Mental health

About: Mental health is a research topic. Over the lifetime, 183794 publications have been published within this topic receiving 4340463 citations. The topic is also known as: mental wellbeing.

Psychiatric implications of displacement: Contributions from the psychology of place.

Abstract: Objective : The purpose of this article is to describe the psychological processes that are affected by geographic displacement. Method : The literature from the fields of geography, psychology, anthropology, and psychiatry was reviewed to develop a psychology of place and to determine the manner in which place-related psychological processes are affected by upheaval in the environment. Results : The psychology of place is an emerging area of research that explores the connection between individuals and their intimate environments. The psychology of place posits that individuals require a good enough environment in which to live. They are linked to that environment through three key psychological processes : attachment, familiarity, and identity. Place attachment, which parallels, but is distinct from, attachment to person, is a mutual caretaking bond between a person and a beloved place. Familiarity refers to the processes by which people develop detailed cognitive knowledge of their environs. Place identity is concerned with the extraction of a sense of self based on the places in which one passes one's life. Each of these psychological processes-attachment, familiarity, and place identity-is threatened by displacement, and the problems of nostalgia, disorientation, and alienation may ensue. Conclusions : As a result of war, decolonization, epidemics, natural disasters, and other disruptive events, millions of people are currently displaced from their homes. Protecting and restoring their mental health pose urgent problems for the mental health community.

Evaluation of Suspected Child Physical Abuse

Abstract: Child physical abuse is an important cause of pediatric morbidity and mortality and is associated with major physical and mental health problems that can extend into adulthood. Pediatricians are in a unique position to identify and prevent child abuse, and this clinical report provides guidance to the practitioner regarding indicators and evaluation of suspected physical abuse of children. The role of the physician may include identifying abused children with suspicious injuries who present for care, reporting suspected abuse to the child protection agency for investigation, supporting families who are affected by child abuse, coordinating with other professionals and community agencies to provide immediate and long-term treatment to victimized children, providing court testimony when necessary, providing preventive care and anticipatory guidance in the office, and advocating for policies and programs that support families and protect vulnerable children.

Review of Integrated Mental Health and Substance Abuse Treatment for Patients With Dual Disorders

Abstract: Patients with severe mental disorders such as schizophrenia and co-occurring substance use disorders traditionally received treatments for their two disorders from two different sets of clinicians in parallel treatment systems. Dissatisfaction with this clinical tradition led to the development of integrated treatment models in which the same clinicians or teams of clinicians provide substance abuse treatment and mental health treatment in a coordinated fashion. We reviewed 36 research studies on the effectiveness of integrated treatment for dually diagnosed patients. Studies of adding dual-disorders groups to traditional services, studies of intensive integrated treatments in controlled settings, and studies of demonstration projects have thus far yielded disappointing results. On the other hand, 10 recent studies of comprehensive, integrated outpatient treatment programs provide encouraging evidence of the programs' potential to engage dually diagnosed patients in services and to help them reduce substance abuse and attain remission. Outcomes related to hospital use, psychiatric symptoms, and other domains are less consistent. Several program features appear to be associated with effectiveness: assertive outreach, case management, and a longitudinal, stage-wise, motivational approach to substance abuse treatment. Given the magnitude and severity of the problem of dual disorders, more controlled research on integrated treatment is needed.

Of Fear and Loathing: The Role of 'Disturbing Behavior,' Labels, and Causal Attributions in Shaping Public Attitudes toward People with Mental Illness

Abstract: Our paper couples previous research on attitudes toward people with mental illness and more general sociological research on attitudes toward "out-groups " to examine the role offive factors that influence the public s willingness to interact with people with mental health problems, including. the nature of the behavior described, causal attributions of the behavior s source, perceived dangerousness of the person, the label of "mental illness," and the sociodemographic characteristics of respondents. Using vignette data from the 1996 General Social Survey (N = 1,444), we find that respondents discriminate among different types of mental health problems by expressing more desire to avoid those with drug and alcohol problems than with those with mental illness. Consistent with research on racial attitudes, we also find that Americans who attribute mental health problems to structural causes (e.g., stress or genetic/biological causes) are more willing to interact with the vignette person than those who see individual causes (e.g., "bad character" or the "way the person was raised") as the root of the problem. However, even controlling for these factors, respondents who label the vignette a "mental illness " also express a preference for greater social distance. Finally, while the sociodemographic characteristics of the respondent appear to play a minimal role in preferencesfor social distance, the degree of dangerousness that the public ascribes to people with mental health problems is important and appears to mediate the influence of effects of labeling a person as mentally ill.

Posttraumatic stress disorder in the World Mental Health Surveys.

Abstract: Background Traumatic events are common globally; however, comprehensive population-based cross-national data on the epidemiology of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), the paradigmatic trauma-related mental disorder, are lacking. Methods Data were analyzed from 26 population surveys in the World Health Organization World Mental Health Surveys. A total of 71 083 respondents ages 18+ participated. The Composite International Diagnostic Interview assessed exposure to traumatic events as well as 30-day, 12-month, and lifetime PTSD. Respondents were also assessed for treatment in the 12 months preceding the survey. Age of onset distributions were examined by country income level. Associations of PTSD were examined with country income, world region, and respondent demographics. Results The cross-national lifetime prevalence of PTSD was 3.9% in the total sample and 5.6% among the trauma exposed. Half of respondents with PTSD reported persistent symptoms. Treatment seeking in high-income countries (53.5%) was roughly double that in low-lower middle income (22.8%) and upper-middle income (28.7%) countries. Social disadvantage, including younger age, female sex, being unmarried, being less educated, having lower household income, and being unemployed, was associated with increased risk of lifetime PTSD among the trauma exposed. Conclusions PTSD is prevalent cross-nationally, with half of all global cases being persistent. Only half of those with severe PTSD report receiving any treatment and only a minority receive specialty mental health care. Striking disparities in PTSD treatment exist by country income level. Increasing access to effective treatment, especially in low- and middle-income countries, remains critical for reducing the population burden of PTSD.