People with dementia usually experience behavioural and psychological symptoms of dementia (BPSD) during the course of their illness. Currently, in Australia, there is a lack of comprehensive planning for managing and preventing BPSD, and the resources required for optimal care are inadequate and unevenly distributed. We propose a seven-tiered model of service delivery based on severity and pre...

This study investigated the trajectory of physiological and psychological functioning during the second half of pregnancy and compared responsiveness to a laboratory stressor between pregnant and non-pregnant women. Monitoring of 137 pregnant women at 20, 24, 28, 32, 36, and 38 weeks of pregnancy included measures of heart period (HP), heart period variability (HPV), skin conductance (SCL), res...

There are few brief measures of identity disturbance for use in clinical practice that have been subject to any cross-culturally validation. This study investigated the construct validity of the Personality Structure Questionnaire (PSQ) in Italian clinical (N=237) and community (N=296) samples. Confirmatory factor analysis was conducted to investigate the internal structure of the PSQ. A three–...

BACKGROUND Psychological items discriminating children of fathers diagnosed with an illicit drug-related substance use disorder and normal controls are indicators of a unidimensional construct termed transmissible liability index (TLI) (Vanyukov et al., 2009). TLI is a highly heritable (Vanyukov et al., 2009; Hicks, Iacono, McGue, 2012) and valid (Vanyukov et al., 2009; Hicks et al., 2009; Kiri...

Psychological and psychosocial factors have long been linked to cardiovascular disease. These psychosocial factors, including low socioeconomic status, social support/isolation, stress and distress, personality, and sleep disturbance increase risk of cardiovascular events and negatively impact quality of life. These factors may have direct effects on cardiovascular disease via immune or neuroen...

OBJECTIVES This study examined the construct and criterion validity of the Mindful Attention Awareness Scale (MAAS) in cancer outpatients, using matched community members as controls. METHODS Cancer outpatients (n=122) applying for enrollment in a mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) program completed the MAAS and measures of mood disturbance and stress. Local community members (n=122) m...

Two studies examined the relation between psychological trauma and schizotypal symptoms. In Study 1, in which 1,510 adults completed telephone interviews, both childhood maltreatment and the experience of an injury or life-threatening event were significantly associated with schizotypal symptoms. In Study 2, in which 303 adults (oversampled for having elevated levels of schizotypal symptoms) co...

AIM To examine psychosocial adjustment in persons with lower limb amputations related to diabetes. METHODS Thirty-eight participants with diabetes-related lower limb amputations, recruited from two limb-fitting centres, completed three psychological self-report assessments: the Trinity Amputation and Prosthesis Experience Scales (TAPES); the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS); and t...

BACKGROUND Quality of life after cancer treatment becomes more important as the number of long-term survivors increases. This study aimed to investigate complaints of fatigue after treatment for breast cancer. PATIENTS AND METHODS The study patients were 150 women who had finished curative treatment for breast cancer by a mean of 29 months before commencement of this study. Measurements inclu...