Emotional Abuse: Correlates to Abuse Among College Students

Emotional abuse, also known as psychological maltreatment, is a significant health problem. Long-term outcomes of emotional abuse are quite negative and include physical and mental health disorders. The present study examined emotional abuse and correlates to such abuse among college students. The American College Health Association–National College Health Assessment II was completed by study participants at one urban, Midwestern university. A total of 777 students participated in the survey. Greater than one in 10 (10.7%) students reported being emotionally abused in the past year. The final logistic regression model found being female, being an older student, recent marijuana use, and being so depressed it was difficult to function were significant predictors of emotional abuse. Study findings suggest it may be important to screen high-risk students for emotional abuse as part of mental health treatment or other medical screenings. Given that one in 10 students experienced past year emotional abuse, it may also be crucial to raise awareness of emotional abuse on college campuses.     

教师共情对学生学业成绩的促进:基于动画叙述模拟测量的多层线性分析

以往研究认为教师共情能促进学生的社交能力和情绪的发展,但教师共情能否促进学生学业成绩呢?以往研究存在较多的分歧。本研究为进一步考察教师共情对学生学业成绩的作用,开发和运用针对教师职业特殊性的ANVs共情测量工具,采用准实验的方式,运用共情培训对20位实验组教师进行干预(另外20位教师作为控制组),同时收集相应实验组803名学生、控制组852名学生的期中、期末成绩,并采用多层线性的方式控制无关变量,关注学生原有成绩的影响,从而检验教师共情与学生学业成绩的关系。结果表明:(1)教师共情能力的提高能够促进学生学业成绩的提高;(2)在教师共情对学生学业成绩的促进作用中,学生原有成绩起到调节作用。     

The impact of empathy on burnout in medical students: new findings

Introduction: Research on medical students has shown they are at a higher risk for burnout and that this burnout may become more prevalent as they advance in medical school. The literature, thus far, has not explored the construct of ,emotional empathy and whether this can impact burnout in medical students. Objective: To understand the relationship between empathy (Empathic Concern [EC] and Personal Distress [PD]) and burnout in medical students. Method: Five successive classes of medical students enrolled at a new medical school were given the Maslach Burnout Inventory and Davis’ Interpersonal Reactivity Index over the course of three successive years (n = 353). Two dimensions of empathy were evaluated to determine if they have an impact on three dimensions of burnout (Emotional Exhaustion/EE, Depersonalization/DP, Personal Accomplishment/PA). Results: data was analyzed using a linear mixed model for each of the three components of burnout based on gender, age, year in medical school, and two types of empathy: EC, and PD. Conclusion: It was discovered that students with high levels of EC had statistically lower scores of burnout over time while students with high levels of PD empathy showed statistically higher scores of burnout over three years. Implications for these findings are discussed.     

Health and Social Services for Male-to-Female Transgender Persons of Color in San Francisco

SUMMARY

This article presents findings from an investigation of health needs, service utilization, and perceived barriers to services among male-to-female (MtF) transgender persons of color in San Francisco. Focus groups (n = 48) and survey interviews (n = 332) were conducted with convenience samples recruited from the community. Participants reported a range of health and social services needed during the previous year, with African-Americans and Latinas showing particularly strong service needs. Rates of utilizing services were high for basic health care but lower for social services, substance abuse treatment, psychological counseling, and gender transition-related medical services. No significant ethnic group differences in health service utilization were found. Qualitative findings evinced the call for transgender-specific programs and advanced provider training on transgender issues such as hormone use, gender transition, HIV/ AIDS care and prevention, substance abuse, and mental health problems.     

An overview of issues in research on consumer satisfaction with child and adolescent mental health services

Research that focusses on consumer satisfaction with child and adolescent mental health services is reviewed. Satisfaction is broadly conceived to include any study where the perspectives of children, adolescents or their parents about mental health services were gathered and presented. Important conceptual issues in research on consumer satisfaction with children's mental health services are discussed. Some of the general methodological issues that have faced satisfaction researchers are also considered. The wide range of methodological variations that have been used to investigate this topic area are outlined. The most significant findings of previous research are presented and critiqued. In conclusion, suggestions are made about the most fruitful directions for future research.     

