The Impact on Mental Health of Losing an Only Child and the Influence of Social Support and Resilience

2018 ◽  
Vol 80 (4) ◽  
pp. 666-684 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xiancai Cao ◽  
Chongming Yang ◽  
Dahua Wang

The number of parents who have lost their only child (PLOCs) has increased annually with the implementation of the birth control policy in mainland China. This study aimed to investigate the mental health status of PLOCs and the influence of social support and resilience. Study 1 recruited 100 PLOCs and 88 nonbereaved parents, and compared differences in depression, anxiety, and loneliness. Study 2 investigated the influence of social support and resilience on the mental health of PLOCs via a mediating model. Results indicate that PLOCs reported more anxiety and depression symptoms than nonbereaved counterparts. Perceived close family support, objective support, and resilience negatively predicted anxiety and depression. In addition, perceived close family support was found to influence mental health via resilience. The current findings reveal that losing an only child has long-term negative impacts on the mental health of PLOCs. However, perceived close family support and objective support can protect their mental health either directly or indirectly via resilience.

2017 ◽  
Vol 35 (5_suppl) ◽  
pp. 184-184 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nancy Borstelmann ◽  
Shoshana M. Rosenberg ◽  
Shari I. Gelber ◽  
Meghan E Meyer ◽  
Kathryn Jean Ruddy ◽  
...  

184 Background: While evidence of the challenges of cancer caregiving has been growing, scant research addresses the experience of partners of young adults with cancer. These individuals and their relationships may be particularly vulnerable to stress, especially when managing the complexity of cancer care and survivorship with their partner. We sought to evaluate psychosocial concerns and mental health in the partners of young survivors of early stage breast cancer (BC). Methods: We invited partners of young women w/BC diagnosed at age ≤ 40 yrs enrolled in a prospective cohort study to participate in a one-time survey evaluating psychosocial concerns including quality of life, coping, social support, financial insecurity, partnership concerns, parenting concerns, anxiety and depression. Logistic regression was used to explore predictors of anxiety (score > 8 on Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS)). Results: Most respondents (284/289) were male, with median age 43 yrs (range 27-65). The median time of survey completion was 62 months (range 16 -114) after their partner’s dx. Respondents were mostly white (93%), working full time (94%), and college educated (78%); 29% reported some financial stress, 74% were parenting children < 18 yrs, and 32% reported at least a fair amount of relationship concern. 42% (106/250) had anxiety (39/289 respondents (13%) had incomplete/missing HADS). In univariable analyses, lower education, working full time, parenting concerns, insufficient social support and maladaptive coping were associated (p < .05) with anxiety. In the multivariable model, only maladaptive coping remained significantly associated with anxiety (p < .01, OR = 2.32 (95% CI: 1.22, 4.39)). Conclusions: Partners of young BC survivors who used less constructive/more maladaptive coping strategies experience negative mental health outcomes after tx has ended. Caregivers’ anxiety may have implications for both their own and survivors’ health and QOL. Future interventions might focus on the development of constructive coping strategies to enhance adjustment and role effectiveness in dealing with the impact of cancer.


2019 ◽  
Vol 45 (8) ◽  
pp. 661-688
Author(s):  
Marion L. D. Malcome ◽  
Gina Fedock ◽  
Rachel C. Garthe ◽  
Seana Golder ◽  
George Higgins ◽  
...  

Despite an overrepresentation of Black women in the criminal justice system, Black women’s mental health at the precarious intersection of race, gender, and community-based correctional supervision has been underresearched. Building on weathering theory, this study conceptualized criminal justice involvement as a social inequality that negatively affects Black women’s mental health. This study investigated the relationships between recent stressors, forms of social support, and depression through moderated regression analyses with a sample of 169 Black women on probation and parole. Almost half of the women met criteria for clinical levels of depression. Distinct forms of social support served as statistically significant protective factors between stressors and depression symptoms. Our findings highlight the importance of studying the mental health of Black women under correctional surveillance and bolstering multiple forms of support to promote their well-being. The impact of criminal justice involvement and institutional racism on Black women’s mental health requires further research.


