Humanitarian Crises and Mental Health Coping Strategies Among Myanmar Refugees in Mizoram State, India

Women living with HIV (WLHIV) have rates of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) up to 5 times higher than the general population. Individuals living with HIV and a concurrent diagnosis of PTSD have poorer HIV-related outcomes; however, the prevalence and impact of PTSD on African-American WLHIV seeking mental health treatment is unknown. The aim of this study is to examine the associations between PTSD symptoms with psychiatric symptom severity and psychological/religious coping strategies in African-American WLHIV who are seeking mental health treatment. This is a cross-sectional study of 235 African-American WLHIV attending an urban community mental health clinic. Bivariate analyses were conducted to evaluate associations between a PTSD symptoms scale (PSS ≥ 21 versus PSS < 21) and (1) psychiatric severity, (2) coping strategies, and (3) religious coping strategies. Thirty-six percent reported symptoms consistent with PTSD (PSS ≥ 21). These women were significantly more likely to have worse mental health symptoms and were more likely to employ negative psychological and religious coping strategies. On the contrary, women with a PSS < 21 reported relatively low levels of mental health symptoms and were more likely to rely on positive psychological and religious coping strategies. Over one-third of African-American WLHIV attending an outpatient mental health clinic had symptoms associated with PTSD. These symptoms were associated with worse mental health symptoms and utilization of dysfunctional religious and nonreligious coping strategies. Untreated PTSD in WLHIV predicts poorer HIV-related health outcomes and may negatively impact comorbid mental health outcomes. Screening for PTSD in WLHIV could identify a subset that would benefit from evidence-based PTSD-specific therapies in addition to mental health interventions already in place. PTSD-specific interventions for WLHIV with PTSD may improve outcomes, improve coping strategies, and allow for more effective treatment of comorbid mental health disorders.

Religious beliefs and post-traumatic growth following stillbirth in a sample Moroccan women

Aim: The purpose of this study was to describe the relationship between coping strategies and psychological distress (anxiety and depression) in Middle Eastern university and college students. Background: The adjustment process of university and college students is characterized by new experiences associated with maturation as well as challenges imposed by academic responsibilities. Difficulty or inability to cope with various demands of the transition into emerging adulthood places them in a perilous position that increases the risk of psychological distress. Design: This study was a cross-sectional study. Methods: Data were obtained via a questionnaire completed by 251 health care students enrolled in an English-speaking college and a university. Psychological distress was measured with Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale and coping strategies were measured with Brief COPE Inventory. Five subscales selected for this study were problem solving, social support, religious, self-blame, and denial coping strategies. The data were analyzed using structuralequation models with anxiety and depression as outcome variables. Results: The results revealed difference in the types of coping strategies linked to anxiety and depression. The five coping strategies explained 46% variance in anxiety, whereas only the use of self-blame and religious coping strategies explained 26% variance in depression. Conclusion: The finding of the study highlight that interventions may need to focus on different types of coping strategies depending on the nature of students’ psychological distress. Keywords: Anxiety; Coping; Coping strategy; Depression; Psychological distress

Negative, but not positive, religious coping strategies are associated with psychological distress, independent of religiosity, in Korean adults with epilepsy

Background: Health-care workers (HCWs) in India have been heavily impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, facing significant psychological distress due to their challenging work, exposure to the virus, and isolation. This study examines the emotional states and coping strategies of HCWs and the potential effects of religious coping mechanisms on their mental health. Aim: To explore the emotional state, coping strategies, and impact of religious beliefs on the mental health of junior doctors in a COVID-19-designated tertiary care hospital in Mysore. Methods: The cross-sectional survey-based observational study included residents and house surgeons working in COVID-19 wards. Sociodemographic data along with their emotional state and coping strategies were assessed using Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Scale-21 (DASS-21), Brief COPE Inventory, and the Brief Religion COPE. Chi-square test and Pearson’s correlation were used to evaluate the relationship between variables. Results: Majority (57.2%) of the participants were between 21 and 25 years and of male gender (61.6%), with Hinduism being the most prevalent religious affiliation (88.4%). Most (71.7%) tested positive for COVID-19. A significant prevalence of stress, anxiety, and depression among HCWs. Significant associations were found between stress, anxiety, and factors such as living alone, working in emergency care, substance use, and associations between religious coping and emotional status. Conclusion: The study highlighted the psychological distress faced by HCWs during the COVID-19 pandemic and proposes that religious coping techniques may help their mental health amid emergencies. Promoting an integrated strategy that incorporates psychological and religious coping mechanisms may improve health-care personnel’s overall resilience and mental well-being in the face of future challenges.

