Thesis--Wisconsin. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 108-122).

Thesis (M.A.)--University of Wisconsin--Madison, 1967. / eContent provider-neutral record in process. Description based on print version record. Includes bibliographical references.

M.A. (Psychology) / Communication patterns were studied in four families, each possessing an identified schizophrenic member'. Traditional and current concepts about schizophrenia and various theories about communication were reviewed. Adistinction was made between healthy and pathological communication. The family as a communicational unit was discussed in the light of general systems theory. An extensive survey of family studies of schizophrenia was undertaken. From this review of research three general questions emerged on which the hypotheses of this study are founded. The questions are: (a) To what extent is pathological communication found in families with an identified schizophrenic member? (b) To what extent is the absence of healthy communication found in these families? (c) What indications can be found that the combination of different communication patterns is unique for each of these families? In this thesis healthy communication is defined as the presence of adequate levels of empathy, warmth and congruence among the family members. These levels were measured on three rating scales measuring empathy, warmth and congruence respectively. Pathological communication is delineated here as the effort to avoid the definition of relationships, coupled with enmeshment between family members and the unclear definition of power relations in the family. This communication was measured by a process analysis of the family's interaction. The results of the measurements of healthy and pathological communication were taken together to assess whether different combinations of communication patterns could be found when the families were compared with each other...

This study is to examine the meaning of recovery and its making process among people with mental health problems from a person-centered perspective in Hong Kong. By employing a qualitative research approach, this study attempts to explore the strategies and practices deployed by people with schizophrenia for overcoming the daily difficulties and challenges caused by their illness. A total of 14 persons with schizophrenia living in the community were invited to participate in the in-depth interview.. Three major types of strategies and practices employed by people with mental health problems are revealed in the study. They can be categorised into medical, personal and social practices. In the recovery process, it is suggested that people with mental health problems are active agents. Based on their social situations and resources, they creatively invent and deploy tailor-made coping strategies and practices for overcoming their daily struggles and challenges.. With the use of the person-centered perspective, it is evident that the meaning of recovery of persons with schizophrenia is highly subjective. Five emerging themes have been identified throughout the recovery process, including developing a social role, achieving acceptance of one's own mental health problems, developing a positive sense of self, developing a new meaning and purpose in one's life and finally, taking responsibility of one's wellbeing. These themes highlight the complexity and uniqueness of people with mental problems in Hong Kong.. In sum, the study bridges the research gaps in understanding the conceptualisation of recovery in the local context. It helps to extend the discussion and analysis of recovery beyond the western medical paradigms. Moreover, this study clarifies three major types of coping strategies and practices deployed by people with mental health problems, particularly those with schizophrenia, and attempts to establish an analytical framework in understanding these strategies and practices. Finally, the delineation of the decision making process, including the social context and the rationales of the use of various coping strategies and practices opens up new possibilities in understanding the mechanism of recovery.

M.A. (Psychology) / The present study investigated the diagnostic usefulness of a content analysis of the verbal behaviour of schizophrenic patients. The schizophrenic condition was approached via a cognitive social developmental model of personality. The high-risk schizophrenic constitutionally does not seem to be equipped to cope with potential threats from his environment, such as unstable conditions or ambigious interpersonal relationships and communication. He could subsequently adjust poorly to his environment and he learns to perceive, process and produce information in a disturbed manner. The disturbance seems particularly evident in the schizophrenic person's incompetent communication with and participation in his world. He could progress further towards a condition characterized by withdrawal, fear and other forms of mental suffering, and a lack of identity. These three abovementioned features of the schizophrenic condition - as viewed relative to "normal" states - were introduced into three experimental situations, represented respectively by the words "daydreaming", "pain" and a topic "self". Each of the 25 diagnozed male schizophrenics were asked to talk about these concepts (presented to them in the form of words written on cards) in any way they liked. Their responses to these situations were analyzed by means of a specifically designed content analysis model of verbal behaviour. For the purpose of this study, verbal behaviour denotes the person's relative degree of communicative competence, which appears to reflect the nature and progress of his schizophrenic condition. Verbal behaviour was interdependently analyzed on three levels. The first of these, language structure, assessed the schizophrenic person in terms of the more latent aspects of disturbed thinking, such as thought blocking and failure to integrate ideas. An assessment was also made of these language deviations as they were reflected in syntactical structures. On a second level, semantic content, subjects' verbal productions were analysed in terms of themes which represented their major preoccupations. The effect of the three experimental situations on the semantic content of the subjects' responses was also investigated. The third level of content analysis, language behaviour, dealt with the schizophrenic individual's verbal and nonverbal reactions to his perceived environment. It appears that the schizophrenic person projects his condition through his communicative competence, into symbolic representations of his condition. The projections seem to coincide with stages of progression of the schizophrenic condition, or degree of disturbance. This tendency, as well as certain others investigated in the present study, ted to the formation of hypotheses which can be investigated in further research. It would appear that the quantification of communicated material in the clinical or other interview, has diagnostic value.

No description available.

The process of making judgments and formulating convictions is a vital function performed by all human beings. Successful accomplishment of such tasks usually involves the integration of interoceptive cues (i.e. past experience, feeling states, etc.) with exteroceptive, or objective, information. Often, personal idiosyncracies determine the relative amount of flexibility with which convictions or opinions are held, regardless of contradictory information.

No description available.

Thesis (M. Soc. Sc.)--University of Hong Kong, 1998. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 119-124).

Thesis (M.Soc.Sc.)--University of Hong Kong, 1998. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 119-124) Also available in print.