scholarly journals Smartphone Addiction among Qatar University Students: A Cross-Sectional study

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Reem Ashour ◽  
Sana Elashie ◽  
Bayan Alkeilan ◽  
Mujahed Shraim
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Academic Performance ◽  
Psychological Distress ◽  
Negative Impact ◽  
Social Activity ◽  
Cross Sectional Study ◽  
Sensitivity Analyses ◽  
Smartphone Addiction ◽  
Physical And Mental Health ◽  
Cross Sectional

Aims: The aim of this study was to: (I) estimate the prevalence of SPA among students in Qatar University (QU); (II) assess the correlation between daily duration of smartphone use (SPU) and SPA; (III) assess the relationship between SPA with (a) current Grade point Average (GPA), (b) psychological distress, and (c) students’ perceived negative impact of SPU on their learning and academic performance, sleep at night, social activity, and physical and mental health. Methods: We used a cross-sectional study using a selfadministered survey to address the aims of the study. An electronic survey was distributed to all QU students registered in the Fall 2019 in addition to a paper survey distribution to fifteen classes, selected at random from all colleges in QU. The survey used smartphone addiction scale (SAS) to measure SPA; General Health Questionnaire 28 (GHQ-28) to measure the likelihood of student having “psychological distress”; ten statements to identify students perceived negative impact of SPU on academic performance, sleep at night, physical and mental health, and social activity; current GPA as a measure of academic performance. Descriptive statistics and multivariable linear and logistics regression analyses were performed to analyses the data. The Study was ethically approved QU institutional review Board. Results: A total of 717 students participated in the study. The mean daily duration of SPU among students was 6.5 hours per day (SD= 3.7), and he prevalence of SPA was 59%. Duration of SPU in hours and SPA score (r=0.282, p= <0.001). The prevalence of psychological distress among students was 51.0%. Increase in daily duration of SPU, male gender, presence of psychological stress, not having a chronic disease, and not performing physical exercise in the previous week were independently associated with increased odds of SPA. We found a significant interaction between gender and psychological distress with SPA. Male students with psychological distress were at lower odds of SPA than female students with psychological distress (OR= 0.39; 95% CI 0.17, 0.87). SPA was a statistically significant predictor of all included domains of perceived negative impact of SPU, including sleep at night, learning in class, study time, academic performance, physical and mental health, and social activity. After adjustment for significant variables, students with no SPA had increased odds of having higher current GPA category by 2.04 times (1.05, 3.95) than students with SPA. The characteristics of students did not vary significantly according to survey completion method. The sensitivity analyses showed similar findings between the predictors and the outcome variables in all analyses. Therefore, our sensitivity analyses suggest that our findings are unlikely to have been affected by selection bias, response bias, or social acceptability bias. Conclusion: SPA is highly prevalent among QU students. SPA or longer duration of SPU have negative impact on academic performance, psychological distress, and perceived physical and mental health, and social activity.

scholarly journals Friends with malefit. The effects of keeping dogs and cats, sustaining animal-related injuries andToxoplasmainfection on health and quality of life

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jaroslav Flegr ◽  
Marek Preiss
Keyword(s):  
Quality Of Life ◽  
Mental Health ◽  
Negative Impact ◽  
Positive Impact ◽  
Positive Association ◽  
Cross Sectional Study ◽  
Physical And Mental Health ◽  
Negative Effects ◽  
Cross Sectional

