bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Psychosocial aspects of sickle cell disease (SCD) in childhood and adolescence: A review
Authors: Midence Kenny , Fuggle Peter , Davies Sally C.
Published: July 2011

This paper reviews the literature on the psychological and social aspects of Sickle Cell Disease (SCD) and discusses the clinical implications of its impact on children and their families. Sickle Cell Disease is a family of blood diseases including sickle cell anaemia (SS), SC disease (SC), and sickle B thalassaemia (SBThal). Research on the psychological and social aspects of SCD, particularly in the UK, has been limited and of varying methodological quality. The psychosocial adaptation of children and adolescents with SCD and their families has been associated with the personality and developmental stage of the child, family attitudes and behaviour, socioeconomic status, and social and environmental support. Concerns about the quality of interpersonal relationships within families have also led to investigations of family characteristics and social networks, and some research studies have pointed to different ways of coping associated with specific network and family structures.
You in Mind: A preventive mental health television series
Authors: Barker Chris , Pistrang Nancy , Shapiro David A. , Davies Suzanne , Shaw Irene
Published: July 2011

This study of BBC Television's ‘You in Mind’ series provides preliminary evidence for the benefits of a mass media approach to preventive mental health. The series was seen by a large national audience who appraised it positively. It had a greater impact in the area of understanding problems as opposed to seeing what to do about them, and a greater impact on the viewer's perceptions of the problems of people the viewers knew, as opposed to the problems of the viewers themselves. Measures of intentions to change behaviour, even when corrected for over‐reporting, suggest that a significant minority of the audience had changed or intended to change their behaviour as a result of the series. However, no specific pre‐post changes in coping or help‐seeking were found. These findings are discussed in terms of the potential and limitations of the mass media for mental health promotion.
Proactive interference and the neuropsychology of schizophrenia
Authors: O'Carroll R. E. , Murray C. , Austin M.‐P. , Ebmeier K. P. , Goodwin G. M. , Dunan J.
Published: July 2011

Gray, Felden, Rawlins, Hemsley & Smith (1991) have proposed a theoretical model of the neuropsychology of schizophrenia. A major feature of this model is that it is a weakening of the influences of memories of previous input on current perception/learning which is basic to the phenomenon of acute schizophrenia. In the present study, proactive interference (PI) was used as a paradigm to test this hypothesis. PI occurs when new learning is diminished as a consequence of previously learned material. According to our reading of the Gray et al. (1991) model, acutely ill unmedicated patients with schizophrenia should demonstrate reduced PI relative to controls. Ten acutely ill unmedicated patients with schizophrenia, 20 patients suffering from major depressive disorder, and 20 healthy controls were assessed using a PI paradigm. No significant differences in PI emerged between the groups. The results do not support this specific feature of the neuropsychological model of acute schizophrenia proposed by Gray et al. (1991).
Quality of attention in chronic fatigue syndrome: Subjective reports of everyday attention and cognitive difficulty, and performance on tasks of focused attention
Authors: Ray Colette , Phillips Lin , Weir William R. C.
Published: July 2011

Patients with chronic fatigue syndrome (also known as post‐viral fatigue syndrome or myalgic encephalomyelitis) commonly report cognitive difficulties concerning attention, concentration and memory. In this study, patients were compared with matched controls on two questionnaires which assess subjective difficulties with attention and general cognitive functioning, and on two tasks requiring focused attention. Patients reported significantly greater difficulty with attention on the Everyday Attention Questionnaire and more cognitive symptoms on the Profile of Fatigue‐Related Symptoms. The objective tests did not clearly indicate a deficit in patients' focused attention; patients tended to perform less well on the Embedded Figures Test and the Stroop Colour‐Word Interference Test, but these differences were not significant. There was, however, evidence of psychomotor retardation, with patients having longer response times for word reading and colour naming in the Stroop test. Difficulties in interpreting findings for both subjective and objective cognitive measures are discussed.
Self‐referential selective memory in pain patients
Authors: Pincus Tamar , Pearce Shirley , McClelland Alastair , Turner‐Stokes Lynn
Published: July 2011

