Is it Time to Characterize Burnout as a Depressive Syndrome? A Review of Recent Research

IntroductionMore than 40 years after the introduction of the construct in the literature, the status of “burnout” remains unclear. Whether burnout is anything other than a depressive syndrome has been increasingly discussed in recent years.ObjectivesWe examined the extent to which burnout can be considered distinct from depression.MethodsWe reviewed the literature dedicated to burnout-depression overlap over the last decade.ResultsRecent research suggests that burnout and depression overlap in terms of (a) etiology, with (chronic) unresolvable stress a common, key causal factor, (b) clinical picture and course, with burnout and depressive manifestations inextricably linked such that they increase or decrease together over time, (c) cognitive biases, with burnout and depressive symptoms similarly predicting increased attention to negative stimuli and decreased attention to positive stimuli, (d) dispositional correlates (e.g, neuroticism, rumination, pessimism), and (e) allostatic load—an index of the biological cost of adaptation to life adversity. Hypocortisolism has been linked to both burnout and depression with atypical features—a highly prevalent form of depression. The often-invoked argument that burnout is singularized by its job-related character is actually invalid given that (a) depression can also be job-related and (b) the “job-relatedness” of a syndrome is not nosologically discriminant in itself.ConclusionsRobust evidence that burnout overlaps with depression has accumulated in recent years. The burnout construct is unlikely to capture a distinct pathological phenomenon. We propose that burnout be characterized as a depressive syndrome for the sake of conceptual parsimony, theoretical clarity, and effective public health policies.Disclosure of interestThe authors have not supplied their declaration of competing interest.

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Acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) predictive factors of return to work after depression

European Psychiatry ◽

10.1016/j.eurpsy.2016.01.1475 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 33 (S1) ◽

pp. S408-S408

Author(s):

S. Darbeda ◽

J.C. Seznec

Keyword(s):

Sick Leave ◽

Return To Work ◽

Predictive Factors ◽

Experiential Avoidance ◽

Depressive Syndrome ◽

Third Wave ◽

Multicentric Study ◽

Acceptance And Commitment ◽

Competing Interest ◽

Acceptance Therapy

IntroductionProlonged sick leaves are a major risk to quit the world of work and depression is the leading cause of disability in France. New therapies from the third wave of CBT as the Commitment and Acceptance Therapy (ACT) may be interesting to promote the return to work (RTW).ObjectivesTo assess predictive factors of return to work after depression.MethodsThis is a descriptive, prospective and multicentric study. The recruitment of investigating doctors was conducted by the publication of an advertisement in a French journal of occupational medicine. Each investigator recruited patients during reinstatement medical examination after a prolonged sick leave for depressive syndrome. Sociodemographic, occupational, medical and psychological factors (particularly in connection with the ACT) was assessed at baseline and 3 months later.ResultsThirty-one patients were initially included in the study, but 2 were lost to follow up at 3 months and 29 were analyzed. Twenty three patients RTW at 3 months. Those who RTW were less anxious (P = 0.023), less depressed (P = 0.021), had a better impression of improvement (P = 0.0066) and had a lower score of experiential avoidance (P = 0.0025).ConclusionsThe ACT, through its action on the reduction of experiential avoidance, and the definitions of new life values could allow a faster RTW after a sick leave for depressive syndrome.Disclosure of interestThe authors have not supplied their declaration of competing interest.

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The Case Against Cognitive Enhancement: Responding to the Reversal Test

10.26686/wgtn.16958542 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

◽

Alice Monro

Keyword(s):

