Biomedical subjects

M Stawski

Publications and source records attributed to M Stawski.

5 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed1999

Does family therapy need psychiatrists? Do psychiatrists need family therapy?

BACKGROUND: While many sufferers from mental health problems require a therapeutic approach that can see the patient in his systemic context without losing sight of pathology that is located in the individual, few in fact receive such treatment. DATA: The therapy of an individual and of his family is presented by way of illustration of the above point. CONCLUSION: Clinical experience suggests that trainees in psychiatry (and other mental health professions) should be expected to reach a level of proficiency in family therapy at least equal to that expected of them in the various individual approaches; benefits would accrue to themselves, to the profession, to family therapy and, most importantly, to their patients.

Adolescent↗

PubMed1997

Behavioural problems of children with chronic physical illness and their siblings.

Children suffering from chronic physical illness are considered to be at increased risk for behavioural problems. There is also evidence that their siblings are at risk for behavioural problems. This study investigated parent-reported behavioural problems in chronically ill children and their siblings. There were significant positive correlations between the behaviour problem scores of the ill children and the scores of their siblings. Siblings older than the ill child had significantly higher behaviour problems scores of an internalizing nature than did the younger siblings. Sibling behaviour problem scores were similar to those of a comparison group of normal children and significantly different from those of a comparison group of psychiatrically referred children. Siblings of chronically ill children showed no greater likelihood of receiving scores in the clinical range of behaviour problems than children in the general population. Implications of the findings and suggestions for future research are discussed.

Adolescent↗

PubMed1997

The views of psychiatric patients and their treating physicians of court-ordered compulsory hospitalization for criminal acts.

The legal responsibility for the mentally ill has long been a dilemma. Public opinion regarding the law which states that the mentally ill, in a psychotic state, are not responsible for their actions, is divided. The study assessed 30 psychiatric patients, committed by court order, following a criminal act on their part. No relationship was found between the nature of their offense and a psychiatric disorder. Patients who committed more serious crimes, such as murder, tended to have committed fewer criminal acts in the past. Sixty-nine percent of the patients think that the mentally ill are not responsible for their actions and 59% agreed with the judge's decision to hospitalize them. On a concrete level, over two-thirds of the patients were able to distinguish right from wrong. The treating physicians related mainly to the patients' illnesses rather than to the crimes for which they were committed.

Adult↗

PubMed1995

Behavioral problems of adolescents with chronic physical illness: a comparison of parent-report and self-report measures.

This study reports on the extent of behavior problems in Israeli adolescents suffering from chronic illness. A comparison was made between parent-reported and self-reported behavioral symptomatology using the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL) and the Youth Self-Report (YSR). 103 outpatients, aged 11-16 years, suffering from cystic fibrosis (CF), asthma, or hematological/oncological conditions were assessed. Healthy adolescents and adolescents referred for psychiatric assessment comprised the comparison groups. Parent- and self-reports were significantly positively correlated in each group (all chronically ill children r = .22; Healthy group r = .27; psychiatric group r = .50), but the correlations were particularly low (and non-significant) in younger adolescents with hematological/oncological conditions or HCF., pointing to the need for physicians to include parents' and adolescents' viewpoints in their assessments of these adolescents' psychosocial state. The mean number of parent-reported and self-reported behavior problems in the illness groups was no different from that of the Healthy group but significantly lower than that of the psychiatric group.

Adolescent↗

PubMed1993

Reduced total complement haemolytic activity in schizophrenic patients.

Serum concentrations of the third and fourth components of the complement system and total complement haemolytic activity were measured in 167 psychiatric patients. Total complement haemolytic activity was decreased in chronic schizophrenic patients as compared to healthy controls and bipolar patients. The relatively diminished total haemolytic activity was not attributable to drug treatment. It is not clear if the reduced total haemolytic activity is an epiphenomenon or related to the involvement of an autoimmune process in the pathophysiology of schizophrenia.

Autoimmune Diseases↗