Alien Registration- Nielsen, Emma (Lewiston, Androscoggin County)

https://digitalmaine.com/alien_docs/27726/thumbnail.jp

Public perceptions of self-harm: a test of an attribution model of public discrimination

This cross-sectional, questionnaire-based study applied Corrigan, Markowitz, Watson, Rowan, and Kubiak’s (2003) attribution model of public discrimination toward individuals with mental ill-health to explore public perceptions of self-harm—an underresearched topic, given the size and scale of the problem of self-harm.Participants (community-based adult sample, N=355, aged 18–67 years) were presented with 1 of 10, first-person, vignettes describing an episode of adolescent self-harm and completed self-report measures assessing dispositional empathy, familiarity with self-harm (professional; personal), perceived dangerousness, personal responsibility beliefs, emotional responses toward the person depicted in the vignette and helping/rejecting intentions. Vignettes were manipulated across conditions for the controllability of the stated cause (controllable; uncontrollable; unknown), stated motivation for self-harm (intrapersonal; interpersonal; unknown) and presentation format (video; text). Across the sample, attitudes were largely tolerant, with significantly higher levels of sympathetic than fearful or angry responding and significantly higher endorsement of helping responses than avoidance, segregative or coercive approaches. The manipulation of controllability of cause (controllable; uncontrollable), but not stated motivation (intrapersonal; interpersonal), was related to differences in cognitive, emotional or behavioral responding. Taken together, results were largely consistent with the attribution model, suggesting this may be a useful framework for understanding public perceptions of self-harm

Enabling Spaces:Rethinking Materiality and the Invitational Character of Institutional Environments

This article explores how physical surroundings may be integrated as a supportive measure in social work efforts. Drawing on ecological psychology and the concept of liminality, the article presents a case study of Kofoed’s School (KS), a social institution in Copenhagen, Denmark. In recent years, KS has undergone a major renovation, opening up previously sheltered workshops to the public. By creating liminal spaces of possibility, where students can take up “both/and” positions allowing for a multitude of ways to participate, students are experiencing increased support and inclusion, which contributes to a growing feeling of citizenship and well-being. Drawing on participant observations and interviews with students, staff members, as well as customers at the school’s shops, we explore how the architectural layout may facilitate students’ flexible and fluid movements between more or less sheltered positions and further discuss how this flexibility may become supportive for their personal development and well-being. We propose to think of such spaces of possibility as enabling spaces, where inclusive architecture contributes to the creation of new possibilities for participation for people in marginalized life positions. This, we suggest, holds a great potential for social work efforts for people experiencing complex social vulnerability

Dealing with difficult days: functional coping dynamics in self-harm ideation and enactment

Background: Self-harm affords people a means of coping. However, little is known about how functional coping dynamics differ between stressful situations in which people self-harm (enactment), think about harming (ideation), or experience no self-harmful thoughts or behaviours. Methods: Participants (N = 1,157) aged 16 − 49 years (M = 18.21, SD = 3.24) with a recent history of self-harm (past 3 months) reported how they coped in response to their most significant recent stressor (3 months). Results: Almost 40% of participants, all of whom had self-harmed in the last 3 months, had no self-harm experience (thoughts or behaviours) in response to their most significant stressor in that timeframe. In multivariate analysis, adjusting for symptoms of depression and anxiety, reappraisal coping was predictive of self-harm thoughts. Approach, emotion regulation and reappraisal coping were predictive of self-harm behaviour. Emotion regulation coping differentiated self-harm ideation and enactment groups. Limitations: The cross-sectional design of the study precludes the ability to make inferences regarding causality. Further, there is no agreed definition of ‘recent’ self-harm. Conclusions: Taken together, the findings suggest that functional coping dynamics may be differentially associated with self-harm ideation and enactment. This is important, given that understanding the transitions between ideation and enactment has been identified as a critical frontier in suicide prevention. Further, results indicate that seemingly innocuous events may have a profound impact as a tipping point for enaction; this has implications for clinical practice, including the co-production of safety plans

