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Social Impairment (social + impairment)
Selected AbstractsSocial impairment due to extreme photophobia (Case Presentation)ACTA PAEDIATRICA, Issue 11 2009TL Sørensen No abstract is available for this article. [source] Social impairment due to extreme photophobia (Discussion and Diagnosis)ACTA PAEDIATRICA, Issue 11 2009TL Sørensen No abstract is available for this article. [source] Interpersonal problems and emotional intelligence in compulsive hoardingDEPRESSION AND ANXIETY, Issue 9 2008Jessica R. Grisham Ph.D. Abstract There is some evidence that compulsive hoarding is associated with social impairment, which may contribute to poor functional outcomes among hoarding patients. In this study, individuals with compulsive hoarding (n = 30) were compared to nonhoarding anxious or depressed patients (n = 30) and nonclinical community participants (n = 30) with respect to clinical characteristics, interpersonal difficulties, and emotional intelligence. All participants were diagnosed using a semi-structured interview and completed self-report measures. Participants with compulsive hoarding endorsed more depression and schizotypal personality disorder symptoms than participants in both comparison groups. Hoarding participants also reported more interpersonal difficulties than community volunteers, but they did not differ significantly from nonhoarding participants with an anxiety or mood disorder. Multiple regression analyses demonstrated that hoarding-related beliefs were marginally related to increased interpersonal problems over and above the effect of depression and anxiety. The groups did not differ significantly with respect to emotional intelligence. Depression and Anxiety. © 2007 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source] Frailty predicts long-term mortality in elderly subjects with chronic heart failureEUROPEAN JOURNAL OF CLINICAL INVESTIGATION, Issue 12 2005F. Cacciatore Abstract Background, The elderly are characterized by a high prevalence of chronic heart failure (CHF) and frailty, which is a complex interaction of physical, psychological and social impairment. This study aimed to examine the predictive role of frailty on long-term mortality in elderly subjects with CHF. Materials and methods, The study assessed long-term mortality after 12-year follow up in 120 subjects with CHF and 1139 subjects without CHF, selected in 1992, from a random sample of the elderly population in the Campania region of Italy. Frailty was assessed according to a ,Frailty Staging System'. Results, Subjects with CHF were prevalently female (60%) and older than 75 years (mean 75·9 ± 6·7); subjects without CHF were prevalently female (56·4%) and younger than 75 years (mean 74·0 ± 6·3). In subjects with and without CHF stratified into classes of frailty there was a statistically significant increase in age, comorbidity, disability and low social support, and a decrease in MMSE score. Moreover, death progressively increased more with frailty in subjects (70·0% to 94·4%, P < 0·03) than in those without (43·8.% to 88·3%, P < 0·0001) CHF. The Kaplan,Meier analysis shows that at 9 years the probability of survival progressively decreased as frailty increased (45·5% to 0%) in subjects with CHF and from 62·8% to 25·9% in subjects without CHF. The Cox regression analysis indicated that frailty is predictive of mortality in the multivariate model adjusted for several variables including sex and age in subjects with and without CHF. Moreover, the analysis showed that frailty is more predictive of mortality in elderly subjects with CHF when it was analyzed either as continuous (1·48 vs. 1·36) or as a dummy (3 vs. 1 = 1·62 vs. 1·24) variable. Conclusions, Thus mortality among elderly subjects with or without CHF increases with frailty. Moreover, frailty is more predictive of long-term mortality in elderly subjects with than in those without CHF. Hence, frailty represents a new independent variable for predicting long-term mortality in elderly subjects with CHF. [source] Factors Associated With Burden of Primary Headache in a Specialty ClinicHEADACHE, Issue 6 2003Eugene M. Cassidy MRCPsych Objective.,To examine factors associated with social, occupational, and psychological burden of common primary headache (migraine and tension-type headache). Background.,The personal and social burden of primary headache is high. Health, occupational, social, and psychological factors contributing to burden in people with disabling headache have not been fully unravelled. Methods.,One hundred eighty consecutive patients with either migraine or tension-type headache attending a specialty headache outpatient clinic for the first time were evaluated over a 9-month period. Headache subtype was operationally defined according to International Headache Society criteria. Headache frequency, duration, and severity were recorded. Occupational and social disability were quantified using the Migraine Disability Assessment questionnaire. Psychological burden was quantified using the 28-item General Health Questionnaire, the Beck Depression Inventory, and the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory. Premorbid vulnerability to life stress was quantified using the neuroticism subscale of the Eysenck Personality Inventory. Results.,Patients with frequent (chronic) headache scored higher on the Migraine Disability Assessment questionnaire and had higher Beck Depression Inventory and General Health Questionnaire depression scores than those with less frequent (episodic) headache. Frequency of headache, but not pain severity, duration, or diagnosis, predicted both Migraine Disability Assessment total disability and General Health Questionnaire/Beck Depression Inventory depression. Neuroticism was predictive of depression but not disability. Patients with chronic migraine had the highest depression and disability scores. Conclusion.,The