The following qualitative research study examined visual and thematic depictions of mental disorder in mainstream American film from 1988 to 2010. The research was an extension of an earlier investigation on portrayals of psychological disability in Hollywood movies (Levers, 1988, 2001). The theoretical and historical grounding for the project included Sander Gilman's (1982) scholarship on madness in the pictorial arts, the history and treatment of mental disorder over the course of time, social constructionism and the media, and research on media depictions of mental illness. The author employed two content analysis instruments (Levers, 1988, 2001) to record the appearance of icons, stereotypes, and positive portrayals of mental illness in 14 feature-length American films, which contain scenes of psychiatric hospitalization. Each film became a case study, and for each case, the author included content analysis findings, plot and character summaries, and discussion on mental disorder representation through images, speech, and themes. The multiple cases culminated in a filmography, which can be a resource for individuals interested in, and concerned about, the nature in which mental disorder is portrayed in popular, contemporary movies. The results from this study indicate that iconic and stereotypical representations of mental disorder have remained consistent since Levers' (1988, 2001) inquiries. The author identified 60 of 61 icons listed on the Icons of Madness viewing rubric (Levers, 1988, 2001) and all stereotypes and positive portrayals on the Thematic Portrayals of Mental Disorder viewing rubric (Levers, 1988, 2001). More specifically, the four most commonly depicted icons and the top five stereotypes were the same in both the present and Levers' (1988, 2001) studies. The one notable difference between these and Levers' (1988, 2001) results was the increased frequency of positive portrayals of mental illness; more positive portrayals occurred in this investigation as compared to Levers' earlier research. New icons, stereotypes, and positive portrayals of mental disorder not originally listed on the viewing rubrics were identified, too. The author discusses the present findings in light of future research possibilities, counselor education, and client advocacy. / School of Education; / Counselor Education and Supervision (ExCES) / PhD; / Dissertation;

Abstract Introduction. Approximately 88.000 cases of assault were reported to the Swedish police during 2010. Twenty-five percent of these cases were considered as violence against women. Intimate partner violence (IPV) is a worldwide issue and poses a major threat to women’s health. In Sweden, 17 women are killed each year by an intimate partner. This study aimed at increasing the knowledge of perpetrators of intimate partner homicide (IPH), in terms of type of mental disorder and type of deadly violence exerted. Method. A total of 49 forensic psychiatric investigations were obtained from the Swedish National Board of Forensic Medicine in Huddinge. Eighteen perpetrators of IPH were compared to 31 perpetrators of deadly violence in a non-intimate relationship. Comparisons were made by coding principal diagnoses as described in the forensic psychiatric investigations, and type of deadly violence exerted using the Cornell coding guide for violent incidents. Results. Perpetrators of IPH were, to a greater extent, diagnosed with a dysphoric or borderline personality disorder (BPD), whereas perpetrators of deadly violence in a non-intimate relationship were significantly more often diagnosed with an antisocial personality disorder (ASPD). Perpetrators of IPH used more deadly violence with reactive features, whereas perpetrators of deadly violence in a non-intimate relationship used significantly more deadly violence with instrumental features. Discussion. The results of this study are in agreement with previous research. In conclusion, perpetrators of IPH are more reactive in their deadly violence and less antisocial, in terms of being diagnosed with ASPD and previous convictions, compared to perpetrators of deadly violence in a non-intimate relationship. This may be helpful in terms of preventing future risk for IPV and IPH.

Background: Today, there are over 65 million refugees exist worldwide and arrival of the refugees has increased rapidly in Sweden as well. Refugees and asylum seekers may be more susceptible to mental disorders because of the traumatic events they encounter prior to immigration and adverse circumstances in the new country. Aim: A literature study was aimed at exploring different kind of mental ill health among immigrant refugees and the factors that affect their psychological ill health. Further aim of this study was also to find association between mental disorders observed in refugees and the factors responsible for them.  Method: Systematic literature study has chosen to provide an overall summary of the existing researches within the subject. A systematic search for relevant literature in PubMed and CINAHL was performed and it was limited to original research articles published between 1st January 2008 and 31st December 2017.  Data was extracted from 11 scientific quantitative articles. All the articles were reviewed for quality according to Forsberg & Wengström’s review template. Results: Depression, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), anxiety and somatization are common diagnoses among refugees. Many refugees experienced traumatic events in their home country and during escape. Unfavorable conditions like violence, murder, lack of food, shelter and money affect their mental health negatively. Landing in new country can be expressed in joy, but it did not stay for a long time with upcoming resettlement difficulties such as communication problems, discrimination, unemployment, separation from family and culture. Conclusion: Depression and PTSD were most common among refugees. Unemployment and language difficulties were the main reasons for their miserable mental health. There was an association between mental disorders and the factors like trauma in the home country and on the way to new destination as well as adoption difficulties in a new country.

