Integrative psycho-biophysiological markers in predicting psychological resilience

The role of resilience in the relationship between stress and alcohol

Stress plays a well-documented role in alcohol consumption and the risk for developing alcohol use disorder. The concept of resilience - coping with and successfully adapting to stressful life experiences - has received increasing attention in the field of addiction research in recent decades, and there has been an accumulation of evidence for resilience as a protective factor against problematic alcohol consumption, risk for alcohol use disorder, disorder severity, and relapse. The conceptual and methodological approaches used in the generation of this evidence vary considerably across investigations, however. In light of this, we carried out this review in order to provide a more thorough understanding of the meaning and scope of resilience, what factors contribute to resilience, how it is measured, and how it relates to alcohol-associated phenotypes. Implications for treatment through the use of resilience-building interventions are likewise discussed, as well as implications for future research on the role of resilience in the etiology and clinical outcomes of alcohol use disorder.

The association between psychological resilience and hair cortisol concentration in adults: A systematic review and meta-analysis

BACKGROUND

Resilience measures are typically based on subjective self-assessment, which is prone to bias. Objective biological/physiological measures of resilience are therefore needed. Hair cortisol concentration is a particularly promising candidate as a biomarker for resilience.

METHODS

We conducted a meta-analytic review from inception to April 2023 in PubMed, EMBASE, Cochrane Library, and Psych Info databases. All data were analyzed using a random-effects model.

RESULTS

Eight studies were identified that included a total of 1,064 adults. The random effects model demonstrated that resilience and hair cortisol concentration were inversely correlated (r = -0.18, 95% confidence interval [CI] = -0.27 to -0.09) with substantial heterogeneity (I2 = 54.2%, p = 0.03). The inverse association was stronger in those who were age 40 years or younger compared to those who were over 40 years. The correlation coefficients between psychological resilience and hair cortisol concentration among adults assessed by different resilience measures were r = -0.29 (95% CI = -0.49 to -0.08) for the CD-RISC-10; r = -0.21 (95% CI = -0.31 to -0.11) for the CDRISC- 25, and r = -0.08 (95% CI = -0.22 to 0.06) for the BRS. Six of eight studies examined the connection between resilience and perceived stress, where the weighted mean correlation coefficient was r = -0.45 (95% CI = -0.56 to -0.33), with considerable heterogeneity (I2 = 76.2%, p = 0.001).

CONCLUSIONS

There is a negative association between psychological resilience and hair cortisol concentration based on these eight studies. Additional research, particularly prospective studies, is needed to determine whether hair cortisol concentration can be used as a biomarker for psychological resilience.

Psychological resilience and cortisol levels in adults: A systematic review

Resilience or the capacity to "bend but not break" refers to the ability to maintain or regain psychobiological equilibrium during or after exposure to stressful life events. Specifically, resilience has been proposed as a potential resource for staving off pathological states that often emerge after exposure to repeated stress and that are related to alterations in circulating cortisol. The aim of this systematic review of the literature was to gather evidence related to the relationship between psychological resilience and cortisol levels in adult humans. An extensive systematic search was carried out following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) method in the PubMed and Web of Science databases. In total, 1256 articles were identified and, of these, 35 peer-reviewed articles were included in the systematic review. We categorized findings according to (1) the short and long-term secretion period covered by the cortisol matrices selected by studies and also according to (2) the differentiated diurnal, phasic (acute), and tonic (basal) components of the HPA output to which they refer and their relationships with resilience. Reported relationships between psychological resilience and distinct cortisol output parameters varied widely across studies, finding positive, negative, and null associations between the two variables. Notably, several of the studies that found no relationship between resilience and cortisol used a single morning saliva or plasma sample as their assessment of HPA axis activity. Despite limitations such as the great variability of the instruments and methods used by the studies to measure both resilience and cortisol, together with their high heterogeneity and small sample sizes, the evidence found in this systematic review points to the potential of resilience as a modifiable key factor to modulate the physiological response to stress. Therefore, further exploration of the interaction between the two variables is necessary for the eventual development of future interventions aimed at promoting resilience as an essential component of health prevention.

The relationship between resilience and mental health of undergraduate students: A scoping review

OBJECTIVE

The aim of this scoping review was to examine what is known about the relationship between the resilience and mental health of undergraduate students enrolled in university or college programs, globally.

