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Sample records for emotional distress drinking

  1. Changes in emotional reactivity and distress tolerance among heavy drinking adolescents during sustained abstinence.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Winward, Jennifer L; Bekman, Nicole M; Hanson, Karen L; Lejuez, Carl W; Brown, Sandra A

    2014-06-01

    Negative affect and low distress tolerance have been associated with increased likelihood of alcohol consumption and relapse. This study utilized the Paced Auditory Serial Attention Test - Computerized Version (PASAT-C) to examine affective reactivity, cognitive performance, and distress tolerance during early abstinence among heavy drinking adolescents. Participants, ages 16 to 18 (50% female), were 23 heavy episodic drinking youth (HED) and 23 demographically matched, nondrinking teens (CON). Both groups were drawn from the same schools and assessed at 3 time points: HED was first studied within 10 days (M = 4.26, SD = 4.4) of heavy episodic drinking and then at two 2-week intervals over 4 subsequent weeks of abstinence from alcohol and drugs. CON were studied at the same 2-week intervals. From the findings, it was observed that HED responded with greater emotional response to the PASAT-C (i.e., greater increases in frustration and irritability and greater decreases in happiness) at the initial assessment, but their affective responses diminished with sustained abstinence. CON and HED task performance did not differ at the initial assessment or across time. HED showed faster task discontinuation times to the PASAT-C at the first assessment, and both groups reduced task persistence across testings. Among HED, greater lifetime and recent alcohol consumption, alcohol-induced blackouts, and withdrawal symptoms were associated with increases in negative affect with PASAT-C exposure. Earlier age of onset of alcohol use was linked to poorer performance. Heavy episodic drinking adolescents demonstrated heightened emotional reactivity and poorer distress tolerance to a cognitively challenging task during early abstinence. The combination of elevated negative affect and low distress tolerance may place adolescents at a heightened risk of escalations in or return to alcohol involvement. Copyright © 2014 by the Research Society on Alcoholism.

  2. Terrorism, distress, and drinking: vulnerability and protective factors.

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    Richman, Judith A; Rospenda, Kathleen M; Cloninger, Lea

    2009-12-01

    Research has demonstrated effects of 9/11 on distress and drinking outcomes in individuals directly affected and indirectly affected across the United States. Fewer studies have addressed vulnerability and protective factors shown to moderate the effects of stress exposure. We report findings from a Midwestern workplace cohort study. Respondents to a 6 wave longitudinal mail survey completed questionnaires prior to September 11, 2001 and again in 2003 and 2005. Regression analyses encompassed measures of terrorism-related beliefs and fears, workplace stressors (sexual harassment, generalized abuse and low decision latitude), marital and parental status, and perceived social support in 2003, and distress and deleterious drinking outcomes in 2005. Analyses showed that terrorism-related fears significantly interacted with workplace stressors and interpersonal social relationships in predicting distress, drinking or both, controlling for pre-9/11 distress and drinking. Gender differences were also found. This article suggests that certain individuals may be at heightened risk for distressful reactions to and/or deleterious drinking resulting from terrorism-related issues and fears due to additional risk factors involving workplace stressors and inadequate interpersonal bonds. However, limitations of the study were noted and future research was recommended.

  3. Emotional distress in women presenting for breast imaging

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gupta, R.; Roy, S.; Nayak, Madhabika B.; Khoursheed, M.

    1999-01-01

    The aim of this study was to assess anxiety and depression in a sample of women presenting for imaging of breast following a clinical referral. Emotional distress in the women was also assessed in relation to demographic factors, reason for referral, presence for breast symptoms, type of imaging procedure performed and self-reported pain and discomfort during imaging. The study comprised 167 patients. The Hopkins Symptom Checklist-25 (HSCL-25) and a discomfort rating scale were used to assess emotional distress and discomfort or pain experienced during the imaging. While less than 10% of all subjects scored above psychiatric cut-off points for anxiety and depression, 25% and 20% reported significant distress associated with anxiety and depression symptoms respectively. Education alone was associated with higher anxiety scores, while the presence of breast symptoms significantly increased depression scores and reports of specific nonsomatic symptoms of depression. Higher anxiety and depression scores were also associated with pain experienced during the imaging procedure. Emotional distress may negatively impact women's experience of breast imaging. Screening for emotional distress is important within the context of breast imaging. (author)

  4. Slow dissolving of emotional distress contributes to hyperarousal.

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    Wassing, Rick; Benjamins, Jeroen S; Dekker, Kim; Moens, Sarah; Spiegelhalder, Kai; Feige, Bernd; Riemann, Dieter; van der Sluis, Sophie; Van Der Werf, Ysbrand D; Talamini, Lucia M; Walker, Matthew P; Schalkwijk, Frans; Van Someren, Eus J W

    2016-03-01

    The mechanisms underlying hyperarousal, the key symptom of insomnia, have remained elusive, hampering cause-targeted treatment. Recently, restless rapid-eye-movement (REM) sleep emerged as a robust signature of sleep in insomnia. Given the role of REM sleep in emotion regulation, we hypothesized that restless REM sleep could interfere with the overnight resolution of emotional distress, thus contributing to accumulation of arousal. Participants (n = 1,199) completed questionnaires on insomnia severity, hyperarousal, self-conscious emotional distress, and thought-like nocturnal mentation that was validated to be a specific proxy for restless REM sleep (selective fragmentation: R = 0.57, P insomnia severity (β = 0.29, P Insomnia severity was associated with hyperarousal (β = 0.47, P insomnia was mediated specifically by reduced overnight resolution of emotional distress. The model outperformed all alternative mediation pathways. The findings suggest that restless REM sleep reflects a process that interferes with the overnight resolution of distress. Its accumulation may promote the development of chronic hyperarousal, giving clinical relevance to the role of REM sleep in emotion regulation in insomnia, depression, and posttraumatic stress disorder.

  5. Drinking motives mediate emotion regulation difficulties and problem drinking in college students.

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    Aurora, Pallavi; Klanecky, Alicia K

    2016-05-01

    Problem drinking in college places students at an increased risk for a wealth of negative consequences including alcohol use disorders. Most research has shown that greater emotion regulation difficulties are related to increased problem drinking, and studies generally assume that drinking is motivated by efforts to cope with or enhance affective experiences. However, there is a lack of research specifically testing this assumption. The current study sought to examine the mediating potential of drinking motives, specifically coping and enhancement, on the relationship between emotion regulation and problem drinking. College participants (N = 200) completed an online survey, consisting of a battery of measures assessing alcohol use behaviors and related variables. Coping drinking motives fully mediated the emotion regulation/problem drinking relationship, and enhancement motives partially mediated this relationship. Exploratory analyses indicated that all four drinking motives (i.e. coping, enhancement, social, and conformity) simultaneously mediated the relationship between emotion regulation and quantity/frequency of alcohol use. However, only coping and enhancement significantly mediated the relationship between emotion regulation and alcohol-related consequences (e.g. alcohol dependence symptoms, alcohol-related injuries). The current results offer direction for potentially modifying brief alcohol interventions in efforts to reduce students' engagement in problem drinking behaviors. For example, interventions might incorporate information on the risks of using alcohol as a means of emotion regulation and offer alternative emotion regulation strategies.

  6. Hunger, inhibitory control and distress-induced emotional eating.

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    van Strien, Tatjana; Ouwens, Machteld A; Engel, Carmen; de Weerth, Carolina

    2014-08-01

    Self-reported emotional eating has been found to significantly moderate distress-induced food intake, with low emotional eaters eating less after a stress task than after a control task and high emotional eaters eating more. The aim of the present study was to explore possible underlying mechanisms by assessing possible associations with (1) ability to experience the typical post-stress reduction of hunger and (2) inhibitory control. We studied these effects in 54 female students who were preselected on the basis of extremely high or low scores on an emotional eating questionnaire. Using a within subject design we measured the difference of actual food or snack intake after a control or a stress task (Trier Social Stress Test). As expected, the moderator effect of emotional eating on distress-induced food intake was found to be only present in females with a failure to report the typical reduction of hunger immediately after a stress task (an a-typical hunger stress response). Contrary to our expectations, this moderator effect of emotional eating was also found to be only present in females with high ability to stop motor impulses (high inhibitory control). These findings suggest that an a-typical hunger stress response but not poor inhibitory control may underlie the moderator effect of emotional eating on distress-induced food intake. However, inhibitory control may play a role whether or not there is a moderator effect of self-reported emotional eating on distress-induced food intake. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  7. Partner relationship satisfaction and maternal emotional distress in early pregnancy

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    Eberhard-Gran Malin

    2011-03-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Recognition of maternal emotional distress during pregnancy and the identification of risk factors for this distress are of considerable clinical- and public health importance. The mental health of the mother is important both for herself, and for the physical and psychological health of her children and the welfare of the family. The first aim of the present study was to identify risk factors for maternal emotional distress during pregnancy with special focus on partner relationship satisfaction. The second aim was to assess interaction effects between relationship satisfaction and the main predictors. Methods Pregnant women enrolled in the Norwegian Mother and Child Cohort Study (n = 51,558 completed a questionnaire with questions about maternal emotional distress, relationship satisfaction, and other risk factors. Associations between 37 predictor variables and emotional distress were estimated by multiple linear regression analysis. Results Relationship dissatisfaction was the strongest predictor of maternal emotional distress (β = 0.25. Other predictors were dissatisfaction at work (β = 0.11, somatic disease (β = 0.11, work related stress (β = 0.10 and maternal alcohol problems in the preceding year (β = 0.09. Relationship satisfaction appeared to buffer the effects of frequent moving, somatic disease, maternal smoking, family income, irregular working hours, dissatisfaction at work, work stress, and mother's sick leave (P Conclusions Dissatisfaction with the partner relationship is a significant predictor of maternal emotional distress in pregnancy. A good partner relationship can have a protective effect against some stressors.

  8. Using lexical analysis to identify emotional distress in psychometric schizotypy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Abplanalp, Samuel J; Buck, Benjamin; Gonzenbach, Virgilio; Janela, Carlos; Lysaker, Paul H; Minor, Kyle S

    2017-09-01

    Through the use of lexical analysis software, researchers have demonstrated a greater frequency of negative affect word use in those with schizophrenia and schizotypy compared to the general population. In addition, those with schizotypy endorse greater emotional distress than healthy controls. In this study, our aim was to expand on previous findings in schizotypy to determine whether negative affect word use could be linked to emotional distress. Schizotypy (n=33) and non-schizotypy groups (n=33) completed an open-ended, semi-structured interview and negative affect word use was analyzed using a validated lexical analysis instrument. Emotional distress was assessed using subjective questionnaires of depression and psychological quality of life (QOL). When groups were compared, those with schizotypy used significantly more negative affect words; endorsed greater depression; and reported lower QOL. Within schizotypy, a trend level association between depression and negative affect word use was observed; QOL and negative affect word use showed a significant inverse association. Our findings offer preliminary evidence of the potential effectiveness of lexical analysis as an objective, behavior-based method for identifying emotional distress throughout the schizophrenia-spectrum. Utilizing lexical analysis in schizotypy offers promise for providing researchers with an assessment capable of objectively detecting emotional distress. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

  9. Positive emotion in distress as a potentially effective emotion regulation strategy for depression: A preliminary investigation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yamaguchi, Keiko; Ito, Masaya; Takebayashi, Yoshitake

    2018-03-12

    Emotion regulation utilizing positive emotion during negative emotional states might be one of the effective ways to alleviate depression and anxiety problems among people with emotional disorders. This study examined the psychometric properties and incremental validity of the Positive Emotion In Distress Scale (PEIDS), a newly developed self-report scale, in a sample of university students in Japan. To examine the psychometric properties of the PEIDS, the scale was completed by Japanese university students (396 men and 363 women; mean age of 19.92). Participants additionally answered the Emotion Regulation Questionnaire, Rumination and Reflection Questionnaire - Shorter Version, Affective Style Questionnaire, Positive and Negative Affective Schedule, and Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale. The survey was conducted at two time points separated by 1 month to assess test-retest reliability and validity of the PEIDS. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses confirmed a one-factor structure. Reliability was confirmed by high internal consistency and test-retest stability; the convergent and discriminant validity was confirmed by correlations with related and unrelated variables. The results of hierarchical regression analyses demonstrated that positive emotion in distress might predict depression above and beyond the effect of baseline depression and other common emotion regulation strategies. The PEIDS showed acceptable reliability and validity within young adults and a non-clinical population in Japan. Further research will be needed to examine the effect of positive emotion among clinical populations. Previous research suggests that positive emotions play a key role in recovery from depression and anxiety problems through some forms of psychotherapy. The Positive Emotion In Distress Scale (PEIDS) measures individual differences regarding the extent to which people can experience positive emotions in negative emotional states. Results suggested that the

  10. Relationship between infertility-related stress and emotional distress and marital satisfaction.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gana, Kamel; Jakubowska, Sylwia

    2016-06-01

    The aim of this study was to evaluate the predictive effects of infertility-related stress on psychological distress and marital satisfaction. Structural equation modeling was used to estimate a nonrecursive model hypothesizing the impact of infertility-related stress on both emotional distress and marital dissatisfaction, which were supposed to have a reciprocal influence on each other. The model was estimated using data from a sample of 150 infertile patients (78 males and 72 females). Findings confirmed the predictive effects of infertility-related stress on both emotional and marital distress. However, infertility-related stress was found to have more impact on emotional distress than on marital satisfaction. © The Author(s) 2014.

  11. Negative Emotions and Behaviors are Markers of Breakup Distress

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    Field, Tiffany; Diego, Miguel; Pelaez, Martha; Deeds, Osvelia; Delgado, Jeanette

    2013-01-01

    Method: University students who experienced a recent romantic breakup were given several self-report measures and were then divided into high versus low breakup distress groups. Results: The high breakup distress versus the low breakup distress groups had higher scores on negative emotions scales including depression, anxiety and anger and…

  12. Emotional Distress Among Indonesian Youth with Chronic Disease: Challenge of Youth Health Program

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    Isfandari Isfandari

    2014-08-01

    Full Text Available Background: Emotional distress and chronic diseases are the highest contributors of Year Life with Disability (YLD in Indonesia. Youth age 15–24 comprised of 14% Indonesian population. It is important to have information on their mental health status and the magnitude of chronic disease they experience. The information is useful as inputs for estimating the disease burden in the years to come. Objective: Obtain information on the magnitude of emotional distress and chronic diseases among Indonesian youth. The information can be used as inputs for the health sector in designing health service for youth. Method: Emotional distress and chronic diseases data from 2007 Riskesdas were analysed using frequency to obtain the prevalence of emotional distress and several chronic diseases. Cross tabulation was performed to obtain theprevalence of emotional distress among youth with asthma, heart, diabetic, joint and stroke defined as ever diagnosed or having the symptoms. Emotional distress is defined as having score of more than 5 in the Self Report Questionnaire. Inclusion criteria was those age 15–24 years. Results: Nine out of ten Indonesian youth were free of emotional distress orchronic disease as defined. Only one out of ten youth experienced the condition. Emotional distress prevalence among youtwith chronic disease is higher among those with chronic disease, the highest is in those with co-morbidity. Conclusion: It istime for health sector to give more attention for mental health especially youth with chronic diseases. Recommendation:In addition to prioritize on prevention and promotion, youth health service should also provide information, expert and resources as well as guidance on youth care.

  13. Culture, distress, and oxytocin receptor polymorphism (OXTR) interact to influence emotional support seeking.

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    Kim, Heejung S; Sherman, David K; Sasaki, Joni Y; Xu, Jun; Chu, Thai Q; Ryu, Chorong; Suh, Eunkook M; Graham, Kelsey; Taylor, Shelley E

    2010-09-07

    Research has demonstrated that certain genotypes are expressed in different forms, depending on input from the social environment. To examine sensitivity to cultural norms regarding emotional support seeking as a type of social environment, we explored the behavioral expression of oxytocin receptor polymorphism (OXTR) rs53576, a gene previously related to socio-emotional sensitivity. Seeking emotional support in times of distress is normative in American culture but not in Korean culture. Consequently, we predicted a three-way interaction of culture, distress, and OXTR genotype on emotional support seeking. Korean and American participants (n = 274) completed assessments of psychological distress and emotional support seeking and were genotyped for OXTR. We found the predicted three-way interaction: among distressed American participants, those with the GG/AG genotypes reported seeking more emotional social support, compared with those with the AA genotype, whereas Korean participants did not differ significantly by genotype; under conditions of low distress, OXTR groups did not differ significantly in either cultural group. These findings suggest that OXTR rs53576 is sensitive to input from the social environment, specifically cultural norms regarding emotional social support seeking. These findings also indicate that psychological distress and culture are important moderators that shape behavioral outcomes associated with OXTR genotypes.

  14. Behavioral Assessment of the Negative Emotion Aspect of Distress Tolerance.

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    Veilleux, Jennifer C; Pollert, Garrett A; Zielinski, Melissa J; Shaver, Jennifer A; Hill, Morgan A

    2017-01-01

    The current behavioral tasks assessing distress tolerance measure tolerance to frustration and tolerance to physical discomfort, but do not explicitly assess tolerance to negative emotion. We closely evaluated the conceptual distinctions between current behavioral tasks and self-report tasks assessing distress tolerance, and then developed a new behavioral distress tolerance task called the Emotional Image Tolerance (EIT) task. The EIT task retains elements of existing behavioral tasks (e.g., indices of persistence) while augmenting the reliability and content sufficiency of existing measures by including multiple trials, including a variety of negative affect stimuli, and separating overall task persistence from task persistence after onset of distress. In a series of three studies, we found that the EIT correlated with extant behavioral measures of distress tolerance, the computerized mirror-tracing task and a physical cold pressor task. Across all of the studies, we also evaluated whether the EIT correlated with self-report measures of distress tolerance and measures of psychopathology (e.g., depression, anxiety, and binge eating). Implications for the refinement of the distress tolerance construct are discussed.

  15. Diabetes-related emotional distress instruments: a systematic review of measurement properties.

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    Lee, Jiyeon; Lee, Eun-Hyun; Kim, Chun-Ja; Moon, Seung Hei

    2015-12-01

    The objectives of this study were to identify all available diabetes-related emotional distress instruments and evaluate the evidence regarding their measurement properties to help in the selection of the most appropriate instrument for use in practice and research. A systematic literature search was performed. PubMed, Embase, CINAHL, and PsycINFO were searched systematically for articles on diabetes-related emotional distress instruments. The Consensus-based Standards for the Selection of Health Measurement Instruments checklist was used to evaluate the methodological quality of the identified studies. The quality of results with respect to the measurement properties of each study was evaluated using Terwee's quality criteria. An ancillary meta-analysis was performed. Of the 2345 articles yielded by the search, 19 full-text articles evaluating 6 diabetes-related emotional distress instruments were included in this study. No instrument demonstrated evidence for all measurement properties. The Problem Areas in Diabetes scale (PAID) was the most frequently studied and the best validated of the instruments. Pooled summary estimates of the correlation coefficient between the PAID and serum glycated hemoglobin revealed a positive but weak correlation. No diabetes-related emotional distress instrument demonstrated evidence for all measurement properties. No instrument was better than another, although the PAID was the best validated and is thus recommended for use. Further psychometric studies of the diabetes-related emotional distress instruments with rigorous methodologies are required. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  16. A 3-stage model of patient-centered communication for addressing cancer patients' emotional distress.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dean, Marleah; Street, Richard L

    2014-02-01

    To describe pathways through which clinicians can more effectively respond to patients' emotions in ways that contribute to betterment of the patient's health and well-being. A representative review of literature on managing emotions in clinical consultations was conducted. A three-stage, conceptual model for assisting clinicians to more effectively address the challenges of recognizing, exploring, and managing cancer patients' emotional distress in the clinical encounter was developed. To enhance and enact recognition of patients' emotions, clinicians can engage in mindfulness, self-situational awareness, active listening, and facilitative communication. To enact exploration, clinicians can acknowledge and validate emotions and provide empathy. Finally, clinicians can provide information empathetically, identify therapeutic resources, and give referrals and interventions as needed to help lessen patients' emotional distress. This model serves as a framework for future research examining pathways that link clinicians' emotional cue recognition to patient-centered responses exploring a patient's emotional distress to therapeutic actions that contribute to improved psychological and emotional health. Specific communicative and cognitive strategies are presented that can help clinicians better recognize a patient's emotional distress and respond in ways that have therapeutic value. Published by Elsevier Ireland Ltd.

  17. The Impact of Multiple Concussions on Emotional Distress, Post-Concussive Symptoms, and Neurocognitive Functioning in Active Duty United States Marines Independent of Combat Exposure or Emotional Distress

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lathan, Corinna E.; Bleiberg, Joseph; Tsao, Jack W.

    2014-01-01

    Abstract Controversy exists as to whether the lingering effects of concussion on emotional, physical, and cognitive symptoms is because of the effects of brain trauma or purely to emotional factors such as post-traumatic stress disorder or depression. This study examines the independent effects of concussion on persistent symptoms. The Defense Automated Neurobehavioral Assessment, a clinical decision support tool, was used to assess neurobehavioral functioning in 646 United States Marines, all of whom were fit for duty. Marines were assessed for concussion history, post-concussive symptoms, emotional distress, neurocognitive functioning, and deployment history. Results showed that a recent concussion or ever having experienced a concussion was associated with an increase in emotional distress, but not with persistent post-concussive symptoms (PPCS) or neurocognitive functioning. Having had multiple lifetime concussions, however, was associated with greater emotional distress, PPCS, and reduced neurocognitive functioning that needs attention and rapid discrimination, but not for memory-based tasks. These results are independent of deployment history, combat exposure, and symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder and depression. Results supported earlier findings that a previous concussion is not generally associated with post-concussive symptoms independent of covariates. In contrast with other studies that failed to find a unique contribution for concussion to PPCS, however, evidence of recent and multiple concussion was seen across a range of emotional distress, post-concussive symptoms, and neurocognitive functioning in this study population. Results are discussed in terms of implications for assessing concussion on return from combat. PMID:25003552

  18. Perceived organizational tolerance for workplace harassment and distress and drinking over time [harassment and mental health].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Richman, Judith A; Rospenda, Kathleen M; Flaherty, Joseph A; Freels, Sally; Zlatoper, Ken

    2004-01-01

    Research has linked workplace harassment and abuse with distress and drinking. However, increasing societal attention to sexual harassment (SH) has been accompanied by pressures on work organizations to censure harassing behaviors. We address altered perceptions of the organizational tolerance (OT) for SH and generalized workplace abuse (GWA), changes in the prevalence and incidence of these experiences, and their impact on distress and drinking behaviors. A cohort of workers completed a mail survey at three points in time. Questionnaires assessed perceptions of OT for SH and GWA, experiences of SH and GWA, coping, and distress and drinking behaviors. Both sexes perceived that tolerance of SH and GWA has decreased over time. Changes in reported prevalence of these experiences differed by gender, and incidence for both genders decreased more strongly than prevalence. The linkages between SH/GWA and distress and drinking changed over time, but in different ways for women and men. SH and GWA still have deleterious consequences, and replications of this research and greater efforts at prevention are needed.

  19. Are alexithymia and emotional characteristics of disclosure associated with blood pressure reactivity and psychological distress following written emotional disclosure?

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    O'Connor, Daryl B; Ashley, Laura

    2008-09-01

    This study had three aims: 1) to investigate whether cardiovascular responses to laboratory stress and levels of emotional distress were attenuated following written emotional disclosure; 2) to test, in addition to the potential main effects, whether levels of alexithymia moderated the impact of writing; and 3) to examine whether alexithymics who successfully disclosed emotion in their essays would experience positive effects following writing. Eighty-seven participants wrote about their most stressful life experience or about a non-stressful experience, for 15 minutes, over 3 consecutive days. Two weeks later, blood pressure (BP) responses to laboratory stress and levels of emotional distress were assessed. Emotional characteristics of the disclosure essays were analysed with the Linguistic Inquiry and Word Count programme and alexithymia was assessed at baseline using the Toronto Alexithymia Scale-20. Analyses found no evidence in support of the main effects of disclosure on cardiovascular responses to stress or on emotional distress. However, alexithymia was found to moderate the impact of writing such that non-alexithymic participants in the experimental condition reported significantly lower emotional distress 2 weeks later. In addition, alexithymic participants who disclosed a greater number of negative when compared with positive emotion words exhibited reduced systolic and diastolic responses to stress. Conversely, non-alexithymic participants who disclosed more positive and less negative emotion words displayed attenuated BP reactivity to stress. The results of this exploratory study are important as they highlighted, in the absence of main effects, the importance of examining potential moderators of the emotional writing process. These findings may have implications for the development of cardiovascular health interventions.

  20. Tinnitus- related distress: evidence from fMRI of an emotional stroop task

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    Dennis Golm

    2016-08-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Chronic tinnitus affects 5 % of the population, 17 % suffer under the condition. This distress seems mainly to be dependent on negative cognitive-emotional evaluation of the tinnitus and selective attention to the tinnitus. A well-established paradigm to examine selective attention and emotional processing is the Emotional Stroop Task (EST. Recent models of tinnitus distress propose limbic, frontal and parietal regions to be more active in highly distressed tinnitus patients. Only a few studies have compared high and low distressed tinnitus patients. Thus, this study aimed to explore neural correlates of tinnitus-related distress. Methods Highly distressed tinnitus patients (HDT, n = 16, low distressed tinnitus patients (LDT, n = 16 and healthy controls (HC, n = 16 underwent functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI during an EST, that used tinnitus-related words and neutral words as stimuli. A random effects analysis of the fMRI data was conducted on the basis of the general linear model. Furthermore correlational analyses between the blood oxygen level dependent response and tinnitus distress, loudness, depression, anxiety, vocabulary and hypersensitivity to sound were performed. Results Contradictory to the hypothesis, highly distressed patients showed no Stroop effect in their reaction times. As hypothesized HDT and LDT differed in the activation of the right insula and the orbitofrontal cortex. There were no hypothesized differences between HDT and HC. Activation of the orbitofrontal cortex and the right insula were found to correlate with tinnitus distress. Conclusions The results are partially supported by earlier resting-state studies and corroborate the role of the insula and the orbitofrontal cortex in tinnitus distress.

  1. Emotional Distress as a Predictor of Work-Related Musculoskeletal Disorders in Malaysian Nursing Professionals.

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    Amin, Nur Azma; Quek, Kia Fatt; Oxley, Jennifer Anne; Noah, Rahim; Nordin, Rusli

    2018-04-01

    Emotional distress is becoming a great concern and is more common in both developed and developing countries. It is associated with several disease conditions. To determine the prevalence of self-perceived emotional distress and its relation to work-related musculoskeletal disorders (WRMSDs) in nurses. A self-administered questionnaire survey was carried out on 660 female nurses working in public hospitals in the Klang Valley, Malaysia. The validated Malay version of the standardized Nordic musculoskeletal questionnaire (M-SNMQ) was used to identify the annual prevalence of WRMSDs; perceived emotional distress was assessed using the validated Malay short version, depression, anxiety, and stress (M-DASS) instrument. In addition, socio-demographic and occupational profiles of the participants were considered. Factors associated with WRMSDs were identified using logistic regression analysis. A total of 376 nurses completed the survey (response rate 83.3%). 73.1% of the nursing staffs experienced WRMSDs in at least one anatomical site 12 months prior to the study. 75% of nurses expressed emotional distress. Of these, over half also reported anxiety and stress. Multiple logistic regression analysis showed that stress and anxiety significantly increased the risk of WRMSDs by approximately twofold. There were significant associations between emotional distress and WRMSDs. Future longitudinal studies are therefore needed to investigate and identify the sources of emotional distress (non-occupational and occupational) to be used to establish preventive strategies to reduce the risk of WRMSDs.

  2. Emotional Distress as a Predictor of Work-Related Musculoskeletal Disorders in Malaysian Nursing Professionals

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    Nur Azma Amin

    2018-04-01

    Full Text Available Background: Emotional distress is becoming a great concern and is more common in both developed and developing countries. It is associated with several disease conditions. Objective: To determine the prevalence of self-perceived emotional distress and its relation to work-related musculoskeletal disorders (WRMSDs in nurses. Methods: A self-administered questionnaire survey was carried out on 660 female nurses working in public hospitals in the Klang Valley, Malaysia. The validated Malay version of the standardized Nordic musculoskeletal questionnaire (M-SNMQ was used to identify the annual prevalence of WRMSDs; perceived emotional distress was assessed using the validated Malay short version, depression, anxiety, and stress (M-DASS instrument. In addition, socio-demographic and occupational profiles of the participants were considered. Factors associated with WRMSDs were identified using logistic regression analysis. Results: A total of 376 nurses completed the survey (response rate 83.3%. 73.1% of the nursing staffs experienced WRMSDs in at least one anatomical site 12 months prior to the study. 75% of nurses expressed emotional distress. Of these, over half also reported anxiety and stress. Multiple logistic regression analysis showed that stress and anxiety significantly increased the risk of WRMSDs by approximately twofold. Conclusion: There were significant associations between emotional distress and WRMSDs. Future longitudinal studies are therefore needed to investigate and identify the sources of emotional distress (non-occupational and occupational to be used to establish preventive strategies to reduce the risk of WRMSDs.

  3. [Multiple-Victimisation due to Armed Conflict and Emotional Distress in the State of Magdalena, Colombia].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Campo-Arias, Adalberto; Sanabria, Adriana R; Ospino, Anyelly; Guerra, Valeria M; Caamaño, Beatriz H

    Emotional distress is common in Colombian armed conflict victims. Multiple-victimisation is associated with an increase in emotional distress than victimisation due a single event. However, the association between poly-victimisation and emotional distress among victims of the armed conflict in Colombia has not been documented. To study the association between multiple-victimisation and emotional distress in victims of armed conflict in the State of Magdalena, Colombia. A cross-sectional study was designed, with a secondary analysis of registration of the Psychosocial Care Program and Victim Integral Health (PAPSIVI) in the State of Magdalena, from 2013 to 2014. The profile formula grouped demographic variables, victimising events, and a set of symptoms of emotional distress (perceived discrimination, depressive and anxiety-stress). Odds ratio (OR, 95%CI) were established as measures of association. A total of 943 people were included, with 67.4% women, and ages between18 and 94 years (mean 47.9±14.2). A total of 109 (11.7%) suffered from multiple victimisation. Multiple victimisation events were associated with more emotional distress, depressive symptoms (OR=1.5; 95%CI, 1.3-1.8), perceived stigma (OR=1.3; 95%CI, 1.1-1.5), and anxiety-stress (OR=1.2; 95%CI 1.0-1.4) than a single event. There is more emotional distress in multiple victimisations than in a single victimisation event during armed conflict in this region of Colombia. Further studies are required on this topic. Copyright © 2016 Asociación Colombiana de Psiquiatría. Publicado por Elsevier España. All rights reserved.

  4. Emotional distress and strain in relatives of patients with severe ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    The levels of emotional distress and strain were examined in two groups of relatives of psychiatric patients using standard instruments. The dementia group had more GHQ - 30 cases than the schizophrenic group. Even though the schizophrenic relatives had higher distress and strain scores than the dementia relatives, ...

  5. Prevalence of emotional distress in caregiver’s of cancer patients

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    Santre Manjeet S, Rathod Jyoti, Maidapwad Sainath

    2014-07-01

    Full Text Available Background: A diagnosis of cancer is an intensely stressful experience for patients. How much it affects the caregiver’s is not apparent as it leads to hidden Co morbidity in the persons involved in the care giving process. Cancer can not only affect the patients, but can equally evoke emotional distress in the caregiver’s. Aims: We carried out a study to evaluate the prevalence of anxiety and depression as well as effects of socio demographic & cancer characteristics on emotions of caregiver’s. Methods and Material: This is a cross sectional study of 100 consecutive consenting caregiver’s of diagnosed cancer patients attending an oncology department of a tertiary care hospital. Caregiver’s are those who have willfully taken the responsibility of care giving to the ailing cancer patients. Hospital Anxiety, Depression Scale (HADS a well validated questionnaire based scale to evaluate the prevalence of anxiety, depression and emotional distress. It has 14 items 07 related to anxiety & 07 related depressions. Results: 100 caregiver’s were studied to assess the anxiety and depression levels during their care giving task. The mean anxiety & depression score of subjects were 8.28 (SD-3.45 & 8.79 (SD-3.94 respectively. 34% caregiver’s were having score between moderate to severe category with a cutoff of (>10 on both the subscales of HADS. 53% of the subjects showed emotional distress as seen in high score above cutoff of (>15 on total HADS score. The data was compiled, tabulated and analyzed by using SPSS 16 .0 v. P < 0.05 is taken as statistically significant in our study. Conclusion: There are multiple factors involved in the emotional distress of the caregiver’s. A holistic treatment approach that encompasses both medical and psychological measures for reducing the hidden morbidity in co sufferers of cancer patients to be adapted in treatment of cancer patients.

  6. Emotional complexity and its effect on psychological distress as a function of chronological age and subjective distance-to-death.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shrira, Amit; Bodner, Ehud; Palgi, Yuval

    2015-01-01

    In light of mixed evidence regarding the associations between age, emotional complexity, and psychological distress, this study examined emotional complexity and its effect on psychological distress as a function of age and subjective distance-to-death. A sample of 188 participants (age range = 29-100) rated their subjective distance-to-death and psychological distress, and reported their emotions across 14 days. Emotional complexity was unrelated to age, but negatively related to feeling closer to death. Moreover, emotional complexity was negatively related to psychological distress among those feeling closer to death. Results suggest that when death is perceived to be nearer, emotional complexity is hampered, yet becomes relevant in buffering psychological distress.

  7. Metacognitions or distress intolerance: The mediating role in the relationship between emotional dysregulation and problematic internet use.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Akbari, Mehdi

    2017-12-01

    Given the relevance of problematic Internet use (PIU) to everyday life, its relationship to emotional dysregulation and the importance of metacognitions and distress intolerance in process and intermediaries research, this study examined which of metacognitions and distress intolerance acts as an intermediary between emotional dysregulation and PIU. In the current study, 413 undergraduate students from the University of Tehran, Iran (202 females; mean age = 20.13) voluntarily completed a questionnaire package which included the Internet Addiction Test (IAT), Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale (DERS), Metacognitions Questionnaire 30 (MCQ-30(, and Distress Tolerance Scale (DTS). The data were then analyzed using structural equation modeling by LISREL software. Significant correlations were found between PIU and emotional dysregulation and both distress intolerance and metacognitions ( P  intolerance. Also, these findings emphasize that distress intolerance has a more significant mediating role than metacognition in the relationship between emotional dysregulation and PIU.

  8. Predictors of emotional distress in pregnant women: the mediating role of relationship intimacy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Costa, Eleonora C V; Castanheira, Eva; Moreira, Litícia; Correia, Paulo; Ribeiro, Duarte; Graça Pereira, M

    2017-12-15

    Assessment and treatment of emotional distress during pregnancy show that worries during pregnancy and interpersonal relationships with partners are the important factors determining psychological health. The present study aimed to investigate the impact of worries during pregnancy, relationship intimacy, and marital satisfaction on anxiety, depression, and stress symptoms in pregnant women, as well as to analyse the mediating effect of relationship intimacy between marital satisfaction and emotional distress. During their second and third trimester of pregnancy, 200 Portuguese women were recruited during childbirth preparation consultations and completed the Cambridge Worry Scale (CWS), the Personal Assessment of Intimacy in Relationships Scale (PAIR), the Marital Life Areas Satisfaction Evaluation Scale (MLASES), and the Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Scale (DASS-21). Hierarchical multiple regression analyses showed that being unemployed or on sick leave, being younger, having a history of miscarriage, having more worries during pregnancy, and declaring low-relationship intimacy were the main predictors of emotional distress. Relationship intimacy mediated the relation of marital satisfaction to anxiety and depression symptoms. This study highlights the importance of the worries during pregnancy and relationship intimacy in shaping pregnant women's emotional distress, and identifies both as targets of intervention.

  9. Emotional distress in patients undergoing Magnetic Resonance Imaging

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mozzolillo, R.; Ercolani, P.; Giovagnoni, A.; Denigris, E.; Barbini, N.; Mariani, L.; Nardi, B.; Cotani, P.; Marchesi, G.F.

    1991-01-01

    MR imaging, like other imaging techniques, can cause emotional and psychological reactions in the patients. Although reversible, these reactions sometimes lead the patient to absolutely refuse the examination or to make it impossible to carry it through. To investigate the patients' emotional distress, a study group pf 28 subjects was examinated. They were heterogeneous in sex, age, and pathologic condition. The main psycological reactions were analyzed, and anxiety-both of state and of trait. The anxiety parameter was evaluated as a specific index in the psycho-behavioral modifications induced by MR examination. The influence was also considered of the 'fantasies' related to examination results on the patients' psyche. Talks and STAI X1 and STAI X2 were employed to this purpose, to identifi possible disturbing elements related to both patients' character and examination situations. Our results point to anxiety as the mayor reaction observed in the subjects undergoing MR examination; it seems to be related to different parameters, which are difficult to identify. Claustrophobia, pathophobia, and the fear of an unknown examination play a mayor role. Talking to the patients and informing them of the characteristics of the examination proved useful to significantly reduce their emotional distress

  10. Emotional Distress among LGBT Youth: The Influence of Perceived Discrimination Based on Sexual Orientation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Almeida, Joanna; Johnson, Renee M.; Corliss, Heather L.; Molnar, Beth E.; Azrael, Deborah

    2009-01-01

    The authors evaluated emotional distress among 9th-12th grade students, and examined whether the association between being lesbian, gay, bisexual, and/or transgendered (i.e., "LGBT") and emotional distress was mediated by perceptions of having been treated badly or discriminated against because others thought they were gay or lesbian.…

  11. Emotional security in the family system and psychological distress in female survivors of child sexual abuse.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cantón-Cortés, David; Cantón, José; Cortés, María Rosario

    2016-01-01

    The Emotional Security Theory (EST) was originally developed to investigate the association between high levels of interparental conflict and child maladaptative outcome. The objective of the present study was to analyze the effects of emotional security in the family system on psychological distress among a sample of young female adult survivors of child sexual abuse (CSA). The role of emotional security was investigated through the interactive effects of a number of factors including the type of abuse, the continuity of abuse, the relationship with the perpetrator and the existence of disclosure for the abuse. Participants were 167 female survivors of CSA. Information about the abuse was obtained from a self-reported questionnaire. Emotional security was assessed with the Security in the Family System (SIFS) Scale, and the Symptom Checklist-90-Revised (SCL-90-R) was used to assess psychological distress. In the total sample, insecurity (preoccupation and disengagement) was correlated with high psychological distress scores, whereas no relationship was found between security and psychological distress. The relationship between emotional insecurity and psychological distress was stronger in cases of continued abuse and non-disclosure, while the relationship between emotional security and distress was stronger in cases of extrafamilial abuse and especially isolated or several incidents and when a disclosure had been made. No interactive effect was found between any of the three emotional variables and the type of abuse committed. The results of the current study suggest that characteristics of CSA such as relationship with the perpetrator and, especially, continuity of abuse and whether or not disclosure had been made, can affect the impact of emotional security on psychological distress of CSA survivors. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  12. The Association of Age, Sense of Control, Optimism, and Self-Esteem with Emotional Distress

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jiménez, M. Guadalupe; Montorio, Ignacio; Izal, María

    2017-01-01

    The aim of this study was to test a model of emotional distress, which incorporates the potential mediator role of positive resources (sense of control, self-esteem, and optimism) in the association of age with emotional distress. The study used a cross-sectional design with intentional sampling and the voluntary participation of 325 adults…

  13. Adolescent Mental Health: Neighborhood Stress and Emotional Distress

    Science.gov (United States)

    Snedker, Karen A.; Herting, Jerald R.

    2016-01-01

    The purpose of this article is to explore the role of neighborhood characteristics, specifically economic disadvantage/advantage, residential instability, and racial/ethnic heterogeneity on emotional distress (depressed affect, anxiety, hopelessness) among youth. Using a regional sample of adolescents and matching their data to census tracts, we…

  14. Urban Teens: Trauma, Posttraumatic Growth, and Emotional Distress among Female Adolescents

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ickovics, Jeanette R.; Meade, Christina S.; Kershaw, Trace S.; Milan, Stephanie; Lewis, Jessica B.; Ethier, Kathleen A.

    2006-01-01

    Urban teens face many traumas, with implications for potential growth and distress. This study examined traumatic events, posttraumatic growth, and emotional distress over 18 months among urban adolescent girls (N = 328). Objectives were to (a) describe types of traumatic events, (b) determine how type and timing of events relate to profiles of…

  15. Exploring Sources of Emotional Distress among People Living with Scleroderma: A Focus Group Study.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Stephanie T Gumuchian

    Full Text Available Systemic sclerosis, or scleroderma, is a chronic and rare connective tissue disease with negative physical and psychological implications. Sources of emotional distress and the impact they have on the lives of people with scleroderma are not well understood.To gain an in-depth understanding of the emotional experiences and sources of emotional distress for women and men living with scleroderma through focus group discussions.Three semi-structured focus group discussions were conducted (two in English, one in French with a total of 22 people with scleroderma recruited through the Scleroderma Society of Ontario in Hamilton, Ontario and a scleroderma clinic in Montreal, Canada. Interviews were recorded, transcribed, and then coded for emerging themes using thematic inductive analysis.Core themes representing sources of emotional distress were identified, including: (a facing a new reality; (b the daily struggle of living with scleroderma; (c handling work, employment and general financial burden; (d changing family roles; (e social interactions; and (f navigating the health care system. Collectively, these themes refer to the stressful journey of living with scleroderma including the obstacles faced and the emotional experiences beginning prior to receiving a diagnosis and continuing throughout the participants' lives.Scleroderma was portrayed as being an unpredictable and overwhelming disease, resulting in many individuals experiencing multiple sources of emotional distress. Interventions and supportive resources need to be developed to help individuals with scleroderma and people close to them manage and cope with the emotional aspects of the disease.

  16. Iowa Gambling Task performance and emotional distress interact to predict risky sexual behavior in individuals with dual substance and HIV diagnoses

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wardle, Margaret C.; Gonzalez, Raul; Bechara, Antoine; Martin-Thormeyer, Eileen M.

    2013-01-01

    HIV+ substance-dependent individuals (SDIs) show emotional distress and executive impairment, but in isolation these poorly predict sexual risk. We hypothesized that an executive measure sensitive to emotional aspects of judgment (Iowa Gambling Task; IGT) would identify HIV+ SDIs whose sexual risks were influenced by emotional distress. We assessed emotional distress and performance on several executive tasks in 190 HIV+ SDIs. IGT performance interacted significantly with emotional distress, such that only in better performers were distress and risk related. Our results are interpreted using the somatic marker hypothesis and indicate that the IGT identifies HIV+ SDIs for whom psychological distress influences HIV risk. PMID:20480423

  17. Association of different forms of bullying victimisation with adolescents' psychological distress and reduced emotional wellbeing.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Thomas, Hannah J; Chan, Gary C K; Scott, James G; Connor, Jason P; Kelly, Adrian B; Williams, Joanne

    2016-04-01

    The frequency and emotional response to bullying victimisation are known to be associated with adolescent mental ill health. A potentially important under-investigated factor is the form of bullying. Four common forms of bullying behaviours are name-calling, physical threats or harm, rumour spreading and social exclusion. To more comprehensively understand bullying victimisation in adolescence, we examined the association of all three factors (frequency, emotional response, form) to psychological distress and emotional wellbeing. A stratified, random sample of adolescents (n = 10, 273; mean age = 14.33 years, standard deviation = 1.68 years) completed validated measures of bullying victimisation (Gatehouse Bullying Questionnaire), psychological distress (K10) and emotional wellbeing (Mental Health Inventory) in classroom time. Associations between the form of bullying victimisation and mental health outcomes were examined. Adolescents reported a high prevalence of all four forms of bullying: teased or called names (30.6%), rumour spreading (17.9%), social exclusion (14.3%) and physical threats or harm (10.7%). Victimisation was independently associated with significantly higher levels of psychological distress and reduced levels of emotional wellbeing for all forms of bullying. In particular, social exclusion had a strong association with mental ill health. Adolescents who experienced frequent bullying that was upsetting reported higher psychological distress and reduced emotional wellbeing. Different forms of bullying victimisation were independently associated with psychological distress and reduced emotional wellbeing. In particular, frequent and upsetting social exclusion requires a targeted and measured response by school communities and health practitioners. © The Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists 2015.

  18. Linking emotional distress to unhealthy sleep duration: analysis of the 2009 National Health Interview Survey

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Seixas AA

    2015-09-01

    Full Text Available Azizi A Seixas,1 Joao V Nunes,2 Collins O Airhihenbuwa,3 Natasha J Williams,1 Seithikurippu Ratnas Pandi-Perumal,1 Caryl C James,4 Girardin Jean-Louis11Center for Healthful Behavior Change, Department of Population Health, Division of Population Health, New York University School of Medicine, 2Sophie Davis School of Biomedical Education, City College of New York, New York, NY, USA; 3Department of Biobehavioral Health, The Pennsylvania State University, State College, PA, USA; 4Department of Sociology, Psychology and Social Work, The University of the West Indies, Mona, JamaicaObjective: The objective of the study was to examine the independent association of emotional distress with unhealthy sleep duration (defined as <7 or >8 hours.Methods: Data from the 2009 National Health Interview Survey (NHIS, a cross-sectional household survey, were analyzed to investigate the associations of emotional distress with unhealthy sleep durations, adjusting for sociodemographic factors, health risks, and chronic diseases through hierarchical multiple logistic regression analysis.Participants: A total of 27,731 participants (age range 18–85 years from the NHIS 2009 dataset were interviewed.Measures: Unhealthy sleep duration is defined as sleep duration <7 or >8 hours, whereas healthy sleep is defined as sleep duration lasting for 7–8 hours. Emotional distress is based on the Kessler 6 Non-Specific Distress Battery, which assesses the frequency of feeling sad, nervous, restless, hopeless, worthless, and burdened, over a 30-day period.Results: Of the sample, 51.7% were female; 83.1% were white and 16.9% were black. Eleven percent experienced emotional distress and 37.6% reported unhealthy sleep. Adjusted logistic regression analysis revealed that individuals with emotional distress had 55% greater odds of reporting unhealthy sleep (odds ratio [OR] =1.55, 95% confidence interval [CI] =1.42, 1.68, P<0.001.Conclusion: Emotional distress, an important proxy for

  19. Attachment linked predictors of women's emotional and cognitive responses to infant distress.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Leerkes, Esther M; Siepak, Kathryn J

    2006-03-01

    The purpose of this study was to examine associations among women's emotional and cognitive responses to infant fear and anger and to identify attachment linked predictors of these responses. Four hundred and forty Caucasian and African American undergraduate college women viewed video clips of two crying infants, one displaying anger and the other displaying fear. They identified what the infants were feeling, made causal attributions about the cause of crying, rated their own emotional reactions to the crying infants, and reported on the extent to which their parents met their emotional needs in childhood and their current adult attachment patterns. Emotional and cognitive responses to infant fear and anger were interrelated. Consistent with prediction, a history of parental emotional rejection and adult attachment anxiety and avoidance correlated negatively with accurate identification of emotions and positively with negative attributions, amusement, and neutral responses to infant distress. Adult attachment security moderated the effects of early parental rejection on emotional and cognitive responses to infant distress, and these results varied based on race and parent gender. Results are discussed from an attachment theory perspective.

  20. Emotional distress as a predictor of statin non-adherence among Swedish first-time myocardial infarction patients, 2006-2013.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lissåker, C T; Wallert, J; Held, C; Olsson, E

    2017-06-01

    Emotional distress (depression and anxiety) has been known to affect mortality after a myocardial infarction (MI). One possible mechanism is through medication non-adherence. Few studies have investigated the link between statin adherence and emotional distress, and results are not consistent. We aimed to explore whether emotional distress affects adherence among first-time MI patients younger than 75years old receiving a prescription for the first time. We identified first-MI individuals younger than 75years from the SWEDEHEART national quality registers discharged with a statin prescription. The main exposure was the anxiety/depression portion of the EQ-5D from Interview 1 (6-10weeks post-MI) and Interview 2 (12-14months post-MI). We calculated adherence from the Swedish Prescribed Drugs Register during three observation periods (OP): [1] Interview 1 to Interview 2, [2] one year post Interview 2, and [3] two years post Interview 1. Emotional distress at Interview 1 was not associated with statin adherence for OP1 (RR: 0.99, 95% CI: 0.98, 1.01). Emotional distress at Interview 2 was associated with lower adherence one year later (RR: 0.95, 95% CI: 0.93, 0.98). Emotional distress at Interview 1 was associated with a small decrease in adherence in the complete OP for adherence (RR: 0.98, 95% CI: 0.96, 0.99). Emotional distress was marginally, but independently, associated with lower adherence to statin two years after the MI. Our study suggests that emotional distress may be an important factor for long-term statin adherence, and, thus, may play a clinically important role in long-term outcome. Copyright © 2017 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  1. Emotional distress in Angolan patients with several types of ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Married subjects, a diagnosis of extra-pulmonary TB and multidrug resistant TB were related to ... Female gender and cases of extra-pulmonary TB presented a 1.5 times risk for emotional distress. ..... and perceptions in the US-Mexico border.

  2. [Gender violence and other factors associated with emotional distress in female users of public health services in Mexico].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Valdez-Santiago, Rosario; Juárez-Ramírez, Clara; Salgado-de Snyder, V Nelly; Agoff, Carolina; Avila-Burgos, Leticia; Híjar, Martha C

    2006-01-01

    To identify and describe the factors associated with emotional distress in a national sample of women users of public health services in Mexico, such a Secretaria de Salud (SSA), Instituto Mexicano del Seguro Social (IMSS), Instituto de Seguridad y Servicios Sociales de los Trabajadores del Estado (ISSSTE). This research study was conducted using the database of the National Survey of Violence against Women that consisted of the responses of a total of 26 042 female users of health care services provided by the Mexican government health agencies. The Personal Health Scale (ESP per its initials in Spanish) was used to assess emotional distress. To measure violence a 19-item scale which explores different types of violence as well as severity was used. The relationship between emotional distress and gender violence was determined through a binary logistic regression model, as were economic status and demographic variables. One of the most important findings of this study is the high prevalence of emotional distress (15.3%) among women seeking health care services from the public sector and the relationship of such emotional distress with the experience of marital physical, psychological, and sexual violence. Factors associated with emotional distress among female users of health care services were age (26 and older); activity (laborer); working hours (71 hours a week or more); alcohol intake (greater intake); abuse during childhood (frequency and types of abuse); severity of marital violence (severe violence); socioeconomic status (very low SES); and type of dwelling (urban). The principal predictor of emotional distress was intimate partner abuse, especially in severe expression. The next predictor was violence in childhood. Taking into consideration these predictors it is recommended to use screening instruments to identify emotional distress and gender violence in health setting. It is important to design and implement attention and reference programs in public

  3. A phenomenological understanding of residents' emotional distress of living in an environmental justice community.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dory, Gabriela; Qiu, Zeyuan; Qiu, Christina M; Fu, Mei R; Ryan, Caitlin E

    2017-12-01

    Deteriorative environmental conditions in environmental justice (EJ) communities not only post direct health risks such as chronic illnesses, but also cause emotional distress such as anxiety, fear, and anger among residents, which may further exacerbate health risks. This study applies a descriptive phenomenological method to explore and describe the emotional experience of residents living in Ironbound, a known EJ community located in Newark, New Jersey. Twenty-three residents participated in the study. Four essential themes regarding the residents' emotional experiences were elicited from 43 interviews: (1) being worried about the harmful effects of the surrounding pollution; (2) being distressed by the known historical pollution sources; (3) being frustrated by the unheard voices and/or lack of responses; and (4) being angered by the ongoing pollution sources. Participants not only expressed their emotions of worry, distress, frustration, and anger in detail but also described reasons or situations that provoked such negative emotions. Such detailed depictions provide insights into potential meaningful strategies to improve residents' psychological wellbeing by alleviating negative emotions and meaningfully engaging residents in developing, implementing, and enforcing environmental laws, regulations, and policies to achieve EJ goals.

  4. Translating 'distress' and screening for emotional distress in multicultural cancer patients in Israel.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cohen, Miri; Gagin, Roni; Cinamon, Tali; Stein, Tamar; Moscovitz, Marian; Kuten, Abraham

    2012-05-01

    The adaptability of the distress thermometer (DT) to multicultural groups has rarely been assessed. To assess DT adaptability to the Israeli population as a multicultural society. Participants were 496 cancer patients. They were recruited for 3 days a week in 2009-2010 (97% response rate). Participants completed the DT, a problem list, Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS), and the Brief Symptom Inventory (BSI-18). Receiver-operating characteristic (ROC) curve analyses of DT scores yielded area under the curve (AUC) of 0.63 as against HADS and of 0.78 as against BSI-18. ROC analysis revealed that the optimal cutoff score was ≥ 3. It yielded sensitivity and specificity of 0.74 and 0.65, as against the HADS, and 0.64 and 0.64, as against the BSI-18. The Jewish participants reported higher distress than the Arab participants, and the ROC properties were markedly higher for the Jewish subgroup alone. The adapted DT was moderately efficient for detecting emotional distress in cancer patients in Israel. Cultural aspects related to distress should be taken into account for administration of the DT in multicultural societies.

  5. Anxiety, depression, and HIV symptoms among persons living with HIV/AIDS: the role of hazardous drinking.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Garey, Lorra; Bakhshaie, Jafar; Sharp, Carla; Neighbors, Clayton; Zvolensky, Michael J; Gonzalez, Adam

    2015-01-01

    Hazardous drinking is common among persons living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA) and associated with numerous negative health consequences. Despite the well-established negative effects of hazardous drinking among PLWHA, scholarly work has neglected to explore the role of such drinking in regard to anxiety/depressive symptoms and HIV symptom expression. The current study investigated associations between hazardous drinking and anxiety/depressive symptoms and HIV symptoms among PLWHA. Participants (n = 94; 88.3% male; Mage = 48.55; SD = 9.15) included PLWHA recruited from AIDS service organizations in the northeast. Hazardous drinking was significantly associated with anxiety/depressive symptoms and HIV symptom expression above and beyond the variance accounted for by sex, race, recruitment site, and CD4 T-Cell count, as well as other cognitive-affective variables (emotion dysregulation, distress intolerance, and anxiety sensitivity). The present results provide empirical support that hazardous drinking is indeed related to depressive and anxiety symptoms as well as HIV symptom distress and that this effect is not attributable to other factors commonly related to both alcohol use problems and emotional distress among PLWHA. Results highlight the importance of alcohol interventions for excessive drinking specifically tailored for PLWHA to facilitate better mental and physical health adjustment.

  6. The mediating role of emotional intelligence between negative life events and psychological distress among nursing students: A cross-sectional study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Pan; Li, Chang-Zai; Zhao, Ya-Ning; Xing, Feng-Mei; Chen, Chang-Xiang; Tian, Xi-Feng; Tang, Qi-Qun

    2016-09-01

    Previous studies have highlighted that negative life events and emotional intelligence are significant predictors of mental health. However, whether emotional intelligence mediates the relationship between negative life events and psychological distress among nursing students have not been given adequate attention. To explore the relationship among negative life events, emotional intelligence and psychological distress and to examine the mediating role of emotional intelligence in psychological distress among Chinese nursing students. A cross-sectional survey using convenience sampling. A total of 467 nursing students who were enrolled in a university in mainland of China. A structured questionnaire was administered from September-November in 2013 to participants who consented to participate in the study. Independent variables were personal variables, emotional intelligence and negative life events. Outcome variable was psychological health. The means and standard deviations were computed. Student's t-test and one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) were performed, to test the differences among the demographic characteristics on the psychological distress scores. Pearson correlation analyses and hierarchical regression analyses were performed. Negative life events were positively associated with psychological distress. Emotional intelligence was negatively associated with psychological distress and negative life events. Emotional intelligence mediated the relationship between negative life events and psychological distress. The findings support the theory of Salovey and his colleagues, and provide evidence for emotional intelligence as a factor that buffers effects of negative life events on psychological distress. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  7. Testing Cross-Sectional and Prospective Mediators of Internalized Heterosexism on Heavy Drinking, Alcohol Problems, and Psychological Distress Among Heavy Drinking Men Who Have Sex With Men.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kuerbis, Alexis; Mereish, Ethan H; Hayes, Marie; Davis, Christine M; Shao, Sijing; Morgenstern, Jon

    2017-01-01

    Minority stress theory is one of the primary theories used to understand substance use among lesbian, gay, and bisexual populations. This study tested whether drinking to cope with stress (DTC), loneliness, and gay community participation (GCP) mediated the relationship between one type of minority stress (i.e., internalized heterosexism) and behavioral health outcomes. Using secondary data analysis and the PROCESS procedure, relationships between internalized heterosexism, the mediators (DTC, loneliness, and GCP), and outcomes (heavy drinking, alcohol problems, and psychological distress) were explored, both cross-sectionally and in a lagged manner, among both treatment-seeking and non-treatment-seeking problem drinking men who have sex with men. Problem drinkers (N = 187) were assessed, provided brief normative feedback about their drinking, given the choice to receive brief alcohol use disorder treatment or change on their own, and then followed for 9 months. Cross-sectional findings revealed that internalized heterosexism was significantly associated with heavy drinking, alcohol problems, and psychological distress. DTC emerged as a significant mediator of internalized heterosexism for all the health outcomes. Loneliness and GCP were significant mediators of internalized heterosexism for alcohol problems and psychological distress. Multiple mediation models reveal that all three mediators significantly contribute to internalized heterosexism's effect on health outcomes. Lagged analyses did not yield any significant indirect effects. DTC, loneliness, and GCP all play an integral, mediational role in the relationship between internalized heterosexism and alcohol problems and psychological distress. Findings underscore the necessity of addressing internalized heterosexism in psychosocial interventions along with coping skills training, emphasizing culturally relevant social support and loneliness.

  8. Coping and emotional distress in relation to health-related quality of life in Slovene patients with cancer

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Tanja Žagar

    2011-08-01

    Full Text Available Managing emotional distress triggers different coping strategies for coping with stress in cancer patients. Effective coping affects health – related quality of life and psychosocial adaptation. This study was performed to determine coping strategies, and their connectedness to emotional distress (anxiety and depression and health – related quality of life in cancer patients. Study was carried out on 70 cancer patients, in inpatient and outpatient setting. Depressive symptoms were measured with Beck Depression Inventory BDI-SH, anxiety with State Trait Anxiety Inventory STAI-1, coping strategies with Coping Response Inventory CRI and health – related quality of life with Quality of Life Questionnaire QOLQ- 30. A negative, statistically important relationship was found between active strategies, emotional distress and quality of life. Recognition of emotional distress and ways of coping in cancer patients are important for quality of health care.

  9. Separating Common from Unique Variance Within Emotional Distress: An Examination of Reliability and Relations to Worry.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Marshall, Andrew J; Evanovich, Emma K; David, Sarah Jo; Mumma, Gregory H

    2018-01-17

    High comorbidity rates among emotional disorders have led researchers to examine transdiagnostic factors that may contribute to shared psychopathology. Bifactor models provide a unique method for examining transdiagnostic variables by modelling the common and unique factors within measures. Previous findings suggest that the bifactor model of the Depression Anxiety and Stress Scale (DASS) may provide a method for examining transdiagnostic factors within emotional disorders. This study aimed to replicate the bifactor model of the DASS, a multidimensional measure of psychological distress, within a US adult sample and provide initial estimates of the reliability of the general and domain-specific factors. Furthermore, this study hypothesized that Worry, a theorized transdiagnostic variable, would show stronger relations to general emotional distress than domain-specific subscales. Confirmatory factor analysis was used to evaluate the bifactor model structure of the DASS in 456 US adult participants (279 females and 177 males, mean age 35.9 years) recruited online. The DASS bifactor model fitted well (CFI = 0.98; RMSEA = 0.05). The General Emotional Distress factor accounted for most of the reliable variance in item scores. Domain-specific subscales accounted for modest portions of reliable variance in items after accounting for the general scale. Finally, structural equation modelling indicated that Worry was strongly predicted by the General Emotional Distress factor. The DASS bifactor model is generalizable to a US community sample and General Emotional Distress, but not domain-specific factors, strongly predict the transdiagnostic variable Worry.

  10. Sex Differences in Emotional and Behavioral Responses to HIV+ individuals’ Expression of Distress

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    A.E.R. Bos (Arjan); A.J. Dijker (Anton); W. Koomen (Willem)

    2007-01-01

    textabstractTwo studies examined the influence of HIV+ individual’s expression of distress on perceivers’ emotional and behavioral reactions. In Study 1 (N = 224), HIV+ individuals’ expression of distress was experimentally manipulated by means of vignettes. Men and women reacted differently when

  11. Should we screen for emotional distress in type 2 diabetes mellitus?

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Pouwer, Francois

    2009-01-01

    Emotional problems such as depression, anxiety and diabetes-specific distress are common in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) but often remain unrecognized and thus untreated. The present Review focuses on the extent of this problem and discusses whether we should screen for depression......DM have shown that screening for depression does not improve outcomes. On the other hand, collaborative care approaches for depression in patients with type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM) or T2DM seem to be effective. Intervention studies for anxiety or diabetes-specific emotional distress are currently...... assessments of emotional well-being in patients with T2DM. However, this recommendation is not based on strong evidence, as the effects of screening (case-finding) on psychological outcomes and diabetes outcomes have not been tested in a randomized controlled study. Results from studies in patients without T2...

  12. Diabetes-specific emotional distress mediates the association between depressive symptoms and glycaemic control in Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    van Bastelaar, Kim M P; Pouwer, F; Geelhoed-Duijvestijn, P H L M

    2010-01-01

    and diabetes-specific emotional distress respectively. Linear regression was performed to examine the mediating effect of diabetes-distress. RESULTS: Complete data were available for 627 outpatients with Type 1 (n = 280) and Type 2 (n = 347) diabetes. Analyses showed that diabetes-distress mediated......OBJECTIVES: To investigate whether diabetes-specific emotional distress mediates the relationship between depression and glycaemic control in patients with Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS: Data were derived from the baseline assessment of a depression in diabetes screening...... and glycaemic control, diabetes-specific emotional distress appears to be an important mediator. Addressing diabetes-specific emotional problems as part of depression treatment in diabetes patients may help improve glycaemic outcomes....

  13. Unemployment, Parental Distress and Youth Emotional Well-Being: The Moderation Roles of Parent-Youth Relationship and Financial Deprivation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Frasquilho, Diana; de Matos, Margarida Gaspar; Marques, Adilson; Neville, Fergus G; Gaspar, Tânia; Caldas-de-Almeida, J M

    2016-10-01

    We investigated, in a sample of 112 unemployed parents of adolescents aged 10-19 years, the links between parental distress and change in youth emotional problems related to parental unemployment, and the moderation roles of parent-youth relationship and financial deprivation. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and correlations. Further, simple moderation, additive moderation, and moderated moderation models of regression were performed to analyze the effects of parental distress, parent-youth relationship and financial deprivation in predicting change in youth emotional problems related to parental unemployment. Results show that parental distress moderated by parent-youth relationship predicted levels of change in youth emotional problems related to parental unemployment. This study provides evidence that during job loss, parental distress is linked to youth emotional well-being and that parent-youth relationships play an important moderation role. This raises the importance of further researching parental distress impacts on youth well-being, especially during periods of high unemployment rates.

  14. Relationship between emotional distress and quality of life on type 2 diabetes mellitus patients in Meranti island regency hospital

    Science.gov (United States)

    Faridah, I. N.; Perwitasari, D. A.; Pusfita, M.; Jasman, H.

    2017-11-01

    Type 2 Diabetes mellitus (T2DM) always got treatment for a long time so that it can affect the emotional distress and the quality of life. This study aimed to find the relationship between emotional distress with quality of life. This study used cross sectional design. DDS was used to measure patients emotional distress. EQ-5D was used to measure patients quality of life. Subjects of this study were T2DM patients ICD X.E11 with aged over 18 years old. A total of 80 patients participated in the study. The result showed that the mean of score on emotional burden was 2.985±0.678, physician distress was 2.650±0.801, regiment distress was 3.222±0.75 and interpersonal distress was 2.529±0.859. The result of the analysis showed that there was relationship between employment and interpersonal distress with index and correlation showed weak negative (r-0.212, -0.306) and significant relationship (pemotional burden with VAS showed weak negative correlation (r-0.215, -0.251) and significant relationship (pemotional distress can degraded the quality of life.

  15. Emotional distress among caregivers of patients with epilepsy in ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Objective: Caregivers of patients with epilepsy experience considerable emotional distress. The study aimed to assess the magnitude of the problem in a developing country. Method: A total 166 patients-caregivers were enrolled for the study. They were interviewed using a socio-demographic data collecting sheet and the ...

  16. Decision making, cognitive distortions and emotional distress: A comparison between pathological gamblers and healthy controls.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ciccarelli, Maria; Griffiths, Mark D; Nigro, Giovanna; Cosenza, Marina

    2017-03-01

    The etiology of problem gambling is multifaceted and complex. Among others factors, poor decision making, cognitive distortions (i.e., irrational beliefs about gambling), and emotional factors (e.g., negative mood states) appear to be among the most important factors in the development and maintenance of problem gambling. Although empirical evidence has suggested that cognitive distortions facilitate gambling and negative emotions are associated with gambling, the interplay between cognitive distortions, emotional states, and decision making in gambling remains unexplored. Pathological gamblers (N = 54) and healthy controls (N = 54) completed the South Oaks Gambling Screen (SOGS), the Iowa Gambling Task (IGT), the Gambling Related Cognitions Scale (GRCS), and the Depression Anxiety Stress Scale (DASS-21). Compared to healthy controls, pathological gamblers showed poorer decision making and reported higher scores on measures assessing cognitive distortions and emotional distress. All measures were positively associated with gambling severity. A significant negative correlation between decision making and cognitive distortions was also observed. No associations were found between poor decision making and emotional distress. Logistic regression analysis indicated that cognitive distortions, emotional distress, and poor decision making were significant predictors of problem gambling. The use of self-report measures and the absence of female participants limit the generalizability of the reported findings. The present study is the first to demonstrate the mutual influence between irrational beliefs and poor decision making, as well as the role of cognitive bias, emotional distress, and poor decision making in gambling disorder. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  17. Coping and emotional distress during acute hospitalization in older persons with earlier trauma: the case of Holocaust survivors.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kimron, Lee; Cohen, Miri

    2012-06-01

    Older persons with earlier trauma are often more vulnerable to stresses of old age. To examine the levels of emotional distress in relation to cognitive appraisal of acute hospitalization and coping strategies in Holocaust survivors compared with an age- and education-matched group of elderly persons without Holocaust experience. This is a cross-sectional study of 63 Holocaust survivors, 65 years and older, hospitalized for an acute illness, and 57 age-, education- and hospital unit-matched people without Holocaust experience. Participants completed appraisal and coping strategies (COPE) questionnaires, and the brief symptoms inventory (BSI-18). Holocaust survivors reported higher levels of emotional distress, appraised the hospitalization higher as a threat and lower as a challenge, and used more emotion-focused and less problem-focused or support-seeking coping strategies than the comparison group. Study variables explained 65% of the variance of emotional distress; significant predictors of emotional distress in the final regression model were not having a partner and more use of emotion-focused coping. The latter mediated the relation of group variable and challenge appraisal to emotional distress. Health professionals must be aware of the potential impact of the hospital environment on the survivors of Holocaust as well as survivors of other trauma. Being sensitive to their specific needs may reduce the negative impact of hospitalization.

  18. Emotion dysregulation and peer drinking norms uniquely predict alcohol-related problems via motives.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Simons, Raluca M; Hahn, Austin M; Simons, Jeffrey S; Murase, Hanako

    2017-08-01

    This study examined the relationships between emotion dysregulation, peer drinking norms, drinking motives, and alcohol-related outcomes among 435 college students. We examined the mediating roles of drinking motives when predicting alcohol consumption and related problems from the subscales of the Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale (DERS; Gratz and Roemer, 2004) via negative and positive reinforcement models. First, we hypothesized that individuals who lack in emotion regulation strategies or have difficulties in accepting negative emotions are more likely to drink to cope. Additionally, we hypothesized that individuals who act impulsively or become distracted when upset as well as those with higher peer drinking norms are more likely to drink for social and enhancement motives. The results of the path model indicated that limited access to emotion regulation strategies significantly predicted alcohol-related problems via both depression and anxiety coping motives, but did not predict alcohol consumption. Nonacceptance of emotional responses was not significantly associated with coping motives. Impulsivity had a significant direct relationship with alcohol problems. Difficulty in engaging in goal-directed behaviors predicted both enhancement and social motives, but only enhancement motives in turn predicted consumption. Norms indirectly predicted problems via enhancement motives and consumption. The results indicated that using alcohol to reduce negative or to increase positive emotions increases alcohol consumption and alcohol-related problems. Overall, results advance our understanding of the mechanisms of increased alcohol use and problems among college students. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  19. Psychological Factors Associated with Emotional Distress among Palestinian Arabs from East Jerusalem Accessing Psychiatric Care in Israel.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nakash, Ora; Nagar, Maayan; Levav, Itzhak; Danilovich, Eli; Abu-Tair, Mamoun; Podolsky, Grigory

    2016-01-01

    The Palestinian population residing in East Jerusalem is characterized by high rates of poverty and unemployment and is subject to discrimination in various forms, including infrastructure of mental health services. Little is known about the help seeking needs and practices of East Jerusalem residents. We examined socio-demographic and clinical characteristics of a consecutive sample Palestinian residents from East Jerusalem (N=50) who accessed a specially assigned psychiatric clinic in Israel. In addition, we examined the psychological factors associated with emotional distress among these service-users upon entry to care. Participants completed a survey in Arabic that included a socio-demographic questionnaire and measures assessing emotional distress, perceived exposure to discrimination and social support, and mental health stigma. Participants reported high levels of emotional distress. Female gender, low socioeconomic status, higher perceived exposure to discrimination and higher perceived social support were associated with increased emotional distress. Findings add to the scarce body of knowledge on specific mental health characteristics of East Jerusalem Palestinian residents.

  20. [Emotional distress in elderly people with heart disease].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Martínez Santamaría, Emilia; Lameiras Fernández, María; González Lorenzo, Manuel; Rodríguez Castro, Yolanda

    2006-06-30

    To analyse the emotional distress associated with ageing, and its prevalence among elderly people who suffer from heart disease. Personal interviews with elderly people with and without heart problems. Interviews were conducted in public hospitals and old people's homes in the south of Galicia, Spain. The sample was made up of 130 elderly people (65 with heart problems and 65 without). The Inventory of Coping Strategies, of Halroyd and Reynolk (1984); Scheir, Caver, and Bridges Test (1984); the Life Satisfaction Scale of Diener, Emmuns, Larsen, and Griffen (1985); Rosenberg's Self-Esteem Scale (1965); and an instrument to measure Associated Symptoms (SCL-90; Derogatis, 1975). Elderly people with heart problems experienced greater anxiety and had lower self-esteem than those without such problems. Heart patients also tended to suffer more phobic anxiety and to retreat from social interaction more. With the passing of time, heart patients over 60 showed more anxiety, irritability and psychosomatic disorders. This study clearly shows the existence of emotional distress in elderly heart patients. This makes it particularly important to conduct risk-prevention programmes, since a lot of heart disease is brought on by unhealthy conduct.

  1. Does exercise habit strength moderate the relationship between emotional distress and short-term memory in Malaysian primary school children?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zainol, Nurul Ain; Hashim, Hairul Anuar

    2015-01-01

    We examined the moderating effects of exercise habit strength on the relationship between emotional distress and short-term memory in primary school children. The sample consisted of 165 primary school students (10-12 years old). Participants completed measures of emotional distress, exercise habit strength, and the Digit Span Test. Mid-year exam results were used as an indicator of academic performance. Structural equation modelling (SEM) was used to analyse the data. The results of SEM revealed an acceptable fit for the hypothesised model. Exercise habit was positively associated with short-term memory, and better short-term memory was associated with better academic performance. However, although an inverse relationship was found between emotional distress and short-term memory, a positive association was found between exercise habit strength and emotional distress. The findings indicate that exercise habit is positively associated with cognitive ability and mediates the negative effect of distress.

