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Being alone or becoming lonely? The complexity of portraying ‘unaccompanied children’ as being alone in Sweden
- Authors:
- HERTZ Marcus, LALANDER Philip
- Journal article citation:
- Journal of Youth Studies, 20(8), 2017, pp.1062-1076.
- Publisher:
- Taylor and Francis
- Place of publication:
- Philadelphia, USA
Research has largely focused on ‘unaccompanied minors’ as a vulnerable group at risk of developing psychological problems that affect their health. Separation from primary caregivers is considered one of the foremost reasons for these young people’s proposed loneliness. Thus, the official and ascribed identity is that they are lonely and that loneliness is their major problem. But research has seldom given the young people themselves an opportunity to express their views in an attempt to trace the often situational, dynamic and complex nature of social and emotional life. The present article analyses how ‘unaccompanied minors’ talk about everyday life and themes related to loneliness. The authors followed 23 ‘unaccompanied minors’ during a period of a year through ethnographic observations and qualitative interviews. Results: Loneliness may occur when these young people experience lack of control in managing life and when they feel no one grieves for them; loneliness may be dealt with by creating new social contacts and friends; loneliness may be reinforced or reduced in encounters with representatives from ‘the system’; the young people may experience frustration about being repeatedly labelled ‘unaccompanied’ and they may create a resistance to and critical reflexivity towards this labelling. (Edited publisher abstract)
Informal care-giving and mental ill-health: differential relationships by workload, gender, age and area-remoteness in a UK region
- Authors:
- DOEBLER Stefanie, et al
- Journal article citation:
- Health and Social Care in the Community, 25(3), 2017, pp.987-999.
- Publisher:
- Wiley
This paper reports on a study carried out in a UK region which investigated the relationship between informal care-giving and mental ill-health. The analysis was conducted by linking three data sets, the Northern Ireland Longitudinal Study, the Northern Ireland Enhanced Prescribing Database and the Proximity to Service Index from the Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency. The analysis used both a subjective measure of mental ill-health, i.e. a question asked in the 2011 Census, and an objective measure, whether the respondents had been prescribed antidepressants by a General Practitioner between 2010 and 2012. The study applied binary logistic multilevel modelling to these two responses to test whether, and for what sub-groups of the population, informal care-giving was related to mental ill-health. The results showed that informal care-giving per se was not related to mental ill-health, although there was a strong relationship between the intensity of the care-giving role and mental ill-health. Females under 50, who provided over 19 hours of care, were not employed or worked part-time and who provided care in both 2001 and 2011 were at a statistically significantly elevated risk of mental ill-health. Caregivers in remote areas with limited access to shops and services were also at a significantly increased risk as evidenced by prescription rates for antidepressants. With community care policies aimed at supporting people to remain at home, the paper highlights the need for further research in order to target resources appropriately. (Edited publisher abstract)
Food for thought: mental health and nutrition briefing
- Author:
- MENTAL HEALTH FOUNDATION
- Publisher:
- Mental Health Foundation
- Publication year:
- 2017
- Pagination:
- 20
- Place of publication:
- London
This briefing focuses on how nutrition can be effectively integrated into public health strategies to protect and improve mental health and emotional wellbeing. It discusses what is known about the relationship between nutrition and mental health, looks at foods that have a negative effect on mental health and the role of food in preventing mental health problems. It also presents evidence of links between diet and the mental health conditions of depression, schizophrenia, dementia and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). The briefing makes nine policy recommendations. (Edited publisher abstract)
Frailty and incident depression in community-dwelling older people: results from the ELSA study
- Authors:
- VERONESE Nicola, et al
- Journal article citation:
- International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, 32(12), 2017, pp.e141-e149.
- Publisher:
- Wiley
Objective: Frailty and pre-frailty are two common conditions in the older people, but whether these conditions could predict depression is still limited to a few longitudinal studies. In this paper, we aimed to investigate whether frailty and pre-frailty are associated with an increased risk of depression in a prospective cohort of community-dwelling older people. Methods: Four thousand seventy-seven community-dwelling men and women over 60 years without depression at baseline were included from the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing. Frailty status was defined according to modified Fried's criteria (weakness, weight loss, slow gait speed, low physical activity and exhaustion) and categorized as frailty (≥3 criteria), pre-frailty (1–2 criteria) or robustness (0 criterion). Depression was diagnosed as ≥4 out of 8 points of Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale, after 2 years of follow-up. Results: Over a 2-year follow-up, 360 individuals developed depression. In a logistic regression analysis, adjusted for 18 potential baseline confounders, pre-frailty (odds ratio (OR) = 0.89; 95% confidence interval (CI), 0.54–1.46; p = 0.64) and frailty (OR = 1.22; 95% CI, 0.90–1.64; p = 0.21) did not predict the onset of depression at follow-up. Among the criteria included in the frailty definition, only slow gait speed (OR = 1.82; 95% CI, 1.00–3.32; p = 0.05) appeared to predict a higher risk of depression. Conclusions: Among older community dwellers, frailty and pre-frailty did not predict the onset of depression during 2 years of follow-up, when accounting for potential confounders, whilst slow gait speed considered alone may predict depression in the older people. (Publisher abstract)
Aging perceptions and self-efficacy mediate the association between personality traits and depressive symptoms in older adults
- Authors:
- O'SHEA D.M., DOTSON V.M., FIEO R.A.
