Relation Between Perceived Health and Sick Leave in Employees With a Chronic Illness

Introduction: To improve work participation in individuals with a chronic illness, insight into the role of work-related factors in the association between health and sick leave is needed. The aim of this study was to gain insight into the contribution of work limitations, work characteristics, and work adjustments to the association between health and sick leave in employees with a chronic illness. Methods: All employees with a chronic illness, between 15 and 65 years of age (n = 7,748) were selected from The Netherlands Working Conditions Survey. The survey included questions about perceived health, working conditions, and sick leave. Block-wise multivariate linear regression analyses were performed and, in different blocks, limitations at work, work characteristics, and work adjustments were added to the model of perceived health status. Changes in regression coefficient (B) (%) were calculated for the total group and for sub-groups per chronic illness. Results: When work limitations were added to the model, the B between health and sick leave decreased by 18% (5.0 to 4.1). Adding work characteristics did not decrease the association between health and sick leave, but the B between work limitations and sick leave decreased by 14%, (5.3 to 4.5). When work adjustments were added to the model, the Bs between sick leave and work limitations and work characteristics changed from 4.5 to 3.4 for work limitations and from 2.1 to 1.9 for temporary contract and from −0.8 to −1.0 for supervisor support. Conclusions: The association between health and sick leave was explained by limitations at work, work characteristics, and work adjustments. Paying more attention to work limitations, characteristics and adjustments offers opportunities to reduce the negative consequences of chronic illness.     

Parental Perceptions of Child Vulnerability and Parent Stress as Predictors of Pain and Adjustment in Children With Chronic Arthritis

Parental predictors of child psychological adjustment and pain were investigated in 51 children with arthritis. Children rated depressive symptoms, anxiety, and pain. Disease severity was determined by a physician provided active joint count, as well as a physician's global assessment. Parents rated their own depressive symptoms, stress, and perceptions of child vulnerability. Regression analyses indicated that higher parental perceptions of child vulnerability predicted increased child depressive symptoms and anxiety. Parent stress predicted both child anxiety and pain. Thus, the important role parent variables play in child health outcomes was reinforced, thereby strengthening the indication to assess parent functioning when performing clinical evaluations of adjustment to juvenile arthritis.     

The Relationship of Parental Overprotection and Perceived Child Vulnerability to Depressive Symptomotology in Children With Type 1 Diabetes Mellitus: The Moderating Influence of Parenting Stress

Our study examined the relationship between parental overprotection and perceived child vulnerability to self-reported depressive symptoms in 8- to 12-year-old children diagnosed with type 1 Diabetes Mellitus. The moderating influence of parenting stress was also examined. Mothers (N = 43) completed measures of parental overprotection, perceived child vulnerability, and parenting stress, and the children completed a measure of child depression. Findings revealed that both child vulnerability and parenting stress were associated with higher levels of depressive symptoms; no relationship was found between overprotection and child depressive symptoms. Regression results further indicated that parenting stress moderated the relationship between perceived child vulnerability and depressive symptomotology. Thus, parenting stress appears to magnify the relationship between perceived child vulnerability and child-reported depressive symptoms. Our findings lend additional empirical support for the transactional relationship between discrete parenting variables and child distress. These results also support the view that overprotection and child vulnerability are distinct but overlapping constructs. Interventions that target specific parenting approaches and general parenting stress may be effective in ameliorating child distress.     

The Prevention of Child and Adolescent Anxiety: A Meta-analytic Review

The purpose of this study was to provide a comprehensive review of the effectiveness of child and adolescent anxiety prevention programs. Mean weighted effect sizes were calculated, and studies were encoded for potential moderator variables. A statistically significant effect size of .18 was obtained at post-intervention, which is consistent with effect sizes reported in reviews of depression, eating disorder, and substance abuse prevention programs. However, the effect sizes obtained at follow-up yielded mixed results. Significant moderators of program effectiveness were found including provider type (professional versus lay provider) and the use of the FRIENDS program. In contrast, program duration, participant age, gender, and program type (universal versus targeted) were not found to moderate program effectiveness. Clinical implications and directions for future research are discussed, including the need for more long-term follow-up, early prevention programs, and studies that systematically examine the impact of parent involvement on program effectiveness.     

