No description available.

Evidence has linked alterations of the endocannabinoid system with trauma exposure and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Childbirth-related PTSD symptoms (CB-PTSS) affect about every eighth woman and can negatively influence the entire family. While aetiological models of CB-PTSD include psychological risk factors such as maternal trauma history and negative subjective birth experience (SBE), they lack biological risk indicators. We investigated whether lifetime trauma and CB-PTSS were associated with long-term endocannabinoid concentrations during pregnancy. Further, we tested endocannabinoids as mediators between lifetime trauma and CB-PTSS and whether SBE moderated such mediational paths. Within the prospective cohort study DREAMHAIR, 263 expectant mothers completed trauma assessments and provided hair samples for quantification of long-term endocannabinoid levels (anandamide [AEA], 2-arachidonoylglycerol [1-AG/2-AG], and N-acyl-ethanolamides [NAE]) prior to their anticipated birth date. Two months postpartum, CB-PTSS and SBE were measured. Regression models controlling for relevant confounders showed no association between lifetime trauma and hair endocannabinoids during pregnancy, yet higher number of lifetime trauma events and lower hair AEA were significantly associated with CB-PTSS, with the latter finding not remaining significant when Bonferroni corrections due to multiple testing were applied. While hair AEA did not mediate the association between lifetime trauma and CB-PTSS, the effect of lower hair AEA on CB-PTSS was stronger upon negative SBE. Results suggest greater lifetime trauma and reduced maternal hair AEA during pregnancy may be associated with increased risk for CB-PTSS, particularly upon negative SBE. Findings confirm lifetime trauma as a CB-PTSS risk factor and add important preliminary insights on the role of endocannabinoid ligand alterations and SBE in CB-PTSS pathology.

