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Students’ emotional well-being and religiosity during the COVID-19 pandemic- an international study in 7 countries
- K. H. Karakula, A. Forma, R. Sitarz, J. Baj, D. Juchnowicz, J. Bogucki, W. Tuszyńska-Bogucka, M. L. Tee, C. A. Tee, J. T. Ly-Uson, M. S. Islam, M. T. Sikder, A. H. El-Monshed, A. Loutfy, M. F. Hussain Qureshi, M. Abbas, S. Taseen, M. Lakhani, S. Jayakumar, S. Ilango, S. Kumar, Á. A. Ruiz-Chow, A. Iturbide, D. D. González-Mille, H. Karakula-Juchnowicz
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- Journal:
- European Psychiatry / Volume 66 / Issue S1 / March 2023
- Published online by Cambridge University Press:
- 19 July 2023, p. S406
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Introduction
There are no conclusive findings about the possible protective role of religion on students’ mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic. Therefore, more research is needed.
ObjectivesThe purpose of this study was to assess the relationship between the level of emotional distress and religiosity among students from 7 different countries during the COVID-19 pandemic.
MethodsData were collected by an online cross-sectional survey that was distributed amongst Polish (N = 1196), Bengali (N = 1537), Indian (N = 483), Mexican (N = 231), Egyptian (N = 565), Philippine (N = 2062), and Pakistani (N = 506) students (N = 6642) from 12th April to 1st June 2021. The respondents were asked several questions regarding their religiosity which was measured by The Duke University Religion Index (DUREL), the emotional distress was measured by the Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Scale-21 (DASS-21).
ResultsEgypt with Islam as the dominant religion showed the greatest temple attendance (organizational religious activity: M=5.27±1.36) and spirituality (intrinsic religiosity: M=5.27±1.36), p<0.0001. On another hand, Egyptian students had the lowest emotional distress measured in all categories DASS-21 (depression: M=4.87±10.17, anxiety: M=4.78±10.13, stress: M=20.76±11.46). Two countries with the dominant Christian religion achieved the highest score for private religious activities (non-organizational religious activity; Mexico: M=3.94±0.94, Poland: M=3.63±1.20; p<0.0001) and experienced a moderate level of depressive symptoms, anxiety, and stress. Students from Mexico presented the lowest attendance to church (M=2.46±1,39) and spirituality (M=6.68± 3.41) and had the second highest level of depressive symptoms (M=19.13±13.03) and stress (M=20.27±1.98). Philippines students had the highest DASS-21 score (depression: M=22.77±12.58, anxiety: M=16.07±10.77, stress: M=4.87±10.08) and their level of religiosity reached average values in the whole group. The performed regression analysis confirmed the importance of the 3 dimensions (organizational religious activity, non-organizational religious activity, intrinsic religiosity) of religiosity for the well-being of students, except for the relationship between anxiety and private religious activities. The result was as presented for depression: R2=0.0398, F(3.664)=91.764, p<0.0001, SE of E: 12.88; anxiety: R2=0.0124, F(3.664)=27.683, p<0.0001, SE of E: 10,62; stress: R2= 0.0350, F(3.664)=80.363, p<0.0001, SE of E: 12.30.
ConclusionsThe higher commitment to organizational religious activity, non-organizational religious activity, and intrinsic religiositywas correlated with the lower level of depressive symptoms, stress, and anxiety among students during the COVID-19 pandemic, but taking into account factors related to religiosity explains the level of emotional well-being to a small extent.
