Controlling for the wide variability in the physical health status of geriatric populations is important as severity of illness is known to both moderate and suppress relationships examined in psychosocial research. The purpose of the present investigation was to develop a uniform, easily administered quantitative index of illness severity, composed of disease-specific scales, that was independent of psychosocial factors and appropriate for use with a geriatric population. As well, the aim was to collect preliminary data on the reliability and validity of the scale. The development of the Severity of Illness-Geriatric (SOI­G) scale involved the adaptation of a previously developed severity of illness instrument Severity of Renal Disease Scale (SORDS). <p>The present investigation involved five programmatically linked studies. Study 1 involved the determination of the items to be included on SOI-G while Study 2 defined the severity criteria for each item. In Study 3, five geriatric specialists scaled each level of each item on the same underlying threat to life scale. There was a high level of initial agreement between the raters supporting the reliability of the severity values. The final scale consisted of 32 items. <p>In Study 4, archival data was collected on 61 patients admitted to the geriatric unit of a rehabilitation hospital. The SOI-G was compared to the Cumulative Illness Rating Scale-Geriatric (CIRS-G) and a global severity rating. <p>SOI-G inter-rater reliability estimates were low (likely due to rater error) but promising. SOI-G demonstrated support for content validity, face validity, and construct validity but evidence for convergent validity was not established. SOI-G scores were sensitive to differences among patients with respect to discharge outcome. The utility of SOI-G as a moderator variable in psychosocial research with the elderly could not be explored in Study 5 due to a limited sample size. <p>It was concluded that the present investigation demonstrated the potential usefulness of SOI-G in psychosocial research with the elderly but further research is needed before definitive conclusions can be made. The SOI-G offers researchers a tool for controlling disease variability that is not measured by psychological tests but must be accounted for in research designs.

published_or_final_version / abstract / toc / Comparative Asian Studies / Master / Master of Arts

Thesis (M.S.W.)--Smith College School for Social Work, Northampton, Mass., 2007 / Thesis submitted in partial fulfillment for the degree of Master of Social Work. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 65-67).

abstract: The prevalence of chronic illness among children in the United States is on the rise (CDC, 2014). Having a child with a chronic illness can be a substantial source of stress for a couple, including physical, emotional, and financial demands of caregiving as well as difficult decision-making regarding the child’s health (Mayo Clinic, 2015). Coping with such stressors can have a negative effect on the couple’s well-being, and, if not managed within the relationship, can lead to increased negative outcomes for both partners. Partners can, however, learn to cope with stress by engaging in the coping process together with dyadic coping (DC). Couples can engage in positive (i.e., supportive emotion-focused, supportive problem-focused, and delegated) or negative forms of DC. DC has been shown to mitigate stress for couples, while increasing reports of individual well-being (IWB) and relational well-being (RWB), but it has not been examined in the context of couples with a child with a chronic illness. To bridge this gap, the present study examined how couples cope with general stress as well as stress associated with their child’s diagnosis of a chronic illness (CI-related stress) and whether positive DC and negative DC moderate association between stress (general stress and CI-related stress) and well-being (IWB and RWB). Consistent with hypotheses, there were significant main effects of both types of stress (general and CI-related stress) on both types of well-being (IWB and RWB). Contrary to the hypotheses that DC (positive DC and negative DC) would moderate the associations between both types of stress and both types of well-being, only one significant interaction was found between CI-related stress and negative DC on IWB. Implications of these findings are discussed. / Dissertation/Thesis / Masters Thesis Counseling 2016

Stereo types and stigmas of individuals with mental illnesses have proved to be a major roadblock preventing these individuals from seeking help. The news media, despite having a responsibility to accurately inform the public, has played a significant role in portraying individuals with mental illness as violent, unpredictable, dangerous, and unfit to live with the rest of “normal” society. This happens through the words journalists choose to use and the information they choose in included, and excluded, when reporting on mental health issues. This study attempts to establish a guideline that journalists can follow that will hopefully reduce the stigma of mental illness in the media, and eventually in society. This study used a 2 x 2 ANCOVA to test two independent variables (amount of labeling terms and amount of corrective information). The variables were manipulated by modifying a news article four times to produce articles with varying levels of labeling terms and corrective information. A control article was also be used. The articles were randomized and passed out to 220 undergraduate college students at the University of North Texas who completed a questionnaire, read their assigned article, and then completed a second questionnaire to determine the impact the article had on their attitudes about individuals with mental illnesses.

