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At least 271 records · Page 15Linked to original sources

PubMed2006

Social perception as a mediator of the influence of early visual processing on functional status in schizophrenia.

OBJECTIVE: The potential of social cognition as a mediator of relations between neurocognition and functional status in schizophrenia has been suggested by correlational studies that link neurocognition to social cognition or link social cognition to functional status. The authors used structural equation modeling to test more directly whether one aspect of social cognition (social perception) mediates relations between basic visual perception and functional status in patients with schizophrenia. METHOD: Seventy-five outpatients with schizophrenia were administered measures of early visual processing (computerized visual masking procedures), social perception (Half Profile of Nonverbal Sensitivity), and functional status (Role Functioning Scale). RESULTS: Structural equation modeling supported social perception as a mediator of relations between early visual processing and functional status in schizophrenia. The mediation model indicated that early visual processing is linked to functional status through social perception, thereby supporting a significant indirect relationship. The direct relationship between early visual processing and functional status was significant in a model that did not include social perception but was not significant in the mediation model that included social perception. CONCLUSIONS: Social cognition appears to be a key determinant of functional status in schizophrenia. Using a very basic measure of visual perception, the present study found that social perception mediates the influence of early visual processing on functional status in schizophrenia.

Ambulatory Care↗

PubMed1991

Human perception of horizontal trunk and head rotation in space during vestibular and neck stimulation.

The vestibular signal of head motion in space must be complemented by a neck signal of the trunk-to-head excursion in order to provide the individual with information on trunk motion in space. This consideration led us to study psychophysically the role of vestibular-neck interaction for human self-motion perception. Subjects (Ss) were presented with passive horizontal rotations of their trunk and/or head (sinusoidal rotations, f = 0.025 - 0.4 Hz) in the dark for vestibular and neck stimulation, as well as for combinations of both. Ss' perception was evaluated in terms of gain (veridical perception of stimulus magnitude, G = 1), phase, and detection threshold. (1) Perception of trunk rotation in space. During vestibular stimulation (whole-body rotation) and neck stimulation (trunk rotation with the head kept stationary) the frequency-transfer characteristics underlying this perception were very similar. The gain fell short; it was only about 0.7 at 0.4 and 0.2 Hz stimulus frequency and was further attenuated with decreasing frequency. In contrast, the phase was close to that of actual trunk position. The gain attenuation was found to be a function of the peak angular velocity of the stimulus, a fact, which we related to a 'velocity threshold' of the order of 1 deg/s. During the various vestibular-neck combinations used, Ss' perception was again erroneous, reflecting essentially the sum of its two non-ideal constituents. However, there was one noticeable exception; during the combination 'head rotation on stationary trunk', Ss veridically perceived their trunk as stationary (compatible with the notion that the sum yielded 'zero'). (2) Perception of head rotation in space. During vestibular stimulation, Ss' estimates showed the same non-ideal gain-vs.-frequency characteristics as described above for the trunk. Neck stimulation induced an illusion as if the head had been rotated in space. This neck contribution was such that, when it was combined with its vestibular counterpart during head rotation on stationary trunk, the perception became almost veridical. On closer inspection, however, this neck contribution was found to reflect the sum of two components; one was the non-ideal neck signal contributing to the perception of 'trunk in space', the other was an almost ideal neck signal of head-on-trunk rotation. (3) The results could be described by a simple model. In this model, the erroneous vestibular signal 'head in space' is primarily used to create an internal representation of 'trunk in space'.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)

Head↗

PubMed1990

Perception and reflex relaxation of the stomach in response to gut distention.

