Search results for ‘Subject term:"mental health problems"’ Sort:
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Relationship between loneliness and mental health in students
- Authors:
- RICHARDSON Thomas, ELLIOT Peter, ROBERTS Ron
- Journal article citation:
- Journal of Public Mental Health, 16(2), 2017, pp.48-54.
- Publisher:
- Emerald
Purpose: Previous cross-sectional research has examined the effect of loneliness on mental health. The purpose of this paper is to examine longitudinal relationships in students. Design/methodology/approach: A total of 454 British undergraduate students completed measures of loneliness and mental health at four time points. Findings: After controlling for demographics and baseline mental health, greater loneliness predicted greater anxiety, stress, depression and general mental health over time. There was no evidence that mental health problems increased loneliness over time. There was no relationship with alcohol problems. Baseline loneliness predicted greater eating disorder risk at follow-up and vice versa. Research limitations/implications: This study is limited by a relatively small and heavily female sample. Practical implications: Social and psychological interventions to reduce loneliness in university settings may improve mental health. Social implications: Universities should consider organising social activities to mitigate feelings of loneliness in students. Originality/value: This study adds to the literature as a longitudinal analysis showing that loneliness exacerbates poor mental health over time. This also adds to the literature for students specifically, and suggests a possible bi-directional relationship between eating disorders and loneliness for the first time. (Publisher abstract)
Preliminary evidence for the role of newsprint media in encouraging males to make contact with helplines
- Authors:
- MACHLIN Anna, et al
- Journal article citation:
- International Journal of Mental Health Promotion, 19(2), 2017, pp.85-103.
- Publisher:
- Taylor and Francis
This study explored the preliminary evidence for a relationship between constructive and affirming newsprint stories about depression or anxiety in males and use of helpline services by males. With the help of a Consumer Reference Group, the authors identified ten positive newsprint stories about males and depression or anxiety. They then obtained phone contact data from four national helplines in Australia: Lifeline, MensLine Australia, SANE Australia, and beyondblue. For each contact, the study extracted the date, location and gender of the caller. Poisson regression analysis was used to determine the change in contact volume in the two weeks following each story, as compared to the two weeks prior to the story. Contact volume from males increased significantly in the two weeks after four of the ten stories, decreased after one story with no change after five of the stories. The stories that were associated with increased contacts were about men (including publicly revered role models) that male readers could identify with and tended to be stories of hope and recovery. The findings suggest newsprint media can positively influence male help-seeking and point to a need for articles to provide accurate representations of depression and anxiety, whilst maintaining an optimistic focus on recovery. (Edited publisher abstract)
Effect of anxiety on memory for emotional information in older adults
- Authors:
- HERRERA Sara, MONTORIO Ignacio, CABRERA Isabel
- Journal article citation:
- Aging and Mental Health, 21(4), 2017, pp.362-368.
- Publisher:
- Taylor and Francis
Background: Several studies have shown that anxiety is associated with a better memory of negative events. However, this anxiety-related memory bias has not been studied in the elderly, in which there is a preferential processing of positive information. Objectives: To study the effect of anxiety in a recognition task and an autobiographical memory task in 102 older adults with high and low levels of trait anxiety. Method: Negative, positive and neutral pictures were used in the recognition task. In the autobiographical memory task, memories of the participants’ lives were recorded, how they felt when thinking about them, and the personal relevance of these memories. Results: In the recognition task, no anxiety-related bias was found toward negative information. Individuals with high trait anxiety were found to remember less positive pictures than those with low trait anxiety. In the autobiographical memory task, both groups remembered negative and positive events equally. However, people with high trait anxiety remembered life experiences with more negative emotions, especially when remembering negative events. Individuals with low trait anxiety tended to feel more positive emotions when remembering their life experiences and most of these referred to feeling positive emotions when remembering negative events. Conclusions: Older adults with anxiety tend to recognise less positive information and to present more negative emotions when remembering life events; while individuals without anxiety have a more positive experience of negative memories. (Edited publisher abstract)
The impact of housing problems on mental health
- Authors:
- SHELTER, COMRES
- Publisher:
- Shelter
- Publication year:
- 2017
- Pagination:
- 18
- Place of publication:
- London
This independent research undertaken by ComRes, on behalf of Shelter, carried out interviews with 20 GP’s and a survey of over 3,000 adults in England to explore the relationship between housing and mental health. The results found that one in five adults in the sample had suffered mental health issues in the last five years due to housing problems. One in 20 of the adults surveyed had also visited a GP due to a housing issue having a negative impact upon their mental health. GPs interviewed also spontaneously identified housing issues when discussing factors involved in their patients’ mental health. GPs also identified a knowledge of where to signpost and refer patients, where mental health was linked to problems with housing. Direct quotations from the GP interviews are included. The results show how housing problems, such as housing affordability, are affecting the mental health of individuals and also resulting in additional costs to the health sector which is already under pressure. (Edited publisher abstract)
Suicide ideation, anxiety, and depression: are children a protective factor for male Veterans?
