Biomedical subjects

Man Cheung Chung

Publications and source records attributed to Man Cheung Chung.

9 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2006

The relationship between posttraumatic stress disorder following spinal cord injury and locus of control.

OBJECTIVE: This study examined whether locus of control was associated with spinal cord injury posttraumatic stress disorder (SCI-PTSD). METHODS: Sixty-two SCI patients and 54 people without SCI participated in the study. The patients were assessed using the Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Checklist (PCL), the General Health Questionnaire-28 (GHQ-28) and the Multidimensional Health Locus of Control (MHLC). The control group was assessed using the GHQ-28 and the MHLC. RESULTS: Forty-four percent of patients suffered from full-blown PTSD. SCI patients experienced significantly more general health problems than the control. Type of SCI and trauma recency were not significantly correlated with PTSD symptoms or general health problems but previous traumatic events were. Regression analyses showed that internal health locus of control (IHLC) and powerful other locus of control (POLC) predicted the re-experiencing symptom; IHLC predicted the avoidance symptom; POLC predicted GHQ-28 total. CONCLUSION: SCI patients' perceptions of whether their health was or was not determined by their own behaviour (i.e. internal or external locus of control) were associated with SCI-PTSD.

Adult↗

PubMed2006

Posttraumatic stress disorder and general health problems following myocardial infarction (Post-MI PTSD) among older patients: the role of personality.

OBJECTIVES: This study aimed to: (1) investigate the degree to which older MI patients experienced post-MI PTSD and general health problems, and to (2) identify the association between five personality traits, post-MI PTSD and general health problems among these older people. METHODS: The sample comprised 96 older MI patients and were recruited from two general practices. They were interviewed using the Posttraumatic Stress Diagnostic Scale (PDS), the General Health Questionnaire-28 (GHQ-28) and the NEO-Five Factor Inventory (NEO-FFI). The control group comprised 92 older people who experienced no MI. They were assessed using the GHQ-28. RESULTS: The older MI patients experienced hyperarousal the most, followed by avoidance and re-experiencing symptoms. PDS revealed that 30% had full PTSD. The older patients were conscientious and agreeable individuals. They were also somewhat extraverted and open to experience. They also showed traits of neuroticism. Controlling for bypass surgery, heart failure, previous mental health difficulties, angina and angioplasty, regression analyses showed that neuroticism predicted re-experiencing and avoidance symptoms and general health total. Neuroticism and less agreeableness predicted hyperarousal symptoms. CONCLUSIONS: MI older patients could manifest PTSD symptoms and general health problems following their MI. Personality traits, particularly neuroticism and antagonism, played a role in the manifestation of these symptoms.

Aged↗

PubMed2006

Spinal cord injury, posttraumatic stress, and locus of control among the elderly: a comparison with young and middle-aged patients.

This study aimed to investigate the extent to which spinal cord injury posttraumatic stress (SCI PTSD) responses and the use of the external or internal health locus of control might vary according to age. Sixty-two patients with SCI were recruited for the study and divided into young (n = 23), middle-aged (n = 25) and elderly (n = 14) groups. They were assessed using the Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Checklist (PCL), the General Health Questionnaire-28 (GHQ-28), and the Multidimensional Health Locus of Control (MHLC). The results showed no significant differences between the three age groups in terms of PTSD symptoms. The elderly patients were significantly more socially dysfunctional than the other patients. The young patients believed in chance locus of control (CHLC) significantly more than the middle-aged and elderly patients. Correlation results revealed no significant relationship between PTSD symptoms and type of locus of control for the middle-aged patients. Otherwise, for both the young and elderly patients, internal health locus of control (IHLC) was negatively correlated with the avoidance symptom. For the elderly patients, powerful other locus of control (POLC) was positively correlated with the avoidance symptom. Both young and middle-aged patients revealed significant positive correlations between POLC, CHLC, and general health problems. For the elderly patients, POLC was positively correlated with social dysfunction and depression. SCI-PTSD responses did not differ according to age; however, the use of health locus of control differed depending on whether patients were younger or older.