The effect of self‐reference on recall bias for pain stimuli was compared in chronic pain patients and controls. It was hypothesized that self‐referential encoding would result in better recall of pain stimuli in chronic pain patients. In contrast, it was predicted that a non‐pain control group would display no recall bias for pain‐associated stimuli, regardless of the encoding reference. Subjects were tested in two conditions. The first condition (self‐referential) involved encoding a list of words constructed from sensory pain, affective and neutral words. Elaboration at the encoding stage was achieved by asking subjects to imagine themselves in situations involving these words. Subjects were also asked to rate the likelihood of these situations occurring on a scale of 1 to 5 (from 1 = ‘will not happen’ to 5 = ‘certain to happen’). The second condition (other‐person reference) repeated this task in reference to another person with a matched list of words. A 2 times 2 × 3 factorial analysis of variance based on group x reference (self and other) x word type (sensory, affective and neutral) was carried out on recall scores, with the likelihood ratings as a covariate. Results reveal a significant three‐way interaction. The analysis indicated that, while pain patients show an increase in recall of sensory words and a decrease in recall of neutral words when these are encoded in reference to themselves, control subjects show no difference in recall of these word types regardless of the encoding condition. The results support the notion that pain patients selectively recall more pain‐associated words in comparison with other word types. However, this effect is only true for stimuli encoded in reference to themselves. It is proposed that this processing bias may contribute to the maintenance of a sense of helplessness and exacerbate the emotional impact of the pain experience.
Putting people first: A social constructionist approach to learning disability
Authors: Clegg J. A.
Published: July 2011

Moving from an individual to a social focus will allow clinical psychologists working with people who have learning disabilities to address a wider range of difficulties experienced by this client group. Social constructionist theory may be a useful framework to facilitate such an approach, and is intellectually compatible with changes occurring in other related disciplines. Research relevant to this perspective is reviewed under four subheadings proposed by Doise. Implications for clinical practice are discussed by reference to two case studies.
Auditory‐verbal hallucinations and the phonological loop: A cognitive neuropsychological study
Authors: David Anthony S. , Lucas Philip A.
Published: July 2011

A patient with continuous auditory‐verbal hallucinations was studied, in comparison with two cases with a past history of similar hallucinations, from a cognitive neuropsychological perspective. This attempts to place hallucinations in the context of a normal cognitive process which has become disordered. The process in question is the phonological loop, equivalent to inner speech, derived from a model of short‐term or working memory. A series of short‐term memory tests, assumed to rely on the adequate functioning of the phonological loop, was administered, the results of which broadly conformed to a normal pattern of performance. It is concluded that verbal hallucinations cannot be regarded as involving the phonological loop directly. Other points in the short‐term memory/language system at which verbal hallucinations could arise are discussed, as are suggestions for further research of this kind.
Anxiety, relaxation and anaesthesia for day‐case surgery
Authors: Markland David , Hardy Lew
Published: July 2011

It is recognized that pre‐operative anxiety can have adverse effects on the course and outcome of surgery and there is a considerable amount of research into the influences of interventions for pre‐operative anxiety on a number of post‐operative variables. However, little attention has been paid to the potential influences of treatments on intra‐operative variables, most notably on the facilitation of anaesthesia. The present study examined the impact of a brief relaxation procedure on anaesthesia in comparison to attention‐control and no‐treatment control procedures. A sample of 21 patients about to undergo anaesthesia for day‐case surgery were randomly assigned to one of the three conditions. It was found that the relaxation treatment significantly reduced pre‐operative anxiety as measured by the state scale of the State‐Trait Anxiety Inventory (Spielberger, 1983). This reduction was reflected in physiological indicators of anxiety. Both the relaxation group and the attention‐control group required significantly less time to induce anaesthesia and less of the anaesthetic agent used to maintain anaesthesia. The relaxation group also scored significantly lower than the no‐treatment control group on an anaesthetist's rating of difficulty of maintenance of anaesthesia. Whilst the relaxation treatment appeared to have no advantages over the attention‐control procedure in terms of anaesthetic requirements, the latter treatment did not reduce anxiety and showed no benefit over the no‐treatment control condition in terms of an anaesthetist's rating of difficulty of maintenance of anaesthesia. In addition, following recovery the relaxation subjects reported more favourable perceptions of their treatment than the attention‐control subjects.
Steroid prescribing for asthmatics: Relationship with Asthma Symptom Checklist and Living with Asthma Questionnaire
Authors: Hyland Michael E. , Kenyon C. A. Paul , Taylor Marion , Morice Alyn H.
Published: July 2011

Psychosocial consequences of asthma were assessed for 42 patients attending an outpatient clinic using the Asthma Symptom Checklist (ASC), a five‐dimensional scale of experience during asthma attacks, and the Living with Asthma Questionnaire (LWAQ), a unidimensional scale of experience between attacks. Although all subscales of the ASC and the LWAQ correlated with the physician's prescription of steroids, multiple regression showed that 32 per cent of the prescription decision variance was accounted for by two dimensions of the ASC, panic–fear and irritability. The LWAQ did not explain additional prescription variance, indicating that the physician's decisions were influenced by psychological reactions during asthma attacks rather than between attacks. Prescription decisions were not influenced by clinic‐measured respiratory function. The results show some differences with previous studies; implications for patient management are discussed.
Psychology and screening: Narrowing the gap between efficacy and effectiveness*
Authors: Matteau Theresa M.
Published: July 2011

The success of any health‐related screening programme depends primarily upon behavioural factors, namely whether people attend, and for those who do attend, the cognitive, emotional and behavioural consequences of doing so. Some of the problems now evident in screening programmes, such as low attendance or high levels of anxiety following participation are due in part to an under‐investigation of the psychological processes and outcomes critical to achieving the goals of screening programmes. These goals include high rates of informed participation and satisfactory psychological outcomes of such participation.

