Impact of COVID-19 lockdown on individuals under treatment for substance use disorders: Risk factors for adverse mental health outcomes

Background: Over half of all mental health conditions have their onset in adolescence. Large-scale epidemiological studies have identified relevant environmental risk factors for mental health problems. Yet, few have focused on potential mediating inter- and intrapersonal processes in daily life, hampering intervention development. Objectives: To investigate 1) the impact of environmental risk factors on changes in inter- and intrapersonal processes; 2) the impact of altered inter- and intrapersonal processes on the development of (sub)clinical mental health symptoms in adolescents and; 3) the extent to which changes in inter- and intrapersonal processes mediate the association between environmental risk factors and the mental health outcomes in adolescents.Methods: ‘SIGMA’ is an accelerated longitudinal study of adolescents aged 12 to 18 from across Flanders, Belgium. Using self-report questionnaires, experience sampling, an experimental task, and wearables, we are investigating the relationship between environmental risk factors (e.g. trauma, parenting), inter- and intrapersonal processes (e.g. real-life social interaction and interpersonal functioning) and mental health outcomes (e.g. psychopathology, self-harm) over time. Results: N= 1913 adolescents (63% female) aged 11 – 20, from 22 schools, participated. The range of educational trajectories within the sample was broadly representative of the Flemish general adolescent population.Conclusions: Our findings will enable us to answer fundamental questions about inter- and intrapersonal processes involved in the development and maintenance of poor mental health in adolescence. This includes insights regarding the role of daily-life social and cognitive-affective processes, gained by using experience sampling. The accelerated longitudinal design enables rapid insights into developmental and cohort effects.

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Loneliness in the UK during the COVID-19 pandemic: Cross-sectional results from The COVID-19 Psychological Wellbeing Study

10.31234/osf.io/j2pce ◽

2020 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Jenny Groarke ◽

Emma Berry ◽

Lisa Graham-Wisener ◽

Phoebe McKenna-Plumley ◽

Emily McGlinchey ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Mental Health ◽

Risk Factors ◽

Emotion Regulation ◽

Health Outcomes ◽

Mental Health Outcomes ◽

Psychological Wellbeing ◽

Public Health Issue ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

The Uk ◽

The Impact

Objectives: Loneliness is a significant public health issue. The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in lockdown measures limiting social contact. The UK public are worried about the impact of these measures on mental health outcomes. Understanding the prevalence and predictors of loneliness at this time is a priority issue for research. Design: The study employed a cross-sectional online survey design. Method: Baseline data collected between March 23rd and April 24th 2020 from UK adults in the COVID-19 Psychological Wellbeing Study were analysed (N = 1963, 18-87 years, M = 37.11, SD = 12.86, 70% female). Logistic regression analysis was used to look at the influence of sociodemographic, social, health and COVID-19 specific factors on loneliness. Results: The prevalence of loneliness was 27% (530/1963). Risk factors for loneliness were younger age group (OR: 4.67 – 5.31), being separated or divorced (OR: 2.29), meeting clinical criteria for major depression (OR: 1.74), greater emotion regulation difficulties (OR: 1.04), and poor quality sleep due to the COVID-19 crisis (OR: 1.30). Higher levels of social support (OR: 0.92), being married/co-habiting (OR: 0.35) and living with a great number of adults (OR: 0.87) were protective factors. Conclusions: Rates of loneliness during the initial phase of lockdown were high. Risk factors were not specific to the COVID-19 crisis. Findings suggest that supportive interventions to reduce loneliness should prioritise younger people and those with mental health symptoms. Improving emotion regulation and sleep quality may be optimal initial targets to reduce the impact of COVID-19 regulations on mental health outcomes.