Relationships Between Premonitory Urge and Anxiety in Youth With Chronic Tic Disorders

Tourette’s Disorder and other chronic tic disorders are common neurodevelopmental conditions. One characteristic of tic disorders is the premonitory urge, an aversive or unpleasant sensory phenomenon that may precede tics. Initial examination of premonitory urge in pediatric tic disorders suggests that awareness and experience of sensations preceding tics may be related to anxiety and OCD. However, it may be possible that specific anxiety-related symptoms, such as anxious physiologic arousal, are particularly relevant to the experience of premonitory urge. The current study examines relationships between tic-related premonitory urge and anxiety-related symptom clusters in treatment-seeking youths with a primary diagnosis of Tourette’s or other chronic tic disorder. The sample consisted of 124 youth, ages 9 to 17, who participated in the multi-site Comprehensive Behavioral Intervention for Tics randomized controlled trial (CBIT; Piacentini et al., 2010). Specific anxiety-related subtypes, including generalized worry, separation, social, and panic/somatic symptoms, as well as severity of obsessions and compulsions, were assessed as potential correlates of premonitory urge. Findings indicated that age, global tic-related impairment, and specific panic/somatic symptoms accounted for a substantial proportion of variance in youth report of premonitory urge. These findings provide information about the characteristics of premonitory urge in pediatric tic disorders and have implications for the treatment of pediatric tic syndromes.     

The Effects of Parental Reassurance Versus Distraction on Child Distress and Coping During Immunizations

In this study we compared the effects of parents' distraction versus reassurance on children's coping and distress during immunizations. Eighty-two parent-child dyads were randomly assigned to attention control, distraction, or reassurance conditions. The children were 3.8 to 5.9 years old, from lower to middle socioeconomic classes, who were reporting for preschool immunizations at a county health department. The dependent variables included measures of behavioral distress using the Child-Adult Medical Procedure Interaction Scale, children's self-report of their fear, and parents' reports of their ability to help their child and of their own upset. It was hypothesized that children in the distraction group would be the least distressed, followed by the control group, and that children in the reassurance group would be the most distressed. Results generally support the hypotheses. Children in the distraction group showed the least amount of distress on several indexes. When compared to children in the control group, children in the reassurance group were restrained during a greater proportion of the immunization procedure. Three times as many children in the reassurance group required restraint, when compared to children in the distraction group. Children in the reassurance group also displayed more verbal fear than children in the control or distraction groups. Following training and prior to the immunizations, parents in the reassurance group were least upset and expected to be able to provide the greatest amount of help to their children. However, after the children's immunizations, parents in the reassurance group rated themselves as being more distressed than parents in either the distraction or the control groups.     

An Examination of the Relation Between Child Distress and Mother and Nurse Verbal Responses During Pediatric Oncology Procedures

Although prior studies have examined maternal criticism and praise during pediatric procedures, there is little research examining pediatric nurses. This study examined whether mothers and nurses demonstrated co-occurrence of criticism and praise and whether these statements were associated with child distress. One hundred forty-one children seen for chemotherapy procedures were videotaped, and adult statements were coded. Maternal and nurses' statements were significantly correlated, indicating temporal co-occurrence. Criticism by mothers and nurses was found to be associated with child distress. High-socioeconomic-status (SES) mothers showed higher correlations with nurses' statements than low-SES mothers. Implications include improved service delivery for interventions.     

Generalized Self-Efficacy,Coping, and Self-Esteem as Predictors of Psychological Adjustment Among Children With Disabilities or Chronic Illnesses

This study tested the hypothesis that more use of acceptance coping and less use of avoidance, emotional reaction, and wishful thinking coping would predict higher generalized self-efficacy (GSE) and self-esteem, and that higher GSE and self-esteem would, in turn, predict better psychological adjustment, operationalized as lower anxiety and higher life satisfaction. The alternative hypothesis that GSE and self-esteem would serve as psychological resources that predict coping, and that coping would, in turn, directly predict psychological adjustment, also was tested. Children (n = 42) enrolled at a camp for children with disabilities were administered instruments that assessed coping styles, GSE, self-esteem, anxiety, and life satisfaction. Hierarchical multiple regression and bootstrapping tested the mediational hypotheses. Emotion-oriented coping and self-esteem predicted life satisfaction; distance coping, self-efficacy, and self-esteem predicted anxiety; and self-esteem mediated the relation between self-efficacy and anxiety.     

