This study examines the childhood and social experiences of 10 women with trichotillomania (compulsive hair pulling) and the various pathways that led them to the discovery of trichotillomania. Trichotillomania is a chronic and devastating condition that affects a significant number of women, which has long-term consequences that can be debilitating and psychologically and emotionally scarring. The 10 women participated in semi-structured interviews during which they were asked to describe their childhood and social experiences. This is the first study that has attempted to understand childhood and social experiences from the perspective of women living with trichotillomania. Utilizing a grounded theory approach (Strauss & Corbin, 1998), the interviews were transcribed, coded, and analyzed. A model, based on the core category, The Road to Discovering Trichotillomania: The Issue of Control, was developed to reflect the experiences of these women. The model is constructed on five major themes: Looking Back: How It All Began; Childhood Environment; Relationship Between Specific Experiences and the Discovery of Hair Pulling; The Role of Hair Pulling; and The Journey of Hair Pulling. The women identified the events (both internal and external) that precipitated the first episode of hair pulling. The underlying theme of these events was the perception that things were out of their control. The discovery of trichotillomania came about as a result of the women’s attempts to regain control of their experiences and environment. The findings of this study make an important contribution to the current literature on trichotillomania by attempting to understand the complexities of the factors involved in the discovery of this condition. In presenting the lived experiences of these 10 women, this study moves the discussion beyond the pathology and towards a richer understanding of trichotillomania. The study’s limitations, implications for future research, and final thoughts are also discussed.

This study examines the childhood and social experiences of 10 women with trichotillomania (compulsive hair pulling) and the various pathways that led them to the discovery of trichotillomania. Trichotillomania is a chronic and devastating condition that affects a significant number of women, which has long-term consequences that can be debilitating and psychologically and emotionally scarring. The 10 women participated in semi-structured interviews during which they were asked to describe their childhood and social experiences. This is the first study that has attempted to understand childhood and social experiences from the perspective of women living with trichotillomania. Utilizing a grounded theory approach (Strauss & Corbin, 1998), the interviews were transcribed, coded, and analyzed. A model, based on the core category, The Road to Discovering Trichotillomania: The Issue of Control, was developed to reflect the experiences of these women. The model is constructed on five major themes: Looking Back: How It All Began; Childhood Environment; Relationship Between Specific Experiences and the Discovery of Hair Pulling; The Role of Hair Pulling; and The Journey of Hair Pulling. The women identified the events (both internal and external) that precipitated the first episode of hair pulling. The underlying theme of these events was the perception that things were out of their control. The discovery of trichotillomania came about as a result of the women’s attempts to regain control of their experiences and environment. The findings of this study make an important contribution to the current literature on trichotillomania by attempting to understand the complexities of the factors involved in the discovery of this condition. In presenting the lived experiences of these 10 women, this study moves the discussion beyond the pathology and towards a richer understanding of trichotillomania. The study’s limitations, implications for future research, and final thoughts are also discussed.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Texas at Austin, 1999. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 190-209). Available also in a digital version from Dissertation Abstracts.

Thesis (M.A.)--Miami University, Dept. of Psychology, 2003. / Title from first page of PDF document. Document formatted into pages; contains iv, 78 p. Includes bibliographical references (p. 63-67).

(no abstract available) / Series: SRE - Discussion Papers

The role of the practitioner assessing social-emotional functioning of deaf and hard of hearing (DHH) youth is complex and requires extensive cultural, linguistic, and educational training. The range of required competencies, the insufficient number of professionals currently in practice, the dire need for service provision, and the ultimate influence of service provision on youth functioning merit deeper exploration of the challenges faced while assessing social-emotional functioning. This study employs a grounded theory approach to analyze semi-structured interview data from 13 school- and community-based professionals to explore challenges related to the assessment and conceptualization of social-emotional functioning of DHH youth. Seven key categories emerged from the data: challenges in early training and supervision, challenges in gathering sufficient background information, dual challenges in employing specialized assessment and therapy techniques, challenges in writing descriptions of youth functioning, challenges in working with interpreters, and the need for professional support. Future directions and implications for future generations of practitioners are discussed. / text

