Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

Interpersonal Psychotherapy’S Problem Areas As An Organizing Framework To Understand Depression And Sexual And Reproductive Health Needs Of Kenyan Pregnant And Parenting Adolescents: A Qualitative Study, Manasi Kumar, Obadia Yator, Vincent Nyongesa, Martha Kagoya, Shillah Mwaniga, Joseph Kathono, Isaiah Gitonga, Nancy Grote, Helena Verdeli, Keng Yen Huang

Brain and Mind Institute

Background: Peripartum adolescents experience signifcant interpersonal transitions in their lives. Depression and emotional distress are often exacerbated by adolescents’ responses to these interpersonal changes. Improved understanding of pregnancy-related social changes and maladaptive responses to these shifts may inform novel approaches to addressing the mental health needs of adolescents during the perinatal period. The paper aims to understand the sources of psychological distress in peripartum adolescents and map these to Interpersonal Psychotherapy’s (IPT) problem areas as a framework to understand depression.

Method: We conducted interviews in two Nairobi primary care clinics with peripartum adolescents ages 16–18 years (n=23) with …

Worried Sick: Understanding The Implications Of Stress On A Physiological Level, Julia Saia

Senior Honors Theses

Stress is prevalent among many individuals in today’s society. A literature review was conducted to investigate the physiological effects of stress, including the biomarkers of stress and how these interact with various body systems. The stress response is a protective mechanism to prepare the body to adequately respond to a perceived threat. However, when this response is prolonged, it begins to have a maladaptive effect on the body and can cause more harm than good. This literature review sought to compile what is known regarding the general effects of chronic stress and its impact on the nervous, immune, digestive, and …

Nursing Practicum Equity For A Changing Nurse Student Demographic: A Qualitative Study, Lesley Andrew, Julie Dare, Ken Robinson, Leesa Costello

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

Background: The nursing practicum (clinical practice) is an essential but often highly stressful aspect of the nursing degree. A review of the published literature reveals a strong focus on the stressors that originate within the practicum environment, rather than the student’s life outside the university and practice setting. This article reports on an Australian study, completed before the COVID-19 pandemic, of the university experiences of undergraduate women nurse students with family responsibilities. The findings reveal the importance of factors outside the university on the women students’ practicum experience and their ability to engage and achieve. Methods: The study was qualitative, …

Factors Associated With Loss Of Motivation And Hesitation To Work Amongst Frontline Health Care Providers During The Covid-19 Pandemic: A Cross-Sectional Survey From A Developing Country, Mehreen Malik, Syeda Tayyaba Rehan, Farheen Malik, Jawad Ahmed, Chaudhary Abdul Fatir, Hassan Ul Hussain, Asiyah Aman, Muhammad Junaid Tahir

Department of Anaesthesia

Background: The COVID-19 took over the world in 2020 and a lockdown has been imposed seeing its fast spread. Frontline health care workers (HCWs) were reported frequently with a lack of motivation, hesitancy and unwillingness to perform their duties during this pandemic. This cross-sectional survey aims to evaluate the factors associated with lack of motivation and increased hesitancy among the frontline HCWs to perform their duties during COVID-19 pandemic.
Materials and methods: A total of 239 HCWs were included in this web-based cross-sectional study, who have worked during the COVID-19 pandemic. The anonymous online questionnaire was sent to all faculty, …

Early Life Exposure To Unpredictable Parental Sensory Signals Shapes Cognitive Development Across Three Species, Elyssia Poggi Davis, Kari Mccormack, Hina Arora, Desiree Sharpe, Annabel K. Short, Jocelyne Bachevalier, Laura M. Glynn, Curt A. Sandman, Hal S. Stern, Mar Sanchez, Tallie Z. Baram

Psychology Faculty Articles and Research

Exposure to early life adversity has long term consequences on cognitive function. Most research has focused on understanding components of early life adversities that contribute to later risk, including poverty, trauma, maltreatment, and neglect. Whereas these factors, in the aggregate, explain a significant proportion of emotional and cognitive problems, there are serious gaps in our ability to identify potential mechanisms by which early life adversities might promote vulnerability or resilience. Here we discuss early life exposure to unpredictable signals from the caretaker as an understudied type of adversity that is amenable to prevention and intervention. We employ a translational approach …

Law Library Blog (October 2022): Legal Beagle's Blog Archive, Roger Williams University School Of Law

Law Library Newsletters/Blog

No abstract provided.