Rapid eye movement sleep time in dairy cows changes during the lactation cycle

ABSTRACT The importance of rest and sleep is well established; we know, for example, that lack of sleep impairs immune function in rats and increases pain sensitivity in humans. However, little is known about sleep in dairy cows, but a lack of rest and sleep is discussed as a possible welfare problem in cattle. A first step toward a better understanding of sleep in dairy cows is to quantify the time cows spend awake and asleep in different stages of lactation. Using electrophysiological recordings on 7 occasions in wk −2, 2, 7, 13, 22, 37, and 45 in relation to calving, we investigated changes in rapid eye movement (REM) sleep time as well as non-rapid eye movement (NREM) sleep, drowsing, awake, and rumination in 19 dairy cows of the Swedish Red breed kept in single pens with ad libitum access to feed and water. The recordings on wk −2 and 45 were conducted during the dry period, and all others during lactation. The PROC MIXED procedure in SAS (SAS Institute Inc., Cary, NC) was used to test for significant differences in REM, NREM, drowsing, awake, and rumination between the different stages of lactation cycle. Pairwise comparisons between all recording occasions showed that total REM sleep duration was shorter for cows in wk 2 relative to calving compared with wk −2, and the number of REM sleep bouts were fewer in wk 2 compared with wk −2. The REM sleep was recorded during both the day (0500–2100 h) and night (2100–0500 h), but predominantly performed at night compared with daytime, and the bout duration was longer during nighttime compared with daytime. A tendency was observed for time spent in NREM sleep to be shorter in wk 2 relative to calving compared with wk −2. The duration spent drowsing was shorter for cows in wk 2 and 13 relative to calving compared with wk −2. We found no effect of stage of lactation cycle on the duration of awake or ruminating. Our study is the first to assess sleep distribution during a lactation cycle, and our results show that stage of lactation is important to consider when moving forward with sleep investigations in dairy cows. The shortest REM sleep duration was found for cows 2 wk after calving and longest 2 wk before calving, and the difference was due a higher number of REM sleep bouts in the recording 2 wk before calving. The REM sleep and rumination predominantly occurred at night but were recorded during both day and night.Peer reviewe

Sleep in dairy cows recorded with a non-invasive EEG technique

Sufficient sleep time is important for both an adequate metabolic system and the immune function. Sleep in animals is often estimated by behavioural observations, or recorded on restrained animals with invasive electroencephalogram (EEG) techniques, which might affect sleep patterns. Earlier studies on sleep in cows showed that they sleep about 4 h per day and drowse almost twice the time. The aim of this study was to record and differentiate between vigilance states in dairy cows using a non-invasive EEG method. Brain activity (electroencephalography, EEG), eye movements (electrooculography, EOG) and muscle activity (electromyography, EMG) were recorded for 6 h per animal using surface-attached electrodes to measure different vigilance states. Behaviour registrations from direct observations were combined with the EEG data in order to confirm the identification of different vigilance states from the EEG, EOG and EMG recordings. 8 dry dairy cows, lactation number 1–8 and age 3–11 years, of the Swedish Red breed from the research herd at Kungsängen Research Centre, Uppsala, Sweden, were used in the study. The EEG recordings showed that non-rapid eye movement (NREM) sleep displayed low frequency waves, sometimes with slow wave activity. Rapid eye movement (REM) sleep and alert wakefulness shared similar features of desynchronised waves with varying frequency and could be differentiated by reduced neck muscle activity during REM sleep. The main conclusion from this study is that it is possible to distinguish different vigilance states in dairy cows using surface-attached EEG electrodes.Peer reviewe

First-night effect on sleep time in dairy cows

In human sleep studies, the probability of discomfort from the electrodes and the change in environment usually results in first-night recordings being discarded. Sleep recordings from the first night in human subjects often differ in amount of REM (rapid eye movement) sleep and the overall sleep architecture. This study investigated whether recordings of sleep states in dairy cows also show a first-night effect. Non-invasive electrophysiological recordings were carried out on nine cows of the Swedish Red breed during three consecutive 24-hour periods (recording days 1–3). Overall, cows spent 12.9 ± 1.4 hours awake, 8.2 ± 1 hours ruminating, 57.2 ± 20.3 min drowsing, 44.1 ± 20.2 min in REM sleep and 64.3 ± 38.1 min in NREM (non-rapid eye movement) sleep (mean ± SD) and there were no significant differences between recording days in total duration for any of the sleep and awake states. However, the bouts of REM sleep and rumination were longer, and the awake bouts were shorter, at night time compared to daytime, regardless of recording day. The awake bouts also showed an interaction effect with longer bouts at daytime during day 1 compared to daytime on day 3. Data on sleep and awake states recorded in adult dairy cows during three consecutive 24-h periods showed great variation in sleep time between cows, but total time for each state was not significantly affected by recording day. Further and more detailed studies of how sleep architecture is affected by recording day is necessary to fully comprehend the first-night effect in dairy cows.Peer reviewe

Dealing with Difficult Days: Can Experiential Avoidance and Functional Dimensions of Coping Explain Change in Self-harm Thoughts and Behaviour?

