Effect of a metacognitive training program of mentalist skills / Efecto de un programa de entrenamiento metacognitivo en habilidades mentalistas

Background: Recent researches in Theory of Mind (ToM) relate its development to the development of the metacognitive skills 'planning' 'regulation' and acquisition of 'predictive and causal reasoning.' These studies reveal the importance of metacognitive training in the development of mentalist skills. Method: In the present work, the effects of training were compared in 20 children, aged between 4 and 5 years. Results: Significant within-group differences in the skills of belief attribution and memory attribution were found and a tendency towards significance in the skills of behavior prediction. Significant between-group differences were found in belief attribution, prediction, and memory. Conclusions: Mentalist skills training improve attribution, prediction and memory skills in ToM tasks (AU)

Antecedentes: recientes investigaciones en Teoría de la Mente (ToM) relacionan su desarrollo con el desarrollo de habilidades metacognitivas de 'planificación', de 'regulación', así como con la adquisición del 'razonamiento predictivo y causal'. Dichos estudios señalan la importancia que tiene el entrenamiento metacognitivo en el desarrollo de habilidades mentalistas. Método: en el presente trabajo participaron 20 niños de 4 y 5 años con objeto de comparar los efectos del entrenamiento. Resultados: se han encontrado diferencias significativas «intragrupo» en habilidades de atribución de creencia, de memoria y tendencia a la significación en habilidades de predicción del comportamiento. Asimismo se han hallado diferencias significativas «intergrupo» en atribución de creencia, predicción y memoria. Conclusiones: el entrenamiento en habilidades mentalistas parece incrementar las habilidades de atribución, predicción y memoria en tareas de Teoría de la Mente (AU)

Normative data for a Spanish version of the rey auditory-verbal learning test in older people

The Rey Auditory-Verbal Learning Test is an easy to administer test that assesses many memory domains and is, therefore, widely used in the area of clinical neuropsychology. The purpose of this study was to provide normative data for an elderly population living in Spain. The sample of this study was comprised of 156 volunteers over 60 years of age, which were grouped into six different age groups. These groups comprised of 10 participants between the ages of 61and 65 in the first group, 23 participants (66-70) in the second, 28 participants (71-75) in the third, 35 participants (76-80) in the fourth, 32 participants (81-85) in the fifth and 28 participants (86-95) in the sixth group. Demographic data were collected and means, deviations, and ranges of all the measures were evaluated. Normative data were calculated from the percentiles, and then converted into age-corrected scaled scores with a mean of 10 and a standard deviation of 3 (AU)

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"Balint group" meetings for oncology residents as a tool to improve therapeutic communication skills and reduce burnout level.

Medical training, particularly residency, may pose many challenges and may lead to burnout. Oncology training may be more stressful, given the prolonged exposure to death and dying. Balint group is an intervention method common in medical training, aimed at improving communication skills and strengthening doctor-patient relationships. We arranged for our oncology residents, guided by a senior oncologist and a clinical psychologist, to meet monthly for a discussion of personal cases from the residents' experiences. At the beginning of the year, higher measures in two burnout parameters were found in junior residents compared to senior residents. At the end of the year, the gap in Maslach Burnout Inventory scores between junior and senior residents had decreased, while burnout level decreased slightly during the year in junior residents. It was felt that participation in a Balint group could improve communication abilities of residents and contribute to their feelings of self-accomplishment as doctors.

Las actitudes de los niños de minorías hacia los miembros de un equipo competitivo: el paradigma de grupo mínimo con niños británicos bengalíes / Ethnic Minority Children's Attitudes Towards Competitive Team Members: A Minimal Group Study with British Bengali Children

Desde su formulación a finales de los años 90, la teoría evolutiva de la identidad social (SIDT; Nesdale, 1999) ha sido apoyada por numerosos estudios sobre el paradigma de grupo mínimo, aunque estos se han realizado principalmente con niños del grupo mayoritario. Este trabajo adapta el paradigma experimental de grupo mínimo de Nesdale et al. (2003) para evaluar las predicciones de la SIDT en una muestra de niños de una minoría étnica. Se asignó a 148 niños británicos- bengalíes de 5-6, 7-8 y 9-10 años a un “equipo de dibujo‟ que poseía habilidades superiores a las de un equipo rival. Los miembros del equipo podían ser del mismo grupo étnico (británicos-bengalíes) o diferente (británicos-blancos). Se pidió a los niños que puntuaran su preferencia por el propio equipo y el rival, el grado en que se sentían semejantes a uno y otro, y si deseaban cambiar de equipo. Se encontró que los niños preferían su equipo en mayor medida que al equipo rival, independientemente de la etnia de sus miembros. Sin embargo, los niños se sentían más iguales a su propio equipo cuando estaba formado por miembros de su grupo étnico que por miembros de distinto grupo étnico. Los resultados se comparan con los obtenidos en estudios previos con niños del grupo mayoritario, y se discuten en relación con la SIDT (AU)

