WorldWideScience

Sample records for inaccurate mental models

  1. Inverting reflections using full-waveform inversion with inaccurate starting models

    KAUST Repository

    AlTheyab, Abdullah; Schuster, Gerard T.

    2015-01-01

    We present a method for inverting seismic reflections using full-waveform inversion (FWI) with inaccurate starting models. For a layered medium, near-offset reflections (with zero angle of incidence) are unlikely to be cycle-skipped regardless

  2. Inverting reflections using full-waveform inversion with inaccurate starting models

    KAUST Repository

    AlTheyab, Abdullah

    2015-08-19

    We present a method for inverting seismic reflections using full-waveform inversion (FWI) with inaccurate starting models. For a layered medium, near-offset reflections (with zero angle of incidence) are unlikely to be cycle-skipped regardless of the low-wavenumber velocity error in the initial models. Therefore, we use them as a starting point for FWI, and the subsurface velocity model is then updated during the FWI iterations using reflection wavepaths from varying offsets that are not cycle-skipped. To enhance low-wavenumber updates and accelerate the convergence, we take several passes through the non-linear Gauss-Seidel iterations, where we invert traces from a narrow range of near offsets and finally end at the far offsets. Every pass is followed by applying smoothing to the cumulative slowness update. The smoothing is strong at the early stages and relaxed at later iterations to allow for a gradual reconstruction of the subsurface model in a multiscale manner. Applications to synthetic and field data, starting from inaccurate models, show significant low-wavenumber updates and flattening of common-image gathers after many iterations.

  3. Partial Deconvolution with Inaccurate Blur Kernel.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ren, Dongwei; Zuo, Wangmeng; Zhang, David; Xu, Jun; Zhang, Lei

    2017-10-17

    Most non-blind deconvolution methods are developed under the error-free kernel assumption, and are not robust to inaccurate blur kernel. Unfortunately, despite the great progress in blind deconvolution, estimation error remains inevitable during blur kernel estimation. Consequently, severe artifacts such as ringing effects and distortions are likely to be introduced in the non-blind deconvolution stage. In this paper, we tackle this issue by suggesting: (i) a partial map in the Fourier domain for modeling kernel estimation error, and (ii) a partial deconvolution model for robust deblurring with inaccurate blur kernel. The partial map is constructed by detecting the reliable Fourier entries of estimated blur kernel. And partial deconvolution is applied to wavelet-based and learning-based models to suppress the adverse effect of kernel estimation error. Furthermore, an E-M algorithm is developed for estimating the partial map and recovering the latent sharp image alternatively. Experimental results show that our partial deconvolution model is effective in relieving artifacts caused by inaccurate blur kernel, and can achieve favorable deblurring quality on synthetic and real blurry images.Most non-blind deconvolution methods are developed under the error-free kernel assumption, and are not robust to inaccurate blur kernel. Unfortunately, despite the great progress in blind deconvolution, estimation error remains inevitable during blur kernel estimation. Consequently, severe artifacts such as ringing effects and distortions are likely to be introduced in the non-blind deconvolution stage. In this paper, we tackle this issue by suggesting: (i) a partial map in the Fourier domain for modeling kernel estimation error, and (ii) a partial deconvolution model for robust deblurring with inaccurate blur kernel. The partial map is constructed by detecting the reliable Fourier entries of estimated blur kernel. And partial deconvolution is applied to wavelet-based and learning

  4. Visualizations and Mental Models - The Educational Implications of GEOWALL

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rapp, D.; Kendeou, P.

    2003-12-01

    Work in the earth sciences has outlined many of the faulty beliefs that students possess concerning particular geological systems and processes. Evidence from educational and cognitive psychology has demonstrated that students often have difficulty overcoming their na‹ve beliefs about science. Prior knowledge is often remarkably resistant to change, particularly when students' existing mental models for geological principles may be faulty or inaccurate. Figuring out how to help students revise their mental models to include appropriate information is a major challenge. Up until this point, research has tended to focus on whether 2-dimensional computer visualizations are useful tools for helping students develop scientifically correct models. Research suggests that when students are given the opportunity to use dynamic computer-based visualizations, they are more likely to recall the learned information, and are more likely to transfer that knowledge to novel settings. Unfortunately, 2-dimensional visualization systems are often inadequate representations of the material that educators would like students to learn. For example, a 2-dimensional image of the Earth's surface does not adequately convey particular features that are critical for visualizing the geological environment. This may limit the models that students can construct following these visualizations. GEOWALL is a stereo projection system that has attempted to address this issue. It can display multidimensional static geologic images and dynamic geologic animations in a 3-dimensional format. Our current research examines whether multidimensional visualization systems such as GEOWALL may facilitate learning by helping students to develop more complex mental models. This talk will address some of the cognitive issues that influence the construction of mental models, and the difficulty of updating existing mental models. We will also discuss our current work that seeks to examine whether GEOWALL is an

  5. Entanglement-fidelity relations for inaccurate ancilla-driven quantum computation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Morimae, Tomoyuki; Kahn, Jonas

    2010-01-01

    It was shown by T. Morimae [Phys. Rev. A 81, 060307(R) (2010)] that the gate fidelity of an inaccurate one-way quantum computation is upper bounded by a decreasing function of the amount of entanglement in the register. This means that a strong entanglement causes the low gate fidelity in the one-way quantum computation with inaccurate measurements. In this paper, we derive similar entanglement-fidelity relations for the inaccurate ancilla-driven quantum computation. These relations again imply that a strong entanglement in the register causes the low gate fidelity in the ancilla-driven quantum computation if the measurements on the ancilla are inaccurate.

  6. Protein loop modeling using a new hybrid energy function and its application to modeling in inaccurate structural environments.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hahnbeom Park

    Full Text Available Protein loop modeling is a tool for predicting protein local structures of particular interest, providing opportunities for applications involving protein structure prediction and de novo protein design. Until recently, the majority of loop modeling methods have been developed and tested by reconstructing loops in frameworks of experimentally resolved structures. In many practical applications, however, the protein loops to be modeled are located in inaccurate structural environments. These include loops in model structures, low-resolution experimental structures, or experimental structures of different functional forms. Accordingly, discrepancies in the accuracy of the structural environment assumed in development of the method and that in practical applications present additional challenges to modern loop modeling methods. This study demonstrates a new strategy for employing a hybrid energy function combining physics-based and knowledge-based components to help tackle this challenge. The hybrid energy function is designed to combine the strengths of each energy component, simultaneously maintaining accurate loop structure prediction in a high-resolution framework structure and tolerating minor environmental errors in low-resolution structures. A loop modeling method based on global optimization of this new energy function is tested on loop targets situated in different levels of environmental errors, ranging from experimental structures to structures perturbed in backbone as well as side chains and template-based model structures. The new method performs comparably to force field-based approaches in loop reconstruction in crystal structures and better in loop prediction in inaccurate framework structures. This result suggests that higher-accuracy predictions would be possible for a broader range of applications. The web server for this method is available at http://galaxy.seoklab.org/loop with the PS2 option for the scoring function.

  7. A non-convex variational approach to photometric stereo under inaccurate lighting

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Quéau, Yvain; Wu, Tao; Lauze, Francois Bernard

    2017-01-01

    This paper tackles the photometric stereo problem in the presence of inaccurate lighting, obtained either by calibration or by an uncalibrated photometric stereo method. Based on a precise modeling of noise and outliers, a robust variational approach is introduced. It explicitly accounts for self...

  8. Location-based Mobile Relay Selection and Impact of Inaccurate Path Loss Model Parameters

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Nielsen, Jimmy Jessen; Madsen, Tatiana Kozlova; Schwefel, Hans-Peter

    2010-01-01

    In this paper we propose a relay selection scheme which uses collected location information together with a path loss model for relay selection, and analyze the performance impact of mobility and different error causes on this scheme. Performance is evaluated in terms of bit error rate...... by simulations. The SNR measurement based relay selection scheme proposed previously is unsuitable for use with fast moving users in e.g. vehicular scenarios due to a large signaling overhead. The proposed location based scheme is shown to work well with fast moving users due to a lower signaling overhead...... in these situations. As the location-based scheme relies on a path loss model to estimate link qualities and select relays, the sensitivity with respect to inaccurate estimates of the unknown path loss model parameters is investigated. The parameter ranges that result in useful performance were found...

  9. Association between inaccurate estimation of body size and obesity in schoolchildren

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Larissa da Cunha Feio Costa

    2015-12-01

    Full Text Available Objectives: To investigate the prevalence of inaccurate estimation of own body size among Brazilian schoolchildren of both sexes aged 7-10 years, and to test whether overweight/obesity; excess body fat and central obesity are associated with inaccuracy. Methods: Accuracy of body size estimation was assessed using the Figure Rating Scale for Brazilian Children. Multinomial logistic regression was used to analyze associations. Results: The overall prevalence of inaccurate body size estimation was 76%, with 34% of the children underestimating their body size and 42% overestimating their body size. Obesity measured by body mass index was associated with underestimation of body size in both sexes, while central obesity was only associated with overestimation of body size among girls. Conclusions: The results of this study suggest there is a high prevalence of inaccurate body size estimation and that inaccurate estimation is associated with obesity. Accurate estimation of own body size is important among obese schoolchildren because it may be the first step towards adopting healthy lifestyle behaviors.

  10. Adjusting case mix payment amounts for inaccurately reported comorbidity data.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sutherland, Jason M; Hamm, Jeremy; Hatcher, Jeff

    2010-03-01

    Case mix methods such as diagnosis related groups have become a basis of payment for inpatient hospitalizations in many countries. Specifying cost weight values for case mix system payment has important consequences; recent evidence suggests case mix cost weight inaccuracies influence the supply of some hospital-based services. To begin to address the question of case mix cost weight accuracy, this paper is motivated by the objective of improving the accuracy of cost weight values due to inaccurate or incomplete comorbidity data. The methods are suitable to case mix methods that incorporate disease severity or comorbidity adjustments. The methods are based on the availability of detailed clinical and cost information linked at the patient level and leverage recent results from clinical data audits. A Bayesian framework is used to synthesize clinical data audit information regarding misclassification probabilities into cost weight value calculations. The models are implemented through Markov chain Monte Carlo methods. An example used to demonstrate the methods finds that inaccurate comorbidity data affects cost weight values by biasing cost weight values (and payments) downward. The implications for hospital payments are discussed and the generalizability of the approach is explored.

  11. Mental models of the operator

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Stary, I.

    2004-01-01

    A brief explanation is presented of the mental model concept, properties of mental models and fundamentals of mental models theory. Possible applications of such models in nuclear power plants are described in more detail. They include training of power plant operators, research into their behaviour and design of the operator-control process interface. The design of a mental model of an operator working in abnormal conditions due to power plant malfunction is outlined as an example taken from the literature. The model has been created based on analysis of experiments performed on a nuclear power plant simulator, run by a training center. (author)

  12. Clinical models are inaccurate in predicting bile duct stones in situ for patients with gallbladder.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Topal, B; Fieuws, S; Tomczyk, K; Aerts, R; Van Steenbergen, W; Verslype, C; Penninckx, F

    2009-01-01

    The probability that a patient has common bile duct stones (CBDS) is a key factor in determining diagnostic and treatment strategies. This prospective cohort study evaluated the accuracy of clinical models in predicting CBDS for patients who will undergo cholecystectomy for lithiasis. From October 2005 until September 2006, 335 consecutive patients with symptoms of gallstone disease underwent cholecystectomy. Statistical analysis was performed on prospective patient data obtained at the time of first presentation to the hospital. Demonstrable CBDS at the time of endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) or intraoperative cholangiography (IOC) was considered the gold standard for the presence of CBDS. Common bile duct stones were demonstrated in 53 patients. For 35 patients, ERCP was performed, with successful stone clearance in 24 of 30 patients who had proven CBDS. In 29 patients, IOC showed CBDS, which were managed successfully via laparoscopic common bile duct exploration, with stone extraction at the time of cholecystectomy. Prospective validation of the existing model for CBDS resulted in a predictive accuracy rate of 73%. The new model showed a predictive accuracy rate of 79%. Clinical models are inaccurate in predicting CBDS in patients with cholelithiasis. Management strategies should be based on the local availability of therapeutic expertise.

  13. Holistic Health: Does It Really Include Mental Health?

    OpenAIRE

    McClanahan, Kimberly K.; Huff, Marlene B.; Omar, Hatim A.

    2006-01-01

    Holistic health, incorporating mind and body as equally important and unified components of health, is a concept utilized in some health care arenas in the United States (U.S.) over the past 30 years. However, in the U.S., mental health is not seen as conceptually integral to physical health and, thus, holistic health cannot be realized until the historical concept of mind-body dualism, continuing stigma regarding mental illness, lack of mental health parity in insurance, and inaccurate publi...

  14. Leg mass characteristics of accurate and inaccurate kickers--an Australian football perspective.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hart, Nicolas H; Nimphius, Sophia; Cochrane, Jodie L; Newton, Robert U

    2013-01-01

    Athletic profiling provides valuable information to sport scientists, assisting in the optimal design of strength and conditioning programmes. Understanding the influence these physical characteristics may have on the generation of kicking accuracy is advantageous. The aim of this study was to profile and compare the lower limb mass characteristics of accurate and inaccurate Australian footballers. Thirty-one players were recruited from the Western Australian Football League to perform ten drop punt kicks over 20 metres to a player target. Players were separated into accurate (n = 15) and inaccurate (n = 16) groups, with leg mass characteristics assessed using whole body dual energy x-ray absorptiometry (DXA) scans. Accurate kickers demonstrated significantly greater relative lean mass (P ≤ 0.004) and significantly lower relative fat mass (P ≤ 0.024) across all segments of the kicking and support limbs, while also exhibiting significantly higher intra-limb lean-to-fat mass ratios for all segments across both limbs (P ≤ 0.009). Inaccurate kickers also produced significantly larger asymmetries between limbs than accurate kickers (P ≤ 0.028), showing considerably lower lean mass in their support leg. These results illustrate a difference in leg mass characteristics between accurate and inaccurate kickers, highlighting the potential influence these may have on technical proficiency of the drop punt.

  15. A Practical pedestrian approach to parsimonious regression with inaccurate inputs

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Seppo Karrila

    2014-04-01

    Full Text Available A measurement result often dictates an interval containing the correct value. Interval data is also created by roundoff, truncation, and binning. We focus on such common interval uncertainty in data. Inaccuracy in model inputs is typically ignored on model fitting. We provide a practical approach for regression with inaccurate data: the mathematics is easy, and the linear programming formulations simple to use even in a spreadsheet. This self-contained elementary presentation introduces interval linear systems and requires only basic knowledge of algebra. Feature selection is automatic; but can be controlled to find only a few most relevant inputs; and joint feature selection is enabled for multiple modeled outputs. With more features than cases, a novel connection to compressed sensing emerges: robustness against interval errors-in-variables implies model parsimony, and the input inaccuracies determine the regularization term. A small numerical example highlights counterintuitive results and a dramatic difference to total least squares.

  16. Johnson-Laird's mental models theory and its principles: an application with cell mental models of high school students

    OpenAIRE

    Mª Luz Rodríguez Palmero; Javier Marrero Acosta; Marco Antonio Moreira

    2001-01-01

    Following a discussion of Johnson-Laird's mental models theory, we report a study regarding high school students mental representations of cell, understood as mental models. Research findings suggest the appropriatedness of such a theory as a framework to interpret students' representations.

  17. Holistic Health: Does It Really Include Mental Health?

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kimberly K. McClanahan

    2006-01-01

    Full Text Available Holistic health, incorporating mind and body as equally important and unified components of health, is a concept utilized in some health care arenas in the United States (U.S. over the past 30 years. However, in the U.S., mental health is not seen as conceptually integral to physical health and, thus, holistic health cannot be realized until the historical concept of mind-body dualism, continuing stigma regarding mental illness, lack of mental health parity in insurance, and inaccurate public perceptions regarding mental illness are adequately addressed and resolved. Until then, mental and physical health will continue to be viewed as disparate entities rather than parts of a unified whole. We conclude that the U.S. currently does not generally incorporate the tenets of holistic health in its view of the mental and physical health of its citizens, and provide some suggestions for changing that viewpoint.

  18. Holistic health: does it really include mental health?

    Science.gov (United States)

    McClanahan, Kimberly K; Huff, Marlene B; Omar, Hatim A

    2006-03-14

    Holistic health, incorporating mind and body as equally important and unified components of health, is a concept utilized in some health care arenas in the United States (U.S.) over the past 30 years. However, in the U.S., mental health is not seen as conceptually integral to physical health and, thus, holistic health cannot be realized until the historical concept of mind-body dualism, continuing stigma regarding mental illness, lack of mental health parity in insurance, and inaccurate public perceptions regarding mental illness are adequately addressed and resolved. Until then, mental and physical health will continue to be viewed as disparate entities rather than parts of a unified whole. We conclude that the U.S. currently does not generally incorporate the tenets of holistic health in its view of the mental and physical health of its citizens, and provide some suggestions for changing that viewpoint.

  19. Team learning: building shared mental models

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Bossche, van den P.; Gijselaers, W.; Segers, M.; Woltjer, G.B.; Kirschner, P.

    2011-01-01

    To gain insight in the social processes that underlie knowledge sharing in teams, this article questions which team learning behaviors lead to the construction of a shared mental model. Additionally, it explores how the development of shared mental models mediates the relation between team learning

  20. A Model of Mental State Transition Network

    Science.gov (United States)

    Xiang, Hua; Jiang, Peilin; Xiao, Shuang; Ren, Fuji; Kuroiwa, Shingo

    Emotion is one of the most essential and basic attributes of human intelligence. Current AI (Artificial Intelligence) research is concentrating on physical components of emotion, rarely is it carried out from the view of psychology directly(1). Study on the model of artificial psychology is the first step in the development of human-computer interaction. As affective computing remains unpredictable, creating a reasonable mental model becomes the primary task for building a hybrid system. A pragmatic mental model is also the fundament of some key topics such as recognition and synthesis of emotions. In this paper a Mental State Transition Network Model(2) is proposed to detect human emotions. By a series of psychological experiments, we present a new way to predict coming human's emotions depending on the various current emotional states under various stimuli. Besides, people in different genders and characters are taken into consideration in our investigation. According to the psychological experiments data derived from 200 questionnaires, a Mental State Transition Network Model for describing the transitions in distribution among the emotions and relationships between internal mental situations and external are concluded. Further more the coefficients of the mental transition network model were achieved. Comparing seven relative evaluating experiments, an average precision rate of 0.843 is achieved using a set of samples for the proposed model.

  1. Designing a Sustainable Future with Mental Models

    OpenAIRE

    Bernotat, Anke; Bertling, Jürgen; English, Christiane; Schanz, Judith

    2017-01-01

    Inspired by the question of the Club of Rome as to Design could help to translate the ubiquitous knowledge on sustainability into daily practise and Peter Senge's belief on mental models as a limiting factor to implementation of systemic insight (Senge 2006), we explored working with mental models as a sustainable design tool. We propose a definition for design uses. At the 7th Sustainable Summer School we collected general unsustainable mental models and "designed" sustainable ones. These me...

  2. Mental models accurately predict emotion transitions.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Thornton, Mark A; Tamir, Diana I

    2017-06-06

    Successful social interactions depend on people's ability to predict others' future actions and emotions. People possess many mechanisms for perceiving others' current emotional states, but how might they use this information to predict others' future states? We hypothesized that people might capitalize on an overlooked aspect of affective experience: current emotions predict future emotions. By attending to regularities in emotion transitions, perceivers might develop accurate mental models of others' emotional dynamics. People could then use these mental models of emotion transitions to predict others' future emotions from currently observable emotions. To test this hypothesis, studies 1-3 used data from three extant experience-sampling datasets to establish the actual rates of emotional transitions. We then collected three parallel datasets in which participants rated the transition likelihoods between the same set of emotions. Participants' ratings of emotion transitions predicted others' experienced transitional likelihoods with high accuracy. Study 4 demonstrated that four conceptual dimensions of mental state representation-valence, social impact, rationality, and human mind-inform participants' mental models. Study 5 used 2 million emotion reports on the Experience Project to replicate both of these findings: again people reported accurate models of emotion transitions, and these models were informed by the same four conceptual dimensions. Importantly, neither these conceptual dimensions nor holistic similarity could fully explain participants' accuracy, suggesting that their mental models contain accurate information about emotion dynamics above and beyond what might be predicted by static emotion knowledge alone.

  3. Mental models accurately predict emotion transitions

    Science.gov (United States)

    Thornton, Mark A.; Tamir, Diana I.

    2017-01-01

    Successful social interactions depend on people’s ability to predict others’ future actions and emotions. People possess many mechanisms for perceiving others’ current emotional states, but how might they use this information to predict others’ future states? We hypothesized that people might capitalize on an overlooked aspect of affective experience: current emotions predict future emotions. By attending to regularities in emotion transitions, perceivers might develop accurate mental models of others’ emotional dynamics. People could then use these mental models of emotion transitions to predict others’ future emotions from currently observable emotions. To test this hypothesis, studies 1–3 used data from three extant experience-sampling datasets to establish the actual rates of emotional transitions. We then collected three parallel datasets in which participants rated the transition likelihoods between the same set of emotions. Participants’ ratings of emotion transitions predicted others’ experienced transitional likelihoods with high accuracy. Study 4 demonstrated that four conceptual dimensions of mental state representation—valence, social impact, rationality, and human mind—inform participants’ mental models. Study 5 used 2 million emotion reports on the Experience Project to replicate both of these findings: again people reported accurate models of emotion transitions, and these models were informed by the same four conceptual dimensions. Importantly, neither these conceptual dimensions nor holistic similarity could fully explain participants’ accuracy, suggesting that their mental models contain accurate information about emotion dynamics above and beyond what might be predicted by static emotion knowledge alone. PMID:28533373

  4. Personality, relationship conflict, and teamwork-related mental models.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Delia Vîrgă

    Full Text Available This study seeks to explore whether neuroticism, agreeableness, and conscientiousness moderate the influence of relationship conflict experienced in groups on changes in group members' evaluative cognitions related to teamwork quality (teamwork-related mental models. Data from 216 students, nested in 48 groups were analyzed using a multilevel modeling approach. Our results show that the experience of relationship conflict leads to a negative shift from the pre-task to the post-task teamwork-related mental models. Moreover, the results indicate that conscientiousness buffered the negative association between relationship conflict and the change in teamwork-related mental models. Our results did not support the hypothesized moderating effect of agreeableness and show that the detrimental effect of relationship conflict on the shift in teamwork-related mental models is accentuated for group members scoring low rather than high on neuroticism. These findings open new research venues for exploring the association between personality, coping styles and change in teamwork-related mental models.

  5. Personality, Relationship Conflict, and Teamwork-Related Mental Models

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vîrgă, Delia; CurŞeu, Petru Lucian; Maricuţoiu, Laurenţiu; Sava, Florin A.; Macsinga, Irina; Măgurean, Silvia

    2014-01-01

    This study seeks to explore whether neuroticism, agreeableness, and conscientiousness moderate the influence of relationship conflict experienced in groups on changes in group members' evaluative cognitions related to teamwork quality (teamwork-related mental models). Data from 216 students, nested in 48 groups were analyzed using a multilevel modeling approach. Our results show that the experience of relationship conflict leads to a negative shift from the pre-task to the post-task teamwork-related mental models. Moreover, the results indicate that conscientiousness buffered the negative association between relationship conflict and the change in teamwork-related mental models. Our results did not support the hypothesized moderating effect of agreeableness and show that the detrimental effect of relationship conflict on the shift in teamwork-related mental models is accentuated for group members scoring low rather than high on neuroticism. These findings open new research venues for exploring the association between personality, coping styles and change in teamwork-related mental models. PMID:25372143

  6. Personality, relationship conflict, and teamwork-related mental models.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vîrgă, Delia; Curşeu, Petru Lucian; CurŞeu, Petru Lucian; Maricuţoiu, Laurenţiu; Sava, Florin A; Macsinga, Irina; Măgurean, Silvia

    2014-01-01

    This study seeks to explore whether neuroticism, agreeableness, and conscientiousness moderate the influence of relationship conflict experienced in groups on changes in group members' evaluative cognitions related to teamwork quality (teamwork-related mental models). Data from 216 students, nested in 48 groups were analyzed using a multilevel modeling approach. Our results show that the experience of relationship conflict leads to a negative shift from the pre-task to the post-task teamwork-related mental models. Moreover, the results indicate that conscientiousness buffered the negative association between relationship conflict and the change in teamwork-related mental models. Our results did not support the hypothesized moderating effect of agreeableness and show that the detrimental effect of relationship conflict on the shift in teamwork-related mental models is accentuated for group members scoring low rather than high on neuroticism. These findings open new research venues for exploring the association between personality, coping styles and change in teamwork-related mental models.

  7. Causal reasoning with mental models

    Science.gov (United States)

    Khemlani, Sangeet S.; Barbey, Aron K.; Johnson-Laird, Philip N.

    2014-01-01

    This paper outlines the model-based theory of causal reasoning. It postulates that the core meanings of causal assertions are deterministic and refer to temporally-ordered sets of possibilities: A causes B to occur means that given A, B occurs, whereas A enables B to occur means that given A, it is possible for B to occur. The paper shows how mental models represent such assertions, and how these models underlie deductive, inductive, and abductive reasoning yielding explanations. It reviews evidence both to corroborate the theory and to account for phenomena sometimes taken to be incompatible with it. Finally, it reviews neuroscience evidence indicating that mental models for causal inference are implemented within lateral prefrontal cortex. PMID:25389398

  8. Causal reasoning with mental models.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Khemlani, Sangeet S; Barbey, Aron K; Johnson-Laird, Philip N

    2014-01-01

    This paper outlines the model-based theory of causal reasoning. It postulates that the core meanings of causal assertions are deterministic and refer to temporally-ordered sets of possibilities: A causes B to occur means that given A, B occurs, whereas A enables B to occur means that given A, it is possible for B to occur. The paper shows how mental models represent such assertions, and how these models underlie deductive, inductive, and abductive reasoning yielding explanations. It reviews evidence both to corroborate the theory and to account for phenomena sometimes taken to be incompatible with it. Finally, it reviews neuroscience evidence indicating that mental models for causal inference are implemented within lateral prefrontal cortex.

  9. Causal reasoning with mental models

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sangeet eKhemlani

    2014-10-01

    Full Text Available This paper outlines the model-based theory of causal reasoning. It postulates that the core meanings of causal assertions are deterministic and refer to temporally-ordered sets of possibilities: A causes B to occur means that given A, B occurs, whereas A enables B to occur means that given A, it is possible for B to occur. The paper shows how mental models represent such assertions, and how these models underlie deductive, inductive, and abductive reasoning yielding explanations. It reviews evidence both to corroborate the theory and to account for phenomena sometimes taken to be incompatible with it. Finally, it reviews neuroscience evidence indicating that mental models for causal inference are implemented within lateral prefrontal cortex.

  10. Endoscopic Localization of Colon Cancer Is Frequently Inaccurate.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nayor, Jennifer; Rotman, Stephen R; Chan, Walter W; Goldberg, Joel E; Saltzman, John R

    2017-08-01

    Colonoscopic location of a tumor can influence both the surgical procedure choice and overall treatment strategy. To determine the accuracy of colonoscopy in determining the location of colon cancer compared to surgical localization and to elucidate factors that predict discordant colon cancer localization. We conducted a retrospective cross-sectional study of colon cancers diagnosed on colonoscopy at two academic tertiary-care hospitals and two affiliated community hospitals from 2012 to 2014. Colon cancer location was obtained from the endoscopic and surgical pathology reports and characterized by colon segment. We collected data on patient demographics, tumor characteristics, endoscopic procedure characteristics, surgery planned, and surgery performed. Univariate analyses using Chi-squared test and multivariate analysis using forward stepwise logistic regression were performed to determine factors that predict discordant colon cancer localization. There were 110 colon cancer cases identified during the study period. Inaccurate endoscopic colon cancer localization was found in 29% (32/110) of cases. These included 14 cases (12.7%) that were discordant by more than one colonic segment and three cases where the presurgical planned procedure was significantly changed at the time of surgery. On univariate analyses, right-sided colon lesions were associated with increased inaccuracy (43.8 vs 24.4%, p = 0.04). On multivariate analysis, right-sided colon lesions remained independently associated with inaccuracy (OR 1.74, 95% CI 1.03-2.93, p = 0.04). Colon cancer location as determined by colonoscopy is often inaccurate, which can result in intraoperative changes to surgical management, particularly in the right colon.

  11. Millennial Students' Mental Models of Information Retrieval

    Science.gov (United States)

    Holman, Lucy

    2009-01-01

    This qualitative study examines first-year college students' online search habits in order to identify patterns in millennials' mental models of information retrieval. The study employed a combination of modified contextual inquiry and concept mapping methodologies to elicit students' mental models. The researcher confirmed previously observed…

  12. Inaccurate Citations in Biomedical Journalism: Effect on the Impact Factor of the American Journal of Roentgenology.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Karabulut, Nevzat

    2017-03-01

    The aim of this study is to investigate the frequency of incorrect citations and its effects on the impact factor of a specific biomedical journal: the American Journal of Roentgenology. The Cited Reference Search function of Thomson Reuters' Web of Science database (formerly the Institute for Scientific Information's Web of Knowledge database) was used to identify erroneous citations. This was done by entering the journal name into the Cited Work field and entering "2011-2012" into the Cited Year(s) field. The errors in any part of the inaccurately cited references (e.g., author names, title, year, volume, issue, and page numbers) were recorded, and the types of errors (i.e., absent, deficient, or mistyped) were analyzed. Erroneous citations were corrected using the Suggest a Correction function of the Web of Science database. The effect of inaccurate citations on the impact factor of the AJR was calculated. Overall, 183 of 1055 citable articles published in 2011-2012 were inaccurately cited 423 times (mean [± SD], 2.31 ± 4.67 times; range, 1-44 times). Of these 183 articles, 110 (60.1%) were web-only articles and 44 (24.0%) were print articles. The most commonly identified errors were page number errors (44.8%) and misspelling of an author's name (20.2%). Incorrect citations adversely affected the impact factor of the AJR by 0.065 in 2012 and by 0.123 in 2013. Inaccurate citations are not infrequent in biomedical journals, yet they can be detected and corrected using the Web of Science database. Although the accuracy of references is primarily the responsibility of authors, the journal editorial office should also define a periodic inaccurate citation check task and correct erroneous citations to reclaim unnecessarily lost credit.

  13. Injury prevention risk communication: A mental models approach

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Austin, Laurel Cecelia; Fischhoff, Baruch

    2012-01-01

    fail to see risks, do not make use of available protective interventions or misjudge the effectiveness of protective measures. If these misunderstandings can be reduced through context-appropriate risk communications, then their improved mental models may help people to engage more effectively...... and create an expert model of the risk situation, interviewing lay people to elicit their comparable mental models, and developing and evaluating communication interventions designed to close the gaps between lay people and experts. This paper reviews the theory and method behind this research stream...... interventions on the most critical opportunities to reduce risks. That research often seeks to identify the ‘mental models’ that underlie individuals' interpretations of their circumstances and the outcomes of possible actions. In the context of injury prevention, a mental models approach would ask why people...

  14. Using concept maps to describe undergraduate students’ mental model in microbiology course

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hamdiyati, Y.; Sudargo, F.; Redjeki, S.; Fitriani, A.

    2018-05-01

    The purpose of this research was to describe students’ mental model in a mental model based-microbiology course using concept map as assessment tool. Respondents were 5th semester of undergraduate students of Biology Education of Universitas Pendidikan Indonesia. The mental modelling instrument used was concept maps. Data were taken on Bacteria sub subject. A concept map rubric was subsequently developed with a maximum score of 4. Quantitative data was converted into a qualitative one to determine mental model level, namely: emergent = score 1, transitional = score 2, close to extended = score 3, and extended = score 4. The results showed that mental model level on bacteria sub subject before the implementation of mental model based-microbiology course was at the transitional level. After implementation of mental model based-microbiology course, mental model was at transitional level, close to extended, and extended. This indicated an increase in the level of students’ mental model after the implementation of mental model based-microbiology course using concept map as assessment tool.

  15. Mental Models and Deliberate Manipulation of Data

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Koester, Thomas; Jakobsen, Jeanette; Brøsted, Jesper Ejdorf

    2015-01-01

    Human factors risk analysis and usability tests in telemedicine contexts primarily seek to investigate how to reduce the likelihood of slips, lapses and mistakes. However, to ensure trustworthiness in e-health data, one must also be aware of more intentional patient actions which could potentially...... compromise patient safety and/or the integrity of the system. The pilot study in this paper set out to explore mental models and deliberate manipulation of data in a Danish telemedicine setting of home monitoring among pregnant women. Results show, that patients construct mental models of the telemedicine...... system, and that the patient can utilize such mental models in attempts to manipulate their data input to get a desired output from the telemedicine system....

  16. Mental models of audit and feedback in primary care settings.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hysong, Sylvia J; Smitham, Kristen; SoRelle, Richard; Amspoker, Amber; Hughes, Ashley M; Haidet, Paul

    2018-05-30

    Audit and feedback has been shown to be instrumental in improving quality of care, particularly in outpatient settings. The mental model individuals and organizations hold regarding audit and feedback can moderate its effectiveness, yet this has received limited study in the quality improvement literature. In this study we sought to uncover patterns in mental models of current feedback practices within high- and low-performing healthcare facilities. We purposively sampled 16 geographically dispersed VA hospitals based on high and low performance on a set of chronic and preventive care measures. We interviewed up to 4 personnel from each location (n = 48) to determine the facility's receptivity to audit and feedback practices. Interview transcripts were analyzed via content and framework analysis to identify emergent themes. We found high variability in the mental models of audit and feedback, which we organized into positive and negative themes. We were unable to associate mental models of audit and feedback with clinical performance due to high variance in facility performance over time. Positive mental models exhibit perceived utility of audit and feedback practices in improving performance; whereas, negative mental models did not. Results speak to the variability of mental models of feedback, highlighting how facilities perceive current audit and feedback practices. Findings are consistent with prior research  in that variability in feedback mental models is associated with lower performance.; Future research should seek to empirically link mental models revealed in this paper to high and low levels of clinical performance.

  17. Fifty Psychological and Psychiatric Terms to Avoid: A List of Inaccurate, Misleading, Misused, Ambiguous, and Logically Confused Words and Phrases

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Scott O Lilienfeld

    2015-08-01

    Full Text Available The goal of this article is to promote clear thinking and clear writing among students and teachers of psychological science by curbing terminological misinformation and confusion. To this end, we present a provisional list of 50 commonly used terms in psychology, psychiatry, and allied fields that should be avoided, or at most used sparingly and with explicit caveats. We provide corrective information for students, instructors, and researchers regarding these terms, which we organize for expository purposes into five categories: inaccurate or misleading terms, frequently misused terms, ambiguous terms, oxymorons, and pleonasms. For each term, we (a explain why it is problematic, (b delineate one or more examples of its misuse, and (c when pertinent, offer recommendations for preferable terms. By being more judicious in their use of terminology, psychologists and psychiatrists can foster clearer thinking in their students and the field at large regarding mental phenomena.

  18. Fifty psychological and psychiatric terms to avoid: a list of inaccurate, misleading, misused, ambiguous, and logically confused words and phrases.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lilienfeld, Scott O; Sauvigné, Katheryn C; Lynn, Steven Jay; Cautin, Robin L; Latzman, Robert D; Waldman, Irwin D

    2015-01-01

    The goal of this article is to promote clear thinking and clear writing among students and teachers of psychological science by curbing terminological misinformation and confusion. To this end, we present a provisional list of 50 commonly used terms in psychology, psychiatry, and allied fields that should be avoided, or at most used sparingly and with explicit caveats. We provide corrective information for students, instructors, and researchers regarding these terms, which we organize for expository purposes into five categories: inaccurate or misleading terms, frequently misused terms, ambiguous terms, oxymorons, and pleonasms. For each term, we (a) explain why it is problematic, (b) delineate one or more examples of its misuse, and (c) when pertinent, offer recommendations for preferable terms. By being more judicious in their use of terminology, psychologists and psychiatrists can foster clearer thinking in their students and the field at large regarding mental phenomena.

  19. Biogenetic models of psychopathology, implicit guilt, and mental illness stigma.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rüsch, Nicolas; Todd, Andrew R; Bodenhausen, Galen V; Corrigan, Patrick W

    2010-10-30

    Whereas some research suggests that acknowledgment of the role of biogenetic factors in mental illness could reduce mental illness stigma by diminishing perceived responsibility, other research has cautioned that emphasizing biogenetic aspects of mental illness could produce the impression that mental illness is a stable, intrinsic aspect of a person ("genetic essentialism"), increasing the desire for social distance. We assessed genetic and neurobiological causal attributions about mental illness among 85 people with serious mental illness and 50 members of the public. The perceived responsibility of persons with mental illness for their condition, as well as fear and social distance, was assessed by self-report. Automatic associations between Mental Illness and Guilt and between Self and Guilt were measured by the Brief Implicit Association Test. Among the general public, endorsement of biogenetic models was associated with not only less perceived responsibility, but also greater social distance. Among people with mental illness, endorsement of genetic models had only negative correlates: greater explicit fear and stronger implicit self-guilt associations. Genetic models may have unexpected negative consequences for implicit self-concept and explicit attitudes of people with serious mental illness. An exclusive focus on genetic models may therefore be problematic for clinical practice and anti-stigma initiatives. Copyright © 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  20. Chemistry education based on concepts represented by mental models

    OpenAIRE

    Gibin, Gustavo Bizarria; Ferreira, Luiz Henrique

    2010-01-01

    The current legislation determines that the chemist must have a solid comprehension about chemical concepts. Literature presents the concept of mental model, which is determinant to the learning of phenomena and concepts. This paper presents some mental models that students of the Chemistry course at UFSCar have about chemical concepts. A lot of incoherence was observed in student's mental models, which is an evidence that there are problems in the learning of chemistry education.

  1. Current models of positive mental health

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Stanojević Dragana Z.

    2012-01-01

    Full Text Available The concept of positive mental health represents not merely the absence of mental disease but presence of high level of happiness and well-being. In this paper we mentioned shortly the earliest concept of mental health, presented by Marie Jahoda in the mid-twentieth century. After that, we described two traditions in understanding and researching of subjective well-being: hedonic and eudaimonic approach. First approach focuses on investigation of positive affects and happiness as emotional and life satisfaction as cognitive component of subjective well-being. Second tradition emphasizes potentials and competences that person develops to the highest level, in personal and social area. Both psychological and social well-being are core concept of positive mental health psychology, designated together as positive functioning. The psychological well-being comprises six dimensions: self-acceptance, positive relations with others, environmental mastery, autonomy, purpose of life and personal growth. Social well-being consists of five dimensions: social integration, social acceptance, social contribution, social actualization and social coherence. By integrating hedonic and eudaimonic well-being as well as absence of mental disease, Corey Keyes introduced concept of complete mental health. People with complete mental health have reported absence of disease during past year and presence of high level of emotional, psychological and social well-being (flourishing. People with incomplete mental health have also reported absence of mental disease but low level of positive functioning (languishing. Keyes thought there are people with complete and incomplete mental illness; both groups report presence of mental disease, but second group has high level of positive functioning. Models of positive mental health are widely used in research studies as well as in programs for prevention and promotion of mental health. .

  2. A Comprehensive Method for Comparing Mental Models of Dynamic Systems

    OpenAIRE

    Schaffernicht, Martin; Grösser, Stefan N.

    2011-01-01

    Mental models are the basis on which managers make decisions even though external decision support systems may provide help. Research has demonstrated that more comprehensive and dynamic mental models seem to be at the foundation for improved policies and decisions. Eliciting and comparing such models can systematically explicate key variables and their main underlying structures. In addition, superior dynamic mental models can be identified. This paper reviews existing studies which measure ...

  3. Patients' mental models and adherence to outpatient physical therapy home exercise programs.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rizzo, Jon

    2015-05-01

    Within physical therapy, patient adherence usually relates to attending appointments, following advice, and/or undertaking prescribed exercise. Similar to findings for general medical adherence, patient adherence to physical therapy home exercise programs (HEP) is estimated between 35 and 72%. Adherence to HEPs is a multifactorial and poorly understood phenomenon, with no consensus regarding a common theoretical framework that best guides empirical or clinical efforts. Mental models, a construct used to explain behavior and decision-making in the social sciences, may serve as this framework. Mental models comprise an individual's tacit thoughts about how the world works. They include assumptions about new experiences and expectations for the future based on implicit comparisons between current and past experiences. Mental models play an important role in decision-making and guiding actions. This professional theoretical article discusses empirical research demonstrating relationships among mental models, prior experience, and adherence decisions in medical and physical therapy contexts. Specific issues related to mental models and physical therapy patient adherence are discussed, including the importance of articulation of patients' mental models, assessment of patients' mental models that relate to exercise program adherence, discrepancy between patient and provider mental models, and revision of patients' mental models in ways that enhance adherence. The article concludes with practical implications for physical therapists and recommendations for further research to better understand the role of mental models in physical therapy patient adherence behavior.

  4. Market orientation in the mental models of decision-makers

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Grunert, Klaus G.; Trondsen, Torbjørn; Campos, Emilio Gonzalo

    2010-01-01

    Purpose: This study determines whether predictions about different degrees of market orientation in two cross-border value chains also appear in the mental models of decision makers at two levels of these value chains. Design: The laddering method elicits mental models of actors in two value chains......: Norwegian salmon exported to Japan and Danish pork exported to Japan. The analysis of the mental models centers on potential overlap and linkages between actors in the value chain, including elements in the mental models that may relate to the actors' market orientation. Findings: In both value chains......, decision makers exhibit overlap in their views of what drives their business. The pork chain appears dominated by a focus on efficiency, technology, and quality control, though it also acknowledges communication as important. The salmon chain places more emphasis on new product development and good...

  5. Seventh Grade Students' Mental Models of the Greenhouse Effect

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shepardson, Daniel P.; Choi, Soyoung; Niyogi, Dev; Charusombat, Umarporn

    2011-01-01

    This constructivist study investigates 225 student drawings and explanations from three different schools in the midwest in the US, to identify seventh grade students' mental models of the greenhouse effect. Five distinct mental models were derived from an inductive analysis of the content of the students' drawings and explanations: Model 1, a…

  6. Thai students' mental model of chemical bonding

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sarawan, Supawadee; Yuenyong, Chokchai

    2018-01-01

    This Research was finding the viewing about concept of chemical bonding is fundamental to subsequent learning of various other topics related to this concept in chemistry. Any conceptions about atomic structures that students have will be shown their further learning. The purpose of this study is to interviews conceptions held by high school chemistry students about metallic bonding and to reveal mental model of atomic structures show according to the educational level. With this aim, the questionnaire prepared making use of the literature and administered for analysis about mental model of chemical bonding. It was determined from the analysis of answers of questionnaire the 10th grade, 11th grade and 12th grade students. Finally, each was shown prompts in the form of focus cards derived from curriculum material that showed ways in which the bonding in specific metallic substances had been depicted. Students' responses revealed that learners across all three levels prefer simple, realistic mental models for metallic bonding and reveal to chemical bonding.

  7. Accurate and inaccurate HIV transmission beliefs, stigmatizing and HIV protection motivation in northern Thailand

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Boer, Hendrik; Emons, P.A.A.; Emons, P.A.A.

    2004-01-01

    We assessed the relation between accurate beliefs about HIV transmission and inaccurate beliefs about HIV transmission and emotional reactions to people with AIDS (PWA) and AIDS risk groups, stigmatizing attitudes and motivation to protect from HIV. In Chiang Rai, northern Thailand, 219 respondents

  8. Spatio-temporal models of mental processes from fMRI.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Janoos, Firdaus; Machiraju, Raghu; Singh, Shantanu; Morocz, Istvan Ákos

    2011-07-15

    Understanding the highly complex, spatially distributed and temporally organized phenomena entailed by mental processes using functional MRI is an important research problem in cognitive and clinical neuroscience. Conventional analysis methods focus on the spatial dimension of the data discarding the information about brain function contained in the temporal dimension. This paper presents a fully spatio-temporal multivariate analysis method using a state-space model (SSM) for brain function that yields not only spatial maps of activity but also its temporal structure along with spatially varying estimates of the hemodynamic response. Efficient algorithms for estimating the parameters along with quantitative validations are given. A novel low-dimensional feature-space for representing the data, based on a formal definition of functional similarity, is derived. Quantitative validation of the model and the estimation algorithms is provided with a simulation study. Using a real fMRI study for mental arithmetic, the ability of this neurophysiologically inspired model to represent the spatio-temporal information corresponding to mental processes is demonstrated. Moreover, by comparing the models across multiple subjects, natural patterns in mental processes organized according to different mental abilities are revealed. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  9. The Conceptual Framework of Factors Affecting Shared Mental Model

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lee, Miyoung; Johnson, Tristan; Lee, Youngmin; O'Connor, Debra; Khalil, Mohammed

    2004-01-01

    Many researchers have paid attention to the potentiality and possibility of the shared mental model because it enables teammates to perform their job better by sharing team knowledge, skills, attitudes, dynamics and environments. Even though theoretical and experimental evidences provide a close relationship between the shared mental model and…

  10. Rapid Capturing of Battlefield Mental Models

    National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

    Cohen, Marvin

    1997-01-01

    ... (pattern matching, interpretative, and generative), and a set of metacognitive processes that monitor mental models for problems of uncertainty and adopt corrective strategies when problems are found...

  11. Students’ mental model in electric current

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pramesti, Y. S.; Setyowidodo, I.

    2018-05-01

    Electricity is one of essential topic in learning physics. This topic was studied in elementary until university level. Although electricity was related to our daily activities, but it doesn’t ensure that students have the correct concept. The aim of this research was to investigate and then categorized the students’ mental model. Subject consisted of 59 students of mechanical engineering that studied Physics for Engineering. This study was used a qualitative approach that used in this research is phenomenology. Data were analyzed qualitatively by using pre-test, post-test, and investigation for discovering further information. Three models were reported, showing a pattern which related to individual way of thinking about electric current. The mental model that was discovered in this research are: 1) electric current as a flow; 2) electric current as a source of energy, 3) electric current as a moving charge.

  12. Problem solving based learning model with multiple representations to improve student's mental modelling ability on physics

    Science.gov (United States)

    Haili, Hasnawati; Maknun, Johar; Siahaan, Parsaoran

    2017-08-01

    Physics is a lessons that related to students' daily experience. Therefore, before the students studying in class formally, actually they have already have a visualization and prior knowledge about natural phenomenon and could wide it themselves. The learning process in class should be aimed to detect, process, construct, and use students' mental model. So, students' mental model agree with and builds in the right concept. The previous study held in MAN 1 Muna informs that in learning process the teacher did not pay attention students' mental model. As a consequence, the learning process has not tried to build students' mental modelling ability (MMA). The purpose of this study is to describe the improvement of students' MMA as a effect of problem solving based learning model with multiple representations approach. This study is pre experimental design with one group pre post. It is conducted in XI IPA MAN 1 Muna 2016/2017. Data collection uses problem solving test concept the kinetic theory of gasses and interview to get students' MMA. The result of this study is clarification students' MMA which is categorized in 3 category; High Mental Modelling Ability (H-MMA) for 7Mental Modelling Ability (M-MMA) for 3Mental Modelling Ability (L-MMA) for 0 ≤ x ≤ 3 score. The result shows that problem solving based learning model with multiple representations approach can be an alternative to be applied in improving students' MMA.

  13. Expert Systems as a Mindtool To Facilitate Mental Model Learning.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mason-Mason, Susan Dale; Tessmer, Martin A.

    2000-01-01

    This exploratory study investigated whether the process of constructing an expert system model promotes the formation of expert-like mental models. Discusses expert systems as mindtools, expert systems as learning tools, the assessment of mental models, results of pretests and posttests, and future research. (Contains 56 references.) (Author/LRW)

  14. A Feedback Learning and Mental Models Perspective on Strategic Decision Making

    OpenAIRE

    Capelo, Carlos; Dias, João Ferreira

    2009-01-01

    This study aims to be a contribution to a theoretical model that explains the effectiveness of the learning and decision-making processes by means of a feedback and mental models perspective. With appropriate mental models, managers should be able to improve their capacity to deal with dynamically complex contexts, in order to achieve long-term success. We present a set of hypotheses about the influence of feedback information and systems thinking facilitation on mental models and manag...

  15. Explanatory models of mental disorders and treatment practices ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Objective: Key Words: Explanatory models; Traditional healers; Mental illness; South AfricaIn many traditional belief systems in Africa, including South Africa, mental health problems may be attributed to the influence of ancestors or to bewitchment. Traditional healers are viewed as having the expertise to address these ...

  16. Investigating Master Students’ Mental Models of Google Search Engine

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Azam Safari

    2017-09-01

    According to the findings, it is necessary to consider mental model as a factor affecting information seeking behavior, in designing information systems and training users too. Understanding users’ mental models reveal their errors, misconceptions and knowledge gaps, and by this pathology, it is possible to correct these faults and flaws and increase the effectiveness of the system and training.

  17. Neutrosophic Logic for Mental Model Elicitation and Analysis

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Karina Pérez-Teruel

    2014-03-01

    Full Text Available Mental models are personal, internal representations of external reality that people use to interact with the world around them. They are useful in multiple situations such as muticriteria decision making, knowledge management, complex system learning and analysis. In this paper a framework for mental models elicitation and analysis based on neutrosophic Logic is presented. An illustrative example is provided to show the applicability of the proposal. The paper ends with conclusion future research directions.

  18. Causal Reasoning with Mental Models

    Science.gov (United States)

    2014-08-08

    The initial rubric is equivalent to an exclusive disjunction between the two causal assertions. It 488 yields the following two mental models: 489...are 575 important, whereas the functions of artifacts are important (Ahn, 1998). A genetic code is 576 accordingly more critical to being a goat than

  19. Mental maps and travel behaviour: meanings and models

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hannes, Els; Kusumastuti, Diana; Espinosa, Maikel León; Janssens, Davy; Vanhoof, Koen; Wets, Geert

    2012-04-01

    In this paper, the " mental map" concept is positioned with regard to individual travel behaviour to start with. Based on Ogden and Richards' triangle of meaning (The meaning of meaning: a study of the influence of language upon thought and of the science of symbolism. International library of psychology, philosophy and scientific method. Routledge and Kegan Paul, London, 1966) distinct thoughts, referents and symbols originating from different scientific disciplines are identified and explained in order to clear up the notion's fuzziness. Next, the use of this concept in two major areas of research relevant to travel demand modelling is indicated and discussed in detail: spatial cognition and decision-making. The relevance of these constructs to understand and model individual travel behaviour is explained and current research efforts to implement these concepts in travel demand models are addressed. Furthermore, these mental map notions are specified in two types of computational models, i.e. a Bayesian Inference Network (BIN) and a Fuzzy Cognitive Map (FCM). Both models are explained, and a numerical and a real-life example are provided. Both approaches yield a detailed quantitative representation of the mental map of decision-making problems in travel behaviour.

  20. The Binary System Laboratory Activities Based on Students Mental Model

    Science.gov (United States)

    Albaiti, A.; Liliasari, S.; Sumarna, O.; Martoprawiro, M. A.

    2017-09-01

    Generic science skills (GSS) are required to develop student conception in learning binary system. The aim of this research was to know the improvement of students GSS through the binary system labotoratory activities based on their mental model using hypothetical-deductive learning cycle. It was a mixed methods embedded experimental model research design. This research involved 15 students of a university in Papua, Indonesia. Essay test of 7 items was used to analyze the improvement of students GSS. Each items was designed to interconnect macroscopic, sub-microscopic and symbolic levels. Students worksheet was used to explore students mental model during investigation in laboratory. The increase of students GSS could be seen in their N-Gain of each GSS indicators. The results were then analyzed descriptively. Students mental model and GSS have been improved from this study. They were interconnect macroscopic and symbolic levels to explain binary systems phenomena. Furthermore, they reconstructed their mental model with interconnecting the three levels of representation in Physical Chemistry. It necessary to integrate the Physical Chemistry Laboratory into a Physical Chemistry course for effectiveness and efficiency.

  1. Inaccurate DNA synthesis in cell extracts of yeast producing active human DNA polymerase iota.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Makarova, Alena V; Grabow, Corinn; Gening, Leonid V; Tarantul, Vyacheslav Z; Tahirov, Tahir H; Bessho, Tadayoshi; Pavlov, Youri I

    2011-01-31

    Mammalian Pol ι has an unusual combination of properties: it is stimulated by Mn(2+) ions, can bypass some DNA lesions and misincorporates "G" opposite template "T" more frequently than incorporates the correct "A." We recently proposed a method of detection of Pol ι activity in animal cell extracts, based on primer extension opposite the template T with a high concentration of only two nucleotides, dGTP and dATP (incorporation of "G" versus "A" method of Gening, abbreviated as "misGvA"). We provide unambiguous proof of the "misGvA" approach concept and extend the applicability of the method for the studies of variants of Pol ι in the yeast model system with different cation cofactors. We produced human Pol ι in baker's yeast, which do not have a POLI ortholog. The "misGvA" activity is absent in cell extracts containing an empty vector, or producing catalytically dead Pol ι, or Pol ι lacking exon 2, but is robust in the strain producing wild-type Pol ι or its catalytic core, or protein with the active center L62I mutant. The signature pattern of primer extension products resulting from inaccurate DNA synthesis by extracts of cells producing either Pol ι or human Pol η is different. The DNA sequence of the template is critical for the detection of the infidelity of DNA synthesis attributed to DNA Pol ι. The primer/template and composition of the exogenous DNA precursor pool can be adapted to monitor replication fidelity in cell extracts expressing various error-prone Pols or mutator variants of accurate Pols. Finally, we demonstrate that the mutation rates in yeast strains producing human DNA Pols ι and η are not elevated over the control strain, despite highly inaccurate DNA synthesis by their extracts.

  2. Inaccurate DNA synthesis in cell extracts of yeast producing active human DNA polymerase iota.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Alena V Makarova

    2011-01-01

    Full Text Available Mammalian Pol ι has an unusual combination of properties: it is stimulated by Mn(2+ ions, can bypass some DNA lesions and misincorporates "G" opposite template "T" more frequently than incorporates the correct "A." We recently proposed a method of detection of Pol ι activity in animal cell extracts, based on primer extension opposite the template T with a high concentration of only two nucleotides, dGTP and dATP (incorporation of "G" versus "A" method of Gening, abbreviated as "misGvA". We provide unambiguous proof of the "misGvA" approach concept and extend the applicability of the method for the studies of variants of Pol ι in the yeast model system with different cation cofactors. We produced human Pol ι in baker's yeast, which do not have a POLI ortholog. The "misGvA" activity is absent in cell extracts containing an empty vector, or producing catalytically dead Pol ι, or Pol ι lacking exon 2, but is robust in the strain producing wild-type Pol ι or its catalytic core, or protein with the active center L62I mutant. The signature pattern of primer extension products resulting from inaccurate DNA synthesis by extracts of cells producing either Pol ι or human Pol η is different. The DNA sequence of the template is critical for the detection of the infidelity of DNA synthesis attributed to DNA Pol ι. The primer/template and composition of the exogenous DNA precursor pool can be adapted to monitor replication fidelity in cell extracts expressing various error-prone Pols or mutator variants of accurate Pols. Finally, we demonstrate that the mutation rates in yeast strains producing human DNA Pols ι and η are not elevated over the control strain, despite highly inaccurate DNA synthesis by their extracts.

  3. Improved Mental Acuity Forecasting with an Individualized Quantitative Sleep Model

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Brent D. Winslow

    2017-04-01

    Full Text Available Sleep impairment significantly alters human brain structure and cognitive function, but available evidence suggests that adults in developed nations are sleeping less. A growing body of research has sought to use sleep to forecast cognitive performance by modeling the relationship between the two, but has generally focused on vigilance rather than other cognitive constructs affected by sleep, such as reaction time, executive function, and working memory. Previous modeling efforts have also utilized subjective, self-reported sleep durations and were restricted to laboratory environments. In the current effort, we addressed these limitations by employing wearable systems and mobile applications to gather objective sleep information, assess multi-construct cognitive performance, and model/predict changes to mental acuity. Thirty participants were recruited for participation in the study, which lasted 1 week. Using the Fitbit Charge HR and a mobile version of the automated neuropsychological assessment metric called CogGauge, we gathered a series of features and utilized the unified model of performance to predict mental acuity based on sleep records. Our results suggest that individuals poorly rate their sleep duration, supporting the need for objective sleep metrics to model circadian changes to mental acuity. Participant compliance in using the wearable throughout the week and responding to the CogGauge assessments was 80%. Specific biases were identified in temporal metrics across mobile devices and operating systems and were excluded from the mental acuity metric development. Individualized prediction of mental acuity consistently outperformed group modeling. This effort indicates the feasibility of creating an individualized, mobile assessment and prediction of mental acuity, compatible with the majority of current mobile devices.

  4. Health care models guiding mental health policy in Kenya 1965 - 1997

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jenkins Rachel

    2010-04-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Mental health policy is needed to set the strategy and direction for the provision of mental health services in a country. Policy formulation does not occur in a vacuum, however, but is influenced by local and international factors in the health sector and other sectors. Methods This study was carried out in 1997 to examine the evolution of mental health policy in Kenya between 1965 and 1997 in the context of changing international concepts of health and development. Qualitative content analysis of policy documents was combined with interviews of key policy makers. Results The study showed that during the period 1965-1997 the generic health policy in Kenya changed from one based on the Medical Model in the 1960s and 1970s to one based on the Primary Health Care Model in the late 1970s and the 1980s and finally to one based on the Market Model of health care in the 1990s. The mental health policy, on the other hand, evolved from one based on the Medical Model in the 1960s to one based on the Primary Health Care Model in the 1990s, but did not embrace the Market Model of health care. This resulted in a situation in the 1990s where the mental health policy was rooted in a different conceptual model from that of the generic health policy under which it was supposed to be implemented. This "Model Muddlement" may have impeded the implementation of the mental health policy in Kenya. Conclusions Integration of the national mental health policy with the general health policy and other sector policies would be appropriate and is now underway.

  5. Preceptors' perspectives of an integrated clinical learning model in a mental health environment.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Boardman, Gayelene; Lawrence, Karen; Polacsek, Meg

    2018-02-14

    Supervised clinical practice is an essential component of undergraduate nursing students' learning and development. In the mental health setting, nursing students traditionally undertake four-week block placements. An integrated clinical learning model, where preceptors mentor students on an individual basis, has been used successfully in the clinical learning environment. This flexible model provides the opportunity for students to work across morning, afternoon, night and weekend shifts. There is a need to improve the evidence base for a flexible model for students undertaking a mental health placement. The aim of this study was to understand preceptors' experience of, and satisfaction with, a mental health integrated clinical learning model. Focus groups were used to elicit the views of preceptors from a mental health service. Findings highlight the advantages and disadvantages of an integrated clinical learning model in the mental health setting. Participants suggested that students may benefit from flexible work arrangements, a variety of experiences and a more realistic experience of working in a mental health service. However, they found it challenging to mentor and evaluate students under this model. Most also agreed that the model impeded students' ability to engage with consumers and develop rapport with staff. The findings indicate the need to develop a placement model that meets the unique needs of the mental health setting. © 2018 Australian College of Mental Health Nurses Inc.

  6. Disaster Reintegration Model: A Qualitative Analysis on Developing Korean Disaster Mental Health Support Model

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yun-Jung Choi

    2018-02-01

    Full Text Available This study sought to describe the mental health problems experienced by Korean disaster survivors, using a qualitative research method to provide empirical resources for effective disaster mental health support in Korea. Participants were 16 adults or elderly adults who experienced one or more disasters at least 12 months ago recruited via theoretical sampling. Participants underwent in-depth individual interviews on their disaster experiences, which were recorded and transcribed for qualitative analysis, which followed Strauss and Corbin’s (1998 Grounded theory. After open coding, participants’ experiences were categorized into 130 codes, 43 sub-categories and 17 categories. The categories were further analyzed in a paradigm model, conditional model and the Disaster Reintegration Model, which proposed potentially effective mental health recovery strategies for disaster survivors, health providers and administrators. To provide effective assistance for mental health recovery of disaster survivors, both personal and public resilience should be promoted while considering both cultural and spiritual elements.

  7. Consumer-operated service program members' explanatory models of mental illness and recovery.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hoy, Janet M

    2014-10-01

    Incorporating individuals' understandings and explanations of mental illness into service delivery offers benefits relating to increased service relevance and meaning. Existing research delineates explanatory models of mental illness held by individuals in home, outpatient, and hospital-based contexts; research on models held by those in peer-support contexts is notably absent. In this article, I describe themes identified within and across explanatory models of mental illness and recovery held by mental health consumers (N = 24) at one peer center, referred to as a consumer-operated service center (COSP). Participants held explanatory models inclusive of both developmental stressors and biomedical causes, consistent with a stress-diathesis model (although no participant explicitly referenced such). Explicit incorporation of stress-diathesis constructs into programming at this COSP offers the potential of increasing service meaning and relevance. Identifying and incorporating shared meanings across individuals' understandings of mental illness likewise can increase relevance and meaning for particular subgroups of service users. © The Author(s) 2014.

  8. Mental models of radiation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Saito, Kiyoko

    2005-01-01

    Laymen and experts participated in interviews designed to reveal their 'mental models' of the processes potentially causing the miscommunications between experts and the public. We analyzed their responses in terms of an 'expert model' circumscribing scientifically relevant information. From results, there are gaps even between experts. Experts on internal exposure focused mainly on artificial radiation and high level of radiation. Experts on radiation biology focused on medical radiation, level of risk, environmental radiation, and hot springs. Experts on dosimetric performance focused on atomic power generation and needs of radiological protection. It means that even experts, they have interests only on their own specialized field. (author)

  9. Mental models of decision-making in a healthcare executive

    OpenAIRE

    Long, Katrina

    2017-01-01

    Purpose The importance of shared mental models in teamwork has been explored in a diverse array of artificial work groups. This study extends such research to explore the role of mental models in the strategic decision-making of a real-world senior management group. Design/Methodology Data were collected from an intact group of senior healthcare executives (N=13) through semi-structured interviews, meeting observations and internal document analysis. Participants responded to intervi...

  10. A Feedback Learning and Mental Models Perspective on Strategic Decision Making

    Science.gov (United States)

    Capelo, Carlos; Dias, Joao Ferreira

    2009-01-01

    This study aims to be a contribution to a theoretical model that explains the effectiveness of the learning and decision-making processes by means of a feedback and mental models perspective. With appropriate mental models, managers should be able to improve their capacity to deal with dynamically complex contexts, in order to achieve long-term…

  11. Water Management in the Camargue Biosphere Reserve: Insights from Comparative Mental Models Analysis

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Raphael Mathevet

    2011-03-01

    Full Text Available Mental models are the cognitive representations of the world that frame how people interact with the world. Learning implies changing these mental models. The successful management of complex social-ecological systems requires the coordination of actions to achieve shared goals. The coordination of actions requires a level of shared understanding of the system or situation; a shared or common mental model. We first describe the elicitation and analysis of mental models of different stakeholder groups associated with water management in the Camargue Biosphere Reserve in the Rhône River delta on the French Mediterranean coast. We use cultural consensus analysis to explore the degree to which different groups shared mental models of the whole system, of stakeholders, of resources, of processes, and of interactions among these last three. The analysis of the elicited data from this group structure enabled us to tentatively explore the evidence for learning in the nonstatute Water Board; comprising important stakeholders related to the management of the central Rhône delta. The results indicate that learning does occur and results in richer mental models that are more likely to be shared among group members. However, the results also show lower than expected levels of agreement with these consensual mental models. Based on this result, we argue that a careful process and facilitation design can greatly enhance the functioning of the participatory process in the Water Board. We conclude that this methodology holds promise for eliciting and comparing mental models. It enriches group-model building and participatory approaches with a broader view of social learning and knowledge-sharing issues.