The development of psychological models in this area may help in documenting the factors mediating and moderating responses to screening, and may suggest interventions likely to facilitate the achievement of the goals of a screening programme.
‘Cognitive inhibition’ and positive symptomatology in schizotypy
Authors: Peters Emmanuelle R. , Pickering Alan D. , Hemsley David R.
Published: July 2011

The negative priming paradigm (Tipper, 1985) was used to investigate the relationship between ‘cognitive inhibition’ and symptoms of reality distortion in schizotypy, after previous findings that the negative priming effect is reduced in both acute schizophrenics and high schizotypes (Beech, Powell, McWilliam & Claridge, 1989; Beech, Baylis, Smithson & Claridge, 1989). Following Frith's (1979) model, which suggests that the positive symptoms of schizophrenia are due to a failure of the inhibitory processes which normally limit the contents of consciousness, it was predicted that negative priming would be inversely correlated with levels of positive symptomatology, as measured by the CSTQ (Bentall, Claridge & Slade, 1989). The results supported the hypothesis, which confirms the usefulness of a symptom‐oriented approach as well as providing some validation for the concept of schizotypy. It was concluded that high schizotypes, similarly to acute schizophrenics, show a reduction in ‘cognitive inhibition’, as was predicted by Frith's (1979) model.
Purpose in life and outcome of treatment for alcohol dependence
Authors: Waisberg Jodie L. , Porter James E.
Published: July 2011

A number of studies have linked the development of substance abuse problems to a lack of purpose or meaning in life, and a few studies have demonstrated an increase in sense of life purpose through substance abuse treatment programmes. The present study extended past research by examining the relationship of purpose in life to treatment outcome assessed three months after completion of treatment. The subject sample comprised 131 people in in‐patient treatment programmes or awaiting treatment for alcoholism (in some cases in addition to other drug addictions). Consistent with previous research, the mean Purpose in Life Test (PIL) score before treatment was significantly below the normal range and the mean PIL score at the end of in‐patient treatment was within the normal range. Furthermore, the PIL score at the end of treatment was predictive of changes in intimate relationships and health at follow‐up. It was also predictive of follow‐up drinking/drug use status. However, the pattern of prediction differed in the two treatment groups. Post‐treatment PIL score was a positive predictor of improvement in a skill‐based treatment centre, and a negative predictor in a more authoritarian, confrontation‐based programme. The distinction between internally and externally derived senses of meaning is presented as one possible explanation of these findings.
The Mahalanobis Distance index of WAIS‐R subtest scatter: Psychometric properties in a healthy UK sample
Authors: Crawford J. R. , Allan K. M.
Published: July 2011

Burgess (1991) has proposed a new index of subtest scatter for the WAIS‐R which uses a test statistic, the Mahalanobis Distance (MD). When used with the WAIS‐R, MD scores should be distributed as chi square with 11 degrees of freedom. The suitability of the MD index for UK clinical practice was assessed by examining its psychometric properties in a sample of 200 healthy subjects. The sample, which was representative of the adult UK population in terms of age, sex, and social class distribution, was administered a full‐length WAIS–R. A goodness‐of‐fit test revealed that the sample distribution of MD scores did not deviate significantly from the chi square distribution. Furthermore, the percentage of subjects exceeding the critical value for significance at the .05 level (6.5 per cent) corresponded closely to the expected percentage (i.e. 5 per cent). It is concluded that the MD index is suitable for use in UK clinical practice. Demographic characteristics were only weakly related to MD scores which simplifies clinical interpretation.
Post‐traumatic stress disorder without the trauma
Authors: Scott Michael J. , Stradling Stephen G.
Published: July 2011

Examples are reported of PTSD cases showing full symptomatology (intrusive imagery, avoidance behaviour, disordered arousal) in the absence of a single, acute, dramatic trauma of the kind required by the current DSM‐III‐R definition. Such trauma is thus not a necessary condition for PTSD, and other evidence shows it to be not a sufficient condition. It is suggested that the DSM‐III‐R Axis IV distinction between acute and enduring psychosocial stressors be incorporated into the definition to distinguish two pathways to stress disorder, post‐traumatic (PTSD) and prolonged duress (PDSD). Differential treatment implications of the two routes are noted.
The Marchioness disaster: Preliminary report on psychological effects
Authors: Thompson James , Chung Man Cheung , Rosser Rachel
Published: July 2011

