[From social etiology to political implications?].
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Cultural Deprivation↗
Biomedical subjects
M Tousignant
Publications and source records attributed to M Tousignant.
[Family ecology, social networks and suicidal behavior in the school milieu].
This article sums up the outcome of a research project conducted in Montreal schools in 1987 and 1988, and focusing on how family ecology and social networks relate to strong suicidal tendencies among teenagers. Two groups were involved in the study: one with 78 suicidal persons, the other with 72 non-suicidal persons. Teenagers in each group were interviewed separately. All subjects reported high lack of attention from at least one of the two parents. Results also show that parents of suicidal teens experience permanent break-ups less frequently in comparison to the other group. However, families of suicidal teens tend to experience deeper changes in the structure of the family unit following an initial separation. With respect to moving, there are no significant differences, whether in the number of moves or the important people, have access to as many different kinds of support and report the same number of conflicts. In all these comparisons, however, suicidal teenagers do name a proportionately higher number of adults. This leads the authors to hypothesize that a higher rate of parental separation among non-suicidal teens could represent a protective factor rather than a vulnerability factor, as is usually suggested. In terms of social networks, the fact that suicidal teens seek out adults to a greater degree could impede on their socializing with peers and, therefore, on their social integration.
Adolescent↗
Suicidal attempts and ideations among adolescents and young adults: the contribution of the father's and mother's care and of parental separation.
Parental care was analyzed separately with the PBI for both father and mother or their surrogate to assess its association with suicidal behavior (attempt or serious ideation). The study was conducted on two French-speaking samples from Montreal: the first included 2,327 high school students and the second 701 young adults (18 to 24) reached by phone. Results showed poor care of father to be highly associated with suicidal behavior in the highschool group. Poor care of the mother and parental divorce obtained a lower association. In the second sample, only poor care of the father was significantly associated with suicidal behavior. The conclusion is that more attention should be focused on the father and that parental divorce may have a short-term effect but not a lasting influence when poor care is absent.
Adolescent↗
[Mental health of migrants: analysis of the social and longitudinal context].
The mental health of migrants is affected by many factors that stem from premigratory experiences as well as adaptation conditions of the host nation. The interaction of these two types of factors are however set in time: certain periods are characterized by relative stability, while others are marked by unexpected disruptions which tend to make migration appear as a never-ending process. An individual's age upon arrival in a new country is also an important factor: adolescents must meet many different types of demands, while the elderly no longer have the personal resources to assimilate a new culture. The author points out that adaptation takes place in a family system where the fortune of each member impacts on that of others in the family. In this article, the author discusses prevention by taking into consideration certain issues raised by scientific literature.
Adaptation, Psychological↗
[The effectiveness of interaction of volunteer coaches in training].
This study describes teaching and learning processes during a series of soccer training sessions. The predetermined course content formed the initial practicum for volunteer coaches who were in the first stage of their training. In general, the players demonstrated patterns of motor behaviour favourable to their motor learning. The coaches adopted most of the effective behaviors that had been recommended during the theoretical portion of their preparation. These observations tend to indicate the usefulness of having volunteer coaches participate in a practicum as part of their preparation, in order to improve the effectiveness of their subsequent instruction. Such instruction is likely to be even more effective if the practicum is based on training sessions of predetermined content.
Adolescent↗
Psychiatric epidemiology in Quebec: an overview.
This paper reviews the development of psychiatric epidemiology in Quebec from 1960 to the present. The research in this area is divided into three periods: 1960 to 1980, 1980 to 1985, and 1985 onward. Child psychiatric epidemiology is addressed separately. The authors conclude that psychiatric epidemiology has been an active area of research in Quebec and will likely be even more so in the future given the increasing interest in the field.
Adult↗
Sadness, depression and social reciprocity in highland Ecuador.
Pena or llaqui in the Quechua area of Ecuador refers to a state of sadness and depression experienced following a variety of life events. This paper tries to explain why there is an elaborate discourse on such feelings in this culture. It is argued that the Quechuas stress the ideal of social reciprocity in human encounters and are accordingly sensitive to disturbances in social relationships. We observe that they pay a great deal of attention to the victim of pena and that they try to improve relationships with the social network and the family. The indigenous theory on pena also points to the importance of bodily elements closely associated to the psychological conditions. We conclude that knowledge of status relationships are important to understand the emotions experienced when loss occurs.
Body Image↗
Borderline traits among community alcoholics and problem-drinkers: rural-urban differences.