  12. Towards a functional model of mental disorders incorporating the laws of thermodynamics.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Murray, George C; McKenzie, Karen

    2013-05-01

    The current paper presents the hypothesis that the understanding of mental disorders can be advanced by incorporating the laws of thermodynamics, specifically relating to energy conservation and energy transfer. These ideas, along with the introduction of the notion that entropic activities are symptomatic of inefficient energy transfer or disorder, were used to propose a model of understanding mental ill health as resulting from the interaction of entropy, capacity and work (environmental demands). The model was applied to Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, and was shown to be compatible with current thinking about this condition, as well as emerging models of mental disorders as complex networks. A key implication of the proposed model is that it argues that all mental disorders require a systemic functional approach, with the advantage that it offers a number of routes into the assessment, formulation and treatment for mental health problems. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  13. Study on discriminant analysis by military mental disorder prediction scale for mental disorder of new recruits

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Li-yi ZHANG

    2011-11-01

    Full Text Available Objective To examine the predictive role of the Military Mental Disorder Prediction Scale on the mental disorder of new recruits.Methods The present study examined 115 new recruits diagnosed with mental disorder and 115 healthy new recruits.The recruits were tested using the Military Mental Disorder Prediction Scale.The discriminant function was built by discriminant analysis method.The current study analyzed the predictive value of 11 factors(family medical record and past medical record(X1,growth experience(X2,introversion(X3,stressor(X4,poor mental defense(X5,social support(X6,psychosis(X7,depression(X8,mania(X9,neurosis(X10,and personality disorder(X11 aside from lie factor on the mental disorder of new recruits.Results The mental disorder group has higher total score and factor score in family medical record and past medical record,introversion,stressor,poor mental defense,social support,psychosis,depression,mania,neurosis,personality disorder,and lie than those of the contrast group(P < 0.01.For the score of growth experience factor,that of the mental disorder group is higher than the score of the contrast group(P < 0.05.All 11 factors except the lie factor in the Mental Disorder Prediction Scale are taken as independent variables by enforced introduction to obtain the Fisher linear discriminant function as follows: The mental disorder group=-7.014-0.278X1+1.556X2+1.563X3+0.878X4+0.183X5-0.845X6-0.562X7-0.353X8+1.246X9-0.505X10+1.029X11.The contrast group=-2.971+0.056X1+2.194X2+0.707X3+0.592X4-0.086X5-0.888X6-0.133X7-0.360X8+0.654X9-0.467X10+0.308X11.The discriminant function has an accuracy rate of 76.5% on the new recruits with mental disorders and 100% on the healthy new recruits.The total accurate discrimination rate is 88.3% and the total inaccurate discrimination rate is 11.7%.Conclusion The Military Mental Disorder Prediction Scale has a high accuracy rate on the prediction of mental disorder of new recruits and is worthy of

  14. The Structures and Possible Sources of Preservice Elementary Teachers' Mental Models About Moon Phases

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jun-Young Oh

    2005-09-01

    Full Text Available This study was to understand the components that influence preservice elementary teachers' mental models about `astronomical phenomena' such as the Seasons of the year, and the Lunar Phases of the month. We selected university of education students among whom 23 were in the second year. The data collected from the paper-pencil test and individual interview with students. The results of this study show that the students had apparent synthetic Mental models, and that the 'distance theory, and occultation theory' had most important effects on their Mental Models. It can be said that preservice elementary teachers' initial mental models of the `astronomical phenomenon' have their origin in their belief sets (specific theory related to `astronomical phenomenon', on the basis of which they can interpret their observations and cultural information with the constraints of a naive framework of physics. The structures and possible sources of their mental models for overcoming these synthetic mental models were also discussed.

  15. Mental models of a water management system in a green building.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kalantzis, Anastasia; Thatcher, Andrew; Sheridan, Craig

    2016-11-01

    This intergroup case study compared users' mental models with an expert design model of a water management system in a green building. The system incorporates a constructed wetland component and a rainwater collection pond that together recycle water for re-use in the building and its surroundings. The sample consisted of five building occupants and the cleaner (6 users) and two experts who were involved with the design of the water management system. Users' mental model descriptions and the experts' design model were derived from in-depth interviews combined with self-constructed (and verified) diagrams. Findings from the study suggest that there is considerable variability in the user mental models that could impact the efficient functioning of the water management system. Recommendations for improvements are discussed. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  16. Implementation strategies for collaborative primary care-mental health models.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Franx, Gerdien; Dixon, Lisa; Wensing, Michel; Pincus, Harold

    2013-09-01

    Extensive research exists that collaborative primary care-mental health models can improve care and outcomes for patients. These programs are currently being implemented throughout the United States and beyond. The purpose of this study is to review the literature and to generate an overview of strategies currently used to implement such models in daily practice. Six overlapping strategies to implement collaborative primary care-mental health models were described in 18 selected studies. We identified interactive educational strategies, quality improvement change processes, technological support tools, stakeholder engagement in the design and execution of implementation plans, organizational changes in terms of expanding the task of nurses and financial strategies such as additional collaboration fees and pay for performance incentives. Considering the overwhelming evidence about the effectiveness of primary care-mental health models, there is a lack of good studies focusing on their implementation strategies. In practice, these strategies are multifaceted and locally defined, as a result of intensive and required stakeholder engagement. Although many barriers still exist, the implementation of collaborative models could have a chance to succeed in the United States, where new service delivery and payment models, such as the Patient-Centered Medical Home, the Health Home and the Accountable Care Organization, are being promoted.

  17. Proposal for operator's mental model using the concept of multilevel flow modeling

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Yoshimura, Seiichi; Takano, Kenichi; Sasou, Kunihide

    1995-01-01

    It is necessary to analyze an operator's thinking process and a operator team's intension forming process for preventing human errors in a highly advanced huge system like a nuclear power plant. Central Research Institute of Electric Power Industry is promoting a research project to establish human error prevention countermeasures by modeling the thinking and intension forming process. The important is the future prediction and the cause identification when abnormal situations occur in a nuclear power plant. The concept of Multilevel Flow Modeling (MFM) seems to be effective as an operator's mental model which performs the future prediction and the cause identification. MFM is a concept which qualitatively describes the plant functions by energy and mass flows and also describes the plant status by breaking down the targets in a hierarchical manner which a plant should achieve. In this paper, an operator's mental model using the concept of MFM was proposed and a nuclear power plant diagnosis support system using MFM was developed. The system evaluation test by personnel who have operational experience in nuclear power plants revealed that MFM was superior in the future prediction and the cause identification to a traditional nuclear power plant status display system which used mimics and trends. MFM proved to be useful as an operator's mental model by the test. (author)

  18. Similarity and accuracy of mental models formed during nursing handovers: A concept mapping approach.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Drach-Zahavy, Anat; Broyer, Chaya; Dagan, Efrat

    2017-09-01

    Shared mental models are crucial for constructing mutual understanding of the patient's condition during a clinical handover. Yet, scant research, if any, has empirically explored mental models of the parties involved in a clinical handover. This study aimed to examine the similarities among mental models of incoming and outgoing nurses, and to test their accuracy by comparing them with mental models of expert nurses. A cross-sectional study, exploring nurses' mental models via the concept mapping technique. 40 clinical handovers. Data were collected via concept mapping of the incoming, outgoing, and expert nurses' mental models (total of 120 concept maps). Similarity and accuracy for concepts and associations indexes were calculated to compare the different maps. About one fifth of the concepts emerged in both outgoing and incoming nurses' concept maps (concept similarity=23%±10.6). Concept accuracy indexes were 35%±18.8 for incoming and 62%±19.6 for outgoing nurses' maps. Although incoming nurses absorbed fewer number of concepts and associations (23% and 12%, respectively), they partially closed the gap (35% and 22%, respectively) relative to expert nurses' maps. The correlations between concept similarities, and incoming as well as outgoing nurses' concept accuracy, were significant (r=0.43, p<0.01; r=0.68 p<0.01, respectively). Finally, in 90% of the maps, outgoing nurses added information concerning the processes enacted during the shift, beyond the expert nurses' gold standard. Two seemingly contradicting processes in the handover were identified. "Information loss", captured by the low similarity indexes among the mental models of incoming and outgoing nurses; and "information restoration", based on accuracy measures indexes among the mental models of the incoming nurses. Based on mental model theory, we propose possible explanations for these processes and derive implications for how to improve a clinical handover. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All

  19. Quebec mental health services networks: models and implementation

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Marie-Josée Fleury

    2005-06-01

    Full Text Available Purpose: In the transformation of health care systems, the introduction of integrated service networks is considered to be one of the main solutions for enhancing efficiency. In the last few years, a wealth of literature has emerged on the topic of services integration. However, the question of how integrated service networks should be modelled to suit different implementation contexts has barely been touched. To fill that gap, this article presents four models for the organization of mental health integrated networks. Data sources: The proposed models are drawn from three recently published studies on mental health integrated services in the province of Quebec (Canada with the author as principal investigator. Description: Following an explanation of the concept of integrated service network and a description of the Quebec context for mental health networks, the models, applicable in all settings: rural, urban or semi-urban, and metropolitan, and summarized in four figures, are presented. Discussion and conclusion: To apply the models successfully, the necessity of rallying all the actors of a system, from the strategic, tactical and operational levels, according to the type of integration involved: functional/administrative, clinical and physician-system is highlighted. The importance of formalizing activities among organizations and actors in a network and reinforcing the governing mechanisms at the local level is also underlined. Finally, a number of integration strategies and key conditions of success to operationalize integrated service networks are suggested.

  20. Predictive modeling in e-mental health: A common language framework

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Dennis Becker

    2018-06-01

    Full Text Available Recent developments in mobile technology, sensor devices, and artificial intelligence have created new opportunities for mental health care research. Enabled by large datasets collected in e-mental health research and practice, clinical researchers and members of the data mining community increasingly join forces to build predictive models for health monitoring, treatment selection, and treatment personalization. This paper aims to bridge the historical and conceptual gaps between the distant research domains involved in this new collaborative research by providing a conceptual model of common research goals. We first provide a brief overview of the data mining field and methods used for predictive modeling. Next, we propose to characterize predictive modeling research in mental health care on three dimensions: 1 time, relative to treatment (i.e., from screening to post-treatment relapse monitoring, 2 types of available data (e.g., questionnaire data, ecological momentary assessments, smartphone sensor data, and 3 type of clinical decision (i.e., whether data are used for screening purposes, treatment selection or treatment personalization. Building on these three dimensions, we introduce a framework that identifies four model types that can be used to classify existing and future research and applications. To illustrate this, we use the framework to classify and discuss published predictive modeling mental health research. Finally, in the discussion, we reflect on the next steps that are required to drive forward this promising new interdisciplinary field.

  1. Model Minority Stereotype: Influence on Perceived Mental Health Needs of Asian Americans.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cheng, Alice W; Chang, Janet; O'Brien, Janine; Budgazad, Marc S; Tsai, Jack

    2017-06-01

    This study examined the influence of the model minority stereotype on the perceived mental health functioning of Asian Americans. It was hypothesized that college students would perceive Asian Americans as having fewer mental health problems and clinical symptoms than Whites due to the model minority stereotype. Four hundred and twenty-five undergraduate students from a predominately White college campus in the American northeast were randomly exposed to one of four conditions: (1) a clinical vignette describing a White college student suffering from adjustment disorder; (2) the same vignette describing an Asian American college student; (3) a newspaper article describing a success story of Whites and the White clinical vignette; (4) the same newspaper article and clinical vignette describing an Asian American. Following exposure to one of the conditions, participants completed a memory recall task and measures of colorblindness, attitudes towards Asian Americans, attitudes towards out-group members, and perceived mental health functioning. Participants exposed to the vignettes primed with the positive/model minority stereotype perceived the target regardless of race/ethnicity as having better mental health functioning and less clinical symptoms than the condition without the stereotype. Additionally, the stereotype primer was found to be a modest predictor for the perception of mental health functioning in Asian American vignettes. Results shed light on the impact of the model minority stereotype on the misperception of Asian Americans' mental health status, contributing to the invisibility or neglect of this minority group's mental health needs.

  2. Near-Nash equilibrium strategies for LQ differential games with inaccurate state information

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    2006-01-01

    Full Text Available ε -Nash equilibrium or “near equilibrium” for a linear quadratic cost game is considered. Due to inaccurate state information, the standard solution for feedback Nash equilibrium cannot be applied. Instead, an estimation of the players' states is substituted into the optimal control strategies equation obtained for perfect state information. The magnitude of the ε in the ε -Nash equilibrium will depend on the quality of the estimation process. To illustrate this approach, a Luenberger-type observer is used in the numerical example to generate the players' state estimates in a two-player non-zero-sum LQ differential game.

  3. Mental Models, Magical Thinking, And Individual Differences

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Phil Turner

    2009-01-01

    Full Text Available Broadly, there are two mutually exclusive accounts of how people (non-specialist users reason about and conceptualize interactive technology. The first is based on classical cognitive psychology and is characterized by the term mental model. The second, drawing on concepts from social cognition, observes that people often anthropomorphize technology. We argue that people are able to exhibit both of these quite different styles of cognition, which Baron-Cohen has described as systemizing and empathizing. The former is associated with the drive to analyze, explore, and construct a system, whereas the latter is the ability to spontaneously tune into another’s thoughts and feelings. The propensity to systemize might give rise to a mental model, while the empathizing tendency might tend to anthropomorphize technology. We present an empirical study that lends support for the above position.

  4. Superior Rhythm Discrimination With the SmartShock Technology Algorithm - Results of the Implantable Defibrillator With Enhanced Features and Settings for Reduction of Inaccurate Detection (DEFENSE) Trial.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Oginosawa, Yasushi; Kohno, Ritsuko; Honda, Toshihiro; Kikuchi, Kan; Nozoe, Masatsugu; Uchida, Takayuki; Minamiguchi, Hitoshi; Sonoda, Koichiro; Ogawa, Masahiro; Ideguchi, Takeshi; Kizaki, Yoshihisa; Nakamura, Toshihiro; Oba, Kageyuki; Higa, Satoshi; Yoshida, Keiki; Tsunoda, Soichi; Fujino, Yoshihisa; Abe, Haruhiko

    2017-08-25

    Shocks delivered by implanted anti-tachyarrhythmia devices, even when appropriate, lower the quality of life and survival. The new SmartShock Technology ® (SST) discrimination algorithm was developed to prevent the delivery of inappropriate shock. This prospective, multicenter, observational study compared the rate of inaccurate detection of ventricular tachyarrhythmia using the SST vs. a conventional discrimination algorithm.Methods and Results:Recipients of implantable cardioverter defibrillators (ICD) or cardiac resynchronization therapy defibrillators (CRT-D) equipped with the SST algorithm were enrolled and followed up every 6 months. The tachycardia detection rate was set at ≥150 beats/min with the SST algorithm. The primary endpoint was the time to first inaccurate detection of ventricular tachycardia (VT) with conventional vs. the SST discrimination algorithm, up to 2 years of follow-up. Between March 2012 and September 2013, 185 patients (mean age, 64.0±14.9 years; men, 74%; secondary prevention indication, 49.5%) were enrolled at 14 Japanese medical centers. Inaccurate detection was observed in 32 patients (17.6%) with the conventional, vs. in 19 patients (10.4%) with the SST algorithm. SST significantly lowered the rate of inaccurate detection by dual chamber devices (HR, 0.50; 95% CI: 0.263-0.950; P=0.034). Compared with previous algorithms, the SST discrimination algorithm significantly lowered the rate of inaccurate detection of VT in recipients of dual-chamber ICD or CRT-D.

  5. Interaction Model of Mental Disability (IMMD) based on ICIDH

    OpenAIRE

    YAMANE, Hiroshi

    2001-01-01

    I propose an "Interaction Model of Mental Disability (IMMD)". Several models based on ICIDH are being proposed and tested around the world focusing on different aspects of disability. Though ICIDH is an inclusive model in health services, social security, insurance, education, and so on, the remarkable point of IMMD is to visualize the mutual relation of mental disability (impairment, disability and handicap) and other factors (environmental factors, personal factors). IMMD is a practical reh...

  6. Mental Models Theory and Military Decision-Marking: A Pilot Experimental Model

    National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

    Sparkes, Jason

    2003-01-01

    ...) and in the military (e.g., the USS Vincennes incident). In particular, construction of the mental models used when making critical decisions is vulnerable to both problem complexity and logically conflicting (false) information...

  7. a model for estimating mental health service needs in south africa

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    and ry: is. J. 1997;. -198. rg ve bal. 0;. 96; five- al ve ative bal tion- ison. 5: , eds. el1 ess of . 55. ross- in. 61-. A MODEL FOR ESTIMATING. MENTAL HEALTH .... added to the number of full-time mental health workers, this gives the total number of full-time equivalent (FrE) mental health workers,. Workload for psychiatric ...

  8. MODEL MENTAL SISWA SEKOLAH DASAR TENTANG LISTRIK STATIS

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Rimba Hamid

    2016-11-01

    Memahami model mental siswa sangatlah penting bagi seorang pendidik. Penelitian ini menguraikan model mental siswa Sekolah Dasar (SD tentang konsep listrik statis berdasarkan lokasi geografis. Sampel adalah 21 siswa SD yang tinggal di daerah Kota Kendari dan 17 siswa SD yang tinggal di Kabupaten Konawe Sulawesi Tenggara. Ide-ide siswa tentang fenomena listrik statis dikumpulkan dengan cara meminta siswa untuk me-nuliskan ide-ide mereka tentang fenomena listrik statis di secarik kertas. Ide-ide tersebut kemudian dikla-sifikasikan berdasarkan jenis model mentalnya. Hasil menunjukkan bahwa siswa yang berasal dari pusat kota memiliki kerangka pemikiran yang relatif lebih konseptual jika dibandingkan dengan siswa dari luar kota yang lebih banyak menggunakan kerangka berpikir yang intuitif. Meskipun demikian, baik siswa yang ber-asal dari kota maupun dari luar kota pada umumnya menggunakan analogi pengalaman sehari-hari dalam menginterpretasi konsep listrik statis.

  9. Controversies in water management: Frames and mental models

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kolkman, M.J.; Veen, A. van der; Geurts, P.A.T.M.

    2007-01-01

    Controversies in decision and policy-making processes can be analysed using frame reflection and mental model mapping techniques. The purpose of the method presented in this paper is to improve the quality of the information and interpretations available to decision makers, by surfacing and juxtaposing the different frames of decision makers, experts, and special interests groups. The research provides a new method to analyse frames. It defines a frame to consist of perspectives and a mental model, which are in close interaction (through second order learning processes). The mental model acts like a 'filter' through which the problem situation is observed. Five major perspective types guide the construction of meaning out of the information delivered by the mental model, and determine what actors see as their interests. The perspective types are related to an actor's institutional and personal position in the decision making process. The method was applied to a case, in order to test its viability. The case concerns the decision making process and environmental impact assessment procedure for the improvement of dike ring 53 in the Netherlands, which was initiated by the Dutch 'Flood Defences Act 1996'. In this specific case the perspectives and mental models of stakeholders were elicited to explain controversies. The case was analysed with regard to the conflicts emerging between stakeholders, on an individual level. The influence of institutional embedding of individuals on the use of information and the construction of meaning, and the limits of a participatory approach were analysed within the details of controversies that emerged during the case analysis. Complicating factor appeared to be the interaction between national dike safety norms (short term) and local water management problems (long term). Revealed controversies mainly concerned disputes between an organisational and a technical perspective. But also disputes on distribution of responsibilities

  10. Inaccurate preoperative imaging assessment on biliary anatomy not increases biliary complications after living donor liver transplantation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Xu Xiao; Wei Xuyong; Ling Qi; Wang Kai; Bao Haiwei; Xie Haiyang; Zhou Lin; Zheng Shusen

    2012-01-01

    Backgrounds and aims: Accurate assessment of graft bile duct is important to plan surgical procedure. Magnetic resonance cholangiopancreatography (MRCP) has become an important diagnostic procedure in evaluation of pancreaticobiliary ductal abnormalities and has been reported as highly accurate. We aim to estimate the efficacy of preoperative MRCP on depicting biliary anatomy in living donor liver transplantation (LDLT), and to determine whether inaccurate preoperative imaging assessment would increase the biliary complications after LDLT. Methods: The data of 118 cases LDLT were recorded. Information from preoperative MRCP was assessed using intraoperative cholangiography (IOC) as the gold standard. The possible risk factors of recipient biliary complications were analyzed. Results: Of 118 donors, 84 had normal anatomy (type A) and 34 had anatomic variants (19 cases of type B, 9 cases of type C, 1 case of type E, 2 cases of type F and 3 cases of type I) confirmed by IOC. MRCP correctly predicted all 84 normal cases and 17 of 34 variant cases, and showed an accuracy of 85.6% (101/118). The incidence of biliary complications was comparable between cases with accurate and inaccurate classification of biliary tree from MRCP, and between cases with normal and variant anatomy of bile duct. While cases with graft duct opening ≤5 mm showed a significant higher incidence of total biliary complications (21.1% vs. 6.6%, P = 0.028) and biliary stricture (10.5% vs. 1.6%, P = 0.041) compared with cases with large duct opening >5 mm. Conclusion: MRCP could correctly predict normal but not variant biliary anatomy. Inaccurate assessment of biliary anatomy from MRCP not increases the rate of biliary complications, while small-sized graft duct may cause an increase in biliary complications particularly biliary stricture after LDLT.

  11. Investigating students’ mental models about the nature of light in different contexts

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Özcan, Özgür

    2015-01-01

    In this study, we investigated pre-service physics teachers’ mental models of light in different contexts, such as blackbody radiation, the photoelectric effect and the Compton effect. The data collected through the paper-and-pencil questionnaire (PPQ) were analyzed both quantitatively and qualitatively. Sampling of this study consists of a total of 110 physics education students who were taking a modern physics course at two different state universities in Turkey. As a result, three mental models, which were called the beam ray model (BrM), hybrid model (HM) and particle model (PM), were being used by the students while explaining these phenomena. The most model fluctuation was seen in HM and BrM. In addition, some students were in a mixed-model state where they use multiple mental models in explaining a phenomenon and used these models inconsistently. On the other hand, most of the students who used the particle model can be said to be in a pure model state. (paper)

  12. Beyond attributions: Understanding public stigma of mental illness with the common sense model.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mak, Winnie W S; Chong, Eddie S K; Wong, Celia C Y

    2014-03-01

    The present study applied the common sense model (i.e., cause, controllability, timeline, consequences, and illness coherence) to understand public attitudes toward mental illness and help-seeking intention and to examine the mediating role of perceived controllability between causal attributions with public attitudes and help seeking. Based on a randomized household sample of 941 Chinese community adults in Hong Kong, results of the structural equation modeling demonstrated that people who endorsed cultural lay beliefs tended to perceive the course of mental illness as less controllable, whereas those with psychosocial attributions see its course as more controllable. The more people perceived the course of mental illness as less controllable, more chronic, and incomprehensible, the lower was their acceptance and the greater was mental illness stigma. Furthermore, those who perceived mental illness with dire consequences were more likely to feel greater stigma and social distance. Conversely, when people were more accepting, they were more likely to seek help for psychological services and felt a shorter social distance. The common sense model provides a multidimensional framework in understanding public's mental illness perceptions and stigma. Not only should biopsychosocial determinants of mental illness be advocated to the public, cultural myths toward mental illness must be debunked.

  13. Heritability of slow and/or inaccurate reading ability in 33,000 adult twins with self-reported data

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Fibiger-Dagnæs, Steen; von Bornemann Hjelmborg, Jacob; Erbs, Lena

    2012-01-01

    Genetic influence for adult slow and/or inaccurate reading ability was studied from selfreported answers, using a dichotomous question on having difficulties in reading the Danish subtitles on foreign TV programs. The data from 33,424 twins were population based and were used for biometric analys...

  14. The unconvincing product - Consumer versus expert hazard identification: A mental models study of novel foods

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Hagemann, Kit; Scholderer, Joachim

    and experts understanding of benefits and risks associated with three Novel foods (a potato, rice and functional food ingredients) using a relatively new methodology for the study of risk perception called Mental models. Mental models focus on the way people conceptualise hazardous processes and allows...... researchers to pit a normative analysis (expert mental models) against a descriptive analysis (consumer mental models). Expert models were elicited by means of a three-wave Delphi procedure from altogether 24 international experts and consumers models from in-dept interviews with Danish consumers. The results...... revealed that consumers´ and experts' mental models differed in connection to scope. Experts focused on the types of hazards for which risk assessments can be conducted under current legal frameworks whereas consumers were concerned about issues that lay outside the scope of current legislation. Experts...

  15. Implementation of the Strengths Model at an area mental health service.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chopra, Prem; Hamilton, Bridget; Castle, David; Smith, Jenny; Mileshkin, Cris; Deans, Michael; Wynne, Brad; Prigg, Glenn; Toomey, Nigel; Wilson, Michael

    2009-06-01

    The objectives of this paper are to provide an overview of recovery-focused models of care and discuss the implementation of the Strengths Model at St. Vincent's Mental Health Melbourne (SVMH), Victoria, Australia. The implementation of the Strengths Model at SVMH is discussed with particular emphasis on the process of implementation, service implications, practical challenges and dilemmas that have arisen, and proposed evaluation. Recovery-focused care is feasible and can enhance current practice of mental health services.

  16. A 'Grantathon' model to mentor new investigators in mental health research.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hawk, Mary; Nimgaonkar, Vishwajit; Bhatia, Triptish; Brar, Jaspreet S; Elbahaey, Wafaa Abdelhakim; Egan, James E; Konasale, Prasad; Kumar, Supriya; McDonald, Margaret C; Singh, Ravinder; Swaminathan, Soumya; Wood, Joel; Deshpande, Smita N

    2017-10-24

    There is a critical gap between needs and available resources for mental health treatment across the world, particularly in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). In countries committed to increasing resources to address these needs it is important to conduct research, not only to assess the depth of mental health needs and the current provision of public and private mental health services, but also to examine implementation methods and evaluate mental health approaches to determine which methods are most effective in local contexts. However, research resources in many LMICs are inadequate, largely because conventional research training is time-consuming and expensive. Adapting a hackathon model may be a feasible method of increasing capacity for mental health services research in resource-poor countries. To explore the feasibility of this approach, we developed a 'grantathon', i.e. a research training workshop, to build capacity among new investigators on implementation research of Indian government-funded mental health programmes, which was based on a need expressed by government agencies. The workshop was conducted in Delhi, India, and brought together junior faculty members working in mental health services settings throughout the country, experienced international behavioural health researchers and representatives of the Indian Council for Medical Research (ICMR), the prime Indian medical research funding agency. Pre- and post-assessments were used to capture changes in participants' perceived abilities to develop proposals, design research studies, evaluate outcomes and develop collaborations with ICMR and other researchers. Process measures were used to track the number of single-or multi-site proposals that were generated and funded. Participants (n = 24) generated 12 single- or multi-site research grant applications that will be funded by ICMR. The grantathon model described herein can be modified to build mental health services research capacity in

  17. INFORMATIONAL MODEL OF MENTAL ROTATION OF FIGURES

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    V. A. Lyakhovetskiy

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available Subject of Study.The subject of research is the information structure of objects internal representations and operations over them, used by man to solve the problem of mental rotation of figures. To analyze this informational structure we considered not only classical dependencies of the correct answers on the angle of rotation, but also the other dependencies obtained recently in cognitive psychology. Method.The language of technical computing Matlab R2010b was used for developing information model of the mental rotation of figures. Such model parameters as the number of bits in the internal representation, an error probability in a single bit, discrete rotation angle, comparison threshold, and the degree of difference during rotation can be changed. Main Results.The model reproduces qualitatively such psychological dependencies as the linear increase of time of correct answers and the number of errors on the angle of rotation for identical figures, "flat" dependence of the time of correct answers and the number of errors on the angle of rotation for mirror-like figures. The simulation results suggest that mental rotation is an iterative process of finding a match between the two figures, each step of which can lead to a significant distortion of the internal representation of the stored objects. Matching is carried out within the internal representations that have no high invariance to rotation angle. Practical Significance.The results may be useful for understanding the role of learning (including the learning with a teacher in the development of effective information representation and operations on them in artificial intelligence systems.

  18. Controversies in watermanagement : Frames and mental models

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Kolkman, Rien; van der Veen, A.; Geurts, Petrus A.T.M.

    2007-01-01

    Controversies in decision and policy-making processes can be analysed using frame reflection and mental model mapping techniques. The purpose of the method presented in this paper is to improve the quality of the information and interpretations available to decision makers, by surfacing and

  19. Police Mental Health Partnership project: Police Ambulance Crisis Emergency Response (PACER) model development.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Huppert, David; Griffiths, Matthew

    2015-10-01

    To review internationally recognized models of police interactions with people experiencing mental health crises that are sometimes complex and associated with adverse experience for the person in crisis, their family and emergency service personnel. To develop, implement and review a partnership model trial between mental health and emergency services that offers alternative response pathways with improved outcomes in care. Three unique models of police and mental health partnership in the USA were reviewed and used to develop the PACER (Police Ambulance Crisis Emergency Response) model. A three month trial of the model was implemented and evaluated. Significant improvements in response times, the interactions with and the outcomes for people in crisis were some of the benefits shown when compared with usual services. The pilot showed that a partnership involving mental health and police services in Melbourne, Australia could be replicated based on international models. Initial data supported improvements compared with usual care. Further data collection regarding usual care and this new model is required to confirm observed benefits. © The Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists 2015.

  20. Mental models of women with breast implants : local complications

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Byram, S.; Fischhoff, B.; Embrey, M.; Bruine de Bruin, W.J.A.; Thorne, S.

    2001-01-01

    Twenty-five women with breast implants participated in semistructured interviews designed to reveal their "mental models" of the processes potentially causing local (ie, nonsystemic) problems. The authors analyzed their responses in terms of an "expert model," circumscribing scientifically relevant

  1. Eradicating Barriers to Mental Health Care Through Integrated Service Models: Contemporary Perspectives for Psychiatric-Mental Health Nurses.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ellis, Horace; Alexander, Vinette

    2016-06-01

    There has been renewed, global interest in developing new and transformative models of facilitating access to high-quality, cost-effective, and individually-centered health care for severe mentally-ill (SMI) persons of diverse racial/ethnic, cultural and socioeconomic backgrounds. However, in our present-day health-service delivery systems, scholars have identified layers of barriers to widespread dispersal of well-needed mental health care both nationally and internationally. It is crucial that contemporary models directed at eradicating barriers to mental health services are interdisciplinary in context, design, scope, sequence, and best-practice standards. Contextually, nurses are well-positioned to influence the incorporation and integration of new concepts into operationally interdisciplinary, evidence-based care models with measurable outcomes. The aim of this concept paper is to use the available evidence to contextually explicate how the blended roles of psychiatric mental health (PMH) nursing can be influential in eradicating barriers to care and services for SMI persons through the integrated principles of collaboration, integration and service expansion across health, socioeconomic, and community systems. A large body of literature proposes that any best-practice standards aimed at eliminating barriers to the health care needs of SMI persons require systematic, well-coordinated interdisciplinary partnerships through evidence-based, high-quality, person-centered, and outcome-driven processes. Transforming the conceptual models of collaboration, integration and service expansion could be revolutionary in how care and services are coordinated and dispersed to populations across disadvantaged communities. Building on their longstanding commitment to individual and community care approaches, and their pivotal roles in research, education, leadership, practice, and legislative processes; PMH nurses are well-positioned to be both influential and instrumental in

  2. Urgent Need for Improved Mental Health Care and a More Collaborative Model of Care

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lake, James; Turner, Mason Spain

    2017-01-01

    Current treatments and the dominant model of mental health care do not adequately address the complex challenges of mental illness, which accounts for roughly one-third of adult disability globally. These circumstances call for radical change in the paradigm and practices of mental health care, including improving standards of clinician training, developing new research methods, and re-envisioning current models of mental health care delivery. Because of its dominant position in the US health care marketplace and its commitment to research and innovation, Kaiser Permanente (KP) is strategically positioned to make important contributions that will shape the future of mental health care nationally and globally. This article reviews challenges facing mental health care and proposes an agenda for developing a collaborative care model in primary care settings that incorporates conventional biomedical therapies and complementary and alternative medicine approaches. By moving beyond treatment delivery via telephone and secure video and providing earlier interventions through primary care clinics, KP is shifting the paradigm of mental health care to a collaborative care model focusing on prevention. Recommendations are to expand current practices to include integrative treatment strategies incorporating evidence-based biomedical and complementary and alternative medicine modalities that can be provided to patients using a collaborative care model. Recommendations also are made for an internal research program aimed at investigating the efficacy and cost-effectiveness of promising complementary and alternative medicine and integrative treatments addressing the complex needs of patients with severe psychiatric disorders, many of whom respond poorly to treatments available in KP mental health clinics. PMID:28898197

  3. On Looking into the Black Box: Prospects and Limits in the Search for Mental Models

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rouse, W. B.; Morris, N. M.

    1984-01-01

    To place the arguments advanced in this paper in alternative points of view with regard to mental models are reviewed. Use of the construct in areas such as neural information processing, manual control, decision making, problem solving, and cognitive science are discussed. Also reviewed are several taxonomies of mental models. The available empirical evidence for answering questions concerning the nature and usage of mental models is then discussed. A variety of studies are reviewed where the type and form of humans' knowledge have been manipulated. Also considered are numerous transfer of training studies whose results provide indirect evidence of the nature of mental models. The alternative perspectives considered and the spectrum of empirical evidence are combined to suggest a framework within which research on mental models can be viewed. By considering interactions of dimensions of this framework, the most salient unanswered questions can be identified.

  4. Three models of community mental health services In low-income countries

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    De Silva Mary

    2011-01-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Objective To compare and contrast three models of community mental health services in low-income settings. Data Sources/Study Setting Primary and secondary data collected before, during, and after site visits to mental health programs in Nigeria, the Philippines, and India. Study Design Qualitative case study methodology. Data Collection Data were collected through interviews and observations during site visits to the programs, as well as from reviews of documentary evidence. Principal Findings A set of narrative topics and program indicators were used to compare and contrast three community mental health programs in low-income countries. This allowed us to identify a diversity of service delivery models, common challenges, and the strengths and weaknesses of each program. More definitive evaluations will require the establishment of data collection methods and information systems that provide data about the clinical and social outcomes of clients, as well as their use of services. Conclusions Community mental health programs in low-income countries face a number of challenges. Using a case study methodology developed for this purpose, it is possible to compare programs and begin to assess the effectiveness of diverse service delivery models.

  5. Large animals as potential models of human mental and behavioral disorders.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Danek, Michał; Danek, Janusz; Araszkiewicz, Aleksander

    2017-12-30

    Many animal models in different species have been developed for mental and behavioral disorders. This review presents large animals (dog, ovine, swine, horse) as potential models of this disorders. The article was based on the researches that were published in the peer-reviewed journals. Aliterature research was carried out using the PubMed database. The above issues were discussed in the several problem groups in accordance with the WHO International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems 10thRevision (ICD-10), in particular regarding: organic, including symptomatic, disorders; mental disorders (Alzheimer's disease and Huntington's disease, pernicious anemia and hepatic encephalopathy, epilepsy, Parkinson's disease, Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease); behavioral disorders due to psychoactive substance use (alcoholic intoxication, abuse of morphine); schizophrenia and other schizotypal disorders (puerperal psychosis); mood (affective) disorders (depressive episode); neurotic, stress-related and somatoform disorders (posttraumatic stress disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder); behavioral syndromes associated with physiological disturbances and physical factors (anxiety disorders, anorexia nervosa, narcolepsy); mental retardation (Cohen syndrome, Down syndrome, Hunter syndrome); behavioral and emotional disorders (attention deficit hyperactivity disorder). This data indicates many large animal disorders which can be models to examine the above human mental and behavioral disorders.

  6. Whole-body FDG PET-MR oncologic imaging: pitfalls in clinical interpretation related to inaccurate MR-based attenuation correction.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Attenberger, Ulrike; Catana, Ciprian; Chandarana, Hersh; Catalano, Onofrio A; Friedman, Kent; Schonberg, Stefan A; Thrall, James; Salvatore, Marco; Rosen, Bruce R; Guimaraes, Alexander R

    2015-08-01

    Simultaneous data collection for positron emission tomography and magnetic resonance imaging (PET/MR) is now a reality. While the full benefits of concurrently acquiring PET and MR data and the potential added clinical value are still being evaluated, initial studies have identified several important potential pitfalls in the interpretation of fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) PET/MRI in oncologic whole-body imaging, the majority of which being related to the errors in the attenuation maps created from the MR data. The purpose of this article was to present such pitfalls and artifacts using case examples, describe their etiology, and discuss strategies to overcome them. Using a case-based approach, we will illustrate artifacts related to (1) Inaccurate bone tissue segmentation; (2) Inaccurate air cavities segmentation; (3) Motion-induced misregistration; (4) RF coils in the PET field of view; (5) B0 field inhomogeneity; (6) B1 field inhomogeneity; (7) Metallic implants; (8) MR contrast agents.

  7. Dynamic Processes of Conceptual Change: Analysis of Constructing Mental Models of Chemical Equilibrium.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chiu, Mei-Hung; Chou, Chin-Cheng; Liu, Chia-Ju

    2002-01-01

    Investigates students' mental models of chemical equilibrium using dynamic science assessments. Reports that students at various levels have misconceptions about chemical equilibrium. Involves 10th grade students (n=30) in the study doing a series of hands-on chemical experiments. Focuses on the process of constructing mental models, dynamic…

  8. Shared mental models of integrated care: aligning multiple stakeholder perspectives.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Evans, Jenna M; Baker, G Ross

    2012-01-01

    Health service organizations and professionals are under increasing pressure to work together to deliver integrated patient care. A common understanding of integration strategies may facilitate the delivery of integrated care across inter-organizational and inter-professional boundaries. This paper aims to build a framework for exploring and potentially aligning multiple stakeholder perspectives of systems integration. The authors draw from the literature on shared mental models, strategic management and change, framing, stakeholder management, and systems theory to develop a new construct, Mental Models of Integrated Care (MMIC), which consists of three types of mental models, i.e. integration-task, system-role, and integration-belief. The MMIC construct encompasses many of the known barriers and enablers to integrating care while also providing a comprehensive, theory-based framework of psychological factors that may influence inter-organizational and inter-professional relations. While the existing literature on integration focuses on optimizing structures and processes, the MMIC construct emphasizes the convergence and divergence of stakeholders' knowledge and beliefs, and how these underlying cognitions influence interactions (or lack thereof) across the continuum of care. MMIC may help to: explain what differentiates effective from ineffective integration initiatives; determine system readiness to integrate; diagnose integration problems; and develop interventions for enhancing integrative processes and ultimately the delivery of integrated care. Global interest and ongoing challenges in integrating care underline the need for research on the mental models that characterize the behaviors of actors within health systems; the proposed framework offers a starting point for applying a cognitive perspective to health systems integration.

  9. Personality, relationship conflict, and teamwork-related mental models

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Vîrgă, D.; Curseu, P.L.; Maricuţoiu, L.; Sava, S.A.; Macsinga, I.; Măgurean, S.

    2014-01-01

    This study seeks to explore whether neuroticism, agreeableness, and conscientiousness moderate the influence of relationship conflict experienced in groups on changes in group members' evaluative cognitions related to teamwork quality (teamwork-related mental models). Data from 216 students, nested

  10. The mental models of vaccination, trust in health care system and parental attitudes towards childhood vaccination

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Bojan Gjorgjievski

    2016-11-01

    Full Text Available Many contradictory notions have been appearing in the area of health care in recent years, including those related to attitudes towards vaccination. On the basis of their understanding of the phenomenon some parents oppose to the vaccination. The purpose of this study was to compare mental models of laymen with expert models and examine the correlation of the mental models of vaccination and the trust in doctors and healthcare system with the parental attitudes on childhood vaccination. In doing so, we have considered the demographic characteristics of the parents and cultural differences between parents from Slovenia and Macedonia. We were also interested in the role of compulsory and optional vaccination, because in the latter the behavioral intention is expressed more clearly. The methods used in our study of mental models was based on the approach of Morgan, Fischhoff, Bostrom and Atman (2002 which has three phases: (1 obtaining expert mental models, (2 getting mental models of the laymen (e.g., parents and (3 comparison of both mental models. Expert models of vaccination were obtained from five doctors from Slovenia and five doctors from Macedonia. Laymen models of vaccination were obtained in structured interviews with 33 parents from Slovenia and 30 from Macedonia. Based on comparisons of expert and laymental models it can be concluded that the mental models of vaccination from parents of one-year old children differ from expert mental models. Most parents, both Macedonian and Slovenian, have also responded that they have greater confidence in the doctors rather than the healthcare system, mainly due to positive experiences with the selected pediatrician. In some Slovenian parents, a tendency to identify compulsory vaccination with force was noticed.

  11. Utilization of Mental Health Services and Mental Health Status Among Children Placed in Out-of-Home Care: A Parallel Process Latent Growth Modeling Approach.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yampolskaya, Svetlana; Sharrock, Patty J; Clark, Colleen; Hanson, Ardis

    2017-10-01

    This longitudinal study examined the parallel trajectories of mental health service use and mental health status among children placed in Florida out-of-home care. The results of growth curve modeling suggested that children with greater mental health problems initially received more mental health services. Initial child mental health status, however, had no effect on subsequent service provision when all outpatient mental health services were included. When specific types of mental health services, such as basic outpatient, targeted case management, and intensive mental health services were examined, results suggested that children with compromised functioning during the baseline period received more intensive mental health services over time. However, this increased provision of intensive mental health services did not improve mental health status, rather it was significantly associated with progressively worse mental health functioning. These findings underscore the need for regular comprehensive mental health assessments focusing on specific needs of the child.

  12. Mind the gap: Person-centred delivery of mental health information to post-secondarystudents

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Laura Lynne Armstrong

    2015-08-01

    Full Text Available Mental illnesses are rapidly escalating on university and college campuses. It is well known that postsecondary institutions are not doing enough to address mental health concerns: this represents a significant gap in our attempts to meet the mental health needs of young people. Deficits in mental health knowledge are now proposed as a major contributing factor to both stigma and low service access, but little research as explored this issue. There is also little research to date concerning what young people want to know about mental health and how best to disseminate mental health knowledge. Without such information, knowledge may not be shared in a person-centred, meaningful manner that youth will use. We explored these issues in the present study. First year postsecondary students (N = 271; n = 183 females; n = 85 males; n = 3 other from Ottawa, Ontario, Canada participated in the online survey. Almost half of the postsecondary youth participants, particularly males, had difficulty recognizing common mental illnesses, such as anxiety, eating disorders, and psychosis. Youth held inaccurate beliefs and stigma, as well as attitudes not in favour of help-seeking. They primarily wanted to know about symptoms of mental illnesses as well as how to cope with stress. Post-secondary students wanted to learn about mental health issues through public presentations, the Internet, and media. The present research suggests the need for an awareness and acknowledgement among policy-makers of first year post-secondary students' knowledge gaps and youth appropriate knowledge sharing. Assessing mental health knowledge, what post-secondary students want to know about mental health, and knowledge transfer preferences could aid in the development of a framework to address the significant gap in the mental health needs of post-secondary students in a person centred manner.

  13. Profile of Students’ Mental Model Change on Law Concepts Archimedes as Impact of Multi-Representation Approach

    Science.gov (United States)

    Taher, M.; Hamidah, I.; Suwarma, I. R.

    2017-09-01

    This paper outlined the results of an experimental study on the effects of multi-representation approach in learning Archimedes Law on students’ mental model improvement. The multi-representation techniques implemented in the study were verbal, pictorial, mathematical, and graphical representations. Students’ mental model was classified into three levels, i.e. scientific, synthetic, and initial levels, based on the students’ level of understanding. The present study employed the pre-experimental methodology, using one group pretest-posttest design. The subject of the study was 32 eleventh grade students in a Public Senior High School in Riau Province. The research instrument included model mental test on hydrostatic pressure concept, in the form of essay test judged by experts. The findings showed that there was positive change in students’ mental model, indicating that multi-representation approach was effective to improve students’ mental model.

  14. Assessing Mental Models of Emergencies Through Two Knowledge Elicitation Tasks.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Whitmer, Daphne E; Sims, Valerie K; Torres, Michael E

    2017-05-01

    The goals of this study were to assess the risk identification aspect of mental models using standard elicitation methods and how university campus alerts were related to these mental models. People fail to follow protective action recommendations in emergency warnings. Past research has yet to examine cognitive processes that influence emergency decision-making. Study 1 examined 2 years of emergency alerts distributed by a large southeastern university. In Study 2, participants listed emergencies in a thought-listing task. Study 3 measured participants' time to decide if a situation was an emergency. The university distributed the most alerts about an armed person, theft, and fire. In Study 2, participants most frequently listed fire, car accident, heart attack, and theft. In Study 3, participants quickly decided a bomb, murder, fire, tornado, and rape were emergencies. They most slowly decided that a suspicious package and identify theft were emergencies. Recent interaction with warnings was only somewhat related to participants' mental models of emergencies. Risk identification precedes decision-making and applying protective actions. Examining these characteristics of people's mental representations of emergencies is fundamental to further understand why some emergency warnings go ignored. Someone must believe a situation is serious to categorize it as an emergency before taking the protective action recommendations in an emergency warning. Present-day research must continue to examine the problem of people ignoring warning communication, as there are important cognitive factors that have not yet been explored until the present research.

  15. A developmental approach to mentalizing communities: I. A model for social change.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Twemlow, Stuart W; Fonagy, Peter; Sacco, Frank C

    2005-01-01

    A developmental model is proposed applying attachment theory to complex social systems to promote social change. The idea of mentalizing communities is outlined with a proposal for three projects testing the model: ways to reduce bullying and create a peaceful climate in schools, projects to promote compassion in cities by a focus of end-of-life care, and a mentalization-based intervention into parenting style of borderline and substance abusing parents.

  16. Infertile Individuals’ Marital Relationship Status, Happiness, and Mental Health: A Causal Model

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Seyed Habiballah Ahmadi Forooshany

    2014-11-01

    Full Text Available Background: This study examined the causal model of relation between marital relationship status, happiness, and mental health in infertile individuals. Materials and Methods: In this descriptive study, 155 subjects (men: 52 and women: 78, who had been visited in one of the infertility Centers, voluntarily participated in a self-evaluation. Golombok Rust Inventory of Marital Status, Oxford Happiness Questionnaire, and General Health Questionnaire were used as instruments of the study. Data was analyzed by SPSS17 and Amos 5 software using descriptive statistics, independent sample t test, and path analysis. Results: Disregarding the gender factor, marital relationship status was directly related to happiness (p<0.05 and happiness was directly related to mental health, (p<0.05. Also, indirect relation between marital relationship status and mental health was significant (p<0.05. These results were confirmed in women participants but in men participants only the direct relation between happiness and mental health was significant (p<0.05. Conclusion: Based on goodness of model fit in fitness indexes, happiness had a mediator role in relation between marital relationship status and mental health in infertile individuals disregarding the gender factor. Also, considering the gender factor, only in infertile women, marital relationship status can directly and indirectly affect happiness and mental health.

  17. Mentalized affectivity: A new model and assessment of emotion regulation.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    David M Greenberg

    Full Text Available Here we introduce a new assessment of emotion regulation called the Mentalized Affectivity Scale (MAS. A large online adult sample (N = 2,840 completed the 60-item MAS along with a battery of psychological measures. Results revealed a robust three-component structure underlying mentalized affectivity, which we labeled: Identifying emotions (the ability to identify emotions and to reflect on the factors that influence them; Processing emotions (the ability to modulate and distinguish complex emotions; and Expressing emotions (the tendency to express emotions outwardly or inwardly. Hierarchical modeling suggested that Processing emotions delineates from Identifying them, and Expressing emotions delineates from Processing them. We then showed how these components are associated with personality traits, well-being, trauma, and 18 different psychological disorders (including mood, neurological, and personality disorders. Notably, those with anxiety, mood, and personality disorders showed a profile of high Identifying and low Processing compared to controls. Further, results showed how mentalized affectivity scores varied across psychological treatment modalities and years spent in therapy. Taken together, the model of mentalized affectivity advances prior theory and research on emotion regulation and the MAS is a useful and reliable instrument that can be used in both clinical and non-clinical settings in psychology, psychiatry, and neuroscience.

  18. COGNITIVE MODELING OF EPISTEMIC MENTAL STATES

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    Yurovitskaya, L.N.

    2017-03-01

    Full Text Available Epistemic states of mind, connected with the cognitive activity of a man, are aimed not only at apprehending the world around us, but also at the process of this apprehension. A very important step on this way is an attempt to model these states and processes in terms of formal logics and semantics, irrespective of the language of cognition. The article presents the idea of how formal logical and linguistic modeling of the process of thinking shows the correlation and the interdependence of semantic units connected with mental activities of human brain. The basic notions of the conceptual field of cognition are presented in the article

  19. Day/Night Cycle: Mental Models of Primary School Children

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chiras, Andreas

    2008-01-01

    The study investigated the mental models of primary school children related to the day/night cycle. Semi-structure interviews were conducted with 40 fourth-grade and 40 sixth-grade children. Qualitative and quantitative analysis of the data indicated that the majority of the children were classified as having geocentric models. The results also…

  20. Common sense model of mental illness: Understanding the impact of cognitive and emotional representations of mental illness on recovery through the mediation of self-stigma.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chan, Randolph C H; Mak, Winnie W S

    2016-12-30

    The present study applied the common sense model to understand the underlying mechanism of how cognitive and emotional representations of mental illness among people in recovery of mental illness would impact their endorsement of self-stigma, and how that would, in turn, affect clinical and personal recovery. A cross-sectional survey was administered to 376 people in recovery. Participants were recruited from seven public specialty outpatient clinics and substance abuse assessment clinics across various districts in Hong Kong. They were asked to report their perception towards their mental illness, self-stigma, symptom severity, and personal recovery. The results of structural equation modeling partially supported the hypothesized mediation model indicating that controllability, consequences, and emotional concern of mental illness, but not cause, timeline, and identity, were associated with self-stigma, which was subsequently negatively associated with clinical and personal recovery. The present study demonstrated the mediating role of self-stigma in the relationship between individuals' illness representations towards their mental illness and their recovery. Illness management programs aimed at addressing the maladaptive mental illness-related beliefs and emotions are recommended. Implications on developing self-directed and empowering mental health services are discussed. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

  1. Student perception and conceptual development as represented by student mental models of atomic structure

    Science.gov (United States)

    Park, Eun Jung

    The nature of matter based upon atomic theory is a principal concept in science; hence, how to teach and how to learn about atoms is an important subject for science education. To this end, this study explored student perceptions of atomic structure and how students learn about this concept by analyzing student mental models of atomic structure. Changes in student mental models serve as a valuable resource for comprehending student conceptual development. Data was collected from students who were taking the introductory chemistry course. Responses to course examinations, pre- and post-questionnaires, and pre- and post-interviews were used to analyze student mental models of atomic structure. First, this study reveals that conceptual development can be achieved, either by elevating mental models toward higher levels of understanding or by developing a single mental model. This study reinforces the importance of higher-order thinking skills to enable students to relate concepts in order to construct a target model of atomic structure. Second, Bohr's orbital structure seems to have had a strong influence on student perceptions of atomic structure. With regard to this finding, this study suggests that it is instructionally important to teach the concept of "orbitals" related to "quantum theory." Third, there were relatively few students who had developed understanding at the level of the target model, which required student understanding of the basic ideas of quantum theory. This study suggests that the understanding of atomic structure based on the idea of quantum theory is both important and difficult. Fourth, this study included different student assessments comprised of course examinations, questionnaires, and interviews. Each assessment can be used to gather information to map out student mental models. Fifth, in the comparison of the pre- and post-interview responses, this study showed that high achieving students moved toward more improved models or to advanced

  2. Emerging Issues and Models in College Mental Health Services

    Science.gov (United States)

    Locke, Ben; Wallace, David; Brunner, Jon

    2016-01-01

    This chapter provides a brief overview of the psychological issues facing today's college students, information about students receiving mental health services, and an evidence-based model describing the practice and functions of today's counseling centers.

  3. Mental illness and mental health: The two continua model across the lifespan

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Westerhof, Gerben Johan; Keyes, Cory L.M.

    2010-01-01

    Mental health has long been defined as the absence of psychopathologies, such as depression and anxiety. The absence of mental illness, however, is a minimal outcome from a psychological perspective on lifespan development. This article therefore focuses on mental illness as well as on three core

  4. Scanning of speechless comics changes spatial biases in mental model construction.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Román, Antonio; Flumini, Andrea; Santiago, Julio

    2018-08-05

    The mental representation of both time and number shows lateral spatial biases, which can be affected by habitual reading and writing direction. However, this effect is in place before children begin to read. One potential early cause is the experiences of looking at picture books together with a carer, as those images also follow the directionality of the script. What is the underlying mechanism for this effect? In the present study, we test the possibility that such experiences induce spatial biases in mental model construction, a mechanism which is a good candidate to induce the biases observed with numbers and times. We presented a speechless comic in either standard (left-to-right) or mirror-reversed (right-to-left) form to adult Spanish participants. We then asked them to draw the scene depicted by sentences like 'the square is between the cross and the circle'. The position of the lateral objects in these drawings reveals the spatial biases at work when building mental models in working memory. Under conditions of highly consistent directionality, the mirror comic changed pre-existing lateral biases. Processes of mental model construction in working memory stand as a potential mechanism for the generation of spatial biases for time and number.This article is part of the theme issue 'Varieties of abstract concepts: development, use and representation in the brain'. © 2018 The Author(s).

  5. Mental models, metaphors and their use in the education of nurses.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Burke, L M; Wilson, A M

    1997-11-01

    A great deal of nurses' confidence in the use of information technology (IT) depends both on the way computers are introduced to students in the college and how such education is continued and applied when they are practitioners. It is therefore vital that teachers of IT assist nurses to discover ways of learning to utilize and apply computers within their workplace with whatever methods are available. One method which has been introduced with success in other fields is the use of mental models and metaphors. Mental models and metaphors enable individuals to learn by building on past learning. Concepts and ideas which have already been internalized from past experience can be transferred and adapted for usage in a new learning situation with computers and technology. This article explores the use of mental models and metaphors for the technological education of nurses. The concepts themselves will be examined, followed by suggestions for possible applications specifically in the field of nursing and health care. Finally the role of the teacher in enabling improved learning as a result of these techniques will be addressed.

  6. Mental health courts and their selection processes: modeling variation for consistency.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wolff, Nancy; Fabrikant, Nicole; Belenko, Steven

    2011-10-01

    Admission into mental health courts is based on a complicated and often variable decision-making process that involves multiple parties representing different expertise and interests. To the extent that eligibility criteria of mental health courts are more suggestive than deterministic, selection bias can be expected. Very little research has focused on the selection processes underpinning problem-solving courts even though such processes may dominate the performance of these interventions. This article describes a qualitative study designed to deconstruct the selection and admission processes of mental health courts. In this article, we describe a multi-stage, complex process for screening and admitting clients into mental health courts. The selection filtering model that is described has three eligibility screening stages: initial, assessment, and evaluation. The results of this study suggest that clients selected by mental health courts are shaped by the formal and informal selection criteria, as well as by the local treatment system.

  7. Periodic Properties and Inquiry: Student Mental Models Observed during a Periodic Table Puzzle Activity

    Science.gov (United States)

    Larson, Kathleen G.; Long, George R.; Briggs, Michael W.

    2012-01-01

    The mental models of both novice and advanced chemistry students were observed while the students performed a periodic table activity. The mental model framework seems to be an effective way of analyzing student behavior during learning activities. The analysis suggests that students do not recognize periodic trends through the examination of…

  8. Modeling the mental health effects of victimization among homeless persons

    Science.gov (United States)

    Perron, Brian Edward; Alexander-Eitzman, Ben; Gillespie, David F.; Pollio, David

    2014-01-01

    Homeless persons are victims of violent and non-violent crime at higher rates than housed populations. While studies have suggested that victimization can induce or exacerbate mental health problems, there is very little known about factors that may buffer the effects of victimization. This cross-sectional study examined the influence of victimization on depressive symptoms in over 9600 homeless and mentally ill adults participating in the Access to Community Care and Effective Services and Supports study (ACCESS) conducted in multiple cities across the USA relationships between victimization, depressive symptoms, and perceived safety were tested within a structural equation modeling framework using data collected at the baseline interview. The overall model exhibited a good fit with the data. Non-physical victimization was associated with higher levels of depressive symptoms, and physical victimization was associated with lower levels of perceived safety. As hypothesized, perceived safety was a significant partial mediator of depressive symptoms. These results underscore the complexity of the relationships between victimization and depression in homeless adults and the importance of addressing different types of victimization in homeless and mentally ill adults. PMID:18703266

  9. Modeling the mental health effects of victimization among homeless persons.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Perron, Brian Edward; Alexander-Eitzman, Ben; Gillespie, David F; Pollio, David

    2008-11-01

    Homeless persons are victims of violent and non-violent crime at higher rates than housed populations. While studies have suggested that victimization can induce or exacerbate mental health problems, there is very little known about factors that may buffer the effects of victimization. This cross-sectional study examined the influence of victimization on depressive symptoms in over 9600 homeless and mentally ill adults participating in the Access to Community Care and Effective Services and Supports study (ACCESS) conducted in multiple cities across the USA relationships between victimization, depressive symptoms, and perceived safety were tested within a structural equation modeling framework using data collected at the baseline interview. The overall model exhibited a good fit with the data. Non-physical victimization was associated with higher levels of depressive symptoms, and physical victimization was associated with lower levels of perceived safety. As hypothesized, perceived safety was a significant partial mediator of depressive symptoms. These results underscore the complexity of the relationships between victimization and depression in homeless adults and the importance of addressing different types of victimization in homeless and mentally ill adults.

  10. Is the mental wellbeing of young Australians best represented by a single, multidimensional or bifactor model?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hides, Leanne; Quinn, Catherine; Stoyanov, Stoyan; Cockshaw, Wendell; Mitchell, Tegan; Kavanagh, David J

    2016-07-30

    Internationally there is a growing interest in the mental wellbeing of young people. However, it is unclear whether mental wellbeing is best conceptualized as a general wellbeing factor or a multidimensional construct. This paper investigated whether mental wellbeing, measured by the Mental Health Continuum-Short Form (MHC-SF), is best represented by: (1) a single-factor general model; (2) a three-factor multidimensional model or (3) a combination of both (bifactor model). 2220 young Australians aged between 16 and 25 years completed an online survey including the MHC-SF and a range of other wellbeing and mental ill-health measures. Exploratory factor analysis supported a bifactor solution, comprised of a general wellbeing factor, and specific group factors of psychological, social and emotional wellbeing. Confirmatory factor analysis indicated that the bifactor model had a better fit than competing single and three-factor models. The MHC-SF total score was more strongly associated with other wellbeing and mental ill-health measures than the social, emotional or psychological subscale scores. Findings indicate that the mental wellbeing of young people is best conceptualized as an overarching latent construct (general wellbeing) to which emotional, social and psychological domains contribute. The MHC-SF total score is a valid and reliable measure of this general wellbeing factor. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

  11. Models of user involvement in the mental health context: intentions and implementation challenges.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Storm, Marianne; Edwards, Adrian

    2013-09-01

    Patient-centered care, shared decision-making, patient participation and the recovery model are models of care which incorporate user involvement and patients' perspectives on their treatment and care. The aims of this paper are to examine these different care models and their association with user involvement in the mental health context and discuss some of the challenges associated with their implementation. The sources used are health policy documents and published literature and research on patient-centered care, shared decision-making, patient participation and recovery. The policy documents advocate that mental health services should be oriented towards patients' or users' needs, participation and involvement. These policies also emphasize recovery and integration of people with mental disorders in the community. However, these collaborative care models have generally been subject to limited empirical research about effectiveness. There are also challenges to implementation of the models in inpatient care. What evidence there is indicates tensions between patients' and providers' perspectives on treatment and care. There are issues related to risk and the person's capacity for user involvement, and concerns about what role patients themselves wish to play in decision-making. Lack of competence and awareness among providers are further issues. Further work on training, evaluation and implementation is needed to ensure that inpatient mental health services are adapting user oriented care models at all levels of services.

  12. Parenting Stress, Mental Health, Dyadic Adjustment: A Structural Equation Model

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Luca Rollè

    2017-05-01

    Full Text Available Objective: In the 1st year of the post-partum period, parenting stress, mental health, and dyadic adjustment are important for the wellbeing of both parents and the child. However, there are few studies that analyze the relationship among these three dimensions. The aim of this study is to investigate the relationships between parenting stress, mental health (depressive and anxiety symptoms, and dyadic adjustment among first-time parents.Method: We studied 268 parents (134 couples of healthy babies. At 12 months post-partum, both parents filled out, in a counterbalanced order, the Parenting Stress Index-Short Form, the Edinburgh Post-natal Depression Scale, the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory, and the Dyadic Adjustment Scale. Structural equation modeling was used to analyze the potential mediating effects of mental health on the relationship between parenting stress and dyadic adjustment.Results: Results showed the full mediation effect of mental health between parenting stress and dyadic adjustment. A multi-group analysis further found that the paths did not differ across mothers and fathers.Discussion: The results suggest that mental health is an important dimension that mediates the relationship between parenting stress and dyadic adjustment in the transition to parenthood.

  13. Development of a comprehensive model for stakeholder management in mental healthcare.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bierbooms, Joyce; Van Oers, Hans; Rijkers, Jeroen; Bongers, Inge

    2016-06-20

    Purpose - Stakeholder management is not yet incorporated into the standard practice of most healthcare providers. The purpose of this paper is to assess the applicability of a comprehensive model for stakeholder management in mental healthcare organization for more evidence-based (stakeholder) management. Design/methodology/approach - The assessment was performed in two research parts: the steps described in the model were executed in a single case study at a mental healthcare organization in the Netherlands; and a process and effect evaluation was done to find the supporting and impeding factors with regard to the applicability of the model. Interviews were held with managers and directors to evaluate the effectiveness of the model with a view to stakeholder management. Findings - The stakeholder analysis resulted in the identification of eight stakeholder groups. Different expectations were identified for each of these groups. The analysis on performance gaps revealed that stakeholders generally find the collaboration with a mental healthcare provider "sufficient." Finally a prioritization showed that five stakeholder groups were seen as "definite" stakeholders by the organization. Practical implications - The assessment of the model showed that it generated useful knowledge for more evidence-based (stakeholder) management. Adaptation of the model is needed to increase its feasibility in practice. Originality/value - Provided that the model is properly adapted for the specific field, the analysis can provide more knowledge on stakeholders and can help integrate stakeholder management as a comprehensive process in policy planning.

