Stress Worry Research Articles

Interpersonal Violence and Social Determinants of Health.

Social determinants of health (SDOH) influence patient outcomes and risk assessment. This study focuses on interpersonal violence, trauma outcomes, and SDOH. We hypothesized patients with lower SDOH experience worse trauma outcomes and present from higher-risk communities. Demographics, SDOH, and outcomes for patients admitted to surgical trauma suffering interpersonal violence were collected and analyzed. Home addresses were plotted, identifying areas of need compared with Area Deprivation Index (ADI). Only 18.8% of patients had documented SDOH, yielding small sample size. Analysis revealed no statistically significant associations (P < .05) between SDOH and trauma outcomes, including ICU length of stay and stress concern (P = .0804). Heat mapping revealed several hot spots across our catchment area, correlating with higher-ranked ADIs and increased deprivation. This study demonstrated SDOH can bring value in determining patient risk, emphasizing resource dedication to documenting these factors. Home addresses in conjunction with ADIs can ascertain areas for resource allocation within communities.

A Description of MMPI-2-RF Profile of Eleven Boko Haram Terrorists

Nigeria, the largest country on the continent of Africa, has been fighting wars with the proclaimed terrorist group Boko Haram. Currently, Boko Haram has between 1,500 and 2,000 fighters; most documentation about them is either a position paper or a situation review. There is scanty data on the personality and psychological assessment of Boko Haram terrorists using a standardized self-report inventory. Hence, this study aims to describe and explore the profile of the Boko Haram suspects on all the scales of the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-2-Restructured Form. Eleven respondents were purposefully recruited because they were the only ones incarcerated at the ‘Kiri-kiri’ Prison facility at the time of this research. Their scores on the inventory were descriptively analyzed. More of these terrorists endorsed significant scores or symptoms of emotional/internalizing dysfunction (EID), somatic complaints (RC1), antisocial behavior (RC4), ideas of persecution (RC6), gastrointestinal complaints (GIC), neurological complaints (NUC), suicidal/death ideation (SUI), anxiety (AXY), shyness (SHY), and disaffiliativeness (DSF), while elevated scores or severe symptoms were reported on stress/worry (STW) and psychoticism (PSYC-r). This research provides personality and psychological assessments of Boko Haram terrorists for the first time using MMPI-2-RF, though it is limited by sample size. Therefore, a larger sample size may be needed for further studies and the ability to make inferences and generalizations.

A - 90 Assessment Methods for Anxiety in Epilepsy.

Anxiety is disproportionately common in people with epilepsy, however, the optimal tool to screen for assessment of anxiety in epilepsy has not been definitively established. This study aims to assess if a long questionnaire such as the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-2 Restructured Form (MMPI-2-RF) is necessary for identifying and quantifying anxiety symptoms in patients with epilepsy or if the Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI) will suffice as a screening measure. Retrospective data were analyzed from a neuropsychology registry of patients with epilepsy (N = 317; 136 male, 181 female). As proposed by Kenfack et al, 2022, patients that scored ≥16 on the BAI were cross tabulated with patients identified by the MMPI-2-RF as having T-scores ≥65 on scales EID (emotional/internalizing dysfunction), RC7 (dysfunctional negative emotions), STW (stress/worry), AXY (anxiety), and RC1(somatic complaints). Multiple chi square tests with alpha set at.05 were performed to examine the relationship between BAI and MMPI-2-RF indices in identifying anxiety in patients with epilepsy. As shown in Table 1, scores above the cutoff on the BAI were significantly associated with scores falling above the cutoffs for all of the MMPI-2-RF anxiety indices (EID, RC1, RC7, STW, & AXY). The diagnostic value of the BAI is similar to that of MMPI-2-RF subscales commonly used to assess anxiety. The findings provide support for using the BAI for screening anxiety symptoms in patients with epilepsy undergoing neuropsychological assessment. Keywords: Anxiety, Epilepsy, MMPI-2-RF, BAI.

