BACKGROUND: Cognitive deficits are a core component of schizophrenia and among the strongest determinants of functional disability in psychotic illnesses. In particular, impairment in information processing speed has been demonstrated to be among the most significant in patients. Poor processing speed not only frequently occurs prior to psychosis onset during the prodromal or clinical high risk phase of psychotic illness, it has also been found to be a strong predictor of conversion to psychosis. However, the neurobiological basis of impaired processing speed in the clinical high risk population is not well understood. Functional connectivity during resting state fMRI provides useful insights into the organization and communication between brain regions that may elucidate the brain circuit basis underlying processing speed. OBJECTIVE: To identify the strongest link between brain functional connectivity and a measure of information processing speed in individuals at clinical high risk for conversion to psychosis by utilizing a data-driven analysis. METHODS: Cognitive and resting state fMRI data were collected from 198 clinical high risk participants and 123 neurotypical controls in the second phase of the North American Prodromal Longitudinal Study. Processing speed was measured by the Brief Assessment of Cognition in Schizophrenia Symbol Coding task. A multivariate pattern analysis was used to identify, at the individual voxel level, how functional connectivity correlates with information processing speed. RESULTS: Clinical high risk participants demonstrated significantly reduced processing speed, relative to neurotypical controls. Similarly, at risk patients who later converted to psychosis (n=17) also showed poorer performance on the BACS Symbol Coding task compared to non-converters. The strongest whole-brain link between connectivity and processing speed within the clinical high risk population was the bilateral amygdala. Specifically, connectivity between the bilateral amygdala and a functional brain network known as the salience network correlated with processing speed. CONCLUSIONS: Functional connectivity between the bilateral amygdala and the salience network was linked to individual variation in processing speed in the clinical high risk population. This affirmed a growing literature that implicates amygdala involvement in cognitive function and provides a potential biomarker for psychosis risk prior to diagnosis.

The purpose of this study was to contribute to knowledge on teacher resilience in terms of protective resources and risk factors in rural schools by exploring the significance of higher education institutions (HEI) with rural school teachers. In the comparative case study, following a constructivist meta-theory and Participatory Reflection and Action (PRA) methodology, I used Place-based Social Mobility System theory as lens to compare teacher experiences of purposively sampled teachers (n = 6) in conveniently sampled rural schools (n = 2) with a long-term university-association to those of teachers (n = 12, male = 5, female = 7) in rural schools ( n = 4) in the same school-district without a long-term university-association. Data sources included PRA-interview data and face to face semi-structured teacher-interviews as well as observation data of the rural school context. Following inductive in-case and cross-case thematic analysis, informed by a constructivist grounded theory, it was apparent that, irrespective of a university-association, teachers shared similar experiences of protective resources and risk factors when teaching in a rural context. Feedback from the HEI members rather than parental and student feedback was valued and a lack of knowledge regarding obtaining sponsors and funds to sustain a HE intervention was identified as a constraint. A finding which merits further investigation is that the expectation from teachers in schools without a HEI association to potentially gain from a future association serves as protective resource of hope to promote teacher resilience. In contrast to other studies I found that using instructional resources available in a resource-constrained school setting, a lower student-teacher ratio, low community crime, financial compensation and informal teacher development activities as conducive to teacher resilience. Teachers were silent on the role that teacher illness and personal difficulties play in the development of teacher resilience; how teachers utilise student relationships as a protective resource; the role of hobbies and extracurricular activities in teacher resilience; and, lastly, how the effect of the unstable education system and policy demands on rural education advances/not teacher resilience. / Thesis (PhD)--University of Pretoria, 2016. / Educational Psychology / PhD / Unrestricted

The purpose of this intervention study was to explore how the community volunteers from the Supporting Home Environments in Beating Adversity (SHEBA) research project – in two high-risk school communities in the Nelson Mandela Bay Metropolitan area – valued their social networks. The broader SHEBA participatory and action research project focused on how community volunteers, using their own resources, collaborated with schools in their communities to develop support plans for their communities. I selected interpretivism as the meta-theory for the study and utilised Participatory Reflection and Action (PRA) as the methodological paradigm and research design. The empirical part of this study was conducted in 2012. The data for the study were collected from 35 purposively selected volunteers who, at the time of the study, were involved in volunteer work at schools in their communities. All 35 volunteers participated in one workshop and one brainstorming session. Data were generated through a participatory workshop and follow-up brainstorming session and captured by means of posters and field notes. Inductive thematic analysis was used as the means of interpretation and I related the results to Lin’s Network Theory of Social Capital in interpreting the results. The results of the study suggest that the social networks of the volunteers were valued highly by them in dealing with the various challenges in their communities. The findings suggest also that the community volunteers invested themselves continuously in preserving their social support networks by reaching out to one another in times of crisis and by responding to each other’s needs by supporting one another. The findings suggest further that the volunteers maintained their social support networks by reinforcing the values that held them together and directed them in their efforts to support one another and their communities. The volunteers in the study attributed significant value to each other as sources of support and knowledge. They were able to meet their challenges together by learning from and identifying each other as resources. Modern communication media such as mobile phones were very important to the volunteers in maintaining their support networks with their colleagues and communicating with their communities. I therefore concluded that interventions in high-risk communities should be aimed at assisting community volunteers to gain access to and use such technologies effectively and appropriately in their networking. The value the community volunteers in the SHEBA project attributed to their social networks was clear from the benefits they derived from these networks. The findings of the study suggest that the social networks of the volunteers enhanced their sense of personal wellbeing as well as their sense of social belongingness. I concluded that social support networks could contribute significantly towards people’s overall wellbeing and that community interventions should adopt a holistic approach in high-risk communities thereby enhancing people’s hedonic, eudemonic, and social wellbeing. / Dissertation (MEd)--University of Pretoria, 2017. / Educational Psychology / MEd / Unrestricted

