“Hang in There!”: Mental Health in a Sample of the Italian Civil Protection Volunteers during the COVID-19 Health Emergency

Few studies have been conducted on civil volunteers and their emotional conditions concerning the current COVID-19 pandemic. The present study aimed to evaluate the impact of the COVID-19 emergency on the mental health (general well-being, depression level, and post-traumatic distress), coping strategies, and training needs in an Italian sample of 331 Civil Protection volunteers of the L’Aquila province, during the first nationwide “lockdown” (8 March–3 June 2020). The rate of respondents to the online survey was limited (11.5%), presumably because displaying distress would be considered a sign of “weakness”, making volunteers unable to do their jobs. More than 90% of the volunteers showed good mental health conditions and a wide utilization of positive coping strategies, with the less experienced displaying better emotional conditions compared to colleagues with 10 or more years of experience. The type of emergency, the relatively few cases of contagion and mortality in the territory compared to the rest of Italy, and the sense of helping the community, together with the awareness of their group identity, could have contributed to the reported well-being. These results may help to identify the needs of volunteers related to this new “urban” emergency to improve both their technical and emotional skills.

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COPING STRATEGIES AND MENTAL HEALTH OF THE LGBTQ WITH HIV/AIDS – A SYSTEMATIC REVIEW

Psychological Thought ◽

10.37708/psyct.v14i2.583 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 14 (2) ◽

pp. 308-338

Author(s):

Muhammad Ashraff Ahmad ◽

Azmawaty Mohamad Nor ◽

Harris Shah Abd Hamid ◽

Anne Noor Sri Juwaneeta Jamaludin

Keyword(s):

Mental Health ◽

Systematic Review ◽

Coping Strategies ◽

Coping Strategy ◽

Coping Styles ◽

Well Being ◽

Psychological State ◽

Hiv Diagnosis ◽

Positive Coping ◽

The Impact

Facing stigma on both HIV and sexuality by the larger society puts significant pressure and stress on the LGBTQ living with HIV to cope with their diagnosis. The promotion of coping strategies as an intervention to increase well-being among PLHIV needs to consider current findings to remain relevant. This systematic review took 17 articles from 2008 to 2018 to provide a comprehensive analysis of issues that influenced coping strategies and investigate the association of the chosen coping strategy with their mental health. The results indicated that the impact of double stigma amplifies the challenge faced by the LGBTQ community to deal with their HIV diagnosis and had a significant impact on their mental health wellbeing. Both positive and negative coping styles were present as coping strategies employed with positive coping being used more as a chosen strategy. Each presenting coping strategy was reviewed, with depression and anxiety becoming the baseline indicator to reflect mental health status. This systematic review also revealed that the positive coping strategy does not necessarily lead to a positive psychological state as it is dependent on the changeability of the stressor faced. The findings emphasized the complexities in untangling the influence of coping on wellbeing among PLHIV. More attention should be paid to the mechanisms of stressor appraisal in selecting a more suitable coping strategy.

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Levels and Prevalence of Mental Health Functioning in Canadian University Student-Athletes

Canadian Journal of Higher Education ◽

10.47678/cjhe.v48i2.188105 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 48 (2) ◽

pp. 149-168 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Krista J. Van Slingerland ◽

Natalie Durand-Bush ◽

Scott Rathwell

Keyword(s):

Mental Health ◽

Mental Illness ◽

Alcohol Use ◽

Student Athletes ◽

Online Survey ◽

Well Being ◽

Living Situation ◽

Mental Health Functioning ◽

Health Functioning ◽

The Impact

We examined the level and prevalence of mental health functioning (MHF) in intercollegiate student-athletes from 30 Canadian universities, and the impact of time of year, gender, alcohol use, living situation, year of study, and type of sport on MHF. An online survey completed in November 2015 (N = 388) and March 2016 (n = 110) revealed that overall, MHF levels were moderate to high, and more student-athletes were flourishing than languishing. MHF levels did not significantly differ across time based on gender, alcohol use, living situation, year of study, and type of sport. Eighteen percent reported a previous mental illness diagnosis and yet maintained moderate MHF across time. These findings support Keyes’ (2002) dual-continua model, suggesting that the presence of mental illness does not automatically imply low levels of well-being and languishing. Nonetheless, those without a previous diagnosis were 3.18 times more likely to be flourishing at Time 1 (November 2015).

