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02 juni 2023, Item does not contain fulltext, Background: Adults' views and behaviors toward children can vary from being supportive to shockingly abusive, and there are significant unanswered questions about the psychological factors underpinning this variability. Objective; The present research examined the content of adults' attitudes toward children to address these questions. Method: Ten studies (N = 4702) identified the factor structure of adults' descriptions of babies, toddlers, and school-age children and examined how the resulting factors related to a range of external variables. Results: Two factors emerged - affection toward children and stress elicited by them - and this factor structure was invariant across the United Kingdom, the United States, and South Africa. Affection uniquely captures emotional approach tendencies, concern for others, and broad positivity in evaluations, experiences, motivations, and donation behavior. Stress relates to emotional instability, emotional avoidance, and concern about disruptions to a self-oriented, structured life. The factors also predict distinct experiences in a challenging situation - home-parenting during COVID-19 lockdown - with affection explaining greater enjoyment and stress explaining greater perceived difficulty. Affection further predicts mentally visualizing children as pleasant and confident, whereas stress predicts mentally visualizing children as less innocent. Conclusions: These findings offer fundamental new insights about social cognitive processes in adults that impact adult–child relationships and children's well-being.

Contains fulltext : 232802.pdf (Publisher’s version ) (Open Access), Organizations often put children front and center in campaigns to elicit interest and support for prosocial causes. Such initiatives raise a key theoretical and applied question that has yet to be addressed directly: Does the salience of children increase prosocial motivation and behavior in adults? We present findings aggregated across eight experiments involving 2,054 adult participants: Prosocial values became more important after completing tasks that made children salient compared to tasks that made adults (or a mundane event) salient or compared to a no-task baseline. An additional field study showed that adults were more likely to donate money to a child-unrelated cause when children were more salient on a shopping street. The findings suggest broad, reliable interconnections between human mental representations of children and prosocial motives, as the child salience effect was not moderated by participants' gender, age, attitudes, or contact with children.

BACKGROUND: There is good evidence that psychological interventions improve patient well-being and independent living, but patients on acute mental health wards often do not have access to evidence-based psychological therapies which are strongly advised by NICE guidance for severe mental health problems. The overall aim of this programme of work is to increase patient access to psychological therapies on acute mental health inpatient wards. Stage one of the programme (which is complete) aimed to identify barriers and facilitators to delivering therapy in these settings through a large qualitative study. The key output of stage one was an intervention protocol that is designed to be delivered on acute wards to increase patient access to psychologically-informed care and therapy. Stage two of the programme aims to test the effects of the intervention on patient wellbeing and serious incidents on the ward (primary outcomes), patient social functioning and symptoms, staff burnout, ward atmosphere from staff and patient perspectives and cost effectiveness of the intervention (secondary outcomes). METHODS: The study is a single blind, pragmatic, cluster randomised controlled trial and will recruit thirty-four wards across England that will be randomised to receive the new intervention plus treatment as usual, or treatment as usual only. Primary and secondary outcomes will be assessed at baseline and 6-month and 9-month follow-ups, with serious incidents on the ward collected at an additional 3-month follow-up. DISCUSSION: The key output will be a potentially effective and cost-effective ward-based psychological intervention that increases patient access to psychological therapy in inpatient settings, is feasible to deliver in inpatient settings and is acceptable to patients. TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER: ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT03950388. Registered 15th May 2019. https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT03950388.

BACKGROUND: People with lived-experience of the phenomenon under investigation are seldom involved in the analysis of qualitative data, and there exists little guidance for those wishing to involve contributors at this stage of research. AIMS: To critically reflect on the process of involving people with lived-experience in a thematic analysis and to offer direction to other researchers. METHODS: An individual with lived-experience of residing in prison contributed to a co-analysis of qualitative data using thematic analysis. This paper reports on involvement at each stage of a thematic analysis and follows an established reporting checklist. RESULTS: A number of challenges and benefits were encountered in the process of co-analysing the data. These are discussed in relation to previous research and how to overcome the challenges encountered. CONCLUSIONS: The paper concludes by giving recommendations and guidance for future researchers wishing to involve people with lived-experience in qualitative data analysis.

