Perceived Life Stress Research Articles

Psychological well-being and its associations with sociodemographic characteristics, physical health, substance use and other mental health outcomes among adults in Canada

Introduction Psychological well-being (PWB) is an important component of positive mental health (PMH) and an asset for population health. This study examined correlates of PWB among community-dwelling adults (18+ years) in the 10 Canadian provinces. Methods Using data from the 2019 Canadian Community Health Survey Rapid Response on PMH, we conducted linear regression analyses with sociodemographic, mental health, physical health and substance use variables as predictors of PWB. PWB was measured using six questions from the Mental Health Continuum—Short Form, which asked about feelings of self-acceptance, personal growth, environmental mastery, autonomy, positive relations and purpose in life during the past month. Results In unadjusted and adjusted analyses, older age, being married or in a commonlaw relationship and having a BMI in the overweight category (25.00–29.99) were associated with higher PWB, while reporting a mood disorder, anxiety disorder, high perceived life stress, engaging in heavy episodic drinking and frequent cannabis use were associated with lower PWB. Sex, having children living at home, immigrant status, racialized group membership, educational attainment, household income tertile, having a BMI in the obese category (≥30.00), major chronic disease and smoking status were not significantly associated with PWB. Conclusion This research identifies sociodemographic, mental health, physical health and substance use factors associated with PWB among adults in Canada. These findings highlight groups and characteristics that could be the focus of future research to promote PMH.

Psychosocial Sequalae of Sexual Assault in a Sample of Partnered Adults Experiencing Alcohol Use Disorder and Intimate Partner Violence.

Research has shown that experiencing a sexual assault results in significant and lasting effects in many psychosocial domains. However, most studies on the impact of sexual assault examine university samples or the immediate aftermath of the assault, not taking into account the longer-term complexities and contexts of life for many victims. The current study seeks to evaluate the role of lifetime sexual assault history on several psychosocial outcomes in adults who are in intimate relationships that have included both intimate partner violence (IPV) and alcohol use disorder. The study included 100 adult romantic couples who were part of a larger project addressing violence and alcohol use. A majority of participants were Caucasian (74.3%) and female (53%). Participants reported on lifetime sexual assault history, depression, perceived stress, maladaptive cognitive emotion regulation, and perceived intimate relationship functioning. Multilevel analyses controlled for couple interdependence as well as current levels of alcohol use and IPV. Results indicated that the presence/absence of sexual assault was only related to perceived life stress (p = .016), while the total number of lifetime assault experiences was related to depression symptoms (p < .001), perceived life stress (p = .052), maladaptive cognitive emotion regulation (p = .048), and dyadic adjustment (p = .003). These findings underscore the importance of investigating sexual assault outcomes in complex populations, as well as the need for more thorough and regular assessment of sexual assault history. Focusing on empowerment and recovery for sexual assault victims of any age is an important tool to prevent the detrimental outcomes that particularly accompany multiple victimizations.

Benchmarking Mental Health Status Using Passive Sensor Data: Protocol for a Prospective Observational Study.

Computational psychiatry has the potential to advance the diagnosis, mechanistic understanding, and treatment of mental health conditions. Promising results from clinical samples have led to calls to extend these methods to mental health risk assessment in the general public; however, data typically used with clinical samples are neither available nor scalable for research in the general population. Digital phenotyping addresses this by capitalizing on the multimodal and widely available data created by sensors embedded in personal digital devices (eg, smartphones) and is a promising approach to extending computational psychiatry methods to improve mental health risk assessment in the general population. Building on recommendations from existing computational psychiatry and digital phenotyping work, we aim to create the first computational psychiatry data set that is tailored to studying mental health risk in the general population; includes multimodal, sensor-based behavioral features; and is designed to be widely shared across academia, industry, and government using gold standard methods for privacy, confidentiality, and data integrity. We are using a stratified, random sampling design with 2 crossed factors (difficulties with emotion regulation and perceived life stress) to recruit a sample of 400 community-dwelling adults balanced across high- and low-risk for episodic mental health conditions. Participants first complete self-report questionnaires assessing current and lifetime psychiatric and medical diagnoses and treatment, and current psychosocial functioning. Participants then complete a 7-day in situ data collection phase that includes providing daily audio recordings, passive sensor data collected from smartphones, self-reports of daily mood and significant events, and a verbal description of the significant daily events during a nightly phone call. Participants complete the same baseline questionnaires 6 and 12 months after this phase. Self-report questionnaires will be scored using standard methods. Raw audio and passive sensor data will be processed to create a suite of daily summary features (eg, time spent at home). Data collection began in June 2022 and is expected to conclude by July 2024. To date, 310 participants have consented to the study; 149 have completed the baseline questionnaire and 7-day intensive data collection phase; and 61 and 31 have completed the 6- and 12-month follow-up questionnaires, respectively. Once completed, the proposed data set will be made available to academic researchers, industry, and the government using a stepped approach to maximize data privacy. This data set is designed as a complementary approach to current computational psychiatry and digital phenotyping research, with the goal of advancing mental health risk assessment within the general population. This data set aims to support the field's move away from siloed research laboratories collecting proprietary data and toward interdisciplinary collaborations that incorporate clinical, technical, and quantitative expertise at all stages of the research process. DERR1-10.2196/53857.

