bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Interprovincial Migration and Suicide in Canada, 1971-78
Authors: Trovato Frank
Published: March 2007

This study corroborates the findings by Stack (1980) on the relationship between interstate migration and suicide. The present application is to Canada during the early and later parts of the 1970s decade. Strong support for a migration effect emerges, thus supporting the culture shock hypothesis that because migration involves the concomitant processes of severing impor tant social ties with the origin, and adjusting to a new environment, Provinces characterized by high rates of migration will experience high rates of suicide. It is found that while a pro vince's percentage of the population who have received university education is negatively related to suicide, the main effect of migration acts to raise the odds of suicide, but this effect is lower in magnitude than the education measure. A one percent gain in the education index would have served to lower the suicide rate by 1. 3 %, while a similar change in migration would increase the rate of suicide by .67 % .
Role Conflict: an Important Dimension of the Psychiatric Residency
Authors: Forssmann-Falck Renate
Published: March 2007

An attempt is made to demonstrate that role conflict is an integral and important part of the psychiatric residency. As suggested, role conflict leads to ineffectivenes and may be one variable, among others, of the stress psychiatric residents must cope with during their train ing. Suggestions are provided for approaching role conflict from an educational perspective, thereby diminishing the emotional impact, and hopefully enhance the learning process during the residency.
Hospital and Community Based Psychiatry: a Comparative Study Between a Danish and an Italian Psychiatric Service
Authors: Munk-Jørgensen Povl , Tansella Michele
Published: March 2007

A Danish (Aarhus) insitution-based and an Italian (South-Verona) community-based psychiatric service are compared. The incidence rates are 20/10,000 inhabitants in both areas with more psychotics and fewer neurotics in Aarhus. The admission rate as well as the one year rate of persons in in-patient care are about three times higher in Aarhus. Referrals to day and out-patient care, including home visits, are used 1.5 - 3.5 times as often in South-Verona, whereas the rates of persons in each of the three types of care are of similar size in the two centres. Geronto-psychiatric disorders are to a greater extent treated within the field of psychiatry in Aarhus. Compulsory admission rates are higher in Aarhus (3.7/10,000 inhabitants) than in South-Verona (1.3/10,000). Admission rates to private hospitals are 9.4/10,000 inhabitants in South-Verona against 3.0/10,000 in Aarhus.
Interdependency of Attitudes, Diagnostic Assessments and Therapeutic Recommendations of Medical Students Towards Mental Patients
Authors: Elizur A. , Neumann M. , Bawer A.
Published: March 2007

Interdependencies of attitudes towards vignettes of mentally ill patients and the professional approach of medical students measured by means of diagnostic assessments and therapeutic distance were studied. First, the findings indicate that the attitudes towards the vignettes depended on the behavioral characteristics of each patient presented in the vignettes. Thus, the levels on four attitudinal subscales were different for each of the patients. Second, the two variables of the professional approach of the students towards the patients, i.e., the diagnostic assessment and the therapeutic distance, were dependent on the attitudes towards the patients. The findings indicate that the more disturbed a patient is, and the less he is diagnosed as mentally ill, the more he is rejected from treatment, and the more negative the students' attitudes are towards him.
The Self Image of Chinese—American Adolescents: a Cross—Cultural Comparison
Authors: Chen Clarence L. , Yang Dorothy C.Y.
Published: March 2007

The aim of this study was to assess the self-concept of Chinese-American adolescents and then to compare them with standard samples of normal United States and Chinese adolescents. The instrument used to measure self-concept was the Offer Self-Image Questionnaire (OSIQ). As expected, the Chinese-American adolescent group very closely resembled the normal United States adolescent group and differed markedly from the normal Chinese adolescent group. The few areas in which the Chinese-American group significantly differed from their American peers, such as on the Sexual Attitudes Scale, appeared to be in a direction that was influenced by Chinese culture. The poorer adjustment shown on the Body and Self-Image scale by the Chinese-American adolescents points to the effect of racial stereotyping in the United States.
Validity of General Health Questionnaire (Ghq-36/Ghq-12) in the Psychiatric O.P.D. of a General Hospital—a Pilot Study
Authors: Bandyopadhyay Gautam , Sen Biswajit , Sinha Swagata , Sen Gobinda
Published: March 2007

Two shorter versions of the General Health Questionnaire (GHQ) viz. GHQ-36 physical illness items removed (GHQ-36-P) and GHQ-12 were validated in the psychiatric OPD of a teaching hospital in Calcutta among known patients and controls. It was found that a higher cut-off point than that originally recommended yielded satisfactory valida tion indices for both the versions.
Follow-Up Study of Patients With Attempted Suicide
Authors: Brauns Marie-Luise , Berzewski Horst
Published: March 2007

