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McCabe M, Byrne M, Gullifer J, Cornish K. The relationship between university student help-seeking intentions and well-being outcomes. Front Psychiatry 2024; 15:1407689. [PMID: 39035604 PMCID: PMC11258002 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyt.2024.1407689] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/27/2024] [Accepted: 06/12/2024] [Indexed: 07/23/2024] Open
Abstract
University represents a time of both great uncertainty and change as well as a time of opportunity and learning. University students represent a population both at a higher risk of experiencing poor mental health and diagnosis and a population with relatively greater access and communication of both mental health literacy resources and mental health support services. Despite this, we consistently see low intention of help-seeking for mental health services or health services, with a clear preference shown for personal contacts such as friends or parents. To understand help-seeking intentions and their relationship with well-being, the current study explored two core hypotheses, when assessing a broad range of help-seeking options, the likelihood of seeking support from a range of sources will cluster together to create help-seeking groupings that can be further explored (1) and that across these help-seeking factors, there would be difference in intention score across students who fall within "at-risk," "low," or "normal to high" well-being groupings (2). Through a series of exploratory factor analysis (EFA) on a subsample (N = 178) and final confirmatory factor analysis (N = 1597) identified five help-seeking factors: Intimate Partner (single item), Personal Relations (friends, parents, and other relatives), External Health Service (external mental health provider and health provider), University Health Service (university mental health and health provider), and Digital and Distal Professional (digital apps, websites or forums, telehealth, religious leaders, and phone or online emergency services). To address hypothesis 2, a multivariate analysis of covariance was run to assess help-seeking intentions across factors between students with "at-risk" (N = 453), "low" (N = 484), or "normal to high" (N = 563) well-being scores. Although significant differences were found between groups on almost all help-seeking factors (except External Health Service), the differences between groups were small. However, consistently those with "normal to high" well-being demonstrated higher intention to seek help compared to "low" and "at-risk" groups. Across all groups, Personal Relations demonstrated the highest average help-seeking intention score and, in addition to supporting findings in previous literature, represents a potential "lowest hanging fruit" of help-seeking source for university students.
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Affiliation(s)
- Melinda McCabe
- Turner Institute for Brain and Mental Health, Faculty of Medicine Nursing and Health Sciences, Monash University, Clayton, VIC, Australia
- School of Psychological Sciences, Faculty of Medicine Nursing and Health Sciences, Monash University, Clayton, VIC, Australia
| | - Michelle Byrne
- Turner Institute for Brain and Mental Health, Faculty of Medicine Nursing and Health Sciences, Monash University, Clayton, VIC, Australia
- School of Psychological Sciences, Faculty of Medicine Nursing and Health Sciences, Monash University, Clayton, VIC, Australia
| | - Judith Gullifer
- Turner Institute for Brain and Mental Health, Faculty of Medicine Nursing and Health Sciences, Monash University, Clayton, VIC, Australia
- School of Psychological Sciences, Faculty of Medicine Nursing and Health Sciences, Monash University, Clayton, VIC, Australia
| | - Kim Cornish
- Turner Institute for Brain and Mental Health, Faculty of Medicine Nursing and Health Sciences, Monash University, Clayton, VIC, Australia
- School of Psychological Sciences, Faculty of Medicine Nursing and Health Sciences, Monash University, Clayton, VIC, Australia
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Ricci P, Pallocci M, Treglia M, Ricci S, Ferrara R, Zanovello C, Passalacqua P, Damato FM. The Effect of Physical Exercise during COVID-19 Lockdown. Healthcare (Basel) 2023; 11:1618. [PMID: 37297758 PMCID: PMC10252320 DOI: 10.3390/healthcare11111618] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/22/2023] [Revised: 05/25/2023] [Accepted: 05/29/2023] [Indexed: 06/12/2023] Open
Abstract
The COVID-19 pandemic has exerted an effect on the general population that went over every expectation. To explore the effect of physical exercise (PE) during the national lockdown in Italy, a survey was drawn up and administered to a sample composed of 208 subjects. The questionnaire comprised 81 multiple-choice items, including sociodemographic data, health-related questions, and assessment of physical exercise, satisfaction with life, depression, and personality. The purpose of this study is to explore the role of physical exercise during the outbreak following the present hypothesis: first, if a link exists between the time spent on physical exercise during the lockdown and the perceived health condition, depressive and somatic symptomatology, and life satisfaction; second, to find associations among the SF-12 component summaries and the other psychological outcomes; and finally, to explore how physical and psychological variables are predictive of PCS-12 and MCS-12. The results showed that both vigorous and moderate physical exercise was strongly correlated with psychological variables, with statistically significant negative correlations found between age and physical exercise. Additionally, significant positive correlations were observed between physical exercise and mental health indices, such as MCS-12 and SWLS, whereas negative correlations were found with BDI, PCS-12, and SOM-H. The correlation analysis also revealed that physical and individual mental health summaries were associated with psychological outcomes, with statistically significant negative correlations found between PCS-12 and MCS, PCS-12 and SOM-H, and MCS-12 and BDI scores. Regression analysis showed that physical activities and psychological status both had a direct influence on perceived mental and physical well-being during the lockdown, accounting for 56.7% and 35.5% of the variance, respectively. The p-values for the significant correlations ranged from <0.05 to <0.01. Overall, these findings highlight the importance of physical exercise and psychological well-being in maintaining good health during the pandemic.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pasquale Ricci