Background: Paediatric pharmacovigilance is a recognised priority due to the vulnerability of children to adverse drug reactions (ADRs). The UK Yellow Card Scheme is central to pharmacovigilance, but other complementary methods have been suggested. The introduction of the community health index (CHI) in all NHS contacts in Scotland provides opportunities to link prescribing and health utilization data and thereby identify new ADR signals. The views of healthcare professionals (HCPs) on the linkage of NHS data for pharmacovigilance purposes in children have not been explored: the aim of this research was to explore the acceptability of linking routinely collected healthcare data to inform the design of a new system for pharmacovigilance in children. Methods: A mixed methods study was conducted involving interviews, focus-groups and a threeround Delphi survey with HCPs in Scotland. The survey was structured using the Theoretical Domains Framework of behaviour change. Results were triangulated. Ethical approval was granted by the North of Scotland Research Ethics Service. Results Interviews (n=23) identified issues with security, anonymisation and legal challenges that should be addressed prior to implementation. Focus-group participants (n=22, 6 groups) additionally identified potential issues with the feasibility of the planned data linkage and latent liability issues from dissemination of findings. The Delphi survey initially covered the issues identified in the preceding work. Retained items after three rounds focused on professional standards, requirements for linkage and the use and format of feedback. The proposed data linkage was perceived as positive and necessary, with participants in all three studies highlighting the benefits for research and for patients. Conclusion: The development of a paediatric linked database has support from professional stakeholders and HCPs in Scotland. The proposed data linkage was perceived to meet a service need. No insurmountable issues were identified, but key issues should be addressed prior to implementation.

This article summarizes findings from studies that employed electronic mail (e-mail) for conducting indepth interviewing. It discusses the benefits of, and the challenges associated with, using e-mail interviewing in qualitative research. The article concludes that while a mixed mode interviewing strategy should be considered when possible, e-mail interviewing can be in many cases a viable alternative to face-to-face and telephone interviewing. A list of recommendations for carrying out effective e-mail interviews is presented.

This thesis investigates four different aspects of information security management: challenges faced by security practitioners, interactive collaborations among security practitioners and other stakeholders, diagnostic work performed by security practitioners during the response to incidents, and factors that impact the adoption of an intrusion detection system in one organization. Our approach is based on qualitative analyzes of empirical data from semi-structured interviews and participatory observation. For each theme under study, the contributions of the qualitative analysis are twofold. First, we provide a richer understanding of the main factors that affect the security within organizations. Second, equipped with this richer understanding, we provide recommendations on how to improve security tools, along with opportunities for future research. Our findings contribute to the understanding of the human, organizational, and technological factors that affect security in organizations and the effectiveness of security tools. Our work also highlights the need for continued refinement of how factors interplay by obtaining more rich data (e.g., contextual inquiry), and the need to generalize and validate these findings through other sources of information to study how these factors interplay (e.g., surveys).

This study examined helping and hindering factors that influence the experiences of forensic psychiatric patients in the forensic system, and describes implications for practice. A qualitative approach was used to delineate which factors patients report are helpful and which ones are reported as hindering within a forensic inpatient hospital. Ten participants were interviewed using Critical Incident Technique to elicit their experiences since coming to a Forensic Psychiatric Inpatient Hospital. Results indicated that the factors that were helpful were: talking with staff, programming and services, and taking prescribed medications. Hindering factors included: exposure to illicit drugs, exposure to violence, programming and services, stigmatism, living on a maximum security ward, lack of respect from the staff, and concerns involving prescribed medication. The results of this research are discussed in light of how this present research supports the extant research and theories. Implications and recommendations at both a clinician and system level within forensic psychiatric services are offered.