The Handbook of Women, Stress and Trauma focuses on the stresses and traumas that are unique to the lives of women. It is the first text to merge research from the fields of trauma and women's health ...and development. Using a lifespan developmental approach, the text begins by addressing specific issues women face in their lives, drawing upon theories of development and exploring how women's relationships with others buffer - or sometimes cause - stress and trauma. Combining aspects of female development with empirical data from the fields of women's health, family violence and stress and coping, this volume helps sensitive care providers to the specific needs of women exposed to traumatic events.
An expanded and revised edition of the first social work text to focus specifically on trauma, this comprehensive anthology incorporates the latest research in trauma theory and clinical ...applications. It features coverage of the experiences of historically disenfranchised, marginalized, oppressed, and vulnerable groups.
The leading clinical reference and text on stress management has now been significantly revised with 60% new material reflecting key developments in the field. Foremost experts review the "whats," ..."whys," and "how-tos" of progressive relaxation, biofeedback, meditation, hypnosis, cognitive methods, and other therapies. Chapters describe each method's theoretical foundations, evidence base, procedures, applications, and contraindications. Assessment and implementation are illustrated with extensive case examples. The volume examines the effects of stress on both mind and body, from basic science to practical implications for everyday life and health care. New to This Edition *Greatly expanded evidence base--every method is now supported by controlled clinical research. *Advances in knowledge about stress and the brain are integrated throughout. *Chapter on children and adolescents. *Chapter on selecting the best methods for individual patients. *Chapter on hyperventilation and carbon dioxide biofeedback. *Chapter on neuroinflammation.
Taking both a historical and contemporary perspective, the book covers the extent of and manner in which traumatic stress manifests, including the way in which exposure to such extremely threatening ...events impacts on people’s meaning and belief systems. Therapeutic and community strategies for addressing and healing the effects of trauma exposure are comprehensively covered, as well as the particular needs of traumatised children and adolescents. Illustrative case material is used to render ideas accessible and engaging. The book also provides a comprehensive and up-to-date overview of theory and practice in the field of traumatic stress studies, incorporating both international and South African specific findings.
As journalists in Iraq and other hot spots around the world continue to face harrowing dangers and personal threats, neuropsychiatrist Anthony Feinstein offers a timely and important exploration into ...the psychological damage of those who, armed only with pen, tape recorder, or camera, bear witness to horror. Based on a series of recent studies investigating the emotional impact of war on the profession, Journalists under Fire breaks new ground in the study of trauma-related disorders.
Feinstein opens with an overview of the life-threatening hazards war reporters face—abductions, mock executions, the deaths of close colleagues—and discusses their psychological consequences: post-traumatic stress disorder, depression, deterioration of personal relationships, and substance abuse. In recounting the experiences of reporters who encounter trauma on the job, Feinstein observes that few adequate support systems are in place for them. He tells the stories of media veterans who have seen it all, only to find themselves and their employers blindsided by psychological aftershocks.
The book explores the biological and psychological factors that motivate journalists to take extraordinary risks. Feinstein looks into the psyches of freelancers who wade into war zones with little or no financial backing; he examines the different stresses encountered by women working in a historically male-dominated profession; and he probes the effects of the September 11 attacks on reporters who thought they had sworn off conflict reporting. His interviews with many of this generation's greatest reporters, photographers, and videographers often reveal extraordinary resilience in the face of adversity.
Journalists under Fire is a look behind the public persona of war journalists at a time when the profession faces unprecedented risk. Plucking common threads from disparate stories, Feinstein weaves a narrative that is as fascinating to read as it is sobering to contemplate. What emerges are unique insights into lives lived dangerously.
