Physical Activity intervention effect on wellbeing and overall functioning in an CAMHS low secure service

BackgroundInformal carers of people with BPD experience high levels of burden and psychological distress relative to other populations. There is a scarcity of research evidencing the influence of modifiable factors on carer outcomes to inform interventions. This study aimed to investigate the relationship between social support, coping strategies and psychological distress and positive mental well-being in this carer population.MethodsIn this cross-sectional study, 1207 carers completed the McLean Screening Instrument for BPD-Carer Version, the Brief COPE, the Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support, the Kessler Psychological Distress scale, the WHO-5 Well-being Index, and the Coronavirus Anxiety Scale. Data for 863 participants who met the inclusion criteria were analysed.ResultsCarers reported low positive mental well-being and high psychological distress. Perceived social support and several coping strategies were significant unique predictors of psychological distress and positive mental well-being. Perceived social support and positive reframing were the strongest predictors of higher positive mental well-being and lower psychological distress. Self-blame, behavioural disengagement and substance use were the strongest predictors of adverse outcomes.ConclusionsThe findings evidence modifiable factors that may be used to improve informal carer outcomes and indicate that carer interventions may be improved by focusing on reducing the use of self-blame, behavioural disengagement and substance use, and development of quality social support and skills to positively reframe caregiving situations.

This study aimed to test whether (a) discrimination is associated with past 30-day/current alcohol, cigarette, e-cigarette, alcohol, marijuana, and other illicit drug use among Black and White U.S. adults aged 18-28, (b) psychological distress (PD) and positive well-being (PW) are mediators of the discrimination-substance use relationships, and (c) the associations are moderated by race and sex. Using data from a 2017 U.S. nationally representative survey we conducted multiple-group moderated mediation analyses among 2,192 young adults aged 18-28 (508 Black males, 594 Black females, 533 White males, 557 White females). Black males had higher discrimination, Whites had higher PW, and females had higher PD scores. Discrimination was positively associated with PD and negatively associated with PW. Among all groups, discrimination was positively associated with other illicit drug (direct and indirect), and marijuana use through PD. Indirect effects were stronger among White males for other illicit drugs and Black males for marijuana. The indirect effect of discrimination and alcohol use through PW was positive for Black females and negative for all other groups examined. Among Black males only, discrimination was positively associated with cigarette and alcohol use through PD (positive) and cigarette smoking through PW (negative). This study highlights the negative influence of perceived discrimination on current licit and illicit substance use among Black and White young adults. Our results suggest that this relationship may be partially mediated by PD and PW, especially among Black male young adults. Future discrimination and substance use studies should consider potential mediation effects of poor mental health and differences by race and sex. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved).

Routine outcome measurement is an important practice to improve the quality of mental health services. Since 2011, it has been mandatory for health services to offer psychotherapy in Uruguay's National Health System. Adolescents and young people are a priority population. The lack of information about the functioning and the effectiveness of the mental health services focused on youth is an obstacle to assess and, as a consequence, to improve the services. The objective of this study was to evaluate the implementation of a system to establish the characteristics and outcomes of psychological treatment received by young people at services provided by Uruguay's National Health System. The present study was the first of its kind to examine the outcomes of psychotherapy offered in mental health services. A pre‐post design in a naturalistic setting was used. Sixty‐nine participants, aged 16 to 24 years, and 26 therapists from four health services participated. Sociodemographic and clinical questionnaires, the Clinical Outcome Routine Evaluation‐Outcome Measure (CORE‐OM; Evans et al., 2002) and a semi‐structured interview were applied to assess the perception of change. CORE‐OM results portrayed a decrease in psychological distress. Interview data helped to better understand the perception of change. A high number of dropouts revealed the need for the services to use strategies to prevent early dropouts in young users. The CORE‐OM appears to be a valuable tool. Barriers for outcomes system implementations are discussed and may prove useful to other countries where there is a lack of an outcome‐oriented clinical culture.

Mindfulness-based interventions such as Mindfulness-based Stress Reduction (MBSR) and Mindfulness Cognitive Behavior Therapy (MCBT) have been used to treat adults with psychiatric disorders. This article describes initial modification and development of a mindfulness-based intervention group program for adolescents with psychiatric disorders. It was hypothesized that the intervention would improve mindfulness, mental health outcomes and decrease psychological distress and symptoms. Adolescents from a mental health clinic attended a 5-week group pilot mindfulness-based intervention. Adolescents and parents completed questionnaires at pre- and post-intervention and at 3-month follow-up. Baseline measures indicated moderate to severe range of mental health symptoms. After the intervention, adolescents reported significant decreases in psychological distress and increases in mindfulness and self-esteem. Qualitative data revealed the intervention to be engaging and beneficial. Parents also reported significant overall improvements of adolescents' functioning. These promising preliminary results suggest that the intervention was feasible, acceptable and offered positive impact on mental health problems, and the intervention warrants further research in a randomized controlled study.

