Resilience and Depressive Symptoms Mediated Pathways from Social Support to Suicidal Ideation Among Undergraduates During the COVID-19 Campus Lockdown in China

The relationship between corona disease anxiety and sleep disturbances and suicidal ideation in medical staff: The mediating role of resiliency and cognitive flexibility: A cross-sectional study

Background and Aims

Medical staff have experienced anxiety, sleep disturbances, and suicide due to the COVID-19 epidemic. Thus, this study examined the relationship between corona disease anxiety, sleep problems, and suicidal ideation in medical staff and how resiliency and cognitive flexibility mediate it.

Methods

This descriptive-analytical cross-sectional study examined medical staff. In 2022, participants were affiliated with Hamadan University of Medical Sciences, Iran educational and treatment centers. Sampling was done at primary COVID-19 treatment centers. Data was collected using validated instruments. Ethics were observed during data collecting.

Results

Path analysis was employed to test hypotheses. Analysis showed significant positive relationships between Corona disease anxiety and sleep disturbances (p = 0.001, β = 0.438) and suicidal ideation (p = 0.001, β = 0.310). Conversely, negative and significant associations were identified between resiliency and cognitive flexibility with sleep disturbances and suicidal ideation.

Conclusions

The study illustrates how medical staff's psychological health is linked to COVID-19. High Corona disease anxiety causes sleep disturbances and suicidal thoughts. Resilience and cognitive flexibility modulated Corona disease anxiety, sleep problems, and suicidal thoughts. The comprehensive study focuses on medical staff mental health issues, suggesting targeted solutions.

Barriers and risk factors associated with non-treatment-seeking for suicidality onset during the COVID-19 pandemic among young adults

INTRODUCTION

Researchers predict long-term increases in suicide deaths following the COVID-19 pandemic. Little is known about risk factors for suicidal ideation (SI) and suicidal attempts (SA) or treatment barriers and promoters during the pandemic. We examine these factors in a young adult sample.

METHODS

Analyses used a 2022 cross-sectional survey dataset (N = 1,956). Logistic regression identified factors associated with pandemic suicidality (i.e., SI, SA). Non-treatment seekers reported barriers to seeking treatment. Logistic regression identified promotive factors associated with treatment-seeking.

RESULTS

28.6 % of our sample developed suicidality during the pandemic, of whom 49.6 % did not seek treatment. Asian race and sexual minority status were strongly associated with increased odds of pandemic suicidality. Among SI non-treatment-seekers, barriers were primarily attitudinal (e.g., "symptoms are not serious enough for treatment"); among non-treatment-seekers with SA, barriers were mostly structural (e.g., insufficient funds). Previous depression treatment was strongly associated with increased odds of treatment-seeking.

CONCLUSION

Asian American individuals were at increased risk for pandemic suicidality, which may reflect interpersonal risks related to COVID-19-related anti-Asian racism. Our findings point to a "foot-in-the-door" effect: past treatment-seeking was positively associated with future treatment-seeking. To promote this effect and decrease barriers, we suggest integrated mental health screening and referrals in primary care.

Psychological Capital and Its Factors as Mediators Between Interpersonal Sensitivity and Depressive Symptoms Among Chinese Undergraduates

Purpose

Current interpersonal sensitivity among college students is easily linked to mood disorders such as anxiety, depression and other mood disorders. This study aims to examine the mediating role of psychological capital and its dimensions in the relationship between interpersonal sensitivity and depressive symptoms among undergraduates.

Methods

The cross-sectional survey was conducted by using cluster stratified random sampling method across six Chinese universities between November and December 2022. The questionnaire consists of the Interpersonal Sensitivity sub-scale, the Patient Health Questionnaire, the Psychological Capital Questionnaire and the Socio-Demographic Feature Questionnaire.

Results

A total of 2580 respondents participated in the survey, with the majority being females (69.73%) and an average age of 19.22±1.28 years. Descriptive and correlation analyses were performed using SPSS v24.0, while direct and indirect effects were analyzed using PROCESS v3.4 macro. The findings revealed that interpersonal sensitivity had a significant direct effect on depression symptoms among undergraduates (β =0.416, 95% Boot CI [0.380, 0.453], p < 0.001) Additionally, psychological capital and its components were found to be negatively correlated with depression (p < 0.001). Further analysis demonstrated that hope, optimism, and resilience significantly mediated the association between interpersonal sensitivity and depressive symptoms (indirect effect: hope = 0.056, optimism = 0.074, resilience = 0.099; p < 0.001 for all).