The sensation of being overburdened, anxious, or exhausted is a common description of stress. People of all ages, genders, and circumstances can be impacted by stress, which can result in problems with their physical and mental health. At times, a little stress can be good for you. Extreme stress, however, can have negative effects on the immunological, cardiovascular, neuro-endocrine, and central neurological systems. Extreme stress can also have a devastating emotional impact. Minor episodes of stress can be managed by using one's body's inherent defenses to adjust to shifting circumstances, but persistent, excessive stress that lasts for a lengthy period of time can be physically and psychologically crippling. Coping can be defined as those thoughts and actions which we deal with a threatening situation. Coping strategies can be of various types, among which most common types are: Problem focused coping strategy, Seeking Social support coping strategy, Passive acceptance coping strategy, Avoidance coping strategy, Religious Coping strategy and Emotion focused coping strategy. This study was based on survey method technique from few sites of Kathmandu valley. Data is in quantitative nature. The questionnaire of socio-demographic variables and coping strategy was distributed among 302 participants for quantitative data. People were selected conveniently during this study. Coping check list developed by Rao, Subbakrishna and Prabhu was used for this study. In this research it was found that, for preference of type of coping strategy by total number of respondents, problem focused coping strategy had the maximum score whereas religious coping strategy had its minimum score.

Students who are marginalised based on varying identities, backgrounds and characteristics are highly vulnerable to mental health challenges, but many do not receive appropriate support from healthcare services. Several barriers have been identified, including cultural and systemic factors. Therefore, everyday coping strategies and support in different settings are vital. This study examines the mental health coping strategies and support needs among marginalised students in the United Kingdom (UK). We analysed qualitative and quantitative data from a cross-sectional survey conducted between December 2021 and July 2022. Statistical analysis was conducted on data obtained using the abbreviated version of the Coping Orientation to Problems Experienced Inventory (Brief-COPE). Qualitative content analysis was applied to data collected using open-ended questions. From a subsample of 788 further and higher education students, 581 (73.7%) students (M = 25 years, SD = 8.19) were categorised as marginalised based on ethnicity, sex/gender, sexuality, religious beliefs, first language, birth country, age (i.e., mature students), and having special education needs/disabilities. Marginalised students had significantly higher scores for problem-focused, emotion-focused and avoidant coping strategies/practices compared to other students. Coping strategies included talking to friends and family, practising religion or spirituality, engaging in creative/innovative activities like hobbies, using entertainment as a distraction, waiting to see if things improve and isolating. Students expressed a need for improved or tailored services, additional academic support, and appropriate social support. These included contemporary approaches to support mental health, such as online provisions, regular mentor/personal tutor meetings, lowered academic pressures and opportunities for organised peer support. The findings from this study highlight significant and timely evidence on coping strategies and support needs among a wide range of marginalised student groups in the UK. This study provides important knowledge that is useful to inform personalised culturally appropriate mental health support that can be offered in education settings.

Given the significant mental health issues affecting our paramedics, there exists an urgent need to promote positive mental health and well-being among future cohorts of student paramedics. This study investigated the preparedness of student paramedics for the mental health challenges of the profession and explored the coping strategies used by experienced paramedics.The study was conducted in two parts. Part A comprised of two surveys which were developed and administered to 16 course coordinators and 302 students of the 16 accredited undergraduate paramedicine courses across Australia and New Zealand. The survey aimed to identify the perceived need for preparation within the curriculum. In addition, the anticipations, confidence and fears of student paramedics, Course Coordinators and paramedics were also collected as a means to explore the preparedness through self-evaluation, reflection and discussion.Part B included twenty semi-structured interviews with experienced paramedics, from Australia and New Zealand. The interviews were conducted to gain an understanding of their experiences and the mental health coping strategies they employed, as well as capture the advice they would give to student paramedics. Results from the interviews were validated by three focus groups comprised of six paramedics each, representative of the geographic spread.Results suggest there is widespread recognition for the need to include preparation for the mental health challenges of the profession, within accredited undergraduate paramedic courses, with 100% of course coordinators and 97% of students recognising this need.The interviews with paramedics provided valuable insights into the experiences and strategies used to aid the survival of the paramedics throughout their careers. Within the interviews, 70% of participants expressed a sincere love for the paramedic role, and 70% identified black humour as the coping strategy most used by themselves and colleagues. In addition, extensive advice was given to students based upon the paramedics’ lived experiences. This advice comprised of three themes; support, health and the profession. These findings were mapped against the aims of Australia’s current Mental Health Policy to provide evidence-based and policy-informed guidelines for the integration of positive mental health strategies into undergraduate paramedicine curricula.Preparing student paramedics for the mental health challenges of the profession could be advantageous. One way to achieve this is through the inclusion of key content within the undergraduate curriculum by utilising the relatable data collected on anticipation, confidence, fears and the advice offered by the veteran paramedics can be integrated. These lived experiences are highly credible and an opportunity for veterans to contribute positively to the future of paramedicine.

