Change in self-construal: a repertory grid technique study of women admitted to a Mother and Baby Unit.

Introduction: Pregnancy and the postnatal period represent a time of heightened risk for women to experience mental health difficulties. Some mothers may require specialist inpatient psychiatric support made available through Mother and Baby units (MBUs). Although there is evidence of the therapeutic benefits of MBUs, many studies have utilised methodologies vulnerable to interviewer and social desirability biases.

The quality of research exploring in-session measures of CBT competence: a systematic review.

Background: Cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) is in high demand due to its strong evidence base and cost effectiveness. To ensure CBT is delivered as intended in research, training and practice, fidelity assessment is needed. Fidelity is commonly measured by assessors rating treatment sessions, using CBT competence scales (CCSs).

Non-medical interventions for individuals with Rett syndrome: A systematic review.

Background: Research into Rett syndrome has included various medical interventions. Non-medical interventions are relatively under-researched. Recent technological communication intervention advances have contributed to the evidence base in Rett syndrome.

Demographic and Psychosocial Influences on Treatment Adherence for Children and Adolescents with PKU: A Systematic Review.

Phenylketonuria (PKU) is a rare genetic disorder in which the amino acid phenylalanine cannot be sufficiently metabolised. Although a build-up of phenylalanine causes irreversible cognitive impairment, this can be prevented through a strict, lifelong diet restricted in natural protein. Despite the severe consequences of poor metabolic control, many children and adolescents have phenylalanine levels above their recommended limits.

Treatment Adherence and Psychological Wellbeing in Maternal Carers of Children with Phenylketonuria (PKU).

Phenylketonuria (PKU), a rare metabolic disorder, causes cognitive impairment unless treated with a strict, protein-restricted diet, but few studies have examined the relationship between treatment compliance and parental wellbeing. In the present study, 46 primary caregivers of children with PKU completed measures of psychological distress, parenting stress (related to caring for a child with an illness), resilience, perceived social support and child dependency. Treatment adherence was assessed using the proportion of blood phenylalanine concentrations within target range in the preceding year.

The Construal of Midwives by Pregnant Women with a Body Mass Index Greater Than or Equal to 30 kg/m (BMI ≥ 30 kg/m ): A Repertory Grid Study.

Objective: To explore the construal of midwives by pregnant women with a body mass index greater than 30 kg/m (BMI ≥ 30 kg/m ).

Method: Ten pregnant women with a BMI ≥ 30 kg/m were recruited from antenatal clinics at a maternity hospital in the North West of England. Each participant completed a repertory grid.

Anxiety in high-functioning autism: A pilot study of experience sampling using a mobile platform.

Anxiety and stress are everyday issues for many people with high-functioning autism, and while cognitive-behavioural therapy is the treatment of choice for the management of anxiety, there are challenges in using it with people with high-functioning autism. This study used modified experience sampling techniques to examine everyday anxiety and stress in adults with high-functioning autism and to explore the feasibility of delivering real-time stress management techniques using a mobile platform. High levels of anxiety were found to be characterised by worry, confusing thoughts and being alone but was not associated with internal focus, imagery or rumination.

Actigraphic investigation of circadian rhythm functioning and activity levels in children with mucopolysaccharidosis type III (Sanfilippo syndrome).

Background: Sleep disturbance is part of the behavioural phenotype of the rare genetic condition mucopolysaccharidosis (MPS) type III. A growing body of evidence suggests that underlying disturbance in circadian rhythm functioning may explain sleep problems within the MPS III population.

Methods: Actigraphic data were recorded in eight children with MPS III over 7-10 days and compared to age-matched typically developing controls.

Factors Influencing the Use of Psychotropic Medication for Challenging Behaviour in the United Kingdom: A Q Method Investigation.

Objectives: The use of pharmacological interventions to manage challenging behaviour displayed by adults with intellectual disabilities remains controversial, with current clinical guidelines in the United Kingdom advocating the use of less invasive psychological interventions. This exploratory study aimed to discover what views and beliefs are held by a sample of NHS professionals who provided care and treatment to adults with learning disabilities, about the factors that are influential in the clinical decision-making process, surrounding the prescription of psychotropic medication, to manage challenging behaviour.

Methods: Q methodology was used to elucidate the factors considered influential in the clinical decision-making process, surrounding the prescription of medication to manage challenging behaviour.

The typology and function of private speech in a young man with intellectual disabilities: An empirical case study.

A naturalistic observational single case study was carried out to investigate the form and function of private speech (PS) in a young man with Dandy-Walker variant syndrome and trisomy 22. Video recordings were observed, transcribed and coded to identify all combinations of type and form of PS. Through comparison between theories of PS and the results, five putative functions were identified in this case.

The feasibility and validity of care mapping in the clinical neurosciences.

Dementia Care Mapping (DCM) is an observational tool and process that is widely used in dementia care in measuring and improving person-centred care (PCC). DCM was previously piloted on a neurorehabilitation ward, where it was found to be feasible and acceptable in this setting. Following this, a new modified tool and accompanying manual were developed: Care Mapping - Neurorehabilitation (DCM-NR).

Care mapping in clinical neuroscience settings: Cognitive impairment and dependency.

Person-centred care can improve the well-being of patients and is therefore a key driver in healthcare developments in the UK. The current study aims to investigate the complex relationship between cognitive impairment, dependency and well-being in people with a wide range of acquired brain and spinal injuries. Sixty-five participants, with varied acquired brain and spinal injuries, were selected by convenience sampling from six inpatient clinical neuroscience settings.