Acute intestinal distention in dogs induces a gastric relaxatory reflex. Our aim was to investigate this reflex in humans, including its relationship to perception. In 9 fasting healthy volunteers, we performed graded balloon distentions (2.5 min duration at 10-min intervals) of either the antroduodenal junction (n = 6) or the distal duodenum (n = 6). Gastric tone was quantified as changes in the volume of air within an intragastric bag maintained at a constant pressure by an electronic barostat. Perception was scored by a graded (0-6) questionnaire. Distention of the antroduodenal junction induced dose-related gastric relaxatory responses: distention at a level producing significant perception (5.0 +/- 0.1 perception score) induced significant relaxation (203 +/- 39 ml change in intragastric volume; p less than 0.05); lower levels of distention still induced relaxation (113 +/- 30 ml change in volume; p less than 0.05) without significant perception (1.0 +/- 0.5 perception score). In the distal duodenum, distention at the threshold for discomfort (5.1 +/- 0.3 perception score) induced significantly smaller gastric relaxatory responses (42 +/- 17 ml change in volume). Distentions below the level of significant perception (1.5 +/- 0.7 perception score) failed to induce gastric responses (14 +/- 15 ml change in volume). These data indicate that both perceived and unperceived gastric relaxatory reflexes in response to distention exist in humans and that these reflexes are region dependent.

Adult↗

PubMed1995

Children's perceptions of the risk of sexual abuse.

Research to date has not examined children's perceptions of the risk of sexual abuse, and how those perceptions change following participation in a prevention program. This study assessed children's current perceptions of the risk of sexual abuse, changes in children's perceptions of risk after participation in a sexual abuse prevention program, and age differences in children's beliefs about risk. The findings indicate that children's already high perceptions of the risk of sexual abuse increased after participation in a prevention program, and that their predictions of abuse by strangers increased after the program. However, children's predictions of the likelihood of sexual abuse in specific videotaped scenarios was quite low. Younger children had lower perceptions of risk than older children and their perceptions of the likelihood of abuse in the videotaped scenarios remained lower than the perceptions of older children even after the intervention program. In addition, children perceived differences in the risk-levels of various situations, but the factors they used to discriminate risk were not necessarily related to real risks. The findings are discussed in relation to the larger issue of how children's perceptions of the risk of sexual abuse are related to the goals of prevention programs.

Child↗

PubMed2005

Dissociable networks for the expectancy and perception of emotional stimuli in the human brain.

William James posited that comparable brain regions were implicated in the anticipation and perception of a stimulus; however, dissociable networks (at least in part) may also underlie these processes. Recent functional neuroimaging studies have addressed this issue by comparing brain systems associated with the expectancy and perception of visual, tactile, nociceptive, and reward stimuli. In the present fMRI study, we addressed this issue in the domain of pictorial emotional stimuli (IAPS). Our paradigm involved the experimental conditions emotional expectancy, neutral expectancy, emotional picture perception, and neutral picture perception. Specifically, the emotional expectancy cue was uncertain in that it did not provide additional information regarding the positive or negative valence of the subsequent picture. Neutral expectancy and neutral picture perception served as control conditions, allowing the identification of expectancy and perception effects specific for emotion processing. To avoid contamination of the perception conditions by the preceding expectancy periods, 50% of the pictorial stimuli were presented without preceding expectancy cues. We found that the emotional expectancy cue specifically produced activation in the supracallosal anterior cingulate, cingulate motor area, and parieto-occipital sulcus. These regions were not significantly activated by emotional picture perception which recruited a different neuronal network, including the amygdala, insula, medial and lateral prefrontal cortex, cerebellum, and occipitotemporal areas. This dissociation may reflect a distinction between anticipatory and perceptive components of emotional stimulus processing.

Adult↗

PubMed2002

Blurring of the senses: common cues for distance perception in diverse sensory systems.

