scholarly journals Mindfulness-based programs, perceived stress and well-being at work: The preferential use of informal practices

2021 ◽  
Vol 71 (6) ◽  
pp. 100709
Author(s):  
Nicolas Verger ◽  
Rebecca Shankland ◽  
Lionel Strub ◽  
Ilios Kotsou ◽  
Christophe Leys ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Perceived Stress ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Informal Practices

Guilty Pleasure No More

2017 ◽  
Vol 29 (3) ◽  
pp. 126-136 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robin L. Nabi ◽  
Debora Pérez Torres ◽  
Abby Prestin
Keyword(s):  
Stress Management ◽  
Perceived Stress ◽  
Media Use ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Breast Cancer Patients ◽  
Positive Role ◽  
Individual Difference Variables ◽  
Relative Value ◽  
Management Techniques ◽  
Managing Stress

Abstract. Despite the substantial attention paid to stress management in the extant coping literature, media use has been surprisingly overlooked as a strategy worthy of close examination. Although media scholars have suggested media use may be driven by a need to relax, related research has been sporadic and, until recently, disconnected from the larger conversation about stress management. The present research aimed to determine the relative value of media use within the broader range of coping strategies. Based on surveys of both students and breast cancer patients, media use emerged as one of the most frequently selected strategies for managing stress across a range of personality and individual difference variables. Further, heavier television consumers and those with higher perceived stress were also more likely to use media for coping purposes. Finally, those who choose media for stress management reported it to be an effective tool, although perhaps not as effective as other popular strategies. This research not only documents the centrality of media use in the corpus of stress management techniques, thus highlighting the value of academic inquiry into media-based coping, but it also offers evidence supporting the positive role media use can play in promoting psychological well-being.

scholarly journals Family Physicians’ Standpoint and Mental Health Assessment in the Light of COVID-19 Pandemic—A Nationwide Survey Study

2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (4) ◽  
pp. 2093
Author(s):  
Tina Vilovic ◽  
Josko Bozic ◽  
Marino Vilovic ◽  
Doris Rusic ◽  
Sanja Zuzic Furlan ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Health Care ◽  
Perceived Stress ◽  
Depression Scale ◽  
Family Physicians ◽  
Knowledge Score ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Anxiety And Depression ◽  
Event Scale ◽  
The Impact

During the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak, family physicians (FPs) are the backbone of the healthcare system with considerable impact on the general population, and their well-being is of great importance. The aim of this investigation was to assess FPs mental health, as well as knowledge, attitudes and practices (KAPs) regarding the pandemic, and opinions on non-communicable disease (NCD) health care provided to patients. A cross-sectional study was carried out with a sample of 613 FPs. Anxiety and depression levels were estimated with the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale, subjective perceived stress with the Perceived Stress Scale, while trauma-related symptoms were assessed using the Impact on Event Scale-COVID19. KAPs toward the pandemic and opinions regarding NCD patients were evaluated with questionnaires accordingly. Results have shown that age (β = −0.02, p = 0.013) and personal risk of COVID‑19 (β = 1.05, p < 0.001) were significant independent correlates of the knowledge score. A total of 87.7% FPs expressed moderate/high perceived stress, 45.2% moderate/severe trauma-related symptoms, 60.4% borderline/abnormal anxiety levels, and 52.4% borderline/abnormal depression levels. Knowledge score was an independent predictor of perceived stress (β = −0.33, p = 0.023) and anxiety (β = −0.31, p = 0.006) levels. Limited accessibility to healthcare services and decreased number of newly-diagnosed NCD cases were mostly agreed on. The pandemic puts a considerable strain on FPs mental health, as well as on public health measures, due to the decreased overall quality of NCD patient health care. Educational programs may bridge the gaps between FPs’ knowledge. Thus lowering anxiety and improving patient care.

scholarly journals Have Lifestyle Habits and Psychological Well-Being Changed among Adolescents and Medical Students Due to COVID-19 Lockdown in Croatia?

