Instruments for Assessing Feigned or Exaggerated Psychopathology

2018 ◽  
pp. 57-72
Author(s):  
Steve Rubenzer
Keyword(s):  
Mental Illness ◽  
Gold Standard ◽  
Dissociative Identity Disorder ◽  
Structured Interview ◽  
False Positives ◽  
Intellectually Disabled ◽  
Standard Instrument ◽  
Diagnostic Statistics ◽  
Cutoff Scores

This chapter reviews the most prominent instruments for assessing malingered mental illness and its symptoms. The Structured Interview of Reported Symptoms (SIRS) has been regarded as the gold standard instrument in this area, but a recent revision, the SIRS-2, has come under considerable criticism that extends to its predecessor as well. Although the SIRS-2 may produce fewer false positives than the original SIRS, especially in intellectually disabled examinees and perhaps in examinees with dissociative identity disorder, it is less sensitive than the original SIRS and may misclassify a substantial number of of feigners as genuine. The strengths and weakness of instruments in this domain, such as the M-FAST and SIMMS, are discussed along with the costs of their use (time and money), diagnostic statistics, and recommended cutoff scores.

Perspectives of community members on homeless people with mental illness in Nsawam, Ghana

2020 ◽  
pp. 002076402098419
Author(s):  
Kwamina Abekah-Carter ◽  
George Ofosu Oti
Keyword(s):  
Mental Illness ◽  
Homeless People ◽  
Structured Interview ◽  
Homeless Persons ◽  
Community Members ◽  
Qualitative Research Design ◽  
People With Mental Illness ◽  
Interview Guide ◽  
Audio Data ◽  
Good Food

Background: Homelessness among people with mental illness has grown to become a common phenomenon in many developed and developing countries. Just like in any other country, the living conditions of homeless people with mental illness in Ghana are unwholesome. Despite the increased population of these vulnerable individuals on the streets, not much is known about the perspectives of the general public towards this phenomenon in Ghana. Aim: This research was conducted to explore the perspectives of community members on homeless people with mental illness. The main study objectives were (a) to find out the impacts of the presence of persons with mental illness on the streets and (b) to ascertain the reasons accounting for homelessness among persons with mental illness. Method: Utilizing a qualitative research design, twenty community members were sampled from selected suburbs in Nsawam and interviewed with the use of a semi-structured interview guide. The audio data gathered from the interviews were transcribed verbatim and analysed thematically. Results: Majority of the participants asserted that homeless people with mental illness had no access to good food, shelter, and health care. They further stated that some homeless people with mental illness perpetrated physical and sexual violence against the residents. Moreover, the participants believed that persons with mental illness remained on the streets due to neglect by their family members, and limited access to psychiatric services. Conclusion: This paper concludes by recommending to government to make mental health services accessible and affordable to homeless persons with mental illness nationwide.

scholarly journals Therapeutic Social Control of People with Serious Mental Illness: An Empirical Verification and Extension of Theory

2017 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 108-122 ◽  
Author(s):  
Brea L. Perry ◽  
Emma Frieh ◽  
Eric R. Wright
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Mental Illness ◽  
Social Control ◽  
Serious Mental Illness ◽  
Mental Health Treatment ◽  
Structured Interview ◽  
Ethical Challenges ◽  
Therapeutic Goals ◽  
Contraception Use ◽  
Client Behavior

Mental health services and psychiatric professional values have shifted in the past several decades toward a model of client autonomy and informed consent, at least in principle. However, it is unclear how much has changed in practice, particularly in cases where client behavior poses ethical challenges for clinicians. Drawing on the case of clients’ sexual behavior and contraception use, we examine whether sociological theories of “soft” coercion remain relevant (e.g., therapeutic social control; Horwitz 1982) in contemporary mental health treatment settings. Using structured interview data from 98 men and women with serious mental illness (SMI), we explore client experiences of choice, coercion, and the spaces that lie in between. Patterns in our data confirm Horwitz’s (1982) theory of therapeutic social control but also suggest directions for updating and extending it. Specifically, we identify four strategies used to influence client behavior: coercion, enabling, education, and conciliation. We find that most clients’ experiences reflect elements of ambiguous or limited autonomy, wherein compliance is achieved by invoking therapeutic goals. However, women with SMI disproportionately report experiencing intense persuasion and direct use or threat of force. We argue that it is critical to consider how ostensibly noncoercive and value-free interventions nonetheless reflect the goals and norms of dominant groups.

