Prevalence and risk factors for the use of restraint in psychiatry: a systematic review.

AIM: Despite the poor evidence supporting the use of coercive procedures in psychiatry wards and their "psychological damage" on patients, the practice of restraint is still frequent (6-17%) and varies 10-20 times among centers. METHODS: We searched the PubMed, Embase, and PsychInfo databases for papers published between January 1 1990 and March 31 2010 using the key words "restraint", "constraint", "in-patient" and "psychiatry wards" and the inclusion criteria of adult samples (studies of selected samples such as a specific psychiatric diagnosis other than psychosis, adolescence or the elderly, men/women only, personality disorders and mental retardation were excluded), the English, French, Italian or German languages, and an acute setting. RESULTS: The prevalence of the use of restraint was 3.8-20% (not different from previous data), despite the attempts to reduce the use of restraint. The variables most frequently associated with the use of coercive measures in the 49 studies included in this review were male gender, young adult age classes, foreign ethnicity, schizophrenia, involuntary admission, aggression or trying to abscond, and the presence of male staff. CONCLUSIONS: Coercive measures are still widely used in many countries (albeit to a greater or lesser extent) despite attempts to introduce alternatives (introduction of special protocols and nurses' training courses) in some centers that should really be tested in large-scale multicenter studies in order to verify their efficacy.

Effects of Positive Psychology Interventions on the Well-Being of Young Children: A Systematic Literature Review.

Over the last 20 years, the effectiveness of positive psychology interventions for the development of the well-being of children and adolescents and the moderation of high levels of anxiety and depression in this population has been largely demonstrated. Emphasis has been placed on the promotion of well-being and prevention of mental health problems in the school context in order to foster, through positive psychology, the cognitive and socio-emotional development of primary and secondary students, e.g., by strengthening positive relationships, positive emotions, character strengths, optimism, and hope. However, little is known about the impact of these interventions on young children. This systematic review aims at examining the effects of positive psychology interventions on the well-being of early childhood children (<6 years old), both in the preschool education context with educators or teachers and also in the family context with parents. Several electronic databases were searched, and the findings systematically reviewed and reported by the PRISMA guidelines. Very few studies met the inclusion criteria (n = 3), highlighting the need for further research in this area. Indeed, all of the selected studies demonstrated the importance of positive psychology interventions with young children to promote positive aspects of development, such as gratitude, positive emotions, life satisfaction, accomplishment, positive relationship, or self-esteem. Limitations in the field are discussed.

Adolescents' School Burnout: A Comparative Study between Italy and Switzerland.

This study aimed to analyze and compare students' school burnout levels in Switzerland and Italy. Previous research has confirmed that female and older students in particular are highly exposed to burnout risk. Nevertheless, few studies have observed this phenomenon through a cross-national comparison. Data on burnout were collected from a sample of 840 adolescents (Italian students = 497; Swiss students = 343) (Mage = 14.98; SD = 1.06; Female = 50%). Burnout was measured using the School Burnout Inventory, and cross-cultural measurement invariance was tested. The results showed that this burnout measure was equivalent between the Italian and Swiss samples. A multivariate analysis of variance was next conducted to investigate the effects of age, gender, and nationality. Results partially confirmed our hypotheses, showing the effect of age but not of gender in explaining burnout differences among students, and between and within-group variance. In particular, the burnout risk was found to be higher in late adolescence (age 16 to 18, Mexhaution = 2.73; Mcynicism = 2.99; MInadequacy = 3.14) than in mid-adolescence (age 13 to 15 Mexhaution = 2.95; Mcynicism = 3.43; MInadequacy = 3.54). Furthermore, Italian adolescents were more exhausted and cynical (Mexhaution = 2.99; Mcynicism = 3.26) than their Swiss peers (Mexhaution = 2.52; Mcynicism = 2.93) when controlling for age and gender. Findings suggest further investigation of the role played by educational and cultural values may be warranted.