The Evidence Base for Occupational Therapy in Mental Health: More Systematic Reviews Are Needed

To shape its work, the Research Centre for Occupation & Mental Health is interested in research priorities. Systematic reviews develop an overview of the research available about an intervention, which can provide evidence to underpin practice. They also however, identify gaps in the knowledge base and so are useful for research-prioritization exercises. A rigorous literature search identified only four systematic reviews about occupational therapy in mental health, which suggests that more are needed to underpin practice. This article also explains a six-stage process for conducting a systematic review that can be used by occupational therapists in mental health.     

A Qualitative Study of Community–University Partnerships That Support Psychosocial Occupational Therapy

Community partner voices are important to understand because they provide the contexts in which occupational therapy (OT) students research community-identified needs and together, create evidence-based occupation-focused programs while developing clinical reasoning skills in a natural context. The purpose of this study is to understand how community partners experienced partnerships that support community-based research in psychosocial settings. This retrospective study explores the perspectives of community partners that hosted OT students for two-semester service-learning project over 3 years. Findings revealed partners value effective communication with faculty and students, spending time observing, listening, and developing meaningful relationships with clients and staff.     

Caught in the crossfire: A case of mistaken identity among religious revivalists and secularists

The discussion of Islamic and Protestant revivalisms inflames not only believers but secularists as well. This paper is about standpoint and perceived standpoint in relation to carrying out feminist research about why some women in a liberal democracy join revivalist movements. The article also discusses the variegated nature of power relations within the research process. Situated within a Women's Studies Centre the author found herself in the crossfire between secular feminists and religious revivalists—some members of each group insisting she represented the position of the opposing view. This paper explores the conflictual situation and resulting ‘epistemological vertigo’ in circumstances where revivalists and secularists each believed in the stereotype of the other and assumed the researcher embodied it.     

Dropping Out of Couple Therapy

Abstract

Current literature on dropouts in marriage and family therapy includes few studies that focus exclusively on couple therapy and only a limited number of qualitative studies. Clients' perceptions of premature termination are seldom considered. This qualitative case study describes, from both the clients' and the therapist's perspectives, one couple's experience of dropping out of couple therapy after three, sessions. Findings from this case study are compared with existing literature and a fourfold typology of dropouts is proposed. We offer recommendations for future research of dropouts in couple therapy.     

Nationwide survey of contraceptive and sexually transmitted infection knowledge,attitudes and skills of university students in Portugal

Sexually transmitted infections and (STIs) unintended pregnancies are contemporary public health concerns. Understanding factors (e.g. knowledge, attitudes and skills) influencing sexual behaviours of university students are critical to develop targeted and tailored risk-reduction interventions for this vulnerable population. Thus, the goals of this study were to describe sexual behaviours and analyze differences between genders for sexual behaviours; to identify whether differences exist between genders and age groups regarding knowledge, attitudes and skills concerning contraceptive methods and STIs, and to evaluate the association of knowledge with attitudes and skills with sexual behaviour among university students in Portugal. The sample included 3278 students. Results show that the majority were sexually active and use condoms and oral contraceptives. In general, university students have high knowledge, positive attitudes and skills about contraception and STIs. Gender analyses indicated that women had greater knowledge, and more favourable attitudes, and higher skills toward contraceptive and STI preventive behaviour College students, in particular, face new challenges in sexual health and would benefit from more comprehensive education aimed at promoting healthy decision-making about family planning and STI prevention.     

Deriving relations at multiple levels of complexity following minimal instruction: A demonstration

Recommendations for achieving generalized instructional outcomes often overlook the capacity for generative learning for most verbally competent humans. Four children (ages 5–8) participated in this project. In Study 1, we provided decontextualized discrete trial teaching to establish arbitrary relations between colors, pictures of characters, and researcher motor actions. All participants engaged in derivative responding, providing evidence of relational framing. Subsequently, we demonstrated that, with no additional instruction, these derivatives contributed to effective action within a socially valid context (i.e., Candyland gameplay). Study 2 extended the demonstration by teaching frames of opposition. Following teaching, all participants engaged in novel and contextually appropriate responding that entailed the derivation of both coordination and opposition between untrained stimuli. This outcome demonstrates how teaching simple relations can result in learning that manifests at higher levels of complexity (i.e., relational networking), providing some evidence that there can be socially valid benefits to decontextualized discrete trial instruction.     

师范生对教学能力的自我评价、他人评价和反射性评价的关系研究

通过对36名师范生进行问卷调查,考察师范生在教学反思过程中对教学能力的自我评价、他人评价和反射性评价之间的关系。结果发现,在对教学能力的评价中：（1）师范生的自我评价和反射性评价显著低于他人评价;（2）相对于具体他人,泛化他人评价和泛化反射性评价对个体自我评价的影响更大;（3）自我评价与他人评价存在中低相关,而与反射性评价存在中高相关;（4）反射性评价在他人评价和自我评价之间起着完全中介作用。本研究表明,师范生对教学能力的自我评价、他人评价和反射性评价并不完全一致,他人评价通过反射性评价间接影响个体的自我评价。     

决策中情绪作用机制的理论研究述评

决策研究领域日益重视情绪的作用,情绪的认知评估理论、道德情绪理论及动机维度模型等新兴情绪观使研究者对决策机制的认识不断深化,出现了解释情绪在各类决策中作用机制的理论成果：情绪浸润模型、风险决策感知与评估双系统模型、情绪即社会信息模型、神经情感决策理论。未来尚需加强作用机制的验证研究,从情绪具身角度进行思考,基于知情交互的角度整合理论体系,重视神经生理机制理论及模型建构。并简要分析了理论成果的启示。