A self-administered social assets scale for predicting physical and psychological illness and health

Is the Danish Version of MATE Feasible? A Pilot Study on Feasibility and Adequacy

OBJECTIVE

Assessment is pivotal to the work of health care professionals and social workers, as it provides fundamental, systematic information that is essential when planning interventions. Many patients have addiction problems as well as psychiatric illness and they very often interact. An assessment tool addressing both areas would be beneficial for this large group of patients. This pilot study explores feasibility and adequacy of the Danish translation of the Measurements in Addiction for Triage and Evaluation (MATE) assessment in the following sectors: drug and alcohol treatment, psychiatry, and social service.

METHODS

Thirty staff members from psychiatric hospital, social services, and treatment institutions for alcohol and substance abuse were recruited. Staff that had direct contact with clients were planned to perform at least two MATE interviews.

RESULTS

Nineteen interviews were completed. Information gathered from MATE was reported to be adequate for making a triage decision, but psychiatric staff reported that MATE gathered too much irrelevant information, especially concerning daily life functioning. Overall feasibility was satisfactory, but staff and patients were at some points critical of wording, casting doubt on the understanding of some questions.

CONCLUSIONS

This pilot study found that MATE gathers relevant and sufficient information in an appropriate amount of time.

Psychosocial factors associated with physical growth and behavior adaptations of children with renal dysfunction

To probe factors related to growth in children with renal insufficiency, who often grow poorly, 21 patients age 2 to 10 yr. were studied. Relationships among height rates, calorie intake, and staff ratings of compliance were positive but nonsignificant. The balance of stresses and supports was significantly related to growth and ratings of adjustment. Variables related to parent-child-staff communications were explored.

Characteristics of Native American users of inhalants

The authors investigated a population of identified users of inhalants at a Native American boarding school and compared and contrasted the users to a control group of nonusers. The subjects included 62 adolescents of Native American descent (mean age of 16.6), classified into one nonuser control group (N = 20) and two user groups: onetime users (N = 21) and repeat users (N = 21). Measures of traditional Native American characteristics, desirable physical and psychological assets, academic achievement, grade point average, adherence to school policy, and self-concept were collected on each subject. A one-way analysis of variance was computed to determine the relationship that existed between the research variables and the membership of each subject in his or her respective groups. Findings are discussed, and similarities of the Native American inhalant users to inhalant users in the general adolescent population are noted.

Coping with chronic illness: strategy preferences, changes in preferences and associated emotional reactions

Coping strategy preferences, changes in those preferences and their associations with different patterns of psychological reaction were investigated in three studies of chronically ill patients. A simple self-appraisal device, consisting of the ranking of six clusters of strategies, was used to assess patients' coping preferences. In Study 1 patients were found to prefer optimism, and probably fatalism , more than non-patients, while non-patients preferred action strategies and, to some extent, interpersonal coping. In Study 2 coronary patients were bound to prefer more optimism strategies but fewer escape strategies than other chronically ill patients. All patients also changed some of their coping preferences over time, preferring optimism in hospital and fatalism at home. Study 3 showed preferences for action strategies to be associated with desirable psychological reaction patterns such as relatively little uncertainty and helplessness. Preferences for escape strategies were linked with patterns which may be less desirable, such as much anxiety and indirectly expressed anger. Optimism and fatalism , although preferred by many patients, were associated with patterns of psychological reaction in which desirable and undesirable elements were mixed. Preferences for control strategies proved to be linked with reactions of patients when in hospital only, while those for interpersonal coping proved to be reaction-linked only when patients were at home.

Social support and the social environment of depressed and normal women

A brief self-report measure of social support was administered initially to a student population, and then to a sample of hospitalized depressed women. Comparison of the responses of the 32 patients with 35 student women of similar age showed no differences between the groups in number of cohabitants or of casual friends, or in faith in the value of talking over one's problems. Patients were more likely than controls to report having no or few confidants, nobody confiding in them, and little confidence in being liked by others. Training in social skills specific to fostering intimacy is suggested as a therapeutic step, and modifications to the social support measure for future use discussed.

Solvent abuse: a review

The literature on solvent abuse is reviewed. Methods of use, symptoms of use, and effects of long-term solvent abuse are discussed. Several surveys on solvent use are summarized. The highest prevalence of solvent abuse seems to occur in native peoples undergoing periods of cultural change. Environmental conditions which are postulated as leading to psychological vulnerability and solvent abuse include: low social assets, parental drug use, peer and sibling influence, and acculturative stress. Solvent abuse seems to provide a pharmacological way out of a stressful environment for people who feel helpless to improve their situation in other ways. Methods of intervention that have been proposed for dealing with solvent abuse are discussed. Methods of intervention thus far employed generally have not been evaluated in any systematic fashion. Suggestions for future research are provided.

Life change and illness studies: past history and future directions

A selected review of life changes and illness studies is presented which illustrates both the diversity of samples that have been tests in these studies and the generally positive results which have been obtained. Although early (retrospective) work in this field led to simplistic explanations, later (prospective) studies have begun to document the several intervening variables which occur between subjects' recent life change experiences and their subsequent symptomatology and disease. A life change and illness model is presented to illustrate key intervening variables. The authors believe that future research in the field of life change and illness should concentrate on further delineations of these intervening variables--an effort necessitating active collaboration between social and medical scientists.

Incidence of recurrent herpes labialis and upper respiratory infection: a prospective study of the influence of biologic, social and psychologic predictors

In a 3-year prospective study of recurrent herpes labialis (RHL) in a population of 149 student nurses, 40 to 50 per cent of the variance in incidence could be explained by a small group of variables. Measures of previous experience with RHL accounted for the largest fraction of the explained variance, followed by upper respiratory infection (URI) rate, socioeconomic status, and mood trait, in order of declining influence. Timing of RHL episodes was not related to phase of the menstrual cycle.

Psychosomatic medicine--past, present, and future

"Psychosomatic" is not part of the average person's vocabulary, and most educated laymen know the meaning of "psychophysiological" and "somatopsychic." Without having words for the process, everyone senses that mental processes can influence bodily functioning and, certainly, that the sick body can produce a sick mind. Many explanations have been offered for the mechanisms underlying these processes--theories ranging from the irrational and religious to the philosophical and scientific. Scientific interest in these processes has been a relatively recent development, originating perhaps a few decades ago. It is time to take inventory, to review and consider the scientific history of psychosomatic medicine and the current status of the field. It is also fascinating to speculate on the developments and ramifications of psychosomatic medicine in the future.