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Coping strategies and distress reduction in psychological well-being? A structural equation modelling analysis using a national population sample

Epidemiology and Psychiatric Sciences ◽

10.1017/s2045796015000505 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 25 (4) ◽

pp. 370-383 ◽

Cited By ~ 10

Author(s):

X. Meng ◽

C. D'Arcy

Keyword(s):

Mental Health ◽

Health Promotion ◽

General Population ◽

Coping Strategies ◽

Structural Equation ◽

Well Being ◽

Mental Health Promotion ◽

Psychiatric Disease ◽

Positive Coping ◽

Negative Coping

Background.Little is understood about of the role of coping strategies in psychological well-being (PWB) and distress for the general population and different physical and psychiatric disease groups. A thorough examination of these relationships may provide evidence for the implementation of public mental health promotion and psychiatric disease prevention strategies aimed at improving the use of positive coping approaches or addressing the causes and maintainers of distress. The present study using a structural equation modelling (SEM) approach and nationally representative data on the Canadian population investigates the relationships among PWB, distress and coping strategies and identifies major factors related to PWB for both the general population and diverse-specific disease groups.Methods.Data examined were from the Canadian Community Health Survey of Mental Health and Well-being (CCHS 1.2), a large national survey (n = 36 984). We applied exploratory factor analysis (EFA), confirmatory factor analysis and SEM to build structural relationships among PWB, distress and coping strategies in the general population.Results.Both SEM measurement and structure models provided a good fit. Distress was positively related to negative coping and negatively related to positive coping. Positive coping indicated a higher level of PWB, whereas negative coping was associated with a lower level of PWB. PWB was negatively related to distress. These same relationships were also found in the population subgroups. For the population with diseases (both physical and psychiatric diseases, except agoraphobia), distress was the more important factor determining subjective PWB than the person's coping strategies, whereas, negative coping had a major impact on distress in the general population. Strengths and limitations were also discussed.Conclusions.Our findings have practical implications for public psychiatric disease intervention and mental health promotion. As previously noted positive/adaptive coping increased the level of PWB, whereas negative/maladaptive coping was positively related to distress and negatively related to PWB. Distress decreased the level of PWB. Our findings identified major correlates of PWB in both the general population and population subgroups. Our results provide evidence for the differential use of intervention tactics among different target audiences. In order to improve the mental health of the general population public mental health promotion should focus on strategies that reduce negative coping at a population level, whereas clinicians treating individual clients should make the reduction of distress their primary target to maintain or improve patients’ PWB.

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Older Adults’ Perspectives on Using Digital Technology to Maintain Good Mental Health: Interactive Group Study (Preprint)

10.2196/preprints.11694 ◽

2018 ◽

Author(s):

Jacob A Andrews ◽

Laura JE Brown ◽

Mark S Hawley ◽

Arlene J Astell

Keyword(s):

Mental Health ◽

Older Adults ◽

Digital Technologies ◽

Well Being ◽

Mental States ◽

Digital Platforms ◽

Good Mental Health ◽

Template Analysis ◽

Barriers To Use ◽

The Impact

BACKGROUND A growing number of apps to support good mental health and well-being are available on digital platforms. However, very few studies have examined older adults’ attitudes toward the use of these apps, despite increasing uptake of digital technologies by this demographic. OBJECTIVE This study sought to explore older adults’ perspectives on technology to support good mental health. METHODS A total of 15 older adults aged 50 years or older, in two groups, participated in sessions to explore the use of digital technologies to support mental health. Interactive activities were designed to capture participants’ immediate reactions to apps and websites designed to support mental health and to explore their experiences of using technology for these purposes in their own lives. Template analysis was used to analyze transcripts of the group discussions. RESULTS Older adults were motivated to turn to technology to improve mood through mechanisms of distraction, normalization, and facilitated expression of mental states, while aiming to reduce burden on others. Perceived barriers to use included fear of consequences and the impact of low mood on readiness to engage with technology, as well as a lack of prior knowledge applicable to digital technologies. Participants were aware of websites available to support mental health, but awareness alone did not motivate use. CONCLUSIONS Older adults are motivated to use digital technologies to improve their mental health, but barriers remain that developers need to address for this population to access them.

