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Wesarg-Menzel C, Gallistl M, Niconchuk M, Böckler A, O'Malley B, Engert V. Compassion buffers the association between trauma exposure and PTSD symptom severity: Findings of a cross-sectional study. Psychoneuroendocrinology 2024; 165:107036. [PMID: 38642476 DOI: 10.1016/j.psyneuen.2024.107036] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/29/2023] [Revised: 03/18/2024] [Accepted: 03/25/2024] [Indexed: 04/22/2024]
Abstract
To advance intervention science dedicated to improve refugees' mental health, a better understanding of factors of risk and resilience involved in the etiology and maintenance of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is needed. In the present study, we tested whether empathy and compassion, two trainable aspects of social cognition related to health, would modulate risk for PTSD after war-related trauma. Fifty-six refugees and 42 migrants from Arabic-speaking countries reported on their trauma experiences, PTSD symptoms, and perceived trait empathy and compassion. They further completed the EmpaToM, a naturalistic computer task measuring behavioral empathy and compassion. Moderation analyses revealed that behavioral, but not self-reported compassion was a significant moderator of the trauma-PTSD link. Trauma was more strongly related to PTSD symptoms when individuals had low (β =.59, t = 4.27, p <.001) as compared to high levels of behavioral compassion. Neither self-reported nor behavioral empathy moderated the trauma-PTSD link (β =.24, t = 1.57, p =.120). Findings indicate that the ability to go beyond the sharing of others' suffering and generate the positive feeling of compassion may support resilience in the context of trauma and subsequent development of PTSD. Hence, compassion may be a suitable target for prevention and intervention approaches reducing PTSD symptoms after trauma.
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Affiliation(s)
- Christiane Wesarg-Menzel
- Social Stress and Family Health Research Group, Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Leipzig, Germany; Institute for Psychosocial Medicine, Psychotherapy and Psychooncology, Jena University Hospital, Friedrich-Schiller University, Jena, Germany.
| | - Mathilde Gallistl
- Social Stress and Family Health Research Group, Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Leipzig, Germany
| | | | - Anne Böckler
- Department of Psychology, Würzburg University, Würzburg, Germany
| | - Bonnie O'Malley
- Social Stress and Family Health Research Group, Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Veronika Engert
- Social Stress and Family Health Research Group, Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Leipzig, Germany; Institute for Psychosocial Medicine, Psychotherapy and Psychooncology, Jena University Hospital, Friedrich-Schiller University, Jena, Germany; German Center for Mental Health (DZPG), partner site Halle-Jena-Magdeburg, Germany; Center for Intervention and Research in adaptive and maladaptive brain Circuits underlying mental health (C-I-R-C), Halle-Jena-Magdeburg, Germany
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Santurtún A, Shaman J. Work accidents, climate change and COVID-19. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2023; 871:162129. [PMID: 36773906 PMCID: PMC9911145 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.162129] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/09/2022] [Revised: 01/17/2023] [Accepted: 02/05/2023] [Indexed: 06/18/2023]
Abstract
The effects brought by climate change and the pandemic upon worker health and wellbeing are varied and necessitate the identification and implementation of improved strategic interventions. This review aims, firstly, to assess how climate change affects occupational accidents, focusing on the impacts of extreme air temperatures and natural disasters; and, secondly, to analyze the role of the pandemic in this context. Our results show that the manifestations of climate change affect workers physically while on the job, psychologically, and by modifying the work environment and conditions; all these factors can cause stress, in turn increasing the risk of suffering a work accident. There is no consensus on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on work accidents; however, an increase in adverse mental effects on workers in contact with the public (specifically in healthcare) has been described. It has also been shown that this strain affects the risk of suffering an accident. During the pandemic, many people began to work remotely, and what initially appeared to be a provisional situation has been made permanent or semi-permanent in some positions and companies. However, we found no studies evaluating the working conditions of those who telework. In relation to the combined impact of climate change and the pandemic on occupational health, only publications focusing on the synergistic effect of heat due to the obligation to wear COVID-19-specific PPE, either outdoors or in poorly acclimatized indoor environments, were found. It is essential that preventive services establish new measures, train workers, and determine new priorities for adapting working conditions to these altered circumstances.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ana Santurtún
- Unit of Legal Medicine, Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, University of Cantabria, IDIVAL, Santander, Spain.
