This thesis focuses on psychosocial interventions for psychosis. It consists of two parts: a systematic review on quality of life in forensic settings and an empirical study on negative symptoms. The systematic review follows the publication guidelines of the journal International Journal of Forensic Mental Health whilst the empirical study follows the publication guidelines of the journal Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy. Reasonable adjustments have been made to the formatting of this thesis to enhance readability. Purpose: The systematic literature review aimed to summarise and critically appraise studies that have evaluated the effects of psychosocial interventions for psychotic disorders in forensic settings on quality of life. The empirical study aimed to evaluate the feasibility of Metacognitive Training (MCT) for negative symptoms and to identify mechanisms of change. Methods: The literature was systematically searched (using four databases) for research that included any quantitative measure of quality of life (i.e. self-esteem, quality of life, life satisfaction, and/or self-efficacy in relation to life-goals). In the empirical study, a new intervention was developed by modifying MCT for negative symptoms and four aspects of feasibility were evaluated: acceptability, practicality, demand and limited efficacy. The quantitative approach was supplemented with qualitative interviews on participants' views of the intervention. In addition, potential mechanisms of change were evaluated using a promising new method for analysing data from case-series: multilevel modeling. Results: In total, 10 papers met the inclusion criteria in the systematic review. Significant improvements in quality of life were found in five studies. The modified version of MCT showed good feasibility as demonstrated by the attendance rate, the positive oral feedback from participants and the multidisciplinary team, and the improvements on negative symptoms that were found following the intervention. Multilevel modeling proved useful in explaining the variance attributable to three different predictors: depression, internalised stigma, and reflective functioning. Conclusions: It was found that quality of life can be improved in forensic settings using psychosocial interventions. The pilot study indicated that MCT for negative symptoms has high feasibility and that changes in negative symptoms can partially be explained by depression, stigma, and reflective functioning.
Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:bl.uk/oai:ethos.bl.uk:756498 |
Date | January 2018 |
Creators | Eriksson, Linda Kristina |
Contributors | Griffiths, Helen ; Schwannauer, Matthias |
Publisher | University of Edinburgh |
Source Sets | Ethos UK |
Detected Language | English |
Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
Source | http://hdl.handle.net/1842/31197 |
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