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Background: Compared with the general population, adults with an intellectual developmental disorder (IDD) are more likely to develop mental health problems and to receive high levels of psychotropic medication, particularly antipsychotics. The emotional development (ED) approach may help to better understand the nature of challenging behaviour (CB) and tailor treatment and support accordingly. The aim of this retrospective study was to investigate the impact of the ED approach on the prescription of psychotropic medication during inpatient psychiatric treatment. Methods: The clinical data of 1758 patients were analysed within a retrospective study design over a period of 12 years. ED level was assessed (1) for the first time (INITIAL‐SEO), (2) during a previous hospital stay (PAST‐SEO) or (3) not at all (NO‐SEO). The effects of the ED assessment and the respective intervention during the current admission on the number of psychotropics and the number and dosage of antipsychotics were analysed for the total sample, including those with CB, autism spectrum disorders and psychosis. Group differences were analysed by a chi‐square test and a one‐factorial analysis of variance. For analysing the impact of the application of the ED approach on psychotropic medication, a covariance model was applied. Changes between the subsamples were analysed by t‐tests for dependent samples. Results: The ED approach had a significant impact on reducing the overall amount of psychotropic medication and the dosage of antipsychotics in all patients with IDD. These effects were mainly attributable to those showing CB. In patients with autism spectrum disorders, the developmental approach reduced the number of antipsychotics. No effects could be observed in patients with psychosis; in this subsample, both the number and dosage of antipsychotics increased. Conclusions: The application of the ED approach in the current hospital stay reduced the number of psychotropic drugs and the number and dosage of antipsychotics, especially in those patients with IDD and CB, but also in those with autism spectrum disorders. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Three hundred students across eight countries and eleven higher education institutions in the Asia Pacific Region participated in two courses on climate change and disaster management that were supported by learning technologies: a satellite-enabled video-conferencing system and a learning management system. Evaluation of the student experience across the region proved a significant challenge, particularly the way the students conceived of the links between the technologies and their studies, and the way they approached the use of the technologies in connected and sometimes disconnected ways. This study examines the results of a quantitative investigation into the student experience and identifies key aspects of the structure of the variables used to evaluate the experience as well as identifying groups of students in the sample population who reported qualitatively different experiences. Significant outcomes reveal that cohesive conceptions of the learning technologies tend to be related to more effective ways of using both the video-conferencing and learning management systems, and that both at the level of variables, and at the level of groups of students, these experiences tend to be related to relatively higher outcomes. The results have important implications for both the design and teaching of technology-mediated courses and offer ideas for courses that combine systems such as learning management and video-conferencing. (Contains 4 tables and 2 figures.)