Immigrant mental health, safe work, discrimination, and state policies: From racism and xenophobia to health equity.

Objective: This study aimed to examine the mental health and somatic distress among migrant returnee population in Ethiopia. Background: Mental health and psychosocial distress are frequent among people who have faced adversity, such as exposure to abuse, exploitation, loss, displacement, and human trafficking. Returned Migrants are the most vulnerable population for such adversities, especially when they work in under-regulated sectors such as domestic work entered through illegal migration. Addressing the mental health issues of returnees has to be a cross- cutting activity of any migration -crisis intervention. However, knowledge about the frequency, severity, and risk factors as they affect migrants' mental health in Ethiopian is limited at best. Method: In a sample of 1,035 returnee migrants, data were collected on the mental distress based on SRQ-20 and somatic distress based on PHQ-15. A descriptive statistics correlation, t-test, and factorial MANOVA analysis were run to determine the distress status and the relationship between different variables. Results: Using a cut of point of 8, 26.08% of the sample was considered to be a probable case (n=270), with females endorsing more items than males. Twenty- three percent (11.7%, Mild; 8.2% Moderate; and 3% Sever) of the participants reported somatic manifestation of psychological distress. A significant relationship is found between participants' mental health distress and somatic psychological distress. Religious affiliation and ethnicity are found to be associated with mental health distress, while gender and education are found to be significantly associated with somatic psychological distress. Conclusion: Ethiopian migrant returnees deal with significant mental health distress and endorsed somatic symptoms in outpatient setting. Migrant returnees should access to a mental health service that is exclusively geared towards their mental health problems instead of clustering them together under the umbrella of general health services. Future studies are needed into the nature and efficacy of mental healthcare intervention in Ethiopia.

University students typically enter a dynamic transitional period of new independence from their parents that are characterized by many factors. These factors such as social, financial, and environment can be a burden and puts them at risk of mental health distress. Engaging in physical activity has proved to give benefits to mental health. However, not many university students are active during their years at the university. Few psychosocial factors such as emotional intelligence were seen to increased students physical activity and decrease mental distress. Therefore, the purpose of the study is to see whether emotional intelligence can mediate the relationship between physical activity and mental health (distress) among university students at Universiti Putra Malaysia, Malaysia. A correlation study with path analysis was conducted on 266 students at Universiti Putra Malaysia. Few instruments were used such as International Physical Activity Questionnaire SF (IPAQ-SF), General Health Questionnaire-28 (GHQ-28), and Schutte Self Report Emotional Intelligence Test (SSEIT) was used in this study. Path analysis was used to explore association between these aspects. Physical activity, mental health distress and emotional intelligence were significantly correlated and emotional intelligence showed partial mediation effect towards the relationship between physical activity and mental health distress (p<0.00). Thus, there was an association between physical activity with mental health distress, and emotional intelligence partially mediated this relationship. We interpret these novel data to suggest that physical activity can boost mental health and these physical activity-associated of emotional intelligence relevantly gives benefits in mental health. Such data have important implications for both health practice and policy especially in higher education institutions. Keywords : Emotional intelligence, physical activity, mental health, undergraduate students.

Background Mental distress affects people's health in many ways and at different levels. However, anxiety and depressive disorder have significantly increased since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic. Controlling the spread of COVID-19 resulted in isolation protocols such as stay-at-home orders, social distancing, and quarantining. Though well intended, the protocols exacerbated the already increasing number of mental distress cases prior to the pandemic. During the rollout of these pandemic interventions to control the spread, there was a noticeable increase in technology use. For instance, to cope with their mental health concerns, several people, including students, turned to technology to sustain their connection to the society and to access mental health services. Although a plethora of technological tools exist for communication and socialization, it is unknown which types of technologies are effective in the management of anxiety and depression symptoms. Hence, there is a need for a sociotechnical model that can identify technologies effective in addressing an individual's mental health symptoms, specifically among college students. Objective The objective of this study is to identify the effectiveness of current technologies used in coping with a mental distress situation and to develop a model that college students can use to effectively handle their mental health distress during and after a pandemic. Methods The proposed model is built on the Stallman's Health Theory of Coping. The model expands the theory with 5 significant components, namely Mental Health Distress Situation, Level of Distress, Coping Strategy, Technology Used, and the Mental Health Distress Outcome. This paper describes the conceptualized functionality of each component. The model will be implemented as a prototype mobile app and evaluated using a case study with students from 2 colleges. Results The study is underway. However, the model will be evaluated using 2 categories of nonrandomized focus groups of college students to determine the usefulness and the effectiveness of the model. Each group will consist of 8 participants. Data collected from each group will be qualitatively evaluated to identify themes from the responses, which will be used to refine the model to meet the study objective. Conclusions Many people experienced an increase in mental distress due to the isolation requirements arising from the COVID-19 pandemic. With limited access to traditional coping strategies in public and large gatherings, people turned to technology to manage their stress, anxiety, and depression. However, there is no “one-size-fits-all” technology that can address every individual distress level and coping strategy. Thus, developing a model to identify effective technologies used as coping strategies will be helpful for an individual in alleviating their mental health distress symptoms during and after a pandemic. Conflicts of Interest None declared.