1997 ◽  
Vol 27 (1) ◽  
pp. 33-45 ◽  
Author(s):  
George R. Parkerson ◽  
Robert A. Gutman

Objective: To compare perceived current mental health and disablement between primary care and end-stage renal disease (ESRD) patients, and to study social support and stress and severity of illness as possible determinants of mental health and disablement. Method: Observational cross-sectional analysis of 414 primary care patients in a rural community health center and 125 ESRD patients requiring hemodialysis in two community dialysis units. The Duke Health Profile (DUKE) anxiety-depression scale was used to assess mental health; the DUKE disability scale, to indicate disablement; the Duke Social Support and Stress Scale, to measure support and stress; and the Duke Severity of Illness Scale, to rate severity of illness. Results: Perceived current mental health in terms of anxiety and depression symptoms was worse for primary care than for ESRD patients, and perceived current disablement was no different for the two groups. Patients' perception of their health status and of stress from family members were more closely associated with their level of anxiety and depression symptoms than were their diagnostic profiles or overall severity of illness. In turn, their level of anxiety and depression symptoms was the principal correlate of their disablement. Conclusions: The demonstration of strong relationships among anxiety and depression symptoms, disablement, and family stress in these two very different patient populations should stimulate further research and motivate clinicians to evaluate all three parameters as part of routine patient care.


Author(s):  
Joanna Smolarczyk-Kosowska ◽  
Anna Szczegielniak ◽  
Mateusz Legutko ◽  
Adam Zaczek ◽  
Łukasz Kunert ◽  
...  

Community psychiatry is a modern and effective form of care for patients with mental disorders. The aim of the study was to assess the impact of a rehabilitation program at the Mental Health Support Centre in Tarnowskie Góry (Poland) on reducing severity of anxiety and depression symptoms, as well as improving overall quality of life during the COVID-19 pandemic. The study involved 35 patients, examined with an authors’ questionnaire on sociodemographic data, the Hospital Scale of Anxiety and Depression (HADS) and the Short Form Health Survey (SF-36). Data was obtained during the first national lockdown and compared to data gathered before the pandemic on the same study group. Imposed restrictions, negative emotional state during lockdown, subjectively assessed higher health risk and a low level of knowledge about the COVID-19 pandemic did not significantly correlate with a severity of depression and anxiety, as well as general quality of life. However, the comparison of the results obtained in HADS and SF-36 scales show a significant improvement in both categories. Rehabilitation activities, including physical training, cognitive exercise and social therapy, reduce the severity of the symptoms and have a positive effect on the overall quality of life in patients suffering from schizophrenia and affective disorders. Therefore, holistic mental health support services may positively affect building an individual resilience. The severity of anxiety symptoms during the COVID-19 pandemic shows a negative correlation with the patient’s age.


PLoS ONE ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (7) ◽  
pp. e0255211
Author(s):  
Jonas Schmuck ◽  
Nina Hiebel ◽  
Milena Rabe ◽  
Juliane Schneider ◽  
Yesim Erim ◽  
...  

Introduction The COVID-19 pandemic resulted in severe detrimental effects on the mental well-being of health care workers (HCW). Consequently, there has been a need to identify health-promoting resources in order to mitigate the psychological impact of the pandemic on HCW. Objective Our objective was to investigate the association of sense of coherence (SOC), social support and religiosity with self-reported mental symptoms and increase of subjective burden during the COVID-19 pandemic in HCW. Methods Our sample comprised 4324 HCW of four professions (physicians, nurses, medical technical assistants (MTA) and pastoral workers) who completed an online survey from 20 April to 5 July 2020. Health-promoting resources were assessed using the Sense of Coherence Scale Short Form (SOC-3), the ENRICHD Social Support Inventory (ESSI) and one item on religiosity derived from the Scale of Transpersonal Trust (TPV). Anxiety and depression symptoms were measured with the PHQ-2 and GAD-2. The increase of subjective burden due to the pandemic was assessed as the retrospective difference between burden during the pandemic and before the pandemic. Results In multiple regressions, higher SOC was strongly associated with fewer anxiety and depression symptoms. Higher social support was also related to less severe mental symptoms, but with a smaller effect size, while religiosity showed minimal to no correlation with anxiety or depression. In professional group analysis, SOC was negatively associated with mental symptoms in all groups, while social support only correlated significantly with mental health outcomes in physicians and MTA. In the total sample and among subgroups, an increase of subjective burden was meaningfully associated only with a weaker SOC. Conclusion Perceived social support and especially higher SOC appeared to be beneficial for mental health of HCW during the COVID-19 pandemic. However, the different importance of the resources in the respective occupations requires further research to identify possible reasons.