Distance perception is an essential task of sensory systems. Our visual systems effectively use binocular visual cues to determine an object's distance. Other visual, but monocular, cues are also available for distance perception. Visual contrast and image blur are two such cues [O'Shea et al., 1994. Vis. Res. 34, 1595-1604; O'Shea et al., 1997. Perception 26, 599-612; Mather, 1997. Perception 26, 1147-1158]. We show the effects of combining these cues using a simple psychophysical test. The novelty in our approach is that our exact choice of visual stimuli allows us to show a direct parallel between visual distance perception and distance perception using an entirely different sense, the electric sense of weakly electric fish. We discuss previous work on electrosensory psychophysics [von der Emde et al., 1998. Nature 395, 890-894] and show that cues used for electrosensory distance perception are analogous to visual contrast and blur. We also suggest that analogous cues are involved in auditory distance perception. The utilization of analogous cues implies that these diverse sensory systems perform similar computations for distance perception.

Animals↗

PubMed2006

What are the illness perceptions of people with dysphonia: a pilot study.

BACKGROUND: Patients do not respond to treatment in a predictable manner. Individual preconceptions determine help seeking, compliance and treatment outcome, yet clinicians rarely explore these issues. The illness perception approach sees the patient as an active participant in the healthcare process. AIMS: The aim of this study was to investigate the illness perceptions of people with dysphonia. The subsidiary aims were to correlate the Illness Perception Questionnaire with any psychological distress identified and a self-report measure of dysphonia, and to consider any potential implications for patient management. DESIGN: Prospective, cross-sectional observation. SETTING: Primary and secondary care, two general and four community hospitals. PARTICIPANTS: Fifty adult patients with dysphonia due to benign disease completed three self-administered questionnaires, which investigated their illness perceptions, psychological distress and perceptions of the impact of the presenting 'illness'. MEASURES: The dysphonia was categorised as being due to functional (n=40) or organic (n=10) causes. All the voices were rated by an expert listener according to the GRBAS (grade, roughness, breathiness, aesthenia, strain) scale. PARTICIPANTS completed the Illness Perception Questionnaire, the Vocal Performance Questionnaire and the Hospital Anxiety and Depression scale. RESULTS: Patients showed a wide variation in perception of causation. They had no strong perceptions about the causes, consequences or duration of the presenting dysphonia. Functional dysphonics reported greater consequences, lower perceived control and increased anxiety when compared to patients with organic dysphonia. In terms of cure/control, all patients expected treatment to be helpful but this expectancy reduced as time increased. Anxiety was more associated with functional dysphonia, however, only 17 per cent of the subjects in this group showed clinically significant levels of signs of psychological distress. CONCLUSIONS: Lay illness representations often diverge from the clinician's understanding of the presenting problem and strongly influence treatment behaviour. Early exploration of illness perceptions may enhance health behaviour and maximise the impact of intervention.

Adult↗

PubMed1999

The art of perception: from the life world to the medical gaze and back again.

Perceptions are often merely regarded as the basic elements of knowledge. They have, however, a complex structure of their own and are far from being elementary. My paper will analyze two basic patterns of perception and some of the resulting medical implications. Most basically, all object perception is characterized by a mixture of knowledge and ignorance (Husserl). Perception essentially perceives with inner and outer horizons, brought about by the kinesthetic activity of the perceiving subject (Sartre). This first layer of perceptual reality, the world of "open" perceptions, is the inescapable background for "every rationality, every value, every existence" (Merleau-Ponty). On an epistemological level a characteristic change of perceptual patterns in medicine was introduced by pathological anatomy (Foucault). The reference of medical perception to the dead body created the new possibility of "absolute" perception, allowing for more precise medical interventions, but at the same time coming into conflict with the open structures of "ordinary," non-scientific perception patterns in everyday life. On the basis of these distinctions, an analysis of the different perceptual patterns in medicine becomes possible. Such an analysis would be the task of a sub-field in medical philosophy that could be called "medical aesthetics" having as its goal an "art of perception" understood as a technique of adequately applying different perceptual patterns in medical practice.

Diagnosis↗

PubMed1998

Topology of EEG coherence changes may reflect differential neural network activation in cold and pain perception.

