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PubMed1993

From the community mental health movement to the war on drugs. A study in the definition of social problems.

In the 1980s, the Reagan and Bush administrations reduced funding for community mental health programs and began instead to support substance abuse treatment agencies. One reason for this shift in policy was that the social problem of mental illness had been captured by progressives in the community mental health movement. Conservatives, therefore, needed a new problem to redefine and use to enact new social control policies. The conservatives' claim that substance abuse is primarily the result of a defect in the character or constitution of the abuser has had profound effects on both social policy and the research community. Greater awareness is needed on the part of researchers as to how social problems have been defined and how government research grants affect our thinking about substance abuse.

Community Mental Health Centers↗
PubMed1988

Psychiatric morbidity and social problems in patients with insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus.

A two-stage screening strategy was used to study psychiatric morbidity and social problems in a consecutive series of out-patients with insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus. The prevalence of psychiatric morbidity was 18%, and consisted of depression, anxiety, and attendant symptoms. Patients reporting major social problems had significantly higher levels of psychiatric symptoms. Psychiatric morbidity was not associated with the presence of complications of diabetes.

Adult↗
PubMed1991

Life events, social problems and physical health status as predictors of emotional distress in men and women in a community setting.

The main aim of this study was to construct logistic models of emotional distress (defined as a GHQ-30 score of 6 or greater) in a community sample of 226 men and 225 women. The independent variables included were: sociodemographic characteristics, physical health status, social problems and undesirable life events. Univariate comparisons showed that in both sexes undesirable life events and social problems were associated with emotional distress; in men the presence of physical symptoms and widowed, separated or divorced status also showed such an association. Separate logistic regression models for men and women confirmed the importance of undesirable life events and social problems as predictors for emotional distress. In women there was also a significant interaction effect between the two variables on emotional distress. Sociodemographic characteristics and physical health status did not exert a statistically significant effect in these models.

Adaptation, Psychological↗
PubMed1994

Psychometric properties of the Social Problem Solving Inventory (SPSI) with normal and emotionally disturbed adolescents.

The factor structure of the Social Problem Solving Inventory (SPSI; D'Zurilla & Nezu, 1990) was evaluated with a sample of 708 normal adolescents. Confirmatory factor analysis supported the empirically derived five-factor model reported by D'Zurilla and Maydeu-Olivares (1994) using an adult sample, but not the theoretically derived seven-factor structure of the original SPSI. The psychometric properties of the original and revised inventories are reported for normal adolescents and psychiatrically hospitalized adolescents (n = 63). Internal consistency and reliability estimates were adequate. Support for the validity of the revised SPSI was demonstrated by examining the relationship between social skills, depression, and social problem solving; in addition, differences between normal and inpatient adolescent samples were examined. The findings are discussed in terms of the utility of the inventories with adolescents.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1995

An empirical method for assessing social problem solving in schizophrenia.

The development of a multimethod social problem-solving battery for schizophrenia is described. The battery is unique in that empirical methods were used throughout its development. The battery includes components that tap skills for response generation and response evaluation. The behavioral components of social problem solving are assessed in an extended role-play format. Individuals with schizophrenia and bipolar disorder, as well as nonpatient controls, completed the social problem-solving battery and cognitive measures. Subjects in the schizophrenia group performed more poorly than controls on measures of the ability to generate and evaluate response alternatives, as well as on the role-play test. The two patient groups did not differ in performance on any of the social problem-solving components. Appropriateness of affect was the most powerful predictor of problem-solving effectiveness.

Adult↗
PubMed1992

Social problem solving among popular and unpopular children.

The present study investigated two issues related to children's social status and problem solving: the content of problem-solving measures and judgments of the quality of responses to social problems. Three types of social problem situations were studied: peer entry/initiation, maintaining social interaction, and management of conflict. The quality of children's strategies for solving these problems was rated on two dimensions: effectiveness and social competence. Liked-most children obtained significantly more effective and socially competent ratings than liked-least children for only one of the social problem situations--management of conflict. Significant differences between liked-most and liked-least children were also found between the quality of their best effective and best socially competent solution and their worst socially competent solutions. Results are discussed in terms of the psychometric adequacy of social problem-solving measures and the resultant problems in interpretation.

Child, Preschool↗
PubMed1992

Australia's most pressing social problem: nursing vs non-nursing students' views.

