Robert Finlay-Jones - Academia.edu (original) (raw)

Papers by Robert Finlay-Jones

Australian and New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry, Mar 1, 1977

A one day point prevalence study of all inpatients and a one week point prevalence study of all o... more A one day point prevalence study of all inpatients and a one week point prevalence study of all outpatients seen by psychiatrists in Perth, Western Australia, was conducted. On the census day in July 1971, 61 per cent of all psychiatric inpatients in Perth were long-stay patients. Of the short-stay patients 75 per cent were in Mental Health Services hospitals, 17 per cent were in general hospital psychiatric units and 8 per cent were under private psychiatrists. The bed occupancy rate was 129.7 per 100,000 population for the whole State—83.2 longstay and 46.5 short-stay. These rates were low compared with published figures in other countries. The proportions of total outpatients seen during the census week by the Mental Health Services, general hospital units and private psychiatrists were 53.5 per cent, 16.0 per cent and 30.5 per cent respectively. There was a differential use of psychiatric services between immigrants and Australian-born outpatients.

Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica, May 1, 1983

ABSTRACT ‐ A version of the Geriatric Mental State Examination has been prepared for use in commu... more ABSTRACT ‐ A version of the Geriatric Mental State Examination has been prepared for use in community surveys. Its reliability has been investigated on a sample of geriatric day‐patients (n= 52). Two psychiatrists separately examined each patient and audiotaped the interviews. It is argued that unless certain requirements in the data from such a study are fulfilled, interpretable reliability statistics can‐not be calculated for individual items. Where the data were sufficient in this study, the mean phi coefficient was 0.84 within interviews and 0.56 between interviews. The reliability of individual items has been assessed as a basis for further improvement in the instrument.

Australian and New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry, Jun 1, 1984

Unemployment raised the odds of having a psychiatric disorder by a factor of six in this sample o... more Unemployment raised the odds of having a psychiatric disorder by a factor of six in this sample of 401 young single people. The effect of unemployment was borne by men and women equally, since the difference between the sexes was preserved in the proportion who had a psychiatric disorder. Those particularly at risk for psychiatric disorder were men who were dismissed, who could not borrow money readily, and who had large debts. Women at high risk were those who resigned, and who could not borrow money readily.

Psychological Medicine, Aug 1, 1978

SynopsisThe 60-item General Health Questionnaire was completed by 90% of 4798 patients aged 15–69... more SynopsisThe 60-item General Health Questionnaire was completed by 90% of 4798 patients aged 15–69 years who consulted, on one day, the general practitioners of 97% of practices in the Perth Statistical Division. A point prevalence rate of minor psychiatric morbidity in various demographic groups was calculated in terms of the population at risk. The demographic pattern of morbidity was compared with that found in a probability sample of 2324 community residents drawn from the same population at risk, and surveyed at the same time using the same screening instrument.Widowed persons, British-born men who had recently migrated to Australia, and lower-social-class men with minor psychiatric morbidity were under-represented in general practice. Elderly men and women in upper-class occupations with minor psychiatric morbidity were over-represented in general practice. These differences, unlike others that were found, could not be explained by differing consulting habits or by differing completion rates of the screening instrument.

Australian and New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry, Sep 1, 1984

A factor analytic study of responses to a 60-item General Health Questionnaire of people in gener... more A factor analytic study of responses to a 60-item General Health Questionnaire of people in general practice and in the community in Perth, Western Australia, was performed. Five identified factors, accounting for 46% of the variance, were very similar to factors identified in an English general practice study but differed from two published Australian studies. The statistic of a relative GHQ profile was generated to compare these factors in various sets of data. There was no significant difference between the relative GHQ profile in the community and general practice data or between demographic factors such as sex, social class and country of birth. The major positive finding was of an excess of overtly psychological factors in ‘cases’ compared with an excess of more physical factors in ‘non-cases’.

Social Psychiatry, 1979

SummaryThe results of a community survey showed that non-married women, but not married women, ha... more SummaryThe results of a community survey showed that non-married women, but not married women, had a lower rate of minor psychiatric morbidity if they were employed. It was argued that employment may protect women who lack social support in other areas. The failure to find the same results in a general practice survey suggested that women at high risk for minor psychiatric morbidity were least likely to consult a general practitioner.

Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery & Psychiatry, 1986

A recent necropsy study has shown that 80% of patients with the Wernicke-Korsakoff syndrome were ... more A recent necropsy study has shown that 80% of patients with the Wernicke-Korsakoff syndrome were not diagnosed as such during life. Review of the clinical signs of these cases revealed that only 16% had the classical clinical triad and 19% had no documented clinical signs. The incidence of clinical signs in this and other retrospective pathological studies is very different from that of prospective clinical studies. This discrepancy may relate to "missed" clinical signs but the magnitude of the difference suggests that at least some cases of the Wernicke-Korsakoff syndrome may be the end result of repeated subclinical episodes of vitamin B 1 deficiency. In order to make the diagnosis, clinicians must maintain a high index of suspicion in the "at risk" group of patients, particularly alcoholics. Investigations of thiamine status may be helpful and if the diagnosis is suspected, parenteral thiamine should be given.

Australian & New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry, 1984

Australian & New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry, 1981

A sample of 19% (n401) of people aged 16–24 years registered as seeking full-time employment in C... more A sample of 19% (n401) of people aged 16–24 years registered as seeking full-time employment in Canberra, completed a psychiatric screening instrument. A weighted subsample (n72) was examined by a psychiatrist. The screening instrument showed that 56% were probable cases. By harnessing the results of the psychiatrist's examination to the scores on the screening instrument, the proportion with severe psychiatric disorder was estimated to be 49%. Three-quarters were cases of depression. They had been ill for 10 months on average. In 70% of cases, the onset of their disorder followed unemployment. In more than half of these there was no evidence of any other recent stress apart from unemployment itself. The median time between unemployment and the onset of disorder was five months.

Australian and New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry, Sep 1, 1981

This year one of the two nations mentioned in the title of this Journal celebrates a curious &quo... more This year one of the two nations mentioned in the title of this Journal celebrates a curious "birthday " by commemorating the two-hundredth anniversary of the arrival in Australia of a fleet of convicts. It also marks the end of Professor Gordon Parker's record term as editor of the Journal. At a time when it seems the en-tire country has given itself over to a indulgent search for an ancestral root, it is hard to resist the temptation to scan the record and find a link, either literal or metaphorical, between our ancestors and our retiring editor. The search is fruitless; not a single editor of a psychiatric journal was transported. The convicts were a bunch of raffish coves who had suffered a peremptory interruption to their occupations as drag sneaks, snoozers, star-glazers (who cut the panes out of shop windows), till friskers, sawney-hunters, noisy-racket men, area sneakers, dead lurkers, snow gatherers, skinners and bluey-hunters. Desperately one might dredge up...

Medical Journal of Australia, 1972

This study was designed to investigate the social and demographic attributes of the clients of th... more This study was designed to investigate the social and demographic attributes of the clients of the Telephone Samaritan Service in order to identify patterns of personal need and service usage. In a selected 22‐week period, the Samaritans of Western Australia were contacted by 474 persons, and the details available for 450 of them were studied.

Medical Journal of Australia, 1978

The demographic characteristics were recorded of 4798 patients aged from 15 to 69 years who consu... more The demographic characteristics were recorded of 4798 patients aged from 15 to 69 years who consulted, for any reason, the general practitioners of 97% of the practices in the Perth Statistical Division on one day in 1971. A consulting rate in terms of the population at risk was calculated for patients of different sex, age, marital status, country of birth, and social class. Certain characteristics of the general practitioners were also related to the demographic characteristics of their patients.

Criminal Behaviour and Mental Health, 1993

Special' hospitals in England (i.e. maximum-security hospitals for mentally disordered offenders,... more Special' hospitals in England (i.e. maximum-security hospitals for mentally disordered offenders, including psychopaths) are thought to be too big. On the other hand, there is concern that there is a size below which maximum security containment could become financially inefficient, inhumane or even dangerous. Is there an optimum solution? In this paper we consider the optimum size of a place for the treatment, and eventually rehabilitation to the community, of mentally disordered offenders held in maximum security. We cannot answer the question of size without taking into account principles of rehabilitation, quality of care, cost-effectiveness, the probable length of stay of the prisoner patient, the architecture of secure units and the psychology of dangerous people. We conclude that the notion of an optimum absolute size for such a place, in terms of either people or bricks and mortar, is a nonsense. However, we do produce an arabesque formula, based neither on numbers nor on acres, but on the nearness to, and the population density of, the community which has attempted to segregate the inmates.

