<p> Despite the trends showing a reduction in the use and abuse of drugs among American adolescents, the prevalence rates remain high. There is also comorbidity of mental illnesses among the adolescents using drugs. The aim of this study was to determine the presence and nature of the association between the use and abuse of marijuana and alcohol and mental illnesses among the American adolescent population. The noted comorbidities and the hypothesized association between the substance abuse and mental illnesses were explained using the expectancy theory. Using a quantitative research methodology, secondary data from the National Survey on Drug Use and Health for 2014 and 2015 were analyzed. Data analysis yielded a positive but weak association between use and abuse of alcohol and marijuana through proxies such as marijuana use in the past month (<i>p</i> = 0.01), first use of marijuana (<i> p</i> = 0.016), alcohol use disorder in the past year (<i>p</i> = 0.002), alcohol dependence in the past year (<i>p</i> = 0.001), and the occurrence of mental illnesses. The association was statistically significant in all proxies except alcohol use in the past month. <i> F</i>-test results were also statistically significant (<i>p</i> = 0.022, <i>R</i>² = 0.242). The findings showed that adolescents who used marijuana and alcohol were more likely to develop mental illnesses. It is recommended for relevant federal and state governments and public health agencies to develop social programs to address the two issues inclusively rather than exclusively.</p><p>

<p> Throughout history, people suffering from a mental illness or emotional crisis have been treated quite differently. The accepted treatments of the day could be cruel, and sometimes deadly. Within these times, there have also been people who questioned treatment-as-usual, particularly when they viewed that treatment as either unhelpful or dangerous. Alternative treatment programs have been developed with varying success. CooperRiis is a therapeutic healing community in North Carolina that opened in 2003. It is providing an alternative to treatment-as-usual to inpatient psychiatric hospitalization. This case study aimed to investigate whether there was a flexibility within the organization that allowed it to adapt to the changing needs within its own community, as well as to continue operating within the larger mental health community, to remain operational. The findings resulted in different revelations. It was discovered that the process of how decisions are made impact the community differently. Also, whether a leader is connected or disconnected from the community has a significant impact on it. These aspects, in particular, can influence feelings of empowerment or disempowerment within the community. Recommendations are provided both for where CooperRiis could benefit from more focus, as well as aspects of the programming it is doing well. In many of the alternative programs that are developed, a common thread is the focus on connection, as well as finding the humanity within both the providers and recipients of help. CooperRiis is yet another example of how this community, connection, and humanity is the therapy that heals.</p><p>

<p> This study brings attention to the growing body of literature examining the role of culture and context in the study of generation-status differences in cross-cultural coping and physical well-being among immigrants to the United State. Prior literature on the unique challenges, stressors, coping strategies, and health outcomes for immigrants provides a basis for hypothesized generation status differences on cross-cultural coping (collectivistic, avoidance, and engagement) and physical well-being (health, safety, and environmental). A sample of 118 male and female first, 1.5, and second-generation immigrants of non-European backgrounds, between the ages of 18 and 35, were recruited from the local community to complete an online questionnaire. Results from the cross-sectional study did not yield support for the hypothesized generational status differences. However, exploratory analyses yielded several significant correlations including a positive relationship between collective coping and the safety dimension of physical well-being. Within-generation exploratory analyses yielded several significant correlations and differences on measures of coping strategies and physical well-being for demographic/contextual factors such as religiosity, age, SES, English fluency, connection to the U.S. culture, education, and ethnicity amongst 1.5 and second-generation immigrants. The empirical investigation of cross-cultural dimensions of coping and physical well-being among immigrants represents a new direction for research. This study also has potential implications for more nuanced understandings of the immigrant paradox, the socioecological perspective of acculturation, collective coping, and inclusion of both objective and subjective experiences of the environment. Implications for theory and practice, methodological limitations, and suggestions for future research are also discussed.</p><p>

