Spirituality, Personality, and Emotional Distress During COVID-19 Pandemic in Croatia

Spirituality is associated with immune parameters and disease activity in primary Sjögren's syndrome: a cross-sectional study

The role of spirituality in health and disease is a complex and emerging area of research. Incorporating spirituality into the bio-psycho-social model of health and disease leading to the bio-psycho-social-spiritual model provides a more comprehensive framework. In this context, chronic disorders like primary Sjögren's syndrome (pSS) are of interest due to their intricate interactions between biological, psychological, and spiritual factors. This study explored the relationship between spirituality, immune parameters, and disease activity in pSS patients. Data from 108 patients were analyzed, including self-assessed spirituality (answering to direct questions and completing the Spiritual Transcendence Scale), immunological parameters and disease activity scores. The findings revealed several associations. Individuals with spiritual attitudes or engaged in regular prayer/meditation showed lower serum levels of autoantibodies specific to pSS and lower disease activity scores. Spiritual engagement was also linked to decreased perceived skin and tracheal dryness, suggesting potential benefits for physical symptoms. These findings suggest that spirituality may play a significant role in modulating immune responses and disease activity in pSS patients. The study underscores the importance of considering spirituality as an integral part of the holistic approach to health and disease, further expanding the understanding of the interconnectedness of biological, psychological, and spiritual dimensions.

The relationship between spiritual health and quality of life among COVID-19 patients with long-term complications in the post-coronavirus era

Objective

COVID-19 has varied manifestations and can cause complications that affect quality of life. Spiritual health may be a source of adaptation for these patients. This study investigated the relationship between spiritual health and quality of life among COVID-19 patients with long-term complications in the post-coronavirus era.

Participants/methods

This study enrolled 475 COVID-19 patients through convenience sampling from medical facilities located in the Central Province of Iran. Data collection occurred between November 2022 and July 2023. A demographic checklist was utilized to ascertain the presence of potential COVID-19 complications. Patients exhibiting at least one long-term complication of COVID-19 were classified into the group with complications, while those without such complications were categorized into the group without complications. Subsequently, spiritual health and quality of life were assessed utilizing Paloutzian and Ellison's Spiritual Well-Being Scale and the 36-item Short Form Health Survey (SF-36), respectively. Statistical analysis was conducted using SPSS-20.

Results

The mean scores of spiritual well-being and quality of life for participants without COVID-19 complications were 70.87 ± 22.44 and 61.30 ± 18.33, respectively. In contrast, the mean spiritual health scores and quality of life for participants with COVID-19 complications were 41.20 ± 12.49 and 33.66 ± 1.46, respectively. Moreover, spiritual well-being was positively associated with quality of life among COVID-19 patients (p < 0.05).

Conclusion

This study indicates that COVID-19 complications can impair patients' spiritual health and quality of life, leaving them vulnerable and distressed. However, patients with higher spiritual health can cope better and enjoy a higher quality of life, despite challenges. Therefore, this study highlights the importance of addressing the spiritual needs of patients with COVID-19 complications and providing them with adequate support and care.

Facing the pandemic with a smile: the case of Memedical and its impact on cardiovascular professionals

Since its outbreak, the Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has profoundly changed the world we were acquainted with. After the first known contact with humankind in Wuhan, China, in December 2019, the reckless spread of such pathogen put the healthcare system to the test, leading to harmful consequences affecting human lives in every aspect. As of February 2022, the death toll amounts to almost 6 million deaths, but the pathogenic profile of SARS-CoV-2 goes way beyond the mere biological interaction between the viral particle and our organism. People had to deal with the severe psychological impact caused by the only available weapon to fight this infection, i.e., social distancing. The human psychological profile has been strained with repercussions we still are unaware of nowadays. Healthcare professionals were among the most hit categories, not only because of the quarantine but above all for the situations they had to bear every day, constantly facing desperation, death, isolation, and rage. In such circumstances, social media represented a powerful shelter, giving people the ability to keep in contact and to feel connected even if miles apart. In our country, the power of communication was strongly emphasized by launching an Italian Facebook group called "Memedical," where members can share ironic memes to feel closer and give a glimmer of happiness in such a challenging moment. Our review highlights the severity of this pandemic's impact, deteriorating the global population's physical and mental health, and shows how wise use of social media can benefit the quality of life.

The Relationship Between Personality Traits, Emotional Stability and Mental Health in Art Vocational and Technical College Students During Epidemic Prevention and Control

Objective

To investigate the relationship between the personality traits, emotional stability and mental health state of students in vocational and technical colleges of art under epidemic prevention and control based on latent trait-state theory.

Methods

Using the stratified sampling method, we selected 1569 students in vocational and technical colleges of art as research subjects. From 1 April 2022 to 5 April 2022, we conducted an online survey using the Eysenck Personality Questionnaire (Adult Edition) (EPQA), Emotional Stability Self-Test Scale and University Personality Inventory (UPI) to analyse the relationship between the traits, emotional stability and mental health of students in vocational and technical colleges of art.

