Showing papers in "Journal of Community Psychology in 1997"
TL;DR: The authors investigated an on-line mutual-help group for persons suffering from depression and found that participants in the online group communicated in ways characteristic of face-to-face groups (e.g., high levels of support, acceptance, and positive feelings); however, they engaged in more emotional support and self-disclosure.
Abstract: ■This study investigated an on-line mutual-help group for persons suffering from depression. Postings from two randomly chosen weeks were content coded (N 5 1,863 postings; 533 participants; 273 males, 173 females) based on concepts salient to face-to-face mutual-help groups. Participants in the on-line group communicated in ways characteristic of face-to-face groups (e.g., high levels of support, acceptance, and positive feelings); however, they engaged in more emotional support and self-disclosure. Unexpectedly, the group was more highly used by men than by women. In addition, the content of men’s posts were virtually identical to those of women’s. On-line mutual help may provide a unique form of support for persons who are not as likely to use traditional forms of helping. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
205 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors examined associations among characteristics of relationships formed in two community-based mentoring programs and their linkages with ratings of perceived benefits for youth, and found that more extensive amounts of mentor-youth contact and feelings of closeness were associated with higher ratings of greater benefits for the youth.
Abstract: This research examined associations among characteristics of relationships formed in two community-based mentoring programs and their linkages with ratings of perceived benefits for youth. Volunteer mentors in a Big Brothers/Big Sisters program completed a questionnaire on a monthly basis for a period of six months, whereas undergraduate students serving as mentors through a service-learning course completed a questionnaire on one occasion only. Mentors' ratings of emotional closeness with youth were found to be associated with reports of fewer contacts with program staff and relationship obstacles in each program. Reports of more extensive amounts of mentor-youth contact and feelings of closeness were, in turn, each associated with ratings of greater benefits for youth. Findings also indicated a tendency for mentors in longer term relationships in the Big Brothers/Big Sisters program to perceive greater benefits for youth, but this was evident only after controlling for a countervailing tendency of mentors in these relationships to report spending less time with youth. Implications for the design and evaluation of youth mentoring programs are discussed. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
191 citations
TL;DR: For example, this paper found that higher levels of acculturation were associated with less feelings of affirmation and belonging, and less feeling of ethnic identity achievement, and that ethnic identity scores were highest in first generation, less acculturated subjects, and traditional acculturative types.
Abstract: The relations among ethnic identity, measured by the Multigroup Ethnic Identity Measure (MEIM) and acculturation, as measured by the Acculturation Rating Scale-II (ARSMA-11) were studied in 1,367 freshmen college students, 87% of whom were of Mexican origin. The results strongly support the concept that ethnic identity and acculturation are related but separate processes. Ethnic identity scores were found to be highest in first generation, less acculturated subjects, and traditional acculturative types. Higher levels of acculturation were associated with less feelings of affirmation and belonging, and less feelings of ethnic identity achievement. The Pearson correlation coefficient obtained for Ethnic Identity and Acculturation was r = -.32 (p < .001). Ethnic Identity Achievement (r = -.25), Affirmation and Belonging (r = -.35), and Ethnic Behaviors (r = -.14), were all negatively correlated with linear acculturation. High Biculturals were found to obtain higher scores in ethnic identity than Low Biculturals, and High Biculturals were found to be oriented more toward others than those who were classified as Traditional or Assimilated. The findings suggest that one's sense of ethnic group membership diminishes with behavioral acculturation among Mexican Americans. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
183 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors review the theoretical foundations of a program of prenatal and early childhood home visitation that has been tested and refined over the past two decades while it was examined in a series of three randomized trials and describe the role that theories of selfefficacy, human attachment, and human ecology have played in shaping the content and clinical methods of the program.