Entre dez e treze anos de idade, as crianças passam por um desenvolvimento físico e cognitivo acelerado, coincidindo com as mudanças nas relações interpessoais e uma importante transição escolar, do meio ao final do ensino fundamental. Estudos sobre esta transição investigam suas principais demandas e condições associadas. Com base na abordagem bioecológica do desenvolvimento humano, este estudo pretende investigar o impacto desse período de transição sobre o desempenho acadêmico, sintomas de estresse, habilidades sociais, autoconceito e satisfação da vida, levando em consideração o ambiente familiar (monitoramento parental e escolaridade materna), ambiente escolar (escore IDEB, tamanho da escola e local da escola) e a natureza da transição (com ou sem mudança escolar). A coleta de dados ocorreu em dois momentos: no 5º ano foram coletados dados de 415 alunos, e os dados do 6º ano foram coletados de 379 alunos (meninos e meninas). Instrumentos para avaliar o repertório infantil, o contexto de pares e familiares foram os seguintes: Prova Brasil; Escala de estresse infantil (ESI); Sistema de Avaliação de Habilidades Sociais (SSRS); Questionário para avaliação de autoconceito (SDQ1); Escala Multidimensional de Satisfação de Vida para Crianças (EMSV-C) e Questionário de Monitoramento Parental (QMP). Foram realizadas análises das qualidades psicométricas dos instrumentos, ANOVA unifatoriais, de medidas repetidas e mistas e regressões. Os resultados apontam para a diminuição do 5º para o 6º ano em indicadores positivos de funcionamento (habilidades sociais, autoconceito e satisfação com a vida) e na percepção do apoio parental, acompanhada de aumento do desempenho acadêmico e sintomas de estresse. Quanto aos grupos formados de acordo com as variáveis escolares, a família e o contexto de transição, observou-se que o Índice de Desenvolvimento da Educação Básica (IDEB) se destacou, no 5º e 6º ano, como fator associado ao desempenho, autoconceito e percepção do apoio parental. O monitoramento parental foi o fator mais associado às diferenças individuais em ambos os anos. A escolaridade materna apareceu no 6º ano como um importante fator de diferenciação, com achados atípicos em relação à literatura existente. O fator de transição foi associado a um maior número de diferenças entre os grupos no 5º ano, ao mesmo tempo em que expressou expectativas de transição, bem como a influência de trajetórias múltiplas entre o 5º e 6º ano. Os resultados das análises de regressão mostraram que o modelo proposto tinha maior poder preditivo para a leitura e realização matemática, sintomas de estresse e autoconceito, representando cerca de 30% da variância dessas variáveis no 6º ano. Para habilidades sociais, seu poder preditivo foi de 22% e para a satisfação da vida, foi ainda menor, apenas 11% da variação. Juntos, os resultados sugerem a presença de efeitos de mesossistema, com influência ativa da família no processo de transição e diversidade de desfechos, reiterando o caráter de desafio da transição ecológica que se configura na passagem do EFI ao EFII. Conclui-se, em consonância com o modelo bioecológico, que as crianças se sentem tanto melhor na transição quanto mais se percebam apoiadas por pessoas significativas no seu entorno. A transição pode ser percebida como um recomeço, uma oportunidade que as crianças têm de reescreverem sua própria história / Between 10 and 13 years of age, children go through an accelerated physical and cognitive development, coinciding with changes in interpersonal relationships and an important school transition, from middle to late years of elementary school. Studies on this transition investigate its main demands and associated conditions. Based on the bioecological approach to human development, this study aims to investigate the impact of this transition period on academic achievement, stress symptoms, social skills, self-concept and life satisfaction, taking into account the family environment (parental monitoring and maternal schooling), the school environment (IDEB score, school size and school location) and the nature of the transition (with or without school change). Data collection took place in two moments: in 5th grade data were gathered from 415 students, and in 6th grade data were gathered from 379 students (both boys and girls). Instruments to evaluate the children\'s repertoire, peer and family context were the following: Prova Brasil; Child Stress Scale (ESI); Social Skills Assessment System (SSRS); Questionnaire for Self-Concept Evaluation (SDQ1); Multidimensional Scale of Life Satisfaction for Children (EMSV-C) and Parental Monitoring Questionnaire (QMP). Analyzes were performed regarding the psychometric qualities of the instruments, followed by one way and mixed repeated measures ANOVAs and regressions. Results point to the decrease from the 5th to the 6th year in positive indicators of functioning (social skills, self-concept and life satisfaction) and in the perception of parental support, accompanied by increasing academic achievement and symptoms of stress. As for the groups formed according to school variables, the family and the transition context, it was observed that the Basic Education Development Index (IDEB) stood out, in the 5th and 6th year, as a factor associated with performance, self-concept and perception of parental support. Parental monitoring was the factor most associated with individual differences in both years. The level of maternal schooling appeared in the 6th year as an important factor of differentiation, with atypical findings in relation to the existing literature. The transition factor was associated with a higher number of differences between groups in the 5th year, while it also expressed transition expectations, as well as the influence of multiple trajectories between the 5th and 6th grades. The results of regression analyses showed that the proposed model had greater predictive power for reading and mathematical achievement, stress symptoms and self-concept, accounting for about 30% of the variance of these variables in the 6th year. For social skills, its predictive power was 22% and for life satisfaction, it was even lower, accounting for only 11% of the variation. Together, results suggest the presence of mesosystem effects, with an active influence of the family in the transition process and its diverse outcomes, reconfiguring the transition from EFI to EFII as ecological in nature. One can conclude, in line with the bioecological model, that children perform and feel better in transition tasks when they perceive active support from significant people in their environment. Under appropriate support and guidance, the transition can be perceived as a fresh start, an opportunity for children to rewrite their own story

<p>This is to my knowledge the first time a ten-year follow-up study of salivary cortisol concentrations measured by immunoassays in relation to posttraumatic symptoms according to the Impact of Event Scale (IES) is made. The study was performed on 78 Swedish UN soldiers after a 6-months mission in the former republic of Yugoslavia. Follow-up investigations were performed six months, twelve months and ten years after their return to Sweden. Morning and evening salivary cortisol concentrations were determined by radioimmunoassay (RIA) and enzyme-linked immunoassay (EIA) and subjective posttraumatic avoidance and intrusion symptoms were measured with the IES (see Appendix I).</p><p> </p><p>This study concerns the methodological description of the EIA for determination of salivary cortisol and the comparison of the results from all three follow-up investigations. Post-traumatic stress symptoms according to IES (intrusion subscale and total score) increased significantly over ten years of time. There was an significant interrelationship between the change in both morning and evening salivary cortisol concentrations, measured with immunoassays, and changes in self-rated posttraumatic intrusive symptoms, according to IES, during ten years follow-up, after a six months mission in Bosnia in the way that salivary cortisol concentrations showed a tendency to decrease over ten years of time in subjects with a higher IES score. The rise in morning salivary cortisol, from awakening until 30 minutes later, was significantly correlated with the ratings of posttraumatic stress symptoms according to the IES ten years after the mission.   </p>

