Jordhøy, Marit S; Ringdal, Gerd Inger; Helbostad, Jorunn L.; Oldervoll, Line Merethe; Loge, Jon Håvard; Kaasa, Stein. Assessing physical functioning: a systematic review of quality of life measures developed for use in palliative care. Palliative Medicine 2007;21(8):673-682
Physical decline is experienced by all palliative care patients and affects most aspects of life. Physical functioning (PF) is therefore a crucial domain for quality of life (Qol) assessments. The purpose of this study was to review how PF assessments are performed in Qol instruments developed for palliative care Methods: For identification of instruments, Medline searches up to April 2005 were performed using the terms (palliative care OR end of life care OR terminal care) AND quality of life AND (assessment OR instrument OR questionnaire). A total of 1326 hits were screened. Named QoL instruments were extracted from 240 abstracts and 46 relevant reports. Items assessing PF were then identified and classified according to activity domains as described by the WHO International Classification of Functioning Disability and Health. Results: Of 224 different instruments detected, 39 were identified as developed for palliative care. Of these, 11 included original PF assessments. Two were comprehensive performance status measures made for staff assessment, 9 were multidimensional tools including 2—7 PF items. The content and phrasing of items varied considerably. All instruments included some aspects of self-care, whereas the coverage of mobility, domestic, work — and leisure activities was inconsistent. Interpretation: Despite its importance, PF assessment seems to be a minor part of palliative care QoL instruments. Clear definitions and conceptualization of PF are needed, as well as a consensus on relevant aspects to include in improved instruments. Performance scales already developed should be further explored with regard to content, validity and psychometric properties.
Saksvik, Per Øystein; Tvedt, Sturle Danielsen; Nytrø, Kjell; Andersen, Gunn Robstad; Andersen, Thale Kvernberg; Buvik, Marte Pettersen; Torvatn, Hans. Developing criteria for healthy organizational change. Work and stress 2007;21(3):243-263
The objective of this study was to identify criteria for healthy change in organizations and to develop practical guidelines for intended change. We aimed to explore how change processes at the shop floor level can be better informed by consultants and labour inspectors. A total of 180 interviews were conducted with managers and employees in 90 units of public and private organizations in Norway. The interviews were analysed through four steps representing an expansion of grounded theory, and converted to qualitative analysis using QSR and N6 software. We found that organizational change processes were better managed by more attention to awareness of the local norms and diversity among employees in the perception and reactions to change efforts. An inspector or consultant should be aware of these phenomena in any change effort and tell the organization how to deal with them. The other three factors identified were early role clarification, manager availability, and using constructive conflicts to deal with change. They are all important coping mechanisms at the organizational level that will bring change processes onto a more optimal track if correctly managed. A healthy process empowers individuals instead of making them insecure and defensive in times of change. This will help them restore perceived control and promote job security, which benefits both them and the organization.
Hegna, Kristinn; Wichstrøm, Lars. Suicide attempts among Norwegian gay, lesbian and bisexual youths - General and specific risk factors. Acta Sociologica 2007;50(1):21-37
The aim of the study was to identify the specific factors that affect the risk of attempted suicide in Norwegian gay, lesbian and bisexual (GLB) youths beyond the effect of general risk factors presumed to be of importance irrespective of sexual orientation. The national non-probability sample included 407 GLB youths aged between 16 and 25 years of age, among whom 26 per cent of both genders reported a previous suicide attempt. General risk factors for attempted suicide among GLB youths were: lack of parental contact, internalizing problems (depression/anxiety), low self-esteem, regular smoking and victimization. The following risk factors specific for GLB youths increased the risk of attempted suicide even when controlling for general risk factors: currently being in a steady heterosexual relationship, early heterosexual debut (<16), young age of coming out (<15), infrequent contact with heterosexual friends and openness to all heterosexual friends. For practitioners engaged in social work among young people in general or GLB youths in particular, these results show that while coming out is a vital aspect of sexual identity formation that enhances psychological well-being and should be celebrated, in another sense it is a serious stressor with potentially negative consequences unless a strong social support network is there to be relied upon.
Kolstad, Arnulf. Hvordan de fysiske omgivelser påvirker oss. Estetikk og velvære i helseinstitusjoner. Den norske tannlegeforenings tidende 2007;117:814-818
Sanseinntrykkene er «råstoffet» for tanker og følelser. De bearbeides av allerede lagrede erfaringer, utløser assosiasjoner og påvirker velvære og helse. «Kvaliteten» på de visuelle sanseinntrykkene har betydning for måten vi oppfatter andre på og hva slags humør vi settes i. Vi bedømmer andre mennesker mer positivt i rom vi synes er vakre og kommer selv i bedre humør. Det får betydning også for vår somatiske helse, og er gunstig for blodtrykk, lymfe- og nervesystem. I helseinstitusjoner kan estetisk utforming, utsmykking og kunst bidra til redusert liggetid og bedre trivsel for både ansatte og pasienter. Dette slår ut i en mer positiv vurdering av behandling og helsepersonellets kvalifikasjoner, noe som er viktig for behandlingseffekten. Et institusjonsmiljø som oppfattes vakkert, ryddig og trygt vil bidra til redusert angst og større opplevd kontroll. Kunstnerisk utsmykking kan virke som distraksjon og lede tankene vekk fra sykdom og kroppslig forfall. Også venterommet, som gir det viktige førsteinntrykket som all senere informasjon tolkes i lyset av, bør utformes med omhu ettersom det oppfattes som tegn på kvaliteten på tannbehandlingen ut fra teorien om evalueringskonstans.