Pain perception in the brain can be analyzed by neuroimaging (PET, fMRI) and electrophysiological parameter mapping (EEG, ERP/MEG, MEF). These studies have generally been focused on the localization of cerebral activation. Whether pain can be conceptualized as localized function or best be understood by distributed function is important to the theory of human pain processing in the brain. Here, we report that cold and pain perception in the brain is characterized by webs of EEG coherence changes which may reflect coupling or de-coupling of different cortical areas during cold and pain processing. EEG was recorded during cold and pain perception (right hand immersion in 15 degrees C cool-water vs. 0.3 degrees C ice-water for 3 min.) with eyes opened. Subjects rated the cold perception at 2.3 (cool to cold, but no pain) and the pain perception at 6.7 (moderate-strong pain) in a 1-10 scale. The obtained EEG spectral parameters were compared with the corresponding parameters of the resting baseline using paired Wilcoxon tests in the sense of statistical filters to depict those differences which differ clearly from changes by chance. The results were presented in probability maps. The EEG results indicated highly differential coherence networks between cold and pain perception. The cold perception was characterized as decreased coherence in the theta band mainly between frontal electrodes and increased interhemispheric coherence in the alpha range mainly between central and frontal positions. During pain perception almost no coherence changes in the theta band were observed, but great coherence increase in the delta band between central, parietal and frontal electrodes. The network of coherence changes in the alpha band showed strong involvement of electrode C3 concerning coherence increases with frontal positions. In the beta-1 band coherence increase within the left hemisphere was much more pronounced during pain than during cold. The differential characteristics of EEG coherence changes based on neural networks and their spatial organization in the neocortex indicate the distributed brain processing between cold and pain perception in man. This study may contribute to our understanding of the large scale neural networks in cognition based on neurophysiological binding hypothesis and network connections of neural ensembles.

Adult↗

PubMed2002

Perception of men with androgenetic alopecia by women and nonbalding men in Korea: how the nonbald regard the bald.

BACKGROUND: Baldness has significant negative psychosocial effects. It has been asserted that the negative effects of baldness are often trivialized by the nonbald. Most studies concerning the perception of baldness have focused on the perceptions of the bald by themselves. In this study, we assessed the perception of baldness by the nonbald in Korea. METHOD: A questionnaire on the perception of balding men was answered by 130 women (age range 15-58 years), 90 nonbalding men (age range 18-72 years) and 30 balding men (age range 20-63 years). RESULTS: Balding men were perceived as being older and less attractive by over 90% of respondents. A perception that balding men are less confident, duller, and less potent was reported by less than half of respondents. A perception that balding men are less attractive was significantly more common among women than among nonbalding men (P < 0.05). A perception that balding men appear less confident was significantly more common among balding men than among nonbalding men (P < 0.05). CONCLUSION: In this study of Koreans, the perception of balding men by others was similar to the perception of balding men by themselves. It is likely that androgenetic alopecia adversely influences social interactions of those who are subject to it.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2001

Perception of bronchoconstriction in elderly asthmatics.

The impaired perception of bronchoconstriction in asthmatic patients may increase the risk of severe exacerbation. To characterize the perception of bronchoconstriction in elderly asthma patients, we compared the perception in older patients with that of younger patients. To determine the influence of perception of long-standing diseases, we further evaluated the perception in early-onset elderly asthma patients and in late-onset elderly asthma patients. The study group consisted of 80 stable asthmatic patients. The patients were grouped according to their age (group 1, < 60 years, n = 37, group 2, > or = 60 years, n = 43). Each group was separated into two subgroups according to the duration of symptoms (late-onset asthma 1A and 2A, < 5 years, early-onset asthma 1B and 2B, > or = 5 years). A histamine inhalation test was performed for each patient. Dyspnea was assessed by modified Borg scale. The Borg score in forced expiratory volume in 1 sec (FEV1) reduction by 20% was determined as perception score 20 (PS20). The mean perception scores of the elderly asthmatic patients were significantly lower than those of the younger asthmatic patients (group 1, PS20 = 2.35 +/- 0.17; group 2, PS20 = 1.37 +/- 0.12, p < 0.0001). The differences of mean perception score (PS20) between early- and late-onset subgroups were insignificant (IA, 2.63 +/- 0.30 and IB, 2.07 +/- 0.16, p = 0.101; 2A, 1.36 +/- 0.19 and 2B, 1.59 +/- 0.120, p = 0.91). The mean perception scores of male asthmatic patients were significantly lower than those of female patients (p = 0.03). There was a correlation between PS20 and % FEV1 in the younger group (r = 0.392, p = 0.02), but not in the elderly group (r = 139, p = 0.375). The correlation between PS20 and PD20 in both younger and elderly group was insignificant (p > 0.05). Elderly asthmatics perceive less intense respiratory distress for a decrease of 20% in FEV1 than do younger asthmatics. This underperception of bronchoconstriction may result in a delay in medical care during an acute asthmatic episode. Thus, we strongly recommend that elderly asthmatic patients should be followed up more frequently and closely.