The psychological after‐effects on 27 survivors of the Marchioness riverboat disaster of 20 August 1989 are described. On measures of intrusive memories and psychological difficulties these subjects are significantly higher than population norms, and somewhat higher than psychiatric in‐patient populations. Personality measures taken after the disaster show that neuroticism scores are very much higher than population norms, but personality measures were not correlated with distress.
Belief in the paranormal and its relationship to schizophrenia‐relevant measures: A confirmatory study
Authors: Thalbourne Michael A.
Published: July 2011

This study was an attempt to confirm previously reported findings that persons who believe in and claim experience of the paranormal tend to score higher on various measures relevant to schizophrenia. Level of belief in the paranormal was measured in a sample of university students. As predicted, those subjects whose scores indicated higher belief in the paranormal tended to score significantly higher on the Magical Ideation Scale, the Perceptual Aberration Scale, and the combined Perceptual Aberration‐Magical Ideation (Per‐Mag) Scale. However, the correlation with the MMPI's Schizophrenia Scale was significant for males only.
Contribution of symptoms and beliefs to handicap in people with vertigo: A longitudinal study
Authors: Yardley Lucy
Published: July 2011

The purpose of the present study of people with recurrent vertigo (dizziness/dysequilibrium) was (a) to determine whether negative perceptions of symptoms contribute to handicap, and (b) to examine the physical and psychological factors predicting handicap over a seven‐month period. Questionnaires assessing symptoms, anxiety and depression, handicap, and beliefs about the potential consequences of vertigo attacks were completed by 101 patients suffering from vestibular disorders. Three clusters of beliefs were identified: concern about loss of control, fear of serious illness, and anticipation of a severe attack. Fear of losing control and reported autonomic symptoms were significantly related to raw and residualized handicap scores, after controlling for somatization, vertigo severity, anxiety and depression. Initial levels of somatization predicted residualized handicap and emotional distress, while handicap levels predicted future emotional distress and vertigo. Negative perceptions of symptoms may contribute to an escalating cycle of vertigo, anxiety and restriction of activity.
The intensification and resolution of blocked affect in an experiential psychotherapy
Authors: Daldrup Roger J. , Engle David , Holiman Marjorie , Beutler Larry E.
Published: July 2011

Focused Expressive Psychotherapy is a Gestalt‐based method of psychotherapy which is designed to facilitate the resolution of constricted emotion in patients. This form of therapy is described as a five‐step process. The present article addresses the steps of that process which relate specifically to the intensification and resolution of emotions. The importance and rationale for intensification are discussed and related to the concept of restructured schematic memories. Markers of resolution are identified as changes in ‘benchmarks’, changes in patient behaviour or attitude, and/or a re‐evaluated stance towards past events. We conclude by citing one of our recent research efforts that demonstrates a relationship between the intensification of emotion and positive therapy outcome.
A longitudinal study of birth order, help seeking and psychopathology
Authors: Feehan Michael , Stanton Warren , McGee Rob , Silva Phil A.
Published: July 2011

Recent studies have suggested an association between birth order and psychopathology. However, the association remains unclear due to a lack of consideration of the confounding effects of family size. At age seven years the family size and birth order of children from a large cohort of New Zealand children were examined in relation to parental help seeking for behavioural and emotional problems, and the development of DSM‐III (American Psychiatric Association, 1980) disorder in pre‐adolescence and adolescence. Neither the child's gender, birth order nor family size were associated with parental help seeking or the prevalence of DSM‐III disorder in pre‐adolescence at age 11. In adolescence at age 15, however, significantly more girls, first‐borns and children from small families had DSM‐III disorder, but the interactions between these factors were not significant. In particular, these associations were found with internalizing disorders. The appropriateness of further studies of birth order in relation to psychopathology is discussed.
Personal constructs associated with tics
Authors: O'Connor K. P. , Gareau D. , Blowers G. H.
Published: July 2011

Thirteen subjects experiencing chronic tics kept diaries noting frequency, intensity and degree of control of their tic during their daily routines for one week. Three examples of high‐, medium‐ and low‐risk situations were chosen as elements and, using a modified form of Kelly's repertory grid, bipolar constructs were elicited by comparing the three types of situations. Principal dimensions extracted from INGRID analyses differed across individuals but related to three principal areas: self‐image, degree of task involvement and type of task demand. Feelings of impatience and frustration frequently accompanied tic onset. Subjects' cognitive evaluations of their tic situations may be important in tic management.
The use of revised habituation in the treatment of obsessive—compulsive disorders
Authors: Roth Anthony D. , Church John A.
Published: July 2011

The effectiveness of the technique of revised habituation (Salkovskis & Westbrook, 1989) has received limited attention in the literature. This paper describes a clinical example which demonstrates both the utility and power of this intervention in complex cases of obsessive‐compulsive disorder.
An attempt to construct short scales measuring manic—depressive‐like experience and behaviour
Authors: Thalbourne Michael A. , Delin Peter S. , Bassett Darryl L.
Published: July 2011