VITAMIN B1 BIOLOGICAL FUNCTION IMPLEMENTATION IN THE BLOOD OF PATIENTS WITH STOMACH CANCER UNDER SURGICAL INTERVENTION

Background. The probability of undergoing surgery always predetermines the state of stress in a person; therefore, it is advisable to search for ways to optimize and (or) reduce this unfavourable effect. Objective. To find out the mechanism of vitamin B1 antistress activity during surgery. Material and methods. Metabolism intensity was investigated on donors’ blood lysates (n = 19) and those of patients with stage III stomach cancer (n = 64), referred to an elective surgery, aged 51-70. The blood was taken from the cubital vein three days before the operation, after premedication, during the most traumatic moment of the operation, after extubation, as well as on the first and third days of the postoperative period. The surgery was performed under combined multicomponent anesthesia using nitric oxide, sodium hydroxybutyrate, and epidural block. Thiamine and thiamine diphosphate kinase activities were assessed by the concentration of the formed thiamine di- and triphosphates of the vitamin. The activities of thiamine mono-, di- and triphosphatases were determined by the release of inorganic phosphate. The concentration of inorganic phosphate was recorded colorimetrically. The content of B1 and its derivatives in the blood was determined by the method of ion-pair reversed-phase HPLC. Results. There has been observed an increased content of thiamine monophosphate and that of free thiamine in the blood of donors and patients with stomach cancer. The registered rate of the hydrolytic thiamine monophosphatase reaction is not high. At the stages of premedication and maximum trauma of surgical exposure, the concentration of monophosphoric ester rapidly decreases alongside with monophosphatase activation. Therefore, the thiamine monophosphate hydrolysis is the rate-limiting link of vitamin B1 metabolism. The level of free thiamine remains persistently increased at all stages of surgical treatment. Thiamine monophosphatase activity is manifested at two pH optima – of 6.0 and 9.0. Thiamine monophosphate hydrolysis at pH of 9.0 is catalyzed by alkaline phosphatase. At pH of 6.0, in addition to thiamine monophosphoric ester, the enzyme hydrolyzes only p-nitrophenyl phosphate, flavin mononucleotide and phosphotyrosine, that allows it to be classified as hepatic acid phosphatase. The noted changes in B1 metabolism under stress concern mainly non-coenzyme forms - thiamine mono-, triphosphate, and free thiamine, which are used at the stages of thiol reduction as important components of insulin synthesis. Conclusions. The use of vitamin B1 allows to optimize the development of the stress response at all stages of surgical treatment. Its protective effect is achieved through the activation of the insulin-synthetic function of the pancreas, which increases the level of immunoreactive insulin in the blood. The formation of the most favorable physiological conditions for insulin synthesis provides an increased background of free thiamine, which is created due to the hydrolysis of noncoenzyme forms of the vitamin. The relationship between thiamine metabolism and B2 exchange and regulation of intracellular signaling pathways has been traced.

Evaluating the Association Between Artificial Sweetener Intake and Indicators of Stress and Anxiety.

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the association between non-nutritive sweetener (NNS) consumption and stress and anxiety, among a sample of college students. Two-hundred and twenty-seven students from a large mid-western university participated in this cross-sectional study. Students completed an online survey that evaluated NNS using a validated food frequency questionnaire. Stress and anxiety were evaluated using previously validated instruments. Most students reported very low/low/average concern for stress (63.9%), and had low/moderate anxiety (82.3%). Participants experiencing high and very high levels of stress had significantly higher NNS consumption compared to those with a very low and low risk, and concern for stress (p < .046; d = 0.28). There was no difference however for NNS intake and anxiety. Reduction of artificial sweetener intake may be associated with stress levels among college students. However, more research is needed to examine any causal relationship between artificial sweetener intake and stress.

Couple relationship quality, coparenting, and fathering in Taiwan

This study examined connections among couple relationship quality, coparenting, and mother and father involvement in 100 families from urban Central Taiwan. Fathers and mothers with at least one school-age child completed questionnaires regarding their couple satisfaction and consensus, coparenting techniques and consistency, and involvement in caregiving, socialisation, physical play and exploration, outdoor games and sports, leisure, and positive communication activities with their children. Findings revealed associations among levels of father involvement in various activities, and between mother and father involvement, particularly, in similar activities. Findings also revealed connections between mother and father perceptions of the couple and coparenting relationship and father involvement in a variety of activities. Father perceptions of coparenting techniques and coparenting consistency, and mother report of her involvement practices emerged as the most consistent predictors of father involvement across the six activity types. These findings highlight the importance of interconnectedness, cooperation, and shared roles amongst coparenting partners, and are reflective of collectivist cultural norms in Asian societies which stress concern for and cooperation with others in social relationships.

