The Role of Passion in Psychological and Cardiovascular Responses: Extending the Field of Passion and Positive Psychology in New Directions

The present study fills a void in research on passion by examining for the first time the role of passion in physiological responses. The aim of the study was to investigate the role of passion, and the mediating role of cognitive appraisals, in the psychological and physiological responses to a stressful situation related to one’s passion. Students (43 women, 12 men, M age = 27.21 years), who were passionate for their studies, completed the Passion Scale for their studies and the Cognitive Appraisal Scale (assessing perceptions of challenge/threat). Then, they engaged in an education task under stressful conditions, and a subsequent unrelated leisure task under no-stress. Physiological reactivity was measured throughout the entire session and their perceptions of situational vitality and positive and negative emotions were assessed directly after the education task. Results showed that harmonious passion (HP) positively predicted challenge appraisals that, in turn, were positively related to positive emotions, vitality, and positive cardiovascular adaptation while engaging in the stressful education task, but less so with the leisure task (unrelated to one’s passion for academia). On the other hand, obsessive passion (OP) positively predicted threat appraisals. In turn, threat appraisals were positively related to negative emotions, negatively associated with vitality, and not related to cardiovascular reactivity. The present findings suggest that HP creates the onset of an adaptive psychological and physiological response whereas the response is less adaptive with OP.

Adaptive challenges of curriculum implementation for enhancing medical student resilience at Showa University in Japan

It has been consistently reported that medical students experience a high rate of psychological morbidity, depersonalization, and low personal accomplishment around the world. Under the circumstances, resilience-enhancing programs have been gathering attention and partially implemented even in Japan. However, most of the programs just imitate resiliency programs in North America even though studies have indicated that there are cultural differences between East Asia and North America in the capacity to cope with a stressful situation. The presenters investigated what factors might affect the similarities or differences in the perception of resilience among experienced palliative care physicians in Canada and Japan in 2017-2018. This study showed that Japanese physicians are more likely to rely on “Relationships” with other persons such as family members, friends, mentors or colleagues; in contrast, Canadian physicians tended to be more focused on individual factors such as “Autonomy” and “Confidence”. As a result, the presenters at Showa University School of Medicine in Japan have implemented a progressively advancing resiliency program in a passed manner for the 1st through 6th year medical students as part of a new curriculum. This represents one of the most drastic revisions of curriculum in the school’s history. This presentation will introduce a course for resiliency programs as part of a new curriculum, including course description, course content, educational objectives, instructional strategies and the tips for the classroom teaching and learning.

Epidemiological and clinical characteristics of headache among medical students in Palestine: a cross sectional study

Background Headache is one of the most disturbing complaints worldwide, negatively impacting social and regular life activities. In the background of stressful life in medical schools, adding to the stressful situation in Palestine, a developing country under occupation, this study investigated the prevalence and clinical characteristics of migraines and tension- type headaches among medical students from the Palestinian Universities in West Bank and Gaza. Methods A questionnaire-based cross-sectional study was conducted on all Palestinian Medical Students. Students were diagnosed based on ICHD-3 criteria. Demographic characteristics were compared by gender for each type of headache. Frequency, percentage, and mean ± SD. Pearson’s chi-squared test, independent t-test, and one-way ANOVA were used where needed. P-value < 0.05 was considered significant. Results The study included 806 medical students; 476 (59.0%) of them were female. TTH and migraine’s prevalence was 59.8 and 22%, respectively, with a higher prevalence among basic year students. The female to male ratio was 1:0.6 for both types of headaches. Sleep deprivation, physical activities, and altered sleep patterns were reported as the top triggering factors. Conclusions The results demonstrate that the prevalence of both subtypes’ primary headache is high among Palestinian medical students, with a higher prevalence among basic year students. The study also showed that these findings are higher than other studies among medical students in other countries.

Understanding the Occupational Burnout Experience of Medical Specialists at the Time of Education and Career Launch: A Case Study of the Sechenov First Moscow State Medical University Students and Residents of the Alekseev Psychiatric Hospital N1

BACKGROUND: Occupational burnout in the most general terms is seen as a long-lasting stressful situation resulting from continuing occupational stress of moderate intensity. AIM: The objective of this article is to provide analysis of occupational burnout in psychiatrists and nurses of psychiatric hospitals, and the development of occupational burnout in students and residents. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The level of occupational burnout was determined using the “Attitude to work and occupational burnout” test, Seashore Group Cohesion Index, Stolin’s Self-Concept Questionnaire, and the Freiburg Multidimensional Personality Questionnaire (Freiburg Personality Inventory). The study proved the existence of patterns of occupational burnout in psychiatrists and nurses of psychiatric hospitals, as well as in students and residents. RESULTS: It has been revealed that the development of the burnout syndrome is influenced by personal qualities of psychiatrists and nurses (residents and students), and the managerial features of their activities, and that occupational burnout develops in psychiatrists and nurses over the course of their professional careers, but starts to emerge during their education. The score of the Integrative Burnout Index ranges from 48.99 in students of the [BLINDED] University to 23.52 in psychiatrists of the Alekseev Psychiatric Hospital N1. Occupational burnout syndrome is spread in medical students worldwide, with its level higher than in the overall population, in students of other specialties. CONCLUSIONS: Burnout at the stage of getting the education can hinder the professional development of students, expose patients to risk, and promote the development of various personality problems in future psychiatrists and nurses. The need of preventing professional burnout at the stage of obtaining a specialty has been substantiated.