- Department of Human Anatomy, Histology, Forensic Medicine and Orthopedics (S.A.I.M.L.A.L.), Legal Medicine Section, “Sapienza” University of Rome, 00185 Rome, Italy
| | - Margherita Pallocci
- Department of Biomedicine and Prevention, University of Rome “Tor Vergata”, 00133 Rome, Italy
| | - Michele Treglia
- Department of Biomedicine and Prevention, University of Rome “Tor Vergata”, 00133 Rome, Italy
| | - Serafino Ricci
- Department of Human Anatomy, Histology, Forensic Medicine and Orthopedics (S.A.I.M.L.A.L.), Legal Medicine Section, “Sapienza” University of Rome, 00185 Rome, Italy
| | - Rosaria Ferrara
- Department of Human Anatomy, Histology, Forensic Medicine and Orthopedics (S.A.I.M.L.A.L.), Legal Medicine Section, “Sapienza” University of Rome, 00185 Rome, Italy
| | - Claudia Zanovello
- Department of Biomedicine and Prevention, University of Rome “Tor Vergata”, 00133 Rome, Italy
| | - Pierluigi Passalacqua
- Department of Public Health and Infectious Diseases, “Sapienza” University of Rome, 00185 Rome, Italy
| | - Felice Marco Damato
- Department of Human Anatomy, Histology, Forensic Medicine and Orthopedics (S.A.I.M.L.A.L.), Legal Medicine Section, “Sapienza” University of Rome, 00185 Rome, Italy
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Shek DTL, Chai W, Zhou K. Risk Factors and Protective Factors of Internet Addiction in University Students during the Pandemic: Implications for Prevention and Treatment. INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH AND PUBLIC HEALTH 2023; 20:5952. [PMID: 37297556 PMCID: PMC10253014 DOI: 10.3390/ijerph20115952] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/25/2023] [Revised: 05/15/2023] [Accepted: 05/23/2023] [Indexed: 06/12/2023]
Abstract
While the prevalence rates of Internet addiction (IA) amongst young people during the pandemic are disturbing, few studies have investigated the risk and protective factors of IA in Hong Kong university students under COVID-19. In this study, we examined the relationship between COVID-19-related stress and IA and the role of psychological morbidity and positive psychological attributes in the relationship. In summer 2022, 978 university students completed a survey assessing pandemic-related stress, psychological morbidity, and positive psychological attributes. While psychological morbidity was indexed by depression, post-traumatic stress disorder, and suicidal behavior, positive psychological attributes included life satisfaction, flourishing, adversity beliefs, emotional competence, resilience, and family functioning measures. Results showed that stress and psychological morbidity positively predicted IA, and psychological morbidity mediated the association between stress and IA. Positive psychological attributes negatively predicted stress and IA, and mediated the connection between stress and IA. Positive psychological attributes moderated the mediating effect of psychological morbidity on the relationship between stress and IA. In addition to theoretical contributions, this study contributes to IA prevention and treatment: reducing psychological morbidity and promoting positive psychological attributes are promising strategies to address IA issues in young people.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daniel T. L. Shek
- Department of Applied Social Sciences, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong
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Shek DTL, Chai WY, Wong T, Zhou K. Stress and depressive symptoms in university students in Hong Kong under the pandemic: Moderating effect of positive psychological attributes. Front Psychol 2023; 14:1071938. [PMID: 36777221 PMCID: PMC9908995 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1071938] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/17/2022] [Accepted: 01/09/2023] [Indexed: 01/28/2023] Open
Abstract
Introduction There are very few studies examining the psychological well-being of university students in Hong Kong under the COVID-19 pandemic. Besides COVID-19-related stress, the "social event" in 2019-2020 has caused significant stress in young people. As such, we attempted to answer several research questions in this paper. First, what are the relationships between stresses (COVID-19 and "social event" related stresses) and psychological well-being indexed by depressive symptoms? Based on the stress and coping perspective, we predicted that there would be positive relationships between both types of stress and depression. Second, what are the relationships between different positive psychological factors (including life satisfaction, resilience and emotional management, flourishing, and beliefs about adversity) and depression? Based on different theoretical models of positive psychology, we hypothesized that negative relationships would exist between positive psychological factors and depressive symptoms. Third, do positive psychological attributes moderate the associations between stresses (COVID-19 and "social event" related stresses) and depressive symptoms? Based on the positive psychology literature, we hypothesized that positive psychological attributes would buffer the negative impact of stresses on depression. Methods We recruited university students roughly one year after the first wave of the pandemic (N = 1,648) in early 2021. We used 25 items to measure COVID-19-related stress and "social event" related stress. For psychological well-being indexed by depressive symptoms, we used the "Centre for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale Revised (CESD-R)". For positive psychological attributes, we employed established measures of life satisfaction, resilience