Effect of an internet-based intervention for adjustment disorder on meaning in life and enjoyment

Bidirectional associations between meaning in life and the health, emotional ill-being and daily life functioning outcomes among older adults

OBJECTIVE

Meaning and purpose in life are recognised health determinants. Evidence on the factors contributing to the experience of meaning and purpose in life is limited. The bidirectional associations between the experience of meaning in life and physical health, emotional ill-being and daily life functioning from a 6-year perspective are examined.

METHODS AND MEASURES

Longitudinal data from the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe (SHARE) were analysed using generalised estimating equations. The sample included 16,361 middle-aged and older adults from 13 countries.

RESULTS

Living a meaningful life was found to be associated with subsequent reduced risks of depression, loneliness, limitations in activities of daily living, and heart attack (at the 6-year follow-up). It was also found that prior experience of depression, loneliness and limited activities of daily living were associated with subsequent reduced sense of meaningful life. These associations were independent of demographics, socioeconomic status, personality, prior history of diseases and lifestyle. The sensitivity analyses provided evidence for the robustness of these associations.

CONCLUSIONS

Evidence for health practitioners and policymakers on factors that may hamper the development and maintenance of meaningful life as well as on the role of sense of meaning in life for healthy aging was presented.

A Longitudinal Course of ICD-11 Adjustment Disorder Symptom Profiles: A 12-Month Follow-Up Study

INTRODUCTION

Adjustment disorder is frequently diagnosed in clinical practice; however, the course of adjustment disorder over time has not yet been studied extensively.

METHODS

This longitudinal study was one of the first that aimed to analyze trajectories of adjustment disorder symptoms in a 12-month follow-up among a high-risk community sample (n = 205) exposed to various stressors. Adjustment disorder symptoms were measured at baseline and 12-month follow-up with the Brief Adjustment Disorder New Module based on the definition of adjustment disorder provided in the 11th Edition of International Classification of Diseases (ICD-11) released in 2018 by the World Health Organization (WHO).

RESULTS

A latent transition analysis of adjustment symptoms identified four distinct trajectories: "high symptom," "recovery," "onset," and "low symptom." We found 46% of ICD-11 adjustment disorder at baseline, and 29% of the sample was classified as having a high-symptom adjustment symptom profile. The high-symptom profile was predicted by ongoing stressors, female gender, and higher education.

CONCLUSION

Study findings indicate that adjustment disorder among high-risk samples, in particular, those exposed to ongoing stressors, could have a high-symptom course over 12 months.