Adult↗

PubMed2005

Reminiscence, regrets and activity in older people in residential care: associations with psychological health.

BACKGROUND: Claims have been made of the benefits of reminiscence for older people's psychological health. The study reported here set out to determine whether measures of reminiscence, regrets, and activity participation would be associated with psychological health in older people, when age, dependency, self-reported health, and social well-being were controlled. DESIGN: Cross-sectional interview-based questionnaire survey. METHODS: Older people living in residential and nursing homes (N = 142) completed questionnaires that determined current levels of reminiscence, activity participation, and psychological health, while care staff recorded the participants' observed affect over the previous 2-week period. RESULTS: Multivariate analyses showed significant associations between reminiscence frequency, reminiscence enjoyment, and regrets, and psychological health outcomes, while controlling for age, dependency, self-reported health, and social well-being. While reminiscence enjoyment was associated with positive psychological health, high frequency of reminiscence and the presence of regrets were associated with negative psychological health. CONCLUSIONS: The study findings are discussed with reference to Eriksonian theory, reminiscence functions, and the potential for reminiscence in psychological therapy for older people.

Aged↗

PubMed2005

Differentiating posttraumatic stress between elderly and younger residents.

This study aimed to differentiate between the posttraumatic stress responses of elderly and younger community residents who had been exposed to two technological disasters (a train collision and an aircraft crash). One hundred and forty-eight community residents were assessed using the Impact of Event Scale (IES) and the General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-28). The results showed that age differences were not affected by impact of disaster (IES), suggesting that elderly and younger community residents responded to the disasters similarly. Instead, the community residents exposed to the aircraft crash experienced significantly more intrusion and avoidance than those exposed to the train collision. Also, the community residents who had experienced high exposure to the disasters had significantly more intrusive thoughts and exhibited significantly more avoidance behavior than the low/medium exposure group. The results also showed no main effects in general health between the elderly and younger community residents, suggesting that their health status was similar. Instead, the community residents exposed to the aircraft crash had significantly more general health problems than the train disaster residents and the control group. Also, the community residents in either the low/medium or the high exposure group experienced more general health problems than the control group. Correlation coefficients showed that intrusion, avoidance, and the total impact of the disasters were significantly correlated with all general health subscales for both elderly and younger groups.

Adult↗

PubMed2004

Coping with post-traumatic stress: young, middle-aged and elderly comparisons.

OBJECTIVES: Debate persists about whether people of different ages react similarly to traumatic events, and whether elderly people are more vulnerable to such events, or better able to cope with them. The first aim of this paper was to shed light on this debate by comparing the post-traumatic responses of young, middle-aged and elderly community residents who had been exposed to technological disasters. The second aim was to differentiate between these three age groups in terms of coping strategies. METHODS: One hundred and forty-eight community residents, who were exposed to two technological disasters, participated in the study. They were assessed using the Impact of Event Scale (IES), the General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-28) and the Ways of Coping Checklists (WOC). RESULTS: The results showed that in terms of IES, GHQ and WOC scores, no significant differences were found across the three age groups. However, main effects were found according to type of disaster and intensity of exposure to disaster. One significant interaction effect was that residents exposed to the aircraft crash used significantly more confrontive coping than those exposed to the train collision, in all three age groups. Correlation coefficients results showed that for all three age groups, on the whole, the more they experienced intrusive thoughts and avoidance behaviour, the more they experienced general health problems. CONCLUSIONS: Following exposure to technological disasters, young, middle-aged and elderly community residents could display similar post-traumatic responses and employ similar coping strategies, which contradicts the vulnerability hypothesis and the inoculation hypothesis.

Adaptation, Psychological↗

PubMed2003

Psychological sequelae: post-traumatic stress reactions and personality factors among community residents as secondary victims.

