Mental health needs of the chronically mentally ill elderly

The treatment histories and current social, financial, and clinical status of 111 chronically mentally ill (CMI) persons over the age of 60 were examined. Information was obtained from Ss, family, mental health records, and mental health professionals familiar with Ss. Psychiatric symptoms were observed in 74% of Ss. Many Ss experienced long periods without acute episodes of illness. Recurring episodes eventually appeared in most Ss, however, and ongoing deficits in daily functioning and social contacts were prototypical. Two thirds of the Ss were living in the community, relying heavily on family contacts; the rest lived primarily in nursing homes (23.4%) or psychiatric hospitals (7.2%). Social support was the best predictor of level of functioning. Findings suggest that failure of CMI elderly to use mental health services is not due to lack of need. Mental health services currently do not appear to be meeting the needs of this population.     

Character and behavior in the mentally ill and well mother

The purpose of this study was to examine character and behavior in a group of mentally ill and well mothers. Mentally ill mothers differed from well mothers in mother-child interaction in their positive involvement in the feeding context and in overall optimal mothering during feeding. On measures of intrapsychic conflict and concern, mentally ill mothers demonstrated significantly more conflict in areas of trust, anger, self-esteem, mutuality and nurturance and more concern with issues of self-esteem, and giving and caring than well mothers. For the mentally ill mothers postpartum onset of illness and number of separations from her child were related to some aspects of character and behavior.     

Ernst Kris and the art of the mentally ill1

Ernst Kris, a gifted art historian as well as an eminent psychoanalyst, had little regard for the aesthetic value of the spontaneous artistic products of the mentally ill, considering them to be of interest only for the insight they might provide about the patient's psychopathology and unconscious conflicts. Recent scholarship and developments in the art world warrant a critical review of his position, which appears to have derived from his adherence to classical and Renaissance criteria. The works of two untrained and psychiatrically disturbed artists are offered as evidence of their potential aesthetic worth.     

Self-efficacy among hospitalized mentally ill patients.

General self-efficacy and social self-efficacy were measured in a psychiatric inpatient population of 105 and compared with Sherer's 477 college students. Patients have lower self-efficacy than college students. A small but significant correlation of .38 was noted between general self-efficacy and social self-efficacy. Age was related to general self-efficacy but not social self-efficacy in this population.     

The community competence scale in the placement of the deinstitutionalized mentally ill

Little systematic research has been directed towards the determination of appropriate residential placements for deinstitutionalized psychiatric patients. A previous study suggested that the Community Competence Scale (CCS), a 124-item multiscale instrument, had potential utility for community placement decisions. In the present study, the CCS was administered to 52 deinstitutionalized patients placed in an urban boarding home, a rural boarding home, and urban apartments. No significant differences on the CCS occurred attributable to urban vs. rural setting; accordingly, the urban and rural boarding home groups were combined. The CCS discriminated between patients placed in boarding home and apartment settings after variability between the groups associated with age and diagnosis had been removed. The CCS discriminated more effectively between the groups than did prior hospitalization, subsequent rehospitalization, or the Social Competence Scale (SCS). The CCS was significantly positively correlated with the SCS and significantly negatively correlated with previous hospitalization and age.