Addressing youths’ climate change-related distress: a qualitative study on the experience of burden, triggering and protective factors

Facteurs de protection et facteurs de désistance chez les Auteurs d’Infraction à Caractère Sexuel : articulation et clarification

INTRODUCTION: In recent years scientific studies are showing the advantages of an adequate complementary diet for those women who were diagnosed with a breast cancer (BC), regarding the disease-free survival and the overall survival. In addition, some communications reported an improvement when nutritional guidelines were followed focusing on the management of overweight and obesity and also including physical activity. METHODOLOGY: We have recently proposed a preventive BC risk profile, which was based on items drawn from data obtained in local epidemiologic studies. The change in the profile is an attempt to modify the ratios of urine 2/16-a-OH estrogen metabolites and dietary O-6/O-3 fatty acids, as well as the body composition and other relevant nutritional features, in order to improve the patient’s hormonal, metabolic and immunity status. We have selected the following variables as the most relevant for being taken into account for a change: intake of red meat, white meat, dairy foods, oils and fats, high glycemic load foods, vegetables and fruits; alcohol consumption; physical activity; psychosocial stressors; metabolic disturbances; fat-to-muscle ratio; serum vitamin D level; urine 2/16-a-OH estrogen ratio; serum triglycerides/HDL ratio and fasting insulinemia. The assignment of a low, medium or high risk value for each variable was done depending on the variable nature and its association to the risk of BC. Unlike some laboratory results, the cut-off points used for classification might represent population-specific features. RESULTS: The method implies modifying each selected term, upwards or downwards and according to the risk or protective nature of the item, towards the putative low-risk threshold or zone. For example, regarding the analysis of red meat intake (a risk factor among Uruguayan women) the low-risk category comprises up to 1 serving/week. On the contrary, for a putative protective factor in the same population like citrus fruits, the highest intake category includes >=8 units/week (oranges, orange juice servings, i.e.). CONCLUSION: We propose to make a nutritional equalization, that is, change the exposure to the putative risk and protective factors to the lowest possible risk level in a tailored way. Although generalization is limited by the local value of certain variables, methodology is feasible elsewhere from a practical viewpoint. Each country or region could construct its own reference values, since some items (diet, anthropometry) may be population-specific. Instead of giving vague and inaccurate recommendations, we attempt to give guidelines with precise low or high limits. Because no studies indicate that a prudent diet is pejorative for health, we are trying to change an inadequate nutritional pattern into an adequate one in order to make feasible a subsequent change of the prognosis.

Perinatal promotive and protective factors for women with histories of childhood abuse and neglect.

Drug abuse is considered a serious social problem, especially among youth. Those who successfully survive such behaviors, especially in high-risk locations, must have underlying factors worth learning. This research focuses on youth who can avoid using and abusing drugs in high-risk areas. The main objectives are to identify protective factors (PF) that successfully protect youth in high-risk locations and to examine the presence of risk factors (RF) in that particular community. Data were collected through ten focus group discussions (FGD) with youth participants who lived within identified hot spot high-risk areas of drug abuse. Each group contains five participants, which makes up a total of fifty youth participants. The FGDs were audio-recorded, followed by the transcribing process and the thematic data analysis. The finding shows that themes for protective and risk factors are divided into internal and external factors. Internal protective factors are represented mostly by religious knowledge and practice, followed by self-assertiveness. External protective factors are denoted by positive family influences, positive peer influence, and knowledge of drug abuse. On the other hand, internal risk factors epitomize the feeling of curiosity, lack of religious knowledge and practice to release pressure and stress, lack of effective coping skills, and seeking fun. External risk factors embody negative peer influence, lack of parenting skills, negative family influence, and negative neighborhood environment and occupation.

The main goal was to analyse the network structure of psychotic-like experiences (PLEs) in a large sample of adolescents. In addition, the network structure between PLEs and putative risk (mental health difficulties, suicidal behaviour, depression symptoms) and protective factors (prosocial behaviour, subjective well-being, self-esteem) for psychosis was analysed. The sample compromised a total of 1790 adolescents (M=15.7 years; SD=1.26), 816 men (45.6%), selected by stratified random cluster sampling. Various tools were used to measure PLEs, general psychopathology, suicide ideation and behaviour, depression symptoms, prosocial behaviour, subjective well-being, and self-esteem. The Gaussian graphical model for continuous variables and Ising model for binary variables were used for network estimation. The PLEs estimated network was strongly interconnected. Unusual perceptual experiences were among the most central nodes. The average predictability of this network was 16.41%. The PLEs and risk and protective factors estimated network showed a high degree of interconnectedness between PLEs and psychopathology domains. PLEs, behavioural problems, and emotional symptoms were among the most central nodes. The mean predictability of this network was 43.46%. The results of the stability and accuracy analysis indicated that networks were accurately estimated. At population level, extended psychosis phenotype can be conceptualized as a network of interacting cognitive, emotional, and behavioural features. The network model allows us to understand psychosis risk, at the same time opening new lines of study in the mental health arena.

