Families promote emotional and behavioural resilience to bullying: evidence of an environmental effect

Background: Bullied children are at risk for later emotional and behavioural problems. ‘Resilient’ children function better than would be expected given their experience of bullying victimisation. This study examined the role of families in promoting resilience following bullying victimisation in primary school. Method: Data were from the Environmental Risk (E‐Risk) Study which describes a nationally representative sample of 1,116 twin pairs and their families. We used mothers’ and children’s reports to examine bullying victimisation during primary school and mothers’ and teachers’ reports to measure children’s emotional and behavioural adjustment at ages 10 and 12. We used mothers’ and interviewers’ reports to derive measures of protective factors in the home including maternal warmth, sibling warmth and positive atmosphere at home. Results: Results from linear regression models showed that family factors were associated with children’s resilience to bullying victimisation. Maternal warmth, sibling warmth and a positive atmosphere at home were particularly important in bullied children compared to non‐bullied children in promoting emotional and behavioural adjustment. We used a twin differences design to separate out environmental protective factors in twins who are genetically identical. Differences in maternal warmth between twins from genetically identical monozygotic pairs concordant for bullying victimisation were correlated with twin differences in behavioural problems (r = –.23) such that the twin who received the most warmth had fewer behavioural problems. This shows that maternal warmth has an environmental effect in protecting children from the negative outcomes associated with being bullied. Conclusions: Warm family relationships and positive home environments help to buffer children from the negative outcomes associated with bullying victimisation. Warm parent–child relationships can exert an environmentally mediated effect on children’s behavioural adjustment following bullying victimisation. Identifying protective factors that promote resilience to bullying victimisation could lead to improved intervention strategies targeting the home environment.     

Residential Greenness Positively Associated with the Cortisol to DHEA Ratio among Urban-Dwelling African American Women at Risk for HIV

As ecosystems that support human health, societies, and civilization change in the era of the Anthropocene, individuals with disproportionate balance of salivary hormones may be at greatest risk of morbidity and mortality. Vulnerable communities, in particular, are overburdened by inequities in features of built environments linked to health disparities. This study examined the cross-sectional association of greenness in the built environment with the ratio of cortisol to dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) in an urban-dwelling high-risk community sample of African American women (n = 84, age 18–44 years). Saliva samples, collected across 2 consecutive days, were assayed for cortisol and DHEA. Controlling for sexual violence, perceived stress, education, and income, as well as crime, traffic density, and vacant properties, we observed a significant positive cross-sectional association between greenness and the cortisol to DHEA ratio, (β = 7·5, 95% CI: 0.89, 14.19). The findings highlight environmental influence on stress response at waking when there is the greatest individual variation. Implications for advancing our understanding of the waking ratio of cortisol to DHEA as a potential marker of physiological resilience are discussed.     

Positive affect as a factor of resilience in the pain-negative affect relationship in patients with rheumatoid arthritis

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study is to examine positive affect (PA) as a factor of resilience in the relationships between pain and negative affect (NA) in a sample of patients with rheumatoid arthritis. METHODS: Forty-three patients (30 women; mean age, 57 years) were interviewed weekly by telephone for 8 weeks. Multilevel modeling was applied to study the within-week relationships among the variables. RESULTS: There was a Pain x PA interaction effect on NA (beta=-0.05, P<.01) indicating a weaker relationship between pain and NA in weeks with more PA. Pain (beta=0.37, P<.002), interpersonal stress (beta=2.42, P<.001), depression (beta=0.26, P<.01), average perceived stress (beta=10.80, P<.001), and also weekly PA (beta=-0.1, P<.01) had a main effect upon NA. CONCLUSION: Positive affect is most influential in reducing NA during weeks of higher pain and may be a factor of resilience, helping patients experiencing pain fluctuations as less distressful than at lower levels of PA.     

心理资本对大学生就业质量的影响

目的 了解心理资本对大学生就业质量的影响,为大学生就业质量水平提升提供参考.方法 采用心理资本量表和就业质量量表对384名大学毕业生进行问卷调查.结果 ①心理资本及其各维度与大学生就业质量及其各维度呈正相关;②心理资本及其自信和韧性维度对大学生就业质量起正向预测作用.结论 提高大学生心理资本水平,有助于提升大学生就业质...     

Resilience and related factors during female Ecuadorian mid-life

Background

Studies reporting on resilience (capacity to overcome life adversity) and the menopausal transition are scarce.

Objective

To assess resilience and related factors in mid-aged Ecuadorian women.

Method

This was a cross sectional study in which 904 women aged 40–59 completed the 14-item Wagnild and Young Resilience Scale (WYRS) and a general socio-demographic questionnaire containing personal and partner data. Lower total WYRS scores indicate less resilience. Internal consistency of the tool was also assessed.

Results

Median age of all surveyed women was 49 years. A 51.1% were postmenopausal, 43.8% lived high altitude, 43.5% were abdominally obese, 12.6% used hormone therapy and 80.8% had a partner. Internal consistency was high for the WYRS tool (Cronbach's alpha: 0.94). Multiple linear regression analysis determined that lower total WYRS scores (less resilience) correlated with high altitude residency, more severe hot flushes, sedentarism, higher abdominal circumferences and having a partner with erectile dysfunction. Contrary to this, higher WYRS scores correlated with higher parity and sexual activity.