scholarly journals Reliability and validity of a questionnaire on vulnerability to sexually transmitted infections among adults with chronic mental illness: PESSOAS Project

2008 ◽  
Vol 30 (1) ◽  
pp. 55-59 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mark Drew Crosland Guimarães ◽  
Helian Nunes de Oliveira ◽  
Lorenza Nogueira Campos ◽  
Carolina Ali Santos ◽  
Carlos Eduardo Resende Gomes ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mental Illness ◽  
Construct Validity ◽  
Risk Behavior ◽  
Demographic Data ◽  
Structured Interview ◽  
Chronic Mental Illness ◽  
Kappa Statistics ◽  
Sexually Transmitted ◽  
Validity Assessment ◽  
Grade Of Membership

OBJECTIVE: To describe reliability/validity of a semi-structured questionnaire designed to assess risk behavior to sexually transmitted diseases among adults with chronic mental illness. METHOD: A cross-sectional pilot study was conducted in one psychiatric hospital and one mental health outpatient clinic. Clinical, behavioral and demographic data were collected from semi-structured interviews and medical charts. One-hundred and twenty patients were randomly selected from pre-defined lists in both centers while 89 (74%) were interviewed, indicating 26% nonparticipation rate. Protocol, participation rates, consent form and feasibility issues were assessed. The semi-structured interview was evaluated with regard to reliability (intra- and inter-rater) and construct validity by randomly repeating the interviews in a 1:1 ratio up to one-week interval. Reliability was estimated by percent agreement and Kappa statistics (95% confidence interval). Construct validity was assessed by Grade of Membership model. RESULTS: Kappa statistics ranged from 0.40 to 1.00 for most variables. Grade of Membership analysis generated three profiles. Profile one was represented by mostly women with no condom use in stable relationships; profile two revealed mostly men in stable relationship but with multiple risk behaviors; while profile three indicated a higher proportion of licit or illicit substance use. CONCLUSIONS: Reliability and construct validity assessment using Grade of Membership analysis indicated that the semi-structured interview was suitable for capturing risk behavior among patients with chronic mental illness.

Assessment of Genuine and Simulated Dissociative Identity Disorder on the Structured Interview of Reported Symptoms

2006 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 63-85 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bethany L. Brand ◽  
Scot W. McNary ◽  
Richard J. Loewenstein ◽  
Amie C. Kolos ◽  
Stefanie R. Barr
Keyword(s):  
Dissociative Identity Disorder ◽  
Structured Interview

scholarly journals Suicide prevention: A study of patients' views

2003 ◽  
Vol 182 (3) ◽  
pp. 261-265 ◽  
Author(s):  
John M. Eagles ◽  
Dawn P. Carson ◽  
Annabel Begg ◽  
Simon A. Naji
Keyword(s):  
Social Networks ◽  
Mental Illness ◽  
Suicide Prevention ◽  
Psychiatric Illness ◽  
Structured Interview ◽  
Psychiatric Services ◽  
Prevention Strategies ◽  
Psychiatric Illnesses ◽  
Service Models ◽  
The Media

BackgroundSuicide prevention strategies are usually formulated without seeking the views of people with psychiatric illnesses.AimsTo establish what helped patients with severe psychiatric illness when they felt suicidal.MethodA semi-structured interview was constructed following transcribed interviews with 12 patients. This was administered to 59 out-patients with serious and enduring mental illness, focusing on factors they found helpful or unhelpful when at their most despairing.ResultsThree-quarters of patients were in contact with psychiatric services when feeling at their lowest, and this contact was generally deemed to be helpful. Social networks were considered just as helpful as psychiatric services by the half of patients who discussed their feelings with friends or relatives. Religious beliefs and affiliations were helpful. Negative influences included the media and the stigma of psychiatric illness.ConclusionsEfforts at suicide prevention might usefully focus on enhancing patients' social networks, increasing the likelihood of early contact with psychiatric services and decreasing the stigma attached to psychiatric illness. Larger studies of patients exposed to different service models would be informative.