Background:Many people with psychosis experience persecutory delusions and report negative schematic beliefs and intrusive mental images which may be maintaining factors for psychotic symptoms.Aims:This study examined the feasibility and acceptability of a new psychological therapy targeting schemas and images (iMAPS therapy).Method:The study used a randomised multiple baseline design. Participants with first episode psychosis were randomised using a multiple baseline design with 2-5 assessments. Six sessions of therapy, consisting of a combination of imagery techniques and imagery rescripting techniques, was used. In each session, participants completed a Mental Imagery in Psychosis Questionnaire (MIPQ) and imagery interview. Mood and delusional beliefs (PSYRATS) were also measured at each session.Results:Five participants with first episode psychosis completed the baseline visits and attended all therapy sessions. One participant declined the final assessment. Results demonstrated significant reductions in negative schematic beliefs, delusions, imagery distress and other measures of schema (YSQ, SMI). Although multiple baseline randomisation strengthens the study, it lacked a control arm and blind assessments.Conclusions:iMAPS appears a feasible and acceptable treatment for psychosis, and further evaluation is indicated.

Background:Many people with psychosis experience persecutory delusions and report negative schematic beliefs and intrusive mental images which may be maintaining factors for psychotic symptoms.Aims:This study examined the feasibility and acceptability of a new psychological therapy targeting schemas and images (iMAPS therapy).Method:The study used a randomised multiple baseline design. Participants with first episode psychosis were randomised using a multiple baseline design with 2-5 assessments. Six sessions of therapy, consisting of a combination of imagery techniques and imagery rescripting techniques, was used. In each session, participants completed a Mental Imagery in Psychosis Questionnaire (MIPQ) and imagery interview. Mood and delusional beliefs (PSYRATS) were also measured at each session.Results:Five participants with first episode psychosis completed the baseline visits and attended all therapy sessions. One participant declined the final assessment. Results demonstrated significant reductions in negative schematic beliefs, delusions, imagery distress and other measures of schema (YSQ, SMI). Although multiple baseline randomisation strengthens the study, it lacked a control arm and blind assessments.Conclusions:iMAPS appears a feasible and acceptable treatment for psychosis, and further evaluation is indicated.

© 2019, © 2019 The Speech Pathology Association of Australia Limited Published by Taylor & Francis. Purpose: To identify which elements of the therapeutic alliance are important to people with aphasia (PWA) attending speech-language pathology post-stroke. Method: A Q methodology design was adopted to explore which elements of the therapeutic alliance were valued by PWA. Statements (n = 453) relevant to the research question were extrapolated from the literature and qualitative interviews. A representative sample of statements (n = 38) was identified from the expansive data set. PWA (n = 23) sorted statements hierarchically according to whether they thought the statement was important or unimportant. Completed Q sorts were analysed using a by-person factor analysis. Result: Analysis yielded a five-factor solution, representing five distinct viewpoints: (1) acknowledge me, help me to understand; (2) respect me, listen to me; (3) challenge me, direct me; (4) understand me, laugh with me; and (5) hear me, encourage me. Conclusion: The findings highlight the need for clinicians to adopt a flexible and idiosyncratic approach to therapeutic alliance construction in order to meet the relational needs of a heterogeneous population. This is the first study to use Q methodology with PWA, demonstrating that Q methodology is an effective and viable method for investigating subjectivity in this population.

© 2019, © 2019 The Speech Pathology Association of Australia Limited Published by Taylor & Francis. Purpose: To identify which elements of the therapeutic alliance are important to people with aphasia (PWA) attending speech-language pathology post-stroke. Method: A Q methodology design was adopted to explore which elements of the therapeutic alliance were valued by PWA. Statements (n = 453) relevant to the research question were extrapolated from the literature and qualitative interviews. A representative sample of statements (n = 38) was identified from the expansive data set. PWA (n = 23) sorted statements hierarchically according to whether they thought the statement was important or unimportant. Completed Q sorts were analysed using a by-person factor analysis. Result: Analysis yielded a five-factor solution, representing five distinct viewpoints: (1) acknowledge me, help me to understand; (2) respect me, listen to me; (3) challenge me, direct me; (4) understand me, laugh with me; and (5) hear me, encourage me. Conclusion: The findings highlight the need for clinicians to adopt a flexible and idiosyncratic approach to therapeutic alliance construction in order to meet the relational needs of a heterogeneous population. This is the first study to use Q methodology with PWA, demonstrating that Q methodology is an effective and viable method for investigating subjectivity in this population.

