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Military personnel experience many stressors during deployments that can lead to symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). However, not all military personnel who are exposed to deployment stressors develop PTSD symptoms. Recent research has explored factors that contribute to military personnel resilience, a multifaceted and multidetermined construct, as a means to mitigate and prevent PTSD symptoms. Much of this research has focused on the effects of individual-level factors (e.g., use of coping strategies like humor, the morale of individual unit members), with some research focusing on unit-level factors (e.g., the cohesiveness of a unit). However, there is little research exploring how these factors relate to each other in mitigating or reducing PTSD symptoms. In this study, we examined the association between deployment stressors, perceived unit cohesion, morale, humor, and PTSD symptoms in a sample of 20,901 active-duty military personnel using structural equation modeling. Results indicated that perceived unit cohesion, humor, and morale were positively associated with each other and negatively associated with PTSD symptoms over and above the effect of deployment stressors. These findings highlight the influence of resilience factors on PTSD symptoms beyond their substantial overlap and have implications for future research as well as the potential development of interventions for military personnel. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Older adults living in congregate housing have been uniquely impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. The sudden interruption of routine activities, social isolation, and support adversely affected the wellbeing of residents in retirement facilities around the country and world. The stress of social isolation was fueled by the interruption of routine activities and support that in turn, adversely affected the wellbeing, mood, and cognition of many residents. Therefore, university clinical programs in psychology and counseling can address the needs of community older residents by preparing student clinicians to work with the aging population and to engage in telehealth models of outreach and interventions. This manuscript outlines a model of partnership between long-term care assisted living organizations and clinical training programs at a west coast university to meet community and educational needs of older residents. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In order to realise career and personal goals, as well as financial autonomy and security, many women are pursuing higher education alongside the role of motherhood. Student-mothers face many challenges when engaging in higher education, and many fail to complete their studies. This phenomenological study applies a feminist lens to the choices, motivations and barriers experienced by student-mothers. Data from two focus groups were analysed inductively through a feminist lens to identify emerging themes.The three main themes emerging from the data were: (1) student-mothers' considerations for engaging in blended online learning; (2) the challenges for student-mothers studying through blended online learning; and (3) self-actualisation through blended online higher education. This research makes an important contribution to the literature by illuminating the study-work-life conflict experienced by student-mothers engaging in blended online learning. The findings of this research have implications for both higher education providers and policy makers. The findings highlight the barriers and facilitators facing mothers' return to study via blended online learning and provide key insights for addressing these. Future research would benefit from exploring these issues with a larger and more diverse sample considering the perspectives of mothers from different language, socioeconomic and cultural backgrounds. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Little is known about networks for positive behaviour support (PBS) in disability services. This study explores a PBS network to identify influential persons in its promotion and communication. Quantitative sociometric methods were used to identify persons who occupy positions of either boundary spanning (those that link people and groups) and/or opinion leadership (those that are sought for advice). Nineteen persons were identified. Boundary spanners met all criteria for the position while opinion leaders did not. This is the first published study of a PBS network in disability services and provides insights into persons involved in its systemic promotion. Boundary spanners are effectively bridging the PBS network, yet persons seeking information about PBS are doing so from opinion leaders that do not display a requisite characteristic for this role. These results have implications for the wider utility of PBS within disability service systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) are common reactions to trauma. One factor that influences the manifestation of PTSD symptoms is the type of trauma experienced. Traumas perpetrated by someone on whom the trauma survivor trusts and relies on for support (i.e., betrayal traumas) are especially predictive of PTSD symptoms. However, the degree to which this is true differs somewhat across men and women. Another factor that influences PTSD symptoms is personality, which is most often operationalized in terms of discrete personality traits. Among these traits, Neuroticism (the tendency to experience negative affect) is linked to a wide range of psychological dysfunction in general and to PTSD symptoms in particular. However, there is little research on how trauma type and personality differentially influence PTSD symptoms. To address this gap, in this study we examined the incremental effects of traumas with varying degrees of betrayal and personality traits on PTSD symptoms in a sample of college students (N = 276) using a Bayesian approach to multiple regression. Results suggest that Neuroticism and trauma at all levels of betrayal were associated with higher levels of PTSD symptoms, although this differed across sex. These results are consistent with previous research that identifies Neuroticism as a risk factor for a wide range of mental health problems and clarifies earlier findings on betrayal trauma. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: A lack of diversity in the speech-language pathology profession is widely recognised internationally. The role of speech-language pathology education in reproduction of this homogeneity and as a barrier to diversification is little understood. The potential of blended online education to increase access to education and diversify the speech-language pathology profession is yet to be explored. The purpose of the study was to investigate the profile of students engaging in the first blended online speech-language pathology course in Australia, including motivations for studying, experiences of studying via a blended online mode, and intentions for future practice. Method: Data were collected from 44 students in the first Australian blended online Master of Speech Pathology via an online survey. Quantitative data were analysed using descriptive statistics in SPSS and a content analysis of the qualitative data was conducted using NVivo. Result: With over 92% of participants choosing the course because it was offered online, flexible blended online study provided opportunity for those who would not have otherwise accessed speech-language pathology education, including rural students and those balancing work and home commitments. Participants found face to face elements of the course essential to their learning, but also the most challenging to manage and to fit around other commitments. Participants' ideal work scenarios revealed that 82.9% wished to practice within 50kms of their current location, indicating that provision of tertiary education to people in rural areas is contributing to establishing and retaining a rurally focussed speech-language pathology workforce. Conclusion: Blended online study provides an opportunity to diversify the speech-language profession by providing access to students such as rural students and those balancing work and home commitments with tertiary education. By reducing barriers to studying speech-language pathology, flexible learning is helping address issues of access and equity in service delivery across Australia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Positive behaviour support features prominently in Australian state and federal disability policy, and with the move to the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS), and the continuing role of the states in safeguarding the rights of people with disabilities, the representation of positive behaviour support in Australian policy is an important consideration. Extending a recent review of Australian state positive behaviour support policies, this study examined the NDIS quality and safeguarding framework. Using the concept of policy diffusion, the subject of restrictive practices was used to argue the risks associated with the representation of positive behaviour support in current Australian disability policy. This examination revealed that while positive behaviour support is aligned to the founding principles of the NDIS, it is represented inaccurately in NDIS policy. Further, policies for positive behaviour support are predominantly aligned to restrictive practices and contain inaccurate definitions of positive behaviour support. There is support for imitation and coercion in the diffusion (or "spread") of positive behaviour support policy in Australia, and the potential ramifications for jurisdictions implementing positive behaviour support policy without considering the accuracy of how positive behaviour support is presented is discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: High levels of religious involvement have been associated with positive mental health outcomes in older adults. This study investigated whether the effects of religion on healthy aging could generalize to older LGBTQ adults. Methods: This study examined religious affiliation in childhood versus at present, as well as the relationships of outness to religious community and religious engagement with depression and loneliness in 102 lesbian, gay, and bisexual cisgender, transgender, and questioning adults (LGBTQ) over the age of 55. As part of a larger study, participants completed several questions and measures including: one outness to religious community item, 4 religious engagement questions, the Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale, and the 8-item UCLA Loneliness Scale. Results: Many older LGBTQ adults reported changes in religious affiliation from childhood to adulthood. Greater levels of outness to religious communities and lower religious engagement were related to lower levels of depression and loneliness. Conclusions: Findings suggest that outness to religious communities may be beneficial to the mental health of older LGBTQ adults. Higher levels of distress may lead to higher levels of religious engagement. Clinical Implications: Religion, especially those that are supportive of sexual minorities, may help to improve the well-being of older LGBTQ adults. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pre-existing longitudinal studies of people affected by disasters provide opportunities to examine the effects of these events on health. Data used in the current investigation were provided by participants in the New Zealand Health, Work and Retirement longitudinal surveys conducted in 2010, 2012 and 2014 (n = 428; aged 50-83), who lived in the Canterbury region of New Zealand during the 2010-2011 earthquakes. Latent profile growth analyses were used to identify groups of respondents who had similar pre-post-disaster physical and mental health profiles. These groups were compared in terms of demographic factors, personal impact of the earthquakes assessed in 2012 and the overall negative-positive impact of the earthquake assessed in 2014. There was little evidence of change in health status overtime. Groups did not differ in their experiences of threat or disruption, however those in poorest health reported greatest distress and a more negative overall impact of the earthquake. Although results suggest little impact of disasters on health of surviving older adults, pre-disaster vulnerabilities were associated with distress. Social workers and agencies responsible for disaster response can play a key role in pre-disaster planning and assessment of vulnerabilities of older adults to enhance potential for positive outcomes post-disaster. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since Hurricane Katrina there has been a movement across the U.S. to examine best practice for disaster response within the aging population. However, little is known about the experience of natural disasters from the perspective of family caregivers of persons with Alzheimer’s disease and related dementia (ADRD). In this exploratory, qualitative study, family caregivers (n=27) were interviewed about their experience with the historic 2015 South Carolina flood. By using thematic analysis, themes were identified to better understand what unique challenges caregivers of person with ADRD experienced. While many caregivers stated they had experienced a natural disaster previously, none had ever done so in their current caregiving role. The caregiving role affected their ability to prepare for the storm and influenced their decision-making regarding evacuation and utilization of recovery resources. Thus, caregivers were confronted by a “perfect storm” of circumstances and uncertainty. Family caregivers need to have actionable emergency plans for disasters that are specific to their role as caregivers of persons with ADRD. Study implications also suggest the role social work professionals can have in educating, advocating, evaluating, and coordinating support to assist caregivers of persons with ADRD as a potentially vulnerable and at-risk population during all phases of disaster. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study replicated, with modifications, previous research of dyad reading using texts at various levels of difficulty (Morgan, 1997). The current project measured the effects of using above-grade-level texts on reading achievement and sought to determine the influences of dyad reading on both lead and assisted readers. Results indicate that weaker readers, using texts at two, three, and four grade levels above their instructional levels with the assistance of lead readers, outscored both proficient and less proficient students in the control group across multiple measures of reading achievement. However, the gains made by assisted readers were not significantly different relative to the various text levels. When all assessments were considered, assisted readers reading texts two grade levels above their instructional levels showed the most robust gains in oral reading fluency and comprehension. Lead readers also benefited from dyad reading and continued their respective reading developmental trajectories across measures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The option of having a support person available in industrial disputes and disciplinary hearings has become a well-accepted practice. However, the implications of having a third party present and the potential for inhibition of disclosure in the forensic psychiatric/psychological assessment has not been examined in more than a limited fashion. Expectations of claimants and lawyers that the presence of a support person is a right and assumptions that altering the usual one-to-one dynamic has no influence are challenged in this experience-based commentary. Instances in which the support person may be a “help” or a “hindrance” are outlined, as are recommendations for managing some of the common pitfalls in conducting the evaluation in the presence of another party. An argument is also made for heightened awareness on the part of solicitors about choosing an appropriate support person. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights from the article: Higgins' (2019) commentary is a welcomed contribution to the Australian positive behaviour support literature. Only with a definition of positive behaviour support that is relevant across all service sectors will positive behaviour support be able to systemically promote itself and be included in policy (Hayward, Poed, & McKay-Brown, [6]). This development is exactly what positive behaviour support needs if it is to survive in service contexts currently dominated by notions that simply writing a behaviour support plan will improve outcomes for service users.

Abstract.Objective: Increasing numbers of student service members/veterans (SSM/Vs) are enrolling in college. However, little is known about how their previous military experience affects their adjustment to this new role. The present study tested the hypothesis that SSM/Vs who report adjustment problems in college have a higher incidence of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depression, and other behavioral health problems compared with those who do not report adjustment problems.Participants: SSM/Vs (N= 173) at a large, southeastern, public university completed online surveys that included well-validated screens measuring substance use, depression, PTSD, and other mental disorders.Results: Those reporting difficulties adjusting to university life (28%) reported significantly higher frequencies of behavioral and health problems while in the military, and significantly higher levels of PTSD, depression, and mental health disorders, but no difference in substance use.Conclusions: Implications for improved behavioral health screening and coordination of university behavioral health services with veterans’ health systems are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