  2. Mindfulness facets, trait emotional intelligence, emotional distress, and multiple health behaviors: A serial two-mediator model.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jacobs, Ingo; Wollny, Anna; Sim, Chu-Won; Horsch, Antje

    2016-06-01

    In the present study, we tested a serial mindfulness facets-trait emotional intelligence (TEI)-emotional distress-multiple health behaviors mediation model in a sample of N = 427 German-speaking occupational therapists. The mindfulness facets-TEI-emotional distress section of the mediation model revealed partial mediation for the mindfulness facets Act with awareness (Act/Aware) and Accept without judgment (Accept); inconsistent mediation was found for the Describe facet. The serial two-mediator model included three mediational pathways that may link each of the four mindfulness facets with multiple health behaviors. Eight out of 12 indirect effects reached significance and fully mediated the links between Act/Aware and Describe to multiple health behaviors; partial mediation was found for Accept. The mindfulness facet Observe was most relevant for multiple health behaviors, but its relation was not amenable to mediation. Implications of the findings will be discussed. © 2016 Scandinavian Psychological Associations and John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  3. Effect of rational and irrational statements on intensity and 'inappropriateness' of emotional distress and irrational beliefs in psychotherapy patients.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cramer, D; Kupshik, G

    1993-09-01

    Ellis's rational-emotive theory postulates that since irrational statements augment emotional distress, replacing irrational with rational statements should lessen distress. This hypothesis was tested in the initial stages of psychotherapy by having 13 and 14 clinical out-patients respectively repeat for one minute either rational or irrational statements about their major presenting psychological problem. The distinction by Ellis & Harper (1975) that 'inappropriate' emotions differ qualitatively from 'appropriate' emotions was also examined. Although the experimental intervention had no effect on a post-test measure of irrational beliefs, patients repeating rational statements had significantly lower appropriate and inappropriate negative emotions at post-test, suggesting that inappropriate emotions do not differ qualitatively from appropriate emotions and that making rational statements may lower emotional distress in patients. Patients reiterating irrational statements showed no change in emotions, implying that these kinds of irrational cognitions may have already been present.

  4. Neighborhood income inequality, social capital and emotional distress among adolescents: A population-based study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vilhjalmsdottir, Arndis; Gardarsdottir, Ragna B; Bernburg, Jon Gunnar; Sigfusdottir, Inga Dora

    2016-08-01

    Theory holds that income inequality may harm adolescent mental health by reducing social capital within neighborhood communities. However, research on this topic has been very limited. We use multilevel data on 102 public schools and 5958 adolescents in Iceland (15 and 16 years old) to examine whether income inequality within neighborhoods is associated with emotional distress in adolescents. Moreover, we test whether indicators of social capital, including social trust and embeddedness in neighborhood social networks, mediate this contextual effect. The findings show that neighborhood income inequality positively influences emotional distress of individual adolescents, net of their personal household situations and social relations. However, although the indicators of social capital negatively influence emotional distress, they do not mediate the contextual effect of neighborhood income inequality. The study illustrates the role of economic disparities in adolescent mental health, but calls for more research on the underlying social and social-psychological mechanisms. Copyright © 2016 The Foundation for Professionals in Services for Adolescents. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  5. Emotional distress among LGBT youth: the influence of perceived discrimination based on sexual orientation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Almeida, Joanna; Johnson, Renee M; Corliss, Heather L; Molnar, Beth E; Azrael, Deborah

    2009-08-01

    The authors evaluated emotional distress among 9th-12th grade students, and examined whether the association between being lesbian, gay, bisexual, and/or transgendered (i.e., "LGBT") and emotional distress was mediated by perceptions of having been treated badly or discriminated against because others thought they were gay or lesbian. Data come from a school-based survey in Boston, Massachusetts (n = 1,032); 10% were LGBT, 58% were female, and ages ranged from 13 to 19 years. About 45% were Black, 31% were Hispanic, and 14% were White. LGBT youth scored significantly higher on the scale of depressive symptomatology. They were also more likely than heterosexual, non-transgendered youth to report suicidal ideation (30% vs. 6%, p discrimination accounted for increased depressive symptomatology among LGBT males and females, and accounted for an elevated risk of self-harm and suicidal ideation among LGBT males. Perceived discrimination is a likely contributor to emotional distress among LGBT youth.

  6. Emotional Distress Among LGBT Youth: The Influence of Perceived Discrimination Based on Sexual Orientation

    OpenAIRE

    Almeida, Joanna; Johnson, Renee M.; Corliss, Heather L.; Molnar, Beth E.; Azrael, Deborah

    2009-01-01

    The authors evaluated emotional distress among 9th-12th grade students, and examined whether the association between LGBT status and emotional distress was mediated by perceptions of having been treated badly or discriminated against because others thought they were gay or lesbian. Data come from a school-based survey in Boston, MA (n=1,032); 10% were LGBT, 58% were female, and age ranged from 13-19 years. About 45% were Black, 31% were Hispanic, and 14% were White. LGBT youth scored signific...

  7. A rational-emotive stress management intervention for reducing job burnout and dysfunctional distress among special education teachers

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ugwoke, Samuel C.; Eseadi, Chiedu; Onuigbo, Liziana N.; Aye, Eucharia N.; Akaneme, Immaculata N.; Oboegbulem, Angie I.; Ezenwaji, Ifeyinwa O.; Nwobi, Anthonia U.; Nwaubani, Okechukwu O.; Ezegbe, Bernedeth N.; Ede, Moses O.; Orji, Chibueze T.; Onuoha, Joseph C.; Onu, Eucharia U.; Okeke, Francisca; Agu, Patricia; Omeje, Joachim C.; Omeke, Faith; Ugwu, Romanus; Arumede, Florence; Eneh, Annastasia

    2018-01-01

    Abstract Background: Job-related burnout and distress are adverse stress responses which affect individuals in their occupational environment. This study aimed at investigating the effect of a rational-emotive stress management program on job burnout and dysfunctional distress among special education teachers in Nigeria. Methods: A pretest–posttest randomized control group design was used. The participants in the study were 54 special education teachers. Data were collected using self-report questionnaires. Participants were allocated to either the treatment group (n = 28 [59.1%]) or the waitlist control group (n = 26 [48.1%]), respectively. A rational-emotive stress management manual was used to deliver the intervention. We statistically analyzed the data collected at three-time points with repeated-measures analysis of variance. Results: At baseline, the job-related burnout symptoms and distress scores of participants were high. However, an intention-to-treat analysis showed that the rational-emotive stress management intervention program was efficacious in reducing the levels of job-related burnout symptoms and dysfunctional distress among participants assigned to the treatment group, compared to a waitlisted group at post-treatment and follow-up meetings. Conclusion: Our study demonstrates the effectiveness of a rational-emotive stress management intervention in reducing the level of job-related burnout and distress in a sample of special education teachers in Nigeria. Occupational health counsellors and other clinicians with sufficient knowledge of rational-emotive behavior therapy framework are urged to employ this approach in assisting other employees in managing job burnout symptoms, and distress. PMID:29703004

  8. Adverse Life Experience and Psychological Distress in Adolescence: Moderating and Mediating Effects of Emotion Regulation and Rumination.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Boyes, Mark E; Hasking, Penelope A; Martin, Graham

    2016-10-01

    The current study tested whether emotion regulation and rumination moderated and/or mediated the relationship between accumulated adverse life experience and psychological distress in adolescence. In class, Australian high school students (n = 2637, 12-18 years, 68% female) from 41 schools completed well-validated measures of adverse life experience, emotion regulation, rumination and psychological distress, and were followed up 1 year later (n = 1973, 75% retention rate). Adjusting for age, gender and baseline psychological distress, adverse life experience predicted psychological distress 1 year later. Expressive suppression and rumination were positively associated with psychological distress. Cognitive reappraisal was negatively associated with psychological distress and moderated the relationship between adverse life experience and psychological distress. This relationship was also partially mediated by cognitive reappraisal, expressive suppression and rumination. Promoting cognitive reappraisal and minimizing expressive suppression and rumination may be useful strategies to improve mental health for adolescents who have experienced adverse life events. Future research should examine whether adolescents who have experienced adverse life events can be trained in effective emotion regulation strategies and whether this training can prevent development of psychological maladjustment. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  9. Application of Entropy-Based Metrics to Identify Emotional Distress from Electroencephalographic Recordings

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Beatriz García-Martínez

    2016-06-01

    Full Text Available Recognition of emotions is still an unresolved challenge, which could be helpful to improve current human-machine interfaces. Recently, nonlinear analysis of some physiological signals has shown to play a more relevant role in this context than their traditional linear exploration. Thus, the present work introduces for the first time the application of three recent entropy-based metrics: sample entropy (SE, quadratic SE (QSE and distribution entropy (DE to discern between emotional states of calm and negative stress (also called distress. In the last few years, distress has received growing attention because it is a common negative factor in the modern lifestyle of people from developed countries and, moreover, it may lead to serious mental and physical health problems. Precisely, 279 segments of 32-channel electroencephalographic (EEG recordings from 32 subjects elicited to be calm or negatively stressed have been analyzed. Results provide that QSE is the first single metric presented to date with the ability to identify negative stress. Indeed, this metric has reported a discriminant ability of around 70%, which is only slightly lower than the one obtained by some previous works. Nonetheless, discriminant models from dozens or even hundreds of features have been previously obtained by using advanced classifiers to yield diagnostic accuracies about 80%. Moreover, in agreement with previous neuroanatomy findings, QSE has also revealed notable differences for all the brain regions in the neural activation triggered by the two considered emotions. Consequently, given these results, as well as easy interpretation of QSE, this work opens a new standpoint in the detection of emotional distress, which may gain new insights about the brain’s behavior under this negative emotion.

  10. Explaining the Links between Workload, Distress, and Work-Family Conflict among School Employees: Physical, Cognitive, and Emotional Fatigue

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ilies, Remus; Huth, Megan; Ryan, Ann Marie; Dimotakis, Nikolaos

    2015-01-01

    This study examined the intraindividual relationships among workload and affective distress; cognitive, physical, and emotional fatigue; and work-family conflict among school employees. Using a repeated-measure, within-person research design, the authors found that work demands and affective distress, as well as cognitive, emotional, and physical…

  11. Emotional distress and disordered eating practices among southern Italian women.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cheney, Ann M

    2012-09-01

    This study is one of the first to examine the narrative links connecting social change, contested gender norms, body image, and eating disordered practices among southern Italian women. The research is based on 16 months of fieldwork, and I compare and contrast the stories of 23 educated women in southern Italy to highlight the contentious realities of entering adolescence in conservative social contexts where gender relations and value systems are undergoing rapid transformations. I examine how these young women dealt with conflicting cultural expectations of womanhood and whether it affected their emotional, psychological, and physical well-being. Their stories shed light on how parental control, community surveillance, and conflicts in developing gender identities and maturing womanly bodies contributed to their emotional distress. Distressed young women used rebellion and manipulation and control of food and the body to negotiate unjust social relations, specifically gender relations, that delegitimized their selves and, in some cases, their bodies.

  12. Distress in response to emotional and sexual infidelity: evidence of evolved gender differences in Spanish students.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fernandez, Ana Maria; Vera-Villarroel, Pablo; Sierra, Juan Carlos; Zubeidat, Ihab

    2007-01-01

    The authors studied gender differences in response to hypothetical infidelity in Spanish students. Using a forced-choice methodology, the authors asked a sample of 266 participants to indicate which kind of infidelity would be more distressing: emotional or sexual. Men were significantly more distressed by sexual infidelity than were women, and women were significantly more distressed by emotional infidelity than were men. Results supported the hypothesis that particular infidelity types, which resemble adaptive problems that human beings faced in the past, contribute to the psychology of jealousy. The results are consistent with previous cross-cultural research.

  13. Trait emotional intelligence and mental distress: the mediating role of positive and negative affect.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kong, Feng; Zhao, Jingjing; You, Xuqun

    2012-01-01

    Over the past decade, emotional intelligence (EI) has received much attention in the literature. Previous studies indicated that higher trait or ability EI was associated with greater mental distress. The present study focused on mediating effects of positive and negative affect on the association between trait EI and mental distress in a sample of Chinese adults. The participants were 726 Chinese adults (384 females) with an age range of 18-60 years. Data were collected by using the Wong Law Emotional Intelligence Scale, the Positive Affect and Negative Affect Scale, and the General Health Questionnaire. Hierarchical regression analysis showed that EI was a significant predictor of positive affect, negative affect and mental distress. Further mediation analysis showed that positive and negative affect acted as partial mediators of the relationship between EI and mental distress. Furthermore, effect contrasts showed that there was no significant difference between the specific indirect effects through positive affect and through negative affect. This result indicated that positive affect and negative affect played an equally important function in the association between EI and distress. The significance and limitations of the results are discussed.

  14. Relationship Between Emotional Processing, Drinking Severity and Relapse in Adults Treated for Alcohol Dependence in Poland

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kopera, Maciej; Jakubczyk, Andrzej; Suszek, Hubert; Glass, Jennifer M.; Klimkiewicz, Anna; Wnorowska, Anna; Brower, Kirk J.; Wojnar, Marcin

    2015-01-01

    Aims: Growing data reveals deficits in perception, understanding and regulation of emotions in alcohol dependence (AD). The study objective was to explore the relationships between emotional processing, drinking history and relapse in a clinical sample of alcohol-dependent patients. Methods: A group of 80 inpatients entering an alcohol treatment program in Warsaw, Poland was recruited and assessed at baseline and follow-up after 12 months. Baseline information about demographics, psychopathological symptoms, personality and severity of alcohol problems was obtained. The Schutte Self-Report Emotional Intelligence (EI) Test and Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS) were utilized for emotional processing assessment. Follow-up information contained data on drinking alcohol during the last month. Results: At baseline assessment, the duration of alcohol drinking was associated with lower ability to utilize emotions. Patients reporting more difficulties with describing feelings drank more during their last episode of heavy drinking, and had a longer duration of intensive alcohol use. A longer duration of the last episode of heavy drinking was associated with more problems identifying and regulating emotions. Poor utilization of emotions and high severity of depressive symptoms contributed to higher rates of drinking at follow-up. Conclusions: These results underline the importance of systematic identification of discrete emotional problems and dynamics related to AD. This knowledge has implications for treatment. Psychotherapeutic interventions to improve emotional skills could be utilized in treatment of alcohol-dependent patients. PMID:25543129

  15. The Effects of Water Insecurity and Emotional Distress on Civic Action for Improved Water Infrastructure in Rural South Africa

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bulled, Nicola

    2015-01-01

    The South African constitution ratifies water as a human right. Yet millions of citizens remain disconnected from the national water infrastructure. Drawing on data collected in 2013–2014 from women in northern South Africa, this study explores “water citizenship”—individual civic engagement related to improving water service provision. Literature indicates that water insecurity is associated with emotional distress and that water-related emotional distress influences citizen engagement. I extend these lines of research by assessing the connection that water insecurity and emotional distress may collectively have with civic engagement to improve access to water infrastructure. PMID:26698378

  16. Post partum emotional distress in mothers of preterm infants: a ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    More mothers of preterm neonates(27.3%) had GHQ-30 scores which categorised them as having significant emotional distress than mothers of full term normal infants(3.7%). Similarly more mothers of preterm neonates(15.1%) were more depressed than mothers of full term normal infants(3.7%). These differences were ...

  17. Culture, distress, and oxytocin receptor polymorphism (OXTR) interact to influence emotional support seeking

    OpenAIRE

    Kim, Heejung S.; Sherman, David K.; Sasaki, Joni Y.; Xu, Jun; Chu, Thai Q.; Ryu, Chorong; Suh, Eunkook M.; Graham, Kelsey; Taylor, Shelley E.

    2010-01-01

    Research has demonstrated that certain genotypes are expressed in different forms, depending on input from the social environment. To examine sensitivity to cultural norms regarding emotional support seeking as a type of social environment, we explored the behavioral expression of oxytocin receptor polymorphism (OXTR) rs53576, a gene previously related to socio-emotional sensitivity. Seeking emotional support in times of distress is normative in American culture but not in Korean culture. Con...

  18. Relationship between emotional processing, drinking severity and relapse in adults treated for alcohol dependence in Poland.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kopera, Maciej; Jakubczyk, Andrzej; Suszek, Hubert; Glass, Jennifer M; Klimkiewicz, Anna; Wnorowska, Anna; Brower, Kirk J; Wojnar, Marcin

    2015-03-01

    Growing data reveals deficits in perception, understanding and regulation of emotions in alcohol dependence (AD). The study objective was to explore the relationships between emotional processing, drinking history and relapse in a clinical sample of alcohol-dependent patients. A group of 80 inpatients entering an alcohol treatment program in Warsaw, Poland was recruited and assessed at baseline and follow-up after 12 months. Baseline information about demographics, psychopathological symptoms, personality and severity of alcohol problems was obtained. The Schutte Self-Report Emotional Intelligence (EI) Test and Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS) were utilized for emotional processing assessment. Follow-up information contained data on drinking alcohol during the last month. At baseline assessment, the duration of alcohol drinking was associated with lower ability to utilize emotions. Patients reporting more difficulties with describing feelings drank more during their last episode of heavy drinking, and had a longer duration of intensive alcohol use. A longer duration of the last episode of heavy drinking was associated with more problems identifying and regulating emotions. Poor utilization of emotions and high severity of depressive symptoms contributed to higher rates of drinking at follow-up. These results underline the importance of systematic identification of discrete emotional problems and dynamics related to AD. This knowledge has implications for treatment. Psychotherapeutic interventions to improve emotional skills could be utilized in treatment of alcohol-dependent patients. © The Author 2014. Medical Council on Alcohol and Oxford University Press. All rights reserved.

  19. Perfectionism and negative/positive affect associations: the role of cognitive emotion regulation and perceived distress/coping.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Castro, Juliana; Soares, Maria João; Pereira, Ana T; Macedo, António

    2017-01-01

    To explore 1) if perfectionism, perceived distress/coping, and cognitive emotion regulation (CER) are associated with and predictive of negative/positive affect (NA/PA); and 2) if CER and perceived distress/coping are associated with perfectionism and if they mediate the perfectionism-NA/PA associations. There is a distinction between maladaptive and adaptive perfectionism in its association with NA/PA. CER and perceived distress/coping may mediate the maladaptive/adaptive perfectionism and NA/PA associations. 344 students (68.4% girls) completed the Hewitt & Flett and the Frost Multidimensional Perfectionism Scales, the Composite Multidimensional Perfectionism Scale, the Profile of Mood States, the Perceived Stress Scale, and the Cognitive Emotion Regulation Questionnaire. NA predictors were maladaptive/adaptive perfectionism, maladaptive CER and perceived distress (positively), positive reappraisal and planning, and perceived coping (negatively). PA predictors were maladaptive/adaptive perfectionism and perceived distress (negatively), positive reappraisal and planning, positive refocusing and perceived coping (positively). The association between maladaptive perfectionism and NA was mediated by maladaptive CER/low adaptive CER, perceived distress/low coping. Maladaptive perfectionism and low PA association was mediated by perceived distress. High PA was determined by low maladaptive perfectionism and this association was mediated by adaptive REC and coping. Adaptive perfectionism and NA association was mediated by maladaptive CER and perceived distress. CER and perceived distress/coping are associated and mediate the perfectionism-NA/PA associations.

  20. Resilience to emotional distress in response to failure, error or mistakes: A systematic review.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Johnson, Judith; Panagioti, Maria; Bass, Jennifer; Ramsey, Lauren; Harrison, Reema

    2017-03-01

    Perceptions of failure have been implicated in a range of psychological disorders, and even a single experience of failure can heighten anxiety and depression. However, not all individuals experience significant emotional distress following failure, indicating the presence of resilience. The current systematic review synthesised studies investigating resilience factors to emotional distress resulting from the experience of failure. For the definition of resilience we used the Bi-Dimensional Framework for resilience research (BDF) which suggests that resilience factors are those which buffer the impact of risk factors, and outlines criteria a variable should meet in order to be considered as conferring resilience. Studies were identified through electronic searches of PsycINFO, MEDLINE, EMBASE and Web of Knowledge. Forty-six relevant studies reported in 38 papers met the inclusion criteria. These provided evidence of the presence of factors which confer resilience to emotional distress in response to failure. The strongest support was found for the factors of higher self-esteem, more positive attributional style, and lower socially-prescribed perfectionism. Weaker evidence was found for the factors of lower trait reappraisal, lower self-oriented perfectionism and higher emotional intelligence. The majority of studies used experimental or longitudinal designs. These results identify specific factors which should be targeted by resilience-building interventions. Resilience; failure; stress; self-esteem; attributional style; perfectionism. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  1. Emotional distress following genetic testing for hereditary breast and ovarian cancer: a meta-analytic review.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hamilton, Jada G; Lobel, Marci; Moyer, Anne

    2009-07-01

    Meta-analysis was used to synthesize results of studies on emotional consequences of predictive genetic testing for BRCA1/2 mutations conferring increased risk of breast and ovarian cancer. Studies assessing anxiety or cancer-specific distress before and after provision of test results (k = 20) were analyzed using a random-effects model. Moderator variables included country of data collection and personal cancer history of study participants. Standardized mean gain effect sizes were calculated for mutation carriers, noncarriers, and those with inconclusive results over short (0-4 weeks), moderate (5-24 weeks), or long (25-52 weeks) periods of time after testing. Distress among carriers increased shortly after receiving results and returned to pretesting levels over time. Distress among noncarriers and those with inconclusive results decreased over time. Some distress patterns differed in studies conducted outside the United States and for individuals with varying cancer histories. Results underscore the importance of time; changes in distress observed shortly after test-result disclosure frequently differed from the pattern of distress seen subsequently. Although emotional consequences of this testing appear minimal, it remains possible that testing may affect cognitive and behavioral outcomes, which have rarely been examined through meta-analysis. Testing may also affect understudied subgroups differently.

  2. Effective Screening for Emotional Distress in Refugees: The Refugee Health Screener.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hollifield, Michael; Toolson, Eric C; Verbillis-Kolp, Sasha; Farmer, Beth; Yamazaki, Junko; Woldehaimanot, Tsegaba; Holland, Annette

    2016-04-01

    Screening for emotional distress is important, but not widely available. This study assesses the utility of the Refugee Health Screener 15 (RHS-15) in a public health setting. Refugee Health Screener 15 and diagnostic proxy (DP) instruments assessing anxiety, depression, and posttraumatic stress disorder were administered to refugees from 3 countries at their public health examination. Properties of the RHS-15 and its components were evaluated utilizing appropriate methods. Scale Cronbach α was 0.95, and a factor analysis identified 1 factor accounting for 66% of scale variance. Refugee Health Screener 15 scores and cases discriminated between refugee groups similar to DPs. Refugee Health Screener 15 case sensitivity and specificity to DPs were acceptable (≥0.87/0.77). A shorter, 13-item component had acceptable metric properties. The RHS-15 appears to be a valid screener for emotional distress of refugees. The 13-item scale may be more efficient and as efficacious for case identification. The critical public health need and recommendations for implementation are discussed.

  3. Racial and ethnic differences in associations between psychological distress and the presence of binge drinking: Results from the California health interview survey.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Woo, Bongki; Wang, Kaipeng; Tran, Thanh

    2017-02-01

    Racial and ethnic minorities often suffer from poorer health than Whites given their exposure to more stressors and fewer resources that buffer the effects of stress. Given that alcohol is often consumed to alleviate the negative moods, the present study hypothesized that psychological distress may impact the involvement in binge drinking differently across racial and ethnic groups. We used data from the California Health Interview Survey (CHIS) from 2007 to 2012. The sample consisted of 130,556 adults including African Americans (N=6541), Asians (N=13,508), Latinos (N=18,128), and Whites (N=92,379). Binary logistic regression analysis was used with consideration for complex survey design. The results indicated that psychological distress was significantly associated with binge drinking across all racial and ethnic groups. However, this association differed by race and ethnicity adjusting for age, gender, marital status, education, poverty, and employment status. The results revealed that psychological distress had the largest effect on binge drinking for Asian Americans, particularly Filipinos and South Asians, compared to Whites. This study highlights the importance of examining racial and ethnic differences in the impacts of psychological distress on alcohol consumption. Future research is needed to better understand the potential factors that mediate the effects of psychological distress on binge drinking specific to each racial and ethnic group in order to develop culturally sensitive interventions and hence decrease the alcohol-related racial health disparities. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  4. The influence of coping styles and perceived control on emotional distress in persons at risk for a hereditary heart disease

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Hoedemaekers, Ehy; Jaspers, Jan P. C.; Van Tintelen, J. Peter

    2007-01-01

    This prospective study investigates the influence of two coping styles (monitoring and blunting) and perceived control (health loci-is of control and mastery) on emotional distress in persons at risk of a hereditary cardiac disease. Emotional distress in people at risk for a hereditary cardiac

  5. Emotionally Up and Down, Behaviorally To and Fro: Drinking Motives Mediate the Synergistic Effects of Urgency and Emotional Instability on Alcohol Outcomes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dvorak, Robert D; Kuvaas, Nicholas J; Lamis, Dorian A; Pearson, Matthew R; Stevenson, Brittany L

    2015-01-01

    Emotional and behavioral regulation has been linked to coping and enhancement motives and associated with different patterns of alcohol use and problems. The current studies examined emotional instability, urgency, and internal drinking motives as predictors of alcohol dependence symptoms as well as the likelihood and severity of Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders-5th editionAlcohol Use Disorder (AUD). In Study 1, college drinkers (n = 621) completed alcohol involvement and behavioral/emotional functioning assessments. There was an indirect association between emotional instability and dependence symptoms via both coping and enhancement drinking motives which was potentiated by trait urgency. In Study 2, college drinkers (n = 510) completed alcohol involvement, behavioral/emotional functioning, and AUD criteria assessments. A significant indirect effect from emotional instability to the likelihood of meeting AUD criteria, via drinking to cope was found, again potentiated by urgency. © The Author(s) 2016.

  6. A rational-emotive stress management intervention for reducing job burnout and dysfunctional distress among special education teachers: An effect study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ugwoke, Samuel C; Eseadi, Chiedu; Onuigbo, Liziana N; Aye, Eucharia N; Akaneme, Immaculata N; Oboegbulem, Angie I; Ezenwaji, Ifeyinwa O; Nwobi, Anthonia U; Nwaubani, Okechukwu O; Ezegbe, Bernedeth N; Ede, Moses O; Orji, Chibueze T; Onuoha, Joseph C; Onu, Eucharia A; Okeke, Francisca; Agu, Patricia; Omeje, Joachim C; Omeke, Faith; Ugwu, Romanus; Arumede, Florence; Eneh, Annastasia

    2018-04-01

    Job-related burnout and distress are adverse stress responses which affect individuals in their occupational environment. This study aimed at investigating the effect of a rational-emotive stress management program on job burnout and dysfunctional distress among special education teachers in Nigeria. A pretest-posttest randomized control group design was used. The participants in the study were 54 special education teachers. Data were collected using self-report questionnaires. Participants were allocated to either the treatment group (n = 28 [59.1%]) or the waitlist control group (n = 26 [48.1%]), respectively. A rational-emotive stress management manual was used to deliver the intervention. We statistically analyzed the data collected at three-time points with repeated-measures analysis of variance. At baseline, the job-related burnout symptoms and distress scores of participants were high. However, an intention-to-treat analysis showed that the rational-emotive stress management intervention program was efficacious in reducing the levels of job-related burnout symptoms and dysfunctional distress among participants assigned to the treatment group, compared to a waitlisted group at post-treatment and follow-up meetings. Our study demonstrates the effectiveness of a rational-emotive stress management intervention in reducing the level of job-related burnout and distress in a sample of special education teachers in Nigeria. Occupational health counsellors and other clinicians with sufficient knowledge of rational-emotive behavior therapy framework are urged to employ this approach in assisting other employees in managing job burnout symptoms, and distress.

  7. Adolescents' emotional engagement in friends' problems and joys: Associations of empathetic distress and empathetic joy with friendship quality, depression, and anxiety.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Smith, Rhiannon L

    2015-12-01

    Although empathetic distress (i.e., taking on a friend's emotional distress as one's own) has been examined as a "cost of caring" especially common among girls, relations with adjustment remain untested. The current study tested associations of empathetic distress with friendship quality, depression, and anxiety. Adolescents (N = 300, ages 12-18) reported on their perceived experience of empathetic distress following a conversation with a friend about problems. The study also considered youths' emotional engagement in friends' positive life events, referred to as empathetic joy. Results indicated that girls reported greater empathetic distress and empathetic joy compared with boys. Findings also suggest that although empathetic distress may have positive implications for youths' friendship adjustment, this may come at the expense of emotional well-being. In contrast, empathetic joy was associated with greater positive friendship quality and fewer internalizing symptoms. Copyright © 2015 The Foundation for Professionals in Services for Adolescents. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  8. Perceived stress in first year medical students - associations with personal resources and emotional distress.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Heinen, Ines; Bullinger, Monika; Kocalevent, Rüya-Daniela

    2017-01-06

    Medical students have been found to report high levels of perceived stress, yet there is a lack of theoretical frameworks examining possible reasons. This cross-sectional study examines correlates of perceived stress in medical students on the basis of a conceptual stress model originally developed for and applied to the general population. The aim was to identify via structural equation modeling the associations between perceived stress and emotional distress (anxiety and depression), taking into account the activation of personal resources (optimism, self-efficacy and resilient coping). Within this cross-sectional study, 321 first year medical students (age 22 ± 4 years, 39.3% men) completed the Perceived Stress Questionnaire (PSQ-20), the Self-Efficacy Optimism Scale (SWOP) and the Brief Resilient Coping Scale (BRCS) as well as the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-4). The statistical analyses used t-tests, ANOVA, Spearman Rho correlation and multiple regression analysis as well as structural equation modeling. Medical students reported higher levels of perceived stress and higher levels of anxiety and depression than reference samples. No statistically significant differences in stress levels were found within the sample according to gender, migration background or employment status. Students reported more self-efficacy, optimism, and resilient coping and higher emotional distress compared to validation samples and results in other studies. Structural equation analysis revealed a satisfactory fit between empirical data and the proposed stress model indicating that personal resources modulated perceived stress, which in turn had an impact on emotional distress. Medical students' perceived stress and emotional distress levels are generally high, with personal resources acting as a buffer, thus supporting the population-based general stress model. Results suggest providing individual interventions for those students, who need support in dealing with the

  9. Reappraisal deficits promote craving and emotional distress among chronic pain patients at risk for prescription opioid misuse.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Garland, Eric L; Hanley, Adam W; Bedford, Carter E; Zubieta, Jon-Kar; Howard, Matthew O; Nakamura, Yoshio; Donaldson, Gary W; Froeliger, Brett

    2018-06-04

    A subset of chronic pain patients misuse prescription opioids as a means of regulating negative emotions. However, opioid misuse may result in deficits in emotion regulation strategies like reappraisal by virtue of the deleterious effects of chronic opioid exposure. The aim of this study was to characterize differences in reappraisal use among chronic pain patients at risk for opioid misuse and those who report taking opioids as prescribed. A sample of 127 pain patients receiving chronic opioid analgesic pharmacotherapy were classified as at risk for opioid misuse (n = 62) or taking opioids as prescribed (n = 65) using the Current Opioid Misuse Measure (COMM). The Emotion Regulation Questionnaire (ERQ) characterized use of emotion regulation strategies including reappraisal and expressive suppression. Participants also reported levels of opioid craving, emotional distress, and pain severity. Patients at risk for opioid misuse reported significantly less reappraisal use (M = 25.31, SD = 7.33) than those who reportedly took opioids as prescribed (M = 30.28, SD = 7.50), p<.001, but did differ with regard to suppression strategies. Reduced reappraisal use was associated with higher opioid craving and emotional distress that mediated the association between reappraisal deficits and opioid misuse risk. Further, there was a significant indirect effect of opioid misuse on emotional distress via reappraisal use. Opioid misuse risk was associated with reduced use of reappraisal, which in turn was associated with dysregulated negative emotions and increased appetitive drive towards consuming opioids. Studying individual differences in emotion regulation may yield efficacious intervention and prevention approaches to stem the rising tide of the prescription opioid crisis.

  10. Emotional distress and positive and negative memories from military deployment: The influence of PTSD symptoms and time

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Niziurski, Julie Ann; Johannessen, Kim Berg; Berntsen, Dorthe

    2017-01-01

    positive deployment memories from a company of 337 soldiers who were deployed together to Afghanistan. We examined how the level of emotional distress of the soldiers and the valence of the memory were related to the emotional intensity, experience of reliving, rehearsal and coherence of the memories......, and how the perceived impact of these memories changed over time. We found that soldiers with higher levels of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms were more affected by both their negative and positive memories, compared with soldiers with lower levels of PTSD symptoms. Emotional intensity...... of the most negative memory increased over time in the group with highest levels of PTSD symptoms, but dropped in the other groups. The present study adds to the literature on emotion and autobiographical memory and how this relationship interacts with an individual’s present level of emotional distress...

  11. Time for a Change: College Students' Preference for Technology-Mediated Versus Face-to-Face Help for Emotional Distress.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lungu, Anita; Sun, Michael

    2016-12-01

    Even with recent advances in psychological treatments and mobile technology, online computerized therapy is not yet popular. College students, with ubiquitous access to technology, experiencing high distress, and often nontreatment seekers, could be an important area for online treatment dissemination. Finding ways to reach out to college students by offering psychological interventions through technology, devices, and applications they often use, might increase their engagement in treatment. This study evaluates college students' reported willingness to seek help for emotional distress through novel delivery mediums, to play computer games for learning emotional coping skills, and to disclose personal information online. We also evaluated the role of ethnicity and level of emotional distress in help-seeking patterns. A survey exploring our domains of interest and the Mental Health Inventory ([MHI] as mental health index) were completed by 572 students (mean age 18.7 years, predominantly Asian American, female, and freshmen in college). More participants expressed preference for online versus face-to-face professional help. We found no relationship between MHI and help-seeking preference. A third of participants were likely to disclose at least as much information online as face-to-face. Ownership of mobile technology was pervasive. Asian Americans were more likely to be nontreatment seekers than Caucasians. Most participants were interested in serious games for emotional distress. Our results suggest that college students are very open to creative ways of receiving emotional help such as playing games and seeking emotional help online, suggesting a need for online evidence-based treatments.

  12. Validation and psychometric properties of the Alcohol Positive and Negative Affect Schedule: Are drinking emotions distinct from general emotions?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lac, Andrew; Donaldson, Candice D

    2018-02-01

    People vary in experiences of positive and negative emotions from consuming alcohol, but no validated measurement instrument exclusively devoted to assessing drinking emotions exists in the literature. The current research validated and evaluated the psychometric properties of an alcohol affect scale based on adjectives from the Positive and Negative Affect Schedule (PANAS) and tested the extent that emotions incurred from drinking were distinct from general trait-based emotions. Three studies tested independent samples of adult alcohol users. In Study 1 (N = 494), exploratory factor analyses of the Alcohol PANAS revealed that both the 20-item model and the 9-parcel model (represented by similar mood content) supported the 2-factor dimensionality of alcohol positive and negative affect. In Study 2 (N = 302), confirmatory factor analyses corroborated the measurement structure of alcohol positive and negative affect, and both constructs evidenced statistical independence from general positive and negative affect. In Study 3 (N = 452), alcohol positive and negative affect exhibited discriminant, convergent, and criterion validity with established alcohol scales. Incremental validity tests demonstrated that alcohol positive and negative affect uniquely contributed (beyond general positive and negative affect) to alcohol expectancies, use, and problems. Findings support that alcohol emotions are conceptually distinct from trait emotions, and underscore the necessity of an assessment instrument tailored to the former to examine associations with alcohol beliefs and behaviors. The Alcohol PANAS confers theoretical and practical applications to understand the emotional consequences of drinking. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2018 APA, all rights reserved).

  13. Emotional states as mediators between tinnitus loudness and tinnitus distress in daily life: Results from the “TrackYourTinnitus” application

    Science.gov (United States)

    Probst, Thomas; Pryss, Rüdiger; Langguth, Berthold; Schlee, Winfried

    2016-01-01

    The psychological process how tinnitus loudness leads to tinnitus distress remains unclear. This cross-sectional study investigated the mediating role of the emotional state “stress level” and of the two components of the emotional state “arousal” and “valence” with N = 658 users of the “TrackYourTinnitus” smartphone application. Stress mediated the relationship between tinnitus loudness and tinnitus distress in a simple mediation model and even in a multiple mediation model when arousal and valence were held constant. Arousal mediated the loudness-distress relationship when holding valence constant, but not anymore when controlling for valence as well as for stress. Valence functioned as a mediator when controlling for arousal and even when holding arousal and stress constant. The direct effect of tinnitus loudness on tinnitus distress remained significant in all models. This study demonstrates that emotional states affect the process how tinnitus loudness leads to tinnitus distress. We thereby could show that the mediating influence of emotional valence is at least equally strong as the influence of stress. Implications of the findings for future research, assessment, and clinical management of tinnitus are discussed. PMID:26853815

  14. Psychosocial resiliency is associated with lower emotional distress among dyads of patients and their informal caregivers in the neuroscience intensive care unit.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shaffer, Kelly M; Riklin, Eric; Jacobs, Jamie M; Rosand, Jonathan; Vranceanu, Ana-Maria

    2016-12-01

    The purpose of the study is to examine the associations of patients' and their informal caregivers' psychosocial resiliency factors with their own and their partners' emotion domains (distress, anxiety, depression, and anger) after admission to the neuroscience intensive care unit (Neuro-ICU). Eighty-three dyads of patients (total n = 87) and their informal caregivers (total n = 99) participated in this observational, cross-sectional study by self-reporting demographics and measures of resiliency factors (mindfulness [Cognitive and Affective Mindfulness Scale Revised], coping [Measure of Coping Status-A], intimate bond [Intimate Bond Measure], self-efficacy [patients: General Self-Efficacy Scale; caregivers: Revised Caregiver Self-Efficacy Scale]) and emotion domains (Emotion Thermometers) within 2 weeks of Neuro-ICU admission. There were no differences between patients' and caregivers' levels of psychosocial resiliency, distress, or anxiety. Patients reported greater depression and anger relative to their caregivers. Overall, roughly half of patients (50.6%) and caregivers (42.4%) reported clinically significant emotional distress. Patients' and caregivers' own psychosocial resiliency factors were associated with their own, but not their partner's, emotion domains. Findings of high distress among both patients and caregivers at admission emphasize the importance of attending to the mental health of both patients and caregivers in the Neuro-ICU. As modifiable psychosocial resiliency factors were associated with emotion domains for both patients and caregivers, interventions to enhance these factors may ameliorate emotional distress among these vulnerable populations. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  15. Family income, maternal psychological distress and child socio-emotional behaviour: Longitudinal findings from the UK Millennium Cohort Study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Noonan, Katharine; Burns, Richéal; Violato, Mara

    2018-04-01

    The association between low family income and socio-emotional behaviour problems in early childhood has been well-documented, and maternal psychological distress is highlighted as central in mediating this relationship. However, whether this relationship holds for older children, and the precise mechanisms by which income may influence child behaviour is unclear. This study investigated the relationship between family income and child socio-emotional behaviour at 11 years of age, and examined the mediating role of maternal psychological distress over time using the UK Millennium Cohort Study. The primary outcome was parent-reported behavioural problems, as captured by the Total Difficulties Score (TDS), derived from the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ). Secondary outcomes were the emotional, peer-related, conduct, and hyperactivity/inattention problems subscales of the SDQ; and teacher-reported TDS. Permanent family income was the primary exposure variable; frequency of poverty up to age 11 years was the secondary exposure variable. Maternal psychological distress was operationalised to reflect the trajectory from child birth to age 11. Multivariable logistic regression models were used to estimate the effect of permanent family income on child behaviour at age 11, controlling for maternal psychological distress and other relevant covariates. Results showed a statistically significant protective effect of increased permanent family income on the likelihood of behavioural problems at age 11. This finding was consistent for all SDQ subscales apart from emotional problems, and was strongest for teacher-reported behavioural problems. Maternal distress was an important mediator in the income-child behaviour relationship for parent-reported, but not teacher-reported, behavioural problems. The results of this study strengthen empirical evidence that the child behaviour-income gradient is maintained in older childhood. Mother's psychological distress

  16. Family income, maternal psychological distress and child socio-emotional behaviour: Longitudinal findings from the UK Millennium Cohort Study

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Katharine Noonan

    2018-04-01

    Full Text Available The association between low family income and socio-emotional behaviour problems in early childhood has been well-documented, and maternal psychological distress is highlighted as central in mediating this relationship. However, whether this relationship holds for older children, and the precise mechanisms by which income may influence child behaviour is unclear.This study investigated the relationship between family income and child socio-emotional behaviour at 11 years of age, and examined the mediating role of maternal psychological distress over time using the UK Millennium Cohort Study.The primary outcome was parent-reported behavioural problems, as captured by the Total Difficulties Score (TDS, derived from the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ. Secondary outcomes were the emotional, peer-related, conduct, and hyperactivity/inattention problems subscales of the SDQ; and teacher-reported TDS. Permanent family income was the primary exposure variable; frequency of poverty up to age 11 years was the secondary exposure variable. Maternal psychological distress was operationalised to reflect the trajectory from child birth to age 11. Multivariable logistic regression models were used to estimate the effect of permanent family income on child behaviour at age 11, controlling for maternal psychological distress and other relevant covariates.Results showed a statistically significant protective effect of increased permanent family income on the likelihood of behavioural problems at age 11. This finding was consistent for all SDQ subscales apart from emotional problems, and was strongest for teacher-reported behavioural problems. Maternal distress was an important mediator in the income-child behaviour relationship for parent-reported, but not teacher-reported, behavioural problems.The results of this study strengthen empirical evidence that the child behaviour-income gradient is maintained in older childhood. Mother’s psychological

  17. Do emotions related to alcohol consumption differ by alcohol type? An international cross-sectional survey of emotions associated with alcohol consumption and influence on drink choice in different settings.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ashton, Kathryn; Bellis, Mark A; Davies, Alisha R; Hughes, Karen; Winstock, Adam

    2017-11-20

    To examine the emotions associated with drinking different types of alcohol, explore whether these emotions differ by sociodemographics and alcohol dependency and whether the emotions associated with different drink types influence people's choice of drinks in different settings. International cross-sectional opportunistic survey (Global Drug Survey) using an online anonymous questionnaire in 11 languages promoted through newspapers, magazines and social media from November 2015 to January 2016. Individuals aged 18-34 years who reported consumption of beer, spirits, red and white wine in the previous 12 months and were resident in countries with more than 200 respondents (n=21 countries; 29 836 respondents). Positive and negative emotions associated with consumption of different alcoholic beverages (energised, relaxed, sexy, confident, tired, aggressive, ill, restless and tearful) over the past 12 months in different settings. Alcoholic beverages vary in the types of emotions individuals report they elicit, with spirits more frequently eliciting emotional changes of all types. Overall 29.8% of respondents reported feeling aggressive when drinking spirits, compared with only 7.1% when drinking red wine (pfeeling all emotions when drinking alcohol, apart from feelings of aggression. Respondents' level of alcohol dependency was strongly associated with feeling all emotions, with the likelihood of aggression being significantly higher in possible dependent versus low risk drinkers (adjusted OR 6.4; 95% CI 5.79 to 7.09; pfeeling the majority of positive and negative emotions also remained highest among dependent drinkers irrespective of setting. Understanding emotions associated with alcohol consumption is imperative to addressing alcohol misuse, providing insight into what emotions influence drink choice between different groups in the population. The differences identified between sociodemographic groups and influences on drink choice within different settings will

  18. The Mediating Role of Well-Being and Self-Regulation of Emotions in Daily Executive Dysfunctions and Psychological Distress

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    García-Villamisar Domingo

    2014-07-01

    Full Text Available An emerging literature has begun to document the emotional consequences of everyday executive functions on emotional distress. Little is known, however, about whether this relation is mediated by other variables.

  19. Emotion Regulation Difficulties Moderate the Association Between Heavy Episodic Drinking and Dating Violence Perpetration Among College Men

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stappenbeck, Cynthia A.; Davis, Kelly Cue; Cherf, Nicholas; Gulati, Natasha K.; Kajumulo, Kelly F.

    2017-01-01

    Because of high rates of heavy drinking and dating violence (psychological or physical aggression toward a dating partner) among college men, we examined whether emotion regulation difficulties moderated the association between heavy drinking and dating violence perpetration. One hundred and fifty-eight men were recruited from a large northwestern US university between April 2014 and August 2014. Participants completed an online survey that assessed their emotion regulation difficulties as well as their past year history of heavy episodic drinking (HED; consuming 5+ drinks in 2 hours) and dating violence perpetration. Generalized linear models revealed that the positive association between HED and dating violence perpetration was stronger for men with greater impulse control difficulties and for those who reported limited access to emotion regulation strategies. In addition to continued efforts to reduce heavy drinking among college men, interventions targeting emotion regulation difficulties should be incorporated into standard dating violence intervention and prevention efforts to further reduce the likelihood of dating violence perpetration in this population. PMID:29147076

  20. The contribution of internal resources, external resources, and emotional distress to use of drugs and alcohol among Israeli Jewish urban adolescents.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lipschitz-Elhawi, Racheli; Itzhaky, Haya

    2014-03-01

    The contribution of selected background variables (age, gender), internal resources (mastery, emotional maturity), external resources (parental and peer support), and emotional distress to alcohol and drug use among 160 Israeli Jewish urban high school students were examined. Analyzing the variables with hierarchical regression, emotional distress contributed most significantly to both alcohol and drug use, and the contribution of age was somewhat less significant for both of them. Emotional distress also contributed indirectly to drug use through an interaction with one's sense of mastery. Gender, internal resources, and external resources contributed differentially to alcohol and drug use. Whereas gender and internal resources contributed only to drug use, external resources contributed only to alcohol use. Specifically, peer support contributed positively to alcohol use whereas parental support contributed negatively. The discussion provides explanations for these research findings and their implications, and the research's limitations are noted.

  1. The Relationship Between Psychological Distress, Negative Cognitions, and Expectancies on Problem Drinking: Exploring a Growing Problem Among University Students.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Obasi, Ezemenari M; Brooks, Jessica J; Cavanagh, Lucia

    2016-01-01

    Few studies have sought to understand the concurrent relationship between cognitive and affective processes on alcohol use and negative alcohol-related consequences, despite both being identified as predictive risk factors in the college population. More research is needed to understand the relationships between identified factors of problem drinking among this at-risk population. The purpose of this study was to test if the relationship between psychological distress and problem drinking among university students (N = 284; M-age = 19.77) was mediated by negative affect regulation strategies and positive alcohol-related expectancies. Two latent mediation models of problem drinking were tested using structural equation modeling (SEM). The parsimonious three-path mediated latent model was supported by the data, as evidenced by several model fit indices. Furthermore, the alternate saturated model provided similar fit to the data, but contained several direct relationships that were not statistically significant. The relationship between psychological distress and problem drinking was mediated by an extended contributory chain, including negative affect regulation and positive alcohol-related expectancies. Implications for prevention and treatment, as well as future directions, are discussed. © The Author(s) 2015.

  2. Exploring Psychosocial Mechanisms and Interactions: Links Between Adolescent Emotional Distress, School Connectedness, and Educational Achievement

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pate, Christina M.; Maras, Melissa A.; Whitney, Stephen D.; Bradshaw, Catherine P.

    2017-01-01

    Internalizing mental health issues are a significant developmental and clinical concern during adolescence, but rarely identified as a problem among school staff. Using data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health, this study examined the associations between adolescent emotional distress, school connectedness, and educational achievement by exploring potential mechanistic and interactive roles of perceived school connectedness on the emotion–education association. Emotional distress was negatively associated with adolescents’ perceptions of belonging to school, which, in turn, may negatively influence educational achievement. School connectedness also had both additive and multiplicative interaction effects on the emotion–education relationship. Results support previous evidence of school connectedness as a protective factor for adolescents with internalizing mental health concerns, although much of the work to date has focused on externalizing problems. This study informs our understanding of how, why, and for whom emotional problems influence educational outcomes in light of social support in the school context. PMID:28947921

  3. Associations Between Internet-Based Professional Social Networking and Emotional Distress

    OpenAIRE

    Jones, Jacquelynn R.; Colditz, Jason B.; Shensa, Ariel; Sidani, Jaime E.; Lin, Liu Yi; Terry, Martha Ann; Primack, Brian A.

    2016-01-01

    Professional social networking websites are commonly used among young professionals. In light of emerging concerns regarding social networking use and emotional distress, the purpose of this study was to investigate the association between frequency of use of LinkedIn, the most commonly used professional social networking website, and depression and anxiety among young adults. In October 2014, we assessed a nationally representative sample of 1,780 U.S. young adults between the ages of 19–32 ...

  4. Emotional Distress, Drinking, and Academic Achievement across the Adolescent Life Course

    OpenAIRE

    Owens, Timothy J.; Shippee, Nathan D.; Hensel, Devon J.

    2008-01-01

    Our study of the adolescent life course proposes that substantial maturation occurs within three intertwined arenas of development: the social, the psychological, and the normative attainment. Further, each arena may be linked, respectively, to three youth problem dimensions: drinking, depressive affect, and academic achievement. We use latent growth curves and the Youth Development Study (effective N=856) to track a panel of teens from their freshman to senior year in high school. There are ...

  5. The prevalence of diabetes-specific emotional distress in people with Type 2 diabetes: a systematic review and meta-analysis

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Perrin, N. E.; Davies, M. J.; Robertson, N.; Snoek, F. J.; Khunti, K.

    2017-01-01

    Psychological comorbidity, such as depression and/or diabetes-specific emotional distress (diabetes distress), is widespread in people with Type 2 diabetes and is associated with poorer treatment outcomes. Although extensive research into the prevalence of depression has been conducted, the same

  6. Assessing Irrational Beliefs and Emotional Distress: Evidence and Implications of Limited Discriminant Validity.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zurawski, Raymond M.; Smith, Timothy W.

    1987-01-01

    Examined the disciminant validity of measures of irrational beliefs. The Irrational Beliefs Test and the Rational Behavior Inventory were highly correlated but were equally highly correlated with self-report measures of depression and anxiety. Thus, rather than assessing beliefs correlated with emotional distress, the measures may actually assess…

  7. A Mindfulness-Based Intervention for Adolescents and Young Adults After Cancer Treatment: Effects on Quality of Life, Emotional Distress, and Cognitive Vulnerability.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Van der Gucht, Katleen; Takano, Keisuke; Labarque, Veerle; Vandenabeele, Karen; Nolf, Nathalie; Kuylen, Sanne; Cosyns, Veerle; Van Broeck, Nady; Kuppens, Peter; Raes, Filip

    2017-06-01

    Adolescent and young adult cancer (AYAC) survivors show an elevated risk of distress. Targeted psychosocial interventions for this distinct population are needed. This study examined the potential efficacy of a mindfulness-based intervention (MBI) to alleviate emotional distress and improve quality of life (QoL) in AYAC survivors. Participants were 16 AYAC survivors, aged 14-24, who had completed acute medical treatment. A two-baseline (8 and 1 week before the intervention), post- (1 week after the intervention) and 3 months follow-up within-subjects design was used. Each participant completed two baseline assessments, followed by an 8-week MBI. The primary outcome variables were emotional distress and QoL. Secondary outcomes were cognitive vulnerability factors and mindfulness skills. Multilevel modeling showed (1) a significant reduction in emotional distress and improvement in QoL at 3 months of follow-up, (2) a significant reduction in negative attitudes toward self (i.e., a cognitive vulnerability factor), and (3) a significant improvement in mindfulness skills. MBI is a promising approach that is used to treat emotional distress and to improve QoL in AYAC survivors. Further research using randomized controlled trials is needed to generalize these findings. Trial registration information: www.trialregister.nl ; NTR4358.

  8. Exploring sources of emotional distress among people living with scleroderma: A focus group study

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Gumuchian, S.T.; Peláez, S.; Delisle, V.C.; Carrier, M.E.; Jewett, L.R.; El-Baalbaki, G.; Fortune, C.; Hudson, M.; Impens, A.; Körner, A.; Persmann, J.; Kwakkenbos, C.M.C.; Bartlett, S.J.; Thombs, B.D.

    2016-01-01

    Background: Systemic sclerosis, or scleroderma, is a chronic and rare connective tissue disease with negative physical and psychological implications. Sources of emotional distress and the impact they have on the lives of people with scleroderma are not well understood. Objectives: To gain an

  9. Prospective assessment of emotional distress, cognitive function, and quality of life in patients with cancer treated with chemotherapy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Iconomou, Gregoris; Mega, Vasiliki; Koutras, Angelos; Iconomou, Alexander V; Kalofonos, Haralabos P

    2004-07-15

    The current study sought to delineate prospectively the rates and clinical course of emotional distress, cognitive impairment, and quality of life (QOL) in chemotherapy-naive patients with cancer and to consider the determinants of global QOL. Patients who consented to participate were administered the European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer QLQ-C30 questionnaire, the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE), and the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale before and at the end of treatment (EOT). Of the 102 patients initially assessed, 80 (78.4%) completed the study. Most aspects of QOL did not change considerably over time. At EOT, patients reported only significant increases in fatigue and significant decreases in sleep disturbance. Although no significant changes emerged in the rates of anxiety or depression throughout chemotherapy, nearly one-third of the patients experienced severe emotional distress at both points in time. In addition, the authors observed neither significant alteration in the cognitive performance over time nor reliable associations between scores on the MMSE and subjective cognitive function, emotional distress, or QOL. Finally, depression proved to be the leading predictor of global QOL at baseline and at EOT. The results indicated that a significant proportion of Greek patients with cancer experienced intense anxiety and depression throughout chemotherapy and confirmed the importance of depression as a strong predictor of global QOL. Routine screening of emotional distress across all phases of cancer is mandatory because it will contribute to the identification of patients who are in need of pharmaceutical and/or psychologic intervention. Copyright 2004 American Cancer Society.

  10. College Binge Drinking Associated with Decreased Frontal Activation to Negative Emotional Distractors during Inhibitory Control

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Julia E. Cohen-Gilbert

    2017-09-01

    Full Text Available The transition to college is associated with an increase in heavy episodic alcohol use, or binge drinking, during a time when the prefrontal cortex and prefrontal-limbic circuitry continue to mature. Traits associated with this immaturity, including impulsivity in emotional contexts, may contribute to risky and heavy episodic alcohol consumption. The current study used blood oxygen level dependent (BOLD multiband functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI to assess brain activation during a task that required participants to ignore background images with positive, negative, or neutral emotional valence while performing an inhibitory control task (Go-NoGo. Subjects were 23 college freshmen (seven male, 18–20 years who engaged in a range of drinking behavior (past 3 months’ binge episodes range = 0–19, mean = 4.6, total drinks consumed range = 0–104, mean = 32.0. Brain activation on inhibitory trials (NoGo was contrasted between negative and neutral conditions and between positive and neutral conditions using non-parametric testing (5000 permutations and cluster-based thresholding (z = 2.3, p ≤ 0.05 corrected. Results showed that a higher recent incidence of binge drinking was significantly associated with decreased activation of dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC, dorsomedial prefrontal cortex (DMPFC, and anterior cingulate cortex (ACC, brain regions strongly implicated in executive functioning, during negative relative to neutral inhibitory trials. No significant associations between binge drinking and brain activation were observed for positive relative to neutral images. While task performance was not significantly associated with binge drinking in this sample, subjects with heavier recent binge drinking showed decreased recruitment of executive control regions under negative versus neutral distractor conditions. These findings suggest that in young adults with heavier recent binge drinking, processing of negative emotional

  11. Key constructs in "classical" and "new wave" cognitive behavioral psychotherapies: relationships among each other and with emotional distress.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cristea, Ioana A; Montgomery, Guy H; Szamoskozi, Stefan; David, Daniel

    2013-06-01

    We aimed to relate key constructs from three forms of cognitive behavioral therapy that are often placed in competition: rational emotive behavior therapy, cognitive therapy, and acceptance and commitment therapy. The key constructs of the underlying theories (i.e., irrational beliefs/unconditional self-acceptance, dysfunctional cognitions, experiential avoidance/psychological inflexibility) of these therapies have not been explicitly studied in their relationships to each other and with emotional distress. We used a cross-sectional design. The variables were selected to indicate key constructs of the three major forms of therapy considered. Study 1 used a sample of 152 students, who were assessed during a stressful period of their semester (mean age = 21.71; 118 females), while Study 2 used a clinical sample of 28 patients with generalized anxiety disorder (mean age = 26.67; 26 females). Results showed that these constructs, central in the therapies considered, had medium to high associations to each other and to distress. Experiential avoidance was found to mediate the relationship between the other, schema-type cognitive constructs and emotional distress. Moreover, multiple mediation analysis in Study 2 seemed to indicate that the influence of the more general constructs on distress was mediated by experiential avoidance, whose effect seemed to be carried on further by automatic thoughts that were the most proximal to distress. Although each of the cognitive constructs considered comes with its underlying theory, the relationships between them can no longer be ignored and cognitive behavioral therapy theoretical models reliably accounting for these relationships should be proposed and tested. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  12. The Relationship between Starting to Drink and Psychological Distress, Sleep Disturbance after the Great East Japan Earthquake and Nuclear Disaster: The Fukushima Health Management Survey

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Masatsugu Orui

    2017-10-01

    Full Text Available This longitudinal study aimed to investigate the prevalence of newly-started drinkers and their continuing drinking behaviors after the Great East Japan earthquake. Moreover, the relationships between newly-started drinking and psychological factor, disaster-related experience, and perceived radiation risk were examined. We used data from 37,687 pre-disaster non-drinkers who participated in the 2012 and 2013 surveys conducted in Fukushima. We defined newly-started drinkers as those who did not drink before the disaster but who began drinking after the disaster, based on information collected retrospectively. In 2012, 9.6% of non-drinkers began drinking, of which the prevalence of heavy drinkers was 18.4%. The prevalence of continued drinking among newly-started drinkers in 2013 was 53.8%. Logistic regression analyses revealed post-disaster newly-started drinking was significantly associated with being male, less than 65 years old, sleep dissatisfaction and psychological distress (Kessler 6 ≤ 13 when this model was adjusted for disaster-related experience and perceived radiation risk. Moreover, psychological distress and heavy drinking were significant risk factors for continued drinking among newly-started drinkers. Newly-started drinkers might use alcohol to cope with disaster-related stress. Thus, they may be targeted for disaster-related health services. Moreover, early intervention should encourage responsible drinking, since post-disaster heavy drinkers were likely to continue heavy drinking.

  13. A measurement model of perinatal stressors: identifying risk for postnatal emotional distress in mothers of high-risk infants.

    Science.gov (United States)

    DeMier, R L; Hynan, M T; Hatfield, R F; Varner, M W; Harris, H B; Manniello, R L

    2000-01-01

    A measurement model of perinatal stressors was first evaluated for reliability and then used to identify risk factors for postnatal emotional distress in high-risk mothers. In Study 1, six measures (gestational age of the baby, birthweight, length of the baby's hospitalization, a postnatal complications rating for the infant, and Apgar scores at 1 and 5 min) were obtained from chart reviews of preterm births at two different hospitals. Confirmatory factor analyses revealed that the six measures could be accounted for by three factors: (a) Infant Maturity, (b) Apgar Ratings, and (c) Complications. In Study 2, a modified measurement model indicated that Infant Maturity and Complications were significant predictors of postnatal emotional distress in an additional sample of mothers. This measurement model may also be useful in predicting (a) other measures of psychological distress in parents, and (b) measures of cognitive and motor development in infants.

  14. Leaving Distress Behind: A Randomized Controlled Study on Change in Emotional Processing in Borderline Personality Disorder.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Berthoud, Laurent; Pascual-Leone, Antonio; Caspar, Franz; Tissot, Hervé; Keller, Sabine; Rohde, Kristina B; de Roten, Yves; Despland, Jean-Nicolas; Kramer, Ueli

    2017-01-01

    The marked impulsivity and instability of clients suffering from borderline personality disorder (BPD) greatly challenge therapists' understanding and responsiveness. This may hinder the development of a constructive therapeutic relationship despite it being of particular importance in their treatment. Recent studies have shown that using motive-oriented therapeutic relationship (MOTR), a possible operationalization of appropriate therapist responsiveness, can enhance treatment outcome for BPD. The overall objective of this study is to examine change in emotional processing in BPD clients following the therapist's use of MOTR. The present paper focuses on N = 50 cases, n = 25 taken from each of two conditions of a randomized controlled add-on effectiveness design. Clients were either allocated to a manual-based psychiatric-psychodynamic 10-session version of general psychiatric management (GPM), a borderline-specific treatment, or to a 10-session version of GPM augmented with MOTR. Emotional states were assessed using the Classification of Affective-Meaning States (Pascual-Leone & Greenberg, 2005) at intake, midtreatment, and in the penultimate session. Across treatment, early expressions of distress, especially the emotion state of global distress, were shown to significantly decrease (p = .00), and adaptive emotions were found to emerge (p emotional variability and stronger outcome predictors in the MOTR condition. The findings indicate initial emotional change in BPD clients in a relatively short time frame and suggest the addition of MOTR to psychotherapeutic treatments as promising. Clinical implications are discussed.

  15. Physical Distress, Emotional Status, and Quality of Life in Patients With Nasopharyngeal Cancer Complicated by Post-Radiotherapy Endocrinopathy

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lue, B.-H.; Huang, T.-S.; Chen, H.-J.

    2008-01-01

    Purpose: To explore factors affecting quality of life (QOL) among patients with nasopharyngeal cancer (NPC) complicated by post-radiotherapy endocrinopathy. Methods and Materials: This cross-sectional study was conducted in a tertiary medical center and involved a total of 43 post-radiotherapy, recurrence-free NPC patients with endocrinopathy. They performed self-assessment of their emotional status using the Beck Anxiety Inventory and Beck Depression Inventory-II, and their QoL with the European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer Quality of Life Questionnaire (EORTC QLQ-C30) questionnaire and the H and N35 cancer module. Results: Emotional and cognitive functioning of EORTC QLQ-C30 were the most affected. Fatigue, insomnia, and pain were the main concerns. Of the patients, 22 (51.2%) had anxiety and 19 (44.2%) had depression. Both depression and anxiety were negatively correlated with functional scales and global QoL but positively correlated with symptom scales. Multiple linear regression analysis revealed that physical distress symptoms of QLQ-C30 and physical functioning were the significant predictors of global QoL. Emotional and social functioning could predict depression, whereas emotional and physical functioning were significant predictors of anxiety. Conclusions: NPC patients with post-radiotherapy endocrinopathy exhibit impaired cognitive function and negative emotions. Symptoms of physical distress play an important role in QoL perception. Measurement of EORTC QLQ-C30 can be a useful instrument for the early detection of patients' impaired cognitive function and psychological morbidity. The high psychological distress related to the endocrine disturbances or the impact of NPC itself needs further study

  16. Impact of parental emotional support and coercive control on adolescents' self-esteem and psychological distress: results of a four-year longitudinal study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Boudreault-Bouchard, Anne-Marie; Dion, Jacinthe; Hains, Jennifer; Vandermeerschen, Jill; Laberge, Luc; Perron, Michel

    2013-08-01

    This study aims at investigating the impact of parental practices on youths' adjustment. In all, 605 adolescents completed questionnaires at ages 14, 16 and 18. Self-esteem, psychological distress as well as parental emotional support and coercive control were measured. Analyses based on individual growth models revealed that self-esteem increased with age, but psychological distress remained stable over time. Boys reported higher levels of self-esteem and lower levels of psychological distress than girls. Maternal and paternal emotional support reinforced self-esteem over time. Maternal coercive control undermined self-esteem, but only at ages 16 and 18. Psychological distress decreased with parental emotional support but increased with parental coercive control at ages 14, 16 and 18. Overall, these results indicate that positive parental practices are related to youths' well-being. These findings support the importance of establishing intervention strategies designed to promote best practices among parents of teenagers to help them develop into well-adjusted adults. Copyright © 2013 The Foundation for Professionals in Services for Adolescents. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  17. Navigating moral distress using the moral distress map.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dudzinski, Denise Marie

    2016-05-01

    The plethora of literature on moral distress has substantiated and refined the concept, provided data about clinicians' (especially nurses') experiences, and offered advice for coping. Fewer scholars have explored what makes moral distress moral If we acknowledge that patient care can be distressing in the best of ethical circumstances, then differentiating distress and moral distress may refine the array of actions that are likely to ameliorate it. This article builds upon scholarship exploring the normative and conceptual dimensions of moral distress and introduces a new tool to map moral distress from emotional source to corrective actions. The Moral Distress Map has proven useful in clinical teaching and ethics-related debriefings. Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to http://www.bmj.com/company/products-services/rights-and-licensing/

  18. Fathers' postnatal distress, parenting self-efficacy, later parenting behavior, and children's emotional-behavioral functioning: A longitudinal study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rominov, Holly; Giallo, Rebecca; Whelan, Thomas A

    2016-12-01

    Fathers' postnatal distress has been associated with subsequent emotional and behavioral problems for children; however, the mechanisms by which this occurs have received less attention. One potential pathway could be via the negative effects that father mental health problems and parenting self-efficacy (PSE) in the postnatal period have on later parenting behaviors. Using a nationally representative cohort of Australian father-child dyads (N = 3,741), the long-term relationships between fathers' psychological distress and PSE in the postnatal period, parenting behavior when children were aged 4-5 years, and emotional-behavioral outcomes for children aged 8-9 years were explored. Path analysis indicated that high distress and low PSE in the postnatal period was associated with higher levels of hostile parenting and lower parenting consistency when children were aged 4-5 years; in turn, these were associated with poorer child outcomes at 8-9 years. These results remained significant after controlling for socioeconomic position, couple relationship quality, mothers' and fathers' mental health, and fathers' concurrent parenting behavior. The pathways among PSE, parenting hostility, parenting consistency, and children's outcomes at age 8-9 years differed for fathers of boys compared with fathers of girls. Results highlight the importance of father-inclusive assessments of postnatal mental health. Support programs targeting new fathers' perceptions of parenting competence may be particularly important for fathers experiencing postnatal distress. For fathers, building a stronger sense of parenting competence in the postnatal period is important for later parenting behavior, which relates to children's emotional and behavioral outcomes during middle childhood. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved).

  19. Empathy in clinical practice: how individual dispositions, gender, and experience moderate empathic concern, burnout, and emotional distress in physicians.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ezequiel Gleichgerrcht

    Full Text Available To better understand clinical empathy and what factors can undermine its experience and outcome in care-giving settings, a large-scale study was conducted with 7,584 board certified practicing physicians. Online validated instruments assessing different aspects of empathy, distress, burnout, altruistic behavior, emotional awareness, and well-being were used. Compassion satisfaction was strongly associated with empathic concern, perspective taking and altruism, while compassion fatigue (burnout and secondary traumatic stress was more closely related to personal distress and alexithymia. Gender had a highly selective effect on empathic concern, with women displaying higher values, which led to a wide array of negative and devalued feelings. Years of experience did not influence dispositional measures per se after controlling for the effect of age and gender. Participants who experienced compassion fatigue with little to no compassion satisfaction showed the highest scores on personal distress and alexithymia as well as the strongest indicators of compassion fatigue. Physicians who have difficulty regulating their negative arousal and describing and identifying emotions seem to be more prone to emotional exhaustion, detachment, and a low sense of accomplishment. On the contrary, the ability to engage in self-other awareness and regulate one's emotions and the tendency to help others, seem to contribute to the sense of compassion that comes from assisting patients in clinical practice.

  20. Social inhibition and emotional distress in patients with coronary artery disease : The type D personality construct

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Timmermans, I.A.L.; Versteeg, H.; Duijndam, S.N.C.; Graafmans, C.; Polak, P.; Denollet, J.K.

    2018-01-01

    We examined the validity of the social inhibition component of Type D, its distinctiveness from negative affectivity, and value regarding emotional distress as measured with the DS14 in 173 coronary artery disease patients. In dimensional analysis, social inhibition and negative affectivity emerged

  1. Infant Distress and Regulatory Behaviors Vary as a Function of Attachment Security Regardless of Emotion Context and Maternal Involvement

    Science.gov (United States)

    Leerkes, Esther M.; Wong, Maria S.

    2012-01-01

    Differences in infant distress and regulatory behaviors based on the quality of attachment to mother, emotion context (frustration versus fear), and whether or not mothers were actively involved in the emotion-eliciting tasks were examined in a sample of ninety-eight 16-month-old infants and their mothers. Dyads participated in the Strange…

  2. Daily Family Conflict and Emotional Distress among Adolescents from Latin American, Asian, and European Backgrounds

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chung, Grace H.; Flook, Lisa; Fuligni, Andrew J.

    2009-01-01

    The authors employed a daily diary method to assess daily frequencies of interparental and parent-adolescent conflict over a 2-week period and their implications for emotional distress across the high school years in a longitudinal sample of 415 adolescents from Latin American, Asian, and European backgrounds. Although family conflict remained…

  3. Emotionally Up and Down, Behaviorally to and fro: Drinking Motives Mediate the Synergistic Effects of Urgency and Emotional Instability on Alcohol Outcomes

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dvorak, Robert D.; Kuvaas, Nicholas J.; Lamis, Dorian A.; Pearson, Matthew R.; Stevenson, Brittany L.

    2015-01-01

    Emotional and behavioral regulation has been linked to coping and enhancement motives and associated with different patterns of alcohol use and problems. The current studies examined emotional instability, urgency, and internal drinking motives as predictors of alcohol dependence symptoms as well as the likelihood and severity of "Diagnostic…

  4. PDYN rs2281285 variant association with drinking to avoid emotional or somatic discomfort.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ulrich W Preuss

    Full Text Available One of the proposed psychobiological pathways of craving attributes the desire for drinking in the context of tension, discomfort or unpleasant emotions, to "negative" (or "relief" craving. The aim of this study was to replicate a previously reported association of the PDYN rs2281285 variant with negative craving using a different phenotyping approach.The TaqMan® Genotyping Assay was used to genotype the rs2281285 variant in 417 German alcohol-dependent subjects. The presence of negative/relief craving was assessed by asking if participants ever ingested alcohol to avoid unwanted emotional or somatic discomfort.The minor allele of rs2281285 was associated with an increased risk of drinking to avoid/escape unwanted emotional or somatic events (OR=2.29, 95% CI=1.08-4.85, p=0.0298.Despite the use of a different phenotyping approach to the measurement of negative craving, our results confirm the association between negative craving and PDYN rs2281285. Genetic markers of negative craving may help to identify subgroups of alcohol-dependent individuals vulnerable to relapse in the context of negative emotions or somatic discomfort, leading to the development of specifically tailored treatment strategies.

  5. Drinking motives and alcohol outcome expectancies as mediators of the association between negative urgency and alcohol consumption.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Anthenien, Amber M; Lembo, Jordanna; Neighbors, Clayton

    2017-03-01

    To determine whether the effects of negative urgency, a unique facet of impulsivity marked by engaging in potentially unhealthy and rash behaviors in order to cope with anxiety or negative moods, on drinking behavior can be explained by positive and negative alcohol outcome expectancies and specific drinking motives (i.e., coping and enhancement). College students (N=194) completed web-based surveys in exchange for course credit. Students completed measures of negative urgency, comprehensive effects of alcohol, drinking motives, and alcohol use behaviors. Results of path analysis indicated significant indirect effects of negative urgency and alcohol use through both alcohol outcome expectancies and enhancement motives. The effects of enhancement motives on drinking were mediated by positive alcohol outcome expectancies. The effects of coping motives on drinking were not attributable to negative expectancies. Individuals high on negative urgency may consume alcohol in order to ameliorate their emotional distress due to strong desires to increase positive and decrease negative experiences associated with drinking. Emotion-focused impulsivity's influence on drinking outcomes can be ascribed to enhancement motives for drinking as well as positive and negative alcohol outcome expectancies. Prevention efforts should target drinking motives and alcohol outcome expectancies among those higher in negative urgency. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  6. Associations between depression, distress tolerance, delay discounting, and alcohol-related problems in European American and African American college students.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dennhardt, Ashley A; Murphy, James G

    2011-12-01

    Although levels of heavy drinking and alcohol-related problems are high in college students, there is significant variability in the number and type of problems experienced, even among students who drink heavily. African American students drink less and experience fewer alcohol-related problems than European American students, but are still at risk, and little research has investigated the potentially unique patterns and predictors of problems among these students. Depression, distress tolerance, and delay discounting have been implicated in adult substance abuse and may be important predictors of alcohol problem severity among college students. We examined the relationship between these variables and alcohol-related problems among African American and European American students (N = 206; 53% female; 68% European American; 28% African American) who reported recent heavy drinking. In regression models that controlled for drinking level, depression, distress tolerance, and delay discounting were associated with alcohol problems among African American students, but only depression was associated with alcohol problems among European American students. These results suggest that negative affect is a key risk factor for alcohol problems among college student drinkers. For African American students, the inability to tolerate negative emotions and to organize their behavior around future outcomes may also be especially relevant risk factors.

