Psychiatric and Mental Health Commons^™

The Promise Of Healthcare Reform In Transforming Services For Jail Detainees, Maureen Mcdonnell, Laura Brookes, Arthur J. Lurigio

Arthur J. Lurigio

Chronic behavioral health conditions, such as psychiatric and substance use disorders, affect at least half of all arrestees, with two-thirds suffering from at least one chronic medical disorder. These conditions contribute to their criminal behaviors and propensities to recycle through the criminal justice system (Binswanger et al. Journal of Urban Health 89:183-190, 2012). Despite their limited resources, jails have nonetheless become de facto settings for the delivery of healthcare services. With the passage of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) of 2010, jail releasees will become eligible for government-subsidized healthcare coverage in 2014. The widespread availability of integrated healthcare services for …

An Examination Of The Relationships Between Rumination, Social Problem-Solving, Mindfulness And Depressive Symptomology, Taylor Wiltsee

Theses and Dissertations

The present study will examine the relationships between rumination, social problem-solving, mindfulness, and depressive symptomology. These relationships will be evaluated by means of Pearson correlations, and the testing of the proposed path model using AMOS. In order to test our hypotheses, undergraduate students were asked to complete a battery of self-report measures to quantify ruminative tendencies, problem-solving ability, mindfulness skills, and depressive symptom severity and were given course credit for participation. Results indicate that hypotheses were partially supported. Bivariate correlations yielded statistically significant relationships between each of the constructs, with rumination positively associated with depressive symptoms, and negatively associated with …

A Critical Discourse Analysis Of The Response Of Aamft Approved Supervisors To A Case Vignette Describing The Perpetration Of Violence In A Family , Kathleen Murphy Adams

Kathleen M. Adams

Concerns about how family therapists respond to violence in families have been discussed in the literature for more than two decades (e.g., Bograd, 1984; Cook & Franz-Cook, 1984; Crnkovic, Del Campo, & Steiner, 2000; Goldner, 1985; Hansen, 1993; Harway, Hansen, & Cervantes, 1991, 1997; James & McIntyre, 1983; Pressman, 1989; Shamai, 1996,).;This study was designed to determine to what extent clinical supervisors' awareness of violence in families reflects or contradicts the poor awareness of family therapists as reported in the literature. Feminist informed critical discourse analysis was used, with a particular emphasis on exploring how the language that supervisors used …

Our Failure To Understand Mental Illness Has Debilitated Nearly 60 Million Americans, Alaina Bernard

UCF Forum

Abraham Lincoln, Ernest Hemingway, Robin Williams and Michelangelo are a few examples of brilliantly inspiring individuals who shaped our culture, artistry and society. Looking at this list of names, it is hard to see a connection between these unique individuals. The sad truth is that each one suffered from mental illness, a debilitating disease that disrupts one’s thinking, feelings and interactions with others.

Uncovering The Concealed Part Of Motherhood-Postpartum Depression In Mothers, Hunaina Hadi, Shamsa Hadi

School of Nursing & Midwifery

Introduction: Motherhood is the most pleasing experience of a woman's life. Birth of a child gives birth to new hopes and ambitions. But Post-partum Depression is a condition when this blessing turns into curse. It can affect the mother, the partner and the child and can even lead to infanticide as well as maternal death, often by suicide.

Method: A qualitative systematic review was conducted through electronic medium to explore the relevant literature. Various databases i.e. Pubmed, Google search engines, Science Direct, JPMA, the Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature CINHAL and SAGA were used. Manual search was …

Theorizing Mental Health Courts, E. Lea Johnston

E. Lea Johnston

To date, no scholarly article has analyzed the theoretical basis of mental health courts, which currently exist in forty-three states. This Article examines the two utilitarian justifications proposed by mental health court advocates—therapeutic jurisprudence and therapeutic rehabilitation—and finds both insufficient. Therapeutic jurisprudence is inadequate to justify mental health courts because of its inability, by definition, to resolve significant normative conflict. In essence, mental health courts express values fundamentally at odds with those underlying the traditional criminal justice system. Furthermore, the sufficiency of rehabilitation, as this concept appears to be defined by mental health court advocates, depends on the validity of …

Association Of Antipsychotic Use With Hospital Events And Mortality Among Medicare Beneficiaries Residing In Long-Term Care Facilities, Linda Simoni-Wastila, Priscilla T. Ryder, Jingjing Qian, Ilene H. Zuckermann, Thomas Shaffer, Lirong Zhao

