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For 69 community college students, scores on the Hypochondriasis Scale correlated .44 with those on the UCLA Loneliness Scale, and .53 with problems in social functioning. These data are consistent with DSM-III--R listings of poor coping and social skills for hypochondriacal personality.
In 220 schizophrenic twins, men had greater asociality-withdrawal and poorer premorbid social competence than women but there were no sex differences in symptoms, suggesting that negative symptoms and social functioning reflect different processes in the development and manifestation of schizophrenia and that they should be examined separately.
BACKGROUND: Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) lacks rapid and effective interventions for its core social difficulties. The right temporoparietal junction (rTPJ), a critical hub for social cognition, together with gamma band abnormalities implicated in ASD, provides a promising neuromodulation target. METHODS: In this randomized, double-blind, sham-controlled trial, 47 children with ASD (39 male; mean [SD] age = 8.79 [2.71] years) were assigned to receive either 21 sessions of 40-Hz high-definition transcranial alternating current stimulation (tACS) targeting the rTPJ (3 sessions/day for 7 days) or sham stimulation, with assessments conducted at baseline, postintervention (week 1), and a 3-week follow-up (week 4). The primary outcome was change in Ohio State University Autism Rating Scale-DSM-5 (OARS-5) total scores. Secondary outcomes included the Aberrant Behavior Checklist-Second Edition, Social Responsiveness Scale-Second Edition, and Short Sensory Profile. Eye-tracking metrics during Frith-Happé animations were exploratory measures of theory of mind (ToM)-related social cognitive processing. RESULTS: The active group demonstrated significant improvements in OARS-5 total scores at week 1 (mean difference = -1.13, 95% CI [-1.78 to -0.47], p < .001) and week 4 (mean difference = -1.47, 95% CI [-2.20 to -0.74], p < .001). Improvements in selected behavioral and sensory domains were observed. Average fixation duration during ToM animations showed a significant group × time interaction. No serious adverse events occurred. CONCLUSIONS: These findings suggest that 40-Hz tACS targeting the rTPJ may be associated with rapid improvements in ASD symptom severity, particularly social functioning, in children with ASD, while being well tolerated. Clinical significance requires further evaluation.
One hundred twenty-one young adults 18 years of age or older who had been seen at this hospital with juvenile arthritis since 1955 were surveyed by a series of questionnaires to determine current social function and financial status. Chart reviews and patient questionnaires were used to determine modes of onset and the social circumstances of the family at the onset of the arthritis. The patients as a whole were functioning well: 45 were working full time, 25 were in school full time, 23 were in school and working, and 14 were married women at home. Females had a higher prevalence of persisting disability. Patients who had had a polyarticular onset had lower monthly salaries. No other disease or social variables at onset were statistically associated with any of the outcome variables measured. Fifty of the patients were compared to matched siblings and were found to have achieved comparable educations and salaries, and proportionate numbers of marriages and children.
An analysis of data from a longitudinal study of individuals during and after psychiatric hospitalization found that multiple work roles often remain unconsidered in assessments of social functioning and psychiatric status. The inclusion of such multiple roles was found to be important for adequate measurement of productive functioning and to illuminate their interaction with individuals' psychopathology.
Two hundred and thirty hypertensive Canadian steelworkers were followed for 5 years after screening and referral. Data on income, absenteeism and measures of work and social function were collected on these men and on a matched group of 230 normotensive employees. In the fifth year after screening, hypertensive employees earned an average of Can. $1093 less than normotensive employees despite similar incomes in the year before screening. This adverse effect on income was observed regardless of awareness of hypertension at the time of screening or compliance with treatment. Illness-related absenteeism among hypertensives rose in the year following screening and remained elevated for 4 years after screening. Normotensive and hypertensive employees reported similar levels of physical ability and psychological well-being. These findings need verification in other settings before inclusion in cost-effectiveness analyses of the management of hypertension.