  7. Seeking, accepting and declining help for emotional distress in cancer: A systematic review and thematic synthesis of qualitative evidence.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Carolan, C M; Smith, A; Davies, G R; Forbat, L

    2018-03-01

    Many individuals affected by cancer who experience emotional distress report not wanting help. This review aims to understand why individuals affected by cancer seek, accept or decline help for emotional distress and what influences these actions. A systematic review and thematic synthesis of the qualitative literature was conducted. Using pre-defined search terms, four electronic databases were searched from January 2000 to May 2016. Pre-determined inclusion and exclusion criteria were then applied. Identified papers were quality appraised. In total, 32 papers were included in the synthesis. Four themes emerged from data synthesis: attaining normality-the normality paradox; being emotionally literate; perceptions of help; needs-support gap. Attaining normality is ideographic, context dependent and temporally situated; some individuals maintain normality by not seeking/declining help whereas others seek/accept help to achieve a new normality. Thus, attaining normality paradoxically functions to explain both why individuals sought/accepted help or did not seek/declined help. Data indicate that a context dependent, systems thinking approach is merited to enhance psychosocial care. In particular, clinicians must actively explore the personal context of an individual's distress to ensure that help desired and help offered are mutually understood. Further research must address the limitations of the current evidence base to advance theoretical understanding. © 2017 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  8. [The use of expressive writing in the course of care for cancer patients to reduce emotional distress: analysis of the literature].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gallo, Isabella; Garrino, Lorenza; Di Monte, Valerio

    2015-01-01

    The emotional distress represents one of the symptoms most frequently reported in the cancer patient in therapy, increasing the risk of developing a disease depressive. Through the analysis of the literature we want to assess whether the use of expressive writing on cancer patients in their care pathway compared to the use of writing neutral reduces emotional distress. The bibliographic search was conducted using the databases CINAHL, PubMed, Cochrane Library and PsycInfo. The results of research conducted on 7 randomized controlled trials, including 3 pilot studies have shown after expressive writing sessions (experimental group) versus neutral writing (control group) a significant reduction in distress in the experimental group early stages of cancer (p = 0,0183); in patients with a diagnosis of metastatic assigned to the group expressive writing there was a statistically significant relevance in the reduction of mood disorders (p = 0,03).Were determined statistically significant group differences also with respect to some measure on the quality of sleep (p = 0,04). The expressive writing did not produce significant reductions in psychological distress and improvements in physical health (p > 0,20) in patients diagnosed with metastatic disease of long duration and, in the palliative care there have been results of feasibility for poor adherence at follow-up. From the results it is evident that the strategies of expressive writing improves the management of the disease, reduce the physical and psychological symptoms related to the tumor while reducing the emotional distress in patients at an early stage of the disease.

  9. Maternal emotion regulation during child distress, child anxiety accommodation, and links between maternal and child anxiety.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kerns, Caroline E; Pincus, Donna B; McLaughlin, Katie A; Comer, Jonathan S

    2017-08-01

    Environmental contributions are thought to play a primary role in the familial aggregation of anxiety, but parenting influences remain poorly understood. We examined dynamic relations between maternal anxiety, maternal emotion regulation (ER) during child distress, maternal accommodation of child distress, and child anxiety. Mothers (N=45) of youth ages 3-8 years (M=4.8) participated in an experimental task during which they listened to a standardized audio recording of a child in anxious distress pleading for parental intervention. Measures of maternal and child anxiety, mothers' affective states, mothers' ER strategies during the child distress, and maternal accommodation of child anxiety were collected. Mothers' resting respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA) reactivity during the recording was also acquired. Higher maternal negative affect and greater maternal ER switching (i.e., using multiple ER strategies in a short time without positive regulatory results) during child distress were associated with child anxiety. Sequential mediation modeling showed that maternal anxiety predicted ineffective maternal ER during child distress exposure, which in turn predicted greater maternal accommodation, which in turn predicted higher child anxiety. Findings support the mediating roles of maternal ER and accommodation in linking maternal and child anxiety, and suggest that ineffective maternal ER and subsequent attempts to accommodate child distress may act as mechanisms underlying the familial aggregation of anxiety. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  10. Past Victimizations and Dating Violence Perpetration in Adolescence: The Mediating Role of Emotional Distress and Hostility

    Science.gov (United States)

    Boivin, Sophie; Lavoie, Francine; Hebert, Martine; Gagne, Marie-Helene

    2012-01-01

    This study aimed to understand the nature of the relationships between three forms of past victimizations (exposure to interparental violence in childhood, sexual harassment by peers since beginning high school, prior experience of dating violence), physical dating violence perpetration by adolescents, and anger-hostility and emotional distress.…

  11. Care and caring in the intensive care unit: Family members' distress and perceptions about staff skills, communication, and emotional support.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Carlson, Eve B; Spain, David A; Muhtadie, Luma; McDade-Montez, Liz; Macia, Kathryn S

    2015-06-01

    Family members of intensive care unit (ICU) patients are sometimes highly distressed and report lower satisfaction with communication and emotional support from staff. Within a study of emotional responses to traumatic stress, associations between family distress and satisfaction with aspects of ICU care were investigated. In 29 family members of trauma patients who stayed in an ICU, we assessed symptoms of depression and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) during ICU care. Later, family members rated staff communication, support, and skills and their overall satisfaction with ICU care. Ratings of staff competence and skills were significantly higher than ratings of frequency of communication, information needs being met, and support. Frequency of communication and information needs being met were strongly related to ratings of support (rs = .75-.77) and staff skills (rs = .77-.85), and aspects of satisfaction and communication showed negative relationships with symptoms of depression (rs = -.31 to -.55) and PTSD (rs = -.17 to -.43). Although satisfaction was fairly high, family member distress was negatively associated with several satisfaction variables. Increased understanding of the effects of traumatic stress on family members may help staff improve communication and increase satisfaction of highly distressed family members. Published by Elsevier Inc.

  12. Parental coping with children's negative emotions: relations with children's emotional and social responding.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fabes, R A; Leonard, S A; Kupanoff, K; Martin, C L

    2001-01-01

    This study examined the relation between parents' reactions to children's negative emotions and social competence. Additionally, the role of parental emotional distress in children's emotional socialization was examined. The emotional reactions of 57 preschoolers (33 girls, 24 boys; M age = 59.2 months) were observed during their free-play interactions. Parents (mostly mothers) completed questionnaires about their reactions to children's negative emotions. An index of children's social competence was obtained from teachers. Results indicated that the relation between harsh parental coping strategies and children's emotional responding was moderated by parental distress. In addition, the relation of the interaction of parental coping and distress to children's social competence was mediated by children's level of emotional intensity. It was concluded that distressed parents who use harsh coping strategies in response to children's negative emotions have children who express emotion in relatively intense ways. In turn, these children find it relatively difficult to behave in a socially competent manner.

  13. PDYN rs2281285 Variant Association with Drinking to Avoid Emotional or Somatic Discomfort

    Science.gov (United States)

    Preuss, Ulrich W.; Winham, Stacey J.; Biernacka, Joanna M.; Geske, Jennifer R.; Bakalkin, Georgy; Koller, Gabriele; Zill, Peter; Soyka, Michael; Karpyak, Victor M.

    2013-01-01

    Introduction One of the proposed psychobiological pathways of craving attributes the desire for drinking in the context of tension, discomfort or unpleasant emotions, to “negative” (or “relief”) craving. The aim of this study was to replicate a previously reported association of the PDYN rs2281285 variant with negative craving using a different phenotyping approach. Methods The TaqMan® Genotyping Assay was used to genotype the rs2281285 variant in 417 German alcohol-dependent subjects. The presence of negative/relief craving was assessed by asking if participants ever ingested alcohol to avoid unwanted emotional or somatic discomfort. Results The minor allele of rs2281285 was associated with an increased risk of drinking to avoid/escape unwanted emotional or somatic events (OR = 2.29, 95% CI = 1.08–4.85, p = 0.0298). Discussion Despite the use of a different phenotyping approach to the measurement of negative craving, our results confirm the association between negative craving and PDYN rs2281285. Genetic markers of negative craving may help to identify subgroups of alcohol-dependent individuals vulnerable to relapse in the context of negative emotions or somatic discomfort, leading to the development of specifically tailored treatment strategies. PMID:24223163

  14. Disclosure of sexual victimization: the effects of Pennebaker's emotional disclosure paradigm on physical and psychological distress.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kearns, Megan C; Edwards, Katie M; Calhoun, Karen S; Gidycz, Christine A

    2010-01-01

    Research suggests that many sexual assault survivors do not disclose their experience, which may increase associated distress. Pennebaker's emotional disclosure paradigm has been shown to ameliorate psychological and physical distress in individuals exposed to stressful events. The current study assessed the effectiveness of this paradigm with sexual assault survivors (N = 74). College women with a history of sexual assault wrote about their most severe victimization or about how they spend their time (control). Then 73 women (98.6%) completed a 1-month follow-up assessment. Results indicated that across writing sessions, the disclosure group reported greater reductions in negative mood immediately post-writing. However, both groups showed significant reductions in physical complaints, psychological distress, and traumatic stress symptoms at the 1-month follow-up, suggesting no added benefit to disclosure of a sexual assault using a brief written paradigm.

  15. [Difficulties in emotion regulation and personal distress in young adults with social anxiety].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Contardi, Anna; Farina, Benedetto; Fabbricatore, Mariantonietta; Tamburello, Stella; Scapellato, Paolo; Penzo, Ilaria; Tamburello, Antonino; Innamorati, Marco

    2013-01-01

    The aim of this study was to assess the association between social anxiety and difficulties in emotion regulation in a sample of Italian young adults. Our convenience sample was composed of 298 Italian young adults (184 women and 114 men) aged 18-34 years. Participants were administered the Interaction Anxiousness Scale (IAS), the Audience Anxiousness Scale (AAS), the Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale (DERS), and the Interpersonal Reactivity Index (IRI). A Two Step cluster analysis was used to group subjects according to their level of social anxiety. The cluster analysis indicated a two-cluster solution. The first cluster included 163 young adults with higher scores on the AAS and the IAS than those included in cluster 2 (n=135). A generalized linear model with groups as dependent variable indicated that people with higher social anxiety (compared to those with lower social anxiety) have higher scores on the dimension personal distress of the IRI (p<0.01), and on the DERS non acceptance of negative emotions (p<0.001) and lack of emotional clarity (p<0.05). The results are consistent with models of psychopathology, which hypothesize that people who cannot deal effectively with their emotions may develop depressive and anxious disorders.

  16. Sequences of emotional distress expressed by clients and acknowledged by therapists: are they associated more with some therapists than others?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Viney, L L

    1994-11-01

    When clients come to psychotherapy they are distressed, this distress usually being expressed in the form of anxiety, hostility, depression and helplessness. This study explored the sequences of emotional distress expressed by clients and acknowledged by therapists, and examined their associations with other factors. The transcripts of five therapists (two single sessions each) were content-analysed: they used personal construct, client centered, rational-emotive, Gestalt and transactional analysis therapy. Log-linear analyses of appropriate contingency table cell frequencies were conducted to test associations between identified sequences and the two variables of therapist and timing of completion of the sequence. Therapist-client sequences of Anxiety-Anxiety, Anxiety-Hostility and Helplessness-Hostility were found to be associated more with the personal construct and client centred therapists than with the rational-emotive therapist. Client-therapist sequences of Anxiety-Anxiety, Helplessness-Anxiety and Helplessness-Helplessness were more often found with the client centred therapist than the other therapists. For most of these sequences timing had an effect, yet timing rarely interacted with the therapist variable. The findings are discussed in terms of their relevance to the theoretical positions represented, the shortcomings of the research and the value of this methodology in studies linking therapy process with outcome.

  17. Hearts and minds: Agency and discourse on distress.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kemp, Martin

    2003-01-01

    This paper is based on ethnographic fieldwork in south Bristol, United Kingdom, and on the south Atlantic island of St Helena. It addresses the relationship between the experience of psychosocial distress, the language used to express such distress and the socio-cultural constraints on both language and experience. Accounts of emotional distress were obtained from interviews with 36 informants in south Bristol and with 40 informants on St Helena. Informants in both settings shared a Euro-American discourse on the self in which emotional distress is conceived as a breakdown in human agency. This discourse is linked to narrative as a way of depicting and re-affirming individual agency. A prototypical concept of narrative is used in this paper to interpret accounts of emotional distress. This interpretation demonstrates the usefulness of the idea of narrative for understanding such experiences.

  18. The frequency of involuntary autobiographical memories and future thoughts in relation to daydreaming, emotional distress, and age.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Berntsen, Dorthe; Rubin, David C; Salgado, Sinue

    2015-11-01

    We introduce a new scale, the Involuntary Autobiographical Memory Inventory (IAMI), for measuring the frequency of involuntary autobiographical memories and involuntary future thoughts. Using the scale in relation to other psychometric and demographic measures provided three important, novel findings. First, the frequency of involuntary and voluntary memories and future thoughts are similarly related to general measures of emotional distress. This challenges the idea that the involuntary mode is uniquely associated with emotional distress. Second, the frequency of involuntary autobiographical remembering does not decline with age, whereas measures of daydreaming, suppression of unwanted thoughts and dissociative experiences all do. Thus, involuntary autobiographical remembering relates differently to aging than daydreaming and other forms of spontaneous and uncontrollable thoughts. Third, unlike involuntary autobiographical remembering, the frequency of future thoughts does decrease with age. This finding underscores the need for examining past and future mental time travel in relation to aging and life span development. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  19. Effects of occupational role conflict and emotional demands on subsequent psychological distress: a 3-year follow-up study of the general working population in Norway.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Johannessen, Håkon A; Tynes, Tore; Sterud, Tom

    2013-06-01

    To examine the impact of occupational role conflict and emotional demands on subsequent psychological distress. A randomly drawn cohort from the general Norwegian working-age population was followed up for 3 years (n = 12,550; response rate = 67%). Eligible respondents were in paid work during the reference week in 2006 and 2009 or temporarily absent from such work (n = 6,745; response rate = 68%). In the fully adjusted model, both high role conflict (odds ratios = 1.53; 95% CI = 1.15 to 2.03) and high emotional demands (odds ratios = 1.38; 95% CI = 1.13 to 1.69) were significant predictors of psychological distress. Additional significant predictors were low job control, bullying/harassment, and job insecurity (P < 0.05). Considering all of the evaluated work-related factors, role conflict and emotional demands contributed the most to the population risk of developing psychological distress.

  20. The use of supportive communication when responding to older people’s emotional distress in home care: an observational study.

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Hafskjold, L.; Sundling, V.; Dulmen, S. van; Eide, H.

    2017-01-01

    Background: Responding to older people’s distress by acknowledging or encouraging further discussion of emotions is central to supportive, person-centred communication, and may enhance home care outcomes and thereby promote healthy aging. This observational study describes nursing staff’s responses

  1. Neurotic Personality Traits and Risk for Adverse Alcohol Outcomes: Chained Mediation through Emotional Disorder Symptoms and Drinking to Cope.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chinneck, A; Thompson, K; Dobson, K S; Stuart, H; Teehan, M; Stewart, S H

    2018-02-02

    Rates of alcohol abuse are high on Canadian postsecondary campuses. Individual trait differences have been linked to indices of alcohol use/misuse, including neurotic traits like anxiety sensitivity (AS) and hopelessness (HOP). We know little, though, about how these traits confer vulnerability. AS and HOP are related to anxiety and depression, respectively, and to drinking to cope with symptoms of those disorders. Neurotic personality may therefore increase risk of alcohol use/abuse via (1) emotional disorder symptoms and/or (2) coping drinking motives. Allan and colleagues (2014) found chained mediation through AS-generalized anxiety-coping motives-alcohol problems and AS-depression-coping motives-alcohol problems. We sought to expand their research by investigating how emotional disorder symptoms (anxiety, depression) and specific coping motives (drinking to cope with anxiety, depression) may sequentially mediate the AS/HOP-to-hazardous alcohol use/drinking harms relationships among university students. This study used cross-sectional data collected in Fall 2014 as part of the Movember-funded Caring Campus Project (N = 1,883). The survey included the SURPS, adapted DMQ-R SF, and AUDIT-3. AS and HOP were both related to hazardous alcohol and drinking harms via emotional disorder symptoms and, in turn, coping drinking motives. All indirect pathways incorporating both mediators were statistically significant, and additional evidence of partial specificity was found. Conclusions/Importance: The study's results have important implications for personality-matched interventions for addictive disorders.

  2. Perceived need for psychosocial support depending on emotional distress and mental comorbidity in men and women with cancer.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Faller, Hermann; Weis, Joachim; Koch, Uwe; Brähler, Elmar; Härter, Martin; Keller, Monika; Schulz, Holger; Wegscheider, Karl; Boehncke, Anna; Hund, Bianca; Reuter, Katrin; Richard, Matthias; Sehner, Susanne; Szalai, Carina; Wittchen, Hans-Ulrich; Mehnert, Anja

    2016-02-01

    Although elevated levels of distress are supposed to constitute a need for psychosocial support, the relation between elevated distress and need for support does not appear to be straightforward. We aimed to determine cancer patients' perceived need for psychosocial support, and examine the relation of need to both self-reported emotional distress and the interview-based diagnosis of a mental disorder. In a multicenter, cross-sectional study in Germany, 4020 cancer patients (mean age 58 years, 51% women) were evaluated. We obtained self-reports of need for psychosocial support. We measured distress with the National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) Distress Thermometer (DT) and depressive symptoms with the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9). In a subsample, we evaluated the presence of a mental disorder using the Composite International Diagnostic Interview (CIDI). 32.1% (95%-CI 30.6 to 33.6) of patients perceived a need for psychosocial support. Younger age, female sex, and higher education were associated with more needs, being married and living with a partner with fewer needs, respectively. While up to 51.2% of patients with elevated distress levels reported a need for psychosocial support, up to 26.1% of those without elevated distress levels perceived such a need. Results were similar across distress assessment methods. Our findings emphasize that the occurrence of mental distress is one important but not an exclusive factor among different motives to report the need for psychosocial support. We should thus consider multifaceted perspectives, facilitators and barriers when planning and implementing patient-centered psychosocial care services. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  3. Type D personality, suboptimal health behaviors and emotional distress in adults with diabetes : Results from Diabetes MILES–The Netherlands

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Nefs, G.M.; Speight, J.; Pouwer, F.; Pop, V.J.M.; Bot, M.; Denollet, J.

    2015-01-01

    Aims Type D personality – defined as high negative affectivity (NA) and high social inhibition (SI) – has been associated with adverse cardiovascular prognosis. We explored the differential associations of Type D personality and its constituent components with health behaviors, emotional distress

  4. Emotional distress and quality of life in relatives of patients with severe brain injury: the first month after injury

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Norup, Anne; Siert, Lars; Lykke Mortensen, Erik

    2010-01-01

    PRIMARY OBJECTIVE: To investigate emotional distress and quality of life in a sample of Danish relatives of patients with severe brain injury at admission to intensive rehabilitation in the sub-acute phase. RESEARCH DESIGN: Clinical convenience sample. METHODS AND PROCEDURES: Participants included...

  5. Asian elephants (Elephas maximus reassure others in distress

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Joshua M. Plotnik

    2014-02-01

    Full Text Available Contact directed by uninvolved bystanders toward others in distress, often termed consolation, is uncommon in the animal kingdom, thus far only demonstrated in the great apes, canines, and corvids. Whereas the typical agonistic context of such contact is relatively rare within natural elephant families, other causes of distress may trigger similar, other-regarding responses. In a study carried out at an elephant camp in Thailand, we found that elephants affiliated significantly more with other individuals through directed, physical contact and vocal communication following a distress event than in control periods. In addition, bystanders affiliated with each other, and matched the behavior and emotional state of the first distressed individual, suggesting emotional contagion. The initial distress responses were overwhelmingly directed toward ambiguous stimuli, thus making it difficult to determine if bystanders reacted to the distressed individual or showed a delayed response to the same stimulus. Nonetheless, the directionality of the contacts and their nature strongly suggest attention toward the emotional states of conspecifics. The elephants’ behavior is therefore best classified with similar consolation responses by apes, possibly based on convergent evolution of empathic capacities.

  6. Personality, negative affect coping, and drinking alone: a structural equation modeling approach to examine correlates of adolescent solitary drinking.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Creswell, Kasey G; Chung, Tammy; Wright, Aidan G C; Clark, Duncan B; Black, Jessica J; Martin, Christopher S

    2015-05-01

    This study examined the personality traits of negative emotionality and constraint and the ability to resist drinking during negative affective states as correlates of solitary drinking in adolescence. We hypothesized that higher levels of negative emotionality and lower levels of constraint would predict solitary drinking and that these relationships would be mediated by the ability to resist drinking in response to negative emotions. Structural equation modeling was used to fit a path model from the personality traits of negative emotionality and constraint to solitary drinking status through intermediate effects on the ability to resist drinking during negative emotions using cross-sectional data. Clinical and community settings in Pennsylvania, USA. The sample included 761 adolescent drinkers (mean age = 17.1). Adolescents completed the Lifetime Drinking History, the Multidimensional Personality Questionnaire, the Constructive Thinking Inventory and the Situational Confidence Questionnaire. The path model provided a good fit to the data. The association between trait negative emotionality and solitary drinking was fully mediated by adolescents' ability to resist drinking during negative affective states (b = 0.05, P = 0.01). In contrast, constraint had a direct effect on solitary drinking (odds ratio (OR) = 0.79, b = -0.23, P<0.01), as well as an indirect effect through the ability to resist drinking during negative affective states (b = -0.03, P = 0.02). The ability to resist drinking while experiencing negative feelings or emotions may be an important underlying mechanism linking trait negative emotionality (a tendency toward depression, anxiety and poor reaction to stress) and constraint (lack of impulsiveness) to adolescent solitary drinking. © 2015 Society for the Study of Addiction.

  7. College drinking problems and social anxiety: The importance of drinking context.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Terlecki, Meredith A; Ecker, Anthony H; Buckner, Julia D

    2014-06-01

    Social anxiety more than quadruples the risk of developing an alcohol use disorder, yet it is inconsistently linked to heavy alcohol use. Elucidation of the relation between social anxiety and alcohol use is an important next step in treating and preventing risky drinking. College students routinely face potentially anxiety-provoking social situations (e.g., meeting new people) and socially anxious undergraduates are especially vulnerable to alcohol-related impairment. Drinking to cope with social anxiety is thought to reinforce alcohol use, yet research on coping-motivated drinking among socially anxious students has yielded inconsistent findings. Further, undergraduate drinking varies by drinking context, yet the role of context in drinking behaviors among socially anxious individuals remains unclear. The current study sought to examine the relationship of social anxiety and drinking quantity in specific drinking contexts among undergraduates (N = 611). We also evaluated whether relevant drinking contexts mediated the relationship between social anxiety and alcohol-related problems. Clinically elevated social anxiety was related to heavier consumption in negative emotion (e.g., feeling sad or angry) and personal/intimate (e.g., before sexual intercourse) contexts, but not social/convivial contexts (e.g., parties, bars). Quantity of alcohol consumed in negative emotion and personal/intimate contexts mediated the relationship between social anxiety and drinking problem severity. Drinking in personal/intimate contexts demonstrated a unique mediational role. Findings suggest that heavy drinking in particular contexts (especially personal/intimate and negative emotion) may play an important role in drinking problems among socially anxious individuals.

  8. A new model of the role of psychological and emotional distress in promoting obesity: conceptual review with implications for treatment and prevention.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hemmingsson, E

    2014-09-01

    The lack of significant treatment and prevention progress highlights the need for a more expanded strategy. Given the robust association between socioeconomic factors and obesity, combined with new insights into how socioeconomic disadvantage affects both behaviour and biology, a new causal model is proposed. The model posits that psychological and emotional distress is a fundamental link between socioeconomic disadvantage and weight gain. At particular risk are children growing up in a disharmonious family environment, mainly caused by parental socioeconomic disadvantage, where they are exposed to parental frustrations, relationship discord, a lack of support and cohesion, negative belief systems, unmet emotional needs and general insecurity. Without adequate resilience, such experiences increase the risk of psychological and emotional distress, including low self-esteem and self-worth, negative emotions, negative self-belief, powerlessness, depression, anxiety, insecurity and a heightened sensitivity to stress. These inner disturbances eventually cause a psycho-emotional overload, triggering a cascade of weight gain-inducing effects including maladaptive coping strategies such as eating to suppress negative emotions, chronic stress, appetite up-regulation, low-grade inflammation and possibly reduced basal metabolism. Over time, this causes obesity, circular causality and further weight gain. Tackling these proposed root causes of weight gain could potentially improve both treatment and prevention outcomes. © 2014 The Author. obesity reviews © 2014 World Obesity.

  9. Effects of dispositional optimism on quality of life, emotional distress and disability in Parkinson's disease outpatients under rehabilitation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gison, Annalisa; Rizza, Federica; Bonassi, Stefano; Donati, Valentina; Giaquinto, Salvatore

    2015-01-01

    This study was performed with the aim of assessing dispositional optimism (DO) in a sample of Parkinson's disease (PD) patients, in order to evaluate its association with clinical outcomes and its impact on rehabilitation. Before entering an outpatient rehabilitation program, 58 participants suffering from idiopathic PD completed the Life Orientation Test-Revised (LOT-R) to evaluate their level of DO, the WHO-5 scale to evaluate their health-related quality of life (HR-QoL), the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) to identify emotional distress, and the Barthel Index to evaluate their level of disability. All the measures were repeated four months later, at their discharge from the program. Disease stage and severity measures (Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale) were also taken into consideration. Correlations and multivariate regression analyses compared DO with the health-related variables. On admission a high level of DO was found to be associated with less severe disease, a better quality of life (QoL) and lower emotional distress, but not with level of disability (Barthel Index). Consistent results were found at discharge. The level of DO di not change after rehabilitation, while anxiety was significantly reduced, especially in subjects with low LOT-R and high HADS scores. The Barthel Index values significantly improved. At discharge, participants with high DO showed the best improvements in disability and in QoL. Effects of dispositional optimism on quality of life, emotional distress and disability in Parkinson's disease outpatients under rehabilitation In conclusion, a high level of DO was associated with QoL, HADS and UPDRS both on admission and at discharge. The level of DO remained stable after rehabilitation, while disability and anxiety were reduced. Participants with high DO generally had better QoL, and better clinical and psychological performances.

  10. Diabetes-specific emotional distress mediates the association between depressive symptoms and glycaemic control in Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes.

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Bastelaar, K.M. van; Pouwer, F.; Geelhoed-Duijvestijn, P.H.; Tack, C.J.J.; Bazelmans, E.; Beekman, A.T.; Heine, R.J.; Snoek, F.J.

    2010-01-01

    OBJECTIVES: To investigate whether diabetes-specific emotional distress mediates the relationship between depression and glycaemic control in patients with Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS: Data were derived from the baseline assessment of a depression in diabetes screening

  11. Psychological Distress and Emotional Expression on Facebook.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bazarova, Natalya N; Choi, Yoon Hyung; Whitlock, Janis; Cosley, Dan; Sosik, Victoria

    2017-03-01

    Social network sites (SNS) are a novel social environment for college students with psychological distress to connect with their peers, but the nature and effects of these interactions are not well understood. This study reports findings from a Facebook study among 238 college students reporting nonspecific psychological distress using the K-6 scale. Behavioral data included Facebook status updates containing affect words written by participants within the past 60 days and the number of responses (comments and likes) each update received. The updates were also coded for depression symptoms. Self-report data included participants' self-presentational concerns, the affective valence of each post, effects of responses on mood, and satisfaction with the responses to and outcome of each status update. Higher psychological distress was associated with displaying depression language on Facebook, with higher self-presentational concerns, and with less satisfaction with audiences' responses and less overall satisfaction with the outcome of the interaction. These results offer a unique glimpse into the social world of college students with psychological distress through their everyday use of Facebook, and how the interplay of this novel environment and students' mental health impacts their social behaviors and interaction meaning-making on Facebook.

  12. Social barriers to emotional expression and their relations to distress in male and female cancer patients.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zakowski, Sandra G; Harris, Casey; Krueger, Nancy; Laubmeier, Kimberly K; Garrett, Susan; Flanigan, Robert; Johnson, Peter

    2003-09-01

    Emotional expression is an important means of coping with stressful experiences such as cancer. Social barriers to expression may have adverse effects. Research has suggested that men are less likely to express their emotions and have different patterns of social support compared to women. We examined whether male cancer patients have a lower tendency to express emotions, are less likely to perceive social barriers to expression, and are differentially affected by social barriers from different support sources as compared to women. Questionnaires were administered to 41 women and 41 men using a cross-sectional study design. Patients diagnosed with gynaecological or prostate cancer within the past 5 years completed questionnaires on moods, intrusive thoughts, social constraints and emotional expressivity. There was a trend towards greater emotional expressivity in women as compared to men, but no significant gender differences in perceptions of social constraints from spouse/partner or others. Multiple regression analyses revealed that men experienced significantly greater distress in association with social constraints from their spouse/partner than did women. Men may be more vulnerable to social barriers to expression than previously assumed. Gender differences in emotional expressivity may be less important than the social context in which expression takes place.

  13. Psychological distress, gender, and health lifestyles in Belarus, Kazakhstan, Russia, and Ukraine.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cockerham, William C; Hinote, Brian P; Abbott, Pamela

    2006-11-01

    This paper examines the relationship between psychological distress, gender, and health lifestyles in Belarus, Kazakhstan, Russia, and Ukraine. These countries have been subjected to highly stressful and extensive social change associated with the transition out of communism. Data were collected by face-to-face interviews (n = 10,406) in November 2001. Distress was measured by 12 psychological distress symptoms. Health lifestyles focused on measures of alcohol consumption, smoking and diet. We found that females carried a much heavier burden of psychological distress than males, but this distress did not translate into greater alcohol consumption and smoking for these women or for men. The greatest influence of distress on health lifestyle practices was on daily diets in that both less distressed females and males consumed a more balanced diet than more distressed persons. Our findings suggest that it is the normative demands of a particular lifestyle, rather than distress, that principally shapes the pattern of heavy male drinking. This is an important finding as some sources indicate heavy drinking is largely responsible for the health crisis in the former socialist states.

  14. Mediators of a Brief Hypnosis Intervention to Control Side Effects in Breast Surgery Patients: Response Expectancies and Emotional Distress

    Science.gov (United States)

    Montgomery, Guy H.; Hallquist, Michael N.; Schnur, Julie B.; David, Daniel; Silverstein, Jeffrey H.; Bovbjerg, Dana H.

    2010-01-01

    Objective: The present study was designed to test the hypotheses that response expectancies and emotional distress mediate the effects of an empirically validated presurgical hypnosis intervention on postsurgical side effects (i.e., pain, nausea, and fatigue). Method: Women (n = 200) undergoing breast-conserving surgery (mean age = 48.50 years;…

  15. Relationship Between Emotional Processing, Drinking Severity and Relapse in Adults Treated for Alcohol Dependence in Poland

    OpenAIRE

    Kopera, Maciej; Jakubczyk, Andrzej; Suszek, Hubert; Glass, Jennifer M.; Klimkiewicz, Anna; Wnorowska, Anna; Brower, Kirk J.; Wojnar, Marcin

    2014-01-01

    Aims: Growing data reveals deficits in perception, understanding and regulation of emotions in alcohol dependence (AD). The study objective was to explore the relationships between emotional processing, drinking history and relapse in a clinical sample of alcohol-dependent patients. Methods: A group of 80 inpatients entering an alcohol treatment program in Warsaw, Poland was recruited and assessed at baseline and follow-up after 12 months. Baseline information about demographics, psychopathol...

  16. An Experimental Study on the Effectiveness of Disclosing Stressful Life Events and Support Messages: When Cognitive Reappraisal Support Decreases Emotional Distress, and Emotional Support Is Like Saying Nothing at All

    Science.gov (United States)

    Batenburg, Anika; Das, Enny

    2014-01-01

    How can we best support others in difficult times? Studies testing the effects of supportive communication revealed mixed findings. The current study focuses on the effects of supportive communication following different disclosure styles, and includes outcome measures to assess emotional well-being. Hypotheses were tested in a 2 (disclosure style: cognitive reappraisal disclosure vs. emotional disclosure) ×3 (support message: cognitive reappraisal response vs. socio-affective response vs. no response) between subjects factorial design. Receiving a cognitive reappraisal response, rather than a socio-affective response or no response, decreased emotional distress in the emotional disclosure group. Support messages showed no effects in the cognitive reappraisal disclosure group. Although socio-affective responses were positively evaluated, cognitive reappraisal responses may be more effective during emotional upheaval because they provide a positive way out of negative emotions. PMID:25531509

  17. Empathic curiosity: resolving goal conflicts that generate emotional distress.

    Science.gov (United States)

    McEvoy, P; Baker, D; Plant, R; Hylton, K; Mansell, W

    2013-04-01

    The quality of the therapeutic alliance between therapist and client is consistently identified as a key component of cognitive behavioural interventions. However, relatively little is known about the causal mechanisms that generate the effects that are ascribed to the therapeutic alliance. This paper outlines how one such causal mechanism, empathic curiosity, may operate. The explanation is rooted in control theory, a theory that explains the link between our experiences and our goal-directed behaviour. Empathic curiosity is underpinned by the core skills of empathic listening and maintaining a curious attitude. From a control theory perspective, the value of this type of listening may be reinforced when speak to people about their salient concerns, as they perceive them in the current flow of their conscious thoughts. This can be facilitated by linking curious questions to the non-verbal disruptions in their body posture and conversational flow. The approach is illustrated using three case examples. In all three examples, the clients involved were able to reflect upon and re-organize conflicting goals that had been a source of significant emotional distress. © 2012 Blackwell Publishing.

  18. Young Children Sympathize Less in Response to Unjustified Emotional Distress

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hepach, Robert; Vaish, Amrisha; Tomasello, Michael

    2013-01-01

    Three-year-old children saw an adult displaying the exact same distress in 3 different conditions: (a) the adult's distress was appropriate to a genuine harm, (b) the adult's distress was an overreaction to a minor inconvenience, and (c) there was no apparent cause for the adult's distress. Children who witnessed the adult being appropriately…

  19. A Longitudinal Study of Emotional Distress and the Use of Complementary and Alternative Medicine in Women with Breast Cancer

    National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

    Shumay, Dianne M; Maskarinec, Gertraud

    2004-01-01

    .... However, when we looked at earlier CAN use as a predictor of later emotional distress, CAM use predicted anxiety and depression, with the effect varying by type of CAM used. The award has supported a quality training experience for the trainee and has supported her to continue to make satisfactory progress on her dissertation.

  20. Gender differences in the effects of childhood psychopathology and maternal distress on mental health in adult life.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Flouri, Eirini; Malmberg, Lars-Erik

    2011-07-01

    To investigate gender differences in how emotional and behavioural problems (hyperactivity, emotional problems, and conduct problems) and maternal psychological distress, all measured at three time points in childhood (ages 5, 10, and 16), predict psychological distress in adult life (age 30). Longitudinal data from 10,444 cohort members of the 1970 British Cohort Study (BCS70) were used. Emotional problems in adolescence tended to be more strongly associated with adult psychological distress in men than in women. No gender differences in the association of adult psychological distress with maternal psychological distress in adolescence were found. In childhood and adolescence boys' externalizing behaviour problems tended to show more homotypic continuity than girls', but all heterotypic continuity (although very little) of behaviour problems was seen in girls. Maternal psychological distress in childhood tended to have a stronger effect on girls' than boys' emotional problems in adolescence. In general there was little evidence for gender differences either in the association of adult psychological distress with adolescent psychopathology or in the association of adult psychological distress with maternal psychological distress in adolescence. The continuity of emotional problems from childhood to adolescence to adult life was strong and similar for both sexes.

  1. Motivation to change and posttreatment temptation to drink: a multicenter study among alcohol-dependent patients.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fiabane, Elena; Ottonello, Marcella; Zavan, Valeria; Pistarini, Caterina; Giorgi, Ines

    2017-01-01

    An inpatient 28-day rehabilitation program for alcohol dependence is focused on detoxification, enhancing motivation to change, and coping strategies for the management of emotional distress and temptation to drink. The aims of the present study were to investigate 1) changes over time in motivation to change, anxiety, and depression in individuals undergoing residential rehabilitation treatment for alcohol addiction, and 2) which pretreatment factors are associated with posttreatment temptation to drink. We assessed 432 patients diagnosed with alcohol dependence based on the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (Fourth Edition, Text Revision) consecutively recruited from seven residential rehabilitation centers in Northern Italy. Patients were assessed by means of self-report questionnaires at the beginning of rehabilitation (pretreatment) and before their hospital discharge (posttreatment) regarding motivation to change and self-efficacy (motivation assessment of change - alcoholism version), readiness to change and temptation to drink (visual analog scales), and depression and anxiety (cognitive behavioral assessment - outcome evaluation). Results showed an overall improvement in motivation to change and a significant reduction over time in depression and anxiety levels for the total sample, particularly patients with low baseline level of temptation to drink. Multivariate linear regression analysis revealed that significant predictors of posttreatment temptation to drink were polysubstance dependence ( p change ( p =0.01), and self-efficacy ( p =0.05). Inpatients' rehabilitation for alcohol dependence is associated with an overall improvement in motivation to change and a significant reduction of psychological distress. Treatments for alcohol-dependent patients should focus on motivation to change, negative moods, and relapse prevention strategies for the management of craving.

  2. Exploring the ambiguities of masculinity in accounts of emotional distress in the military among young ex-servicemen.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Green, Gill; Emslie, Carol; O'Neill, Dan; Hunt, Kate; Walker, Steven

    2010-10-01

    This paper examines the experiences and perspectives of ex-military servicemen in the UK. It focuses specifically on the complex links between emotional distress and various constructions of 'masculinity' in a military context. Aspects of military culture that exacerbate vulnerability and also those that are protective to mental health are identified and discussed with reference to the theoretical constructs relating to hegemonic masculinity. A qualitative research design using semi-structured interviews provided in-depth accounts of the experiences of 20 ex-servicemen aged 23-44, all but one of whom were in the Army. We found that in a military setting hegemonic masculinity is embedded in the construction of a soldier identity and expression of emotion may be seen as inappropriate. As a result soldiers often lack a language with which to express distress (in a context in which they may witness extremely distressing events), which may result in delays in recognising and treating mental health problems. However, constructions of masculinity in this setting to some degree also promote a caring, sharing ethos based on strong inter-dependent bonds. A young soldier who can cope with the stresses of military life 'becomes a man', adopts a masculine/soldier identity and is well-placed to benefit from these protective factors, notably the camaraderie that is part of service life. In this manner a caring ethos in which some admissions of weakness may be permissible is situated within hegemonic masculinity. This seeming paradox between hyper masculinity and caring masculinities appears to be embedded within military culture, perhaps reflecting the flexibility and ambiguity inherent in constructions of hegemonic masculinity. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  3. Distress tolerance as a predictor of risky and aggressive driving.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Beck, Kenneth H; Ali, Bina; Daughters, Stacey B

    2014-01-01

    The purpose of this investigation was to determine the relationship between distress tolerance and risky and aggressive driving. Distress tolerance, defined as an individual's capability to experience and endure negative emotional states, was hypothesized to be related negatively to aggressive driving and risky driving. An anonymous, web-based survey of 769 college students was conducted at a large East Coast university. After controlling for age, gender, race, ethnicity, year in school, grade point average, and driving frequency, distress tolerance was significantly inversely related to reported risky driving and aggressive driving. College drivers who have a diminished capacity to endure frustration without experiencing negative emotional states (i.e., low distress tolerance) tend to drive aggressively and in a risky manner. Traditional deterrence-based approaches to highway safety may benefit from inclusion of a wider array of prevention strategies that focus on emotion regulation while driving.

  4. Parent-child interactions and children with cerebral palsy: An exploratory study investigating emotional availability, functional ability, and parent distress.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Barfoot, J; Meredith, P; Ziviani, J; Whittingham, K

    2017-11-01

    Emotionally available parent-child relationships are supportive of child health and development. When a child has cerebral palsy, a range of child and parent factors can potentially impact the parent-child relationship; however, little research has specifically addressed this question. The aim of this study is to investigate links between parent-child emotional availability and both child functional abilities and parent distress in a sample of parents and children with cerebral palsy. Twenty-three mothers (mean age 37.3+/-5.7 years) and their children (mean age 4.9+/-3.3 years) with cerebral palsy completed a 20 min videoed parent-child interaction, scored using the Emotional Availability Scales. Parents also completed the Depression Anxiety Stress Scale, the Paediatric Evaluation of Disability Inventory, and the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire. Correlational analyses were conducted, and qualitative observations were made. Parent-child dyads in which the parent reported depressive symptoms scored poorer on all aspects of parent-child emotional availability. Where parents reported experiencing anxiety or stress, increased parent hostility and decreased child responsiveness was found. There was no relationship between child functional abilities and either parent distress or parent-child emotional availability. Parent sensitivity, structuring, and nonintrusiveness were negatively associated with child peer problems. Both child responsiveness and child involvement were negatively associated with hyperactivity/inattention. Observations of video footage suggested that parent implementation of therapy strategies impacted negatively on parent-child emotional availability for some dyads. Findings from this study are consistent with the wider literature showing a link between parental depression and the parent-child relationship and extend this link to the cerebral palsy population. The importance of routine screening for parental mental health problems in early

  5. Effectiveness of an intervention to reduce sickness absence in patients with emotional distress or minor mental disorders: a randomized controlled effectiveness trial.

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Brouwers, E.P.M.; Tiemens, B.G.; Terluin, B.; Verhaak, P.F.M.

    2006-01-01

    OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of an activating intervention designed to reduce sick leave duration in patients with emotional distress or minor mental disorders. METHOD: In a 1.5-year randomized controlled trial, 194 patients with minor mental disorders

  6. Diabetes-Related Distress Assessment among Type 2 Diabetes Patients.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Aljuaid, Majed O; Almutairi, Abdulmajeed M; Assiri, Mohammed A; Almalki, Dhifallah M; Alswat, Khaled

    2018-01-01

    Diabetes is one of the most common chronic diseases; it is a debilitating and hard to live with. Diabetes-related distress (DRD) refers to the emotional and behavioral changes caused by diabetes. Our study aims to assess the prevalence of DRD among type 2 diabetes (T2D) patients using Diabetes Distress Scale-17 items (DDS-17) and its relation to complications and treatment modalities. A cross-sectional study of adult T2D patients with follow-up visits at the Diabetes and Endocrinology Center in Taif, Saudi Arabia, between January and July 2017. We excluded patients with other forms of diabetes, untreated hypothyroidism, and psychiatric illness. The total score of DDS-17 was calculated by summing the 17 items' results and then dividing the total by 17. If the total score was >2, then it was considered as clinically significant results (moderate distress), but if it is ≥3, then it is classified as a high distress. A total of 509 T2D patients with a mean age of 58 ± 14 years were included. The majority of participants were male, married, not college educated, and reported a sedentary lifestyle. We found 25% of the screened T2D patients have moderate to high DRD. Regarding the DRD components, emotional distress was the most prevalent followed by physician-related distress. HabA1c was significantly higher in those with high combined distress and high emotional distress compared to those with mild/moderate distress ( p = 0.015 and 0.030, resp.). Our study shows that DRD is a medically relevant issue that clinicians need to address. Despite observing a low prevalence of DRD compared to other studies, we found significant correlations between DRD scores and HabA1c, triglyceride levels, BMI, T2D duration, and interval between visits.

  7. Distress screening using distress thermometer in head and neck cancer patients undergoing radiotherapy and evaluation of causal factors predicting occurrence of distress

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Shirley Lewis

    2013-01-01

    Full Text Available Introduction: Distress is commonly seen in head and neck cancer patients undergoing radiotherapy. Causal factors of distress are multifactorial; which encompasses physical, psychological, spiritual, and existential factors with complex interrelationship among the factors. Materials and Methods: Thirty patients undergoing head and neck radiotherapy were included in the study. Patients were screened for pain scores, distress scores, physical and psychological symptoms, and spiritual and emotional distress. Results: Significant increasing trend seen for pain score, distress score, and total number of symptoms during 2 nd week, 4 th week, and on completion of radiotherapy treatment (all P′s < 0.001 compared to pretreatment. Those who had chemotherapy (CT along with radiation had significantly greater pain score (t = 5.54, P = 0.03 and distress score (t = 3.9, P = 0.05 at 2 weeks into radiotherapy compared to those who did not receive CT. There was significantly higher grade of skin toxicity in those with spiritual distress (Somers′ d = 0.36, P = 0.02 and higher grade of mucositis in those with existential distress (d = 0.34, P = 0.02 at 4 weeks into radiotherapy. Conclusion: Positive correlation between distress score and pain score and occurrence of physical symptoms. Increasing trend seen for pain score, distress score, and total number of symptoms during 2 nd week, 4 th week, and completion of radiotherapy treatment compared to pretreatment. Increase in distress score in those with existential and spiritual distress.

  8. Are narcissists hardy or vulnerable? The role of narcissism in the production of stress-related biomarkers in response to emotional distress.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cheng, Joey T; Tracy, Jessica L; Miller, Gregory E

    2013-12-01

    Does narcissism provide a source of hardiness or vulnerability in the face of adversity? The present research addressed this question by testing whether narcissism is associated with increased physiological reactivity to emotional distress, among women. Drawing on the "fragile-ego" account, we predicted that narcissists would show a heightened physiological stress profile in response to everyday frustrations. Results supported this prediction; across a 3-day period, highly narcissistic individuals showed elevated output of 2 biomarkers of stress--cortisol and alpha--amylase-to the extent that they experienced negative emotions. In contrast, among those low in narcissism there was no association between these biomarkers and emotions. These findings suggest that narcissists' stress-response systems are particularly sensitive to everyday negative emotions, consistent with the notion that narcissism comes with physiological costs.

  9. Evaluation of the clinical effect of an on-line course for community nurses on post-partum emotional distress: a community-based longitudinal time-series quasi-experiment.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Thome, Marga; Orlygsdottir, Brynja; Elvarsson, Bjarki Thor

    2012-09-01

    About 14% of Icelandic women suffer post-partum from frequent depressive symptoms, and of those, 12% also report a high degree of parenting stress. Education of nurses and midwives on post-partum distress is crucial in reducing its degree. The purpose of the study is to evaluate the clinical effect of an on-line course for community nurses on post-partum emotional distress. A community-based, longitudinal, time-series quasi-experiment was conducted in four stages from 2001 to 2005. Mothers attending 16 health centres throughout Iceland and scoring ≥ 12 on the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) at the 9th week post-partum were eligible to participate. Health centres were divided into experimental (EHC) and control centres (CHC), and control centres were crossed over to experimental centres the following year and new control centres recruited. Nurses at EHC attended an on-line course on post-partum emotional distress. Participating mothers answered the EPDS; the Parenting Stress Index/Short form and the Fatigue Scale. Nursing diagnoses and interventions were recorded at all study centres. Of the women who were eligible (n = 163), 57% (n = 93) participated. At baseline, 9 weeks post-partum, there were no significant differences between groups of women in the rate of depressive symptoms, fatigue or parenting stress. Women in all groups improved on all distress indicators over time; however, those from the EHC improved statistically and clinically significantly more on depressive symptoms than those from the CHC. Documentation of particular nursing diagnoses and interventions was significantly more frequent at the EHC, but referrals to specialists were significantly less frequent. On-line education for nurses on post-partum emotional distress is feasible and is related to improvement in post-partum depressive symptoms. © 2011 The Authors. Scandinavian Journal of Caring Sciences © 2011 Nordic College of Caring Science.

  10. Subjective experience of emotions and emotional empathy in paranoid schizophrenia.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lehmann, Anja; Bahçesular, Katja; Brockmann, Eva-Maria; Biederbick, Sarah-Elisabeth; Dziobek, Isabel; Gallinat, Jürgen; Montag, Christiane

    2014-12-30

    Unlike the cognitive dimensions, alterations of the affective components of empathy in schizophrenia are less well understood. This study explored cognitive and affective dimensions of empathy in the context of the subjective experience of aspects of emotion processing, including emotion regulation, emotional contagion, and interpersonal distress, in individuals with schizophrenia and healthy controls. In addition, the predictive value of these parameters on psychosocial function was investigated. Fifty-five patients with paranoid schizophrenia and 55 healthy controls were investigated using the Multifaceted Empathy Test and Interpersonal Reactivity Index, as well as the Subjective Experience of Emotions and Emotional Contagion Scales. Individuals with schizophrenia showed impairments of cognitive empathy, but maintained emotional empathy. They reported significantly more negative emotional contagion, overwhelming emotions, lack of emotions, and symbolization of emotions by imagination, but less self-control of emotional expression than healthy persons. Besides cognitive empathy, the experience of a higher extent of overwhelming emotions and of less interpersonal distress predicted psychosocial function in patients. People with schizophrenia and healthy controls showed diverging patterns of how cognitive and emotional empathy related to the subjective aspects of emotion processing. It can be assumed that variables of emotion processing are important moderators of empathic abilities in schizophrenia. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

  11. Psychopathic traits, victim distress and aggression in children

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    van Baardewijk, Y.; Stegge, G.T.M.; Bushman, B.J.; Vermeiren, R.R.J.M.

    2009-01-01

    Background: The relationship between psychopathic traits and aggression in children may be explained by their reduced sensitivity to signs of distress in others. Emotional cues such as fear and sadness function to make the perpetrator aware of the victim's distress and supposedly inhibit aggression.

  12. Impact of Relational Proximity on Distress from Infidelity

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Fisher, Maryanne; Geher, Glenn; Cox, Anthony; Tran, Ulrich S.; Hoben, Ashley; Arrabaca, Andrew; Chaize, Corinna; Dietrich, Robert; Voracek, Martin

    2009-01-01

    Men are generally more distressed by a partner's sexual infidelity whereas women are generally more distressed by a partner's emotional infidelity. The importance of the identity of the interloper, however, has been neglected. We explored the influence of relational proximity (i.e., the degree of

  13. Gender role conflict and emotional approach coping in men with cancer.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hoyt, Michael A

    2009-10-01

    The utility of emotional approach coping (EAC), or expressing and processing emotions, has been equivocal for men. Gender role conflict, or the negative cognitive, emotional and behavioural consequences associated with male gender role socialisation, likely shape coping responses and may negatively affect the efficacy of men's emotion-directed coping efforts and adjustment to cancer. Perceptions of receptiveness of one's interpersonal environment may be particularly important to the effectiveness of EAC. This study examined the relationships among EAC, gender role conflict, and distress in a group of 183 men with cancer. Structural equation modelling revealed that higher gender role conflict was associated with lower emotional expression, which in turn was associated with greater distress. Gender role conflict was not related to emotional processing. Higher gender role conflict also was associated directly with more distress. In subsequent analyses, social constraints and age were examined as possible moderators of EAC. Emotional expression was related to more psychological distress for those in highly constrained environments; and emotional processing was associated with more distress with younger age. Emotional expression may be particularly affected by social influences related to gender and social receptivity. More research is needed to better distinguish constructive and unconstructive emotional processing.

  14. Power, distress, and compassion: turning a blind eye to the suffering of others.

    Science.gov (United States)

    van Kleef, Gerben A; Oveis, Christopher; van der Löwe, Ilmo; LuoKogan, Aleksandr; Goetz, Jennifer; Keltner, Dacher

    2008-12-01

    Responses to individuals who suffer are a foundation of cooperative communities. On the basis of the approach/inhibition theory of power (Keltner, Gruenfeld, & Anderson, 2003), we hypothesized that elevated social power is associated with diminished reciprocal emotional responses to another person's suffering (feeling distress at another person's distress) and with diminished complementary emotion (e.g., compassion). In face-to-face conversations, participants disclosed experiences that had caused them suffering. As predicted, participants with a higher sense of power experienced less distress and less compassion and exhibited greater autonomic emotion regulation when confronted with another participant's suffering. Additional analyses revealed that these findings could not be attributed to power-related differences in baseline emotion or decoding accuracy, but were likely shaped by power-related differences in the motivation to affiliate. Implications for theorizing about power and the social functions of emotions are discussed.

  15. Comparing the Effects of Negative and Mixed Emotional Messages on Predicted Occasional Excessive Drinking

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Pilar Carrera

    2008-01-01

    Full Text Available In this work we present two types of emotional message, negative (sadness versus mixed (joy and sadness, with the aim of studying their differential effect on attitude change and the probability estimated by participants of repeating the behavior of occasional excessive drinking in the near future. The results show that for the group of participants with moderate experience in this behavior the negative message, compared to the mixed one, is associated with higher probability of repeating the risk behavior and a less negative attitude toward it. These results suggest that mixed emotional messages (e.g. joy and sadness messages could be more effective in campaigns for the prevention of this risk behavior.

  16. Comparing the effects of negative and mixed emotional messages on predicted occasional excessive drinking.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Carrera, Pilar; Caballero, Amparo; Muñoz, Dolores

    2008-01-01

    In this work we present two types of emotional message, negative (sadness) versus mixed (joy and sadness), with the aim of studying their differential effect on attitude change and the probability estimated by participants of repeating the behavior of occasional excessive drinking in the near future. The results show that for the group of participants with moderate experience in this behavior the negative message, compared to the mixed one, is associated with higher probability of repeating the risk behavior and a less negative attitude toward it. These results suggest that mixed emotional messages (e.g. joy and sadness messages) could be more effective in campaigns for the prevention of this risk behavior.

  17. Genetic Correlates of Maladaptive Beliefs: COMT VAL(158)MET and Irrational Cognitions Linked Depending on Distress.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Podina, Ioana; Popp, Radu; Pop, Ioan; David, Daniel

    2015-11-01

    Maladaptive/irrational beliefs are significant cognitive vulnerability mechanisms in psychopathology. They are more likely to be associated with a genetic vulnerability marker under conditions of emotional distress when irrational beliefs are more salient. Therefore, in the current study we investigated the COMT Val(158)Met gene variation in relation to irrational beliefs, assuming this relationship depended on the level of emotional distress. Two hundred and sixty-seven genotyped volunteers were assessed for core/general maladaptive beliefs, as well as trait emotional distress. We focused on context-independent measures of irrational beliefs and emotional distress in the absence of a stressor. As expected, the relationship between COMT Val(158)Met and irrational beliefs depended on the level of emotional distress (f(2)=.314). The COMT Val(158)Met-irrationality association was significant only when individuals fell in the average to above average range of emotional distress. Furthermore, within this range the Met allele seemed to relate to higher irrational beliefs. These results were significant for overall irrational beliefs and its subtypes, but not for rational beliefs, the functional counterpart of irrationality. In light of the study's limitations, the results should be considered as preliminary. If replicable, these findings have potential implications for therapygenetics, changing the view that COMT Val(158)Met might be of greater relevance when treatment modality does not rely on cognitive variables. Copyright © 2015. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

  18. Detrimental effects of workplace bullying: impediment of self-management competence via psychological distress

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Gabriele eGiorgi

    2016-02-01

    Full Text Available Emotional intelligence has been linked to various positive outcomes, such as organizational effectiveness, commitment, morale and health. In addition, longitudinal studies demonstrate that the competencies of emotional intelligence may change and be developed over time. Researchers have argued that work relationships are important for the development of emotional competence, but their usefulness depends on the quality of the relationship. Workplace bullying is considered to be one of the most stressful phenomena in the workplace and an example of a dysfunctional and toxic relationship that has detrimental effects on an individual’s physical and psychological health. Hence, the objective of the present study was to analyze the relationship linking workplace bullying, psychological distress and the self-management competence of emotional intelligence. More specifically, we tested part of the model presented by Cherniss and Goleman (2001 in which researchers argued that individual emotional intelligence is a result of relationships at work. In addition, we extended the model by proposing that the relationship between exposure to workplace bullying and the competence of self-management is explained by psychological distress. Data analysis of 326 participants from two private sector organizations in Italy demonstrated that psychological distress fully mediated the relationship between workplace bullying and the emotional intelligence ability of self-management. The present study’s findings point to the idea that, not only may emotional intelligence assist in handling exposure to workplace bullying, but exposure to workplace bullying may impede emotional intelligence via psychological distress.

  19. Detrimental Effects of Workplace Bullying: Impediment of Self-Management Competence via Psychological Distress

    Science.gov (United States)

    Giorgi, Gabriele; Perminienė, Milda; Montani, Francesco; Fiz-Perez, Javier; Mucci, Nicola; Arcangeli, Giulio

    2016-01-01

    Emotional intelligence has been linked to various positive outcomes, such as organizational effectiveness, commitment, morale, and health. In addition, longitudinal studies demonstrate that the competencies of emotional intelligence may change and be developed over time. Researchers have argued that work relationships are important for the development of emotional competence, but their usefulness depends on the quality of the relationship. Workplace bullying is considered to be one of the most stressful phenomena in the workplace and an example of a dysfunctional and toxic relationship that has detrimental effects on an individual’s physical and psychological health. Hence, the objective of the present study was to analyze the relationship linking workplace bullying, psychological distress and the self-management competence of emotional intelligence. More specifically, we tested part of the model presented by Cherniss and Goleman (2001) in which researchers argued that individual emotional intelligence is a result of relationships at work. In addition, we extended the model by proposing that the relationship between exposure to workplace bullying and the competence of self-management is explained by psychological distress. Data analysis of 326 participants from two private sector organizations in Italy demonstrated that psychological distress fully mediated the relationship between workplace bullying and the emotional intelligence ability of self-management. The present study’s findings point to the idea that, not only may emotional intelligence assist in handling exposure to workplace bullying, but exposure to workplace bullying may impede emotional intelligence via psychological distress. PMID:26913013

  20. The Role of Self-Compassion and Emotional Approach Coping in the Relationship between Maladaptive Perfectionism and Psychological Distress among East Asian International Students

    Science.gov (United States)

    Seo, Heweon

    2012-01-01

    This study investigated the mediating and moderating roles of self-compassion and emotional approach coping in the relationship between maladaptive perfectionism and psychological distress among East Asian international students. Data were collected through an online survey completed by 255 East Asian international students in a large public…

  1. The effectiveness of an emotion-focused educational programme in reducing diabetes distress in adults with Type 2 diabetes mellitus (VEMOFIT): a cluster randomized controlled trial.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chew, B H; Vos, R C; Stellato, R K; Ismail, M; Rutten, G E H M

    2018-06-01

    To evaluate the effectiveness of a brief, value-based emotion-focused educational programme (VEMOFIT) in Malay adults with Type 2 diabetes mellitus compared with a programme of active listening to participants' emotional experiences, social support and their opinion on the health clinic diabetes care services (attention control). Malay adults with severe diabetes distress [Diabetes Distress Scale (DDS-17) mean score ≥ 3] were included. VEMOFIT consisted of four biweekly group sessions, a booster session after 3 months and a follow-up 6 months post intervention. The attention control programme consisted of three sessions over the same period. Outcomes included diabetes distress, depressive symptoms, self-efficacy and disease control. Required total sample size was 165. Participants (n = 124) were randomized to either VEMOFIT (n = 53) or the attention control programme (n = 71). Participants had a mean (sd) age of 55.7 (9.7) years, median diabetes duration of 7.0 (8.0) years and mean HbA 1c level of 82 mmol/mol (9.7%). The mean DDS-17 level decreased significantly in both the VEMOFIT and the attention control programmes (3.4 to 2.9 vs. 3.1 to 2.7, respectively). The adjusted between-group DDS-17 difference was not significant [-0.01, 95% confidence interval (CI) -0.38, 0.35]. The proportion of individuals with severe diabetes distress decreased in both groups, from 89% to 47% vs. 69% to 39% (odds ratio 0.88; 95% CI 0.26, 2.90). Other outcomes did not differ between groups. Both interventions decreased diabetes distress significantly. The theory-based VEMOFIT programme was not superior to the attention control programme. The latter approach is a simpler way to decrease severe diabetes distress (Trial registration: NCT02730078; NMRR-15-1144-24803). © 2018 Diabetes UK.

  2. What Patterns of Postpartum Psychological Distress Are Associated with Maternal Concerns about Their Children's Emotional and Behavioural Problems at the Age of Three Years?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Benzies, Karen; Mychasiuk, Richelle; Tough, Suzanne

    2015-01-01

    Mothers experiencing psychological distress in the postpartum period may have difficulties parenting their children. Inconsistent and unresponsive parenting may increase the risk of later emotional and behavioural problems in children. The purpose of this study was to identify how maternal psychological characteristics cluster at eight weeks…

  3. Coping With Moral Distress in Oncology Practice: Nurse and Physician Strategies.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lievrouw, An; Vanheule, Stijn; Deveugele, Myriam; Vos, Martine; Pattyn, Piet; Belle, Van; Benoit, Dominique D

    2016-07-01

    To explore variations in coping with moral distress among physicians and nurses in a university hospital oncology setting.
. Qualitative interview study.
. Internal medicine (gastroenterology and medical oncology), gastrointestinal surgery, and day clinic chemotherapy at Ghent University Hospital in Belgium.
. 17 doctors and 18 nurses with varying experience levels, working in three different oncology hospital settings. 
. Patients with cancer were interviewed based on the critical incident technique. Analyses were performed using thematic analysis.
. Moral distress lingered if it was accompanied by emotional distress. Four dominant ways of coping (thoroughness, autonomy, compromise, and intuition) emerged, which could be mapped on two perpendicular continuous axes. Moral distress is a challenging phenomenon in oncology. However, when managed well, it can lead to more introspection and team reflection, resulting in a better interpersonal understanding.
. Team leaders should recognize their own and their team members' preferred method of coping and tailored support should be offered to ease emotional distress.

  4. Comparing the Effects of Negative and Mixed Emotional Messages on Predicted Occasional Excessive Drinking

    OpenAIRE

    Carrera, Pilar; Caballero, Amparo; Mu?oz, Dolores

    2008-01-01

    In this work we present two types of emotional message, negative (sadness) versus mixed (joy and sadness), with the aim of studying their differential effect on attitude change and the probability estimated by participants of repeating the behavior of occasional excessive drinking in the near future. The results show that for the group of participants with moderate experience in this behavior the negative message, compared to the mixed one, is associated with higher probability of repeating t...

  5. Comparing the effects of negative and mixed emotional messages on predicted occasional excessive drinking

    OpenAIRE

    Carrera Levillain, Pilar; Caballero González, Amparo; Muñoz Cáceres, María Dolores

    2008-01-01

    In this work we present two types of emotional message, negative (sadness) versus mixed (joy and sadness), with the aim of studying their differential effect on attitude change and the probability estimated by participants of repeating the behavior of occasional excessive drinking in the near future. The results show that for the group of participants with moderate experience in this behavior the negative message, compared to the mixed one, is associated with higher probability of repeating t...

  6. The Dark Night of the Soul: causes and resolution of emotional distress among contemplative nuns.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Durà-Vilà, Glòria; Dein, Simon; Littlewood, Roland; Leavey, Gerard

    2010-09-01

    An ethnographic study was conducted in the Spanish Monastery of Santa Mónica whose community consists of ten contemplative Augustinian nuns. Through participant observation and interviews the stresses encountered by the nuns and the coping strategies they deployed are explored in depth. It was found that symptoms that otherwise might have been described as evidence of a depressive episode were understood by the nuns within the framework of the so-called Dark Night of the Soul narrative: an active process of transforming emotional distress into a process of self-reflection, attribution of religious meaning and spiritual growth. We conclude by discussing the clinical implications of this religious narrative, highlighting the importance of incorporating existential issues into clinical practice.

  7. Distress During the Menopause Transition

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Marcianna Nosek

    2012-07-01

    Full Text Available In 2010, nearly 400 million women worldwide were of menopause age (45-54. Although many women transition through menopause with ease, some experience distress and a subsequent decrease in quality of life. The purpose of this qualitative study was to examine the experiences of distress in women during the menopause transition. A narrative analysis methodology was used maintaining participants’ complete narratives when possible. In-person interviews of 15 midlife women were digitally audio recorded and transcribed verbatim. Women shared narratives of distress related to menstrual changes, emotional instability, vaginal dryness, and decreased libido affected by their relationships with self, partners, work, and family. Some experiences were presented against a backdrop of the past and influenced by concerns for the future. Detailed stories illuminated the effect that distressful symptoms had on quality of life and captured how intricately woven symptoms were with the women’s interpersonal and social lives.

  8. Predicting changes in quality of life and emotional distress in Chinese patients with lung, gastric, and colon-rectal cancer diagnoses: the role of psychological resilience.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ye, Zeng Jie; Qiu, Hong Zhong; Li, Peng Fei; Liang, Mu Zi; Zhu, Yun Fei; Zeng, Zhen; Hu, Guang Yun; Wang, Shu Ni; Quan, Xiao Ming

    2017-06-01

    Patients with cancer often experience considerable emotional distress, which decreases their quality of life (QOL). Resilience is defined as the psychological characteristics that promote positive adaptation in the face of stress and adversity; however, the relationships among QOL, resilience, and emotional distress in patients with cancer, especially Chinese patients with cancer, are under-researched in the literature. Quality of Life Questionnaire Core 30 items, Zung Self-Rating Anxiety Scale, and the Zung Self-Rating Depression Scale were applied in this study. Univariate correlated analysis and multivariate logistic regression analysis were used to test the associations among resilience, emotional distress, and QOL with a sample of 276 participants. A Sobel test was conducted to determine whether the indirect effect of resilience was significant. The mean ratings of QOL (59.2), resilience (20.8), anxiety (43.1), and depression (47.7) were reported. The correlations between resilience and QOL in patients with lung cancer were significantly increased compared with patients with gastric or colorectal cancer (Spearman coefficient squares of 0.284, 0.189, and 0.227, respectively). The highest quartile of the resilience level was associated with a 64% (odds ratio = 0.36, 95% confidence interval = 0.17-0.75, P = .006), 70% (odds ratio = 0.30, 95% confidence interval = 0.14-0.63), and 90% (odds ratio = 0.10, 95% confidence interval = 0.04-0.26, P patients with cancer. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  9. Respiratory sinus arrhythmia during worry forecasts stress-related increases in psychological distress.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gouin, Jean-Philippe; Deschênes, Sonya S; Dugas, Michel J

    2014-09-01

    Respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA) has been conceptualized as an index of emotion regulation abilities. Although resting RSA has been associated with both concurrent and prospective affective responses to stress, the impact of RSA reactivity on emotional responses to stress is inconsistent across studies. The type of emotional stimuli used to elicit these phasic RSA responses may influence the adaptive value of RSA reactivity. We propose that RSA reactivity to a personally relevant worry-based stressor might forecast future affective responses to stress. To evaluate whether resting RSA and RSA reactivity to worry inductions predict stress-related increases in psychological distress, an academic stress model was used to prospectively examine changes in psychological distress from the well-defined low- and high-stress periods. During the low-stress period, 76 participants completed self-report mood measures and had their RSA assessed during a resting baseline, free worry period and worry catastrophizing interview. Participants completed another mood assessment during the high-stress period. Results indicated that baseline psychological distress predicted larger decreases in RSA during the worry inductions. Lower resting RSA and greater RSA suppression to the worry inductions at baseline prospectively predicted larger increases in psychological distress from the low- to high-stress period, even after accounting for the impact of baseline distress on RSA. These results provide further evidence that RSA may represent a unique index of emotion regulation abilities in times of stress.

  10. A meta-analysis of the relationship between rational beliefs and psychological distress.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Oltean, Horea-Radu; David, Daniel Ovidiu

    2018-06-01

     Rational emotive behavior therapy (REBT) model of psychological health assumes that rational beliefs cause functional emotions and adaptive behavior, but the presumed role of rational beliefs as protective factor against psychological distress/disorders is still in debate. An important step in validating an evidence-based therapy is to investigate the underling theoretical assumptions. Thus, the aim of the present meta-analysis is to investigate the direction and magnitude of the relationship between rational beliefs and psychological distress.  Our search identified 26 studies that met our criteria. We evaluated the effect size using the random-effects model and we tested the moderator role of several variables. The overall results revealed a medium negative association between rational beliefs and psychological distress, r = -0.31. The strongest association was found for unconditional acceptance beliefs (r = -0.41). The results add empirical evidence for the underling theory of REBT and revealed that the strength of the association between rational beliefs and distress is robust for a wide range of emotional problems. Therefore, rational beliefs could be a trans-diagnostic protective factor against distress. Moreover, results emphasized that rational beliefs type is an important factor, suggesting an increased focus in therapy on the developing of unconditional acceptance and self-acceptance beliefs. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  11. Dietary behaviour, psychological well-being and mental distress among adolescents in Korea.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hong, Seo Ah; Peltzer, Karl

    2017-01-01

    Dietary intake is important for physical and mental health. The aim of this investigation was to assess associations between dietary behaviours and psychological well-being and distress among school-going adolescents in Korea. In a cross-sectional nationally representative survey, 65,212 students (Mean age = 15.1 years, SE = 0.02 and 52.2% male and 47.8% female) responded to a questionnaire that included measures of dietary behaviour, psychological well-being and mental distress. In logistic regression analyses, adjusted for age, sex, socioeconomic status, school level, school types, Body Mass Index, physical activity, and substance use, positive dietary behaviours (regular breakfast, fruit, vegetable, and milk consumption) were positively and unhealthy dietary behaviours (intake of caffeine, soft drinks, sweet drinks and fast food consumption) were negatively associated with self-reported health, happiness and sleep satisfaction. Positive dietary behaviours (regular breakfast, fruit, vegetable, and milk consumption) were negatively associated with perceived stress and depression symptoms. Unhealthy dietary behaviours (consumption of fast food, caffeine, sweetened drinks and soft drinks) were associated with perceived stress and depression symptoms. The study found strong cross-sectional evidence that healthy dietary behaviours were associated with lower mental distress and higher psychological well-being. It remains unclear, if a healthier dietary behaviour is the cause or the sequela of a more positive well-being.

  12. Oncologists' identification of mental health distress in cancer patients: Strategies and barriers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Granek, L; Nakash, O; Ariad, S; Shapira, S; Ben-David, M

    2018-03-06

    The purpose of this research was to examine oncologists' perspectives on indicators of mental health distress in patients: what strategies they use to identify these indicators, and what barriers they face in this task. Twenty-three oncologists were interviewed, and the grounded theory method of data collection and analysis was used. Oncologists perceived distress to be a normative part of having cancer and looked for affective, physical, verbal and behavioural indicators using a number of strategies. Barriers to identification of mental health distress included difficulty in differentiating between mental health distress and symptoms of the disease, and lack of training. A systematic, time-efficient assessment of symptoms of emotional distress is critical for identification of psychiatric disorders among patients and differentiating normative emotional responses from psychopathology. Clinical bias and misdiagnosis can be a consequence of an ad hoc, intuitive approach to assessment, which can have consequences for patients and their families. Once elevated risk is identified for mental health distress, the patient can be referred to specialised care that can offer evidence-based treatments. © 2018 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  13. The impact of coping and emotional intelligence on the relationship between posttraumatic stress disorder from past trauma, adjustment difficulty, and psychological distress following divorce.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Slanbekova, Gulnara; Chung, Man Cheung; Abildina, Saltanat; Sabirova, Raikhan; Kapbasova, Gulzada; Karipbaev, Baizhol

    2017-08-01

    Focusing on a group of Kazakh divorcees, this study examined the inter-relationship between posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) from past trauma, coping strategies, emotional intelligence, adjustment difficulties, and psychiatric symptom severity following divorce. One hundred and twenty divorcees participated in the research and completed the Emotional Intelligence Questionnaire, Posttraumatic Stress Diagnostic Scale, General Health Questionnaire-28, Brief COPE, and Fisher's Divorce Adjustment Scale Results: About 29% reported no trauma; 53%, 21%, and 26% met the criteria for no-PTSD, partial-PTSD, and full-PTSD respectively. Emotion-focused coping and managing emotions predicted adjustment difficulties. Controlling for gender, PTSD, problem-focused coping, and managing emotions predicted psychiatric symptom severity. Problem-focused coping mediated the direct effect of the path between PTSD and psychiatric symptom severity with its mediational effect being moderated by the effect of managing emotions. Following divorce, people can experience psychological distress which is influenced by the effects of PTSD from past trauma, and whether they used problem-focused coping and were able to manage their emotions.