  14. How Managers' Shared Mental Models of Business–Customer Interactions Create Different Sensemaking of Social Media

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Rydén, Pernille; Ringberg, Torsten; Wilke, Ricky

    2015-01-01

    Building on empirical research, we identify four mental models of business–customer interactions and show how each uniquely affects how managers conceptualize and use social media. The four models are “business-to-customers,” “business-from-customers,” “business-with-customers,” and “business......-for-customers.” The mental model approach helps explain why managers' use of social media does not necessarily lead to radical changes in their interaction with customers, despite the opportunities facilitated by these media. We provide a conceptual framework that enables managers to introspectively investigate their own...... mental models and thereby revise their sensemaking and use of social media....

  15. URGENSI PENYUSUNAN MODEL BIMBINGAN KESEHATAN MENTAL (MENTAL HYGIENE SELAMA MENUNGGU EKSEKUSI MATI

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Amir Hasan Ramli, Wiwik Utami

    2012-06-01

    Full Text Available Penelitian ini bertujuan mendiskripsikan urgensi penyusunan model pembimbingan kesehatan mental terpidana mati.   Penelitian ini merupakan penelitian hukum-empiris dengan pendekatan yuridis-psikologis. Berdasarkan hasil penelitian, materi dan metode pembimbingan kesehatan mental terpidana mati dilakukan berdasarkan interpretasi masing-masing petugas pemasyarakatan, sepanjang tidak melanggar ketentuan hukum yang berlaku.     Hal ini semata-mata dilakukan agar terpidana mati tidak melakukan perbuatan yang melanggar hukum di LAPAS/RUTAN, dan agar lebih siap dalam menghadapi eksekusi mati.   Pembimbing berasal dari dalam maupun luar LAPAS. Prosesnya diintegrasikan melalui kegiatan pembinaan bidang keagamaan dengan metode caramah secara massal dan konsultasi individual. Konseling individual merupakan langkah positif untuk membimbing terpidana mati sesuai dengan kebutuhannya. Sayangnya, pembimbingan tersebut belum didasarkan pada hasil pemeriksanaan psikologis, prosesnya juga belum menggunakan prinsip-prinsip konseling sehingga hasilnya belum optimal. Jika pedoman tersebut ada, petugas pemasyarakatan dapat menyusun langkah-langkah pembimbingan secara sah, efisien dan efektif dalam bimbingan dan konseling, sehingga terpidana mati siap dieksekusi. This research aims at describing the urgence of designing model of sentenced-death prisoner health mental supervision. This research is empiric-law research with psychological- juridical approaches. Based on research result, the supervision is conducted based on the interpretation of each officers as long as it does not violate the rule. The aim of this sort of supervision is that the sentenced-death prisoner does not violate the rule and prepare for the death sentence. Supervisors may come from inside or outside the prison. The process is integrated through religious supervision activity with massive sermon and individual consultation. Individual counceling is a positive step to supervise sentenced

  16. The importance of spatial ability and mental models in learning anatomy

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chatterjee, Allison K.

    As a foundational course in medical education, gross anatomy serves to orient medical and veterinary students to the complex three-dimensional nature of the structures within the body. Understanding such spatial relationships is both fundamental and crucial for achievement in gross anatomy courses, and is essential for success as a practicing professional. Many things contribute to learning spatial relationships; this project focuses on a few key elements: (1) the type of multimedia resources, particularly computer-aided instructional (CAI) resources, medical students used to study and learn; (2) the influence of spatial ability on medical and veterinary students' gross anatomy grades and their mental models; and (3) how medical and veterinary students think about anatomy and describe the features of their mental models to represent what they know about anatomical structures. The use of computer-aided instruction (CAI) by gross anatomy students at Indiana University School of Medicine (IUSM) was assessed through a questionnaire distributed to the regional centers of the IUSM. Students reported using internet browsing, PowerPoint presentation software, and email on a daily bases to study gross anatomy. This study reveals that first-year medical students at the IUSM make limited use of CAI to study gross anatomy. Such studies emphasize the importance of examining students' use of CAI to study gross anatomy prior to development and integration of electronic media into the curriculum and they may be important in future decisions regarding the development of alternative learning resources. In order to determine how students think about anatomical relationships and describe the features of their mental models, personal interviews were conducted with select students based on students' ROT scores. Five typologies of the characteristics of students' mental models were identified and described: spatial thinking, kinesthetic approach, identification of anatomical structures

  17. Inhibition: Mental Control Process or Mental Resource?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Im-Bolter, Nancie; Johnson, Janice; Ling, Daphne; Pascual-Leone, Juan

    2015-01-01

    The current study tested 2 models of inhibition in 45 children with language impairment and 45 children with normally developing language; children were aged 7 to 12 years. Of interest was whether a model of inhibition as a mental-control process (i.e., executive function) or as a mental resource would more accurately reflect the relations among…

  18. Refusal of Treatment by Mentally Competent Patient: The Choice of Doctor-Patient Relationship Models

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Andrei M. Beliaev

    2010-01-01

    Full Text Available Introduction: In modern medicine professional relationship between the clinician and the patient is patient-centered. Patients become actively involved in the treatment decision making process and are encouraged to express their health-related preferences. Some patients may, however, refuse a favorable risk/benefit ratio treatment. This manuscript presents three cases of refusal of treatment by mentally competent surgical patients and discusses differences in their management. Conclusion: To achieve the best medical outcome for patients who possess the Actual Understanding test of mental competence clinicians use the deliberate model of medical professional relationship. For patients demonstrating the Understanding test of mental competence and wishing to utilize their health-related preferences physicians are obliged to deploy the interpretive model of doctor-patient relationship. In mentally competent patients with an illness-induced acute psychological regression the interpretive model of doctor-patient relationship as an initial strategy and cognitive behavior therapy can be useful in modifying treatment rejecting behavior and improving medical outcome.

  19. Creating shared mental models: The support of visual language

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Landman, Renske B.; van den Broek, Egon; Gieskes, J.F.B.; Luo, Yuhua

    Cooperative design involves multiple stakeholders that often hold different ideas of the problem, the ways to solve it, and to its solutions (i.e., mental models; MM). These differences can result in miscommunication, misunderstanding, slower decision making processes, and less chance on cooperative

  20. Comprehensive School Mental Health: An Integrated "School-Based Pathway to Care" Model for Canadian Secondary Schools

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wei, Yifeng; Kutcher, Stan; Szumilas, Magdalena

    2011-01-01

    Adolescence is a critical period for the promotion of mental health and the treatment of mental disorders. Schools are well-positioned to address adolescent mental health. This paper describes a school mental health model, "School-Based Pathway to Care," for Canadian secondary schools that links schools with primary care providers and…

  1. The development of a model for dealing with secondary traumatic stress in mental health workers in Rwanda

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jean D. Iyamuremye

    2015-10-01

    Aim: To develop a comprehensive model to manage the effects of STS in mental health workers operating in Rwanda. Method: An action research project was initiated to develop this model and data for the model was collected through individual interviews with mental health workers (nurses, doctors, psychologists, trauma counsellors and social workers as well as a quantitative tool measuring secondary traumatic stress (Trauma Attachment Belief Scale in these health workers. Results: The Intervention Model to Manage Secondary Traumatic Stress (IMMSTS was synthesised from these findings and includes preventive, evaluative and curative strategies to manage STS in mental health workers in Rwanda at the individual, social and organisational levels. Conclusion: The model will offer mental health professionals an effective framework for addressing the issue of STS.

  2. Creating Shared Mental Models: The Support of Visual Language

    Science.gov (United States)

    Landman, Renske B.; van den Broek, Egon L.; Gieskes, José F. B.

    Cooperative design involves multiple stakeholders that often hold different ideas of the problem, the ways to solve it, and to its solutions (i.e., mental models; MM). These differences can result in miscommunication, misunderstanding, slower decision making processes, and less chance on cooperative decisions. In order to facilitate the creation of a shared mental model (sMM), visual languages (VL) are often used. However, little scientific foundation is behind this choice. To determine whether or not this gut feeling is justified, a research was conducted in which various stakeholders had to cooperatively redesign a process chain, with and without VL. To determine whether or not a sMM was created, scores on agreement in individual MM, communication, and cooperation were analyzed. The results confirmed the assumption that VL can indeed play an important role in the creation of sMM and, hence, can aid the processes of cooperative design and engineering.

  3. Food Insecurity and Common Mental Disorders among Ethiopian Youth: Structural Equation Modeling

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lindstrom, David; Belachew, Tefera; Hadley, Craig; Lachat, Carl; Verstraeten, Roos; De Cock, Nathalie; Kolsteren, Patrick

    2016-01-01

    Background Although the consequences of food insecurity on physical health and nutritional status of youth living have been reported, its effect on their mental health remains less investigated in developing countries. The aim of this study was to examine the pathways through which food insecurity is associated with poor mental health status among youth living in Ethiopia. Methods We used data from Jimma Longitudinal Family Survey of Youth (JLFSY) collected in 2009/10. A total of 1,521 youth were included in the analysis. We measured food insecurity using a 5-items scale and common mental disorders using the 20-item Self-Reporting Questionnaire (SRQ-20). Structural and generalized equation modeling using maximum likelihood estimation method was used to analyze the data. Results The prevalence of common mental disorders was 30.8% (95% CI: 28.6, 33.2). Food insecurity was independently associated with common mental disorders (β = 0.323, Pinsecurity on common mental disorders was direct and only 8.2% of their relationship was partially mediated by physical health. In addition, poor self-rated health (β = 0.285, Pinsecurity is directly associated with common mental disorders among youth in Ethiopia. Interventions that aim to improve mental health status of youth should consider strategies to improve access to sufficient, safe and nutritious food. PMID:27846283

  4. Integration of inaccurate data into model building and uncertainty assessment

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Coleou, Thierry

    1998-12-31

    Model building can be seen as integrating numerous measurements and mapping through data points considered as exact. As the exact data set is usually sparse, using additional non-exact data improves the modelling and reduces the uncertainties. Several examples of non-exact data are discussed and a methodology to honor them in a single pass, along with the exact data is presented. This automatic procedure is valid for both ``base case`` model building and stochastic simulations for uncertainty analysis. 5 refs., 3 figs.

  5. Mental Models for Mechanical Comprehension. A Review of Literature.

    Science.gov (United States)

    1986-06-01

    models, constructionism , infinirm t - ,’a f.mrfn.~ gl 19 ABSTRACT (Continue on reverse if necessary and identify by block number) 4 This literature...review describes the recent research on mental models of mechanical comprehension. Three methodological approaches ( constructionism , information...things for a teacher to do to aid students’ attempts at understanding the forces involved: 1. Prepare an engaging social context. 2. Juxtapose several

  6. Does what you know matter? Investigating the relationship between mental models of climate change and pro-environmental behaviors

    Science.gov (United States)

    Davis, R.

    2013-12-01

    The purpose of this study is to test the conjecture that environmentally sustainable decisions and behaviors are related to individuals' conceptions of the natural world, in this case climate change; individuals' attitudes towards climate change; and the situations in which these decisions are made. The nature of mental models is an ongoing subject of disagreement. Some argue that mental models are coherent theories, much like scientific theories, that individuals employ systematically when reasoning about the world (Gopnik & Meltzoff, 1998). Others maintain that mental models are cobbled together from fragmented collections of ideas that are only loosely connected and context dependent (Disessa, 1988; Minstrell, 2000). It is likely that individuals sometimes reason about complex phenomena using systematic mental models and at other times reason using knowledge that is organized in fragmented pieces (Steedle & Shavelson, 2009). Thus, in measuring mental models of complex environmental systems, such as climate change, the assumption of systematicity may not be justified. Individuals may apply certain chains of reasoning in some contexts but not in others. The current study hypothesizes that an accurate mental model of climate change enables an individual to make effective evaluative judgments of environmental behavior options. The more an individual's mental model resembles that of an expert, the more consistent, accurate and automatic these judgments become. However, an accurate mental model is not sufficient to change environmental behavior. Real decisions and behaviors are products of a person-situation interaction: an interplay between psychosocial factors (such as knowledge and attitudes) and the situation in which the decision is made. This study investigates the relationship between both psychosocial and situational factors for climate change decisions. Data was collected from 436 adult participants through an online survey. The survey was comprised of

  7. Mentalization-based treatment for psychosis: linking an attachment-based model to the psychotherapy for impaired mental state understanding in people with psychotic disorders.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brent, Benjamin K; Holt, Daphne J; Keshavan, Matcheri S; Seidman, Larry J; Fonagy, Peter

    2014-01-01

    Disturbances of mentalization have been increasingly associated with the symptoms and functional impairment of people with psychotic disorders. it has been proposed that psychotherapy designed to foster self and other understanding, such as mentalization-based treatment (mBt), may play an important part in facilitating recovery from psychosis. Here, we present an attachment-based understanding of mentalization impairments. We then outline a neuropsychological model that links disruptions of mentalization associated with disturbances in the caregiving environment to the pathophysiology of psychosis in genetically at-risk individuals. this is followed by an illustration of some of the core mBt techniques for the rehabilitation of the capacity to mentalize as applied to the treatment of a patient with a psychotic disorder.

  8. Overcoming Barriers to Rural Children's Mental Health: An Interconnected Systems Public Health Model

    Science.gov (United States)

    Huber, Brenda J.; Austen, Julie M.; Tobin, Renée M.; Meyers, Adena B.; Shelvin, Kristal H.; Wells, Michael

    2016-01-01

    A large, Midwestern county implemented a four-tiered public health model of children's mental health with an interconnected systems approach involving education, health care, juvenile justice and community mental health sectors. The community sought to promote protective factors in the lives of all youth, while improving the capacity,…

  9. Citizenship and Learning Disabled People: The Mental Health Charity MIND's 1970s Campaign in Historical Context.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Toms, Jonathan

    2017-10-01

    Current policy and practice directed towards people with learning disabilities originates in the deinstitutionalisation processes, civil rights concerns and integrationist philosophies of the 1970s and 1980s. However, historians know little about the specific contexts within which these were mobilised. Although it is rarely acknowledged in the secondary literature, MIND was prominent in campaigning for rights-based services for learning disabled people during this time. This article sets MIND's campaign within the wider historical context of the organisation's origins as a main institution of the inter-war mental hygiene movement. The article begins by outlining the mental hygiene movement's original conceptualisation of 'mental deficiency' as the antithesis of the self-sustaining and responsible individuals that it considered the basis of citizenship and mental health. It then traces how this equation became unravelled, in part by the altered conditions under the post-war Welfare State, in part by the mental hygiene movement's own theorising. The final section describes the reconceptualisation of citizenship that eventually emerged with the collapse of the mental hygiene movement and the emergence of MIND. It shows that representations of MIND's rights-based campaigning (which have, in any case, focused on mental illness) as individualist, and fundamentally opposed to medicine and psychiatry, are inaccurate. In fact, MIND sought a comprehensive community-based service, integrated with the general health and welfare services and oriented around a reconstruction of learning disabled people's citizenship rights.

  10. Infertile Individuals’ Marital Relationship Status, Happiness, and Mental Health: A Causal Model

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ahmadi Forooshany, Seyed Habiballah; Yazdkhasti, Fariba; Safari Hajataghaie, Saiede; Nasr Esfahani, Mohammad Hossein

    2014-01-01

    Background This study examined the causal model of relation between marital relation- ship status, happiness, and mental health in infertile individuals. Materials and Methods In this descriptive study, 155 subjects (men: 52 and women: 78), who had been visited in one of the infertility Centers, voluntarily participated in a self-evaluation. Golombok Rust Inventory of Marital Status, Oxford Happiness Ques- tionnaire, and General Health Questionnaire were used as instruments of the study. Data was analyzed by SPSS17 and Amos 5 software using descriptive statistics, independent sample t test, and path analysis. Results Disregarding the gender factor, marital relationship status was directly related to happiness (phappiness was directly related to mental health, (phappiness and mental health was significant (phappiness had a mediator role in relation between marital relationship status and mental health in infertile individu- als disregarding the gender factor. Also, considering the gender factor, only in infertile women, marital relationship status can directly and indirectly affect happiness and mental health. PMID:25379161

  11. Infertile individuals' marital relationship status, happiness, and mental health: a causal model.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ahmadi Forooshany, Seyed Habiballah; Yazdkhasti, Fariba; Safari Hajataghaie, Saiede; Nasr Esfahani, Mohammad Hossein

    2014-10-01

    This study examined the causal model of relation between marital relation- ship status, happiness, and mental health in infertile individuals. In this descriptive study, 155 subjects (men: 52 and women: 78), who had been visited in one of the infertility Centers, voluntarily participated in a self-evaluation. Golombok Rust Inventory of Marital Status, Oxford Happiness Ques- tionnaire, and General Health Questionnaire were used as instruments of the study. Data was analyzed by SPSS17 and Amos 5 software using descriptive statistics, independent sample t test, and path analysis. Disregarding the gender factor, marital relationship status was directly related to happiness (phappiness was directly related to mental health, (phappiness and mental health was significant (phappiness had a mediator role in relation between marital relationship status and mental health in infertile individu- als disregarding the gender factor. Also, considering the gender factor, only in infertile women, marital relationship status can directly and indirectly affect happiness and mental health.

  12. Mental Models of Radioactivity and Attitudes towards Radioactive Waste

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zeleznik, N.

    2010-01-01

    Siting of a radioactive waste repository presents a great problem in almost every country that produces such waste. The main problem is not a technical one, but socio-psychological, namely the acceptability of this kind of repository. Previous research on people's perception of the LILW repository construction, their attitudes towards radioactive waste, their willingness to accept it, indicated significant differences in answers of experts and lay persons, mainly regarding evaluation of the consequences of repository construction. Based on the findings of pilot investigations a mental model approach to the radioactivity, radioactive waste and repository was used as a method for development better risk communication strategies with local communities. The mental models were obtained by adjustment of the method developed by Morgan and co-workers where expert model of radioactivity is compared with mental model of lay people obtained through individual opened interviews. Additional information on trust, risk perception, role of main actors in the site selection process and their credibility was gained with the overall questionnaire on the representative sample of Slovenian population. Results of the survey confirm some already known findings, in addition we gained new cognitions and with analyses obtained the relationships and ratios between different factors, which are characteristics both for the general public and for the public, which is involved in the site selection process for a longer period and has been living beside a nuclear power plant for one generation. People have in general negative associations regarding the repository, the perceived risk for nuclear facilities is high, and trust in representatives of governmental institutions is low. Mental models of radioactivity, radioactive waste and the LILW repository are mostly irregular and differ from the experts' models. This is particularly valid for the models of radioactivity and the influences of

  13. Mediating effects of emotional exhaustion on the relationship between job demand–control model and mental health.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Huang, Yu-Hwa; Du, Pey-Ian; Chen, Chin-Hui; Yang, Chin-Ann; Huang, Ing-Chung

    2011-04-01

    This study attempted to investigate the role of emotional exhaustion as a mediator on the relationship between job demands-control (JDC) model and mental health. Three-wave data from 297 employees were collected. The results showed that job demands were positively related to emotional exhaustion, and increasing job demands will increase the level of emotional exhaustion. Job control was negatively associated with emotional exhaustion; therefore, increasing job control will decrease the level of emotional exhaustion. Emotional exhaustion was negatively related to mental health. Emotional exhaustion fully mediated the relationship between job demands and mental health, and partially mediated the positive relationship between job control and mental health. In addition, job control was positively associated with mental health directly. The remarkable finding of the present study was that emotional exhaustion served as the key mediator between the JDC model and mental health. Theoretical and managerial implications and limitations were discussed.

  14. SU-E-T-377: Inaccurate Positioning Might Introduce Significant MapCheck Calibration Error in Flatten Filter Free Beams

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wang, S; Chao, C; Chang, J

    2014-01-01

    Purpose: This study investigates the calibration error of detector sensitivity for MapCheck due to inaccurate positioning of the device, which is not taken into account by the current commercial iterative calibration algorithm. We hypothesize the calibration is more vulnerable to the positioning error for the flatten filter free (FFF) beams than the conventional flatten filter flattened beams. Methods: MapCheck2 was calibrated with 10MV conventional and FFF beams, with careful alignment and with 1cm positioning error during calibration, respectively. Open fields of 37cmx37cm were delivered to gauge the impact of resultant calibration errors. The local calibration error was modeled as a detector independent multiplication factor, with which propagation error was estimated with positioning error from 1mm to 1cm. The calibrated sensitivities, without positioning error, were compared between the conventional and FFF beams to evaluate the dependence on the beam type. Results: The 1cm positioning error leads to 0.39% and 5.24% local calibration error in the conventional and FFF beams respectively. After propagating to the edges of MapCheck, the calibration errors become 6.5% and 57.7%, respectively. The propagation error increases almost linearly with respect to the positioning error. The difference of sensitivities between the conventional and FFF beams was small (0.11 ± 0.49%). Conclusion: The results demonstrate that the positioning error is not handled by the current commercial calibration algorithm of MapCheck. Particularly, the calibration errors for the FFF beams are ~9 times greater than those for the conventional beams with identical positioning error, and a small 1mm positioning error might lead to up to 8% calibration error. Since the sensitivities are only slightly dependent of the beam type and the conventional beam is less affected by the positioning error, it is advisable to cross-check the sensitivities between the conventional and FFF beams to detect

  15. Modeling of Recovery Profiles in Mentally Disabled and Intact Patients after Sevoflurane Anesthesia; A Pharmacodynamic Analysis

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shin, Teo Jeon; Noh, Gyu-Jeong; Koo, Yong-Seo

    2014-01-01

    Purpose Mentally disabled patients show different recovery profiles compared to normal patients after general anesthesia. However, the relationship of dose-recovery profiles of mentally disabled patients has never been compared to that of normal patients. Materials and Methods Twenty patients (10 mentally disabled patients and 10 mentally intact patients) scheduled to dental surgery under general anesthesia was recruited. Sevoflurane was administered to maintain anesthesia during dental treatment. At the end of the surgery, sevoflurane was discontinued. End-tidal sevoflurane and recovery of consciousness (ROC) were recorded after sevoflurane discontinuation. The pharmacodynamic relation between the probability of ROC and end-tidal sevoflurane concentration was analyzed using NONMEM software (version VII). Results End-tidal sevoflurane concentration associated with 50% probability of ROC (C50) and γ value were lower in the mentally disabled patients (C50=0.37 vol %, γ=16.5 in mentally intact patients, C50=0.19 vol %, γ=4.58 in mentally disabled patients). Mentality was a significant covariate of C50 for ROC and γ value to pharmacodynamic model. Conclusion A sigmoid Emanx model explains the pharmacodynamic relationship between end-tidal sevoflurane concentration and ROC. Mentally disabled patients may recover slower from anesthesia at lower sevoflurane concentration at ROC an compared to normal patients. PMID:25323901

  16. The effect of patient-centeredness and gender of professional role models on trainees' mentalization responses. Implications for film-aided education.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bálint, Katalin; Nagy, Tamás; Csabai, Márta

    2014-10-01

    To examine how certain characteristics of film-presented practitioner role-models influence trainees' mentalization. In an experimental setting, psychology students watched four film clips presenting a patient-practitioner session; the clips varied in the practitioner's patient-centeredness (positive vs. negative) and gender. Participants commented on the practitioner's thoughts, emotions and intentions through the session. Analysis of 116 comments focused on the effect of patient-centeredness and gender variables on mentalization and judgment utterances. Negative role-models and female role-models induced higher levels of mentalization compared to positive and male role-models. There was no gender difference in the level of mentalization; however male participants gave more judgmental responses than female participants. The patient-centeredness had a larger effect on mentalization when trainees described the opposite gender role-model. In a systematic comparison, students' capacity for mentalization differed according to role-models' patient-centeredness and gender, as well as the gender-match of students with role-models. When working with film-presented role-models, educators should be aware of the differences in the level of mentalization elicited by positive and male role-models, as opposed to negative and female role-models. Educators should also consider the gender-match between trainees and role-models, therefore students should be exposed to both cross- and same-gender role-models. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

  17. Pre-Service Teachers' Mental Models of Basic Astronomy Concepts

    Science.gov (United States)

    Arslan, A. Saglam; Durikan, U.

    2016-01-01

    The aim of the present study is to determine pre-service teachers' mental models related to basic astronomy concepts. The study was conducted using a survey method with 293 pre-service teachers from 4 different departments; physics education, science education, primary teacher education and early childhood education. An achievement test with…

  18. Alternative conceptions, memory, & mental models in physics education

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lee, Gyoungho; Shin, Jongho; Park, Jiyeon; Song, Sangho; Kim, Yeounsoo; Bao, Lei

    2005-09-01

    There are two somewhat independent research traditions, which converge to suggest a form of students' knowledge: alternative conceptions and mental models. However we have little literature that explains what they are different from each other and from memory. This study tried to describe these issues with some thoughts about how cognitive psychology and science education approaches can be best synthesized in order to approach these questions.

  19. Citizenship and Learning Disabled People: The Mental Health Charity MIND’s 1970s Campaign in Historical Context

    Science.gov (United States)

    Toms, Jonathan

    2017-01-01

    Current policy and practice directed towards people with learning disabilities originates in the deinstitutionalisation processes, civil rights concerns and integrationist philosophies of the 1970s and 1980s. However, historians know little about the specific contexts within which these were mobilised. Although it is rarely acknowledged in the secondary literature, MIND was prominent in campaigning for rights-based services for learning disabled people during this time. This article sets MIND’s campaign within the wider historical context of the organisation’s origins as a main institution of the inter-war mental hygiene movement. The article begins by outlining the mental hygiene movement’s original conceptualisation of ‘mental deficiency’ as the antithesis of the self-sustaining and responsible individuals that it considered the basis of citizenship and mental health. It then traces how this equation became unravelled, in part by the altered conditions under the post-war Welfare State, in part by the mental hygiene movement’s own theorising. The final section describes the reconceptualisation of citizenship that eventually emerged with the collapse of the mental hygiene movement and the emergence of MIND. It shows that representations of MIND’s rights-based campaigning (which have, in any case, focused on mental illness) as individualist, and fundamentally opposed to medicine and psychiatry, are inaccurate. In fact, MIND sought a comprehensive community-based service, integrated with the general health and welfare services and oriented around a reconstruction of learning disabled people’s citizenship rights. PMID:28901871

  20. Participatory Model of Mental Health Programming: Lessons Learned from Work in a Developing Country.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nastasi, Bonnie K.; Varjas, Kristen; Sarkar, Sreeroopa; Jayasena, Asoka

    1998-01-01

    Describes application of participatory model for creating school-based mental health services in a developing country. Describes process of identifying individual and cultural factors relevant to mental health. Discusses importance of formative research and collaboration with stakeholders to ensure cultural specificity of interventions, and the…

  1. Fostering Recovery from Life-Transforming Mental Health Disorders: A Synthesis and Model.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Green, Carla A

    2004-11-01

    In the past, "recovery" from serious mental health problems has been variously defined and generally considered rare. Current evidence suggests that some form of recovery is both possible and common, yet we know little about the processes that differentiate those who recover from those who do not. This paper discusses approaches to defining recovery, proposes a model for fostering, understanding, and studying recovery, and suggests questions for clinicians, researchers, and policy makers. The proposed model is a synthesis of work from the field of mental health as well as from other disciplines. Environment, resources, and strains, provide the backdrop for recovery; core recovery processes include development, learning, healing, and their primary behavioral manifestation, adaptation. Components facilitating recovery include sources of motivation (hope, optimism, and meaning), prerequisites for action (agency, control, and autonomy), and capacity (competence and dysfunction). Attending to these aspects of the recovery process could help shape clinical practice, and systems that provide and finance mental health care, in ways that promote recovery.

  2. Logistic regression models for predicting physical and mental health-related quality of life in rheumatoid arthritis patients.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Alishiri, Gholam Hossein; Bayat, Noushin; Fathi Ashtiani, Ali; Tavallaii, Seyed Abbas; Assari, Shervin; Moharamzad, Yashar

    2008-01-01

    The aim of this work was to develop two logistic regression models capable of predicting physical and mental health related quality of life (HRQOL) among rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients. In this cross-sectional study which was conducted during 2006 in the outpatient rheumatology clinic of our university hospital, Short Form 36 (SF-36) was used for HRQOL measurements in 411 RA patients. A cutoff point to define poor versus good HRQOL was calculated using the first quartiles of SF-36 physical and mental component scores (33.4 and 36.8, respectively). Two distinct logistic regression models were used to derive predictive variables including demographic, clinical, and psychological factors. The sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy of each model were calculated. Poor physical HRQOL was positively associated with pain score, disease duration, monthly family income below 300 US$, comorbidity, patient global assessment of disease activity or PGA, and depression (odds ratios: 1.1; 1.004; 15.5; 1.1; 1.02; 2.08, respectively). The variables that entered into the poor mental HRQOL prediction model were monthly family income below 300 US$, comorbidity, PGA, and bodily pain (odds ratios: 6.7; 1.1; 1.01; 1.01, respectively). Optimal sensitivity and specificity were achieved at a cutoff point of 0.39 for the estimated probability of poor physical HRQOL and 0.18 for mental HRQOL. Sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy of the physical and mental models were 73.8, 87, 83.7% and 90.38, 70.36, 75.43%, respectively. The results show that the suggested models can be used to predict poor physical and mental HRQOL separately among RA patients using simple variables with acceptable accuracy. These models can be of use in the clinical decision-making of RA patients and to recognize patients with poor physical or mental HRQOL in advance, for better management.

  3. Nine key principles to guide youth mental health: development of service models in New South Wales.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Howe, Deborah; Batchelor, Samantha; Coates, Dominiek; Cashman, Emma

    2014-05-01

    Historically, the Australian health system has failed to meet the needs of young people with mental health problems and mental illness. In 2006, New South Wales (NSW) Health allocated considerable funds to the reform agenda of mental health services in NSW to address this inadequacy. Children and Young People's Mental Health (CYPMH), a service that provides mental health care for young people aged 12-24 years, with moderate to severe mental health problems, was chosen to establish a prototype Youth Mental Health (YMH) Service Model for NSW. This paper describes nine key principles developed by CYPMH to guide the development of YMH Service Models in NSW. A literature review, numerous stakeholder consultations and consideration of clinical best practice were utilized to inform the development of the key principles. Subsequent to their development, the nine key principles were formally endorsed by the Mental Health Program Council to ensure consistency and monitor the progress of YMH services across NSW. As a result, between 2008 and 2012 YMH Services across NSW regularly reported on their activities against each of the nine key principles demonstrating how each principle was addressed within their service. The nine key principles provide mental health services a framework for how to reorient services to accommodate YMH and provide a high-quality model of care. [Corrections added on 29 November 2013, after first online publication: The last two sentences of the Results section have been replaced with "As a result, between 2008 and 2012 YMH Services across NSW regularly reported on their activities against each of the nine key principles demonstrating how each principle was addressed within their service."]. © 2013 Wiley Publishing Asia Pty Ltd.

  4. Adapting to change: The role of the right hemisphere in mental model building and updating.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Filipowicz, Alex; Anderson, Britt; Danckert, James

    2016-09-01

    We recently proposed that the right hemisphere plays a crucial role in the processes underlying mental model building and updating. Here, we review the evidence we and others have garnered to support this novel account of right hemisphere function. We begin by presenting evidence from patient work that suggests a critical role for the right hemisphere in the ability to learn from the statistics in the environment (model building) and adapt to environmental change (model updating). We then provide a review of neuroimaging research that highlights a network of brain regions involved in mental model updating. Next, we outline specific roles for particular regions within the network such that the anterior insula is purported to maintain the current model of the environment, the medial prefrontal cortex determines when to explore new or alternative models, and the inferior parietal lobule represents salient and surprising information with respect to the current model. We conclude by proposing some future directions that address some of the outstanding questions in the field of mental model building and updating. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved).

  5. A comparison of scoring models for computerised mental health screening for federal prison inmates.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Martin, Michael S; Wamboldt, Ashley D; O'Connor, Shannon L; Fortier, Julie; Simpson, Alexander I F

    2013-02-01

    There are high rates of mental disorder in correctional environments, so effective mental health screening is needed. Implementation of the computerised mental health screen of the Correctional Service of Canada has led to improved identification of offenders with mental health needs but with high rates of false positives. The goal of this study is to evaluate the use of an iterative classification tree (ICT) approach to mental health screening compared with a simple binary approach using cut-off scores on screening tools. A total of 504 consecutive admissions to federal prison completed the screen and were also interviewed by a mental health professional. Relationships between screening results and more extended assessment and clinical team discussion were tested. The ICT was more parsimonious in identifying probable 'cases' than standard binary screening. ICT was also highly accurate at detecting mental health needs (AUC=0.87, 95% CI 0.84-0.90). The model identified 118 (23.4%) offenders as likely to need further assessment or treatment, 87% of whom were confirmed cases at clinical interview. Of the 244 (48.4%) offenders who were screened out, only 9% were clinically assessed as requiring further assessment or treatment. Standard binary screening was characterised by more false positives and a comparable false negative rate. The use of ICTs to interpret screening data on the mental health of prisoners needs further evaluation in independent samples in Canada and elsewhere. This first evaluation of the application of such an approach offers the prospect of more effective and efficient use of the scarce resource of mental health services in prisons. Although not required, the use of computers can increase the ease of implementing an ICT model. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  6. [Transfer and Implementation of Innovative Awareness and Education Measures, e-Mental Health and Care Models in psychenet - Hamburg Network for Mental Health].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lambert, Martin; Härter, Martin; Brandes, Andreas; Hillebrandt, Bernd; Schlüter, Catarina; Quante, Susanne

    2015-07-01

    The Hamburg Network for Mental Health belongs to the healthcare regions in Germany, funded by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research from 2011 to 2015. More than 330 partners from research, health care, health industry and government are promoting innovative health care models and products to improve mental health care in Hamburg. The main objectives comprise the sustained implementation of the Network itself and of successful health care models and products. The article describes current and future implementation possibilities and the present state of the implementation process. © Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart · New York.

  7. Illusory inferences from a disjunction of conditionals: a new mental models account.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Barrouillet, P; Lecas, J F

    2000-08-14

    (Johnson-Laird, P.N., & Savary, F. (1999, Illusory inferences: a novel class of erroneous deductions. Cognition, 71, 191-229.) have recently presented a mental models account, based on the so-called principle of truth, for the occurrence of inferences that are compelling but invalid. This article presents an alternative account of the illusory inferences resulting from a disjunction of conditionals. In accordance with our modified theory of mental models of the conditional, we show that the way individuals represent conditionals leads them to misinterpret the locus of the disjunction and prevents them from drawing conclusions from a false conditional, thus accounting for the compelling character of the illusory inference.

  8. Classification of natural and supernatural causes of mental distress. Development of a Mental Distress Explanatory Model Questionnaire.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Eisenbruch, M

    1990-11-01

    This paper describes the background and development of a Mental Distress Explanatory Model Questionnaire designed to explore how people from different cultures explain mental distress. A 45-item questionnaire was developed with items derived from the Murdock et al. categories, with additional items covering western notions of physiological causation and stress. The questionnaire was administered to 261 people, mostly college students. Multi-dimensional scaling analysis shows four clusters of mental distress: a) stress; b) western physiological; c) nonwestern physiological; and d) supernatural. These clusters form two dimensions: western physiological vs. supernatural and impersonal vs. personalistic explanations. Natural and stress items are separated from supernatural and nonwestern physiological items along the first dimension. Brain damage, physical illness, and genetic defects have the greatest separation along the first dimension. Being hot, the body being out of balance, and wind currents passing through the body most strongly represent the non-western physiological category. The questionnaire has the potential to be used for community health screening and for monitoring patient care, as well as with students in the health sciences and with health practitioners.

  9. Food Insecurity and Common Mental Disorders among Ethiopian Youth: Structural Equation Modeling.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mulusew G Jebena

    Full Text Available Although the consequences of food insecurity on physical health and nutritional status of youth living have been reported, its effect on their mental health remains less investigated in developing countries. The aim of this study was to examine the pathways through which food insecurity is associated with poor mental health status among youth living in Ethiopia.We used data from Jimma Longitudinal Family Survey of Youth (JLFSY collected in 2009/10. A total of 1,521 youth were included in the analysis. We measured food insecurity using a 5-items scale and common mental disorders using the 20-item Self-Reporting Questionnaire (SRQ-20. Structural and generalized equation modeling using maximum likelihood estimation method was used to analyze the data.The prevalence of common mental disorders was 30.8% (95% CI: 28.6, 33.2. Food insecurity was independently associated with common mental disorders (β = 0.323, P<0.05. Most (91.8% of the effect of food insecurity on common mental disorders was direct and only 8.2% of their relationship was partially mediated by physical health. In addition, poor self-rated health (β = 0.285, P<0.05, high socioeconomic status (β = -0.076, P<0.05, parental education (β = 0.183, P<0.05, living in urban area (β = 0.139, P<0.05, and female-headed household (β = 0.192, P<0.05 were associated with common mental disorders.Food insecurity is directly associated with common mental disorders among youth in Ethiopia. Interventions that aim to improve mental health status of youth should consider strategies to improve access to sufficient, safe and nutritious food.

  10. Preliminary Cost Model for Space Telescopes

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stahl, H. Philip; Prince, F. Andrew; Smart, Christian; Stephens, Kyle; Henrichs, Todd

    2009-01-01

    Parametric cost models are routinely used to plan missions, compare concepts and justify technology investments. However, great care is required. Some space telescope cost models, such as those based only on mass, lack sufficient detail to support such analysis and may lead to inaccurate conclusions. Similarly, using ground based telescope models which include the dome cost will also lead to inaccurate conclusions. This paper reviews current and historical models. Then, based on data from 22 different NASA space telescopes, this paper tests those models and presents preliminary analysis of single and multi-variable space telescope cost models.

  11. The Relationship between Shared Mental Models and Task Performance in an Online Team- Based Learning Environment

    Science.gov (United States)

    Johnson, Tristan E.; Lee, Youngmin

    2008-01-01

    In an effort to better understand learning teams, this study examines the effects of shared mental models on team and individual performance. The results indicate that each team's shared mental model changed significantly over the time that subjects participated in team-based learning activities. The results also showed that the shared mental…

  12. Developing a change model for peer worker interventions in mental health services: a qualitative research study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gillard, S; Gibson, S L; Holley, J; Lucock, M

    2015-10-01

    A range of peer worker roles are being introduced into mental health services internationally. There is some evidence that attests to the benefits of peer workers for the people they support but formal trial evidence in inconclusive, in part because the change model underpinning peer support-based interventions is underdeveloped. Complex intervention evaluation guidance suggests that understandings of how an intervention is associated with change in outcomes should be modelled, theoretically and empirically, before the intervention can be robustly evaluated. This paper aims to model the change mechanisms underlying peer worker interventions. In a qualitative, comparative case study of ten peer worker initiatives in statutory and voluntary sector mental health services in England in-depth interviews were carried out with 71 peer workers, service users, staff and managers, exploring their experiences of peer working. Using a Grounded Theory approach we identified core processes within the peer worker role that were productive of change for service users supported by peer workers. Key change mechanisms were: (i) building trusting relationships based on shared lived experience; (ii) role-modelling individual recovery and living well with mental health problems; (iii) engaging service users with mental health services and the community. Mechanisms could be further explained by theoretical literature on role-modelling and relationship in mental health services. We were able to model process and downstream outcomes potentially associated with peer worker interventions. An empirically and theoretically grounded change model can be articulated that usefully informs the development, evaluation and planning of peer worker interventions.

  13. Modelizing home safety as experienced by people with mental illness.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Désormeaux-Moreau, Marjorie; Larivière, Nadine; Aubin, Ginette

    2018-05-01

    As more individuals with mental disorders now live in the community and as the custodial care housing model has shifted to supported housing, home safety has become a rising issue, however, not well documented. To describe the phenomenon of home safety for people with a mental disorder as well as its contributing factors. A descriptive qualitative design was used. Individual interviews were conducted with persons with a mental disorder (n = 8), while focus groups were conducted with relatives, health and social service providers and community stakeholders (n = 21). The data were analyzed with the grounded theory analysis as described by Paillé (1994). Findings suggest that home safety implies risk and protective factors, which are associated with (1) the person's characteristics; (2) the quality of the home environment; (3) the nature of the activities in which the individual engages. These dimensions are interrelated so that home incidents arise from a dynamic interaction between risk and protective factors. Home incidents therefore occur when the interaction between these dimensions is altered. Considering this situation, Occupational Therapists are well positioned to play a leading role and act as key contributors in the area of home safety in people with mental disorders.

  14. Mapping of Students’ Learning Progression Based on Mental Model in Magnetic Induction Concepts

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hamid, R.; Pabunga, D. B.

    2017-09-01

    The progress of student learning in a learning process has not been fully optimally observed by the teacher. The concept being taught is judged only at the end of learning as a product of thinking, and does not assess the mental processes that occur in students’ thinking. Facilitating students’ thinking through new phenomena can reveal students’ variation in thinking as a mental model of a concept, so that students who are assimilative and or accommodative can be identified in achieving their equilibrium of thought as well as an indicator of progressiveness in the students’ thinking stages. This research data is obtained from the written documents and interviews of students who were learned about the concept of magnetic induction through Constructivist Teaching Sequences (CTS) models. The results of this study indicate that facilitating the students’ thinking processes on the concept of magnetic induction contributes to increasing the number of students thinking within the "progressive change" category, and it can be said that the progress of student learning is more progressive after their mental models were facilitated through a new phenomena by teacher.

  15. A Model for Mental Health Programming in Schools and Communities: Introduction to the Mini-Series.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nastasi, Bonnie K.

    1998-01-01

    Describes conceptual framework for mini-series on mental health programming. Model includes five components considered to be critical for comprehensive and effective programming. Components include: action research, ecological perspective of program development, collaborative/participatory approach, prevention to treatment via mental health…

  16. External and Internal Representations in the Acquisition and Use of Knowledge: Visualization Effects on Mental Model Construction

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schnotz, Wolfgang; Kurschner, Christian

    2008-01-01

    This article investigates whether different formats of visualizing information result in different mental models constructed in learning from pictures, whether the different mental models lead to different patterns of performance in subsequently presented tasks, and how these visualization effects can be modified by further external…

  17. A stepped-care model of post-disaster child and adolescent mental health service provision.

    Science.gov (United States)

    McDermott, Brett M; Cobham, Vanessa E

    2014-01-01

    From a global perspective, natural disasters are common events. Published research highlights that a significant minority of exposed children and adolescents develop disaster-related mental health syndromes and associated functional impairment. Consistent with the considerable unmet need of children and adolescents with regard to psychopathology, there is strong evidence that many children and adolescents with post-disaster mental health presentations are not receiving adequate interventions. To critique existing child and adolescent mental health services (CAMHS) models of care and the capacity of such models to deal with any post-disaster surge in clinical demand. Further, to detail an innovative service response; a child and adolescent stepped-care service provision model. A narrative review of traditional CAMHS is presented. Important elements of a disaster response - individual versus community recovery, public health approaches, capacity for promotion and prevention and service reach are discussed and compared with the CAMHS approach. Difficulties with traditional models of care are highlighted across all levels of intervention; from the ability to provide preventative initiatives to the capacity to provide intense specialised posttraumatic stress disorder interventions. In response, our over-arching stepped-care model is advocated. The general response is discussed and details of the three tiers of the model are provided: Tier 1 communication strategy, Tier 2 parent effectiveness and teacher training, and Tier 3 screening linked to trauma-focused cognitive behavioural therapy. In this paper, we argue that traditional CAMHS are not an appropriate model of care to meet the clinical needs of this group in the post-disaster setting. We conclude with suggestions how improved post-disaster child and adolescent mental health outcomes can be achieved by applying an innovative service approach.

  18. Rethinking historical and cultural source of spontaneous mental models of water cycle: in the perspective of South Korea

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nam, Younkyeong

    2012-06-01

    This review explores Ben-Zvi Assaraf, Eshach, Orion, and Alamour's paper titled "Cultural Differences and Students' Spontaneous Models of the Water Cycle: A Case Study of Jewish and Bedouin Children in Israel" by examining how the authors use the concept of spontaneous mental models to explain cultural knowledge source of Bedouin children's mental model of water compared to Jewish children's mental model of water in nature. My response to Ben-Zvi Assaraf et al.'s work expands upon their explanations of the Bedouin children's cultural knowledge source. Bedouin children's mental model is based on their culture, religion, place of living and everyday life practices related to water. I suggest a different knowledge source for spontaneous mental model of water in nature based on unique history and traditions of South Korea where people think of water in nature in different ways. This forum also addresses how western science dominates South Korean science curriculum and ways of assessing students' conceptual understanding of scientific concepts. Additionally I argue that western science curriculum models could diminish Korean students' understanding of natural world which are based on Korean cultural ways of thinking about the natural world. Finally, I also suggest two different ways of considering this unique knowledge source for a more culturally relevant teaching Earth system education.

  19. Changing practice to support self-management and recovery in mental illness: application of an implementation model.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Harris, Melanie; Jones, Phil; Heartfield, Marie; Allstrom, Mary; Hancock, Janette; Lawn, Sharon; Battersby, Malcolm

    2015-01-01

    Health services introducing practice changes need effective implementation methods. Within the setting of a community mental health service offering recovery-oriented psychosocial support for people with mental illness, we aimed to: (i) identify a well-founded implementation model; and (ii) assess its practical usefulness in introducing a new programme for recovery-oriented self-management support. We reviewed the literature to identify implementation models applicable to community mental health organisations, and that also had corresponding measurement tools. We used one of these models to inform organisational change strategies. The literature review showed few models with corresponding tools. The Promoting Action on Research Implementation in Health Services (PARIHS) model and the related Organisational Readiness to Change Assessment (ORCA) tool were used. The PARIHS proposes prerequisites for health service change and the ORCA measures the extent to which these prerequisites are present. Application of the ORCA at two time points during implementation of the new programme showed strategy-related gains for some prerequisites but not for others, reflecting observed implementation progress. Additional strategies to address target prerequisites could be drawn from the PARIHS model. The PARIHS model and ORCA tool have potential in designing and monitoring practice change strategies in community mental health organisations. Further practical use and testing of implementation models appears justified in overcoming barriers to change.

  20. Un modelo explicativo de la conducta hacia la enfermedad mental An explanatory model of behavior towards mental illness

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sarah García-Sílberman

    2002-07-01

    Full Text Available Objetivo. Probar un modelo teórico diseñado para explicar las actitudes en relación con la enfermedad mental, a partir del conocimiento de las principales variables relacionadas con dicho constructo. Material y métodos. En 1996 se efectuó una encuesta estratificada por nivel socioeconómico, edad y género en una muestra de 800 sujetos de la población general de la Ciudad de México, en relación con las creencias, actitudes e intenciones conductuales respecto de los trastornos mentales. Se construyó y validó un instrumento de medición, específico para el estudio, integrado por 120 reactivos tipo Likert, con cinco opciones de respuesta. Los datos se codificaron y analizaron estadísticamente con el paquete SPSS. La consistencia interna de las escalas utilizadas se midió por medio del Alpha de Cronbach y la validez del constructo, mediante análisis factoriales. Se efectuaron pruebas de t de student y anova, para comparar los grupos de los diferentes estratos de la muestra. Resultados. Los datos obtenidos confirman la capacidad predictiva del modelo en cuanto a la cadena causal que conecta creencias, actitudes e intenciones conductuales; sin embargo, las demás variables investigadas no contribuyeron a explicarlo y la conducta resultó poco influenciada por las intenciones, dependiendo más bien de la necesidad experimentada. Conclusiones. Los resultados constituyen una base para comprender las actitudes de temor y vergüenza en relación con las enfermedades mentales, planear acciones eficaces para su modificación y diseñar programas de promoción de la salud mental.Objective. To evaluate a theoretical model designed to explain behaviors toward mental illness, considering some variables related to the construct. Material and Methods. A survey was conducted in 1996 on mental disorder beliefs, attitudes, and behavioral intentions. The sample population was stratified by socioeconomic status, age, and gender. Study subjects were 800

  1. The Test of Inaccurate Position of Renography Detector to Relative UptakeFigure and Individual Excretion

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bambang-Supardiyono; Prayitno

    2000-01-01

    Accuracy of detector position toward the kidney location (preciseposition) in renography will resulting the maximum count figure, detectorposition change from the precise point (inaccurate) will decreasing the countrate. Therefore for it had been simulated the influence of count figure ofright kidney (fixed left kidney count) ± 5 % to ± 20 % to relativeuptake figure and individual excretion. Based on the calculation it was foundthat the relation of detector position ± 0.5 cm to ± 2 cm from theprecise point will have effect to relative uptake figure ± (1.25 % to 5.00%), the fixed individual excretion figure. The change is still can beaccepted because the qualitative information with 10 % accuracy is stillacceptable. (author)

  2. An Investigation of Secondary Students' Mental Models of Climate Change and the Greenhouse Effect

    Science.gov (United States)

    Varela, Begoña; Sesto, Vanessa; García-Rodeja, Isabel

    2018-03-01

    There are several studies dealing with students' conceptions on climate change, but most of them refer to understanding before instruction. In contrast, this study investigates students' conceptions and describes the levels of sophistication of their mental models on climate change and the greenhouse effect. The participants were 40 secondary students (grade 7) in Spain. As a method of data collection, a questionnaire was designed with open-ended questions focusing on the mechanism, causes, and actions that could be useful in reducing climate change. Students completed the same questionnaire before and after instruction. The students' conceptions and mental models were identified by an inductive and iterative analysis of the participants' explanations. With regard to the students' conceptions, the results show that they usually link climate change to an increase in temperature, and they tend to mention, even after instruction, generic actions to mitigate climate change, such as not polluting. With regard to the students' mental models, the results show an evolution of models with little consistency and coherence, such as the models on level 1, towards higher levels of sophistication. The paper concludes with educational implications proposed for solving learning difficulties regarding the greenhouse effect and climate change.

  3. Training community mental health staff in Guangzhou, China: evaluation of the effect of a new training model.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Jie; Li, Juan; Thornicroft, Graham; Yang, Hui; Chen, Wen; Huang, Yuanguang

    2015-10-26

    Increasing numbers of people with mental disorders receive services at primary care in China. The aims of this study are to evaluate impact of a new training course and supervision for community mental health staff to enhance their levels of mental health knowledge and to reduce their stigmatization toward people with mental illness. A total of 77 community mental health staff from eight regions in Guangzhou in China were recruited for the study.4 regions were randomly allocated to the new training model group, and 4 to the old training model group. Levels of mental health knowledge were measured by purpose-made assessment schedule and by the Mental Health Knowledge Schedule (MAKS). Stigma was evaluated by the Mental Illness: Clinicians' Attitudes Scale (MICA) and the Reported and Intended Behavior Scale (RIBS). Evaluation questionnaires were given at the beginning of course, at the end, and at 6 month and at 12 month follow-up. After the training period, the 6-month, and the 12-month, knowledge scores of the intervention group were higher than the control group. At 6-month and 12-month follow-up, means scores of MAKS of the intervention group increased more than the control group (both p training, at 6-months, and at 12-months, mean scores of RIBS of the intervention group increased more than the control (p training course and supervision, the new course improved community mental health staff knowledge of mental disorders, improving their attitudes toward people with mental disorder, and increasing their willingness to have contact with people with mental disorder.

  4. Artist-Teachers' In-Action Mental Models While Teaching Visual Arts

    Science.gov (United States)

    Russo-Zimet, Gila

    2017-01-01

    Studies have examined the assumption that teachers have previous perceptions, beliefs and knowledge about learning (Cochran-Smith & Villegas, 2015). This study presented the In-Action Mental Model of twenty leading artist-teachers while teaching Visual Arts in three Israeli art institutions of higher Education. Data was collected in two…

  5. Analysis of Mental Processes Represented in Models of Artificial Consciousness

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Luana Folchini da Costa

    2013-12-01

    Full Text Available The Artificial Consciousness concept has been used in the engineering area as being an evolution of the Artificial Intelligence. However, consciousness is a complex subject and often used without formalism. As a main contribution, in this work one proposes an analysis of four recent models of artificial consciousness published in the engineering area. The mental processes represented by these models are highlighted and correlations with the theoretical perspective of cognitive psychology are made. Finally, considerations about consciousness in such models are discussed.

  6. A stepped-care model of post-disaster child and adolescent mental health service provision

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Brett M. McDermott

    2014-07-01

    Full Text Available Background: From a global perspective, natural disasters are common events. Published research highlights that a significant minority of exposed children and adolescents develop disaster-related mental health syndromes and associated functional impairment. Consistent with the considerable unmet need of children and adolescents with regard to psychopathology, there is strong evidence that many children and adolescents with post-disaster mental health presentations are not receiving adequate interventions. Objective: To critique existing child and adolescent mental health services (CAMHS models of care and the capacity of such models to deal with any post-disaster surge in clinical demand. Further, to detail an innovative service response; a child and adolescent stepped-care service provision model. Method: A narrative review of traditional CAMHS is presented. Important elements of a disaster response – individual versus community recovery, public health approaches, capacity for promotion and prevention and service reach are discussed and compared with the CAMHS approach. Results: Difficulties with traditional models of care are highlighted across all levels of intervention; from the ability to provide preventative initiatives to the capacity to provide intense specialised posttraumatic stress disorder interventions. In response, our over-arching stepped-care model is advocated. The general response is discussed and details of the three tiers of the model are provided: Tier 1 communication strategy, Tier 2 parent effectiveness and teacher training, and Tier 3 screening linked to trauma-focused cognitive behavioural therapy. Conclusion: In this paper, we argue that traditional CAMHS are not an appropriate model of care to meet the clinical needs of this group in the post-disaster setting. We conclude with suggestions how improved post-disaster child and adolescent mental health outcomes can be achieved by applying an innovative service approach.

  7. A Review of Contemporary Ethical Decision-Making Models for Mental Health Professionals

    Science.gov (United States)

    Francis, Perry C.

    2015-01-01

    Mental health professionals are faced with increasingly complex ethical decisions that are impacted by culture, personal and professional values, and the contexts in which they and their clients inhabit. This article presents the reasons for developing and implementing multiple ethical decision making models and reviews four models that address…

  8. Inaccurate Dental Charting in an Audit of 1128 General Dental Practice Records.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brown, Nathan L; Jephcote, Victoria E L

    2017-03-01

    Fourteen dentists at different practices in the UK assessed the dental charts of 1128 patients who were new to the dentist but not new to the practice; 44% of the dental charts were found to be inaccurate. Inaccuracy of the individual practice-based charts ranged between 16% for the best performing practices to 83% for the worst: 5% of dental charts had too many teeth charted and 5% had too few teeth charted; 13% of charts had missed amalgam restorations and 18% had missed tooth-coloured restorations; 5% of charts had amalgam restorations recorded but with the surfaces incorrect (eg an MO restoration charted but a DO restoration actually present); 9% of charts had tooth-coloured restoration surfaces incorrectly recorded. For 7.5% of charts, amalgams were charted but not actually present. Other inaccuracies were also noted. The authors reinforce the requirements of the GDC, the advice of defence organizations, and the forensic importance of accurate dental charts. Clinical relevance: Dental charting forms part of the patient’s dental records, and the GDC requires dentists to maintain complete and accurate dental records.

  9. A crisis recovery model for adolescents with severe mental health problems.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kaplan, Tony; Racussen, Lisa

    2013-04-01

    A model of intervention at the interface and for the in-patient phase for adolescents with severe mental health crises was developed to reduce length of stay while maintaining quality of service consonant with the 'recovery model'. The model is described, and discussed in the context of the limited literature on both crisis intervention with adolescents and families, and 'recovery' in this age-group. The model may be suitable also for use by community teams dealing with adolescents in crisis.

  10. Development of a comprehensive model for stakeholder management in mental healthcare

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Bierbooms, J.J.P.A.; van Oers, J.A.M.; Bongers, I.M.B.

    2016-01-01

    Purpose Stakeholder management is not yet incorporated into the standard practice of most healthcare providers. The purpose of this paper is to assess the applicability of a comprehensive model for stakeholder management in mental healthcare organization for more evidence-based (stakeholder)

  11. EXPOSURE TO MASS MEDIA AS A DOMINANT FACTOR INFLUENCING PUBLIC STIGMA TOWARD MENTAL ILLNESS BASED ON SUNRISE MODEL APPROACH

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ni Made Sintha Pratiwi

    2018-05-01

    Full Text Available Background: The person suffering mental disorders is not only burdened by his condition but also by the stigma. The impact of stigma extremely influences society that it is considered to be the obstacle in mental disorders therapy. Stigma as the society adverse view toward severe mental disorders is related with the cultural aspect. The interaction appeared from each component of nursing model namely sunrise model, which a model developed by Madeleine Leininger is connected with the wide society views about severe mental disorders condition in society. Objective: The aim of this study was to analyze the factors related to public stigma and to find out the dominant factors related to public stigma about severe mental illness through sunrise model approach in Sukonolo Village, Malang Regency. Methods: This study using observational analytical design with cross sectional approach. There were 150 respondents contributed in this study. The respondents were obtained using purposive sampling technique. Results: The results showed a significant relationship between mass media exposure, spiritual well-being, interpersonal contact, attitude, and knowledge with public stigma about mental illness. The result from multiple logistic regression shows the low exposure of mass media has the highest OR value at 26.744. Conclusion: There were significant correlation between mass media exposure, spiritual well-being, interpersonal contact, attitude, and knowledge with public stigma toward mental illness. Mass media exposure as a dominant factor influencing public stigma toward mental illness.

  12. An Investigation of How Managers’ Mental Models of Business-Consumer Interaction Influence the Implementation and Use of Social Media

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Rydén, Pernille; Ringberg, Torsten; Wilke, Ricky

    2014-01-01

    The paper empirically illustrates how mental models influence how managers implement social media in their businesses. We posit that managers’ use of social media is constrained by four mental models of business-consumer interaction and question the rational decision process that often is assumed...... to play a major part of introducing new technology. Based on twenty interviews with managers we identify four mental models,each of which uniquely influences how managers implement social media within the service and retailing industries....

  13. Interagency collaboration models for people with mental ill health in contact with the police: a systematic scoping review.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Parker, Adwoa; Scantlebury, Arabella; Booth, Alison; MacBryde, Jillian Catherine; Scott, William J; Wright, Kath; McDaid, Catriona

    2018-03-27

    To identify existing evidence on interagency collaboration between law enforcement, emergency services, statutory services and third sector agencies regarding people with mental ill health. Systematic scoping review. Scoping reviews map particular research areas to identify research gaps. ASSIA, CENTRAL, the Cochrane Library databases, Criminal Justice Abstracts, ERIC, Embase, MEDLINE, PsycINFO, PROSPERO and Social Care Online and Social Sciences Citation Index were searched up to 2017, as were grey literature and hand searches. Eligible articles were empirical evaluations or descriptions of models of interagency collaboration between the police and other agencies. Screening and data extraction were undertaken independently by two researchers. Arksey's framework was used to collate and map included studies. One hundred and twenty-five studies were included. The majority of articles were of descriptions of models (28%), mixed methods evaluations of models (18%) and single service evaluations (14%). The most frequently reported outcomes (52%) were 'organisational or service level outcomes' (eg, arrest rates). Most articles (53%) focused on adults with mental ill health, whereas others focused on adult offenders with mental ill health (17.4%). Thirteen models of interagency collaboration were described, each involving between 2 and 13 agencies. Frequently reported models were 'prearrest diversion' of people with mental ill health (34%), 'coresponse' involving joint response by police officers paired with mental health professionals (28.6%) and 'jail diversion' following arrest (23.8%). We identified 13 different interagency collaboration models catering for a range of mental health-related interactions. All but one of these models involved the police and mental health services or professionals. Several models have sufficient literature to warrant full systematic reviews of their effectiveness, whereas others need robust evaluation, by randomised controlled trial where

  14. Interagency collaboration models for people with mental ill health in contact with the police: a systematic scoping review

    Science.gov (United States)

    Scantlebury, Arabella; Booth, Alison; MacBryde, Jillian Catherine; Scott, William J; Wright, Kath

    2018-01-01

    Objective To identify existing evidence on interagency collaboration between law enforcement, emergency services, statutory services and third sector agencies regarding people with mental ill health. Design Systematic scoping review. Scoping reviews map particular research areas to identify research gaps. Data sources and eligibility ASSIA, CENTRAL, the Cochrane Library databases, Criminal Justice Abstracts, ERIC, Embase, MEDLINE, PsycINFO, PROSPERO and Social Care Online and Social Sciences Citation Index were searched up to 2017, as were grey literature and hand searches. Eligible articles were empirical evaluations or descriptions of models of interagency collaboration between the police and other agencies. Study appraisal and synthesis Screening and data extraction were undertaken independently by two researchers. Arksey’s framework was used to collate and map included studies. Results One hundred and twenty-five studies were included. The majority of articles were of descriptions of models (28%), mixed methods evaluations of models (18%) and single service evaluations (14%). The most frequently reported outcomes (52%) were ‘organisational or service level outcomes’ (eg, arrest rates). Most articles (53%) focused on adults with mental ill health, whereas others focused on adult offenders with mental ill health (17.4%). Thirteen models of interagency collaboration were described, each involving between 2 and 13 agencies. Frequently reported models were ‘prearrest diversion’ of people with mental ill health (34%), ‘coresponse’ involving joint response by police officers paired with mental health professionals (28.6%) and ‘jail diversion’ following arrest (23.8%). Conclusions We identified 13 different interagency collaboration models catering for a range of mental health-related interactions. All but one of these models involved the police and mental health services or professionals. Several models have sufficient literature to warrant full

  15. College Chemistry Students' Mental Models of Acids and Acid Strength

    Science.gov (United States)

    McClary, LaKeisha; Talanquer, Vicente

    2011-01-01

    The central goal of this study was to characterize the mental models of acids and acid strength expressed by advanced college chemistry students when engaged in prediction, explanation, and justification tasks that asked them to rank chemical compounds based on their relative acid strength. For that purpose we completed a qualitative research…

  16. The influence of instructional interactions on students’ mental models about the quantization of physical observables: a modern physics course case

    Science.gov (United States)

    Didiş Körhasan, Nilüfer; Eryılmaz, Ali; Erkoç, Şakir

    2016-01-01

    Mental models are coherently organized knowledge structures used to explain phenomena. They interact with social environments and evolve with the interaction. Lacking daily experience with phenomena, the social interaction gains much more importance. In this part of our multiphase study, we investigate how instructional interactions influenced students’ mental models about the quantization of physical observables. Class observations and interviews were analysed by studying students’ mental models constructed in a modern physics course during an academic semester. The research revealed that students’ mental models were influenced by (1) the manner of teaching, including instructional methodologies and content specific techniques used by the instructor, (2) order of the topics and familiarity with concepts, and (3) peers.

  17. A prison mental health in-reach model informed by assertive community treatment principles: evaluation of its impact on planning during the pre-release period, community mental health service engagement and reoffending.