Cognitive Biases ◽

Cognitive Enhancement ◽

Burden Of Proof ◽

Status Quo ◽

Cognitive Capacity ◽

Status Quo Bias ◽

Unequal Distribution ◽

The Status ◽

The Individual ◽

Reversal Test

<p>In this thesis I argue against the use of genetic technologies to enhance human cognitive capacities. More specifically, I respond to Nick Bostrom and Toby Ord's "Reversal Test", which they use to argue in favour of genetic cognitive enhancement. The Reversal Test is a burden of proof challenge designed to diagnose status quo bias in arguments against enhancement. By noting that most of those who oppose raisingintelligence would also oppose lowering intelligence, the Reversal Test puts the onuson opponents of enhancement to explain why both increases and decreases in our cognitive capacity would be worse than the status quo (our current level of intelligence). Bostrom and Ord claim that if no good reasons can be provided, this indicates that the opposition to enhancement is influenced by status quo bias. Since cognitive biases cannot provide a moral reason against enhancement, opposition to genetic cognitive enhancement shown to be affected by status quo bias canaccordingly be discounted. The aim of my thesis, then, is to overcome the Reversal Test' s burden of proof challenge by showing that my reasons for opposing cognitive enhancement are notinfluenced by status quo bias. However, I do not argue that enhanced intelligence could not be beneficial to the individual. Instead, I claim that the probable unequal distribution of enhancements between the best- and worst-off would be likely to cause serious injustices to those who are unable to afford them.</p>

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Biological Correlates of the Effects of Cognitive Remediation in the Psychoses

European Psychiatry ◽

10.1016/j.eurpsy.2017.01.206 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 41 (S1) ◽

pp. S48-S48

Author(s):

R. Penades

Keyword(s):

Structural Changes ◽

Neuroprotective Effect ◽

Cognitive Remediation ◽

Serum Levels ◽

Brain Functioning ◽

The Status ◽

Competing Interest ◽

Positive Effect ◽

Dopamine Modulation

Cognitive Remediation Therapy (CRT) deals with the cognitive impairment, which is one of the most disabling symptoms of schizophrenia. Unfortunately, the understanding of its neurobiological correlates is far from complete. Neuroimaging studies have shown that CRT is able to induce neurobiological changes although the results have not always been enough replicated. The most commonly reported changes were those that involved the prefrontal and thalamic regions. Additionally, structural changes were described in both the grey and white matter, suggesting a neuroprotective effect of cognitive remediation. Neuroimaging studies of cognitive remediation in patients with schizophrenia suggest a positive effect on brain functioning in terms of the functional reorganisation of neural networks. From a different perspective, some changes in serum levels of Brain derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) have been described. However, our replication of this trial has not been able to find any significant differences. So, nowadays the status of BDNF as a biomarker of cognitive recovery is possibly premature. One possible explanation can be the role of genetics and their different polymorphisms. COMT and BDNF polymorphisms could be accounting for the different outcomes of CRT. Moreover, some studies suggested a role of genes affecting dopamine modulation on outcomes of cognitive remediation.Disclosure of interestThe author declares that he has no competing interest.

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Psychological interventions for cognitive dysfunction in MDD

10.1093/med/9780198835554.003.0008 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 65-78

Author(s):

Bernhard T. Baune

Keyword(s):

Cognitive Training ◽

Cognitive Biases ◽

Therapeutic Option ◽

Behavioural Therapy ◽

Psychological Interventions ◽

Attentional Allocation ◽

Cognitive Interventions ◽

Training Interventions ◽

Cognitive Behavioural ◽

Positive Stimuli

The chapter psychological interventions for cognitive function in MDD outlines promising cognitive training interventions that may yield neuropsychological, cognitive, emotional, and functional benefits for patients diagnosed with major depressive disorder (MDD). The chapter reviews how psychological interventions such as cognitive behavioural therapy are aimed to address cognitive biases, which include distorted information appraisal or attentional allocation towards negative and away from positive stimuli. It emphasizes that specific cognitive interventions target cognitive deficits and that the use of cognitive training represents a promising and novel therapeutic option which may yield neuropsychological, affective, functional, and behavioural improvements in patients with MDD.

