Unpleasant Life Events Research Articles

Environmental awareness factors in the genesis of psychosomatic dysfunctions of students of higher education institutions

The substantiation of the conceptual foundations of ecological awareness by the subject of practical research is the cognitive goal of this article. The purpose of the article is to substantiate the influence of factors of the formation of environmental awareness in the genesis of psychosomatic dysfunctions of students of higher education institutions. In the research process, such methods as analysis, systematization, synthesis, generalization, concretization, comparison and psychodiagnostic methods were applied, using such methods as "Aesop", "Alternative", "Dominant" and the method "Assessment of the level of development of personality’s adaptive abilities of A. Maklakov, S. Chermianina". Due to the author's psychodiagnostic questionnaire, by using quantitative and qualitative assessment criteria, individuals with psychosomatic dysfunctions were selected and divided into three groups: individuals with cardiovascular defects, with gastrointestinal tract dysfunction, and skin defects. The scientific novelty is the conceptual basis of the study of students' environmental awareness in the structure of psychosomatic interactions under the conditions of the eco-environment of higher education institutions. Interrelation between psychological stability and the level of life stress in the educational institution's eco-environment was experimentally revealed. It turned out that a high level of life tension is not a constitutional prerequisite for the emergence of psychosomatic complaints. In the subjects of the experimental group with a high level of subjective stress, a low indicator of psychological stability is a predicate for the development of psychosomatic dysfunctions (the probability of the disease was 92%), while high indicators of stability contribute to the preservation of health (somatization took only 10%). In addition, a high level of psychological stability of an individual is associated with a developed imagination and creativity in non-standard situations, with a high level of stress. Adequate awareness and assessment of the situation, a person's persistent experience of his actions and circumstances, which are the result of personal choice and responsibility, in somatically ill individuals with high vitality acquire the value of a resource, experience that allows to adapt to health problems, harmoniously transforming meaningful life orientations. Somatic complaints of such respondents are caused by unpleasant life events, pessimistic and depressed mood in their surroundings, that is, all those components of modern life that have already become a habit in interaction with the environment.The conclusion indicates the interdependence of mental and emotional factors in the formation of environmental awareness of students in institutions of higher education, explains the concept of complex psychosomatic processes that support the integrity of the organism. The imbalance between psyche and somatics produced by this interaction determines the level of professional training of the student in the educational environment. Their conceptual basis is psychogenies of the somatoform type, with predominant vegetative disorders, which is connected with the psychoanalytic interpretation of an unconscious intrapsychic neurotic complex. The origin of the symptomatology imitating physical pathology is explained by conversion mechanisms as a result of the lack of adaptive psychological protection and stability.

A momentary assessment study on emotional and biological stress in adult males and females with autism spectrum disorder

Prospective momentary psychological and biological measures of real-time daily life stress experiences have been examined in several psychiatric disorders, but not in adults with an autism spectrum disorder (ASD). The current electronic self-monitoring study examined associations between momentary daily life stressors and (i) negative affect (NA; emotional stress reactivity) and (ii) cortisol levels (biological stress reactivity) in males and females with ASD (N = 50) and without ASD (N = 51). The Experience Sampling Method, including saliva sampling, was used to measure three types of daily life stress (activity-related, event-related, and social stress), NA, and cortisol. Multilevel regression analyses demonstrated significant interactions between group and stress (i.e., activity-related and event-related stress) in the model of NA, indicating stronger emotional stress reactivity in the ASD than in the control group. In the model of cortisol, none of the group × stress interactions were significant. Male/female sex had no moderating effect on either emotional or biological stress reactivity. In conclusion, adults with ASD showed a stronger emotional stress (but not cortisol) reactivity in response to unpleasant daily life events and activities. The findings highlight the feasibility of electronic self-monitoring in individuals with ASD, which may contribute to the development of more personalized stress-management approaches.

