Description:
Stress can have negative implications not only for the individual but also the family, organ isation and society as a whole. The way in which individuals perceive their environment directly influences their coping response. The use of mindfulness in daily life may promote more adaptive coping styles by mitigating the rumination and overlay of habitual cognitions and behaviours. The aim of the current study was to investigate the relationship between mindfulness and levels of perceived stress and use of coping strategies in a sample from the general population. A total of ll2. participants (41 males) were recruited via snowball sam pling through the social network website Facebook. All participants completed an online questionnaire consisting of the Mindfulness Attention Awareness Scale (Brown & Ryan, 2003), the Perceived Stress Scale (Roth & Cohen, 1986), and the Deakin Coping Scale (Moore, 2003). Results using Multidimensional Scaling show that mindfulness was separate from perceived stress and use of avoidant coping strategies, while the positive coping strategies clustered be tween mindfulness and stress and avoidance. Correlational techniques add support to the finding that mindfulness is related to appraisal of the demand/situation while negatively related to avoidant coping and stress. Limitations of the current study and directions for future research are discussed.
Description:
Most people find times of transition stressful, such as commencing a new job or moving house. In this study, our aim was to investigate stress reported by students as they commenced university. Specifically, we aimed to investigate whether stress levels and perceived social support levels differed among students (i.e., metropolitan and rural and regional) who moved house to commence university and those who did not. Results from 551 students (144 males) indicated that 88% of all students rated the level of stress associated with commencing university as being above the mid-point on a 5-pt Likert scale. The stress of commencing university was higher among rural and regional students who left home to study than it was among metropolitan students who shifted house. In addition, the stress associated with moving house significantly predicted both metropolitan and rural and regional students’ ratings on the stress of commencing university. There were no group differences in perceptions of available social support when commencing university. Results of this study, especially for rural and regional students, are discussed in terms of student welfare, and ways to ameliorate the potential stress and depression associated with commencing university and shifting house.
Description:
Most people find times of transition stressful, such as commencing a new job or moving house. In this study, our aim was to investigate stress reported by students as they commenced university. Specifically, we aimed to investigate whether stress levels and perceived social support levels differed among students (i.e., metropolitan and rural and regional) who moved house to commence university and those who did not. Results from 551 students (144 males) indicated that 88% of all students rated the level of stress associated with commencing university as being above the mid-point on a 5-pt Likert scale. The stress of commencing university was higher among rural and regional students who left home to study than it was among metropolitan students who shifted house. In addition, the stress associated with moving house significantly predicted both metropolitan and rural and regional students’ ratings on the stress of commencing university. There were no group differences in perceptions of available social support when commencing university. Results of this study, especially for rural and regional students, are discussed in terms of student welfare, and ways to ameliorate the potential stress and depression associated with commencing university and shifting house.
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.
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.
Description:
Mindfulness has become somewhat of a catchphrase in recent times: meditation is often said to be mindful as it sustains attention on par-ticular external or internal objects such as concepts, sounds (mantras), or bodily sensations that are frequently associated with breathing (Vestergaard- Poulsen et al., 2009). Yoga too has mindful elements in that it teaches us to take a breath and respond from a position of calm to stress or anxiety (Campbell and Moore, 2004), and even colouring books are available today to help us develop our mindfulness. So what is it? When I was young, and maybe you too, mindful was when one watched one’s behaviour or took care of others; it was basically a direction to be courteous of self and to others. Even David asked, ‘When I consider thy heavens, the work of thy fingers, the moon and the stars which thou hast ordained; what is man, that thou art mindful of him?’ (Psalms 8.4). Yet it also had elements we see today, for instance: ‘I’m mindful of your need to. . .’, which resonates with awareness, a component of current definitions of mindfulness.
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.
