Journal Articles
Permanent URI for this collectionhttps://mro.massey.ac.nz/handle/10179/7915
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Item Adolescent Stress: A Multi-Ethnic Asian Perspective(Malaysian Psychological Association (PSIMA) and Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities, UKM, 2020-01-01) Flett R; Selvanathan D; Marsh N; Khairudin, R; WATI HALIM, FThe purpose of this study was to examine gender and ethnic differences in adolescent stress in a non–Western context; multi-ethnic Malaysia. A Malay language version of the Adolescent Stress Questionnaire was administered to 300 adolescents aged from 13 to 17 years (Mean = 14.4 years). There were no statistically significant differences between genders or the three ethnic groups (Chinese, Indian, Malay) across the 10 subscales. There was a significant gender x ethnicity interaction for the school performance subscale with Indian boys reporting significantly higher stress. Gender and ethnic differences were evident at the item level with boys reporting higher stress than girls on 12% of the items. For 27 (47%) of the items on the scale the most frequent response was not at all stressful (or irrelevant to me). Discussion highlights the importance of further research on adolescent stress in the Asian context and emphasises the continual need to acknowledge that one culture’s understanding of stress is not necessarily or inevitably the same as another’s.Item Impact of a handicapped child on mental health of parents(B M J PUBLISHING GROUP, 29/11/1986) Romans-Clarkson SE; Clarkson JE; Dittmer ID; Flett R; Linsell C; Mullen PE; Mullin BIn a cross sectional study the mental health of parents of physically and mentally handicapped preschool children was compared with that of parents of healthy preschool children. The social networks of the parents with handicapped children were also studied to determine factors that might influence psychiatric morbidity. The mothers of the handicapped children showed significantly more psychiatric morbidity than the control mothers, but the fathers did not show the same deleterious effect on mental health.Item What makes for the most intense regrets? Comparing the effects of several theoretical predictors of regret intensity(Frontiers in Psychology, 15/12/2016) Towers A; Williams MN; Hill SR; Philipp MC; Flett RSeveral theories have been proposed to account for variation in the intensity of life regrets. Variables hypothesized to affect the intensity of regret include: whether the regretted decision was an action or an inaction, the degree to which the decision was justified, and the life domain of the regret. No previous study has compared the effects of these key predictors in a single model in order to identify which are most strongly associated with the intensity of life regret. In this study, respondents (N D 500) to a postal survey answered questions concerning the nature of their greatest life regret. A Bayesian regression analysis suggested that regret intensity was greater for—in order of importance—decisions that breached participants’ personal life rules, decisions in social life domains than non-social domains, and decisions that lacked an explicit justification. Although regrets of inaction were more frequent than regrets of action, regrets relating to actions were slightly more intense.Item Cognitive assessment during a course of electroconvulsive therapy - A national questionnaire survey of current practice in Aotearoa, New Zealand(1/07/2014) Thornton A; Leathem J; Flett RObjective: To shed light on current practice regarding cognitive assessment during electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) across Aotearoa. Design/Participants: 24 medical professionals representing all ECT administering district health boards responded to an electronic questionnaire. Results: 73.7% assess cognitive function at least once during a course of ECT. 27.3% assess at baseline, at least once during the course and again post-treatment. Assessments are primarily conducted by nurses (38.8%), psychiatrists (22.2%) and psychologists (22.2%). 66% of respondents reported cognitive assessment was not conducted frequently or thoroughly enough in their workplace due to a lack of time, resources and sensitive tests. Conclusion: Respondents recognised assessing cognitive change during a course of ECT was important, though large variations in the nature, frequency and length of assessments existed. Future research should focus on the development of a sensitive screening measure tailored for use with patients receiving ECT to help overcome the current restrictions to cognitive assessment.Item The Cannabis Use Problems Identification Test (CUPIT): Development, reliability, concurrent and predictive validity among adolescents and adults(John Wiley & Sons, 2010) Bashford J; Flett R; Copeland JAIMS: To describe the empirical construction and initial validation of the Cannabis Use Problems Identification Test (CUPIT), a brief self-report screening instrument for detection of currently and potentially problematic cannabis use.DESIGN: In a three-phase prospective design an item pool of candidate questions was generated from a literature review and extensive expert consultation. The CUPIT internal structure, cross-sectional and longitudinal psychometric properties were then systematically tested among heterogeneous past-year users.PARTICIPANTS: Volunteer participants were 212 high-risk adolescents (n = 138) and adults (n = 74) aged 13-61 years from multiple community settings.MEASUREMENTS: The comprehensive assessment battery included several established measures of cannabis-related pathology for CUPIT validation, with DSM-IV/ICD-10 diagnoses of cannabis use disorders as criterion standard.FINDINGS: Sixteen items loading highly on two subscales derived from principal components analysis exhibited good to excellent test-retest (0.89-0.99) and internal consistency reliability (0.92, 0.83), and highly significant ability to discriminate diagnostic subgroups along the severity continuum (non-problematic, risky, problematic use). Twelve months later, baseline CUPIT scores demonstrated highly significant longitudinal predictive utility for respondents' follow-up diagnostic group membership. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis identified a CUPIT score of 12 to be the optimal cut-point for maximizing sensitivity for both currently diagnosable cannabis use disorder and those at risk of meeting diagnostic criteria in the following 12 months.CONCLUSIONS: The CUPIT is a brief cannabis screener that is reliable, valid and acceptable for use across diverse community settings and consumers of all ages. The CUPIT has clear potential to assist with achievement of public health goals to reduce cannabis-related harms in the community.Item Stages of change for fruit and vegetable intake among New Zealand men: Readiness to eat five servings a day and impact of contextual factors(Men's Studies Press, LLC, 2010) Jury A; Flett RSuccessful behavior change according to the transtheoretical model involves progressing through a series of stages of change. This paper examines the proportion of men in each stage of change for fruit and vegetable intake, compares stage classification with intentions and behavior, and the impact of contextual factors on stage membership. Men randomly selected from the New Zealand electoral roll completed a postal questionnaire (n = 518; 45% response rate). One-third (32%) of respondents were not intending to eat five or more servings of fruit and vegetables a day (precontemplation stage), 10% were contemplating change (contemplation stage), 7% preparing to change (preparation stage), and 51% were already doing so in the combined action/maintenance stage. Intentions increased on average across stages, and fruit and vegetable intake was at least two servings higher in action/maintenance. Dietary guideline knowledge, older age, higher income, education and food security increased the likelihood of being in action/maintenance. Simple health promotion messages should be directed toward men, promoting conventional and affordable produce, and dietary guidelines. Community and policy approaches that increase food skills and knowledge, fruit and vegetable access and affordability would support behavior change.Item 'To tell or not to tell?' Managing a concealable identity in the workplace(Co-Action Publishing, 2012) Flett RThe management of identities, particularly stigmatized identities, represents considerable challenge. This article considers some of the issues around the decision to conceal or reveal a stigmatized or potentially stigmatizing identity. The potential consequences of ‘‘telling or not telling’’ are examined. There is a need for all individuals to monitor behaviours, attitudes, systems and structures that convey disrespect, discrimination, and derogation towards those with a stigmatized identity (concealed or otherwise).
