Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) for Primary School Teachers

Stress within the teaching profession has a negative impact on the health and well-being of individual teachers and on retention and recruitment for the profession as a whole. There is increasing literature to suggest that Mindfulness is a useful intervention to address a variety of psychological problems, and that Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) is a particularly helpful intervention for stress. We investigated the effects of teaching a MBSR course to primary school teachers to reduce stress. The MBSR course was taught to a group of primary school teachers and evaluated to establish its effects on levels of anxiety, depression, and stress, as well as movement towards a stated goal and changes in awareness. The results showed improvement for most participants for anxiety, depression, and stress, some of which were statistically significant. There were also significant improvements on two of the four dimensions of a mindfulness skills inventory. These results suggest that this approach could be a potentially cost-effective method to combat teacher stress and burnout.     

Coping orientation and psychological distress in healthcare professionals: The utility of appraising coping acceptability

The purpose of this study was to examine interaction effects of healthcare professionals' coping orientation (i.e., engagement versus disengagement) and appraisal of coping acceptability (ACA) on psychological distress, taking into account the individuals' job specificity and the psychological climate in their work environment. A cross‐sectional survey was conducted, and Japanese healthcare professionals (N = 189; 117 female; mean age: 40.1 ± 11.2 years) reported the coping strategies that they employed for task‐related or interpersonal stressors, their cognitive appraisal of the stressors, their ACA, and the psychological distress evoked by the stressors. The results showed that adding consideration of the ACA to the variable of coping orientation significantly improved predictions of psychological distress for both task and interpersonal stressors. There was no significant interaction between the coping orientation and the use of coping strategies that incorporated the ACA. These results suggest that considering the ACA, in addition to the coping orientation, would be useful for understanding individual differences in the mediators of healthcare professionals' coping in stressful situations.     

The validation of an active control intervention for Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction (MBSR)

Most of the extant literature investigating the health effects of mindfulness interventions relies on wait-list control comparisons. The current article specifies and validates an active control condition, the Health Enhancement Program (HEP), thus providing the foundation necessary for rigorous investigations of the relative efficacy of Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) and for testing mindfulness as an active ingredient. 63 participants were randomized to either MBSR (n = 31) or HEP (n = 32). Compared to HEP, MBSR led to reductions in thermal pain ratings in the mindfulness- but not the HEP-related instruction condition (η² = .18). There were significant improvements over time for general distress (η² = .09), anxiety (η² = .08), hostility (η² = .07), and medical symptoms (η² = .14), but no effects of intervention. Practice was not related to change. HEP is an active control condition for MBSR while remaining inert to mindfulness. These claims are supported by results from a pain task. Participant-reported outcomes (PROs) replicate previous improvements to well-being in MBSR, but indicate that MBSR is no more effective than a rigorous active control in improving these indices. These results emphasize the importance of using an active control condition like HEP in studies evaluating the effectiveness of MBSR.     

Implementation of a mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) program to reduce stress,anxiety, and depression and to improve psychological well-being among retired Iranian football players

ObjectivesTo test whether a mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) program could reduce symptoms of anxiety, stress, and depression, and increase psychological well-being among retired Iranian football players compared to an active control group.DesignRandomized controlled trial, with an 8-week MBSR intervention (16 group sessions, 90 min each) and an active control group. Three data assessments were performed at baseline, eight weeks later after completion of the intervention, and again twelve weeks later at follow-up.MethodsForty male retired football players (M_age = 34.05, SD = 1.72) were randomly assigned either to the MBSR intervention or the active control condition. All participants completed questionnaires on perceived stress, anxiety, depression, and psychological well-being. Repeated measures analyses of variance were used to assess time by group interactions.ResultsSignificant time by group interaction effects were found for all outcomes. In the MBSR group, psychological well-being improved and symptoms of stress, anxiety, and depression decreased over time from baseline to intervention completion and to follow-up. In the active control group, the outcomes remained relatively stable across time.ConclusionsThe present findings suggest that among male retired Iranian football players, a MBSR intervention has the potential to reduce symptoms of stress, anxiety, and depression, and to increase their psychological well-being. Potential (underlying) mechanisms were not assessed in the present study. In future investigations, researchers should try to gain a deeper understanding of the mechanisms which may explain the observed effects.     

The Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS-20): A measure of general psychological distress

The Toronto Alexithymia Scale (Bagby, R. M., Parker, J. D. A., & Taylor, G. J. (1994). The twenty-item Toronto Alexithymia Scale-I. Item selection and cross-validation of the factor structure. Journal of Psychosomatic Research, 38, 23–32.) is the most commonly used measure of Alexithymia (= difficulties identifying and describing one’s own feelings). Sixty-three persons (34 psychiatric inpatients, 29 healthy controls) first filled in the TAS-20 and were then interviewed about their interpersonal relationships. Two raters coded the emotional experiences that the participants reported during these interviews. Contrary to expectations, participants with higher TAS-20 scores reported more emotions (particularly negative ones), and more different emotions, questioning the validity of the TAS-20 as a measure of Alexithymia. Based on correlation patterns and a joint factor analysis with two well-established measures of psychopathology, it is concluded that the TAS-20 assesses a general psychological distress factor.     

The distressed (Type D) personality mediates the relationship between remembered parenting and psychological distress in cardiac patients

Objective: Both the distressed (Type D) personality (i.e. the combination of negative affectivity and social inhibition traits) and dysfunctional parenting styles are associated with anxiety and depression. As parenting styles have been related to personality development, dysfunctional parenting styles may also be associated with Type D personality. We examined whether remembered parenting was associated with anxiety and depression in cardiac patients and whether Type D personality mediated this relationship.

Methods: Our sample comprised 435 patients treated with percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) and 123 patients with congestive heart failure (CHF). Patients completed the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale, Type D Scale (DS14), and Remembered Relationship with Parents (RRP¹⁰) scale.

Results: Remembered parenting was significantly associated with higher anxiety and depression levels and Type D personality. In multivariable linear regression analyses, Type D personality accounted for 25–29% of the variance in anxiety and 23–46% of the variance in depression, while remembered parenting was no longer significantly associated with these domains. Sobel tests and bootstrapping indicated that Type D personality mediated the relationship between remembered parenting and anxiety and depression.

Conclusion: Type D personality mediated the relationship between remembered parenting and anxiety and depression in both PCI and CHF patients.     

The impact of group psychological interventions on distress in infertile women.

Infertile women express higher levels of distress than fertile women, with distress peaking between the 2nd and 3rd year. The purpose of this study was to determine whether group psychological interventions could prevent this surge. One hundred eighty-four women who had been trying to conceive between 1 and 2 years were randomized into either a cognitive-behavioral group, a support group, or a control group. All experimental participants attended a 10-session group program. Participants completed psychological questionnaires at intake and again at 6 and 12 months. Substantial attrition occurred, particularly in the control group. The cognitive-behavioral and support participants experienced significant psychological improvement at 6 and 12 months compared with the control participants, with the cognitive-behavioral participants experiencing the greatest positive change.     

The role of rumination,attentional biases and stress in psychological distress

This experimental study examines the relationship between rumination and attentional bias. Additionally, the study aims to determine, within a diathesis‐stress framework, whether rumination or attentional bias (or both) can prospectively predict psychological distress. Eighty‐one participants completed selected measures of rumination and psychological distress at time one, in addition to experimental manipulations of rumination and mood, and measures of mood and attentional bias at time two. Seventy‐three participants (90% follow‐up) completed final measures of stress and psychological distress approximately 3 weeks later. In combination with negative mood, inducing rumination decreased positive attentional bias, whilst inducing distraction increased positive attentional bias. Rumination and stress interacted to predict change in psychological distress. Negative attentional bias showed a trend towards interacting with rumination and stress to predict dysphoria. The findings supported the proposed diathesis‐stress models. In addition, a causal relationship between rumination and positive attentional bias has been empirically established for the first time.     

The role of hyperarousal in the manifestation of posttraumatic psychological distress following injury

The authors examined the temporal relation among posttraumatic stress disorder symptom clusters, using data derived from a longitudinal study of survivors of orofacial injury (N = 264). They conducted cross-lagged panel analyses, with self-reported symptom data collected at 1, 6, and 12 months postinjury. Results demonstrate that hyperarousal was a potent predictor of subsequent symptoms of reexperiencing and avoidance as well as hyperarousal. By contrast, neither reexperiencing nor avoidance was significantly related to other symptom clusters other than themselves over time. These findings underscore the distinctive nature of hyperarousal in the manifestation of posttraumatic psychological distress over time. Implications for theory, clinical intervention, and future research are discussed.     