This study analyzed the borderline traits of a sample of community alcoholics drawn from a rural and a metropolitan area of the province of Quebec. The Diagnostic Interview Schedule and other questions from the Diagnostic Interview for Borderlines were administered. About one-third of the sample of alcoholics showed a high number of borderline traits, a proportion similar to that found in institutionalized samples elsewhere. The borderline alcoholics tended to be younger and they all came from the urban area. This result suggests that alcoholics are probably better tolerated in rural areas and are less likely to adopt a pathological behaviour.
Adult↗
[Are depression perceived by the public and depression described by DSM-III the same?].
The public usage of the word depression does not correspond to the descriptions of depression proposed by classifications such as the DSM-III. Data from the pilot survey of Santé-Québec covering 3,291 persons distributed in two areas, one rural (D.S.C. of Rimouski) and other urban (D.S.C. of Verdun), allow to compare the use of the term depression between an informant reporting on a family member when this expression is included in a list of chronic illnesses, and an informant reporting on a self-administered questionnaire, symptoms similar to the diagnostics of depression and dysthymia of the DSM-III. Result show a low degree of correspondance between the term of depression as used by lay persons and as applied by medicine (14%); the small overlap mainly concerns the serious cases. Depression in its lay usage is refering less often to the psychic manifestations of the medical depression, i.e. lack of positive experiences, hopelessness, boredom, but it is often applied to persons who are not able any more to achieve social roles. The usage of the lay label varies according to sex and rural-urban origin. It applies more often to urban women under 40, even though these women are not showing the DSM-III signs of depression. On the other hand, rural men are almost never associated with this label even though a certain proportion meet the DSM-III criteria for depression. The discussion offers explanations for the different use of the label in urban and rural areas.
Adolescent↗
[Anglo-Saxon social research in mental health : tendencies, limits and impasses.].
In this critical review of English-language research on mental health, the authors identify the dimensions and variables taken into consideration in analyzing, on the one hand, social space and, on the other hand, the field of mental health. Three essential aspects of the body of research are analyzed : theoretical frames of reference ; methods and instruments ; and how links are made between social variables and mental-health problems. In a long conclusion, orientations of French-Quebec social research into mental health are compared to those of English research.
English Abstract↗
[Poverty : cause or space for problems in mental health.].
The frequent association made in the academic press between poverty and minor and major mental health problems is unfounded. There is absolutely no proof that lack of revenue is the main cause of such a hardship. Poverty is first and foremost an area in society where mostly vulnerable groups congregate, particularly mothers of single-parent families, immigrants and refugees, the unemployed, as well as former psychiatric patients. Problems are also much more concentrated in poor districts with high-rise, multiple dwelling apartment buildings. On a different note, it appears that people with better personal resources occupy middle-class districts. Poverty is definitively not a source of psychological problems unless it is combined with such factors as social isolation, emigration, unemployment or an anomic district.
English Abstract↗
[Family structure, parent-child relationships and suicidal behavior in high-school.].
A study made on a sample of 2,327 Montréal area students of third, fourth and fifth year of High School shows that suicidal behaviors ("les suicidaires") account for 13.2 % of youth interrogated, and that 6.7 % admit to having attempted suicide. The suicidal behavior rate is higher among girls than boys and it is lower in schools where the proportion of allophones is over 50 %. The separation of parents and the father's negligence are factors that contribute to raising the rate of suicidal behavior. However, a deceased father or mother has no effect on the rate. The rate of suicidal behavior is at its highest when there is a substitute parent. A relation exists, however, between a father's level of scolarity and the family structure. When students come from an unbroken home, there are fewer suicidal subjects when the father has a high rather than a low level of scolarity ; this difference disappears when the family is separated. However, the authors have noticed a greater rate of separation among parents with a higher level of scolarity. As for the higher rate of suicidal behaviors among girls, it is not entirely connected to poor parent-child relations. The data suggest to the authors that parent conflicts could possibly perturb girls more than boys. And finally, although serious health problems are associated to a higher rate of suicidal behavior, this link is relatively indépendant of the quality of parent-child relations.
English Abstract↗
Sex biases in mental health scales: do women tend to report less serious symptoms and confide more than men?
