METHOD: A cross-sectional study was conducted, using questionnaires sent to selected medical staff in a public hospital in Shandong, China (N = 1012). Multiple regression analysis was used to investigate how psychological strains influencing life satisfactions among medical staff.
RESULTS: The findings indicate that aspiration strain and deprivation strain have significantly negative impact on medical staff's life satisfaction even with other variables controlled for. Weekly working hour was a significant predictor for life satisfaction. Family factors, such as marital status and kids in the family as well as social support were important factors in influencing individuals' life satisfaction.
CONCLUSION: The current study highlights the negative associations between aspiration strain, deprivation strain and life satisfaction. The result underlines the importance of actions taken to prevent and combat psychological strains. It also provides some evidence for policy makers to improve the work environment for medical staff, such as reduce weekly working hours and enhance social support in order to increase medical staff's life satisfaction.
METHODS: Participants comprised 1912 college students (16-28 years old, 47.2% female) from three universities in Jilin Province, China, who completed the self-report assessments of psychological strains (40 items Psychological Strains Scale) and suicidal behaviors (Suicidal Behaviors Questionnaire-Revised). The demographic characteristics included four variables: health status, psychological status, academic status and economic status.
RESULTS: Approximately 15.0% (286/1912) of participants were classified as having suicide risk, based on the cut-off scores of the SBQ-R. The prevalence of suicidal behaviors among males and females was 11.9% (120/1009) and 18.4% (166/903), respectively. Value strain (OR = 1.075, 95%CI: 1.057-1.094), aspiration strain (OR = 1.082, 95%CI: 1.064-1.101), deprivation strain (OR = 1.073, 95%CI: 1.052-1.093), and coping strain (OR = 1.095, 95%CI: 1.075-1.116) were risk factors for suicidality in college students. Coping strain (OR = 1.050, 95%CI: 1.023-1.077) was still positively associated with suicide risk in multivariate logistic regression. Logistic regression analysis indicated that coping strain had the highest correlation with suicidal behaviors.
LIMITATIONS: The directionality of the relationships cannot be deduced because this study is cross-sectional.
CONCLUSION: This study confirms a strong association between psychological strains and suicidal behaviors in college students. Some measures can be taken to reduce psychological strains to mitigate suicide risk among college students. More studies investigating coping strain among college students are warranted.
METHODS: Data came from a large sample of 11,412 Chinese undergraduate students. A bifactor-IRT model, specifying one general strain factor and four specific strains factors, was examined for fit to the sample data. A detailed item analysis, with analysis of the differential item functioning (DIF) of the items across gender, was undertaken to evaluate the dimensionality of the PSS. The associations among the PSS scale scores with scores on the concurrent measures, assessing psychache and suicidal behaviors, were examined.
RESULTS: IRT-derived specific bifactor indices showed that the PSS was unidimensional, and thus the PSS total scores should be reported. Unidimensional subset of 5 items identified (Item 9, Item 12, Item 14, Item 16, and Item 20), using bifactor-IRT modeling and incremental validation, were selected to construct a potential short form of the PSS (PSS-SF). The PSS-SF scale scores demonstrated strong psychometric properties and associations with scores on the concurrent measures assessing relevant constructs.
LIMITATIONS: This study used cross-sectional data from a non-clinical sample of Chinese undergraduate students.
CONCLUSIONS: The PSS-SF should be considered as a unidimensional instrument with potential in enhancing our understanding and measurement of psychological strains with reduced response burden.
METHODS: Through stratified random sampling, 1469 students, aged 18-19 years, were enrolled. Participants whose score achieved the aggressive evaluation standard were selected and then 60 participants were randomly divided into 2 groups: G-IPT and control. The participants in the G-IPT group received 16 sessions of treatment, whereas the participants in the control group did not receive any intervention. All participants completed the assessment three times: before, after, and tracking.
RESULTS: The results showed that the total score and the scores of all subscales of aggression dropped significantly (P
METHODS: 6,305 college students (39.3% men; 60.7% women) from six Chinese provincial-level jurisdictions completed a paper-and-pencil survey with Psychological Strain Scales (PSS-40) and Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Scales-21 (DASS-21), both validated in Chinese populations.
RESULTS: Both PSS-40 and DASS-21 have high internal consistency reliabilities, and are highly correlated with each other. Hence, Chinese college students with greater psychological strains (value, aspiration, deprivation, or coping) have greater depression, anxiety, and stress. These results still held after controlling for relevant socio-demographic variables in the multiple regression models.
LIMITATIONS: This was a cross-sectional study, and the sample only included several provinces in mainland China, not a representative sample of all of them.
CONCLUSIONS: Mood disorders and psychopathologies are linked to suicidal thoughts and behaviors. The results of this study extend the Strain Theory of Suicide from explaining the risk factors of suicidality to mood disorders and psychopathologies. Hence, these findings can inform prevention measures among college students, and possibly the general population.
