Clinical Practice and Epidemiology in Mental Health最新文献

Background: Parenting children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is widely identified to be associated with life-long impairment in parents' quality of life (QoL). However, there has been little information on the QoL of parents of children with ASD in the Jordanian context.

Objective: This study aimed to assess the QoL among mothers and fathers who have children with ASD in Jordan and to identify factors associated with it.

Methods: In this cross-sectional study, respondents were mothers and fathers of children with ASD attending autism rehabilitation centers in Amman. Data were collected from 206 participants using a validated questionnaire. Descriptive statistics, T-test, ANOVA and logistic regression, were applied.

Results: Overall quality of life was low (mean= 2.32). The physical dimension scored the highest (mean =2.79), and the environmental dimension scored the lowest (mean= 2.06). Results indicated that fathers and parents with low education reported significantly lower QoL scores (p = .024 and 0.001, respectively).

Conclusion: Among parents of children with ASD, parents at risk for low QoL were recognized. Our results can be utilized to design interventions to support mothers and fathers at risk in Jordan to enhance their QoL.

Objective: The objective is to verify whether a genetic condition associated with bipolar disorder (BD) is frequent in old adults adapted to their environment, without BD, but with aptitudes for hyperactivity and novelty seeking (H/NS).

Methods: In this cross-sectional study, the study sample included healthy elderly people (40 participants, aged 60 or older) living in an urban area and recruited from a previous study on physical exercise and active aging, who were compared with 21 old adults with BD from the same area. The genetic methodology consisted of blood sampling, DNA extraction, real-time PCR jointly with FRET probes, and the SANGER sequencing method. The genetic variant RS1006737 of CACNA1C, found to be associated with bipolar disorder diagnosis, was investigated.

Results: The frequency of the RS1006737 genetic variant in the study group (H/NS) is not higher than in the BD group and is statistically significantly higher than in all the control groups found in the literature. However, the familiarity for BD is higher in old adults with BD than in the H/NS sample without BD. The risk of BD in the family (also considering those without BD but with family members with BD) is not associated with the presence of the genetic variant examined.

Conclusion: The study suggests that the gene examined is associated with characteristics of hyperactivity rather than just BD. Nevertheless, choosing to participate in an exercise program is an excessively general way to identify H/NS. The next step would be to identify the old adults with well-defined H/NS features with an adequate tool.

Background/objective: There is little research on the effectiveness of new approaches to psychology, including mindfulness-acceptance-commitment, especially in team disciplines. Therefore, this study compared mindfulness-acceptance and commitment-based approaches to rumination, cognitive flexibility, and sports performance of elite beach soccer players during a two-month follow-up.

Methods: The research design consisted of a randomized controlled trial (RCT), with follow-up. Thus, 34 players of the premier league of beach soccer were randomly divided into intervention and control groups based on mindfulness acceptance and commitment. The experimental group exercises consisted of one session per week for 7 weeks and daily homework. Participants filled out the questionnaires of the Ruminative Response Scale, Cognitive Flexibility Inventory, and Sports Performance Questionnaire before, after, and at two months of follow-up of the intervention.

Results: Multivariate Analysis of Variance (MANOVA) and Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) with repeated measures were used to evaluate the changes over time and compare the scores of the subjects of the two groups. The results showed a significant difference in mindfulness-acceptance and commitment intervention in the experimental group on pre- vs. post-test and pre-test vs. follow-up scores of research variables. Also, a comparison of groups using independent T-test analysis showed a significant effect of mindfulness-acceptance and commitment exercises on research variables in the experimental group in the post-test and follow-up stages.

Conclusion: Findings suggest that mindfulness, commitment, and acceptance exercises can be used as a new method to reduce rumination and increase cognitive flexibility and sports performance of elite beach soccer players.

Objective: This paper illustrates the preliminary psychometric properties of the Questionnaire for Adaptive Hyperactivity and Goal Achievement (AHGA), aimed at measuring adaptive characteristics of hyperactivity and goal pursuit in older adults.

Methods: The 12-item scale was administered to a sample of 120 subjects (older adults) between February 2022 and June 2022. The reliability of AHGA was measured using Cronbach's alpha, and factor structure was established using parallel analysis (PA) and principal component analysis (PCA). Convergent validity was tested against the Biological Rhythms Interview of Assessment in Neuropsychiatry (BRIAN).

