Stress Resources

Sex and gender role differences on stress, depression, and anxiety symptoms in response to the COVID-19 pandemic over time

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IntroductionStress, depression, and anxiety symptoms have been reported during the pandemic, with important inter-individual differences. Past cross-sectional studies have found that sex and gender roles may contribute to the modulation of one’s vulnerability to develop such symptoms. This longitudinal study aimed to examine the interaction of sex and psychological gender roles on stress, depression, and anxiety symptoms in adults during the COVID-19 pandemic.MethodsFollowing the confinement measures in March 2020 in Montreal, stress, depression, and anxiety symptoms were assessed every 3 months (from June 2020 to March 2021) with the Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scale among 103 females and 50 males. Femininity and masculinity scores were assessed with the Bem Sex Role Inventory before the pandemic and were added as predictors along with time, sex, and the interactions between these variables using linear mixed models.ResultsWe observed similar levels of depressive symptoms between males and females, but higher levels of stress and anxious symptoms in females. No effects of sex and gender roles on depressive symptoms were found. For stress and anxiety, an interaction between time, femininity, and sex was found. At the beginning of the pandemic, females with high femininity had more stress symptoms than males with high femininity, whereas females with low femininity had more anxiety symptoms 1 year after the confinement measures compared to males with low femininity.DiscussionThese findings suggest that sex differences and psychological gender roles contribute to heterogeneous patterns of stress and anxiety symptoms over time in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

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Anxiety, depressive symptoms, and distress over the course of the war in Ukraine in three federal states in Germany

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The Russian invasion of Ukraine and the resulting consequences are in the center of political discussions, media, and likely individual thinking of the population in Germany. Yet, the impact of this prolonged exposure on mental health is not known hitherto. Using the population based cohort study DigiHero from three federal states (Saxony-Anhalt, Saxony, and Bavaria),

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The hell of somniphobia: ‘On a bad night I get zero to two hours’ sleep’

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The fear of falling asleep can have many causes, from trauma to sleep apnea, and the effects are debilitating. But there are effective treatmentsWhen Elizabeth Johnson tries to fall asleep, anxiety often takes over. After going to bed, she starts to relax, but feels as though she is losing control. “Instead of continuing,” she says, “I get a sense of panic, a shot of adrenaline and I’m fully awake again.” She is describing what it is like to have somniphobia – the fear of falling asleep. “Then I have to do the whole process of trying to sleep again, or give up for the night.”Johnson, 38, from Kansas, has had trouble sleeping and staying asleep since she was seven. It started out as insomnia and a fear of not sleeping, progressing by 12 to a fear of sleep itself. As a young child, she recalls, it was a case of, “When you get to a place where you can mentally fall asleep, you’re scared that it’s not going to happen this time. Or you’re scared that you’re going to have nightmares. And then, later, there was another layer of being afraid to fall asleep: because you’re no longer aware of what’s going on, so you’re not safe.” Continue reading…

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Prenatal maternal stress, child internalizing and externalizing symptoms, and the moderating role of parenting: findings from the Norwegian mother, father, and child cohort study

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Background
Few studies have examined how parenting influences the associations between prenatal maternal stress and children’s mental health. The objectives of this study were to examine the sex-specific associations between prenatal maternal stress and child internalizing and externalizing symptoms, and to assess the moderating effects of parenting behaviors on these associations.

Methods
This study is based on 15 963 mother–child dyads from the Norwegian Mother, Father, and Child Cohort Study (MoBa). A broad measure of prenatal maternal stress was constructed using 41 self-reported items measured during pregnancy. Three parenting behaviors (positive parenting, inconsistent discipline, and positive involvement) were assessed by maternal report at child age 5 years. Child symptoms of internalizing and externalizing disorders (depression, anxiety, attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, conduct disorder, and oppositional-defiant disorder) were assessed by maternal report at age 8. Analyses were conducted using structural equation modeling techniques.

