Quality of Well-Being Scale and Chronic Low Back Pain

Outcome measures that assess quality of life for use in health policy decisions need to be investigated in chronic pain patients. In the present study, the validity of the Quality of Well-Being Scale (QWB) was evaluated on 67 adult chronic low back pain (CLBP) patients who were enrolled in a 12-week multidisciplinary pain treatment program. Participants completed the QWB, a battery of pain measures, a behavioral observation task, and a medical exam. The findings indicated that CLBP patients have a low level of functioning or quality of life (M = .567, SD = .08) compared with persons with life-threatening diseases. The QWB score was significantly correlated with observational measures of pain behavior and pain-related coping strategies. Multivariate analysis indicated that interference in daily activities, distorted ambulation, affective distress, pain duration, and guarding were the most significant predictors of quality of well-being (multiple R = .84, p < .0001). Patients with medically incongruent physical signs had significantly lower QWB scores than patients with congruent signs. Overall, the data supported the validity of the QWB in a sample of CLBP patients.     

A speech and psychological profile of treatment-seeking adolescents who stutter

PurposeThe purpose of this study was to evaluate the relationship between stuttering severity, psychological functioning, and overall impact of stuttering, in a large sample of adolescents who stutter.MethodParticipants were 102 adolescents (11–17 years) seeking speech treatment for stuttering, including 86 boys and 16 girls, classified into younger (11–14 years, n = 57) and older (15–17 years, n = 45) adolescents. Linear regression models were used to evaluate the relationship between speech and psychological variables and overall impact of stuttering.ResultsThe impact of stuttering during adolescence is influenced by a complex interplay of speech and psychological variables. Anxiety and depression scores fell within normal limits. However, higher self-reported stuttering severity predicted higher anxiety and internalizing problems. Boys reported externalizing problems—aggression, rule-breaking—in the clinical range, and girls reported total problems in the borderline-clinical range. Overall, higher scores on measures of anxiety, stuttering severity, and speech dissatisfaction predicted a more negative overall impact of stuttering.ConclusionTo our knowledge, this is the largest cohort study of adolescents who stutter. Higher stuttering severity, speech dissatisfaction, and anxiety predicted a more negative overall impact of stuttering, indicating the importance of carefully managing the speech and psychological needs of adolescents who stutter. Further research is needed to understand the relationship between stuttering and externalizing problems for adolescent boys who stutter.     

Comparing Quality of Life Instruments in a Population of Abused Women

The SF-36 Health Survey and the WHO Quality of Life Index—BREF (WHOQOL-BREF) were used to study quality of life among women who had experienced intimate partner violence (IPV). The aim was to determine how these instruments correlated with each other and with physical and psychological IPV, in order to find the best instrument to use. IPV was measured using the Severity of Violence against Women Scale (SVAWS) and the Psychological Maltreatment of Women Index (PMWI). A self-administrated questionnaire was given to women able to understand Norwegian who were staying at a women’s shelter in Norway for more than 1 week. 87 of 212 women asked to participate completed the questionnaire. The physical acts of violence in SVAWS correlated significantly (P<0.001) with both the general health and bodily pain dimensions in SF-36 and global overall health (OH) in WHOQOL-BREF. Most correlations between WHOQOL-BREF and SF-36 were moderate. The WHOQOL-BREF domains explained 46% of the variance in OH and 40% of the variance in the global overall quality of life (OQOL). The SF-36 domains explained 66% of the variance in OH and 27% of OQOL. The mean WHOQOL-BREF and SF-36 scores were all low. The SF-36 correlated better with physical and psychological IPV in this population than the WHOQOL-BREF. The significant correlations between the OH, general health and bodily pain domains and acts of violence show the importance of including questions concerning bodily symptoms in determining the quality of life in a population of abused women.     

Changes in quality of life following cognitive-behavioral therapy for obsessive-compulsive disorder

Cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) incorporating exposure and response prevention is a first line treatment for obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). Although, the efficacy of CBT in reducing OCD symptoms is well documented, less is known about its effects on quality of life (QOL). In the current study, functional impairment aspects of QOL (as measured by the Sheehan Disability Scale) were assessed among 70 adult outpatients with OCD before and after CBT. Statistically significant improvements in QOL and large pre- to post-treatment effect sizes were observed for work, social, and family functioning. Improvements in social and family functioning were predicted by improvements in OCD symptom severity even after controlling for improvements in depressive symptoms. In addition, clinically significant change in OCD symptoms and QOL were highly related, although there was a subset of participants whose symptoms improved without corresponding improvements in QOL. These results suggest that the effects of CBT may extend beyond OCD symptom reduction to QOL.     

Hommes et aléas : appréhension des risques côtiers par des usagers et des gestionnaires de communes littorales

This study focuses on how users and managers living in coastal areas represent their living environment and how the coastal risks (erosion and flooding) are included in this place representation. To do this, a qualitative survey (semi-structured interviews) was conducted with 61 people who live in towns so-called “at risky” or “vulnerable” in relation to this issue. The interviews were fully transcribed and they have been analyzed by the Alceste textual analysis software, supplemented by a manual content analysis. For all respondents, the results highlight that coastal risks are not a major concern. For managers, the risk is taken into account but it is not usually the priority. For users, the privilege of the surrounding and the place attachment obscure the existence of risk, whatever it is.     

Predictors of cancer survivors’ response to a community-based exercise program

ObjectiveTo explore the degree to which sociodemographic (i.e., age, sex, ethnicity, weight status, vocational status, marital status), medical (i.e., stage of cancer, treatment status, comorbidity burden), functional (i.e., self-rated health, exercise capacity), cognitive (i.e., exercise self-efficacy beliefs), and behavioural (i.e., program adherence, extra-curricular exercise) factors predicted cancer-related fatigue and quality of life among 224 cancer survivors who participated in the community-based Wellspring Cancer Exercise Program (WCEP).DesignProspective, quasi-experimental single-group repeated measures design.MethodData on predictors and outcomes were collected using self-report and objective measures upon enrollment in the program (week 0), every 10 weeks until program completion (weeks 10, 20, 30), and at 16-weeks follow-up (46 weeks). Data were analyzed using multilevel modeling.ResultsIn general, participants who were working or transitioning to work, rated their health better, and had higher exercise self-efficacy beliefs had lower cancer-related fatigue, and those who rated their health better and had higher exercise self-efficacy beliefs had higher quality of life. Also, there was a significant interaction between time and exercise self-efficacy beliefs for cancer-related fatigue and quality of life such that greater improvements were observed among participants with higher exercise self-efficacy beliefs.ConclusionCancer survivors’ perceptions of their health and their ability to exercise should be fostered to ensure they respond positively to exercise programs in terms of cancer-related fatigue and quality of life.     

Perception des conditions de travail et perspectives professionnelles chez les enseignants des collèges en Tunisie

This study examines the impact of organizational work conditions on the mental health of secondary school teachers in Tunisia. It aims to understand teachers’ specific problems on the basis of their professional representations of the profession in order to identify the sources of their malaise at work. To conduct our research, Self-report questionnaires were completed by 34 teachers, aged 30 to 58 years, from different secondary schools. The thematic analysis highlights a bond between constraints perception related to working conditions and the negative evaluations of work situations and teaching profession as a whole. Professional experience reveals suffering and discomfort, they can lead to reconsidering future prospects.