scholarly journals The risk and protective factors of heightened prenatal anxiety and depression during the COVID-19 lockdown

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Stefania Vacaru ◽  
Roseriet Beijers ◽  
Pamela D. Browne ◽  
Mariëlle Cloin ◽  
Hedwig van Bakel ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Psychological Distress ◽  
Crisis Management ◽  
Future Generation ◽  
Protective Role ◽  
Partner Support ◽  
Anxiety And Depression ◽  
Depression Symptoms ◽  
Global Pandemic

AbstractWhile pregnant women are already at-risk for developing symptoms of anxiety and depression, this is heightened during the COVID-19 pandemic. We compared anxiety and depression symptoms, as indicators of psychological distress, before and during COVID-19, and investigated the role of partner, social network and healthcare support on COVID-19-related worries and consequently on psychological distress. A national survey, conducted during the first lockdown in The Netherlands, assessed COVID-19 experiences and psychological distress (N = 1421), whereas a comparison sample (N = 1439) was screened for psychological distress in 2017–2018. During COVID-19, the percentage of mothers scoring above the questionnaires’ clinical cut-offs doubled for depression (6% and 12%) and anxiety (24% and 52%). Women reported increased partner support during COVID-19, compared to pre-pandemic, but decreased social and healthcare support. Higher support resulted in lower COVID-19-related worries, which in turn contributed to less psychological distress. Results suggest that a global pandemic exerts a heavy toll on pregnant women’s mental health. Psychological distress was substantially higher during the pandemic than the pre-pandemic years. We identified a protective role of partner, social, and healthcare support, with important implications for the current and future crisis management. Whether increased psychological distress is transient or persistent, and whether and how it affects the future generation remains to be determined.

scholarly journals The Role of Religiosity to Address the Mental Health Crisis of Students: A Study on Three Parameters (Anxiety, Depression, and Stress)

2021 ◽  
Vol 29 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Rohmah Najihah Misran ◽  
Jamilah Hanum Abdul Khaiyom ◽  
Zul Azlin Razali
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Psychological Distress ◽  
Psychological Health ◽  
Protective Factor ◽  
Anxiety And Depression ◽  
Health Issues ◽  
Mental Health Crisis ◽  
Health Crisis ◽  
Anxiety Depression

Religiosity is a construct that has interesting implications in the mental health issues of youths. This study examines the role of religiosity on anxiety, depression, and stress using 148 Muslim students studying Islamic studies at undergraduate provision in an Islamic University as sample. Results indicated that the level of religiosity among the participants ranged from moderately religious to highly religious. The mean levels of anxiety, depression, and stress among the participants were moderate, and a significant number of students suffered from severe psychological distress. Female students were reported to experience significantly slightly more stress than male students. Furthermore, the relationship between religiosity, anxiety, and depression was significantly negative but not stressful. Further analysis found that religiosity serves as a protective factor for depression. Meanwhile, some religiosity components (i.e., avoidance of sinful acts and frequent conduct of recommended acts) were found to be a significant protective factor against anxiety and depression, respectively. Thus, in retrospect, mental health and religion appear to converge on managing psychological distress. As so to speak, this is a vital point in the emerging mental health services in which the incorporation of religious components into clinical practice may show good promising results in aiding the recovery process of psychological health issues. Likewise, embedding religiosity in one’s life, or being religiously minded, reflected in daily life manifestation, is linked with better mental health outcomes.

scholarly journals How is COVID-19 pandemic causing employee withdrawal behavior in the hospitality industry? An empirical investigation

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Kausar Fiaz Khawaja ◽  
Muddassar Sarfraz ◽  
Misbah Rashid ◽  
Mariam Rashid
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Crisis Management ◽  
Hospitality Industry ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Workplace Stressors ◽  
Global Pandemic ◽  
Study Results ◽  
Withdrawal Behavior ◽  
Employee Withdrawal