Younger adult students between 19 and 24 years of age (M = 21.3 years), older adult students between 61 and 76 years of age (M = 67.9 years), and older adult nonstudents between 62 and 76 years of age (M = 68.5 years) were assessed for health (self-ratings of physical and mental health), social functioning (self-ratings of physical and mental activity, perceived role activity level, perceived roles, locus of control, and age-norm expectations), and cognitive functioning (Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale-Revised vocabulary and block design, and paired associate memory). Age differences were observed in self-ratings of health, social roles, intellectual performance, and memory. No student status differences were observed. The results are discussed in terms of plasticity of intellectual function and characteristics of student status in later adulthood.
This paper reports on the testing of self-report scales, in a pilot study of 28 children with a psychiatrically ill parent. We examined the relationship between children's responses about themselves and mothers' responses about their children, on symptom and social functioning scales. The self-report scales administered to the children included the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale, the Children's Depression Inventory, and the Social Adjustment Scale. The mothers completed the Achenbach Child Behavior Checklist, the Conners Parent Questionnaire, and the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale about their children. Agreement between mothers and children on the assessment of the child was poor. Agreement was good across the scales used when the information was derived from the same informant. The implication of these results for epidemiological studies, particularly concerning dual informants, is discussed.
Two hundred and ten patients with Tourette Syndrome (TS) and/or their parents completed a survey, answering questions about the frequency and disruptiveness of vocal and motor tics, behaviour problems and sleep disturbances. Respondents also rated the impact of TS symptoms on social relationships and level of personal and social functioning. Motor tics were reported to be more problematic than were vocal tics. Disruptive behavioural problems included obsessive-compulsive rituals, hyperactivity, anxiety, temper tantrums, mood swings, aggressiveness and coprolalia. Respondents also reported problems getting to sleep, bad dreams, somnambulism and enuresis. More than 40% of respondents reported problems in dating, and problems in making and keeping friends. Family members, friends and physicians were reported to be the most understanding and tolerant of TS symptoms; employers were rated as being the least understanding. More than 30% of respondents reported some problems in coping, but more than 50% of respondents also rated their mental health as good or excellent.
We designed a study to assess the specific contribution of cognitive dysfunction to multiple sclerosis patients' problems in daily living. Based on the results of a comprehensive neuropsychological test battery, we classified 100 MS patients as either cognitively intact (N = 52) or cognitively impaired (N = 48). In addition to a neurologic examination, MS patients completed questionnaires on mood and social functioning, underwent a comprehensive in-home occupational therapy evaluation, and were rated by a close relative or friend regarding specific personality characteristics. While there were no significant differences between the two groups on measures of physical disability and illness duration, patients in the cognitively impaired group were less likely to be working, engaged in fewer social and avocational activities, reported more sexual dysfunction, experienced greater difficulty in performing routine household tasks, and exhibited more psychopathology than cognitively intact patients. These findings suggest that cognitive dysfunction is a major factor in determining the quality of life of patients with MS.
The effects of child sexual abuse have become a leading concern of mental health service providers. Despite an explosion of studies, one major difficulty in this research is the lack of a developmentally sensitive model for conceptualizing short- and long-term effects and continuity and discontinuity of effects over time. This article proposes a model based in the perspective of developmental psychopathology. It is argued that incest has its unique negative effects in the domains of self and social functioning, specifically in jeopardizing self-definition and integration, self-regulatory processes, and a sense of security and trust in relationships. Studies with clinical samples indicate that diagnostic conditions associated uniquely with a history of incest reflect serious self- and social impairments. A review of the developmental literature on self and social development summarizes each major developmental transition from infancy to middle adulthood, and the implications for the negative effects of incest on development are discussed. Finally, implications for developmentally sensitive research are discussed.
This study followed up a ward group of long-term, mainly schizophrenic patients after transfer from Bexley Hospital, a large institution in South East London, to small purpose built rehabilitation unit in a distant hospital, and used a matched control group of patients remaining in Bexley Hospital for comparison. There was no pattern of symptomatic improvement or deterioration with time in either group, but social functioning and behaviour did improve in those transferred. The patients transferred were well informed about the process, became more favourable about the medical advice offered to them but remained sure, as did patients in the control group, that they wanted to leave hospital eventually. We suggest that the successful transfer of patients between hospitals must involve clear information to prepare patients and relatives, the consent of patients, staff enthusiasm, the provision of a full range of services after transfer, including occupational therapy, and staff continuity.
