scholarly journals Psychological Distress among Italian University Students Compared to General Workers during the COVID-19 Pandemic

2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (5) ◽  
pp. 2503
Author(s):  
Annunziata Romeo ◽  
Agata Benfante ◽  
Lorys Castelli ◽  
Marialaura Di Tella
Keyword(s):  
Depressive Symptoms ◽  
University Students ◽  
Psychological Impact ◽  
Health Concern ◽  
Health Evaluation ◽  
Psychological Consequences ◽  
Related Information ◽  
Health Related ◽  
Specific Factors ◽  
And Gender

The COVID-19 pandemic induced numerous changes in the daily life of every individual, with important social, economic, and psychological consequences. Particularly, the psychological impact encountered among students might be affected by social isolation, concern for personal health and for the health of family members and friends, and uncertainty about academic progress. The present study aimed to investigate the psychological impact of the COVID-19 outbreak on Italian university students compared to general workers. The responses of 956 participants (478 university students and 478 workers) were included in the final dataset. Participants were asked to provide sociodemographic and occupation-related information, and to complete: (1) COVID-19-related questions; (2) health-related visual analogue scales; (3) State-Trait Anxiety Inventory-Form Y1 (STAI Y1); and (4) the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI-II). Results of comparisons between university students and general workers revealed that the former reported higher levels of anxiety and depressive symptoms. Furthermore, regression analyses showed that in university students, gender, health evaluation, and health concern and gender, educational level, and health evaluation significantly predicted anxiety and depressive symptoms, respectively. Taken together these findings suggest that specific factors could predispose University students to a high risk of developing mental health symptoms as a consequence of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Exploring Modes, Strategies, and Psychosocial Consequences of Cyberbullying Perpetration and Victimization Among University Students

2020 ◽  
Vol 34 (4) ◽  
pp. 787-817 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hira Kanwal ◽  
Humaira Jami
Keyword(s):  
University Students ◽  
Social Networking Sites ◽  
Psychological Impact ◽  
Social Consequences ◽  
Cyber Victimization ◽  
Psychological Consequences ◽  
Negative Consequences ◽  
Psychosocial Consequences ◽  
Interview Guide ◽  
Depth Interviews

The purpose of the study was to explore modes, strategies, and consequences of cyberbullying perpetration and victimization among university students. In-depth interviews of 14 volunteer university students (8 male and 6 female) were conducted who volunteered to participate in the study in which 10 participants were “cybervictims” whereas 4 were “cyberbully-victim”. Interview guide was used for conducting unstructured interviews. Thematic analysis of the interviews revealed different experiences in cyberspace with respect to gender and role (cybervictim and cyberbully-victim) in experiencing cyberbullying and cyber-victimization. Three themes emerged that is psychological consequences (emotional, behavioral, and cognitive), social consequences (family and peers), and change in lifestyle (online, offline, and academic). Facebook was found to be the most prevalent mode of cyberbullying. The cyberbully-victim participants derived more happiness while bullying and had revengeful attitude; whereas, cybervictims experienced more depression, increased family surveillance, social isolation, and became aware of negative consequences of social networking sites, became more vigilant and conscious in cyberspace. Moreover, the consequences reported by cyberbully-victim were distrust on security settings, low academic achievement, and their peers learnt from their cyberspace experience. Perception of cyber-victimization was different across gender and its psychological impact was more pronounced for girls than boys. The results and implications were discussed in Pakistani context.

The influence of health‐related information on variety‐seeking behavior

2011 ◽  
Vol 113 (11) ◽  
pp. 1379-1392 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chien‐Huang Lin ◽  
Hung‐Chou Lin ◽  
Sheng‐Hsien Lee
Keyword(s):  
Mood States ◽  
Brand Names ◽  
Health Warnings ◽  
Variety Seeking ◽  
Happy People ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Related Information ◽  
Health Related ◽  
And Gender ◽  
The Relationship

