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Cognitive dysfunctions are a common clinical feature of schizophrenia and represent important indicators of outcome among patients who are affected. Therefore, a randomized, controlled, monocentric, single-blind trial was carried out to compare two different rehabilitation strategies adopted for the restoration and recovery of cognitive functioning of residential patients with schizophrenia. A sample of 110 residential patients were selected and, during the experimental period, a group of 55 patients was treated with sets of domain-specific exercises (SRT+CRT), whereas an equal control group was treated with sets of non-domain-specific exercises (SRT+PBO) belonging to the Cogpack® software. The effects on the scores (between T0 and T1) of the variables treatment and time and of the interaction time X treatment were analyzed: for the total BACS, the main effect of the between-factors variable treatment is statistically significant (F=201.562 P=0.000), as well as the effect of the within-factors variable “time” (F=496.68 P=0.000).The interaction of these two factors is also statistically significant (F=299.594 P=0.000). The addition of cognitive remediation therapy (CRT) to a standard treatment of metacognitive training (MCT) resulted in a significant improvement in global neurocognitive functioning and has reported positive effects with regard to the strengthening of verbal and working memory, selective and sustained attention at T1. A relevant result is the statistically significance of “time X treatment” for all the tests administered: we can assume that the domain-specific cognitive training amplifies the effects of SRT, as the primary and secondary goals of the present study were achieved.

Effective cognitive functioning elucidates the orchestrated interplay of diverse mental faculties in addressing daily tasks, potentially indicative of an improved state of an individual’s health. Linked to this is the potential role of life satisfaction, which may aid individuals in better managing their health-related challenges. The purpose this study is to examine whether the cognitive functioning and life satisfaction levels of elderly individuals serve as predictors of their subjective health complaints.

The research involved a cohort of 126 elderly community residents. The assessment tools used encompassed a socio-demographic questionnaire, the mini-mental state examination (MMSE), the scale of subjective health complaints and a life satisfaction scale.

The findings reveal that both cognitive functioning and life satisfaction are predictive variables for subjective health complaints, validated in both the original sample and simulated samples.

This study’s innovation lies in highlighting the importance of cognitive functioning and life satisfaction among the elderly population as explanatory factors for subjective health complaints. Consequently, these dimensions warrant consideration in specialized intervention programs aimed at promoting the health and quality of life among the elderly.

The debate as to whether intellectual disability (ID) should be conceptualized as a health condition or as a disability has intensified as the revision of World Health Organization’s (WHO’s) International Classification of Diseases (ICD) is being finalized. Defining ID as a health condition is central to retaining it in ICD, with significant implications for health policy and access to health services. The purpose of this paper is to include some reflections on the consensus document produced by the first WHO Working Group on the Classification of MR (WHO WG-MR) and on the process that was followed to realize it. The consensus report was the basis for the development of official recommendations sent to the WHO Advisory Group for ICD-11.

A mixed qualitative approach was followed in a series of meetings leading to the final consensus report submitted to the WHO Advisory group. These recommendations combined prior expert knowledge with available evidence; a nominal approach was followed throughout with face-to-face conferences.

The WG recommended a synonym set (“synset”) ontological approach to the conceptualisation of this health condition underlying a clinical rationale for its diagnosis. It proposed replacing MR with Intellectual Developmental Disorders (IDD) in ICD-11, defined as “a group of developmental conditions characterized by a significant impairment of cognitive functions, which are associated with limitations of learning, adaptive behaviour and skills”. The WG further advised that IDD be included under the parent category of neurodevelopmental disorders, that current distinctions (mild, moderate, severe and profound) be continued as severity qualifiers, and that problem behaviours removed from its core classification structure and instead described as associated features.

Within the ID/IDD synset two different names combine distinct aspects under a single construct that describes its clinical as well as social, educational and policy utilities. The single construct incorporates IDD as a clinical meta-syndrome, and ID as its functioning and disability counterpart. IDD and ID are not synonymous or mirror concepts as they have different scientific, social and policy applications. New diagnostic criteria for IDD should be based on a developmental approach, which accounts for the complex causal factors known to impact the acquisition of specific cognitive abilities and adaptive behaviours. The paper focuses on a new clinical framework for the diagnosis of IDD that also includes and complements the existing social, educational and policy components inherent in ID.