Almvik, Roger; Woods, Phil; Rasmussen, Kirsten. Assessing risk for imminent violence in the elderly: the Brøset Violence Checklist. International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry 2007(22):862-867
Objective: The Brøset Violence Checklist (BVC) assesses confusion, irritability, boisterousness, verbal threats, physical threats and attacks on objects as either present or absent. It is hypothesised that an individual displaying two or more of these behaviours is more likely to be violent in the next twenty-four hour period. This study aims to test the validity of the instrument in geriatric settings and to report on the predictive value of an easy-to-use risk assessment instrument.
Method: Eight thousand eight hundred and thirty-five BVC observations were completed in two psychogeriatric wards (n = 42 patients) and two special care units for patients with dementia (n = 40 residents). To measure violent incidents the study group was monitored using the Staff Observation Aggression Scale-Revised (SOAS-R).
Results: This study disclosed that patients in geriatric wards and residents in nursing homes who are aggressive have higher BVC scores than the non-violent subjects indicating that the BVC does predict violent episodes in these settings.
Nordahl, Hans Morten; Stiles, Tore C. Personality styles in patients with fibromyalgia, major depression and healthy controls. Annals of General Hospital Psychiatry 2007;6(9)
Background: The fibromyalgia syndrome (FMS) is suggested to be a manifestation of depression or affective spectrum disorder. We measured the cognitive style of patients with FMS to assess personality styles in 44 patients with fibromyalgia syndrome (FMS) by comparing them with 43 patients with major depressive disorder (MDD) and 41 healthy controls (HC).
Methods: Personality styles were measured by the Sociotropy and Autonomy Scale (SAS) and the Dysfunctional Attitude Scale (DAS). The Structured Clinical interview for DSM Axis I was applied to Axis I disorders, while the Beck Depression Inventory was used to measure depression severity.
Results: Patients with FMS in general have a sociotropic personality style similar to patients with MDD, and different from HC, but FMS patients without a lifetime history of MDD had a cognitive personality style different from patients with MDD and similar to HC.
Conclusion: These findings suggest that a depressotypic personality style is related to depressive disorder, but not to FMS.
Gråwe, Rolf W; Hagen, Roger; Espeland, Bente; Mueser, Kim. The Better Life Program: Effects of group skills training for persons with severe mental illness and substance use disorders. Journal of Mental Health 2007;16(5):625-634
Objectives: Despite the widespread use of group interventions for treating dual disorders, few standardized programs have been empirically validated. This study evaluated a manualized group skills training intervention for clients with dual disorders, the Better Life Program, in order to determine its feasibility and changes in substance abuse and mental health outcomes.
Method: Patients with dual disorders at nine centres in Norway participated in a pilot study using a within-subjects pre- and post test design. The program required an average of 37 sessions to complete and was provided as a supplement to standard mental health care. The aim of the program is to reduce substance misuse through providing information, motivational enhancement, skills training to develop rewarding relationships, relapse prevention, and establishing healthy leisure activities.
Results: Among the 82 patients who began treatment, 63 (83%) completed it. Treatment completers showed significant reductions in substance misuse and improvement in global functioning, but did not change in general symptom distress.
Conclusions: This pilot study supports the feasibility of the Better Life Program, and suggests that it may improve substance misuse and mental health outcomes. Further research is warranted to evaluate the effects of this program using controlled research designs.
Reinfjell, Trude; Lofstad, Grete Elisabeth; Veenstra, Marijke; Vikan, Arne; Diseth, Trond H.. Health-related quality of life and intellectual functioning in children in remission from acute lymphoblastic leukaemia. Acta Paediatrica 2007;96(9):1280-1285
Aim: To evaluate the health-related quality of life (HRQOL) and intellectual functioning of children in remission from acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (ALL). Methods: Children and adolescents treated for ALL (n = 40; mean age 11.8 years, range 8.5–15.4) and healthy controls (n = 42; mean age 11.8, range 8.11–15.0) were assessed through a cross-sectional approach using the Pediatric Quality of Life inventory (PedsQL™) 4.0 and the Wechsler Intelligent Scale for children-III (WISC-III).
Results: Children and adolescents treated for ALL reported on average significantly lower HRQOL compared to healthy controls: the mother's proxy-report showed significantly lower HRQOL for their children, as did the father's proxy-report, measured by the PedsQL™ 4.0 Total Scale and Psychosocial Health Scale. Intellectual functioning as measured by the WISC-III Full Scale IQ was below that of the control group, but still within the normal range.
Conclusions: Significant differences found between children treated for ALL and their control group for the PedsQL Psychosocial Health Scale may indicate that the complex illness-treatment experience can make children more vulnerable with regard to psychosocial sequels, in spite of otherwise satisfactory physical and intellectual functioning. Follow-up programs that target the psychosocial health of children in remission from ALL should be implemented.
Knizek, Birthe Loa; Hjelmeland, Heidi Marie. A Theoretical Model for Interpreting Suicidal Behaviour as Communication. Theory & Psychology 2007;17(5):697-720
Theoretical publications have been relatively few and far between in suicidology. This paper is a contribution to the theoretical development of this field. A model of suicidal behaviour as communication (MoSBaC) is elaborated through a combination of Scandinavian theories within the framework of communication theory and semiotics. The model is functional as it can be used as a tool to analyse both verbal and non-verbal data. It is also flexible in the sense that a variety of qualitative data can be analysed systematically by this model. The typology of the model also is suitable for quantitative approaches. The scientific and multidisciplinary grounds on which a model should be built, what requirements it has to meet, as well as the methodological consequences of this, are also discussed.