Arousal/Stress Effects Of “Overwatch” Esports Game Competition In Collegiate Gamers, William J. Kraemer, Lydia K. Caldwell, Emily M. Post, Matthew K. Beeler, Angela Emerson, Jeff S. Volek, Carl M. Maresh, Jennifer S. Fogt, Nick Fogt, Keijo Häkkinen, Robert U. Newton, Pedro Lopez, Barbara N. Sanchez, James A. Onate

Health and Sport Sciences Faculty Scholarship

Kraemer, WJ, Caldwell, LK, Post, EM, Beeler, MK, Emerson, A, Volek, JS, Maresh, CM, Fogt, JS, Fogt, N, Häkkinen, K, Newton, RU, Lopez, P, Sanchez, BN, and Onate, JA. Arousal/stress effects of “Overwatch” eSports game competition in collegiate gamers. J Strength Cond Res 36(10): 2671–2675, 2022—To date, no physical response data are available for one of the most popular eSport games, Overwatch. The purpose of this investigation was to describe the stress signaling associated with competitive Overwatch play and to understand how acute hormonal responses may affect performance. Thirty-two male college-aged gamers (age: 21.3 ± 2.7 years; estimated time …

Prenatal Allostatic Load And Preterm Birth: A Systematic Review, Shahirose Sadrudin Premji, Gianella Santos Pana, Alexander Cuncannon, Paul E. Ronksley, Aliyah Dosani, K. Alix Hayden, Sharifa Bashir Lalani, Wangira Musana, Kiran Shaikh, Ilona S. Yim

Obstetrics and Gynaecology, East Africa

Objective: Allostatic load refers to cumulative neuroendocrine burden and has been postulated to mediate and moderate physiological and psychological stress-related responses. This may have important implications for the risk of preterm birth. This systematic review examines the evidence on the association between prenatal allostatic load and preterm birth.

Data sources: A comprehensive search of seven electronic databases was conducted from inception to August 23, 2022 to identify all English-language observational and mixed methods studies examining allostatic load and preterm birth with no year or geographic restrictions.

Study eligibility criteria: Studies were included if they measured allostatic load, evaluated as the …

Implementation Of A Flash Therapy Technique Pilot Program To Evaluate Well-Being In Bedside Nurses Caring For Patients With Covid-19, Rachel Faye Lakes

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The nursing shortage is no longer a crisis but an epidemic and it is being exacerbated by burnout and compassion fatigue. This burnout and compassion fatigue are stemming from a loss of resilience and inability to cope. The COVID-19 pandemic has further intensified these issues. A safe, efficient, and effective intervention is needed to help improve well-being and resiliency among healthcare workers. The purpose of this project was to implement a flash therapy technique pilot program to evaluate resiliency and well-being of healthcare professionals caring for patients with COVID-19. A pilot program consisting of two flash therapy sessions was implemented …

“You Never Exhale Fully Because You're Not Sure What's Next”: Parents' Experiences Of Stress Caring For Children With Chronic Conditions, Stephanie Smith, Mary Tallon, Carrie Clark, Lauren Jones, Evalotte Mörelius

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

Children with chronic conditions are experiencing improved survival worldwide, and it is well-known that their parents are stressed. Yet, despite this knowledge, parents continue to experience stress. Our study explored the lived experience of parental stress when caring for children with various chronic conditions to identify opportunities to potentially reduce stress for these parents. This was an exploratory qualitative study using semi-structured interviews. To ensure appropriate research priorities were addressed, the study was co-designed with consumer and stakeholder involvement. Twenty parents were interviewed. Parents were recruited through a recognized family support organization for children with various care needs in Western …

Exploring The Impact Of Stress On Healthcare Student Competency: A Cognitive Model For Self-Regulating Performance During High-Stakes Scenarios, Michael J. Teachey

Critical and Creative Thinking Capstones Collection

Stress and anxiety are part of healthcare and are experienced not only by patients but also by clinicians. This work explores an issue prevalent in healthcare education, outlining the detrimental effects of stress-induced anxiety on student performance during practical assessments. Included in this paper are the research and investigative details that elaborate on the process taken towards resolving the issue. Research conducted in the fields of education, law, and medicine is used to explore how these areas address stress with regard to performance. Through the various processes of research and engagement, this action research project uncovers the underlying issue of …

Perfectionism, Perceived Stress, And Maladaptive Eating Behaviors In High-Achieving And Honors Undergraduate Students At The University Of Maine, Jaimie Giguere

