Search results for ‘Subject term:"mental health problems"’ Sort:
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Late life depression: a historical perspective upon a maturing field of inquiry
- Author:
- BLAZER Dan G.
- Journal article citation:
- Aging and Mental Health, 18(5), 2014, pp.538-539.
- Publisher:
- Taylor and Francis
In this editorial, the author reviews the findings of seven studies on the topic of late life depression and compares these studies with the state of the field in terms of empirical research when he wrote his 1982 book. (Original abstract)
Spiritual struggle and affective symptoms among geriatric mood disordered patients
- Authors:
- ROSMARIN David H., MALLOY Mary C., FORESTER Brent P.
- Journal article citation:
- International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, 29(6), 2014, pp.653-660.
- Publisher:
- Wiley
Objectives: The authors explored relationships between general religiousness, positive religious coping, negative religious coping (spiritual struggle), and affective symptoms among geriatric mood disordered outpatients, in the northeastern USA. Methods: The authors assessed for general religiousness (religious affiliation, belief in God, and private and public religious activity) and positive/negative religious coping, alongside interview and self-report measures of affective functioning in a diagnostically heterogeneous sample of n = 34 geriatric mood disordered outpatients (n = 16 bipolar and n = 18 major depressive) at a psychiatric hospital in eastern Massachusetts. Results: Except for a modest correlation between private prayer and lower Geriatric Depression Scale scores, general religious factors (belief in God, public religious activity, and religious affiliation) as well as positive religious coping were unrelated to affective symptoms after correcting for multiple comparisons and controlling for significant covariates. However, a large effect of spiritual struggle was observed on greater symptom levels (up to 19.4% shared variance). Further, mean levels of spiritual struggle and its observed effects on symptoms were equivalent irrespective of religious affiliation, belief, and private and public religious activity. Conclusions: Previously observed effects of general religiousness on (less) depression among geriatric mood disordered patients may be less pronounced in less religious areas of the USA. However, spiritual struggle appears to be a common and important risk factor for depressive symptoms, regardless of patients' general level of religiousness. Further research on spiritual struggle is warranted among geriatric mood disordered patients. (Edited publisher abstract)
Late-life depression, social support, instrumental activities of daily living, and utilization of in-home and community-based services in older adults
- Authors:
- LAM Brian Trung, CERVANTES Anna R., LEE Wilfred K.
- Journal article citation:
- Journal of Human Behavior in the Social Environment, 24(4), 2014, pp.499-512.
- Publisher:
- Taylor and Francis
- Place of publication:
- Philadelphia, USA
This study examined the relationship between social support, depression, instrumental activities of daily living (IADLs), and utilisation of in-home and community-based services. The sample included 39 adults age 65 years old and older. The data were collected by distributing a self-administered questionnaire. Depression levels significantly decreased as levels of social support increased. IADLs functioning significantly decreased as depression levels increased. The number of in-home services used significantly increased as IADLs functioning decreased. The number of community-based services used significantly increased as depression levels decreased. The number of in-home and community-based services used significantly increased as levels of support decreased. (Edited publisher abstract)
Seasonality of depression referrals in older people
- Authors:
- HOLLOWAY Lucy Elizabeth, EVANS Sandra
- Journal article citation:
- Community Mental Health Journal, 50(3), 2014, pp.336-338.
- Publisher:
- Springer
Seasonal affective disorder is becoming more widely recognised as a prevalent mood disorder in the adult population. However, few studies have investigated the link between sunlight exposure and mood in the elderly. Referrals to the community Mental Health Care for Older People (MHCOP) in the Hackney and City area, were screened for the number of patients referred with depression in three separate years (2007, 2009 and 2011) in order to determine whether more referrals were made to the service during darker months of the year (October to March) than in the lighter months of the year (April to September). When data from the three years was combined, we found no significant increase in the number of referrals to the MHCOP in the darker months (Chi squared value 1.375, p value (2 tailed) 0.2409). Theauthors observed no statistically significant seasonal pattern of referrals, this suggests that depression in older people is not more prevalent in darker months of the year. (Edited publisher abstract)
Racial/ethnic differences in the association between symptoms of depression and self-rated mental health among older adults
- Authors:
- JANG Yuri, et al
- Journal article citation:
- Community Mental Health Journal, 50(3), 2014, pp.352-330.
- Publisher:
- Springer
The study examined racial/ethnic differences in the association between symptoms of depression and self-rated mental health among older adults. Data came from the first wave of the National Social Life, Health, and Aging Project, a population-based study of non-institutionalized older adults aged 57 to 85. The sample consisted of non-Hispanic Whites (n = 2,110), Blacks (n = 509), and Hispanics (n = 304). The association between symptoms of depression and self-rated mental health was weaker among minority groups than that among non-Hispanic Whites. Tests of interaction effects showed that the predictability of depressive symptoms to self-rated mental health was substantially weakened among Blacks of advanced ages and Hispanics with multiple chronic conditions. The study explored potential sources of racial/ethnic differences in subjective reports of mental health and called attention to older minorities with advanced ages and cormorbid conditions in mental health services and interventions. (Publisher abstract)
Applications of Buddhist compassion practices among people suffering from depression and anxiety in Confucian societies in East Asia
- Author:
- LO Herman H.M.
- Journal article citation:
- Journal of Religion and Spirituality in Social Work, 33(1), 2014, pp.19-32.
