Pilot study of career mentoring program for juveniles.

This article describes an innovative career-mentoring program for court-ordered juveniles that targets risk factors of recidivism and incorporates elements of effective career intervention. Youth were randomly assigned to a mentoring group or a treatment-as-usual (TAU) group. The mentoring group received nine sessions of a structured career-mentoring program from students at a university. The TAU group received other programs provided by the court. Results at posttest indicated that the mentoring group exhibited more pro-social motivations for work, more realistic attitudes toward work, and more professional job interests than the TAU group. Persons in the mentoring group enjoyed their mentoring experience with their university student mentors. Results have implications for cost-effective programs for court-ordered youth at a crucial time in their development. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved).

Machine learning model to predict mental health crises from electronic health records.

The timely identification of patients who are at risk of a mental health crisis can lead to improved outcomes and to the mitigation of burdens and costs. However, the high prevalence of mental health problems means that the manual review of complex patient records to make proactive care decisions is not feasible in practice. Therefore, we developed a machine learning model that uses electronic health records to continuously monitor patients for risk of a mental health crisis over a period of 28 days. The model achieves an area under the receiver operating characteristic curve of 0.797 and an area under the precision-recall curve of 0.159, predicting crises with a sensitivity of 58% at a specificity of 85%. A follow-up 6-month prospective study evaluated our algorithm's use in clinical practice and observed predictions to be clinically valuable in terms of either managing caseloads or mitigating the risk of crisis in 64% of cases. To our knowledge, this study is the first to continuously predict the risk of a wide range of mental health crises and to explore the added value of such predictions in clinical practice.

Insomnia predicts treatment engagement and symptom change: a secondary analysis of a web-based CBT intervention for veterans with PTSD symptoms and hazardous alcohol use.

Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and hazardous drinking are highly comorbid, and often more severe than PTSD or hazardous drinking alone. Integrated, web-based interventions for PTSD/hazardous drinking may increase access to care, but have demonstrated equivocal results in reducing PTSD and hazardous drinking. One factor that may explain treatment engagement and symptom change is the presence of insomnia symptoms. The current study conducted secondary data analysis of a randomized controlled trial of an integrated web-based intervention for PTSD symptoms and hazardous drinking to examine insomnia symptoms as predictors of PTSD symptoms, alcohol use, and treatment engagement. In the parent study, 162 veterans in primary care reporting PTSD symptoms and hazardous drinking were randomized to receive either the intervention or treatment as usual. The current study examined insomnia among veterans who received the intervention (n = 81). Regression models tested baseline insomnia symptoms as predictors of treatment engagement, follow-up PTSD symptoms, and alcohol use. Hierarchical regression models tested change in insomnia during treatment as a predictor of follow-up PTSD symptoms and alcohol use. Results showed baseline insomnia predicted treatment engagement and follow-up drinking days, but not PTSD symptoms or heavy drinking days. Although overall change in insomnia was small, it predicted follow-up PTSD and heavy drinking days, but not drinking days. Results are consistent with previous research highlighting the importance of identifying and treating insomnia in the course of integrated treatment for PTSD/hazardous drinking. Future research should investigate how to best integrate insomnia, PTSD, and/or hazardous drinking interventions to maximize treatment engagement.

Division 18 presidential address: The future of public service psychology.

This article provides the results of a survey completed by members of Division 18 regarding their perceptions of the division's values, as well as the greatest asset in being a member and their view of the future of psychologists in the public sector. Results indicated that members perceive Division 18 as a home for professional interests, with a commitment to providing public service and treatment. Members noted that they valued several things, including networking with colleagues as well as information that the division provided. As Division 18 continues to develop, members would like to see even more communication and connection with each other. Furthermore, members perceive the future of psychologists in the public sector as including more emphasis on professional specialization (e.g., health psychology and integrated care) and evidence-based practices and less emphasis on traditional therapy. By documenting the division's past as well and presenting voices of more current Division 18 members, this article can be helpful to future leaders and division members to guide the development of the division and influence public service psychology. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2019 APA, all rights reserved).

Mobile app interventions for military and veteran families: Before, during, and after deployment.

Deployment to foreign wars leads to many challenges for military families. Unique risk factors for behavioral and psychological problems have been identified before, during, and after the deployment of a loved one. This brief report outlines these challenges and risk factors at each stage of the deployment process and describes mobile applications that may be beneficial in addressing them. The mobile applications, Babies on the Homefront, The Big Moving Adventure, and Sandboxx, were identified as relevant for addressing the parenting, communication, and relocation difficulties experienced by military families before and during the deployment process. Parenting 2GO, PTSD Coach, and PTSD Family Coach were identified as being relevant for addressing the difficulties with the reintegration of service members into the family unit. The potential for the clinical use of these apps are considered and discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2019 APA, all rights reserved).