Tony Cassidy

Benefit finding through caring: The cancer caregiver experience

Objectives: The aim of this study was to explore benefit finding in cancer carers taking account of timeline and care recipient, in relation to burden of care, perceived stress, optimism, resilience, self efficacy, perceived support and psychological distress. Methods: A cohort sequential survey was conducted with a group of 842 female cancer carers who were caring for a spouse, a parent or a child. A stress-coping model of benefit finding was proposed and tested. Results: Analysis supported the stress-coping model for global benefit finding and also the multidimensional model of benefit finding and identified important differences on outcome measures depending on care recipient and timeline. Conclusions: This study concludes that a focus on benefit finding interventions may be useful in the area, but that a developmental approach taking into account the relationship between carer and the carer recipient is required.

All work and no play: A focus on leisure time as a means for promoting health

Abstract In a study of 294 participants the relationship between attitude to leisure time and engagement in leisure activities and psychological and physical health was investigated Using questionnaire methods a consistent and significant relationship was found in that individuals with more positive attitudes towards and engagement in leisure activities experienced less general psychological distress, anxiety, depression, and hostility. They also experienced higher levels of positive affect and reported feeling physically healthier. Leisure measures were also related to levels of achievement motivation. The data points to leisure time behaviour as a rich source of information about coping styles and the positive use of leisure counselling as a therapeutic intervention.

Over-exercising in anorexic and normal samples: Behaviour and attitudes

Exercise, attitudes, motivation and behaviour were compared in groups of female anorexic patients and groups of males and females without eating disorders. The anorexic group were significantly more hyperactive, exercised more frequently and engaged in a wider variety of exercise behaviours. They were also more likely to exercise in secret and were more compulsive about exercising. They displayed a ‘negative addiction’ to exercise, and gave control of their negative mood states as their major reason for undertaking it. The theoretical and clinical implications of these results are discussed.

Deception and its detection in children: A study of adult accuracy.

Abstract Three groups of participants, 20 social workers in the final year of their training, 20 trainee teachers, and 20 student controls, were assessed on their effectiveness in deciding if children were lying or telling the truth. Although differences did occur across groups, no group displayed overall superiority. The clearest discriminator between correct and incorrect classification of children was parental experience, with parents clearly doing significantly better than non-parents. The indication is that life experience may be an important competency in this area.

Cognitive appraisal, vulnerability and coping: An integrative analysis of appraisal and coping mechanisms

Abstract Research on stress has generally concluded that stress occurs within the person as a result of their cognitive appraisal of experience. However although a number of cognitive theories of emotion exist, an integrative analysis of cognitive appraisal and vulnerability to stress has not been produced. This report contains two studies. Study 1 draws together the major variables identified in the literature in an analysis of their power to differentiate between a clinical sample (n = 48), a self-help group (n = 54), and a control sample (n = 509). The analysis shows that achievement motivation, attributional style, problem-solving style, emotional reactivity; hopelessness, perceived control and perceived social support are significant discriminators. In a second study the relationship between these variables and aspects of life stress, work stress, life satisfaction, depression, anxiety, and positive affect were investigated. Again the data support an explanatory role for these variables. The suggesti...

The psychological health of employed and unemployed recent graduates as a function of their cognitive appraisal and coping.

Abstract In the literature on the effects of unemployment on graduates two competing hypothesis have found support. On one hand graduates have higher expectations about status and occupational identity, hence being unemployed should be more distressing. On the other hand graduates have access to more personal and situational resources and should cope better with the stress of unemployment. In a study of 181 recent graduates it was found that those who were employed (n = 88) scored higher on both somatization and interpersonal sensitivity than those who were unemployed (n = 93). A large percentage also reported not being in the job to which they aspired and scored low on job commitment. The unemployed graduates had a more positive approach to problem-solving, higher achievement motivation, more perceived social support, were more assertive, and felt less hopeless than their employed peers. They also engaged in more constructive leisure activities than the employed group. The data provide tentative support ...

The mental health consequences of dealing with self-inflicted death in custody

The impact of dealing with a death in custody was explored in 49 prison officers who had dealt with such an event in the period 3–7 months prior to the study. A 36.7% incidence rate of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) was identified. Optimism, avoidance problem solving style, prior experience of suicide and level of involvement in the incident were direct mediators of the impact of the event for the total sample, while perceived control, emotional support and other aspect of problem-solving style had an indirect effect. Separate analysis of the PTSD and non-PTSD groups showed that the only mediator for the PTSD group was prior experience. For the non-PTSD group a range of variables mediated the impact. It is argued that this provides a case for preventive rather than treatment interventions.

Bullying and health at work: The mediating roles of psychological capital and social support

Psychological capital (PsyCap), which is a resource that comprises positive individual characteristics, has not previously been investigated in relation to the experience of bullying. The role of psychological capital and social support in relation to the impact of bullying at work was investigated in a quantitative survey of 2068 employees from a range of UK organizations. A resource model of bullying and health, with PsyCap and social support as potential mediators, was proposed and tested using structural equation modelling (SEM). Based on previous research we expected that both PsyCap and social support would mediate the impact of bullying. The model was tested with outcomes of both ill-being and well-being, and shown to be a good fit for the data. We concluded that both PsyCap and social support separately mediated the impact of bullying; however, it is their joint contribution that should be noted. The study indicates the value of PsyCap in relation to bullying, health and well-being in the workplace, and supports the inclusion of psychological capital and social support in more comprehensive models of bullying at work.

Further exploration of the Young Carers Perceived Stress Scale: Identifying a benefit-finding dimension

OBJECTIVES A substantial number of children are involved in informal caregiving and make a significant contribution to health care delivery. While this places high levels of demand on their coping resources, there is some evidence that these children find benefit in their caring role. The Young Carers Perceived Stress Scale (YCPSS) (Early et al., 2006, J. Child Fam. Stud., 15, 169) identified a positive dimension of caring, which appears to have potential in terms of measuring benefit finding in this group. The current study aimed to further explore YCPSS to clarify this dimension. DESIGN A survey design using questionnaire data collection was used with a sample of 329 children between the ages of 12 and 16. METHODS A pool of 52 items based on the YCPSS was administered along with measures of support, coping, and psychological distress to 329 young carers attending organized support groups. RESULTS Factor analysis with maximum likelihood extraction identified six factors including one 8-item dimension labelled benefit finding, which had good internal reliability and produced a pattern of correlations with support, coping, and psychological distress indicating initial evidence of validity. CONCLUSIONS The study produced initial evidence for reliability and validity of an 8-item benefit-finding measure, as well as a clearer set of dimensions for the original YCPSS. The resulting measures should prove useful in further explorations of benefit finding and resilience in young carers.

The interplay between DNA methylation, folate and neurocognitive development

DNA methylation provides an attractive possible means for propagating the effects of environmental inputs during fetal life and impacting subsequent adult mental health, which is leading to increasing collaboration between molecular biologists, nutritionists and psychiatrists. An area of interest is the potential role of folate, not just in neural tube closure in early pregnancy, but in later major neurodevelopmental events, with consequences for later sociocognitive maturation. Here, we set the scene for recent discoveries by reviewing the major events of neural development during fetal life, with an emphasis on tissues and structures where dynamic methylation changes are known to occur. Following this, we give an indication of some of the major classes of genes targeted by methylation and important for neurological and behavioral development. Finally, we highlight some cognitive disorders where methylation changes are implicated as playing an important role.