Gender differences on mental health distress: Findings from the economic recession in Portugal

Introduction: Mental health of workers is an essential determinant of their workproductivity and their overall health. Poor mental health contributes meaningfully to arange of chronic physical illnesses such as hypertension, diabetes, and cardiovasculardisorders. Besides, mental health distress can severely impact the ability to work,leading to increased absenteeism and/or presenteeism. Consequently, employers andbusinesses are negatively affected by poor mental health among their employees due tothe lost productivity and profits, as well as the increased direct costs of managing thesehealth problems. Aim of work: To investigate the association between mental healthdistress and work productivity in terms of absenteeism and presenteeism. Materialsand Methods: One-hundred and eighty male shipyard-workers were interviewed usinga predesigned questionnaire for sociodemographic characteristics, work characteristics,lifestyle behaviors, perceived health status, and chronic diseases. Mental health distresswas measured using the Kessler psychological distress scale (K6), while measuresof work productivity (absenteeism and presenteeism) were calculated according tothe scoring guide of the Health and Work Performance Questionnaire (HPQ-shortform). Results: The mean age of participants was 48.3 years (± 8.17). Operators and service-workers constituted 73.3% of all participants, while professionals andadministrative workers represented 16.7% and 10%, respectively. Eight workers (4.4%)had high mental health distress, while 12.2% had moderate distress. The mean daysof absenteeism and presenteeism were significantly higher among participants withmoderate or high mental distress compared to low distress (p < 0.001). Further, withineach level of mental distress, the mean presenteeism days were significantly higher thanthe mean absenteeism days. Moderate and high mental distresses were associated with2.1 and 3.9 times greater rates of absenteeism and presenteeism compared to low mentaldistress. Conclusion: Mental health distress is associated with both higher absence andpresenteeism rates. Effective workplace policies for mental health promotion and casemanagement could yield substantial increases in worker’s productivity.

IntroductionAdolescent girls are at high risk of HIV infection in sub‐Saharan Africa. Mental health distress, driven by adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) such as abuse, poverty and family HIV, may be an important driver of HIV risk behaviour among adolescent girls, while education may mitigate these risks. This study aimed to develop an empirically based theoretical model between ACEs, mental health distress and HIV risk behaviour among adolescent girls in South Africa and to investigate the potential moderating effects of free schooling provision.MethodsSelf‐report questionnaires using validated scales were completed by adolescent girls aged 12 to 17 at baseline in two provinces in South Africa in 2011, with a 99% one‐year follow‐up in 2012 (n = 1498). Sampling included every household in randomly selected census enumeration areas of four deprived health districts. Confirmatory factor analysis was employed to identify measurement models and a structural equation model was developed to test pathways of risk and protection.ResultsInternalizing and externalizing mental health distress fully mediated the positive relationship between ACEs at baseline and HIV risk behaviour at follow‐up among adolescent girls. Internalizing mental health distress was associated with increased sexual risk at follow‐up via higher externalizing problems. Free schooling provision at baseline and follow‐up eliminated the pathway from internalizing to externalizing mental health distress by moderating the pathway between ACEs and internalizing mental health distress. It also weakened the pathway from externalizing mental health distress to HIV risk behaviour at follow‐up through a direct negative effect on externalizing mental health distress.ConclusionsReducing ACEs and adolescent mental health distress is essential for reducing HIV risk behaviour among girls in South Africa. Free schooling provision may be an important tool for reducing these problems and mitigating negative pathways to HIV risk among vulnerable adolescent girls.