| | - Jeffrey Shaman
- Department of Environmental Health Sciences, Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA; Columbia Climate School, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA
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A stenography of empathy: Toward a consensual model of the empathic process. L'ENCEPHALE 2023:S0013-7006(23)00012-X. [PMID: 36775761 DOI: 10.1016/j.encep.2022.12.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/29/2022] [Revised: 12/09/2022] [Accepted: 12/09/2022] [Indexed: 02/12/2023]
Abstract
Empathy has gained popularity in the general population and the scientific world during the past decade. Recently, several researchers found a significant decrease in empathy scores of healthcare students (notably medical students) and recommend promoting empathy skills in several fields of education. The current paper presents a new model of the empathic process: a stenography of empathy compelling scientific data and contemporary conceptions. Indeed, we combined all pioneer researchers' conceptions of empathy (Davis, Decety, Batson, Preston & de Waal) into an integrative model. This model is centered on the empathizer (i.e., a person observing a target experiencing emotions) and displays how all empathy components are articulated, explaining the individuals' general functioning and how the process might become dysfunctional. We illustrated applications of the model with three clinical examples (i.e., burnout, psychopathy, and borderline personality disorders) to display how empathy is related to psychopathological symptoms. We believe this new dynamic and sequential model would be helpful in explaining how empathy works, which is of great interest to healthcare students, clinicians, researchers, and academics.
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Suo X, Zuo C, Lan H, Pan N, Zhang X, Kemp GJ, Wang S, Gong Q. COVID-19 vicarious traumatization links functional connectome to general distress. Neuroimage 2022; 255:119185. [PMID: 35398284 PMCID: PMC8986542 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2022.119185] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/25/2021] [Revised: 04/01/2022] [Accepted: 04/04/2022] [Indexed: 02/08/2023] Open
Abstract
As characterized by repeated exposure of others' trauma, vicarious traumatization is a common negative psychological reaction during the COVID-19 pandemic and plays a crucial role in the development of general mental distress. This study aims to identify functional connectome that encodes individual variations of pandemic-related vicarious traumatization and reveal the underlying brain-vicarious traumatization mechanism in predicting general distress. The eligible subjects were 105 general university students (60 females, aged from 19 to 27 years) undergoing brain MRI scanning and baseline behavioral tests (October 2019 to January 2020), whom were re-contacted for COVID-related vicarious traumatization measurement (February to April 2020) and follow-up general distress evaluation (March to April 2021). We applied a connectome-based predictive modeling (CPM) approach to identify the functional connectome supporting vicarious traumatization based on a 268-region-parcellation assigned to network memberships. The CPM analyses showed that only the negative network model stably predicted individuals' vicarious traumatization scores (q2 = -0.18, MSE = 617, r [predicted, actual] = 0.18, p = 0.024), with the contributing functional connectivity primarily distributed in the fronto-parietal, default mode, medial frontal, salience, and motor network. Furthermore, mediation analysis revealed that vicarious traumatization mediated the influence of brain functional connectome on general distress. Importantly, our results were independent of baseline family socioeconomic status, other stressful life events and general mental health as well as age, sex and head motion. Our study is the first to provide evidence for the functional neural markers of vicarious traumatization and reveal an underlying neuropsychological pathway to predict distress symptoms in which brain functional connectome affects general distress via vicarious traumatization.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xueling Suo
- Huaxi MR Research Center (HMRRC), Department of Radiology, West China Hospital of Sichuan University, Chengdu, PR China,Research Unit of Psychoradiology, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, Chengdu, PR China
| | - Chao Zuo
- Huaxi MR Research Center (HMRRC), Department of Radiology, West China Hospital of Sichuan University, Chengdu, PR China,Research Unit of Psychoradiology, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, Chengdu, PR China
| | - Huan Lan
- Huaxi MR Research Center (HMRRC), Department of Radiology, West China Hospital of Sichuan University, Chengdu, PR China,Research Unit of Psychoradiology, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, Chengdu, PR China
| | - Nanfang Pan
- Huaxi MR Research Center (HMRRC), Department of Radiology, West China Hospital of Sichuan University, Chengdu, PR China,Research Unit of Psychoradiology, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, Chengdu, PR China
| | - Xun Zhang
- Huaxi MR Research Center (HMRRC), Department of Radiology, West China Hospital of Sichuan University, Chengdu, PR China,Research Unit of Psychoradiology, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, Chengdu, PR China
| | - Graham J. Kemp
- Liverpool Magnetic Resonance Imaging Centre (LiMRIC) and Institute of Life Course and Medical Sciences, University of Liverpool, Liverpool, United Kingdom