Patients with a suicide attempt were re-examined 3 to 8 years after treatment in a crisis intervention ward by use of a semi-structured interview and self-rating scales. Their psychosocial development during the study period was evaluated in regard to number and quality of life-events, coping-behaviour and self-concept, sociodemographic variables, the subjective evaluation of the treatment in the crisis intervention ward by the patients and their compliance in respect of the proposed aftercare. Conclusions for treatment and further rehabilitation of patients with suicide- attempt will be drawn.
Influence of Therapist Ethnicity and Language On Therapy Outcomes of Southeast Asian Clients
Authors: Flaskerud Jacquelyn H. , Liu P.Y.
Published: March 2007

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship of Southeast Asian client- therapist ethnicity and language match on three therapy outcomes: number of ses sions with primary therapist, dropout from therapy and admission-discharge difference in Global Assessment Scale (GAS) scores. The sample consisted of 543 Southeast Asian client episodes in Los Angeles County mental health facilities between January 1983 and August 1988. Various types of multiple regression analyses were used to investigate the relationship of language and ethnicity match to the three outcome variables and to eight sociodemographic variables.

Either therapist-client language or ethnicity match significantly increased the number of client sessions with the primary therapist. Dropout from therapy was significantly affected by a language match in the Cambodian sample only but the effect was to increase dropout. Neither ethnicity nor language match was significantly related to GAS score gain. Several possible explanations for these findings and their clinical significance were explored.
Psychiatric Morbidity Among Foreign Housemaids in Kuwait
Authors: El-Hilu Salel M. , Mousa Rawhiya , Abdulmalek Hani , Kamel Nahed , Zohdi Mostafa , Maher Ali , Al-Aamriti Mohammad
Published: March 2007

First admission rates to the psychiatric hospital in Kuwait revealed that foreign housemaids as a whole had about five times the rate of Kuwaiti females. According to hospital diagnoses the housemaids had significantly more acute situational distur bances and mania, and less depressive illness and organic mental disorders. Regar ding schizophrenia and paranoid state there was no significant difference between the two groups. It is recommended that good interpreters should be appointed as part of an appropriate staffing of the psychiatric hospital.
Training Primary Care Health Workers in Mental Health Evaluation of Attitudes towards Mental Illness before and after Training
Authors: Premalatha Chinnayya H. , Chandrashekar C.R. , Moily Sundar , Puttamma  , Raghuram Ahalya , Subramanya K.R. , Shanmugham V. , Udaykumar G.S.
Published: March 2007

One hundred and fifty primary care paramedical health workers who underwent a short term training in mental health care were evaluated to understand their attitudes towards mental health before, and immediately after, the training course. The trainees showed a significant change in attitudes in the desirable direction towards different mental health problems. Baseline attitude of health workers was not related to age, sex, level of education or duration of their professional service. However, health workers with low baseline attitude scores registered a significantly higher gain. Item analysis revealed that 10 of the 35 items of the attitude questionnaire failed to reveal significant post training changes.
Double Jeopardy: Psychopathology of Black Mentally Ill Returned Migrants to Jamaica
Authors: Hickling Frederick W.
Published: March 2007

The psychopathology of 126 black Jamaican migrants who had spent an average of 12 years in North America and the United Kingdom and had subsequently returned to Jamaica, was established and compared to that of a matched control group of Jamaicans who had never migrated. There was a statistically significant difference in the pattern of diagnosis between the two groups (p < 0.0001), and although the existence of a past history of mental illness between the groups was not statistically significant (p < 0.1), the returned migrants had a significantly higher frequency of mental hospitalisation (p<0.0001) than the controls, with 94% of the previous hospitalisations of the returned migrants being for schizophrenic illnesses. Case studies are presented to illustrate the social stresses experienced by the returned migrant group in the countries to which they migrated and on the return to their home country, and thus to underscore the double jeopardy faced by these patients experiencing return migration.
A Comparison of Taxonomic Systems for Classifying Homeless Men
Authors: Morse Gary A. , Calsyn Robert J. , Burger Gary K.
Published: March 2007

The present study compared the relative merits of two taxonomic systems for classifying homeless men. One system classified homeless men based on their past history of psychiatric disability. The other system classified individuals on the basis of their current psychiatric impairment. Both classification systems displayed significant discriminating power using a set of predictor variables that included demographic variables, childhood happiness, current life satisfaction, social support, stressful life events, and history of homelessness. Based on the percent age of correct classifications the system based on current impairment was superior to the system based on past history.
Attitudes of Chinese and American Male Students towards Mental Illness
Authors: Shokoohi-Yekta Mohsen , Retish Paul
Published: March 2007

Attitudes towards mental illness were measured by the Opinion About Mental illness Scale (OMI) for 83 male graduate college students from American and Chinese cultural backgrounds. The OMI questionnaire consisted of five factors: A) Authoritarianism, B) Benevolence, C) Mental Hygiene Ideology, D) Social Restricti veness, and E) Interpersonal Etiology. Statistically significant differences between the two groups of subjects on Factors A, B, D and E of the OMI were found. American students performed lower on "Authoritarianism", on "Social Restrictiveness", and on "Interpersonal Etiology", and higher on "Benevolence" than Chinese subjects.
Experienced Turkish Nurses' Attitudes towards Mental Illness and the Predictor Variables of their Attitudes
Authors: Eker Dogan , Arkar Haluk
Published: March 2007

