Using the family life cycle with later life families

The development of a family clinic for later life families within an Old Age Psychiatry service is briefly described. An extended life cycle model has been found useful in understanding and working with such families and is also described, together with two cases which illustrate the practical application of the model.     

The Interactive Systems Framework Applied to the Strategic Prevention Framework: The Rhode Island Experience

The Interactive Systems Framework for Dissemination and Implementation (ISF) was introduced as a heuristic systems level model to help bridge the gap between research and practice (Wandersman et al., in Am J Commun Psychol 41:171–181, 2008). This model describes three interacting systems with distinct functions that (1) distill knowledge to develop innovations; (2) provide supportive training and technical assistance for dissemination to; (3) a prevention delivery system responsible for implementation in the field. The Strategic Prevention Framework (SPF) is a major prevention innovation launched by the Center for Substance Abuse Prevention (CSAP) of the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA). The SPF offers a structured, sequential, data‐driven approach that explicitly targets environmental conditions in the community and aims for change in substance use and problems at the population level. This paper describes how the ISF was applied to the challenges of implementing the SPF in 14 Rhode Island communities, with a focus on the development of a new Training and Technical Assistance Resources Center to support SPF efforts. More specifically, we (1) describe each of the three ISF interacting systems as they evolved in Rhode Island; (2) articulate the lines of communication between the three systems; and (3) examine selected evaluation data to understand relationships between training and technical assistance and SPF implementation and outcomes. Special Issue: Advances in Bridging Research and Practice Using the Interactive System Framework for Dissemination and Implementation; Guest Editors: Abraham Wandersman, Paul Flaspohler, Catherine A. Lesesne, Richard Puddy; Action Editor: Emilie Phillips Smith     

Exploring Associations Between Self-Compassion,Self-Criticism,Mental Health,and Quality of Life in Adults with Cystic Fibrosis: Informing Future Interventions

Self-compassion is increasingly recognised as an important and beneficial factor in quality of life and mental health-related research, but research within the adult cystic fibrosis (CF) population is scarce. In a cross-sectional study, 114 (56 female, 58 male) adults with CF completed and returned a series of validated questionnaires that assessed CF-related quality of life, negative emotional states (depression, anxiety and stress), self-compassion, and self-criticism. Quality of life and self-compassion were positively correlated, and each in turn were inversely correlated with negative emotional states and self-criticism. Negative emotional states correlated positively to self-criticism. Self-compassion and/or self-criticism moderated ten relationships between various sub-domains of quality of life and negative emotions. Psychological interventions that increase self-compassion may be beneficial for enhancing mental health and quality of life for adults with CF.

     

Attitudes of clinical psychologists towards clients with personality disorders

Previous studies have found that a variety of mental health professionals hold negative attitudes towards clients diagnosed with a personality disorder. These negative attitudes may lead to clients receiving a lower quality of service. Specialist training has been found to improve attitudes towards personality disorders but no empirical studies in Australia have examined this among clinical psychologists. In this study, the attitudes of 81 clinical psychologists towards clients with personality disorders were examined. We were specifically interested in investigating the relationship between recency of specialist training and clinician's attitudes as well as the influence of percentage of personality disorder clients on the clinician's caseload. Results demonstrated that both recency of specialist training and percentage of clients seen were associated with more positive attitudes; however, a higher caseload of clients with personality disorders was the most important predictor of positive attitudes. The implication is that recent participation in specialist training for personality disorders appears to be valuable in improving clinician's attitudes but that more positive attitudes are associated with seeing a greater number of individuals with personality disorders.     

Teaching letter sounds to kindergarten English language learners using incremental rehearsal

Proficiency in letter–sound correspondence is important for decoding connected text. This study examined the effects of an evidence-based intervention, incremental rehearsal (IR), on the letter–sound expression of three kindergarten English language learners (ELLs) performing below the district benchmark for letter–sound fluency. Participants were native speakers of Hmong, Spanish, and Polish. A multiple-baseline design across sets of unknown letter sounds was used to evaluate the effects of IR on letter–sound expression. Visual analysis of the data showed an increase in level and trend when IR was introduced in each phase. Percentage of all non-overlapping data (PAND) ranged from 95% to 100%. All participants exceeded expected growth and reached the spring district benchmark for letter–sound fluency. Results suggest that IR is a promising intervention for increasing letter–sound expression for ELLs who evidence delays in acquiring letter sounds.