Abstract: This article reviews the theoretical foundations of a program of prenatal and early childhood home visitation that has been tested and refined over the past two decades while it was examined in a series of three randomized trials. It describes the role that theories of self-efficacy, human attachment, and human ecology have played in shaping the content and clinical methods of the program. The program was designed to improve: (1) the outcomes of pregnancy; (2) qualities of parental caregiving (and associated child health and developmental outcomes); and (3) maternal life-course development (helping women return to school, find work, and plan future pregnancies). Each of the theoretical perspectives provides insights into different aspects of parents' and children's lives that the visitors attempted to support in their efforts to prevent a set of interrelated health and developmental problems that compromise mothers' prenatal health, their own life-course development, and the health and development of their children. While adhering to a common core, the program content and methods evolved over each of three trials and were reflected in program protocols that increasingly were connected in more explicit ways to their theoretical foundations. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
180 citations
TL;DR: The authors found that the depiction of persons with mental disorders was highly correlated with the portrayal of violent crime, and that the mentally ill were nearly 10 times more violent than the general population of television characters.
Abstract: In this content analysis of television, the portrayal of persons with mental disorders was highly correlated with the portrayal of violent crime. The mentally ill were found to be nearly 10 times more violent than the general population of television characters, and 10 to 20 times more violent (during a two week sample) than the mentally ill in the U.S. population (over the course of an entire year). The mentally ill on television were also judged to have a negative impact on society and a negative quality of life. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
141 citations
TL;DR: Nationally, such contrasts indicate an extensive pattern of differential usage with Asian Americans/Pacific Islanders being three times less likely than their Euro American counterparts to use available mental health services.
Abstract: In an effort to ascertain an overall national pattern for the utilization of mental health services by Asian Americans/Pacific Islanders (AA/PI), we statistically analyzed 1986 survey data provided by the National Institute of Mental Health. Analyses focused on overall national utilization rates, along with rates for states with major (100,000 or more), moderate (50,000 to 99,999), and small (less than 50,000) Asian American/Pacific Islander populations. All AA/PI utilization rates were contrasted with those for Euro Americans. Nationally, such contrasts indicate an extensive pattern of differential usage (p's < .0001) with Asian Americans/Pacific Islanders being three times less likely than their Euro American counterparts to use available mental health services. Moreover, with one exception (Colorado), the states show patterns of extensive differential usage reflective of the national trend. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
136 citations
TL;DR: The PDFY intervention was found to be effective in promoting proactive communication from parent to child and in improving the quality of parent-child relationships, and reduced mothers' negative interactions with their children in the study.
Abstract: Children are especially vulnerable to the initiation of substance use and other problem behaviors as they move from childhood into early adolescence. This is true for children living in urban and rural areas alike. A number of family-related factors have been identified that contribute to the risk for or protection against such problems. This article reports the results of an experimental test of the effects of Preparing for the Drug Free Years (PDFY) on targeted parental behaviors. PDFY is a parenting curriculum based theoretically on the social development model; it seeks to reduce risks and enhance protection against early substance use initiation by improving patterns of parental behavior and family interaction predictive of childhood substance use. The study examined parental behavior targeted by specific intervention sessions, based on systematic observations of videotaped family interactions. The sample consisted of economically stressed, rural Midwestern families. Consistent with hypotheses, the PDFY intervention was found to be effective in promoting proactive communication from parent to child and in improving the quality of parent-child relationships. PDFY also reduced mothers' negative interactions with their children in the study. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
124 citations
TL;DR: Qualitative analyses were employed to explore common challenges identified by home visitors in delivering a program of prenatal and early childhood home visitation while it was studied in a large randomized trial conducted in Memphis, Tennessee with a primarily African American sample.
