scholarly journals The Interplay between Social and Ecological Determinants of Mental Health for Children and Youth in the Climate Crisis

2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (9) ◽  
pp. 4573
Author(s):  
Maya K. Gislason ◽  
Angel M. Kennedy ◽  
Stephanie M. Witham
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Mental Health ◽  
Determinants Of Health ◽  
Children And Youth ◽  
Mental Wellbeing ◽  
Rapid Review ◽  
Health Distress ◽  
Mental Health Distress ◽  
Climate Crisis ◽  
The Relationship

Children and youth are showing increasing levels of mental health distress due to the climate crisis, characterized by feelings of sadness, guilt, changes in sleep and appetite, difficulty concentrating, solastalgia, and disconnection from land. To gain a deeper understanding of the relationship between climate change and children and youth’s mental health, we conducted a rapid review and a thematic analysis of the results in NVivo 12. Our findings show that children and youth experience a plethora of direct and indirect effects from climate change and this impacts their mental wellbeing in diverse and complex ways. Young people also have varied perceptions of climate change based on their social locations and many are dealing with feelings of immense worry and eco-anxiety. The mental health impacts of climate change on children/youth are tied to Social Determinants of Health (SDoH) but also need to be understood in relation to the Ecological Determinants of Health (EDoH). Through an eco-social lens, this paper explores these conceptual issues and uses them to provide a framework for understanding the interplay of social and ecological determinants of mental health for children/youth.

The Relationship between Death Anxiety and Mental Health/Distress

1991 ◽  
Vol 22 (1) ◽  
pp. 13-24 ◽  
Author(s):  
William White ◽  
Paul J. Handal
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Death Anxiety ◽  
The Other ◽  
Health Distress ◽  
High Death ◽  
Two Measures ◽  
Methodological Problems ◽  
Mental Health Distress ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Interpretation Of Results

This study systematically examined the relationship between death anxiety and mental health/distress and controlled for methodological problems present in the literature. Specifically, two measures of death anxiety were used-both had recommended cut-off scores for high death anxiety. Both positive and negative aspects of adjustment were assessed, and a valid clinically meaningful cut-off score for distress was employed. Results revealed high death-anxious females were statistically and clinically more distressed and were significantly less satisfied with life than low death-anxious females. Similar results were obtained for males on one death-anxiety measure; a similar trend was found on the other measure. Discussion focuses on the interpretation of results.

The Relationship between Religion and Mental Health/Distress

1989 ◽  
Vol 31 (1) ◽  
pp. 16 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mark E. Crawford ◽  
Paul J. Handal ◽  
Richard L. Wiener
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Health Distress ◽  
Mental Health Distress ◽  
The Relationship

Prevalence of Self-Reported Depression Symptoms and Perceived Anxiety Among Community-Dwelling U.S. Adults Reporting Tinnitus

2020 ◽  
Vol 5 (4) ◽  
pp. 959-970
Author(s):  
Kelly M. Reavis ◽  
James A. Henry ◽  
Lynn M. Marshall ◽  
Kathleen F. Carlson
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Fold Increase ◽  
Community Dwelling ◽  
Self Report ◽  
Depression Symptoms ◽  
Community Based Interventions ◽  
Data Set ◽  
Health Distress ◽  
Validated Questionnaire ◽  
Mental Health Distress

Purpose The aim of this study was to examine the relationship between tinnitus and self-reported mental health distress, namely, depression symptoms and perceived anxiety, in adults who participated in the National Health and Nutrition Examinations Survey between 2009 and 2012. A secondary aim was to determine if a history of serving in the military modified the associations between tinnitus and mental health distress. Method This was a cross-sectional study design of a national data set that included 5,550 U.S. community-dwelling adults ages 20 years and older, 12.7% of whom were military Veterans. Bivariable and multivariable logistic regression was used to estimate the association between tinnitus and mental health distress. All measures were based on self-report. Tinnitus and perceived anxiety were each assessed using a single question. Depression symptoms were assessed using the Patient Health Questionnaire, a validated questionnaire. Multivariable regression models were adjusted for key demographic and health factors, including self-reported hearing ability. Results Prevalence of tinnitus was 15%. Compared to adults without tinnitus, adults with tinnitus had a 1.8-fold increase in depression symptoms and a 1.5-fold increase in perceived anxiety after adjusting for potential confounders. Military Veteran status did not modify these observed associations. Conclusions Findings revealed an association between tinnitus and both depression symptoms and perceived anxiety, independent of potential confounders, among both Veterans and non-Veterans. These results suggest, on a population level, that individuals with tinnitus have a greater burden of perceived mental health distress and may benefit from interdisciplinary health care, self-help, and community-based interventions. Supplemental Material https://doi.org/10.23641/asha.12568475