General attitudes towards mental illness, attitudes towards two vignettes, and possible predictor variables of these attitudes were investigated among experi enced Turkish nurses. The analyses showed that the nurses accepted both organic and psychological causation and had rather positive views on drug treatment, psychotherapy, and prognosis. However, they were more favourably disposed towards psychological causation and psychotherapy; the paranoid schizophrenia description was more readily perceived as mental illness and more 'negative' ratings were recorded for this than was the case in the description of neurosis. In terms of predictors, university education was related to lower acceptance of psychotherapy and chances of recovery; older respondents showed higher social distance to the neurosis vignette. The findings were discussed within the context of previous findings from Turkey and other countries.
Psychiatric Nursing in Italy: an Extinguished Profession or an Emerging Professionalism?
Authors: Savio Monica
Published: March 2007

Ten years after the introduction of the psychiatric reform in Italy, a case study was undertaken in Santhia' (near Turin) on the experience of psychiatric nursing, to investigate nurses' perceptions of community psychiatric work as compared to their experience of the hospital setting.

Members of a nursing team attached to a CMHC were interviewed, and observation of their work over a period of six months followed. Other team members -such as doctors, psychologists and social workers were also interviewed, to gather an overview, and to investigate the interaction of the specific organisational framework with nursing professional culture.

The findings suggest that the move to the community has led to an emerging psychiatric nursing professional identity related to the opportunity for nurses to experience professional practices other than the medical and custodial forms, which were typical of the hospital setting.
Problems of Transformation
Authors: Leff Julian
Published: March 2007

Despite the progressive reduction over many years in patient populations of psychiatric hospitals in America and many European countries, there have been few attempts to evaluate this policy. The Team for the Assessment of Psychiatric Services (TAPS) was established to monitor and evaluate the closure of two large psychiatric hospitals in North London. A number of important problems have been identified in the course of the TAPS research programme. These include: the inertia of the planning process, the selection of the best patients first for discharge at the expense of the more disabled, the accumulation of new long-stay patients entering the admission wards of psychiatric hospitals, the policy of introducing patients into the community as unobtrusively as possible, and the difficulties of deinstitutionalis ing staff. Despite these problems, evidence is presented that discharge of long-stay patients into the community has been relatively successful.
Community and Culture: a Chinese Model of Community Care for the Mentally Ill
Authors: Pearson Veronica
Published: March 2007

Although psychiatric hospitals are thought to be the main focus of care for the mentally ill, China has not inherited the large asylums that were, and are, such a feature in the West. China has developed her own model of community care for the mentally ill, which is coherent with what are seen to be the available resources and fits into existing structures of social organisation. The elements in this model include small neighbourhood workstations, factory clinic liaison work, 'home beds' and neighbourhood care units. So far alternative accommodation schemes appear to have no part to play in the model. The reasons for this are discussed. However, while the Chinese model of community care for the mentally ill is quite well articulated, there appear to be major problems in ensuring its implementation.
Opinions About and Reactions to Suicide, and the Social Acceptance of a Suicidal Classmate Among Turkish High School Students
Authors: Eskin Mehmet
Published: March 2007

The present study investigated the opinions about suicide and reactions to a suicidal peer among 89 female and 78 male Turkish high school students. Females more than males believed that suicide should be discussed among friends. More males than females perceived suicidal persons to be mentally ill and to be punished in the other world. Females showed greater acceptance for a suicidal classmate than males. An attitude for openly discussing suicide was associated with higher acceptance of a suicidal classmate. Perceiving suicidal individuals to be mentally ill was associated with lower acceptance of a suicidal peer.
A Comparison of Type a Behaviour Pattern, Hostility and Typus Melancholicus in Japanese and American Students: Effects of Defensiveness
Authors: Fukunishi Isao , Nakagawa Takayuki , Nakamura Hiroshi , Ogawa Joichi , Nakagawa Tetsuya
Published: March 2007

A comparison of Type A behaviour pattern, hostility and Typus Melancholicus (TM) was examined in a sample of 228 Japanese and 121 American college students. It was found that: the Japanese students expressed Type A, especially hostility, less strongly than American ones; TM was seen to the same degree in both Japanese and American students; Type A was related to hostility and TM in both groups of students; and compared with American students, the Japanese students displayed the defensiveness more frequently, and there appeared to be a strong relationship between defensiveness and hostility. These results suggest the possibility that hostility, a component element of Type A, is manifested under the influence of defensiveness, which is partially related to a variety of different sociocultural contexts.
Suicidal Behaviour in People Infected With Human Immunodeficiency Virus: a Literature Review
Authors: Starace Fabrizio
Published: March 2007

Suicidal acts seem to be more frequent in AIDS patients than in the general population: nevertheless, the interpretation of these findings remains uncertain, because an increased risk of suicide has been found in some groups at risk of HIV infection (homosexuals, i.v. drug users) irrespective of the presence of HIV infection.