Nutrients ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 97
Author(s):  
Ružica Dragun ◽  
Nikolina Nika Veček ◽  
Mario Marendić ◽  
Ajka Pribisalić ◽  
Gabrijela Đivić ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Medical Students ◽  
Perceived Stress ◽  
Dietary Habits ◽  
Healthy Lifestyle ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Lifestyle Medicine ◽  
Psychological Well Being ◽  
Mobile Phone Use ◽  
Beneficial Effects

Objective: To investigate dietary habits, sleep and psychological well-being of adolescents and medical students during COVID-19 lockdown in Split, Croatia. Methods: We surveyed 1326 students during 2018 and 2019, and compared their responses with 531 students enrolled in May 2020. Perceived stress, quality of life (QoL), happiness, anxiety, and optimism were assessed as proxies of psychological well-being, using general linear modelling. Results: We found no substantial differences in dietary pattern between pre-lockdown and lockdown periods, including the overall Mediterranean diet (MD) adherence. However, the MD pattern changed, showing increased adherence to the MD pyramid for fruit, legumes, fish, and sweets, while cereals, nuts, and dairy intake decreased during COVID-19 lockdown. A third of students reported weight loss during lockdown, 19% reported weight gain, while physical activity remained rather stable. The most prominent change was feeling refreshed after a night’s sleep, reported by 31.5% of students during lockdown vs. 8.5% before; median length of sleep duration increased by 1.5 h. Lockdown significantly affected QoL, happiness, optimism (all p < 0.001), and perceived stress in students (p = 0.005). MD adherence was positively correlated with QoL and study time, and negatively with TV and mobile phone use in pre-lockdown period (all p < 0.001). Interestingly, higher MD adherence was correlated with less perceived hardship and greater happiness and QoL during lockdown. Conclusion: These insights provide valuable information for tailored interventions aimed at maintaining healthy lifestyle in young population. Given the numerous beneficial effects associated with MD adherence, modification of lifestyle through application of lifestyle medicine deserves a priority approach.

Age Differences in Types and Perceptions of Daily Stress

2021 ◽  
pp. 009141502110015
Author(s):  
Alexis R. Stefaniak ◽  
Jessica M. Blaxton ◽  
C. S. Bergeman
Keyword(s):  
Young Adults ◽  
Perceived Stress ◽  
Later Life ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Preventative Care ◽  
Stress Exposure ◽  
Daily Stress ◽  
Work Related ◽  
Related Stress

The present study explores differences in daily stress across individuals of varying ages. Specifically, we explore whether age group (young adult, midlife, late midlife, later life) relates to differences in types of stress (family, friends, partner, health, finances, work), total stress exposure, and perceptions of daily stress intensity. Participants from the Notre Dame Study of Health & Well-being (NDHWB; N = 891) completed daily questionnaires assessing negative small life events and perceived stress for 8 weeks. Findings indicated that young adults reported a higher average number of family, spouse, finance, and work-related stress. Additionally, total daily stress was highest among young adults, and perceived stress was lowest among later life adults. Because daily stress relates to long-term mental and physical stress, gaining a better understanding of how individuals at different points in the life span uniquely experience stress can inform intervention and preventative care techniques aimed at promoting optimal well-being.

scholarly journals Across the COVID-19 Waves; Assessing Temporal Fluctuations in Perceived Stress, Post-Traumatic Symptoms, Worry, Anxiety and Civic Moral Disengagement over One Year of Pandemic

2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (11) ◽  
pp. 5651
Author(s):  
Alessio Gori ◽  
Eleonora Topino
Keyword(s):  
Perceived Stress ◽  
State Anxiety ◽  
Moral Disengagement ◽  
Online Survey ◽  
Well Being ◽  
First Year ◽  
Effective Interventions ◽  
Post Traumatic ◽  
One Year ◽  
Traumatic Symptoms

This study aimed at investigating the psychological effect of the COVID-19 pandemic in Italy by analysing the trends of perceived stress, post-traumatic symptoms, state anxiety, worry, and civic moral disengagement in four different moments from March 2020 to March 2021. The study involved a total of 1827 Italian participants (30% men and 70% women; Mage = 34.72; SD = 12.40) divided into four groups to which an online survey was administered. The first group completed the survey in March 2020, the second one in August 2020, the third one in November 2020, and the fourth one in March 2021. Results highlighted significant decreases in post-traumatic symptoms and a significant increase in civic moral disengagement over the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic. The levels of perceived stress, worry, and state anxiety remained constant. The correlations between the variables at different times were also explored, as well as gender differences over the year. The COVID-19 emergency has had significant effects on the mental state of the population, with important repercussions for individual and collective well-being during but probably also after the pandemic. This study offers a clear snapshot of the psychological outcomes over one COVID-19 pandemic year, providing important information that may contribute to tailor more effective interventions for mental health.

scholarly journals Validity and reliability of the Self-Care Activities Screening Scale (SASS-14) during COVID-19 lockdown

