Acute stress and resilient coping: Their demographic and psychosocial determinants during Covid-19 pandemic in Costa Rica

Psychological resilience, resilient coping, and health behaviors among adults in Puerto Rico after multiple adverse events

Many caregivers of autistic people experience mental health issues, and the impact of disruptions due to COVID-19 may present additional challenges for these individuals. This study characterized caregiver stress, anxiety, and resilient coping during COVID-19 and investigated the impact of COVID-19 disruptions, demographic variables, and resilient coping on mental health. The majority of caregivers reported some degree of disruption associated with COVID-19, and more than half reported moderate levels of stress and high anxiety. Resilient coping did not emerge as a moderator between COVID-19 disruptions and caregiver mental health, but instead had a direct effect on outcomes. Future research is needed to understand additional factors impacting the mental health of caregivers of autistic people during the COVID-19 pandemic.

(1) Background: the COVID-19 pandemic is still taking over the world, and with new virus strains, the burden on the health systems and healthcare teams is yet to end. The study explored stress and employed resilient coping measures among nurses working with COVID-19 patients. (2) Methods: the current study used a convergent triangulation design using a qualitative and quantitative approach, with a sample of 113 nurses working at Beni-Suef University Hospital between November 2021 and April 2022 using an online form. Data were collected using a sociodemographic characteristics questionnaire, the Nursing Stress Scale, Brief Resilient Coping Scale, and a qualitative interview. (3) Results: the studied nurses experienced severe stress, with moderate-to-low resilient coping in total. There was a strong negative highly statistically significant correlation between stress and coping. Qualitative data analysis showed that attention to the spiritual side, communicating with friends and family, accepting the current situation, and helping others in need were key themes that emerged to moderate studied nurses’ stress. (4) Conclusions: nurses who work with COVID-19 patients experience high levels of stress regardless of their characteristics; spiritual coping strategies, communication with family, and helping others were the dominant resilient coping approaches employed by nurses to moderate stress.

IntroductionThe current pandemic crisis disturbed the life of universities and college campuses leading to an overwhelming effect on the educational system, social life, and mental health of students. In this scenario, coping strategies like resilience and hope provide a counterbalance in periods of uncertainty and stress.ObjectivesThis study aims to: a) evaluate the prevalence and severity of depression, anxiety, and stress among higher education students during the COVID-19 pandemic; b) characterize the hope and resilient coping levels of graduate students.MethodsUsing a convenience sampling method, online self-reported data were collected between April 2020 to January 2021. The information gathered includes a Sociodemographic Form, the Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Scale (DASS-21) the Brief Resilient Coping Scale (BRCS) and the Herth Hope Index (HHI).ResultsA total of Portuguese 1522 students (75.1% women and 24.9% men) took part in this study. The sample mean age was 22.88±6.93 years [range 18-59 years]. We identified a significant prevalence of symptoms of stress (35.7%), anxiety (36.2%) and depression (28.5%) in our population. The BRSCS score indicated that 60.2% of students exhibited low, 22.7% moderate and 17.1% high levels of resilient coping. The HHI mean was 35.53±5.92 [range 12-48].ConclusionsThe study findings indicate a substantial portion of the students is at high risk of psychological consequences during the COVID-19 pandemic. This study recommends that is needed to get a wider picture of today’s “new normal” education and to develop supportive strategies to enhance students’ mental health and well-being in future pandemics.DisclosureNo significant relationships.

Modulation of OCT3 expression by stress, and antidepressant-like activity of decynium-22 in an animal model of depression

Existential isolation and psychological distress during COVID-19: The role of loneliness and resilient coping in Canadian help-seeking men

The COVID-19 pandemic has globally impacted mental health. This study, conducted in Sao Paulo, investigated levels of anxiety, depression, resilient coping, and hope during the pandemic. The objective was to analyze the pandemic's effects on the mental health of São Paulo's population and explore coping strategies and hope. Data were collected among 1,434 adults between July 8 and August 8, 2020, using an online questionnaire that included sociodemographic data and scales to measure anxiety (Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System Adult (PROMIS®) Short Form v1.0-Anxiety 4a), depression (PROMIS® Short Form v1.0-depression 4a), resilient coping (4-item Brief Resilient Coping Scale), and hope (12-item Herth Hope Index). The results showed that being young, female, having suicidal thoughts, and adhering to quarantine policies were associated with higher levels of anxiety. Higher scores in resilient coping (-0.24) and hope (-0.06) correlated with lower anxiety. The data also revealed that being young, female, having suicidal thoughts, and living with elderly individuals increased depression scores. Conversely, higher scores in resilient coping (-0.35) and hope (-0.14) were related to lower levels of depression. These findings indicate that the pandemic significantly affected mental health in São Paulo. Resilient coping strategies and hope demonstrated potential to alleviate psychological distress, highlighting the importance of effective public mental health policies to address future crises. Therefore, investing in programs that promote resilience and hope may be crucial for mitigating adverse psychological impacts in emergency health situations.

