High school students as mental health aides in the elementary school setting.

Offered more relevant experiences to 15 underachieving high school students by training them to work with 23 maladapted primary graders. Teachers' ratings of children's behavior indicated program children improved more than 27 matched controls, a finding supported by aides' ratings of improvement in program children. Aides felt the program helped their understanding of children, and they perceived it as better than other school activities. These findings, together with the positive reaction of school personnel to the program, testify to its effectiveness and feasibility. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Providers' views of HMO mental health services.

112 health maintenance organization (HMO) mental health providers from 19 HMOs were asked to describe the services provided by their mental health department, give demographic data about providers themselves, and rate the services provided as well as their satisfaction with providers' benefits and compensation. More than half of the Ss reported having a private practice in addition to their position at an HMO. The average full-time person doing direct clinical practice reported seeing about 23 clients per week. Other results suggest differences in satisfaction level varying with salary and patient load. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Adjustment problems of sibling and nonsibling pairs referred to a school mental health program.

Studied 41 pairs of sibling and 41 pairs of nonsibling primary-grade children. Using 2 teacher behavior-rating forms and a frequency rating scale of 1-5, results show that mean differences between siblings were directionally smaller than those between nonsiblings on all 8 measures, significantly on 5. For like-sex pairs, all 8 mean sibling differences were smaller than the comparable nonsibling differences. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Children with peer adjustment problems: Sequential and nonsequential analyses of school behaviors.

Compared the behavior of 48 4th- and 6th-grade boys with positive (P) and negative (N) peer status in a naturalistic school setting. N Ss differed more from P Ss in the older sample than in the younger sample. N Ss also showed an excess of playful aggressive behavior, suggesting a deficit in aggression socialization. Sequential analyses provided general support for the reciprocity hypothesis, which posits that individuals tend to match the affective quality of a response to that of the previous response. Peer interactions beginning with negative and neutral responses, however, progressed differently for N and P Ss. Whereas negative exchanges with P Ss became neutralized over time, negative exchanges with N Ss tended to persist in a negative manner. Paradoxically, N Ss showed a greater tendency to respond in a friendly positive manner after receiving neutral peer contacts than P Ss. The utility of sequential analyses for identifying interaction patterns that might contribute to the development of maladaptive behaviors and the importance of social systems-oriented intervention strategies are discussed. (27 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Confrontations with aggression and mental health problems in police officers: The role of organizational stressors, life-events and previous mental health problems.

The extent to which the frequency of facing aggression incidents is associated with mental health problems among police officers when organizational stressors, life-events, and previous mental health problems are taken into account is unclear. To elucidate this data from a longitudinal study of police officers was analyzed (N = 473). Mental health problems (MHPs) are here defined as severe anxiety, depression, hostility, burnout symptoms, and/or sleeping problems according the SCL-90–R and MBI. All MHPs were assessed at baseline and 27 months later. Logistic regression showed that serious threat was statistically significant associated with MHPs at follow-up among officers without MHPs at baseline, but not among those with MHPs at baseline. However, stepwise logistic regression showed that serious threat and/or physical aggression were not independently associated with MHPs at follow-up. Organizational stressors, that is, problems with colleagues were independent predictors in all analyses. Among the total study sample, previous MHPs were the strongest independent predictors. These findings suggest superiors should attend to the mental health, organizational stressors and life-events of their officers regularly and not only following critical incidents at work. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Comparing master's clinical training with professional responsibilities in community mental health centers.

100 directors from randomly selected, federally funded community mental health centers and 70 coordinators from university-based, master's-level clinical training programs were surveyed by mail. A 5-part questionnaire sought information regarding (a) relative amount of time spent by master's-level clinicians performing 10 specified professional responsibilities, including psychodiagnostics, psychotherapy and counseling, research, administration, and consultation, or relative time spent at them in training; (b) the same estimates projected 10 yrs into the future; (c) differences in the groups' ratings of master's-level clinician's competency for the same 10 responsibilities; (d) perceived relative importance of each responsibility for the clinicians; and (e) estimates of importance 10 yrs hence. Results are based on return rates of 33% for center directors and 60% for program coordinators and are presented in both between- and within-groups comparisons. Master's-level clinicians were seen as competent professionals having a continuing role in mental health service delivery. Implications for training, provision of service, and degree recognition are considered. (12 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Infants' meaning-making and the development of mental health problems.