2021 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Martín Martínez ◽  
Elkin O. Luis ◽  
Edwin Yair Oliveros ◽  
Pablo Fernández-Berrocal ◽  
Ainize Sarrionandia ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
General Population ◽  
Perceived Stress ◽  
Convergent Validity ◽  
Self Care ◽  
Internal Validity ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Validity And Reliability ◽  
Good Reliability ◽  
Confirmatory Factor Analyses ◽  
Health Consciousness

Abstract Background In a context where there is no treatment for the current COVID-19 virus, the combination of self-care behaviours together with confinement, are strategies to decrease the risk of contagion and remain healthy. However, there are no self-care measures to screen self-care activities in general population and which, could be briefly in a lockdown situation. This research aims to build and validate a psychometric tool to screen self-care activities in general population. Methods Firstly, an exploratory factor analysis was performed in a sample of 226 participants to discover the underlying factorial structure and to reduce the number of items in the original tool into a significant pool of items related to self-care. Later a confirmatory factor analyses were performed in a new sample of 261 participants to test for the fit and goodness of factor solutions. Internal validity, reliability, and convergent validity between its score with perceived stress and psychological well-being measures were examined on this sample. Results The exploratory analyses suggested a four-factor solution, corresponding to health consciousness, nutrition and physical activity, sleep, and intra-personal and inter-personal coping skills (14 items). Then, the four-factor structure was confirmed as the best model fit for self-care activities. The tool demonstrated good reliability, predictive validity of individuals’ perception of coping with COVID-19 lockdown, and convergent validity with well-being and perceived stress. Conclusions This screening tool could be helpful to address future evaluations and interventions to promote healthy behaviours. Likewise, this tool can be targeted to specific population self-care’s needs during a scalable situation.

Perceived stress and psychological well-being of working mothers during COVID-19: a mediated moderated roles of teleworking and resilience

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Vartika Kapoor ◽  
Jaya Yadav ◽  
Lata Bajpai ◽  
Shalini Srivastava
Keyword(s):  
Perceived Stress ◽  
Working Mothers ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Inverse Association ◽  
Psychological Well Being ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Impact ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Practical Implications

PurposeThe present study examines the mediating role of teleworking and the moderating role of resilience in explaining the relationship between perceived stress and psychological well-being of working mothers in India. Conservation of resource theory (COR) is taken to support the present study.Design/methodology/approachThe data of 326 respondents has been collected from working mothers in various sectors of Delhi NCR region of India. Confirmatory factor analysis was used for construct validity, and SPSS Macro Process (Hayes) was used for testing the hypotheses.FindingsThe results of the study found an inverse association between perceived stress and psychological well-being. Teleworking acted as a partial mediator and resilience proved to be a significant moderator for teleworking-well-being relationship.Research limitations/implicationsThe study is based at Delhi NCR of India, and future studies may be based on a diverse population within the country to generalize the findings in different cultural and industrial contexts. The present work is based only on the psychological well-being of the working mothers, it can be extended to study the organizational stress for both the genders and other demographic variables.Practical implicationsThe study extends the research on perceived stress and teleworking by empirically testing the association between perceived stress and psychological well-being in the presence of teleworking as a mediating variable. The findings suggest some practical implications for HR managers and OD Practitioners. The organizations must develop a plan to support working mothers by providing flexible working hours and arranging online stress management programs for them.Originality/valueAlthough teleworking is studied previously, there is a scarcity of research examining the impact of teleworking on psychological well-being of working mothers in Asian context. It would help in understanding the process that how teleworking has been stressful for working mothers and also deliberate the role of resilience in the relationship between teleworking and psychological well-being due to perceived stress, as it seems a ray of hope in new normal work situations.

Relationships Between Perfectionism, Stress, and Basic Need Support Provision in Dance Teachers and Aesthetic Sport Coaches

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sanna M. Nordin-Bates ◽  
Gareth Jowett
Keyword(s):  
Perceived Stress ◽  
Autonomy Support ◽  
Structural Equation ◽  
Basic Needs ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Performance Outcomes ◽  
Equation Modeling ◽  
Dance Teachers ◽  
Socially Prescribed Perfectionism ◽  
Sport Coaches