In this article I look at women's interpretations of one of the most popular forms of entertainment across Latin America, namely telenovelas (soap operas). In particular, I look at how they are incorporated into the everyday lives of the poorest women in Brazil. I find that not only are they a central form of sociability for many women living in conditions of poverty; but also that women employ them as a means of challenging negative valuations around their bodies. In this context the female virginity taboo frames many women's views and experiences of sexuality. I argue that it conflates female sexuality with dominant notions of ownership and control of the vagina. This causes many women to experience their vaginas as shameful. It also leaves them vulnerable to harmful social sanctions. Yet, escape from this leads many women to experience their bodies in more painful and damaging ways. However, by investing in a cult of suffering that is prevalent both in their own lives and in the glamorous and wealthy world depicted in the soap operas, women find pleasure not only in suffering, but, crucially, in their negated body parts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Mental health problems are pervasive in nursing homes (NHs), but little is known regarding the delivery of mental health services in these settings. To fill this gap in knowledge, we conducted a survey of NH administrative personnel views on mental health services use. Design and methods: We analyzed 146 surveys from NH administrative personnel, reflecting 70% of the NHs that sent representatives to training conferences held at four Florida locations. Results: There is substantial provision of mental health services (approximately half of the NHs have psychologists, psychiatrists and other MDs consulting on a weekly basis) and high satisfaction with services currently offered. Mental health services are typically provided by outside consultants who most frequently address behavior problems, anxiety/fears and depression. Sub-analyses of mental health service usage by types of NHs were largely non-significant. Almost half of the NHs reported the involuntary hospitalization of at least one resident during the previous year. No barriers to mental health services were rated as serious, and no mental health services were viewed as very difficult to provide. Top perceived barriers to mental health services delivery were resident and family attitudes towards mental health services; administrator and staff attitudes were perceived to be less problematic. Specialty psychotherapeutic services were the most difficult to provide in NHs, with psychopharmacological interventions the least difficult to provide. Implications: Administrators report a variety of mental health services provided by a diverse group of professionals in NHs, and are generally satisfied with the treatment provided. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

I use Nietzsche's work on theodicy to explore gendered valuation systems around women's bodies. The notion of theodicy provides a different entry point to questions of ideology, as it begins with an account of people's attempts to find meaning in their lives. Nietzsche traced humans' propensity to look for and create stories that give meaning to their lives, even when this meaning is one that may ultimately oppress them or celebrate something negative, such as suffering. For him it is not the suffering that torments humans, but rather its meaninglessness. In the slums of Northeast Brazil, Afro-Brazilian women invest in the Christian glorification of suffering in a context where they experience their bodies in terms of loss, shame and alienation. I explore how, through a process of creative deception, this suffering comes to be experienced as pleasure. That is, the women reconstruct their bodies using two dominant stories to which they have access: Christianity and glamorous Brazilian soap operas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines the legacy of slave trafficking in terms of the experiences of the descendants of African slaves in Northeast Brazil. In particular, it focuses on female domestic servants. It argues that ideologies around domestic work and women's bodies are closely tied to notions of slavery and shows how female domestic workers challenge these notions through their interpretations of Brazilian soap operas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Interpreting group differences observed in aggregated data is a practice that must be done with enormous care. Often the truth underlying such data is quite different than a naive first look would indicate. The confusions that can arise are so perplexing that some of the more frequently occurring ones have been dubbed paradoxes. This article describes two of these paradoxes—Simpson's paradox and Lord's paradox—and illustrates them in a single dataset. The dataset contains the score distributions, separated by race, on the biological sciences component of the Medical College Admission Test (MCAT) and Step 1 of the United States Medical Licensing Examination™ (USMLE). Our goal in examining these data was to move toward a greater understanding of race differences in admissions policies in medical schools. As we demonstrate, the path toward this goal is hindered by differences in the score distributions which gives rise to these two paradoxes. The ease with which we were able to illustrate both of these paradoxes within a single dataset is indicative of how widespread they are likely to be in practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Modified Mini-Mental State Examination (3MS) is an expanded and modified version of the Mini-mental Status Exam (MMSE). Although the MMSE has achieved widespread clinical use as a brief cognitive screen, the utility of the measure to ascertain cognitive impairment is constrained by a limited set of abilities sampled, a narrow range of possible scores, floor and ceiling effects, and by a paucity of normative data for use with older adults from ethnically diverse backgrounds. Research demonstrates that the reliability, validity and sensitivity of the 3MS are superior to that of the MMSE in detecting cognitive impairment. To data these has been minimal research investigating the usefulness of the 3MS with African American older adults. The current study examined the influence of demographic characteristics on the 3MS in a community-dwelling sample of 238 African American older adults (60-84) years). Age, gender, and education accounted for moderate amounts of variance in 3MS performance. Based on these results, normative tables for 3MS scores, stratified by age and with score adjustments for education and gender, are provided. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Tested the hypothesis that reactive aggression (RA) but not proactive aggression (PA) should be associated with heightened attention to rejection, ridicule, and failure cues. In addition to a reaction time measure of selective attention, participants also completed a vignette-based interview regarding their interpretation of ambiguous social situations, and children, parents, and teachers completed questionnaire measures of child aggression and related variables. Consistent with predictions, RA but not PA was related to biased attention for rejection, ridicule, and failure cues. However, contrary to expectation, heightened RA scores were associated with suppressed rather than enhanced attention to such cues. Despite the unexpected direction of this attentional bias, as predicted it was significantly related to the well-established tendency of aggressive children to interpret ambiguous social situations as threatening, which was also uniquely related to RA. Further, the correlation between suppressed attention and RA was fully mediated by interpretation bias. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Key Behaviors Change Inventory (KBCI) was developed to assess executive, behavioral, and emotional functioning following brain insults and to track the course of recovery. The purpose of this study was to investigate, in an elderly memory disorder clinic sample, the convergent and discriminant validity of the KBCI by examining the relationships between various measures of executive functioning and the KBCI scales that theoretically relate to executive functions. The KBCI was administered to the caregivers of 97 consecutive patients who came to a memory disorders clinic seeking services. The KBCI scales of Inattention, Apathy, Unawareness of Problems, and Communication Problems were significantly correlated with cognitive measures of executive functioning but not with measures of memory, visuospatial abilities or global cognitive functioning. In contrast, KBCI scales of Interpersonal Difficulties, Somatic Difficulties, and Emotional Adjustment were not related to any cognitive measures, either executive or nonexecutive. Contrary to predicted findings, the Impulsivity Scale was not associated with cognitive measures of executive functioning. This lack of relationship most likely reflects the failure to include executive measures of orbitofrontal functioning in this study. Results provide convergent and discriminant validity support for the KBCI. The KBCI may be a useful tool for assessing and tracking the executive, behavioral, and emotional sequelae of neurologic disorders. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It is a well-established fact that nutrition is central to the growth and development of all infants. Yet it has been observed that health care professionals are frequently unfamiliar with the most typical infant feeding practices of the clients within the communities they attempt to serve. This observation was apparent during the development of a program in an inner-city community of Wisconsin to support the feeding practices of low-income African American women with low-birth-weight infants. As a result of initial encounters with prospective clients and health care and social service professionals from the targeted community, it was apparent that professionals and staff involved in this project needed to gain an understanding of common infant feeding practices of low-income African American women; a greater awareness of the values, beliefs, and health care practices of the population; and a greater understanding of the impact of poverty on the families within the targeted community. To assist the staff in gaining a better understanding of the influence of culture and economics on infant feeding practices, a study of the infant feeding practices of a select group of low-income African American women was undertaken. The study aimed to (a) gather information that could be used to describe common infant feeding practices of low-income African American women in an inner-city community of Wisconsin and (b) determine the influence of cultural and economic variables on the decisions made by low-income African American women regarding infant feeding. This article presents an analysis and summary of the data collected during the course of the study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ObjectivesMethodsResultsConclusionsClinical ImplicationsThe present study investigates the impact of disrupted mental health services during the COVID-19 pandemic on depression and anxiety symptoms in long-term care (LTC) residents.The study examined clinical data from 5,645 residents who received at least two psychological services in a long-term care (LTC) or assisted living (AL) setting between March 2019 and March 2021. A series of multiple regressions were run to explore the effects of the COVID-19 shutdown on depression and anxiety symptoms while examining the effects of COVID-19-related facility closure and facility telehealth capabilities. Follow-up regression analyses explored the impact of cognitive impairment and positive trauma history on depression and anxiety symptoms.Post-COVID levels of anxiety and depression were higher for residents with higher levels of pre-COVID anxiety and depression. The interaction between facility closure and availability of telehealth services and trauma history predicted self-report anxiety symptoms. Clinician-observed anxiety symptoms were predicted by cognitive impairment. Residents with a history of trauma had an increase in self-reported anxiety symptoms.Telehealth appeared to mitigate anxiety during the pandemic for residents with higher pre-COVID anxiety.For those individuals with severe anxiety, results suggest the importance of ensuring that mental health services are available to mitigate symptoms via telehealth when infection control disrupts the usual delivery of treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]