Adult↗

PubMed1996

Directional defects in pursuit and motion perception in humans with unilateral cerebral lesions.

We tested motion perception and smooth pursuit in 26 patients with unilateral cerebral hemispheric lesions. We used random dot cinematograms to test motion direction discrimination. We measured pursuit gain as they followed a predictable sinusoidal target moving horizontally at three different frequencies, and an unpredictable horizontal step-ramp target in the ipsilateral hemi-field. Six patients had defects in motion perception when the targets were moving towards the side of the lesions ('ipsi-directional' defects) and two had bi-directional defects. Motion perception defects occurred with lesions of the junction of Brodmann areas 19 and 37, a putative human homologue of the monkey V5 complex. Seven patients had ipsi-directional pursuit defects, five of whom had damage to the posterior limb of the internal capsule. Only two patients had ipsi-directional defects of both motion perception and sinusoidal smooth pursuit. Four patients had ipsi-directional defects of motion perception alone, and five patients had ipsi-directional pursuit defects alone. The two patients with bi-directional defects in motion perception had normal sinusoidal smooth pursuit. Patients with lesions at the 19/37 junction and defects of motion perception alone had normal pursuit of unpredictable step-ramp targets in the ipsilateral hemi-field. In contrast, patients with ipsi-directional sinusoidal pursuit defects had decreased ipsi-directional and increased contra-directional velocities with step-ramp targets. No patient group had a motion-specific directional defect in saccadic accuracy. We conclude that neither predictable nor unpredictable pursuit is necessarily impaired by lesions of the 19/37 junction that cause ipsi-directional defects of motion perception. These dissociations between smooth pursuit and motion perception provide evidence that the pursuit system operates as an interconnected network with parallel pathways, rather than as a simple sequential hierarchy of cortical areas.

Adult↗

PubMed2000

Perceptions of caring among patients with cancer and their staff. Differences and disagreements.

The current dyadic study investigated (a) patient and staff perceptions of the importance of caring behaviors, patient health, quality of life, and greatest health-related concern; (b) patient anxiety and depression (Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale); and (c) staff views of patient perceptions of the importance of caring behaviors. The study included 21 matched patient-staff dyads. Three questionnaire versions of the Caring Assessment Instrument were used to tap patient (CARE-P) and staff (CARE-S) perceptions, and staff views of patient perceptions (CARE-SP). There were no correlations between patient and staff perceptions of the importance of caring behaviors, patient health, quality of life, or greatest health-related concern. However, staff views of patient perceptions about the importance of caring behaviors were strongly correlated with their own perceptions. Staff ratings of the importance of caring behaviors were not related to patient anxiety, depression, health, and/or quality of life. Patient depression was negatively correlated with three CARE-Q subscales. The results indicate that staff are not successful in judging the importance of caring behaviors, health, quality of life, and greatest health-related concern for individual patients. The major implication is that staff must be open to patient perceptions of what caring behaviors are important, and must validate their own perceptions of patient needs and concerns.

