There are many negative consequences of childhood sexual abuse, (Browne Finkelhor, 1990). These effects do not vanish with adulthood and some adults stay scarred for life. However, it has been noted that some victims of childhood sexual abuse recover better than others regardless of the particular type of abuse. Could this adaptation be related to, or represent "hardiness" of the adult? The purpose of this report is to explore the hardiness of adult victims of child sexual abuse and the adaptation strategies practiced. To achieve this goal, The Health Related Hardiness Scale, created by Susan Pollock, PhD. was adopted. Data was collected from fifteen adult females who, by their own definition were sexually abused as children. They completed the HRHS questionnaire and a demographic questionnaire. Data analysis revealed a significant p-value of 0.0002 indicating that support is an important component to "buffer" the negative effects of stress. However this study revealed a high level of hardiness overall in the participating individuals

This thesis is a descriptive analysis of a milieu programme, giving specific attention to its groupwork methods and contributions which is in operation at Warrendale, a residential treatment home for emotionally disturbed girls situated in Newmarket, Ontario. Against a brief history of the institution, it gives the theoretical basis of the work done with children, using the milieu concept as pioneered by Fritz Redl and Bruno Bettleheim. The institution uses caseworkers and groupworkers as residential staff, dealing directly with the children, but only the group work aspects of the programme are considered here. Three aspects of the total milieu are considered; (a) routines and rules; (b) leisure-time activities and the community; (c) discipline and problem-handling. Parts of the life of the institution are illustrated and analyzed in relation to the various therapeutic goals of the institution; (a) tension reduction; (b) individuality; (c) gaining relationships; (d) expression and release of feelings. The value of these three aspects are also considered for their diagnostic value. The contribution and use of group skills in the milieu setting are considered in the light of the therapeutic goals mentioned above. The group session is the principal technique considered, and the interpretive and goal setting values of group sessions are brought out. The significance of celebrating social festivities and the special uses of group sessions as expressive media are also exemplified as a part of group skills. The overall contributions, and possibilities of improvement, are summarized in a concluding chapter. / Arts, Faculty of / Social Work, School of / Graduate

This thesis is an ethnographic account of the daily life of an outpatient centre for the treatment of non-psychotic patients. The centre is located in a university setting and is nominally attached to a university mental hospital. The setting is described and the case is made that it normally allows for only two categories of participant: patients and therapists. The situated activity of these two groups in structuring the setting is a major focus of the work. The roles embodied in the two categories are described in detail and the way in which these roles interlock to create the social reality that is understood by the participants as a "therapeutic community" is set out. A belief system which is embedded in, and a determinant of each role is proposed. The practice of "doing therapy" is described and a preliminary formulation of this practice as a situated activity which depends on the social structure of the setting is attempted. A section which describes the observer's experiences in the setting is included as an appendix. It is argued that because the setting allows for only two classes of participant, the observer role is seen as deviant and that this leads to mistrust on the part of both sets of participants. / Arts, Faculty of / Anthropology, Department of / Graduate

M.Cur. (Psychiatric Nursing) / Please refer to full text to view abstract

Vol. 2, Case studies, confidential. / Die benadering wat in hierdie studie toegepas is, is dié van die psigiatriese maatskaplike werker. Dit beteken dat die fokus hoofsaaklik op die psigo-maatskaplike aspekte van homoseksualiteit, sowel as die maatskaplike funksionering van die homoseksuele persone, gerig is. Die basiese kennis van die psigiatriese maatskaplike werker is geleë in persoonlikheidsontwikkeling wat ten nouste met die psigo-seksuele ontwikkelingstadia saamval. Gesinsdinamika sowel as persoonlikheidsdinamika is dus faktore wat as essensiële studiemateriaal deur die psigiatriese maatskaplike werker beskou word. Die studie moes egter uitgebrei word om ander aspekte ook te behels, veral weens die hoogs-gekompliseerde en menigvuldige aard van hornoseksualiteit as verskynsel. Sosiologiese faktore wat die sosiale milieu van die mens grotendeels bepaal, moes ingesluit word, asook die toepassing van sosiale sanksies wat ten nouste saamhang met verskynsels soos stigma, konflikte en baie ander veranderlikes. Regsaspekte kon allermins oor die hoof gesien word - hulle bepaal die raamwerk waarin homoseksueles lee£ en weerspieël in belangrike wyses die houdings van die gemeenskap. Terapie moes ook bespreek word, beide om die bydrae van maatskaplike werk te bestudeer en om die bydraes van ander beroepe in verband te sien.