The impact of perceived life stress and online social support on university students’ mental health during the post-COVID era in Northwestern China: gender-specific analysis

BackgroundBefore the pandemic, research had already established the potential impact of perceived life stress and social support on the mental health status of Chinese students. However, in the Post-COVID Era, the specific mechanisms linking these variables and the distinct role of online social support remain relatively unexplored.MethodsAfter the cessation of China’s dynamic zeroing policy, a total of 1180 university students from Northwestern China participated in this study by completing a demographic questionnaire, as well as self-report measures assessing mental health, perceived life stress, and online social support.ResultsApproximately 25% of students exhibited psychological symptoms. When examining different categories of perceived life stress, males reported experiencing a significantly greater impact in terms of punishment and interpersonal relationships compared to females. Females experienced significantly higher levels of learning pressure compared to males. Specific types of perceived life stress were found to be significant predictors of students’ mental health status. Moreover, online social support was identified as a significant moderator in the relationship between all types of perceived life stress and mental health, irrespective of gender.ConclusionOur study findings unveiled two significant aspects: Firstly, the impact of perceived life stress on the mental health of students was identified as a risk factor. Secondly, the role of online social support emerged as a protective factor, particularly in the post-pandemic context. Additionally, gender-specific patterns were observed in these relationships.

Suicidal ideation, non-suicidal self-injury and psychopathology in university students: Examining the moderating role of experiential avoidance

BackgroundSuicidal ideation (SI) is prevalent and associated with negative mental health outcomes in young people, including psychiatric symptoms and non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI). These associations are not well understood, as is the role of experiential avoidance (EA) in the maintenance of SI in university students. MethodThe association between recent (last 30-days) and future (next 12-months) SI with NSSI, depression, anxiety, perceived life stress, and EA was explored in university students who completed an online survey (N = 1,355; 69 % women). Logistic regression analyses were used to predict recent and future SI. Interaction effects were explored to assess the moderating role of EA between NSSI, psychiatric symptoms, and SI. ResultsPast-NSSI plus past-SI were strongly associated with recent SI (OR = 6.08) and future SI (OR = 25.36), even over and above current psychiatric symptoms. Additionally, EA moderated the relationship between psychiatric symptoms and recent SI. Specifically, anxiety and perceived life stress were associated with an increased risk of recent SI in students with low EA, compared to those with high EA. LimitationsThe cross-sectional design does not allow us to infer causal relationships between variables. We only evaluated past NSSI and past SI with a single dichotomous item. Then, we did not capture the full heterogeneity of methods related to both phenomena. Only first-year university students were included and a convenience sampling method was used. ConclusionsPast-NSSI and past-SI are risk factors in the maintenance of recent and future SI, whereas EA operates as a specific moderating mechanism for SI.

Predictive Models for Canadian Healthcare Workers Mental Health During COVID-19.