    Science.gov (United States)

    McKenna, Brian; Skipworth, Jeremy; Tapsell, Rees; Madell, Dominic; Pillai, Krishna; Simpson, Alexander; Cavney, James; Rouse, Paul

    2015-12-01

    It is well recognised that prisoners with serious mental illness (SMI) are at high risk of poor outcomes on return to the community. Early engagement with mental health services and other community agencies could provide the substrate for reducing risk. To evaluate the impact of implementing an assertive community treatment informed prison in-reach model of care (PMOC) on post-release engagement with community mental health services and on reoffending rates. One hundred and eighty prisoners with SMI released from four prisons in the year before implementation of the PMOC were compared with 170 such prisoners released the year after its implementation. The assertive prison model of care was associated with more pre-release contacts with community mental health services and contacts with some social care agencies in some prisons. There were significantly more post-release community mental health service engagements after implementation of this model (Z = -2.388, p = 0.02). There was a trend towards reduction in reoffending rates after release from some of the prisons (Z =1.82, p = 0.07). Assertive community treatment applied to prisoners with mental health problems was superior to 'treatment as usual', but more work is needed to ensure that agencies will engage prisoners in pre-release care. The fact that the model showed some benefits in the absence of any increase in resources suggests that it may be the model per se that is effective. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  18. A test of the vulnerability model: temperament and temperament change as predictors of future mental disorders - the TRAILS study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Laceulle, Odilia M; Ormel, Johan; Vollebergh, Wilma A M; van Aken, Marcel A G; Nederhof, Esther

    2014-03-01

    This study aimed to test the vulnerability model of the relationship between temperament and mental disorders using a large sample of adolescents from the TRacking Adolescents Individual Lives' Survey (TRAILS). The vulnerability model argues that particular temperaments can place individuals at risk for the development of mental health problems. Importantly, the model may imply that not only baseline temperament predicts mental health problems prospectively, but additionally, that changes in temperament predict corresponding changes in risk for mental health problems. Data were used from 1195 TRAILS participants. Adolescent temperament was assessed both at age 11 and at age 16. Onset of mental disorders between age 16 and 19 was assessed at age 19, by means of the World Health Organization Composite International Diagnostic Interview (WHO CIDI). Results showed that temperament at age 11 predicted future mental disorders, thereby providing support for the vulnerability model. Moreover, temperament change predicted future mental disorders above and beyond the effect of basal temperament. For example, an increase in frustration increased the risk of mental disorders proportionally. This study confirms, and extends, the vulnerability model. Consequences of both temperament and temperament change were general (e.g., changes in frustration predicted both internalizing and externalizing disorders) as well as dimension specific (e.g., changes in fear predicted internalizing but not externalizing disorders). These findings confirm previous studies, which showed that mental disorders have both unique and shared underlying temperamental risk factors. © 2013 The Authors. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry © 2013 Association for Child and Adolescent Mental Health.

  19. Modeling the Factors Associated with Children's Mental Health Difficulties in Primary School: A Multilevel Study

    Science.gov (United States)

    Humphrey, Neil; Wigelsworth, Michael

    2012-01-01

    The current study explores some of the factors associated with children's mental health difficulties in primary school. Multilevel modeling with data from 628 children from 36 schools was used to determine how much variation in mental health difficulties exists between and within schools, and to identify characteristics at the school and…

  20. Addressing homelessness among people with mental illnesses: a model of long-term philanthropic effectiveness.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brousseau, Ruth Tebbets

    2009-01-01

    Foundations are often criticized for their short attention spans and inability to continue funding the toughest social problems. Homelessness among people with mental illnesses is considered among the most intractable of social issues. This paper explores the role of permanent supportive housing in reducing homelessness among the mentally ill; the role of the Corporation for Supportive Housing in developing, authenticating, and disseminating its model; and its long-term funding relationship with the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation, which has facilitated this trajectory. The paper tells the story of how long-term funding, strategically used, is making inroads into this serious mental health problem.

  1. Mental model mapping as a new tool to analyse the use of information in decision-making in integrated water management

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kolkman, M. J.; Kok, M.; van der Veen, A.

    The solution of complex, unstructured problems is faced with policy controversy and dispute, unused and misused knowledge, project delay and failure, and decline of public trust in governmental decisions. Mental model mapping (also called concept mapping) is a technique to analyse these difficulties on a fundamental cognitive level, which can reveal experiences, perceptions, assumptions, knowledge and subjective beliefs of stakeholders, experts and other actors, and can stimulate communication and learning. This article presents the theoretical framework from which the use of mental model mapping techniques to analyse this type of problems emerges as a promising technique. The framework consists of the problem solving or policy design cycle, the knowledge production or modelling cycle, and the (computer) model as interface between the cycles. Literature attributes difficulties in the decision-making process to communication gaps between decision makers, stakeholders and scientists, and to the construction of knowledge within different paradigm groups that leads to different interpretation of the problem situation. Analysis of the decision-making process literature indicates that choices, which are made in all steps of the problem solving cycle, are based on an individual decision maker’s frame of perception. This frame, in turn, depends on the mental model residing in the mind of the individual. Thus we identify three levels of awareness on which the decision process can be analysed. This research focuses on the third level. Mental models can be elicited using mapping techniques. In this way, analysing an individual’s mental model can shed light on decision-making problems. The steps of the knowledge production cycle are, in the same manner, ultimately driven by the mental models of the scientist in a specific discipline. Remnants of this mental model can be found in the resulting computer model. The characteristics of unstructured problems (complexity

  2. The Effects of a Simulation Game on Mental Models about Organizational Systems

    Science.gov (United States)

    Reese, Rebecca M.

    2017-01-01

    This mixed methods study was designed to uncover evidence of change to mental models about organizational systems resulting from participation in a simulation game that is based on a system dynamics model. Thirty participants in a 2 day experiential workshop completed a pretest and posttest to assess learning about particular systems concepts.…

  3. A Comparison between Elementary School Students' Mental Models and Visualizations in Textbooks for the Concept of Atom

    Science.gov (United States)

    Polat-Yaseen, Zeynep

    2012-01-01

    This study was designed for two major goals, which are to describe students' mental models about atom concept from 6th to 8th grade and to compare students' mental models with visual representations of atom in textbooks. Qualitative and quantitative data were collected with 4 open-ended questions including drawings which were quantified using the…

  4. Flying, Feathery and Beaked Objects: Children's Mental Models about Birds

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ahi, Berat

    2016-01-01

    Purpose of this research is to state preschool students' mental model about birds by analyzing their drawing. This is a hermeneutical phenomenology research that is based on social constructivist philosophy. Typical case sampling method has used in order to form working group of this research. Working group consisting of 325 children who are in…

  5. PARALLEL MODELS OF ASSESSMENT: INFANT MENTAL HEALTH AND THERAPEUTIC ASSESSMENT MODELS INTERSECT THROUGH EARLY CHILDHOOD CASE STUDIES.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gart, Natalie; Zamora, Irina; Williams, Marian E

    2016-07-01

    Therapeutic Assessment (TA; S.E. Finn & M.E. Tonsager, 1997; J.D. Smith, 2010) is a collaborative, semistructured model that encourages self-discovery and meaning-making through the use of assessment as an intervention approach. This model shares core strategies with infant mental health assessment, including close collaboration with parents and caregivers, active participation of the family, a focus on developing new family stories and increasing parents' understanding of their child, and reducing isolation and increasing hope through the assessment process. The intersection of these two theoretical approaches is explored, using case studies of three infants/young children and their families to illustrate the application of TA to infant mental health. The case of an 18-month-old girl whose parents fear that she has bipolar disorder illustrates the core principles of the TA model, highlighting the use of assessment intervention sessions and the clinical approach to preparing assessment feedback. The second case follows an infant with a rare genetic syndrome from ages 2 to 24 months, focusing on the assessor-parent relationship and the importance of a developmental perspective. Finally, assessment of a 3-year-old boy illustrates the development and use of a fable as a tool to provide feedback to a young child about assessment findings and recommendations. © 2016 Michigan Association for Infant Mental Health.

  6. Utilization of the Behavior Change Wheel framework to develop a model to improve cardiometabolic screening for people with severe mental illness.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mangurian, Christina; Niu, Grace C; Schillinger, Dean; Newcomer, John W; Dilley, James; Handley, Margaret A

    2017-11-14

    Individuals with severe mental illness (e.g., schizophrenia, bipolar disorder) die 10-25 years earlier than the general population, primarily from premature cardiovascular disease (CVD). Contributing factors are complex, but include systemic-related factors of poorly integrated primary care and mental health services. Although evidence-based models exist for integrating mental health care into primary care settings, the evidence base for integrating medical care into specialty mental health settings is limited. Such models are referred to as "reverse" integration. In this paper, we describe the application of an implementation science framework in designing a model to improve CVD outcomes for individuals with severe mental illness (SMI) who receive services in a community mental health setting. Using principles from the theory of planned behavior, focus groups were conducted to understand stakeholder perspectives of barriers to CVD risk factor screening and treatment identify potential target behaviors. We then applied results to the overarching Behavior Change Wheel framework, a systematic and theory-driven approach that incorporates the COM-B model (capability, opportunity, motivation, and behavior), to build an intervention to improve CVD risk factor screening and treatment for people with SMI. Following a stepped approach from the Behavior Change Wheel framework, a model to deliver primary preventive care for people that use community mental health settings as their de facto health home was developed. The CRANIUM (cardiometabolic risk assessment and treatment through a novel integration model for underserved populations with mental illness) model focuses on engaging community psychiatrists to expand their scope of practice to become responsible for CVD risk, with significant clinical decision support. The CRANIUM model was designed by integrating behavioral change theory and implementation theory. CRANIUM is feasible to implement, is highly acceptable to, and

  7. Mental health treatment outcomes in a humanitarian emergency: a pilot model for the integration of mental health into primary care in Habilla, Darfur

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yasuda Silvia

    2009-07-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background There is no description of outcomes for patients receiving treatment for mental illnesses in humanitarian emergencies. MSF has developed a model for integration of mental health into primary care in a humanitarian emergency setting based on the capacity of community health workers, clinical officers and health counsellors under the supervision of a psychiatrist trainer. Our study aims to describe the characteristics of patients first attending mental health services and their outcomes on functionality after treatment. Methods A total of 114 patients received mental health care and 81 adult patients were evaluated with a simplified functionality assessment instrument at baseline, one month and 3 months after initiation of treatment. Results Most patients were diagnosed with epilepsy (47% and psychosis (31% and had never received treatment. In terms of follow up, 58% came for consultations at 1 month and 48% at 3 months. When comparing disability levels at baseline versus 1 month, mean disability score decreased from 9.1 (95%CI 8.1–10.2 to 7.1 (95%CI 5.9–8.2 p = 0.0001. At 1 month versus 3 months, mean score further decreased to 5.8 (95%CI 4.6–7.0 p Conclusion The findings suggest that there is potential to integrate mental health into primary care in humanitarian emergency contexts. Patients with severe mental illness and epilepsy are in particular need of mental health care. Different strategies for integration of mental health into primary care in humanitarian emergency settings need to be compared in terms of simplicity and feasibility.

  8. Mental health treatment outcomes in a humanitarian emergency: a pilot model for the integration of mental health into primary care in Habilla, Darfur.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Souza, Renato; Yasuda, Silvia; Cristofani, Susanna

    2009-07-21

    There is no description of outcomes for patients receiving treatment for mental illnesses in humanitarian emergencies. MSF has developed a model for integration of mental health into primary care in a humanitarian emergency setting based on the capacity of community health workers, clinical officers and health counsellors under the supervision of a psychiatrist trainer. Our study aims to describe the characteristics of patients first attending mental health services and their outcomes on functionality after treatment. A total of 114 patients received mental health care and 81 adult patients were evaluated with a simplified functionality assessment instrument at baseline, one month and 3 months after initiation of treatment. Most patients were diagnosed with epilepsy (47%) and psychosis (31%) and had never received treatment. In terms of follow up, 58% came for consultations at 1 month and 48% at 3 months. When comparing disability levels at baseline versus 1 month, mean disability score decreased from 9.1 (95%CI 8.1-10.2) to 7.1 (95%CI 5.9-8.2) p = 0.0001. At 1 month versus 3 months, mean score further decreased to 5.8 (95%CI 4.6-7.0) p < 0.0001. The findings suggest that there is potential to integrate mental health into primary care in humanitarian emergency contexts. Patients with severe mental illness and epilepsy are in particular need of mental health care. Different strategies for integration of mental health into primary care in humanitarian emergency settings need to be compared in terms of simplicity and feasibility.

  9. Hospital care for mental health and substance abuse in children with epilepsy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Thibault, Dylan P; Mendizabal, Adys; Abend, Nicholas S; Davis, Kathryn A; Crispo, James; Willis, Allison W

    2016-04-01

    Reducing the burden of pediatric mental illness requires greater knowledge of mental health and substance abuse (MHSA) outcomes in children who are at an increased risk of primary psychiatric illness. National data on hospital care for psychiatric illness in children with epilepsy are limited. We used the Kids' Inpatient Database (KID), the Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project (HCUP), and the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality from 2003 to 2009 to examine MHSA hospitalization patterns in children with comorbid epilepsy. Nonparametric and regression analyses determined the association of comorbid epilepsy with specific MHSA diagnoses and examined the impact of epilepsy on length of stay (LOS) for such MHSA diagnoses while controlling for demographic, payer, and hospital characteristics. We observed 353,319 weighted MHSA hospitalizations of children ages 6-20; 3280 of these involved a child with epilepsy. Depression was the most common MHSA diagnosis in the general population (39.5%) whereas bipolar disorder was the most common MHSA diagnosis among children with epilepsy (36.2%). Multivariate logistic regression models revealed that children with comorbid epilepsy had greater adjusted odds of bipolar disorder (AOR: 1.17, 1.04-1.30), psychosis (AOR: 1.78, 1.51-2.09), sleep disorder (AOR: 5.90, 1.90-18.34), and suicide attempt/ideation (AOR: 3.20, 1.46-6.99) compared to the general MHSA inpatient population. Epilepsy was associated with a greater LOS and a higher adjusted incidence rate ratio (IRR) for prolonged LOS (IRR: 1.12, 1.09-1.17), particularly for suicide attempt/ideation (IRR: 3.74, 1.68-8.34). Children with epilepsy have distinct patterns of hospital care for mental illness and substance abuse and experience prolonged hospitalization for MHSA conditions. Strategies to reduce psychiatric hospitalizations in this population may require disease-specific approaches and should measure disease-relevant outcomes. Hospitals caring for large numbers of

  10. Innovations on a shoestring: a study of a collaborative community-based Aboriginal mental health service model in rural Canada

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Graham Douglas

    2009-12-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Collaborative, culturally safe services that integrate clinical approaches with traditional Aboriginal healing have been hailed as promising approaches to ameliorate the high rates of mental health problems in Aboriginal communities in Canada. Overcoming significant financial and human resources barriers, a mental health team in northern Ontario is beginning to realize this ideal. We studied the strategies, strengths and challenges related to collaborative Aboriginal mental health care. Methods A participatory action research approach was employed to evaluate the Knaw Chi Ge Win services and their place in the broader mental health system. Qualitative methods were used as the primary source of data collection and included document review, ethnographic interviews with 15 providers and 23 clients; and 3 focus groups with community workers and managers. Results The Knaw Chi Ge Win model is an innovative, community-based Aboriginal mental health care model that has led to various improvements in care in a challenging rural, high needs environment. Formal opportunities to share information, shared protocols and ongoing education support this model of collaborative care. Positive outcomes associated with this model include improved quality of care, cultural safety, and integration of traditional Aboriginal healing with clinical approaches. Ongoing challenges include chronic lack of resources, health information and the still cursory understanding of Aboriginal healing and outcomes. Conclusions This model can serve to inform collaborative care in other rural and Indigenous mental health systems. Further research into traditional Aboriginal approaches to mental health is needed to continue advances in collaborative practice in a clinical setting.

  11. Using the Lunar Phases Concept Inventory to Investigate College Students' Pre-instructional Mental Models of Lunar Phases

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lindell, Rebecca S.; Sommer, Steven R.

    2004-09-01

    The Lunar Phases Concept Inventory (LPCI) is a twenty-item multiple-choice inventory developed to aid instructors in assessing the mental models their students utilize when answering questions concerning phases of the moon. Based upon an in-depth qualitative investigation of students' understanding of lunar phases, the LPCI was designed to take advantage of the innovative model analysis theory to probe the different dimensions of students' mental models of lunar phases. As part of a national field test, pre-instructional LPCI data was collected for over 750 students from multiple post-secondary institutions across the United States and Canada. Application of model analysis theory to this data set allowed researchers to probe the different mental models of lunar phases students across the country utilize prior to instruction. Results of this analysis display strikingly similar results for the different institutions, suggesting a potential underlying cognitive framework.

  12. A dual-factor model of mental health: toward a more comprehensive understanding of youth functioning.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Antaramian, Susan P; Scott Huebner, E; Hills, Kimberly J; Valois, Robert F

    2010-10-01

    Traditional mental health models focus on psychological problems and distress; accordingly, health is viewed as the absence of illness or disability. In contrast, a dual-factor model of mental health incorporates both indicators of positive subjective well-being (SWB) and measures of psychopathological symptoms to comprehensively determine an individual's psychological adjustment. This study used such a dual-factor model to measure the mental health status of young adolescents. A total of 764 middle school students were classified into one of four distinct groups based on having high or low psychopathology and high or low SWB. Furthermore, group differences in student engagement, academic achievement, and environmental support for learning were investigated. Results demonstrated the existence of a traditionally neglected group of adolescents (low SWB and low psychopathology) who are nonetheless at risk for academic and behavior problems in school and who performed no better than the most troubled group of adolescents. Overall, both the presence of positive well-being and the absence of symptoms were necessary for ensuring the most advantageous school performance. These results highlight the importance of incorporating positive indicators of well-being along with traditional negative factors in more fully understanding relationships between individuals' mental health and educational outcomes. © 2010 American Orthopsychiatric Association.

  13. Conceptual and Developmental Analysis of Mental Models: An Example with Complex Change Problems.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Poirier, Louise

    Defining better implicit models of children's actions in a series of situations is of paramount importance to understanding how knowledge is constructed. The objective of this study was to analyze the implicit mental models used by children in complex change problems to understand the stability of the models and their evolution with the child's…

  14. Toward an operational model of decision making, emotional regulation, and mental health impact.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Collura, Thomas Francis; Zalaquett, Ronald P; Bonnstetter, Carlos Joyce; Chatters, Seria J

    2014-01-01

    Current brain research increasingly reveals the underlying mechanisms and processes of human behavior, cognition, and emotion. In addition to being of interest to a wide range of scientists, educators, and professionals, as well as laypeople, brain-based models are of particular value in a clinical setting. Psychiatrists, psychologists, counselors, and other mental health professionals are in need of operational models that integrate recent findings in the physical, cognitive, and emotional domains, and offer a common language for interdisciplinary understanding and communication. Based on individual traits, predispositions, and responses to stimuli, we can begin to identify emotional and behavioral pathways and mental processing patterns. The purpose of this article is to present a brain-path activation model to understand individual differences in decision making and psychopathology. The first section discusses the role of frontal lobe electroencephalography (EEG) asymmetry, summarizes state- and trait-based models of decision making, and provides a more complex analysis that supplements the traditional simple left-right brain model. Key components of the new model are the introduction of right hemisphere parallel and left hemisphere serial scanning in rendering decisions, and the proposition of pathways that incorporate both past experiences as well as future implications into the decision process. Main attributes of each decision-making mechanism are provided. The second section applies the model within the realm of clinical mental health as a tool to understand specific human behavior and pathology. Applications include general and chronic anxiety, depression, paranoia, risk taking, and the pathways employed when well-functioning operational integration is observed. Finally, specific applications such as meditation and mindfulness are offered to facilitate positive functioning.

  15. Examining Teacher Mental Models for the Implementation of a STEM-Focused Curriculum Paradigm in Engineering and Technology Education

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kerr, Janel M.

    2013-01-01

    The purpose of this study was to explore the role of mental models in Idaho's Engineering and Technology Education teachers' in decision making when faced with major curriculum changes. Senge (1990) defined mental models as, "deeply ingrained assumptions, generalizations, or even pictures or images that influence how we understand the world…

  16. Attitudes toward Mental Illness: The Construction of the Libertarian Mental Health Ideology Scale.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nevid, Jeffrey S.; Morrison, James

    1980-01-01

    The study was an attempt to construct an attitude scale to measure the radical psychosocial or libertarian position about "mental illness" and mental health practices. The factor analysis defined four scale factors: mental illness mythology, antimedical model, social deviance control, and anti-coercive treatment. (Author)

  17. Do Different Mental Models Influence Cybersecurity Behavior? Evaluations via Statistical Reasoning Performance.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brase, Gary L; Vasserman, Eugene Y; Hsu, William

    2017-01-01

    Cybersecurity research often describes people as understanding internet security in terms of metaphorical mental models (e.g., disease risk, physical security risk, or criminal behavior risk). However, little research has directly evaluated if this is an accurate or productive framework. To assess this question, two experiments asked participants to respond to a statistical reasoning task framed in one of four different contexts (cybersecurity, plus the above alternative models). Each context was also presented using either percentages or natural frequencies, and these tasks were followed by a behavioral likelihood rating. As in previous research, consistent use of natural frequencies promoted correct Bayesian reasoning. There was little indication, however, that any of the alternative mental models generated consistently better understanding or reasoning over the actual cybersecurity context. There was some evidence that different models had some effects on patterns of responses, including the behavioral likelihood ratings, but these effects were small, as compared to the effect of the numerical format manipulation. This points to a need to improve the content of actual internet security warnings, rather than working to change the models users have of warnings.

  18. Do Different Mental Models Influence Cybersecurity Behavior? Evaluations via Statistical Reasoning Performance

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Gary L. Brase

    2017-11-01

    Full Text Available Cybersecurity research often describes people as understanding internet security in terms of metaphorical mental models (e.g., disease risk, physical security risk, or criminal behavior risk. However, little research has directly evaluated if this is an accurate or productive framework. To assess this question, two experiments asked participants to respond to a statistical reasoning task framed in one of four different contexts (cybersecurity, plus the above alternative models. Each context was also presented using either percentages or natural frequencies, and these tasks were followed by a behavioral likelihood rating. As in previous research, consistent use of natural frequencies promoted correct Bayesian reasoning. There was little indication, however, that any of the alternative mental models generated consistently better understanding or reasoning over the actual cybersecurity context. There was some evidence that different models had some effects on patterns of responses, including the behavioral likelihood ratings, but these effects were small, as compared to the effect of the numerical format manipulation. This points to a need to improve the content of actual internet security warnings, rather than working to change the models users have of warnings.

  19. Mental models of adherence: parallels in perceptions, values, and expectations in adherence to prescribed home exercise programs and other personal regimens.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rizzo, Jon; Bell, Alexandra

    2018-05-09

    A mental model is the collection of an individual's perceptions, values, and expectations about a particular aspect of their life, which strongly influences behaviors. This study explored orthopedic outpatients mental models of adherence to prescribed home exercise programs and how they related to mental models of adherence to other types of personal regimens. The study followed an interpretive description qualitative design. Data were collected via two semi-structured interviews. Interview One focused on participants prior experiences adhering to personal regimens. Interview Two focused on experiences adhering to their current prescribed home exercise program. Data analysis followed a constant comparative method. Findings revealed similarity in perceptions, values, and expectations that informed individuals mental models of adherence to personal regimens and prescribed home exercise programs. Perceived realized results, expected results, perceived social supports, and value of convenience characterized mental models of adherence. Parallels between mental models of adherence for prescribed home exercise and other personal regimens suggest that patients adherence behavior to prescribed routines may be influenced by adherence experiences in other aspects of their lives. By gaining insight into patients adherence experiences, values, and expectations across life domains, clinicians may tailor supports that enhance home exercise adherence. Implications for Rehabilitation A mental model is the collection of an individual's perceptions, values, and expectations about a particular aspect of their life, which is based on prior experiences and strongly influences behaviors. This study demonstrated similarity in orthopedic outpatients mental models of adherence to prescribed home exercise programs and adherence to personal regimens in other aspects of their lives. Physical therapists should inquire about patients non-medical adherence experiences, as strategies patients

  20. A systems relations model for Tier 2 early intervention child mental health services with schools: an exploratory study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    van Roosmalen, Marc; Gardner-Elahi, Catherine; Day, Crispin

    2013-01-01

    Over the last 15 years, policy initiatives have aimed at the provision of more comprehensive Child and Adolescent Mental Health care. These presented a series of new challenges in organising and delivering Tier 2 child mental health services, particularly in schools. This exploratory study aimed to examine and clarify the service model underpinning a Tier 2 child mental health service offering school-based mental health work. Using semi-structured interviews, clinician descriptions of operational experiences were gathered. These were analysed using grounded theory methods. Analysis was validated by respondents at two stages. A pathway for casework emerged that included a systemic consultative function, as part of an overall three-function service model, which required: (1) activity as a member of the multi-agency system; (2) activity to improve the system working around a particular child; and (3) activity to universally develop a Tier 1 workforce confident in supporting children at risk of or experiencing mental health problems. The study challenged the perception of such a service serving solely a Tier 2 function, the requisite workforce to deliver the service model, and could give service providers a rationale for negotiating service models that include an explicit focus on improving the children's environments.

  1. Eliciting and characterizing students' mental models within the context of engineering design

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dankenbring, Chelsey

    Recently, science education reform documents have called for the incorporation of engineering principles and practices into the K-12 science standards and curriculum. One way this has been done is through the use of engineering design tasks as a way for students to apply their scientific understandings to real-world problems. However, minimal studies have documented students' conceptions within the context of engineering design. Thus, the first chapter of this thesis outlines the steps taken to develop a draw-and-explain item that elicited students' mental models regarding the cause of the four seasons after finishing an engineering design task. Students' mental models regarding the reason for the seasons are also described. The second chapter characterizes students' conceptions regarding sun-Earth relationships, specifically the amount of daylight hours throughout the year, for students who completed either an engineering design task or more traditional learning activities. Results from these studies indicate that draw-and-explain items are an effective way of obtaining students' mental models and that students harbor a variety of alternate conceptions on astronomy related concepts within various learning contexts. Implications from this study include the need for further research regarding how engineering design is used in the classroom and how engineering design facilitates science learning. Also, professional development that allows in-service teachers to gain experience teaching engineering design is needed, as are teacher preparation programs that expose pre-service teachers to engineering design.

  2. The importance of shared mental models and shared situation awareness for transforming robots from tools to teammates

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ososky, Scott; Schuster, David; Jentsch, Florian; Fiore, Stephen; Shumaker, Randall; Lebiere, Christian; Kurup, Unmesh; Oh, Jean; Stentz, Anthony

    2012-06-01

    Current ground robots are largely employed via tele-operation and provide their operators with useful tools to extend reach, improve sensing, and avoid dangers. To move from robots that are useful as tools to truly synergistic human-robot teaming, however, will require not only greater technical capabilities among robots, but also a better understanding of the ways in which the principles of teamwork can be applied from exclusively human teams to mixed teams of humans and robots. In this respect, a core characteristic that enables successful human teams to coordinate shared tasks is their ability to create, maintain, and act on a shared understanding of the world and the roles of the team and its members in it. The team performance literature clearly points towards two important cornerstones for shared understanding of team members: mental models and situation awareness. These constructs have been investigated as products of teams as well; amongst teams, they are shared mental models and shared situation awareness. Consequently, we are studying how these two constructs can be measured and instantiated in human-robot teams. In this paper, we report results from three related efforts that are investigating process and performance outcomes for human robot teams. Our investigations include: (a) how human mental models of tasks and teams change whether a teammate is human, a service animal, or an advanced automated system; (b) how computer modeling can lead to mental models being instantiated and used in robots; (c) how we can simulate the interactions between human and future robotic teammates on the basis of changes in shared mental models and situation assessment.

  3. Modeling the mental health service utilization decisions of university undergraduates: A discrete choice conjoint experiment.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cunningham, Charles E; Zipursky, Robert B; Christensen, Bruce K; Bieling, Peter J; Madsen, Victoria; Rimas, Heather; Mielko, Stephanie; Wilson, Fiona; Furimsky, Ivana; Jeffs, Lisa; Munn, Catharine

    2017-01-01

    We modeled design factors influencing the intent to use a university mental health service. Between November 2012 and October 2014, 909 undergraduates participated. Using a discrete choice experiment, participants chose between hypothetical campus mental health services. Latent class analysis identified three segments. A Psychological/Psychiatric Service segment (45.5%) was most likely to contact campus health services delivered by psychologists or psychiatrists. An Alternative Service segment (39.3%) preferred to talk to peer-counselors who had experienced mental health problems. A Hesitant segment (15.2%) reported greater distress but seemed less intent on seeking help. They preferred services delivered by psychologists or psychiatrists. Simulations predicted that, rather than waiting for standard counseling, the Alternative Service segment would prefer immediate access to E-Mental health. The Usual Care and Hesitant segments would wait 6 months for standard counseling. E-Mental Health options could engage students who may not wait for standard services.

  4. Utilization of the Behavior Change Wheel framework to develop a model to improve cardiometabolic screening for people with severe mental illness

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Christina Mangurian

    2017-11-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Individuals with severe mental illness (e.g., schizophrenia, bipolar disorder die 10–25 years earlier than the general population, primarily from premature cardiovascular disease (CVD. Contributing factors are complex, but include systemic-related factors of poorly integrated primary care and mental health services. Although evidence-based models exist for integrating mental health care into primary care settings, the evidence base for integrating medical care into specialty mental health settings is limited. Such models are referred to as “reverse” integration. In this paper, we describe the application of an implementation science framework in designing a model to improve CVD outcomes for individuals with severe mental illness (SMI who receive services in a community mental health setting. Methods Using principles from the theory of planned behavior, focus groups were conducted to understand stakeholder perspectives of barriers to CVD risk factor screening and treatment identify potential target behaviors. We then applied results to the overarching Behavior Change Wheel framework, a systematic and theory-driven approach that incorporates the COM-B model (capability, opportunity, motivation, and behavior, to build an intervention to improve CVD risk factor screening and treatment for people with SMI. Results Following a stepped approach from the Behavior Change Wheel framework, a model to deliver primary preventive care for people that use community mental health settings as their de facto health home was developed. The CRANIUM (cardiometabolic risk assessment and treatment through a novel integration model for underserved populations with mental illness model focuses on engaging community psychiatrists to expand their scope of practice to become responsible for CVD risk, with significant clinical decision support. Conclusion The CRANIUM model was designed by integrating behavioral change theory and implementation

  5. Inaccurate pulse CO-oximetry of carboxyhemoglobin due to digital clubbing: case report.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Harlan, Nicole; Weaver, Lindell K; Deru, Kayla

    2016-01-01

    Newer pulse CO-oximeters provide a non-invasive and quick means of measuring oxyhemoglobin, carboxyhemoglobin and methemoglobin. Clubbing has been reported to cause inaccuracy in pulse oximeters. We present a case of inaccurate carboxy-hemoglobin measurement by pulse CO-oximetry due to digital clubbing. An 18-year-old man with a history of cystic fibrosis presented after a suicide attempt by inhalation of exhaust. At the initial emergency department evaluation, his blood carboxyhemoglobin was 33%. He was intubated, placed on 100% oxygen and transferred to our facility. Upon arrival, we placed three different pulse CO-oximeters on different fingers and toes. Carboxyhemoglobin levels measured by these meters ranged from 9%-11%. A venous blood gas drawn on arrival showed a carboxyhemoglobin level of 2.3% after four hours on 100% oxygen by endotracheal tube. Thirty minutes later, we checked arterial blood gas, which revealed a COHb level of 0.9%. Again, non-invasive carboxyhemoglobin measurements read 10%. The patient was treated with hyperbaric oxygen for carbon monoxide poisoning. This case suggests that non-invasive measurements of carboxyhemoglobin should be correlated with the clinic history and with an arterial or venous blood gas oximetry analysis.

  6. Changes in users' mental models of Web search engines after ten ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Ward's Cluster analyses including the Pseudo T² Statistical analyses were used to determine the mental model clusters for the seventeen salient design features of Web search engines at each time point. The cubic clustering criterion (CCC) and the dendogram were conducted for each sample to help determine the number ...

  7. Biogenetic models of psychopathology, implicit guilt, and mental illness stigma

    OpenAIRE

    Rüsch, Nicolas; Todd, Andrew R.; Bodenhausen, Galen V.; Corrigan, Patrick W.

    2010-01-01

    Whereas some research suggests that acknowledgment of the role of biogenetic factors in mental illness could reduce mental illness stigma by diminishing perceived responsibility, other research has cautioned that emphasizing biogenetic aspects of mental illness could produce the impression that mental illness is a stable, intrinsic aspect of a person (“genetic essentialism”), increasing the desire for social distance. We assessed genetic and neurobiological causal attributions about mental il...

  8. Strategic Cognition in Transition? Individual Mental Model Renewal in the Energy Sector

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Gooyert, V. de; Rouwette, E.A.J.A.; Kranenburg, H.L. van; Freeman, R.E.; Breen, H.J. van

    2013-01-01

    A turbulent environment requires organizations to adjust their strategy to changing circumstances. Accordingly, the managers responsible for strategic change need to make timely adjustments to their mental models. This study contributes to the managerial cognition literature by showing a process of

  9. Studying the Consistency between and within the Student Mental Models for Atomic Structure

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zarkadis, Nikolaos; Papageorgiou, George; Stamovlasis, Dimitrios

    2017-01-01

    Science education research has revealed a number of student mental models for atomic structure, among which, the one based on Bohr's model seems to be the most dominant. The aim of the current study is to investigate the coherence of these models when students apply them for the explanation of a variety of situations. For this purpose, a set of…

  10. Causal attributions of vineyard executives – A mental model study of vineyard management☆

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Martin FG Schaffernicht

    2017-12-01

    Full Text Available This article contributes a reference of causal attributions made by vineyard executives in Chile, where increasing costs and stagnating prices challenge the vineyards’ profits. The investigation was motivated by the question how executives interpret the industry's mid term future and how they reflect on steering their companies. Based on in-depth interviews, causal maps were elaborated to represent the executives’ mental models. These are represented as sequences of attributions, connecting variables by causal links. It was found that some mental models guide policies bound to increase the prices, whereas other models suggest taking the prices as givens and control costs. The collection of causal attributions of the vineyard executives (CAVE has been made publicly available. As a result, CAVE can be used by other management scholars to elicit other executives’ mental models and increase the data base available. Since such research will be cumulative, a minimum size for meaningful statistical analysis can be reached, opening up an avenue for improving the design of business policies. CAVE can also serve executives and consultants in constructing causal argumentations and business policies. Future research and development of supporting software are called for. Keywords: Mental models, Strategy, Business model

  11. Driver's mental workload prediction model based on physiological indices.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yan, Shengyuan; Tran, Cong Chi; Wei, Yingying; Habiyaremye, Jean Luc

    2017-09-15

    Developing an early warning model to predict the driver's mental workload (MWL) is critical and helpful, especially for new or less experienced drivers. The present study aims to investigate the correlation between new drivers' MWL and their work performance, regarding the number of errors. Additionally, the group method of data handling is used to establish the driver's MWL predictive model based on subjective rating (NASA task load index [NASA-TLX]) and six physiological indices. The results indicate that the NASA-TLX and the number of errors are positively correlated, and the predictive model shows the validity of the proposed model with an R 2 value of 0.745. The proposed model is expected to provide a reference value for the new drivers of their MWL by providing the physiological indices, and the driving lesson plans can be proposed to sustain an appropriate MWL as well as improve the driver's work performance.

  12. The Impact of Secondary School Students' Preconceptions on the Evolution of their Mental Models of the Greenhouse effect and Global Warming

    Science.gov (United States)

    Reinfried, Sibylle; Tempelmann, Sebastian

    2014-01-01

    This paper provides a video-based learning process study that investigates the kinds of mental models of the atmospheric greenhouse effect 13-year-old learners have and how these mental models change with a learning environment, which is optimised in regard to instructional psychology. The objective of this explorative study was to observe and analyse the learners' learning pathways according to their previous knowledge in detail and to understand the mental model formation processes associated with them more precisely. For the analysis of the learning pathways, drawings, texts, video and interview transcripts from 12 students were studied using qualitative methods. The learning pathways pursued by the learners significantly depend on their domain-specific previous knowledge. The learners' preconceptions could be typified based on specific characteristics, whereby three preconception types could be formed. The 'isolated pieces of knowledge' type of learners, who have very little or no previous knowledge about the greenhouse effect, build new mental models that are close to the target model. 'Reduced heat output' type of learners, who have previous knowledge that indicates compliances with central ideas of the normative model, reconstruct their knowledge by reorganising and interpreting their existing knowledge structures. 'Increasing heat input' type of learners, whose previous knowledge consists of subjective worldly knowledge, which has a greater personal explanatory value than the information from the learning environment, have more difficulties changing their mental models. They have to fundamentally reconstruct their mental models.

  13. Behavioral Modeling for Mental Health using Machine Learning Algorithms.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Srividya, M; Mohanavalli, S; Bhalaji, N

    2018-04-03

    Mental health is an indicator of emotional, psychological and social well-being of an individual. It determines how an individual thinks, feels and handle situations. Positive mental health helps one to work productively and realize their full potential. Mental health is important at every stage of life, from childhood and adolescence through adulthood. Many factors contribute to mental health problems which lead to mental illness like stress, social anxiety, depression, obsessive compulsive disorder, drug addiction, and personality disorders. It is becoming increasingly important to determine the onset of the mental illness to maintain proper life balance. The nature of machine learning algorithms and Artificial Intelligence (AI) can be fully harnessed for predicting the onset of mental illness. Such applications when implemented in real time will benefit the society by serving as a monitoring tool for individuals with deviant behavior. This research work proposes to apply various machine learning algorithms such as support vector machines, decision trees, naïve bayes classifier, K-nearest neighbor classifier and logistic regression to identify state of mental health in a target group. The responses obtained from the target group for the designed questionnaire were first subject to unsupervised learning techniques. The labels obtained as a result of clustering were validated by computing the Mean Opinion Score. These cluster labels were then used to build classifiers to predict the mental health of an individual. Population from various groups like high school students, college students and working professionals were considered as target groups. The research presents an analysis of applying the aforementioned machine learning algorithms on the target groups and also suggests directions for future work.

  14. Violence, stigma and mental health among female sex workers in China: A structural equation modeling.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Liying; Li, Xiaoming; Wang, Bo; Shen, Zhiyong; Zhou, Yuejiao; Xu, Jinping; Tang, Zhenzhu; Stanton, Bonita

    2017-07-01

    Intimate partner violence is prevalent among female sex workers (FSWs) in China, and it is significantly associated with mental health problems among FSWs. However, limited studies have explored the mechanisms/process by which violence affects mental health. The purpose of this study was to explore the relationships among partner violence, internalized stigma, and mental health problems among FSWs. Data were collected using a self-administered cross-sectional survey administered to 1,022 FSWs in the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region (Guangxi), China during 2008-2009. We used structural equation modeling to test the hypothesized relationships. Results indicated that violence perpetrated by either stable sexual partners or clients was directly and positively associated with mental health problems. Violence also had an indirect relation to mental health problems through stigma. Results highlight the need for interventions on counseling and care for FSWs who have experienced violence and for interventions to increase FSWs' coping skills and empowerment strategies.

  15. Modeling mental spatial reasoning about cardinal directions.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schultheis, Holger; Bertel, Sven; Barkowsky, Thomas

    2014-01-01

    This article presents research into human mental spatial reasoning with orientation knowledge. In particular, we look at reasoning problems about cardinal directions that possess multiple valid solutions (i.e., are spatially underdetermined), at human preferences for some of these solutions, and at representational and procedural factors that lead to such preferences. The article presents, first, a discussion of existing, related conceptual and computational approaches; second, results of empirical research into the solution preferences that human reasoners actually have; and, third, a novel computational model that relies on a parsimonious and flexible spatio-analogical knowledge representation structure to robustly reproduce the behavior observed with human reasoners. Copyright © 2014 Cognitive Science Society, Inc.

  16. Where to from here? Future applications of mental models of complex performance

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hahn, H.A.; Nelson, W.R.; Blackman, H.S.

    1988-01-01

    The purpose of this paper is to raise issues for discussion regarding the applications of mental models in the study of complex performance. Applications for training, expert systems and decision aids, job selection, workstation design, and other complex environments are considered. 1 ref

  17. Involving mental health service users in suicide-related research: a qualitative inquiry model.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lees, David; Procter, Nicholas; Fassett, Denise; Handley, Christine

    2016-03-01

    To describe the research model developed and successfully deployed as part of a multi-method qualitative study investigating suicidal service-users' experiences of mental health nursing care. Quality mental health care is essential to limiting the occurrence and burden of suicide, however there is a lack of relevant research informing practice in this context. Research utilising first-person accounts of suicidality is of particular importance to expanding the existing evidence base. However, conducting ethical research to support this imperative is challenging. The model discussed here illustrates specific and more generally applicable principles for qualitative research regarding sensitive topics and involving potentially vulnerable service-users. Researching into mental health service users with first-person experience of suicidality requires stakeholder and institutional support, researcher competency, and participant recruitment, consent, confidentiality, support and protection. Research with service users into their experiences of sensitive issues such as suicidality can result in rich and valuable data, and may also provide positive experiences of collaboration and inclusivity. If challenges are not met, objectification and marginalisation of service-users may be reinforced, and limitations in the evidence base and service provision may be perpetuated.

  18. Modelling intentions to provide smoking cessation support among mental health professionals in the Netherlands.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Blankers, Matthijs; Buisman, Renate; Hopman, Petra; van Gool, Ronald; van Laar, Margriet

    2016-01-01

    Tobacco use prevalence is elevated among people with mental illnesses, leading to elevated rates of premature smoking-related mortality. Opportunities to encourage smoking cessation among them are currently underused by mental health professionals. In this paper, we aim to explore mechanisms to invigorate professionals' intentions to help patients stop smoking. Data stem from a recent staff survey on the provision of smoking cessation support to patients with mental illnesses in the Netherlands. Items and underlying constructs were based on the theory of planned behaviour and literature on habitual behaviour. Data were weighted and only data from staff members with regular patient contact (n = 506) were included. Descriptive statistics of the survey items are presented and in a second step using structural equation modelling (SEM), we regressed the latent variables attitudes, subjective norms (SN), perceived behavioural control (PBC), past cessation support behaviour (PB) and current smoking behaviour on intentions to provide support. In optimisation steps, models comprising a subset of this initial model were evaluated. A sample of 506 mental health workers who had direct contact with patients completed the survey. The majority of them were females (70.0 %), respondents had an average age of 42.5 years (SD = 12.0). Seventy-five percent had at least a BSc educational background. Of the respondents, 76 % indicated that patients should be encouraged more to quit smoking. Respondents were supportive to train their direct colleagues to provide cessation support more often (71 %) and also supported the involvement of mental health care facilities in providing cessation support to patients (69 %). The majority of the respondents feels capable to provide cessation support (66 %). Two thirds of the respondents wants to provide support, however only a minority (35 %) intends to actually do so during the coming year. Next, using SEM an acceptable fit was

  19. Stakeholder approach, Stakeholders mental model: A visualization test with cognitive mapping technique

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Garoui Nassreddine

    2012-04-01

    Full Text Available The idea of this paper is to determine the mental models of actors in the firm with respect to the stakeholder approach of corporate governance. The use of the cognitive map to view these diagrams to show the ways of thinking and conceptualization of the stakeholder approach. The paper takes a corporate governance perspective, discusses stakeholder model. It takes also a cognitive mapping technique.

  20. Methods for detecting and correcting inaccurate results in inductively coupled plasma-atomic emission spectrometry

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chan, George C. Y. [Bloomington, IN; Hieftje, Gary M [Bloomington, IN

    2010-08-03

    A method for detecting and correcting inaccurate results in inductively coupled plasma-atomic emission spectrometry (ICP-AES). ICP-AES analysis is performed across a plurality of selected locations in the plasma on an unknown sample, collecting the light intensity at one or more selected wavelengths of one or more sought-for analytes, creating a first dataset. The first dataset is then calibrated with a calibration dataset creating a calibrated first dataset curve. If the calibrated first dataset curve has a variability along the location within the plasma for a selected wavelength, errors are present. Plasma-related errors are then corrected by diluting the unknown sample and performing the same ICP-AES analysis on the diluted unknown sample creating a calibrated second dataset curve (accounting for the dilution) for the one or more sought-for analytes. The cross-over point of the calibrated dataset curves yields the corrected value (free from plasma related errors) for each sought-for analyte.

  1. Mental Models and other Misconceptions in Children's Understanding of the Earth

    Science.gov (United States)

    Panagiotaki, Georgia; Nobes, Gavin; Potton, Anita

    2009-01-01

    This study investigated the claim (e.g., Vosniadou & Brewer's, 1992) that children have naive ''mental models'' of the earth and believe, for example, that the earth is flat or hollow. It tested the proposal that children appear to have these misconceptions because they find the researchers' tasks and questions to be confusing and ambiguous.…

  2. Influences on decision-making for undergoing plastic surgery: a mental models and quantitative assessment.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Darisi, Tanya; Thorne, Sarah; Iacobelli, Carolyn

    2005-09-01

    Research was conducted to gain insight into potential clients' decisions to undergo plastic surgery, their perception of benefits and risks, their judgment of outcomes, and their selection of a plastic surgeon. Semistructured, open-ended interviews were conducted with 60 people who expressed interest in plastic surgery. Qualitative analysis revealed their "mental models" regarding influences on their decision to undergo plastic surgery and their choice of a surgeon. Interview results were used to design a Web-based survey in which 644 individuals considering plastic surgery responded. The desire for change was the most direct motivator to undergo plastic surgery. Improvements to physical well-being were related to emotional and social benefits. When prompted about risks, participants mentioned physical, emotional, and social risks. Surgeon selection was a critical influence on decisions to undergo plastic surgery. Participants gave considerable weight to personal consultation and believed that finding the "right" plastic surgeon would minimize potential risks. Findings from the Web-based survey were similar to the mental models interviews in terms of benefit ratings but differed in risk ratings and surgeon selection criteria. The mental models interviews revealed that interview participants were thoughtful about their decision to undergo plastic surgery and focused on finding the right plastic surgeon.

  3. Why 1D electrical resistivity techniques can result in inaccurate siting of boreholes in hard rock aquifers and why electrical resistivity tomography must be preferred: the example of Benin, West Africa

    Science.gov (United States)

    Alle, Iboukoun Christian; Descloitres, Marc; Vouillamoz, Jean-Michel; Yalo, Nicaise; Lawson, Fabrice Messan Amen; Adihou, Akonfa Consolas

    2018-03-01

    Hard rock aquifers are of particular importance for supplying people with drinking water in Africa and in the world. Although the common use of one-dimensional (1D) electrical resistivity techniques to locate drilling site, the failure rate of boreholes is usually high. For instance, about 40% of boreholes drilled in hard rock aquifers in Benin are unsuccessful. This study investigates why the current use of 1D techniques (e.g. electrical profiling and electrical sounding) can result in inaccurate siting of boreholes, and checks the interest and the limitations of the use of two-dimensional (2D) Electrical Resistivity Tomography (ERT). Geophysical numerical modeling and comprehensive 1D and 2D resistivity surveys were carried out in hard rock aquifers in Benin. The experiments carried out at 7 sites located in different hard rock groups confirmed the results of the numerical modeling: the current use of 1D techniques can frequently leads to inaccurate siting, and ERT better reveals hydrogeological targets such as thick weathered zone (e.g. stratiform fractured layer and preferential weathering associated with subvertical fractured zone). Moreover, a cost analysis demonstrates that the use of ERT can save money at the scale of a drilling programme if ERT improves the success rate by only 5% as compared to the success rate obtained with 1D techniques. Finally, this study demonstrates, using the example of Benin, that the use of electrical resistivity profiling and sounding for siting boreholes in weathered hard rocks of western Africa should be discarded and replaced by the use of ERT technique, more efficient.

  4. Modelling the effect of perceived interdependence among mental healthcare professionals on their work role performance.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Markon, Marie-Pierre; Chiocchio, François; Fleury, Marie-Josée

    2017-07-01

    The purpose of mental healthcare system reform was to enhance service efficiency by strengthening primary mental healthcare and increasing service integration in communities. Reinforcing interprofessional teamwork also intended to address the extensive and multidimensional needs of patients with mental disorders by bringing together a broader array of expertise. In this context, mental healthcare professionals (MHCPs) from various health and social care professions are more interdependent in many aspects of their work (tasks, resources, and goals). We wanted to examine the effect of perceived interdependence among MHCPs on their work role performance in the context of mental healthcare. For this purpose, we developed and tested a model coherent with the Input-Mediator-Outcome-Input (IMOI) framework of team effectiveness. Data from questionnaires administered to 315 MHCPs from four local health service networks in Quebec, Canada were analysed through structural equation modelling and mediation analysis. The structural equation model provided a good fit for the data and explained 51% of the variance of work role performance. Perceived collaboration, confidence in the advantages of interprofessional collaboration, involvement in the decision process, knowledge sharing, and satisfaction with the nature of the work partially mediated the effect of perceived interdependence among team members on work role performance. Therefore, perceived interdependence among team members had a positive impact on the work role performance of MHCPs mostly through its effect on favourable team functioning features. This implies, in practice, that increased interdependence of MHCPs would be more likely to truly enhance work role performance if team-based interventions to promote collaborative work and interprofessional teaching and training programs to support work within interprofessional teams were jointly implemented. Participation in the decision process and knowledge sharing should

  5. Attitudes Towards Seeking Psychological Help: An Integrative Model Based on Contact, Essentialist Beliefs About Mental Illness, and Stigma.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hantzi, Alexandra; Anagnostopoulos, Fotios; Alexiou, Eva

    2018-06-16

    Based on intergroup contact theory, a proposed comprehensive model of attitudes towards seeking professional psychological help was tested, including both potential barriers to mental health help-seeking (i.e., public stigma and self-stigma of seeking help, prejudicial and essentialist beliefs about mental illness, intergroup anxiety) and potential facilitators (i.e., direct and extended contact with persons with mental illness). Relevant measures were completed by 119 community-dwelling participants. Path analysis showed that direct (but not extended) contact with mental illness, by reducing intergroup anxiety, led to less negative beliefs about mental illness and weaker essentialist beliefs about mental illness (the latter being directly and positively associated with negative beliefs about mental illness). Moreover, less negative beliefs about mental illness, by reducing perceptions of self (but not public) stigma of seeking psychological help, were related to more positive attitudes towards help-seeking. Results are discussed in the context of the (unintentional) adverse effects of biogenetic (essentialist) explanations of mental disorders, and the clinical implications regarding interventions that aim at improving help-seeking attitudes.

  6. Mental health promotion in comprehensive schools.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Onnela, A M; Vuokila-Oikkonen, P; Hurtig, T; Ebeling, H

    2014-09-01

    The purpose of this paper is to describe a participatory action research process on the development of a professional practice model of mental health nurses in mental health promotion in a comprehensive school environment in the city of Oulu, Finland. The developed model is a new method of mental health promotion for mental health nurses working in comprehensive schools. The professional practice model has been developed in workshops together with school staff, interest groups, parents and students. Information gathered from the workshops was analysed using action research methods. Mental health promotion interventions are delivered at three levels: universal, which is an intervention that affects the whole school or community; selective, which is an intervention focusing on a certain group of students; and indicated, which is an individually focused intervention. All interventions are delivered within the school setting, which is a universal setting for all school-aged children. The interventions share the goal of promoting mental health. The purposes of the interventions are enhancing protective factors, reducing risk factors relating to mental health problems and early identification of mental health problems as well as rapid delivery of support or referral to specialized services. The common effect of the interventions on all levels is the increase in the experience of positive mental health. © 2014 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  7. The cross-national structure of mental disorders: results from the World Mental Health Surveys.

    Science.gov (United States)

    de Jonge, Peter; Wardenaar, Klaas J; Lim, Carmen C W; Aguilar-Gaxiola, Sergio; Alonso, Jordi; Andrade, Laura Helena; Bunting, Brendan; Chatterji, Somnath; Ciutan, Marius; Gureje, Oye; Karam, Elie G; Lee, Sing; Medina-Mora, Maria Elena; Moskalewicz, Jacek; Navarro-Mateu, Fernando; Pennell, Beth-Ellen; Piazza, Marina; Posada-Villa, José; Torres, Yolanda; Kessler, Ronald C; Scott, Kate

    2017-12-19

    The patterns of comorbidity among mental disorders have led researchers to model the underlying structure of psychopathology. While studies have suggested a structure including internalizing and externalizing disorders, less is known with regard to the cross-national stability of this model. Moreover, little data are available on the placement of eating disorders, bipolar disorder and psychotic experiences (PEs) in this structure. We evaluated the structure of mental disorders with data from the World Health Organization Composite International Diagnostic Interview, including 15 lifetime mental disorders and six PEs. Respondents (n = 5478-15 499) were included from 10 high-, middle- and lower middle-income countries across the world aged 18 years or older. Confirmatory factor analyses (CFAs) were used to evaluate and compare the fit of different factor structures to the lifetime disorder data. Measurement invariance was evaluated with multigroup CFA (MG-CFA). A second-order model with internalizing and externalizing factors and fear and distress subfactors best described the structure of common mental disorders. MG-CFA showed that this model was stable across countries. Of the uncommon disorders, bipolar disorder and eating disorder were best grouped with the internalizing factor, and PEs with a separate factor. These results indicate that cross-national patterns of lifetime common mental-disorder comorbidity can be explained with a second-order underlying structure that is stable across countries and can be extended to also cover less common mental disorders.

  8. Teamwork skills, shared mental models, and performance in simulated trauma teams: an independent group design

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Westli Heidi

    2010-08-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Non-technical skills are seen as an important contributor to reducing adverse events and improving medical management in healthcare teams. Previous research on the effectiveness of teams has suggested that shared mental models facilitate coordination and team performance. The purpose of the study was to investigate whether demonstrated teamwork skills and behaviour indicating shared mental models would be associated with observed improved medical management in trauma team simulations. Methods Revised versions of the 'Anesthetists' Non-Technical Skills Behavioural marker system' and 'Anti-Air Teamwork Observation Measure' were field tested in moment-to-moment observation of 27 trauma team simulations in Norwegian hospitals. Independent subject matter experts rated medical management in the teams. An independent group design was used to explore differences in teamwork skills between higher-performing and lower-performing teams. Results Specific teamwork skills and behavioural markers were associated with indicators of good team performance. Higher and lower-performing teams differed in information exchange, supporting behaviour and communication, with higher performing teams showing more effective information exchange and communication, and less supporting behaviours. Behavioural markers of shared mental models predicted effective medical management better than teamwork skills. Conclusions The present study replicates and extends previous research by providing new empirical evidence of the significance of specific teamwork skills and a shared mental model for the effective medical management of trauma teams. In addition, the study underlines the generic nature of teamwork skills by demonstrating their transferability from different clinical simulations like the anaesthesia environment to trauma care, as well as the potential usefulness of behavioural frequency analysis in future research on non-technical skills.

  9. Use of Online Forums for Perinatal Mental Illness, Stigma, and Disclosure: An Exploratory Model.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Moore, Donna; Drey, Nicholas; Ayers, Susan

    2017-02-20

    Perinatal mental illness is a global health concern; however, many women with the illness do not get the treatment they need to recover. Interventions that reduce the stigma around perinatal mental illness have the potential to enable women to disclose their symptoms to health care providers and consequently access treatment. There are many online forums for perinatal mental illness and thousands of women use them. Preliminary research suggests that online forums may promote help-seeking behavior, potentially because they have a role in challenging stigma. This study draws from these findings and theoretical concepts to present a model of forum use, stigma, and disclosure. This study tested a model that measured the mediating role of stigma between online forum use and disclosure of affective symptoms to health care providers. A Web-based survey of 200 women who were pregnant or had a child younger than 5 years and considered themselves to be experiencing psychological distress was conducted. Women were recruited through social media and questions measured forum usage, perinatal mental illness stigma, disclosure to health care providers, depression and anxiety symptoms, barriers to disclosure, and demographic information. There was a significant positive indirect effect of length of forum use on disclosure of symptoms through internal stigma, b=0.40, bias-corrected and accelerated (BCa) 95% CI 0.13-0.85. Long-term forum users reported higher levels of internal stigma, and higher internal stigma was associated with disclosure of symptoms to health care providers when controlling for symptoms of depression and anxiety. Internal stigma mediates the relationship between length of forum use and disclosure to health care providers. Findings suggest that forums have the potential to enable women to recognize and reveal their internal stigma, which may in turn lead to greater disclosure of symptoms to health care providers. Clinicians could refer clients to trustworthy and

  10. It Takes One to Know One: A Class Exercise in Mental Models

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wilson, Theresa

    2014-01-01

    An active learning class exercise is presented that gives students the personal experience of the decision-making limitations of mental models. This innovative exercise was shown to increase student learning through greater understanding of the concept and higher retention of knowledge. The results suggest that student critical thinking skills…

  11. Dual factor model of mental health: Co-occurrence of positive mental health and suicide ideation in inpatients and outpatients.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Teismann, Tobias; Brailovskaia, Julia; Siegmann, Paula; Nyhuis, Peter; Wolter, Marcus; Willutzki, Ulrike

    2017-12-06

    Positive and negative mental health are independent but correlated concepts. Yet, it is unknown whether positive mental health does co-occur with suicide ideation. The present study aimed to determine the proportion of patients who have positive mental health as well as suicide ideation. Inpatients (N=100) and outpatients (N=182) completed self-report measures of positive mental health, suicide ideation and lifetime suicide attempts. Eleven outpatients (6%) and ten inpatients (10%) with suicide ideation reported moderate to high levels of positive mental health. Lifetime suicide attempts were less likely in inpatients who suffered from suicide ideation in the presence of positive mental health. Positive mental health does co-occur with suicide ideation and should be considered as a protective factor in suicide risk assessments. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  12. Assessing the similarity of mental models of operating room team members and implications for patient safety: a prospective, replicated study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nakarada-Kordic, Ivana; Weller, Jennifer M; Webster, Craig S; Cumin, David; Frampton, Christopher; Boyd, Matt; Merry, Alan F

    2016-08-31

    Patient safety depends on effective teamwork. The similarity of team members' mental models - or their shared understanding-regarding clinical tasks is likely to influence the effectiveness of teamwork. Mental models have not been measured in the complex, high-acuity environment of the operating room (OR), where professionals of different backgrounds must work together to achieve the best surgical outcome for each patient. Therefore, we aimed to explore the similarity of mental models of task sequence and of responsibility for task within multidisciplinary OR teams. We developed a computer-based card sorting tool (Momento) to capture the information on mental models in 20 six-person surgical teams, each comprised of three subteams (anaesthesia, surgery, and nursing) for two simulated laparotomies. Team members sorted 20 cards depicting key tasks according to when in the procedure each task should be performed, and which subteam was primarily responsible for each task. Within each OR team and subteam, we conducted pairwise comparisons of scores to arrive at mean similarity scores for each task. Mean similarity score for task sequence was 87 % (range 57-97 %). Mean score for responsibility for task was 70 % (range = 38-100 %), but for half of the tasks was only 51 % (range = 38-69 %). Participants believed their own subteam was primarily responsible for approximately half the tasks in each procedure. We found differences in the mental models of some OR team members about responsibility for and order of certain tasks in an emergency laparotomy. Momento is a tool that could help elucidate and better align the mental models of OR team members about surgical procedures and thereby improve teamwork and outcomes for patients.

  13. Models of psychological service provision under Australia's Better Outcomes in Mental Health Care program.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pirkis, Jane; Burgess, Philip; Kohn, Fay; Morley, Belinda; Blashki, Grant; Naccarella, Lucio

    2006-08-01

    The Access to Allied Psychological Services component of Australia's Better Outcomes in Mental Health Care program enables eligible general practitioners to refer consumers to allied health professionals for affordable, evidence-based mental health care, via 108 projects conducted by Divisions of General Practice. The current study profiled the models of service delivery across these projects, and examined whether particular models were associated with differential levels of access to services. We found: 76% of projects were retaining their allied health professionals under contract, 28% via direct employment, and 7% some other way; Allied health professionals were providing services from GPs' rooms in 63% of projects, from their own rooms in 63%, from a third location in 42%; and The referral mechanism of choice was direct referral in 51% of projects, a voucher system in 27%, a brokerage system in 24%, and a register system in 25%. Many of these models were being used in combination. No model was predictive of differential levels of access, suggesting that the approach of adapting models to the local context is proving successful.

  14. Predicting Help-Seeking Attitudes Toward Mental Health Services Among American Indian Older Adults: Is Andersen's Behavioral Model a Good Fit?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Roh, Soonhee; Burnette, Catherine E; Lee, Kyoung Hag; Lee, Yeon-Shim; Martin, James I; Lawler, Michael J

    2017-01-01

    American Indian (AI) older adults are vulnerable to mental health disparities, yet very little is known about the factors associated with help-seeking for mental health services among them. The purpose of this study was to investigate the utility of Andersen's Behavioral Model in explaining AI older adults' help-seeking attitudes toward professional mental health services. Hierarchical regression analysis was used to examine predisposing, enabling, and need variables as predictors of help-seeking attitudes toward mental health services in a sample of 233 AI older adults from the Midwest. The model was found to have limited utility in the context of older AI help-seeking attitudes, as the proportion of explained variance was low. Gender, perceived stigma, social support, and physical health were significant predictors, whereas age, perceived mental health, and health insurance were not. © The Author(s) 2014.

  15. The need for a behavioural science focus in research on mental health and mental disorders.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wittchen, Hans-Ulrich; Knappe, Susanne; Andersson, Gerhard; Araya, Ricardo; Banos Rivera, Rosa M; Barkham, Michael; Bech, Per; Beckers, Tom; Berger, Thomas; Berking, Matthias; Berrocal, Carmen; Botella, Christina; Carlbring, Per; Chouinard, Guy; Colom, Francesc; Csillag, Claudio; Cujipers, Pim; David, Daniel; Emmelkamp, Paul M G; Essau, Cecilia A; Fava, Giovanni A; Goschke, Thomas; Hermans, Dirk; Hofmann, Stefan G; Lutz, Wolfgang; Muris, Peter; Ollendick, Thomas H; Raes, Filip; Rief, Winfried; Riper, Heleen; Tossani, Eliana; van der Oord, Saskia; Vervliet, Bram; Haro, Josep M; Schumann, Gunter

    2014-01-01

    Psychology as a science offers an enormous diversity of theories, principles, and methodological approaches to understand mental health, abnormal functions and behaviours and mental disorders. A selected overview of the scope, current topics as well as strength and gaps in Psychological Science may help to depict the advances needed to inform future research agendas specifically on mental health and mental disorders. From an integrative psychological perspective, most maladaptive health behaviours and mental disorders can be conceptualized as the result of developmental dysfunctions of psychological functions and processes as well as neurobiological and genetic processes that interact with the environment. The paper presents and discusses an integrative translational model, linking basic and experimental research with clinical research as well as population-based prospective-longitudinal studies. This model provides a conceptual framework to identify how individual vulnerabilities interact with environment over time, and promote critical behaviours that might act as proximal risk factors for ill-health and mental disorders. Within the models framework, such improved knowledge is also expected to better delineate targeted preventive and therapeutic interventions that prevent further escalation in early stages before the full disorder and further complications thereof develop. In contrast to conventional "personalized medicine" that typically targets individual (genetic) variation of patients who already have developed a disease to improve medical treatment, the proposed framework model, linked to a concerted funding programme of the "Science of Behaviour Change", carries the promise of improved diagnosis, treatment and prevention of health-risk behaviour constellations as well as mental disorders. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  16. An Investigation of the Mental Models of Social Media in the Minds of Managers

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Rydén, Pernille; Ringberg, Torsten; Wilke, Ricky

    and capabilities within the firm. Instead, a priori assumptions related to business consumer interaction persist and affect new opportunities to interact with consumers that social media afford. Based on interviews with managers we identify four mental models of business-consumer interaction, which influence how......The paper empirically illustrates how managers’ use of social media in business is constrained by socio-mental models (mindsets) of business-consumer interaction. As such, it counters the rationalist argument that the use social media relies on an analysis of opportunities in the market...... managers implement social media within the service and retailing industries. The authors provide suggestions for how companies may help managers overcome cognitive biases to enable a more rational evaluation of social media use B2C interactions....