The radiography students' perspective of the impact of COVID-19 on education and training internationally: a across sectional survey of the UK Devolved Nations (UKDN) and the United Arab Emirates (UAE)

Meaning in Life and Self-Control Buffer Stress in Times of COVID-19: Moderating and Mediating Effects With Regard to Mental Distress.

Background: As the SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant emerged and spread globally at an alarming speed, healthcare workers’ (HCWs) uncertainties, worries, resilience, and coping strategies warranted assessment. The COVID-19 pandemic had a severe psychological impact on HCWs, including the development of Post-Traumatic Stress symptoms. Specific subgroups of HCWs, such as front-line and female workers, were more prone to poor mental health outcomes and difficulties facing stress. Methods: The responses to an online questionnaire among HCWs in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) were collected from 1 December 2021 to 6 December 2021, aiming to assess their uncertainties, worries, resilience, and coping strategies regarding the Omicron variant. Three validated instruments were used to achieve the study’s goals: the Brief Resilient Coping Scale (BRCS), the Standard Stress Scale (SSS), and the Intolerance of Uncertainty Scale (IUS)—Short Form. Results: The online survey was completed by 1285 HCWs. Females made up the majority of the participants (64%). A total of 1285 HCW’s completed the online survey from all regions in KSA. Resilient coping scored by the BRCS was negatively and significantly correlated with stress as scored by the SSS (r = −0.313, p < 0.010). Moreover, intolerance of uncertainty scored by the IUS positively and significantly correlated with stress (r = 0.326, p < 0.010). Increased stress levels were linked to a considerable drop in resilient coping scores. Furthermore, being a Saudi HCW or a nurse was linked to a significant reduction in resilient coping ratings. Coping by following healthcare authorities’ preventative instructions and using the WHO website as a source of information was linked to a considerable rise in resilient coping. Conclusions: The negative association between resilient coping and stress was clearly shown, as well as how underlying intolerance of uncertainty is linked to higher stress among HCWs quickly following the development of a new infectious threat. The study provides early insights into developing and promoting coping strategies for emerging SARS-CoV-2 variants.

The acute heat-shock response of the tropical estuarine fish species barramundi Lates calcarifer as indicated by the expression of genes within stress (hsp 90AA, hsp 90AB, hsp 70 and hsc 70), metabolic (cisy, cco II and ldh) and growth (igf1 and mstn 1) related pathways was examined following an increase in water temperature from 28 to 36° C over 30 min. Lates calcarifer were maintained at the acute stress temperature of 36° C for 1 h before being returned to 28° C and allowed to recover at this temperature for a further 2 weeks. Muscle tissue sampling over the experimental period allowed for the expression quantification of stress, metabolic and growth-related genes via quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qrt-PCR) where a robust and reliable normalization approach identified both α-tub and Rpl8 as appropriate genes for the analysis of gene expression in response to an acute heat stress. hsp90AA and hsp70 of the inducible heat-shock response pathway showed a massive up-regulation of gene expression in response to heat stress, whilst the constitutive heat-shock genes hsp90AB and hsp70 showed no change over the course of the experiment and a small increase after 2 weeks of recovery, respectively. Of the three genes representing the metabolic pathway (cisy, cco II and ldh) only cco II changed significantly showing a decrease in gene expression, which may suggest a small suppression of aerobic metabolism. igf1 of the growth pathway showed no significant differences in response to an acute heat stress, whilst mstn1 increased at the beginning of the heat stress but returned to basal levels soon after. Overall, the results demonstrate that an acute heat stress in L. calcarifer caused a significant increase in the expression of genes from the stress response pathway and a possible decrease in aerobic metabolism with only relatively minor changes to the growth pathway highlighting the hardy nature of L. calcarifer and its resilience in coping with sudden temperature changes routinely encountered within its natural environment.