PurposeThis paper seeks to explore the effect of mood states and gender on the relationship between health‐related information and variety seeking (VS) behavior among food products.Design/methodology/approachTwo experiments were conducted to examine the moderating effects of mood states and gender on the relationship between health‐related information and VS.FindingsThe results indicate that sad people incorporate more VS than happy people when health warnings and nutritional labeling are absent, but sad and happy people tend to converge to similar levels of VS when health warnings and nutritional labeling are present. Moreover, males incorporate less VS than females when health warnings are present, while females incorporate less VS than males when nutritional labeling is present.Practical implicationsIn the absence of health warnings and nutritional labeling, it is a wiser way for leading brands to cultivate positive consumer moods by utilization of humorous ads, so that they do not search for varied products. For less well‐known brands, inducing negative consumer moods is a better way to encourage brand switching. Further, providing nutritional labeling will strengthen consumer brand loyalty by reducing their VS, especially for females. As the health warnings reduce the VS for males, marketers may take advantage of this effect by associating brand names with health warnings.Originality/valueAs VS is found to be related to over‐consumption, it is important to investigate the effects of health‐related information on VS. However, little empirical evidence has been found on the effect of health‐related information on VS behavior. Further, this study takes into consideration moderating factors as it is important for marketers to realize how health‐related information interacts with the consumer's VS behavior under different mood states and gender. The findings demonstrate that the relationship between health‐related information and VS is moderated by mood states and gender differences, an important contribution to the research on VS behavior.

scholarly journals Longitudinal Effects of Stress and Cognitive Fusion in Anxiety and Depressive Symptoms of Family Caregivers

2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. 278-278
Author(s):  
Samara Barrera-Caballero ◽  
Rosa Romero-Moreno ◽  
Carlos Vara-García ◽  
Javier Olazarán ◽  
María del Sequeros Chaparro ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Depressive Symptoms ◽  
Functional Capacity ◽  
Behavioral Problems ◽  
Psychological Symptoms ◽  
Anxiety Symptoms ◽  
Care Recipient ◽  
Psychological Consequences ◽  
Cognitive Fusion ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
And Gender

Abstract Dementia caregiving has been commonly associated with negative psychological consequences in caregivers. Cognitive fusion, that is, the tendency for been overly influenced by cognition, has been linked to psychological distress in caregivers in cross-sectional studies. Female caregivers and those who are exposed to more stressors such as behavioral and psychological symptoms of dementia report higher levels of distress. However, longitudinal analysis of predictors of caregivers levels of distress are sparse, with no available study analyzing the longitudinal effect of cognitive fusion. The aim of this study is to analyze the longitudinal effect of cognitive fusion in depressive and anxiety symptoms of family dementia caregivers, after controlling for other relevant variables. Face to face interviews were conducted each year through a two-year period (three assessments) with 143 caregivers. Linear mixed models analysis were used to analyze the associations between time-varying values for cognitive fusion, frequency and reaction to care-recipient behavioral problems and depressive and anxiety symptoms, after controlling for caregivers’ age and gender, daily hours and time caring, care-recipient functional capacity and caregivers’ transitions (cessation of caregiving). Results suggest that increases in cognitive fusion and in reaction to behavioral problems, being a female caregiver and being younger, significantly predicted increases in anxiety symptoms over time. Also, increases in cognitive fusion and in reaction to behavioral problems, decreases in care-recipient’s functional capacity and ending of the caregiving role significantly predicted increases in depressive symptoms. Psychological strategies aimed at reducing cognitive fusion and stress levels may be especially helpful for reducing caregivers’ distress.

scholarly journals Digital health literacy and online information seeking in times of COVID-19. A cross-sectional survey among university students in Germany (Preprint)

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kevin Dadaczynski ◽  
Orkan Okan ◽  
Melanie Messer ◽  
Angela Y. M. Leung ◽  
Rafaela Rosário ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Health Literacy ◽  
University Students ◽  
Information Seeking ◽  
Digital Health ◽  
Online Information ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Related Information ◽  
Health Related ◽  
Online Information Seeking

