scholarly journals Household chaos, maternal stress, and maternal health behaviors in the United States during the COVID-19 outbreak

2021 ◽  
Vol 17 ◽  
pp. 174550652110106
Author(s):  
Chelsea L Kracht ◽  
Peter T Katzmarzyk ◽  
Amanda E Staiano
Keyword(s):  
Physical Activity ◽  
United States ◽  
Confidence Interval ◽  
Physical Health ◽  
Maternal Stress ◽  
The United States ◽  
Poor Sleep ◽  
Full Time ◽  
Household Chaos ◽  
Mental And Physical Health

Objectives: Household chaos, including disorder, noise, and crowding within the home, is a risk factor for poor mental and physical health. Household chaos may act upon maternal behaviors of physical activity and sleep, potentially via higher stress. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the relationships among household chaos, maternal stress, and maternal physical activity and sleep, and identify barriers to home organization during the COVID-19 outbreak. Methods: A cross-sectional study using an online survey of 1721 mothers of preschoolers (ages = 3.0–5.9 years) in the United States was conducted in May 2020 during COVID-19 stay-at-home orders and early reopening. Mothers reported demographic characteristics, household chaos, stress, physical activity and sleep, and barriers to home organization during the outbreak. Mediation models were conducted among household chaos, stress, and physical activity and sleep with adjustment for covariates. Results: About half of mothers were middle income (48.2%), employed full-time prior to the outbreak (59.1%), and met the physical activity (47.7%), and sleep guideline (49.7%, 7–9 h/day). Household chaos and stress were both negatively related to physical activity and sleep. For every 1 unit increase in mother’s current stress, mothers were 11% (95% confidence interval = 6% to 16%) less likely to meet the physical activity guideline and 19% (95% confidence interval = 14% to 23%) less likely to meet the sleep guideline. Household chaos was positively related to stress. Stress partially mediated the relationship between household chaos and physical activity and sleep. Virus concerns, occupational changes (i.e. teleworking), and lack of childcare were barriers to home organization. Conclusion: During the COVID-19 outbreak, many mothers had poor sleep and physical activity, which was associated with household chaos and stress. Opportunities to promote order at the individual, household, and community level may result in beneficial mental and physical health in mothers of young children during the COVID-19 outbreak and beyond.

scholarly journals Association of Social Networks and Physical Activity in South Asians: The Mediators of Atherosclerosis in South Asians Living in America Cohort Study

2020 ◽  
Vol 17 (2) ◽  
pp. 149-155 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mitali S. Thanawala ◽  
Juned Siddique ◽  
John A. Schneider ◽  
Alka M. Kanaya ◽  
Andrew J. Cooper ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Physical Activity ◽  
United States ◽  
Social Networks ◽  
Confidence Interval ◽  
Leisure Time Physical Activity ◽  
South Asians ◽  
Ethnic Disparities ◽  
The United States ◽  
Activity Levels ◽  
Cross Sectional

Background: Eliminating racial/ethnic disparities in physical activity remains a challenge in the United States. South Asian immigrants in the United States have particularly low physical activity levels, and evidence suggests that social context may be important. This study examined associations between personal social networks and moderate to vigorous leisure-time physical activity (MVPA) among South Asians in the United States. Methods: We used cross-sectional data (2014–2017) from 689 South Asians (aged 43–85 y) who participated in the Mediators of Atherosclerosis in South Asians Living in America study. Self-reported physical activity and egocentric network data were collected from participants about their network members. Regression models were used to determine associations between social network characteristics and participants’ MVPA. Results: Participants were on average 59 years old (SD = 9) and reported 1335 metabolic equivalent minutes per week of MVPA (interquartile range = 735, 2212). Having network members who exercised or who were exercise partners associated with increased MVPA in men (β coefficient = 241 MET min/wk [95% confidence interval, 63 to 419] and β = 520 MET min/wk [95% confidence interval, 322 to 718], respectively). For women, the association was only significant if the exercise partner was a spouse. Conclusion: Physical activity interventions utilizing network members as exercise partners may have potential in South Asians but must consider gender differences.

scholarly journals Daily Financial Thoughts and Indices of Mental and Physical Health: The Importance of Socioeconomic Status