Results
Prenatal maternal stress was associated with child internalizing and externalizing symptoms at age 8; associations with externalizing symptoms differed by sex. Associations between prenatal maternal stress and child depression, and conduct disorder and oppositional-defiant disorder in males, became stronger as levels of inconsistent discipline increased. Associations between prenatal maternal stress and symptoms of attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder in females were attenuated as levels of parental involvement increased.

Conclusions
This study confirms associations between prenatal maternal stress and children’s mental health outcomes, and demonstrates that these associations may be modified by parenting behaviors. Parenting may represent an important intervention target for improving mental health outcomes in children exposed to prenatal stress.

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Online group music therapy: proactive management of undergraduate students’ stress and anxiety

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In alignment with the World Health Organization’s (WHO) goal to provide comprehensive and integrated mental health services in community-based settings, this randomized control trial explored the efficacy of online group music therapy as a proactive intervention for reducing stress and anxiety in university students who do not necessarily have a diagnosis. …

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Lessons in Stress Reduction

Leave a Comment / Anxiety and COVID-19, Anxiety News, Anxiety Resources, Anxiety Self-Help, Anxiety Treatment, Fear Treatment, News, Social Anxiety Resources, Stress Resources /

A new free online course has been launched to try and reduce the stress of the nation during the Covid-19 pandemic. Members of the Irish Society of Alexander Technique Teachers (ISATT) are to offer hundreds of hours of free training online to help people deal with the tidal wave of stress caused by Covid. ISATT […]

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Tracking perceived stress, anxiety, and depression in daily life: a double-downward spiral process

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IntroductionPrevious studies using retrospective questionnaires have suggested a complex relationship between perceived stress and related negative emotions and emphasized their importance in mental health. However, how daily perceived stress, anxiety, and depression interact dynamically in a natural context remains largely unexplored.MethodsThis study conducted a longitudinal survey that applied experience sampling methodology to data from 141 Chinese college students (58% women, mean age = 20.1 ± 1.63 years).ResultsThe hierarchical linear models confirmed that daily perceived stress and negative emotions (i.e., perceived depression and anxiety) could reciprocally reinforce one another with the characteristic dynamics of a cognitive–emotional downward spiral. Additionally, anxiety and depression could further circularly aggravate each other imminently. These two intertwined downward-spiral processes constitute a double-downward-spiral model.DiscussionThe findings contribute to a better understanding of the interactive mechanisms underlying perceived stress and its related negative emotions in everyday life and highlight the significance of early emotion regulation and stress relief in healthy people.

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Postpartum people’s experiences of and responses to the COVID-19 pandemic during the first year of the pandemic: A descriptive qualitative study

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Women’s Health, Volume 19, Issue , January-December 2023. Background:Most evidence on the impact of pandemic on perinatal population’s experiences has reported such effects in a portion of the pandemic.Objectives:The aim of this study was to understand the postpartum people’s experiences of and responses to the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic during the first year and to identify their health care needs.Design:This is a descriptive qualitative study.Methods:This study was conducted in British Columbia, Canada, between March 2020 and April 2021. Participants (N = 268) were at 4 months postpartum and were recruited as part of the Pregnancy Specific Anxiety Tool study through prenatal care clinics and classes, community laboratory services and social media. Qualitative data were obtained using six online open-ended questions and were analysed using thematic analysis.Results:Findings were grouped under five central themes: protecting baby (with three categories including hypervigilance, constant decision-making to find balance and developmental issues); psychological adjustments (with three categories including coping, anxiety and grief); experience of isolation and lack/loss of support (with two categories including isolation and loss of expected support); unexpected interruptions and life events (with four categories including interrupted maternity leave, unexpected changes/life events, positive impacts and interruption in health care services); and perceived postpartum care needs (with five categories including in-person visits, allowing support persons, providing information/education/support groups, mental health and social support and pro-active check-ins).Conclusion:Several impacts of the pandemic persisted throughout the first year, particularly isolation and lack of support. These findings can inform responsive health care services to address the emerging needs of postpartum people throughout the pandemic.

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