Apprentices’ healthy coping strategies and attitudes to using a smartphone app to support their mental health (Preprint)

BACKGROUND Apprenticeships are a common pathway for young people transitioning into the workforce. Apprentices often face many employment-related challenges and have high levels of psychological distress and are at risk of mental health problems. However, they tend to have low engagement in digital mental health interventions, which are often not catered to their interests and needs. OBJECTIVE This study explored healthy coping strategies used by apprentices and their preferences for an app to support their mental wellbeing. METHODS A mixed methods study was conducted with 54 apprentices (92.6% male) with a mean age 22.7 years (SD=5.7). Across eight focus groups, participants were asked to describe healthy strategies they used to cope with occupational stressors. They also completed a survey on preferred ways of using an app to support mental health. RESULTS Four major types of coping behaviours were identified: 1) social connection for disclosure and advice, and socialising; 2) pleasurable activities such as engaging in hobbies, time-out, and developing work-life separation; 3) cognitive approaches including de-fusing from thoughts and cognitive reframing; and 4) self-care approaches including exercise, healthy diet and getting adequate sleep. Only 10% of participants currently used a mental health app, but there was high interest in using an app to support friends (88%) and develop self-help strategies to manage or prevent mental health issues (78%). CONCLUSIONS Apprentices utilised a range of healthy behaviours to cope with workplace stressors and were willing to use a smartphone app to support their mental health. However, many of the preferred coping strategies identified are not those focussed on by current mental health interventions, including currently available apps, indicating the need for more targeted digital interventions for this group.

The Effects of Corona Virus Pandemic on Children

Background. With the outbreak of the deadly COVID -19 worldwide, children are at the risk of child abuse due to rising unemployment rates and school closures. The corona virus pandemic has caused a lot of stress especially to parents and guardians who have lost their jobs and such stress has heightened and increased family violence especially abuse against children. Methods A sample of 26 Child welfare professionals (64% female and 36% male ) practicing in Uganda completed a web survey regarding the COVID-19 experiences especially in connection to child welfare service delivery and well being during the COVID-19 pandemic. Results This study identified the impact of corona virus pandemic on the life of children associated with child abuse and their coping measures. The fact that COVID-19 will continue to spread rapidly worldwide has caused immense consequences in regard to children’s safety and well-being. The major consequence of the pandemic is the risk of increased child maltreatment perpetuated by parents who lost their jobs as a result of the pandemic. This study identified parental job loss during the COVID-19 pandemic as the main cause for child maltreatment and physical abuse. Nevertheless, the findings support cognitive reframing as a measure to control physical abuse by parents. The financial hardships caused by COVID-19 pandemic will continue to negatively impact children’s safety and well-being. The consequences of COVID-19 pandemic are evident that the risk of child maltreatment increases as stress accumulates. Conclusion In conclusion, as world leaders and scientists make efforts to tackle the public health and economic threat resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic; further research on the impact of COVID-19 on family existence and functioning will be significant in establishing empirically based policies, interventions and different practices to support victims of child maltreatment and physical abuse.

Mindfully Reframing the Psychological Impact of the COVID-19 Outbreak Through a Social Media Community for Students: A Pragmatic Study

The COVID-19 outbreak and the restrictions that have been enforced by the health authorities are having a profound psychological impact on the population. Many people, including the students, faced forced modifications to their daily lives and this prompted the need for scalable strategies to promote resilience. We designed an online community intervention for psychology students and recent alumni aimed to promote functional coping strategies through openness and cognitive flexibility. This psycho-educational intervention was delivered through a private group on social media (Facebook) during the acute phase of the lockdown period and it involved the publication of exercises and quick lectures. Contents were posted regularly and members of the community were invited to share their comments. The posts included stimuli that promote open and flexible reflections on the current situation. The overall aim of this group was a cognitive reframing on the epidemic effects, promoting creative and flexible thinking. We ran a thematic analysis of the interactions and we collected qualitative feedback at the end of the intervention. The participants' comments dealt with changes in their perspectives, sharing discomfort, encouragement and support, and building a sense of community. Post-intervention comments were highly satisfied and confirmed the helpfulness of the intervention to promote flexibility and openness, eventually helping to manage the negative emotions related to the COVID-19 outbreak. This study provides preliminary evidence that an online psycho-educational community stimulating flexibility and openness can help to reframe the negative psychological impact of the outbreak, improving their management.