  14. A call for inclusion of work-related diabetes distress in the spectrum of diabetes management

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Hansen, Ulla M; Olesen, Kasper; Browne, Jessica L

    2018-01-01

    AIM: Diabetes distress captures a range of emotional responses and reactions to life with diabetes and is considered a part of the experience of managing diabetes and its treatment. Given the importance of the social context of work life for people of working age we set out to explore whether wor...... captures an aspect of distress so far unaccounted for in workers with type 1 diabetes. Further studies are needed to strengthen the conceptual basis of work-related diabetes distress, explore its clinical usefulness and clarify its risk factors.......AIM: Diabetes distress captures a range of emotional responses and reactions to life with diabetes and is considered a part of the experience of managing diabetes and its treatment. Given the importance of the social context of work life for people of working age we set out to explore whether work......-related diabetes distress is a distinct and important dimension of diabetes-related emotional distress in working people with type 1 diabetes. METHODS: A questionnaire with self-reported measures of psychosocial health and well-being at work was completed by 1126 working people with type 1 diabetes from...

  15. 'Locus of control', health-related quality of life, emotional distress and disability in Parkinson's disease.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rizza, Federica; Gison, Annalisa; Bonassi, Stefano; Dall'Armi, Valentina; Tonto, Francesca; Giaquinto, Salvatore

    2017-06-01

    This cross-sectional study evaluated locus of control and its subscales in Parkinson's disease. A total of 50 consecutive Parkinson's disease participants and 50 healthy volunteers (control group) were enrolled. External locus of control was significantly higher in Parkinson's disease participants, whereas internal locus of control had no significant differences. External locus of control and internal locus of control were correlated in control group, but not in Parkinson's disease. In Parkinson's disease participants, external locus of control was negatively associated with health-related quality of life as well as positively associated with emotional distress and disease severity (but not with disability). After adjusting to confound variables, the associations remained. On the other hand, internal locus of control was negatively associated with depression.

  16. Adherence to Insulin, Emotional Distress, and Trust in Physician Among Patients with Diabetes: A Cross-Sectional Study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Halepian, Lucine; Saleh, Mary Bou; Hallit, Souheil; Khabbaz, Lydia Rabbaa

    2018-04-01

    Type 2 diabetes represents a significant public health issue, with increasing prevalence in developing countries while adherence to insulin treatment remains a challenge. No studies have evaluated the relationship between adherence to insulin, diabetes-related distress, and trust in physician among persons with diabetes. Our objectives were to evaluate treatment adherence to insulin, emotional distress (using the Problem Areas in Diabetes Questionnaire, PAID), trust in physician, and to examine associations between them among Lebanese patients with diabetes. This cross-sectional study, conducted in all districts of Lebanon between August 2016 and April 2017, enrolled 135 adult patients. The mean percentage score of adherence to insulin was 79.7 ± 19.94. A significantly higher mean adherence score was found in non-sedentary (81.96) compared to sedentary patients (67.41) (p = 0.017), with no difference between gender, employment, rural vs non-rural residence, or familial history of diabetes. In addition, no significant relationship was seen between adherence score and education level, smoking, or alcohol intake. A significant positive association was found between trust in physician and adherence scores, whereas a significant but negative one was found between PAID and adherence scores. The results of linear regressions showed that a secondary level of education (beta = - 13.48) significantly decreased the trust in physician score, whereas the total number of oral antidiabetics (beta = 0.93) increased it. Having a sedentary lifestyle (beta = - 12.73) and smoking < 3 waterpipes/week compared to no smoking (beta = - 16.82) significantly decreased the adherence score. Female gender (beta = 10.46), smoking < 3 waterpipes (beta = 27.42) and 3 + waterpipes/week (beta = 17.95) significantly increased the PAID score. Trust in physician is associated with an increased adherence and with decreased diabetes-related distress. This distress was also associated with poor

  17. Psychological distress among Plains Indian mothers with children referred to screening for Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Parker Tassy

    2010-09-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Psychological distress (PD includes symptoms of depression and anxiety and is associated with considerable emotional suffering, social dysfunction and, often, with problematic alcohol use. The rate of current PD among American Indian women is approximately 2.5 times higher than that of U.S. women in general. Our study aims to fill the current knowledge gap about the prevalence and characteristics of PD and its association with self-reported current drinking problems among American Indian mothers whose children were referred to screening for fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASD. Methods Secondary analysis of cross-sectional data was conducted from maternal interviews of referred American Indian mothers (n = 152 and a comparison group of mothers (n = 33 from the same Plains culture tribes who participated in an NIAAA-funded epidemiology study of FASD. Referred women were from one of six Plains Indian reservation communities and one urban area who bore children suspected of having an FASD. A 6-item PD scale (PD-6, Cronbach's alpha = .86 was constructed with a summed score range of 0-12 and a cut-point of 7 indicating serious PD. Multiple statistical tests were used to examine the characteristics of PD and its association with self-reported current drinking problems. Results Referred and comparison mothers had an average age of 31.3 years but differed (respectively on: education ( Conclusions Psychological distress among referred mothers is significantly associated with having a self-reported drinking problem. FASD prevention requires multi-level prevention efforts that provide real opportunities for educational attainment and screening and monitoring of PD and alcohol use during the childbearing years. Mixed methods studies are needed to illuminate the social and cultural determinants at the base of the experience of PD and to identify the strengths and protective factors of unaffected peers who reside within the same

  18. Proposed pathways to problematic drinking via post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms, emotion dysregulation, and dissociative tendencies following child/adolescent sexual abuse.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Klanecky, Alicia K; McChargue, Dennis E; Tuliao, Antover P

    2016-01-01

    The relationship between early sexual abuse and college problem drinking was examined using an integration of the self-medication and vulnerability-stress models. Baseline survey data from parti-cipants (N = 213; 135 men and 78 college women) completing a mandated, brief alcohol intervention were utilized. Representative of the self-medication model, post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms mediated the early sexual abuse/problem drinking relationship. Two psychological vulnerability factors-emotion dysregulation and dissociative tendencies-were incorporated into self-medication findings via more advanced mediational models. Results highlighted that problem drinking increased as dissociative tendencies increased, and relations between the vulnerability factors and post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms were in an unexpected direction.

  19. Emotional distress in partners of patients with an implantable cardioverter defibrillator

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Van Den Broek, Krista C; Habibović, Mirela; Pedersen, Susanne S.

    2010-01-01

    on psychological distress in partners of ICD patients and recommendations for future research. PubMed and PsycInfo were searched in March 2010 using a priori defined search terms. This search and the additional hand search resulted in 22 studies, of which 13 were quantitative and eight qualitative. Sample sizes...... studies reported no impact of ICD shocks on distress levels or quality of life in partners. ICD indication as well as comorbid conditions, age, and the psychological profile of the partner were related to distress and quality of life. Domains of concern emerging from qualitative studies were related...... to care of the ICD patient, helplessness and uncertainties related to shocks, role changes, sexual activities, overprotectiveness, and driving. Partner levels of distress may be as high as that of ICD patients. Research with large samples is needed to further investigate the course and determinants...

  20. Psychological distress and coping in military cadre candidates.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nakkas, Can; Annen, Hubert; Brand, Serge

    2016-01-01

    Soldiers must cope with stressors during both military operations and training if they are to accomplish their missions successfully and stay mentally stable. This holds true particularly for military superiors, as they bear greater responsibilities and must meet greater demands during both deployment and training. Accordingly, in the present study, we investigated whether recruits chosen for further promotion at the end of basic training differed with regard to psychological distress and coping strategies from those not chosen for promotion, and whether recruits' coping styles and distress levels were associated. A total of 675 Swiss recruits took part in the study. At the beginning of basic training, recruits filled out self-rating questionnaires covering demographic data, psychological distress (depression, somatization, anxiety, interpersonal sensitivity, and hostility), and coping styles. Results were compared between those recruits who received a recommendation for further promotion at the end of basic training and those who did not. Recruits selected for promotion had lower scores for depressive symptoms and hostility, engaged more in active coping, and considered their coping to be more effective. Dysfunctional and functional coping were associated with higher and lower distress levels, respectively. Recruits recommended for promotion exhibited less psychological distress during basic training and exhibited a socially more conducive profile of distress. They also endorsed more efficient and more prosocial coping strategies than those recruits not recommended for promotion. These cognitive-emotional features not only contribute to resilience but are also consistent with leadership research, indicating the importance of emotional stability and prosocial behavior in successful leaders.

  1. When authenticity matters most: Physicians' regulation of emotional display and patient satisfaction.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yagil, Dana; Shnapper-Cohen, Moran

    2016-10-01

    The emotions expressed by physicians in medical encounters have significant impact on health outcomes and patient satisfaction. This study explored how physicians' regulation of displayed emotions affects patients' satisfaction, under low and high levels of patient distress and length of physician-patient acquaintance. Questionnaires were administered to 46 physicians and 230 of their patients (before and after the medical encounter) in outpatient clinics of two hospitals. Data were analyzed with hierarchical linear modeling which takes the nested data structure into account. We found a significant interaction effect of physician regulation of displayed emotions and patient distress on satisfaction: When distress was high, physician regulation of emotions was negatively related to patient satisfaction. The results also show a significant interaction effect of physician regulation of displayed emotions and length of physician-patient acquaintance: With a longer acquaintance, physician regulation of emotions was negatively related to patient satisfaction. The effect of the physicians' emotional display on patient satisfaction depends on contextual factors, such as patient distress and length of physician-patient acquaintance, which affect patients' emotional needs and expectations. When patients have high emotional involvement in the encounter it is suggested that physicians consider presenting genuine emotions to patients. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

  2. The Role of Maternal Distress in the Report of Behavioral and Emotional Problems among Children with Chronic Disabilities.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Silberg, Tamar; Brezner, Amichai; Gal, Gilad; Ahonniska-Assa, Jaana; Levav, Miriam

    2016-01-01

    Assessments of psychological symptoms in children often rely on caregivers' (usually mothers') reports. However, the reliability may be affected by the caregivers' own emotional distress (ED). The main objectives of this study were to assess the variability in ED of mothers of children with chronic physical disabilities, and its association with the ratings of their children's emotional and behavioral problems. Medical data of children diagnosed with chronic disabilities were analyzed (N = 72). Mothers completed the 12-item General Health Questionnaire (12-GHQ) to measure ED and the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL) to assess children's emotional and behavioral problems Mothers' ED scores were compared with communitybased counterparts with similar socio-demographic characteristics (N = 657) from the Israel National Health Survey (INHS). Mothers of children with chronic physical disabilities had higher levels of ED compared to mothers in the general population. About 20% of the sample mothers had 12-GHQ scores compatible with DSM- IV depression or anxiety disorders. No differences in ED were found according to the type of child's disability or IQ score. Marked differences in CBCL scores were reported by mothers with high versus low ED, controlling for baseline maternal and child characteristics. High levels of maternal ED were associated with mothers' reports on child's behavioral and emotional problems.This may contaminate the reliability of parental reports on their child's psychological state.

  3. A framework for understanding moral distress among palliative care clinicians.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rushton, Cynda H; Kaszniak, Alfred W; Halifax, Joan S

    2013-09-01

    Palliative care clinicians confront suffering as they care for people living with life-limiting conditions. When the degree of suffering becomes unjustified, moral distress can ensue. Promising work from neuroscience and social psychology has yet to be applied to clinical practice. Our objective was to expand a social psychology model focusing on empathy and compassion in response to suffering to include an ethical dimension and to examine how the interrelationships of its proposed components can assist clinicians in understanding their responses to morally distressing situations. In the clinical context, responses to distressing events are thought to include four dimensions: empathy (emotional attunement), perspective taking (cognitive attunement), memory (personal experience), and moral sensitivity (ethical attunement). These dynamically intertwined dimensions create the preconditions for how clinicians respond to a triggering event instigated by an ethical conflict or dilemma. We postulate that if the four dimensions are highly aligned, the intensity and valence of emotional arousal will influence ethical appraisal and discernment by engaging a robust view of the ethical issues, conflicts, and possible solutions and cultivating compassionate action and resilience. In contrast, if they are not, ethical appraisal and discernment will be deficient, creating emotional disregulation and potentially leading to personal and moral distress, self-focused behaviors, unregulated moral outrage, burnout, and secondary stress. The adaptation and expansion of a conceptual framework offers a promising approach to designing interventions that help clinicians mitigate the detrimental consequences of unregulated moral distress and to build the resilience necessary to sustain themselves in clinical service.

  4. Low Mood Leads to Increased Empathic Distress at Seeing Others’ Pain

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yuan Cao

    2017-11-01

    Full Text Available Previous studies have shown changes in empathy in patients with depression, including an elevated level of trait personal distress. This study examined if low mood causes changes in self-reported empathic distress when seeing others in pain. To test this, we conducted an initial (n = 26 and close replication study (n = 46 in which sad mood was induced in healthy participants (overall mean age M = 21, SD = 5, range = 18–41 years. Participants viewed and rated video stimuli inferring pain experienced by other people. Results showed that participants perceived the videos depicting others’ pain (versus no-pain to be more distressing under a sad mood compared to a neutral mood condition, implying that sadness enhances one’s emotional reactivity toward others’ distress. This supports previous depression literature suggesting an impaired emotional processing ability, and could contribute to some of the unhelpful behaviors seen in depression such as social withdrawal and avoidance.

  5. 'Ayn mika: Traumatic experience, social invisibility, and emotional distress of sub-Saharan women with precarious status in Morocco.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mekki-Berrada, Abdelwahed

    2018-01-01

    Morocco has become a permanent transit country for tens of thousands of sub-Saharan migrants heading to Europe. Many of these migrants are women who have a precarious legal status and can no longer reach Europe, whose borders have been considerably securitized since September 11, 2001. They also have no wish to risk their lives again returning south across the Sahara Desert. This paper discusses the results of an exploratory research project conducted in Morocco on the relationships between the sub-Saharan migrant women's traumatic experiences, social invisibility, and emotional distress in the context of a massive securitization of Euro-Mediterranean borders.

  6. Marital conflict and parental responses to infant negative emotions: Relations with toddler emotional regulation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Frankel, Leslie A; Umemura, Tomo; Jacobvitz, Deborah; Hazen, Nancy

    2015-08-01

    According to family systems theory, children's emotional development is likely to be influenced by family interactions at multiple levels, including marital, mother-child, and father-child interactions, as well as by interrelations between these levels. The purpose of the present study was to examine parents' marital conflict and mothers' and fathers' distressed responses to their infant's negative emotions, assessed when their child was 8 and 24 months old, in addition to interactions between parents' marital conflict and their distressed responses, as predictors of their toddler's negative and flat/withdrawn affect at 24 months. Higher marital conflict during infancy and toddlerhood predicted both increased negative and increased flat/withdrawn affect during toddlerhood. In addition, toddlers' negative (but not flat) affect was related to mothers' distressed responses, but was only related to father's distressed responses when martial conflict was high. Implications of this study for parent education and family intervention were discussed. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  7. 'Isn't it ironic?' Beliefs about the unacceptability of emotions and emotional suppression relate to worse outcomes in fibromyalgia.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bowers, Hannah; Wroe, Abigail L; Pincus, Tamar

    2017-05-01

    Beliefs about the unacceptability of experiencing and expressing emotions have been found to be related to worse outcomes in people with persistent physical symptoms. The current study tested mediation models regarding emotional suppression, beliefs about emotions, support-seeking and global impact in fibromyalgia. One hundred eighty-two participants took part in an online questionnaire testing potential mechanisms of this relationship using mediation analysis. The model tested emotional suppression and affective distress as serial mediators of the relationship between beliefs about emotions and global impact. In parallel paths, two forms of support-seeking were tested (personal/emotional and symptom-related support-seeking) as mediators. Emotional suppression and affective distress significantly serially mediated the relationship between beliefs about emotions and global impact. Neither support-seeking variable significantly mediated this relationship. Results indicate a potential mechanism through which beliefs about emotions and global impact might relate which might provide a theoretical basis for future research on treatments for fibromyalgia.

  8. Psychological distress, perceived stigma, and coping among caregivers of patients with schizophrenia

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ong HC

    2016-08-01

    Full Text Available Hui Chien Ong,¹ Norhayati Ibrahim,² Suzaily Wahab³ ¹Biomedical Science Programme, ²Health Psychology Programme, Faculty of Health Sciences, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, ³Department of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine, Pusat Perubatan Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Cheras, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia Abstract: Nowadays, family members are gradually taking on the role of full-time caregivers for patients suffering from schizophrenia. The increasing burden and tasks of caretaking can cause them psychological distress such as depression or anxiety. The aim of this study was to measure the correlation between perceived stigma and coping, and psychological distress as well as determine the predictors of psychological distress among the caregivers. Results showed that 31.5% of the caregivers experienced psychological distress. “Community rejection” was found to be positively associated with psychological distress. In case of coping subscales, psychological distress had a positive correlation with substance use, use of emotional support, behavioral disengagement, venting, and self-blame, while it was negatively correlated with “positive reframing”. Behavioral disengagement was the best predictor of psychological distress among caregivers of patients with schizophrenia, followed by positive reframing, use of emotional support, self-blame, and venting. Health practitioners can use adaptive coping strategies instead of maladaptive for caregivers to help ease their distress and prevent further deterioration of psychological disorders. Keywords: family caregivers, social stigma, coping skills, psychological stress, schizophrenia

  9. The interactive role of distress tolerance and eating expectancies in bulimic symptoms among substance abusers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lavender, Jason M; Happel, Kate; Anestis, Michael D; Tull, Matthew T; Gratz, Kim L

    2015-01-01

    Difficulties tolerating distress and the expectancy that eating will relieve negative affect have been linked with bulimic symptoms, which commonly co-occur with other forms of psychopathology characterized by emotion dysregulation (e.g., substance abuse). Indeed, problems with emotional functioning may be of particular relevance to bulimic symptoms in at-risk populations with heightened emotion dysregulation (such as substance use disorder patients). This study examined the interactive role of two emotion-related constructs (distress tolerance and the expectancy that eating relieves negative affect) in relation to bulimic symptoms among patients (N=93) recruited from a residential substance abuse treatment facility. Participants completed the Bulimia Test-Revised, the Positive and Negative Affect Schedule, the Distress Tolerance Scale, and the Eating Expectancy Inventory. A hierarchical multiple regression analysis was conducted to examine the main effects and interaction of distress tolerance and negative affect eating expectancies in relation to bulimic symptoms, controlling for participant gender and overall negative affect. Significant main effects were found for both distress tolerance and negative affect eating expectancies, and these two constructs were found to significantly interact in the prediction of bulimic symptoms. Interventions that address these constructs may be useful in treating those with bulimic symptoms, as well as those with co-occurring bulimic symptoms and substance use disorders. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  10. Impact of Relational Proximity on Distress from Infidelity

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Maryanne Fisher

    2009-10-01

    Full Text Available Men are generally more distressed by a partner's sexual infidelity whereas women are generally more distressed by a partner's emotional infidelity. The importance of the identity of the interloper, however, has been neglected. We explored the influence of relational proximity (i.e., the degree of genetic relatedness on distress about infidelity. In Study 1, participants were most distressed when the imagined infidelity occurred between their current mate and close kin. In Study 2, relational proximity mattered more than the type of sexual behavior, the likelihood of contracting a sexually transmitted disease, and the likelihood of the infidelity leading to a damaged reputation. Together, the results indicate that identity matters, especially if the interloper is someone with whom we have familial bonds.

  11. Loss of coping resources and psychological distress in spouses of alcohol dependents following partner violence

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ottilingam Somasundaram Ravindran

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available Background and Objectives: A study to assess the psychological distress of married women due to their spousal violence under alcohol dependence. This study is aimed at studying partner violence, various coping styles and psychological distress among spouses of men with alcohol dependence and to explore the association between partner violence and coping behaviour. Materials and Methods: The study was conducted on 50 wives of alcohol dependent individuals in the age range of 20-50 years, who were divided into two groups based on the duration of drinking of their husbands. They were assessed by GHQ-12, Measure of Wife Abuse, Coping with Drinking Questionnaire and Depression Anxiety and Stress Scale. Results: Partner alcohol use was associated with increased psychological distress in their spouses and they have used both adaptive and maladaptive coping strategies. Conclusion: Alcohol plays a role in partner violence and spousal mental distress resulting in loss of their coping resources.

  12. Mindfulness mediates the relation between disordered eating-related cognitions and psychological distress.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Masuda, Akihiko; Wendell, Johanna W

    2010-12-01

    The present study investigated whether mindfulness mediates the relation between disordered eating-related cognitions and negative psychological outcomes within a non-clinical college sample. Disordered eating-related cognitions were positively associated with general psychological ill-health and emotional distress in interpersonal contexts and inversely related to mindfulness. Mindfulness, which was also inversely related to general psychological ill-health and emotional distress, was found to partially mediate the relations between disordered eating-related cognitions and the two predicted variables. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  13. Alexithymia and psychological distress in fibromyalgia: prevalence and relation with quality of life.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Castelli, Lorys; Tesio, Valentina; Colonna, Fabrizio; Molinaro, Stefania; Leombruni, Paolo; Bruzzone, Maria; Fusaro, Enrico; Sarzi-Puttini, Piercarlo; Torta, Riccardo

    2012-01-01

    Fibromyalgia (FM) is a chronic syndrome characterised by widespread musculoskeletal pain associated with other symptoms like fatigue, stiffness, non-restorative sleep and psychological distress that strongly affects the quality of life in FM patients. While the psychological distress has been widely explored in FM, only a few studies investigated alexithymia, an emotional dysregulation trait. Evaluate the prevalence of alexithymia and psychological distress and their impact on patients quality of life. A battery of tests assessing alexithymia, depression, anxiety, emotional distress symptoms and the health related quality of life (HRQoL) was filled out by 55 female FM patients. After having analysed their prevalence, two regression analyses were performed in order to evaluate the role that alexithymia, depression, anxiety, emotional distress and pain characteristics have on quality of life of FM patients. Results showed that a clinically relevant level of psychological distress was present in more than half of our sample, whereas alexithymic traits were present in 20% of the patients. Regression analyses showed that pain intensity, depression and current pain were the variables that best contribute to explain the physical component of the HRQoL while anxiety, depression and pain intensity were the variables that mainly contributed to explain the mental component of quality of life. These results underline the high prevalence of alexithymia in FM patients and the great impact of psychological symptoms on FM patients HRQoL. Wholistic care of FM patients which addresses both physical and psychological symptoms is needed.

  14. Binge Drinking

    Science.gov (United States)

    ... Development Infections Diseases & Conditions Pregnancy & Baby Nutrition & Fitness Emotions & Behavior School & Family Life First Aid & Safety Doctors & ... period of uncontrolled overeating). Today the generally accepted definition of binge drinking in the United States is ...

  15. Infant emotional distress, maternal restriction at a home meal, and child BMI gain through age 6years in the Colorado Adoption Project.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hittner, James B; Johnson, Cassandra; Tripicchio, Gina; Faith, Myles S

    2016-04-01

    Infant temperament and parental feeding practices may be risk factors for childhood obesity, however most studies have relied upon parent-report assessments. We tested whether infant emotional distress and maternal restrictive feeding at 12-months of age, assessed observationally at a home feeding interaction, predicted child BMI through age 6years. We conducted a prospective observational study of 86 children (34 girls and 52 boys, from 55 adoptive and 31 non-adoptive families) enrolled in the Colorado Adoption Project. Mother-infant feeding interactions were video-recorded during a home snack or meal at year 1, and child anthropometrics (length or height, and weight) were assessed at years 1 through 6. The main outcome measures were child weight-for-length at year 1 and body mass index (BMI: kg/m(2)) at years 2-6. Results of generalized linear models indicated that greater infant emotional distress at 12-months predicted greater increases in child weight status through age 6years, B=0.62 and odds ratio (OR)=1.87. In separate analyses, restrictive feeding interacted with child sex in predicting weight status trajectories (p=.012). Male infants whose mothers displayed any compared to no restriction at year 1 showed a downward BMI trajectory from 2 to 6years; for female infants, exposure to any compared to no restriction prompts predicted increasing BMI from 4 to 6years. In sum, early obesity prevention strategies should pay greater attention to infant temperament, especially distress and negative affect, and how parents respond to such cues. Additionally, 'responsive feeding' strategies that provide an alternative to restriction warrant greater research during infancy. Copyright © 2016. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

  16. Metaphorical profile of distress in English media discourse

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Verbytska Anna

    2017-12-01

    Full Text Available The current research is directed towards the transition of distress studies in the English speaking culture from the prototype towards the conceptual metaphor approach. It enables the enlightenment of mental images, which underlie distress language usage in modern mass communication. The analysis involves identification of conceptual distress metaphors and metonymies within the image-schematic structure. The study includes a cognitive semantic analysis of linguistic units of the distress lexicon retrieved from the GloWbE, BNC, COCA, English newspapers and media platforms. Figurative language reveals conventional beliefs about distress represented in English media discourse, such as strong associations of emotion with darkness and coldness. Metaphorical mappings contain views about the reasons for distress experience which lie in the loss of balance or inner equilibrium, loss of control, and convictions about the reaction characterizing a person as being weak and brittle. The findings of data analysis are summed up in a metaphorical profile of distress (MPD which discloses the behavioural patterns (communicative behaviour, adequacy/inadequacy of behaviour, ability to socialize and physical effects including health issues.

  17. EXPRESSING DISTRESS IN PATIENTS WITH ADVANCED CANCER

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Maura Gabriela FELEA

    2014-11-01

    Full Text Available Negative emotions (distress are recognized as part of the psychological profile of patients diagnosed with advanced stage cancer. However, most patients are not accustomed to verbalize feelings towards their physician, and generally towards family and medical care personnel. The purpose of this paper is to analyze the expression of emotions by patients in advanced stages of cancer, respectively the means by which they get to express emotions. To this respect, we identified the most common types of emotions expressed, or metaphors used by patients to describe their emotions and topics that trigger emotions. Words and phrases most commonly used are in relation to: fear, anxiety, depression, guilt, negligence, concern. They are uttered in order to depict the network created between disclosed emotions and topics on health status, symptoms, adverse effects and therapeutic choice, patient privacy, and social and family issues.

  18. Levels and associations among self-esteem, fertility distress, coping, and reaction to potentially being a genetic carrier in women with diminished ovarian reserve.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cizmeli, Ceylan; Lobel, Marci; Franasiak, Jason; Pastore, Lisa M

    2013-06-01

    To measure the level of distress and its relationship with other psychologic factors in women with diminished ovarian reserve (DOR) who participated in a fragile X genetics study. Longitudinal data analyzed with structural equation modeling. Four U.S. private and academic fertility centers. Sixty-two infertile patients with DOR. None. Fertility Problem Inventory, Coping Scale for Infertile Couples, Rosenberg Self-Esteem, Health Orientation Scale. Nineteen percent had low fertility distress, 56% had average fertility distress, and 24% had high fertility distress. Thirty-six percent self-reported a "favorable" or "very favorable" emotional response to potentially being a fragile X carrier (termed "emotions"), 53% were "ambivalent," and 11% had an unfavorable reaction. Three months after learning that they were not a carrier, these percentages were 91%, 9%, and 0%, respectively. Emotions at this second time point were significantly more positive than at pretesting. At baseline, higher self-esteem was a significant predictor of reduced fertility distress both directly and indirectly through emotions. Fertility distress was not associated with coping. Self-esteem, fertility distress, pretesting emotions, and coping were unrelated to posttesting emotions. The potential of having an explanation for one's DOR condition may have a beneficial impact on women's psychologic states during the process of genetic testing, and this appeared to be especially true for women with higher self-esteem. Psychologic interventions targeted to women with low self-esteem may reduce distress and improve reactions to genetic testing. Copyright © 2013 American Society for Reproductive Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  19. The emotional experiences of family carers in Huntington disease.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Williams, Janet K; Skirton, Heather; Paulsen, Jane S; Tripp-Reimer, Toni; Jarmon, Lori; McGonigal Kenney, Meghan; Birrer, Emily; Hennig, Bonnie L; Honeyford, Joann

    2009-04-01

    This paper is a report of a study conducted to examine the emotional experience of caregiving by family carers of people with Huntington disease and to describe strategies they used to deal with that experience. Huntington disease, commonly diagnosed in young to middle adulthood, is an inherited single gene disorder involving loss of cognitive, motor and neuropsychiatric function. Many family members become caregivers as well as continuing as parents and wage earners. The emotional aspects of caregiving contribute to mental health risks for family members. Focus groups were conducted with 42 adult carers of people with Huntington disease in four United States and two Canadian Huntington disease centers between 2001 and 2005. Data were analyzed through descriptive coding and thematic analysis. All participants reported multiple aspects of emotional distress. Being a carer was described as experiencing disintegration of one's life. Carers attempted to cope by seeking comfort from selected family members, anticipating the time when the care recipient had died and/or using prescription medications. Spousal carers were distressed by the loss of their relationship with their spouse and dealt with this by no longer regarding the person as an intimate partner. Carers were concerned about the disease risk for children in their families and hoped for a cure. Emotional distress can compromise the well-being of family carers, who attempt to maintain multiple roles. Nurses should monitor carer mental health, identify sources of emotional distress and support effective strategies used by carers to mediate distress.

  20. The Effects of a Hatha Yoga Intervention on Facets of Distress Tolerance

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Medina, J.L.; Hopkins, L.B.; Powers, M.B.; Baird, S.O.; Smits, J.A.J.

    2015-01-01

    Individuals with low distress tolerance (DT) experience negative emotion as particularly threatening and are highly motivated to reduce or avoid such affective experiences. Consequently, these individuals have difficulty regulating emotions and tend to engage in maladaptive strategies, such as

  1. Potential predictors of psychological distress and well-being in medical students: a cross-sectional pilot study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bore, Miles; Kelly, Brian; Nair, Balakrishnan

    2016-01-01

    Research has consistently found that the proportion of medical students who experience high levels of psychological distress is significantly greater than that found in the general population. The aim of our research was to assess the levels of psychological distress more extensively than has been done before, and to determine likely predictors of distress and well-being. In 2013, students from an Australian undergraduate medical school (n=127) completed a questionnaire that recorded general demographics, hours per week spent studying, in paid work, volunteer work, and physical exercise; past and current physical and mental health, social support, substance use, measures of psychological distress (Kessler Psychological Distress Scale, depression, anxiety, stress, burnout); and personality traits. Females were found to have higher levels of psychological distress than males. However, in regression analysis, the effect of sex was reduced to nonsignificance when other variables were included as predictors of psychological distress. The most consistent significant predictors of our 20 indicators of psychological distress were social support and the personality traits of emotional resilience and self-control. The findings suggest that emotional resilience skills training embedded into the medical school curriculum could reduce psychological distress among medical students.

  2. Distress, problems and supportive care needs of patients treated with auto- or allo-SCT.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Braamse, A M J; van Meijel, B; Visser, O; Huijgens, P C; Beekman, A T F; Dekker, J

    2014-02-01

    Hematological malignancies and treatment with hematopoietic SCT are known to affect patients' quality of life. The problem profile and care needs of this patient group need clarification, however. This study aimed to assess distress, problems and care needs after allo- or auto-SCT, and to identify risk factors for distress, problems or care needs. In this cross-sectional study, patients treated with allo-SCT or auto-SCT for hematological malignancies completed the Distress Thermometer and Problem List. Three patient groups were created: 0-1, 1-2.5 and 2.5-5.5 years after transplantation. After allo-SCT, distress and the number of problems tended to be lower with longer follow-up. After auto-SCT, distress was highest at 1-2.5 year(s). Patients mainly reported physical problems, followed by cognitive-emotional and practical problems. A minority reported care needs. Risk factors for distress as well as problems after allo-SCT included younger age, shorter time after transplantation and GVHD. A risk factor for distress as well as problems after auto-SCT was the presence of comorbid diseases. Up to 5 years after auto-SCT or allo-SCT, patients continue to experience distress and problems. Judged by prevalence, physical problems are first priority in supportive care, followed by cognitive-emotional and practical problems.

  3. Screening for psychological distress in cancer: renewing the research agenda.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Salmon, Peter; Clark, Louise; McGrath, Elly; Fisher, Peter

    2015-03-01

    Although health policy for cancer care promotes screening of patients for emotional distress, the utility and validity of screening have been questioned. Continued research to refine detection of distress or to evaluate outcomes of screening programmes is unlikely to end this controversy. Instead, we need to identify more fundamental research questions that address the validity or utility of screening in this context. We critically and selectively review research and policy literature on psychological screening in cancer care, drawing also from research literature about the nature of psychological needs in cancer care and from relevant literature on psychological screening in mental health. We identify three broad research questions: (i) Apart from intensity of distress, what further information should screening seek about the context of distress, psychological processes that promote distress and patients' own perspective on their needs? (ii) What are the implications of the contextual dependence of disclosure of emotional feelings, given that screening questions can be asked in contexts ranging from an impersonal questionnaire to dialogue with a trusted practitioner? (iii) How should a screen be responded to, given the inherent uncertainty associated with screening results and given that distress in a cancer context can indicate instrumental as well as psychological needs? Examining these questions will mean exchanging a diagnostic framework for screening, in which health need is indicated by the presence of a psychological disorder, for a public health framework, in which health need is identified from multiple perspectives. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  4. Assessment of Body perception, Psychological Distress, and ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    2018-02-07

    Feb 7, 2018 ... (MBSRQ), Zung Depression Rating Scale, and Zung Anxiety Rating Scale were applied to ... psychological distress, and subjective quality of life among obese and ... kg/m2, not receiving any medication, no special training .... Emotional role ..... Questionnaire (MBSRQ) showed positive improvement.

  5. Self-transcendence and emotional well-being in women with advanced breast cancer.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Coward, D D

    1991-07-01

    Self-transcendence has been associated, in previous studies, with stressful life events and emotional well-being. This study examined the relationships among self-transcendence, emotional well-being, and illness-related distress in women with advanced breast cancer. The study employed a cross-sectional correlational design in a convenience sample (n = 107) of women with Stage IIIb and Stage IV breast cancer. Subjects completed a questionnaire that included Reed's Self-Transcendence Scale; Bradburn's Affect Balance Scale (ABS); a Cognitive Well-Being (CWB) Scale based on work by Campbell, Converse, and Rogers; McCorkle and Young's Symptom Distress Scale (SDS); and the Karnofsky Performance Scale (KPS). Data were analyzed using factor analytic structural equations modeling. Self-transcendence decreased illness distress (assessed by the SDS and the KPS) through the mediating effect of emotional well-being (assessed by the ABS and the CWB Scale). Self-transcendence directly affected emotional well-being (beta = 0.69), and emotional well-being had a strong negative effect on illness distress (beta = -0.84). A direct path from self-transcendence to illness distress (beta = -0.31) became nonsignificant (beta = -0.08) when controlling for emotional well-being. Further research using longitudinal data will seek to validate these relationships and to explain how nurses can promote self-transcendence in women with advanced breast cancer, as well as in others with life-threatening illnesses.

  6. The contemptuous separation: Facial expressions of emotion and breakups in young adulthood.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Heshmati, Saeideh; Sbarra, David A; Mason, Ashley E

    2017-06-01

    The importance of studying specific and expressed emotions after a stressful life event is well known, yet few studies have moved beyond assessing self-reported emotional responses to a romantic breakup. This study examined associations between computer-recognized facial expressions and self-reported breakup-related distress among recently separated college-aged young adults ( N = 135; 37 men) on four visits across 9 weeks. Participants' facial expressions were coded using the Computer Expression Recognition Toolbox while participants spoke about their breakups. Of the seven expressed emotions studied, only Contempt showed a unique association with breakup-related distress over time. At baseline, greater Contempt was associated with less breakup-related distress; however, over time, greater Contempt was associated with greater breakup-related distress.

  7. Correlates of psychological distress, burnout, and resilience among Chinese female nurses

    Science.gov (United States)

    ZOU, Guiyuan; SHEN, Xiuying; TIAN, Xiaohong; LIU, Chunqin; LI, Guopeng; KONG, Linghua; LI, Ping

    2016-01-01

    The present survey investigated the association between resilience, burnout and psychological distress among Chinese female nurses. A total of 366 female nurses were enrolled in our study. A series of self-reported questionnaires that dispose of the following constructs: psychological distress, burnout, and resilience were estimated. The hierarchical linear regression models were used to evaluate the mediating effect of resilience on the relationship between burnout and psychological distress. Results of the survey showed 85.5% nurses experienced psychological distress. Resilience was negatively related to psychological distress and burnout whereas burnout was positively associated with psychological distress. Mediation analysis revealed that resilience could partially mediate the relationship between the dimensions of emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and psychological distress. This study highlights the mediator of resilience between burnout and psychological distress of female nurses. As such, interventions that attend to resilience training may be the focus for future clinical and research endeavors. PMID:27021058

  8. Positive and negative affect mediate the bidirectional relationship between emotional processing and symptom severity and impact in irritable bowel syndrome.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sibelli, Alice; Chalder, Trudie; Everitt, Hazel; Chilcot, Joseph; Moss-Morris, Rona

    2018-02-01

    Individuals with IBS report higher levels of psychological distress compared to healthy controls. Distress has been associated with emotional processing difficulties but studies have not explored how the relationship between distress and emotional processing affects IBS. There is little research on the role of positive affect (PA) in IBS. (a) If difficulties in self-reported emotional processing are associated with affect and IBS measures (i.e., symptom severity, interference in life roles) (b1) If affect mediates the relationship between emotional processing and IBS measures (b2) Alternative model: if affect mediates the relationship between IBS and emotional processing (c) If PA moderates the relationship between distress and IBS. Participants with a confirmed diagnosis of IBS (n=558) completed a questionnaire including measures of emotional processing (i.e., unhelpful beliefs about negative emotions, impoverished emotional experience), distress, PA, and IBS symptoms/interference. Mediation and moderation analyses were conducted with Maximum Likelihood Estimation. Distress and PA mediated or partly mediated the relationship between unhelpful beliefs about negative emotions/impoverished emotional experience and both IBS measures. The alternative models were also valid, suggesting a two-way relationship between emotional processing and IBS through affect. PA did not moderate the relationship between distress and IBS. Future interventions in IBS may benefit from not only targeting the management of physical symptoms and their daily impact but also aspects related to the experience of both negative and positive affect, and the acceptance and expression of negative emotions. Longitudinal studies are needed to confirm causal relationships within the explored models. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  9. Contributions of physical function and satisfaction with social roles to emotional distress in chronic pain: a Collaborative Health Outcomes Information Registry (CHOIR) study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sturgeon, John A; Dixon, Eric A; Darnall, Beth D; Mackey, Sean C

    2015-12-01

    Individuals with chronic pain show greater vulnerability to depression or anger than those without chronic pain, and also show greater interpersonal difficulties and physical disability. The present study examined data from 675 individuals with chronic pain during their initial visits to a tertiary care pain clinic using assessments from Stanford University's Collaborative Health Outcomes Information Registry (CHOIR). Using a path modeling analysis, the mediating roles of Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information Systems (PROMIS) Physical Function and PROMIS Satisfaction with Social Roles and Activities were tested between pain intensity and PROMIS Depression and Anger. Pain intensity significantly predicted both depression and anger, and both physical function and satisfaction with social roles mediated these relationships when modeled in separate 1-mediator models. Notably, however, when modeled together, ratings of satisfaction with social roles mediated the relationship between physical function and both anger and depression. Our results suggest that the process by which chronic pain disrupts emotional well-being involves both physical function and disrupted social functioning. However, the more salient factor in determining pain-related emotional distress seems to be disruption of social relationships, than global physical impairment. These results highlight the particular importance of social factors to pain-related distress, and highlight social functioning as an important target for clinical intervention in chronic pain.

  10. Ameliorating intrusive memories of distressing experiences using computerized reappraisal training.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Woud, Marcella L; Holmes, Emily A; Postma, Peggy; Dalgleish, Tim; Mackintosh, Bundy

    2012-08-01

    The types of appraisals that follow traumatic experiences have been linked to the emergence of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Could changing reappraisals following a stressful event reduce the emergence of PTSD symptoms? The present proof-of-principle study examined whether a nonexplicit, systematic computerized training in reappraisal style following a stressful event (a highly distressing film) could reduce intrusive memories of the film, and symptoms associated with posttraumatic distress over the subsequent week. Participants were trained to adopt a generally positive or negative poststressor appraisal style using a series of scripted vignettes after having been exposed to highly distressing film clips. The training targeted self-efficacy beliefs and reappraisals of secondary emotions (emotions in response to the emotional reactions elicited by the film). Successful appraisal induction was verified using novel vignettes and via change scores on the post traumatic cognitions inventory. Compared with those trained negatively, those trained positively reported in a diary fewer intrusive memories of the film during the subsequent week, and lower scores on the Impact of Event Scale (a widely used measure of posttraumatic stress symptoms). Results support the use of computerized, nonexplicit, reappraisal training after a stressful event has occurred and provide a platform for future translational studies with clinical populations that have experienced significant real-world stress or trauma.

  11. Prevalence of job-related distress and satisfaction in a nationwide cardiology setting: The IANUS - itAliaN cardiologists' Undetected distress Study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Majani, Giuseppina; Di Tano, Giuseppe; Giardini, Anna; De Maria, Renata; Russo, Giulia; Maestri, Roberto; Marini, Marco; Milli, Massimo; Aspromonte, Nadia

    2016-08-01

    Cardiologists' work distress has been seldom studied. The ItAliaN cardiologists' Undetected distress Study survey was designed to assess prevalence of work distress and satisfaction, and to gain insight into associations among these constructs and socio-demographics and job description. We invited members of our national cardiological society (Associazione Nazionale Medici Cardiologi Ospedalieri) to participate in an anonymous, self-report, exclusively web-based survey, posted on the Associazione Nazionale Medici Cardiologi Ospedalieri website. ItAliaN cardiologists' Undetected distress Study included socio-demographics, job description and a 15-item questionnaire on job-related distress and work satisfaction. Of 7393 invited cardiologists, 1064 completed the survey. Organizational problems and worries about medico-legal controversies were reported by 71% and 49% of participants, respectively; over one-third reported loss of enthusiasm, helplessness, work-life imbalance and lack of control over work. Conversely, 86% felt competent at work, 67% rewarded by the moral/human meaning of their work and 52% satisfied with their professional fulfilment. Factor analysis revealed a meaningful underlying structure including four factors: job strain, positive meaning, emotional fatigue and relational difficulties. Relational difficulties were more frequent in cardiologists working in primary-level than in secondary and tertiary care hospitals (P = 0.017 and P = 0.013, respectively). Interventional cardiologists reported higher positive meaning than those in the clinical inpatients area and outpatient diagnostic settings (P = 0.007 and P = 0.025, respectively) and lower emotional fatigue than subjects in the clinical inpatients area (P = 0.0005). Cardiologists' work distress should be interpreted integrating job-related negative aspects with a reappraisal of protective personal and relational resources, which should be fostered to promote physicians

  12. Understanding the Links Between Self-Report Emotional Intelligence and Suicide Risk: Does Psychological Distress Mediate This Relationship Across Time and Samples?

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sergio Mérida-López

    2018-05-01

    Full Text Available Objective: In the last decades, increasing attention has been paid to examining psychological resources that might contribute to our understanding of suicide risk. Although Emotional Intelligence (EI is one dimension that has been linked with decreased suicidal ideation and behaviors, we detected several gaps in the literature in this area regarding the research designs and samples involved. In this research, we aimed to test a mediator model considering self-report EI, psychological distress and suicide risk across samples adopting both cross-sectional and prospective designs in two independent studies.Method: In Study 1, our purpose was to examine the potential role of psychological distress as a mediator in the relationship between self-report EI and suicide risk in a community sample comprised of 438 adults (270 women; mean age: 33.21 years. In Study 2, we sought to examine the proposed mediator model considering a 2-month prospective design in a sample of college students (n = 330 in T1; n = 311 in T2; 264 women; mean age: 22.22 years.Results: In Study 1, we found that psychological distress partially mediated the effect of self-report EI on suicide risk. More interestingly, findings from Study 2 showed that psychological distress fully mediated the relationship between self-report EI and suicide risk at Time 2.Conclusion: These results point out the role of psychological distress as a mediator in the association between self-report EI and suicide risk. These findings suggest an underlying process by which self-report EI may act as a protective factor against suicidal ideation and behaviors. In line with the limitations of our work, plausible avenues for future research and interventions are discussed.

  13. Untangling the Links of Parental Responsiveness to Distress and Warmth to Child Outcomes

    Science.gov (United States)

    Davidov, Maayan; Grusec, Joan, E.

    2006-01-01

    This study demonstrated separate linkages between 2 features of positive parenting responsiveness to distress and warmth and different aspects of children's socio-emotional functioning, in a sample of 106 children (6-8 years old). As expected, mothers' and fathers' responsiveness to distress, but not warmth, predicted better negative affect…

  14. Empathy in adolescence: Relations with emotion awareness and social roles.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rieffe, Carolien; Camodeca, Marina

    2016-09-01

    In this study, we aimed at gaining a better understanding of the individual differences contributing to feelings of empathy in adolescents. Therefore, we examined the extent to which emotion awareness (e.g., recognizing and appreciating one's own and the emotions of others) and a tendency for certain social roles (e.g., helping or teasing peers when being bullied) are related to adolescents' levels of empathy. The sample was comprised of 182 adolescents aged between 11 and 16. Empathy and emotion awareness were assessed using self-report measures. Peer reports were used to indicate adolescents' different social roles: Bullying, defending the victim, and outsider behaviour. Outcomes demonstrated that evaluating one's own and the emotions of others, and more defending nominations were associated with both affective and cognitive empathy, whereas aspects of emotion awareness which are linked with internalizing symptoms were related to empathic distress, suggesting maladaptive emotion appraisal. Furthermore, outsider behaviour was associated with empathic distress, emphasizing a self-focused orientation. In contrast, more bullying was negatively associated with cognitive empathy. Overall, these outcomes demonstrate that, besides social roles, emotion awareness is an important factor for adaptive empathic reactions, whereas emotion dysregulation might cause distress when witnessing the negative feelings of others. © 2016 The British Psychological Society.

  15. How do cognition, emotion, and epileptogenesis meet? A study of emotional cognitive bias in temporal lobe epilepsy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lanteaume, Laura; Bartolomei, Fabrice; Bastien-Toniazzo, Mireille

    2009-06-01

    Emotional distress is one of the most frequently reported seizure precipitants in epilepsy, but little is known about its causes and processes. Interestingly, it is now accepted that emotional distress, such as anxiety, may be accompanied by evolutionary adaptation, or abnormal attentional vigilance toward threatening stimuli. The goal of this research was to study the link between emotional seizure precipitants and pathological attention-related biases toward threat in temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE). To this aim, patients were asked to report the extent to which seizures were elicited or not by emotional precipitants, allowing distinction of two groups: "Emo-TLE" group and "Other-TLE" group. Attentional biases were investigated by comparing patients' emotional Stroop and dot detection paradigms with those of healthy individuals (control group). We found that the Emo-TLE group was characterized by attentional bias toward threatening stimuli compared with neutral stimuli and compared with the other two groups. We thus hypothesize that attentional biases related to threat in patients with TLE may sustain emotional vulnerability and seizure occurrence.

  16. Psychological distress and mortality in systolic heart failure

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Pelle, Aline J; Pedersen, Susanne S.; Schiffer, Angélique A

    2010-01-01

    Depression, anxiety, and type D ("distressed") personality (tendency to experience negative emotions paired with social inhibition) have been associated with poor prognosis in coronary heart disease, but little is known about their role in chronic heart failure. Therefore, we investigated whether...

  17. Routine cognitive errors: a trait-like predictor of individual differences in anxiety and distress.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fetterman, Adam K; Robinson, Michael D

    2011-02-01

    Five studies (N=361) sought to model a class of errors--namely, those in routine tasks--that several literatures have suggested may predispose individuals to higher levels of emotional distress. Individual differences in error frequency were assessed in choice reaction-time tasks of a routine cognitive type. In Study 1, it was found that tendencies toward error in such tasks exhibit trait-like stability over time. In Study 3, it was found that tendencies toward error exhibit trait-like consistency across different tasks. Higher error frequency, in turn, predicted higher levels of negative affect, general distress symptoms, displayed levels of negative emotion during an interview, and momentary experiences of negative emotion in daily life (Studies 2-5). In all cases, such predictive relations remained significant with individual differences in neuroticism controlled. The results thus converge on the idea that error frequency in simple cognitive tasks is a significant and consequential predictor of emotional distress in everyday life. The results are novel, but discussed within the context of the wider literatures that informed them. © 2010 Psychology Press, an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an Informa business

  18. Distress disclosure and psychological functioning among Taiwanese nationals and European Americans: The moderating roles of mindfulness and nationality.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kahn, Jeffrey H; Wei, Meifen; Su, Jenny C; Han, Suejung; Strojewska, Agnes

    2017-04-01

    Research using Western samples shows that talking about unpleasant emotions-distress disclosure-is associated with fewer psychological symptoms and higher well-being. These benefits of distress disclosure may or may not be observed in East Asia where emotional control is valued. Instead, mindfulness may be more relevant to emotion regulation in East Asia (e.g., Taiwan). In the present study, cultural context (Taiwanese nationals vs. European Americans) and mindfulness were examined as moderators of the relation between distress disclosure and both depression symptoms and life satisfaction. A sample of 256 Taiwanese college students and a sample of 209 European American college students completed self-report measures in their native language. Moderated multiple regression analyses revealed significant interaction effects of mindfulness and distress disclosure on both depression symptoms and life satisfaction for Taiwanese participants but not for European Americans. Specifically, distress disclosure was negatively associated with depression symptoms and positively associated with life satisfaction for Taiwanese low in mindfulness but not for Taiwanese high in mindfulness. For European Americans, distress disclosure was not associated with depression symptoms but was associated with higher life satisfaction, regardless of one's level of mindfulness. These findings suggest that the potential benefits of disclosing distress are a function of one's cultural context as well as, for those from Taiwan, one's mindfulness. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2017 APA, all rights reserved).

  19. The ethics of distress: toward a framework for determining the ethical acceptability of distressing health promotion advertising.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brown, Stephen L; Whiting, Demian

    2014-04-01

    Distressing health promotion advertising involves the elicitation of negative emotion to increase the likelihood that health messages will stimulate audience members to adopt healthier behaviors. Irrespective of its effectiveness, distressing advertising risks harming audience members who do not consent to the intervention and are unable to withdraw from it. Further, the use of these approaches may increase the potential for unfairness or stigmatization toward those targeted, or be considered unacceptable by some sections of the public. We acknowledge and discuss these concerns, but, using the public health ethics literature as a guide, argue that distressing advertising can be ethically defensible if conditions of effectiveness, proportionality necessity, least infringement, and public accountability are satisfied. We do not take a broad view as to whether distressing advertising is ethical or unethical, because we see the evidence for both the effectiveness of distressing approaches and their potential to generate iatrogenic effects to be inconclusive. However, we believe it possible to use the current evidence base to make informed estimates of the likely consequences of specific message presentations. Messages can be pre-tested and monitored to identify and deal with potential problems. We discuss how advertisers can approach the problems of deciding on the appropriate intensity of ethical review, and evaluating prospective distressing advertising campaigns against the conditions outlined. © 2013 International Union of Psychological Science.

  20. The Effects of Self-Book© Art Therapy on Cancer-Related Distress in Female Cancer Patients during Active Treatment: A Randomized Controlled Trial.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Radl, Donna; Vita, Maureen; Gerber, Nancy; Gracely, Edward J; Bradt, Joke

    2018-05-10

    National attention on patients' cancer-related emotional distress produced a need for evidence-based, psychosocial interventions in oncology care. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of Self-Book© art therapy for emotional distress and psychological well-being of female oncology patients during active oncology treatment. Sixty consenting women with cancer were randomly assigned to either a six-session Self-Book© art therapy program or standard care. A repeated measures randomized controlled trial design was employed. Data were collected using the Distress Thermometer (DT), Perceived Emotional Distress Inventory (PEDI), Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System (PROMIS) Brief Psychological Well-being test, and the Functional Assessment of Chronic Illness Therapy - Spiritual Well-being (FACIT-Sp). Measurements were obtained at baseline, week 3, week 6, and 1-to-2 months post-intervention. Forty participants were included in the final analysis. No significant differences between groups were found for the primary outcome measures: emotional distress and psychological well-being. Greater improvements in Self-Book© art therapy participants' spiritual well-being were found compared to the standard care control participants (p = 0.02). Although no statistically significant differences were present between the groups for the primary outcomes, several positive trends were noted. Thirty percent of Self-Book© art therapy participants reported post-intervention emotional distress scores that were below the abnormal range for emotional distress, compared with only 5% of standard care control participants, suggesting that Self-Book© art therapy may have clinical value. Further studies are recommended to better understand the therapeutic mechanisms of Self-Book© art therapy for enhancing psychological well-being. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

  1. Longitudinal Influence of Paternal Distress on Children’s Representations of Fathers, Family Cohesion, and Family Conflict

    Science.gov (United States)

    Adamsons, Kari L.; Robinson, JoAnn L.; Sabatelli, Ronald M.

    2014-01-01

    A parent’s distress is known to color children’s experiences of their families. Studies, however, have rarely focused on the levels of distress experienced by fathers, and in particular, as they affect the emotional experiences of their children. We examine the impact that fathers’ experience of distress throughout their children’s early years has on children’s emerging narrative representations of father-child relationships and of family conflict and cohesion. In this longitudinal investigation, fathers of young children reported their distress on two occasions in relation to self, the marital relationship, and the family climate. Fathers also concurrently reported on their children’s temperament, specifically negative emotionality. Children responded to story stem beginnings about challenging situations in the family and their narratives were scored for dysregulated negative-disciplinary and positive parental behaviors of fathers, family conflict themes, and family harmony themes. It was hypothesized that children of more distressed fathers would represent greater dysregulated fathering and higher levels of family conflict, and lower levels of positive fathering and family harmony than children of less distressed fathers. Further, the study examined whether this effect was mediated through the fathers’ reports of their children’s negative emotionality. Results partially supported the hypothesized direct and indirect effects. Children’s narratives of negative-disciplinary fathering and family conflict were more common in boys when fathers reported greater distress, and temperament ratings fully mediated this effect. However, their narratives of positive fathering and family harmony were not significantly affected. That positive family features were preserved in children’s narratives even in the face of greater father distress suggests that families may be able to build resilience to internalized distress through these positive narrative

  2. The relationship between behavioural problems in preschool children and parental distress after a paediatric burn event.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bakker, Anne; van der Heijden, Peter G M; van Son, Maarten J M; van de Schoot, Rens; Vandermeulen, Els; Helsen, Ann; Van Loey, Nancy E E

    2014-09-01

    This study examines mother- and father-rated emotional and behaviour problems in and worries about 0- to 5-year-old children at 3 and 12 months after a burn event and the relation with parental distress. Mothers (n = 150) and fathers (n = 125) representing 155 children participated in this study. Child emotional and behaviour problems and parental worries about the child were assessed with the Child Behavior Checklist at both time points. Parents' level of acute subjective distress was assessed within the first month after the burn event with the Impact of Event Scale. Mothers and fathers held comparable views of their child's emotional and behaviour problems, which were generally within the normal limits. Parents' own acute stress reactions were significantly related to parent-rated child behaviour problems at 3 and 12 months postburn. A substantial part of mothers' and fathers' worries about the child concerned physical and emotional aspects of the burn trauma, and potential future social problems. Parents with high acute stress scores more often reported burn-related concerns about their child at 3 and 12 months postburn. Health-care professionals should be informed that parents' distress in the subacute phase of their child's burn event may be related to subsequent worries about their child and to (parent-observed) child emotional and behaviour problems. The authors recommend a family perspective, with particular attention for the interplay between parents' distress and parent-reported child behaviour problems and worries, in each phase of paediatric burn care.

  3. Effect of Social Intolerance on Psychological Distress in Cardiac Patients

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zonash, R.; Arouj, K.

    2017-01-01

    Background: The patients with diverse cardiac issues and physical illness experience different levels of social intolerance, depression, anxiety and stress. Objectives: To explore the relationship between social intolerance and psychological distress among cardiac patients and investigate the effect of different type of cardiac illness, its duration and physical symptoms on social intolerance and psychological distress. Study design, settings and duration: Cross-sectional study, conducted at Benazir Bhutto Hospital (BBH), Rawalpindi Institute of Cardiology (RIC), Hearts International Hospital (HIH) and Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS) from September-December, 2014. Patients and Methods: The sample size of 180 adult cardiac patients was collected. These patients were selected from the cardiac units of 4 hospitals of Rawalpindi using purposive sampling. Social intolerance was assessed using Frustration Discomfort Scale (FDS), distress was assessed using depression anxiety and stress scale (DASS) Results: Out of 180 patients, 53.3 percent were males and 46.7 percent females. Their ages ranged from 20 to 60 years. Results revealed significant discomfort intolerance, (p < 0.01) entitlement (p < 0.05) and emotional intolerance (p < 0.01) in these patients. There was 45 percent variance in depression, while discomfort intolerance (p < 0.01) and achievement frustration (p< 0.01) showed 35 percent variance in anxiety. Conclusion: Cardiac patients suffer from major emotional distress.(author)

  4. Does Daily Distress Make Parents Prone to Using Psychologically Controlling Parenting?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Aunola, Kaisa; Viljaranta, Jaana; Tolvanen, Asko

    2017-01-01

    The aim of the present study was to investigate whether parental daily distress in terms of negative emotions is associated with the daily variation in parental use of psychological control with their children. Whether parental positive emotions play a role in the use of psychological control was also investigated. The participants were 149…

  5. Assessing Suicide Risk and Emotional Distress in Chinese Social Media: A Text Mining and Machine Learning Study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cheng, Qijin; Li, Tim Mh; Kwok, Chi-Leung; Zhu, Tingshao; Yip, Paul Sf

    2017-07-10

    Early identification and intervention are imperative for suicide prevention. However, at-risk people often neither seek help nor take professional assessment. A tool to automatically assess their risk levels in natural settings can increase the opportunity for early intervention. The aim of this study was to explore whether computerized language analysis methods can be utilized to assess one's suicide risk and emotional distress in Chinese social media. A Web-based survey of Chinese social media (ie, Weibo) users was conducted to measure their suicide risk factors including suicide probability, Weibo suicide communication (WSC), depression, anxiety, and stress levels. Participants' Weibo posts published in the public domain were also downloaded with their consent. The Weibo posts were parsed and fitted into Simplified Chinese-Linguistic Inquiry and Word Count (SC-LIWC) categories. The associations between SC-LIWC features and the 5 suicide risk factors were examined by logistic regression. Furthermore, the support vector machine (SVM) model was applied based on the language features to automatically classify whether a Weibo user exhibited any of the 5 risk factors. A total of 974 Weibo users participated in the survey. Those with high suicide probability were marked by a higher usage of pronoun (odds ratio, OR=1.18, P=.001), prepend words (OR=1.49, P=.02), multifunction words (OR=1.12, P=.04), a lower usage of verb (OR=0.78, Psuicide probability (area under the curve, AUC=0.61, P=.04) and severe anxiety (AUC=0.75, Psuicide risk and emotional distress in Chinese social media and can identify characteristics different from previous findings in the English literature. Some findings are leading to new hypotheses for future verification. Machine classifiers based on SC-LIWC features are promising but still require further optimization for application in real life. ©Qijin Cheng, Tim MH Li, Chi-Leung Kwok, Tingshao Zhu, Paul SF Yip. Originally published in the Journal of

  6. Motivation to change and posttreatment temptation to drink: a multicenter study among alcohol-dependent patients

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Fiabane E

    2017-10-01

    Full Text Available Elena Fiabane,1,2 Marcella Ottonello,1,3 Valeria Zavan,4 Caterina Pistarini,1 Ines Giorgi5 1Department of Physical and Rehabilitation Medicine, ICS Maugeri Spa SB, Institute of Genoa Nervi, Genoa, 2Department of Brain and Behavioral Sciences, University of Pavia, Pavia, 3Department of Medicine, PhD Program in Advance Sciences and Technologies in Rehabilitation Medicine and Sport, Università di Tor Vergata, Rome, 4Alcohol Unit, Addiction Department, Alessandria, 5Psychology Unit, ICS Maugeri Spa SB, Scientific Institute of Pavia, Pavia, Italy Background: An inpatient 28-day rehabilitation program for alcohol dependence is focused on detoxification, enhancing motivation to change, and coping strategies for the management of emotional distress and temptation to drink. The aims of the present study were to investigate 1 changes over time in motivation to change, anxiety, and depression in individuals undergoing residential rehabilitation treatment for alcohol addiction, and 2 which pretreatment factors are associated with posttreatment temptation to drink.Methods: We assessed 432 patients diagnosed with alcohol dependence based on the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (Fourth Edition, Text Revision consecutively recruited from seven residential rehabilitation centers in Northern Italy. Patients were assessed by means of self-report questionnaires at the beginning of rehabilitation (pretreatment and before their hospital discharge (posttreatment regarding motivation to change and self-efficacy (motivation assessment of change – alcoholism version, readiness to change and temptation to drink (visual analog scales, and depression and anxiety (cognitive behavioral assessment – outcome evaluation.Results: Results showed an overall improvement in motivation to change and a significant reduction over time in depression and anxiety levels for the total sample, particularly patients with low baseline level of temptation to drink

  7. Women with breast cancer: self-reported distress in early survivorship.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lester, Joanne; Crosthwaite, Kara; Stout, Robin; Jones, Rachel N; Holloman, Christopher; Shapiro, Charles; Andersen, Barbara L

    2015-01-01

    To identify and compare levels of distress and sources of problems among patients with breast cancer in early survivorship. Descriptive, cross-sectional. A National Cancer Institute-designated comprehensive cancer center. 100 breast cancer survivors were selected to represent four time points in the cancer trajectory. Distress was self-reported using the Distress Thermometer and its 38-item problem list. Analysis of variance and chi-square analyses were performed as appropriate. Distress scores, problem reports, and time groups. Participants scored in range of the cutoff of more than 4 (range = 4.1-5.1) from treatment through three months post-treatment. At six months post-treatment, distress levels were significantly lower. Significant differences were found between groups on the total problem list score (p = 0.007) and emotional (p = 0.01) and physical subscale scores (p = 0.003). Comparison of groups at different points in the cancer trajectory found similar elevated levels from diagnosis through three months. Distress remained elevated in early survivorship but significantly decreased at six months post-treatment. Interventions to reduce or prevent distress may improve outcomes in early survivorship.

  8. Emotional Dissonance, Mental Health Complaints, and Sickness Absence Among Health- and Social Workers. The Moderating Role of Self-Efficacy

    Science.gov (United States)

    Indregard, Anne-Marthe R.; Knardahl, Stein; Nielsen, Morten B.

    2018-01-01

    Health- and social workers are frequently exposed to emotionally demanding work situations that require emotion regulation. Studies have demonstrated a direct relationship between emotion regulation and health complaints and sickness absence. In order to prevent health complaints and to reduce sickness absence among health- and social workers, there is need for greater attention to mechanisms explaining when and how emotionally demanding work situations are related to employee health and sickness absence. The overarching aim of this study was therefore to examine the moderating role of generalized self-efficacy on the association between emotional dissonance, employee health (mental distress and exhaustion), and registry based sickness absence. The sample consisted of 937 health- and social workers. Data on emotional dissonance, generalized self-efficacy, exhaustion, and mental distress was collected through questionnaires, whereas official registry data were used to assess sickness absence. A two-step hierarchical regression analysis showed that emotional dissonance was significantly associated with exhaustion, mental distress, and sickness absence, after adjusting for sex, age, and occupation. Interaction analyses with simple slope tests found that self-efficacy moderated the association between emotional dissonance and both exhaustion and mental distress, but not the association with sickness absence. This study shows that health- and social workers who frequently experience emotional dissonance report higher levels of exhaustion and mental distress, and have a higher risk of medically certified sickness absence. Further, health- and social workers with lower self-efficacy beliefs are apparently more sensitive to the degree of emotional dissonance and experienced higher levels of exhaustion and mental distress. PMID:29740375

  9. Emotional Dissonance, Mental Health Complaints, and Sickness Absence Among Health- and Social Workers. The Moderating Role of Self-Efficacy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Indregard, Anne-Marthe R; Knardahl, Stein; Nielsen, Morten B

    2018-01-01

    Health- and social workers are frequently exposed to emotionally demanding work situations that require emotion regulation. Studies have demonstrated a direct relationship between emotion regulation and health complaints and sickness absence. In order to prevent health complaints and to reduce sickness absence among health- and social workers, there is need for greater attention to mechanisms explaining when and how emotionally demanding work situations are related to employee health and sickness absence. The overarching aim of this study was therefore to examine the moderating role of generalized self-efficacy on the association between emotional dissonance, employee health (mental distress and exhaustion), and registry based sickness absence. The sample consisted of 937 health- and social workers. Data on emotional dissonance, generalized self-efficacy, exhaustion, and mental distress was collected through questionnaires, whereas official registry data were used to assess sickness absence. A two-step hierarchical regression analysis showed that emotional dissonance was significantly associated with exhaustion, mental distress, and sickness absence, after adjusting for sex, age, and occupation. Interaction analyses with simple slope tests found that self-efficacy moderated the association between emotional dissonance and both exhaustion and mental distress, but not the association with sickness absence. This study shows that health- and social workers who frequently experience emotional dissonance report higher levels of exhaustion and mental distress, and have a higher risk of medically certified sickness absence. Further, health- and social workers with lower self-efficacy beliefs are apparently more sensitive to the degree of emotional dissonance and experienced higher levels of exhaustion and mental distress.

  10. Stress, social support and problem drinking among women in poverty.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mulia, Nina; Schmidt, Laura; Bond, Jason; Jacobs, Laurie; Korcha, Rachael

    2008-08-01

    Previous studies have found that stress contributes to problem drinking, while social support can buffer its effects. However, these studies are confined largely to middle-class and general populations. We extend what is known by examining how the unique stressors and forms of social support experienced by women in poverty impact alcohol problems over a 4-year time-period. This prospective study used generalized estimating equations (GEE) transition modeling and four annual waves of survey data from 392 American mothers receiving Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) in a large Northern California county. We examined the effects of neighborhood disorder, stressful life events and economic hardship on psychological distress and problem drinking over time, and whether social support moderated these relationships for women in poverty. Neighborhood disorder and stressful life events increased significantly the risk for problem drinking, largely through their effect on psychological distress. We found little evidence, however, that social support buffers poor women from the effects of these stressors. Women in poverty are exposed to severe, chronic stressors within their communities and immediate social networks which increase vulnerability to psychological distress and problem drinking. The finding that social support does not buffer stress among these women may reflect their high level of exposure to stressors, as well as the hardships and scarce resources within their networks. If the 'private safety net' of the social network fails to provide a strong buffer, more effective environmental interventions that reduce exposure to stressors may be needed to prevent alcohol problems in poor women's lives.

  11. Infant pupil diameter changes in response to others' positive and negative emotions.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Elena Geangu

    Full Text Available It has been suggested that infants resonate emotionally to others' positive and negative affect displays, and that these responses become stronger towards emotions with negative valence around the age of 12-months. In this study we measured 6- and 12-month-old infants' changes in pupil diameter when presented with the image and sound of peers experiencing happiness, distress and an emotionally neutral state. For all participants the perception of another's distress triggered larger pupil diameters. Perceiving other's happiness also induced larger pupil diameters but for shorter time intervals. Importantly, we also found evidence for an asymmetry in autonomous arousal towards positive versus negative emotional displays. Larger pupil sizes for another's distress compared to another's happiness were recorded shortly after stimulus onset for the older infants, and in a later time window for the 6-month-olds. These findings suggest that arousal responses for negative as well as for positive emotions are present in the second half of the first postnatal year. Importantly, an asymmetry with stronger responses for negative emotions seems to be already present at this age.

  12. Communication and interpretation of emotional distress within the friendships of young Irish men prior to suicide: a qualitative study.

    LENUS (Irish Health Repository)

    Sweeney, Lorna

    2014-10-16

    The potential for young men in crisis to be supported by their lay networks is an important issue for suicide prevention, due to the under-utilisation of healthcare services by this population. Central to the provision of lay support is the capability of social networks to recognise and respond effectively to young men\\'s psychological distress and suicide risk. The aim of this qualitative study was to explore young men\\'s narratives of peer suicide, in order to identify how they interpreted and responded to behavioural changes and indications of distress from their friend before suicide. In-depth qualitative interviews were conducted during 2009\\/10 with 15 Irish males (aged 19-30 years) who had experienced the death by suicide of a male friend in the preceding 5 years. The data were analysed using a thematic approach. Through the analysis of the participants\\' stories and experiences, we identified several features of young male friendships and social interactions that could be addressed to strengthen the support available to young men in crisis. These included the reluctance of young men to discuss emotional or personal issues within male friendships; the tendency to reveal worries and emotion only within the context of alcohol consumption; the tendency of friends to respond in a dismissive or disapproving way to communication of suicidal thoughts; the difficulty of knowing how to interpret a friend\\'s inconsistent or ambiguous behaviour prior to suicide; and beliefs about the sort of person who takes their own life. Community-based suicide prevention initiatives must enhance the potential of young male social networks to support young men in crisis, through specific provisions for developing openness in communication and responsiveness, and improved education about suicide risk.

  13. Communication and interpretation of emotional distress within the friendships of young Irish men prior to suicide: a qualitative study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sweeney, Lorna; Owens, Christabel; Malone, Kevin

    2015-03-01

    The potential for young men in crisis to be supported by their lay networks is an important issue for suicide prevention, due to the under-utilisation of healthcare services by this population. Central to the provision of lay support is the capability of social networks to recognise and respond effectively to young men's psychological distress and suicide risk. The aim of this qualitative study was to explore young men's narratives of peer suicide, in order to identify how they interpreted and responded to behavioural changes and indications of distress from their friend before suicide. In-depth qualitative interviews were conducted during 2009/10 with 15 Irish males (aged 19-30 years) who had experienced the death by suicide of a male friend in the preceding 5 years. The data were analysed using a thematic approach. Through the analysis of the participants' stories and experiences, we identified several features of young male friendships and social interactions that could be addressed to strengthen the support available to young men in crisis. These included the reluctance of young men to discuss emotional or personal issues within male friendships; the tendency to reveal worries and emotion only within the context of alcohol consumption; the tendency of friends to respond in a dismissive or disapproving way to communication of suicidal thoughts; the difficulty of knowing how to interpret a friend's inconsistent or ambiguous behaviour prior to suicide; and beliefs about the sort of person who takes their own life. Community-based suicide prevention initiatives must enhance the potential of young male social networks to support young men in crisis, through specific provisions for developing openness in communication and responsiveness, and improved education about suicide risk. © 2014 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  14. Potential predictors of psychological distress and well-being in medical students: a cross-sectional pilot study

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Bore M

    2016-03-01

    Full Text Available Miles Bore,1 Brian Kelly,2 Balakrishnan Nair2 1School of Psychology, 2School of Medicine and Public Health, University of Newcastle, Newcastle, NSW, Australia Purpose: Research has consistently found that the proportion of medical students who experience high levels of psychological distress is significantly greater than that found in the general population. The aim of our research was to assess the levels of psychological distress more extensively than has been done before, and to determine likely predictors of distress and well-being. Subjects and methods: In 2013, students from an Australian undergraduate medical school (n=127 completed a questionnaire that recorded general demographics, hours per week spent studying, in paid work, volunteer work, and physical exercise; past and current physical and mental health, social support, substance use, measures of psychological distress (Kessler Psychological Distress Scale, depression, anxiety, stress, burnout; and personality traits. Results: Females were found to have higher levels of psychological distress than males. However, in regression analysis, the effect of sex was reduced to nonsignificance when other variables were included as predictors of psychological distress. The most consistent significant predictors of our 20 indicators of psychological distress were social support and the personality traits of emotional resilience and self-control. Conclusion: The findings suggest that emotional resilience skills training embedded into the medical school curriculum could reduce psychological distress among medical students. Keywords: medical student, well-being, psychological distress, personality

  15. Emotional adjustment and distressed interpersonal relations among low-income African American mothers: moderating effects of demanding kin relations.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Taylor, Ronald D; Budescu, Mia

    2013-01-01

    Association of mothers' emotional adjustment and negative kin relations with distressed interpersonal relations was examined. Among 115 low-income African American mothers, relationship of depressive symptoms, self-esteem, and demanding kin relations with psychological control and stressful interpersonal relations was assessed. Depressive symptoms and demanding kin relations were positively associated with mothers' use of psychological control in parenting. Interaction of self-esteem with demanding kin relations revealed that self-esteem was negatively associated with psychological control for mothers with high-demanding kin relations but not for mothers with low-demanding kin relations. Mothers' depressive symptoms and demanding kin relations were positively associated with their stressful interpersonal relations. Findings were discussed in terms of the need for research on the beneficial and detrimental aspects of families' social network.