Abstract: While randomized trials that test the effectiveness of different types of home-visitation have increased our understanding of the structural features of programs that promote positive outcomes, we know much less about program processes necessary to achieve success. In spite of increasing emphasis on the importance of adapting programs to suit the needs and characteristics of populations served (Yutrzenka, 1995), little evidence exists about how such adaptations affect the success of program delivery. The purpose of the current work was to examine common challenges faced by home visitors in delivering a program of prenatal and early childhood home visitation while it was studied in a large (N = 1139) randomized trial conducted in Memphis, Tennessee with a primarily African American sample (Olds, 1987). We employed qualitative analyses to explore common challenges identified by the nurses in their implementation of the program. Many of these challenges grew out of the nurses' efforts to address the unique needs of the families that they served, while simultaneously addressing the broad interrelated goals and objectives of the program. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
104 citations
TL;DR: The neighborhood characteristics questionnaire (Simcha-Fagan and Schwartz, 1986) was modified to be relevant to families with young children living in urban areas, to be sufficiently brief to be included in needs assessment evaluations, and to be useful with families from a range of ethnic backgrounds as mentioned in this paper.
Abstract: The neighborhood characteristics questionnaire (Simcha-Fagan and Schwartz, 1986) was modified to be relevant to families with young children living in urban areas, to be sufficiently brief to be included in needs assessment evaluations, and to be useful with families from a range of ethnic backgrounds. The modified form has four scales created conceptually and confirmed by factor analysis. They describe residents' perceptions of street crime and life quality, social relationships and networks among neighbors, attachment to the neighborhood, and neighborhood disorder. Reliability was established by internal consistency and validity by relationships with other psychosocial factors, and comparison with observations of the neighborhood. Internal consistency of all four scales of the neighborhood characteristics questionnaire was high. Agreement between observers and interview respondents was clearest for scales representing social disorganization. The use of the questionnaire in the evaluation of community intervention programs is discussed. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
95 citations
TL;DR: The authors examined the influence of Africentric values, spirituality, and demographic variables on drug knowledge, attitudes, and use among African American youth in Washington, DC and Baltimore, Maryland, and found that Collective Work/Responsibility and spirituality were significant predictors of perceived drug harmfulness.
Abstract: Alcohol, tobacco, and other drug use are major problems in the inner cities, especially for African American youth. Africentric values may be a protective factor for negative drug outcomes. The purpose of this study was to examine the influence of Africentric values, spirituality, and demographic variables on drug knowledge, attitudes, and use. Participants were 189 4th- and 5th-graders attending public schools in Washington, DC, and Baltimore, Maryland. Measures of Africentric values (i.e., Collective Work/Responsibility, Cooperative Economics, and Self-Determination), spirituality, age, and whether or not the child resided in a two- or one-parent household were obtained. The results of regression analyses indicated that Collective Work/Responsibility and Cooperative Economics were significant predictors of attitudes toward drugs. Collective Work/Responsibility and spirituality were significant predictors of perceived drug harmfulness. Age and spirituality were significant predictors of drug usage. Age was the only significant predictor of drug knowledge. The Collective Work/Responsibility subscale was the strongest predictor of drug outcomes. The implications for using Africentric prevention approaches for decreasing risk factors and increasing protective factors for drug use among African American youth are discussed. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
94 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors examined the contribution of sense of coherence and resistance deficits and resources to the psychological adjustment of five Southeast Asian refugee groups (713 Vietnamese, 492 Cambodians, 551 Laotians, 231 Hmong, 245 Chinese-Vietnamese).
Abstract: This study examines the contribution of sense of coherence and resistance deficits and resources to the psychological adjustment of five Southeast Asian refugee groups (713 Vietnamese, 492 Cambodians, 551 Laotians, 231 Hmong, 245 Chinese-Vietnamese). It is hypothesized that sense of coherence (i.e., the experience of life as comprehensible, manageable, and meaningful) (Antonovsky, 1979, 1987) directly predicts psychological adjustment as measured by happiness and demoralization. Also, resistance deficits (being male, the experience of trauma, and cultural traditionalism) and resistance resources (a younger age at arrival and longer residence in the United States, higher education, employment, greater English competence, and living in an area with a greater co-ethnic density) are postulated to both directly and indirectly (through their effect on sense of coherence) predict happiness and demoralization. These hypotheses are generally supported by the results of this study, with sense of coherence emerging as a most powerful predictor of psychological adjustment for refugees. Implications of the findings are discussed. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Inc., Inc.
