Cognitive, emotional, physical, and behavioral stress-related symptoms and coping strategies among university students during the third wave of COVID-19 pandemic

Are the presence of asthma and the COVID-19 infection associated with behavioral changes in Lebanese adolescents?

BACKGROUND

Little evidence is available about psychological stressors in Lebanese asthmatic adolescents, where health-risk behaviors are a serious threat to public health. In addition, the COVID-19 epidemic has had a substantial influence on adolescents' mental health globally, especially in Lebanon, where the ongoing economic and political challenges have largely impacted their psychological well-being. This study aimed to explore the association of asthma and the COVID-19 infection with behaviors among Lebanese adolescents.

METHODS

Data were collected in July 2023, using the snowball sampling technique. Inclusion criteria for participation in the study included being of a resident and citizen of Lebanon and aged 12-18 years. Behavioral problems were assessed using the Youth Self-Report (YSR) scale, which yields nine subscales (anxious/depressed, withdrawn/depressed, somatic complaints, social problems, thought problems, attention problems, rule-breaking behavior, aggressive behavior, and other problems) and a total score.

RESULTS

Asthma was significantly associated with somatic complaints (Beta [β] = 2.98), attention problems (β = 0.01), and other behavioral problems (β = 0.68). Having contracted the COVID-19 infection, compared to healthy asymptomatic state (β = 1.55), was significantly associated with more anxious behaviors. In the case of stratifying the analysis in terms of gender, the results showed that the presence of asthma was significantly associated with more social behaviors (β = 3.31), thought problems (β = 2.91), attention problems (β = 0.02), other behavioral problems (β = 1.71), and total behavioral problems (β = 5.71) in males. In case stratifying the analysis as to school type, the presence of asthma was significantly associated with more somatic complaints (β = 2.77) in participants from private schools whereas it was significantly associated with more total behavioral problems (total YSR scores) (β = 5.05) in participants from public schools.

CONCLUSION

It is confirmed that asthma and psychiatric disorders are interconnected, so it would be of great importance to include screening through a psychological intervention in treating asthmatic adolescents by means of (1) recognizing factors affecting patients' mental health, and (2) regulating uncontrolled behaviors that can exacerbate symptoms in order to avoid the future morbidity.

Stress, working memory, and academic performance: a neuroscience perspective

The relationship between stress and working memory (WM) is crucial in determining students' academic performance, but the interaction between these factors is not yet fully understood. WM is a key cognitive function that is important for learning academic skills, such as reading, comprehension, problem-solving, and math. Stress may negatively affect cognition, including WM, via various mechanisms; these include the deleterious effect of glucocorticoids and catecholamines on the structure and function of brain regions that are key for WM, such as the prefrontal cortex and hippocampus. This review explores the mechanisms underlying how stress impacts WM and how it can decrease academic performance. It highlights the importance of implementing effective stress-management strategies to protect WM function and improve academic performance.

Fear of COVID-19, Stress and Coping Strategies among Nurses during the COVID-19 Pandemic's Second Wave: A Quasi-Intervention Study

Background

The COVID-19 pandemic and its related consequences caused a higher risk of mental health problems for nurses. Hence, this study aims to reduce the level of fear and stress related to the COVID-19 pandemic and promote active coping among Egyptian nurses.

Methods

This quasi-intervention study was conducted on 125 nurses working at Benha's University hospitals, who were selected by a systematic random sampling technique within the time interval of March 2021 to July 2021. The study was conducted using the fear of COVID-19 scale, the stress scale of depression, anxiety and stress scales, and the Brief (COPE) inventory scale.

Results

The mean ages of the studied nurses were 36.70 ± 9.50. Almost half of the studied nurses were males and married. Before the intervention, 47.2% of nurses had severe stress levels while 82.4% had a high level of fear of COVID-19. Experience years, type of department, and worries about vaccine side effects were the predictors of the fear of COVID-19. A significant difference (p = .000) was found between both mean stress and fear scores pre-intervention (15.27 ± 5.47 and 25.56 ± 6.13) and post-intervention (4.87 ± 2.14 and 11.92 ± 2.43). The most prevalent coping strategies among nurses before the intervention were self-distraction (5.03 ± 1.53), followed by behavioral disengagement and self-blaming. However, after the intervention, religion was found to be the utmost coping mechanism (6.12 ± 1.17), followed by positive reframing and acceptance.

Conclusion

The majority of the nurses in the study reported a significant fear of COVID-19, and around half of the nurses had severe stress as a result. After the intervention, the stress and fear scores were reduced by half or even less. Age, longer work experience, and worries about the vaccine were the predictors of fear of COVID-19. The coping strategies used after the intervention shifted toward active coping strategies. Clinical Trial Registration Number: 10-11-008-701.

The relationship between perfectionism, self-perception of orofacial appearance, and mental health in college students

Background

In dental clinical practice, self-perception of orofacial appearance is highly correlated with treatment satisfaction. Therefore, it is important to explore factors correlated with self-perception of orofacial appearance. Perfectionism may be one such factor. This study investigated the role of perfectionism in self-perception of orofacial appearance.

Methods

Participants completed an online questionnaire that included demographic data, a measure of perfectionism, a measure of self-perception of orofacial appearance (including body image, smile appearance concern, and self-esteem), and a measure of anxiety and depression.

Results

High perfectionism scores significantly predicted greater age, body image, smile appearance concern, and mental health scores and lower self-esteem scores (p < 0.005). After adjusting for possible confounding variables, smile appearance concern largely disappeared. Mental health acted as a mediator in the relationships between perfectionism and three orofacial appearance characteristics.

Conclusion

High perfectionism predicted higher self-perception of body image, and lower mental health and self-esteem in college students. Mental health could mediate the relationships between perfectionism and self-perception of orofacial appearance.

A Method for Stress Detection Using Empatica E4 Bracelet and Machine-Learning Techniques

In response to challenging circumstances, the human body can experience marked levels of anxiety and distress. To prevent stress-related complications, timely identification of stress symptoms is crucial, necessitating the need for continuous stress monitoring. Wearable devices offer a means of real-time and ongoing data collection, facilitating personalized stress monitoring. Based on our protocol for data pre-processing, this study proposes to analyze signals obtained from the Empatica E4 bracelet using machine-learning algorithms (Random Forest, SVM, and Logistic Regression) to determine the efficacy of the abovementioned techniques in differentiating between stressful and non-stressful situations. Photoplethysmographic and electrodermal activity signals were collected from 29 subjects to extract 27 features which were then fed into three different machine-learning algorithms for binary classification. Using MATLAB after applying the chi-square test and Pearson's correlation coefficient on WEKA for features' importance ranking, the results demonstrated that the Random Forest model has the highest stability (accuracy of 76.5%) using all the features. Moreover, the Random Forest applying the chi-test for feature selection reached consistent results in terms of stress evaluation based on precision, recall, and F1-measure (71%, 60%, 65%, respectively).