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The Case Against Cognitive Enhancement: Responding to the Reversal Test

10.26686/wgtn.16958542.v1 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

◽

Alice Monro

Keyword(s):

Cognitive Biases ◽

Cognitive Enhancement ◽

Burden Of Proof ◽

Status Quo ◽

Cognitive Capacity ◽

Status Quo Bias ◽

Unequal Distribution ◽

The Status ◽

The Individual ◽

Reversal Test

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‘’s Graeflijckheyts spaer-pot met sulck ellendigh in-komen … te verrijcken’

Pro Memorie ◽

10.5117/pm2021.2.006.sick ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 23 (2) ◽

pp. 237-265

Author(s):

Louis Sicking ◽

Jan de Klerk

Keyword(s):

Seventeenth Century ◽

Interest Groups ◽

Middle Ages ◽

Dutch Republic ◽

Content Type ◽

Late Middle Ages ◽

Hugo Grotius ◽

The Status ◽

The Law ◽

Competing Interest

Abstract In the Middle Ages, goods washed up on the beach or fished up from the sea were an important economic asset. The customs and rules that determined the status of these goods are referred to as the ‘law of wreck’ or ‘right of wreck’. Several competing interest groups were involved: the local inhabitants as salvagers, finders or beach combers; merchants, skippers and ship-owners; landowners and the prince. Seventeenth century Dutch lawyers like Hugo Grotius and Johan van Heemskerk painted a favourable picture of the law of wreck in the Dutch Republic by pointing to the greed of the medieval counts of Holland who would only have exploited the misery of castaways. This article shows how the law of wreck developed in Holland and Zeeland in the late Middle Ages and how its rules were applied in the stewardship of North Holland between 1340 and 1400. Although the preserved accounts of the stewardship show that the count did take advantage of washed up goods, the count also had drowned people found on the beach buried and allowed merchants who could prove their goods had washed up on the Dutch beach to recover them.

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Unsticking the status quo

Management Research Review ◽

10.1108/mrr-08-2015-0183 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 40 (2) ◽

pp. 122-141 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Brittany Harker Martin

Keyword(s):

Loss Aversion ◽

Reference Point ◽

Cognitive Biases ◽

Social Systems ◽

Status Quo ◽

Systematic Change ◽

Behavioral Strategy ◽

Content Type ◽

The Status ◽

Chi Square Analysis

Purpose Managerial mindset and cognitive bias can be barriers to any transformation strategy. In the case of telework, most employees express willingness to telework, yet, few firms formally enable it during regular business hours. The status quo is a daily commute to the traditional workplace. The purpose of this paper is to test framing interventions designed to harness cognitive biases through choice architecture. Design/methodology/approach Drawing upon behavioral strategy and prospect theory, this paper presents two studies: quasi-experiments with 146 senior business students and experiments in the field (replication using random assignment and extension) with 84 senior decision makers. Both studies use a one-way between-subjects design and chi-square analysis. Findings Findings support the proposition that, although cognitive biases can act as barriers to transformation, they can be re-framed through strategic interventions. Specifically, in both studies, there was a drastic increase in adoption simply by changing the way the choice was presented. Findings in the lab were cross-validated in the field. Observed shifts in preferences provide evidence that embedding the right reference point within communications can frame a decision choice more favorably. Findings also support that a bias for an implicitly perceived status quo can be overruled through an explicitly stated reference point. Research limitations/implications It is an assumption of behavioral strategy that most individuals simply respond to the gains/loss framing without being influenced by other psychological or contextual factors, and though these effects dissipate through aggregation, it is a limitation nonetheless. Indeed, using an individual construct to explain an organizational phenomenon is a well-debated topic in the field of strategy, with proponents on both sides. The distinguishing factor, here, is that behavioral strategists are only interested in results at the aggregated level. Practical implications Practitioners attempting to roll out telework adoption, or any transformation, now have proven strategies for designing frames of reference that intervene against and harness the power of loss aversion and the status quo. Social implications This paper measures micro processes that have an effect at the macro level. It explains systematic aversion to adoption as an aggregation of decision-making behavior that is seemingly subconscious. In doing so, it highlights the impact of bounded rationality perpetuated through social systems, while measuring effective interventions designed to make systematic behavior more predictable. Originality/value A novel contribution is made in designing/testing a new frame for systematic resistance to change that frames the status quo as the losing prospect. In this frame, the perceived loss is in the choice not to change, and loss aversion proves to be an effective tool for facilitating systematic change.