number of days per month with headache is a key determinant of headache-related burden in those attending specialty clinics. Frequent (chronic) headache is associated with significantly higher psychopathology scores and general social impairment, but the direction of this relationship is not clear. Those with migraine and chronicity are the most impaired. [source] A review of psychosocial needs of breast-cancer patients and their relativesJOURNAL OF CLINICAL NURSING, Issue 21 2008Silvia Schmid-Büchi Aim., To identify the psychosocial needs of breast-cancer patients and their relatives along with factors affecting these needs and to develop a tentative model to guide further research and need assessments in clinical practice. Background., Women experiencing breast cancer must deal with the diagnosis of a life-threatening illness. Treatment and the recovery process can be demanding for patients and their relatives. Need assessment may help clinicians focus on providing appropriate help. Design., Literature review. Method., Undertaken using electronic databases and specific research terms; 20 articles were identified and analysed. Results., The needs identified by patients involve (1) treatment-related physical and social impairment like fatigue, menopausal symptoms and a changed body image and (2) emotional distress like fear of recurrence, anxiety and depression. Partners need help to protect themselves and the patient from different threats. Women need information to maintain control and manage their illness. Partners want information concerning the patient's condition and both of them about the prognosis and perspectives. There is a lack of knowledge of relatives' needs. Mutual familial support, women's and partners' health and emotional distress may affect the interaction between the patients and their partners. Conclusions., A tentative family-based model to guide further research and clinical support is proposed. Further research is needed to determine precisely which psychosocial factors may influence fulfilment of the patients' and relatives' needs. Relevance to clinical practice., The proposed model may provide a framework for healthcare professionals to evaluate the patients' and relatives' met and unmet needs and the real demand for help, to guide care planning, counselling and education. [source] Impairment and distress associated with symptoms of male-typed and female-typed DSM-IV Axis-I disordersJOURNAL OF CLINICAL PSYCHOLOGY, Issue 4 2005Andrew J. Howell Recent research has established a pattern of impairment and distress associated with the symptoms of DSM-IV Axis-II disorders such that personality disorders occurring more commonly among males are associated with more social and occupational impairment, but less personal distress, than personality disorders occurring more commonly among females. The current study examined whether a similar pattern exists for DSM-IV Axis-I disorders. Lay judges (N = 206) rated the social impairment, occupational impairment, and personal distress associated with the symptoms of six male-typed and six female-typed Axis-I disorders. Impairment and distress were associated with male-typed and female-typed Axis-I disorders in the same manner as personality disorders. Reasons for the emphasis of social and occupational impairment among male-typed disorders and distress among female-typed disorders are discussed. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Clin Psychol. [source] Mild-onset presentation of Canavan's disease associated with novel G212A point mutation in aspartoacylase geneANNALS OF NEUROLOGY, Issue 2 2006Christopher G. Janson MD We describe two sisters with a mild-onset variant of Canavan's disease who presented at age 50 and 19 months with developmental delay but without macrocephaly, hypotonia, spasticity, or seizures. Remarkably, both patients had age-appropriate head control, gross motor development, and muscle tone. There were very mild deficits in fine motor skills, coordination, and gait. Both sisters had a history of strabismus, but otherwise vision was normal. The older child showed evidence of mild cognitive and social impairment, whereas language and behavior were normal for age in the infant. Both patients were found to be compound heterozygotes for C914A (A305E) and G212A (R71H) mutations in ASPA. Like all other known ASPA mutations, this previously unknown G212A mutation appears to have low absolute enzyme activity. Nevertheless, it is associated in these patients with an extremely benign phenotype that is highly atypical of Canavan's disease. Biochemical and clinical data were evaluated using a generalized linear mixed model generated from 25 other subjects with Canavan's disease. There were statistically significant differences in brain chemistry and clinical evaluations, supporting a distinct variant of Canavan's disease. Future studies of ASPA enzyme structure and gene regulation in these subjects could lead to a better understanding of Canavan's pathophysiology and improvements in ASPA gene therapy Ann Neurol 2006;59:428,431 [source] The Internet for educating individuals with social impairmentsJOURNAL OF COMPUTER ASSISTED LEARNING, Issue 4 2003J. Bishop Abstract Social impairments materialise in a number of forms, from developmental disabilities such as autistic spectrum disorder, to psychiatric conditions such as social phobia. The individuals diagnosed with these problems find it difficult to deal with social situations through either the inability to perform in these situations or the fear of not being able to do so. The study investigated the social and practical implications of using Mobile Internet technology to deliver information relating to a social situation in real-time to participants with Autistic Spectrum Disorders (n = 10) and General Social Phobia (n = 3) diagnosed using DSM-IV. The participants used the agent on their mobile phone to convert