Priscilla T. Ryder

Objective—Antipsychotic (AP) utilization has grown significantly in long-term care (LTC) settings. Although a growing literature associates AP use with higher mortality in elderly with dementia, the association of APs with hospital events is unclear. The authors examine prevalence and trends in AP use by Medicare beneficiaries residing in LTC and the association of APs and other drug use variables with hospital events and mortality. Design—Retrospective analysis using sequential multivariate Cox proportional hazards models. Setting—Medicare Current Beneficiary Survey linked to Institutional Drug Administration and Minimum Data Set files. Participants—A total of 2,363 LTC Medicare beneficiaries, 1999–2002. Measurements—Trends in LTC AP use …

Ptsd/Sud In Individuals With Physical Disabilities: Identifying Problems And Promising Interventions, Melissa L. Anderson, Douglas M. Ziedonis, Lisa M. Najavits

Melissa L. Anderson

Co-occurring posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and substance use disorder (SUD) is common, affects multiple domains of functioning, and presents complex challenges to recovery. Initial research indicates that individuals with physical disabilities experience higher rates of lifetime trauma and PTSD, and exhibit more severe SUD compared to non-disabled individuals. To expand upon these initial findings, we conducted a series of two studies on PTSD and SUD among individuals with physical disabilities.

Morphological Knowledge And Decoding Skills Of Deaf Readers, M. Diane Clark, Gizelle L. Gilbert, Melissa L. Anderson

Melissa L. Anderson

Many studies have reported the necessity of phonological awareness to become a skilled reader, citing barriers to phonological information as the cause for reading difficulties experienced by deaf individuals. In contrast, other research suggests that phonological awareness is not necessary for reading acquisition, citing the importance of higher levels of syntactic and semantic knowledge. To determine if deaf students with higher language skills have better word decoding strategies, students responded to a morphological test, where monomorphemic words and multimorphemic words were matched to their definitions. Two studies are reported, one focusing on English placement levels and a second with formal …

Is It Abuse? Deaf Female Undergraduates' Labeling Of Partner Violence, Melissa Anderson, Caroline Kobek Pezzarossi

Melissa L. Anderson

The current study investigated the labeling of abuse experiences in a sample of 97 Deaf female undergraduate students, exploring the following questions: What is the prevalence of violent behaviors experienced by Deaf female undergraduates in their past-year relationships, what proportion of these relationships are identified as "abuse," and what scripts and strategies do Deaf female undergraduates utilize to label their experiences of partner violence? Results indicated that over half of the sample chose not to label past-year experiences of psychological aggression, physical assault, and sexual coercion as abuse, even when these experiences included severe violence. Implications for the Deaf education …

Intimate Partner Violence Against Deaf Female College Students, Melissa Anderson, Irene Leigh

Melissa L. Anderson

It has been estimated that roughly 25% of all Deaf women in the United States are victims of intimate partner violence (Abused Deaf Women's Advocacy Services [ADWAS]), a figure similar to annual prevalence rates of 16% to 30% for intimate partners in the general population. One goal of the present study was to ascertain the prevalence of intimate partner violence victimization in a sample of Deaf female college students. When comparing the prevalence of physical assault, psychological aggression, and sexual coercion victimization to hearing female undergraduates, the current sample was approximately two times as likely to have experienced victimization in …

Deaf Students And Their Classroom Communication: An Evaluation Of Higher Order Categorical Interactions Among School And Background Characteristics, Thomas Allen, Melissa Anderson

Melissa L. Anderson

This article investigated to what extent age, use of a cochlear implant, parental hearing status, and use of sign in the home determine language of instruction for profoundly deaf children. Categorical data from 8,325 profoundly deaf students from the 2008 Annual Survey of Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing Children and Youth were analyzed using chi-square automated interaction detector, a stepwise analytic procedure that allows the assessment of higher order interactions among categorical variables. Results indicated that all characteristics were significantly related to classroom communication modality. Although younger and older students demonstrated a different distribution of communication modality, for both younger and older …

Do Deaf Individuals’ Dating Scripts Follow The Traditional Sexual Script?, Gizelle Gilbert, Melissa Anderson, M. Clark

Melissa L. Anderson

The current study investigated Deaf individuals’ dating expectations. Prior research on dating expectations has identified three common scenes: initiation/meeting, activities, and outcomes/conclusions. Participants were asked to report their expectations for each scene on a typical date. Talking was the most frequently occurring initiation activity. Dinner and a movie were among the top date activities in the activities scene. Activities were often reported as group gatherings. Dating outcomes included a good night kiss and making plans for another date. These expectations do not match prior research with hearing participants where the Traditional Sexual Script could be identified. Comparisons and suggestions for …

An Outcome Study Of Seeking Safety With Rural Community-Based Women, Beverly Patitz, Melissa Anderson, Lisa Najavits

