Personality and mental health: an investigation of South African police trainees

The relationship between personality and mental health was investigated in one cohort of police trainees at a South African police academy (1145 police recruits; 648 men, 497 women). Male trainees reported less somatisation, depression, anxiety, and phobic anxiety symptoms and lower harm avoidance as well as higher persistence than female trainees. A cluster analysis based on the personality scores was used to identify three clusters with personality profiles characterized as Vulnerable, Healthy, and Intermediate profiles. Sociodemographic variables and temperament and character domain scores contributed separately and differentially to the explanation of variance in mental health symptom scores. Selection tools should be developed to identify vulnerable individuals in terms of personality characteristics during selection and prior to training, to prevent later problems with stress reactions. Additional training modules focusing on coping skills could possibly reduce vulnerability to stress in some trainees.     

Participation in decision-making by staff in community mental health programs

Staff participation in decision-making was examined in 22 community mental health programs in Michigan. A questionnaire was completed by 164 practitioners employed at least half time. The response rate was 94%. For virtually every work-related decision examined, the practitioners wanted significantly greater participation in decision-making than they currently have. Also, those working in programs where practitioner participation was high reported greater job satisfaction, less role ambiguity, greater use of their skills, better communication among staff, and greater goal clarity and attainability. Practitioner participation was lowest in programs serving more disturbed, less successful populations, such as inpatient, mental retardation, and drug-abuse programs. Para-professional practitioners in all programs reported less participation in their jobs than professional practitioners. Finally, practitioners who typically interact more with clients also reported lower levels of participation.     

Crisis for community mental health: The use of groups in the struggle for survival

The task of community mental health is to provide quality services to clients despite funding cutbacks. This paper describes the recent evolution in conceptualization and service delivery in one center. The outcomes are a philosophy that is customer oriented, and treatment that draws upon brief techniques, in group and long term contexts.     

Support for students with mental health difficulties in higher education: the students' perspective

A massive expansion in student numbers in higher education, coupled with an overall reduction in funding, has led to higher staff-student ratios and a reduction in the amount of staff time available to support students. This has been linked to rising demands being placed on student support services. This article draws on case studies of five students experiencing mental health difficulties, to provide insight into these issues from the student perspective. The students confirmed that aspects of the higher education environment had exacerbated their difficulties. An innovative model of support is described. Traditionally interventions for students with mental health difficulties have focused at the individual level. We argue that attention also needs to be paid to changing aspects of the environment and that this would improve the learning experience for all students.     

Comparison of two outcome groups in a school-based mental health project

Two samples of school-maladjusted children responding most and least favorably to a helping program with nonprofessional child-aides were compared on demographic, referral, and program experience variables. Outcome measures other than teacher ratings used to select the samples validated the inferred improvement differences. Subjects with poor outcomes were significantly more likely to reside in the city, older, from lower socioeconomic backgrounds, and initially more maladjusted than those with good outcomes, but there were no group differences in age, repeat in grade, or program experience variables. Implications of these data for future program directions and modifications of aide-training procedures are discussed.     

Feminist and community mental health center psychotherapists' expectations of mental health for women

Female (n=75) and male (n=55) community mental health center psychotherapists and feminist therapists (n=82) were given the Rosenkrantz, Vogel, Bee, Broverman, and Broverman (1968) Sex-Role Stereotype Questionnaire and were asked to rate either mentally healthy adults, females, wives, or mothers. Female community mental health center therapists and feminist therapists were found to maintain one standard of mental health; that is, their perceptions of mental health for adults, females, wives, and mothers did not differ. In contrast, male therapists perceived mentally healthy adults in more male-valued terms than they perceived mentally healthy females, wives, and mothers. Additionally, both feminist and other female therapists differed from male therapists in their perceptions of health for mothers, but not for adults and wives.This report is based on a dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the doctoral degree at the College of Education, University of Maryland, 1974. The author wishes to express her appreciation to her dissertation chairperson, Dr. Janice M. Birk, for her invaluable assistance during all phases of this study.     

Migrant mental health: a model for indicators of mental health and health care consumption.

