Insomnia Precipitating Events among Women Veterans: The Impact of Traumatic and Nontraumatic Events on Sleep and Mental Health Symptoms

2020 ◽  
pp. 1-17
Author(s):  
Gwendolyn C. Carlson ◽  
Monica R. Kelly ◽  
Austin M. Grinberg ◽  
Michael Mitchell ◽  
Sarah Kate McGowan ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Women Veterans ◽  
Mental Health Symptoms ◽  
Health Symptoms ◽  
The Impact

scholarly journals The current pandemic, a complex emergency? Mental health impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on highly vulnerable communities in Guatemala

2021 ◽  
pp. 002076402110272
Author(s):  
Dana Alonzo ◽  
Marciana Popescu ◽  
Pinar Zubaroglu-Ioannides
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Psychological Impact ◽  
Health Resources ◽  
Health Impact ◽  
Continuous Variables ◽  
Mental Health Symptoms ◽  
Health Symptoms ◽  
Number Of Children ◽  
Complex Emergency ◽  
The Impact

Background: On March 5th, Guatemala declared a ‘State of Calamity’ in response to the COVID-19 pandemic and strict lockdown measures were initiated. The psychological consequences of these measures are yet to be fully understood. There is limited research on the psychological impact of the virus in the general population, and even less focused on Latin America and high-risk communities characterized by poverty, limited mental health resources, and high rates of stigma around mental illness. The goal of this study is to examine the psychological impact of COVID-19 across several highly vulnerable districts in Guatemala. Methods: A semi-structured phone interview was conducted of 295 individuals in multiple districts in Guatemala City to assess self-perceived mental health consequences related to the pandemic. Sociodemographic, medical, and mental health data were collected. Chisquares and t-tests used for categorical and continuous variables, as appropriate, to describe the sample. Binary logistic regressions were estimated to examine associations between sociodemographic characteristics and mental health symptoms (anxiety, stress, depression, burnout, escalation of pre-existing mental health symptoms, and a sense of safety). Results: The results indicate high levels of anxiety and stress in all target communities. Significant differences based on gender, age, and the number of children in the household were identified: women and older adults experience higher rates of stress and anxiety associated with the pandemic; while families with greater number of children experience higher levels of burnout. Conclusion: Contextualizing the current pandemic as a complex emergency can help inform further studies focusing on socioeconomic challenges and higher vulnerabilities as preconditions affecting the impact of the pandemic on mental health. Given the limited available resources for mental health care in Guatemala, informal networks of care may play an important role in meeting the needs of those individuals experiencing increased psychological distress resulting from the pandemic.

The impact of reported direct and indirect killing on mental health symptoms in Iraq war veterans

2010 ◽  
pp. n/a-n/a ◽  
Author(s):  
Shira Maguen ◽  
Barbara A. Lucenko ◽  
Mark A. Reger ◽  
Gregory A. Gahm ◽  
Brett T. Litz ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Iraq War ◽  
Mental Health Symptoms ◽  
War Veterans ◽  
Health Symptoms ◽  
The Impact

scholarly journals Increase of internalized mental health symptoms among adolescents during the last three decades

2019 ◽  
Vol 29 (5) ◽  
pp. 925-931 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ida Blomqvist ◽  
Eva Henje Blom ◽  
Bruno Hägglöf ◽  
Anne Hammarström
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Conduct Problems ◽  
Internalizing Symptoms ◽  
Response Rate ◽  
Self Report ◽  
Mental Health Symptoms ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Health Symptoms ◽  
Significant Difference ◽  
The Impact