Early Development of Empathy in Toddlers: Effects of Daily Parent–Child Interaction and Home‐Rearing Environment

The purpose of this exploratory study was to examine the effects of (a) parent–child interaction and (b) home environment on the early development of empathy in toddlers. A total of 176 Japanese families (both young children and their parents) were enrolled in this study. Laboratory assessment of children's empathy development and caregiver's rearing competence was made during a controlled observation of parent–child interaction. The results of this study suggest that of all the factors examined, the degree of parent–child interaction, the stability of long‐term parenting practices, parental attitude, and mother's mental health status were correlated with development of empathy in children. These findings provide new indicators for the development of individualized intervention methods for use in clinical practice.     

The prevalence and correlations of medical student burnout in the pre-clinical years: a cross-sectional study

Burnout is a psychological syndrome of emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and impaired personal accomplishment induced by repeated workplace stressors. Current research suggests that physician burnout may have its origins in medical school. The consequences of medical student burnout include both personal and professional distress, loss of empathy, and poor health. We hypothesized that burnout occurs prior to the initiation of the clinical years of medical education. This was a cross-sectional survey administered to third-year medical students at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine (MSSM) in New York, New York (a traditional-style medical school with a marked division between pre-clinical and clinical training occurring at the beginning of the third year). Survey included an instrument used to measure job burnout, a sleep deprivation screen, and questions related to demographic information, current rotation, psychiatric history, time spent working/studying, participation in extracurricular activities, social support network, autonomy and isolation. Of the 86 medical students who participated, 71% met criteria for burnout. Burnt out students were significantly more likely to suffer from sleep deprivation (p?=?0.0359). They were also more likely to disagree with the following statements: "I have control over my daily schedule" (p?=?0.0286) and "I am confident that I will have the knowledge and skills necessary to become an intern when I graduate" (p?=?0.0263). Our findings show that burnout is present at the beginning of the third year of medical school, prior to the initiation of the clinical years of medical training. Medical student burnout is quite common, and early efforts should be made to empower medical students to both build the knowledge and skills necessary to become capable physicians, as well as withstand the emotional, mental, and physical challenges inherent to medical school.     

An Assessment of Medical School Stressors on Preclinical Students’ Levels of Clinical Empathy

This study examines the impact of medical school-specific stressors on potential changes in medical students’ levels of clinical empathy. A total of 352 students at a U.S. medical school completed questionnaires at the beginning and the end of the 2007–2008 academic year. Subjects were found to decrease significantly in levels of empathy, although these changes were minimal. The negative impact of medical school-specific stressors was found to not significantly affect students’ changes in clinical empathy, yet correlation analyses showed that students high in clinical empathy were more likely to report that significant medical school stressors had more negative impact on their lives. Whereas medical school stress may not be a direct cause of the decline in empathy, students may be adapting to their environment by shedding empathy in order to become less vulnerable to the negative impact of the stressors.     

Associations among depressive symptoms,well-being,patient involvement,provider cultural competency,and treatment nonadherence: An exploratory study among university student-patients

Many students on US university campuses are underserved and undertreated for common mental health and medical conditions. The limited extent to which university students seek psychological and medical care when they need it has long been a problem. Among those who do seek care, treatment adherence appears to be an issue as well. However, few studies have examined factors that may be related to treatment nonadherence in university student-patients. The present survey study examined often-understudied constructs (i.e. patient involvement, treatment nonadherence, and provider cultural competency) in 243 university student-patients. Specifically, using a correlational research design, we examined the relations among depressive symptoms, well-being, patient involvement, cultural competency, and treatment nonadherence. Using multiple linear regression analysis, we also explored the extent to which the exploratory variables predicted treatment nonadherence separately and jointly. The current study revealed two important findings. First, all four factors – depressive symptoms, well-being, patient involvement, and cultural competency – were related to nonadherence to treatment. Second, depressive symptoms and patient involvement explained unique variance in nonadherence to treatment. The findings suggest that increased awareness of and attention to depressive symptoms and patient involvement may have important relevance for engendering healthy campuses and for reducing nonadherence in student-patients. Implications and directions for future research are proffered.     

The mental health system and older adults in the 1990s.

