Food Insecurity and Associated Factors in Brazilian Undergraduates during the COVID-19 Pandemic

Undergraduates may face challenges to assure food security, related to economic and mental distress, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic. This study aimed to assess food insecurity and its associated factors in undergraduates during the COVID-19 pandemic. An online cross-sectional study was conducted from August 2020 to February 2021 with 4775 undergraduates from all Brazilian regions. The questionnaire contained socio-economic variables, the validated Brazilian food insecurity scale, and the ESQUADA scale to assess diet quality. The median age of the students was 22.0 years, and 48.0% reported income decreasing with the pandemic. Food insecurity was present in 38.6% of the students, 4.5% with severe food insecurity and 7.7% moderate. Logistic regressions showed students with brown and black skin color/race presented the highest OR for food insecurity; both income and weight increase or reduction during the pandemic was also associated with a higher OR for food insecurity, and better diet quality was associated with decreased OR for food insecurity. Our study showed a considerable presence of food insecurity in undergraduates. Policy for this population must be directed to the most vulnerable: those with brown and black skin color/race, who changed income during the pandemic, and those presented with difficulties maintaining weight and with poor diet quality.

Meaningfulness Buffers and Crisis of Meaning Mediates The Longitudinal Effect of Covid-19 Stress On General Mental Distress

Background: Reactions to the COVID-19 pandemic are diverse. People who experience the situation as stressful (COVID-19 stress) appear vulnerable to developing general mental distress. Moreover, existential crises can arise. The identification of buffering factors and their effect over time is therefore highly relevant. The current study examined longitudinal protective effects of meaningfulness and self-control and negative effects of crisis of meaning on general mental distress. Methods: N=431 participants from Germany and Austria (mean age: 42 years) completed an online survey in both April/May (T1) and July/August 2020 (T2). We examined (i) whether two personal resources, meaningfulness, and self-control, measured at T1, moderated the longitudinal effect of COVID-19 stress (T1) on general mental distress (T2), and (ii) whether crisis of meaning (T1) mediated the latter effect. Results: Meaningfulness and self-control predicted lower symptoms of anxiety and depression over time, and crisis of meaning predicted higher symptoms. Meaningfulness but not self-control buffered the longitudinal effect of COVID-19 stress on general mental distress. COVID-19 stress was associated with crisis of meaning which, in further consequence, predicted general mental distress three months later. Conclusions: Meaningfulness and self-control appear to have generally protective effects on psychological distress. Moreover, meaningfulness seems to be particularly protective when people feel burdened by the situation. Strengthening this resource is thus especially appropriate for vulnerable populations. Measures that support meaningfulness will also prevent the emergence of crises of meaning, which can be triggered by acute stress reactions and appear to affect mental health in the longer term.

Mental Distress during the Coronavirus Pandemic in Israel: Who Are the Most Vulnerable?

Based on Pearlin’s stress process model and the social inequality approach to health, this study used a social lens to explore the role of socioeconomic inequities in mental distress during the COVID-19 pandemic in Israel. Specifically, we examined people’s pre-pandemic sociodemographic characteristics and economic situation, and the economic effects of the pandemic itself on mental distress. A real-time survey was conducted in May 2020 among 273 adults (ages 20–68), and hierarchical linear models were employed. Findings indicated that groups vulnerable to mental distress in routine times (e.g., women, people with economic difficulties) showed the same pattern during the pandemic. Not only was unemployment related to mental distress, so too was a reduction in work hours. The pandemic’s economic effects (e.g., needing to take out loans, having a worsening financial situation) were also associated with increased mental distress. This study is one of very few studies to explore a wide range of socioeconomic factors and their association with mental distress during the current crisis. The findings call for broader interventions to alleviate the economic distress caused by the pandemic to promote mental health, especially for groups that were vulnerable before the crisis and those most affected economically following the pandemic.

Two Waves of COVID-19 in University Setting: Mental Health and Underlying Risk Factors

The aim of the paper was to assess the differences in the mental distress of university students in the first and second waves of COVID-19, to compare these levels with that of the general population as well as to identify the risk factors associated with the changes in mental health. A total of 2,025 university students in core psychology courses in all years of study at the Faculty of Education at Palacký University Olomouc were approached via e-mail. Of this number of students, 800 students took part in the study, divided into two groups from the spring (N = 438) and autumn (N = 362) pandemic waves. The data were collected online via Google Forms using a battery of questionnaires and analyzed using the Wilcoxon–Mann–Whitney test, One-Sample Wilcoxon Signed Rank Test and binary logistic regression. The results showed a high prevalence of depressive symptoms (38.4 and 51.4%), significant anxiety (43.8 and 37%), and high stress (19.9 and 22.9%) among students in both waves of the pandemic. Depression and stress also increased significantly during the second wave compared with the first one (r = 0.18 [0.12, 0.25] and r = 0.08 [0.01, 0.14]). Finally, university students showed significantly higher levels of mental distress than the general population in all of the variables and in both waves (r = 0.42–0.86). A variety of factors influenced different aspects of mental distress in the spring and autumn pandemic waves. Emotion regulation emerged as the most significant and pervasive factor, both influencing all of the three indicators of mental distress and being a significant predictor in both waves.