COVID-19 pandemic disturbed mental health of healthcare personnel. Residents of the specialization programs could be at risk, since they were reassigned in their functions. To describe the impact of COVID-19 pandemic on symptoms of depression, stress, anxiety and resilient coping in residents of Anesthesiology, Internal Medicine and Emergency Medicine Material and Methods: Residents were invited to answer an online survey containing the DASS-21 scale for anxiety, stress and depression symptoms and the Brief Resilient Coping Scale (BRCS) for resilience skills. Fifty four out of 90 residents answered the survey. Eighteen to 24% of respondents had symptoms of depression, anxiety and stress at severe and extremely severe levels. Those with severe and extremely severe symptoms had also the lowest score on the BRCS resilience scale. We did not find an association between severity of symptoms and gender. A proportion of respondent residents had severe psychological symptoms and lower resilience scores during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The COVID-19 pandemic and its accompanying countermeasures significantly disrupt the health-related quality of life (HRQoL) of adolescents. We aimed to estimate the status and associated factors related to HRQoL of adolescents during the COVID-19 pandemic from the community population of Bangladesh. This cross-sectional study followed two-stage sampling. From eight administrative divisions of Bangladesh, 2030 adolescents were enrolled. The KIDSCREEN-10 index was used to measure the HRQoL of adolescents. In addition to this, adolescents'data on sociodemographics, mental well-being, parenting style, insomnia, food insecurity, depression, anxiety and stress, resilient coping, screen-based activity, and anthropometry were taken for finding out the factors associated with HRQoL of adolescents. The hierarchical multilinear regression was performed to assess the association. More than 47% of adolescents were found to have moderate and high HRQoL, while 4.7% of adolescents experienced low HRQoL during data collection. Higher age (B: -0.671), having more siblings (B: -0.316), food insecurity (B: ‒2.010), depression (B: ‒0.321), anxiety (B: ‒0.362), and stress (B: ‒0.150) were found to have significantly negative associations with adolescents'HRQoL during the COVID-19 pandemic. Whereas, positive parenting (B: 0.409), inconsistent parenting discipline (B: 0.266), good mental health (B: 5.662), resilient coping (B: 0.306) were found to have significant positive relationships. The findings from this study indicate that over 52% of the adolescents reported a moderate and lower level of HRQoL. In light of these results, it may be beneficial to prioritize interventions targeting psychological factors such as depression, anxiety, and stress.

ObjectiveThis review aims to provide an overview of ecological momentary assessment (EMA) studies analyzing stress reactivity during daily life in terms of direct and moderated influence of acute stress on physiological responses.Materials and methodsA systematic literature search was performed on November 29, 2021 using Web of Science, MEDLINE and PsycINFO to identify prospective EMA studies targeting acute stressors or stress under naturalistic conditions, without restrictions of publication date or population. Study quality was assessed for multiple EMA-specific sources of bias.ResultsOut of 4285 non-duplicate records, 107 publications involving 104 unique studies were included. The majority of studies assessed acute physiological stress responses primarily through salivary cortisol (n = 59) and cardiovascular outcomes (n = 32). Most studies performed at least three measurements per day (n = 59), and had a moderate risk of recall bias (n = 68) and confounding (n = 85). Fifty-four studies reported a compliance of ≥80%. Direct, non-moderated positive associations were observed between acute stress exposure and concurrent cortisol levels (44%, n = 11/25), systolic (44%, 8/18) and diastolic blood pressure (53%, 8/15) and heart rate (53%, 9/17). Several inter- and intra-individual moderators were identified, such as age, gender, health status, chronic stress, work-related resources, physical activity and stress coping indicators.ConclusionsAbout half of the reviewed EMA studies demonstrated direct associations between everyday acute stress exposure and physiological responses, including increased cortisol levels, blood pressure and heart rate. Results further suggested various moderator variables that could help develop tailored prevention strategies and identify groups at higher risk for dysfunctional stress responses.RegistrationPROSPERO—Reg.-No.: PROSPERO 2020 CRD42020163178.

Caring for an offspring with an autism spectrum disorder (ASD) has been related to high stress levels and health disturbances. However, a protective effect against these negative health outcomes has been described in high-resilient caregivers. In this context, the main aim of the present study was to assess the association between resilient coping and cortisol response to acute stress in caregivers of people with ASD. Furthermore, the study aimed to explore the mediating role of anger in this association. We exposed 40 caregivers of people with ASD to an acute psychosocial stressor in the laboratory. Salivary cortisol samples were obtained before, during, and after the stressor. Resilient coping, anger, and socio-demographic variables were also assessed. Resilient coping was negatively correlated with cortisol response. Specifically, cortisol release was lower in high-resilient than low-resilient caregivers. Anger was positively correlated with cortisol response, mediating the association with resilient coping. The observed associations of resilient coping and anger with cortisol response indicate that these variables may affect health outcomes, resilience being protective and anger harmful. Psychotherapeutic interventions focused on strengthening resilience and anger management could benefit caregivers, improving their health status and quality of life.