Although it has long been recognized that what we eat and how we deal with stress play a major role in disease prevention and treatment, it is only recently that the scientific basis of this ...relationship has been aggressively studied. In Nutrients, Stress, and Medical Disorders, prominent researchers from academia, industry, and medicine survey current clinical findings on the complex interactions between diet, mental health, and stress, and their impact on disease states. The authors consider specific nutrients (fatty acids, glucocorticoids, herbal products, and alcohol), the effects of food, and stress, taking into account even environmental influences other than diet and their effects on stress and central nervous system functions. They give special attention to the influence of stress on physical health, mental health, and cognitive function, including the critical effects of maternal nutritional status and stress levels on fetal physical and mental development, the role of lipids in the development and treatment of depression, the role of fish oil in the development of aggressive behaviors, and the consequences of obesity on stress and the development of eating disorders. Additional chapters examine the effects of stress on chronic disorders, women, and cardiac function, and the influence of inflammation on diet, neurological functions, disease incidence, and cognitive functions. Authoritative and up-to-date, Nutrients, Stress, and Medical Disorders offers health professionals in many areas of research and practice not only an easy-to-understand benchmark review of the importance of nutrition in reducing stress-related chronic diseases and optimizing health, but also insight into exciting possibilities for drug development, the design of therapeutic programs, and future research opportunities.
Introduction
Prenatal maternal distress has a negative impact on the course of pregnancy, fetal development, offspring development, and later psychopathologies. The study aimed to determine the ...extent to which the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID‐19) pandemic may aggravate the prenatal distress and psychiatric symptomatology of pregnant women.
Material and methods
Two cohorts of pregnant volunteer women were evaluated, one that was recruited before the COVID‐19 pandemic (n = 496) through advertisements in prenatal clinics in Quebec, Canada, from April 2018 to March 2020; the other (n = 1258) was recruited online during the pandemic from 2 April to 13 April 2020. Prenatal distress and psychiatric symptomatology were measured with the Kessler Distress Scale (K10), Post‐traumatic Checklist for DSM‐5 (PCL‐5), Dissociative Experiences Scale (DES‐II), and Positive and Negative Affect Schedule (PANAS).
Results
The 1754 pregnant women (Mage = 29.27, SD = 4.23) were between 4 and 41 gestational weeks (M = 24.80, SD = 9.42), were generally educated (91.3% had post‐high‐school training), and financially well‐resourced (85.3% were above the low‐income cut‐off). A multivariate analysis of covariance controlling for age, gestational age, household income, education, and lifetime psychiatric disorders showed a large effect size (ES) in the difference between the two cohorts on psychiatric symptoms (Wilks’ λ = 0.68, F6,1400 = 108.50, P < .001, partial η2 = 0.32). According to post‐hoc analyses of covariance, the COVID‐19 women reported higher levels of depressive and anxiety symptoms (ES = 0.57), dissociative symptoms (ES = 0.22 and ES = 0.25), symptoms of post‐traumatic stress disorder (ES = 0.19), and negative affectivity (ES = 0.96), and less positive affectivity (ES = 0.95) than the pre‐COVID‐19 cohort. Women from the COVID‐19 cohort were more likely than pre‐COVID‐19 women to present clinically significant levels of depressive and anxiety symptoms (OR = 1.94, χ21 = 10.05, P = .002). Multiple regression analyses indicated that pregnant women in the COVID‐19 cohort having a previous psychiatric diagnosis or low income would be more prone to elevated distress and psychiatric symptoms.
Conclusions
Pregnant women assessed during the COVID‐19 pandemic reported more distress and psychiatric symptoms than pregnant women assessed before the pandemic, mainly in the form of depression and anxiety symptoms. Given the harmful consequences of prenatal distress on mothers and offspring, the presently observed upsurge of symptoms in pregnant women calls for special means of clinical surveillance.
Purpose
Health care professionals, particularly nurses, are considered a vulnerable group to experience acute stress disorder (ASD) and subsequent psychological distress amid COVID‐19 pandemic. This ...study aims to establish the prevalence of acute stress disorder and predictors of psychological distress among Jordanian nurses.
Methods
A quantitative, cross‐sectional, descriptive and comparative design was used. Data were collected using a Web‐based survey. A total of 448 Jordanian nurses (73% females) completed and returned the study questionnaire.
Results
The majority of nurses (64%) are experiencing ASD due to the COVID‐19 pandemic and thus are at risk for PTSD predisposition. More than one‐third of nurses (41%) are also suffering significant psychological distress. Among our sample, age, ASD and coping self‐efficacy significantly predicted psychological distress. More specifically, younger nurses are more prone to experience psychological distress than older ones. While higher scores on ASD showed more resultant psychological distress, coping self‐efficacy was a protective factor.