Two nine‐item self‐rating questionnaire scales were developed to measure, on the one hand, features typically associated with a history of mania‐like phenomena, and, on the other hand, features typically associated with a history of clinical depression. These scales were added to produce an 18‐item scale which, it was hypothesized, might measure degree of history of manic‐depressive‐like phenomena. Results tended to support this view: (1) compared with students, manic‐depressives obtained significantly higher scores on each of these three scales; (2) all scales, but especially the manic experience scale, correlated significantly positively with the MMPI Hypomania Scale; and (3) for a subset of the manic‐depressives, a person's scores on two of the three new scales were significantly correlated with the number of different manic‐depression‐relevant medications that that person was taking.
The contribution of worry to insomnia
Authors: Watts Fraser N. , Coyle Kieran , East Martin P.
Published: July 2011

Recent research has pointed to the importance of cognitive activity in interfering with sleep, and suggested a close relationship between worry and insomnia. To explore the relationship between worry and insomnia in more detail, a sample was studied in which worry and insomnia were combined in a 2 times 2 design. The content of sleep‐interfering cognitions was explored both with a previously developed Sleep Disturbance Questionnaire and a newly developed checklist of the content of thoughts that arose if people could not sleep. Both supported the importance of a distinction between sleep‐related and other thoughts. Whereas worried insomniacs show a broad range of sleep‐interfering thoughts, the thoughts of non‐worried insomniacs focused mainly on sleep itself.
Bulimia nervosa and depression: A theoretical and clinical appraisal in light of the binge—purge cycle
Authors: Beebe Dean W.
Published: July 2011

This review seeks to familiarize clinicians with several major theoretical perspectives on the relationship between bulimia nervosa and depression. It begins by clarifying the affective changes which occur within the binge‐purge cycle. Six hypotheses relating negative affect to bulimia nervosa are then reviewed in light of these changes, with their strengths, weaknesses and clinical implications clearly outlined. The author concludes that, although none of these perspectives has received universal support, recent hypotheses which focus upon specific portions of the binge‐purge cycle are best suited to integration. These include the restraint, escape and hopelessness hypotheses. An integrative model is proposed to account for data across the binge—purge cycle, to assist in understanding the maintenance of bulimia nervosa, and to guide clinical intervention.
Thought suppression and smoking relapse: A secondary analysis of Haaga (1989)
Authors: Haaga David A. F. , Allison Marvin L.
Published: July 2011

Previous research indicates that use of cognitive coping strategies in high risk situations is positively correlated with smoking cessation maintenance. Basic research on self‐control of unwanted thoughts, however, suggests that mental coping efforts involving thought suppression should be ineffective. We evaluated this possibility by rescoring the articulated thoughts transcripts of 95 subjects from a one‐year prospective study of smoking relapse (Haaga, 1989). Frequent use of cognitive coping tactics for reframing high risk situations (e.g. reminding oneself of negative consequences of smoking) predicted greater likelihood of continuous abstinence in the following three months (49 per cent success for those above the sample median, 20 per cent for those below the median). This effect was marginally significant at a 12‐month follow‐up. By contrast, thought suppression showed no association with maintenance of non‐smoking. Discussion focused on complications in applying laboratory research on thought suppression and on reanalysis of cognitive assessment protocols.
Coping, caring and stress: A study of stroke carers and carers of older confused people
Authors: Matson Neil
Published: July 2011

The dementias and strokes are chronic conditions often occurring at older ages. Most sufferers are cared for at home and, in this context, many research studies have described high levels of stress experienced by their carers. The present study, looking mainly at spouse carers of stroke victims (N = 36) or older confused people (N = 37), examined the possibility that the ways in which carers cope may be associated with their levels of stress and depression. A number of measures of behaviour disturbance and coping were developed and utilized. Multiple regression analyses supported the involvement of some aspects of coping in relation to carer stress and depression, particularly the coping strategy of Non‐confronting and a Quality of Coping index—the former being positively and the latter negatively associated with stress and depression. Implications for intervention work with carers of stroke victims or carers of older confused people are discussed.
A speech rate measure of laboratory induced affect: The role of demand characteristics revisited
Authors: McKenna Frank P. , Lewis Clive
Published: July 2011