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Coping Strategies and Psychopathological Responses Among Medical and Non-medical Professionals – a Cross-Sectional Online Survey

Frontiers in Psychiatry ◽

10.3389/fpsyt.2021.663224 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 12 ◽

Author(s):

Marta Ciułkowicz ◽

Julian Maciaszek ◽

Błażej Misiak ◽

Anna Pałȩga ◽

Joanna Rymaszewska ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Coping Strategies ◽

Online Survey ◽

General Health Questionnaire ◽

Well Being ◽

Medical Professionals ◽

Post Traumatic Stress ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Event Scale ◽

Medical Career ◽

The Impact

Background: The SARS-CoV-2 pandemic was announced on March 11th, 2020, due to a surge of newly confirmed cases that significantly impacted populations worldwide, both directly and indirectly. Based on past epidemics research, the mental health implications of introduced restrictions should be expected and adequately addressed irrespective of the practiced profession.Objective: The study aimed to explore psychopathological responses, including post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), concerning coping strategy clusters during the COVID-19 pandemic among medical and non-medical workers.Methods: A cross-sectional web survey of the general population of internet users was performed from March 16th to April 26th, 2020, in Poland during the first peak of COVID-19 cases. A sample of 1,831 professionally active respondents, 64.0% of which pursuing a medical career, filled out General Health Questionnaire-28 (GHQ-28), The Impact of Event Scale-Revised (IES-R), and MiniCOPE, along with the socio-demographic questionnaire exploring personal as well as the work-related possibility of direct exposure to contagion and availability of proper protection, contact with the infected without accurate protective measures as well as the adequacy of workers when compared settings.Results: Individuals labeled with specific clusters had significantly different psychopathological manifestations. Irrespective of performed job maladaptive cluster was associated with significantly higher GHQ-28 and IES-R scores on total subscales and all subscales compared to those representing the non-specific and adaptive cluster. Similar findings were observed concerning the frequency of the GHQ-28 positive score. Moreover, the non-specific cluster was associated with significantly higher GHQ-28 total scores among medical professionals. However, GHQ-28 positive scores were significantly more frequent in medical workers using adaptive clusters when compared to non-specific. Such relations were not observed in the non-medical group.IES-R total and subscales' scores did not significantly vary within medical and non-medical groups when adaptive and non-specific clusters were compared. Pursuing a non-medical career was found to be a determinant of lower scores, while female sex was observed to be determinant of higher scores in both GHQ-28 and IES-R scales.Conclusions: Positive screening for psychopathological and PTSD symptoms was expected regardless of the analyzed groups' coping strategies. Given the dramatically developing situation of the COVID-19 pandemic, support initiatives grounded in research evidence may be essential for maintaining the mental well-being and resilience of both the medical and non-medical workforce.

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Wellbeing during the COVID-19 pandemic in the UK: a secondary data analysis

10.31235/osf.io/pv4qs ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Jen Murphy ◽

Mark Elliot

Keyword(s):

Mental Health ◽

Online Survey ◽

National Level ◽

Secondary Data ◽

Well Being ◽

Ordinary Least Squares ◽

Least Squares Regression ◽

The Uk ◽

Survey Responses ◽

The Impact

Introduction: In March 2020 in response to the COVID pandemic the UK government declared a national lockdown where citizens were required to stay at home. The impact of this lockdown on levels of well-being has been a source of concern for citizens and mental health professionals.Objectives: We investigated the trajectory of well-being over the course of the ?first wave and sought to determine whether the change in well-being is distributed equally across the population. Speci?fically we investigated pre-existing medical conditions, social isolation, ?financial stress and deprivation as a predictor for well-being and whether there were community level characteristics which protect against poorer well-being.Methods: Using online survey responses from the COVID19 modules of Understanding society, we linked 8,379 English cases across ?five waves of data collection to location based deprivation statistics. We used ordinary least squares regression to estimate the association between deprivation, pre-existing conditions and socio-demographic factors and the change in well-being scores over time, as measured by the GHQ-12 questionnaire.Results: A decline in well-being was observed at the beginning of the fi?rst lock down period at the beginning of March 2020. This was matched with a corresponding recovery between April and July as restrictions were gradually lifted. There was no association between the decline and deprivation, nor between deprivation and recovery. The strongest predictor of well-being during the lockdown, was the baseline score, with the counterintuitive finding that for those will pre-existing poor well-being, the impact of pandemic restrictions on mental health were minimal, but for those who had previously felt well, the restrictions and the impact of the pandemic on well-being were much greater.Conclusion: These data show no evidence of a social gradient in well-being related to the pandemic. In fact, wellbeing was shown to be highly elastic in this period indicating a national level of resilience which cut across the usually observed health inequalities.

