Mental health service changes, organisational factors, and patient suicide in England in 1997–2012 : a before-and-after study

Background

Research into which aspects of service provision in mental health are most eff ective in preventing suicide is sparse. We examined the association between service changes, organisational factors, and suicide rates in a national sample.

Methods

Read more

Intranasal oxytocin enhances neural processing of monetary reward and loss in post-traumatic stress disorder and traumatized controls

Abstract
Background
Anhedonia is a significant clinical problem in post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). PTSD patients show reduced motivational approach behavior, which may underlie anhedonic symptoms. Oxytocin administration is known to increase reward sensitivity and approach behavior. We therefore investigated whether oxytocin administration affected neural responses during motivational processing in PTSD patients and trauma-exposed controls.
Methods

Read more

Healing through Action? The Political Mobilization of Victims of Al Qaeda-Inspired Violence in Spain and the United Kingdom

Spain and the United Kingdom have experienced similar types of political violence. Since the 1960s, both countries have suffered casualties as a result of long-standing ethno-nationalist conflicts as well as terrorist attacks by Al Qaeda–inspired groups.

 

Read more

Compassion Fatigue and Compassion Satisfaction among Police Officers : An Understudied Topic

Police officers routinely face critical incidents such as violent offenders, motor vehicle fatalities, and mistreated children (Cross & Ashley, 2004; Karlsson & Christianson, 2003). Police are tasked with keeping the peace and helping traumatized victims. Over time, the effort to alleviate the victims’ suffering may come with a cost. Charles Figley (1995) coined the term “compassion fatigue” (pp. 9) to describe this “cost of caring for those who suffer.” Compassion fatigue (CF) has multiple negative effects on caregiving professionals’ wellbeing and occupational performance.

Read more

Role of morality in the experience of guilt and shame within the armed forces

Objective
Despite advances in our understanding of mental health issues among military forces, a large proportion of military personnel continue to exhibit deployment-related psychological issues. Recent work has identified symptoms of guilt and shame related to moral injury as contributing significantly to combat-related mental health issues. This systematic scoping review explores the association between morality and symptoms of guilt and shame within military forces.
Method

Read more

Assessment of dissociation among combat-exposed soldiers with and without posttraumatic stress disorder

Background: Dissociation is a disruption of and/or discontinuity in the normal, subjective integration of one or more aspects of psychological functioning, including memory, identity, consciousness, perception, and motor control. A limited number of studies investigated combat-related dissociation.
Objective: The primary aim of this study was to evaluate the relationship between dissociative symptoms and combat-related trauma.

Read more

Effect of the 5-HTTLPR polymorphism on posttraumatic stress disorder, depression, anxiety, and quality of life among Iraq and Afghanistan veterans

Background and Objectives: Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depression, anxiety, and stress are significant problems among returning veterans and are associated with reduced quality of life. Design: A correlational design was used to examine the impact of a polymorphism (5-HTTLPR) in the serotonin transporter promoter gene on post-deployment adjustment among returning veterans. Methods: A total of 186 returning Iraq and Afghanistan veterans were genotyped for the 5-HTTLPR polymorphism. Symptoms of PTSD, depression, general stress, and anxiety were assessed along with quality of life.

Read more

Deployment-related mental health support: comparative analysis of NATO and allied ISAF partners

Background

Read more

Social organizational stressors and post-disaster mental health disturbances: A longitudinal study

Social organizational stressors are well-known predictors of mental health disturbances (MHD). However, to what extent these stressors predict post-disaster MHD among employed victims hardly received scientific attention and is clearly understudied. For this purpose we examined to what extent these stressors independently predict MHD 1.5 years post-disaster over and above well-known risk factors such as disaster exposure, initial MHD and lack of general social support, life-events in the past 12 months and demographics (N=423).

Read more

Beyond Storms & Droughts: The Psychological Impacts of Climate Change [Eng]

Research and communications about the impacts of climate change have generally focused on physical impacts, like more extreme storms, rising sea levels, and increasingly severe droughts. Psychological impacts, on the other hand, have received comparatively little attention. The goal of this report is to summarize these and other impacts on human well-being, and provide climate communicators, planners, policymakers, public health officials, and other leaders the tools they need to both respond to these impacts and bolster public engagement around climate change.

Read more

Pages