and emotional management, flourishing, and beliefs about adversity. Results Regarding the relationship between stress and depression, we found positive relationships between both types of stress and depressive symptoms. As predicted, negative relationships existed between all positive psychological attributes and depressive symptoms. Besides, the positive psychological attributes significantly moderated the effects of stresses on depression, suggesting that these factors can reduce the negative impacts of stresses on depression. The present findings provide support for those models, highlighting the importance of positive psychological attributes as protective factors for university students' depression. Discussion The findings of this study underscore the important role of positive psychological attributes in the stress-depression relationship in university students under the pandemic. The findings also generalize the positive youth development theory in the Chinese context. In terms of practice, university administrators and service providers should consider cultivating positive psychological attributes in university students with the purpose of promoting their psychological well-being.
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Jeong H, Lee B. The Factor Structure of the Hospital Anxiety Depression Scale Adapted for Korean Preschool Teacher Candidates During the Coronavirus Disease 2019 Pandemic. PSYCHIAT CLIN PSYCH 2022; 32:196-204. [PMID: 38766670 PMCID: PMC11099641 DOI: 10.5152/pcp.2022.22426] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/20/2022] [Accepted: 07/06/2022] [Indexed: 05/22/2024] Open
Abstract
Background The coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic has remarkably challenged preschool teacher candidates, triggering concerns for their psychological well-being and mental health. Valid and reliable instruments to assess elements of mental health are thus required. The self-rating Hospital Anxiety Depression Scale demonstrates promise as an instrument for the identification and quantification of the states of anxiety and depression in non-psychiatric patients. The Hospital Anxiety Depression Scale is widely applied in both clinical and research contexts. However, no psychometric evaluations have been performed for this instrument with non-clinical samples such as preschool teacher candidates in South Korea. This study purposed to establish the factor structure of the Hospital Anxiety Depression Scale and to validate its Korean version and was conducted online with a sample of preschool teacher candidates during the peak of the coronavirus disease 2019 lockdown. Methods Data were collected from 359 undergraduates currently enrolled in a 4-year early childhood education degree program at a private university in Korea. The sample was randomly split to perform exploratory factor analysis and then confirmatory factor analysis respectively to test competing models hypothesized to reflect the factor structure of the Hospital Anxiety Depression Scale. Results Supplemental revisions based on confirmatory factor analysis modification indices demonstrated that a correlated 2-factor model with 1 cross-loaded item offered the best fit to the data with adequate internal reliability estimates. Conclusion Overall, this study confirms the validity and factor structure of the Korean version of the Hospital Anxiety Depression Scale, which is deemed an acceptable instrument that can be used to measure the symptoms of depression and anxiety in Korean preschool teacher candidates.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hyelin Jeong
- Department of Early Childhood Education, Woosong University, Daejeon, South Korea
| | - Boram Lee
- Department of Early Childhood Education, Woosong University, Daejeon, South Korea
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Lv F, Yu M, Li J, Tan J, Ye Z, Xiao M, Zhu Y, Guo S, Liu Y, Gao D. Young Adults' Loneliness and Depression During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Moderated Mediation Model. Front Psychol 2022; 13:842738. [PMID: 35756197 PMCID: PMC9218478 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2022.842738] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/01/2022] [Accepted: 05/16/2022] [Indexed: 11/30/2022] Open
Abstract
Since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic in December 2019, millions of people have been infected with the disease. The COVID-19 pandemic also produced severe mental health problems, such as loneliness and depression. The present study aimed to examine the mediating role of cognitive reappraisal and moderating role of resilience in the relationship between young adults’ loneliness and depression during the pandemic by adopting a cross-sectional research approach. In March 2020, 654 young adults (18–29 years old) were recruited to complete the measures for loneliness, depression, emotion regulation, and resilience. Results found that loneliness was positively and moderately associated with depression (r = 0.531, p < 0.001), and that both loneliness and depression were separately negatively associated with cognitive reappraisal (r = −0.348, p < 0.001; r = −0.424, p < 0.001) and resilience (r = −0.436, p < 0.001; r = −0.419, p < 0.001). The results indicated that both loneliness and depression were not associated with expressive suppression (r = 0.067, p = 0.087; r = −0.002, p = 0.961). The moderated mediation model results revealed that only cognitive reappraisal partially mediated the relationship between loneliness and depression (b = −0.301; Boot 95% CI = −0.388, −0.215). In addition, the results of the moderated mediation model indicated that resilience moderated the association between loneliness and depression (b = 0.035, p < 0.001, Boot 95% CI = 0.014, 0.055), while also moderated the impact of cognitive reappraisal on depression (b = −0.031, p < 0.001, Boot 95% CI = −0.058, −0.005). These findings have practical implications that broaden our understanding of depression in young adults and shed light on how to enhance cognitive reappraisal and resilience as a means of combating depression in this age group during the COVID-19 pandemic.