Conclusion
Given that individuals who suffer from ASD are predisposed to PTSD, follow‐up with nurses to screen for PTSD and referral to appropriate psychological services is pivotal. Coping self‐efficacy is found to ameliorate the effect of psychological distress on nurses' traumatic experience. Such findings warrant intensive efforts from health care institutions to provide psychosocial support services for nurses and ongoing efforts to screen them for traumatic and psychological distress symptoms.
Implications for Nursing Management
Nursing leaders and managers are in the forefront of responding to the unique needs of their workforces during the COVID‐19 crisis. They need to implement stress‐reduction strategies for nurses through providing consecutive rest days, rotating allocations of complex patients, arranging support services and being accessible to staff. They also need to ensure nurses' personal safety through securing and providing personal safety measures and undertake briefings to ensure their staff's physical and mental well‐being, as well as providing referrals to appropriate psychological services.
The phytohormone cytokinin was originally discovered as a regulator of cell division. Later, it was described to be involved in regulating numerous processes in plant growth and development including ...meristem activity, tissue patterning, and organ size. More recently, diverse functions for cytokinin in the response to abiotic and biotic stresses have been reported. Cytokinin is required for the defence against high light stress and to protect plants from a novel type of abiotic stress caused by an altered photoperiod. Additionally, cytokinin has a role in the response to temperature, drought, osmotic, salt, and nutrient stress. Similarly, the full response to certain plant pathogens and herbivores requires a functional cytokinin signalling pathway. Conversely, different types of stress impact cytokinin homeostasis. The diverse functions of cytokinin in responses to stress and crosstalk with other hormones are described. Its emerging roles as a priming agent and as a regulator of growth‐defence trade‐offs are discussed.
This review describes the numerous functions of cytokinin in the defence against abiotic and biotic stresses, highlighting signalling pathways responding to light stress, drought, or pathogen attack. The role of cytokinin in priming and regulating growth‐defence trade‐off is addressed as well.
•A significant reduction in psychological impact 4 weeks after COVID outbreak.•The mean scores of respondents in both surveys were above PTSD cut-offs.•Female gender, physical symptoms associated ...with a higher psychological impact.•Hand hygiene, mask-wearing & confidence in doctors reduced psychological impact.•Online trauma-focused psychotherapy may be helpful to public during COVID-19.
In addition to being a public physical health emergency, Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) affected global mental health, as evidenced by panic-buying worldwide as cases soared. Little is known about changes in levels of psychological impact, stress, anxiety and depression during this pandemic. This longitudinal study surveyed the general population twice - during the initial outbreak, and the epidemic's peak four weeks later, surveying demographics, symptoms, knowledge, concerns, and precautionary measures against COVID-19. There were 1738 respondents from 190 Chinese cities (1210 first-survey respondents, 861 s-survey respondents; 333 respondents participated in both). Psychological impact and mental health status were assessed by the Impact of Event Scale-Revised (IES-R) and the Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scale (DASS-21), respectively. IES-R measures PTSD symptoms in survivorship after an event. DASS -21 is based on tripartite model of psychopathology that comprise a general distress construct with distinct characteristics. This study found that there was a statistically significant longitudinal reduction in mean IES-R scores (from 32.98 to 30.76, p < 0.01) after 4 weeks. Nevertheless, the mean IES-R score of the first- and second-survey respondents were above the cut-off scores (>24) for PTSD symptoms, suggesting that the reduction in scores was not clinically significant. During the initial evaluation, moderate-to-severe stress, anxiety and depression were noted in 8.1%, 28.8% and 16.5%, respectively and there were no significant longitudinal changes in stress, anxiety and depression levels (p > 0.05). Protective factors included high level of confidence in doctors, perceived survival likelihood and low risk of contracting COVID-19, satisfaction with health information, personal precautionary measures. As countries around the world brace for an escalation in cases, Governments should focus on effective methods of disseminating unbiased COVID-19 knowledge, teaching correct containment methods, ensuring availability of essential services/commodities, and providing sufficient financial support.
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