Honors College

This thesis investigates the differences in perceived stress, perfectionism, and maladaptive eating behaviors among high-achieving honors and non-honors undergraduate students (N=413) at the University of Maine. Students were classified as high-achieving based on a UMaine Honors College c-index ((GPA× 12.5)+(SAT×

.03125)), which uses a student’s GPA and SAT score to assign them a numerical value. All UMaine undergraduate students were invited to participate. Participants completed a survey containing measures that assessed levels of perceived stress, perfectionism, and maladaptive eating behaviors. They were also asked questions about their major, honors status, grade point average, and SAT scores. Results indicated that there …

The Anxiolytic Effects Of Aromatherapy On Preprocedural Anxiety: An Integrated Review, Rebekah Smith

Senior Honors Theses

Anxiety before procedures can negatively impact patients by increasing cortisol levels which delays wound healing and increases infection risk, increasing pain and sedation medication needs, and increasing hospitalization time. This review was conducted to find how inhaled essential oils affect pre-procedural anxiety of adults in acute care settings. Nine databases and some gray literature were searched within the past ten years, and documented using the PRISMA flow chart. Ten articles fitting the inclusion criteria were retrieved. Nine of the articles found a significant difference between the aromatherapy group and control group and pre- and post- intervention anxiety scores, and none …

Introspective Meditation Before Seeking Pleasurable Activities As A Stress Reduction Tool Among College Students: A Multi-Theory Model-Based Pilot Study, Manoj Sharma, Amar Kanekar, Kavita Batra, Traci Hayes, Ram Lakhan

Social & Behavioral Health Faculty Publications

In the realm of behavioral interventions, a combined approach of yoga and a cognitive-behavioral strategy in the form of introspective meditation (manan-dhyana) may offer benefits as a stress management tool. This pilot study focuses on introspective meditation performed before seeking pleasurable activities, which is a self-reflection about whether to pursue a goal that will bring sensory pleasure in life. A non-probability sample of college students was recruited from a mid-sized Southern University of the United States using a 52-items web-based survey built in Qualtrics. Univariate, bivariate, and multivariate statistics were used to analyze data. Of total 65 students, only 21.5% …

The Impact Of Pre- And Post-Immigration Factors On The Depressive Symptoms And Alcohol Use Severity Of Young Adult Recent Latino/A Immigrants: Examining The Role Of Gender And Traditional Gender Roles, Vicky Rebecca Vazquez-Barrios

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Over the past decade, there has been a shift in Latino/a immigration patterns to the U.S. including steep increases in South and Central America immigrants. Seeking asylum from political and economic turmoil, many of these immigrants are disproportionately impacted by the compounding conditions of stress, trauma, depressive symptoms, and alcohol use severity (AUS). Most investigations on these conditions have been conducted among Mexican immigrants residing in the U.S. for an extended time period. Far less is known about the cumulative and intersecting effects of these conditions among a diverse group of recent Latino/a immigrants (RLIs) or how cultural factors such …

“This Isn’T Just Busy, This Is Scary”: Stress, Social Support, And Coping Experiences Of Frontline Nurses During The Covid-19 Pandemic, Erin S. Craw, Tess M. Buckley, Michelle Miller-Day

Communication Faculty Articles and Research

Despite having previous experience and extensive trauma training, the COVID-19 pandemic presented unprecedented challenges for nurses working in hospital settings. During the pandemic, nurses struggle to care for patients and protect themselves from infection, while navigating ongoing organizational changes. Guided by prior literature on social support and coping, this study explores nurses’ experiences of coping with stress while treating COVID-19 patients during the pandemic. In-depth semi-structured interviews were conducted with 14 active staff nurses working in hospitals and one licensed practical nurse (LPN) at a rehabilitation center who treated COVID-19 patients during the pandemic. An inductive thematic analysis was employed …

Effects Of Positive And Negative Emotion On Picture Naming For People With Mild To Moderate Aphasia: A Preliminary Investigation, Tyson G. Harmon, Courtney Nielsen, Corinne Loveridge, Camille Williams

Faculty Publications

Purpose: To investigate how emotional arousal and valence affect confrontational naming accuracy and response time in people with mild to moderate aphasia compared with adults without aphasia. We hypothesized that negative and positive emotions would facilitate naming for people with aphasia but lead to slower responses for adults with no aphasia.