AbstractMany studies show that keeping cats and dogs has a positive impact on humans’ physical and mental health and quality of life. The existence of this “pet phenomenon” is now widely discussed because other studies performed recently have demonstrated a negative impact of owning pets or no impact at all. The main problem of many studies was the autoselection – participants were informed about the aims of the study during recruitment and later likely described their health and wellbeing according to their personal beliefs and wishes, not according to their real status. To avoid this source of bias, we did not mention pets during participant recruitment and hid the pet-related questions among many hundreds of questions in an 80-minute Internet questionnaire. Results of our study performed on a sample of on 10,858 subjects showed that liking cats and dogs has a weak positive association with quality of life. However, keeping pets, especially cats, and even more being injured by pets, were strongly negatively associated with many facets of quality of life. Our data also confirmed that infection by the cat parasiteToxoplasmahad a very strong negative effect on quality of life, especially on mental health. However, the infection was not responsible for the observed negative effects of keeping pets, as these effects were much stronger in 1,527Toxoplasma-free subjects than in the whole population. Any cross-sectional study cannot discriminate between a cause and an effect. However, because of the large and still growing popularity of keeping pets, the existence and nature of the reverse pet phenomenon deserve the outmost attention.

scholarly journals Psychological Stress among Students in Health-Related Fields during the COVID-19 Pandemic: Results of a Cross-Sectional Study at Selected Munich Universities

2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (12) ◽  
pp. 6611
Author(s):  
Kristina Schröpfer ◽  
Nicole Schmidt ◽  
Sandra Kus ◽  
Clemens Koob ◽  
Michaela Coenen
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Psychological Stress ◽  
Negative Impact ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Cross Sectional Study ◽  
Physical And Mental Health ◽  
Cross Sectional Survey ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Factors Associated ◽  
Health Related

The COVID-19 pandemic has been a challenging period of upheaval for higher education students. This study aims to assess the factors associated with psychological stress during the COVID-19 pandemic among a sample of students in health-related fields at Munich universities in Germany. Students (n = 623) from KSH Munich and LMU Munich completed an online cross-sectional survey. Information on demographics and academic and everyday difficulties due to the COVID-19 pandemic as well as data on physical and mental health were collected. Multivariable logistic regression analyses were performed to identify factors associated with the outcome. The prevalence for higher psychological stress was 44% among the study population. Factors associated with higher psychological stress were: lower overall life satisfaction (p < 0.0001), worsened health situation (p < 0.0001), lack of social support (p = 0.0301) and social interaction (p = 0.0115), worries about financial difficulties due to loss of income (p = 0.0134), stressful thoughts about a second wave (p < 0.0001), feeling unable to positively influence the situation (p = 0.0262) and study-related effects, such as perceived study burden (p = 0.0003) and likely delay in studies (p = 0.0178)). The COVID-19 pandemic is having a significant negative impact on the mental health of students in health-related fields. Proactive efforts to support the mental health and well-being of students are needed.

scholarly journals Discrimination and Health: The Mediating Effect of Acculturative Stress

2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (10) ◽  
pp. 5312
Author(s):  
Alfonso Urzúa ◽  
Alejandra Caqueo-Urízar ◽  
Diego Henríquez ◽  
David R. Williams
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Racial Discrimination ◽  
Acculturative Stress ◽  
Short Form ◽  
Cross Sectional Study ◽  
Ethnic Discrimination ◽  
Mediating Effect ◽  
Physical And Mental Health ◽  
Negative Effects ◽  
Cross Sectional

There is not much evidence on the effects of south–south migration and its consequences on physical and mental health. Our objective was to examine the mediating role of Acculturative Stress in the association between ethnic discrimination and racial discrimination with physical and mental health. This research is a non-experimental, analytical, cross-sectional study. A total of 976 adult Colombian migrants living in Chile were interviewed. We used the Everyday Discrimination Scale, the acculturative stress scale, and the Medical Outcomes Study Short Form (SF-12) for health status; we found that racial and ethnic discrimination had a negative effect on physical and mental health. In the simultaneous presence of both types of discrimination, racial discrimination was completely absorbed by ethnic discrimination, the latter becoming a total mediator of the effect of racial discrimination on mental and physical health. Our findings are consistent with the literature, which suggests that there are various types of discrimination which, individually or in their intersectionality, can have negative effects on health.

scholarly journals Public Concerns during the COVID-19 Lockdown: A Multicultural Cross-Sectional Study among Internet Survey Respondents in Three Countries

