Cross-sectional and longitudinal predictors of quality of life in autistic individuals from adolescence to adulthood: The role of mental health and sleep quality

Autism ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 24 (4) ◽  
pp. 954-967 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lauren P Lawson ◽  
Amanda L Richdale ◽  
Alexandra Haschek ◽  
Rebecca L Flower ◽  
Josh Vartuli ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Quality Of Life ◽  
Mental Health ◽  
Sleep Quality ◽  
Support Services ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Post Secondary Education ◽  
Post Secondary ◽  
Autistic Group ◽  
Education Participation

Autistic adults experience a higher rate of physical and mental health conditions and lower rates of employment and post-secondary education participation than their non-autistic counterparts, which may affect negatively quality of life. Limited information exists on predictors of quality of life for autistic individuals, or how quality of life compares to non-autistic individuals. Our aims were to (a) examine and compare indicators of physical (e.g. sleep quality) and mental health (e.g. anxiety) on quality of life among a sample of 244 autistic and 165 non-autistic individuals aged 15–80 years and (b) examine factors contributing to quality of life 2 years later among the autistic sample ( n = 93). Participants were from two Australian longitudinal studies. The pattern of results for quality of life was similar across the autistic and non-autistic groups, with depression symptomatology, psychological well-being, sleep quality and autonomic symptoms all significantly predicting quality of life. In addition, among the autistic group, baseline quality of life had the greatest influence on quality of life 2 years later. These findings have implications for support services for autistic individuals, implying that in order to improve quality of life, mental health, particularly depression, needs addressing. Given known relationships between sleep and mental health, an intervention addressing these may have greatest clinical impact on quality of life among autistic individuals. Lay Abstract Research shows that autistic adults are at risk of a range of physical (e.g. sleep difficulties) and mental health (e.g. anxiety) conditions, as well as lower employment and post-secondary education participation; these all can affect one’s quality of life. However, we have little information about what affects quality of life for autistic individuals across the lifespan and whether this differs from non-autistic people. We determined what factors (e.g. mental or physical health challenges) affected quality of life in a large group of autistic individuals aged 15–80 years compared with similar age non-autistic individuals. We also examined what factors affected quality of life of the autistic group 2 years later. We found a similar pattern of results for the autistic and non-autistic groups; depression symptoms, psychological well-being, sleep quality and autonomic symptoms (e.g. sweating) were all significant predictors of quality of life. In addition, among the autistic group, baseline quality of life had the most influence on quality of life 2 years later. These results have implications for support services, as they highlight the relationship between mental health (especially depression) and quality of life. Given that sleep challenges (e.g. insomnia) are related to mental health, an intervention addressing both insomnia and mental health may be most useful in helping autistic individuals improve their quality of life.

Comparison of mental health, well-being and parenting sense of competency among Australian and South-East Asian parents of autistic children accessing early intervention in Australia

Autism ◽  
2021 ◽  
pp. 136236132110100
Author(s):  
Jodie Smith ◽  
Rhylee Sulek ◽  
Ifrah Abdullahi ◽  
Cherie C Green ◽  
Catherine A Bent ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Quality Of Life ◽  
Mental Health ◽  
Early Intervention ◽  
East Asian ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Cultural Background ◽  
Autistic Children ◽  
Community Based ◽  
Health Quality

Parents from individualist cultures (those focused on autonomy of individuals; that is, Australian) may view their autistic children differently compared to parents from collectivist cultures (where community needs are valued over an individual’s, that is, South-East Asian cultures). As most research on autism and parenting has been undertaken in Western individualist cultures, knowledge of parenting beliefs and mental health within collectivist cultures is lacking. We compared the mental health, quality of life, well-being and parenting sense of competency between families raising an autistic child from two groups: 97 Australian parents and 58 parents from South-East Asian backgrounds. Children from both groups were receiving the same community-based early intervention. No group differences were found on the measures of mental health but, when compared to Australian parents, parents from South-East Asian backgrounds reported higher well-being and less impact on their quality of life resulting from their child’s autism-specific difficulties. Furthermore, a positive association between well-being and quality of life was only observed for South-East Asian parents. Hence, the views of, and responses to, disability for South-East Asian parents may act as a protective factor promoting well-being. This novel research indicates that culture plays a role in parenting autistic children and highlights the need to accurately capture cultural background information in research. Lay abstract We know that parents of autistic children experience poorer mental health and lower well-being than parents of non-autistic children. We also know that poorer mental health among parents of autistic children has been observed across different cultures. Most research focuses on Western cultures, so we know little about parental mental health and well-being of parents from different cultural backgrounds; yet, it is likely that cultural background contributes to how parents view their child’s condition and respond to the diagnosis. Here, we compared mental health, quality of life and well-being between families raising an autistic child from Australian backgrounds to families from South-East Asian backgrounds. All children in the current study were receiving the same community-based early intervention. When compared to the general population, parents had poorer mental health overall, but there were no differences between the two groups of parents. However, parents from South-East Asian backgrounds reported higher well-being and fewer difficulties associated with their child’s autism. These findings suggest that cultural background likely influences not only parent’s view of, and response to, their child’s autism, but also their own sense of well-being. As researchers and clinicians working with families of autistic children, we should more explicitly consider family’s cultural background within our work.