Objective The coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has had a severe impact on mental health. To explore the underlying mechanisms that influence mental health, a critical question is whether different types of coping strategies may mediate the relationships between COVID-19 related stress and mental health.Methods Recruited between October 19 and 24, 2021, a total of 500 participants aged 20 to 69 years completed an online survey to evaluate the COVID-19 stress, coping orientation, depression and state anxiety. The period corresponded to the highest level of COVID-19 restrictions (level 4) immediately before the adjusted restriction to level 3. Parallel mediation analyses were conducted using structural equation modeling.Results Distinct mediation effects of the COVID-19 stress (i.e., fear of infection, difficulties of social distancing, anger toward others) through three types of coping strategies (i.e., functional, dysfunctional, seeking support) were found. Fear of infection was likely to be related to functional coping and dysfunctional coping. Social distancing model indicated dysfunctional coping and seeking support, while anger toward others model was associated with functional coping and seeking support.Conclusion The results highlight the different relationships between COVID-19 stress and mental health coping strategies. The identification of these mediation pathways offers guidance for designing effective interventions and support systems to promote psychological well-being during challenging times like the COVID-19 pandemic.

Aim of the studyTo investigate into the mechanisms of resiliency in women after mastectomy. We hypothesized that the mechanism of resiliency in women with breast cancer would involve facilitation of adaptive coping strategies and inhibition of maladaptive strategies. We tested a mediational model in which resiliency was related to satisfaction with life through coping strategies.Material and methodsThirty women after mastectomy aged 28–69 years (M = 53.23, SD = 9.00) completed the Ego Resiliency Scale, Mental Adjustment to Cancer Scale, and Satisfaction with Life Scale.ResultsThe bootstrapping technique revealed that there were significant indirect effects for positive reframing (95% CI: 0.01–0.36), hopelessness/helplessness (95% CI: 0.18–0.83) and anxious preoccupation (95% CI: 0.001–0.55) but not for fighting spirit. The models explained up to 33% of the variance in satisfaction with life.ConclusionsCoping strategies fully explain the effect of resiliency on satisfaction with life in women after mastectomy. This finding provides additional evidence of the fundamental role of coping strategies in the mechanisms of resiliency. We obtained similar results in patients with type II diabetes and rheumatoid arthritis. The lack of significant associations of fighting spirit with resiliency suggests that this coping strategy may be beneficial for somatic health but its contribution to the mechanisms of psychological resiliency is complex.

This study examined the role of religious and nonreligious cognitive-behavioral coping in a sample of 61 chronic pain patients from a midwestern pain clinic. Participants described their chronic pain and indicated their use of religious and nonreligious cognitive-behavioral coping strategies. Results supported a multidimensional conceptualization of religious coping that includes both positive and negative strategies. Positive religious coping strategies were associated significantly with positive affect and religious outcome after statistically controlling for demographic variables. In contrast, measures of negative religious coping strategies were not associated significantly with outcome variables. Several significant associations also were found between nonreligious cognitive-behavioral coping strategies and outcome variables. The results underscore the need for further research concerning the contributions of religious coping in adjustment to chronic pain. Practitioners of applied psychophysiology should assess their chronic pain patients' religious appraisals and religious coping as another important stress management strategy.

