Mental well-being of the general population: direct and indirect effects of socioeconomic, relational and health factors

Factors associated with high and low mental well-being in Spanish university students

BACKGROUND

Previous studies conducted in various nationally representative samples of the general population show that positive mental health is related to social prosperity. However, specific studies in university populations are scarce. In this study, we set out to explore factors associated with mental well-being (MWB) in a representative sample of first-year university students in Spain.

METHODS

MWB was assessed with the short version of the Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Well-Being Scale. Multinomial logistic regressions were performed to explore the association between different blocks of factors, including relational, adversity, stress, lifestyle, spiritual, health, and self-perceived health variables with high and low MWB, controlling for sociodemographic and university-related variables.

RESULTS

Data from 2082 students (18.6 ± 1.2 years; 56.6 % females) were analysed. Being male, being born in a foreign country, "high" self-perceived support, and "high" self-perceived mental health increased the odds of high MWB. Growing up in the suburbs, stressful experiences, and anxiety disorders reduced the odds of high MWB. Mood and anxiety disorders increased the odds of low MWB. "Middle" self-perceived support, sleeping ≥8 h per day, and "high" self-perceived mental health reduced the odds of low MWB.

LIMITATIONS

The cross-sectional design precludes establishing causal relationships. Data were collected in the 2014-15 academic year using self-reported online surveys.

CONCLUSION

The factors associated with high and low MWB do not always mirror each other, so specific plans are needed to successfully address each of the two poles. Interventions and policies targeting these factors for health promotion and disease prevention would improve the MWB of university students.

Perceived professional quality of life and mental well-being among animal facility personnel in Spain

Animal facility personnel provide the husbandry and care of laboratory animals. We aimed to investigate their work-related quality of life, empathy and mental well-being. Participants living in Spain were contacted by email and asked to complete an anonymous online questionnaire, in which they answered the Professional Quality of Life scale, the Cognitive and affective empathy test, the Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Well-Being Scale, and their perceived human-animal interaction. Participants were asked whether they were receiving psychological therapy or were taking anxiolytics, hypnotics or antidepressant medication. The study comprised 80 participants. No differences were observed related to personal or professional variables. Participants working with small carnivores reported higher total empathy, and those working with non-human primates reported higher emotional comprehension. Higher human-animal interaction was reported by participants working with small carnivores, farm animals and non-human primates. More than half of the participants reported high levels of mental well-being, positively correlated with emotional comprehension, emphatic joy and compassion satisfaction. Participants working with farm animals reported higher levels of secondary traumatic stress that was positively correlated with human-animal interaction and negatively with mental well-being. Most participants reported low-average levels of burnout, which was negatively correlated with mental well-being. The percentage of animal facility personnel in psychotherapy was higher than in the general population, and the consumption of anxiolytics was a little lower and antidepressants higher. Overall, our results indicate that animal-facility personnel who felt stress or worse mental well-being were in therapy and took medication to improve their condition.

The Relative Role of Family Affluence and Social Support on Depression and Self-Esteem among Adolescents in Nigeria: a Cross-Sectional Study

OBJECTIVES

To assess the relative importance of social support and family affluence in depression and self-esteem among adolescents in Calabar, Nigeria.

METHODS

This cross-sectional study was conducted among adolescent students in Calabar, Nigeria. Using stratified random sampling, 332 students were selected for participation. The Family Affluence Scale (FAS), Oslo Social Support Scale (OSS), Becks Depression Inventory (BDI) and Rosenberg Self-Esteem Inventory (RSES) were administered. To facilitate comparisons, the sample was divided into four groups: those with low OSS and low FAS scores, those with low OSS and high FAS scores, those with high OSS and low FAS scores, and those with high scores in both OSS and FAS. Groups were compared using the Kruskal-Wallis Test. Linear regression analysis was conducted to determine the predictors of depression and self-esteem. All analyses were performed using IBM SPSS version 21.

RESULTS

Respondents with low levels of social support, irrespective of family affluence, had significantly higher depression scores and significantly lower self-esteem scores (P< 0.05). In linear regression analyses, social support (95%CI [-1.35,-0.58]) and female gender (95%CI [1.49,5.29]) emerged as predictors of depression, while social support (95%CI [0.25,0.64]) and age (95%CI [-0.79,-0.11]) emerged as predictors of self-esteem. Affluence did not predict depression or self-esteem.

CONCLUSIONS

Social support is of greater relative importance in depression and self-esteem in our study. In developing nations with lean resources, enhanced social support might buffer against the effect of low socio-economic status on mental health.