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Understanding Neighborhoods’ Impact on Youth Substance Use and Mental Health Outcomes in Paterson, New Jersey: Protocol for a Community-Based Participatory Research Study

JMIR Research Protocols ◽

10.2196/29427 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 10 (5) ◽

pp. e29427

Author(s):

Ijeoma Opara ◽

Noelle R Leonard ◽

Daneele Thorpe ◽

Trace Kershaw

Keyword(s):

Mental Health ◽

Substance Use ◽

New Jersey ◽

Health Outcomes ◽

Participatory Research ◽

Quantitative Methods ◽

Urban Community ◽

Community Based Participatory Research ◽

Mental Health Outcomes ◽

Community Based

Background Substance use among youth is a major public health concern. Of note, substance use among youth is increasing in prevalence, and the incidence of substance use at earlier ages is rising. Given the long-term consequences of early substance use, it is important to identify factors that increase youth vulnerability to drug use, as they may be important targets for future interventions. Objective This study aims to use innovative methods, such as venue-based sampling, to recruit youth who are disconnected from school and use community-based participatory research to gain a better understanding of the prevalence of substance use and important correlates among youth aged between 13 and 21 years in Paterson, New Jersey, a low-income, urban community. The study will use a convergent, mixed methods design involving multiple data collection components and the analysis of a ministrative data source, designed with the strengths of complex intervention frameworks in mind. The overall aims of the study are to identify the prevalence of substance use among youth who are engaged in school and not engaged in school; to understand important antecedents and correlates of substance use; and to use this information to inform social, environmental, and culturally appropriate interventions to address substance use and its correlates among youths in a lower-resourced urban community. Methods This study will use both qualitative and quantitative methods to address important questions. Specifically, semistructured interviews using focus group and interview methodologies will be used to assess youths’ lived experiences and will account for specific details that quantitative methods may not be able to attain. In addition, quantitative methods will be used to examine direct and multilevel associations between neighborhood factors and youth substance use and mental health outcomes. Results A previous analysis from a substance use initiative in Paterson, New Jersey found that youth who use substances such as marijuana and alcohol are more likely to have higher rates of depression and anxiety. On the basis of the research questions, this study will examine the association between neighborhood characteristics, substance use, and mental health symptoms among youth in Paterson by using quantitative and qualitative methods and will use these findings to inform the adaptation of a community- and evidence-based substance use prevention intervention for these youths. Conclusions The findings of this study will provide an important contribution to understanding the role of socioecological factors in predicting substance use and mental health outcomes among youth in a lower-resourced, urban community. Furthermore, these findings will serve as evidence for the development of a culturally informed, community-based prevention program to address substance use disparities for youth, including those who are truant in Paterson, New Jersey. International Registered Report Identifier (IRRID) PRR1-10.2196/29427

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Mental health of health care workers during the COVID-19 pandemic and evidence-based frameworks for mitigation: A rapid review

10.1101/2021.01.03.21249166 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Ajay Major ◽

Fay J Hlubocky

Keyword(s):

Mental Health ◽

Risk Factors ◽

Health Care ◽

Health Outcomes ◽

Health Care Workers ◽

Mental Health Outcomes ◽

Rapid Review ◽

Evidence Based ◽

Care Workers ◽

Pubmed Database

Background: The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has profoundly affected the mental health of health care workers (HCWs), and optimal strategies to provide psychological support for HCWs are not currently established. Aims: To rapidly review recently-published literature on the mental health of HCWs during the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: Query of all quantitative research through the PubMed database on the mental health of HCWs during the COVID-19 pandemic which utilized validated mental health instruments. 723 articles were screened and 87 articles were included. Results: Nearly all included studies were cross-sectional, survey-based assessments of the prevalence of and risk factors for mental illness. Only one interventional study was identified. Prevalence of mental health outcomes varied widely: 7.0-97.3% anxiety, 10.6-62.1% depression, 2.2-93.8% stress, 3.8-56.6% post traumatic stress, 8.3-88.4% insomnia, and 21.8-46.3% burnout. Risk and protective factors were identified in personal and professional domains, including degree of COVID-19 exposure, adequacy of protective equipment, and perception of organizational support. Conclusions: The myriad risk factors for poor mental health among HCWs suggests that a comprehensive psychosocial support model with individual- and organization-level interventions is necessary. Further longitudinal research on specific evidence-based interventions to mitigate adverse mental health outcomes among HCWs is urgently needed as the pandemic continues.

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An analysis of within-subject and population level risk related to substance use and mental health outcomes among adolescents in the PATH study

Drug and Alcohol Dependence ◽

10.1016/j.drugalcdep.2020.108385 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 218 ◽

pp. 108385

Author(s):

Xiao Li ◽

Jacob T. Borodovsky ◽

Erin M. Kasson ◽

Andrea Fentem ◽

Patricia A. Cavazos-Rehg

Keyword(s):

Mental Health ◽

Substance Use ◽

Health Outcomes ◽

Population Level ◽

Mental Health Outcomes

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Personal and psychosocial risk factors for physical and mental health outcomes and course of depression among depressed patients.

Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology ◽

10.1037/0022-006x.63.3.345 ◽

1995 ◽

Vol 63 (3) ◽

pp. 345-355 ◽

Cited By ~ 95

Author(s):

Cathy Donald Sherbourne ◽

Ron D. Hays ◽

Kenneth B. Wells

Keyword(s):

Mental Health ◽

Risk Factors ◽

Health Outcomes ◽

Psychosocial Risk Factors ◽

Psychosocial Risk ◽

Mental Health Outcomes ◽

Physical And Mental Health ◽

Depressed Patients ◽

Course Of Depression

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How Does Spiritual Intelligence Relate to Mental Health in a Western Sample?

Journal of Humanistic Psychology ◽

10.1177/0022167817741041 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 60 (3) ◽

pp. 400-417 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Derek A. Giannone ◽

Daniel Kaplin

Keyword(s):

Mental Health ◽

Substance Use ◽

Health Outcomes ◽

Depression Scale ◽

Epidemiologic Studies ◽

Spiritual Intelligence ◽

Self Report ◽

Mental Health Outcomes ◽

Future Research ◽

Cast Doubt

This study investigates a recently developed model of spiritual intelligence in relation to the common mental health concerns of depression, anxiety, and substance use. Three-hundred and fifty-three undergraduate psychology students responded to the Spiritual Intelligence Self-Report Inventory, the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale–Revised, the Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7, and the Drug, Alcohol, and Nicotine scale. We hypothesized spiritual intelligence would be negatively associated with the study’s mental health outcomes. A secondary aim was to examine the contributions of spiritual intelligence model components to mental health. Overall spiritual intelligence was not associated with anxiety, depression, or substance use. Examination of the relationships between spiritual intelligence components and mental health suggested this model lacks cohesiveness in relation to mental health. While the capacity to critically examine existential issues was associated with increased depression and anxiety, the ability to draw meaning and purpose from experience was associated with improvements in all mental health outcomes. These findings cast doubt on the construct of spiritual intelligence and suggest that existential thinking and the production of meaning may be closely related to mental health. Future research should explore differences in spiritual intelligence components and their associations with mental health among varying religious affiliations.

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Factors linked to changes in mental health outcomes among Brazilians in quarantine due to COVID-19

10.1101/2020.05.12.20099374 ◽

2020 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Alberto Filgueiras ◽

Matthew Stults-Kolehmainen

Keyword(s):

Mental Health ◽

Risk Factors ◽

Health Outcomes ◽

State Anxiety ◽

Repeated Measures ◽

Perceived Risk ◽

Female Gender ◽

Mental Health Outcomes ◽

Depression And Anxiety ◽

Exercise Frequency

AbstractThe 2020 COVID-19 pandemic is a crisis of global proportions with a significant impact on the country of Brazil. The aims of this investigation were to track changes and risk factors for mental health outcomes during state-mandated quarantine. Adults residing in Brazil (n = 360, 37.9 years of age, 68.9% female) were surveyed at the start of quarantine and 1 month later. Outcomes assessed included perceived stress, state anxiety and depression. Aside from demographics, behaviors and attitudes assessed included exercise, diet, use of tele-psychotherapy and number of COVID-19 related risk factors, such as perceived risk of COVID-19, information overload, and feeling imprisoned. Overall, all mental health outcomes worsened from Time 1 to time 2, although there was a significant gender x time interaction for stress. 9.7% of the sample reported stress above the clinical cut-off (2 SD above mean), while 8.0% and 9.4% were above this cutoff for depression and anxiety, respectively. In repeated measures analysis, female gender, worsening diet and excess of COVID-19 information was related to all mental health outcomes. Changes in diet for the worse were associated with increases in anxiety. Exercise frequency was clearly related to state anxiety (0 days/week > 6 days/week). Those who did aerobic exercise did not have any increase in depression. Use of tele-psychotherapy predicted lower levels of depression and anxiety. In multiple regression, anxiety was predicted by the greatest number of COVID-19 specific factors. In conclusion, mental health outcomes worsened for Brazilians during the first month of quarantine and these changes are associated with a variety of risk factors.

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