Results

For the EPQA personality traits, boys had lower extraversion and introversion scores than girls (47.71 ± 11.23 vs 49.06 ± 10.74, p = 0.021). In terms of mental health, boys had lower scores than girls (12.20 ± 12.73 vs 14.64 ± 11.85, p< 0.001). There were significant grade differences in psychoticism and total mental health scores in terms of EPQA personality traits (P < 0.01). There were significant associations between all dimensions of personality traits, emotional stability and mental health (r = 0.68, 0.62, p < 0.01). Emotional stability plays a partial mediating role in the effects of neuroticism on mental health.

Conclusion

There is a close relationship between personality traits, emotional stability and mental health. Under the condition of epidemic prevention and control, strengthening the management of the self-emotional stability of students in vocational and technical colleges of art is helpful in improving students' mental health.

Turning to Religion During COVID-19 (Part II): A Systematic Review, Meta-analysis and Meta-regression of Studies on the Relationship between Religious Coping and Mental Health throughout COVID-19

The COVID-19 pandemic and the many associated socio-economic changes constitute a stressful event that required adaptation to new, dynamic, and often threatening conditions. According to the literature, coping strategies are one of the factors that determine a person's degree of adaptation to stressful situations. A systematic review and meta-analysis was performed on the relationship between religious coping and selected indicators of mental health. Due to the large amount of data, this work has been divided into two parts: Part I discussed the positive mental health indicators (Pankowski & Wytrychiewicz-Pankowska, 2023), while this Part II discusses negative mental health indicators. A systematic review of the databases of Science Direct, EBSCO, Cochrane, PubMed, and Google Scholar identified 33 articles related to the severity of depressive symptoms: 30 to anxiety, 23 to stress, 1 related to PTSD symptoms and peritraumatic stress, and 5 related to general negative mental health. The limitations of the research as well as further directions for exploration are discussed.Clinical trial registration This Review was pre-registered at OSF: osf.io/54ygr ( https://doi.org/10.17605/OSF.IO/GMNFV ).

Turning to Religion During COVID-19 (Part I): A Systematic Review, Meta-analysis and Meta-regression of Studies on the Relationship Between Religious Coping and Mental Health Throughout COVID-19

The COVID-19 pandemic and the many associated socio-economic changes constitute a stressful event that required adaptation to new, dynamic, and often threatening conditions. According to the literature, coping strategies are one of the factors that determine a person's degree of adaptation to stressful situations. A systematic review and meta-analysis was performed on the relationship between religious coping and selected indicators of mental health. Due to the large amount of data, this work has been divided into two parts: this first part discusses positive mental health indicators, while the second discusses negative mental health indicators (Pankowski & Wytrychiewicz-Pankowska, 2023). A systematic review of PubMed, Science Direct, the Cochrane Library, Google Scholar, the Database of Abstracts of Reviews of Effects, and Google Scholar databases was carried out. In addition to the synthesis of information obtained from the research, a meta-analysis of correlation was also performed to determine the strengths of the relationships between the analysed variables, and selected moderators were assessed using meta-regression. Quality of life, well-being, satisfaction with life, happiness, and post-traumatic growth were the positive mental health indicators considered. Meta-analyses indicated a statistically significant relationship between positive religious coping and flourishing (well-being) with overall correlation values of 0.35 [0.30; 0.40]. Further calculations also indicated a relationship between negative religious coping and flourishing - 0.25 [- 0.34; - 0.15]. Data synthesis shows associations between religious coping and such indicators as satisfaction with life and post-traumatic growth, but these issues require further investigation.

Positive and negative mood states mediated the effects of psychological resilience on emotional stability among high school students during the COVID-19 pandemic

This study investigated the parallel mediating effects of positive and negative mood states on the relationship between psychological resilience and emotional stability among first- through third-year senior high school students in China during the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic. Of 408 questionnaires distributed from April 11 to April 22, 2022, to students at a high school located in Changzhou, Jiangsu, China, 360 were completed correctly and analyzed using a cross-sectional study design. The questionnaire included items from the modified Chinese version of the Psychological Resilience Scale, the Profile of Mood States scale, and the Eysenck Personality Questionnaire Short Scale in Chinese, the latter to assess emotional stability. The mediating effects of mood states on the relationship between psychological resilience and emotional stability were explored by using structural equation modeling and bootstrapping methods. The results indicated that psychological resilience directly affected emotional stability but also indirectly affected emotional stability through the mediating effects of positive and negative mood states. The mediating effect of negative mood states was greater than that of positive mood states. This result differs from that of research conducted prior to the pandemic, which found that compared with the damage caused by negative moods to emotional stability, positive moods more strongly promoted emotional stability. Our findings indicate that high school officials in China should consider strengthening mental health support for students who are taking courses online during home quarantine.