Social support, life events and physical symptoms: A prospective study of chronic and recent life stress in men and women

Stressful life events among women living homeless in Nicaragua, a low-income country

Nicaragua is one of the lowest income countries in Latin America, where there is a shortage of data on women living homeless. This paper analyses the types, timing and perceived causality of stressful life events (SLE) suffered both during childhood and adolescence and throughout life by women living homeless (n = 30). A structured interview was used to collect the data. Findings showed that women living homeless in Nicaragua suffered a very high number of SLEs, and that these were extremely severe and from very early ages. Most of the SLEs took place before the women became homeless. The SLEs suffered by the women interviewed in Nicaragua were largely similar to those seen in women living homeless in other cultural contexts with higher incomes, although it should be noted that those interviewed in Nicaragua had suffered a higher number of SLE during their childhood and adolescence. The women interviewed mainly attributed finding themselves homeless to having suffered SLEs in the family environment. The suffering of multiple and severe SLEs, largely leading to living in socioeconomically disadvantaged situations, seem to present a significant vulnerability factor both for becoming homeless and remaining homeless over time.

The relationship between effective personality and occupational health of lecturers: An empirical assessment in vietnam

There are gaps in research on the relationship between effective personality and occupational health of lecturers that need to be addressed. This study, therefore, explores the relationship between effective personality and occupational health of lecturers of provincial/city political schools in Vietnam. The survey is carried out in a convenient sampling method with 365 lecturers of provincial/city political schools in Vietnam. The questionnaires are provided to the participants of professional training courses at the Ho Chi Minh National Academy of Politics. The lecturers are willing to fill in the questionnaires at the same time. Descriptive, correlative, and linear regressive analyses are applied. The findings show that all elements of the effective personality structure have positive significant statistical impacts on enhancing self-efficacy, satisfaction, and cognitive affections while negatively causing exhaustion, musculoskeletal disorders, and voice disturbance of the lecturers' occupational health. Recommendations for promoting the effective personality of lecturers are provided. However, the study results are limited to the survey participants, who are lecturers of provincial political schools. Future research could expand the survey participants as well as elements of the effective personality structure and occupational health.

The role of stress and self-efficacy in somatic and psychological symptoms during the climacteric period - Is there a specific association?

OBJECTIVES

To investigate the influence and specificity of sociodemographic and psychological factors on the perception of symptoms associated with menopause.

STUDY DESIGN

Data are based on a nationwide cross-sectional survey study in Germany. A representative sample of 1350 females aged 14-95 years was examined. Sociodemographic factors, perceived stress, and self-efficacy were assessed. Women were divided into three age groups (young women ≤ 44 years; perimenopausal women 45-60 years; older women ≥ 61 years), and the Menopause Rating Scale (MRS) was used over the entire life span.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES

Total score on the Menopause Rating Scale (MRS) and hot flushes/sweating assessed via the MRS.

RESULTS

The MRS total score increased with age. Both MRS total score and hot flushes were positively associated with perceived stress in all three age groups. The MRS total score was negatively associated with self-efficacy; for hot flushes, this association could be shown for perimenopausal women only. Furthermore, interaction effects between perceived stress and self-efficacy were found: in perimenopausal and older women, the association between perceived stress and the MRS total score was stronger the lower self-efficacy was. This interaction effect was not observed in younger women. No interaction effect was found in any age group for hot flushes.

CONCLUSIONS

Our data indicate that self-efficacy influences the severity of symptoms measured with the MRS. Interventions aimed to reduce stress and strengthen self-efficacy could lead to a lower symptom burden in perimenopausal women.

The relationship between neighborhood socioeconomic deprivation and telomere length: The 1999-2002 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey

Socioeconomically disadvantaged neighborhoods have been associated with poor health outcomes. Little is known about the biological mechanism by which deprived neighborhood conditions exert negative influences on health. Data from the 1999–2002 National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys (NHANES) were used to assess the relationship between neighborhood deprivation index (NDI) and log-transformed leukocyte telomere length (LTL) via multilevel modeling to control for census tract level clustering. Models were constructed using tertiles of NDI (ref = low NDI). NDI was calculated using census tract level socioeconomic indicators from the 2000 U.S. Census. The sample (n = 5,106 adults) was 49.8% female and consisted of 82.9% non-Hispanic whites, 9.4% non-Hispanic blacks, and 7.6% Mexican Americans. Mean age was 45.8 years. Residents of neighborhoods with high NDI were younger, non-white, had lower educational attainment, and had a lower poverty to income ratio (all p < 0.0001). Neighborhood deprivation was inversely associated with LTL among individuals living in neighborhoods with medium NDI (β = −0.043, SE = 0.012, p = 0.0005) and high NDI (β = −0.039, SE = 0.013, p = 0.003). Among men, both medium (β = −0.042, SE = 0.015, p = 0.006) and high (β = −0.047, SE = 0.015, p = 0.001) NDI were associated with shorter LTL. Among women, only medium NDI (β = −0.020, SE = 0.016, p = 0.009) was associated with shorter LTL. After controlling for individual characteristics, including individual-level socioeconomic status, increasing neighborhood socioeconomic deprivation is associated with shorter LTL among a nationally representative sample of US adults. This suggests that telomere shortening may be a mechanism through which neighborhood deprivation results in poor health outcomes.