METHODS

Five electronic databases were searched, yielding a total of 1,498 articles that were screened independently by two researchers. Thirteen articles were eligible for inclusion.

RESULTS

The mental health of undergraduate students in the studies reviewed ranged from low to moderate. Undergraduate students also reported high, moderate, and low levels of resilience. Further, resilience was positively correlated with mental well-being.

CONCLUSION

Findings revealed that the mental health of undergraduate students was poor. Given the established relationship between students' mental health and resilience, evidence-based approaches aimed at strengthening students' resilience, such as providing opportunities for social support, are warranted in order to improve students' mental health. Additional research to rigorously assess this relationship in representative student populations is needed.

Helping Frontline Workers in Texas-A Framework for Resource Development

First responders disproportionately experience occupational stress when compared to the general population, and COVID-19 has exacerbated this stress. The nature of their duties as law enforcement officers, firefighters, and medics exposes them to repeated trauma, increasing their risk of developing a broad array of mental health issues, including post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), substance use disorder (SUD), and compassion fatigue. This paper describes the need for resources for frontline workers and provides a framework for creating and implementing resources. A team of interdisciplinary subject matter experts developed two major resources. The first resource was a 24/7 helpline to support first responders and healthcare workers experiencing substance use or mental health concerns. The second resource was the First Responders Educational Campaign, which developed and delivered focused training modules on useful topics covering substance use and mental health concerns as they pertain to this workforce. Utilizing core interprofessional principles, content was sourced from multiple disciplines and contrasting perspectives to provide a comprehensive understanding of mental health and substance use issues. The curriculum was designed so that the content was interdisciplinary, interprofessional, and accessible to audiences across disciplines and professions. After engaging more than 1500 individuals, resources developed here have augmented mental health and substance use support resources available to the target population.

Conceptualizing psychological resilience through resting-state functional MRI in a mentally healthy population: a systematic review

Conceptualizations and operational definitions of psychological resilience vary across resilience neuroimaging studies. Data on the neural features of resilience among healthy individuals has been scarce. Furthermore, findings from resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) studies were inconsistent across studies. This systematic review summarized resting-state fMRI findings in different modalities from various operationally defined resilience in a mentally healthy population. The PubMed and MEDLINE databases were searched. Articles that focused on resting-state fMRI in relation to resilience, and published before 2022, were targeted. Orbitofrontal cortex, anterior cingulate cortex, insula and amygdala, were reported the most from the 19 included studies. Regions in emotional network was reported the most from the included studies. The involvement of regions like amygdala and orbitofrontal cortex indicated the relationships between emotional processing and resilience. No common brain regions or neural pathways were identified across studies. The emotional network appears to be studied the most in association with resilience. Matching fMRI modalities and operational definitions of resilience across studies are essential for meta-analysis.

Better forbearance, lower depression: Evidence based on heart rate variability

Background

The relationship between forbearance, a psychological resource, and depression has to date remained inconclusive. The present study investigated heart rate variability (HRV) reactivity to acute stressor tasks in participants with different levels of forbearance to discover how forbearance influences depressive emotions when facing adversity.

Method

The study examined the relationship between forbearance and depression, comparing HRV reactivity to stressor tasks in participants with different levels of forbearance. The levels of reported forbearance were assessed by the Forbearance Scale (FS). The Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9) was used to assessed depression severity. HRV reactivity was evaluated at five stages: baseline, the active stressor task, the period of recovery after the active stressor task, the passive stressor task, the period of recovery after the passive stressor task.

Results

FS scores had a significant negative correlation with PHQ-9 and a significant positive correlation with HRV; significant differences existed between the basal HRV in the higher and lower FS groups. In the passive stressor task and the period of recovery after the active stressor task, significantly different HRV responses were identified between the two groups.

Discussion

Forbearance was correlated with depression and HRV. The present research found differences in HRV among subjects with different levels of forbearance in the baseline as well as stressor and recovery periods, suggesting that self-regulation dysfunction may exist among persons with lower levels of forbearance. Because of the higher levels of forbearance, the negative emotions of individuals caused by adversity are mitigated.