  16. Emotion episodes during psychotherapy sessions among women newly diagnosed with gynecological cancers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Myers Virtue, Shannon; Manne, Sharon L; Darabos, Kathleen; Heckman, Carolyn J; Ozga, Melissa; Kissane, David; Rubin, Stephen; Rosenblum, Norman

    2015-09-01

    The aim of this study was to describe emotion episodes during early and late psychotherapy sessions among women newly diagnosed with gynecological cancer and to examine whether the total number of emotion episodes during early and later sessions was associated with baseline psychological distress, dispositional emotion expressivity, and patient-rated therapeutic progress. The study utilized data from an ongoing study examining the efficacy of two psychotherapy interventions, a coping and communication intervention and a supportive counseling intervention, for women diagnosed with gynecological cancer. Emotion episode coding was completed for the first and sixth psychotherapy sessions for each patient randomized to receive psychotherapy (N = 173). Patients completed baseline survey measures of psychological distress and dispositional emotional expressivity and post-session ratings of therapeutic progress. The average number of emotion episodes was 7.4 in the first session and 5.2 episodes in the sixth session. In both sessions, the majority of emotion episodes contained only negative emotions and focused on a cancer-related topic. A higher number of emotion episodes in the first session was associated with higher psychological distress reported in the baseline survey (p = 0.02). A higher number of emotion episodes in the sixth session was associated with a higher number of emotion episodes in the first session (p psychotherapy among women diagnosed with gynecological cancer. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  17. Life events and difficulties and their association with antenatal distress in White and South Asian women in the UK.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Traviss, Gemma D; Meer, Shaista; West, Robert M; House, Allan O

    2013-05-01

    Symptoms of distress during pregnancy are common and often go unnoticed. There is a well-established relation between life events and depression. The current study aims to explore the association between life events and difficulties, and symptoms of emotional and somatic distress during pregnancy in White and South Asian women in the UK. 100 pregnant women attending routine antenatal appointments were interviewed using the Life Events and Difficulties Schedule (LEDS). We investigated the frequency and type of events experienced in the year prior to conception and during pregnancy, as predictors for somatic and emotional distress, measured using the GHQ-28. Non-severe stressors accounted for over 90 % of those reported, half of which (43-53 %) were health and reproduction-related. Somatic symptoms were associated with the number of non-severe events, and number of children and emotional symptoms were associated with non-marked difficulties. There was little evidence of an association between severe events and distress. Ethnicity had little effect on any associations although South Asian women were at slightly higher odds of experiencing emotional symptoms, which appear to be buffered by social support. In routine antenatal care it is important to assess both emotional and somatic symptoms. Health professionals need to be sensitive to the health, social, cultural and environmental circumstances of women during pregnancy and ensure appropriate support is in place, particularly for multi-parous women. Regression models explained a small but significant amount of the variance in distress symptoms. Further work is necessary to explore other contributory factors and also the mechanisms through which stressors have their effect.

  18. The possibility of nuclear war: Appraisal, coping and emotional response

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kanofsky, S.

    1989-01-01

    This study used Lazarus and Folkman's (1984) model of appraisal and coping to explore people's emotional response to the possibility of nuclear war. Sixty-seven women and 49 men participated in a questionnaire study. The sample represented a cross-section of Americans by age and ethnic group but had more education and higher occupational status scores than is typical for the greater population. Sampling limitations and the political climate at the time of questionnaire administration suggested that the present findings be interpreted cautiously. Nevertheless, results suggested the importance of appraisal, defined in this study as the estimated probability of nuclear war and beliefs that citizen efforts to reduce the likelihood of nuclear war can be effective, and coping as factors in people's nuclear threat related emotional response. Six of the study's 11 hypotheses received at least partial confirmation. One or more measures of nuclear threat-related emotional distress were positively correlated with probability estimates of nuclear war, individual and collective response efficacy beliefs, and seeking social support in regard to the nuclear threat. Negative correlations were found between measures of threat-related distress and both trust in political leaders and distancing. Statistically significant relationships contrary to the other five hypotheses were also obtained. Measures of threat-related distress were positively, rather than negatively, correlated with escape avoidance and positive reappraisal coping efforts. Appraisal, coping, and emotion variables, acting together, predicted the extent of political activism regarding the nuclear arms race. It is useful to consider attitudes toward the nuclear arms race, distinguishing between intensity and frequency of emotional distress, and between measures of trait, state, and concept-specific emotionality in understanding emotional responses

  19. Psychological distress and coping in military cadre candidates

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Nakkas C

    2016-08-01

    Full Text Available Can Nakkas,1 Hubert Annen,1 Serge Brand2,3 1Department of Military Psychology Studies, Military Academy at ETH Zurich, Zurich, 2Psychiatric Clinics of the University of Basel, Center for Affective, Stress and Sleep Disorders, 3Department of Sport, Exercise and Health, Sport Science Section, University of Basel, Basel, Switzerland Background: Soldiers must cope with stressors during both military operations and training if they are to accomplish their missions successfully and stay mentally stable. This holds true particularly for military superiors, as they bear greater responsibilities and must meet greater demands during both deployment and training. Accordingly, in the present study, we investigated whether recruits chosen for further promotion at the end of basic training differed with regard to psychological distress and coping strategies from those not chosen for promotion, and whether recruits’ coping styles and distress levels were associated. Methods: A total of 675 Swiss recruits took part in the study. At the beginning of basic training, recruits filled out self-rating questionnaires covering demographic data, psychological distress (depression, somatization, anxiety, interpersonal sensitivity, and hostility, and coping styles. Results were compared between those recruits who received a recommendation for further promotion at the end of basic training and those who did not. Results: Recruits selected for promotion had lower scores for depressive symptoms and hostility, engaged more in active coping, and considered their coping to be more effective. Dysfunctional and functional coping were associated with higher and lower distress levels, respectively. Conclusion: Recruits recommended for promotion exhibited less psychological distress during basic training and exhibited a socially more conducive profile of distress. They also endorsed more efficient and more prosocial coping strategies than those recruits not recommended for

  20. In search of salience: phenomenological analysis of moral distress.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Manara, Duilio F; Villa, Giulia; Moranda, Dina

    2014-07-01

    The nurse's moral competences in the management of situations which present ethical implications are less investigated in literature than other ethical problems related to clinical nursing. Phenomenology affirms that emotional warmth is the first fundamental attitude as well as the premise of any ethical reasoning. Nevertheless, it is not clear how and when this could be confirmed in situations where the effect of emotions on the nurse's decisional process is undiscovered. To explore the processes through which situations of moral distress are determined for the nurses involved in nursing situations, a phenomenological-hermeneutic analysis of a nurse's report of an experience lived by her as a moral distress situation has been conducted. Nursing emerges as a relational doctrine that requires the nurse to have different degrees of personal involvement, the integration between logical-formal thinking and narrative thinking, the perception of the salience of the given situation also through the interpretation and management of one's own emotions, and the capacity to undergo a process of co-construction of shared meanings that the others might consider adequate for the resolution of her problem. Moral action requires the nurse to think constantly about the important things that are happening in a nursing situation. Commitment towards practical situations is directed to training in order to promote the nurse's reflective ability towards finding salience in nursing situations, but it is also directed to the management of nursing assistance and human resources for the initial impact that this reflexive ability has on patients' and their families' lives and on their need to be heard and assisted. The only case analysed does not allow generalizations. Further research is needed to investigate how feelings generated by emotional acceptance influence ethical decision making and moral distress in nursing situations. © 2014 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  1. Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy Plus Hypnosis for Distress During Breast Radiotherapy: A Randomized Trial.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Montgomery, Guy H; Sucala, Madalina; Dillon, Matthew J; Schnur, Julie B

    2017-10-01

    Radiotherapy is a common and effective treatment for women with breast cancer. However, radiotherapy has also been shown to adversely affect patients' emotional well-being. Currently, few mind-body interventions are designed to improve patients' quality of life during radiotherapy. One intervention which has demonstrated clinical efficacy in the breast cancer radiotherapy setting is Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy plus Hypnosis. The goal of this study was to investigate the impact of Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy plus Hypnosis on emotional distress in women with breast cancer undergoing radiotherapy. One hundred patients were randomly assigned to either the Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy plus Hypnosis (n = 50) or Attention Control (n = 50) group. Results revealed significant benefits of Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy plus Hypnosis on emotional distress at the mid-point (d = 0.54), the conclusion (d = 0.64), and 4 weeks following the conclusion (d = 0.65) of radiotherapy (all ps Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy plus Hypnosis as an evidence-based intervention to reduce emotional distress in women with breast cancer. Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy plus Hypnosis has the benefits of being brief, noninvasive, lacking side-effects, and producing beneficial effects which last beyond the conclusion of radiotherapy. Given these strengths, we propose that Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy plus Hypnosis is a strong candidate for greater dissemination and implementation in cancer populations.

  2. Violencia de género y otros factores asociados a la salud emocional de las usuarias del sector salud en México Gender violence and other factors associated with emotional distress in female users of public health services in Mexico

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Rosario Valdez-Santiago

    2006-01-01

    , tanto de malestar emocional como de violencia intrafamiliar. Además, se propone diseñar y poner en marcha programas de atención y referencia de casos de malestar emocional femenino y de violencia intrafamiliar.OBJECTIVE: To identify and describe the factors associated with emotional distress in a national sample of women users of public health services in Mexico, such a Secretaria de Salud (SSA, Instituto Mexicano del Seguro Social (IMSS, Instituto de Seguridad y Servicios Sociales de los Trabajadores del Estado (ISSSTE. MATERIAL AND METHODS: This research study was conducted using the database of the National Survey of Violence against Women that consisted of the responses of a total of 26 042 female users of health care services provided by the Mexican government health agencies. The Personal Health Scale (ESP per its initials in Spanish was used to assess emotional distress. To measure violence a 19-item scale which explores different types of violence as well as severity was used. The relationship between emotional distress and gender violence was determined through a binary logistic regression model, as were economic status and demographic variables. RESULTS: One of the most important findings of this study is the high prevalence of emotional distress (15.3% among women seeking health care services from the public sector and the relationship of such emotional distress with the experience of marital physical, psychological, and sexual violence. Factors associated with emotional distress among female users of health care services were age (26 and older; activity (laborer; working hours (71 hours a week or more; alcohol intake (greater intake; abuse during childhood (frequency and types of abuse; severity of marital violence (severe violence; socioeconomic status (very low SES; and type of dwelling (urban. CONCLUSIONS: The principal predictor of emotional distress was intimate partner abuse, especially in severe expression. The next predictor was violence in

  3. PENGGUNAAN KONTRASEPSI HORMONAL DAN DISTRESS EMOSIONAL SEBAGAI KONTRIBUTOR HIPERTENSI PEREMPUAN INDONESIA : TINJAUAN PERSPEKTIF JENDER

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Siti Isfandari

    2015-04-01

    Full Text Available AbstractContrary to the common assumption that pre-menopause women are protected from hypertension by estrogen, blood pressure measurement Riskesdas 2007 showed that the hypertension prevalence of women begin to catch up that of male on the age of 35 years. This article intends to discuss the increasing of hypertension prevalence among women using gender perspective on government policy of family planning program which place women as central target and inequality on social economywhich could lead to emotional distress as risk for early hypertension. Conducting theoritical review of gender and health, gender and hypertension, risk factor of hypertension. Then performing situationalanalysis of Indonesian data from 2010 Population Census, 2007 and 2010 Riskesdas report. The next step is to analyse the Indonesian situation from the data using the teoretical perspectives to explain the Indonesian female early hypertension phenomena. In addition to the common risk factors, hormonal contraceptive use and emotional distress could trigger hypertension. The prevalence of hormonal contraceptive use is around 30 – 40% among female 10 – 29 years. Female education and working status as proxy for social economy is relatively lower than male which could lead to emotional distress then hypertension. Indonesian female hypertension phenomena could be influenced by government policy on family planning program which place women as central target and inequality toward resources for women which lead to emotional distress. Recommendation To conduct regular monitoring on the impact of hormonal contraceptive use and to provide non pharmalogical intervention on hypertension management in addition to the pharmalogical intervention.Keywords : contraception, hypertension, emotional distress, gender, IndoneisaAbstrakBerbeda dengan teori yang menyatakan prevalensi hipertensi perempuan lebih rendah pada usia premenopause karena perlindungan hormon estrogen, hasil pengukuran

  4. Distress tolerance and physiological reactivity to stress predict women's problematic alcohol use.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Holzhauer, Cathryn Glanton; Wemm, Stephanie; Wulfert, Edelgard

    2017-06-01

    Research has shown that measures of reactivity to distress-including distress tolerance and physiological reactivity to stress-are dysregulated in women who misuse alcohol. These variables may interact and create a risk profile for young adult women, reflecting patterns of stress reactivity that confer a risk for alcohol misuse. The current study tested this hypothesis by examining the independent and interactive associations of subjective distress tolerance, behavioral distress tolerance, and physiological stress reactivity with women's alcohol misuse. The study was conducted with a sample of 91 college women recruited on a large northeastern university campus. Results showed that subjective levels of distress tolerance and physiological reactivity to stress (skin conductance reactivity, SCR), but not behavioral distress tolerance, were independently associated with alcohol misuse. In addition, subjective distress tolerance moderated the relationship between SCR and negative alcohol-related consequences. Specifically, women with low physiological reactivity (SCR) to a stressful task and greater urge to quickly rid themselves of distress (low subjective distress tolerance) endorsed a significantly greater number of adverse consequences from their alcohol use. These results extend prior findings by showing that, even among a nonclinical sample of women, lower stress reactivity in combination with low subjective distress tolerance is associated with increased risk for various drinking-related negative consequences. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2017 APA, all rights reserved).

  5. What is diabetes distress and how can we measure it? A narrative review and conceptual model

    OpenAIRE

    Dennick, K.; Sturt, J.; Speight, J.

    2017-01-01

    BACKGROUND: Diabetes distress is the negative emotional impact of living with diabetes. It has tangible clinical importance, being associated with sub-optimal self-care and glycemic control. Diabetes distress has been operationalized in various ways and several measures exist. Measurement clarity is needed for both scientific and clinical reasons. OBJECTIVES: To clarify the conceptualization and operationalization of diabetes distress, identify and distinguish relevant measures, a...

  6. Exploring Emotional Intelligence among Master's-Level Counseling Trainees

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gutierrez, Daniel; Mullen, Patrick R.; Fox, Jesse

    2017-01-01

    The authors explored the relationship between counseling trainees' emotional intelligence (EI), empathy, stress, distress, and demographics. Results indicated that higher levels of EI were associated with lower stress and distress, higher affective and cognitive empathy, and age. These findings suggest curricular integration of EI and potential…

  7. Associations Between Internet-Based Professional Social Networking and Emotional Distress

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jones, Jacquelynn R.; Colditz, Jason B.; Shensa, Ariel; Sidani, Jaime E.; Lin, Liu Yi; Terry, Martha Ann

    2016-01-01

    Abstract Professional social networking websites are commonly used among young professionals. In light of emerging concerns regarding social networking use and emotional distress, the purpose of this study was to investigate the association between frequency of use of LinkedIn, the most commonly used professional social networking website, and depression and anxiety among young adults. In October 2014, we assessed a nationally representative sample of 1,780 U.S. young adults between the ages of 19–32 regarding frequency of LinkedIn use, depression and anxiety, and sociodemographic covariates. We measured depression and anxiety using validated Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System measures. We used bivariable and multivariable logistic regression to assess the association between LinkedIn use and depression and anxiety, while controlling for age, sex, race, relationship status, living situation, household income, education level, and overall social media use. In weighted analyses, 72% of participants did not report use of LinkedIn, 16% reported at least some use, but less than once each week, and 12% reported use at least once per week. In multivariable analyses controlling for all covariates, compared with those who did not use LinkedIn, participants using LinkedIn at least once per week had significantly greater odds of increased depression (adjusted odds ratio [AOR] = 2.10, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.31–3.38) and increased anxiety (AOR = 2.79, 95% CI = 1.72–4.53). LinkedIn use was significantly related to both outcomes in a dose–response manner. Future research should investigate directionality of this association and possible reasons for it. PMID:27732077

  8. Associations Between Internet-Based Professional Social Networking and Emotional Distress.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jones, Jacquelynn R; Colditz, Jason B; Shensa, Ariel; Sidani, Jaime E; Lin, Liu Yi; Terry, Martha Ann; Primack, Brian A

    2016-10-01

    Professional social networking websites are commonly used among young professionals. In light of emerging concerns regarding social networking use and emotional distress, the purpose of this study was to investigate the association between frequency of use of LinkedIn, the most commonly used professional social networking website, and depression and anxiety among young adults. In October 2014, we assessed a nationally representative sample of 1,780 U.S. young adults between the ages of 19-32 regarding frequency of LinkedIn use, depression and anxiety, and sociodemographic covariates. We measured depression and anxiety using validated Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System measures. We used bivariable and multivariable logistic regression to assess the association between LinkedIn use and depression and anxiety, while controlling for age, sex, race, relationship status, living situation, household income, education level, and overall social media use. In weighted analyses, 72% of participants did not report use of LinkedIn, 16% reported at least some use, but less than once each week, and 12% reported use at least once per week. In multivariable analyses controlling for all covariates, compared with those who did not use LinkedIn, participants using LinkedIn at least once per week had significantly greater odds of increased depression (adjusted odds ratio [AOR] = 2.10, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.31-3.38) and increased anxiety (AOR = 2.79, 95% CI = 1.72-4.53). LinkedIn use was significantly related to both outcomes in a dose-response manner. Future research should investigate directionality of this association and possible reasons for it.

  9. Coding patient emotional cues and concerns in medical consultations: the Verona coding definitions of emotional sequences (VR-CoDES).

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Zimmermann, C.; Piccolo, L. del; Bensing, J.; Bergvik, S.; Haes, H. de; Eide, H.; Fletcher, I.; Goss, C.; Heaven, C.; Humphris, G.; Young-Mi, K.; Langewitz, W.; Meeuwesen, L.; Nuebling, M.; Rimondini, M.; Salmon, P.; Dulmen, S. van; Wissow, L.; Zandbelt, L.; Finset, A.

    2011-01-01

    Objective: To present the Verona Coding Definitions of Emotional Sequences (VR-CoDES CC), a consensus based system for coding patient expressions of emotional distress in medical consultations, defined as Cues or Concerns. Methods: The system was developed by an international group of communication

  10. The Distress Disclosure Index: a research review and multitrait-multimethod examination.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kahn, Jeffrey H; Hucke, Brandy E; Bradley, Allyson M; Glinski, Austin J; Malak, Brittany L

    2012-01-01

    The Distress Disclosure Index (DDI; J. H. Kahn & R. M. Hessling, 2001) is a brief self-report measure of one's tendency to disclose personally distressing information. The purpose of this article was to summarize what is known about the DDI, present new validity evidence, and make recommendations for use of the DDI. This article reviews research on the DDI from the past decade that indicates that distress disclosure is associated with well-being, professional help-seeking attitudes and intentions, and success in brief psychotherapy. On the basis of the reviewed literature, the authors report a reliability generalization study of DDI scores that strongly supports the internal consistency and test-retest reliability of DDI scores, and they review criterion-related and construct validity evidence. Next, the authors present a new multitrait-multimethod validity study of the DDI. Participants (N = 153) and peer informants (N = 153)--one per participant--completed paper-and-pencil questionnaire packets. Convergent validity of self-reported DDI scores was supported by a strong association with self-reports of emotional self-disclosure in response to a specific, unpleasant event, and self- and peer reports on the DDI were moderately correlated. DDI scores were not strongly associated with cognitive reappraisal and ambivalence over emotional expression, thus supporting discriminant validity. DDI scores were strongly associated with expressive suppression, and correlations between DDI scores and affect, depression symptoms, coping, and emotional expressivity were similar to those found with expressive suppression. The authors offer possible hypotheses explaining the overlap between distress disclosure and expressive suppression and present recommendations for future use of the DDI. (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved.

  11. Women's experiences of postnatal distress: a qualitative study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Coates, Rose; Ayers, Susan; de Visser, Richard

    2014-10-14

    Women can experience a range of psychological problems after birth, including anxiety, depression and adjustment disorders. However, research has predominantly focused on depression. Qualitative work on women's experiences of postnatal mental health problems has sampled women within particular diagnostic categories so not looked at the range of potential psychological problems. The aims of this study were to explore how women experienced and made sense of the range of emotional distress states in the first postnatal year. A qualitative study of 17 women who experienced psychological problems in the first year after having a baby. Semi-structured interviews took place in person (n =15) or on the telephone (n =2). Topics included women's experiences of becoming distressed and their recovery. Data were analysed using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA). Themes were developed within each interview before identifying similar themes for multiple participants across interviews, in order to retain an idiographic approach. Psychological processes such as guilt, avoidance and adjustment difficulties were experienced across different types of distress. Women placed these in the context of defining moments of becoming a mother; giving birth and breastfeeding. Four superordinate themes were identified. Two concerned women's unwanted negative emotions and difficulties adjusting to their new role. "Living with an unwelcome beginning" describes the way mothers' new lives with their babies started out with unwelcome emotions, often in the context of birth and breastfeeding difficulties. All women spoke about the importance of their postnatal healthcare experiences in "Relationships in the healthcare system". "The shock of the new" describes women's difficulties adjusting to the demands of motherhood and women emphasised the importance of social support in "Meeting new support needs". These findings emphasise the need for exploration of psychological processes such as

  12. Measuring Emotional Intelligence Enhances the Psychological Evaluation of Chronic Pain.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Doherty, Eva M; Walsh, Rosemary; Andrews, Leanne; McPherson, Susan

    2017-12-01

    The assessment of emotional factors, in addition to other psychosocial factors, has been recommended as a means of identifying individuals with chronic pain who may not respond to certain pain treatments. Systematic reviews of the evidence regarding the prediction of responsiveness to a treatment called the spinal cord stimulator (SCS) have yielded inconclusive results. Emotional intelligence is a term which refers to the ability to identify and manage emotions in oneself and others and has been shown to be inversely associated with emotional distress and acute pain. This study aims to investigate the relationship between emotional intelligence, chronic pain, and the more established psychosocial factors usually used for SCS evaluations by clinical psychologists in medical settings. A sample of 112 patients with chronic pain on an acute hospital waiting list for SCS procedures in a pain medicine service were recruited. Psychological measures were completed including: a novel measure of emotional intelligence; usual measures of emotional distress and catastrophizing; and a numerical rating scale designed to assess pain intensity, pain-related distress, and interference. As predicted, findings revealed significant associations between most of the measures analyzed and current pain intensity. When entered into a simultaneous regression analysis, emotional intelligence scores remained the only significant predictor of current pain intensity. There are potential clinical, ethical, and organizational implications of emotional intelligence processes partially predicting pain in patients on a waiting list for a medical procedure. These results may offer new insight, understanding, and evaluation targets for clinical psychologists in the field of pain management.

  13. A scientific cognitive-behavioral model of tinnitus: novel conceptualizations of tinnitus distress.

    OpenAIRE

    McKenna, L.; Handscomb, L. E.; Hoare, D.; Hall, D.

    2014-01-01

    The importance of psychological factors in tinnitus distress has been formally recognized for almost three decades. The psychological understanding of why tinnitus can be a distressing condition posits that it becomes problematic when it acquires an emotive significance through cognitive processes. Principle therapeutic efforts are directed at reducing or removing the cognitive (and behavioral) obstacles to habituation. Here, the evidence relevant to a new psychological model of tinnitus is c...

  14. A scientific cognitive behavioral model of tinnitus: novel conceptualizations of tinnitus distress

    OpenAIRE

    Laurence eMcKenna; Lucy eHandscomb; Lucy eHandscomb; Lucy eHandscomb; Derek eHoare; Derek eHoare; Deborah eHall; Deborah eHall

    2014-01-01

    The importance of psychological factors in tinnitus distress has been formally recognized for almost three decades. The psychological understanding of why tinnitus can be a distressing condition posits that it becomes problematic when it acquires an emotive significance through cognitive processes. Principle therapeutic efforts are directed at reducing or removing the cognitive (and behavioral) obstacles to habituation. Here, the evidence relevant to a new psychological model of tinnitus is c...

  15. A Scientific Cognitive-Behavioral Model of Tinnitus: Novel Conceptualizations of Tinnitus Distress

    OpenAIRE

    McKenna, Laurence; Handscomb, Lucy; Hoare, Derek J.; Hall, Deborah A.

    2014-01-01

    The importance of psychological factors in tinnitus distress has been formally recognized for almost three decades. The psychological understanding of why tinnitus can be a distressing condition posits that it becomes problematic when it acquires an emotive significance through cognitive processes. Principle therapeutic efforts are directed at reducing or removing the cognitive (and behavioral) obstacles to habituation. Here, the evidence relevant to a new psychological model of tinnitus is c...

  16. Emotion-Oriented Coping, Avoidance Coping, and Fear of Pain as Mediators of the Relationship between Positive Affect, Negative Affect, and Pain-Related Distress among African American and Caucasian College Women

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lightsey, Owen Richard, Jr.; Wells, Anita G.; Wang, Mei-Chuan; Pietruszka, Todd; Ciftci, Ayse; Stancil, Brett

    2009-01-01

    The authors tested whether coping styles and fear of pain mediate the relationship between positive affect and negative affect on one hand and pain-related distress (PD) on the other. Among African American and Caucasian female college students, negative affect, fear of pain, and emotion-oriented coping together accounted for 34% of the variance…

  17. The effectiveness of a value-based EMOtion-cognition-Focused educatIonal programme to reduce diabetes-related distress in Malay adults with Type 2 diabetes (VEMOFIT) : Study protocol for a cluster randomised controlled trial

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Chew, BH; Vos, Rimke C.; Shariff Ghazali, Sazlina; Shamsuddin, Nurainul Hana; Fernandez, Aaron; Mukhtar, Firdaus; Ismail, Mastura; Mohd Ahad, Azainorsuzila; Sundram, Narayanan N.; Ali, Siti Zubaidah Mohd; Rutten, Guy E H M

    2017-01-01

    Background: Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) patients experience many psychosocial problems related to their diabetes. These often lead to emotional disorders such as distress, stress, anxiety and depression, resulting in decreased self-care, quality of life and disease control. The purpose of the

  18. The relationship between mood state, interpersonal attitudes and psychological distress in stroke patients.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Turner, Margaret A; Andrewes, David G

    2010-03-01

    This study investigated whether increasing positive mood improved interpersonal attitudes and relieved depression in depressed stroke patients despite levels of cognitive and emotional dysfunction. Depressed stroke (n = 30) and rheumatic/orthopaedic controls (n = 30) were compared on the effect of verbal and nonverbal positive and neutral mood induction on mood state, interpersonal attitudes, psychological distress and related cognitive and emotional processing deficits. Compared with the neutral mood induction condition, the positive mood induction significantly improved mood state, interpersonal attitudes and psychological distress, irrespective of cognitive and emotional processing deficits. The nonverbal material was effective for all patients but was more marked for the left hemisphere stroke group. There was no obvious influence of humour appreciation despite reduced understanding in the right hemisphere stroke group. Although the effect is likely to be short-lived, these results support the trial of positive mood induction within therapy programmes to relieve depression.

  19. Family Burden, Emotional Distress and Service Satisfaction in First Episode Psychosis. Data from the GET UP Trial

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mirella Ruggeri

    2017-05-01

    Full Text Available Background: Literature has documented the role of family in the outcome of chronic schizophrenia. In the light of this, family interventions (FIs are becoming an integral component of treatment for psychosis. The First Episode of Psychosis (FEP is the period when most of the changes in family atmosphere are observed; unfortunately, few studies on the relatives are available.Objective: To explore burden of care and emotional distress at baseline and at 9-month follow-up and the levels of service satisfaction at follow-up in the two groups of relatives (experimental treatment EXP vs. treatment as usual TAU recruited in the cluster-randomized controlled GET UP PIANO trial.Methods: The experimental treatment was provided by routine public Community Mental Health Centers (Italian National Health Service and consisted of Treatment as Usual plus evidence-based additional treatment (Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for psychosis for patients, Family Intervention for psychosis, and Case Management. TAU consisted of personalized outpatient psychopharmacological treatment, combined with non-specific supportive clinical management and informal support/educational sessions for families. The outcomes on relatives were assessed by the Involvement Evaluation Questionnaire (IEQ-EU, the General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-12, and the Verona Service Satisfaction Scale (VSSS-EU. Differences within and between groups were evaluated.Results: At baseline, 75 TAU and 185 EXP caregivers were assessed. In the experimental group 92% of relatives participated in at least 1 family session. At follow-up both groups experienced improvement in all IEQ and GHQ items, but caregivers belonging to the EXP arm experienced a significantly greater change in 10 IEQ items (mainly pertaining to the “Tension” dimension and in GHQ items. Due to the low sample size, a significant effectiveness was only observed for 2 IEQ items and 1 GHQ-12 item. With respect to VSSS data at follow

  20. Family Burden, Emotional Distress and Service Satisfaction in First Episode Psychosis. Data from the GET UP Trial.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ruggeri, Mirella; Lasalvia, Antonio; Santonastaso, Paolo; Pileggi, Francesca; Leuci, Emanuela; Miceli, Maurizio; Scarone, Silvio; Torresani, Stefano; Tosato, Sarah; De Santi, Katia; Cristofalo, Doriana; Comacchio, Carla; Tomassi, Simona; Cremonese, Carla; Fioritti, Angelo; Patelli, Giovanni; Bonetto, Chiara

    2017-01-01

    Background: Literature has documented the role of family in the outcome of chronic schizophrenia. In the light of this, family interventions (FIs) are becoming an integral component of treatment for psychosis. The First Episode of Psychosis (FEP) is the period when most of the changes in family atmosphere are observed; unfortunately, few studies on the relatives are available. Objective: To explore burden of care and emotional distress at baseline and at 9-month follow-up and the levels of service satisfaction at follow-up in the two groups of relatives (experimental treatment EXP vs. treatment as usual TAU) recruited in the cluster-randomized controlled GET UP PIANO trial. Methods: The experimental treatment was provided by routine public Community Mental Health Centers (Italian National Health Service) and consisted of Treatment as Usual plus evidence-based additional treatment (Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for psychosis for patients, Family Intervention for psychosis, and Case Management). TAU consisted of personalized outpatient psychopharmacological treatment, combined with non-specific supportive clinical management and informal support/educational sessions for families. The outcomes on relatives were assessed by the Involvement Evaluation Questionnaire (IEQ-EU), the General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-12), and the Verona Service Satisfaction Scale (VSSS-EU). Differences within and between groups were evaluated. Results: At baseline, 75 TAU and 185 EXP caregivers were assessed. In the experimental group 92% of relatives participated in at least 1 family session. At follow-up both groups experienced improvement in all IEQ and GHQ items, but caregivers belonging to the EXP arm experienced a significantly greater change in 10 IEQ items (mainly pertaining to the "Tension" dimension) and in GHQ items. Due to the low sample size, a significant effectiveness was only observed for 2 IEQ items and 1 GHQ-12 item. With respect to VSSS data at follow-up, caregivers in the

  1. Disentangling Tinnitus Distress and Tinnitus Presence by Means of EEG Power Analysis

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Martin Meyer

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available The present study investigated 24 individuals suffering from chronic tinnitus (TI and 24 nonaffected controls (CO. We recorded resting-state EEG and collected psychometric data to obtain information about how chronic tinnitus experience affects the cognitive and emotional state of TI. The study was meant to disentangle TI with high distress from those who suffer less from persistent tinnitus based on both neurophysiological and behavioral data. A principal component analysis of psychometric data uncovers two distinct independent dimensions characterizing the individual tinnitus experience. These independent states are distress and presence, the latter is described as the perceived intensity of sound experience that increases with tinnitus duration devoid of any considerable emotional burden. Neuroplastic changes correlate with the two independent components. TI with high distress display increased EEG activity in the oscillatory range around 25 Hz (upper β-band that agglomerates over frontal recording sites. TI with high presence show enhanced EEG signal strength in the δ-, α-, and lower γ-bands (30–40 Hz over bilateral temporal and left perisylvian electrodes. Based on these differential patterns we suggest that the two dimensions, namely, distress and presence, should be considered as independent dimensions of chronic subjective tinnitus.

  2. Family enmeshment, adolescent emotional dysregulation, and the moderating role of gender.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kivisto, Katherine Little; Welsh, Deborah P; Darling, Nancy; Culpepper, Christi L

    2015-08-01

    Enmeshment plays a key role in many families' dysfunctional interactions and may be especially detrimental for adolescents. Sixty-four adolescents completed ratings of family enmeshment, perceived distress tolerance, an interpersonal challenge task, and mood ratings before and immediately after the task. Before and during the challenge task, adolescents' respiratory sinus arrhythmia (an indicator of cardiac vagal tone) was recorded. Associations were tested between adolescents' perceptions of family enmeshment and 3 aspects of adolescent emotional dysregulation. Adolescents who perceived higher family enmeshment also demonstrated greater emotional dysregulation in several domains: negative global appraisals of distress tolerance, stronger increase in subjective negative mood from baseline to postchallenge, lower baseline vagal tone, and vagal augmentation during the challenge task. Gender differences also emerged, such that girls reported more negative distress appraisals overall and enmeshed boys showed greater emotional dysregulation across analyses. Findings are discussed in terms of how clinicians may dynamically assess and treat enmeshment and emotional dysregulation in families with male and female adolescents. (c) 2015 APA, all rights reserved).

  3. Psychological and physical distress of cancer patients during radiotherapy

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Koenig, A.

    2001-05-01

    Purpose: patients undergoing radiotherapy have physical and psychological symptoms related to the underlying disease and the treatment. In order to give the best possible support to the patients, more knowledge about the amount and the changing of distress in the course of radiotherapy is of essentially importance. Methods: The distress was measured in a consecutive sample of cancer patients (n=82) undergoing radiotherapy. Each patient was given the EORTC-QLQ-C30, the HADS and a special questionnaire which ascertain radiotherapy-specific items before starting the radiotherapy, at the onset of radiotherapy, in the third week of radiotherapy and 3 weeks after the end of radiotherapy. Results: within the first week of treatment the psychological distress of the patients is increasing; 98.8 % of the patients are 'moderate distressed', 46 % 'severe distressed'. General physical symptoms seem not to be affected by the radiotherapy, there is no changing. The distress caused by the organization of the radiotherapy is decreasing, while therapy-related symptoms are increasing in the course of radiotherapy. Even after the end of the therapy these symptoms keep on causing distress, sometimes in a higher amount than before. A correlation between sex, sort of cancer and curative or palliative treatment and the amount of distress was found. Conclusion: the results stress the importance of adequate emotional support for patients undergoing radiotherapy especially in the first week of treatment and after the treatment. There is a need for the development of a valid radiotherapy - questionnaire in order to be able to measure the distress of these patients. (author)

  4. Associations between recent gay-related stressful events, emotional distress, social support and unprotected anal intercourse behavior among Chinese men who have sex with men.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yunyong, Liu; Zhe, Wang; Junting, Xu; Yan, Zhou; Xiaoxia, An; Li, Zhao; Yuan, Gu; Chao, Jiang

    2016-07-01

    This study was designed to assess the levels of and associations between gay-related stressful events, social support, emotional distress and the number of unprotected anal intercourse partners among Chinese men who have sex with men. Using a respondent-driven sampling method, 807 men who have sex with men were recruited in urban areas of northeast China and data were collected via face-to-face interviews. Gay-related stressful events were measured using the Gay-Related Stressful Life Events Scale; levels of depression, anxiety symptoms and social support were measured using the Self-Rating Depression Scale, the Self-Rating Anxiety Scale and the Social Support Rating Scale, respectively. Over a quarter of study participants experienced gay-related stressful events during the preceding 3 months. Their average Self-Rating Depression Scale, Self-Rating Anxiety Scale and Social Support scores differed significantly from the national norm. Gay-related stressful events significantly correlated with anxiety (r = 0.167, p Gay-related stressful events are common and are significantly associated with emotional distress, lack of social support and high-risk sexual behaviors among Chinese men who have sex with men. Multifaceted approaches are warranted to increase social support and reduce intolerance toward homosexual behaviors and to reduce risky sexual behaviors related to the rapid HIV epidemic among men who have sex with men population in China. © The Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists 2015.

  5. Cortisol reactivity and distress-induced emotional eating.

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    van Strien, T.; Roelofs, K.; de Weerth, C.

    2013-01-01

    Animal studies suggest a relationship between blunted HPA-axis stress reactivity and increased stress-induced food intake in chronically stressed animals. Such a relationship can potentially explain the underlying mechanisms of emotional eating in humans. However, no studies have experimentally

  6. Cortisol reactivity and distress-induced emotional eating

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Strien, T. van; Roelofs, K.; Weerth, C. de

    2013-01-01

    Animal studies suggest a relationship between blunted HPA-axis stress reactivity and increased stress-induced food intake in chronically stressed animals. Such a relationship can potentially explain the underlying mechanisms of emotional eating in humans. However, no studies have experimentally

  7. Prefrontal cortex based sex differences in tinnitus perception: same tinnitus intensity, same tinnitus distress, different mood.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sven Vanneste

    Full Text Available BACKGROUND: Tinnitus refers to auditory phantom sensation. It is estimated that for 2% of the population this auditory phantom percept severely affects the quality of life, due to tinnitus related distress. Although the overall distress levels do not differ between sexes in tinnitus, females are more influenced by distress than males. Typically, pain, sleep, and depression are perceived as significantly more severe by female tinnitus patients. Studies on gender differences in emotional regulation indicate that females with high depressive symptoms show greater attention to emotion, and use less anti-rumination emotional repair strategies than males. METHODOLOGY: The objective of this study was to verify whether the activity and connectivity of the resting brain is different for male and female tinnitus patients using resting-state EEG. CONCLUSIONS: Females had a higher mean score than male tinnitus patients on the BDI-II. Female tinnitus patients differ from male tinnitus patients in the orbitofrontal cortex (OFC extending to the frontopolar cortex in beta1 and beta2. The OFC is important for emotional processing of sounds. Increased functional alpha connectivity is found between the OFC, insula, subgenual anterior cingulate (sgACC, parahippocampal (PHC areas and the auditory cortex in females. Our data suggest increased functional connectivity that binds tinnitus-related auditory cortex activity to auditory emotion-related areas via the PHC-sgACC connections resulting in a more depressive state even though the tinnitus intensity and tinnitus-related distress are not different from men. Comparing male tinnitus patients to a control group of males significant differences could be found for beta3 in the posterior cingulate cortex (PCC. The PCC might be related to cognitive and memory-related aspects of the tinnitus percept. Our results propose that sex influences in tinnitus research cannot be ignored and should be taken into account in functional

  8. Post partum emotional distress in mothers of preterm infants: a ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Objectives: To investigate whether mothers of preterm infants experience more psychological distress than mothers of normal full term infants in the immediate postpartum period. Design: Cross sectional prospective study of postpartal women using the Beck Depression Inventory(BDI) and the GHQ-30. Setting: Neonatal ...

  9. Beliefs about emotions as a metacognitive construct: initial development of a self-report questionnaire measure and preliminary investigation in relation to emotion regulation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Manser, Rachel; Cooper, Myra; Trefusis, Jo

    2012-01-01

    Metacognitive theory, amongst other theories, gives an important role to beliefs about mental states, including beliefs about emotions, in the maintenance of distress. Mentalization theory as well as the dialectical behaviour therapy and emotion-focused therapy literature specifies particular beliefs thought to be related to emotion dysregulation and therefore to a label of borderline personality disorder. The current study aimed to develop a questionnaire to measure the beliefs about emotions as specified by this literature and to test the relationship of this new measure to various aspects of emotion regulation in a non-clinical sample of 289 participants. A factor analysis extracted six factors, which described beliefs about emotions as (a) overwhelming and uncontrollable; (b) shameful and irrational; (c) invalid and meaningless; (d) useless; (e) damaging; and (f) contagious. The final measure showed some promising psychometric properties. All of the questionnaire subscales were related to aspects of emotion dysregulation including distress, borderline personality disorder symptoms and behaviours associated with dysregulation of emotion, suggesting that beliefs about emotions could be an important metacognitive construct involved in the ability to regulate emotions. Beliefs about emotions may be a useful direct or indirect target for treatment of difficulties regulating emotions, and this could be achieved through the use of various therapeutic modalities. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  10. Unique roles of antisocial personality disorder and psychopathic traits in distress tolerance.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sargeant, Marsha N; Daughters, Stacey B; Curtin, John J; Schuster, Randi; Lejuez, C W

    2011-11-01

    Previous research indicates that individuals with antisocial personality disorder (ASPD) evidence low distress tolerance, which signifies impaired ability to persist in goal-directed behavior during an aversive situation, and is associated with a variety of poor interpersonal and drug use outcomes. Based on theory and research indicating that psychopathic traits are associated with hypo-reactivity in emotional responding, a unique hypothesis emerges where psychopathic traits should have the opposite effect of ASPD and be related to high levels of distress tolerance. In a sample of 107 substance-dependent patients in an inner-city substance use residential treatment facility, this hypothesis was supported. ASPD was related to lower distress tolerance, while psychopathic traits were related to higher distress tolerance, with each contributing unique variance. Findings are discussed in relation to different presentations of distress tolerance as a function of psychopathic traits among those with an ASPD diagnosis.

  11. Psychological and emotional concomitants of infertility diagnosis in women with diminished ovarian reserve or anatomical cause of infertility.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nicoloro-SantaBarbara, Jennifer M; Lobel, Marci; Bocca, Silvina; Stelling, James R; Pastore, Lisa M

    2017-07-01

    To examine the magnitude and predictors of emotional reactions to an infertility diagnosis in two groups of women: those with diminished ovarian reserve (DOR), and those clinically diagnosed with an anatomical cause of infertility (ACI). Cross-sectional study. Academic and private fertility clinics. Women diagnosed with DOR (n = 51) and women diagnosed with ACI (n = 51). Not applicable. Fertility Problem Inventory (infertility distress), Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale, Health Orientation Scale (emotional reactions to receiving a diagnosis). Women with DOR had statistically significantly higher infertility distress scores than women with ACI and higher scores on subscales assessing distress from social concerns, sexual concerns, and a need for parenthood. In both groups, higher self-esteem was associated with lower infertility distress. Hierarchical multiple regression analyses revealed that for women with DOR and those with ACI lower infertility distress but not self-esteem predicted a more positive emotional reaction toward receiving a fertility diagnosis. Women diagnosed with DOR have greater infertility distress but similar self-esteem and emotional reactions to their diagnosis compared with women who have an anatomical cause of infertility. These results suggest that for both groups distress surrounding infertility itself may influence the way women respond to learning the cause of their infertility. Copyright © 2017 American Society for Reproductive Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  12. Evaluative coping, emotional distress, and adherence in couples with Type 2 diabetes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Trump, Lisa J; Novak, Joshua R; Anderson, Jared R; Mendenhall, Tai J; Johnson, Matthew D; Scheufler, Ann C; Wilcox, Allison; Lewis, Virginia L; Robbins, David C

    2018-03-01

    Spousal support is one of the strongest and most consistent predictors of Type 2 diabetes treatment adherence. However, the effects of both spouses' evaluations of dyadic coping on emotional distress and patients' physical health remain largely unknown. Dyadic data from 117 married couples in which one member is diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes were evaluated in two separate models to explore the associations between (a) patients' and spouses' depression symptoms and patients' adherence to dietary and exercise regimens, and (b) patients' and spouses' acute stress levels and patients' adherence to dietary and exercise regimens. Finally, evaluative dyadic coping was included as a possible moderator between these associations. Results from an actor-partner interdependence model revealed significant actor effects of patients' depression symptoms on patients' adherence to dietary and exercise regimens. Spouses' evaluation of dyadic coping attenuated the direct paths between spouses' depression symptoms and patients' adherence to dietary regimens. No direct pathways were found from patients' or spouses' acute stress to patients' adherence to dietary and exercise regimens. However, spouses' evaluation of dyadic coping attenuated the direct paths between spouses' acute stress and patients' adherence to dietary regimens. Tapping into spouses' evaluations of dyadic coping has significant implications for patients' diabetes health outcomes (e.g., adherence to dietary and exercise treatment regimens). Findings from this study highlight the need for systemic interventions targeting both partners. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2018 APA, all rights reserved).

  13. Examination of emotion-induced changes in eating: A latent profile analysis of the Emotional Appetite Questionnaire.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bourdier, L; Morvan, Y; Kotbagi, G; Kern, L; Romo, L; Berthoz, S

    2018-04-01

    It is now recognized that emotions can influence food intake. While some people report eating less when distressed, others report either no change of eating or eating more in the same condition. The question whether this interindividual variability also occurs in response to positive emotions has been overlooked in most studies on Emotional Eating (EE). Using the Emotional Appetite Questionnaire (EMAQ) and Latent Profile Analysis, this study aimed to examine the existence of latent emotion-induced changes in eating profiles, and explore how these profiles differ by testing their relations with 1) age and sex, 2) BMI and risk for eating disorders (ED) and 3) factors that are known to be associated with EE such as perceived positive/negative feelings, depression, anxiety, stress symptoms and impulsivity. Among 401 university students (245 females) who completed the EMAQ, 3 profiles emerged (P1:11.2%, P2:60.1%, P3:28.7%), with distinct patterns of eating behaviors in response to negative emotions and situations but few differences regarding positive ones. Negative emotional overeaters (P1) and negative emotional undereaters (P3) reported similar levels of emotional distress and positive feelings, and were at greater risk for ED. However, the people in the former profile i) reported decreasing their food intake in a positive context, ii) were in majority females, iii) had higher BMI and iv) were more prone to report acting rashly when experiencing negative emotions. Our findings suggest that a person-centred analysis of the EMAQ scores offers a promising way to capture the inter-individual variability of emotionally-driven eating behaviors. These observations also add to the growing literature underscoring the importance of further investigating the role of different facets of impulsivity in triggering overeating and to develop more targeted interventions of EE. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  14. Impact of maternal negative affectivity on light alcohol use and binge drinking during pregnancy

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Stene-Larsen, Kim; Torgersen, Leila; Strandberg-Larsen, Katrine

    2013-01-01

    To investigate whether maternal negative affectivity, a tendency to frequent negative emotions and views, is associated with light alcohol use and binge drinking during pregnancy.......To investigate whether maternal negative affectivity, a tendency to frequent negative emotions and views, is associated with light alcohol use and binge drinking during pregnancy....

  15. Emotion malleability beliefs, emotion regulation, and psychopathology: Integrating affective and clinical science.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kneeland, Elizabeth T; Dovidio, John F; Joormann, Jutta; Clark, Margaret S

    2016-04-01

    Beliefs that individuals hold about whether emotions are malleable or fixed, also referred to as emotion malleability beliefs, may play a crucial role in individuals' emotional experiences and their engagement in changing their emotions. The current review integrates affective science and clinical science perspectives to provide a comprehensive review of how emotion malleability beliefs relate to emotionality, emotion regulation, and specific clinical disorders and treatment. Specifically, we discuss how holding more malleable views of emotion could be associated with more active emotion regulation efforts, greater motivation to engage in active regulatory efforts, more effort expended regulating emotions, and lower levels of pathological distress. In addition, we explain how extending emotion malleability beliefs into the clinical domain can complement and extend current conceptualizations of major depressive disorder, social anxiety disorder, and generalized anxiety disorder. This may prove important given the increasingly central role emotion dysregulation has been given in conceptualization and intervention for these psychiatric conditions. Additionally, discussion focuses on how emotion beliefs could be more explicitly addressed in existing cognitive therapies. Promising future directions for research are identified throughout the review. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  16. Psychosocial safety climate moderates the job demand-resource interaction in predicting workgroup distress.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dollard, Maureen F; Tuckey, Michelle R; Dormann, Christian

    2012-03-01

    Psychosocial safety climate (PSC) arises from workplace policies, practices, and procedures for the protection of worker psychological health and safety that are largely driven by management. Many work stress theories are based on the fundamental interaction hypothesis - that a high level of job demands (D) will lead to psychological distress and that this relationship will be offset when there are high job resources (R). However we proposed that this interaction really depends on the organizational context; in particular high levels of psychosocial safety climate will enable the safe utilization of resources to reduce demands. The study sample consisted of police constables from 23 police units (stations) with longitudinal survey responses at two time points separated by 14 months (Time 1, N=319, Time 2, N=139). We used hierarchical linear modeling to assess the effect of the proposed three-way interaction term (PSC×D×R) on change in workgroup distress variance over time. Specifically we confirmed the interaction between emotional demands and emotional resources (assessed at the individual level), in the context of unit psychosocial safety climate (aggregated individual data). As predicted, high emotional resources moderated the positive relationship between emotional demands and change in workgroup distress but only when there were high levels of unit psychosocial safety climate. Results were confirmed using a split-sample analysis. Results support psychosocial safety climate as a property of the organization and a target for higher order controls for reducing work stress. The 'right' climate enables resources to do their job. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  17. Is alcohol binge drinking in early and late pregnancy associated with behavioural and emotional development at age 7 years?

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Niclasen, Janni; Andersen, Anne-Marie Nybo; Strandberg-Larsen, Katrine

    2014-01-01

    The purpose of this study was to investigate associations of maternal binge drinking in early and late pregnancy with child behavioural and emotional development at age seven. It was hypothesised that late exposure is associated with more negative outcomes than early exposure. Differences were...... expected on the continuous outcome measures, but not on above cutoff scale scores. Data were derived from the Danish National Birth Cohort. Three exposure groups were defined according to binge drinking from three interviews regarding binge episodes in early, middle and late pregnancy. A 'no binge' group...... included women with no binge episodes reported in any of the interviews, the 'early bingers' reported episodes in the first interview only, and the 'late bingers' in the last part of pregnancy only. The outcome measure was the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) used as continuous externalising...

  18. Evaluación de las propiedades psicométricas del cuestionario de Detección de Malestar Emocional (DME en pacientes oncológicos Assessment of the psychometric properties of the Detection of Emotional Distress Scale in cancer patients

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Joaquín T. Limonero

    2012-04-01

    Full Text Available Objetivos: Con el fin de valorar y aliviar el malestar emocional al final de la vida, se necesitan instrumentos de cribado sencillos, de fácil uso por los sanitarios y comprensibles por los enfermos. En el presente estudio multicéntrico se analiza la utilidad clínica del cuestionario de Detección del Malestar Emocional (DME en enfermos hospitalizados con cáncer avanzado. Métodos: Para determinar las propiedades psicométricas de la escala se administró, a la vez que otros instrumentos y procedimientos, a 105 pacientes con enfermedad oncológica avanzada ingresados en unidades de cuidados paliativos de cinco hospitales de Cataluña. Resultados: Se observó que el 58,3% presentaba malestar emocional moderado o muy intenso, similar al objetivado con otras escalas, como el termómetro emocional. El análisis estadístico de las curvas ROC sugiere que el punto de corte para la detección de malestar emocional que muestra el DME equivale a una puntuación > 9 puntos, con una sensibilidad y una especificidad superiores al 75%. Conclusiones: El DME es útil y de fácil manejo para la identificación del malestar emocional en los enfermos oncológicos avanzados ingresados en unidades de cuidados paliativos. Se sugiere que esta escala también se podría aplicar a otros enfermos y ámbitos de la atención sanitaria, por ejemplo la atención domiciliaria o la atención primaria en enfermos crónicos.Objective: To evaluate and alleviate the emotional distress suffered by advanced cancer patients, simple screening methods that can be easily used by health staff and easily understood by patients are required. The objective of this multicenter study was to analyze the psychometric properties and clinical utility of the Detection of Emotional Distress (DED scale in advanced cancer patients attending a palliative care unit. Methods: The DED scale was administered to 105 advanced cancer patients attended in five palliative care units in Catalonia (Spain

  19. Faces of Shame: Implications for Self-Esteem, Emotion Regulation, Aggression, and Well-Being.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Velotti, Patrizia; Garofalo, Carlo; Bottazzi, Federica; Caretti, Vincenzo

    2017-02-17

    There is an increasing interest in psychological research on shame experiences and their associations with other aspects of psychological functioning and well-being, as well as with possible maladaptive outcomes. In an attempt to confirm and extend previous knowledge on this topic, we investigated the nomological network of shame experiences in a large community sample (N = 380; 66.1% females), adopting a multidimensional conceptualization of shame. Females reported higher levels of shame (in particular, bodily and behavioral shame), guilt, psychological distress, emotional reappraisal, and hostility. Males had higher levels of self-esteem, emotional suppression, and physical aggression. Shame feelings were associated with low self-esteem, hostility, and psychological distress in a consistent way across gender. Associations between characterological shame and emotional suppression, as well as between bodily shame and anger occurred only among females. Moreover, characterological and bodily shame added to the prediction of low self-esteem, hostility, and psychological distress above and beyond the influence of trait shame. Finally, among females, emotional suppression mediated the influence of characterological shame on hostility and psychological distress. These findings extend current knowledge on the nomological net surrounding shame experiences in everyday life, supporting the added value of a multidimensional conceptualization of shame feelings.

  20. Childhood emotional support and borderline personality features in a sample of Canadian psychiatric outpatients.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kealy, David; Sierra-Hernandez, Carlos A; Ogrodniczuk, John S

    2016-08-01

    Despite links between early relational experiences and psychopathology, data regarding childhood emotional neglect among Canadian mental health services users are scarce. To explore the absence of emotional support experiences reported by Canadian psychiatric outpatients, and to examine the relationship between childhood emotional support and borderline personality disorder (BPD) features. A survey regarding childhood emotional support was completed by consecutively admitted adult outpatients, along with self-report assessments of symptom distress and BPD features. A substantial proportion of outpatients reported absent emotional support experiences. After controlling for the effects of age and symptom distress, childhood emotional support was found to be significantly negatively associated with BPD features. The findings add further support to the need for clinical attention to the early relational experiences of mental health service users. © The Author(s) 2016.

  1. Parental problem drinking and anxiety disorder symptoms in adult offspring: examining the mediating role of anxiety sensitivity components.

    Science.gov (United States)

    MacPherson, P S; Stewart, S H; McWilliams, L A

    2001-01-01

    Preliminary studies have implicated childhood exposure to parental problem drinking as a possible factor in the development of anxiety sensitivity (AS). The present retrospective study was designed to examine the role of exposure to distressing parental problem drinking behaviors, over and above the role of parental alcoholism, in the development of various AS components (psychological, physical, and social concerns) in the offspring. We also examined the possible mediating role of AS components in explaining relations between parental drinking problems and anxiety-related symptoms in the adult offspring. A sample of 213 university students provided retrospective reports of both distress related to parental drinking [Children of Alcoholics Screening Test (CAST)] and parental alcoholism [maternal and paternal forms of the Short Michigan Alcoholism Screening Test (SMAST)]. Participants also reported on their own current AS levels [AS Index (ASI)], general anxiety symptoms [State-Trait Anxiety Inventory-Trait subscale (STAI-T)], and lifetime history of uncued panic attacks [Panic Attack Questionnaire-Revised (PAQ-R)]. Scores on the CAST predicted AS psychological and physical concerns (but not social concerns) over and above participant gender and parental alcoholism measured by the SMASTs. Moreover, AS psychological concerns proved a consistent modest mediator of the relations between parental problem drinking on the CAST and both general anxiety and uncued panic outcomes in the offspring. Thus, exposure to distressing parental problem drinking behavior may be one factor that contributes to elevated AS psychological concerns in the child, which in turn may contribute to the development of anxiety disorder symptoms in the offspring.

  2. Spirituality and distress in palliative care consultation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hills, Judith; Paice, Judith A; Cameron, Jacqueline R; Shott, Susan

    2005-08-01

    One's spirituality or religious beliefs and practices may have a profound impact on how the individual copes with the suffering that so often accompanies advanced disease. Several previous studies suggest that negative religious coping can significantly affect health outcomes. The primary aim of this study was to explore the relationship between spirituality, religious coping, and symptoms of distress among a group of inpatients referred to the palliative care consult service. Pilot study. The study was conducted in a large academic medical center with a comprehensive Palliative Care and Home Hospice Program. (1) National Comprehensive Cancer Network Distress Management Assessment Tool; (2) Pargament Brief Religious Coping Scale (Brief RCOPE); (3) Functional Assessment of Chronic Illness Therapy-Spiritual Well-Being (FACIT-Sp); (4) Puchalski's FICA; and (5) Profile of Mood States-Short Form (POMS-SF). The 31 subjects surveyed experienced moderate distress (5.8 +/- 2.7), major physical and psychosocial symptom burden, along with reduced function and significant caregiving needs. The majority (87.2%) perceived themselves to be at least somewhat spiritual, with 77.4% admitting to being at least somewhat religious. Negative religious coping (i.e., statements regarding punishment or abandonment by God) was positively associated with distress, confusion, depression, and negatively associated with physical and emotional well-being, as well as quality of life. Palliative care clinicians should be alert to symptoms of spiritual distress and intervene accordingly. Future research is needed to identify optimal techniques to address negative religious coping.

  3. Predictors of psychological distress after diagnosis in breast cancer patients and patients with benign breast problems.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ando, Noriko; Iwamitsu, Yumi; Kuranami, Masaru; Okazaki, Shigemi; Nakatani, Yuki; Yamamoto, Kenji; Watanabe, Masahiko; Miyaoka, Hitoshi

    2011-01-01

    The objective of this study was to determine how age and psychological characteristics assessed prior to diagnosis could predict psychological distress in outpatients immediately after disclosure of their diagnosis. This is a longitudinal and prospective study, and participants were breast cancer patients and patients with benign breast problems (BBP). Patients were asked to complete questionnaires to determine levels of the following: trait anxiety (State-Trait Anxiety Inventory), negative emotional suppression (Courtauld Emotional Control Scale), life stress events (Life Experiences Survey), and psychological distress (Profile of Mood Status) prior to diagnosis. They were asked to complete a questionnaire measuring psychological distress after being told their diagnosis. We analyzed a total of 38 women diagnosed with breast cancer and 95 women diagnosed with a BBP. A two-way analysis of variance (prior to, after diagnosis × cancer, benign) showed that psychological distress after diagnosis among breast cancer patients was significantly higher than in patients with a BBP. The multiple regression model accounted for a significant amount of variance in the breast cancer group (model adjusted R(2) = 0.545, p psychological distress after diagnosis, and might have prospects as a screening method for psychologically vulnerable women. Copyright © 2011 The Academy of Psychosomatic Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  4. Perceptions of Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation and Coping Predict Emotional Distress During the Acute Phase After Transplantation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Baliousis, Michael; Rennoldson, Michael; Dawson, David L; Mills, Jayne; das Nair, Roshan

    2017-01-01

    To test whether a widely used model of adjustment to illness, the self-regulatory model, explains the patterns of distress during acute hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT). According to the model, perceptions of HSCT, coping, and coping appraisals are associated with distress.
. Longitudinal, correlational.
. The Centre for Clinical Haematology at Nottingham City Hospital and the Department of Haematology at Royal Hallamshire Hospital in Sheffield, both in the United Kingdom.
. 45 patients receiving mostly autologous transplantations for a hematologic malignancy.
. Patients were assessed at baseline, on transplantation day, and two and four weeks after transplantation using three questionnaires. Psychological distress, including depression, anxiety, stress, and overall distress (DASS-21); use of different coping styles (Brief COPE); and perceptions of HSCT and coping appraisals (Brief IPQ).
. As suggested by the self-regulatory model, greater distress was associated with negative perceptions of HSCT, controlling for the effects of confounding variables. Mixed support was found for the model's predictions about the impact of coping styles on distress. Use of active and avoidant coping styles was associated with more distress during the acute phase after HSCT.
. Negative perceptions of HSCT and coping contribute to psychological distress during the acute phase after HSCT and suggest the basis for intervention.
. Eliciting and discussing patients' negative perceptions of HSCT beforehand and supporting helpful coping may be important ways to reduce distress during HSCT.

  5. Emotion regulation promotes persistence in a residential substance abuse treatment.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hopwood, Christopher J; Schade, Nick; Matusiewicz, Alexis; Daughters, Stacey B; Lejuez, Carl W

    2015-01-01

    Emotion regulation at treatment entry was evaluated among 115 patients in an inner-city substance use residential facility who either persisted (N = 94) or discontinued treatment (N = 21). Emotion regulation capacity including emotional clarity and the ability to engage in goal-directed behavior despite emotional distress, as well as lower scores on a measure of trait-negative emotionality, were associated with treatment persistence, whereas motivational variables were not. Findings indicate the importance of regulating negative emotions for treatment engagement among substance abusers.

  6. Relational health, alexithymia, and psychological distress in college women: testing a mediator model.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liang, Belle; West, Jennifer

    2011-04-01

    Relational health refers to interpersonal interactions that are growth-fostering or mutually empathic and empowering. Poor relational health increases an individual's risk for developing psychological distress. Alexithymia is the inability to recognize and express one's own internal emotional experience. In this study, the associations of relational health, psychological distress, and alexithymia were examined by surveying 197 female undergraduate psychology students. Support was found for the hypothesis that alexithymic symptoms mediate the direct effect of poor relational health on psychological distress. The importance of assessing relational health and tailoring counseling interventions for people with low relational health and alexithymic symptoms is discussed. © 2011 American Orthopsychiatric Association.

  7. Attentional bias and drinking to cope with social anxiety.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Carrigan, Maureen H; Drobes, David J; Randall, Carrie L

    2004-12-01

    This study investigated the sensitivity of the emotional Stroop test for identifying individuals who reported drinking to cope with social fears. Community volunteers completed a modified Stroop task during which social threat, alcohol-related, and control words were presented. High scores on drinking-to-cope measures were hypothesized to be associated with longer response latencies to both social threat and alcohol-related words. Consistent with previous studies, alcohol dependence was correlated with latencies for alcohol-related words, and level of social anxiety was correlated with response latency to social threat words. As expected, drinking-to-cope measures predicted response latency to alcohol-related and social threat words. These results suggest that the emotional Stroop test is useful in studying the relationship between social anxiety and alcohol consumption. Copyright 2005 APA.

  8. Cry babies and pollyannas: Infants can detect unjustified emotional reactions.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chiarella, Sabrina S; Poulin-Dubois, Diane

    2013-08-01

    Infants are attuned to emotional facial and vocal expressions, reacting most prominently when they are exposed to negative expressions. However, it remains unknown if infants can detect whether a person's emotions are justifiable given a particular context. The focus of the current paper was to examine whether infants react the same way to unjustified (e.g., distress following a positive experience) and justified (e.g., distress following a negative experience) emotional reactions. Infants aged 15 and 18 months were shown an actor experiencing negative and positive experiences, with one group exposed to an actor whose emotional reactions were consistently unjustified (i.e., did not match the event), while the other saw an actor whose emotional reactions were justified (i.e., always matched the event). Infants' looking times and empathic reactions were examined. Only 18-month-olds detected the mismatching facial expressions: those in the unjustified group showed more hypothesis testing (i.e., checking) across events than the justified group. Older infants in the justified group also showed more concerned reactions to negative expressions than those in the unjustified group. The present findings indicate that infants implicitly understand how the emotional valence of experiences is linked to subsequent emotional expressions.

  9. A reinforcement learning model of joy, distress, hope and fear

    Science.gov (United States)

    Broekens, Joost; Jacobs, Elmer; Jonker, Catholijn M.

    2015-07-01

    In this paper we computationally study the relation between adaptive behaviour and emotion. Using the reinforcement learning framework, we propose that learned state utility, ?, models fear (negative) and hope (positive) based on the fact that both signals are about anticipation of loss or gain. Further, we propose that joy/distress is a signal similar to the error signal. We present agent-based simulation experiments that show that this model replicates psychological and behavioural dynamics of emotion. This work distinguishes itself by assessing the dynamics of emotion in an adaptive agent framework - coupling it to the literature on habituation, development, extinction and hope theory. Our results support the idea that the function of emotion is to provide a complex feedback signal for an organism to adapt its behaviour. Our work is relevant for understanding the relation between emotion and adaptation in animals, as well as for human-robot interaction, in particular how emotional signals can be used to communicate between adaptive agents and humans.

  10. Parents' Prenatal Mental Health and Emotional, Behavioral and Social Development in Their Children.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kvalevaag, Anne Lise; Ramchandani, Paul G; Hove, Oddbjørn; Eberhard-Gran, Malin; Assmus, Jörg; Havik, Odd E; Sivertsen, Børge; Biringer, Eva

    2015-12-01

    This study examines the association between expectant parents' psychological distress and children's development at 36 months old. This is a prospective population study based on the Norwegian Mother and Child Cohort Study, N = 31,663. Logistic regression models were used to assess whether high scores (cutoff ≥ 2.00) on the symptom checklist-5 in parents predicted higher levels (cutoff ≥ 90 percentile) of developmental problems in their children. The risk of emotional and behavioral problems were significantly increased in children when both parents were affected by psychological distress during pregnancy, fully adjusted OR 2.35 (95% CI 1.36, 4.07) and OR 2.65 (96% CI 1.564.48), respectively. The risk was higher when mothers reported high level of psychological distress than when only the fathers did, but the risk of emotional difficulties in children was highest when both parents presented high levels of psychological distress, indicating an additive effect of parental psychological distress.

  11. Mothers' electrophysiological, subjective, and observed emotional responding to infant crying: The role of secure base script knowledge.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Groh, Ashley M; Roisman, Glenn I; Haydon, Katherine C; Bost, Kelly; McElwain, Nancy; Garcia, Leanna; Hester, Colleen

    2015-11-01

    This study examined the extent to which secure base script knowledge-reflected in the ability to generate narratives in which attachment-relevant events are encountered, a clear need for assistance is communicated, competent help is provided and accepted, and the problem is resolved-is associated with mothers' electrophysiological, subjective, and observed emotional responses to an infant distress vocalization. While listening to an infant crying, mothers (N = 108, M age = 34 years) lower on secure base script knowledge exhibited smaller shifts in relative left (vs. right) frontal EEG activation from rest, reported smaller reductions in feelings of positive emotion from rest, and expressed greater levels of tension. Findings indicate that lower levels of secure base script knowledge are associated with an organization of emotional responding indicative of a less flexible and more emotionally restricted response to infant distress. Discussion focuses on the contribution of mothers' attachment representations to their ability to effectively manage emotional responding to infant distress in a manner expected to support sensitive caregiving.

  12. Sex Differences in Emotional Evaluation of Film Clips: Interaction with Five High Arousal Emotional Categories

    Science.gov (United States)

    Maffei, Antonio; Vencato, Valentina; Angrilli, Alessandro

    2015-01-01

    The present study aimed to investigate gender differences in the emotional evaluation of 18 film clips divided into six categories: Erotic, Scenery, Neutral, Sadness, Compassion, and Fear. 41 female and 40 male students rated all clips for valence-pleasantness, arousal, level of elicited distress, anxiety, jittery feelings, excitation, and embarrassment. Analysis of positive films revealed higher levels of arousal, pleasantness, and excitation to the Scenery clips in both genders, but lower pleasantness and greater embarrassment in women compared to men to Erotic clips. Concerning unpleasant stimuli, unlike men, women reported more unpleasantness to the Compassion, Sadness, and Fear compared to the Neutral clips and rated them also as more arousing than did men. They further differentiated the films by perceiving greater arousal to Fear than to Compassion clips. Women rated the Sadness and Fear clips with greater Distress and Jittery feelings than men did. Correlation analysis between arousal and the other emotional scales revealed that, although men looked less aroused than women to all unpleasant clips, they also showed a larger variance in their emotional responses as indicated by the high number of correlations and their relatively greater extent, an outcome pointing to a masked larger sensitivity of part of male sample to emotional clips. We propose a new perspective in which gender difference in emotional responses can be better evidenced by means of film clips selected and clustered in more homogeneous categories, controlled for arousal levels, as well as evaluated through a number of emotion focused adjectives. PMID:26717488

  13. Sex Differences in Emotional Evaluation of Film Clips: Interaction with Five High Arousal Emotional Categories.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Antonio Maffei

    Full Text Available The present study aimed to investigate gender differences in the emotional evaluation of 18 film clips divided into six categories: Erotic, Scenery, Neutral, Sadness, Compassion, and Fear. 41 female and 40 male students rated all clips for valence-pleasantness, arousal, level of elicited distress, anxiety, jittery feelings, excitation, and embarrassment. Analysis of positive films revealed higher levels of arousal, pleasantness, and excitation to the Scenery clips in both genders, but lower pleasantness and greater embarrassment in women compared to men to Erotic clips. Concerning unpleasant stimuli, unlike men, women reported more unpleasantness to the Compassion, Sadness, and Fear compared to the Neutral clips and rated them also as more arousing than did men. They further differentiated the films by perceiving greater arousal to Fear than to Compassion clips. Women rated the Sadness and Fear clips with greater Distress and Jittery feelings than men did. Correlation analysis between arousal and the other emotional scales revealed that, although men looked less aroused than women to all unpleasant clips, they also showed a larger variance in their emotional responses as indicated by the high number of correlations and their relatively greater extent, an outcome pointing to a masked larger sensitivity of part of male sample to emotional clips. We propose a new perspective in which gender difference in emotional responses can be better evidenced by means of film clips selected and clustered in more homogeneous categories, controlled for arousal levels, as well as evaluated through a number of emotion focused adjectives.

  14. Preventing empathic distress and social stressors at work through nonviolent communication training: A field study with health professionals.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wacker, Renata; Dziobek, Isabel

    2018-01-01

    One major source of mental health problems in health professionals are personally demanding encounters at work. Thus, a crucial prevention focus is the development of emotional and social skills necessary to effectively manage interactions with clients, colleagues, and supervisors. The aim of our pre-post intervention field study was to evaluate an employee training in nonviolent communication (NVC) within a public health organization. A training group participated in a 3-day NVC training and completed questionnaires before and 3 months after training. Changes in NVC skills, empathic distress, empathy, and social stressors at work were compared with data from a control group without training. Additionally, we observed NVC-trained participants' communication behavior immediately before and after the intervention. We found a promotion of communication skills in training participants as evidenced by increased emotion verbalization behavior and enhanced use of NVC at work. Empathic distress declined, and an increase of social stressors at work was prevented by enhanced emotion verbalization. The findings demonstrate that NVC training can be an effective means to foster emotional and interpersonal skills and to prevent empathic distress and social stressors at work in individuals working in socioemotionally challenging settings. Possible causal mechanisms explaining the training effects are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2018 APA, all rights reserved).