BACKGROUND Digital communication technologies play an important role in governments’ and public health authorities’ health communication strategies during the COVID-19 pandemic. The internet and social media have become important sources of health-related information on the coronavirus and on protective behaviours. In addition, the COVID-19 infodemic spreads faster than the coronavirus itself, which interferes with governmental health-related communication efforts. This puts national public health containment strategies in jeopardy. Therefore, digital health literacy is a key competence to navigate coronavirus-related information and service environments. OBJECTIVE This study aimed to investigate university students’ digital health literacy and online information seeking behaviours during the early stages of the coronavirus pandemic in Germany. METHODS A cross-sectional study among N=14,916 university students aged ≥18 from 130 universities across all sixteen federal states of Germany was conducted using an online survey. Along with sociodemographic characteristics (sex, age, subjective social status) measures included five subscales from the Digital Health Literacy Instrument (DHLI), which was adapted to the specific coronavirus context. Online information seeking behaviour was investigated by examining the online sources used by university students and the topics that students search for in connection with the coronavirus. Data were analysed using univariate and bivariate analyses. RESULTS Across digital health literacy dimensions, the greatest difficulties could be found for assessing the reliability of health-related information (42.3%) and the ability to determine whether the information was written with commercial interest (38.9%). Moreover, respondents also indicated that they most frequently have problems finding the information they are looking for (30.4%). When stratified according to sociodemographic characteristics, significant differences were found with female university students reporting a lower DHLI for the dimensions of ‘information searching’ and of ‘evaluating reliability’. Search engines, news portals and public bodies’ websites were most often used by the respondents as sources to search for information on COVID-19 and related issues. Female students were found to use social media and health portals more frequently, while male students used Wikipedia and other online encyclopaedias as well as YouTube more often. The use of social media was associated with a low ability to critically evaluate information, while opposite differences were observed for the use of public websites. CONCLUSIONS Although digital health literacy is, in summary, well developed in university students, a significant proportion of students still face difficulties with certain abilities to deal with information. There is need to strengthen the digital health literacy capacities of university students using tailored interventions. Improving the quality of health-related information on the internet is also key. CLINICALTRIAL

Exploring the use of internet by university students for seeking health related information

2017 ◽  
Vol 14 (4) ◽  
pp. 279-295 ◽  
Author(s):  
Asad Ahmad ◽  
Mohammed Naved Khan ◽  
Obaidur Rahman
Keyword(s):  
University Students ◽  
Perceived Usefulness ◽  
The Internet ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Related Information ◽  
Internet Users ◽  
Tam Model ◽  
Health Related ◽  
E Learning ◽  
Use Of Internet

Purpose Internet is both a medium and a platform for information exchange. This characteristic of internet is gradually metamorphosing it into an e-learning enabler. A significant percentage of internet users access health-related information through the medium of internet, but little is known about the factors that determine such behaviour. This study aims to explore the factors that determine the behaviour of those seeking health-related information in the virtual world. Design/methodology/approach The present study analyses the role of perceived ease of usefulness (PEOU), perceived usefulness (PU), self-efficacy (SE) and information quality (IQ) on the intention (IU) of the internet users to seek health-related information. Researcher-controlled sampling was used for data collection from 210 university students. Exploratory factor analysis (EFA), t-test and correlation have been used for data analysis. Findings The results of the study demonstrate that except SE, all other factors have a positive relationship with the intention of the users to seek health-related information. The findings suggest that PU and IQ overshadow PEOU in encouraging the users seeking such health-related information over the internet. Originality/value The present study extends the understanding of e-learning adoption associated with seeking health-related information. The researchers propose an extended technology acceptance model (TAM) model to study the factors influencing the use of internet in seeking health-related information by the students enrolled in medical and non-medical courses.

scholarly journals Factors Affecting Health-Promoting Behaviors among Nursing Students

2020 ◽  
Vol 17 (17) ◽  
pp. 6291
Author(s):  
Younghui Hwang ◽  
Jihyun Oh
Keyword(s):  
Nursing Students ◽  
Health Concern ◽  
Health Perceptions ◽  
Health Promoting Behaviors ◽  
Factors Affecting ◽  
Related Information ◽  
Health Related ◽  
Health Promoting ◽  
The Mean ◽  
Main Factors

