Unsupportive Social Interactions Research Articles

Implementasi Pembelajaran PAI dalam Pembentukan Karakter Religius Peserta Didik di SMP Muhammadiyah 48 Medan

The development of science and technology has had a negative impact on the character of a nation. To address this impact, it is necessary to implement character education in educational institutions. This study aims to determine how Islamic Religious Education (PAI) is implemented in shaping the religious character of students at SMP Muhammadiyah 48 Medan, along with the supporting and inhibiting factors. This research is a type of field research with a qualitative descriptive approach. Data analysis is carried out by selecting, collecting, analyzing, and then drawing conclusions from the obtained data. The results of the study show that the teaching of Islamic Religious Education (PAI) at SMP Muhammadiyah 48 Medan in shaping the religious character of students is implemented through various school programs, including self-development, application in subjects, and integration into the school culture through 5S activities and several other activities. Supporting factors in this implementation include adequate facilities and infrastructure, supportive media that can help educators guide students in carrying out religious activities, the caring and togetherness attitude of educators in shaping students' characters, and support from the surrounding school environment. Meanwhile, inhibiting factors include unsupportive social interactions, family backgrounds and environments, the lack of religious role models for students at home, and the lack of religious awareness among students.

Identifying and Managing Suicidality in Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome.

Adult patients affected by myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS) are at an increased risk of death by suicide. Based on the scientific literature and our clinical/research experiences, we identify risk and protective factors and provide a guide to assessing and managing suicidality in an outpatient medical setting. A clinical case is used to illustrate how information from this article can be applied. Characteristics of ME/CFS that make addressing suicidality challenging include absence of any disease-modifying treatments, severe functional limitations, and symptoms which limit therapies. Decades-long misattribution of ME/CFS to physical deconditioning or psychiatric disorders have resulted in undereducated healthcare professionals, public stigma, and unsupportive social interactions. Consequently, some patients may be reluctant to engage with mental health care. Outpatient medical professionals play a vital role in mitigating these effects. By combining evidence-based interventions aimed at all suicidal patients with those adapted to individual patients’ circumstances, suffering and suicidality can be alleviated in ME/CFS. Increased access to newer virtual or asynchronous modalities of psychiatric/psychological care, especially for severely ill patients, may be a silver lining of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Effects of unsupportive social interactions, stigma, and symptoms on patients with myalgic encephalomyelitis and chronic fatigue syndrome.

Prior research has found a heightened risk of suicide in patients with myalgic encephalomyelitis (ME) and chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS). It is possible that a number of factors including stigma, unsupportive social interactions, and severe symptoms could lead to the development of depression, suicidal ideation, and heightened risk of suicide in this patient population. Prior studies have indicated that patients often report the legitimacy of their illness being questioned by family, friends, and even their physicians. This study aimed to determine whether stigma experienced, social support, symptomology, and functioning may be associated with depression and endorsement of suicidal ideation (SI) in patients with a self-reported diagnosis of ME or CFS. Findings indicated that participants that endorsed both SI and depression, in contrast to those that did not, experienced more frequent unsupportive social interactions in the form of blame for their illness, minimization of its severity, and social distancing from others. In addition, 7.1% of patients with ME and CFS endorsed SI but do not meet the criteria for clinical depression These findings highlight the importance of stigma and unsupportive social interactions as risk factors for suicidal thoughts or actions among patients with ME and CFS. Community psychologists have an important role to play in helping educate health care professionals and the public to these types of risk factors for patients marginalized by ME and CFS.

Patterns of illness disclosure among Indian slum dwellers: a qualitative study

BackgroundSlum dwellers display specific traits when it comes to disclosing their illnesses to professionals. The resulting actions lead to poor health-seeking behaviour and underutilisation of existing formal health facilities. The ways that slum people use to communicate their feelings about illness, the type of confidants that they choose, and the supportive and unsupportive social and cultural interactions to which they are exposed have not yet been studied in the Indian context, which constitutes an important knowledge gap for Indian policymakers and practitioners alike. To that end, this study examines the patterns of illness disclosure in Indian slums and the underpinning factors which shape the slum dwellers’ disclosing attitude.MethodsIn-depth, semi-structured interviews were conducted among 105 men and 113 women who experienced illness in the year prior to the study period. Respondents were selected from four urban slums in two Indian cities, Bangalore and Kolkata.ResultsFindings indicate that women have more confidants at different social levels, while men have a limited network of disclosures which is culturally and socially mediated. Gender role limitations, exclusion from peer groups and unsupportive local situations are the major cause of disclosure delay or non-disclosure among men, while the main concerns for women are a lack of proper knowledge about illness, unsupportive responses received from other people on certain occasions, the fear of social stigma, material loss and the burden of the local situation. Prompt sharing of illness among men is linked with prevention intention and coping with biological problems, whereas factors determining disclosure for women relate to ensuring emotional and instrumental safety, preventing collateral damage of illness, and preventing and managing biological complications.ConclusionsThe findings reveal that patterns of disclosure are not determined by the acknowledgment of illness but largely depend on the interplay between individual agency, disclosure consequences and the socio cultural environment. The results of this study can contribute significantly to mitigating the pivotal knowledge gap between health policymakers, practitioners and patients, leading to the formulation of policies that maximise the utilisation of health facilities in slums.