PurposeThis study divulges the new concept of employees' withdrawal behavior during the global pandemic (COVID-19). The study's purpose is to draw new insights into workplace stressors and employee withdrawal behavior. The study also considers the mediating role of aggression and the moderating role of COVID-19 worry and cyberloafing.Design/methodology/approachThe study's statistical population consists of 384 frontline hotel employees from Pakistan's hospitality industry. Statistical analysis SPSS and AMOS were utilized to conduct Pearson's correlation and multilevel regression analysis. A Hayes process technique has been used for moderation and mediation analysis.FindingsThe results demonstrated that COVID-19 has a psychological effect on the employee's mental health and higher turnover intention during the current pandemic. Workplace stressor is significantly related to aggression and employee withdrawal behavior. Aggression mediates the relationship between workplace stressors and withdrawal behavior. The study results show that COVID-19 worry moderates between workplace stressors and aggression – notably, cyberloafing moderate aggression and withdrawal behavior.Practical implicationsThe government and hospitality organizations need to implement crisis management strategies in response to COVID-19. This research can help management in coping with employees' mental and psychological challenges. Employees' mental health has been affected during the current global health crises. Firms should encourage their employees psychologically while going for downsizing.Originality/valueThis study enhances the existing literature on the COVID-19 crisis in Pakistan's hospitality industry. This study contributes to new understandings of employees' withdrawal behavior in the hospitality industry. The research shows how COVID-19 affects employees' turnover, mental health and job performance in the hospitality industry. Employees are facing mental and physiological challenges during COVID-19. The study fills a considerable gap in the hospitality industry by exploring the role organization's crisis management during a global pandemic.

scholarly journals Increases in Anxiety and Depression During COVID-19: A Large Longitudinal Study From China

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shizhen Wu ◽  
Keshun Zhang ◽  
Elizabeth J. Parks-Stamm ◽  
Zhonghui Hu ◽  
Yaqi Ji ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Longitudinal Study ◽  
Depression Scale ◽  
Anxiety And Depression ◽  
Depression Symptoms ◽  
Depression And Anxiety ◽  
Factors Associated ◽  
Self Rating ◽  
Development Of Students

Although accumulating evidence suggests the COVID-19 pandemic is associated with costs in mental health, the development of students' mental health, including the change from their previous levels of depression and anxiety and the factors associated with this change, has not been well-studied. The present study investigates changes in students' anxiety and depression from before the pandemic to during the lockdown and identifies factors that are associated with these changes. 14,769 university students participated in a longitudinal study with two time points with a 6-month interval. Students completed the Anxiety and Depression subscales of the Symptom Checklist 90 (SCL-90) before the COVID-19 outbreak (October 2020, Time 1), and the Self-rating Anxiety Scale (SAS) and Self-rating Depression Scale (SDS) during the pandemic (April 2020, Time 2). The prevalence of anxiety and depression symptoms were 1.44 and 1.46% at Time 1, and 4.06 and 22.09% at Time 2, respectively, showing a 181.94% increase in anxiety and a 1413.01% increase in depression. Furthermore, the increases in anxiety and depression from pre-pandemic levels were associated with students' gender and the severity of the pandemic in the province where they resided. This study contributes to the gap in knowledge regarding changes in students' mental health in response to the pandemic and the role of local factors in these changes. Implications for gender and the Typhoon Eye effect are discussed.

scholarly journals Resilience Predicts Lower Anxiety and Depression and Greater Recovery after a Vicarious Trauma

2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (23) ◽  
pp. 12608
Author(s):  
Christophe Leys ◽  
Ilios Kotsou ◽  
Rebecca Shankland ◽  
Mathilde Firmin ◽  
Sandrine Péneau ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Vicarious Trauma ◽  
Convergent Validity ◽  
Protective Role ◽  
Anxiety And Depression ◽  
Depression Symptoms ◽  
Factor Analyses ◽  
Confirmatory Factor Analyses ◽  
Resilience Scale ◽  
Confirmatory Factor

This study validated the French version of the Brief Resilience Scale (BRS-F) and tested the protective role of resilience in the context of vicarious trauma (22 March 2016 terrorist attacks in Brussels) regarding anxiety and depression symptoms. Confirmatory factor analyses indicated a single-factor structure of the BRS-F. Investigation of convergent validity showed that the BRS-F was positively correlated with usual outcomes such as subjective happiness, acceptance, and sense of coherence, and negatively correlated with anxiety and depression symptoms. Lastly, the results of the study showed that resilience protected against the effect of vicarious trauma in two ways. First, at the time of exposure, the more resilient individuals reported lower levels of anxiety and depression symptoms. Second, after three months, the more resilient individuals recovered from these symptoms, whereas no significant effect was found for less resilient individuals. Theoretical and clinical implications of the findings are discussed.

