Biomedical subjects

R L Punamäki

Publications and source records attributed to R L Punamäki.

10 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed1999

Memory and metamemory functioning among depressed patients.

Memory and metamemory functioning were studied among 30 adult patients suffering from major depression. The results indicate that, besides showing signs of cognitive slowing, the patients were especially vulnerable to visual memory impairment, whereas verbal, short-term memory, and recall by recognition were more often unaffected. The patients whose depression was characterized by physiological symptoms, such as loss of appetite and sleep disturbances, showed impairment in traditional short-term memory measures, whereas there was no firm connection between cognitive or behavioral depressive symptoms and memory functioning. The depressive patients' generalized view of their memory capability was strongly underestimated, whereas online metamemory accuracy by which one perceives and makes inferences about one's performance was adequate.

Adult↗

PubMed1997

Models of traumatic experiences and children's psychological adjustment: the roles of perceived parenting and the children's own resources and activity.

The relations between traumatic events, perceived parenting styles, children's resources, political activity, and psychological adjustment were examined among 108 Palestinian boys and girls of 11-12 years of age. The results showed that exposure to traumatic events increased psychological adjustment problems directly and via 2 mediating paths. First, the more traumatic events children had experienced, the more negative parenting they experienced. And, the poorer they perceived parenting, the more they suffered from high neuroticism and low self-esteem. Second, the more traumatic events children had experienced, the more political activity they showed, and the more active they were, the more they suffered from psychological adjustment problems. Good perceived parenting protected children's psychological adjustment by making them less vulnerable in two ways. First, traumatic events decreased their intellectual, creative, and cognitive resources, and a lack of resources predicted many psychological adjustment problems in a model excluding perceived parenting. Second, political activity increased psychological adjustment problems in the same model, but not in the model including good parenting.

Adaptation, Psychological↗

PubMed1996

Experiences of torture and ill-treatment and posttraumatic stress disorder symptoms among Palestinian political prisoners.

The relationship between the nature and severity of experiences of torture and ill-treatment and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms was studied in 550 male nonhelp-seeking Palestinian political ex-prisoners from the Gaza Strip. Results showed that the more a prisoner had been exposed to physical, chemical and electric torture, psychological ill-treatment, and sensory deprivation or bombardment, the more he subsequently suffered from intrusive reexperiencing, withdrawal and numbness, and hyperarousal. Existential problems were not related to torture experiences. Furthermore, duration of imprisonment, health problems during the imprisonment, harassment during arrest and after release, family, marriage and economic difficulties all predicted intrusive reexperiences of trauma. Also, ex-prisoners who continued to be harassed by military authorities and had economic problems suffered more from withdrawal, numbness, and hyperarousal than others.

Adaptation, Psychological↗

PubMed1996

Can ideological commitment protect children's psychological well-being in situations of political violence?

The mental health role of ideological commitment (operationalized as glorification of war, patriotic involvement, and defiant attitudes toward the enemy) was studied among 385 Israeli girls and boys (mean age 12 +/- 2.50). It was hypothesized that experiences of political hardships do not increase psychosocial problems if children have strong ideological commitment. The hypothesis was conditionally substantiated concerning symptoms of anxiety and insecurity, and depression and feelings of failure. Exposure to political hardships did not increase the presence of these symptoms among children who showed strong ideological commitment. In contrast, among children with weak ideological commitment, exposure increased these symptoms, but not linearily. Furthermore, injury and loss decreased social support if children show weak ideological commitment. There was also the mediating role of ideological commitment, showing that political hardships increased the ideological commitment that, in turn, was related to a low level of psychosocial problems.

Adaptation, Psychological↗

PubMed1995

The impact of the peace treaty on psychological well-being: a follow-up study of Palestinian children.

This research examined the impact of the Israeli-Palestinian peace treaty and Palestinian children's perception of it on their self-esteem and neuroticism. We also studied the relative importance of earlier exposure to traumatic experiences and psychosocial resources indicated by the children's creativity, intelligence and political activity in influencing their psychological well-being after the peace treaty. The sample used was a follow-up group of 64 Palestinian children of 11-12 years of age, living in the Gaza Strip. The results showed that the level of neuroticism was significantly lower after the peace treaty than before. The children's earlier exposure to traumatic experiences was still significantly related to high neuroticism and low self-esteem after the peace treaty. Acceptance of the treaty and participating in the subsequent festivities mitigated the negative impact of the traumatic experiences on their well-being. Increased neuroticism and decreased self-esteem were found only among children who refused to accept the peace treaty and did not participate in the festivities. Creativity and Intifada activity promoted their post-peace treaty well-being, in terms of psychosocial resources. The more creative the children were, the more their neurotic symptoms decreased because of the treaty and the higher self-esteem they had after it. The more active the children were during the Intifada, the more their self-esteem increased because of the treaty.