Psychological consequences of IVF fertilization - Review of research.

Due to the reported efficacy of in vitro fertilization (IVF) this method of dealing with infertility is increasing being used. Experiencing IVF can be a source of psychological and emotional difficulties for couples trying to have a child. A systematic review was performed to discuss IVF as a psychological issue that impacts on the functioning of individuals, couples and families. Ebsco, Science Direct and PsycARTICLES databases were searched using the keywords: IVF fertilization, IVF psychology, infertility, and IVF consequences, using published peer reviewed articles from 2006 onwards. Studies in the English and Polish languages, peer reviewed and investigating general IVF and infertility psychological issues were included. Data was collected by the authors between June 2015-January 2016. Studies indicate that partners going through IVF may not have enough support from their closest social environments. It is argued that these unsupportive social interactions affect the well-being of couples, can hinder conception, and therefore are one of the reasons for attrition from IVF, the most effective assisted reproduction method. There is a need to conduct studies on the effect of supportive social interactions for the functioning of couples undergoing IVF.

Older adults living with HIV: a valuable resource?

ABSTRACTSubjective wellbeing was examined amongst 274 adults living with HIV in Australia and the United States of America. There were 164 adults aged 49 years and under, and 110 adults aged 50 years and over. Participants completed a composite questionnaire comprising the Personal Wellbeing Index-Adult (PWI-A), the HIV-Unsupportive Social Interactions Inventory (USII), and demographic and health-related items. Participants reported mean PWI-A scores of 54.7 points, considerably below the Western population normative range of 70–80 points. Older adults reported significantly greater subjective wellbeing compared to younger adults, but still below the normative range. Experiences of unsupportive social interactions were a significant predictor of reduced subjective wellbeing amongst all participants. Qualitative comments provided a greater understanding of the characteristics and psychological devices that enable some older adults to maintain and/or increase subjective wellbeing, even in the face of negative stressors such as unsupportive social interactions. This provides valuable information for service providers and clinicians as HIV increasingly becomes recognised as a disease affecting older adults in developed nations. Rather than positioning the ageing HIV-population as a potential burden, it is proposed that learning more about the coping mechanisms employed by older adults with HIV could prove beneficial for the HIV-population as a whole.

Unsupportive Social Interactions are Associated with Poorer Self-reported Health in Israeli Patients with Diabetes.

Social support is associated with improved adherence to treatment recommendations among patients with diabetes. This research examines negative dimensions of social support such as interference and insensitivity which may interfere with appropriate lifestyle choices. A telephone survey in Israel of 764 patients with type 1 and type 2 diabetes was conducted to assess social support and unsupportive social interactions, and correlate them with self-reported current health status. Patients with higher levels of interference reported poorer health after adjusting for other factors including positive social support. Interference, which is a negative dimension of social support, was higher among Arabs than Jews (OR=2.12; 95% CI: 1.44, 3.10) after adjusting for factors, including positive social support, in a logistic regression model. Among Jews, the less educated, those not performing physical activity, and those with lower levels of social support reported significantly higher levels of interference. Insensitivity was lower among Arabs compared to Jews (OR=0.64, 95%CI: 0.44, 0.94) after adjusting for the variables in the regression model. Unsupportive social interactions can hamper adoption of a lifestyle needed for diabetes management, negatively influencing self-reported health.

The moderating role of an oxytocin receptor gene polymorphism in the relation between unsupportive social interactions and coping profiles: implications for depression.