Results: All included subjects have an average age of 74.1±5.1 years. AHGA reliability was good (Cronbach's alpha: 0.713 [95%CI: 0.630 to 0.783]). Factor analysis suggested two main components: goal achievement and hyperactivity, which explained 41% of the variance in the data. The results support the convergent validity of the scale: AHGA measures adaptive characteristics of hyperactivity and goal pursuit, in contrast to BRIAN, which measures pathological characteristics.

Conclusion: The reported findings represent an innovative approach to hyperthymic features by embracing a broader spectrum concept that conceptualizes the potential transition between pathological and adaptive aspects as a continuum.

Objective: This research aimed to develop and investigate the effects of a life skills enhancement program on the life skills and risk behaviors of social media addiction in early adolescence.

Methods: This research used a quasi-experimental design for a controlled study with a pre-test and post-test that collected data through a general information questionnaire, Social Media Addiction Screening Scale: S-MASS, and a life skills test. There were 48 samples recruited by purposive sampling from 5 schools in Chiang Mai, Thailand. The life skills enhancement program was developed under the theory of cognitive and behavioral therapy in combination with group therapy or occupational therapy. The program had a total of 10 sessions, with 1 session per week for 60 minutes and 10 weeks in total.

Results: For the results, a statistically significant difference in post-test SMASS scores between the control and experimental group was found (p<0.01). Moreover, a statistically significant difference in the experimental group between pre-test and post-test using S-MASS scores decreased significantly after participating in the program but not in the control group. This result is similar to the comparative data of life skills scores that revealed there was a statistically significant difference between the pre-test and post-test only in the experimental group. For the comparative data between the control and experimental group, however, there were no statistically significant differences in pre-test and post-test life skills scores between the two groups.

Conclusion: From the results, it can be summarized that the life skills enhancement program had affected an increase in life skills and a decrease in risky social media usage among adolescents.

Aims: This study aimed to evaluate the impacts of a pilot project concerning the closure of a Forensic Psychiatric Hospital (FPH) inspired by Human Development Theory and the Capability Approach.

Background: The dismantlement of the FPH of Barcellona Pozzo di Gotto (Sicily Region in Italy) began in 2010 with the pilot project Luce é Libertà and ended in 2017. With the closure of six FPHs, Italy officially became the first country worldwide to close such institutions. After the closure of FPHs, some critical issues emerged, and the debate shifted to developing small-scale facilities and residences for the execution of security measures (RESM). However, few studies have provided results on the cohort of patients discharged from FPHs.

Objective: Following are the objectives of this study: a) Assessing the effectiveness of the pilot project in terms of better functioning accordingly to the Classification of Functioning of Disability and Health (ICF) framework, social and labour insertion, health conditions, level of dangerousness to other, rate of readmission in forensic services, b) cost analysis, and c) describing how the CA has been applied and translated into methodological and administrative devices and concrete intervention strategies.

Methods: A pre-post evaluation design was performed with a comparison between the intervention and the control group for the healthcare cost analysis. Data were collected from 2010 to 2019 at three points: T0) as a baseline, T1 and T2) for the follow-up. The instruments are a structured questionnaire, the Scale HoNOS Secure, 4 sub-scales of ICF (Activity and participation dimensions: sociality, culture, and knowledge, daily life, income, and work) (Cronbach's Alpha from 0.76 to 0.94), and n.20 interviews with key stakeholders and beneficiaries.

Results: Main results include a) the discharge of 55 patients through the use of a person-centered approach and the Personal Capability Budget (PCB), b) the expansion of substantial freedom of choice and the improvement of ICF score (t-test Sig. <, 02), c) the reduction of the risk for others and themselves (Mean Diff. -2,15 Sig. .000), d) at T2 42% of beneficiaries achieved a job placement and 36% were living in one's own home, e) at T2 the need of security measures has reduced from the initial 70% to 6.8%, and f) reduction of the healthcare costs from the fourth year onwards.

Conclusion: Indications emerge to support processes of deinstitutionalisation and capabilities expansion through innovative models, a person-centered approach supported by PCBs, social finance, and social impact investments.