Responsibility and Reassurance Seeking: An Experimental Investigation

Excessive-reassurance-seeking (RS), conceptualized as a form of compulsive checking in obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), is distressing both for the seeker and for their loved ones. Experimentally increased responsibility leads to more checking symptoms and greater urges to seek reassurance. We hypothesized that under conditions of high responsibility (HR), participants would seek more reassurance than those in a low responsibility (LR) condition. Seventy-eight undergraduate participants were randomized to either HR or LR, completed a novel dishwashing task with a confederate, and were then given an opportunity to seek reassurance following ambiguous feedback. The number of instances of RS was reported by participants, confederates, and later coded by trained volunteers who were blind to the study’s hypotheses and listened to recordings of RS conversations. HR participants reported greater urges to seek reassurance t(76) = -2.891, p = .005, d = 1.23; sought more reassurance, both according to confederates, F(1, 76) = 10.741, p = .002, ηp2 = .124 and coders, F(1, 76) = 6.872, p = .011, ηp2 = .083; but self-reported RS did not differ between conditions, F(1, 76) = 1.480, p = .228, ηp2 = .019. Objective coding revealed that LR and HR participants did not differ on overt RS, F(1, 76) = 1.258, p = .266, ηp2 = .016; however, HR participants sought more covert reassurance, F(1, 76) = 18.079, p < .001, ηp2 = .192. Participant-reported responsibility decreased following RS, t(47) = 2.457, p = .018, d = .35, suggesting RS may function not only to reduce anxiety but also to transfer responsibility away from the seeker. Implications for cognitive models of and treatments for RS in OCD are discussed

Mobilizing Minds: Integrated knowledge translation and youth engagement in the development of mental health information resources

High rates of highly persistent mental health problems can have significantly damaging effects on young adults’ lives, and young adults are less likely to seek treatment for such problems. This article describes a unique Canadian knowledge translation project called Mobilizing Minds: Pathways to Young Adult Mental Health, which aimed to impact not only the mental health literacy of young adults, but to engage young adults in the entire research process from inception to dissemination of results. Knowledge translation is a process that involves producing and assessing the quality of the knowledge to be translated and tailoring the knowledge to be user friendly for particular segments of the population. The article gives particular attention to the ways in which the Mobilizing Minds project was influenced by youth engagement. We discuss three aspects: 1) structures, processes and communication; 2) project products; and 3) challenges and responses. Lessons learned specific to intergenerational collaboration will be of interest to youth as consumers of mental health information and services, mental health practitioners, researchers, and decision-makers seeking to improve mental health at a systemic level.Keywords: knowledge translation, young adult, mental health, participatory research, youth engagement, youth-adult partnership

Les besoins d’information des étudiants postsecondaires et les parcours conçus pour réduire le stress, l’anxiété, et la dépression

 Surveys indicate that prevalence rates of depression, anxiety, and other disorders in postsecondary students are equal to or higher than those in the general population; however, students often do not access help for these problems. Moreover, those who do seek help are confronted by a range of choices involving psychological, pharmacological, or combined treatment, along with multiple sources of information regarding treatment options. In an effort to identify the information needs and preferences of Canadian university students, we conducted a survey of students seeking counselling or medical services on campus. Results indicated that students were more likely to initially seek advice from romantic partners or friends rather than counsellors or health care providers. When asked to consider what information is important when seeking help, students reported that treatment effectiveness, advantages/disadvantages of treatment, side effects, and what happens when treatment is stopped were all very important. Training and experience of service providers were seen as more important than providers’ recommendations for type of treatment. Meetings with a counsellor were preferred over medication as a treatment modality. Preferred sources of information included health care providers, information sheets, and the Internet. Implications of the survey for postsecondary mental health service delivery are discussed. Selon les sondages, les taux de prévalence de la dépression, de l’anxiété, et d’autres troubles chez les étudiants postsecondaires sont équivalents ou plus élevés que dans la population en général, et pourtant, dans bien des cas, ces jeunes n’ont pas recours à de l’aide pour ces problèmes. De plus, ceux et celles qui se décident à chercher de l’aide doivent choisir parmi une gamme de services qui va du traitement psychologique, en passant par la pharmacologie ou une combinaison des deux, ainsi que de multiples sources de renseignements au sujet des options de traitement. Afin de définir les besoins et préférences des étudiants postsecondaires canadiens en matière d’information, nous avons mené un sondage auprès d’étudiants à la recherche de services de counseling ou médicaux sur le campus. Les résultats indiquent que les étudiants sont plus susceptibles de rechercher, dans un premier temps, l’avis de partenaires de coeur ou d’amis plutôt qu’auprès d’un conseiller ou d’un fournisseur de soins de santé. Lorsqu’on leur a demandé de réfléchir au type de renseignements qu’ils jugeaient importants dans leur recherche d’aide, les étudiants ont répondu que l’efficacité du traitement, les avantages et inconvénients qu’il comporte, ses effets secondaires, et ce qui advient à la fin du traitement sont tous des aspects très importants. Ils considéraient aussi la formation et l’expérience des fournisseurs de services des facteurs plus importants que les recommandations de ces fournisseurs concernant le type de traitement. Comme mode de traitement, les étudiants ont dit préférer les rencontres avec un conseiller plutôt que la médication. Parmi les sources de renseignements privilégiées sont les fournisseurs de soins de santé, les fiches de renseignements, et Internet. L’article présente une discussion des implications du sondage pour la prestation de services de soins de santé mentale chez les clients au niveau postsecondaire

Recueil de divers oiseaux étrangers et peu communs

pt.8-9 (1776

Recueil de divers oiseaux étrangers et peu communs

pt.2-3 (1768-1770

Recueil de divers oiseaux étrangers et peu communs

pt.4-5 (1771-1772