The present study assessed the differential effects of three manipulations of the sleep-wake schedules of college students on their levels of daytime sleepiness as measured by daily subjective ratings. The study was longitudinal and prospective. Following a baseline period (12 days), three experimental conditions were introduced. In the first group students were asked to sleep at least 7.5 hours at night and to avoid taking naps. In the second group, students were asked in addition to follow a regular sleep wake schedule. In the third group students were asked to sleep at least 7 hours at night and to take daily naps. The experimental phase lasted four weeks and overall, compliance was good. A follow up phase (one week) began five weeks past the termination of the experimental phase. The findings indicate that when nocturnal sleep is not deprived, regularization of the sleep-wake schedules lead to reduced sleepiness and improved psychological and cognitive functioning. Subjects in the regular schedule condition experienced greater and longer lasting improvements in their alertness compared with subjects in the other two groups combined. Napping was not found to produce any change in daytime sleepiness, but subjects who had greater increases in the regularity of nap frequency experienced greater decrease in daytime sleepiness. Subjects with evening tendencies benefited most from regularizing their sleep schedules whereas subjects with morning tendencies benefited most from taking naps.

As an individual moves into the later years of life, he or she is prone to loss of interpersonal skills and support from others. Affective empathy is considered to be a skill which assists individuals in building interpersonal relationships and thereby increasing support from others. Zazen (Zen) meditation is proposed to increase affective empathic responses. The current study involved 19 senior citizens, ages 60-77 (six males and 13 females) randomly assigned to either a control group or an experimental group. The experimental group received zazen (Zen) meditation training and the control group received an irrelevant activity (mathematical exercises). Each group received the activity for five days, three hours per day. Affective empathy was measured pretest and posttest. The pretest was the Emotional Empathic Tendency Scale (Mehrabian & Epstein, 1972) and posttest was the Empathic Concern subscale of the Interpersonal Reactivity Index (Davis, 1980, 1983c). Analysis of the data produced statistically nonsignificant findings. Larger numbers and/or longer training times may provide significant findings in future studies. The levels of affective empathy (i.e. low, intermediate, high scorers) were not considered in the current study but attention to these variables in future research and in training for affective empathy using zazen (Zen) meditation is recommended.

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This portfolio has three parts. Part one comprises a systematic literature review, in which the empirical literature relating to coping of parents of children with cancer is reviewed. Twelve studies were included in the review and from these studies, the coping strategies that parents rated as most useful or most frequently used were synthesised into a bi-dimensional taxonomy of coping. Due to the many and varied measures and conceptualisations of coping the dimensions of approach-avoidance coping and emotion-focused and problem-focused coping were used to organise results into a more coherent and meaningful structure. The reviewed papers were also quality checked and the outcome of the checklist was taken into consideration when outlining results of eachstudy.Part two comprises a qualitative study, using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) methodology to explore the experiences of parents of children who have been diagnosed with cancer in the previous five years. IPA as a methodology is primarily concerned with the participant’s lived experience of an event. There is an assumption that a person makes sense of their experience through the process of interpretation. Through semi-structured interviews with participants, their interpretations of their experiences were collected. The researcher, through the process of analysis, interprets the participant’s own interpretation; this is known as a ‘double-hermeneutic’. Different levels of analysis of transcripts leads to drawing out of a number of themes from across participants. In this study, positive psychology literature was used as a theoretical guide to focus interviews. Positive psychology is concerned with the study of positive emotions or characteristics, positive relationships and positive organisations, and how people may draw strength from these. It was hoped that by using positive psychology as a lens through which to explore the experiences of parents of children with cancer, a better understanding may be gained of what may drive or be ‘behind’ behaviours and strategies so frequently observed in coping literature.Part three comprises appendixes. These include a reflective statement on the process of conducting the research; the challenges faced and the lessons learnt. In addition, a reflexive statement regarding the researcher’s own beliefs, experiences and perceptions that may have impacted upon the research process is included. A worked example of IPA using a section of a transcript is also presented to illustrate the IPA process.

Objectives: To explore the experiences of staff working in a recovery oriented service, with particular focus on the elements which help and hinder the provision of the service.Design: A qualitative approach was taken, in which interviews were used to produce data.Methods: Twelve participants were interviewed using a semi structured interview. The participants were from a variety of professional backgrounds and worked for a recovery oriented Early Intervention Team. The interviews were analysed using Interpretive Phenomenological Analysis.Results: Participants highlighted the importance of having a strong team culture which involved having a strong leadership, a clear vision, an absence of a medical focus, a mutually supportive team, and the role of STR workers. Barriers to providing a recovery oriented service focused on the attitudes of others and the position of the team in the wider service. Participants highlighted the issues regarding the role of generic workers. Some difficulties with the implementation of the model itself were highlighted.Conclusions: This paper highlights many of the factors which need to be considered when operationalising the recovery model. Recently there has been an influx of policy documents which support the implementation of recovery oriented services. However, fundamental conflicts between the recovery model and the medical model may hamper its implementation.

