Organizational and individual factors affecting mental health and job satisfaction: a multilevel analysis of job control and personality

This study evaluated variation at the individual and work unit levels in the relations of job control, hostility, and trait anxiety to mental health and job satisfaction. Questionnaire data from a sample of 2,900 employees working at 152 hospital wards were analyzed by means of multilevel regression analyses. Results showed that mental health (General Health Questionnaire-12), varying mainly at the individual level, was explained mostly by hostility and trait anxiety. Job satisfaction varied significantly at the individual and the ward level. Job control accounted for most of this multilevel variation. Thus, this study demonstrated the significance of individual characteristics and organizational effects in explaining the mental health and job satisfaction of employees.     

Training community-based, Asian-American mental health personnel in behavior modification

Sixteen Asian-American and Pacific Island mental health professionals received 10 weekly, 2-hour training sessions on behavior modification and its application, in particular, to Asian-American clients. A three-fold assessment of the training results revealed: a) a significant increase in knowledge of behavior modification principles, b) a significant increase in ability to accomplish a behavioral analysis and behavioral treatment plan, and c) a significant increase in one of three attitudes toward behavior modification: oriented activity. In general, the training was rated highly and, perhaps more importantly, was viewed as having relevance for this particular minority population which often under utilizes mental health services. The training model and needs for further consultation and supervision were discussed.     

上海市某区工商管理人员心理健康状况调查

目的评估工商管理人员的心理健康状况及相关因素。方法调查采取整取的方式,在对工商管理人员进行心理卫生知识培训时发放症状自评量表（SCL-90）调查。结果工商管理人员的SCL-90人际关系因子均分显著低于全国常模（t=-3.86,P〈0.01）,总均分及其他各因子均分与后者无明显差异（P〉0.05）。女性总均分（t=-2.30,P〈0.05）及躯体化（t=-2.16,P〈0.05）、强迫（t=-2.85,P〈0.05）、人际关系敏感（t=-3.22,P〈0.05）、恐怖（t=-2.10,P〈0.05）、偏执因子（t=-2.00,P〈0.05）均分明显高于男性。30～39岁年龄段组躯体化因子分明显高于其余3组（F=5.63,P〈0.05）。结论工商管理人员的心理健康水平与性别、年龄有关,需引起重视。     

Social and environmental factors and mental health in the elderly

The paper gives data on trends in the prevalence of mental disease and disorders incidence in old age groups for 10 years (1984-1994) and analyzes whether macro- and microsocial factors can affect mental health in the elderly. Clinical and epidemiological surveys of 1109 examinees aged 60 years and older residing in a limited Moscow area have yielded morbidity rates for mental disease and disorders (including those by sex and age) in the population. Diagnoses was rated according to the International Classification of Disease (ICD-10). Varying mental disorders and nosological entities (without taking into account abnormalities) were found in 36.6% of examinees, including 6.1% with psychotic states, i.e. proper psychoses and clinical mental deficiency. Comparison of the results of two studies. One study was carried out in the 1980s and the present one performed 10 years later, that is, within the period of socioeconomic changes in the country, is indicative of a considerable growth of the morbidity rates in nonpsychotic forms of psychopathology of cerebrovascular genesis and psychogenic affective disorders among the Moscow elderly population. A correlation between the incidence of psychic pathology at an elderly age and different socioenvironmental factors has been studied. There are significant differences in accumulation of stress-induced life events in elderly patients with different psychopathology types. The obtained results confirm the author's assumption that the growth of psychic disorder morbidity rates, specifically, in non-psychotic forms of mental diseases of cerebrovascular genesis and psychogenic affective disorders in the past decade may be caused by increased stress-induced load on elderly people both in connection with unfavorable socioeconomic conditions of the reform epoch and a frustration of their outlook stereotypes. In the authors' opinion, their hypothesis on the correlation between the increase in the incidence of some psychogeriatric diseases and the frequency of stress-induced factors, needs further testing, in particular, by way of prospective population clinical and epidemiological studies.     

