Objective: This study examines the effectiveness of an anger management program among veterans with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and other mental health issues.
Method: Veterans with (n = 76) and without (n = 58) PTSD completed anger management groups at the Crescenz Veterans Affairs Medical Center. Self-rated checklists of anger and PTSD symptoms (for those with PTSD) were completed before and after the group.
A large number of individuals experience mental health disorders, with cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) emerging as a standard practice for reduction in psychiatric symptoms, including stress, anger, anxiety, and depression. However, CBT is associated with significant patient dropout and lacks the means to provide objective data regarding a patient's experience and symptoms between sessions. Emerging wearables and mobile health (mHealth) applications represent an approach that may provide objective data to the patient and provider between CBT sessions.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMild traumatic brain injuries (mild TBIs) resulting from exposure to Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) are highly prevalent among veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. This exploratory study compared the neurocognitive performance of blast-exposed veterans with (n = 19) and without (n = 15) reported symptoms of mild TBI. All subjects had diagnoses of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMeasures of religiosity are linked to health outcomes, possibly indicating mediating effects of associated psychological and social factors. We examined cross-sectional data from 92,539 postmenopausal participants of the Women's Health Initiative Observational Study who responded to questions on religious service attendance, psychological characteristics, and social support domains. We present odds ratios from multiple logistic regressions controlling for covariates.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFNeuropsychological deficits among schizophrenia patients have been consistently documented in research over the past 20 years and are reviewed in this chapter. Discussion of general abilities is presented as a background and is followed by analysis of functioning in specific cognitive domains. Overall intellectual deficits are indicated by results from both general intelligence tests and composite test battery scores.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjective: Cognitive deficits are among the most reliable predictors of functional impairment in schizophrenia and a particular concern for older individuals with schizophrenia. Previous reviews have focused on the nature and course of cognitive impairments in younger cohorts, but a quantitative meta-analysis in older patients is pending.
Method: A previously used search strategy identified studies assessing performance on tests of global cognition and specific neuropsychological domains in older patients with schizophrenia and age-matched comparison groups.
A substantive literature connects spirituality to positive physical, social, and mental health. In this study, the Daily Spiritual Experiences Scale (DSES) was administered to 410 subjects who participated in a community study and to 87 residents at the Hebrew Home for the Aged at Riverdale (HHAR), the latter sample consisting primarily of older Jewish respondents. Internal consistency of the DSES in both samples was high and exploratory factor analyses revealed one dominant factor and a second factor, which included 14 and 2 items, respectively, consistent with the scale's original validation (Underwood and Teresi 2002).
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