The use of the internet over the past decade has played a strong role in several areas of mental health, including the provision of informal peer support forums in which individuals can discuss specific difficulties anonymously. Self-injury is also a topic which has received far greater recognition over the past decade, with research studies reporting prevalence rates of between 4-25% of the adult population and between 22-35% of the college and university population. The current study investigates the use of a self-injury online forum in order to develop a psychological understanding of the functions that this forum provides to its users. This study employed a grounded theory qualitative methodology to analyse the data collected from an online forum across a 5-month period. The results revealed three core categories: i) human contact; ii) battling self-injury; and iii) being helpful – giving advice/ tangible help. The results suggest that a good deal of ‘therapeutic support’ occurs within exchanges on the forum, with possible benefits both for those receiving and for those giving support and advice. The findings highlighted some important considerations for clinical practice and, more specifically, for the role that clinical psychologists can have in developing services specifically to meet the needs of this client group. The findings are reviewed within the context of the current literature, and implications for service development and service delivery are discussed. Suggestions are made for how services might be able to encourage the use of safe and high quality online therapeutic support on a 24 hour basis to supplement live support by health professionals. Keywords: Self-injury, online internet forums, grounded theory, therapeutic support, peer support.

<p> In hospitals in the United States, the ratio of nurses to patients is declining, resulting in an increase in work demands for nurses. Consequently, organizations face challenges with nurses' organizational commitment. Studies have revealed generational differences, as determined by birth year, in employee levels of organizational commitment in a number of organizational settings. However, there is a gap in the literature regarding the impact of generational cohorts on the organizational commitment of nurses. The purpose of this quantitative, nonexperimental, cross-sectional design was to address whether generational cohorts of nurses differed in their levels of organizational commitment, and to investigate whether licensed practical nurses (LPNs) and registered nurses (RNs) differed in their levels of organizational commitment. A purposive sampling method was used to recruit 132 nurses in Alabama for this study. A MANOVA was employed to test the mean differences in organizational commitment by generational cohort status and nursing degree. Results revealed that generational cohort status did not have a significant impact on nurses' levels of organizational commitment. However, the findings showed that LPNs had significantly lower levels of affective commitment than RNs. This study provided information that may be of use to hospital administrators and human resource managers in communicating the need for flexible incentive packages to address the needs of a diverse workforce. Results from the study may promote social change by providing information about how nurse credentials are associated with their organization commitment. This association is critical for building organizational stability, organizational effectiveness, and nurse recruitment and retention.</p>

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Research has shown that loneliness and social isolation have a significant negative impact on the physical and psychological health of older adults living in the UK, impacting not only on their quality of life, but on society as a whole through increased use of health services. There is a movement, however, that is committed to alleviating loneliness in older adults through befriending: where an unrelated volunteer gives their time to provide companionship on a regular basis to an individual in their own home. Drawing on the author’s personal experience as a befriender, there is an emotive and affective dimension to caring, that is often contradictory and conflictual, and that is missing from the current, predominantly descriptive qualitative literature in this area. Applying psychoanalytic concepts to sociological and psychological research, specifically the free association narrative interview technique (Hollway and Jefferson, 2000) and using transference and countertransference to support analysis and interpretation, produces data that contradicts previous views of the volunteer as rational, intentional, and coherent in their understanding and explanation of their own behaviour. This study has shown that the befriending experience is highly affective and often conflictual, producing similar anxiety that the both the befriender and the organisation through which they volunteer strive to alleviate. There are conflicting tensions between caring and sacrifice and in between being a friend but in fact restricted in the ‘behaviours’ that constitute this friendship. A richer understanding of the experience of befriending, from the point of view of the befriender, can help support organisations in the recruitment and retention of volunteer befrienders, as well as helping to develop further befriending services for older people based on this new knowledge.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 2009. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 70-06, Section: B, page: 3826. Adviser: Ying-Yi Hong. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 47-52) Available on microfilm from Pro Quest Information and Learning.

Thesis (M.A.)--Lehigh University, 2009. / Adviser: Judith Lasker.

Thesis (Ed. D.)--Marshall University, 2003. / Title from document title page. Document formatted into pages; contains xiv, 221 p. Includes vita. Includes bibliographical references (p. 171-201).

Thesis (PhD(Education))--University of Pretoria, 2009. / Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 2009. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 70-06, Section: A, page: . Adviser: John J. Lawler. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 231-238) Available on microfilm from Pro Quest Information and Learning.

<p> As a disengaged and underutilized community resource, young people have the potential to develop leadership skills and express themselves in community action. For this study, the researcher interviewed 13 young adults from rural areas of Alabama. These 18- to 20-year-olds had taken part in community leadership skills programs during their high school years. In this qualitative investigation, the researcher used a multiple case study model that included in depth, one on one interviews and personal observations. Analysis of the data revealed three themes for civic engagement: (a) the participants expressed their ideas and feelings, orally and in their writings; (b) they discussed their leadership skills; and (c) they applied their leadership skills. These results further suggested to the researcher that motivation, confidence, self esteem, and relationship building skills were reinforced by the leadership skills programs, and those factors were applied within the participants' communities. Based on the evidence derived from this study, the ideas and leadership skills of young people have value and strength, especially for rural communities.</p>