Beyond neutrality: professionals’ responses to clients’ indirect complaints in a Therapeutic Community for people with a diagnosis of mental illness

Previous research has evidenced that in different institutional settings professionals are cautious when responding to clients’ indirect complaints and tend to avoid siding either with the clients/ complainants or the complained-of absent parties. In this article we use the method of Conversation Analysis to explore professional responses to clients’ indirect complaints in the context of a Therapeutic Community (TC) for people with diagnoses of mental illness in Italy. Although the TC staff members sometimes display a neutral orientation toward the clients’ complaints, as is the case in other institutional settings, in some instances they take a stance toward the clients’ complaints, either by distancing themselves or by overtly disaffiliating from them. We argue that these practices reflect the particular challenges of an institutional setting in which professionals engage with clients on a daily basis, have an institutional mandate of watching over them and are responsible for their safety. According to this interpretation, staff members’ non-neutrality toward clients’ complaints can be seen as a way of defending against the possibility, raised by the clients’ reports, that the staff members might be involved, albeit indirectly, in courses of action that have harmed or might harm the clients

Space-weighted seismic attenuation mapping of the aseismic source of Campi Flegrei 1983-84 unrest

Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Effects of mindfulness meditation on conscious and non-conscious components of the mind

The aim of the present review is to investigate previous studies concerning the effects of meditation and dispositional mindfulness on conscious and implicit or non-conscious attitudes. First we present a brief perspective on conscious and non-conscious states of mind. Then we introducethefundamentalbasesofmindfulnessmeditation. Third we review studies on dispositional mindfulness and meditation that employed either direct or indirect measures to assess explicit and implicit attitudes. Finally, we briefly present how meditation has been associated with the psychotherapeutic practice of psychoanalysis and, hence, as a therapeutic technique to access the unconscious. Until now, few studies have investigated the impact of meditation on non-conscious states of mind and personality; nevertheless, both scientific studies involving implicit measures and reflections from psychotherapy have underlined the importance of meditation in promoting psychological well-being, leading to de-automatization of automatic patterns of responding and to higher levels of self-awareness

Temperament and Character Effects on Late Adolescents' Well-Being and Emotional-Behavioural Difficulties

Background. Research on adults points to personality as a crucial determinant of well- being. The present study investigates the question of personality's relation to well-being and psychosocial adjustment in adolescence. Methods. We assessed the role of temperament and character (Temperament and Character Inventory, TCI-125), on psychological well-being (PWB; Psychological Well- Being scales), subjective well-being (SWB; Positive and Negative Affect, PA and NA, respectively), and psychosocial adjustment (emotional-behavioural problems measured by the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire for Adolescents, SDQ-A), in 72 Italian late adolescents (aged 17.5 0.75). Multiple regressions were conducted to predict PWB, SWB, and SDQ-A scores using TCI-125 scales as predictors. Results. Character maturity, and in particular Self-Directedness, had a widespread protective effect on well-being and psychosocial adjustment, while different strengths and emotional-behavioural difficulties were associated to specific temperamental and character traits. For example, Harm-Avoidance and Novelty-Seeking positively predicted internalized and externalized problems, respectively. Discussion. The present results suggest the usefulness of continuing to evaluate temperament and, in particular, character dimensions in investigations focused on adolescents' well-being and psychosocial functioning, especially in the contexts of potential interventions aimed at enhancing development of adolescents' character dimensions at the intrapersonal, interpersonal, and transpersonal levels

Quality of life and functional in adolescents with idiopathic scoliosis: pilot study

INTRODUCTION: Adolescent with idiopathic scoliosis (AIS) presents a three-dimensional deformity in which progression can lead to decreased quality of life (QOL). OBJECTIVES:Determine the best questionnaire, SF-36 or SRS-22 to evaluate QOL in EIA. Secondarily, investigate the correlation between the degree of Cobb angle with visual analogue scale (VAS), and determine the best questionnaire, Oswestry or Roland Morris to evaluate the function. MATERIALS AND METHODS: 19 subjects with EIA, aged 11 to 18, both gender, and Cobb angle above 25 Cobb degrees. We used the SF-36 and SRS-22 questionnaires to evaluate QOL, Oswestry and Roland Morris to evaluate the function and correlate Cobb degree and VAS. The questionnaires and scale were correlated with proximal thoracic, main thoracic and lumbar Cobb angles. RESULTS:The population studied had a mean age of 14.5 (3.1), weight 51 kg (7.9), height 1.61 m (0.08), BMI 18.75 (2.7). The Pearson correlation coefficients between the Oswestry questionnaire and the Cobb angles proximal thoracic, main thoracic and lumbar spine were, respectively: r = 0.58, r = 0.77 and r = 0.58. By correlating the Roland Morris questionnaire with Cobb angles of proximal thoracic and lumbar spine were, respectively: r = 0.72 and r = 0.52. By correlating with lumbar Cobb EVA was found r = 0.55. CONCLUSION:We found a strong correlation between the Oswestry questionnaire with the main thoracic Cobb angle and between the Roland Morris questionnaire with the main thoracic Cobb angle.INTRODUÇÃO: A escoliose idiopática do adolescente (EIA) é uma deformidade tridimensional, na qual sua progressão pode levar à diminuição da qualidade de vida (QDV). OBJETIVOS: Verificar o melhor questionário, SF-36 ou SRS-22, para avaliar a QDV na EIA. Secundariamente, avaliar a correlação entre o grau do ângulo de Cobb com a escala visual analógica (EVA) e verificar qual o melhor questionário, Oswestry ou Roland Morris, para avaliar a funcionalidade na EIA. MATERIAIS E MÉTODOS: Participaram 19 indivíduos com EIA, idade entre 11 a 18 anos e ângulo de Cobb acima de 25º. Foram utilizados os questionários SF-36 e SRS-22, Oswestry e Roland Morris e a EVA. Os RESULTADOS: A população avaliada apresentou média de idade de 14,5 (3,1), peso 51 kg (7,9), altura 1,61 (0,08) e IMC 18,75 (2,7). Os coeficientes de correlação de Pearson entre o questionário Oswestry e os ângulos de Cobb torácico proximal, torácico principal e lombar foram, respectivamente: r = 0,58, r = 0,77 e r = 0,58. Ao correlacionar o questionário Roland Morris com os ângulos de Cobb torácico proximal e lombar, os coeficientes foram, respectivamente: r = 0,72 e r = 0,52. Ao correlacionar o Cobb lombar com o EVA, foi encontrado r = 0,55. Conclusão: Foi constatada forte correlação entre o questionário Oswestry com o ângulo de Cobb torácico principal e entre o questionário Roland Morris com o ângulo de Cobb torácico principal.Universidade Federal de São Paulo (UNIFESP)Santa Casa da Misericórdia de SantosUNIFESPSciEL

Prediction of extreme events in the OFC model on a small world network

We investigate the predictability of extreme events in a dissipative Olami-Feder-Christensen model on a small world topology. Due to the mechanism of self-organized criticality, it is impossible to predict the magnitude of the next event knowing previous ones, if the system has an infinite size. However, by exploiting the finite size effects, we show that probabilistic predictions of the occurrence of extreme events in the next time step are possible in a finite system. In particular, the finiteness of the system unavoidably leads to repulsive temporal correlations of extreme events. The predictability of those is higher for larger magnitudes and for larger complex network sizes. Finally, we show that our prediction analysis is also robust by remarkably reducing the accessible number of events used to construct the optimal predictor.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figure