The Mediating Role of Perceived Control in the Relationship Between Social Ties and Depressive Symptoms

ABSTRACT

This study first examines gender differences in the receipt and efficacy of four types of social ties. It is hypothesized that women's relationships involve more demanding social ties, which increase rather than decrease depressive symptoms. Next, this study explores the role of perceived control as a mediator in the relationship between social ties and depressive symptoms. It is hypothesized that the association between these social ties and depressive symptoms is mediated through perceived control. Results suggest that demanding social ties have the strongest association with depressive symptoms, and that this relationship is much stronger for women than for men. Emotional support is strongly associated with depressive symptoms for men and women, whereas instrumental support and number of close ties have negligible effects on depressive symptoms. Perceived control most strongly mediates (rather than moderates) those relationships with the strongest associations: demanding ties and depressive symptoms, and emotional support and depressive symptoms. Substantial direct associations between social ties and depressive symptoms remain after removing the effects mediated by perceived control.     

Moderation and Mediation in the Relationship Between Mothers'' or Fathers'' Serious Psychological Distress and Adolescent Substance Use: Findings from a National Sample

PURPOSE: This study estimated percentages of adolescents living with a mother or father with serious psychological distress (SPD), and examined moderation and mediation of the relationships between mother or father SPD and adolescent substance use. METHODS: We analyzed data from nationally representative samples of adolescents interviewed with their mothers (n = 4734) and fathers (n = 3176) in the combined 2002 and 2003 National Surveys on Drug Use and Health (NSDUHs). RESULTS: An estimated 4.1% of adolescents living with their father had a father with SPD during the past year, and 11.5% of adolescents living with their mother had a mother with SPD during this time period. A positive association was found between mothers' SPD and adolescent binge drinking (OR = 1.49, 95% CI = 1.01-2.21), but no association was found between fathers' SPD and adolescent binge drinking. Mothers' SPD was associated with increased risk of binge drinking among adolescents aged 14-15 years (OR = 2.52, 95% CI = 1.38-4.60), and fathers' SPD was associated with lowered risk of binge drinking among black adolescents (OR = .08, 95% CI = .01-.79). A positive association was found between mothers' SPD and adolescent illicit drug use (OR = 1.55, 95% CI = 1.08-2.23), but no association was found between fathers' SPD and adolescent illicit drug use. Mothers' SPD was associated with increased risk of illicit drug use among female adolescents (OR = 2.14, 95% CI = 1.24-3.70) and among adolescents of white ethnicity (OR = 1.78, 95% CI = 1.19, 2.68). Parental involvement partially mediated the relationship between mothers' SPD and daughters' illicit drug use; mothers' SPD was associated with lower levels of parental involvement, which in turn were associated with an increased probability of daughters' illicit drug use. CONCLUSIONS: Overall, parents' SPD is associated differentially with adolescent substance use depending on the gender of parent and adolescent, adolescent age, race/ethnicity, and substance used. Parental involvement appears to be one mechanism through which mothers' SPD influences daughters' illicit drug use. Future research should further consider the interindividual effects of parents' SPD and associated parenting behaviors on adolescent risk behaviors.     

Associations Between Interparental Relationships and Experiences of Parenting Stress Among Mothers: The Mediating Role of Perceived Control

The current study investigated the potential benefits of relationships between parents whose children were friends (closure relationships) within a sample of 404 mothers. Associations between closure and three domains of parenting stress were explored. Mothers' perceived control was considered as a potential mediator of closure-stress associations. Hierarchical regression analyses revealed that higher mean levels of closure were associated with lower levels of parenting stress related to child problem behaviors. Perceived control mediated the association between closure and parenting stress. The benefits of cross-household parental relationships for mothers' psychological wellbeing are discussed.     

Monitoring,Mediating, and Modeling: Parental Influence on Adolescent Computer and Internet Use in the United States

Proliferating internet-accessible media have altered the home context, raising questions about parental influence on youth computer/internet use. This study examines parents' monitoring, internet mediation, and modeling behaviors as predictors of adolescents' computer/internet use among 629 US adolescents and their parents. Parents' time spent with computers was positively associated with teens' computer time, and parents' engagement in seven internet activities (e.g., IM/chat) also predicted teens' engagement in those activities. Greater general parental monitoring of adolescents predicted less teen engagement in IM/chat, social networking site use, video streaming, and multiplayer online games, while parental tracking of internet use predicted more teen IM/chat. Older teens spent more time with computers and in various internet activities and reported lower rates of general parental monitoring and parental internet mediation. Findings suggest that parents act as models for their children's internet use. Additionally, general parental practices not specific to media may affect youths' media behaviors as well.     

