Factors contributing to officers’ fatigue in high-speed maritime craft operations

Author name used in this publication: Jimmy J. M. Ng2005-2006 > Academic research: refereed > Publication in refereed journalAccepted ManuscriptPublishe

Verbal fluency norms in a community population in Hong Kong

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The relationship between attitudes towards the illness and insight in patients with schizophrenia

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVE: Studies have shown that patients with psychiatric illness not only feel being discriminated by others, but also discriminate themselves. It is expected that such findings would hinder their acceptance and insight of the illness. The present study aims to explore the relationship between attitudes towards the psychiatric label and insight of the illness. METHODS: A 30-item symptom checklist including psychotic symptoms and general stress responses was constructed. Patients with schizophrenia were asked to decide which items were psychotic symptoms. Thirty-two patients with schizophrenia were randomly assigned into the experimental and control groups. Patients in the experimental group were explained that the checklist contained psychotic symptoms he/she had prior to completing the checklist, while such an explanation was not given in the control group. RESULTS: The preliminary results showed that patients in the experimental group (N= 17) committed more errors (mean error rate = 0.56) in differentiating psychotic symptoms from general stress responses than the control group (N = 15) (mean error rate = 0.42). Patients in the experimental group also tend to include psychotic symptoms into general stress responses (mean commission errors = 10) than the control group (mean commission errors = 8). CONCLUSION: However, due to the limitations of the small sample size and between-group design, conducting a within-subject study would be useful to confirm the relationship between patients’ internalization of psychiatric label and awareness of psychotic symptoms

Discriminative facility as a predictor of psychological health amongst patients with schizophrenia

This journal suppl. entitled: Abstracts of the IXth International Congress on Schizophrenia Researc

The role of knowledge and motivation in symptom identification accuracy among schizophrenic patients: Application of signal detection theory

Objective. Many people with schizophrenia have poor awareness of their symptoms, a problem that may result from lack of knowledge about their illness and/or unwillingness to acknowledge it. The present study assessed the joint influence of lack of knowledge and motivated denial in schizophrenic patients' low symptom awareness. Method. Schizophrenic patients (N = 85) and normal control participants (N = 35) identified psychotic symptoms and general stress symptoms in a symptom checklist. The signal detection theory was applied to assess levels of sensitivity (which would be knowledge-mediated) and judgment biases (which would probably be motivated). Results. Compared with normal control participants, schizophrenic patients had lower sensitivity and greater aversion to classify a symptom as a psychotic symptom. Conclusions. These findings suggest that both lack of knowledge and motivated denial are involved in schizophrenic patients' low symptom awareness. © 2006 The British Psychological Society.link_to_subscribed_fulltex

The role of knowledge and motivation in symptom identification accuracy among schizophrenic patients: Application of signal detection theory

Objective. Many people with schizophrenia have poor awareness of their symptoms, a problem that may result from lack of knowledge about their illness and/or unwillingness to acknowledge it. The present study assessed the joint influence of lack of knowledge and motivated denial in schizophrenic patients' low symptom awareness. Method. Schizophrenic patients (N = 85) and normal control participants (N = 35) identified psychotic symptoms and general stress symptoms in a symptom checklist. The signal detection theory was applied to assess levels of sensitivity (which would be knowledge-mediated) and judgment biases (which would probably be motivated). Results. Compared with normal control participants, schizophrenic patients had lower sensitivity and greater aversion to classify a symptom as a psychotic symptom. Conclusions. These findings suggest that both lack of knowledge and motivated denial are involved in schizophrenic patients' low symptom awareness. © 2006 The British Psychological Society.link_to_subscribed_fulltex

Stroop interference and facilitation effects in first-episode schizophrenic patients

In the Stroop test, interference occurs in naming the print color of a word when the word is itself the name of another color. Facilitation occurs when the word is the same as the print color. Previous studies on selective attention in schizophrenia using the Stroop interference effects have yielded contradicting results. Constraints included limited sample size and the recruitment of medicated chronic patients. We studied the Stroop interference and facilitation effects in a relatively large sample of first-episode schizophrenic patients (n = 56), a substantial proportion of whom were medication-naïve (n = 30) at the time of initial testing. We have also carried out longitudinal follow-up assessments when patients reached a clinically stable state, as well as 4 months after recovery from the episode. We found that the Stroop interference effect was not increased in first-episode schizophrenic patients, whether medication-naïve or not. This effect did not change over the follow-up period. In addition, we detected an increase in Stroop facilitation effect in medicated schizophrenic patients, but only in the initial assessment soon after they had received medication. After sustained treatment, the increase in facilitation was normalized. These observations supported previous findings of a normal Stroop interference effect amongst schizophrenic patients. The increased facilitation effect for patients in their early phase of treatment (but not later) may represent an acute effect of anti-psychotic medication. Its nature and significance require further investigation. © 2001 Elsevier Science B.V.link_to_subscribed_fulltex

Mucous fistula refeeding in premature neonates with enterostomies

Background: Premature Neonates With Short Bowel Syndrome Often Have Diverting Enterostomies And Distal Mucous Fistulae. The Authors Reviewed Their Experience In 12 Premature Neonates In Whom Proximal Bowel Contents Were Re-Fed Into The Mucous Fistula. Methods: We Reviewed The Records Of 12 Premature Neonates Who Presented With Acute Abdomen And Who Underwent Intestinal Resection With Formation Of Diverting Enterostomy And Mucous Fistula Between July 1999 And December 2002. All Received Parenteral Nutrition. Refeeding Of Enterostomy Contents Into The Distal Mucous Fistula Was Commenced After Patency Of The Distal Intestine Was Confirmed By Radiologic Examination. Demographic Data, Body Weight And Clinical Outcomes Were Recorded. Results: Median Gestational Age Was 31 Weeks And Mean Birth Weight Was 1.59 Kg. Diagnoses Included Necrotizing Enterocolitis (N = 6), Meconium Ileus-Like Conditions (N = 2), Ileal Atresia (N = 2), Malrotation With Volvulus (N = 1) And Focal Intestinal Perforation (N = 1). Refeeding Was Successfully Established In All Patients With No Complications. The Mean Duration Of Refeeding Was 63.5 Days. All Patients Achieved Good Weight Gain After Refeeding (18.9 +/- 2.9 G/D) With A Reduction Of Parenteral Nutrition Requirements. All Enterostomies Were Subsequently Closed. Four Patients Died Of Unrelated Causes After Reanastomosis And The Remaining Eight Were Discharged. Conclusions: Mucous Fistula Refeeding Is Safe In Premature Neonates With Enterostomies. It Can Prevent Disuse Atrophy In The Distal Loop And Facilitate Subsequent Reanastomosis. Furthermore, The Increased Absorptive Function Provided By The Small Bowel Incorporated In The Mucous Fistula Can Reduce The Requirement For Total Parenteral Nutrition.link_to_subscribed_fulltex