COVID-19 impact on the population's mental health has been reported worldwide. Predicting healthcare workers' mental health and life stress is needed to proactively plan for future emergencies. Statistics Canada has surveyed Canadian healthcare workers and those working in healthcare settings to gauge their perceived mental health and perceived life stress. A cross-sectional survey of healthcare workers in Canada. A sample of 18,139 healthcare workers respondents. Eight algorithms, including Logistic Regression, Random Forest (RF), Naive Bayes (NB), K Nearest Neighbours (KNN), Adaptive boost (AdaBoost), Multi-layer perceptron (MLP), XGBoost, and LightBoost. AUC scores, accuracy and precision were measured for all models. XGBoost provided the highest performing model AUC score (AUC = 82.07%) for predicting perceived mental health, and Random Forest performed the best for predicting perceived life stress (AUC = 77.74%). Perceived health, age group of participants, and perceived mental health compared to before the pandemic were found to be the most important 3 features to predict perceived mental health and perceived stress. Perceived mental health compared to before the pandemic was the most important predictor for perceived life stress. Our models are highly predictive of healthcare workers' perceived mental health and life stress. Implementing scalable, non-expensive virtual mental health solutions to address mental health challenges in the workplace could mitigate the impact of workplace conditions on healthcare workers' mental health.

An attempt to assess individual differences in Shinrin-Yoku tendencies and associations with personality and life satisfaction: a study from Germany

Shinrin-Yoku, also known as forest-bathing, has become the focus of much psychological and neuroscientific research in recent years. In this realm, it has been shown that spending time in the forest, with a focus on the forest environment, has positive effects on both cognition and emotion. Interestingly, an individual differences perspective from personality psychology is largely lacking in shedding light on the characteristics of persons reporting higher Shinrin-Yoku tendencies than others. Therefore, this study presents the psychometric properties of a new Shinrin-Yoku scale (with a focus on the recreational aspects of visiting the forest including finding peace) to assess individual differences in enjoying forest bathing tendencies. A final sample of 896 participants was analyzed not only regarding their Shinrin-Yoku tendencies, but also with respect to the Big Five of Personality traits, life satisfaction, and perceived life stress. This study shows that higher openness to experience is robustly linked to higher Shinrin-Yoku tendencies, and higher Shinrin-Yoku tendencies are also associated with higher life satisfaction. A mediation model showed that the association between openness and life satisfaction was partially mediated by Shinrin-Yoku tendencies. No significant association was observed between perceived life stress and the Shinrin-Yoku scores. This work should be just seen as the start of beginning to construct scales assessing individual differences in Shinrin-Yoku tendencies: As one will see from the items included in the here presented final brief Shinrin-Yoku scale, many facets of Shinrin-Yoku - such as mindfulness activities in the forest – need further investigation. More research is needed to grasp the broad concept of Shinrin-Yoku including its nuances.

Planning for a Crisis: Predicting Anxiety in a Population During COVID-19 Using Machine Learning.

COVID-19 impact on population mental health has been reported around the world. Statistics Canada has conducted a survey among Canadian population to gauge mental health challenges they experienced, specifically in terms of anxiety. We create a machine learning model to predict anxiety symptoms as measured by the General Anxiety Scale among the sample of 45,989 respondents to the survey. Eight algorithms including Logistic Regression, Random Forest, Naive Bayes, K Nearest Neighbours, Adaptive boost, Multi linear perceptron, XGBoost and LightBoost. LightBoost provided the highest performing model AUC score (AUC=87.45%). In addition, the features "perception of mental health compared to before physical distancing", "perceived life stress", and "perceived mental health" were found to be the most important three features to predict anxiety. A limitation of this study is that the sample is not representative of the Canadian population. Preparing for virtual care interventions during a crisis need to take into considerations these factors.

Rethinking Learning Experience: How Generally Perceived Life Stress Influences Students' Course Perceptions in Different Learning Environments.

