Event centrality, transitional impact and symptoms of posttraumatic stress in a clinical sample

Impact of Natural Disasters on Mental Health: Evidence and Implications

Natural disasters are large-scale catastrophic events, and they are increasing in frequency and severity. Converging evidence indicates that the mental health consequences of disasters are extensive and are often associated with trauma and the disruption of personal and socioeconomic factors in people's lives. Although most individuals experiencing disaster-related traumatic events do not develop mental illnesses, some experience adverse psychological effects of disasters. These mental health effects begin immediately following a disaster and may persist for extended periods. In this article, we summarize the literature findings to provide a narrative review that focuses on the mental health consequences of natural disasters. An overview of the disaster mental health research field is provided, and the findings are ordered into theoretical frameworks. Then, the development and course of psychopathology regarding disaster aftermath are described in a methodological context. Next, understanding a disaster as an event of transition is highlighted, and the impact of this disaster-specific transition is discussed. Lastly, a potential relationship between the transitional impact of a disaster and mental health consequences is speculated on, and the implications are discussed. The impact of disasters on mental health can be direct or indirect, short-term or long-term, and to some extent depends on the recovery process of the affected community. Also, we propose the possible merits of using the Transitional Impact Scale in the context of disaster mental health research by assessing the features of disaster-related transition and its effects on mental health. We conclude by suggesting a direction for future research in terms of measuring the disaster mental health effects in community settings (affected vs. non-affected) and also considering cross-cultural and cross-regional differences. In recent decades, a large amount of knowledge has been gathered from disaster mental health research, but, still, more research is needed to resolve some irregular findings through refining the methodological variations.

COVID-19 memories young adults may share: exploring event properties and motivations for transmission

The COVID-19 pandemic has left an enduring mark on human history. This study investigates the intergenerational transmission of COVID-19 memories through a unique approach involving 49 participants aged 18-30. Specifically, participants were prompted to share a COVID-19 memory they would choose to transmit to their future children. Furthermore, participants provided reasons for selecting that particular memory, utilising a memory functions scale and open-ended responses. Applying Transition Theory, we examined the transitional impact, event importance, previous rehearsal, and valence of reported memories. Results revealed that 88% of memories revolve around distinctive events inducing psychological and material changes. Perceived as significant, negative, and transitional, these memories are predominantly public in nature. Predictors of event importance include previous rehearsal and psychological change. Participants share memories primarily for directive purposes, intending to inform future generations. The results imply that transitions not only organise personal memories but may also direct and shape memories for public events.

Investigating traumatic memory integration in people with and without post-traumatic stress disorder using the event-cueing paradigm

Poor integration and landmark views make opposing claims regarding the relationship between post-traumatic stress symptoms and trauma memory integration. This study tested these approaches using an event cluster paradigm. In total, 126 participants (Nptsd = 61; Nnon-ptsd = 65) remembered memories from the same story as trauma, positive and neutral memories and reported whether each memory was directly retrieved or generated. Moreover, the retrieval time (RT) was recorded. Finally, the participants completed the Centrality of Event Scale (CES) and Post-traumatic Stress Disorder Symptom Scale-Self Report (PSS-SR). The results demonstrated that participants with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) recalled their clusters of memories more slowly and less directly than those without PTSD. However, the CES predicted PTSD severity more strongly than RT and retrieval strategy. These results suggest that traumatic memories are more disorganised but perceived as more central in PTSD.

Ruminative reminiscence predicts COVID-related stress symptoms while reflective reminiscence and social reminiscence predict post-COVID growth

Reminiscence refers to the process or act of thinking or telling about past experiences. Few studies address the relationship between reminiscence functions and trauma-related cognitions and emotions. This study aimed to expand the previous literature by investigating the frequency of different types of reminiscence during the COVID-19 pandemic and their relations to the likelihood of developing post-traumatic growth (PTG) and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), using an adult sample. Altogether, 184 participants (Mage = 30.38; SD = 10.95) completed the Reminiscence Functions Scale to report the purposes for which they shared their experiences during the first two waves of COVID-19. They also responded to the COVID-Transitional Impact Scale, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Checklist for DSM-5, Post Traumatic Growth Inventory, Revised Form of The Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support, and Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale, when considering the first two waves of COVID-19. The results demonstrated that pro-social reminiscence and self-positive reminiscence were significantly more common than self-negative reminiscence. Yet, these differences disappeared when the presence of COVID virus was controlled. Pro-social and self-positive reminiscence significantly predicted PTG beyond demographic characteristics, COVID-19 impact, social support, and resilience. In contrast, only self-negative reminiscence predicted PTSD beyond COVID-19 impact and demographic characteristics. Furthermore, serial mediation analysis indicated that pro-social reminiscence predicted PTG via its association with perceived social support and resilience. Our findings suggest the benefit of using reminiscence therapy-type interventions to facilitate PTG and reduce PTSD after large-scale disasters like pandemics.

