Provide feedback to two of your classmates about their identified variables; explain why you agree with the variables, research question/s, and hypotheses stated.
Classmate#1
1. The research topic regards the impact of childhood trauma and how it relates to those with mental health issues in adulthood. “This study compared the prevalence of childhood trauma recorded in an individual’s clinical notes to those ascertained with a structured validated questionnaire.” (Rossiter, A., Byrne, F., Wota, A. P., Nisar, Z., Ofuafor, T., Murray, I., Byrne, C., & Hallahan, B. (2015). The article states that most research done in the past involved childhood sexual trauma, but has not studied other forms of childhood trauma in detail.
2. The dependent variable could be the answers to the questionnaire. The participants’ answers will vary, and they are being measured against the other answers to come to a conclusion. The independent variable could be the questionnaire itself, as the questions do not change based on other variables. “Our principal hypothesis was that the rates of disclosure ascertained using a structured questionnaire (CTQ) would be significantly higher than those reported by individuals attending their treating mental health team.” (Rossiter, A., Byrne, F., Wota, A. P., Nisar, Z., Ofuafor, T., Murray, I., Byrne, C., & Hallahan, B. (2015). The hypothesis also states that patients with personality disorders may have a higher rate of childhood trauma, and whether or not they disclose their trauma.
References
Rossiter, A., Byrne, F., Wota, A. P., Nisar, Z., Ofuafor, T., Murray, I., Byrne, C., & Hallahan, B. (2015). Childhood trauma levels in individuals attending adult mental health services: An evaluation of clinical records and structured measurement of childhood trauma. Child Abuse & Neglect, 44, 36–45. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chiabu.2015.01.001
Classmate#2
Brief Review of Research of the Research Topic
The US has the highest incarceration rate in the world. Much of the research shows that there are many more individuals incarcerated that have a diagnosed mental illness than there are from the general population that is incarcerated (Domino et al., 2019). When released from prison, people with serious mental illness face many challenges entering back into the community than those from the general population (Domino et al., 2019). Many of these individuals do not receive the mental health care or treatment that they need. In addition, they do not receive appropriate transition planning.
Identify/list the variables (independent and dependent), research question/s, and hypotheses
Independent
Timely mental health services among people with severe mental illness who were released from prison.
Dependent
Arrests, jail time, and any imprisonment.
Research Questions
What is the effect of timely mental health treatment on incarceration among those brought to care through the provision of expedited Medicaid?
What would be the average effect of providing timely mental health treatment to the full population of adults with severe mental illness released from prison?
Hypotheses
The timeliness of mental health services has a significant effect on rates of incarceration.
Explain how the variables, research question/s, and hypotheses align in the study
The above variables, research questions, and hypotheses relate to the study because the researchers want to know if timely mental health services after prison have any impact on future arrests, jail time, or imprisonment.
Explain the purpose of the variables, research question/s, and hypotheses in research
The degree to which the answer differs reveals information about the variability in the effect of treatment in this population. The researchers conducted several stratified analyses to examine how treatment may interact with criminal justice and social characteristics resulting in heterogeneous effects.
References
Domino, M. E., Gertner, A., Grabert, B., Cuddeback, G. S., Childers, T., & Morrissey, J. P. (2019). Do timely mental health services reduce re‐incarceration among prison releasees with severe mental illness? Health Services Research, 54(3), 592–602. https://doi.org/10.1111/1475-6773.13128
