Lithiumtherapie bei älteren Patienten mit bipolarer Erkrankung

psychopraxis. neuropraxis - Die Behandlung psychiatrischer Erkrankungen mit Lithium bei älteren Patienten ist phasenprophylaktisch so wirksam wie in der Allgemeinbevölkerung und besitzt...     

Creation and Implementation of an Environmental Scan to Assess Cancer Genetics Services at Three Oncology Care Settings

An environmental scan (ES) is an efficient mixed-methods approach to collect and interpret relevant data for strategic planning and project design. To date, the ES has not been used nor evaluated in the clinical cancer genetics setting. We created and implemented an ES to inform the design of a quality improvement (QI) project to increase the rates of adherence to national guidelines for cancer genetic counseling and genetic testing at three unique oncology care settings (OCS). The ES collected qualitative and quantitative data from reviews of internal processes, past QI efforts, the literature, and each OCS. The ES used a data collection form and semi-structured interviews to aid in data collection. The ES was completed within 6 months, and sufficient data were captured to identify opportunities and threats to the QI project’s success, as well as potential barriers to, and facilitators of guideline-based cancer genetics services at each OCS. Previously unreported barriers were identified, including inefficient genetic counseling appointment scheduling processes and the inability to track referrals, genetics appointments, and genetic test results within electronic medical record systems. The ES was a valuable process for QI project planning at three OCS and may be used to evaluate genetics services in other settings.     

Youth Subgroups who Receive John F. Chafee Foster Care Independence Program Services

To date over two billion dollars have been invested in the John F. Chafee Foster Care Independence Program (CFCIP) to help youth who are transitioning out of foster care to achieve self-sufficiency through an array of independent living services. Although states are required to report CFCIP service provision to the National Youth in Transition Database (NYTD), the degree of heterogeneity of the aging out population from the service receipt perspective and state implementation is unknown. The CFCIP calls for a deeper understanding of the underlying patterns of services receipt to prepare for youth’s successful transition to adulthood. Based on the population of 68,057 first-time youth who received CFCIP services in FY2011-FY2013 from the NYTD, we used multi-level latent class analysis (MLCA) to identify underlying combinations of service receipt that may be influenced by youth-level and state-level characteristics. We identified the most preferred model based on interpretability, fit statistics, and split-half replication. The optimal model was a three-class, MLCA solution characterized by a high-service receipt profile, an independent living assessment and academic support receipt profile, and a limited service receipt profile. Among male and female youth, age, education level, and whether states serve youth aged 18 or above were significant characteristics associated with LCA profile membership. States could benefit from understanding existing service receipt patterns and gaps to optimize decisions on service delivery in order to meet youth needs and to identify specific services that may prepare youth aging out of foster care towards positive outcomes.     

Parental Involvement in Primary School Education: its Relationship with Children’s Academic Performance and Psychosocial Competence through Engaging Children with School

The benefits of parental involvement in children’s education have been well established but increasing evidence suggests that overparenting may have adverse effects on children. The question of whether excessive parental involvement hinders children’s academic and psychosocial development warrants further investigations. This study examined the associations of parental educational involvement at home and in school with academic performance and psychological health of 507 Chinese Grade 3 schoolchildren in Hong Kong. Parents reported on their level of involvement in children’s schooling and their children’s psychosocial issues. Children were surveyed to determine their school engagement, and their Chinese language and mathematics attainment was assessed. We also explored the underlying mechanism by testing children’s engagement with school as a mediator of the relationships. Our results showed that home-based parental educational involvement was positively associated with children’s language competence and psychosocial wellbeing, and the associations were linked through engaging children with school. However, the benefits reached a plateau at higher level of parental involvement in children’s learning at home. School-based parental involvement had an indirect effect on children’s prosocial behavior through school engagement. These findings highlight the significance of optimal level of parental involvement in children’s education at home for children’s development.     

