Eugene Brusilovskiy

Internet peer support for individuals with psychiatric disabilities: A randomized controlled trial.

Despite the prevalence of Internet support groups for individuals with mental illnesses little is known about the potential benefits, or harm, of participating in such groups. Therefore, this randomized controlled trial sought to determine the impact of unmoderated, unstructured Internet peer support, similar to what is naturally occurring on the Internet, on the well-being of individuals with psychiatric disabilities. Three hundred individuals resident in the USA diagnosed with a Schizophrenia Spectrum or an Affective Disorder were randomized into one of three conditions: experimental Internet peer support via a listserv, experimental Internet peer support via a bulletin board, or a control condition. Three measurement time points, baseline, 4- and 12 months post-baseline, assessed well-being by examining measures of recovery, quality of life, empowerment, social support, and distress. Timexa0×xa0group interactions in the repeated measures ANOVA showed no differences between conditions on the main outcomes. Post-hoc repeated measures ANOVAs found that those individuals who participated more in Internet peer support reported higher levels of distress than those with less or no participation (pxa0=xa00.03). Those who reported more positive experiences with the Internet peer support group also reported higher levels of psychological distress than those reporting less positive experiences (pxa0=xa00.01). Study results therefore do not support the hypothesis that participation in an unmoderated, unstructured Internet listserv or bulletin board peer support group for individuals with psychiatric disabilities enhances well-being. Counterintuitive findings demonstrating those who report more positive experiences also experienced higher levels of distress are discussed but we also point to the need for additional research. Future research should explore the various structures, formats, and interventions of Internet support, as well as the content and quality of interactions. Knowledge generated from such research can help to inform policies and guidelines for safely navigating online resources and supports to gain maximum benefit.

Measuring Community Participation of Adults With Psychiatric Disabilities: Reliability of Two Modes of Data Collection

PURPOSE/OBJECTIVEnThe Americans with Disabilities Act set in motion a series of policies and actions to promote community integration and participation, including for those individuals with psychiatric disabilities. Measuring participation in this population is in its infancy. This study examines the test-retest reliability of two modes of administration of a measure that assesses participation in four social life domains and the extent to which participation is viewed as sufficient and important.nnnRESEARCH METHOD/DESIGNnOne hundred and 19 individuals with a diagnosis of schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, or major depression were randomly assigned to either an interviewer- or self-administered method of completing the measure, and filled out the measure again in the same format within 48-72 hr.nnnRESULTSnCorrelations at the individual participation item and scale levels between the two time points were nearly all in the r = .6-.9 range. Agreement on the importance and sufficiency of their participation was also consistently high. The importance of participation in each area ranged from 36% to 95%, and among these individuals, between 18% and 71% indicated they were not participating as much as desired.nnnCONCLUSIONS/IMPLICATIONSnCommunity participation of individuals with psychiatric disabilities can be reliably measured using 2 methods of administration as an outcome in rehabilitation research and evaluation studies with this population. These individuals are engaged to varying degrees in a wide-range of participation areas in the community that are important, but most not to the degree that they desire. More intervention efforts are needed to increase the sufficiency of community participation.

Assessing an Internet-Based Parenting Intervention for Mothers With a Serious Mental Illness: A Randomized Controlled Trial

OBJECTIVEnThis study examined the effectiveness of an Internet parenting education and support intervention among mothers with a serious mental illness (SMI).nnnMETHODSnSixty mothers diagnosed with a schizophrenia spectrum or mood disorder who had primary/shared custody for a child 18 or younger were enrolled in a randomized controlled trial (RCT) with two conditions. The experimental condition involved participation in the online parental education course and a listserv co-moderated by a parent with a mental illness and a mental health professional. The control condition involved participation in online education healthy lifestyle course. Standardized measures were used at baseline and 3 months to assess outcomes. Using an intent-to-treat approach, group differences over time were assessed using a two-tailed independent sample t test on all dependent variables, including parental efficacy, skills, coping, support, and stress.nnnRESULTSnParticipation in an online parenting intervention for mothers with a SMI enhanced parenting and coping skills, and decreased parental stress. No support was found for improved efficacy or support.nnnCONCLUSIONnThis RCT establishes that mothers with a SMI are interested in and capable of receiving online parenting education and support. Findings demonstrate that an online parenting intervention can improve parenting and coping skills and decrease parental stress.

Geographic Access to and Availability of Community Resources for Persons Diagnosed with Severe Mental Illness in Philadelphia USA

This study assesses whether there are differences in geographic access to and availability of a range of different amenities for a large group of persons diagnosed with severe mental illness (SMI) in Philadelphia (USA) when compared to a more general set of residential addresses. The 15,246 persons who comprised the study group had better outcomes than an equal number of geographical points representative of the general Philadelphia population on measures of geographic proximity and availability for resources considered important by people diagnosed with SMI. These findings provide support for the presence of geographic prerequisites for attaining meaningful levels of community integration.

A study of environmental influences on the well-being of individuals with psychiatric disabilities in Philadelphia, PA.

