Acceptance and relationship context: a model of substance use disorder treatment outcome.

Aims: This study presented and tested a model of behavior change in long-term substance use disorder recovery, the acceptance and relationship context (ARC) model. The model specifies that acceptance-based behavior and constructive social relationships lead to recovery, and that treatment programs with supportive, involved relationships facilitate the development of these factors.

Design: This study used a prospective longitudinal naturalistic design and controlled for baseline levels of study variables.

Positive psychological outcomes of spaceflight: an empirical study.

Introduction: Anecdotes from astronauts and cosmonauts suggest that spaceflight can be an enriching experience with enduring positive effects. These positive mental health effects may help protect flight crews from the psychological stress inherent in such high-risk missions. The goal of this study was to identify areas of personal growth likely to result from traveling in space and explore how they were patterned.

Positive psychological effects of space missions.

Being in space is a powerful experience that can have an enduring, positive impact on the psychological well-being of astronauts and cosmonauts. We sought to examine the frequency, intensity and distribution of such salutogenic experiences among persons who have flown in space, using a questionnaire we developed based on the scientific literature and first person accounts. All participants reported positive effects of being in space, but the degree of change varied widely, and some experiences were particularly common.

Cultural factors and the International Space Station.

The American and Russian/Soviet space programs independently uncovered psychosocial risks inherent in long-duration space missions. Now that these two countries are working together on the International Space Station (ISS), American-Russian cultural differences pose an additional set of risk factors. These may echo cultural differences that have been observed in the general population of the two countries and in space analogue settings, but little is known about how relevant these are to the select population of space program personnel.

Internalized stigma predicts erosion of morale among psychiatric outpatients.

Stigma in society causes harm to people with severe mental illness (SMI) and internalized stigma represents its psychological point of impact. We evaluated the extent of internalized stigma in a sample of outpatients with SMI, using the Internalized Stigma of Mental Illness (ISMI) Scale, developed with consumer input. About a third of the sample reported high levels of internalized stigma.

Association of Rorschach and MMPI psychosis indicators and schizophrenia spectrum diagnoses in a Russian clinical sample.

In this study, I investigated the relationships among psychological test variables and schizophrenia spectrum diagnoses in a Russian sample of 180 psychiatric patients. Schizophrenia is understood somewhat differently in Russia than in the West. Analyses compared Rorschach (SCZI, PTI; Exner, 2001) and MMPI (Berezin, Mitroshinkov, & Sokolova, 1994) psychosis indicators (Sc, Sc3, Sc6, and BIZ) and 3 diagnostic systems: (a) Russian traditional, (b) the Russian-modified International Classification of Diseases (9th ed.

Hearing voices: explanations and implications.

Integrating information on voice hearing from multiple disciplines and perspectives, we review current explanatory models and their implications for intervention strategies. Far from always signifying a mental illness, voice hearing may result from other causes, including drug side effects, brain lesions, and culturally-sanctioned phenomena. Accordingly, a wide range of assessment, intervention, and self-management strategies are available and appropriate.

Internalized stigma of mental illness: psychometric properties of a new measure.

The study evaluated the Internalized Stigma of Mental Illness (ISMI) scale, designed to measure the subjective experience of stigma, with subscales measuring Alienation, Stereotype Endorsement, Perceived Discrimination, Social Withdrawal and Stigma Resistance. The ISMI was developed in collaboration with people with mental illnesses and contains 29 Likert items. The validation sample included 127 mental health outpatients.

Psychiatric comorbidity, continuing care and mutual help as predictors of five-year remission from substance use disorders.

Objective: In a cohort of 2,595 male patients in VA intensive treatment programs for substance use disorders (SUD), we tested whether psychiatric comorbidity, outpatient care and mutual help group attendance during the first two follow-up years predicted remission status at Year 5, controlling for covariates.

Method: Logistic regression modeling of longitudinal data was used to test the hypotheses.

Results: Dual diagnosis patients were less likely to be in remission at Year 5 than SUD-only patients.

Internal validity of an anxiety disorder screening instrument across five ethnic groups.

We tested the factor structure of the National Anxiety Disorder Screening Day instrument (n=14860) within five ethnic groups (White, Black, Hispanic, Asian, Native American). Conducted yearly across the US, the screening is meant to detect five common anxiety syndromes. Factor analyses often fail to confirm the validity of assessment tools' structures, and this is especially likely for minority ethnic groups.

Relationship of treatment orientation and continuing care to remission among substance abuse patients.

Objectives: The authors examined whether continuing outpatient mental health care, the orientation of the treatment program (12-step, cognitive-behavioral, or eclectic), and involvement in self-help groups were linked to substance abuse patients' remission status two years after discharge.

Methods: The data were from a cohort of 2,805 male patients who were treated through one of 15 Department of Veterans Affairs substance abuse programs. Remission was defined as abstinence from illicit drug use and abstinence from or nonproblem use of alcohol during the previous three months.

Perinatal Bereavement Grief Scale: distinguishing grief from depression following miscarriage.

The study evaluated the Perinatal Bereavement Grief Scale (PBGS), the first scale designed to measure grieffollowing reproductive loss in terms of yearning for the lost pregnancy and lost baby. Participants included 304 women interviewed by telephone I to 3 times within 6 months aftermiscarriage. The PBGS had high internal consistency and test-retest reliability.