This paper assesses the levels of antiretroviral treatment (ART) adherence and mental health distress among study participants in a national behavioural HIV-sero prevalence study South Africa. The study was a cross-sectional population-based multi-stage stratified cluster random survey, (SABSSM V, 2017). Structured questionnaires were used to collect information on socio-demographics, HIV knowledge, perceptions, HIV testing and HIV treatment history. Study participants were tested for HIV infection, antiretroviral use, viral suppression, and ART drug resistance. A total of 2155 PLHIV aged 15years or older who were on ART were included in the study. Incidence of either moderate or severe mental health distress was 19.7%. Self-reported ART adherence among study participants with no, mild, moderate, or severe mental distress was 82%, 83%, 86% and 78%, respectively. The adjusted odds ratio for ART non-adherence was 0.58 (95% CI 0.24; 1.40) for mild mental distress, 0.82 (95% CI 0.35; 1.91) for moderate mental distress and 2.19 (95% CI 1.14; 4.19) for severe mental distress groups compared to the no mental health distress group. The other factors that were associated with ART non-adherence in adjusted models included education level, alcohol use and province/region of residence. The study revealed that mental health remains a challenge to ART adherence in South Africa. To improve ART adherence, HIV continuum of care programs should include screening for mental health among people living with HIV.

A Neighborhood-level analysis of mental health distress and income inequality as quasi-longitudinal risk of reported COVID-19 infection and mortality outcomes in Chicago.

Impact of mental health distress on preconception health.

Adolescents in out-of-home placement have a high prevalence of mental health distress, and their vulnerability to poor mental health outcomes continues during placement. Risk and protective factors may influence mental health outcomes; however, little is known about their relationship to mental health distress in this population. Using data from a population-based survey conducted in schools, mental health distress, along with other risk and protective factors, was evaluated in young people who reported living in out-of-home placements (n = 5,516) and a comparison group (n = 5,500). Multivariate analysis was used to determine the strength of association between risk and protective factors and mental health distress in the youth reporting out-of-home placement. Comparisons of risk and protective factors indicated that out-of-home youth had greater risks (suicidal risk, mental health distress) and fewer protective factors (feeling parents care about them, other adults care, and school connectedness) than those in the comparison group. Multivariate analyses showed significant associations (38% explained variance) between mental health distress and the risk and protective factors, with the exception of other adult connectedness. Findings from this population-based school survey of young people reiterate that youth in out-of-home placements have higher levels of mental health distress and lower levels of protective factors compared to other youth. These results offer insights for those working with out-of-home or precariously housed young people.

Much research has focused on investigating mental health concerns among undergraduate students. However, considerably less attention has been placed on the mental health concerns and help-seeking behaviors of engineering majors. Some research has shown that in academic domains with high levels of competition, such as engineering, students' mental health is a major source of concern (Posselt & Lipson, 2016). High rates of mental health distress among engineering students at one specific university led some researchers to call for an expansion of mental health research in engineering programs elsewhere (Danowitz & Beddoes, 2018). One possibility is that students experiencing mental health distress are not seeking help as often as their peers in other disciplines. Indeed, some researchers have suggested that students' intentions and behaviors related to seeking help from mental health professionals might vary for a variety of reasons. The aims of the proposed study are to describe factors related to engineering students' mental health (i.e., stress, anxiety, depression, suicidality) and to examine their relationship with students' attitudes about seeking help from a mental health professional. Male and female students have shown different levels of mental health distress and help-seeking behaviors (Fischer et al., 2016; Van Droogenbroeck et al., 2013). Therefore, this study will also examine possible gender differences in students' mental health distress and attitudes about help-seeking. Guiding research questions are: To what extent do engineering students report mental health concerns (i.e., depression, anxiety, distress, and suicidality)? What are engineering students' beliefs and attitudes about seeking help from a mental health professional? Do these differ by gender? How are mental health challenges related to students' help-seeking attitudes? Secondary data collected through the nationally representative Healthy Minds Study (HMS; Eisenberg et al., 2019) will be used for the study. The dataset includes survey responses from 6,567 undergraduate engineering students from 79 institutions in the U.S. who participated in the study between 2018 and 2019. Depression was measured using 9 items from the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9). Anxiety was measured using 7 items from the Generalized Anxiety Disorder 7-item scale (GAD-7). Distress and suicidality were measured using items from the emotional resilience, mental health status, and issues affecting academic performance sections of the HMS. Help-seeking attitudes were measured using items assessing intentions to seek help if experiencing distress, service utilization, knowledge of resources, awareness of negative stigma about help-seeking, beliefs about treatment efficacy, perceived need, and perceived barriers to seeking help. Descriptive statistics will be used to investigate all variables. Mean difference tests will be used to examine gender differences in students' symptoms and help-seeking attitudes. Correlational analyses will be used to investigate the relationship between students' mental health distress and help-seeking attitudes and intentions. The results of this work will help to inform engineering education at postsecondary institutions. Faculty, administrators, and university mental health service providers can gain valuable insights about the unique needs of engineering students and develop targeted support services to support engineering students' mental health and academic success.