The Frequency and Severity of Nausea and Vomiting during Pregnancy and its Association with Psychosocial Health

Background: The present study aimed to evaluate the frequency and severity of nausea and vomiting during pregnancy (NVP) and to investigate the association between psychosocial health and the severity of NVP. Methods:This cross-sectional study was performed on 200 eligible pregnant women with nausea and vomiting at three prenatal care centers in Kashan, Iran. The participants completed demographic and pregnancy-related questionnaire, Beck Depression Inventory-Short Form, Winnfield Tiygmann social support questionnaire and Paykel scale of stressful life events. the severity of NVP was also recorded. ANOVA and Kruskal-Wallis tests were used to determine the relationship between different variables. P-value less than 0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results: The frequency of NVP was estimated at 71.5%. In total, 19%, 45.5% and 7% of these cases had mild, moderate and severe NVP, respectively. The severity of NVP was significantly associated with depression level (P=0.01). However, there was no correlation between the level of social support and unpleasant life events with severity of NVP. Conclusion: According to the results of this study women with more severe NVP experienced a higher level of depression, compared to others. However, social support and other factors were not correlated with the severity of NVP.

A study on depression among paramedical students and the contributing factors in 2010-2011

Depression in university students can be considered as an indicator of mental health. Therefore, it is highly important to be concerned about their mental health. The present research was conducted for the purpose of investigating the depression level in paramedical students and the contributing factors. This research is a cross-sectional study. The examined population included the students of a paramedical faculty and the sampling was done through census, selecting all the available students in the current semester. The questionnaire contained demographic questions and the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), which were filled out by the students. Then, the depression level of students was determined with regard to the demographic questions and how each one associated with depression. For data analysis, an independent T-test, analysis of variance (ANOVA), and a correlation test were employed. In this research, the mean value and standard deviation score of students were 14.76 and 13.84 respectively. BS students scored 15.6, while MS and PhD students scored 7.7, which showed a significant difference between the two groups (p<0.001). The findings indicated that 20.6% of the students suffered from mild to moderate depression, while 9.9% of the students suffered from moderate to severe depression. The depression scores had no significant correlation with living place, marital status, gender, employment status, religious practice, previous semester GPA, and whether parents were alive. However, it had significant correlation with age(p=0.048), number of family members(p=0.004), satisfaction with study field(p=0.005), religious beliefs(p=0.028), extracurricular activities(p<0.001),, future career prospects(p=0.002), financial problems(p<0.001), satisfaction with relationships between family members(p<0.001), satisfaction with relationships between friends and classmates(p=0.003), satisfaction with relationships between university and faculty authorities(p=0.003),, as well as professors(p=0.022).Although some of the factors contributing to depression including age, number of family members and unpleasant life events cannot be prevented, most other factors or its results significantly leading to depression in students including extracurricular activities, satisfaction with relationships between family members, friends, classmates, university and faculty authorities, professors, and future career prospects can be controlled.

Intentional suppression of unwanted memories grows more difficult as we age.

People often encounter reminders to memories that they would prefer not to think about. When this happens, they often try to exclude the unwanted memory from awareness, a process that relies upon inhibitory control. We propose that the ability to regulate awareness of unwanted memories through inhibition declines with advancing age. In two experiments, we examined younger and older adults' ability to intentionally suppress retrieval when repeatedly confronted with reminders to an experience they were instructed to not think about. Older adults exhibited significantly less forgetting of the suppressed items compared to younger adults on a later independent probe test of recall, indicating that older adults failed to inhibit the to-be-avoided memories. These findings demonstrate that the ability to intentionally regulate conscious awareness of unwanted memories through inhibitory control declines with age, highlighting differences in memory control that may be of clinical relevance in the aftermath of unpleasant life events.

Eno samo zdravje

Eno samo zdravje

Custodial interrogation: What are the background factors associated with claims of false confession to police?