Conclusion

As assessed with the WYRS tool, lower resilience of this mid-aged Ecuadorian female sample was related to various female and partner lifestyle and health issues, not necessarily related per se to the ageing process. More research using the tool is warranted.     

Insight into illness, neurocognition and quality of life in schizophrenia

Objective

The aim of this study was to assess the impact of insight into illness on self-reported quality of life (QoL) for patients with schizophrenia.

Methods

This cross-sectional study was conducted in the psychiatric department of a French public university teaching hospital. The data collected included socio-demographic information, clinical characteristics, medications, cognitive performance assessments, insight into illness, and the S-QoL 18. A multivariate analysis using multiple linear regressions was performed to determine variables potentially associated with QoL levels.

Results

One hundred and thirteen outpatients with stable schizophrenia were enrolled in our study.Significant associations were found between QoL and socio-demographic characteristics: a higher QoL was associated with marital status (in couple) and employment. Concerning insight into illness, lower QoL levels were associated with better awareness of the mental disorder, whereas higher QoL levels were associated with better awareness of positive and negative symptoms. Elementary neuropsychological measures were not statistically associated with QoL.

Conclusion

Insight into illness, marital status and employment were the most important features associated with QoL, whereas there was no evidence that elementary neurocognition directly influenced QoL. The different facets of insight into illness should be considered to guide the development of specific interventions intended to improve QoL. Moreover, this study highlights the need for clinicians to pay more attention to the personal impact of schizophrenia, especially upon family life and work.     

基于同伴教育的食管发音培训在全喉切除术后患者中的应用效果

【】 目的 对基于同伴教育的食管发音培训在全喉切除术后患者中的应用进行效果评价。方法 选取2021年1-6月在我院行全喉切除的患者24例作为对照组,2021年7-12月的25例患者作为观察组。对照组于2021年12月,观察组于2022年6月接受食管发音集训课程,同时两组患者分别于集训课程后3个月、6个月接受两次巩固课程。对照组由头颈外科护士,观察组由同伴教育者指导和训练食管发音。比较两组患者短期食管发音质量、中长期食管发音质量、抗逆力水平。结果 集训课程结束时观察组短期食管发音质量优于对照组(P<0.05)。两次巩固课程结束时观察组患者长期食管发音质量均优于对照组(P<0.05))。两次巩固课程后观察组抗逆力水平均优于对照组(P<0.05)。结论 基于同伴教育的食管发音培训可以帮助患者重建发声功能,促进言语康复,更能够通过集体式学习交流改善患者心理状态,提高他们的抗逆力水平。     

The limits of resilience: distress following chronic political violence among Palestinians

We examined posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and depression symptom trajectories during ongoing exposure to political violence, seeking to identify psychologically resilient individuals and the factors that predict resilience. Face-to-face interviews were conducted with a random sample of 1196 Palestinian adult residents of the West Bank, Gaza, and East Jerusalem across three occasions, six months apart (September 2007-November 2008). Latent growth mixture modeling identified PTSD, and depression symptom trajectories. Results identified three PTSD trajectories: moderate-improving (73% moderate symptoms at baseline, improving over time), severe-chronic (23.2% severe and elevated symptoms over the entire year); and severe-improving (3.5% severe symptoms at baseline and marked improvement over time). Depression trajectories were moderate-improving (61.5%); severe-chronic (24.4%); severe-improving (14.4%). Predictors of relatively less severe initial symptom severity, and improvement over time for PTSD were less political violence exposure and less resource loss; and for depression were younger age, less political violence exposure, lower resource loss, and greater social support. Loss of psychosocial and material resources was associated with the level of distress experienced by participants at each time period, suggesting that resource-based interventions that target personal, social, and financial resources could benefit people exposed to chronic trauma.     

Sexual minority youth, social connection and resilience: from personal struggle to collective identity

Sexual minority youth are at increased risk for negative health outcomes including substance abuse, depression, anxiety, and suicide. Researchers suggest that sexual orientation victimization is a predictor of such outcomes. Social connectedness--or the importance of belonging where youth perceive they are cared for and empowered within a given context--has been associated with positive youth outcomes. This qualitative study utilized life story methodology. Life stories are considered to be important expressions of one's identity and are shaped by personal, social, and cultural contexts. Twenty-two interviews were conducted with 15 young people ranging in age from 14 to 22 years. Two focus groups with youth were also conducted. Youth were recruited from rural and urban communities in Massachusetts. This study contributes to the literature on resilience by including the voices of sexual minority youth and explores the meaning of social connection in their lives. Youth discuss the ways in which individual connection and group affiliation served to affirm one's identity, and provided a forum for moving personal struggle to collective action. The findings suggest the need to reconceptualize consequences of disconnection (such as depression or suicide) from individual pathology and attend to these consequences as a response to discrimination and stigma. Implications for these findings and areas for future research are discussed.