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The Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on US College Students’ Physical Activity and Mental Health

Journal of Physical Activity and Health ◽

10.1123/jpah.2020-0325 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 18 (3) ◽

pp. 272-278 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Oliver W.A. Wilson ◽

Kelsey E. Holland ◽

Lucas D. Elliott ◽

Michele Duffey ◽

Melissa Bopp

Keyword(s):

Mental Health ◽

Physical Activity ◽

College Students ◽

Depressive Symptoms ◽

Perceived Stress ◽

Online Survey ◽

Well Being ◽

Significant Decline ◽

Spring Semester ◽

The Impact

Background: Investigating the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on both physical activity (PA) and mental health is important to demonstrate the need for interventions. This study examined the apparent impact of the pandemic on college students’ PA, perceived stress, and depressive symptoms. Methods: From 2015 through 2020, data were collected at the beginning and end of the spring semester at a large Northeastern US university via an online survey assessing student demographics, PA, perceived stress, and depressive symptoms. Mixed ANOVA examined differences in PA and mental health changes over the spring semester between “normal” and COVID-19 circumstances. Two-way ANOVA examined the interaction between circumstance and changes in PA in relation to changes in mental health. Results: Participants (n = 1019) were predominately women and non-Hispanic white. There was a significant decline in PA and an increase in perceived stress under COVID-19, but not normal, circumstances and a significant increase in depressive symptoms under COVID-19, but not normal, circumstances among women. Conclusions: A significant decline in PA and mental health among college students occurred under COVID-19 circumstances, and PA did not appear to protect against deterioration in mental health. Proactive and innovative policies, programs, and practices to promote student health and well-being must be explored immediately.

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Concerns, Perceived Impact, Preparedness in Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) Pandemic and Health Outcomes among Italian Physicians: A Cross-Sectional Study

Journal of Primary Care & Community Health ◽

10.1177/21501327211000245 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 12 ◽

pp. 215013272110002

Author(s):

Igor Portoghese ◽

Federico Meloni ◽

Maura Galletta ◽

Ilenia Piras ◽

Ernesto D’Aloja ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Mental Health ◽

Risk Factors ◽

Job Stress ◽

Online Survey ◽

Well Being ◽

Snowball Sampling ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Perceived Impact ◽

Job Role ◽

The Impact

Background: Health care workers (HCWs) are among the professionals at serious risk for the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on their mental health. In this sense, the next public health challenge globally will be to preserving healthy HCWs during this pandemic. Aim: The present study has the aim of investigating the relationship among concerns, perceived impact, preparedness for the COVID-19 pandemic and the mental health of Italian physicians. Methods: From March 29th to April 15th 2020, we conducted an online survey using snowball sampling techniques through Limesurvey platform. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and multiple binary logistic regressions. Results: Multivariate analysis showed that the risk factors for perceived job stress were concerns about catching COVID-19 (OR = 3.18 [95% CI = 2.00-5.05] P < .001), perceived impact on job demands (OR = 1.63 [95% CI = 1.05-2.52] P < .05), perceived impact on job role (OR = 2.50 [95% CI = 1.60-3.90] P < .001), and non-working concerns (OR = 1.86 [95% CI = 1.15-3.03] P < .05). With respect to the risk factors for rumination about the pandemic emerged concerns about catching COVID-19 (OR 1.74, [95% CI = 1.12-2.71] P < .05), perceived impact on job role (OR = 1.68 [95% CI = 1.12-2.52] P < .05), and impact on personal life (OR = 2.04 [95% CI = 1.08-3.86] P < .05). Finally, the risk factors for crying at work were perceived impact on job role (OR = 2.47, [95% CI = 1.20-5.09] P < .05), rumination about the pandemic (OR = 3.027 [95% CI = 1.27-7.19] P < .01), watching colleagues crying at work (OR = 3.82 [95% CI = 1.88-7.77] P < .01), and perceived job stress (OR = 3.53 [95% CI = 1.24-10.07] P < .05). Conclusion: In general, our results highlighted that being concerned about being infected/infecting other people, carrying out new and unusual tasks, and witnessing colleagues crying at work were important risk factors for physicians’ well-being. Additional data are necessary to advance understanding of these risk factors in a long-term perspective.