TL;DR: The intervention was designed to impact two important risk factors for initiation, namely behavior problems and poor family functioning, and was effective in significantly modifying both high-risk factors.
Abstract: Brief Strategic/Structural Family Therapy was implemented as an indicated prevention intervention to reduce the likelihood that African American and Hispanic youth initiated drug use. The intervention was designed to impact two important risk factors for initiation, namely behavior problems and poor family functioning. One hundred twenty-two youth, 12–14 years of age and exhibiting behavior problems, were assigned within a basic one-group pretest/posttest/follow-up design.
The first important finding was that the prevention intervention was effective in significantly modifying both high-risk factors, reducing behavior problems [F(2, 120) × 32.92; p < .000] and improving family functioning [F(1, 121) × 41.8; p < .000]. A second important finding was that both high-risk variables targeted were statistically significant predictors of initiation nine months later. A third important finding was that for a small subset of youth who entered the program already using, overall use was significantly decreased [t(22) × 2.11, p < .05]. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors highlight theoretical and practical issues concerning the ways in which emotional development and regulation processes of the mother-infant dyad are influenced by home visitation and describe how methods to promote emotionally available caregiving have been incorporated into a program of prenatal and early childhood home visitation in Denver, Colorado.
Abstract: This paper highlights theoretical and practical issues concerning the ways in which emotional development and regulation processes of the mother-infant dyad are influenced by home visitation. The role of emotion regulation and emotional availability, important mediators of program influence on a variety of child and family outcomes are discussed. Emotion regulating capacities of the infant are reviewed in light of both early intervention and later development. Caregiving is discussed in the context of the child's emotion regulation needs. We describe how methods to promote emotionally available caregiving have been incorporated into a program of prenatal and early childhood home visitation in Denver, Colorado. This includes the provision of structured interactive guidance and the development of a helping relationship between mother and home visitor. Finally, the operationalization of emotion regulation and emotional availability for the evaluation of the effectiveness of the program model are discussed. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
TL;DR: The adaptation for paraprofessional visitors of a home visitation model originally developed for nurses is described, with several hypothesized benefits, including power as role models and increased empathy with clients.
Abstract: The adaptation for paraprofessional visitors of a home visitation model originally developed for nurses is described. There are several hypothesized benefits of using paraprofessional home visitors, including power as role models and increased empathy with clients. Challenges inherent in employing paraprofessionals include limited formal education and resulting lack of credibility among professional care providers, difficulties in acculturation to the workplace, and learning how to effectively focus their commitment to and identification with the community. These challenges result in the need for unique training and sensitive and consistent supervision. Implementation data from the randomized trial of home visitation in Denver indicate that paraprofessional visitors conducted the program according to the prescribed visitation schedule and covered the material appropriately. Differences that emerged between nurse and paraprofessional visitors regarding content covered are discussed and suggestions are made for future programmatic considerations. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
TL;DR: Although intervention effects were not related to participation level or illness-related and sociodemographic factors, a significant interaction with stressful life events (SLE) was found and correlations of SLE and posttest depression, anxiety, and total symptoms significantly lower in the EG than CG.
Abstract: We compared depression, anxiety, anger, cognitive disturbance, and total scores on the Psychiatric Symptom Index (Ilfeld, 1976) for 365 mothers of 5-to-8 year-olds with diverse health conditions who were randomized either to an experimental (EG) or control (CG) group. EG mothers were offered a 12-month community-based support intervention; CG mothers received standard care. Posttest scores of EG and CG mothers did not differ significantly. Although intervention effects were not related to participation level or illness-related and sociodemographic factors, a significant interaction with stressful life events (SLE) was found. Among mothers reporting more than five SLE in the past year, posttest anxiety was lower in the EG than in the CG, but no difference was found between EG and CG mothers having less than five SLE. The intervention also acted as a moderator variable, with correlations of SLE and posttest depression, anxiety, and total symptoms significantly lower in the EG than CG. Possible explanations for these findings are discussed. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
TL;DR: In this article, the authors conducted a study to determine the nature and existence of adult male sexual assault in the United States through victim reports to agencies servicing the needs of sexual assault victims.