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Affiliation(s)
- Fangyan Lv
- Department of Psychology, and Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Social Cognitive Neuroscience and Mental Health, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Meng Yu
- Department of Psychology, and Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Social Cognitive Neuroscience and Mental Health, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Jie Li
- Department of Psychology, and Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Social Cognitive Neuroscience and Mental Health, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Jingbin Tan
- Department of Psychology, and Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Social Cognitive Neuroscience and Mental Health, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Zhanhang Ye
- Department of Psychology, and Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Social Cognitive Neuroscience and Mental Health, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China.,School of Computer Science and Technology, Guangdong University of Technology, Guangzhou, China
| | - Mengqi Xiao
- Department of Psychology, and Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Social Cognitive Neuroscience and Mental Health, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China.,School of Educational and Technology, Guangdong Polytechnic Normal University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Yalin Zhu
- Department of Psychology, and Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Social Cognitive Neuroscience and Mental Health, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Siyuan Guo
- School of Cultural Tourism and Geography, Guangdong University of Finance and Economics, Guangzhou, China
| | - Yanping Liu
- Department of Psychology, and Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Social Cognitive Neuroscience and Mental Health, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Dingguo Gao
- Department of Psychology, and Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Social Cognitive Neuroscience and Mental Health, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China
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Kosendiak A, Król M, Ściskalska M, Kepinska M. The Changes in Stress Coping, Alcohol Use, Cigarette Smoking and Physical Activity during COVID-19 Related Lockdown in Medical Students in Poland. INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH AND PUBLIC HEALTH 2021; 19:302. [PMID: 35010559 PMCID: PMC8744869 DOI: 10.3390/ijerph19010302] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/21/2021] [Revised: 12/24/2021] [Accepted: 12/25/2021] [Indexed: 12/24/2022]
Abstract
The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has significantly limited social contacts, thus contributing to deepening isolation. Therefore, SARS-CoV-2 exerted on humanity not only a physical impact but also a psychological one, often increasing the feeling of stress. The long-term effects of such a state could include the management of depression, so our study aimed to analyze groups of medical students in different periods of the pandemic (at the beginning of the pandemic, after half a year of the pandemic, after one year of the pandemic) in order to assess the impact of this situation on coping with stress. The impact of the pandemic on the development of stress factors such as alcohol consumption and smoking was also studied. The level of physical activity in the context of coping with an uncertain situation was also assessed. The impact of the above-mentioned factors on the behavior of students, including the Mini-COPE questionnaire, AUDIT test, the Fagerström test and the IPAQ questionnaire was analyzed. It has been shown that as the pandemic and the lockdown progressed, patients consumed more often or larger amounts of alcohol, smoked more cigarettes, and levels of physical activity decreased. All these factors may have had some impact on the deterioration of coping with stress among the respondents, which would indicate that the COVID-19 pandemic significantly contributed to an increase in the sense of stress among the students.
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Affiliation(s)
- Aureliusz Kosendiak
- Department of Physical Education and Sport, Wroclaw Medical University, Wojciecha z Brudzewa 12, 51-601 Wroclaw, Poland;
| | - Magdalena Król
- Department of Pharmaceutical Biochemistry, Division of Biomedical and Environmental Analyses, Faculty of Pharmacy, Wroclaw Medical University, Borowska 211a, 50-556 Wroclaw, Poland; (M.K.); (M.Ś.)
| | - Milena Ściskalska
- Department of Pharmaceutical Biochemistry, Division of Biomedical and Environmental Analyses, Faculty of Pharmacy, Wroclaw Medical University, Borowska 211a, 50-556 Wroclaw, Poland; (M.K.); (M.Ś.)
| | - Marta Kepinska
- Department of Pharmaceutical Biochemistry, Division of Biomedical and Environmental Analyses, Faculty of Pharmacy, Wroclaw Medical University, Borowska 211a, 50-556 Wroclaw, Poland; (M.K.); (M.Ś.)
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