| | - Song Wang
- Huaxi MR Research Center (HMRRC), Department of Radiology, West China Hospital of Sichuan University, Chengdu, PR China,Research Unit of Psychoradiology, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, Chengdu, PR China,Functional and Molecular Imaging Key Laboratory of Sichuan Province, West China Hospital of Sichuan University, Chengdu, PR China,Corresponding authors at: Department of Radiology, West China Xiamen Hospital of Sichuan University, Xiamen, Fujian Province, PR China
| | - Qiyong Gong
- Huaxi MR Research Center (HMRRC), Department of Radiology, West China Hospital of Sichuan University, Chengdu, PR China,Department of Radiology, West China Xiamen Hospital of Sichuan University, Xiamen, PR China,Corresponding authors at: Department of Radiology, West China Xiamen Hospital of Sichuan University, Xiamen, Fujian Province, PR China
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Cordaro M, Grigsby TJ, Howard JT, Deason RG, Haskard-Zolnierek K, Howard K. Pandemic-Specific Factors Related to Generalized Anxiety Disorder during the Initial COVID-19 Protocols in the United States. Issues Ment Health Nurs 2021; 42:747-757. [PMID: 33480832 DOI: 10.1080/01612840.2020.1867675] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/11/2022]
Abstract
Little is known about the psychological stress and secondary impacts emerging among the general U.S. population as a result of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. The purpose for the current study is to assess the prevalence rates of Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD) and to establish psychosocial correlates, pandemic-themed concerns, and other comorbidities for those with GAD at the initial onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. This online study included 2,101 U.S. adults between April 14-22, 2020, during the initial stay-at-home protocols and assessed GAD, psychosocial factors, and pandemic-related factors including concerns, changes in health behaviors, and adherence to protocols. The results demonstrated a high prevalence rate (17.9%) for GAD during the initial COVID-19 outbreak compared with the prior 1.8% 12-month estimate before the pandemic. Individuals with GAD reported significantly higher levels of stress, loneliness, fatigue, and empathic concern, along with reductions in levels of quality of life. Likewise, those with GAD reported significantly higher pandemic-related concerns, poorer changes in general health behaviors, and less confidence in the government's response to the pandemic. For clinical purposes, these findings provide insight into the various types of pandemic-themed worries that individuals meeting clinical criteria for GAD will have the most difficulties controlling.
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Affiliation(s)
- Millie Cordaro
- Department of Psychology, Texas State University, San Marcos, Texas, USA
| | - Timothy J Grigsby
- Department of Public Health, University of Nevada, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA
| | - Jeffrey T Howard
- Department of Public Health, University of Texas at San Antonio, San Antonio, Texas, USA.,Consequences of Trauma Working Group, Center for Community Based and Applied Health Research, University of Texas at San Antonio, San Antonio, Texas, USA
| | - Rebecca G Deason
- Department of Psychology, Texas State University, San Marcos, Texas, USA
| | | | - Krista Howard
- Department of Psychology, Texas State University, San Marcos, Texas, USA
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Expected Scopes of Health Emergency and Disaster Risk Management (Health EDRM): Report on the Expert Workshop at the Annual Conference for the Japanese Association for Disaster Medicine 2020. INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH AND PUBLIC HEALTH 2021; 18:ijerph18094447. [PMID: 33922145 PMCID: PMC8122730 DOI: 10.3390/ijerph18094447] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/15/2021] [Revised: 04/15/2021] [Accepted: 04/16/2021] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
The World Health Organization (WHO) and its partners established the WHO Thematic Platform for Health Emergency and Disaster Risk Management Research Network (HEALTH EDRM RN) in 2016 to respond to the increasing burden of recent health emergencies and disasters. The mission of the HEALTH EDRM RN, whose secretariat is located at the WHO Kobe Centre (WKC), is to promote global research collaboration and strengthen research activities to inform policies and programs by generating new evidence to manage health risks associated with all types of emergencies and disasters. With the strong support and involvement of all WHO regional offices, the HEALTH EDRM RN now works with more than 200 global experts and partners to pursue its mission. The first Core Group Meetings of the HEALTH EDRM RN were held on 17-18 October 2019, and concluded with the HEALTH EDRM RN-activity priorities to (1) promote operational research to better meet the needs of emergency- and disaster-exposed individuals and communities and efforts to translate science to policies and programs and (2) strengthen the research capacity of the Health EDRM community. In collaboration with the Japanese Association for Disaster Medicine, the WKC held a workshop on 21 February 2020, in which 20 Japanese experts from different research fields participated to further discuss these two points. This paper summarizes the discussion at the workshop.