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Feasibility of using QR Codes in Highway Construction Document Management

Transportation Research Record Journal of the Transportation Research Board ◽

10.1177/0361198118776133 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 2672 (26) ◽

pp. 114-123

Author(s):

Hyun Woo Lee ◽

Bharat Anand Harapanahalli ◽

Chukwuma Nnaji ◽

Jonghyeob Kim ◽

John Gambatese

Keyword(s):

Online Survey ◽

Highway Construction ◽

Document Management ◽

Project Teams ◽

Qr Codes ◽

The Status ◽

Infrastructure Project ◽

Time Savings ◽

And Storage ◽

Prevalent Form

Highway construction occasionally takes place in remote locations, making its document management challenging especially when frequent document revisions occur. With the recent advancement of smartphones and tablets, Quick Response (QR) codes can provide project teams rapid and reliable access to up-to-date documents required for field operations. As a result, the use of QR codes can lead to a reduced need for traveling or meeting for document revisions, and reduce the amount of hardcopy documents and storage space. Despite the potential for significant benefits, there have been few studies aimed at assessing the feasibility of using QR codes in highway construction. In response, the objective of the study was to investigate the benefits of and barriers to using QR codes in highway construction for document management. To conduct the study, first a multi-step process was used, involving an online survey and interviews, with a goal of determining the status quo of highway construction in terms of document management and mobile information technology (IT). The results indicate that hardcopy documentation is still the most prevalent form of document management in highway construction, and hence there is an opportunity for implementing QR codes in conjunction with mobile IT. In the second part of the study, a time study using a real-world infrastructure project was conducted based on three activities: detail look up, specification check, and version check. As a result, the study found statistical evidence that using QR codes can lead to significant time savings.

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Impact of language fluency level on patients’ pathway and clinical outcome of the Japanese psychiatric service

European Psychiatry ◽

10.1016/j.eurpsy.2016.01.1456 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 33 (S1) ◽

pp. S403-S403

Author(s):

A. Yuasa ◽

S. Nagasawa ◽

A. Yu

Keyword(s):

Psychiatric Service ◽

Significant Proportion ◽

Japanese Patients ◽

Psychiatric Clinic ◽

Language Fluency ◽

Language Abilities ◽

Psychiatric Institutions ◽

The Status ◽

The Common ◽

Competing Interest

Language fluency often impacts on patients’ behaviors. It might affect their pathways, how they find an available psychiatric clinic, and the clinical outcomes, if they continue their treatments. Multicultural services deficiency is serious concern in Japanese psychiatric fields. According to the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare in 2014, more than two million of foreign visitors live in Japan, however, the psychiatric institutions providing multilingual services are rare and inadequate comparing the situation in Europe. The research sets the objective of analyzing the status quo in a multi-language providing psychiatric clinic, how the pathways and outcomes of language diffluent patients differ from these of the local patients. It further aims to find the significance of foreign patients, and strives the improvement of language services for non-native patients in Japanese mental health cares. The research utilized and quantitatively analyzed the retrospective research data among 900 Japanese patients and 902 non-Japanese patients, who have visited a psychiatric clinic located in Tokyo. The analysis revealed that the significant proportion of foreign patients relied on their acquaintances as their pathways, and that the lower their language levels were, the higher proportion they had this path. For the outcomes, the lower their language levels were, the higher continuity status they had. Our research suggested that two of the common ways to find a psychiatric service when local patients suffer from psychopathological maladjustments are researching Homepages and neighboring clinics, however, the foreigners with limited language abilities tended to follow the different pathways and outcome patterns.Disclosure of interestThe authors have not supplied their declaration of competing interest.

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