A clinical model for the treatment of personality disordered sexual offenders: an example of theory knitting.

In this paper we present a clinical model for the treatment of personality disordered sexual offenders. The model is based on the theoretical assumption that cognitive distortions emerge from more general explanatory theories. It seems that the pathways of offending processes that are characterized by positive or negative affects can be found in all treated sex offenders regardless of their motivation.

Situational determinants of inpatient self-harm.

Auto-aggressive individuals have a higher likelihood of engaging in interpersonal violence, and vice versa. It is unclear, however, whether ward circumstances are involved in determining whether aggression-prone patients will engage in auto-aggressive or outwardly directed aggressive behavior. The current study focuses on the situational antecedents of self-harming behavior and outwardly directed aggression of psychiatric inpatients.

A model of aggression in psychiatric hospitals.

Objective: Research of the determinants of inpatient aggression indicates that certain environmental hospital variables play a role in triggering aggression in psychiatric hospitals. Yet, how patient, staff and ward variables interact in eliciting aggression is not well understood.

Method: On the basis of earlier findings, a model was proposed in which psychopathology and distorted cognitions of the patient are combined with environmental and communicational stressors that are specific for psychiatric wards.

Measuring aggression with the staff observation aggression scale--revised.

Objective: The staff observation aggression scale (SOAS; Palmstierna & Wistedt, 1987) was developed to measure nature, number, as well as severity of aggressive incidents. In 1999, a revised version of the SOAS (i.e.

Prediction of violent recidivism.

Objective: To describe the changes and improvements in accuracy of the prediction of violent recidivism.

Method: The evolution of better prediction models is described by reviewing the more significant methods used and referring to the results of their application.

Results: Development of instruments such as the Psychopathy Checklist-Revised, the Violence Risk Assessment Guide (VRAG), the HCR-20 and the multiple-item comprehensive questionnaire of Monahan and Steadman has substantially improved accuracy in risk assessment.

Prediction of aggression on a locked psychiatric admissions ward.

Objective: The present study evaluates the accuracy of clinical and archival predictors of patients' aggressive behaviour on a locked admissions ward.

Method: Over a 9-month period, staff members estimated the likelihood that patients would become aggressive during their stay in the ward. These unaided clinical assessments were obtained with Visual Analogue Scales (VASs) administered before the end of the first full day of admission.

Affect regulation in borderline personality disorder: experimental findings from psychophysiology and functional neuroimaging.

Background: Intense and rapidly changing mood states are a major feature of borderline personality disorder (BPD), which is thought to arise from affective vulnerability.

Objective: There have been only a few studies investigating affective processing in BPD, and particularly neither psychophysiological nor neurofunctional correlates of abnormal emotional processing have been identified so far.

Methods: Studies are reported using psychophysiological or functional neuroimaging methodology.

The Lancashire Quality of Life Profile: modification and psychometric evaluation.

Background: Although widely used in Europe, the conceptual and psychometric qualities of the Lancashire Quality of Life Profile (LQoLP) have not been thoroughly examined. Four issues need attention: coverage, scale construction, systematic missing data, and psychometric properties.

Method: Concept mapping was used to examine the coverage, and exploratory factor analysis to examine the empirical scale structure of the LQoLP.

Efficacy and tolerability of risperidone in chronic schizophrenic Thai patients.

Risperidone is a novel serotonin-dopamine antagonist antipsychotic in a class of benzisoxazole derivative which has been shown to be effective in reducing psychotic symptoms in schizophrenia. The study was designed as perspective, 8-week, multicenter, open label study in schizophrenic patients from 6 psychiatric hospitals. One hundred and twenty cases were recruited and 105 patients completed the study.

Chronic fatigue syndrome associated with a psychotic state resulting in multiple murders.

A 28-year-old, ambitious, academically successful Asian man with a zeal for hard work develops infectious mononucleosis and its resultant lethargy and fatigue. He becomes depressed, then develops symptoms of mania before turning floridly psychotic. In his psychotic state he develops grandiose delusions about being the second son of God after Christ and takes it upon himself to rid the world of all evil by defeating the anti-Christ.