© 2018 The Authors International Journal of Language & Communication Disorders published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists Background: Therapeutic alliance refers to the interactional and relational processes operating during therapeutic interventions. It has been shown to be a strong determinant of treatment efficacy in psychotherapy, and evidence is emerging from a range of healthcare and medical disciplines to suggest that the construct of therapeutic alliance may in fact be a variable component of treatment outcome, engagement and satisfaction. Although this construct appears to be highly relevant to aphasia rehabilitation, no research to date has attempted to explore this phenomenon and thus consider its potential utility as a mechanism for change. Aims: To explore speech and language therapists’ perceptions and experiences of developing and maintaining therapeutic alliances in aphasia rehabilitation post-stroke. Methods & Procedures: Twenty-two, in-depth, semi-structured interviews were conducted with speech and language therapists working with people with aphasia post-stroke. Qualitative data were analysed using inductive thematic analysis. Outcomes & Results: Analysis resulted in the emergence of three overarching themes: laying the groundwork; augmenting cohesion; and contextual shapers. Recognizing personhood, developing shared expectations of therapy and establishing therapeutic ownership were central to laying the groundwork for therapeutic delivery. Augmenting cohesion was perceived to be dependent on the therapists’ responsiveness and ability to resolve both conflict and resistance, as part of an ongoing active process. These processes were further moulded by contextual shapers such as the patient's family, relational continuity and organizational drivers. Conclusions & Implications: The findings suggest that therapists used multiple, complex, relational strategies to establish and manage alliances wi

© 2018 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group. Background: The therapeutic alliance has been found to be a critical component of treatment delivery in mental health interventions. This construct may have the potential to inform both treatment efficacy and adherence in aphasia rehabilitation. However, little is known about how people with aphasia perceive therapeutic alliance construction in the context of aphasia rehabilitation. Aims: This study aimed to investigate people with aphasias’ subjective experiences and reflections of constructing and maintaining therapeutic alliances in aphasia rehabilitation. Methods & procedures: In-depth interviews were conducted with eighteen people with aphasia who had received aphasia rehabilitation following a stroke. Interviews were subject to thematic analysis. Outcomes & results: Data analysis revealed five core themes: (1) readiness to contribute to the alliance; (2) proximity with the therapist; (3) perceived attunement with the therapist; (4) receiving information; and (5) collaborative engagement. The therapist’s perceived ability to read and respond effectively to individuals’ relational and situational needs contributed to the success of the alliance. Conclusions: These findings offer novel insights into current practice, highlighting considerable variation in alliance formation across the profession, with ineffectual alliances obstructing engagement and eroding hope and effective alliances promoting adherence and instilling hope. Further research is recommended to understand which aspects of the therapeutic alliance are essential for optimising therapeutic efficacy.

BACKGROUND: The mental and physical health of individuals with a psychotic illness are typically poor. Access to psychosocial interventions is important but currently limited. Telephone-delivered interventions may assist. In the current systematic review, we aim to summarise and critically analyse evidence for telephone-delivered psychosocial interventions targeting key health priorities in adults with a psychotic disorder, including (i) relapse, (ii) adherence to psychiatric medication and/or (iii) modifiable cardiovascular disease risk behaviours. METHODS: Ten peer-reviewed and four grey literature databases were searched for English-language studies examining psychosocial telephone-delivered interventions targeting relapse, medication adherence and/or health behaviours in adults with a psychotic disorder. Study heterogeneity precluded meta-analyses. RESULTS: Twenty trials [13 randomised controlled trials (RCTs)] were included, involving 2473 participants (relapse prevention = 867; medication adherence = 1273; and health behaviour = 333). Five of eight RCTs targeting relapse prevention and one of three targeting medication adherence reported at least 50% of outcomes in favour of the telephone-delivered intervention. The two health-behaviour RCTs found comparable levels of improvement across treatment conditions. CONCLUSIONS: Although most interventions combined telephone and face-to-face delivery, there was evidence to support the benefit of entirely telephone-delivered interventions. Telephone interventions represent a potentially feasible and effective option for improving key health priorities among people with psychotic disorders. Further methodologically rigorous evaluations are warranted.

