PURPOSE: This study was designed to examine the effects of an assertive training program on interpersonal relations, and psychiatric symptoms in patients with a mental disorder. METHOD: The study employed a quasi experimental design. The subjects included44 patients with a mental disorder, 20 in the experimental group, and 24 in the control group. Data was collected using structured questionnaires over a 3 month period. RESULTS: There were greater significant increases in scores of interpersonal relations and content of communication in the experimental group than the control group. Also, there was a greater significant decrease in the score of psychiatric symptoms in the experimental group than the control group. CONCLUSION: Assertive training has an effect on increasing content of communication and decreasing psychiatric symptoms.
*Social Behavior ; Social Adjustment ; Middle Aged ; Mental Disorders/*rehabilitation ; Male ; *Interpersonal Relations ; Humans ; Female ; *Behavior Therapy ; *Assertiveness ; Adult ; Adolescent

OBJECTIVEUsing quantitative genetic analysis of twin study design to explore the impact of genetic and environmental factors on the prosocial behaviors of children.

METHODSOne hundred and forty-seven twin pairs from Chengdu area aged 6-16 were studied using parental information of Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ). SPSS13.0 and Mx software were used to analyze data, including nonparametric test, Pearson correlation, genetic analyses, etc.

RESULTS(1) Female children score higher than males on their prosocial behavior (Ps< 0.05), except less than 11 age group; (2) Shared environmental factors were the most important for children's prosocial behaviors(C=0.48,95%CI:0.09-0.73),then the genetic factors (A=0.27,95%CI:0-0.66) and the unshared environmental factors(E=0.25,95%CI:0.18-0.35); (3)Female and those who scored higher on their fact/ideal family adaptability and cohesion scored higher in their prosocial behaviors (r:0.17-0.29). On the contrary, those who had extreme conditions during pregnancy/ perinatal period or whose caretaker had discordant opinions on parenting scored lower (r: -0.16 to 0.28).

CONCLUSIONChildren's prosocial behaviors were influenced by genetic and environmental factors including family function and parenting environment, and genetic impact differs in different age and sex.

Adolescent ; Behavior ; Child ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Parenting ; Sex Factors ; Social Adjustment ; Social Behavior ; Surveys and Questionnaires ; Twins ; genetics ; psychology

Sociability is the disposition to interact with one another. Rodents have a rich repertoire of social behaviors and demonstrate strong sociability. Various methods have been established to measure the sociability of rodents in simple and direct ways, which includes reciprocal social interaction, juvenile social play, and three-chamber social tests. There are possible confounding factors while performing some of these tasks, such as aggression, avoidance of interaction by the stimulus mouse, exposure to a new environment, and lengthy procedures. The present study devised a method to complement these shortcomings and measure sociability as a group in the home cage setting, which prevents group-housed mice from isolation or exposure to a new environment. The home cage social test can allow high-throughput screening of social behaviors in a short amount of time. We developed two types of home cage setup: a home cage social target interaction test that measures sociability by putting the wire cage in the center area of the cage and a home cage two-choice sociability and social preference test that measures both sociability or social preference by putting cage racks at opposite sides of the cage. Interestingly, our results showed that the two types of home cage setup that we used in this study can extract abnormal social behaviors in various animal models, similar to the three-chamber assay. Thus, this study establishes a new and effective method to measure sociability or social preference that could be a complementary assay to evaluate the social behavior of mice in various setup conditions.
Aggression ; Animals ; Complement System Proteins ; Interpersonal Relations ; Mass Screening ; Methods ; Mice ; Models, Animal ; Rodentia ; Social Behavior