Abstract Background Previous studies suggest an overall increase of adolescent mental health symptoms globally since the 1980s until today, especially an increase of internalizing symptoms in girls. Due to methodological limitations of these studies, further studies are warranted to obtain a more solid knowledgebase. Methods This study was cross-sectional and compared two separate but geographically identical groups of adolescents in a middle-sized industrial municipality in Northern Sweden at two time-points [(i) 1981, n = 1083, (505 girls, 577 boys), response rate 99.7%; (ii) 2014, n = 682, (338 girls, 344 boys), response rate 98.3%]. All students in their last year of compulsory school were included. The same self-report questionnaire, consisting of four sub-scales (functional somatic-, anxiety-, depressive symptoms and conduct problems), was used at both occasions. Data were analyzed with descriptive statistics, two-way ANOVA and general linear model. Results Symptoms of anxiety and depression and functional somatic symptoms, increased among both boys and girls from 1981 until 2014 (P < 0.001 for all subscales), and the increase of these symptoms was higher in girls. Conduct problems were significantly higher in boys in 1981 and decreased over time so that in 2014 there was no longer a significant difference between boys and girls regarding conduct problems (P = 0.286). Conclusion In this population-based study spanning over 30 years, both girls and boys showed increasing internalizing problems, while conduct problems decreased. To halt this trend, we need a deeper understanding of the impact of the major societal changes that have occurred during the last three decades.

scholarly journals Flattening the Mental Health Curve: COVID-19 Stay-at-Home Orders Are Associated With Alterations in Mental Health Search Behavior in the United States (Preprint)

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nicholas C Jacobson ◽  
Damien Lekkas ◽  
George Price ◽  
Michael V Heinz ◽  
Minkeun Song ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
United States ◽  
Suicidal Ideation ◽  
The United States ◽  
Mental Health Symptoms ◽  
Health Symptoms ◽  
Search Queries ◽  
Negative Thoughts ◽  
The Impact ◽  
At Home

BACKGROUND The coronavirus disease (COVID-19) has led to dramatic changes worldwide in people’s everyday lives. To combat the pandemic, many governments have implemented social distancing, quarantine, and stay-at-home orders. There is limited research on the impact of such extreme measures on mental health. OBJECTIVE The goal of this study was to examine whether stay-at-home orders produced differential changes in mental health symptoms using internet search queries on a national scale. METHODS In the United States, individual states vary in their adoption of measures to reduce the spread of COVID-19; as of March 23, 2020, 11 of the 50 states had issued stay-at-home orders. The staggered rollout of stay-at-home measures across the United States allows us to investigate whether these measures impact mental health by exploring variations in mental health search queries across the states. This paper examines the changes in mental health search queries on Google between March 16-23, 2020, across each state and Washington, DC. Specifically, this paper examines differential changes in mental health searches based on patterns of search activity following issuance of stay-at-home orders in these states compared to all other states. The participants were all the people who searched mental health terms in Google between March 16-23. Between March 16-23, 11 states underwent stay-at-home orders to prevent the transmission of COVID-19. Outcomes included search terms measuring anxiety, depression, obsessive-compulsive, negative thoughts, irritability, fatigue, anhedonia, concentration, insomnia, and suicidal ideation. RESULTS Analyzing over 10 million search queries using generalized additive mixed models, the results suggested that the implementation of stay-at-home orders are associated with a significant flattening of the curve for searches for suicidal ideation, anxiety, negative thoughts, and sleep disturbances, with the most prominent flattening associated with suicidal ideation and anxiety. CONCLUSIONS These results suggest that, despite decreased social contact, mental health search queries increased rapidly prior to the issuance of stay-at-home orders, and these changes dissipated following the announcement and enactment of these orders. Although more research is needed to examine sustained effects, these results suggest mental health symptoms were associated with an immediate leveling off following the issuance of stay-at-home orders.

The Impact of Lifetime Victimization and Polyvictimization on Adolescents in Québec: Mental Health Symptoms and Gender Differences

2017 ◽  
Vol 32 (1) ◽  
pp. 3-21 ◽  
Author(s):  
Katie Cyr ◽  
Claire Chamberland ◽  
Marie-Ève Clément ◽  
Jo-Anne Wemmers ◽  
Delphine Collin-Vézina ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Gender Differences ◽  
Sexual Victimization ◽  
Trauma Symptoms ◽  
Mental Health Symptoms ◽  
Health Symptoms ◽  
Witnessing Violence ◽  
Child Victimization ◽  
And Gender ◽  
The Impact