Background Whilst assessment tools have been developed to diagnose schizophrenia in people with mild intellectual disabilities (IDs), little attention has been paid to developing reliable and valid dimensional measures of psychotic experiences with this population. This study investigates the reliability and validity of two such measures developed for the general adult psychiatric population, the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS) and the Psychotic Symptom Rating Scales (PSYRATS), with a population of adults with mild IDs. Method Sixty-two adults with mild IDs were interviewed using the PANSS and PSYRATS, and independently interviewed using the Psychiatric Assessment Schedule - Adults with Developmental Disability (PAS-ADD) to obtain psychiatric diagnoses to the criteria of the International Classification of Diseases - Tenth Revision (ICD-10). On the basis of ICD-10 diagnosis, participants were divided into three groups: psychosis (n = 11); other mental health problem (n = 14); no mental health problem (n = 37). PANSS and PSYRATS subscale scores were compared across these three groups and were correlated with PAS-ADD symptom scores across a number of PAS-ADD symptom domains. Results All PANSS and PSYRATS subscales showed adequate internal reliability, largely good test-retest reliability, and logical inter-correlations between subscales. The PANSS positive symptoms and the PSYRATS auditory hallucinations subscales differentiated between the psychosis group and the other groups; the PANSS general symptoms subscale differentiated between the psychosis and no mental health problem groups; and the PANSS negative symptoms and the PSYRATS delusions subscales did not differentiate between the three groups. Conclusions The PANSS and PSYRATS are promising measures for use with people with mild IDs and psychotic experiences, although further investigation of items relating to negative symptoms and delusions is warranted.

A number of recent studies have shown that individual cognitive-behaviour therapy can be effective in reducing the severity of psychotic symptoms in chronic treatment resistant schizophrenia. In addition, cognitive-behaviourally oriented family interventions have been shown to significantly reduce relapse in similar populations. However, the application of either individual or family CBT approaches has not been evaluated in people who have a psychotic illness and who also have intellectual disabilities. This paper describes how individual and family CBT for psychosis has been modified for people with a mild learning disability who have a diagnosis of schizophrenia and illustrates its use with five case studies. Copyright (C) 2004 John Wiley Sons, Ltd.

A number of recent studies have shown that individual cognitive-behaviour therapy can be effective in reducing the severity of psychotic symptoms in chronic treatment resistant schizophrenia. In addition, cognitive-behaviourally oriented family interventions have been shown to significantly reduce relapse in similar populations. However, the application of either individual or family CBT approaches has not been evaluated in people who have a psychotic illness and who also have intellectual disabilities. This paper describes how individual and family CBT for psychosis has been modified for people with a mild learning disability who have a diagnosis of schizophrenia and illustrates its use with five case studies. Copyright (C) 2004 John Wiley Sons, Ltd.

The mechanisms contributing to the occurrence of auditory hallucinations have not been fully described, although many researchers agree that they may result from some type of misattributed cognitive event. A number of authors have shown that this misattribution may be influenced by 'top down' processes such as beliefs and expectations. This type of cognitive bias has also been implicated in other psychological disorders. One area of focus, particularly within the anxiety disorders, has been on metacognitive beliefs and their role in the occurrence and maintenance of symptoms. Metacognitive beliefs have not been widely investigated in psychosis and tools to investigate them have not been developed. In this study, a metacognitions questionnaire [MCQ; Cartwright-Hatton, S., & Wells, A. (1997). Journal of Anxiety Disorders, 11(3),279-296.] (previously used with anxiety disorders) was modified and used to assess metacognitive beliefs with schizophrenic patients. Metacognitive beliefs were compared between schizophrenic patients who were currently experiencing auditory hallucinations and schizophrenic patients who had never had hallucinations. A group of patients with anxiety disorders and a group of non-patients were used as controls. Hallucinating and non-hallucinating schizophrenics scored significantly higher than both the nonpatient group and the anxiety patient group on the amount. to which they believed their thoughts should be consistent with each other. Hallucinators and anxiety controls had significantly lower confidence in their cognitive processes than non-hallucinating schizophrenics and normal controls. The significance of these findings are discussed in relation to the literature on cognitive processes in hallucinations. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.

Item does not contain fulltext, Based on the logic that stereotypes are accessible among people who use them often, the authors suspected that low-prejudice participants would experience difficulty when asked to bring a large amount of stereotypic information to mind. This experienced difficulty was expected to decrease the stereotypicality of subsequent judgments. In the experiment, participants who differed in their level of prejudice (i.e., low, intermediate, high) toward women judged a target (i.e., female secretary) after having generated either three or eight traits on which men and women were believed to differ. As predicted, ease of retrieval influenced the extent to which the target was stereotyped, but only for low-prejudice participants. That is, these individuals judged the target more stereotypically when they had previously generated three traits rather than eight traits. Ease of retrieval effects were not observed among other participants. The authors consider how experiential states may inform their understanding of stereotyping.