Challenges in Defining and Developing the Field of Rural Mental Disorder Preventive Intervention Research

An overview of selected issues and challenges in defining and developing the field of rural preventive intervention research is presented. One fundamental challenge is to clarify the distinguishing characteristics of prevention science in rural contexts. Other challenges are evident in the need to address: the lack of consensus on conceptual and methodological approaches to this field, limited empirical study to date, the tremendous diversity of rural populations, and inconsistencies in the usage of the term rural. This article suggests the organization of a work group to formulate and implement a clear research agenda. In addition, several general questions are discussed that, if addressed, might serve to better define and further develop the field. These questions concern the implications of multiple approaches to prevention science in rural contexts, the classification of rural populations, the functional relevance of rural residence in the etiology of specific disorders, the application of extant etiological models to interventions designed specifically for rural populations, the conduct of rural area prevention needs assessments, the development of models for collaboration between intervention researchers and rural community stakeholders, and strategies to engage rural residents in preventive interventions.     

Conducting Ecologically Valid Prevention Research: Recruiting and Retaining a “Whole Village” in Multimethod, Multiagent Studies

Many prevention studies are now designed with complementary interventions in different settings. Evaluations of these interventions require assessing the child's behavior in each of these settings. Conducting these studies, therefore, may involve recruiting school districts, principals, classroom teachers, peers, parents, siblings, and in later years, employers and intimate partners. These participants may be considered natural raters or satellite subjects, depending on their degree of involvement. Issues of recruitment and retention thus are magnified in multimethod, multiagent studies. To illustrate these issues, findings are presented for three studies conducted with risk populations in the past decade at the Oregon Social Learning Center: a passive longitudinal study, a selected prevention study, and an indicated prevention study. Findings indicate that achieving high recruitment and retention rates for at-risk and high-risk subjects in multisetting studies is possible, and that a developmental approach should be taken to recruiting risk populations.     

Primary Prevention Mental Health Programs for Children and Adolescents: A Meta-Analytic Review

Used meta-analysis to review 177 primary prevention programs designed to prevent behavioral and social problems in children and adolescents. Findings provide empirical support for further research and practice in primary prevention. Most categories of programs produced outcomes similar to or higher in magnitude than those obtained by many other established preventive and treatment interventions in the social sciences and medicine. Programs modifying the school environment, individually focused mental health promotion efforts, and attempts to help children negotiate stressful transitions yield significant mean effects ranging from 0.24 to 0.93. In practical terms, the average participant in a primary prevention program surpasses the performance of between 59% to 82% of those in a control group, and outcomes reflect an 8% to 46% difference in success rates favoring prevention groups. Most categories of programs had the dual benefit of significantly reducing problems and significantly increasing competencies. Priorities for future research include clearer specification of intervention procedures and program goals, assessment of program implementation, more follow-up studies, and determining how characteristics of the intervention and participants relate to different outcomes.     

Posttraumatic growth following pregnancy termination for fetal abnormality: the predictive role of coping strategies and perinatal grief

Background: Research about termination for fetal abnormality (TFA) suggests that it is a traumatic event with potential negative psychological consequences. However, evidence also indicates that following traumatic events individuals may experience growth. Although TFA’s negative psychological outcomes are well documented, little is known of the potential for growth following this event. Therefore, the study’s objectives were to measure posttraumatic growth (PTG) post-TFA, examine the relationship between PTG, perinatal grief and coping, and determine the predictors of PTG.

Design: An online, retrospective survey was conducted with 161 women.

Methods: Eligible participants were women over 18 who had undergone TFA. Participants were recruited from a support organisation. They completed the Brief COPE, Short Perinatal Grief Scale and Posttraumatic Growth Inventory. Data were analysed using regression analyses.

Results: Moderate levels of PTG were observed for “relating to others,” “personal strengths” and “appreciation of life.” “Positive reframing” was a significant predictor of PTG. Despite using mainly “adaptive” coping strategies, women’s grief levels were high.

Conclusions: “Adaptive” coping strategies such as, “positive reframing” are relevant to TFA. They may act as protective factors against distress and as foundations for growth, implicating that interventions such as Cognitive Behavioural Therapy, which aim to reframe women’s experience, may be beneficial.     

Implications of Timing of Maternal Depressive Symptoms for Early Cognitive and Language Development

: Statistically, women, particularly pregnant women and new mothers, are at heightened risk for depression. The present review describes the current state of the research linking maternal depressed mood and children's cognitive and language development. Exposure to maternal depressive symptoms, whether during the prenatal period, postpartum period, or chronically, has been found to increase children's risk for later cognitive and language difficulties. The present review considers both the timing of maternal depression and the chronicity of mothers' depression on children's risk for cognitive and language delays. Infancy is frequently identified as a sensitive period in which environmental stimulation has the potential to substantially influence children's cognitive and language development. However, children's exposure to chronic maternal depression seems to be associated with more problematic outcomes for children, perhaps because depression interferes with mothers' ability to respond sensitively and consistently over time. Consistent with this expectation, interventions targeting parenting practices of depressed mothers have been found to increase children's cognitive competence during early childhood. The current review provides a synthesis of the current state of the field regarding the association between maternal depression and children's cognitive and language development during early childhood.     

Linking job control to employee creativity: The roles of creative self‐efficacy and regulatory focus

Providing job control to employees has been used to improve employee creativity in many organizations. However, the underlying psychological mechanism between job control and employee creativity has not been sufficiently examined. Whether the mechanism is consistent among different individuals rarely has been studied. Drawing on social cognitive theory and regulatory focus theory, we propose a moderated mediation model to investigate the relationship between job control and employee creativity as well as the mechanism and boundary condition of this relationship. We test our model using survey data from 182 supervisor–subordinate dyads collected from China. The results reveal that job control is positively related to employee creativity via creative self‐efficacy. A promotion focus moderates the indirect effect of job control on employee creativity via creative self‐efficacy such that the positive relationship between job control and creative self‐efficacy is stronger among high promotion focus employees, but a prevention focus does not moderate the relationship. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed in this study.     

调节定向的测量维度及其问卷的信度和效度检验

采用RFQ、B IS/BAS和LOT-R对331名企业新员工和920名在校大学生施测,以探讨H iggins等提出的调节定向测量维度在中国文化中的适应性及其问卷（RFQ）的信度和效度。结果表明：（1）在删除1个偏重从策略角度测量调节定向的项目后,得到由10个项目组成的调节定向问卷,可有效测量促进定向和预防定向两个基本维度;（2）调节定向问卷具有较好的内部一致性信度和区分效度,可作为开展相关研究的评定工具。     

正念减压疗法在护士职业倦怠干预中的应用

在当前的医疗和社会环境下,护士群体面临着巨大的压力,承受着职业枯竭困扰。针对国内护士职业倦怠干预研究的现状,着重介绍了西方临床心理学界广泛应用的正念减压疗法(mindfulness-based stress reduction,MBSR)及其在压力管理和身心疾病的康复等方面的积极疗效。根据正念减压疗法的特点、作用机制和其与护理理论的关系,探讨这种训练应用于护士职业倦怠预防和干预的合理性。     

A Comparison of Underage,Young, Middle,and Late Adults in Indicated Prevention Following Impaired Driving

The authors examined age differences in baseline features and program response in individuals completing indicated prevention (Prime For Life^®) for impaired driving. Risk perception, substance use, and support differed by age at baseline and, despite improvements, continued to differ postprogram.