Solbjør, Marit; Østerlie, Wenche; Skolbekken, John-Arne; Sætnan, Ann Rudinow; Forsmo, Siri. Focus Groups in a Medicine-Dominated Field: Compromises or Quality Improvements?. International Journal of Qualitative Methods 2007;6(3):45-56
Mammography screening has traditionally been viewed as a field for medical research. The medical science discourse, however, is highly quantitative, and its claims for validity somewhat opposed to those of qualitative research. To communicate research in a cross-disciplinary field, it is necessary to adapt one’s research to several paradigms. The authors conducted focus group interviews with women due to be screened in a national breast cancer screening program. Their prospective design, both strategic and random sampling, and free discussions during focus groups are all questions of satisfying a medical science discourse in the frames of qualitative research. Focus group research showed itself adaptable through the data collection phase in a cross-disciplinary research project on mammography screening.
Hagen, Ingunn. "We cannot just sit the whole day and watch TV" Negotiations concerning media use among youngsters and their parents. Young Nordic Journal of Youth Research 2007;15(4):369-393
Media use is often a source of negotiations between children and their parents. Children's and young people's ideas about how much and what they want to watch on TV may differ from those of their parents. In addition, there might be disagreements in the family regarding who should use the computer and for what purpose. With new media like cable TV and computers/Internet increasingly available to modern families, there is intensified public pressure on parents to monitor and regulate their children's media use. The purpose of this article is to discuss questions related to these negotiations and regulations.
Jamtøy, Ann Iren; Hagen, Ingunn. Iscenesatt politikk - strategier for å lage underholdende TV. I: Den medialiserte politikken. Oslo: Universitetsforlaget 2007. ISBN 978-82-15-01063-2. s. 147-176
Hvilke strategier benytter fjernsynskanalene NRK og TV2 for å få det politiske stoffet til å bli underholdende TV? I dette kapitlet ser vi på hvordan iscenesettelse av politikk på fjernsyn ofte handler om å skape underholdende programmer med stor seerappell. De konsesjonsbelagte allmennkringkasterne lever i spenningen mellom å bidra til den politiske offentligheten og å oppnå publikumsoppslutning. Hvordan løser de dette dilemmaet i praksis? Gjennom analyse av ulike iscenesettelsesstrategier studerer vi hvordan og i hvilken grad NRK og TV2 har lyktes med å forene målet om å underholde med målet om å formidle politikk.
Gabriel, Ute Barbara; Banse, Rainer; Hug, Florian. The prediction of helping behaviour by implicit attitudes and the motivation to control prejudiced reactions. British Journal of Social Psychology 2007;46(2):363-382
The role of individual differences in implicit attitudes toward homosexuals and motivation to control prejudiced reactions (MCPR) in predicting private and public helping behaviour was investigated. After assessing the predictor variables, 69 male students were informed about a campaign of a local gay organization. They were provided with an opportunity to donate money and sign a petition in the presence (public setting) or absence (private setting) of the experimenter. As expected, more helping behaviour was shown in the public than in the private setting. But while the explicit cognitive attitude accounted for helping behaviour in both settings, an implicit attitude x MCPR interaction accounted for additional variability of helping in the public setting only. Three different mediating processes are discussed as possible causes of the observed effects.
Ringdal, Gerd Inger; Ringdal, Kristen; Jordhøy, Marit S; Kaasa, Stein. Does social support from family and friends work as a buffer against reactions to stressful life events such as terminal cancer?. Palliative and Supportive Care 2007;5:61-69
Objective: To examine the relationship between social support and emotional functioning and stress reactions. Our hypothesis is that patients who reported a high degree of social support will experience better emotional functioning and less serious stress reactions than patients with a low degree of social support.
Method: The sample was comprised of 434 patients at the Palliative Medicine Unit (PMU), University Hospital of Trondheim in Norway. The patients completed a questionnaire monthly including questions about social support from the MacAdam's Scale, subjective stress measured by the Impact of Event Scale (IES), and emotional functioning measured by the subscale in the EORTC QLQ-30.
Results: Although our hypothesis was not supported at the baseline assessment, it was supported at the second assessment, 2 months later. Patients with high social support reported better emotional functioning and less serious stress reactions, in terms of lower scores on the IES avoidance subscale, than patients with a low degree of social support. Significance of the results: The mixed findings may indicate that social support has only small effects on emotional functioning and stress reactions. Our results on the second assessment indicate, however, that social support might work as a buffer against reactions toward external stressful events such as terminal cancer.
Moen, Bjørg Elin. Determinants of safety priorities in transport - The effect of personality, worry, optimism, attitudes and willingness to pay. Safety Science 2007;45(8):848-863
Much research within risk has investigated risk perception and how risk behaviour is understood by the public. One goal of risk research is to understand how people perceive and interpret risk to facilitate safe behaviour. This is seen as important for many different reasons, one being because policy measures might be more effective when they address and understand individual differences in beliefs and perceptions of a target group (Steg, L., Sievers,I., 2000. Cultural theory and individual perceptions of environmental risks. Environment and Behavior 32(2), 250-269). The main aim of this study was to investigate what is most important in regard to safety priorities. Three personality assets - anxiety, excitement-seeking and trust - were first examined. Further factors were driver optimism, worrying about transport risks, willingness to pay to increase safety, and negative attitudes toward traffic rules (as a driver). The results are based upon two questionnaire surveys carried out among a representativ esample of the Norwegian public in 2004. The results showed that worry was the most important predictor of safety priorities. In addition, negative attitudes towards rules were also found to have an impact on priority. The proposed model explained 44% of the variance of safety priority. This knowledge gives additional information to improve the success of interventions because it will develop the ability to target those who consider safety to be of low priority and guide them to modify their attitudes. This may in turn increase their value of safety.