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Zhang L, Ren Z, Jiang G, Hazer-Rau D, Zhao C, Shi C, Lai L, Yan Y. Self-Oriented Empathy and Compassion Fatigue: The Serial Mediation of Dispositional Mindfulness and Counselor's Self-Efficacy. Front Psychol 2021; 11:613908. [PMID: 33488483 PMCID: PMC7820531 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2020.613908] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/04/2020] [Accepted: 12/11/2020] [Indexed: 12/26/2022] Open
Abstract
This study aimed to explore the association between self-oriented empathy and compassion fatigue, and examine the potential mediating roles of dispositional mindfulness and the counselor's self-efficacy. A total of 712 hotline psychological counselors were recruited from the Mental Health Service Platform at Central China Normal University, Ministry of Education during the outbreak of Corona Virus Disease 2019, then were asked to complete the questionnaires measuring self-oriented empathy, compassion fatigue, dispositional mindfulness, and counselor's self-efficacy. Structural equation modeling was utilized to analyze the possible associations and explore potential mediations. In addition to reporting confidence intervals (CI), we employed a new method named model-based constrained optimization procedure to test hypotheses of indirect effects. Results showed that self-oriented empathy was positively associated with compassion fatigue. Dispositional mindfulness and counselor's self-efficacy independently and serially mediated the associations between self-oriented empathy and compassion fatigue. The findings of this study confirmed and complemented the etiological and the multi-factor model of compassion fatigue. Moreover, the results indicate that it is useful and necessary to add some training for increasing counselor's self-efficacy in mindfulness-based interventions in order to decrease compassion fatigue.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lin Zhang
- Key Laboratory of Adolescent Cyberpsychology and Behavior, Ministry of Education, Key Laboratory of Human Development and Mental Health of Hubei Province, School of Psychology, Central China Normal University, Wuhan, China
| | - Zhihong Ren
- Key Laboratory of Adolescent Cyberpsychology and Behavior, Ministry of Education, Key Laboratory of Human Development and Mental Health of Hubei Province, School of Psychology, Central China Normal University, Wuhan, China
| | - Guangrong Jiang
- Key Laboratory of Adolescent Cyberpsychology and Behavior, Ministry of Education, Key Laboratory of Human Development and Mental Health of Hubei Province, School of Psychology, Central China Normal University, Wuhan, China
| | - Dilana Hazer-Rau
- Department of Psychosomatic Medicine and Psychotherapy, Medical Psychology, Ulm University, Ulm, Germany
| | - Chunxiao Zhao
- Key Laboratory of Adolescent Cyberpsychology and Behavior, Ministry of Education, Key Laboratory of Human Development and Mental Health of Hubei Province, School of Psychology, Central China Normal University, Wuhan, China
| | - Congrong Shi
- Key Laboratory of Adolescent Cyberpsychology and Behavior, Ministry of Education, Key Laboratory of Human Development and Mental Health of Hubei Province, School of Psychology, Central China Normal University, Wuhan, China
| | - Lizu Lai
- Key Laboratory of Adolescent Cyberpsychology and Behavior, Ministry of Education, Key Laboratory of Human Development and Mental Health of Hubei Province, School of Psychology, Central China Normal University, Wuhan, China
| | - Yifei Yan
- Key Laboratory of Adolescent Cyberpsychology and Behavior, Ministry of Education, Key Laboratory of Human Development and Mental Health of Hubei Province, School of Psychology, Central China Normal University, Wuhan, China
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8
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Herberman Mash HB. Empathy: Understanding Its Distinct Conceptual Components and Clinical Applications. Psychiatry 2021; 84:242-249. [PMID: 34694969 DOI: 10.1080/00332747.2021.1958583] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/20/2022]
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Lowe SR, Bonumwezi JL, Valdespino-Hayden Z, Galea S. Posttraumatic Stress and Depression in the Aftermath of Environmental Disasters: A Review of Quantitative Studies Published in 2018. Curr Environ Health Rep 2020; 6:344-360. [PMID: 31487033 DOI: 10.1007/s40572-019-00245-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 42] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
PURPOSE OF REVIEW As interest in the mental health consequences of environmental disasters increases, this review aimed to summarize peer-reviewed studies published in 2018 on posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and depression symptoms after such events. RECENT FINDINGS Notable trends in the past year of research included studies focusing on vulnerable populations (e.g., persons with preexisting physical health conditions), assessing the cumulative impact of exposure to multiple disasters, exploring pathway leading to PTSD and depression symptoms, and evaluating the effectiveness of post-disaster interventions. Over 100 articles were identified, focused on 40 disasters that occurred between 1982 and 2017. Prevalence estimates ranged from 0 to 70.51% for PTSD and 1.9 to 59.5% for depression. Consistent predictors of adverse outcomes included female gender, socioeconomic disadvantage, high disaster exposure, and low psychosocial resources. Further research that expands upon recent advances in the literature is critical given the large proportion of the world's population exposed to disasters and the increasing incidence of such events.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sarah R Lowe
- Department of Social and Behavioral Sciences, Yale School of Public Health, 60 College St., New Haven, CT, 06510, USA.
