Health Psychology special series on health disparities

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Kazak, A.E.; Bosch, J.; Klonoff, E.A.

2012-01-01

With the initiation of this new ongoing special series in Health Psychology on health disparities, we will publish articles that highlight ways in which health psychology can contribute to understanding and ameliorating these disparities. We welcome articles for this new special series and

Psychology and health after apartheid: Or, Why there is no health psychology in South Africa.

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Yen, Jeffery

2016-05-01

As part of a growing literature on the histories of psychology in the Global South, this article outlines some historical developments in South African psychologists' engagement with the problem of "health." Alongside movements to formalize and professionalize a U.S.-style "health psychology" in the 1990s, there arose a parallel, eclectic, and more or less critical psychology that contested the meaning and determinants of health, transgressed disciplinary boundaries, and opposed the responsibilization of illness implicit in much health psychological theorizing and neoliberal discourse. This disciplinary bifurcation characterized South African work well into the postapartheid era, but ideological distinctions have receded in recent years under a new regime of knowledge production in thrall to the demands of the global market. The article outlines some of the historical-political roots of key trends in psychologists' work on health in South Africa, examining the conditions that have impinged on its directions and priorities. It raises questions about the future trajectories of psychological research on health after 20 years of democracy, and argues that there currently is no "health psychology" in South Africa, and that the discipline is the better for it. (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved).

Diet and psychological health.

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Miller, M

1996-09-01

This article reviews research that suggests a relationship between diet and psychological symptoms. Mind-body dualism (as it relates to clinical practice) and the limited role of nutrition in mainstream biomedical training and treatment are discussed as background issues. Two areas of inquiry that have generated relevant research findings in this area are reviewed: (1) orthomolecular theory and vitamin deficiencies, and (2) clinical ecology/environmental medicine theory and the impact of "food allergies." Although clinical case reports and promising research findings have been reported, the impact of diet on psychological health is neither widely accepted nor integrated into mental health treatment methods. Ongoing research findings in brain biochemistry and psychoneuroimmunology point to communication pathways that can provide a clearer understanding of the links between nutritional intake, central nervous system and immune function, and psychological health status. These findings may lead to greater acceptance of dietary treatment approaches among health practitioners addressing psychological disorders.

Exploring causes and consequences of sex workers' psychological health: Implications for health care policy. A study conducted in Spain.

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Picos, Andrés Palacios; González, Ruth Pinedo; de la Iglesia Gutiérrez, Myriam

2018-03-22

The aim of the researchers is to explore the causes and consequences of the psychological health of sex workers as well as provide an intervention model for the prevention of mental disorders in accordance with World Health Organization (WHO) levels. The study sample consisted of 146 sex workers from Spain. Loneliness and maltreatment have a negative influence on psychological health, while self-esteem has a protector role over psychological health. Psychological health has a positive impact on perceived quality of life and other health domains. On the contrary, psychological health has a negative impact on drug use and symptoms of anxiety. Data are discussed.

Effects of exercise dependence on psychological health of Chinese college students.

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Li, Menglong; Nie, Jingsong; Ren, Yujia

2015-12-01

The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of exercise dependence on the psychological health of Chinese college students. A total of 1601 college students from three universities in Hunan, China, were selected as research subjects. Several measurement scales, including the Exercise Addiction Inventory, the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory, the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale, and the Subjective Well-being Scale, were used to survey the psychological health problem of these students and to analyze the effects of exercise dependence on their psychological health. Exercise dependence, based on the structural equation model analysis, can positively influence state anxiety (Pexercise dependence negatively influences students' self-satisfaction (PExercise dependence adversely affects the psychological health of college students. Further research using multi-dimensional exercise addiction scales should be conducted to identify all the negative effects of exercise addiction factors on psychological health.

Perseverative Cognitions and Stress Exposure: Comparing Relationships With Psychological Health Across a Diverse Adult Sample.

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Zawadzki, Matthew J; Sliwinski, Martin J; Smyth, Joshua M

2018-03-29

Both exposure to stress and perseverative cognitions (PCs)-repetitive cognitive representations of real or imagined stressors-are linked with poor psychological health. Yet, stress exposure and PCs are correlated, thus potentially obscuring any unique effects. The purpose of this paper is to concurrently test associations between stress exposure and PCs and psychological health to examine the independent relationship of each with psychological health. Moreover, we examined whether these relationships are similar across sex, age, and race. An adult community sample (n = 302) completed a measure of stress exposure, three PCs scales, and questionnaires assessing self-reported psychological health, including emotional well-being, vitality, social functioning, role limitations due to personal problems, subjective well-being, depressive symptoms, and poor sleep quality. Structural equation modeling was used to test a model in which both stress exposure and PCs predict psychological health. PCs consistently predicted all the psychological health outcomes, but stress was largely unrelated to the outcomes despite bivariate correlations suggesting a relationship. A follow-up model identified indirect effects of stress exposure on psychological health via PCs. Results were fairly consistent regardless of one's sex, age, or race. PCs robustly predicted all of the psychological health outcomes, intimating PCs as a common pathway to poor psychological health. Results have implications for stress interventions, including the need to address PCs after experiencing stress.

Health Care "as Usual": The Insertion of Positive Psychology in Canadian Mental Health Discourse

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Jhangiani, Surita Jassal; Vadeboncoeur, Jennifer A.

2010-01-01

The recent shift to a "positive psychological" approach that emphasizes a "health model," rather than a "disease model," in mental health discourses is intended both to reduce the stigma around mental health issues and to enable people to play a role in monitoring their own mental health. As a component of a larger…

Models of psychological service provision under Australia's Better Outcomes in Mental Health Care program.

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Pirkis, Jane; Burgess, Philip; Kohn, Fay; Morley, Belinda; Blashki, Grant; Naccarella, Lucio

2006-08-01

The Access to Allied Psychological Services component of Australia's Better Outcomes in Mental Health Care program enables eligible general practitioners to refer consumers to allied health professionals for affordable, evidence-based mental health care, via 108 projects conducted by Divisions of General Practice. The current study profiled the models of service delivery across these projects, and examined whether particular models were associated with differential levels of access to services. We found: 76% of projects were retaining their allied health professionals under contract, 28% via direct employment, and 7% some other way; Allied health professionals were providing services from GPs' rooms in 63% of projects, from their own rooms in 63%, from a third location in 42%; and The referral mechanism of choice was direct referral in 51% of projects, a voucher system in 27%, a brokerage system in 24%, and a register system in 25%. Many of these models were being used in combination. No model was predictive of differential levels of access, suggesting that the approach of adapting models to the local context is proving successful.

Psychological Empowerment Model in Iranian Pregnant Women

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Ali Taghipour

2016-10-01

Full Text Available Background: Women’s empowerment programs during pregnancy focus primarily on increasing women’s health goals and psychological empowerment has been considered important in most issues related to pregnant mothers’ mental health. Using path analysis, this study aims to examine the direct and indirect components of psychological empowerment of pregnant mothers. Methods: This model-testing study was conducted in Gorgan, northwest of Iran during three months in spring of 2015. Through random cluster sampling, a total number of 160 pregnant women were selected from 10 urban medical centers and clinics as primary centers. We used Spritzer’s Psychological empowerment scale. Suitable sampling based on Nunally and Bernstein was followed in the model. The relationships between the dependent variables were then examined by means of path analysis using Amos 18. Results: The psychological empowerment of pregnant mothers (PEPW model is impacted by individual factors, such as marriage age and employment, including some subjectively rated factors such as marital satisfaction and experience of violence. The PEPW model was deemed appropriate as optimum conditions indicators of goodness of fit; low index of χ2/df shows little difference between the conceptual model and observed data, while RMSEA value indicated the goodness of fit. Other indicators such as CMIN=0.957, CMIN/DF=0.957, P-CLOSE=0.418, χ2=0.957 and probability level=0.328 the fact that the model is ideal. The mothers’ employment had the highest coefficient in the PEPW path model .731 (0.443, 0.965 bootstrap confidence intervals by 95%, and with a p-value of less than 0.05. Conclusions: The mothers’ employment is the most important factor in psychological empowerment, but it cannot be addressed quickly. Programming to increase marital satisfaction followed by a decrease in family violence and prevention of early marriage are necessary for promotion of psychological empowerment during

Start making sense: Art informing health psychology.

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Kaptein, Ad A; Hughes, Brian M; Murray, Michael; Smyth, Joshua M

2018-01-01

Growing evidence suggests that the arts may be useful in health care and in the training of health care professionals. Four art genres - novels, films, paintings and music - are examined for their potential contribution to enhancing patient health and/or making better health care providers. Based on a narrative literature review, we examine the effects of passive (e.g. reading, watching, viewing and listening) and active (e.g. writing, producing, painting and performing) exposure to the four art genres, by both patients and health care providers. Overall, an emerging body of empirical evidence indicates positive effects on psychological and physiological outcome measures in patients and some benefits to medical training. Expressive writing/emotional disclosure, psychoneuroimmunology, Theory of Mind and the Common Sense Model of Self-Regulation are considered as possible theoretical frameworks to help incorporate art genres as sources of inspiration for the further development of health psychology research and clinical applications.

Start making sense: Art informing health psychology

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Hughes, Brian M; Murray, Michael; Smyth, Joshua M

2018-01-01

Growing evidence suggests that the arts may be useful in health care and in the training of health care professionals. Four art genres – novels, films, paintings and music – are examined for their potential contribution to enhancing patient health and/or making better health care providers. Based on a narrative literature review, we examine the effects of passive (e.g. reading, watching, viewing and listening) and active (e.g. writing, producing, painting and performing) exposure to the four art genres, by both patients and health care providers. Overall, an emerging body of empirical evidence indicates positive effects on psychological and physiological outcome measures in patients and some benefits to medical training. Expressive writing/emotional disclosure, psychoneuroimmunology, Theory of Mind and the Common Sense Model of Self-Regulation are considered as possible theoretical frameworks to help incorporate art genres as sources of inspiration for the further development of health psychology research and clinical applications. PMID:29552350

Social history of health psychology: context and textbooks.

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Murray, Michael

2014-01-01

Health psychology as a field of research and practice formally developed 30 years ago but it was prefigured by sustained debate within social and applied psychology about the nature of psychology and its role in society. This article considers this pre-history of health psychology and how the field has subsequently developed. It considers how its character is shaped by dominant ideas within psychology and is also enmeshed in broader social relations. To illustrate the changing character of health psychology it considers how the field is represented in a selection of popular textbooks. It concludes by considering the growth of some critical approaches within health psychology.

Possible Selves and Self-Regulatory Beliefs: Exploring the Relationship Between Health Selves, Health Efficacy, and Psychological Well-Being.

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Dark-Freudeman, Alissa; West, Robin L

2016-03-01

The present study identified middle-aged (ages 40-64) and older individuals (ages 65-90) who reported a highly important possible self related to health. The relationship between age, physical health, health efficacy, and psychological well-being were examined among these individuals. We tested a model in which health efficacy predicted both positive and negative psychological well-being. For both age groups, self-reported health predicted health self-efficacy; however, the direct effects of health efficacy on both positive and negative psychological well-being were also significant. Higher levels of health efficacy were associated with higher levels of positive psychological well-being and lower levels of negative well-being, as predicted. Physical health indirectly predicted well-being through its impact on health self-efficacy for middle-aged and older individuals who valued their health highly. Overall, these results support the notion that health efficacy related to a most important health self is a predictor of psychological well-being in mid and late life. © The Author(s) 2016.

Exposure to firearm: impact on psychological health in central India

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S Saxena

2013-12-01

Full Text Available Background: The issue of firearm exposure is one of the widespread prevailing problems in today’s world but at the same time it is least talked about. Its psychological effects vary from person to person and the degree of consequences has many variables to measure. The firearm exposure not only implies to an individual but also the whole gambit of social structures around him. Methods: A cross-section study on 505 subjects of the age group 20-45 years from central India was done, where routine social order depends upon massive armament of the citizen. We studied the relationship between socio-demographic variables and firearm exposure with variables of psychological domain of the WHOQOL-BREF. Multivariate logistic regression model was constructed to find the correlates among them. The objectives of the study were to study the attributes of socio demographic variables, which affects psychological health and exposure to firearms in the study population and to see the impact of exposure to firearms on psychological health. Results: Higher education is associated positively with psychological health. The desire to have a gun (OR=1.988, CI 1.306-3.024, p-value <.005 is showing a significant association with low psychological domain score of QOL. Being married (OR=.556, CI .344-.901, p-value <.005 and not Living in a joint family (OR=.581, CI .379-.891, p-value <.005 is associated with poor psychological health. Conclusions: Higher education is the best predictor for good psychological health. Semiskilled workers (farmers and laborers should be prioritized as high risk groups for adverse life situations. Firearm exposures have a significant impact on psychological health. So, policies directed at rural population should target at specific needs of community. 

Exposure to firearm: impact on psychological health in central India

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

S Saxena

2013-12-01

Full Text Available Background: The issue of firearm exposure is one of the widespread prevailing problems in today’s world but at the same time it is least talked about. Its psychological effects vary from person to person and the degree of consequences has many variables to measure. The firearm exposure not only implies to an individual but also the whole gambit of social structures around him. Methods: A cross-section study on 505 subjects of the age group 20-45 years from central India was done, where routine social order depends upon massive armament of the citizen. We studied the relationship between socio-demographic variables and firearm exposure with variables of psychological domain of the WHOQOL-BREF. Multivariate logistic regression model was constructed to find the correlates among them. The objectives of the study were to study the attributes of socio demographic variables, which affects psychological health and exposure to firearms in the study population and to see the impact of exposure to firearms on psychological health. Results: Higher education is associated positively with psychological health. The desire to have a gun (OR=1.988, CI 1.306-3.024, p-value <.005 is showing a significant association with low psychological domain score of QOL. Being married (OR=.556, CI .344-.901, p-value <.005 and not Living in a joint family (OR=.581, CI .379-.891, p-value <.005 is associated with poor psychological health. Conclusions: Higher education is the best predictor for good psychological health. Semiskilled workers (farmers and laborers should be prioritized as high risk groups for adverse life situations. Firearm exposures have a significant impact on psychological health. So, policies directed at rural population should target at specific needs of community.  

[The state of the psychological contract and its relation with employees' psychological health].

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Gracia, Francisco Javier; Silla, Inmaculada; Peiró, José María; Fortes-Ferreira, Lina

2006-05-01

In the present paper the role of the state of the psychological contract to predict psychological health results is studied in a sample of 385 employees of different Spanish companies. Results indicate that the state of the psychological contract significantly predicts life satisfaction, work-family conflict and well-being beyond the prediction produced by the content of the psychological contract. In addition, trust and fairness, two dimensions of the state of psychological contract, all together contribute to explain these psychological health variables adding value to the role as predictor of fulfillment of the psychological contract. The results support the approach argued by Guest and colleagues.

Narrative health psychology: Once more unto the breach: editorial

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Sools, Anna Maria; Murray, Michael; Westerhof, Gerben Johan

2015-01-01

In this editorial, we position narrative health psychology as a variety of narrative psychology, a form of qualitative research in health psychology, and a psychological perspective that falls under the interdisciplinary term narrative health research. The aim of this positioning is to explore what

The Role of Parental and Peer Attachment in the Psychological Health and Self-Esteem of Adolescents.

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Wilkinson, Ross B.

2004-01-01

This paper presents the results of 3 studies examining the relationships of parental attachment, peer attachment, and self-esteem to adolescent psychological health. A model is presented in which parental attachment directly influences both psychological health and self-esteem and the influence of peer attachment on psychological health is totally…

An introduction to Bayesian statistics in health psychology.

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Depaoli, Sarah; Rus, Holly M; Clifton, James P; van de Schoot, Rens; Tiemensma, Jitske

2017-09-01

The aim of the current article is to provide a brief introduction to Bayesian statistics within the field of health psychology. Bayesian methods are increasing in prevalence in applied fields, and they have been shown in simulation research to improve the estimation accuracy of structural equation models, latent growth curve (and mixture) models, and hierarchical linear models. Likewise, Bayesian methods can be used with small sample sizes since they do not rely on large sample theory. In this article, we discuss several important components of Bayesian statistics as they relate to health-based inquiries. We discuss the incorporation and impact of prior knowledge into the estimation process and the different components of the analysis that should be reported in an article. We present an example implementing Bayesian estimation in the context of blood pressure changes after participants experienced an acute stressor. We conclude with final thoughts on the implementation of Bayesian statistics in health psychology, including suggestions for reviewing Bayesian manuscripts and grant proposals. We have also included an extensive amount of online supplementary material to complement the content presented here, including Bayesian examples using many different software programmes and an extensive sensitivity analysis examining the impact of priors.

The impact of illness-related shame on psychological health and social relationships: Testing a mediational model in students with chronic illness.

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Trindade, Inês A; Duarte, Joana; Ferreira, Cláudia; Coutinho, Mariana; Pinto-Gouveia, José

2018-01-26

This study explores the impact of illness-related shame on the quality of social relationships and psychological health in chronic patients. We aimed to examine the roles of fear of receiving compassion from others and experiential avoidance as potential mediators of this relationship. Although some studies have demonstrated the negative impact of chronic illness-related shame on psychological functioning, the mechanisms that may underlie this link remain understudied. The sample was comprised by 115 college students, which had been diagnosed with at least 1 chronic illness. Participants completed self-report measures on an online platform. This study's design was cross-sectional. A path analysis was conducted using structural equation modelling. Results showed that the impact of illness-related shame on both psychological health (R 2  = .45) and the quality of social relationships (R 2  = .33) was fully accounted by fear of compassion from others and experiential avoidance. This model revealed an excellent fit. Fear of receiving compassion from others was the main mediator of the illness-related shame link with the quality of social relationships (β = -.22). The main mediator of the association between shame-related chronic illness and psychological health was experiential avoidance (β = -.21).This study shed light on possible psychological mechanisms linking feelings of shame associated with having a chronic condition and impaired social relationships and mental health. On one hand, resisting feelings of compassion and care from others and, on the other hand, avoiding difficult internal experiences and situations that might trigger them seem to underlie the impact of shame on psychological and social functioning in chronic patients. Copyright © 2018 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Applying discursive approaches to health psychology.

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Seymour-Smith, Sarah

2015-04-01

The aim of this paper is to outline the contribution of two strands of discursive research, glossed as 'macro' and 'micro,' to the field of health psychology. A further goal is to highlight some contemporary debates in methodology associated with the use of interview data versus more naturalistic data in qualitative health research. Discursive approaches provide a way of analyzing talk as a social practice that considers how descriptions are put together and what actions they achieve. A selection of recent examples of discursive research from one applied area of health psychology, studies of diet and obesity, are drawn upon in order to illustrate the specifics of both strands. 'Macro' discourse work in psychology incorporates a Foucauldian focus on the way that discourses regulate subjectivities, whereas the concept of interpretative repertoires affords more agency to the individual: both are useful for identifying the cultural context of talk. Both 'macro' and 'micro' strands focus on accountability to varying degrees. 'Micro' Discursive Psychology, however, pays closer attention to the sequential organization of constructions and focuses on naturalistic settings that allow for the inclusion of an analysis of the health professional. Diets are typically depicted as an individual responsibility in mainstream health psychology, but discursive research highlights how discourses are collectively produced and bound up with social practices. (c) 2015 APA, all rights reserved).

Establishing evidence-informed core intervention competencies in psychological first aid for public health personnel.

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Parker, Cindy L; Everly, George S; Barnett, Daniel J; Links, Jonathan M

2006-01-01

A full-scale public health response to disasters must attend to both the physical and mental health needs of affected communities. Public health preparedness efforts can be greatly expanded to address the latter set of needs, particularly in light of the high ratio of psychological to physical casualties that often rapidly overwhelms existing mental health response resources in a large-scale emergency. Psychological first aid--the provision of basic psychological care in the short term aftermath of a traumatic event--is a mental health response skill set that public health personnel can readily acquire with proper training. The application of psychological first aid by public health workers can significantly augment front-line community-based mental health responses during the crisis phase of an event. To help achieve this augmented response, we have developed a set of psychological first aid intervention competencies for public health personnel. These competencies, empirically grounded and based on best practice models and consensus statements from leading mental health organizations, represent a necessary step for developing a public health workforce that can better respond to the psychological needs of impacted populations in disasters.

Health psychology in autobiography: Three Canadian critical narratives.

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Stam, Henderikus J; Murray, Michael; Lubek, Ian

2018-03-01

Three Canadian colleagues in health psychology recount their careers in a field of research and practice whose birth they witnessed and whose developments they have critiqued. By placing the development of health psychology in Canada in a context that is both institutional and personal, Stam, Murray, and Lubek raise a series of questions about health psychology and its propagation. While uniquely Canadian their professional careers were affected by international colleagues as well as others-patients and community members-whose views shaped their perspectives. This article is a plea for the continuing development of critical voices in health psychology.

Psychosocial work conditions, unemployment and self-reported psychological health: a population-based study.

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Lindström, Martin

2005-10-01

To investigate the association between psychosocial conditions at work, unemployment and self-reported psychological health. A cross-sectional postal questionnaire for the 2000 public health survey in Scania was administered to both working and unemployed people aged 18-64 years. Logistic regression models were used to investigate the association between psychosocial factors at work/unemployment and self-reported psychological health (General Health Questionnaire 12). Psychosocial conditions at work were classified according to the Karasek-Theorell demand-control/decision latitudes into relaxed, active, passive and job strain. The multivariate analyses included age, country of origin, education, economic stress and social participation. A total of 5180 people returned their questionnaire, giving a participation rate of 59%. Fifteen per cent of men and 20% of women reported poor psychological health. Those with high demands and high control (active category), those with high demands and low control (job strain category) and the unemployed had significantly higher odds ratios of poor psychological health compared to those with low demands and high control (relaxed category). Those with low demands and low control (passive category) did not differ significantly from the relaxed category. The associations remained in the multivariate analyses. The study found that certain psychosocial work factors are associated with higher levels of self-reported psychological ill-health and illustrates the great importance of psychosocial conditions in determining psychological health at the population level. As found elsewhere, being unemployed was an even stronger predictor of psychological ill-health.

Predicting the mental health of college students with psychological capital.

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Selvaraj, Priscilla Rose; Bhat, Christine Suniti

2018-06-01

Behavioral health treatment is grounded in the medical model with language of deficits and problems, rather than resources and strengths. With developments in the field of positive psychology, re-focusing on well-being rather than illness is possible. The primary purpose of this study was to examine relationships and predictions that exist between levels of mental health in college students, i.e., flourishing, moderate mental health, and languishing, and psychological capital (PsyCap). For this cross-sectional, exploratory study survey method was used for data collection and for analyses of results a series of descriptive, correlation, ANOVA, and multiple regression analyses were done. Results indicated that developing positive psychological strengths such as hope, efficacy, resilience, and optimism (acronym HERO) within college students significantly increased their positive mental health. Based on the predictive nature of PsyCap, mental health professionals may engage more in creating programs incorporating PsyCap development intervention for college students. Implications for counseling and programmatic services for college students are presented along with suggestions for future research.

[Psychological benefits of physical activity for optimal mental health].

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Poirel, Emmanuel

Mental health is a worldwide public health concern, as can be seen from the WHO's comprehensive mental health action plan 2013-2020 which was adopted by the 66th World Health Assembly. According to the Mental health commission of Canada (2012), one in five Canadians will personally experience a mental illness in their lifetime, and the WHO shows that mental illness represents the second most prevalent risk of morbidity after heart disease. Physical activity certainly provides an answer to this problem. Physical activity has been shown to improve physical health but it is also one of the most natural and accessible means to improve mental health. The aim of the present article is to propose a biopsychosocial model on the basis of a literature review on the psychological benefits of physical activity. In view of the findings we assume that physical activity increases mental well-being and optimal mental health as opposed to poor mental health. Hence, physical activity provides a state of well-being that enables individuals to realize their own potential, and that helps to cope with the normal stresses of life or adversity. The model certainly opens the way for research and new hypothesis, but it also aims at the promotion of the benefits of physical activity on psychological well-being for optimal mental health.

Personality Traits and Psychological Health Concerns: The Search for Psychology Student Syndrome

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Deo, Michael S.; Lymburner, Jocelyn A.

2011-01-01

The current study explored whether an affliction similar to Medical Student Syndrome occurs in psychology students (i.e., Psychology Student Syndrome) by examining the relationship between self ratings of psychological health and the number of psychopathology courses taken. Undergraduate participants rated their level of concern about suffering…

Model of coping strategies, resilience, psychological well-being, and perceived health among military personnel

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Kuan-Jung Chen

2018-01-01

Full Text Available Background: Military personnel are confronted with physiological and psychological changes caused by stress and exposure to trauma. Although resilience may be protective against psychopathology, very few studies have explored the relationships between the resilience and coping strategies. The study aims to assess how different coping strategies affect resilience, psychological well-being (PWB, and perceived health among military personnel.Subjects and Methods: This study was a cross-sectional survey. Nuclear, biological, and chemical (NBC soldiers and nurses in the military medical center were recruited in Taiwan in November 2015. The survey comprised the Brief COPE Scale, Ryff's PWB Scale, and the Resilience Scale for Adults, which examined the relationships among coping strategies, PWB, resilience, and perceived health. Path analysis was applied.Results: We recruited 200 participants (145 male and 177 single aged 24.6 ± 4.7 years (range, 18–46 years. Resilience (coefficient = 0.60, P < 0.001 and PWB (coefficient = 0.33, P < 0.001 were better when using more approach-oriented coping strategies and fewer avoidant coping strategies, whereas the opposite pattern was seen when using avoidant coping (coefficient = −0.31, P < 0.001 for resilience and coefficient = −.20, P < 0.1 for PWB. PWB significantly predicted perceived health (coefficient = 0.45, P < 0.001.Conclusions: Resilience is higher when positive approach-oriented coping strategies are used, which directly affects PWB, and in turn, predicts better-perceived health. Our conceptual model indicates that interventions designed to promote approach-oriented coping strategies may help military personnel develop improved resilience, PWB, and perceived health status.

The Impact of Bariatric Surgery on Psychological Health

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Jeremy F. Kubik

2013-01-01

Full Text Available Obesity is associated with a relatively high prevalence of psychopathological conditions, which may have a significant negative impact on the quality of life. Bariatric surgery is an effective intervention in the morbidly obese to achieve marked weight loss and improve physical comorbidities, yet its impact on psychological health has yet to be determined. A review of the literature identified a trend suggesting improvements in psychological health after bariatric surgery. Majority of mental health gain is likely attributed to weight loss and resultant gains in body image, self-esteem, and self-concept; however, other important factors contributing to postoperative mental health include a patient’s sense of taking control of his/her life and support from health care staff. Preoperative psychological health also plays an important role. In addition, the literature suggests similar benefit in the obese pediatric population. However, not all patients report psychological benefits after bariatric surgery. Some patients continue to struggle with weight loss, maintenance and regain, and resulting body image dissatisfaction. Severe preoperative psychopathology and patient expectation that life will dramatically change after surgery can also negatively impact psychological health after surgery. The health care team must address these issues in the perioperative period to maximize mental health gains after surgery.

The impact of bariatric surgery on psychological health.

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Kubik, Jeremy F; Gill, Richdeep S; Laffin, Michael; Karmali, Shahzeer

2013-01-01

Obesity is associated with a relatively high prevalence of psychopathological conditions, which may have a significant negative impact on the quality of life. Bariatric surgery is an effective intervention in the morbidly obese to achieve marked weight loss and improve physical comorbidities, yet its impact on psychological health has yet to be determined. A review of the literature identified a trend suggesting improvements in psychological health after bariatric surgery. Majority of mental health gain is likely attributed to weight loss and resultant gains in body image, self-esteem, and self-concept; however, other important factors contributing to postoperative mental health include a patient's sense of taking control of his/her life and support from health care staff. Preoperative psychological health also plays an important role. In addition, the literature suggests similar benefit in the obese pediatric population. However, not all patients report psychological benefits after bariatric surgery. Some patients continue to struggle with weight loss, maintenance and regain, and resulting body image dissatisfaction. Severe preoperative psychopathology and patient expectation that life will dramatically change after surgery can also negatively impact psychological health after surgery. The health care team must address these issues in the perioperative period to maximize mental health gains after surgery.

Health psychology in primary care: recent research and future directions.

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Thielke, Stephen; Thompson, Alexander; Stuart, Richard

2011-01-01

Over the last decade, research about health psychology in primary care has reiterated its contributions to mental and physical health promotion, and its role in addressing gaps in mental health service delivery. Recent meta-analyses have generated mixed results about the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of health psychology interventions. There have been few studies of health psychology interventions in real-world treatment settings. Several key challenges exist: determining the degree of penetration of health psychology into primary care settings; clarifying the specific roles of health psychologists in integrated care; resolving reimbursement issues; and adapting to the increased prescription of psychotropic medications. Identifying and exploring these issues can help health psychologists and primary care providers to develop the most effective ways of applying psychological principles in primary care settings. In a changing health care landscape, health psychologists must continue to articulate the theories and techniques of health psychology and integrated care, to put their beliefs into practice, and to measure the outcomes of their work.

Psychological processes mediate the impact of familial risk, social circumstances and life events on mental health.

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Kinderman, Peter; Schwannauer, Matthias; Pontin, Eleanor; Tai, Sara

2013-01-01

Despite widespread acceptance of the 'biopsychosocial model', the aetiology of mental health problems has provoked debate amongst researchers and practitioners for decades. The role of psychological factors in the development of mental health problems remains particularly contentious, and to date there has not been a large enough dataset to conduct the necessary multivariate analysis of whether psychological factors influence, or are influenced by, mental health. This study reports on the first empirical, multivariate, test of the relationships between the key elements of the biospychosocial model of mental ill-health. Participants were 32,827 (age 18-85 years) self-selected respondents from the general population who completed an open-access online battery of questionnaires hosted by the BBC. An initial confirmatory factor analysis was performed to assess the adequacy of the proposed factor structure and the relationships between latent and measured variables. The predictive path model was then tested whereby the latent variables of psychological processes were positioned as mediating between the causal latent variables (biological, social and circumstantial) and the outcome latent variables of mental health problems and well-being. This revealed an excellent fit to the data, S-B χ(2) (3199, N = 23,397) = 126654.8, pmental health difficulties, social deprivation, and traumatic or abusive life-experiences all strongly predicted higher levels of anxiety and depression. However, these relationships were strongly mediated by psychological processes; specifically lack of adaptive coping, rumination and self-blame. These results support a significant revision of the biopsychosocial model, as psychological processes determine the causal impact of biological, social, and circumstantial risk factors on mental health. This has clear implications for policy, education and clinical practice as psychological processes such as rumination and self-blame are amenable to evidence

Making health care safer: What is the contribution of health psychology?

Science.gov (United States)

Vincent, Charles; Wearden, Alison; French, David P

2015-11-01

While health care brings great benefits, all treatments, and many investigations, carry some risk. As patients, we should be told of the risks of specific treatments but we are also at risk from failings in the health care system itself. We suggest that, while there are many examples of individual health psychologists who have made important contributions, this has not yet translated into a broader disciplinary engagement. Health psychologists have devoted much more attention to patients and devoted much less attention to the potentially huge impact of studying and intervening with staff, clinical practice, and organizations. We believe that there are considerable opportunities for health psychology to engage more closely with patient safety and, more importantly, that this would be of great benefit to both patients and staff. Statement of contribution What is already known on this subject? While health care brings great benefits, all treatments, and many investigations, carry some risk. Patients are also at risk from failings in the health care system itself. Studies using review of medical records in many countries have found that between 8% and 12% of patients in hospital suffer an unintended harm due to health care. What does this study add? There are many examples of individual psychologists who have made important contributions, but this has not yet translated into a broader disciplinary engagement. There are considerable opportunities for health psychology to engage more closely with patient safety. These include health behaviour change, teamwork, communication after medical error, diagnosis and decision making, organisational culture, and improving compliance with rules and standards. Psychologists providing a clinical service to specialist services in any area could expand their remit from supporting patients to a more general support and engagement with safety and quality initiatives. Health psychologists have models to understand the behaviour of people

Help-Seeking Intentions among Asian American and White American Students in Psychological Distress: Application of the Health Belief Model

Science.gov (United States)

Kim, Jin E.; Zane, Nolan

2015-01-01

Objective Underutilization of needed mental health services continues to be the major mental health disparity affecting Asian Americans (Sue, Cheng, Saad, & Chu, 2012). The goal of the study was to apply a social psychological theoretical framework—the Health Belief Model (Rosenstock, 1966)—to understand potential reasons why Asian Americans underutilize mental health services relative to White Americans. Method Using a cross-sectional online questionnaire, this study examined how perceived severity of symptoms, perceived susceptibility to mental health problems, perceived benefits of treatment, and perceived barriers to treatment influenced intentions to seek help among a sample of 395 Asian American and 261 White American students experiencing elevated levels of psychological distress. Results Analyses using structural equation modeling indicated that Asian Americans in distress had relatively lower intentions to seek help compared to White Americans. Perceived benefits partially accounted for differences in help-seeking intentions. Although Asian Americans perceived greater barriers to help-seeking than White Americans, it did not significantly explain racial/ethnic differences in help-seeking intentions. Perceived severity and barriers were related to help-seeking intentions in both groups. Conclusions Outreach efforts that particularly emphasize the benefits of seeking mental health services may be a particularly promising approach to address underutilization. These findings have implications in help-seeking promotion and outreach. PMID:26098454

Psychological distress, optimism and general health in breast cancer survivors: a data linkage study using the Scottish Health Survey.

Science.gov (United States)

Leung, Janni; Atherton, Iain; Kyle, Richard G; Hubbard, Gill; McLaughlin, Deirdre

2016-04-01

The aim of this study is to examine the association between optimism and psychological distress in women with breast cancer after taking into account their self-rated general health. Data were aggregated from the Scottish Health Survey (2008 to 2011) to derive a nationally representative sample of 12,255 women (11,960 cancer-free controls, and 295 breast cancer cases identified from linked cancer registry data). The explanatory variables were optimism and general health, and the outcome variable was symptoms of psychological distress. Logistic regression analyses were conducted, with optimism entered in step 1 and general health entered in step 2. In an unadjusted model, higher levels of optimism were associated with lower odds of psychological distress in both the control group (OR = 0. 57, 95 % CI = 0.51-0.60) and breast cancer group (OR = 0. 64, 95 % CI = 0.47-0.88). However, in a model adjusting for general health, optimism was associated with lower odds of psychological distress only in the control group (OR = 0.50, 95 % CI = 0.44-0.57), but not significantly in the breast cancer group (OR = 1.15, 95 % CI = 0.32-4.11). In the breast cancer group, poor general health was a stronger associate of psychological distress (OR = 4. 98, 95 % CI = 1.32-18.75). Results were consistent after adjusting for age, years since breast cancer diagnosis, survey year, socioeconomic status, education, marital status, body mass index, smoking status, and alcohol consumption. This research confirms the value of multicomponent supportive care interventions for women with breast cancer. Specifically, it suggests that following breast cancer diagnosis, health care professionals need to provide advice and signpost to services that assist women to maintain or improve both their psychological and general health.

Psychological distress is associated with a range of high-priority health conditions affecting working Australians.

Science.gov (United States)

Holden, Libby; Scuffham, Paul; Hilton, Michael; Vecchio, Nerina; Whiteford, Harvey

2010-06-01

Psychological distress is growing in prevalence in Australia. Comorbid psychological distress and/or depressive symptoms are often associated with poorer health, higher healthcare utilisation and decreased adherence to medical treatments. The Australian Work Outcomes Research Cost-benefit (WORC) study cross-sectional screening dataset was used to explore the association between psychological distress and a range of health conditions in a sample of approximately 78,000 working Australians. The study uses the World Health Organization Health and Productivity Questionnaire (HPQ), to identify self-reported health status. Within the HPQ is the Kessler 6 (K6), a six-item scale of psychological distress which strongly discriminates between those with and without a mental disorder. Potential confounders of age, sex, marital status, number of children, education level and annual income were included in multivariate logistic regression models. Psychological distress was significantly associated with all investigated health conditions in both crude and adjusted estimates. The conditions with the strongest adjusted association were, in order from highest: drug and alcohol problems, fatigue, migraine, CVD, COPD, injury and obesity. Psychological distress is strongly associated with all 14 health conditions or risk factors investigated in this study. Comorbid psychological distress is a growing public health issue affecting Australian workers.

Realizing the promise of social psychology in improving public health.

Science.gov (United States)

Klein, William M P; Shepperd, James A; Suls, Jerry; Rothman, Alexander J; Croyle, Robert T

2015-02-01

The theories, phenomena, empirical findings, and methodological approaches that characterize contemporary social psychology hold much promise for addressing enduring problems in public health. Indeed, social psychologists played a major role in the development of the discipline of health psychology during the 1970s and 1980s. The health domain allows for the testing, refinement, and application of many interesting and important research questions in social psychology, and offers the discipline a chance to enhance its reach and visibility. Nevertheless, in a review of recent articles in two major social-psychological journals (Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin and Journal of Personality and Social Psychology), we found that only 3.2% of 467 studies explored health-related topics. In this article, we identify opportunities for research at the interface of social psychology and health, delineate barriers, and offer strategies that can address these barriers as the discipline continues to evolve. © 2014 by the Society for Personality and Social Psychology, Inc.

Health psychology in primary care: recent research and future directions

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Thielke S

2011-06-01

Full Text Available Stephen Thielke1, Alexander Thompson2, Richard Stuart31Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of Washington, Geriatric Research, Education, and Clinical Center, Puget Sound VA Medical Center, Seattle, WA, USA; 2Group Health Cooperative, Seattle, WA, USA; 3Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USAAbstract: Over the last decade, research about health psychology in primary care has reiterated its contributions to mental and physical health promotion, and its role in addressing gaps in mental health service delivery. Recent meta-analyses have generated mixed results about the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of health psychology interventions. There have been few studies of health psychology interventions in real-world treatment settings. Several key challenges exist: determining the degree of penetration of health psychology into primary care settings; clarifying the specific roles of health psychologists in integrated care; resolving reimbursement issues; and adapting to the increased prescription of psychotropic medications. Identifying and exploring these issues can help health psychologists and primary care providers to develop the most effective ways of applying psychological principles in primary care settings. In a changing health care landscape, health psychologists must continue to articulate the theories and techniques of health psychology and integrated care, to put their beliefs into practice, and to measure the outcomes of their work.Keywords: health psychology, primary care, integrated care, collaborative care, referral, colocation

Psychological detachment from work during non-work time: linear or curvilinear relations with mental health and work engagement?

Science.gov (United States)

Shimazu, Akihito; Matsudaira, Ko; Jonge, Jan DE; Tosaka, Naoya; Watanabe, Kazuhiro; Takahashi, Masaya

2016-06-10

This study examined whether a higher level of psychological detachment during non-work time is associated with better employee mental health (Hypothesis 1), and examined whether psychological detachment has a curvilinear relation (inverted U-shaped pattern) with work engagement (Hypothesis 2). A large cross-sectional Internet survey was conducted among registered monitors of an Internet survey company in Japan. The questionnaire included scales for psychological detachment, employee mental health, and work engagement as well as for job characteristics and demographic variables as potential confounders. The hypothesized model was tested with moderated structural equation modeling techniques among 2,234 respondents working in the tertiary industries with regular employment. Results showed that psychological detachment had curvilinear relations with mental health as well as with work engagement. Mental health improved when psychological detachment increased from a low to higher levels but did not benefit any further from extremely high levels of psychological detachment. Work engagement showed the highest level at an intermediate level of detachment (inverted U-shaped pattern). Although high psychological detachment may enhance employee mental health, moderate levels of psychological detachment are most beneficial for his or her work engagement.

Barriers to health-care and psychological distress among mothers living with HIV in Quebec (Canada).

Science.gov (United States)

Blais, Martin; Fernet, Mylène; Proulx-Boucher, Karène; Lebouché, Bertrand; Rodrigue, Carl; Lapointe, Normand; Otis, Joanne; Samson, Johanne

2015-01-01

Health-care providers play a major role in providing good quality care and in preventing psychological distress among mothers living with HIV (MLHIV). The objectives of this study are to explore the impact of health-care services and satisfaction with care providers on psychological distress in MLHIV. One hundred MLHIV were recruited from community and clinical settings in the province of Quebec (Canada). Prevalence estimation of clinical psychological distress and univariate and multivariable logistic regression models were performed to predict clinical psychological distress. Forty-five percent of the participants reported clinical psychological distress. In the multivariable regression, the following variables were significantly associated with psychological distress while controlling for sociodemographic variables: resilience, quality of communication with the care providers, resources, and HIV disclosure concerns. The multivariate results support the key role of personal, structural, and medical resources in understanding psychological distress among MLHIV. Interventions that can support the psychological health of MLHIV are discussed.

Psychosocial safety climate as a precursor to conducive work environments, psychological health problems, and employee engagement

NARCIS (Netherlands)

M.F. Dollard (Maureen); A.B. Bakker (Arnold)

2010-01-01

textabstractWe constructed a model of workplace psychosocial safety climate (PSC) to explain the origins of job demands and resources, worker psychological health, and employee engagement. PSC refers to policies, practices, and procedures for the protection of worker psychological health and safety.

Psychological Pathways Linking Social Support to Health Outcomes: A Visit with the “Ghosts” of Research Past, Present, and Future

Science.gov (United States)

Uchino, Bert N.; Bowen, Kimberly; Carlisle, McKenzie; Birmingham, Wendy

2012-01-01

Contemporary models postulate the importance of psychological mechanisms linking perceived and received social support to physical health outcomes. In this review, we examine studies that directly tested the potential psychological mechanisms responsible for links between social support and health-relevant physiological processes (1980s to 2010). Inconsistent with existing theoretical models, no evidence was found that psychological mechanisms such as depression, perceived stress, and other affective processes are directly responsible for links between support and health. We discuss the importance of considering statistical/design issues, emerging conceptual perspectives, and limitations of our existing models for future research aimed at elucidating the psychological mechanisms responsible for links between social support and physical health outcomes. PMID:22326104

Psychological contract breach and employee health: The relevance of unmet obligations for mental and physical health

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mareike Reimann

2017-04-01

Full Text Available This study examines the effects of psychological contract breach (PCB on employee mental and physical health (SF-12 using a sample of 3,870 employees derived from a German longitudinal linked employer-employee study across various industries. Results of multivariate regression models and mediation analysis suggest that PCB affects both the mental and the physical health of employees but is more threatening to employee mental health. In addition, mental health partly mediates the effects of PCB on physical health. Also, the findings of this study show that the relative importance of obligations not met by employers differs according to the specific contents of the psychological contract. In conclusion, the results of this study support the idea that PCB works as a psychosocial stressor at work that represents a crucial risk to employee health.