<p> A workplace critical incident is any event which disrupts or impacts the functioning of a business, e.g., death of an employee, downsizing or robbery. Critical incident responders (CIRs) are specially trained licensed mental health professionals who respond to workplace critical incidents as support to both the employees and the business organization through applied crisis theory and as a business continuity resource. The goal of a workplace response is to return employees to their pre-crisis level of functioning. CIRs are required to become certified in a multi-component crisis intervention technique. Prior to this study, no data existed regarding how closely CIRs adhered to intervention models or what theoretical frameworks informed their practice. This study sought to understand, from the perspective of the workplace CIR, what practices they employ and why. The design was a two phased, sequential, mixed method explanatory design. Phase one was a quantitative internet based survey (n = 110) and phase two was a qualitative phone interview (n = 12) designed to enhance the understanding of phase one results and provide rich data on the experiences of workplace CIRs. The conceptual frameworks for this study were theories of crisis, crisis intervention and constructivism. The results found that CIRs demonstrate autonomy in deciding which interventions to apply during a response. Type and nature of the crisis as well as timing of response from the event influenced the CIRs&rsquo; approach. CIRs are informed by brief treatment modalities and even though CIRs have limited understanding of the phrase business continuity, they still provide the services. CIRs described modifying Mitchell&rsquo;s CISD Model to address the needs of civilians in the workplace. Primary activities are assessing, normalizing and educating. Results will further the understanding of critical incident response and enhance the current best practice models.</p><p>

Vegetarians are a unique social minority group because they fail to engage in dominant social norms with respect to meat consumption. Research has revealed that vegetarians reported lower self-esteem, lower psychological adjustment, less meaning in life, more negative moods, and more negative social experiences than omnivores. These experiences may be the result of experiencing ostracism, exclusion, disrespect, and derogation from omnivores. Although previous research has shown that omnivores report relatively positive explicit attitudes toward vegetarians, these reports can be susceptible to social desirability biases and may undermine the degree of negativity of omnivores’ attitudes toward vegetarians. To understand the nature of attitudes towards vegetarians, the current study examined both the explicit and implicit attitudes of omnivores towards vegetarians. To assess explicit attitudes, we used the Attitude Toward Vegetarians Scale (ATVS) and a feeling thermometer. To assess implicit attitudes, we used a modified version of the Implicit Association Test. We also assessed social dominance orientation (SDO), human supremacy beliefs, and meat attachment as potential predictors of attitudes. Results from 275 college students who self-identified as omnivores and flexitarians revealed that while participants had positive explicit attitudes towards vegetarians, their implicit attitudes were neither positive nor negative. Further, there were sex differences such that men had negative implicit attitudes, while women had neutral implicit attitudes towards vegetarians. Finally, we found that SDO and meat dependence predicted explicit attitudes, while dietary habits uniquely predicted implicit attitudes towards vegetarians. The findings from the current study contribute to our understanding of attitudes towards vegetarians and may explain why vegetarians report negative social experiences with their omnivore peers.

The aims of the present study were threefold: firstly, to further the understanding of the psychological response to heart disease; secondly, to consider the differences in the ways in which doctors and patients perceive heart disease; and thirdly, to consider how the doctor, patient, and condition interact within the illness process over a period of time. The nature of coronary heart disease (CHD) was considered, and the influence of psychological variables in CHD was discussed. Psychological factors in illness were examined, with particular emphasis on health beliefs, illness behaviour, compliance, and the doctor-patient relationship. Conclusions were drawn that to understand the illness process in heart disease, doctor, patient, and condition must be considered together, in an interactional framework. Two pilot studies were performed. The first study found that heart patients' health beliefs differed from a normal population. The second pilot study, with raised cholesterol patients, suggested the existence of five major components of the illness process: illness perception, illness effect, health orientation, doctor-patient relationship, and compliance. The main study considered groups of heart and cholesterol patients (experimental groups) and a group of general outpatients (control group), over a four-to-six month period. Patients were interviewed and given a questionnaire concerning their feelings regarding their condition. Doctors and judges also completed similar questionnaires. Results indicate that cholesterol patients rate superior coping to the other groups, and both experimental groups were higher than controls with regard to patient understanding, responsibility for health, and communication with doctor. Findings suggests alterations should be made in current conceptualization of illness behaviour. and that patient and doctor assessment of condition severity were found to be unrelated to illness behaviour. Doctor and patient perception of patient behaviour were found to be discrepant. Modifications in the treatment of heart and cholesterol patients are suggested.

Yoga postures (asana) and yoga breathing techniques (pranayama) could be an effective method of treating Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). This study investigates the importance of the style of yoga treatment (pranayama, asana, or both) and the frequency with which these interventions are conducted (two or five times per week). The participants in this study will be military personnel with diagnosed PTSD who are currently receiving CBT and pharmaceutical treatment. All participants will have their PTSD symptoms assessed before the study begins, and then once a week each of the 12 weeks of the study. Structured interviews will be administered to both participants and loved ones of participants before and after the study in order to verify construct validity. It is proposed that all groups will show improvement in all three styles (asana, pranayama, and both) over the span of 12 weeks and the groups that practice five times a week will improve more than groups that practice twice a week. Therefore, participants who practice both pranayama and asana twice a week will have the most decrease in PTSD symptoms.

