The mentally ill witch in textbooks of abnormal psychology: Current status and implications of a fallacy.

The psychopathological interpretation of demonology, witchcraft, and possession states that demonology replaced psychiatric knowledge and practice in the Middle Ages and that the mentally ill were subsequently misidentified as witches and demoniacs. This model has been discredited, but its persistence is demonstrated by an examination of 20 textbooks in abnormal psychology published between 1978 and 1981. Almost all authors endorsed at least 1 aspect of the psychopathological interpretation, and only 3 books included contradictory opinions. Textbooks that presented the psychiatric model seem to have derived it primarily from G. Zilboorg (1935), and there is also evidence of unreferenced internal borrowing among textbooks. Authors generally ignored prominent historical and anthropological research on witchcraft and possession; they also gave minimal attention to more recent, socioculturally oriented histories of psychiatry and to critiques of the older psychiatric paradigm. It is concluded that these results are at least partly due to clinical psychologists' identification with psychiatrists' efforts at self-validation and self-justification. (94 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Our university clinics need research--so does our specialty!]

University research has to serve as a substrate for science and technology and should raise a qualified, critical but motivated younger generation of scientists. These need a basic research which is independent and not oriented towards any short-term goals. An open and easy collaboration without any interdependence is necessary between the university and industry. All this requires greater autonomy for the universities. in German-speaking countries, many people distrust progress. However, it is not a matter of 'progress at any price' but of a careful, pertinent analysis of the benefits and risks. Parsimony in science and research is dangerous and shortsighted. To invest in research means to invest in the future.     

Validity of the family history method in relatives of gerontopsychiatric patients

It was the aim of the present study to evaluate the validity of the family history method in relatives of a sample of elderly subjects. A total of 201 relatives of patients and 89 relatives of control subjects were interviewed directly using the Composite International Diagnostic Interview and the Structured Interview for the Diagnosis of Dementia of the Alzheimer Type, Multi-infarct Dementia and Dementias of other Etiology. At least one relevant other could provide family history information on a respective subject. Family history information for psychiatric disorders including dementia (DSM-III-R) was neither accurate, nor sensitive (10 to 40%), but highly specific (> 95%). The sensitivity of the family history for dementia and depression increased in relation to the severity of the disorder. Relatives of patients were better informants than relatives of controls (at least for the presence of any psychiatric disorder). The use of several informants only slightly improved the sensitivity of the family history, without reducing the specificity to a significant extent. The combination of different sources of information may serve to reduce information biases. The evaluation of possible biases in future family studies is required to draw adequate conclusions from differences in familial loads.     

Proxy informant reliability and bias in epidemiological research: analysis of a screening questionnaire for mental disorders

OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the reliability, magnitude and direction of the resulting bias in the application of a screening instrument for mental disorders by considering proxy informants in comparison to primary informants. METHODS: Data are taken from a general morbidity community-based survey carried out in 520 randomly selected households of an industrial area of the Metropolitan Region of Salvador, the capital of Bahia state, Brazil. During the pilot phase, the first 70 families of the total sample were asked to participate in the evaluation of research instruments. The Questionnaire of Adult Psychiatric Morbidity, QAPM, consists of 44 questions about psychiatric symptoms widely used in Brazil. The husbands and wives of the selected families answered QAPM questions regarding themselves and their respective partners. One family refused to participate. The Kappa index was estimated for each QAPM question. To assess the magnitude and direction of bias, the proportional variation of prevalence was estimated from proxy and primary respondents. Each informant was analyzed as a primary informant when answering about his/her own symptoms and as a proxy informant when answering those about his/her partner. RESULTS: Proxy informants as compared to primary informants show weak reliability, as measured by the Kappa Index, particularly when husbands reported on their wives' symptoms. An overall underestimation of prevalence estimates was found, which reveals the potential negative bias with the use of proxy informants for psychological symptoms. No bias was found for only two questions (lack of appetite and globus hystericus) when women were taken as proxy informants for their husbands. In addition, departures of proxy informants from primary informant-based estimates were greater among men than to women. CONCLUSIONS: Proxy informants underestimate the occurrence of psychological symptoms in this community-based study. When the feasibility of a research project, based on the QAPM depends on the use of proxies, wives may be recommended as better informants than their husbands.     

Italian ideals

Many reports have been published in the UK about the reform movement in the Italian mental health system, but there has been a relative dearth of information on the practice of psychiatric nursing. Here the author reflects on differences and similarities with Italian colleagues and calls for greater dialogue between psychiatric nurses in the two countries.     

Nurses' conceptualizations of caring attitudes and behaviours

This paper outlines a study, which provided a pilot for part of a larger research project, to investigate nurses' conceptualizations of caring. The report gives an overview of previous work related to defining the concept of care before outlining the study undertaken. A sample of nine qualified nurses was used and Kelly's repertory grid technique employed to elicit constructs within the concepts of caring attitudes and caring behaviours. Grid data were analysed using cluster analysis and nine common themes were identified. These themes were largely supportive of previous research studies. It is proposed that in developing a theory of care, a synthesis should occur between nurses' conceptualizations of the concept and their professional practice.     