  17. Defining Quality of Life in the Children of Parents with Severe Mental Illness: A Preliminary Stakeholder-Led Model

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bee, Penny; Berzins, Kathryn; Calam, Rachel; Pryjmachuk, Steven; Abel, Kathryn M.

    2013-01-01

    Severe parental mental illness poses a challenge to quality of life (QoL) in a substantial number of children and adolescents, and improving the lives of these children is of urgent political and public health concern. This study used a bottom-up qualitative approach to develop a new stakeholder-led model of quality of life relevant to this population. Qualitative data were collected from 19 individuals participating in focus groups or individual interviews. Participants comprised 8 clinical academics, health and social care professionals or voluntary agency representatives; 5 parents and 6 young people (aged 13–18 yrs) with lived experience of severe parental mental illness. Data underwent inductive thematic analysis for the purposes of informing a population-specific quality of life model. Fifty nine individual themes were identified and grouped into 11 key ‘meta-themes’. Mapping each meta-theme against existing child-centred quality of life concepts revealed a multi-dimensional model that endorsed, to a greater or lesser degree, the core domains of generic quality of life models. Three new population-specific priorities were also observed: i) the alleviation of parental mental health symptoms, ii) improved problem-based coping skills and iii) increased mental health literacy. The identification of these priorities raises questions regarding the validity of generic quality of life measures to monitor the effectiveness of services for families and children affected by severe mental illness. New, age-appropriate instruments that better reflect the life priorities and unique challenges faced by the children of parents with severe mental illness may need to be developed. Challenges then remain in augmenting and adapting service design and delivery mechanisms better to meet these needs. Future child and adult mental health services need to work seamlessly alongside statutory education and social care services and a growing number of relevant third sector

  18. Defining quality of life in the children of parents with severe mental illness: a preliminary stakeholder-led model.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bee, Penny; Berzins, Kathryn; Calam, Rachel; Pryjmachuk, Steven; Abel, Kathryn M

    2013-01-01

    Severe parental mental illness poses a challenge to quality of life (QoL) in a substantial number of children and adolescents, and improving the lives of these children is of urgent political and public health concern. This study used a bottom-up qualitative approach to develop a new stakeholder-led model of quality of life relevant to this population. Qualitative data were collected from 19 individuals participating in focus groups or individual interviews. Participants comprised 8 clinical academics, health and social care professionals or voluntary agency representatives; 5 parents and 6 young people (aged 13-18 yrs) with lived experience of severe parental mental illness. Data underwent inductive thematic analysis for the purposes of informing a population-specific quality of life model. Fifty nine individual themes were identified and grouped into 11 key 'meta-themes'. Mapping each meta-theme against existing child-centred quality of life concepts revealed a multi-dimensional model that endorsed, to a greater or lesser degree, the core domains of generic quality of life models. Three new population-specific priorities were also observed: i) the alleviation of parental mental health symptoms, ii) improved problem-based coping skills and iii) increased mental health literacy. The identification of these priorities raises questions regarding the validity of generic quality of life measures to monitor the effectiveness of services for families and children affected by severe mental illness. New, age-appropriate instruments that better reflect the life priorities and unique challenges faced by the children of parents with severe mental illness may need to be developed. Challenges then remain in augmenting and adapting service design and delivery mechanisms better to meet these needs. Future child and adult mental health services need to work seamlessly alongside statutory education and social care services and a growing number of relevant third sector providers to

  19. Defining quality of life in the children of parents with severe mental illness: a preliminary stakeholder-led model.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Penny Bee

    Full Text Available Severe parental mental illness poses a challenge to quality of life (QoL in a substantial number of children and adolescents, and improving the lives of these children is of urgent political and public health concern. This study used a bottom-up qualitative approach to develop a new stakeholder-led model of quality of life relevant to this population. Qualitative data were collected from 19 individuals participating in focus groups or individual interviews. Participants comprised 8 clinical academics, health and social care professionals or voluntary agency representatives; 5 parents and 6 young people (aged 13-18 yrs with lived experience of severe parental mental illness. Data underwent inductive thematic analysis for the purposes of informing a population-specific quality of life model. Fifty nine individual themes were identified and grouped into 11 key 'meta-themes'. Mapping each meta-theme against existing child-centred quality of life concepts revealed a multi-dimensional model that endorsed, to a greater or lesser degree, the core domains of generic quality of life models. Three new population-specific priorities were also observed: i the alleviation of parental mental health symptoms, ii improved problem-based coping skills and iii increased mental health literacy. The identification of these priorities raises questions regarding the validity of generic quality of life measures to monitor the effectiveness of services for families and children affected by severe mental illness. New, age-appropriate instruments that better reflect the life priorities and unique challenges faced by the children of parents with severe mental illness may need to be developed. Challenges then remain in augmenting and adapting service design and delivery mechanisms better to meet these needs. Future child and adult mental health services need to work seamlessly alongside statutory education and social care services and a growing number of relevant third

  20. Mental toughness in soccer

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Diment, Gregory Michael

    2014-01-01

    a systematic observation checklist of mental toughness behavior in professional soccer. Consistent with existing studies, the results created a systematic observation instrument containing 15 mental toughness behaviors. Practical implications include goal-setting, game analysis and self-modeling interventions...

  1. Elementary School Students' Mental Models about Formation of Seasons: A Cross Sectional Study

    Science.gov (United States)

    Türk, Cumhur; Kalkan, Hüseyin; Kiroglu, Kasim; Ocak Iskeleli, Nazan

    2016-01-01

    The purpose of this study is to determine the mental models of elementary school students on seasons and to analyze how these models change in terms of grade levels. The study was conducted with 294 students (5th, 6th, 7th and 8th graders) studying in an elementary school of Turkey's Black Sea Region. Qualitative and quantitative data collection…

  2. E-learning optimization: the relative and combined effects of mental practice and modeling on enhanced podcast-based learning-a randomized controlled trial.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Alam, Fahad; Boet, Sylvain; Piquette, Dominique; Lai, Anita; Perkes, Christopher P; LeBlanc, Vicki R

    2016-10-01

    Enhanced podcasts increase learning, but evidence is lacking on how they should be designed to optimize their effectiveness. This study assessed the impact two learning instructional design methods (mental practice and modeling), either on their own or in combination, for teaching complex cognitive medical content when incorporated into enhanced podcasts. Sixty-three medical students were randomised to one of four versions of an airway management enhanced podcast: (1) control: narrated presentation; (2) modeling: narration with video demonstration of skills; (3) mental practice: narrated presentation with guided mental practice; (4) combined: modeling and mental practice. One week later, students managed a manikin-based simulated airway crisis. Knowledge acquisition was assessed by baseline and retention multiple-choice quizzes. Two blinded raters assessed all videos obtained from simulated crises to measure the students' skills using a key-elements scale, critical error checklist, and the Ottawa global rating scale (GRS). Baseline knowledge was not different between all four groups (p = 0.65). One week later, knowledge retention was significantly higher for (1) both the mental practice and modeling group than the control group (p = 0.01; p = 0.01, respectively) and (2) the combined mental practice and modeling group compared to all other groups (all ps = 0.01). Regarding skills acquisition, the control group significantly under-performed in comparison to all other groups on the key-events scale (all ps ≤ 0.05), the critical error checklist (all ps ≤ 0.05), and the Ottawa GRS (all ps ≤ 0.05). The combination of mental practice and modeling led to greater improvement on the key events checklist (p = 0.01) compared to either strategy alone. However, the combination of the two strategies did not result in any further learning gains on the two other measures of clinical performance (all ps > 0.05). The effectiveness of enhanced podcasts for

  3. The effectiveness of clinical teaching of mental health courses in nursing using clinical supervision and Kirkpatrick's model.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Maddineshat, Maryam; Hashemi, Mitra; Besharati, Reza; Gholami, Sepideh; Ghavidel, Fatemeh

    2018-01-01

    Clinical experience associated with the fear and anxiety of nursing students in the psychiatric unit. Mental health nursing instructors find it challenging to teach nursing students to deal with patients with mental disorders in an environment where they need to provide patient teaching and clinical decision-making based on evidence and new technology. To measure the effectiveness of clinical teaching of mental health courses in nursing using clinical supervision and Kirkpatrick's model evaluation in the psychiatry unit of Imam Reza Hospital, Bojnurd, Iran. This cross-sectional study was carried out from 2011 to 2016 on 76 nursing students from a university as part of a clinical mental health course in two semesters. The students were selected by a non-probable convenient sampling method. After completing their clinical education, each student responded to checklist questions based on the four-level Kirkpatrick's model evaluation and open questions relating to clinical supervision. Finally, all data was analyzed using the SPSS version 16. The students have evaluated clinical supervision as a useful approach, and appreciated the instructor's supportive behavior during teaching and imparting clinical skills. This has made them feel relaxed at the end of the clinical teaching course. In addition, in the evaluation through Kirkpatrick's model, more than 70% of the students have been satisfied with the method of conducting the teaching and average score of nursing students' attitude toward mental health students: Their mean self-confidence score was 18.33±1.69, and the mean score of their performance in the study was evaluated to be 93.74±5.3 from 100 points. The results of clinical mental health teaching through clinical supervision and Kirkpatrick's model evaluation show that the satisfaction, self-esteem, attitude, and skill of nursing students are excellent, thereby portraying the effectiveness of clinical teaching. But this program still needs to be reformed. To

  4. Intentional Modelling: A Process for Clinical Leadership Development in Mental Health Nursing.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ennis, Gary; Happell, Brenda; Reid-Searl, Kerry

    2016-05-01

    Clinical leadership is becoming more relevant for nurses, as the positive impact that it can have on the quality of care and outcomes for consumers is better understood and more clearly articulated in the literature. As clinical leadership continues to become more relevant, the need to gain an understanding of how clinical leaders in nursing develop will become increasingly important. While the attributes associated with effective clinical leadership are recognized in current literature there remains a paucity of research on how clinical leaders develop these attributes. This study utilized a grounded theory methodology to generate new insights into the experiences of peer identified clinical leaders in mental health nursing and the process of developing clinical leadership skills. Participants in this study were nurses working in a mental health setting who were identified as clinical leaders by their peers as opposed to identifying them by their role or organizational position. A process of intentional modeling emerged as the substantive theory identified in this study. Intentional modeling was described by participants in this study as a process that enabled them to purposefully identify models that assisted them in developing the characteristics of effective clinical leaders as well as allowing them to model these characteristics to others. Reflection on practice is an important contributor to intentional modelling. Intentional modelling could be developed as a framework for promoting knowledge and skill development in the area of clinical leadership.

  5. A systematic review of the literature exploring illness perceptions in mental health utilising the self-regulation model.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Baines, Tineke; Wittkowski, Anja

    2013-09-01

    Psychologists have utilised a range of social cognition models to understand variation in physical health and illness-related behaviours. The most widely studied model of illness perceptions has been the Self-Regulation Model (SRM, Leventhal, Nerenz, & Steele, 1984). The illness perceptions questionnaire (IPQ) and its revised version (IPQ-R) have been utilised to explore illness beliefs in physical health. This review examined 13 quantitative studies, which used the IPQ and IPQ-R in mental health in their exploration of illness perceptions in psychosis, bipolar disorder, eating disorders, depression and adolescents experiencing mood disorders. Across these studies the SRM illness dimensions were largely supported. Mental illnesses were commonly viewed as cyclical and chronic, with serious negative consequences. Perceptions regarding chronicity, controllability and negative consequences were associated with coping and help seeking, while engagement with services and help seeking were also related to illness coherence beliefs. Treatment adherence was linked to beliefs that treatment could control one's illness. Whilst a major limitation of the reviewed studies was the use of cross-sectional designs, overall the applicability of the SRM to mental health was supported. The IPQ and IPQ-R were shown to be valuable measures of illness perceptions in mental health, offering implications for clinical practice.

  6. Loneliness, Resilience, Mental Health, and Quality of Life in Old Age: A Structural Equation Model.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gerino, Eva; Rollè, Luca; Sechi, Cristina; Brustia, Piera

    2017-01-01

    Objectives: In the scientific literature on aging, a recent core issue has been the role of individuals' internal and external resources, which are considered intrinsically connected, in contributing synergistically to physical and psychological quality of life (QoL). The current study investigates the way in which psychological factors-such as, loneliness, resilience, and mental states, in terms of depression and anxiety symptoms-affect the perceived QoL among elderly individuals. Method: Data from 290 elderly Italian participants were used to study the mediation effects of both mental health and resilience to elucidate the relationship between loneliness and psychophysical QoL. Results: The best model we obtained supports the mediation effect of both resilience and mental health between loneliness and mental and physical QoL. These results highlight that loneliness influences mental and physical QoL via two pathways, with the impact of loneliness mediated by mental health and resilience dimensions. Conclusions: The findings suggest the importance of the support that elderly people receive from social relationships. In terms of clinical interventions, the reduction of loneliness could be an important factor in primary prevention or the recovery process. A way to reduce levels of mental distress could be represented by the increasing of resilience and self-efficacy and reduction of loneliness dissatisfaction. A high degree of resiliency contributes to increasing perceived life quality at the physical and psychological levels, and at the same time, reducing anxiety and depressive symptoms.

  7. An ecological model of the impact of sexual assault on women's mental health.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Campbell, Rebecca; Dworkin, Emily; Cabral, Giannina

    2009-07-01

    This review examines the psychological impact of adult sexual assault through an ecological theoretical perspective to understand how factors at multiple levels of the social ecology contribute to post-assault sequelae. Using Bronfenbrenner's (1979, 1986, 1995) ecological theory of human development, we examine how individual-level factors (e.g., sociodemographics, biological/genetic factors), assault characteristics (e.g., victim-offender relationship, injury, alcohol use), microsystem factors (e.g., informal support from family and friends), meso/ exosystem factors (e.g., contact with the legal, medical, and mental health systems, and rape crisis centers), macrosystem factors (e.g., societal rape myth acceptance), and chronosystem factors (e.g., sexual revictimization and history of other victimizations) affect adult sexual assault survivors' mental health outcomes (e.g., post-traumatic stress disorder, depression, suicidality, and substance use). Self-blame is conceptualized as meta-construct that stems from all levels of this ecological model. Implications for curbing and/or preventing the negative mental health effects of sexual assault are discussed.

  8. Support for medical students with mental health problems: a conceptual model.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Grant, Andrew; Rix, Andrew; Winter, Peter; Mattick, Karen; Jones, Debbie

    2015-02-01

    Medical students experience higher prevalence of mental illness than age-matched controls and are less likely to access appropriate help when this happens. The aim of this study was to determine the range of strategies deployed by medical schools to support medical students with mental health concerns and to use this to identify distinct categories. Websites and documents relating to all 32 UK medical schools were looked at, as were reports for quality assurance visits carried out by the General Medical Council (UK). A structured telephone interview was carried out with medical schools. Support services were examined by tracing the path that might be taken by a hypothetical student with mental health concerns of varying severity, seeing what was required and what was available at each stage. A range of support strategies is available to most medical students both from their medical school and from generic services in the university. Medical students will usually first contact a personal tutor or a senior member of faculty or be contacted by them as a result of concerns raised either via performance issues or by another student. While individual support interventions are mostly based on evidence of effectiveness, there is no unifying theory in terms of what constitutes effective support. To enable analysis of support interventions and comparison across providers, a six-stage conceptual model of prevention was developed. The six stages are the following: prevention, identification, referral, escalation, treatment, and reintegration. The staged model, derived from analysis of existing interventions, provides a framework for evaluation of current provision and comparison of different methods of delivery. Moreover, it provides a framework for future research.

  9. Work–Family Conflict and Mental Health Among Female Employees: A Sequential Mediation Model via Negative Affect and Perceived Stress

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhou, Shiyi; Da, Shu; Guo, Heng; Zhang, Xichao

    2018-01-01

    After the implementation of the universal two-child policy in 2016, more and more working women have found themselves caught in the dilemma of whether to raise a baby or be promoted, which exacerbates work–family conflicts among Chinese women. Few studies have examined the mediating effect of negative affect. The present study combined the conservation of resources model and affective events theory to examine the sequential mediating effect of negative affect and perceived stress in the relationship between work–family conflict and mental health. A valid sample of 351 full-time Chinese female employees was recruited in this study, and participants voluntarily answered online questionnaires. Pearson correlation analysis, structural equation modeling, and multiple mediation analysis were used to examine the relationships between work–family conflict, negative affect, perceived stress, and mental health in full-time female employees. We found that women’s perceptions of both work-to-family conflict and family-to-work conflict were significant negatively related to mental health. Additionally, the results showed that negative affect and perceived stress were negatively correlated with mental health. The 95% confidence intervals indicated the sequential mediating effect of negative affect and stress in the relationship between work–family conflict and mental health was significant, which supported the hypothesized sequential mediation model. The findings suggest that work–family conflicts affected the level of self-reported mental health, and this relationship functioned through the two sequential mediators of negative affect and perceived stress. PMID:29719522

  10. Work-Family Conflict and Mental Health Among Female Employees: A Sequential Mediation Model via Negative Affect and Perceived Stress.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhou, Shiyi; Da, Shu; Guo, Heng; Zhang, Xichao

    2018-01-01

    After the implementation of the universal two-child policy in 2016, more and more working women have found themselves caught in the dilemma of whether to raise a baby or be promoted, which exacerbates work-family conflicts among Chinese women. Few studies have examined the mediating effect of negative affect. The present study combined the conservation of resources model and affective events theory to examine the sequential mediating effect of negative affect and perceived stress in the relationship between work-family conflict and mental health. A valid sample of 351 full-time Chinese female employees was recruited in this study, and participants voluntarily answered online questionnaires. Pearson correlation analysis, structural equation modeling, and multiple mediation analysis were used to examine the relationships between work-family conflict, negative affect, perceived stress, and mental health in full-time female employees. We found that women's perceptions of both work-to-family conflict and family-to-work conflict were significant negatively related to mental health. Additionally, the results showed that negative affect and perceived stress were negatively correlated with mental health. The 95% confidence intervals indicated the sequential mediating effect of negative affect and stress in the relationship between work-family conflict and mental health was significant, which supported the hypothesized sequential mediation model. The findings suggest that work-family conflicts affected the level of self-reported mental health, and this relationship functioned through the two sequential mediators of negative affect and perceived stress.

  11. Work–Family Conflict and Mental Health Among Female Employees: A Sequential Mediation Model via Negative Affect and Perceived Stress

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Shiyi Zhou

    2018-04-01

    Full Text Available After the implementation of the universal two-child policy in 2016, more and more working women have found themselves caught in the dilemma of whether to raise a baby or be promoted, which exacerbates work–family conflicts among Chinese women. Few studies have examined the mediating effect of negative affect. The present study combined the conservation of resources model and affective events theory to examine the sequential mediating effect of negative affect and perceived stress in the relationship between work–family conflict and mental health. A valid sample of 351 full-time Chinese female employees was recruited in this study, and participants voluntarily answered online questionnaires. Pearson correlation analysis, structural equation modeling, and multiple mediation analysis were used to examine the relationships between work–family conflict, negative affect, perceived stress, and mental health in full-time female employees. We found that women’s perceptions of both work-to-family conflict and family-to-work conflict were significant negatively related to mental health. Additionally, the results showed that negative affect and perceived stress were negatively correlated with mental health. The 95% confidence intervals indicated the sequential mediating effect of negative affect and stress in the relationship between work–family conflict and mental health was significant, which supported the hypothesized sequential mediation model. The findings suggest that work–family conflicts affected the level of self-reported mental health, and this relationship functioned through the two sequential mediators of negative affect and perceived stress.

  12. The Dual-Factor Model of Mental Health: Further Study of the Determinants of Group Differences

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lyons, Michael D.; Huebner, E. Scott; Hills, Kimberly J.; Shinkareva, Svetlana V.

    2012-01-01

    Consistent with a positive psychology framework, this study examined the contributions of personality, environmental, and perceived social support variables in classifying adolescents using Greenspoon and Saklofske's Dual-Factor model of mental health. This model incorporates information about positive subjective well-being (SWB), along with…

  13. Comorbid mental disorders among adults in the mental health surveillance survey.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Forman-Hoffman, Valerie L; Batts, Kathryn R; Hedden, Sarra L; Spagnola, Kathy; Bose, Jonaki

    2018-03-09

    To examine the prevalence and correlates of mental disorder comorbidity in the adult U.S. household population. Data are from a nationally representative sample of noninstitutionalized, civilian adults aged 18 years or older (n = 5653) who participated in the 2008-2012 Mental Health Surveillance Study. Mental disorders, including substance use disorders, were assessed by clinical interviewers using a semistructured diagnostic instrument. Analyses examined co-occurrence of mental disorders and associations with sociodemographic, functional impairment, and treatment correlates. Approximately one-third of adults (31.1%, or more than 15 million) with a past-year mental disorder had a co-occurring mental disorder. Correlates of comorbidity in adjusted models included being of young age, being of non-Hispanic white race/ethnicity, having low family income, and living in a large metropolitan area. Adults with comorbid mental disorders had lower mean levels of functioning and were more likely to report past-year treatment than adults with a single disorder; they also had higher estimates of past-year perceived unmet need for care (21.7% vs. 11.6%, P mental disorder have a co-occurring mental disorder. Elucidating factors associated with co-occurrence may lend clues to shared etiologies, help improve prevention efforts, facilitate early identification, and improve treatment regimens. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  14. A Model for Sustainable Development of Child Mental Health Infrastructure in the LMIC World: Vietnam as a Case Example.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Weiss, Bahr; Ngo, Victoria Khanh; Dang, Hoang-Minh; Pollack, Amie; Trung, Lam T; Tran, Cong V; Tran, Nam T; Sang, David; Do, Khanh N

    2012-01-01

    Children and adolescents are among the highest need populations in regards to mental health support, especially in low and middle income countries (LMIC). Yet resources in LMIC for prevention and treatment of mental health problems are limited, in particular for children and adolescents. In this paper, we discuss a model for development of child and adolescent mental health (CAMH) resources in LMIC that has guided a ten year initiative focused on development of CAMH treatment and research infrastructure in Vietnam. We first review the need for development of mental health resources for children and adolescents in general, and then in Vietnam. We next present the model that guided our program as it developed, focused on the twin Capacity Development Goals of efficacy and sustainability, and the Capacity Development Targets used to move towards these goals. Finally we discuss our CAMH development initiative in Vietnam, the center of which has been development of a graduate program in clinical psychology at Vietnam National University, linking program activities to this model.

  15. Undergraduate student nurses' perspectives of an integrated clinical learning model in the mental health environment.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Boardman, Gayelene; Lawrence, Karen; Polacsek, Meg

    2018-06-13

    Providing nursing students with appropriate clinical practice during their undergraduate programme is critical to ensuring that graduates meet the competency requirements to gain registration as a nurse. In response to the predicted nursing workforce shortage, universities have been significantly increasing the enrolment of undergraduate nurses into Bachelor of Nursing courses. This has placed a demand on the availability of clinical placements and often universities struggle to find appropriate places. In this study, a Bachelor of Nursing course incorporated an Integrated Clinical Learning Model (ICLM) for the first time during a mental health placement. The model offered students the flexibility of attending their clinical placement over a 16-week period instead of a traditional block of 4 weeks. The aim of this study was to evaluate the student perspective of this model and whether it prepared them for the nursing workforce. Focus groups were conducted with undergraduate nursing students following their mental health clinical placement at an acute and extended care inpatient unit. Data were analysed using thematic analysis. Main themes included preparedness for practice, maintaining a work-life balance, and perceiving they were part of a team. The ICLM deepened students' knowledge and had a positive impact on their overall clinical learning. © 2018 Australian College of Mental Health Nurses Inc.

  16. Investigating the relation between mental models with employees empowerment in medical sciences university of shahid sadoghi in yazd

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    mohammad montazeri

    2017-03-01

    Full Text Available Introduction: Empowerment is considered in organizatins due to the enough attention  to the staff’s need, in order to achieve further growth and therefore its impact on the productivity and efficiency of the organization. So The purpose of this study is to clarify the position and the role of mental models and to determine its relationship with empowerment of Yazd medical college staff. Methods: The research method in this descriptive study was correlative. To collect data, a questionnaire has been used which containing 51 items, 36 items related to mental models derived from the questionnaire of  Danayifard et al (2010, with the dimensions of the goal orientation, unison orientation,  application orientation, stability orientation, balance orientation and performance orientation. Also, 15 items related to empowerment of staff with the dimensions of competence, autonomy, effectiveness, significance and confidence that Spertizer and Mischa questionnaire has been used for them. Reliability and validity of the .  questionnaires was evaluated and confirmed. Data analysis was performed by using SPSS (V.19.   Results: The findings show that there is a significant relationship among mental models of staff’s Shahid Sadughi medical university of Yazd and empowerment of them. Also, there is a significant relationship among the components of goal orientation, unison orientation, application orientation, balance orientation, performance orientation and empowerment of Yazd medical university. But there is no significant relationship between components of stability orientation and performance orientation of staff and empowerment of them. Conclusion: According to the research topic and existence of significant and positive relationship among the four components of mental models of staff’s Shahid Sadughi medical university of Yazd and empowerment of them, managers of the organizations can improve staff’s empowerment by Strengthening their mental

  17. A COGNITIVE APPROACH TO CORPORATE GOVERNANCE: A VISUALIZATION TEST OF MENTAL MODELS WITH THE COGNITIVE MAPPING TECHNIQUE

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Garoui NASSREDDINE

    2012-01-01

    Full Text Available The idea of this paper is to determine the mental models of actors in the fi rm with respect to the cognitive approach of corporate governance. The paper takes a corporate governance perspective, discusses mental models and uses the cognitive map to view the diagrams showing the ways of thinking and the conceptualization of the cognitive approach. In addition, it employs a cognitive mapping technique. Returning to the systematic exploration of grids for each actor, it concludes that there is a balance of concepts expressing their cognitive orientation.

  18. The disconnected values model improves mental well-being and fitness in an employee wellness program.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Anshel, Mark H; Brinthaupt, Thomas M; Kang, Minsoo

    2010-01-01

    This study examined the effect of a 10-week wellness program on changes in physical fitness and mental well-being. The conceptual framework for this study was the Disconnected Values Model (DVM). According to the DVM, detecting the inconsistencies between negative habits and values (e.g., health, family, faith, character) and concluding that these "disconnects" are unacceptable promotes the need for health behavior change. Participants were 164 full-time employees at a university in the southeastern U.S. The program included fitness coaching and a 90-minute orientation based on the DVM. Multivariate Mixed Model analyses indicated significantly improved scores from pre- to post-intervention on selected measures of physical fitness and mental well-being. The results suggest that the Disconnected Values Model provides an effective cognitive-behavioral approach to generating health behavior change in a 10-week workplace wellness program.

  19. Associations Between Motivation and Mental Health in Sport: A Test of the Hierarchical Model of Intrinsic and Extrinsic Motivation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sheehan, Rachel B.; Herring, Matthew P.; Campbell, Mark J.

    2018-01-01

    Motivation has been the subject of much research in the sport psychology literature, whereas athlete mental health has received limited attention. Motivational complexities in elite sport are somewhat reflected in the mental health literature, where there is evidence for both protective and risk factors for athletes. Notably, few studies have linked motivation to mental health. Therefore, the key objective of this study was to test four mental health outcomes in the motivational sequence posited by the Hierarchical Model of Intrinsic and Extrinsic Motivation: motivational climate → basic psychological needs → motivation → mental health outcomes. Elite team-sport athletes (140 females, 75 males) completed seven psychometric inventories of motivation-related and mental health variables. Overall, the athletes reported positive motivational patterns, with autonomous motivation and task climate being more prevalent than their less adaptive counterparts. Elevated depressive symptoms and poor sleep quality affected nearly half of the cohort. Structural equation modeling supported pathways between motivational climate, basic needs, motivation, and mood, depressive symptoms, sleep quality, and trait anxiety. Specifically, a task climate was positively associated with the three basic psychological needs, and an ego climate was positively associated with competence. Autonomy and relatedness had positive and negative associations with autonomous and controlled forms of motivation, respectively. Controlled motivation regulations were positively associated with the four mental health outcomes. Integrated regulation had a negative association with anxiety, and intrinsic regulation had a positive association with depressive symptoms. These findings highlight the complexities of and interrelations between motivation and mental health among athletes, and support the importance of considering mental health as an outcome of motivation. PMID:29867672

  20. Associations Between Motivation and Mental Health in Sport: A Test of the Hierarchical Model of Intrinsic and Extrinsic Motivation

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Rachel B. Sheehan

    2018-05-01

    Full Text Available Motivation has been the subject of much research in the sport psychology literature, whereas athlete mental health has received limited attention. Motivational complexities in elite sport are somewhat reflected in the mental health literature, where there is evidence for both protective and risk factors for athletes. Notably, few studies have linked motivation to mental health. Therefore, the key objective of this study was to test four mental health outcomes in the motivational sequence posited by the Hierarchical Model of Intrinsic and Extrinsic Motivation: motivational climate → basic psychological needs → motivation → mental health outcomes. Elite team-sport athletes (140 females, 75 males completed seven psychometric inventories of motivation-related and mental health variables. Overall, the athletes reported positive motivational patterns, with autonomous motivation and task climate being more prevalent than their less adaptive counterparts. Elevated depressive symptoms and poor sleep quality affected nearly half of the cohort. Structural equation modeling supported pathways between motivational climate, basic needs, motivation, and mood, depressive symptoms, sleep quality, and trait anxiety. Specifically, a task climate was positively associated with the three basic psychological needs, and an ego climate was positively associated with competence. Autonomy and relatedness had positive and negative associations with autonomous and controlled forms of motivation, respectively. Controlled motivation regulations were positively associated with the four mental health outcomes. Integrated regulation had a negative association with anxiety, and intrinsic regulation had a positive association with depressive symptoms. These findings highlight the complexities of and interrelations between motivation and mental health among athletes, and support the importance of considering mental health as an outcome of motivation.

  1. Associations Between Motivation and Mental Health in Sport: A Test of the Hierarchical Model of Intrinsic and Extrinsic Motivation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sheehan, Rachel B; Herring, Matthew P; Campbell, Mark J

    2018-01-01

    Motivation has been the subject of much research in the sport psychology literature, whereas athlete mental health has received limited attention. Motivational complexities in elite sport are somewhat reflected in the mental health literature, where there is evidence for both protective and risk factors for athletes. Notably, few studies have linked motivation to mental health. Therefore, the key objective of this study was to test four mental health outcomes in the motivational sequence posited by the Hierarchical Model of Intrinsic and Extrinsic Motivation: motivational climate → basic psychological needs → motivation → mental health outcomes. Elite team-sport athletes (140 females, 75 males) completed seven psychometric inventories of motivation-related and mental health variables. Overall, the athletes reported positive motivational patterns, with autonomous motivation and task climate being more prevalent than their less adaptive counterparts. Elevated depressive symptoms and poor sleep quality affected nearly half of the cohort. Structural equation modeling supported pathways between motivational climate, basic needs, motivation, and mood, depressive symptoms, sleep quality, and trait anxiety. Specifically, a task climate was positively associated with the three basic psychological needs, and an ego climate was positively associated with competence. Autonomy and relatedness had positive and negative associations with autonomous and controlled forms of motivation, respectively. Controlled motivation regulations were positively associated with the four mental health outcomes. Integrated regulation had a negative association with anxiety, and intrinsic regulation had a positive association with depressive symptoms. These findings highlight the complexities of and interrelations between motivation and mental health among athletes, and support the importance of considering mental health as an outcome of motivation.

  2. What's on a decision makers mind? - Identifying barriers in information flows between actors in integrated water management using mental model mapping. Poster.

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Kolkman, Rien; van Os, A.G.; Geurts, Petrus A.T.M.; van der Veen, A.

    2004-01-01

    This research studies the relation between mental models and the decision process outcome, in the specific case of the Zwolle storm surge barrier. Differences in mental models between stakeholders will result in different lines of argumentation leading to different solution alternatives. The final

  3. Hospital-Based Physicians' Intubation Decisions and Associated Mental Models when Managing a Critically and Terminally Ill Older Patient.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Haliko, Shannon; Downs, Julie; Mohan, Deepika; Arnold, Robert; Barnato, Amber E

    2018-04-01

    Variation in the intensity of acute care treatment at the end of life is influenced more strongly by hospital and provider characteristics than patient preferences. We sought to describe physicians' mental models (i.e., thought processes) when encountering a simulated critically and terminally ill older patient, and to compare those models based on whether their treatment plan was patient preference-concordant or preference-discordant. Seventy-three hospital-based physicians from 3 academic medical centers engaged in a simulated patient encounter and completed a mental model interview while watching the video recording of their encounter. We used an "expert" model to code the interviews. We then used Kruskal-Wallis tests to compare the weighted mental model themes of physicians who provided preference-concordant treatment with those who provided preference-discordant treatment. Sixty-six (90%) physicians provided preference-concordant treatment and 7 (10%) provided preference-discordant treatment (i.e., they intubated the patient). Physicians who intubated the patient were more likely to emphasize the reversible and emergent nature of the patient situation (z = -2.111, P = 0.035), their own comfort (z = -2.764, P = 0.006), and rarely focused on explicit patient preferences (z = 2.380, P = 0.017). Post-decisional interviewing with audio/video prompting may induce hindsight bias. The expert model has not yet been validated and may not be exhaustive. The small sample size limits generalizability and power. Hospital-based physicians providing preference-discordant used a different mental model for decision making for a critically and terminally ill simulated case. These differences may offer targets for future interventions to promote preference-concordant care for seriously ill patients.

  4. Cannabis Use and Mental Health Problems

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    van Ours, J.C.; Williams, J.

    2009-01-01

    This paper investigates whether cannabis use leads to worse mental health. To do so, we account for common unobserved factors affecting mental health and cannabis consumption by modeling mental health jointly with the dynamics of cannabis use. Our main finding is that using cannabis increases the

  5. An evaluation of in vivo desensitization and video modeling to increase compliance with dental procedures in persons with mental retardation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Conyers, Carole; Miltenberger, Raymond G; Peterson, Blake; Gubin, Amber; Jurgens, Mandy; Selders, Andrew; Dickinson, Jessica; Barenz, Rebecca

    2004-01-01

    Fear of dental procedures deters many individuals with mental retardation from accepting dental treatment. This study was conducted to assess the effectiveness of two procedures, in vivo desensitization and video modeling, for increasing compliance with dental procedures in participants with severe or profound mental retardation. Desensitization increased compliance for all 5 participants, whereas video modeling increased compliance for only 1 of 3 participants.

  6. [Dangerous states and mental health disorders: perceptions and reality].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tassone-Monchicourt, C; Daumerie, N; Caria, A; Benradia, I; Roelandt, J-L

    2010-01-01

    FIGURES BY THE MINISTRY OF JUSTICE: according to the French Ministry of Justice, there is a lack of significative data in general population, that would allow the accurate evaluation of the proportion of authors of crimes and offences presenting a "dangerous state", either of criminological order or related to a psychiatric disorder. FROM "DANGEROUSNESS" TO "DANGEROUS STATE": the vagueness of the notion of "dangerousness" aggravates the confusion and reinforce the negative social representations attached to subjects labelled as "mentally ills". A way to alleviate this stigmatisation would be to stop using the word "dangerous", and rather use those of "dangerous states". Assessment of dangerous states is complex and needs to take into account several heterogeneous factors (circumstances of acting, social and family environment...). Besides, it is not a linear process for a given individual. Those risk factors of "dangerous state" lead to the construction of evaluation or prediction scales, which limits lay in the biaises of over or under predictive value. The overestimation of dangerousness is harmful, not only to individuals wrongly considered as "dangerous", but also to the society which, driven by safety concerns, agrees on the implementation of inaccurate measures. A FEW TRACKS FOR REMEDIATION: the representations linking "mental illness" and "dangerousness" are the major vectors of stigma, and deeply anchored in the collective popular imagination. They are shared by all population categories, with no distinction of age, gender, professional status or level of education. To overcome those prejudices, one has to carefully study their basis, their criteria, document them with statistical data, look for consistency and scientific rigour, in the terminology as well as in the methodology. Moreover, one has to encourage exchanges about this topic, between users, relatives, carers, local elected, politicians, media and health professional. Copyright 2010 L

  7. Making the Invisible Visible: Personas and Mental Models of Distance Education Library Users

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lewis, Cynthia; Contrino, Jacline

    2016-01-01

    Gaps between users' and designers' mental models of digital libraries often result in adverse user experiences. This article details an exploratory user research study at a large, predominantly online university serving non-traditional distance education students with the goal of understanding these gaps. Using qualitative data, librarians created…

  8. Health policy and integrated mental health care in the SADC region: strategic clarification using the Rainbow Model.

    Science.gov (United States)

    van Rensburg, André Janse; Fourie, Pieter

    2016-01-01

    Mental illness is a well-known challenge to global development, particularly in low-to-middle income countries. A key health systems response to mental illness is different models of integrated health care, especially popular in the South African Development Community (SADC) region. This complex construct is often not well-defined in health policy, hampering implementation efforts. A key development in this vein has been the Rainbow Model of integrated care, a comprehensive framework and taxonomy of integrated care based on the integrative functions of primary care. The purpose of this study was to explore the nature and strategic forms of integrated mental health care in selected SADC countries, specifically how integrated care is outlined in state-driven policies. Health policies from five SADC countries were analysed using the Rainbow Model as framework. Electronic copies of policy documents were transferred into NVivo 10, which aided in the framework analysis on the different types of integrated mental health care promoted in the countries assessed. Several Rainbow Model components were emphasised. Clinical integration strategies (coordination of person-focused care) such as centrality of client needs, case management and continuity were central considerations, while others such as patient education and client satisfaction were largely lacking. Professional integration (inter-professional partnerships) was mentioned in terms of agreements on interdisciplinary collaboration and performance management, while organisational integration (inter-organisational relationships) emerged under the guise of inter-organisational governance, population needs and interest management. Among others, available resources, population management and stakeholder management fed into system integration strategies (horizontally and vertically integrated systems), while functional integration strategies (financial, management and information system functions) included human resource

  9. Top Management Teams’ Characteristics and Strategic Decision-Making: A Mediation of Risk Perceptions and Mental Models

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Tungju Wu

    2017-12-01

    Full Text Available Strategic decision-making is a key factor of sustainability and development in enterprises. Moreover, the top management team (TMT of an enterprise constitutes the base for decision-making. This study employed structural equation modeling to analyze questionnaires regarding TMTs’ characteristics and strategic decision-making, and tested the mediating effects of risk perceptions and mental models and the moderating effects of psychological ownership. We investigated 289 valid questionnaires on TMTs completed by representatives from enterprises in China and found risk perceptions and mental models that serve as a mediating factor and are affected by the TMTs’ characteristics and decision-making. We also found that psychological ownership exerts moderating effects between TMTs’ characteristics and decision-making. This paper concludes with a discussion of theoretical and managerial implications for enterprise owners.

  10. [A test of the focusing hypothesis for category judgment: an explanation using the mental-box model].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hatori, Tsuyoshi; Takemura, Kazuhisa; Fujii, Satoshi; Ideno, Takashi

    2011-06-01

    This paper presents a new model of category judgment. The model hypothesizes that, when more attention is focused on a category, the psychological range of the category gets narrower (category-focusing hypothesis). We explain this hypothesis by using the metaphor of a "mental-box" model: the more attention that is focused on a mental box (i.e., a category set), the smaller the size of the box becomes (i.e., a cardinal number of the category set). The hypothesis was tested in an experiment (N = 40), where the focus of attention on prescribed verbal categories was manipulated. The obtained data gave support to the hypothesis: category-focusing effects were found in three experimental tasks (regarding the category of "food", "height", and "income"). The validity of the hypothesis was discussed based on the results.

  11. Understanding the Effects of Team Cognition Associated with Complex Engineering Tasks: Dynamics of Shared Mental Models, Task-SMM, and Team-SMM

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lee, Miyoung; Johnson, Tristan E.

    2008-01-01

    This study investigates how shared mental models (SMMs) change over time in teams of students in a manufacturing engineering course. A complex ill-structured project was given to each team. The objective of the team project was to analyze, test, and propose ways to improve their given manufactured product. Shared mental models were measured in…

  12. The Impact of Secondary School Students' Preconceptions on the Evolution of Their Mental Models of the Greenhouse Effect and Global Warming

    Science.gov (United States)

    Reinfried, Sibylle; Tempelmann, Sebastian

    2014-01-01

    This paper provides a video-based learning process study that investigates the kinds of mental models of the atmospheric greenhouse effect 13-year-old learners have and how these mental models change with a learning environment, which is optimised in regard to instructional psychology. The objective of this explorative study was to observe and…

  13. Mental health service users' experiences of mental health care: an integrative literature review.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Newman, D; O'Reilly, P; Lee, S H; Kennedy, C

    2015-04-01

    A number of studies have highlighted issues around the relationship between service users and providers. The recovery model is predominant in mental health as is the recognition of the importance of person-centred practice. The authors completed an in-depth search of the literature to answer the question: What are service users' experiences of the mental health service? Three key themes emerged: acknowledging a mental health problem and seeking help; building relationships through participation in care; and working towards continuity of care. The review adds to the current body of knowledge by providing greater detail into the importance of relationships between service users and providers and how these may impact on the delivery of care in the mental health service. The overarching theme that emerged was the importance of the relationship between the service user and provider as a basis for interaction and support. This review has specific implications for mental health nursing. Despite the recognition made in policy documents for change, issues with stigma, poor attitudes and communication persist. There is a need for a fundamental shift in the provider-service user relationship to facilitate true service-user engagement in their care. The aim of this integrative literature review was to identify mental health service users' experiences of services. The rationale for this review was based on the growing emphasis and requirements for health services to deliver care and support, which recognizes the preferences of individuals. Contemporary models of mental health care strive to promote inclusion and empowerment. This review seeks to add to our current understanding of how service users experience care and support in order to determine to what extent the principles of contemporary models of mental health care are embedded in practice. A robust search of Web of Science, the Cochrane Database, Science Direct, EBSCO host (Academic Search Complete, MEDLINE, CINAHL Plus

  14. Human-telerobot interactions - Information, control, and mental models

    Science.gov (United States)

    Smith, Randy L.; Gillan, Douglas J.

    1987-01-01

    A part of the NASA's Space Station will be a teleoperated robot (telerobot) with arms for grasping and manipulation, feet for holding onto objects, and television cameras for visual feedback. The objective of the work described in this paper is to develop the requirements and specifications for the user-telerobot interface and to determine through research and testing that the interface results in efficient system operation. The focus of the development of the user-telerobot interface is on the information required by the user, the user inputs, and the design of the control workstation. Closely related to both the information required by the user and the user's control of the telerobot is the user's mental model of the relationship between the control inputs and the telerobot's actions.

  15. Using mental-modelling to explore how irrigators in the Murray–Darling Basin make water-use decisions

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ellen M. Douglas

    2016-06-01

    New hydrological insights for the region: Results suggest support for greater local and irrigator involvement in water management decisions. Many, if not most, of the irrigators understood the need for, or at least the inevitability of, governmental policies and regulations. However, a lack of accountability, predictability, and transparency has added to the uncertainty in farm-based water decision-making. Irrigators supported the concept of environmental sustainability, although they might not always agree with how the concept is implemented. The mental modelling approach facilitated knowledge sharing among stakeholders and can be used to identify common goals. Future research utilizing the mental modelling approach may encourage co-management and knowledge partnerships between irrigators, water managers and government officials.

  16. Exploring the Interconnectedness among Strategy Development, Shared Mental Models, Organisational Learning and Organisational Change

    Science.gov (United States)

    Malan, Renee

    2011-01-01

    The cognitive psychological processes related to learning and change behaviour are factors that impact on organisational strategy development. Strategy development is dependent on strategic thinking that is reciprocally influenced by shared mental models, organisational learning and organisational change. Although strategy development, shared…

  17. The mental health care model in Brazil: analyses of the funding, governance processes, and mechanisms of assessment

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Thiago Lavras Trapé

    Full Text Available ABSTRACT OBJECTIVE This study aims to analyze the current status of the mental health care model of the Brazilian Unified Health System, according to its funding, governance processes, and mechanisms of assessment. METHODS We have carried out a documentary analysis of the ordinances, technical reports, conference reports, normative resolutions, and decrees from 2009 to 2014. RESULTS This is a time of consolidation of the psychosocial model, with expansion of the health care network and inversion of the funding for community services with a strong emphasis on the area of crack cocaine and other drugs. Mental health is an underfunded area within the chronically underfunded Brazilian Unified Health System. The governance model constrains the progress of essential services, which creates the need for the incorporation of a process of regionalization of the management. The mechanisms of assessment are not incorporated into the health policy in the bureaucratic field. CONCLUSIONS There is a need to expand the global funding of the area of health, specifically mental health, which has been shown to be a successful policy. The current focus of the policy seems to be archaic in relation to the precepts of the psychosocial model. Mechanisms of assessment need to be expanded.

  18. Nurses and opioids: results of a bi-national survey on mental models regarding opioid administration in hospitals.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Guest, Charlotte; Sobotka, Fabian; Karavasopoulou, Athina; Ward, Stephen; Bantel, Carsten

    2017-01-01

    Pain remains insufficiently treated in hospitals. Increasing evidence suggests human factors contribute to this, due to nurses failing to administer opioids. This behavior might be the consequence of nurses' mental models about opioids. As personal experience and conceptions shape these models, the aim of this prospective survey was to identify model-influencing factors. A questionnaire was developed comprising of 14 statements concerning ideations about opioids and seven questions concerning demographics, indicators of adult learning, and strength of religious beliefs. Latent variables that may underlie nurses' mental models were identified using undirected graphical dependence models. Representative items of latent variables were employed for ordinal regression analysis. Questionnaires were distributed to 1,379 nurses in two London, UK, hospitals (n=580) and one German (n=799) hospital between September 2014 and February 2015. A total of 511 (37.1%) questionnaires were returned. Mean (standard deviation) age of participants were 37 (11) years; 83.5% participants were female; 45.2% worked in critical care; and 51.5% had more than 10 years experience. Of the nurses, 84% were not scared of opioids, 87% did not regard opioids as drugs to help patients die, and 72% did not view them as drugs of abuse. More English (41%) than German (28%) nurses were afraid of criminal investigations and were constantly aware of side effects (UK, 94%; Germany, 38%) when using opioids. Four latent variables were identified which likely influence nurses' mental models: "conscious decision-making"; "medication-related fears"; "practice-based observations"; and "risk assessment". They were predicted by strength of religious beliefs and indicators of informal learning such as experience but not by indicators of formal learning such as conference attendance. Nurses in both countries employ analytical and affective mental models when administering the opioids and seem to learn from experience

  19. An Analysis of High School Students' Mental Models of Solid Friction in Physics

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kurnaz, Mehmet Altan; Eksi, Cigdem

    2015-01-01

    Students often have difficulties understanding abstract physics concepts, such as solid friction. This study examines high school students' mental models of solid friction through a case study of 215 high school students in the ninth through twelfth grades. An achievement test with three open-ended questions was created, with questions limited to…

  20. Investigating Students' Mental Models about the Quantization of Light, Energy, and Angular Momentum

    Science.gov (United States)

    Didis, Nilüfer; Eryilmaz, Ali; Erkoç, Sakir

    2014-01-01

    This paper is the first part of a multiphase study examining students' mental models about the quantization of physical observables--light, energy, and angular momentum. Thirty-one second-year physics and physics education college students who were taking a modern physics course participated in the study. The qualitative analysis of data revealed…

  1. A "mental models" approach to the communication of subsurface hydrology and hazards

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gibson, Hazel; Stewart, Iain S.; Pahl, Sabine; Stokes, Alison

    2016-05-01

    Communicating information about geological and hydrological hazards relies on appropriately worded communications targeted at the needs of the audience. But what are these needs, and how does the geoscientist discern them? This paper adopts a psychological "mental models" approach to assess the public perception of the geological subsurface, presenting the results of attitudinal studies and surveys in three communities in the south-west of England. The findings reveal important preconceptions and misconceptions regarding the impact of hydrological systems and hazards on the geological subsurface, notably in terms of the persistent conceptualisation of underground rivers and the inferred relations between flooding and human activity. The study demonstrates how such mental models can provide geoscientists with empirical, detailed and generalised data of perceptions surrounding an issue, as well reveal unexpected outliers in perception that they may not have considered relevant, but which nevertheless may locally influence communication. Using this approach, geoscientists can develop information messages that more directly engage local concerns and create open engagement pathways based on dialogue, which in turn allow both geoscience "experts" and local "non-experts" to come together and understand each other more effectively.

  2. FMR1 Knockout mice: A model to study fragile X mental retardation

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Oostra, B.A.; Bakker, C.E.; Reyniers, E. [Erasmus Univ., Rotterdam (Netherlands)] [and others

    1994-09-01

    The fragile X syndrome is the most frequent form of inherited mental retardation in humans with an incidence of 1 in 1250 males and 1 in 2500 females. The clinical syndrome includes moderate to severe mental retardation, autistic behavior, macroorchidism, and facial features, such as long face with mandibular prognathism and large, everted ears. The molecular basis for this disease is a large expansion of a triplet repeat (CGG){sub n} in the 5{prime} untranslated region of the FMR1 gene. Due to this large expansion of the CGG repeat, the promoter region becomes methylated and the FMR1 gene is subsequently silenced. Hardly anything is known about the physiologic function of FMR1 and the pathologic mechanisms leading to these symptoms. Since the FMR1 gene is highly conserved in the mouse, we used the mouse to design a knockout model for the fragile X syndrome. These knockout mice lacking Fmrp have normal litter size suggesting that FMR1 is not essential in human gametogenesis and embryonic development. The knockout mice show the abnormalities also seen in the affected organs of human patients. Mutant mice show a gradual development through time of macroorchidism. In the knockout mice we observed cognitive defects in the form of deficits in learning (as shown by the hidden platform Morris water maze task) and behavioral abnormalities such as increased exploratory behavior and hyperactivity. Therefore this knockout mouse may serve as a valuable tool in studying the role of FMR1 in the fragile X syndrome and may serve as a model to elucidate the mechanisms involved in macroorchidism, abnormal behavior, and mental retardation.

  3. Dynamic model of frequency control in Danish power system with large scale integration of wind power

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Basit, Abdul; Hansen, Anca Daniela; Sørensen, Poul Ejnar

    2013-01-01

    This work evaluates the impact of large scale integration of wind power in future power systems when 50% of load demand can be met from wind power. The focus is on active power balance control, where the main source of power imbalance is an inaccurate wind speed forecast. In this study, a Danish...... power system model with large scale of wind power is developed and a case study for an inaccurate wind power forecast is investigated. The goal of this work is to develop an adequate power system model that depicts relevant dynamic features of the power plants and compensates for load generation...... imbalances, caused by inaccurate wind speed forecast, by an appropriate control of the active power production from power plants....

  4. Children's understanding of the Earth in a multicultural community: Mental models or fragments of knowledge?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nobes, G.; Moore, D. G.; Martin, A. E.; Clifford, B. R.; Butterworth, G.; Panagiotaki, G.; Siegal, M.

    Asian and white British students ages 4-8 (N=167) were asked to select an earth from a set of plastic models and then respond to forced-choice questions. There were no significant differences in performance after accounting for language differences. Evidence suggests that children hold fragmentary knowledge rather than mental models, as suggested by previous researchers.

  5. Avalanches and generalized memory associativity in a network model for conscious and unconscious mental functioning

    Science.gov (United States)

    Siddiqui, Maheen; Wedemann, Roseli S.; Jensen, Henrik Jeldtoft

    2018-01-01

    We explore statistical characteristics of avalanches associated with the dynamics of a complex-network model, where two modules corresponding to sensorial and symbolic memories interact, representing unconscious and conscious mental processes. The model illustrates Freud's ideas regarding the neuroses and that consciousness is related with symbolic and linguistic memory activity in the brain. It incorporates the Stariolo-Tsallis generalization of the Boltzmann Machine in order to model memory retrieval and associativity. In the present work, we define and measure avalanche size distributions during memory retrieval, in order to gain insight regarding basic aspects of the functioning of these complex networks. The avalanche sizes defined for our model should be related to the time consumed and also to the size of the neuronal region which is activated, during memory retrieval. This allows the qualitative comparison of the behaviour of the distribution of cluster sizes, obtained during fMRI measurements of the propagation of signals in the brain, with the distribution of avalanche sizes obtained in our simulation experiments. This comparison corroborates the indication that the Nonextensive Statistical Mechanics formalism may indeed be more well suited to model the complex networks which constitute brain and mental structure.

  6. Predictors of physical activity in persons with mental illness: Testing a social cognitive model.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zechner, Michelle R; Gill, Kenneth J

    2016-12-01

    This study examined whether the social cognitive theory (SCT) model can be used to explain the variance in physical exercise among persons with serious mental illnesses. A cross-sectional, correlational design was employed. Participants from community mental health centers and supported housing programs (N = 120) completed 9 measures on exercise, social support, self-efficacy, outcome expectations, barriers, and goal-setting. Hierarchical regression tested the relationship between self-report physical activity and SCT determinants while controlling for personal characteristics. The model explained 25% of the variance in exercise. Personal characteristics explained 18% of the variance in physical activity, SCT variables of social support, self-efficacy, outcome expectations, barriers, and goals were entered simultaneously, and they added an r2 change value of .07. Gender (β = -.316, p = .001) and Brief Symptom Inventory Depression subscale (β = -2.08, p exercise. In a separate stepwise multiple regression, we entered only SCT variables as potential predictors of exercise. Goal-setting was the single significant predictor, F(1, 118) = 13.59, p exercise in persons with mental illnesses. Goal-setting practices, self-efficacy, outcome expectations and social support from friends for exercise should be encouraged by psychiatric rehabilitation practitioners. People with more depressive symptoms and women exercise less. More work is needed on theoretical exploration of predictors of exercise. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved).

  7. Neurophysiological Correlates of Various Mental Perspectives

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Thilo eHinterberger

    2014-08-01

    Full Text Available A common view of consciousness is that our mind presents emotions, experiences and images in an internal mental (re-presentation space which in a state of wakefulness is triggered by the world outside. Consciousness can be defined as the observation of this inner mental space. We propose a new model, in which the state of the conscious observer is defined by the observer’s mental position and focus of attention. The mental position of the observer can either be within the mental self (intrapersonal space, in the mental outer world (extrapersonal space or in an empathic connection, i.e. within the intrapersonal space of another person (perspective taking. The focus of attention can be directed towards the self or towards the outside world. This mental space model can help us to understand the patterns of relationships and interactions with other persons as they occur in social life.To investigate the neurophysiological correlates and discriminability of the different mental states, we conducted an EEG experiment measuring the brain activity of 16 subjects via 64 electrodes while they engaged in different mental positions (intrapersonal, extrapersonal, perspective taking with different attentional foci (self, object. Compared to external mental locations, internal ones showed significantly increased alpha2 power, especially when the observer was focusing on an object. Alpha2 and beta2 were increased in the empathic condition compared to the extrapersonal perspective. Delta power was significantly higher when the attentional focus was directed towards an object in comparison to the participant’s own self. This exploratory study demonstrates highly significant differences between various mental locations and foci, suggesting that the proposed categories of mental location and intra- and interpersonal attentional foci are not only helpful theoretical concepts but are also physiologically relevant and therefore may relate to basic brain processing

  8. Exploring the Impacts of Housing Condition on Migrants’ Mental Health in Nanxiang, Shanghai: A Structural Equation Modelling Approach

    Science.gov (United States)

    Xiao, Yang; Sarkar, Chinmoy; Geng, Huizhi

    2018-01-01

    Although rapid urbanization and associated rural-to-urban migration has brought in enormous economic benefits in Chinese cities, one of the negative externalities include adverse effects upon the migrant workers’ mental health. The links between housing conditions and mental health are well-established in healthy city and community planning scholarship. Nonetheless, there has thusfar been no Chinese study deciphering the links between housing conditions and mental health accounting for macro-level community environments, and no study has previously examined the nature of the relationships in locals and migrants. To overcome this research gap, we hypothesized that housing conditions may have a direct and indirect effects upon mental which may be mediated by neighbourhood satisfaction. We tested this hypothesis with the help of a household survey of 368 adult participants in Nanxiang Town, Shanghai, employing a structural equation modeling approach. Our results point to the differential pathways via which housing conditions effect mental health in locals and migrants. For locals, housing conditions have direct effects on mental health, while as for migrants, housing conditions have indirect effects on mental health, mediated via neighborhood satisfaction. Our findings have significant policy implications on building an inclusive and harmonious society. Upstream-level community interventions in the form of sustainable planning and designing of migrant neighborhoods can promote sense of community, social capital and support, thereby improving mental health and overall mental capital of Chinese cities. PMID:29382174

  9. Exploring the Impacts of Housing Condition on Migrants’ Mental Health in Nanxiang, Shanghai: A Structural Equation Modelling Approach

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yang Xiao

    2018-01-01

    Full Text Available Although rapid urbanization and associated rural-to-urban migration has brought in enormous economic benefits in Chinese cities, one of the negative externalities include adverse effects upon the migrant workers’ mental health. The links between housing conditions and mental health are well-established in healthy city and community planning scholarship. Nonetheless, there has thusfar been no Chinese study deciphering the links between housing conditions and mental health accounting for macro-level community environments, and no study has previously examined the nature of the relationships in locals and migrants. To overcome this research gap, we hypothesized that housing conditions may have a direct and indirect effects upon mental which may be mediated by neighbourhood satisfaction. We tested this hypothesis with the help of a household survey of 368 adult participants in Nanxiang Town, Shanghai, employing a structural equation modeling approach. Our results point to the differential pathways via which housing conditions effect mental health in locals and migrants. For locals, housing conditions have direct effects on mental health, while as for migrants, housing conditions have indirect effects on mental health, mediated via neighborhood satisfaction. Our findings have significant policy implications on building an inclusive and harmonious society. Upstream-level community interventions in the form of sustainable planning and designing of migrant neighborhoods can promote sense of community, social capital and support, thereby improving mental health and overall mental capital of Chinese cities.

  10. Nurses and opioids: results of a bi-national survey on mental models regarding opioid administration in hospitals

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Guest C

    2017-03-01

    Full Text Available Charlotte Guest,1 Fabian Sobotka,2 Athina Karavasopoulou,3 Stephen Ward,3 Carsten Bantel4,5 1Pain Medicine, Chelsea and Westminster Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, London, UK; 2Division of Epidemiology and Biometry, Department of Health Services Research, Faculty 6, Medicine and Health Sciences, Carl von Ossietzky Universität Oldenburg, Oldenburg, Germany; 3Pain Service, Barts Health, St Bartholomew’s Hospital, London, UK; 4Department of Anaesthesiology, Intensive Care, Emergency Medicine and Pain Therapy, Oldenburg University, Klinikum Oldenburg Campus, Oldenburg, Germany; 5Department of Surgery and Cancer, Anaesthetics Section, Imperial College London, Chelsea and Westminster Hospital Campus, London, UK Objective: Pain remains insufficiently treated in hospitals. Increasing evidence suggests human factors contribute to this, due to nurses failing to administer opioids. This behavior might be the consequence of nurses’ mental models about opioids. As personal experience and conceptions shape these models, the aim of this prospective survey was to identify model-influencing factors. Material and methods: A questionnaire was developed comprising of 14 statements concerning ideations about opioids and seven questions concerning demographics, indicators of adult learning, and strength of religious beliefs. Latent variables that may underlie nurses’ mental models were identified using undirected graphical dependence models. Representative items of latent variables were employed for ordinal regression analysis. Questionnaires were distributed to 1,379 nurses in two London, UK, hospitals (n=580 and one German (n=799 hospital between September 2014 and February 2015. Results: A total of 511 (37.1% questionnaires were returned. Mean (standard deviation age of participants were 37 (11 years; 83.5% participants were female; 45.2% worked in critical care; and 51.5% had more than 10 years experience. Of the nurses, 84% were not scared of opioids, 87

  11. U.S. Department of Energy Workers' mental models of radiation and chemical hazards in the workplace

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Quadrel, M.J.; Blanchard, K.A.; Lundgren, R.E.; McMakin, A.H.; Mosley, M.T.; Strom, D.J.

    1994-05-01

    A pilot study was performed to test the mental models methodology regarding knowledge and perceptions of U.S. Department of Energy contractor radiation workers about ionizing radiation and hazardous chemicals. The mental models methodology establishes a target population's beliefs about risks and compares them with current scientific knowledge. The ultimate intent is to develop risk communication guidelines that address information gaps or misperceptions that could affect decisions and behavior. In this study, 15 radiation workers from the Hanford Site in Washington State were interviewed about radiation exposure processes and effects. Their beliefs were mapped onto a science model of the same topics to see where differences occurred. In general, workers' mental models covered many of the high-level parts of the science model but did not have the same level of detail. The following concepts appeared to be well understood by most interviewees: types, form, and properties of workplace radiation; administrative and physical controls to reduce radiation exposure risk; and the relationship of dose and effects. However, several concepts were rarely mentioned by most interviewees, indicating potential gaps in worker understanding. Most workers did not discuss the wide range of measures for neutralizing or decontaminating individuals following internal contamination. Few noted specific ways of measuring dose or factors that affect dose. Few mentioned the range of possible effects, including genetic effects, birth defects, or high dose effects. Variables that influence potential effects were rarely discussed. Workers rarely mentioned how basic radiation principles influenced the source, type, or mitigation of radiation risk in the workplace

  12. Impact of Mental Poverty on Rural Economic Development

    OpenAIRE

    Zhao, Lan-xiang

    2011-01-01

    This paper introduces the definition of mental poverty and the status quo of mental poverty in China's rural areas. Mental poverty in China's rural areas embodies the following aspects: the sense of parochialism is serious; the small farmer consciousness is strong; there is misgiving about identity. This paper analyses the reason of Mental poverty influencing farmers' behavior model and rural economic development. Mental poverty influences the farmers' changing current situation; Mental pover...

  13. Relationships among mental health status, social context, and demographic characteristics in Taiwanese aboriginal adolescents: a structural equation model.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yen, Cheng-Fang; Hsu, Chia-Chuang; Liu, Shu-Chun; Huang, Chi-Fen; Ko, Chih-Hung; Yen, Ju-Yu; Cheng, Chung-Ping

    2006-10-01

    The purposes of this study were to examine the relationships among mental health status, demographic characteristics, and social contexts, including family conflict and support, connectedness to school, and affiliation with peers who exhibit delinquent behavior and who use substances, among Taiwanese aboriginal adolescents. A total of 251 aboriginal junior high school students in an isolated mountainous area of southern Taiwan were recruited, and the relationships among mental health status, demographic characteristics, and social contexts among them were examined using a structural equation model (SEM). The SEM revealed that family conflict and support had direct influences on mental health status and connectedness to school. Family conflict had a direct relationship with affiliation with peers who use substances, and family conflict and support were both indirectly linked with affiliation with peers who exhibit delinquent behavior and who used substances; these were mediated by a poor mental health status. Female and older age were directly linked with a poor mental health status and were indirectly linked with a greater number of peers who exhibit delinquent behavior and who use substances via the poor mental health status. Disruptive parenting was directly linked with affiliation with peers who use substances. The authors suggest that those who devise strategies to improve aboriginal adolescents' mental health and discourage substance use should take these relationships among mental health, demographic characteristics, and social contexts into account.

