Introduction and Aims: Using the Millon Clinical Multiaxial Inventory - III (MCMI-III), this study aimed to determine what personality factors, if any, would predict retention within therapeutic community (TC) treatment for residents presenting with Amphetamine-type stimulant (ATS) use disorders. The MCMI-III identifies the deeper and pervasive personality characteristics underlying a person's overt symptoms; and assists the practitioner to gain an integrated understanding of the relationship between personality characteristics and clinical syndromes in order to facilitate treatment decisions. Design and Methods: Participants were 247 residents from 10 TCs in Australia. The MCMI-III was administered at the commencement of the study and follow-up discharge information was obtained from TCs at 12 months post-baseline to determine which residents had completed the treatment program and the reason for discharge - including program completion and premature discharge from treatment. Results: In line with other studies, it was hypothesised that the presence of personality disorders (PD) would have an adverse effect on the treatment of Axis 1 Disorders, including Substance Use Disorders, and that those residents who had higher scores at the commencement of treatment would show higher drop-out rates. Results from this study showed high drop-out rates amongst residents in both conditions. Discussion and Conclusion: The presence of personality disorders in substance using populations is well-known, and has implications for treatment in both residential and outpatient settings. The additional introduction of a specialised ATS intervention is discussed in light of the results of this study, with suggestions of treatment approaches for clients presenting with high PD scores.

Combat veterans do not always come back from a military zone damaged, but they do come back changed. Their families, particularly their partners and wives, can be affected greatly. The change is detrimental to family relationships and takes a toll on the family's physical and psychosocial wellbeing. Research has shown that partners of combat veterans have poorer mental and social health and higher somatic and physical illness than their counterparts whose partners have not actively served in the military. There is a lack of research on the effects of living and/or caring for a veteran with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). Most research has used standard measures that apply to those caring for someone for example with Dementia, Multiple Sclerosis or a severe psychotic disorder. Those who live and care for someone with PTSD can testify to the swings of highs and lows and the multitude of emotional symptoms that can occur not only on a weekly basis, but also on a daily basis. This work attempts to examine more closely what issues cause the most distress and the interplay between the PTSD symptoms and the effects on the partner, as a conduit to more in-depth research for future reference. Chapter 1 reviewed the relevant literature from Australia and overseas that examines the psychosocial functioning of partners of combat veterans. Most studies in 'caregiving' literature arise from living and working with the elderly suffering from mental health problems or dementia. While the studies were from varying countries and cultures, there was a similarity of patterns of poorer health and well-being outcomes among partners. There was no common measure to assess the unique problems that partners faced when living with a current serving or retired combat veteran; that is, most research looked at caring for the aged or non- military population. Chapter 1 also described the theoretical model of trauma, and critically evaluated caregiving and stress appraisal literature for an in-depth understanding of the context of living and caring for someone with combat/war-related mental health problems. Chapter 2 examined qualitative data surrounding major issues that female partners of Australian Vietnam veterans face. This was investigated via focus groups conducted across New South Wales. The partners of combat veterans compared their lives to living in their own war zone at home. Major themes of negative outcomes were identified, including mental and physical health. All partners were searching for a meaning in life; most identified themselves as primary carers. The participants in this study were wives of Vietnam veterans. Chapter 3 investigated the specific causes of distress in partners of Australian combat veterans and quantified how much distress about each of these specific factors was felt by the partners. Subjective burden was measured and exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses were conducted to develop a measurement tool, known as Partners of Veterans-Distress Scale (POV-DS), for assessing specific caregiving distress experienced by partners of Australian combat veterans. Chapter 4 explored the role of distinctive dimensions of partners' distress, as assessed by a revised version of the POV-DS (POV-DSR) in the relationship between the veterans' level of impairment (posttraumatic stress disorder [PTSD] symptoms) and the partners' psychological functioning (marital adjustment, mental health and satisfaction with life). Following from Chapter 3 and previous research, we predicted that greater levels of PTSD symptoms experienced by veterans would be associated with higher levels of caregiving distress in their partners, which, in turn, would result in poorer psychological functioning in partners of combat veterans. Our findings suggested that partners reported distress related to exhaustion and intimacy problems which significantly mediated the relationship between veterans' PTSD symptoms and their partners' satisfaction with life. Furthermore, partners' distress associated with intimacy problems was the sole significant mediator for their dyadic adjustment, and exhaustion was the only significant mediator for partners' mental health. Chapter 5 compared the mental health outcomes (depression, anxiety and stress) of four groups of partners with Australian normative data: (a) partners of older Australian combat veterans, (b) a random sub sample of partners of Australian combat veterans from the previous sample, (c) partners of current serving Special Air Service Regiment (SASR) and (d) partners of current serving non-SASR. The sample comprising current serving SASR personnel partners reported significantly lower levels of depression and anxiety, while the sample consisting of non-SASR personnel partners reported significantly higher levels of stress. In addition, partners of Vietnam veterans reported significantly poorer depressive, anxiety and stress symptomatology. Finally, Chapter 6 examined the interrelationships between veterans' PTSD symptomatology and six POV-DSR indices (Exhaustion, Hypervigilance, Social Isolation, Intimacy Problems, Financial Problems and Sleep Problems for Time 1 and all of the latter with Negative Affect for Time 2 and Time 3). Using Structural Equation Modeling, we tested the Actor-Partner Interdependence Model (APIM) examining interrelations between veterans' PTSD symptoms and six dimensions of partner distress at three time points (collected over a 2-year period). The APIM is a model of dyadic relationships that integrates a conceptual view of interdependence in a two-person relationship. Findings highlighted the interdependence between veterans' PTSD symptomatology and distress in the partner over time. Actor Effects measure how much a person's current behaviour is predicted by their past behaviour, while the Partners Effect measure how much a person is influenced by the partner. Significant Actor Effects were found at Times 1 to 2 and Times 2 to 3 for all POV-DSR items, plus Negative Affect which is an item from the original POV-DS. There were no significant partner effects at Times 1 to 2, but significant Partner Effects were present at Times 2 to 3. Significant Partner Effects were evident for Intimacy Problems at Time 2 to PTSD symptomatology at Time 3; Negative Affect Time 2 to PTSD symptomatology at Time 3; Financial Problems at Time 2 to PTSD symptomatology at Time 3; Hypervigilance at Time 2 to PTSD symptomatology at Time 3 and vice versa; and Sleep problems at Time 2 with PTSD symptomatology at Time 3. This project hopes to add to the literature on the effects of living with a combat veteran. We hope to show that there are consequences for the psychosocial functioning (for example: distress, mental health, satisfaction with life and dyadic adjustment) for those partners in addition to the PTSD symptoms of the veteran.