Abstract: Sexual assault of men in the community, a hidden and unacknowledged crime, has recently become the subject of medical and psychological literature. The present research, conducted in 1992, was designed to determine the nature and existence of this crime in the United States through victim reports to agencies servicing the needs of sexual assault victims. Out of the 336 surveys returned, one hundred and seventy two agencies reported contact with 3,635 men who had sought treatment for sexual assault occurring in their adulthood. Most assaults occurred between the ages of 16 and 30 in which the vast majority of these men experienced symptoms of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder. The presentation of these figures should alert health professionals to the existence of adult male rape and inspire further research to assess this hidden form of sexual victimization. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
TL;DR: In this paper, the ATHI has a valid, four-factor structure when completed by college students and is related in predicted ways with personality and other attitudinal variables such as personality traits.
Abstract: This article includes four studies, which collectively provide preliminary validation for the 11-item Attitudes Toward Homelessness Inventory (ATHI). Study 1 established that the ATHI has a valid, four-factor structure when completed by college students. Study 2 replicated this factor structure in another sample of college students and also provided construct validity for the ATHI by showing that it was related in predicted ways with personality and other attitudinal variables. Study 3 replicated this factor structure and also revealed significant differences on the ATHI based on whether respondents had been previously homeless themselves. Finally, Study 4 provided predictive validity by showing that the ATHI could be used to gauge attitudinal change. Limitations, implications and suggestions for future applications of the ATHI were discussed. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors examined the processes and outcomes of supportive housing for psychiatric consumers/survivors and found that residents in all three types of housing increased their involvement in instrumental roles (e.g., work, education) over time.
Abstract: In this research, we examined the processes and outcomes of supportive housing for psychiatric consumer/survivors. To determine the relative effectiveness of supportive apartments (SA) and group homes (GH) operated by non-profit mental health agencies, we used a longitudinal design with a non-equivalent comparison group of people residing in private, for-profit board-and-care homes (BCH). A total of 107 psychiatric consumer/survivors completed an initial interview and a follow-up interview one year later. Both quantitative and qualitative data were collected in the interviews. In terms of housing and social support processes, the residents of SA and GH were more likely to have their own room, to spend less of their income on rent, and to have more control in decision-making in the residences than people living in BCH. Residents of group facilities (GH and BCH) had more staff support, more emotional and problem-solving support, and less emotional abuse than residents of SA. The outcome analyses showed that residents in all three types of housing increased their involvement in instrumental roles (e.g., work, education) over time, and residents of SA and GH reported more changes in terms of personal growth and increased community involvement and showed increases in independent functioning, as rated by staff, than residents of BCH. However, none of the groups showed improvement over time on measures of perceived control, resident-rated independent functioning, meaningful activity, positive and negative affect, and life satisfaction. The results are discussed in terms of previous literature and implications for future research. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
TL;DR: Project C.A.R.E as discussed by the authors, a substance abuse prevention program for at-risk fourth graders and their families, was designed to decrease substance use, negative behaviors, intent to use substances, school suspensions, and absences; and increase alternative activities, family communication, academic grades, and consistency of family behavior control and rules.
Abstract: This article describes and evaluates Project C.A.R.E., a substance abuse prevention program for three cohorts of at-risk fourth graders and their families. Project C.A.R.E. worked intensively with students and their families to increase resiliency factors and decrease risk factors through school, family, and extracurricular activities. The research design was experimental. Project objectives were to decrease substance use, negative behaviors, intent to use substances, school suspensions, and absences; and to increase alternative activities, family communication, academic grades, and consistency of family behavior control and rules.