Conclusion

These results suggest that psychological capital, including its dimensions of hope, optimism, and resilience plays a crucial role in mitigating the negative effects of interpersonal sensitivity on depressive symptoms among undergraduates.

Depression, Sleep Health & Sociodemographic Correlates in a Nationwide Survey: Implications for Depression Treatment During the COVID-19

Purpose

The COVID-19 pandemic has had a profound impact on mental health worldwide, with depression and sleep problems among the most common issues experienced by many individuals. Depression can lead to sleep problems, which can increase the risk of developing depressive symptoms. However, it is unclear which United States (US) sub-population was most affected by depression and sleep problems during the pandemic.

Methods

We conducted a secondary analysis using self-reported data from the 2021 National Health Interview Survey (NHIS), focusing on adults aged 18 years and above (n=29,763). We utilized self-reported responses to questions about prescription medication and frequency of depressive feelings to determine participants' depression status. Appropriate weights were applied to account for the sampling design of the surveys. Our analysis involved descriptive statistics and chi-squared tests to compare sociodemographic, clinical, behavioral, and sleep-related characteristics between US adults with and without depression. Additionally, logistic regression was used to examine the associations between sleep duration, sleep quality and depression.

Results

The overall prevalence of depression in our sample was 44.4%. It were higher in certain demographic groups, including younger adults (18-39 years, 47.7%), non-Hispanic whites (47.9%), females (50.1%), those at the lower income bracket (52.2%), those with no college or degree (48.7%) uninsured individuals (45.2%), and those reporting poor general health (71.9%). Individuals with depression had a 12% increased odds of experiencing short sleep (aOR: 1.12, 95% CI:1.04-1.20, p<0.001), 34% increased odds of experiencing long sleep (aOR: 1.34, 95% CI: 1.20-1.50, p < 0.001) and more than 2.5 fold increased odds of reporting poor sleep quality (aOR:2.57, 95% CI: 2.40-2.78; p<0.0001). In the multivariate analysis, all variables (sex, race/ethnicity, education, health insurance coverage, marital status, general health status and use of sleep medications, smoking and alcohol use status) were significantly predictors of poor sleep quality, with the exceptions of age and family income.

Conclusion

The findings emphasize the need to address sleep health in treating depression, especially during times of public health crises.

Impact of campus living conditions on Chinese medical school students' mental health during the COVID-19 campus lockdown: the chain mediating role of cognitive reappraisal and expression suppression

Objective

To investigate the effect of changes in campus living conditions related to the Corona Virus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic on medical school students' mental health status, to explore the mediating role of emotion regulation strategies, and to provide effective suggestions for promoting medical school students' mental health.

Methods

A self-report questionnaire, an emotion regulation questionnaire (ERQ), and psychological questionnaires for emergent events of public health (PQEEPH) were used to interview 998 medical school students who experienced campus lockdowns during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Results

The mean total PQEEPH score was 3.66 ± 3.06. The degrees of inconvenience in daily life and change in routine and expression suppression as an emotion regulation strategy were significantly positively correlated with all PQEEPH dimensions. Cognitive reappraisal was significantly negatively associated with depression, neurosis, obsessive-compulsive anxiety, and hypochondriasis (ps < 0.05). Cognitive reappraisal and expression suppression demonstrated a chain mediating role between the degree of inconvenience in life and mental health and between the degree of change in routine and mental health (F = 32.883, 41.051, ps < 0.05).

Conclusion

Campus lockdown management significantly impacts medical school students' mental health. Extensive use of cognitive reappraisal and expression suppression can reduce students' adverse psychological reactions during campus lockdowns to an extent.

Social support enhances the mediating effect of psychological resilience on the relationship between life satisfaction and depressive symptom severity

Psychosocial factors, including life satisfaction, resilience, and social support, have been proposed to influence depressive symptom severity in adults because the age of onset of depressive disorders, i.e. adolescence to early adulthood, is associated with various impairments in psychosocial functioning. In this study, a psychosocial model was constructed to verify these relationships to prevent depression. For this study, 370 participants were recruited from the community via poster or online advertisements. They completed several questionnaires to assess depressive symptom severity: the Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale (CD-RISC), Satisfaction with Life Scale (SwLS), Peace of Mind (PoM) scale, Social Support Questionnaire (SSQ), and Beck Depression Inventory (BDI-II). A negative association was found between depressive symptom severity and all other variables, including PoM and CD-RISC scores, life satisfaction, and social support. Such factors can be considered protective against increased depressive symptom severity. In addition, indirect effects of PoM and resilience on the negative association between SwLS scores and depressive symptom severity were observed. Moreover, social support was found to mediate the correlation between PoM and resilience, implying that social support mediates the relationship between state of mind and resilience. The psychosocial model suggested that depressive symptom severity is influenced by internal factors (an individual's state of mind, subjective view of events and their life) and external factors (including social support).