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Neighborhood deprivation is inversely related to telomere length.

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This persists after adjusting for behavior and individual socioeconomic status.

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Telomere shortening in high deprivation represented 7.5 years of accelerated aging.

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Telomere shortening may be a mechanism linking neighborhoods and health.

Stressful life events among homeless people in León (Nicaragua): Quantity, types, timing, and perceived causality

Nicaragua is one of Latin America's least developed countries and has a lack of data on homeless people, a stigmatized group living in extreme poverty. We conducted structured interviews with homeless people living in the city of León (Nicaragua; n = 41) to obtain data on the quantity, types, timing, and perceived causality of stressful life events (SLEs) experienced during their childhood and adolescence as well as throughout their adult lives. The findings showed that our participants had experienced a high number of extremely severe SLEs at very early ages and most of these SLEs occurred before they first became homeless. In terms of the perceived causal relationship between SLEs and homelessness, the interviewees mainly attributed being homeless to material, affective, or relationship factors, or an excessive consumption of alcohol and/or drugs. Suffering from multiple and serious SLEs, largely due to living in socioeconomically disadvantaged environments, appears to be an important vulnerability factor in both becoming homeless and chronic homelessness.

Effects of social networks on physical health among people with serious mental illness

This study examined the effects of social network characteristics on physical health among people with serious mental illness using social transactions that are reciprocal, and the combination of objective and subjective health measures. The sample consisted of a probability sample of 231 adults with serious mental illness who resided in permanent supportive housing in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Path analyses were conducted to examine the relationships between social network characteristics and two aspects of medical comorbidity, objective health and subjective health. Bivariate statistics showed that individuals with medical comorbidity were more likely to have contact with their network members and had a higher level of reciprocal positive tangible support when compared to those who did not have medical comorbidity. The results of the path analyses revealed that none of the social network characteristics were associated with better physical health. The lack of a significant relationship between social networks and better physical health is contrary to prior research findings. However, this is the first study to include both types of social transactions simultaneously as predictors of better physical health for individuals with serious mental illness. A longitudinal study would provide more insight into the temporal relationship of social networks and physical health conditions of people with serious mental illness. Furthermore, the transactional nature of social relationships, particularly for those with mental health issues, requires greater exploration.

Trajectories of maternal symptoms of depression and anxiety over 13 years: the influence of stress, social support, and maternal temperament

Background

Depression and anxiety are the most common mental health problems among women, with various negative impacts both for the women concerned and their families. Greater understanding of developmental trajectories of maternal symptoms of depression and anxiety over the child rearing period would have significant benefits for public health, informing prevention and treatment approaches. The aim of the current study was to examine whether stressors related to child rearing and living conditions, social support, and maternal temperament, predicted mothers’ membership in groups with different trajectories of symptoms of depression and anxiety during 13 years of the child rearing phase.

Methods

The data were from a prospective, longitudinal study of 913 mothers in Norway followed from when their children were 18 months old (time 1) until they were 14.5 years (time 6) (the TOPP study). Multinomial logistic regression analyses were used to test whether child related stressors, stressors related to the living conditions, social support and maternal temperament at time 1 predicted membership in groups based on maternal symptoms of depression and anxiety over the subsequent 13 years.

Results

Temperamental distress, followed by child related stressors, were the strongest predictors of membership in a group with high symptoms of depression and anxiety over time. Stressors related to living conditions, and social support from partner and friends/family were also significant predictors. No interaction effects among predictors were found.

Conclusions

This study indicates that factors present early in the child rearing phase may provide substantial prediction of the variance in maternal symptoms of depression and anxiety over the following 13 years. Temperamental distress and child related stressors were the strongest predictors of membership in different depression and anxiety symptom trajectory groups.

PTSD symptom clusters associated with physical health and health care utilization in rural primary care patients exposed to natural disaster

This study investigated the influence of exposure to a tornado disaster and disaster-related posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptomatology on physical health complaints and primary health care utilization among rural medical patients. One-hundred five patients completed self-report measures assessing disaster exposure, PTSD symptoms, and self-reported physical health complaints. Objective rates of health care utilization were gathered by a review of medical records. Tornado disaster exposure and generalized psychological distress were associated with physical health complaints one year following the disaster. After controlling for age, gender, and levels of predisaster health care utilization, PTSD Cluster C (avoidance) symptoms were associated with increased rates of postdisaster health care utilization. Implications of these findings for interventions within the medical system are discussed.

Stressful life events in countries of differing economic development: Nicaragua, Chile, and Spain

the aim was to describe a study involving 481 psychology students in the last courses of their degrees (M age = 21.9 yr., SD=4.2; 94 men and 386 women) from Nicaragua, Chile, and Spain. The study examined the potential risk of experiencing certain stressful life events, the number of stressors, and their characteristics. Also were analyzed the strength of their relation to social class and stressful life events experienced. Greater presence of stressful life events were reported among people from less developed countries, Chile and Nicaragua, and among people belonging to lower social class.