A systematic review of the psychological and social benefits of participation in sport for adults: informing development of a conceptual model of health through sport

Science.gov (United States)

2013-01-01

Background The definition of health incorporates the physical, social and mental domains, however the Physical Activity (PA) guidelines do not address social health. Furthermore, there is insufficient evidence about the levels or types of PA associated specifically with psychological health. This paper first presents the results of a systematic review of the psychological and social health benefits of participation in sport by adults. Secondly, the information arising from the systematic review has been used to develop a conceptual model of Health through Sport. Methods A systematic review of 14 electronic databases was conducted in June 2012, and studies published since 1990 were considered for inclusion. Studies that addressed mental and/or social health benefits from participation in sport were included. Results A total of 3668 publications were initially identified, of which 11 met the selection criteria. There were many different psychological and social health benefits reported, with the most commonly being wellbeing and reduced distress and stress. Sport may be associated with improved psychosocial health in addition to improvements attributable to participation in PA. Specifically, club-based or team-based sport seems to be associated with improved health outcomes compared to individual activities, due to the social nature of the participation. Notwithstanding this, individuals who prefer to participate in sport by themselves can still derive mental health benefits which can enhance the development of true-self-awareness and personal growth which is essential for social health. A conceptual model, Health through Sport, is proposed. The model depicts the relationship between psychological, psychosocial and social health domains, and their positive associations with sport participation, as reported in the literature. However, it is acknowledged that the capacity to determine the existence and direction of causal links between participation and health is

A systematic review of the psychological and social benefits of participation in sport for adults: informing development of a conceptual model of health through sport.

Science.gov (United States)

Eime, Rochelle M; Young, Janet A; Harvey, Jack T; Charity, Melanie J; Payne, Warren R

2013-12-07

The definition of health incorporates the physical, social and mental domains, however the Physical Activity (PA) guidelines do not address social health. Furthermore, there is insufficient evidence about the levels or types of PA associated specifically with psychological health. This paper first presents the results of a systematic review of the psychological and social health benefits of participation in sport by adults. Secondly, the information arising from the systematic review has been used to develop a conceptual model of Health through Sport. A systematic review of 14 electronic databases was conducted in June 2012, and studies published since 1990 were considered for inclusion. Studies that addressed mental and/or social health benefits from participation in sport were included. A total of 3668 publications were initially identified, of which 11 met the selection criteria. There were many different psychological and social health benefits reported, with the most commonly being wellbeing and reduced distress and stress. Sport may be associated with improved psychosocial health in addition to improvements attributable to participation in PA. Specifically, club-based or team-based sport seems to be associated with improved health outcomes compared to individual activities, due to the social nature of the participation. Notwithstanding this, individuals who prefer to participate in sport by themselves can still derive mental health benefits which can enhance the development of true-self-awareness and personal growth which is essential for social health. A conceptual model, Health through Sport, is proposed. The model depicts the relationship between psychological, psychosocial and social health domains, and their positive associations with sport participation, as reported in the literature. However, it is acknowledged that the capacity to determine the existence and direction of causal links between participation and health is limited by the cross

The Traumatic Experiences and Psychological Health of women ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

The study examined the traumatic experiences and psychological health of women working in male-dominated professions. Their reported traumatic experiences and psychological health were compared with those of women working in female-dominated professions and men in male dominated processions. Samples of ...

Adolescents' psychological health complaints and the economic recession in late 2007: a multilevel study in 31 countries.

Science.gov (United States)

Pfoertner, Timo-Kolja; Rathmann, Katharina; Elgar, Frank J; de Looze, Margaretha; Hofmann, Felix; Ottova-Jordan, Veronika; Ravens-Sieberer, Ulrike; Bosakova, Lucia; Currie, Candace; Richter, Matthias

2014-12-01

The recent economic recession, which began in 2007, has had a detrimental effect on the health of the adult population, but no study yet has investigated the impact of this downturn on adolescent health. This article uniquely examines the effect of the crisis on adolescents' psychological health complaints in a cross-national comparison. Data came from the World Health Organization collaborative 'Health Behaviour in School-aged Children' study in 2005-06 and 2009-10. We measured change in psychological health complaints from before to during the recession in the context of changing adult and adolescent unemployment rates. Furthermore, we used logistic multilevel regression to model the impact of absolute unemployment in 2010 and its change rate between 2005-06 and 2009-10 on adolescents' psychological health complaints in 2010. Descriptive results showed that although youth and adult unemployment has increased during the economic crisis, rates of psychological health complaints among adolescents were unaffected in some countries and even decreased in others. Multilevel regression models support this finding and reveal that only youth unemployment in 2010 increased the likelihood of psychological health complaints, whereas its change rate in light of the recession as well as adult unemployment did not relate to levels of psychological health complaints. In contrast to recent findings, our study indicates that the negative shift of the recent recession on the employment market in several countries has not affected adolescents' psychological health complaints. Adolescents' well-being instead seems to be influenced by the current situation on the labour market that shapes their occupational outlook. © The Author 2014. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the European Public Health Association. All rights reserved.

A systematic review of the psychological and social benefits of participation in sport for children and adolescents: informing development of a conceptual model of health through sport

Science.gov (United States)

2013-01-01

Background There are specific guidelines regarding the level of physical activity (PA) required to provide health benefits. However, the research underpinning these PA guidelines does not address the element of social health. Furthermore, there is insufficient evidence about the levels or types of PA associated specifically with psychological health. This paper first presents the results of a systematic review of the psychological and social health benefits of participation in sport by children and adolescents. Secondly, the information arising from the systematic review has been used to develop a conceptual model. Methods A systematic review of 14 electronic databases was conducted in June 2012, and studies published since 1990 were considered for inclusion. Studies that addressed mental and/or social health benefits from participation in sport were included. Results A total of 3668 publications were initially identified, of which 30 met the selection criteria. There were many different psychological and social health benefits reported, with the most commonly being improved self-esteem, social interaction followed by fewer depressive symptoms. Sport may be associated with improved psychosocial health above and beyond improvements attributable to participation in PA. Specifically, team sport seems to be associated with improved health outcomes compared to individual activities, due to the social nature of the participation. A conceptual model, Health through Sport, is proposed. The model depicts the relationship between psychological, psychosocial and social health domains, and their positive associations with sport participation, as reported in the literature. However, it is acknowledged that the capacity to determine the existence and direction of causal links between participation and health is limited by the fact that the majority of studies identified (n=21) were cross-sectional. Conclusion It is recommended that community sport participation is advocated as a

A systematic review of the psychological and social benefits of participation in sport for children and adolescents: informing development of a conceptual model of health through sport.

Science.gov (United States)

Eime, Rochelle M; Young, Janet A; Harvey, Jack T; Charity, Melanie J; Payne, Warren R

2013-08-15

There are specific guidelines regarding the level of physical activity (PA) required to provide health benefits. However, the research underpinning these PA guidelines does not address the element of social health. Furthermore, there is insufficient evidence about the levels or types of PA associated specifically with psychological health. This paper first presents the results of a systematic review of the psychological and social health benefits of participation in sport by children and adolescents. Secondly, the information arising from the systematic review has been used to develop a conceptual model. A systematic review of 14 electronic databases was conducted in June 2012, and studies published since 1990 were considered for inclusion. Studies that addressed mental and/or social health benefits from participation in sport were included. A total of 3668 publications were initially identified, of which 30 met the selection criteria. There were many different psychological and social health benefits reported, with the most commonly being improved self-esteem, social interaction followed by fewer depressive symptoms. Sport may be associated with improved psychosocial health above and beyond improvements attributable to participation in PA. Specifically, team sport seems to be associated with improved health outcomes compared to individual activities, due to the social nature of the participation. A conceptual model, Health through Sport, is proposed. The model depicts the relationship between psychological, psychosocial and social health domains, and their positive associations with sport participation, as reported in the literature. However, it is acknowledged that the capacity to determine the existence and direction of causal links between participation and health is limited by the fact that the majority of studies identified (n=21) were cross-sectional. It is recommended that community sport participation is advocated as a form of leisure time PA for children

The state of the psychology health service provider workforce.

Science.gov (United States)

Michalski, Daniel S; Kohout, Jessica L

2011-12-01

Numerous efforts to describe the health service provider or clinical workforce in psychology have been conducted during the past 30 years. The American Psychological Association (APA) has studied trends in the doctoral education pathway and the resultant effects on the broader psychology workforce. During this period, the creation and growth of the PsyD degree and the formalization of the predoctoral internship placement system (the APPIC Match) have been well noted, but efforts to gain a complete understanding of professional practice are lacking. Specifically, piecemeal research on the provider workforce has led to the study of specific subpopulations using varying approaches and definitions of those providing direct clinical service. Consequently, estimates of the supply and need for health service providers are distinctly divergent and generate protracted debate in organized psychology. The APA membership directory and the APA Doctorate Employment Surveys have traditionally been relied on for workforce analyses. Yet, these data have become characterized by limited generalizability in recent years because of declining survey response rates and the fact that APA member data may not be as representative of the entire psychology health service provider population as they were previously. The 2008 APA Survey of Psychology Health Service Providers targeted these limitations by including nonmember psychologists in the sampling frame. Results revealed emerging themes in the demographics, work settings, and delivery of health services of the psychology health service provider workforce. Future areas of research for APA and organized psychology to undertake in addressing need and demand are suggested. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved).

Becoming Adult from the Perspective of Psychological Health

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Nilay Pekel Uludagli

2017-09-01

Full Text Available In the transition from adolescence to adulthood, individuals are expected to undertake a variety of role transitions. The adult roles and their contents have begun to change for both genders as a part of social, economic and cultural changes in the world. As women began to join to the work force more, men’s involvement in family life and childcare increased. Although having multiple roles causes conflict between the roles for both genders nowadays, being married and having children still seem to be related to better psychological health for today’s early adults. However, these positive effects of marriage disappear in conflicting and unhappy marriages; and these marriages, on the contrary, damage the health of individuals. In addition to the content, the timing of the roles is also related to the psychological health of individuals. As adults who undertake the roles early have a disadvantaged position in terms of psychological health, marital and family relations, on the other hand, adults who undertake these roles on-time and lately have better psychological health and life conditions. The aim of this review is to assess the effects of undertaking adult roles and its timing on individuals’ psychological health in today’s societies. [Psikiyatride Guncel Yaklasimlar - Current Approaches in Psychiatry 2017; 9(3.000: 263-283

Measurement in health psychology: combining theory, qualitative, and quantitative methods to do it right : 6th Methods in Health Psychology Symposium

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Peters, G.-J.Y; Dima, A.; Plass, A.M.; Crutzen, R.; Gibbons, C.; Doyle, F.

2016-01-01

A recent debate in Health Psychology Review demonstrated the importance of careful attention to measurement and operationalisation of health psychology constructs (Beauchamp, 2016; Brewer, 2016; de Vries, 2016; Schwarzer & McAuley, 2016; Williams & Rhodes, 2016a, 2016b). This need is met by rapid

Health-promoting lifestyle behaviors and psychological status among Arabs and Koreans in the United Arab Emirates.

Science.gov (United States)

Kim, Hee Jun; Choi-Kwon, Smi; Kim, Hyungjin; Park, Yeon-Hwan; Koh, Chin-Kang

2015-04-01

Cultural variations among ethnic groups may differentially influence health and health behavior. We explored and compared health-promoting lifestyle behaviors and psychological status, including depression, anxiety, and stress, among Korean migrants (n = 117) and Arab nationals (n = 103) in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Pender's Health Promotion Model guided this research. The Health-Promoting Lifestyle Profile was used to measure health-promoting lifestyle behaviors and Lovibond and Lovibond's Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Scale to measure psychological status. The data were analyzed using bivariate procedures and multiple linear regression. No group differences were found in total scores for health-promoting lifestyle behaviors or psychological status. Both groups scored high on self-actualization and interpersonal support; Arabs scored low on exercise, and Koreans scored low on health responsibility. Across groups, psychological status (β = -.390, p Arab nationals in the UAE. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

'Post-deployment appraisal' and the relationship with stress and psychological health in Australian veterans.

Science.gov (United States)

Wright, Breanna; Forbes, Andrew; Kelsall, Helen; Clarke, David; Ikin, Jill; Sim, Malcolm

2015-12-01

Understanding how veterans appraise their post-deployment experiences could provide insight into better assisting their deployment transitions. We aimed to assess the factor structure of positive and negative post-deployment appraisals in Australian veterans and to examine the resultant factors in their relationship with military stress and psychological health. Questions capturing post-deployment attitudes were developed by the researchers in collaboration with veterans. The questions were administered to 1938 veterans and the results factor analysed. The relationships between post-deployment appraisal, military stress and psychological health were examined using Structural Equation Modelling. A three-factor solution was found for the post-deployment appraisal questions; representing personal development, lack of recognition, and appreciation of life and country. Military stress was associated with the three factors and psychological health. The three factors were weakly to moderately associated with psychological health. Mediation between military stress and psychological health by any post-deployment appraisal factor was minimal. Post-deployment appraisal measures three important attitudes and concerns of veterans after deployment. Military stress is associated with the post-deployment appraisal factors. However, the factors did not mediate the relationship between military stress and psychological health. These factors provide insight into how veterans appraise their complex array of post-deployment experiences, and may provide useful in regard to transitions and integration into civilian life.

Exposure to Psychological Aggression at Work and Job Performance: The Mediating Role of Job Attitudes and Personal Health.

Science.gov (United States)

Schat, Aaron; Frone, Michael R

2011-01-01

Despite the growing literature on workplace aggression and the importance of employee performance at work, few studies have examined the relation between workplace aggression and job performance. The purpose of this study was to investigate the relations between psychological aggression at work and two forms of job performance (task performance and contextual performance) and potential mediators of these relations. Based on Conservation of Resources theory and prior research, a model was developed and tested in which overall job attitudes (i.e., job satisfaction and organizational commitment) and overall personal health (i.e., physical and psychological health) fully mediate the relations between exposure to psychological aggression at work and both task performance and contextual performance. Data were obtained from a national probability sample of US workers (N = 2376) and the model was tested using structural equation modelling. The results supported the hypothesized model, demonstrating that exposure to psychological aggression at work negatively predicted both task performance and contextual performance, and that these relations were explained by decrements in job attitudes and health associated with exposure to psychological aggression at work.

Social, Psychological and Health Concerns of People Living with HIV/AIDS in Mysore District, Karnataka.

Science.gov (United States)

Sebastian, Shibu Thomas; Siddanna, Sunitha

2016-03-01

One of the significant health and social problem the world facing today is Acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AiDS). The patients affected with HIV and their family may face various psychosocial problems during diagnosis and treatment due to the stigma associated with this disease. The objective of the study was to identify social, psychological and health concerns of people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA) and its association with the demographic factors in Mysore District, Karnataka, India. A questionnaire based study was conducted among 194 participants in Mysore District, Karnataka state who were receiving care and support services. A 22-item questionnaire provided information regarding social, psychological and health concerns of PLWHA in Mysore district. A general linear regression model was used for assessing the predictors of social, psychological and health concerns. The main social concern was that of "Fear of Losing a loved one" whereas the main psychological concern was "Too much worry", "No cure for AIDS" was the highly rated health concern. Males had more social, psychological and health concerns when compared to females but was not statistically significant. Employed people were having fewer psychological concerns when compared to unemployed people. Unemployed people were having fewer health concerns than employed people. For every unit increase in age there were fewer social and health concerns and both these findings were statistically significant. PLWHA in the present study reported that they were concerned about social, psychological and health issues in spite of the fact they were attending counseling. Health care workers, including those in public health sector should be educated about the importance of these factors that influence the health of the population they are caring for.

Disaster Mental Health and Community-Based Psychological First Aid: Concepts and Education/Training.

Science.gov (United States)

Jacobs, Gerard A; Gray, Brandon L; Erickson, Sara E; Gonzalez, Elvira D; Quevillon, Randal P

2016-12-01

Any community can experience a disaster, and many traumatic events occur without warning. Psychologists can be an important resource assisting in psychological support for individuals and communities, in preparation for and in response to traumatic events. Disaster mental health and the community-based model of psychological first aid are described. The National Preparedness and Response Science Board has recommended that all mental health professionals be trained in disaster mental health, and that first responders, civic officials, emergency managers, and the general public be trained in community-based psychological first aid. Education and training resources in these two fields are described to assist psychologists and others in preparing themselves to assist their communities in difficult times and to help their communities learn to support one another. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Clinical psychology of religion. A training model

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Uden, M.H.F. van; Pieper, J.Z.T.

2003-01-01

In this paper we will show you a part of a course "Clinical Psychology of Religion" that has been developed in the Netherlands for introducing mental health professionals in the field of clinical psychology of religion. Clinical psychology of religion applies insights from general psychology of

Psychological predictors of mental health and health-related quality of life after bariatric surgery

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Wimmelmann, Cathrine Lawaetz; Dela, Flemming; Mortensen, Erik Lykke

2014-01-01

of pre-surgical psychological factors on mental wellbeing after surgery is unclear. The aim of the current article therefore is to review recent research investigating psychological predictors of mental health and HRQOL outcome. METHODS: We searched PubMed, PsycInfo and Web of Science for studies...... investigating psychological predictors of either mental health or HRQOL after bariatric surgery. Original prospective studies published between 2003 and 2012 with a sample size >30 and a minimum of 1 year follow-up were included. RESULTS: Only 10 eligible studies were identified. The findings suggest......BACKGROUND: Improvement of mental health and health-related quality of life (HRQOL) is an important success criterion for bariatric surgery. In general, mental health and HRQOL improve after surgery, but some patients experience negative psychological reactions postoperatively and the influence...

Multiple health-risk behaviour and psychological distress in adolescence.

Science.gov (United States)

Arbour-Nicitopoulos, Kelly P; Faulkner, Guy E; Irving, Hyacinth M

2012-08-01

To examine the prevalence and correlates of psychological distress in a school-based sample of Canadian adolescents. Self-reported data of demographics, weight status, physical activity, screen-time, diet, substance use, and psychological distress were derived from a representative sample of 2935 students in grades 9 to 12 (M(age) = 15.9 years) from the 2009 Ontario Student Drug Use and Health Survey. Overall prevalence of psychological distress was 35.1%. Significant associations were shown between psychological distress and the following: being female, tobacco use, not meeting physical activity and screen-time recommendations, and inadequate consumption of breakfast and vegetables. These findings highlight the need for targeting greater physical health promotion for adolescents at risk of mental health problems.

Disordered Eating-Related Cognition and Psychological Flexibility as Predictors of Psychological Health among College Students

Science.gov (United States)

Masuda, Akihiko; Price, Matthew; Anderson, Page L.; Wendell, Johanna W.

2010-01-01

The present cross-sectional study investigated the relation among disordered eating-related cognition, psychological flexibility, and poor psychological outcomes among a nonclinical college sample. As predicted, conviction of disordered eating-related cognitions was positively associated with general psychological ill-health and emotional distress…

SIB health psychology in Brazil: The challenges for working in public health settings.

Science.gov (United States)

Spink, Mary-Jane P; Brigagão, Jacqueline M; Menegon, Vera M; Vicentin, Maria-Cristina G

2016-03-01

Considering the diversity of theoretical approaches and settings for psychological practice, this editorial provides a background for the articles that have been included in this special issue concerning health psychology in the context of the Brazilian Unified Health System (Sistema Unico de Saude). We addressed issues concerning the national curricular outline for undergraduate training in psychology and historical data on the social movements that led to the creation of the Sistema Unico de Saude and the Psychiatric Reform which created an important area for psychological work absorbing a considerable number of psychologists. © The Author(s) 2016.

Psychological health of operators in NPPs and accident prevention

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhou Huayun

2004-01-01

Mental and physical health of operators of nuclear power plants (NPPs) is directly related to normal and safe operation of NPPs. The cognitive process, volitional character, attention, emotion, feeling and personality are important factors that affect operators' safe behavior. Alcohol, medical drugs and operators' biological rhythm are can also make great effects on their psychological health. By means of job-fitness psychological test, better candidates for operators could be primarily selected from point of psychological view. Psychological follow-up of post skill training, simulator training and practical work of operators can make NPPs prevent from operational accidents due to human errors to the greatest extent. It is helpful for NPPs to find and solve some psychological problems by means of psychological counseling, regulation or psychotherapy. (author)

Psychological interventions and health: critical connections

OpenAIRE

Belar, Cynthia D.

2000-01-01

The objective of the study was to discuss critical connections between psychological interventions and health can at various levels: the individual/family, the community/worksite, the health care system, and the general population itself. Psychologists have developed interventions that have positively impacted health in the areas of prevention and health promotion, recovery from illness, management of physical symptoms, stressful medical procedures, adherence and health care systems design. S...

An outline of the need for psychology knowledge in health professionals: implications for community development and breast cancer prevention.

Science.gov (United States)

Ahmadian, Maryam; Samah, Asnarulkhadi Abu; Saidu, Mohammed Bashir

2014-01-01

Knowledge of health and community psychology in health professionals influences psychosocial and community determinants of health and promoting participation in disease prevention at the community level. This paper appraises the potential of knowledge on psychology in health care professionals and its contribution to community empowerment through individual behavior change and health practice. The authors proposed a schematic model for the use of psychological knowledge in health professionals to promote participation in health interventions/disease prevention programs in developing countries. By implication, the paper provides a vision on policies towards supporting breast cancer secondary prevention efforts for community health development in Asian countries.

Meta-Analytic Structural Equation Modeling of the Influences of Family-Centered Care on Parent and Child Psychological Health

OpenAIRE

Dunst, Carl J.; Trivette, Carol M.

2009-01-01

Background. Family-centered care is now practiced throughout the world by physicians, nurses, and allied health care professionals. The call for adoption of family-centered care is based on the contention that the physical and psychological health of a child is influenced by parents' psychological health where family-centered care enhances parent well-being which in turn influences child well-being. We empirically assessed whether these relationships are supported by available evidence. M...

Psychosocial safety climate as a lead indicator of workplace bullying and harassment, job resources, psychological health and employee engagement.

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

2011-09-01

Psychosocial safety climate (PSC) is defined as shared perceptions of organizational policies, practices and procedures for the protection of worker psychological health and safety, that stem largely from management practices. PSC theory extends the Job Demands-Resources (JD-R) framework and proposes that organizational level PSC determines work conditions and subsequently, psychological health problems and work engagement. Our sample was derived from the Australian Workplace Barometer project and comprised 30 organizations, and 220 employees. As expected, hierarchical linear modeling showed that organizational PSC was negatively associated with workplace bullying and harassment (demands) and in turn psychological health problems (health impairment path). PSC was also positively associated with work rewards (resources) and in turn work engagement (motivational path). Accordingly, we found that PSC triggered both the health impairment and motivational pathways, thus justifying extending the JD-R model in a multilevel way. Further we found that PSC, as an organization-based resource, moderated the positive relationship between bullying/harassment and psychological health problems, and the negative relationship between bullying/harassment and engagement. The findings provide evidence for a multilevel model of PSC as a lead indicator of workplace psychosocial hazards (high demands, low resources), psychological health and employee engagement, and as a potential moderator of psychosocial hazard effects. PSC is therefore an efficient target for primary and secondary intervention. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Social Isolation, Psychological Health, and Protective Factors in Adolescence

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Hall-Lande, Jennifer A.; Eisenberg, Marla E.; Christenson, Sandra L.; Neumark-Sztainer, Dianne

2007-01-01

This study investigates the relationships among social isolation, psychological health, and protective factors in adolescents. Feelings of social isolation may influence psychological health in adolescents, but protective factors such as family connectedness, school connectedness, and academic achievement may also play a key role. The sample…

Challenging the Conceptual Limits in Health Psychology

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kristensen, Kasper Andreas

2015-01-01

This contribution explores the connection between health and subjectivity. Up until recently a marginally discussed topic in health theories, recent critical research in health psychology introduces notions of subjectivity to theories of health. These notions can be linked to phenomenology......, embodied subjectivity, and psychosocial theories that have moved away from a partial, internal understanding of subjectivity. These recent theories tend to define subjectivity as a coherence of concrete, embodied and situated subjectivity that extends capabilities and activities towards a world of social....... Hence, I will argue for the concept of conduct of life as an important concept for health psychology. The concept of conduct of life enables an analysis of how people conduct their activities and of their access to life possibilities, within social settings and societal power systems. The concept can...

The influence of prior rape on the psychological and physical health functioning of older adults.

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Sachs-Ericsson, Natalie; Kendall-Tackett, Kathleen A; Sheffler, Julia; Arce, Darleine; Rushing, Nicole C; Corsentino, Elizabeth

2014-01-01

Older adults who have experienced traumatic events earlier in life may be especially vulnerable to additional challenges associated with aging. In a cross-sectional study of older females, the present study examines whether a history of rape is associated with current psychological and health problems. This study used existing data from the female respondents (N = 1228) in the National Social Life, Health, and Aging Project (NSHAP), a national probability sample of adults between the ages of 57 and 85 interviewed in their homes. It was determined whether or not the participant experienced forced sexual contact since the age of 18. Measures of psychological health (e.g., scales of depression, anxiety, and loneliness), the presence or absence of a number of serious health problems, and a one-item measure of self-esteem were obtained. Adult rape occurred in 7% of the sample. On average, 36 years had elapsed since the rape had occurred. Using structural equation modeling (SEM), rape was associated with lower self-esteem, psychological, and physical health functioning. Self-esteem partially mediated the association between rape and psychological functioning, but not health functioning. These associations were significant even after controlling for participant characteristics and risky health behaviors. Mechanisms linking prior rape to psychological and health problems in older age are discussed, as well as treatment recommendations for symptomatic older adults.

Psychological Well-being and Parenting Styles as Predictors of Mental Health among Students: Implication for Health Promotion

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mohammad reza khodabakhsh

2014-09-01

Full Text Available Introduction: The lack of mental health interferes with one's individual achievement and ability for undertaking the responsibilities of everyday life. Researches show that psychological well-being and parenting styles have an important role in ones' increasing general health. The current study examined the relationship between psychological well-being and parenting styles with students' mental health. Methods: This study was carried out on 278 students (124 boys and 154 girls of Boukan's high schools. The participants were asked to complete psychological well-being inventory and mental health parenting style questionnaire. Data was analyzed using of Pearson correlation coefficient and regression analysis. Results: The results showed that psychological well-being and authoritative parenting styles were significantly related with mental health; also, Permissive parenting styles has significant positive relationship with mental health. The regression analysis indicated that mental health is predictable by psychological well-being and parenting styles. Conclusion: The knowledge of parenting styles and psychological well-being and their relationships with general well-being can provide the significant implications on the provision of students' health. Parenting styles and psychological well-being, as significant variables in general well-being, needs more clinical research.

Female genital mutilation: psychological and reproductive health ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

The study examined the reproductive health and psychological effects of female genital mutilation, in one traditional area in the Upper East region (i.e. Kayoro Traditional Area) of Ghana. The results of the study revealed that, the practice of FGM actually affects the physical (deforming the female genitalia), psychological (the ...

Psychological health among Chinese college students: a rural/urban comparison.

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Zhang, Jie; Qi, Qing; Delprino, Robert P

2017-09-01

The literature on suicide among the Chinese indicates that younger individuals from rural areas are at higher risk of suicide than their urban counterparts. While earlier studies have investigated the relationship between psychological health and major demographic variables, the relationship of psychological health as it relates to suicide by those from urban and rural areas have been rare. Studying the psychological health of college students from rural China in comparison with students who originate from urban areas may shed light on the mental health disparities of the two populations. This study examined the relationship of psychological health and rural/urban origins of college students in China. Data was obtained from 2 400 college students who completed a survey questionnaire while in attendance at a key university in Beijing China in 2013. Four standardised psychological health scales were administered to obtain measures of participants' self-esteem, depression, social support, and suicide ideation. Findings indicated that urban students had significantly higher scores than their rural counterparts on self-esteem and social support. However, there was no statistically significant difference between the groups on measures of depression and suicide ideation.

Psychological health of men with partners who have post-partum depression.

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Roberts, Sarah L; Bushnell, John A; Collings, Sunny C; Purdie, Gordon L

2006-08-01

To compare the psychological health of men with partners who have post-partum depression (PPD; index group) with that of men with partners without PPD (comparison group). Using a cross-sectional survey, psychological symptoms and disturbances of index group men (n = 58) and comparison group men (n = 116) were compared. Validated self-report measures were used to assess five key areas of mental health: depression, anxiety, non-specific psychological impairment, aggression and alcohol use. Index group men had more symptoms of depression, aggression and non-specific psychological impairment, and had higher rates of depressive disorder, non-specific psychological problems and problem fatigue than comparison group men. Index group men were also more likely to have three or more comorbid psychological disturbances. There was no difference between the groups on measures of anxiety and alcohol use. Although many men in the postnatal period experience a variety of mental health problems, those who have a partner with PPD are themselves at increased risk for experiencing psychological symptoms and disturbances. Differentiation of psychological syndromes is important; higher rates of depressive disorder, non-specific psychological problems and problem fatigue were found, but rates of anxiety disorder and hazardous alcohol use did not differ between the groups. More attention from health professionals to men's mental health in the postnatal period may be beneficial to the entire family system.

Integrating positive psychology into health-related quality of life research.

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Park, Crystal L

2015-07-01

Positive psychology is an increasingly influential force in theory and research within psychology and many related fields, including behavioral medicine, sociology, and public health. This article aims to review the ways in which positive psychology and health-related quality of life (HRQOL) research currently interface and to suggest fruitful future directions. This article reviews the basic elements of positive psychology and provides an overview of conceptual and empirical links between positive psychology and HRQOL. The role of one central aspect of positive psychology (meaning) within HRQOL is highlighted, and unresolved issues (e.g., lack of definitional clarity) are discussed. Some research on HRQOL has taken a positive psychology perspective, demonstrating the usefulness of taking a positive psychology approach. However, many areas await integration. Once conceptual and methodological issues are resolved, positive psychology may profitably inform many aspects of HRQOL research and, perhaps, clinical interventions to promote HRQOL as well.

Critical Psychologies for Critical Health Literacies

Science.gov (United States)

Corcoran, Tim

2014-01-01

Health education is largely informed by psychological theories and practices that pursue reductionist views of people learning. However, critical attention is moving to understand health in ways that reconsider relationships to context and the forms of life within which everyday living takes place. This shift is apparent in theoretical…

Putting the positive in health psychology: a content analysis of three journals.

Science.gov (United States)

Schmidt, Christa K; Raque-Bogdan, Trisha L; Piontkowski, Sarah; Schaefer, Kathryn L

2011-05-01

This content analysis investigated the inclusion of positive psychological constructs in research published in three leading health psychology journals. A list of positive constructs relevant to health psychology was compiled and their inclusion in these journals was examined. It was found that although there has been a sharp increase in recent years, only 3 percent of all articles published (114 of 3789) included the study of overtly positive constructs. The constructs that have been most and least studied in health psychology were identified and are discussed. This analysis provides insight into the foundations of positive health psychology and identifies future directions.

Job satisfaction and psychological health of bankers in Calabar ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Background: Satisfied employees tend to be healthier and more productive. There is no known study on the overall job satisfaction and psychological health of bank employees in Nigeria. Objective: To assess the level of job satisfaction and its relationship to psychological health among bank employees in a southern city of ...

Role Overload, Job Satisfaction, Leisure Satisfaction, and Psychological Health among Employed Women

Science.gov (United States)

Pearson, Quinn M.

2008-01-01

Role overload, job satisfaction, leisure satisfaction, and psychological health were measured for 155 women who were employed full time. Role overload was negatively correlated with psychological health, job satisfaction, and leisure satisfaction. Job satisfaction and leisure satisfaction were positively correlated with psychological health.…

[Status of health psychology teaching in Chilean schools of medicine].

Science.gov (United States)

Santander, Jaime T; Pinedo, José P; Repetto, Paula L

2012-07-01

Physicians should be exposed, during their training to basic concepts in psychology. To describe the current status of the formal teaching of health psychology or medical psychology in Chilean medical schools. We reviewed the programs of the courses including topics of Medical Psychology, Health Psychology and Behavioral Medicine at 18 medical schools in Chile, using a focused coding method. The contents and the time spent on these courses were considered and analyzed. Eighty three percent of medical schools have a Medical Psychology or related program, 56.3% are carried out during the first year of medical School teaching and the weekly load has an average of 4 hours. The contents are mixed and predominantly concerning general and developmental psychology, but also address specific issues of Medical Psychology in most cases. There is little clarity about the training issues to be addressed in medical psychology for medical students in Chile. It is necessary to define the minimum content that all medical graduates should learn.

Psychosocial factors and pre-abortion psychological health: The significance of stigma.

Science.gov (United States)

Steinberg, Julia R; Tschann, Jeanne M; Furgerson, Dorothy; Harper, Cynthia C

2016-02-01

Most research in mental health and abortion has examined factors associated with post-abortion psychological health. However, research that follows women from before to after their abortion consistently finds that depressive, anxiety, and stress symptoms are highest just before an abortion compared to any time afterwards. This finding suggests that studies investigating psychosocial factors related to pre-abortion mental health are warranted. The current study uses data from 353 women seeking abortions at three community reproductive health clinics to examine predictors of pre-abortion psychological health. Drawing from three perspectives in the abortion and mental health literature, common risks, stress and coping, and sociocultural context, we conducted multivariable analyses to examine the contribution of important factors on depressive, anxiety, and stress symptoms just before an abortion, including sociodemographics, abortion characteristics, childhood adversities, recent adversities with an intimate partner, relationship context, future pregnancy desires, and perceived abortion stigma. Childhood and partner adversities, including reproductive coercion, were associated with negative mental health symptoms, as was perceived abortion stigma. Before perceived abortion stigma was entered into the model, 18.6%, 20.7%, and 16.8% of the variance in depressive, anxiety, and stress symptoms respectively, was explained. Perceived abortion stigma explained an additional 13.2%, 9.7%, and 10.7% of the variance in depressive, anxiety, and stress symptoms pre-abortion. This study, one of the first to focus on pre-abortion mental health as an outcome, suggests that addressing stigma among women seeking abortions may significantly lower their psychological distress. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Health-related productivity losses increase when the health condition is co-morbid with psychological distress: findings from a large cross-sectional sample of working Australians.

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Holden, Libby; Scuffham, Paul A; Hilton, Michael F; Ware, Robert S; Vecchio, Nerina; Whiteford, Harvey A

2011-05-31

The health condition of workers is known to impact on productivity outcomes. The relationship between health and productivity is of increasing interest amid the need to increase productivity to meet global financial challenges. Prevalence of psychological distress is also of growing concern in Australia with a two-fold increase in the prevalence of psychological distress in Australia from 1997-2005. We used the cross-sectional data set from the Australian Work Outcomes Research Cost-benefit (WORC) study to explore the impacts of health conditions with and without co-morbid psychological distress, compared to those with neither condition, in a sample of approximately 78,000 working Australians. The World Health Organisation Health and Performance Questionnaire was used which provided data on demographic characteristics, health condition and working conditions. Data were analysed using negative binomial logistic regression and multinomial logistic regression models for absenteeism and presenteeism respectively. For both absenteeism and presenteeism productivity measures there was a greater risk of productivity loss associated when health conditions were co-morbid with psychological distress. For some conditions this risk was much greater for those with co-morbid psychological distress compared to those without. Co-morbid psychological distress demonstrates an increased risk of productivity loss for a range of health conditions. These findings highlight the need for further research to determine whether co-morbid psychological distress potentially exacerbates lost productivity.

The Impact of Bariatric Surgery on Psychological Health

OpenAIRE

Kubik, Jeremy F.; Gill, Richdeep S.; Laffin, Michael; Karmali, Shahzeer

2013-01-01

Obesity is associated with a relatively high prevalence of psychopathological conditions, which may have a significant negative impact on the quality of life. Bariatric surgery is an effective intervention in the morbidly obese to achieve marked weight loss and improve physical comorbidities, yet its impact on psychological health has yet to be determined. A review of the literature identified a trend suggesting improvements in psychological health after bariatric surgery. Majority of mental ...

Racial disparity: substance dependency and psychological health problems among welfare recipients.

Science.gov (United States)

Lee, Kyoung Hag; Hines, Lisa D

2014-01-01

This study explored the racial disparity of substance dependency and psychological health among White, African American, and Hispanic Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF) recipients as well as the relationship between substance dependency and psychological health. It analyzed 1,286 TANF recipients from the 2006 National Survey on Drug Use and Health data. Analysis of variance indicated that Whites were experiencing more nicotine and alcohol dependency and psychological distress than others, but African Americans and Hispanics were experiencing more cocaine dependency than Whites. Ordinary least squares regression revealed that nicotine dependency is significantly related to the psychological distress of Whites. Alcohol dependency is significantly associated with the psychological distress of three groups. Culturally competent programs are suggested.

Perceived discrimination and mental health among older African Americans: the role of psychological well-being.

Science.gov (United States)

Yoon, Eunkyung; Coburn, Corvell; Spence, Susie A

2018-01-15

Examine the effect of perceived discrimination (both racial and non-racial) on the mental health of older African Americans and explore the buffering role of psychological well-being (purpose in life and self-acceptance). Using an older African American subsample from the National Health Measurement Study (n = 397), multiple regression model by gender was used to estimate the effects of two types of discrimination (every day and lifetime) on SF-36 mental component and mediating role of two concepts of psychological well-being. With no gender difference on the everyday discrimination, older men experienced more lifetime discrimination than older women. The older men's model found that the depressive symptomology was significantly explained by only everyday discrimination and mediated by self-acceptance. The older women's model was significant, with everyday discrimination and both self-acceptance and purpose in life emerging as mediating variables. The prevalence of institutional lifetime discrimination for older African American men is consistent with previous research. Inconsistency with past research indicated that only everyday discrimination is statistically associated with depressive symptoms. Considering the buffering role of psychological well-being served for mental health problems, practitioners need to emphasize these factors when providing services to older African Americans. Equally important, they must address racial discrimination in mental health care settings.

Psychosocial safety climate as a precursor to conducive work environments, psychological health problems, and employee engagement

OpenAIRE

Dollard, Maureen; Bakker, Arnold

2010-01-01

textabstractWe constructed a model of workplace psychosocial safety climate (PSC) to explain the origins of job demands and resources, worker psychological health, and employee engagement. PSC refers to policies, practices, and procedures for the protection of worker psychological health and safety. Using the job demands-resources framework, we hypothesized that PSC as an upstream organizational resource influenced largely by senior management, would precede the work context (i.e., job demand...

Psychological wellbeing, health and ageing

Science.gov (United States)

Steptoe, Andrew; Deaton, Angus; Stone, Arthur A.

2014-01-01

Summary Psychological wellbeing and health are closely linked at older ages. Three aspects of psychological wellbeing can be distinguished: evaluative wellbeing (or life satisfaction), hedonic wellbeing (feelings of happiness, sadness, etc), and eudemonic wellbeing (sense of purpose and meaning in life). We review recent advances in this field, and present new analyses concerning the pattern of wellbeing across ages and the association between wellbeing and survival at older ages. The Gallup World Poll, an ongoing survey in more than 160 countries, shows a U-shaped relationship between evaluative wellbeing and age in rich, English speaking countries, with the lowest levels of wellbeing around ages 45-54. But this pattern is not universal: for example, respondents from the former Soviet Union and Eastern Europe show a large progressive decline in wellbeing with age; Latin America also shows falling wellbeing with age, while wellbeing in sub-Saharan Africa shows little change with age. The relationship between physical health and subjective wellbeing is bidirectional. Older people suffering from illnesses such as coronary heart disease, arthritis and chronic lung disease show both raised levels of depressed mood and impaired hedonic and eudemonic wellbeing. Wellbeing may also have a protective role in health maintenance. In an illustrative analyses from the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing (ELSA), we find that eudemonic wellbeing is associated with longer survival; 29.3% of people in the lowest wellbeing quartile died over the average follow-up period of 8.5 years compared with 9.3% of those in the highest quartile. Associations were independent of age, gender, demographic factors, and baseline mental and physical health. We conclude that the wellbeing of the elderly is an important objective for both economic and health policy. Current psychological and economic theories do not adequately account for the variations in pattern of wellbeing with age across

Social capital, political trust and self-reported psychological health: a population-based study.

Science.gov (United States)

Lindstrom, Martin; Mohseni, Mohabbat

2009-02-01

This study investigates the association between political trust (an aspect of institutional trust) in the Riksdag (the national parliament in Sweden) and self-reported psychological health, taking generalized (horizontal) trust in other people into account. The 2004 public health survey in Skåne in Southern Sweden is a cross-sectional postal questionnaire study that was answered by 27,757 respondents aged 18-80 yielding a 59% response rate. A logistic regression model was used to investigate the associations between political trust and self-reported psychological health adjusting for possible confounders (age, country of origin, education, economic stress and generalized trust in other people i.e. horizontal trust). We found that 13.0% of the men and 18.9% of the women reported poor psychological health. A total of 17.3% and 11.6% of the male and female respondents, respectively, reported that they had no trust at all in the national parliament, and another 38.2% and 36.2%, respectively, reported that their political trust was not particularly high. Respondents in younger age groups, born abroad, with high education, high levels of economic stress, low horizontal trust and low political trust had significantly higher levels of self-reported poor psychological health. There was a significant association between low political trust and low horizontal trust. After adjustments for age, country of origin, education and economic stress, the inclusion of horizontal trust reduced the odds ratios of self-reported poor psychological health in the "no political trust at all" category compared to the "very high political trust" category from 1.6 to 1.4 among men and from 1.7 to 1.4 among women. It is concluded that low political trust in the Riksdag seems to be significantly and positively associated with poor mental health.

Desiderata: Towards Indigenous Models of Vocational Psychology

Science.gov (United States)

Leong, Frederick T. L.; Pearce, Marina

2011-01-01

As a result of a relative lack of cross-cultural validity in most current (Western) psychological models, indigenous models of psychology have recently become a popular approach for understanding behaviour in specific cultures. Such models would be valuable to vocational psychology research with culturally diverse populations. Problems facing…

Psychological distress and the perception of radiation risks: the Fukushima health management survey

Science.gov (United States)

Yabe, Hirooki; Yasumura, Seiji; Ohira, Tetsuya; Niwa, Shin-Ichi; Ohtsuru, Akira; Mashiko, Hirobumi; Maeda, Masaharu; Abe, Masafumi

2015-01-01

Abstract Objective To assess relationships between the perception of radiation risks and psychological distress among evacuees from the Fukushima nuclear power plant disaster. Methods We analysed cross-sectional data from a survey of evacuees conducted in 2012. Psychological distress was classified as present or absent based on the K6 scale. Respondents recorded their views about the health risks of exposure to ionizing radiation, including immediate, delayed and genetic (inherited) health effects, on a four-point Likert scale. We examined associations between psychological distress and risk perception in logistic regression models. Age, gender, educational attainment, history of mental illness and the consequences of the disaster for employment and living conditions were potential confounders. Findings Out of the 180 604 people who received the questionnaire, we included 59 807 responses in our sample. There were 8717 respondents reporting psychological distress. Respondents who believed that radiation exposure was very likely to cause health effects were significantly more likely to be psychologically distressed than other respondents: odds ratio (OR) 1.64 (99.9% confidence interval, CI: 1.42–1.89) for immediate effects; OR: 1.48 (99.9% CI: 1.32–1.67) for delayed effects and OR: 2.17 (99.9% CI: 1.94–2.42) for genetic (inherited) effects. Similar results were obtained after controlling for individual characteristics and disaster-related stressors. Conclusion Among evacuees of the Fukushima nuclear disaster, concern about radiation risks was associated with psychological distress. PMID:26478623

Emotional intelligence and psychological health in a sample of Kuwaiti college students.

