New Voices in Psychology

Perspectives on Implications of ChatGPT on Teaching, Learning, Research and Innovation in the Higher Education Sector

Fulufhelo Netswera, Lindiwe Zungu — Wed, 06 Dec 2023 00:00:00 +0000

As of 16 March 2023, 26,222 prominent entrepreneurs and business executives had signed a petition to cease all Artificial Intelligence (AI) experimentation and training beyond GPT-4.”[1] The rationale for this intervention was to examine the impact of AI developments and whether they pose a major risk to humanity. The petitioners believe that current AI developments can compete with humans in almost all respects and caution that AI technological advancements can lead to developments beyond human control with a high potential to outsmart humans.

Teaching and learning (T&L), research and innovation form the backbone of the higher education sector. Higher education institutions develop individuals' intellectual, operational and technical abilities for a functional society. By its definition, a higher education institution and a university in particular is a provider of facilities and resources that enable intellectuals and expertise to facilitate T&L, research and community engagement.[2] Recently, the question of community engagement viewed in respect of its earlier reference to the triple helix has been redefined into quad helix as “engagement” to embrace all “stakeholders”. Here, mutual T&L between the higher education sector and industries continues to increase learning machine technologies for operational purposes in agriculture, manufacturing, and packaging.[3]

The Relationship between Public Mental Health Policy and the Practice of Community Psychology through Family Support Groups

Brigitte Swarts — Mon, 04 Dec 2023 00:00:00 +0000

This article will examine the relationship between public mental health policy and the practice of community psychology through the lens of family support groups (FSGs). Government policy promotes community psychology, but the implementation thereof is lacking and gives way to approaches that deny the involvement of communities and families as equal owners in the psychotherapeutic process. However, the psychiatric system expects families to act as the ‘primary carers’ or ‘case managers.’ Family involvement is cited as invaluable to the overall success of recovery and, therefore, represents an opportunity for self-critique within the psychiatric system in its orientation towards partnering with families. In this context, FSGs were initiated within the adult male and adolescent inpatient units in the Western Cape at Lentegeur Hospital (LGH). This article promotes FSGs as central to psychotherapeutic interventions and offers an empirical grounding for an inclusive approach to family support. This practice of inclusivity is underpinned by a community psychology ethos and is based on the analysis of 24 FSG sessions involving 446 family members between July 2013 and November 2015.

Psychosocial Stressors Associated with Depression Among Young Adults in Bandung, West Java, Indonesia.

Thu, 26 Oct 2023 00:00:00 +0000

The early stage of adulthood is a critical period of interpersonal, educational, and career development, leading to an increased risk of depression. While studies examining psychosocial stressors among depressed young adults have been conducted in developed countries, more efforts are needed to identify the risk factors in developing countries. This study aimed to identify the psychosocial stressors associated with depression among young adults in Bandung, West Java, Indonesia.

This cross-sectional study recruited 341 respondents aged 18 – 40 (mean age 21.7). The Beck Depression Inventory-II were used to identify the level of depression, and the psychosocial stressors were self-reported. Bivariate and multivariate analyses assessed the risk factors of depression.

Results: A total of 39% of participants had severe depression. The level of depression was higher in participants who were government employee (p<.001), were living with a partner(p<.001), and had experienced being bullied (p<.05). Types ofoccupation was a significant predictor (p<.001) of levels of depression, adjusting for socio-demographic factors and other psychosocial stressors. Special attention needs to be placed on promoting mental health among people who live with a partner, have experience of being bullied and those who work in the government sectors in Indonesia.

Knowledge of antipsychotic medication and their side effects among psychiatric nurses at a tertiary hospital in Lesotho

Relebohile Paulus Matete, Libuseng Moureen Rathobei — Thu, 26 Oct 2023 00:00:00 +0000