Health-promoting behaviors help prevent chronic illness. Health-promoting behaviors of nursing students can affect not only their own health, but also the health of their future patients, for whom they can act as role models. Nursing students should participate in health-promoting behaviors; however, nursing students often have unhealthy behaviors. This study aimed to investigate the factors affecting health-promoting behaviors in nursing students. A descriptive, self-report survey of 304 nursing students from three universities in South Korea was conducted. Subjects’ general characteristics, health perceptions, health concerns, and health-promoting behaviors were collected. Of the total participants, 90.1% were female and the mean age was 20.4 years. The mean score for health-promoting behaviors was 2.47, higher than the midpoint. The mean for the subscale of physical activity among health-promoting behaviors was the lowest. The main factors affecting health-promoting behaviors were gender, health perceptions, health concern, and time per week spent searching online for health-related information. The main factors affecting physical activity were gender, health concern, and time per week spent searching online for health-related information. Based on the study findings, it is recommended that a program to empower nursing students to perform health-promoting behaviors be incorporated into the nursing education curriculum with regard to unique needs based on gender. Specifically, it would be effective to develop programs that are easily accessible via the Internet.

Employment status in multiple sclerosis: impact of disease-specific and non-disease-specific factors

2013 ◽  
Vol 19 (13) ◽  
pp. 1792-1799 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ivonne Krause ◽  
Simone Kern ◽  
Antje Horntrich ◽  
Tjalf Ziemssen
Keyword(s):  
Multiple Sclerosis ◽  
Depressive Symptoms ◽  
Employment Status ◽  
Cognitive Status ◽  
Neuropsychological Battery ◽  
Neurological Disability ◽  
Related Quality ◽  
Health Related ◽  
Specific Factors ◽  
Disease Specific

Background: Multiple sclerosis (MS) is associated with high rates of early retirement (ER). Objectives: A German cohort of MS patients and healthy control subjects (HCs) were compared cross-sectionally to investigate disease- and non-disease-specific factors that are associated with employment status (ES) in MS and to identify predictors of ES in MS. Methods: A total of 39 ER MS patients, 48 employed MS patients, and 37 HCs completed a brief neuropsychological battery and questionnaires related to depressive symptoms, fatigue, health-related quality of life (HrQoL) and health locus of control (HLC). Neurological disability was assessed by the Expanded Disability Status Scale (EDSS) and the Multiple Sclerosis Functional Composite (MSFC). Results: ER compared with employed MS patients scored significantly higher in neurological disability, depressive symptoms and fatigue and significantly lower in cognitive functioning and HrQoL. Further, both groups differed with regard to age, education, disease course and duration but not in HLC. Neurological disability, age and fatigue were identified as significant predictors of ES in MS. Conclusions: ES in MS was associated with demographic aspects, neurological and cognitive status, depressive symptoms, fatigue and HrQoL but was not associated with HLC. Findings confirm neurological disability, age and fatigue as independent predictors of ES in MS.

scholarly journals Are (All) Consumers Averse to Bitter Taste?

Nutrients ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 323 ◽  
Author(s):  
Riccardo Vecchio ◽  
Carla Cavallo ◽  
Gianni Cicia ◽  
Teresa Del Giudice
Keyword(s):  
Health Beliefs ◽  
Bitter Taste ◽  
Consumer Preferences ◽  
Education Level ◽  
Individual Characteristics ◽  
Experimental Auctions ◽  
Related Information ◽  
Demographic Traits ◽  
Health Related ◽  
And Gender

The current study combined hedonic liking with non-hypothetical experimental auctions to measure consumer preferences for bitter tasting food and identify individual socio-demographic and psychographic characteristics that influence bitter aversion. Furthermore, the research analyzed whether consumer preferences for bitter food were influenced by sensory and health-related information. Findings reveal that respondents (N = 205) are not averse to bitter taste; while, socio-demographic traits influence bitter acceptance, as higher education level and gender (female) positively affect preferences, together with specific individual characteristics as high compensatory health beliefs. Moreover, results prove that participants positively respond to health-related information, whereas information on bitterness-taste generates lower preferences.

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