A large proportion of jockeys report symptoms associated with mental health difficulties (MHDs), yet most do not seek help from professional mental health support services. Due to the paucity of literature in this field, this study sought to explore jockeys’ barriers to, and facilitators of, help-seeking for MHDs. Twelve jockeys participated in semistructured interviews, subsequently analyzed via reflexive thematic analysis. Barriers to help-seeking included the negative perceptions of others (stigma and career implications), cultural norms (masculinity and self-reliance), and low mental health literacy (not knowing where to seek help, minimization of MHDs, negative perceptions of treatment, and recognizing symptoms). Facilitators to help-seeking included education (exposure to psychological support at a younger age), social support (from professionals, jockeys, family, and friends), and media campaigns (high-profile disclosures from jockeys). Findings are consistent with barrier and facilitator studies among general and athletic populations. Applied recommendations and future research considerations are presented throughout the manuscript.

BackgroundWhile the relationship between speech, language and communication needs (SLCN) and mental health difficulties has been recognized, speech and language therapists (SLTs), and mental health professionals face challenges in assessing and treating children with these co‐occurring needs. There exists a gap in the evidence base for best practice for professionals working with children and young people (CYP) who experience difficulties in both areas.AimsTo explore the views of SLTs and mental health clinicians about their experiences of working with CYP exhibiting co‐occurring SLCN and mental health difficulties.Methods & ProceduresSemi‐structured interviews were conducted with eight SLTs and six mental health professionals, including psychotherapists, clinical psychologists, play therapists and counsellors, with experience working with CYP with SLCN. Interviews were analysed using reflexive thematic analysis and themes were identified from the data.Outcomes & ResultsParticipants felt that SLCN and mental health difficulties frequently co‐occur. Participants described how CYP with SLCN and mental health issues commonly experience difficulties across and between the domains of language and cognition, emotional well‐being and challenging behaviour. Findings suggest that there are organizational limitations in the fields of SLT and mental health that have implications for the efficacy of assessment and treatment of CYP with SLCN and mental health difficulties. Traditional talking therapies were perceived to be inaccessible and ineffective for CYP with SLCN and mental health difficulties. Interventions blending behaviour and emotion programmes with language and communication interventions were considered potentially beneficial.Conclusions & ImplicationsFuture research should explore and evaluate current services and service set‐up in SLT and mental health. The findings from this study have important implications for the efficacy of treatments provided to this population suggesting that more research needs to be done into effective diagnosis and interventions for this population.WHAT THIS PAPER ADDSWhat is already known on the subjectResearch suggests that CYP with SLCN, such as developmental language disorder (DLD), are likely to experience mental health difficulties including depression, anxiety and poor emotional well‐being. CYP who experience difficulties with SLCN and poor mental health are not well understood and this area remains under‐researched. This has implications for clinician knowledge and therefore the effective diagnosis and treatment of children and adolescents experiencing SLCN and mental health difficulties. In addition, little is known about the accessibility of talking therapies to CYP presenting with SLCN and mental health difficulties.What this paper adds to existing knowledgeSLCN issues are understood by SLTs and mental health issues are understood by mental health professionals, but where these co‐occur difficulties exist for the diagnostic process, with professionals perceiving that CYP in this category are often undiagnosed or misdiagnosed. Organizational boundaries between SLT and mental health were perceived to contribute to a lack of understanding of SLCN and mental health needs, which has implications for effective diagnosis and treatment. Traditional talking therapies were thought to be inaccessible for CYP with SLCN and mental health difficulties. Interventions used in both SLT and psychotherapy were perceived as clinically useful if combined.What are the potential or actual clinical implications of this work?This paper highlights implications for the accessibility and efficacy of the assessment and treatment provided to this population and to the organization of services currently treating this group of CYP. A direction for future research would be to undertake service evaluations and intervention‐based studies.

