			Home About us Contact

Psychosocial Predictors (psychosocial + predictor)

Distribution by Scientific Domains

Psychology	50%
Medical Sciences	50%

Selected Abstracts

Substance Use and Psychosocial Predictors of High School Dropout in Cape Town, South Africa

JOURNAL OF RESEARCH ON ADOLESCENCE, Issue 1 2010
Alan J. Flisher
The aims of this study were to examine whether use of tobacco, alcohol, and illicit drugs predicts dropout among secondary school students in Cape Town, South Africa. A self-report instrument was administered to 1,470 Grade 8 students. The proportion of students that dropped out of school between the onset of the study and 4 years later was 54.9%. After adjusting for a range of confounders, dropout was significantly predicted by absenteeism, poverty (as assessed by a possession index), and past month cigarette use, but not by past month alcohol use and lifetime illicit drug use. Contrary to findings from developed countries, alcohol and illicit drug use did not predict dropout. It is possible that predictors of dropout documented elsewhere may not be pertinent in developing countries. [source]

The European Male Ageing Study (EMAS): design, methods and recruitment

INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ANDROLOGY, Issue 1 2009
David M. Lee
Summary Life expectancy is increasing in most developed countries, in part due to improved socioeconomic conditions and in part to advances in healthcare. It is widely acknowledged that the promotion of healthy ageing by delaying, minimizing or preventing disabilities or diseases is one of the most important public health objectives in this century. In contrast to the menopausal transition in females, we know relatively little about the contribution of androgens and anabolic hormones to the quality of ageing in men. The European Male Ageing Study (EMAS) is a multicentre prospective cohort designed to examine the prevalence, incidence and geographical distribution of gender-specific and general symptoms of ageing in men, including their endocrine, genetic and psychosocial predictors. Men aged 40,79 years were recruited from eight European centres: Florence (Italy), Leuven (Belgium), Lodz (Poland), Malmö (Sweden), Manchester (UK), Santiago de Compostela (Spain), Szeged (Hungary) and Tartu (Estonia). Subjects were recruited from population registers and those who agreed to take part completed a detailed questionnaire including aspects of personal and medical history, lifestyle factors and sexual function. Objective measures of body size, cognition, vision, skeletal health and neuromuscular function were obtained. Blood and DNA specimens were collected for a range of biochemical and genetic analyses. After an average of 4 years, it is planned to resurvey the participants with similar assessments. A total of 3369 men with a mean age of 60 ± 11 years were recruited. The mean centre response rate was 43%, and highest in those aged 50,59 years. Those who participated were marginally younger than those who were invited but declined to participate (60.0 vs. 61.1 years). Participants left education slightly later than a sample of non-participants, though there were no consistent differences in levels of general health, physical activity, or smoking. EMAS will provide new population-based data concerning the main features that characterize ageing in men and its critical determinants, particularly with reference to age-related changes in hormone levels. Such information is an important prerequisite to develop effective strategies to reduce age-related disabilities and optimise health and well-being into old-age. [source]

A three-year follow-up study of the psychosocial predictors of delayed and unresolved post-traumatic stress disorder in Taiwan Chi-Chi earthquake survivors

PSYCHIATRY AND CLINICAL NEUROSCIENCES, Issue 3 2010
Chao-Yueh Su MS
Aims:, To predict the longitudinal course of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in survivors three years following a catastrophic earthquake using multivariate data presented six months after the earthquake. Methods:, Trained assistants and psychiatrists used the Disaster-related Psychological Screening Test (DRPST) to interview earthquake survivors 16 years and older and to assess current and incidental psychopathology. A total of 1756 respondents were surveyed over the three-year follow-up period. Results:, A total of 38 (9.1%) of the original 418 PTSD subjects and 40 of the original 1338 (3.0%) non-PTSD subjects were identified as having PTSD at the 3-year post-earthquake follow up. Younger age, significant financial loss, and memory/attention impairment were predictive factors of unresolved PTSD and delayed PTSD. Conclusions:, The longitudinal course of PTSD three years after the earthquake could be predicted as early as six months after the earthquake on the basis of demographic data, PTSD-related factors, and putative factors for PTSD. [source]

Psycho-social determinants of quality of life in children and adolescents with haemophilia,a cross-cultural approach

CLINICAL PSYCHOLOGY AND PSYCHOTHERAPY (AN INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF THEORY & PRACTICE), Issue 3 2008
Monika Bullinger
Quality of life (QoL) of children with chronic conditions has received increasing attention in recent years. While frequent paediatric health conditions and life-threatening conditions are in the foreground, QoL of children with rare diseases such as haemophilia is scarce. While haemophilia-specific instruments to assess QoL in children have been developed, cross-cultural comparison of QoL and its determinants has not been addressed so far. QoL and potential psychosocial determinants such as coping were assessed in 298 paediatric haemophilia patients from six European countries demonstrating significant differences in QoL between countries. Results indicated that psychosocial predictors varied across countries, although life satisfaction and social support explained the highest proportion of variance and, moreover, superseded clinical characteristics. These findings suggest that intervention programmes should be geared towards enhancing psychosocial resources in children and adolescents with haemophilia.,Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source]