Science.gov (United States)

Alkhadher, Othman

2007-06-01

This summary investigated correlations between emotional intelligence and psychological health amongst 191 Kuwaiti undergraduate students in psychology, 98 men and 93 women (M age=20.6 yr., SD=2.8). There were two measures of emotional intelligence, one based on the ability model, the Arabic Test for Emotional Intelligence, and the other on the mixed model, the Emotional Intelligence Questionnaire. Participants' psychological health was assessed using scales from the Personality Assessment Inventory. A weak relationship between the two types of emotional intelligence was found. A correlation for scores on the Emotional Intelligence Questionnaire with the Personality Assessment Inventory was found but not with those of the Arabic Test for Emotional Intelligence. Regression analysis indicated scores on Managing Emotions and Self-awareness accounted for most of the variance in the association with the Personality Assessment Inventory. Significant sex differences were found only on the Arabic Test for Emotional Intelligence; women scored higher than men. On Emotional Intelligence Questionnaire measures, men had significantly higher means on Managing Emotions and Self-motivation. However, no significant differences were found between the sexes on the Total Emotional Intelligence Questionnaire scores.

Trust the process: community health psychology after Occupy.

Science.gov (United States)

Cornish, Flora; Montenegro, Cristian; van Reisen, Kirsten; Zaka, Flavia; Sevitt, James

2014-01-01

This article argues that community health psychology's core strategy of 'community mobilisation' is in need of renewal and proposes a new way of conceptualising community health action. Taking the Occupy movement as an example, we critique modernist understandings of community mobilisation, which are based on instrumental action in the service of a predetermined goal. Aiming to re-invigorate the 'process' tradition of community health psychology, we explore possibilities of an open-ended, anti-hierarchical and inclusive mode of community action, which we label 'trusting the process'. The gains to be made are unpredictable, but we suggest that the risk is worth taking.

The State of the Psychology Health Service Provider Workforce

Science.gov (United States)

Michalski, Daniel S.; Kohout, Jessica L.

2011-01-01

Numerous efforts to describe the health service provider or clinical workforce in psychology have been conducted during the past 30 years. The American Psychological Association (APA) has studied trends in the doctoral education pathway and the resultant effects on the broader psychology workforce. During this period, the creation and growth of…

Attachment as a Moderating Factor Between Social Support, Physical Health, and Psychological Symptoms

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kimberly A. Rapoza

2016-12-01

Full Text Available This study investigated the extent to which perceived social support functioned as a protective factors, and dimensions of insecure attachment (i.e., avoidant and anxious functioned as risks factors for physical and psychological health. We explored whether insecure attachment was a mechanism that modified the relationship (i.e., protect against or increases risk between social support and adult health. Participants were 155 non-traditional adult college students from demographically diverse backgrounds. Students were approached in common areas on campus or in classrooms during break and were asked to complete the questionnaire. Bartholomew and Horowitz’s Attachment Questionnaire assessed avoidant and anxious attachment dimensions, the Brief Social Support Questionnaire assessed perceived social support, and the Memorial Symptom Assessment Scale measured physical and psychological symptoms. Model results indicated that the anxious dimension of insecure attachment was more directly and positively associated with poorer general physical health and psychological symptoms, whereas greater perceived social support was linked with better reported health. However, an interesting pattern emerged with avoidant attachment through a moderated relationship with social support. The absence of a satisfying supportive network was significantly related to poorer physical and psychological health outcomes for those low in avoidant attachment, but not for those high in avoidant attachment. Results from this work suggest that insecure attachment plays a detrimental role in adult health. Perceived social support does not necessarily function as a blanket protective factor for health, as it seemed to offer less benefit to those high in attachment avoidance.

Health-related productivity losses increase when the health condition is co-morbid with psychological distress: findings from a large cross-sectional sample of working Australians

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Vecchio Nerina

2011-05-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background The health condition of workers is known to impact on productivity outcomes. The relationship between health and productivity is of increasing interest amid the need to increase productivity to meet global financial challenges. Prevalence of psychological distress is also of growing concern in Australia with a two-fold increase in the prevalence of psychological distress in Australia from 1997-2005. Methods We used the cross-sectional data set from the Australian Work Outcomes Research Cost-benefit (WORC study to explore the impacts of health conditions with and without co-morbid psychological distress, compared to those with neither condition, in a sample of approximately 78,000 working Australians. The World Health Organisation Health and Performance Questionnaire was used which provided data on demographic characteristics, health condition and working conditions. Data were analysed using negative binomial logistic regression and multinomial logistic regression models for absenteeism and presenteeism respectively. Results For both absenteeism and presenteeism productivity measures there was a greater risk of productivity loss associated when health conditions were co-morbid with psychological distress. For some conditions this risk was much greater for those with co-morbid psychological distress compared to those without. Conclusions Co-morbid psychological distress demonstrates an increased risk of productivity loss for a range of health conditions. These findings highlight the need for further research to determine whether co-morbid psychological distress potentially exacerbates lost productivity.

Health Care Psychology: Prospects for the Well-Being of Children.

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Wright, Logan

1979-01-01

Health care psychology is distinguished from traditional child psychology in that it emphasizes clinical application and is concerned with primary mental health care. Diagnosis, classification, prediction, and treatment and control strategies in the field offer definite solutions to problems such as tracheotomy addiction, encopresis, psychogenic…

The impact of the work conditions of allied health professionals on satisfaction, commitment and psychological distress.

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Rodwell, John; Noblet, Andrew; Demir, Defne; Steane, Peter

2009-01-01

Allied health professionals are integral to the effective delivery of hospital-based health care, yet little is known about the working conditions associated with the attitudinal and health outcomes of these employees. The purpose of this study was to investigate the extent to which the demand-control-support model, in combination with organizational justice variables, predicts the employee-level outcomes of allied health professionals. Allied health professionals from an Australian health care organization were surveyed, with 113 (52.6%) participating. The survey included measures of job demands, job control, social support, organizational justice, satisfaction, commitment and psychological distress. Multiple regression analyses reveal that the additive demand-control-support model predicts the outcome variables of job satisfaction, organizational commitment and psychological distress, whereas the organizational justice variables predicted organizational commitment and psychological distress. Further, both work and nonwork sources of support, in addition to specific justice dimensions, were closely associated with employee-level outcomes. When coupled with previous research involving social support and organizational justice, the findings from this study suggest that initiatives aimed at strengthening supervisor and nonwork support, while enhancing perceptions of organizational fairness, may offer useful avenues for increasing the levels of satisfaction, commitment and well-being experienced by allied health professionals.

Health disparities through a psychological lens.

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Adler, Nancy E

2009-11-01

There is growing concern in the United States about avoidable, unjust differences in health associated with sociodemographic characteristics, such as socioeconomic status and race/ethnicity. This concern has sparked research to identify how disparities develop and how they can be reduced. Studies showing that disparities occur at all levels of socioeconomic status, not simply at the very bottom, suggest that psychosocial factors play an important role. The author discusses both content and process issues in psychological research on disparities. Copyright 2009 by the American Psychological Association

Strengthening introductory psychology: A new model for teaching the introductory course.

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Gurung, Regan A R; Hackathorn, Jana; Enns, Carolyn; Frantz, Susan; Cacioppo, John T; Loop, Trudy; Freeman, James E

2016-01-01

Introductory psychology (Intro Psych) is one of the most popular and frequently taught courses on college campuses, yet educators in psychology have limited knowledge about what is covered in classes around the nation or the extent to which class content reflects the current scope of the discipline. There is no explicit model to guide course content selection for the intro course, which poses substantial challenges for instructors. This article proposes a new model for teaching the intro course that integrates (a) scientific foundations, (b) 5 major domains or pillars of knowledge (biological, cognitive, developmental, social and personality, and mental and physical health), and (c) cross-cutting themes relevant to all domains (cultural and social diversity, ethics, variations in human functioning, and applications; American Psychological Association, 2014). We advocate for national assessment of the course, a similar introductory course for majors and nonmajors, the inclusion of experiential or laboratory components, and additional training resources for instructors of the intro course. Given the exponential growth of psychological knowledge and applications during the past decades, we caution against attempting to provide exhaustive coverage of all topic areas of psychology in a one-semester course. We conclude by discussing the challenges that lie ahead for the discipline of psychology as it launches this new model for Intro Psych. (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved).

Expressive writing promotes self-reported physical, social and psychological health among Chinese undergraduates.

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Yang, Zhihan; Tang, Xiaoqing; Duan, Wenjie; Zhang, Yonghong

2015-03-01

The present study examines the efficacy of expressive writing among Chinese undergraduates. The sample comprised of 74 undergraduates enrolled in a 9-week intervention (35 in experimental class vs. 39 in control class). The writing exercises were well-embedded in an elective course for the two classes. The 46-item simplified Chinese Self-Rated Health Measurement Scale, which assesses psychological, physical and social health, was adopted to measure the outcome of this study. Baseline (second week) and post-test (ninth week) scores were obtained during the classes. After the intervention on the eighth week, the self-reported psychological, social and physical health of the experimental class improved. Psychological health obtained the maximum degree of improvement, followed by social and physical health. Furthermore, female participants gained more psychological improvement than males. These results demonstrated that the expressive writing approach could improve the physical, social and psychological health of Chinese undergraduates, and the method can be applied in university psychological consulting settings in Mainland China. © 2014 International Union of Psychological Science.

Socioeconomic status, labour market connection, and self-rated psychological health: the role of social capital and economic stress.

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Lindström, Martin; Ali, Sadiq M; Rosvall, Maria

2012-02-01

To investigate the association between socioeconomic status, unemployment and self-rated psychological health, taking economic stress and horizontal trust into account. The 2008 public health survey in Skåne is a cross-sectional postal questionnaire study with a 55% participation rate. A random sample was invited and 28,198 persons aged 18-80 participated. Logistic regression models were used to investigate associations between socioeconomic status by occupation (SES), labour market connection and self-rated psychological health (GHQ12). The multiple regression analyses included age, country of birth, education, economic stress and generalized (horizontal) trust. 13.8% of the men and 18.2% of the women had poor psychological health. Poor psychological health was more common among the young, among those born abroad, among those with lower education, with economic stress, and low horizontal trust. There were no significant differences between the employed and self-employed groups. However, the people who had retired early, the unemployed and those on long-term sick leave had significantly higher odds ratios of poor psychological health than higher non-manual employees throughout the analyses. There were no differences in psychological health between non-manual employees in higher positions and other employed and self-employed SES groups among men or women. In contrast, the early retired, the unemployed and the category on long-term sick leave had significantly higher odds ratios of poor psychological health among both men and women throughout the multiple analyses. Both economic stress and trust affected this association (i.e., lowered the odds ratios of poor psychological health), but affected by economic stress to a somewhat higher extent.

How to improve eHealth interventions in Health Psychology and Behavioral Medicine

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van Gemert-Pijnen, Julia E.W.C.; Kulyk, Olga Anatoliyivna; Wentzel, M.J.; Sieverink, Floor; Beerlage-de Jong, Nienke; Kelders, Saskia Marion

2014-01-01

Introduction: eHealth is gaining more and more ground in health psychology and behavioural medicine to support wellbeing, a healthier lifestyle or adherence to medications. Despite the large number of eHealth projects to date, the actual use of eHealth interventions is lower than expected. Many

[The effects of two health education models on psychological and nutritional profile of patients waiting for kidney transplantation].

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Ye, Hui-juan; Hu, Li-jun; Yao, Yuan-yuan; Chen, Jiang-hua

2011-10-01

To investigate the effects of two health education models on the psychology and nutrition of patients waiting for cadaveric renal transplantation. A total of 125 patients waiting for cadaveric renal transplantations were involved in our study. They were diagnosed with chronic renal failure in our hospital during September 1, 2009 to August 30, 2010. The patients were randomly divided into control group (n = 62) and observational group (n = 63). Patients in the control group received traditional health education with routine preoperative education during hospitalization. In the observational group, full-time nurses assessed the nutrition status of each patient and monitored the data. The observational patients were followed up and were given dietary guidance and knowledge of transplantation. Various kinds of education formats were adopted in observational group to provide communication opportunities between patients and surgeons in charge as well as patients who underwent transplantation. Psychological testings of patients in both groups were tested by self-rating anxiety scale (SAS) and self-rating depression scale (SDS) before and after the health education. Triceps skinfold thickness (TSF), mid-arm muscle circumference (MAMC) and biochemistry index were also tested. Psychological and nutritional status of patients in the two groups was compared. There were no significant differences in scores of the SAS, SDS, TSF, Hb, and albumin (Alb) between the two groups (all P > 0.05) before health education. After health education, SAS and SDS in observational group were lower than those in the control group (40.02 ± 9.05 vs 47.05 ± 10.32, 42.70 ± 10.01 vs 50.83 ± 10.12; both P < 0.01). Both TSF and Hb were elevated after education (P < 0.001 or 0.05). Alb was significantly elevated in the observational group [(35.67 ± 6.19) g/L vs (37.48 ± 5.09) g/L, P < 0.01]. Comprehensive and various health education methods can significantly alleviate mental stress and improve

A cognitive-perceptual model of symptom perception in males and females: the roles of negative affect, selective attention, health anxiety and psychological job demands.

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Goodwin, Laura; Fairclough, Stephen H; Poole, Helen M

2013-06-01

Kolk et al.'s model of symptom perception underlines the effects of trait negative affect, selective attention and external stressors. The current study tested this model in 263 males and 498 females from an occupational sample. Trait negative affect was associated with symptom reporting in females only, and selective attention and psychological job demands were associated with symptom reporting in both genders. Health anxiety was associated with symptom reporting in males only. Future studies might consider the inclusion of selective attention, which was more strongly associated with symptom reporting than negative affect. Psychological job demands appear to influence symptom reporting in both males and females.

Occupational health and psychological well-being of industrial employees

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A Bhardwaj

2008-01-01

Full Text Available Background : In the present era of globalization of business the nature of work organizations and its environment are changing radically extending noticeable impact on individual′s job, safety, health, and well-being. Material & Methods : The present study was designed to examine the effects of overall occupational health on psychological well-being in a sample of 150 line-staff operating in a production organization. Psychometrically standardized scales were employed to assess the extent of occupational health and psychological well-being. Results : The analyses of the obtained data revealed that occupational health positively correlates with employees′ mental health. Conclusion : The employees who perceived their work and its physical and psycho-social environment as to be adequate and healthy maintained relatively better overall mental health.

Modeling Psychological Attributes in Psychology – An Epistemological Discussion: Network Analysis vs. Latent Variables

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Guyon, Hervé; Falissard, Bruno; Kop, Jean-Luc

2017-01-01

Network Analysis is considered as a new method that challenges Latent Variable models in inferring psychological attributes. With Network Analysis, psychological attributes are derived from a complex system of components without the need to call on any latent variables. But the ontological status of psychological attributes is not adequately defined with Network Analysis, because a psychological attribute is both a complex system and a property emerging from this complex system. The aim of this article is to reappraise the legitimacy of latent variable models by engaging in an ontological and epistemological discussion on psychological attributes. Psychological attributes relate to the mental equilibrium of individuals embedded in their social interactions, as robust attractors within complex dynamic processes with emergent properties, distinct from physical entities located in precise areas of the brain. Latent variables thus possess legitimacy, because the emergent properties can be conceptualized and analyzed on the sole basis of their manifestations, without exploring the upstream complex system. However, in opposition with the usual Latent Variable models, this article is in favor of the integration of a dynamic system of manifestations. Latent Variables models and Network Analysis thus appear as complementary approaches. New approaches combining Latent Network Models and Network Residuals are certainly a promising new way to infer psychological attributes, placing psychological attributes in an inter-subjective dynamic approach. Pragmatism-realism appears as the epistemological framework required if we are to use latent variables as representations of psychological attributes. PMID:28572780

Professional psychology in health care services: a blueprint for education and training.

Science.gov (United States)

2013-09-01

In 2010, an interorganizational effort among the American Psychological Association, the Council of Graduate Departments of Psychology, and the Council of Chairs of Training Councils, known as the Health Service Psychology Education Collaborative (HSPEC), was initiated to address mounting concerns related to education and training for the professional practice of psychology. Given that professional psychology includes diverse areas of practice and the mounting concerns about psychology's role in a reformed health care system, HSPEC chose to focus on preparation of psychologists for the delivery of health care services and made seven recommendations that constitute the core of a blueprint for the future. These recommendations require significant changes in graduate education-changes critical to the future of psychology as a health profession. As part of its work, HSPEC developed a statement of core competencies for the preparation of health service psychologists, integrating feedback solicited through public comment and review by the psychology community, including education and training councils and APA governance groups. The articulation of these competencies serves to inform not only the preparation of health service psychologists but students, employers, regulators, and policymakers as well. It also reflects the discipline's commitment to quality and accountability in the preparation of its workforce. HSPEC recognizes that its recommendations to strengthen the core preparation and identity of health service psychologists will result in some limitations on degrees of freedom at the program level but believes such limitation to be in the service of coherent and uniform standards for education and training. This blueprint supports the evolution and development of the profession within a scientific context. It supports standards as meaningful, versus minimum, indicators as part of the profession's obligation to the public. The blueprint also calls for the profession

Psychological Health of First-Year Health Professional Students in a Medical University in the United Arab Emirates

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Kadayam G Gomathi

2012-05-01

Full Text Available Objectives: The aim of this study was to assess the psychological health of first-year health professional students and to study sources of student stress. Methods: All first-year students (N = 125 of the Gulf Medical University (GMU in Ajman, United Arab Emirates (UAE, were invited to participate in a voluntary, anonymous, self-administered, questionnaire-based survey in January 2011. Psychological health was assessed using the 12-item General Health Questionnaire. A 24-item questionnaire, with items related to academic, psychosocial and health domains was used to identify sources of stress. Pearson’s chi-squared test and the Mann-Whitney U-test were used for testing the association between psychological morbidity and sources of stress. Results: A total of 112 students (89.6% completed the survey and the overall prevalence of psychological morbidity was found to be 33.6%. The main academic-related sources of stress were ‘frequency of exams’, ‘academic workload’, and ‘time management’. Major psychosocial stressors were ‘worries regarding future’, ‘high parental expectations’, ‘anxiety’, and ‘dealing with members of the opposite sex’. Health-related issues were ‘irregular eating habits’, ‘lack of exercise’, and ‘sleep-related problems’. Psychological morbidity was not significantly associated with any of the demographic factors studied. However, total stress scores and academics-related domain scores were significantly associated with psychological morbidity. Conclusion: Psychological morbidity was seen in one in three first-year students attending GMU. While worries regarding the future and parental expectations were sources of stress for many students, psychological morbidity was found to be significantly associated with only the total stress and the academic-related domain scores.

Psychological Abuse, Mental Health, and Acceptance of Dating Violence Among Adolescents.

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Temple, Jeff R; Choi, Hye Jeong; Elmquist, JoAnna; Hecht, Michael; Miller-Day, Michelle; Stuart, Gregory L; Brem, Meagan; Wolford-Clevenger, Caitlin

2016-08-01

Existing literature indicates that acceptance of dating violence is a significant and robust risk factor for psychological dating abuse perpetration. Past work also indicates a significant relationship between psychological dating abuse perpetration and poor mental health. However, no known research has examined the relationship between acceptance of dating violence, perpetration of dating abuse, and mental health. In addition to exploring this complex relationship, the present study examines whether psychological abuse perpetration mediates the relationship between acceptance of dating violence and mental health (i.e., internalizing symptoms of depression, anxiety, and hostility). Three waves of longitudinal data were obtained from 1,042 ethnically diverse high school students in Texas. Participants completed assessments of psychological dating abuse perpetration, acceptance of dating violence, and internalizing symptoms (hostility and symptoms of anxiety and depression). As predicted, results indicated that perpetration of psychological abuse was significantly associated with acceptance of dating violence and all internalizing symptoms. Furthermore, psychological abuse mediated the relationship between acceptance of dating violence and internalizing symptoms. Findings from the present study suggest that acceptance of dating violence is an important target for the prevention of dating violence and related emotional distress. Copyright © 2016 Society for Adolescent Health and Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

The impact of psychological capital on mental health among Iranian nurses: considering the mediating role of job burnout.

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Estiri, Mehrdad; Nargesian, Abbas; Dastpish, Farinaz; Sharifi, Seyed Mahdi

2016-01-01

The role of nurses in providing high quality healthcare to patients is so important that creating a desirable working environment to enhance their overall performance is unavoidable. This paper aimed to explore the impact of psychological capital on mental health by investigating the mediating effects of job burnout on this relationship. The data used in this research was obtained via a survey conducted among selected Iranian nurses in public hospitals. In total, 450 questionnaires were distributed and 384 were completed and returned. Collected data was analysed using Structural Equation Modelling (SEM). Findings showed that there is a significant relationship between psychological capital, job burnout and mental health; also, there is a significant negative relationship between psychological capital and job burnout, and a significant positive relationship between psychological capital and mental health. The results have several important practical implications for human resource management in Iranian public hospitals. According to the results of this study, reducing job burnout is an important factor in enhancing psychological capital and can positively enhance nurses' mental health.

Flooded homes, broken bonds, the meaning of home, psychological processes and their impact on psychological health in a disaster.

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Carroll, Bob; Morbey, Hazel; Balogh, Ruth; Araoz, Gonzalo

2009-06-01

In 2005, Carlisle suffered severe flooding and 1600 houses were affected. A qualitative research project to study the social and health impacts was undertaken. People whose homes had been flooded and workers who had supported them were interviewed. The findings showed that there was severe disruption to people's lives and severe damage to their homes, and many suffered from psychological health issues. Phenomenological and transactional perspectives are utilised to analyse the psychological processes (identity, attachment, alienation and dialectics) underlying the meaning of home and their impact on psychological health. Proposals for policy and practice are made.

[Relation of psychological distress after diagnosis of gastric cancer at a cancer screening center with psychological support from public health nurses and family members].

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Fukui, Sakiko; Ozawa, Harumi

2003-07-01

The objectives of this study were to examine the degree of psychological distress during the first 6 months after diagnosis of gastric cancer and investigate the relation to psychological support from public health nurses and family members. One hundred and five patients with stomach, colorectal, or esophagus cancer were mailed a questionnaire. They were asked questions concerning the level of shock on the day of diagnosis, at 1-week after the diagnosis, and at 6 months post diagnosis. In addition, their physical and psychological status was assessed at the 6-month time point. They were also asked about perceived psychological support from public health nurses and family members. The relation between psychological distress and such psychological support was then assessed using multiple regression analyses. The levels of shock on the day of diagnosis and after 1-week were both significantly related to the psychological support from public health nurses. Physical and psychological status at 6 months post diagnosis was significantly related to the level of psychological support from the patient's family members. The study revealed that psychological support from public health nurses improves the level of patient psychological distress during the first 1 week after the cancer diagnosis. Psychological support from family members facilitates the physical and psychological adjustment at 6 months post diagnosis. The results indicate that psychological support is important just after cancer diagnosis and for longer term adjustment, pointing to a major role of health care professionals alleviating problems associated with cancer diagnosis.

The SAGE Model of Social Psychological Research

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Power, Séamus A.; Velez, Gabriel; Qadafi, Ahmad; Tennant, Joseph

2018-01-01

We propose a SAGE model for social psychological research. Encapsulated in our acronym is a proposal to have a synthetic approach to social psychological research, in which qualitative methods are augmentative to quantitative ones, qualitative methods can be generative of new experimental hypotheses, and qualitative methods can capture experiences that evade experimental reductionism. We remind social psychological researchers that psychology was founded in multiple methods of investigation at multiple levels of analysis. We discuss historical examples and our own research as contemporary examples of how a SAGE model can operate in part or as an integrated whole. The implications of our model are discussed. PMID:29361241

The SAGE Model of Social Psychological Research.

Science.gov (United States)

Power, Séamus A; Velez, Gabriel; Qadafi, Ahmad; Tennant, Joseph

2018-05-01

We propose a SAGE model for social psychological research. Encapsulated in our acronym is a proposal to have a synthetic approach to social psychological research, in which qualitative methods are augmentative to quantitative ones, qualitative methods can be generative of new experimental hypotheses, and qualitative methods can capture experiences that evade experimental reductionism. We remind social psychological researchers that psychology was founded in multiple methods of investigation at multiple levels of analysis. We discuss historical examples and our own research as contemporary examples of how a SAGE model can operate in part or as an integrated whole. The implications of our model are discussed.

Health care reform: preparing the psychology workforce.

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Rozensky, Ronald H

2012-03-01

This article is based on the opening presentation by the author to the Association of Psychologists in Academic Health Centers' 5th National Conference, "Preparing Psychologists for a Rapidly Changing Healthcare Environment" held in March, 2011. Reviewing the patient protection and affordable care act (ACA), that presentation was designed to set the stage for several days of symposia and discussions anticipating upcoming changes to the healthcare system. This article reviews the ACA; general trends that have impacted healthcare reform; the implications of the Act for psychology's workforce including the growing focus on interprofessional education, training, and practice, challenges to address in order to prepare for psychology's future; and recommendations for advocating for psychology's future as a healthcare profession.

Trajectories of psychological distress after prison release: implications for mental health service need in ex-prisoners.

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Thomas, E G; Spittal, M J; Heffernan, E B; Taxman, F S; Alati, R; Kinner, S A

2016-02-01

Understanding individual-level changes in mental health status after prison release is crucial to providing targeted and effective mental health care to ex-prisoners. We aimed to describe trajectories of psychological distress following prison discharge and compare these trajectories with mental health service use in the community. The Kessler Psychological Distress Scale (K10) was administered to 1216 sentenced adult prisoners in Queensland, Australia, before prison release and approximately 1, 3 and 6 months after release. We used group-based trajectory modeling to identify K10 trajectories after release. Contact with community mental health services in the year following release was assessed via data linkage. We identified five trajectory groups, representing consistently low (51.1% of the cohort), consistently moderate (29.8%), high increasing (11.6%), high declining (5.5%) and consistently very high (1.9%) psychological distress. Mood disorder, anxiety disorder, history of self-harm and risky drug use were risk factors for the high increasing, very high and high declining trajectory groups. Women were over-represented in the high increasing and high declining groups, but men were at higher risk of very high psychological distress. Within the high increasing and very high groups, 25% of participants accessed community mental health services in the first year post-release, for a median of 4.4 contact hours. For the majority of prisoners with high to very high psychological distress, distress persists after release. However, contact with mental health services in the community appears low. Further research is required to understand barriers to mental health service access among ex-prisoners.

The development of a model of psychological first aid for non-mental health trained public health personnel: the Johns Hopkins RAPID-PFA.

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Everly, George S; Lee McCabe, O; Semon, Natalie L; Thompson, Carol B; Links, Jonathan M

2014-01-01

The Johns Hopkins Center for Public Health Preparedness, which houses the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention-funded Preparedness and Emergency Response Learning Center, has been addressing the challenge of disaster-caused behavioral health surge by conducting training programs in psychological first aid (PFA) for public health professionals. This report describes our approach, named RAPID-PFA, and summarizes training evaluation data to determine if relevant knowledge, skills, and attitudes are imparted to trainees to support effective PFA delivery. In the wake of disasters, there is an increase in psychological distress and dysfunction among survivors and first responders. To meet the challenges posed by this surge, a professional workforce trained in PFA is imperative. More than 1500 participants received a 1-day RAPID-PFA training. Pre-/postassessments were conducted to measure (a) required knowledge to apply PFA; (b) perceived self-efficacy, that is, belief in one's own ability, to apply PFA techniques; and (c) confidence in one's own resilience in a crisis context. Statistical techniques were used to validate the extent to which the survey successfully measured individual PFA constructs, that is, unidimensionality, and to quantify the reliability of the assessment tool. Statistically significant pre-/postimprovements were observed in (a) knowledge items supportive of PFA delivery, (b) perceived self-efficacy to apply PFA interventions, and (c) confidence about being a resilient PFA provider. Cronbach alpha coefficients ranging from 0.87 to 0.90 suggested that the self-reported measures possessed sufficient internal consistency. Findings were consistent with our pilot work, and with our complementary research initiatives validating a variant of RAPID-PFA with faith communities. The RAPID-PFA model promises to be a broadly applicable approach to extending community behavioral health surge capacity. Relevant next steps include evaluating the effectiveness

Contextualizing Asian American College Student Psychological Health

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Liang, Christopher T. H.; Liu, Jessica; Nguyen, David; Song, Ge

2017-01-01

With attention to race, culture, and gender, this chapter contextualizes the help-seeking behaviors and psychological aspects of health facing Asian American college students. Recommendations are provided to student affairs professionals and counselors.

Prevalence of psychological disorders among patients attending community health centers, Perak, Malaysia

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Asma Perveen

2017-09-01

Full Text Available Objective: The purpose of this study was to explore the prevalence of psychological disorders among community health centers in Batang Padang district Perak. Material & Methods: To conduct this study survey research method was used, seven community health centers in Batang Padang District, Perak were contacted to collect data from (N=216 respondents, who attended health facilities in Batang Padang District. There is no age limit, no education difference and no other requirement needed. Instrument and Materials: Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scale (DASS-21 PRIME Screen and PRIME MD Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ. Results: Data collected from seven health community centers revealed that prevalence of Stress 86%, anxiety 124%, depression 67, psychotic symptoms 16%, somatoform symptoms 52%, panic symptoms 28%, and substance abuse 21%. the higher prevalence was stress and depression among people attending health centers. Conclusion: Results findings indicated that there is significant prevalence of psychological disorder among community health centers. Analysis of the results help us to determine that there is strong need to provide psychological services, awareness and education plan, management and prevention for psychological disorders

Stereotypes Can “Get Under the Skin”: Testing a Self-Stereotyping and Psychological Resource Model of Overweight and Obesity

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Rivera, Luis M.; Paredez, Stefanie M.

2014-01-01

The authors draw upon social, personality, and health psychology to propose and test a self-stereotyping and psychological resource model of overweight and obesity. The model contends that self-stereotyping depletes psychological resources, namely self-esteem, that help to prevent overweight and obesity. In support of the model, mediation analysis demonstrates that adult Hispanics who highly self-stereotype had lower levels of self-esteem than those who self-stereotype less, which in turn predicted higher levels of body mass index (overweight and obesity levels). Furthermore, the model did not hold for the referent sample, White participants, and an alternative mediation model was not supported. These data are the first to theoretically and empirically link self-stereotyping and self-esteem (a psychological resource) with a strong physiological risk factor for morbidity and short life expectancy in stigmatized individuals. Thus, this research contributes to understanding ethnic-racial health disparities in the United States and beyond. PMID:25221353

Applying the cube model to pediatric psychology: development of research competency skills at the doctoral level.

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Madan-Swain, Avi; Hankins, Shirley L; Gilliam, Margaux Barnes; Ross, Kelly; Reynolds, Nina; Milby, Jesse; Schwebel, David C

2012-03-01

This article considers the development of research competencies in professional psychology and how that movement might be applied to training in pediatric psychology. The field of pediatric psychology has a short but rich history, and experts have identified critical competencies. However, pediatric psychology has not yet detailed a set of research-based competencies. This article initially reviews the competency initiative in professional psychology, including the cube model as it relates to research training. Next, we review and adapt the knowledge-based/foundational and applied/functional research competencies proposed by health psychology into a cube model for pediatric psychology. We focus especially on graduate-level training but allude to its application throughout professional development. We present the cube model as it is currently being applied to the development of a systematic research competency evaluation for graduate training at our medical/clinical psychology doctoral program at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. Based on the review and synthesis of the literature on research competency in professional psychology we propose future initiatives to develop these competencies for the field of pediatric psychology. The cube model can be successfully applied to the development of research training competencies in pediatric psychology. Future research should address the development, implementation, and assessment of the research competencies for training and career development of future pediatric psychologists.

[Perception of health risks: psychological and social factors].

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Kurzenhäuser, S; Epp, A

2009-12-01

This article reviews central findings and current developments of psychological and sociological research on the perception of health risks. Risk perception is influenced by numerous psychological, social, political, and cultural factors. These factors can be categorized into (a) risk characteristics, (b) characteristics of the risk perceiving person and his/her situation, and (c) characteristics of risk communication. Thus, besides individual cognitive and affective processing of risk information, social processes of risk amplification (e.g., media effects) are also involved in the construction of individual risk perceptions. We discuss the recommendations for health risk communication that follow from these findings with regard to different communication goals.

Physically and psychologically hazardous jobs and mental health in Thailand.

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Yiengprugsawan, Vasoontara; Strazdins, Lyndall; Lim, Lynette L-Y; Kelly, Matthew; Seubsman, Sam-ang; Sleigh, Adrian C

2015-09-01

This paper investigates associations between hazardous jobs, mental health and wellbeing among Thai adults. In 2005, 87 134 distance-learning students from Sukhothai Thammathirat Open University completed a self-administered questionnaire; at the 2009 follow-up 60 569 again participated. Job characteristics were reported in 2005, psychological distress and life satisfaction were reported in both 2005 and 2009. We derived two composite variables grading psychologically and physically hazardous jobs and reported adjusted odds ratios (AOR) from multivariate logistic regressions. Analyses focused on cohort members in paid work: the total was 62 332 at 2005 baseline and 41 671 at 2009 follow-up. Cross-sectional AORs linking psychologically hazardous jobs to psychological distress ranged from 1.52 (one hazard) to 4.48 (four hazards) for males and a corresponding 1.34-3.76 for females. Similarly AORs for physically hazardous jobs were 1.75 (one hazard) to 2.76 (four or more hazards) for males and 1.70-3.19 for females. A similar magnitude of associations was found between psychologically adverse jobs and low life satisfaction (AORs of 1.34-4.34 among males and 1.18-3.63 among females). Longitudinal analyses confirm these cross-sectional relationships. Thus, significant dose-response associations were found linking hazardous job exposures in 2005 to mental health and wellbeing in 2009. The health impacts of psychologically and physically hazardous jobs in developed, Western countries are equally evident in transitioning Southeast Asian countries such as Thailand. Regulation and monitoring of work conditions will become increasingly important to the health and wellbeing of the Thai workforce. © The Author 2013. Published by Oxford University Press.

Physically and psychologically hazardous jobs and mental health in Thailand

Science.gov (United States)

Yiengprugsawan, Vasoontara; Strazdins, Lyndall; Lim, Lynette L.-Y.; Kelly, Matthew; Seubsman, Sam-ang; Sleigh, Adrian C.

2015-01-01

This paper investigates associations between hazardous jobs, mental health and wellbeing among Thai adults. In 2005, 87 134 distance-learning students from Sukhothai Thammathirat Open University completed a self-administered questionnaire; at the 2009 follow-up 60 569 again participated. Job characteristics were reported in 2005, psychological distress and life satisfaction were reported in both 2005 and 2009. We derived two composite variables grading psychologically and physically hazardous jobs and reported adjusted odds ratios (AOR) from multivariate logistic regressions. Analyses focused on cohort members in paid work: the total was 62 332 at 2005 baseline and 41 671 at 2009 follow-up. Cross-sectional AORs linking psychologically hazardous jobs to psychological distress ranged from 1.52 (one hazard) to 4.48 (four hazards) for males and a corresponding 1.34–3.76 for females. Similarly AORs for physically hazardous jobs were 1.75 (one hazard) to 2.76 (four or more hazards) for males and 1.70–3.19 for females. A similar magnitude of associations was found between psychologically adverse jobs and low life satisfaction (AORs of 1.34–4.34 among males and 1.18–3.63 among females). Longitudinal analyses confirm these cross-sectional relationships. Thus, significant dose–response associations were found linking hazardous job exposures in 2005 to mental health and wellbeing in 2009. The health impacts of psychologically and physically hazardous jobs in developed, Western countries are equally evident in transitioning Southeast Asian countries such as Thailand. Regulation and monitoring of work conditions will become increasingly important to the health and wellbeing of the Thai workforce. PMID:24218225

Leader-Member Exchange across two hierarchical levels of leadership: concurrent influences on work characteristics and employee psychological health.

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Karanika-Murray, Maria; Bartholomew, Kimberley J; Williams, Glenn A; Cox, Tom

2015-01-02

Leader-Member Exchange (LMX) theory suggests that the quality of the leader-employee relationship is linked to employee psychological health. Leaders who reside at different hierarchical levels have unique roles and spheres of influence and potentially affect employees' work experiences in different ways. Nevertheless, research on the impact of leadership on employee psychological health has largely viewed leaders as a homogeneous group. Expanding on LMX theory, we argue that (1) LMX sourced at the levels of the line manager (LM) and senior management (SM) team will be differentially linked to employee psychological health (assessed as worn-out) and that (2) these relationships will be mediated by perceived work characteristics (reward and recognition, workload management, quality of relationships with colleagues and physical environment). Structural equation modelling on data from 337 manual workers partially supported the hypotheses. Perceptions of the physical environment mediated the relationship between LMX at the LM level and employee psychological health, whereas perceptions of workload management mediated the relationship between LMX at the SM level and psychological health. These findings corroborate arguments that leaders are not a uniform group and as such the effects of LMX on employees will depend on leadership hierarchy. Implications for expanding leadership theory are discussed.

Leader-Member Exchange across two hierarchical levels of leadership: concurrent influences on work characteristics and employee psychological health

Science.gov (United States)

Karanika-Murray, Maria; Bartholomew, Kimberley J.; Williams, Glenn A.; Cox, Tom

2015-01-01

Leader-Member Exchange (LMX) theory suggests that the quality of the leader–employee relationship is linked to employee psychological health. Leaders who reside at different hierarchical levels have unique roles and spheres of influence and potentially affect employees' work experiences in different ways. Nevertheless, research on the impact of leadership on employee psychological health has largely viewed leaders as a homogeneous group. Expanding on LMX theory, we argue that (1) LMX sourced at the levels of the line manager (LM) and senior management (SM) team will be differentially linked to employee psychological health (assessed as worn-out) and that (2) these relationships will be mediated by perceived work characteristics (reward and recognition, workload management, quality of relationships with colleagues and physical environment). Structural equation modelling on data from 337 manual workers partially supported the hypotheses. Perceptions of the physical environment mediated the relationship between LMX at the LM level and employee psychological health, whereas perceptions of workload management mediated the relationship between LMX at the SM level and psychological health. These findings corroborate arguments that leaders are not a uniform group and as such the effects of LMX on employees will depend on leadership hierarchy. Implications for expanding leadership theory are discussed. PMID:25999635

The peculiarities of connection between social capital and psychological health of the people with different economic status: the analysis of research results

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Олександра Андріївна Ніздрань

2016-10-01

Full Text Available The theoretical and methodological foundations and the organization of the empirical research of the connection between social capital and psychological health of persons with low level of economic status were proved. The peculiarities of the state of psychological health and the development of social capital constituents depending on the level of economic well-being of a person were revealed. The model of the influence of social capital as a factor of the psychological health of persons with low level of economic status was given

Investigation and Analysis on Psychological Health Situation for Middle and Primary School Students in Xianning City

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Hong Yanping

2015-01-01

Full Text Available This paper is used to know about the psychological health situation for middle and primary school students in Xianning City and provide a certain empirical basis for meaningful development of psychological health education and psychological assistance. This paper uses the MHT scale prepared by Bucheng Zhou professor et al. to conduct a test for 1000 students in 7 middle and primary schools in Xianning City. The detection rate of psychological health problem accounts for 1.6% where the positive detection rate of study anxiety ranks first (43.2%. The psychological health situations have much difference in sex (t = -4. 624, P<0. 001, and it’s lower in male students than female ones. There is a significant difference between the psychological health situation for only and non-only children (t = -2. 519, P<0. 01.There is a significant difference on the psychological health situation for primary school, middle school and high school students (F = 11. 3, P<0. 001, and the psychological health situation of primary school students is better than that for middle school students. It can be concluded that the psychological health situation of middle and primary school students in Xianning City is fairly good, and the psychological health situation for male student, only children and primary school student is also fairly good.

The Food Marketing Defense Model: Integrating Psychological Research to Protect Youth and Inform Public Policy.

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Harris, Jennifer L; Brownell, Kelly D; Bargh, John A

2009-12-01

Marketing practices that promote calorie-dense, nutrient-poor foods directly to children and adolescents present significant public health risk. Worldwide, calls for government action and industry change to protect young people from the negative effects of food marketing have increased. Current proposals focus on restricting television advertising to children under 12 years old, but current psychological models suggest that much more is required. All forms of marketing pose considerable risk; adolescents are also highly vulnerable; and food marketing may produce far-reaching negative health outcomes. We propose a food marketing defense model that posits four necessary conditions to effectively counter harmful food marketing practices: awareness, understanding, ability and motivation to resist. A new generation of psychological research is needed to examine each of these processes, including the psychological mechanisms through which food marketing affects young people, to identify public policy that will effectively protect them from harmful influence.

Acculturation, enculturation, and Asian American college students' mental health and attitudes toward seeking professional psychological help.

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Miller, Matthew J; Yang, Minji; Hui, Kayi; Choi, Na-Yeun; Lim, Robert H

2011-07-01

In the present study, we tested a theoretically and empirically derived partially indirect effects acculturation and enculturation model of Asian American college students' mental health and attitudes toward seeking professional psychological help. Latent variable path analysis with 296 self-identified Asian American college students supported the partially indirect effects model and demonstrated the ways in which behavioral acculturation, behavioral enculturation, values acculturation, values enculturation, and acculturation gap family conflict related to mental health and attitudes toward seeking professional psychological help directly and indirectly through acculturative stress. We also tested a generational status moderator hypothesis to determine whether differences in model-implied relationships emerged across U.S.- (n = 185) and foreign-born (n = 107) participants. Consistent with this hypothesis, statistically significant differences in structural coefficients emerged across generational status. Limitations, future directions for research, and counseling implications are discussed.

The decade 1989-1998 in Spanish psychology: an analysis of research in personality, assessment, and psychological treatment (clinical and health psychology).