| | | | | | - Sandro Galea
- Department of Epidemiology, Boston University School of Public Health, Boston, MA, USA
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Kamijo T, Tsukahara T, Shimazu A, Nomiyama T. Risk Factors for Duty-Related Posttraumatic Stress Disorder among Police Officers in the Mt. Ontake Eruption Disaster-Support Task Force. INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH AND PUBLIC HEALTH 2020; 17:E3134. [PMID: 32365895 PMCID: PMC7246637 DOI: 10.3390/ijerph17093134] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/23/2020] [Revised: 04/25/2020] [Accepted: 04/26/2020] [Indexed: 11/23/2022]
Abstract
Mount Ontake in Nagano Prefecture, Japan erupted on 27 September 2014. Many police officers were called in for duty as a disaster-support task force. We investigated the association between the peritraumatic situation and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms in these police officers. In January 2015, a health survey (OHS) on disaster stress related to the Mt. Ontake eruption disaster support work was distributed to all of the police officers and staff involved in the disaster support. We analyzed the 213 participants who had PTSD symptoms following the eruption and no missing OHS data. Logistic regression analyses were conducted to clarify the relationship between the participants' symptom severity and their peritraumatic situation (i.e., stressors and daily support prior to the eruption, disaster-support work duties, and postdisaster stress relief). The symptom severity was associated with 'more than seven cumulative days at work' (odds ratio [OR] = 2.47, 1.21-5.06), 'selecting drinking and/or smoking as stress relief after disaster-support work' (OR = 2.35, 1.09-5.04), and 'female' (OR = 3.58, 1.19-10.77). As disaster-support work, 'supporting the victims' families' (OR = 1.99, 0.95-4.21) tended to be associated with symptom severity. The number of days of disaster-support work, stress-relief behavior, and gender were associated with the severity of PTSD symptoms.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tomoko Kamijo
- Department of Preventive Medicine and Public Health, School of Medicine, Shinshu University, 3-1-1 Asahi, Matsumoto-shi, Nagano 390-8621, Japan
| | - Teruomi Tsukahara
- Department of Preventive Medicine and Public Health, School of Medicine, Shinshu University, 3-1-1 Asahi, Matsumoto-shi, Nagano 390-8621, Japan
- Department of Occupational Medicine, School of Medicine, Shinshu University, 3-1-1 Asahi, Matsumoto-shi, Nagano 390-8621, Japan;
| | - Akihito Shimazu
- Faculty of Policy Management, Keio University, 5322 Endo, Fujisawa-shi, Kanagawa 252-0882, Japan;
| | - Tetsuo Nomiyama
- Department of Preventive Medicine and Public Health, School of Medicine, Shinshu University, 3-1-1 Asahi, Matsumoto-shi, Nagano 390-8621, Japan
- Department of Occupational Medicine, School of Medicine, Shinshu University, 3-1-1 Asahi, Matsumoto-shi, Nagano 390-8621, Japan;
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Nakagawa S, Sugiura M, Sekiguchi A, Kotozaki Y, Miyauchi CM, Hanawa S, Araki T, Sakuma A, Kawashima R. The pitfall of empathic concern with chronic fatigue after a disaster in young adults. BMC Psychiatry 2019; 19:338. [PMID: 31684912 PMCID: PMC6829815 DOI: 10.1186/s12888-019-2323-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/24/2018] [Accepted: 10/15/2019] [Indexed: 12/30/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Empathic concern (EC) is an important interpersonal resilience factor that represents positive adaptation, such as "relating to others" (a factor of posttraumatic growth [PTG]) after disaster. However, controversy exists regarding whether the changes in EC (e.g., the intra-personal change between the