We argue that infant meaning-making processes are a central mechanism governing both typical and pathological outcomes. Infants, as open dynamic systems, must constantly garner information to increase their complexity and coherence. They fulfill this demand by making nonverbal “meaning”—affects, movements, representations—about themselves in relation to the world and themselves into a “biopsychosocial state of consciousness,” which shapes their ongoing engagement with the world. We focus on the operation of the infant–adult communication system, a dyadic, mutually regulated system that scaffolds infants' engagement with the world of people, things, and themselves, and consequently their meaning-making. We argue that infant mental health problems emerge when the meanings infants make in the moment, which increase their complexity and coherence and may be adaptive in the short run, selectively limit their subsequent engagement with the world and, in turn, the growth of their state of consciousness in the long run. When chronic and iterative, these altered meanings can interfere with infants' successful development and heighten their vulnerability to pathological outcomes. Cultural variations in meaning-making and implications for clinical practice are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effects of a rational–emotive mental health program on poorly achieving, disruptive high school students.

Examined the effectiveness of a rational–emotive mental health program. 40 11th- and 12th-grade high-risk and failure- and misconduct-prone Black and Hispanic high school students were given 5 wkly sessions of rational–emotive education over a full semester. The dependent measures were GPA, incidents of disruptive behavior, and class cuts. Comparisons were made with alternate treatment and no-treatment controls. There were differential effects among the treatment groups, with the rational–emotive groups showing greatest improvement on all dependent variables over an extended period of time. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Computer-assisted behavioral health counseling for high school students.

Computer-assisted behavioral health counseling for high school students (n?=?45) was compared with an educational intervention in which health tip sheets were distributed (n?=?17) and with an assessment-only condition (n?=?15). In addition, overweight subjects in the computer-assisted counseling condition received computer-generated feedback designed to encourage weight reduction. At the conclusion of the 12-week study period, subjects in the computer-assisted counseling condition reported significant reductions in saturated fat and cholesterol consumption and significant increases in fiber and complex carbohydrate consumption. Subjects in the two control conditions also reported dietary improvement but to a lesser degree. Overweight subjects in the computer-assisted counseling condition lost a mean of 6.5 lb compared with a mean weight loss of 1.25 lb for the assessment-only subjects and mean weight gain of 2.75 lb for subjects in the health tips conditions. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The mental health and adjustment of immigrant and refugee children

Although parents may make decisions to leave their homes, either willingly in the hope of improving their lives or involuntarily to escape danger and seek safety for themselves and their families, it is never a voluntary decision for the child. The economic, political, social, and other contextual issues associated with migration are as significant in predicting the child's adjustment to his or her new circumstances as his or her physical and psychological endowment. This article addresses these issues and suggests that particular consideration be given to children whose migration was punctuated by life-threatening danger or whose families were overwhelmed by the stresses of migratory experiences. Child and adolescent psychiatrists and other well-trained mental health professionals can further the understanding of the interactions among the child, family, and new community, which can promote or hinder the process of adaptation to the new setting.     

Same-sex and opposite-sex teacher model influences on science career commitment among high school students.

Studied the relationship between the science career commitment and the science teacher models of 141 female and 129 male high school students. On the basis of earlier findings, it was predicted that Ss with same-sex teacher models would indicate a higher science career commitment. Furthermore, it was predicted that perceived teacher attractiveness and amount of science-related teacher contact would affect the influence of same-sex teacher models more than that of opposite-sex teacher models. Ss were administered a questionnaire and the Science Career Attitude Survey. Results support the hypotheses. Implications for female participation in science are discussed. (15 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Structure of health risk behavior among high school students.