The lack of adequate registration of causes of death in mortality statistics, the difficulty of identifying AIDS cases, and the lack of appropriate reference popula tions in the majority of register-based studies and post-mortem investigations are the main methodological problems in this research area.
Ill-Health and Social Predictors of Psychotropic Drug Prescription in General Practice
Authors: Marino Stefano
Published: March 2007

Prescriptions of psychotropic drugs among 505 consecutive attenders on a single day at 32 general practices were recorded. For 404 of them the results of a screening for psychiatric morbidity conducted by means of the General Health Questionnaire (GHQ) were available. Among attenders recognised as psychiatric cases by their general practitioners the presence of concurrent somatic problems exerted a significant effect in reducing the relative odds of prescription. A very strong and significant interaction effect between male sex and high GHQ score was detected: men scoring over the threshold on the questionnaire had a risk of receiving a psychotropic drug prescription 49 times higher than the general sample. Social problems-related factors did not show significant effects when included in multivariate models comprising ill-health risk factors.
Asian Inpatients in a District Psychiatric Unit: an Examination of Presenting Features and Routes Into Care
Authors: Bhui Kamaldeep , Strathdee Geraldine , Sufraz Reshad
Published: March 2007

The case notes of one hundred consecutive Asian admissions at first presentation to a district psychiatric unit were examined. Asian admissions to Greenwich Hospital comprise a young, well educated group of predominantly Punjabi Sikhs. They present mostly through crisis services often following a domiciliary visit. General practitioners (GPs) were involved in only 34% of referrals although 54% of patients had Asian GPs. They are less likely to be compulsorily admitted than has previously been reported and very infrequently came into contact with police services. Alcoholism was found mostly in male married Sikhs. Psychotic illness accounted for 51% of presentations and neurotic depression for 18%, the latter being the largest single diagnostic category. This study raises questions regarding preferred routes into care for Asians and has service implications when considering establishment of accessible community services.
Relationship of Migrant Status (Refugee or Immigrant) to Mental Health
Authors: Pernice Regina , Brook Judith
Published: March 2007

This study investigated and compared mental health levels among refugees and immigrants living in New Zealand. One hundred and twenty-nine Indochinese refugees, 57 Pacific lsland immigrants and 63 British immigrants to New Zealand were surveyed. A questionnaire and the Hopkins Symptom Checklist-25 (HSCL-25) in English and in three lndochinese translations, were administered face-to-face. The hypothesis that migrant status (being a refugee or immigrant) affects mental health and that refugees experience more emotional distress than immigrants was only supported by the comparison with British immigrants. Both lndochinese refugees and Pacific Island immigrants experienced relatively low levels of mental health. However, the incidence of clinical depression and clinical total emotional distress tended to be higher among lndochinese refugees than in either immigrant group. ln contrast clinical anxiety occurred most often among Pacific lslanders.
The Eating Attitudes and Behaviours of Asian and British Schoolgirls: a Pilot Study
Authors: Furnham Adrian , Patel Raj
Published: March 2007

This study set out to examine dietary, weight and eating attitudes of 12-18 year old British and Asian girls. Ninety-six subjects from a state school completed the Eating Attitudes Test (EAT-26), the Binge Eating Questionnnaire (BEQ) and a questionnaire concerning the perceived level of integration into British society. The mean EAT-26 score was higher than any other study has found using a school population. No significant correlation was found between age and EAT-26 score, and there was no significant difference between the Asian and British mean EAT-26 scores. The EAT- 26 scores were not significantly higher in girls from families of higher socioecono mic class compared to those from lower socioeconomic class. There was however some support for the prediction that resentment in the Asian girls was expressed in higher EAT-26 scores. No significant group difference was found between Asian and British girls with regard to vomiting behaviour. The results are discussed in terms of the literature on eating disorders.
Factor Structure of Social Support and Its Relationship To Minor Psychiatric Disorders Among Japanese Adolescents
Authors: Furukawa Toshiaki
Published: March 2007

Although social support has been one of the preferred topics in health psychology for the past two decades, there still remains controversy about its construct and the measurement model for it. The People In Your Life (PIYL) scale, a self-report adaptation of Henderson et al.'s Interview Schedule for Social Interactions (1980), appears to be an outgrowth of the recent developments in this domain. We administered PIYL to two samples, 550 and 434 each, of Japanese adolescents and examined its factor structure, its psychometric properties and its concurrent relationship to minor psychiatric disorders. Of the original four subscales, the presence of two subscales called availability of social integration and availability of attachment was confirmed, while the remaining subscales called adequacy of social integration and adequacy of attachment were found to form one general factor of perceived adequacy. Such a three-factor model appeared to fit the data better, psychometrically more sound and externally more valid in accounting for the minor psychiatric disorders.
Multidisciplinary Mental Health Teams
Authors: Slade Mike , Rosen Alan , Shankar Radha
Published: March 2007