  15. Diabetes distress: understanding the hidden struggles of living with diabetes and exploring intervention strategies.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Berry, Emma; Lockhart, Sam; Davies, Mark; Lindsay, John R; Dempster, Martin

    2015-05-01

    Diabetes distress is a rational emotional response to the threat of a life-changing illness. Distinct from depression, it is conceptually rooted in the demands of diabetes management and is a product of emotional adjustment. Diabetes distress has been found to be significantly associated with glycated haemoglobin (HbA1c) level and the likelihood of an individual adopting self-care behaviours. The lack of perceived support from family, friends and healthcare professionals significantly contributes to elevated diabetes distress, and this issue tends to be overlooked when designing interventions. Pioneering large-scale research, DAWN2, gives voices to the families of those with diabetes and reaffirms the need to consider psychosocial factors in routine diabetes care. Structured diabetes education programmes are the most widely used in helping individuals cope with diabetes, but they tend not to include the psychological or interpersonal aspects of diabetes management in their curricula. The need for health practitioners, irrespective of background, to demonstrate an understanding of diabetes distress and to actively engage in discussion with individuals struggling to cope with diabetes is emphasised. Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to http://group.bmj.com/group/rights-licensing/permissions.

  16. The structure of common emotion regulation strategies: A meta-analytic examination.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Naragon-Gainey, Kristin; McMahon, Tierney P; Chacko, Thomas P

    2017-04-01

    Emotion regulation has been examined extensively with regard to important outcomes, including psychological and physical health. However, the literature includes many different emotion regulation strategies but little examination of how they relate to one another, making it difficult to interpret and synthesize findings. The goal of this meta-analysis was to examine the underlying structure of common emotion regulation strategies (i.e., acceptance, behavioral avoidance, distraction, experiential avoidance, expressive suppression, mindfulness, problem solving, reappraisal, rumination, worry), and to evaluate this structure in light of theoretical models of emotion regulation. We also examined how distress tolerance-an important emotion regulation ability -relates to strategy use. We conducted meta-analyses estimating the correlations between emotion regulation strategies (based on 331 samples and 670 effect sizes), as well as between distress tolerance and strategies. The resulting meta-analytic correlation matrix was submitted to confirmatory and exploratory factor analyses. None of the confirmatory models, based on prior theory, was an acceptable fit to the data. Exploratory factor analysis suggested that 3 underlying factors best characterized these data. Two factors-labeled Disengagement and Aversive Cognitive Perseveration-emerged as strongly correlated but distinct factors, with the latter consisting of putatively maladaptive strategies. The third factor, Adaptive Engagement, was a less unified factor and weakly related to the other 2 factors. Distress tolerance was most closely associated with low levels of repetitive negative thought and experiential avoidance, and high levels of acceptance and mindfulness. We discuss the theoretical implications of these findings and applications to emotion regulation assessment. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2017 APA, all rights reserved).

  17. To thine own self be true? Clarifying the effects of identity discrepancies on psychological distress and emotions.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kalkhoff, Will; Marcussen, Kristen; Serpe, Richard T

    2016-07-01

    After many years of research across disciplines, it remains unclear whether people are more motivated to seek appraisals that accurately match self-views (self-verification) or are as favorable as possible (self-enhancement). Within sociology, mixed findings in identity theory have fueled the debate. A problem here is that a commonly employed statistical approach does not take into account the direction of a discrepancy between how we see ourselves and how we think others see us in terms of a given identity, yet doing so is critical for determining which self-motive is at play. We offer a test of three competing models of identity processes, including a new "mixed motivations" model where self-verification and self-enhancement operate simultaneously. We compare the models using the conventional statistical approach versus response surface analysis. The latter method allows us to determine whether identity discrepancies involving over-evaluation are as distressing as those involving under-evaluation. We use nationally representative data and compare results across four different identities and multiple outcomes. The two statistical approaches lead to the same conclusions more often than not and mostly support identity theory and its assumption that people seek self-verification. However, response surface tests reveal patterns that are mistaken as evidence of self-verification by conventional procedures, especially for the spouse identity. We also find that identity discrepancies have different effects on distress and self-conscious emotions (guilt and shame). Our findings have implications not only for research on self and identity across disciplines, but also for many other areas of research that incorporate these concepts and/or use difference scores as explanatory variables. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  18. Emotional and Physiological Desensitization to Real-Life and Movie Violence

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mrug, Sylvie; Madan, Anjana; Cook, Edwin W.; Wright, Rex A.

    2014-01-01

    Youth are exposed to large amounts of violence in real life and media, which may lead to desensitization. Given evidence of curvilinear associations between exposure to violence and emotional distress, we examined linear and curvilinear associations of exposure to real-life and movie violence with PTSD symptoms, empathy, and physiological arousal, as well emotional and physiological reactivity to movie violence. College students (N=209; mean age=18.74) reported on their exposure to real-life and televised violence, PTSD symptoms, and empathy. Then, students were randomly assigned to view a series of violent or nonviolent high-action movie scenes, providing ratings of emotional distress after each clip. Blood pressure was measured at rest and during video viewing. Results showed that with increasing exposure to real-life violence, youth reported more PTSD symptoms and greater identification with fictional characters. Cognitive and emotional empathy increased from low to medium levels of exposure to violence, but declined at higher levels. For males, exposure to higher levels of real-life violence was associated with diminishing (vs. increasing) emotional distress when viewing violent videos. Exposure to televised violence was generally unrelated to emotional functioning. However, those with medium levels of exposure to TV/movie violence experienced lower elevations of blood pressure when viewing violent videos compared to those with low exposure, and those with higher levels of exposure evidenced rapid increase in blood pressure that quickly declined over time. The results point to diminished empathy and reduced emotional reactivity to violence as key aspects of desensitization to real-life violence, and more limited evidence of physiological desensitization to movie violence among those exposed to high levels of televised violence. PMID:25326900

  19. RECOGNIZING INFANTS' EMOTIONAL EXPRESSIONS: ARE ADOLESCENTS LESS SENSITIVE TO INFANTS' CUES?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Niessen, Anke; Konrad, Kerstin; Dahmen, Brigitte; Herpertz-Dahlmann, Beate; Firk, Christine

    2017-07-01

    Previous studies have shown that adolescent mothers interact less sensitively with their infants than do adult mothers. This difference might be due to developmental difficulties in the recognition of infants' emotional states in adolescents. Therefore, the aim of the current study was to explore differences in the recognition of infant signals between nonparous adolescent girls and boys as compared to female and male adults. To this end, we examined 54 childless adolescents and 54 childless adults (50% female). Participants were shown a series of 20 short videos of infants aged 3 to 6 months presenting different emotional states ranging from very distressed to very happy. In addition, participants were asked to report their own parental experiences using the German version, Fragebogen zum erinnerten elterlichen Erziehungsverhalten (J. Schumacher, M. Eisemann, & E. Brähler, ), of the Egna Minnen Befräffande Uppfostran (Own Memories of Parental Rearing Experiences in Childhood; C. Perris, L. Jacobsson, H. Lindstrom, L. von Knorring, & H. Perris, ). Adolescents rated distressed infants as more distressed than did the adults. Furthermore, female participants rated the very distressed infants as more distressed than did male participants. These data suggest that adolescents, in general, are not impaired in recognizing infant emotional states, as compared to adults. Thus, we suggest that more extreme ratings of infant signals of discomfort together with immature sociocognitive regulation processes during adolescence might contribute to reduced sensitivity observed in adolescent mothers. © 2017 Michigan Association for Infant Mental Health.

  20. Diabetes distress in adult type 1 diabetes mellitus men and women with disease onset in childhood and in adulthood.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lašaitė, Lina; Ostrauskas, Rytas; Žalinkevičius, Rimantas; Jurgevičienė, Nijolė; Radzevičienė, Lina

    2016-01-01

    To determine whether or not diabetes distress varies by age of type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM) onset and/or gender. A total of 700 adult T1DM patients were randomly selected from the Lithuanian Diabetes Registry; 214 of them (30.6%) agreed to participate and were recruited for the study. Diabetes distress (emotional burden, physician-related distress, regimen-related distress, interpersonal distress) was compared in 105 (42 men and 63 women) patients with T1DM diagnosed during 0-18years of life, and in 109 (61 men and 48 women) with T1DM diagnosed in adulthood, using Diabetes Distress Scale (DDS). Adult childhood-onset T1DM women have higher regimen-related distress (36.3±21.3 vs 26.6±16.2, p=0.016) than adulthood-onset women. Adult childhood-onset T1DM women experience higher diabetes distress (higher emotional burden (27.0±22.0 vs 15.6±16.4, p=0.006), physician-related distress (34.4±33.9 vs 20.7±29.4, p=0.024), total diabetes distress (41.2±13.6 vs 34.8±10.9, p=0.011)) than childhood-onset men. Adulthood-onset T1DM women experience higher physician-related distress (39.2±37.6 vs 23.4±32.5, p=0.013), but lower regimen-related distress (26.6±16.2 vs 35.8±21.6, p=0.014) than adulthood-onset men. In conclusion our findings reinforce the interdependence of psychological and biomedical factors in influencing health outcomes and support the need to provide psychological assessment and support to patients with T1DM. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  1. Evaluation of the impact of the image used in a communication campaign to raise awareness about the effects of alcohol use during pregnancy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bazzo, Stefania; Battistella, Giuseppe; Riscica, Patrizia; Moino, Giuliana; Marini, Francesco; Geromel, Mariasole; Czerwinsky, Loredana

    2012-01-01

    To assess the impact of the advertising image used in the health communication campaign 'Mummy Drinks Baby Drinks', aimed to raise awareness about the effects of drinking alcohol during pregnancy in the childbearing-aged population of the Local Health Authority of Treviso (Italy). The image depicted a foetus inside a glass of a local alcoholic drink. A survey using a semi-structured self-reported questionnaire was carried out. The questionnaire was administered to a consecutive series of 690 parents or caregivers who accompanied children aged 0-2 years in the vaccination clinics of the Local Health Unit, during a 30-day period 1 year after the start of the campaign. The questionnaire measured the level of exposure to the image, emotional reactions and awareness of the health messages conveyed by the image. Overall, 84% of the respondents said that they remembered the image. Almost all (93%) recalled the warning message and 53% recalled the health behaviours suggested by the campaign. The image generally seemed to arouse a high emotive impact: 38% indicated distress and 40% liking as a general opinion, while ∼50% expressed distress emotions and 13% were pleasantly affected when reflecting on the feelings evoked. We did not find unequivocal relationships between the level and kind of emotional reactions and the recalling of the health behaviours. The image obtained a high level of visibility. It was effective in spreading the health message conveyed by the campaign, regardless of the level and kind of emotive impact evoked.

  2. Brain responses to erotic and other emotional stimuli in breast cancer survivors with and without distress about low sexual desire: a preliminary fMRI study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Versace, Francesco; Engelmann, Jeffrey M; Jackson, Edward F; Slapin, Aurelija; Cortese, Kristin M; Bevers, Therese B; Schover, Leslie R

    2013-12-01

    Many breast cancer survivors report a loss of sexual desire and arousability, consonant with the new DSM-V category of female sexual interest/arousal disorder. The cause of decreased sexual desire and pleasure after treatment for cancer is unknown. One possibility is that cancer, or treatment for cancer, damages brain circuits that are involved in reward-seeking. To test the hypothesis that brain reward systems are involved in decreased sexual desire in breast cancer survivors, we used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to compare brain responses to erotica and other emotional stimuli in two groups of women previously treated for breast cancer with chemotherapy: those who were distressed about a perceived loss of sexual desire and those who may have had low desire, but were not distressed about it. Women distressed about their desire had reduced brain responses to erotica in the anterior cingulate and dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, which are part of the brain reward system. This study is the first to demonstrate, in cancer survivors, that problems with sexual desire/arousability are associated with blunted brain responses to erotica in reward systems. Future research is necessary to determine whether brain responses differ as a result of chemotherapy, hormone therapy, and menopausal status. This may contribute to the development of new, evidence-based interventions for one of the most prevalent and enduring side effects of cancer treatment.

  3. Self-injury, converting emotional distress into physical pain

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Møhl, Bo; Rubæk, Lotte

    2017-01-01

    Self-inflicted pain by cutting, hitting or burning oneself has become a common way to regulate emotions and to serve as coping strategy. 21.5-32% of adolescents in non-clinical populations have a history of non-suicidal self-injury. Non-suicidal self-injury has a momentarily relieving effect and ...... and is an important predictor of suicidal behaviour; even superficial self-injury should be taken seriously. There is an urgent need for organized treatment programmes for young people who self-harm.......Self-inflicted pain by cutting, hitting or burning oneself has become a common way to regulate emotions and to serve as coping strategy. 21.5-32% of adolescents in non-clinical populations have a history of non-suicidal self-injury. Non-suicidal self-injury has a momentarily relieving effect...

  4. Children's responses to low parental mood. II: Associations with family perceptions of parenting styles and child distress.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Solantaus-Simula, Tytti; Punamäki, Raija-Leena; Beardslee, William R

    2002-03-01

    In an earlier article (part 1) the authors identified four patterns of children's responses to parental low mood: Active Empathy, Emotional Overinvolvement, Indifference, and Avoidance. They then hypothesized that these response patterns were related to parenting styles and to discrepancies in family members' perceptions of parenting and child mental distress. A normal population sample of 990 twelve-year-old Finnish children and their mothers (843) and fathers (573) was used. Within-family multivariate analyses conducted in mother-father-child triads (470) were used to examine whether quality of parenting varied according to children's responses and whether parents' and children's perceptions of parenting and child distress were different. Children in the Active Empathy and Indifference groups experienced more positive parenting than those in the other two groups. Discrepancies in family members' perceptions of child distress and mothering and fathering were especially characteristic of the Emotional Overinvolvement group. Typical for the Avoidance group was a within-family agreement on poor parenting and severe child distress. Children's response patterns as regards parental low mood are related to family dynamics. The study suggests that discrepancies in parents' and children's perceptions of parenting and child distress can be meaningful in understanding family interactions and child development and well-being.

  5. Child maltreatment and psychological symptoms in a Portuguese adult community sample: the harmful effects of emotional abuse.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dias, Aida; Sales, Luísa; Hessen, David J; Kleber, Rolf J

    2015-07-01

    Child maltreatment (CM) is associated with poor long-term health outcomes. However, knowledge about CM prevalence and related consequences is scarce among adults in South European countries. We examined the self-reported prevalence of five different forms of CM in a community sample of 1,200 Portuguese adults; we compared the results with similar samples from three other countries, using the same instrument. We also explored the relationship between CM and psychological symptoms. Cross-sectional data using the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire-Short Form and the Brief Symptom Inventory were analyzed. Moderate or severe CM exposure was self-reported by 14.7% of the sample, and 67% was exposed to more than one form of CM. Emotional neglect was the most endorsed experience, with women reporting greater emotional abuse and men reporting larger physical abuse. Physical and sexual abuse was less self-reported by Portuguese than by American or German subjects. CM exposure predicted 12.8% of the psychological distress. Emotional abuse was the strongest predictor for psychological symptoms, namely for paranoid ideation, depression, and interpersonal sensitivity. Emotional abuse overlapped with the exposure to all other CM forms, and interacted with physical abuse, physical neglect, and emotional neglect to predict psychological distress. Low exposure to emotional abuse was directly associated with the effects of physical abuse, physical neglect, and emotional neglect to predict adult psychological distress. Verbal abuse experiences were frequently reported and had the highest correlations with adult psychological distress. Our results underline the potential hurtful effects of child emotional abuse among Portuguese adults in the community. They also highlight the need to improve prevention and intervention actions to reduce exposure and consequences of CM, particularly emotional abuse.

  6. Improvements in closeness, communication, and psychological distress mediate effects of couple therapy for veterans.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Doss, Brian D; Mitchell, Alexandra; Georgia, Emily J; Biesen, Judith N; Rowe, Lorelei Simpson

    2015-04-01

    Empirically based couple therapy results in significant improvements in relationship satisfaction for the average couple; however, further research is needed to identify mediators that lead to change and to ensure that improvements in mediators predict subsequent-not just concurrent-relationship satisfaction. In addition, given that much of the current literature on couple therapy examines outcomes in a research environment, it is important to examine mediators in a treatment-as-usual setting. To address these questions, 161 heterosexual couples (322 individuals) received treatment-as-usual couple therapy at one of two Veteran Administration Medical Centers (M = 5.0 and 13.0 sessions at the two sites) and were assessed before every session. The majority of couples were married (85%) and had been together for a median of 7.8 years (SD = 13). Participants were primarily White, non-Hispanic (69%), African American (21%), and White, Hispanic/Latino (8%). Individuals' own self-reported improvements in communication, emotional closeness, and psychological distress (but not frequency of behaviors targeted in treatment) mediated the effect of treatment on their subsequent relationship satisfaction. When all significant mediators were examined simultaneously, improvements in men's and women's emotional closeness and men's psychological distress independently mediated subsequent relationship satisfaction. In contrast, improvements in earlier relationship satisfaction mediated the effect of treatment only on subsequent psychological distress. This study identifies unique mediators of treatment effects and shows that gains in mechanisms predict subsequent relationship satisfaction. Future investigations should focus on the role of emotional closeness and psychological distress-constructs that have often been neglected-in couple therapy. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2015 APA, all rights reserved).

  7. Nursing staffs' emotional well-being and caring behaviours.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chana, Navtej; Kennedy, Paul; Chessell, Zoë J

    2015-10-01

    To examine the relationships between structural factors (work stressors), individual factors (demographics and the personal resources of resilience and social support) and transactional factors (appraisals and coping), and nursing staffs' levels of burnout, psychological distress and caring behaviours. A further aim was to examine the relationships between nursing staffs' levels of burnout and psychological distress and their caring behaviours. Burnout and psychological distress levels have been found to be high in National Health Service nursing staff and furthermore this emotional distress has been found to affect patient care. In a National Health Service striving to provide high-quality patient-centred care, it is essential that factors affecting nursing staffs' well-being and their caring behaviours are examined. A cross-sectional correlation-based survey design. A sample of 102 nursing staff from an Acute National Health Service Trust were recruited in 2010. Participants completed the questionnaires: Nursing Stress Scale, Social Support Questionnaire-Short Form, Connor and Davidson Resilience Scale-2, Occupational Coping Self-Efficacy Scale for Nurses, PsychNurse Scale, Maslach Burnout Inventory, The Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale and Caring Behaviours Inventory-revised. Due to the nonparametric nature of part of the data, Spearman's Rho correlations were used for analysis. Demographics were not found to be regularly correlated with nursing staffs' burnout, psychological distress or caring behaviours. Work stressors, coping strategies and self-efficacy were found to be significantly correlated with nursing staffs' burnout and psychological distress. Caring behaviours were also correlated with coping strategies and self-efficacy. Importantly, correlations were found between caring behaviours and nursing staffs' burnout and psychological distress. It is extremely important that the emotional well-being of nursing staff is supported, both for them, and

  8. Occupational stress and suicidality among firefighters: Examining the buffering role of distress tolerance.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stanley, Ian H; Boffa, Joseph W; Smith, Lia J; Tran, Jana K; Schmidt, N Brad; Joiner, Thomas E; Vujanovic, Anka A

    2018-05-24

    Past research indicates that firefighters are at increased risk for suicide. Firefighter-specific occupational stress may contribute to elevated suicidality. Among a large sample of firefighters, this study examined if occupational stress is associated with multiple indicators of suicide risk, and whether distress tolerance, the perceived and/or actual ability to endure negative emotional or physical states, attenuates these associations. A total of 831 firefighters participated (mean [SD] age = 38.37y[8.53y]; 94.5% male; 75.2% White). The Sources of Occupational Stress-14 (SOOS-14), Distress Tolerance Scale (DTS), and Suicidal Behaviors Questionnaire-Revised (SBQ-R) were utilized to examine firefighter-specific occupational stress, distress tolerance, and suicidality, respectively. Consistent with predictions, occupational stress interacted with distress tolerance, such that the effects of occupational stress on suicide risk, broadly, as well as lifetime suicide threats and current suicidal intent, specifically, were attenuated at high levels of distress tolerance. Distress tolerance may buffer the effects of occupational stress on suicidality among firefighters. Pending replication, findings suggest that distress tolerance may be a viable target for suicide prevention initiatives within the fire service. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  9. Suicidal action, emotional expression, and the performance of masculinities.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cleary, Anne

    2012-02-01

    Male rates of suicide are significantly higher than female rates in Ireland and other Western countries, yet the process and detail of men's suicidal action is relatively unknown. This is partly due to prevailing theoretical and methodological approaches. In this area of study, macro-level, quantitative approaches predominate; and theoretical frameworks tend to adopt unitary notions of men, as well as binary, oppositional, concepts of masculinity and femininity. This inquiry, based on in-depth interviews with 52 young Irish men who made a suicide attempt, examines suicidal behaviour at the individual level. The findings demonstrate that these men experienced high levels of emotional pain but had problems identifying symptoms and disclosing distress and this, along with the coping mechanisms used, was linked to a form of masculinity prevalent in their social environment. Dominant or hegemonic masculinity norms discouraged disclosure of emotional vulnerability, and participants used alcohol and drugs to cope - which exacerbated and prolonged their distress. Over time this led to a situation where they felt their options had narrowed, and suicidal action represented a way out of their difficulties. These men experienced significant, long-lasting, emotional pain but, in the context of lives lived in environments where prevailing constructions of masculinity constrained its expression, they opted for suicide rather than disclose distress and seek help. Underpinning this study is a presumption that binary notions of male and female emotions lack substance, but that the expression of emotions is gender-specific and constrained in some social localities. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  10. Romantic Partner Monitoring After Breakups: Attachment, Dependence, Distress, and Post-Dissolution Online Surveillance via Social Networking Sites.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fox, Jesse; Tokunaga, Robert S

    2015-09-01

    Romantic relationship dissolution can be stressful, and social networking sites make it difficult to separate from a romantic partner online as well as offline. An online survey (N = 431) tested a model synthesizing attachment, investment model variables, and post-dissolution emotional distress as predictors of interpersonal surveillance (i.e., "Facebook stalking") of one's ex-partner on Facebook after a breakup. Results indicated that anxious attachment predicted relational investment but also seeking relationship alternatives; avoidant attachment was negatively related to investment but positively related to seeking alternatives. Investment predicted commitment, whereas seeking alternatives was negatively related to commitment. Commitment predicted emotional distress after the breakup. Distress predicted partner monitoring immediately following the breakup, particularly for those who did not initiate the breakup, as well as current partner monitoring. Given their affordances, social media are discussed as potentially unhealthy enablers for online surveillance after relationship termination.

  11. The impact of stigma on emotional distress and recovery from psychosis: The mediatory role of internalised shame and self-esteem.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wood, Lisa; Byrne, Rory; Burke, Eilish; Enache, Gabriela; Morrison, Anthony P

    2017-09-01

    Internalised shame and self-esteem have both been proposed to play an integral role in the relationship between stigma and its negative psychological sequelae in people who experience psychosis, but there has been little quantitative exploration to examine their roles further. The aim of this study was to examine the relationship of stigma (experienced and perceived) with emotional distress and recovery in psychosis, and to examine internalised shame and self-esteem as potential mediators. A total of 79 participants were included for the purposes of this study. Participants were administered a battery of assessment measures examining experienced and perceived stigma, internalised shame, self-esteem, depression, hopelessness, and personal recovery. Results illustrated that stigma (experienced and perceived) was significantly associated with internalised shame, low self-esteem, depression, hopelessness and poor personal recovery. Stigma (experienced and perceived) and its relationship with depression, hopelessness and personal recovery was mediated by both internalised shame and low self-esteem. In conclusion, stigma can have significant negative emotional consequences and impede recovery in people with psychosis. This may indicate that stigma needs to be addressed therapeutically for people with psychosis with a particular emphasis on addressing internalised shame and low self-esteem. Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier B.V.

  12. A Study of Emotionalism in Patients Undergoing Rehabilitation following Severe Acquired Brain Injury

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Joanna McGrath

    2000-01-01

    Full Text Available The present study describes the phenomenon of emotionalism in a sample of brain injured patients of mixed aetiology, with a view to identifying issues relevant to clinical management, and possible causal factors. 82 subjects with severe acquired brain injury undergoing rehabilitation participated in a structured interview in which they were asked to report the presence/absence of emotionalism and degree of distress associated with it. Their overt crying behaviour was also observed and recorded. Independent variables that predicted crying during the interview were identified using a multiple logistic regression procedure. Prevalence rates of emotionalism-tearfulness were high in this sample (52% self-report, 36–41% Emotionalism-laughter was much less common (13% Emotionalism-tearfulness was usually accompanied by negative affect, occurred in response to identifiable precipitants, and was often controllable. It was associated with major personal distress in about half the subjects who reported it. Independent variables which predicted crying behaviour were female gender and focal damage to the right cerebral hemisphere. It is concluded that an increased readiness to cry is common in people with severe acquired brain injury of mixed aetiology. The behaviour is meaningful, though not always distressing. The intensity of the behaviour is variable, and it may be most appropriate to regard emotionalism as a dimension rather than a syndrome. Implications for clinical management are discussed.

  13. The relationship of quality of life and distress in prostate cancer patients compared to the general population.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zenger, Markus; Lehmann-Laue, Antje; Stolzenburg, Jens-Uwe; Schwalenberg, Thilo; Ried, Alexander; Hinz, Andreas

    2010-06-30

    The aim of this study is two-fold. The first part compares quality of life (QoL) data of prostate cancer patients with those of a representative and age-specific sample of the general population and analyzes the influence of cancer related as well as socio-demographic parameters on QoL. Secondly, differences in QoL depending on the experienced psychological distress will be shown both in prostate cancer patients and in the general population. A sample of 265 prostate cancer patients completed both the European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer Quality of Life Questionnaire (EORTC QLQ-C30) and the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) during their stay in the hospital. A total HADS cut off score of 15 was used to indicate psychological distress and significant emotional concerns in patients and men of the general population. The results of the patients were compared with those of the general population (N=444). Prostate cancer patients reported significantly worse levels of social and emotional functioning as well as more symptoms like insomnia, constipation and diarrhea compared to the general population. Patients and men of the general population with a total HADS score >/=15 reported lower QoL in all sub-scales except for diarrhea in comparison to people without distress. Psychological distress is accompanied by lower QoL and therefore should be taken into consideration when QoL is assessed. Furthermore, clinicians should be trained by professionals to detect distress in their patients and to pay more attention to their emotional concerns, which are strongly associated with the patients' well-being and QoL during their stay in hospital.

  14. Sympathy, Distress, and Prosocial Behavior of Preschool Children in Four Cultures

    Science.gov (United States)

    Trommsdorff, Gisela; Friedlmeier, Wolfgang; Mayer, Boris

    2007-01-01

    This study examined emotional responding (sympathy and distress) and prosocial behavior as well as their relations across four cultures in a specific context. Preschool children (N = 212) from two Western cultures, Germany and Israel, and two South-East Asian cultures, Indonesia and Malaysia, participated in this study. Children's emotional…

  15. Childhood maltreatment, maladaptive personality types and level and course of psychological distress: A six-year longitudinal study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Spinhoven, Philip; Elzinga, Bernet M; Van Hemert, Albert M; de Rooij, Mark; Penninx, Brenda W

    2016-02-01

    Childhood maltreatment and maladaptive personality are both cross-sectionally associated with psychological distress. It is unknown whether childhood maltreatment affects the level and longitudinal course of psychological distress in adults and to what extent this effect is mediated by maladaptive personality. A sample of 2947 adults aged 18-65, consisting of healthy controls, persons with a prior history or current episode of depressive and/or anxiety disorders according to the Composite Interview Diagnostic Instrument were assessed in six waves at baseline (T0) and 1 (T1), 2 (T2), 4 (T4) and 6 years (T6) later. At each wave psychological distress was measured with the Inventory of Depressive Symptomatology, Beck Anxiety Inventory, and Fear Questionnaire. At T0 childhood maltreatment types were measured with a semi-structured interview (Childhood Trauma Interview) and personality traits with the NEO-Five Factor Inventory. Using latent variable analyses, we found that severity of childhood maltreatment (emotional neglect and abuse in particular) predicted higher initial levels of psychological distress and that this effect was mediated by maladaptive personality types. Differences in trajectories of distress between persons with varying levels of childhood maltreatment remained significant and stable over time. Childhood maltreatment was assessed retrospectively and maladaptive personality types and level of psychological distress at study entry were assessed concurrently. Routine assessment of maladaptive personality types and possible childhood emotional maltreatment in persons with severe and prolonged psychological distress seems warranted to identify persons who may need a different or more intensive treatment. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  16. Social orientation and diabetes-related distress in Japanese and American patients with type 2 diabetes.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kaori Ikeda

    Full Text Available OBJECTIVE: Recent evidence in cultural and social psychology suggests Eastern cultures' emphasis on harmony and connection with others and Western cultures' emphasis on self-direction and autonomy. In Eastern society, relational harmony is closely linked to people's well-being. The impact of this cultural and social orientation on diabetes-related distress was investigated. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS: Japanese and American patients with type 2 diabetes were surveyed by well-established questionnaire in Japan and in the United States, respectively. The association of personal values for interdependence, perceived emotional support, and the Problem Areas in Diabetes scale (PAID were analyzed. RESULTS: A positive correlation between interdependence and PAID (r = 0.18; P = 0.025 and a negative correlation between perceived emotional support and PAID (r = - 0.24; P = 0.004 were observed after adjustments for other factors in Japanese data (n = 149, but not in American data (r = 0.00; P = 0.990, r = 0.02; P = 0.917, respectively, n = 50. In Japanese data, the three-factor structure of PAID (negative feelings about total life with diabetes, about living conditions with diabetes, and about treatment of diabetes was identified, and interdependence showed significant positive correlations with the first and second factors and perceived emotional support showed significant negative correlations with all three factors of PAID. CONCLUSIONS: These results suggest that personal values for interdependence may be linked to the level of diabetes-related distress and that the distress may be relieved by perception of emotional support, especially in an interdependent cultural context.

  17. Predicting parental distress among children newly diagnosed with craniopharyngioma.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Peterson, Rachel K; Ashford, Jason M; Scott, Sarah M; Wang, Fang; Zhang, Hui; Bradley, Julie A; Merchant, Thomas E; Conklin, Heather M

    2018-06-22

    Childhood brain tumor diagnoses are stressful for families. Children diagnosed with craniopharyngioma (Cp) present with particularly challenging medical and cognitive problems due to tumor location and associated biophysiologic comorbidities. This study examined parental distress in a sample of families of patients with Cp treated with proton beam therapy to identify factors for targeting psychological intervention. Prior to (n = 96) and 1 year after (n = 73) proton therapy, parents of children diagnosed with Cp (9.81 ± 4.42 years at baseline; 49% male) completed a self-report measure of distress, the Brief Symptom Inventory (BSI). Children completed cognitive assessment measures at baseline; medical variables were extracted from the study database. At baseline, t-tests revealed parents reported higher levels of distress than normative expectations on Anxiety, Depression, Global Severity, and Positive Symptom Distress BSI scales (P < 0.05). Linear mixed effects models revealed parent report measures of child executive dysfunction and behavioral issues were more predictive of parental distress than patients' cognitive performance or medical status (P < 0.05). Models also revealed a significant reduction only in Anxiety over time (t = -2.19, P < 0.05). Extensive hypothalamic involvement at baseline predicted this reduction (P < 0.05). Parents experience significant distress before their child begins adjuvant therapy for Cp, though parental distress appears largely unrelated to medical complications and more related to parent perceptions of child cognitive difficulties (vs. child performance). Importantly, this may be explained by a negative parent reporting style among distressed parents. Knowledge of socio-emotional functioning in parents related to patient characteristics is important for optimization of psychological intervention. © 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  18. Mindfulness-based cognitive therapy for people with diabetes and emotional problems

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    VAN Son, Jenny; Nyklíček, Ivan; Pop, Victor J M

    2014-01-01

    OBJECTIVE: The DiaMind trial showed beneficial immediate effects of mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT) on emotional distress, but not on diabetes distress and HbA1c. The aim of the present report was to examine if the effects would be sustained after six month follow-up. METHODS: In the Dia...

  19. Evoked emotions predict food choice.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dalenberg, Jelle R; Gutjar, Swetlana; Ter Horst, Gert J; de Graaf, Kees; Renken, Remco J; Jager, Gerry

    2014-01-01

    In the current study we show that non-verbal food-evoked emotion scores significantly improve food choice prediction over merely liking scores. Previous research has shown that liking measures correlate with choice. However, liking is no strong predictor for food choice in real life environments. Therefore, the focus within recent studies shifted towards using emotion-profiling methods that successfully can discriminate between products that are equally liked. However, it is unclear how well scores from emotion-profiling methods predict actual food choice and/or consumption. To test this, we proposed to decompose emotion scores into valence and arousal scores using Principal Component Analysis (PCA) and apply Multinomial Logit Models (MLM) to estimate food choice using liking, valence, and arousal as possible predictors. For this analysis, we used an existing data set comprised of liking and food-evoked emotions scores from 123 participants, who rated 7 unlabeled breakfast drinks. Liking scores were measured using a 100-mm visual analogue scale, while food-evoked emotions were measured using 2 existing emotion-profiling methods: a verbal and a non-verbal method (EsSense Profile and PrEmo, respectively). After 7 days, participants were asked to choose 1 breakfast drink from the experiment to consume during breakfast in a simulated restaurant environment. Cross validation showed that we were able to correctly predict individualized food choice (1 out of 7 products) for over 50% of the participants. This number increased to nearly 80% when looking at the top 2 candidates. Model comparisons showed that evoked emotions better predict food choice than perceived liking alone. However, the strongest predictive strength was achieved by the combination of evoked emotions and liking. Furthermore we showed that non-verbal food-evoked emotion scores more accurately predict food choice than verbal food-evoked emotions scores.

  20. Slow dissolving of emotional distress contributes to hyperarousal

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Wassing, Rick; Benjamins, J.S.; Dekker, Kim; Moens, Sarah; Spiegelhalder, Kai; Feige, Bernd; Riemann, Dieter; van der Sluis, Sophie; van der Werf, Ysbrand; Talamini, Lucia; Walker, Matthew; Schalkwijk, Frans; van Someren, Eus

    2016-01-01

    The mechanisms underlying hyperarousal, the key symptom of insomnia, have remained elusive, hampering cause-targeted treatment. Recently, restless rapid-eye-movement (REM) sleep emerged as a robust signature of sleep in insomnia. Given the role of REM sleep in emotion regulation, we hypothesized

  1. Mind-Body Skills Training to Improve Distress Tolerance in Medical Students: A Pilot Study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kraemer, Kristen M; Luberto, Christina M; O'Bryan, Emily M; Mysinger, Erica; Cotton, Sian

    2016-01-01

    Medical students face rigorous and stressful work environments, resulting in high rates of psychological distress. However, there has been a dearth of empirical work aimed at modifying risk factors for psychopathology among this at-risk group. Distress tolerance, defined as the ability to withstand emotional distress, is one factor that may be important in promoting psychological well-being in medical students. Thus, the aim of the current mixed-methods study was (a) to describe changes in facets of distress tolerance (i.e., emotional tolerance, absorption, appraisal, regulation) for medical students who completed a mind-body skills training group, and a no-intervention control group of students; (b) to examine the relationship between changes in psychological variables and changes in distress tolerance; and (c) to report students' perceptions of the mind-body group, with an emphasis on how the group may have affected personal and professional functioning due to improvements in distress tolerance. The mind-body program was an 11-week, 2-hour skills training group that focused on introducing, practicing, and processing mind-body skills such as biofeedback, guided imagery, relaxation, several forms of meditation (e.g., mindfulness), breathing exercises, and autogenic training. Participants were 52 first- and second-year medical students (62.7% female, Mage = 23.45, SD = 1.51) who participated in a mind-body group or a no-intervention control group and completed self-report measures before and after the 11-week period. Students in the mind-body group showed a modest improvement in all distress tolerance subscales over time (ΔM = .42-.53, p = .01-.03, d = .44-.53), whereas the control group showed less consistent changes across most subscales (ΔM = .11-.42, p = .10-.65, d = .01-.42). Students in the mind-body group qualitatively reported an improved ability to tolerate affective distress. Overall, improvements in psychological symptoms were associated with

  2. Dispositional emotional expressivity, cancer-specific coping, and distress in socioeconomically-disadvantaged Latinas.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Moreno, Patricia I; Bauer, Margaret R; Yanez, Betina; Jorge, Alexandra; Maggard-Gibbons, Melinda; Stanton, Annette L

    2016-06-01

    Coping processes directed toward avoiding and approaching stressor-related thoughts and emotions predict psychological adjustment. However, few studies have examined how the relationship between dispositional emotional tendencies and stressor-specific coping affects outcomes. The aim of the current study was to examine the association of dispositional emotional expressivity (i.e., the propensity to experience and express emotions strongly) with cancer-specific coping through avoidance and emotional approach to predict intrusive thoughts and depressive symptoms in Latinas with breast cancer. Recently diagnosed Latina breast cancer patients receiving treatment completed standardized assessments via interview at 2 time points: within 18 months of diagnosis (Time 1; N = 95) and 3 months later (Time 2; N = 79). Most women were immigrants (93%), reported a combined household income of $20,000 or less (75%), did not graduate from high school (59%), and primarily spoke Spanish (88%). In path analyses, more recent immigration was associated with greater dispositional expressivity, which in turn was associated with coping with the cancer experience using both greater avoidance and emotional approach strategies. Only avoidance-oriented strategies predicted an increase in intrusive thoughts at 3 months. No significant effects on depressive symptoms were observed. Findings suggest that Latina breast cancer patients who have a propensity to experience and express emotions strongly may be initially overwhelmed by their cancer-related emotions and consequently turn to avoidance-oriented and emotional approach strategies to cope with their diagnosis. Avoidance-oriented coping in turn may uniquely predict an increase in cancer-related intrusive thoughts 3 months later. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved).

  3. Relationship between self-focused attention, mindfulness and distress in individuals with auditory verbal hallucinations.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Úbeda-Gómez, J; León-Palacios, M G; Escudero-Pérez, S; Barros-Albarrán, M D; López-Jiménez, A M; Perona-Garcelán, S

    2015-01-01

    The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationships among self-focused attention, mindfulness and distress caused by the voices in psychiatric patients. Fifty-one individuals with a psychiatric diagnosis participated in this study. The Psychotic Symptom Rating Scale (PSYRATS) emotional factor was applied to measure the distress caused by the voices, the Self-Absorption Scale (SAS) was given for measuring the levels of self-focused attention, and the Mindful Attention Awareness Scale (MAAS) was used to measure mindfulness. The results showed that distress caused by the voices correlated positively with self-focused attention (private and public) and negatively with mindfulness. A negative correlation was also found between mindfulness and self-focused attention (private and public). Finally, multiple linear regression analysis showed that public self-focus was the only factor predicting distress caused by the voices. Intervention directed at diminishing public self-focused attention and increasing mindfulness could improve distress caused by the voices.

  4. Childhood Maltreatment Exposure and Disruptions in Emotion Regulation: A Transdiagnostic Pathway to Adolescent Internalizing and Externalizing Psychopathology

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jenness, Jessica L.; Stoep, Ann Vander; McCauley, Elizabeth; McLaughlin, Katie A.

    2016-01-01

    Child maltreatment is a robust risk factor for internalizing and externalizing psychopathology in children and adolescents. We examined the role of disruptions in emotion regulation processes as a developmental mechanism linking child maltreatment to the onset of multiple forms of psychopathology in adolescents. Specifically, we examined whether child maltreatment was associated with emotional reactivity and maladaptive cognitive and behavioral responses to distress, including rumination and impulsive behaviors, in two separate samples. We additionally investigated whether each of these components of emotion regulation were associated with internalizing and externalizing psychopathology and mediated the association between child maltreatment and psychopathology. Study 1 included a sample of 167 adolescents recruited based on exposure to physical, sexual, or emotional abuse. Study 2 included a sample of 439 adolescents in a community-based cohort study followed prospectively for 5 years. In both samples, child maltreatment was associated with higher levels of internalizing psychopathology, elevated emotional reactivity, and greater habitual engagement in rumination and impulsive responses to distress. In Study 2, emotional reactivity and maladaptive responses to distress mediated the association between child maltreatment and both internalizing and externalizing psychopathology. These findings provide converging evidence for the role of emotion regulation deficits as a transdiagnostic developmental pathway linking child maltreatment with multiple forms of psychopathology. PMID:27695145

  5. Childhood Maltreatment Exposure and Disruptions in Emotion Regulation: A Transdiagnostic Pathway to Adolescent Internalizing and Externalizing Psychopathology.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Heleniak, Charlotte; Jenness, Jessica L; Stoep, Ann Vander; McCauley, Elizabeth; McLaughlin, Katie A

    2016-06-01

    Child maltreatment is a robust risk factor for internalizing and externalizing psychopathology in children and adolescents. We examined the role of disruptions in emotion regulation processes as a developmental mechanism linking child maltreatment to the onset of multiple forms of psychopathology in adolescents. Specifically, we examined whether child maltreatment was associated with emotional reactivity and maladaptive cognitive and behavioral responses to distress, including rumination and impulsive behaviors, in two separate samples. We additionally investigated whether each of these components of emotion regulation were associated with internalizing and externalizing psychopathology and mediated the association between child maltreatment and psychopathology. Study 1 included a sample of 167 adolescents recruited based on exposure to physical, sexual, or emotional abuse. Study 2 included a sample of 439 adolescents in a community-based cohort study followed prospectively for 5 years. In both samples, child maltreatment was associated with higher levels of internalizing psychopathology, elevated emotional reactivity, and greater habitual engagement in rumination and impulsive responses to distress. In Study 2, emotional reactivity and maladaptive responses to distress mediated the association between child maltreatment and both internalizing and externalizing psychopathology. These findings provide converging evidence for the role of emotion regulation deficits as a transdiagnostic developmental pathway linking child maltreatment with multiple forms of psychopathology.

  6. Effectiveness of school-based humanistic counselling for psychological distress in young people: Pilot randomized controlled trial with follow-up in an ethnically diverse sample.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pearce, Peter; Sewell, Ros; Cooper, Mick; Osman, Sarah; Fugard, Andrew J B; Pybis, Joanne

    2017-06-01

    The aim of this study was to pilot a test of the effectiveness of school-based humanistic counselling (SBHC) in an ethnically diverse group of young people (aged 11-18 years old), with follow-up assessments at 6 and 9 months. Pilot randomized controlled trial, using linear-mixed effect modelling and intention-to-treat analysis to compare changes in levels of psychological distress for participants in SBHC against usual care (UC). ISRCTN44253140. In total, 64 young people were randomized to either SBHC or UC. Participants were aged between 11 and 18 (M = 14.2, SD = 1.8), with 78.1% of a non-white ethnicity. The primary outcome was psychological distress at 6 weeks (mid-therapy), 12 weeks (end of therapy), 6-month follow-up and 9-month follow-up. Secondary measures included emotional symptoms, self-esteem and attainment of personal goals. Recruitment and retention rates for the study were acceptable. Participants in the SBHC condition, as compared with participants in the UC condition, showed greater reductions in psychological distress and emotional symptoms, and greater improvements in self-esteem, over time. However, at follow-up, only emotional symptoms showed significant differences across groups. The study adds to the pool of evidence suggesting that SBHC can be tested and that it brings about short-term reductions in psychological and emotional distress in young people, across ethnicities. However, there is no evidence of longer-term effects. School-based humanistic counselling can be an effective means of reducing the psychological distress experienced by young people with emotional symptoms in the short term. The short-term effectiveness of school-based humanistic counselling is not limited to young people of a White ethnicity. There is no evidence that school-based humanistic counselling has effects beyond the end of therapy. © 2016 The British Psychological Society.

  7. Children's exposure to violent political conflict stimulates aggression at peers by increasing emotional distress, aggressive script rehearsal, and normative beliefs favoring aggression.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Huesmann, L Rowell; Dubow, Eric F; Boxer, Paul; Landau, Simha F; Gvirsman, Shira Dvir; Shikaki, Khalil

    2017-02-01

    We examine the hypothesis that children's exposure to ethnic-political conflict and violence over the course of a year stimulates their increased aggression toward their own in-group peers in subsequent years. In addition, we examine what social cognitive and emotional processes mediate these effects and how these effects are moderated by gender, age, and ethnic group. To accomplish these aims, we collected three waves of data from 901 Israeli and 600 Palestinian youths (three age cohorts: 8, 11, and 14 years old) and their parents at 1-year intervals. Exposure to ethnic-political violence was correlated with aggression at in-group peers among all age cohorts. Using a cross-lagged structural equation model from Year 1 to Year 3, we found that the relation between exposure and aggression is more plausibly due to exposure to ethnic-political violence stimulating later aggression at peers than vice versa, and this effect was not moderated significantly by gender, age cohort, or ethnic group. Using three-wave structural equation models, we then showed that this effect was significantly mediated by changes in normative beliefs about aggression, aggressive script rehearsal, and emotional distress produced by the exposure. Again the best fitting model did not allow for moderation by gender, age cohort, or ethnic group. The findings are consistent with recent theorizing that exposure to violence leads to changes both in emotional processes promoting aggression and in the acquisition through observational learning of social cognitions promoting aggression.

  8. The relationship of quality of life and distress in prostate cancer patients compared to the general population

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zenger, Markus; Lehmann-Laue, Antje; Stolzenburg, Jens-Uwe; Schwalenberg, Thilo; Ried, Alexander; Hinz, Andreas

    2010-01-01

    Background: The aim of this study is two-fold. The first part compares quality of life (QoL) data of prostate cancer patients with those of a representative and age-specific sample of the general population and analyzes the influence of cancer related as well as socio-demographic parameters on QoL. Secondly, differences in QoL depending on the experienced psychological distress will be shown both in prostate cancer patients and in the general population. Material and Methods: A sample of 265 prostate cancer patients completed both the European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer Quality of Life Questionnaire (EORTC QLQ-C30) and the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) during their stay in the hospital. A total HADS cut off score of 15 was used to indicate psychological distress and significant emotional concerns in patients and men of the general population. The results of the patients were compared with those of the general population (N=444). Results: Prostate cancer patients reported significantly worse levels of social and emotional functioning as well as more symptoms like insomnia, constipation and diarrhea compared to the general population. Patients and men of the general population with a total HADS score ≥15 reported lower QoL in all sub-scales except for diarrhea in comparison to people without distress. Discussion: Psychological distress is accompanied by lower QoL and therefore should be taken into consideration when QoL is assessed. Furthermore, clinicians should be trained by professionals to detect distress in their patients and to pay more attention to their emotional concerns, which are strongly associated with the patients’ well-being and QoL during their stay in hospital. PMID:20628652

  9. Characteristics of High-Risk College Student Drinkers Expressing High and Low Levels of Distress

    Science.gov (United States)

    Graceffo, James M.; Hayes, Jeffrey A.; Chun-Kennedy, Caitlin; Locke, Benjamin D.

    2012-01-01

    The aim of this study was to identify variables that reliably differentiated between 2 groups of students who reported binge drinking at the same rate (6 to more than 10 times within the previous 2 weeks) but who exhibited different distress associated with their behavior. Results indicated that students who received an external expression of…

  10. Effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of humanistic counselling in schools for young people with emotional distress (ETHOS): study protocol for a randomised controlled trial.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stafford, Megan Rose; Cooper, Mick; Barkham, Michael; Beecham, Jeni; Bower, Peter; Cromarty, Karen; Fugard, Andrew J B; Jackson, Charlie; Pearce, Peter; Ryder, Rebekah; Street, Cathy

    2018-03-09

    One in ten children in Britain have been identified as experiencing a diagnosable mental health disorder. School-based humanistic counselling (SBHC) may help young people identify, address, and overcome psychological distress. Data from four pilot trials suggest that SBHC may be clinically effective. However, a fully powered randomised controlled trial (RCT) is needed to provide a robust test of its effectiveness, to assess its cost-effectiveness, and to determine the process of change. The Effectiveness and Cost-effectiveness Trial of Humanistic Counselling in Schools (ETHOS) is a two-arm, parallel-group RCT comparing the clinical and cost-effectiveness of SBHC with Pastoral Care as Usual (PCAU) in school settings. Eligibility criteria for young people include being between 13 and 16 years of age and experiencing moderate to severe levels of emotional distress. Participants are randomised to receive either SBHC or PCAU. SBHC is delivered in up to 10 weekly, individual sessions in their school with a qualified, experienced counsellor who has also received training using a clinical practice manual. Adherence to the SBHC model is assessed by a sub-team of auditors and in clinical supervision. PCAU consists of the schools' pre-existing systems for supporting the emotional health and well-being of students. The primary outcomes are psychological distress measured using the Young Person's Clinical Outcomes in Routine Evaluation (YP-CORE) and costs evaluated using the Client Service Receipt Inventory (CSRI). Secondary outcomes include psychological difficulties, levels of depression, anxiety and self-esteem, well-being, school engagement, educational outcomes and achievement of personal goals. Qualitative interviews with participants, parents and school staff will look to identify the mechanisms of change in SBHC. Researchers administering the measures are blind to allocation. The trial requires n = 306 participants (n = 153 in each group), with 90% power to detect a

  11. Psychosocial distress and need for supportive counselling in patients during radiotherapy

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Vries, A. de; Steixner, E.; Stzankay, A.; Iglseder, W.; Soellner, W.; Auer, V.; Schiessling, G.; Lukas, P.

    1998-01-01

    Purpose: Psychosocial distress and patient attitude towards psychosocial support as well as the correlations with clinical and sociodemographic characteristics should be assessed. Methods: The stress due to cancer was measured in a consecutive sample of tumor patients at the start of radiotherapy (n=117) by use of the Hornheide Questionnaire. In addition, the interest of these patients in professional psychosocial support was assesed with the help of the Questionnaire for Psychosocial Support. Results: Patients in the course of radiotherapy and patients with a poor prognosis and advanced disease were more strongly distressed. 32.7% of patients wished professional psychosocial support from the oncologist treating them, 40.6% of the patients wished support from the oncologist and additionally from a psychotherapist or social worker. Interest in professional psychosocial support correlated with the amount of distress, but not with sociodemographic variables. Conclusions: Results stress the importance of training programs for oncologists in order to improve their ability to detect psychosocial distress in cancer patients and to offer adequate emotional support to them. (orig.) [de

  12. Effects of an expressive writing intervention on cancer-related distress in Danish breast cancer survivors

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Jensen-Johansen, Mikael Birkelund; Christensen, Søren; Valdimarsdottir, Heiddis

    2013-01-01

    Objective: To examine the effects of an expressive writing intervention (EWI) on cancer-related distress, depressive symptoms, and mood in women treated for early stage breast cancer. Methods: A nationwide sample of 507 Danish women who had recently completed treatment for primary breast cancer...... were randomly assigned to three 20-min home-based writing exercises, one week apart, focusing on either emotional disclosure (EWI group) or a non-emotional topic (control group). Cancer-related distress [Impact of Event Scale (IES)], depressive symptoms (Beck Depression Inventory—Short Form......), and negative (37-item Profile of Moods State) and positive mood (Passive Positive Mood Scale) were assessed at baseline and at 3 and 9 months post-intervention. Choice of writing topic (cancer versus other), alexithymia (20-item Toronto Alexithymia Scale), and social constraints (Social Constraints Scale) were...

  13. Self-injury, converting emotional distress into physical pain

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Møhl, Bo; Rubæk, Lotte

    2017-01-01

    Self-inflicted pain by cutting, hitting or burning oneself has become a common way to regulate emotions and to serve as coping strategy. 21.5-32% of adolescents in non-clinical populations have a history of non-suicidal self-injury. Non-suicidal self-injury has a momentarily relieving effect...

  14. Psychological Flexibility as a Buffer against Caregiver Distress in Families with Psychosis

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jens E. Jansen

    2017-10-01

    Full Text Available Background: Research has shown that caregivers of persons with psychosis play an invaluable role in recovery, but unfortunately, often report high levels of distress. While cognitive models of caregiver distress have been well-supported, there is still limited knowledge of the psychological factors involved. Recent advances in cognitive behavioral therapy seem to converge on the importance of acceptance- and mindfulness based processes.Aim: To examine the impact of psychological flexibility on caregiver distress in the early phases of psychosis, while controlling for known predictors of caregiver distress.Method: Within a cross-sectional design, 101 caregivers of 38 persons with first-episode psychosis in a clinical epidemiological sample completed a series of self-report measures.Results: A linear mixed model analysis found that, after controlling for caregiver socio-demographic factors, service user symptoms, drug use and global functioning, psychological flexibility was a significant predictor of caregiver distress.Conclusion: Greater level of psychological flexibility in caregivers, seems to be related to lower levels of caregiver distress. This finding corresponds to studies within a broad range of emotional disorders. There may be important clinical implications in terms of facilitating the process of acceptance through interventions from the ‘third-wave’ or contextual cognitive behavioral therapies.

  15. The Effectiveness of Somatization in Communicating Distress in Korean and American Cultural Contexts

    Science.gov (United States)

    Choi, Eunsoo; Chentsova-Dutton, Yulia; Parrott, W. Gerrod

    2016-01-01

    Previous research has documented that Asians tend to somatize negative experiences to a greater degree than Westerners. It is posited that somatization may be a more functional communication strategy in Korean than American context. We examined the effects of somatization in communications of distress among participants from the US and Korea. We predicted that the communicative benefits of somatic words used in distress narratives would depend on the cultural contexts. In Study 1, we found that Korean participants used more somatic words to communicate distress than US participants. Among Korean participants, but not US participants, use of somatic words predicted perceived effectiveness of the communication and expectations of positive reactions (e.g., empathy) from others. In Study 2, we found that when presented with distress narratives of others, Koreans (but not Americans) showed more sympathy in response to narratives using somatic words than narratives using emotional words. These findings suggest that cultural differences in use of somatization may reflect differential effectiveness of somatization in communicating distress across cultural contexts. PMID:27047414

  16. The Effectiveness of Somatization in Communicating Distress in Korean and American Cultural Contexts

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Eunsoo eChoi

    2016-03-01

    Full Text Available Previous research has documented that Asians tend to somatize negative experiences to a greater degree than Westerners. It is posited that somatization may be a more functional communication strategy in Korean than American context. We examined the effects of somatization in communications of distress among participants from the US and Korea. We predicted that the communicative benefits of somatic words used in distress narratives would depend on the cultural contexts. In Study 1, we found that Korean participants used more somatic words to communicate distress than US participants. Among Korean participants, but not US participants, use of somatic words predicted perceived effectiveness of the communication and expectations of positive reactions (e.g., empathy from others. In study 2, we found that when presented with distress narratives of others, Koreans (but not Americans showed more sympathy in response to narratives using somatic words than narratives using emotional words. These findings suggest that cultural differences in use of somatization may reflect differential effectiveness of somatization in communicating distress across cultural contexts.

  17. Reactions to Participating in Dating Violence Research: Are Our Questions Distressing Participants?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shorey, Ryan C.; Cornelius, Tara L.; Bell, Kathryn M.

    2011-01-01

    In recent years, there has been increased research focus on dating violence, producing important information for reducing these violent relationships. Yet Institutional Review Boards (IRBs) are often hesitant to approve research on dating violence, citing emotional distress of participants as a possible risk of participation. However, no known…

  18. The relationship between beliefs about emotions and quality of life in irritable bowel syndrome.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bowers, Hannah; Wroe, Abigail; Pincus, Tamar

    2017-12-01

    Suppression of undesirable emotions, as well as beliefs about the unacceptability of experiencing and expressing emotions, have both been shown to be related to poorer health-related outcomes in several clinical groups. Potential models through which these variables relate have yet to be tested in those with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) and are therefore examined in the current article. Online questionnaires were administered to people with IBS (n = 84) to test a mediation model in which beliefs about the unacceptability of emotions are associated with greater emotional suppression, which in turn relates to increased affective distress and consequently poorer quality of life. An alternate model to test the direction of effect along with two further models using support-seeking as mediators of the same predictor and outcome were also tested. Emotional suppression and affective distress (in that particular order) mediate the relationship between beliefs about emotions and quality of life IBS. The models using support-seeking as mediators of the relationship between beliefs about emotions and the two outcomes were not supported. These findings suggest a role for emotional processing in medically unexplained symptoms and imply the need to address such beliefs about emotions in psychological therapies.

  19. Social anxiety and heavy situational drinking: coping and conformity motives as multiple mediators.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Terlecki, Meredith A; Buckner, Julia D

    2015-01-01

    Individuals with clinically elevated social anxiety are at greater risk for alcohol use disorder, and the relation between social anxiety and drinking problems is at least partially accounted for by drinking more in negative emotional (e.g., feeling sad or angry) and personal/intimate (e.g., before sexual intercourse) situations. Identification of cognitive/motivational factors related to drinking in these high-risk situations could inform the development of treatment and prevention interventions for these high-risk drinkers. The current cross-sectional study examined the mediating effect of drinking motives on the relationship between social anxiety and drinking these high-risk situations among undergraduates (N=232). Clinically elevated social anxiety was associated with greater coping and conformity motives. Both coping and conformity motives mediated the relation between social anxiety and heavier alcohol consumption in negative emotional and personal/intimate contexts. Multiple mediation analyses indicated that these motives work additively to mediate the social anxiety-drinking situations relationship, such that heavy situational drinking among undergraduates with clinically elevated social anxiety can be jointly attributed to desire to cope with negative affect and to avoid social scrutiny. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  20. Change in Irrational Beliefs and the Outcome of Rational-Emotive Psychotherapy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Smith, Timothy W.

    1983-01-01

    Examined correlations between pre- to posttreatment changes in beliefs and changes in treatment-outcome measures within the context of a previous study of rational-emotive therapy. Obtained reliable correlations between changes in beliefs and changes in emotional distress. This relationship occurred in control conditions as well as in treatment…

  1. Parenting and Children's Distress Reactivity during Toddlerhood: An Examination of Direction of Effects

    Science.gov (United States)

    Scaramella, Laura V.; Sohr-Preston, Sara L.; Mirabile, Scott P.; Robison, Sarah D.; Callahan, Kristin L.

    2008-01-01

    During early childhood, harsh and emotionally negative parent-child exchanges are expected to increase children's risk for developing later conduct problems. The present study examined longitudinal associations between the quality of parenting responses and children's distress reactivity during children's second year of life. Forty-seven…

  2. Reducing the negative valence of stressful memories through emotionally valenced, modality-specific tasks

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Tadmor, Avia; McNally, Richard J; Engelhard, Iris M

    2016-01-01

    BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: People who perform a cognitively demanding secondary task while recalling a distressing memory often experience the memory as less emotional, vivid, or accurate during subsequent recollections. In this experiment, we tested whether the emotional valence (positive versus

  3. Nurses' recognition and registration of depression, anxiety and diabetes-specific emotional problems in outpatients with diabetes mellitus

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Pouwer, Francois; Beekman, Aartjan T F; Lubach, Caroline

    2006-01-01

    OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to investigate how often emotional problems were recognized and registered by diabetes nurses. METHODS: We studied medical charts and questionnaire data of 112 diabetes patients. The hospital anxiety, depression scale and the problem areas in diabetes survey...... were used to measure anxiety, depression and diabetes-specific emotional distress. RESULTS: In patients with moderate to severe levels of anxiety or depression, the presence of an emotional problem was recorded in the medical chart in 20-25% of the cases. The registration-rate of diabetes......-specific emotional distress was also found to be low, ranging from 0% (treatment-related problems) to 29% (diabetes-related emotional problems). CONCLUSION: Registration-rates of emotional problems by diabetes nurses were found to be low, but quite similar to detection rates of physicians and nurses in studies...

  4. Behavioral Animal Model of the Emotional Response to Tinnitus and Hearing Loss.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lauer, Amanda M; Larkin, Gail; Jones, Aikeen; May, Bradford J

    2018-02-01

    Increased prevalence of emotional distress is associated with tinnitus and hearing loss. The underlying mechanisms of the negative emotional response to tinnitus and hearing loss remain poorly understood, and it is challenging to disentangle the emotional consequences of hearing loss from those specific to tinnitus in listeners experiencing both. We addressed these questions in laboratory rats using three common rodent anxiety screening assays: elevated plus maze, open field test, and social interaction test. Open arm activity in the elevated plus maze decreased substantially after one trial in controls, indicating its limited utility for comparing pre- and post-treatment behavior. Open field exploration and social interaction behavior were consistent across multiple sessions in control animals. Individual sound-exposed and salicylate-treated rats showed a range of phenotypes in the open field, including reduced entries into the center in some subjects and reduced locomotion overall. In rats screened for tinnitus, less locomotion was associated with higher tinnitus scores. In salicylate-treated animals, locomotion was correlated with age. Sound-exposed and salicylate-treated rats also showed reduced social interaction. These results suggest that open field exploratory activity is a selective measure for identifying tinnitus distress in individual animals, whereas social interaction reflects the general effects of hearing loss. This animal model will facilitate future studies of the structural and functional changes in the brain pathways underlying emotional distress associated with hearing dysfunction, as well as development of novel interventions to ameliorate or prevent negative emotional responses.

  5. A systematic review of psychosocial factors associated with emotional adjustment in in vitro fertilization patients.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rockliff, Helen E; Lightman, Stafford L; Rhidian, Emily; Buchanan, Heather; Gordon, Uma; Vedhara, Kavita

    2014-01-01

    IVF treatment is usually stressful for patients, but individual differences in emotional response do exist. Differences in the stress response may be related to reproductive outcomes as well as to the development of psychiatric problems. This review collates research exploring which psychosocial factors (e.g. personality traits and coping strategies) are associated with the emotional adjustment of IVF patients. The aim is to reveal what is currently known about risk and protective factors for coping with the stress of IVF treatment and where further enquiry would be most beneficial. The databases, MEDLINE/PUBMED (US National Library of Medicine), PsycINFO (American Psychological Association), Web of Science (Social Sciences Citation Index) and EMbase, were searched from 1978 to September 2012 using relevant key words. All published peer-reviewed studies exploring associations between psychosocial factors and emotional adjustment outcomes were considered for inclusion. There were 23 studies identified for review. One-third of the psychosocial factors explored were found to be significantly related to emotional adjustment outcome measures. Neuroticism and the use of escapist coping strategies were positively associated with distress by multiple studies. Social support was negatively associated with distress by several studies. A number of other psychosocial variables appear to be associated with distress, including self-criticism, dependency, situation appraisals and attachment style, but these have only been explored by one or two studies at most. There is a paucity of research using positive emotional outcome measures (e.g. well-being, positive affect, happiness or life satisfaction) to quantify emotional adjustment. Whilst some psychosocial variables appear to be consistently associated with distress for IVF patients, two-thirds of the variables tested to date do not appear to be associated with emotional adjustment. This review highlights key psychosocial factors

  6. Factors influencing maternal distress among Dutch women with a healthy pregnancy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fontein-Kuipers, Yvonne; Ausems, Marlein; Budé, Luc; Van Limbeek, Evelien; De Vries, Raymond; Nieuwenhuijze, Marianne

    2015-09-01

    Maternal distress is a public health concern. Assessment of emotional wellbeing is not integrated in Dutch antenatal care. Midwives need to understand the influencing factors in order to identify women who are more vulnerable to experience maternal distress. To examine levels of maternal distress during pregnancy and to determine the relationship between maternal distress and aetiological factors. A cross-sectional study including 458 Dutch-speaking women with uncomplicated pregnancies during all trimesters of pregnancy. Data were collected with questionnaires between 10 September and 6 November 2012. Demographic characteristics and personal details were obtained. Maternal distress was measured with the Edinburgh Depression Scale (EDS), State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI), and Pregnancy-Related Anxiety Questionnaire (PRAQ). Behaviour was measured with Coping Operations Preference Enquiry-Easy (COPE-Easy). Descriptive statistics and multiple linear regression analysis were used. Just over 20 percent of the women in our sample (21.8%) had a heightened score on one or more of the EDS, STAI or PRAQ. History of psychological problems (B=1.071; p=.001), having young children (B=2.998; p=.001), daily stressors (B=1.304; p=birth (B=.636; p=order to give adequate advice about how to best cope with this condition. Copyright © 2015 Australian College of Midwives. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  7. Individual Differences in Emotional Reactivity and Academic Achievement: A Psychophysiological Study

    Science.gov (United States)

    Scrimin, Sara; Altoè, Gianmarco; Moscardino, Ughetta; Pastore, Massimiliano; Mason, Lucia

    2016-01-01

    Factors related to grade point average (GPA) are of great importance for students' success. Yet, little is known about the impact of individual differences in emotional reactivity on students' academic performance. We aimed to examine the emotional reactivity-GPA link and to assess whether self-esteem and psychological distress moderate this…

  8. Examining the independent protective effect of subjective well-being on severe psychological distress among Canadian adults with a history of child maltreatment.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Baiden, Philip; Tarshis, Sarah; Antwi-Boasiako, Kofi; den Dunnen, Wendy

    2016-08-01

    The purpose of this study was to examine the independent protective effect of subjective well-being on severe psychological distress among adult Canadians with a history of child maltreatment. Data for this study were obtained from the 2012 Canadian Community Health Survey-Mental Health (CCHS-MH). A sample of 8126 respondents aged 20-69 years old who experienced at least one child maltreatment event was analyzed using binary logistic regression with severe psychological distress as the outcome variable. Of the 8126 respondents with a history of child maltreatment, 3.9% experienced severe psychological distress within the past month. Results from the multivariate logistic regression revealed that emotional and psychological well-being each had a significant effect on severe psychological distress. For each unit increase in emotional well-being, the odds of a respondent having severe psychological distress were predicted to decrease by a factor of 28% and for each unit increase in psychological well-being, the odds of a respondent having severe psychological distress were predicted to decrease by a factor of 10%, net the effect of demographic, socioeconomic, and health factors. Other factors associated with psychological distress included: younger age, poor self-perceived physical health, and chronic condition. Having post-secondary education, having a higher income, and being non-White predicted lower odds of severe psychological distress. Although, child maltreatment is associated with stressful life events later in adulthood, subjective well-being could serve as a protective factor against severe psychological distress among adults who experienced maltreatment when they were children. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  9. Episode-specific drinking-to-cope motivation and next-day stress-reactivity.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Armeli, Stephen; O'Hara, Ross E; Covault, Jon; Scott, Denise M; Tennen, Howard

    2016-11-01

    Research consistently shows drinking-to-cope (DTC) motivation is uniquely associated with drinking-related problems. We furthered this line of research by examining whether DTC motivation is predictive of processes indicative of poor emotion regulation. Specifically, we tested whether nighttime levels of episode-specific DTC motivation, controlling for drinking level, were associated with intensified affective reactions to stress the following day (i.e. stress-reactivity). We used a micro-longitudinal design to test this hypothesis in two college student samples from demographically distinct institutions: a large, rural state university (N = 1421; 54% female) and an urban historically Black college/university (N = 452; 59% female). In both samples the within-person association between daily stress and negative affect on days following drinking episodes was stronger in the positive direction when previous night's drinking was characterized by relatively higher levels of DTC motivation. We also found evidence among students at the state university that average levels of DTC motivation moderated the daily stress-negative affect association. Findings are consistent with the notion that DTC motivation confers a unique vulnerability that affects processes associated with emotion regulation.

  10. Binge drinking in alcohol-preferring sP rats at the end of the nocturnal period.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Colombo, Giancarlo; Maccioni, Paola; Acciaro, Carla; Lobina, Carla; Loi, Barbara; Zaru, Alessandro; Carai, Mauro A M; Gessa, Gian Luigi

    2014-05-01

    Sardinian alcohol-preferring (sP) rats have been selectively bred for high alcohol preference and consumption using the standard 2-bottle "alcohol (10%, v/v) vs. water" choice regimen with unlimited access; under this regimen, sP rats daily consume 6-7 g/kg alcohol. The present study assessed a new paradigm of alcohol intake in which sP rats were exposed to the 4-bottle "alcohol (10%, 20%, and 30%, v/v) vs. water" choice regimen during one of the 12 h of the dark phase of the daily light/dark cycle; the time of alcohol exposure was changed daily in a semi-random order and was unpredictable to rats. Alcohol intake was highly positively correlated with the time of the drinking session and averaged approximately 2 g/kg when the drinking session occurred during the 12th hour of the dark phase. Alcohol drinking during the 12th hour of the dark phase resulted in (a) blood alcohol levels averaging approximately 100 mg% and (b) severe signs of alcohol intoxication (e.g., impaired performance at a Rota-Rod task). The results of a series of additional experiments indicate that (a) both singular aspects of this paradigm (i.e., unpredictability of alcohol exposure and concurrent availability of multiple alcohol concentrations) contributed to this high alcohol intake, (b) alcohol intake followed a circadian rhythm, as it decreased progressively over the first 3 h of the light phase and then maintained constant levels until the beginning of the dark phase, and (c) sensitivity to time schedule was specific to alcohol, as it did not generalize to a highly palatable chocolate-flavored beverage. These results demonstrate that unpredictable, limited access to multiple alcohol concentrations may result in exceptionally high intakes of alcohol in sP rats, modeling - to some extent - human binge drinking. A progressively increasing emotional "distress" associated to rats' expectation of alcohol might be the neurobehavioral basis of this drinking behavior. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier

  11. Reward and Cognition: Integrating Reinforcement Sensitivity Theory and Social Cognitive Theory to Predict Drinking Behavior.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hasking, Penelope; Boyes, Mark; Mullan, Barbara

    2015-01-01

    Both Reinforcement Sensitivity Theory and Social Cognitive Theory have been applied to understanding drinking behavior. We propose that theoretical relationships between these models support an integrated approach to understanding alcohol use and misuse. We aimed to test an integrated model in which the relationships between reward sensitivity and drinking behavior (alcohol consumption, alcohol-related problems, and symptoms of dependence) were mediated by alcohol expectancies and drinking refusal self-efficacy. Online questionnaires assessing the constructs of interest were completed by 443 Australian adults (M age = 26.40, sd = 1.83) in 2013 and 2014. Path analysis revealed both direct and indirect effects and implicated two pathways to drinking behavior with differential outcomes. Drinking refusal self-efficacy both in social situations and for emotional relief was related to alcohol consumption. Sensitivity to reward was associated with alcohol-related problems, but operated through expectations of increased confidence and personal belief in the ability to limit drinking in social situations. Conversely, sensitivity to punishment operated through negative expectancies and drinking refusal self-efficacy for emotional relief to predict symptoms of dependence. Two pathways relating reward sensitivity, alcohol expectancies, and drinking refusal self-efficacy may underlie social and dependent drinking, which has implications for development of intervention to limit harmful drinking.

  12. Moral distress: a review of the argument-based nursing ethics literature.

    Science.gov (United States)

    McCarthy, Joan; Gastmans, Chris

    2015-02-01

    The aim of this review is to examine the ways in which the concept of moral distress has been delineated and deployed in the argument-based nursing ethics literature. It adds to what we already know about moral distress from reviews of the qualitative and quantitative research. CINAHL, PubMed, Web of Knowledge, EMBASE, Academic Search Complete, PsycInfo, Philosophers' Index and Socindex. A total of 20 argument-based articles published between January 1984 and December 2013 were analysed. We found that like the empirical literature, most authors in this review draw on Jameton's original definition and describe moral distress in psychological-emotional-physiological terms. They also agree that moral distress is linked to the presence of some kind of constraint on nurses' moral agency, and that it is best understood as a two-staged process that can intensify over time. There is also consensus that moral distress has an important normative meaning, although different views concerning the normative meaning of moral distress are expressed. Finally, the authors generally agree that moral distress arises from a number of different sources and that it (mostly) affects negatively on nurses' personal and professional lives and, ultimately, harms patients. However, despite this consensus, many authors take issue with the way in which moral distress is conceptualized and operationalized. Moreover, while some worry that identifying nurses as a group of health professionals whose voices are ignored or marginalized might disempower nurses and encourage them to avoid their moral responsibilities, others take situations involving moral distress as indicative of more fundamental, structural inequities at the heart of contemporary healthcare provision. We conclude that research on moral distress in nursing is timely and important because it highlights the specifically moral labour of nurses. However, we suggest that significant concerns about the conceptual fuzziness and

  13. Masculine norms about emotionality and social constraints in young and older adult men with cancer.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Darabos, Katie; Hoyt, Michael A

    2017-04-01

    Beliefs that men should restrict their display of emotions, or restrictive emotionality, might contribute to adjustment to cancer and this might be sensitive to social receptivity to disclosure. The present research examined relationships of restrictive emotionality, social constraints, and psychological distress in young adults with testicular cancer (N = 171; Study 1) and older men with prostate cancer (N = 66; Study 2). Study 1: positive associations were observed for social constraints and restrictive emotionality with depressive symptoms. Social constraints moderated the relationship, such that high restrictive emotionality was associated with higher depressive symptoms in those with high constraints. Study 2: only social constraints (and not restrictive emotionality) was positively associated with depressive symptoms and cancer-related intrusive thoughts. The social constraints × restrictive emotionality interaction approached significance with depressive symptoms, such with high social constraints low restrictive emotionality was associated with higher depressive symptoms compared to those with less constraints. No significant associations were found for intrusive thoughts in either study. Findings demonstrate unique relationships with psychological distress across the lifespan of men with cancer given perception of constraints and adherence to masculine norms about emotionality.