The study examined the effects of mood shift on a behavioural measure to investigate an ongoing question in the mood induction literature: Whether changes in performance following laboratory based mood induction procedures reflect genuine changes in affective state, or whether such changes can be generally attributed to the demand characteristics of the experimental situation. Prior to mood induction 40 subjects were assessed on self‐spaced and maximal performance articulation tasks. Following mood induction articulation rates were again recorded. It was hypothesized that while there is considerable scope for experimental demands to influence self‐paced tasks, by contrast maximal performance tasks should either reduce or eliminate demand characteristics. The results indicated that maximal articulation rate was sensitive to mood induction in that performance was retarded by the depressogenic procedure and accelerated by the elation‐inducing procedure. Additionally, within‐subject changes in speech rates correlated with conventional self‐report measures of affective state. Interestingly, the speeded task appeared more sensitive to the mood manipulation than the self‐paced task where demand characteristics had been expected to exert their greatest effect. It is concluded that these results corroborate the view that laboratory based induction procedures do promote true affective change and indicate that the speeded articulation task constitutes an effective indicator of that change.
Changes in selective information processing with three psychological treatments for bulimia nervosa*
Authors: Cooper Myra J. , Fairburn Christopher G.
Published: July 2011

Data from a treatment trial were used to test whether interference with colour‐naming eating, shape and weight related words on the Stroop colour‐naming task changed with treatment. Interference decreased with treatment and there was no difference between three treatments in the size of this effect. These findings suggest that interference with colour‐naming words related to eating, shape and weight in subjects with bulimia nervosa may be a useful objective measure of patients' concerns about these issues.
Effects of a health education programme with telephone follow‐up during cardiac rehabilitation
Authors: Kemenade Thérèse van Elderen‐van , Maes Stan , van den Broek Yvonne
Published: July 2011

A health education and counselling programme was offered to myocardial infarction patients during and after hospitalization. A randomized pre‐test‐post‐test control group design was used to evaluate the effects of the experimental intervention. During hospitalization the intervention consisted of two individual counselling sessions and two group health education sessions focusing on medication, healthy habits, anxiety and depression. On completion of these sessions, weekly telephone calls were made to patients for a period of six weeks after discharge from hospital. The intervention was offered to 30 myocardial infarction patients and their partners (the experimental group) in addition to standard medical care. Thirty control patients received standard medical care only. Two months after myocardial infarction, patients in the experimental condition reported a significantly greater increase in physical activity, and a significantly greater decrease in unhealthy eating habits. No effects were found regarding smoking cessation, anxiety and depression. Twelve months after discharge from hospital patients in the experimental condition reported a significantly greater decrease in unhealthy eating habits. No effects were found regarding smoking cessation, physical activity, anxiety and depression. In addition, two months after myocardial infarction, it was found that patients whose partners participated in the health education sessions showed a significantly greater decrease in smoking and unhealthy eating habits and a significantly greater increase in physical activity than patients with no partner participating. Twelve months after discharge the only significant result favouring the patients whose partner participated in the health education sessions concerned smoking cessation.
Staff behaviour and its implications for people with learning disabilities and challenging behaviours
Authors: Hastings Richard P. , Remington Bob
Published: July 2011

Many people with learning disabilities engage in challenging behaviours which, behaviour analytic models suggest, are social behaviours sensitive to the actions of others in the environment. In this paper, the research literature on the behaviour of staff, especially that pertaining to interactions with people with challenging behaviours, is reviewed. Empirical evidence is found to support the hypothesis that staff actions affect clients' challenging behaviours. In addition, studies of staff behaviour show that their behaviour is often counter‐habilitative. Firstly, staff spend little time interacting with clients and the quality of these interactions is often poor. Secondly, observational studies have shown that staff respond intermittently to challenging behaviours, and self‐report studies indicate that many of these responses are of a nature that may reinforce such behaviours. Finally, although limited, evidence suggests that behavioural programmes for clients with challenging behaviours are rare and where they do exist they are often not carried out by staff. To date, interventions for staff behaviour (training and management approaches) have acted to change these ways of behaving but have not been founded on adequate analyses of staff action. A call is made for analyses of staff behaviour, and other implications for research and practical work with staff are discussed.
Quality assurance in mental health: The QUARTZ system
Authors: Lavender A. , Leiper R. , Pilling S. , Clifford P.
Published: July 2011

This paper is concerned with how quality might be assured in mental health services. It includes an account of why a concern with quality and quality assurance procedures are now high on the agenda of the Health Service. A quality assurance programme requires a decision about what elements of a service to monitor, what information is relevant, how it can be collected, and a system for acting on the results. This paper provides a brief review of the kind of information that has been considered relevant and the methods that have been used to collect it. In addition, the principles underlying good and comprehensive quality assurance programmes will be outlined and the development of a particular system, known as QUARTZ, which has attempted to incorporate these principles, described briefly.
Sequences of emotional distress expressed by clients and acknowledged by therapists: Are they associated more with some therapists than others?
Authors: Viney Linda L.
Published: July 2011