Satisfaction and frustration of autonomy and relatedness needs: Associations with parenting dimensions and psychological functioning

Framed from Basic Psychological Needs Theory (Ryan and Deci in American Psychologist 55:68–78; Ryan, Deci, American Psychologist 55:68–78, 2000) and Ka?itçiba?i’s Autonomous-Related Self Theory (Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology 36:1–20; Ka?itçiba?i, Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology 36:1–20, 2005), the study examined the relationships of adolescents’ satisfaction and frustration of autonomy and relatedness, with (a) adolescents’ perception of mother’s and father’s psychological control and autonomy support, and (b) adolescents’ self-acceptance and anxiety. Participants were 556 adolescents (M?=?17.25, SD?=?0.92). Path analysis showed more significant associations of autonomy support with satisfaction/frustration of autonomy and relatedness than psychological control, reporting also some differences between parents. Moreover, both satisfaction and frustration of autonomy and relatedness were associated with adolescents’ self-acceptance and anxiety although in different ways. Our study provides further data, useful to understand how needs for autonomy and relatedness are associated with parenting dimensions and contribute to the adjustment of adolescents living in psychologically interdependent cultures, taking into account the role of each parent as well as the separate contribution of need satisfaction and need frustration.     

Willingness to Seek Treatment Among Black Students With Anxiety or Depression: The Synergistic Effect of Sociocultural Factors With Symptom Severity and Intolerance of Uncertainty

Anxiety and depressive disorders are among the most commonly diagnosed psychiatric disorders, yet they remain largely undertreated in the U.S. and Black adults are especially unlikely to seek or receive mental health services. Symptom severity has been found to impact treatment-seeking behaviors as have sociocultural factors. Yet no known research has tested whether these factors work synergistically to effect willingness to seek treatment. Further, emerging data point to the importance of transdiagnostic risk factors such as intolerance of uncertainty (IU). IU may be negatively related to seeking treatment given that Black adults may be uncertain whether treatment might benefit them. Thus, the current study examined the relations between symptom severity/IU and willingness to seek treatment for anxiety/depression problems and the impact of key sociocultural variables (i.e., cultural mistrust–interpersonal relations [CMI-IR], perceived discrimination [PED]) on these relations among 161 (85% female) Black undergraduates. Consistent with prediction, symptom severity was positively related to willingness, but unexpectedly, IU was positively related. There was a significant Symptom Severity × CMI-IR interaction such that severity was positively related to willingness among students with lower cultural mistrust, but not higher mistrust. There were also significant IU × PED interaction such that IU was positively related to willingness among students with lower PED, but not higher PED. Results highlight the importance of considering the interplay between symptom severity, transdiagnostic vulnerability factors, and sociocultural variables when striving to identify factors related to treatment seeking behaviors among anxious and/or depressed Black students.     

An empirical solution to the puzzle of weakness of will

This paper presents an empirical solution to the puzzle of weakness of will. Specifically, it presents a theory of action, grounded in contemporary cognitive neuroscientific accounts of decision making, that explains the phenomenon of weakness of will without resulting in a puzzle.     

Explicit but not implicit sexist beliefs predict benevolent and hostile sexist behavior

Much work has been carried out on sexist attitudes, but only little on sexist behaviors. The goal of the present research was to close this gap by testing how a variety of benevolent and hostile sexist behaviors correlate with implicit and explicit sexist attitudes. In Study 1 (N = 126), we developed implicit association tests for benevolent sexism and hostile sexism and illustrated that implicit and explicit benevolent sexist beliefs, as well as implicit and explicit hostile sexist beliefs, were positively correlated. In Study 2 (N = 83 of Study 1), we tested whether implicit and explicit benevolent and hostile sexist attitudes correlate with benevolent and hostile sexist behaviors. As expected, explicit benevolent (but not hostile) sexist attitudes predicted benevolent sexist behavior, whereas explicit hostile (but not benevolent) sexist attitudes predicted hostile sexist behavior. Implicit sexist attitudes did not predict sexist behavior. The implications of these findings are discussed.