Interpersonal perception and metaperception in nonoverlapping social groups

Consensus, self-other agreement, and meta-accuracy were studied within and across nonoverlapping social groups. Thirty-one target persons were judged on the Big Five factors by 9 informants: 3 family members, 3 friends, and 3 coworkers. Although well acquainted within groups, informants were unacquainted between groups. A social relations analysis conducted within each social group showed reliable consensus on the Big Five personality factors. A model specified to estimate the consistency of a target person's effect on perceptions by others across social groups showed weaker agreement across groups. That is, targets were perceived consensually within groups, but these consensual perceptions differed between groups. The data suggest that personality and identity are context specific; however, there was some evidence of agreement in perceptions across groups.     

Cognitive deficits and psychiatric rehabilitation outcomes in schizophrenia

Many patients with schizophrenia are characterized by cognitive deficits that limit their ability to benefit from psychiatric rehabilitation interventions. While this suggests that cognitive rehabilitation is important, more needs to be known about which cognitive deficits interfere with which aspects of outcome and functioning before effective interventions are developed. We report data on cognitive predictors of three types of outcome: acquisition and performance of skills in a skills training group; aspects of daily ward functioning; and ability to be discharged from a state hospital. Our data indicate that poorer outcomes in each of these areas are associated with different, but somewhat overlapping, profiles of cognitive deficits. These data are relevant for designing both ward-based and individualized interventions. Integrating traditional psychiatric rehabilitation approaches with targeted cognitive interventions is necessary to maximize the impact of psychiatric rehabilitation services on individuals with chronic schizophrenia.     

Nonverbal communication deficits and response to performance feedback in depression.

Evaluated aspects of recent behavioral and cognitive theories of depression. Social-skill concepts were conceived as involving 2 component processes, termed receptive and expressive communication, and the ability of depressed Ss to engage in these behaviors was studied within a nonverbal communication paradigm. Three groups of 10 females—depressed, psychiatric control, and normal control—had their facial expressions videotaped while exposed to a differential classical conditioning procedure, with pictorial stimuli following 1 CS, auditory stimuli following a 2nd CS, and a neutral event following a 3rd CS. In a 2nd session, the Ss observed the videotapes of other Ss, one from each diagnostic group, and judged which type of conditioning trial the observed S was undergoing, in addition to predicting their anticipated performance prior to each set of judgments. Results indicate that the depressed Ss were the most difficult to judge correctly; this deficit did not seem to be attributable to idiosyncratic response predispositions on the part of the depressives. This finding is interpreted as consistent with P. M. Lewinsohn's (see PA, Vol 53:7587) theory. Predictions of performance did not differ significantly between groups, failing to support one aspect of A. T. Beck's (1967) theory. For all groups, changes in Ss' ratings of their anticipated performance were highly correlated with the discrepancy between predicted and actual performance on previous trials. This finding is contrary to a prediction derived from M. E. Seligman's (see record 1973-06430-001) model of depression. (25 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Motivation gains in performance groups: Paradigmatic and theoretical developments on the K?hler effect.

In contrast to many demonstrations of social loafing, relatively few studies have documented group motivation gains. One such exception was 0. K?hler's (1926, 1927) finding that team members working together did better at a taxing persistence task than would be expected from their individual performances, particularly when there was a moderate discrepancy in coworkers' capabilities. In Experiment 1, we developed a paradigm within which K?hler's overall motivation gain effect could be replicated, although the discrepancy in coworkers' capabilities did not moderate these motivation gains (after statistical artifacts were taken into account). Experiment 2 indicated that this motivation gain occurred under conjunctive but not under additive task demands, suggesting that the instrumentality of one's contribution to valued outcomes is a more likely explanation of the K?hler effect than social comparison processes. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Hospital psychiatry in transition. From the therapeutic community toward a rational eclecticism

Concepts derived from the paradigm of the therapeutic community have provided the main organizing principles for general inpatient psychiatry in the past 20 years. Increasingly, however, scientific studies have thrown doubt on the efficacy of current hospital practices. Changes in the broader social milieu have occurred as well since the therapeutic community was originally conceptualized, which raise questions about the "fit" between milieu therapy principles and current psychiatric needs. No current therapeutic paradigm is sufficient to encompass current inpatient psychiatric practice. There is a need for flexibility in utilizing various organizing principles for various aspects of the problems at hand. The paradigm of "problem-solving," derived from the research findings comparing group vs individual problem-solving, is an example of one way of examining and organizing data that could be applied to certain aspects of hospital care.     

Feedback-influenced heart rate discrimination.