Aims: This study aims to explore the experience of osteoarthritis (OA) in older adults, drawing on concepts from the literature on chronic illness including social-cognition models (e.g. Self-Regulatory Model) and cognitive concepts (e.g. self-schema). Design and Participants: A qualitative research design and Phenomenological Interpretative Analysis Methodology were used. Sixteen participants were interviewed. Ten were recruited from an orthopaedic surgical waiting list source and six from a GP source: age ranged from 67 to 79 years, and history of osteoarthritis ranged from one to 35 years. Measures: A semi-structured interview schedule was designed and piloted, based on the research literature. Results: Analysis identified the following themes: Demands of OA (pain, impact on activity, and impact on mood); Perceptions ofOA (onset/deterioration, cause, label, seriousness, prognosis); Strategies to manage OA (use of health services, changes in behaviour, psychological strategies, appraisal of strategies); Perception of Self (compared to past/future/others) and Contextual factors (age, co-morbidity, waiting list). Links between themes were reciprocal, and a tentative model ofOA is presented. Implications: A comprehensive model of the experience of chronic illness could provide a framework to guide interventions for direct clinical interventions (e.g. adjustment to chronic illness, pain management, identification of psychological comorbidity) and indirect interventions (e.g. consultancy with other health professionals).

Creative arts education is integral to the diverse, extramural, formally taught and non-accredited landscapes of Adult Education. Traditionally popular with adults in later life, it is correlated with improvements in subjective well-being (Hughes and Adriaanse, 2017), health (Humphrey et al., 2011) and social inclusion (Feinstein et al., 2008). However, UK government support for arts curricula is in decline (Hughes et al., 2016), despite the rising demographics for older age groups (Office for National Statistics (ONS), 2018). Funding for remaining programmes is increasingly rationalised through perceived improvements to well-being (Hughes et al., 2016) and the attainment of objective and functional learning outcomes (Schuller, 2017). This thesis explores the relationships of three women in later life with creative arts education. The interpretive bricolage methodology draws together their experiences and considers the impacts of rationalising education exclusively through objective criteria. The research material is analysed using writing-as-inquiry and emergent interpretations are refined in iterative dialogues between researcher and participants. Thus, meaning is made in a 'continuing realignment of life events and life possibilities' (Rolling, 2010, p.157). The analysis is (re)presented as a series of evocative narratives, interwoven with the reflexive and autoethnographic positioning of the researcher. This process seeks to 'fracture the boundaries that normally separate social science from literature' (Ellis and Bochner, 2000, p.744). The research highlights the participants' perceptions of motivational factors, barriers and constraints and explores aspects of personal meaning-making, spirituality and transformation. It also illustrates the importance of 'place' in fostering collaborative learning and curiosity and questions fixed notions of well-being. The latter is reconceptualised as 'well-becoming' to acknowledge its fluid and transient qualities. The women's experiences are set against a prevailing culture of accountability and lie beyond the immediate gaze of policymakers. Therefore, the research assists in promoting more sustainable and context-appropriate practice by exploring some of the otherwise 'unseen' landscapes of Adult Education in later life.

Background: Respiratory disorders manifest themselves with chest symptoms including shortness of breath and decline in lung function. An innovative cost-effective therapy is needed and there is a growing body of evidence to suggest that singing in a group may have health and wellbeing benefits for these patients. Method: The key objectives of this research were to review current knowledge and to evaluate the potential impact of group singing as an intervention for health and wellbeing. The research is divided into three components which aimed to: - Review, synthesise and consolidate current research in the area of singing for COPD. - Evaluate the impact of group singing on health and wellbeing for a group of COPD patients - Evaluate the usability of specially designed resources for home practice for respiratory patients. Results: A broad systematic review showed that availability of high quality evidence that singing for COPD improves physical health, dyspnoea or respiratory-specific quality of life is still very limited. This is due to the low number of high quality studies and small sample sizes. The study reported here found statistically significant positive changes in both total mean Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Wellbeing Scale (WEMWBS) and COPD Assessment Test (CAT) scores for twenty-one COPD participants of two community singing groups over a twelve-week period. These changes were maintained up to thirty-weeks for sixteen participants that continued. The research also successfully piloted the use of resources designed for self management. Conclusion: There are promising findings from this and other studies on the impact of singing for COPD on health and wellbeing. However, the outcomes of this research are consistent with those outlined in recent reviews and it is recommended that larger randomised controlled trials with longer durations are conducted.