大学生精神健康水平与网络成瘾

目的探讨大学生精神健康水平与网络成瘾的关系。方法用网络成瘾测查表（Internet Addiction Test）、90项症状清单（SCL-90）对746名在校大学生进行问卷调查。结果网络成瘾组SCL-90总分和全部因子分均高于非网络成瘾组。网络成瘾与SCL-90总分，躯体化、人际关系、抑郁、焦虑、恐怖、偏执、精神病性等因子分呈正相关。多元逐步回归分析显示，精神病性和抑郁是主要影响因素。结论网络成瘾大学生的精神健康水平明显低于非网络成瘾者。大学生精神健康水平对网络成瘾具有影响作用。     

‘Internet Addiction’: A Critical Review

It has been alleged by some academics that excessive Internet use can be pathological and addictive. This paper reviews what is known from the empirical literature on ‘Internet addiction’ and its derivatives (e.g., Internet Addiction Disorder, Pathological Internet Use, etc.) and assesses to what extent it exists. Empirical research into ‘Internet addiction’ can roughly be divided into five areas: (1) survey studies that compare excessive Internet users with non-excessive users, (2) survey studies that have examined vulnerable groups of excessive Internet use, most notably students, (3) studies that examine the psychometric properties of excessive Internet use, (4) case studies of excessive Internet users and treatment case studies, and (5) correlational studies examining the relationship of excessive Internet use with other behaviours (e.g., psychiatric problems, depression, self-esteem, etc.). Each of these areas is reviewed. It is concluded that if ‘Internet addiction’ does indeed exist, it affects a relatively small percentage of the online population. However, exactly what it is on the Internet that they are addicted to still remains unclear.     

上海市199例网络成瘾中学生心理问题研究

目的了解上海初中、高中和职校的网络成瘾学生的心理健康问题特征。方法首先采用问卷筛选和老师、家长推荐相结合的方法,得到网络成瘾者可疑样本,然后采取临床访谈形式,以Beard改编的Young诊断标准结合功能受损程度,诊断出网络成瘾中学生199例,最后使用精神发育和健康状况评定量表（DAWBA）,得到网络成瘾学生心理问题情况。结果 199例网络成瘾中学生中65例（33.7%）存在心理问题,其中男生32.5%存在心理问题,女生为33.3%,差异无统计学意义（χ^2=0.01,P=0.92）;网络成瘾初中生共存心理健康问题者多于高中和职校生（χ^2=17.22,P〈0.01）;网络成瘾中学生中注意缺陷多动障碍（ADHD）检出率为20.6%,其中,男生ADHD检出率高于女生（分别为23.8%,7.7%;χ^2=4.94,P=0.03）;而特殊恐惧、强迫、广泛性焦虑的检出率女生高于男生。结论网络成瘾中学生存在明显的共存心理健康问题现象,其中,男性网络成瘾者最常见的是ADHD,而女性网络成瘾中学生常见的是焦虑性障碍。     

Mental Health and Addiction State of Ethnocultural/Racial Communities

Migration has become a common trend and an expected fact of life among the majority of underdeveloped and developing nations. Immigration exposes newcomers to a new experience, an acculturation. Acculturation is not always a successful process and may become stressful. Acculturative stress can manifest itself in different ways. Many researchers have suggested a connection between immigration and increased risk of developing mental health/addiction problems. Studies have shown that ethnocultural/racial groups have experienced difficulties in gaining access to mental health and addiction care services. This background paper is prepared to 1) discuss the mental health & addiction state of Ethnocultural/racial communities, and 2) offer working recommendations.     

Telepsychiatry and e-Mental Health Services: Potential for Improving Access to Mental Health Care

Reforming mental health care is a focus of many ongoing initiatives in the United States, both at the national and state levels. Access to adequate mental health care services is one of the identified problems. Telepsychiatry and e-mental health services could improve access to mental health care in rural, remote and underserved areas. The authors discuss the required technology, common applications and barriers associated with the implementation of telepsychiatry and e-mental health services.     

Development of Mental Health Indicators in Korea

Objective

Promoting mental health and preventing mental health problems are important tasks for international organizations and nations. Such goals entail the establishment of active information networks and effective systems and indicators to assess the mental health of populations. This being said, there is a need in Korea develop ways to measure the state of mental health in Korea.