A few positive program effects were found. At posttest, more control students' grades needed improvement, and more program students participated in community activities. Several variables showed differential change over time which favored the program group. Compared to control students, program students increased participation in alternative activities from pretest to posttest and did not increase their school suspensions as much. At the one year follow-up, control students were more willing to use substances than were program students. The program appeared to have the most impact with the third cohort of students and with Black students. Program students with low participation generally had the worst outcomes, often worse than the control students. It was suggested that more research should be done examining differential effectiveness, especially racial and program participation differences, as they could have a profound impact on program development and implementation. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
TL;DR: The Southwest Texas High-Risk Youth Program (SWTHRY) as discussed by the authors addressed the neglect of family as a prevention focus by providing in-home sessions for high-risk families that sought to strengthen family cohesion and adaptability, and thereby promote adolescent resiliency.
Abstract: The emergence of social ecology as an orienting perspective in prevention has reinforced attention to the family as a critical influence on adolescent risk and protection. The Southwest Texas High-Risk Youth Program (SWTHRY) addressed the neglect of family as a prevention focus by providing in-home sessions for high-risk families that sought to strengthen family cohesion and adaptability, and thereby promote adolescent resiliency. Based on pre- and post-program administration of carefully constructed measures, the evaluation demonstrates increased family cohesion and strengthened adolescent family bonding among participants. However, participants reported less increase in family adaptability, and adolescent family members showed no statistically significant gain over pre-program scores in dimensions of resiliency other than family bonding, nor in family interaction, family supervision, or ATOD attitudes. Family bonding, the area in which there was significant change in adolescents, was not highly correlated with ATOD use. The study supports the need for comprehensive programming to strengthen adolescent resiliency, and provides further evidence that prevention interventions targeted on affective purposes (e.g., self-esteem, family cohesion) will have limited effects. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors present six groups of strategies for recruiting and retaining parents of high-risk youth in a parent involvement program called the Family Advocacy Network (FAN Club).
Abstract: Involving parents of high-risk youth in community-based intervention programs is extremely challenging. This article presents six groups of strategies for recruiting and retaining parents of high-risk youth in a parent involvement program called the Family Advocacy Network (FAN Club). The FAN Club program accompanied a drug prevention program for the parents' early adolescent children who were members of Boys & Girls Clubs. Strategies presented are based on a longitudinal study that found positive program effects for youth in Boys & Girls Clubs that offered the FAN Club with the three-year youth drug prevention program and monthly youth activities. Strategies are: (1) identify the right person to lead the program; (2) clearly convey the purpose of the program; (3) build relationships of mutual trust, respect, and equality; (4) create parent ownership and group bonding; (5) provide easy access, incentives, and reminders; and (6) be flexible but persistent. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
TL;DR: In this article, a sample of 342 New Zealand adolescents and adults completed a questionnaire constructed by Bell, LeRoy, and Stephenson (1982) to measure depression, social support, stressful life events, and demographic factors, but social support did not significantly affect depression nor interact with life events to ameliorate the effects of life events on depression.
Abstract: Little empirical research has been done in New Zealand into factors associated with depression. In all reviewed studies of depression conducted in the United States, towns have not been examined separately from rural districts and cities. A sample of 342 New Zealand adolescents and adults completed a questionnaire constructed by Bell, LeRoy, and Stephenson (1982) to measure depression, social support, stressful life events, and demographic factors. A three-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) demonstrated significant interaction effects of ethnicity and recent life events on depression, but social support did not significantly affect depression nor interact with life events to ameliorate the effects of life events on depression. Maori experiencing few life events had higher depression than Europeans with few events. A five-way ANOVA with the effects of area, sex, ethnicity, age, and socioeconomic staus (SES) on depression showed significant main effects for sex, age, and SES. Area interacted significantly with ethnicity and age. Compared to similar groups in the rural district and the city, Maori and young people in town had significantly higher mean depression scores. Maori reported significantly more depressive symptoms and stressful life events than Europeans in the town but not in the rural or urban environments. Young adults had the highest mean depression score, and the oldest group the lowest, both in the rural area. Results are discussed with reference to the rural, town, and urban environments in New Zealand, and to possible reasons for the weakness of the effect of social support on depression. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
TL;DR: In this article, the authors describe a program of prenatal and early childhood home visitation that has been shown to be effective in improving the health of women and children in a series of randomized trials.
