scholarly journals Individual Differences in the Association Between Subjective Stress and Heart Rate Are Related to Psychological and Physical Well-Being

2019 ◽  
Vol 30 (7) ◽  
pp. 1016-1029 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sasha L. Sommerfeldt ◽  
Stacey M. Schaefer ◽  
Markus Brauer ◽  
Carol D. Ryff ◽  
Richard J. Davidson

The physiological response to stress is intertwined with, but distinct from, the subjective feeling of stress, although both systems must work in concert to enable adaptive responses. We investigated 1,065 participants from the Midlife in the United States 2 study who completed a self-report battery and a stress-induction procedure while physiological and self-report measures of stress were recorded. Individual differences in the association between heart rate and self-reported stress were analyzed in relation to measures that reflect psychological well-being (self-report measures of well-being, anxiety, depression), denial coping, and physical well-being (proinflammatory biomarkers interleukin-6 and C-reactive protein). The within-participants association between heart rate and self-reported stress was significantly related to higher psychological well-being, fewer depressive symptoms, lower trait anxiety, less use of denial coping, and lower levels of proinflammatory biomarkers. Our results highlight the importance of studying individual differences in coherence between physiological measures and subjective mental states in relation to well-being.

2019 ◽  
Vol 3 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. S303-S303
Author(s):  
Christi L Nelson ◽  
Ross Andel

Abstract Around 2.7 million adults over the age of 50 self-identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) in the United States. Past research suggests that additional stressors caused by being a socially stigmatized minority group can have a negative effect on health and well-being. The purpose of this study was to examine the relationships between sexual orientation and self-rated health, memory, and psychological well-being in a 1:3 propensity score-matched subsample from 2016 wave of Health and Retirement Study (HRS), a nationally representative study of older adults. Each lesbian/gay/bisexual (LGB) participant (n=140) was matched with three straight participants (n=420) on age, sex, and education. The average age was 53.8 years (SD=2.3 years), 54% were men, the average education was 14.3 years (SD=2.4 years). Logistic regression results indicated that LGB participants were almost twice as likely to report ever having depression (OR=1.85, 95% CI=1.23-2.80). Conversely, LGB participants were more likely to report having better health (OR=1.47, 95% CI= 1.04-2.07) than straight participants and the two groups did not differ significantly in memory (OR=1.16, 95% CI= 0.82-1.64) from their straight counterparts. In conclusion, it is possible that the stigma due to sexual orientation plays a role in psychological well-being but may also reflect in better physical health but not cognitive health. It is also possible that the better health in LGB participants reflects self-report bias.


2014 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cassidy Bibo ◽  
Julie Spencer-Rodgers ◽  
Benaissa Zarhbouch ◽  
Mostafa Bouanini ◽  
Kaiping Peng

2020 ◽  
pp. 002087282097061
Author(s):  
Qin Gao ◽  
Xiaofang Liu

Racial discrimination against people of Chinese and other Asian ethnicities has risen sharply in number and severity globally amid the COVID-19 pandemic. This rise has been especially rapid and severe in the United States, fueled by xenophobic political rhetoric and racist language on social media. It has endangered the lives of many Asian Americans and is likely to have long-term negative impacts on the economic, social, physical, and psychological well-being of Asian Americans. This essay reviews the prevalence and consequences of anti-Asian racial discrimination during COVID-19 and calls for actions in practice, policy, and research to stand against it.


Author(s):  
Ieva Norkiene ◽  
Lina Jovarauskaite ◽  
Monika Kvedaraite ◽  
Encarl Uppal ◽  
Mandeep Kaur Phull ◽  
...  

The COVID-19 pandemic had a significant effect on healthcare globally. Additional pressure created by coronavirus adversely affected the mental health and psychological well-being of healthcare workers, leading many to question their desire and willingness to continue working in healthcare. This study aimed to identify predictors for career change ideation among healthcare professionals in two countries; Lithuania and the United Kingdom amid the coronavirus pandemic. In total, 610 healthcare professionals from Lithuania and the UK (285 and 325, respectively) participated in a survey from May to August 2020. Psychological distress and psychological well-being were measured using the self-report scales “DASS-21” and “WHO-5”. Almost half of the sample (49.2%), 59.6% and 40.0% in Lithuanian and the UK, respectively, exhibited career change ideation, the country effect was significant (AOR = 2.21, p < 0.001). Stronger ideation to leave healthcare was predicted by higher levels of depression (AOR = 1.10, p = 0.005), stress (AOR = 1.10, p = 0.007), anxiety surrounding inadequate personal protective equipment (AOR = 2.27, p = 0.009), and lower psychological well-being scores (AOR = 1.10, p = 0.007). We conclude that psychosocial support must be provided for healthcare professionals to prevent burnout and loss of staff amid the pandemic.


2021 ◽  
Vol 7 ◽  
pp. 233372142110029
Author(s):  
Eric S. Kim ◽  
Rifky Tkatch ◽  
David Martin ◽  
Stephanie MacLeod ◽  
Lewis Sandy ◽  
...  

Population aging is one of the most important social trends of the 21st century and in the United States, the number of people aged ≥65 is projected to increase by nearly 50% in the next 15 years. Most biomedical and public health efforts have focused on reducing harmful risk factors when targeting chronic disease—an approach that has contributed greatly to prevention and treatment programs. However, evidence suggests that the number of years lost to disability is increasing and historic gains we have made in life expectancy are eroding, and even reversing in some groups. As our society ages and grapples with these issues, expanding the focus to include resilience, as well as psychosocial assets in our prevention and treatment programs might help inform the multidisciplinary response effort we need. Here we synthesize research evaluating associations between different dimensions of psychological well-being (e.g., purpose in life, optimism, life satisfaction) and social well-being (e.g., structural, functional, quality) with chronic conditions. We also evaluate evidence around three biopsychosocial pathways hypothesized to underlie these associations. These factors are meaningful, measurable, and potentially modifiable; thus, further pursuing this line of inquiry might unveil innovative paths to enhancing the health of our rapidly aging society.


1997 ◽  
Vol 21 (3) ◽  
pp. 417-430 ◽  
Author(s):  
Keiko Takahashi ◽  
Junko Tamura ◽  
Makiko Tokoro

On the premise that social relationships among elderly adults differ in terms of the most significant, dominant figure, this study aimed to examine: (1) whether there were qualitative differences in supportive functions between family-dominant and friend-dominant affective relationships, and (2) whether “lone wolves”, who were deficient in human resources, had difficulties in maintaining their well-being. A total of 148 Japanese, over the age of 65, both living in communities and in institutions were individually interviewed about their social relationships using a self-report type method, the Picture Affective Relationships test, and their well-being was assessed using Depression, Self-esteem, Life satisfaction, and Subjective health scales. Results showed that there were no differences in psychological well-being between family-dominant and friend-dominant participants, but those who lacked affective figures had lower scores in subjective well-being than did their family-dominant and friend-dominant counterparts. The generalisation of these findings to other cultures is discussed.


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