Suggested citation: Kuosmanen, T., Dowling, K. and Barry, M.M., (2020). Practice Brief: A Framework for Promoting Positive Mental Health and Wellbeing in the European Youth Sector. A Practice Brief produced as part of the Erasmus+ Project: Promoting positive mental health in the European Youth sector. World Health Organization Collaborating Centre for Health Promotion Research, National University of Ireland Galway. www.nuigalway.ie/hprc Introduction As part of the European Youth Goals, young people have identified better mental health and wellbeing as one of their main concerns for young people today (www.youthgoals.eu). The increasingly complex global, economic, socio-cultural and planetary climate presents significant challenges for young people, which are reflected in rising levels of mental health problems and youth suicide.1,2 Positive mental health and wellbeing and the acquisition of important social and emotional life skills ensure that young people can handle these challenges effectively and flourish in the 21st century. The youth sector setting is an important one for promoting positive young people s mental health and social and emotional wellbeing by providing a supportive environment for building positive relationships with adults and peers and practicing social and emotional competencies. Although many innovative practices are currently applied in youth settings, there is a lack of a systematic approach for promoting young people s mental health and wellbeing in the European youth sector. This practice brief provides an overview of a framework for promoting positive mental health and wellbeing in the European youth sector. A framework is a tool that helps to organise ideas to provide a foundation for thinking, communicating and acting.3 The framework provides the background and theory for promoting positive mental health and wellbeing in the European youth sector. Based on a review of the literature, the framework outlines six domains of social and emotional skills that should be promoted in youth setting: How I think, How I feel, How I relate, Values, Mindsets and Identity. These competencies can be promoted in youth organisations through taught and caught practices. The framework also highlights the importance of engaging young people s intrinsic motivation to encourage social and emotional learning, and outlines the competencies required from youth workers in order to promote positive youth mental health. The framework was developed as part of the Erasmus+ project Promoting Positive Mental Health in the European Youth Sector. The framework, along with consultations with youth workers and young people in Europe, inform the development of a manual and training for youth workers and guidelines for youth organisations in promoting positive youth mental health.

To perform scoping review of the existing literature available specific to child and adolescent mental health in Tanzania. An extensive literature search of PubMed, Scopus, MEDLINE and EMBASE was undertaken to identify studies that focussed specifically on mental illness in children and young people in Tanzania. This included neurological and functional disorders, affective disorders, psychosis, epidemiological, intervention and treatment-based studies. Qualitative analysis of the studies was then undertaken to assess what is currently known about the subject and how reliable this information is and to identify areas for further research. Of 23 studies were included in the final synthesis, which could be broadly split into studies focussing on the prevalence and incidence of child and adolescent mental illness, hypothesised causes and correlations, identified treatments and interventions and qualitative studies of human experience. There is a dearth of published research regarding child and adolescent mental health in Tanzania. Although some high-quality studies allow us good insight into the epidemiology of mental illness, interventional studies are often small and low-power, and significant correlational relationships are yet to be drawn. There is significant scope for further child and adolescent mental health research in Tanzania.

Military unit cohesion has been shown to correlate with physical and psychological outcomes. However, little is known about the development of cohesion in the early days of military service during Basic Combat Training (BCT) and how it relates to positive support and the negative stressors of training. The current study assessed the development of unit cohesion across the 10-week BCT period (N = 1,939), and the relation of cohesion to stress, resilience, mental health measures, and BCT outcomes (graduation, passing the Army Physical Fitness Test, and final Basic Rifle Marksmanship scores). The sample was primarily male (62%), under age 25 (88%), and unmarried (88%). All putative mediators showed significant change over time. Unit cohesion increased over time (slope 0.22; p < .001), and these increases were associated with decreases in psychological distress (p < .001), sleep problems (p < .001), and tolerance of BCT stressors (p < .001), as well as increases in resilience (p < .001), confidence managing stress reactions (p < .001), and positive states of mind (p < .001). Unit cohesion was indirectly associated with successful graduation and passing the Army Physical Fitness Test through cohesion-related improvement in psychological distress, resilience, and confidence managing reactions to stress. Sleep problems also mediated BCT graduation. Cohesion effects on the Basic Rifle Marksmanship scores were mediated by psychological distress and tolerance of BCT stressors only. These results suggest that unit cohesion may play a key role in the development of psychological health among new soldiers.