  14. Mental Models of Proteins and Amino Acids Observed in Students in Higher Education

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    M. F Silva

    2012-05-01

    Full Text Available Molecular Biology and Biotechnology are part of the curriculum of basic education and are present in everyday life of students in situations that involve their thinking and  decision  making.  The  explanations  of  some  phenomena  and  processes related  to  these  themes  are  almost  always  in  atomic  and  molecular  level, described and explained with scientific models or through representations. In light of  the  Theory  of  Mental  Models  of  Johnson-Laird  some  people  reason  with images,  using  them  in  their  models,  while  others  find  it  difficult  to  infer  the  three dimensional  structure  from  two-dimensional  figures,  such  as  those  used  in textbooks or projected on screens. In this context it is proposed to raise the mental models and/or representations that students in higher education have on proteins and amino acids. For this purpose, we interviewed thirteen students, four from the course  of  Licenciatura  em  Ciências  Exatas  and  nine  from  Bacharelado  em Ciências Físicas e Biomoleculares (USP. Three basic types of mental models of proteins  have  been  detected:  the  two-dimensional  (15%,  the  three-dimensional (38.5% and a transition between these two types (38.5%. With respect to amino acids, the following types of models were identified: the two-dimensional (38.5%, the three-dimensional (8% and the atomic (23%. These data show the restricted way that situations of teaching and learning on this topic have been conducted in higher  education  and  point  to  the  use  of  teaching  methods  and  educational resources  that  allow  three-dimensional  visualization  of  these  organic  molecules, such as the use of tactile models, for understanding of these concepts.

  15. Program for suicidal prevention, mental disorder treatment, and mental health development for resident doctors

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    José Luis Jiménez López

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available High demand of care and the academic burden of courses of specialization in medicine affect the mental health of medical residents with events ranging from simple emotional discomfort to development of affective disorders in susceptible individuals. The suicide of physicians has produced programs for their attention in some countries. We present the first mental health clinic for residents of a high specialty hospital in Mexico, focused on the prevention of suicide and depression, treatment of mental disorders and mental health promotion. Unlike the reports of other countries, we get participation of more than 95%, we provide appropriate treatment and follow-up to residents with mental disorder, and there has not been a consummate suicide. We assume that the use of different strategies (scrutiny, adapting models of prevention of suicide as a peer and gatekeeper training, informative sessions of mental health promotion and stigma, interventions targeted at individuals and groups with conflicts has been useful against barriers that do not allow doctors to identify the risk of suicide warning signs, seek help for mental disorder, and seek to improve their mental health.

  16. What mental health teams want in their leaders.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Corrigan, P W; Garman, A N; Lam, C; Leary, M

    1998-11-01

    The authors present the findings of the first phase of a 3-year study developing a skills training curriculum for mental health team leaders. A factor model empirically generated from clinical team members was compared to Bass' (1990) Multifactor Model of Leadership. Members of mental health teams generated individual responses to questions about effective leaders. Results from this survey were subsequently administered to a sample of mental health team members. Analysis of these data yielded six factors: Autocratic Leadership, Clear Roles and Goals, Reluctant Leadership, Vision, Diversity Issues, and Supervision. Additional analyses suggest Bass' Multifactor Model offers a useful paradigm for developing a curriculum specific to the needs of mental health team leaders.

  17. Mediational Model of Multiple Sclerosis Impairments, Family Needs, and Caregiver Mental Health in Guadalajara, Mexico

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Melody N. Mickens

    2018-01-01

    Full Text Available Individuals with multiple sclerosis (MS, especially those living in Latin America, often require assistance from family caregivers throughout the duration of the disease. Previous research suggests that family caregivers may experience positive and negative outcomes from providing care to individuals with MS, but few studies have examined the unmet needs of individuals providing care to family members with MS and how these unmet needs may mediate the relationship between MS symptoms and caregiver mental health. The current study examined the relationships among MS impairments (functional, neurological, cognitive, behavioral, and emotional, unmet family needs (household, informational, financial, social support, and health, and caregiver mental health (satisfaction with life, anxiety, burden, and depression in a sample of 81 MS caregivers from Guadalajara, Mexico. A structural equation model demonstrated the mediational effect of unmet family needs on the relationship between MS impairments and caregiver mental health. These findings suggest that intervention research on MS caregivers in Latin America may consider focusing on caregiver mental health problems by addressing unmet family needs and teaching caregivers ways to manage the impairments of the individual with MS.

  18. The effectiveness of an integrated collaborative care model vs. a shifted outpatient collaborative care model on community functioning, residential stability, and health service use among homeless adults with mental illness: a quasi-experimental study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stergiopoulos, Vicky; Schuler, Andrée; Nisenbaum, Rosane; deRuiter, Wayne; Guimond, Tim; Wasylenki, Donald; Hoch, Jeffrey S; Hwang, Stephen W; Rouleau, Katherine; Dewa, Carolyn

    2015-08-28

    Although a growing number of collaborative mental health care models have been developed, targeting specific populations, few studies have utilized such interventions among homeless populations. This quasi-experimental study compared the outcomes of two shelter-based collaborative mental health care models for men experiencing homelessness and mental illness: (1) an integrated multidisciplinary collaborative care (IMCC) model and (2) a less resource intensive shifted outpatient collaborative care (SOCC) model. In total 142 participants, 70 from IMCC and 72 from SOCC were enrolled and followed for 12 months. Outcome measures included community functioning, residential stability, and health service use. Multivariate regression models were used to compare study arms with respect to change in community functioning, residential stability, and health service use outcomes over time and to identify baseline demographic, clinical or homelessness variables associated with observed changes in these domains. We observed improvements in both programs over time on measures of community functioning, residential stability, hospitalizations, emergency department visits and community physician visits, with no significant differences between groups over time on these outcome measures. Our findings suggest that shelter-based collaborative mental health care models may be effective for individuals experiencing homelessness and mental illness. Future studies should seek to confirm these findings and examine the cost effectiveness of collaborative care models for this population.

  19. Pakistan mental health country profile.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Karim, Salman; Saeed, Khalid; Rana, Mowaddat Hussain; Mubbashar, Malik Hussain; Jenkins, Rachel

    2004-01-01

    The Republic of Pakistan is a South East Asian country with a population of over 140.7 million. Its population is fast growing and the majority (70%) live in rural areas with a feudal or tribal value system. The economy is dependent on agriculture and 35% of the population live below the poverty line. Islam is the main religion and 'mental illnesses' are stigmatized and widely perceived to have supernatural causes. The traditional healers along with psychiatric services are the main mental health service providers. The number of trained mental health professionals is small as compared to the population demands and specialist services are virtually non-existent. Lack of data on prevalence of various mental illnesses and monitory constraints are the major hurdles in the development of mental health services. A number of innovative programmes to develop indigenous models of care like the 'Community Mental Health Programme' and 'Schools Mental Health Programme' have been developed. These programmes have been found effective in reducing stigma and increase awareness of mental illness amongst the adults and children living in rural areas. Efforts by the government and mental health professionals have led to the implementation of a 'National Mental Health Policy' and 'Mental Health Act' in 2001. These aim at integrating mental health services with the existing health services, improving mental health care delivery and safeguarding the rights of mentally ill people. A favourable political will and the help of international institutions like the World Health Organization are required to achieve these aims.

  20. Mental health treatment teams and leadership: a systems model.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yank, G R; Barber, J W; Spradlin, W W

    1994-10-01

    Mental health treatment teams are living systems at the group level and comprise key productive subsystems of organizations providing mental health care. Effective treatment teams, like effective organizations, are anticipatory systems that contain subsystems that model and predict future system and environmental conditions and enable responses that increase system viability. A systems analysis of treatment teams highlights their potential instability due to their tendencies to regress toward dysfunctional partial systems and their active maintenance in nonequilibrium steady states with their organizational and external environments. Team subsystems are analyzed from the viewpoints of system processes and also with regard to individuals and their roles. Boundary processes are central to effective team functioning, assure constancy of team membership, and regulate the team's interfaces with its parent agency and with the external environment. Various causes and forms of disturbed information processing within hierarchical organizations are examined, and their effects at the treatment team level are discussed. The conclusion of the discussion focuses on team leadership and how leadership expands upon the concept of the decider subsystem to include role and personal factors to the team's leaders, and functions that are anticipatory and integrative in nature. Effective leaders must set appropriate thresholds for feedback regulation processes, and balance several pairs of seemingly opposing forces, including homeostasis and development, role differentiation and role overlap, and personal accountability and empowerment of others.

  1. The Meaning and Predictive Value of Self-rated Mental Health among Persons with a Mental Health Problem.

    Science.gov (United States)

    McAlpine, Donna D; McCreedy, Ellen; Alang, Sirry

    2018-06-01

    Self-rated health is a valid measure of health that predicts quality of life, morbidity, and mortality. Its predictive value reflects a conceptualization of health that goes beyond a traditional medical model. However, less is known about self-rated mental health (SRMH). Using data from the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey ( N = 2,547), we examine how rating your mental health as good-despite meeting criteria for a mental health problem-predicts outcomes. We found that 62% of people with a mental health problem rated their mental health positively. Persons who rated their mental health as good (compared to poor) had 30% lower odds of having a mental health problem at follow-up. Even without treatment, persons with a mental health problem did better if they perceived their mental health positively. SRMH might comprise information beyond the experience of symptoms. Understanding the unobserved information individuals incorporate into SRMH will help us improve screening and treatment interventions.

  2. The need for a behavioural science focus in research on mental health and mental disorders

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Wittchen, Hans-Ulrich; Knappe, Susanne; Andersson, Gerhard

    2014-01-01

    of patients who already have developed a disease to improve medical treatment, the proposed framework model, linked to a concerted funding programme of the "Science of Behaviour Change", carries the promise of improved diagnosis, treatment and prevention of health-risk behaviour constellations as well......Psychology as a science offers an enormous diversity of theories, principles, and methodological approaches to understand mental health, abnormal functions and behaviours and mental disorders. A selected overview of the scope, current topics as well as strength and gaps in Psychological Science may...... help to depict the advances needed to inform future research agendas specifically on mental health and mental disorders. From an integrative psychological perspective, most maladaptive health behaviours and mental disorders can be conceptualized as the result of developmental dysfunctions...

  3. On looking into the Black Box: Prospects and Limits in the Search for Mental Models

    Science.gov (United States)

    1985-05-01

    particularly in terms of the ways in which humans understand systems. Norman (19831 characterizes this understanding as messy, sloppy, incomplete, and...Kleinman, et al., 1971]). However, for tasks involving only monitoring [ Smallwood , 1967; Sheridan, 1970], especially when apparent discontinuities...18 Norman [1983] uses the word "conceptaalization" to characterize researchers’ models of humans’ mental models. This characterization serves to

  4. Simple liquid models with corrected dielectric constants

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fennell, Christopher J.; Li, Libo; Dill, Ken A.

    2012-01-01

    Molecular simulations often use explicit-solvent models. Sometimes explicit-solvent models can give inaccurate values for basic liquid properties, such as the density, heat capacity, and permittivity, as well as inaccurate values for molecular transfer free energies. Such errors have motivated the development of more complex solvents, such as polarizable models. We describe an alternative here. We give new fixed-charge models of solvents for molecular simulations – water, carbon tetrachloride, chloroform and dichloromethane. Normally, such solvent models are parameterized to agree with experimental values of the neat liquid density and enthalpy of vaporization. Here, in addition to those properties, our parameters are chosen to give the correct dielectric constant. We find that these new parameterizations also happen to give better values for other properties, such as the self-diffusion coefficient. We believe that parameterizing fixed-charge solvent models to fit experimental dielectric constants may provide better and more efficient ways to treat solvents in computer simulations. PMID:22397577

  5. A metastructural model of mental disorders and pathological personality traits.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wright, A G C; Simms, L J

    2015-08-01

    Psychiatric co-morbidity is extensive in both psychiatric settings and the general population. Such co-morbidity challenges whether DSM-based mental disorders serve to effectively carve nature at its joints. In response, a substantial literature has emerged showing that a small number of broad dimensions - internalizing, externalizing and psychoticism - can account for much of the observed covariation among common mental disorders. However, the location of personality disorders within this emerging metastructure has only recently been studied, and no studies have yet examined where pathological personality traits fit within such a broad metastructural framework. We conducted joint structural analyses of common mental disorders, personality disorders and pathological personality traits in a sample of 628 current or recent psychiatric out-patients. Bridging across the psychopathology and personality trait literatures, the results provide evidence for a robust five-factor metastructure of psychopathology, including broad domains of symptoms and features related to internalizing, disinhibition, psychoticism, antagonism and detachment. These results reveal evidence for a psychopathology metastructure that (a) parsimoniously accounts for much of the observed covariation among common mental disorders, personality disorders and related personality traits, and (b) provides an empirical basis for the organization and classification of mental disorder.

  6. Promoting Conceptual Change of Learning Sorting Algorithm through the Diagnosis of Mental Models: The Effects of Gender and Learning Styles

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lau, Wilfred W. F.; Yuen, Allan H. K.

    2010-01-01

    It has been advocated that pedagogical content knowledge as well as subject matter knowledge are important for improving classroom instructions. To develop pedagogical content knowledge, it is argued that understanding of students' mental representations of concepts is deemed necessary. Yet assessing and comparing mental model of each individual…

  7. Children's understanding of mental illness: an exploratory study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fox, C; Buchanan-Barrow, E; Barrett, M

    2008-01-01

    This study aimed to investigate children's thinking about mental illness by employing a well-established framework of adult illness understanding. The study adopted a semistructured interview technique and a card selection task to assess children's responses to causes, consequences, timeline and curability of the different types of mental illness. The children were aged between 5 and 11 years. Results indicated a developmental trend in the children's thinking about mental illness; there was an increase in the children's understanding of the causes, consequences, curability and timeline of mental illness with age. The older children demonstrated a more sophisticated and accurate thinking about mental illness compared with the younger children, who tended to rely on a medical model in order to comprehend novel mental illnesses. Furthermore, the girls exhibited more compassion, showing greater social acceptance compared with the boys. The Leventhal model provides a useful framework within which to investigate children's knowledge and understanding of mental illness. Limitations of the study and implications for future research are discussed.

  8. An explanatory model for the concept of mental health in Iranian youth [version 2; referees: 2 approved

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ahdieh Chinekesh

    2018-02-01

    Full Text Available Background: Mental health is considered as an integral and essential component of overall health. Its determinants and related factors are one of the most important research priorities, especially in adolescents and young people. Using a qualitative approach, the present study aimed to identify factors affecting the mental health of youth in Iran. Methods: In 2017, following content analysis principles, and using semi-structured in-depth interviews, we conducted a qualitative study exploring the opinions of young people about mental health. A targeted sampling method was used, and participants were young volunteers aged 18 to 30 who were selected from Tehran province, Iran. Inclusion criteria for participants was willingness to participate in the study, and ability to express their experiences. Data collection was done with individual in-depth interviews. According to the explanatory model, the interviews were directed toward the concept of mental health and path of causality and auxiliary behaviors. Results: 21 young adults participated, who met the study inclusion criteria, of whom 12 participants were male. Their mean age was 24.4 ± 0.41 years and their education varied from primary school to Master’s degree. Mental health was considered as mental well-being and a sense of satisfaction and efficacy, not only the presence of a disease or mental disorder. Based on the opinions of the interviewees, three factors of personal characteristics, family and society are involved in mental health. Individual factors were associated with behavioral and physical problems. One of the most important issues was revealed as tensions in societal and family conflicts. Economic problems and unemployment of young people were also extracted from the social factor. Conclusion: In Iran, social factors such as jobs for the unemployed and job security are considered as important determinants in the mental health of young people.

  9. Using Personality Traits to Construct Linear Growth Models of Mental Health in Family Members of Individuals With Severe Brain Injury

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Trujillo, Michael; Perrin, Paul B; Doser, Karoline

    2016-01-01

    Objective: No studies have examined the impact of personality traits on mental health among caregivers of individuals with severe brain injury. Therefore, the purpose of the current study was to construct linear growth models to examine whether the personality traits of family members...... neuroticism had lower anxiety and depression over time, as well as a more accelerated decrease in anxiety and depression. Conclusions: Caregivers' personality traits were strongly associated over time with mental HRQoL, anxiety, and depression, with neuroticism being especially important for trajectories...... the Short Form-36 assessing mental HRQoL (vitality, social functioning, role limitations-emotional, mental health), anxiety, and depression across 5 time points during the 1st year after injury. The measure of personality was administered 3 months after the patients' discharge. Results: All mental HRQo...

  10. Acute mental health care according to recent mental health ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    acute care, treatment and rehabilitation as a 72-hour assessment unit in a .... resemble prisons, such as unnecessary bars on windows and one-way glass. ..... model to consider design solutions for other acute mental health care settings.

  11. Model structure learning: A support vector machine approach for LPV linear-regression models

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Toth, R.; Laurain, V.; Zheng, W-X.; Poolla, K.

    2011-01-01

    Accurate parametric identification of Linear Parameter-Varying (LPV) systems requires an optimal prior selection of a set of functional dependencies for the parametrization of the model coefficients. Inaccurate selection leads to structural bias while over-parametrization results in a variance

  12. Modelo estructural predictor de la salud mental y física en mujeres A structural equation model for predictors of mental and physical health in women

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mónica Teresa González Ramírez

    2008-02-01

    Full Text Available OBJETIVO: Valorar la capacidad predictora del estrés, el apoyo social y la autoestima respecto de la salud mental y física del individuo mediante ecuaciones estructurales, integrando modelos parciales estimados anteriormente, lo que permite simplificar los efectos entre las variables. MÉTODOS: La muestra estudiada abarcó 283 mujeres con hijos. Todas las participantes residían en el municipio de General Escobedo, estado de Nuevo León, México. Las encuestas se realizaron en el segundo semestre de 2003, en los domicilios, utilizando cuestionarios de autoevaluación para valorar cada una de las variables incluidas en el modelo. Cada participante respondió a los cuestionarios en una sola sesión. Los resultados se analizaron con el programa AMOS 5.0, empleando el método de máxima verosimilitud, comúnmente utilizado en los modelos de ecuaciones estructurales. RESULTADOS: Los resultados obtenidos indican un ajuste aceptable en el modelo propuesto (ji2/gl = 3,03, GFI (índice de bondad del ajuste = 0,894, AGFI (índice de bondad del ajuste corregido = 0,848, RMSEA (error de aproximación cuadrático medio = 0,08, IFI (índice de ajuste incremental = 0,910. La varianza explicada es del 31,9% respecto del estrés, del 27,4% respecto de la salud física y del 72,1% respecto de la salud mental. CONCLUSIONES: El apoyo social y la autoestima son predictores del estrés; la edad y el estrés, predictores de la salud física; y el estrés, la autoestima y la salud física, predictores de la salud mental.OBJECTIVE: To measure the extent to which stress, social support, and self-esteem are predictors of an individual's mental and physical health. Structural equations were integrated with previously-estimated partial models, which simplify the relationships among variables. METHODS: The study sample included 283 women with children. All of the participants resided in the municipality of General Escobedo, state of Nuevo León, Mexico. The surveys were

  13. The Lunar Phases Project: A Mental Model-Based Observational Project for Undergraduate Nonscience Majors

    Science.gov (United States)

    Meyer, Angela Osterman; Mon, Manuel J.; Hibbard, Susan T.

    2011-01-01

    We present our Lunar Phases Project, an ongoing effort utilizing students' actual observations within a mental model building framework to improve student understanding of the causes and process of the lunar phases. We implement this project with a sample of undergraduate, nonscience major students enrolled in a midsized public university located…

  14. Mental illness stigma, secrecy and suicidal ideation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Oexle, N; Ajdacic-Gross, V; Kilian, R; Müller, M; Rodgers, S; Xu, Z; Rössler, W; Rüsch, N

    2017-02-01

    Whether the public stigma associated with mental illness negatively affects an individual, largely depends on whether the person has been labelled 'mentally ill'. For labelled individuals concealing mental illness is a common strategy to cope with mental illness stigma, despite secrecy's potential negative consequences. In addition, initial evidence points to a link between stigma and suicidality, but quantitative data from community samples are lacking. Based on previous literature about mental illness stigma and suicidality, as well as about the potential influence of labelling processes and secrecy, a theory-driven model linking perceived mental illness stigma and suicidal ideation by a mediation of secrecy and hopelessness was established. This model was tested separately among labelled and unlabelled persons using data derived from a Swiss cross-sectional population-based study. A large community sample of people with elevated psychiatric symptoms was examined by interviews and self-report, collecting information on perceived stigma, secrecy, hopelessness and suicidal ideation. Participants who had ever used mental health services were considered as labelled 'mentally ill'. A descriptive analysis, stratified logistic regression models and a path analysis testing a three-path mediation effect were conducted. While no significant differences between labelled and unlabelled participants were observed regarding perceived stigma and secrecy, labelled individuals reported significantly higher frequencies of suicidal ideation and feelings of hopelessness. More perceived stigma was associated with suicidal ideation among labelled, but not among unlabelled individuals. In the path analysis, this link was mediated by increased secrecy and hopelessness. Results from this study indicate that among persons labelled 'mentally ill', mental illness stigma is a contributor to suicidal ideation. One explanation for this association is the relation perceived stigma has with

  15. Mental illness from the perspective of theoretical neuroscience.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Thagard, Paul

    2008-01-01

    Theoretical neuroscience, which characterizes neural mechanisms using mathematical and computational models, is highly relevant to central problems in the philosophy of psychiatry. These models can help to solve the explanation problem of causally connecting neural processes with the behaviors and experiences found in mental illnesses. Such explanations will also be useful for generating better classifications and treatments of psychiatric disorders. The result should help to eliminate concerns that mental illnesses such as depression and schizophrenia are not objectively real. A philosophical approach to mental illness based on neuroscience need not neglect the inherently social and historical nature of mental phenomena.

  16. [Comorbidity of substance use with mental disorders].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Leonidaki, V; Maliori, M

    2009-01-01

    This contribution reviews the international literature about dual diagnosis, meaning patients who have simultaneously mental health problems and substance use disorders and discusses epidemiology, clinical characteristics, but primarily etiopathogenesis and different treatment models and interventions. The epidemiological data coming from large-scale studies in the general population in USA, Australia and UK demonstrate the close relationship between mental health problems and substance use disorders. Also, the results from Greek research projects support this close relationship, but their research designs have significant limitations. Multiple and high risks are common in this population, like violent or suicidal behavior, self-harm, physical problems, while they appear less responsive to treatment. Subsequently, different models for etiopathogenesis of dual diagnosis have been suggested: (a) Causal relationship: secondary substance use disorder is subsequent of primary mental illness (self-medication hypothesis, supersenstivity model) or vice versa (alcohol, cannabis, and cocaine use trigger or contribute to development of mental illness). (b) Third factor as the cause of both mental and substance use disorders (genetic factor, neuropathology, traumatic experience, personality characteristics, multiple factors). (c) Comorbidty is due to chance. (d) Each disorder mutually exacerbates the other, regardless the cause. Here, the relationship between alcohol and depression is discussed further as example. The ideas and the research-evidence which support each of these models are presented. Also there is an overview of different treatment models: (a) Consecutive treatment: mental health treatment and substance misuse treatment are provided consecutively. (b) Parallel treatments: the patient attends programs of both mental health and substance use services simultaneously. (c) Integrated treatment: the same clinical team addresses both mental health issues and substance

  17. Comprehensible method to mental disorder through narrative : Howl's Moving Castle model

    OpenAIRE

    Takenouchi, Satomi; Aida, Yoko; Okamura, Taro

    2007-01-01

    The objective of this research is to compare similarities between a patient's story and a text, to promote common comprehension among generations in this modern society, to present a common model to overcome disorders and to introduce elements and methods to correspond. When we touch the life of people with mental disorder, it is effective to use narrative and to make it comprehensible so as to understand them from the same point of view. To do so, the method of using novels and movies reflec...

  18. Target templates: the precision of mental representations affects attentional guidance and decision-making in visual search.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hout, Michael C; Goldinger, Stephen D

    2015-01-01

    When people look for things in the environment, they use target templates-mental representations of the objects they are attempting to locate-to guide attention and to assess incoming visual input as potential targets. However, unlike laboratory participants, searchers in the real world rarely have perfect knowledge regarding the potential appearance of targets. In seven experiments, we examined how the precision of target templates affects the ability to conduct visual search. Specifically, we degraded template precision in two ways: 1) by contaminating searchers' templates with inaccurate features, and 2) by introducing extraneous features to the template that were unhelpful. We recorded eye movements to allow inferences regarding the relative extents to which attentional guidance and decision-making are hindered by template imprecision. Our findings support a dual-function theory of the target template and highlight the importance of examining template precision in visual search.

  19. Detection of Subtle Context-Dependent Model Inaccuracies in High-Dimensional Robot Domains.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mendoza, Juan Pablo; Simmons, Reid; Veloso, Manuela

    2016-12-01

    Autonomous robots often rely on models of their sensing and actions for intelligent decision making. However, when operating in unconstrained environments, the complexity of the world makes it infeasible to create models that are accurate in every situation. This article addresses the problem of using potentially large and high-dimensional sets of robot execution data to detect situations in which a robot model is inaccurate-that is, detecting context-dependent model inaccuracies in a high-dimensional context space. To find inaccuracies tractably, the robot conducts an informed search through low-dimensional projections of execution data to find parametric Regions of Inaccurate Modeling (RIMs). Empirical evidence from two robot domains shows that this approach significantly enhances the detection power of existing RIM-detection algorithms in high-dimensional spaces.

  20. Positive mental health: is there a cross-cultural definition?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vaillant, George E

    2012-06-01

    SEVEN MODELS FOR CONCEPTUALIZING POSITIVE MENTAL HEALTH ARE REVIEWED: mental health as above normal, epitomized by a DSM-IV's Global Assessment of Functioning (GAF) score of over 80; mental health as the presence of multiple human strengths rather than the absence of weaknesses; mental health conceptualized as maturity; mental health as the dominance of positive emotions; mental health as high socio-emotional intelligence; mental health as subjective well-being; mental health as resilience. Safeguards for the study of mental health are suggested, including the need to define mental health in terms that are culturally sensitive and inclusive, and the need to empirically and longitudinally validate criteria for mental health.

  1. Coteaching Recovery to Mental Health Care Professionals.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Larsen, Christine; Lange, Mads; Jørgensen, Kim; Kistrup, Kristen; Petersen, Lone

    2018-06-01

    In 2010, the Regional Council of the Capital Region of Denmark endorsed a vision of mental health services based on personal recovery, rehabilitation, and the involvement of caregivers. Programs to achieve this vision include hiring peer support workers, a Recovery College, and service user participation at the organizational level. This column describes a cornerstone of these initiatives-an education program in the recovery model for mental health professionals. In 2013-2014, the Capital Region implemented 148 workshops on recovery-oriented services for all practitioner staff in mental health services in the region. The workshops featured a coteaching model, with both a mental health professional and an individual with lived experience serving as trainers. This model showed promise and should be expanded, including more targeted training for specific services. Such an expansion could be included in a national strategy for user involvement and recovery-oriented practice set to launch in 2018.

  2. Formal Analysis of Self-Efficacy in Job Interviewee’s Mental State Model

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ajoge, N. S.; Aziz, A. A.; Yusof, S. A. Mohd

    2017-08-01

    This paper presents a formal analysis approach for self-efficacy model of interviewee’s mental state during a job interview session. Self-efficacy is a construct that has been hypothesised to combine with motivation and interviewee anxiety to define state influence of interviewees. The conceptual model was built based on psychological theories and models related to self-efficacy. A number of well-known relations between events and the course of self-efficacy are summarized from the literature and it is shown that the proposed model exhibits those patterns. In addition, this formal model has been mathematically analysed to find out which stable situations exist. Finally, it is pointed out how this model can be used in a software agent or robot-based platform. Such platform can provide an interview coaching approach where support to the user is provided based on their individual metal state during interview sessions.

  3. Reclaiming the best of the biopsychosocial model of mental health care and 'recovery' for older people through a 'person-centred' approach.

    Science.gov (United States)

    McKay, Roderick; McDonald, Regina; Lie, David; McGowan, Helen

    2012-12-01

    The 'biopsychosocial', 'person-centred care' (PCC) and 'recovery' models of care can be seen as distinct and competing paradigms. This paper proposes an integration of these valuable perspectives and suggestions for effective implementation in health services for the elderly. An overview of PCC and recovery models, and their application for older people with mental health problems, is provided. Their overlap and contrast with the familiar 'biopsychosocial' model of mental health care is considered, together with obstacles to implementation. Utilisation of PCC and recovery concepts allow clinicians to avoid narrow application of the biopsychosocial approach and encourages clinicians to focus on the person's right to autonomy, their values and life goals. Service reform and development is required to embed these concepts into core clinical processes so as to improve outcomes and the quality of life for older people with mental health problems.

  4. Do comprehensive performance measurement systems help or hinder managers' mental model development?

    OpenAIRE

    Matthew Hall

    2011-01-01

    This study examines whether and how the process of updating and changing mental models (learning) helps to explain how performance measurement systems (PMS) affect individual performance. Although prior studies (e.g., Hall, 2008; Burney and Widener, 2007; Burney et al., 2009) highlight the important role of particular cognitive and motivational mechanisms, such as role clarity and organizational justice, they do not consider how PMS can improve performance by helping individuals to update the...

  5. New percepts via mental imagery?

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Fred Walter Mast

    2012-10-01

    Full Text Available We are able to extract detailed information from mental images that we were not explicitly aware of during encoding. For example, we can discover a new figure when we rotate a previously seen image in our mind. However, such discoveries are not really new but just new interpretations. In two recent publications, we have shown that mental imagery can lead to perceptual learning (Tartaglia et al., 2009, 2012. Observers imagined the central line of a bisection stimulus for thousands of trials. This training enabled observers to perceive bisection offsets that were invisible before training. Hence, it seems that perceptual learning via mental imagery leads to new percepts. We will argue, however, that these new percepts can occur only within known models. In this sense, perceptual learning via mental imagery exceeds new discoveries in mental images. Still, the effects of mental imagery on perceptual learning are limited. Only perception can lead to really new perceptual experience.

  6. Logical-Rule Models of Classification Response Times: A Synthesis of Mental-Architecture, Random-Walk, and Decision-Bound Approaches

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fific, Mario; Little, Daniel R.; Nosofsky, Robert M.

    2010-01-01

    We formalize and provide tests of a set of logical-rule models for predicting perceptual classification response times (RTs) and choice probabilities. The models are developed by synthesizing mental-architecture, random-walk, and decision-bound approaches. According to the models, people make independent decisions about the locations of stimuli…

  7. Adolescent and Young Adult Male Mental Health: Transforming System Failures Into Proactive Models of Engagement.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rice, Simon M; Purcell, Rosemary; McGorry, Patrick D

    2018-03-01

    Adolescent and young adult men do poorly on indicators of mental health evidenced by elevated rates of suicide, conduct disorder, substance use, and interpersonal violence relative to their female peers. Data on global health burden clearly demonstrate that young men have a markedly distinct health risk profile from young women, underscoring different prevention and intervention needs. Evidence indicates that boys disconnect from health-care services during adolescence, marking the beginning of a progression of health-care disengagement and associated barriers to care, including presenting to services differently, experiencing an inadequate or poorly attuned clinical response, and needing to overcome pervasive societal attitudes and self-stigma to access available services. This review synthesizes key themes related to mental ill health in adolescent boys and in young adult men. Key social determinants are discussed, including mental health literacy, self-stigma and shame, masculinity, nosology and diagnosis, and service acceptability. A call is made for focused development of policy, theory, and evaluation of targeted interventions for this population, including gender-synchronized service model reform and training of staff, including the e-health domain. Such progress is expected to yield significant social and economic benefits, including reduction to mental ill health and interpersonal violence displayed by adolescent boys and young adult men. Copyright © 2018. Published by Elsevier Inc.

  8. Operational challenges in conducting a community-based technology-enabled mental health services delivery model for rural India: Experiences from the SMART Mental Health Project.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Maulik, Pallab K; Kallakuri, Sudha; Devarapalli, Siddhardha

    2018-01-01

    Background: There are large gaps in the delivery of mental health care in low- and middle-income countries such as India, and the problems are even more acute in rural settings due to lack of resources, remoteness, and lack of infrastructure, amongst other factors. The Systematic Medical Appraisal Referral and Treatment (SMART) Mental Health Project was conceived as a mental health services delivery model using technology-based solutions for rural India. This paper reports on the operational strategies used to facilitate the implementation of the intervention. Method: Key components of the SMART Mental Health Project included delivering an anti-stigma campaign, training of primary health workers in screening, diagnosing and managing stress, depression and increased suicide risk and task sharing of responsibilities in delivering care; and using mobile technology based electronic decision support systems to support delivery of algorithm based care for such disorders. The intervention was conducted in 42 villages across two sites in the state of Andhra Pradesh in south India. A pre-post mixed methods evaluation was done, and in this paper operational challenges are reported. Results: Both quantitative and qualitative results from the evaluation from one site covering about 5000 adults showed that the intervention was feasible and acceptable, and initial results indicated that it was beneficial in increasing access to mental health care and reducing depression and anxiety symptoms. A number of strategies were initiated in response to operational challenges to ensure smoother conduct of the project and facilitated the project to be delivered as envisaged. Conclusions: The operational strategies initiated for this project were successful in ensuring the delivery of the intervention. Those, coupled with other more systematic processes have informed the researchers to understand key processes that need to be in place to develop a more robust study, that could eventually be

  9. Um modelo para orientação familial em oligofrenias A model for familial orientation on mental retardation

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Aguinaldo Gonçalves

    1976-03-01

    Full Text Available Após revisão de teorias e evidências sobre a etiologia das oligofrenias, são apresentados casos clínicos de oligofrênicos atendidos em serviço de Genética Médica, os quais servem de substrato para a proposição de um modelo de Aconselhamento Genético, que os classifica em ambiental, gênica, cromossômica, familial e idiopática.Theories and evidences on etiology of mental retardation are presented. Five cases of mental retardation from a Clinical Genetics Service are reported, as basis for an etiological model on mental retardation, quite operational in genetic counseling and familial orientation.

  10. Parent-reported Mental Health Problems and Mental Health Services Use in South Australian School-aged Children

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jing Wu

    2016-09-01

    Full Text Available Background:Monitoring and reporting childhood mental health problems and mental health services utilization over time provide important information to identify mental health related issues and to guide early intervention. This paper aims to describe the recent prevalence of parent-reported mental health problems among South Australian (SA children; to identify mental health problems associated characteristics; and to describe mental health services utilization and its related characteristics among this population. Methods:Parent-reported mental health problems were assessed against the first item of the Strength and Difficulties Questionnaire. School-aged children were randomly sampled monthly and data were collected using a surveillance system between 2005 and 2015. Associations between mental health problems and various factors were analysed using univariable analysis and multivariable logistic regression modelling. Results:Prevalence of parent-reported mental health problems among children was 9.1% and 9.3% for children aged 5 to 11 years and children aged 12 to 15 years, respectively. No change in prevalence was observed during the past decade. Mental health problems were associated with male sex, long-term illness or pain, negative school experiences, not living with biological parents, and living in a rental dwelling. Less than half (48.7% of the children with mental health problems received professional help. An increasing trend was found in mental health services utilisation among children aged 5 to 15 years. Utilization of mental health services was associated with male sex, older age, long-term illness or pain, and feeling unhappy at school. Conclusion:This study reports the prevalence of parent-reported mental and mental health services utilisation among SA school-aged children. Identified characteristics associated with mental health problems and mental health services utilisation provide useful information for the planning of

  11. Main features of narrow sociological theories explaining mental disorders

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Opalić Petar

    2006-01-01

    Full Text Available In the introduction, the author states that sociological theories explaining mental disorders in the narrow sense have originated as an opposition to medical, i.e. biological model of interpreting mental disorders. With regard to this, the following sociological theories explaining mental disorders are presented in more detail: theory of anomie by Durkheim and Merton (with Merton’s typology of deviant behavior, social roles theory by Parsons, labeling theory by Scheff and other authors, theoretical career model of the mentally ill, the concept of psychic disorder of etnomethodology and finally, the anti-psychiatric interpretation of mental disorders. It is concluded that, although historically older, sociological theories of the onset of mental disorders are filling the epistemological void that occurred in understanding the role of society on the whole and a series of social factors particularly on the different aspects of understanding mental disorders.

  12. Developing an Australian-first recovery model for parents in Victorian mental health and family services: a study protocol for a randomised controlled trial.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Maybery, Darryl; Goodyear, Melinda; Reupert, Andrea; Sheen, Jade; Cann, Warren; Dalziel, Kim; Tchernagovski, Phillip; O'Hanlon, Brendan; von Doussa, Henry

    2017-05-26

    A considerable number of people with a mental illness are parents caring for dependent children. For those with a mental illness, parenting can provide a sense of competence, belonging, identity and hope and hence is well aligned to the concept of personal recovery. However, little research has focused on the recovery journey of those who are parents and have a mental illness. This randomised controlled trial aims to (i) evaluate the effectiveness of an intervention model of recovery for parents (Let's Talk about Children) in three different mental health service sectors and (ii) examine the economic value of a larger roll out (longer term) of the parent recovery model. A two arm parallel randomised controlled trial will be used with participants, who are being treated for their mental illness in adult mental health, non-government community mental health or family welfare services. The study will involve 192 parents, who are considered by their treating practitioner to be sufficiently well to provide informed consent and participate in an intervention (Let's Talk about Children) or control group (treatment as usual). Participant randomisation will occur at the level of the treating practitioner and will be based on whether the randomised practitioner is trained in the intervention. Outcomes are compared at pre, post intervention and six-month follow-up. Recovery, parenting and family functioning, and quality of life questionnaires will be used to measure parent wellbeing and the economic benefits of the intervention. This is the first randomised controlled trial to investigate the efficacy of a parenting intervention on recovery outcomes and the first to provide an economic evaluation of an intervention for parents with a mental illness. An implementation model is required to embed the intervention in different sectors. The trial was retrospectively registered: ACTRN12616000460404 on the 8/4/2016.

  13. Inverse Tasks In The Tsunami Problem: Nonlinear Regression With Inaccurate Input Data

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lavrentiev, M.; Shchemel, A.; Simonov, K.

    A variant of modified training functional that allows considering inaccurate input data is suggested. A limiting case when a part of input data is completely undefined, and, therefore, a problem of reconstruction of hidden parameters should be solved, is also considered. Some numerical experiments are presented. It is assumed that a dependence of known output variables on known input ones should be found is the classic problem definition, which is widely used in the majority of neural nets algorithms. The quality of approximation is evaluated as a performance function. Often the error of the task is evaluated as squared distance between known input data and predicted data multiplied by weighed coefficients. These coefficients may be named "precision coefficients". When inputs are not known exactly, natural generalization of performance function is adding member that responsible for distance between known inputs and shifted inputs, which lessen model's error. It is desirable that the set of variable parameters is compact for training to be con- verging. In the above problem it is possible to choose variants of demands of a priori compactness, which allow meaningful interpretation in the smoothness of the model dependence. Two kinds of regularization was used, first limited squares of coefficients responsible for nonlinearity and second limited multiplication of the above coeffi- cients and linear coefficients. Asymptotic universality of neural net ability to approxi- mate various smooth functions with any accuracy by increase of the number of tunable parameters is often the base for selecting a type of neural net approximation. It is pos- sible to show that used neural net will approach to Fourier integral transform, which approximate abilities are known, with increasing of the number of tunable parameters. In the limiting case, when input data is set with zero precision, the problem of recon- struction of hidden parameters with observed output data appears. The

  14. Common Mental Disorders among Occupational Groups: Contributions of the Latent Class Model

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kionna Oliveira Bernardes Santos

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available Background. The Self-Reporting Questionnaire (SRQ-20 is widely used for evaluating common mental disorders. However, few studies have evaluated the SRQ-20 measurements performance in occupational groups. This study aimed to describe manifestation patterns of common mental disorders symptoms among workers populations, by using latent class analysis. Methods. Data derived from 9,959 Brazilian workers, obtained from four cross-sectional studies that used similar methodology, among groups of informal workers, teachers, healthcare workers, and urban workers. Common mental disorders were measured by using SRQ-20. Latent class analysis was performed on each database separately. Results. Three classes of symptoms were confirmed in the occupational categories investigated. In all studies, class I met better criteria for suspicion of common mental disorders. Class II discriminated workers with intermediate probability of answers to the items belonging to anxiety, sadness, and energy decrease that configure common mental disorders. Class III was composed of subgroups of workers with low probability to respond positively to questions for screening common mental disorders. Conclusions. Three patterns of symptoms of common mental disorders were identified in the occupational groups investigated, ranging from distinctive features to low probabilities of occurrence. The SRQ-20 measurements showed stability in capturing nonpsychotic symptoms.

  15. The mentally ill in jails and prisons: towards an integrated model of prevention.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lamberti, J S; Weisman, R L; Schwarzkopf, S B; Price, N; Ashton, R M; Trompeter, J

    2001-01-01

    Jails and prisons have become a final destination for persons with severe mental illness in America. Addiction, homelessness, and fragmentation of services have contributed to the problem, and have underscored the need for new models of service delivery. Project Link is a university-led consortium of five community agencies in Monroe County, New York that spans healthcare, social service and criminal justice systems. The program features a mobile treatment team with a forensic psychiatrist, a dual diagnosis treatment residence, and culturally competent staff. This paper discusses the importance of service integration in preventing jail and hospital recidivism, and describes steps that Project Link has taken towards integrating healthcare, criminal justice, and social services. Results from a preliminary evaluation suggest that Project Link may be effective in reducing recidivism and in improving community adjustment among severely mentally ill patients with histories of arrest and incarceration.

  16. Model Calibration of Exciter and PSS Using Extended Kalman Filter

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kalsi, Karanjit; Du, Pengwei; Huang, Zhenyu

    2012-07-26

    Power system modeling and controls continue to become more complex with the advent of smart grid technologies and large-scale deployment of renewable energy resources. As demonstrated in recent studies, inaccurate system models could lead to large-scale blackouts, thereby motivating the need for model calibration. Current methods of model calibration rely on manual tuning based on engineering experience, are time consuming and could yield inaccurate parameter estimates. In this paper, the Extended Kalman Filter (EKF) is used as a tool to calibrate exciter and Power System Stabilizer (PSS) models of a particular type of machine in the Western Electricity Coordinating Council (WECC). The EKF-based parameter estimation is a recursive prediction-correction process which uses the mismatch between simulation and measurement to adjust the model parameters at every time step. Numerical simulations using actual field test data demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed approach in calibrating the parameters.

  17. Market orientation in the mental models of decision-makers in two cross-border value chains: A pilot study using the laddering technique

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Grunert, Klaus G.; Trondsen, Torbjørn; Campos, Emilio Gonzalo

    The laddering method is used to elicit mental models of actors in two cross-border value chains: Norwegian salmon to Japan, and Danish pork to Japan. The mental models are analysed with regard to overlap and linkages between actors in the value chain, with a special view towards elements...... in the mental models that can be related to actors? market orientation. In both value chains decision-makers have a fair degree of overlap in their views on what drives their business. There are also differences, between the chains, in what decision-makers believe are the major success factors. The pork chain...... seems to be dominated by thinking in terms of efficiency, technology and quality control, though communication is also acknowledged as important. In the salmon chain, there is a higher emphasis on new product development and on good relations between the chain partners....

  18. Role of the police in linking individuals experiencing mental health crises with mental health services

    Science.gov (United States)

    2012-01-01

    Background The police are considered frontline professionals in managing individuals experiencing mental health crises. This study examines the extent to which these individuals are disconnected from mental health services, and whether the police response has an influence on re-establishing contact. Methods Police records were searched for calls regarding individuals with acute mental health needs and police handling of these calls. Mental healthcare contact data were retrieved from a Psychiatric Case Register. Results The police were called upon for mental health crisis situations 492 times within the study year, involving 336 individuals (i.e. 1.7 per 1000 inhabitants per year). Half of these individuals (N=162) were disengaged from mental health services, lacking regular care contact in the year prior to the crisis (apart from contact for crisis intervention). In the month following the crisis, 21% of those who were previously disengaged from services had regular care contact, and this was more frequent (49%) if the police had contacted the mental health services during the crisis. The influence of police referral to the services was still present the following year. However, for the majority (58%) of disengaged individuals police did not contact the mental health services at the time of crisis. Conclusions The police deal with a substantial number of individuals experiencing a mental health crisis, half of whom are out of contact with mental health services, and police play an important role in linking these individuals to services. Training police officers to recognise and handle mental health crises, and implementing practical models of cooperation between the police and mental health services in dealing with such crises may further improve police referral of individuals disengaged from mental health services. PMID:23072687

  19. Retardo mental Mental retardation

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Marcio M. Vasconcelos

    2004-04-01

    Full Text Available OBJETIVO: Esta revisão aborda as recentes descobertas da neurobiologia do retardo mental, enfatizando os novos recursos da citogenética, das técnicas moleculares e da neurorradiologia para esclarecer o diagnóstico. FONTES DE DADOS: O autor pesquisou o banco de dados MEDLINE da National Library of Medicine utilizando as palavras-chave "mental retardation", "developmental disability", "child" e "adolescent" em diferentes combinações, abrangendo o período de janeiro de 2000 a outubro de 2003. Também foram utilizados os bancos de dados das revistas científicas Pediatrics e New England Journal of Medicine através da palavra-chave "mental retardation". No total, o autor consultou cerca de 1.500 títulos de artigos e 500 resumos, e teve acesso direto a 150 artigos completos pertinentes. Quando oportuno, algumas referências dos artigos consultados também foram consideradas. O site Online Mendelian Inheritance in Man foi utilizado como fonte de informações em genética clínica. SÍNTESE DOS DADOS: Em outubro de 2003, o total de síndromes genéticas associadas a retardo mental chegou a 1.149. Considerando-se o conjunto das causas genéticas ou ambientais e congênitas ou adquiridas de retardo mental, a avaliação diagnóstica atual é capaz de esclarecer a etiologia em 50 a 70% dos casos. CONCLUSÕES: O autor sugere uma avaliação diagnóstica do retardo mental em etapas lógicas, visando ao uso racional dos dispendiosos recursos da citogenética, biologia molecular e neuroimagem.OBJECTIVE: This paper describes recent advances in the neurobiology of mental retardation, emphasizing new diagnostic resources provided by cytogenetics, molecular testing, and neuroimaging. SOURCES OF DATA: MEDLINE (January 2000 through October 2003, using the following key words: mental retardation, developmental disability, child, and adolescent. Search of the Pediatrics and New England Journal of Medicine websites using the key word mental retardation. The

  20. Violent Extremism, Community-Based Violence Prevention, and Mental Health Professionals.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Weine, Stevan M; Stone, Andrew; Saeed, Aliya; Shanfield, Stephen; Beahrs, John; Gutman, Alisa; Mihajlovic, Aida

    2017-01-01

    New community-based initiatives being developed to address violent extremism in the United States are utilizing mental health services and leadership. This article reviews current approaches to preventing violent extremism, the contribution that mental illness and psychosocial problems can make to violent extremism, and the rationale for integrating mental health strategies into preventing violent extremism. The authors describe a community-based targeted violence prevention model and the potential roles of mental health professionals. This model consists of a multidisciplinary team that assesses at-risk individuals with comprehensive threat and behavioral evaluations, arranges for ongoing support and treatment, conducts follow-up evaluations, and offers outreach, education, and resources for communities. This model would enable mental health professionals in local communities to play key roles in preventing violent extremism through their practice and leadership.

  1. [The Global Model of Public Mental Health and Recovery Mentors].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pelletier, Jean-François; Auclair, Émilie

    Objectives The aim of this paper is to revisit the Global Model of Public Mental Health (GMPMH) in light of the 4th Civic Forum. Recovery mentors of the University of Recovery chaired this public event, which was held in East-end Montreal, Canada, in 2016. The University of Recovery is a concept of co-learning among its members.Methods Being able to refer to international conventions and human rights standards is a key component of a genuine global approach that is supportive of individuals and communities in their quest for recovery and full citizenship. The GMPMH was inspired by the ecological approach in public health and health promotion programs, while adding to that approach the recovery mentors, as agents of mental health policies and legislation transformation. The GMPMH integrates recovery- and citizenship-oriented practices through the Ottawa Charter for Health Promotion of the World Health Organization. Indeed, here the GMPMH is said to be global in that the supranational and individual levels reinforce each other, taking turns with a) a set of legal rules and international conventions on human rights, including those of disabled persons, and b) the active involvement and agency of recovery mentors who can evoke these rules and conventions as part of a plea for the recognition of their personal and collective capacity for change; they acted as tracers of recovery trajectories during the Civic Forum. The GMPMH was first published in 2009, and revisited in 2013. While this latter revision was based on the 3rd Civic Forum, in this paper we use the same approach to revisit the GMPMH as underpinned by the findings and recommendations of the 4th Civic Forum, which discussed questions related to work and employment.Results Updating the GMPMH in light of the Civic Forum underlines the need for a more inclusive type of governance regarding policy and systems transformation. Local communities and persons in recovery can reach each other to promote change and

  2. Supplantation of Mental Operations on Graphs

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vogel, Markus; Girwidz, Raimund; Engel, Joachim

    2007-01-01

    Research findings show the difficulties younger students have in working with graphs. Higher mental operations are necessary for a skilled interpretation of abstract representations. We suggest connecting a concrete representation of the modeled problem with the related graph. The idea is to illustrate essential mental operations externally. This…

  3. Pilot towards developing a school mental health service : Experiences and lessons learnt in implementing Kenya integrated intervention model for dialogue and screening to promote children's mental well-being

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Mutiso, Victoria N.; Musyimi, Christine W.; Musau, Abednego M.; Nandoya, Erick S.; Mckenzie, Kwame; Ndetei, David M.

    2018-01-01

    Aim: This paper aims at documenting the process of implementing "Kenya Integrated intervention model for Dialogue and Screening to promote children's mental wellbeing (KIDS)", with emphasis on activities, experiences, challenges and lessons learnt through the process that can inform improvement in

  4. Mental health beliefs and barriers to accessing mental health services in youth aging out of foster care.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sakai, Christina; Mackie, Thomas I; Shetgiri, Rashmi; Franzen, Sara; Partap, Anu; Flores, Glenn; Leslie, Laurel K

    2014-01-01

    To examine the perspectives of youth on factors that influence mental health service use after aging out of foster care. Focus groups were conducted with youth with a history of mental health needs and previous service use who had aged out of foster care. Questions were informed by the Health Belief Model and addressed 4 domains: youth perceptions of the "threat of mental health problems," treatment benefits versus barriers to accessing mental health services, self-efficacy, and "cues to action." Data were analyzed using a modified grounded-theory approach. Youth (N = 28) reported ongoing mental health problems affecting their functioning; however, they articulated variable levels of reliance on formal mental health treatment versus their own ability to resolve these problems without treatment. Past mental health service experiences influenced whether youth viewed treatment options as beneficial. Youth identified limited self-efficacy and insufficient psychosocial supports "cueing action" during their transition out of foster care. Barriers to accessing mental health services included difficulties obtaining health insurance, finding a mental health provider, scheduling appointments, and transportation. Youths' perceptions of their mental health needs, self-efficacy, psychosocial supports during transition, and access barriers influence mental health service use after aging out of foster care. Results suggest that strategies are needed to 1) help youth and clinicians negotiate shared understanding of mental health treatment needs and options, 2) incorporate mental health into transition planning, and 3) address insurance and other systemic barriers to accessing mental health services after aging out of foster care. Copyright © 2014 Academic Pediatric Association. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  5. Interactions of Team Mental Models and Monitoring Behaviors Predict Team Performance in Simulated Anesthesia Inductions

    Science.gov (United States)

    Burtscher, Michael J.; Kolbe, Michaela; Wacker, Johannes; Manser, Tanja

    2011-01-01

    In the present study, we investigated how two team mental model properties (similarity vs. accuracy) and two forms of monitoring behavior (team vs. systems) interacted to predict team performance in anesthesia. In particular, we were interested in whether the relationship between monitoring behavior and team performance was moderated by team…

  6. An Integrated, Multidimensional Treatment Model for Individuals Living with HIV, Mental Illness, and Substance Abuse

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bouis, Stephanie; Reif, Susan; Whetten, Kathryn; Scovil, Janet; Murray, Andrea; Swartz, Marvin

    2007-01-01

    The challenge of providing effective treatment services for the growing population of HIV-positive individuals who are also dually diagnosed with substance use and mental disorders has only recently been recognized as an important public health concern affecting both HIV treatment and prevention. This article describes a treatment model that was…

  7. Mental health-related discrimination as a predictor of low engagement with mental health services.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Clement, Sarah; Williams, Paul; Farrelly, Simone; Hatch, Stephani L; Schauman, Oliver; Jeffery, Debra; Henderson, R Claire; Thornicroft, Graham

    2015-02-01

    This study aimed to test the hypothesis that mental health-related discrimination experienced by adults receiving care from community mental health teams is associated with low engagement with services and to explore the pathways between these two variables. In this cross-sectional study, 202 adults registered with inner-city community mental health teams in the United Kingdom completed interviews assessing their engagement with mental health services (service user-rated version of the Service Engagement Scale), discrimination that they experienced because of mental illness, and other variables. Structural equation modeling was conducted to examine the relationship of experienced discrimination and service engagement with potential mediating and moderating variables, such as anticipated discrimination (Questionnaire on Anticipated Discrimination), internalized stigma (Internalized Stigma of Mental Illness Scale), stigma stress appraisal (Stigma Stress Appraisal), mistrust in services, the therapeutic relationship (Scale to Assess Therapeutic Relationships), difficulty disclosing information about one's mental health, and social support. Analyses controlled for age, race-ethnicity, and symptomatology. No evidence was found for a direct effect between experienced discrimination and service engagement. The total indirect effect of experienced discrimination on service engagement was statistically significant (coefficient=1.055, 95% confidence interval [CI]=.312-2.074, p=.019), mainly via mistrust in mental health services and therapeutic relationships (coefficient=.804, CI=.295-1.558, p=.019). A 1-unit increase in experienced discrimination via this pathway resulted in .804-unit of deterioration in service engagement. Findings indicate the importance of building and maintaining service users' trust in mental health services and in therapeutic relationships with professionals and countering the discrimination that may erode trust.

  8. The mental health care model in Brazil: analyses of the funding, governance processes, and mechanisms of assessment.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Trapé, Thiago Lavras; Campos, Rosana Onocko

    2017-03-23

    This study aims to analyze the current status of the mental health care model of the Brazilian Unified Health System, according to its funding, governance processes, and mechanisms of assessment. We have carried out a documentary analysis of the ordinances, technical reports, conference reports, normative resolutions, and decrees from 2009 to 2014. This is a time of consolidation of the psychosocial model, with expansion of the health care network and inversion of the funding for community services with a strong emphasis on the area of crack cocaine and other drugs. Mental health is an underfunded area within the chronically underfunded Brazilian Unified Health System. The governance model constrains the progress of essential services, which creates the need for the incorporation of a process of regionalization of the management. The mechanisms of assessment are not incorporated into the health policy in the bureaucratic field. There is a need to expand the global funding of the area of health, specifically mental health, which has been shown to be a successful policy. The current focus of the policy seems to be archaic in relation to the precepts of the psychosocial model. Mechanisms of assessment need to be expanded. Analisar o estágio atual do modelo de atenção à saúde mental do Sistema Único de Saúde, segundo seu financiamento, processos de governança e mecanismos de avaliação. Foi realizada uma análise documental de portarias, informes técnicos, relatórios de conferência, resoluções e decretos de 2009 a 2014. Trata-se de um momento de consolidação do modelo psicossocial, com ampliação da rede assistencial, inversão de financiamento para serviços comunitários com forte ênfase na área de crack e outras drogas. A saúde mental é uma área subfinanciada dentro do subfinanciamento crônico do Sistema Único de Saúde. O modelo de governança constrange o avanço de serviços essenciais, havendo a necessidade da incorporação de um

  9. Frames of mental illness in the Yoruba genre of Nigerian movies: implications for orthodox mental health care.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Atilola, Olayinka; Olayiwola, Funmilayo

    2013-06-01

    This study examines the modes of framing mental illness in the Yoruba genre of Nigerian movies. All Yoruba films on display in a convenient sample of movie rental shops in Ibadan (Nigeria) were sampled for content. Of the 103 films studied, 27 (26.2%) contained scenes depicting mental illness. Psychotic symptoms were the most commonly depicted, while effective treatments were mostly depicted as taking place in unorthodox settings. The most commonly depicted aetiology of mental illness was sorcery and enchantment by witches and wizards, as well as other supernatural forces. Scenes of mental illness are common in Nigerian movies and these depictions-though reflecting the popular explanatory models of Yoruba-speaking Nigerians about mental illness- may impede utilization of mental health care services and ongoing efforts to reduce psychiatry stigma in this region. Efforts to reduce stigma and improve service utilization should engage the film industry.

  10. The role of social capital in the relationship between physical constraint and mental distress in older adults: a latent interaction model.

    Science.gov (United States)

    An, Sok; Jang, Yuri

    2018-02-01

    Building upon the widely known link between physical and mental health, the present study explored the buffering effects of social capital (indicated by social cohesion, social ties, and safety) in the relationship between physical constraint (indicated by chronic conditions and functional disability) and mental distress (indicated by symptoms of depression and anxiety). Using data from 2,264 community-dwelling older adults in the National Social Life, Health, and Aging Project (NSHAP) Wave 2 (M age = 74.51, SD = 6.67), a latent interaction model was tested. The model of mental distress, including both the main effect of physical constraint and social capital and their latent interaction, presented an excellent fit. The latent constructs of physical constraint (β = .54, p social capital (β = -.11, p interaction was also significant (β = -.26, p social capital had a heightened vulnerability to mental distress when faced with physical constraint, whereas the group with a high level of social capital demonstrated resilience. Findings call attention to ways to enhance older individuals' social capital in efforts to promote their health and well-being.

  11. The Perinatal Mental Health and Wellness Project: Improving perinatal mental health outcomes by working together across sectors

    OpenAIRE

    Herde, Emily Louise

    2018-01-01

    This paper reports on the Perinatal Mental Health and Wellness Project which aimed to develop and evaluate a collaborative model for mental health promotion, illness prevention and early intervention in the perinatal period. The project took on a place-based action research approach, developing and trialling the model with expectant parents (n=537) engaged with Redcliffe Hospital Maternity Services in the Metro North Hospital and Health Service in Queensland, Australia, from 2015 – 2017.In Au...

  12. Self-reliance, mental health need, and the use of mental healthcare among island Puerto Ricans.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ortega, Alexander N; Alegría, Margarita

    2002-09-01

    This paper examines the relationship between self-reliance (preference to solve emotional problems on one's own) and 5 mental healthcare utilization outcomes for Puerto Ricans living in low-income areas. A random probability community sample of noninstitutionalized Puerto Ricans, ages 18-69, living in low-income areas of the island were selected and interviewed in 1992-93 and 1993-94. A series of logistic regression models tested the association between self-reliance and 5 mental health utilization measures, after adjusting for covariates measuring predisposing, enabling, need and barrier factors: any use of mental health services, any use of general health services for mental healthcare, any use of specialty care, use of psychotropic medications, and retention in mental healthcare. Self-reliance was found to be negatively associated with all 5 dependent service utilization measures. Those with a positive self-reliant attitude were 40% less likely to use care on any of the 5 outcome measures. An interaction was also observed between definite need for mental healthcare and having a self-reliant attitude when predicting mental health service use. Definite needers with a self-reliant attitude were 54%-58% less likely to use mental health services compared with definite needers who did not have a self-reliant attitude. Further, decreases in self-reliant attitude over the two data collection periods were associated with increases in mental health service use. Our findings suggest that self-reliance is a significant and robust predictor of mental healthcare utilization among Puerto Ricans living in low-income areas of the island.

  13. Adapting the Crisis Intervention Team (CIT) Model of Police–Mental Health Collaboration in a Low-Income, Post-Conflict Country: Curriculum Development in Liberia, West Africa

    Science.gov (United States)

    Blasingame, Elise; Compton, Michael T.; Dakana, Samuel F.; Dossen, Benedict; Lang, Frank; Strode, Patricia; Cooper, Janice

    2015-01-01

    Objectives. We sought to develop a curriculum and collaboration model for law enforcement and mental health services in Liberia, West Africa. Methods. In 2013 we conducted key informant interviews with law enforcement officers, mental health clinicians, and mental health service users in Liberia, and facilitated a 3-day curriculum workshop. Results. Mental health service users reported prior violent interactions with officers. Officers and clinicians identified incarceration and lack of treatment of mental health service users as key problems, and they jointly drafted a curriculum based upon the Crisis Intervention Team (CIT) model adapted for Liberia. Officers’ mental health knowledge improved from 64% to 82% on workshop assessments (t = 5.52; P < .01). Clinicians’ attitudes improved (t = 2.42; P = .03). Six months after the workshop, 69% of clinicians reported improved engagement with law enforcement. Since the Ebola outbreak, law enforcement and clinicians have collaboratively addressed diverse public health needs. Conclusions. Collaborations between law enforcement and mental health clinicians can benefit multiple areas of public health, as demonstrated by partnerships to improve responses during the Ebola epidemic. Future research should evaluate training implementation and outcomes including stigma reduction, referrals, and use of force. PMID:25602903

  14. Adapting the Crisis Intervention Team (CIT) model of police-mental health collaboration in a low-income, post-conflict country: curriculum development in Liberia, West Africa.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kohrt, Brandon A; Blasingame, Elise; Compton, Michael T; Dakana, Samuel F; Dossen, Benedict; Lang, Frank; Strode, Patricia; Cooper, Janice

    2015-03-01

    We sought to develop a curriculum and collaboration model for law enforcement and mental health services in Liberia, West Africa. In 2013 we conducted key informant interviews with law enforcement officers, mental health clinicians, and mental health service users in Liberia, and facilitated a 3-day curriculum workshop. Mental health service users reported prior violent interactions with officers. Officers and clinicians identified incarceration and lack of treatment of mental health service users as key problems, and they jointly drafted a curriculum based upon the Crisis Intervention Team (CIT) model adapted for Liberia. Officers' mental health knowledge improved from 64% to 82% on workshop assessments (t=5.52; P<.01). Clinicians' attitudes improved (t=2.42; P=.03). Six months after the workshop, 69% of clinicians reported improved engagement with law enforcement. Since the Ebola outbreak, law enforcement and clinicians have collaboratively addressed diverse public health needs. Collaborations between law enforcement and mental health clinicians can benefit multiple areas of public health, as demonstrated by partnerships to improve responses during the Ebola epidemic. Future research should evaluate training implementation and outcomes including stigma reduction, referrals, and use of force.

  15. Investigating the Relationships among Stressors, Stress Level, and Mental Symptoms for Infertile Patients: A Structural Equation Modeling Approach.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jong-Yi Wang

    Full Text Available Patients with infertility are a high risk group in depression and anxiety. However, an existing theoretically and empirically validated model of stressors, stress, and mental symptoms specific for infertile patients is still a void. This study aimed to determine the related factors and their relational structures that affect the level of depressive and anxiety symptoms among infertile patients.A cross-sectional sample of 400 infertility outpatients seeking reproduction treatments in three teaching hospitals across Taiwan participated in the structured questionnaire survey in 2011. The hypothesized model comprising 10 latent variables was tested by Structural Equation Modeling using AMOS 17.Goodness-of-fit indexes, including χ2/DF = 1.871, PGFI = 0.746, PNFI = 0.764, and others, confirmed the modified model fit the data well. Marital stressor, importance of children, guilt-and-blame, and social stressor showed a direct effect on perceived stress. Instead of being a factor of stress, social support was directly and positively related to self-esteem. Perceived stress and self-esteem were the two major mediators for the relationships between stressors and mental symptoms. Increase in social support and self-esteem led to decrease in mental symptoms among the infertile patients.The relational structures were identified and named as the Stressors Stress Symptoms Model, clinically applied to predict anxiety and depression from various stressors. Assessing sources and level of infertility-related stress and implementing culturally-sensitive counseling with an emphasis on positive personal value may assist in preventing the severity of depression and anxiety.