scholarly journals Is Resilience Affected By Parental Mental Illness? A Study of Tribal Young Adults

2019 ◽  
pp. 145
Author(s):  
Gayathri Devadasan
Keyword(s):  
Mental Illness ◽  
Young Adults ◽  
Null Hypothesis ◽  
Structured Interview ◽  
Parental Mental Illness ◽  
Tribal Communities ◽  
Resilience Scale ◽  
Comparison Groups ◽  
Tribal Populations ◽  
Psychological Coping

Resilience is a sign of positive psychological coping amidst adversity. Limited studies have investigated resilience in young adults who have a parent with mental illness, and fewer in tribal populations. This mixed methods study was based on a sequential explanatory model. A pilot field study was conducted with tribal young adults (n=10). The main study aimed to assess resilience in tribal young adults (n=61) through the administration of the Tamil translated version of the Wagnild& Young Resilience Scale (2009). Purposive sampling from a tribal hospital’s records derived young adults from 4 vulnerable tribal communities residing in Nilgiri hills of South India. Target group comprised tribal young adults (n=31) who had a parent with depression or psychosis, and comparison group comprised tribal young adults (n=30) with parents without mental illness. A subsample of participants from each group (n=5+5) was selected for a semi-structured interview. Quantitative and qualitative data were analysed using Independent Samples t-Test and Thematic Analysis respectively. Results revealed that overall resilience was not significantly different between target and comparison groups, which accepted the null hypothesis. Resilience was not significantly different between females and males, which again accepted the null hypothesis. Despite living in severe adversity tribal young adults are resilient; parental mental illness is only one among many vulnerabilities faced by them. The prevailing extrinsic and intrinsic protective factors might explain their resilience.

scholarly journals Transparency of peer review: a semi-structured interview study with chief editors from social sciences and humanities

2021 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Veli-Matti Karhulahti ◽  
Hans-Joachim Backe
Keyword(s):  
Social Sciences ◽  
Peer Review ◽  
Gold Standard ◽  
Life Sciences ◽  
Structured Interview ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Institutional Policies ◽  
Manuscript Review ◽  
Publication Process ◽  
Social Sciences And Humanities

Abstract Background Open peer review practices are increasing in medicine and life sciences, but in social sciences and humanities (SSH) they are still rare. We aimed to map out how editors of respected SSH journals perceive open peer review, how they balance policy, ethics, and pragmatism in the review processes they oversee, and how they view their own power in the process. Methods We conducted 12 pre-registered semi-structured interviews with editors of respected SSH journals. Interviews consisted of 21 questions and lasted an average of 67 min. Interviews were transcribed, descriptively coded, and organized into code families. Results SSH editors saw anonymized peer review benefits to outweigh those of open peer review. They considered anonymized peer review the “gold standard” that authors and editors are expected to follow to respect institutional policies; moreover, anonymized review was also perceived as ethically superior due to the protection it provides, and more pragmatic due to eased seeking of reviewers. Finally, editors acknowledged their power in the publication process and reported strategies for keeping their work as unbiased as possible. Conclusions Editors of SSH journals preferred the benefits of anonymized peer review over open peer and acknowledged the power they hold in the publication process during which authors are almost completely disclosed to editorial bodies. We recommend journals to communicate the transparency elements of their manuscript review processes by listing all bodies who contributed to the decision on every review stage.

scholarly journals Review of smoking cessation treatments for people with mental illness

2008 ◽  
Vol 14 (3) ◽  
pp. 208-216 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jonathan Campion ◽  
Ken Checinski ◽  
Jo Nurse
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Mental Illness ◽  
Smoking Cessation ◽  
General Population ◽  
Antipsychotic Medication ◽  
Gold Standard ◽  
Standard Treatment ◽  
Mental Health Problems ◽  
Quit Smoking ◽  
People With Mental Illness

This article reviews the current literature regarding treatments for smoking cessation in both the general population and in those with mental health problems. The gold-standard treatment for the general population is pharmacotherapy (nicotine replacement therapy, bupropion or varenicline) coupled with individual or group psychological support. This is also effective in helping people with mental illness to reduce or quit smoking, but care must be taken to avoid adverse medication interactions and to monitor antipsychotic medication in particular as cigarette consumption reduces.

scholarly journals How Can Acute Mountain Sickness be Quantified at Moderate Altitude?