“I Had to Make Them Feel at Ease”: Narrative Accounts of How Women With Breast Cancer Navigate Social Support

Social scientific studies of social support predominantly focus on the positive associations between social support and emotional well-being. The negative aspects of social support have received much less attention. We conducted semi-structured interviews of women with breast cancer ( n = 47) to examine the emotional strain associated with social support and how recipients navigate it in ways that protect themselves and their relationships. Based on our analysis of narratives of women’s lived experiences of breast cancer, we found that social support can be perceived negatively and associated with experiences of emotional strain. Interviewees engaged in strategies of avoidance, information control, and cognitive reframing to minimize emotional strain. We applied the concept of emotion work to understand the complexity of emotional strain in this context. The findings highlight the difficulties of social support from a recipient’s perspective and emphasize the importance of perception and agency in navigating this experience.

Psychological Interventions during COVID Pandemic: Telehealth for Individuals with CF and Caregivers

Introduction: COVID-19 emerged in China leading to worldwide morbidity and mortality, including depression and anxiety. As the pandemic spread throughout Italy and Europe, mental health concerns emerged for people with cystic fibrosis (pwCF), who are at increased risk. This led to development of a Telehealth Psychological Support Intervention to help adolescents/young adults with CF and caregivers cope with the stress and emotional challenges of the lockdown which began in Italy in March 2020. Methods: This intervention utilized cognitive behavioral skills (e.g., relaxation training, cognitive reframing). Participants included 16 adolescents/adults and 14 parents, who completed 4 individual video sessions with a psychologist. Stress ratings, PHQ-8 and GAD-7 were completed electronically. Feasibility and Satisfaction were rated. Results: Ratings of stress significantly decreased from pre to post-testing for both pwCF (paired t=-4.06 (14), p<.01) and parents (paired t=-5.2, p< 001). Most participants reported clinically elevated depression and anxiety at the pre-test, with statistically significant reductions in depression for pwCF (pre: M=8.0 to post M=4.7; paired t (14)=2.8, p <.05) but not anxiety (pre: M=6.9 to post: M=5.6, t (14)=1.2, p=NS). Reductions in depression were found for parents (pre: M=6.4 to post: M 5.1, (14) t=-2.5, p<.05) but not anxiety (pre: M=8.1 to post: M=7.9, t (14)=-0.2, p=ns). Positive ratings of Feasibility and Satisfaction were documented. Conclusion: This brief telehealth intervention yielded significant reductions in stress and depression for participants. Anxiety was not reduced, possibly because COVID was ongoing. This intervention was effective for improving mental health and was highly feasible and satisfactory.

Data From a Mindfulness Program for Family Caregivers to Persons With DD, and Application for Older Individuals

Parents who care for their children (young and adult) with developmental disabilities face many stressors and challenges. This paper reports on an intervention using mindfulness and cognitive reframing to improve psychological well-being of care-givers. We report on results based on 92 care-givers who participated in the program. An innovative component was utilizing parent care-givers along with trained peer facilitators. The program was conducted over six weeks, with three in person sessions, and three at home web-based sessions. The content emphasized mindfulness practice (meditation) along with cognitive reframing (aimed at boosting optimism) to address the stress family-caregivers experience in managing worry and the perceived lack of control that accompanies caring for children (young and adult) with developmental disabilities. Post-test data revealed increased awareness of stress coupled with greater competence in stress management. Given the life-long demands for care-giving of parents to the developmentally disabled, normative stressors of aging interact with stressors posed by care-giving demands. Implications for improving well-being of older parental care-givers will be discussed around the topics of (1) optimism and hope; (2) support of healthy behaviors; and (3) development of a mindset of gratitude.

Physio-fEedback and Exercise pRogram (PEER) for Shifting Maladaptive Fall Risk Appraisal

We aimed to examine the effectiveness of Physio-feEdback and Exercise pRogram (PEER) for shifting maladaptive to adaptive fall risk appraisal and determine the feedback and acceptability of the program. Forty-one older adults were assigned to either PEER intervention or attention control (AC) group. The 8-week PEER intervention consists of a visual physio-feedback, cognitive reframing, and combined group and home-based exercise led by a trained peer coach. The AC group read fall prevention brochures and continued their normal activities. BTrackS Balance Test and Fall Efficacy Scale were measured from pre- to post-intervention. About 11% of participants in the PEER group had positive shifting but none in AC group. Up to 32% of the participants in AC had negative shifting while 5.3% in the PEER group. PEER intervention facilitates a shift from maladaptive to adaptive fall risk appraisal. PEER group reported significant decreases in fall risk and high acceptability of the program.