Disclosure of InterestNone Declared
Facing the COVID-19 pandemic – an assessment of students’ mental health and major coping strategies during the COVID-19 pandemic – an international study
- A. A. Forma, K. H. Karakuła, R. Sitarz, D. Juchnowicz, J. Baj, J. Bogucki, J. Rog, M. L. Tee, C. A. Tee, J. T. Ly-Uson, M. S. Islam, M. T. Sikder, A. H. El-Monshed, A. Loutfy, M. F. H. Qureshi, M. Abbas, S. Taseen, M. Lakhani, C. Wang, X. Wan, Y. Tan, R. Pan, R. Ho, S. Jayakumar, S. Ilango, S. Kumar K, Á. A. Ruiz-Chow, A. Iturbide, D. D. González-Mille, L. P. Doan, H. Karakuła-Juchnowicz
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- Journal:
- European Psychiatry / Volume 66 / Issue S1 / March 2023
- Published online by Cambridge University Press:
- 19 July 2023, pp. S152-S153
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Introduction
TDuring COVID-19 pandemic, it was noticed that it was students who were mostly affected by the changes that aroused because of the pandemic. The interesting part is whether students’ well-being could be associated with their fields of study as well as coping strategies.
ObjectivesIn this study, we aimed to assess 1) the mental health of students from nine countries with a particular focus on depression, anxiety, and stress levels and their fields of study, 2) the major coping strategies of students after one year of the COVID-19 pandemic.
MethodsWe conducted an anonymous online cross-sectional survey on 12th April – 1st June 2021 that was distributed among the students from Poland, Mexico, Egypt, India, Pakistan, China, Vietnam, Philippines, and Bangladesh. To measure the emotional distress, we used the Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Scale-21 (DASS-21), and to identify the major coping strategies of students - the Brief-COPE.
ResultsWe gathered 7219 responses from students studying five major studies: medical studies (N=2821), social sciences (N=1471), technical sciences (N=891), artistic/humanistic studies (N=1094), sciences (N=942). The greatest intensity of depression (M=18.29±13.83; moderate intensity), anxiety (M=13.13±11.37; moderate intensity ), and stress (M=17.86±12.94; mild intensity) was observed among sciences students. Medical students presented the lowest intensity of all three components - depression (M=13.31±12.45; mild intensity), anxiety (M=10.37±10.57; moderate intensity), and stress (M=13.65±11.94; mild intensity). Students of all fields primarily used acceptance and self-distraction as their coping mechanisms, while the least commonly used were self-blame, denial, and substance use. The group of coping mechanisms the most frequently used was ‘emotional focus’. Medical students statistically less often used avoidant coping strategies compared to other fields of study. Substance use was only one coping mechanism that did not statistically differ between students of different fields of study. Behavioral disengagement presented the highest correlation with depression (r=0.54), anxiety (r=0.48), and stress (r=0.47) while religion presented the lowest positive correlation with depression (r=0.07), anxiety (r=0.14), and stress (r=0.11).
Conclusions1) The greatest intensity of depression, anxiety, and stress was observed among sciences students, while the lowest intensity of those components was found among students studying medicine.
2) Not using avoidant coping strategies might be associated with lower intensity of all DASS components among students.
3) Behavioral disengagement might be strongly associated with greater intensity of depression, anxiety, and stress among students.
4) There was no coping mechanism that provided the alleviation of emotional distress in all the fields of studies of students.
Disclosure of InterestNone Declared
The inter-scale energy budget in a von Kármán mixing flow
- Anna N. Knutsen, Pawel Baj, John M. Lawson, Eberhard Bodenschatz, James R. Dawson, Nicholas A. Worth
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- Journal:
- Journal of Fluid Mechanics / Volume 895 / 25 July 2020
- Published online by Cambridge University Press:
- 18 May 2020, A11
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A detailed assessment of the inter-scale energy budget of the turbulent flow in a von Kármán mixing tank has been performed based on two extensive experimental data sets. Measurements were performed at a Taylor microscale Reynolds number of $Re_{\unicode[STIX]{x1D706}}=199$ in the central region of the tank, using scanning particle image velocimetry (PIV) to fully resolve the velocity gradient tensor (VGT), and stereoscopic PIV for an expanded field of view. Following a basic flow characterisation, the Kármán–Howarth–Monin–Hill equation was used to investigate the inter-scale energy transfer. Access to the full VGT enabled the contribution of the different terms of the energy budget to be evaluated without any assumptions or approximations. The scale-space distribution of the dominant terms was also reported to assess the isotropy of the energy transfer. The results show a highly anisotropic distribution of energy transfer in scale space. Energy transfer was shown in a spherically averaged sense to be dominated at the small scales by the nonlinear inter-scale transfer term. However, in contrast to flows considered in previous studies, the local energy transfer is found to depend heavily on the linear contribution associated with the mean flow. Analysis of the scale-to-scale transfer of energy also allowed direct assessment of the classical picture of the energy cascade. It was found that while the inter-scale energy cascade driven by the turbulent fluctuations always proceeds in the forward direction, the total energy cascade driven by both the turbulent fluctuations and the mean flow exhibits significant inverse cascade regions, where energy is transferred from smaller to larger scales.
