors compared siblings (N = 33) with a comparison group of participants who did not experience trauma (N = 30). The group of participants who had a sibling diagnosed with a mental disorder by a mental health professional (N = 33) reported higher PTG scores with mostly large effect sizes on most of the inventory subscales. Participants who took an active role in care giving experienced less PTG than participants who did not. Having a sibling diagnosed with a mental disorder presents an opportunity to experience PTG. Implications for the therapeutic milieus are discussed. (Publisher abstract)