The Views of Mental Health Manager Towards the Use of a Family Work Model for Psychosis in Guangzhou, China

Family Interventions in Psychosis (FIP) have been promoted internationally but have been criticised for being based on western cultural models. This paper reports on a focus group study with 10 Integrated Mental Health Service Managers in Guangzhou, China using thematic analysis. Managers believed FIP might benefit families but identified potential difficulties due to (a) families avoiding services due to the ‘shame’ of mental illness (b) unrealistic expectations of services amongst families (c) deferral to ‘key decision-makers’ within families when discussing family issues with workers. The findings indicate that FIP work should focus on interaction between carers in the first instance with service users being introduced into sessions at a later date and that more attention needs to be given by the research community to how FIP may be adapted to cultural norms within China

Suicide risk in schizophrenia: learning from the past to change the future

Suicide is a major cause of death among patients with schizophrenia. Research indicates that at least 5–13% of schizophrenic patients die by suicide, and it is likely that the higher end of range is the most accurate estimate. There is almost total agreement that the schizophrenic patient who is more likely to commit suicide is young, male, white and never married, with good premorbid function, post-psychotic depression and a history of substance abuse and suicide attempts. Hopelessness, social isolation, hospitalization, deteriorating health after a high level of premorbid functioning, recent loss or rejection, limited external support, and family stress or instability are risk factors for suicide in patients with schizophrenia. Suicidal schizophrenics usually fear further mental deterioration, and they experience either excessive treatment dependence or loss of faith in treatment. Awareness of illness has been reported as a major issue among suicidal schizophrenic patients, yet some researchers argue that insight into the illness does not increase suicide risk. Protective factors play also an important role in assessing suicide risk and should also be carefully evaluated. The neurobiological perspective offers a new approach for understanding self-destructive behavior among patients with schizophrenia and may improve the accuracy of screening schizophrenics for suicide. Although, there is general consensus on the risk factors, accurate knowledge as well as early recognition of patients at risk is still lacking in everyday clinical practice. Better knowledge may help clinicians and caretakers to implement preventive measures. This review paper is the results of a joint effort between researchers in the field of suicide in schizophrenia. Each expert provided a brief essay on one specific aspect of the problem. This is the first attempt to present a consensus report as well as the development of a set of guidelines for reducing suicide risk among schizophenia patients

Using animated simulations to support young students’ science learning

Technology-based simulation use in science education is not new, with the first studies exploring their efficacy dating back to the early 1980s. However, almost all this work has been undertaken with college or university students. Very little is presently known about how or what young students learn from simulations, and if the benefits associated with older student and adult use of simulations hold true in early years learning. This chapter summarises findings of two related studies investigating animated simulation use with 5 year olds. The first explored knowledge-building and transfer across four simulations introducing a range of electrical circuit designs and concepts, while the second investigated the students’ ability to transfer this to equivalent, ‘real world’ tasks. Results were mixed, with data indicating basic procedural knowledge development and transfer within and between the simulations and to a lesser extent to the equipment tasks, but limited conceptual development and transfer. Data also signalled issues with how some students interpreted concepts through visual representations, with some appearing to encourage common misconceptions. While evidence was found supporting simulations for general thinking skill development, teachers using them with young students need to be mindful of their role in scaffolding concept-building, to ensure robust and accurate knowledge construction

A new questionnaire assessing coping strategies in relatives of patients with schizophrenia: development and factor analysis

This paper describes the development and validation of a questionnaire assessing the coping strategies adopted by relatives of patients with schizophrenia. The final version of the questionnaire includes 27 items, grouped into seven subscales (information, positive communication, social interests, coercion, avoidance, resignation and patient's social involvement), the intra-rater reliability of which ranges from 0.46 to 0.76. Cronbach's alpha coefficient, which tests the content validity of the subscales, ranges from 0.68 to 0.83. Factor analysis identifies three factors (problem-oriented coping strategies, emotionally focused strategies, and maintenance of social interests in association with patient's avoidance), accounting for 70.9% of the total variance. This questionnaire may be particularly useful for targeting and monitoring psychoeducational interventions in the families of patients with schizophrenia