International Journal of Mental Health, 1993

On 9 October 1988, in a small town in the state of Western Australia, a 51-yearold woman named Ma... more On 9 October 1988, in a small town in the state of Western Australia, a 51-yearold woman named Mary Falconer fired a shotgun the blast from which struck her estranged husband at close range, killing him. The woman telephoned a friend and said she thought she had killed her husband. She made no attempt to escape or to conceal the weapon. In separate interviews with a detective and with a psychiatrist shortly thereafter, she claimed to have no recall of the act. Mary Falconer was charged with murder. At trial about twelve months later, her counsel sought to present psychiatric evidence that her alleged amnesia was consistent with the onset of a state of dissociation during which her actions were "involuntary" or "automatic." The evidence of two psychiatrists was heard on voir dire, after an objection by the prosecution as to the admissibility of the evidence for the purpose of showing involuntariness. The commissioner (a senior barrister acting in the position of a judge) considered there was no evidence that the woman's alleged dissociative state was the result of an external cause and ruled that the psychiatric evidence was not admissible. The jury convicted the woman of willful murder. Her counsel appealed. One of the grounds was that the commissioner had erred in disallowing the psychiatric evidence. The Court of Criminal Appeal of Western Australia held that the psychiatric evidence was admissible and ordered a retrial. The prosecution then appealed to the High Court of Australia. The High Court found that the Court of Criminal Appeal was correct in ruling the psychiatric evidence admissible and upheld the Court of Criminal Appeal's order for a retrial [1]. The reasons that the High Court gave in making its decision are important in the development of the law relating to automatism in Australia, as this was the first pronouncement by that court on a case in which the automatic behavior of an accused was alleged to be of psychological origin. We shall here examine the

Psychological Medicine, 1977

SynopsisThe method is described of a point-prevalence survey of minor psychiatric morbidity among... more SynopsisThe method is described of a point-prevalence survey of minor psychiatric morbidity among a sample of healthy community residents. The General Health Questionnaire was used as the sole means of case identification. The demographic characteristics of the sample were compared in detail with those of the total population. The factors mainly responsible for sample bias were difficulty with the English language, the varying degree of personal contact made with residents, and the difficulty in contacting the employed population during working hours. The overall response rate of the survey was 66·%. The demographic groups found to be at significantly higher risk for minor psychiatric morbidity included women, the young, non-British migrant women, and lower social class men.

Psychological Medicine, 1980

SYNOPSISThe diagnoses were reviewed of 866 women interviewed in 5 community surveys carried out b... more SYNOPSISThe diagnoses were reviewed of 866 women interviewed in 5 community surveys carried out by the Bedford College team. The diagnoses matched commonly held conceptions of who is a case in terms of both severity and type of syndrome. Two methods of replicating the diagnoses are presented, one based on discriminant function analysis and the other based on a simple checklist.

Psychological Medicine, 1981

SynopsisThe notions of loss and danger are briefly described. Two groups of raters in London and ... more SynopsisThe notions of loss and danger are briefly described. Two groups of raters in London and Canberra were shown to be reliable in rating the degree of loss and the degree of danger associated with a sample of life events previously rated as ‘severe’ on a contextual measure of long-term threat. The life events were reported by 164 young women attending a general practitioner in London. The women were interviewed by a psychiatrist using the Present State Examination. Their psychiatric symptoms were rated by a team of raters who were ignorant of the life events reported by the young women. Three types of cases of psychiatric disorder of recent onset were diagnosed: depression, anxiety, and mixed depression/anxiety. The frequency of life events reported by these three types of cases as occurring in the year before the onset of their disorder was compared with the frequency of events in the same time period reported by a group of women without severe psychiatric disorder. The result...

Journal of Personality Disorders, 1998

The proposed two-factor structure of the Psychopathy Checklist (Revised) was assessed by confirma... more The proposed two-factor structure of the Psychopathy Checklist (Revised) was assessed by confirmatory factor analyses on a sample of 376 community and prison based methadones maintenance patients. Confirmatory factor analyses indicated that the two-factor model proposed by previous researchers did not fit well with the data from this population. Exploratory analyses extracted five interpretable factors, three psychological factors (glibness/manipulative, callousness, irresponsibility), and two behavioral factors (criminal behaviors, promiscuity), which accounted for 61% of the variance. The data provided support for the psychometric reliability of the PCL-R, as indicated by a Chronbach's alpha of 0.83, weighted kappas for concordance between raters ranging from 0.51 to 1.00, and 100% agreement on diagnoses of psychopathy between raters. The data indicate that a two-factor structure does not adequately capture the dimensions of psychopathy in this population. While the factors do fall into distinct psychological and behavioral dimensions, more than two general factors are required to describe the dimensions of psychopathy.