Oxytocin is a hormone that is thought to influence prosocial behaviors and may be important in modulating responses to both positive and negative social interactions. Indeed, a single nucleotide polymorphism, rs53576, of the oxytocin receptor gene (OXTR) has been associated with decreased trust, empathy, optimism, and social support seeking, which are important components of coping with stressors. In the current study, conducted among undergraduate students (N = 225), it was shown that parental and peer social support was related to fewer depressive symptoms through elevated problem-focused coping and lower emotion-focused coping, and these effects were independent of the OXTR polymorphism. Unsupportive social interactions from parents were associated with more severe depressive symptoms through the greater use of emotion-focused coping, and this relation was moderated by the OXTR genotype. Specifically, individuals who carried the polymorphism on one or both of their alleles demonstrated increased emotion-focused coping following unsupportive responses compared to those without the polymorphism. Likewise, lower problem-focused coping mediated the relation between parental and peer unsupportive responses to depressive symptoms, but this mediated relation was only evident among carriers of the polymorphism. These findings suggest that carrying this OXTR polymorphism might favor disadvantageous coping styles in the face of negative social interactions, which in turn are linked to poor mood. Regardless of genotype, parental, and peer social support are fundamental in determining stress-related coping and well-being.

Childhood adversity, perceived discrimination, and coping strategies in relation to depressive symptoms among First Nations adults in Canada: The moderating role of unsupportive social interactions from ingroup and outgroup members.

Aboriginal peoples are at greater risk of experiencing early life adversity relative to non-Aboriginal peoples in Canada, and as adults frequently experience high levels of discrimination that act as a further stressor. Although these factors appear to contribute to high rates of depressive disorders and suicidality in Aboriginal peoples, the psychosocial factors that contribute to the relationship between childhood adversity and the development of depressive symptoms have hardly been assessed in this group. The present investigation explored potential mediators to help explain the relation between childhood trauma and depressive symptoms among a sample of First Nations adults from across Canada. These mediated relationships were further examined in the context of unsupportive social interactions from ingroup and outgroup members. In Study 1, (N = 225), the relationship between childhood trauma and depression scores was mediated by perceived discrimination, and this was particularly notable in the presence of unsupportive relations with outgroup members. In Study 2, (N = 134) the relationship between childhood trauma and depressive symptoms was mediated by emotion-focused coping that was specific to coping with experiences of ethnic discrimination, and this mediated effect was moderated by both outgroup and ingroup unsupportive social interactions. Thus, it seems that experiences of discrimination and unsupport might contribute to depressive symptoms among First Nations adults who had experienced early life adverse events.

Companion Animals and Wellbeing When Living with HIV in Australia

ABSTRACTThe aim of this study was to examine the impact of companion animals on wellbeing amongst individuals living with HIV in Australia. It was hypothesized that participants living with a companion animal would report greater emotional wellbeing than those who did not. It was also hypothesized that participants reporting a stronger attachment to their companion animal would report greater emotional wellbeing. A total of 128 participants (77 with companion animals and 51 without companion animals) were recruited through Australian AIDS Councils. All participants completed measures of HIV-related emotional wellbeing, perceived experiences of HIV-related unsupportive social interactions, selfassessed health, and socio-demographics. Those living with companion animals completed additional items about the animal, including the Lexington Attachment to Pets Scale (LAPS). Sample comparisons indicated that those living with a companion animal had significantly greater emotional wellbeing scores, and reported reduced experiences of HIV-related unsupportive social interactions, compared with those who did not. In addition, multiple regression analyses showed living with a companion animal to be predictive of emotional wellbeing. However, analysis of LAPS scores indicated greater attachment to a companion animal was significantly associated with reduced emotional wellbeing and self-assessed health, and increased reports of HIV-related unsupportive social interactions. It is proposed that some individuals facing increased negative HIV-related challenges may actively seek out a stronger attachment relationship with a companion animal in order to buffer these stressful life conditions. This study provides empirical support for the benefits that companion animals may offer some members of a potentially vulnerable or stigmatized population group, and reinforces the need to validate and support the human–animal relationship.