Ringdal, Gerd Inger. Psykologiske perspektiver på kreft. Tidsskrift for Norsk Psykologforening 2007;44(6):722-723
Omfanget av kreft er økende. Antallet som lever med kreft over lengre tid stiger, og antallet som får kreft er ifølge Kreftregisteret (2006) forventet å øke med 20 prosent frem mot 2020. Rundt 1955 var det nesten like mange kvinner som menn som fikk kreft. Etter år 2000 er forekomsten doblet hos menn og økt med så mye som 70 prosent hos kvinner. Økt levealder i befolkningen må tillegges noe av skylden for økningen, siden risikoen for å få en kreftsykdom i løpet av livet øker jo eldre en blir. Fire av ti nordmenn vil få kreft en gang i livet. En av ti menn vil få prostatakreft, og hver tolvte kvinne vil få brystkreft. De fire vanligste kreftformene, prostata, bryst, kolon og lungekreft, utgjør over halvparten av alle krefttilfeller i Norge i dag. Samlet sett for alle aldersgrupper dør en av fire av en kreftsykdom. Omtrent 170 000 mennesker lever med kreft i Norge, og enda flere er pårørende. Den store utbredelsen av kreft tilsier at det i de fleste familier vil være medlemmer som før eller siden vil bli rammet av kreft.
Hagen, Roger; Berge, Torkil; Gråwe, Rolf W. Towards a new understanding of psychosis. Tidsskrift for Norsk Psykologforening 2007;44(5):522-523
Historically, we distinguish between three paradigms in our understanding of psychosis (Morrison, Renton, Dunn, Williams, & Bentall, 2004). The illness paradigm was introduced by Kraepelin at the beginning of the twentieth century. A clear distinction was drawn between normality and abnormality, and the cause of a certain number of diagnosable mental illnesses was understood as inherited brain disorders. The second paradigm is called the stress vulnerability model: biologically predisposed individuals may become psychotic if they are exposed to stressing life experiences. The various disorders, for example schizophrenia, are thought to lie along a continuum with normal behaviour and experiences, and there is a possibility that one can make therapeutic change by influencing the environment and strengthening the person's feeling of coping with the psychotic disorder. The third paradigm is the symptom-focused paradigm. Here each single symptom is emphasized, for example voice-hearing, delusions/unusual assumptions and depression, rather than using broad diagnostic categories. One is concerned with the possibility of coping with and understanding the symptoms and the ability to be able to function socially and professionally, more than curing the disorder as such.
Kornør, Hege; Nordvik, Hilmar. Five-factor model personality traits in opioid dependence. BMC Psychiatry 2007;7
BACKGROUND: Personality traits may form a part of the aetiology of opioid dependence. For instance, opioid dependence may result from self-medication in emotionally unstable individuals, or from experimenting with drugs in sensation seekers. The five factor model (FFM) has obtained a central position in contemporary personality trait theory. The five factors are: Neuroticism, Extraversion, Openness to Experience, Agreeableness and Conscientiousness. Few studies have examined whether there is a distinct personality pattern associated with opioid dependence.
METHODS: We compared FFM personality traits in 65 opioid dependent persons (mean age 27 years, 34% females) in outpatient counselling after a minimum of 5 weeks in buprenorphine replacement therapy, with those in a non-clinical, age- and sex-matched sample selected from a national database. Personality traits were assessed by a Norwegian version of the Revised NEO Personality Inventory (NEO PI-R), a 240-item self-report questionnaire. Cohen's d effect sizes were calculated for the differences in personality trait scores.
RESULTS: The opioid-dependent sample scored higher on Neuroticism, lower on Extraversion and lower on Conscientiousness (d = -1.7, 1.2 and 1.7, respectively) than the controls. Effects sizes were small for the difference between the groups in Openness to experience scores and Agreeableness scores.
CONCLUSION: We found differences of medium and large effect sizes between the opioid dependent group and the matched comparison group, suggesting that the personality traits of people with opioid dependence are in fact different from those of non-clinical peers.
Endrerud, Marianne Skogstrøm; Vikan, Arne. Five to seven year old children's strategies for regulating anger, sadness, and fear. Nordic Psychology 2007;59(2):127-134
83 children from kindergarten and primary school were asked to tell what they would do to stop being angry, sad, or frightened. Their proposals were conceived as emotion regulation strategies, and the great majority both of five and seven year old children's responses (80.5% and 88.1 %, respectively) could be classified into one of four categories. The most frequent regulation strategy category was social interaction (e.g. "being with someone"), which comprised about 40% of responses in both age groups. Strategy frequencies did not sustain an expectation based on differential emotions theory that results should show variation with emotion type.
Sjøberg, Lennart. The distortion of beliefs in the face of uncertainty. International Journal of Management and Decision Making 2007;8:1-29
Judgements and beliefs often are distorted. They are affected by underlying values and reflect strong tendencies toward wishful thinking. In action, biased thinking may or may not be detrimental, and there is a very delicate balance to keep between the need to motivate oneself for forceful action, and to keep a realistic view of the possibilities of success. People encounter problems, calling for thought and the formation of constructs, only rather rarely, but when they do they tend to be in an unpleasant emotional state. Uncertainty is one such state, in which one encounters difficult problems and expects little success.
