A Study of Mental Health Risk and Protective Factors Associated with Child Maltreatment Fatalities

BackgroundIn low- and middle-income countries little is known about changes in women's mental health status from the perinatal period to 15 months postpartum or the factors associated with different trajectories.AimsTo determine the incidence and rates of recovery from common mental disorders (CMD) among rural Vietnamese women and the risk and protective factors associated with these outcomes from the perinatal period to 15 months after giving birth.MethodIn a population-based prospective study, a systematically recruited cohort of women completed baseline assessments in either the last trimester of pregnancy or 4–6 weeks after giving birth and were followed up 15 months later. The common mental disorders of major depression, generalised anxiety and panic disorder were assessed by psychiatrist-administered Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV Disorders at both baseline and follow-up.ResultsA total of 211 women provided complete data in this study. The incidence rate of CMD in the first postpartum year was 13% (95% CI 8–19), and 70% (95% CI 59–80) of women who had perinatal CMD recovered within the first postpartum year. Incidence was associated with having experienced childhood maltreatment, experiencing the intimate partner as providing little care, sensitivity, kindness or affection, and the chronic stress of household poverty. Recovery was associated with higher quality of a woman's relationships with her intimate partner and her own mother, longer period of mandated rest following birth, and sharing of domestic tasks and infant care.ConclusionsModifiable social factors, in particular the quality of a woman's closest relationships with her partner and her own mother, and participation by family members in domestic work and infant care, are closely related to women's mental health in the first year after giving birth in resource-constrained settings.

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Evaluating Risk and Protective Factors for Suicidality and Self-Harm in Australian Adolescents With Traditional Bullying and Cyberbullying Victimizations

American Journal of Health Promotion ◽

10.1177/08901171211034105 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 089011712110341

Author(s):

Md Irteja Islam ◽

Fakir Md Yunus ◽

Enamul Kabir ◽

Rasheda Khanam

Keyword(s):

Mental Health ◽

Substance Use ◽

Mental Disorder ◽

Protective Factors ◽

Risk And Protective Factors ◽

Parental Distress ◽

Traditional Bullying ◽

Factors Associated ◽

Self Harm ◽

Bullying Victims

Purpose: To identify and compare important risk and protective factors associated with suicidality and self-harm among traditional bullying and cyberbullying victims aged 14-17-years in Australia. Design: Cross-sectional population-based study. Setting: Young Minds Matter, a nationwide survey in Australia. Subjects: Adolescents aged 14-17-years (n = 2125). Measures: Suicidality and self-harm were outcome variables, and explanatory variables included sociodemographic factors (age, gender, country of birth, household income, location, family type), risk factors (parental distress, family functioning, family history of substance use, child substance use, mental disorder, psychosis, eating disorders, sexual activity) and protective factors (high self-esteem, positive mental health or resilience, school connectedness, sleep) among 2 types of bullying victims—traditional and cyber. Traditional bullying includes physical (hit, kick, push) or verbal (tease, rumors, threat, ignorance), and cyberbullying includes teasing messages/pictures via email, social medial using the internet and/or mobile phones. Analysis: Bivariate analysis and binary logistic regression models. Statistical metrics include Hosmer-Lemeshow Goodness-of-Fit-test, VIF test, Linktest and ROC curve for model performance and fitness. Results: Overall, 25.6% of adolescents were traditional bullying victims and 12% were cyberbullying victims. The percentages of suicidality (34.4% vs 21.6%) and self-harm (32.8% vs 22.3%) were higher in cyberbullying victims than in traditional bullying victims. Girls were more often bullied and likely to experience suicidal and self-harming behavior than boys. Parental distress, mental disorder and psychosis were found to be significantly associated with the increase risk for self-harm and suicidality among both bullying victims (p < 0.05). While, eating disorder and sexual activity increased the risk of suicidality in traditional bullying victims and self-harm in cyberbullying victims, respectively. Positive mental health/resilience and adequate sleep were found be significantly associated with decreased suicidality and self-harm in both bullying victims. Conclusion: Suicidality and self-harm were common in bullying victims. The findings highlight that the risk and protective factors associated with suicidality and self-harm among adolescent who experienced traditional and cyberbullying victimization should be considered for the promotion of effective self-harm and suicide prevention and intervention programs.

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The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the mental health and wellbeing of UK healthcare workers

10.1101/2020.10.23.20218396 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

James Gilleen ◽

Aida Santaolalla ◽

Lorena Valdearenas ◽

Clara Salice ◽

Montserrat Fusté

Keyword(s):

Mental Health ◽

Protective Factors ◽

Healthcare Workers ◽

Risk And Protective Factors ◽

Mental Wellbeing ◽

Factors Associated ◽

Increased Risk ◽

Controllable Factors ◽

The Uk ◽

The Impact

AbstractBackgroundThere is an urgent need to understand the psychological impact the COVID-19 pandemic has had on UK healthcare workers (HCW).AimsTo reveal risk and protective factors associated with poor mental wellbeing of HCW working during the COVID-19 pandemic in the UK.Method2773 UK HCWs completed a survey between 22ndApril and 10th May 2020 containing scales measuring anxiety, depression, PTSD, and stress, and questions about roles and COVID-19-related factors including workplace preparation and risk management. Respondents were classified as high or low symptomatic on each mental health scale and logistic regression revealed risk and protective factors associated with each outcome. Change in wellbeing from pre to during COVID-19 was also quantified.ResultsA large proportion of UK HCW had high mental health symptoms. ‘Fixed’ risk factors of poor mental health included being female, being ‘frontline’, pre-existing mental health diagnoses, and experience of stressful/traumatic events. An additional set of ‘controllable’ factors also significantly increased risk: PPE availability, workload, lack of COVID-19 preparation and training, and insufficient communication of clinical procedures. Resilience and sharing stress reduced risk, as did ethical support for those making treatment decisions. Allied HCW and managers were at elevated risk of high symptoms particularly PTSD. Wellbeing, especially of frontline workers, had significantly worsened compared to before COVID-19.ConclusionsPoor mental wellbeing was prevalent in HCW during the UK COVID-19 response. A number of controllable factors should be targeted, and protective factors promoted, to reduce the detrimental effect of COVID-19 and other pandemics on HCW mental health.