Living with the unexplained: coping, distress, and depression among women with chronic fatigue syndrome and/or fibromyalgia compared to an autoimmune disorder

Chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) and fibromyalgia are disabling conditions without objective diagnostic tests, clear-cut treatments, or established etiologies. Those with the disorders are viewed suspiciously, and claims of malingering are common, thus promoting further distress. It was hypothesized in the current study that levels of unsupportive social interactions and the coping styles used among those with CFS/fibromyalgia would be associated with perceived distress and depressive symptoms. Women with CFS/fibromyalgia (n = 39), in fact, reported higher depression scores, greater perceived distress and more frequent unsupportive relationships than healthy women (n = 55), whereas those with a chronic, but medically accepted illness comprising an autoimmune disorder (lupus erythematosus, multiple sclerosis, rheumatoid arthritis; n = 28), displayed intermediate scores. High problem-focused coping was associated with low levels of depression and perceived distress in those with an autoimmune condition. In contrast, although CFS/fibromyalgia was also accompanied by higher depression scores and higher perceived distress, this occurred irrespective of problem-focused coping. It is suggested that because the veracity of ambiguous illnesses is often questioned, this might represent a potent stressor in women with such illnesses, and even coping methods typically thought to be useful in other conditions, are not associated with diminished distress among those with CFS/fibromyalgia.

HIV-specific unsupportive social interactions, health, and ethnicity in men living with HIV

Individuals living with HIV experience higher rates of stigmatizing social interactions that may negatively impact psychological and physical health. We examined depressive symptoms as a mediator of the relationship between HIV-specific unsupportive social interactions (USIs) and health behaviors in 87 Black and White men living with HIV (MLWH). We also examined ethnicity as a moderator of this model. Depressive symptoms were an indirect mechanism through which HIV-specific USIs explained poorer health behaviors. The indirect effects between disconnecting USI, more depressive symptoms, and poorer health behaviors were significant for Black men but not for White men. Depressive symptoms may be one pathway through which USI are associated with physical health, and disconnecting USI may be particularly detrimental for Black MLWH.

Unsupportive Social Interactions in the Weeks Immediately Following Breast Cancer Diagnosis

Unsupportive social interactions (USIs) experienced by people with cancer negatively affect psychological well-being. Forty-five interviews with 26 women were analyzed using directed content analysis to explore USIs experienced during the stressful pretreatment and early postsurgical periods after early-stage breast cancer diagnosis. Cognitive, emotional, and behavioral responses to USIs were also explored. Seventy incidents of USIs were identified within the interviews and grouped into four previously defined and five additional categories. Anxiety, avoiding future interactions, and nondisclosure of thoughts and feelings were typical responses to USIs. These responses hold implications for women's psychological well-being and need for future interventions and research.

Police officers’ experiences of supportive and unsupportive social interactions following traumatic incidents

BackgroundPolice officers are routinely exposed to potentially traumatic incidents yet the majority do not develop post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Social support has been identified as one factor that may maintain wellbeing in this population, although what constitutes supportive or unsupportive interactions is unclear.ObjectiveTo explore police officers’ experiences of supportive and unsupportive interactions following distressing incidents.MethodSemi-structured interviews were conducted with 19 police officers. Transcripts were analysed using Braun and Clarke's (2006) thematic analysis approach.ResultsParticipants described a range of supportive interactions with colleagues, friends, and family, as well as social constraints that hindered interactions. Ambivalence about talking about the impact of distressing events was striking throughout the accounts. The context and source of available support, as well as beliefs about talking, influenced their interactions. Humour was a central feature of interactions with colleagues; more emotional talk occurred with partners and close family, albeit with officers limiting details in order to protect others.ConclusionsThe findings provide tentative insights into the processes of social support that may contribute to the resilience of police officers following traumatic incidents. Further research is needed to examine whether the experiences of supportive and unsupportive interactions differ for those with and without PTSD.

Unsupportive social interactions influence emotional eating behaviors. The role of coping styles as mediators

Psychopathologies, such as depression, are frequently accompanied by poor coping strategies, including impaired social support resources. As well, unsupportive social interactions have been related to adverse health outcomes beyond any contribution of limited social support resources. There is reason to believe that increased eating associated with stressors represents a method of coping, albeit one that has negative consequences. The present investigation examined the relation between both unsupportive and supportive social interactions and emotional eating, and assessed whether this relationship was mediated by individual coping styles. Study 1 (N=221) indicated that unsupportive social interactions were associated with emotional eating, and with emotion- and avoidant-focused coping. Furthermore, multiple mediation analyses indicated that emotion-focused coping mediated the relation between unsupportive social interactions and emotional eating. Study 2 (N=169) replicated these findings, and also indicated that these effects were above and beyond those of social support and depressive symptomatology. Thus unsupportive social interactions may have implications for health outcomes and behaviors, beyond mood disorder symptomatology. The observed relations can be explained by theories of affect-regulation such as negative urgency and expectancy theory as well as on the basis of biological processes associated with eating and stress responses.

Health anxiety in women with early-stage breast cancer: What is the relationship to social support?