The role of resilience in depression and anxiety symptoms: A three-wave cross-lagged study

Cultivation of resilience is believed to ameliorate mental health problems. The impact of mental health problems on resilience is however rarely discussed. This study investigated the reciprocal relationship of resilience with depression and anxiety symptoms using a three-wave cross-lagged design. Resilience level, depression, and anxiety symptoms were assessed at baseline, the third and the sixth month in 125 university students without psychiatric disorders (62 females). No significant changes in resilience levels were observed across the 6 months. Depressive symptoms, but not anxiety symptoms significantly increased at the third and sixth months compared with baseline. The three-wave cross-lagged models revealed an unstable reciprocal relationship of resilience with depression and a stable reciprocal relationship between resilience and anxiety symptoms over time. The reciprocal relationship between resilience and mental health problems indicates the importance of cultivating resilience for the prevention of mental illness as well as the importance of managing mental health symptoms at non-clinical levels for monitoring resilience. The unstable reciprocal relationship between resilience and depression symptoms across time suggests the existence of potential moderators that impact the relationship between resilience and depression. Our findings further support the notion that resilience is conceptualized as a dynamic process.

Overseas Chinese Returnees' Swindler Syndrome and Their Entrepreneurial Education Under Psychological Resilience

The study aims to explore the entrepreneurship education of overseas Chinese returnees with the swindler syndrome through psychological resilience. First, a questionnaire survey is conducted to analyze the current situations of entrepreneurship education of overseas Chinses returnees and college students, and it is found that the entrepreneurship education received by overseas Chinese returnees is more advanced and perfect than that by domestic students, which makes overseas Chinese returnees have the ability to solve the problems in the process of entrepreneurship, realizing their entrepreneurial dream. However, the emergence of swindler syndrome changes the self-awareness and psychology of these returnees, which is improved through appropriate entrepreneurship education under resilience analysis. The results show that entrepreneurial resilience and entrepreneurial optimism covered by psychological resilience have a significant positive impact on entrepreneurial intention, indicating that entrepreneurial resilience and entrepreneurial optimism can enhance individual’s entrepreneurial intention. The scores of the subjects with the experience of studying abroad are higher than those without such experience, indicating that overseas Chinese returnees have stronger resilience and more optimistic attitudes in the face of difficulties and setbacks, which provides a new perspective for in-depth analysis of Chinese returnees’ entrepreneurship education and promotes the development of entrepreneurship education in colleges and universities in China.

Relationship of Resilience Factors With Biopsychosocial Markers Using a Comprehensive Home Evaluation Kit for Depression and Suicide Risk: A Real-World Data Analysis

OBJECTIVES

Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) are fundamental factors in developing depression with increased suicide risk. Resilience is considered an important protective factor that can prevent trauma survivors from developing depression. We developed a home evaluation kit for a comprehensive assessment of bio-psycho-social factors related to depression and suicide. This kit contained a psycho-social evaluation battery, named the Protective and Vulnerable factors battery questionnaire (PROVE) comprising depressive symptoms and suicide risk, as well as various depression-related psychosocial factors, such as ACE, resilience, mentalization capacity, and attachment, via online survey tools. Furthermore, salivary cortisol levels were used as biological indicators to assess the hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal axis function.

METHODS

Real-world data analysis was made out of data collected from participants who visited CHEEU Counseling center or Gangnam Severance hospital for mental health check-ups. The participants were put into three mental state groups (green-normal, yellow-borderline, and red-risk) depending on the result of PROVE battery. The difference between psychosocial factors and salivary cortisol indicators by the group was identified by analysis of covariance with sex and age as covariates. Linear regression analysis was conducted to find a significant association of resilience score with other bio-psycho-social variables, such as ACE, attachment, mentalization, or post-awakening cortisol concentrations (area under the curve with respect to ground, AUCg). A partial correlation analysis was performed to evaluate the relationship of AUCg with psychosocial factors.

RESULTS

Depression-related psycho-social indicators were significantly different among groups. Insecure attachment and the mentalization problem are negatively influencing factors to resilience. Furthermore, the severity of depression in participants with ACE was also influenced by mentalization problems. AUCg was different according to the PROVE group, presence of ACE, or resilience level. In addition, AUCg showed a positive correlation with resilience score but negative correlations with depressive symptoms, ACE, mentalization problems, and anxiety or avoidance attachment.

CONCLUSION

This study suggests that there are some key factors negatively affecting resilience: insecure attachment and mentalization problems. In groups with ACE, a mentalization problem was suggested as a factor that can increase depressive symptoms. AUCg was associated with resilience as well as several other vulnerable factors of depression, showing its potential as a promising biomarker.