  16. Investigating the Relationships among Stressors, Stress Level, and Mental Symptoms for Infertile Patients: A Structural Equation Modeling Approach.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Jong-Yi; Li, Yi-Shan; Chen, Jen-De; Liang, Wen-Miin; Yang, Tung-Chuan; Lee, Young-Chang; Wang, Chia-Woei

    2015-01-01

    Patients with infertility are a high risk group in depression and anxiety. However, an existing theoretically and empirically validated model of stressors, stress, and mental symptoms specific for infertile patients is still a void. This study aimed to determine the related factors and their relational structures that affect the level of depressive and anxiety symptoms among infertile patients. A cross-sectional sample of 400 infertility outpatients seeking reproduction treatments in three teaching hospitals across Taiwan participated in the structured questionnaire survey in 2011. The hypothesized model comprising 10 latent variables was tested by Structural Equation Modeling using AMOS 17. Goodness-of-fit indexes, including χ2/DF = 1.871, PGFI = 0.746, PNFI = 0.764, and others, confirmed the modified model fit the data well. Marital stressor, importance of children, guilt-and-blame, and social stressor showed a direct effect on perceived stress. Instead of being a factor of stress, social support was directly and positively related to self-esteem. Perceived stress and self-esteem were the two major mediators for the relationships between stressors and mental symptoms. Increase in social support and self-esteem led to decrease in mental symptoms among the infertile patients. The relational structures were identified and named as the Stressors Stress Symptoms Model, clinically applied to predict anxiety and depression from various stressors. Assessing sources and level of infertility-related stress and implementing culturally-sensitive counseling with an emphasis on positive personal value may assist in preventing the severity of depression and anxiety.

  17. Psychological Plausibility of the Theory of Probabilistic Mental Models and the Fast and Frugal Heuristics

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dougherty, Michael R.; Franco-Watkins, Ana M.; Thomas, Rick

    2008-01-01

    The theory of probabilistic mental models (PMM; G. Gigerenzer, U. Hoffrage, & H. Kleinbolting, 1991) has had a major influence on the field of judgment and decision making, with the most recent important modifications to PMM theory being the identification of several fast and frugal heuristics (G. Gigerenzer & D. G. Goldstein, 1996). These…

  18. [The Clubhouse model for people with severe mental illnesses: Literature review and French experiment].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bouvet, C; Battin, C; Le Roy-Hatala, C

    2015-12-01

    The aim of this article is 1) to present the Clubhouse (CH) Model and the first French CH, and 2) study the empirical background on the efficiency of the CH concerning employment, quality of life and hospitalization for people with mental illness. The first Clubhouse was created sixty years ago in the U.S. The Clubhouse model of psychosocial rehabilitation is a program that offers to people with mental illness support and opportunities to find a job and return to a normal social life. The Clubhouse model has been built over the years thanks to the experiences of members and staff. It is based on "36 standards" (rules which each Clubhouse follows in order to attain its goals). Supported by associations and families of people with mental illness, health professionals, and the international federation of Clubhouses (Clubhouse International), the first Clubhouse in France has opened in November 2011. This non-medicalized association and its co-management by both members and staff are innovative in France. The aims of the Clubhouse are founded on the concept of empowerment and "peer-help", and on the fight against isolation and stigmatization. Clubhouses offer day-programs which allow people with mental illness to have a sense of community and a useful purpose within the association. Indeed, the salaried management team is voluntarily understaffed so that the participation of members is necessary and so that they can benefit from the opportunities for useful activity within the Clubhouse, developing a real opportunity of empowerment. In order to study the efficiency of CH, we conducted a systematic review of publications on CH, first in the database of Club House International (500 publications) and second, in the scientific data base (Psycinfo, Psycarticles, Academic Search Premier, Medline et Science Direct) (205 publications included in the 500). We identified 64 scientific studies. We have selected 28 of them that focused on the variable: employment, quality of life

  19. Predictive model of nicotine dependence based on mental health indicators and self-concept

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hamid Kazemi Zahrani

    2014-12-01

    Full Text Available Background: The purpose of this research was to investigate the predictive power of anxiety, depression, stress and self-concept dimensions (Mental ability, job efficiency, physical attractiveness, social skills, and deficiencies and merits as predictors of nicotine dependency among university students in Isfahan. Methods: In this correlational study, 110 male nicotine-dependent students at Isfahan University were selected by convenience sampling. All samples were assessed by Depression Anxiety Stress Scale (DASS, self-concept test and Nicotine Dependence Syndrome Scale. Data were analyzed by Pearson correlation and stepwise regression. Results: The result showed that anxiety had the highest strength to predict nicotine dependence. In addition, the self-concept and its dimensions predicted only 12% of the variance in nicotine dependence, which was not significant. Conclusion: Emotional processing variables involved in mental health play an important role in presenting a model to predict students’ dependence on nicotine more than identity variables such as different dimensions of self-concept.

  20. Mental models of safety: do managers and employees see eye to eye?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Prussia, Gregory E; Brown, Karen A; Willis, P Geoff

    2003-01-01

    Disagreements between managers and employees about the causes of accidents and unsafe work behaviors can lead to serious workplace conflicts and distract organizations from the important work of establishing positive safety climate and reducing the incidence of accidents. In this study, the authors examine a model for predicting safe work behaviors and establish the model's consistency across managers and employees in a steel plant setting. Using the model previously described by Brown, Willis, and Prussia (2000), the authors found that when variables influencing safety are considered within a framework of safe work behaviors, managers and employees share a similar mental model. The study then contrasts employees' and managers' specific attributional perceptions. Findings from these more fine-grained analyses suggest the two groups differ in several respects about individual constructs. Most notable were contrasts in attributions based on their perceptions of safety climate. When perceived climate is poor, managers believe employees are responsible and employees believe managers are responsible for workplace safety. However, as perceived safety climate improves, managers and employees converge in their perceptions of who is responsible for safety. It can be concluded from this study that in a highly interdependent work environment, such as a steel mill, where high system reliability is essential and members possess substantial experience working together, managers and employees will share general mental models about the factors that contribute to unsafe behaviors, and, ultimately, to workplace accidents. It is possible that organizations not as tightly coupled as steel mills can use such organizations as benchmarks, seeking ways to create a shared understanding of factors that contribute to a safe work environment. Part of this improvement effort should focus on advancing organizational safety climate. As climate improves, managers and employees are likely to agree

  1. Engagement processes in model programs for community reentry from prison for people with serious mental illness.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Angell, Beth; Matthews, Elizabeth; Barrenger, Stacey; Watson, Amy C; Draine, Jeffrey

    2014-01-01

    Linking prisoners with mental illness with treatment following release is critical to preventing recidivism, but little research exists to inform efforts to engage them effectively. This presentation compares the engagement process in two model programs, each representing an evidence-based practice for mental health which has been adapted to the context of prison reentry. One model, Forensic Assertive Community Treatment (FACT), emphasizes a long-term wrap-around approach that seeks to maximize continuity of care by concentrating all services within one interdisciplinary team; the other, Critical Time Intervention (CTI), is a time-limited intervention that promotes linkages to outside services and bolsters natural support systems. To compare engagement practices, we analyze data from two qualitative studies, each conducted in a newly developed treatment program serving prisoners with mental illness being discharged from prisons to urban communities. Findings show that the working relationship in reentry services exhibits unique features and is furthered in both programs by the use of practitioner strategies of engagement, including tangible assistance, methods of interacting with consumers, and encouragement of service use via third parties such as families and parole officers. Nevertheless, each program exhibited distinct cultures and rituals of reentry that were associated with fundamental differences in philosophy and differences in resources available to each program. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  2. Rethinking Historical and Cultural Source of Spontaneous Mental Models of Water Cycle: In the Perspective of South Korea

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nam, Younkyeong

    2012-01-01

    This review explores Ben-Zvi Assaraf, Eshach, Orion, and Alamour's paper titled "Cultural Differences and Students' Spontaneous Models of the Water Cycle: A Case Study of Jewish and Bedouin Children in Israel" by examining how the authors use the concept of spontaneous mental models to explain cultural knowledge source of Bedouin…

  3. [Psychological benefits of physical activity for optimal mental health].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Poirel, Emmanuel

    Mental health is a worldwide public health concern, as can be seen from the WHO's comprehensive mental health action plan 2013-2020 which was adopted by the 66th World Health Assembly. According to the Mental health commission of Canada (2012), one in five Canadians will personally experience a mental illness in their lifetime, and the WHO shows that mental illness represents the second most prevalent risk of morbidity after heart disease. Physical activity certainly provides an answer to this problem. Physical activity has been shown to improve physical health but it is also one of the most natural and accessible means to improve mental health. The aim of the present article is to propose a biopsychosocial model on the basis of a literature review on the psychological benefits of physical activity. In view of the findings we assume that physical activity increases mental well-being and optimal mental health as opposed to poor mental health. Hence, physical activity provides a state of well-being that enables individuals to realize their own potential, and that helps to cope with the normal stresses of life or adversity. The model certainly opens the way for research and new hypothesis, but it also aims at the promotion of the benefits of physical activity on psychological well-being for optimal mental health.

  4. Mental illness and employment discrimination.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stuart, Heather

    2006-09-01

    Work is a major determinant of mental health and a socially integrating force. To be excluded from the workforce creates material deprivation, erodes self-confidence, creates a sense of isolation and marginalization and is a key risk factor for mental disability. This review summarizes recent evidence pertaining to employment-related stigma and discrimination experienced by people with mental disabilities. A broad understanding of the stigmatization process is adopted, which includes cognitive, attitudinal, behavioural and structural disadvantages. Stigma is both a proximate and a distal cause of employment inequity for people with a mental disability who experience direct discrimination because of prejudicial attitudes from employers and workmates and indirect discrimination owing to historical patterns of disadvantage, structural disincentives against competitive employment and generalized policy neglect. Against this background, modern mental health rehabilitation models and legislative philosophies, which focus on citizenship rights and full social participation, are to be welcomed. Yet, recent findings demonstrate that the legislation remains vulnerable to the very prejudicial attitudes they are intended to abate. Research conducted during the past year continues to highlight multiple attitudinal and structural barriers that prevent people with mental disabilities from becoming active participants in the competitive labour market.

  5. The role of working memory on measuring mental models of physical systems

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    José F. Quesada

    2001-01-01

    Full Text Available El papel de la Memoria Operativa en la medición de los modelos mentales de los sistemas físicos. Hasta ahora no ha existido un acuerdo sobre la definición correcta de Modelo Mental de un sistema físico y sobre la forma como podemos inferir el Modelo Mental que una persona tiene del sistema con el que está interactuando. En este artículo se describe una investigación encaminada a solucionar estos problemas con la propuesta de una definición según la cual un Modelos Mental es una representación dinámica creada en la Memoria Operativa, combinando la información almacenada en la Memoria a Largo Plazo y las características extraídas del ambiente. Las hipótesis derivadas de esta propuesta se prueban en tres experimentos y se discuten las implicaciones que sus resultados tienen para la investigación futura sobre Modelos Mentales.

  6. Perspectives on quality mental health care from Brazilian and Cape Verdean outpatients: implications for effective patient-centered policies and models of care.

    Science.gov (United States)

    De Jesus, Maria; Earl, Tara R

    2014-01-01

    Mental health providers are increasingly coming into contact with large and growing multi-racial/ethnic and immigrant patient populations in the United States. Knowledge of patient perspectives on what constitutes quality mental health care is necessary for these providers. The aim of this study was to identify indicators of quality of mental health care that matter most to two underrepresented immigrant patient groups of Portuguese background: Brazilians and Cape Verdeans. A qualitative design was adopted using focus group discussions. Six focus groups of patients (n=24 Brazilians; n=24 Cape Verdeans) who received outpatient mental health treatment through public safety net clinics in the northeast region of the United States were conducted. The Consensual Qualitative Research analytic method allowed us to identify three quality of care domains: provider performance, aspects of mental health care environment, and effectiveness of mental health care treatment. Provider performance was associated with five categories: relational, communication, linguistic, cultural, and technical competencies. Aspects of mental health care environment were linked to two categories: psychosocial and physical environment. Effectiveness of mental health care treatment was related to two categories: therapeutic relationship and treatment outcomes. Study findings provide useful data for the development of more culturally appropriate and effective patient-centered models and policies in mental health care.

  7. Top Management Teams’ Characteristics and Strategic Decision-Making: A Mediation of Risk Perceptions and Mental Models

    OpenAIRE

    Tungju Wu; Yenchun Jim Wu; Hsientang Tsai; Yibin Li

    2017-01-01

    Strategic decision-making is a key factor of sustainability and development in enterprises. Moreover, the top management team (TMT) of an enterprise constitutes the base for decision-making. This study employed structural equation modeling to analyze questionnaires regarding TMTs’ characteristics and strategic decision-making, and tested the mediating effects of risk perceptions and mental models and the moderating effects of psychological ownership. We investigated 289 valid questionnaires o...

  8. Building a Values-Informed Mental Model for New Orleans Climate Risk Management.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bessette, Douglas L; Mayer, Lauren A; Cwik, Bryan; Vezér, Martin; Keller, Klaus; Lempert, Robert J; Tuana, Nancy

    2017-10-01

    Individuals use values to frame their beliefs and simplify their understanding when confronted with complex and uncertain situations. The high complexity and deep uncertainty involved in climate risk management (CRM) lead to individuals' values likely being coupled to and contributing to their understanding of specific climate risk factors and management strategies. Most mental model approaches, however, which are commonly used to inform our understanding of people's beliefs, ignore values. In response, we developed a "Values-informed Mental Model" research approach, or ViMM, to elicit individuals' values alongside their beliefs and determine which values people use to understand and assess specific climate risk factors and CRM strategies. Our results show that participants consistently used one of three values to frame their understanding of risk factors and CRM strategies in New Orleans: (1) fostering a healthy economy, wealth, and job creation, (2) protecting and promoting healthy ecosystems and biodiversity, and (3) preserving New Orleans' unique culture, traditions, and historically significant neighborhoods. While the first value frame is common in analyses of CRM strategies, the latter two are often ignored, despite their mirroring commonly accepted pillars of sustainability. Other values like distributive justice and fairness were prioritized differently depending on the risk factor or strategy being discussed. These results suggest that the ViMM method could be a critical first step in CRM decision-support processes and may encourage adoption of CRM strategies more in line with stakeholders' values. © 2017 Society for Risk Analysis.

  9. Cost-effectiveness of the Mental Health and Development model for schizophrenia-spectrum and bipolar disorders in rural Kenya.

    Science.gov (United States)

    de Menil, V; Knapp, M; McDaid, D; Raja, S; Kingori, J; Waruguru, M; Wood, S K; Mannarath, S; Lund, C

    2015-10-01

    The treatment gap for serious mental disorders across low-income countries is estimated to be 89%. The model for Mental Health and Development (MHD) offers community-based care for people with mental disorders in 11 low- and middle-income countries. In Kenya, using a pre-post design, 117 consecutively enrolled participants with schizophrenia-spectrum and bipolar disorders were followed-up at 10 and 20 months. Comparison outcomes were drawn from the literature. Costs were analysed from societal and health system perspectives. From the societal perspective, MHD cost Int$ 594 per person in the first year and Int$ 876 over 2 years. The cost per healthy day gained was Int$ 7.96 in the first year and Int$ 1.03 over 2 years - less than the agricultural minimum wage. The cost per disability-adjusted life year averted over 2 years was Int$ 13.1 and Int$ 727 from the societal and health system perspectives, respectively, on par with antiretrovirals for HIV. MHD achieved increasing returns over time. The model appears cost-effective and equitable, especially over 2 years. Its affordability relies on multi-sectoral participation nationally and internationally.

  10. What characterizes persons with poor mental health?

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Christensen, Anne Illemann; Davidsen, Michael; Kjøller, Mette

    2014-01-01

    analysed by means of logistic regression models. Results: Men and women with poor mental health are characterized by being single, having a long-term illness, not being able to rely on help from others in case of illness and by feeling that family and friends demand too much of them. Men with poor mental...... health were further characterized by being a heavy smoker, and having a BMI below 25. Women with poor mental health were further characterized by being 16-44 years old and sedentary in leisure time. CONCLUSIONS THE PREVALENCE OF POOR MENTAL HEALTH IS HIGHER AMONG WOMEN THAN MEN, AND DIFFERENT FACTORS...... CHARACTERIZE MEN AND WOMEN WITH POOR MENTAL HEALTH THE PRESENT FINDINGS SUPPORT THE NOTION THAT BOTH SOCIO-DEMOGRAPHICS AND LIFESTYLE FACTORS ARE INDEPENDENTLY RELATED WITH POOR MENTAL HEALTH WE SUGGEST TAKING INTO ACCOUNT ALL THESE AREAS OF LIFE WHEN PLANNING ACTIVITIES TO PREVENT POOR MENTAL HEALTH AND WHEN...

  11. Infusing Early Childhood Mental Health into Early Intervention Services

    Science.gov (United States)

    Grabert, John C.

    2009-01-01

    This article describes the process of enhancing early childhood mental health awareness and skills in non-mental health staff. The author describes a pilot training model, conducted the U.S. Army's Early Intervention Services, that involved: (a) increasing early childhood mental health knowledge through reflective readings, (b) enhancing…

  12. Using the Social Enterprise Intervention (SEI) and Individual Placement and Support (IPS) models to improve employment and clinical outcomes of homeless youth with mental illness.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ferguson, Kristin M

    2013-09-01

    Prior research reveals high unemployment rates among homeless youth. The literature offers many examples of using evidence-informed and evidence-based supported employment models with vulnerable populations to assist them in obtaining and maintaining employment and concurrently addressing mental health challenges. However, there are few examples to date of these models with homeless youth with mental illness. The purpose of this article was thus to describe a methodology for establishing a university-agency research partnership to design, implement, evaluate, and replicate evidence-informed and evidence-based interventions with homeless youth with mental illness to enhance their employment, mental health, and functional outcomes. Data from two studies are used to illustrate the relationship between vocational skill-building/employment and mental health among homeless youth. The article concludes with a discussion of the implications of conducting community-based participatory employment and clinical intervention research. The author highlights the opportunities and tensions associated with this approach.

  13. New Developments in Mental Health and Community

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Isabel Fazenda

    2014-06-01

    Full Text Available The community mental health model implies a bio‐psycho‐social perspective of mental health/illness issues, as well as a set of values that advocate equity in service access, community treatment, respect for human rights, a recovery vision, promotion of independent living, social integration and user and family participation. In accordance with the priorities set by the European Union, mental health services must guarantee that these principles are applied in the prevention, treatment, rehabilitation and promotion of mental health. Inter‐sector cooperation is an essential part of developing transversal policies that ensure society’s involvement in mental health promotion. Advances in community mental health in‐ dicate the relevance of considering human rights both in policy development and in practice, of the recovery perspective and of the need to promote the participation of user and carer organizations.

  14. School-Based Mental Health Services: Definitions and Models of Effective Practice

    Science.gov (United States)

    Doll, Beth; Nastasi, Bonnie K.; Cornell, Laura; Song, Samuel Y.

    2017-01-01

    School-based mental health services are those delivered by school-employed and community-employed providers in school buildings. With the implementation of provisions of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (2010) that funds school-based health centers, school-based mental health services could become more broadly available in…

  15. Media portrayal of mental illness and its treatments: what effect does it have on people with mental illness?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stuart, Heather

    2006-01-01

    This article reviews dominant media portrayals of mental illness, the mentally ill and mental health interventions, and examines what social, emotional and treatment-related effects these may have. Studies consistently show that both entertainment and news media provide overwhelmingly dramatic and distorted images of mental illness that emphasise dangerousness, criminality and unpredictability. They also model negative reactions to the mentally ill, including fear, rejection, derision and ridicule. The consequences of negative media images for people who have a mental illness are profound. They impair self-esteem, help-seeking behaviours, medication adherence and overall recovery. Mental health advocates blame the media for promoting stigma and discrimination toward people with a mental illness. However, the media may also be an important ally in challenging public prejudices, initiating public debate, and projecting positive, human interest stories about people who live with mental illness. Media lobbying and press liaison should take on a central role for mental health professionals, not only as a way of speaking out for patients who may not be able to speak out for themselves, but as a means of improving public education and awareness. Also, given the consistency of research findings in this field, it may now be time to shift attention away from further cataloguing of media representations of mental illness to the more challenging prospect of how to use the media to improve the life chances and recovery possibilities for the one in four people living with mental disorders.

  16. Probabilistic representation in syllogistic reasoning: A theory to integrate mental models and heuristics.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hattori, Masasi

    2016-12-01

    This paper presents a new theory of syllogistic reasoning. The proposed model assumes there are probabilistic representations of given signature situations. Instead of conducting an exhaustive search, the model constructs an individual-based "logical" mental representation that expresses the most probable state of affairs, and derives a necessary conclusion that is not inconsistent with the model using heuristics based on informativeness. The model is a unification of previous influential models. Its descriptive validity has been evaluated against existing empirical data and two new experiments, and by qualitative analyses based on previous empirical findings, all of which supported the theory. The model's behavior is also consistent with findings in other areas, including working memory capacity. The results indicate that people assume the probabilities of all target events mentioned in a syllogism to be almost equal, which suggests links between syllogistic reasoning and other areas of cognition. Copyright © 2016 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  17. Mental and substance use disorders in Sub-Saharan Africa: predictions of epidemiological changes and mental health workforce requirements for the next 40 years.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Charlson, Fiona J; Diminic, Sandra; Lund, Crick; Degenhardt, Louisa; Whiteford, Harvey A

    2014-01-01

    The world is undergoing a rapid health transition, with an ageing population and disease burden increasingly defined by disability. In Sub-Saharan Africa the next 40 years are predicted to see reduced mortality, signalling a surge in the impact of chronic diseases. We modelled these epidemiological changes and associated mental health workforce requirements. Years lived with a disability (YLD) predictions for mental and substance use disorders for each decade from 2010 to 2050 for four Sub-Saharan African regions were calculated using Global Burden of Disease 2010 study (GBD 2010) data and UN population forecasts. Predicted mental health workforce requirements for 2010 and 2050, by region and for selected countries, were modelled using GBD 2010 prevalence estimates and recommended packages of care and staffing ratios for low- and middle-income countries, and compared to current staffing from the WHO Mental Health Atlas. Significant population growth and ageing will result in an estimated 130% increase in the burden of mental and substance use disorders in Sub-Saharan Africa by 2050, to 45 million YLDs. As a result, the required mental health workforce will increase by 216,600 full time equivalent staff from 2010 to 2050, and far more compared to the existing workforce. The growth in mental and substance use disorders by 2050 is likely to significantly affect health and productivity in Sub-Saharan Africa. To reduce this burden, packages of care for key mental disorders should be provided through increasing the mental health workforce towards targets outlined in this paper. This requires a shift from current practice in most African countries, involving substantial investment in the training of primary care practitioners, supported by district based mental health specialist teams using a task sharing model that mobilises local community resources, with the expansion of inpatient psychiatric units based in district and regional general hospitals.

  18. Mental and substance use disorders in Sub-Saharan Africa: predictions of epidemiological changes and mental health workforce requirements for the next 40 years.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Fiona J Charlson

    Full Text Available The world is undergoing a rapid health transition, with an ageing population and disease burden increasingly defined by disability. In Sub-Saharan Africa the next 40 years are predicted to see reduced mortality, signalling a surge in the impact of chronic diseases. We modelled these epidemiological changes and associated mental health workforce requirements. Years lived with a disability (YLD predictions for mental and substance use disorders for each decade from 2010 to 2050 for four Sub-Saharan African regions were calculated using Global Burden of Disease 2010 study (GBD 2010 data and UN population forecasts. Predicted mental health workforce requirements for 2010 and 2050, by region and for selected countries, were modelled using GBD 2010 prevalence estimates and recommended packages of care and staffing ratios for low- and middle-income countries, and compared to current staffing from the WHO Mental Health Atlas. Significant population growth and ageing will result in an estimated 130% increase in the burden of mental and substance use disorders in Sub-Saharan Africa by 2050, to 45 million YLDs. As a result, the required mental health workforce will increase by 216,600 full time equivalent staff from 2010 to 2050, and far more compared to the existing workforce. The growth in mental and substance use disorders by 2050 is likely to significantly affect health and productivity in Sub-Saharan Africa. To reduce this burden, packages of care for key mental disorders should be provided through increasing the mental health workforce towards targets outlined in this paper. This requires a shift from current practice in most African countries, involving substantial investment in the training of primary care practitioners, supported by district based mental health specialist teams using a task sharing model that mobilises local community resources, with the expansion of inpatient psychiatric units based in district and regional general hospitals.

  19. Mental and Substance Use Disorders in Sub-Saharan Africa: Predictions of Epidemiological Changes and Mental Health Workforce Requirements for the Next 40 Years

    Science.gov (United States)

    Charlson, Fiona J.; Diminic, Sandra; Lund, Crick; Degenhardt, Louisa; Whiteford, Harvey A.

    2014-01-01

    The world is undergoing a rapid health transition, with an ageing population and disease burden increasingly defined by disability. In Sub-Saharan Africa the next 40 years are predicted to see reduced mortality, signalling a surge in the impact of chronic diseases. We modelled these epidemiological changes and associated mental health workforce requirements. Years lived with a disability (YLD) predictions for mental and substance use disorders for each decade from 2010 to 2050 for four Sub-Saharan African regions were calculated using Global Burden of Disease 2010 study (GBD 2010) data and UN population forecasts. Predicted mental health workforce requirements for 2010 and 2050, by region and for selected countries, were modelled using GBD 2010 prevalence estimates and recommended packages of care and staffing ratios for low- and middle-income countries, and compared to current staffing from the WHO Mental Health Atlas. Significant population growth and ageing will result in an estimated 130% increase in the burden of mental and substance use disorders in Sub-Saharan Africa by 2050, to 45 million YLDs. As a result, the required mental health workforce will increase by 216,600 full time equivalent staff from 2010 to 2050, and far more compared to the existing workforce. The growth in mental and substance use disorders by 2050 is likely to significantly affect health and productivity in Sub-Saharan Africa. To reduce this burden, packages of care for key mental disorders should be provided through increasing the mental health workforce towards targets outlined in this paper. This requires a shift from current practice in most African countries, involving substantial investment in the training of primary care practitioners, supported by district based mental health specialist teams using a task sharing model that mobilises local community resources, with the expansion of inpatient psychiatric units based in district and regional general hospitals. PMID:25310010

  20. Adolescent construction of mental illness: implication for engagement and treatment.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chisholm, Katharine; Patterson, Paul; Greenfield, Sheila; Turner, Erin; Birchwood, Max

    2016-05-11

    Understanding how adolescents perceive mental illness is important for clinicians wishing to improve engagement, and for the development of educational programmes and health-behaviour directed policies. The current research aimed to develop a preliminary model of how adolescents perceive mental illness and construct their understanding of mental health. Forty-six participants aged 11-18 from six schools in Birmingham, UK, took part in one of 12 group interviews. A thematic analysis highlighted a dual perception of mental illness. Adolescents discussed stereotypes and extreme examples of illness, but also displayed an insightful understanding of mental distress which had developed through participants' own experiences. Participants attempted to reconcile and negotiate these conflicting perceptions by creating distinctions between concepts of 'craziness' and 'normality', and reported experiencing negative emotions relating to both perceptions of illness. The findings suggest that once media stereotypes have been acknowledged, adolescents demonstrate a relatively sophisticated understanding of mental illness, although one which differed at times from the diagnostic medical model of mental illness. Focusing on individual symptoms, prevalence rates and prior contact adolescents have had with individuals with mental illnesses provides a framework to discuss mental health and ill-health with adolescents. John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd.

  1. Mental health court outcomes: a comparison of re-arrest and re-arrest severity between mental health court and traditional court participants.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Moore, Marlee E; Hiday, Virginia Aldigé

    2006-12-01

    Mental health courts have been proliferating across the country since their establishment in the late 1990's. Although numerous advocates have proclaimed their merit, only few empirical studies have evaluated their outcomes. This paper evaluates the effect of one mental health court on criminal justice outcomes by examining arrests and offense severity from one year before to one year after entry into the court, and by comparing mental health court participants to comparable traditional criminal court defendants on these measures. Multivariate models support the prediction that mental health courts reduce the number of new arrests and the severity of such re-arrests among mentally ill offenders. Similar analysis of mental health court completers and non-completers supports the prediction that a "full dose" of mental health treatment and court monitoring produce even fewer re-arrests.

  2. No Child Overlooked: Mental Health Triage in the Schools

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wilson, F. Robert; Tang, Mei; Schiller, Kelly; Sebera, Kerry

    2009-01-01

    Mental health problems among children in schools are on the increase. To exercise due diligence in their responsibility to monitor and promote mental health among our nation's children, school counselors may learn from triage systems employed in hospitals, clinics, and mental health centers. The School Counselor's Triage Model provides school…

  3. Informing Public Perceptions About Climate Change: A 'Mental Models' Approach.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wong-Parodi, Gabrielle; Bruine de Bruin, Wändi

    2017-10-01

    As the specter of climate change looms on the horizon, people will face complex decisions about whether to support climate change policies and how to cope with climate change impacts on their lives. Without some grasp of the relevant science, they may find it hard to make informed decisions. Climate experts therefore face the ethical need to effectively communicate to non-expert audiences. Unfortunately, climate experts may inadvertently violate the maxims of effective communication, which require sharing communications that are truthful, brief, relevant, clear, and tested for effectiveness. Here, we discuss the 'mental models' approach towards developing communications, which aims to help experts to meet the maxims of effective communications, and to better inform the judgments and decisions of non-expert audiences.

  4. Mental Attention in Gifted and Nongifted Children

    Science.gov (United States)

    Navarro, Jose I.; Ramiro, Pedro; Lopez, Jose M.; Aguilar, Manuel; Acosta, Manuel; Montero, Juan

    2006-01-01

    The relationship between the construct of mental attention and "giftedness" is not well established. Gifted individuals could make effective use of their executive functions and this could be related to their mental attentional capacity. The dialectic constructivist model developed by Pascual-Leone introduced the concept of mental…

  5. Psychological elements in car-following models : Mental workload in case of incidents in the other driving lane

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Hoogendoorn, R.G.; Hoogendoorn, S.P.; Brookhuis, K.A.; Daamen, W.

    2010-01-01

    Estimations of parameter values of car-following models show considerable differences between individuals and experiments. These differences may be caused by a different effect of external circumstances on mental workload of drivers. This effect may especially play a considerable role in case of

  6. Knockout mouse model for Fxr2: a model for mental retardation

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    C.J.M. Bontekoe (Carola); L. Kirkpatrick; C.E. Bakker (Cathy); A.T. Hoogeveen (Andre); R. McAninch; M. Merriweather; B.A. Oostra (Ben); N.C. Cheng (Ngan Ching); K.L. McIlwain; I.M. Nieuwenhuizen (Ingeborg); L.A. Yuva-Paylor; R. Paylor; A. Nellis; R. Willemsen (Rob); Z. Fang; D. Nelson

    2002-01-01

    textabstractFragile X syndrome is a common form of mental retardation caused by the absence of the FMR1 protein, FMRP. Fmr1 knockout mice exhibit a phenotype with some similarities to humans, such as macro-orchidism and behavioral abnormalities. Two homologs of FMRP have been

  7. Investigating students’ mental models and knowledge construction of microscopic friction. II. Implications for curriculum design and development

    OpenAIRE

    Edgar D. Corpuz; N. Sanjay Rebello

    2011-01-01

    Our previous research showed that students’ mental models of friction at the atomic level are significantly influenced by their macroscopic ideas. For most students, friction is due to the meshing of bumps and valleys and rubbing of atoms. The aforementioned results motivated us to further investigate how students can be helped to improve their present models of microscopic friction. Teaching interviews were conducted to study the dynamics of their model construction as they interacted with t...

  8. Prevalence and correlates of positive mental health in Chinese adolescents.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Guo, Cheng; Tomson, Göran; Keller, Christina; Söderqvist, Fredrik

    2018-02-17

    Studies investigating the prevalence of positive mental health and its correlates are still scarce compared to the studies on mental disorders, although there is growing interest of assessing positive mental health in adolescents. So far, no other study examining the prevalence and determinants of positive mental health in Chinese adolescents has been found. The purpose of this study was to assess the prevalence and correlates of positive mental health in Chinese adolescents. This cross-sectional study used a questionnaire including Mental Health Continuum-Short Form (MHC-SF) and items regarding multiple aspects of adolescent life. The sample involved a total of 5399 students from grade 8 and 10 in Weifang, China. Multivariate Logistic regression analyses were performed to evaluate the associations between potential indicators regarding socio-economic situations, life style, social support and school life and positive mental health and calculate odds ratios and 95% confidence intervals. More than half (57.4%) of the participants were diagnosed as flourishing. The correlated factors of positive mental health in regression models included gender, perceived family economy, the occurrence of sibling(s), satisfaction of self-appearance, physical activity, sleep quality, stress, social trust, desire to learn, support from teachers and parents as well as whether being bullied at school (OR ranging from 1.23 to 2.75). The Hosmer-Lemeshow p-value for the final regression model (0.45) indicated adequate model fit. This study gives the first overview on prevalence and correlates of positive mental health in Chinese adolescents. The prevalence of positive mental health in Chinese adolescents is higher than reported in most of the previous studies also using MHC-SF. Our findings suggest that adolescents with advantageous socio-economic situations, life style, social support and school life are experiencing better positive mental health than others.

  9. [Prevention of mental disorders].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Riedel-Heller, Steffi; Gühne, Uta

    2013-12-01

    Investment in prevention is a major public health requirement. Mental disorders are common and are associated with severe consequences. They are a major target for prevention. Based on vulnerabilitiy-stress-models the theoretical background for prevention in mental disorders is outlined. Effective strategies for children, adolescents, adults and individuals in old age do exist. Results regarding the prevention of depres-sion and psychoses are outlined and risk groups which require current actions are determined. Current activities towards a national prevention strategy in Germany are discussed. © Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart · New York.

  10. Mental Health and Educational Experiences Among Black Youth: A Latent Class Analysis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rose, Theda; Lindsey, Michael A; Xiao, Yunyu; Finigan-Carr, Nadine M; Joe, Sean

    2017-11-01

    Disproportionately lower educational achievement, coupled with higher grade retention, suspensions, expulsions, and lower school bonding make educational success among Black adolescents a major public health concern. Mental health is a key developmental factor related to educational outcomes among adolescents; however, traditional models of mental health focus on absence of dysfunction as a way to conceptualize mental health. The dual-factor model of mental health incorporates indicators of both subjective wellbeing and psychopathology, supporting more recent research that both are needed to comprehensively assess mental health. This study applied the dual-factor model to measure mental health using the National Survey of American Life-Adolescent Supplement (NSAL-A), a representative cross-sectional survey. The sample included 1170 Black adolescents (52% female; mean age 15). Latent class analysis was conducted with positive indicators of subjective wellbeing (emotional, psychological, and social) as well as measures of psychopathology. Four mental health groups were identified, based on having high or low subjective wellbeing and high or low psychopathology. Accordingly, associations between mental health groups and educational outcomes were investigated. Significant associations were observed in school bonding, suspensions, and grade retention, with the positive mental health group (high subjective wellbeing, low psychopathology) experiencing more beneficial outcomes. The results support a strong association between school bonding and better mental health and have implications for a more comprehensive view of mental health in interventions targeting improved educational experiences and mental health among Black adolescents.

  11. Using personality traits to construct linear growth models of mental health in family members of individuals with severe brain injury.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Trujillo, Michael; Perrin, Paul B; Doser, Karoline; Norup, Anne

    2016-11-01

    No studies have examined the impact of personality traits on mental health among caregivers of individuals with severe brain injury. Therefore, the purpose of the current study was to construct linear growth models to examine whether the personality traits of family members of individuals with severe brain injury could predict the trajectories of their own mental health-related quality of life (HRQoL), anxiety, and depression beginning in a neurointensive care unit through 1 year after injury. Danish family members of individuals with severe brain injury (n = 52) completed the Short Form-36 assessing mental HRQoL (vitality, social functioning, role limitations-emotional, mental health), anxiety, and depression across 5 time points during the 1st year after injury. The measure of personality was administered 3 months after the patients' discharge. All mental HRQoL, anxiety, and depression variables improved significantly over time. Caregivers who were less neurotic and less conscientious had higher vitality, social functioning, and mental health over time, whereas caregivers who were more agreeable had higher social functioning over time. Caregivers with lower neuroticism had lower anxiety and depression over time, as well as a more accelerated decrease in anxiety and depression. Caregivers' personality traits were strongly associated over time with mental HRQoL, anxiety, and depression, with neuroticism being especially important for trajectories of anxiety and depression. These results suggest that personality assessments for caregivers of individuals with severe brain injury could help identify those most at risk for poor mental health over the course of rehabilitation. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved).

  12. Mental model construction, not just memory, is a central component of cognitive change in psychotherapy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    von Hecker, Ulrich; McIntosh, Daniel N; Sedek, Grzegorz

    2015-01-01

    We challenge the idea that a cognitive perspective on therapeutic change concerns only memory processes. We argue that inclusion of impairments in more generative cognitive processes is necessary for complete understanding of cases such as depression. In such cases what is identified in the target article as an "integrative memory structure" is crucially supported by processes of mental model construction.

  13. Mental Health Utilization Among Diverse Parenting Young Couples.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Albritton, Tashuna; Angley, Meghan; Gibson, Crystal; Sipsma, Heather; Kershaw, Trace

    2015-09-01

    Mental health issues often become apparent as adolescents emerge into young adulthood. The use of mental health services is low among adolescents and young adults, and use is particularly low among minorities. In this study, we examine mental health utilization among diverse young parenting couples. The sample consisted of 296 couples. We used the social-personal framework to examine personal, family, partner relationship, and environmental predictors for using mental health services. We used the Actor-Partner Interdependence Model to assess actor and partner effects on mental health utilization. We also examined moderator effects for gender and internalizing and externalizing behaviors. We found that being female, being White, higher income, more conduct problems, and less anxious romantic attachment predicted mental health utilization. Significant moderator effects included depression × gender, depression × medical insurance, and stress × Latino. Implications for community mental health practice include conducting mental health assessments during medical visits and systematic mental health follow-up for individuals and couples with identified mental health and support needs. Future research should include married couples and the spouse's influence on mental health use and examine relevant parenting factors that may also predict mental health utilization among couples.

  14. Mental Model Progression in Learning the Electron Transport Chain: Effects of Instructional Strategies and Cognitive Flexibility

    Science.gov (United States)

    Darabi, Aubteen; Hemphill, Jennifer; Nelson, David W.; Boulware, Wilma; Liang, Xinya

    2010-01-01

    This study investigated the effect of two instructional strategies, segmented and holistic, on the progression over time of learners' mental models toward that of an expert with the moderator of cognitive flexibility. Sixty-four juniors and seniors in a college metabolism course were randomly assigned to one of the two strategies for instruction…

  15. A Venture Capital Mixed Model for the Acquisition of Defense Software Products

    National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

    Botsakos, Michael T

    2007-01-01

    .... Cost and schedule overruns are the consequence of the software development models selected, inaccurate estimation of size, time, and cost, the instability of user requirements, and poor decision...

  16. Organisational justice and mental health: a systematic review of prospective studies.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ndjaboué, Ruth; Brisson, Chantal; Vézina, Michel

    2012-10-01

    The models most commonly used, to study the effects of psychosocial work factors on workers' health, are the demand-control-support (DCS) model and Effort-Reward Imbalance (ERI) model. An emerging body of research has identified Organisational Justice as another model that can help to explain deleterious health effects. This review aimed: (1) to identify prospective studies of the associations between organisational justice and mental health in industrialised countries from 1990 to 2010; (2) to evaluate the extent to which organisational justice has an effect on mental health independently of the DCS and ERI models; and (3) to discuss theoretical and empirical overlap and differences with previous models. The studies had to present associations between organisational justice and a mental health outcome, be prospective, and be entirely available in English or in French. Duplicated papers were excluded. Eleven prospective studies were selected for this review. They provide evidence that procedural justice and relational justice are associated with mental health. These associations remained significant even after controlling for the DCS and ERI models. There is a lack of prospective studies on distributive and informational justice. In conclusion, procedural and relational justice can be considered a different and complementary model to the DCS and ERI models. Future studies should evaluate the effect of change in exposure to organisational justice on employees' mental health over time.

  17. Community mental health care worldwide: current status and further developments

    Science.gov (United States)

    Thornicroft, Graham; Deb, Tanya; Henderson, Claire

    2016-01-01

    This paper aims to give an overview of the key issues facing those who are in a position to influence the planning and provision of mental health systems, and who need to address questions of which staff, services and sectors to invest in, and for which patients. The paper considers in turn: a) definitions of community mental health care; b) a conceptual framework to use when evaluating the need for hospital and community mental health care; c) the potential for wider platforms, outside the health service, for mental health improvement, including schools and the workplace; d) data on how far community mental health services have been developed across different regions of the world; e) the need to develop in more detail models of community mental health services for low‐ and middle‐income countries which are directly based upon evidence for those countries; f) how to incorporate mental health practice within integrated models to identify and treat people with comorbid long‐term conditions; g) possible adverse effects of deinstitutionalization. We then present a series of ten recommendations for the future strengthening of health systems to support and treat people with mental illness. PMID:27717265

  18. Evaluation of a Digital Game-Based Learning Program for Enhancing Youth Mental Health: A Structural Equation Modeling of the Program Effectiveness.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Huen, Jenny My; Lai, Eliza Sy; Shum, Angie Ky; So, Sam Wk; Chan, Melissa Ky; Wong, Paul Wc; Law, Y W; Yip, Paul Sf

    2016-10-07

    Digital game-based learning (DGBL) makes use of the entertaining power of digital games for educational purposes. Effectiveness assessment of DGBL programs has been underexplored and no attempt has been made to simultaneously model both important components of DGBL: learning attainment (ie, educational purposes of DGBL) and engagement of users (ie, entertaining power of DGBL) in evaluating program effectiveness. This study aimed to describe and evaluate an Internet-based DGBL program, Professor Gooley and the Flame of Mind, which promotes mental health to adolescents in a positive youth development approach. In particular, we investigated whether user engagement in the DGBL program could enhance their attainment on each of the learning constructs per DGBL module and subsequently enhance their mental health as measured by psychological well-being. Users were assessed on their attainment on each learning construct, psychological well-being, and engagement in each of the modules. One structural equation model was constructed for each DGBL module to model the effect of users' engagement and attainment on the learning construct on their psychological well-being. Of the 498 secondary school students that registered and participated from the first module of the DGBL program, 192 completed all 8 modules of the program. Results from structural equation modeling suggested that a higher extent of engagement in the program activities facilitated users' attainment on the learning constructs on most of the modules and in turn enhanced their psychological well-being after controlling for users' initial psychological well-being and initial attainment on the constructs. This study provided evidence that Internet intervention for mental health, implemented with the technologies and digital innovations of DGBL, could enhance youth mental health. Structural equation modeling is a promising approach in evaluating the effectiveness of DGBL programs.

  19. Speeding the growth of primary mental health prevention

    OpenAIRE

    Wissow, Lawrence S

    2015-01-01

    While there is a strong case for primary prevention of mental health problems, relatively little mental health scholarship has been devoted to it in the last decade. Efforts to accelerate prevention scholarship could potentially benefit from strengthening pathways for interdisciplinary research; developing new training and working models for mental health professionals; developing a common language for public, policy, and scientific discussion of prevention; learning how to measure the common...

  20. The city, territoriality and networks in mental health policies

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Luciana Assis Costa

    2014-09-01

    Full Text Available The understanding of territory, made evident by a decentralized, local based, and non-institutionalized mental health model, is a fundamental element in building a renewed network. The objective of this essay is to understand how mental health policies gradually favor local actions, organized in terms of territories, to develop strategies of care that support the new model of mental health. From this perspective, the aim of this research is to reflect on the possibilities of establishing new social relations that can, in fact, widen the sense of community belonging in the daily living of those presenting mental health conditions. This study draws from theoretical concepts and frameworks of the social sciences, describing the diverse positions held by the main schools of urban sociology with regards to the understanding of territories. The multiple conceptions of territories and their relations to mental health are analyzed. Historical data about mental health in Brazil show a heterogeneous development of mental health policies in different areas of the country. Finally, social inclusion in the cities depends on an effective expansion of territory-based mental health services, as well as an amplification of the access to consumer goods and services not necessarily connected to health care, but to basic social and civil rights. Hopefully, new rules of social interaction will not be restricted to the mental health universe, but will promote new encounters in the urban space, with respect for differences and appreciation of diversity.

  1. Correction of electrode modelling errors in multi-frequency EIT imaging.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jehl, Markus; Holder, David

    2016-06-01

    The differentiation of haemorrhagic from ischaemic stroke using electrical impedance tomography (EIT) requires measurements at multiple frequencies, since the general lack of healthy measurements on the same patient excludes time-difference imaging methods. It has previously been shown that the inaccurate modelling of electrodes constitutes one of the largest sources of image artefacts in non-linear multi-frequency EIT applications. To address this issue, we augmented the conductivity Jacobian matrix with a Jacobian matrix with respect to electrode movement. Using this new algorithm, simulated ischaemic and haemorrhagic strokes in a realistic head model were reconstructed for varying degrees of electrode position errors. The simultaneous recovery of conductivity spectra and electrode positions removed most artefacts caused by inaccurately modelled electrodes. Reconstructions were stable for electrode position errors of up to 1.5 mm standard deviation along both surface dimensions. We conclude that this method can be used for electrode model correction in multi-frequency EIT.

  2. A Study to Determine the Mental Models in Preschool Children’s Conceptualization of a Desert Environment

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Berat AHİ

    2016-03-01

    Full Text Available This study aimed to determine mental models and identify codes (schemes used in conceptualizing a desert environment. The sample for this study consisted of 184 – out of a total population of 3,630 - children in preschool education in the central district of Kastamonu, Turkey. Within the scope of this study, the children were initially asked to draw a desert-themed picture, followed by a semi-structured interview to seek their opinions about the drawing and clarify what a desert environment meant to them. According to the findings, the children referred to 38 different codes relevant to the conceptualization of a desert environment; the most frequently used were the sun (f= 160, 86.9%, sand (f= 100, 54.3%, cacti (f= 74, 35.3% and camels (f= 52, 28.6%. During the interview phase, 33 children described a desert as a place where there is no life, although a significant number of the children (f= 65, 39.1% did describe a desert as a place where plants and animals live. Moreover, the sun and its rays were disproportionately bigger in size, in order to emphasize the excessive heat associated with the specific ecosystem found in a desert environment; to reinforce this, humans drenched in sweat, the absence of trees and the prevalence of cacti and exotic wildlife, including camels, scorpions and lizards, were all features of the children’s drawings. Based on these findings, it was inferred that the mental models in some of the children (f= 72, 39.1% were scientifically informed, with a degree of accuracy, about a desert environment. On the basis of the findings, it is considered that determining mental models in children in relation to different ecological concepts can be beneficial to teachers and curriculum programmers involved in environmental education.

  3. A study to determine the mental models in preschool children’s conceptualization of a desert environment

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Berat Ahi

    2016-03-01

    Full Text Available This study aimed to determine mental models and identify codes (schemes used in conceptualizing a desert environment. The sample for this study consisted of 184 – out of a total population of 3,630 - children in preschool education in the central district of Kastamonu, Turkey. Within the scope of this study, the children were initially asked to draw a desert-themed picture, followed by a semi-structured interview to seek their opinions about the drawing and clarify what a desert environment meant to them. According to the findings, the children referred to 38 different codes relevant to the conceptualization of a desert environment; the most frequently used were the sun (f= 160, 86.9%, sand (f= 100, 54.3%, cacti (f= 74, 35.3% and camels (f= 52, 28.6%. During the interview phase, 33 children described a desert as a place where there is no life, although a significant number of the children (f= 65, 39.1% did describe a desert as a place where plants and animals live. Moreover, the sun and its rays were disproportionately bigger in size, in order to emphasize the excessive heat associated with the specific ecosystem found in a desert environment; to reinforce this, humans drenched in sweat, the absence of trees and the prevalence of cacti and exotic wildlife, including camels, scorpions and lizards, were all features of the children’s drawings. Based on these findings, it was inferred that the mental models in some of the children (f= 72, 39.1% were scientifically informed, with a degree of accuracy, about a desert environment. On the basis of the findings, it is considered that determining mental models in children in relation to different ecological concepts can be beneficial to teachers and curriculum programmers involved in environmental education.

  4. Student’s mental model, misconceptions, troublesome knowledge, and threshold concept on thermochemistry with DToM-POE

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wiji, W.; Mulyani, S.

    2018-05-01

    The purpose of this study is to obtain a profile of students' mental models, misconceptions, troublesome knowledge, and threshold concept on thermochemistry. The subjects in this study were 35 students. The method used in this research was descriptive method with instruments Diagnostic Test of Mental Model - Prediction, Observation, and Explanation (DToM-POE). The results showed that the students' ability to predict, observe, and explain ΔH of neutralization reaction of NaOH with HCl was still lacking. Most students tended to memorize chemical concepts related to symbolic level and they did not understand the meaning of the symbols used. Furthermore, most students were unable to connect the results of observations at the macroscopic level with the symbolic level to determine ΔH of neutralization reaction of NaOH with HCl. Then, most students tended to give an explanation by a net ionic equation or a chemical reaction equation at the symbolic level when explaining ΔH of neutralization reaction at the submicroscopic level. In addition, there are seven misconceptions, three troublesome knowledges, and three threshold concepts held by students on thermochemistry.

  5. CHILD SEXUAL ABUSE, BULLYING, CYBERBULLYING, AND MENTAL HEALTH PROBLEMS AMONG HIGH SCHOOLS STUDENTS: A MODERATED MEDIATED MODEL.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hébert, Martine; Cénat, Jude Mary; Blais, Martin; Lavoie, Francine; Guerrier, Mireille

    2016-07-01

    Child sexual abuse is associated with adverse outcomes, including heightened vulnerability that may translate into risk of revictimization. The aims of the study were: (1) to explore the direct and indirect links between child sexual abuse and cyberbullying, bullying, and mental health problems and (2) to study maternal support as a potential protective factor. Teenagers involved in the two first waves of the Quebec Youths' Romantic Relationships Survey (N = 8,194 and 6,780 at Wave I and II, respectively) completed measures assessing child sexual abuse and maternal support at Wave I. Cyberbullying, bullying, and mental health problems (self-esteem, psychological distress, and suicidal ideations) were evaluated 6 months later. Rates of cyberbullying in the past 6 months were twice as high in sexually abused teens compared to nonvictims both for girls (33.47 vs. 17.75%) and boys (29.62 vs. 13.29%). A moderated mediated model revealed a partial mediation effect of cyberbullying and bullying in the link between child sexual abuse and mental health. Maternal support acted as a protective factor as the conditional indirect effects of child sexual abuse on mental health via cyberbullying and bullying were reduced in cases of high maternal support. Results have significant relevance for prevention and intervention in highlighting the heightened vulnerability of victims of child sexual abuse to experience both bullying and cyberbullying. Maternal support may buffer the risk of developing mental health distress, suggesting that intervention programs for victimized youth may profit by fostering parent involvement. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  6. Uncertainty propagation in urban hydrology water quality modelling

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Torres Matallana, Arturo; Leopold, U.; Heuvelink, G.B.M.

    2016-01-01

    Uncertainty is often ignored in urban hydrology modelling. Engineering practice typically ignores uncertainties and uncertainty propagation. This can have large impacts, such as the wrong dimensioning of urban drainage systems and the inaccurate estimation of pollution in the environment caused

  7. Modeling mental health information preferences during the early adult years: a discrete choice conjoint experiment.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cunningham, Charles E; Walker, John R; Eastwood, John D; Westra, Henny; Rimas, Heather; Chen, Yvonne; Marcus, Madalyn; Swinson, Richard P; Bracken, Keyna; The Mobilizing Minds Research Group

    2014-04-01

    Although most young adults with mood and anxiety disorders do not seek treatment, those who are better informed about mental health problems are more likely to use services. The authors used conjoint analysis to model strategies for providing information about anxiety and depression to young adults. Participants (N = 1,035) completed 17 choice tasks presenting combinations of 15 four-level attributes of a mental health information strategy. Latent class analysis yielded 3 segments. The virtual segment (28.7%) preferred working independently on the Internet to obtain information recommended by young adults who had experienced anxiety or depression. Self-assessment options and links to service providers were more important to this segment. Conventional participants (30.1%) preferred books or pamphlets recommended by a doctor, endorsed by mental health professionals, and used with a doctor's support. They would devote more time to information acquisition but were less likely to use Internet social networking options. Brief sources of information were more important to the low interest segment (41.2%). All segments preferred information about alternative ways to reduce anxiety or depression rather than psychological approaches or medication. Maximizing the use of information requires active and passive approaches delivered through old-media (e.g., books) and new-media (e.g., Internet) channels.

  8. Social functioning as a predictor of the use of mental health resources in patients with severe mental disorder.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bellido-Zanin, Gloria; Pérez-San-Gregorio, María Ángeles; Martín-Rodríguez, Agustín; Vázquez-Morejón, Antonio J

    2015-12-15

    Previous studies have tried to determine the factors causing greater use of health resources by patients with mental disorders. These studies have essentially focused on socio-economic variables. Nevertheless, many other variables, such as social functioning, have not yet been explored. This study aims to assess the effect of social functioning on mental health service use in a sample of patients with severe mental disorder (schizophrenia, other psychotic disorders or bipolar affective disorder) in an area of Spain. The Social Functioning Scale (SFS) was administered to 172 family members of patients with a severe mental disorder who were receiving care at a community mental health unit. Analysis of bivariate logistic regression identified specific areas as predictors of the use of mental health resources over a 12-month follow-up period. The overall social functioning score predicted need for hospital admissions. In addition, interpersonal behaviour had a major role in the number of outpatient visits, while social isolation significantly predicted the need for hospitalization. These results point out the necessity for including psychosocial variables, such as social functioning in current mental health resource use models. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

  9. Distinguishing highly confident accurate and inaccurate memory: insights about relevant and irrelevant influences on memory confidence.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chua, Elizabeth F; Hannula, Deborah E; Ranganath, Charan

    2012-01-01

    It is generally believed that accuracy and confidence in one's memory are related, but there are many instances when they diverge. Accordingly it is important to disentangle the factors that contribute to memory accuracy and confidence, especially those factors that contribute to confidence, but not accuracy. We used eye movements to separately measure fluent cue processing, the target recognition experience, and relative evidence assessment on recognition confidence and accuracy. Eye movements were monitored during a face-scene associative recognition task, in which participants first saw a scene cue, followed by a forced-choice recognition test for the associated face, with confidence ratings. Eye movement indices of the target recognition experience were largely indicative of accuracy, and showed a relationship to confidence for accurate decisions. In contrast, eye movements during the scene cue raised the possibility that more fluent cue processing was related to higher confidence for both accurate and inaccurate recognition decisions. In a second experiment we manipulated cue familiarity, and therefore cue fluency. Participants showed higher confidence for cue-target associations for when the cue was more familiar, especially for incorrect responses. These results suggest that over-reliance on cue familiarity and under-reliance on the target recognition experience may lead to erroneous confidence.

  10. Identifying students’ mental models of sound propagation: The role of conceptual blending in understanding conceptual change

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Zdeslav Hrepic

    2010-09-01

    Full Text Available We investigated introductory physics students’ mental models of sound propagation. We used a phenomenographic method to analyze the data in the study. In addition to the scientifically accepted Wave model, students used the “Entity” model to describe the propagation of sound. In this latter model sound is a self-standing entity, different from the medium through which it propagates. All other observed alternative models contain elements of both Entity and Wave models, but at the same time are distinct from each of the constituent models. We called these models “hybrid” or “blend” models. We discuss how students use these models in various contexts before and after instruction and how our findings contribute to the understanding of conceptual change. Implications of our findings for teaching are summarized.

  11. The role of working memory on measuring mental models of physical systems

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    José F. Quesada

    2001-01-01

    Full Text Available Hasta ahora no ha existido un acuerdo sobre la definición correcta de Modelo Mental de un sistema físico y sobre la forma como podemos inferir el Modelo Mental que una persona tiene del sistema con el que está interactuando. En este artículo se describe una investigación encaminada a solucionar estos problemas con la propuesta de una definición según la cual un Modelos Mental es una representación dinámica creada en la Memoria Operativa, combinando la información almacenada en la Memoria a Largo Plazo y las características extraídas del ambiente. Las hipótesis derivadas de esta propuesta se prueban en tres experimentos y se discuten las implicaciones que sus resultados tienen para la investigación futura sobre Modelos Mentales.

  12. Mental Health and Mental Disorder Recommendation Programs.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ruchiwit, Manyat

    2017-12-01

    The characteristic differences among the Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS) countries in terms of trade and investment, society and cultural values, medical information and technology, and the living and working environment have become major health problems in terms of mental disorders. The purpose of this article is to identify the gaps in those aspects, to propose mental health and mental disorder recommendation programs, and to recommend policies for policy makers and research investors. A comparative analysis and literature review of existing policy, including overviews of previous research were used to generate a synthesis of the existing knowledge of the mental health and mental disorder recommendation programs. The review results recommend mental health and mental disorder programs for policy makers, research investors, and stakeholders in order to strengthen the directions for implementing these programs in the future. The healthcare provision in each country will not be limited only to its citizens; the healthcare markets and target groups are likely to expand to the neighboring countries in the context of changes in domestic and international factors, which have both positive and negative impacts according to the political, economic, and social situations of the influencing countries.

  13. Knowledge and attitudes of mental health professionals in Ireland to the concept of recovery in mental health: a questionnaire survey.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cleary, A; Dowling, M

    2009-08-01

    Recovery is the model of care presently advocated for mental health services internationally. The aim of this study was to examine the knowledge and attitudes of mental health professionals to the concept of recovery in mental health. A descriptive survey approach was adopted, and 153 health care professionals (nurses, doctors, social workers, occupational therapists and psychologists) completed an adapted version of the Recovery Knowledge Inventory. The respondents indicated their positive approach to the adoption of recovery as an approach to care in the delivery of mental health services. However, respondents were less comfortable in encouraging healthy risk taking with service users. This finding is important because therapeutic risk taking and hope are essential aspects in the creation of a care environment that promotes recovery. Respondents were also less familiar with the non-linearity of the recovery process and placed greater emphasis on symptom management and compliance with treatment. Multidisciplinary mental health care teams need to examine their attitudes and approach to a recovery model of care. The challenge for the present and into the future is to strive to equip professionals with the necessary skills in the form of information and training.

  14. Uncovering the cognitive processes underlying mental rotation: an eye-movement study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Xue, Jiguo; Li, Chunyong; Quan, Cheng; Lu, Yiming; Yue, Jingwei; Zhang, Chenggang

    2017-08-30

    Mental rotation is an important paradigm for spatial ability. Mental-rotation tasks are assumed to involve five or three sequential cognitive-processing states, though this has not been demonstrated experimentally. Here, we investigated how processing states alternate during mental-rotation tasks. Inference was carried out using an advanced statistical modelling and data-driven approach - a discriminative hidden Markov model (dHMM) trained using eye-movement data obtained from an experiment consisting of two different strategies: (I) mentally rotate the right-side figure to be aligned with the left-side figure and (II) mentally rotate the left-side figure to be aligned with the right-side figure. Eye movements were found to contain the necessary information for determining the processing strategy, and the dHMM that best fit our data segmented the mental-rotation process into three hidden states, which we termed encoding and searching, comparison, and searching on one-side pair. Additionally, we applied three classification methods, logistic regression, support vector model and dHMM, of which dHMM predicted the strategies with the highest accuracy (76.8%). Our study did confirm that there are differences in processing states between these two of mental-rotation strategies, and were consistent with the previous suggestion that mental rotation is discrete process that is accomplished in a piecemeal fashion.

  15. Identifying Variability in Mental Models Within and Between Disciplines Caring for the Cardiac Surgical Patient.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brown, Evans K H; Harder, Kathleen A; Apostolidou, Ioanna; Wahr, Joyce A; Shook, Douglas C; Farivar, R Saeid; Perry, Tjorvi E; Konia, Mojca R

    2017-07-01

    The cardiac operating room is a complex environment requiring efficient and effective communication between multiple disciplines. The objectives of this study were to identify and rank critical time points during the perioperative care of cardiac surgical patients, and to assess variability in responses, as a correlate of a shared mental model, regarding the importance of these time points between and within disciplines. Using Delphi technique methodology, panelists from 3 institutions were tasked with developing a list of critical time points, which were subsequently assigned to pause point (PP) categories. Panelists then rated these PPs on a 100-point visual analog scale. Descriptive statistics were expressed as percentages, medians, and interquartile ranges (IQRs). We defined low response variability between panelists as an IQR ≤ 20, moderate response variability as an IQR > 20 and ≤ 40, and high response variability as an IQR > 40. Panelists identified a total of 12 PPs. The PPs identified by the highest number of panelists were (1) before surgical incision, (2) before aortic cannulation, (3) before cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB) initiation, (4) before CPB separation, and (5) at time of transfer of care from operating room (OR) to intensive care unit (ICU) staff. There was low variability among panelists' ratings of the PP "before surgical incision," moderate response variability for the PPs "before separation from CPB," "before transfer from OR table to bed," and "at time of transfer of care from OR to ICU staff," and high response variability for the remaining 8 PPs. In addition, the perceived importance of each of these PPs varies between disciplines and between institutions. Cardiac surgical providers recognize distinct critical time points during cardiac surgery. However, there is a high degree of variability within and between disciplines as to the importance of these times, suggesting an absence of a shared mental model among disciplines caring for

  16. Mental Imagery, Impact, and Affect: A Mediation Model for Charitable Giving

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dickert, Stephan; Kleber, Janet; Västfjäll, Daniel; Slovic, Paul

    2016-01-01

    One of the puzzling phenomena in philanthropy is that people can show strong compassion for identified individual victims but remain unmoved by catastrophes that affect large numbers of victims. Two prominent findings in research on charitable giving reflect this idiosyncrasy: The (1) identified victim and (2) victim number effects. The first of these suggests that identifying victims increases donations and the second refers to the finding that people’s willingness to donate often decreases as the number of victims increases. While these effects have been documented in the literature, their underlying psychological processes need further study. We propose a model in which identified victim and victim number effects operate through different cognitive and affective mechanisms. In two experiments we present empirical evidence for such a model and show that different affective motivations (donor-focused vs. victim-focused feelings) are related to the cognitive processes of impact judgments and mental imagery. Moreover, we argue that different mediation pathways exist for identifiability and victim number effects. PMID:26859848

  17. Mental Imagery, Impact, and Affect: A Mediation Model for Charitable Giving.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Stephan Dickert

    Full Text Available One of the puzzling phenomena in philanthropy is that people can show strong compassion for identified individual victims but remain unmoved by catastrophes that affect large numbers of victims. Two prominent findings in research on charitable giving reflect this idiosyncrasy: The (1 identified victim and (2 victim number effects. The first of these suggests that identifying victims increases donations and the second refers to the finding that people's willingness to donate often decreases as the number of victims increases. While these effects have been documented in the literature, their underlying psychological processes need further study. We propose a model in which identified victim and victim number effects operate through different cognitive and affective mechanisms. In two experiments we present empirical evidence for such a model and show that different affective motivations (donor-focused vs. victim-focused feelings are related to the cognitive processes of impact judgments and mental imagery. Moreover, we argue that different mediation pathways exist for identifiability and victim number effects.

