Sharon Houghton

The use of the Children’s Depression Inventory in an Irish context

The present study aimed to provide normative data on the Children’s Depression Inventory (CDI) for an Irish population. Analyses revealed significant differences between older and younger children and between males and females on CDI total scores. Older children scored higher than younger children and females scored higher than males. Results showed that the overall mean CDI score of Irish schoolchildren is similar to that of the original American normative sample. However, there were differences noted between the two populations when broken down by age and gender. Irish adolescents were found to score significantly higher than their American counterparts. Irish female adolescents were found to score higher than American female adolescents. However, Irish male adolescents scored significantly lower than American boys of the same age. Amongst the younger age group, a significant difference was also found between the American and Irish boys, with Irish boys in this age group scoring lower. There was no sign...

Children's depression, gender and age norms for an Irish national (primary) school population

OBJECTIVES To provide normative data for older national (primary) school children, broken down by age and gender, for the Childrens Depression Inventory-Short version (CDI-S) and revised norms for the Childrens Depression Inventory-Parent version (CDI-P) and its subscales. METHOD Forty-three randomly selected national schools took part in this study. Participants were 1,255, fifth and sixth class, Irish national school children who completed the Childrens Depression Inventory Short Form (CDI-S). In total 1,018 parents completed the corresponding parent form, the Childrens Depression Inventory-Parent version (CDI-P). RESULTS Norms for the CDI-S and the CDI-P subscales were produced. Revised norms for the CDI-P are proposed. Results revealed no significant age or gender difference in depressive symptomatology as measured by respondents CDI-S and total CDI-P scores. Parents ratings of their childrens depression levels (CDI-P) and childrens self-reported depression levels (CDI-S) were significantly correlated. The CDI-S and CDI-P displayed good internal reliability. CONCLUSION Results indicate the utility of both the CDI-S and the CDI-P for assessing depressive symptoms in national school children in Ireland. This study confirms that national school children do display symptoms of depression. School based policies, materials and services supporting and promoting positive mental health should be developed, implemented and resourced.

The Brief Symptom Inventory-18 (BSI-18): norms for an Irish third-level college sample

A baseline assessment of mental health status was conducted in an Irish third-level student population. In addition to a number of other measures, the Brief Symptom Inventory-18 (BSI-18), a relatively new and unexamined measure in the Irish context, was administered. Based on a quota sample, data were collected from a sample of 763 participants. In line with previous findings, females reported significantly higher levels of symptomatology than males on all three subscales (Somatization, Depression and Anxiety) and the Global Severity Index. Final year students were also noted to have significantly worse mental health than non-final year students. In addition, differences were noted between the present Irish female sample and US women in BSI-18 scores. Results support the use of the BSI-18 in Ireland. The development of specific Irish norms is therefore proposed and provisional norms for third-level college students are provided.

Tertiary Level Students and the Mental Health Index (MHI-5) in Ireland

An examination of student mental health was conducted using the five item Mental Health Index (MHI), a subscale of the widely used SF-36 (Short Form Health Survey). Results support the use of the MHI, which was found to be to be a valid and reliable measure of mental health in Irish third-level students. As anticipated, females reported significantly higher levels of symptoms than males on the MHI. It was also noted that final year students report significantly worse mental health than other students. Comparison with a general population mean for a corresponding age group indicate significantly lower mental health status being recorded by the students in this study. Suggestions for further research are made.

Gender and the children's depression inventory's (CDI) ‘crying’ question

Objectives : Following disruption from students, particularly boys, during the administration of item 10, the ‘feel like crying’ question, of the Childrens Depression Inventory (CDI), this study sought to explore the issue of non-response to this question. It was decided that particular attention should be given to gender differences in responses and non-responses, based on the experiences of researchers administering this measure. Method : Chi-square analysis of non-responses was conducted on CDI items collected from a total sample of 2,297 second year and pre-leaving certificate students from 23 randomly selected schools in the Mid-West region of Ireland. Results : Analysis identified item 10 as being significantly less likely to be completed than any other item. Further analysis revealed that boys were significantly less likely to respond to this question than girls. Conclusion: A modification of the wording to item 10 is suggested to ameliorate this difficulty.

The Children’s Depression Inventory (CDI) in Ireland: Revision & Subscale Analysis

Abstract Houghton, O’Connell & O’Flaherty (1998) produced the first set of Irish norms for the Children’s Depression Inventory (CDI). However, since this research was conducted in 1996, Ireland has undergone profound social, economic and political changes. This study sought to replicate elements of the original Irish normative study to determine if these norms were still valid. Additionally, this study sought to produce Irish norms for the CDI’s five subscales (negative mood, interpersonal problems, ineffectiveness, anhedonia and negative self-esteem), an area of examination overlooked to date in Ireland. Results from a multistage, stratified random-sampling survey conducted in 2002, involving 2,297 post-primary school students from the mid-west region of Ireland, identified significantly lower levels of depressive symptoms among girls compared to results from 1996. As expected, depressive symptoms among girls were significantly higher than among boys. Similarly depressive symptoms among older adolescents...