Factors that impede the physical health monitoring of patients with severe mental illness are multidimensional, and healthcare providers’ knowledge and expertise regarding antipsychotic medication and side effects remain key determinants of the frequency and quality of screening a patient shall be subjected to. This challenge transcends the monitoring of patients treated with antipsychotics, where scholars have determined a lack of knowledge about screening for adverse effects, resulting in poor clinical assessments among patients prescribed antipsychotics. This study aimed to describe nurses’ knowledge regarding antipsychotic medications and their side effects at the psychiatric hospital in Lesotho. To guide the research process, a quantitative, non-experimental, descriptive approach was employed with 40 nurses out of 44 nurses as respondents, who were selected using convenience sampling, and respondents rated their knowledge regarding the side effects of antipsychotic medication using a Likert scale on a structured research questionnaire. The data were collected using a self-administered questionnaire, analysed using SPSS (version 28), and displayed using tables, frequencies, standard deviations, and means. This study's female respondents comprised 30 (75.0%) and 10 (25.0%) males. The mean age was 39.05 (SD 8.9), with eight years of psychiatry experience. A total of 29 (72.0%) had sufficient antipsychotic knowledge (t = 36.38, df = 39, p < .000), 31 (78.3%) and had adequate knowledge of the side effects of antipsychotic drugs (t = 34.00375, df = 39, p < .000). In conclusion, this study reveals a positive trend in nursing knowledge about antipsychotic medications and associated side effects, highlighting the importance of ongoing professional development to maintain and enhance this expertise.

Psychological Experiences of Midwives Regarding Maternal Deaths at Two Selected Public Hospitals in Lesotho

Lethato Mohale, Isabel Nyangu — Wed, 06 Dec 2023 00:00:00 +0000

Maternal deaths are a pervasive problem that frequently occurs in developing countries, driven by socio-economic issues, healthcare service-related issues, pre-existing health conditions, health professional-related issues, and socio-cultural issues.

This paper describes the psychological experiences of midwives regarding maternal deaths at two selected public hospitals in Lesotho. A qualitative, phenomenological inquiry was employed to collect data from a purposively selected sample of 10 midwives through face-to-face interviews. Audiotapes were used to record the interviews, and the data were transcribed verbatim. The qualitative content analysis method was used to analyse the data. Permission to conduct the study was sought and granted by the Ministry of Health Lesotho (ID58-2022). Participants’ identities were confidential, and they were allowed to withdraw from the study without any prejudice. Psychological experiences such as trauma, shock, fear, stress, depression, loss of trust, helplessness, bad dreams, and insomnia were reported by the midwives after the occurrence of maternal deaths. They resorted to individual coping strategies such as crying, alcohol and other substance-related use, and recreational activities. Unfortunately, these strategies were not guided, hence the need for trained healthcare professionals who will take care of midwives’ psychological and emotional problems emanating from maternal deaths.

Impact of Artificial Intelligence (AI) on Psychological and Mental Health Promotion: An Opinion Piece

Thu, 21 Sep 2023 00:00:00 +0000

The digital revolution has made integrating artificial intelligence (AI) into the medical sector easier. AI is currently being used to speed up the detection of diseases in their early stages, facilitate the delineation and understanding of disease variations, and improve optimised treatment protocols. Psychology is no exception, as new role players have emerged, most notably the incorporation of AI into both psychological research and clinical practice. However, there is an apparent unease with AI as a technological breakthrough advancing science in mental health, such as data privacy, national guidelines on the use of AI, successful integration of users into the clinical setting and empathy, compared to human psychologists. Regardless, AI functions in psychology are gradually snowballing. We present an opinion on the impact of AI on improving mental health based on the exploration of available published evidence. We highlight the potential of AI in improving mental health care through mental health disorder detection, diagnosis, treatment, and public health education. The article also discusses the potential challenges and future directions, highlighting the importance of interdisciplinary collaboration and developing novel AI-based approaches to improve mental health outcomes.

A Study on the Current Situation of Psychological Distress among Psychiatric Nurses and its Influencing Factors

Fengxia Wang, Zhanglin Wang, Xin Li, Chen Chen, Yi Zhang, Minerva B. De Ala — Mon, 04 Dec 2023 00:00:00 +0000

Objective: To understand the current situation of psychiatric nurses' psychological distress and analyse its influencing factors.

Methods From August to October 2022, 326 clinical nurses in three psychiatric hospitals in Henan Province were selected by convenience sampling method, and questionnaires were administered to them using the General Information Questionnaire, Psychological Distress Scale, Flexibility Scale Simplified, and Workplace Violence Frequency Scale. Statistical processing used SPSS 24.0.

Results 76.4% of the nurses had different degrees of psychological distress, and the total score of psychological distress was (23.35±9.19). Length of work, psychological resilience and workplace violence were the influencing factors of psychiatric nurses' psychological distress (P<0.05), which could explain 26.6% of the total variance.

Conclusion Psychiatric nurses have more serious psychological distress, and nursing managers should take active interventions to improve the level of psychological resilience of nursing staff and reduce workplace violence.