Thesis (M.A. (Clinical Psychology)) -- University of Limpopo, 2018 / Extensive research on the knowledge and attitudes of students regarding mental illness has been conducted among university students globally. Some of these studies have indicated that students’ attitudes are influenced by a number of factors such as gender, year of study and contact with people with mental illness. In addition, university students’ attitudes towards people with mental illness were found to vary based on the course that they were enrolled in. The present study sought to explore the knowledge and attitudes of university postgraduate students towards mental illness. A survey research design was adopted. Using systematic random sampling, 143 students enrolled for an honours degree in the Faculty of Humanities at the University of Limpopo were selected and enlisted to participate in the study. The students completed a self-reported questionnaire including the Mental Health Knowledge Schedule (MAKS) and Attitude Scale for Mental Illness (ASMI). The results of the study indicate that nearly half of students (49.7%) have adequate knowledge about mental illness. Most students (mean = 38.55) were able to identify mental disorders and were familiar with various treatment modalities. Gender, study course, and previous contact with people with mental illness had no effect on the students’ knowledge of mental illness. A further exploration revealed that 50.3% of the students displayed favourable attitudes towards people with mental illness. 31.5% of the students reported having previous contact with people with mental illness. A majority (60%) of students who had previous contact with someone with mental illness displayed favourable attitudes compared to students (46%) with no previous contact. Lastly, there was no relationship between the students’ knowledge about mental illnesses and their attitudes. The results suggest that educational and awareness campaigns aimed at improving students’ knowledge about mental illness and attitudes should promote contact with the mentally ill. However, the contact should be the type that will cultivate positive attitudes.

Thesis (MPH.) -- University of Limpopo, 2019 / Background- care of the mentally ill by family members is done with little or no supervision by skilled health workers. Therefore, the purpose of the study was to investigate the experiences of family members of patients living with mental illness in the Capricorn District of Limpopo Province in South Africa. Objective- to explore and describe the experiences of family members caring for patients living with mental illness. Methods- A qualitative, descriptive and exploratory design was used. Non-probability sampling of the purposive and convenient type was used to explore and describe the experiences of family members of patients living with mental illness in the Capricorn District. Data were collected from fifteen family members caring for MHCUs, by using open-ended semi-structured face-to-face interviews. Data were audio recorded and observations were done during interviews. Trustworthiness was ensured by applying credibility, transferability, confirmability and dependability. Data were analysed using Tech’s open-coding method. Results- family members experience disruptive behaviour from MHCUs and they also have to adapt to new routines that are at times unfavourable. As a result, the family members’ health and quality of life are affected, thus making them susceptible to having mental illness and other medical conditions as well. Conclusion- There is a need for family members caring for persons living with mental illness to be given emotional and social support. community projects such as support groups for family members caring for MHCUs and goal directed standard operations procedures at the Psychiatric Ward – specifically designed and implemented for family members caring for MHCUs, are recommended.

Previous studies have examined how individuals who are diagnosed with mental (McManus, Stubbings, & Martin, 2006) or physical illness (Duggan, Medway & Bunke, 2004) are stigmatized but no study has directly compared how students perceive a person living with a mental versus a physical illness. The present study explored whether participants desired greater social distance from a student who 1) suffered from schizophrenia, 2) was in remission for cancer, relative to a 3) healthy student. The study also investigated whether participants could objectively evaluate the identical written work of these students differently when they are described according to their illnesses. It was hypothesized that college students would desire the greatest social distance from students with mental illness and the least amount of social distance from students described as healthy. In addition, it was hypothesized that college students would evaluate the work of a healthy student more positively than a student who has a chronic mental or physical illness. It was also hypothesized that college students would evaluate the work of a student described as suffering from chronic physical illness more positively than the work of the student described as having a chronic mental illness. For the procedure, participants were given a vignette about a fictional student and were randomly assigned to a vignette that described the student as 1) suffering from schizophrenia which was controlled by medication, 2) in remission for cancer, or 3) healthy. The participants were then asked to evaluate this student's essay using a grading rubric. Participants then completed the Social Distance Scale (Penn, Guynan, Daily, & Spalding, 1994). Finally, students reported demographic information about themselves. A one-way between subjects Multivariate ANOVA was performed on the data, and significant differences were found among conditions for the SDS but not for the scores on the student's essay. The results suggest that the students were able to remain objective while grading the student's assignment, but required greater social distance from a student with a mental or physical illness.

To explore attributions about chronically ill peers, 545 older adolescents ages 17-26 read a short vignette describing a brief social encounter with a hypothetical peer suffering from a medical condition, and then responded to a series of questionnaires to assess their perceptions of that peer. Nine measures intended to assess perceptions of ill peers were developed and empirically validated. Test-retest reliability and internal consistency was moderate to good for all measures. Component structure of the Peer Acceptance Questionnaire (PAQ), Peer Acceptance Questionnaire ?? 3rd Person (PAQ-F), and Perceived Similarity Questionnaire (PSQ) were also evaluated. Principal components analysis yielded a 2-factor structure of Openness and Egalitarianism for both the PAQ and PAQ-F. A 6-factor structure of (a) Familial/Spiritual, (b) General Health, (c) Social, (d) Behavioral, (e) Physical, and (f) Educational was suggested for the PSQ. Results indicated an interaction between illness type and behavior on acceptance ratings, such that behavior potentiated the effect of illness type on acceptance. In addition, vignette characters with contagious illnesses were rated less favorably than those with noncontagious illnesses, and vignette characters displaying typical behavior were rated more favorably than either withdrawn or aggressive vignette characters. Illness-specific knowledge, ratings of perceived similarity, and ratings of assigned blame predicted acceptance ratings, whereas illness-specific knowledge and acceptance ratings predicted ratings of assigned blame. Finally, significant differences were observed between first- and third-person ratings of both acceptance and assigned blame.

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