职高学生心理健康状况调查

目的 了解职高学生的心理卫生状况。方法 采用症状自评量表（ＳＣＬ－９０）＾「１」进行测试。结果 所测各因子得分均明显高于全国常模；女生躯体化、抑郁、焦虑、恐怖较男生突出，而男生敌对、精神病性比女生明显；独生子女躯体化、抑郁、焦虑较非独子女明显，而非独生子女强迫、人际关系敏感、敌对较独生子女显著。结论 应加强学生的心理卫生工作，重视心理素质教育。独生和非独生子女均存在明显的心理问题，需同样引起重视。     

Seeking help from a mental health professional: the influence of one's social network

The decision to seek psychological help may be hindered or facilitated by many factors. Two potential factors that might facilitate help seeking are having a relationship with someone (a) who recommends seeking help or (b) who themselves have sought help. In two studies (N = 780, N = 746), we explored the relationship between these factors and intentions to seek mental health services. In Study 1, being prompted to seek help and knowing someone who had sought help were both related to positive expectations about mental health services. In Study 2, being prompted to seek help and knowing someone who had sought help were related to more positive attitudes toward help seeking. Also, knowing someone who had sought help was related to the intention to seek help. Of those who sought psychological help, approximately 75% had someone recommend that they seek help and about 94% knew someone who had sought help.     

Helping community mental health work: a model for the professional role of liaison

Community mental health centers were created to provide mental health services within the community. However, these centers have had difficulty delivering community-based services and have, all too often, become isolated from the communities they serve. A model for the role of professional liaison is presented. The liaison model is seen as providing a solution to service delivery problems by acting as an adjunctive agency providing broadly based referral and linking services between agencies in the community. Essential features of the liaison role include an ecological perspective, indirect service delivery, an emphasis on liaison role rather than technique, and the inappropriateness of advocacy.     

Ethical challenges in connection with the use of coercion: a focus group study of health care personnel in mental health care

Background

In recent years, the attention on the use of coercion in mental health care has increased. The use of coercion is common and controversial, and involves many complex ethical challenges. The research question in this study was: What kind of ethical challenges related to the use of coercion do health care practitioners face in their daily clinical work?

Methods

We conducted seven focus group interviews in three mental health care institutions involving 65 multidisciplinary participants from different clinical fields. The interviews were recorded and transcribed verbatim. We analysed the material applying a ‘bricolage’ approach. Basic ethical principles for research ethics were followed. We received permission from the hospitals’ administrations and all health care professionals who participated in the focus group interviews.

Results

Health care practitioners describe ethical dilemmas they face concerning formal, informal and perceived coercion. They provide a complex picture. They have to handle various ethical challenges, not seldom concerning questions of life and death. In every situation, the dignity of the patient is at stake when coercion is considered as morally right, as well as when coercion is not the preferred intervention. The work of the mental health professional is a complicated “moral enterprise”.The ethical challenges deserve to be identified and handled in a systematic way. This is important for developing the quality of health care, and it is relevant to the current focus on reducing the use of coercion and increasing patient participation. Precise knowledge about ethical challenges is necessary for those who want to develop ethics support in mental health care. Better communication skills among health care professionals and improved therapeutic relationships seem to be vital.

Conclusions

A systematic focus on ethical challenges when dealing with coercion is an important step forward in order to improve health care in the mental health field.

     

Opinions about mental illness held by personnel of a state psychiatric hospital and community mental health centers

This was a study of opinions about mental illness among occupational groups from a state psychiatric hospital and community mental health centers. Data were collected with two combined opinions about mental illness scales. The sample consisted of 348 participants, including 227 hospital employees and 121 employees of community mental health centers. The results indicated that occupational groups of both the hospital and the community mental health centers were highly differentiated in their opinions about mental illness. Sharp differences were found between professional and nonprofessional staff, with the latter indicating a much stronger endorsement of Authoritarianism and Social Restrictiveness. The personnel of the community mental health centers were significantly less authoritarian and socially restrictive, and more acceptant of Mental Hygiene Ideology and Nontraditionalism than their hospital counterparts.     

农村中学生精神卫生状况影响因素分析

目前，青少年心理健康问题日益受到重视，有关大、中学生的心理卫生调查研来已有不少报道’－‘。为了解农村中学生的精神卫生状况，寻找影响其心理健康的相关因素．并为预防心理疾病提供参考依据．我们对劲利县第七中学的中学生进行了调查。1资料及方法1．1对象选择我校高一至高三的学生，采取分层整群抽样方法，每年级抽取一个班共156人，男94人、女62人；一年级52人、二年级46人、三年级58人；年龄15～20岁·平均164士25岁。1·2方法采用症状自评量表（SCI，－90）［‘j和修订的艾森克个性问卷（EPQ）［’：；按指导语对每个学生进行…     