Prescribing practices in psychiatric hospitals in Eastern Europe
- V. Jordanova, N.P. Maric, V. Alikaj, M. Bajs, T. Cavic, D. Iosub, A. Mihai, A. Szalontay, N. Sartorius
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- Journal:
- European Psychiatry / Volume 26 / Issue 7 / October 2011
- Published online by Cambridge University Press:
- 16 April 2020, pp. 414-418
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Background
There has been no evidence about the prescribing practices in psychiatric care in Eastern Europe.
AimsTo examine the patterns of psychotropic prescribing in five countries of Eastern Europe.
MethodWe conducted a one-day census of psychiatric treatments used in eight psychiatric hospitals in Albania, Croatia, Macedonia, Serbia and Romania. We examined clinical records and medication charts of 1304 patients.
ResultsThe use of polypharmacy was frequent across all diagnostic groups. Only 6.8% of patients were on monotherapy. The mean number of prescribed drugs was 2.8 (SD 0.97) with 26.5% receiving two drugs, 42.1% receiving three drugs and 22.1% being prescribed four or more psychotropic drugs. Typical antipsychotics were prescribed to 63% and atypical antipsychotics to 40% of patients with psychosis. Older generations of antidepressants were prescribed to 29% of patients with depression. Anxiolitic drugs were prescribed to 20.4% and benzodiazepines to 68.5% of patients. One third of patients received an anticholinergic drug on a regular basis.
ConclusionsOlder generation antipsychotics and antidepressants were used more frequently than in the countries of Western Europe. Psychotropic polypharmacy is a common practice. There is a need for adopting more evidence-based practice in psychiatric care in these countries.
Analysis of ECT indications in the hospitalized psychiatric patients
- A. Mihaljevic Peles, M. Bajs Janovic, A. Strucic, S. Janovic
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- Journal:
- European Psychiatry / Volume 41 / Issue S1 / April 2017
- Published online by Cambridge University Press:
- 23 March 2020, p. S375
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Introduction
Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) has been considered a treatment option for the treatment resistance, mania, depression, suicidality and schizophrenia. It has been still controversial due to the lack of controlled clinical trials and unknown biological basis but also because of the negative image from the history of the treatment.
ObjectiveSpecifics of the clinical judgement on when and for which patients’ indications, ECT was a treatment choice.
Aim of the study was to evaluate indications for the ECT treatment in the hospitalized psychiatric patients at the psychiatric department.
MethodFor all the patient cases in the last 7 years at the department (n = 326), data was analyzed regarding age, gender, number of hospitalizations, age of first episode, diagnose, previous treatment, leading indication for ECT and outcome after the ECT, regarding following treatment.
ResultsThe leading indication for ECT was psychosis and/or pharmacological treatment resistance, followed by suicidality. Patients with psychosis were younger than patients with other diagnoses when receiving ECT treatment. Regarding the results, indications for ECT had been partially differentiated from expected guidelines. Outcomes after the ECT were favorable in terms of better controlling the symptoms, lowering exacerbation frequency and intensity and partially, functioning.