The aim of this paper is to investigate the association between an alleged false confession during custodial interrogation and reported adverse life events, substance abuse problems, self-harm behaviour, and previous psychological/psychiatric treatment. A total of 1896 students in further education in Iceland (aged 15 – 24 years), who had reported an experience of police interrogation, completed a detailed questionnaire about their background, substance abuse, and psychological/psychiatric treatment. Of the 1896 participants, 138 (7.3%) claimed to have made a false confession to the police. Out of 27 variables entered into a logistic regression analysis, eight significant predictor variables were identified in the model. These were largely associated with multiple victimisation (e.g., bullying, death of a significant other, being a victim of violence) and substance abuse (i.e., having attended substance abuse treatment, use of LSD). The findings suggest that multiple exposures to unpleasant or traumatic life events are associated with the reporting of false confessions during interrogation.

Self-compassion and reactions to unpleasant self-relevant events: The implications of treating oneself kindly.

Five studies investigated the cognitive and emotional processes by which self-compassionate people deal with unpleasant life events. In the various studies, participants reported on negative events in their daily lives, responded to hypothetical scenarios, reacted to interpersonal feedback, rated their or others' videotaped performances in an awkward situation, and reflected on negative personal experiences. Results from Study 1 showed that self-compassion predicted emotional and cognitive reactions to negative events in everyday life, and Study 2 found that self-compassion buffered people against negative self-feelings when imagining distressing social events. In Study 3, self-compassion moderated negative emotions after receiving ambivalent feedback, particularly for participants who were low in self-esteem. Study 4 found that low-self-compassionate people undervalued their videotaped performances relative to observers. Study 5 experimentally induced a self-compassionate perspective and found that self-compassion leads people to acknowledge their role in negative events without feeling overwhelmed with negative emotions. In general, these studies suggest that self-compassion attenuates people's reactions to negative events in ways that are distinct from and, in some cases, more beneficial than self-esteem.

Validation of the Christo Inventory for Substance-misuse Services (CISS): a simple outcome evaluation tool

The Christo Inventory for Substance-misuse Services (CISS) was developed as a single page outcome evaluation tool completed by drug/alcohol service workers either from direct client interviews or from personal experience of their client supplemented by existing assessment notes. Its 0–20 unidimensional scale consists of 10 items reflecting clients’ problems with social functioning, general health, sexual/injecting risk behaviour, psychological functioning, occupation, criminal involvement, drug/alcohol use, ongoing support, compliance, and working relationships. Comparison scores indicating low, average or high problem severity were produced by 243 drug users attending a harm minimisation out patient service and 102 alcohol users at an outpatient alcohol service. Means and cut-off scores for abstinence oriented treatments were derived from a 6-month follow-up of 90 treated drug users. Sub sets of the harm minimisation sample were used to derive item alpha, test-retest and inter-rater reliability coefficients of 0.74, 0.82 and 0.82, respectively. The inter-rater coefficient increased to 0.91 when retests were conducted the same day. Among the abstinence oriented treatment sample the CISS produced correlations ranging from 0.43 to 0.99 with the Opiate Treatment Index and measures of trait anxiety, unpleasant life events, poor quality of life and low self-esteem. The simplicity, flexibility and brevity of the CISS make it a useful tool allowing comparison of clients within and between many different service settings.

Examining sex differences in the impact of anticipated and actual life events

To examine for sex differences in anticipated and actual impact of pleasant and unpleasant life events in a non-clinical group, a cohort of 164 subjects was initially assessed in 1978 in their last year of teacher training. They were asked to participate in the life events study in 1979, and 97 subjects complied, providing us with ratings of impact of `anticipated' life events. In 1983, the original cohort assessed the `actual' impact of events experienced over the previous year. They also completed measures of neuroticism, state and trait depression, self-esteem, parental bonding and dependency in 1978, and gender roles in 1983. Some analyses for sex differences were undertaken for the entire cohort, with more extensive analyses for the 97 who had completed the 1979 (as well as 1978 and 1983) assessments. There were no sex differences in the scores for `anticipated' or `actual' impact of pleasant life events, or for `anticipated' unpleasant life events. However, there was a statistically significant sex difference between `actual' unpleasant life event scores, with females rating events as being either more pleasurable or unpleasant than males at both collection points. The actual impact of pleasant events was associated with higher dependency and masculinity scores, whilst unpleasant events was associated with higher dependency for females and higher parental overprotection and dependency scores for males.

