Effects of an orientation videotape for newly admitted psychiatric patients.

The presentation of accurate information about impending stressful events has been found to have beneficial effects in a variety of health care settings. In this study, a 30-min videotape was used to orient newly admitted psychiatric patients. The videotape provided information about hospital procedures, mental illness, and psychiatric treatment within 48 hr of admission. An experimental versus control group procedure was used to evaluate the effects of the orientation videotape. Self-report measures revealed that patients viewing the videotape, in comparison with no-videotape controls, experienced fewer hospital fears and more positive psychiatric attitudes, demonstrated more accurate psychiatric information, and tended to be perceived as adjusting better to their hospitalization. A limited follow-up of patients several months later provided some information about the persistence of positive attitudes. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Attitudes toward professional counseling among Asian-American college students: Acculturation, conceptions of mental illness, and loss of face.

The present study attempted to examine the influence of culture-bound barriers such as acculturation status, loss of face, and conception of mental health on the attitudes of Asian American college students (n = 134) toward seeking professional psychological help. An adapted Acculturation Attitude Scale (AAS; U. Kim, 1988), Zane's (1991) Loss of Face Scale (LOFS), a 10-factor Conception of Mental Health Scale (CMHS; Nunnally, 1961), and a modified version of the Attitudes Toward Seeking Professional Psychological Help Scale (ATSPPHS) with four subscales (Fischer & Turner, 1970) were used in this study. Results support the hypothesis that acculturation and conceptions of mental health were significantly correlated with attitudes toward mental health services. Loss of face was also significantly correlated with attitudes of being open to professional counseling. Implications for mental health professionals working with Asian Americans are highlighted. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of Assessing adolescents in educational, counseling, and other settings.

Reviews the book, Assessing adolescents in educational, counseling, and other settings by Robert D. Hoge (see record 1999-08106-000). This book introduces the reader to the standardized psychological assessment of adolescents. It contains 12 chapters divided into three parts: an introduction to research and theory on adolescence, an introduction to psychological assessment, and a review of a substantial number of standardized tests and other assessments devices in six domains: aptitudes and achievement; personality; interview and observation measures; behavioural ratings and checklists; measures of cognitions, attitudes, values, beliefs, and interests; and composite and environmental measures. Hoge proposes three audiences for the book: mental health professionals, including psychologists; professionals required to use the results of psychological assessments for decision-making; and developmental researchers. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Monitoring challenges: A closer look at parental monitoring, maternal psychopathology, and adolescent sexual risk.

The present study sought to examine associations between maternal psychopathology, parental monitoring, and adolescent sexual activity among adolescents in mental health treatment. Seven hundred ninety mother-adolescent dyads recruited from adolescent mental health treatment settings completed audio computer-assisted structured interview assessments examining parent psychiatric symptoms, parental monitoring, and adolescent sexual risk behavior. Path analysis was used to examine the associations between variables of interest. Maternal caregivers who reported more mental health symptoms were more likely to have adolescents who reported recent sex and this relationship was mediated by less parental monitoring. These findings suggest that maternal caregivers with mental health symptoms may need specific interventions that provide assistance and support in monitoring their teens in order to reduce sexual risk taking among adolescents in mental health treatment. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

To use or not to use: Clinicians' perceptions of telemental health.

Equal access to mental health services is necessary for healthy individuals and communities. However, due to geographical distances and other barriers, some clients cannot easily access mental health professionals. Technologies such as videoconferencing for clinical purposes (i.e., telemental health) may help to bridge these gaps to connect clients and clinicians at geographically diverse locations. However, despite its potential utility, telemental health has not been widely adopted in Canada. This study is an exploratory investigation into mental health professionals' attitudes toward telemental health, factors that affect the frequency with which they use this technology, and their perceptions of individual characteristics that make clients more or less suitable candidates for telemental health. This study has a particular focus on remote and rural and Operational Stress Injury (OSI) contexts. One hundred sixty mental health workers across Canada participated in an online survey, and 25 mental health workers from Operational Stress Injury clinics across Canada participated in in-person interviews. The data were examined using qualitative and quantitative analysis methods. Findings suggest that mental health workers have overall positive attitudes toward the use of telemental health—particularly for clients in remote and rural locations. Additionally, receiving training in telemental health, being in the mental health field for longer, and perceiving the technology as easy to use are associated with more frequent use of telemental health. Finally, clinicians reported specific client characteristics that they perceive to make some clients unsuitable candidates for telemental health. Implications of these findings and directions for future research are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Child custody resolution: A study of social science involvement and impact.

To explore the use of mental health professional expertise in the legal system, legal professionals' sources of social science information, and the legal profession's perspectives on the appropriate roles of mental health professionals in the process, we solicited information from attorneys and judges on (a) the extent to which they actively seek the involvement of mental health professionals in child custody cases, (b) the factors that influence such involvement, and (c) the degree to which these attitudes and practices are influenced by social science data or theory. Among the most striking features of these results was the report by the overwhelming majority of legal professionals that they did not consider either social science data or mental health professionals' involvement or recommendations in child custody cases as critical to their practice of family law. Specifically, mental health participation was rarely solicited, and when it was, this decision rested primarily on the paradigmatic regularities of the legal system or practical needs of the case rather than on a view that such involvement was central to the client's or child's mental health. The implications of these findings for collaboration between the mental health and legal disciplines in the area of family policy are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

An analysis of the nature and justification of treatment decisions in inpatient settings.