acute phase and the disillusionment phase) positively or negatively affect mental health after a disaster. We hypothesized that increased EC may increase chronic fatigue due to over-adjustment (hypothesis 1). We also hypothesized that increasing the changes in "relating to others" could decrease the changes in chronic fatigue (hypothesis 2). METHODS Forty-nine young, healthy volunteers (M/F: 36/13; age at 3 months after the disaster [3 months]: mean ± SD: 21.1 ± 1.7 years) underwent assessments of EC using the Japanese version of the Interpersonal Reactivity Index, chronic fatigue using the Japanese version of the Checklist Individual Strength (CIS-J) questionnaire, and "relating to others" using the Japanese version of the PTG inventory during the acute phase (3 months) and the disillusionment phase (1 year after the disaster). Pearson product moment correlations at 3 months and 1 year were determined for all scores related to EC. The changes (delta = degree of change from 3 months to 1 year) or scores at 1 year were entered into linear structural equation systems to test the hypotheses. RESULTS The delta of EC positively affected the delta of the CIS-J, and the delta of relating to others negatively affected the delta of the CIS-J. Both the EC and relating to others scores were negatively associated with the CIS-J score at 1 year. These results were in accordance with hypothesis 1 and 2. CONCLUSIONS We demonstrated the opposite effects of 2 types of ECs, i.e., stability (inherent disposition) and flexibility (degree of change), on the degree of chronic fatigue. Increasing EC with increasing chronic fatigue, but not the change in relating to others, may be a red flag for individuals during the disillusionment phase.
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Affiliation(s)
- Seishu Nakagawa
- Division of Psychiatry, Tohoku Medical and Pharmaceutical University, Sendai, Japan. .,Department of Human Brain Science, Institute of Development, Aging and Cancer (IDAC), Tohoku University, 4-1 Seiryo-machi, Aoba-ku, Sendai, 980-8575, Japan.
| | - Motoaki Sugiura
- 0000 0001 2248 6943grid.69566.3aDepartment of Human Brain Science, Institute of Development, Aging and Cancer (IDAC), Tohoku University, 4-1 Seiryo-machi, Aoba-ku, Sendai, 980-8575 Japan ,0000 0001 2248 6943grid.69566.3aInternational Research Institute of Disaster Science, Tohoku University, Sendai, Japan
| | - Atsushi Sekiguchi
- 0000 0001 2248 6943grid.69566.3aDivision of Medical Neuroimage Analysis, Department of Community Medical Support, Tohoku Medical Megabank Organization, Tohoku University, Sendai, Japan ,0000 0000 9832 2227grid.416859.7Department of Behavioral Medicine, National Institute of Mental Health, National Center of Neurology and Psychiatry, Kodaira, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Yuka Kotozaki
- 0000 0001 2248 6943grid.69566.3aDepartment of Human Brain Science, Institute of Development, Aging and Cancer (IDAC), Tohoku University, 4-1 Seiryo-machi, Aoba-ku, Sendai, 980-8575 Japan
| | - Carlos Makoto Miyauchi
- 0000 0001 2248 6943grid.69566.3aAdvanced Brain Science, Institute of Development, Aging and Cancer (IDAC), Tohoku University, Sendai, Japan
| | - Sugiko Hanawa
- 0000 0001 2248 6943grid.69566.3aDepartment of Human Brain Science, Institute of Development, Aging and Cancer (IDAC), Tohoku University, 4-1 Seiryo-machi, Aoba-ku, Sendai, 980-8575 Japan
| | | | - Atsushi Sakuma
- 0000 0001 2248 6943grid.69566.3aDepartment of Psychiatry, Tohoku University Graduate School of Medicine, Sendai, Japan
| | - Ryuta Kawashima
- 0000 0001 2248 6943grid.69566.3aAdvanced Brain Science, Institute of Development, Aging and Cancer (IDAC), Tohoku University, Sendai, Japan
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