In Canada, individuals accused of a criminal offence can raise a defence of Not Criminally Responsible on Account of Mental Disorder (NCRMD), stating they were suffering from a mental disorder that rendered them incapable of appreciating the nature or quality of the act, or of appreciating that it was wrong. Individuals found NCRMD are then rendered under the jurisdiction of a provincial mental health review board tasked with evaluating whether or not the individual represents a significant risk to the safety of the public. This study adopted a methodological approach using qualitative content analysis to investigate the construction of risk in the decision-making process of the Ontario Mental Health Review Board (ORB). Results from the analysis of 30 printed rationales for decision, the justificatory document for any disposition made by a review board, indicate some ambiguity in conceptualizing risk and justifying the dispositions made by the ORB. In an effort to open the black-box of these justificatory documents, this study notes the objectivity effect of a medicalized language that obfuscates understanding of terms used by the ORB to justify risk assessments. Ultimately, the complexity of the notion of risk is reduced to a function of medical-biological psychiatric diagnostics and intervention, community or social normativity, and secondary risk management (defensive decision-making by professionals involved in the review process). These interpretations are then discussed in terms of policy implications under a new politics of uncertainty (Power, 2004).

Background: Homicide-suicides are rare events in which an individual commits a homicide and then takes his or her own life. Despite extensive media coverage and a recent increase in research in this field, our understanding of these events is limited as most studies are descriptive. There is little reliable evidence regarding mental illness in individuals who commit homicide-suicide. Aims: The central aim of this study was to examine the role of mental illness in cases of homicide-suicide. The objectives were to: (1) determine the prevalence of mental illness; (2) describe the characteristics of perpetrators and victims, and the circumstances of the offence; (3) examine the psychopathology of perpetrators prior to the offence. Method: The research design was a mixed methods study of homicide-suicide. Quantitative and qualitative techniques were used to examine a national consecutive case series, in England and Wales, between 1st January 2006 and 31st December 2008. The sample contained 60 cases. Descriptive statistical analysis and a thematic framework analysis were undertaken on documents obtained from coroners, the police, GP medical records, records of mental health services contact and newspaper articles. The social, behavioural, offence and clinical characteristics of these incidents were reported. Results: Most of these offences were committed by men (53, 88%). The average age of perpetrators was 44 years (range 18-85). The overwhelming majority of these incidents involved close family members, mainly current or former intimate partners and/or the children of the perpetrator. Over half of the perpetrators had previously been diagnosed with mental health problems by a GP, most commonly depression. The incident was, in most cases, preceded by an actual separation from an intimate partner, or the perpetrator perceived separation to be imminent. The emotional responses to the loss of the relationship included: anger; frustration; humiliation; jealousy; desire for revenge; hopelessness, guilt and remorse. Poor coping strategies were observed, with many having a history of previous self-harm or suicide attempts, and difficulty controlling their aggression. Despite the high proportion of lifetime mental illness, few had been in recent contact with their GP for psychological problems prior to the incident. In the majority of cases, incidents involving mentally ill perpetrators were reported responsibly in newspapers. However, there were instances in which journalists sensationalised the incidents and provided stereotypical portrayals of the perpetrator. Conclusion: The findings from this study add valuable empirical qualitative data to the literature. These incidents occur in the context of existing and challenging common social issues, such as intimate partner violence, child custody disputes, an ageing population, and mental disorder. The evidence from this study shows that these perpetrators had an extreme reaction to an interpersonal crisis resulting in severe emotional distress. Perpetrators from vulnerable groups had complex needs and exhibited previous poor coping strategies that may put them at increased risk. However, prevention is difficult as these are rare events and though under distress, these individuals were less likely to seek help from services. More research is required to identify risk factors in targeted sub-groups of homicide-suicide, such as intimate partner, filicide-suicide and elderly homicide-suicide, in the context of social, economic and clinical problems.