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Sanz, J

2001-11-01

The aim of this study is to analyze Spanish research published between 1989 and 1998 in clinical psychology and its most directly related psychological disciplines: personality psychology, psychopathology, differential psychology, health psychology, and psychological assessment. A search was performed in the various databases of the works published in that decade by Spanish university professors who investigate in these areas. Their localization was verified by direct correspondence with the professors, to whom was also sent a questionnaire to evaluate their research field and preferred theoretical approach. The 2,079 works located allowed me to identify 85 different research trends. These research trends are characterized by the predominance of applied studies over basic studies, of empirical research over theoretical research, and of the cognitive-behavioral approach over the rest of the theoretical orientations. In addition, various bibliometrical indicators of production, dissemination, and impact were calculated. They revealed that productivity and dissemination of Spanish research in these areas grew considerably during this 1989-98 period.

Prevalence of psychological disorders among patients attending community health centers, Perak, Malaysia

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Asma Perveen

2017-09-01

Full Text Available Objective: The purpose of this study was to explore the prevalence of psychological disorders among community health centers in Batang Padang district Perak. Material & Methods: To conduct this study survey research method was used, seven community health centers in Batang Padang District, Perak were contacted to collect data from (N=216 respondents, who attended health facilities in Batang Padang District. There is no age limit, no education difference and no other requirement needed. Instrument and Materials: Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scale (DASS-21 PRIME Screen and PRIME MD Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ. Results: Data collected from seven health community centers revealed that prevalence of Stress 86%, anxiety 124%, depression 67, psychotic symptoms 16%, somatoform symptoms 52%, panic symptoms 28%, and substance abuse 21%. the higher prevalence was stress and depression among people attending health centers. Conclusion: Results findings indicated that there is significant prevalence of psychological disorder among community health centers. Analysis of the results help us to determine that there is strong need to provide psychological services, awareness and education plan, management and prevention for psychological disorders

Psychological Perspectives on Pathways Linking Socioeconomic Status and Physical Health

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Matthews, Karen A.; Gallo, Linda C.

2011-01-01

Low socioeconomic status (SES) is a reliable correlate of poor physical health. Rather than treat SES as a covariate, health psychology has increasingly focused on the psychobiological pathways that inform understanding why SES is related to physical health. This review assesses the status of research that has examined stress and its associated distress, and social and personal resources as pathways. It highlights work on biomarkers and biological pathways related to SES that can serve as intermediate outcomes in future studies. Recent emphasis on the accumulation of psychobiological risks across the life course is summarized and represents an important direction for future research. Studies that test pathways from SES to candidate psychosocial pathways to health outcomes are few in number but promising. Future research should test integrated models rather than taking piecemeal approaches to evidence. Much work remains to be done, but the questions are of great health significance. PMID:20636127

Patient neglect in 21st century health-care institutions: a community health psychology perspective.

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Reader, Tom W; Gillespie, Alex; Mannell, Jenevieve

2014-01-01

Despite the technological and organisational advances of 21st century health-care systems, care scandals and burgeoning complaints from patients have raised concerns about patient neglect in hospitals. This article reviews the concept of patient neglect and the role of community health psychology in understanding its occurrence. Patient neglect has previously been conceptualised as a problem associated with hospital staff attitudes and behaviours, with regulation and training cited as solutions. Yet, a community health psychology perspective shows that the wider symbolic, material and relational aspects of care are crucial for understanding why patient neglect occurs and for outlining new solutions to augment existing interventions.

Pathways Linking Childhood SES and Adult Health Behaviors and Psychological Resources in Black and White Men.

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Boylan, Jennifer Morozink; Cundiff, Jenny M; Jakubowski, Karen P; Pardini, Dustin A; Matthews, Karen A

2018-03-13

Exposure to low socioeconomic status (SES) in childhood predicts increased morbidity and mortality. However, little prospective evidence is available to test pathways linking low childhood SES to adult health. In the current study, indirect effects through positive parenting in adolescence and adult SES were tested in the association between childhood SES and adult health behaviors and psychological resources. Men (n = 305; 53% Black) were followed longitudinally from ages 7 to 32. SES was measured annually in childhood (ages 7-9) and again in adulthood (age 32) using the Hollingshead index. Parenting was assessed annually (ages 13-16) using caregivers' and boys' self-report of supervision, communication, and expectations for their son's future. Health behaviors (cigarette and alcohol use, fruit and vegetable consumption, and physical activity) and psychological resources (optimism, purpose in life, self-mastery, and self-esteem) were assessed in adulthood (age 32). Structural equation modeling showed that higher childhood SES was associated with more positive parenting in adolescence and higher adult SES. Higher childhood SES was indirectly associated with healthier behaviors and higher psychological resources in adulthood through pathways involving positive parenting during adolescence and SES in adulthood. Findings were consistent in both racial groups. Positive parenting in adolescence was an important pathway in understanding associations among childhood SES and health behaviors and psychological resources in adulthood. Low childhood SES was prospectively associated with healthier behaviors and greater psychological resources in part through more positive parenting in adolescence.

Behaviour of medical students in seeking mental and physical health care: exploration and comparison with psychology students.

Science.gov (United States)

Brimstone, Renee; Thistlethwaite, Jill E; Quirk, Frances

2007-01-01

Doctors are often reluctant to seek health care through the usual channels and tend to self-diagnose and prescribe. Medical students learn attitudes and values from clinician role models and may also adopt behaviour patterns that lead them to seek help for physical and mental health problems from informal sources. This study aimed to explore the behaviour of students in seeking health care for physical and mental health problems, comparing medical with psychology students, and to understand what barriers to conventional routes of seeking health care may affect this. We administered a questionnaire asking for demographic details and responses to 2 vignettes in which a student from the respondent's discipline was experiencing firstly symptoms of a mental health problem and secondly symptoms of a physical health problem. Data were analysed with spss and univariate anovas to examine differences between respondents. A total of 172 students at the psychology and medical schools at James Cook University in Australia participated. We identified a number of barriers affecting student behaviour in seeking help, which included worries about knowing the doctor they could consult at the university health centre or having future dealings with him or her, and cost of treatment. There were differences between the 2 groups of students. There are several barriers for both psychology and medical students to accessing appropriate professional mental health care. Medical students also experience barriers to attaining appropriate physical health care when needed. Psychology and medical students were more likely to seek advice informally from friends and/or family with regard to mental health care.

Positive Psychology and Disaster Mental Health: Strategies for Working with Children and Adolescents.

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Vernberg, Eric M; Hambrick, Erin P; Cho, Bridget; Hendrickson, Michelle L

2016-12-01

Positive psychology concepts and principles can be incorporated into preparedness, crisis response, and recovery phases of disaster mental health efforts to address the needs of children, adolescents, and families. This article articulates general developmental considerations for applying positive psychology in disaster mental health contexts and discusses how 5 essential elements of immediate and midterm mass trauma intervention identified by Hobfoll et al. (2007) may be infused in applications of positive psychology for children and adolescents. Specific strategies for working with children, adolescents, and their families in home, community, and school contexts are drawn in part from disaster mental health resources developed jointly by the National Child Traumatic Stress Network and National Center for Posttraumatic Stress Disorder, including the Psychological First Aid Field Operations Guide (Brymer et al., 2006), the Skills for Psychological Recovery Field Operations Guide (Berkowitz et al., 2010), and the Psychological First Aid for Schools Field Operations Manual (Brymer et al., 2012). Two case examples illustrate the use of positive psychology principles. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

The comparative importance of books: clinical psychology in the health sciences library.

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Wehmeyer, J M; Wehmeyer, S

1999-01-01

Clinical psychology has received little attention as a subject in health sciences library collections. This study seeks to demonstrate the relative importance of the monographic literature to clinical psychology through the examination of citations in graduate student theses and dissertations at the Fordham Health Sciences Library, Wright State University. Dissertations and theses were sampled randomly; citations were classified by format, counted, and subjected to statistical analysis. Books and book chapters together account for 35% of the citations in clinical psychology dissertations, 25% in nursing theses, and 8% in biomedical sciences theses and dissertations. Analysis of variance indicates that the citations in dissertations and theses in the three areas differ significantly (F = 162.2 with 2 and 253 degrees of freedom, P = 0.0001). Dissertations and theses in biomedical sciences and nursing theses both cite significantly more journals per book than the dissertations in clinical psychology. These results support the hypothesis that users of clinical psychology literature rely more heavily on books than many other users of a health sciences library. Problems with using citation analyses in a single subject to determine a serials to monographs ratio for a health sciences library are pointed out. PMID:10219478

Psychological models of suicide.

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Barzilay, Shira; Apter, Alan

2014-01-01

Suicidal behavior is highly complex and multifaceted. Consequent to the pioneering work of Durkheim and Freud, theoreticians have attempted to explain the biological, social, and psychological nature of suicide. The present work presents an overview and critical discussion of the most influential theoretical models of the psychological mechanisms underlying the development of suicidal behavior. All have been tested to varying degrees and have important implications for the development of therapeutic and preventive interventions. Broader and more in-depth approaches are still needed to further our understanding of suicidal phenomena.

The impact of anticipated stigma on psychological and physical health problems in the unemployed group

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Aisling T. O'Donnell

2015-08-01

Full Text Available Previous research has demonstrated that the unemployed suffer increased psychological and physical health problems compared to their employed counterparts. Further, unemployment leads to an unwanted new social identity that is stigmatizing, and stigma is known to be a stressor causing psychological and physical health problems. However, it is not yet known whether being stigmatized as an unemployed group member is associated with psychological and physical health in this group. The current study tested the impact of anticipated stigma on psychological distress and physical health problems, operationalized as somatic symptoms, in a volunteer sample of unemployed people. Results revealed that anticipated stigma had a direct effect on both psychological distress and somatic symptoms, such that greater anticipated stigma significantly predicted higher levels of both. Moreover, the direct effect on somatic symptoms became non-significant when psychological distress was taken into account. Thus, to the extent that unemployed participants anticipated experiencing greater stigma, they also reported increased psychological distress, and this psychological distress predicted increased somatic symptoms. Our findings complement and extend the existing literature on the relationships between stigmatized identities, psychological distress and physical health problems, particularly in relation to the unemployed group. This group is important to consider both theoretically, given the unwanted and transient nature of the identity compared to other stigmatized identities, but also practically, as the findings indicate a need to orient to the perceived valence of the unemployed identity and its effects on psychological and physical health.

Work-family conflict as a mediator between occupational stress and psychological health among mental health nurses in Japan.

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Sugawara, Norio; Danjo, Kazuma; Furukori, Hanako; Sato, Yasushi; Tomita, Tetsu; Fujii, Akira; Nakagami, Taku; Kitaoka, Kazuyo; Yasui-Furukori, Norio

2017-01-01

Occupational stress among mental health nurses may affect their psychological health, resulting in reduced performance. To provide high-quality, sustainable nursing care, it is necessary to identify and control the factors associated with psychological health among mental health nurses. The purpose of this study was to examine the role of work-family conflict (WFC) in the well-known relationship between occupational stress and psychological health among mental health nurses in Japan. In this cross-sectional study, data were gathered from 180 mental health nurses who had a coresident child or were married. Data from the Work-Family Conflict Scale, the Generic Job Stress Questionnaire, the Maslach Burnout Inventory-General Survey, and the Center for Epidemiologic Studies for Depression Scale were obtained via self-report questionnaires. The effects of occupational stress and WFC on psychological health were explored by hierarchical linear regression analysis. The relationship between emotional exhaustion and occupational factors, including quantitative workload and the variance in workload, disappeared with the addition of WFC (each work interference with family [WIF] or family interference with work [FIW]). The relationship between emotional exhaustion and mental demands disappeared only with the addition of WIF. The relationship between depressive symptoms and variance in workload disappeared with the addition of WFC (each WIF or FIW). Our findings may encourage hospital administrators to consider the risks of medical staff WFC. Furthermore, longitudinal investigations into the factors associated with WFC are required for administrative and psychological interventions.

General Inattentiveness Is a Long-Term Reliable Trait Independently Predictive of Psychological Health

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Jensen, Christian Gaden; Niclasen, Janni; Vangkilde, Signe

2016-01-01

The Mindful Attention Awareness Scale (MAAS) measures perceived degree of inattentiveness in different contexts and is often used as a reversed indicator of mindfulness. MAAS is hypothesized to reflect a psychological trait or disposition when used outside attentional training contexts, but the l......The Mindful Attention Awareness Scale (MAAS) measures perceived degree of inattentiveness in different contexts and is often used as a reversed indicator of mindfulness. MAAS is hypothesized to reflect a psychological trait or disposition when used outside attentional training contexts......, but the long-term test-retest reliability of MAAS scores is virtually untested. It is unknown whether MAAS predicts psychological health after controlling for standardized socioeconomic status classifications. First, MAAS translated to Danish was validated psychometrically within a randomly invited healthy...... adult community sample (N = 490). Factor analysis confirmed that MAAS scores quantified a unifactorial construct of excellent composite reliability and consistent convergent validity. Structural equation modeling revealed that MAAS scores contributed independently to predicting psychological distress...

The great recession, youth unemployment and inequalities in psychological health complaints in adolescents: a multilevel study in 31 countries.

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Rathmann, Katharina; Pförtner, Timo-Kolja; Hurrelmann, Klaus; Osorio, Ana M; Bosakova, Lucia; Elgar, Frank J; Richter, Matthias

2016-09-01

Little is known about the impact of recessions on young people's socioeconomic inequalities in health. This study investigates the impact of the economic recession in terms of youth unemployment on socioeconomic inequalities in psychological health complaints among adolescents across Europe and North America. Data from the WHO collaborative 'Health Behaviour in School-aged Children' (HBSC) study were collected in 2005/06 (N = 160,830) and 2009/10 (N = 166,590) in 31 European and North American countries. Logistic multilevel models were used to assess the contribution of youth unemployment in 2009/10 (enduring recession) and the change in youth unemployment (2005-2010) to adolescent psychological health complaints and socioeconomic inequalities in complaints in 2009/10. Youth unemployment during the recession is positively related to psychological health complaints, but not to inequalities in complaints. Changes in youth unemployment (2005-2010) were not associated with adolescents' psychological health complaints, whereas greater inequalities in complaints were found in countries with greater increases in youth unemployment. This study highlights the need to tackle the impact of increasing unemployment on adolescent health and health inequalities during economic recessions.

Relationship between job dissatisfaction and physical and psychological health among Filipino immigrants.

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de Castro, A B; Gee, Gilbert C; Takeuchi, David

2008-01-01

This study investigated the relationship between job dissatisfaction and psychological and physical health among Filipino immigrants in the United States. Cross-sectional data from the Filipino American Community Epidemiological Study were analyzed for 1,381 Filipino immigrants. The primary independent variable of interest was job dissatisfaction. Linear and negative binomial regression analyses were conducted to determine separate associations between job dissatisfaction and the outcomes of psychological distress and physical health conditions, respectively. Job dissatisfaction was positively associated with both psychological distress (beta = 0.32, p job category. This community-based study demonstrated that job dissatisfaction has implications for health and well-being among an understudied, immigrant group of workers. Findings also suggest that job-related experiences should be considered when examining disparate health for immigrant, minority populations.

Sexual activity and psychological health as mediators of the relationship between physical health and marital quality.

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Galinsky, Adena M; Waite, Linda J

2014-05-01

The pathways linking spousal health to marital quality in later life have been little examined at the population level. We develop a conceptual model that links married older adults' physical health and that of their spouse to positive and negative dimensions of marital quality via psychological well-being of both partners and their sexual activity. We use data from 1,464 older adults in 732 marital dyads in the 2010-2011 wave of the National Social Life Health and Aging Project. We find that own fair or poor physical health is linked to lower positive and higher negative marital quality, spouse's health to positive quality, and that own and spouse's mental health and more frequent sex are associated with higher positive and lower negative marital quality. Further, we find that (a) sexual activity mediates the association between own and partner's physical health and positive marital quality, (b) own mental health mediates the association between one's own physical health and both positive and negative marital quality, and (c) partner's mental health mediates the associations of spouse's physical health with positive marital quality. These results are robust to alternative specifications of the model. The results suggest ways to protect marital quality among older adults who are struggling with physical illness in themselves or their partners.

Parental separation in childhood and self-reported psychological health: A population-based study.

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Lindström, Martin; Rosvall, Maria

2016-12-30

The aim of the present study is to investigate associations between parental separation/divorce during childhood, and self-reported psychological health, adjusting for social capital, social support, civil status and economic stress in childhood. A cross-sectional public health survey was conducted in the autumn of 2012 in Scania, southern Sweden, with a postal questionnaire with 28,029 participants aged 18-80. Associations between parental separation/divorce during childhood and self-reported psychological health (GHQ12) were investigated using logistic regressions. A 16.1% proportion of all men 22.4% of all women reported poor psychological health. Among men, 20.4% had experienced parental separation during childhood until age 18 years, the corresponding prevalence among women was 22.3%. Parental separation/divorce in childhood was significantly associated with poor self-rated psychological health among men who had experienced parental separation/divorce at ages 0-4, and among women with this experience at ages 0-4, 10-14 and 15-18. These significant associations remained throughout the multiple analyses. The results support the notion that the experience of parental separation/divorce in childhood may influence psychological health in adulthood, particularly if it is experienced in the age interval 0-4 years. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Quality Improvement in Health Care: The Role of Psychologists and Psychology.

Science.gov (United States)

Bonin, Liza

2018-02-21

Quality Improvement (QI) is a health care interprofessional team activity wherein psychology as a field and individual psychologists in health care settings can and should adopt a more robust presence. The current article makes the argument for why psychology's participation in QI is good for health care, is good for our profession, and is the right thing to do for the patients and families we serve. It reviews the varied ways individual psychologists and our profession can integrate quality processes and improve health care through: (1) our approach to our daily work; (2) our roles on health care teams and involvement in organizational initiatives; (3) opportunities for teaching and scholarship; and (4) system redesign and advocacy within our health care organizations and health care environment.

Aspirational Model Teaching Criteria for Psychology

Science.gov (United States)

Richmond, Aaron S.; Boysen, Guy A.; Gurung, Regan A. R.; Tazeau, Yvette N.; Meyers, Steven A.; Sciutto, Mark J.

2014-01-01

In 2011, the Society for the Teaching of Psychology commissioned a presidential task force to document teaching criteria for model psychology teachers in undergraduate education. The resulting list of criteria reflects activities related to face-to-face course interaction and online teaching, training, and education; course design; implementation…

Association between baseline psychological attributes and mental health outcomes after soldiers returned from deployment.

Science.gov (United States)

Shen, Yu-Chu; Arkes, Jeremy; Lester, Paul B

2017-10-05

Psychological health is vital for effective employees, especially in stressful occupations like military and public safety sectors. Yet, until recently little empirical work has made the link between requisite psychological resources and important mental health outcomes across time in those sectors. In this study we explore the association between 14 baseline psychological health attributes (such as adaptability, coping ability, optimism) and mental health outcomes following exposure to combat deployment. Retrospective analysis of all U.S. Army soldiers who enlisted between 2009 and 2012 and took the Global Assessment Tools (GAT) before their first deployment (n = 63,186). We analyze whether a soldier screened positive for depression and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) after returning from deployment using logistic regressions. Our key independent variables are 14 psychological attributes based on GAT, and we control for relevant demographic and service characteristics. In addition, we generate a composite risk score for each soldier based on the predicted probabilities from the above multivariate model using just baseline psychological attributes and demographic information. Comparing those who scored in the bottom 5 percentile of each attribute to those in the top 95 percentile, the odds ratio of post-deployment depression symptoms ranges from 1.21 (95% CI 1.06, 1.40) for organizational trust to 1.73 (CI 1.52, 1.97) for baseline depression. The odds ratio of positive screening of PTSD symptoms ranges from 1.22 for family support (CI 1.08, 1.38) to 1.51 for baseline depression (CI 1.32, 1.73). The risk profile analysis shows that 31% of those who screened positive for depression and 27% of those who screened positive for PTSD were concentrated among the top 5% high risk population. A set of validated, self-reported questions administered early in a soldier's career can predict future mental health problems, and can be used to improve workforce fit and

JOB SATISFACTION AND PSYCHOLOGICAL HEALTH OF MEDICAL DOCTORS IN CALABAR, SOUTHERN NIGERIA.

Science.gov (United States)

Bello, S; Asuzu, M C; Ofili, A N

2013-06-01

Employees should be happy at their work, considering the amount of time they devote to it throughout their working life. There is paucity of data on the job satisfaction and psychological health of medical doctors in Nigeria. To assess the level of job satisfaction and its relationship to psychological health among medical doctors in a southern city of Nigeria. A cross-sectional descriptive survey. Three major public hospitals in Calabar, Nigeria. Medical doctors who had worked for at least six months in the hospitals. Response rate was 73.0%. More than half (56.7%) of the respondents expressed overall satisfaction with their job. Inadequate pay and work overload were the most commonly mentioned reasons for job dissatisfaction. About a fifth of the respondents were at increased likelihood of psychological disorder. There was a statistically significant negative correlation between job satisfaction scores and GHQ scores. Satisfied respondents were least likely to have psychological disorder. Causes of job dissatisfaction among medical doctors should be addressed to improve their psychological health.

Psychological Well-being and Parenting Styles as Predictors of Mental Health among Students: Implication for Health Promotion

OpenAIRE

Mohammad reza khodabakhsh; Fariba kiani; Soliman Ahmedbookani

2014-01-01

Introduction: The lack of mental health interferes with one's individual achievement and ability for undertaking the responsibilities of everyday life. Researches show that psychological well-being and parenting styles have an important role in ones' increasing general health. The current study examined the relationship between psychological well-being and parenting styles with students' mental health. Methods: This study was carried out on 278 students (124 boys and 154 girls) of Boukan's hi...

Psychological first aid: a consensus-derived, empirically supported, competency-based training model.

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McCabe, O Lee; Everly, George S; Brown, Lisa M; Wendelboe, Aaron M; Abd Hamid, Nor Hashidah; Tallchief, Vicki L; Links, Jonathan M

2014-04-01

Surges in demand for professional mental health services occasioned by disasters represent a major public health challenge. To build response capacity, numerous psychological first aid (PFA) training models for professional and lay audiences have been developed that, although often concurring on broad intervention aims, have not systematically addressed pedagogical elements necessary for optimal learning or teaching. We describe a competency-based model of PFA training developed under the auspices of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Association of Schools of Public Health. We explain the approach used for developing and refining the competency set and summarize the observable knowledge, skills, and attitudes underlying the 6 core competency domains. We discuss the strategies for model dissemination, validation, and adoption in professional and lay communities.

Socioeconomic status and self-reported oral health in Iranian adolescents: the role of selected oral health behaviors and psychological factors.

Science.gov (United States)

Ravaghi, Vahid; Underwood, Martin; Marinho, Valeria; Eldridge, Sandra

2012-01-01

This study investigated health inequality for self-reported oral health outcomes among adolescents. The role of oral health behaviors and psychological factors in explaining oral health inequality was investigated using the hypothesis of mediation. This was a cross-sectional study that used self-completed questionnaires. This study sampled 639 (315 male and 324 female) 15- to 17-year-old adolescents (second and third grade high school students) of both sexes in the city of Sanandaj in the province of Kurdistan, western Iran. Socioeconomic indicators of the study were subjective socioeconomic status, wealth index, and parental education. Oral health behaviors were measured as toothbrushing frequency, dental flossing frequency, and dental visits. Psychological factors were self-esteem, anxiety, and depression. Self-reported oral health outcomes were single item self-rated oral health and the experience of dental pain. Regression analysis was used to test four conditions for the hypothesis of mediation. The results showed that the inequality is present in oral health for some pairs of relationships between socioeconomic status and oral health outcomes. Adjustment for oral health behaviors and psychological factors, individually and simultaneously, led to loss of statistical significance for some pairs of the relationships. However, adjustment for oral health behaviors and psychological factors led to only small changes in the associations between socioeconomic status and self-reported oral health outcomes. This study found a graded oral health inequality, but no strong evidence to support the hypothesis that oral health behaviors and psychological factors mediate oral health inequality for self-reported oral health outcomes. © 2012 American Association of Public Health Dentistry.

Psychological predictors of mental health and health-related quality of life after bariatric surgery: a review of the recent research.

Science.gov (United States)

Wimmelmann, Cathrine L; Dela, Flemming; Mortensen, Erik L

2014-01-01

Improvement of mental health and health-related quality of life (HRQOL) is an important success criterion for bariatric surgery. In general, mental health and HRQOL improve after surgery, but some patients experience negative psychological reactions postoperatively and the influence of pre-surgical psychological factors on mental wellbeing after surgery is unclear. The aim of the current article therefore is to review recent research investigating psychological predictors of mental health and HRQOL outcome. We searched PubMed, PsycInfo and Web of Science for studies investigating psychological predictors of either mental health or HRQOL after bariatric surgery. Original prospective studies published between 2003 and 2012 with a sample size >30 and a minimum of 1 year follow-up were included. Only 10 eligible studies were identified. The findings suggest that preoperative psychological factors including psychiatric symptoms, body image and self-esteem may be important for mental health postoperatively. Predictors of postoperative HRQOL seem to include personality, severe psychiatric disorder at baseline and improvement of depressive symptoms. In addition, psychiatric symptoms that persist after surgery and inappropriate eating behaviour postoperatively are likely to contribute to poor health-related quality of life outcome. Certain psychological factors appear to be important for mental health and HRQOL after bariatric surgery. However, the literature is extremely sparse and further research is highly needed. Copyright © 2013 Asian Oceanian Association for the Study of Obesity. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Impact of comprehensive psychological training on mental health of recruits in Xinjiang.

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Lv, Shi-ying; Zhang, Lan

2015-04-01

To examine the effect of comprehensive psychological training on the mental health of recruits and to provide basis for promoting mental health among recruits in Xinjiang. From September to December, 2013, a convenience sampling was used to select 613 recruits from Xinjiang. These recruits were assigned to the training group (n=306) and the control group (n=307). The Simplified Coping Style Questionnaire,the Questionnaire of Armymen's Emotion Regulation Types and the Chinese Military Personnel Social Support Scale were used to evaluate the levels of mental health at the baseline and at the end of comprehensive psychological training. After comprehensive psychological training, the negative coping style score of the training group were significantly lower than the control group (P=0.000), and there were difference in cognitive focus (P=0.000) and behavior restrain (P=0.005); also, there was significant difference in social support scale (Pemotion regulation and all factors (Pappeal and self comfort (Pappeal, behavior restrain, and self comfort (all P<0.05). Comprehensive psychological training is useful in improving the mental health of recruits.

Self-regulation of health behavior: social psychological approaches to goal setting and goal striving.

Science.gov (United States)

Mann, Traci; de Ridder, Denise; Fujita, Kentaro

2013-05-01

The goal of this article is to review and highlight the relevance of social psychological research on self-regulation for health-related theory and practice. We first review research on goal setting, or determining which goals to pursue and the criteria to determine whether one has succeeded. We discuss when and why people adopt goals, what properties of goals increase the likelihood of their attainment, and why people abandon goals. We then review research on goal striving, which includes the planning and execution of actions that lead to goal attainment, and the processes that people use to shield their goals from being disrupted by other competing goals, temptations, or distractions. We describe four types of strategies that people use when pursuing goals. We find that self-regulation entails the operation of a number of psychological mechanisms, and that there is no single solution that will help all people in all situations. We recommend a number of strategies that can help people to more effectively set and attain health-related goals. We conclude that enhancing health behavior requires a nuanced understanding and sensitivity to the varied, dynamic psychological processes involved in self-regulation, and that health is a prototypical and central domain in which to examine the relevance of these theoretical models for real behavior. We discuss the implications of this research for theory and practice in health-related domains. PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2013 APA, all rights reserved.

Mental health teaching to UK psychology undergraduates: report of a survey

OpenAIRE

Cromby, John; Harper, David J.; Reavey, Paula

2008-01-01

One of the limitations on developing more progressive applied psychology\\ud training is the teaching received by students at undergraduate level. In this\\ud study, we focus on the provision of teaching about mental health or its\\ud equivalents (e.g. abnormal psychology and clinical psychology) on UK\\ud undergraduate psychology programmes. Most students who go on to train as\\ud clinical psychologists will have received teaching on modules like these. A\\ud survey questionnaire was sent to 109 u...

Current models of positive mental health

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Stanojević Dragana Z.

2012-01-01

Full Text Available The concept of positive mental health represents not merely the absence of mental disease but presence of high level of happiness and well-being. In this paper we mentioned shortly the earliest concept of mental health, presented by Marie Jahoda in the mid-twentieth century. After that, we described two traditions in understanding and researching of subjective well-being: hedonic and eudaimonic approach. First approach focuses on investigation of positive affects and happiness as emotional and life satisfaction as cognitive component of subjective well-being. Second tradition emphasizes potentials and competences that person develops to the highest level, in personal and social area. Both psychological and social well-being are core concept of positive mental health psychology, designated together as positive functioning. The psychological well-being comprises six dimensions: self-acceptance, positive relations with others, environmental mastery, autonomy, purpose of life and personal growth. Social well-being consists of five dimensions: social integration, social acceptance, social contribution, social actualization and social coherence. By integrating hedonic and eudaimonic well-being as well as absence of mental disease, Corey Keyes introduced concept of complete mental health. People with complete mental health have reported absence of disease during past year and presence of high level of emotional, psychological and social well-being (flourishing. People with incomplete mental health have also reported absence of mental disease but low level of positive functioning (languishing. Keyes thought there are people with complete and incomplete mental illness; both groups report presence of mental disease, but second group has high level of positive functioning. Models of positive mental health are widely used in research studies as well as in programs for prevention and promotion of mental health. .

The Associations among Psychological Distress, Coping Style, and Health Habits in Japanese Nursing Students: A Cross-Sectional Study

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Akio Tada

2017-11-01

Full Text Available Background: Nursing students in many countries have been reported to experience high levels of stress and psychological distress. Health habits could potentially mediate the association between coping styles and psychological status. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the mediation effect of health habits in the relationship between stress coping styles and psychological distress in Japanese nursing students. Methods: A total of 181 nursing students completed anonymous self-reported questionnaires comprised of the General Health Questionnaire-12 (GHQ-12, the Brief Coping Orientation questionnaire, and an additional questionnaire on health behavior. A mediation analysis using path analysis with bootstrapping was used for data analysis. Results: Multivariate linear regression analysis showed that psychological distress was significantly and positively associated with “Avoidance coping” (β = 0.39, p < 0.001, and was negatively associated with “Active coping” (β = −0.30, p < 0.001, “exercise habit” (β = −0.25, p = 0.001, and “sleeping” (β = −0.24, p = 0.002. In the path model, “Active coping” and “Avoidance coping” had significant or marginally significant associations with “exercise habits” (active: β = 0.19, p = 0.008, avoidance: β = −0.12, p = 0.088, and psychological distress (active: β = −0.25, p < 0.001, avoidance: β = 0.363, p < 0.001. However, these coping style variables did not have a significant association with “sleep”. In general, the size of the correlations was below 0.4. Conclusions: Exercise habits mediated the relationship between coping styles and psychological distress to a greater extent than sleep. The present study suggests the possibility that complex interactions between health habits and coping styles may influence the psychological status of nursing students.

[Differences in self-assessment of health and psychological wellbeing between healthy and unhealthy young adults].

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Kornienko, D S; Kozlov, A I; Otavina, M L

2016-01-01

Self-assessment of health is the one out of the most important characteristics, which gives an idea about the health of the respondent as a psychophysiological continuum. The purpose of this study is to establish the relationship between indices of self-rated health and characteristics of the psychological well-being. Sample 344 young adults - students at an average age of 20.9 ± 1.6 years. Methods. “Self-assessment of health” questionnaire was used; MOSSF36 questionnaire and “Psychological wellbeing scale” developed by K. Riff. Respondents were divided into groups: (1) without chronic diseases; (2) having one or more chronic diseases of any etiology. Results. The presence of chronic diseases was shown to negatively effect on the self-estimation of physical and psychological state. The significant positive correlation (p psychological wellbeing as unrelated to each other characteristics. In contrast, in cases with even mild chronic health problems there is pronounced the relationship between somatic and psychological health, which forms a complex of physical and psychological factors determining the general state of a person.

Application of Chaos Theory to Psychological Models

Science.gov (United States)

Blackerby, Rae Fortunato

This dissertation shows that an alternative theoretical approach from physics--chaos theory--offers a viable basis for improved understanding of human beings and their behavior. Chaos theory provides achievable frameworks for potential identification, assessment, and adjustment of human behavior patterns. Most current psychological models fail to address the metaphysical conditions inherent in the human system, thus bringing deep errors to psychological practice and empirical research. Freudian, Jungian and behavioristic perspectives are inadequate psychological models because they assume, either implicitly or explicitly, that the human psychological system is a closed, linear system. On the other hand, Adlerian models that require open systems are likely to be empirically tenable. Logically, models will hold only if the model's assumptions hold. The innovative application of chaotic dynamics to psychological behavior is a promising theoretical development because the application asserts that human systems are open, nonlinear and self-organizing. Chaotic dynamics use nonlinear mathematical relationships among factors that influence human systems. This dissertation explores these mathematical relationships in the context of a sample model of moral behavior using simulated data. Mathematical equations with nonlinear feedback loops describe chaotic systems. Feedback loops govern the equations' value in subsequent calculation iterations. For example, changes in moral behavior are affected by an individual's own self-centeredness, family and community influences, and previous moral behavior choices that feed back to influence future choices. When applying these factors to the chaos equations, the model behaves like other chaotic systems. For example, changes in moral behavior fluctuate in regular patterns, as determined by the values of the individual, family and community factors. In some cases, these fluctuations converge to one value; in other cases, they diverge in

Health Benefits of Urban Allotment Gardening: Improved Physical and Psychological Well-Being and Social Integration

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Masashi Soga

2017-01-01

Full Text Available With an ever-increasing urban population, promoting public health and well-being in towns and cities is a major challenge. Previous research has suggested that participating in allotment gardening delivers a wide range of health benefits. However, evidence from quantitative analyses is still scarce. Here, we quantify the effects, if any, of participating in allotment gardening on physical, psychological and social health. A questionnaire survey of 332 people was performed in Tokyo, Japan. We compared five self-reported health outcomes between allotment gardeners and non-gardener controls: perceived general health, subjective health complaints, body mass index (BMI, mental health and social cohesion. Accounting for socio-demographic and lifestyle variables, regression models revealed that allotment gardeners, compared to non-gardeners, reported better perceived general health, subjective health complaints, mental health and social cohesion. BMI did not differ between gardeners and non-gardeners. Neither frequency nor duration of gardening significantly influenced reported health outcomes. Our results highlight that regular gardening on allotment sites is associated with improved physical, psychological and social health. With the recent escalation in the prevalence of chronic diseases, and associated healthcare costs, this study has a major implication for policy, as it suggests that urban allotments have great potential for preventative healthcare.

Health Benefits of Urban Allotment Gardening: Improved Physical and Psychological Well-Being and Social Integration.

Science.gov (United States)

Soga, Masashi; Cox, Daniel T C; Yamaura, Yuichi; Gaston, Kevin J; Kurisu, Kiyo; Hanaki, Keisuke

2017-01-12

With an ever-increasing urban population, promoting public health and well-being in towns and cities is a major challenge. Previous research has suggested that participating in allotment gardening delivers a wide range of health benefits. However, evidence from quantitative analyses is still scarce. Here, we quantify the effects, if any, of participating in allotment gardening on physical, psychological and social health. A questionnaire survey of 332 people was performed in Tokyo, Japan. We compared five self-reported health outcomes between allotment gardeners and non-gardener controls: perceived general health, subjective health complaints, body mass index (BMI), mental health and social cohesion. Accounting for socio-demographic and lifestyle variables, regression models revealed that allotment gardeners, compared to non-gardeners, reported better perceived general health, subjective health complaints, mental health and social cohesion. BMI did not differ between gardeners and non-gardeners. Neither frequency nor duration of gardening significantly influenced reported health outcomes. Our results highlight that regular gardening on allotment sites is associated with improved physical, psychological and social health. With the recent escalation in the prevalence of chronic diseases, and associated healthcare costs, this study has a major implication for policy, as it suggests that urban allotments have great potential for preventative healthcare.

The Relationship Between Family Functionning and Psychological Needs with Adolescents’ mental Health

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عباس رحیمی‌نژاد

2015-12-01

Full Text Available The family and its function as a social institution has an important role in children’s psychological development. The Aim of this study is to investigate the relations of family functioning and the level of psychological basic needs of adolescents with their mental health. Research design is descriptive -correlational and the sample has been recruited from four military areas in Tehran city via simple random sampling method. A total number of 200 families with their youth (14 to 22 year old completed three questionnaires: Family Assessment Device (FAD, Psychological Needs Questionnaire (PNQ, and General Health Questionnaire (GHQ. The resultsindicate that there are  significant correlations between family functionig subscales and  mental  health of their adolescences. Other finding show that low family functioning has negative correlation with psychological basic needs (including three subscales: competence, autonomy, and relatednessof adolescents. We discuss the results in the light of previous findings and provide suggestions to improve family function.

The Future of Counseling Psychology: Improving Quality of Life for Persons with Chronic Health Issues

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Chwalisz, Kathleen

2008-01-01

The literature review and focus group findings that compose the Major Contribution illustrate how counseling psychologists can integrate expertise from various subdisciplines (vocational psychology, health psychology, multicultural psychology) to effectively address the needs of those living with HIV. Given changes in the nature of health problems…

job satisfaction and psychological health of medical doctors

African Journals Online (AJOL)

2013-06-01

Jun 1, 2013 ... Objective: To assess the level of job satisfaction and its relationship to psychological health among ... mainly due to poor working conditions and poor infrastructural .... could be due to the possible impact of the democratic.

Job Satisfaction and Psychological Health of Long Distance Drivers ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

This cross-sectional analytical study was designed to assess the level of and factors affecting job satisfaction and psychological health among long distance drivers in Benin City, Edo, Nigeria. A 21-item Job satisfaction questionnaire and the Golberg's General Health Questionnaire (GHQ 28) were used for data collection ...

The influence of psychological symptoms on mental health literacy of college students.

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Kim, Jin E; Saw, Anne; Zane, Nolan

2015-11-01

Psychological problems, such as depression and anxiety, are common among college students, but few receive treatment for it. Mental health literacy may partially account for low rates of mental health treatment utilization. We report 2 studies that investigated mental health literacy among individuals with varying degrees of psychological symptoms, using cross-sectional online survey methodology. Study 1 involved 332 college students, of which 32% were categorized as high depressed using an established measure of depression, and mental health literacy for depression was assessed using a vignette. Logistic regression results showed that high depressed individuals were less likely to recognize depression compared to low depressed individuals, and depression recognition was associated with recommendations to seek help. Study 2 replicated and extended findings of Study 1 using a separate sample of 1,321 college students with varying degrees of psychological distress (32% no/mild distress, 55% moderate distress, and 13% serious distress) and examining mental health literacy for anxiety in addition to depression. Results indicated that compared to those with no/mild distress, those with moderate distress had lower recognition of depression, and those with moderate and serious distress were less likely to recommend help-seeking. In contrast, there were no differences in mental health literacy for anxiety, which was low across all participants. These findings suggest that psychological symptoms can impact certain aspects of mental health literacy, and these results have implications for targeting mental health literacy to increase mental health services utilization among individuals in need of help. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2015 APA, all rights reserved).

Assessing the scholarly impact of health psychology: a citation analysis of articles published from 1993 to 2003.

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Frosch, Dominick L; Saxbe, Darby; Tomiyama, A Janet; Glenn, Beth A; Low, Carissa A; Hanoch, Yaniv; Motivala, Sarosh J; Meeker, Daniella

2010-09-01

We conducted a citation analysis to explore the impact of articles published in Health Psychology and determine whether the journal is fulfilling its stated mission. Six years of articles (N = 408) representing three editorial tenures from 1993-2003 were selected for analysis. Articles were coded for several dimensions enabling examination of the relationship of article features to subsequent citations rates. Journals citing articles published in Health Psychology were classified into four categories: (1) psychology, (2) medicine, (3) public health and health policy, and (4) other journals. The majority of citations of Health Psychology articles were in psychology journals, followed closely by medical journals. Studies reporting data collected from college students, and discussing the theoretical implications of findings, were more likely to be cited in psychology journals, whereas studies reporting data from clinical populations, and discussing the practice implications of findings, were more likely to be cited in medical journals. Time since publication and page length were both associated with increased citation counts, and review articles were cited more frequently than observational studies. Articles published in Health Psychology have a wide reach, informing psychology, medicine, public health and health policy. Certain characteristics of articles affect their subsequent pattern of citation. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved).

School Violence, Social Support and Psychological Health among Taiwanese Junior High School Students

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Chen, Ji-Kang; Wei, Hsi-Sheng

2013-01-01

Objectives: This paper examines how peer social support mediates the association between school victimization and student psychological health among junior-high students in an Asian context (Taiwan), and further examines how gender and ethnicity differ in the interrelationships of school violence, peer social support and psychological health.…

Determinants of psychology service utilization in a palliative care outpatient population.

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Azuero, Casey; Allen, Rebecca Sue; Kvale, Elizabeth; Azuero, Andres; Parmelee, Patricia

2014-06-01

Research has demonstrated that treating cancer patients' psychological and physical health leads to improved overall health. This may be especially true for palliative care patients facing serious illness. This study examines the proportion and determinants of psychology service utilization in an outpatient palliative care population. Data from an existing clinical database in an outpatient palliative clinic utilizing a collaborative care model to deliver psychology services were explored. This study was framed by Andersen's Behavioral Model of Health Service Use, which incorporates three main components: predisposing, enabling, and need factors to model health service utilization. The sample (N = 149) was majority middle aged, female, and White with a primary diagnosis of cancer. Cross-tabulations were conducted to determine how many patients who met screening criteria for depression or anxiety sought psychology services. Logistic regression analyses were conducted to assess for predisposing, enabling, and need factor determinants of psychology service utilization. Among patients who met criteria for moderate depression or anxiety, 50% did not access readily available psychology services. Enabling factors were the strongest determinant of psychology utilization. Factors associated with need for psychology services (i.e., emotional distress and psychological symptom burden) did not reach significance in determining psychology service use. This study extends current knowledge about psychology utilization to palliative care outpatients receiving care within a collaborative care model. Directions for future research include further investigation of care models that optimize enabling strategies to enhance access to these services, and examination of patient-reported barriers to receiving this care. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Psychosocial conditions on and off the job and psychological ill health: depressive symptoms, impaired psychological wellbeing, heavy consumption of alcohol.