It is well established that bushfires and other natural disasters have long‐term effects on the mental health of affected individuals and communities (Black Dog Institute, 2020). These effects can last for years as demonstrated following the 2009 Black Saturday fires in Victoria, Australia: one fifth (21.9%) of the highest impacted communities reported mental health symptoms at the five‐year follow‐up (Gibbs et al. 2013). The recent 2019–2020 catastrophic bushfires in Australia was nothing like we have experienced before (Morton 2019), resulting in unprecedented devastation across much of the country with current estimates suggesting 14.5 million acres have been affected (White & Gilbert 2020) and numerous lives, houses, and livelihoods impacted. The 2019–2020 bushfires in New South Wales, Victoria, South Australia, Western Australia, and Tasmania caused much loss of life and property, environmental destruction, and community disturbance (Flanagan 2020), leaving an estimated one third of Australians now affected by the bushfires (Morton 2020). The last month of summer in the Northern Hemisphere has resulted in bushfires affecting and almost destroying small towns in the USA (Newburger, 2020). With predictions that globally, temperatures will continue to increase with more frequent heatwaves and less rainfall (CSIRO 2018), bushfires are likely to be a more frequent event, and the consequences of them being more widespread.

A Client Outcomes Study of the Solaris Program, housed within the Alexander Maconochie Centre (AMC).

The present study identified psychological well-being profiles in a sample of Australian university students (N =207, Mean age = 30.16 years; SD =11.90). Respondents completed two measures: Ryff's (1989) Psychological Well-Being (PWB) scale and Lovibond and Lovibond's (2002) Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scales-21 (DASS-21) assessing their levels of PWB and depression. Latent profile analysis was applied to six indices of positive functioning derived from PWB scale: self-acceptance, purpose in life, environmental mastery, positive relations with others, personal growth and autonomy. An optimal 5-profile solution, reflecting significant incremental shifts from very low to very high PWB, was interpreted. As predicted, profile membership distinguished participants on depression. Importantly, profiles indicating moderate to very high PWB, particularly with the presence of above average autonomy, reported significantly lower levels of depression. Our results suggest prevention of, and treatment efficacy for, mental health problems may be improved by incorporating strategies that address positive functioning attributes, particularly associated with a sense of autonomy.

