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:
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:
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:
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.
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.
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:
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:
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.
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:
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.
Description:
Since the 1990's the workplace has sought to deal with globalisation, the ever increasing pace of technology, and recently the emerging impact of age upon the workforce. Within the workplace change is now the new norm. Consequently increases in workplace stress, anxiety and even burnout among employees is an emerging challenge of the contemporary workplace (Cartwright & Holmes, 2006). Workplace anxiety and stress can result from the fundamentals of change and a lack of control over these things by employees. In the workplace, there may be a misfit between the needs and capabilities of employees and what the organisation or workplace demands or offers of them (Cartwright & Cooper 1997). Change and innovation may exact a high toll on worker's physical and mental health. The negative effects on employee's fitness, financial earnings and emotions will be borne, at least in part, by the organisation. It is imperative therefore that organisational leaders support and mentor employees generally and more so through the change processes.