Trends in mental health services for older adults during the past decade were used to predict salient issues for the current decade. These include overreliance on inpatient treatment, increased use of general hospitals as treatment sites, inadequate integration with the nursing-home industry, and insufficient mental health referrals from general medical providers. In the decade ahead, the mental health needs of older adults are unlikely to be an identified focus; rather the issues will overlap with other priorities (e.g., biomedical research on brain functioning, alternative treatment programs for the chronically mentally ill, and containing health care costs). Advocates for the elderly will be successful to the extent that they cast aging services within the context of these other concerns.     

Barriers to use of mental health services by Japanese university students

The present cross-sectional study assessed the attitude of Japanese undergraduates towards mental health services and investigated whether mental distress is associated with reluctance to use, and a decreased perceived need for, mental health services. A convenience sample of 194 students (98 men and 96 women) completed the 28-item Japanese version of the General Health Questionnaire and questions regarding reluctance to use and perceived need for mental health services. Participants were in the second to fourth years of undergraduate work and their majors were psychology and technology. Analyses showed that approximately 70% of students were reluctant to use mental health services and this reluctance was less in the group scoring high on anxiety and insomnia than the group scoring lower. Also, perceived need for mental health services was higher for those scoring high on depression. There were some discrepancies in the results and previous studies. Implications of these findings for clinical and preventive practice and for direction for research are discussed.     

1993至2016年医学生心理健康变迁的横断历史研究

为考察我国医学生心理健康水平随年代的变迁趋势, 运用横断历史研究的方法, 对1993至2016年间181篇采用90项症状自评量表(SCL-90)测量医学生心理健康水平的研究报告(被试为129613名医学生)进行元分析。研究发现：(1)除恐怖因子外, SCL-90其余8个因子均与年代呈显著负相关, 这说明, 我国医学生的心理健康水平在逐年提升。(2)当年和5年前的2个社会指标(卫生总费用和注册医师数)与SCL-90的8个因子均值呈显著负相关, 说明这些社会指标可能是预测医学生心理健康水平的重要因素。(3)与男生相比, 女生心理健康水平的上升趋势更为明显, 但心理健康水平的性别差异并不显著。(4)医学新生心理健康水平的上升趋势要比非新生更明显和全面。     

Reconsidering Empathy: An Interpersonal Approach and Participatory Arts in the Medical Humanities

Journal of Medical Humanities - The decline of empathy among health professional students, highlighted in the literature on health education, is a concern for medical educators. The evidence...     

Ageism in Mental Health and Health Care: A Critical Review

Discussions of aging and mental health widely assume that ageism among mental health providers is an important factor limiting access to mental health services for older adults. Given the widespread citation of ageism as a problem, we critically review the history of the ageism construct, and evidence for its existence in both mental health and medical professionals. There is surprisingly little empirical evidence for age bias among mental health providers. Considerable evidence does suggest differential medical treatment for older adults in such diverse areas as physician–patient interaction, use of screening procedures, and treatment of varied medical problems, although it is unclear whether age bias accounts for these differences. We suggest that innovations in delivery of psychological services, such as collaborative medical/psychological care in primary care settings, may ultimately prove more useful in improving access to mental health services than efforts to combat ageism.     

Attitudes toward seeking professional psychological help among Chinese students at a UK university

Aim: In this study we aimed to investigate whether Chinese international and British home students at a university in the United Kingdom differed in their attitudes towards seeking psychological help. Method: The total sample comprised 323 participants. Participants completed measures to assess their attitudes toward seeking professional psychological help (recognition of need for psychological help, stigma tolerance, interpersonal openness, confidence in mental health practitioners). Results: Chinese students reported significantly less interpersonal openness than that reported by British students. Contrary to prediction, however, no significant group differences were found on any of the other mental health attitudes (i.e. recognition of need for psychological help, confidence in mental health practitioners or stigma tolerance). Within‐group contrasts also showed that Chinese students reported lower scores on interpersonal openness than on stigma tolerance and confidence in mental health practitioners. In contrast, British participants reported less confidence in mental health practitioners and recognition of the need for psychological help than reported for stigma tolerance and interpersonal openness. Conclusion: The findings highlight the need for a greater understanding of students' cultural inclinations toward mental health issues and cultural attitudes that may hinder and/or facilitate students' access and engagement with psychological services in higher education institutions.     