Exploring imagined therapeutic landscapes: trainee social care practitioners in Ireland

The concept of therapeutic landscape, as introduced to geographers by Gesler, has had a significant impact on what has become a reformed geography (or geographies) of health. Burgeoning research in this field has developed the number and type of sites that have been characterised as therapeutic landscapes. It is notable, however, that in this expansion, little focus has been given to imagined therapeutic landscapes, perhaps indicating a dominance of positivist, masculinist approaches. Although several researchers provide suggestions as to what these mindscapes might depict, little more than anecdotes currently exist. This research explores the imagined therapeutic landscapes of 80 trainee social care professionals, based on thematic analysis influenced by Heideggerian hermeneutic phenomenological approaches. Findings indicate that although there may be widespread unity in the mindscapes of many, the diversity within each field is notable. This study also notes that, although primacy is routinely given to ...

Commentary on: predatory publishing;pressures, promotions and perils

Creative Commons Non Commercial CC BY-NC: This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons AttributionNonCommercial 4.0 License (http://www.creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/) which permits non-commercial use, reproduction and distribution of the work without further permission provided the original work is attributed as specified on the SAGE and Open Access pages (https://us.sagepub.com/en-us/nam/open-access-at-sage). https://doi.org/10.1177/2010105818775434 Proceedings of Singapore Healthcare 2018, Vol. 27(3) 218 –219

“Blacklists” and “whitelists”: a salutary warning concerning the prevalence of racist language in discussions of predatory publishing

This commentary addresses the widespread use of racist language in discussions concerning predatory publishing. Examples include terminology such as blacklists, whitelists, and black sheep. The use of such terms does not merely reflect a racist culture, but also serves to legitimize and perpetuate it.

Ethnic and racial blindness in EU anti-smoking campaigns, slogans and images

The USA took the lead when in 1964 it legally required cigarette manufacturers to include a warning about the potential danger posed by cigarettes [1, 2]. Although the warning introduced by Surgeon General Luther Terry has been criticised as weak [3], there can be little doubt that it was both an important milestone in the start of a concerted attack on Big Tobacco and set an important precedent and guide for future anti-smoking text warnings. Big Tobacco is collectively five companies that control 90% of the world’s cigarette market which produce more than 5.4 billion cigarettes a year [4]. Despite the best efforts of Big Tobacco [5], the text-based anti-smoking warnings in many countries became more direct and forceful. Historically, the issue of racial invisibility or underrepresentation in anti-smoking tobacco packaging warnings was less of an issue when such warnings were purely textbased. Assuming a certain level of literacy in the official language or languages of the state, anti-smoking warnings were essentially ‘colour-blind’. Given the importance of the necessary self-referential element in effective tobacco control warnings [6], the introduction of anti-smoking graphic images in recent years necessitates the inclusion of racial diversity in the graphic images used [7]. This diversity is ostensibly lacking in both sets of European Union graphic images produced to date. Neither the original set of 42 graphic anti-smoking images produced by the EuropeanUnion [8] nor the revised 42 combinedwarnings obviously include any member of a racial or ethnic minority [9] (see Fig. 1 as an example). The absence of racial diversity in the anti-smoking graphical warnings is particularly notable on three grounds. Firstly, it is surprising given the specific targeting of racial and ethnic minority members globally by Big Tobacco [10]. Tobacco companies have a long history of differentiated marketing designed to entice distinct market segments into smoking, including both race and gender [10, 11]. Secondly, the absence is surprising given the numbers of ethnic and racial minority members in Europe and Australasia. In the UK, for example, the 2011 census indicates a population of 1.4 million people identifying as Indian (separate to other ethnic identities from the Indian subcontinent) [12]. Thirdly, it should be acknowledged that although overall smoking rates among ethnic group members in countries such as the UKmay be lower than those of the majority population [13], this figure hides important differences in gender-specific smoking rates which can be attributed to cultural and societal norms held within these ethnic groups. For example, although the prevalence of smokers in the White male population in the UK was 20.8% in 2014, the comparable figure for Bangladeshi males was 28.1% [13]. This complete absence of any racial or ethnic diversity effectively discounts the negative impacts of smoking in non-White groups. This effectively normalises smoking in such groups, supporting the differential marketing of tobacco companies. It is therefore important that in reviewing the use of images for tobacco packaging, all ethnicities of a country are represented—not just the dominant White culture. In some ways, this ‘colour blindness’ in relation to race and ethnicity fits mainstream ideological perspectives in some countries. For example, although it is perfectly ‘normal’ in the UK, Ireland, New Zealand, Canada, Australia and the USA to ask questions about race and ethnicity, in some countries, such as France, it is illegal for state agencies * Diane O’Doherty diane.odoherty@lit.ie