- Publisher:
- Taylor and Francis
- Place of publication:
- Philadelphia, USA
Compassion practices originating from the Buddhist meditation traditions have aroused considerable interest among many Western practitioners and researchers over the past decade. In this article the author explores the potential of compassion practice for clinical interventions by examining psychological conflict experienced among East Asian populations in Confucian societies. This is followed by a discussion of the historical roots of Buddhist compassion practice and a rationale for its application for people with depression or anxiety. The implications of clinical applications, suggested procedures, and possible difficulties are highlighted. Compassion-Mindfulness Therapy (C-MT) has been developed and the positive results of a randomised control trial are offered, suggesting support for the benefits of mindfulness and compassion practices for individuals suffering from depression and anxiety. (Edited publisher abstract)
Child abuse in the context of intimate partner violence against women: the impact of women’s depressive and posttraumatic stress symptoms on maternal behavior
- Authors:
- BOECKEL Mariana G., et al
- Journal article citation:
- Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 29(7), 2014, pp.1201-1227.
- Publisher:
- Sage
Intimate male partner violence against women has been recognised as an important public health problem, with a high impact on women’s mental health, including depressive and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms. However, fathers who have been involved in intimate partner violence (IPV) have an increased probability of being violent toward their children. The study assesses the relation between the mental health status of abused women, their partner’s violence toward the children, and their maternal behaviour. (Edited publisher abstract)
Primary care providers' bereavement care practices: recommendations for research directions
- Authors:
- GHESQUIERE Angela R., et al
- Journal article citation:
- International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, 29(12), 2014, pp.1221-1229.
- Publisher:
- Wiley
Objective: Bereaved patients are often seen in primary care settings. Although most do not require formal support, physicians may be called upon to provide support to some bereaved, particularly those with bereavement-related mental health disorders like complicated grief and bereavement-related depression. Design: This literature review focuses on studies conducted between 1996 and 2013 in the United States. Searches of Medline and PsychInfo, along with hand searches of reference sections, were conducted. Results: The limited existing research indicates substantial gaps in the research literature, especially in the areas of primary care physician skill and capacity, patient-level outcomes, and the quality of research methodology. No US studies have focused specifically on care for bereavement-related mental health disorders. Recommendations are provided about how to improve research about primary care bereavement care. (Edited publisher abstract)
Cognitive vulnerability to bipolar disorder in offspring of parents with bipolar disorder
- Authors:
- PAVLICKOVA Hana, TURNBULL Oliver, BENTALL Richard P.
- Journal article citation:
- British Journal of Clinical Psychology, 53(4), 2014, pp.386-401.
- Publisher:
- Wiley
Background: Bipolar disorder is a highly heritable illness, with a positive family history robustly predictive of its onset. It follows that studying biological children of parents with bipolar disorder may provide information about developmental pathways to the disorder. Moreover, such studies may serve as a useful test of theories that attribute a causal role in the development of mood disorders to psychological processes. Method: Psychological style (including self-esteem, coping style with depression, domain-specific risk-taking, sensation-seeking, sensitivity to reward and punishment, and hypomanic personality and cognition) was assessed in 30 offspring of bipolar parents and 30 children of well parents. Parents of both child groups completed identical assessments. Results: Although expected differences between parents with bipolar disorder and well parents were detected (such as low self-esteem, increased rumination, high sensitivity to reward and punishment), offspring of bipolar parents were, as a group, not significantly different from well offspring, apart from a modest trend towards lower adaptive coping. When divided into affected and non-affected subgroups, both groups of index children showed lower novelty-seeking. Only affected index children showed lower self-esteem, increased rumination, sensitivity to punishment, and hypomanic cognitions. Notably, these processes were associated with symptoms of depression. Conclusion: Psychological abnormalities in index offspring were associated with having met diagnostic criteria for psychiatric illnesses and the presence of mood symptoms, rather than preceding them. Implications of the present findings for our understanding of the development of bipolar disorder, as well as for informing early interventions, are discussed. Practitioner points: Decreased active coping and seeking for novel stimuli might be one of first psychological indications relevant to the future development of mood disorders. Psychological abnormalities typical for individuals with mood disorders were present only in already affected offspring of parents with bipolar disorder. Limitations of the study: This was a cross-sectional study; longitudinal design would greatly enhance our understanding of the association between psychological processes and symptoms. The sample size in this study was modest. (Publisher abstract)
A review of risk factors associated with suicide in adults with intellectual disability
- Authors:
- MOLLISON Emma, et al
- Journal article citation:
- Advances in Mental Health and Intellectual Disabilities, 8(5), 2014, pp.302-308.
- Publisher:
- Emerald
Purpose: As recently as the 1980's it was still a widely held belief that individuals with intellectual disability (ID) did not have the cognitive capacity to experience mental health problems and this acted as a “buffer” against suicidal behaviour. The literature review examines the evidence relating to risk factors for individuals with intellectual disabilities. Design/methodology/approach: The literature review covered the time period 1993-2013 and returned 117 studies, 77 of which related to individuals with ID, 37 of which related to adults. Following screening titles and abstracts 28 articles were removed. A total of nine studies were found to be eligible for inclusion in the review. A further two studies examining suicide in adolescents (up to adulthood) with ID were also considered. From the eligible studies the following information was considered: study design, sample size, strengths, limitations and the risk factors associated with an increased risk of suicide. Findings: The suicide risk factors identified during the review were found to be in keeping with the general population and included a diagnosis of clinical depression, history of self-harm, unemployment, loneliness, unemployment, an increased need for support from others, early onset mental illness and being treatment resistive. (Edited publisher abstract)