Adaptation, Psychological↗

PubMed1995

Content and predictors of consultation experiences among Finnish primary care patients.

The study focuses on how patients' explanations of their illnesses, their own diagnoses and their expectations are related to their experience of general practice consultations. Before seeing the General Practitioner (GP) on call, 127 Finnish acute health centre patients were interviewed about their interpretation of their symptoms, their explanations for the causes of their illnesses and their expectations of the forthcoming consultations. After seeing the GP they were asked to describe what happened in the consultations and to evaluate their experiences. In the qualitative analysis, the following consultation experiences were found: (1) being treated with holistic approach; (2) enjoyment of support and consolation; (3) receipt of important information; (4) subjection to routine and ritualistic conduct; (5) experience of insecurity and helplessness; and (6) experience of indifference and neglect. Loglinear models for predicting the success of medical consultations showed that 'negative medical consultation' is more likely to happen if: (a) the patient's illness explanation integrates both biomedical and psychosocial models; and (b) there is no match between the patient's own and the doctor's diagnosis.

Adult↗

PubMed1994

Self-care and mastery among primary health care patients.

In this paper the content of everyday mastery is described, and related background variables are analyzed. Health maintenance, self-care practices, coping resources and feelings of helplessness, as indicators of daily mastery, were studied among a group of 142 Finnish primary care patients using a two-week diary method. The main themes related to health maintenance, self-care, and coping resources were found to be: meaningfulness of life, social relations and togetherness, activities, recreation and enjoyment, discipline and good health, and treatment of symptoms and diseases. The most frequent causes of feelings of helplessness were: diseases and symptoms, discrepancies between demands and capabilities, and negative psychological and emotional states. When writing about mastery, women mentioned philosophy and faith, social relations and togetherness, as well as food and dieting more often than men. Women recorded more helplessness due to discrepancies between demands and capabilities and to negative psychological and emotional states, whereas men recorded more helplessness due to global, political, and societal conditions. Older people recorded philosophy and faith and lay care more frequently as sources of mastery more than younger people. Helplessness due to the discrepancies between demands and capabilities was more evident among older people.

Activities of Daily Living↗

PubMed1993

[Mastery among primary health care patients].

The aim of the study was to describe and understand the experiences and activities that people use in order to master their everyday health. Data was collected among 142 primary health care patients, who were given a semi-structured diary to fill for two weeks. The diaries were analysed by using qualitative methods of content analysis and grounded method. The main theme of diaries were analysed in order to depict the different orientations of mastery. Four different types were found: Daily life dominated by one theme, such as sport, faith or diet; Daily life as struggle with pain and illness, Regular daily life, Daily life as an ordeal and Daily life characterized by abundant joyful life.

Adult↗

PubMed1990

Predictors and effectiveness of coping with political violence among Palestinian children.

Relationships between exposure to political hardships, social-economic status and mother's psychological responses, and children's coping modes, were analysed among 66 Palestinian boys and girls aged 8-14 who lived in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. The effectiveness of children's coping modes in protecting their mental health from the negative impact of political hardships was also analysed. The coping modes were assessed on the intentional (passive-active), cognitive (defensive-purposive), and emotional (helpless-courageous) levels. The results showed that the more children were exposed to political hardships, the more they employed active and courageous coping modes. Furthermore, the more mothers showed psychological symptoms the more their children used active coping modes. The more political activity the mothers used as a coping mode, the more their children used purposive coping. Exposure to political hardships increased children's psychological symptoms, and none of the children's psychological coping modes were effective in mitigating this relationship.

Adaptation, Psychological↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Impact of political change on the psychological stress process among West Bank Palestinian women.

This article reports the relationships between political change, personal factors and the psychological stress process among 40 West Bank Palestinian women. The women were tested in spring 1982 and in autumn 1985. The stress process assessed consists of exposure to stressful life events, the way that women perceive the severity of stress (worry) and appraise their own resources to cope with it (locus of control), as well as actual coping modes, and mental health problems. The results show that the Palestinian women had more personal and political worries, and showed more personal helplessness (external locus of control) after the Lebanon war in 1985 than in 1982. The results further show that women employed less avoidance and retreat, and less denial as coping modes in 1985 than in 1982. No changes between these years were found in the women's mental health, their locus of control on the Palestinian issue, and coping modes of aggressive action and social-political activity. The results on the roles of personal factors in the stress process show that younger women expressed more political worries and initiative (internal locus of control) on the Palestinian issue. Furthermore, women who had many children had fewer political worries and more personal worries, and were less external in their locus of control on the Palestinian issue than women with few children.

Adaptation, Psychological↗