Coping processes as revealed in the stories of mothers of children with autism.

Copious research evidence identifies the many stressors faced by mothers of children with autism. The aim of this study was to examine the ways in which coping is revealed in the content and structure of stories told by five mothers of children with autism. Narrative data were analyzed using both holistic-form and categorical-content approaches. Manifestations of coping were revealed in the macrostructures of stories. Cognitive coping strategies were particularly apparent in the life stories, which tended to focus on the emotional and cognitive journeys of the storytellers. Stories of discrete coping episodes added information about behavioral coping strategies employed in specific situations. Analysis of form, particularly of the structure of the life stories, yielded strategies the mothers employed to make meaning of autism in their lives.

Socioeconomic influences on Vietnamese-Canadian women's breast and cervical cancer prevention practices: a social determinant's perspective.

Breast cancer and cervical cancer are major contributors to morbidity and mortality for the Vietnamese Canadian women. Vietnamese women face multiple barriers to obtaining effective preventive care and treatment for these diseases. This paper reports the influence of socioeconomic factors on Vietnamese Canadian women's breast and cervical cancer screening behaviors. In-depth semistructured interviews were conducted with Vietnamese Canadian women and health care providers. The study revealed that low socioeconomic status is a major barrier to women's participation in breast and cervical cancer screening, despite the fact that health care in Canada is funded publicly by the Medicare system. The Vietnamese Canadian women and health care providers in the present study identified a number of major dimensions through which socioeconomic issues were associated with Vietnamese Canadian women's access to and use of health care for the prevention of breast and cervical cancer, including (a) financial concerns; (b) language, occupational opportunities, and downward mobility; (c) economics and women's households; and (d) low socioeconomic status and screening behaviors. Implications are discussed for increasing Vietnamese Canadian women's utilization of breast and cervical cancer screening services.

Gauging visibility: how female clerical workers manage work-related distress.

Our aim was to explain how female clerical workers manage work-related distress, using a feminist grounded theory method. Thirty-seven interviews were conducted with 24 female clerical workers. They engage in the process of gauging visibility to manage a recognition-vulnerability paradox. To gauge visibility, they take the lay of the land by attending to threats, resources, and supports within withering or flourishing work conditions. When distressing events occur, they select tactics of taking it in, taking it on, or letting it go, which are influenced by the quality of their work conditions. Their efforts to manage distress affect their workplace visibility, potentially enhancing their recognition or exacerbating their vulnerability. Gauging visibility can either diminish or enhance employees' health and well-being. Our findings emphasize social processes and structural conditions, shift attention to organization-wide efforts to alter workplace conditions, and suggest initiatives that enhance employees' opportunities for recognition, safety, and collective actions.

Sequestering of suffering: critical discourse analysis of natural disaster media coverage.

This article is a critical discourse analysis of the local print-news media coverage of the recovery process in two rural communities following a devastating forest fire. Two hundred and fifty fire-related articles from the North Thompson Star Journal (2003) were analyzed. Results revealed a neoliberal discursive framing of recovery, emphasizing the economic-material aspects of the process and a reliance on experts. A sequestering of suffering discourse promoted psychological functionalism and focused attention on a return to normalcy through the compartmentalization of distress. The dominant 'voice' was male, authoritative, and institutionalized. Implications for disaster recovery and potential health consequences are discussed.

A narrative view of art therapy and art making by women with breast cancer.

Art therapy (with an art therapist) and art making (without an art therapist) show promise as avenues for psychosocial support for women with breast cancer. The purpose of this study was to gain an in-depth understanding of how 17 women with breast cancer in Canada and the USA used art therapy and their own art making to address their psychosocial needs, focusing particularly on meaning making. Narrative analysis of interviews yielded four storylines: Art and Art Therapy as a Haven; Getting a Clearer View; Clearing the Way Emotionally; and Enhancing and Enlivening the Self. The storylines show existence being affirmed, confirmed and proclaimed through visual artistic expression and meaning making being achieved through physical acts of making.

Distance art groups for women with breast cancer: guidelines and recommendations.

To overcome barriers that prevent women with breast cancer from attending support groups, innovative formats and modes of delivery both need to be considered. The present study was part of an interdisciplinary program of research in which researchers from counseling psychology, psycho-oncology, nursing, computer science, and fine arts have explored art making as an innovative format and telehealth as a mode of delivery. For this study, we conducted focus groups and interviews with 25 people with expertise about breast cancer, art, art therapy, and distance delivery of mental health services to generate guidelines for distance art-based psychosocial support services to women with breast cancer. A qualitative analysis of the focus group and interview data yielded guidelines for developers and facilitators of distance art groups for women with breast cancer pertaining to (a) emotional expression, (b) emotional support, (c) emotional safety, and (d) accommodating individual differences, plus special considerations for art therapy groups. Further research is needed pertaining to the use of computers, involvement of art therapists, and screening out vulnerable clients.

