Mental Health in the Undocuqueer Community

Trauma is increasingly experienced by people in transit as border militarization increases migrants’ exposure to violence and forces them into more precarious situations. For queer migrants, this includes situations where they are more likely to experience persecution and sexual violence. This presentation explores the availability of care for queer undocumented migrants in the United States after surviving a precarious and potentially deadly journey from their country of origin to the US, as well as forms of alternative care developed by the undocuqueer community. In particular, I focus on access to care for LGBT migrants, who face stigmatization on multiple levels and as a result are more likely than their straight counterparts to experience extreme mental health consequences pre-, in-, and post-transit. Faced with a number of obstacles that prevent them from receiving appropriate mental health care, the undocuqueer community utilizes various strategies to ensure that the health and needs of the community are supported. I argue that in spite of facing traumatic experiences and being unable to fully access healthcare to alleviate these problems in the US, LGBT migrants demonstrate extreme resilience and resist the mechanisms that otherwise threaten their mental well-being

The Shattered Slipper Project: The Impact of the Disney Princess Franchise on Girls Ages 6-12

The Disney Princess franchise is arguably the largest and most popular franchise in the world, earning billions of dollars globally each year. Due to the prevalence and ease of access, the Disney princesses have a tremendous impact on today’s youth, namely young girls. This qualitative study investigated just how much of an impact the Disney Princess franchise has on American girls ages 6-12 through the production of a documentary film, entitled The Shattered Slipper Project. The research team selected girls from private schools in Lakeland, Florida and Sharpsburg, Georgia. The researcher conducted two interviews—one a roundtable-style group interview focusing on body image and a personal interview focusing on gender roles and race. With regards to body image, the girls communicated that Disney princesses have body types different than those of real women, and that, by animating the characters in such a way, the Walt Disney Company sends certain messages about what body types are ideal. The girls expressed progressive values with regards to gender roles and race, looking beyond traditional masculine and feminine roles and the prejudices that continue to characterize America’s cultural landscape

BIOPSYCHOSOCIAL INFLUENCES ON CHILDREN’S EVENT RECALL AND RECALL PERSPECTIVE FOR EMOTIONAL EVENTS

The findings of studies examining the impact of emotion on memory are mixed. One possible reason for the inconsistent findings is that individual differences in memory for emotional events have not been taken into account (Goodman, Quas, Batterman-Faunce, Riddlesberger & Kuhn, 1997). Another possible reason for the inconsistent findings in the literature may be that arousal and valence, the two components of emotion, are not measured independently (Brainerd, Holliday, Reyna, Yang, & Toglia, 2010). The main purpose of the current study was to determine the manner in which factors that exist before (i.e., age, gender, attachment, temperament), during (i.e., emotional valence, emotional arousal), and following an event (i.e., interview techniques, recall perspectives) account for variance in children’s recall of emotional events and which factors account for the most variance. Further objectives of this study were to examine the manner in which emotion, age of the memory and age and gender of the child account for variance in the recall perspective children use to retrieve emotional memories as well as whether field and observer recall perspectives differ in terms of the amount of anxiety children experience during recall. One hundred children completed self-report measures and described two positive and two negative events; one of each was highly arousing and one was minimally arousing. Age and temperament were the strongest predictors of children’s overall event recall, recall of different memory components, and recall of central and peripheral details. Consistent with the hypotheses presented, older children, and children with increased behavioural flexibility, approach tendencies, and a more positive quality of mood reported more details in their event narratives. Increases in the intensity of valence and arousal in negative memories were associated with enhanced event recall. Further, once variance in the number of details recalled, shared by valence and arousal, was removed emotional valence best accounted for increases in the number of details children recall from negative events. Children who used the first person (field) recall perspective recalled more contextual and behavioural details of memories with negative valence and high arousal and more sensory/somatosensory details of memories with positive valence and high arousal than children who used the third person (observer) recall perspective. The Comprehensive Narrative Elaboration Technique was associated with increased reports of sensory details and more cognitive details of memories with negative valence and low arousal compared to the Narrative Elaboration Technique. Of the variables examined, only age of the memory was related to the recall perspective naturally chosen by children, highlighting differences between the adult and child literature. The degree of anxiety experienced by children did not vary as a result of recall perspective. It is important to understand the manner in which predisposing, precipitating, and perpetuating factors influence children’s recall. In forensic contexts, the quantity and quality of the information obtained from child witnesses during forensic interviews is often crucial to the outcome of a case (Marche, & Salmon, 2003). Information was obtained regarding the relative importance of variables that influence children’s memory which may assist researchers, clinicians, and interviewers in their understanding of children’s ability to recall event details