ConclusionStudies on ECT indications and outcome could provide further insight on efficacy of the treatment, and possible improvements in clinical assessment on eligible patients who could benefit from the ECT treatment.
Disclosure of interestThe authors have not supplied their declaration of competing interest.
Depression symptom dimensions as predictors of antidepressant treatment outcome: replicable evidence for interest-activity symptoms
- R. Uher, R. H. Perlis, N. Henigsberg, A. Zobel, M. Rietschel, O. Mors, J. Hauser, M. Z. Dernovsek, D. Souery, M. Bajs, W. Maier, K. J. Aitchison, A. Farmer, P. McGuffin
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- Journal:
- Psychological Medicine / Volume 42 / Issue 5 / May 2012
- Published online by Cambridge University Press:
- 20 September 2011, pp. 967-980
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Background
Symptom dimensions have not yet been comprehensively tested as predictors of the substantial heterogeneity in outcomes of antidepressant treatment in major depressive disorder.
MethodWe tested nine symptom dimensions derived from a previously published factor analysis of depression rating scales as predictors of outcome in 811 adults with moderate to severe depression treated with flexibly dosed escitalopram or nortriptyline in Genome-based Therapeutic Drugs for Depression (GENDEP). The effects of symptom dimensions were tested in mixed-effect regression models that controlled for overall initial depression severity, age, sex and recruitment centre. Significant results were tested for replicability in 3637 adult out-patients with non-psychotic major depression treated with citalopram in level I of Sequenced Treatment Alternatives to Relieve Depression (STAR*D).
ResultsThe interest-activity symptom dimension (reflecting low interest, reduced activity, indecisiveness and lack of enjoyment) at baseline strongly predicted poor treatment outcome in GENDEP, irrespective of overall depression severity, antidepressant type and outcome measure used. The prediction of poor treatment outcome by the interest-activity dimension was robustly replicated in STAR*D, independent of a comprehensive list of baseline covariates.
ConclusionsLoss of interest, diminished activity and inability to make decisions predict poor outcome of antidepressant treatment even after adjustment for overall depression severity and other clinical covariates. The prominence of such symptoms may require additional treatment strategies and should be accounted for in future investigations of antidepressant response.
Measuring depression: comparison and integration of three scales in the GENDEP study
- R. Uher, A. Farmer, W. Maier, M. Rietschel, J. Hauser, A. Marusic, O. Mors, A. Elkin, R. J. Williamson, C. Schmael, N. Henigsberg, J. Perez, J. Mendlewicz, J. G. E. Janzing, A. Zobel, M. Skibinska, D. Kozel, A. S. Stamp, M. Bajs, A. Placentino, M. Barreto, P. McGuffin, K. J. Aitchison
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- Journal:
- Psychological Medicine / Volume 38 / Issue 2 / February 2008
- Published online by Cambridge University Press:
- 09 October 2007, pp. 289-300
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Background
A number of scales are used to estimate the severity of depression. However, differences between self-report and clinician rating, multi-dimensionality and different weighting of individual symptoms in summed scores may affect the validity of measurement. In this study we examined and integrated the psychometric properties of three commonly used rating scales.
MethodThe 17-item Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HAMD-17), the Montgomery–Asberg Depression Rating Scale (MADRS) and the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) were administered to 660 adult patients with unipolar depression in a multi-centre pharmacogenetic study. Item response theory (IRT) and factor analysis were used to evaluate their psychometric properties and estimate true depression severity, as well as to group items and derive factor scores.
ResultsThe MADRS and the BDI provide internally consistent but mutually distinct estimates of depression severity. The HAMD-17 is not internally consistent and contains several items less suitable for out-patients. Factor analyses indicated a dominant depression factor. A model comprising three dimensions, namely ‘observed mood and anxiety’, ‘cognitive’ and ‘neurovegetative’, provided a more detailed description of depression severity.
ConclusionsThe MADRS and the BDI can be recommended as complementary measures of depression severity. The three factor scores are proposed for external validation.