The Persian version of the centrality of event scale (CES): Assessment of validity and reliability among Iranian university students

BACKGROUND

Event centrality, the extent to which an experience is perceived as a central event in one's life, has been found to be a strong correlate of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The centrality of event scale (CES) is commonly used in different conditions and cultures to measure trauma-related effects. However, the psychometric properties of this scale have not been investigated in the Iranian context.

METHODS

The present study examined the psychometric properties of the Persian translation of the 7-item CES in a sample of 525 university students with a history of a romantic breakup.

RESULTS

Confirmatory factor analysis confirmed a one-factor structure. The CES score was positively correlated with psychological inflexibility and PTSD symptoms. The measurement invariance analyses showed that the 7-item CES is gender invariant and can be used for both men and women.

FINDINGS

Findings supported the good psychometric properties of the 7-item CES for measuring event centrality in Iranian university students.

Psychological distress of COVID-19 pandemic and associated psychosocial factors among Mexican students: An exploratory study

COVID-19 related social isolation measures and school closures have likely increased students' stress levels. In our study, we assess the level of psychological distress and psychosocial factors among students in Mexico at the beginning of the pandemic. We conducted a cross-sectional exploratory study with 848 participants, the majority undergraduate or postgraduate (79.7%). Participants completed the Impact of Event Scale-Revised to measure emotions, and a COVID-19 questionnaire. We conducted a logistic regression analysis to find variables associated with stress: 36% (n = 309) had elevated stress, 31.4% (n = 266) anxiety, and 18.2% (n = 154) sadness often or all the time. Those who identified as women and reported a reduction in their incomes also reported a higher stress level. Stress was positively correlated with anxiety, anger, sadness, days in isolation, and hours watching TV daily; and negatively correlated with relaxation and happiness. The variable most strongly correlated with stress was a high perception of infection risk. Our findings will inform mental health strategies for students who are at higher risk of stress due to the COVID-19 pandemic response.

Assessing the Transitional Impact and Mental Health Consequences of the COVID-19 Pandemic Onset

In this article, we report the results of a survey of North American adults (n = 1,215) conducted between March 24 and 30, 2020 at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Respondents completed the COVID-TIS (Transitional Impact Scale-Pandemic version) and the 21-item Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Scale (DASS), indicated their level of COVID-infection concern for themselves and close others, and provided demographic information. The results indicated: (a) during its early stage, the pandemic produced only moderate levels of material and psychological change; (b) the pandemic produced mild to moderate levels of psychological distress; (c) respondents who lost their jobs as a result of the pandemic experienced more change and more psychological distress than those who did not, and (d) younger respondents and less well-educated ones experienced more psychological distress than older respondents. Unexpectedly, (e) respondents indicated that they were more concerned that friends and family members would become infected with COVID-19 than that they would be. We conclude by speculating that these results are driven less by the immediate changes brought about by the pandemic and more by uncertainty concerning its long-term economic and social impact.

Validity and reliability testing of the transitional impact scale

The transitional impact scale (TIS) was developed to measure the quality and quantity of changes brought about by transitional events. The aim of the present study was to investigate the psychometric properties of the TIS. Study 1 investigated the validity and internal consistency of the TIS among 445 participants (aged 18-73 years) who completed the TIS, beck anxiety inventory (BAI), centrality of event scale (CES), impact of event scale-revised (IES-R), and post-traumatic growth inventory. Study 2 investigated the test-retest reliability of the TIS among 140 university students (70 female; 70 male) who completed a retest of the TIS after a 2-week interval. The two-factor structure (i.e., material change and psychological change) of the TIS proposed by Svob et al. (2014) was confirmed in different age and socioeconomic status groups of a Turkish sample. The TIS was significantly correlated with the BAI, CES, and IES-R. Finally, the TIS had a high test-retest reliability.

Negative centralisation of HIV/AIDS trauma and health-related quality of life: do post-traumatic stress symptoms explain the link?

Over-integration of HIV-related trauma into the client's memory in a negative emotional valence could be a serious health debilitating process which may result in negative post-traumatic health outcomes, affecting health-related quality of life (HRQoL) of people living with HIV (PLWH). We hypothesized that post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms are the mediating link between negative event centrality (NEC) and HRQoL among PLWH. Nine hundred and sixty-nine PLWH in Nigeria completed measures of NEC, PTSD symptoms and HRQoL. Model 4 of Hayes' regression-based PROCESS macro version 3.0 for SPSS was employed to investigate relationships between variables of interest. NEC was positively associated with all domains of HRQoL. PLWH who had high negatively centralized identity on HIV also had high scores on PTSD symptoms. PTSD symptoms were also positively associated with all domains of HRQoL. PTSD symptoms also mediated the relationship between NEC and all domains of HRQoL. Assessing and treating PTSD symptoms among PLWH by clinicians could be helpful in enhancing HRQoL.