No description available.

Includes bibliography. / This study is an investigation of the psychosocial trauma of stillbirth and the implications of that trauma for case management. Stillbirth is considered a crisis for parents that calls for immediate intervention and constructive management. It strains family coping mechanisms and can overwhelm them if not properly handled. Additionally, a grief response follows a stillbirth which must be recognised, accepted, and treated therapeutically if needed. Parents' problems and needs have not been adequately met by medical, social or community services. There is also little recognition of the training needed by medical personnel in the management of stillbirths. Stillbirth is also a crisis for medical personnel as the delivery of a dead baby evokes feelings of confusion and stress for those dealing with the confinement and aftercare. By highlighting the psychological and emotional sequelae of stillbirths for parents, the needs of parents after the event, and the needs of personnel providing care, the writer intended to contribute to an improved understanding of the issues related to stillbirth and, ultimately, to more compassionate care for those who experience this unhappy event. Issues analyzed and recorded are as follows: The emotional and physical reactions of mothers following a stillbirth; the assistance that parents need in order to adjust constructively; the impact that the stillbirth has upon the family; the mothers' interpretation of their management in hospital; and the hospital and community services rendered and needed to assist with constructive adjustment. Study data was collected over a six month period. Subjects were selected from one hospital and were residents of the municipal areas of Cape Town. Two face-to-face interviews were conducted with each respondent using a semi-structured interview schedule. The first interview, which took place within a week of the mothers' discharge from hospital, gathered data on the reactions of the respondents to stillbirth, the impact of stillbirth on the family, and respondents' interpretation of their management in hospital. This interview was tape-recorded. The second interview followed the interview schedule and obtained information on the needs of families after a stillbirth. Data was coded on the interview schedules and statistical analysis was done by computer. The findings of this study agreed with previous ones, that mothers display typical grief reactions after a stillbirth. The stillbirth was experienced as a disappointment that caused significant distress for the majority of mothers. Management was found to be satisfactory with the exception of post-natal placement. The need for options in this area became evident. A lack of social and psychological services, both within the hospital and in the community, was found. Using knowledge gained from this study, a support organization for parents experiencing stillbirths has been organized with the writer's assistance. A breakdown in communication between the hospital and the local authority health nursing services, in terms of knowledge about the stillbirth, was apparent, and improvement in this area is needed. Recommended guidelines for management based on the research findings and literature review have been proposed. The role of the social worker, doctor and nursing sister have been outlined.

As the world's largest social networking site, Facebook, continues to grow in popularity, it is imperative for counselors and counselor educators to better understand how online environments impact all facets of life, including death. Grief behaviors on Facebook have been a focus of scholars since the launch of the social networking site in 2004. Researchers have demonstrated that Facebook memorial pages have a significant impact on the social and cultural practices related to death and memorialization for Facebook users. However, despite a rapid rise in research related to online mourning, researchers have yet been able to establish the potential risk or benefit of engaging in online memorial pages and continuing bonds with the deceased. The purpose of this study was to increase understanding of the relationship between participation in Facebook memorial pages and grief symptom severity and persistence for adults living in the United States who have experienced the death loss of a friend or family member since 2009. The continuing bonds theory was used to guide the foundation of this study and interpret findings. Using online survey methods, data was collected from 225 Facebook users. Results of a multiple regression revealed no relationship between Facebook memorial page participation and grief severity but demonstrated a statistically significant relationship between Facebook memorial page participation and grief persistence. These findings are crucial to aiding social change related to an expansion of counselor awareness of the cultural implications of online mourning and the influence virtual mourning may have on appropriate diagnosis of grief related disorders.

In this article, the investigators present a new method using a deep learning approach to diagnose schizophrenia. In the experiment presented, the investigators have used a secondary dataset provided by National Institutes of Health. The aforementioned experimentation involves analyzing this dataset for existence of schizophrenia using traditional machine learning approaches such as logistic regression, support vector machine, and random forest. This is followed by application of deep learning techniques using three hidden layers in the model. The results obtained indicate that deep learning provides state-of-the-art accuracy in diagnosing schizophrenia. Based on these observations, there is a possibility that deep learning may provide a paradigm shift in diagnosing schizophrenia.

Thesis (M.S.)--Boston University / PLEASE NOTE: Boston University Libraries did not receive an Authorization To Manage form for this thesis or dissertation. It is therefore not openly accessible, though it may be available by request. If you are the author or principal advisor of this work and would like to request open access for it, please contact us at open-help@bu.edu. Thank you. / 2031-01-01