Factors Associated With Psychological Distress in a Community-Dwelling Japanese Population: The Ohsaki Cohort 2006 Study

Background

In Asia, there has been no population-based epidemiological study using the K6, a 6-item instrument that assesses nonspecific psychological distress.

Methods

Using cross-sectional data from 2006, we studied 43 716 (20 168 men and 23 548 women) community-dwelling people aged 40 years or older living in Japan. We examined the association between psychological distress and demographic, medical, lifestyle, and social factors by using the K6, with psychological distress defined as 13 or more points out of a total of 24 points.

Results

The following variables were significantly associated with psychological distress among the population: female sex, young and old age, a history of serious disease (hypertension, diabetes mellitus, stroke, myocardial infarction, or cancer), current smoking, former alcohol drinking, low body mass index, shorter daily walking time, lack of social support (4 of 5 components), and lack of participation in community activities (4 of 5 components). Among men aged 40 to 64 years, only “lack of social support for consultation when in trouble” and a history of diabetes mellitus remained significant on multivariate analysis. Among men aged 65 years or older, age was not significantly associated with psychological distress, and the significant association with current smoking disappeared on multivariate analysis. Among women aged 40 to 64 years, a history of stroke was not associated with psychological distress. Among women aged 65 years or older, the significant association with current smoking disappeared on multivariate analysis.

Conclusions

A number of factors were significantly associated with psychological distress, as assessed by the K6. These factors differed between men and women, and also between middle-aged and elderly people.Key words: cross-sectional, K6, population-based, psychological distress     

留守儿童生活事件与心理弹性的关系:一般自我效能感的中介效应

目的 探索留守儿童生活事件与心理弹性的关系,以及一般自我效能感在两者间所起的中介作用,以期为该群体的心理健康维护工作提供依据.方法 采用Connor-Davidson韧性量表(CD-RISC)、青少年生活事件量表(ASLEC)、一般效能感量表(GSES)对鲁西南某中学500名留守儿童和非留守儿童实施问卷调查.结果 留守儿童的心理弹性与一般自我效能存在正相关,与生活事件存在负相关;路径分析发现一般自我效能感在生活事件特别是人际关系维度与心理弹性之间起着部分中介作用.结论 留守儿童生活事件和心理弹性密切相关,一般自我效能感在两者间起着中介作用.     

Psychological Factors and Chronic Pelvic Pain in Women: A Comparative Study With Women With Chronic Migraine Headaches

Chronic pelvic pain (CPP) is often attributed to psychogenic causation. To determine if women with CPP possess a unique psychological profile, this study examined the comparative pain experience, psychological functioning, and marital/sexual satisfaction of women with either CPP or chronic migraine headache (CH). Patients with CPP reported greater dissatisfaction with their marriage and greater sexual dysfunction. No differences were obtained for ratings of depression, anxiety, mood factors, or additional personality traits. These data suggest that, in general, when psychological disorders are observed in CPP patients, they most likely reflect the effects of chronic pain rather than be causative to it.     

A Prospective Examination of the Relations Between Emotional Abuse and Anxiety: Moderation by Distress Tolerance

Anxiety, the most common and impairing psychological problem experienced by youth, is associated with numerous individual and environmental factors. Two such factors include childhood emotional abuse (CEA) and low distress tolerance (DT). The current study aimed to understand how CEA and low DT impacted anxiety symptoms measured annually across 5 years among a community sample of youth. We hypothesized DT would moderate the relationship between CEA and anxiety, such that youth with higher levels of CEA and lower levels of DT would have elevated anxiety over time. Community youth (N?=?244) were annually assessed across 5 years using the Revised Child Anxiety and Depression Scale, Childhood Trauma Questionnaire, and Behavioral Indicator of Resiliency to Distress. Higher CEA at baseline was associated with higher anxiety at baseline, higher anxiety at each annual assessment, and with greater overall decreases in anxiety over time. Lower DT was associated with higher anxiety at baseline, but did not predict changes in anxiety over time. Baseline DT significantly moderated the relationship between baseline CEA and anxiety, such that youth with both higher CEA and lower DT had the highest anxiety at each annual assessment. Youth with lower DT and higher CEA scores had the highest level of anxiety symptoms across time.