scholarly journals Exploring the quality of life and psychological symptoms of university students in Cyprus during the Covid-19 pandemic

2021 ◽  
Vol 17 ◽  
pp. 110-121
Author(s):  
Hadjicharalambous Demetris ◽  
Loucia Demetriou ◽  
Koulla Erotocritou
Keyword(s):  
Quality Of Life ◽  
Mental Health ◽  
Family Income ◽  
Mental Health Problems ◽  
Psychological Symptoms ◽  
Negative Impact ◽  
General Health Questionnaire ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Idioms Of Distress

The onset of the infectious disease Covid19 originating in Wuhan, China, took over the world in December 2019 and was declared a pandemic in January 2020.  Empirical evidence resulting from relevant research illustrated that the effects of the pandemic itself but also of the strict measures to contain the spread of the virus on the mental health and well-being of affected populations were just as unanticipated as the pandemic itself. Data led to the identification of six idioms of distress: (1) Demoralization and pessimism towards the future, (2) anguish and stress, (3) self-depreciation, (4) social withdrawal and isolation, (5) somatization, (6) withdrawal into oneself. Our research explores the psychological impact of the Covid19 pandemic on college students and their quality of life. The study took place in Cyprus with 356 young participants, whereas 256 were female (72%) and 100 were male (28%). They all completed the General Health Questionnaire-28 and the Life Satisfaction Inventory (LSI). The present study's findings revealed that six factors, including residence without family, the deterioration of the financial situation of the family, the loss of employment, the deterioration of social relationships, young age, and gender, have significantly affected in a negative way the mental health and quality of life of young people. Research findings revealed that the strict lockdown and physical/social isolation measures had a significant adverse effect on our sample, whereas participants showed increased symptoms of anxiety and insomnia, social dysfunction, and somatization. Young adults who lost their jobs during the pandemic or had a significant decrease in their family income, and students who stayed away from their families, experienced a negative impact on their quality of life and had to cope with more mental health problems.

scholarly journals Compassionate Coach and Psychological Quality of Life in Portuguese Athletes: Effect of Mediating Variables

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-17
Author(s):  
Sara Oliveira ◽  
Marina Cunha ◽  
António Rosado ◽  
Cláudia Ferreira
Keyword(s):  
Quality Of Life ◽  
Mental Health ◽  
Path Analysis ◽  
Psychological Health ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Competitive Sports ◽  
Social Safeness ◽  
Emotional Processes ◽  
Proposed Model

This study aimed to test a model that hypothesized that the compassionate coach, as perceived by the athletes, has an impact on athlete-related social safeness and psychological health, through shame and self-criticism. The sample comprised 270 Portuguese adult athletes, who practiced different competitive sports. The path analysis results confirmed the adequacy of the proposed model, which explained 45% of the psychological health’s variance. Results demonstrated that athletes who perceive their coaches as more compassionate tend to present higher levels of social safeness (feelings of belonging to the team) and of psychological health, through lower levels of shame and self-criticism. These novel findings suggest the importance of the adoption of supportive, warm, safe, and compassionate attitudes from coaches in athletes’ mental health. This study also offers important insights by suggesting that feelings of acceptance and connectedness in team relationships may be at the root of athletes’ emotional processes and well-being.