  14. Coping strategies and psychological distress in caregivers of patients with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Siciliano, Mattia; Santangelo, Gabriella; Trojsi, Francesca; Di Somma, Carmela; Patrone, Manila; Femiano, Cinzia; Monsurrò, Maria Rosaria; Trojano, Luigi; Tedeschi, Gioacchino

    2017-08-01

    Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) causes distress in caregivers. The present study aims to examine the association between coping strategies and psychological distress in caregivers of ALS patients. Coping strategies were assessed in 96 ALS informal caregivers by means of the Coping Inventory for Stressful Situations. Data about caregivers' demographic characteristics, levels of burden, depression and anxiety (psychological distress) were also gathered by standardised questionnaires. Patients' clinical, cognitive and behavioural disturbances were evaluated by ALS specific assessment tools. Sequential logistic regression analysis showed that emotion-oriented coping strategy was significantly associated with high levels of depressive (p ALS caregivers. These findings suggest that interventions aimed at reducing utilisation of maladaptive coping strategies may improve well-being in ALS caregivers, and, possibly, management of symptoms in ALS patients.

  15. [Cold-minded thinking? The role of emotional intelligence and emotional stability in Machiavellian decision-making].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Szíjjártó, Linda; Bereczkei, Tamás

    2013-01-01

    Previous studies clearly show that Machiavellians' thinking and behavior are characterized by some kind of cold attitude, a tendency to be detached from the emotional features of a particular situation. However, very little is known what this cold-minded attitude means, and the presence or the absence of what abilities can lead to emotional detachment. Surprisingly, our study has shown that Machiavellians - contrary to what others believe - happen to exhibit more emotional instability than others. They experience more negative emotions, lose their peace of mind faster, and have a hard time tolerating psychological distress. However, they try to conceal their emotional worries in two different ways. On the one hand, they cannot express their emotions as subtly and precisely as others, and on the other, they are much worse at identifying and differentiating their own emotional states. Maybe it is just the deficit in evaluating and expressing emotions that enables them to implement the strategy to enforce their self-interest successfully. The weak ability to identify and comprehend their own emotions may help them stay detached from the emotional temperature of a situation, while the difficulties in expressing their emotions enable them to disguise their true intentions from their partners.

  16. Monitoring coping style moderates emotional reactions to genetic testing for hereditary nonpolyposis colorectal cancer: a longitudinal study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shiloh, S; Koehly, L; Jenkins, J; Martin, J; Hadley, D

    2008-08-01

    The emotional effects of genetic testing for hereditary nonpolyposis colorectal cancer (HNPCC) provided within a counseling program were assessed among 253 individuals. Assessments were scheduled at baseline before testing, and again after 6 and 12 months post-test. Negative emotional reactions were evaluated using the Revised Impact of Event Scale and the Center for Epidemiological Studies-Depression Scale. Monitoring coping style was assessed at baseline using the Miller Behavioral Style Scale. Mean reductions were indicated in distress and depression levels within the first 6 months after counseling and testing. High monitors were generally more distressed than low monitors, specifically if they had indeterminate or positive results. Genetic counseling and testing for HNPCC do not result in long-term distress for most people. Of the variables investigated, only time and coping style have main effects on emotional reactions, and the impacts of mutation status are moderated by coping style. Psychological interventions, aimed to alleviate adverse emotional effects, were suggested for certain participants, i.e. recipients of positive or indeterminate results who are high monitors.

  17. Investigating Empathy-Like Responding to Conspecifics' Distress in Pet Dogs.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mylene Quervel-Chaumette

    Full Text Available Empathy covers a wide range of phenomena varying according to the degree of cognitive complexity involved; ranging from emotional contagion, defined as the sharing of others' emotional states, to sympathetic concern requiring animals to have an appraisal of the others' situation and showing concern-like behaviors. While most studies have investigated how animals reacted in response to conspecifics' distress, dogs so far have mainly been targeted to examine cross-species empathic responses. To investigate whether dogs would respond with empathy-like behavior also to conspecifics, we adopted a playback method using conspecifics' vocalizations (whines recorded during a distressful event as well as control sounds. Our subjects were first exposed to a playback phase where they were subjected either to a control sound, a familiar whine (from their familiar partner or a stranger whine stimulus (from a stranger dog, and then a reunion phase where the familiar partner entered the room. When exposed to whines, dogs showed a higher behavioral alertness and exhibited more stress-related behaviors compared to when exposed to acoustically similar control sounds. Moreover, they demonstrated more comfort-offering behaviors toward their familiar partners following whine playbacks than after control stimuli. Furthermore, when looking at the first session, this comfort offering was biased towards the familiar partner when subjects were previously exposed to the familiar compared to the stranger whines. Finally, familiar whine stimuli tended to maintain higher cortisol levels while stranger whines did not. To our knowledge, these results are the first to suggest that dogs can experience and demonstrate "empathic-like" responses to conspecifics' distress-calls.

  18. Cloninger's psychobiological model of personality and psychological distress in fibromyalgia.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Garcia-Fontanals, Alba; García-Blanco, Susanna; Portell, Mariona; Pujol, Jesús; Poca-Dias, Violant; García-Fructuoso, Ferran; López-Ruiz, Marina; Gutiérrez-Rosado, Teresa; Gomà-I-Freixanet, Montserrat; Deus, Joan

    2016-09-01

    Personality can play an important role in the clinical symptoms of fibromyalgia (FM). The aim of this study is to identify personality profiles in FM patients and the possible presence of personality disorder (PD) from the Temperament and Character Inventory-Revised (TCI-R), and to assess whether personality dimensions are related to psychological distress in FM. The sample consisted of 42 patients with FM and 38 healthy controls. The TCI-R, Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale, State-Trait Anxiety Inventory, Short-Form-36 Health Survey, Fibromyalgia Impact Questionnaire and McGill Pain Questionnaire were administered. The personality profile of the FM group based on the TCI-R is defined by high Harm Avoidance (HA), low Novelty Seeking (NS), and low Self-Directedness (SD). Only one-third of patients with FM present a possible psychometric PD, principally from Cluster C. In the FM group, HA and SD are associated positively and negatively, respectively, with indicators of emotional distress. Patients with higher HA present higher perceived pain intensity rated via a verbal-numerical scale while Determination (SD2) reduced the perceived level of pain induced by the stimulus. NS is negatively related to the number of work absences caused by FM. The study suggests that HA and SD play an important role in psychological distress in FM. The fact that SD is prone to modification and has a regulatory effect on emotional impulses is a key aspect to consider from the psychotherapeutic point of view. © 2014 Asia Pacific League of Associations for Rheumatology and Wiley Publishing Asia Pty Ltd.

  19. Assessment of significant psychological distress at the end of pregnancy and associated factors.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lorén-Guerrero, L; Gascón-Catalán, A; Pasierb, D; Romero-Cardiel, M A

    2018-06-01

    The aim of this study is to study the prevalence of mental distress at the end of pregnancy and after birth and the impact of selected socio-demographic and obstetric factors. This is a cross-sectional study. The sample is consisted of 351 puerperal women at the age of 18 and over. Sociodemographic, obstetric variables were collected to detect significant psychological distress; the instrument used was General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-28). Logistic multivariable regressions were used to investigate associations. The prevalence of significant mental distress amounted to 81.2%, mostly related to social relationship and anxiety. The women who affirmed having more stress during pregnancy had too significantly increased emotional distress before the birth as well as during early puerperium, increasing somatic symptoms (p Psychological distress at the end of a full-term pregnancy and in the postpartum period occurs frequently and was associated mainly with stress experienced during pregnancy and parity. It is advisable to perform proper assessment of stress and significant psychological distress at the early stage of pregnancy and repeatedly later on until delivery. Information and support from professionals can help to decrease and prevent their negative impact on maternal and fetal health, as observed in the current evidence.

  20. A cross-sectional examination of psychological distress, positive mental health and their predictors in medical students in their clinical clerkships

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Inge van Dijk

    2017-11-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Medical students can experience the transition from theory to clinical clerkships as stressful. Scientific literature on the mental health of clinical clerkship students is scarce and mental health is usually defined as absence of psychological distress without assessing psychological, emotional and social wellbeing, together called ‘positive mental health’. This cross-sectional study examines the prevalence of psychological distress and positive mental health and explores possible predictors in a Dutch sample of clinical clerkship students. Methods Fourth-year medical students in their first year of clinical clerkships were invited to complete an online questionnaire assessing demographics, psychological distress (Brief Symptom Inventory, positive mental health (Mental Health Continuum- SF, dysfunctional cognitions (Irrational Beliefs Inventory and dispositional mindfulness skills (Five Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire. Multiple linear regression analysis was used to explore relationships between psychological distress, positive mental health (dependent variables and demographics, dysfunctional cognitions and dispositional mindfulness skills (predictors. Results Of 454 eligible students, 406 (89% completed the assessment of whom 21% scored in the clinical range of psychological distress and 41% reported a flourishing mental health. These proportions partially overlap each other. Female students reported a significantly higher mean level of psychological distress than males. In the regression analysis the strongest predictors of psychological distress were ‘acting with awareness’ (negative and ‘worrying’ (positive. Strongest predictors of positive mental health were ‘problem avoidance’ (negative and ‘emotional irresponsibility’ (negative. Conclusions The prevalence of psychopathology in our sample of Dutch clinical clerkship students is slightly higher than in the general population. Our results support

  1. A cross-sectional examination of psychological distress, positive mental health and their predictors in medical students in their clinical clerkships.

    Science.gov (United States)

    van Dijk, Inge; Lucassen, Peter L B J; van Weel, Chris; Speckens, Anne E M

    2017-11-17

    Medical students can experience the transition from theory to clinical clerkships as stressful. Scientific literature on the mental health of clinical clerkship students is scarce and mental health is usually defined as absence of psychological distress without assessing psychological, emotional and social wellbeing, together called 'positive mental health'. This cross-sectional study examines the prevalence of psychological distress and positive mental health and explores possible predictors in a Dutch sample of clinical clerkship students. Fourth-year medical students in their first year of clinical clerkships were invited to complete an online questionnaire assessing demographics, psychological distress (Brief Symptom Inventory), positive mental health (Mental Health Continuum- SF), dysfunctional cognitions (Irrational Beliefs Inventory) and dispositional mindfulness skills (Five Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire). Multiple linear regression analysis was used to explore relationships between psychological distress, positive mental health (dependent variables) and demographics, dysfunctional cognitions and dispositional mindfulness skills (predictors). Of 454 eligible students, 406 (89%) completed the assessment of whom 21% scored in the clinical range of psychological distress and 41% reported a flourishing mental health. These proportions partially overlap each other. Female students reported a significantly higher mean level of psychological distress than males. In the regression analysis the strongest predictors of psychological distress were 'acting with awareness' (negative) and 'worrying' (positive). Strongest predictors of positive mental health were 'problem avoidance' (negative) and 'emotional irresponsibility' (negative). The prevalence of psychopathology in our sample of Dutch clinical clerkship students is slightly higher than in the general population. Our results support conclusions of previous research that psychological distress and positive mental

  2. Maternal depressive symptoms, toddler emotion regulation, and subsequent emotion socialization.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Premo, Julie E; Kiel, Elizabeth J

    2016-03-01

    Although many studies have examined how maternal depressive symptoms relate to parenting outcomes, less work has examined how symptoms affect emotion socialization, a parenting construct linked to a myriad of socioemotional outcomes in early childhood. In line with a transactional perspective on the family, it is also important to understand how children contribute to these emotional processes. The current study examined how toddler emotion regulation strategies moderated the relation between maternal depressive symptoms and emotion socialization responses, including nonsupportive responses (e.g., minimizing, responding punitively to children's negative emotions) and wish-granting, or the degree to which mothers give in to their children's demands in order to decrease their children's and their own distress. Mothers (n = 91) and their 24-month-old toddlers participated in laboratory tasks from which toddler emotion regulation behaviors were observed. Mothers reported depressive symptoms and use of maladaptive emotion socialization strategies concurrently and at a 1-year follow-up. The predictive relation between maternal depressive symptoms and emotion socialization was then examined in the context of toddlers' emotion regulation. Toddlers' increased use of caregiver-focused regulation interacted with depressive symptoms in predicting increased wish-granting socialization responses at 36 months. At high levels of toddlers' caregiver-focused regulation, depressive symptoms related to increased wish-granting socialization at 36 months. There was no relation for nonsupportive socialization responses. Results suggest that toddler emotional characteristics influence how depressive symptoms may put mothers at risk for maladaptive parenting. Family psychologists must strive to understand the role of both parent and toddler characteristics within problematic emotional interactions. (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved).

  3. Linkages between spouses' psychological distress and marital conflict in the home.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Papp, Lauren M; Goeke-Morey, Marcie C; Cummings, E Mark

    2007-09-01

    To elucidate the processes that underlie the established association between psychopathology and marital functioning, researchers have given attention to how symptomatic individuals manage their interpersonal contexts, particularly during the handling of disagreements. In the current study, the authors evaluate the role of marital conflict strategies in relation to wives' and husbands' psychological distress levels. A sample of 100 community-based couples completed assessments of psychological distress and diaries describing marital conflict that occurred at home during a 15-day reporting period. Findings from multilevel modeling of dyadic data revealed associations between both spouses' psychological distress and multiple behavioral and emotional conflict expressions in the home. Psychological symptoms uniquely predicted the occurrence of certain conflict expressions, even when accounting for global negative marital sentiments. The findings encourage subsequent consideration of marital conflict expressions and resolution strategies when studying processes involved in the marriage-psychological adjustment link. PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2007 APA, all rights reserved

  4. Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy with Diverse Student Populations: Meeting the Mental Health Needs of All Students

    Science.gov (United States)

    Banks, Tachelle I.

    2012-01-01

    Mental health curriculum should be delivered in classroom settings to address and remediate the socio-emotional needs of students with and without disabilities. Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy (REBT) is a comprehensive, universal, and humanistic approach that focuses on the emotional distress manifested by individuals has been used with children…

  5. Growing Up Amid Ethno-political Conflict: Aggression and Emotional Desensitization Promote Hostility to Ethnic Out-groups

    Science.gov (United States)

    Niwa, Erika Y.; Boxer, Paul; Dubow, Eric; Huesmann, L. Rowell; Shikaki, Khalil; Landau, Simha; Gvirsman, Shira Dvir

    2016-01-01

    Ethno-political violence impacts thousands of youth and is associated with numerous negative outcomes. Yet little research examines adaptation to ethno-political violence over time or across multiple outcomes simultaneously. The present study examines longitudinal patterns of aggressive behavior and emotional distress as they co-occur among Palestinian (n=600) youth exposed to ethno-political violence over 3 years in 3 age cohorts (starting ages: 8, 11, 14). Findings indicate distinct profiles of aggressive behavior and emotional distress, and unique joint patterns. Further, youth among key joint profiles (e.g., high aggression-emotional desensitization) are more likely to endorse normative beliefs about aggression toward ethnic out-groups. This study offers a dynamic perspective on emotional and behavioral adaptation to ethno-political violence and the implications of those processes. PMID:27684400

  6. Cortisol response mediates the effect of post-reactivation stress exposure on contextualization of emotional memories

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Bos, M.G.N.; Jacobs van Goethem, T.H.; Beckers, T.; Kindt, M.

    2014-01-01

    Retrieval of traumatic experiences is often accompanied by strong feelings of distress. Here, we examined in healthy participants whether post-reactivation stress experience affects the context-dependency of emotional memory. First, participants studied words from two distinctive emotional

  7. Mental distress and personality in women undergoing GnRH agonist versus GnRH antagonist protocols for assisted reproductive technology

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Stenbæk, D. S.; Toftager, M.; Hjordt, L. V.

    2015-01-01

    STUDY QUESTION: Do mental distress and mood fluctuations in women undergoing GnRH agonist and GnRH antagonist protocols for assisted reproductive technology (ART) differ depending on protocol and the personality trait, neuroticism? SUMMARY ANSWER: ART treatment did not induce elevated levels...... of mental distress in either GnRH antagonist or agonist protocols but neuroticism was positively associated with increased mental distress, independent of protocols. WHAT IS KNOWN ALREADY: ART treatment may increase mental distress by mechanisms linked to sex hormone fluctuations. General psychological...... characteristics, such as personality traits indexing negative emotionality, e.g. neuroticism, are likely to affect mental distress during ART treatment. STUDY DESIGN, SIZE, DURATION: A total of 83 women undergoing their first ART cycle were consecutively randomized 1:1 to GnRH antagonist (n = 42) or GnRH agonist...

  8. Poly-victimization and trajectories of binge drinking from adolescence to young adulthood among serious juvenile offenders.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Davis, Jordan P; Dumas, Tara M; Berey, Benjamin; Merrin, Gabriel J; Tan, Kevin; Madden, Danielle R

    2018-05-01

    Justice involved youth exposed to multiple forms of victimization (i.e., poly-victimization) may be at risk for long term substance use problems and difficulty in self-regulation, placing them at higher risk of long-term problematic behaviors. This study empirically identifies victimization classifications in a sample of justice involved youth and how long-term binge drinking is related to victimization experiences. We further sought to understand how self-regulatory abilities such as impulse control and emotion regulation effect emergent profiles and binge drinking trajectories. Based on a sample of 1354 justice involved youth from 15 to 25 years old, classes of victimization were extracted. Emergent classes were examined in relationship to their binge drinking trajectories using latent growth models. Finally, self-regulation was examined as a predictor of binge drinking trajectories across emergent classes. The analyses indicated three classes of victimization: poly-victimized, indirectly victimized, and lowly victimized. Latent growth models revealed that the poly-victimized class had significantly steeper growth in binge drinking as compared to the indirect and low victimized patterns. Impulse and emotional regulation both significantly decelerated binge drinking only for the indirect victimization group. Findings highlight the need to focus on poly-victimization in understanding binge drinking trajectories as well as the role impulse control and emotional regulation play among justice involved youth. Findings are discussed through the lens of adolescent development, coping strategies, and early traumatic experiences. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  9. Posttraumatic Stress Among Syrian Refugees: Trauma Exposure Characteristics, Trauma Centrality, and Emotional Suppression.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chung, Man Cheung; Shakra, Mudar; AlQarni, Nowf; AlMazrouei, Mariam; Al Mazrouei, Sara; Al Hashimi, Shurooq

    2018-03-01

    This study revisited the prevalence of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and examined a hypothesized model describing the interrelationship between trauma exposure characteristics, trauma centrality, emotional suppression, PTSD, and psychiatric comorbidity among Syrian refugees. A total of 564 Syrian refugees participated in the study and completed the Harvard Trauma Questionnaire, General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-28), Centrality of Event Scale, and Courtauld Emotional Control Scale. Of the participants, 30% met the cutoff for PTSD. Trauma exposure characteristics (experiencing or witnessing horror and murder, kidnapping or disappearance of family members or friends) were associated with trauma centrality, which was associated with emotional suppression. Emotional suppression was associated with PTSD and psychiatric comorbid symptom severities. Suppression mediated the path between trauma centrality and distress outcomes. Almost one-third of refugees can develop PTSD and other psychiatric problems following exposure to traumatic events during war. A traumatized identity can develop, of which life-threatening experiences is a dominant feature, leading to suppression of depression with associated psychological distress.

  10. Predictive genetic testing for hereditary breast and ovarian cancer: psychological distress and illness representations 1 year following disclosure.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Claes, E; Evers-Kiebooms, G; Denayer, L; Decruyenaere, M; Boogaerts, A; Philippe, K; Legius, E

    2005-10-01

    This prospective study evaluates emotional functioning and illness representations in 68 unaffected women (34 carriers/34 noncarriers) 1 year after predictive testing for BRCA1/2 mutations when offered within a multidisciplinary approach. Carriers had higher subjective risk perception of breast cancer than noncarriers. Carriers who did not have prophylactic oophorectomy had the highest risk perception of ovarian cancer. No differences were found between carriers and noncarriers regarding perceived seriousness and perceived control of breast and ovarian cancer. Mean levels of distress were within normal ranges. Only few women showed an overall pattern of clinically elevated distress. Cancer-specific distress and state-anxiety significantly decreased in noncarriers from pre- to posttest while general distress remained about the same. There were no significant changes in distress in the group of carriers except for ovarian cancer distress which significantly decreased from pre- to posttest. Our study did not reveal adverse effects of predictive testing when offered in the context of a multidisciplinary approach.

  11. Clinical events in coronary patients who report low distress: adverse effect of repressive coping.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Denollet, Johan; Martens, Elisabeth J; Nyklícek, Ivan; Conraads, Viviane M; de Gelder, Beatrice

    2008-05-01

    Coronary artery disease (CAD) patients who report low distress are considered to be at low psychological risk for clinical events. However, patients with a repressive coping style may fail to detect and report signals of emotional distress. The authors hypothesized that repressive CAD patients are at risk for clinical events, despite low self-rated distress. This was a prospective 5- to 10-year follow-up study, with a mean follow-up of 6.6 years. At baseline, 731 CAD patients filled out Trait-Anxiety (distress), Marlowe-Crowne (defensiveness), and Type D scales; 159 patients were classified as "repressive," 360 as "nonrepressive," and 212 as "Type D." The primary endpoint was a composite of total mortality or myocardial infarction (MI); the secondary endpoint was cardiac mortality/MI. No patients were lost to follow-up; 91 patients had a clinical event (including 35 cardiac death and 32 MI). Repressive patients reported low levels of anxiety, anger and depression at baseline, but were at increased risk for death/MI (21/159 = 13%) compared with nonrepressive patients (22/360 = 6%), p = .009. Poor systolic function, poor exercise tolerance, 3-vessel disease, index MI and Type-D personality--but not depression, anxiety or anger--also independently predicted clinical events. After controlling for these variables, repressive patients still had a twofold increased risk of death/MI, OR = 2.17, 95% CI = 1.10-4.08, p = .025). These findings were replicated for cardiac mortality/MI. CAD patients who use a repressive coping style are at increased risk for clinical events, despite their claims of low emotional distress. This phenomenon may cause an underestimation of the effect of stress on the heart. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2008 APA, all rights reserved).

  12. A scientific cognitive behavioral model of tinnitus: novel conceptualizations of tinnitus distress

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Laurence eMcKenna

    2014-10-01

    Full Text Available The importance of psychological factors in tinnitus distress has been formally recognized for almost three decades. The psychological understanding of why tinnitus can be a distressing condition posits that it becomes problematic when it acquires an emotive significance through cognitive processes. Principle therapeutic efforts are directed at reducing or removing the cognitive (and behavioral obstacles to habituation. Here, the evidence relevant to a new psychological model of tinnitus is critically reviewed. The model posits that patients’ interpretations of tinnitus and the changes in behavior that result are given a central role in creating and maintaining distress. The importance of selective attention and the possibility that this leads to distorted perception of tinnitus is highlighted. From this body of evidence, we propose a coherent cognitive behavioral model of tinnitus distress that is more in keeping with contemporary psychological theories of clinical problems (particularly that of insomnia and which postulates a number of behavioral processes that are seen as cognitively mediated. This new model provides testable hypotheses to guide future research to unravel the complex mechanisms underpinning tinnitus distress. It is also well suited to define individual symptomatology and to provide a framework for the delivery of cognitive behavior therapy.

  13. Emotional regulation, attachment to possessions and hoarding symptoms.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Phung, Philip J; Moulding, Richard; Taylor, Jasmine K; Nedeljkovic, Maja

    2015-10-01

    This study aimed to test which particular facets of emotion regulation (ER) are most linked to symptoms of hoarding disorder, and whether beliefs about emotional attachment to possessions (EA) mediate this relationship. A non-clinical sample of 150 participants (108 females) completed questionnaires of emotional tolerance (distress tolerance, anxiety sensitivity, negative urgency - impulsivity when experiencing negative emotions), depressed mood, hoarding, and beliefs about emotional attachment to possessions. While all emotional tolerance measures related to hoarding, when considered together and controlling for depression and age, anxiety sensitivity and urgency were the significant predictors. Anxiety sensitivity was fully mediated, and urgency partially mediated, via beliefs regarding emotional attachment to possessions. These findings provide further support for (1) the importance of anxiety sensitivity and negative urgency for hoarding symptoms, and (2) the view that individuals with HD symptoms may rely on items for emotion regulation, leading to stronger beliefs that items are integral to emotional wellbeing. © 2015 Scandinavian Psychological Associations and John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  14. Post-earthquake Distress and Development of Emotional Expertise in Young Adults

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Francesca Pistoia

    2018-05-01

    Full Text Available After a natural disaster like an earthquake about 15% of the population experience a post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD. However, even those without a diagnosis of PTSD can suffer from disorders of the affective sphere, including anxiety, depression and alteration of emotion recognition. The objective of this study was to investigate the neuropsychological and emotional profile of students living in the earthquake-affected areas of L’Aquila, Italy. A group of students living in L’Aquila at the time of the 2009 earthquake was recruited, and compared to a control group of students not living in any earthquake-affected areas. Participants were assessed by means of the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI scale, the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI, the Insomnia Severity Index (ISI, the Intolerance of Uncertainty Scale Short Form, the Uncertainty Response Scale (URS, the Anxiety Sensitivity Index 3 (ASI-3, and the Eysenck Personality Questionnaire-Revised Short Form (EPQ-RS. Participants also took part in two behavioral experiments aimed at evaluating their ability to recognize facial expressions (by means of the Ekman and Friesen Pictures of Facial Affect and to evaluate emotionally evocative scenes (by means of the International Affective Picture System (IAPS. Results showed that students living in the earthquake-affected areas had a general increase of anxiety and anticipation of threats. Moreover, students living in the earthquake-affected areas showed a significantly higher overall accuracy in recognizing facial expressions as compared to controls. No significant differences between the two groups were detected in the evaluation of emotionally evocative scenes. The novel result lies in the greater accuracy of earthquake victims in recognizing facial expressions, despite the lack of differences from controls in evaluating affective evocative scenes. The trauma exposure may have increased vigilance for threats in earthquake victims, leading

  15. What are the sources of stress and distress for general practitioners working in England? A qualitative study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Riley, Ruth; Spiers, Johanna; Buszewicz, Marta; Taylor, Anna Kathryn; Thornton, Gail; Chew-Graham, Carolyn Anne

    2018-01-11

    This paper reports the sources of stress and distress experienced by general practitioners (GP) as part of a wider study exploring the barriers and facilitators to help-seeking for mental illness and burnout among this medical population. Qualitative study using in-depth interviews with 47 GP participants. The interviews were audio-recorded, transcribed, anonymised and imported into NVivo V.11 to facilitate data management. Data were analysed using a thematic analysis employing the constant comparative method. England. A purposive sample of GP participants who self-identified as: (1) currently living with mental distress, (2) returning to work following treatment, (3) off sick or retired early as a result of mental distress or (4) without experience of mental distress. Interviews were conducted face-to-face or over the telephone. The key sources of stress/distress related to: (1) emotion work-the work invested and required in managing and responding to the psychosocial component of GPs' work, and dealing with abusive or confrontational patients; (2) practice culture-practice dynamics and collegial conflict, bullying, isolation and lack of support; (3) work role and demands-fear of making mistakes, complaints and inquests, revalidation, appraisal, inspections and financial worries. In addition to addressing escalating workloads through the provision of increased resources, addressing unhealthy practice cultures is paramount. Collegial support, a willingness to talk about vulnerability and illness, and having open channels of communication enable GPs to feel less isolated and better able to cope with the emotional and clinical demands of their work. Doctors, including GPs, are not invulnerable to the clinical and emotional demands of their work nor the effects of divisive work cultures-culture change and access to informal and formal support is therefore crucial in enabling GPs to do their job effectively and to stay well. © Article author(s) (or their employer

  16. Difficulties in emotion regulation in patients with eating disorders

    OpenAIRE

    Ruscitti, Catherine; Rufino, Katrina; Goodwin, Natalie; Wagner, Rebecca

    2016-01-01

    Background A defining characteristic of eating disorders (EDs) is difficulty with emotion regulation (ER). Previous research indicates that ED subtypes demonstrate differing ER difficulties. Specifically, individuals with Anorexia Nervosa (AN) or Bulimia Nervosa (BN) show greater impairment in their ability to regulate emotions in areas such as achieving goals while upset, reacting impulsively to distress, and effectively using coping strategies, as compared to those with Binge Eating Disorde...

  17. Greater Emotional Empathy and Prosocial Behavior in Late Life

    OpenAIRE

    Sze, Jocelyn A.; Gyurak, Anett; Goodkind, Madeleine S.; Levenson, Robert W.

    2011-01-01

    Emotional empathy and prosocial behavior were assessed in older, middle-aged, and young adults. Participants watched two films depicting individuals in need, one uplifting and the other distressing. Physiological responses were monitored during the films and participants rated their levels of emotional empathy following each film. As a measure of prosocial behavior, participants were given an additional payment they could contribute to charities supporting the individuals in the films. Age-re...

  18. "What concerns me is..." Expression of emotion by advanced cancer patients during outpatient visits.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Anderson, Wendy G; Alexander, Stewart C; Rodriguez, Keri L; Jeffreys, Amy S; Olsen, Maren K; Pollak, Kathryn I; Tulsky, James A; Arnold, Robert M

    2008-07-01

    Cancer patients have high levels of distress, yet oncologists often do not recognize patients' concerns. We sought to describe how patients with advanced cancer verbally express negative emotion to their oncologists. As part of the Studying Communication in Oncologist-Patient Encounters Trial, we audio-recorded 415 visits that 281 patients with advanced cancer made to their oncologists at three US cancer centers. Using qualitative methodology, we coded for verbal expressions of negative emotion, identified words patients used to express emotion, and categorized emotions by type and content. Patients verbally expressed negative emotion in 17% of the visits. The most commonly used words were: "concern," "scared," "worried," "depressed," and "nervous." Types of emotion expressed were: anxiety (46%), fear (25%), depression (12%), anger (9%), and other (8%). Topics about which emotion was expressed were: symptoms and functional concerns (66%), medical diagnoses and treatments (54%), social issues (14%), and the health care system (9%). Although all patients had terminal cancer, they expressed negative emotion overtly related to death and dying only 2% of the time. Patients infrequently expressed negative emotion to their oncologists. When they did, they typically expressed anxiety and fear, indicating concern about the future. When patients use emotionally expressive words such as those we described, oncologists should respond empathically, allowing patients to express their distress and concerns more fully.

  19. [Traffic accidents associated with emotional stress after divorce].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cui, Li-Juan; Yi, Xu-Fu; Chen, Xiao-Gang

    2009-04-01

    In recent years, the traffic accidents increased gradually, especially those caused by the drivers daily emotional abnormality and in which the drivers were liable. This article reviewed the traffic accidents caused by divorced driver's emotional abnormality, illustrated the features of those accidents from the gender, age, occupation and mileage of drivers. It was considered that the major cause of those accidents was excessive drinking due to drivers' emotional stress. Suggestions about preventing the traffic accidents caused by emotional abnormality were put forward so as to make the corresponding rules and finally decrease the emotional abnormality traffic accidents.

  20. Reliability and Validity of the Persian Version of Distress Tolerance Scale

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ali Reza Azizi

    2010-11-01

    Full Text Available "nObjectives: This study aims to assess the validity and reliability of the  Persian version of  Simons and Gaher `s Distress Tolerance scale(DTS by administering it  to nicotine dependent students of Tehran University. "nMethod:In a descriptive cross-sectional study, 317 nicotine dependent students of  Tehran  University who were selected ,using  available sampling method, completed DTS, Coping with Stress- Revised(CS-R, Positive and Negative Affect Scales(PANAS and Fagerstrom Test  for Nicotine Dependence(FTND.  Data were analyzed using descriptive statistic methods and correlation coefficient. "nResults: The alpha coefficients for Tolerance, Absorption, Appraisal and Regulation subscales were 0.75, 0.77, 0.70 and 0.75, respectively. The test-retest correlation coefficients with two months interval for Tolerance, Absorption, Appraisal  and Regulation subscales and the total scale were 0.71, 0.69, 0.77, 0,73 and 0.79, respectively; all of which were statistically significant (p<0.001. The correlation coefficient of  DTS with problem-focused, emotional-focused, less useful and insufficient coping with stress were found to be:  0.213, -0.278, -0.337 and -0.196.  In addition, the correlation coefficient of  DTS with positive emotion, negative emotion and smoking-dependency were 0.543, -0.224 and -0.653 which were also significant(p<0.05. "nConclusion: the DTS is valid and reliable and suitable to use for assessing distress tolerance.

  1. Acts of Love (and Work): Gender Imbalance in Emotional Work and Women's Psychological Distress

    Science.gov (United States)

    Strazdins, Lyndall; Broom, Dorothy H.

    2004-01-01

    Family members do work to meet people's emotional needs, improve their well-being, and maintain harmony. When emotional work is shared equally, both men and women have access to emotional resources in the family. However, like housework and child care, the distribution of emotional work is gendered. This study examines the psychological health…

  2. Moderation of distress-induced eating by emotional eating scores

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    van Strien, T.; Herman, C.P.; Anschutz, D.J.; Engels, R.C.M.E.; de Weerth, C.

    2012-01-01

    Earlier studies assessing the possible moderator effect of self-reported emotional eating on the relation between stress and actual food intake have obtained mixed results. The null findings in some of these studies might be attributed to misclassification of participants due to the use of the

  3. The role of cognitive, emotional and personality factors in the experience of fatigue in a university and community sample.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kangas, Maria; Montgomery, Guy H

    2011-05-01

    The aim of this study was to investigate the contribution of cognitive, emotional and personality factors to the experience of fatigue severity in healthy adult individuals. Specifically, the study examined whether fatigue catastrophising and emotional distress mediated the relationships between neuroticism, general irrational and rational thoughts to fatigue severity. One hundred and eighty nine university students and community volunteers completed self-report questionnaires assessing fatigue catastrophising and symptom severity, neuroticism, general rational and irrational thoughts and emotional distress. A series of correlational and path analyses were conducted to test the study hypotheses. Neuroticism and more general negative, irrational cognitions were associated with elevated fatigue catastrophising and fatigue severity, whereas more adaptive, rational cognitions were related to lower fatigue catastrophising and fatigue severity. Both elevated fatigue catastrophising and emotional distress uniquely and simultaneously mediated the relationships between irrational and rational cognitions and neuroticism to fatigue severity. These findings demonstrate that cognitions play a role in fatigue severity. The results have implications in the assessment and treatment of fatigue disturbances in the general community.

  4. Dimensions of Emotion Dysregulation in Anorexia Nervosa and Bulimia Nervosa: A Conceptual Review of the Empirical Literature

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lavender, Jason M.; Wonderlich, Stephen A.; Engel, Scott G.; Gordon, Kathryn H.; Kaye, Walter H.; Mitchell, James E.

    2015-01-01

    Several existing conceptual models and psychological interventions address or emphasize the role of emotion dysregulation in eating disorders. The current article uses Gratz and Roemer’s (2004) multidimensional model of emotion regulation and dysregulation as a clinically relevant framework to review the extant literature on emotion dysregulation in anorexia nervosa (AN) and bulimia nervosa (BN). Specifically, the dimensions reviewed include: (1) the flexible use of adaptive and situationally appropriate strategies to modulate the duration and/or intensity of emotional responses, (2) the ability to successfully inhibit impulsive behavior and maintain goal-directed behavior in the context of emotional distress, (3) awareness, clarity, and acceptance of emotional states, and (4) the willingness to experience emotional distress in the pursuit of meaningful activities. The current review suggests that both AN and BN are characterized by broad emotion regulation deficits, with difficulties in emotion regulation across the four dimensions found to characterize both AN and BN, although a small number of more specific difficulties may distinguish the two disorders. The review concludes with a discussion of the clinical implications of the findings, as well as a summary of limitations of the existing empirical literature and suggestions for future research. PMID:26112760

  5. Detection of patient psychological distress and longitudinal patient-doctor relationships: a cross-sectional study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ridd, Matthew; Lewis, Glyn; Peters, Tim J; Salisbury, Chris

    2012-03-01

    Psychological distress in patients who attend their GP is thought to be under-recognised. However, it is likely that both disclosure and detection are influenced by how well the patient and doctor know each another. To examine whether patient-doctor depth of relationship is associated with identification of psychological distress. Cross-sectional study in general practices in and around Bristol, England. Patients (aged ≥16 years) were asked to complete a questionnaire and consent to their electronic medical records being reviewed. Study GPs independently assessed patient psychological distress. Multivariable logistic regression was used to look for associations between patient-doctor depth of relationship and GP detection of patient psychological distress (defined according to the 12-item General Health Questionnaire, GHQ-12). There were 643 eligible appointments with 31 GPs. In total, 541 (84.1%) patients returned questionnaires and 490 (76.2%) consented to their records being reviewed. Patient-doctor depth of relationship was not associated with GP detection of mild to severe patient psychological distress (adjusted odds ratio [OR] 0.94, 95% CI = 0.87 to 1.02) but, in secondary analyses, it was associated with the identification of moderate to severe distress (adjusted OR 1.13, 95% CI = 1.02 to 1.26). GPs reported more patient psychological distress in patients who reported a greater depth of relationship but this did not relate to patients' GHQ-12 scores. Evidence to support an association between patient-doctor depth of relationship and improved GP detection of patients with psychological distress was weak, except in those patients who GPs thought were more distressed. GPs may overestimate emotional distress in patients who report deeper patient-doctor relationships.

  6. Helping behavior induced by empathic concern attenuates anterior cingulate activation in response to others' distress.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kawamichi, Hiroaki; Yoshihara, Kazufumi; Sugawara, Sho K; Matsunaga, Masahiro; Makita, Kai; Hamano, Yuki H; Tanabe, Hiroki C; Sadato, Norihiro

    2016-01-01

    Helping behavior is motivated by empathic concern for others in distress. Although empathic concern is pervasive in daily life, its neural mechanisms remain unclear. Empathic concern involves the suppression of the emotional response to others' distress, which occurs when individuals distance themselves emotionally from the distressed individual. We hypothesized that helping behavior induced by empathic concern, accompanied by perspective-taking, would attenuate the neural activation representing aversive feelings. We also predicted reward system activation due to the positive feeling resulting from helping behavior. Participant underwent functional magnetic resonance imaging while playing a virtual ball-toss game. In some blocks ("concern condition"), one player ("isolated player") did not receive ball-tosses from other players. In this condition, participants increased ball-tosses to the isolated player (helping behavior). Participants then evaluated the improved enjoyment of the isolated player resulting from their helping behavior. Anterior cingulate activation during the concern condition was attenuated by the evaluation of the effect of helping behavior. The right temporoparietal junction, which is involved in perspective-taking and the dorsal striatum, part of the reward system, were also activated during the concern condition. These results suggest that humans can attenuate affective arousal by anticipating the positive outcome of empathic concern through perspective-taking.

  7. Jealousy and emotion: how partners react to infidelity

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jesús M. Canto Ortiz

    2009-05-01

    Full Text Available This present study explores the differences between women's and men's responses to (hypothetical infidelity,  and how these responses are influenced by the  characteristics of the couple's relationship. 372 subjects completed questionnaires (a itemising their jealous reaction to a partner´s hypothetical infidelity (emotional or sexual; and (b the state of their relationship. A survey of 250 women and 122 men revealed that the women reported higher intensity of emotional distress than the men. in regard to both emotional and sexual infidelity. There were no significant differences between men and women in their reports of which infidelity troubled them more: both genders are troubled more by emotional infidelity. We also report the influence that the type of relationship has on the emotions provoked by the infidelity.

  8. Barriers to mental health service use and preferences for addressing emotional concerns among lung cancer patients.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mosher, Catherine E; Winger, Joseph G; Hanna, Nasser; Jalal, Shadia I; Fakiris, Achilles J; Einhorn, Lawrence H; Birdas, Thomas J; Kesler, Kenneth A; Champion, Victoria L

    2014-07-01

    This study examined barriers to mental health service use and preferences for addressing emotional concerns among lung cancer patients (N=165) at two medical centers in the Midwestern United States. Lung cancer patients completed an assessment of anxiety and depressive symptoms, mental health service use, barriers to using these services, and preferences for addressing emotional concerns. Only 45% of distressed patients received mental health care since their lung cancer diagnosis. The most prevalent patient-reported barriers to mental health service use among non-users of these services (n=110) included the desire to independently manage emotional concerns (58%) and inadequate knowledge of services (19%). In addition, 57% of distressed patients who did not access mental health services did not perceive the need for help. Seventy-five percent of respondents (123/164) preferred to talk to a primary care physician if they were to have an emotional concern. Preferences for counseling, psychiatric medication, peer support, spiritual care, or independently managing emotional concerns also were endorsed by many patients (range=40-50%). Older age was associated with a lower likelihood of preferring to see a counselor. Findings suggest that many distressed lung cancer patients underuse mental health services and do not perceive the need for such services. Efforts to increase appropriate use of services should address patients' desire for autonomy and lack of awareness of services. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  9. Emotional reactivity to incentive downshift as a correlated response to selection of high and low alcohol preferring mice and an influencing factor on ethanol intake.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Matson, Liana M; Grahame, Nicholas J

    2015-11-01

    Losing a job or significant other are examples of incentive loss that result in negative emotional reactions. The occurrence of negative life events is associated with increased drinking (Keyes, Hatzenbuehler, & Hasin, 2011). Further, certain genotypes are more likely to drink alcohol in response to stressful negative life events (Blomeyer et al., 2008; Covault et al., 2007). Shared genetic factors may contribute to alcohol drinking and emotional reactivity, but this relationship is not currently well understood. We used an incentive downshift paradigm to address whether emotional reactivity is elevated in mice predisposed to drink alcohol. We also investigated if ethanol drinking is influenced in High Alcohol Preferring mice that had been exposed to an incentive downshift. Incentive downshift procedures have been widely utilized to model emotional reactivity, and involve shifting a high reward group to a low reward and comparing the shifted group to a consistently rewarded control group. Here, we show that replicate lines of selectively bred High Alcohol Preferring mice exhibited larger successive negative contrast effects than their corresponding replicate Low Alcohol Preferring lines, providing strong evidence for a genetic association between alcohol drinking and susceptibility to the emotional effects of negative contrast. These mice can be used to study the shared neurological and genetic underpinnings of emotional reactivity and alcohol preference. Unexpectedly, an incentive downshift suppressed ethanol drinking immediately following an incentive downshift. This could be due to a specific effect of negative contrast on ethanol consumption or a suppressive effect on consummatory behavior in general. These data suggest that either alcohol intake does not provide the anticipated negative reinforcement, or that a single test was insufficient for animals to learn to drink following incentive downshift. However, the emotional intensity following incentive

  10. The Distress Thermometer and its validity: a first psychometric study in Indonesian women with breast cancer.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Aulia Iskandarsyah

    Full Text Available PURPOSE: This study aims to translate the Distress Thermometer (DT into Indonesian, test its validity in Indonesian women with breast cancer and determine norm scores of the Indonesian DT for clinically relevant distress. METHODS: First, the original version of the DT was translated using a forward and backward translation procedure according to the guidelines. Next, a group of 120 breast cancer patients who were treated at the Outpatient Surgical Oncology Clinic in Hasan Sadikin Hospital in Indonesia completed a standard socio-demographic form, the DT and the Problem List, the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS and the WHO Quality of Life (WHOQOL-BREF. RESULTS: Receiver operating characteristic (ROC curve analyses identified an area under the curve = 0.81 when compared to the HADS cutoff score of 15. A cutoff score of 5 on the DT had the best sensitivity (0.81 and specificity (0.64. Patients who scored above this cutoff reported more problems in the practical, family, emotional, spiritual/religious and physical domains (30 out of 36 problems, p-value<0.05 than patients below the cutoff score. Patients at advanced stages of cancer experienced more emotional and physical problems. Patient's distress level was negatively correlated with overall quality of life, general health and all quality of life domains. CONCLUSIONS: The DT was found to be a valid tool for screening distress in Indonesian breast cancer patients. We recommend using a cutoff score of 5 in this population.

  11. Social intelligence of parents with autism spectrum disorders impacts their emotional behaviour: A new proposed model for stabilising emotionality of these parents impacting their social intelligence

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Vidya Bhagat

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available Autism spectrum disorder (ASD may affect all spheres of a child's life. Indeed, parents and siblings also live with emotional instabilities in the family. The experience of parents with ASD child can be distressing since they need to make more adjustments to the demanding need to cope with their life situations. Perhaps, their life is drastically exaggerated with their complexities of life. Particularly, their social life is radically affected. The presence of pervasive and severe deficits in children with ASD isolates these parents from their social life; demanding adjustments to their social environment of parents in their life situations shove them into distress and unstable emotions. Finally, they culminate being shattered in their interpersonal relationship, their family and social life. Indeed, these aspects of distress mask social intelligence of these parents, thus narrow down their focus more on the treatment rather than holistic management of their child. Thus, the management of ASD with these parents of the deficit children to reach their fullest abilities remains doubtful. Therefore, the objectives of this study are as follows: (a to examine the impact of emotionality on social intelligence of parents blessed with autistic child, (b to develop awareness regarding social intelligence and its significance among these parents, (c to propose a new model stabilising emotionality of these parents through developing social adaption skills and (d to suggest a new model as a guide in the current intervention regimens to ensure the emotional well-being and better social adoption. This study is made based on the keenly examined past evidence with the correlation of emotionality and its impact on social intelligence of the parents with ASD children. The results reveal that the social intelligence is perceived as lowered evidenced by poor social adjustment reflected in social isolation observed in the parents of children with ASD. A new model

  12. Understanding Children's Emotional Processes and Behavioral Strategies in the Context of Marital Conflict

    Science.gov (United States)

    Koss, Kalsea J.; George, Melissa R. W.; Bergman, Kathleen N.; Cummings, E. M.; Davies, Patrick T.; Cicchetti, Dante

    2011-01-01

    Marital conflict is a distressing context in which children must regulate their emotion and behavior; however, the associations between the multidimensionality of conflict and children's regulatory processes need to be examined. The current study examined differences in children's (N=207, mean age=8.02 years) emotions (mad, sad, scared, and happy)…

  13. Hidden Grief and Lasting Emotions in Emergency Department Nurses.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schwab, Darcie; Napolitano, Nancy; Chevalier, Kelly; Pettorini-D'Amico, Susan

    2016-11-01

    The emergency department (ED) environment poses unique risks to developing moral distress and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in nurses. This impacts ED registered nurses' (RNs') ability to remain resilient. The purpose of this article is to explore the benefit of recognizing the signs and symptoms of burnout, introduce interventions to combat PTSD, and improve resiliency in ED RNs. The use of the wounded healer theory provides a framework to help nurse managers develop strategies such as critical incident stress debriefing (CISD) to address emotional distress.

  14. Behavioral evidence of emotion dysregulation in binge eaters.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Eichen, Dawn M; Chen, Eunice; Boutelle, Kerri N; McCloskey, Michael S

    2017-04-01

    Binge eating is the most common disordered eating symptom and can lead to the development of obesity. Previous self-report research has supported the hypothesis that individuals who binge eat report greater levels of general emotion dysregulation, which may facilitate binge-eating behavior. However, to date, no study has experimentally tested the relation between binge eating history and in-vivo emotion dysregulation. To do this, a sample of female college students who either endorsed binge eating (n = 40) or denied the presence of any eating pathology (n = 47) completed the Difficulties with Emotion Regulation Scale (DERS) and a behavioral distress tolerance task (the Paced Auditory Serial Addition Task-Computer: PASAT-C) known to induce negative affect and distress. The binge eating group was 2.96 times more likely to quit the PASAT-C early (χ 2  = 5.04, p = 0.025) and reported greater irritability (F(1,84) = 7.09 p = 0.009) and frustration (F(1,84) = 5.00, p = 0.028) after completing the PASAT-C than controls, controlling for initial levels of these emotions. Furthermore, across the entire sample, quitting early was associated with greater emotion dysregulation on the DERS (r pb  = 0.342, p < 0.01). This study is the first to demonstrate that individuals who binge eat show in-vivo emotional dysregulation on a laboratory task. Future studies should examine the PASAT-C to determine its potential clinical utility for individuals with or at risk of developing binge eating. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  15. Idioms of Distress.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Desai, Geetha; Chaturvedi, Santosh K

    2017-08-01

    The presentations of psychosocial distress and cultural conflicts are often bodily symptoms, especially in traditional societies and village backgrounds. These might not meet the criteria of the current psychiatric diagnostic systems. Sociocultural milieu contributes to the unique presentations of the stress in the form of idioms of distress. The latter are alternative modes of expressing distress and indicate manifestations of distress in relation to personal and cultural meaning. Health professionals often consider these as hysterical, functional or having functional overlays, and abnormal illness behaviors. Management of idioms of distress would need cultural competence and sensitivity. This article highlights the common idioms of distress in India with specific focus on bodily symptoms.

  16. Diabetes Distress Among Adolescents with Type 1 Diabetes

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Hagger, Virginia; Hendrieckx, Christel; Sturt, Jackie

    2016-01-01

    with type 1 diabetes: the prevalence of DD; demographic, clinical, behavioral and psychosocial correlates of DD and interventions that reduce DD. Consistent with adult studies, around one third of adolescents experience elevated DD and this is frequently associated with suboptimal glycemic control, low self......Diabetes distress (DD) refers to the negative emotions arising from living with diabetes and the burden of self-management. Among adults, the prevalence and significance of DD are well established, but this is not the case among adolescents. This systematic review investigated among adolescents...

  17. Estimation of Mental Distress from Photoplethysmography

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Roberto Zangróniz

    2018-01-01

    Full Text Available This paper introduces the design of a new wearable photoplethysmography (PPG sensor and its assessment for mental distress estimation. In our design, a PPG sensor obtains blood volume information by means of an optical plethysmogram technique. A number of temporal, morphological and frequency markers are computed using time intervals between adjacent normal cardiac cycles to characterize pulse rate variability (PRV. In order to test the efficiency of the developed wearable for classifying distress versus calmness, the well-known International Affective Picture System has been used to induce different levels of arousal in forty-five healthy participants. The obtained results have shown that temporal features present a single discriminant power between emotional states of calm and stress, ranging from 67 to 72%. Moreover, a discriminant tree-based model is used to assess the possible underlying relationship among parameters. In this case, the combination of temporal parameters reaches 82.35% accuracy. Considering the low difficulty of metrics and methods used in this work, the algorithms are prepared to be embedded into a micro-controller device to work in real-time and in a long-term fashion.

  18. Factors relating to high psychological distress in Indigenous Australians and their contribution to Indigenous-non-Indigenous disparities.

    Science.gov (United States)

    McNamara, Bridgette J; Banks, Emily; Gubhaju, Lina; Joshy, Grace; Williamson, Anna; Raphael, Beverley; Eades, Sandra

    2018-04-01

    To explore factors associated with high psychological distress among Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal Australians and their contribution to the elevated distress prevalence among Aboriginal people. Questionnaire data from 1,631 Aboriginal and 233,405 non-Aboriginal 45 and Up Study (NSW, Australia) participants aged ≥45 years were used to calculate adjusted prevalence ratios for high psychological distress (Kessler-10 score ≥22) for socio-demographic, health and disability-related factors, and to quantify contributions to differences in distress prevalence. While high-distress prevalence was increased around three-fold in Aboriginal versus non-Aboriginal participants, distress-related risk factors were similar. Morbidity and physical disability had the strongest associations; high distress affected 43.8% of Aboriginal and 20.9% of non-Aboriginal participants with severe physical limitations and 9.5% and 3.9% of those without limitations, respectively. Differences in distress prevalence between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal participants were essentially attributable to differences in SES, morbidity, disability/functional limitations and social support (fully-adjusted PR 1.19 [95% 1.08, 1.30]); physical morbidity and disability explained the bulk. The markedly elevated prevalence of high distress among older Aboriginal Australians appears largely attributable to greater physical morbidity and disability. Implications for public health: Addressing upstream determinants of physical morbidity and improved integration of social and emotional wellbeing care into primary care and chronic disease management are essential. © 2018 The Authors.

  19. An ecological momentary assessment investigation of complex and conflicting emotions in youth with borderline personality disorder.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Andrewes, Holly E; Hulbert, Carol; Cotton, Susan M; Betts, Jennifer; Chanen, Andrew M

    2017-06-01

    Non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI) is a prevalent behaviour among people with borderline personality disorder (BPD) but many aspects of the emotional changes that trigger and maintain this behaviour are unknown. This study examines the relationships between NSSI and the number of negative ('negative complex') and opposing valence ('conflicting') emotions. One hundred and seven youth (aged 15-25 years) with first-presentation BPD were assessed using a combination of self-report and ecological momentary assessment to investigate trait levels of emotional acceptance and in vivo changes in the number of negative complex and conflicting emotions before and after self-injurious thoughts and behaviours. Multilevel modelling revealed that changes in the number of negative complex emotions mirrored distress levels before and after self-injurious thoughts and behaviours, approximating a quadratic curve. Increases in the number of negative complex emotions reported prior to self-injurious thoughts and behaviours were associated with lower acceptance of negative emotions. These findings indicate that the number of negative emotions experienced contributes to distress prior to engagement in NSSI. The relationship between non-acceptance of negative emotions and negative complex emotions prior to NSSI suggests that improved emotional awareness and acceptance should be a focus for early interventions aimed at reducing self-injury. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

  20. The Occupy Central (Umbrella) movement and mental health distress in the Hong Kong general public: political movements and concerns as potential structural risk factors of population mental health.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lau, Joseph T F; Kim, Yoona; Wu, Anise M S; Wang, Zixin; Huang, Bishan; Mo, Phoenix K H

    2017-05-01

    Political tension, as expressed by mass movements such as the Occupy Central movement (2014) in Hong Kong, is a potential but understudied structural factor of population mental health. A random population-based telephone survey anonymously interviewed 344 Hong Kong Chinese adults aged 18-65 years during the 2 weeks since the termination date of the 2-month-long Occupy Central movement (15/12/2014). Linear regression models were fit using mental distress (depression, anxiety and negative mood) and self-perceived changes in mood/sleeping quality as dependent variables. Prevalence of participation in the movement was 10.5% (self), 17.7% (family members/relatives), and 34.0% (peers); 8.5% had participated for ≥2 days. Young age, but not participation, was associated with mental distress. In adjusted analysis, three types of responses to the movement (worry about safety, negative emotional responses to media reports, and conflicts with peers about the movement) and emotional responses to local political situations were significantly associated with all/some of the dependent variables related to mental distress. The variable on emotions toward local political situations was correlated with the three responses to the movement; it fully mediated the associations between such responses and mental distress. Many citizens participated in the movement, which was led by youths and might have increased the general public's mental distress. Negative personal responses to the movement and emotions toward political situations were potential risk factors. As the political tension would last and political pessimism is globally found, politics may have become a regular and persistent structural risk factor negatively affecting population mental health.

  1. Correlates and consequences of the disclosure of pain-related distress to one's spouse.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cano, Annmarie; Leong, Laura E M; Williams, Amy M; May, Dana K K; Lutz, Jillian R

    2012-12-01

    The communication of pain has received a great deal of attention in the pain literature; however, one form of pain communication--emotional disclosure of pain-related distress (e.g., sadness, worry, anger about pain)--has not been studied extensively. This study examined the extent to which this form of pain communication occurred during an observed conversation with one's spouse and also investigated the correlates and consequences of disclosure. Individuals with chronic pain (ICP) and their spouses (N=95 couples) completed several questionnaires regarding pain, psychological distress, and relationship distress as well as video recorded interactions about the impact of pain on their lives. Approximately two-thirds of ICPs (n=65) disclosed their pain-related distress to their spouses. ICPs who reported greater pain severity, ruminative catastrophizing and affective distress about pain, and depressive and anxiety symptoms were more likely to disclose their distress to their spouses. Spouses of ICPs who disclosed only once or twice were significantly less likely to invalidate their partners whereas spouses of ICPs who disclosed at a higher rate were significantly more likely to validate their partners. Furthermore, spouses were more likely to engage in invalidation after attempting more neutral or validating responses, suggesting an erosion of support when ICPs engaged in high rates of disclosure. Correlates of spousal invalidation included both spouses' helplessness catastrophizing, ICPs' affective distress about pain, and spouses' anxiety, suggesting that both partners' distress are implicated in maladaptive disclosure-response patterns. Findings are discussed in light of pain communication and empathy models of pain. Copyright © 2012 International Association for the Study of Pain. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  2. Correlates and consequences of the disclosure of pain-related distress to one’s spouse

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cano, Annmarie; Leong, Laura E. M.; Williams, Amy M.; May, Dana K. K.; Lutz, Jillian R.

    2012-01-01

    The communication of pain has received a great deal of attention in the pain literature; however, one form of pain communication—emotional disclosure of pain-related distress (e.g., sadness, worry, anger about pain)—has not been studied extensively. The current study examined the extent to which this form of pain communication occurred during an observed conversation with one’s spouse and also investigated the correlates and consequences of disclosure. Individuals with chronic pain (ICPs) and their spouses (N = 95 couples) completed several questionnaires regarding pain, psychological distress, and relationship distress as well as video recorded interactions about the impact of pain on their lives. Approximately two-thirds of ICPs (n = 65) disclosed their pain-related distress to their spouses. ICPs who reported greater pain severity, ruminative catastrophizing and affective distress about pain, and depressive and anxiety symptoms were more likely to disclose their distress to their spouses. Spouses of ICPs who disclosed only once or twice were significantly less likely to invalidate their partners whereas spouses of ICPs who disclosed at a higher rate were significantly more likely to validate their partners. Furthermore, spouses were more likely to engage in invalidation after attempting more neutral or validating responses, suggesting an erosion of support when ICPs engaged in high rates of disclosure. Correlates of spousal invalidation included both spouses’ helplessness catastrophizing, ICPs’ affective distress about pain, and spouses’ anxiety, suggesting that both partners’ distress are implicated in maladaptive disclosure-response patterns. Findings are discussed in light of pain communication and empathy models of pain. PMID:23059054

  3. Is there an emotional cost of completing high school? Ecological factors and psychological distress among LGBT homeless youth.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bidell, Markus P

    2014-01-01

    This study explored the nexus of home and school climate on the psychological distress of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) homeless youth, as well as their experiences during high school. Of the LGBT homeless youth (N = 89) surveyed, 39.3% reported not completing high school. Most participants did not seek support from school staff nor did they report attending a school with a Gay-Straight Alliance. Significantly higher levels of psychological distress were found among high school graduates and those reporting LGBT harassment at home; however, harassment experienced at school was not statistically related to psychological distress. Findings are discussed.

  4. Attachment styles and personal growth following romantic breakups: the mediating roles of distress, rumination, and tendency to rebound.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Tara C Marshall

    Full Text Available The purpose of this research was to examine the associations of attachment anxiety and avoidance with personal growth following relationship dissolution, and to test breakup distress, rumination, and tendency to rebound with new partners as mediators of these associations. Study 1 (N = 411 and Study 2 (N = 465 measured attachment style, breakup distress, and personal growth; Study 2 additionally measured ruminative reflection, brooding, and proclivity to rebound with new partners. Structural equation modelling revealed in both studies that anxiety was indirectly associated with greater personal growth through heightened breakup distress, whereas avoidance was indirectly associated with lower personal growth through inhibited breakup distress. Study 2 further showed that the positive association of breakup distress with personal growth was accounted for by enhanced reflection and brooding, and that anxious individuals' greater personal growth was also explained by their proclivity to rebound. These findings suggest that anxious individuals' hyperactivated breakup distress may act as a catalyst for personal growth by promoting the cognitive processing of breakup-related thoughts and emotions, whereas avoidant individuals' deactivated distress may inhibit personal growth by suppressing this cognitive work.

  5. Detection of patient psychological distress and longitudinal patient–doctor relationships: a cross-sectional study

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ridd, Matthew; Lewis, Glyn; Peters, Tim J; Salisbury, Chris

    2012-01-01

    Background Psychological distress in patients who attend their GP is thought to be under-recognised. However, it is likely that both disclosure and detection are influenced by how well the patient and doctor know each another. Aim To examine whether patient–doctor depth of relationship is associated with identification of psychological distress. Design and setting Cross-sectional study in general practices in and around Bristol, England. Method Patients (aged ≥16 years) were asked to complete a questionnaire and consent to their electronic medical records being reviewed. Study GPs independently assessed patient psychological distress. Multivariable logistic regression was used to look for associations between patient–doctor depth of relationship and GP detection of patient psychological distress (defined according to the 12-item General Health Questionnaire, GHQ-12). Results There were 643 eligible appointments with 31 GPs. In total, 541 (84.1%) patients returned questionnaires and 490 (76.2%) consented to their records being reviewed. Patient–doctor depth of relationship was not associated with GP detection of mild to severe patient psychological distress (adjusted odds ratio [OR] 0.94, 95% CI = 0.87 to 1.02) but, in secondary analyses, it was associated with the identification of moderate to severe distress (adjusted OR 1.13, 95% CI = 1.02 to 1.26). GPs reported more patient psychological distress in patients who reported a greater depth of relationship but this did not relate to patients' GHQ-12 scores. Conclusion Evidence to support an association between patient–doctor depth of relationship and improved GP detection of patients with psychological distress was weak, except in those patients who GPs thought were more distressed. GPs may overestimate emotional distress in patients who report deeper patient–doctor relationships. PMID:22429433

  6. The distressed (Type D) and Five-Factor Models of personality in young, healthy adults and their association with emotional inhibition and distress

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Svansdóttir, E.; van den Broek, K.C.; Karlsson, H.D.; Olason, D.T.; Thorgilsson, H.; Denollet, J.

    2013-01-01

    The distressed (Type D) personality (the combination of negative affectivity and social inhibition traits) has been associated with adverse health outcomes. This study investigated the validity of the Type D construct against the Five-Factor Model (FFM) of personality, and its association with

  7. Assessment of diabetic distress and disease related factors in patients with type 2 diabetes in Isfahan: A way to tailor an effective intervention planning in Isfahan-Iran

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Tol Azar

    2012-10-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background The purpose of this study was to assess diabetes distress and its related factors among type 2 diabetic patients to better tailor intervention planning in Isfahan-Iran. Methods A cross-sectional study was conducted in 2011. Study population was patients with type 2 diabetes referring to Omolbanin, an outpatient diabetic center in Isfahan. 140 diabetic patients met the inclusion criteria and were all included in the study. Patient’s diabetes distress was measured by DDS. A 17-item self-report diabetes distress scale was used with subscales reflecting 5 domains: 1 Emotional burden (5 items, 2 Physician distress (4 items, 3 Regimen distress (5 items and 4 Interpersonal distress (3 items. The responses to each item were rated between 1 and 6 (1 = not a problem, 2 = a slight problem, 3 = a moderate problem, 4 = somewhat serious problem, 5 = a serious problem, 6 = a very serious problem. The minimum and the maximum of score in the scale were 17 and 114 respectively. Collected data was analyzed by using SPSS software version 11.5. Results Mean age of participants were 53.23 years (SD = 7.82. 54.3% was female, 97.1% was married, and 57.1% had education lower than diploma. The average score of total diabetes distress was 2.96 ± 0.83. The average score of each domain was (3.40 ± 1.18, (2.57 ± 0.88, (2.97 ± 0.90, (2.76 ± 0.91 respectively. ‘Emotional Burden’ was considered as the most important domain in measuring diabetes distress. Total diabetes distress had significant association with age (p = 0.02, duration of diabetes (plc (r = 0.63, p Conclusion It seems some keywords have a main role in diabetes distress such as emotional support, communication with patient and physician, self-efficacy and social support. All of these points are achievable through empowerment approach in diabetes care plan.

  8. Influence of moderate alcohol consumption on emotional and physical well-being

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Schrieks, I.C.

    2015-01-01

    Abstract

    Background and aim: Moderate alcohol consumption has been suggested to contribute to emotional well-being. However, the effects of moderate alcohol consumption on emotional well-being in common drinking situations and the influence of alcohol on

  9. Targeting emotion dysregulation in the treatment of self-injury.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gratz, Kim L

    2007-11-01

    Clinically useful definitions of emotion regulation with respect to deliberate self-harm (referred to here as self-injury) focus on adaptive ways of responding to emotional distress rather than on the control of emotions or dampening of emotional arousal. According to one such definition, emotion regulation is a multifaceted construct involving a) the awareness, understanding, and acceptance of emotions; b) ability to engage in goal-directed behaviors, and inhibit impulsive behaviors, when experiencing negative emotions; c) the flexible use of situationally appropriate strategies to modulate the intensity and/or duration of emotional responses rather than to eliminate emotions entirely; and d) willingness to experience negative emotions as part of pursuing meaningful activities in life (Gratz & Roemer, 2004). This article addresses the role of emotion dysregulation in self-injury and discusses two treatments for self-injury that explicitly focus on increasing emotion regulation. These treatments are based on the premise that the reduction of emotion dysregulation will decrease the need for maladaptive behaviors that function to regulate emotions, such as self-injury. A case illustration describing how one of these treatments (an acceptance-based, emotion regulation group therapy) is used to treat self-injury is provided.

  10. Explanatory models and distress in primary caregivers of patients with acute psychotic presentations: A study from South India.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Joy, Deepa S; Manoranjitham, S D; Samuel, P; Jacob, K S

    2017-11-01

    Emotional distress among caregivers of people with mental illness is common, changes overtime and requires appropriate coping strategies to prevent long-term disability. Explanatory models, which underpin understanding of disease and illness, are crucial to coping. To study the association of explanatory models and distress among caregivers of people with acute psychotic illness. A total of 60 consecutive patients and their primary caregivers who presented to the Department of Psychiatry, Christian Medical College, Vellore, were recruited for the study. Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS), Short Explanatory Model Interview (SEMI) and the General Health Questionnaire-12 (GHQ-12) were used to assess severity of psychosis, explanatory models of illness and emotional distress. Standard bivariate and multivariable statistics were employed. Majority of the caregivers simultaneously held multiple models of illness, which included medical and non-medical perspectives. The GHQ-12 score were significantly lower in people who held multiple explanatory models of illness when compared to the caregivers who believed single explanations. Explanatory models affect coping in caregivers of patients with acute psychotic presentations. There is a need to have a broad-based approach to recovery and care.

  11. Early Childhood Adversity and Its Associations with Anxiety, Depression, and Distress in Women with Breast Cancer

    Science.gov (United States)

    McFarland, Daniel C; Andreotti, Charissa; Harris, Kirk; Mandeli, John; Tiersten, Amy; Holland, Jimmie

    2016-01-01

    Introduction Certain vulnerability factors have been found to place patients at risk for depression and anxiety, especially within the context of medical illness. Early childhood adversity (ECA) primes adults to become more vulnerable to depression by enhancing their reactivity to stress; this relationship is not adequately described in patients with breast cancer. Methods Breast cancer patients (Stage 0-IV) were assessed for ECA (i.e., the Risky Families Questionnaire [RFQ]-subscales include Abuse/Neglect/Chaotic Home Environment), distress (i.e., Distress Thermometer and Problem List [DT&PL]), anxiety (Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale-Anxiety [HADS-A]), depression (Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale-Depression [HADS-D]), meeting standardized cut-off thresholds for distress (DT&PL ≥4 or ≥7)/anxiety (HADS-A ≥8)/depression (HADS-D ≥8), and demographic factors. Results One hundred twenty-five participants completed the study (78% response rate). ECA was associated with depression (p<.001), anxiety (p=.001), and distress (p=.006) and with meeting cut-off threshold criteria for distress (p=.024), anxiety (p=.048), and depression (p=.001). On Multivariate analysis, only depression (p=.04) and emotional issues (i.e, component of DT&PL)(p=.001) were associated with ECA. Neglect, but not Abuse and Chaotic Home Environment, was associated with depression (β=.442, p<.001), anxiety (β=.342, p=.002), and self-identified problems with family (β−.288, p=.022), emotion (β=.345, p=.004), and physical issues (β=.408, p<.001). Conclusion ECA and neglect are associated with multiple psychological symptoms but most specifically depression in the setting of breast cancer. ECA contributes to psychological burden as a vulnerability factor. ECA may help to explain individual patient trajectories and influence the provision of patient centered care for psychological symptoms in patients with breast cancer. PMID:26876888

  12. Supporting the Emotional Labour Associated with Teaching: Considering a Pluralistic Approach to Group Supervision

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hanley, Terry

    2017-01-01

    This paper puts forward a framework for supervising teaching staff whose roles involve supporting the emotional well-being of young people and young adults. Initially, the increasing focus upon the interface between education and health is outlined and the potential for this "emotional labour" to cause distress to those in helping roles…

  13. The relationship between distress tolerance and antisocial personality disorder among male inner-city treatment seeking substance users.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Daughters, Stacey B; Sargeant, Marsha N; Bornovalova, Marina A; Gratz, Kim L; Lejuez, C W

    2008-10-01

    There is currently limited research on the potential mechanisms underlying the development of antisocial personality disorder (ASPD). One such mechanism, distress tolerance (defined as an individual's behavioral persistence in the face of emotional distress) may underlie the development of ASPD and its associated behavioral difficulties. It was hypothesized that substance users with ASPD would evidence significantly lower levels of distress tolerance than substance users without ASPD. To test this relationship, we assessed 127 inner-city males receiving residential substance abuse treatment with two computerized laboratory measures of distress tolerance. The mean age of the sample was 40.1 years (SD = 9.8) and 88.2% were African American. As expected, multiple logistic regression analyses indicated that distress intolerance significantly predicted the presence of an ASPD diagnosis, above and beyond key covariates including substance use frequency and associated Axis I and II psychopathology. Findings suggest that distress tolerance may be a key factor in understanding the development of ASPD, setting the stage for future studies expanding on the nature of this relationship, as well as the development of appropriate interventions for this at-risk group.

  14. A face a mother could love: depression-related maternal neural responses to infant emotion faces.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Laurent, Heidemarie K; Ablow, Jennifer C

    2013-01-01

    Depressed mothers show negatively biased responses to their infants' emotional bids, perhaps due to faulty processing of infant cues. This study is the first to examine depression-related differences in mothers' neural response to their own infant's emotion faces, considering both effects of perinatal depression history and current depressive symptoms. Primiparous mothers (n = 22), half of whom had a history of major depressive episodes (with one episode occurring during pregnancy and/or postpartum), were exposed to images of their own and unfamiliar infants' joy and distress faces during functional neuroimaging. Group differences (depression vs. no-depression) and continuous effects of current depressive symptoms were tested in relation to neural response to own infant emotion faces. Compared to mothers with no psychiatric diagnoses, those with depression showed blunted responses to their own infant's distress faces in the dorsal anterior cingulate cortex. Mothers with higher levels of current symptomatology showed reduced responses to their own infant's joy faces in the orbitofrontal cortex and insula. Current symptomatology also predicted lower responses to own infant joy-distress in left-sided prefrontal and insula/striatal regions. These deficits in self-regulatory and motivational response circuits may help explain parenting difficulties in depressed mothers.

  15. Evaluation of Youth Mental Health First Aid USA: A program to assist young people in psychological distress.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Aakre, Jennifer M; Lucksted, Alicia; Browning-McNee, Lea Ann

    2016-05-01

    Youth Mental Health First Aid USA (YMHFA) is a manualized training program designed to educate members of the public on common emotional problems and psychological disorders among youth and to provide trainees with tools anyone can use to assist young people in psychological distress. The present study used a pre versus post design to assess the ability of social service employees to generate appropriate strategies to use in hypothetical situations featuring a young person in distress, before versus after participation in the 8-hr YMHFA training. Trainee responses demonstrated significant overall improvement (M = 1.32, SD = 0.80 pretraining vs. M = 1.87, SD = 1.1 posttraining, t = 6.6, p psychological distress. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved).