The influence of community-level indicators in understanding mental health has been of interest since the seminal work of Faris and Dunham (1939). The emergence of Geographic Information Systems (GIS), and concepts such as social capital and recovery add new tools and concepts for further explorations in this area. This correlational study uses an innovative GIS approach to examine the relative contribution of community indicators, such as crime, unemployment, social capital, and individual-level sociodemographic characteristics, such as gender, age, and experience of homelessness, to the well-being and recovery of 378 individuals diagnosed with either major depression or a schizophrenia-spectrum disorder residing in an urban environment in the Northeast United States. Results indicate that community-level indicators are only marginally correlated with well-being, including self-reported symptoms, quality of life, empowerment, and recovery. These associations are further reduced when considering individuals sociodemographic characteristics, which appear to explain a greater amount of variability in well-being and recovery. Contrary to expectations, these results suggest that community indicators may not have a major impact on individuals who have already developed a significant psychiatric condition, at least in the domains studied, and that personal factors play a more significant role. These findings further advance our knowledge about the relationship between place and personal factors on mental health and wellness.

Service Needs Across the Lifespan for Individuals with Autism

The goal of this research was to examine reported service needs among individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) of all ages. Data were generated from a state survey that queried the needs of children, adolescents and adults with ASD. Logistic regression was used to compare service use and need among these age groups. Adults with ASD were less likely to be receiving multiple types of services, and more likely to have a need for services. These findings demonstrate that adults with ASD have more and different needs for services. These results can inform policy and program planning to put in place the services adults with ASD need.

Social media use, community participation and psychological well-being among individuals with serious mental illnesses

BackgroundLittle research exists on social media (e.g., Facebook, Twitter, etc.) use among individuals with serious mental illnesses (SMI). One particular question of interest is the extent to which online social media use is associated with these individuals community participation, civic engagement and psychosocial outcomes. MethodsTwo-hundred and thirty-two individuals with SMI receiving services at 18 mental health organizations throughout the continental U.S. completed questionnaires on their community participation, civic engagement, quality of life, loneliness, and psychiatric symptoms. They were also asked which social media sites they used; the duration, frequency and importance of, and reasons for, social media use; and the number of contacts they had on social media. ResultsApproximately a third of the sample reported having at least one social media account. Greater frequency, intensity and longevity of social media were associated with higher levels of community participation, and greater intensity of social media use was positively associated with civic engagement. For instance, those who used social media at least 30min a day had 16.4 more days of participation and voting rates that were higher by 17.4%. Social media use was not found to be significantly associated with loneliness, psychiatric symptoms or quality of life. Discussion and implicationsGreater social media use appears to be associated with greater community engagement without negative repercussions on loneliness, symptoms, or quality of life. Interventions that support social media use among individuals with SMI could have important community integration benefits. The study examined social media use among individuals with serious mental illnesses.Approximately 1/3 of the 232 participants had at least 1 social media account.Social media use was positively associated with community participation.Social media use was not associated with participants psychological well-being.

Sensory processing, participation, and recovery in adults with serious mental illnesses.

OBJECTIVEnPeople with serious mental illnesses (SMI) have different sensory processing patterns compared to the general population. The purpose of the study was to examine the relationship between different sensory processing patterns and community participation and recovery-oriented outcomes to inform the development of innovative rehabilitation interventions, including those resulting in more accommodating environments.nnnMETHODSnA quasi-experimental, comparative research design was conducted by using data obtained from 95 adults with SMI who received public mental health services. Participants completed a sensory processing profile and measures of community participation, recovery, and quality of life. Comparisons were made between sensory profile categories for each dependent variable using multivariate analyses of variance.nnnRESULTSnThe category with more evidence of self-reported low registration and sensory sensitivity than most reported less participation and lower levels of recovery than did their peers with processing patterns in typical ranges. The category with more self-reported sensory sensitivity than most reported lower quality of life. Finally, the category in the similar to more than most range on self-reported sensory seeking had higher levels of participation and recovery.nnnCONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICEnAssessment of sensory processing patterns in adults with SMI can inform sensory-based interventions that might result in greater community participation and other recovery outcomes. Interventions can include those that seek to enhance person-environment fit by altering the environment, as well as interventions that enhance adaptive sensory responses to external stimuli.

Using global positioning systems to study health-related mobility and participation.

Community participation, as indicated by mobility and engagement in socially meaningful activities, is a central component of health based on the International Classification of Health, Functioning, and Disease (WHO, 2001). Global positioning systems (GPS) technology is emerging as a tool for tracking mobility and participation in health and disability-related research. This paper fills a gap in the literature and provides a thorough description of a method that can be used to generate a number of different variables related to the constructs of mobility and participation from GPS data. Here, these variables are generated with the help of ST-DBSCAN, a spatiotemporal data mining algorithm. The variables include the number of unique destinations, activity space area, distance traveled, time in transit, and time at destinations. Data obtained from five individuals with psychiatric disabilities who carried GPS-enabled cell phones for two weeks are presented. Within- and across- individual variability on these constructs was observed. Given the feasibility of gathering data with GPS, larger scale studies of mobility and participation employing this method are warranted.

Effectiveness of the Size Matters Handwriting Program

The purpose of the research was to study changes in handwriting legibility among kindergarten, first- and second-grade students in response to the Size Matters curricular-based handwriting program. A two-group pre–post-test design was implemented at two public schools with half of the classrooms assigned to receive the Size Matters program and the other continuing to receive standard instruction. All participants completed two standardized handwriting measures at pre-test and after 40 instructional sessions were completed with the classes receiving the handwriting program. Results identified significant changes in legibility in the handwriting intervention group for all three grades when compared with the standard instruction group. The results of this study support the use of a curricular-embedded handwriting program and provide the foundation for future research examining the impact of handwriting legibility on learning outcomes.