Previous research work has already demonstrated that both the form of teaching as well as different teaching methods directly influence students' learning experience along with their psychobiological responses at the endocrine and autonomic level. Aiming to gain deeper insights into the constitution of the learning experience, this study examined the influence of external factors such as generally perceived life stress and self-efficacy on the immediate learning experience in different learning environments. Therefore, a randomized experimental field study was conducted in which both psychological constructs and physiological data (heart rate variability) were collected from healthy first-year medical students (n = 101) during the COVID-19 pandemic. In an effort to determine the consistency of the effects across various teaching formats, the same content of a practical histology course was carried out in a face-to-face setting as well as in passive and active online teaching. While self-efficacy was a strong predictor for positive course perceptions in all learning conditions (Pearson's r = 0.41-0.58), generally perceived worries correlated with higher anxiety during passive online learning and face-to-face learning (Pearson's r = 0.21-0.44), a finding supported by the negative correlation between the level of perceived life demands and enjoyment during the learning unit (Pearson's r = -0.40--0.43). Here, we additionally report initial evidence pointing towards the role of reduced general life stress as a resilience factor for the expression of physiological stress parameters in an academic context (small-sized effect; Pearson's r = 0.18). The data gathered in this study illustrate the relevance of emerging emotional manifestations-either aversive; negative effect or positive; protective effect-for the immediate learning process and thus establish a connection between medical education and the importance of mental health and wellbeing-especially discussed against the background of current social and political challenges in increasingly complex societal structures.

Social and economic capital as effect modifiers of the association between psychosocial stress and oral health.

To assess the extent of the association of psychosocial stress with oral health in an Ontario population stratified by age groups, and whether any association is modified by indicators of social and economic capital. We retrieved data of 21,320 Ontario adults, aged 30-74 years old, from the Canadian Community Health Survey (CCHS: 2017-2018), which is a Canada-wide, cross-sectional survey. Using binomial logistic regression models that adjusted for age, sex, education, and country of birth, we examined the association of psychosocial stress (indicated by perceived life stress) with inadequate oral health (indicated as having at least one of the following: bleeding gums, fair/poor self-perceived oral health, persistent oral pain). We assessed the effect measure modification of indicators of social (sense of belonging to the local community, living/family arrangements) and economic capital (household income, dental insurance, dwelling ownership) on the perceived life stress-oral health relationship, stratified by age (30-44, 45-59, 60-74 yrs). We then calculated the Relative Excess Risk due to Interaction (RERI) which indicates the risk that is above what would be expected if the combination of low capital (social or economic) and high psychosocial stress was entirely additive. Respondents with higher perceived life stress were at a significantly higher risk of having inadequate oral health (PR = 1.39; 95% CI: 1.34, 1.44). Adults with low social and economic capital were also at an increased risk of inadequate oral health. Effect measure modification showed an additive effect of indicators of social capital on the perceived life stress-oral health relationship. This effect was evident across all three age groups (30-44, 45-59, 60-74 yrs), with the highest attributable proportion of social and economic capital indicators in the psychosocial stress-oral health relationship in older adults (60-74 yrs). Our findings suggest an exacerbating effect for low social and economic capital in the relationship of perceived life stress with inadequate oral health among older adults.

The mediating role of depressive symptoms and subjective cognitive dysfunction in the relationship between stressful life events and functional disability in adult community volunteers

BackgroundStressful life events (SLE) impact psychosocial functioning. However, the psychological mechanism underlying the association between SLE and functional disability (FD) has not been fully elucidated. This study focused on whether depressive symptoms (DS) and subjective cognitive dysfunction (SCD) mediated the influence of SLE, comprising negative SLE (NSLE) and positive SLE (PSLE), on FD. MethodsA total of 514 adults from Tokyo, Japan, completed the self-administered questionnaires to evaluate DS, SCD, SLE, and FD. We investigated the relationships among the variables using path analysis. ResultsPath analyses showed that NSLE positively affected FD directly (β = 0.253, p < .001), and indirectly via DS and SCD (β = 0.192, p < .001). PSLE negatively affected FD indirectly via DS and SCD (β = −0.068, p = .010), although PSLE did not affect FD directly (β = −0.049, p = .163). LimitationsCausal relationships could not be determined owing to the cross-sectional design. All participants were recruited in Japan, which limits the generalization of findings to other countries. ConclusionsDS and SCD, in this order, may partially mediate the positive effect of NSLE on FD. DS and SCD may fully mediate the negative effect of PSLE on FD. When considering the impact of SLE on FD, evaluating the mediating role of DS and SCD could be useful. Our findings may elucidate how perceived life stress affects daily functioning via depressive and cognitive symptoms. In the future, it is desirable to conduct a longitudinal study based on our results.