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Michélsen, H; Bildt, C

2003-07-01

Psychiatric epidemiology has revealed a number of associations between gender, socioeconomic status, and psychiatric disorders. To examine psychosocial conditions on and off the job in relation to psychological ill health. Longitudinal design with 24 year follow up of employed persons (190 women, 177 men). Interview and questionnaire data on work and leisure conditions were collected in 1969 and 1993. Risk analyses were performed in relation to three outcomes in 1993: depression within the preceding 12 months, impaired psychological wellbeing, and heavy alcohol use. Thirteen per cent of the women and 11% of the men showed symptoms of depression, 21% and 22% had impaired psychological wellbeing, and 7% and 15% respectively were heavy alcohol users. Dissatisfaction with the quality (women) or quantity (men) of social contacts 24 years earlier was a significant risk factor for depression. Dissatisfaction with the quality of social contacts was also associated with impaired psychological wellbeing (among women), and dissatisfaction with leisure time activities was associated with heavy alcohol use (among men). Frequent overtime work 24 years earlier was associated with heavy alcohol use among women. Cross sectional analyses also showed associations between psychological ill health and some work related factors (mentally demanding work and lack of job pride). Perceived inadequacies in social contacts, and practical obstacles to social relationships are viewed as risk factors for depression. In this longitudinal study, work related factors, including mental demands and time pressure, do not appear sufficiently associated with psychological ill health.

Emotional health: on the applicability of affective science to the integration of clinical psychology

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Ewa Trzebińska

2017-09-01

Full Text Available The aim of the article is to outline the concept of emotional health and its integrative potential in the field of clinical psychology. It is a well-known fact that the transdiagnostic approach and psychotherapy integration – the two most influential integrative movements in clinical psychology – search for a sound conceptual foundation of the efforts to organize a plethora of theories and data relating to the psychological aspects of physical and mental health. Following a short presentation of general discrepancies afflicting clinical psychology and the main ideas of both the transdiagnostic approach and psychotherapy integration, the notion of emotional health is introduced and its unifying convenience, as well as limitations, is discussed.

Physicians' professional performance: an occupational health psychology perspective

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Scheepers, Renée A.

2017-01-01

Physician work engagement is considered to benefit physicians' professional performance in clinical teaching practice. Following an occupational health psychology perspective, this PhD report presents research on how physicians' professional performance in both doctor and teacher roles can be

Fitting Hidden Markov Models to Psychological Data

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Ingmar Visser

2002-01-01

Full Text Available Markov models have been used extensively in psychology of learning. Applications of hidden Markov models are rare however. This is partially due to the fact that comprehensive statistics for model selection and model assessment are lacking in the psychological literature. We present model selection and model assessment statistics that are particularly useful in applying hidden Markov models in psychology. These statistics are presented and evaluated by simulation studies for a toy example. We compare AIC, BIC and related criteria and introduce a prediction error measure for assessing goodness-of-fit. In a simulation study, two methods of fitting equality constraints are compared. In two illustrative examples with experimental data we apply selection criteria, fit models with constraints and assess goodness-of-fit. First, data from a concept identification task is analyzed. Hidden Markov models provide a flexible approach to analyzing such data when compared to other modeling methods. Second, a novel application of hidden Markov models in implicit learning is presented. Hidden Markov models are used in this context to quantify knowledge that subjects express in an implicit learning task. This method of analyzing implicit learning data provides a comprehensive approach for addressing important theoretical issues in the field.

Globalizing rehabilitation psychology: Application of foundational principles to global health and rehabilitation challenges.

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Bentley, Jacob A; Bruyère, Susanne M; LeBlanc, Jeanne; MacLachlan, Malcolm

2016-02-01

This article reviewed foundational principles in rehabilitation psychology and explored their application to global health imperatives as outlined in the World Report on Disability (World Health Organization & World Bank, 2011). Historical theories and perspectives are used to assist with conceptual formulation as applied to emerging international rehabilitation psychology topics. According to the World Report on Disability (World Health Organization & World Bank, 2011), there are approximately 1 billion individuals living with some form of disability globally. An estimated 80% of persons with disabilities live in low- to middle-income countries (WHO, 2006). The primary messages and recommendations of the World Report on Disability have been previously summarized as it relates to potential opportunities for contribution within the field of rehabilitation psychology (MacLachlan & Mannan, 2014). Yet, undeniable barriers remain to realizing the full potential for contributions in low- to middle-income country settings. A vision for engaging in international capacity building and public health efforts is needed within the field of rehabilitation psychology. Foundational rehabilitation psychology principles have application to the service of individuals with disabilities in areas of the world facing complex socioeconomic and sociopolitical challenges. Foundational principles of person-environment interaction, importance of social context, and need for involvement of persons with disabilities can provide guidance to the field as it relates to global health and rehabilitation efforts. The authors illustrate the application of rehabilitation psychology foundational principles through case examples and description of ongoing work, and link foundational principles to discreet domains of intervention going forward. (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved).

The effect of psychological violence in the workplace on health: A ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Background: Psychological violence has emerged as a priority concern in all workplaces because of its adverse consequences on victims' health. So far, limited research has been conducted on the effect of psychological violence on the five interrelated contexts of human existence. Objectives: This qualitative study ...

The clinical obesity maintenance model: an integration of psychological constructs including mood, emotional regulation, disordered overeating, habitual cluster behaviours, health literacy and cognitive function.

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Raman, Jayanthi; Smith, Evelyn; Hay, Phillipa

2013-01-01

Psychological distress and deficits in executive functioning are likely to be important barriers to effective weight loss maintenance. The purpose of this paper is twofold. First, in the light of recent evidence in the fields of neuropsychology and obesity, particularly on the deficits in the executive function in overweight and obese individuals, a conceptual and theoretical framework of obesity maintenance is introduced by way of a clinical obesity maintenance model (COMM). It is argued that psychological variables, that of habitual cluster Behaviors, emotional dysregulation, mood, and health literacy, interact with executive functioning and impact on the overeating/binge eating behaviors of obese individuals. Second, cognizant of this model, it is argued that the focus of obesity management should be extended to include a broader range of maintaining mechanisms, including but not limited to cognitive deficits. Finally, a discussion on potential future directions in research and practice using the COMM is provided.

Dynamics of context and psychological well-being : the role of subjective health perceptions, personality factors and spirituality / Qambeshile Michael Temane

OpenAIRE

Temane, Qambeshile Michael

2006-01-01

There is a lacuna in the field of positive psychology as far as the conceptualisation of influences of environmental contexts on psychological well-being is concerned, and there is also a lack of credible empirical findings on the dynamics of processes involved. The aim of the current study was to test various models on the possible mediating role of subjective perceptions of health, personality factors and spirituality in the dynamics of context and psychological well-being. ...

Does empowerment mediate the effects of psychological factors on mental health, well-being, and recovery in young people?

Science.gov (United States)

Grealish, Annmarie; Tai, Sara; Hunter, Andrew; Emsley, Richard; Murrells, Trevor; Morrison, Anthony P

2017-09-01

There is consensus that empowerment is key to recovery from mental health problems, enabling a person to take charge of their life and make informed choices and decisions about their life. However, little is known about the mechanisms through which empowerment affects mental health in young people. The current study involved young people aged 16-29 years and examined empowerment as a potential mediator of the relationship between psychological factors (psychosocial, cognition, coping, and control) and mental health, well-being, and recovery from personal problems. A cross-sectional, Internet-based questionnaire study recruited 423 young people aged between 16 and 29 attending universities in England (n = 336) and Ireland (n = 87). Psychological factors, mental well-being, empowerment, and recovery from personal problems were measured using self-report measures. Mediation analysis in both the single and one over-arching mediator models revealed that empowerment mediates the relationship between psychological factors (psychosocial, self-efficacy, thinking style, coping, and control) and mental health, well-being, and recovery from general life problems. This study demonstrates the importance of empowerment, showing that it mediates the relationship between psychological processes and mental health, well-being, and recovery in young people. Clinical implications for working with young people within mental health services, and facilitating their empowerment are discussed. Empowerment is currently a poorly defined concept. This study demonstrates how empowerment mediates the relationship between psychological processes and mental health, well-being, and recovery in young people. Clinicians working with young people might benefit from a structured means of understanding and assessing the different ways in which individuals manage their thinking styles. Empowerment in young people is influenced by the manner in which clinicians facilitate them in establishing social

Psychological violence in the health care settings in iran: a cross-sectional study.

Science.gov (United States)

Fallahi Khoshknab, Masoud; Oskouie, Fatemeh; Najafi, Fereshteh; Ghazanfari, Nahid; Tamizi, Zahra; Ahmadvand, Hatam

2015-03-01

Psychological violence is the most common form of workplace violence that can affect professional performance and job satisfaction of health care workers. Although several studies have been conducted in Iran, but there is no consensus regarding current status of such violence. This study aimed to investigate the prevalence of psychological violence among healthcare workers employed at teaching hospitals in Iran. In this cross-sectional study, 5874 health professionals were selected using multistage random sampling. Data were collected using a self-administered questionnaire developed by the International Labor Organization, International Council of Nurses, World Health Organization, and Public Services International. Descriptive statistics were used to analyze the data. It was found that 74.7% of the participants were subjected to psychological violence during the past 12 months. Totally, 64.5% of psychological violence was committed by patients' families, but 50.9% of participants had not reported the violence, and 69.9% of them believed that reporting was useless. The results are indicative of high prevalence of psychological violence against healthcare workers. Considering non-reporting of violence in more than half of participants, use of an appropriate reporting system and providing training programs for health professionals in order to prevent and manage workplace violence are essential.

Interventions to Support Integrated Psychological Care and Holistic Health Outcomes in Paediatrics.

Science.gov (United States)

Shafran, Roz; Bennett, Sophie D; McKenzie Smith, Mhairi

2017-08-16

There are strong calls from many national and international bodies for there to be a 'holistic' and integrated approach to the understanding and management of psychological and physical health needs. Such holistic approaches are characterized by the treatment of the whole person, taking into account mental and social factors, rather than just the symptoms of a disease. Holistic approaches can impact on mental and physical health and are cost-effective. Several psychological interventions have demonstrated efficacy in improving holistic health outcomes, for example Cognitive Behaviour Therapy, Behavioural Therapies and Problem Solving Therapies. They have shown to impact upon a wide range of outcomes, including psychological distress, pain, physical health, medication adherence, and family outcomes. There is increasing recognition that the holistic goals of the child and family should be prioritised, and that interventions and outcomes should reflect these goals. A focus on holistic goals in therapy can be achieved through a combination of personalised goal-based outcomes in addition to symptom-based measures.

Value-based choice: An integrative, neuroscience-informed model of health goals.

Science.gov (United States)

Berkman, Elliot T

2018-01-01

Traditional models of health behaviour focus on the roles of cognitive, personality and social-cognitive constructs (e.g. executive function, grit, self-efficacy), and give less attention to the process by which these constructs interact in the moment that a health-relevant choice is made. Health psychology needs a process-focused account of how various factors are integrated to produce the decisions that determine health behaviour. I present an integrative value-based choice model of health behaviour, which characterises the mechanism by which a variety of factors come together to determine behaviour. This model imports knowledge from research on behavioural economics and neuroscience about how choices are made to the study of health behaviour, and uses that knowledge to generate novel predictions about how to change health behaviour. I describe anomalies in value-based choice that can be exploited for health promotion, and review neuroimaging evidence about the involvement of midline dopamine structures in tracking and integrating value-related information during choice. I highlight how this knowledge can bring insights to health psychology using illustrative case of healthy eating. Value-based choice is a viable model for health behaviour and opens new avenues for mechanism-focused intervention.

Community Psychology and Community Mental Health: A Call for Reengagement.

Science.gov (United States)

Townley, Greg; Brown, Molly; Sylvestre, John

2018-03-01

Community psychology is rooted in community mental health research and practice and has made important contributions to this field. Yet, in the decades since its inception, community psychology has reduced its focus on promoting mental health, well-being, and liberation of individuals with serious mental illnesses. This special issue endeavors to highlight current efforts in community mental health from our field and related disciplines and point to future directions for reengagement in this area. The issue includes 12 articles authored by diverse stakeholder groups. Following a review of the state of community mental health scholarship in the field's two primary journals since 1973, the remaining articles center on four thematic areas: (a) the community experience of individuals with serious mental illness; (b) the utility of a participatory and cross-cultural lens in our engagement with community mental health; (c) Housing First implementation, evaluation, and dissemination; and (d) emerging or under-examined topics. In reflection, we conclude with a series of challenges for community psychologists involved in future, transformative, movements in community mental health. © Society for Community Research and Action 2018.

The Application Status of Psychological Scale for the Study of the Psychological Health of Ethnic Minority College Students

Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

Wang Can; Liu Dawei

2015-01-01

Since the 1990s, the numbers of college students who drop out of school due to mental disorders have increased dramatically. In recent years, reports on college students’ mental health crisis have drawn more and more public at-tention. Therefore, the mental health status of col-lege students is becoming a serious focus in the field of psychology. However,there are few studies on the mental health of ethnic minority college students. As a standardized practical screening instru-ment, the psychological assessment scale has be-come a widely used tool for many universities to e-valuate psychological problems. This paper intends to analyze the characteristics of the psychological scales commonly used in ethnic minority colleges, and clearly describe the status of its application. Through searching thefull-text database CNKI,we discovered that there are several tools concerning psychological scale that are used commonly in eth-nic minority colleges, including the Symptom Checklist 90 ( SCL - 90 ) , Zung Self - Rating Scales(SDS/SAS),Psychological Health Inventory ( PHI) ,Eysenck Personality Questionnaire( EPQ) , 16 PF Questionnaire ( 16 pf ) , and the College Students’Personality Health Questionnaire ( UPI ) . We did a comparative analysis on them as follows:1. The Symptom Checklist-90-R( SCL-90-R ) is a self -reporting psychometric question-naire published in 1975 . It is designed to evaluate a broad range of psychological problems and symp-toms of psychopathology. It is still one of the most widely used instruments in the investigation of the mental health of college students. 2. The Zung Self - Rating Depression Scale (SDS)and Zung Self -Rating Anxiety Scale(SAS) were designed by psychiatrist William W. K. Zung. The Zung Self-Rating Depression Scaleis used to as-sess the level of depression for patients diagnosed with depressive disorder. The Zung Self-Rating Anx-iety Scale was designed to assess a patient’s level of anxiety. Both of them are commonly used in

The moderating role of overcommitment in the relationship between psychological contract breach and employee mental health.

Science.gov (United States)

Reimann, Mareike

2016-09-30

This study investigated whether the association between perceived psychological contract breach (PCB) and employee mental health is moderated by the cognitive-motivational pattern of overcommitment (OC). Linking the psychological contract approach to the effort-reward imbalance model, this study examines PCB as an imbalance in employment relationships that acts as a psychosocial stressor in the work environment and is associated with stress reactions that in turn negatively affect mental health. The analyses were based on a sample of 3,667 employees who participated in a longitudinal linked employer-employee survey representative of large organizations (with at least 500 employees who are subject so social security contributions) in Germany. Fixed-effects regression models, including PCB and OC, were estimated for employee mental health, and interaction effects between PCB and OC were assessed. The multivariate fixed-effects regression analyses showed a significant negative association between PCB and employee mental health. The results also confirmed that OC does indeed significantly increase the negative effect of PCB on mental health and that OC itself has a significant and negative effect on mental health. The results suggest that employees characterized by the cognitive-motivational pattern of OC are at an increased risk of developing poor mental health if they experience PCB compared with employees who are not overly committed to their work. The results of this study support the assumption that psychosocial work stressors play an important role in employee mental health.

Emotional versus cognitive rumination: are they differentially affecting long-term psychological health? The impact of stressors and personality in dental students.

Science.gov (United States)

Hamesch, Ulla; Cropley, Mark; Lang, Jessica

2014-08-01

In the process of recovery from work, rumination is considered as an important mediating variable in the relationship between work demands and psychological health outcomes. Past research differentiated affective rumination from problem-solving pondering. The aim of the present study was to test a moderated mediation model for these two distinct ruminative states and to show how personality (i.e. neuroticism and conscientiousness) can alter the mediating effect. The present study is based on 119 surveys from dental students with a time lag of 6 months. Participants filled out questionnaires assessing specific study-relevant performance demands, rumination and personality and a screening measure for psychological health status. Neuroticism was found to moderate the demand-affective rumination association, but conscientiousness did not moderate the demand-problem-solving pondering association. Moderated mediation analysis revealed that affective rumination mediates the impact of demands on psychological health only for individuals low in neuroticism. Findings are discussed regarding potential interventions for dental students to prevent negative psychological health outcomes due to increased work-related demands in the long term. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Acculturation, Enculturation, and Asian American College Students' Mental Health and Attitudes toward Seeking Professional Psychological Help

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Miller, Matthew J.; Yang, Minji; Hui, Kayi; Choi, Na-Yeun; Lim, Robert H.

2011-01-01

In the present study, we tested a theoretically and empirically derived partially indirect effects acculturation and enculturation model of Asian American college students' mental health and attitudes toward seeking professional psychological help. Latent variable path analysis with 296 self-identified Asian American college students supported the…

Impact of Health Behaviors and Health Management on Employment After SCI: Psychological Health and Health Management.

Science.gov (United States)

Reed, Karla S; Meade, Michelle A; Krause, James S

2016-01-01

Objective: The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between employment and psychological health and health management as described by individuals with spinal cord injury (SCI) who were employed at least once following injury. Methods: A qualitative approach used 6 focus groups at 2 sites with 44 participants who were at least 10 years post SCI. All had been employed at some point since injury. Heterogeneous and homogeneous groups were delineated based on specific characteristics, such as education, gender, or race. Group sessions followed a semi-structured interview format with questions about personal, environmental, and policy related factors influencing employment following SCI. All group sessions were recorded, transcribed, and coded into conceptual categories to identify topics, themes, and patterns. Inferences were drawn about their meaning. NVivo 10 software using the constant comparative method was used for data analysis. Results: Narratives discussed the relationship between employment and psychological and emotional health and health management. Four themes were identified: (1) adjustment and dealing with emotional reactions, (2) gaining self-confidence, (3) preventing burnout, and (4) attitudes and perspectives. Most themes reflected issues that varied based on severity of injury as well as stage of employment. Conclusions: Individuals with SCI who are successful in working following injury must determine how to perform the behaviors necessary to manage their health and prevent emotional or physical complications. The emotional consequences of SCI must be recognized and addressed and specific behaviors enacted in order to optimize employment outcomes.

The structure of mental health research: networks of influence among psychiatry and clinical psychology journals.

Science.gov (United States)

Haslam, N; Lusher, D

2011-12-01

Psychiatry and clinical psychology are the two dominant disciplines in mental health research, but the structure of scientific influence and information flow within and between them has never been mapped. Citations among 96 of the highest impact psychiatry and clinical psychology journals were examined, based on 10 052 articles published in 2008. Network analysis explored patterns of influence between journal clusters. Psychiatry journals tended to have greater influence than clinical psychology journals, and their influence was asymmetrical: clinical psychology journals cited psychiatry journals at a much higher rate than the reverse. Eight journal clusters were found, most dominated by a single discipline. Their citation network revealed an influential central cluster of 'core psychiatry' journals that had close affinities with a 'psychopharmacology' cluster. A group of 'core clinical psychology' journals was linked to a 'behavior therapy' cluster but both were subordinate to psychiatry journals. Clinical psychology journals were less integrated than psychiatry journals, and 'health psychology/behavioral medicine' and 'neuropsychology' clusters were relatively peripheral to the network. Scientific publication in the mental health field is largely organized along disciplinary lines, and is to some degree hierarchical, with clinical psychology journals tending to be structurally subordinate to psychiatry journals.

Interventions to Support Integrated Psychological Care and Holistic Health Outcomes in Paediatrics

OpenAIRE

Shafran, Roz; Bennett, Sophie D.; McKenzie Smith, Mhairi

2017-01-01

There are strong calls from many national and international bodies for there to be a ‘holistic’ and integrated approach to the understanding and management of psychological and physical health needs. Such holistic approaches are characterized by the treatment of the whole person, taking into account mental and social factors, rather than just the symptoms of a disease. Holistic approaches can impact on mental and physical health and are cost-effective. Several psychological interventions have...

The Clinical Obesity Maintenance Model: An Integration of Psychological Constructs including Mood, Emotional Regulation, Disordered Overeating, Habitual Cluster Behaviours, Health Literacy and Cognitive Function

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jayanthi Raman

2013-01-01

Full Text Available Psychological distress and deficits in executive functioning are likely to be important barriers to effective weight loss maintenance. The purpose of this paper is twofold. First, in the light of recent evidence in the fields of neuropsychology and obesity, particularly on the deficits in the executive function in overweight and obese individuals, a conceptual and theoretical framework of obesity maintenance is introduced by way of a clinical obesity maintenance model (COMM. It is argued that psychological variables, that of habitual cluster Behaviors, emotional dysregulation, mood, and health literacy, interact with executive functioning and impact on the overeating/binge eating behaviors of obese individuals. Second, cognizant of this model, it is argued that the focus of obesity management should be extended to include a broader range of maintaining mechanisms, including but not limited to cognitive deficits. Finally, a discussion on potential future directions in research and practice using the COMM is provided.

Does urban sprawl impact on self-rated health and psychological distress? A multilevel study from Sydney, Australia.

Science.gov (United States)

Jalaludin, Bin B; Garden, Frances L

2011-09-01

Mental health can be influenced by a number of neighbourhood physical and social environmental characteristics. We aimed to determine whether urban sprawl (based on population density) in Sydney, Australia, is associated with self-rated health and psychological distress. We used a cross-sectional multilevel study design. Individual level data on self-rated health and psychological distress were obtained from the 2006 and 2007 NSW Population Health Survey. We did not find significant associations between urban sprawl and self-rated health and psychological distress after controlling for individual and area level covariates. However, positive neighbourhood factors were generally associated with better self-rated health and lower psychological distress but few of these associations were statistically significant.

An introduction to Bayesian statistics in health psychology

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Depaoli, Sarah; Rus, Holly; Clifton, James; van de Schoot, A.G.J.; Tiemensma, Jitske

2017-01-01

The aim of the current article is to provide a brief introduction to Bayesian statistics within the field of Health Psychology. Bayesian methods are increasing in prevalence in applied fields, and they have been shown in simulation research to improve the estimation accuracy of structural equation

A threshold model of investor psychology

Science.gov (United States)

Cross, Rod; Grinfeld, Michael; Lamba, Harbir; Seaman, Tim

2005-08-01

We introduce a class of agent-based market models founded upon simple descriptions of investor psychology. Agents are subject to various psychological tensions induced by market conditions and endowed with a minimal ‘personality’. This personality consists of a threshold level for each of the tensions being modeled, and the agent reacts whenever a tension threshold is reached. This paper considers an elementary model including just two such tensions. The first is ‘cowardice’, which is the stress caused by remaining in a minority position with respect to overall market sentiment and leads to herding-type behavior. The second is ‘inaction’, which is the increasing desire to act or re-evaluate one's investment position. There is no inductive learning by agents and they are only coupled via the global market price and overall market sentiment. Even incorporating just these two psychological tensions, important stylized facts of real market data, including fat-tails, excess kurtosis, uncorrelated price returns and clustered volatility over the timescale of a few days are reproduced. By then introducing an additional parameter that amplifies the effect of externally generated market noise during times of extreme market sentiment, long-time volatility correlations can also be recovered.

Psychological safety and error reporting within Veterans Health Administration hospitals.

Science.gov (United States)

Derickson, Ryan; Fishman, Jonathan; Osatuke, Katerine; Teclaw, Robert; Ramsel, Dee

2015-03-01

In psychologically safe workplaces, employees feel comfortable taking interpersonal risks, such as pointing out errors. Previous research suggested that psychologically safe climate optimizes organizational outcomes. We evaluated psychological safety levels in Veterans Health Administration (VHA) hospitals and assessed their relationship to employee willingness of reporting medical errors. We conducted an ANOVA on psychological safety scores from a VHA employees census survey (n = 185,879), assessing variability of means across racial and supervisory levels. We examined organizational climate assessment interviews (n = 374) evaluating how many employees asserted willingness to report errors (or not) and their stated reasons. Finally, based on survey data, we identified 2 (psychologically safe versus unsafe) hospitals and compared their number of employees who would be willing/unwilling to report an error. Psychological safety increased with supervisory level (P hospital (71% would report, 13% would not) were less willing to report an error than at the psychologically safe hospital (91% would, 0% would not). A substantial minority would not report an error and were willing to admit so in a private interview setting. Their stated reasons as well as higher psychological safety means for supervisory employees both suggest power as an important determinant. Intentions to report were associated with psychological safety, strongly suggesting this climate aspect as instrumental to improving patient safety and reducing costs.

Women Health and Psychological Functioning in Different Periods of Life: Evaluation of Nursing Approach

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Fusun Terzioglu

2011-03-01

Full Text Available World Health Organization describes health as the state of being completely fine corporally, socially and psychologically. The state of being completely fine which is indicated in this description of health has been criticised by many scientists and with the idea that noone shall ever realise tha state of being completely fine corporally and psychologically, it was emphasized that individuals could be evaluated to be “healthy” as long as they are productive. Starting from the intrauterine period, woman passes through different periods such as childhood, adolescence, adulthood, elderliness and she experiences some physical, psychological and social differences in each of these periods within the frame of life cycle. While these differences influence productivities and life qualities of women negatively, they also make them more inclined to psychiatric illnesses. Therefore, psychological problems are more common among women and they last longer. Considering the fact that among the medical personnel, it is the nurses who spend time with patients during the phases of diagnosis, treatment and rehabilitation the most, it could be said that nurses have a significant role in intervening in problems that affect the psychological health of woman. The nurse has responsibilities such as determining the problem the woman goes through, providing protective care, getting an early diagnosis, making the convenient remedial intervention and consigning, when necessary. In this article, significant woman health problems that could be experienced starting from the intrauterine life until the end of life by woman, the effects of this problem to the psychological health of the woman and nursing approaches in view of these problems are discussed.

Psychological Health Problems Among Adolescent Workers and Associated Factors in Istanbul, Turkey

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Ozlem Koseoglu Ornek

2018-03-01

Full Text Available Background: Work and work environment have a critical influence on adolescent workers' health. They are subjected to more risks than adults. The aim of this study is to examine psychological health outcomes in adolescent workers in the areas of depression, somatization, anxiety, hostility, and negative self-concept, and to investigate any related factors. Methods: This is a descriptive and cross-sectional study. Research samples were collected from adolescent workers between 15 and 18 years old attending a 1-day mandatory education course at vocational training centers, working 5 days per week in small enterprises. Data were collected using the following instruments: Brief Symptom Inventory, Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support, and Descriptive Characteristics of Children's Assessment Form. Results: The investigation covers 837 young workers, of whom 675 were males and 162 were females. The majority of the families had low incomes (68.1%. Overall, 33.5% of the adolescents had been hospitalized because of health problems. Their average weekly working hours were 78.1 ± 10.7. Almost 50% of adolescent workers scored above the mean average in the Brief Symptom Inventory, indicating serious pschological health symptoms.Those who scored high for hostility, depression, negative self-concept, anxiety, and somatization were between 45.4% and 48.9% of the sample. Logistic regression analysis was conducted to determine the underlying factors: a perception of “feeling very bad” health conditions was 2.07-fold whereas the rate of “no annual leave” was 0.73-fold, and both were found to be effective on psychological problems. Conclusion: In this study, it seems likely that psychological health problems are the result of multiple adverse factors including working conditions, annual leave, and health considerations. Keywords: adolescent workers, child Workers, occupational health, psychological problems, social support

Silent killers of the night: an exploration of psychological health and suicidality among female street sex workers.

Science.gov (United States)

Ling, Davina C; Wong, William C W; Holroyd, Eleanor A; Gray, Sister Ann

2007-01-01

This article examines factors that relate to psychological health (as measured by the World Health Organization Quality of Life Instrument) as well as suicide attempts among female street sex workers (FSSWs) in Hong Kong. On average, our sampled FSSWs scored significantly lower on the psychological health domain in comparison to the general Hong Kong female population. Factors associated with the working environment in the sex industry were significantly associated with poor psychological health and suicidality. Greater attention is needed to examine the physical and emotional harm intrinsic to certain occupations and the role of financial needs in the experience of psychological stress.

Promoting Resilience in Schools: A View from Occupational Health Psychology

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Griffiths, Amanda

2014-01-01

This paper considers teacher resilience from the viewpoint of a discipline concerned with the interactions between work design, management style and employee health and well-being: occupational health psychology. It will be suggested that there are strong parallels between interventions designed to promote resilience and those designed to reduce…

The effect of floorball training on health status, psychological health and social capital in older men

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Wikman, Johan Michael; Nistrup, Anne; Vorup Petersen, Jacob

2017-01-01

that the men in the floorball group improved in the SF-12 composite score for mental health, as well as the HADS subscales anxiety and depression, compared to the men in the petanque group. In addition, 21 interviews were conducted with a sample of the men engaged in floorball. According to the statements...... by many of the men as the main reason for their participation throughout the 12-week period. The statistical results and the interview findings suggest that participation in a ball game such as floorball has several benefits regarding health status, psychological health and social capital and in addition......This article presents the results of a multidisciplinary study which investigated the effects of a period with floorball training on health status, psychological health and social capital of older men. Thirty-nine untrained men aged 69.9 ± 0.6 (range: 65–76) were randomized into a group playing...

How Religious Beliefs and Practices Influence the Psychological Health of Catholic Priests.

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Isacco, Anthony; Sahker, Ethan; Krinock, Elizabeth; Sim, Wonjin; Hamilton, Deanna

2016-07-01

Roman Catholic diocesan priests are a subgroup of men with unique religious and spiritual roles, beliefs, and practices. This qualitative study of 15 priests from the mid-Atlantic area of the United States focused on how priests' relationship with God and promises of celibacy and obedience influenced their psychological health. Using a consensual qualitative research (CQR) design, the analysis revealed that participants described their relationship with God as central to their health and contributing to positive outcomes (e.g., sense of connection and support). The influence of their promises of celibacy and obedience were linked to both positive outcomes (e.g., decreased stress, improved relationships) and negative outcomes (e.g., internal conflict, depression/loneliness). This study highlighted the central role that priests' relationship with God has on positive psychological health. Future research is necessary to understand how to maximize the positive effects and minimize the negative effects of priests' promises of celibacy and obedience, which would benefit programs aimed at supporting priests' psychological health. © The Author(s) 2015.

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.

Caring for the Elderly at Work and Home: Can a Randomized Organizational Intervention Improve Psychological Health?

Science.gov (United States)

Kossek, Ellen Ernst; Thompson, Rebecca J; Lawson, Katie M; Bodner, Todd; Perrigino, Matthew B; Hammer, Leslie B; Buxton, Orfeu M; Almeida, David M; Moen, Phyllis; Hurtado, David A; Wipfli, Brad; Berkman, Lisa F; Bray, Jeremy W

2017-12-07

Although job stress models suggest that changing the work social environment to increase job resources improves psychological health, many intervention studies have weak designs and overlook influences of family caregiving demands. We tested the effects of an organizational intervention designed to increase supervisor social support for work and nonwork roles, and job control in a results-oriented work environment on the stress and psychological distress of health care employees who care for the elderly, while simultaneously considering their own family caregiving responsibilities. Using a group-randomized organizational field trial with an intent-to-treat design, 420 caregivers in 15 intervention extended-care nursing facilities were compared with 511 caregivers in 15 control facilities at 4 measurement times: preintervention and 6, 12, and 18 months. There were no main intervention effects showing improvements in stress and psychological distress when comparing intervention with control sites. Moderation analyses indicate that the intervention was more effective in reducing stress and psychological distress for caregivers who were also caring for other family members off the job (those with elders and those "sandwiched" with both child and elder caregiving responsibilities) compared with employees without caregiving demands. These findings extend previous studies by showing that the effect of organizational interventions designed to increase job resources to improve psychological health varies according to differences in nonwork caregiving demands. This research suggests that caregivers, especially those with "double-duty" elder caregiving at home and work and "triple-duty" responsibilities, including child care, may benefit from interventions designed to increase work-nonwork social support and job control. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2017 APA, all rights reserved).

Analyses on How to Permeate Psychological Health Education in College English Teaching

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Wang Yifei

2015-01-01

Full Text Available College students’ mental health education research has become an important subject of psychological research in our country. Questionnaire survey and analysis are conducted on the adaptability to the campus life of college students. And we may have better and more effective college English teaching methods through this research. The data used in this paper come from 100 freshmen from Jiujiang University, majoring in Business English. Based on the analysis of the data, the following findings are obtained. By analyzing the psychological problems in college students’ learning process and putting forward the method to solve those problems, universities should carefully summarize the good experience and characteristics, and explore new ideas actively on college students’ psychological health education work to encourage students to learn English better.

Assessment of job satisfaction, job stress and psychological health ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

McRoy

2014-12-31

Dec 31, 2014 ... Aim: The study assessed the job satisfaction, perception of job stress and psychological ... on the work-health balance of journalists in. Nigeria. ..... Life. New York: Basic Books,1990. 15. Lu L. Work Motivation, Job Stress and.

Pilot study of the psychological factors in the professional health of managers.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Shingaev S.M.

2015-07-01

Full Text Available The main research problems and tasks of a new scientific field in Russia—the psychology of professional health — are formulated. A definition of professional health as the abilities of a person successfully to cope with the demands and requirements in a professional environment is offered. A psychological vision for professional health with four basic provisions is proposed. The aim of the research was to study the extent of the influence on the professional health of managers of such psychological factors as systems of values, stress in professional activity, individual and psychological features, strategies for overcoming stressful situations. Data are provided from research conducted in 2002-2012 on managers in Russian companies. Taking part in the research were 651 managers of various organizations in St. Petersburg, Moscow, Yekaterinburg, Veliky Novgorod, and Kharkov. For collecting empirical material on methods of supervision, I used polls, tests, interviews, content analysis, self-reports of participants in training programs, and a method for forming the experiment. In addition I employed psychodiagnostic techniques intended for studying the cognitive, behavioral, and emotional components of health, a technique for revealing the personal potentials (regulatory, communicative, intellectual of the managers, and also my own techniques. The study positively correlated health with such values as having interesting work, having a happy family life, being financially secure, having an active life, and giving and receiving love. Connections between the behavioral manifestations of type A behavior and the managers’ values were revealed. The greatest negative impact on the managers was made by such factors of professional activity as an excessive workload, emotional pressure at work, difficulty in carrying out activity, and insufficient time. Health is important in the structure of the professional activity of managers; it acts as a strategic

Evolution in the office: how evolutionary psychology can increase employee health, happiness, and productivity.

Science.gov (United States)

Fitzgerald, Carey J; Danner, Kimberly M

2012-12-20

We review the empirical literature that has implemented aspects of our ancestral environment into the workplace and discuss the positive influence these factors have had on employees' physical and psychological health. We focus upon several components of our ancestral environment, including sunlight, greenery, sleep, physical movement, and social interaction with fellow humans as well as animals (specifically, dogs). Employers who are willing to adopt an evolutionary psychological approach to organizing their workplaces may drastically improve their workers' overall physical and psychological health as well as their overall productivity. This will, in turn, decrease employer costs related to medical care, absenteeism, and lack of productivity. Suggestions regarding how to implement these evolutionary psychological methods to the workplace are also discussed.

[Study on the relationship between occupational stress and psychological health state among oil workers].

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, Jiwen; Wang, Zhiming; Wang, Mianzhen; Lan, Yajia; Zhan, Chenglie; Zhao, Xiaoguo

2002-02-01

To study the relationship between occupational stress and psychological health state among oil workers. 1,230 oil workers in 122 work types of oil industry were selected and written occupational stress questionary(OSQ) and symptom check list (SCL-90). Petroleum workers' psychological health states were poor with increasing occupational stress degree. The scores in physical symptoms(1.87 +/- 0.80, 1.72 +/- 0.70), depression(1.74 +/- 0.76, 1.62 +/- 0.67), horror(1.48 +/- 0.65, 1.39 +/- 0.55) in the high and medium stress group were obviously higher than those in low stress group(1.55 +/- 0.61, 1.43 +/- 0.54, 1.28 +/- 0.46, respectively, P < 0.05). The score of mood state in the high and medium stress group was obviously higher than that in low stress group(P < 0.05). Psychological health states and mood state in the petroleum workers with short service length are significantly poorer than that with long service length(P < 0.01). Occupational stress should affect psychological health state of petroleum workers.

Regime-switching models to study psychological process

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Hamaker, E.L.; Grasman, R.P.P.P.; Kamphuis, J.H.

2010-01-01

Many psychological processes are characterized by recurrent shifts between different states. To model these processes at the level of the individual, regime-switching models may prove useful. In this chapter we discuss two of these models: the threshold autoregressive model and the Markov

The Relationship Between Job Satisfaction and Psychological/Physical Health among Malaysian Working Women

OpenAIRE

Aazami, Sanaz; Shamsuddin, Khadijah; Akmal, Syaqirah; Azami, Golnaz

2015-01-01

Background: The workplace environment has a great influence on employees’ health. Job dissatisfaction has been widely recognised as a workplace stressor that can influence employees’ psychological and physical health statuses. However, job satisfaction is a multi-dimensional concept, and it is necessary to investigate its different facets and their unique consequences. Therefore, the aim of this study was to assess the relationship between the nine facets of job satisfaction and psychological...

The psychological contracts of National Health Service nurses.

Science.gov (United States)

Purvis, Lynne J; Cropley, Mark

2003-03-01

Following the psychological contract model of the employee-employer exchange relationship is offered as a means of understanding the expectations of a UK sample of 223 National Health Service (NHS) nurses in association with their leaving intentions. A pilot study involving 21 NHS nurses, using the repertory grid technique was conducted to elicit contract expectations. Twenty-nine categories of expectation were identified through content analysis. The study proper, employed a survey developed on the basis of results from the pilot study to identify contract profiles among 223 nurses from three London/South-east NHS hospitals, using the Q-sort method. Type of contract held (relational/transactional), satisfaction (job and organization), and leaving intentions were also examined. Q-analysis yielded four contract profiles among the nurses sampled: 'self-development and achievement'; 'belonging and development'; 'competence and collegiality' and 'autonomy and development'. Correlation analysis demonstrated that leaving intentions were associated with a need for personal autonomy and development, and the violation of expectations for being appreciated, valued, recognized and rewarded for effort, loyalty, hard-work and achievement, negative endorsement of a relational contract, positive endorsement of a transactional contract, and job and organizational dissatisfaction. Findings illustrate the diagnostic utility of the term psychological contract for understanding the expectations of NHS nurses. The potential significance of these findings for managing nurse retention is highlighted.

Divorce and Death: A Case Study for Health Psychology.

Science.gov (United States)

Sbarra, David A; Hasselmo, Karen; Nojopranoto, Widyasita

2012-12-01

Marital separation and divorce are associated with increased risk for early death, and the magnitude of this association rivals that of many well-established public health factors. In the case of divorce, however, the mechanisms explaining precisely why and how some people are at risk for early death remain unclear. This paper reviews what is known about the association between divorce and risk for all-cause mortality, then discusses four emerging themes in this area of research: the biological intermediaries linking divorce to pathophysiology and disease onset, moving beyond the statistical mean, focusing research on the diathesis-stress model, and studying how opportunity foreclosures may place people on a trajectory toward poor distal health outcomes. These ideas are grounded in a set of public lay commentaries about the association between divorce and death; in this way, the paper seeks to integrate current research ideas with how the general public thinks about divorce and its correlates. Although this paper focuses on divorce, many of the emerging themes are applicable to the study of psychosocial stress and health more generally. Therefore, the study of divorce and death provides a good case study for health psychology and considers new questions that can be pursued in a variety of research areas.

Commonsense Psychology and the Functional Requirements of Cognitive Models

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Gordon, Andrew S

2005-01-01

.... Rather than working to avoid the influence of commonsense psychology in cognitive modeling research, we propose to capitalize on progress in developing formal theories of commonsense psychology...

Internalized Transphobia, Resilience, and Mental Health: Applying the Psychological Mediation Framework to Italian Transgender Individuals

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Cristiano Scandurra

2018-03-01

Full Text Available Transgender and gender nonconforming (TGNC people are a highly-stigmatized population. For this reason, they might internalize society’s normative gender attitudes and develop negative mental health outcomes. As an extension of the minority stress model, the psychological mediation framework sheds light on psychological processes through which anti-transgender discrimination might affect mental health. Within this framework, the current study aimed at assessing in 149 TGNC Italian individuals the role of internalized transphobia as a mediator between anti-transgender discrimination and mental health, considering resilience as the individual-level coping mechanism buffering this relationship. The results suggest that both indicators of internalized transphobia (i.e., shame and alienation mediate the relationship between anti-transgender discrimination and depression, while only alienation mediates the relationship between anti-transgender discrimination and anxiety. Furthermore, the results suggest that the indirect relation between anti-transgender discrimination and anxiety through alienation is conditional on low and moderate levels of resilience. Findings have important implications for clinical practice and psycho-social interventions to reduce stigma and stress caused by interpersonal and individual stigma.

Internalized Transphobia, Resilience, and Mental Health: Applying the Psychological Mediation Framework to Italian Transgender Individuals

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Bochicchio, Vincenzo; Amodeo, Anna Lisa; Esposito, Concetta; Valerio, Paolo; Maldonato, Nelson Mauro; Bacchini, Dario; Vitelli, Roberto

2018-01-01

Transgender and gender nonconforming (TGNC) people are a highly-stigmatized population. For this reason, they might internalize society’s normative gender attitudes and develop negative mental health outcomes. As an extension of the minority stress model, the psychological mediation framework sheds light on psychological processes through which anti-transgender discrimination might affect mental health. Within this framework, the current study aimed at assessing in 149 TGNC Italian individuals the role of internalized transphobia as a mediator between anti-transgender discrimination and mental health, considering resilience as the individual-level coping mechanism buffering this relationship. The results suggest that both indicators of internalized transphobia (i.e., shame and alienation) mediate the relationship between anti-transgender discrimination and depression, while only alienation mediates the relationship between anti-transgender discrimination and anxiety. Furthermore, the results suggest that the indirect relation between anti-transgender discrimination and anxiety through alienation is conditional on low and moderate levels of resilience. Findings have important implications for clinical practice and psycho-social interventions to reduce stigma and stress caused by interpersonal and individual stigma. PMID:29534023

Psychological predictors for health-related quality of life and disability in persons with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).

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Mewes, Ricarda; Rief, Winfried; Kenn, Klaus; Ried, Jens; Stenzel, Nikola

2016-01-01

Individuals with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) exhibit low physical and mental health-related quality of life (HRQL) and high susceptibility to disability. We investigated the influence of psychological factors on HRQL and disability in COPD individuals recruited from the general population. In line with Leventhal's common sense model, we expected psychological factors to be associated with HRQL and disability even after controlling for medical status. Individuals with COPD (n = 502; 59.7 years old; GOLD grades were I: 3%, II: 17%, III: 34%, IV: 46%) were assessed through an online survey administered via COPD patient organisations in Germany. Individuals filled in the Short Form Health Survey (SF-12), COPD Assessment Test, Patient Health Questionnaire (modules: GAD-2, PHQ-15, PHQ-9), Brief Illness Perception Questionnaire, a questionnaire that assesses causal illness attributions, and the internal illness-related locus of control scale of the 'KKG questionnaire for the assessment of control beliefs about illness and health'. Multiple linear regressions were calculated. The investigated factors explained high variances (disability = 56%, physical HRQL = 28%, mental HRQL = 63%, p ≤ .001). Better mental health, more optimistic illness perceptions, attribution to psychological causes, and stronger internal locus of control were associated with lower disability and better HRQL. Comorbid somatic symptoms contributed to high disability and low quality of life. Psychological factors, such as illness perception, attribution and internal locus of control, were associated with disability and HRQL. These factors should be considered when designing treatments for individuals with COPD, and adequate interventions should be provided to enhance illness understanding and self-management skills.