- Authors:
- WEISENHORN David A., et al
- Journal article citation:
- Journal of Family Social Work, 20(1), 2017, pp.41-51.
- Publisher:
- Taylor and Francis
- Place of publication:
- Philadelphia, USA
Numerous mental health disorders plague our veterans when they return from deployment including anxiety and depressive disorders, which have been linked to elevated suicide risk when left untreated. Family factors, such as parenthood status, may serve as a protective factor against these mental health issues. This study examined the role of parenthood status of male veterans (N = 234) based on age of the child in order to determine whether a child’s age (minor children v. adult children) affects the likelihood of meeting diagnosis criteria for anxiety, depression, and suicide ideation after controlling for marital status. Three hierarchical binary logistic regression models were constructed to assess the predictive influence of children 18 years old and younger, children older than 18, and no children with the results indicating that parenthood status did meaningfully enhance the prediction of suicide ideation. Complete findings, clinical implications, and future considerations are discussed. (Publisher abstract)
Parentification, stress, and problem behavior of adolescents who have a parent with mental health problems
- Authors:
- HOSMAN Clemens M.H, WITTERMAN Cilia L.M.
- Journal article citation:
- Family Process, 56(1), 2017, pp.141-153.
- Publisher:
- Wiley
When adolescents live with a parent with mental illness, they often partly take over the parental role. Little is known about the consequences of this so-called parentification on the adolescents' internalizing and externalizing problems. This survey study examined this effect cross-sectionally and longitudinally in a sample of 118 adolescents living with a parent suffering from mental health problems. In addition, the study examined a possible indirect effect via perceived stress. Path analyses were used to examine the direct associations between parentification and problem behavior as well as the indirect relations via perceived stress. The results showed that parentification was associated with both internalizing and externalizing problems cross-sectionally, but it predicted only internalizing problems 1 year later. An indirect effect of parentification on adolescent internalizing and externalizing problems via perceived stress was found, albeit only cross-sectionally. These findings imply that parentification can be stressful for adolescents who live with a parent with mental health problems, and that a greater awareness of parentification is needed to prevent adolescents from developing internalizing problems. (Publisher abstract)
A pilot randomized trial of two cognitive rehabilitation interventions for mild cognitive impairment: caregiver outcomes
- Authors:
- VUC Andrea V., et al
- Journal article citation:
- International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, 32(12), 2017, pp.e180-e187.
- Publisher:
- Wiley
This study aims to provide effect size estimates of the impact of two cognitive rehabilitation interventions provided to patients with mild cognitive impairment: computerised brain fitness exercise and memory support system on support partners' outcomes of depression, anxiety, quality of life, and partner burden. Methods: A randomised controlled pilot trial was performed. Results: At 6 months, the partners from both treatment groups showed stable to improved depression scores, while partners in an untreated control group showed worsening depression over 6 months. There were no statistically significant differences on anxiety, quality of life, or burden outcomes in this small pilot trial; however, effect sizes were moderate, suggesting that the sample sizes in this pilot study were not adequate to detect statistical significance. Conclusion: Either form of cognitive rehabilitation may help partners' mood, compared with providing no treatment. However, effect size estimates related to other partner outcomes (i.e., burden, quality of life, and anxiety) suggest that follow-up efficacy trials will need sample sizes of at least 30–100 people per group to accurately determine significance. (Publisher abstract)
A meta-analysis of third wave mindfulness-based cognitive behavioral therapies for older people
- Authors:
- KISHITA Naoko, TAKEI Yuko, STEWART Ian
- Journal article citation:
- International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, 32(12), 2017, pp.1352-1361.