2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (8) ◽  
pp. 1577
Author(s):  
Alona Emodi-Perlman ◽  
Ilana Eli ◽  
Nir Uziel ◽  
Joanna Smardz ◽  
Anahat Khehra ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Online Survey ◽  
Middle Eastern ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Cross Sectional Study ◽  
Internet Survey ◽  
Physical And Mental Health ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Culturally Different ◽  
Patient Health

(1) Background: this study aimed to evaluate the worries, anxiety, and depression in the public during the initial coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic lockdown in three culturally different groups of internet survey respondents: Middle Eastern (Israel), European (Poland), and North American (Canada). (2) Methods: a cross-sectional online survey was conducted in the mentioned countries during the lockdown periods. The survey included a demographic questionnaire, a questionnaire on personal concerns, and the Patient Health Questionnaire-4 (PHQ-4). A total of 2207 people successfully completed the survey. (3) Results: Polish respondents were the most concerned about being infected. Canadian respondents worried the most about their finances, relations with relatives and friends, and both physical and mental health. Polish respondents worried the least about their physical health, and Israeli respondents worried the least about their mental health and relations with relatives and friends. Canadian respondents obtained the highest score in the PHQ-4, while the scores of Israeli respondents were the lowest. (4) Conclusions: various factors should be considered while formulating appropriate solutions in emergency circumstances such as a pandemic. Understanding these factors will aid in the development of strategies to mitigate the adverse effects of stress, social isolation, and uncertainty on the well-being and mental health of culturally different societies.

scholarly journals Physical and mental health factors associated with work engagement among Finnish female municipal employees: a cross-sectional study

BMJ Open ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 7 (10) ◽  
pp. e017303
Author(s):  
Veera Veromaa ◽  
Hannu Kautiainen ◽  
Päivi Elina Korhonen
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Risk Factors ◽  
Work Engagement ◽  
Cross Sectional Study ◽  
Psychosocial Risk Factors ◽  
Psychosocial Risk ◽  
Psychosocial Risk Factor ◽  
Physical And Mental Health ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Mental Health Factors

ObjectivesWork engagement is related to mental health, but studies of physical health’s association with work engagement are scarce. This study aims to evaluate the relationship between physical health, psychosocial risk factors and work engagement among Finnish women in municipal work units.MethodsA cross-sectional study was conducted in 2014 among 726 female employees from 10 municipal work units of the city of Pori, Finland. Work engagement was assessed with the nine-item Utrecht Work Engagement Scale. The American Heart Association’s concept of ideal cardiovascular health (CVH) was used to define physical health (non-smoking, body mass index <25.0 kg/m2, physical activity at goal, healthy diet, total cholesterol <5.18mmol/L, blood pressure <120/80 mm Hg, normal glucose tolerance). Psychosocial risk factors (social isolation, stress, depressive symptoms, anxiety, hostility and type D personality) were included as core questions suggested by 2012 European Guidelines on cardiovascular disease prevention.ResultsOf the study subjects, 25.2% had favourable 5–7 CVH metrics. The sum of CVH metrics, healthy diet and physical activity at goal were positively associated with work engagement. In subjects without psychosocial risk factors (36.7%), work engagement was high and stable. Presence of even one psychosocial risk factor was associated with a lower level of work engagement regardless of the sum of ideal CVH metrics.ConclusionsBoth physical and mental health factors have a positive relationship with work engagement, whereas the presence of even one psychosocial risk factor has a negative association regardless of the level of classic cardiovascular risk factors.

scholarly journals Mental health of undergraduate distance learners: a cross-sectional study

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Gayani P. Gamage ◽  
H.M.Chulani J. Herath
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Psychological Distress ◽  
Distance Learning ◽  
Physical Health ◽  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Cross Sectional Study ◽  
Distance Learners ◽  
Sectional Study ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Content Type