Description:
Occupational stress is a principal workplace concern because of the deleterious effects it can have both for employees and the organisation. Much research has investigated the impact of workplace demands on the physical and mental health of employees and related organizational outcomes, such as loss of productivity and intention to quit. Such studies often have included factors such as job control as a mediating variable and role demands as stressors. Despite sophisticated analyses, the relationships among these factors have not been elucidated clearly or consistently. It is the aim in this paper to explore the linear relationship among three distinct groups of factors previously identified in the literature, stressors: workplace demands, work to family conflict; mediators: job control and sense of challenge; and outcome variables: burnout, somatic symptoms, job satisfaction, professional efficacy and intention to quit in a sample of 126 call centre representatives (59% female; age M = 27.3 years, SD = 8.18) from 11 call centres in metropolitan Melbourne. The results of a Multidimensional Scaling Analysis indicate four clusters: work related variables including role ambiguity, excessive performance monitoring, thoughts of quitting, role conflict; personal outcomes: work-family conflict and somatic symptoms; job impact outcomes: depersonalisation and emotional exhaustion, to positive outcomes: professional efficacy and job satisfaction. These quadrants can be used to suggest a progressive relationship from stressors through job control, a sense of problem-solving to either positive or negative outcomes. While these results are cross-sectional and must be interpreted with caution, a pivotal point of the MDS map suggests that participants' level of timing and method and attention demanded by their role might be factors which differentiate the two outcomes.
Description:
A substantial level of depression and anxiety is experienced by women in the perinatal period. This distress might be exacerbated for women in the Northern Territory who reside there temporarily as a function of family-work circumstances and hence may have a limited local social support network; while other women, most notably Indigenous women, who live remotely, might experience issues because of distance, culture, and language. There is limited research concerning depression and anxiety in the perinatal period among women living in these rural and remote areas or in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities. It is generally considered however, that the incidence will be at least on a par with the general population. Many women no matter their cultural or social circumstances fail to seek help from primary care professionals for emotional distress during the perinatal period and indeed, such distress often is not detected even during routine health visits. These low detection and help-seeking rates can lower the quality of life and increase the morbidity rate among these women in later life, and potentially have an impact on their offspring and partners. Women in rural and remote regions who do seek help may face additional barriers in accessing and/or completing a sequence of treatment. In this paper, we propose a model of help-seeking which is specific to women in the perinatal period taking account of rural and remote factors. The model remains to be validated but the importance of determining factors which influence women’s decision to seek help for psychological issues during this time cannot be overemphasised.
The Social Phobia Inventory (SoPhI): Validity and reliability in an adolescent population [Social Phobia Inventory (SoPhI): Validez y fiabilidad en una poblacin adolescente
Description:
Although there are numerous self-report measures to assess social anxiety in adults, and an increasing number in adolescents, only one scale designed during the last decade, the Social Phobia Inventory (SoPhI; Moore & Gee, 2003) has included an item to tap DSM-IV criterion F of social anxiety disorder (i.e. social anxiety must be present for at least six months). However, questions remain regarding the validity of the SoPhI in other languages and cultures. To address this problem the SoPhI was administered in two studies: firstly, to 457 adolescents from a community sample in order to test the internal consistency and factor analysis of the scale; and secondly, to a clinical sample comprising 114 participants with a principal diagnosis of social anxiety disorder, and a control group consisting of 78 adolescents with no diagnosis of social anxiety disorder. The scale showed good psychometric properties, including test-retest reliability, convergent validity, internal consistency, and a single-factor structure similar to the original study. Together these findings support the use of the SoPhI in a language other than English and for this range of ages.
Description:
Although there are numerous self-report measures to assess social anxiety in adults, and an increasing number in adolescents, only one scale designed during the last decade, the Social Phobia Inventory (SoPhI; Moore & Gee, 2003) has included an item to tap DSM-IV criterion F of social anxiety disorder (i.e. social anxiety must be present for at least six months). However, questions remain regarding the validity of the SoPhI in other languages and cultures. To address this problem the SoPhI was administered in two studies: firstly, to 457 adolescents from a community sample in order to test the internal consistency and factor analysis of the scale; and secondly, to a clinical sample comprising 114 participants with a principal diagnosis of social anxiety disorder, and a control group consisting of 78 adolescents with no diagnosis of social anxiety disorder. The scale showed good psychometric properties, including test-retest reliability, convergent validity, internal consistency, and a single-factor structure similar to the original study. Together these findings support the use of the SoPhI in a language other than English and for this range of ages.
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.
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.
