Coping : gender differences in mediating the relationship between social anxiety and depression
- Authors: Moore, Kathleen , Alexi, Nektarios , Argyrides, Marios
- Date: 2020
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: North American Journal of Psychology Vol. 22, no. 4 (2020), p. 543-554
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- Description: Social anxiety is a debilitating condition for many people, and if it is untreated can lead to depression. It was our contention that proactive coping strategies would mediate this relationship. As the incidence data for social anxiety and depression differ by gender, we aimed to test our hypothesis by gender. Two hundred and twenty-one Cypriot-Greek university students (62 males) with a mean age of 24.82 years (SD = 4.97) completed Greek versions of the Social Phobia Inventory, The Deakin Coping Scale, and the Centre for Epidemiological Studies-Depression scale. Following tests of invariance and common method variance, we ascertained significant direct paths between social anxiety and depression for males and females. Coping significantly mediated this relationship but only for females. Clearly for females, promoting proactive coping strategies is likely to directly reduce depression, as well as having a mediating role between social anxiety and depression. Implications for clinicians and future research are discussed. © NAJP.
Impact of meditation on physical and mental health and life satisfaction
- Authors: Alexi, Nektarios , Moore, Kathleen
- Date: 2012
- Type: Text , Book chapter
- Relation: Stress and Anxiety: Application to Economic Hardship, Occupational Demands, and Developmental Challenges Chapter 9 p. 99-106
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- Description: Many people in the western world perceive the practice of mediation as a mystic, exotic practice beyond the boundaries of everyday life; meditation is often associated by non-practioners with a specific life style, diet , and specific activities in which a meditation practioner should engage. The focus of this paper is to ascertain if the practise of meditation has an impact of people's well-being. Data from 100 participants of whom 50 were regular practioners of meditation and 50 volunteers from the community were available for analysis. All participants provided demographic data on gender and age, and completed a questionnaire containing the Beck Depression Inventory, Perceived Stress Scale, Diener's life satisfaction scale, and Pennebaker's Health Questionnaire. Results indicated that those who practiced meditation reported less depressive symptomology and greater life satisfaction but there were no differences on physical health symptoms or stress levels after controlling for years practising meditation. Implication of these findings will be discussed.
Openness to help-seeking for mental illness among Greek-Cypriots
- Authors: Alexi, Nektarios , Moore, Kathleen , Argyrides, Marios
- Date: 2018
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Health Promotion International Vol. 33, no. 6 (2018), p.990-998
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- Description: The aim of this study was to test a model of people’s willingness to seek help for mental illness whether currently diagnosed or not. A cross-sectional design was used to test this model in a non-clinical convenience sample of Greek-Cypriots. Participants were 196 Greek-Cypriots living in Cyprus (age M = 34.50 years, SD = 14.16). They provided demographic data on their age, gender, SES and whether diagnosed or not with a mental illness, from whom they have/would seek help for a mental illness, and their willingness to seek help. They completed the Inventory of Attitudes towards Seeking Mental Health Services, the Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Support, and the Practical Barriers in Seeking Mental Health Services Scales, translated into Greek for this study. Approximately 24% of the sample reported being diagnosed with a mental illness within the past 12 months, and around a third of these people were taking prescribed medication. Willingness to seek help across all participants was predicted negatively by stigma and positively by openness to help. The findings of the current study extend our previous limited understanding of the factors affecting people’s willingness to seek help or their intentions towards the use of mental health services among Greek-Cypriots. Future research should consider whether there are any differences in help-seeking behaviours and motivations across people experiencing different disorders. Despite this limitation in the current data, these results can, in general terms, be used to inform policy in Cyprus for mental health promotions and interventions especially with respect to fostering an open attitude towards mental illness.