不同专业背景心理咨询与治疗专业人员的临床工作现状

目的:考察不同专业背景的心理咨询与治疗专业人员的临床工作现状。方法:研究采用分层方便取样。调查了全国28个省份的专业人员1201名,其中,心理学背景专业人员470名,医学314名,教育学190名,其他194名,33人未报告此信息。使用心理咨询与心理治疗情况调查表来调查专业工作一般情况、提供临床心理服务的类型、对各种诊断标准的使用、获得疗效反馈信息的途径以及与来访者互动状况。结果:(1)心理学背景的专业人员整体受教育水平最高(硕士以上者占49.5%),医学背景专业人员每周从事专业工作时间最长(平均10.8小时/周),心理学和医学背景专业人员每周案例讨论和督导时间最多(均为2.3小时/周)。但3类人员接受小组督导和个人督导的时间均小于1小时/周。(2)心理学背景的专业人员提供心理咨询的频率多于其余3类专业人员[(3.7±0.9)vs.(3.3±0.9),(3.4±0.9),(3.3±0.9);P0.01];医学背景专业人员提供心理治疗的频率(2.9±1.0)、药物治疗的频率(2.9±1.1)均最多;心理学和医学背景专业人员更多从事心理测量工作[(2.4±1.0),(2.5±1.1)vs.(2.1±0.9),(2.2±1.1);P0.01]。(3)医学背景专业人员运用诊断标准更多也更严格。(4)心理学背景专业人员对来访者的治疗或咨询更多地按计划结束(3.1±0.8)。结论:医学背景和心理学背景专业人员从事了更多的专业工作并做得相对更好。     

Impact on physical and mental health among medical personnel in Wuhan during COVID-19 outbreak: a cluster analysis

Background: Increased stress among medical personnel had been reported in previous virus outbreaks. The novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) emerged in December 2019, caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). No qualitative assessment has yet described the physical and mental health conditions of frontline medical personnel in the COVID-19 outbreaks.Methods: Here, 251 frontline medical personnel involved in COVID-19 missions completed electronic questionnaires, consisting of 31 categorical variables related to their physical and mental health status, medical history and environmental conditions. We constructed a correlation amongst these variables through pairwise Kendall rank correlation coefficient test. Then, clusters of highly correlated variables were identified using the leading eigenvector. Finally, we used the network and clusters to clarify the correlations amongst variables.Results: This qualitative study identified the six clusters. Cluster 1 was characterized by skin allergy. Cluster 2 was predominantly associated with anxiety. Cluster 3 consisted mostly of respiratory symptoms. The participants in cluster 4 had medical history. Cluster 5 and cluster 6 were characterized by disinfection and demography, respectively. Finally, we revealed three major findings. First, more than 80% of medical personnel worry about COVID-19-related infection and experience newly appearing anxiety (56.2%), airway or heart symptoms (34.3%) and skin allergies (20.3%). Second, COVID-19-related worry significantly associates with all variables in the anxiety and respiratory symptom clusters. Third, new-onset skin allergies did not associate with either disinfection or anxiety, but did associate with a previous history of allergies.Conclusions: COVID-19-related worry leads to physical and mental health problems amongst medical personnel. Effective responses and interventions could relieve a series of new-onset physical and mental health problems.     

Consumers' perspectives on helpful and hindering factors in mental health treatment

We summarize the four papers in this issue by consumers evaluating their mental health treatment, focusing on aspects of their treatment that they collectively found helpful and hindering. These factors include the context of treatment, the therapy relationship, interventions used and issues addressed, helpful experiences outside the mental health system, and hindering views of mental illness and treatment. We then present comments by two clients in outpatient therapy on the same topic. Research on clients' perceptions of their outpatient psychotherapy is discussed in reference to these six consumer perspectives, and future directions for therapists and researchers are suggested.     

浙江省瑞安市农村职业高中生心理健康状况调查

为了解农村职业高中生心理健康状况,分析不同性别、不同年级农村职业高中生心理健康状况的差异,为心理健康教育提供依据。对浙江省瑞安市农业技术学校高一、高二的375名学生进行了中学生心理健康量表(MSSMHS)的测试。结果显示,34.1%的学生存在不同程度的心理健康问题,不同性别、不同年级的农村职业高中生总体心理健康状况差异均无统计学意义(P>0.05)。强迫症状和抑郁两个因子存在显著的性别差异,学习压力因子存在显著的年级差异。可见,农村职业高中生存在一定程度的心理健康问题,应加强农村职业高中生的心理健康教育。