OBJECTIVES: Nurses and social workers are key persons connecting patients with psychotic disorders to psychiatric treatment. This study investigated the attitude of college students majoring in nursing science and social welfare toward psychiatric medication and stigma toward the mentally ill. METHODS: The study enrolled 553 college students (369 nursing science, 184 social welfare). We administered a five-item questionnaire to assess attitude toward psychiatric medication and a 20-item scale to assess stigma (prejudice regarding the dangerousness of the mentally ill and discrimination against the mentally ill). Factors associated with attitude toward psychiatric medication were identified. In addition, the stigma scale scores were compared with each item on attitude toward psychiatric medication. RESULTS: In the multivariate analysis, students majoring in social welfare had a significantly poorer attitude toward psychiatric medication than those majoring in nursing science. Age, senior grade, and experience to contact the mentally ill were also significantly associated with a good attitude toward medication, while attending psychiatry lectures, having a religion, and gender were not significantly associated with attitude toward psychiatric medication, although they showed relationships in the univariate analyses. For three of the five items, a negative attitude toward psychiatric medication was significantly associated with higher scores on the prejudice and discrimination scales. CONCLUSION: Prejudice toward and discrimination against the mentally ill are closely associated with a negative attitude toward psychiatric medication. An anti-stigma campaign should be developed that includes education to promote knowledge about psychiatric medications and reduce the stigma against the mentally ill. In addition, our findings suggest that experience to contact the mentally ill might improve attitudes toward psychiatric medication.
Dangerous Behavior ; Discrimination (Psychology) ; Education ; Humans ; Lectures ; Mentally Ill Persons ; Multivariate Analysis ; Nursing* ; Prejudice ; Psychotic Disorders ; Surveys and Questionnaires ; Schizophrenia ; Social Welfare* ; Social Workers ; Weights and Measures

PURPOSE: This study was done to investigate the relationship between self esteem, stress, depression and school adjustment among adolescents who were victims of bullying and those who were not. METHODS: The questionnaire included the Peer Victimization Scale (Callaghan & Joseph, 1995), Self-esteem Scale, (Rosenberg, 1965), Daily Hassles Questionnaire (Felner, Ginter & Primavera, 1982) and Center for Epidemiological Studies-Depression (Radloff, 1977). Data from 738 questionnaires were analyzed using frequencies, means, chi-square-test, t-test and logistic regression analysis with SPSS 14.0. RESULTS: Victims of bullying accounted for 19.8% of the students. Significant differences were found for grade, school record, family living together, satisfaction with parents and satisfaction with friends between students who were victims of bullying and those who were not. Self esteem and school adjustment for the victims of bullying were lower than for those in the non-victim group, and stress and depression were higher. The logistic regression analysis revealed that school record, family living together, satisfaction with friends, self esteem, friend related stress, family related stress and depression were significantly associated with being a victim of bullying. CONCLUSION: The result of this study offer basic data for the development of intervention programs to prevent students becoming victims of bullying.
Adolescent ; Bullying ; Crime Victims ; Depression ; Friends ; Humans ; Logistic Models ; Parents ; Surveys and Questionnaires ; Self Concept ; Social Adjustment ; Social Behavior ; Stress, Psychological

OBJECTIVE: Peer relationships are one of the important factors in children's development. The present study examines the relationship between the effects of early peer relationships and adolescent psychological adjustment. METHODS: The first survey took place from 1998 to 2000, and a follow-up assessment obtained data in 2006, as the original participants reached 13-15 years of age. The first assessment used the Korean version of the Child Behavior Checklist (K-CBCL) and simple questions about peer relationships to evaluate the participants. The follow-up assessment administered the Korean Youth Self Report (K-YSR). RESULTS: Children's peer relationships have longitudinal effects on mental health and adjustment. Children who had qualitative peer-relation problems were more likely to exhibit internalizing problems as adolescents. CONCLUSION: Children who have poor peer relationships might become more vulnerable to emotional problems and social adjustment as adolescents.
Adolescent* ; Checklist ; Child ; Child Behavior ; Emotional Adjustment ; Follow-Up Studies* ; Humans ; Korea* ; Longitudinal Studies ; Mental Health* ; Self Report ; Social Adjustment

INTRODUCTIONIntellectual disabilities are as prevalent in East Asian countries as in the West (0.06%-1.3%). Widespread discrimination against intellectual disabilities in Asia may initiate stigma that places unfair restrictions on the social life of these individuals and their caregivers. We utilised established stigma frameworks to assess the extent to which a child's intellectual disability contributes to the social exclusion of caregivers in Vietnam.

METHODSA mixed quantitative and qualitative approach was employed to examine the experience of social life restriction among parents of children with intellectual disabilities. The child's disability level and restrictions on caregivers' social experiences were assessed among 70 mothers and fathers recruited from schools in Hue City, Vietnam. Qualitative responses describing social exclusion were also recorded.