Methods

This paper reviews the mental health indicator development policies and practices of seven organizations, countries, and regions: WHO, OECD, EU, United States, Australia, UK, and Scotland. Using Delphi method, we conducted two surveys of mental health indicators for experts in the field of mental health. The survey questionnaire included 5 domains: mental health status, mental health factor, mental health system, mental health service, and quality of mental health services. We considered 124 potential mental health indicators out of more than 600 from indicators of international organizations and foreign countries.

Results

We obtained the top 30 mental health indicators from the surveys. Among them, 10 indicators belong to the mental health system. The most important five mental health indicators are suicide rate, rate of increase in mental disorder treatment, burden caused by mental disorders, adequacy of identifying problems of mental health projects and deriving solutions, and annual prevalence of mental disorders.

Conclusion

Our study provides information about the process for indicator development and the use of survey results to measure the mental health status of the Korean population. The aim of mental health indicator development is to improve the mental health system by better grasping the current situation. We suggest these mental health indicators can monitor progress in efforts to implement reform policies, provide community services, and involve users, families and other stakeholders in mental health promotion, prevention, care and rehabilitation.     

Capacity for Delivering Culturally Competent Mental Health Services in New Mexico: Results of a Statewide Agency Survey

The Federal government has promoted National Standards for Culturally and Linguistically Appropriate Services (CLAS) to reduce mental health disparities among Hispanic and Native American populations. In 2005, the State of New Mexico embarked upon a comprehensive reform of its behavioral health system with an emphasis on improving cultural competency. Using survey methods, we examine which language access services (i.e., capacity for bilingual care, interpretation, and translated written materials) and organizational supports (i.e., training, self-assessments of cultural competency, and collection of cultural data) mental health agencies in New Mexico had at the onset of a public sector mental health reform (Office of Minority Health 2001). This work was presented at the nineteenth National Institute of Mental Health Conference on Mental Health Services, Washington, DC, July 2007. An erratum to this article can be found at     

The Global Absence of Child and Adolescent Mental Health Policy

Background:  Few policies designed specifically to support child and adolescent mental health exist worldwide. The absence of policy is a barrier to the development of coherent systems of mental healthcare for children and adolescents.
Method:  This study collected data on existing policies from international databases, WHO headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland, and in consultation with experts in child and adolescent psychiatry from around the world. A set of criteria for ranking the adequacy of these policies was developed.
Results:  Though no single country was found to have a mental health policy strictly pertaining to children and adolescents alone, 35 countries (corresponding to 18% of countries worldwide) were found to have identifiable mental health policies, which may have some beneficial impact on children and adolescents. Though little has been achieved worldwide in this area, there has been a significant degree of movement towards policy development in the past 10 years. The policies identified vary greatly in terms of their provisions for delivering services, initiating research, training professionals, and educating the public.
Conclusions:  The development of mental health policies is feasible and would substantially aid in the expansion of service systems, the institutionalisation of culturally relevant data gathering, and the facilitation of funding.     

The Psychometric Properties of the Internet Related Problem Scale: A Pilot Study

Armstrong et al. (International Journal of Human Computer Studies, 53:537–550, 2000) explored the relationship between problematic Internet use and self-esteem. They devised a questionnaire called the Internet Related Problem Scale (IRPS) in order to measure the level of problem an individual is having due to their Internet use. This questionnaire study further examined the psychometric properties of the IRPS. Participants were recruited through the Internet, yielding 79 valid responses (14 males and 65 females). Factor analysis of the IRPS revealed six factors—salience, negative effects, mood enhancement, productivity, loss of control, and lack of information. These factors showed good internal consistency and concurrent validity, with salience being the most reliable. The limitations to this study are also addressed. Despite these limitations, the findings do seem to suggest that the IRPS has good psychometric properties and can be used in future studies examining Internet addiction.     

Gender Differences and Mental Health: An Exploratory Study of Knowledge and Attitudes to Mental Health Among Scottish Teenagers

Method:  A cross-sectional survey of 496 teenagers was conducted in order to explore their knowledge and attitude towards mental health and people with mental health problems.
Results:  Boys reported lower levels of knowledge and different sources of stress than girls. Negative attitudes were more common among boys than girls. Boys were less likely to think that an understanding of mental health was important, less likely to want to know more about mental health issues and twice as likely to think that they had already been given enough education.
Conclusion:  Gender specific educational interventions may be more appropriate and effective than whole school approaches.     