OBJECTIVE: This study explores the relationship between mental health and health care consumption among migrants in the Netherlands. DESIGN: Samples of the Turkish (n = 648), Moroccan (n = 102), and Surinamese (n = 311) populations in Amsterdam were examined. The study tested a hypothesized model of risk factors for psychiatric morbidity, indicators of well-being, and indicators of health care consumption. The model was specified on the basis of information from earlier research on the sample and literature on the topic. The model was tested and refined using structural equation modeling. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Psychiatric morbidity and well-being measures were assessed with the CIDI 1.1 and MOS-sf-36 subscales, respectively. Health care consumption was assessed by the question "Have you ever consulted one or more of these professionals or health care facilities with respect to mental health problems or problems related to alcohol or drugs usage?" RESULTS: The primary result of this study was the confirmation that health care consumption among migrants is predicted by need and predisposition factors, such as health condition and sociodemographic characteristics. In addition, mental health care consumption of migrants is predicted by acculturation characteristics. This result suggests an effect of cultural and migrant-specific factors in help-seeking behavior and barriers to mental health care facilities. CONCLUSIONS: Findings confirm the existence of migrant-specific mechanisms in health care consumption. Mental health care professionals should be aware of these. However, ignoring common ground for interventions unnecessarily creates distance between migrant groups and between migrant and indigenous Dutch groups.     

A randomized trial of ACT bibliotherapy on the mental health of K-12 teachers and staff

The mental health challenges of some vocations present a challenge for current intervention models. Bibliotherapy focused on transdiagnostic processes that might both prevent and alleviate a range of mental health distress could be an effective and practical approach. K-12 school personnel (N = 236; 91% female; 30-60 years old) responding to a wellness-oriented program announcement were randomized to receive an Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) self-help volume or to a waitlist. Three-fourths were above clinical cutoffs in general mental health, depression, anxiety, or stress. Participants read the book for two months, completed exercises and quizzes, and after post assessment were followed for 10 weeks; waitlist participants were then also given the book with two months to complete it. Overall, participants showed significant improvement in psychological health. Significant preventive effects for depression and anxiety were observed along with significant ameliorative effects for those in the clinical ranges of depression, anxiety and stress. Follow up general mental health, depression, and anxiety outcomes were related to the manner in which participants used the workbook and to post levels of psychological flexibility.     

Identification with arts‐based groups improves mental wellbeing in adults with chronic mental health conditions

People experiencing chronic mental health conditions (CMHC) often report feeling socially marginalised. There is emerging evidence that social and mental wellbeing can be enhanced through participation in arts‐based programmes. In this paper, a social identity theoretical approach was applied to explore how participation in the arts may improve mental health in a longitudinal study. A one‐year prospective study of 34 choir members and 25 creative writing group members (M_age = 46, 51% female) with CMHC, involved three assessments of participants’ group identification and mental wellbeing, measured by the Warwick Edinburgh Mental Wellbeing Scale. The programmes were community‐based and facilitated by arts professionals. Multilevel modelling analyses demonstrated that participants’ mental wellbeing significantly improved over time. Greater identification with their arts‐based group (ABG) was significantly related to an increased rate of improvement in mental wellbeing. The trajectory of improvement in mental wellbeing did not differ between participants partaking in the choir or creative writing group. This study demonstrates that participation in ABGs can be effective in improving mental wellbeing in adults with chronic mental health problems, particularly for those who strongly identify with the group. This study supports ABG participation as an accessible component of mental health services.     

Establishing family inclusive acute inpatient mental health services: a staff training programme in Somerset

In spite of policies advocating the involvement of families in the care of mental health service users in the UK there are few examples of training initiatives to bring this about. This article describes the delivery of a whole-team training initiative to promote family inclusive working in all acute inpatient units in Somerset. The three-day staff-training programme is described and training outcomes are reported. Staff reported a significant increase in confidence in their skills for working with families, and a pre- and post-training case note audit showed an increased consideration of the needs of families. This was accompanied by a modest increase in the average number of family meetings. Obstacles to family inclusive ways of working on inpatient units are described, and strategies to overcome these are discussed.