Kolstad, Arnulf. Helbredende kunst - finnes det? Betydningen av utsmykking og estetikk i helseinstitusjoner. Tidsskrift for Norsk Psykologforening 2007;44(8):991-994
Hva skal hensikten være med å «forskjønne» et sykehus? Dette er et spørsmål jeg skal reflektere over i denne artikkelen. Ved å vise at de fysiske og estetiske omgivelsene virker inn på sinnstilstand og helse, vil jeg argumentere for at det på helseinstitusjoner er særlig viktig med tiltalende miljø der pasienter, pårørende og ansatte opplever å bli tatt vare på. Kunst kan bidra til dette. Men ikke all slags kunst og utsmykking. Derfor må vi også stille spørsmålet om hva slags utsmykking, eller sagt på en annen måte: Hva skal kunsten i et sykehus «gjøre» med dem som er der, hvilke følelser og tanker skal utløses hos dem som opplever bygget og utsmykkingen?
Corsaro, William A.; Johannesen, Berit Overå. The creation of new cultures in peer interaction. I: The cambridge handbook of sociocultural psychology: Cambridge University Press 2007. ISBN 978-0-521-67005-0. s. 444-459
In sociology and anthropology a new field of childhood studies has emerged in contrast to what is known traditionally as socialization. By shifting the focus, we can see how children contribute to cultural reproduction and change. In our work we have offered the concept of interpretive reproduction. Reproduction calls attention to the fact that children do not simply internalize society, but actively contribute to culture and cultural change.
Ryum, Truls; Stiles, Tore C; Vogel, Patrick A.. Effektivitet av psykoterapeutisk behandling gjort av viderekommende studenter. Tidsskrift for Norsk Psykologforening 2007;44(8):1005-1011
Det er viktig å dokumentere at behandlingen psykologistudenter gir, er god og forsvarlig. Hvilket utbytte opplever klientene i ordinær praksis?
Alapack, Richard Joseph. Love's Pivotal Relationships: The Chum, First Love, Outlaw and the Intimate Partner. Bloomington, Indiana: AuthorHouse 2007. ISBN 978-1-4343-1904-3. 218 s.
Tucked within this volume are heartlines, woven equally of two types of tough yet tender threads: tales and thoughts about loving and longing. The weave creates soul stories about pivotal relationships: one's chum, first love, outlaw, and the intimate partner. The blend of stories and ideas communicates what happens "on the ground" and in the time of daily life. What belongs together is bound together: experience-reflection, meaning-action, smiles and tears. These relationships concern us all. Within them, we experience life's most important, validating, and memorable "moments."
Reinfjell, Trude; Diseth, Trond H.; Vikan, Arne. Barn og kreft: Barns tilpasning til og forståelse av alvorlig sykdom . Tidsskrift for Norsk Psykologforening 2007;44(6):724-734
Hvilke faktorer er spesielt betydningsfulle for å fremme barns forståelse og tilpasning til alvorlig sykdom? Hvordan kan dette vektlegges i klinisk praksis?
Kvello, Øyvind. Utredning av atferdsvansker, omsorgssvikt og mishandling. Oslo: Universitetsforlaget 2007. ISBN 9788215009230. 455 s.
Boken gir forskningsbasert kunnskap om hva som bør vektlegges når barnevernet skal utrede atferdsvansker, omsorgssvikt og mishandling hos barn, unge og deres familier. Forfatteren oppsummerer i sjekklister og tilbyr en egen utredningsmal for barnevernsutredningen. Ved å benytte mange eksempler knyttes den teoretiske kunnskapen til den praktiske utredningen.
Austad, Hanne; van der Meer, Audrey. Prospective dynamic balance control in healthy children and adults. Experimental Brain Research 2007;181(2):289-295
The control situation framework presented by Petersen (Cogn Technol Work 6(4):266–274, 2004) is elaborated upon in the context of military high-speed craft navigation. An observational study was done on a military navigational exercise in Indre Folda, a stretch of particularly demanding confined waters in Norway. The concept of control strategies is presented as a term related to how navigators choose to take out the control possibilities present in the system. Control actions are viewed as actions that fix the control demands and control possibilities over longer time-scales. Control strategies are different from control actions in that they continuously alter the control demands and control possibilities through its execution.
Gabriel, Ute Barbara; Gassmann, Sonya; Locher, Ruth. Geschlechtsunterschiede bei der moralischen Beurteilung häuslicher Gewalt. Trauma & Gewalt 2007;1(2):42-52
Employing a fictitious case scenario it was investigated whether the often reported finding that domestic violence by a female perpetrator is perceived as less severe than domestic violence by a male perpetrator can be ascribed to varying attribution processes as well as ingroup favoritism. A total of 128 students of the University of Bern were presented with scenarios depicting an abusive interaction between a heterosexual couple and afterwards rated the incident. In one version of the scenario the woman became the victim of the assault by the man, in the other version the man became the victim of the woman’s assault. The incident was written either from the victim’s or from the perpetrator’s perspective. The female perpetrator was less harshly evaluated than the male perpetrator. Contrary to the notion of ingroup favoritism, this held especially true for male respondents.
Kennair, Leif Edward Ottesen. Statsvitenskap og evolusjonspsykologi: På tide å inkludere studiet av menneskets biologiske natur?. Norsk Statsvitenskapelig Tidsskrift 2007;23(1):54-75
Statsvitenskap har, som fagområde, lenge vært skeptisk til å bruke evolusjonsteori i forståelsen av menneskets natur, atferd og samfunn. Resultatet er en manglende forståelse for evolusjonsteori og en nærmest automatisk avvisning av relevansen til evolusjonspsykologien. Dette kan vise seg å være begrensende for statsvitenskaplig forståelse og forskning, da det biologiske grunnlaget for menneskets natur, og dermed også politikk og samfunn, er stadig mer anerkjent innen hovedstrømningen av naturvitenskapene, men også samfunnsvitenskapene, da spesielt psykologi. Denne artikkelen gir en kort presentasjon av evolusjonspsykologien. Deretter diskuteres mulige grunner for hvorfor statsvitenskapen avviser evolusjonære perspektiver, etterfulgt av noen eksempler på mulig relevant evolusjonspsykologisk forskning (konsekvenser av forurensing og kosthold, krig og rasepersepsjon). Denne artikkelen er en invitasjon til statsvitenskapen om å bidra til fremtidige evolusjonære studier av menneskets politiske og sosiale natur.