Assessment of Self-Perceived Oral Health Status, Psychological Well-Being and Life Satisfaction among Geriatric Population

Aims: This study aims to find out the association between self-perceived oral health status, psychological well-being and life satisfaction. Settings and Design: A cross-sectional study conducted on 400 geriatric people aged 60 years and above, residing in Tadikonda Mandal of Guntur district, Andhra Pradesh, India. Subjects and Methods: Self-perceived oral health was assessed through self-rating of oral health, speaking ability index, chewing capability index, and psychosocial impact scale oral health impact profile. Life satisfaction was assessed through single-item question, How satisfied with your life as a whole with 4 point Likert scale. Psychological well-being was assessed through two domains: Perceived life stress and general health, i.e., anxiety and depression. People who were mentally retarded, bedridden and who were not interested to participate in the study are excluded. Statistical Analysis Used: Chi-square, t-test, one way ANOVA test, poison regression analysis. Results: A poison regression model with perceived life stress as outcome, depicted that good self-rated oral health subjects had significantly lower perceived life stress scores (prevalence rate ratio [PRR] = 0.762; 0.649–0.894) than poor self-rated oral health subjects which is constant 1. When the outcome was changed to general health in the model, subjects who self-rated oral health as good have lower depression scores (PRR = 0.763; 0.667–0.873) than subjects, who self-rated oral health as poor which is kept constant 1. Conclusions: Poorer psychological well-being and lower life satisfaction are co-existing within the poor self-perceived oral health group of elderly, where poor self-rated oral health was found to be an important mediator of quality of life.

Changes in Sleep Regularity and Perceived Life Stress across the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Longitudinal Analysis of a Predominately Female United States Convenience Sample

The Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic had a profound impact on sleep and psychological well-being for individuals worldwide. This pre-registered investigation extends our prior study by tracking self-reported social jetlag (SJL), social sleep restriction (SSR), and perceived life stress from May 2020 through October 2021. Using web-based surveys, we collected self-reported sleep information with the Ultrashort Munich Chronotype Questionnaire at three additional timepoints (September 2020, February 2021 and October 2021). Further, we measured perceived life stress with the Perceived Stress Scale at two additional timepoints (February 2021 and October 2021). In a subsample of 181, predominantly female (87%), United States adults aged 19-89 years, we expanded our prior findings by showing that the precipitous drop in SJL during the pandemic first wave (May 2020), compared to pre-pandemic (February, 2020), rapidly rose with loosening social restrictions (September 2020), though never returned to pre-pandemic levels. This effect was greatest in young adults, but not associated with self-reported chronotype. Further, perceived life stress decreased across the pandemic, but was unrelated to SJL or SSR. These findings suggest that sleep schedules were sensitive to pandemic-related changes in social restrictions, especially in younger participants. We posit several possible mechanisms supporting these findings.

Do emotionally intelligent adolescents flourish or flounder under pressure? Linking emotional intelligence to stress regulation mechanisms

Everyday stressors are a normal part of adolescence, yet young people differ markedly in their responses. Emotional intelligence (EI), a set of emotion-related adaptive traits and skills, is thought to be an important individual difference that acts as a ‘stress buffer’ to safeguard adolescent well-being. EI correlates with reduced perceived life stress levels, but, to date, there is no attempt to understand how EI might underpin young people's responses to acute, situational stress. This paper explores how EI, measured as both an ability (AEI) and trait (TEI), regulates induced acute stress, using a novel, potent social stressor. Across two studies, we tested the extent to which EI moderated attention allocation to emotion (eye movements), psychological reactivity (mood), and physiological reactivity (heart rate) in older adolescents (study 1 n = 58; study 2 n = 60; age 16–18 years). Findings suggest that higher TEI (but not AEI) can ‘dampen’ the physiological stress response (study 1), facilitating protection against allostatic overload. However, being better at perceiving emotion (but not TEI) predicted attention towards happy stimuli when stressed (study 2). Preliminary findings suggest that, while TEI and AEI contribute differentially to stress regulation mechanisms, higher AEI may not necessarily be adaptive for young people facing social stressors.

Unpacking the Association Between Length of Residence and Health Among Immigrants in Canada: A Moderated Mediation Approach.

