Suchergebnisse

'Eindimensional konzipierte Konstrukte werden häufig durch Variablen mit entgegengesetzter Polung operationalisiert. Die durch Hauptkomponentenanalyse festzustellende Struktur besitzt fast immer eine 2. Achse, die durch vorzeichenidentische Ladungen aller Items gekennzeichnet ist, was zu verschiedenartigsten Interpretation Anlaß gibt (z.B. Inkonsistenzachse). Es wird gezeigt, daß diese Struktur das Resultat eines ganz bestimmten datenerzeugenden Prozesses (ideal point process) ist, der unter Umständen zu eingipfeligen Itemcharakteristiken (ICC) führt. Dies widerspricht der Voraussetzung von wenigstens monotonen ICC's für die Hauptkomponentenanalyse. Anhand künstlicher Daten und eines empirischen Beispiels ('Ausländerfeindlichkeit') werden die Ergebnisse der Hauptkomponentenanalysen mit denen einer - eingipfelige ICC's annehmenden - Unfoldinganalyse verglichen. Eine mögliche Interpretation der artifiziellen 2. Achse (quadratische Form der 1. Achse) als Identitätsachse wird diskutiert.' (Autorenreferat)

Background: While there are some indications that the mental health literacy of the public has improved within recent years, the findings concerning its attitudes towards the mentally ill are quite inconsistent. Aims: The aim of this study is to examine whether any changes have taken place inGermany over the last decade regarding the stigmatisation ofmentally ill people. Method: In 2001, a representative population survey was carried out among the German adult population, using the same sampling procedure and the same measure for the assessment of perceived stigma as in a previous survey that had been conducted in 1990. Results: Our findings suggest that in 2001, the German public was somewhat less inclined to believe that former mental patients are exposed to stigmatisation than a decade ago. While this holds especially true for the devaluation of patients, the picture is more mixed for discrimination. The trend towards less perceived stigmatisation is particularly pronounced among people who are familiar with psychiatric treatment. Conclusions: Since a substantial amount of perceived stigma still persists, further efforts to reduce the stigma attached to mental illness are needed.

Background: While help-seeking and treatment preferences for depression have been assessed in a number of population studies, little is known about the public's self-help beliefs.Aims: To explore public beliefs about self-help actions to be taken in case of depression.Methods: In spring 2009, a population-based survey was conducted by telephone in the city of Vienna. A fully structured interview was carried out, which began with the presentation of a vignette describing a case of depression. Subsequently, respondents were asked to indicate to what extent they would recommend various self-help actions.Results: Among the self-help options proposed, confiding in a close friend or someone in the family were most frequently recommended. Apart from that, a variety of interpersonal actions (socializing with others, joining a self-help group), psychological methods (thinking positively), lifestyle changes (engaging in sport, listening to music, going on vacation, reading a good book) and dietary methods (eating healthy food) were endorsed by over half of respondents. While women were more ready to recommend self-help actions, the better educated were less enthusiastic about them.Conclusions: As only some of the self-help measures endorsed by the public are evidence based, more research is needed before promulgating their use.

<b><i>Background:</i></b> Alcohol dependence is among the most severely stigmatized mental disorders. We examine whether negative stereotypes and illness beliefs related to alcohol dependence have changed between 1990 and 2011. <b><i>Methods:</i></b> We used data from two population surveys with identical methodology that were conducted among German citizens aged ≥18 years, living in the 'old' German states. They were conducted in 1990 and 2011, respectively. In random subsamples (1990: n = 1,022, and 2011: n = 1,167), identical questions elicited agreement with statements regarding alcohol dependence, particularly with regard to the illness definition of alcohol dependence and blame. <b><i>Results:</i></b> Overall, agreement with negative stereotypes did not change in the course of 2 decades. About 55% of the respondents agreed that alcohol dependence is an illness like any other, >40% stated that it was a weakness of character and 30% endorsed that those affected are themselves to blame for their problems. <b><i>Conclusions:</i></b> It is apparent that promoting an illness concept of alcohol dependence has not been an easy solution to the problem of stigma. We discuss how the normative functions of alcohol dependence stigma might have prevented a reduction of negative stereotypes.