scholarly journals Positive Psychology for Mental Wellbeing of UK Therapeutic Students: Relationships with Engagement, Motivation, Resilience and Self-Compassion

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yasuhiro Kotera ◽  
Pauline Green ◽  
David Sheffield
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Positive Psychology ◽  
Occupational Therapy ◽  
Poor Mental Health ◽  
Mental Wellbeing ◽  
Psychological Constructs ◽  
Occupational Therapy Students ◽  
Self Compassion ◽  
The Relationship

AbstractThis study aimed to examine the relationships between mental wellbeing and positive psychological constructs in therapeutic students (psychotherapy and occupational therapy students). The number of therapeutic students has increased recently; however, they suffer from poor mental health, which may be improved by potentiating their positive psychological constructs, bypassing mental health shame. Therapeutic students (n = 145) completed measures regarding positive psychological constructs, namely mental wellbeing, engagement, motivation, resilience, and self-compassion. Resilience and self-compassion predicted mental wellbeing, explaining a large effect. Self-compassion partially mediated the relationship between resilience and mental wellbeing. This study highlights the importance of positive psychological constructs, especially resilience and self-compassion, for mental wellbeing of therapeutic students.

scholarly journals Causal Factors of Effective Psychosocial Outcomes in Online Mental Health Communities

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Koustuv Saha ◽  
Amit Sharma
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Online Community ◽  
Psychosocial Outcomes ◽  
Case Control ◽  
Case Control Studies ◽  
Causal Factors ◽  
Health Distress ◽  
Health Communities ◽  
Mental Health Distress ◽  
And Control

Online mental health communities enable people to seek and provide support, and growing evidence shows the efficacy of community participation to cope with mental health distress. However, what factors of peer support lead to favorable psychosocial outcomes for individuals is less clear. Using a dataset of over 300K posts by ∼39K individuals on an online community TalkLife, we present a study to investigate the effect of several factors, such as adaptability, diversity, immediacy, and the nature of support. Unlike typical causal studies that focus on the effect of each treatment, we focus on the outcome and address the reverse causal question of identifying treatments that may have led to the outcome, drawing on case-control studies in epidemiology. Specifically, we define the outcome as an aggregate of affective, behavioral, and cognitive psychosocial change and identify Case (most improved) and Control (least improved) cohorts of individuals. Considering responses from peers as treatments, we evaluate the differences in the responses received by Case and Control, per matched clusters of similar individuals. We find that effective support includes complex language factors such as diversity, adaptability, and style, but simple indicators such as quantity and immediacy are not causally relevant. Our work bears methodological and design implications for online mental health platforms, and has the potential to guide suggestive interventions for peer supporters on these platforms.

scholarly journals When does geography matter most? Age-specific geographical effects in the patterning of, and relationship between, mental wellbeing and mental illness.

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gareth J Griffith ◽  
Kelvyn Jones
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Mental Illness ◽  
Age Groups ◽  
Large Body ◽  
Multilevel Modelling ◽  
Contextual Effects ◽  
Mental Wellbeing ◽  
Covariate Adjustment ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Geographical Context

Mental illness and mental wellbeing are related but distinct constructs. Despite this, geographical enquiry often references the two as interchangeable indicators of mental health and assumes the relationship between the two is consistent across different geographical scales. Furthermore, the importance of geography in such research is commonly assumed to be static for all age groups, despite the large body of evidence demonstrating contextual effects in age-specific populations. We leverage simultaneous measurement of a mental illness and mental wellbeing metric from Understanding Society, a UK population-based survey, and employ bivariate, cross-classified multilevel modelling to characterise the relationship between geographical context and mental health. Results provide strong evidence for contextual effects for both responses before and after covariate adjustment, with weaker evidence for area-classification and PSU-level contextual effects for the GHQ-12 after covariate adjustment. Results support a two-continua model of mental health at the individual level, but indicates that consensual benefit may be achieved across both dimensions by intervening at household and regional levels. There is also some evidence of a greater contextual effects for mental wellbeing than for mental illness. Results highlight the potential of the household as a target for intervention design for consensual benefit across both constructs. Results highlight the increased importance of geographical context for older respondents across both responses. This research supports an area-based approach to improving both mental illness and mental wellbeing in older populations.