Abstract: This article describes a program of prenatal and early childhood home visitation that has been shown to be effective in improving the health of women and children in a series of randomized trials. The article summarizes the key elements of the program design and then presents a single case history to illustrate how the program elements are integrated in its clinical application. Particular attention is given to the interrelationships between the theoretical foundations of the program, its goals, program processes, and nurse/client activities. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
TL;DR: Results indicate significantly higher rates of 30-day and 12-month Axis I disorders in this sample than reported in the most recent epidemiologic studies, but consistent with rates observed in seronegative subjects in other HIV/AIDS studies.
Abstract: Recent epidemiologic surveys of the prevalence of and primary risk factors for psychiatric morbidity suggest that socioeconomic status, age, ethnicity, and gender represent significant risk factors for both primary psychiatric and substance use disorders. Further, evidence of concurrent disorders continues to mount, particularly among inpatients. The present study is designed to address the association between heavy substance use and major mental disorders in a large sample of non-HIV-infected community-resident African American men. Three hundred eleven seronegative participants in a study of neurobehavioral sequelae of substance use and HIV in African American men in the metropolitan Los Angeles area were used to investigate the relative contribution of substance use and other cofactors in predicting psychiatric morbidity. Results indicate significantly higher rates of 30-day and 12-month Axis I disorders in this sample than reported in the most recent epidemiologic studies, but consistent with rates observed in seronegative subjects in other HIV/AIDS studies. Further, positive associations between select indices of heavy substance use and both 30-day and 12-month psychopathology were found. Finally, heavy cocaine use was the primary predictor of mood disorder, whereas gay/bisexual orientation and prior history of psychopathology were the primary predictors of anxiety disorder and of any recent Axis I disorder. These findings are discussed in light of the primary goals of this community-based study. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
TL;DR: Perceptions of social climate within this psychiatric hospital are different for acute and extended care treatment settings, and that staff and clients perceive these settings differently, highlighting the need to consider ward type in social climate studies.
Abstract: Most of the research on social climate in psychiatric hospitals has addressed differences in client/staff perceptions, while neglecting the differences in social climate across types of wards. However, the literature on setting heterogeneity has also suggested that it might be important to examine differences between types of wards within a psychiatric institution since different setting subclassifications have been identified in other settings (Luke, Rappaport, & Seidman, 1991). This research is important to evaluate the treatment milieu and identify aspects of the ward treatment that may require changes in order to function more effectively. Using the Ward Atmosphere Scale (WAS) (Moos, 1989) we surveyed both clients (n = 130) and staff (n = 113) on three types of wards, specialized, extended care, and acute care, within a large urban state psychiatric hospital. Although, clients perceived differences between extended care and acute units, staff did not. Staff, however, reported differences between specialized and extended care wards on all subscales except Anger and Aggression. These findings suggest that perceptions of social climate within this psychiatric hospital are different for acute and extended care treatment settings, and that staff and clients perceive these settings differently. Although prior studies have documented that staff and clients differ on their perceptions of the ward social climate, the present results highlight the need to consider ward type in social climate studies. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
TL;DR: This article describes the recent evolution of a component of the theoretical foundations of a program of prenatal and early childhood home visitation tested in three randomized trials during the past two decades, first in Elmira, New York, then in Memphis, Tennessee, and most recently in Denver, Colorado.
Abstract: This article describes the recent evolution of a component of the theoretical foundations of a program of prenatal and early childhood home visitation tested in three randomized trials during the past two decades, first in Elmira, New York, then in Memphis, Tennessee, and most recently in Denver, Colorado. We discuss the use of a solution-focused approach by the nurse home visitors in further operationalizing that component of the program model which promotes client self-efficacy. We delineate the advantages of the solution-focused approach over a problem-solving approach in dealing with family concerns as well as the promotion of positive health behaviors. Basic assumptions of the solution-focused approach, techniques to facilitate solution-focused interactions, and illustrative applications of solution-focused interactions with pregnant women and parents of young children are presented. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.