The automated psychological evaluation system (APES)

This paper describes the rationale, design, cost, and extensions related to an automated test battery. Increased manpower, speed of service, lower cost, accuracy, and quality of reporting support the use of the system. The liability of failure to maintain and update the system is noted. Design considerations concerning mode of testing, tests included, and method of programming are discussed. The relative cost of automated and conventional testing is examined. Future extensions to the system are reviewed.     

The CORE‐10: A short measure of psychological distress for routine use in the psychological therapies

Background: There is a need for a generic, short, and easy‐to‐use assessment measure for common presentations of psychological distress in UK primary care mental health settings. This paper sets out the development of the CORE‐10 in response to this need. Method: Items were drawn from the CORE‐OM and 10 items were selected according to a combination of usefulness, coverage of item clusters, and statistical procedures. Three CORE‐OM datasets were employed in the development phase: (1) a primary care sample, (2) a sample from an MRC platform trial of enhanced collaborative care of depression in primary care, and (3) a general population sample derived from the Office of National Statistics Psychiatric Morbidity Follow‐up survey. A fourth dataset comprising a sample from an occupational health setting was used to evaluate the CORE‐10 in its standalone format. Results: The internal reliability (alpha) of the CORE‐10 was .90 and the score for the CORE‐10 correlated with the CORE‐OM at .94 in a clinical sample and .92 in a non‐clinical sample. The clinical cut‐off score for general psychological distress was 11.0 with a reliable change index (90% CI) of 6. For depression, the cut‐off score for the CORE‐10 was 13 and yielded sensitivity and specificity values of .92 (CI=.83–1.0) and 0.72 (CI=.60–.83) respectively. Conclusion: The CORE‐10 is an acceptable and feasible instrument that has good psychometric properties and is practical to use with people presenting with common mental health problems in primary care settings.     

The impact of COVID-19 and socioeconomic status on psychological distress in cancer patients

ObjectiveWe aimed to investigate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on psychological symptom burden against the socioeconomic background of cancer patients using data from routine assessments before and during the pandemicMethodIn this cross-sectional study, standardised assessment instruments were applied in N = 1,329 patients to screen for symptoms of anxiety, depression, post-traumatic stress, and fatigue from 2018 to 2022. Two MANOVAs with post-hoc tests were computed. First, only time was included as predictor to examine the isolated impact of the pandemic. Second, income level and education level were included as further predictors to additionally test the predictive power of socioeconomic factorsResultsIn the final model, only income had a significant impact on all aspects of psychological symptom burden, with patients with low income being highly burdened (partial η² = .01, p = .023). The highest mean difference was found for depressive symptoms (MD = 0.13, CI = [0.07; 0.19], p < .001). The pandemic had no further influence on psychological distressConclusionsAlthough the pandemic is a major stressor in many respects, poverty may be the more important risk factor for psychological symptom burden in cancer outpatients, outweighing the impact of the pandemic.     

The effects of torture-related injuries on long-term psychological distress in a Punjabi Sikh sample

Torture survivors often report chronic debilitating physical and psychological distress. Prior research on the relationship between physical and psychological trauma suggests that the 2 are not independent. Injury sustained during torture may increase the likelihood of subsequent distress as either a moderator or mediator. For long-term psychopathology in a sample of Punjabi Sikh survivors of human rights violations (N = 116), chronic injuries mediated the path between torture and posttraumatic stress disorder, specifically the severity of numbing symptoms. Although injuries were associated with major depression, torture was not, and injuries did not moderate the relationship between major depression and torture. Chronic injuries may represent trauma severity or persistent traumatic cues. These findings emphasize connections between physical and psychological trauma and the importance of an interdisciplinary approach to torture treatment.     

Acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) for people with dementia experiencing psychological distress: A hermeneutic single-case efficacy design (HSCED) series

Introduction

People with dementia have a high prevalence of psychological distress but are underserved with evidence-based psychological interventions. To promote choice and improve clinical outcomes, there is a necessity to test different psychological intervention options for this population.