Considering 'meaning' in the context of breast cancer.

In this article, we show that a psychological view of global and situational meanings is inadequate for understanding meaning making in the context of breast cancer. We outline research that has illuminated breast cancer meanings that differ from standard illness meanings and we highlight impediments to meaning making for women with breast cancer. We conclude that it is less helpful to promote a particular kind of illness meaning for women with breast cancer than to: (a) create conditions that women with breast cancer have said are conducive to meaning making; (b) accept and acknowledge meanings that women with breast cancer themselves find valuable; and (c) actively work to change dominant discourses that constrain meaning making for women with breast cancer.

Qualitative teamwork issues and strategies: coordination through mutual adjustment.

Multidisciplinary research teams that include faculty, students, and volunteers can be challenging and enriching for all participants. Although such teams are becoming commonplace, minimal guidance is available about strategies to enhance team effectiveness. In this article, the authors highlight strategies to guide qualitative teamwork through coordination of team members and tasks based on mutual adjustment. Using a grounded theory exemplar, they focus on issues of (a) building the team, (b) developing reflexivity and theoretical sensitivity, (c) tackling analytic and methodological procedures, and (d) developing dissemination guidelines. Sharing information, articulating project goals and elements, acknowledging variation in individual goals, and engaging in reciprocity and respectful collaboration are key elements of mutual adjustment. The authors summarize conclusions about the costs and benefits of the process.

Stress discourse and Western biomedical ideology: rewriting stress.

Popular psychosocial theories of stress and coping are based on an empiricist paradigm and a Western biomedical framework that reflect Western ideologies and values about health and illness. Problems associated with this discourse lie mainly in the ideologies that emphasize naturalism, individualism, rationalism, and objectivity. We suggest that stress and coping theory should be concerned with the ways in which power relations and social institutions produce the meaning of stress. The inclusion of alternative discourses that attend to the micro and macro social and historical factors is necessary for the further development of stress and coping theory and practice.

Women's Adaptation to Chronic Back Pain: Daily Appraisals and Coping Strategies, Personal Characteristics and Perceived Spousal Responses.

Daily diary methodology was used to examine within- and between-person associations among pain appraisals, coping strategies, personal characteristics, perceived spousal responses and daily (30 days) changes in negative mood and pain for 88 women with chronic back pain. Multilevel models revealed that control appraisals and distraction and ignoring pain coping strategies were associated with same-day reductions in negative mood and pain; whereas catastrophizing appraisals and praying and hoping coping strategies were associated with an increase in negative mood or pain. With appraisals and coping controlled for, average within-day decreases in depression were associated with perceived control in one's life; increases in anxiety were associated with spousal distracting responses; and increases in pain intensity were associated with spousal punishing responses and pain interference.

Psicoterapia por videoconferencia: Una revisión crítica de los estudios de tratamiento / Psychotherapy via teleconferencing

Dado que los recursos en salud mental no están igualmente distribuidos a lo largo del país (Canadá), algunas regiones geográficas carecen de adecuados servicios. El uso de la videoconferencia puede dar respuesta a esta inequidad y facilitar la provisión de servicios de salud mental a distancia. Con el advenimiento de la psicoterapia suministrada vía videoconferencia, han surgido inquietudes acerca de su eficacia. Por lo tanto, el propósito de este trabajo fue revisar los estudios de tratamientos (N=13) publicados y no publicados que examinaron la eficacia de la psicoterapia brindada mediante videoconferencias. Esta investigación sustenta la posibilidad y potencial eficacia de los tratamientos provistos vía videoconferencia para algunas condiciones específicas. En vista de sus falencias metodológicas, se hacen recomendaciones para el futuro.(AU)

Psicoterapia por videoconferencia: Una revisión crítica de los estudios de tratamiento / Psychotherapy via teleconferencing

Dado que los recursos en salud mental no están igualmente distribuidos a lo largo del país (Canadá), algunas regiones geográficas carecen de adecuados servicios. El uso de la videoconferencia puede dar respuesta a esta inequidad y facilitar la provisión de servicios de salud mental a distancia. Con el advenimiento de la psicoterapia suministrada vía videoconferencia, han surgido inquietudes acerca de su eficacia. Por lo tanto, el propósito de este trabajo fue revisar los estudios de tratamientos (N=13) publicados y no publicados que examinaron la eficacia de la psicoterapia brindada mediante videoconferencias. Esta investigación sustenta la posibilidad y potencial eficacia de los tratamientos provistos vía videoconferencia para algunas condiciones específicas. En vista de sus falencias metodológicas, se hacen recomendaciones para el futuro.