- Publisher:
- Wiley
Objectives: The aim of this study is to review the effectiveness of third wave mindfulness-based cognitive behavioural therapies (CBTs) for depressive or anxiety symptomatology in older adults across a wide range of physical and psychological conditions. Methods: Electronic literature databases were searched for articles, and random-effects meta-analysis was conducted. Results: Ten studies met the inclusion criteria, of which nine reported the efficacy of interventions on depressive symptoms and seven on anxiety symptoms. Effect-size estimates suggested that mindfulness-based CBT is moderately effective on depressive symptoms in older adults (g = 0.55). The results demonstrated a similar level of overall effect size for anxiety symptoms (g = 0.58). However, there was a large heterogeneity, and publication bias was evident in studies reporting outcomes on anxiety symptoms, and thus, this observed efficacy for late-life anxiety may not be robust. The quality of the included studies varied. Only one study used an active psychological control condition. There were a limited number of studies that used an intent-to-treat (last observation carried forward method) analysis and reported appropriate methods for clinical trials (e.g., treatment-integrity reporting). Conclusions: Third wave mindfulness-based CBT may be robust in particular for depressive symptoms in older adults. The authors recommend that future studies (i) conduct randomised controlled trials with intent-to-treat to compare mindfulness-based CBT with other types of psychotherapy in older people and (ii) improve study quality by using appropriate methods for checking treatment adherence, randomisation, and blinding of assessors. (Edited publisher abstract)
Evaluation of visiting mum scheme: final report June 2017
- Authors:
- REES Alyson, STAPLES Eleanor, MAXWELL Nina
- Publisher:
- Children’s Social Care Research and Development Centre
- Publication year:
- 2017
- Pagination:
- 96
- Place of publication:
- Cardiff
An evaluation of Visiting Mum, a scheme run by the Prison Advice and Care Trust (Pact) in partnership with Sova, which helps children from South Wales to keep in touch with their mothers at HMP Eastwood Park. The scheme uses volunteers who help prepare carers and children for visiting the prison and provides transport for visits. It also provides relaxed visiting rules which allow mothers to interact with their children and have a better quality visit. The evaluation examines whether the project met its stated objectives of improving the mental and physical well-being of children, reducing mothers' anxiety and distress from being away from their children, and reduced reoffending. It also examines how the scheme operates, captures the experiences of those involved, and assesses its strengths and weaknesses. The evaluation carried out interviews and focus groups with children, their carers, and mothers in prison. The scheme has worked with 97 mothers and 164 children to date. The results of the evaluation found the scheme was successful in improving the mental and physical health of the children, reducing their anxiety and helping children to feel less intimidated by the prison environment. Mothers also felt less anxious about the welfare of their children, felt that their mental health had improved, and that the scheme will help them to integrate back into family life on realise. The scheme was also highly valued by staff within the prison. (Edited publisher abstract)
Get Set to Go programme evaluation summary: 2014 to 2017
- Author:
- MIND
- Publisher:
- MIND
- Publication year:
- 2017
- Pagination:
- 40
- Place of publication:
- London
An evaluation of the Get Set to Go programme, launched in July 2015 to help people with mental health problems benefit from being physically active. Participants took part in specially designed physical activity projects delivered across England and received group and one-to-one support from peers with an understanding of how mental health can be a barrier to physical activity. A website was also developed to support users to share their stories about the impact getting active has had for them. In total, the programme has supported 3,585 people with mental health problems get more active. The evaluation of the programme, which was carried out by researchers from Loughborough University and the University of Northampton collected information from over 1,000 participants to track their progress. The findings show that physical activity has an important role to play in building resilience, enabling and supporting mental health recovery and tackling stigma and discrimination. The report also provides recommendations for organisations wanting to support people with mental health problems to become more active. (Edited publisher abstract)