To compare mental health status and quality of life in lower-limb amputees versus nonamputees among participants with diabetes mellitus. We included 38 participants with prior minor amputation (group 1) and 38 participants without amputation /history of amputation (group 2). These were interviewed twice using 2 questionnaires to screen for mental health status and quality of life (Self Reporting Questionnaire 20-SRQ20 and EQ-5D-5L). Interviews were carried out 1 week and 6 months after amputation. The mean SRQ20 score for group 1 at 1 week postamputation was 8.50 (diagnostic of a mental health disorder), while it was 1.34 for group 2. At 6 months, mean SRQ20 for group 1 decreased to 5.42, indicating a decrease in psychological distress. A significant difference in the mean values for each dimension of the EQ-5D-5L between groups 1 and 2 indicated that amputees had a poorer quality of life at 1 week and at 6 months. Mental health and quality of life are negatively affected at 1 week after minor lower-limb amputation in diabetes. At 6 months, some improvement in mental health distress was seen, indicating that these individuals had adapted to the disability.

Despite growing popularity, associations between dosage and outcomes in meditation app interventions have not been established. We examined this relationship using a range of operationalizations of dosage (e.g., minutes of use, days of use, number and type of activities completed) and strategies for modeling outcomes (e.g., ordinary least squares regression, multilevel modeling, latent class analysis). We used data from a recently completed randomized controlled trial testing a meditation app (n=662; 80.4% with elevated depression/anxiety) which included psychological distress as its preregistered primary outcome. Across 41 models, whether or not an association was detected as well as the shape and direction of this association varied. Although several models indicated that higher dosage was associated with larger decreases in psychological distress, many models failed to show this relationship and some even showed the opposite. These results may have implications for optimizing and studying dosage in meditation apps and for open science practices.

Mindfulness, self-compassion and psychological distress in pregnant women

PURPOSE: Some women may try to cope with breast cancer by making lifestyle modifications, possibly in the hope of improving disease outcome. We assessed extent, predictors, and effect on psychological distress of dietary changes in the year after diagnosis among 250 women with newly diagnosed, nonmetastatic breast cancer. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Data came from medical records, and from interviews 3 days and 12 months after initial treatment. RESULTS: At 12 months, 41% (n = 103) reported dietary changes at some time since diagnosis, with decreases in meat (77%) and increases in fruit and vegetable intake (72%) being the most frequent. Women reporting changes were more likely to be younger, to have positive nodes, to be receiving adjuvant therapy, and to be more distressed initially. The mean 0 to 12 month decrease in psychological distress was greater in women who reported changes (9 points) than those who did not (4.7 points) (P = .03), although regression toward the mean cannot be excluded. CONCLUSION: A s...

Greek traditional dances and quality of old people's life

Individuals with learning disabilities (LDs) are more likely to have a mental illness, yet few studies explore this association in emerging adulthood, a developmental period with an increased risk for mental illness. The purpose of the current study was to investigate psychological distress in emerging adults (15–29 years) with and without LDs. The 2012 Canadian Community Health Survey—Mental Health was used (n = 5630), and multiple and logistic regression models with survey weights were computed. Adjusting for demographic, psychosocial, and health covariates, there was no evidence for significant differences in psychological distress among emerging adults with vs. without LDs. However, age and sex were significant effect modifiers. Among emerging adults with LDs, both males (OR = 2.39 [1.01, 5.67]) and those aged 25–29 years (OR = 3.87 [1.05, 14.30]) had an increased odds of clinically relevant psychological distress in comparison to those without LDs. These findings suggest a need for improved awareness and support for prevention of psychological distress among emerging adults with LDs, especially for males and those in later emerging adulthood.

Keywords: Alcohol abuse; Comorbidity; mental health; substance use; emerging adulthood; adolescence

Using cross-sectional national survey data, we assessed young peoples' beliefs about the role of alcohol, tobacco and marijuana in the prevention and treatment of mental disorders as well as the predictors of these beliefs. We also compared these findings with those from a similar survey carried out in 2006. Between January and May 2011, a national computer-assisted telephone survey was conducted on a representative sample of Australian youths aged 15-25 years. A total of 3021 young people were presented with a case vignette portraying depression, depression with suicidal thoughts, psychosis, social phobia, depression with alcohol misuse or post-traumatic stress disorder in a young person. Respondents were asked about their beliefs regarding the role of using alcohol, tobacco and marijuana in preventing or dealing with the mental disorders described in the vignettes. Level of psychological distress was assessed by the Kessler 6 scale (K6). More than 75% of respondents agreed that the three substances were harmful for the young people in the vignettes, and that not using marijuana or drinking alcohol in excess is preventive. Males, young adults and more distressed respondents were less likely to endorse these beliefs. No significant changes were observed between surveys. Most young people in Australia are aware of the negative impact of substance use on mental disorders, but a few high-risk groups remain: males, young adults and those with more psychological distress. Future public health campaigns need to target these groups and focus on translating young people's substance use beliefs into behavioural change.