"Will to Exist, Live and Survive" (WTELS) : measuring its role as master/metamotivator and in resisting oppression and related adversities

The person's agentic "Will to Exist/Live and Survive" (WTELS) is overlooked in the literature. We proposed a measure as well as a conceptual predictive model for WTELS. The conceptual model included oppression and cumulative life adversities and WTELS as independent variables, existential annihilation anxieties (EAA), emotion regulation strategies, and self-esteem as mediating variables and psychopathology and posttraumatic growth (PTG) as outcome variables. The sample included 490 participants (age range: 14 to75, M ± 26.03, SD ± 10.90, 20.4% adolescents, 58.6% females) from three Egyptian cities that represented different regional cultures. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses tested the structural validity of the measure, Path analysis supplemented by PROCESS macro was used to test the predictive validity of the measure and the effect size for each mediator. Multigroup invariance analysis tested the invariance of the measurement and structural models. The developed measure was found to have good reliability, stability, and structural validity. Path analysis validated its predictive validity and indicated that WTELS had strong direct negative effects on EAA and the direct and indirect negative effects on psychopathology. Self-esteem and emotion regulation (reappraisal) were mediators of its indirect effects. WTELS had direct positive effects on PTG and direct and indirect positive effects on emotion regulation. WTELS had direct and indirect positive effects on self-esteem. Its indirect effects on self-esteem were mediated by reappraisal. The results indicated that both the measurement and the structural models of WTELS were strictly invariant across gender, regional, age, and religious groups. We further discussed the importance of developing WTELS-focused intervention and prevention programs

Trauma proliferation and stress generation (TPSG) dynamics and their implications for clinical science.

The current research and clinical focus on single traumas fails to assess numerous important trauma dynamics including trauma proliferation. In this study, 2 trauma proliferation pathways were identified that utilize a developmentally based trauma framework (DBTF). Data previously collected from 6 different cultural groups (N = 2279; 2 mental health clinics in Egypt and the United States, Native Americans, Palestinian adults in Gaza, and college students in Poland and Egypt) were reanalyzed. The 6 studies utilized DBTF-based measures of cumulative trauma and trauma types. Path analysis was used to test the trauma proliferation model and PROCESS software was used to identify mediators and their effect sizes. Results of the analyses indicated that attachment trauma and collective identity trauma independently predicted (directly and through mediators) personal identity trauma, role identity trauma, secondary trauma, and survival trauma. The pattern of proliferation was configurally invariant across the 6 groups and strictly invariant across genders. Implications for the consideration of trauma global dynamics, such as trauma proliferation, are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Recor

The prevalence of feeding and eating disorders symptomology in medical students: an updated systematic review, meta-analysis, and meta-regression

Purpose: Medical students have a higher risk of developing psychological issues, such as feeding and eating disorders (FEDs). In the past few years, a major increase was observed in the number of studies on the topic. The goal of this review was to estimate the prevalence risk of FEDs and its associated risk factors in medical students. Methods: Nine electronic databases were used to conduct an electronic search from the inception of the databases until 15th September 2021. The DerSimonian–Laird technique was used to pool the estimates using random-effects meta-analysis. The prevalence of FEDs risk in medical students was the major outcome of interest. Data were analyzed globally, by country, by research measure and by culture. Sex, age, and body mass index were examined as potential confounders using meta-regression analysis. Results: A random-effects meta-analysis evaluating the prevalence of FEDs in medical students (K = 35, N = 21,383) generated a pooled prevalence rate of 17.35% (95% CI 14.15–21.10%), heterogeneity [Q = 1528 (34), P = 0.001], τ2 = 0.51 (95% CI 0.36–1.05), τ = 0.71 (95% CI 0.59–1.02), I2 = 97.8%; H = 6.70 (95% CI 6.19–7.26). Age and sex were not significant predictors. Body mass index, culture and used research tool were significant confounders. Conclusion: The prevalence of FEDs symptoms in medical students was estimated to be 17.35%. Future prospective studies are urgently needed to construct prevention and treatment programs to provide better outcomes for students at risk of or suffering from FEDs. Level of evidence: Level I, systematic review and meta-analysis