The directed acyclic graph helped identify confounders in the association between coronary heart disease and pesticide exposure among greenhouse vegetable farmers

To explore the causal pathways associated with coronary heart disease (CHD) and pesticide exposure using a directed acyclic graph (DAG) analysis and to investigate the potential benefits of DAG by comparing it with logistic regression. This cross-sectional study enrolled 1368 participants from April 2015 to May 2017. Trained research investigators interviewed farmers using a self-administered questionnaire. Logistic regression and DAG models were used to identify the associations between CHD and chronic pesticide exposure. A total of 150 (11.0%) of the 1368 participants are characterized as having CHD. High pesticide exposure (odds ratio = 2.852, 95% confidence intervals: 1.951-4.171) is associated with CHD when compare with low pesticide exposure by both DAG and logistic analyses. After adjusting for the additional potential influence of factors identified by the DAG analysis, there is no significant association, such as the results in logistic regression: ethnicity, education level, settlement time, and mixed pesticide status. Specifically, age, meal frequency, and consumption of fresh fruit, according to the DAG analysis, are independent factors for CHD. High pesticide exposure is a risk factor for CHD as indicated by both DAG and logistic regression analyses. DAG can be a preferable improvement over traditional regression methods to identify sources of bias and causal inference in observational studies, especially for complex research questions.

Exploring the relationship between mental health and dialect use among Chinese older adults: a moderated mediation estimation

Background

Mental health, conceptualized as psychological status that includes rational cognition, emotional stability, and interpersonal harmony, is highly relevant to the expected health and well-being of all humans. China is facing the dual risk of increased aging and mental health disorders in older adults, while the established studies have rarely focused on the influence of dialect on the mental health of Chinese older adults. The present study aims to capture the relationship between dialect and mental health in Chinese older adults.

Methods

We use cross-sectional data from the nationally representative China Family Panel Studies, which encompasses the dialect use, mental health, and other socioeconomic features of 4,420 respondents. We construct a moderated mediation model that uses dialects and mental health as the independent and dependent variables and income inequality and subjective well-being as the mediator and moderator to reveal the relationship between dialect and mental health in Chinese older adults.

Results

(1) Dialects are shown to have a negative influence on the mental health of older adults in the current study (coefficient = -0.354, 95% CI = [-0.608, -0.097]). (2) Income inequality positively mediates the correlation between dialects and mental health (coefficient = 0.019, 95% CI = [0.010, 0.045]). (3) Subjective well-being negatively moderates the potential mechanism between dialects and mental health (coefficient = -0.126, 95% CI = [-0.284, -0.010]).

Conclusion

The use of dialects is associated with worse mental health outcomes in Chinese older adults, while this negative influence is positively mediated by income inequality and negatively moderated by subjective well-being, simultaneously. This study contributes to the knowledge enrichment of government workers, older adults with mental disorders, medical staff, and other stakeholders.

Mental health profiles of Finnish adolescents before and after the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic

BACKGROUND

The COVID-19 pandemic has had implications for adolescents' interpersonal relationships, communication patterns, education, recreational activities and well-being. An understanding of the impact of the pandemic on their mental health is crucial in measures to promote the post-pandemic recovery. Using a person-centered approach, the current study aimed to identify mental health profiles in two cross-sectional samples of Finnish adolescents before and after the peak of the pandemic, and to examine how socio-demographic and psychosocial factors, academic expectations, health literacy, and self-rated health are associated with the emerging profiles.

METHODS AND FINDINGS

Survey data from the Health Behaviour in School-aged Children (HBSC) study conducted in Finland in 2018 (N = 3498, age M = 13.44) and 2022 (N = 3838, age M = 13.21) were analyzed. A four-profile model using cluster analysis was selected for both samples. In Sample 1, the identified profiles were (1) "Good mental health", (2) "Mixed psychosocial health", (3) "Somatically challenged", and (4) "Poor mental health". In Sample 2, the identified profiles were (1) "Good mental health", (2) "Mixed psychosomatic health", (3) "Poor mental health and low loneliness", and (4) "Poor mental health and high loneliness". The results of the mixed effect multinomial logistic regression analysis showed that in both samples, being a girl and reporting lower maternal monitoring; lower family, peer, and teacher support; higher intensity of online communication; a less positive home atmosphere and school climate; and poor self-rated health were most strongly linked to belonging to a poorer mental health profile. In addition, in Sample 2, low subjective health literacy was a key factor associated with poorer mental health profiles, and teacher support was more important than before COVID.

CONCLUSIONS

The current study stresses the importance of identifying those vulnerable to developing poor mental health. To maximize post-pandemic recovery, the role of schools, especially teacher support and health literacy, along with the factors that remained important over time should be taken into account in public health and health promotion interventions.