Anxiety↗

PubMed2003

Consumer risk perceptions toward agricultural biotechnology, self-protection, and food demand: the case of milk in the United States.

This study is an econometric systems approach to modeling the factors and linkages affecting risk perceptions toward agricultural biotechnology, self-protection actions, and food demand. This model is applied to milk in the United States, but it can be adapted to other products as well as other categories of risk perceptions. The contribution of this formulation is the ability to examine how explanatory factors influence risk perceptions and whether they translate into behavior and ultimately what impact this has on aggregate markets. Hadden's outrage factors on heightening risk perceptions are among the factors examined. In particular, the article examines the role of labeling as a means of permitting informed consent to mitigate outrage factors. The effects of attitudinal, economic, and demographic factors on risk perceptions are also explored, as well as the linkage between risk perceptions, consumer behavior, and food demand. Because risk perceptions and self-protection actions are categorical variables and demand is a continuous variable, the model is estimated as a two-stage mixed system with a covariance correction procedure suggested by Amemiya. The findings indicate that it is the availability of labeling, not the price difference, between that labeled milk and milk produced with recombinant bovine Somatotropin (rbST) that significantly affects consumer's selection of rbST-free milk. The results indicate that greater availability of labeled milk would not only significantly increase the proportion of consumers who purchased labeled milk, its availability would also reduce the perception of risk associated with rbST, whether consumers purchase it or not. In other words, availability of rbST-free milk translates into lower risk perceptions toward milk produced with rbST.

Agriculture↗

PubMed2001

Inhaled corticosteroids, combined with long-acting beta(2)-agonists, improve the perception of bronchoconstriction in asthma.

The relationship between asthma medication and the perception of asthma symptoms is of interest for daily practice. Poor perception of asthma symptoms might influence patients' health care behavior and subsequently might lead to undertreatment and deterioration of their disease. This study investigated the influence of the chronic use of short-acting and long-acting beta(2)-agonists, compared with the additional use of inhaled corticosteroids on the perception of histamine-induced bronchoconstriction. Patients with asthma (33 male and 31 female, mean age 35 +/- 11 yr, FEV(1) 87 +/- 14% of the reference value, PC(20) geometric mean 1.08 mg/ml (95% CI: 0.76-1.52) were selected and randomly allocated to the use of either a short-acting beta(2)-agonists (salbutamol, n = 22) or a long-acting beta(2)-agonists (formoterol, n = 22) or placebo (n = 20), which has been used for 12 wk. This medication treatment was repeated exactly 1 yr later, with patients receiving the same medication plus an inhaled corticosteroid. Perception of histamine-induced bronchoconstriction was measured at the start of each treatment period and every 4 wk thereafter. Subjects quantified their sensation of respiratory discomfort during the challenge tests on a modified Borg scale. The perceptive "sensitivity" for changes in FEV(1) was analyzed by the linear regression slope (alpha) "Borg versus percentage fall in FEV(1)." The "absolute perceptual magnitude" was determined by the perception score at the 20% fall in FEV(1) (PS(20)). The additional use of inhaled corticosteroids during the second year resulted in an improved perception of histamine-induced bronchoconstriction (slope alpha) compared with the first year for only the long-acting beta(2)-agonists group (p value 0.036). This improvement was not observed for the "absolute perceptual magnitude" (PS(20)). The additional use of inhaled corticosteroids during chronic use of long-acting beta(2)-agonists improves the perceptive "sensitivity" for changes in FEV(1) during histamine-induced bronchoconstriction, which was not observed for short-acting bronchodilators. This result might indicate that the positive effects on perception of airway obstruction might be another reason (besides the beneficial effects on the clinical condition) for prescribing a combination of long-acting beta(2)-agonists and inhaled steroids.

Administration, Inhalation↗

PubMed2001

Task perception as a mediating variable: a contribution to the validation of instructional knowledge.