Spirituality and Religion-Relevance and Assessment in the Clinical Setting

2019 ◽  
Vol 15 (2) ◽  
pp. 80-87
Author(s):  
Ishrat J. Khan
Keyword(s):  
Quality Of Life ◽  
Mental Health ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Original Research ◽  
Clinical Settings ◽  
Physical And Mental Health ◽  
Ovid Medline ◽  
Review Articles ◽  
Spirituality And Religion

Background:There has been an increasing interest in the past several decades to study the relationship between spirituality and religion with physical and mental health as well as the various quality of life measures. This trend has led to the creation of an area of study called epidemiology of religion and spirituality. The policy shifts at various levels, in the mental health field, has occurred as well to educate healthcare providers, and address patients’ spiritual /religious needs in clinical settings. Despite these advances in research and policy shift, there is still some resistance in the health care community to assess and address the spiritual needs of patients in clinical settings.Objective:The objective is to review the published articles on spirituality/religion and its relationship with mental and physical wellbeing and discuss limitations of such research. The review articles on assessment and interventions to address spiritual or religious needs in clinical settings were also included.Methods:Author conducted a literature search using books@Ovid, Journals@Ovid Full Text, Your Journals@Ovid, Ovid MEDLINE® 1946 to January week 4 2019, Ovid Medline® and Epub Ahead of Print, In-Process & Other Non-Indexed Citations and Daily without Revisions 2015-January 28, 2019; Ovid MD and Psychiatry Online.Results:A total of 1,040 articles were identified using keywords spirituality, religion, mental health, physical health, psychological well-being, healthy beliefs, psychopathological beliefs and quality of life. The search result included original research papers, review articles and commentaries.Conclusion:The review articles were narrowed to 100 articles based on relevance to the objectives outlined above. Seventy-five articles were referenced at the end.

scholarly journals Health-related quality of life determinants in outpatients with heart failure

2011 ◽  
Vol 19 (3) ◽  
pp. 451-457 ◽  
Author(s):  
Viviane Martinelli Pelegrino ◽  
Rosana Aparecida Spadoti Dantas ◽  
Alexander Michael Clark
Keyword(s):  
Quality Of Life ◽  
Mental Health ◽  
Heart Failure ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Health Related Quality ◽  
Heart Failure Care ◽  
Heart Failure Questionnaire ◽  
Related Quality ◽  
Health Related

This descriptive and exploratory study analyzed variables associated with health-related quality of life among 130 outpatients. Health-related quality of life was measured through the Minnesota Living with Heart Failure Questionnaire. Significant associations were found between patients’ health-related quality of life and their age (r=-0.177; p=0.044), vitality (r=-0.625; p=<0.001) as well as mental health (r=-0.672; p=<0.001), which are both SF-36 domains. The linear regression showed that heart failure symptom severity, vitality and mental health explained 54% of HRQOL measurement variation. To control symptoms and preserve good mental well-being are important to maintain health-related quality of life and to deliver effective heart failure care.

scholarly journals Mental Health, Quality of Life and Violence Exposure in Low-Socioeconomic Status Children and Adolescents of Guatemala

2020 ◽  
Vol 17 (20) ◽  
pp. 7620
Author(s):  
Rosalba Company-Córdoba ◽  
Diego Gómez-Baya ◽  
Francisca López-Gaviño ◽  
Joaquín A. Ibáñez-Alfonso
Keyword(s):  
Quality Of Life ◽  
Mental Health ◽  
Food Insecurity ◽  
Children And Adolescents ◽  
Low Socioeconomic Status ◽  
Exposure To Violence ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Related Quality ◽  
Health Related

Growing up in vulnerable conditions has an impact on children and adolescents’ mental health and well-being outcomes. However, this evidence has rarely been obtained in middle and low-income countries like Guatemala, where food insecurity and exposure to violence frequently threaten childhood development. The aim of this study was to analyse the relations that sociodemographic and socioeconomic factors have with psychological adjustment of low-socioeconomic status (SES) Guatemalan children and adolescents, and how these relations were mediated by food insecurity and exposure to violence. A total of 185 participants (50.8% girls; aged between 6 to 17, M = 11.82, SD = 3.7) from three vulnerable schools located in rural and urban areas of Guatemala were assessed. The results indicated that exposure to violence significantly moderates the effect of sociodemographic and socioeconomic variables in measures of depression, anxiety and health-related quality of life. Adolescents more exposed to violence reported higher levels of depression and anxiety, as well as lower levels of health-related quality of life. In contrast, food insecurity did not seem to influence psychological adjustment outcomes in this low-SES sample. These findings highlight the relevance of exposure to violence for mental health and well-being, and is a factor that should be considered when designing public health policies to promote children and adolescents’ welfare.

