Psychological Distress Syndrome Research Articles

Effectiveness of Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy on Psychological Distress Syndromes, Rumination, and Self-Compassion in Students with Psychological Distress

Objective: The current research was conducted with the aim of evaluating the effectiveness of Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT) on psychological distress syndromes, rumination, and self-compassion in students experiencing psychological distress. Methods and Materials: This study was applied in nature and employed a quasi-experimental design, specifically a pretest-posttest control group design with a three-month follow-up period. The statistical population consisted of all female medical science students in Tehran during the academic year 2020-2021, from which 30 individuals were selected through purposive sampling and randomly assigned into two groups of 15 (15 in the experimental group and 15 in the control group). Data were collected using the Lovibond and Lovibond (1995) Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Scales, the Nolen-Hoeksema and Morrow (1993) Rumination Scale, and the Neff (2003) Self-Compassion Scale. Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy sessions were conducted in 8 weekly 90-minute group sessions. Data were analyzed through analysis of variance. Findings: The results of the data analysis indicated that Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy was effective in reducing rumination, psychological distress syndromes, and in increasing self-compassion among students in the experimental group experiencing psychological distress, compared to the control group students who also experienced psychological distress. Conclusion: Based on the results of this study, health professionals can use Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy to improve rumination, psychological distress syndromes, and self-compassion among students experiencing psychological distress.

The Categorical versus Dimensional Assessment Controversy in the Sociology of Mental Illness

This paper reviews the sociological controversy over using categorical versus dimensional assessments in the study of psychological distress. The preference of sociologists for dimensional assessments is traced to two assumptions: (1) that the associations of predictors with psychological distress syndromes are most accurately operationalized by using dimensional measures; and (2) that no true discrete mental illnesses can reasonably be inferred to exist that would justify the creation of dichotomous measures. Methods are described in this paper to test both assumptions. An argument is made that the first assumption is the critical one and that dimensional analysis is useful only when it can be demonstrated that the associations of predictors with dimensional scores are constant throughout the relevant dimensional severity range. The paper closes with an argument for the tandem use of categorical and dimensional assessments in future sociological research.

Psychological symptoms among an immigrant population: A prevalence study

A community survey evaluating the prevalence of psychological symptoms among 1,953 Russian immigrants living in Israel was conducted. Symptoms of psychological distress were measured using a self-administered questionnaire, the Talbieh Brief Distress Inventory (TBDI). Criterial thresholds for six symptoms—obsessiveness, hostility, interpersonal sensitivity, depression, anxiety, and paranoid ideation—were established. Respondents with four or more psychological symptoms met the criterion for psychological distress syndrome (PDS) with a likelihood greater than 73%. A total of 13% of the respondents reported no psychological symptoms, and 21% reported all six symptoms of distress in the last month. One-month prevalence figures for distress-free and distress-related symptoms are presented. The prevalence rate for distress-free symptoms is 9% to 20%, and for distress-related symptoms, 38% to 43%. Sex differences were found regarding most symptoms, with higher prevalence rates in women than in men. No age differences were found for distress-related symptoms, whereas distress-free symptoms generally tended to change with age. The findings of this survey emphasize the importance of using our suggested quantitative approach when assessing psychological symptoms in further epidemiological investigations of stress-related psychopathology.

Effects of immigration on the mentally III—Does it produce psychological distress?

This report explores psychological distress among immigrants seeking help from psychiatric outpatient clinics as compared with control nonpatient immigrants. Our hypothesis is that nonpsychotic mentally ill immigrants will react to acculturation by psychological distress similarly to healthy individuals. Three questionnaires were used in this survey: Demographic Psychosocial Inventory, Brief Symptom Inventory (BSI), and Psychiatric Epidemiology Research Interview—Demoralization Scale (PERI-D). They were completed by patient and control groups consisting of recent adult immigrants to Israel from the former Soviet Union. The patient group included 158 subjects seeking psychiatric help from outpatient clinics. Among them, 51 met ICD-10 criteria for neurotic, stress-related, and somatoform disorders; 41 for schizophrenia; 32 for mood disorders; 18 for organic illnesses; and 16 for personality disorders. The control group consisted of 222 immigrants with no previous psychiatric history, matched by gender and age to the patient group. Although all distress symptoms were signficantly more severe in the patient group than in the control group, the BSI profile, showing a high level of depression, anxiety, interpersonal sensitivity, and obsessive-compulsive dimensions, was similar in both groups. The psychological distress level as measured by the PERT-D was 1.4 times higher in patients than in the control group. Within the patient group, the lowest distress level was found in patients suffering from organic disorders. No significant differences in the level of psychological distress were found among other diagnostic subgroups. The results suggest that mentally ill immigrants react to acculturation by a psychological distress syndrome similarly to nonpatient immigrants but more severely than nonpatient immigrants.

Immigration related psychological distress syndrome associated with loneliness

Immigration related psychological distress syndrome associated with loneliness

The concept of a psychiatric ?case? in general practice

The paper describes a classification of psychological disorders occurring in primary care settings which is attuned to the needs of the doctor and his patient, and takes into account the non-specific nature of many of the disorders, the effects of diagnostic “labelling” and the need for intervention. Three groups of disorders are described. These are (i) major psychiatric illness, which broadly correspond to psychotic illnesses for which physical treatments have been shown to be of value. “Labelling” is seen to be necessary for correct treatment, and often helpful for the patient. (ii) Psychological distress syndromes not requiring intervention, which include subclinical illnesses, transient illnesses, distress unrelated to the presenting symptoms and some patients with unmodifiable dysphoric symptoms. Such patients may benefit from ventilation of problems at the time of consultation but an illness label should be avoided. (iii) Psychological distress syndromes which require intervention; they form a large group which may benefit from a variety of psychological, social and drug treatments. It may be important to help the patients to see themselves as emotionally ill, but specific labels are only justified by particular interventions. The need for future research is discussed in relation to triaxial classification and intervention studies.