Alleviating Social Isolation and Loneliness among Older People

Social isolation and loneliness are often perceived as problems of old age. Although a wide range of services have evolved to combat such ‘negative’ experiences, little is known about the effectiveness, acceptability and accessibility of these interventions. We explored the inter-relationship between older people's and practitioners' perceptions of social isolation and loneliness, and their suggestions for effective interventions. Interviews demonstrated a disparity between definitions of loneliness and social isolation, and perceptions of acceptable interventions. Findings suggest that older people employ a range of coping strategies that are not taken into account when services are planned. Many services treat older people as a homogenous group, giving little consideration to the specific needs of those who are isolated and lonely, or to ways to reach them. Activities often evolve to meet the needs of current participants, rather than of the intended target group, excluding those who are truly isolated and lonely. We conclude that there is inequity between the ‘active lonely’ and those most in need in accessing and using services intended for isolated and lonely older people, because of the lack of need sand evidence-based practice.     

A review of physical activity interventions on determinants of mental health in children and adolescents

The purpose of this article was to review the effects of physical activity (PA) lifestyle intervention on determinants of mental health among children and adolescents. A search was performed using the databases Academic Search Premier, CINHAL, EBSCOHost, PsycARTICLES and PsycINFO. Inclusion criteria were studies that utilized PA interventions designed to impact a determinant of mental health in a target population of 6–18 years. From this search, 537 results were identified and eight met the inclusion criteria. All studies reported an inverse relationship between PA and depression. Seven found a significant (p < 0.05) reduction in depression when various aerobic and/or resistance training exercises were introduced. Only one study found a negative correlation between very light intensity activity and determinants of psychological health (e.g. depression and anxiety); however, these results were not statistically significant. In conclusion, promoting PA appears to improve determinants of mental health, such as depression, global self-worth and self-efficacy. Recommendations for enhancing future interventions are presented.     

Intervention Programs for Children of Parents with a Mental Illness: A Critical Review

There is widespread acknowledgement that children in families affected by parental mental illness are at risk for a range of poor life outcomes. There is also a growing number of interventions to meet the needs of this group of young people. This review evaluates the quality of the existing evidence for such intervention programs. Five hundred and twenty articles were reviewed, and twenty-six studies were judged to be relevant. The majority of the studies were randomised trials (n=8) and pre-post interventions with no comparison or control groups (n=8). None of the studies measured cost-effectiveness or included consumer or carer consultation, and few outlined the theoretical basis for the development of the intervention program. Seven studies were rated as methodologically strong, four as of moderate quality and fifteen as methodologically weak. This data provides very limited evidence of program effectiveness as determined by well-being or illness outcomes for the child. Practitioners should use a recognised theory in developing intervention programs, link program components to identified risk factors for this target group, select intervention components from across the public health spectrum and incorporate greater intersectoral collaboration. Future programs should be rigorously evaluated and widely disseminated, with long-term follow-up of participants.     

Mental Health Promotion and Illness Prevention: A Challenge for Psychiatrists

Mental health is essential for individual and public health. To improve mental health, promotion, prevention, and the treatment of disease are required. These three kinds of interventions are interrelated but independent from one another. Although separate efforts for mental health promotion and prevention are needed as well as the public need of mental health promotion and well-being, psychiatrists usually are not accustomed to mental health promotion and prevention. This review introduces an overview of the concept, subjects according to target populations, and various intervention strategies for mental health promotion and prevention of mental illnesses. Based on literatures to date, understanding of developmental psychology, lifestyle medicine, and biopsychosocial contributors of mental health with a macroscopic perspective might help to practice mental health promotion and illness prevention.     

Promoting question-asking in school-aged children with autism spectrum disorders: Effectiveness of a robot intervention compared to a human-trainer intervention

Objective: The purpose of the present study was to investigate the effectiveness of an applied behaviour analysis (ABA)-based intervention conducted by a robot compared to an ABA-based intervention conducted by a human trainer in promoting self-initiated questions in children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD).

Methods: Data were collected in a combined crossover multiple baseline design across participants. Six children were randomly assigned to two experimental groups.

Results: Results revealed that the number of self-initiated questions for both experimental groups increased between baseline and the first intervention and was maintained during follow-up. The high number of self-initiated questions during follow-up indicates that both groups maintained this skill.

Conclusions: The interventions conducted by a robot and a human trainer were both effective in promoting self-initiated questions in children with ASD. No conclusion with regard to the differential effectiveness of both interventions could be drawn. Implications of the results and directions for future research are discussed.     

Parental disciplinary practices following acquired brain injury in children

Purpose: This study describes the disciplinary practices of parents following acquired brain injury (ABI) of their child and examines the relationship between disciplinary use, family-parental adversities and children's behavioural sequelae.

Method: Participants were 48 parent respondents of children between 3–12 years with mild, moderate and severe ABI. Parents provided demographic information and completed questionnaires investigating disciplinary strategy use, parental-family functioning and child behaviour.

Results: Over-reactive and lax disciplinary strategies were endorsed most by parents. Dysfunctional levels of disciplinary use were associated with children who displayed more behaviour problems, parents with elevated distress and families experiencing more dysfunction and social adversity.

Conclusion: Dysfunctional parenting practices, if not ameliorated, could exacerbate problematic child behaviour following ABI, as well as parent and family difficulties. Parental assessment may be useful as a method of screening for parental factors that put children at risk for ongoing behaviour problems and families for ongoing stress.     

Do maternal attributions play a role in the acceptability of behavioural interventions for problem behaviour in children with autism spectrum disorders?

The present study explored the relationship between parental attributions and treatment acceptability of behavioural interventions for problem behaviour in children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD). Mothers of children with ASD aged 3–9 years (N = 139) completed survey measures that assessed demographics, parental attributions, treatment acceptability of parent-focused and child-focused behavioural interventions, severity of their child's disruptive behaviour, and severity of their child's ASD symptoms. The results showed that parental attributions of parent-referent stability, but not the other attributional dimensions, negatively predicted treatment acceptability of a parent-focused behavioural intervention, even when severity of disruptive behaviour was statistically controlled. Conversely, no associations were found between any attributional dimension and treatment acceptability of a child-focused behavioural intervention. Preliminary analyses also revealed that mothers’ ratings of the severity of their child's disruptive behaviour were significantly negatively associated with the acceptability of both parent-focused and child-focused behavioural interventions. The findings have potential implications for professionals to identify and challenge distorted attributions of parent-referent stability to promote parental acceptance of a parent-focused behavioural intervention for problem behaviour in children with ASD.