Implementing a smoking ban in an acute psychiatric admissions unit

In contrast to general medical hospitals, psychiatric hospitals often allow patients to smoke cigarettes. In addition to obvious health concerns, smoking can also interfere with clinical assessments and therapeutic activities, Implementation of a smoking ban on an acute male admissions unit did not result in any increase in aggressive behaviors. In addition, staff attitudes following the ban improved, and most staff members believed the ban was both ethical and beneficial to patients. Our research indicates that banning smoking on an acute admissions unit is feasible and well tolerated by patients and staff, although it may require extra vigilance for smoking-related contraband.     

Lay persons' emotional reactions toward an abused elderly person

This study examined lay persons' emotional reactions to abuse, with special attention to two types of disease: Alzheimer's disease and osteoporosis. A total of 169 adults (mean age = 60) were interviewed face-to-face using a vignette methodology. Although the majority of the participants found the vignette to describe a situation of abuse, one-quarter did not consider it an abusive situation. The person described in the vignette elicited more positive than negative emotions, with a high percentage of participants expressing sympathy, desire to help, and concern. The various emotional reactions to abuse are associated with different correlates.     

Constructive hypothesizing,dialogic understanding and the therapist's inner conversation: some ideas about knowing and not knowing in the family therapy session

The primary tasks of the therapist can be described as listening to what the client says and making space for what the client has not yet said. According to Anderson and Goolishian, the therapist should take a not-knowing stance in this dialogic process. The question remains, however, what not-knowing exactly means. In this article, I will explore this question and I will propose the concept of constructive hypothesizing. Constructive hypothesizing is described as a process in which there is a movement back and forth between knowing and not knowing. Of central importance are creative and dialogic understanding, rather than knowledge. Recommendations are made to ensure the constructive and collaborative use of hypotheses in the therapeutic dialogue.     

The Colorado Sex Offender Risk Scale

This study documents the development of an adult sex offender risk assessment tool. A sample of 494 sex offenders were followed for an average of 30 months. A risk scale was developed based upon criminal and therapeutic outcomes. The final risk scale included prior juvenile felony convictions, prior adult felony convictions, failure of the first or second grade, not being employed, victim being intoxicated, the perpetrator reporting not being sexually aroused during the crime, possession of a weapon during the crime, denial in therapy, sexual deviance in therapy, and motivation in therapy. The risk scale provided significant relative risk ratios against program failure at 12 and 30 months. Overall, those scoring high on the risk tool were 372% as likely to fail as those scoring low.     

Incidence and correlates of posttrauma symptoms in children from backgrounds of domestic violence

In recent years, evidence has emerged of the presence of posttrauma symptoms in children from backgrounds of domestic violence. The present study examined the incidence and correlates of posttrauma symptoms in 56 children of mothers who had been residents in women's shelters in Adelaide, South Australia. The most frequently endorsed symptoms among this sample of children were being troubled by distressing thoughts, conscious avoidance, hypervigilance, and sleep difficulties. Twenty percent of children met the criteria for a diagnosis of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Children meeting full PTSD criteria scored significantly higher on measures of anxiety, depression, and dissociation. Results support the use of a posttrauma framework for understanding the effects on children of living with domestic violence.     

The structure of harassment and abuse in the workplace: a factorial comparison of two measures

The structures of two measures examining negative experiences in the workplace, one focusing primarily on sexual harassment (SEQ) and one focusing on workplace abuse (GWA), were examined in detail. This article investigated whether the five subscales for the relatively unexplored measure (GWA) are reliably measured by a single underlying construct. It also investigated whether the two workplace-based measures are distinct but related constructs and the consistency of their factor structure across genders. Using a large and diverse organizational survey derived from a Midwestern university, analyses supported the distinctiveness of the two measures and showed that the factor structures for the two constructs were remarkably similar across genders. Analyses also suggested that indices of extreme behavior within each of the constructs were not reliably measured. The findings have important implications for data collection strategies in research focused on negative workplace experiences. This study provides considerable support for the continued use of both measures in research investigating the impact of adverse workplace environment on health.