Health anxiety is a multidimensional construct referring to worry about health, reassurance seeking, hypervigilance to bodily sensations, and beliefs that health concerns are not taken seriously by others. Research suggests health anxiety can be triggered by a diagnosis of a health condition such as breast cancer. Social factors are postulated to be involved in the occurrence and maintenance of health anxiety, but little empirical evidence is available in this area. The present study tested the role of perceived adequacy of social support and unsupportive social interactions in health anxiety relative to general anxiety, depression, and demographic/cancer-related variables. Canadian women diagnosed with early stage breast cancer within the last 10 years (N 131) completed a web-based survey. Social factors contributed to significant variance in health anxiety and its 4 dimensions, even after taking other variables into account. The results underscore the importance of social support to health anxiety and highlight a need to assess social factors when assessing and treating health anxiety in this population.

Subjective wellbeing and ‘felt’ stigma when living with HIV

The impact of stigma on subjective wellbeing was explored in adults living with HIV in Australia and the USA. It was hypothesised that this population would report poorer subjective wellbeing than the general population and that ‘felt’ stigma would contribute significantly to reported levels of subjective wellbeing. A total of 274 participants were recruited through Australian AIDS councils and HIV-specific online support groups. Participants completed a composite questionnaire comprising the personal wellbeing index—adult (PWI-A), the HIV version of the unsupportive social interactions inventory (USII) and demographic and health-related items. The PWI-A total score was used to form a personal wellbeing index, ranging from 0 to 100. Participants reported mean PWI-A total scores of 54.7, considerably below the normative range of 70–80 for Western populations. There was a strong negative correlation between PWI-A total scores and USII total scores with the experience of high levels of unsupportive social interactions being associated with reduced levels of subjective wellbeing. Our study suggests that despite antidiscrimination legislation, ‘felt’ stigma in the form of unsupportive social interactions continues to exert a negative impact on subjective wellbeing. Reduced subjective wellbeing may increase the risk of adverse health behaviours, such as medication non-adherence, substance abuse, risky sexual behaviours and non-disclosure of HIV serostatus.

Fear of emotion as a moderator between PTSD and firefighter social interactions

Despite high levels of exposure to stress, questions remain regarding how social interactions and beliefs about emotion interact to influence posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in firefighters. United States urban firefighters (N = 225) completed the Interpersonal Support Evaluation List, the Unsupportive Social Interactions Inventory, the Affective Control Scale, and the Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Checklist. Each independent variable predicted PTSD beyond variance accounted for by demographic variables. Additionally, fear of emotion emerged as the strongest individual predictor of PTSD and a moderator of the relation between social interactions and PTSD symptoms. These findings emphasize the importance of beliefs about emotion both in how these beliefs might influence the expression of PTSD symptoms, and in how the social networks of trauma survivors might buffer distress.

Minority‐Specific Determinants of Mental Well‐Being Among Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual Youth

This study discusses the impact of stress specific to being lesbian, gay, or bisexual (LGB)—measured by means of the concepts of stigma consciousness and internalized homonegativity—on the mental well‐being of LGB youth. Also, the effects of positive and negative social support were considered within the model. The sample consisted of 743 LGBs less than 26 years old who were recruited during the online ZZZIP survey in Flanders, Belgium. Hierarchical regression shows that LGB‐specific unsupportive social interactions have the greatest direct effect on mental well‐being of LGB youth, followed respectively by stigma consciousness, internalized homonegativity, and confidant support.

Supportive and Unsupportive Social Interactions in Relation to Cultural Adaptation and Psychological Distress Among Somali Refugees Exposed to Collective or Personal Traumas

The present study evaluated the traumatic stressors experienced by Somali refugees to Canada ( N = 169) that might be associated with poorer cultural adaptation and greater depressive and trauma symptoms. As well, it was suggested that indices of social support might mediate the relations between traumatic experiences and psychological outcomes. Regression analyses indicated that collective trauma experiences (e.g., civil warfare) were associated with poorer cultural adaptation but were not related to depressive and trauma symptoms. Furthermore, collective trauma was unrelated to social support perceptions that might have mediated the relation to cultural adaptation. In contrast, personally traumatic experiences (e.g., assault from a familiar other) were related to increased depressive and trauma symptoms, and these relations were mediated by self-reports of encountering unsupportive social interactions. Qualitative analyses of interview data ( n = 23) suggested that refugees had developed a shared understanding of collective trauma that may have protected against psychological distress.