Since its inception in the late 1990s, the social identity development theory (SIDT; Nesdale, 1999) has been supported by various minimal group studies, although such work has invariably been done with ethnic majority group children. The present study adapted Nesdale et al.’s (2003) minimal group experiment to test the predictions from SIDT with a sample of ethnic minority children. One hundred and forty-eight British Bengali children aged 5-6, 7-8 and 9-10 years were allocated to a “drawing team‟ that had superior skills than a rival team. The team members were shown to be of the same (Bengali) or a different (white English) ethnicity. Children rated their liking for, and similarity to, their own team and the rival team, and the extent to which they wanted to change teams. It was found that the children preferred their own team members more than the rival team members, irrespective of the ethnic makeup of the teams. However, the children felt more similar to their own team when it was made up of same-ethnic members compared to when it was made up of different-ethnic members. The findings are discussed in relation to those in previous studies with ethnic majority children and support for SIDT (AU)

Addressing patient health care demands in systemic sclerosis: pre-post assessment of a psycho-educational group programme.

OBJECTIVES: Patients diagnosed with systemic sclerosis (SSc) report a high need for education and support. To address these needs, a short, group-based psycho-educational programme for patients with SSc was developed and evaluated. METHODS: A pre-post test design was utilised. Participants completed questionnaires on physical and psychological functioning. Furthermore, patients were asked to evaluate the content of the programme by questionnaire. RESULTS: Data from 41 patients were available for analysis. Patients reported less helplessness after the intervention, and higher acceptance of their limitations. However, no difference in depressed mood and physical functioning was observed. Patients reported high satisfaction with the content of the programme. CONCLUSIONS: Despite the limited changes in psychological and physical functioning, this psycho-educational programme addresses patients' needs reported in previous study and therefore contributes to the improvement of care for patients with SSc.

Assistindo mulheres adolescentes: um relato de experiência / Assisting adolescent women: a report on an experience

O texto relata a experiência junto a um grupo de mulheres adolescentes em uma Unidade Básica de Saúde, no município de Santa Maria, RS, Brasil, mediante projeto de extensão desenvolvido por docentes e acadêmicos dos Cursos de Enfermagem e Psicologia da Universidade Federal de Santa Maria (UFSM), cujo objetivo é realizar ações integradas que propiciem espaços de reflexão e discussão com adolescentes. Para tanto, adotou-se uma metodologia participativa, na qual os adolescentes atuam efetivamente no processo educativo. Os temas, dinamizados por meio de oficinas didáticas, têm possibilitado importantes reflexões entre os envolvidos, evidenciando a relevância de atividades dessa natureza no nível da atenção básica

Exercícios práticos de dinâmica de grupo. v.2 / Practical exercises in group dynamics. v.2

Em dois volumes, esta obra conjuga técnicas e exercícios práticos de dinâmicas de grupo. Sendo o homem essencialmente um ser para os outros, estes exercícios têm o objetivo de: proporcionar um maior conhecimento de si e dos outros; melhor inter-relacionamento pessoal e maior integração grupal; despertar o sentido da solidariedade, da confiança mútua, do descobrimento do outro; criar um ambiente de sinceridade e de amizade, etc...

Family practice residents' perspectives on Balint group training: in-depth interviews with frequent and infrequent attenders.

BACKGROUND: Balint groups are focused discussion groups that help students, residents, or physicians respond empathetically to their patients and recognize underlying psychosocial elements in patients' complaints. Approximately 40% to 60% of residents who start optional Balint group training show infrequent attendance. The primary objective of this study was to interview frequent and nonfrequent attenders to assess the value of Balint group training from the residents' perspective and to explain why many residents attend Balint group meetings infrequently or discontinue Balint training altogether. METHODS: Two methods were used to discern differences between frequent attenders and infrequent attenders: (1) evaluation of Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) data collected at the beginning of the residency program, and (2) semi-structured personal interviews with both frequent and infrequent attenders. RESULTS: MBTI data showed frequent attenders to have higher scores than infrequent attenders in the intuitive dimension. Interviews with Balint group attenders showed strong perception about the value of this training. The majority felt Balint training had improved their effectiveness as family physicians, specifically when dealing with troubling patients. Infrequent attenders mentioned scheduling problems and a variety of emotional/personality factors as reasons for not attending Balint seminars. Frequent attenders attributed nonattendance in others to lack of interest in the psychodynamics of the doctor-patient relationship and differences in personality type. CONCLUSION: Residents who participated in Balint groups perceive this training as helpful in understanding themselves in relationships with their patients. However, the study results suggest that many residents choose not to attend optional Balint group seminars because of emotional or personality variables, such as anxiety about self-disclosure and introversion. While Balint groups are a valuable component of a family practice residency program, it is likely that not all residents will be motivated or capable of deriving benefits from this teaching approach.