Introduction: Perspectives on Stress and Work

SUMMARY This essay places the issue of faculty stress within the larger context of workplace stress. We compare and contrast aspects of faculty stress with studies of stress in diverse nonacademic settings. We begin by reviewing the literature concerned with defining workplace stress. We then consider how concern for stress directs attention to the health implications of work. The literature in this area identifies factors that increase and inhibit feelings of stress among workers. The third section deals with the close connection between the concepts of stress and coping. We discuss studies of how workers experience stress and the social conditions associated with some workers' successful efforts to cope with stressful work. We conclude by briefly summarizing the studies that make up the rest of this volume.

LOW SERUM FERRITIN LEVELS AS A CLUE TO COLONIC CANCER DETECTION IN TWO PATIENTS WITH CORONARY ARTERY DISEASE: A CASE REPORT

We diagnosed colonic cancer using low serum ferritin levels as a clue in two patients with cardiac or cardiopulmonary disease. In the course of the follow-up, the serum ferritin levels decreased to less than 18 ng/mL without significant appearance of iron-deficiency anemia. One patient showed positive immunological fecal occult blood test results whereas the other not. Both patients rejected further colonoscopy because of their concern for stress in relation to their cardiac or cardiopulmonary diseases, but instead agreed to positron emission computed tomography (PET) using a F-18 deoxyglucose at their own expense. In both patients, PET documented abnormal tracer accumulation in the colon. From the results of PET imaging, they eventually agreed to colonoscopy. A colonic adenocarcinoma was detected at the site of the positive PET finding in each patient. Both patients underwent curative resection of the cancer. The detection of the levels of serum ferritin may be available for the screening colonic cancer in patients declining colonoscopic examination.

The Conception of Problem and the Role of Inquiry in Social Education

Abstract A persistent issue in teaching social studies is whether teacher or students select problems to be studied. Alternative conceptions of the meaning of problem influence the decision. Dewey rejected the position of positivism that problems simply emerge from the data, but his followers sometimes confused his positions on research in social science and problems as subjects of study in schoolrooms, particularly those child-centered theorists who saw the only legitimate problems as those posed by children. Earlier liberal critiques of positivist approaches are followed now by those of neoliberals and radicals. Neoliberals note failure to consider poetic, artistic, and other types of systematic thinking. Radicals or critical theorists stress concern about omission of problems for consideration that arise from political and social conditions, often because these problems are unrecognized or rejected as threatening to capitalistic interests. The various doctrinaire approaches have little appeal to most s...

Marital Relationships and Self-Esteem: How Jewish Families Are Different

The author investigates whether US Jewish families differ from other American families by valuing more the nurturant and supportive aspects of family relationships. On a normative level Judaism assigns a major role to the family especially its nurturance and stability; the issue becomes whether this is still true of the contemporary Jewish family. 1 way to examine the centrality of the family is to examine behavior: are Jewish marriages less likely to end in divorce? Another way is to look at the social-psychological dimensions of the family--to look not at levels of marital satisfaction per se but the social-psychological consequences of marital satisfaction. The author argues that family and family relations form an important part of Jewish self-esteem. Using a sample of 2300 individuals from Chicago collected by the National Institute of Mental Health to study the social origins of personal stress the study finds after controlling for education age and sex that the self-esteem of Jewish respondents was affected more than that of Protestants and Catholics by measures of marital support marital stress concern about the future of the marriage seeking professional help for marital problems being married and the duration of marriage. As expected levels of marital support and stress did not differ; the significant difference was the effect on self-esteem. What is especially interesting about this finding is that it is directly opposite to contemporary trends such as urbanization mobility education and female employment that tend to devalue the importance of the family. Persons who place a high value on family stabililty in their self-concept structure may be more likely to act in ways that maximize family viability; they may also be more tolerant of unsatisfying marriages. Jews tend to marry to marry other Jews to have children and to not divorce.