RESULTSCaregivers reported elevated levels of social exclusion. As hypothesised, parents of children with greater intellectual disability experienced more restrictions on their social life (Beta = 0.79, 95% confidence interval 0.27-1.30, standard error = 0.26, p < 0.01). Qualitative analyses indicated that the threatening of core cultural norms (inability to be employed or married upsets community harmony) initiated labelling, social exclusion and efforts to keep the condition secret or withdraw from others.

CONCLUSIONThis study is among the first to demonstrate the impacts of intellectual disabilities on caregivers' social functioning in Asia. The findings illustrate how traditional Asian norms initiate stigma, which in turn restricts key social interactions among caregivers. Psycho-educational interventions may address the social domains in which caregivers are impacted and encourage sustained help-seeking among caregivers for their children.

Attitude to Health ; Caregivers ; Child ; Child, Preschool ; Disabled Children ; Female ; Humans ; Intellectual Disability ; psychology ; therapy ; Male ; Parents ; Social Adjustment ; Social Behavior ; Social Stigma ; Social Support ; Stress, Psychological ; Surveys and Questionnaires ; Vietnam

PURPOSE: Social network analysis (SNA) is increasingly being used to provide a visual and quantitative analysis of relationships among groups of staff and other subjects of interest. This paper examines the role SNA can play in identifying existing networks, and measures the impact of participation in brief task-focused project groups on the underlying communication pathways. METHODS: An SNA of a closed group of nurse leaders was conducted in a health system in Scotland, UK. Data were collected on two occasions 6 months apart. Analysis of both whole network and individual node-based (nurse leader) measures were undertaken. RESULTS: Analysis revealed that the initial network structure was related to functional departments. By establishing task and finish groups, network density and other key measures could be improved. CONCLUSIONS: SNA is a useful tool in mapping existing networks and evaluating how these can be strengthened through the use of task orientated project work. This easy-to-use technique can provide useful insights and a means of targeting management action to improve communication pathways in a moderately large and complex nurse leadership group. Further clinical and academic potential uses of the technique are suggested.
*Communication ; *Cooperative Behavior ; Humans ; *Leadership ; *Nurses ; Scotland ; Social Networking

Patients with borderline personality disorder (BPD) show significant impairment in functioning, particularly in the interpersonal and social domains. Prior reports suggest that clozapine may be effective in the management of BPD. We present the case of a patient with BPD who experienced persistent suicidal ideation and was treated with clozapine at a state psychiatric hospital. After treatment failure with other psychotropic medications, clozapine medication was initiated; not only did suicidal ideation cease, but social and professional functioning also greatly improved to the point of no longer requiring intensive levels of observation or restrictive procedures. Clozapine appears to be efficacious in the management of suicide attempts and self-injurious behavior. Moreover, it appears to be promising as a therapeutic measure for ameliorating the global functioning of patients with severe BPD. Larger, randomized, blinded, and controlled prospective studies are needed to confirm these findings and to determine optimal dosage.
Borderline Personality Disorder* ; Clozapine* ; Hospitals, Psychiatric ; Humans ; Prospective Studies ; Self-Injurious Behavior ; Social Adjustment ; Suicidal Ideation ; Suicide ; Treatment Failure

OBJECTIVETo investigate the differences of psychological and behavioral development between children aged 1 to 3 years fostered by grandparents and those by parents.

METHODSPsychological and behavioral development of 443 children aged 1 to 3 years fostered by their grandparents and of aged-matched 443 children fostered by their parents were assessed with DST, an intellectual developmental screening test developed by Pediatric Hospital of Fudan University in Shanghai.

RESULTSThe abilities of social adaptation and intelligence development in children fostered by their grandparents were obviously retarded as compared with those in children fostered by their parents.

CONCLUSIONSThere are shortcomings in psychological and behavioral development in children aged 1 to 3 years fostered by grandparents.

Child Behavior ; Child Development ; Child Rearing ; Child, Preschool ; Female ; Humans ; Infant ; Intelligence ; Intergenerational Relations ; Male ; Parents ; Social Adjustment