Women report more symptoms than men in mental health surveys. The evidence shows that psychometric biases cannot explain this significant difference. This study attempts to explore other factors that could bias the results--for example, that women are likely to report less serious symptoms than men or are less apprehensive in reporting symptoms because they have a higher tendency to report symptoms than men. A random sample of 213 women and 222 men, all married and between the age of 25 and 40, were interviewed at home in two districts of Montreal (Canada) and given the Health Opinion Survey (HOS). As has been usually found, women scored higher than men on the HOS. A variety of scales assessed the seriousness of the symptoms and the results did not indicate any sex difference in this regard. Moreover, there was no correlation between the mental health and the Jourard Self-Confidence Scale. Finally, women did not confide more about their symptoms than men, contrary to the prevalent opinion according to which they are more likely to do so. Sex differences on mental health scales do not, therefore, appear to be related to the type of bias assessed in this survey.
Adult↗
Urban-rural comparisons of depressive disorders in French Canada.
A field survey in French Canada confirmed the familiar finding that rural residents have lower rates of depression than metropolitan residents and showed that this difference remains even after allowing for sex, age, marital status, education, employment, and internal migration. However, no support was obtained for the hypothesis that the metropolitan sample was feeling less communally supported than the rural sample, and the rates in a small county center proved to be lower than in the rural area, not higher as would be predicted on the assumption that its life is urban. Finally, the rural-metropolitan differences proved to be concentrated in two minorities, the unemployed men and the unpartnered women, rather than spread widely. It is suggested for these reasons that the traditional urban-rural dichotomy may now be inappropriate for sociopsychiatric research.
Adolescent↗
[Suicide and depression in college students: comments].
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Depression↗
Caesarean section for twins in a patient with myotonic dystrophy.
The management of a patient with myotonic dystrophy undergoing Caesarean section for delivery of twins in breech position is reported. Anaesthetic management must reflect the multi-system nature of the disease in addition to the implications of pregnancy. Known triggers of myotonic crisis (succinylcholine, shivering) must be avoided. Attention to respiratory reserve is necessary in view of the restrictive defect this disease can impose. Cardiomyopathy and conduction system disturbances may be features. Upper gastrointestinal incoordination can superimpose the added risk of aspiration on the pregnant myotonic. Ineffective uterine contraction can cause vigorous post partum haemorrhage. Endocrine disturbances, especially diabetes mellitis, may be present. There may be increased sensitivity to sedative and narcotic agents. The newborn myotonic will need the expertise of neonatal care.
Adult↗
Use of a urologic set for improved fluid administration rates.
This study was designed to compare flow rates of three sets of tubings: a large bore (8 mm) Y-urologic set (Y-URO); a Y-URO with an added in-line blood filter (Y-URO + BF); and a currently used (3.5 mm diameter) blood transfusion set (Y-TRANSFUSION). The time required to empty a one litre bag of Ringer's Lactate from a 1.0 meter vertical drop was measured while using four different IV catheters (9.5, 10, 14 and 16 gauge), and the flow rates calculated. When a 9.5-gauge catheter was used, the flow rates obtained by the Y-URO and the Y-URO + BF were respectively 269 and 162 per cent higher than those achieved by the Y-TRANSFUSION. This wide margin was decreased to 41 and 39 per cent with a 16-gauge catheter. A 9.5-gauge catheter, when compared to a 16-gauge, allowed a 346 per cent improvement in flow rates with the Y-URO, a 225 per cent with the Y-URO + BF and only a 71 per cent increase with the Y-TRANSFUSION. The urologic set allows better fluid flow because of the larger diameter of its tubing. This adaptation of a large bore urologic irrigation set can be very useful when rapid fluid administration is imperative.
Blood Transfusion↗
Pena in the Ecuadorian Sierra: a psychoanthropological analysis of sadness.
In highland Ecuador, pena refers to a state of mind characterized by a mixture of sadness and anxiety as well as to an illness state resembling depression. This paper attempts to illustrate, through an analysis of the discourse on pena, how the ideology in which it is embedded serves to interpret a bodily problem at the same time as it reflects a more global attitude toward life. In essence, the folk theory states that the physical complaints caused by suffering are the result of a disturbance of the heart, the central organ of man, and of the emotional life which it controls. Because this suffering is often attributed to the immediate family group of the victim, the community at large often formulates accusations against one of its members. Though the therapy is limited to a cure of the symptoms through herbal remedies, a formal request can be made to a perceived wrongdoer to amend his behavior. The pena is also a state which can lead to colerin, a dangerous and sometimes lethal illness which is characterized by a sudden explosion of anger or madness and which will follow an unattended state of pena.
Adjustment Disorders↗