83 mental health professionals employed at 2 inpatient settings participated in a study on the nature and justification of assessment and treatment decision making. Clinical psychologists, psychiatrists, a psychiatric nursing service staff group, social workers, nonpsychiatric physicians, physician assistants, mental health workers/psychiatric technicians who had at least a high school diploma, rehabilitation specialists, and psychiatric administrators completed a treatment decision questionnaire. It addressed several specific content areas relating to the types of assessment procedures, treatment goals, and treatment methods mental health professionals usually use, as well as the usual reason(s) for such procedures. Results showed that inpatient mental health professionals mostly relied on past success as well as logistical-practical factors in the determination and justification of assessment and treatment methods. Analyses of differences among inpatient institutions and mental health professionals are also presented. The conclusion was that, regardless of the specific assessment and treatment methods relied on, mental health professionals did use systematic decision procedures in choosing such methods. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Attitudes of U.S. and Czech/Slovak mental health and health professionals toward five types of sexually explicit materials

Mental health and health professionals' attitudes toward sexually explicit materials in the U.S. and Czech/Slovak Republics were investigated. An instrument measuring attitudes toward educational, soft-core, hard-core, violence, and bizarre/paraphiliac sexually explicit materials was administered to sexologists, psychologist/counselors, and medical professionals. These professionals were attending conferences in the U.S. and the Czech/Slovak Republics between November 1992 and September 1993. Mental health and health professionals had the most favorable attitudes toward educational sexually explicit materials followed by soft-core and hard-core materials, respectively. They had unfavorable attitudes toward violent and bizarre/paraphiliac sexually explicit materials, with particularly negative attitudes toward violent materials. Analysis of covariance showed that strength of religious conviction was a significant covariate; thus professionals with stronger religious conviction had more negative attitudes toward all five types of sexually explicit materials. When controlling for strength of religious conviction: (i) sexologists had more positive attitudes toward most types of sexually explicit materials; (ii) Czech professionals generally had more positive attitudes toward such materials than their U.S. counterparts; and (iii) there were few differences between female and male professionals in their reported attitudes. While previous literature has reported gender differences in attitudes toward sexually explicit materials, findings from this study suggest that this effect may be due to differences in religiosity among women and men, namely, that women tend to be more religious.     

Opinions about mental illness: A review of the literature.

Describes the major measures and studies of attitudes about mental illness, mental hospitals, and mental patients. Historical trends in such attitudes are delineated, and studies of attitudes of different groups are summarized, including those of the general public, mental health professionals, college students, and mental patients. Analysis of the susceptibility of such attitudes to modification through academic or practical experience is followed by observations regarding the relation between attitudes and behavior toward mental patients. Implications for future work in this field are considered. (78 ref.) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Disability and the law: Attitudes of police, lawyers, and mental health professionals.

A literature review on the attitudes of police officers, lawyers, and mental health professionals toward the disabled indicates that police officers' attitudes are related to the extent of their formal education and the amount of information they have about relating to persons with various types of disabilities. Lawyers who have disabled clients tend to be more knowledgeable and to have more positive attitudes than lawyers without such clients, but it is not easy to turn lawyers into advocates for disabled clients. Mental health professionals, who may be called on to provide advice to police officers or lawyers or to testify in court cases, have some negative aspects that may impair their helpfulness, but their attitudes are more positive than those of less educated persons. Data also indicate that the attitudes of psychologists are less negative than those of psychiatrists. It is concluded that rehabilitation psychologists need to undertake studies of the attitudes of these groups and to set up programs designed to change the attitudes of members of these professions. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Attitudes toward adoption of evidence-based practices: A comparison of autism early intervention providers and children’s mental health providers.

Across the country, states are reporting increases in the number of children with autistic spectrum disorders (ASDs) served each year in the early intervention system. Research examining factors impacting the successful dissemination and implementation of evidence-based practices (EBPs) into service systems for these children is limited. Preliminary information indicates that adoption of EBPs is variable. Provider attitudes toward the adoption of EBPs may be one factor that limits or facilitates implementation of efficacious treatments and these attitudes vary by organizational context and provider individual differences. The current study examines cross-context differences in provider attitudes toward EBPs by comparing the attitudes of 71 education-based early intervention providers working with children with ASD to the attitudes of 238 mental health providers in the public mental health system. This provides the first examination of ASD early intervention provider attitudes toward EBP. Results indicated that early intervention providers reported significantly more favorable attitudes toward adopting EBPs than did mental health providers. Early intervention providers with extended experience in the field perceived less divergence between their current practice and EBPs. Implications are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Clinical psychologist in the vanguard: Current attitudes toward mental illness.