Introducing embedded indigenous psychological support teams: a suggested addition to psychological first aid in an international context.

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Edwards-Stewart, Amanda; Ahmad, Zeba S; Thoburn, John W; Furman, Rich; Lambert, Ashly J; Shelly, Lauren; Gunn, Ginger

2012-01-01

The current article introduces Embedded Indigenous Psychological Support Teams (IPST) as a possible addition to current disaster relief efforts. This article highlights psychological first aid in an international context by drawing on mainstream disaster relief models such as The American Red Cross, Critical Incident Stress Management, and Flexible Psychological First Aid. IPST are explained as teams utilizing techniques from both CISM and FPFA with a focus on resiliency. It is currently theorized that in utilizing IPST existing disaster relief models may be more effective in mitigating negative physical or mental health consequences post-disaster.

Health after disaster: A perspective of psychological/health reactions to disaster

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Ursula Martin

2015-12-01

Full Text Available Superstorm Sandy, which affected millions of people in 2012, was a disaster in structural, financial, medical, and emotional terms. Many survivors experienced post-storm health psychology impacts. Depression levels increased by 25%, and physician visits were elevated by a significant amount. Clearly, large-scale disasters have a profound effect on the physical and emotional health of survivors. Understanding these effects can improve future disaster relief programs and policies. Exploration of post-disaster issues can inform government entities and non-government organizations to assist communities and individuals left in the aftermath of natural disasters.

The Relationship Between Job Satisfaction and Psychological/Physical Health among Malaysian Working Women.

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Aazami, Sanaz; Shamsuddin, Khadijah; Akmal, Syaqirah; Azami, Golnaz

2015-01-01

The workplace environment has a great influence on employees' health. Job dissatisfaction has been widely recognised as a workplace stressor that can influence employees' psychological and physical health statuses. However, job satisfaction is a multi-dimensional concept, and it is necessary to investigate its different facets and their unique consequences. Therefore, the aim of this study was to assess the relationship between the nine facets of job satisfaction and psychological health and somatic complaints (i.e., sleep disorders, headache, gastro-intestinal and respiratory problems). This cross-sectional study was conducted among 567 Malaysian women working in the public sector. Data collection was conducted using a series of self-administered questionnaires. The results of this study show that there is a link between job satisfaction and psychological distress as well as four somatic complaints. Satisfaction with the nature of work was the strongest predictor for psychological distress, sleep disorders, headaches and gastro-intestinal problems. From the results of this study, we conclude that there is a link between job satisfaction and the health status of employees. In addition, job satisfaction levels vary across different dimensions and can even differ from an individual's feelings of global job satisfaction. Policies and practices should focus on improving working conditions to enhance the fit of the job and the employee.

Health psychology in primary care: recent research and future directions

OpenAIRE

Thielke, Stephen; Thompson,; Stuart,

2011-01-01

Stephen Thielke1, Alexander Thompson2, Richard Stuart31Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of Washington, Geriatric Research, Education, and Clinical Center, Puget Sound VA Medical Center, Seattle, WA, USA; 2Group Health Cooperative, Seattle, WA, USA; 3Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USAAbstract: Over the last decade, research about health psychology in primary care has reiterated its contributions to mental and physical health promotion, ...

Relations among exercise, coping, disordered eating, and psychological health among college students.

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Thome, Jennifer; Espelage, Dorothy L

2004-11-01

Researchers have long been interested in the coping styles of individuals who display disordered eating characteristics. Recently, exercise has been recognized as both a behavior and coping strategy that might be present among individuals with disordered eating. The present study evaluates the role of exercise as both a coping mechanism and as a health behavior in relation to eating pathology and other measures of psychological health in a nonclinical university population. Female (n=235) and male (n=86) undergraduate students completed questionnaires that assessed exercise behavior, coping strategies, eating attitudes, self-esteem, life satisfaction, affect, depression, and anxiety. The results indicate that the relations among exercise, coping, and eating pathology is complex. Exercise was related to positive psychological health in males, whereas exercise in females was associated with both positive and negative psychological health. For women with high Eating Attitudes Test (EAT-26) scores, exercise was significantly associated with negative affect, and a trend existed in this group such that exercise was associated with higher levels of depression and anxiety. Conversely, for women with low EAT scores, exercise was associated with positive affect. This suggests that exercise might be differentially associated with mental health based on the presence or absence of eating pathology.

Psychological profile: the problem of modeling the unknown criminal personality

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Г. М. Гетьман

2013-10-01

Full Text Available The article investigates the problem of modeling an unknown person in the preparation of criminal psychological profile. Some approaches to the concept of "psychological profile" and "psychological portrait", in particular the proposed delineation of these terms. We consider the system steps in the development of the psychological profile of an unknown perpetrator.

South Asian ethnicity, socioeconomic status, and psychological mediators of faecal occult blood colorectal screening participation: A prospective test of a process model.

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Orbell, Sheina; Szczepura, Ala; Weller, David; Gumber, Anil; Hagger, Martin S

2017-12-01

Although ethnicity and socioeconomic status (SES) correlate with health inequality, efforts to explain variance in health behavior attributable to these factors are limited by difficulties in population sampling. We used ethnicity identification software to test effects of psychological beliefs about screening as mediators of ethnicity and SES on faecal occult blood colorectal screening behavior in a no-cost health care context. Adults aged 50-67 years (N = 1,678), of whom 28% were from minority South Asian religiolinguistic ethnic groups (Hindu-Gujarati/Hindi, Muslim-Urdu and Sikh-Punjabi), participated in a prospective survey study. Subsequent screening participation was determined from medical records. Screening nonparticipation in the most deprived SES quintile was 1.6 times that of the least deprived quintile. Nonparticipation was 1.6 times higher in South Asians compared with non-Asians. A process model in which psychological variables mediated effects of ethnicity and SES on uptake was tested using structural equation modeling. Self-efficacy and perceived psychological costs of screening were, respectively, positive and negative direct predictors of uptake. Paths from Hindu, Muslim, and Sikh ethnicity, and SES on uptake were fully mediated by lower self-efficacy and higher perceived psychological costs. Paths from South Asian ethnicity to participation via self-efficacy and psychological costs were direct, and indirect via SES. SES is implicated, but does not fully account for low colorectal screening uptake among South Asians. Targeting increased self-efficacy and reduced perceived psychological costs may minimize health inequality effects. Future research should test independent effects of SES and ethnicity on lower self-efficacy and higher psychological costs. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2017 APA, all rights reserved).

Evolution in the Office: How Evolutionary Psychology Can Increase Employee Health, Happiness, and Productivity

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Carey J. Fitzgerald

2012-12-01

Full Text Available We review the empirical literature that has implemented aspects of our ancestral environment into the workplace and discuss the positive influence these factors have had on employees' physical and psychological health. We focus upon several components of our ancestral environment, including sunlight, greenery, sleep, physical movement, and social interaction with fellow humans as well as animals (specifically, dogs. Employers who are willing to adopt an evolutionary psychological approach to organizing their workplaces may drastically improve their workers' overall physical and psychological health as well as their overall productivity. This will, in turn, decrease employer costs related to medical care, absenteeism, and lack of productivity. Suggestions regarding how to implement these evolutionary psychological methods to the workplace are also discussed.

Work–family conflict as a mediator between occupational stress and psychological health among mental health nurses in Japan

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Sugawara N

2017-03-01

Full Text Available Norio Sugawara,1,2 Kazuma Danjo,3 Hanako Furukori,4 Yasushi Sato,2,5 Tetsu Tomita,2,6 Akira Fujii,7 Taku Nakagami,2,8 Kazuyo Kitaoka,9 Norio Yasui-Furukori2 1Department of Clinical Epidemiology, Translational Medical Center, National Center of Neurology and Psychiatry, Kodaira, Tokyo, 2Department of Neuropsychiatry, Hirosaki University School of Medicine, Hirosaki, Aomori, 3Mizoguchi Mental Hospital, Shizuoka, 4Department of Psychiatry, Kuroishi-Akebono Hospital, Kuroishi, 5Department of Psychiatry, Mutsu General Hospital, Mutsu, 6Department of Psychiatry, Hirosaki-Aiseikai Hospital, Kitazono, Hirosaki, 7Department of Psychiatry, Seihoku-Chuoh Hospital, Goshogawara, Aomori, 8Department of Psychiatry, Odate Municipal General Hospital, Odate, Akita, 9Mental Health Nursing, Institute of Medical, Pharmaceutical and Health Sciences, Kanazawa University, Kanazawa, Ishikawa, Japan Background: Occupational stress among mental health nurses may affect their psychological health, resulting in reduced performance. To provide high-quality, sustainable nursing care, it is necessary to identify and control the factors associated with psychological health among mental health nurses. The purpose of this study was to examine the role of work–family conflict (WFC in the well-known relationship between occupational stress and psychological health among mental health nurses in Japan. Methods: In this cross-sectional study, data were gathered from 180 mental health nurses who had a coresident child or were married. Data from the Work–Family Conflict Scale, the Generic Job Stress Questionnaire, the Maslach Burnout Inventory-General Survey, and the Center for Epidemiologic Studies for Depression Scale were obtained via self-report questionnaires. The effects of occupational stress and WFC on psychological health were explored by hierarchical linear regression analysis. Results: The relationship between emotional exhaustion and occupational factors, including

Examining Linkages between Psychological Health Problems, Socio-Demographic Characteristics and Workplace Stressors in Pakistan's Academia

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Khan, Anwar; Yusoff, Rosman Bin Md; Isa, Khairunesa Binti

2016-01-01

Scholarly work and research are globally known as stressful and challenging. Teachers may develop different psychological health problems once they are exposed to workplace stressors. Considering it as a serious issue of education sector, this study has examined the linkages between prevalent workplace stressors and psychological health problems…

Principles and practical procedures for acute psychological first aid training for personnel without mental health experience.

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Everly, George S; Flynn, Brian W

2006-01-01

Most authorities agree that mass disasters leave in their wake a need for some form of acute mental health services. However, a review of current literature on crisis intervention and disaster mental health reveals differing points of view on the methods that should be employed (Raphael, 1986; NIMH, 2002). Nevertheless, there appears to be virtual universal endorsement, by relevant authorities, of the value of acute "psychological first aid" (American Psychiatric Association, 1954; USDHHS, 2004; Raphael, 1986; NIMH, 2002; Institute of Medicine, 2003; WHO, 2003; DoD/VAPTSD, 2004; Ritchie, et al., 2004; Friedman, Hamblin, Foa, & Charney, 2004). Psychological first aid (PFA), as an acute mental health intervention, seems uniquely applicable to public health settings, the workplace, the military, mass disaster venues, and even the demands of more well circumscribed critical incidents, e.g., dealing with the psychological aftermath of accidents, robberies, suicide, homicide, or community violence. In this document, we shall introduce the notion of psychological first aid (PFA) as one aspect of a psychological continuum of care, offer a rudimentary definition of PFA, and provide the reader with a practicalframework for its implementation utilizing the individual psychological first aid (iPFA)format. The goal of this paper is to better prepare public health, public safety, and other disaster response personnel who do not possess formal clinical mental health degrees or specialized training to provide iPFA services to primary and secondary disaster victims.

Emerging Issues and Models in College Mental Health Services

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Locke, Ben; Wallace, David; Brunner, Jon

2016-01-01

This chapter provides a brief overview of the psychological issues facing today's college students, information about students receiving mental health services, and an evidence-based model describing the practice and functions of today's counseling centers.

Fat Mass and Obesity-Associated (FTO Gene Polymorphisms Are Associated with Physical Activity, Food Intake, Eating Behaviors, Psychological Health, and Modeled Change in Body Mass Index in Overweight/Obese Caucasian Adults

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Janetta Harbron

2014-08-01

Full Text Available The fat mass and obesity-associated (FTO gene is currently recognized as the most robust predictor of polygenic obesity. We investigated associations between the FTO rs1421085 and rs17817449 polymorphisms and the FTO rs1421085–rs17817449 haplotype and dietary intake, eating behavior, physical activity, and psychological health, as well as the effect of these associations on BMI. N = 133 treatment seeking overweight/obese Caucasian adults participated in this study. Genotyping was performed from whole blood samples. Weight and height was measured and a non-quantified food frequency questionnaire was completed to assess food group intake. Validated questionnaires were completed to assess physical activity (Baecke questionnaire, psychological health (General Health questionnaire, Rosenburg self-esteem scale and Beck Depression Inventory, and eating behavior (Three Factor Eating questionnaire. The risk alleles of the FTO polymorphisms were associated with poorer eating behaviors (higher hunger, internal locus for hunger, and emotional disinhibition scores, a higher intake of high fat foods and refined starches and more depressive symptoms. The modeled results indicate that interactions between the FTO polymorphisms or haplotypes and eating behavior, psychological health, and physical activity levels may be associated with BMI. The clinical significance of these results for implementation as part of weight management interventions needs further investigation.

Investigating the efficacy of a whole team, psychologically informed, acute mental health service approach.

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Araci, David; Clarke, Isabel

2017-08-01

Service user demand and service changes, from hospital based, to community and hospital mix, within acute adult mental health services, focus the need for psychologically informed, holistic, approaches. (1) Describe and report feasibility of a psychologically led Intensive Support Programme (ISP) to meet this need. (2) Present results of a pilot evaluation of this programme. ISP was implemented in four acute mental health services of the Southern Health NHS Trust, available to both inpatient and outpatient acute services. Evaluation of the service one month after data collection, illustrates operation and level of uptake across different professional roles. The programme was evaluated by assessing psychological distress (CORE-10) and confidence in self-management (Mental Health Confidence Scale) of participating service users before and after intervention. The service evaluation demonstrated extensive roll out of this programme across acute services of an extensive NHS Trust. Repeated measure t-tests demonstrated significant decrease in distress (p mental health (p mental health service and results in improvement in self management skills and facilitation of recovery.

Assessment of health-related quality of life, mental health status and psychological distress based on the type of pharmacotherapy used among patients with depression.

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Shah, Drishti; Vaidya, Varun; Patel, Amit; Borovicka, Mary; Goodman, Monica-Holiday

2017-04-01

Effectiveness of antidepressants is generally comparable between and within classes. However, real-world studies on antidepressant treatment and its consequences on the overall quality of life and mental health of individuals are limited. The purpose of this study was to examine the association of specific class of antidepressants with the health-related quality of life, psychological distress and self-reported mental health of individuals suffering from depression who are on monotherapy. This retrospective, longitudinal study included individuals with depression who were on antidepressant monotherapy, using data from 2008 to 2011 Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (MEPS). Changes in health-related quality of life, self-reported mental health and psychological distress over a year's time were observed. A multinomial logistic regression model was built to examine the association between the class of antidepressant medications and the dependent variables. A total of 688 adults met the study inclusion criteria. No significant difference was observed in the change in Physical Component Summary (PCS), self-reported mental health and psychological distress based on the class of antidepressants. However, individuals on serotonin-norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors (SNRIs) (OR 0.337, 95 % CI 0.155-0.730) were significantly less likely to show improvement on Mental Component Summary (MCS) scores as compared to those on selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs). The study findings suggest that practitioners should be aware of the differences in the health-related quality of life of those taking SSRIs versus other classes of antidepressants. Further research needs to be done to determine the reason for SSRIs to show greater improvement on mental health as compared to SNRIs.

The global financial crisis and psychological health in a sample of Australian older adults: a longitudinal study.

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Sargent-Cox, Kerry; Butterworth, Peter; Anstey, Kaarin J

2011-10-01

Economic stress and uncertainty is argued to increase older adults' vulnerability to physical health decline and mental distress. Nevertheless, there is a paucity of research that examines the relationship between a large historical economic event, such as the recent global financial crisis (GFC), and health outcomes for older adults. This study provides a unique opportunity to compare self-reported health status and psychological functioning (number of depression and anxiety symptoms) in 1973 older Australian adults (mean age of 66.58 years (SD = 1.5)) prior to the GFC (2005-2006), with their status four years later during the GFC period (2009-2010). Latent difference score models revealed a significant difference in depression and anxiety symptoms over the two measurement occasions, indicating poorer psychological functioning for those who reported an impact as a result of the economic slowdown. These effects were not explained by demographic or socio-economic factors. Interaction effects showed that those participants who were surveyed within the acute salience period of the GFC (April to September 2009) were significantly less likely to report poorer psychological health over time compared to those who were surveyed after September 2009. This interesting timing effect is discussed in terms of potential time-lags in the negative effects of economic stress on health outcomes, as well as the possible protective effects of social norms that may be created by a large scale economic crisis. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The mediating role of psychological empowerment on job satisfaction and organizational commitment for school health nurses: a cross-sectional questionnaire survey.

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Chang, Li-Chun; Shih, Chia-Hui; Lin, Shu-Man

2010-04-01

The importance of the professional role of school health nurses in promoting children's health in their school environment is widely recognized. However, studies of their working experience have revealed feelings of disempowerment that appear to be related to insufficient support from school managers. In these unsupportive working environments, it seems possible that psychological empowerment may play a mediating role to strengthen employees' satisfaction and commitment to their employing organization. The aim of this study is to test an exploratory model of empowerment in a Taiwanese sample of school health nurses by examining the mediating role of psychological empowerment in the relationship between external factors and work-related attitudes, specifically job satisfaction and organizational commitment. A cross-sectional survey with self-reported questionnaires. Probability proportional sampling was used to generate a randomly selected sample of 500 school health nurses in elementary and junior high schools in Taiwan. A total of 330 valid questionnaires were returned, yielding a response rate of 66%. The exploratory model including all hypothesized variables provided an adequate fit (chi(2)=29.24; df=17; p=.052; adjusted goodness-of-fit index [AGFI]=.96; goodness-of-fit index [GFI]=.98; root-mean-square error of approximation [RMSEA]=.05) for the data and indicated that psychological empowerment did not fully mediate the relationship between organizational empowerment and job satisfaction because of the strong direct effects of organizational empowerment on job satisfaction. The influence of empowerment on organizational commitment was mediated through job satisfaction. Psychological empowerment did not mediate the relationship between external factors and work attitudes, and job satisfaction emerged as an important factor. If school leaders can improve the job satisfaction of school health nurses, this will help them achieve greater commitment and loyalty of

Structural Stigma and Health Inequalities: Research Evidence and Implications for Psychological Science

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Hatzenbuehler, Mark L.

2016-01-01

Psychological research has provided essential insights into how stigma operates to disadvantage those who are targeted by it. At the same time, stigma research has been criticized for being too focused on the perceptions of stigmatized individuals and on micro-level interactions, rather than attending to structural forms of stigma. This article describes the relatively new field of research on structural stigma, which is defined as societal-level conditions, cultural norms, and institutional policies that constrain the opportunities, resources, and wellbeing of the stigmatized. I review emerging evidence that structural stigma related to mental illness and sexual orientation (1) exerts direct and synergistic effects on stigma processes that have long been the focus of psychological inquiry (e.g., concealment, rejection sensitivity); (2) serves as a contextual moderator of the efficacy of psychological interventions; and (3) contributes to numerous adverse health outcomes for members of stigmatized groups—ranging from dysregulated physiological stress responses to premature mortality—indicating that structural stigma represents an under-recognized mechanism producing health inequalities. Each of these pieces of evidence suggests that structural stigma is relevant to psychology and therefore deserves the attention of psychological scientists interested in understanding and ultimately reducing the negative effects of stigma. PMID:27977256

The psychology of the heart: Implications for health, physical activity ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

... for health, physical activity and sport of psychophysiological resonance, coherence and heart rate variability feedback applications involving respiration and facilitation of positive emotion. Keywords: Heart psychology, psychophysiology, resonance, coherence, transcultural context, heart rate variability, biofeedback.

Ecological Interventionist Causal Models in Psychosis: Targeting Psychological Mechanisms in Daily Life

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Reininghaus, Ulrich; Depp, Colin A.; Myin-Germeys, Inez

2016-01-01

Integrated models of psychotic disorders have posited a number of putative psychological mechanisms that may contribute to the development of psychotic symptoms, but it is only recently that a modest amount of experience sampling research has provided evidence on their role in daily life, outside the research laboratory. A number of methodological challenges remain in evaluating specificity of potential causal links between a given psychological mechanism and psychosis outcomes in a systematic fashion, capitalizing on longitudinal data to investigate temporal ordering. In this article, we argue for testing ecological interventionist causal models that draw on real world and real-time delivered, ecological momentary interventions for generating evidence on several causal criteria (association, time order, and direction/sole plausibility) under real-world conditions, while maximizing generalizability to social contexts and experiences in heterogeneous populations. Specifically, this approach tests whether ecological momentary interventions can (1) modify a putative mechanism and (2) produce changes in the mechanism that lead to sustainable changes in intended psychosis outcomes in individuals’ daily lives. Future research using this approach will provide translational evidence on the active ingredients of mobile health and in-person interventions that promote sustained effectiveness of ecological momentary interventions and, thereby, contribute to ongoing efforts that seek to enhance effectiveness of psychological interventions under real-world conditions. PMID:26707864

Psychological Health and Lifestyle Management Preconception and in Pregnancy.

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Hill, Briony; McPhie, Skye; Fuller-Tyszkiewicz, Matthew; Gillman, Matthew W; Skouteris, Helen

2016-03-01

Healthful lifestyles before and during pregnancy are important to facilitate healthy outcomes for mother and baby. For example, behaviors such as a sedentary lifestyle and consuming an energy-dense/nutrient-poor diet increase the risk of overweight/obesity before pregnancy and excessive weight gain during pregnancy, leading to adverse maternal and child health outcomes. Maternal psychopathology may be implicated in the development of suboptimal maternal lifestyle behaviors before and during pregnancy, perhaps through impacts on motivation. This article explores this notion using maternal obesity and excessive gestational weight gain as examples of the health impacts of psychological states. We suggest that factors such as psychological well-being, individual motivation for behavior change, and broader environmental influences that affect both individual and system-wide determinants all play important roles in promoting healthy lifestyles periconception and are key modifiable aspects for intervention designers to consider when trying to improve dietary behaviors and increase physical activity before and during pregnancy. In addition, implementing system-wide changes that impact positively on individual and environmental barriers to behavior change that are sustainable, measureable, and effective is required. Thieme Medical Publishers 333 Seventh Avenue, New York, NY 10001, USA.

Healing stories: narrative characteristics in cancer survivorship narratives and psychological health among hematopoietic stem cell transplant survivors.

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Benish-Weisman, Maya; Wu, Lisa M; Weinberger-Litman, Sarah L; Redd, William H; Duhamel, Katherine N; Rini, Christine

2014-08-01

Survivors of hematopoietic stem cell transplant (HSCT) have experienced a life threatening and potentially traumatic illness and treatment that make them vulnerable to long lasting negative psychological outcomes, including anxiety and depression. Nevertheless, studies show that overcoming cancer and its treatment can present an opportunity for personal growth and psychological health (reduced symptoms of anxiety and depression and high levels of emotional well-being) through resilience. However, research has not yet clarified what differentiates HSCT survivors who experience psychological growth from those who do not. By analyzing recovery narratives, we examined whether HSCT survivors' interpretation of their experiences helps explain differences in their post-treatment psychological health. Guided by narrative psychology theory, we analyzed the narratives of 23 HSCT survivors writing about their experience of cancer treatment. Psychological health was measured by: (1) emotional well-being subscale part of the Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy Bone Marrow Transplant (FACT-BMT), (2) depression, and (3) anxiety subscales of the Brief Symptom Inventory. Findings revealed a positive relation between psychological health and a greater number of redemption episodes (going from an emotionally negative life event to an emotionally positive one) as well as fewer negative emotional expressions. SIGNIFICANCE OF THE RESULTS: Theoretical and practical implications of these findings are discussed, showing how narratives can inform interventions to assist cancer survivors with their psychological recovery.

Psychological distress among homeless adults.

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Gelberg, L; Linn, L S

1989-05-01

Recent studies have reported a high prevalence of mental illness among the homeless. As part of a community-based survey of 529 homeless adults, we developed and tested a model to increase our understanding of the factors related to their psychological distress. Using a previously validated and reliable scale of perceived psychological distress, we found that homeless adults were more likely to report psychological distress than the general population (80% vs. 49%). Distress levels were not associated with most demographic or homeless characteristics or general appearance. However, distress was related to unemployment, greater cigarette and alcohol use, worse physical health, fewer social supports, and perceived barriers to obtaining needed medical care. Since mental, physical, and social health are strongly related among homeless adults, alleviating distress among them may be most effectively done by implementing a broad-based health services package coupled with employment programs provided in an accessible service delivery setting.

A comparison of hospital- and community-based mental health nurses: perceptions of their work environment and psychological health.

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Fielding, J; Weaver, S M

1994-06-01

This study compares hospital- (n = 67) and community-based (n = 55) mental health nurses in relation to their perceptions of the work environment and also their psychological health. Measures include: the General Health Questionnaire, the Maslach Burnout Inventory and the Work Environment Scale. The data, obtained from self-returned questionnaires, show that community nurses rated their work environments higher for the dimensions of Involvement, Supervisor Support, Autonomy, Innovation and Work Pressure. Hospital nurses saw their environments as being higher in (managerial) Control. There were no differences between the groups for the dimensions of Peer Cohesion, Task Orientation, Clarity or (physical) Comfort. Furthermore, there were no overall differences between the two groups in relation to psychological health, although the pattern of factors associated with emotional well-being differed. Finally, analyses of the community data revealed that those nurses with 'flexitime' arrangements evaluated their work environments less positively and showed higher levels of psychological strain than did those working 'fixed-time' schedules. The findings suggest that the hospital and community environments make different demands on nursing staff, and that this should be considered when organizing nursing services if stress is to be avoided.

Advancing psychotherapy and evidence-based psychological interventions.

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Emmelkamp, Paul M G; David, Daniel; Beckers, Tom; Muris, Peter; Cuijpers, Pim; Lutz, Wolfgang; Andersson, Gerhard; Araya, Ricardo; Banos Rivera, Rosa M; Barkham, Michael; Berking, Matthias; Berger, Thomas; Botella, Christina; Carlbring, Per; Colom, Francesc; Essau, Cecilia; Hermans, Dirk; Hofmann, Stefan G; Knappe, Susanne; Ollendick, Thomas H; Raes, Filip; Rief, Winfried; Riper, Heleen; Van Der Oord, Saskia; Vervliet, Bram

2014-01-01

Psychological models of mental disorders guide research into psychological and environmental factors that elicit and maintain mental disorders as well as interventions to reduce them. This paper addresses four areas. (1) Psychological models of mental disorders have become increasingly transdiagnostic, focusing on core cognitive endophenotypes of psychopathology from an integrative cognitive psychology perspective rather than offering explanations for unitary mental disorders. It is argued that psychological interventions for mental disorders will increasingly target specific cognitive dysfunctions rather than symptom-based mental disorders as a result. (2) Psychotherapy research still lacks a comprehensive conceptual framework that brings together the wide variety of findings, models and perspectives. Analysing the state-of-the-art in psychotherapy treatment research, "component analyses" aiming at an optimal identification of core ingredients and the mechanisms of change is highlighted as the core need towards improved efficacy and effectiveness of psychotherapy, and improved translation to routine care. (3) In order to provide more effective psychological interventions to children and adolescents, there is a need to develop new and/or improved psychotherapeutic interventions on the basis of developmental psychopathology research taking into account knowledge of mediators and moderators. Developmental neuroscience research might be instrumental to uncover associated aberrant brain processes in children and adolescents with mental health problems and to better examine mechanisms of their correction by means of psychotherapy and psychological interventions. (4) Psychotherapy research needs to broaden in terms of adoption of large-scale public health strategies and treatments that can be applied to more patients in a simpler and cost-effective way. Increased research on efficacy and moderators of Internet-based treatments and e-mental health tools (e.g. to support

General inattentiveness is a long-term reliable trait independently predictive of psychological health: Danish validation studies of the Mindful Attention Awareness Scale.

Science.gov (United States)

Jensen, Christian Gaden; Niclasen, Janni; Vangkilde, Signe Allerup; Petersen, Anders; Hasselbalch, Steen Gregers

2016-05-01

The Mindful Attention Awareness Scale (MAAS) measures perceived degree of inattentiveness in different contexts and is often used as a reversed indicator of mindfulness. MAAS is hypothesized to reflect a psychological trait or disposition when used outside attentional training contexts, but the long-term test-retest reliability of MAAS scores is virtually untested. It is unknown whether MAAS predicts psychological health after controlling for standardized socioeconomic status classifications. First, MAAS translated to Danish was validated psychometrically within a randomly invited healthy adult community sample (N = 490). Factor analysis confirmed that MAAS scores quantified a unifactorial construct of excellent composite reliability and consistent convergent validity. Structural equation modeling revealed that MAAS scores contributed independently to predicting psychological distress and mental health, after controlling for age, gender, income, socioeconomic occupational class, stressful life events, and social desirability (β = 0.32-.42, ps health. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved).

A queer-theoretical approach to community health psychology.

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Easpaig, Bróna R Nic Giolla; Fryer, David M; Linn, Seònaid E; Humphrey, Rhianna H

2014-01-01

Queer-theoretical resources offer ways of productively rethinking how central concepts such as 'person-context', 'identity' and 'difference' may be understood for community health psychologists. This would require going beyond consideration of the problems with which queer theory is popularly associated to cautiously engage with the aspects of this work relevant to the promotion of collective practice and engaging with processes of marginalisation. In this article, we will draw upon and illustrate the queer-theoretical concepts of 'performativity' and 'cultural intelligibility' before moving towards a preliminary mapping of what a queer-informed approach to community health psychology might involve.

Assessment of job satisfaction, job stress and psychological health ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

McRoy

2014-12-31

Dec 31, 2014 ... employees, feels a tension of anxiety caused by their jobs.[4] ... [13] High job stress creates negative psychological effects ... where product quality is largely dependent ... on the work-health balance of journalists in. Nigeria. ..... Life. New York: Basic Books,1990. 15. Lu L. Work Motivation, Job Stress and.

Socioeconomic inequalities in general and psychological health among adolescents: a cross-sectional study in senior high schools in Greece

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Zissi Anastasia

2010-01-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Socioeconomic health inequalities in adolescence are not consistently reported. This may be due to the measurement of self-reported general health, which probably fails to fully capture the psychological dimension of health, and the reliance on traditional socio-economic indicators, such as parental education or occupational status. The present study aimed at investigating this issue using simple questions to assess both the physical and psychological dimension of health and a broader set of socioeconomic indicators than previously used. Methods This was a cross-sectional survey of 5614 adolescents aged 16-18 years-old from 25 senior high schools in Greece. Self-reported general and psychological health were both measured by means of a simple Likert-type question. We assessed the following socio-economic variables: parents' education, parents' employment status, a subjective assessment of the financial difficulties experienced by the family and adolescents' own academic performance as a measure of the personal social position in the school setting. Results One out of ten (10% and one out of three (32% adolescents did not enjoy good general and psychological health respectively. For both health variables robust associations were found in adolescents who reported more financial difficulties in the family and had worse academic performance. The latter was associated with psychological health in a more linear way. Father's unemployment showed a non-significant trend for an association with worse psychological health in girls only. Conclusions Socioeconomic inequalities exist in this period of life but are more easily demonstrated with more subjective socioeconomic indicators, especially for the psychological dimension of health.

Simulation Experiments with the Model of Information-Psychological Influences on Mass Consciousness

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Vladimir A. Minaev

2017-06-01

Full Text Available The article deals with the problem of researching the dynamics of information and psychological influences on mass consciousness, the possibility of their forecasting and management, which is one of the most important aspects of ensuring the information and psychological security of society and its citizens. To research the dynamics of information and psychological influence on mass consciousness, the article suggests a method of system-dynamic modeling, grounded and implemented on models of complex socio-economic phenomena by J. FoiTcster in the 1950s. The application of this method to solving the problems of information security is investigated by various foreign scientific teams. The method of system- dynamic modeling allows to display and investigate many factors that critically affect the processes of information and psychological influences on mass consciousness. The following factors arc taken into account in the model proposed by the authors of the model: the probability of «enthusiasm» of ideas embedded in the content of information and psychological influences, with interpersonal contact and as a result of the influence of the mass media, the massiveness and regularity of the mass media propagandizing the idea of information and psychological influences, the probability of forgetting the idea, embedded in the content of information and psychological influences, the probability of communication on the topic, embedded in the content of information and psychological influences, the probability of «enthusiasm» ideas of information and psychological influences in one communication contact, the average number of acquaintances with one message in the media, the probability of «enthusiasm» of a new idea from the content of information and psychological influences after reading the information in the media, the number of contacts a person, keen on ideas of information and psychological influences, per day. The mathematical apparatus on

Assessing clergy work-related psychological health : reliability and validity of the Francis Burnout Inventory

OpenAIRE

Francis, Leslie J.; Laycock, Patrick; Crea, Giuseppe

2017-01-01

Drawing on the classic model of balanced affect, the Francis Burnout Inventory (FBI) conceptualised good work-related psychological health among clergy in terms of negative affect being balanced by positive affect. In the FBI negative affect is assessed by the Scale of Emotional Exhaustion in Ministry (SEEM) and positive affect is assessed by the Satisfaction in Ministry Scale (SIMS). In support of the idea of balanced affect, previous work had shown a significant interaction between the effe...

Health education and multimedia learning: educational psychology and health behavior theory (Part 1).

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Mas, Francisco G Soto; Plass, Jan; Kane, William M; Papenfuss, Richard L

2003-07-01

When health education researchers began to investigate how individuals make decisions related to health and the factors that influence health behaviors, they referred to frameworks shared by educational and learning research. Health education adopted the basic principles of the cognitive revolution, which were instrumental in advancing the field. There is currently a new challenge to confront: the widespread use of new technologies for health education. To better overcome this challenge, educational psychology and instructional technology theory should be considered. Unfortunately, the passion to incorporate new technologies too often overshadows how people learn or, in particular, how people learn through computer technologies. This two-part article explains how educational theory contributed to the early development of health behavior theory, describes the most relevant multimedia learning theories and constructs, and provides recommendations for developing multimedia health education programs and connecting theory and practice.

A cross-sectional examination of psychological distress, positive mental health and their predictors in medical students in their clinical clerkships.

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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

Health Psychology Bulletin : Improving Publication Practices to Accelerate Scientific Progress

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Peters, Gjalt-jorn Ygram; Kok, Gerjo; Crutzen, Rik; Sanderman, Robbert

2017-01-01

The instrument of scientific publishing, originally a necessary tool to enable development of a global science, has evolved relatively little in response to technological advances. Current scientific publishing practices incentivize a number of harmful approaches to research. Health Psychology

Psychological profiles and health status in Japanese female patients with systemic lupus erythematosus: the Miyagi Lupus Collaborative Study.

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Minami, Yuko; Sasaki, Takeshi; Arai, Yumiko; Hosokawa, Toru; Hisamichi, Shigeru

2002-03-01

Psychological factors have been suspected to be associated with the development of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and patient's health status. However, psychological profiles among Japanese patients with SLE have been poorly understood. We started a prospective study of female patients with SLE in 1995. Using the baseline data from 279 patients in this prospective study, we cross-sectionally analyzed the relations of clinical factors and social factors to psychological factors, and the association between psychological factors and mental and physical health status. We used the Japanese notion ikigai as an indicator of mental health, and ambulatory activity as an indicator of their physical health, respectively. To measure psychological factors, the short-form of the Eysenck Personality Questionnaire-Revised (short EPQ-R) and the Multidimensional Health Locus of Control (HLOC) scale were used. Active phase of the disease was significantly related to the neuroticism score in the short EPQ-R. Educational level was inversely related to the scores of powerful others and chance HLOC belief. As for health status, the internal HLOC belief was significantly associated with ikigai, and the chance HLOC belief was inversely associated with ambulatory activity. The scores on the short EPQ-R (Extraversion/Introversion and Neuroticism) were exclusively related to ikigai. This study suggests that psychological factors may have effects on both the development of SLE and patient's health status.

The Cardiff dental study: a 20-year critical evaluation of the psychological health gain from orthodontic treatment.

Science.gov (United States)

Kenealy, Pamela M; Kingdon, Anne; Richmond, Stephen; Shaw, William C

2007-02-01

baseline. Prior need for treatment assessed in childhood made a small contribution to the prediction of self-esteem 20 years later in adulthood. Dental status in adulthood, whilst statistically significant, appeared to be of minor importance in a model that included other psychological variables. When prior need for treatment was taken into account there was little objective evidence to support the assumption that orthodontics improves long-term psychological health.

Adolescents' smoking behavior and its relationships with psychological constructs based on transtheoretical model: a cross-sectional survey.

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Kim, Young-Ho

2006-05-01

Korean adolescents' smoking is currently being considered as a crucial factor determining the health status of adolescents and an important public health and social issue. The purpose of the study was to test the applicability of the Transtheoretical model to gain an understanding of smoking behavior change. A total of 706 adolescents who participated in the smoking cessation programs administered by the Korea Quit Smoking Association or Korean Association of Smoking & Health in 2003 were recruited. Four Korean-version questionnaires were used to identify the stages of smoking behavior and psychological attributes: Stage of Smoking Behavior Change Scale, Processes of Change Scale for Smoking, Decision Balance Scale for Smoking, and Self-efficacy Scale to avoid smoking. Korean adolescents' smoking behavior was differed according to gender. In addition, the findings revealed that behavioral and cognitive processes of change, self-efficacy, and positives differed across the stages of smoking behavior, and that psychological constructs of the transtheoretical model had a statistically significant impact on smoking behavior change. This research could spawn the development of theory-based and empirically supported smoking cessation intervention strategies and programs directed toward adolescents in the health care and nursing areas.

Rapid psychological assessment of depression and its relationship with physical health among urban elderly

OpenAIRE

Pavithra Cheluvaraj; Mangesh Balu Nanaware; Surya Prakasa Rao

2016-01-01

Background Old age is associated with increased occurrence of a wide array of Psychological impairments or losses, which might contribute to physical disabilities. As Depression has been identified as the most common aberration its rapid assessment would be able to identify the quality of individual and family life of the elderly. Aims To assess psychological health status with respect to depression among geriatric urban community, and the relationship of depression with health perce...

Psychological outcomes and health beliefs in adolescent and young adult survivors of childhood cancer and controls.

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Kazak, Anne E; Derosa, Branlyn Werba; Schwartz, Lisa A; Hobbie, Wendy; Carlson, Claire; Ittenbach, Richard F; Mao, Jun J; Ginsberg, Jill P

2010-04-20

PURPOSE The purpose of this study was to compare adolescent and young adult (AYA) pediatric cancer survivors and peers without a history of serious illness on psychological distress, health-related quality of life (HRQOL), health beliefs; examine age at diagnosis and cancer treatment intensity on these outcomes; and examine relationships between number of health problems and the outcomes. PATIENTS AND METHODS AYA cancer survivors (n = 167) and controls (n = 170), recruited during visits to a cancer survivorship clinic and primary care, completed self-report questionnaires of distress, health problems, and health beliefs. For survivors, providers rated treatment intensity and health problems. Results There were no statistically significant differences between survivors and controls in psychological distress or HRQOL. Cancer survivors had less positive health beliefs. Survivors diagnosed as adolescents had significantly greater psychological distress and fewer positive health beliefs than those diagnosed earlier. Survivors with the highest level of treatment intensity had greater anxiety and fewer positive health beliefs than those with less intense treatments. Provider report of current health problems related to survivors' beliefs and mental HRQOL only, whereas patient report of health problems correlated significantly with most psychosocial outcomes and beliefs. CONCLUSION AYA cancer survivors did not differ from peers in psychological adjustment but did endorse less adaptive health beliefs. Survivors diagnosed during adolescence and who had more intensive cancer treatments evidenced poorer psychosocial outcomes. Beliefs about health may be identified and targeted for intervention to improve quality of life, particularly when patient perceptions of current health problems are considered.

THE PRESENT AND FUTURE OF CLINICAL AND HEALTH PSYCHOLOGY IN SPAIN: AN ALTERNATIVE VIEW

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José Antonio Carrobles

2015-01-01

Full Text Available In our country, there are currently two types of psychologist qualified to practise psychology in the health field: the Specialist Psychologist in Clinical Psychology (PEPC and the General Health Psychologist (PGS. These qualifications are legally regulated and their accreditation is obtained through two different programs of postgraduate training: the Residential Internship Program (PIR in the case of the PEPC; and the Master of General Health Psychology (MPGS in the case of the PGS. These programs are of different lengths (4 years for the PIR and 2 years for the MPGS and they are accessed after completion of the corresponding degree in Psychology. However, the objectives and the skills to be attained, as well as the content of the training programs, are actually very similar, in spite of the different linguistic denominations used to describe them. On the basis of the existing differences in the terminology and the duration of the programs, some Spanish associations (ANPIR, COP, AEPCP and AEN defend the position that there should be established between the two qualifications, in addition to a hierarchical structure, a clear boundary with respect to the functions that the two types of psychologist can perform (clinical and specialised versus health and general functions and of the sectors or contexts in which they can practise (public versus private. In our article, we refute these positions and the reasons on which they are based and we argue extensively in favour of an alternative proposal more in tune with the reality of the facts and with the European context professional accreditation in clinical psychology, in the sense of accepting the existence of the two independent qualifications of clinical psychologists (the PEPC and the PGS, with direct access to both from the degree in Psychology, and with equivalent competencies and professional functions, although with some limitations in the case of the PGS, mainly with respect to the

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

PSYCHOLOGICAL WELL-BEING AND PSYCHOLOGICAL DISTRESS FOR PROFESSORS IN BRAZIL AND CANADA

OpenAIRE

BOAS, ANA ALICE VILAS; MORIN, ESTELLE M.

2014-01-01

Mental health, an important object of research in psychology as well as social psychology, can be determined by the relationship between psychological well-being and psychological distress. In this context, we search to understand: “How do compare mental health of professors working in public universities in an emerging country like Brazil with the one of professors working in a developed country like Canada?” and “What are the main differences in the indicators of mental health in work domai...

Psychological and Physical Health of Nonoffending Parents After Disclosure of Sexual Abuse of Their Child.