Almerud, Sofia; Alapack, Richard Joseph; Fridlund, Bengt; Ekebergh, Margaretha. Of vigilance and invisibility - Being a patient in technologically intense environments. Nursing in Critical Care 2007;12(3):151-158
Equipment and procedures developed during the past several decades have made the modern intensive care unit (ICU) the hospital’s most technologically advanced environment. In terms of patient care, are these advances unmitigated gains? This study aimed to develop a knowledge base of what it means to be critically ill or injured and cared for in technologically intense environments. A lifeworld perspective guided the investigation. Nine unstructured interviews with intensive care patients comprise its data. The qualitative picture uncovered by a phenomenological analysis shows that contradiction and ambivalence characterized the entire care episode. The threat of death overshadows everything and perforates the patient’s existence. Four inter-related constituents further elucidated the patients’ experiences: the confrontation with death, the encounter with forced dependency, an incomprehensible environment and the ambiguity of being an object of clinical vigilance but invisible at the personal level. Neglect of these issues lead to alienating ‘moments’ that compromised care. Fixed at the end of a one-eyed clinical gaze, patients described feeling marginalized, subjected to rituals of power, a stranger cared for by a stranger. The roar of technology silences the shifting needs of ill people, muffles the whispers of death and compromises the competence of the caregivers. This study challenges today’s caregiving system to develop double vision that would balance clinical competence with a holistic, integrated and comprehensive approach to care. Under such vision, subjectivity and objectivity would be equally honoured, and the broken bonds re-forged between techne, ‘the act of nursing’, and poesis, ‘the art of nursing’.
Øvergård, Kjell Ivar; Fostervold, Knut Inge; Bjelland, Hans Vanhauwaert; Hoff, Thomas. Knobology in use: an experimental evaluation of ergonomics recommendations. Ergonomics 2007;50(5):694-705
The scientific basis for ergonomics recommendations for controls has usually not been related to active goal-directed use. The present experiment tests how different knob sizes and torques affect operator performance. The task employed is to control a pointer by the use of a control knob, and is as such an experimentally defined goal-directed task relevant to machine systems in general. Duration of use, error associated with use (overshooting of the goal area) and movement reproduction were used as performance measures. Significant differences between knob sizes were found for movement reproduction. High torques led to less overshooting as opposed to low torques. The results from duration of use showed a tendency that the differences between knob sizes were reduced from the first iteration to the second iteration. The present results indicate that the ergonomically recommended ranges of knob sizes might differently affect operator performance.
Nordahl, Hans Morten; Ingul, Jo Magne; Nordvik, Hilmar; Wells, Adrian. Does maternal psychopathology discriminate between children with DSM-IV generalised anxiety disorder or oppositional defiant disorder? The predictive validity of maternal axis I and axis II psychopathology. European Child and Adolescent Psychiatry 2007;16:87-95
What dimensions of maternal psychopathology predict internalising or externalising disorder in children? We conducted a study of maternal axis I and axis II psychopathology in a group of children 8–12 years of age with Generalised Anxiety Disorder (GAD), Oppositional Defiant Disorder (ODD) and non-patient controls (NC). By using Multigroup Discriminant Analyses (MDA) on three groups of children (N = 85) and measures of axis I and axis II psychopathology of their mothers, we attempted to discriminate between these groups on a data driven basis. Two separate MDA were computed, one based on maternal axis I disorders, and one based on maternal axis II disorders. The results demonstrated that maternal symptomatic and personality psychopathology was differentially related to childhood anxiety or behavioural disorders. Mothers of children with ODD were characterised by more negative emotions and detached personality styles, whereas mothers of children with GAD seemed to be more somatic preoccupied, controlling and overprotective.
Mjåvatn Høie, Magnhild; Sjøberg, Britt-Marie Drottz. Forbannede elskede barn. Narkotikamisbruk sett i lys av pårørendes erfaringer. Oslo: Cappelen Akademisk Forlag 2007. ISBN 978-82-02-26984-5. 176 s.
Forbannede, elskede barn setter søkelys på foreldre og nære pårørende av narkotikamisbrukere. Pårørende er kanskje i enda større grad enn misbrukere en forsømt gruppe i hjelpeapparatet. Bokas første del formidler pårørendes erfaringer direkte og uten omskrivninger.
Vikan, Arne; Camino, Cleonice; Biaggio, Angela; Nordvik, Hilmar. Endorsement of the New Ecological Paradigm. A Comparison of Two Brazilian Samples and One Norwegian Sample. Environment and Behavior 2007;39(2):217-228
Results from 240 students (120 each from Brazil and Norway) on the 15-item revised New Ecological Paradigm (NEP) show higher endorsement of the ecological paradigm from the Brazilians; suggestions are that this relates to cultural variables rather than to technological development variables. There is no consistent relationship between scores on the NEP and scores from tests of justice based and care based morality, gender roles, or cultural orientation. Alphas, inter-item correlations, and factor analysis show much variation between the samples, but the relative ranking of items show very high agreement.