Social Structure of Pods' Correlation to Frequency of Repetitive Pacing in Captive Beluga Whales

Beluga whales in captivity currently show signs of mental distress through stereotypical behaviors such as repetitive pacing. It is currently well established that the social structure of beluga whale pods can alter beluga whale social behavior. This study aims to determine how differing social structures of beluga whale pods correlate to the frequency of repetitive pacing. In this context repetitive pacing is when a beluga whale paces three or more laps in the same pattern and direction. To test the hypothesis that beluga whales in larger more diverse pods will repetitively pace less than beluga whales in smaller more uniform pods, a behavioral observation was conducted at Seaworld Orlando and Georgia Aquarium. Over 20 observation periods, the amount of times repetitively paced, amount of laps while repetitively pacing, and the amount of laps repetitively paced per hour were all noted. The results supported the hypothesis, correlating the more diverse pod to less frequent repetitive pacing. These results suggest that pod social structure can play a role in captive beluga whales’ mental wellbeing. On this basis, during future transfers, more diverse pods should be put together to try to limit the amount of repetitive pacing and improve the mental wellbeing of captive beluga whales.

Recovering Context in Psychiatry: What Contextual Analysis of Service Users' Narratives Can Teach About Recovery Support

Aim: Enhancement of recovery-oriented care in psychiatry requires insight into the personal meaning and context of recovery. The Psychiatry Story Bank is a narrative project, designed to meet this need, by collecting, sharing and studying the narratives of service-users in psychiatry. Our study was aimed at expanding insight into personal recovery through contextual analysis of these first-person narratives.Methods: We analyzed 25 narratives, as collected through research interviews. To capture the storied context on both a personal, interpersonal and ideological level we combined several forms of qualitative analysis. A total of 15 narrative characteristics were mapped and compared.Results: Through comparative analysis we identified four narratives genres in our sample: Lamentation (narratives about social loss), Reconstruction (narratives about the impact of psychosis), Accusation (narratives about injustice in care), and Travelogue (narratives about identity transformation). Each genre provides insight into context-bound difficulties and openings for recovery and recovery-support.Conclusion: A contextual approach to studying personal recovery offers insights that can help attune recovery support in psychiatry. Important clues for recovery support can be found in people's narrated core struggle and the associated desire to be recognized in a particular way. Our results also indicate that familiarity with different ways of understanding mental distress, can help people to express and reframe their struggles and desires in a helpful way, thereby facilitating recognition.

Qualitative Investigation into Pre- and Post-Natal Experience of Parents of Triplets

Although parents of triplets experience substantial mental distress, research about this increasing population has primarily focused on physical health risks of triplets and mothers, failing to capture the subjective wellbeing of parents. Accordingly, this study aimed to understand first-hand experience of parents of triplets, using thematic analysis of semi-structured interviews participated by eight parents (four couples: Age M = 48.63, SD = 10.61 years). Six themes were identified: (1) Negative and (2) Positive experiences of raising triplets prenatally and postnatally, (3) Social, psychological, and material support, (4) Experiences and challenges specific to mothers and (5) fathers, and (6) Advice for future parents. These themes suggest that being reassured and accepting support from others are particularly essential in reducing stress and anxiety. Self-compassion interventions were recommended to support the wellbeing of parents of triplets. Our findings will help parents of triplets, their social circles, and healthcare workers to develop effective approaches to reduce the mental health difficulties that this under-researched population experiences.

Prevalences of mental distress and its associated factors in unaccompanied refugee minors in Germany

Prevalences for mental disorders within minor refugees are comparatively high and heterogeneous. To reduce heterogeneity and identify high-risk subgroups, we compared unaccompanied refugee minors (URM) to accompanied refugee minors (ARM) regarding depressive symptoms and mental distress. Furthermore, we examined associative factors of mental distress in URM on a broad scale. We conducted a survey with a cross-sectional design in four German University hospitals. The sample consisted of n = 172 URM and n = 52 ARM aged 14–21. Depressive symptoms were assessed via the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9). Mental distress was assessed by the Refugee Health Screener (RHS-15). Mann–Whitney test was used to examine differences between URM and ARM. Associated factors of mental distress were evaluated via a stepwise multiple regression analysis. URM showed significantly higher mean scores for PHQ-9 (p < .001) and RHS-15 (p < .001) compared to ARM indicating medium effect sizes. Furthermore, URM were significantly more likely to surpass the cut-off for depression (61.6% vs. 30.8%) and overall mental distress (81.4% vs. 53.8%) compared to ARM. The factors Number of stressful life events (SLE), Female gender, and Fear of deportation were found to be associated with an increased mental distress in URM, whereas Weekly contact to a family member, School attendance, and German language skills were accompanied with lower distress scores. All six factors accounted for 32% of the variance of mental distress in URM (p < .001). Within minor refugees, URM are a highly vulnerable subgroup, which should receive particular attention and more targeted measures by health authorities. Our results indicate that these measures should comprise a rapid promotion of family contact, school attendance, language acquisition, and the fast processing of asylum applications. However, the cross-sectional design limits the interpretability of the results.