Psychosocial and vocational impact of an internship program for people diagnosed with severe mental illnesses.

PURPOSE: Unemployment is an obstacle in recovery for people with severe mental illnesses (SMI), both in reducing psychopathological symptoms and in achieving a high quality of life. The aim of this study was to explore the impact of an internship program for people diagnosed with SMI on psychosocial variables using a pre-test and post-test design. METHOD: Four scales were administered to a sample of 127 study participants, all of whom were diagnosed with SMI. The results of standard and sheltered employment outcomes were obtained by comparing the number and type of contracts gained by participants up to one year after program completion. A repeated measures ANOVA analysis was carried out with intervention being an independent intra-subject variable and type of participant diagnosis being a between-subjects variable. RESULTS: A limited increase in social functioning was found, as well as a significant decrease in psychiatric distress for users diagnosed with personality disorders. Participants in the internship program obtained a greater number of employment contracts than their peers who did not participate in the program, albeit with a low effect size. CONCLUSIONS: Though results were positive, extension of internship length and provision of more intensive counselling for participants may be useful.

An internship program for persons with severe mental illnesses yielded modest improvements in social functioning.A decrease in psychiatric distress in participants with personality disorders was found after the internships.Participants in the internship obtained a greater number of employment contracts.An extended internship programme with workplace support is likely to be beneficial.

Estigma público en niños hacia personas con enfermedad mental / Public Stigma in Children Towards People With Mental Illness

Se analizó cómo la familiaridad que los adultos tenían con la enfermedad mental y la valoración más o menos positiva de sus experiencias al respecto influían en el estigma de los menores a su cargo. El estigma fue medido en términos de negación de ayuda por parte de los niños hacia un igual con enfermedad mental. La muestra fue de 56 niños de sexto de primaria y un tutor legal de cada uno. Se empleó el Attribution Questionnaire–8 for Children, la escala Level Of Familiarity y una escala de Likert para la valoración. Se halló una correlación positiva y estadísticamente significativa entre la familiaridad de los adultos y el estigma de los menores. A mayor familiaridad, menor estigma. Se debatió si las actitudes estigmatizantes medidas lo serían realmente o no en la infancia, siendo recomendable seguir profundizando al respecto y validar el Attribution Questionnaire–8 for Children en España. (AU)

We analyzed how the familiarity that adults had with mental illness and the more or less positive appraisal of their experiences in this regard influenced the stigma of their children. Stigma was measured in terms of children’s absence of pity or compassion, denial of help, and discrimination or segregation toward a peer with mental illness. The sample consisted of 56 sixth grade children and a responsible adult for each of them. The Attribution Questionnaire-8 for Children, the Level Of Familiarity Scale and a Likert scale were used for assessment. A positive and statistically significant correlation was found between adult familiarity and child denial of help. The higher the familiarity, the lower the stigma. It was recommended that further research be carried out, that the Attribution Questionnaire-8 for Childrenbe validated in Spain and to carry out interventions to prevent stigma in schools. (AU)

Estigma público en niños hacia personas con enfermedad mental / Public Stigma in Children Towards People With Mental Illness

Se analizó cómo la familiaridad que los adultos tenían con la enfermedad mental y la valoración más o menos positiva de sus experiencias al respecto influían en el estigma de los menores a su cargo. El estigma fue medido en términos de negación de ayuda por parte de los niños hacia un igual con enfermedad mental. La muestra fue de 56 niños de sexto de primaria y un tutor legal de cada uno. Se empleó el Attribution Questionnaire–8 for Children, la escala Level Of Familiarity y una escala de Likert para la valoración. Se halló una correlación positiva y estadísticamente significativa entre la familiaridad de los adultos y el estigma de los menores. A mayor familiaridad, menor estigma. Se debatió si las actitudes estigmatizantes medidas lo serían realmente o no en la infancia, siendo recomendable seguir profundizando al respecto y validar el Attribution Questionnaire–8 for Children en España. (AU)

We analyzed how the familiarity that adults had with mental illness and the more or less positive appraisal of their experiences in this regard influenced the stigma of their children. Stigma was measured in terms of children’s absence of pity or compassion, denial of help, and discrimination or segregation toward a peer with mental illness. The sample consisted of 56 sixth grade children and a responsible adult for each of them. The Attribution Questionnaire-8 for Children, the Level Of Familiarity Scale and a Likert scale were used for assessment. A positive and statistically significant correlation was found between adult familiarity and child denial of help. The higher the familiarity, the lower the stigma. It was recommended that further research be carried out, that the Attribution Questionnaire-8 for Childrenbe validated in Spain and to carry out interventions to prevent stigma in schools. (AU)

A Systematic Review of Public Stigmatization Toward Women Victims of Intimate Partner Violence in Low- and Middle-Income Countries.