Surfing the Net: A Guide to the Internet for Professionals in Child Mental Health

This paper offers an overall guide to the Internet and more specifically describes what is available to psychologists, psychiatrists and other professionals in child mental health. Ways in which the Internet can be accessed are outlined and comment is made on the place of the Internet in the future of child psychiatry and psychology. A glossary of terms used in this article is provided.     

External Review of Health Plan Denials of Mental Health Services: Lessons from Minnesota

There has been concern that health plans unfairly deny claims for mental health services. This study examines a unique Minnesota program that resulted from a legal settlement. An independent panel reviews all mental health service denials in the state’s three largest health plans. Our study analyzed every case file (N = 4717) the panel reviewed from January 2002 to August 2005. This unique dataset provides insight into health plan behavior. The findings show that the panel reversed only 2.9% of denied claims, suggesting inappropriate denials were rare. However, the panel decisions have made important improvements in contract language and patient communications.     

Effects of School-Based Mental Health Programs on Mental Health Service Use by Adolescents at School and in the Community

Many schools provide counseling to adolescents with behavioral and emotional problems on-site, but little is known about the use of school-based counseling services in the United States, and it is unclear whether these services complement or substitute for counseling services available outside of school. In this study data on mental health services offered in schools are used to estimate the probability of receiving emotional counseling at school and elsewhere. Where mental health services were available on-site, students were substantially more likely to see a counselor in the previous year, controlling for mental health status, health insurance coverage, and other factors. The effects of availability were greater for students enrolled in special education programs than for other students. However, these data also suggest that, relative to other schools, schools offering on-site mental health counseling do not increase or reduce use of counseling services outside of school on average.     

The Relationship Between Maternal and Child Symptom Change in Community Mental Health

The mental health of mothers and children are closely linked. This study examined the relationship between child and maternal symptom change during a period in which children participated in community mental health treatment. Symptom change was measured using the Child Behavior Checklist for children and the Beck Depression Inventory for Mothers. Results indicate that mothers whose children improve in community mental health treatment are significantly more likely to report a reduction in maternal depressive symptoms than mothers whose children do not improve. Implications of these findings for mental health service settings are discussed.     

Mental Health Promotion and Illness Prevention: A Challenge for Psychiatrists

Mental health is essential for individual and public health. To improve mental health, promotion, prevention, and the treatment of disease are required. These three kinds of interventions are interrelated but independent from one another. Although separate efforts for mental health promotion and prevention are needed as well as the public need of mental health promotion and well-being, psychiatrists usually are not accustomed to mental health promotion and prevention. This review introduces an overview of the concept, subjects according to target populations, and various intervention strategies for mental health promotion and prevention of mental illnesses. Based on literatures to date, understanding of developmental psychology, lifestyle medicine, and biopsychosocial contributors of mental health with a macroscopic perspective might help to practice mental health promotion and illness prevention.     

Mental Symptoms in Different Health Professionals During the SARS Attack: A Follow-up Study

Aim The aims of the study were to assess the psychological impact of SARS bio-disaster on healthcare workers. Methods The participants were 127 healthcare workers who had taken care of suspected SARS patients. All participants completed the Chinese Health Questionnaire (CHQ), Eysenck Personality Questionnaire, and Parental Bonding Instrument at the first stage and the CHQ again a year later. Results Healthcare workers that had mental symptoms at follow-up reported the symptoms were associated with daily-life stress and not the SARS crisis. The physicians had more somatic symptoms than nurses, suggesting different professions have different impact on mental health. Additionally, individual’s early maternal attachment and neuroticism were found to have greater effect on mental health of life-threatening stress. Conclusions Life-threatening and daily-life stress show two different patterns of influence on mental health. These results provided a preclinical model for understanding, and preventing, human stress-related psychiatric disorders in the future.

Postdeployment, Self-Reporting of Mental Health Problems, and Barriers to Care

PURPOSE.  This study explored the relationship between self-reported mental health symptoms and help-seeking behaviors of active-duty Air Force members.
DESIGN AND METHODS.  Mixed-methods approach reviewed 200 postdeployment surveys from active-duty members assigned to Eglin Air Force Base, Florida, USA. Chi-square analysis examined significance between self-reporting mental health problems and accessing treatment.
FINDINGS.  As the rate of self-reported mental health symptoms increased, active-duty members were less inclined to seek help. There were inconsistencies among gender for self-reporting and accessing services.
PRACTICE IMPLICATIONS.  Air Force psychiatric nurses need to be at the forefront of outreach services when treating combat-stressed troops.