The COVID-19 pandemic has greatly affected economies around the world, causing record unemployment rates that have exacerbated the already prevalent job insecurity, thereby leading to psychological distress among many individuals. The present study aims to reveal the underlying mechanisms of psychological distress induced by the COVID-19 pandemic among job-insecure employees and to identify one of the emotion regulation strategies (i.e., cognitive reappraisal) as a protective factor that mitigates psychological distress. Drawing upon transactional theory, we proposed and tested a moderated mediation model, wherein cognitive reappraisal serves as a moderator of the direct and indirect relationship between job insecurity and psychological distress via stress appraisals (i.e., threat appraisal and challenge appraisal) based on data from 922 employees. Results show that threat appraisal and challenge appraisal positively and negatively mediate the relationship between job insecurity and psychological distress, respectively. Furthermore, as an emotion regulation strategy, cognitive reappraisal mitigates psychological distress among job-insecure employees, weakens the positive indirect effect of threat appraisal, but intensifies the negative indirect effect of challenge appraisal. Our findings suggest that cognition plays an important role in individuals' emotional reactions to COVID-19-related stress, and cognition reappraisal is an effective emotion regulation strategy in mitigating psychological distress. Therefore, cognition reappraisal skills should be improved to reduce psychological distress induced by COVID-19 pandemic.

In the last decades, an increasingly prominent role has been given to the motivational factors that can promote pro-environmental behavior. In this contribution, we focus on the role of the individual’s ability to shape the emotions originating from nature in engaging in pro-environmental behavior. In particular, we expect that an emotion regulation strategy as cognitive reappraisal should positively predict pro-environmental behavior, through enhanced perceived restorativeness attributed to the natural environment in terms of the experience of “being away.” One-hundred and fifteen visitors to an urban park (Parco Nord Milano) filled out a questionnaire including measures of cognitive reappraisal, the experience of “being away,” and pro-environmental behavior while in the park. Results confirmed that cognitive reappraisal was positively and significantly related to pro-environmental behavior. Importantly, the indirect effect of cognitive reappraisal on pro-environmental behavior through the experience of “being away” was significant. Findings suggest the importance of implementing interventions aimed at promoting the habitual use of cognitive reappraisal to enhance the experience of “being away” and, thus, sustain pro-environmental behavior.

The objective of this review is to examine factors, during the perinatal period, that serve to protect women and infants from poor mental or physical outcomes most commonly associated with maternal adverse childhood experiences (ACEs). The electronic databases of PubMed, Ovid MEDLINE, CINAHL and Web of Science were searched. The searches were conducted using the following mesh terms and keywords: ('adverse childhood experiences' or 'ACEs') and ('protective factor' or 'social support' or 'buffer' or 'resilience') and ('pregnan*' or 'prenatal' or 'postpartum' or 'maternal' or 'antenatal'). Studies that examined the association of maternal ACEs and protective factors during the perinatal period were included. A total of 317d articles were screened and 19are included in this review. The quality of the articles was evaluated with the Newcastle-Ottawa-Scale (NOS). This review indicates a positive association between maternal ACEs and protective perinatal factors including social support, resiliency and positive childhood experiences.

Factors Protecting Children Living in Disharmonious Homes: Maternal Reports

Occupational therapists can foster student veterans' resilience, but targets for intervention must be developed. To explain factors influencing student veterans' successful adaptation to past combat exposure, we hypothesized that participants with high life meaning would have greater levels of protective factors and lower levels of health conditions than those with low life meaning. Longitudinal panel study with two measurements. Participants were classified by level of combat exposure (high-low) and life meaning (high-low) at follow-up, yielding four possible classifications (e.g., resilient group: high combat exposure, high life meaning). Linear mixed models were fit to obtain adjusted means of protective factors and health conditions for each classification; independent-samples t tests were used to examine differences between classifications. Community. Convenience sample of 153 combat-exposed student veterans. Psychometrically sound measures of combat exposure, life meaning, protective factors (social and instructor autonomy support, coping ability, academic self-efficacy, social-community participation, and meaningful activity), and health conditions (posttraumatic stress [PTSD], depression, somatic symptoms). Groups with high life meaning at follow-up in response to both levels of combat exposure reported greater meaningful activity and coping ability and fewer depressive symptoms. Participants with high life meaning in response to low combat exposure had greater social support and fewer somatic symptoms; participants with high life meaning in response to high combat exposure had lower PTSD. Occupational therapists may foster student veterans' resilience by promoting meaningful activity, social support, and coping ability while managing symptoms of health conditions. To the best of our knowledge, this study is the first to offer empirical support for potential targets of occupational therapy intervention that address student veterans' successful adaptation to combat exposure. Findings suggest that researchers should develop and test interventions that facilitate successful engagement in meaningful and shared activities and that occupational therapists should work within multidisciplinary teams to bolster coping ability and manage symptoms of combat-related health conditions.