When clients come to psychotherapy they are distressed, this distress usually being expressed in the form of anxiety, hostility, depression and helplessness. This study explored the sequences of emotional distress expressed by clients and acknowledged by therapists, and examined their associations with other factors. The transcripts of five therapists (two single sessions each) were content‐analysed: they used personal construct, client centred, rational‐emotive, Gestalt and transactional analysis therapy. Log‐linear analyses of appropriate contingency table cell frequencies were conducted to test associations between identified sequences and the two variables of therapist and timing of completion of the sequence. Therapist–client sequences of Anxiety–Anxiety, Anxiety–Hostility and Helplessness–Hostility were found to be associated more with the personal construct and client centred therapists than with the rational–emotive therapist. Client–therapist sequences of Anxiety–Anxiety, Helplessness–Anxiety and Helplessness–Helplessness were more often found with the client centred therapist than the other therapists. For most of these sequences timing had an effect, yet timing rarely interacted with the therapist variable. The findings are discussed in terms of their relevance to the theoretical positions represented, the shortcomings of the research and the value of this methodology in studies linking therapy process with outcome.
Habituation patterns to colour naming of eating‐related stimuli in anorexics and non‐clinical controls
Authors: Green M. W. , McKenna F. P. , De Silva M. S. L.
Published: July 2011

The current study was an investigation into intra‐session changes in the pattern of Stroop colour‐naming impairments with body shape‐related words and food‐related words. The subject pool comprised anorexic women and a control group of non‐clinically disordered women. The results indicated that anorexic women show greater colour‐naming decrements that non‐disordered controls for both types of eating‐related words. Stroop interference significantly decreased across the course of the experiment with the body‐shape words for the anorexic subjects, thereby indicating habituation to the semantic content of those words. There was no comparable process of habituation observed with the food‐related words.
Detection of acquired deficits in general intelligence using the National Adult Reading Test and Raven's Standard Progressive Matrices
Authors: van den Broek M. D. , Bradshaw C. M.
Published: July 2011

A multiple regression equation for estimating premorbid Raven's Standard Progressive Matrices (RSPM) scores on the basis of age and the National Adult Reading Test (NART) was derived. A sample of patients with confirmed cerebral lesions was examined to determine the proportion of patients with significant discrepancies between their predicted and obtained RSPM performance. The sensitivity of the procedure was modest (52 per cent), although a comparison with discrepancies between premorbid and current performance on the Wechsler scales indicated that the RSPM was more sensitive to neuropathology. These findings suggest that when NART–intelligence test comparisons are used to diagnose cerebral impairment, the likelihood of a false‐negative diagnosis is high.
A study of two dementia quizzes
Authors: Gilleard Chris , Groom Fiona
Published: July 2011

A dementia quiz was developed to assess carers' and professionals' knowledge about dementia, services needed by dementia sufferers and their families, and methods of coping with some of the problems presented by people with dementia. The quiz was compared with a UK version of Dieckmann, Zarit, Zarit & Gatz's (1988) Alzheimer's Disease Knowledge Test, one of only two published tests assessing knowledge about dementia. Both measures were given to samples of carers and professionals who were either members or non‐members of Alzheimer's Disease Society. The responses were analysed to determine the reliability and validity of the new Dementia Quiz. The results were encouraging and the quiz should prove useful in teaching, clinical and research settings.
Chronic pain and attention: A cognitive approach
Authors: Eccleston Chris
Published: July 2011

The present study draws upon resource‐based models of attention in suggesting that the processing of chronic and persistent pain is a task that demands the application of central and executive attention. If a chronic and persistent pain stimulus is demanding of central, attentional resources, it follows that it will compete with a second attention‐demanding task for those limited resources. Here it is hypothesized that performance of an attention‐demanding interference task will be detrimentally affected by the demands of persistent pain. In Expt 1, patients in high pain, patients in low pain and control subjects without pain performed an attention‐demanding numerical interference task. There were no significant differences between any of the groups on any measure of performance. Expt 2 repeated Expt 1 with a more difficult and more complex task. Only when the task was at its most difficult and its most complex (i.e. at the greatest demand of limited resources) did those patients in high levels of pain (i.e. at the greatest demand of limited resources) show performance decrements. The results of both experiments are discussed in relation to the debate concerning the use of cognitive methods for pain control and in relation to the application of cognitive psychology to the study of chronic pain.
Effectiveness of training to prevent job‐related back pain: A meta‐analysis
Authors: Gebhardt Winifred A.
Published: July 2011

Data from a meta‐analysis, involving six experimental studies, revealed a modest relationship between training of employees and a decrease in the occurrence of back pain or sick leave associated with this disorder. The implications for prevention of job‐related back pain, and future research within this field are discussed.
Individual response patterns and treatment matching in the phobic disorders: A review
Authors: Menzies Ross G.
Published: July 2011