In a randomized controlled study, the affective style (AS) of parents of schizophrenics in clinic-based individual treatment groups and home-based family treatment groups was compared prior to treatment and again three months after treatment had begun. Affective style is an index reflecting the quality of the family emotional climate, measured from face-to-face discussion. Pretherapy and posttherapy measures of negative AS were significantly predictive of relapse within the nine-month treatment period for patients in individual treatment. In addition, for both treatment groups, a negative AS pattern at the posttherapy reassessment was significantly associated with decreased patient social functioning, reduced ability of the family to absorb the family intervention, and lower capacity of the family to cope with everyday family stresses. The results suggest that AS is an important intrafamilial attribute, with implications for treatment strategy and planning.
Functional outcome after traumatic brain injury (TBI) is thought to be dependent upon effective social support and avoidance of depressive episodes. Research indicates that post-injury changes often occur in the family's functioning, hence impacting the family's ability to provide the needed social support. Social support, in turn, has been hypothesized to work as a buffer between significant life event and levels of depressive symptoms. Thus poor social support after a TBI, due to changes in family functioning, could result in depressive episodes for the person with a TBI. This paper empirically examines this question by investigating whether social support is predictive of depression in persons who have sustained a TBI. Thirty-nine persons who had sustained TBI were interviewed to assess their family functioning, perceived social support, and current depressive symptomatology. The results showed that the effective use of problem-solving and behavioural coping strategies by the family in response to TBI was significantly related to lower levels of depression in the person who sustained the TBI. However, perceived social support was not predictive of depression.
Functional health outcomes resulting from intensive insulin regimens may differ depending upon the age of the diabetic patient. This study tested the hypothesis that health functioning is poorer for younger insulin-dependent diabetic (IDDM) patients following a change to the insulin infusion pump regimen, with progressive improvements occurring in functional health status at higher age levels. Thirty IDDM patients aged 10-47 years were administered health status instruments prior to changing to the new regimen, and again six months later. The instruments assessed physical, cognitive, psychological, and social health functioning. When compared at six months to an age-matched control group on conventional insulin therapy, declines in social activities were found for younger insulin pump patients, with improvements occurring linearly as age increased. Lower performance levels were also found for the younger patients in Conceptual Quotient (CQ), an indicator of cognitive functional status, with progressive improvements with age through the early 30s. However, corresponding declines in function occurred at the oldest age levels. Adaptation to an intensive diabetes regimen appears to be more difficult at younger and older age levels.
The advantages of census data-based needs assessment cannot be fully realized in the absence of demonstrated relationships between area characteristics and aggregate individual service need. This study sought to ascertain these relationships by using tract characteristics from the 1980 census to predict tract aggregate levels of individually measured social, physical, and psychological functioning. A census tract stratified sample of 3,465 permanent households in eastern Long Island, New York was used for the study. In each household, a randomly selected adult was surveyed regarding physical functioning, depressed mood, and social isolation. Stepwise multiple regression was used to determine which census variables best predicted the tract distributions of each of the functioning measures. Census variables explained from 23 to 30 percent of the variance in tract need level. Study findings have immediate utility for efficient needs assessment and suggest avenues for future improvement of needs assessment methods.
The purpose of this study was to identify the social and psychological consequences of living with a cognitively impaired spouse among community-dwelling elderly individuals. The study sample consisted of 318 spouse pairs drawn from a representative sample of noninstitutionalized elderly individuals. Our principal findings were that: (a) Cognitive impairment in wives is significantly (p less than .05) associated with depressive symptomatology in husbands, whereas cognitive impairment in husbands is only weakly (p greater than .20) associated with depressive symptomatology in wives; (b) Decreased participation in social/leisure activities is selectively related to spouses' level of cognitive functioning among both men and women; (c) The relationship between wives' cognitive impairment and husbands' depressive symptoms is influenced by perceived availability of financial support from friends and relatives, but not by ADL limitations in wives, lack of emotional or instrumental support from wives, household responsibilities among husbands, or lack of participation in social/leisure activities in husbands.
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