The authors reviewed studies of validated tools to screen for cognitive impairment among prisoners. The purpose of this paper is to assist organisations in identifying cognitive impairment in correctional facilities.

A targeted literature review identified peer-reviewed articles on screening of adults in jails, prisons, police watch-houses, custody suites, rehabilitation facilities and forensic settings or community settings for offenders. Validation of screening tools in secure settings, psychometric properties and cultural discrimination is included in this review.

Eight screening tools are considered suitable for use in correctional settings. Two screening tools are recommended for cognitive impairment, one is recommended for adaptive functioning assessment and one is recommended for screening of brain injury. Two screening tools are noted to be subject to piloting and further development for use with First Nations people, and two screening tools for cognitive impairment are noted for positive consideration.

Recommendations for screening tools are based on review only and evaluation was infeasible.

Short, reliable measures of cognitive ability for use in correctional facilities are needed. Such tools must be appropriate with respect to their purpose, feasible within the clinical capability of staff and sufficiently cheap to administer to allow widespread use.

Screening of prisoners for cognitive impairment allows early detection to facilitate rehabilitation and therapy. This research is at the systems level. Therefore, the authors do not purport to provide guidance for individual clinicians.

We review the literature on stress in organizational settings and, based on a model of job insecurity and emotional intelligence by Jordan, Ashkanasy and Härtel (2002), present a new model where affective responses associated with stress mediate the impact of workplace stressors on individual and organizational performance outcomes. Consistent with Jordan et al., emotional intelligence is a key moderating variable. In our model, however, the components of emotional intelligence are incorporated into the process of stress appraisal and coping. The chapter concludes with a discussion of the implications of these theoretical developments for understanding emotional and behavioral responses to workplace.

Water is essential for mental health. In spite of research evidence that dehydration has detrimental effects on cognitive functioning, the element of water has often been understated in the nutrition literature. The purpose of this paper is to highlight the necessity to integrate water as an essential nutrient for healthy cognitive functioning in nutrition research.

This study is based on a general review. The first section reviews the literature on the relationship between dehydration and cognitive performance in both adult and children populations, using electronic databases for systematic reviews and meta-analyses (excluding vulnerable populations, such as infants, the elderly and people with disabilities). The second section examines the status of water, as a nutrient, in nutrition and water-related documentation by international authorities (FAO, UNICEF, World Food Program, WHO, etc.).

Dehydration, even at mild levels, is associated with impairments in basic and higher order cognitive functions. Websites from international authoritative nutrition sources understate the role of water in healthy nutrition, and omit the discussion of the impact of dehydration on cognitive functioning.

The relation between dehydration and cognition is under-documented and not enough elaborated in guidelines and texts of authoritative international health policy and dietary sources.

This literature review identifies instruments for diagnostic assessment of cognitive impairment in prison populations. The purpose of this paper is to promote procedures for early screening and identification of cognitive impairment using instruments appropriate to prisons.

A targeted literature review identified studies on screening and diagnostic assessment of adults in jails, prisons, police watch-houses (custody suites), rehabilitation facilities and forensic settings or community settings for offenders. Discriminant validity, suitability, reliability and feasibility of instruments in correctional and forensic settings are presented.

From 135 peer-reviewed articles relating to diagnostic assessment of cognitive impairment, 15 instruments were considered appropriate for use in prison settings.

Selection of instruments for prison use considers suitability of the instrument(s) and clinical workforce capability. Cultural and gender validity of the instrument, its feasibility for use in the prison environment and cost and time to administer are also important. Using appropriate tools as part of a staged and targeted process in the screening and diagnosis of cognitive impairment is demonstrated by two case vignettes presented in this paper. As this was a desk review, the authors did not evaluate the instruments.

Identification of instruments that are suitable for diagnosis of cognitive impairment in forensic populations informs the rehabilitation of offenders with cognitive impairment in prison and upon release to probation and parole.

