Families who had adjusted well to the birth of a developmentally disabled child, and who were providing home care in the Province of Manitoba in Canada, were studied to explore their family attributes and social network characteristics. A survey was completed in thirty-six households involving the completion of a structured interview. This paper focuses on the consistent pattern that emerged across these strong families in their employment of social network resources. Successful adaptation to the birth of a developmentally disabled child seemed tied to skillful parental coordination of small, intense human networks in which extended family and friends provided different types of human support.

Les personnes concernées par la violence conjugale rapportent que les attitudes prévalant dans la société face à ce type de violence sont la source de bien des problèmes. Le manque d'instrument de mesure des attitudes a toutefois limité les recherches. Cet article décrit les ètapes suivies dans le dèveloppement et la validation d'une échelle d'attitude envers la femme violenèe par son conjoint. L'èchelle prèsente des qualitès mètrologiques suffisantes; elle n'est pas sensible au biais de la dèsirabilité sociale ni à celui de l'appartenance à un sexe. Comme postulé, une attitude favorable envers la femme violentée est relièe à une attitude non traditionnelle envers les rôles sexuals.

Recently, evidence of the widespread prevalence of the sexual abuse of children has come to light, demanding a community response to address the issue—in the courts and by child welfare authorities, medical, and mental health professionals. A study of 14 families' interactions with these various social systems in the investigation and management of cases of child sexual abuse illustrates some of the strengths and weaknesses of the protocol procedures developed to operate in Toronto. In a series of three interveiws over a nine-month period following the disclosure and reporting of the sexual abuse of a child in the family, family members give accounts of their experiences dealing with the social systems with which they became involved as a result of the sexual abuse.

Sept cent six réponses ont été obtenues à l'envoi de 1500 questionnaires à un èchantillon représentatif des étudiants á plein temps de l'Universitè de Montrèal. Les résultats montrent qu'il n'existe aucune différence significative entre les étudiants suicidaires et leurs pairs quant aux caractèristiques démographiques. Les premiers ont vècu significativement plus d'événements stressants au cours de la dernière annèe et perčoivent moins d'unite, de cohésion, d'entraide, et de soutien parmi les membres de leur entourage. Ils sont plus insatisfaits des èchanges qu'ils entretiennent avec leurs pairs et ont davantage de difficultè à rattrapper la matière manquée. Des considérations d'ordre préventif sont amenées en conclusion.

This study, conducted among fish plant workers in Newfoundland fishing outports, reports a gender analysis of the consequences of employment reductions. Quantitative and qualitative interview data were collected from 19 women and 23 men who ranged in age from 18 to 56 years. Both men and women reported statistically significant negative changes in the frequency of emotional and physical symptoms before and after the employment reductions. There were no significant differences between men and women with respect to changes in symptom frequency, indicating that the impact of the reductions was no less serious for women than for men. Qualitative data raise questions for further study about differences in the dynamics of employment loss impacts based on gender roles and responsibilities within the family. Differences in the number of sources of social support for, and emotional support offered by women and men also support the need for further research about gender differences in coping resources.

Dans un but de clarification des champs d'intervention, une grille d'analyse met en paralléle les valeurs et méthodes caractérisant quatre types d'intervention en psychologie: la psychologie clinique, la santé mentale communautaire, la psychologic communautaire, et la psychologie des politiques sociales. Chaque type de pratique y est défini par ses modalités d'intervention ainsi que par les composantes de l'approche conceptuelle sous-jacente. Quel-ques exemples démontrent l'utilité de cet outil. Une réflexion finale invite à une prise de conscience des forces et limites inhérentes á tout cadre de référence, ainsi qu'à l'ouverture sur un échange basé sur la complémentarité des approches.

A two-stage analysis examined whether socio-demographic factors drawn from census data that correlated with referral patterns to a community mental health service were reflected in people being seen at the service. The most strongly correlated factor (the percentage of poor families in a census tract) was also reflected among people seen. Among conclusions drawn are a link between poverty and mental health problems; the need for a broader understanding of the concept of socio-economic class, and the limitations of using census data alone to predict referral patterns to mental health services.

Dans une perspective de prévention, it s'avére de plus en plus important et urgent pour les intervenants communautaires en santé mentale, d'identifier correctement les groupes les plus vulnérables. Une étude d'archives effectuée dans une clinique externe de la région de l'Abitibi-Temiscamingue permet d'identifier certaines populations à risque en santé mentale et certains facteurs environnementaux pouvant contribuer à perturber l'équilibre biopsychosocial des individus. Des comparaisons effectuées en d'autres régions ou d'autres pays indiquent que ces analyses sont en grande partie généralisables.

Unionized nurses in Nova Scotia (N = 906) completed questionnaires measuring organizational commitment, burnout, social support, and various aspects of work settings. Regression analyses established that both stressors and supports from social and nonsocial aspects of organizations are independently associated with the way workers evaluate their work settings. The analysis also indicated that the various nursing specialities are associated with distinct organizational stressors and supports. Directions for further studies assessing the results of planned interventions on these factors are necessary to develop work settings which are more conducive to professional development in nursing and avoiding burnout.

We commonly use the term mental health as thought it were synonymous with mental illness. Maybe the time has arrived to accept the new-age dietum that everything in our world is connected in some way with everything else. Are we as psychiatrists willing to leave our arbitrary world labelled “illness” and risk adopting a holistic view of illness/wellness as inseparable parts of one whole? In this context the word “mental” would then extend beyond the psychological and organic to include higher levels of consciousness and the spiritual. This paper describes how a treatment orientation identified with an open system has evolved over four decades and become one example of a holistic approach to wellness including the spiritual, which has a universal significance.