Primary Care Medical Provider Attitudes Regarding Mental Health and Behavioral Medicine in Integrated and Non-integrated Primary Care Practice Settings

Primary care medical providers (PCPs) have become de facto providers of services for the management of both mental and chronic illnesses. Although some reports suggest that PCPs favor having Behavioral Health colleagues provide behavioral health services in primary care, others demonstrate this view is necessarily not universal. We examined attitudes regarding behavioral health services among PCPs in practices that offer such services via onsite behavioral health providers (n = 31) and those that do not (n = 62). We compared referral rates and perceived need for and helpfulness of behavioral health colleagues in treating mental health/behavioral medicine issues. In both samples, perceived need was variable (5?C100%), as were PCPs?? views of their own competence in mental health/behavioral medicine diagnosis and treatment. Interestingly, neither sample rated perceived access to behavioral health providers exceptionally high. Referral rates and views about the helpfulness of behavioral health services, except in relation to depression and anxiety, were lower than expected. These results suggest a need for increased collaboration with and education of PCPs about the roles and skills of behavioral health professionals.     

An Exploration of the Relationship Between Spirituality,Religion and Mental Health Among Youth Who Identify as LGBT+: A Systematic Literature Review

There is a growing interest in addressing spirituality in health care with evidence emerging that personal spiritual and religious practices, and support of these, can influence mental health in a positive way. However, there can be distinct challenges to spiritual expression and mental health issues for youth who identify as LGBT+. The goal of this paper was to undertake a systematic review of the available evidence to investigate the relationship between mental health, spirituality and religion as experienced by LGBT+ youth. A comprehensive literature search was conducted using medical and psychological databases that focused on spirituality, mental health and LGBT+ youth. The search yielded a total of ten articles published in English between May 2008 and June 2018. The key findings highlighted issues around discriminatory attitudes, shame related to disclosure, spirituality as a supportive resource, internalised conflict and external factors around sexual orientation concerns. The psychological, social and health implications are presented and discussed.

     

医学生疼痛共情的认知过程特征：来自ERP的证据

以往研究发现临床医生的疼痛共情显著低于常人,表现为前者感知他人疼痛时会出现早期情绪分享和晚期情绪调节的相对抑制。而处于职前培养期的医学生是否存在相似问题,其疼痛共情又是否会受到重复暴露的影响,目前并不清楚。为此,本研究采用ERP技术比较了医学与非医学专业大学生疼痛共情的认知过程,并通过前后测设计检验了重复暴露对二者疼痛共情的影响。行为结果发现两组被试的主观疼痛判断都出现了疼痛共情效应,但未出现组别差异,也未发现重复暴露的影响。但ERP结果显示,医学生的疼痛共情过程显著区别于非医学生。他们虽表现出早期情绪分享成分N1的抑制效应,但LPP反映的晚期认知加工却显著增强,且上述两阶段加工均未受到重复暴露的显著影响。研究表明：（1）医学学习能够抑制疼痛共情的早期情绪分享,但医学生仍可通过更多晚期认知资源投入来维持其疼痛共情水平。（2）医学生的疼痛共情较少受到重复暴露的影响,呈现情绪适应特点。     

1992年以来中学生心理健康的变迁：一项横断历史研究

我国中学生的心理健康状况是否真的在逐渐下降呢？为回答这个问题,研究采用“横断历史研究”这种特殊的元分析方法,选取1992年至2005年间107篇采用90项症状自评量表（SCL–90）的研究报告,分析了111925名中学生在该量表9个因子上得分随年代的变化情况。研究结果表明：(1)SCL–90的7个因子均值与年代正相关显著（0.22~0.35）,7个因子均值的增加量为0.09~0.22（效果量d为0.06~0.35）,这说明1992至2005年间中学生的心理问题在缓慢增加,即中学生健康水平缓慢下降。(2)SCL–90的7个因子的标准差与年代间正相关显著(0.19~0.38),这说明中学生的心理健康水平不再像以前那样趋同,而是逐年变得更为分化。(3)中学生SCL–90得分与社会威胁、教育状况、经济状况三方面的10项社会指标相关显著,这说明社会变迁是预测中学生心理健康水平的重要因素