Possibilities of receptive music therapy (RMT) for mothers raising children with developmental disorders as a self-help tool for overcoming stress during the COVID-19 pandemic

After the announcement of quarantine due to Covid-19 on March 16, 2020, parents of children with disabilities were left without help from educational and health professionals, while changes in routine, work and financial restrictions, isolation, exacerbations of children’s mental disorders increased the level of parental anxiety, tension, fear and anger. Research on music therapy conducted by the world scientists demonstrated the effectiveness of applying receptive music therapy (RMT) methods to cope with stress, when listening to music is used as a tool that can change the client’s state and help to reveal one’s experiences. The aim of the article is to reveal, theoretically and empirically, possibilities of remote application of receptive music therapy for mothers raising children with developmental disorders. Tasks: 1) to present a model of remote application of receptive music therapy for coping with stress; 2) to examine the possibilities of independent application of the developed therapeutic instrument for client’s self-help. Problem question: how can mothers use the therapeutic tool and skills acquired during the receptive music therapy on their own during the Covid-19 quarantine? The mixed data collection methodology was chosen for the research: 1) in-depth, semi-structured interview (content analysis method); 2) Perceived Stress Scale (PSS) questionnaire; 3) Musical Life Panorama (MLP) biographical interview; 4) Audio recordings of music therapy sessions – qualitative narrative analysis; 5) Music Listening Diary (MLD). Fours subjects were selected on a voluntary participatory basis by forming a homogenous group according to a similar experience of raising children with disabilities. The research revealed that remote application of RMT improved the study participants’ ability to recognize stressful situations better, feelings, and reactions arising during them, and helped them to understand their emotions better. The clients learned to apply the therapeutic instrument independently in order to relieve a stressful situation, adverse reactions, or the emerging emotions. With the formation of the habit of listening to music more often, not only did the ability to relax, not get upset, calm down was strengthened, but tension decreased and the general emotional background in the family improved. The application of RMT increased clients’ ability to cope with stress and reduced the risk of recurring stressful situations. Study participants confirmed the suitability of RMT both in remote sessions and in self-application of the instrument for self-help after the therapy during the COVID-19 quarantine.

Is Suicidality Increased in Covid-19 Pandemic? A Scoping Review and Quality Assessment

Background: There are emerging concerns that the COVID-19 pandemic may specifically increase suicide. Methods: Scoping Review in the MEDLINE/PubMed, SCOPUS, Web of Science, PsycINFO, Science Direct databases and in the medRxiv, bioRxiv and PsyArXiv preprint servers, using the descriptors “Covid-19”, “coronavirus infection”, “coronavirus”, “2019-nCoV”, “2019 new coronavirus disease”, “SARS-CoV-2”, “Suicide”, “General Public” and “Mental Health”. Results: A total of 62 studies were included in this review, where 10 studies were reported to have been conducted between March and May 2021; 39 in 2020; 4 in 2019; 3 in 2018; 1 in 2015; 2 in 2014; 2 in 2010 and 1 in 2004, all were conducted via online platforms. Limitations: We have interpreted our study findings in the context of the overall significant risk of exposure to suicide in our study population, while recognizing that individual level data of exposure to COVID-19 is a significant confounding variable. Conclusions: Being one of the first reviews in this context, the findings are anticipated to be helpful to predict the possible solutions for reducing the number of suicides in and facilitate further studies on strategies of how to alleviate such a stressful situation in COVID-19.

Is Suicidality Increased in Covid-19 Pandemic? A Scoping Review and Quality Assessment

Background: There are emerging concerns that the COVID-19 pandemic may specifically increase suicide. Methods: Scoping Review in the MEDLINE/PubMed, SCOPUS, Web of Science, PsycINFO, Science Direct databases and in the medRxiv, bioRxiv and PsyArXiv preprint servers, using the descriptors “Covid-19”, “coronavirus infection”, “coronavirus”, “2019-nCoV”, “2019 new coronavirus disease”, “SARS-CoV-2”, “Suicide”, “General Public” and “Mental Health”. Results: A total of 62 studies were included in this review, where 10 studies were reported to have been conducted between March and May 2021; 39 in 2020; 4 in 2019; 3 in 2018; 1 in 2015; 2 in 2014; 2 in 2010 and 1 in 2004, all were conducted via online platforms. Limitations: We have interpreted our study findings in the context of the overall significant risk of exposure to suicide in our study population, while recognizing that individual level data of exposure to COVID-19 is a significant confounding variable. Conclusions: Being one of the first reviews in this context, the findings are anticipated to be helpful to predict the possible solutions for reducing the number of suicides in and facilitate further studies on strategies of how to alleviate such a stressful situation in COVID-19.