The authors test the contention of R. Jessor's (1977) problem behavior theory that adolescent health risk behaviors comprise a single behavioral syndrome. Multidimensional scaling (MDS) and cluster analysis are used to analyze data from a statewide survey of high school students' (n?=?5,537) health risk behaviors. A classical MDS analysis was calculated to test the dimensionality of the behaviors. All indicators supported a multidimensional model. An individual-differences MDS (INDSCAL) analysis revealed that a 4-dimensional solution best fit the data, with gender and racial-ethnic differences emerging in the relative salience of the dimensions. The INDSCAL dimensional coordinates for each health risk behavior were then submitted to a hierarchical cluster analysis technique. Five behavioral clusters were identified, 1 of which included many of the traditional "problem behaviors," such as smoking, unprotected sexual intercourse, and alcohol consumption. These findings support a multidimensional structure underlying adolescent health risk behavior. Implications for theory and prevention of health risk behaviors are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Reviewing professional practice: Implications for the mental health consumer.

Discusses ways in which professional practice review (PR) may affect the consumer of mental health services. Cost containment and quality control are the major purposes of PR. PR appears to more effectively control utilization of services than cost per unit. PR may increase quality of service by establishing a better data base for evaluating treatment and outcome. Although PR may decrease costs and increase quality, it may also infringe on the privacy of the clients and narrow their freedom in choosing a provider. It is concluded that consumers need to be involved to make sure that PR addresses issues of importance to them, such as humaneness of treatment and control of poorly prepared providers. (27 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Crisis events and school mental health referral patterns of young children.

Conducted 2 studies investigating the impact of 2 types of potential crisis-producing experiences on the referral patterns of maladapting 5-10 yr old school children: parental separation and divorce and parental death. Ss in Study 1 were 108 children with a history of parental separation or divorce and 32 with a history of parent death. Study 2 used 226 Ss, 188 with separation-divorce histories and 38 with parental death histories. Both "crisis" groups were compared first to demographically matched referred controls, without crisis histories, and then directly to each other. Each crisis group had a significantly higher overall maladjustment score than its respective control group. Ss with histories of parent death were significantly more anxious, depressed, and withdrawn than their matched controls; whereas separation-divorce Ss had significantly more aggression and acting-out problems than their controls. These effects remained (a) when initial maladjustment differences were ruled out and (b) in a direct comparison of matched death and divorce Ss. The association between specific crisis history and specific school maladjustment patterns is seen to have implications for early detection and preventive efforts. (31 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Social self-efficacy in adolescence: Relations with self-concept, social adjustment, and mental health.

An examination of social self-efficacy in 163 high school students (aged 13–19 yrs) and 79 emotionally disturbed adolescents (aged 12–18 yrs) is reported. The Adolescent Social Self-Efficacy Scale, a 25-item scale which elicits self-ratings of behavioral effectiveness in problematic peer contexts, was developed. Scale homogeneity and test–retest reliability were evident in the samples tested. Validity of the social self-efficacy construct was demonstrated by correlations with indices of social self-concept and ratings of social adjustment. Clinical utility of the scale was also evident. Emotionally disturbed adolescent Ss rated themselves more poorly than did their well-functioning peers. Findings support the conceptualization of social self-efficacy as a component of social competence and as a contributor to mental health. (French abstract) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Mental health values and preference for mental health resources of Japanese-American and Caucasian-American students.