- Journal article citation:
- International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, 32(12), 2017, pp.1217-1225.
- Publisher:
- Wiley
Objective: Personality traits have been shown to be predictors of depressive symptoms in late life. The authors examined whether other more modifiable sources of individual differences such as self-efficacy and self-perceptions of ageing would mediate the association between personality traits and depressive symptoms in older adults. Method: Data were obtained from 3,507 older adult participants who took part in the 2012 Health and Retirement Study. The “Big Five” personality traits, self-efficacy, ageing perceptions, and depressive symptoms were assessed. Mediation analyses tested the hypothesis that self-efficacy and ageing perceptions would mediate the relationship between personality traits and depressive symptoms. Results: All five personality traits were significant predictors of depressive symptoms. Neuroticism was positively associated with depressive symptoms and had the greatest effect compared with the other personality traits. There was a significant indirect effect of neuroticism, extraversion, and conscientiousness on depressive symptoms (including both mediators). The mediating effect of ageing perceptions on the relationship between neuroticism and depressive symptoms was the strongest compared with self-efficacy, accounting for approximately 80% of the total indirect effect. Conclusion: The authors results provide support for interventions aimed at improving self-perceptions related to efficacy and ageing in order to reduce depressive symptoms in older adults. (Edited publisher abstract)
Mental health, vulnerability and risk in police custody
- Authors:
- LEESE Maggie, RUSSELL Sean
- Journal article citation:
- Journal of Adult Protection, 19(5), 2017, pp.274-283.
- Publisher:
- Emerald
Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to report on the findings of a case study that explored mental health difficulties and vulnerability within police custody. Design/methodology/approach: The design of the study was qualitative, and it utilised telephone, semi-structured interviews with all levels of the custody staff. This approach was taken because the aim of the study was to explore how people in different roles within the organisation worked to safeguard vulnerable people in custody. Findings: The findings from this study identified a number of interesting themes that could be explored further in later studies. Overall, the respondents expressed frustration that vulnerable people find themselves in police custody for low-level crime, when it could have been avoided with improved mental health services in the community. Additionally, the findings demonstrated that despite the processes that are designed to safeguard the detainee, tensions still exist including, timely access to mental health assessments, appropriate training and support for staff and the use of appropriate adults. Research limitations/implications: Although the study was small in scale, the custody facility delivered detainee facilities for about 5,000 individuals per year. The research and information obtained supported the police lead for mental health to identify opportunities for improving the customer journey, as well as recognising the need for further research to identify how officers and staff relate to vulnerable individuals in contact with the police service. Originality/value: Despite the limitations of the study, the findings have captured interesting data from a range of professionals working in one police custody suite, and therefore it presents a holistic overview of some key issues around mental health, vulnerability and safeguarding within the context of police custody. (Edited publisher abstract)
The influence of thoughts of death and suicidal ideation on the course of depression in older depressed patients
- Authors:
- BOGERS Ista C.H.M., et al
- Journal article citation:
- International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, 32(8), 2017, pp.882-891.