This is to my knowledge the first time a ten-year follow-up study of salivary cortisol concentrations measured by immunoassays in relation to posttraumatic symptoms according to the Impact of Event Scale (IES) is made. The study was performed on 78 Swedish UN soldiers after a 6-months mission in the former republic of Yugoslavia. Follow-up investigations were performed six months, twelve months and ten years after their return to Sweden. Morning and evening salivary cortisol concentrations were determined by radioimmunoassay (RIA) and enzyme-linked immunoassay (EIA) and subjective posttraumatic avoidance and intrusion symptoms were measured with the IES (see Appendix I).   This study concerns the methodological description of the EIA for determination of salivary cortisol and the comparison of the results from all three follow-up investigations. Post-traumatic stress symptoms according to IES (intrusion subscale and total score) increased significantly over ten years of time. There was an significant interrelationship between the change in both morning and evening salivary cortisol concentrations, measured with immunoassays, and changes in self-rated posttraumatic intrusive symptoms, according to IES, during ten years follow-up, after a six months mission in Bosnia in the way that salivary cortisol concentrations showed a tendency to decrease over ten years of time in subjects with a higher IES score. The rise in morning salivary cortisol, from awakening until 30 minutes later, was significantly correlated with the ratings of posttraumatic stress symptoms according to the IES ten years after the mission.

Entre dez e treze anos de idade, as crianças passam por um desenvolvimento físico e cognitivo acelerado, coincidindo com as mudanças nas relações interpessoais e uma importante transição escolar, do meio ao final do ensino fundamental. Estudos sobre esta transição investigam suas principais demandas e condições associadas. Com base na abordagem bioecológica do desenvolvimento humano, este estudo pretende investigar o impacto desse período de transição sobre o desempenho acadêmico, sintomas de estresse, habilidades sociais, autoconceito e satisfação da vida, levando em consideração o ambiente familiar (monitoramento parental e escolaridade materna), ambiente escolar (escore IDEB, tamanho da escola e local da escola) e a natureza da transição (com ou sem mudança escolar). A coleta de dados ocorreu em dois momentos: no 5º ano foram coletados dados de 415 alunos, e os dados do 6º ano foram coletados de 379 alunos (meninos e meninas). Instrumentos para avaliar o repertório infantil, o contexto de pares e familiares foram os seguintes: Prova Brasil; Escala de estresse infantil (ESI); Sistema de Avaliação de Habilidades Sociais (SSRS); Questionário para avaliação de autoconceito (SDQ1); Escala Multidimensional de Satisfação de Vida para Crianças (EMSV-C) e Questionário de Monitoramento Parental (QMP). Foram realizadas análises das qualidades psicométricas dos instrumentos, ANOVA unifatoriais, de medidas repetidas e mistas e regressões. Os resultados apontam para a diminuição do 5º para o 6º ano em indicadores positivos de funcionamento (habilidades sociais, autoconceito e satisfação com a vida) e na percepção do apoio parental, acompanhada de aumento do desempenho acadêmico e sintomas de estresse. Quanto aos grupos formados de acordo com as variáveis escolares, a família e o contexto de transição, observou-se que o Índice de Desenvolvimento da Educação Básica (IDEB) se destacou, no 5º e 6º ano, como fator associado ao desempenho, autoconceito e percepção do apoio parental. O monitoramento parental foi o fator mais associado às diferenças individuais em ambos os anos. A escolaridade materna apareceu no 6º ano como um importante fator de diferenciação, com achados atípicos em relação à literatura existente. O fator de transição foi associado a um maior número de diferenças entre os grupos no 5º ano, ao mesmo tempo em que expressou expectativas de transição, bem como a influência de trajetórias múltiplas entre o 5º e 6º ano. Os resultados das análises de regressão mostraram que o modelo proposto tinha maior poder preditivo para a leitura e realização matemática, sintomas de estresse e autoconceito, representando cerca de 30% da variância dessas variáveis no 6º ano. Para habilidades sociais, seu poder preditivo foi de 22% e para a satisfação da vida, foi ainda menor, apenas 11% da variação. Juntos, os resultados sugerem a presença de efeitos de mesossistema, com influência ativa da família no processo de transição e diversidade de desfechos, reiterando o caráter de desafio da transição ecológica que se configura na passagem do EFI ao EFII. Conclui-se, em consonância com o modelo bioecológico, que as crianças se sentem tanto melhor na transição quanto mais se percebam apoiadas por pessoas significativas no seu entorno. A transição pode ser percebida como um recomeço, uma oportunidade que as crianças têm de reescreverem sua própria história / Between 10 and 13 years of age, children go through an accelerated physical and cognitive development, coinciding with changes in interpersonal relationships and an important school transition, from middle to late years of elementary school. Studies on this transition investigate its main demands and associated conditions. Based on the bioecological approach to human development, this study aims to investigate the impact of this transition period on academic achievement, stress symptoms, social skills, self-concept and life satisfaction, taking into account the family environment (parental monitoring and maternal schooling), the school environment (IDEB score, school size and school location) and the nature of the transition (with or without school change). Data collection took place in two moments: in 5th grade data were gathered from 415 students, and in 6th grade data were gathered from 379 students (both boys and girls). Instruments to evaluate the children\'s repertoire, peer and family context were the following: Prova Brasil; Child Stress Scale (ESI); Social Skills Assessment System (SSRS); Questionnaire for Self-Concept Evaluation (SDQ1); Multidimensional Scale of Life Satisfaction for Children (EMSV-C) and Parental Monitoring Questionnaire (QMP). Analyzes were performed regarding the psychometric qualities of the instruments, followed by one way and mixed repeated measures ANOVAs and regressions. Results point to the decrease from the 5th to the 6th year in positive indicators of functioning (social skills, self-concept and life satisfaction) and in the perception of parental support, accompanied by increasing academic achievement and symptoms of stress. As for the groups formed according to school variables, the family and the transition context, it was observed that the Basic Education Development Index (IDEB) stood out, in the 5th and 6th year, as a factor associated with performance, self-concept and perception of parental support. Parental monitoring was the factor most associated with individual differences in both years. The level of maternal schooling appeared in the 6th year as an important factor of differentiation, with atypical findings in relation to the existing literature. The transition factor was associated with a higher number of differences between groups in the 5th year, while it also expressed transition expectations, as well as the influence of multiple trajectories between the 5th and 6th grades. The results of regression analyses showed that the proposed model had greater predictive power for reading and mathematical achievement, stress symptoms and self-concept, accounting for about 30% of the variance of these variables in the 6th year. For social skills, its predictive power was 22% and for life satisfaction, it was even lower, accounting for only 11% of the variation. Together, results suggest the presence of mesosystem effects, with an active influence of the family in the transition process and its diverse outcomes, reconfiguring the transition from EFI to EFII as ecological in nature. One can conclude, in line with the bioecological model, that children perform and feel better in transition tasks when they perceive active support from significant people in their environment. Under appropriate support and guidance, the transition can be perceived as a fresh start, an opportunity for children to rewrite their own story