phrases they found offensive or confusing into more concise and understandable definitions. Analysing their attitudes revealed that the technology enables socially impaired individuals to learn the meaning of emotions and understand more about how they communicate with their peers. However, the study concludes that governmental organisations, education providers and society as a whole need to adopt a cohesive approach to communication to ensure socially impaired individuals are fully included in society [source] Responsiveness to staff support: evaluating the impact of individual characteristics on the effectiveness of active support training using a conditional probability approachJOURNAL OF INTELLECTUAL DISABILITY RESEARCH, Issue 8 2002C. Smith Abstract Background Active support training was fully conducted in 38 community houses accommodating 106 adults with intellectual disabilities (ID; group 1), but not in a further 36 accommodating 82 adults with ID (group 2). The aims of the present study were to analyse whether staff became more effective in supporting resident activity after the implementation of active support, and whether there was evidence of differential responsiveness by people with differing status in relation to adaptive behaviour, psychiatric diagnosis, challenging behaviour or autism. Methods Observations of staff:resident interaction and resident engagement in activity were taken before and after active support training. Changes in Yule's Q statistics, indicating the likelihood that resident engagement in activity followed staff giving residents verbal instruction or non-verbal assistance, were compared for the two groups. In addition, changes in similar statistics were compared for residents within group 1: (1) with Adaptive Behaviour Scale (ABS) scores above and below 180; and (2) with and without severe challenging behaviour, the triad of social impairments and mental illness. Results Yule's Q for engagement given non-verbal assistance significantly increased post-training among group 1, but not among group 2. Similar significant increases were found among group 1 residents with ABS scores below 180 without challenging behaviour, with and without the triad of social impairments, and without mental illness, but not with an ABS score above 180, with challenging behaviour and with mental illness. Conclusion The present analysis reinforces previous studies on the effectiveness of active support training for adults with more severe ID (i.e. with ABS scores below 180). Active support was as effective for people with the triad of social impairments as for those without it. However, the effectiveness of support offered to people with challenging behaviour or mental illness did not significantly increase. [source] Subjective assessments of the quality of life, well-being and self-efficacy in patients with schizophreniaPSYCHIATRY AND CLINICAL NEUROSCIENCES, Issue 4 2009Bun Chino md Aim:, The present study examined three kinds of subjective assessment scales in the same patient group with schizophrenia to analyze the correlations among scores obtained in relation to the background data. Method:, Thirty-six patients with schizophrenia were examined with the 26-item short form of the World Health Organization Quality of Life (WHO-QOL 26), Subjective Well-being under Neuroleptic drug treatment: Short Japanese version (SWNS) and Self-Efficacy for Community Life scale (SECL) for subjective assessment scales, five kinds of neurocognitive tests, Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS) for clinical symptom, Social Functioning Scale (SFS), and Global Assessment of Functioning (GAF) scale for social functioning. Result:, The scores for delusions (components of positive syndrome), anxiety and depression (components of general psychopathology) on the PANSS significantly correlated with QoL and subjective well-being scores. In contrast, the scores for components of negative syndrome were not correlated with the subjective assessment scores. Furthermore, none of the clinical symptom scores were correlated with the score in self-efficacy scale. The SFS and GAF scores were significantly correlated with the subjective assessment scores. There were significant correlations among the scores on the three subjective assessment scales. Conclusion:, Each scale has different features and should be utilized depending upon the expected effect of treatment or the purpose of assessment. The treatments provided to patients must be directed at improving both psychological and social impairments, in order to enhance the social functioning and QoL of patients. [source] Practitioner Review: Psychological Management of Anxiety Disorders in ChildhoodTHE JOURNAL OF CHILD PSYCHOLOGY AND PSYCHIATRY AND ALLIED DISCIPLINES, Issue 8 2001Mark R. Dadds Many anxiety problems begin in childhood and are a common form of psychological problem that can be highly distressing and associated with a range of social impairments. Thus, skills for conceptualising, assessing, and treating childhood anxiety problems should be in the repertoire of all child mental health specialists. This paper reviews psychosocial treatments for the most common anxiety disorders in children and adolescents. Developmental models of anxiety disorders emphasise maximum risk in children with shy or inhibited temperaments who are exposed to high family anxiety and avoidance, and/or acutely distressing experiences. As children mature these temperamental and environmental experiences are internalised to low self-competence and high threat expectancy. Both individual or group-based interventions utilising cognitive-behavioural strategies to address multiple risk factors are highly efficacious and family involvement can contribute to positive outcomes. Guidelines for assessment and treatment are presented, and suggestions are made for effectively managing clinical process. [source] | ||||||||||||||||||||||