METHOD: The sample consisted of 520 first-year undergraduate international students. The experimental group contained students who were diagnosed with depression and homesickness and received seven sessions of brief individual CBT for depression to reduce homesickness. The control group contained students who were diagnosed with depression and homesickness and received one session of advice and suggestions. The comparison group contained students who experienced only homesickness and did not receive any interventions. The study used the comparison group to determine if an interaction effect existed between students experiencing only homesickness and students experiencing both homesickness and depression.
RESULTS: Students who received brief individual CBT displayed a significant reduction in their homesickness and depression scores compared to the scores of students in the control group. Students who experienced only homesickness exhibited a significant reduction in the scores on homesickness in the post-assessment compared to the control group's post-assessment homesickness scores.
LIMITATION: The results of this study cannot be generalized as data were collected from three universities in Malaysia. The follow-up assessment was conducted six months after the post-assessment, which also limits generalizability beyond six months.
CONCLUSION: Overall, homesickness is considered a normal reaction. Brief individual CBT for depression is effective in reducing homesickness and depression among international students.
METHODS: The sample consisted of 7427 college students (56% female) who reported to be affiliated with Islam. Data on self-construal, social support, negative life-events, acceptability of suicide, suicidal ideation, and suicide attempts were collected with self-administered questionnaires.
RESULTS: Acceptability of suicide and the experience of negative life-events were positively, and perceived social support was negatively associated with suicidal ideation. Interdependent self-construal was negatively related to the acceptability of suicide and positively associated with perceived social support, implying a negative indirect effect on suicidal ideation although its direct effect was positive. The number of negative life-events was the strongest positive predictor of ever attempting suicide. The interdependent self-construal moderated the association of negative life-events with suicide attempts.
LIMITATIONS: Cross-sectional and self-report nature of the study were its major limitations. Participants may have suppressed their responses about suicide because of religious and legal reasons.
CONCLUSION: Remarkable similarities across 11 country samples emerged in the linkages between cultural and interpersonal factors with suicidality. Our findings highlight the value of a nuanced approach to suicidality, that can recognize the differences in the processes associated with suicidal ideation and suicide attempts, as well as the need to consider the interplay of a broad range of personal, interpersonal, and cultural influences.
METHODS: This was a post-hoc analysis of the Cognitive Dysfunction in Asian patients with Depression (CogDAD) study. Descriptive statistics were used to describe the most common cognitive complaints by patients. Univariate and multivariate analyses were performed to determine variables associated with perceived cognitive dysfunction (Perceived Deficit Questionnaire-Depression, PDQ-D).
RESULTS: The CogDAD study population is comprised of MDD patients with mild-to-moderate depression (Patient Health Questionnaire 9-item [PHQ-9]: 11.3 ± 6.9) who reported perceived cognitive dysfunction (PDQ-D = 22.6 ± 16.2). The most common cognitive complaints were: mind drifting (42.3%), trouble making decision (39.6%) and trouble concentrating (38.0%). Predictors of perceived cognitive dysfunction were: being Southeast Asians (vs. Taiwanese) (p
METHODS: We collected data from 1583 citizens from four countries via an online survey between October 14 and November 2, 2020. We gathered demographic data and measured mental distress (depression, anxiety, and stress) and fear of COVID-19. Data on sense of control, ego-resilience, grit, self-compassion, and resilience indicators were also collected.
RESULTS: Sense of control was negatively associated with mental distress in all four countries. Self-compassion was negatively associated with mental distress in the samples from Japan, China, and the U.S. We also found an interaction effect for sense of control: the lower the sense of control, the stronger the deterioration of mental distress when the fear of COVID-19 was high.
LIMITATIONS: This study's cross-sectional design precludes causal inferences. Further, lack of data from people who were actually infected with the virus limits comparisons of people who were and were not infected. Finally, as this study only compared data from four countries, comparisons with more countries are needed.
CONCLUSIONS: A sense of control and self-compassion may help buffer against mental health deterioration during the COVID-19 pandemic. Sense of control was consistently associated with mental health across cultures.
METHOD: A systematic review and meta-analysis approach was adopted as per the PRISMA guidelines, targeting articles published in PubMed, Google Scholar and Scopus from January 2021 to March 30, 2021. The screening resulted in 82 papers.
RESULTS: The overall pooled depression prevalence among 201,953 respondents was 34% (95%CI, 29-38, 99.7%), with no significant differences observed between the cohorts, timelines, and regions (p > 0.05). Dominant risk factors found were fear of COVID-19 infection (13%), gender (i.e., females; 12%) and deterioration of underlying medical conditions (8.3%), regardless of the sub-groups. Specifically, fear of COVID-19 infection was the most reported risk factor among general population (k = 14) and healthcare workers (k = 8). Gender (k = 7) and increased workload (k = 7) were reported among healthcare workers whereas education disruption among students (k = 7).
LIMITATION: The review is limited to articles published in three electronic databases. Conclusion The pandemic has caused depression among the populations across Asia Pacific, specifically among the general population, healthcare workers and students. Immediate attention and interventions from the concerned authorities are needed in addressing this issue.