- Publisher:
- Wiley
Objective: Thoughts of death are not regularly included in diagnostic instruments and rarely examined separately from thoughts of suicide. This exploratory study examined whether thoughts of death and thoughts of suicide affect the course of late-life depressive disorders. Methods: In 378 depressed older persons, thoughts of death and thoughts of suicide were assessed using questions from the Composite International Diagnostic Interview. After 2 years, the presence of a DSM-IV-TR diagnosis of minor or major depression or dysthymia was assessed with the Composite International Diagnostic Interview. The Inventory of Depressive Symptomatology was administered every 6 months up till 3-year follow-up. Results: Multinomial logistic regression showed that thoughts of death as well as thoughts of suicide predicted double depression at follow-up (OR = 2.14 [95% CI: 1.04–4.40] and OR = 6.47 [95% CI: 2.22–3.02], respectively), compared with patients without these thoughts. Results became non-significant when adjusted for baseline depression severity (OR = 1.17 [95% CI: 0.52–2.63] and OR = 2.57 [95% CI: 0.79–8.84], respectively). Mixed linear models showed that severity of depression was lowest in the reference group, while symptoms decreased more over time in those with either thoughts of death or suicide. Conclusions: Patients with thoughts of death or with thoughts of suicide were more severely depressed at baseline and follow-up, with the highest risk of being depressed at follow-up for patients with thoughts of suicide. These associations could be explained by baseline depression severity. The results suggest that thoughts of death and thoughts of suicide are important risk markers in predicting the course of depression. (Publisher abstract)
Is the naturalistic course of depression in older people related to received support over time? Results from a longitudinal population-based study
- Authors:
- HOUTJES Wim, et al
- Journal article citation:
- International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, 32(6), 2017, pp.657-663.
- Publisher:
- Wiley
Objectives: To test the interrelation of the naturalistic course of depression in older people with long-term support received. Design: Longitudinal cohort study. Methods: A sample of 277 adults age 55–85 years participating in the Longitudinal Aging Study Amsterdam, with clinically relevant depressive symptoms at baseline (scores ≥16 on the Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale) were followed up over a period of 13 years. General estimating equations were used to examine the relation between depression course and emotional/instrumental support received over time. In addition, partner status, gender, and age were tested as modifiers. Results: A 2-way interaction between depression courses types and time showed significant differences in instrumental support received over time in older people with a late-life depression. Three-way interactions showed that associations between depression course and support variables were modified by gender and partner status. Conclusion: Both men and singles, with a chronic course of depression may be at risk to lose emotional and instrumental support over time. Professional attention is needed to prevent a chronic course of late-life depression, and to preserve personal social networks. (Publisher abstract)
Facilitating partner support for lifestyle change among adults with serious mental illness: a feasibility pilot study
- Authors:
- KELLY A., et al
- Journal article citation:
- Community Mental Health Journal, 53(4), 2017, pp.394-404.
- Publisher:
- Springer
The purpose of this pilot study was to explore the feasibility of an intervention designed to facilitate partner support for lifestyle change among overweight and obese adults with serious mental illness (SMI). Fifteen adults with SMI enrolled in a lifestyle intervention at community mental health centres participated with a self-selected partner in an additional 12-week intervention component designed to facilitate social support for health behaviour change. Participants reported that the programme was useful, convenient, and helped them reach their goals. Approximately two-thirds (66%) of participants were below their baseline weight at follow-up, including 27% achieving clinically significant weight loss. Participants reported significant increases in partner support for exercise and use of persuasive social support strategies. Partner support interventions that promote exercising together and positive communication may be effective for helping individuals with SMI initiate and sustain health behaviour change necessary to reduce cardiovascular risk. (Edited publisher abstract)
Loneliness, depression and cognitive function in older U.S. adults
- Authors:
- DONOVAN Nancy J., et al
- Journal article citation:
- International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, 32(5), 2017, p.564–573.
- Publisher:
- Wiley
Objective: To examine reciprocal relations of loneliness and cognitive function in older adults. Methods: Data were analysed from 8382 men and women, age 65 and older, participating in the US Health and Retirement Study from 1998 to 2010. Participants underwent biennial assessments of loneliness and depression (classified as no, low or high depression) determined by the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression scale (8-item version), cognition (a derived memory score based on a word list memory task and proxy-rated memory and global cognitive function), health status and social and demographic characteristics from 1998 to 2010. The authors used repeated measures analysis to examine the reciprocal relations of loneliness and cognitive function in separate models controlling sequentially and cumulatively for socio-demographic factors, social network, health conditions and depression. Results: Loneliness at baseline predicted accelerated cognitive decline over 12 years independent of baseline socio-demographic factors, social network, health conditions and depression (β = −0.2, p = 0.002). After adjustment for depression interacting with time, both low and high depression categories were related to faster cognitive decline and the estimated effect of loneliness became marginally significant. Reciprocally, poorer cognition at baseline was associated with greater odds of loneliness over time in adjusted analyses (OR 1.3, 95% CI (1.1–1.5) p = 0.005), but not when controlling for baseline depression. Furthermore, cognition did not predict change in loneliness over time. Conclusion: Examining longitudinal data across a broad range of cognitive abilities, loneliness and depressive symptoms appear to be related risk factors for worsening cognition but low cognitive function does not lead to worsening loneliness over time. (Edited publisher abstract)