Theories of a Stress-Coping Behavior: Searching for Neurocognitive Mechanisms

The article proves that the main form of overcoming stress is coping behavior, which is understood as a purposeful social and neurophysiologically determined behavior that allows a person to cope with stress in ways that meet the characteristics of the individual and the situation. Coping behavior is considered a synonym for stress-coping behavior, which is expressed in the use of coping strategies by the individual. Personal characteristics and situational factors determine the choice of coping behavior strategies. The article aims to resolve the contradictions of multimodal approaches to the problem in question in the post-Soviet countries and group theories that include not only external social but also neurophysiological factors. The article shows that the choice of coping strategies mostly depends on personal and neurophysiological factors. These include neurophysiological reflexive or instinctive and higher ones: adequate self-concept, positive self-esteem, personality anxiety, cognitive style, and energy resources, which include endurance and temperament characteristics, intelligence, creativity, and locus of personality control. Overcoming a stressful situation is impossible without cognitive "processing," which becomes available through reflection. The influence of reflection on the choice of coping strategy of the individual is that reflective individuals choose more adaptive and effective strategies. The international relevance of the article lies in discovering neuroscientific aspects of the problem in question in the post-Soviet countries, which will allow these countries to contribute to the global scientific interdisciplinary discourse.

Effect of Stress on Mental Health

Introduction: Stress can come from any event that makes an individual feel anxious, frustrated, depressed due to the inability to cope with the situation. Stress is caused due to various stressors stimulating responses in the individual's body. The stressors usually increase the potential of the individual to face a stressful situation and overcome it however if the stressors are constantly triggered they can cause physiological damage to the individual. Physiological impact includes high blood pressure, rapid breathing, aches and pains, in severe cases it can also lead to stroke. Stressors can also impact an individual emotionally and mentally by causing insomnia, depression and anxiety. Mental health is the state of the overall well-being of an individual which helps them to overcome anxiety and stressful situations and thereby increases the productivity of the individuals in order to contribute to the society. It is important to maintain good mental health in order to keep the individual healthy. Aim: The study has been conducted to assess the overall mental health of the study population and thereby suggest ways in which we can deal with stress. Stress and anxiety can be managed by practising yoga, meditation, discussing problems with a counsellor or spending time with family and loved ones. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional survey was conducted among the population with a sample size of 100. A self administered structured questionnaire was prepared based on the effect of stress on mental health. It was circulated to participants through an online platform (google form). The statistics were done using SPSS software, chi-square test effect of stress on mental health was used to check the association and P value of 0.05 was said to be statistically significant. The pros of the survey is that individuals of different lifestyles and cultures were surveyed. This study was conducted among individuals of the age group 14-46 years. Simple random sampling method was the sampling method used to minimise the sampling bias. Results: The p value obtained from statistical data analysis was 0.02 which is statistically significant. The results revealed that most of the individuals of the study population had experienced stress in their life and some of them were already aware about the ways in which they could overcome stress. This study provided alternate ways to overcome stress and anxiety for individuals experiencing stress in their day to day lives.

An Evaluation of Stress Induced by Neet Coaching among School Children

Aim: Stress is the feeling of emotional or physical tension. The body produces a surge of emotions when you are in a stressful situation. Human beings of all age groups are more prone for stress. Students are more stressed due to the huge syllabus, pressure from family and parents. Stress causes immune suppression and myocardial infarction. In today’s highly competitive world, students face various academic problems including exam stress, disinterest in attending classes and inability to understand the subject. It can cause students to be unable to perform to their full potential in an exam. The purpose of the present study is to examine the prevalence of the effect of NEET coaching stress among private secondary school students in Chennai. Materials and Methods: Participants were 115 adolescent students from private secondary schools in Chennai who were studying in grades 10, 11 and 12. Participants were selected using a simple random sampling technique and were assessed using a study-specific questionnaire. Results: Most of the students reported higher stress levels, but males reported significantly higher stress levels than females. The main sources of stress were examinations, academic reasons, and family troubles. The students’ main responses to stress were listening to music, talking with someone about the problem, and exercise. Conclusion: The study concluded an innovative finding that Private high school students in Chennai report high levels of NEET coaching stress. As such there is a need to develop effective interventions to help these students better manage their stress and anxiety.