Psychometric properties of the center for epidemiological studies-depression scale (CES-D) - Greek Version
- Authors: Moore, Kathleen , Alexi, Nektarios , Argyrides, Marios
- Date: 2016
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Hellenic Journal of Psychology Vol. 13, no. 1 (2016), p. 74-87
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- Description: A Greek translation of the Center for Epidemiological Studies-Depression Scale (CES-D) was examined in a sample of 221 Greek-Cypriots (M age 24.82 years). Results provide partial support for Radloff's original factor structure, the factors' internal reliability and independence, and the comparability of total scalemeans to the scale's normative data.Women scored higher on the total scale scores thanmen and also higher on the depressed, interpersonal and somatic factors, but not the positive factor, than men. The incidence of depression using Radloff's cut-point of 16 was lower in this Greek-Cypriot sample but aligned with Kessler's (2003) estimate of the incidence of depression in the general community.
Psychometric properties of the Greek translation of the social phobia inventory
- Authors: Argyrides, Marios , Alexi, Nektarios , Moore, Kathleen
- Date: 2014
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Hellenic Journal of Psychology Vol. 11, no. (2014), p. 47-55
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- Description: In the current study we examined the psychometric properties of the Greek adaptation of the Social Phobic Inventory (SoPhI) (Moore & Gee, 2003). The questionnaire is a 21-item self-report measure that assesses social anxiety based on the criteria of the DSM-IV-TR and DSM-5. A total of 221 university students volunteered to complete the SoPhI. Exploratory Principal Components Analysis indicated the presence of a single factor explaining 38% of the variance. The internal reliability was strong (· = .92). These results provide evidence for the utility of this instrument to assess social anxiety in countries where Greek is spoken as well as for research involving cross-cultural comparisons. Future directions in research using this instrument are discussed.
Seeking help for mental illness : A qualitative study among greekaustralians and Anglo-Australians
- Authors: Alexi, Nektarios , Moore, Kathleen
- Date: 2016
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Hellenic Journal of Psychology Vol. 13, no. 1 (2016), p. 1-12
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- Description: Des ite the high revalence of mental illness, research indicates that many eo le who ex erience mental illness do not access hel and therefore go unnecessarily without treatment. It was the aim in this study to investigate reasons why eo le do not seek hel for mental illness and to determine if there were any cultural differences between Anglo- Australians and the large Greek-Australian o ulation. Nine Greek-Australians (six males) (age M = 29.84 years, SD = 8.75) and eight Anglo-Australians (one male) (age M = 34.93 years, SD =14.10) artici ated in interviews focused on their attitudes towards, and willingness to seek hel for, mental illness. Results revealed artici ants had a oor understanding of mental illness er se, and in terms of hel seeking suggested similar factors to those re orted in the literature. Partici ants indicated embarrassment is associated with mental illness des ite ongoing media cam aigns and awareness-raising concerning mental illness.While both grou s acknowledged that rofessional hel may be useful they stressed the im ortance of a trusting and confidential relationshi with the thera ist. Anglo-Australians sam led were somewhat more willing to utilise rofessional help , while the Greek-Australian artici ants were more likely, in the first instance, to seek-out informal su ort such as from a riest.
Stressed, anxious, depressed? : Why not seek help?
- Authors: Moore, Kathleen , Alexi, Nektarios
- Date: 2018
- Type: Text , Book chapter
- Relation: Stress and Anxiety: Theories and realities Chapter 4 p. 45-51
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- Description: Mental illness is a serious health problem across the world. Over the past 30 years, considerable effort has been expended to provide the public with knowledge about mental health problems, to correct false beliefs concerning the mentally ill, and to increase the accessibility of mental health services for those in need (J orm, 2011; Leaf, Bruce, Tischler & Holzer, 1987). Evidence indicates that over this period the public has become more knowledgeable about mental illness (Crocetti, Spiro & Siassi, 1974; Jorm, 2000, 2011) and while there has been an increase in the proportion of the population seeking help for mental and emotional problems this figure remains low (Andrew & Henderson, 2000; Veroff, Kulka & Douvan, 1981). It is the aim in this chapter to discuss why this might be so.