The authors investigated Asian-American underuse of mental health resources as a function of attitudes about the nature of mental health (mental health values) and resource preference for assistance with serious personal problems, with 91 Caucasian-American and 90 Japanese-American undergraduates. Results from a mental health values questionnaire (MHVQ) revealed that Japanese Americans more strongly related several MHVQ scales to mental health (good interpersonal relations, trustworthiness, and absence of negative personal traits) than did Caucasian Americans. Nevertheless, they were less likely than Caucasian Americans to rank mental health professionals as first choice for assistance with serious interpersonal/emotional problems and more likely to prefer close friends for assistance. Mental health values and attitudes about appropriate help-seeking behavior are discussed in relation to the Asian-American underuse phenomenon. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Family dynamics of families with mental health problems in Finland

This study forms part of the International Family Dynamics Project. Its purpose was describe the family functioning of families with mental health problems on the basis of Barnhill's framework for healthy family systems. The sample consisted of 160 families in which one family member had mental health problems. Both the patients and their relatives took part. The data were collected by questionnaires, i.e. The Family Dynamics Measure and The Family Dynamics Questionnaire. According to the results, mental health patients described family functioning as fairly poor, while relatives described it as fairly good. However, patients' and relatives' perceptions of family functioning did not differ significantly. There were some statistically significant differences between patients' and relatives' perceptions of different family dynamics dimensions. Relatives reported more mutuality (P = 0.006) and clearer communication (P = 0.009) than patients. Older mental health patients reported more isolation than patients under 30. Relatives who mentioned some serious illness in the family reported more role conflict than those who didn't. No differences were found by gender, family structure or education. The results indicated that the mental health problems of a single family member did not impair family dynamics. The study showed that the resources and functioning of families are fairly good in spite of the illness in the family.     

Addressing the needs of homeless women with mental health problems

Vertical transmission of the Human Immunodeficiency Virus is the major cause of pediatric AIDS cases. It is known that zidovudine therapy will substantially reduce the incidence of perinatal vertical transmission. Some authorities have made recommendations for universal HIV screening based on these findings. However, in an area of low prevalence of HIV, such as South Dakota, the benefits of such testing are questionable. We undertook a survey of one thousand consecutive deliveries in which a sample of cord blood was tested for HIV in an anonymous fashion. In all cases, the ELISA test was negative. Based on this extremely low incidence of HIV in our population, it is reasonable at the present time to undertake a selective screening protocol for testing for HIV during the antepartum period, based on the presence of risk factors, rather than applying universal screening to our population.     

Program dissemination and the modification of delivery practices in school mental health.

Examines dissemination practices and findings for the Primary Mental Health Project, an innovation program for early detection and prevention of school adjustment problems. Main features of the dissemination effort included intensive workshops, on-site visits by Project staff, and short-term internships. Also reported is information from a survey sent to 38 school districts that had either started or were considering a Projectlike program. (26 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Managed mental health care: problems and possibilities

To investigate the molecular mechanisms involved in paramyxovirus-induced cell fusion, the function and structure of synthetic peptide analogs of the sequence from the leucine zipper region (heptad repeat region 2) of the Newcastle disease virus fusion protein (F) were characterized. As previously reported (Young et al., Virology, 238, 291), a peptide with the sequence ALDKLEESNSKLDKVNVKLT (amino acids 478-497 of the F protein) inhibited syncytia formation after transfection of Cos cells with the hemagglutinin-neuraminidase and F protein cDNAs. A peptide analog which had an alanine residue in place of the first leucine residue in the zipper motif (ALDKAEESNSKLDKVNVKLT) retained inhibitory activity but less than the original peptide. Further loss in activity was observed in a peptide in which two of the leucine residues were replaced with alanine (ALDKAEESNSKADKVNVKLT), and a peptide which had all leucine residues in the zipper motif replaced with alanine (ALDKAEESNSKADKVNVKLT) had no inhibitory activity. The three-dimensional conformations of these peptides in aqueous solution were determined through the use of nuclear magnetic spectroscopy and molecular modeling. Results showed that while the wild-type peptide formed a helix with properties between an alpha-helix and a 3(10) helix with leucine residues aligned along one face of the helix, progressive substitution of leucine residues with alanine resulted in the progressive loss of helical structure. The results suggest that alterations of leucine residues in the zipper motif disrupt secondary structure of the peptide and that this structure is critical to the inhibitory activity of the peptide.