P208 Changes in regional EEG-power spectra during imagination of pleasant and unpleasant autobiographic life events

P208 Changes in regional EEG-power spectra during imagination of pleasant and unpleasant autobiographic life events

Synergistic effect of malocclusion and oral parafunctions on craniomandibular dysfunction in children with and without unpleasant life events.

An epidemiological study was conducted on 386 children aged 6-10, with and without unpleasant life events, to investigate the synergistic effect of malocclusion and oral parafunctions on craniomandibular dysfunction. The results showed that the synergistic effect of certain occlusal factors and oral parafunctions was significantly correlated with clicking and symptoms of dysfunction in both groups and with TMJ and muscle tenderness in subjects without unpleasant life events. In children with unpleasant life events TMJ and muscle tenderness were not correlated with any combination of malocclusion and oral parafunction. The present study suggests that the synergistic effect of malocclusion and oral parafunctions is a 'sufficient' cause for development of clicking and symptoms of dysfunction in both groups and TMJ and muscle tenderness in subjects without unpleasant life events. Also, in children with unpleasant life events, other aetiologic factor(s) can be responsible for the development of TMJ and muscle tenderness.

Life events and depression in children with pervasive developmental disorders

To determine the role of life events in the occurrence of depression in children with pervasive developmental disorders (PDD), we compared 11 patients (DSM-III-R; 9 male; 2 female; M age: 11.0 years; M full-scale IQ: 75.3) with PDD and depression, with an age- and sex-matched control group of patients with PDD without depression (DSM-III-R; 9 male; 2 female; M age: 9.8 years; M full-scale IQ: 60.6). Information was collected about the occurrence of unpleasant life events in the 12 months prior to the onset of depression. Depressed children experienced significantly more life events in the 12 months prior to the onset of depression. Exit events such as bereavement were more common in the depressed group. Findings suggest that, as in the general population, significant life events, particularly those with a negative impact, may contribute to the occurrence of depression in children with PDD. Future studies should explore the role of both biologic factors and environmental stressors in the onset of depression in this population.

Relationship between craniomandibular dysfunction and oral parafunctions in Caucasian children with and without unpleasant life events

An epidemiological study was conducted to investigate the relationship between craniomandibular dysfunction and oral parafunctions in 386 children aged 6-10 years with and without unpleasant life events. The results showed statistically significant correlations between grinding, clenching, lip/cheek biting and muscle tenderness or pain, and clicking in subjects without unpleasant life events. Also, significant correlations were found in the same group between these parafunctions and difficulties in opening wide and pain on movements. When the definitional symptoms of craniomandibular dysfunction were aggregated, the chi-square test revealed significant correlations between them and the same oral parafunctions. The correlations in subjects with unpleasant life events between grinding, clenching, lip/cheek biting and each sign and symptom of craniomandibular dysfunction were close to the significance level. No significant correlations were detected between the definitional symptoms and these parafunctions in this group. The present study suggests that in patients without unpleasant life events grinding, clenching, and lip/cheek biting cannot be considered 'necessary' but can be 'sufficient' cause for the development of craniomandibular dysfunction. In subjects with unpleasant life events the origin of signs/symptoms of the dysfunction can be attributed to muscle tension or to another unknown aetiological factor.