The aim of the study was to develop a measure identifying specific skill sets of effective witness protection (WP) officers. Two representative groups produced a job analysis for WP officers from which we generated a pool of items forming a Behavioural Observation Scale (BOS). Supervisors of 50 Australian WP officers (40 men) completed the BOS. Exploratory factor analysis produced a 38-item BOS resolving into three factors, Policing skills, Partition skills and Interpersonal skills, explaining > 69% of the variance with excellent internal consistency of >.90. The BOS represents a reliable and valid tool for selecting WP officers.

COVID-19 spread rapidly causing widescale loss of life and economic devastation. Efforts to contain it have resulted in measures such as closing of borders and restrictions around travel, social activities and attending places of worship. We conducted this rapid review to systematically examine, synthesize, and critically appraise the available evidence on the relationship between pandemic-related behaviours and psychological outcomes. The methods were compliant with the PRISMA guidelines. The review was preregistered with PROSPERO (Registration #: CRD42020181576). A literature search was conducted from January 2010 to April 2020 using ProQuest, Web of Science, PsycINFO, PsycARTICLES, Scopus, SAGE Journals, and CINAHL. Of 3844 articles identified, we included 11 quantitative articles in the final synthesis, representing data from 32, 049 individual respondents from eight countries. We identified three pandemics (COVID-19, MERS-CoV, Influenza A(H1N1) pdm09) as well as several psychological outcomes including anxiety, mental distress, post-traumatic stress disorder, and anger. We also identified several behaviours during pandemics and categorized them into protective, preparedness, and perverse behaviours. The review showed that even though there is limited evidence regarding pandemic-related behaviours and psychological outcomes, the current findings showed that the psychological outcomes significantly impacted on the adoption of the pandemic-related behaviours. Given the negative effects of psychological outcomes on behaviours, we recommend that mental health professionals should promote mental health support to people exhibiting psychological distress resulting from similar events in the future. Also, we recommend that future research should test the hypothesized effects of pandemics and psychological outcomes on behaviour change.

This review was conducted to systematically identify and synthesize evidence of mental health professionals (MPHs) and Mental Health Professional (MHP) students’ knowledge, attitudes, understanding, perception and expectations regarding recovery-oriented practices. Following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines, a systematic search was conducted in the following databases: Scopus, CINAHL, PsycINFO, Web of science, Medline and Embase as well as Google scholar and the web. A combination of key terms including “mental health professionals”, “students’’, 'knowledge’, “understanding”, “perception” “attitude”, “expectation”, “recovery-oriented practice”, were used for the searches. After screening and quality assessment, the review included 29 articles, published in English and published in the period January 2006 to June 2019 and were analyzed systematically using a mixed method synthesis. The findings revealed that there is increasing evidence (especially among MHPs) of knowledge, attitudes, understanding, perceptions and expectation regarding recovery. However, there are disparities in how MHPs perceive and understand recovery. While some understood it to mean a personal process, others explained it as a clinical process. In addition, there was limited knowledge among the MHPs and MHP students regarding the non-linearity nature of the recovery process and expectations regarding recovery. The implications from these findings are the need for more in-service training for MHPs and examination of the curriculum used to educate MHP students. In particular, they should be sufficiently informed about the non-linearity nature of the recovery process and how to develop hopeful and realistic expectations for consumers throughout the recovery process. The review was preregistered with PROSPERO (Registration No: CRD42019136543).

Background: Previous work has indicated that volume-based promotions encourage greater alcohol consumption. We report on a novel experimental approach that examined whether volume-based promotions, such as "Buy 1 Get 1 Free", were selected more frequently than a simple 50% price discount among a sample of young adults who were differentiated by their levels of alcohol use. Methods: 90 female university students took part in an online survey where they were asked to select either a volume- or price-based deal for alcohol or non-alcohol products. All participants were grouped as either non-problem drinkers or at-risk drinkers based on their response to the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT). For both product types, all decisions were collapsed into a simple binary outcome variable that indicated whether they preferred volume-based products or not. Chi-squared tests and logistic regression were run to assess the differences in preference for volume-based promotions between the two alcohol groups, for both alcohol and non-alcohol products. Results: Participants who were identified for at-risk drinking were significantly more likely to express a preference for volume-based alcohol offers than non-problem drinkers. In contrast, no significant difference was observed for non-alcohol products. Conclusion: This result provides the first insight on the possible differential preference for volume-based alcohol promotions between non-problem and at-risk drinkers. This work, and future studies will contribute to the development of policies regarding the regulation of promotions that are likely to have a greater appeal to at-risk drinkers.