Centre for Youth Mental Health - Research Publications

Permanent URI for this collection

http://hdl.handle.net/11343/250

Filters

2012 3
3
Reset filters

Settings
Statistics
Citations
Author: Nelson, Christopher × Start date: 2012 × End date: 2012 ×

Search Results

Now showing 1 - 3 of 3
  • Item
    Thumbnail Image
    Quality of information sources about mental disorders: a comparison of Wikipedia with centrally controlled web and printed sources
    Reavley, NJ ; Mackinnon, AJ ; Morgan, AJ ; Alvarez-Jimenez, M ; Hetrick, SE ; Killackey, E ; Nelson, B ; Purcell, R ; Yap, MBH ; Jorm, AF (CAMBRIDGE UNIV PRESS, 2012-08)
    BACKGROUND: Although mental health information on the internet is often of poor quality, relatively little is known about the quality of websites, such as Wikipedia, that involve participatory information sharing. The aim of this paper was to explore the quality of user-contributed mental health-related information on Wikipedia and compare this with centrally controlled information sources. METHOD: Content on 10 mental health-related topics was extracted from 14 frequently accessed websites (including Wikipedia) providing information about depression and schizophrenia, Encyclopaedia Britannica, and a psychiatry textbook. The content was rated by experts according to the following criteria: accuracy, up-to-dateness, breadth of coverage, referencing and readability. RESULTS: Ratings varied significantly between resources according to topic. Across all topics, Wikipedia was the most highly rated in all domains except readability. CONCLUSIONS: The quality of information on depression and schizophrenia on Wikipedia is generally as good as, or better than, that provided by centrally controlled websites, Encyclopaedia Britannica and a psychiatry textbook.
  • Item
    No Preview Available
    Phenylthiocarbamide (PTC) perception in ultra-high risk for psychosis participants who develop schizophrenia: Testing the evidence for an endophenotypic marker
    Brewer, WJ ; Lin, A ; Moberg, PJ ; Smutzer, G ; Nelson, B ; Yung, AR ; Pantelis, C ; McGorry, PD ; Turetsky, BI ; Wood, SJ (ELSEVIER IRELAND LTD, 2012-08-30)
    Reports suggesting that schizophrenia participants are more likely to be phenylthiocarbamide (PTC) non-tasters when compared to controls have recently been controversial. If supported, a genetic-based phenotypic variation in PTC taster status is implicated, suggesting a greater illness risk for those participants with recessive alleles for the TAS2R38 receptor. Should PTC insensitivity be a schizophrenia endophenotype, then it would be expected in follow-up of ultra high-risk for psychosis participants who later develop schizophrenia (UHR-S). UHR-S was hypothesised to show reduced PTC sensitivity compared to those who were previously at risk, but did not transition (UHR-NP). PTC perception was assessed in 219 UHR participants at long-term follow-up, of whom 53 had transitioned to psychosis (UHR-P) during the follow-up period. Fifteen of the 219 participants were diagnosed with schizophrenia. Seventy-eight had a family history of psychotic disorder. No differences in PTC taster status were found in UHR participants based upon transition to psychosis status, schizophrenia diagnosis, or family history of schizophrenia. This report indicates that schizophrenia development among UHR participants is not associated with PTC tasting deficits and fails to support previous findings that inability to detect the bitter taste of PTC is a schizophrenia endophenotype.
  • Item
    No Preview Available
    Basic Self-Disturbance Predicts Psychosis Onset in the Ultra High Risk for Psychosis "Prodromal" Population
    Nelson, B ; Thompson, A ; Yung, AR (OXFORD UNIV PRESS, 2012-11)
    INTRODUCTION: Phenomenological research indicates that disturbance of the basic sense of self may be a core phenotypic marker of schizophrenia spectrum disorders. Basic self-disturbance refers to a disruption of the sense of ownership of experience and agency of action and is associated with a variety of anomalous subjective experiences. In this study, we investigated the presence of basic self-disturbance in an "ultra high risk" (UHR) for psychosis sample compared with a healthy control sample and whether it predicted transition to psychotic disorder. METHODS: Forty-nine UHR patients and 52 matched healthy control participants were recruited to the study. Participants were assessed for basic self-disturbance using the Examination of Anomalous Self-Experience (EASE) instrument. UHR participants were followed for a mean of 569 days. RESULTS: Levels of self-disturbance were significantly higher in the UHR sample compared with the healthy control sample (P < .001). Cox regression indicated that total EASE score significantly predicted time to transition (P < .05) when other significant predictors were controlled for. Exploratory analyses indicated that basic self-disturbance scores were higher in schizophrenia spectrum cases, irrespective of transition to psychosis, than nonschizophrenia spectrum cases. DISCUSSION: The results indicate that identifying basic self-disturbance in the UHR population may provide a means of further "closing in" on individuals truly at high risk of psychotic disorder, particularly of schizophrenia spectrum disorders. This may be of practical value by reducing inclusion of "false positive" cases in UHR samples and of theoretical value by shedding light on core phenotypic features of schizophrenia spectrum pathology.