Author(s):  
Federica Bonazza ◽  
Lidia Borghi ◽  
Eugenia Cao di San Marco ◽  
Kyrie Piscopo ◽  
Francesca Bai ◽  
...  

Patients who are hospitalized for COronaVIrus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) face an extremely stressful experience that might challenge their mental health. The study aims to describe the psychological condition of recovered patients, focusing on anxiety and depression symptoms, as well as post-traumatic stress. All the recovered COVID-19 patients who accessed to a multidisciplinary followup screening program scheduled within two months after their hospital discharge were included. As far as the psychological assessment, patients completed the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale and the Impact of Event Scale-Revised for post-traumatic stress. Socio-demographic and clinical data (days of hospitalization, intensity of received care, and number of supportive sessions with the hospital psychologist after the hospitalization) were collected. Descriptive, correlation and regression analyses were conducted. The sample includes 261 patients (68.2% men), aged between 23 and 90 (mean=58.9 st. dev=13.3). High numbers of patients reported anxiety (28%) and depression symptoms (17%), as well as post-traumatic stress (36.4%). Impaired outcomes were associated with female gender, while patient’s age was found to be negatively correlated with anxiety symptoms. 13.8% of patients underwent a psychological visit and 6.1% of them were taken in charge for psychological support. Few months after hospital discharge, individuals recovered by COVID-19 reported negative consequences on their mental health. Understanding the impact that COVID-19 and hospitalization have on recovered patients may provide insights about how to develop an effective psychological intervention to help them deal with such psychological distress and prevent further psychopathological effects.


2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Patricia Bonilla-Sierra ◽  
Alexis Manrique-G ◽  
Paula Hidalgo-Andrade ◽  
Pablo Ruisoto

Background: The current mental health state of healthcare professionals and students during the COVID-19 pandemic in Ecuador remains understudied and how to improve their mental health is a challenge.Objective: This study aimed to explore the anxiety and depressive symptomatology among healthcare students and professionals in Ecuador and to examine the role of psychological inflexibility, loneliness, and psychological stress as predictors of anxiety and depression symptoms.Methods: A total of 191 undergraduate and graduate healthcare students in clinical practice (early-career healthcare professionals) in Ecuador were surveyed between January and March 2021 using standardized measures of psychological stress (PSS), psychological inflexibility (AAQ), loneliness (UCLA), alcohol consumption (AUDIT-C), and anxiety and depressive symptomatology (PHQ). Macro Process for SPSS (models 4 and 7) were used to test mediation effects.Results: Alcohol consumption varied between men and women and anxiety and depression symptomatology was generally low among the sample. Psychological inflexibility and loneliness mediated the impact of stress on anxiety and depressive mood in participants, regardless of gender and previous personal history of COVID-19.Discussion: Implications of psychological inflexibility and the prevention and coping with stress in healthcare professionals during COVID-19 are further discussed.


2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zhenyu Li ◽  
Jingwu Ge ◽  
Jianping Feng ◽  
Riyue Jiang ◽  
Qin Zhou ◽  
...  