This study documents lifetime experiences of victimizations, polyvictimization, and trauma symptoms among 1,400 adolescents from the province of Québec. The vast majority (81%) of adolescents were victimized during their lifetime, with most victims (82%) being the target of more than one form of victimization. Polyvictimization accounted for most variability in scores of depression, posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and anger/aggression compared to individual victimization categories. Sexual victimization and maltreatment still made an independent contribution in predicting all trauma scores once polyvictimization was considered. Gender differences were found in the victimization experiences contributing to the prediction of mental health symptoms. Sexual victimization was a significant predictor of PTSD and anger/aggression symptoms for girls, whereas witnessing violence predicted anger and PTSD symptoms for boys, and assault predicted their anger. This study outlines the importance of assessing various types of victimization among adolescents. Systematic data and observation of trends on child victimization are needed in Canada and elsewhere.

Recruit firefighters: a longitudinal investigation of mental health and work

2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 143-152
Author(s):  
Shannon Wagner ◽  
Romana Pasca
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Data Collection ◽  
Fire Department ◽  
Fire Service ◽  
Mental Health Symptoms ◽  
Workplace Exposure ◽  
Health Symptoms ◽  
Content Type ◽  
In Fire ◽  
The Impact

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the contribution of work to self-reported mental health symptoms in fire service members. Design/methodology/approach In 2004, the first wave of this data collection was completed with all members of a fire department in a small northern center in British Columbia. The members completed a series of questionnaires measuring mental health, personality and satisfaction. Since 2004, all recruit members entering the department have also completed the same set of questionnaires shortly after hiring. Subsequently, in 2016–2017, the full sample, including recruit members, were invited to complete the Wave 2 data collection cycle, which included a set of questionnaires very similar to that collected in Wave 1. Findings The recruit sample reported significantly fewer mental health symptoms, as compared to career firefighters, at Time 1 (prior to workplace exposure). However, at Time 2 (after workplace exposure), no difference between the groups was evident. Research limitations/implications It is possible that recruit firefighters reported more positive mental health because of social desirability bias upon beginning a new job. Practical implications These results suggest that service as a firefighter could potentially have an impact on mental health and efforts should be made to mitigate this impact. Originality/value To the authors’ knowledge, the current research is the first study that has followed recruit firefighters longitudinally in an effort to prospectively evaluate the impact of workplace exposure on mental health.

scholarly journals Longitudinal determinants of mental health treatment-seeking by US soldiers

2015 ◽  
Vol 207 (4) ◽  
pp. 346-350 ◽  
Author(s):  
Amy B. Adler ◽  
Thomas W. Britt ◽  
Lyndon A. Riviere ◽  
Paul Y. Kim ◽  
Jeffrey L. Thomas
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Mental Health Treatment ◽  
Mental Healthcare ◽  
Armed Forces ◽  
Self Management ◽  
Treatment Seeking ◽  
Mental Health Symptoms ◽  
Health Symptoms ◽  
Positive Attitudes ◽  
The Impact

BackgroundStudies with members of the armed forces have found a gap between reports of mental health symptoms and treatment-seeking.AimsTo assess the impact of attitudes on treatment-seeking behaviours in soldiers returning from a combat deployment.MethodA sample of 529 US soldiers were surveyed 4 months (time 1) and 12 months (time 2) post-deployment. Mental health symptoms and treatment-seeking attitudes were assessed at time 1; reported mental healthcare visits were assessed at time 2.ResultsFactor analysis of the total time 1 sample revealed four attitude factors: professional concerns, practical barriers, preference for self-management and positive attitudes about treatment. For the subset of 160 soldiers reporting a mental health problem at time 1, and controlling for mental health symptom severity, self-management inversely predicted treatment-seeking; positive attitudes were positively related.ConclusionsResults demonstrate the importance of broadening the conceptualisation of barriers and facilitators of mental healthcare beyond stigma. Techniques and delivery models emphasising self-care may help increase soldiers' interest in using mental health services.

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