Method: Eight participants with mild to moderate aphasia, 15 older adults, and 17 young adults completed a confrontational naming task across three conditions (positive, negative, neutral) in an ABA case series design. Immediately following each naming condition, participants self-reported their perceived arousal and pleasure. Accuracy and response time were …

Nanorings To Probe Mechanical Stress Of Single-Stranded Dna Mediated By The Dna Duplex, Karen Zagorski, Tommy Stormberg, Mohtadin Hashemi, Anatoly B. Kolomeisky, Yuri L. Lyubchenko

Journal Articles: Pharmaceutical Sciences

The interplay between the mechanical properties of double-stranded and single-stranded DNA is a phenomenon that contributes to various genetic processes in which both types of DNA structures coexist. Highly stiff DNA duplexes can stretch single-stranded DNA (ssDNA) segments between the duplexes in a topologically constrained domain. To evaluate such an effect, we designed short DNA nanorings in which a DNA duplex with 160 bp is connected by a 30 nt single-stranded DNA segment. The stretching effect of the duplex in such a DNA construct can lead to the elongation of ssDNA, and this effect can be measured directly using atomic …

Sex Differences In Cognitive Flexibility Are Driven By The Estrous Cycle And Stress-Dependent, Andrew T. Gargiulo, Jiayin Hu, Isabella C. Ravaglia, Annie Hawks, Xinyue Li, Katherine Sweasy, Laura A. Grafe

Psychology Faculty Research and Scholarship

Stress is associated with psychiatric disorders such as post-traumatic stress disorder, major depressive disorder, anxiety disorders, and panic disorders. Women are more likely to be diagnosed with these stress-related psychiatric disorders than men. A key phenotype in stress-related psychiatric disorders is impairment in cognitive flexibility, which is the ability to develop new strategies to respond to different patterns in the environment. Because gonadal hormones can contribute to sex differences in response to stress, it is important to consider where females are in their cycle when exposed to stress and cognitive flexibility testing. Moreover, identifying neural correlates involved in cognitive flexibility …

Shifting The Focus Of Mental Health Onto Graduate Students, Rosanna Jaramillo

Graduate Research Showcase

The transition from undergraduate to graduate school has the potential to increase demands among students surrounding coursework as well as fiscal responsibilities. The increased demand has the potential to alter the student’s physical activity which can negatively affect mental health. Physical exercise has the potential to reduce depression as well as negative mood symptoms, such as stress. Exercising also allows for boosting energy, improvement of sleep quality, and relaxation quality. The purpose of this research study was to examine the mental health of the graduate participants prior and after a two-week exercise regimen. The presented study focused on a two-week …

Cognitive Load Effect On Moral Decision Making, Elise Crause, Liz Eisenga, Caroline Hopper, Merry Bailey

Science University Research Symposium (SURS)

Cognitive Load Effect on Moral Decision Making

Elise Crause, Merry Bailey, Liz Eisenga, Caroline Hopper

Choices are made each day to determine the outcome of our lives. To better understand the human process of decision making, philosophers and psychologists have examined moral dilemmas. Cognitive load is a type of stress that alters decision-making and the likelihood of choosing a self-motivated behavior over a behavior that benefits another person or group. For this study, moral dilemmas were given in sets of two before and after a cognitive-load-inducing task. The cognitive-load-inducing task required participants to verbally answer subtraction problems until the answer …

Building Resilience In Undergraduate Nursing Students: Evaluation Of Changing Minds, Changing Lives, Rebecca Liljestrand

Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) Projects

Background: Undergraduate nursing students report experiencing high levels of stress, which may negatively affect academic, personal, and professional outcomes. Resilience has been found to mitigate the effects of high, prolonged stress. Specifically, nursing students who engaged in a program to enhance resilience had positive outcomes related to themselves, others, and their nursing program.

Purpose: The purpose of this project was to implement and evaluate the feasibility, acceptability, and value of an evidence-based resilience program, Changing Minds, Changing Lives, designed to reduce nursing student stress levels by building resilience and increasing use of positive coping strategies.