In 2022, over 25% of U.S. adults reported being too stressed to function most days which, in turn, undermines physical and mental health. Although it is well-established that religion, broadly speaking, provides a set of tools to cope with stress, we know little about links between religious and spiritual identity and religious coping strategies. Indeed, religious and spiritual identity may influence health via different coping pathways, as may broader religious and cultural contexts. Thus, the current study examined how religious and spiritual identity uniquely contribute to health and well-being outcomes, and if these effects are explained by how people differentially leverage positive and negative religious coping strategies to manage stress. Using data from four diverse US samples (total N = 6965) and structural equation modeling, we found spiritual and religious identity are independently associated with increased usage of positive – but not negative – religious coping strategies. However, individuals who used more negative religious coping strategies tended to report worse mental health. Additionally, some associations were significant (e.g. use of positive religious coping strategies and better mental health) only amongst certain racial/ethnic groups. Findings point toward potential places for intervention in addressing mental health concerns amongst religious and spiritual individuals while underscoring the need for culturally and religiously sensitive approaches to mental health interventions.

In 2022, over 25% of U.S. adults reported being too stressed to function most days which, in turn, undermines physical and mental health. Although it is well-established that religion, broadly speaking, provides a set of tools to cope with stress, we know little about links between religious and spiritual identity and religious coping strategies. Indeed, religious and spiritual identity may influence health via different coping pathways, as may broader religious and cultural contexts. Thus, the current study examined how religious and spiritual identity uniquely contribute to health and well-being outcomes, and if these effects are explained by how people differentially leverage positive and negative religious coping strategies to manage stress. Using data from four diverse US samples (total N = 6965) and structural equation modeling, we found spiritual and religious identity are independently associated with increased usage of positive – but not negative – religious coping strategies. However, individuals who used more negative religious coping strategies tended to report worse mental health. Additionally, some associations were significant (e.g., use of positive religious coping strategies and better mental health) only amongst certain racial/ethnic groups. Findings point towards potential places for intervention in addressing mental health concerns amongst religious and spiritual individuals while underscoring the need for culturally and religiously sensitive approaches to mental health interventions.

abstractObjective: Mobile health (mHealth) approaches have the potential to transform prevention, wellness, and illness management for people with dual diagnosis consisting of co-occurring mental illness and substance use disorders by providing timely and cost-effective interventions in clients' natural environments. However, little is known about how clients interact with mHealth interventions to manage their illness. This qualitative study explored the content of mobile phone text messages between clients with dual diagnosis and a clinician who engaged them in daily assessment and intervention text exchanges. Methods: Seventeen participants with psychotic disorders and substance use were enrolled in a 12-week single-arm trial of an mHealth intervention focusing on illness management. The clinician (i.e., mobile interventionist) sent daily text messages to participants' privately owned mobile phones to assess their medication adherence and clinical status. The clinician provided other illness management and wellness suggestions flexibly, in response to participants' needs and preferences. In this qualitative study we conducted a thematic analysis of the client–clinician text exchanges that occurred over the course of the intervention. Results: Seven major content themes in client–clinician text message exchanges were identified: mental health symptoms; mental health coping strategies; mental health treatment and management; lifestyle behaviors; social relationships and leisure activities; motivation and personal goal setting; and independent living. Participants were interested in discussing strategies for coping with mental health symptoms (e.g., cognitive restructuring, social support) and health behavior change (e.g., increased physical activity, dietary changes). Conclusions: Our findings suggest that client-centered text messaging has the potential to be an important component of illness management for people with dual diagnosis. This approach is able to offer coping strategies that are tailored to clients' needs and preferences in real time when help is needed.

Limited research has been conducted to explore the racial trauma experience of East Asian American women, especially in the workplace. We sought to understand (a) how racial trauma has influenced this population's work and non-work life and (b) how they have coped with this traumatic stress in career development and mental health aspects. Twelve participants working in the United States participated in semi-structured interviews about the impact of workplace racial trauma on their mental health, work, relationships, and coping strategies. Five domains were developed using conventional content analysis: (a) racial trauma at work is expressed with microaggression, (b) racial trauma causes a loss of psychological safety, (c) racial trauma creates relationship dilemmas, (d) racial trauma creates challenges in participants’ career development paths, and (e) career and mental health coping strategies are used to manage racial traumatic stress. Implications for theoretical advances and counseling and organizational practice are also discussed.