Online Mental Health Information Seeking in Young Adults with Mental Health Challenges

Barriers such as stigmatization and access to health care may lead young adults with mental health conditions (YAMHC) to try to find alternatives to more traditional means of obtaining care. One possible alternative is to seek information online. The purpose of this article is to better understand how YAMHC use the Internet to access information about mental health, and the challenges they face when trying to access that information. Semistructured focus groups were conducted to investigate how YAMHC use the Internet for information and support regarding their mental health. Three major themes about mental health information seeking emerged from the data: (a) Topics searched, (b) Motivations for going online to search for information, and (c) Barriers to successful searching. Findings indicate that YAMHC look up information related to their mental health for a variety of reasons that are unique to the online experience, and use that information to help them with their care, despite at times feeling overwhelmed by, and not always trusting of, the information available.     

Including At-Risk Adolescents in Their Own Health and Mental Health Care

Summary

As urban adolescents encounter serious health and mental health risks, they present the allied health professions with important opportunities for health promotion and risk reduction interventions. However, the prevailing emphasis on adolescents' risk behaviors rather than on their vulnerability has limited our capacity to understand and serve them. Further limiting are the widely held myths that adolescents as a whole have few health problems and that they are poor judges of their own needs. This article presents an overview of current theories of adolescent risk and vulnerability and suggests Youth Development as an overarching framework for understanding both. Experience within a comprehensive, adolescent health and mental health center demonstrates how to meaningfully engage adolescents in their own health care from the start.     

Evaluation of Lehman's Brief Quality of Life Interview in Assessing Outcome in Psychiatric Rehabilitation in People with Severe and Persistent Mental Disorder

Abstract

Lehman's Brief Quality of Life Interview (QOLI) was administered to psychiatric rehabilitation program clients 6 times at 6-month intervals. Participants were individuals with predominantly psychotic-type diagnoses. Results showed no change over time and few gender differences. No change over time indicates no improvement but also no deterioration in this chronic population. Correlations between test times indicated that the subjective scales were relatively stable in comparison to the objective scales. Results indicate that the QOLI has poor sensitivity, and therefore limited utility, for assessing change in psychiatric rehabilitation of individuals with severe and persistent mental disorders. However, the QOLI does have an important use: It provides a good indication of the clients' perspectives on the quality of their lives and services received.     

The Attitudes of Social Work Students and Practicing Psychiatric Social Workers Toward the Inclusion in the Community of People with Mental Illness

Abstract

This study measured and compared the attitudes of social work students and practicing psychiatric social workers to the inclusion in the community of people with mental illness. The Community Living Attitude Scale Mental Illness (comprising the four subscales of Empowerment, Exclusion, Sheltering, and Similarity) was administered to a random sample of 68 Israeli BA social work students (first year: n = 35; third year: n = 33) and 28 practicing psychiatric social workers. Overall, the participants endorsed Empowerment and perceived the Similarity of persons with mental illness to themselves more than they agreed with the Exclusion attitude of segregating those persons from community life. First-year students rated Empowerment and Similarity significantly lower than did the third-year students and rated Sheltering significantly higher than did psychiatric social workers. Psychiatric social workers did not differ from third-year students and did not have stronger attitudinal commitment to the inclusion paradigm. They differed from first-year students only in the sheltering attitude; they showed lower support for sheltering people with mental illness.     

DSM-IV and Social Work Professionals

Abstract

This six-hour group training was designed to gather information in regard to the role of social workers using the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual for Mental Health Disorders (DSM-IV). The intention of the group training was to explore social workers' knowledge and comfort in using the DSM-IV as well as assessing the continuing education experience provided. In total, 132 surveys were circulated during two training groups. All participants were asked to give general information and perceptions of use of the DSM, and were pre and posttested for current levels of understanding and comfort regarding diagnostic usage. Significant relationships were noted between several study variables as well as between pretest and posttest scores. Overall, pre and posttest results yielded a significant positive correlation between comfort levels in utilization of the DSM-IV and formulating a diagnostic impression as a means of identifying certain mental health conditions. Furthermore, the results of this study support that attending this group training increased the comfort and knowledge level of social workers in regard to DSM-IV and 98% of the participants felt that training in this area should be man datory for all social work professionals. Suggestions for future research and education are presented.     

Increasing the Economic Self-Sufficiency of Rural Families

ABSTRACT

Rural poverty affects 2.5 million U.S. children annually. The implementation of Child/Parent Individual Development Account (IDA) policies and programs may reflect a “best practices” strategy for reducing the incidence and impact of rural poverty. IDAs are dedicated savings accounts designed to help low-income individuals save for home ownership, postsecondary education, and small business development purposes. A brief policy analysis and feasibility study indicates Child/Parent IDA programs are a feasible way to address long-term social, psychological, and economic development for rural adults and children. Social work's continued involvement in evaluating IDA policy is paramount for improving the well-being of rural families.     

Core Self‐Evaluations,Work–Family Conflict,and Burnout

This study investigated how core self‐evaluations relate to work–family (and family–work) conflict and burnout. Drawing from a sample of 289 police officers and civilian staff who were either married or living in a union as common‐law partners, this study advances an empirical integration of work–family and core self‐evaluations research. The results suggested that even when work, nonwork, and demographic variables are controlled for, positive core self‐evaluations (i.e., composite scale, self‐esteem, locus of control, emotional stability) are related to less work–family (and family–work) conflict. The associations between core self‐evaluations and burnout are partially mediated by work–family (and family–work) conflict. Finally, core self‐evaluations moderated the association between work–family conflict and burnout, but not the one between family–work conflict and burnout.     

Mothers' and Fathers' Work Hours,Child Gender,and Behavior in Middle Childhood

This study examined the association between typical parental work hours (including nonemployed parents) and children's behavior in two‐parent heterosexual families. Child behavior was measured by the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL) at ages 5, 8, and 10 in the Western Australian Pregnancy Cohort (Raine) Study (N = 4,201 child‐year observations). Compared to those whose fathers worked fewer hours per week, children whose fathers worked 55 hours or more per week had significantly higher levels of externalizing behavior. This association was not explained by father–child time during the week, poorer family functioning, or overreactive parenting practice. Further, when stratifying the analysis by child gender, this association appeared to exist only in boys. Mothers' work hours were unrelated to children's behavioral problems. The role of parent and child gender in the relationships between parental work hours and children's behavioral problems, together with mediating factors, warrants further investigation.     

‘Recovery work’ and ‘magic’ among long‐term mental health service‐users

Based on an extended period of qualitative research with mental health service‐users in north‐east England, this article considers the various forms of ‘magical work’ and ‘recovery work’ that emerge in the lives of people living with severe mental health problems. Given the now sizeable body of literature which seeks to problematize traditional conceptual boundaries of work, the article asks to what extent these hidden and unusual work‐forms might also be considered legitimate members of the category. Rather than argue for the expansion of the construct to accommodate these activities, the paper attempts simply to problematize the extent to which so‐called ‘mad’ forms of work are irresolvably different to more conventional forms of occupation. In challenging notions of the psychiatric patient as inevitably inactive, new vocabularies for service‐user work are explored. Concluding remarks are also directed to recent policy debates concerning ‘back‐to‐work’ welfare reform for long‐term out of work service‐users.