Significant Predictors Of Psychological Distress Research Articles

Gender differences in HIV-related psychological distress in heterosexual couples.

In order to determine the effect of family support on the psychological well-being of heterosexual couples with at least one HIV-seropositive, family support data were obtained from couples, who were separately interviewed. Two hundred heterosexuals were interviewed (97 males, 103 females). 182 were partners in HIV serodiscordant couples (18 members were in 10 couples concordant for HIV-seropositivity). Overall, there were 76 HIV+ males and 30 HIV+ females. The Brief Symptom Inventory (BSI) was used to measure psychological distress. Sixty-five per cent of the subjects had family members aware of partners' HIV infection, but only 50% of aware families were reported as supportive. Family support was not a significant predictor of distress. Gender was the most significant predictor of psychological distress as measured by the BSI subscales. Both HIV positive and HIV negative females had more distress than their male counterparts on several dimensions (somatization, obsessive-compulsive, interpersonal sensitivity, depression, anxiety, phobic anxiety and paranoia), and on the General Severity Index (GSI) of the BSI (HIV-positives: p = 0.003; HIV-negatives: p = 0.01). Despite the general lack of association of family support with psychological distress, women in couples affected by HIV had more distress than men. The mental health needs of women clearly differ from men, and continued gender comparisons should be done to develop appropriate and effective interventions for these groups.

Methods of Religious Coping with the Gulf War: Cross-Sectional and Longitudinal Analyses

Cross-sectional and longitudinal analyses were conducted to examine the relationship of religious and nonreligious coping methods to psychological distress among college students in the 1990-91 Gulf War crisis. Students completed measures of religious coping, nonreligious coping, and specific (war-related) and global psychological distress two days prior to the allied ground assault of Kuwait and one week after hostilities were suspended against Iraq. Religious coping activities were significant predictors of psychological distress cross-sectionally and longitudinally. Religious avoidant coping was associated with increased distress. Surprisingly, pleading for a miracle was tied to reduced distress over time. While religious and nonreligious coping were associated with each other, the two were not functionally redundant; each set of coping methods contributed unique variance to the prediction of distress. Differences between the cross-sectional and longitudinal findings suggest that stressful experiences may serve as a religious coping mobilizer and/or that the efficacy of religious coping methods may change over time. The results point to the need for finer-grained analyses of specific religious coping mechanisms in specific life situations.

Predictors of psychological distress among southeast Asian refugees

This paper analyzed data from one of the first needs assessment projects on a representative non-clinical population of Southeast Asian refugees in the United States in order to test two hypotheses: (1) whether or not premigration experiences still have an effect on psychological distress beyond the initial resettlement period and (2) whether or not interethnic group differences existed in the predictors of psychological distress between three Southeast Asian refugee groups, the Vietnamese, Cambodians and Lao. The results of the analysis of 2180 subjects supported both hypotheses. Regardless of ethnicity and the number of years in the U.S., premigration trauma events and refugee camp experiences were significant predictors of psychological distress even 5 years or more after migration and significant group differnces in the types of postmigration distress predictors were also found. Acculturation concerns for the Vietnamese and Lao were influenced by both premigration and postmigration variables. In contrast, the primary concerns of the Cambodians were still related to premigration issues. The results also indicated that Vietnamese and Lao women were more likely to experience distress than their male counterparts, but no gender differences emerged for the Cambodians. Age predicted distress for Vietnamese and Cambodians, but not Lao. Similar to previous findings in the literature, Cambodians reported the highest levels of distress, followed by Lao and then Vietnamese. Interpretations of these results for this community sample are proposed.

Ethnicity and Stress Among Older Australians

The impact of ethnicity on the stress process in old age was examined using two surveys of Australians aged 60 years and older. Four different "ethnic strata" were defined: namely, mainstream Australians, British migrants, and non-British migrants--who were split on the basis of whether their English proficiency was good or poor. The ethnic stratum most different from mainstream Australian, non-British migrants with poor English proficiency, was a significant predictor of psychological distress in the context of other relevant variables. Within the four "ethnic" strata, network variables were significantly related to psychological distress only for non-British migrants, with relatives being important for those with poor English and nonrelatives for those with good English. For mainstream Australians, female gender, poor health, and specific living arrangements were significant predictors of psychological distress.

Predicting temperament-mental health relationships: A covariance structure latent variable analysis

A structural equation latent variable methodology was used to investigate temperament-mental health relationships for a sample of 153 late adolescents/early adults. Explicit measurement models with three indicators each were specified for the two endogenous latent variables of Psychological Well-Being and Psychological Distress; the five exogenous latent variables of General Extraversion, Emotional Stability, General Activity, Adaptability, and Task Orientation were measured by eleven indicators derived from selected scale scores of three different self-report measures. Alternative structural equation models were specified and tested in regard to their adequacy to account for the interrelationships among manifest variables in the observed variance-covariance matrix. The most parsimonious model which plausibly fit the data indicated that Emotional Stability was a strong predictor of both Psychological Distress and Psychological Well-Being. While not as strong a predictor as Emotional Stability, General Extraversion was a significant predictor of Psychological Well-Being, and General Activity was a significant predictor of Psychological Distress. The overall findings support the role of temperament in the prediction of mental health for late adolescents/early adults.

Predictors of Psychological Distress in Hospitalized Pediatric Patients

In order to investigate predictors of children's short-term adjustment to hospitalization, 19 boys and 20 girls, ages 5 to 15+ years admitted to a pediatric unit of a state medical center and hospitalized between 2 and 6 days, were assessed for depression and anxiety. A multimethod-multitrait assessment protocol was administered, including two self-report rating scales, a semistructured interview, a revised parent rating form of the Behavior Upset in Medical Patients (R-BUMP), and parent interview. On regression analysis, the most consistently significant predictor of psychological distress was the number of physical stressors. Implications for psychiatric consultants designing prevention and intervention programs for this population are discussed.