This study surveyed current practice amongst 91 Indian and Australian staff working within multidisciplinary mental health teams, looking at leadership skills, conflict resolution and therapeutic abilities. Length of training was asso ciated with management skills, though these skills were more developed by psychiatric nurses and occupational therapists working in community settings. Hospital settings involved less consensual decision-making than community teams. Psychiatric nurses spent most time in clinical work, and occupational therapists were rated as less skilled in the therapeutic activities assessed than any other profession. Psychiatrists and clinical psychologists undertook most research. The activities assessed in this study could be undertaken by a team comprising psychiatrists, psychiatric nurses and social workers, with clinical psychologists employed where possible, especially for research or service evaluation.
The Mental Health Pattern of Migrants: Is There a Euphoric Period Followed By a Mental Health Crisis?
Authors: Pernice Regina , Brook Judith
Published: March 2007

Sluzki's 1986 mental health model of the migratory process was tested with migrants (both refugees and immigrants), to New Zealand. Its central feature, suggesting an initial symptom free and euphoric phase after arrival in the country of settlement, followed by a crisis stage, was examined for 129 Southeast Asian refugees, 57 Pacific Island immigrants and 63 British immigrants. A questionnaire and the Hopkins Symptom Checklist-25, in English and in three Southeast Asian language translations, were administered face-to-face. All respondents had arrived in New Zealand within the last 15 years. The findings did not support Sluzki's model. Refugees and immigrants in the group with less than six months of residence were not symptom free. Neither did the group with six months to six years residence demonstrate a deterioration in mental health. However, mean depression levels were slightly lower for those who had lived in New Zealand for over six years, suggesting that mental health may improve the longer both refugees and immigrants reside in the host country.
Religion, Ethnicity and Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder
Authors: Raphael F.J. , Rani S. , Bale R. , Drummond L.M.
Published: March 2007

Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is seen in many contrasting cultures but it is not known if the form of the disorder varies between these cultures. There have been anecdotal case reports where religion appeared to play a significant aetiological role in the disorder but the relationship between religion and OCD has not previously been systematically studied. This study was a retrospective, casenote study comparing the country of birth and religious affiliation of three groups of 50 patients. Its aim was to investigate the aetiological role played by religion in the development of OCD. The groups were patients with OCD from a specialist behavioural-cognitive unit, patients assessed in a specialist psycho- dynamic psychotherapy department and patients attending a general adult psy chiatry outpatient department. More patients with OCD affiliated themselves with a religion as opposed to either of the other two groups. This difference disappeared when the type of religion was taken into account so that no conclusive relationship between OCD and religion could be identified. The findings do not diminish the importance of religion in the development of OCD in some individuals and suggest that future research in this area should include examination of the rigidity of upbringing and personal perception of the experience of strict rules or imposed religious practices.
Stress in Mental Health Professionals: a Theoretical Overview
Authors: Moore Kathleen A. , Cooper Cary L.
Published: March 2007

Clearly, mental health professionals are subjected to similar organizational stressors as other workers. They also face additional emotional strain by the very nature of their professions in dealing with troubled persons often over extended periods of time. Further understanding of these problems and develop ment strategies, such as insight-oriented training, requires a greater appreciation of the interactions between home-work and the individual. This broader-based ongoing research is imperative not just to protect the health of the carers and their patients/clients but is, we believe, an ethical requirement. Best care can only be provided to others by carers who are themselves well.
Stress in Clinical Psychologists
Authors: Cushway Delia , Tyler Patrick
Published: March 2007

This paper summarises the findings of a series of studies of British clinical psychologists and discusses them in relation to the (mainly US) literature. Four main questions are addressed: (1) How stressed are clinical psychologists? (2) Which psychologists are most stressed? (3) What are the main sources of stress for clinical psychologists? and (4) What coping strategies are used by clinical psychologists? A figure summarises the main risk factors emerging from the literature which appear to be important mediators between the stressor and the psychological outcome variables. These are: (1) low job satisfaction; (2) low range of active coping strategies; (3) high use of avoidance coping strategies involving denial; (4) stressor not externalised and objectified; (5) stressor threatens other roles/relationships; (6) low experience in job; (7) no quality relationship with confidant(e)/poor quality relationship with partner; and (8) female.
Interpretive Group Psychotherapy and Dependent Day Hospital Patients: a Preliminary Investigation
Authors: Temple N. , Patrick M. , Evans M. , Holloway F. , Squire C.
Published: March 2007