BACKGROUND: From the perspective of the cognitive mediational paradigm, we focus in this study on students' conceptions of the relationship between instructional interventions and learning: 'instructional knowledge'. AIMS: Task perception has been investigated as a procedural manifestation of instructional knowledge. Four research questions directed the study: (1) how do students perceive a task; (2) by which structure can the relations between categories of task perception be represented; (3) do students differ in their task perception; and (4) is there a significant relationship between students' task perception and the learning activities they plan and/or execute. SAMPLE: The sample consisted of 149 university freshmen in educational sciences. METHODS: Students were confronted with a concrete task in a natural setting. Correlations were searched for by phi coefficient. Hierarchical classes analysis was used to search for hierarchical relations and inter-individual differences. Goodman-Kruskal lambda was calculated to estimate the association between students' task perception and the learning activities they planned and executed. The questionnaire and the design of the coding systems were first tried out in a pilot study. RESULTS: Students' task perception can be described in 11 categories. Correlations between those categories were low, but a simple hierarchical structure was discovered. Students can be distinguished according to their task perception into eight groups. Finally, the results indicate a statistically significant association between students' task perception and the learning activities they plan and execute. CONCLUSIONS: The study provides additional evidence to involve 'instructional knowledge' and students' task perception as part of it, as mediating variables in future research.

Adult↗

PubMed1994

Acute illnesses in children. A description and analysis of parents' perception of illness threat.

OBJECTIVES: To identify families in which the parents reported the child's illness as particularly stressful (high perception of illness threat), and to find out which health problems the parents perceive as particularly threatening. DESIGN: The parents registered the diagnosis and perception of illness threat in relation to the child's latest illness within a four-week retrospective period. Selected psychosocial conditions of the families were recorded in the same questionnaire. SETTING: 18,949 families with at least one child under the age of 8 years, resident in the County of Ringkøbing in western Denmark at 1 March 1988. SUBJECTS: An age-stratified random sample of 1982 families was entered in the study. 85% of the families returned the questionnaire. RESULTS: There was a considerable variation in the parents' perception of illness threat. On the basis of a score it was possible to group parents with a high, medium, and low perception of illness threat. Every fourth family reported a high perception of illness threat. A multivariate analysis, with a high perception of illness threat as dependent and selected psychosocial conditions and the diagnosis as independent variables, led to the following main results: 1) parents with a high perception of the general health threat ("worried" parents) most frequently reported a high perception of illness threat, 2) the diagnoses were decisive; in particular, inflammation in the middle ear, bronchitis, pneumonia, and accidents led to the parents' reporting a high perception of illness threat, 3) parents without experience of children and children's illnesses more frequently perceived an actual illness as a high illness threat than parents with this experience, 4) parents more frequently perceive an illness in girls as a high illness threat. CONCLUSIONS: "Worried" parents, without experience of children and children's illnesses, perceive the child's latest illness as a high illness threat. These families need special care.

Acute Disease↗

PubMed1991

Results of speech perception and speech production training for three prelingually deaf patients using a multiple-electrode cochlear implant.

Five studies were conducted to measure changes in the perception and production of selected speech targets, with training, in three prelingually deaf patients. The two adults and one adolescent were implanted with the Cochlear (Nucleus) multiple-electrode prosthesis. The studies were perception and production of nasal consonants; perception of syllable-final consonants; perception and production of alveolar consonants; auditory-visual perception of alveolar consonants; and perception and production of vowels. Perceptual data were collected in the audition (implant)-alone condition, except for the auditory-visual perception of alveolar consonants where the audition-alone, vision-alone, and auditory-visual conditions were used. Speech perception data in the audition-alone condition were also collected from four postlingually deaf adult implant patients, without training, to indicate differences between the two classes of patients. The three prelingually deaf patients generally showed some improvements in speech production. In perception, improvements were recorded only for individual patients in some studies. The performance of the adolescent was better than that of the two adults in all cases. The perceptual performance of the postlingually deaf patients was superior to that of the prelingually deaf patients in all cases.

Adolescent↗