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Cyr, Mireille; Frappier, Jean-Yves; Hébert, Martine; Tourigny, Marc; McDuff, Pierre; Turcotte, Marie-Ève

2016-10-01

Disclosure of child sexual abuse can be traumatic for nonoffending parents. Research has shown its impact on mothers' mental health, which includes heightened psychological distress, depression, and post-traumatic stress disorder. Very little is known, however, about its impact on their physical health or on fathers' health. The self-perceived mental and physical health of nonoffending parents after child sexual abuse disclosure was compared to determine gender-related differences in this regard. Interviews were conducted with 109 mothers and 43 fathers of 6- to 13-year-old sexually abused children. Bivariate analyses revealed that a fair proportion of parents reported psychological and physical problems after disclosure. However, proportionally more mothers than fathers reported psychological distress, depression, and use of professional services. Fathers were more likely to resort to health services instead of social services and to use medication for depression. Study findings provide leads for health and social service providers for the development of intervention protocols and referral procedures sensitive to gender issues, and they shed new light on specific needs of nonoffending parents.

Incorporating measurement error in n = 1 psychological autoregressive modeling

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Schuurman, Noémi K.; Houtveen, Jan H.; Hamaker, Ellen L.

2015-01-01

Measurement error is omnipresent in psychological data. However, the vast majority of applications of autoregressive time series analyses in psychology do not take measurement error into account. Disregarding measurement error when it is present in the data results in a bias of the autoregressive parameters. We discuss two models that take measurement error into account: An autoregressive model with a white noise term (AR+WN), and an autoregressive moving average (ARMA) model. In a simulation study we compare the parameter recovery performance of these models, and compare this performance for both a Bayesian and frequentist approach. We find that overall, the AR+WN model performs better. Furthermore, we find that for realistic (i.e., small) sample sizes, psychological research would benefit from a Bayesian approach in fitting these models. Finally, we illustrate the effect of disregarding measurement error in an AR(1) model by means of an empirical application on mood data in women. We find that, depending on the person, approximately 30–50% of the total variance was due to measurement error, and that disregarding this measurement error results in a substantial underestimation of the autoregressive parameters. PMID:26283988

Money Matters: Recommendations for Financial Stress Research in Occupational Health Psychology.

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Sinclair, Robert R; Cheung, Janelle H

2016-08-01

Money is arguably the most important resource derived from work and the most important source of stress for contemporary employees. A substantial body of research supports the relationship between access to financial resources and health and well-being, both at individual and aggregated (e.g. national) levels of analysis. Yet, surprisingly little occupational health psychology research has paid attention to financial issues experienced specifically by those in the labour force. With these issues in mind, the overarching goal of the present paper was to address conceptual and measurement issues in the study of objective and subjective aspects of financial stress and review several assessment options available to occupational health psychology researchers for both aspects of financial stress. Where appropriate, we offer guidance to researchers about choices among various financial stress measures and identify issues that require further research attention. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

[Professional outcomes and psychological health after workplace bullying: an exploratory follow-up study].

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Fiabane, Elena; Flachi, Daniela; Giorgi, Ines; Crepaldi, Ilaria; Candura, Stefano M; Mazzacane, Fulvio; Argentero, Piergiorgio

2015-07-08

The literature shows that workplace bullying can lead to negative consequences for both individuals' health and professional outcomes. Most of these studies used cross-sectional designs and self-report questionnaires and further research is needed in order to explore long-term effects of workplace bullying. This follow-up study aimed to explore professional and psychological outcomes in a sample of subjects who required a specialized and multidisciplinary assessment for psychological problems related, in their opinion, to workplace bullying. The sample includes 71 patients with a baseline diagnosis of work-related psychological disorder who were assessed at follow-up by means of a structured telephone interview. The interview included structured questions about professional career developments and psycho-somatic health, and administration of the General Health Questionnaire-12. 62.0% of the participants were currently working and, of these, 59.1% had changed workplace after experiencing mobbing. Patients who changed workplace scored significantly higher on job satisfaction levels (p<0.01) and showed lower levels of social dysfunction (p<0.01) compared to those who did not change their job. Patients with a baseline diagnosis of Adjustment disorder/Post-Traumatic Stress disorder had higher levels of general dysphoria (p<0.04) and social dysfunction (p<0.01) at follow-up than other patients. These findings  stress the importance of an accurate diagnostic assessment of mobbing-related psychopathological disorder. Victims of workplace bullying require early and continuous psychological support in order to promote their psychological well-being and work reinstatement.

Stress as a mediator between work-family conflict and psychological health among the nursing staff: Moderating role of emotional intelligence.

Science.gov (United States)

Sharma, Jyoti; Dhar, Rajib Lochan; Tyagi, Akansha

2016-05-01

The study examined the extent to which work-family conflicts cause stress among nursing staff and its subsequent impact on their psychological health. It also examined if the emotional intelligence level of the nursing staff acted as a moderator between their level of stress and psychological health. A survey was carried out on 693 nursing staff associated with 33 healthcare institutions in Uttarakhand, India. A hierarchical multiple regression analysis was carried out to understand the relationships shared by independent (work-family conflicts) and dependent (psychological health) constructs with the mediator (stress) as well as the moderator (emotional intelligence). The results revealed that stress acted as a mediator between work-family conflict of the nursing staff and their psychological health. However, their emotional intelligence level acted as a moderator between their stress level and psychological health. To conclude, the crucial roles of emotional intelligence in controlling the impact of stress on psychological health along with the practical as well as theoretical implications are also discussed. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Risk and protective factors for psychological distress among adolescents: a family study in the Nord-Trøndelag Health Study.

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Myklestad, Ingri; Røysamb, Espen; Tambs, Kristian

2012-05-01

The study aimed to investigate potential adolescent and parental psychosocial risk and protective factors for psychological distress among adolescents and, in addition, to examine potential gender and age differences in the effects of risk factors on adolescent psychological distress. Data were collected among 8,984 Norwegian adolescents (13-19 years) and their parents in the Nord-Trøndelag Health Study (HUNT). The outcome measure was psychological distress (SCL-5). Bivariate regression analysis with generalized estimating equation (GEE) model showed that all parental self-reported variables (mental distress, substance use, social network, economic problems, unemployment and family structure) and adolescents' self-reported variables (leisure activities, social support from friends, school-related problems and substance use) were significantly associated with psychological distress among adolescents. Results revealed that in a multiple regression analysis with a GEE model, adolescent psychosocial variables, specifically academic-related problems and being bullied at school, emerged as the strongest predictors of psychological distress among adolescents after controlling for age, gender, and all parental and adolescent variables. The following psychosocial risk factors were significantly more important for girl's psychological distress compared to boys: problems with academic achievement, conduct problems in school, frequency of being drunk, smoking, dissatisfaction in school, living alone and seen parents being drunk. Academic achievement and being bullied at school were the psychosocial factors most strongly associated with psychological distress among adolescents. Parental factors had an indirect effect on adolescent psychological distress, through adolescents' psychosocial factors.

Severe Psychological Distress of Evacuees in Evacuation Zone Caused by the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant Accident: The Fukushima Health Management Survey.

Science.gov (United States)

Kunii, Yasuto; Suzuki, Yuriko; Shiga, Tetsuya; Yabe, Hirooki; Yasumura, Seiji; Maeda, Masaharu; Niwa, Shin-Ichi; Otsuru, Akira; Mashiko, Hirobumi; Abe, Masafumi

2016-01-01

Following the Great East Japan Earthquake on March 11, 2011, the nuclear disaster at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant has continued to affect the mental health status of residents in the evacuation zone. To examine the mental health status of evacuee after the nuclear accident, we conducted the Mental Health and Lifestyle Survey as part of the ongoing Fukushima Health Management Survey. We measured mental health status using the Kessler 6-item psychological distress scale (K6) in a total of 73,569 (response rate: 40.7%) evacuees aged 15 and over who lived in the evacuation zone in Fukushima Prefecture. We then dichotomized responders using a 12/13 cutoff on the K6, and compared the proportion of K6 scores ≥13 and ≤12 in each risk factor including demographic information, socioeconomic variables, and disaster-related variables. We also performed bivariate analyses between mental health status and possible risk factors using the chi-square test. Furthermore, we performed multivariate regression analysis using modified Poisson regression models. The median K6 score was 5 (interquartile range: 1-10). The number of psychological distress was 8,717 (14.6%). We found that significant differences in the prevalence of psychological distress by almost all survey items, including disaster-related risk factors, most of which were also associated with increased Prevalence ratios (PRs). Additionally, we found that psychological distress in each evacuation zone was significantly positively associated with the radiation levels in their environment (r = 0.768, p = 0.002). The earthquake, tsunami and subsequent nuclear accident likely caused severe psychological distress among residents in the evacuation zone in Fukushima Prefecture. The close association between psychological distress and the radiation levels shows that the nuclear accident seriously influenced the mental health of the residents, which might be exacerbated by increased risk perception. To provide

Ethical issues in exercise psychology.

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Pauline, Jeffrey S; Pauline, Gina A; Johnson, Scott R; Gamble, Kelly M

2006-01-01

Exercise psychology encompasses the disciplines of psychiatry, clinical and counseling psychology, health promotion, and the movement sciences. This emerging field involves diverse mental health issues, theories, and general information related to physical activity and exercise. Numerous research investigations across the past 20 years have shown both physical and psychological benefits from physical activity and exercise. Exercise psychology offers many opportunities for growth while positively influencing the mental and physical health of individuals, communities, and society. However, the exercise psychology literature has not addressed ethical issues or dilemmas faced by mental health professionals providing exercise psychology services. This initial discussion of ethical issues in exercise psychology is an important step in continuing to move the field forward. Specifically, this article will address the emergence of exercise psychology and current health behaviors and offer an overview of ethics and ethical issues, education/training and professional competency, cultural and ethnic diversity, multiple-role relationships and conflicts of interest, dependency issues, confidentiality and recording keeping, and advertisement and self-promotion.

The association between exposure and psychological health in earthquake survivors from the Longmen Shan Fault area: the mediating effect of risk perception

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Jiuping Xu

2016-05-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background In this study, exposure refers to survivors who suffered from life-changing situations, such as personal injuries, the deaths or injury of family members, relatives or friends or the loss of or damage to personal or family property, as a result of the earthquake. The mediating effect of risk perception on the exposure and psychological health in survivors from the Longmen Shan Fault area and the moderating effect of social support on the relationship between risk perception and psychological health were both examined. Method A cross-sectional survey was conducted in a local Longmen Shan Fault area near the epicenter of the 2008 Wenchuan earthquake. The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition (DSM-IV, the standard Chinese 12-item Short Form (SF-12v2, and the Social Support Rating Scale (SSRS were used to interview 2,080 earthquake survivors in the period one-year after the earthquake. Based on the environment and the characteristics of the Longmen Shan Fault area, a risk perception questionnaire was developed to evaluate survivor risk perception. Factor and regression analyses were conducted to determine the hypothetical relations. Results The analyses provided effective support for the hypothesized model. Survivor risk perception was classified into direct risk perception and indirect risk perception. Survivor direct risk perception was found to play a partial mediating role in the relationship between exposure and the two domains (Physical component summary (PCS and the Mental component summary (MCS of psychological health. Survivor indirect risk perception was found to have a only partial mediating effect on the association between exposure and MCS. Social support was found to moderate the influence of risk perception on psychological health. Conclusion Risk communication should be considered in future post-earthquake psychological assistance programs and social support strategies could also be

Application of Behavioral Analysis Phase of PRECEDE Model on Women’s Psychological Well-being in the Menopausal Period

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mahdi Moshki

2015-08-01

Full Text Available Background and Aims Positive psychology introduce mental health as a positive psychological functioning and represent it as wellbeing psychology and having positive characteristics such as self-esteem, positive social relationships, and life satisfaction. The purpose of this study was to investigate the psychological wellbeing of postmenopausal women based on the behavioral analysis phase of PRECEDE model. Materials and Methods This study is a cross-sectional survey and carried out through random sampling in the case of 110 postmenopausal women at Ferdows city, Iran in 2014. The psychological wellbeing variable was studied by Ryff test, including 84 questions and six components containing autonomy, purposeful in life, dominance on environment, personal development, positive relationships with others, and self-acceptance. The collected data were analyzed by SPSS v.20 using descriptive statistics and analytic statistics through correlation and ANOVA. Results The mean age of participants and the average number of their children were 51.62 ± 4.26 and 3.42 ± 1.38, respectively. 61.80 percent of participants had primary education. Pearson correlation test indicated a positive and significant relationship between psychological wellbeing and predisposing factors (knowledge, attitude toward menopause, environmentalbehavioral factors, enabling factors and reinforcing factors (P < 0.01. Conclusion The results indicated that increasing awareness, creating positive attitude and promoting healthy behaviors are the effective steps to improve the psychological wellbeing in postmenopausal women. * Corresponding Author: Gonabad University of Medical Sciences, Faculty of Public Health. Email: Fpf357@gmail.com

Psychological factors and mental health in persons with spinal cord injury: : An exploration of change or stability

NARCIS (Netherlands)

van Leeuwen, Christel M. C.; Edelaar-Peeters, Yvette; Peter, Claudio; Stiggelbout, Anne M.; Post, Marcel W. M.

Objectives: To examine the course of mental health and psychological factors over time in persons with a recent spinal cord injury and to determine whether change in psychological factors is associated with change in mental health. Design: Prospective cohort study in the Netherlands with 3

Positive Psychological Interventions for Patients with Type 2 Diabetes: Rationale, Theoretical Model, and Intervention Development

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Jeff C. Huffman

2015-01-01

Full Text Available Most patients with type 2 diabetes (T2D have suboptimal adherence to recommended diet, physical activity, and/or medication. Current approaches to improve health behaviors in T2D have been variably effective, and successful interventions are often complex and intensive. It is therefore vital to develop interventions that are simple, well-accepted, and applicable to a wide range of patients who suffer from T2D. One approach may be to boost positive psychological states, such as positive affect or optimism, as these constructs have been prospectively and independently linked to improvements in health behaviors. Positive psychology (PP interventions, which utilize systematic exercises to increase optimism, well-being, and positive affect, consistently increase positive states and are easily delivered to patients with chronic illnesses. However, to our knowledge, PP interventions have not been formally tested in T2D. In this paper, we review a theoretical model for the use of PP interventions to target health behaviors in T2D, describe the structure and content of a PP intervention for T2D patients, and describe baseline data from a single-arm proof-of-concept (N=15 intervention study in T2D patients with or without depression. We also discuss how PP interventions could be combined with motivational interviewing (MI interventions to provide a blended psychological-behavioral approach.

A relational model of sexual minority mental and physical health: The negative effects of shame on relationships, loneliness, and health.

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Mereish, Ethan H; Poteat, V Paul

2015-07-01

Sexual minorities (e.g., lesbians, gay men, bisexual individuals) are at an increased risk for poorer mental and physical health outcomes than heterosexuals, and some of these health disparities relate to minority stressors such as discrimination. Yet, there is little research elucidating pathways that predict health or that promote resiliency among sexual minorities. Building on the minority stress model, the present study utilized relational cultural theory to situate sexual minority health within a relational framework. Specifically, the study tested mediators of the relationships between distal (i.e., discrimination, rejection, victimization) and proximal stressors (i.e., internalized homophobia, sexual orientation concealment) and psychological and physical distress for sexual minorities. Among 719 sexual minority adults, structural equation modeling analyses were used to test 4 models reflecting the mediating effects of shame, poorer relationships with a close peer and the lesbian/gay/bisexual/transgender (LGBT) community, and loneliness on the associations between minority stressors and psychological distress (i.e., depression and anxiety) and physical distress (i.e., distressing physical symptoms). As hypothesized, the associations between distal and proximal minority stressors and distress were mediated by shame, poorer relationships with a close peer and the LGBT community, and loneliness. Findings underscore the possible relational and interpersonal mechanisms by which sexual minority stressors lead to psychological and physical distress. (c) 2015 APA, all rights reserved).

Identifying and describing feelings and psychological flexibility predict mental health in men with HIV.

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Landstra, Jodie M B; Ciarrochi, Joseph; Deane, Frank P; Hillman, Richard J

2013-11-01

Difficulty identifying and describing feelings (DIDF) and psychological flexibility (PF) predict poor emotional adjustment. To examine the relationship between DIDF and PF and whether DIDF and low PF would put men undergoing cancer screening at risk for poor adjustment. Longitudinal self-report survey. Two hundred and one HIV-infected men who have sex with men participated in anal cancer screening at two time points over 14 weeks. Psychological flexibility was assessed by the Acceptance and Action Questionnaire II and DIDF by the Toronto Alexithymia Scale-20. We also measured depression, anxiety, stress (DASS) and health-related quality of life (QOL; SF-12). Both DIDF and PF were reliable predictors of mental health. When levels of baseline mental health were controlled, greater DIDF predicted increases in Time 2 depression, anxiety and stress and decreases in mental and physical QOL. The link between PF and mental health was entirely mediated by DIDF. Being chronically low in PF could lead to greater DIDF and thereby worse mental health. Having more PF promotes the ability to identify and differentiate the nuances of pleasant and unpleasant emotions, which enhances an individual's mental health. Intentionally enhancing men's ability to identify and describe feelings or PF may assist them to better manage a range of difficult life experiences such as health screenings and other potentially threatening information. © 2013 The British Psychological Society.

Association between psychological and self-assessed health status and smartphone overuse among Korean college students.

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Kim, Hyun-Jin; Min, Jin-Young; Kim, Hye-Jin; Min, Kyoung-Bok

2017-09-04

Several studies suggest that subjective health status is closely related to various behavioral addictions, but there are few studies on smartphone overuse. This study investigated the associations between psychological and subjective health conditions and smartphone overuse in Korean college students. A total of 608 college students participated in this study. We investigated the perceived psychological factors, such as stress, depression symptoms and suicidal ideation. Overall health status was evaluated with self-assessed items, including usual health condition and EuroQol-visual analog scales (EQ-VAS) score. Smartphone overuse was evaluated as the Korean Smartphone Addiction Proneness Scale. Students with psychotic anxiety (i.e. stress, depression and suicidal ideation) showed significant associations with smartphone overuse, indicating an approximately twofold increased risk compared to those without psychological anxiety (all p smartphones than those who are in good health (OR = 1.98; 95% CI = 1.22-3.21). The EQ-VAS score, which indicates current self-assessed health status, also showed a similar result with general health status (OR = 2.14; 95% CI = 1.14-4.02). Negative conditions in self-perceived emotional or overall health condition are associated with the increased likelihood of smartphone overuse in Korean college students.

Mental and physical health-related functioning mediates between psychological job demands and sickness absence among nurses.

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Roelen, Corné; van Rhenen, Willem; Schaufeli, Wilmar; van der Klink, Jac; Magerøy, Nils; Moen, Bente; Bjorvatn, Bjørn; Pallesen, Ståle

2014-08-01

To investigate whether health-related functioning mediates the effect of psychological job demands on sickness absence in nurses. Nurses face high job demands that can have adverse health effects resulting in sickness absence. Prospective cohort study with 1-year follow-up. Data for 2964 Norwegian nurses were collected in the period 2008-2010. At baseline, psychological job demands were measured with the Demand-Control-Support Questionnaire. Health-related functioning was assessed by the Mental Composite Score and the Physical Composite Score of the SF-12 Health Survey (2nd version). Sickness absence (no = 0, yes = 1) was self-reported at 1-year follow-up. Interaction and mediation analyses were conducted stratified by tenure (6 years) as a registered nurse. A total of 2180 nurses (74%) with complete data were eligible for analysis. A significant three-way interaction between job demands, control and support was found in newly licensed nurses (tenure sickness absence at 1-year follow-up. This association was substantially weakened when Mental Composite Score and Physical Composite Score were introduced as mediator variables, indicating a partial mediation effect that was particularly pronounced in newly licensed nurses. Psychological job demands did not modify the effect of health-related functioning on sickness absence. Both mental and physical health-related functioning mediated between psychological job demands and sickness absence. Nurse managers should pay attention to health-related functioning, because poor health-related functioning may predict sickness absence, especially in newly licensed nurses. © 2013 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

The effects of yoga on stress and psychological health among employees: an 8- and 16-week intervention study.

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Maddux, Rachel E; Daukantaité, Daiva; Tellhed, Una

2018-03-01

The stresses of modern work life necessitate effective coping strategies that are accessible and affordable to the general public. Yoga has been found to reduce stress in clinical samples, but studies are needed to examine standard gym yoga classes among functional individuals. This study investigated the effects of 8- and 16-week gym yoga on stress and psychological health. Ninety individuals reporting moderate-to-high stress were randomly assigned to 16 consecutive weeks of yoga, or to a waitlist crossover group who did not practice yoga for 8 weeks then practiced yoga for 8 weeks. Stress and psychological health variables were assessed at baseline, 8 weeks, and 16 weeks. Significant reductions in stress and all psychological health measures were found within the Yoga group over 16 weeks. When compared to the control group, yoga practitioners showed significant decreases in stress, anxiety, and general psychological health, and significant increases in well-being. The group who did not practice yoga showed significant decreases in stress, anxiety, depression, and insomnia after they crossed over and practiced yoga for 8 weeks. Gym yoga appears to be effective for stress amelioration and promotion of psychological health among workers experiencing stress.

A Relational Model of Sexual Minority Mental and Physical Health: The Negative Effects of Shame on Relationships, Loneliness, and Health

Science.gov (United States)

Mereish, Ethan H.; Poteat, V. Paul

2015-01-01

Sexual minorities (e.g., lesbians, gay men, bisexual individuals) are at higher risk for mental and physical health disparities than heterosexuals, and some of these disparities relate to minority stressors such as discrimination. Yet, there is little research elucidating pathways that predict health or that promote resiliency among sexual minorities. Building on the minority stress model, the present study utilized relational cultural theory to situate sexual minority health within a relational framework. Specifically, the study tested mediators of the relationships between distal (i.e., discrimination, rejection, victimization) and proximal stressors (i.e., internalized homophobia, sexual orientation concealment) and psychological and physical distress for sexual minorities. Among 719 sexual minority adults, structural equation modeling analyses were used to test four models reflecting the mediating effects of shame, poorer relationships with a close peer and the LGBT community, and loneliness on the associations between minority stressors and psychological distress (i.e., depression and anxiety) and physical distress (i.e., distressing physical symptoms). As hypothesized, the associations between distal and proximal minority stressors and distress were mediated by shame, poorer relationships with a close peer and the LGBT community, and loneliness. Findings underscore the possible relational and interpersonal mechanisms by which sexual minority stressors lead to psychological and physical distress. PMID:26010289

Psychological contract breach among allied health professionals.

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Rodwell, John; Gulyas, Andre

2015-01-01

Allied health professionals are vital for effective healthcare yet there are continuing shortages of these employees. Building on work with other healthcare professionals, the purpose of this paper is to investigate the influence of psychological contract (PC) breach and types of organisational justice on variables important to retention among allied health professionals: mental health and organisational commitment. The potential effects of justice on the negative outcomes of breach were examined. Multiple regressions analysed data from 113 allied health professionals working in a medium-large Australian healthcare organisation. The main negative impacts on respondents' mental health and commitment were from high PC breach, low procedural and distributive justice and less respectful treatment from organisational representatives. The interaction between procedural justice and breach illustrates that breach may be forgivable if processes are fair. Surprisingly, a betrayal or "aggravated breach effect" may occur after a breach when interpersonal justice is high. Further, negative affectivity was negatively related to respondents' mental health (affective outcomes) but not commitment (work-related attitude). Healthcare organisations should ensure the fairness of decisions and avoid breaking promises within their control. If promises cannot reasonably be kept, transparency of processes behind the breach may allow allied health professionals to understand that the organisation did not purposefully fail to fulfil expectations. This study offers insights into how breach and four types of justice interact to influence employee mental health and work attitudes among allied health professionals.

Perceived health locus of control, self-esteem, and its relations to psychological well-being status in Iranian students.

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Moshki, M; Ashtarian, H

2010-01-01

Health locus of control (HLC) has been associated with a variety of ailments and health outcomes and designed to predict behaviors and cognitive processes relevant to mental and physical health. This study investigated the relationships between perceived health locus of control, self-esteem, and mental health status among Iranian students. In this analytical study the subjects were recruited from students in Gonabad University of Medical Sciences, Iran, who studied in the first year (N=154). Students completed the questionnaires for assessing demographic, perceived health locus of control, self - esteem and psychological well- being data. The statistical analysis revealed a negative relationship between perceived Internal HLC and self-esteem with psychological well-being. The positive correlation of the perceived Chance HLC with psychological well-being was statistically significant (r= 0.21, Pself-esteem was statistically significant (r= 0.25, Plow perceived Internal HLC, self-esteem and psychological problems was found among these students. The findings will be addressed in relation to their implications for effective mental health education based on health locus of control especially internal and powerful others beliefs associated with self-esteem for students. This will require additional monitoring and uninterrupted trying in order to be effective.

Psychological, social and welfare interventions for psychological health and well-being of torture survivors.

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Patel, Nimisha; Kellezi, Blerina; Williams, Amanda C de C

2014-11-11

Torture is widespread, with potentially broad and long-lasting impact across physical, psychological, social and other areas of life. Its complex and diverse effects interact with ethnicity, gender, and refugee experience. Health and welfare agencies offer varied rehabilitation services, from conventional mental health treatment to eclectic or needs-based interventions. This review is needed because relatively little outcome research has been done in this field, and no previous systematic review has been conducted. Resources are scarce, and the challenges of providing services can be considerable. To assess beneficial and adverse effects of psychological, social and welfare interventions for torture survivors, and to compare these effects with those reported by active and inactive controls. Randomised controlled trials (RCTs) were identified through a search of PsycINFO, MEDLINE, EMBASE, Web of Science, the Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature (CINAHL), the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL) and the Cochrane Depression, Anxiety and Neurosis Specialised Register (CCDANCTR), the Latin American and Caribbean Health Science Information Database (LILACS), the Open System for Information on Grey Literature in Europe (OpenSIGLE), the World Health Organization International Clinical Trials Registry Platform (WHO ICTRP) and Published International Literature On Traumatic Stress (PILOTS) all years to 11 April 2013; searches of Cochrane resources, international trial registries and the main biomedical databases were updated on 20 June 2014. We also searched the Online Library of Dignity (Danish Institute against Torture), reference lists of reviews and included studies and the most frequently cited journals, up to April 2013 but not repeated for 2014. Investigators were contacted to provide updates or details as necessary. Full publications of RCTs or quasi-RCTs of psychological, social or welfare interventions for survivors of

Structural equation modeling in pediatric psychology: overview and review of applications.

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Nelson, Timothy D; Aylward, Brandon S; Steele, Ric G

2008-08-01

To describe the use of structural equation modeling (SEM) in the Journal of Pediatric Psychology (JPP) and to discuss the usefulness of SEM applications in pediatric psychology research. The use of SEM in JPP between 1997 and 2006 was examined and compared to leading journals in clinical psychology, clinical child psychology, and child development. SEM techniques were used in psychology research, although investigations employing these methods are becoming more prevalent. Despite its infrequent use to date, SEM is a potentially useful tool for advancing pediatric psychology research with a number of advantages over traditional statistical methods.

Quality of life and psychological health indicators in the national social life, health, and aging project.

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Shiovitz-Ezra, Sharon; Leitsch, Sara; Graber, Jessica; Karraker, Amelia

2009-11-01

The National Social Life, Health, and Aging Project (NSHAP) measures seven indicators of quality of life (QoL) and psychological health. The measures used for happiness, self-esteem, depression, and loneliness are well established in the literature. Conversely, measures of anxiety, stress, and self-reported emotional health were modified for their use in this unique project. The purpose of this paper is to provide (a) an overview of NSHAP's QoL assessment and (b) evidence for the adequacy of the modified measures. First, we examined the psychometric properties of the modified measures. Second, the established QoL measures were used to examine the concurrent validity of the modified measures. Finally, gender- and age-group differences were examined for each modified measure. The anxiety index exhibited good internal reliability and concurrent validity. Consistent with the literature, a single-factor structure best fit the data. Stress was satisfactory in terms of concurrent validity but with only fair internal consistency. Self-reported emotional health exhibited good concurrent validity and moderate external validity. The modified indices used in NSHAP tended to exhibit good internal reliability and concurrent validity. These measures can confidently be used in the exploration of QoL and psychological health in later life and its many correlates.

Collecting psychosocial "vital signs" in electronic health records: Why now? What are they? What's new for psychology?

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Matthews, Karen A; Adler, Nancy E; Forrest, Christopher B; Stead, William W

2016-09-01

Social, psychological, and behavioral factors are recognized as key contributors to health, but they are rarely measured in a systematic way in health care settings. Electronic health records (EHRs) can be used in these settings to routinely collect a standardized set of social, psychological, and behavioral determinants of health. The expanded use of EHRs provides opportunities to improve individual and population health, and offers new ways for the psychological community to engage in health promotion and disease prevention efforts. This article addresses 3 issues. First, it discusses what led to current efforts to include measures of psychosocial and behavioral determinants of health in EHRs. Second, it presents recommendations of an Institute of Medicine committee regarding inclusion in EHRS of a panel of measures that meet a priori criteria. Third, it identifies new opportunities and challenges these recommendations present for psychologists in practice and research. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved).

An exploratory study of the relationship between resilience, academic burnout and psychological health in nursing students.

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Ríos-Risquez, Mª Isabel; García-Izquierdo, Mariano; Sabuco-Tebar, Emiliana de Los Angeles; Carrillo-Garcia, Cesar; Martinez-Roche, Maria Emilia

2016-08-01

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between resilience, academic burnout and psychological health in a sample of nursing students. A descriptive and cross-sectional design was applied, with questionnaires as tools. The convenience sample consisted of 113 nursing students in their final academic year, who voluntarily participated in the study. The results indicated a statistically significant relationship between resilience and both emotional exhaustion (r = -.55; p burnout and psychological health. Hierarchical multiple regression analysis indicated that high scores for resilience and low scores for emotional exhaustion predict better perceived psychological health [F (2.96)  = 17.75; p burnout. These findings highlight the importance of developing resilience and integrating it as an element in the nursing educational programme.

Resilience as a Moderator of Psychological Health in Situations of Chronic Stress (Burnout) in a Sample of Hospital Nurses.

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García-Izquierdo, Mariano; Meseguer de Pedro, Mariano; Ríos-Risquez, Mª Isabel; Sánchez, Mª Isabel Soler

2018-03-01

To analyze the role played by resilience in the dimensions that constitute burnout syndrome and, through that, the psychological health of a sample of nurses working at hospital centers. Cross-sectional design, with a questionnaire as the tool. The sample consisted of 537 nurses from three public hospitals in Murcia, Spain. The questionnaire contained measures of the following variables: resilience, the three dimensions of burnout (emotional exhaustion, cynicism, and professional efficacy), and general psychological health, as well as sociodemographic and employment information. The emotional exhaustion and cynicism dimensions of burnout were significantly linked to psychological health in the manner expected, but this was not the case for professional efficacy. A stepwise multiple regression analysis revealed the moderating role of resilience on the emotional exhaustion and cynicism dimensions, as well as on psychological health. This study highlights the moderating role of resilience on burnout and psychological health. The practical implications of the results are discussed for the implementation of measures to increase resilience as a personal resource in order to improve the health and work performance of these professionals. © 2017 Sigma Theta Tau International.

The Johns Hopkins model of psychological first aid (RAPID-PFA): curriculum development and content validation.

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Everly, George S; Barnett, Daniel J; Links, Jonathan M

2012-01-01

There appears to be virtual universal endorsement of the need for and value of acute "psychological first aid" (PFA) in the wake of trauma and disasters. In this paper, we describe the development of the curriculum for The Johns Hopkins RAPID-PFA model of psychological first aid. We employed an adaptation of the basic framework for the development of a clinical science as recommended by Millon which entailed: historical review, theoretical development, and content validation. The process of content validation of the RAPID-PFA curriculum entailed the assessment of attitudes (confidence in the application of PFA interventions, preparedness in the application of PFA); knowledge related to the application of immediate mental health interventions; and behavior (the ability to recognize clinical markers in the field as assessed via a videotape recognition exercise). Results of the content validation phase suggest the six-hour RAPID-PFA curriculum, initially based upon structural modeling analysis, can improve confidence in the application of PFA interventions, preparedness in the application of PFA, knowledge related to the application of immediate mental health interventions, and the ability to recognize clinical markers in the field as assessed via a videotape recognition exercise.

Assessing the Association of Food Preferences and Self-Reported Psychological Well-Being among Middle-Aged and Older Adults in Contemporary China-Results from the China Health and Nutrition Survey

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yen-Han Lee

2018-03-01

Full Text Available China has undergone rapid social transitions within the last few decades. However, mental health issues, challenges to psychological well-being, and poor dietary choices have gradually surfaced. These health concerns are related to the rapid growth of the aging population and of the fast-paced industrialized society. Nevertheless, there is little knowledge about food preferences and psychological well-being measurements in contemporary China. Applying the 2011 China Health and Nutrition Survey (CHNS with a cross-sectional study design (n = 7970, we conducted multinomial logistic regression models to investigate the associations of food preferences, including fast food, salty snacks, fruits, vegetables, and sweetened beverages, with psychological well-being among Chinese middle-aged and older adults (age ≥ 45. Food preferences are mostly associated with psychological well-being (p < 0.05. However, respondents’ preferences regarding fast food, salty snacks, and sweetened beverages are associated not only with poorer psychological health status, but also with positive psychological well-being. We speculate that Chinese older adults may consume Westernized fast food and salty snacks as pleasure to the palate due to the recent Westernization in modern China. We also provide practical implications of results from this preliminary study.

Assessing the Association of Food Preferences and Self-Reported Psychological Well-Being among Middle-Aged and Older Adults in Contemporary China-Results from the China Health and Nutrition Survey.

Science.gov (United States)

Lee, Yen-Han; Shelley, Mack; Liu, Ching-Ti; Chang, Yen-Chang

2018-03-07

China has undergone rapid social transitions within the last few decades. However, mental health issues, challenges to psychological well-being, and poor dietary choices have gradually surfaced. These health concerns are related to the rapid growth of the aging population and of the fast-paced industrialized society. Nevertheless, there is little knowledge about food preferences and psychological well-being measurements in contemporary China. Applying the 2011 China Health and Nutrition Survey (CHNS) with a cross-sectional study design ( n = 7970), we conducted multinomial logistic regression models to investigate the associations of food preferences, including fast food, salty snacks, fruits, vegetables, and sweetened beverages, with psychological well-being among Chinese middle-aged and older adults (age ≥ 45). Food preferences are mostly associated with psychological well-being ( p fast food, salty snacks, and sweetened beverages are associated not only with poorer psychological health status, but also with positive psychological well-being. We speculate that Chinese older adults may consume Westernized fast food and salty snacks as pleasure to the palate due to the recent Westernization in modern China. We also provide practical implications of results from this preliminary study.

Disentangling immigrant status in mental health: psychological protective and risk factors among Latino and Asian American immigrants.

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Leong, Frederick; Park, Yong S; Kalibatseva, Zornitsa

2013-01-01

This study aimed to disentangle the psychological mechanisms underlying immigrant status by testing a model of psychological protective and risk factors to predict the mental health prevalence rates among Latino and Asian American immigrants based on secondary analysis of the National Latino and Asian American Study. The first research question examined differences on the set of protective and risk factors between immigrants and their U.S.-born counterparts and found that immigrants reported higher levels of ethnic identity, family cohesion, native language proficiency, and limited English proficiency than their U.S.-born counterparts. The second research question examined the effect of the protective and risk factors on prevalence rates of depressive, anxiety, and substance-related disorders and found that social networking served as a protective factor. Discrimination, acculturative stress, and family conflict were risk factors on the mental health for both ethnic groups. Clinical implications and directions for future research are provided. © 2013 American Orthopsychiatric Association.

Structural Model of psychological risk and protective factors affecting on quality of life in patients with coronary heart disease: A psychocardiology model

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Zohreh Khayyam Nekouei

2014-01-01

Full Text Available Background: Conducted researches show that psychological factors may have a very important role in the etiology, continuity and consequences of coronary heart diseases. This study has drawn the psychological risk and protective factors and their effects in patients with coronary heart diseases (CHD in a structural model. It aims to determine the structural relations between psychological risk and protective factors with quality of life in patients with coronary heart disease. Materials and Methods: The present cross-sectional and correlational studies were conducted using structural equation modeling. The study sample included 398 patients of coronary heart disease in the university referral Hospital, as well as other city health care centers in Isfahan city. They were selected based on random sampling method. Then, in case, they were executed the following questionnaires: Coping with stressful situations (CISS- 21, life orientation (LOT-10, general self-efficacy (GSE-10, depression, anxiety and stress (DASS-21, perceived stress (PSS-14, multidimensional social support (MSPSS-12, alexithymia (TAS-20, spiritual intelligence (SQ-23 and quality of life (WHOQOL-26. Results: The results showed that protective and risk factors could affect the quality of life in patients with CHD with factor loadings of 0.35 and −0.60, respectively. Moreover, based on the values of the framework of the model such as relative chi-square (CMIN/DF = 3.25, the Comparative Fit Index (CFI = 0.93, the Parsimony Comparative Fit Index (PCFI = 0.68, the Root Mean Square Error of Approximation (RMSEA = 0.07 and details of the model (significance of the relationships it has been confirmed that the psychocardiological structural model of the study is the good fitting model. Conclusion: This study was among the first to research the different psychological risk and protective factors of coronary heart diseases in the form of a structural model. The results of this study have

[Comparison of mental health state and psychological capacities between college students with and without siblings].

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Zhang, Xiao-yuan; Yu, Shou-yi; Zhao, Jiu-bo; Li, Jian-ming; Xiao, Rong

2007-04-01

To compare the differences in mental health state and psychological capacities between Chinese college students with and without siblings. The psychological status and capacities were evaluated with SCL-90, the Self-Esteem Scale, Spheres of Control Scale, Security Questionnaire and Cattell 16-PF Questionnaire in 427 college students, and among the students who presented valid responses, 139 with and 139 without siblings were selected for this comparative study. The total score and average score of SCL-90 in college students without siblings were significantly lower than those in students with siblings (Psiblings (Pmental health state and some of the psychological capacities are generally better in college students with siblings than in those without siblings.

Exploring the psychological health of emergency dispatch centre operatives: a systematic review and narrative synthesis.

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Golding, Sarah E; Horsfield, Claire; Davies, Annette; Egan, Bernadette; Jones, Martyn; Raleigh, Mary; Schofield, Patricia; Squires, Allison; Start, Kath; Quinn, Tom; Cropley, Mark

2017-01-01

The study objective was to investigate and synthesize available evidence relating to the psychological health of Emergency Dispatch Centre (EDC) operatives, and to identify key stressors experienced by EDC operatives. Eight electronic databases (Embase, PubMed, Medline, CINAHL, PsycInfo, PsycArticles, The Psychology and Behavioural Sciences Collection, and Google Scholar) were searched. All study designs were included, and no date limits were set. Studies were included if they were published in English, and explored the psychological health of any EDC operatives, across fire, police, and emergency medical services. Studies were excluded if they related solely to other emergency workers, such as police officers or paramedics. Methodological quality of included studies was assessed using checklists adapted from the Critical Appraisal Skills Programme. A narrative synthesis was conducted, using thematic analysis. A total of 16 articles were included in the review. Two overarching themes were identified during the narrative synthesis: 'Organisational and Operational Factors' and 'Interactions with Others'. Stressors identified included being exposed to traumatic calls, lacking control over high workload, and working in under-resourced and pressured environments. Lack of support from management and providing an emotionally demanding service were additional sources of stress. Peer support and social support from friends and family were helpful in managing work-related stress. EDC operatives experience stress as a result of their work, which appears to be related to negative psychological health outcomes. Future research should explore the long-term effects of this stress, and the potential for workplace interventions to alleviate the negative impacts on psychological health. CRD42014010806.

Health related quality of life and psychological variables among a ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Health related quality of life and psychological variables among a sample of asthmatics in Ile-Ife South-Western Nigeria. ... Sociodemographic and clinical variables were also obtained from the patients, the lung function was assessed using Peak Expiratory Flow Rate (PEFR). Results: Mean age of all the patients was 35.22 ...

The risk ogf high-risk jobs : psychological health consequences in forensic physicians and ambulance workers

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Ploeg, E. van der

2003-01-01

The risk of high-risk jobs: Psychological health consequences in forensic doctors and ambulance workers This thesis has shown that forensic physicians and ambulance personnel frequently suffer from psychological complaints as a result of dramatic events and sources of chronic work stress. A

The Psychology School Mental Health Initiative: An Innovative Approach to the Delivery of School-Based Intervention Services

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Millar, Golden M.; Lean, Debra; Sweet, Susan D.; Moraes, Sabrina C.; Nelson, Victoria

2013-01-01

Evidence suggests that schools have, by default, become the primary mental health system for students in Canada. The goal of the present study was to design, implement, and evaluate the Psychology School Mental Health Initiative (PSMHI). The PSMHI is an innovative attempt to increase the capacity of school-based psychology staff to deliver…

The narrative psychology of community health workers.

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Murray, Michael; Ziegler, Friederike

2015-03-01

Community health psychology is an approach which promotes community mobilisation as a means of enhancing community capacity and well-being and challenging health inequalities. Much of the research on this approach has been at the more strategic and policy level with less reference to the everyday experiences of community workers who are actively involved in promoting various forms of community change. This article considers the narrative accounts of a sample of 12 community workers who were interviewed about their lives. Their accounts were analysed in terms of narrative content. This revealed the tensions in their everyday practice as they attempted to overcome community divisions and management demands for evidence. Common to all accounts was a commitment to social justice. These findings are discussed with reference to opportunities and challenges in the practice of community work. © The Author(s) 2015.

Stressors and psychological symptoms in students of medicine and allied health professions in Nigeria.

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Omigbodun, Olayinka O; Odukogbe, Akin-Tunde A; Omigbodun, Akinyinka O; Yusuf, O Bidemi; Bella, Tolulope T; Olayemi, Oladopo

2006-05-01

Studies suggest that high levels of stress and psychological morbidity occur in health care profession students. This study investigates stressors and psychological morbidity in students of medicine, dentistry, physiotherapy and nursing at the University of Ibadan. The students completed a questionnaire about their socio-demographic characteristics, perceived stressors and the 12-item General Health Questionnaire. Qualitative methods were used initially to categorise stressors. Data was then analysed using univariate and logistic regression to determine odds ratios and 95% confidence intervals. Medical and dental students were more likely to cite as stressors, overcrowding, strikes, excessive school work and lack of holidays while physiotherapy and nursing students focused on noisy environments, security and transportation. Medical and dental students (1.66; SD: 2.22) had significantly higher GHQ scores than the physiotherapy and nursing students (1.22; SD: 1.87) (t = 2.3; P = 0.022). Socio-demographic factors associated with psychological morbidity after logistic regression include being in a transition year of study, reporting financial distress and not being a 'Pentecostal Christian'. Although males were more likely to perceive financial and lecturer problems as stressors and females to perceive faculty strikes and overcrowding as source of stress, gender did not have any significant effect on psychological morbidity. Stressors associated with psychological distress in the students include excessive school work, congested classrooms, strikes by faculty, lack of laboratory equipment, family problems, insecurity, financial and health problems. Several identified stressors such as financial problems, academic pressures and their consequent effect on social life have an adverse effect on the mental health of students in this environment especially for students of medicine and dentistry. While stressors outside the reach of the school authorities are difficult to

Ecological Interventionist Causal Models in Psychosis: Targeting Psychological Mechanisms in Daily Life.