A small group of highly dependent day hospital patients, together with a small number of 'potential' day hospital referrals sharing similar characteristics, were treated in twice weekly interpretive group psychotherapy for between seven and nine months. At the end of treatment three of four day hospital patients had made a successful separation from the day hospital, and at nine month follow-up outcome appeared improved. Only two of the six non-day hospital patients remained in the group, the reasons for which are discussed. The method of evaluation proved manageable, although it would be more appropriate to studies involving larger numbers and possibly control interventions. it is suggested that the role of interpretive group psychotherapy in rehabilitation deserves further investigation.
The Language of Compliance: Health Policy and Clinical Practice for the Severely Mentallyill
Authors: Bhui Kamaldeep
Published: March 2007

This paper appraises the issues surrounding 'compliance' from a biomedical and specifically psychiatric perspective with particular reference to the drug treatment of psychiatric patients and the influential factors in the development of health policy. I examine how existing conceptualisations fail to have a significant impact on the way people with severe mental illness (chronic disorders such as schizophrenia) interact with prescribed medication (usually neuroleptic) and explore what potential insights can be gleaned from the anthropological literature.
The Everyday Experience of Psychiatric the Users' Viewpoint
Authors: Letendre Robert
Published: March 2007

Using 38 focussed accounts the author reports on the hospitalization experiences of patients 18 to 38 years old in the psychiatric ward. The sample comes from the psychiatric wards of two general hospitals in the Montréal area (Canada). The data were analyzed using a qualitative method. Empirical categories were inferred from the respondents' discourse based on the broad themes which make up the psychiatric experience: admission; hospital environment and rules; daily life; medication; relations with the staff and leaving the hospital. The results shed light on the suffering, dissatisfaction and ambivalent feelings surrounding the patients' hospital experience. Based on the experience of psychiatric patients, the author identified five processes at work during psychiatric hospitalization.
Mass in an Culture
Authors: Amin Yousreya , Hamdi Emad , Eapen Valsamma
Published: March 2007

In this report we describe the circumstances surrounding an outbreak of mass hysteria among first year female university students. The outbreak was precipitated by a state of panic over the possibility of a fire which turned out to be harmless fumes from a locally used burning perfume. Twenty-three cases presented to the emergency room with symptoms of respiratory distress associated with marked emotional reactions. The outbreak was controlled by separating the patients, and the lack of media coverage facilitated this process. Cases with persistent and severe symptoms were those having physical and psychological problems prior to the occurrence of the outbreak. Individual vulnerability factors deserve special consideration in the management of mass hysteria since they are likely to influence the response to treatment.
Patient Satisfaction: Ethnic Origin or Explanatory Model?
Authors: Callan Alyson , Littlewood Roland
Published: March 2007

Despite concern over their psychiatric treatment, little is known about black and ethnic minority patient satisfaction with psychiatric services and whether perceived 'ethnicity' or discrepant understanding of illness experience is most relevant. Twenty-one white British and 63 ethnic minority patients were interviewed for their opinions on psychiatric in-patient care, their treatment preferences and their explanatory models of their illness. The most significant association with satisfac tion was not ethnic origin but the patient's explanatory model of their illness which showed little association with ethnicity whether patients were voluntary or involuntary. Satisfaction is most likely when there is concordance between the patient's and psychiatrist's explanatory model.
A Study of the Quality of Life of the Severely Mentally Ill
Authors: Trauer Tom , Duckmanton Robert A. , Chiu Edmond
Published: March 2007

As part of a larger study, the Lehman Quality of Life Interview (QOLI) was conducted a total of 85 times with 55 clients with serious mental illness. Results revealed widespread adverse objective circumstances (unemployment, poverty and social isolation) despite which most clients rated their satisfaction levels about average (about equally satisfied and dissatisfied). As expected, subjective quality of life indicators were generally better predictors of global well-being (GWB) (itself based on subjective ratings) than were objective indicators. Correlations between objective and subjective indicators were very low and insignificant. Moderate relationships were found between GWB and levels of personal functioning, and changes in levels of personal functioning, as rated by mental health workers. Retests showed that subjective quality of life was relatively stable over intervals of several months. The findings suggest that leisure and social relations would be suitable areas for interventions that might improve clients' quality of life.
Gender and Attitudes Towards People With Schizophrenia. Results of a Representative Survey in the Federal Republic of Germany
Authors: Angermeyer Matthias C. , Matschinger Herbert , Holzinger Anita
Published: March 2007

Based on the observation that the course of schizophrenia appears to be more unfavourable in men than in women, we examined whether male sufferers are exposed to more negative and less positive emotional reactions and are met with a greater amount of rejection by their environment than their female counterparts. Data from a representative survey conducted in the 'old' Federal Republic of Germany during 1990 did not yield the expected gender difference with regard to emotional reactions. There were, however, some gender differences on the side of the respondents: Women expressed more feelings of anxiety and tended to show more prosocial reactions. Social distance tended to be slightly more pronounced towards men than towards women. This applied to both schizophrenia and alcoholism. The gender of the respondents, on the other hand, was of no importance for social distance.
Effects of Psychosocial Interventions On Motor Speed and Accuracy of Chronic Positive, Negative, and Mixed Symptom Schizophrenics
Authors: Sovani Anuradha , Thatte Shubha
Published: March 2007

Clinical data suggests that schizophrenic patients have an impaired ability to carry out purposeful activities which were previously self-regulative. Schizophrenic psychomotor performance is consequently slow and deliberate, and readily inter fered with. This impairment often leads to frustration and despair in the patient as well as in caregivers, and interferes with the rehabilitation process.