Oltedal, Sigve; Rundmo, Torbjørn. Using cluster analysis to test the cultural theory of risk perception. Transportation Research Part F: Traffic Psychology and Behaviour 2007;10:254-262
The purpose of the present investigation was to examine if different groups of individuals with similarities in personality and cultural characteristics perceive transport risks differently. The respondents were a representative sample of the Norwegians public (n = 1687). Cluster analysis [Everitt, B. S., Landau, S., & Leese, M. (2001). Cluster analysis. London: Arnold] was applied to identify the groups. There were significant differences in transport risk perception between members of different clusters. However, members with different worldviews did not perceive risk according to the patterns described by cultural theory [Douglas, M., & Wildavsky, A. (1982). Risk and culture. Berkely, Los Angeles, London: University of California Press] and the relations between culture and risk perception seemed somewhat sporadic and unsystematic. Hence the conclusion that there are other factors more important to transport risk perception than the included cultural- and personality characteristics, was supported.
Rundmo, Torbjørn; Iversen, Hilde Karin. Is job insecurity a risk factor in occupational health and safety?. International Journal of Risk Assessment and Management 2007;7(2):165-179
The main aim of the present study was to examine how job insecurity influences job satisfaction as well as on-the-job risk behaviour. An additional aim was to analyse how risk perception affects the associations between job insecurity, job dissatisfaction and behaviour. The results of the study are based on a self-completion questionnaire survey carried out among empoyees experiencing organisational change and downsizing in the UK and the Nordic Division of a company manufacturing chemical products (N=254). The company is one of the world's largest industrial gas suppliers. Job insecurity was significantly associated with job dissatisfaction. The more insecure the employees reported to be, the more job dissatisfaction was also reported. Job dissatisfaction was also related to on-the-job risk behaviour. Employees who were dissatisfied with the working condition reported on-the-job risk behaviour more frequently compared to those who were satisfied.
Tennfjord, Oddfrid Skorpe; Rundmo, Torbjørn. Risk perception and worry related to adolescents' judgement of three types of risk. Journal of Risk Research 2007;10(1):67-84
The core aim of this study was to examine determinants of anticipated worry related to three types of risk among adolescents. The participants were Norwegian high-school students aged 15–19 years (n=5335). They were students at 6 high schools and a total of 15 randomly selected school classes participated in the study. All the students were asked to fill in a self-completion questionnaire. The response rate was 100percent. The participants were shown three video sequences of three-minute conversations between a person and a listener discussing three risk sources, which each had developed into a problem (drug use, depression, and sexual abuse). The video sequences were shown to the students when they were in their classes. The results showed that there were gender differences in probability assessments as well as in anticipated worry related to the three types of risk. There were also differences in worry depending on the respondent’s past experience with an identical or similar problem or risk. In addition to cognitive evaluations, own experience and gender, general worry, social support seeking, anxiety and depression significantly predicted worry. These variables explained 52 percent of the variance. Worry may be a significant predictor of risk behaviour as well as decisions concerning risks and risk reduction. The results are related to the risk-as-feelings hypothesis (Loewenstein, Weber, Hsee and Welch) and other risk decision models are also discussed.
Hjemdal, Odin. Measuring protective factors: The development of two resilience scales in Norway. Child and Adolescent Psychiatric Clinics of North America 2007;16(2):303-321
This article provides a summary of research related to the development of two scales that measure protective factors associated with resilience. These scales were developed in Norway by one research group with members from the Departments of Psychology at the University of Tromsø and the Norwegian University of Science and Technology. (Members of the research team include Oddgeir Friborg, Odin Hjemdal, Monica Martinussen,Jan H. Rosenvinge, and Tore C. Stiles.) The work was begun in 1998. Because resilience research is a response to mental health problems, it is important to bear in mind some facts regarding the prevalence and future estimates of mental disorders globally.
Weel, Frederikus van der; Craig, Cathy M.; van der Meer, Audrey. The rate of change of tau. I: Closing the Gap: The Scientific Writings of David N. Lee: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates 2007. ISBN 0-8058-6316-8. s. 305-315
This Chapter reflects on the various theoretical changes Dave Lee's tau concept (1976, 1980, 2005) has undergone through the years, how it evolved, and how its use became more and more general. From the deceptively simple tau margin it evolved into general tau theory, explaining the mathematical principles of perception and action, including the underlying neural mechanisms. In our developmental research, the tau concept has been indispensable. It has helped us to show that young infants are not just reflexive organisms only capable of producing stereotypical movements, but that they are able from birth to produce very skilled, goal-directed actions. Moreover, we have shown how the development of the pick-up of perceptual control information helps babies and nursery school children to guide their actions more efficiently. And finally, we have used these findings to study infants who are neurologically at-risk and children with CP with the aim of helping with an early diagnosis so as to devise better, more detailed assessment, diagnosis, and therapeutic procedures. In all these developmental studies, tau has proven to be a helpful tool.
Hjemdal, Odin; Aune, Tore; Reinfjell, Trude; Stiles, Tore C; Friborg, Oddgeir. Resilience as a Predictor of Depressive Symptoms: A Correlational Study with Young Adolescents. Clinical Child Psychology and Psychiatry 2007;12(1):91-104
This correlational study explored the Resilience Scale for Adolescents (READ)1 as a predictor for developing depressive symptoms controlling for known risk factors. A young adolescent sample (N = 387) completed the READ, the ShortMood and Feeling Questionnaire (SMFQ), Social Phobia Anxiety Index for Children (SPAI-C), and the occurrence of Stressful Life Events (SLE). In addition, a subsample of their parents (N = 240) completed a parental version of READ (READ-P). The results indicated that the READ assesses important protective factors that are associated with fewer depressive symptoms among young adolescents even when controlling for known risk factors. All five READ factors were predictors of depressive symptoms, while the READ-P showed no predictive value. There were no significant interaction effects between READ andSLE. There were, however, significant main-effects supporting a compensatory model of protective factors. The findings suggest that the READ is a significant predictor of mental health and a useful tool for further research examining differences in stress tolerance among young adolescents.