  18. Poverty and mental health in Indonesia.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tampubolon, Gindo; Hanandita, Wulung

    2014-04-01

    Community and facility studies in developing countries have generally demonstrated an inverse relationship between poverty and mental health. However, recent population-based studies contradict this. In India and Indonesia the poor and non-poor show no difference in mental health. We revisit the relationship between poverty and mental health using a validated measure of depressive symptoms (CES-D) and a new national sample from Indonesia - a country where widespread poverty and deep inequality meet with a neglected mental health service sector. Results from three-level overdispersed Poisson models show that a 1% decrease in per capita household expenditure was associated with a 0.05% increase in CES-D score (depressive symptoms), while using a different indicator (living on less than $2 a day) it was estimated that the poor had a 5% higher CES-D score than the better off. Individual social capital and religiosity were found to be positively associated with mental health while adverse events were negatively associated. These findings provide support for the established view regarding the deleterious association between poverty and mental health in developed and developing countries. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  19. Is risk assessment the new clinical model in public mental health?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Holmes, Alex

    2013-12-01

    Australian public mental health services have seen a rapid adoption of risk assessment into clinical practice over the past decade. It is timely to review the role of risk assessment in clinical practice, evidence for its validity and to explore its role in clinical decision-making. There is little evidence to support the current form of risk assessment used in public mental health. The continued focus in risk may lead public psychiatrists into a bind where their specialist role is defined by a capacity that they do not fully possess. Further work is required to find ways of demonstrating our attention to the possibility of adverse outcomes whilst maintaining our skills and capacity to manage mental illness with complexity and balance within the limitations of rational decision-making.

  20. Eliciting physics students mental models via science fiction stories

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Acar, H.

    2005-01-01

    This paper presents the results of an experiment which investigated the effects of the using science fiction stories in physics lessons. A questionnaire form containing 2 open-ended questions related to Jules Vernes story From the Earth to the Moon was used with 353, 9th and 10th grade students to determine their pre-conceptions about gravity and weightlessness. Mental models explaining students scientific and alternative views were constructed, according to students replies. After these studies, 6 students were interviewed. In this interview, researches were done about whether science fiction stories had an effect on bringing students pre-conceptions related to physics subjects out, on students inquiring their own concepts and on increasing students interest and motivation towards physics subjects. Studies in this research show that science fiction stories have an effect on arousing students interest and curiosity, have a role encouraging students to inquire their own concepts and are effective in making students alternative views come out

  1. Projecting the Mental Model of Social Networking Site Usage

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Chun-Hui Wu

    2018-01-01

    Full Text Available The growth of online social networking sites (SNS has created a new world of connection and communication for online users. SNS usage has become an important part of people’s daily lives. This study aims to obtain new insights towards SNS usage behaviour. Based on participants’ mental models, it is hoped to make more clear exposition about their perceptions and experiences as well as to explore what factors affect their behaviour for using social networking sites. A blend of qualitative methodologies was adopted for data collection and analysis, including the Zaltman metaphor elicitation technique (ZMET method, the laddering technique, and the means-end chain theory. The results of this study show that the most important values of using SNS include its convenience, maintaining relationship, gaining relaxation, as well as reaching coherence. Additionally, participants pointed out they cared about their online privacy issues very much and had found some potential dangers; however, they continued to use these sites because of the great benefits and enjoyment.

  2. Mental Models of Cause and Inheritance for Type 2 Diabetes Among Unaffected Individuals Who Have a Positive Family History.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Daack-Hirsch, Sandra; Shah, Lisa L; Cady, Alyssa D

    2018-03-01

    Using the familial risk perception (FRP) model as a framework, we elicited causal and inheritance explanations for type 2 diabetes (T2D) from people who do not have T2D but have a family history for it. We identified four composite mental models for cause of T2D: (a) purely genetic; (b) purely behavioral/environmental; (c) direct multifactorial, in which risk factors interact and over time directly lead to T2D; and (d) indirect multifactorial, in which risk factors interact and over time cause a precursor health condition (such as obesity or metabolic syndrome) that leads to T2D. Interestingly, participants described specific risk factors such as genetics, food habits, lifestyle, weight, and culture as "running in the family." Our findings provide insight into lay beliefs about T2D that can be used by clinicians to anticipate or make sense of responses to questions they pose to patients about mental models for T2D.

  3. School Mental Health Resources and Adolescent Mental Health Service Use

    Science.gov (United States)

    Green, Jennifer Greif; McLaughlin, Katie A.; Alegría, Margarita; Costello, E. Jane; Gruber, Michael J.; Hoagwood, Kimberly; Leaf, Philip J.; Olin, Serene; Sampson, Nancy A,; Kessler, Ronald C.

    2014-01-01

    Objective Although schools are identified as critical for detecting youth mental disorders, little is known about whether the number of mental health providers and types of resources they offer influence student mental health service use. Such information could inform the development and allocation of appropriate school-based resources to increase service use. This paper examines associations of school resources with past-year mental health service use among students with 12-month DSM-IV mental disorders. Method Data come from the U.S. National Comorbidity Survey Adolescent Supplement (NCS-A), a national survey of adolescent mental health that included 4,445 adolescent-parent pairs in 227 schools in which principals and mental health coordinators completed surveys about school resources-policies for addressing student emotional problems. Adolescents and parents completed the Composite International Diagnostic Interview and reported mental health service use across multiple sectors. Multilevel multivariate regression was used to examine associations of school mental health resources and individual-level service use. Results Roughly half (45.3%) of adolescents with a 12-month DSM-IV disorder received past-year mental health services. Substantial variation existed in school resources. Increased school engagement in early identification was significantly associated with mental health service use for adolescents with mild/moderate mental and behavior disorders. The ratio of students-to-mental health providers was not associated with overall service use, but was associated with sector of service use. Conclusions School mental health resources, particularly those related to early identification, may facilitate mental health service use and influence sector of service use for youths with DSM disorders. PMID:23622851

  4. Mental Vulnerability as a Predictor of Early Mortality

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Eplov, Lene F.; Jørgensen, Torben; Segel, S.

    2005-01-01

    BACKGROUND: Studies have demonstrated that mental vulnerability (ie, a tendency to experience psychosomatic symptoms or inadequate interpersonal interactions) is associated with various diseases. The objective of our study is to evaluate whether mental vulnerability is a risk factor for early...... mortality. METHODS: We conducted a prospective cohort study of 3 random samples of the population in Copenhagen County, Denmark selected in 1976, 1982-1984, and 1991 (n = 6435). Baseline data collection included measures of mental vulnerability, social factors, comorbidity, biologic risk markers (eg, blood...... of mortality as the result of natural causes. The association between mental vulnerability and survival was examined using Kaplan-Meir plots and Cox proportional-hazard models adjusting for possible confounding factors. RESULTS: With respect to mental vulnerability, 79% of the sample was classified...

  5. Radiation and mental retardation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Pochin, E.E.

    1988-01-01

    The editorial comments on a report published by the Radiation Effects Research Foundation in Hiroshima updating information on the induction of mental changes in the light of the revised and more detailed estimate of doses of radiation during pregnancies received by those exposed at Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The estimated risks are little changed. The likelihood of a threshold for exposure during the 16th to 25th week is confirmed-at 700 mGy (with a lower 95% confidence interval of 200 mGy). For the more sensitive time between the eighth to 15th weeks a linear model with no threshold still gives a statistically adequate fit to the data. Now, however, if linear models are tested without the constraint of postulating a threshold of zero, fits are obtained indicating substantial thresholds below which mental retardation would not result. When data on all children are included the maximum likelihood threshold value averages about 250 mGy on the different criteria tested (with mean 95% confidence intervals of 0 and 550 mGy). Or if the analyses exclude five children with conditions that themselves sometimes cause mental retardation a threshold of about 400 mGy is indicated (with mean 95% confidence intervals of 150 and 600 mGy). (author)

  6. [The use of biological age on mental work capacity model in accelerated aging assessment of professional lorry-drivers].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bashkireva, A S

    2012-01-01

    The studies of biological age, aging rate, mental work capacity in professional drivers were conducted. The examination revealed peculiarities of system organization of functions determining the mental work capacity levels. Dynamics of the aging process of professional driver's organism in relation with calendar age and driving experience were shown using the biological age model. The results point at the premature decrease of the mental work capacity in professional drivers. It was proved, that premature age-related changes of physiologic and psychophysiologic indices in drivers are just "risk indicators", while long driving experience is a real risk factor, accelerating the aging process. The "risk group" with manifestations of accelerating aging was observed in 40-49-year old drivers with 15-19 years of professional experience. The expediency of using the following methods for the age rate estimation according to biologic age indices and necessity of prophylactic measures for premature and accelerated aging prevention among working population was demonstrated.

  7. "And I think that we can fix it": mental models used in high-risk surgical decision making.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kruser, Jacqueline M; Pecanac, Kristen E; Brasel, Karen J; Cooper, Zara; Steffens, Nicole M; McKneally, Martin F; Schwarze, Margaret L

    2015-04-01

    To examine how surgeons use the "fix-it" model to communicate with patients before high-risk operations. The "fix-it" model characterizes disease as an isolated abnormality that can be restored to normal form and function through medical intervention. This mental model is familiar to patients and physicians, but it is ineffective for chronic conditions and treatments that cannot achieve normalcy. Overuse may lead to permissive decision making favoring intervention. Efforts to improve surgical decision making will need to consider how mental models function in clinical practice, including "fix-it." We observed surgeons who routinely perform high-risk surgery during preoperative discussions with patients. We used qualitative content analysis to explore the use of "fix-it" in 48 audio-recorded conversations. Surgeons used the "fix-it" model for 2 separate purposes during preoperative conversations: (1) as an explanatory tool to facilitate patient understanding of disease and surgery, and (2) as a deliberation framework to assist in decision making. Although surgeons commonly used "fix-it" as an explanatory model, surgeons explicitly discussed limitations of the "fix-it" model as an independent rationale for operating as they deliberated about the value of surgery. Although the use of "fix-it" is familiar for explaining medical information to patients, surgeons recognize that the model can be problematic for determining the value of an operation. Whether patients can transition between understanding how their disease is fixed with surgery to a subsequent deliberation about whether they should have surgery is unclear and may have broader implications for surgical decision making.

  8. Mental maps and travel behaviour: Meanings and models

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Hannes, E.; Kusumastuti, Diana; Espinosa, M.L.; Janssens, D.; Vanhoof, K.; Wets, G.

    2012-01-01

    In this paper, the “mental map” concept is positioned with regard to individual travel behaviour to start with. Based on Ogden and Richards’ triangle of meaning (The meaning of meaning: a study of the influence of language upon thought and of the science of symbolism. International library of

  9. Observation of influences of mental health promotion and mental intervention on mental health status of professionals

    OpenAIRE

    Jiang, Shu-Qiang; Zhang, Jian-Ling

    2015-01-01

    Objective: To observe the influences of mental health promotion and mental intervention on mental health status of professionals. Method: 2878 professionals for physical examination were selected and randomly divided into treatment group and control group, with 1443 professionals and 1435 professionals, respectively. Then, the difference of mental health status before and after mental intervention between two groups was compared. Results: In treatment group, the proportion of people with heal...

  10. Well-Being Therapy in Dutch mental health care

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Meulenbeek, Petrus Antonius Maria

    2017-01-01

    Relapse after treatment of mental disorders is a major problem. Enhancing psychological well-being and resilience may reduce the risk of relapse in patients with mental disorders. Well-being therapy tries to address these factors. The original model of well-being therapy was developed by the Italian

  11. Trajectories of mental health problems in children of parents with mental health problems: results of the BELLA study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Plass-Christl, Angela; Otto, Christiane; Klasen, Fionna; Wiegand-Grefe, Silke; Barkmann, Claus; Hölling, Heike; Schulte-Markwort, Michael; Ravens-Sieberer, Ulrike

    2017-11-24

    Children of parents with mental health problems (CPM) have an increased risk for behavioral and psychological problems. This study investigated the age- and gender-specific course as well as predictors of mental health problems in CPM using the longitudinal data (baseline 1- and 2-year follow-ups) of a German general population sample from the BELLA study. Children and adolescents aged 11-17 years (at baseline) who had a parent with mental health problems (n = 325) were analyzed. The mental health problems of the children were assessed by the self-reported version of the strengths and difficulties questionnaire (SDQ). We used individual growth modeling to investigate the age- and gender-specific course, and the effects of risk as well as personal, familial and social protective factors on self-reported mental health problems in CPM. Additionally, data were examined differentiating internalizing and externalizing mental health problems in CPM. Results indicated that female compared to male CPM showed increasing mental health problems with increasing age. Mental health problems in CPM were associated with lower self-efficacy, worse family climate and less social competence over time. Internalizing problems were associated with lower self-efficacy, less social competence and more severe parental mental health problems. Externalizing problems were associated with lower self-efficacy, worse family climate and lower social competence. The main limitations of the study are the short time period (2 years) covered and the report of mental health problems by only one parent. Our findings should be considered in the development of treatment and prevention programs for mental health problems in CPM.

  12. Occupational therapy influence on a carer peer support model in a clinical mental health service.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bourke, Cate; Sanders, Bronwyn; Allchin, Becca; Lentin, Primrose; Lang, Shannon

    2015-10-01

    Current policy frameworks call for the participation of consumers and carers in all levels of mental health service delivery in Australia. Such inclusion leads to better outcomes for all, however, it is recognised that carers have needs and occupations beyond their carer role. The aim of this article is to describe an innovative carer peer support program developed by a group of occupational therapists. The article describes the rationale, phases of development and the role that occupational therapists played in developing and sustaining the model. This is followed by an exploration of the occupational therapy attitudes, knowledge and skills that contributed to the conceptualisation and implementation of the model. Five occupational therapists engaged in a review process involving documentation, literature review, evaluation, reflection and discussion. Four of the occupational therapists had either coordinated or managed the service described. The fifth author facilitated the process. Review of the model indicates it equips carers to perform their caring occupation and helps carers recognise the need for occupations beyond caring, for their health and wellbeing. Employing carers as paid workers values their 'real life' experience in their caring occupation. Findings also illustrate that the attitudes, knowledge, skills and competency standards of occupational therapists are well suited in enabling this emerging area of service delivery. Although this model has been developed in a clinical mental health setting, the key principles could be applied with carers or consumers across a variety of settings in which occupational therapists are employed. © 2015 Occupational Therapy Australia.

  13. Speeding the growth of primary mental health prevention.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wissow, Lawrence S

    2015-01-01

    While there is a strong case for primary prevention of mental health problems, relatively little mental health scholarship has been devoted to it in the last decade. Efforts to accelerate prevention scholarship could potentially benefit from strengthening pathways for interdisciplinary research; developing new training and working models for mental health professionals; developing a common language for public, policy, and scientific discussion of prevention; learning how to measure the common outcomes of heterogeneous interventions tailored to diverse communities.

  14. Burden of Mental Illness and Non-communicable Diseases and Risk Factors for Mental Illness Among Refugees in Buffalo, NY, 2004-2014.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mulugeta, Wudeneh; Xue, Hong; Glick, Myron; Min, Jungwon; Noe, Michael F; Wang, Youfa

    2018-05-21

    Limited is known about mental illness and non-communicable diseases (NCDs) and their risk factors among refugees. These were studied using data collected from a refugee population in Buffalo, NY. Longitudinal data collected on 1055 adults (> 18 years) at a large refugee health center in Buffalo, NY, during 2004-2014 were used. Main outcomes were hypertension, diabetes, tobacco use, obesity, overweight/obesity, and mental illness. Risk factors were assessed using multivariate regression models. Compared to those without mental illness, refugees with mental illness had higher rates of hypertension (16.9 vs 28.4%, P mental illness (25.4 to 36.7%, P mental illness (13.0 to 24.5%, P mental illness prevalence among refugees was 16%, ranging from 6.9% among Asians to 43.9% among Cubans. Women were more likely to have mental illness (odds ratio = 2.45; 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.68-3.58) than men. Refugees who lived longer in the USA were more likely to carry psychiatric diagnoses (OR = 1.12; 95% CI = 1.04-1.21). Mental illness rates varied considerably across various refugee groups. Rates of obesity and NCDs among refugees with mental illness were higher than among those without mental disorders. Gender, region of origin, and length of stay in the USA were associated with mental illness. Accurate and culturally sensitive screenings and assessments of mental illness are needed to reduce these health disparities.

  15. Community perceptions of mental illness in rural Uganda: An analysis of existing challenges facing the Bwindi Mental Health Programme

    Science.gov (United States)

    2017-01-01

    Objectives To assess community perceptions of mental illness in the Bwindi Community Hospital (BCH) catchment area: to recognise beliefs about the causes and the treatments for mental illness. To provide community data to staff at BCH as they work to develop more effective community mental health programmes. Background A shortage of mental health providers in Uganda has prompted research into community-based task-sharing models for the provision of mental health services in underserved communities. Methods Six focus group discussions, with a total of 54 community members (50% male, n = 27; mean age + s.d. [39.9 + 10.9 years]) from the BCH catchment area, were conducted to assess community member and stakeholder perceptions of mental illness and belief in the feasibility of community-based programming. Qualitative study of data through thematic analysis was conducted to assess the presence of commonly occurring perceptions. Results Qualitative thematic analysis revealed two major themes: (1) belief that any given patient’s metal illness results from either an intrinsic or an extrinsic cause and (2) belief in a need to determine treatment of mental illness based on the believed cause. Conclusion As BCH designs community-based mental health services, our findings provide support for the need for further education of community members and training of community health workers to address and integrate the above-stated beliefs regarding mental illness. PMID:29041798

  16. Stigma and intellectual disability: potential application of mental illness research.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ditchman, Nicole; Werner, Shirli; Kosyluk, Kristin; Jones, Nev; Elg, Brianna; Corrigan, Patrick W

    2013-05-01

    Individuals with intellectual disabilities (ID) and individuals with mental illness are consistently found to be among the most socially excluded populations and continue to face substantial health, housing, and employment disparities due to stigma. Although this has spurred extensive research efforts and theoretical advancements in the study of stigma toward mental illness, the stigma of ID has received only limited attention. In this article we explore the application of mental illness stigma research for ID. We carefully reviewed the existing research on mental illness stigma as a foundation for a parallel summary of the empirical literature on attitudes and stigma related to ID. Based on our review, there has not been a systematic approach to the study of stigma toward ID. However, multilevel conceptual models of stigma have received much attention in the mental illness literature. These models have been used to inform targeted interventions and have application to the study of the stigma process for individuals with ID. Nonetheless, there are indeed key differences between-as well as substantial variability within-the ID and mental illness populations that must be considered. Stigma is an issue of social justice impacting the lives of individuals with ID, yet there remains virtually no systematic framework applied to the understanding of the stigma process for this group. Future research can draw on the stigma models developed in the mental illness literature to guide more rigorous research efforts and ultimately the development of effective, multilevel stigma-change strategies for ID.

  17. Separate and Combined Effects of Behavior Rehearsal and Self-Other Modeling Variations on the Grooming Skill Acquisition of Mentally Retarded Women.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Petroski, Richard A.; And Others

    1983-01-01

    Compared the separate and combined effects of behavior rehearsal and modeling on grooming skill development of mentally retarded women (N=48). All treatments were superior to the control condition. Modeling and behavior rehearsal were both effective but there was no advantage to combining them. Cost effectiveness favored the other-model procedure.…

  18. Mental Health and the Transgender Population.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Carmel, Tamar C; Erickson-Schroth, Laura

    2016-12-01

    Although research into the physical and mental health disparities faced by transgender and gender nonconforming (TGNC) populations is becoming more popular, historically it has been limited. It is now recognized that TGNC people experience disproportionate rates of negative mental health outcomes relative to both their gender-normative, heterosexual peers, as well as their gender-normative lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) peers. The theoretical basis of current transgender mental health research is rooted in the Minority Stress Model, which postulates that we live in a hetero-centric, gender-normative society that stigmatizes and discriminates against lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people, subjecting them to chronic stress (Hendricks & Testa, 2012; Meyer, 1995). This chronic, potentially compounding stress, is responsible for the increased risk of negative mental health outcomes in LGBT populations. TGNC people, in particular, may experience more adverse outcomes than their LGB peers due to rejection and discrimination within society at large as well as within the LGB community. [Journal of Psychosocial Nursing and Mental Health Services, 54(12), 44-48.]. Copyright 2016, SLACK Incorporated.

  19. Enacted Stigma, Mental Health, and Protective Factors Among Transgender Youth in Canada

    Science.gov (United States)

    Veale, Jaimie F.; Peter, Tracey; Travers, Robb; Saewyc, Elizabeth M.

    2017-01-01

    Abstract Purpose: We aimed to assess the Minority Stress Model which proposes that the stress of experiencing stigma leads to adverse mental health outcomes, but social supports (e.g., school and family connectedness) will reduce this negative effect. Methods: We measured stigma-related experiences, social supports, and mental health (self-injury, suicide, depression, and anxiety) among a sample of 923 Canadian transgender 14- to 25-year-old adolescents and young adults using a bilingual online survey. Logistic regression models were conducted to analyze the relationship between these risk and protective factors and dichotomous mental health outcomes among two separate age groups, 14- to 18-year-old and 19- to 25-year-old participants. Results: Experiences of discrimination, harassment, and violence (enacted stigma) were positively related to mental health problems and social support was negatively associated with mental health problems in all models among both age groups. Among 14–18 year olds, we examined school connectedness, family connectedness, and perception of friends caring separately, and family connectedness was always the strongest protective predictor in multivariate models. In all the mental health outcomes we examined, transgender youth reporting low levels of enacted stigma experiences and high levels of protective factors tended to report favorable mental health outcomes. Conversely, the majority of participants reporting high levels of enacted stigma and low levels of protective factors reported adverse mental health outcomes. Conclusion: While these findings are limited by nonprobability sampling procedures and potential additional unmeasured risk and protective factors, the results provide positive evidence for the Minority Stress Model in this population and affirm the need for policies and programs to support schools and families to support transgender youth. PMID:29279875

  20. Attachment-related mental representations: introduction to the special issue.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Thompson, Ross A

    2008-12-01

    Bowlby's concept of mental working models of self, attachment figures, and the social world has been theoretically generative as a bridge between early relational experience and the beliefs and expectations that color later relationships. Contemporary attachment researchers, following his example, are applying new knowledge of children's conceptual development to their study of attachment-related mental representations in children and adults. The contributors to this special issue highlight recent advances in how the mental representations arising from attachment security should be conceptualized and studied, and identify a number of important directions for future work. This paper introduces the special issue by summarizing the major ideas of Bowlby and his followers concerning the nature and development of mental working models, points of theoretical clarity and uncertainty, and challenges in assessing these representations, as well as profiling each of the contributions to this issue.

  1. Kindergartners' Mental Models of the Day and Night Cycle: Implications for Instructional Practices in Early Childhood Classrooms

    Science.gov (United States)

    Saçkes, Mesut

    2015-01-01

    This study aims to examine kindergarten children's mental models of the day and night cycle and provide implications for pedagogical practices targeting space science concepts in early childhood classrooms. A total of 46 kindergartners participated in the study, their age ranging from 60 to 75 months, including 22 boys and 24 girls.…

  2. The impact of mental health on labour market outcomes in China.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lu, Chunling; Frank, Richard G; Liu, Yuanli; Shen, Jian

    2009-09-01

    Mental illnesses account for 20% of the total burden of disease in China. Yet, health policy in China has not devoted much attention to mental health problems and their impact on Chinese society. The objective of this paper is to investigate the impact of mental health status on labour market outcomes, such as employment and income, and provide evidence about some of the economic consequences of mental illnesses. Using the China Health Surveillance Baseline 2001 Survey and an instrumental variables estimation approach, we address possible reverse causation between work and mental health. To estimate the impact of self-reported mental health status, we use the two-part model, the first part estimating a logit equation for the probability of being employed and the second-part estimating an ordinary least squares (OLS) model on the log of individual income condition on being employed. We use a list of symptoms of mental disorders to constitute a measure of mental health status. Our identification strategy relies on instruments that measure average mental health status by zip code other than the observed individual to implement an instrumental variables model. Both men and women suffer a significant reduction in the employment rate and annual income if the average mental health deteriorates at a population level. The mental health index has a positive and significant effect on the likelihood of being employed. Our findings are consistent with what has been found in industrialised countries. This is the first empirical study that reveals that poor mental health status can be disruptive of labour market activities in China. A rapid rise of mental and behavioural problems in population reflects the transition to a market economy and indicates pressing problems that have gone unrecognised and unaddressed. The negative economic consequences in labour market outcomes suggest a potential gain from preventing and curing the mental disorder. Our study about the impact of mental

  3. Child mental-health policy development in sub-Saharan Africa: broadening the perspectives using Bronfenbrenner's ecological model.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Atilola, Olayinka

    2017-04-01

    Despite socio-economic, demographic and epidemiological facts and realities that point to a potential risk for explosion in the prevalence of childhood mental health problems in sub-Saharan Africa, there is still a severe dearth of child and adolescent mental health (CAMH) policy or strategy to respond to the situation in the region. Unfortunately, current attempts at suggesting courses of action in this regard appear to be focused on narrow reactionary approaches. There is a need for theoretical frameworks to capture the full ramification of childhood in sub-Saharan Africa, from which multi-level, context-appropriate and holistic CAMH policy directions can be understood. In this commentary, we propose an amended version of the Bronfenbrenner's ecological model of childhood as such framework that captures proximal, intermediate and distal factors that influence the care environment of children. We then used the insights provided by the model to identify and prioritize intervention points and appropriate intervention strategies in charting a tentative course for CAMH policy development in the region. Though the ecological model provides a distinct perspective to the structure and dynamics of the care environment of children, the proposed framework using the model is still largely theoretical and need to be further integrated into future studies on CAMH policy development in the region. © The Author 2014. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

  4. Mental health nurses' attitudes toward self-harm: Curricular implications

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    David G. Shaw

    2016-10-01

    Methods: The study aimed to explore the attitudes of mental health nurses toward service users who self-harm in secure environments, and to inform mental health curriculum development. It was conducted in a large forensic mental health unit, containing medium and low secure facilities, to the west of London, UK. A qualitative multi-method approach was adopted, underpinned by interpretative phenomenological analysis. Data were obtained from mental health nurses using individual interviews and focus groups, and analysis followed a step-by-step thematic approach using interpretative phenomenological analysis. Results: Nurses' attitudes toward self-harm varied but were mainly negative, and this was usually related to limited knowledge and skills. The results of the study, framed by the Theory of Planned Behaviour, led to the development of a proposed educational model entitled ‘Factors Affecting Self-Harming Behaviours’ (FASH. Conclusion: The FASH Model may inform future curriculum innovation. Adopting a holistic approach to education of nurses about self-harm may assist in developing attitudes and skills to make care provision more effective in secure mental health settings.

  5. Mental Health staff views on improving burnout and mental toughness

    OpenAIRE

    Posner, Zoe; Janssen, Jessica; Roddam, Hazel

    2017-01-01

    Purpose- Burnout in mental health staff is acknowledged as a major problem. The purpose of this paper is to gain an understanding of mental health staff views on improving burnout and mental toughness in mental health staff.\\ud Design/methodology/approach-Ten participants from two mental health rehabilitation units across the North West of England took part in a Nominal Group Technique (NGT). Participants consisted of mental health workers from varied roles in order to\\ud capture views from a...

  6. Ten years integrated care for mental disorders in the Netherlands

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    Christina M van der Feltz-Cornelis

    2011-03-01

    Full Text Available Background and problem statement: Integrated care for mental disorders aims to encompass forms of collaboration between different health care settings for the treatment of mental disorders. To this end, it requires integration at several levels, i.e. integration of psychiatry in medicine, of the psychiatric discourse in the medical discourse; of localization of mental health care and general health care facilities; and of reimbursement systems.   Description of policy practice: Steps have been taken in the last decade to meet these requirements, enabling psychiatry to move on towards integrated treatment of mental disorder as such, by development of a collaborative care model that includes structural psychiatric consultation that was found to be applicable and effective in several Dutch health care settings. This collaborative care model is a feasible and effective model for integrated care in several health care settings. The Bio Psycho Social System has been developed as a feasible instrument for assessment in integrated care as well. Discussion: The discipline of Psychiatry has moved from anti-psychiatry in the last century, towards an emancipated medical discipline. This enabled big advances towards integrated care for mental disorder, in collaboration with other medical disciplines, in the last decade. Conclusion: Now is the time to further expand this concept of care towards other mental disorders, and towards integrated care for medical and mental co-morbidity. Integrated care for mental disorder should be readily available to the patient, according to his/her preference, taking somatic co-morbidity into account, and with a focus on rehabilitation of the patient in his or her social roles.

  7. Ten years integrated care for mental disorders in the Netherlands

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Christina M van der Feltz-Cornelis

    2011-03-01

    Full Text Available Background and problem statement: Integrated care for mental disorders aims to encompass forms of collaboration between different health care settings for the treatment of mental disorders. To this end, it requires integration at several levels, i.e. integration of psychiatry in medicine, of the psychiatric discourse in the medical discourse; of localization of mental health care and general health care facilities; and of reimbursement systems.  Description of policy practice: Steps have been taken in the last decade to meet these requirements, enabling psychiatry to move on towards integrated treatment of mental disorder as such, by development of a collaborative care model that includes structural psychiatric consultation that was found to be applicable and effective in several Dutch health care settings. This collaborative care model is a feasible and effective model for integrated care in several health care settings. The Bio Psycho Social System has been developed as a feasible instrument for assessment in integrated care as well.Discussion: The discipline of Psychiatry has moved from anti-psychiatry in the last century, towards an emancipated medical discipline. This enabled big advances towards integrated care for mental disorder, in collaboration with other medical disciplines, in the last decade.Conclusion: Now is the time to further expand this concept of care towards other mental disorders, and towards integrated care for medical and mental co-morbidity. Integrated care for mental disorder should be readily available to the patient, according to his/her preference, taking somatic co-morbidity into account, and with a focus on rehabilitation of the patient in his or her social roles.

  8. Studying the Validity and Reliability of the Persian Version of Physical and Mental Health Questionnaire, Based on the Holistic Wellness Model

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    Fatemeh Alian Fini

    2016-07-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background: Mental health is an important aspect of health and the World Health Organization defines health as "full physical, mental and social welfare, and not merely the absence of disease". Given that 79 percent of the health education focused on physical aspects, in fact, the most focus is on biological parameters of people to measure their health. So we need a valid questionnaire to measure mentally and physically the health of people in the research community. Materials and Methods: The Holistic Wellness Model reflects that the researches is done on health which is different in variant cultures perspectives.102 managers and officials of Islamic Azad University of Arak participated in this studyin 2014 and the validity and reliability of the questionnaire were analyzed using the software SPSS20. Results: 102 people were enrolled in this study, 74 males (72.5% and the rest were female. Cronbach' Alpha coefficient for the entire questionnaire was 0.93.In all six aspects which reviewed, the correlation between all questions and its perspective was measured by using Spearman test. There was a significant positive correlation among all the questions and the related aspects. Conclusion: The Persian version of physical and mental health questionnaire, based on the Holistic Wellness Model, is suitable to assess the health of people. Also, validity and reliability is appropriate.

  9. Role of Nurses in Community Mental Health Centers: Example of England

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    Beyhan Bag

    2012-12-01

    Full Text Available The goal of the community mental health centers, which constitute the core of community based mental health service model, is to register the patients who live in a certain geographical region and have serious mental disorder in the center, to observe them regularly and to bring them back to community by providing their rehabilitation and treatment. The practice of community based mental health, which English health service carries out in one hand for the psychiatry patients’ treatment and care, has many benefits, such as minimizing the sequence of going to hospital. The community mental health nurse, who works as an incidence manager, takes on the responsibility of treatment and care of the patient in the place where he/she lives, and the directly protective effect of this responsibility is an unquestionable fact. With this practice, the process of taking cure in hospital and the cost of treatment and care decrease. In our country, this sub-field of psychiatry is still in its incipient stage. Being familiar with the successful model practices in different countries may constitute a good model for the community mental health nursing practices which are on the first level in our country. For this purpose, the role of the nurses who work for the community mental health service in England is presented in this study.

  10. Effects of two types of intra-team feedback on developing a shared mental model in Command & Control teams

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Rasker, P.C.; Post, W.M.; Schraagen, J.M.C.

    2000-01-01

    In two studies, the effect of two types of intra-team feedback on developing a shared mental model in Command & Control teams was investigated. A distinction is made between performance monitoring and team self-correction. Performance monitoring is the ability of team members to monitor each other's

  11. Significance of mental health legislation for successful primary care for mental health and community mental health services: A review.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ayano, Getinet

    2018-03-29

     Mental health legislation (MHL) is required to ensure a regulatory framework for mental health services and other providers of treatment and care, and to ensure that the public and people with a mental illness are afforded protection from the often-devastating consequences of mental illness.  To provide an overview of evidence on the significance of MHL for successful primary care for mental health and community mental health servicesMethod: A qualitative review of the literature on the significance of MHL for successful primary care for mental health and community mental health services was conducted.  In many countries, especially in those who have no MHL, people do not have access to basic mental health care and treatment they require. One of the major aims of MHL is that all people with mental disorders should be provided with treatment based on the integration of mental health care services into the primary healthcare (PHC). In addition, MHL plays a crucial role in community integration of persons with mental disorders, the provision of care of high quality, the improvement of access to care at community level. Community-based mental health care further improves access to mental healthcare within the city, to have better health and mental health outcomes, and better quality of life, increase acceptability, reduce associated social stigma and human rights abuse, prevent chronicity and physical health comorbidity will likely to be detected early and managed.  Mental health legislation plays a crucial role in community integration of persons with mental disorders, integration of mental health at primary health care, the provision of care of high quality and the improvement of access to care at community level. It is vital and essential to have MHL for every country.

  12. Poverty dynamics and parental mental health: Determinants of childhood mental health in the UK.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fitzsimons, Emla; Goodman, Alissa; Kelly, Elaine; Smith, James P

    2017-02-01

    Using data from the British Millennium Cohort Study (MCS), an ongoing longitudinal study of a cohort of 18,827 children born in the UK in 2000-2001, we investigate important correlates of mental health issues during childhood. MCS respondents were sampled at birth, at age 9 months, and then when they were 3, 5, 7 and 11 years old. Each sweep contains detailed information on the family's SES, parenting activities, developmental indicators, parental relationship status, and indicators of parental mental health. The Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) and the related Rutter scale were used to identify behavioral and emotional problems in children. In this paper, childhood problems are separated into four domains: hyperactivity, emotional symptoms, conduct problems, and peer problems. We focus on two aspects of this relationship at ages 5 and 11-the role of temporary and persistent poverty and the role of temporary and persistent mental health problems of mothers and fathers. At ages 11 and 5, without other controls in the model, persistent and transitory poverty have strong estimated associations with all four domains, with somewhat stronger estimated effects for persistent poverty. After a set of controls are added, we document that both persistent levels of poverty and transitions into poverty are strongly associated with levels of and transitions into childhood mental health problems. Similarly, sustained levels and transitions into mothers' mental health problems are strongly associated with levels and transitions into children's mental health problems. This is much less so for fathers. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  13. The Mismatch between Students' Mental Models of Acids/Bases and Their Sources and Their Teacher's Anticipations Thereof

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lin, Jing-Wen; Chiu, Mei-Hung

    2010-01-01

    The aim of this study is to compare the characteristics and sources of students' mental models of acids and bases with a teacher's anticipations and, based on this comparison, to explore some possible explanations why motivated students might fail to learn from a subject-knowledgeable chemistry teacher. The study involves a chemistry teacher and…

  14. Traffic noise in shielded urban areas: comparison of experimental data with model results

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Randrianoelina, A.; Salomons, E.M.

    2008-01-01

    Noise maps of cities are commonly produced with rather simple engineering models for sound propagation. These models may be inaccurate in complex urban situations, in particular in situations with street canyons. Street canyons are urban areas that are partly or completely enclosed by buildings, for

  15. Double Layered Sheath in Accurate HV XLPE Cable Modeling

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Gudmundsdottir, Unnur Stella; Silva, J. De; Bak, Claus Leth

    2010-01-01

    This paper discusses modelling of high voltage AC underground cables. For long cables, when crossbonding points are present, not only the coaxial mode of propagation is excited during transient phenomena, but also the intersheath mode. This causes inaccurate simulation results for high frequency...

  16. Operational challenges in conducting a community-based technology-enabled mental health services delivery model for rural India: Experiences from the SMART Mental Health Project [version 1; referees: 2 approved

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Pallab K. Maulik

    2018-04-01

    Full Text Available Background: There are large gaps in the delivery of mental health care in low- and middle-income countries such as India, and the problems are even more acute in rural settings due to lack of resources, remoteness, and lack of infrastructure, amongst other factors. The Systematic Medical Appraisal Referral and Treatment (SMART Mental Health Project was conceived as a mental health services delivery model using technology-based solutions for rural India. This paper reports on the operational strategies used to facilitate the implementation of the intervention. Method: Key components of the SMART Mental Health Project included delivering an anti-stigma campaign, training of primary health workers in screening, diagnosing and managing stress, depression and increased suicide risk and task sharing of responsibilities in delivering care; and using mobile technology based electronic decision support systems to support delivery of algorithm based care for such disorders. The intervention was conducted in 42 villages across two sites in the state of Andhra Pradesh in south India. A pre-post mixed methods evaluation was done, and in this paper operational challenges are reported. Results: Both quantitative and qualitative results from the evaluation from one site covering about 5000 adults showed that the intervention was feasible and acceptable, and initial results indicated that it was beneficial in increasing access to mental health care and reducing depression and anxiety symptoms. A number of strategies were initiated in response to operational challenges to ensure smoother conduct of the project and facilitated the project to be delivered as envisaged. Conclusions: The operational strategies initiated for this project were successful in ensuring the delivery of the intervention. Those, coupled with other more systematic processes have informed the researchers to understand key processes that need to be in place to develop a more robust study, that

  17. The Mental Health Recovery Measure can be used to assess aspects of both customer-based and service-based recovery in the context of severe mental illness

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    Albino J Oliveira-Maia

    2016-11-01

    Full Text Available Within clinical psychiatry, recovery from severe mental illness has classically been defined according to symptoms and function (service-based recovery. However, service-users have argued that recovery should be defined as the process of overcoming mental illness, regaining self-control and establishing a meaningful life (customer-based recovery. Here we aimed to compare customer-based and service-based recovery and clarify their differential relationship with other constructs, namely needs and quality of life. The study was conducted in 101 patients suffering from severe mental illness, recruited from a rural community mental health setting in Portugal. Customer-based recovery and function-related service-based recovery were assessed respectively using a shortened version of the Mental Health Recovery Measure (MHRM-20 and the Global Assessment of Functioning score. The Camberwell Assessment of Need scale was used to objectively assess needs, while subjective quality of life was measured with the TL-30s scale. Using multiple linear regression models, we found that the Global Assessment of Functioning score was incrementally predictive of the MHRM-20 score, when added to a model including only clinical and demographic factors, and that this model was further incremented by the score for quality of life. However, in an alternate model using the Global Assessment of Functioning score as the dependent variable, while the MHRM-20 score contributed significantly to the model when added to clinical and demographic factors, the model was not incremented by the score for quality of life. These results suggest that, while a more global concept of recovery from severe mental illness may be assessed using measures for service-based and customer-based recovery, the latter, namely the MHRM-20, also provides information about subjective well-being. Pending confirmation of these findings in other populations, this instrument could thus be useful for

  18. Mental illness in Bwindi, Uganda: Understanding stakeholder perceptions of benefits and barriers to developing a community-based mental health programme.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sessions, Kristen L; Wheeler, Lydia; Shah, Arya; Farrell, Deenah; Agaba, Edwin; Kuule, Yusufu; Merry, Stephen P

    2017-11-30

    Mental illness has been increasingly recognised as a source of morbidity in low- and middle-income countries and significant treatment gaps exist worldwide. Studies have demonstrated the effectiveness of task sharing through community-based treatment models for addressing international mental health issues. This paper aims to evaluate the perceptions of a wide range of mental health stakeholders in a Ugandan community regarding the benefits and barriers to developing a community-based mental health programme. Bwindi Community Hospital (BCH) in south-west Uganda provides services through a team of community health workers to people in the Kanungu District. Thematic analysis of 13 semi-structured interviews and 6 focus group discussions involving 54 community members and 13 mental health stakeholders within the BCH catchment area. Stakeholders perceived benefits to a community-based compared to a hospital-based programme, including improved patient care, lower costs to patients and improved community understanding of mental illness. They also cited barriers including cost, insufficient workforce and a lack of community readiness. Stakeholders express interest in developing community-based mental health programmes, as they feel that it will address mental health needs in the community and improve community awareness of mental illness. However, they also report that cost is a significant barrier to programme development that will have to be addressed prior to being able to successfully establish such programming. Additionally, many community members expressed unique sociocultural beliefs regarding the nature of mental illness and those suffering from a psychiatric disease.

  19. Components of implicit stigma against mental illness among Chinese students.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Xiaogang Wang

    Full Text Available Although some research has examined negative automatic aspects of attitudes toward mental illness via relatively indirect measures among Western samples, it is unclear whether negative attitudes can be automatically activated in individuals from non-Western countries. This study attempted to validate results from Western samples with Chinese college students. We first examined the three-component model of implicit stigma (negative cognition, negative affect, and discriminatory tendencies toward mental illness with the Single Category Implicit Association Test (SC-IAT. We also explored the relationship between explicit and implicit stigma among 56 Chinese university college students. In the three separate SC-IATs and the combined SC-IAT, automatic associations between mental illness and negative descriptors were stronger relative to those with positive descriptors and the implicit effect of cognitive and affective SC-IATs were significant. Explicit and implicit measures of stigma toward mental illness were unrelated. In our sample, women's overall attitudes toward mental illness were more negative than men's were, but no gender differences were found for explicit measures. These findings suggested that implicit stigma toward mental illness exists in Chinese students, and provide some support for the three-component model of implicit stigma toward mental illness. Future studies that focus on automatic components of stigmatization and stigma-reduction in China are warranted.

  20. The Impact of Illness Identity on Recovery from Severe Mental Illness.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yanos, Philip T; Roe, David; Lysaker, Paul H

    2010-04-01

    The impact of the experience and diagnosis of mental illness on one's identity has long been recognized; however, little is known about the impact of illness identity, which we define as the set of roles and attitudes that a person has developed in relation to his or her understanding of having a mental illness. The present article proposes a theoretically driven model of the impact of illness identity on the course and recovery from severe mental illness and reviews relevant research. We propose that accepting a definition of oneself as mentally ill and assuming that mental illness means incompetence and inadequacy impact hope and self-esteem, which further impact suicide risk, coping, social interaction, vocational functioning, and symptom severity. Evidence supports most of the predictions made by the model. Implications for psychiatric rehabilitation services are discussed.

  1. Health Care "as Usual": The Insertion of Positive Psychology in Canadian Mental Health Discourse

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jhangiani, Surita Jassal; Vadeboncoeur, Jennifer A.

    2010-01-01

    The recent shift to a "positive psychological" approach that emphasizes a "health model," rather than a "disease model," in mental health discourses is intended both to reduce the stigma around mental health issues and to enable people to play a role in monitoring their own mental health. As a component of a larger…

  2. Bringing Wellness to Schools: Opportunities and Challenges to Mental Health Integration in School Health Centers

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lai, Karen; Guo, Sisi; Ijadi-Maghsoodi, Roya; Puffer, Maryjane; Kataoka, Sheryl H.

    2016-01-01

    Objective School-based health centers (SBHCs) reduce mental health access-to-care barriers and improve educational outcomes for youth. This qualitative study evaluates the innovations and challenges of a unique network of SBHCs in a large, urban school district, as they attempt to integrate health, mental health, and educational services. Methods The 43 participants sampled included mental health providers, primary care providers, and care coordinators at 14 SBHCs. Semi-structured interviews with each participant were audio-recorded and transcribed. Themes were identified and coded using Atlas.ti 5.1, and collapsed into three domains: Operations, Partnership, and Engagement. Results Interviews revealed provider models ranging from single agencies offering both health and mental health services to co-located services. Sites with the Health Agency providing at least some mental health services reported more mental health screenings. Many sites utilized SBHC coordinators and coordination team meetings to facilitate relationships between schools and Health Agency and Community Mental Health Clinic providers. Partnership challenges included confidentiality policies and staff turnover. Participants also highlighted student and parent engagement, through culturally sensitive services, peer health advocates, and “drop-in” lunches. Conclusions Staffing and operational models are critical in the success of health-mental health-education integration. Among the provider models observed, the combined health and mental health provider model offered the most integrated services. Despite barriers, providers and schools have begun to implement novel solutions for operational problems and family engagement in mental health services. Implications for future SBHCs as an integrated model are described. PMID:27417895

  3. Contradictions In Mental Health: Stigma, Mental Health Literacy And Disclosure (Or Not Of A Mental Disorder Diagnosis.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    manuel torres cubeiro

    2018-05-01

    Full Text Available Mental illnesses affect 25% of any given population. The literacy of human population about mental health doesn’t not much the scientific knowledge available about Mental disorders (MDs. Developed countries invest in mental health less than their 9% of their GDPs. There is a contradiction, or discrepancy, between the incidence of MD in human population and how human societies react about them. This discrepancy has long been evident in the literature of medical sociology. In this article we analyze three medical sociology related concepts that have been coined to understand this contradiction: first, mental health literacy; second, stigma of mental ailments; and finally, the disclosure (or not of the diagnosis of a mental illness. With this article we try to solve short use of these concepts in medical sociology in Spanish.

  4. Mental Health, Social Context, Refugees and Immigrants: A Cultural Interface.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mayadas, Nazneen S.; Ramanathan, Chathapuram S.; Suarez, Zulema

    1999-01-01

    Explores how the lack of awareness of human diversity can adversely affect the mental health care of nondominant ethnic groups. Proposes a three-dimensional cultural-interface model for assessing and treating mental health problems. (SLD)

  5. Local house prices and mental health.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Joshi, Nayan Krishna

    2016-03-01

    This paper examines the impact of local (county-level) house prices on individual self-reported mental health using individual level data from the United States Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System between 2005 and 2011. Exploiting a fixed-effects model that relies on within-county variations, relative to the corresponding changes in other counties, I find that while individuals are likely to experience worse self-reported mental health when local house prices decline, this association is most pronounced for individuals who are least likely to be homeowners. This finding is not consistent with a prediction from a pure wealth mechanism but rather with the hypothesis that house prices act as an economic barometer. I also demonstrate that the association between self-reported mental health and local house prices is not driven by unemployment or foreclosure. The primary result-that lower local house prices have adverse impact on self-reported mental health of homeowners and renters-is consistent with studies using data from the United Kingdom.

  6. Mental vulnerability--a risk factor for ischemic heart disease

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Eplov, Lene Falgaard; Jørgensen, Torben; Birket-Smith, Morten

    2006-01-01

    OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study is to examine whether mental vulnerability is a risk factor for the development of ischemic heart disease (IHD) after adjustment for well-established risk factors. METHODS: In three prospective cohort studies in Copenhagen County, Denmark, we recorded the level...... of mental vulnerability and possible risk factors to IHD at baseline. For follow-up, the sample was linked to relevant registries to identify all cases of fatal and nonfatal IHD. The relationship between mental vulnerability and IHD was examined using both Kaplan-Meir and Cox proportional hazard models...... adjusting for possible confounding factors. RESULTS: Mental vulnerability was significantly associated with the risk for IHD (medium mental vulnerability: hazard ratio 1.41, 95% confidence interval 1.04-1.91; and high mental vulnerability: hazard ratio 2.05; 95% confidence interval 1.46-2.88), after...

  7. Managing Madness: Mental Health and Complexity in Public Policy

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ian Hickie

    2013-09-01

    Full Text Available This paper explores the concept of collaborative care, particularly in relation to a range of new models of organisation and service that are emerging in response to one of the most problematic areas of public policy – mental health. These emerging models of coordinated mental health care are testing the limits of the evidence supporting coordinated care, and require critical evaluation. Myriad concepts of collaborative or coordinated care in health, including mental health, have created multiple definitions. Once definitional issues have been surmounted, however, the evidence for coordination of health care is reasonably strong. There is considerable research about which treatments and programs are best for people with a mental illness. There are few areas seemingly as complex as mental health, given that responsibility for policy and service lies across all three tiers of Australian government and across multiple jurisdictions. It also engages public, private and non-government sectors. Co-morbidities are commonplace, particularly drug and alcohol problems among younger people. Governments in Australia have traditionally taken responsibility for policy, programs and services, either as direct service providers or through contracting outputs from others. Yet the evidence indicates that for people with a mental illness, the best solutions are often not found in government but in the community and in organisations outside of government. New organisations and new structures are attempting more holistic management approaches, combining clinical care, community support, housing, employment and other services. This paper considers some of these new models in the light of existing evidence. The key challenge facing continued reform in mental health is not uncertainty regarding programs or services, but rather how to drive coordinated care for consumers across departments, governments and providers. This review will highlight the key changes that

  8. Stereotypes of mental disorders differ in competence and warmth.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sadler, Melody S; Meagor, Elizabeth L; Kaye, Kimberly E

    2012-03-01

    Theoretical models of public stigma toward mental illness have focused on factors that perpetuate stigma toward the general label of "mental illness" or toward a handful of specific illnesses, used more or less interchangeably. The current work used the Stereotype Content Model (Fiske, Cuddy, Glick, & Xu, 2002) to examine how one facet of public stigma--stereotype content--differs as a function of specific mental illnesses. Participants were recruited online from across the U.S. Study 1 demonstrated that the overarching category of people with mental illness was perceived as relatively incompetent, but not very hostile (i.e., relatively warm). Study 2 found that when the general label of mental illness was separated into thirteen individual disorders, distinct stereotype content toward four clusters of illnesses emerged. One cluster, typified by illnesses with psychotic features (e.g., schizophrenia), was perceived to be hostile and incompetent. A second cluster, comprised of mood and anxiety disorders, was perceived as average on both competence and warmth. A third cluster of illnesses with neuro-cognitive deficits was thought to be warm but incompetent. The fourth cluster included groups with sociopathic tendencies and was viewed as hostile but relatively competent. The results clearly demonstrate that the stereotype content that underlies public stigma toward individual mental illnesses is not the same for all disorders. Harnessing knowledge of differing stereotype content toward clusters of mental illnesses may improve the efficacy of interventions to counteract public stigma. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  9. The impact of a community mental health initiative on outcomes for offenders with a serious mental disorder.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stewart, Lynn A; Farrell-MacDonald, Shanna; Feeley, Stacey

    2017-10-01

    The Community Mental Health Initiative (CMHI) is mandated to assist offenders with serious mental disorders in their transition from institutions to the community, but this incorporates different styles of service. An important unanswered question is whether these are equivalent. Our aim was to compare outcomes for different intervention styles within the CMHI, a programme for serious offenders in prison who also have at least one major mental disorder. Our specific research questions were as follows: do outcomes differ according to whether offenders with mental health difficulties receive (1) clinical discharge planning only; (2) community mental health services only; (3) the combined services or (4) none, although meeting criteria for any CMHI service? Survival analyses, controlling for variables with a significant effect on recidivism or return to prison, were used to test for differences in recidivism or return to prison rates between the intervention and no-intervention groups during a fixed follow-up period. Men receiving only community mental health services had a significantly lower risk of returning to custody and of recidivism than men receiving discharge planning alone or no community mental health service at all, even after controlling for potential confounders including age, number of previous imprisonments and number of previous community failures. The advantages were apparent within 3-6 months and sustained for up to 4 years. Provision of specialised community mental health services for higher-risk male offenders with a mental disorder may reduce recidivism in the short and longer term - within 3 months and up to 4 years respectively. Statistical modelling also pointed to the need to include treatment for substance abuse and assistance in identifying stable accommodation and brokerage of community services among the interventions and services. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  10. Teacher Candidate Mental Health and Mental Health Literacy

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dods, Jennifer

    2016-01-01

    Providing teacher candidates with a strong foundation in mental health literacy during their teacher education program is crucial in ensuring novice teachers are prepared to support the mental health needs of their students. In addition to responding to students, teacher candidates are typically at an age when mental health disorders are common…

  11. Developing a culturally appropriate mental health care service for Samoa.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Enoka, Matamua Iokapeta Sina; Tenari, Aliilelei; Sili, Tupou; Peteru, Latama; Tago, Pisaina; Blignault, Ilse

    2013-06-01

    Mental Health Care Services are part of the National Health Services for Samoa. Their function is to provide mental health care services to the population of Samoa, which numbers 180,000 people. However, like many other countries in the Pacific region, mental health is considered a low priority. The mental health budget allocation barely covers the operation of mental health care services. More broadly, there is a lack of political awareness about mental health care services and mental health rarely becomes an issue of deliberation in the political arena. This article outlines the recent development of mental health care services in Samoa, including the Mental Health Policy 2006 and Mental Health Act 2007. It tells the story of the successful integration of aiga (family) as an active partner in the provision of care, and the development of the Aiga model utilizing Samoan cultural values to promote culturally appropriate family-focused community mental health care for Samoa. Mental Health Care Services today encompass both clinical and family-focused community mental health care services. The work is largely nurse-led. Much has been achieved over the past 25 years. Increased recognition by government and increased resourcing are necessary to meet the future health care needs of the Samoan people. Copyright © 2012 Wiley Publishing Asia Pty Ltd.

  12. Workplace social capital, mental health and health behaviors among Brazilian female workers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pattussi, Marcos Pascoal; Olinto, Maria Teresa Anselmo; Canuto, Raquel; da Silva Garcez, Anderson; Paniz, Vera Maria Vieira; Kawachi, Ichiro

    2016-09-01

    Previous studies have investigated the relationship between workplace social capital and mental health, yet few have sought to examine the mediating mechanisms. We sought to explore the role of workplace social capital on health related behaviors and on mental health among female employees in Brazil. A cross-sectional study was undertaken with 553 women aged 28-50 years working in the production line of a poultry processing plant. We assessed workplace social capital, common mental disorders, stress (Perceived Stress Scale) and health related behaviors (physical activity, healthy eating habits and co-occurrence of risk behaviors). We used structural equation modeling to clarify relationships between exposures, outcomes, and mediating variables. Our model demonstrated a direct effect of social capital on the outcomes studied. Higher workplace social capital was associated with lower stress and common mental disorders as well as more favorable health-related behaviors. Our model also showed an indirect effect of social capital on mental health and on behaviors that was mediated by lower levels of perceived stress. Workplace social cohesion may play an important role in the promotion of mental health and healthy behaviors among women employees.

  13. Do medical French students know how to properly score a mini mental state examination?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hernandorena, Intza; Chauvelier, Sophie; Vidal, Jean-Sébastien; Piccoli, Matthieu; Coulon, Joséphine; Hugonot-Diener, Laurence; Rigaud, Anne-Sophie; Hanon, Olivier; Duron, Emmanuelle

    2017-06-01

    The mini mental state examination (MMSE) is a validated tool to assess global cognitive function. Training is required before scoring. Inaccurate scoring can lead to inappropriate medical decisions. In France, MMSE is usually scored by medical students. To assess if medical French students know how to properly score a mini mental state examination. Two « physician-patient » role playings performed by 2 specialized physicians, were performed in front of University Paris V medical students. Role playing A: Scoring of a MMSE according to a script containing five tricks; Role playing B: Find the 5 errors committed in a pre-filled MMSE form, according to the second script. One hundred and five students (64.4% of women, 49.5% in fifth medical school year) anonymously participated. Eighty percent of students had already scored a MMSE and 40% had been previously trained to MMSE scoring. Forty five percent of students previously scored an MMSE, without previously being trained. In test A, 16% of students did not commit any errors, 45.7% one error and 38.1% two errors. In test B, the proportion of students who provided 0, 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 good answers was 3.3%, 29.7%, 29.7%, 25.3%, 7.7% and 4.4% respectively. No association between medical school year, previous training to MMSE scoring and performances at both tests were found. French students do not properly score MMSE. MMSE scoring is not enough or accurately taught (by specialists). The university will provide on line the tests and a short filmed teaching course performed by neuropsychological specialists.

  14. Predictors of Healthcare Service Utilization for Mental Health Reasons

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Marie-Josée Fleury

    2014-10-01

    Full Text Available This study was designed to identify: (1 predictors of 12-month healthcare service utilization for mental health reasons, framed by the Andersen model, among a population cohort in an epidemiological catchment area; and (2 correlates associated with healthcare service utilization for mental health reasons among individuals with and without mental disorders respectively. Analyses comprised univariate, bivariate, and multiple regression analyses. Being male, having poor quality of life, possessing better self-perception of physical health, and suffering from major depressive episodes, panic disorder, social phobia, and emotional problems predicted healthcare service utilization for mental health reasons. Among individuals with mental disorders, needs factors (psychological distress, impulsiveness, emotional problems, victim of violence, and aggressive behavior and visits to healthcare professionals were associated with healthcare service utilization for mental health reasons. Among individuals without mental disorders, healthcare service utilization for mental health reasons is strongly associated with enabling factors such as social support, income, environmental variables, and self-perception of the neighborhood. Interventions facilitating social cohesion and social solidarity in neighborhood settings may reduce the need to seek help among individuals without mental disorders. Furthermore, in their capacity as frontline professionals, general practitioners should be more sensitive in preventing, detecting, and treating mental disorders in routine primary care.

  15. Generalisation, decision making, and embodiment effects in mental rotation: A neurorobotic architecture tested with a humanoid robot.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Seepanomwan, Kristsana; Caligiore, Daniele; Cangelosi, Angelo; Baldassarre, Gianluca

    2015-12-01

    Mental rotation, a classic experimental paradigm of cognitive psychology, tests the capacity of humans to mentally rotate a seen object to decide if it matches a target object. In recent years, mental rotation has been investigated with brain imaging techniques to identify the brain areas involved. Mental rotation has also been investigated through the development of neural-network models, used to identify the specific mechanisms that underlie its process, and with neurorobotics models to investigate its embodied nature. Current models, however, have limited capacities to relate to neuro-scientific evidence, to generalise mental rotation to new objects, to suitably represent decision making mechanisms, and to allow the study of the effects of overt gestures on mental rotation. The work presented in this study overcomes these limitations by proposing a novel neurorobotic model that has a macro-architecture constrained by knowledge held on brain, encompasses a rather general mental rotation mechanism, and incorporates a biologically plausible decision making mechanism. The model was tested using the humanoid robot iCub in tasks requiring the robot to mentally rotate 2D geometrical images appearing on a computer screen. The results show that the robot gained an enhanced capacity to generalise mental rotation to new objects and to express the possible effects of overt movements of the wrist on mental rotation. The model also represents a further step in the identification of the embodied neural mechanisms that may underlie mental rotation in humans and might also give hints to enhance robots' planning capabilities. Copyright © 2015 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.

  16. Adult mental health needs and expenditure in Australia.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Burgess, Philip; Pirkis, Jane; Buckingham, Bill; Burns, Jane; Eagar, Kathy; Eckstein, Gary

    2004-06-01

    Relatively little international work has examined whether mental health resource allocation matches need. This study aimed to determine whether adult mental health resources in Australia are being distributed equitably. Individual measures of need were extrapolated to Australian Areas, and Area-based proxies of need were considered. Particular attention was paid to the prevalence of mental health problems, since this is arguably the most objective measure of need. The extent to which these measures predicted public sector, private sector and total adult mental health expenditure at an Area level was examined. In the public sector, 41.6% of expenditure variation was explained by the prevalence of affective disorders, personality disorders, cognitive impairment and psychosis, as well as the Area's level of economic resources and State/Territory effects. In the private sector, 72.4% of expenditure variation was explained by service use and State/Territory effects (with an alternative model incorporating service use and State/Territory supply of private psychiatrists explaining 69.4% of expenditure variation). A relatively high proportion (58.7%) of total expenditure variation could be explained by service utilisation and State/Territory effects. For services to be delivered equitably, the majority of variation in expenditure would have to be accounted for by appropriate measures of need. The best model for public sector expenditure included an appropriate measure of need but had relatively poor explanatory power. The models for private sector and total expenditure had greater explanatory power, but relied on less appropriate measures of need. It is concluded that mental health services in Australia are not yet being delivered equitably.

  17. Mental Illness

    Science.gov (United States)

    ... the same time. For example, you may have depression and a substance use disorder. Complications Mental illness is a leading cause of disability. Untreated mental illness can cause severe emotional, behavioral and physical health problems. Complications sometimes linked to mental illness include: ...

  18. Sympathoneural and Adrenomedullary Responses to Mental Stress

    Science.gov (United States)

    Carter, Jason R.; Goldstein, David S.

    2017-01-01

    This concept-based review provides historical perspectives and updates about sympathetic noradrenergic and sympathetic adrenergic responses to mental stress. The topic of this review has incited perennial debate, because of disagreements over definitions, controversial inferences, and limited availability of relevant measurement tools. The discussion begins appropriately with Cannon's "homeostasis" and his pioneering work in the area. This is followed by mental stress as a scientific idea and the relatively new notions of allostasis and allostatic load. Experimental models of mental stress in rodents and humans are discussed, with particular attention to ethical constraints in humans. Sections follow on sympathoneural to mental stress, reactivity of catecholamine systems, clinical pathophysiologic states, and the cardiovascular reactivity hypothesis. Future advancement of the field will require integrative approaches and coordinated efforts between physiologists and psychologists on this interdisciplinary topic. PMID:25589266

  19. The demand for ambulatory mental health services from specialty providers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Horgan, C M

    1986-01-01

    A two-part model is used to examine the demand for ambulatory mental health services in the specialty sector. In the first equation, the probability of having a mental health visit is estimated. In the second part of the model, variations in levels of use expressed in terms of visits and expenditures are examined in turn, with each of these equations conditional on positive utilization of mental health services. In the second part of the model, users are additionally grouped into those with and without out-of-pocket payment for services. This specification accounts for special characteristics regarding the utilization of ambulatory mental health services: (1) a large part of the population does not use these services; (2) of those who use services, the distribution of use is highly skewed; and (3) a large number of users have zero out-of-pocket expenditures. Cost-sharing does indeed matter in the demand for ambulatory mental health services from specialty providers; however, the decision to use mental health services is affected by the level of cost-sharing to a lesser degree than is the decision regarding the level of use of services. The results also show that price is only one of several important factors in determining the demand for services. The lack of significance of family income and of being female is notable. Evidence is presented for the existence of bandwagon effects. The importance of Medicaid in the probability of use equations is noted. PMID:3721874

  20. Use of Online Forums for Perinatal Mental Illness, Stigma, and Disclosure: An Exploratory Model

    OpenAIRE

    Moore, Donna; Drey, Nicholas; Ayers, Susan

    2017-01-01

    BACKGROUND: Perinatal mental illness is a global health concern; however, many women with the illness do not get the treatment they need to recover. Interventions that reduce the stigma around perinatal mental illness have the potential to enable women to disclose their symptoms to health care providers and consequently access treatment. There are many online forums for perinatal mental illness and thousands of women use them. Preliminary research suggests that online forums may promote help-...