A randomized study of cognitive remediation for forensic and mental health patients with schizophrenia.

Cognitive remediation has proven efficacy for improving neurocognition in people with schizophrenia. The current study evaluated the benefits of cognitive remediation on neurocognition, functioning, psychotic symptoms, and aggression in a sample of forensic and mental health patients. Care recipients with schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder (N = 78) receiving services in the forensic and mental health units of a state hospital were randomized to participate in cognitive remediation versus computer games control activities.

Preferences and Barriers to Care Following Psychiatric Hospitalization at Two Veterans Affairs Medical Centers: A Mixed Methods Study.

Patient preferences and barriers to care may impact receipt of adequate mental health treatment following psychiatric hospitalization and could inform quality improvement initiatives. This study assessed preferences for a broad range of post-hospital services and barriers to counseling by surveying 291 patients and interviewing 25 patients who had recently been discharged from an inpatient psychiatric stay at one of the two Veterans Affairs Medical Centers. Individual counseling was the most frequently reported service that survey respondents preferred, but did not receive; whereas, open-ended survey responses and interviews also identified telephone follow-up "check-in" calls as a frequently preferred service.

Service utilization among veterans with schizophrenia and a comorbid anxiety disorder.

Objective: The objective was to assess the prevalence and impact of anxiety disorders on service utilization among Veterans Health Administration (VHA) patients with schizophrenia.

Methods: This cross-sectional study examined diagnostic, utilization, and medication records included in the VHA National Psychosis Registry. Relationships between schizophrenia and anxiety disorders were evaluated along demographic and service utilization dimensions.

Self-efficacy and quality of life among people with bipolar disorder.

People with bipolar disorders report a lower quality of life than the general population does, and few mutable factors associated with health-related quality of life (HRQoL) among people with bipolar disorders have been identified. Using a cross-sectional design, these analyses examined whether self-efficacy was associated with mental and physical HRQoL in a sample of 141 patients with bipolar disorder who completed baseline assessments for two randomized controlled trials. Multiple linear regression analyses indicated that higher levels of self-efficacy were associated with higher mental and physical HRQoL, after controlling for demographic factors and clinical factors (including mood symptoms, comorbid medical conditions, and substance use).

Does a latent class underlie schizotypal personality disorder? Implications for schizophrenia.

Despite growing enthusiasm for dimensional models of personality pathology, the taxonic versus dimensional status of schizotypal personality disorder (PD) remains a point of contention in modern psychiatry. The current study aimed to determine empirically the latent structure of schizotypal PD. We examined the latent structure of schizotypal PD in the Psychiatric Morbidity Survey in Great Britain and the second wave of the U.

Pain conditions among veterans with schizophrenia or bipolar disorder.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to assess the rates of chronic, noncancer pain conditions in patients with schizophrenia or bipolar disorder within the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) System.

Method: This cross-sectional study used administrative data extracted from VHA treatment records of all individuals receiving VHA services in fiscal year 2008 (N=5,195,551). The associations between severe psychiatric disorders (schizophrenia and bipolar disorder) and chronic pain (arthritis, back pain, chronic pain, migraine, headache, psychogenic and neuropathic) were evaluated using a series of logistic regression analyses.

A psychometric study of recovery among Certified Peer Specialists.

The recovery model is wielding a welcome influence in the mental healthcare system. Despite its potential impact, systematic studies of the recovery construct as viewed by consumers and former consumers of mental health services have only recently begun to permeate the literature. We have embarked on an ongoing collaboration with the Georgia Mental Health Consumer Network to study the recovery experiences of Certified Peer Specialists (CPSs).

Peers and peer-led interventions for people with schizophrenia.

This article provides a snapshot of the nature, guiding philosophy, and empiric status of interventions for people with schizophrenia that go beyond traditional psychopharmacological and psychosocial treatments to include peer-led interventions. The authors discuss the nature and principles of peer-led interventions for people with schizophrenia and the types of peer-led interventions along with evidence of their effectiveness in fostering the recovery of people with schizophrenia and other severe mental illnesses. Focus is on 3 types of peer-led interventions: (1) mutual support/self-help, (2) consumer-operated services, and (3) peer support services.

Indigenous perspectives on depression in rural regions of India and the United States.

Depression is a major health concern in India, yet indigenous Indian perspectives on depression have often been disregarded in favor of Western conceptualizations. The present study used quantitative and qualitative measures modeled on the Explanatory Model Interview Catalogue (EMIC) to elicit beliefs about the symptoms, causes, treatments, and stigma associated with depression. Data were collected from 92 students at a university in the Himalayan region of Northern India and from 97 students at a university in the Rocky Mountain region of the United States.

Negative life experiences and the development of cluster C personality disorders: a cognitive perspective.

Early negative experiences have long been thought to play an important role in the development of personality disorders. Most of the literature regarding these early life experiences has focused on borderline personality disorder, with only occasional focus on other personality disorders. Utilizing cognitive theory of personality disorders (Beck et al.

Nonverbal Social Skills of Adults with Mild Intellectual Disability Diagnosed with Depression.

Depression is one of the most common psychiatric disorders in adults with intellectual disability (ID), yet little is known about depressive behaviors in an ID population. This study examined the nonverbal social skills of 18 adults with mild ID diagnosed with depression and a matched sample of adults with mild ID without depression. Nonverbal social skills were coded from videotapes of actual social interactions.

Does gender moderate associations among impulsivity and health-risk behaviors?

The present study explores the relations among gender, impulsivity and three health-risk behaviors relevant to young adults (tobacco use, alcohol problems and gambling problems) in a sample of 197 college-age individuals. We sought to determine whether impulsivity is associated with health-risk behaviors in the same ways for men and women. For tobacco use and gambling problems, men were at higher risk than women, and impulsivity was not significantly associated with higher risk.