To determine the current degree of acceptance of an antimedical approach to mental illness, a survey was conducted of attitudes toward mental illness among various mental health professionals (20 psychiatrists, 23 psychiatric nurses, 16 psychologists, and 25 social workers) and mental patients (41 outpatients with a history of psychiatric hospitalization and 20 outpatients with no similar history) in a community mental health center. Responding to 6 statements reflecting attitudes toward the traditional medical model, clinical psychologists showed greater acceptance of the antimedical paradigm than did psychiatrists, psychiatric social workers, psychiatric nurses, and psychiatric outpatients. Several explanations are offered as to why clinical psychologists appear to be in the vanguard of those adopting a critical, antimedical stance within the clinical arena. (32 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Cultural commitment and attitudes toward seeking counseling services in American Indian college students.

Counseling attitudes were assessed for American Indian college students rating themselves as either strongly or weakly committed to both Tribal and Anglo cultures. Participants strongly committed only to Tribal culture displayed more negative attitudes toward seeking counseling, recognizing a personal need for counseling, having confidence in mental health professionals, and interpersonal openness than those strongly committed only to the Anglo culture or to both cultures. Strongly committed participants demonstrated more negative attitudes toward interpersonal openness than those weakly committed to both cultures. Women showed more positive attitudes toward these issues than did men. It is recommended that counselors consider cultural commitment in understanding the hesitancy among potential American Indian clients to use conventional psychological services. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Self-disclosure in a simulated psychiatric interview.

Describes 2 experiments in which a total of 192 undergraduates received 49 items of personal information previously scaled in terms of their intimacy and presented according to the method of constant stimuli. For each item, Ss indicated whether they believed they would have withheld or revealed that information under actual psychiatric interview conditions. Exp. I manipulated the professional role of the interviewer, confidentiality of obtained information, and sex of the interviewee in a 4 * 3 * 2 design. Results indicate that (a) Ss avowedly revealed more personal information to mental health professionals than they would in a control employment interview situation, with no differences between the mental health professionals; (b) informing Ss that the interview was not confidential produced significant information loss from female but not male Ss; and (c) Ss who received no information regarding confidentiality behaved like Ss who were told the information was confidential. In Exp. II, Ss were asked to assume the motivational-attitudinal state of persons either coerced or voluntarily seeking a psychiatric interview because they had violated interpersonal norms. Significant information loss occurred in coerced Ss while confidentiality had no effect on self-disclosure. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The development of a microcomputer-based mental health information system: A potential tool for bridging the scientist–practitioner gap.

Presents a model for a computer-assisted interview and update procedure that incorporates a standardized procedure for the assessment of target complaints, enabling it to be used in a variety of clinical settings by researchers and practitioners representing a wide range of theoretical orientations. The patient is asked to take part in the 40-min computer interview at intake and termination. During therapy both clients and therapists use the computer to rate sessions. Follow-up assessments, using the interview, can be included. (61 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Inmate Perceptions of Mental Health Services.

With the increasing rise in the U.S. prison population, meeting the mental health needs of inmates before, during, and after incarceration remains an obstacle. What are the mental health experiences of inmates? For what types of problems are inmates willing to seek help, and what are the barriers to their service utilization? This study investigated inmates' attitudes and perceptions toward mental health services and examined whether these attitudes and perceptions vary with respect to ethnic group membership or among inmates of differing security levels. Implications of these findings for psychologists, including psychologists not employed in correctional settings, are highlighted. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Computerized service delivery in clinical psychology.

Compares the attributes of human clinicians and computer models as a means of examining their compatibility in service delivery. The use of the computer in psychophysiology and biofeedback, interviewing, assessment and diagnosis, and treatment is also reviewed. Economic and ethical considerations in the use of computers, as well as technological and professional obstacles to their adoption, are discussed. Psychologists and other mental health professionals are encouraged to take a more aggressive role in developing, testing, and adopting computerized service-delivery applications. Recommendations are made regarding the need for a detailed empirical analysis of attitudes and patterns of computer use in clinical psychology. (4 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Attitude change in college students and chronic patients: A dual perspective.

Assessed both initial attitudes and attitude change among 30 college students and 320 chronic patients participating in a hospital companionship program. Student attitudes toward a number of mental health concepts were initially similar to 2 student control groups (N = 30 each). Patient expectations of college students likewise were similar to patient controls. At the conclusion of the program, students manifested significantly more favorable attitudes toward patients and less favorable attitudes toward the mental hospital; patients saw the students as more nurturant than they had initially expected. A social hierarchy hypothesis is advanced to partially account for the reported success of similar companionship programs. (22 ref.) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Impact of computers on professional practice: A survey of current practices and attitudes.

Surveyed 227 practicing psychologists to explore the impact of computers on the everyday practice of psychology and practitioners' attitudes toward specific uses of computers. Whereas more than half of the respondents reported using computers in their practices, most restricted their use to clerical applications. Few practitioners used their computer for more clinical applications. Reasons most frequently reported for not using computers related to lacking the necessary skills and experience and to financial considerations. Overall, practitioners had positive attitudes toward a variety of specific applications of computers. Implications of these findings for facilitating the appropriate use of computers by practitioners are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)