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The COVID-19 International Student Well-Being Study (C-19 ISWS)

European Journal of Psychology Open ◽

10.1024/2673-8627/a000014 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Ioulia Solomou ◽

Fofi Constantinidou ◽

Maria Karekla ◽

Charis Psaltis ◽

Andreas Chatzittofis

Keyword(s):

Mental Health ◽

College Students ◽

Depressive Symptoms ◽

University Students ◽

Online Survey ◽

Well Being ◽

Academic Stress ◽

Genetic Characteristics ◽

Academic Satisfaction ◽

The Impact

Abstract. The COVID-19 pandemic has had a great impact on the mental health and well-being of different populations including young adults. This study replicates and extends previous research by evaluating the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the well-being of college students in Cyprus, a Mediterranean island with unique sociocultural and genetic characteristics, and to identify risk factors related to the poor mental health of university students. Behavioral changes in the students before and during the quarantine period were also examined. A total of 387 university students completed an online survey coordinated by the Young Universities of Europe (YUFE) network. Results indicated that most of the sample (89.3%) reported depressive symptoms. Academic stress and academic satisfaction were associated with depressive symptoms and loneliness. Specifically, students with greater academic stress and lower academic satisfaction reported more symptoms of depression and felt lonelier. Younger students with poorer economic capital were more likely to feel depressed, and younger college students with higher academic stress were more likely to feel lonely. The results of t-test analyses indicated that quarantine affected students’ time and type of study turning to online studies and to moderate physical activities. The present study’s findings add to the existing literature and support the development of new measures to support students, both financially as well as psychologically.

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An overview of current mental health in the general population of Australia during the COVID-19 pandemic: Results from the COLLATE project

10.1101/2020.07.16.20155887 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Susan Rossell ◽

Erica Neill ◽

Andrea Phillipou ◽

Eric Tan ◽

Wei Lin Toh ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Mental Health ◽

Risk Factors ◽

Online Survey ◽

Negative Emotion ◽

Negative Emotions ◽

Well Being ◽

Australian Community ◽

Novel Coronavirus ◽

The Impact ◽

Health And Well Being

The novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) poses significant mental health challenges globally; however, to date, there is limited community level data. This study reports on the first wave of data from the COLLATE project (COvid-19 and you: mentaL heaLth in AusTralia now survEy), an ongoing study aimed at understanding the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the mental health and well-being of Australians. This paper addresses prevailing primary concerns related to the COVID-19 pandemic, current levels of negative emotions and risk factors predicting these negative emotions. On April 1st to 4th 2020, 5158 adult members of the Australian general public completed an online survey. Participants ranked their top ten current primary concerns about COVID-19, and completed standardized measures to ascertain levels of negative emotions (specifically, depression, anxiety and stress). Socio-demographic information was also collected and used in the assessment of risk factors. The top three primary concerns were all related to the health and well-being of family and loved ones. As expected, levels of negative emotion were exceptionally high. Modelling of predictors of negative emotions established several risk factors related to demographic variables, personal vulnerabilities, financial stresses, and social distancing experiences; particularly being young, being female, or having a mental illness diagnosis. The data provides important characterization of the current mental health of Australians during the COVID-19 pandemic. Critically, it appears that specific groups in the Australian community may need special attention to ensure their mental health is protected during these difficult times. The data further suggests the need for immediate action to combat high levels of psychological distress, along with the exacerbation of mental health conditions, in relation to the COVID-19 pandemic in Australia. These results may provide some direction for international researchers hoping to characterize similar issues in other countries.

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