scholarly journals The Mediating Role of Resilience and Extraversion on Psychological Distress and Loneliness Among the General Population of Tyrol, Austria Between the First and the Second Wave of the COVID-19 Pandemic

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anna Chernova ◽  
Beatrice Frajo-Apor ◽  
Silvia Pardeller ◽  
Franziska Tutzer ◽  
Barbara Plattner ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Psychological Distress ◽  
Online Survey ◽  
Age Groups ◽  
Protective Role ◽  
Federal State ◽  
Study Participants ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Second Wave

Background: During the first 3 weeks of the COVID-19 pandemic, the federal state of Tyrol, Austria had one of the strictest curfews in Austria and worldwide. The aim of the current study was to investigate the assumingly protective role of resilience and extraversion and its impact on mental health following such an uncertain and unpredictable situation.Methods: Between the first and the second wave of the pandemic, adult residents of Tyrol were invited to participate in an online survey. Next to the assessment of sociodemographic and COVID-19-related variables the Brief-Symptom-Checklist, the Three-Item Loneliness Scale, the Resilience Scaled, and the Big Five Inventory were used to assess psychological distress, loneliness, resilience, and extraversion. Mediation analysis was used to investigate the role of resilience and extraversion in the context of age-, sex-, and partnership- related differences in psychological distress and loneliness.Results: One hundred and forty-five participants took part in the survey (68.2% female). Overall, psychological distress and severe loneliness were more often detected in women and singles. They also were less resilient, while men and singles presented with a lower degree of extraversion. Study participants under the age of 30 experienced severe loneliness more frequently than older people, whereas psychological distress, resilience, and extraversion were comparable between age groups. Resilience significantly mediated the relationship between both study participants' sex and partnership situation on one hand and psychological distress and severe loneliness on the other. In addition, extraversion significantly mediated the relationship between participants' partnership situation and psychological distress.Discussion: Our findings suggest that women, singles, and young people may be particularly affected by the measures and sequelae of the COVID-19 pandemic. Interventions promoting resilience and extraversion among these groups are urgently needed to foster mental health. Ideally, they can be utilized at home in case of renewed mobility restrictions or quarantine in the future.

Childhood Material Hardship and Adolescent Mental Health

2021 ◽  
pp. 0044118X2110018
Author(s):  
Chrisse Edmunds ◽  
Melissa Alcaraz
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Adolescent Depression ◽  
Adolescent Mental Health ◽  
Anxiety And Depression ◽  
Fragile Families ◽  
Depression Symptoms ◽  
Depression And Anxiety ◽  
Material Hardship ◽  
Critical Age ◽  
The Relationship

Adolescent mental health has implications for current and future wellbeing. While a link exists between poverty and mental health, little is known about how experiencing material hardship, such as insecurity of food, housing, utilities, and medical care, throughout early childhood affects adolescent mental health. We examine the relationship between material hardship in childhood and adolescent mental health. We use Poisson regression to examine the effect of material hardship experienced at different stages of childhood on adolescent depression and anxiety outcomes at age 15. We use longitudinal data from the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study ( N = 3,222). We find that recently experiencing material hardship during childhood is positively and significantly associated with anxiety and depression symptoms at age 15, even when controlling for material hardship at age 15. Additionally, we find that insecurity during mid-childhood and the stress of lacking basic needs during a critical age may influence mental health in adolescence.

scholarly journals P106 Depressive symptoms and anxiety and their screening in IBD patients: performance of the distress thermometer in Italian IBD patients

2020 ◽  
Vol 14 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. S188-S189
Author(s):  
C Canaletti ◽  
F Colombo ◽  
A Dessì ◽  
E Geccherle ◽  
A Tongiorgi ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Psychological Distress ◽  
Emotional Distress ◽  
Screening Tool ◽  
Anxiety And Depression ◽  
Depression Symptoms ◽  
Cutoff Score ◽  
Distress Screening ◽  
Single Item ◽  
Mayo Score ◽  
Clinical Indices