Siekiant nustatyti iš misijos Afganistane grįžusių karių psichologinę būklę, patiriamus stresogeninius įvykius, kokios stresinės situacijos įtakoja potrauminio streso pasireiškimą, šiame darbe analizuojami jų patirti stresogeniniai įvykiai, potrauminio streso išsivystymas bei grupės sutelktumas. „Karių patiriamo streso klausimynas“, Potrauminio streso Misisipės skalė“, „Grupės sutelktumo“ klausimynais. Apklausta 111 iš misijos Afganistane grįžusių karių. Rezultatai parodė, kad kariams, patyrusiems daugiau stresogeninių įvykių bei blogiau vertinantiems grupės sutelktumą, yra labiau išreikšti potrauminio streso simptomai, nei tiek pat patyrusiems stresogeninių įvykių, bet geriau vertinantiems grupės sutelktumą. Nustatyta, kad nepriklausomai nuo patiriamų stresogeninių įvykių, kariai patiria daugiau potrauminio streso simptomų, esant blogesniam grupės sutelktumui. Tiek aukštojo, tiek neturinčių aukštojo išsilavinimo, tiek vyresnių, tiek jaunesnių ir patyrusių stresogeninių įvykių karių potrauminio streso simptomų išreikštumas nesiskiria. / Aiming to assess the psychological condition of soldiers, who have returned from an international mission in Afghanistan, the incurred stressogenic events, to find out what stressful situations cause post-traumatic stress, the stressogenic events they have experienced as well as development of post-traumatic stress and unit cohesion are the scope of analysis of this paper. 111 soldiers, who had returned from an international mission, were interviewed using the following surveys: Soldiers' Stress Survey, Mississippi Scale for Post-traumatic Stress, Unit Cohesion. The results demonstrated that the soldiers, who had experienced more stressogenic events and evaluated the unit cohesion with a lower grade, had a deeper post-traumatic stress symptoms than those, who had experienced the same number of stressogenic events but gave a better evaluation of the unit cohesion. It has been established that in the event of lower unit cohesion, soldiers experience deeper post-traumatic stress symptoms, regardless of incurred stressogenic events. The depth of post-traumatic stress symptoms did not vary between groups of soldiers having higher education degree and those who did not, as well as between older and younger or the ones, with bigger stressogenic event experience.