  16. The good, the bad, and the healthy: impacts of emotional disclosure of trauma on resilient self-concept and psychological distress.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hemenover, Scott H

    2003-10-01

    This study examined the impact of disclosing traumas on resilient self-perceptions and psychological distress. Participants (N = 50) wrote about a traumatic life event or their plans for the next day and completed measures of resilience and distress before disclosing (pretest) and 3 months later (posttest). Results revealed that trauma participants increased in positive self-perceptions (mastery, personal growth, self-acceptance) and decreased in distress (depression, interpersonal sensitivity, anxiety, somatization) from pretest to posttest. Control participants showed no changes except for autonomy, on which they decreased. Results suggest that in addition to reducing psychological distress, disclosing traumas change self-perception, resulting in a more resilient self-concept.

  17. Low organisational justice and heavy drinking: a prospective cohort study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kouvonen, Anne; Kivimäki, Mika; Elovainio, Marko; Väänänen, Ari; De Vogli, Roberto; Heponiemi, Tarja; Linna, Anne; Pentti, Jaana; Vahtera, Jussi

    2008-01-01

    To investigate whether low perceived organisational injustice predicts heavy drinking among employees. Data from a prospective occupational cohort study, the 10-Town Study, on 15 290 Finnish public sector local government employees nested in 2432 work units, were used. Non-drinkers were excluded. Procedural, interactional and total organisational justice, heavy drinking (>/=210 g of absolute alcohol per week) and other psychosocial factors were determined by means of questionnaire in 2000-2001 (phase 1) and 2004 (phase 2). Multilevel logistic regression analyses taking into account the hierarchical structure of the data were conducted and adjustments were made for sex, age, socio-economic status, marital status, baseline heavy drinking, psychological distress and other psychosocial risk factors such as job strain and effort/reward imbalance. After adjustments, participants who reported low procedural justice at phase 1 were approximately 1.2 times more likely to be heavy drinkers at phase 2 compared with their counterparts reporting high justice. Low perceived justice in interpersonal treatment and low perceived total organisational justice were associated with increased prevalence of heavy drinking only in the model adjusted for sociodemographics. This is the first longitudinal study to show that low procedural justice is weakly associated with an increased likelihood of heavy drinking.

  18. [The Life Style Index: correlations with psychological distress and hostility].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hyphantis, T; Floros, G D; Goulia, P; Iconomou, G; Assimakopoulos, K

    2011-01-01

    The Life Style Index (LSI) was designed to assess defense mechanisms, assuming that their use is related to specific emotional states and diagnostic concepts. Aiming to further investigate the psychometric properties of the Greek version of the LSI, the aim of the present study was to investigate the relationship of specific defense mechanisms with dimensions of psychological distress and hostility features in three different populations. The sample comprised 1261 adults (410 healthy participants, 723 medical patients and 128 psychiatric patients). Along with defense mechanisms (LSI), Psychological Distress (General Health Questionnaire, GHQ-28) and Hostility features (Hostility and Direction of Hostility Questionnaire, HDHQ) were also assessed. The results showed that increased psychological distress is related with increased use of all defenses except Denial, with which psychological distress is negatively associated. Regression is constantly related with psychological distress and differentiates psychiatric patients from the other groups of participants, while Compensation and Reaction Formation are related to depressive symptomatology. In medical patients, Repression was found to increase the physical dimension of psychological distress and the social dysfunction. On the contrary,Denial was negatively associated with these dimensions of psychological distress. In the psychiatric patient and healthy participant samples, Projection plays the most detrimental role. Regarding hostility and direction of hostility, those who were found to introvert their hostility presented with higher scores in Denial, indicating that they possibly 'deny' their hostility, and the degree of the Denial was found to be negatively associated with the degree of Introverted Hostility. Those who directed their hostility towards the others, presented with higher rates of Projection, while neither Denial nor Reaction Formation seemed sufficient enough to temper the degree of Extroverted

  19. Traumatic stress symptoms after the November 13th 2015 Terrorist Attacks among Young Adults: The relation to media and emotion regulation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Monfort, Emmanuel; Afzali, Mohammad Hassan

    2017-05-01

    A major terror attack occurred in the Paris region on 13th November 2015. This event was widely showed, described, and commented in the media. Media consumption may lead to a widespread diffusion of trauma-related symptoms following a collective trauma. These effects may depend on the type of media and emotion regulation strategies used by the media consumer. Trauma history, traumatic symptoms, media consumption, psychological distress, and emotion regulation strategies of 451 young adults were assessed by an online survey. Findings reveal the joint role of social networks use and dysfunctional emotion regulation strategies on anxiety, depression, and somatization symptoms and also on cognitive and emotional alteration among traumatic symptoms. Consistent with the emotional contagion hypothesis, individuals who reported spending more time on social networks were also those who were experiencing more psychological distress. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  20. Non-specific symptoms as clues to changes in emotional well-being

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Blumberg Gari

    2011-07-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background - Somatic symptoms are a common reason for visits to the family physician. The aim of this study was to examine the relation between non-specific symptoms and changes in emotional well-being and the degree to which the physician considers the possibility of mental distress when faced with such patients. Methods - Patients who complained of two or more symptoms including headache, dizziness, fatigue or weakness, palpitations and sleep disorders over one year were identified from the medical records of a random sample of 45 primary care physicians. A control group matched for gender and age was selected from the same population. Emotional well-being was assessed using the MOS-SF 36 in both groups. Results - The study group and the control group each contained 110 patients. Completed MOS questionnaires were obtained from 92 patients, 48 patients with somatic symptoms and 44 controls. Sixty percent of the patients with somatic symptoms experienced decreased emotional well being compared to 25% in the control group (p = 0.00005. Symptoms of dizziness, fatigue and sleep disturbances were significantly linked with mental health impairments. Primary care physicians identified only 6 of 29 patients (21% whose responses revealed functional limitations due to emotional problems as suffering from an emotional disorder and only 6 of 23 patients (26% with a lack of emotional well being were diagnosed with an emotional disorder. Conclusions - Non-specific somatic symptoms may be clues to changes in emotional well-being. Improved recognition and recording of mental distress among patients who complain of these symptoms may enable better follow up and treatment.

  1. The Relations of Mothers' Negative Expressivity to Children's Experience and Expression of Negative Emotion

    Science.gov (United States)

    Valiente, Carlos; Eisenberg, Nancy; Shepard, Stephanie A.; Fabes, Richard A.; Cumberland, Amanda J.; Losoya, Sandra H.; Spinrad, Tracy L.

    2004-01-01

    Guided by the heuristic model proposed by Eisenberg et al. [Psychol. Inq. 9 (1998) 241], we examined the relations of mothers' reported and observed negative expressivity to children's (N = 159; 74 girls; M age = 7.67 years) experience and expression of emotion. Children's experience and/or expression of emotion in response to a distressing film…

  2. Specific biases for identifying facial expression of emotion in children and adolescents with conversion disorders.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kozlowska, Kasia; Brown, Kerri J; Palmer, Donna M; Williams, Lea M

    2013-04-01

    This study aimed to assess how children and adolescents with conversion disorders identify universal facial expressions of emotion and to determine whether identification of emotion in faces relates to subjective emotional distress. Fifty-seven participants (41 girls and 16 boys) aged 8.5 to 18 years with conversion disorders and 57 age- and sex-matched healthy controls completed a computerized task in which their accuracy and reaction times for identifying facial expressions were recorded. To isolate the effect of individual emotional expressions, participants' reaction times for each emotion (fear, anger, sadness, disgust, and happiness) were subtracted from their reaction times for the neutral control face. Participants also completed self-report measures of subjective emotional distress. Children/Adolescents with conversion disorders showed faster reaction times for identifying expressions of sadness (t(112) = -2.2, p = .03; 444 [609] versus 713 [695], p = .03) and slower reactions times for happy expressions (t(99.3) = 2.28, p ≤ .024; -33 [35] versus 174 [51], p = .024), compared with controls (F(33.75, 419.81) = 3.76, p .018). There were also no differences in identification accuracy for any emotion (p > .82). The observation of faster reaction times to sad faces in children and adolescents with conversion disorders suggests increased vigilance and motor readiness to emotional signals that are potential threats to self or to close others. These effects may occur before conscious processing.

  3. Cancer in full-colour: use of a graphic novel to identify distress in women with breast cancer

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Lo-Fo-Wong, Deborah N. N.; Beijaerts, Anne; de Haes, Hanneke C. J. M.; Sprangers, Mirjam A. G.

    2014-01-01

    The graphic novel Cancer Vixen about breast cancer was used as an example to examine whether reading of graphic novels may enhance insight into illness experiences. Content analysis showed that the graphic novel depicts the full range of distress, by portraying practical, social, emotional,

  4. Does alcohol affect memory for emotional and non-emotional experiences in different ways?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Knowles, S K Z; Duka, T

    2004-03-01

    Alcohol has been shown to have both impairing and facilitating effects on memory, depending on the sequencing of learning and ingestion of the drug. Its effects on memory for emotional material, however, have not been shown reliably. The current experiment sought to investigate the effects of alcohol on later recall of emotional and neutral events experienced before and after alcohol drinking. Using an incidental-learning paradigm, alcohol (0.65 g/kg) or placebo was administered in a double-blind randomized design to 34 participants, between two learning phases in which they viewed and rated positive, negative and neutral images. The drug's effects on memory were assessed in a surprise test of free recall. In addition, impact of alcohol on ratings of mood states, and of valence and arousal that the pictures evoked, was examined. Alcohol facilitated memory for material seen before, and impaired memory for material seen after, its administration. Furthermore, under alcohol, emotional images in the first set were more recalled over neutral than in the second set, indicating a higher retrograde facilitation for emotional than for neutral material. Alcohol improved positive mood states but had no effect on negative mood states. Evaluation of pictures with regard to valence showed an increase of the ratings for the positive and neutral images after alcohol and a decrease after placebo. No drug effects were found for arousal ratings. Whether a picture was likely to be remembered or not (tested only for set 2) was dependent on the intensity of the arousal but not of the valence that the picture evoked in the participants. Pictures that were rated high in arousal were also remembered better, and this effect was irrespective of alcohol or placebo ingestion. These data have shown that alcohol elicits retrograde facilitation and anterograde impairment for emotional materials. Furthermore, these data demonstrate that alcohol selectively facilitates memories for emotional events

  5. Parental control and the dopamine D2 receptor gene (DRD2) interaction on emotional eating in adolescence

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Strien, van T.; Snoek, H.M.; Zwaluw, van der C.S.; Engels, R.C.

    2010-01-01

    The present study addresses the emergence of emotional eating in adolescence in relation to maternal or paternal psychological control. A reduction of food intake is considered the biological natural response to distress, therefore we tested whether the a-typical stress response of emotional eating

  6. Incorporating Emotional Intelligence in Legal Education: A Theoretical Perspective

    Science.gov (United States)

    Douglas, Susan

    2015-01-01

    "Thinking like a lawyer" is traditionally associated with rational-analytical problem solving and an adversarial approach to conflict. These features have been correlated with problems of psychological, or emotional, distress amongst lawyers and law students. These problems provide a strong argument for incorporating a consideration of…

  7. Neural Reactivity to Emotional Faces May Mediate the Relationship between Childhood Empathy and Adolescent Prosocial Behavior

    Science.gov (United States)

    Flournoy, John C.; Pfeifer, Jennifer H.; Moore, William E.; Tackman, Allison M.; Masten, Carrie L.; Mazziotta, John C.; Iacoboni, Marco; Dapretto, Mirella

    2016-01-01

    Reactivity to others' emotions not only can result in empathic concern (EC), an important motivator of prosocial behavior, but can also result in personal distress (PD), which may hinder prosocial behavior. Examining neural substrates of emotional reactivity may elucidate how EC and PD differentially influence prosocial behavior. Participants…

  8. The Effect of Marital Violence on Infertility Distress among A Sample of Turkish Women

    Science.gov (United States)

    Akyüz, Aygül; Şahiner, Gönül; Seven, Memnun; Bakır, Bilal

    2014-01-01

    Background: The aim of this study was to determine the relationship between marital violence and distress level among women with a diagnosis of infertility. Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional study consisted of 139 married women diagnosed as primary infertile who applied to an in vitro fertilization (IVF) center in Turkey, between September and December 2009. A descriptive information questionnaire developed by the researcher was used for data collection. In addition, an infertility distress scale (IDS) for determining the severity effect of infertility and the scale for marital violence against women (SDVW) for determining level of marital violence against the women were used. Results: The total IDS score of the study sample was 37.76 ± 10.53. There was no significant relationship between the age and education level of the women and the total IDS score. The total IDS score was higher in women who did not work and those being treated for infertility for more than three years. The total SDVW score of the study sample was 67.0 ± 8.26. The total SDVW score was higher in women who had been trying to have a child for more than six years and had received infertility treatment for longer than three years. The employment status of the women and physical, emotional, and sexual violence scores had a statistically significant relationship with the IDS scores. The emotional violence score was found to have the highest significance among the variables affecting total IDS score. Conclusion: Marital violence is a factor increasing the distress of infertile women. Healthcare staff serving infertile couples should consider the possibility of domestic violence against women as a factor affecting the psychological infertility distress level. PMID:24696770

  9. The Effect of Marital Violence on Infertility Distress among A Sample of Turkish Women

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Aygül Akyüz

    2014-03-01

    Full Text Available Background: The aim of this study was to determine the relationship between marital violence and distress level among women with a diagnosis of infertility. Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional study consisted of 139 married women diagnosed as primary infertile who applied to an in vitro fertilization (IVF center in Turkey, between September and December 2009. A descriptive information questionnaire developed by the researcher was used for data collection. In addition, an infertility distress scale (IDS for determining the severity effect of infertility and the scale for marital violence against women (SDVW for determining level of marital violence against the women were used. Results: The total IDS score of the study sample was 37.76 ± 10.53. There was no significant relationship between the age and education level of the women and the total IDS score. The total IDS score was higher in women who did not work and those being treated for infertility for more than three years. The total SDVW score of the study sample was 67.0 ± 8.26. The total SDVW score was higher in women who had been trying to have a child for more than six years and had received infertility treatment for longer than three years. The employment status of the women and physical, emotional, and sexual violence scores had a statistically significant relationship with the IDS scores. The emotional violence score was found to have the highest significance among the variables affecting total IDS score. Conclusion: Marital violence is a factor increasing the distress of infertile women. Healthcare staff serving infertile couples should consider the possibility of domestic violence against women as a factor affecting the psychological infertility distress level.

  10. Emotion Dysregulation and Adolescent Psychopathology: A Prospective Study

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hatzenbuehler, Mark L.; Nolen-Hoeksema, Susan

    2011-01-01

    Background Emotion regulation deficits have been consistently linked to psychopathology in cross-sectional studies. However, the direction of the relationship between emotion regulation and psychopathology is unclear. This study examined the longitudinal and reciprocal relationships between emotion regulation deficits and psychopathology in adolescents. Methods Emotion dysregulation and symptomatology (depression, anxiety, aggressive behavior, and eating pathology) were assessed in a large, diverse sample of adolescents (N = 1,065) at two time points separated by seven months. Structural equation modeling was used to examine the longitudinal and reciprocal relationships between emotion dysregulation and symptoms of psychopathology. Results The three distinct emotion processes examined here (emotional understanding, dysregulated expression of sadness and anger, and ruminative responses to distress) formed a unitary latent emotion dysregulation factor. Emotion dysregulation predicted increases in anxiety symptoms, aggressive behavior, and eating pathology after controlling for baseline symptoms but did not predict depressive symptoms. In contrast, none of the four types of psychopathology predicted increases in emotion dysregulation after controlling for baseline emotion dysregulation. Conclusions Emotion dysregulation appears to be an important transdiagnostic factor that increases risk for a wide range of psychopathology outcomes in adolescence. These results suggest targets for preventive interventions during this developmental period of risk. PMID:21718967

  11. Use of Social Emotional Learning Skills to Predict Future Academic Success and Progress toward Graduation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Davis, Alan; Solberg, V. Scott; de Baca, Christine; Gore, Taryn Hargrove

    2014-01-01

    This study evaluated the degree to which a range of social emotional learning skills--academic self-efficacy, academic motivation, social connections, importance of school, and managing psychological and emotional distress and academic stress--could be used as an indicator of future academic outcomes. Using a sample of 4,797 from a large urban…

  12. Measuring death-related anxiety in advanced cancer: preliminary psychometrics of the Death and Dying Distress Scale.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lo, Christopher; Hales, Sarah; Zimmermann, Camilla; Gagliese, Lucia; Rydall, Anne; Rodin, Gary

    2011-10-01

    The alleviation of distress associated with death and dying is a central goal of palliative care, despite the lack of routine measurement of this outcome. In this study, we introduce the Death and Dying Distress Scale (DADDS), a new, brief measure we have developed to assess death-related anxiety in advanced cancer and other palliative populations. We describe its preliminary psychometrics based on a sample of 33 patients with advanced or metastatic cancer. The DADDS broadly captures distress about the loss of time and opportunity, the process of death and dying, and its impact on others. The initial version of the scale has a one-factor structure and good internal reliability. Dying and death-related distress was positively associated with depression and negatively associated with spiritual, emotional, physical, and functional well-being, providing early evidence of construct validity. This distress was relatively common, with 45% of the sample scoring in the upper reaches of the scale, suggesting that the DADDS may be a relevant outcome for palliative intervention. We conclude by presenting a revised 15-item version of the scale for further study in advanced cancer and other palliative populations.

  13. Depressed Mood and Drinking Occasions across High School: Comparing the Reciprocal Causal Structures of a Panel of Boys and Girls

    Science.gov (United States)

    Owens, Timothy J.; Shippee, Nathan D.

    2009-01-01

    Does adolescent depressed mood portend increased or decreased drinking? Is frequent drinking positively or negatively associated with emotional well-being? Do the dynamic relations between depression and drinking differ by gender? Using block-recursive structural equation models, we explore the reciprocal short-term effects (within time, "t") and…

  14. Empathy costs: Negative emotional bias in high empathisers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chikovani, George; Babuadze, Lasha; Iashvili, Nino; Gvalia, Tamar; Surguladze, Simon

    2015-09-30

    Excessive empathy has been associated with compassion fatigue in health professionals and caregivers. We investigated an effect of empathy on emotion processing in 137 healthy individuals of both sexes. We tested a hypothesis that high empathy may underlie increased sensitivity to negative emotion recognition which may interact with gender. Facial emotion stimuli comprised happy, angry, fearful, and sad faces presented at different intensities (mild and prototypical) and different durations (500ms and 2000ms). The parameters of emotion processing were represented by discrimination accuracy, response bias and reaction time. We found that higher empathy was associated with better recognition of all emotions. We also demonstrated that higher empathy was associated with response bias towards sad and fearful faces. The reaction time analysis revealed that higher empathy in females was associated with faster (compared with males) recognition of mildly sad faces of brief duration. We conclude that although empathic abilities were providing for advantages in recognition of all facial emotional expressions, the bias towards emotional negativity may potentially carry a risk for empathic distress. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

  15. Study of emotion-based neurocardiology through wearable systems

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ramasamy, Mouli; Varadan, Vijay

    2016-04-01

    Neurocardiology is the exploration of neurophysiological, neurological and neuroanatomical facets of neuroscience's influence in cardiology. The paraphernalia of emotions on the heart and brain are premeditated because of the interaction between the central and peripheral nervous system. This is an investigative attempt to study emotion based neurocardiology and the factors that influence this phenomena. The factors include: interaction between sleep EEG (electroencephalogram) and ECG (electrocardiogram), relationship between emotion and music, psychophysiological coherence between the heart and brain, emotion recognition techniques, and biofeedback mechanisms. Emotions contribute vitally to the mundane life and are quintessential to a numerous biological and everyday-functional modalities of a human being. Emotions are best represented through EEG signals, and to a certain extent, can be observed through ECG and body temperature. Confluence of medical and engineering science has enabled the monitoring and discrimination of emotions influenced by happiness, anxiety, distress, excitement and several other factors that influence the thinking patterns and the electrical activity of the brain. Similarly, HRV (Heart Rate Variability) widely investigated for its provision and discerning characteristics towards EEG and the perception in neurocardiology.

  16. Identification of risk factors for moral distress in nurses: basis for the development of a new assessment tool.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schaefer, Rafaela; Zoboli, Elma Lourdes Campos Pavone; Vieira, Margarida

    2016-12-01

    This article proposes to identify risk factors for moral distress from the literature, validate them through expert analysis and provide the basis for a new tool to assess the risk of moral distress among nurses. Moral distress is related to the psychological, emotional and physiological aspects of nursing. It arises from constraints caused by various circumstances and can lead to significant negative consequences. A scoping review and validation through expert analysis were used. The research question guiding this study was as follows: What is known about risk factors for moral distress in nursing? The research was conducted using multiple sources including electronic databases and lists of references from relevant literature. The final sample consisted of 38 studies. A validation analysis was conducted by experts during December 2014 and June 2015. To exclude a risk factor item, at least 80% of the experts had to agree with the exclusion. In total, 53 risk factors for moral distress were identified, reviewed by the experts and grouped to form a new instrument that may help to identify risk for moral distress and to address its consequences. © 2016 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  17. Standalone Effects of a Cognitive Behavioral Intervention Using a Mobile Phone App on Psychological Distress and Alcohol Consumption Among Japanese Workers: Pilot Nonrandomized Controlled Trial.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hamamura, Toshitaka; Suganuma, Shinichiro; Ueda, Mami; Mearns, Jack; Shimoyama, Haruhiko

    2018-03-22

    Research that investigates standalone effects of a mobile phone-based cognitive behavioral therapy without any human contact for reducing both psychological distress and risky drinking has been advancing; however, the number of studies is still limited. A mobile phone app called Self Record that facilitates cognitive restructuring through self-monitoring of daily thoughts and activities was developed in Japan. This study conducted a nonrandomized controlled pilot trial of the Self Record app to investigate standalone effects of the intervention on psychological distress and alcohol consumption among Japanese workers. Additionally, we examined moderating effects of negative mood regulation expectancies, which are beliefs about one's ability to control one's negative mood. A quasi-experimental design with a 1-month follow-up was conducted online in Japan from February 2016 to March 2016. A research marketing company recruited participants. The selection criteria were being a Japanese full-time worker (age 20-59 years), experiencing mild to moderate psychological distress, and having some interest in self-record apps. Assignment to group was based on participants' willingness to use the app in the study. All participants completed outcome measures of negative mood regulation expectancies, positive well-being, general distress, depression, anxiety, and typical/most weekly alcohol consumption. From the recruitment, 15.65% (1083/6921) of participants met the inclusion criteria. Of these, 51.43% (557/1083) enrolled in the study: 54.9% (306/557) in the intervention group and 45.1% (251/557) in the control group. At the 1-month follow-up, 15.3% (85/557) of participants had dropped out. Intention-to-treat analyses revealed that participants in the intervention group reported increased typical drinking (η2=.009) and heavy drinking (η2=.001). Adherence to using the app was low; 64.8% (199/306) of participants in the intervention group discontinued using the app on the first

  18. The relationship between behavioural problems in preschool children and parental distress after a paediatric burn event

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Bakker, Anne; van der Heijden, Peter G M; van Son, Maarten J M; van de Schoot, Rens; Vandermeulen, Els; Helsen, Ann; Van Loey, Nancy E E

    2014-01-01

    This study examines mother- and father-rated emotional and behaviour problems in and worries about 0- to 5-year-old children at 3 and 12 months after a burn event and the relation with parental distress. Mothers (n = 150) and fathers (n = 125) representing 155 children participated in this study.

  19. Emotional distress and self-reported quality of life among primary ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Objectives: To investigate emotional symptoms and domain quality of life (QOL) among primary caregivers of stroke survivors and to determine survivor-related and caregiver-related predictors of these variables. Design: A cross-sectional study. Setting: Medical units of the two major hospitals of the Obafemi Awolowo ...

  20. Acceptance alone is a better predictor of psychopathology and well-being than emotional competence, emotion regulation and mindfulness.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kotsou, Ilios; Leys, Christophe; Fossion, Pierre

    2018-01-15

    Emotional competence, emotion regulation, mindfulness and acceptance have all been strongly associated to emotional disorders and psychological well-being in multiple studies. However little research has compared the unique predictive ability of these different constructs. We hypothesised that they will all share a large proportion of common variance and that when compared to the broader constructs emotional competence, emotion regulation and mindfulness, acceptance alone would predict a larger proportion of unique variance METHODS: 228 participants from a community sample completed anonymously measures of anxiety, depression, happiness, acceptance, mindfulness, emotional competence and emotion regulation. We then ran multiple regressions to assess and compare the predictive ability of these different constructs. For measures of psychological distress, the acceptance measure uniquely accounted for between 4 and 30 times the variance that the emotional competence, emotion regulation and mindfulness measures did. These results are based on cross-sectional designs and non-clinical samples, longitudinal and experimental studies as clinical samples may be useful in order to assess the potential protective power of acceptance over time. Another limitation is the use of self-report questionnaires. Results confirmed our hypothesis, supporting the research on the importance of acceptance as a central factor in the understanding of the onset and maintenance of emotional disorders. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  1. Relating emotional intelligence to academic achievement among university students in Barbados

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Grace A. Fayombo

    2012-11-01

    Full Text Available This study investigated the relationships between emotional intelligence and academic achievement among 151 undergraduate psychology students at The University of the West Indies (UWI, Barbados, making use of Barchard (2001's Emotional Intelligence Scale and an Academic Achievement Scale. Findings revealed significant positive correlations between academic achievement and six of the emotional intelligence components, and a negative correlation with negative expressivity. The emotional intelligence components also jointly contributed 48% of the variance in academic achievement. Attending to emotions was the best predictor of academic achievement while positive expressivity, negative expressivity and empathic concern were other significant predictors. Emotion-based decision-making, responsive joy and responsive distress did not make any significant relative contribution to academic achievement, indicating that academic achievement is only partially predicted by emotional intelligence. These results were discussed in the context of the influence of emotional intelligence on university students' academic achievement.

  2. Psychological characteristics and subjective symptoms as determinants of psychological distress in patients prior to breast cancer diagnosis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ando, Noriko; Iwamitsu, Yumi; Kuranami, Masaru; Okazaki, Shigemi; Wada, Mei; Yamamoto, Kenji; Todoroki, Keiko; Watanabe, Masahiko; Miyaoka, Hitoshi

    2009-11-01

    The objective of this study was to determine how psychological characteristics, subjective symptoms, a family history of breast cancer, and age impact psychological distress in outpatients at the first hospital visit prior to breast cancer diagnosis. Participants were prediagnosed women with complaints of breast symptoms who either came to our hospital directly, or with a referral from another clinic. Patients were asked to complete questionnaires to determine the following: trait anxiety (State-Trait Anxiety Inventory), negative emotional suppression (Courtauld Emotional Control Scale), life stress events (Life Experiences Survey), and psychological distress (Profile of Mood States). We examined subjective symptoms (lumps, pain, abnormal nipple discharge, or deformed nipple) and family history of breast cancer based on answers to the interview sheet filled out by patients on their first visit. We analyzed a total of 154 patients who completed the questionnaires out of 237 eligible patients. A significant model was obtained by multiple regression analysis (adjusted R (2) = 0.574, p < 0.01) in which the standard partial regression coefficients for trait anxiety, suppression of anxiety, negative life change events, positive life change events, and subjective symptoms were statistically significant (beta = 0.623, 0.133, 0.155, 0.108, and 0.124, respectively; p < 0.05). Psychological distress prior to diagnosis was higher in patients who had high trait anxiety, suppression of anxiety, many life stress events, and subjective symptoms. In particular, trait anxiety had a large impact on psychological distress, underscoring the need for and importance of adequate psychological care.

  3. Perceived distress tolerance accounts for the covariance between discrimination experiences and anxiety symptoms among sexual minority adults.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Reitzel, Lorraine R; Smith, Nathan Grant; Obasi, Ezemenari M; Forney, Margot; Leventhal, Adam M

    2017-05-01

    Sexual orientation-related discrimination experiences have been implicated in elevated rates of anxiety symptoms within sexual minority groups. Theory suggests that chronic discrimination experiences may dampen the ability to tolerate distress, increasing vulnerability for anxiety. This study examined the role of distress tolerance, or the capacity to withstand negative emotions, as a construct underlying associations between discriminatory experiences and anxiety among sexual minority adults. Participants (N=119;M age =36.4±14.8; 50% cisgender male, 31% cisgender female, 19% transgender; 37% non-Latino white) were recruited from Houston, Texas. Measures administered included the Heterosexist Harassment, Rejection, and Discrimination Scale (discrimination experiences), Distress Tolerance Scale (distress tolerance), and the State-Trait Inventory for Cognitive and Somatic Anxiety (anxiety). The association of discrimination experiences and anxiety through distress tolerance was assessed using covariate-adjusted mediation modeling. Results indicated that sexual orientation-related discrimination experiences were significantly and positively associated with anxiety and that this association was mediated through lower distress tolerance. Significant indirect effects were specific to cognitive (versus somatic) anxiety symptoms. Results suggest that distress tolerance may be an explanatory mechanism in the association between discriminatory experiences and cognitive symptoms of anxiety and a potentially relevant target within clinical interventions to address anxiety-related health disparities among sexual minority adults. However, more sophisticated designs are needed to delineate causal associations. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  4. Survey and analysis for impact factors of psychological distress in HIV-infected pregnant women who continue pregnancy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Qin, Shouxue; Tan, Yanping; Lu, Bingyan; Cheng, Yuqing; Nong, Yanli

    2018-05-15

    The objective of this study is to explore the psychological distress of HIV-infected pregnant women who continue pregnancy, and analyze the possible influencing factors. A total of 194 HIV-infected pregnant women who continue pregnancy were enrolled for this study by a convenient sampling method during June 2012-August 2016. Participants completed questionnaires including Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS), Berger HIV Stigma Scale (BHSS), Distress Thermometer (DT) and Problem List (PL), and to determine the cut-off value of DT in the group. The positive detection rate of psychological distress in the HIV-infected pregnant women who continue pregnancy was 69.1%, and the highest frequency of PL was the emotional problems. The positive detection rate of anxiety was 60.8%, the positive detection rate of depression was 54.1%, and the discrimination score was 113.16 ± 19.21. Spearman relevant analysis showed that psychological distress score was positively correlated with anxiety, depression and discrimination score (p HIV-infected pregnant women who continue pregnancy have higher incidence of psychological distress, and the psychological distress is not inferior to cancer patients. The influencing factors are mainly related to the infection and pregnancy characteristics, and have nothing to do with the general social demographic characteristics. The DT can be used as a screening tool to quickly identify psychological distress of the group.

  5. The Perceived Helpfulness of Rendering Emotional First Aid via Email

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gilat, Itzhak; Reshef, Eyal

    2015-01-01

    The present research examined the perceived helpfulness of an increasingly widespread mode of psychological assistance, namely, emotional first aid via email. The sample comprised 62 naturally occurring email interactions between distressful clients and trained volunteers operating within the framework of the Israeli Association for Emotional…

  6. Supporting adolescent emotional health in schools: a mixed methods study of student and staff views in England

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kidger, Judi; Donovan, Jenny L; Biddle, Lucy; Campbell, Rona; Gunnell, David

    2009-01-01

    Background Schools have been identified as an important place in which to support adolescent emotional health, although evidence as to which interventions are effective remains limited. Relatively little is known about student and staff views regarding current school-based emotional health provision and what they would like to see in the future, and this is what this study explored. Methods A random sample of 296 English secondary schools were surveyed to quantify current level of emotional health provision. Qualitative student focus groups (27 groups, 154 students aged 12-14) and staff interviews (12 interviews, 15 individuals) were conducted in eight schools, purposively sampled from the survey respondents to ensure a range of emotional health activity, free school meal eligibility and location. Data were analysed thematically, following a constant comparison approach. Results Emergent themes were grouped into three areas in which participants felt schools did or could intervene: emotional health in the curriculum, support for those in distress, and the physical and psychosocial environment. Little time was spent teaching about emotional health in the curriculum, and most staff and students wanted more. Opportunities to explore emotions in other curriculum subjects were valued. All schools provided some support for students experiencing emotional distress, but the type and quality varied a great deal. Students wanted an increase in school-based help sources that were confidential, available to all and sympathetic, and were concerned that accessing support should not lead to stigma. Finally, staff and students emphasised the need to consider the whole school environment in order to address sources of distress such as bullying and teacher-student relationships, but also to increase activities that enhanced emotional health. Conclusion Staff and students identified several ways in which schools can improve their support of adolescent emotional health, both within

  7. Supporting adolescent emotional health in schools: a mixed methods study of student and staff views in England

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Campbell Rona

    2009-10-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Schools have been identified as an important place in which to support adolescent emotional health, although evidence as to which interventions are effective remains limited. Relatively little is known about student and staff views regarding current school-based emotional health provision and what they would like to see in the future, and this is what this study explored. Methods A random sample of 296 English secondary schools were surveyed to quantify current level of emotional health provision. Qualitative student focus groups (27 groups, 154 students aged 12-14 and staff interviews (12 interviews, 15 individuals were conducted in eight schools, purposively sampled from the survey respondents to ensure a range of emotional health activity, free school meal eligibility and location. Data were analysed thematically, following a constant comparison approach. Results Emergent themes were grouped into three areas in which participants felt schools did or could intervene: emotional health in the curriculum, support for those in distress, and the physical and psychosocial environment. Little time was spent teaching about emotional health in the curriculum, and most staff and students wanted more. Opportunities to explore emotions in other curriculum subjects were valued. All schools provided some support for students experiencing emotional distress, but the type and quality varied a great deal. Students wanted an increase in school-based help sources that were confidential, available to all and sympathetic, and were concerned that accessing support should not lead to stigma. Finally, staff and students emphasised the need to consider the whole school environment in order to address sources of distress such as bullying and teacher-student relationships, but also to increase activities that enhanced emotional health. Conclusion Staff and students identified several ways in which schools can improve their support of adolescent

  8. Supporting adolescent emotional health in schools: a mixed methods study of student and staff views in England.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kidger, Judi; Donovan, Jenny L; Biddle, Lucy; Campbell, Rona; Gunnell, David

    2009-10-31

    Schools have been identified as an important place in which to support adolescent emotional health, although evidence as to which interventions are effective remains limited. Relatively little is known about student and staff views regarding current school-based emotional health provision and what they would like to see in the future, and this is what this study explored. A random sample of 296 English secondary schools were surveyed to quantify current level of emotional health provision. Qualitative student focus groups (27 groups, 154 students aged 12-14) and staff interviews (12 interviews, 15 individuals) were conducted in eight schools, purposively sampled from the survey respondents to ensure a range of emotional health activity, free school meal eligibility and location. Data were analysed thematically, following a constant comparison approach. Emergent themes were grouped into three areas in which participants felt schools did or could intervene: emotional health in the curriculum, support for those in distress, and the physical and psychosocial environment. Little time was spent teaching about emotional health in the curriculum, and most staff and students wanted more. Opportunities to explore emotions in other curriculum subjects were valued. All schools provided some support for students experiencing emotional distress, but the type and quality varied a great deal. Students wanted an increase in school-based help sources that were confidential, available to all and sympathetic, and were concerned that accessing support should not lead to stigma. Finally, staff and students emphasised the need to consider the whole school environment in order to address sources of distress such as bullying and teacher-student relationships, but also to increase activities that enhanced emotional health. Staff and students identified several ways in which schools can improve their support of adolescent emotional health, both within and outside the curriculum. However

  9. Interpersonal reactivity and the attribution of emotional reactions.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Haas, Brian W; Anderson, Ian W; Filkowski, Megan M

    2015-06-01

    The ability to identify the cause of another person's emotional reaction is an important component associated with improved success of social relationships and survival. Although many studies have investigated the mechanisms involved in emotion recognition, very little is currently known regarding the processes involved during emotion attribution decisions. Research on complementary "emotion understanding" mechanisms, including empathy and theory of mind, has demonstrated that emotion understanding decisions are often made through relatively emotion- or cognitive-based processing streams. The current study was designed to investigate the behavioral and brain mechanisms involved in emotion attribution decisions. We predicted that dual processes, emotional and cognitive, are engaged during emotion attribution decisions. Sixteen healthy adults completed the Interpersonal Reactivity Index to characterize individual differences in tendency to make emotion- versus cognitive-based interpersonal decisions. Participants then underwent functional MRI while making emotion attribution decisions. We found neuroimaging evidence that emotion attribution decisions engage a similar brain network as other forms of emotion understanding. Further, we found evidence in support of a dual processes model involved during emotion attribution decisions. Higher scores of personal distress were associated with quicker emotion attribution decisions and increased anterior insula activity. Conversely, higher scores in perspective taking were associated with delayed emotion attribution decisions and increased prefrontal cortex and premotor activity. These findings indicate that the making of emotion attribution decisions relies on dissociable emotional and cognitive processing streams within the brain. (c) 2015 APA, all rights reserved).

  10. The emotional impact of fundamentalist religious participation: an empirical study of intragroup variation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ness, Robert C; Wintrob, Ronald M

    1980-04-01

    The relationship between religious activity within a Pentecostal congregation and the emotional status of the congregants is described. Data derived from a field study conducted in a Newfoundland coastal community. The more frequently people engaged in religious activities, the less likely they were to report symptoms of emotional distress. Significant within-group variation was found in terms of the frequency and type of religious activity.

  11. The mediating sex-specific effect of psychological distress on the relationship between adverse childhood experiences and current smoking among adults.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Strine, Tara W; Edwards, Valerie J; Dube, Shanta R; Wagenfeld, Morton; Dhingra, Satvinder; Prehn, Angela Witt; Rasmussen, Sandra; McKnight-Eily, Lela; Croft, Janet B

    2012-07-13

    Research suggests that ACEs have a long-term impact on the behavioral, emotional, and cognitive development of children. These disruptions can lead to adoption of unhealthy coping behaviors throughout the lifespan. The present study sought to examine psychological distress as a potential mediator of sex-specific associations between adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) and adult smoking. Data from 7,210 Kaiser-Permanente members in San Diego California collected between April and October 1997 were used. Among women, psychological distress mediated a significant portion of the association between ACEs and smoking (21% for emotional abuse, 16% for physical abuse, 15% for physical neglect, 10% for parental separation or divorce). Among men, the associations between ACEs and smoking were not significant. These findings suggest that for women, current smoking cessation strategies may benefit from understanding the potential role of childhood trauma.

  12. Testing a eustress–distress emotion regulation model in British and Spanish front-line employees

    OpenAIRE

    Quinones, C; Rodríguez-Carvajal, R; Griffiths, MD

    2017-01-01

    Studies suggest that suppressing emotions required by occupational roles (i.e., surface acting [SA]) can lead to employees’ emotional exhaustion. In contrast, trying to experience the emotions required by the role (i.e., deep acting [DA]) appears to be a less harmful strategy for the employee. However, problems with 1 of the mainstream measures of DA call for a reexamination of the construct’s operationalization and a clarification of its consequences. Furthermore, an integrated model explain...

  13. Quality of life in pediatric cancer survivors: contributions of parental distress and psychosocial family risk.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Racine, N M; Khu, M; Reynolds, K; Guilcher, G M T; Schulte, F S M

    2018-02-01

    Pediatric survivors of childhood cancer are at increased risk of poor quality of life and social-emotional outcomes following treatment. The relationship between parent psychological distress and child adjustment in pediatric cancer survivors has been well established. However, limited research has examined the factors that may buffer this association. The current study examined the associations between psychosocial family risk factors, parental psychological distress, and health-related quality of life (hrql) in pediatric cancer survivors. Fifty-two pediatric cancer survivors (34 males, 18 females, mean age = 11.92) and their parents were recruited from a long-term cancer survivor clinic. Children and their parents who consented to participate completed the Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory 4.0. Parents completed a demographic information form, the Psychosocial Assessment Tool (pat 2.0) and the Brief Symptom Inventory (bsi). The Intensity of Treatment Rating (itr-3) was evaluated by the research team. Multiple regression analyses revealed that parental psychological distress negatively predicted parent-reported hrql, while treatment intensity, gender, and psychosocial risk negatively predicted parent and child-reported hrql. Psychosocial risk moderated the association between parent psychological distress and parent-reported child hrql ( p = 0.03), whereby parents with high psychological distress but low levels of psychosocial risk reported their children to have higher hrql. Low levels of family psychosocial risk buffer the impact of parent psychological distress on child hrql in pediatric cancer survivors. The findings highlight the importance of identifying parents and families with at-risk psychological distress and psychosocial risk in order to provide targeted support interventions to mitigate the impact on hrql.

  14. Psychological Distress and Drawing Tests among Women with Breast Cancer.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kim, Jiyeon; Youn, Soyoung; Choi, Byeongil; Jung, Kyung Hae; Ahn, Seung Do; Hwang, Sook Yeon; Chung, Seockhoon; Lee, Jaedam

    2018-04-23

    The aim of this study was to evaluate the use of the Diagnostic Drawing Series (DDS) as a screening tool for the breast cancer patients with psychological distress. All of 64 patients with breast cancer participated in this study. Patients' depressive and anxiety symptoms were assessed using Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9) and Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7 (GAD-7) when the DDS was applied to the partipicants. Depressed patients used more enclosure in the Feeling drawings ( P = 0.002) and tilt in Free drawings ( P = 0.048). Patients with anxiety drew a picture over 67% of the paper ( P = 0.015) in Tree drawing and more medium pressure ( P = 0.049) in Feeling drawings. Thirty four subjects (77.3%) of unstable emotion group used over 67% of the space ( P = 0.002). More Landscapes were observed in the Feeling drawings of unstable patients ( P = 0.042). These results suggested that DDS could be used as a supplemental screening tool for psychological distress in breast cancer patients.

  15. The efficacy of problem solving therapy to reduce post stroke emotional distress in younger (18-65) stroke survivors.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chalmers, Charlotte; Leathem, Janet; Bennett, Simon; McNaughton, Harry; Mahawish, Karim

    2017-11-26

    To investigate the efficacy of problem solving therapy for reducing the emotional distress experienced by younger stroke survivors. A non-randomized waitlist controlled design was used to compare outcome measures for the treatment group and a waitlist control group at baseline and post-waitlist/post-therapy. After the waitlist group received problem solving therapy an analysis was completed on the pooled outcome measures at baseline, post-treatment, and three-month follow-up. Changes on outcome measures between baseline and post-treatment (n = 13) were not significantly different between the two groups, treatment (n = 13), and the waitlist control group (n = 16) (between-subject design). The pooled data (n = 28) indicated that receiving problem solving therapy significantly reduced participants levels of depression and anxiety and increased quality of life levels from baseline to follow up (within-subject design), however, methodological limitations, such as the lack of a control group reduce the validity of this finding. The between-subject results suggest that there was no significant difference between those that received problem solving therapy and a waitlist control group between baseline and post-waitlist/post-therapy. The within-subject design suggests that problem solving therapy may be beneficial for younger stroke survivors when they are given some time to learn and implement the skills into their day to day life. However, additional research with a control group is required to investigate this further. This study provides limited evidence for the provision of support groups for younger stroke survivors post stroke, however, it remains unclear about what type of support this should be. Implications for Rehabilitation Problem solving therapy is no more effective for reducing post stroke distress than a wait-list control group. Problem solving therapy may be perceived as helpful and enjoyable by younger stroke survivors. Younger stroke

  16. Effects of early maternal distress and parenting on the development of children's self-regulation and externalizing behavior.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Choe, Daniel Ewon; Olson, Sheryl L; Sameroff, Arnold J

    2013-05-01

    Emotional distress experienced by mothers increases young children's risk of externalizing problems through suboptimal parenting and child self-regulation. An integrative structural equation model tested hypotheses that mothers' parenting (i.e., low levels of inductive discipline and maternal warmth) would mediate adverse effects of early maternal distress on child effortful control, which in turn would mediate effects of maternal parenting on child externalizing behavior. This longitudinal study spanning ages 3, 6, and 10 included 241 children, mothers, and a subset of teachers. The hypothesized model was partially supported. Elevated maternal distress was associated with less inductive discipline and maternal warmth, which in turn were associated with less effortful control at age 3 but not at age 6. Inductive discipline and maternal warmth mediated adverse effects of maternal distress on children's effortful control. Less effortful control at ages 3 and 6 predicted smaller relative decreases in externalizing behavior at 6 and 10, respectively. Effortful control mediated effects of inductive discipline, but not maternal warmth, on externalizing behavior. Findings suggest elevated maternal distress increases children's risk of externalizing problems by compromising early parenting and child self-regulation.

  17. Emotional Distress Following Childbirth: An Intervention to Buffer Depressive and PTSD Symptoms.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Di Blasio, Paola; Miragoli, Sarah; Camisasca, Elena; Di Vita, Angela Maria; Pizzo, Rosalia; Pipitone, Laura

    2015-05-01

    Childbirth for some women is a negative experience associated with depressive and post-traumatic symptoms. The preventive actions focusing on helping mothers to cope with negative emotions experienced after childbirth are strongly recommended. It is also recommended both to intervene early and on all women to avoid the risk that these symptoms can worsen in the months after childbirth. The intervention described in the current study is focalized on the elaboration of post-partum negative thoughts and emotion through a writing task, with the purpose to help new mothers to reflect, understand, evaluate and, thus, reformulate the stressful situation with new beliefs and emotions. 176 women aged from 19 to 43 years (M = 31.55, SD = 4.58) were assessed for depression and PTSD in the prenatal phase (T1). In about 96 hours after childbirth they were randomly assigned to either "Making Sense condition" (MS: in which they wrote about the thoughts and emotions connected with delivery and childbirth) or "Control-Neutral condition" (NC: in which they wrote about the daily events in behavioural terms) and then reassessed for depression and PTSD (T2). A follow up was conducted 3 months later (T3) to verify depression and posttraumatic symptoms. The results showed that depressive symptoms decreased both at 96 hours and at 3 months as a result of making-sense task. Regarding the posttraumatic symptoms the positive effect emerged at three months and not at 96 hours after birth.

  18. Emotional Distress Following Childbirth: An Intervention to Buffer Depressive and PTSD Symptoms

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Paola Di Blasio

    2015-05-01

    Full Text Available Childbirth for some women is a negative experience associated with depressive and post-traumatic symptoms. The preventive actions focusing on helping mothers to cope with negative emotions experienced after childbirth are strongly recommended. It is also recommended both to intervene early and on all women to avoid the risk that these symptoms can worsen in the months after childbirth. The intervention described in the current study is focalized on the elaboration of post-partum negative thoughts and emotion through a writing task, with the purpose to help new mothers to reflect, understand, evaluate and, thus, reformulate the stressful situation with new beliefs and emotions. 176 women aged from 19 to 43 years (M = 31.55, SD = 4.58 were assessed for depression and PTSD in the prenatal phase (T1. In about 96 hours after childbirth they were randomly assigned to either “Making Sense condition” (MS: in which they wrote about the thoughts and emotions connected with delivery and childbirth or “Control-Neutral condition” (NC: in which they wrote about the daily events in behavioural terms and then reassessed for depression and PTSD (T2. A follow up was conducted 3 months later (T3 to verify depression and posttraumatic symptoms. The results showed that depressive symptoms decreased both at 96 hours and at 3 months as a result of making-sense task. Regarding the posttraumatic symptoms the positive effect emerged at three months and not at 96 hours after birth.

  19. [The role of emotional intelligence in addiction disorders].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kun, Bernadette; Demetrovics, Zsolt

    2010-01-01

    Role of emotions in the background of addictions is a long-studied question. Clinical observations and comorbidity studies unambiguously indicate that psychoactive substance use and dependence are related to emotional problems as well. Emotional intelligence is a relatively new concept of the study of managing emotions. On the revelation of this construct's relationship with psychoactive substance use and dependence only a few studies have been carried out so far. Present study systematically reviews articles born between 1990 and October 1, 2010 dealing with the relationship of these two factors. Out of the identified altogether 54 studies, 37 fitted the criteria of analysis. Studies overall indicate that lower levels of emotional intelligence are associated with more intensive drinking, smoking and illicit substance use and also more likely correlate with internet addiction, bulimia, gambling and impulsive buying. According to their results, especially the components called "recognizing emotions" and "regulation of emotions" of emotional intelligence play important roles regarding substance use.

  20. Cancer patients' reluctance to disclose their emotional distress to their physicians: a study of Japanese patients with lung cancer.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Okuyama, Toru; Endo, Chiharu; Seto, Takashi; Kato, Masashi; Seki, Nobuhiko; Akechi, Tatsuo; Furukawa, Toshiaki A; Eguchi, Kenji; Hosaka, Takashi

    2008-05-01

    To explore cancer patients' concerns about emotional disclosure (ED) to their physicians, and to investigate the factors associated with them. Randomly selected ambulatory patients with lung cancer participated in this study. An 18-item questionnaire to assess patients' beliefs regarding ED to their physicians was developed for this study. Factor analysis was used to extract the underlying factors of this scale. Patients were asked to answer this questionnaire along with other self-administered questionnaires. Complete data were available from 104 patients. Four factors were extracted by factor analysis: 'Hesitation to disturb the physicians by ED', 'No perceived need for ED', 'Negative attitude towards ED', and 'Fear of a negative impact of ED'. All factors reached standards of internal consistency. The prevalence of the above concerns, in that order, among the patients was 68, 67, 46, and 20%. Patients with high distress levels were significantly more likely to endorse 'Negative impact' (p=0.02). Older patients were more likely to report 'Negative attitude' (p=0.06), whereas male patients were more likely than females to report 'Hesitation' (p=0.05). Knowledge of such patient-related barriers should better prepare physicians to build good communication channels with their cancer patients. (c) 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  1. Reappraise the situation but express your emotions:Impact of emotion regulation strategies on ad libitum food intake

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Diana eTaut

    2012-09-01

    Full Text Available Research investigating the role of maladaptive emotion regulation on food intake has exclusively focused on food intake in a forced consumption situation. In contrast, the present study examined the effect of negative emotions (fear, negative affect and emotion regulation strategies (suppression, reappraisal on food intake in a non-forced, free eating setting where participants (N = 165 could choose whether and how much they ate. This free (ad libitum eating approach enabled, for the first time, the testing of 1 whether eating (yes/no is used as a secondary emotion regulation strategy and 2 whether the amount of food intake differed, depending on the emotion regulation strategy. In order to produce a more ecologically valid design, emotion regulation strategy manipulation was realized while exposing participants to emotion-induction procedures. To induce an initial negative emotional state, a movie clip was presented without emotion regulation instruction. The instructions to regulate emotions (suppression, reappraisal, no emotion regulation instruction then preceded a second clip. The results show that whereas about two-thirds of the control (no emotion regulation instruction and suppression groups began to eat, only one-third of the reappraisal group did. However, when reappraisers began to eat, they ate as much as participants in the suppression and control groups. Accordingly, the results suggest that when people are confronted with a negative event, eating is used as a secondary coping strategy when the enacted emotion regulation is ineffective. Conversely, an adaptive emotion regulation such as reappraisal decreases the likelihood of eating in the first place, even when emotion regulation is employed during rather than before the unfolding of the negative event. Consequently, the way we deal with negative emotions might be more relevant for explaining emotional eating than the distress itself.

  2. An Emotional Awareness Based Parenting Group for Parents with Mental Illness: A Mixed Methods Feasibility Study of Community Mental Health Nurse Facilitation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Isobel, Sophie; Meehan, Felicity; Pretty, Danielle

    2016-02-01

    There has been limited examination of the use of relationship based structured parenting programs that focus on emotional interactions in the parent-child dyad in families where a parent has a mental illness. There is also a lack of awareness of the practicalities of providing such interventions within adult mental health services. This study explores the process and outcomes of a nurse led emotional awareness based parenting program for adult clients of a mental health service. Participants demonstrated a significant reduction in difficult parenting moments and associated stress and distress as well as promising improvements in overall distress and emotional awareness. Crown Copyright © 2015. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  3. Experiential avoidance as a generalized psychological vulnerability: comparisons with coping and emotion regulation strategies.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kashdan, Todd B; Barrios, Velma; Forsyth, John P; Steger, Michael F

    2006-09-01

    Extending previous work, we conducted two studies concerning the toxic influences of experiential avoidance (EA) as a core mechanism in the development and maintenance of psychological distress, and disruption of pleasant, engaging, and spontaneous activity. Of particular interest was whether EA accounted for relationships between coping and emotion regulation strategies on anxiety-related pathology (Study 1) and psychological distress and hedonic functioning over the course of a 21-day monitoring period (Study 2). In Study 1, EA mediated the effects of maladaptive coping, emotional responses styles, and uncontrollability on anxiety-related distress (e.g., anxiety sensitivity, trait anxiety, suffocation fears, and body sensation fears). In Study 2, EA completely mediated the effects of two emotion regulation strategies (i.e., suppression and reappraisal) on daily negative and positive experiences and was associated with diminished daily positive affective experiences and healthy life appraisals, diminished frequency of positive events and more frequent negative life events, and greater negative affective experiences. The present data show that cognitive reappraisal, a primary process of traditional cognitive-behavior therapy, was much less predictive of the quality of psychological experiences and events in everyday life compared with EA. Further consideration of experiential avoidance as a generalized diathesis and toxic process will be useful in improving our understanding of the etiology, phenomenology, and treatment of anxiety conditions, general human suffering, and disruptions in hedonic capacity.

  4. Neonatal respiratory distress syndrome

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hyaline membrane disease (HMD); Infant respiratory distress syndrome; Respiratory distress syndrome in infants; RDS - infants ... improves slowly after that. Some infants with severe respiratory distress syndrome will die. This most often occurs ...

  5. Empathizing and systemizing (un)justified mediated violence: Psychophysiological indicators of emotional response

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Samson, L.; Potter, R.F.

    2016-01-01

    This article examines individual variability in empathizing and systemizing abilities (Baron-Cohen, 2003, 2009) on emotional responses to mediated violence. It is predicted that these abilities influence feelings of distress and enjoyment while processing violent media and that they interact with

  6. Development and psychometric testing of a new tool for detecting moral distress: the Moral Distress Thermometer.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wocial, Lucia D; Weaver, Michael T

    2013-01-01

    To report the development and psychometric testing of the Moral Distress Thermometer. The Moral Distress Thermometer is a new screening tool to measure moral distress in nurses who practise in the hospital setting. Moral distress occurs when one knows the ethically correct thing to do, but is prevented from acting on that perceived obligation. It is a well documented phenomenon with negative consequences that may be experienced by nurses. Creating an instrument to effectively and efficiently measure moral distress in a timely way has been identified as a priority for nursing. This study used a cross-sectional survey design. Data collection for this research occurred in 2009. Participants simultaneously completed either the adult or pediatric version of the Moral Distress Scale version 2009 and the Moral Distress Thermometer. A total of 529 participants from various clinical areas completed both tools. Coefficients alpha were adequate for both Adult (0·90) and Pediatric (0·92) Moral Distress Scale 2009 scales. Statistically significant Pearson correlations were found for the Moral Distress Thermometer with Adult Moral Distress Scale 2009 and Pediatric Moral Distress Scale 2009 and higher Moral Distress Thermometer, Adult Moral Distress Scale 2009 and Pediatric Moral Distress Scale 2009 means for participants who had left or who considered leaving a position because of moral distress. These findings provide support for the validity of the Moral Distress Thermometer. © 2012 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

  7. Gender differences in 16-year trends in assault- and police-related problems due to drinking.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Timko, Christine; Moos, Bernice S; Moos, Rudolf H

    2009-09-01

    This study examined the frequency and predictors of physical assault and having trouble with the police due to drinking over 16 years among women and men who, at baseline, were untreated for their alcohol use disorder. Predictors examined were the personal characteristics of impulsivity, self-efficacy, and problem-solving and emotional-discharge coping, as well as outpatient treatment and Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) participation. Women and men were similar on rates of perpetrating assault due to drinking, but men were more likely to have had trouble with the police due to drinking. Respondents who, at baseline, were more impulsive and relied more on emotional discharge coping, and less on problem-solving coping, assaulted others more frequently during the first year of follow-up. Similarly, less problem-solving coping at baseline was related to having had trouble with the police more often at one and 16 years due to drinking. The association between impulsivity and more frequent assault was stronger for women, whereas associations of self-efficacy and problem-solving coping with less frequent assault and police trouble were stronger for men. Participation in AA was also associated with a lower likelihood of having trouble with the police at one year, especially for men. Interventions aimed at decreasing impulsivity and emotional discharge coping, and bolstering self-efficacy and problem-solving coping, during substance abuse treatment, and encouragement to become involved in AA, may be helpful in reducing assaultive and other illegal behaviors.

  8. Examining the specific dimensions of distress tolerance that prospectively predict perceived stress.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bardeen, Joseph R; Fergus, Thomas A; Orcutt, Holly K

    2017-04-01

    We examined five dimensions of distress tolerance (i.e. uncertainty, ambiguity, frustration, negative emotion, physical discomfort) as prospective predictors of perceived stress. Undergraduate students (N = 135) completed self-report questionnaires over the course of two assessment sessions (T1 and T2). Results of a linear regression in which the five dimensions of distress tolerance and covariates (i.e. T1 perceived stress, duration between T1 and T2) served as predictor variables and T2 perceived stress served as the outcome variable showed that intolerance of uncertainty was the only dimension of distress tolerance to predict T2 perceived stress. To better understand this prospective association, we conducted a post hoc analysis simultaneously regressing two subdimensions of intolerance of uncertainty on T2 perceived stress. The subdimension representing beliefs that "uncertainty has negative behavioral and self-referent implications" significantly predicted T2 perceived stress, while the subdimension indicating that "uncertainty is unfair and spoils everything" did not. Results support a growing body of research suggesting intolerance of uncertainty as a risk factor for a wide variety of maladaptive psychological outcomes. Clinical implications will be discussed.

  9. Psychological distress among Bam earthquake survivors in Iran: a population-based study

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Garmaroudi Gholamreza

    2005-01-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background An earthquake measuring 6.3 on the Richter scale struck the city of Bam in Iran on the 26th of December 2003 at 5.26 A.M. It was devastating, and left over 40,000 dead and around 30,000 injured. The profound tragedy of thousands killed has caused emotional and psychological trauma for tens of thousands of people who have survived. A study was carried out to assess psychological distress among Bam earthquake survivors and factors associated with severe mental health in those who survived the tragedy. Methods This was a population-based study measuring psychological distress among the survivors of Bam earthquake in Iran. Using a multi-stage stratified sampling method a random sample of individuals aged 15 years and over living in Bam were interviewed. Psychological distress was measured using the 12-item General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-12. Results In all 916 survivors were interviewed. The mean age of the respondents was 32.9 years (SD = 12.4, mostly were males (53%, married (66% and had secondary school education (50%. Forty-one percent reported they lost 3 to 5 members of their family in the earthquake. In addition the findings showed that 58% of the respondents suffered from severe mental health as measured by the GHQ-12 and this was three times higher than reported psychological distress among the general population. There were significant differences between sub-groups of the study sample with regard to their psychological distress. The results of the logistic regression analysis also indicated that female gender; lower education, unemployment, and loss of family members were associated with severe psychological distress among earthquake victims. Conclusion The study findings indicated that the amount of psychological distress among earthquake survivors was high and there is an urgent need to deliver mental health care to disaster victims in local medical settings and to reduce negative health impacts of the earthquake

  10. Psychological distress among Bam earthquake survivors in Iran: a population-based study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Montazeri, Ali; Baradaran, Hamid; Omidvari, Sepideh; Azin, Seyed Ali; Ebadi, Mehdi; Garmaroudi, Gholamreza; Harirchi, Amir Mahmood; Shariati, Mohammad

    2005-01-11

    An earthquake measuring 6.3 on the Richter scale struck the city of Bam in Iran on the 26th of December 2003 at 5.26 A.M. It was devastating, and left over 40,000 dead and around 30,000 injured. The profound tragedy of thousands killed has caused emotional and psychological trauma for tens of thousands of people who have survived. A study was carried out to assess psychological distress among Bam earthquake survivors and factors associated with severe mental health in those who survived the tragedy. This was a population-based study measuring psychological distress among the survivors of Bam earthquake in Iran. Using a multi-stage stratified sampling method a random sample of individuals aged 15 years and over living in Bam were interviewed. Psychological distress was measured using the 12-item General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-12). In all 916 survivors were interviewed. The mean age of the respondents was 32.9 years (SD = 12.4), mostly were males (53%), married (66%) and had secondary school education (50%). Forty-one percent reported they lost 3 to 5 members of their family in the earthquake. In addition the findings showed that 58% of the respondents suffered from severe mental health as measured by the GHQ-12 and this was three times higher than reported psychological distress among the general population. There were significant differences between sub-groups of the study sample with regard to their psychological distress. The results of the logistic regression analysis also indicated that female gender; lower education, unemployment, and loss of family members were associated with severe psychological distress among earthquake victims. The study findings indicated that the amount of psychological distress among earthquake survivors was high and there is an urgent need to deliver mental health care to disaster victims in local medical settings and to reduce negative health impacts of the earthquake adequate psychological counseling is needed for those who

  11. The mediating sex-specific effect of psychological distress on the relationship between adverse childhood experiences and current smoking among adults

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Strine Tara W

    2012-07-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Research suggests that ACEs have a long-term impact on the behavioral, emotional, and cognitive development of children. These disruptions can lead to adoption of unhealthy coping behaviors throughout the lifespan. The present study sought to examine psychological distress as a potential mediator of sex-specific associations between adverse childhood experiences (ACEs and adult smoking. Method Data from 7,210 Kaiser-Permanente members in San Diego California collected between April and October 1997 were used. Results Among women, psychological distress mediated a significant portion of the association between ACEs and smoking (21% for emotional abuse, 16% for physical abuse, 15% for physical neglect, 10% for parental separation or divorce. Among men, the associations between ACEs and smoking were not significant. Conclusions These findings suggest that for women, current smoking cessation strategies may benefit from understanding the potential role of childhood trauma.

  12. Effectiveness of psycho-educational interventions with telecommunication technologies on emotional distress and quality of life of adult cancer patients: a systematic review.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bártolo, Ana; Pacheco, Emelda; Rodrigues, Fabiana; Pereira, Anabela; Monteiro, Sara; Santos, Isabel M

    2017-12-07

    To provide a comprehensive review of psycho-educational interventions using telecommunication technologies developed for adult cancer patients, assessing their effectiveness in reducing emotional distress and improving quality of life (QoL). A narrative approach was used for extraction and synthesis of the data. Relevant studies were identified through the electronic databases PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, ProQuest, Psychology & Behavioral Sciences Collection (through EBSCOhost), and CENTRAL. Eight studies involving 1016 participants met inclusion criteria. The majority of the studies included (n = 6) used a randomized design and were published between 2007 and 2016. Interventions used a variety of delivery resources, such as telephone, e-mail and websites, but all were aiming to respond to information needs and develop stress control skills. A trend toward reducing distress and improving QoL was found, but estimated effect sizes were typically small (d educational interventions presented the highest between-group effects on these outcomes during survival, but were limited by sample size. The efficacy of interventions using distance approaches in the cancer setting is still not well-established. Further research should be conducted through well-designed studies with more interactive features that minimize the lack of face-to-face interaction. Implications for rehabilitation Rehabilitation professionals working in the field of oncology should invest in the development of psycho-educational interventions responding the patients' educational needs and promoting their stress control skills. Programs using telecommunications technologies may reduce disparities in service delivery within this setting, minimizing geographic and socio-economic barriers to engagement in the interventions. With the current technological development, it is possible to perform more interactive interventions that stimulate therapist-patient interactions. However, available protocols in

  13. The premarital communication roots of marital distress and divorce: the first five years of marriage.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Markman, Howard J; Rhoades, Galena K; Stanley, Scott M; Ragan, Erica P; Whitton, Sarah W

    2010-06-01

    Using data from 210 couples who provided data across the first 5 years of marriage, we examined how premarital communication quality was related to divorce and later distress. The results showed that premarital observed negative and positive communication nearly reached significance as predictors of divorce, while self-reported negative communication was significantly associated with divorce. In terms of marital adjustment, we found that both premarital observed and self-reported negative premarital communication (but not observed positive communication) were associated with lower adjustment during the first 5 years of marriage. The most important questions addressed in this study pertain to how positive and negative dimensions of communication change over time and how these changes are related to being distressed or nondistressed after 5 years of marriage. This is the first study, to our knowledge, to examine the changes in communication over time that are so central to theories of the development of marital distress and for research-based interventions. We found that all couples showed decreases in negative communication over time, but the nondistressed group declined significantly more than the distressed group in negative communication, suggesting they are handling negative emotions better. Implications for future research on the development of relationship distress and for enhancing research-based couples' intervention programs are provided. (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved.

  14. Older persons' worries expressed during home care visits: exploring the content of cues and concerns identified by the Verona coding definitions of emotional sequences.

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Hafskjold, L.; Eide, T.; Holmström, I.K.; Sundling, V.; Dulmen, S. van; Eide, H.

    2016-01-01

    Objective: Little is known about how older persons in home care express their concerns. Emotional cues and concerns can be identified by the Verona coding definitions of emotional sequences (VR-CoDES), but the method gives no insight into what causes the distress and the emotions involved. The aims

  15. Quality of life and emotional state in chronic skin disease.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pärna, Ene; Aluoja, Anu; Kingo, Külli

    2015-03-01

    The aim of this study was to evaluate the associations between chronic inflammatory skin conditions and patients' emotional state and quality of life. The following self-rated questionnaires were used: Emotional State Questionnaire, a self-report scale assessing depression and anxiety symptoms; Dermatology Life Quality Index (DLQI); and RAND-36, a measure of health-related quality of life. The study group comprised 40 patients with psoriasis, 40 with eczema, 40 with acne, 15 with seborrhoeic dermatitis and 40 healthy controls. Patients with chronic skin diseases had lower DLQI and lower RAND-36 physical functioning scores, more perceived physical limitations and pain, and lower emotional well-being and general health ratings compared with the control group. In conclusion, chronic skin diseases are associated with symptoms of emotional distress, in particular insomnia and general anxiety.

  16. The Power of an Infant's Smile: Maternal Physiological Responses to Infant Emotional Expressions.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sanae Mizugaki

    Full Text Available Infant emotional expressions, such as distress cries, evoke maternal physiological reactions. Most of which involve accelerated sympathetic nervous activity. Comparatively little is known about effects of positive infant expressions, such as happy smiles, on maternal physiological responses. This study investigated how physiological and psychological maternal states change in response to infants' emotional expressions. Thirty first-time mothers viewed films of their own 6- to 7-month-old infants' affective behavior. Each observed a video of a distress cry followed by a video showing one of two expressions (randomly assigned: a happy smiling face (smile condition or a calm neutral face (neutral condition. Both before and after the session, participants completed a self-report inventory assessing their emotional states. The results of the self-report inventory revealed no effects of exposure to the infant videos. However, the mothers in the smile condition, but not in the neutral condition, showed deceleration of skin conductance. These findings demonstrate that the mothers who observed their infants smiling showed decreased sympathetic activity. We propose that an infant's positive emotional expression may affect the branch of the maternal stress-response system that modulates the homeostatic balance of the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems.

  17. Pills and pints: risky drinking and alcohol-related harms among regular ecstasy users in Australia.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kinner, Stuart A; George, Jessica; Johnston, Jennifer; Dunn, Matthew; Degenhardt, Louisa

    2012-05-01

    A significant proportion of young Australians engage in risky alcohol consumption, and an increasing minority are regular ecstasy (3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine) users. Risky alcohol use, alone or in combination with ecstasy, is associated with a range of acute and chronic health risks. The aim of this study was to document the incidence and some health-related correlates of alcohol use, and concurrent alcohol and ecstasy use, among a large, national sample of regular ecstasy users (REU) in Australia. National, cross-sectional surveys of REU in Australia 2003-2008. Among REU in 2008 (n=678) usual alcohol use, psychological distress and health-related quality of life were measured using the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test, Kessler Psychological Distress Scale and Short Form-8 Survey respectively. Among REU in 2008, 36% reported high-risk patterns of usual alcohol consumption, 62% reported usually consuming more than five standard drinks with ecstasy, and 24% reported currently experiencing high or very high levels of psychological distress. Controlling for age and education, high-risk drinking among REU was associated with higher levels of psychological distress and poorer health-related functioning; however, the associations between concurrent alcohol and ecstasy use, and health outcomes, were not significant (P>0.05). A large and increasing proportion of REU in Australia engage in high-risk patterns of alcohol consumption, including in combination with ecstasy. High-risk alcohol consumption among this group is associated with adverse health-related outcomes. Prevention and harm reduction interventions for REU should incorporate messages about the risks associated with alcohol use. There is an ongoing need for youth-specific, coordinated alcohol and other drug and mental health services. © 2011 Australasian Professional Society on Alcohol and other Drugs.

  18. Emotional suppression in torture survivors: Relationship to posttraumatic stress symptoms and trauma-related negative affect.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nickerson, Angela; Garber, Benjamin; Ahmed, Ola; Asnaani, Anu; Cheung, Jessica; Hofmann, Stefan G; Huynh, Ly; Liddell, Belinda; Litz, Brett T; Pajak, Rosanna; Bryant, Richard A

    2016-08-30

    While clinical reports suggest that torture survivors may try to suppress their emotions during torture, little is known about the use of emotional suppression following torture. In this study, 82 refugees and asylum-seekers (including 33 torture survivors) completed self-report measures of trait suppression, PTSD symptoms and baseline negative affect before being exposed to images depicting scenes of interpersonal trauma. The use of suppression while viewing the images was indexed and negative affect was measured both immediately after viewing the images and following a five minute rest period. Findings indicated that torture survivors did not show higher rates of trait suppression or state emotional suppression during the experimental session compared to non-torture survivors. However, torture survivors who endorsed state suppression higher levels of distress, and this relationship was especially strong for those with more severe PTSD symptoms. In contrast, there was a negative relationship between state suppression and distress for non-torture survivors with high levels of PTSD symptoms. These findings suggest that, while torture exposure does not lead to greater use of suppression, it does influence the impact of suppression on emotional responses to stimuli. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

  19. The Perceived Invalidation of Emotion Scale (PIES): Development and psychometric properties of a novel measure of current emotion invalidation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zielinski, Melissa J; Veilleux, Jennifer C

    2018-05-24

    Emotion invalidation is theoretically and empirically associated with mental and physical health problems. However, existing measures of invalidation focus on past (e.g., childhood) invalidation and/or do not specifically emphasize invalidation of emotion. In this article, the authors articulate a clarified operational definition of emotion invalidation and use that definition as the foundation for development of a new measure of current perceived emotion invalidation across a series of five studies. Study 1 was a qualitative investigation of people's experiences with emotional invalidation from which we generated items. An initial item pool was vetted by expert reviewers in Study 2 and examined via exploratory factor analysis in Study 3 within both college student and online samples. The scale was reduced to 10 items via confirmatory factor analysis in Study 4, resulting in a brief but psychometrically promising measure, the Perceived Invalidation of Emotion Scale (PIES). A short-term longitudinal investigation (Study 5) revealed that PIES scores had strong test-retest reliability, and that greater perceived emotion invalidation was associated with greater emotion dysregulation, borderline features and symptoms of emotional distress. In addition, the PIES predicted changes in relational health and psychological health over a 1-month period. The current set of studies thus presents a psychometrically promising and practical measure of perceived emotion invalidation that can provide a foundation for future research in this burgeoning area. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2018 APA, all rights reserved).

  20. Emotion regulation in bereavement: searching for and finding emotional support in social network sites

    Science.gov (United States)

    Döveling, Katrin

    2015-04-01

    In an age of rising impact of online communication in social network sites (SNS), emotional interaction is neither limited nor restricted by time or space. Bereavement extends to the anonymity of cyberspace. What role does virtual interaction play in SNS in dealing with the basic human emotion of grief caused by the loss of a beloved person? The analysis laid out in this article provides answers in light of an interdisciplinary perspective on online bereavement. Relevant lines of research are scrutinized. After laying out the theoretical spectrum for the study, hypotheses based on a prior in-depth qualitative content analysis of 179 postings in three different German online bereavement platforms are proposed and scrutinized in a quantitative content analysis (2127 postings from 318 users). Emotion regulation patterns in SNS and similarities as well as differences in online bereavement of children, adolescents and adults are revealed. Large-scale quantitative findings into central motives, patterns, and restorative effects of online shared bereavement in regulating distress, fostering personal empowerment, and engendering meaning are presented. The article closes with implications for further analysis in memorialization practices.