Abstract Background Roughly 50% of patients with IBD have symptoms of psychological distress (Mikocka-Walus et al. 2019) but only 15.2% receive attention for their mental health although the effect on disease severity can be profound. It is necessary to have an easy-to-administer psychological distress screening tool. The distress thermometer (DT) is a single-item distress screening scale with 11-likert response widely used in oncological patients. The aim of study was to determine whether the single-item DT compared favourably with IBD clinical indices and time consuming measures currently used to screen for distress. Methods Two hundered and twenty IBD patients (51.43% male) who were recruited in eight Italian hospitals completed the DT and identified the presence or absence of 34 problems using standardised problem list (PL). They completed the 14-item Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) and the 32-item Inflammatory Bowel Disease Questionnaire (IBDQ). Disease clinical indices have been collected for each patient (Mayo score, Harvey–Bradshaw Index–HBI, years of illness, and exacerbation in the last year). Using receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analyses validated the use of the DT in Italian IBD population. Results 47.6% reported anxiety and depression symptoms (HADS ≥15) and needs emotional care. Anxiety is much more associated (43.8%) than depressive problems (26.2%). Data are confirmed by responses to DT and PL: 44.5% of patients reported moderate–severe emotional distress (TD ≥ 5), 43.1% of patients report nervousness and worry, 27.1% reported depression. We observed a strong positive correlation between IBDQ and HADS (r = 0.74, p < 0.001) and DT (r = 0.58, p < 0.001), while there was a slightly smaller association with Mayo score (r = 0.46, p < 0.001) and HBI (r = 0.39, p < 0.001). There was not a statistical significant correlation between disease indices and the emotional distress as measured by HADS or DT. ROC analyses showed that a DT cutoff score of 5 or higher had optimal sensitivity (83%) and specificity (68%) relative to the HADS score as ‘gold’ standard. DT scores yielded area under the curve estimates relative to the HADS cutoff score indicative of good overall accuracy (AUC = 0.81–95% CI: 0.77–0.85). Conclusion Our study confirms that anxiety and depression symptoms are associated with IBD. This is the first study that demonstrated that DT is an easy-to-administer screening tool of psychosocial distress in IBD population. We propose that gastroenterologists use DT to identify patients with psychological distress: an early psychological support and a multidisclinar equipe can determinate a patient’s better disease course (Mawdsley et al. 2005). Our analyses indicated that using a DT’s cutoff of 5 to indicate high levels of distress.

scholarly journals The Role of Resilience in Internet Addiction among Adolescents between Sexes: A Moderated Mediation Model

2018 ◽  
Vol 7 (8) ◽  
pp. 222 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cho Nam ◽  
Da Lee ◽  
Ji Lee ◽  
A Choi ◽  
Sun Chung ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Internet Addiction ◽  
Protective Factor ◽  
Protective Role ◽  
Anxiety And Depression ◽  
Mediation Model ◽  
Moderating Effects ◽  
School Students ◽  
Clinical Variables ◽  
Moderated Mediation Model

The behavioral inhibition/activation systems (BIS/BAS) have been considered to be predictors of Internet addiction, mediated by clinical variables such as anxiety and depression. However, resilience has been suggested as a protective factor toward Internet addiction, and certain sex differences in resilience buffering the effects of vulnerability have been reported. Thus, the aim of this study was to identify any role of resilience that might moderate the effects of BIS/BAS on Internet addiction through multiple clinical variables in boys and girls. A total of 519 middle-school students (268 boys and 251 girls, all 14 years old) were administered a questionnaire battery that measures Internet addiction, BIS/BAS, depression, anxiety, impulsivity, anger, and resilience. We used the PROCESS macro in SPSS to perform moderation and mediation analysis. Findings revealed that although a somewhat similar mediation model was supported in both sexes, moderating effects of resilience only emerged in girls. The results showed a protective role of resilience differing between sexes. These results suggest that clinicians should consider sex in the way resilience works as a protective factor against Internet addiction and focus on mitigating the effects of vulnerability by enhancing resilience in female Internet addicts.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document