PurposeProsociality may in part determine sustainability behavior. Prior research indicates that pro-environmental behavior correlates with prosocial attitudes, and separately, that prosociality correlates with social support in homes and communities. Therefore, prosociality may constitute a keystone variable linking human well-being with pro-environmental behavior. The purpose of the paper is to test this conjecture.Design/methodology/approachData from a multi-year student survey at the University of Maine on environmental behavior, prosociality and experienced social support are used. A two-stage least-squares regression is applied to explore the relationships between these variables, and sub-scale analysis of the pro-environmental responses is performed. Additionally, spatial statistics for the student population across the state are computed.FindingsThe data corroborate previous findings and indicates that social support within a community may bolster the prosociality of its members, which in turn may increase pro-environmental behaviors and intentions.Research limitations/implicationsCross-sectional data do not permit the imputation of causality. Self-reported measures of behavior may also be biased. However, student prosociality surveys may provide an effective and low-cost sustainability metric for large populations.Social implicationsThe results of this study corroborate prior research to suggest that pro-environmental and prosocial behaviors may both be enhanced by bolstering social support efforts at the community level.Originality/valueIt is suggested that prosociality could become a keystone sustainability indicator. The study’s results extend the understanding of the connections between prosociality, social support and pro-environmental behavior. The results of this study suggest that efforts to simultaneously improve the well-being and environmental status might focus on building prosociality and social support systems at the community level.

Background: Secondary Traumatic Stress (STS) is a significant concern among mental health professionals working with traumatised populations, such as war refugees. However, limited research has explored the predictors of STS in different cultural contexts, particularly in Pakistan and Lithuania. Objective: This study aimed to investigate the protective and risk factors for STS among mental health professionals working with war refugees in Pakistan and Lithuania. Specifically, the study examined the roles of social support, marital status, agreeableness, and negative emotionality in predicting STS. Methods: A total of 120 mental health professionals from Lithuania and 111 from Pakistan participated in this cross-cultural study. Participants completed an online survey assessing demographic variables, STS symptoms, and the predictors of interest. The Secondary Traumatic Stress Scale (STSS), Big Five Inventory (BFI-2), and a social support scale were used to assess STS, agreeableness, and social support, respectively. Data was analysed using descriptive statistics, regression analyses, and ANOVA. Results: Significant differences were found in the prevalence of STS between the two countries, with 65.2% of Pakistani participants reporting STS symptoms compared to 20% in Lithuania. In Pakistan, social support, marital status, and agreeableness emerged as protective factors, while negative emotionality and divorced marital status were identified as risk factors. In contrast, in Lithuania, only social support was found to significantly predict STS, with negative emotionality serving as a risk factor. Conclusions: The findings underscore the importance of contextual factors in shaping the experience of STS among mental health professionals. While social support appears to act as a protective factor in both countries, other factors like marital status and personality traits (agreeableness) play varying roles depending on the cultural context. These insights provide valuable implications for developing targeted interventions to support mental health professionals working in refugee contexts, particularly in countries with differing socio-political landscapes.

To describe leisure participation in adolescents with congenital heart defects (CHD) and identify factors associated with intensity of participation. Eighty adolescents with CHD were recruited (39 males, 41 females; mean age [SD] 15y 8mo [1y 8mo] range 11y 5mo-19y 11mo) of whom 78 completed the Children's Assessment of Participation and Enjoyment (CAPE) outcome measure of leisure participation. The measure has five subscales: recreational, active-physical, social, skill-based, and self-improvement. Associations between the CAPE and age, sex, and development were examined. Motor ability (Movement Assessment Battery for Children, Second Edition), cognition (Leiter International Performance Scale-Revised), behavior (Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire), and motivation (Dimensions of Mastery Questionnaire) were assessed. Participants exhibited impaired motor (43.5%), behavioral (23.7%), and cognitive (29.9%) development. The most intense participation was in social (mean [SD] 3.3 [0.99]) and recreational (2.9 [0.80]) activity types on the CAPE. Male sex (p<0.05) and younger age were associated with greater physical activity (<15y: 1.87; ≥15y: 1.31, p<0.05). Greater engagement in social activities was related to better cognition (r=0.28, p<0.05), higher motor function (r=0.30-0.36, p<0.01), and fewer behavioral difficulties (r=-0.32 to -0.47, p<0.01). Cognitive ability (r=0.27, p<0.05), dexterity and aiming/catching (r=0.27-0.33, p<0.05), and behavior problems (r=0.38-0.49, p=0.001) were correlated with physical activity participation. Persistence in tasks, an aspect of motivation, correlated with physical (r=0.45, p<0.001) and social activity involvement (r=0.28, p<0.05). Ongoing developmental impairments in adolescents with CHD are associated with decreased active-physical and social engagement, putting them at risk of poor physical and mental health. Health promotion strategies should be considered. Adolescents with congenital heart defects (CHD) have limited engagement in active-physical leisure activities. Cognitive, motor, and behavioral impairments are associated with decreased participation in leisure in children with CHD. Female sex and older age are associated with less engagement in leisure. Mastery motivation correlates with participation, suggesting an avenue for intervention.