The present study examines (1) whether perceived life stress mediates the associations between length of residence in Canada and self-rated mental health and general health and (2) how these processes differ across levels of perceived local community belonging. Data are from the 2017-2018 Canadian Community Health Survey (N = 14,570)-a nationally representative survey collected by Statistics Canada. Simple mediation and moderated mediation models are employed. The simple mediated associations are evaluated first and found to be statistically significant for both self-rated mental health (b = 0.046, 95% PBCI = 0.035, 0.058) and general health (b = 0.045, 95% PBCI = 0.034, 0.056). Moderated mediation analysis then reveals that while perceived local community belonging does not moderate the effects of length of residence on perceived life stress, it does moderate the effects of perceived life stress on self-rated mental health (b = -0.042, 95% PBCI = -0.057, -0.028) and general health (b = -0.026, 95% PBCI = -0.042, -0.011), suggesting that the adverse associations between perceived life stress and self-rated mental health and general health are weaker among immigrants with greater perceived local community belonging. Consistent with the predictions, the indirect effects are significant at all levels of local community belonging. Findings from this study highlight the need to focus more research and policy interventions on community-based coping resources.

Differences in perceived life stress in bipolar I and II disorder: Implications for future epigenetic quantification

ObjectiveFew instruments measuring life events over the course of bipolar disorder distinguish the valence of events or consider cumulative stress burden. In the current study, we used a valence-focused life event questionnaire to assess stress in the last 12 months in patients with bipolar I (n = 863) and bipolar II (n = 362) disorder. MethodsAssociations between recent stress and lifetime illness severity features were evaluated via linear and logistic regression, adjusting for age and gender. We additionally investigated the feasibility of quantifying recent stress burden by measuring methylation at a known bipolar susceptibility locus, SLC1A2 in a subset of bipolar I patients (n = 150) with or without comorbid substance use. ResultsBipolar II patients endorsed higher total, negative, and positive stress burden than their bipolar I counterparts, but the latter displayed more significant stress-illness severity associations, notably to all forms of substance abuse (e.g., alcohol, nicotine, food, other drugs). Irrespective of bipolar subtype, negative stress burden was significantly associated with illness severity features. High versus low total stress predicted hypomethylation of the SLC1A2 promoter (p < 0.05). ConclusionTogether, these findings reveal substantial differences in how bipolar subtypes experience and perceive stress. The observed degree of association between recent stress and substance abuse in bipolar I lend further support to the multidirectional effects of stress, affective episodes, and substance abuse on illness severity. Quantification of recent total stress using the methylation status of the SLC1A2 promoter is feasible, although a whole-methylome approach will likely prove more effective in disaggregating other environmental influences.

Reward Dependence-Moderated Noradrenergic and Hormonal Responses During Noncompetitive and Competitive Physical Activities.

The aim of this study was to reveal whether increased reward dependence (RD) plays a role in the catecholamine neurotransmitter release and testosterone hormone regulation during physical activities among healthy trained participants. Twenty-two male participants (mean age: 40.27 ± 5.4 years) participated in this study. Two conditions were constructed, namely, a noncompetitive and a competitive running task (RT), which were separated by a 2-week interval. Urine and blood samples were collected prior to and following the running tasks. Noradrenaline (NA), adrenaline (A), dopamine (D), and their metabolites, vanillylmandelic acid (VMA) and homovanillic acid (HVA), were measured from urine, while testosterone levels were analyzed from blood samples. RD was assessed using the Cloninger’s Personality Inventory (PI). Mental health was evaluated using the WHO Well-Being, Beck Depression, and Perceived Life Stress Questionnaires. According to our findings, levels of NA, A, D, VMA, and testosterone released underwent an increase following physical exertion, independently from the competitive condition of the RT, while HVA levels experienced a decrease. However, we found that testosterone levels showed a significantly lower tendency to elevate in the competitive RT, compared with the noncompetitive condition (p = 0.02). In contrast, HVA values were higher in the competitive compared with the noncompetitive condition (p = 0.031), both before and after the exercise. Considering the factor RD, in noncompetitive RT, its higher values were associated with elevated NA levels (p = 0.007); however, this correlation could not be detected during the competitive condition (p = 0.233). Among male runners, the NA and testosterone levels could be predicted to the degree of RD by analyzing competitive and noncompetitive physical exercises.