1996 ◽  
Vol 89 (3) ◽  
pp. 141-143 ◽  
Author(s):  
G Roeggla ◽  
M Roeggla ◽  
A Podolsky ◽  
A Wagner ◽  
A N Laggner
Keyword(s):  
Physical Examination ◽  
Oxygen Saturation ◽  
Gold Standard ◽  
Acute Mountain Sickness ◽  
Structured Interview ◽  
Moderate Altitude ◽  
Investigation Methods ◽  
Wide Variability ◽  
Mountain Sickness ◽  
The Impact

Reports of acute mountain sickness (AMS) at moderate altitude show a wide variability, possibly because of different investigation methods. The aim of our study was to investigate the impact of investigation methods on AMS incidence. Hackett's established AMS score (a structured interview and physical examination), the new Lake Louise AMS score (a self-reported questionnaire) and oxygen saturation were determined in 99 alpinists after ascent to 2.94 km altitude. AMS incidence was 8% in Hackett's AMS score and 25% in the Lake Louise AMS score. Oxygen saturation correlated inversely with Hackett's AMS score with no significant correlation with the Lake Louise AMS score. At moderate altitude, the new Lake Louise AMS score overestimates AMS incidence considerably. Hackett's AMS score remains the gold standard for evaluating AMS incidence.

An Evaluation of Community-Based Psychiatric Care for People with Treated Long-Term Mental Illness

1995 ◽  
Vol 167 (1) ◽  
pp. 26-37 ◽  
Author(s):  
Greg Wilkinson ◽  
Marco Piccinelli ◽  
Ian Falloon ◽  
Haroutyon Krekorian ◽  
Sheila McLees
Keyword(s):  
Mental Illness ◽  
Affective Disorders ◽  
Psychiatric Care ◽  
Adaptive Functioning ◽  
Social Performance ◽  
Structured Interview ◽  
Rural Setting ◽  
Community Based ◽  
Treatment Measures

BackgroundWe evaluated integrated, multidisciplinary, community-based care for a cohort of people with treated long-term mental illness over two years in a field trial set in a semi-rural setting. The aim was to organise local psychiatric services on an extramural basis with general practitioner teams as the key element.MethodTrained research workers used a structured interview to collect standardised baseline and three-monthly socio-demographic, clinical, social, family adjustment and burden, and treatment measures from patients, informants, and key-workers. Analysis included descriptive statistics and, for longitudinal data, analysis of best-fitted straight lines.ResultsWe studied 34 patients (14 with schizophrenia, 11 with major affective disorders, and 9 with minor (non-major) affective disorders and anxiety disorders) who had a mean of 12 years continuous illness. At baseline, they were mainly characterised by research workers as mildly ill with fair social adaptive functioning, and by lay informants as having moderate target symptom severity and disturbance of social performance. Over two years, there were statistically significant, slight improvements in clinical global impressions ratings by research workers, and in informants ratings of target symptoms and social performance. Most patients continued to receive prescriptions for psychotropic drugs throughout follow-up, and they had a mean of 47 therapeutic contacts, mainly from nurses. Two patients were admitted to psychiatric hospital. There were few differences between patients in different diagnostic groups.ConclusionsIntegrated, multidisciplinary, community-based psychiatric care for people with treated long-term mental illness is feasible in a semi-rural setting: patients receiving pharmacotherapy and regular psychosocial treatments remained relatively stable on clinical and social measures over two years. The unique way in which the service was monitored, by making regular, systematic assessments of patients and carers, serves as an example for other services.

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