Melissa L. Anderson

This pilot study investigated the impact of Seeking Safety (SS) on rural women with comorbid substance abuse and trauma problems. SS is an evidence-based, present-focused therapy that provides coping skills and psychoeducation. Despite its demonstrated effectiveness, this is the first known study using SS with rural women. Investigating the efficacy of evidence-based treatments with rural populations is especially important because, compared with urban residents, they are more likely to meet criteria for comorbid mental illness and substance abuse, exhibit more severe symptoms of both disorders, but are much less likely to receive formal treatment. Such disparities highlight the need for …

Deaf Individuals’ Bilingual Abilities: American Sign Language Proficiency, Reading Skills, And Family Characteristics, Brittany Freel, M. Clark, Melissa Anderson, Gizelle Gilbert, Millicent Musyoka, Peter Hauser

Melissa L. Anderson

The current study investigated the bilingual abilities of 55 Deaf individuals, examining both American Sign Language (ASL) competency and English reading skills. Results revealed a positive relationship between ASL competency and English skills, with highly competent signers scoring higher on a measure of reading comprehension. Additionally, family characteristics (e.g., parental education level, family hearing status) were entered into the analysis to ascertain their effect on Deaf individuals’ bilingual abilities. The findings support the theory that competency in ASL may serve as a bridge to the acquisition of English print. Moreover, the findings provide support for the critical period hypothesis for …

Intimate Partner Violence Against Deaf Women: A Review, Melissa Anderson, Irene Leigh, Vincent Samar

Melissa L. Anderson

A common theme among writings on intimate partner violence against Deaf women is the concern that there is little empirical work conducted in this field in comparison to research conducted with hearing populations. However, it is important to acknowledge that an increased amount of research has been conducted in recent years and that a foundation of research has been established, on which future researchers can build and expand. The goal of the current review is to summarize and synthesize the recent work in this area, as well as identify remaining gaps and needs for future empirical work. While there are …

Black Deaf Individuals' Reading Skills: Influence Of Asl, Culture, Family Characteristics, Reading Experience, And Education, Candace Myers, M. Diane Clark, Millicent Musyoka, Melissa Anderson, Gizelle Gilbert, Selina Agyen, Peter Hauser

Melissa L. Anderson

Previous research on the reading abilities of Deaf individuals from various cultural groups suggests that Black Deaf and Hispanic Deaf individuals lag behind their White Deaf peers. The present study compared the reading skills of Black Deaf and White Deaf individuals, investigating the influence of American Sign Language (ASL), culture, family characteristics, reading experience, and education. (The descriptor Black is used throughout the present article, as Black Deaf individuals prefer this term to African American. For purposes of parallel construction, the term White is used instead of European American.) It was found that Black Deaf study participants scored lower on …

Does Seeking Safety Reduce Ptsd Symptoms In Women Receiving Physical Disability Compensation, Melissa Anderson, Lisa Najavits

Melissa L. Anderson

OBJECTIVE: This secondary analysis investigated the impact of 12 sessions of Seeking Safety (SS) on reducing posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms in a sample of dually diagnosed women with physical disabilities versus nondisabled (ND) women. SS is an evidence-based and widely implemented manualized therapy for PTSD and/or substance use disorder. It is a present-focused model that promotes coping skills and psychoeducation. DESIGN: As part of the National Institute on Drug Abuse Clinical Trials Network (NIDA CTN), 353 participants with current PTSD and substance use disorder (SUD) were randomly assigned to partial-dose SS or Women's Health Education (WHE) group therapy conducted …

Melissa L. Anderson: Apa/Apags Award For Distinguished Graduate Student In Professional Psychology, Melissa Anderson

Melissa L. Anderson

Presents a short biography of the winner of the American Psychological Association/American Psychological Association of Graduate Students Award for Distinguished Graduate Student in Professional Psychology. The 2012 winner is Melissa L. Anderson for her ongoing commitment to understanding, treating, and preventing domestic violence in Deaf women and underserved populations in general. Anderson is passionate in her efforts to study the factors underlying violence toward women and in applying psychological science to intervene in and prevent such abuse. She is dedicated to improving the quality of life and well-being of underserved women and ensuring that services and programs become accessible to …

Violence Against Deaf Women: Effect Of Partner Hearing Status, Melissa Anderson, Caroline Kobek Pezzarossi

Melissa L. Anderson

Using a sample of Deaf female undergraduate students, the current study sought to investigate the prevalence, correlates, and characteristics of intimate partner violence victimization in hearing-Deaf and Deaf-Deaf relationships. Initial results suggest that similarities in hearing status and communication preference are associated with increased levels of negotiation within these relationships. However, compatibility in these areas did not co-occur with significant decreases in physical, psychological, or sexual partner violence. Recommendations for future research as well as implications for clinical and educational practice are outlined.