PurposeMental health is as important as physical health and new university entrants report high prevalence of depression. In open and distance learning (ODL), students must manage both work and studies. Those who are unable to effectively balance these aspects may experience negative outcomes such as dropping out, distress and physical health problems. Therefore, the study aims to investigate psychological distress amongst distance-learning undergraduate students to gather evidence for recommending necessary interventions.Design/methodology/approachA cross-sectional study was conducted using depression, anxiety, stress scale (DASS-21). Participants were undergraduate students from the Open University of Sri Lanka (OUSL). The students' socio-demographic details, history of physical and mental illnesses were also recorded.FindingsAccording to scoring, 51% of the sample was categorised as “psychologically distressed” relating to the anxiety levels they reported whilst depression (35%) and stress remained (20%) at low levels. The three-factor structure of DASS-21 was also confirmed with reliability scores of 0.8 obtained for all three sub-scales.Research limitations/implicationsThe limitations were low-response rate (less than 50%) and inability to provide causal explanations for psychological distress. Further research could address these.Practical implicationsThe current research identified anxiety as a psychologically distressing factor for ODL students with the use of a reliable screening tool. Therefore, exploring reasons and interventions to help reduce anxiety could be developed.Social implicationsMajority of distance learners are contributing to a country's economy whilst learning to improve their current socio-economic status. Therefore, addressing these negative impacts is important.Originality/valueThe study explored ODL students' psychological distress and highlighted the need to identify causes and development of support systems to enhance mental well-being.

scholarly journals Barriers to healthcare for autistic adults: Consequences & policy implications. A cross-sectional study

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mary Doherty ◽  
Stuart D Neilson ◽  
Jane D O'Sullivan ◽  
Laura Carravallah ◽  
Mona Johnson ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Cross Sectional Study ◽  
Sectional Study ◽  
Physical And Mental Health ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Adverse Health ◽  
Adverse Health Outcomes ◽  
Clinic Appointment ◽  
Autistic People ◽  
Autistic Adults

AbstractBackgroundAutistic people experience significantly poorer physical and mental health along with reduced life expectancy.AimTo identify self-reported barriers to primary care by autistic adults compared to parents of autistic children and non-autistic adults and link these barriers to self-reported adverse health consequences.Design and SettingFollowing consultation with the autistic community at an autistic conference, Autscape, a quantitative and qualitative survey was developed.MethodThe self-report survey was administered online through social media platforms.ResultsThe 57-item online survey was completed by 507 autistic adults, 196 parents of autistic children and 157 control subjects. 79.7% of autistic adults, 52.8% of parents and 36.5% of controls reported difficulty visiting a GP. The highest-rated barriers by autistic adults were deciding if symptoms warrant a GP visit (72.2%), difficulty making appointments by telephone (61.9%), not feeling understood (55.8%), difficulty communicating with their doctor (53.1%) and the waiting room environment (50.5%).Autistic adults reported a preference for online or text based appointment booking, facility to email in advance the reason for consultation, first or last clinic appointment and a quiet place to wait.Increased adverse health outcomes reported by autistic adults correlated with difficulty attending, including untreated physical and mental health conditions, not attending specialist referral or screening programmes, requiring more extensive treatment or surgery due to late presentations, and untreated potentially life threatening conditions.ConclusionReduction of healthcare inequalities for autistic people requires that healthcare providers understand autistic perspectives and communication needs. Adjustments for autism specific needs are as necessary as ramps for wheelchair users.How this fits inAdverse health outcomes are common among autistic people and so it is important to understand how we can promote access to primary care.This cross sectional study indicates that 79.7% of autistic patients (compared to 36.5% of controls) reported difficulty visiting a GP.Common barriers were: deciding if symptoms warrant a GP visit, difficulty using the telephone to book appointments, not feeling understood and difficulty communicating with their doctor.Common suggestions to promote access included: online or text based appointment booking facility, emailing in advance the reason for consultation, providing first or last clinic appointment and having a quiet place to wait.

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