Objectives: The Alexander Technique (AT) is a complementary therapy and holistic approach, which aims to improve psychological and physical well-being. Very little research has assessed the effectiveness of the AT at bringing about psychological change. This exploratory study aims to investigate the psychological impact of learning and practising the AT, and how AT pupils understand the processes underpinning this impact. Design: A qualitative, phenomenological approach was taken to explore participants' experiences. Methods: Ten semi-structured interviews were conducted with participants who had experience of learning and practising the AT. The interviews were transcribed and analysed using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) (Smith & Osborn, 2008). Results: Participants described a wide range of psychological changes as a result of learning the AT, including increased self-awareness, calm, confidence, balance, presence, and ability to detach from problems. The process of learning the AT was rewarding but, for many participants, was also challenging. Conclusions: The psychological benefits of the AT are understood in relation to established psychological and psychotherapeutic models. Further considerations and implications for future research are discussed.

No description available.

Objectives: Body image concerns and problematic eating attitudes and behaviours are recognised as an important concern for young people and clinicians. Identification of groups that might be at risk of developing such problems would enable prevention and early implementation strategies to be implemented. The aim of this study was to explore body image concerns and eating attitudes and behaviours in a community sample of young people aged between 12 and 17 years. Design & Method: A cross sectional between groups design was employed. Participants completed self-report assessments measuring attitudes to body shape and weight, eating attitudes, behavioural features of eating disorders and eating disorder psychopathology. Siblings of young people with type 1 diabetes (n=12) were compared to a matched control group (n=12). Comparisons were also made between males and females and between age groups in a community sample (n=75). Results: Compared with females without a diabetic sibling, females with a diabetic sibling reported more concerns about body weight and shape, greater disturbance in eating attitudes, and significantly higher levels of eating disorder psychopathology. Within the community sample, concerns about body shape and weight and disturbed eating attitudes were significantly higher in females than in males. The results highlighted a high prevalence of excessive exercise behaviour in both males and females. Excessive exercise was the only variable to differ significantly between age groups, with the highest prevalence reported in those aged 14 and 15 years. Conclusions: The findings provide tentative support for the hypothesis that siblings of young people with type 1 diabetes are at increased risk of disturbed eating attitudes and behaviours, but require replication in a larger sample. Methodological implications of the study and suggestions for further research are discussed.

Background: Prospective memory is the ability to remember to carry out previously planned actions at an appropriate point in the future. Impairments in prospective memory have been found in a range of neurological conditions. While it is assumed that stroke patients will have similar deficits, there is currently a dearth of evidence to support this. Methods: A between-subjects design was employed to compare 22 community-dwelling stroke patients to 22 healthy adult controls on a standardised objective measure of prospective memory. Subjective reports of everyday memory were measured using a validated questionnaire. Standardised tests were also administered to measure retrospective memory and executive functioning. Results: Stroke patient’s prospective memory performance was significantly poorer than controls. Depression had a significant influence on time-based prospective memory tasks. Executive functioning was shown to be a good predictor of overall prospective memory ability. Stroke patient’s insight into their everyday memory abilities was incomplete. Conclusion: Prospective memory abilities are reduced after stroke. In light of the potential impact of such difficulties on everyday functioning, this aspect of cognitive functioning should be routinely assessed in clinical practice.

Introduction: Historically, postnatal depression (PND) has been the main focus for maternal mental health. However, there is evidence that women experience other emotional difficulties in this period. Mental health is particularly important in the postnatal period as maternal morbidity has far reaching consequences for mother, child and partner. Despite effective treatments being available a large number of women do not seek help for postnatal mental health problems. This study aims to explore emotional distress in the postnatal period and examine factors influencing postnatal emotional distress, in order to facilitate detection and prevention. It aims to gain a better understanding of what the perceived barriers to seeking help in the postnatal period may be, and explore what interventions may be acceptable to women at this time in their lives. Method: A review of the literature failed to find a measure suitable to assess barriers to help-seeking. A questionnaire was developed based on qualitative literature, interviews with postnatal women and expert opinion. This questionnaire was piloted in a pack of questionnaires including: a measure of distress (DASS-21), social support (SOS) and life events (adapted form of the LTE). The study used a cross-sectional survey design to investigate the symptomatology of depression, anxiety and stress in a group of postnatal women in West Lothian. A between subjects design was adopted to look at differences between women with and without significant levels of symptomatology. Results: The responses to questionnaires were entered into SPSS. 16.7 per cent of the sample was identified as suffering from depressive symptomatology, 9.1per cent anxiety and 18.2 per cent stress symptomatology (as identified by the DASS-21). Multiple regression revealed that stressful life events and lack of social support were predictive of postnatal emotional distress. In addition parity was predictive of depressive symptomatology. Barriers to help-seeking were influenced by social support and level of distress, suggesting that vulnerable women may be less likely to seek help. In addition information was gathered about women’s preferences for support with postnatal emotional distress. Discussion: Evidence was presented for widening the focus of PND to look at postnatal emotional distress. Risk factors predictive of distress were highlighted and interventions suggested based on these and women’s treatment preferences. Barriers to help-seeking appear to be more salient for vulnerable women, who are most in need of support. The implications of this research are relevant for policy makers and further research in aspects of perinatal and postnatal mental health.