The Association of Social Support and Loneliness with Symptoms of Depression, Anxiety, and Posttraumatic Stress during the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Meta-Analysis

BACKGROUND

Research suggests that changes in social support and loneliness have affected mental disorder symptoms during the COVID-19 pandemic. However, there are a lack of studies comparing the robustness of these associations.

AIMS

The aims were to estimate the strength of the associations of loneliness and social support with symptoms of depression, anxiety, and posttraumatic stress during the COVID-19 pandemic (2020-2022) in the general population.

METHOD

The method entailed a systematic review and random-effects meta-analysis of quantitative studies.

RESULTS

Seventy-three studies were included in the meta-analysis. The pooled correlations of the effect size of the association of loneliness with symptoms of depression, anxiety, and posttraumatic stress were 0.49, 0.40, and 0.38, respectively. The corresponding figures for social support were 0.29, 0.19, and 0.18, respectively. Subgroup analyses revealed that the strength of some associations could be influenced by the sociodemographic characteristics of the study samples, such as age, gender, region, and COVID-19 stringency index, and by methodological moderators, such as sample size, collection date, methodological quality, and the measurement scales.

CONCLUSIONS

Social support had a weak association with mental disorder symptoms during the COVID-19 pandemic while the association with loneliness was moderate. Strategies to address loneliness could be highly effective in reducing the impact of the pandemic on social relationships and mental health.

COVID-19-Related Burnout and Intention of Fully Vaccinated Individuals to Get a Booster Dose: The Mediating Role of Resilience

Because an annual COVID-19 booster vaccine appears to be required to control the pandemic, identifying the factors that influence individuals' decision to receive a booster dose is critical. Thus, our goal was to quantify the influence of COVID-19-related burnout on vaccination intention and to investigate the role of resilience in mediating the link between burnout and intention. We conducted a cross-sectional study with a convenience sample during October 2022. We used the COVID-19 burnout scale and the Brief Resilience Scale. The study sample included 1256 people who had received their primary COVID-19 vaccination. Among the participants, 34.1% reported being very likely to be vaccinated with a booster dose. COVID-19-related burnout was found to be inversely connected with vaccination intention. Moreover, our results suggested that resilience not only had a positive direct effect on vaccination intention but also mediated the relationship between burnout and vaccination intention. Although our study had limitations, such as a convenience sample and information bias, we demonstrate the critical role of resilience in reducing the impact of COVID-19-related burnout on the vaccination intention. Policymakers should develop and implement initiatives to address the issues of COVID-19-related burnout and enhance booster adoption by strengthening psychosocial resources such as resilience.

A measurement method for mental health based on dynamic multimodal feature recognition

Introduction

The number of college students with mental problems has increased significantly, particularly during COVID-19. However, the clinical features of early-stage psychological problems are subclinical, so the optimal intervention treatment period can easily be missed. Artificial intelligence technology can efficiently assist in assessing mental health problems by mining the deep correlation of multi-dimensional data of patients, providing ideas for solving the screening of normal psychological problems in large-scale college students. Therefore, we propose a mental health assessment method that integrates traditional scales and multimodal intelligent recognition technology to support the large-scale and normalized screening of mental health problems in colleges and universities.

Methods

Firstly, utilize the psychological assessment scales based on human-computer interaction to conduct health questionnaires based on traditional methods. Secondly, integrate machine learning technology to identify the state of college students and assess the severity of psychological problems. Finally, the experiments showed that the proposed multimodal intelligent recognition method has high accuracy and can better proofread normal scale results. This study recruited 1,500 students for this mental health assessment.

Results

The results showed that the incidence of moderate or higher stress, anxiety, and depression was 36.3, 48.1, and 23.0%, which is consistent with the results of our multiple targeted tests.

Conclusion

Therefore, the interactive multimodality emotion recognition method proposed provides an effective way for large-scale mental health screening, monitoring, and intervening in college students' mental health problems.