The effect of meditation on physical and mental health in junior college students: a quasi-experimental study

The effects of adolescent physical activity participation on cell phone dependence: The mediating role of self-control

BACKGROUND: The rapid development of science and technology and the swift improvement of people’s material living standards enabled smartphones to be indispensable of people’s daily lives. OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this paper was to examine the influence of self-control in adolescents’ participation in physical activity on cell phone dependence. METHODS: The Physical Activity Rating Scale (PARS-3), the Self-Control Scale, and the Cell Phone Dependence Scale were used to measure the influence of self-control in adolescents’ participation in physical activity on cell phone dependence among 649 adolescents. RESULTS: The results show: (1) There were significant differences (p < 0.01) in the physical activity levels of adolescents under different gender, birthplace, and education background. (2) Each dimensional variable of physical activity was negatively correlated with the cell phone dependence variable, and positively correlated with each variable of self-control, and the self-control variables were negatively correlated with cell phone dependence. (3) Self-control was partially mediating the effects of physical activity on cell phone dependence, with the mediating effect accounting for 39.68%. CONCLUSIONS: Adolescents’ participation in physical exercise activities will improve self-control and ultimately reduce cell phone dependence. Curbing the negative and malignant events of cell phone addiction among adolescents, timely investigation of mobile phone and Internet addiction, pathological formation mechanisms and intervention measures are important measures to reshape the healthy lifestyle of adolescents and have great practical significance for the prosperity and development of families, society, nation and country.

Effects of an Existential Nursing Intervention for College Students in the COVID-19 Pandemic Situation

This study designed an intervention based on logo-autobiography to reduce Korean college students' stress and depression and help them find meaning in their lives amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. A quasi-experimental design was used to conduct group interventions among college students. A total of 22 and 26 participants were included in the experimental and control groups, respectively. The experimental group received six sessions of a logo-autobiography for college students (LAC). The effects of the LAC interventions were assessed at baseline, post-intervention, and four weeks after the program's end to determine their retention rate. The effects of group, time, and the group-by-time interaction were verified using generalized estimating equations with an autoregressive correlation structure. The experimental group exhibited significantly lower levels of stress and depression and higher levels concerning the meaning of life than the control group. However, only the effects on stress and the meaning of life continued four weeks after the intervention's end. Based on this study's results, LAC can be considered a useful method for reducing stress and depression in college students who have just started their adult life, as well as for aiding them in their pursuit for the meaning of life.

Assessing the Mental Health, Physical Activity Levels, and Resilience of Today's Junior College Students in Self-Financing Institutions

In recent decades, the number of adolescents and young adults with poor mental health has been increasing, particularly among students in tertiary institutions. This study investigates the physical activities, resilience, and mental health status of junior college students in Hong Kong. The questionnaire consisted of demographic characteristics, the Positive Mental Health Scale, the Brief Resilience Scale, and the Godin-Shephard Leisure-Time Physical Activity Questionnaire. Four hundred and sixteen students participated in the study. The results showed a moderate positive correlation (r = 0.485) between resilience and mental health, and a low positive correlation (r = 0.258) between resilience and physical activity. The one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) with a post hoc test showed that arts students engaged in more physical activity than students from other disciplines. A multiple regression analysis was used to examine the predictors of a positive mental health status. The significant predictors are: resilience (β = 0.704; 95% CI = 0.575-0.833; P < 0.001), physical activity score (β = 0.032; 95% CI = 0.016-0.048; P < 0.001), the male gender (β = 1.035, 95% CI = 0.171-1.900; P < 0.05), and students' enrollment in a health science discipline (β = 1.052, 95% CI = 0.175-1.930; P < 0.05). Preventive measures, such as strengthening resilience, a broad curriculum and taking note of the demographic and cognitive characteristics of students are essential for improving the mental health of freshmen in colleges.

Stress, Drugs, and Alcohol Use Among Health Care Professional Students

Objective:

To contrast the characteristics of pharmacy, medicine, and physician assistant (PA) students regarding the prevalence of drug, alcohol, and tobacco use and to identify risk factors associated with prescription stimulant use.

Participants:

Five hundred eighty nine students were recruited to complete a 50-item Web-based survey.

Main Outcome Measures:

Demographics, nonmedical prescription medication use, illicit drug and alcohol use, Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (Fourth Edition, Text Revision; DSM-IV-TR) psychiatric diagnoses, and perceived stress scale (PSS) scores.

Results:

Medicine and PA students reported greater nonmedical prescription stimulant use than pharmacy students (10.4% vs 14.0% vs 6.1%; P < .05). Medicine and PA students were more likely to report a history of an anxiety disorder (12.1% vs 18.6% vs 5.9%; P < .05), major depressive disorder (9.4% vs 8.1% vs 3.3%; P < .05), and attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD; 4.0% vs 9.3% vs 0.7%; P < .001) than pharmacy students. PSS scores for all 3 groups (21.9-22.3) were roughly twice as high as the general adult population.

Conclusion:

Illicit drug and prescription stimulant use, psychiatric disorders, and elevated stress levels are prevalent among health care professional students. Health care professional programs may wish to use this information to better understand their student population which may lead to a reassessment of student resources and awareness/prevention programs.

The impact of eurythmy therapy on stress coping strategies and health-related quality of life in healthy, moderately stressed adults

BACKGROUND

'Stress' and 'health-related quality of life' (HRQoL) are two important theoretical constructs for modern therapy evaluation with clinical relevance. Eurythmy therapy (EYT) is a mind-body-therapy derived from anthroposophic medicine with promising effects on heart rate variability (HRV), HRQoL and disease scores. The purpose of this study was to investigate the impact of EYT on stress coping strategies (SCS) and HRQoL in a controlled study with moderately stressed participants.

METHODS

68 healthy, moderately stressed adults (mean age: 42.2; SD: 8.2) performed 10h of EYT in a group setting over a period of six weeks. A non-randomised control group of 22 healthy adults (mean age: 43.6; SD: 13.7) received no intervention and did only complete the questionnaires at the same data points. Outcomes were measured before and after the intervention (AVEM & SF-36).

RESULTS

A significant impact on SCS was found in seven AVEM scales (MANOVA, F (1/74)=4.59; p=.04). With regard to changes in risk pattern affiliation (AVEM), 24% of the participants receiving EYT (n=55) changed over time from a risky stress coping pattern to a healthier pattern. Concerning the HRQoL four normally distributed scales of the SF-36 ('vitality', 'social functioning', 'mental health' and 'physical functioning') showed a significant group×time interaction favouring the EYT group (MANOVA, F (1/74)=17.26; p<.001). Statistically and clinically relevant mean differences over time of at least eight scale points were found for 'role physical', 'bodily pain', 'vitality' and 'mental health', and of at least 15 scale points for 'role emotional' and 'social functioning'.

CONCLUSIONS

A six-week period of EYT training can result in a significant reduction of stress and consequently improve QoL. Because a significant proportion of participants had high levels of stress at baseline the results suggest a health-enhancing benefit of EYT that may have clinical potential for prevention of stress and associated disorders in healthy individuals and possibly in patients with chronic diseases, for example.