Nursing and non-nursing students (N = 297) were surveyed in 1989 for their opinion of 'Australia's most pressing social problem'. Significant differences were found between the two groups. Although race relations in Australia headed the concerns of both groups of students, nursing students consistently chose health-related issues as their choices for 'the most pressing social problem' facing the Australian nation. Several explanations for this 'focused' interest of nursing students are discussed in the paper, in the context of the possible different socialisation of students before entering tertiary study and the need for sociology education for nursing students.

Adult↗
PubMed1995

Social problem solving: a moderator of the relation between negative life stress and depression symptoms in children.

The social problem-solving skill of generating effective alternative solutions was tested as a moderator of the relation between negative life stress and depressed mood in children. Boys (n = 25) and girls (n = 25), ages 8 to 12 years, from inner-city, lower socioeconomic group families, completed measures of depression symptoms, negative impact of life events, and quantity and effectiveness of alternative solutions to social problems. Results indicated that the effectiveness of alternative solutions children generate in response to peer social problems moderates the relation between stress and depression. Children who experienced a high impact of negative life events, with less effective social problem-solving skills, reported higher levels of depression compared to children who experienced a high impact of negative life events but exhibited more effective social problem-solving skills. Results are discussed in terms of alternative theoretical models for the mechanisms whereby effective social problem-solving skills moderate stress-related depression.

Child↗
PubMed2005

Do children do what they say? Responses to hypothetical and real-life social problems in children with mild intellectual disabilities and behaviour problems.

BACKGROUND: Most research on children's social problem-solving skills is based on responses to hypothetical vignettes. Just how these responses relate to actual behaviour in real-life social situations is, however, unclear, particularly for children with mild intellectual disabilities (MID). METHOD: In the present study, the spontaneous and selected responses of 56 children with MID to hypothetical situations from the Social Problem-Solving Test for children with MID (SPT-MID) were compared to their actual behaviour in comparable staged standardized real-life conflict situations. Correlations to externalizing behaviour problems were assessed using the Teacher's Report Form (TRF). RESULTS: The results show children with MID and accompanying externalizing behaviour problems to behave more aggressively in the staged real-life conflicts and provide more spontaneous aggressive responses to the hypothetical vignettes than children with MID and no accompanying externalizing behaviour problems; they did not, however, select more aggressive responses from the hypothetical options provided. A moderate correlation was found between the aggressiveness of the spontaneous responses in the hypothetical situations and actual behaviour in the staged real-life situations. In addition, both the spontaneous aggressive responses under hypothetical circumstances and the actual aggressive behaviour under staged real-life circumstances were related to teacher-rated aggressive behaviour in the classroom. CONCLUSIONS: It is concluded that the hypothetical vignettes from the SPT-MID do provide information on both the actual behaviour and knowledge of social problem-solving skills of children with MID.

Aggression↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Benzodiazepines as a social problem: the case of halcion.

This paper uses the case study of the crisis surrounding the benzodiazepine sleeping tablet Halcion (triazolam). particularly in the UK and US, to assess the explanatory value of the developmental model of drugs as a social problem first outlined by Gabe and Bury (9). It is argued that the case study supports the value of the model's three stage approach of emergence, legitimation and state response but that further comparative work needs to be undertaken with prescribed drugs other than benzodiazepines in order to substantiate fully the claim that the model represents a "natural history" of drugs as a social problem.

Humans↗
PubMed2004

Social problem solving abilities and psychosocial impairment among individuals recuperating from surgical repair for severe pressure sores.

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: The relationship of social problem solving abilities, health locus of control beliefs, and psychosocial impairment were examined among individuals with spinal cord injuries who were hospitalized following surgical repair of severe pressure sores. METHODS: Individuals were approached after surgical repair and completed measures of problem solving, health locus of control beliefs, and psychosocial impairment after admission to the rehabilitation hospital. RESULTS: The sample reported greater psychosocial impairment than observed in comparative data, but they did not differ from another sample in terms of health locus of control beliefs. Correlational analyses revealed that a negative orientation toward problem solving was significantly predictive of psychosocial impairment, consistent with prior research. However, a second study found persons assigned to a brief problem solving intervention did not differ on any measure from participants in a control group. DISCUSSION: Implications of these results are discussed from theoretical and clinical perspectives. Although social problem solving abilities were predictive of psychosocial impairment in a predicted direction, the lack of effects for the intervention suggests greater precision is needed to understand individual needs and to develop individualized intervention protocols.

