The American psychologist
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The American psychologist · May 2016
Caregiving families within the long-term services and support system for older adults.
Long-term care services and supports are primarily a family industry that warrants psychologists' involvement through practice, research, and policy advocacy. Families are poorly integrated into service systems despite the dominance of family caregiving work within health care and long-term care. This article positions family caregiving work within the context of family life across the life span, noting overlaps and distinctions between normal family life and caregiving work for older adults whose physical or cognitive challenges require assistance. ⋯ Approaches to assessment and interventions for caregivers across a variety of settings are described. Gaps in research are highlighted, with a focus on how to understand caregiving as embedded within context of family, long-term care services and supports, and health care. Caregiving work presents an imperative for expanding psychologists' engagement in integrating and supporting the families whose caregiving is so critical to a rapidly aging society. (PsycINFO Database Record
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Presents an obituary for Lee B. Sechrest, who died after a long illness at his home in Tucson, Arizona, on the evening of October 10, 2015. Sechrest was a well-known expert on research methodology, measurement, and evaluation.
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The American psychologist · Apr 2016
Black and blue: Exploring racial bias and law enforcement in the killings of unarmed black male civilians.
In late 2014, a series of highly publicized police killings of unarmed Black male civilians in the United States prompted large-scale social turmoil. In the current review, we dissect the psychological antecedents of these killings and explain how the nature of police work may attract officers with distinct characteristics that may make them especially well-primed for negative interactions with Black male civilians. ⋯ By separating the moving parts of the phenomenon, we provide a more fine-grained analysis of the factors that may have contributed to the killings. In doing so, we endeavor to more effectively identify and develop solutions to eradicate excessive use of force during interactions between "Black" (unarmed Black male civilians) and "Blue" (law enforcement).
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Presents an obituary for Roger Alan Myers, who passed away September 13, 2015, in Stuart, Florida, at age 85. Meyers was a long-time national leader of counseling psychology.
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The American psychologist · Jan 2016
Developing a science of clinical utility in diagnostic classification systems field study strategies for ICD-11 mental and behavioral disorders.
The World Health Organization (WHO) Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse has developed a systematic program of field studies to evaluate and improve the clinical utility of the proposed diagnostic guidelines for mental and behavioral disorders in the Eleventh Revision of the International Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems (ICD-11). The clinical utility of a diagnostic classification is critical to its function as the interface between health encounters and health information, and to making the ICD-11 be a more effective tool for helping the WHO's 194 member countries, including the United States, reduce the global disease burden of mental disorders. ⋯ The results of these studies have already been used in making decisions about the structure and content of ICD-11. If clinical utility is indeed among the highest aims of diagnostic systems for mental disorders, as their developers routinely claim, future revision efforts should continue to build on these efforts. (PsycINFO Database Record