Psychological interventions in the form of performance contingent verbal feed back and planned interpersonal interaction in small groups were introduced, and were found to ameliorate motor deficits to a significant extent. Implications for patient motivation, well being and rehabilitation are discussed.
Family Adaptation to Institutionalised Mentally Retarded Patients. A Preliminary Report on an Italian Population
Authors: Clerici M. , Bertrando P. , Beltz J. , Fornara A. , Iraci A. , Steiner V. , Cazzullo C.L.
Published: March 2007

Family interactive patterns were investigated in the relatives of 20 mentally retarded patients institutionalised in two centres in Northern Italy. Expressed emotion (EE) was used as evaluation instrument. The results show a surprisingly high rate (45%) of high EE, even in relatives of patients who did not live inside the family. High EE was positively correlated to the presence of behavioural disorders in the patients, as already shown for children with conduct disorders. Treatment implications are discussed; there is an opportunity for the implementation of a family psychoeduca tional approach, aimed both at managing the behavioural consequences of the disorder and at enhancing rehabilitation programmes.
The Homeless Clients of a Community Psychiatric Nursing Service in Inner London: 2. Referral Process and Main Intervention
Authors: Abdul-Hamid Walid , Stansfeld Stephen , Wykes Til
Published: March 2007

The 'homeless' and 'home-based' clients of the Community Psychiatric Nursing service (CPNs) in Bloomsbury described in the first paper were examined further. The referral process and the CPN intervention were compared in the two groups.

The homeless clients had different referral pattern, different types of care provided, and had less time spent with them even when control for the type of problems they were presenting with was made. It seems that this difference is due to the multiplicity and severity of homeless clients' problems that the recording system was not designed to record. Also since most of the homeless clients had been referred by informal services that made 'inappropriate referrals' to the CPNs who then needed to refer these clients to another service. These findings support the fact that homeless people need multi-disciplinary mental health services to meet their complex needs.
Computers, Artificial Languages, and Linguistic Behavior
Authors: Moag Joseph S.
Published: March 2007

Linguistic behavior can be con ditioned by the computer. Im proved communication ability results from the rigor required in writing block diagrams, flow charts, and COBOL programs, and from writing in and de signing artificial languages.
President's Column
Authors: Hay Robert D.
Published: March 2007

Professor Hay feels that the image of business communica tion depends upon the develop ment of a body of communica tion principles. He discusses one such principle and chal lenges readers to identify, codi fy, and test others.
Public Relations Writing and the Corporate Image
Authors: Morton Richard K.
Published: March 2007

In this article Professor Morton suggests that Public Relations should mean more to a firm than keeping a specialized staff of public relations workers. The firm must make an effort to im prove its public relations in all phases of its existence. At the same time there is much that can be done to improve the quality of public relations writ ing as a part of the over-all image-making process.

This article is based on an ad dress before the ABWA Nation al Convention, San Francisco, August 31, 1967.
The Changing Role of the Technical Writer in the 1970's
Authors: Mogilevsky Michael
Published: March 2007

This paper, originally presented at the Fourth International Space Congress at Cocoa Beach, Florida, suggests some ways in which the role of the technieal writer and editor in the aero space industry has been develop ing and will continue to develop through the 1970's. It also men tions some challenges, particu larly the "human gap" prob lem, that will have to be met by communications specialists.
The Fog Index After Twenty Years
Authors: Gunning Robert
Published: March 2007

This article is Robert Gunning's own assessment of the achieve ments of the Fog Index after twenty years of use. Those in terested in readability formulas will be happy to learn a little more not only about the history and development of the Fog Index but about the applica tions that have been made of it in business and industry, and also in newspaper and govern ment work. Mr. Gunning is well aware, of course, of some of the weaknesses of the index, but obviously he also has rea son to be proud of its achieve ments.
The Act of Passing Along
Authors: Perry Richard S.
Published: March 2007

Professor Perry suggests that as teachers or others involved with communications we must be especially aware of the need to improve communications between generations and that to do so requires some old-fashioned virtues as well as com munication skills. This article was his presidential address before the 1969 ABCA National Convention.
Business Communications Practices and Problems of Professional Secretaries
Authors: Treece Malra C.
Published: March 2007

This study investigates the business communication responsibilities of certi fied professional secretares. One of its most interesting findings is the large number of secretaries who regularly compose business communications.
Does Order Make a Difference in Resumes?
Authors: Penrose John M.
Published: March 2007

Positioning of information may be the major problem in preparing a résumé. This study attempts to determine whether a primacy or recency location of facts produces the highest fact-recall rate.
Shrinkage Stresses in Two-Phase Materials
Authors: Koufopoulos T. , Theocaris P.S.
Published: March 2007

Shrinkage stresses produced during the curing of the matrix in a two-phase material were studied. Specimens representing a typical two-phase material made of unplasticized epoxy as inclusions and plasticized epoxy as the matrix were studied photoelastically.