Examining the association between work stress, life stress and obesity among working adult population in Canada: findings from a nationally representative data

BackgroundObesity is a priority public health concern in Canada and other parts of the world. The study primarily aims at assessing the role of self-perceived work and life stress on obesity among working adults in Canada.MethodsThe study was conducted based on a total of 104,636 Canadian adults aged 18 and above, extracted from the 2017–2018 Canadian Community Health Survey (CCHS) data. We used a mixed-effect logistic regression model to determine the possible association between two stress variables and obesity, controlling for other variables in the model. The random effect term accounts for the correlation among the observations from the same health region.ResultsA total of 63,815 adult respondents (aged 18 and above) who were working during the 12 months prior to the survey were studied. Of those, 18.7% were obese based on their self-reported BMI > =30.0 kg/m2. More than two-thirds of the respondents reported that their stress level is a bit stressful to extremely stressful. The results of multivariable mixed-effect logistic regression showed that the odds of obesity were 1.432 times (95% CI: 1.248–1.644) among those who reported extremely work-related stress, compared to those who had no work-related stress. Perceived life stress was not significantly associated with obesity risk among working adult population, after adjusting other factors.ConclusionThe study concluded that obesity among Canadian adults is 18.7% of the working adult population being obese. Given the reported high prevalence of stress and its effect on obesity, the findings suggested improving social support systems, individual/group counseling, and health education focusing on work environments to prevent and manage stressors and drivers to make significant program impacts.

Hedonic use, stress, and life satisfaction as predictors of smartphone addiction

This study examined the relationship between hedonic smartphone use (entertainment, social media, games), perceived life stress, and satisfaction with life with smartphone addiction (SA). We tested the connections using structural equation modeling (SEM) on questionnaire data obtained from 410 participants (73.2% women). Results indicated a good overall fit of the model (χ2(36) = 58.06, p = .011; CFI = 0.970, TLI = 0.954, RMSEA[90% CI] = 0.039 [0.019, 0.056], SRMR = 0.037). Perceived stress and hedonic use were positive predictors of SA (β = 0.264, p = .001 and β = 0.176, p = .002, respectively). Satisfaction with life did not directly predict SA, but an indirect effect, via perceived stress, was statistically significant (β = −0.146, p = .001). Women showed greater SA than men, but the effect of age was not significant. Perceived stress was negatively predicted by satisfaction with life, and positively by hedonic use. Based on the compensatory internet use theory, hedonic or non-utilitarian smartphone use might be associated with SA. The study concludes that being female, hedonic smartphone use, and perceived life stress predict SA.

Association between perceived life stress and subjective well-being among Chinese perimenopausal women: a moderated mediation analysis.

BackgroundThe impact of perceived life stress on subjective well-being has been well-established; while few studies have explored the mediating and moderating mechanisms of the association between perceived life stress and subjective well-being among perimenopausal women. This study is aimed at exploring the mediating effect of depressive symptoms and the role of interests/hobbies as a moderator in the association between perceived life stress and subjective well-being among perimenopausal women.MethodsThe participants were 1,104 perimenopausal women at the age of 40 to 60, who were asked to complete a paper-based questionnaire. A single item was used to measure self-perceived life stress and interests/hobbies. The Zung Self-rating Depression Scale (SDS) and Subjective Well-being Scale for Chinese Citizens (SWBS-CC) were applied to assess both depressive symptoms and subjective well-being. Multiple linear regression analysis and the PROCESS macro were adopted to analyse not only the mediating effect of depressive symptoms but also the moderating role of interests/hobbies.ResultsPerceived life stress was negatively associated with subjective well-being (B = − 1.424, β = − 0.101, P < 0.001). The impact of perceived life stress on subjective well-being was partially mediated by depressive symptoms (mediation effect = −0.760, 95% confidence intervals (CI) [−1.129, −0.415]). In addition, the interaction term between depressive symptoms and interests/hobbies was significantly related to subjective well-being (β = − 0.060, P < 0.05), indicating moderating effect. Moderated mediation had a significant index (Index = −0.220, SE = 0.099, 95% CI [−0.460, −0.060]).ConclusionsPerceived life stress was negatively related to subjective well-being. The impact of perceived life stress on subjective well-being was mediated by depressive symptoms. Besides, interests/hobbies moderated the indirect effect of depressive symptoms on the relationship between perceived life stress and subjective well-being.