The aims of the present study were twofold: first, to ascertain the severity of post-traumatic stress among community residents as secondary victims exposed to a train disaster. Secondly, we aimed to identify the association between post-traumatic stress and personality variables. Seven months after the train disaster in Stafford, United Kingdom, in 1996, 66 community residents were recruited and interviewed for the study. In the interviews, residents were assessed using the Impact of Event Scale (IES), the General Health Questionnaire (GHQ) and the Eysenck Personality Questionnaire-R Short Scale (EPQ-R). Control group data were also collected, composed of 90 community residents who lived in another city and had not been exposed to the train disaster. They were assessed using the GHQ. The results showed that 51% of the residents scored at the high IES symptom level. No significant differences were found between the community residents who lived near and further away from the crash site in terms of the IES scores. Further analyses showed that the IES scores for the present two groups of community residents were significantly lower than those of Horowitz's standardized stress clinic samples, but higher than those of Danish rescue workers involved in a train rescue operation. The GHQ results showed that 35% could be considered to be psychiatric cases. The comparisons between the GHQ scores of the present community residents with those of the control group showed that there were significant differences in somatic problems, anxiety, depression and GHQ total. With regard to personality, the community residents who lived near to the crash site were significantly more introverted but less neurotic than Eysenck's standardized samples. The community residents who lived further away were significantly more introverted but less neurotic than the standardized samples. Regression analyses revealed that neuroticism predicted intrusion, avoidance and GHQ total. The conclusion was that there can be long-term, severe post-traumatic stress effects upon community residents, as secondary victims, after exposure to a train disaster. Residents with a neurotic personality tend to be associated with post-traumatic stress reactions and general health problems.

Accidents↗

PubMed2003

The development and evaluation of a community attachment scheme for first-year medical students.

This paper describes the development over 14 years of a Community Attachment Scheme for First Year Medical Students in Sheffield, together with feedback from tutors and students. The scheme involves pairs of students visiting families expecting a baby or experiencing an illness. The families are identified by general practitioners who act as tutors together with a behavioural scientist for groups of eight to 10 students. The scheme provides first-year students with practical experience of sociology and psychology in terms of family dynamics and illness behaviour. Assessment is part of the degree examination, and involves a written assignment on the family, together with tutors' assessments. The development of the attachment scheme took place in three phases, which are described together with feedback from tutors and students, as well as changes in methods of assessment. The basis of the Community Attachment Scheme has been self-directed problem-based learning in small groups with continuous assessment, and these principles have now extended to the rest of the medical curriculum in Sheffield, of which the Community Attachment Scheme is an integral part.

Community Medicine↗

PubMedDate not supplied

A multiple-indicator multiple-cause model for posttraumatic stress reactions: personality, coping, and maladjustment.

OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to develop a multiple-indicator multiple-cause model (MIMIC) to describe the relationship among posttraumatic stress (PTSD) responses, general health problems, death anxiety, personality factors, and coping strategies among community residents exposed to the technological disasters of aircraft and train crashes. MATERIALS AND METHODS: One hundred forty-eight community residents, after exposure to the aircraft or train crash, were assessed using the Impact of Event Scale, the General Health Questionnaire-28, the Death Anxiety Scale, the Eysenck Personality Questionnaire, and the Ways of Coping Checklist. The control group (n = 90) comprised members of the general public, who had not been exposed to the disasters, from another city. RESULTS: The model showed significant associations between the impact of the disaster and general health problems, which varied depending on where community residents lived in relation to the disaster site, whether they were present when the disaster occurred, and the type of disaster. The model also suggested that death anxiety was associated with type of disaster and neuroticism. The model supported the interactive model in that personality factors interacted with coping strategies in maintaining or generating PTSD and general health problems. CONCLUSIONS: After exposure to technological disasters, community residents could develop PTSD and general health problems; however, increased death anxiety was a separate psychological reaction. The interaction between certain personality traits and coping strategies was one reason for PTSD and general health problems.

Accidents↗