Aims: Several studies have found an inverse relationship between people's readiness to endorse biogenetic causal explanations of mental disorder and their desire for social distance from people with mental disorders. The aim of this study is to examine why this may be the case. Method: In the spring of 2001, a population survey was carried out among German citizens aged 18 years and older, living in private households. A total of 5025 interviews were conducted, reflecting a response rate of 65.1%. At the beginning of the personal, fully structured interview, respondents were presented with a vignette containing a diagnostically unlabelled psychiatric case history, either depicting a case of schizophrenia or major depressive disorder. Using five-point Likert scales, causal attributions as well as perceived dangerousness, fear and the desire for social distance were assessed. Results: The more respondents endorse a brain disease as a cause, the more dangerous they believe the person with schizophrenia or major depression to be. Respondents who perceive the individual in the vignette as being dangerous express a higher degree of fear and a greater preference for social distance from these individuals. As compared with brain disease, the relationships between heredity and perceived dangerousness are less pronounced for both disorders. Conclusions: Our analysis showed that endorsing biogenetic explanations decreases the likelihood of social acceptance of people with schizophrenia and major depression. Rejecting behavioural responses in the form of social distance desired from people with schizophrenia and major depression result from cognitive emotional processes in which biogenetic causal attributions are linked to lack of self-control, unpredictability and dangerousness, which, in turn, are associated with fear of these people.

Based on the observation that the course of schizophrenia appears to be more unfavourable in men than in women, we examined whether male sufferers are exposed to more negative and less positive emotional reactions and are met with a greater amount of rejection by their environment than their female counterparts. Data from a representative survey conducted in the 'old' Federal Republic of Germany during 1990 did not yield the expected gender difference with regard to emotional reactions. There were, however, some gender differences on the side of the respondents: Women expressed more feelings of anxiety and tended to show more prosocial reactions. Social distance tended to be slightly more pronounced towards men than towards women. This applied to both schizophrenia and alcoholism. The gender of the respondents, on the other hand, was of no importance for social distance.

The aim of the study is to explore what schizophrenic patients understand by quality of life and what psychiatrists think quality of life may be like for schizophrenic patients. A survey was carried out among schizophrenic patients and psychiatrists from the whole of Germany. There are similarities and differences between the two: while both schizophrenic patients and psychiatrists recognised the importance of work, social relationships, family and independence for quality of life, patients thought about it more in terms of standard of living and lifestyle, whereas the psychiatrists' concept of quality of life was more illness-oriented encompassing the absence of handicaps and disabilities due to the illness and emphasising the importance of appropriate professional help and self-help. In order to facilitate the dialogue between psychiatrists and patients it is important to be aware of these differences.

'Einstellungsskalen enthalten üblicherweise zu gleichen Teilen positiv und negativ gepolte Items. Diese Technik der Skalenkonstruktion gilt als Mittel zur Vermeidung von Antworttendenzen wie z.B. der Ja-Sage-Tendenz. Dieses Mittel hat jedoch auch seinen Preis, wie die nachfolgende Studie zeigt. Untersucht wird hier, welchen Einfluß die Richtung der Itemformulierung auf das Antwortverhalten hat. Items mit positiven und negativen Inhalten werden einander gegenübergestellt. Unter der Annahme, daß Items mit postiven und negativen Inhalten äquivalente Indikatoren zur Messung derselben latenten Variable (Einstellung) sind, sollten die Antworten konsistent (zustimmend oder ablehnend) im Sinne der latenten Variablen ausfallen. Es zeigt sich jedoch, daß die Beantwortung der negativen Iteminhalte konsistenter ausfällt als die Beantwortung der positiven Iteminhalte. Die paarweise Kombination positiver und negativer Inhalte beleuchtet das Problem der möglichen Ungleichgewichtigkeit positiver und negativer Iteminhalte und der darauf erfolgenden Antworten für die zugrunde liegende latente Variable. Dieses Problem wird ausführlich dargestellt und diskutiert. Die Datenbasis für diese Diskussion sind zwei nationale Stichproben von N=2.003 (Bundesrepublik Deutschland) und N=1.522 (USA), in denen das hier beschriebene und problematisierte Antwortverhalten gleichermaßen auftritt. Die Ergebnisse liefern Anhaltspunkte dafür, daß Richtungseffekte im Antwortverhalten vorliegen und diese von sozio-demographischen Merkmalen abhängig sind.' (Autorenreferat)