A modern conceptualization of psychotic disorders is as neurodevelopmental disorders, with different stages characterized by discrete clusters of symptoms. This conceptualization includes a stage of pre-psychotic prodrome, a target of contemporary research as an attempt to intervene before the development of psychosis. However, these at-risk individuals rarely present to the mental health services before transitioning into psychosis, even more so for male patients. In this study, a method of inductive thematic analysis has been employed to inquire into the pathways to care for young men at Ultra-High Risk (UHR) for psychosis to gain knowledge of- and generate hypotheses about pathways to care for this group. Data was collected using semi-structured interviews (n = 9) over video conference or telephone. Three core-themes were developed as “Willingness to Disclose Distress”, “The Gatekeeping Confidant”, and “The Boiler”, with “Openness” as a core organizing category permeating the core-themes. Together, the themes represent findings on both the importance of relations in help-seeking, as well as how the young men commonly employ non-disclosure, and how this lack of openness delays pathways to care, often resulting in adversities for the participants. Findings provide implications for further inquiry into how to increase the likelihood of young men to disclose distress, as well as providing additional rationale for the development of Mental Health Literacy in the public to make peers as well as participants more able to recognize symptoms of the pre-psychotic prodrome, when, where and how to seek help.

Introduction and background: The professional dignity of midwives is determined by their own perspectives of the contribution that they make to the optimal care of patients, the respect that they get from other members of the health team and the support that hospital management gives them. When midwives are not treated with respect and their professional competencies are not recognised, their professional dignity is violated. Aim of the study: The study aims to explore and describe how the professional dignity of midwives in the selected hospital can be enhanced. Methodology: A descriptive phenomenological research design was used. In-depth interviews were conducted once informed consent was obtained with purposively selected participants until data saturation occurred. At least 15 midwives from the antenatal, postnatal and delivery rooms of the selected hospital were interviewed. The interviews were audio-recorded with the permission of the participants and analysed through the method of Giorgi (1997:247). The essence of the phenomenon and the supporting constituents (themes) were identified. The essence and constituents will be described and thereafter the constituents will be discussed. Applicable literature was used to integrate the findings in the knowledge base of the phenomenon. Findings: The purpose of the research study was to explore how the professional dignity of midwives in the selected hospital can be enhanced. The essence (meaning) of the participants’ experiences was disclosed as: To dignify midwives in an academic tertiary hospital. The essence is supported by the following constituents (meaning units): ‘to acknowledge the capabilities of midwives’, ‘to appreciate interventions of midwives’, ‘to perceive midwives as equal health team members’, ‘to invest in midwives’, ‘to enhance collegiality’, ‘to be cared for by management’ and ‘to create conducive environments’. / Dissertation (MCur)--University of Pretoria, 2017. / Nursing Science / MCur / Unrestricted

Efforts to reduce the spread of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and find innovative alternatives to condom use are important public health challenges. While the incidence of HIV is leveling off among some populations, it is escalating in other populations such as young African American men who have sex with men (MSM). Guided by the health belief model (HBM) and the AIDS risk reduction model (ARRM), this quantitative, cross-sectional study sought to use multiple linear regression, binary logistic regression, and Fisher's exact test to determine how perceived susceptibility, as measured by the AIDS Health Belief Scale (AHBS), and labeling of unprotected receptive anal intercourse (URAI) risk predicted the preference for prevention products and the number of self-reported sexual activities among MSM who seek sexual partners on the Internet. This study also sought to determine any ethnic differences in the preference for prevention products among these men. Due to the limited sample size (N = 19), there were no significant relationships between the independent variables (i.e., AHBS Score, URAI Risk, or ethnicity) and dependent variables (i.e., product preference or sexual activity). Moreover, covariates of age and alcohol/drug use were not significant in this study. The implications of positive social change include new insights into designing culturally-sensitive, Internet-based, HIV interventions for hard-to-reach and hidden populations that protect their privacy.

No description available.

No description available.

The purpose of this study was to explore the relationship between student leadership and alcohol use. Previous literature had examined alcohol use of leaders and non-leaders in high-use organizations — Greeks and athletes. This study extends that literature by focusing on leaders and non-leaders in low-use organizations, and by examining students with multiple leadership roles. The research used existing data from the Core Alcohol and Drug Survey. A random sample of 2,000 respondents was obtained from the Core Institute at Southern Illinois University – Carbondale. Respondents were leaders and non-leader members of minority and ethnic organizations and religious and interfaith groups. From this total sample, 624 students were active in minority organizations only, 865 were involved in religious groups only, and 511 were active in both. Dependent variables were drawn from four questions on the Core Survey concerning average number of drinks per week, consumption of five or more drinks at one sitting, negative consequences of alcohol use, and alcohol-related beliefs. No statistically significant differences were found in the alcohol use of leader and non-leaders who were active only in minority groups. Significant differences were found however, between leaders and non-leaders who were active only in religious groups. For these groups, leaders consumed alcohol, engaged in high-risk drinking, experienced negative consequences, and ascribed to alcohol-related myths at a lower rate than those not in leadership positions. Student in dual leadership positions across the whole sample reported significantly higher alcohol use than student involved in one leadership position. Students with leadership roles in both minority and religious organizations drank approximately three times as much (9.75 per week) as those who are leaders in only one type of organization (2.75 per week). The results of this study, understood in the context of the existing literature on alcohol and leadership in high-use organizations, suggest that a Leader Factor may exist: Leaders of student organizations tend to drink at least as much as non-leaders, and those with multiple leadership roles have the highest rate of involvement with alcohol. The single exception to this rule is leaders who are active in religious groups only. / Master of Arts

No description available.