Description:
Early attachment relationships are important, as the bonds made with significant others in childhood affect the emotional and physical health of individuals throughout life. The aim of this study was to explore how early Attachment relationships relate to levels of Resilience, and how these are related to levels of perceived stress and use of coping strategies. It was hypothesised that individuals with a secure attachment style would relate to higher levels of Resilience, and these variables in turn would correlate positively with proactive coping strategies and negatively with perceived stress. A cross-sectional sample of 196 volunteers (16 males, age M = 38.63 years, SD = 15.56 and 180 females, age M = 32.74 years, SD = 9.98) completed an online questionnaire assessing Attachment style, Resilience, perceived Stress, and coping styles. The results indicated a secure attachment style correlated with Resilience (r = .55). Both Secure attachment and Resilience correlated with greater use of proactive coping strategies (r > .24), and negatively with ratings of stress (r = -.20 and -.53, respectively). An exploratory analysis failed to support Resilience as a mediator of Attachment on Stress. Directions for future studies and implications of the findings are also discussed.
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.
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.
Description:
Exercise has been shown to have numerous health benefits including reductions in anxiety. Despite the known benefits of exercise, few people actually engaged in the recommended level of health activity. One major reason people report for their failure to exercise is a lack of time. The aims in this study were to determine 1) whether or not exercisers do report lower levels of anxiety than non-exercisers, 2) if non-exercisers have less discretionary time than exercisers and 3) to compare exercisers and non-exercisers on their time structure. One hundred and thirty-one volunteers (70% females) provided information on their typical exercise behavior, completed the anxiety subscale of the Profile of Mood States, and the Time Structure Questionnaire. Results indicate a tendency for non-exercising females to report higher scores on anxiety than all other participants, that exercisers were more focused on task completion, and that there is no difference in the discretionary time of exercisers and non-exercisers thus challenging the myth that lack of time prevents people from exercising. These results are discussed in terms of future programs.
Description:
OBJECTIVE: We investigated elementary school children's ability to use a variety of Likert response formats to respond to concrete and abstract items. METHODS: 111 children, aged 6-13 years, responded to 2 physical tasks that required them to make objectively verifiable judgments, using a 5-point response format. Then, using 25 items, we ascertained the consistency between responses using a "gold standard" yes/no format and responses using 5-point Likert formats including numeric values, as well as word-based frequencies, similarities to self, and agreeability. RESULTS: All groups responded similarly to the physical tasks. For the 25 items, the use of numbers to signify agreement yielded low concordance with the yes/no answer format across age-groups. Formats based on words provided higher, but not perfect, concordance for all groups. CONCLUSIONS: Researchers and clinicians need to be aware of the limited understanding that children have of Likert response formats.
Description:
The severity of obsessive compulsive symptoms (OCS) is suggested to be normally distributed in the general population, and they appear to have an impact on a range of aspects of adolescent development. Importantly, there are individual differences regarding susceptibility to OCS. In the present repeated measures study, OCS were studied in relation to gender and emotional stability (as a personality trait) using a normative sample of 515 adolescents at ages 16 and 18 years. OCS were assessed with the relevant subscale of the SCL-90-R and emotional stability with the Five Factor Questionnaire. A three-level hierarchical linear model was calculated to longitudinally assess the over time variations of OCS and their over time links to gender and emotional stability, while controlling for random effects due to the nesting of the data. Experiencing OCS increased with age (between 16 and 18 years). Additionally, male gender and higher emotional stability were associated with lower OCS at 16 years and these remained stable over time. Results indicate age-related and between individual differences on reported OCS that need to be considered for prevention and intervention planning.
Description:
The severity of obsessive compulsive symptoms (OCS) is suggested to be normally distributed in the general population, and they appear to have an impact on a range of aspects of adolescent development. Importantly, there are individual differences regarding susceptibility to OCS. In the present repeated measures study, OCS were studied in relation to gender and emotional stability (as a personality trait) using a normative sample of 515 adolescents at ages 16 and 18 years. OCS were assessed with the relevant subscale of the SCL-90-R and emotional stability with the Five Factor Questionnaire. A three-level hierarchical linear model was calculated to longitudinally assess the over time variations of OCS and their over time links to gender and emotional stability, while controlling for random effects due to the nesting of the data. Experiencing OCS increased with age (between 16 and 18 years). Additionally, male gender and higher emotional stability were associated with lower OCS at 16 years and these remained stable over time. Results indicate age-related and between individual differences on reported OCS that need to be considered for prevention and intervention planning.