I Collect Therefore I am--Autonoetic Consciousness and Hoarding in Asperger Syndrome.

Unlabelled: A growing number of studies have highlighted impairments in the ability of individuals with autism spectrum disorders to recall specific, personally experienced material. These difficulties have been related to underlying problems with autonoetic consciousness, namely the subjective awareness of one's own existence in subjective time. The current paper describes the manifestation of these difficulties in three individuals diagnosed with Asperger syndrome.

Assessment of sleep in children with mucopolysaccharidosis type III.

Sleep disturbances are prevalent in mucopolysaccharidosis Type III (MPS III), yet there is a lack of objective, ecologically valid evidence detailing sleep quantity, quality or circadian system. Eight children with MPS III and eight age-matched typically developing children wore an actigraph for 7-10 days/nights. Saliva samples were collected at three time-points on two separate days, to permit analysis of endogenous melatonin levels.

Attachment in adults with intellectual disabilities: preliminary investigation of the psychometric properties of the manchester attachment scale-third party observational measure.

Background: The Manchester Attachment Scale-Third party observational measure (MAST) was developed to assess secure attachment style for adults with intellectual disabilities. The psychometric properties of the MAST were examined.

Materials And Methods: Professional carers (N = 40) completed the MAST and measures related to the construct of attachment theory [Edward Zigler-Yale Personality Questionnaire (EZPQ), Emotional Rating Scale (ERS) and the Learning Disability Casemix Scale (LDCS)] regarding individuals with an intellectual disability (N = 57).

An investigation of the "jumping to conclusions" data-gathering bias and paranoid thoughts in Asperger syndrome.

The existence of a data-gathering bias, in the form of jumping to conclusions, and links to paranoid ideation was investigated in Asperger syndrome (AS). People with AS (N = 30) were compared to a neurotypical control group (N = 30) on the Reading the Mind in the Eyes and the Beads tasks, with self-report measures of depression, general anxiety, social anxiety, self-consciousness and paranoid ideation. The AS group performed less well than the control group on the Reading the Mind in the Eyes Task with regard to accuracy but responded more quickly and tended to make decisions on the basis of less evidence on the Beads Task with 50 % demonstrating a clear 'jumping to conclusions bias', whereas none of the control group showed such a bias.

Neuropsychological and behavioural phenotype of Dandy-Walker variant presenting in chromosome 22 trisomy: a case study.

In this study, a case of Dandy-Walker variant syndrome associated with trisomy 22 in a 17-year-old man is described. This is the first account of this combination in a person surviving into adulthood, and the neuropsychological and behavioural presentation is described in detail and a clinical formulation is presented for the benefit of researchers and clinicians.

Thinking about challenging behavior: a repertory grid study of inpatient staff beliefs.

Studies examining staff attitudes toward people with intellectual disability have traditionally used pre-determined categories and models or been open to researcher bias. The use of methods derived from personal construct psychology permits an objective investigation of staff views and attitudes without such limitations. Fourteen staff from an inpatient intellectual disability service were interviewed about their perceptions of clients with challenging behavior primarily using the repertory grid technique as developed from personal construct theory.

An investigation into social information processing in young people with Asperger syndrome.

Deficits in social functioning are a core feature of autistic spectrum disorders (ASD), being linked to various cognitive and developmental factors, but there has been little attempt to draw on normative models of social cognition to understand social behaviour in ASD. The current study explored the utility of Crick and Dodge's (1994) information processing model to studying social cognition in ASD, and examined associations between social information processing patterns, theory of mind skills and social functioning. A matched-group design compared young people with Asperger syndrome with typically developing peers, using a social information processing interview previously designed for this purpose.

Asperger through the looking glass: an exploratory study of self-understanding in people with Asperger's syndrome.

Hobson (Autism and the development of mind. Lawrence Erlbaum, Hove, UK 1993) has proposed that the cognitive and linguistic disabilities that characterise autism result from abnormalities in inter-subjective engagement during infancy, which in turn results in impaired reflective self-awareness. The aim of the present study was to test Hobson's hypothesis by examining self-understanding in Asperger's syndrome (AS) using Damon and Hart's (Self-understanding in childhood and adolescence.

Using the repertory grid technique to examine nursing staff's construal of mothers with mental health problems.

Background: This study explored the attitudes of psychiatric nursing staff towards mothers with mental health difficulties. Working with mothers experiencing mental health problems can evoke negative reactions in staff that activate value-laden beliefs regarding the capacity of these women to care for their infants, which could diminish the provision of optimal care and treatment for patients.

Method: Ten psychiatric nursing staff working in a specialist mother and baby unit in the North of England were interviewed about their views of various types of client by using the repertory grid technique.

Staff construal of inpatients with anorexia nervosa.

The present study uses personal construct theory and the repertory grid technique to examine staff views of individual clients with a diagnosis of anorexia nervosa, in particular those clients who purge and restrict. Fourteen members of nursing staff, both qualified and non-qualified, participated in the research. The results suggest that the 14 members of staff interviewed did construe clients who purge and clients who restrict in markedly different ways.

The use of the repertory grid technique to examine staff beliefs about clients with dual diagnosis.

Aim: This paper reports a study exploring how individual psychiatric staff construes clients with psychosis who misuse substances.

Background: A dual diagnosis of substance misuse is common in clients with psychosis. Previous studies have suggested that psychiatric staff feel ill-equipped to work with these clients, and hold negative views of them, affecting client care and recovery.