Methods: Junior baccalaureate nursing …

Changing Minds, Changing Lives: Increasing Resilience In Undergraduate Nursing Students Through The Implementation Of A Resilience Educational Intervention Program, Jennifer Rivera-Perez

Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) Projects

Background: Nursing students suffer from high levels of stress and psychological distress, especially those with histories of childhood adversity. The COVID-19 pandemic has been an additional source of stress on students. Students who suffer from psychological distress are at greater risk of engaging in maladaptive behaviors that may lead to physical and psychological conditions. Despite this data, college campuses lack resilience intervention programs, which have been shown to reduce psychological distress, perceived stress, and increase resilience. Purpose: The purpose of this Quality Improvement project was to implement a well-established evidence-based resilience program for nursing students, and to evaluate the feasibility …

Mental Health And Online Learning - Systematic Review Dataset, Stephanie L. Moore Phd, George Veletsianos, Michael Barbour

University Libraries & Learning Sciences Faculty and Staff Publications

While there has been a lot of debate over the impact of online and remote learning on mental health and well-being, there has been no systematic syntheses or reviews of the research on this particular issue. In this paper, we review the research on the relationship between mental health / well-being and online or remote learning. Our review shows that little scholarship existed prior to 2020 with most studies conducted during the COVID-19 pandemic. We report four findings: (a) pandemic effects are not well-controlled for in most studies; (b) studies present a very mixed picture, with variability around how mental …

The Flourishing Trainee: Operationalizing Self-Care Education In Clinical Psychology Training Programs, Bonnie B. Zinn

Antioch University Full-Text Dissertations & Theses

Evidence suggests that clinical psychology trainees may be vulnerable to stress, vicarious traumatization, secondary traumatic stress, compassion fatigue, and burnout. Research also indicates that engaging in self-care may help to protect clinical psychology trainees against those experiences and enhance their well-being. However, best available research suggests self-care education is not consistently incorporated into clinical psychology training or prioritized by program directors. This study provided a systematic review of existing literature on self-care for clinical psychology trainees, utilizing reflexive thematic analysis to identify the essential skills, knowledge, and attitudes of self-care which should be taught to trainees, and how to operationalize …

Saliva Cortisol In Girls With Functional Abdominal Pain Disorders: A Randomized Controlled Dance And Yoga Intervention, Elin Areskog Sandberg, Anna Duberg, Ulrika Lorenzon Fagerberg, Evalotte Morelius, Stefan Särnblad

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

Introduction: Functional abdominal pain disorders (FAPDs) are common among girls and has been associated with stress. Cortisol is one of the major stress hormones. Dance and yoga have been shown to reduce abdominal pain among girls with FAPDs. Aim: To investigate the effect of an 8-month intervention with dance and yoga on cortisol levels in saliva among girls with FAPDs. Methods: A total of 121 girls aged 9–13 years with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) or functional abdominal pain were included in the study. Participants were randomized into an intervention group and a control group. The intervention group attended a combined …

Family Structure And Maternal Depressive Symptoms: A Cross-National Comparison Of Australia, The United Kingdom, And The United States, Kirsten Rasmussen, Elizabeth K. Sigler, Sadie A. Slighting, Jonathan A. Jarvis, Mikaela J. Dufur, Shana Pribesh

Educational Foundations & Leadership Faculty Publications

The purpose of this study is to understand the relationship between family structure and maternal depressive symptoms (MDS) in Australia, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Family structures that involve transitions across life's course, such as divorce, can alter access to resources and introduce new stressors into family systems. Using the stress process model, we examine the links between family structure, stress, resources, and MDS. Using nationally representative data from Australia, the United Kingdom, and the United States and cross-sectional models for each country, we find that family structure may influence MDS differently in the UK than it does …

Higher Consumption Of Fruit And Vegetables Is Associated With Lower Worries, Tension And Lack Of Joy Across The Lifespan, Simone Radavelli-Bagatini, Marc Sim, Lauren C. Blekkenhorst, Nicola P. Bondonno, Catherine P. Bondonno, Richard Woodman, Joanne M. Dickson, Craig Harms, Dianna J. Magliano, Jonathan E. Shaw, Robin M. Daly, Jonathan M. Hodgson, Joshua Lewis

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

Background and Aims: Higher total fruit and vegetable (FV) intakes have been
associated with lower perceived stress. However, the relationship of FV intake with domains of perceived stress is unclear. The aim of this cross-sectional study was to explore the relationship between consumption of FV and four perceived stress domains (worries, tension, lack of joy and demands) in a population-based cohort of Australian adults.

Methods: Participants (n = 8,640) were men and women aged ≥ 25 years from
the Australian Diabetes, Obesity and Lifestyle (AusDiab) Study. Dietary intake was assessed using a 74-item validated Food Frequency Questionnaire. Perceived stress domains …