Self-harm affords people a means of coping, at least in the short term. The reasons most consistently given for self-harm pertain to the reduction of intense aversive emotions; relief from a terrible state of mind. A contemporary theoretical account of non-suicidal self-injury, the Experiential Avoidance Model (EAM: Chapman et al., 2006), proposes that experiential avoidance – the tendency for non acceptance or avoidance (e.g., escape; suppression; modification; control) of negative affective, but not overtly dangerous, states – may be a central psychological factor in the development of, and cyclical reengagement in, self-injurious behaviours. While the EAM framework is specified for non-suicidal behaviours, notions of avoidance and escape motives, related to psychological distress, are also established in models of suicidal behaviours. To date, no research has explored experiential avoidance and transactional, self-defined, functional coping dynamics in relation to distinguishing self-harm thoughts (ideation) and behaviours (enactment). This thesis is concerned with change in self-harm thoughts and behaviour. Here, the work focused primarily on understanding change in those with histories of selfharm and theoretically-derived, psychological factors which may: (i) determine self-harm experience (no self-harm; ideation only; enactment) in response to a given situation, and (ii) predict the repetition of self-harm over time (e.g., frequency). Change is also considered by examining whether factors which are predicted to differentiate those who have ever self-harmed from those with no history of self-harm behaviour also: (i) predict the recency and frequency of self-harm, and (ii) differentiate groups with differing intent histories (no self-injury; non-suicidal self-injury only; non-suicidal self-injury plus suicidal behaviour). Finally, the research presented considered change by exploring young people’s views of an intervention (harm minimisation – sensation and process proxies) designed to prevent the transition from self-harm thought(s) to self-harm behaviour(s). While understanding transitions between thought(s) and action(s) is highlighted as a research priority, the extant literature typically aggregates experience, grouping people on lifetime experience. It is important to note that transitions between ideation and enactment are not uni directional. Indeed, understanding what psychological factors are related to self-harm experience in those with history of self-harm is important for understanding ‘recovery’ and consequently intervention planning. Research presented in this thesis aims to investigate: 1) Whether experiential avoidance and functional coping dynamics can: (i) differentiate those with and without a lifetime history of self-harm, and (ii) predict the recency and frequency of self-harm (Chapter 2). 2) The relative importance of experiential avoidance and functional coping dynamics in self-harm of differing suicidal intent (Chapter 4). 3) Whether exploring functional coping dynamics can help us to understand when someone might: (i) think about harming, and (ii) self-harm (Chapter 3; Chapter 5). 4) Whether harm minimisation (sensation and process proxies) is viewed by young people with a history of self-harm, as being effective in stopping the transition from thinking about self-harming to acting upon those thoughts (Chapter 6). Chapter 1 provides a general introduction to the thesis. In Chapter 1, The Experiential Avoidance Model (Chapman et al., 2006) is presented, with evidence in support of the model outlined. A brief overview of the history of ‘coping’ as a construct is provided, with detailed delineation of styles and process accounts. Within this, the position of functional coping dynamics is explicated and the key conceptual differences between experiential avoidance and functional coping dynamics outlined. The position, structure and rationale of the thesis is outlined, and key research questions defined. Consideration is also given to the scale of the problem of self-harm, nomenclature, ethics, and the differing conceptualisations of suicidal intent. Study 1 (Chapter 2) investigated the relationship between experiential avoidance, coping and the recency and frequency of self-harm. Participants (N = 1,332; aged 16-69 years; community sample) completed online, self-report measures assessing self-harm, momentary affect, experiential avoidance and coping in response to a recent stressor. Participants who had self-harmed reported significantly higher levels of experiential avoidance and avoidance coping, as well as lower levels of approach, reappraisal and emotional regulation coping, than those with no self-harm history. Moreover, more recent self-harm was associated with lower endorsement of approach, reappraisal and emotion regulation coping, and also higher levels of both avoidance coping and experiential avoidance. Higher experiential avoidance and avoidance coping also predicted increased lifetime frequency of self-harm. Conversely, increased approach and reappraisal coping were associated with a decreased likelihood of high frequency self-harm. Although some of the effects were small, particularly in relation to lifetime frequency of self-harm, overall results suggest that experiential avoidance tendency may be an important psychological factor underpinning self-harm, regardless of suicidal intent (e.g., including mixed intent; suicidal intent; ambivalence), which is not accounted for in existing models of self-harm. Study 2 (Chapter 3) explored whether and how functional coping dynamics differ between stressful situations in which people self-harm (enactment), think about harming (ideation), or experience no self-harmful thoughts or behaviours. Participants (N = 1,157; aged 16−49 years; community sample) with a recent history of self-harm (past 3 months) reported how they coped in response to their most significant recent stressor (past 3 months). Almost 40% of participants, all of whom had self-harmed in the last 3 months, had no self-harm experience (thoughts or behaviours) in response to their most significant stressor in that timeframe. In multivariate analysis, adjusting for symptoms of depression and anxiety, reappraisal coping was predictive of selfharm thoughts. Approach, emotion regulation and reappraisal coping were predictive of self-harm behaviour. Emotion regulation coping differentiated self-harm ideation and enactment groups. Taken together, the findings suggest that functional coping dynamics may be differentially associated with selfharm ideation and enactment. Further, results indicate that seemingly innocuous events may have a profound impact as tipping points for enaction. This has implications for clinical practice, including the co-production of safety plans