Studies using response profile treatment matching in the phobic disorders are reviewed. It is argued that the research effort to date is plagued by a multitude of methodological problems which bring into question the validity of the major findings. While there have clearly been some encouraging data, too many inconsistent results exist to offer unqualified endorsement of the procedure. At this point, the optimum strategy for clinicians would appear to involve the inclusion of a treatment component consistent with the dominant response system of the individual patient, but not at the expense of well‐established procedures (e.g. graduated in vivo exposure).
The IIP‐32: A short version of the Inventory of Interpersonal Problems
Authors: Barkham Michael , Hardy Gillian E. , Startup Mike
Published: July 2011

Three related studies are presented focusing on the development of a short 32‐item version of the Inventory of Interpersonal Problems (IIP). Study 1 presents the procedures for item selection on the IIP short version; Study 2 presents a confirmatory analysis of the IIP short version on an independent sample; and Study 3 provides preliminary normative (general population and out‐patient) data and additional evidence of the psychometric properties of the IIP short form. The results suggest that the short version sacrifices little compared to the original 127‐item version in terms of its psychometric properties while being considerably more convenient for routine clinical practice.
Intellectual impairment among recently abstinent alcohol abusers
Authors: O'Mahony John F. , Doherty Breid
Published: July 2011

Two samples of adequately detoxified hospital‐treated alcohol abusers were neuropsychologically assessed for alcohol‐related cognitive impairment. Both groups manifested the commonly found impairments on the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (N = 50) and the Revised Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (N = 44). In addition, an almost identical pattern of substantial impairment was found when both groups were examined by Russell's (1975, 1988) version of the logical memory and visual reproduction subtests of the Wechsler Memory Scale. A clear pattern of memory impairment for both verbal and non‐verbal memory was found.
The Symptom Questionnaire: British standardization data
Authors: Zeffert S. , Clark A. , Dobson C. J. , Jones A. , Peck D.
Published: July 2011

The Symptom Questionnaire is a simple and quick measure of emotional state; previous work has indicated that the Questionnaire has good reliability and validity. However the original sample on which it was based was small, and exclusively North American. Data from a large sample (N = 707) of British psychiatric inpatients, out‐patients, day hospital attenders, and a non‐patient population sample are presented. Consistent differences between the patient and non‐patient samples were obtained on the scales, with a few exceptions; there were no significant differences due to sex.
Rhythm and blues: The theory and treatment of seasonal affective disorder
Authors: Dalgleish Tim , Rosen Kate , Marks Melanie
Published: July 2011

Seasonal affective disorder (SAD) is a depressive disorder which occurs during the winter and remits in the spring and summer. It differs from non‐seasonal depression in its seasonal variation and in the presence of neurovegetative symptoms such as increased appetite and hypersomnia. This review is aimed at clinical practitioners and presents a detailed description of the syndrome before discussing the assessment of SAD and the current treatment of choice of phototherapy. Particular attention is paid to the impotant issue of differential diagnosis during assessment and the practicalities involved in the administration of light therapy during treatment.
Does community residence mean more community contact for people with severe, long‐term psychiatric disabilities?
Authors: Dilks Sarah L. E. , Shattock Linda
Published: July 2011

The focus of the debate over hospital versus community care for those with severe and enduring mental health problems has shifted somewhat towards ensuring the quality of care provided by services regardless of their location. One factor that is generally assumed to be an important indicator of quality of care is the opportunity for community contact that users of a residential service have. This is illustrated by its inclusion in most instruments designed to assess quality of care in psychiatric services. The present study set out to examine the amount of community contact made by residents of three units of a London psychiatric rehabilitation service. Level of community contact was indeed found to be unrelated to the location of these facilities on a hospital site or in the community. However, interesting differences did emerge across units in the type of community contact made by residents and in the identity of residents' companions on community trips.
A prospective study of self‐esteem in the prediction of eating problems in adolescent schoolgirls: Questionnaire findings
Authors: Button E. J. , Sonuga‐Barke E. J. S. , Davies J. , Thompson M.
Published: July 2011

A number of authors have emphasized the importance of self‐esteem in the aetiology of the eating disorders anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa. Evidence for such theorizing, however, mainly derives from clinical observations on people being treated for eating disorders. This study is the first prospective study to investigate the role of self‐esteem in aetiology prior to the onset of an eating disorder. Self‐esteem was measured in 594 schoolgirls aged 11–12 using the Rosenberg Self‐Esteem Scale (Rosenberg, 1965). Almost 400 of these girls were successfully followed up at age 15–16 and they completed a questionnaire examining eating and other psychological problems. Results showed that girls with low self‐esteem at age 11–12 were at significantly greater risk of developing the more severe signs of eating disorders, as well as other psychological problems, by the age of 15–16. It is argued that more research is needed to replicate and extend these findings. The results also give weight to the case for examining the potential role of self‐esteem enhancement in the prevention of eating disorders.