Religiosity, Theism, Perceived Social Support, Resilience, and Well-Being of University Undergraduate Students in Singapore during the COVID-19 Pandemic

The COVID-19 pandemic infection control measures severely impacted mental well-being, allowing insight into possible protective parameters. With religion playing a role during challenging times, this study investigated theism and religiosity on the mental well-being of university students during the COVID19 pandemic and how social support and resilience can mediate this effect. One hundred eighty-five university students between 17 and 42 years old responded to online surveys on their theism, religious affiliations, religiosity, well-being, perceived support, and resilience. Pearson's correlations and single and sequential mediation analyses showed that theism did not significantly predict well-being (r = 0.049), but religiosity mediated the relationship (r = 0.432, effect size = 0.187). Sequential mediation analysis showed that resilience did not mediate the relationship between religiosity and well-being, but perceived social support significantly positively mediated religiosity and well-being with an effect size of 0.079. The findings reveal that factors, such as religiosity and social support could thus aid in the mental well-being of future challenging times such as the pandemic.

Professional quality of life among Spanish veterinarians

BACKGROUND

In Spain, the perceived professional quality of life among veterinarians has not been explored.

METHODS

Veterinarians were invited to complete an online questionnaire in which they answered the Professional Quality of Life scale, the Medical Outcomes Study Social Support Survey and the Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Well-Being Scale. Participants were asked whether they were receiving psychological therapy or were taking anxiolytics, hypnotics or antidepressant medication. Alcohol consumption was measured using the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test and nicotine dependence was assessed using the Fagerström test; participants were asked whether they took illegal drugs.

RESULTS

The study sample comprised a total of 602 veterinarians, most of whom reported average levels of compassion satisfaction, secondary stress trauma and burnout. Emotional support and mental wellbeing influenced participants' professional quality of life. The percentage of veterinarians in psychological therapy and/or taking anxiolytics was higher than in the general population.

CONCLUSIONS

A considerable number of clinical veterinarians in Spain may be suffering from work-related stress. Our study identifies salary, emotional support and mental wellbeing as important factors that affect the professional quality of life. Interventions to improve veterinary clinicians' professional quality of life should therefore focus on these factors.

Health, Functional Ability, and Environmental Quality as Predictors of Life Satisfaction in Physically Active Older Adults

The factors that make physically active older people feel more satisfied in adulthood have not been extensively studied. For this reason, the aim of this work has been to evaluate, among physically active older adults, whether the level of physical activity they perform and the factors that foster their quality of life can be predictors of their satisfaction with life. For this, the IPAQ, CUBRECAVI and LSI-A scales were applied to a sample of 397 people between 61 and 93 years old (M = 69.65, SD = 4.71). The results show that health (β = 0.373), functional abilities (β = 0.159) and environmental quality (β = 0.105) are predictors of satisfaction in the most active adults. In conclusion, neither physical activity (to a greater or lesser extent) nor income are predictive variables of satisfaction with life but, rather, predict some of the components that cement their quality of life (health, fending for themselves and the home environment).

A Fresh Evidence of Income Inequality and Health Outcomes Asymmetric Linkages in Emerging Asian Economies

During the last few decades, income inequality in emerging Asian economies has been increased dramatically. It is widely recognized that income inequality has severely impacted population health. This study attempts to estimate the impact of income inequality on health outcomes in emerging Asian economies for a time horizon ranging from 1991 to 2019. Our empirical analysis shows that income inequality has a negative effect on life expectancy in the long run. We also find that positive changes in income inequality decrease life expectancy, but a negative change in income inequality increases life expectancy in the long run in emerging Asian economies. The symmetric and asymmetric results are robust to different measures of econometric methods. Thus, governments should pay more attention to the consequences of their economic policies on income inequality to improve health outcomes.

Socioeconomic inequality in mental well-being associated with COVID-19 containment measures in a low-incidence Asian globalized city

The COVID-19 pandemic exposes and amplifies pre-existing inequalities even in places with relatively well-controlled outbreaks such as Hong Kong. This study aimed to explore whether the socioeconomically disadvantaged fare worse via various types of worry in terms of their mental health and well-being. Between September and October 2020, 1067 adults in Hong Kong were recruited via a cross-sectional population-wide telephone survey. The inter-relationship between deprivation, types of worry, mental health disorders, and subjective well-being was assessed using structural equation modelling. Results showed significant total effects of deprivation on worries about being infected (p = 0.002), economic activities and livelihood (p < 0.001), and personal savings (p < 0.001), as well as mental health disorders (p < 0.001) and subjective well-being (p < 0.001). Specifically, worry about economic activities and livelihood partly mediated the total effect of deprivation on mental health disorders (p = 0.004), whereas worry about personal savings and worry about economic activities and livelihood partially mediated the total effect of deprivation on subjective well-being (p = 0.007 and 0.002, respectively). Socioeconomic inequality, particularly in mental health and well-being, could be exacerbated via people's economic concerns during the pandemic, which was largely induced by the COVID-19 containment measures rather than the pandemic per se given the relatively low COVID-19 incidence in Hong Kong.