Public stigmatization of women victims of intimate partner violence (IPV) has begun to be studied because of its negative impact on recovery from violence. This systematic review aimed to analyze such stigmatization in low- and middle-income countries (LAMIC) by identifying social norms and perceptions linked to public stigmatizing responses, such responses, negative consequences of those responses on victims, and other factors associated with public stigma. Following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines, five databases were searched using "stigma" and multiple synonyms of IPV as keywords. Selected articles were empirical, written in English, published in peer-reviewed journals, and reported findings on public stigma toward women victims of IPV that had occurred in LAMIC. Nineteen articles met the inclusion criteria. Patriarchal gender roles, normalization of IPV and the consideration of violence as a private matter were the most prevalent social norms among the studies. These led to blaming, isolating, and discriminating against the victim, making her feel ashamed, considering her less valuable than before suffering IPV, and dismissing or denying the abuse. Many negative consequences were identified. Anticipated public stigma, associated with not disclosing the abuse and not seeking help, was the most popular. Public stigmatization was stronger when other public stigmas intersected and in the case of disadvantaged social circumstances. Consequences were diminished by protective factors such as informal support and gender-based violence support services. This review provides a global vision for future research in each specific sociocultural context and is a first step in the design of anti-stigma programs in LAMIC.

Public Stigmatization of Women Victims of Intimate Partner Violence by Professionals Working in the Judicial System and Law Enforcement Agencies in Spain.

Recent international literature has demonstrated that the public stigma suffered by women victims of intimate partner violence (IPV) makes them less likely to disclose the abuse and to seek help and has a negative influence on third-party responses, with professionals working in the judicial system and law enforcement agencies being particularly susceptible to its impact. The absence of theories explaining how this stigma works and the legal and cultural differences that exist between countries prompted us to explore the process by which professionals working in law enforcement and the judicial system in Spain stigmatize this specific group of victims. Constructivist grounded theory was used to establish meanings and relationships between the components and processes involved in stigmatization, based on the data collected from individual, semi-structured, in-depth interviews with 11 professionals working in the aforementioned fields. In addition to the stigmatization that the interviewees claimed to have observed in coworkers, we also analyzed the conscious and/or unconscious stigmatization that they themselves exercised, which became evident during the course of the interview. The results confirmed the existence of stigma among professionals, with the said stigma often being unintentional and implicit in nature. The theoretical model that emerged from the data comprised four broad categories linked to the origin of the stigma, stigmatizing myths about victims and IPV, stigmatizing responses to victims who are seeking help, and the consequences of the stigma for the victims. In the study, we outline the associations observed between these factors and the subcategories included in each, and highlight the need to design training programs for professionals who are designed to fight against the stigma and which include self-analysis exercises as well as theoretical contents. We also discuss other implications of the results for both research and practice.

Salud y burnout de cuidadoras a domicilio: impacto de un curso de entrenamiento / Health and burnout of home health care assistants: impact of a training intervention

Existe una creciente necesidad de cuidados en los países desarrollados, por lo que el número de cuidadoras a domicilio ha aumentado de manera exponencial. La literatura ha señalado que este grupo profesional tiene un alto riesgo de sufrir una gran variedad de problemas de salud. A pesar de su importancia, no hay cursos de entrenamiento descritos para ellas. Este estudio describe el diseño de un curso psicoeducativo para un grupo de cuidadoras y muestra los resultados de un estudio pre-post para evaluar su efectividad considerando las siguientes variables: el estado psicosocial de salud, el agotamiento y los pensamientos disfuncionales sobre el cuidado. Una ANOVA de medidas repetidas se utilizó siempre que fue posible y la prueba de Wilcoxon o la prueba de Mann Whitney se usaron como pruebas no paramétricas. Los pensamientos disfuncionales se redujeron después del curso, siendo el tamaño del efecto mediano a grande. La disfunción social se redujo solo en el grupo de mujeres que también eran cuidadoras familiares. Llegamos a la conclusión de que los cuidadores profesionales pueden beneficiarse de una breve capacitación

There is a growing need for care in developed countries, so the number of home health care assistants has increased exponen tially. The literature has pointed out that this professional group is at high risk for a variety of health problems. Despite its importance, there are no described specific training interventions for it. This study describes a course for a group of female caregivers. A pre-post study is carried out to evaluate its effectiveness considering the following variables: the psychosocial state of health, the burnout and the dysfunctional thoughts about caregiving. The repeated measures ANOVA was used whenever possible and the Wilcoxon-test or the Mann Whitney-test were used as nonparametric tests. Dysfunctional thoughts were reduced after the course, being the effect size medium to large. Social dysfunction was reduced only in the group of women who were also family caregivers. We conclude that professional caregivers can benefit from brief training