Background: Stigma and informal caregiving are determinants for health and wellbeing, but few studies have examined stigma towards informal caregiving. Public stigma may be expressed differently towards caregivers depending on their gender and employment status due to societal norms. Therefore, this study analyzes if there is a difference in public stigma shown by the general population toward informal caregivers of care recipients aged 65 years or older based on the observed caregiver's gender or working status. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted in Germany. Data from 1038 adult participants from the general population in Germany were assessed with an Online-Survey. They were recruited with a quota-system based on the German micro census. Participants were randomly assigned to one of 16 vignettes describing a caregiving situation, which varied in the caregiver's gender and working status, and care recipient's gender and type of impairment. After reading the vignette, they were asked to provide sociodemographic information and complete three questionnaires on public stigma assessing their emotional (Emotional Reactions), behavioral (Social Distance) and cognitive reaction (Statements on informal caregivers) to the caregiver described in the vignette. Regression analyses, adjusted for sociodemographic data of the participants, were conducted. Results: Findings indicated an association between reading about male caregivers and increased social distance, compared with reading about female caregivers. Reading about working caregivers was associated with decreased social distance and increased appreciative statements, compared to reading about non-working caregivers. Analyses after stratifying by gender of the caregiver in the vignette indicated an association between reading about female working caregivers and increased appreciative statements, compared to reading about female non-working caregivers. When stratifying by working status, an association was found between reading about male working caregivers and increased social distance, when compared to reading about female working caregivers. Conclusions: This study's findings indicate that gender and working status of the perceived informal caregivers are of relevance to the public stigma directed towards these caregivers. Male and non-working informal caregivers were shown more public stigma than female and working informal caregivers. Thus, interventions to reduce public stigma, in particular towards male and non-working caregivers, are recommended.

Background: Public beliefs about appropriate treatment impact, help-seeking and treatment adherence. Aim: To determine the recommendations of the Sardinian public for the treatment of depression. Methods: In 2012, a population-based survey was conducted by phone in Sardinia ( N = 1,200). In the context of a fully structured interview, respondents were presented with a vignette depicting a case of depression. Subsequently, they were asked about their treatment recommendations. The results are contrasted with findings from a similar survey which had been conducted in Vienna 3 years before. Results: In Sardinia as in Vienna, psychotherapy was the uncontested favorite, while antidepressant medication was recommended by relatively few respondents. In Sardinia, there were also no marked differences between urban and rural areas with regard to these two treatments. However, between Sardinia and Vienna, as well as within Sardinia, great differences were found with regard to autogenic training and 'alternative' methods like homeopathic medicines and acupuncture. Conclusion: Cross-cultural comparisons may help better understand treatment preferences of the public. In Sardinia, as in Vienna, there seems to be a need for improving the public's knowledge about the appropriate treatment of depression.

BACKGROUND: The World Mental Health Survey Initiative (WMHSI) has advanced our understanding of mental disorders by providing data suitable for analysis across many countries. However, these data have not yet been fully explored from a cross-national lifespan perspective. In particular, there is a shortage of research on the relationship between mood and anxiety disorders and age across countries. In this study we used multigroup methods to model the distribution of 12-month DSM-IV/CIDI mood and anxiety disorders across the adult lifespan in relation to determinants of mental health in 10 European Union (EU) countries. METHOD: Logistic regression was used to model the odds of any mood or any anxiety disorder as a function of age, gender, marital status, urbanicity and employment using a multigroup approach (n = 35500). This allowed for the testing of specific lifespan hypotheses across participating countries. RESULTS: No simple geographical pattern exists with which to describe the relationship between 12-month prevalence of mood and anxiety disorders and age. Of the adults sampled, very few aged ≥ 80 years met DSM-IV diagnostic criteria for these disorders. The associations between these disorders and key sociodemographic variables were relatively homogeneous across countries after adjusting for age. CONCLUSIONS: Further research is required to confirm that there are indeed stages in the lifespan where the reported prevalence of mental disorders is low, such as among younger adults in the East and older adults in the West. This project illustrates the difficulties in conducting research among different age groups simultaneously.