scholarly journals Climate change is a major stressor causing poor pregnancy outcomes and child development

F1000Research ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 9 ◽  
pp. 1222
Author(s):  
David M. Olson ◽  
Gerlinde A.S. Metz
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Mental Health ◽  
At Risk ◽  
Pregnancy Outcomes ◽  
Allostatic Load ◽  
Developmental Trajectories ◽  
Adverse Pregnancy Outcomes ◽  
Ecological Resilience ◽  
Adverse Pregnancy ◽  
Climate Crisis

The climate crisis is the existential threat of our times and for generations to come. This is no longer a threat but a reality affecting us, our children, and the generations that follow. Pregnant mothers, their fetuses, and their children are among those at greatest risk in every population and every jurisdiction. A timely consideration is the health of racialized groups who are particularly vulnerable owing to the confluence of several risk factors that are compounded by climate change. Included among these are Indigenous communities that are the most directly threatened by climate change. This review discusses the main health challenges faced by mothers, fathers, and their children during the climate crisis, focusing on mental health as a causal factor. Exploration of this topic includes the role of prenatal maternal and paternal stresses, allostatic load, and the effect of degradation of the environment and ecosystems on individuals. These will be examined in relation to adverse pregnancy outcomes and altered developmental trajectories of children. The climate crisis is a health threat multiplier that amplifies the health inequities of the most at-risk populations and individuals. It accelerates the increase in allostatic load of those at risk. The path of tragedy begins with an accumulating allostatic load that overwhelms both individual and socio-ecological resilience. This can lead to worse mental health including depression and anxiety and, in the case of pregnant women and their children, more adverse pregnancy outcomes and impaired developmental trajectories for their newborn children. We argue that there is an urgent need to develop new (or re-discover or re-purpose existing) tools that will predict communities and individuals who are experiencing the highest levels of climate-related hazards and intervene to reduce stress and increase resilience in pre-conceptual women and men, pregnant and post-partum women, and their young children.

Does Assessment Method Matter in Detecting Mental Health Distress among Ashkenazi and Mizrahi Israeli Women with Breast Cancer?

2020 ◽  
Vol 45 (2) ◽  
pp. 101-109
Author(s):  
Ora Nakash ◽  
Leeat Granek ◽  
Michal Cohen ◽  
Gil Bar-Sela ◽  
David Geffen ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Breast Cancer ◽  
Mental Health ◽  
Anxiety Disorder ◽  
Ethnic Groups ◽  
Assessment Method ◽  
Diagnostic Interview ◽  
Health Distress ◽  
Significant Difference ◽  
Structured Diagnostic Interview ◽  
Mental Health Distress

Abstract Authors examined differences in assessment method (structured diagnostic interview versus self-report questionnaire) between ethnic groups in the prevalence of mood and anxiety disorders among women with breast cancer. A convenience sample of 88 Mizrahi (Jews of Middle Eastern/North African descent, n = 42) and Ashkenazi (Jews of European/American descent, n = 46) women with breast cancer from oncology units in three health centers across Israel participated in the study. Participants were within eight months of diagnosis. Participants completed the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) and a structured diagnostic interview, the Mini-International Neuropsychiatric Interview (MINI). Approximately one-third (31.8 percent, n = 28) of participants were diagnosed with at least one mood or anxiety disorder based on the MINI. Significantly more Mizrahi participants (42.9 percent) were diagnosed with at least one mood or anxiety disorder, compared with their Ashkenazi counterparts (21.7 percent). Mean score on HADS was below the optimal cutoff score (≥13) among all participants, with no significant difference in mean score for emotional distress based on HADS between the two ethnic groups. The findings highlight the role of measurement variance in assessing mental health distress among women with breast cancer in general and among ethnic and racial minorities in particular.

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