Kayed, Nanna Sønnichsen; van der Meer, Audrey. Infants' timing strategies to optical collisions: A longitudinal study. Infant behavior & development 2007;30:50-59
Blinking is a good indication of awareness to optical collisions in early infancy. In the current longitudinal study, infants were presented with the image of a looming object approaching on a collision course under different constant velocities and constant accelerations. The aim was to investigate which timing strategies the infants used to determine when to make the defensive blink. Blinking when the virtual object reaches a threshold visual angle (angle-strategy) or angular velocity would result in difficulties with accelerating approaches, while blinking when the object is a certain time away (time-strategy) would enable successful responses to all approaches. Eleven infants were tested longitudinally at 22, 26, and 30 weeks. Five infants switched from an angle- to a time-strategy, while one infant switched from using angular velocity to a time-strategy. Five infants used a time-strategy already at 22 weeks. These findings show that with age there is an attunement in the perceptual systems of infants which makes them switch to better specifying variables, enabling them to successfully time their defensive blinking to impending optical collisions.
Wang, Yue; Behne, Dawn Marie. Temporal remnants from Mandarin in nonnative English speech. I: Language Experience in Second Language Speech Learning: John Benjamins Publishing Company 2007. ISBN 978 90 272 1973 2. s. 167-184
Second language (L2) production can take on the form of an interlanguage, a relatively stable system bearing the nature of both the native language (L1) and L2. Within such a system, acoustic-phonetic components of a syllable are known to bear interlanguage characteristics, but how do these interlanguage components interact within the syllable? The present study investigates temporal patterns of L1 and L2 in interaction within a syllable. Audio recordings were made of English stop-vowel syllables produced by native speakers of Mandarin who were fluent in English (ChE). Native English productions (AmE) of these syllables, and native productions of comparable Mandarin (ChM) stop-vowel syllables were also recorded. Temporal measures included stop closure duration, voiceonset time (VOT), vowel duration, and syllable duration. Results show that the internal timing of syllable components in ChE productions often deviates from ChE in the direction of AmE, with the closure duration, VOT, and vowel duration being intermediate to ChM and AmE. These temporal deviations of individual components were also compensated by temporal adjustments of other components in the syllable, maintaining a balanced distribution between the consonant and vowel. These findings are discussed in the context of previous research on interlanguage behavior and the gradual process of acquiring a target language.
Aanondsen, Chris Margaret; van der Meer, Audrey; Brubakk, Ann-Mari; Evensen, Kari Anne Indredavik; Skranes, Jon; Myhr, Gunnar; Weel, Frederikus van der. Differentiating prospective control information for catching in at-risk and control adolescents. Developmental Medicine & Child Neurology 2007;49:112-116
This paper investigated the use of prospective control in catching and how the results can be used as a sensitive tool to detect diffuse signs of brain dysfunction. A detailed analysis on a total of 286 catching movements of eight adolescents (two males, six females [four very-low-birthweight {VLBW}, one small for gestational age {SGA}, and three appropriate for gestational age]; mean age 14y 5mo [SD 6 mo]; range 14-15 y) was performed blind for this purpose. The moving target approached the participants from the side at three different, non-constant accelerations. The results showed that three adolescents used less advanced timing strategies that involved the lower-order variables of distance or velocity to govern movement initiation of at least one of their hands. Two of these were preterm VLBW and one was term SGA. The remaining adolescents, on the other hand, all relied on the higher-order variable of time-to-contact to initiate their hand movements, and were, therefore, considered low-risk. These results were compared with the cerebral magnetic resonance imaging results of the adolescents. The findings show that timing strategy pinpoints successfully those adolescents at risk of neurological problems. It was, therefore, concluded that the skill of using prospective information for catching can be used as a tool to detect diffuse signs of motor dysfunction, which are not readily detected by standard behavioural tests alone.
Berg, Bente Gunnveig; Schachtner, J; Utz, Sandra; Homberg, Uwe. Distribution of neuropeptides in the primary olfactory centre of the heliothine moth Heliothis virescens. Cell and Tissue Research 2007;327:385-398
Nevropeptider utgjør en mangfoldig og utbredt samling av signalsubstanser i nervesystemet hos ulike organismer. I denne artikkelen beskrives distribusjon av nevropeptider i hjernens primære luktsenter hos en liten modellorganisme, en nattsvermer.
Christensen, Marit. How do external changes in a community and internal reorganisation influence employees? A study of local health and labour administration services. International Journal of Risk Assessment and Management 2007;7(2):180-188
The aim of the study was to investigate the effects of demands on professionals working in the health sector and the labour market administration when a major local company downsizes. Thirty semi-structured interviews were conducted in three municipalities with the downsizing of a cornerstone industry.The overall hypotheses, which were largely supported by the study and the existing literature in the field, were that downsizing and job insecurity affect the employees’ physical and psychological health. Downsizing also had more indirect effects on the families and the community as a whole, as well as for thelocal services generally. The latter expected to be faced with an increase in work demands and workload affecting the service they give to their clients and their experience of health risks and low job satisfaction. Internal reorganisation to meet the demands seemed to have either multiplicative or additive effects depending on variations in the restructuring process.
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