Adaptation, Psychological↗
PubMed1984

Child maltreatment as a social problem: the neglect of neglect.

Child maltreatment is analyzed utilizing a "social problem" framework. Although data reveal that child neglect is more prevalent and its consequences as serious as child abuse, it has received far less attention than has abuse. Historical factors and the relationship between child neglect and poverty are viewed as the major reasons for the deemphasis of neglect relative to abuse.

Child Abuse↗
PubMed1994

Reading the problem family: post-structuralism and the analysis of social problems.

Post-structuralist theory questions the rational pursuit of an underlying 'truth' that often characterizes social scientific inquiry, proposing instead the simultaneous existence of multiple and often contradictory truths. The problem family can, from this perspective, only be known through the different discourses that produce it. This paper suggests some of the political advantages of developing methods of reading 'problems' related to drugs and alcohol. Without this critical attention to language, we risk perpetuating the ways in which problems are talked about and thought about. Drawing on examples from debates surrounding teenage pregnancy and youth drinking, the paper argues that post-structuralism allows us to analyse the specific ways in which professional discourses write social problems, and hence to own them and to re-write them.

Journal Article↗
PubMed1984

[Social problems of epilepsy].

Epilepsy is not only a cerebral but also a social reality. The social problems surrounding this afflication must usually be faced throughout the patient's life: in childhood remedial measures or special schools are usually necessary, and when school has ended the question of employment arises. In addition, the wish to drive a motor vehicle is often expressed. Structural analysis of the "epileptic personality" reveals, over and above the unmodifiable components, a number of therapeutically accessible areas; in special cases even creative leanings are observable.

Adult↗
PubMed1996

Role of autobiographical memory in social problem solving and depression.

Depressed patients frequently exhibit deficiencies in social problem solving (SPS). A possible cause of this deficit is an impairment in patients' ability to retrieve specific autobiographical memories. A clinically depressed group and a hospital control group performed the Means-End Problem-Solving (MEPS; J. J. Platt & G. Spivack, 1975a) task, during which they were required to attend to the memories retrieved during solution generation. Memories were categorized according to whether they were specific, categoric, or extended and whether the valence of the memories was positive or negative. Results support the general hypothesis that SPS skill is a function of autobiographical memory retrieval as measured by a cuing task and by the types of memories retrieved during the MEPS. However, the dysfunctional nature of categoric memories in SPS, rather than the importance of specific memories, was highlighted in the depressed group. Valence proved to be an unimportant variable in SPS ability. The cyclical links among autobiographical memory retrieval, SPS skills, and depression are discussed.

Adaptation, Psychological↗
PubMed1998

[Social problems encountered during prenatal care in a Paris maternity ward].

In 1993, about 2,600 children are born in Robert Debré Hospital (RDH), a hospital specialized in pediatrics and obstetrics located in Paris. One hundred and seventy nine of the mothers contacted the hospital social service during pregnancy. The main goal of this study was to describe the social problems encountered by these women and the solutions proposed by the social service of RDH. The second aim was to describe the socio-demographic profile and medical problems of this population. At first contact, 45% of the women had no social coverage, and only 18% had a steady job. Most social problems were related to administrative procedures. Financial and housing problems were more difficult to solve in this context. These figures reflect the growing problem of precarity, with its consequences. A hospital social service is not the right place to solve these very complex problems. The most worrisome point is that the living conditions of newborn children are often unknown after delivery.

Adult↗
PubMed1992

Health and social problems of refugees.

Today over 15 million refugees are scattered around the world, most of them in poor Third World countries [New Sci., pp. 14-15, September 1991]. But whether they seek 'safe havens' in rich or poor countries they continue to suffer from the malaise of being uprooted, struggling to survive in new and alien environments. Their health and social problems extend beyond the obvious emergency short-term phase. It is now clear that the number of refugees has increased beyond expectations and most have stayed long enough to expect final resettlement in their countries of asylum, a process which requires wider, more comprehensive and long-term management and rehabilitation interventions. This paper will attempt to highlight issues of health and social problems in their wider context, surveying comprehensive and integrated approaches in assessing the needs of refugees, whether they are in developing or industrialised countries, with emphasis on the latter and, when appropriate, using the United Kingdom experience as an example.

Acculturation↗