Development of the Sport Mental Health Continuum—Short Form (Sport MHC-SF)

2019 ◽  
Vol 13 (4) ◽  
pp. 593-608 ◽  
Author(s):  
Brian J. Foster ◽  
Graig M. Chow
Keyword(s):  
Quality Of Life ◽  
Mental Health ◽  
Convergent Validity ◽  
Short Form ◽  
Measurement Instrument ◽  
Collegiate Athletes ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Emotional Quality ◽  
Context Specific

Well-being research conducted in competitive athletics has been marred by the lack of a context-specific measurement instrument. The purpose of this study was to adapt the Mental Health Continuum – Short Form (MHC-SF) to create a sport-specific well-being instrument, the Sport Mental Health Continuum—Short Form (Sport MHC-SF), and test its initial psychometric properties. Participants were 287 collegiate athletes from a variety of sports. Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) determined a three-factor structure of sport well-being, consisting of subjective, psychological, and social factors, as the model of best fit. Internal consistency reliabilities of the subscales exceeded .88. Moderate positive correlations were found between Sport MHC-SF subscales and quality of life indices, notably physical and emotional quality of life, demonstrating convergent validity. The Sport MHC-SF will facilitate empirical research by providing a more accurate and comprehensive measurement of well-being for an athletic population.

scholarly journals EFFECTS OF HAPPINESS TRAINING ON MENTAL HEALTH IN ADULTS: A SYSTEMATIC REVIEW

2021 ◽  
Vol 6 (38) ◽  
pp. 93-109
Author(s):  
Sonia Khodabakhsh
Keyword(s):  
Quality Of Life ◽  
Mental Health ◽  
Systematic Review ◽  
Blood Pressure ◽  
Life Satisfaction ◽  
Web Of Science ◽  
Review Paper ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Research Articles

Past studies have shown mental health and happiness are associated with each other. Several studies were done on the effectiveness of happiness training in several aspects. In this review paper, the effect of happiness training on mental health among adults is systematically reviewed. Through a search in Web of Science, PubMed, and Google Scholar using the “happiness training” keyword and its related words among post-2005 publications, the number of 18 research articles included in this review paper. Based on the systematic review, 18 variables in the selected studies are discussed which include anxiety, blood pressure, burnout, depression, emotions, flourishing, happiness, life expectancy, life satisfaction, migraine symptoms, mindfulness, quality of life, resilience, stress, tolerance, and well-being.

scholarly journals COVID-19 Compromises In The Medical Practice And The Consequential Effect On Endometriosis Patients

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shaked Ashkenazi ◽  
Ole Linvaag Huseby ◽  
Gard Kroken ◽  
Luis Adrian Soto ◽  
Marius Pents ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Quality Of Life ◽  
Mental Health ◽  
Mental State ◽  
Medical Management ◽  
Uterine Cavity ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Reproductive Age ◽  
Cross Sectional Survey ◽  
Keywords Endometriosis

Background and purpose In response to the ongoing coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, self-isolation practices aimed to curb the spread of COVID-19 have severely complicated the medical management of patients suffering from endometriosis and their physical and mental well- being. Endometriosis, the main cause for chronic pelvic pain (CPP), is a highly prevalent disease characterized by the presence of endometrial tissue in locations outside the uterine cavity that affects up to 10% of women in their reproductive age. This study aimed to explore the effects of the global COVID-19 pandemic on patients suffering from endometriosis across multiple countries, and to investigate the different approaches to the medical management of these patients based on their self- reported experiences. Methods A cross-sectional survey, partially based on validated quality of life questionnaires for endometriosis patients, was initially created in English, which was then reviewed by experts. Through the process of assessing face and content validity, the questionnaire was then translated to fifteen different languages following the WHO recommendations for medical translation. After evaluation, the questionnaire was converted into a web form and distributed across different platforms. An analysis of 2964 responses of participants from 59 countries suffering from self-reported endometriosis was then conducted. Results The data shows an association between COVID-19 imposed compromises with the reported worsening of the mental state of the participants, as well as with the aggravation of their symptoms. For the 1174 participants who had their medical appointments cancelled, 43.7% (n=513) reported that their symptoms had been aggravated, and 49.3% (n=579) reported that their mental state had worsened. In comparison, of the 1180 participants who kept their appointments, only 29.4% (n=347) stated that their symptoms had been aggravated, and 27.5% (n=325) stated their mental health had worsened. 610 participants did not have medical appointments scheduled, and these participants follow a similar pattern as the participants who kept their appointments, with 29.0% (n=177) reporting aggravation of symptoms and 28.2% (n=172) reporting that their mental state had worsened. Conclusions These findings suggest that COVID-19 pandemic has had a clinically significant negative effect on the mental and physical well-being of participants suffering from endometriosis based on their self-reported experiences. Thus, they show the importance of further assessment and reevaluation of the current and future management of this condition in medical practices worldwide. Keywords Endometriosis, COVID-19, questionnaire, Quality of life, Mental health, Physical health

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