The present study examined the associations among childhood family relationships, adult conflict in marriage and work relationships, and mental health distress in Mexican immigrants. The sample consisted of 135 married Mexican immigrants recruited from an ESL program in Southern California. Structural equation modeling was used to test theoretical hypotheses. The model revealed that dysfunctional childhood family relationships predicted dissatisfaction and conflict in marital and work relationships. Conflict in marital relationships directly contributed to mental health distress, whereas conflict in work relationships had an indirect effect on mental health by impacting negatively on immigrants' marital relationships. The model also indicated that immigrants' socioeconomic status in Mexico was linked to work relationships conflict in the United States, which, in turn, had a detrimental effect on marital relationships and mental health distress. Furthermore, a significant pathway was found linking recency of migration and immigrants' resident status (legal vs. illegal) to conflict in marital relationships and mental health distress. Finally, social status risk factors significantly predicted mental health distress. Mexican immigrants who were older, of lower status, and female experienced a high level of psychological distress. The findings were discussed in terms of attachment and migration stress theory, and Latino cultural patterns. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

The present study examined the associations among childhood family relationships, adult conflict in marriage and work relationships, and mental health distress in Mexican immigrants. The sample consisted of 135 married Mexican immigrants recruited from an ESL program in Southern California. Structural equation modeling was used to test theoretical hypotheses. The model revealed that dysfunctional childhood family relationships predicted dissatisfaction and conflict in marital and work relationships. Conflict in marital relationships directly contributed to mental health distress, whereas conflict in work relationships had an indirect effect on mental health by impacting negatively on immigrants' marital relationships. The model also indicated that immigrants' socioeconomic status in Mexico was linked to work relationships conflict in the United States, which, in turn, had a detrimental effect on marital relationships and mental health distress. Furthermore, a significant pathway was found linking recency of migration and immigrants' resident status (legal vs. illegal) to conflict in marital relationships and mental health distress. Finally, social status risk factors significantly predicted mental health distress. Mexican immigrants who were older, of lower status, and female experienced a high level of psychological distress. The findings were discussed in terms of attachment and migration stress theory, and Latino cultural patterns. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Previous research suggested that during the COVID-19 pandemic, mental distress did not affect all people equally. This longitudinal study aims to examine joint trajectories of depressive, anxiety, and stress symptoms in a sample of Italian adults during the pandemic, and to identify psychosocial predictors of distress states. We analyzed four-wave panel data from 3,931 adults who had received assessments of depressive, anxiety and stress symptoms between April 2020 and May 2021. Trajectories of individual psychological distress were identified by Latent Class Growth Analysis (LCGA) with parallel processes, and multinomial regression models were conducted to identify baseline predictors. Parallel process LCGA identified three joint trajectory classes for depression, anxiety and stress symptoms. Most individuals (54%) showed a resilient trajectory. However, two subgroups showed vulnerable joint trajectories for depression, anxiety and stress. Expressive suppression, intolerance to uncertainty, and fear of COVID-19 were risk characteristics associated with vulnerable trajectories for mental health distress. Moreover, vulnerability to mental health distress was higher in females, younger age groups and those unemployed during the first lockdown. Findings support the fact that group heterogeneity could be detected in the trajectories of mental health distress during the pandemic and it may help to identify subgroups at risk of worsening states.

ABSTRACTWe examined relationships of smoking status and tobacco-related variables with health-related quality of life (HRQoL), a metric of disease burden, among clients in substance use disorders (SUDs) treatment. Participants (N = 2,068; 46.6% female) completed surveys reporting demographics, smoking status, and past-month days they experienced physical and/or mental health distress. Smokers (n = 1,596; 77.2% of sample) answered questions on tobacco-related variables. Multinomial regression models assessed relationships between tobacco-related variables (smoking status, nicotine dependence, menthol smoking, electronic-cigarette use, health concerns, and cost as reasons affecting reducing/quitting smoking, past and future quit attempts) with HRQol in four categories (good health, physical health distress, mental health distress, or both physical and mental health distress). Current smokers were more likely than former smokers to report frequent physical and mental health distress than good health (OR = 1.97, 95% CI = 1.16, 3.34), as were smokers with higher nicotine dependence (OR = 1.18, 95% CI = 1.03, 1.35). Smokers reporting both frequent physical and mental health distress were more sensitive to cigarettes’ cost (OR = 1.56, 95% CI = 1.06, 2.29), and less likely to use e-cigarettes (OR = 0.59, 95% CI = 0.38, 0.94). Findings of poor HRQoL among nicotine-dependent smokers with additional SUDs strengthen the imperative to provide smoking cessation interventions in addictions treatment.