The link between sleep disturbance and aggression among forensic psychiatric patients is well established. However, the relationship between subjective experience of sleep quality and sleep hygiene, reported head injury, age, neuropsychological functioning and risk within these populations remains poorly understood. A study is described examining the relationships between these factors in a sample of individuals deemed a “grave and immediate” risk toothers. The aim of this study is to explore these relationships in more detail.

A service evaluation project examining the prevalence of self-reported sleep dysfunction, age and the relationship with neuropsychological functioning, reported head injury and dynamic risk appraisals of a UK high secure psychiatric patient sample is described (n = 84).

Self-reported poor sleep quality and poor sleep hygiene is present among 65% of patients, especially those in admission and high dependency wards. Whilst there are no differences between those with a self-reported head injury history in sleep quality, there is in sleep hygiene. Older patients also report more sleep hygiene problems. The combination of poor sleep quality, poor sleep hygiene and performance within selective aspects of executive functioning tasks has some relationship with dynamic risk.

The importance of sleep management and cognitive remediation is discussed, as is the need for more robust research and inclusion of an assessment of sleep within forensic neuropsychological and psychiatric evaluations.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study to examine the relationship of sleep disturbance, neuropsychological functioning and head injuries and risk within a high secure psychiatric patient sample.

This paper aims to examine the relationship between neuropsychological functioning as assessed following admission to a high secure psychiatric care (HSPC) hospital and subsequent time spent in long-term segregation (LTS). Evidence from forensic populations suggests neuropsychological functioning difficulties can increase vulnerability to interpersonal violence. However, the impact of this relationship on restrictive interventions used in these settings is poorly understood.

This study quantitatively examined the neuropsychological profiles of 80 male HSPC patients as assessed during routine admission assessments, comparing data against any subsequent LTS duration during a one-year period, and a non-LTS control (n = 27).

Analysis found individuals who were willing and able to complete a routine neuropsychological admissions assessment spent significantly less time in LTS than those unable to complete the assessment. Performance within a test of novel problem solving (Key Search Test) was significantly worse in the LTS group than controls. Performance within a visual memory task (Immediate Recall section of the Rey Complex Figure Test) significantly correlated with LTS duration. Additional findings suggest the absence of self-reported planning difficulties as measured by a Dysexecutive Questionnaire (DEX) negatively correlated with LTS duration, while self-reported restlessness was positively correlated with LTS.

This has implications for early assessment of LTS risk and potential use of cognitive interventions to reduce the use of restrictive practices.

The results suggest some aspects of neuropsychological performance as assessed during admission to a HSPC hospital appear to be related to subsequent time spent in LTS.

The purpose of this paper is to evaluate a weekly, group-based occupational therapy (OT) intervention in an inpatient brain injury rehabilitation unit. The evaluation aims to assess whether this intervention incorporates evidence-based recommendations for executive functioning and positive social interactions.

A literature review was carried out to identify those components deemed most effective for improvements of executive functions and group interventions. Systematic observations of the intervention were used to collect data matching the research requirements. The group intervention which was subject to the evaluation was a weekly OT activity called Life Skills Group. Participants were four brain injured patients, aged between 49 and 62 years and on average 4.5 month post injury. The group activities included the preparation, cooking and consuming of a meal.

Some elements of evidence-based procedure for executive functioning training were observed, including repeated practice and errorless learning. The group provided opportunities for social interaction and peer support/modelling. The evaluation indicated opportunities for improving executive functions within the Life Skills Group setting, for instance, the consistent use of errorless practice, repetition and meta-strategy training. Social interventions were mainly initiated by the facilitation therapists and opportunities for social skills training and positive interactions between participants were overlooked. The evaluation concludes in a set of recommendations aimed at optimising the effectiveness of future groups.

This paper gives an example how the use of research evidence can influence and optimise cognitive rehabilitation, social training and group interventions. Thus it is an attempt to highlight how occupational interventions and social interactions can be improved by a systematic evaluation. The evaluation provides a framework for how OT and social interventions can be planned, implemented and researched which will hopefully increase systematic outcomes studies in this field in the future.