Science.gov (United States)

Reininghaus, Ulrich; Depp, Colin A; Myin-Germeys, Inez

2016-03-01

Integrated models of psychotic disorders have posited a number of putative psychological mechanisms that may contribute to the development of psychotic symptoms, but it is only recently that a modest amount of experience sampling research has provided evidence on their role in daily life, outside the research laboratory. A number of methodological challenges remain in evaluating specificity of potential causal links between a given psychological mechanism and psychosis outcomes in a systematic fashion, capitalizing on longitudinal data to investigate temporal ordering. In this article, we argue for testing ecological interventionist causal models that draw on real world and real-time delivered, ecological momentary interventions for generating evidence on several causal criteria (association, time order, and direction/sole plausibility) under real-world conditions, while maximizing generalizability to social contexts and experiences in heterogeneous populations. Specifically, this approach tests whether ecological momentary interventions can (1) modify a putative mechanism and (2) produce changes in the mechanism that lead to sustainable changes in intended psychosis outcomes in individuals' daily lives. Future research using this approach will provide translational evidence on the active ingredients of mobile health and in-person interventions that promote sustained effectiveness of ecological momentary interventions and, thereby, contribute to ongoing efforts that seek to enhance effectiveness of psychological interventions under real-world conditions. © The Author 2015. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Maryland Psychiatric Research Center. All rights reserved. For permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Martial arts and psychological health.

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Fuller, J R

1988-12-01

The misleading public image of the martial arts masks a rich though esoteric psychological legacy containing informative parallels for contemporary psychotherapeutic concepts and practices. To date, empirical research on the martial arts has lacked sophistication in the questions it has posed and in the methodology adopted to answer them. Whilst not entirely consistent, findings from studies of martial artists' personalities, outlooks and behaviour have generally indicated positive psychological effects of training. Clinical and psychotherapeutic applications are at an exploratory stage but appear promising. As an exemplar the psychological facets of the art of Aikido are discussed, and prospective uses of martial arts principles as systemic or adjunctive therapies are considered.

PHIT for Duty, a Personal Health Intervention Tool for Psychological Health and Traumatic Brain Injury

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2015-04-01

Award Number: W81XWH-11-2-0129 TITLE: PHIT for Duty, a Personal Health Intervention Tool for Psychological Health and Traumatic Brain Injury... Brain Injury 5b. GRANT NUMBER 5c. PROGRAM ELEMENT NUMBER 6. AUTHOR(S) Betty Diamond 5d. PROJECT NUMBER Paul N. Kizakevich 5e. TASK NUMBER E-Mail...and Google App stores.  ActiSleep. PHIT-based sleep diary for data collection in an adolescent sleep and marijuana study. National Institute on Drug

PSYCHOLOGICAL WELL-BEING AND PSYCHOLOGICAL DISTRESS FOR PROFESSORS IN BRAZIL AND CANADA

OpenAIRE

BOAS,ANA ALICE VILAS; MORIN,ESTELLE M.

2014-01-01

Mental health, an important object of research in psychology as well as social psychology, can be determined by the relationship between psychological well-being and psychological distress. In this context, we search to understand: “How do compare mental health of professors working in public universities in an emerging country like Brazil with the one of professors working in a developed country like Canada?” and “What are the main differences in the indicators of mental he...

Mental Health Promotion as a New Goal in Public Mental Health Care: A Randomized Controlled Trial of an Intervention Enhanching Psychological Flexibility

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Fledderus, M.; Bohlmeijer, Ernst Thomas; Smit, Filip; Westerhof, Gerben Johan

2010-01-01

Objectives: We assessed whether an intervention based on acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) and mindfulness was successful in promoting positive mental health by enhancing psychological flexibility. Methods: Participants were 93 adults with mild to moderate psychological distress. They were

Mental health in women with endometriosis: searching for predictors of psychological distress.

Science.gov (United States)

Facchin, F; Barbara, G; Dridi, D; Alberico, D; Buggio, L; Somigliana, E; Saita, E; Vercellini, P

2017-09-01

What factors affect the mental health of women with endometriosis? Not only pelvic pain, but also individual characteristics (i.e. self-esteem, body esteem and emotional self-efficacy), time from diagnosis and intimate relationship status influence the psychological health of endometriosis patients. The negative impact of endometriosis on mental health has been widely demonstrated by the research literature, along with the fact that presence and severity of pelvic pain are associated with anxiety and depression. However, endometriosis is a complex multidimensional disease and factors other than pelvic pain, including individual differences, may contribute to explain the variability in women's mental health. This cross-sectional study was conducted between 2015 and 2017 at an Italian academic department of obstetrics and gynaecology. A total of 210 consecutive endometriosis patients (age: 36.7 ± 7.0 years) were included. Demographic and endometriosis-related information was collected. Individual differences were assessed using validated measures evaluating self-esteem, body esteem and emotional self-efficacy. The Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) and the Ruminative Response Scale (RRS) were used to evaluate mental health. Based on the extant literature, we identified three categories of putative predictors (demographic variables, endometriosis-related factors and individual differences i.e. 'self'), whose psychological impact was examined using a hierarchical multiple regression approach. Being in a stable relationship (coded 1 ['yes'] or 0 ['no']) was associated with decreased rumination (RRS: β = -0.187; P = 0.002). A shorter time from diagnosis was associated with greater anxiety (HADS-A: β = -0.177; P = 0.015). Pelvic pain severity and 'self' were associated with all mental health variables (Ps mental health of women with endometriosis, and the role of individual differences requires further investigation. Targeted multidisciplinary interventions

Psychological well-being and psychological distress for professors in Brazil and Canada.

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Ana Alice Vilas Boas

2014-12-01

Full Text Available Mental health, an important object of research in psychology as well as social psychology, can be determined by the relationship between psychological well-being and psychological distress. In this context, we search to understand: “How do compare mental health of professors working in public universities in an emerging country like Brazil with the one of professors working in a developed country like Canada?” and “What are the main differences in the indicators of mental health in work domain?”. This paper assesses psychological well-being and psychological distress for professors working in these two countries and test for their differences. The sample consists of 354 Brazilian professors and 317 Canadian professors. Data were collected through an on-line questionnaire assessing the following mental health indicators: anxiety, depression, loss of control, general positive affect and emotional ties. We compared the components of psychological distress and psychological well-being to analyse their relations. Additionally, we compared these components with work-life balance indicator. Reliability analyses demonstrated that all tested components are consistent to evaluate mental health. There are small mean differences between Brazilian and Canadian professors in all five components of mental health, but these differences are not statistically significant. Mean differences for work-life balance, gender, age, and bias of conformity are statistically different, although the size effects are small. Linear regression analysis, step by step, controlled for life events, showed that general positive affect, anxiety and emotional ties predict 31.5% of the scores of work-life balance. Additionally, we observed that Brazilian professors find more balance between professional and private life than do their Canadian colleagues. Promoting mental health is a challenge for public management sector, thus, public managers and governmental organizations can

Narcissistic Personality Disorder in Clinical Health Psychology Practice: Case Studies of Comorbid Psychological Distress and Life-Limiting Illness.

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Kacel, Elizabeth L; Ennis, Nicole; Pereira, Deidre B

2017-01-01

Narcissistic Personality Disorder (NPD) is characterized by a persistent pattern of grandiosity, fantasies of unlimited power or importance, and the need for admiration or special treatment. Individuals with NPD may experience significant psychological distress related to interpersonal conflict and functional impairment. Research suggests core features of the disorder are associated with poor prognosis in therapy, including slow progress to behavioral change, premature patient-initiated termination, and negative therapeutic alliance. The current manuscript will explore challenges of working with NPD within the context of life-limiting illness for two psychotherapy patients seen in a behavioral health clinic at a large academic health science center. The ways in which their personality disorder affected their illness-experience shared significant overlap characterized by resistance to psychotherapeutic change, inconsistent adherence to medical recommendations, and volatile relationships with providers. In this manuscript we will (1) explore the ways in which aspects of narcissistic personality disorder impacted the patients' physical health, emotional well-being, and healthcare utilization; (2) describe psychotherapeutic methods that may be useful for optimizing psychosocial, behavioral, and physical well-being in individuals with co-morbid NPD and life-limiting disease; and (3) review conceptualizations of NPD from the DSM-5 alternative model for assessing personality function via trait domains.

Psychological Assessment Training in Clinical Psychology Doctoral Programs.

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Mihura, Joni L; Roy, Manali; Graceffo, Robert A

2017-01-01

We surveyed American Psychological Association-accredited clinical psychology doctoral programs' (n = 83) training in psychological assessment-specifically, their coverage of various assessment topics and tests in courses and practica, and whether the training was optional or required. We report results overall and separately per training model (clinical science, scientist-practitioner, and practitioner-focused). Overall, our results suggest that psychological assessment training is as active, or even more active, than in previous years. Areas of increased emphasis include clinical interviewing and psychometrics; multimethod, outcomes, health, and collaborative or therapeutic assessment; and different types of cognitive and self-report personality tests. All or almost all practice-focused programs offered training with the Thematic Apperception Test and Rorschach compared to about half of the scientist-practitioner programs and a third of the clinical science programs. Although almost all programs reported teaching multimethod assessment, what constitutes different methods of assessing psychopathology should be clarified in future studies because many programs appear to rely on one method-self-report (especially clinical science programs). Although doctoral programs covered many assessment topics and tests in didactic courses, there appears to be a shortage of program-run opportunities for students to obtain applied assessment training. Finally, we encourage doctoral programs to be familiar with (a) internships' assessment expectations and opportunities, (b) the professional guidelines for assessment training, and (c) the American Psychological Association's requirements for preinternship assessment competencies.

Relationship Between Psychological Characteristics Mental Health, Aggression and Driving Habits in Dangerous Drivers

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M Mohammadpoor

2010-09-01

Full Text Available Introduction: Today, all kinds of people need vehicles for performing their daily activities. The need for use of these vehicles for transportation frequently leads to a high rate of road accidents and it seems that certain people do not have enough ability to use these vehicles. Dangerous behaviors lead to financial and life risking irreparable damages. Methods: The aim of the study was to examine the relationship between psychological characteristics (mental health, aggression, type A characteristic and driving habits. The researchers chose 110 injured men drivers and asked them to complete the Manchester Driving Behavior, Type A Characteristic, Ahvaz Aggressive and Mental Health questionnaires. The data was analyzed by Pearson's Correlation and Regression Analysis. Results: The findings showed that there is a significant relation between psychological characteristics (mental health, aggression, type A characteristic and driving habits. The regression analysis also foresees the aggressive and mental health of testers’ dangerous driving behavior. Meanwhile, Type A characteristic is not able to foresee driving behaviors. Conclusion: Risky driving is a phenomenon that leads to many irreparable damages for the society and individual. Present study suggests that in order to reduce dangers and probable damages, procurement of driving license procedures should be prolonged and drivers should be regularly assessed psychologically (personal or public. Risky drivers or the attackers who need education or consultation should attend education-consultation programs.

Psychological debriefing (PD of trauma: a proposed model for Africa

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E L Van Dyk

2010-03-01

Full Text Available Africa is a continent with severe trauma. Traumatic events include experiences of child soldiers, people living in war and conflict zones, and people struggling with the HIV/AIDS pandemic. These events cause high levels of trauma. The trauma causes psychological disorders like post traumatic stress disorder, acute stress disorder and combat stress reaction, specific in the military environment. This article focuses on a better understanding of the implications of trauma for military people and civilians. It discusses the different theories and models of psychological debriefing. Lastly the article discusses psychological debriefing models for military forces and the civil ian population to prevent severe psychopathology after traumatic incidents in Africa.

Adolescents' psychological health and experiences with unwanted sexual behavior at school

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Timmerman, G

2004-01-01

This paper examines the relationship between experiences with unwanted sexual behavior at school and adolescents' health. Adolescent boys and girls (N = 2,808) participated in a 1998/1999 survey of secondary school students in two regions of The Netherlands. The psychological issues investigated

Does social desirability influence psychological well-being: perceived physical health and religiosity of Italian elders? A developmental approach.

Science.gov (United States)

Fastame, Maria Chiara; Hitchcott, Paul Kenneth; Penna, Maria Pietronilla

2017-04-01

This study was mainly aimed at exploring the relationship between psychological well-being and lifestyle, religion, perceived physical health and social desirability of Italian elders. Four hundred and six cognitively healthy 65-99 years old participants were recruited from the Italian isle of Sardinia, where a high prevalence of centenarians is registered. Participants were presented with several tools assessing psychological well-being, lifestyle, social desirability, religiosity and subjective physical health. A hierarchical regression analysis revealed that the social desirability measure is the best predictor of general subjective well-being, whereas further predictors are age, perceived physical health and gardening. A significant but moderate relationship was also found between psychological well-being, subjective physical health and religiosity, while controlling for social desirability. Social desirability seems to contaminate the self-rating of psychological well-being in late adulthood. Moreover, from a developmental perspective, age-related factors, life style and perceived physical health are strictly related to and therefore influence the perception of life quality in the third and fourth age.

Towards a comprehensive model of scientific research and professional practice in psychology

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Jerzy Marian Brzeziński

2016-03-01

Full Text Available In this article I present a model of associations between two social domains: the scientific research domain (here psychology and the professional practice domain. In the former case, its quality is determined by social and individual methodological awareness (MA. I introduce my own definition of MA. What determines the validity and usefulness of practical actions undertaken by professionals (e.g., assessment, therapy in the practice domain is the accurately constructed empirical theory high in descriptive power, explanatory power and predictive power. I propose a model (my own conceptualization in which I analyze information flow between the domains of scientific research (psychology as a science and professional practice (psychology as a profession. In the subsequent and final part I discuss my own model which links theory and practice: Scientific Research and Professional Practice in Psychology (SRPPP. The article ends with a presentation of three contexts in which the interrelationship between theory and practice is immersed: the ethical, psychological and cultural contexts.

Impact of job characteristics on psychological health of Chinese single working women.

Science.gov (United States)

Yeung, D Y; Tang, C S

2001-01-01

This study aims at investigating the impact of individual and contextual job characteristics of control, psychological and physical demand, and security on psychological distress of 193 Chinese single working women in Hong Kong. The mediating role of job satisfaction in the job characteristics-distress relation is also assessed. Multiple regression analysis results show that job satisfaction mediates the effects of job control and security in predicting psychological distress; whereas psychological job demand has an independent effect on mental distress after considering the effect of job satisfaction. This main effect model indicates that psychological distress is best predicted by small company size, high psychological job demand, and low job satisfaction. Results from a separate regression analysis fails to support the overall combined effect of job demand-control on psychological distress. However, a significant physical job demand-control interaction effect on mental distress is noted, which reduces slightly after controlling the effect of job satisfaction.

Orofacial esthetics and dental anxiety: associations with oral and psychological health.

Science.gov (United States)

Carlsson, Viktor; Hakeberg, Magnus; Blomkvist, Klas; Wide Boman, Ulla

2014-11-01

Severe dental anxiety (DA) is associated with both oral health and psychosocial consequences in what has been described as a vicious circle of DA. The aim of this study was to investigate self-rated orofacial esthetics in patients with DA and its relationship to psychological and oral health. A consecutive sample of 152 adult patients who were referred or self-referred to a specialized dental anxiety clinic filled out the Orofacial Esthetic Scale (OES) as well as measurements on DA, self-rated oral health and general anxiety and depression. Clinical measures of dental status were also obtained. Compared with the general population, patients with DA had lower ratings of satisfaction on all aspects of their orofacial esthetics, which included the teeth, gingiva, mouth and face, as well as a global orofacial assessment. Furthermore, the perception of the orofacial appearance was related both to dental status and self-rated oral health, as well as to general anxiety and depression. The level of dissatisfaction with the orofacial appearance was similar for both genders, but women reported more regular dental care and better dental status. The results of this study clearly show less satisfaction with dental and facial appearance in patients with DA, and that the self-rating of orofacial esthetics is related to both oral and psychological health. The OES can be used to assess orofacial esthetics in patients with DA.

A critical review of sanctioned knowledge production concerning abortion in Africa: Implications for feminist health psychology.

Science.gov (United States)

Macleod, Catriona; Chiweshe, Malvern; Mavuso, Jabulile

2016-04-01

Taking a feminist health psychology approach, we conducted a systematic review of published research on abortion featured in PsycINFO over a 7-year period. We analysed the 39 articles included in the review in terms of countries in which the research was conducted, types of research, issues covered, the way the research was framed and main findings. Despite 97 per cent of abortions performed in Africa being classifiable as unsafe, there has been no engagement in knowledge production about abortion in Africa from psychologists, outside of South Africa. Given this, we outline the implications of the current knowledge base for feminism, psychology and feminist health psychology in Africa.

Health psychology in family practice: Fulfilling a vital need | Kagee ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Health psychology in family practice: Fulfilling a vital need. A Kagee, P Naidoo. Abstract. No Abstract. Full Text: EMAIL FREE FULL TEXT EMAIL FREE FULL TEXT · DOWNLOAD FULL TEXT DOWNLOAD FULL TEXT · AJOL African Journals Online. HOW TO USE AJOL... for Researchers · for Librarians · for Authors · FAQ's ...

Exploring the psychological health of emergency dispatch centre operatives: a systematic review and narrative synthesis

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sarah E. Golding

2017-10-01

Full Text Available Background The study objective was to investigate and synthesize available evidence relating to the psychological health of Emergency Dispatch Centre (EDC operatives, and to identify key stressors experienced by EDC operatives. Methods Eight electronic databases (Embase, PubMed, Medline, CINAHL, PsycInfo, PsycArticles, The Psychology and Behavioural Sciences Collection, and Google Scholar were searched. All study designs were included, and no date limits were set. Studies were included if they were published in English, and explored the psychological health of any EDC operatives, across fire, police, and emergency medical services. Studies were excluded if they related solely to other emergency workers, such as police officers or paramedics. Methodological quality of included studies was assessed using checklists adapted from the Critical Appraisal Skills Programme. A narrative synthesis was conducted, using thematic analysis. Results A total of 16 articles were included in the review. Two overarching themes were identified during the narrative synthesis: ‘Organisational and Operational Factors’ and ‘Interactions with Others’. Stressors identified included being exposed to traumatic calls, lacking control over high workload, and working in under-resourced and pressured environments. Lack of support from management and providing an emotionally demanding service were additional sources of stress. Peer support and social support from friends and family were helpful in managing work-related stress. Discussion EDC operatives experience stress as a result of their work, which appears to be related to negative psychological health outcomes. Future research should explore the long-term effects of this stress, and the potential for workplace interventions to alleviate the negative impacts on psychological health. PROSPERO Registration Number CRD42014010806.

Health Behavioral Patterns Associated with Psychologic Distress Among Middle-Aged Korean Women

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Hye-Sook Shin, PhD, RN

2007-06-01

Conclusion: The study found cultural characteristics of middle-aged Korean women in psychologic distress. Health care providers should consider marital satisfaction, self-actualization, nutrition, and interpersonal relations, in particular, among Korean middle-aged women.

Markers of Psychological Differences and Social and Health Inequalities: Possible Genetic and Phenotypic Overlaps.

Science.gov (United States)

Mõttus, René; Marioni, Riccardo; Deary, Ian J

2017-02-01

Associations between markers of ostensible psychological characteristics and social and health inequalities are pervasive but difficult to explain. In some cases, there may be causal influence flowing from social and health inequalities to psychological differences, whereas sometimes it may be the other way around. Here, we focus on the possibility that some markers that we often consider as indexing different domains of individual differences may in fact reflect at least partially overlapping genetic and/or phenotypic bases. For example, individual differences in cognitive abilities and educational attainment appear to reflect largely overlapping genetic influences, whereas cognitive abilities and health literacy may be almost identical phenomena at the phenotypic, never mind genetic, level. We make the case for employing molecular genetic data and quantitative genetic techniques to better understand the associations of psychological individual differences with social and health inequalities. We illustrate these arguments by using published findings from the Lothian Birth Cohort and the Generation Scotland studies. We also present novel findings pertaining to longitudinal stability and change in older age personality traits and some correlates of the change, molecular genetic data-based heritability estimates of Neuroticism and Extraversion, and the genetic correlations of these personality traits with markers of social and health inequalities. © 2015 The Authors. Journal of Personality published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Measurement of psychological disorders using cognitive diagnosis models.

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Templin, Jonathan L; Henson, Robert A

2006-09-01

Cognitive diagnosis models are constrained (multiple classification) latent class models that characterize the relationship of questionnaire responses to a set of dichotomous latent variables. Having emanated from educational measurement, several aspects of such models seem well suited to use in psychological assessment and diagnosis. This article presents the development of a new cognitive diagnosis model for use in psychological assessment--the DINO (deterministic input; noisy "or" gate) model--which, as an illustrative example, is applied to evaluate and diagnose pathological gamblers. As part of this example, a demonstration of the estimates obtained by cognitive diagnosis models is provided. Such estimates include the probability an individual meets each of a set of dichotomous Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (text revision [DSM-IV-TR]; American Psychiatric Association, 2000) criteria, resulting in an estimate of the probability an individual meets the DSM-IV-TR definition for being a pathological gambler. Furthermore, a demonstration of how the hypothesized underlying factors contributing to pathological gambling can be measured with the DINO model is presented, through use of a covariance structure model for the tetrachoric correlation matrix of the dichotomous latent variables representing DSM-IV-TR criteria. Copyright 2006 APA

The Food Marketing Defense Model: Integrating Psychological Research to Protect Youth and Inform Public Policy

OpenAIRE

Harris, Jennifer L.; Brownell, Kelly D.; Bargh, John A.

2009-01-01

Marketing practices that promote calorie-dense, nutrient-poor foods directly to children and adolescents present significant public health risk. Worldwide, calls for government action and industry change to protect young people from the negative effects of food marketing have increased. Current proposals focus on restricting television advertising to children under 12 years old, but current psychological models suggest that much more is required. All forms of marketing pose considerable risk;...

Rapid psychological assessment of depression and its relationship with physical health among urban elderly

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Pavithra Cheluvaraj

2016-07-01

Full Text Available Background Old age is associated with increased occurrence of a wide array of Psychological impairments or losses, which might contribute to physical disabilities. As Depression has been identified as the most common aberration its rapid assessment would be able to identify the quality of individual and family life of the elderly. Aims To assess psychological health status with respect to depression among geriatric urban community, and the relationship of depression with health perception and physical health status has been explored. Methods A cross-sectional total geriatric population survey consisting of 254 elderly has been carried out at urban field practice area. A standard geriatric depression scale (Short form has been utilized to assess psychological status. Detailed physical examination and investigations with special reference to Diabetes, Hypertension and Visual defects was carried out. Data was analyzed to find out the relationship of various socio-demographic factors, physical morbidities with depression. Results Out of 254 elderly examined, 32 per cent females and 23 per cent males were found to be suffering from depressive disorders. When assessed for individual health status perception, 25 per cent felt to have good health. Out of 190 geriatric subjects perceiving fair to bad health, 110 were found to be suffering from depression (p<0.001. Depression was also found to be associated with history of hospital admission in the previous year (p<0.05, low vision (p<0.05, diabetes (p<0.01 and hypertension (p<0.01. Conclusion Depression among geriatric age group is associated with physical illness and perception of health.

Pragmatic nihilism: how a Theory of Nothing can help health psychology progress.

Science.gov (United States)

Peters, Gjalt-Jorn Ygram; Crutzen, Rik

2017-06-01

Health psychology developed a plethora of theories to explain and change a wide variety of behaviours. Several attempts have been undertaken to build integrative theories, some even striving for a Theory of Everything. We argue against these efforts, arguing that instead a 'pragmatic nihilism' perspective may be more fruitful to understand and change health behaviours. The first tenet of pragmatic nihilism is that psychological variables are usefully considered as metaphors rather than referring to entities that exist in the mind. As a consequence, the second tenet emphasizes theories' definitions and guidelines for the operationalisation of those variables. The third tenet of pragmatic nihilism is that each operationalisation represents an intersection of a variety of dimensions, such as behavioural specificity and duration, and most importantly, psychological aggregation level. Any operationalisation thus represents a number of choices regarding these dimensions. Pragmatic nihilism has two implications. First, it provides a foundation that enables integrating theories in a more flexible and accurate manner than made possible by integrative theories. Second, it emphasizes the importance of operationalisations, underlining the importance of investing in the careful development of measurement instruments, thorough reporting of measurement instruments' specifics and performance, and full disclosure of the instruments themselves.

Reimagining community health psychology: maps, journeys and new terrains.

Science.gov (United States)

Campbell, Catherine; Cornish, Flora

2014-01-01

This special issue celebrates and maps out the 'coming of age' of community health psychology, demonstrating its confident and productive expansion beyond its roots in the theory and practice of small-scale collective action in local settings. Articles demonstrate the field's engagement with the growing complexity of local and global inequalities, contemporary forms of collective social protest and developments in critical social science. These open up novel problem spaces for the application and extension of its theories and methods, deepening our understandings of power, identity, community, knowledge and social change - in the context of evolving understandings of the spatial, embodied, relational, collaborative and historical dimensions of health.

ANALYSIS OF PSYCHOLOGIC HEALTH STATE AND INFLUENCING FACTORS IN COLLEGE AND SECONDARY SCHOOL STUDENTS IN SHAANXI PROVINCE

Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

无

2000-01-01

Objective The psychologic health level of college and secondaryschool students and the relevant fac- tors were investigated to scientific basis and guidance for school mental health work. Methods Standard 1251 cases were drawn from 1% of students in colleges and middle schools of Shaanxi province. Taking 14 psychic health level indexes in SCL-90 as dependent variable and 109 indexes of psychic health back ground as in-dependent variable, multi-factor analyses have been made. Results 22.6 % of students had relatively serious psychological problems. The score of SCL-90 in females was a little bit higher than that in males. The scores of students at both universities and se- nior middle schools were higher than that in junior middle schools students. The score of SCL-90 of students who came from the countryside was higher than that of city students. The score of the whole students was higher than that of the normal. The students with psychic problems showed obsession, interpersonal sensitivity, depression, anxiety, paranoia and hostility. Factor-analysis showed that influencing factors included history of positive individual risking behavior, physical conditions,grade,address, family influences, menses and sexual prombles, bad relation with others, poor self-assessment. Conclusion The psychologic health level of the students investigated is lower than that of the whole society. The factors, which hamper psychic health of students, are biological ,psychological and social in nature.

Alcoholism and its Effects: an Approach Based on Health Psychology

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Maria de las Mercedes Pretel Olite

2014-11-01

Full Text Available Alcoholism is a complex biopsychosocial disorder that requires a specialised and multidisciplinary approach focusing on both the patient and the family. Alcohol consumption is the most important addiction worldwide due to its prevalence and impact. Therefore, the main objective of a primary care physician should be to facilitate the referral of patients and their families to a structured treatment, support and guidance program during the whole detoxification process. In every health area in Cienfuegos, there are community mental health centers with a staff trained to deal with these disorders in addicts and their family. A literature review was conducted to establish the relationship between alcohol consumption and its harmful effects on health, family and society, using an approach based on Health Psychology.

Conception and Organizational and Structural Models of Psychological Service in Education

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Zabrodin Yu.M.,

2016-12-01

Full Text Available The article is devoted to the discussion of the key problems of practical psychology of education and to formulation of the main principles of conception of the psychological service in education, which is considered as one of the most important elements of the whole educational system modernization. Based on the data obtained by the monitoring of the psychological service in Russian education, conducted in 2006-2008, as well as on the analysis of the research materials, the service development strategy is formulated that determines the key directions of its' work till 2020 year. The mechanism of this strategy realization will be formulated as a suggested structural and functional model of the psychological service in education. The variants of organization of psychological service in education on the federal, as well as regional and municipal levels, specified under the regional and other contextual peculiarities, can be applied in creating particular versions of psychological service aimed at the different categories: gifted children and children with special educational needs, orphans and deviant children, children that suffer difficulties in learning, etc. the example of concrete target model of work with child's giftedness is widely described in the article.

Athlete social support, negative social interactions and psychological health across a competitive sport season.

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DeFreese, J D; Smith, Alan L

2014-12-01

Social support and negative social interactions have implications for athlete psychological health, with potential to influence the links of stress-related experiences with burnout and well-being over time. Using a longitudinal design, perceived social support and negative social interactions were examined as potential moderators of the temporal stress-burnout and burnout-well-being relationships. American collegiate athletes (N = 465) completed reliable and valid online assessments of study variables at four time points during the competitive season. After controlling for dispositional and conceptually important variables, social support and negative social interactions did not moderate the stress-burnout or burnout-well-being relationships, respectively, but did simultaneously contribute to burnout and well-being across the competitive season. The results showcase the importance of sport-related social perceptions to athlete psychological outcomes over time and inform development of socially driven interventions to improve the psychological health of competitive athletes.

Contribution of the psychosocial work environment to psychological distress among health care professionals before and during a major organizational change.

Science.gov (United States)

Lavoie-Tremblay, Melanie; Bonin, Jean-Pierre; Lesage, Alain D; Bonneville-Roussy, Arielle; Lavigne, Geneviève L; Laroche, Dominique

2010-01-01

The aim of this study was to investigate the relationships between 4 dimensions of the psychosocial work environment (psychological demands, decision latitude, social support, and effort-reward) among health care professionals as well as their psychological distress during a reorganization process. A correlational descriptive design was used for this quantitative study. A total of 159 health care professionals completed the questionnaire at T1, and 141 at T2. First, before the work reorganization, effort-reward imbalance was the sole variable of the psychological work environment that significantly predicted psychological distress. Second, the high overall level of psychological distress increased during the process of organizational change (from T1 to T2). Finally, effort-reward imbalance, high psychological demands, and low decision latitude were all significant predictors of psychological distress at T2, during the organizational change. In conclusion, to reduce the expected negative outcomes of restructuring on health care practitioners, managers could increase the number of opportunities for rewards, carefully explain the demands, and clarify the tasks to be performed by each of the employees to reduce their psychological burden and increase their perceptions of autonomy.

John Henryism Active Coping, Acculturation, and Psychological Health in Korean Immigrants.

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Logan, Jeongok G; Barksdale, Debra J; James, Sherman A; Chien, Lung-Chang

2017-03-01

This study aimed to explore the levels of John Henryism (JH) active coping and its association with acculturation status and psychological health (specifically perceived stress, acculturative stress, anxiety, and depression) in Korean immigrants to the United States. In 102 Korean immigrants, JH active coping was measured by the JH Scale; acculturation by the Bidimensional Acculturation Scale; perceived stress by the Perceived Stress Scale; acculturative stress by the Social, Attitudinal, Familial, and Environmental Scale; anxiety by the State Anxiety Subscale of the Spielberger State-Trait Anxiety Inventory; and depression by the Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale. The levels of JH active coping in this sample of Korean immigrants appear to be lower than the levels reported in other racial groups. Independent of demographic factors, JH active coping was a significant predictor of higher acculturation status and better psychological health as indicated by lower levels of perceived stress, acculturative stress, anxiety, and depressive symptoms.

Modeling Psychological Contract Violation using Dual Regime Models: An Event-based Approach.

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Hofmans, Joeri

2017-01-01

A good understanding of the dynamics of psychological contract violation requires theories, research methods and statistical models that explicitly recognize that violation feelings follow from an event that violates one's acceptance limits, after which interpretative processes are set into motion, determining the intensity of these violation feelings. Whereas theories-in the form of the dynamic model of the psychological contract-and research methods-in the form of daily diary research and experience sampling research-are available by now, the statistical tools to model such a two-stage process are still lacking. The aim of the present paper is to fill this gap in the literature by introducing two statistical models-the Zero-Inflated model and the Hurdle model-that closely mimic the theoretical process underlying the elicitation violation feelings via two model components: a binary distribution that models whether violation has occurred or not, and a count distribution that models how severe the negative impact is. Moreover, covariates can be included for both model components separately, which yields insight into their unique and shared antecedents. By doing this, the present paper offers a methodological-substantive synergy, showing how sophisticated methodology can be used to examine an important substantive issue.

What impact do questionnaire length and monetary incentives have on mailed health psychology survey response?

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Robb, Kathryn A; Gatting, Lauren; Wardle, Jane

2017-11-01

Response rates to health-related surveys are declining. This study tested two strategies to improve the response rate to a health psychology survey mailed through English general practices: (1) sending a shortened questionnaire and (2) offering a monetary incentive to return a completed questionnaire. Randomized controlled trial. Adults (n = 4,241) aged 45-59 years, from four General Practices in South-East England, were mailed a survey on attitudes towards bowel cancer screening. Using a 2 × 4 factorial design, participants were randomized to receive a 'short' (four A4 pages) or a 'long' (seven A4 pages) questionnaire, and one of four monetary incentives to return a completed questionnaire - (1) no monetary incentive, (2) £2.50 shop voucher, (3) £5.00 shop voucher, and (4) inclusion in a £250 shop voucher prize draw. Age, gender, and area-level deprivation were obtained from the General Practices. The overall response rate was 41% (n = 1,589). Response to the 'short' questionnaire (42%) was not significantly different from the 'long' questionnaire (40%). The £2.50 incentive (43%) significantly improved response rates in univariate analyses, and remained significant after controlling for age, gender, area-level deprivation, and questionnaire length. The £5.00 (42%) and £250 prize draw (41%) incentives had no significant impact on response rates compared to no incentive (38%). A small monetary incentive (£2.50) may slightly increase response to a mailed health psychology survey. The length of the questionnaire (four pages vs. seven pages) did not influence response. Although frequently used, entry into a prize draw did not increase response. Achieving representative samples remains a challenge for health psychology. Statement of contribution What is already known on this subject Response rates to mailed questionnaires continue to decline, threatening the representativeness of data. Prize draw incentives are frequently used but there is little evidence

Medical Students' Death Anxiety: Severity and Association With Psychological Health and Attitudes Toward Palliative Care.

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Thiemann, Pia; Quince, Thelma; Benson, John; Wood, Diana; Barclay, Stephen

2015-09-01

Death anxiety (DA) is related to awareness of the reality of dying and death and can be negatively related to a person's psychological health. Physicians' DA also may influence their care for patients approaching death. Doctors face death in a professional context for the first time at medical school, but knowledge about DA among medical students is limited. This study examined medical students' DA in relation to: 1) its severity, gender differences, and trajectory during medical education and 2) its associations with students' attitudes toward palliative care and their psychological health. Four cohorts of core science and four cohorts of clinical students at the University of Cambridge Medical School took part in a questionnaire survey with longitudinal follow-up. Students who provided data on the revised Collett-Lester Fear of Death Scale were included in the analysis (n = 790). Medical students' DA was moderate, with no gender differences and remained very stable over time. High DA was associated with higher depression and anxiety levels and greater concerns about the personal impact of providing palliative care. The associations between high DA and lower psychological health and negative attitudes toward palliative care are concerning. It is important to address DA during medical education to enhance student's psychological health and the quality of their future palliative care provision. Copyright © 2015 American Academy of Hospice and Palliative Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Modelling efficient innovative work: integration of economic and social psychological approaches

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Babanova Yulia

2017-01-01

Full Text Available The article deals with the relevance of integration of economic and social psychological approaches to the solution of enhancing the efficiency of innovation management. The content, features and specifics of the modelling methods within each of approaches are unfolded and options of integration are considered. The economic approach lies in the generation of the integrated matrix concept of management of innovative development of an enterprise in line with the stages of innovative work and the use of the integrated vector method for the evaluation of the innovative enterprise development level. The social psychological approach lies in the development of a system of psychodiagnostic indexes of activity resources within the scope of psychological innovative audit of enterprise management and development of modelling methods for the balance of activity trends. Modelling the activity resources is based on the system of equations accounting for the interaction type of psychodiagnostic indexes. Integration of two approaches includes a methodological level, a level of empirical studies and modelling methods. There are suggested options of integrating the economic and psychological approaches to analyze available material and non-material resources of the enterprises’ innovative work and to forecast an optimal option of development based on the implemented modelling methods.

Health Professionals' Explanations of Suicidal Behaviour: Effects of Professional Group, Theoretical Intervention Model, and Patient Suicide Experience.

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Rothes, Inês Areal; Henriques, Margarida Rangel

2017-12-01

In a help relation with a suicidal person, the theoretical models of suicidality can be essential to guide the health professional's comprehension of the client/patient. The objectives of this study were to identify health professionals' explanations of suicidal behaviors and to study the effects of professional group, theoretical intervention models, and patient suicide experience in professionals' representations. Two hundred and forty-two health professionals filled out a self-report questionnaire. Exploratory principal components analysis was used. Five explanatory models were identified: psychological suffering, affective cognitive, sociocommunicational, adverse life events, and psychopathological. Results indicated that the psychological suffering and psychopathological models were the most valued by the professionals, while the sociocommunicational was seen as the least likely to explain suicidal behavior. Differences between professional groups were found. We concluded that training and reflection on theoretical models in general and in communicative issues in particular are needed in the education of health professionals.

Mindfulness is associated with psychological health and moderates pain in knee osteoarthritis.

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Lee, A C; Harvey, W F; Price, L L; Morgan, L P K; Morgan, N L; Wang, C

2017-06-01

Previous studies suggest that higher mindfulness is associated with less pain and depression. However, the role of mindfulness has never been studied in knee osteoarthritis (OA). We evaluate the relationships between mindfulness and pain, psychological symptoms, and quality of life in knee OA. We performed a secondary analysis of baseline data from our randomized comparative trial in participants with knee OA. Mindfulness was assessed using the Five Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire (FFMQ). We measured pain, physical function, quality of life, depression, stress, and self-efficacy with commonly-used patient-reported measures. Simple and multivariable regression models were utilized to assess associations between mindfulness and health outcomes. We further tested whether mindfulness moderated the pain-psychological outcome associations. Eighty patients were enrolled (60.3 ± 10.3 years; 76.3% female, body mass index: 33.0 ± 7.1 kg/m 2 ). Total mindfulness score was associated with mental (beta = 1.31, 95% CI: 0.68, 1.95) and physical (beta = 0.69, 95% CI:0.06, 1.31) component quality of life, self-efficacy (beta = 0.22, 95% CI:0.07, 0.37), depression (beta = -1.15, 95% CI:-1.77, -0.54), and stress (beta = -1.07, 95% CI:-1.53, -0.60). Of the five facets, the Describing, Acting-with-Awareness, and Non-judging mindfulness facets had the most associations with psychological health. No significant association was found between mindfulness and pain or function (P = 0.08-0.24). However, we found that mindfulness moderated the effect of pain on stress (P = 0.02). Mindfulness is associated with depression, stress, self-efficacy, and quality of life among knee OA patients. Mindfulness also moderates the influence of pain on stress, which suggests that mindfulness may alter the way one copes with pain. Future studies examining the benefits of mind-body therapy, designed to increase mindfulness, for patients with OA are warranted. Copyright © 2016

Living with a concealable stigmatized identity: the impact of anticipated stigma, centrality, salience, and cultural stigma on psychological distress and health.

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Quinn, Diane M; Chaudoir, Stephenie R

2009-10-01

The current research provides a framework for understanding how concealable stigmatized identities impact people's psychological well-being and health. The authors hypothesize that increased anticipated stigma, greater centrality of the stigmatized identity to the self, increased salience of the identity, and possession of a stigma that is more strongly culturally devalued all predict heightened psychological distress. In Study 1, the hypotheses were supported with a sample of 300 participants who possessed 13 different concealable stigmatized identities. Analyses comparing people with an associative stigma to those with a personal stigma showed that people with an associative stigma report less distress and that this difference is fully mediated by decreased anticipated stigma, centrality, and salience. Study 2 sought to replicate the findings of Study 1 with a sample of 235 participants possessing concealable stigmatized identities and to extend the model to predicting health outcomes. Structural equation modeling showed that anticipated stigma and cultural stigma were directly related to self-reported health outcomes. Discussion centers on understanding the implications of intraindividual processes (anticipated stigma, identity centrality, and identity salience) and an external process (cultural devaluation of stigmatized identities) for mental and physical health among people living with a concealable stigmatized identity. 2009 APA, all rights reserved.

The effects of workplace occupational mental health and related activities on psychological distress among workers: a multilevel cross-sectional analysis.

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Eguchi, Hisashi; Tsuda, Yoko; Tsukahara, Teruomi; Washizuka, Shinsuke; Kawakami, Norito; Nomiyama, Tetsuo

2012-08-01

To investigate the association of workplace occupational mental health (OMH) and related activities with psychological distress of workers in Japan. A total of 121 workplaces and their 3540 workers were surveyed using questionnaires assessing selected workplace OMH activities, demographic characteristics, psychological distress, and psychosocial work environment of the workers. A multilevel analysis was conducted. Promotion of communication correlated significantly and negatively with psychological distress among workers after adjusting for the covariates (P health activities correlated marginally significantly and negatively with psychological distress (P = 0.06). Their moderating effect for the worker-level association between psychosocial work environment and psychological distress was not significant. The findings suggest that promotion of communication in the workplace is associated with reduced psychological distress among workers. In addition, OMH activities may also be useful in reducing psychological distress.

Psychological health and life experiences of pregnant adolescent mothers in Jamaica.

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Wilson-Mitchell, Karline; Bennett, Joanna; Stennett, Rosain

2014-04-30

A recent Jamaican school-based survey revealed that 23.1% of 13-15 year-olds, had attempted suicide one or more times during the last 12 months. Research that links adolescent pregnancy and suicidal behaviour is lacking in Jamaica. Psychological distress and suicidal behaviours amongst pregnant adolescents elsewhere in the Americas has been documented at prevalence of between 13.3%-20%. The purpose of the study was to explore the experiences and the impact of pregnancy on pregnant adolescent psychological health. Individual interviews and focus groups were conducted with adolescents in two Jamaican antenatal clinics. One clinic was designed as a 'Teen Pregnancy Clinic' and the other used the standard antenatal clinic design. The following themes were identified: decision-making, resilience, social support, community support system, distress, and perceptions of service. Participants reported positively on the specific interventions tailored to their needs at the Teen Clinic. Although motherhood is valued, none of the pregnancies in this study were planned by the mother. Of the 30 adolescents interviewed, seven cases were referred for counseling due to their need for emotional and psychological support. One of the adolescents reported recent sexual violence and another reported having experienced childhood sexual abuse. Historically, Jamaican adolescent mothers faced barriers to education, self determination, and family planning. Empowering, adolescent-centred healthcare and comprehensive reproductive health education may mitigate psychosocial distress.

Psychological Health and Life Experiences of Pregnant Adolescent Mothers in Jamaica