A series of 6- to 10-week programs in creative collage were given to disabled elderly residents within a special care facility. The program stressed choice, decision making, and personal autonomy in the design process. Participants were involved in all stages of the creative process including exploration, manipulation, establishing a unity,…

Young (n=80) and older (n=71) adults evaluated speakers in taped conversation of secondary baby talk or neutral variant addressed to elderly resident in nursing home by nurse or volunteer. Caregivers who used baby talk were rated as significantly less respectful and competent than peers in neutral condition; no differences were observed for…

Interviews with a random sample of 1,598 persons aged 65 years and older in 1975 with followups in 1984 provide information about the distribution between community and institutional care of urban elderly in Cleveland (Ohio). Support factors that enable persons to remain in the community are identified. (SLD)

Institutionalized persons (n=149) with severe or profound mental retardation who were treated with heterocyclic antidepressants were divided into responders and nonresponders and compared. Responders were more likely to be those subjects who exhibited symptoms of depression, psychosis, or tantruming and had a higher social age than did…

The study examined frequency of contact with family members of 474 mentally retarded persons in Norwegian residential placements. Age trends in family contact were noted with decreasing contacts as the individual aged. Results have implications for the increasing numbers of older adults in such placements. (DB)

Surveyed nursing home administrators (n=124) to determine mental health problems of residents, mental health issues of staff, mental health professionals used as consultants, and intervention programs to improve mental health environment of facilities. Results identified combative and demanding behaviors, depression, and confusion as difficult…

Examined prosocial moral reasoning in Brazilian institutionalized delinquent, orphaned, and noninstitutionalized adolescents. Found that compared to nondelinquent adolescents, delinquent adolescents were less likely to prefer higher level, internalized types of prosocial moral reasoning and more likely to prefer lower levels of prosocial moral…

Examines group work with transgendered male-to-female adolescents who engage in sex work. Provides an overview of the role that sex work plays in the lives of some transgendered youth, using case examples, and offers guidance for those utilizing group work approaches with transgendered adolescents. Discusses homelessness and institutionalization,…

The hypothesis that improving the aesthetic quality of the environment of a functionally dependent person with traumatic brain injury would show a corresponding positive effect in the attitudes and behaviors of the resident's family system was tested. Effects of environmental manipulations on family and patient are assessed and discussed.…

This study focused on procedural and substantive aspects of special education services for students with disabilities in one state's correctional facilities. Results indicated that, although some incarcerated youth received educational services, few received related services. Students enrolled in special education programs received a…

A study of 1,878 persons with developmental disabilities who had been transferred from California state institutions into community care found the mortality rates for movers exceeded institutional rates by 51%. The effect was largest shortly after the move and in subjects who had moved most recently. (Author/CR)

One hundred forty-nine inpatients within a maximum security psychiatric facility were assessed with the Psychopathy Checklist: Screening Version (PCL:SV; S. D. Hart, D. N. Cox, & R. D. Hare, 1995). Within the total sample, 68% had a psychotic disorder and 30% met criteria for psychopathy. Using confirmatory factor analysis, the authors tested the…

This study examined the utility of the Personality Assessment Inventory (PAI) to identify prison inmates in a mandatory sex offender treatment program prone to engage in institutional misconduct. Archival PAI and institutional disciplinary data were coded for 137 inmates in treatment for an average of 1.59 years. The Antisocial Features scale…

In this article, the author examines another dimension of human rights--the problem of torture. He looks at U.S. commitments to international conventions prohibiting torture in light of the abuses at Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq. He shows how a position adopted by the Bush administration that these international conventions did not apply to the war…

Terminology in the Global Assessment of Functioning (GAF) Scale of DSM-IV often is irrelevant to the realities of nursing homes, assisted living centers, and similar facilities in which residents encounter stressors that are unique to their living environment and circumstances. As the mental health needs of long-term care residents are…