INTRODUCTION: Mental illness is a major public health problem, and has been observed as early as infancy and persists throughout childhood into adulthood. Mental illness among children can severely impair a development, academic achievement, and the ability to live a productive life. Emotional dysregulation among parents may be a risk factor for mental illness among their children. The aim of this study was to evaluate aspects of poor emotional health of parents and mental health problems among children, aged 6-17 years old in the state of Georgia and nationally. METHODS: Data on 66,920 children between the ages of 6-17 years from the 2011-2012 National Survey of Children’s Health (NSCH) were utilized. Poor emotional health in parents was defined as self-reported health status and stress levels. Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) and substance abuse exposure were reported by parents, who served as proxy respondents for their children. Children’s mental health problems were defined as parents reporting that their child had depression, behavioral/conduct problems, and anxiety. State level weighted estimates of the prevalence of mental health problems among children from Georgia were compared to national estimates from the NSCH. Multiple logistic regression models were used to determine the weighted adjusted odds ratio (AOR) for the association between parents’ emotional health status with select mental disorders in children (using alpha level =0.05). RESULTS: Estimates of mental health conditions of depression, anxiety, and behavioral problems among children 6 to 17 years in Georgia were 5.2%( 95% CI: 3.0-7.4) for males and 6.5 %( 95% CI: 3.5-9.5) for females; national estimates among children were (8.5%, 95% CI: 7.9-9.2) for males and 6.1% (95% CI: 5.5-6.7) for females. Results from the multiple logistic regression indicated that parents’ emotional dysfunction was significantly associated with mental health problems among children at the state and national levels. AORs at the state level for mental health conditions in children were 2.5 (95% CII: 0.6-10.1) for fathers who reported poor overall health and 0.2 (95% CI: 0.1-1.6) mothers who reported their poor overall health. At the national level there was an increased AOR for mental health conditions in children with reports of poor overall health from their mothers (AOR: 4.72 95% CI: 3.6-6.2) and fathers (AOR: 3.8 95% CII: 2.9-4.9). Parental stress also increased the likelihood of mental health problems among children at the states level, (AOR: 4.7 95% CII: 1.5-14.1); acknowledgment of substance abuse (AOR: 3.795% CII: 1.4-9.8); and reports of adverse childhood experiences (AOR: 1.8 95% CI 0.7-4.5). Similar findings were observed at the national level. CONCLUSION: Given the results of this study, parental emotional health appears to be a factor that is strongly associated with mental health problems among children. Understanding that parental emotional health is a predictor of mental health problems in children can inform current parenting interventions and increase awareness of the need for family mental health services.

En analysant trois romans des écrivains américains, l'auteur de cette thèse examine courantes attitudes envers la notion de paranoïa et théorie de conspiration. L'auteur envisage comment cela permet de constituer une manière de dépasser le type de pouvoir centrée sur la capacité d’agir compris comme exclusivement humaine, ou plus spécifiquement, de deprivilégier la position humain dominante ce qui ouvre la possibilité pour les approches posthumaines de causalité d'émerger. Le première étape est d'établir au début que les deux conceptions (paranoïa et conspiration) provoquent la peur intrinsèque des origines de cause et de pouvoir d’agir. La croyance que ce n'est pas moi-même qui est responsable de mes propres actions, ou que c'est quelqu'un d'autre qui décide et provoque les évènements et mes actions implique le problème et l’inquiétude sur l’origine d’un action. / On the basis of a detailed and thorough study of three novels of American writers,the author of the present thesis questions the current attitudes towards paranoia andconspiracy theory and claims that challenging these, constitutes a way of going beyondhuman-centered types of agency ; or more specifically, of de-privileging human agency andallowing for post-humanist approaches of causality to emerge. The first step is to state thatboth concepts bring about the inherent fear about the origin of cause and agency. The beliefthat it is not myself who is responsible for my own actions, or that there is someone else whois pulling the strings, necessarily involves the problem of agency.

Bakgrund: Psykisk ohälsa ökar globalt och även inom den somatiska vården har det skett en ökning av denna patientgrupp. Patienter med psykisk ohälsa kan ofta ha svårt att uttrycka sig och symtomen kan vara svåra att tolka för sjuksköterskorna. Det kan vara en utmaning för sjuksköterskor inom den somatiska vården att vårda de patienterna vilket ofta grundar sig i okunskap, rädsla och fördomar.Syfte: Syftet med studien var att beskriva sjuksköterskors upplevelse i mötet med patienter som har en psykiska ohälsa när de söker somatisk vård.Metod: En litteraturstudie med beskrivande design för att få en fördjupad förståelse av sjuksköterskors upplevelser. Litteraturstudien innehåller 10 vetenskapliga artiklar.Huvudresultat: I resultatet framkom det att sjuksköterskor upplevde osäkerhet och rädsla när de vårdar patienter med psykisk ohälsa inom den somatiska vården. Det visade sig bottna i de fördomar och den stigmatisering som finns i samhället. Sjuksköterskor upplevde att de patienterna var svåra att bemöta och att dem inte hade de rätta förutsättningarna för att kunna ge den bästa vården.Slutsats: Sjuksköterskorna upplevde att det var svårt att vårda patienter med psykisk ohälsa inom den somatiska vården. De upplevde rädsla och brist på hur de skulle möta dem. Sjuksköterskorna upplevde att dem behövde mer utbildning inom området för att kunna möta och vårda de patienterna. Därav är det av vikt att vidare åtgärder vidtas för att ge de bästa förutsättningarna både för sjuksköterskor och patienter.Nyckelord: Allmän vård, Psykisk ohälsa, Sjuksköterskor, Upp

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