2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. 391-392
Author(s):  
Jonathan Rush ◽  
Eric Cerino ◽  
Jacqueline Mogle ◽  
Robert Stawski ◽  
Susan Charles ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Socioeconomic Status ◽  
Physical Health ◽  
Daily Diary ◽  
The United States ◽  
Physical Symptoms ◽  
National Study ◽  
Positive And Negative Affect ◽  
Daily Experiences ◽  
Mental And Physical Health

Abstract The current study examined the associations between daily financial thoughts, socioeconomic status (SES), and indices of emotional (positive and negative affect (PA/NA)) and physical health (physical symptoms and cortisol). Participants (N = 782) from the National Study of Daily Experiences, a subsample of the Midlife in the United States Refresher survey, completed daily diary interviews and provided saliva samples, from which cortisol was assayed. Participants who, on average, reported more daily financial thoughts also reported more NA, less PA, more physical symptoms, and had higher cortisol AUCg (all p’s < .05). These effects were more pronounced among people reporting lower SES. Daily fluctuations in financial thoughts also predicted daily fluctuations in NA, PA, and physical symptoms (all p’s <. 01). Again, these associations were more pronounced among people reporting lower SES. Results indicate that intrusive, daily financial thoughts may be one pathway explaining the link between SES and health outcomes.

scholarly journals Social Isolation, Loneliness, and Mental and Emotional Well-being among International Students in the United States

2019 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. 75-82
Author(s):  
Mehrete Girmay ◽  
Gopal K. Singh
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
International Students ◽  
Physical Health ◽  
Social Isolation ◽  
International Student ◽  
Well Being ◽  
The United States ◽  
Domestic Students ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Mental And Physical Health

Background: Loneliness and social isolation have the ability to affect an individual's mental and physical health. With research linking both to morbidity and premature mortality, their effects must be viewed as important public health problems. Loneliness and social isolation can be especially pronounced in the international student community, particularly at the university level, as this population encounters challenges assimilating to their host university, surrounding community, and host country. This study explores the risks and sociocultural factors associated with loneliness, social isolation, and psychological distress with regards to the overall adjustment of international students. Methods: In this qualitative, narrative case study, 10 international graduate students at a university in the United States participated in two focus group sessions followed by individual interviews. Thematic areas and topics were identified using Barrer's three models of social support. Study was completed between December 2016 and September 2017. Results: All of the participants shared that they had experienced loneliness and social isolation at some point during their acculturative process resulting in perceived xenophobia and a sense of insincerity on behalf of domestic students when attempting to forge connections. For some, these experiences elicited feelings of depression, a disinterest in building connections with domestic students, and in attending social events held on campus and within the community, further exacerbating feelings of loneliness and social isolation. Conclusions and Implications for Translation: Results shed light on the impact that poor acculturation can have on the student's mental and physical health and how bridges between the international and non-international communities can be built and more importantly, sustained. There is a critical need for more effort to be focused on attending to both the mental and physical health needs of migrant students during their stay at the host university. Key words: • Acculturation • Social Isolation • Loneliness • Mental Health • International •  Student   Copyright © 2019 Girmay and Singh. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Com- mons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Theory and Measurement of Foreigner Objectification

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joyce P. Lee ◽  
Richard M. Lee ◽  
Alisia G. T. T. Tran
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Physical Health ◽  
Ethnic Minority ◽  
Asian Americans ◽  
Minority Groups ◽  
The United States ◽  
Psychological Research ◽  
Ethnic Minority Groups ◽  
Racial Ethnic ◽  
Mental And Physical Health

This chapter investigates the phenomenon of foreigner objectification, or the labeling (implicit or otherwise) of members of racial/ethnic minority groups as foreigners regardless of citizenship, migration status, or length of residence. As the majority of research on foreigner objectification has emerged out of the United States, the chapter focuses on the foreigner objectification experiences of two rapidly growing US racial/ethnic groups: Latinos/as and Asian Americans. It first contextualizes foreigner objectification within the larger literature on attitudes toward racial/ethnic minority groups. It then discusses how foreigner objectification has been measured in psychological research and examines the limited but growing literature on the association between foreigner objectification and mental and physical health.

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