Differences in anxiety, insomnia, and trauma symptoms in wildfire survivors from australia, canada, and the United States of America
- Authors: Isaac, Fadia , Toukhsati, Samia , Klein, Britt , Di Benedetto, Mirella , Kennedy, Gerard
- Date: 2024
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health Vol. 21, no. 1 (2024), p.
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- Description: Many survivors of wildfires report elevated levels of psychological distress following the trauma of wildfires. However, there is only limited research on the effects of wildfires on mental health. This study examined differences in anxiety, depression, insomnia, sleep quality, nightmares, and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms following wildfires in Australia, Canada, and the United States of America (USA). One hundred and twenty-six participants from Australia, Canada, and the USA completed an online survey. The sample included 102 (81%) women, 23 (18.3%) men, and one non-binary (0.8%) individual. Participants were aged between 20 and 92 years (M age = 52 years, SD = 14.4). They completed a demographic questionnaire, the Disturbing Dream and Nightmare Severity Index (DDNSI), Generalized Anxiety Disorder Questionnaire (GAD-7), the Insomnia Severity Index (ISI), Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9), the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), and PTSD Checklist (PCL-5). Results showed that participants from the USA scored significantly higher on the GAD-7 (p = 0.009), ISI (p = 0.003), and PCL-5 (p = 0.021) than participants from Australia and Canada. The current findings suggest a need for more international collaboration to reduce the severity of mental health conditions in Australia, Canada, and the USA. © 2023 by the authors.
The roles of depression, life control and affective distress on treatment attendance and perceived disability in chronic back pain sufferers throughout the duration of the condition
- Authors: Oraison, Humberto , Loton, Daniel , Kennedy, Gerard
- Date: 2023
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health Vol. 20, no. 19 (2023), p.
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- Description: The aims of this study were to examine psychological factors that predict treatment seeking and disability over the total duration of experiencing back pain. A sample of 201 adults experiencing chronic back pain was recruited through health professionals and completed the Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scale (DASS), the Oswestry Back Pain Disability Questionnaire (ODQ), the McGill Pain Questionnaire (MPQ) and the life control and affective distress variables of the West Haven–Yale Multidimensional Pain Inventory (WHYMP), and participants disclosed the number of treatment sessions attended over the course of the illness. Depression, life control and affective distress were tested as indirect predictors of disability severity that were mediated by treatment attendance. Each unit increase in life control predicted attending nearly 30 more treatment sessions, each unit increase in affective distress predicted attending 16 fewer treatments and each unit increase in depression predicted 4 fewer treatments, together explaining 44% of variance in treatment seeking. The effects of life control and affective distress on disability were explained by treatment attendance, whereas depression retained a direct effect on disability. Treatment attendance had an effect on disability. The findings show that participants with lower life control and higher affective distress and depression had higher levels of pain and disability, in part due to due to their treatment-seeking behaviour. © 2023 by the authors.
Anxiety and Depression After a Cardiac Event: Prevalence and Predictors
- Authors: Murphy, Barbara , Le Grande, Michael , Alvarenga, Marlies , Worcester, Marian , Jackson, Alun
- Date: 2020
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Frontiers in Psychology Vol. 10, no. (2020), p.
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- Description: Introduction: Patients who are anxious or depressed after an acute cardiac event are at increased risk of a subsequent event and premature death. It is therefore important to identify these patients early in order to initiate supportive or even preventive measures. In the present study, we report on the prevalence of anxiety and depression during the first 12 months after an acute cardiac event, and the patient characteristics predictive of increased anxiety and depression risk in early and late convalescence. Methods: We recruited a sample of 911 patients with acute myocardial infarction (AMI), acute coronary syndrome (ACS), and/or unstable angina (UA), and/or undergoing coronary artery bypass graft surgery (CABGS). Patients completed the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) close to the time of their event, and again during early (2–4 months post-event) and late (6–12 months post-event) convalescence. Using HADS-A and HADS-D cut-offs of 8+, prevalence rates for anxiety, depression, and comorbid anxiety and depression were determined for each timepoint. Chi-square tests and odds ratios were used to identify baseline patient characteristics associated with increased anxiety and depression risk over 12 months. Results: Anxiety rates were 43, 28, and 27% at the time of the event, early, and late convalescence. Depression rates were 22, 17, and 15%, respectively. Factors consistently associated with increased anxiety and depression risk were history of depression, financial strain, poor self-rated health, low socioeconomic status, younger age (<55 years), and smoking. Obesity, diabetes, and social isolation (living alone or being unpartnered) were identified as important albeit less significant risk factors. Neither sex nor event type were predictive of anxiety or depression. Conclusion: This large patient sample provided the opportunity to identify rates of anxiety and depression during the 12 months after a cardiac event and key patient characteristics for increased risk. These risk factors are easily identifiable at the time of the event, and could be used to guide the targeting of support programs for patients at risk. © Copyright © 2020 Murphy, Le Grande, Alvarenga, Worcester and Jackson.
Investigating cumulative effects of preperformance routine interventions in beach volleyball serving
- Authors: Wergin, Vanessa , Beckmann, Jurgen , Gröpel, Peter , Mesagno, Christopher
- Date: 2020
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: PLoS ONE Vol. 15, no. 1 (2020), p.
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- Description: Pre-performance routines (PPRs) can be used in certain sports to minimize the effects of choking under pressure. This study aimed to investigate the cumulative effectiveness of PPR interventions on the accuracy of beach volleyball serves. Fifty-four beach volleyball players were randomly assigned to one of three PPR intervention groups or a control group. Participants performed 10 serves at a target on the opposite side of the beach volleyball court (pretest), were educated on a PPR intervention, and then completed 10 serves at the target under pressure that was induced through videotaping and ego-relevant instructions (posttest). The results indicated no difference in post-test serving accuracy among the intervention groups and the wait-list control group and no difference in effectiveness between cumulative and isolated PPR use. A possible explanation may be the inefficiency of the pressure manipulation. However, the null results related to isolated and cumulative PPR use under general (i.e., no pressure) conditions are still an important research finding. Future research should investigate the effectiveness of cumulative and other PPRs in other sports in general and under pressure. © 2020 Wergin et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.