Purpose

This study aimed to investigate the effectiveness and acceptability of acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) for people with dementia, considering carer-supported, remote delivery and necessary therapy adaptations.

Methods

A hermeneutic single-case efficacy design series was used to analyse the therapy process and change for three clients with dementia and psychological distress. A matrix of quantitative and qualitative data was collated (“rich case records”) and subject to critical analyses by three independent psychotherapy experts (“judges”) who identified change processes and determined the outcome for each client.

Results

Adjudication concluded that one client made positive changes, specifically reliable reductions in psychological distress, which were largely attributable to ACT. Two clients remained unchanged.

Discussion/Conclusion

Where change was achieved, the ACT-specific processes of values, committed action and acceptance, in combination with non-specific therapy factors, including a strong client–carer relationship, existing client interests and individualised therapy adaptations, were facilitative. Hence, ACT may be a feasible and effective vehicle for therapeutic change by helping carers to better meet the needs of their loved ones. Future research to optimise ACT delivery in this population may be beneficial. Furthermore, the assessment of carer factors (e.g., their psychological flexibility and the client–carer relationship) may strengthen the evidence base for systemic ACT use.     

The relationship between social support and psychological distress among Hispanic elders in Miami, Florida

This study compared 5 psychological models of the relationship between social support (SS) and behavioral health. These theoretical models, which have garnered some level of prior empirical support, were as follows: (a) main effects, (b) buffering effects, (c) social exchange, (d) equity, and (e) protective health outcomes of providing SS. A population-based sample of 273 community-dwelling Hispanic elders drawn from East Little Havana, Florida (ages 70-100 years old; 86% Cuban) completed self-report measures of SS, financial strain, and psychological distress (PD). Hierarchical multiple regression analyses were used to test the competing SS models. Results indicated that satisfaction with received SS was, as specified in the main-effects model, associated with lower PD, whereas received SS was unexpectedly associated with heightened PD. Reciprocal exchanges of SS (equity model) or exchanges where Hispanic elders provided more SS than they received (protective health outcomes of providing SS model) were also associated with lower PD. The feasibility of a 6th model in which the effects of SS are contingent upon the elder's preexisting PD level is proposed. Limitations, implications, and directions for future research are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved).     

The role of awakening cortisol and psychological distress in diurnal variations in affect: a day reconstruction study

People often feel unhappy in the morning but better later in the day, and this pattern may be amplified in the distressed. Past work suggests that one function of cortisol is to energize people in the morning. In a study of 174 students, we tested to see whether daily affect patterns, psychological distress, and awakening cortisol levels were interlinked. Affect levels were assessed using the Day Reconstruction Method and psychological distress was measured using the Depression Anxiety Stress Scales. On average, positive affect increased markedly in a linear pattern across the day, whereas negative affect decreased linearly. For the highly distressed, this pattern was stronger for positive affect. Lower than average morning cortisol, as assessed by two saliva samples at waking and two samples 30 min after waking, predicted a clear increasing pattern of positive affect throughout the day. When we examined the interlinkages between affect patterns, distress, and cortisol, our results showed that a pronounced linear increase in positive affect from morning through to evening occurred chiefly among distressed people with below average cortisol levels upon awakening. Psychological distress, although not strongly associated with morning cortisol levels, does appear to interact with cortisol levels to profoundly influence affect.     

It's better to give than to receive: Psychological need satisfaction mediating links between wasta (favouritism) and individuals' psychological distress

Wasta (i.e. the distribution of favours among family, friends and tribe; favouritism; nepotism) permeates numerous Middle Eastern cultures, representing a method of strengthening social ties and showing loyalty/generosity, but also representing one of the largest sources of corruption in Middle East. The current study investigated links between wasta and psychological distress in a survey of 1088 educators from Saudi Arabia. Drawing from the self‐determination theory (SDT) conceptual framework, Structural Equation Modeling analyses suggested that benefitting from wasta was linked to higher levels of psychological distress and those links were explained in part (i.e. mediated) by lower levels of autonomy, competency and relatedness. In contrast, providing wasta was associated with higher levels of need satisfaction and correspondingly lower levels of distress. Implications are discussed in terms of the SDT, discrimination and helping behaviour literatures.