The magnitude of stresses at the interface of a single inclusion in an infinite matrix during the transient period of curing depended only on the constant elastic modulus of the inclusion and on the instantaneous value of the matrix elastic modulus and it was independent of the amount of shrinkage of the matrix. In the case of a square array of inclusions in close proximity, the stress-distribution depended on both elastic moduli and the amount of shrinkage. The influence of the ratio of the space between inclusions and their diameter on the magnitude of stresses was also studied, in the case of already set matrices.
Dynamic Mechanical Properties of Some Polystyrene Composites
Authors: Nielsen Lawrence E. , Lee Bng-Lin
Published: March 2007

Dynamic shear modulus and damping have been determined on poly styrene filled with glass beads which have been given surface treatments, ground glass, ground rock salt, and foams made by extracting the salt with water. Soaking the glass bead filled polystyrene in water and then redrying produces a permanent increase in damping. Data on ground glass and on rock salt composites illustrate the importance of maximum packing volume on the modulus. It is shown that moduli determined by torsional tests or by flexural tests are in error due to a polymer-rich skin. A simple method is given for correcting this error.
Harmonic Waves with Arbitrary Propagation Direction in Layered Orthotropic Elastic Composites
Authors: Yamada M. , Nemat-Nasser S.
Published: March 2007

The dispersion of harmonic waves propagating in an arbitrary direction in a layered orthotropic elastic composite is studied. The full three-dimensional field equations of elasticity are considered, and the corresponding twelfth order characteristic determinant is examined. Numerical results are obtained and compared with the corresponding estimates of the new quotient method of Nemat-Nasser.
Trade Unionism in 1999
Authors: Ellem Bradon
Published: March 2007

In 1999 the general crisis in union density and the struggle for legitimacy in the workplace were overlain by proposed amendments to the Workplace Relations Act, award stripping, continued attacks on the public sector and by the Commonwealth government's hunting down of pattern bargaining and the union shop. In the workplace, unions were beset by the use of the lockout as a pre-emptive blow and by continued reshaping of the hours and patterns of work. In response to these threats and challenges, there were some significant changes in union direction. At the ACTU, the 'Accord generation' gave way to new faces and to an associated shift in renewal strategies. 'On the ground', some workplace issues were addressed in new ways and new organising drives bore some fruit. There were also significant developments in the scope of industrial conflict, not only between 'the titans' but at other sites and on a smaller scale as unions attempted to resist the stratagems of employers and to defend the interests of their heterogeneous membership.
Australia and Japan: A Study in Comparative Bureaucracy
Authors: Newell William H.
Published: March 2007

The Australian and Japanese bureaucratic systems are characterized by a number of differences. These differences are evident in the pattern of recruit ment. In the Japanese system, a close relationship exists between the level (measured in terms of success) of an organization and the standard of graduate intake. Furthermore, the relationship exists in the other direction, i.e. univer sities judge their own status by where their graduates go. Further, in Japan there is a strong nexus between private and public bureaucracies as parts of the same structural system.
Quality of Working Life: The Social Indicator Approach
Authors: Horn Robert V.
Published: March 2007

Social indicators represent a new direction in the application of economic and social statistics. With their emphasis on qualitative factors, perceived satisfaction and interdependence, they are of interest for the assessment of the quality of working life and other labour aspects. This paper discusses the nature of the social indicator approach and some applications in Australia and overseas which are leading to a more comprehensive analysis of different elements of work satisfaction and of their interaction.
Employer Associations: Challenges and Responses
Authors: Plowman David
Published: March 2007

This paper analyses the responses made by employer associations to the major challenges confronting them. It is argued that employer associations are reactive organisations evolving dependent, semi-autonomous or autonomous institutions to accommodate the external challenges confronting them within their sphere of operation. Employer associations are seen as particularly re active to the countervailing power of trade unions. The presence of strong union organisations within an industry is seen as a primary reason for the estab lishment of efficient employer organisations within that industry. The internal challenges facing employer associations are also examined. These include the problems of fragmentation, proliferation, separatism, competition and member ship control. The paper contends that economic and industrial relations realities have forced associations to assess the optimum mix required for maxi mum autonomy compatible with economic and operational efficiency. The pressures for unity have grown and, notwithstanding the independent outlook both within and between employer groups, considerable rationalisation has taken place.