Context: Since December 2019, more than 80,000 patients have been diagnosed with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in China. Social support status of COVID-19 patients, especially the impact of social support on their psychological status and quality of life, needs to be addressed with increasing concern.Objectives: In this study, we used social support rating scale (SSRS) to investigate the social support in COVID-19 patients and nurses.Methods: The present study included 186 COVID-19 patients at a Wuhan mobile cabin hospital and 234 nurses at a Wuhan COVID-19 control center. Responses to a mobile phone app-based questionnaire about social support, anxiety, depression, and quality of life were recorded and evaluated.Results: COVID-19 patients scored significantly lower than nurses did on the Social Support Rating Scale (SSRS). Among these patients, 33.9% had anxiety symptoms, while 23.7% had depression symptoms. Overall SSRS, subjective social support scores and objective support scores of patients with anxiety were lower than those of patients without anxiety. This result was also found in depression. In addition, all dimensions of social support were positively correlated with quality of life. Interestingly, in all dimensions of social support, subjective support was found to be an independent predictive factor for anxiety, depression, and quality of life, whereas objective support was a predictive factor for quality of life, but not for anxiety and depression via regression analysis.Conclusion: Medical staffs should pay attention to the subjective feelings of patients and make COVID-19 patients feel respected, supported, and understood from the perspective of subjective support, which may greatly benefit patients, alleviate their anxiety and depression, and improve their quality of life.


2014 ◽  
Vol 19 (4) ◽  
pp. 237-250 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nicole K. Lee ◽  
Ann Roche ◽  
Vinita Duraisingam ◽  
Jane A. Fischer ◽  
Jacqui Cameron

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to identify mental health interventions within male-dominated industries. Design/methodology/approach – A systematic literature review was undertaken, examining mental health interventions within male-dominated industries. Major electronic databases, grey literature and reference lists for English language studies published January 1990-June 2012 were searched. Independent extraction of the studies was completed by two reviewers using predefined data fields including study quality measures. Findings – Five studies met inclusion criteria. The available evidence suggests that effective interventions to address anxiety and depression in male-dominated industries include: improving mental health literacy and knowledge, increasing social support, improving access to treatment, providing education for managers and addressing workload issues. Practical implications – Working conditions and the workplace can have a significant impact on a worker's mental health. Work-related factors including working conditions, job demands and social support in the workplace are particularly important for the mental health workers. Indeed, poor work conditions have been associated with poorer mental health outcomes in particular anxiety and depression, however, little work has been conducted on mental health interventions in the workplace and further the impact on male-dominated industries. Originality/value – Overall, the body of evidence supporting effective interventions for mental health problems among workers in male-dominated industries is limited. Nonetheless, the evidence does suggest that mental health interventions in male-dominated industries is logistically feasible and can have some positive impact on the mental health of workers, particularly for high prevalence low severity disorders such as anxiety and depression.


2020 ◽  
Vol 25 (suppl 2) ◽  
pp. 4157-4168
Author(s):  
Edson Zangiacomi Martinez ◽  
Fabrícia Mabelle Silva ◽  
Thais Zanin Morigi ◽  
Miriane Lucindo Zucoloto ◽  
Thaise Lucena Silva ◽  
...  

Abstract Physical inactivity and sedentary behavior are associated with poor physical and mental health. The article aims to assess the changes in the habits of the Brazilian participants engaged in physical activities in relation to their practices, due the measures of social distancing during the COVID-19 epidemic in 2020. The secondary objective was to describe their levels of anxiety and depression. The questionnaire used in this online survey included demographic information, questions about self-perceptions of the impact of the COVID-19 in the life routines and the 14-item Hospital Anxiety Depression Scale. A total of 1,613 adults completed the questionnaire between May 11 and 15, 2020. Of those, 79.4% reported that the measures to contain the epidemic had any impact on their physical activities, and many had to interrupt or decrease the frequency of their practices. Participants who felt a higher impact of quarantine on their physical activities tend to have higher prevalence of anxiety and depression symptoms. Individuals who practiced physical activities reported that social distance had a high influence on their practices. Furthermore, changes in these habits are associated with high levels of poor mental health.


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