A substantial body of evidence links perfectionism to well-being and performance outcomes in dancers and athletes. Yet, we know relatively little about leaders’ perfectionism in dance and sport. This is important because leaders’ perfectionism likely impacts both themselves and their performers. In this study, we examined relationships between leader perfectionism, their provision of basic needs support, and whether stress explains these relationships. Aesthetic activity leaders (N = 463; n = 336 dance teachers, n = 127 aesthetic sport coaches, and n = 376 female; Mean age = 35.47 and SD = 12.46 years) completed an online questionnaire measuring multidimensional perfectionism (self-oriented perfectionism, SOP; socially prescribed perfectionism, SPP; and other-oriented perfectionism, OOP), self-reported provision of basic needs support (autonomy, competence, and relatedness), and perceived stress. Correlations suggested that leaders displaying higher levels of any perfectionism dimension (SOP, SPP, and OOP) provided less support for autonomy and perceived higher levels of stress. Leaders displaying higher levels of SPP also reported providing less support for competence. Structural equation modeling revealed that perceived stress partially mediated the relationships between perfectionism and provision of basic needs support. Socially prescribed perfectionism shared a negative indirect relationship with autonomy support as well as negative direct and indirect relationships with competence support, both via perceived stress. By contrast, OOP shared positive indirect relationships with autonomy support and competence support via perceived stress. Based on these findings, it would be prudent for dance and sport organizations to minimize pressures on leaders to be perfect, help them identify how their perfectionism impacts both themselves and others, and work with them to optimize basic needs support.

Efficacy of ‘Foundations’, a Digital Mental Health App to Improve Mental Well-Being, during COVID-19: A Proof-of-Principle Randomised Controlled Trial (Preprint)

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Silvina Catuara-Solarz ◽  
Bartlomiej Skorulski ◽  
Inaki Estella ◽  
Claudia Avella-Garcia ◽  
Sarah Shepherd ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Perceived Stress ◽  
Intervention Group ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Self Report ◽  
World Health ◽  
Randomised Control Trial ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Mental Well Being ◽  
Proof Of Principle

BACKGROUND Against a long-term trend of increasing demand, the COVID-19 pandemic has led to a global rise in common mental disorders. Now more than ever, there is an urgent need for scalable, evidence-based interventions to support mental well-being. OBJECTIVE The aim of this proof-of-principle study was to evaluate the efficacy of a mobile-based app in adults with self-reported symptoms of anxiety and stress in a randomised control trial that took place during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in the UK. METHODS Adults with mild to severe anxiety and moderate to high levels of perceived stress were randomised to either the intervention or control arm. Participants in the intervention arm were given access to the app, Foundations, for the duration of the 4-week study. All participants were required to self-report a range of validated measures of mental well-being (10-item Connor-Davidson Resilience scale [CD-RISC-10]; 7-item Generalised Anxiety Disorder scale [GAD-7]; Office of National Statistics Four Subjective Well-being Questions [ONS-4]; World Health Organisation-5 Well-Being Index [WHO-5]) and sleep (Minimal Insomnia Scale [MISS]) at baseline and weeks 2 and 4; and, in addition, on perceived stress weekly (10-item Perceived Stress Score [PSS]). RESULTS 136 participants completed the study and were included in the final analysis. The intervention group (n=62) showed significant improvements compared to the control group (n=74) on measures of anxiety (GAD-7 score, delta from baseline to week 2 in the intervention group: -1.35 [SD 4.43]; control group: -0.23 [SD 3.24]; t134= 1.71 , P=.04), resilience (CD-RISC score, delta from baseline to week 2 in the intervention group: 1.79 [± SD 4.08]; control group: -0.31 [± SD 3.16]; t134 -3.37, P<.001), sleep (MISS score, delta from baseline to week 2 in the intervention group: -1.16 [± SD 2.67]; control group: -0.26 [± SD 2.29]; t134= 2.13, P=.01), and mental well-being (WHO-5 score, delta from baseline to week 2 in the intervention group: 1.53 [5.30]; control group: -0.23 [± SD 4.20]; t134= -2.16, P=.02) within 2 weeks of using Foundations, with further improvements emerging at week 4. Perceived stress was also reduced within the intervention group, although the results did not reach statistical significance relative to the control group (PSS score, delta from baseline to week 2 in the intervention group: -2.94 [± SD 6.84]; control group: -2.05 [± SD 5.34]; t134= 0.84, P=.20). CONCLUSIONS This study provides proof-of-principle that the digital mental health app, Foundations, can improve measures of mental well-being, anxiety, resilience, and sleep within 2 weeks of use, with greater effects after 4 weeks. It therefore offers potential as a scalable, cost-effective, and accessible solution to enhance mental well-being, even during times of crisis such as the COVID-19 pandemic.

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