People all over the world do experience some kind of trauma during their lives. Some may experience more than one trauma, and some may experience more intense trauma, but sooner or later we all experience trauma. Sadly, our children are not excluded. The first aim of this study, was to investigate the influence of trauma on the lives of children in their mid childhood years. The following questions were asked: · What are the specific developmental tasks for middle childhood, regarding their physical, cognitive, affective, social, religious, moral and esthetical development? · What about trauma is so traumatic? · Are there any recognisable and predicted effects, present in children who experienced trauma? · And last, but not least, how do children understand and experience a traumatic death? The second aim of this study was to develop a trauma counselling program for children who experienced a trauma. The program had to focus on the specific needs of children in their mid childhood years. In order to do this, the following points were looked at: · What is the current understanding of trauma? Are there any counselling programs for children available, and how do they work? · There are a vast majority of intervention techniques available, the most popular techniques – playtherapy, bibliotherapy, grouptherapy, arttherapy and narrative therapy, were briefly discussed. · Finally a graphic presentation of a new trauma counselling program was included. To see whether this trauma counselling program could help children to overcome posttraumatic symptoms and prevent posttraumatic stress-disorder, it was implemented during two case studies. · The first case study was a girl that had been bitten by dogs twice. As a result of this trauma, she developed an unnatural fear of dogs. The trauma counselling program was implemented, and after a few weeks the girl was able to conquer and control her fear of dogs. · The second case study was a boy who needed to accept his father’s suicide. The trauma counselling program was adapted to suit his specific needs, and once again the program helped the boy to understand and accept his father’s suicide. The success of these two case studies, lead to the acceptance of this study’s hypothesis, namely, that if one developed a trauma counselling program that are compatible with the needs of children in their mid childhood years, it will help children to accept and overcome trauma. Therefore posttraumatic stress symptoms will be reduced and post-traumatic disorder will be prevented. / Dissertation (MEd (Learning Support, Guidance and Counselling))--University of Pretoria, 2006. / Educational Psychology / unrestricted

The thesis with title „Stress Evaluation, Coping and Reduction“ is dealing with this nowadays and often discussed problems focused on possibly purposes of work stress, influence of stress on health and techniques of stress coping. The theoretical part concerns on stress and relate topics. In the practical part I have made an analysis of stress load on some employees of dm drogerie markt limited liability company. In conclusion I have suggested proposals leading to stress reduction on this workplace.

Background: School-based mental health promotion aims to strengthen mental health and reduce stress. Results on the effectiveness of such programs are heterogeneous. This study realized a school-based mental health promotion program (StresSOS) for all students and aimed to identify moderators (mental health status, gender, grade level) of pre- to post-changes in stress symptoms and knowledge. Methods: Participants were N = 510 adolescents (from 29 classes; 46.7% female) aged 12–18 years (M = 13.88, SD = 1.00; grade levels 7–10). They were without mental health problems (65.9%), at risk for mental health problems (21.6%), or with mental health problems (12.5%) and participated in a 90 min per week face-to-face training with 8 sessions in class at school. Demographic variables, mental health status, stress symptoms, and knowledge about stress and mental health were collected at baseline. Program acceptance, stress symptoms, and knowledge were collected post-intervention. Multilevel mixed effects models were conducted with the fixed effects time (within factor), mental health status, gender, and grade level (between factors). Random effects for students within classes were included. Results: In the pre-post comparison, mental health status moderated the changes on psychological stress symptoms (p < 0.05). In adolescents with mental health problems the largest reduction in stress symptoms was observed between pre- and post-assessment. Gender and grade level were less relevant. For all adolescents knowledge gains were revealed (p < 0.001). Program acceptance was moderated by mental health status and grade level (p < 0.01). Mentally healthy adolescents and within the group of adolescents at-risk or with mental health problems, especially younger students (7th/8th grade), rated program acceptance higher. Conclusion: Psychological stress symptoms decreased among adolescents with mental health problems and not among adolescents at risk for or without mental health problems. Mental health-related knowledge increased for all adolescents. The results add to knowledge on school-based mental health intervention research and practice. Its implications for different prevention strategies (universal, selective or a combination of both) are discussed.