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The risk and protective factors associated with depression and anxiety in a national sample of Irish adolescents

Irish Journal of Psychological Medicine ◽

10.1017/ipm.2014.83 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 32 (1) ◽

pp. 93-105 ◽

Cited By ~ 26

Author(s):

B. Dooley ◽

A. Fitzgerald ◽

N. M. Giollabhui

Keyword(s):

Mental Health ◽

Protective Factors ◽

Romantic Relationship ◽

Maternal Education ◽

Risk And Protective Factors ◽

National Sample ◽

Anxiety And Depression ◽

Depression And Anxiety ◽

Factors Associated ◽

World Survey

ObjectivesThe aim of this study is to examine the risk and protective factors associated with anxiety and depression in a representative sample of Irish adolescents.MethodsData used in this study were drawn from a subset of the My World Survey (MWS). The MWS-Second Level (MWS-SL) subset consists of a randomised sample of 72 schools, with a final sample of 6085 students. Outcome measures were depression and anxiety. Risk and protective factors included measures within the socio-demographic, psychosocial and risk-taking domains.ResultsOne in three adolescents experienced elevated levels of depression and anxiety. Age, gender, maternal education, family composition, parental mental health as well as the experience of racism and bereavement were associated with elevated distress. Psychosocial factors associated with depression and anxiety included optimism, personal competence, life-satisfaction, self-esteem, anger, body dissatisfaction, family competence, maternal and paternal criticism, experiencing the break-up of a romantic relationship, school and peer connectedness as well as the availability of one good adult. Finally, engaging in substance misuse was found to increase the likelihood of anxiety and depression.ConclusionSince factors protecting and putting adolescents at risk of anxiety and depression exist at every level of the adolescent’s ecological system, the study supports a community-based approach to youth mental health.

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An Introduction to Quantitative Methods Relevant for Public Mental Health

Public Mental Health ◽

10.1093/oso/9780190916602.003.0006 ◽

2019 ◽

pp. 105-138

Author(s):

Elizabeth A. Stuart ◽

Jeannie-Marie Sheppard Leoutsakos ◽

Rashelle Musci ◽

Alden Gross ◽

Ryan M. Andrews ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Mental Health ◽

Protective Factors ◽

Statistical Methods ◽

Health Research ◽

Quantitative Methods ◽

Public Mental Health ◽

Risk And Protective Factors ◽

Mental Health Research ◽

General Introduction ◽

Factors Associated

This chapter provides a brief introduction to some of the epidemiologic and statistical methods for, and challenges to, gathering and analyzing the data that underlie the research presented in this volume and in the field of public mental health as a whole. The chapter is not intended as a general introduction to epidemiologic and statistical methods, but focuses more specifically on some of the data and methodological complexities particularly common in public mental health research. Three fundamental types of questions relevant to public mental health are discussed in particular: (1) estimating rates of disorders in a population across people, places, and time; (2) examining risk and protective factors associated with particular disorders; and (3) exploring and understanding the effects of interventions to prevent disorders or to treat them once they emerge.

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Intergenerational Cycles of Maltreatment: A Scoping Review of Psychosocial Risk and Protective Factors

Trauma Violence & Abuse ◽

10.1177/1524838019870917 ◽

2019 ◽

pp. 152483801987091 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Rachel Langevin ◽

Carley Marshall ◽

Emily Kingsland

Keyword(s):

Mental Health ◽

Child Maltreatment ◽

Protective Factors ◽

Scoping Review ◽

Significant Proportion ◽

Risk And Protective Factors ◽

Individual Characteristics ◽

Psychosocial Risk ◽

Effective Prevention ◽

Intergenerational Continuity

Child maltreatment tends to show intergenerational continuity. However, a significant proportion of maltreated parents break these cycles. Since several studies have investigated risk and protective factors associated with the intergenerational continuity of child maltreatment over the past decades, and no systematic review of the literature is available, this scoping review aimed to summarize studies documenting associated psychosocial risk and protective factors. A secondary objective was to document the prevalence of this phenomenon. A search in six major databases (PsycINFO, Scopus, Medline, Social Work Abstracts, ProQuest Dissertations/Theses, and Web of Science) was conducted. Studies involving human participants, presenting original findings, written in French or English, and of any type of design were included. There was no limit regarding the date of publication, except for theses/dissertations (5 years). A final sample of 51 papers was retained, 33 providing data on risk and protective factors and 18 providing only prevalence data. Results indicate that parents’ individual characteristics (e.g., mental health, age), childhood adversity (e.g., multiple forms of adversity), relational (e.g., couples’ adjustment, attachment, social support), and contextual factors (e.g., disadvantage, community violence) are relevant to the intergenerational continuity of child maltreatment. Prevalence rates of continuity ranged from 7% to 88%. Major limitations of reviewed studies are discussed. Continued efforts to uncover the mechanisms associated with the intergenerational continuity of child maltreatment using strong methodological designs are necessary. Knowledge in this area could lead to the development of effective prevention strategies (e.g., mental health services for parents, family/dyadic interventions) to break harmful intergenerational cycles of violence.

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