Neuropsychiatry's offspring

The British Neuropsychiatry Association Annual Meeting was held at the Institute of Child Health, London, UK, on 21-22 February 2002.     

Adapting to Context in Community-Based Participatory Research: “Participatory Starting Points” in a Chinese Immigrant Worker Community

Community-based participatory research (CBPR) is increasingly being used to better understand and improve the health of diverse communities. A key strength of this research orientation is its adaptability to community contexts and characteristics. To date, however, few studies explicitly discuss adaptations made to CBPR principles and processes in response to community context and partners’ needs. Using data from our CBPR study, the San Francisco Chinatown Restaurant Worker Health and Safety Project, and drawing from literature on immigrant political incorporation, we examine the links between the contexts of the Chinese immigrant worker community, adaptations made by our collaborative, and study outcomes. In particular, we explore the concepts of contexts of reception and participatory starting points, which may be especially relevant for partnerships with immigrant communities whose members have historically had lower rates of civic and political participation in the US. We discuss contextual findings such as worker partner accounts of language barriers, economic and social marginalization, and civic skills and participation, as well as subsequent adaptations made by the partnership. We also describe the relative effectiveness of these adaptations in yielding equitable participation and building partners’ capacity. We conclude by sharing lessons learned and their implications for CBPR and partnerships with immigrant communities more broadly.     

Deviancy and Normative Training Processes in Experimental Groups of Delinquent and Nondelinquent Male Adolescents

The goal of this study was to identify the predictors and the moderators of group characteristics that influence deviancy and normative training processes in delinquent male adolescents. The authors experimentally tested the effects of group composition on deviant talk interaction processes among groups in which all members presented delinquent behaviors (“pure” delinquent group condition), those that included adolescents with no delinquent behaviors (“pure” normative group condition), and adolescents with both profiles (“mixed” group condition). Participants were 70 male adolescents aged 15–18 (M = 16.5; 56% Caucasian), with a random assignment to groups. Data were collected among three group sessions (T1, T2, T3), one session a week, using videotape. Two contents of interactions were also measured: antisocial and normative stories, counterbalanced across sessions. Results showed a significant group effect for antisocial talk and its reinforcement, with less antisocial talk within the mixed group condition in comparison to the pure delinquent group condition. The topic of interaction was also observed as a predictor of antisocial talk, with less normative interactions and more antisocial talk associated with antisocial topics. Finally, time moderated some relations between experimental groups and talk. We conclude with a discussion of the implications of this work for future research on deviancy training processes. Aggr. Behav. 39:30‐44, 2013. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Stigmata and negotiated outcomes: Management of appearance by persons with physical disabilities

This paper explores the role of clothing in the management of appearances by persons with disabilities. A negotiated outcomes perspective is used to study the clothing choices of disabled persons, rather than viewing them as passive recipients of the labels supplied by perceivers. A two‐part study of college students with physical disabilities, including comments from a series of focused group interviews and open‐ended responses to a questionnaire with national distribution, resulted in the data presented. The data indicated that most of the students strived to appear as normative as possible through their clothing choices and accordingly used a variety of techniques: “making do” with ingeniously adapted ready‐to‐wear apparel; using clothes to conceal a disability; deflecting attention from a disability toward more normative but slightly discrediting attributes; compensation through fashionable dress or by emphasizing other social roles and abilities; and social inclusion, i.e., the assertion that all persons vary in physical appearance. Some students employed dress to take advantage of their social uniqueness through such techniques as wearing bright or prominent clothing or by displaying humor. Possible directions for future research on the social interactions of disabled persons, particularly involving the implications of normalizing appearance versus emphasizing social uniqueness, are presented.     

Electron microscopy of grain boundaries: An application to RE-Fe-B (RE = Pr or Nd) magnetic materials

Abstract

To study the grain boundaries of the technologically important RE_13.75Fe_80.25B₆ (RE = Pr or Nd) permanent magnets, we developed a new method using small-angle dark-field imaging based on inner-potential differences at the grain boundaries, combined with high-resolution electron microscopy and nanoscale chemical analysis. In both the Pr- and Nd-based melt-quenched die-upset magnets we consistently observed a very thin Fe-rich amorphized intergranular phase at the boundaries, and this finding may have an impact on our understanding of the coercivity mechanism of these materials. Although the value of the method was demonstrated for transition metal-rare earth intermetallics, it may also be applied to grain-boundary studies in other materials.     

Understanding youth antisocial behavior using neuroscience through a developmental psychopathology lens: Review,integration, and directions for research

Youth antisocial behavior (AB) is an important public health concern impacting perpetrators, victims, and society. Functional neuroimaging is becoming a more common and useful modality for understanding neural correlates of youth AB. Although there has been a recent increase in neuroimaging studies of youth AB and corresponding theoretical articles on the neurobiology of AB, there has been little work critically examining the strengths and weaknesses of individual studies and using this knowledge to inform the design of future studies. Additionally, research on neuroimaging and youth AB has not been integrated within the broader framework of developmental psychopathology. Thus, this paper provides an in-depth review of the youth AB functional neuroimaging literature with the following goals: (1) to evaluate how this literature has informed our understanding of youth AB, (2) to evaluate current neuroimaging studies of youth AB from a developmental psychopathology perspective with a focus on integrating research from neuroscience and developmental psychopathology, as well as placing this research in the context of other related areas (e.g., psychopathy, molecular genetics), and (3) to examine strengths and weaknesses of neuroimaging and behavioral studies of youth AB to suggest how future studies can develop a more informed and integrated understanding of youth AB.     

Interactive Elicitation and Exchange of Knowledge

This paper gives a state-of-the-art report on the use of techniques based on personal construct psychology to automate interactive elicitation of cognitive structures for group learning and decision making. It outlines the structure and key components of the RepGrid implementation on a network of Macintosh computers, which includes tools for interactive reperto y grid elicitation and analysis, and a system for intemctizely exchanging and comparing reperto y grids from multiple simultaneous users on the network. The users of RepGrid are attempting to extend and understand their own thinking and problem-solving capabilities by interacting w'th other people. They are able to: see the relationship of thrir points of view to those of others explore differing termin, logy for the same constructs become aware of differing constructs having the same terminology extend their own construct systems with those of others provide others with constructs they have found valuable explore a problem-solving domain using the fill group resources     

The Higher Structural Phases of Concept Formation of Children

By means of a 2 × 2 × 4 way analysis of variance, modified when needed, the self-disclosing ability (as measured by the Jourard Self-Disclosure Questionnaire) of freshman college students from divorce and nondivorce homes was analyzed. The results of the study provide evidence that, generally, a person from a female-based home of the divorce type does not disclose the self any more or any less than a person from a nondivorce home situation. Also, the father does not play a major role in determining or directing the self-disclosure process of his children.     

Homelessness Is Traumatic: Abuse,Victimization, and Trauma Histories of Homeless Men

Homelessness is traumatic, and trauma-informed care is an emerging best practice. Using structured interviews with day shelter clients (N = 152), this study examined trauma among homeless men. The PTSD Checklist (PCL–C) was used to assess for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Participants’ pattern of PCL–C responses suggested that 23% to 30% screened positive for PTSD. Those with positive PTSD screens had been homeless longer and were more likely to have met time criteria for chronic homelessness. They were significantly more likely to be veterans and to report violent attacks, abuse histories, and mental health problems. Importantly, only 69% of those with positive PTSD screens acknowledged current mental health problems. These individuals were much less likely to report mental health counseling in the prior year.