Used a discrimination paradigm to evaluate detection of heart-rate levels. 7 nonpsychotic psychiatric patients and 3 hospital employees were instructed to press a button when they detected a change in heart rate level during a no-feedback, feedback, and 2nd no-feedback phase. Feedback was presented as points on a counter. Operant responding in the presence of both increased and decreased heart rate levels was monitored for each S. Results indicate that Ss did not reliably respond in the presence of the heart-rate levels prior to stimulus control feedback training. Accuracy of responding improved during feedback but decreased slightly at postfeedback. No differences were observed between operant responding to heart-rate increases or decreases. (17 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Attributional interpretations in counseling: Content versus discrepancy.

The content of attributional interpretations and their discrepancy from client attributions were manipulated to examine the respective importance of these 2 variables to the effectiveness of interpretation. 38 undergraduates with mild to moderate depression (as measured by the Beck Depression Inventory) and who exhibited either behavior or characterological styles on the Attributional Styles Questionnaire were given brief counseling that contained either behavioral or characterological interpretations. The matching of attributional styles with interpretation content constituted the discrepancy variable. Three male counselors administered all treatments. Results indicate that interpretation content was irrelevant to change in Ss' negative emotions, attributional styles, and problem-related attributions. Change on the stability dimension of Ss' attributional styles was partly a function of interpretation discrepancy. Ss' negative emotions improved in all conditions. Their attributional styles became less internal and less global in all conditions, but their problem-related attributions became more internal. (15 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Humanizing a psychiatric ward: Changing from drugs to psychotherapy.

Describes the transition and change of a psychiatric ward from primary reliance on drugs to an intensive psychological approach. There were both strong institutional supports and resistances reflecting the ambivalence attending efforts to develop more personal, humanized ways of relating to mental patients. An open ward community setting evolved in which staff became highly accessible and caring, patients shared major caring and treatment responsibilities, and certain special psychological treatment techniques were developed. Many previously "untreatable" patients were involved, and the improvement criteria were ambitious. Results suggest that such an approach is superior in long-term cost/benefit effectiveness to the prevalent "revolving door" programs that emphasize drugs and "dischargeability." (15 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Processing of information in iconic memory: Differences between nonretarded and retarded subjects.

Compared iconic memory processes of 17 undergraduates and 18 retarded Ss (primarily aged 18–28 yrs; IQ 56–77) in 4 experiments. In Exp I, a partial report paradigm was used in which 6 retarded and 6 undergraduate Ss were presented 6 pictures under 4 intervals (0–500 msec). In Exp II, using 5 Ss in each group the same procedure as in Exp I was used but letters as well as pictures were included. Results show that although overall performance for retarded Ss was poor, they did better with letters than with pictures—a reverse of the finding with undergraduate Ss. In Exp III, 2 retarded Ss were given extended practice and incentive to perform well. Asymptote was reached in 10 days but never equaled performance of unpracticed undergraduates. In Exp IV, using 5 Ss in each group, information load was varied from 1 to 4 items, and a masking stimulus was used to interrupt processing following 6 intervals that lasted up to 250 msec. Results show that (1) there are quantitative differences between intelligence groups in iconic capacity; (2) retarded Ss process information more slowly, a difference that increases with increasing information load; and (3) there are substantive structural differences in iconic memory of retarded and nonretarded Ss. (35 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Preparation of lower-class patients for expressive group psychotherapy.

Studied 48 lower-class psychiatric inpatients, all 1st admissions who were unsophisticated in regard to psychiatric treatment, during their 1st 2 wks of involvement in daily group psychotherapy. 25 were selected randomly for an individual clinically oriented anticipatory socialization interview, geared to fostering realistic expectations about the group therapy situation they were about to enter. The other 23 Ss were left naive. Marked quantitative and qualitative differences were found in the group therapy participation of prepared Ss, reflecting a more accelerated and adequate working alliance. Results are discussed in terms of clinical theory and research, particularly with regard to common difficulties encountered in psychotherapy with lower-class patients. (18 ref.) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The relationship between ethnoracial group and functional level in older persons

This paper reports on a participatory action research study which arose out of the initiatives of people caring for clients attending a multicultural dementia day-care program. Through a democratic decision making process, the day-care staff and family carers consulted with clients to design, implement and evaluate a new therapy program. The researchers acted as facilitators in this process, with a view to empowering participants at each stage in the action research cycles. What started out as a negative situation for the majority of study participants, evolved to become a satisfying group process and positive outcomes resulted from the therapy program itself. For clients there was the renewal of close personal relationships with family carers, increased alertness and a reduction in some of their distressing symptoms. For the family carers, there arose an awareness of new purposes in the caring role and therefore less distress in their daily lives, for day-care staff there emerged a re-conceptualisation of purpose of dementia care programs and the benefits to be gained from community collaboration in program design. The focus of this paper is to describe the action research process, which resulted in positive outcomes for the study participants.     

企业科技人员参与成本管理的探讨

分析科技人员与企业成本管理现状,提出重新对科技人才进行定位、培训和管理,建立科技与财务的人才体系,参与企业成本管理,提高企业竞争力。