Understanding jumping to conclusions in patients with persecutory delusions: working memory and intolerance of uncertainty

Background. Persecutory delusions are a key psychotic experience. A reasoning style known as ‘jumping to conclusions’ (JTC) – limited information gathering before reaching certainty in decision making – has been identified as a contributory factor in the occurrence of delusions. The cognitive processes that underpin JTC need to be determined in order to develop effective interventions for delusions. In the current study two alternative perspectives were tested: that JTC partially results from impairment in information-processing capabilities and that JTC is a motivated strategy to avoid uncertainty.Method. A group of 123 patients with persistent persecutory delusions completed assessments of JTC (the 60:40 beads task), IQ, working memory, intolerance of uncertainty, and psychiatric symptoms. Patients showing JTC were compared with patients not showing JTC.Results. A total of 30 (24%) patients with delusions showed JTC. There were no differences between patients who did and did not jump to conclusions in overall psychopathology. Patients who jumped to conclusions had poorer working memory performance, lower IQ, lower intolerance of uncertainty and lower levels of worry.Working memory and worry independently predicted the presence of JTC.Conclusions. Hasty decision making in patients with delusions may partly arise from difficulties in keeping information in mind. Interventions for JTC are likely to benefit from addressing working memory performance, while in vivo techniques for patients with delusions will benefit from limiting the demands on working memory. The study provides little evidence for a contribution to JTC from top down motivational beliefs about uncertainty

National guide to a preventive health assessment for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people

The National guide to a preventive health assessment for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people was conceived and started by NACCHO in 2001 and went on to be supported by the RACGP from 2002. The first edition was published in 2005 and has proven to be widely used by health services and health policy makers to inform best practice in preventing disease in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander populations. This second edition has been significantly updated and improved, with appraisal and endorsement from peak bodies across Australia. The National Guide is a practical resource intended for all health professionals delivering primary healthcare to Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander people. Its purpose is to provide GPs and other health professionals with an accessible, user-friendly guide to best practice in preventive healthcare for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander patients. This second edition of the National Guide comprises: • the National Guide, which contains evidence statements, recommendations, risk calculation tables and an outline of the development of the guide • the evidence base: the collection of evidence underpinning the guide and recommendations (electronic only) (see the Methodology section ‘Searching the evidence base and drafting recommendations’) • a child and adult lifecycle summary chart listing activities recommended at each age group. The National Guide is available on the NACCHO and the RACGP websites at www. naccho.org.au and at www.racgp.org.au/aboriginalhealth/nationalguide. The National Guide is being integrated into clinical software over time to support primary healthcare professionals to implement best practice by providing them with accessible, accurate and up-to-date preventive health information relevant to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. For further information contact the RACGP National Faculty of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health on 03 8699 0499 or email [email protected]. Purpose: The National Guide is intended for all health professionals delivering primary healthcare to the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander population. This includes general practitioners (GPs), Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health workers, nurses and those specialists with a role in delivering primary healthcare. The National Guide makes specific recommendations regarding the elements of a preventive health assessment across the lifecycle of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander population. The aim of the National Guide is to provide an up-to-date, evidence-based national resource that can help inform health providers and policy makers on a defined set of activities that are of particular relevance to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. These activities may prevent disease, detect early and unrecognised disease, and promote health in the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander population while allowing for variations based on regional and local circumstances. The health status of Torres Strait Islander people is very similar to that of the Aboriginal population, and the information in the National Guide can be applied to both population groups