Relationship between craniomandibular dysfunction and malocclusion in white children with and without unpleasant life events

An epidemiologic study was conducted to investigate the relationship between craniomandibular dysfunction and malocclusion in 386 children aged 6 to 10 years with and without unpleasant life events. The results showed no statistically significant correlations between each clinical sign and each type of morphologic malocclusion in both groups. The chi-square test, however, revealed statistically significant correlation between the pain in the temple region and posterior crossbite in the calm group but not in the not calm group. With respect to the functional malocclusion, the chi-square test showed statistically significant correlations between interferences in the terminal hinge movement and TMJ tenderness and difficulties in opening wide. However, these correlations were found only in the calm group. When the definitional symptoms of craniomandibular dysfunction were aggregated, no statistically significant correlations were found between them and each type of malocclusion in both groups. The results of this study showed that the correlations between malocclusion and craniomandibular dysfunction were inconsistent.

Stressful life events and seizure frequency in patients with epilepsy.

We tested whether unpleasant life events increased seizure occurrence in persons with epilepsy. Forty-six subjects maintained daily diaries for 10-36 weeks in which they recorded seizures and life events. Mean age of subjects was 39 years; 78% were female; 83% had complex partial seizures (CPS). On the average, subjects reported 3.3 seizures a week. Analyses first were conducted within each subject and then in the sample overall. For each person, we tested whether seizure frequency increased within 24 h of the occurrence of unpleasant events, using Poisson regression analyses that adjusted for daily antiepileptic medication, sleep duration and quality, alcohol intake, menstrual status, and pleasant events. Rarity of events precluded analyses in 9 subjects. Events increased seizure frequency in 5 subjects (14%) (p < 0.05). Events decreased seizure frequency in 2 subjects (p < 0.05). When individual risk ratios were aggregated across subjects, unpleasant events were significantly associated with seizure increase only in men (RR = 1.67, 95% Confidence interval 1.09, 2.54). However, this finding must be interpreted with caution because of the limited number of men in the sample. In other aggregate analyses, events and seizures were not associated in subjects grouped by seizure type, age of seizure onset, current age, ethnicity, educational level, or marital status. Identification of factors that distinguish patients with and without event-triggered seizures requires further study.

Effects of Recent and Past Stress on Mental Health: Coping with Unemployment Among Vietnam Veterans and Nonveterans1

To determine the additive as well as interactive effects of pre‐war stresses (adolescence), Vietnam war stresses (combat experiences) and post‐war stresses (job loss, other life events), interview data were collected from a sample of 486 males who were eligible for service during the Vietnam war era. Of these respondents, 297 had recently lost their job and thus became subjected to the stress of unemployment. Our findings, like those of others (Egendorf, Kadushin, Laufer, Rothbart, &amp; Sloan, 1981; Boulanger, 1981), suggest that exposure to war produces long‐lasting effects on emotional well‐being. Similarly, stressful childhood and adolescence experiences also appear to be long‐lasting. In contrast to the long‐lasting effects of these past stresses, the harmful effects of unemployment on mental health are reversed when employment is regained. All of the past pre‐war and war stresses, and the recent unemployment and other stressful life events that were investigated had independent, adverse, main effects on mental health. Social support and internal control orientation had independent, positive, main effects on mental health. Of the various recent and past stresses, only the recent ones, unemployment and later unpleasant life events, had an additional exacerbating (interactive) effect on mental health.

Showing that life events are a cause of depression--a review.

Some necessary conditions are set out for showing that some quality of life events is a cause of depression. Recent advances in method which help to fulfil these conditions are reviewed in the fields of life events, depression and survey design. Studies which may have been regarded as refuting a causal link between life events and depression are analysed in detail and their conclusions are challenged. Studies which have claimed a causal link have used methods which in general fulfil the conditions for showing a cause. It was concluded that the hypothesis that severely unpleasant life events, particularly events involving loss, are a cause of depression has not been refuted. Furthermore, a number of studies have accumulated evidence for such a causal link. The weaknesses of these studies are discussed. Improved methods are suggested for use in future research.