159 research outputs found
Depression, suicidal ideation and suicide risk in German veterinary medical students compared to the German general population
Background
Various studies from different countries indicated that veterinarians have a significantly increased risk of depression, suicidal ideation and of death by suicide. For German veterinarians a recent study has demonstrated a three times higher rate for depression, two times higher rate for suicidal ideation and a five times higher suicide risk compared to the German general population. For veterinary students, recent studies in the US and UK indicated higher mental distress. To date, empirical studies on depression, suicidal ideation and suicide risk among veterinary students in Germany were lacking so far. This study investigates depression, suicidal ideation and suicide risk of veterinary students in Germany.
Methods
913 German veterinary students (14.3% response rate, 90.7% women, mean age 23.6 years) between 18 and 46 years were included and compared with representative German general population samples from 2007 (N = 1097, 55.4% women, mean age 33.9) and 2015 (N = 1033, 56.1% women, mean age 32.8) of the same age range using the depression module of the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9) and Suicide Behaviors questionnaire-Revised (SBQ-R). The general population samples were collected with the assistance of a demographic consulting company.
Results
The prevalence of depression among German veterinary students was 45.9% (compared to 3.2% in the general population), suicidal ideation was 19.9% (compared to 4.5% in the general population) and suicide risk was 24.0% (compared to 6.6% in the general population).
Conclusion
In this study, German veterinary students have a 22.1 times higher risk to be screened positive for depression, a 4 times higher risk for reporting current suicidal ideation and they are 4.2 times more likely to have an increased suicide risk compared with the general population in Germany of the same age range
An Evaluation of a Suicide Prevention E-Learning Program for Police Officers (COPS): Improvement in Knowledge and Competence
Background: Police officers are at high risk for mental and physical health problems and
suicidal ideation. The specific risk factors are numerous and concern stressful missions
and administrative aspects of the police profession. So far, the police get only little training
on specific missions as well as on coping with stress and suicidal ideation in the police
profession. In this study we test the efficacy of the online training COPS (Coping with
Suicide) for police officers.
Methods: A total of 142 police officers fromGermany and Switzerland participated in the
study; complete data (baseline and post) are available from 102 participants. The training
consisted of three modules covering the topics of delivering death notifications, dealing
with individuals with suicidal ideation and dealing with one’s own distress and suicidal
ideation in the police profession. The primary outcomes are perceived knowledge and
self-rated competence regarding the contents of the program, actual knowledge as well
as symptoms of depression and anxiety (PHQ-9), and attitudes toward suicide (ATTS).
The data are collected at baseline and after completing the training.
Results: We found a significant increase in knowledge as well as in perceived
competence after completing the training. Mental health and attitudes toward suicide did
not change significantly. Years on the job had no moderating effect on the effectiveness
of the training.
Discussion: The results suggest that a short e-learning program significantly improves
knowledge and self-rated competence in delivering death notifications, in suicide
prevention and stress management. It can be easily integrated into the daily routine
of police-officers, and participants could participate at their own pace and from any
location. One limitation of this study is the lack of a control-group. Further advantages
and limitations of this study are discussed
Traumatic experiences and post-traumatic stress disorder among elderly Germans: results of a representative population-based survey
Background: Only a few population-based studies on the epidemiology of post-traumatic stress disorders (PTSDs) are available to date. Most of the existing studies are from the U.S.A. Against the background of World War II, the extent and long-term effects of war-related traumatic experiences in the German elderly population are of special interest. Nevertheless, population-based data on this topic are lacking to date. Methods: This study examines the occurrence of traumatic experiences and the prevalence rates of PTSD according to DSM-IV and of partial PTSD in a randomly selected sample of the German general population aged 60 years and over (N = 814) using self-rating instruments. Results: PTSD is apparent in 3.4%; when partial post-traumatic stress syndromes are included, a total of 7.2% of the aged population are involved. The most common individual symptoms resulting from war-induced trauma are avoidance of thoughts and feelings, sleep disturbances, distressing dreams and intrusive thoughts. The most frequently mentioned traumatic experiences of the generation examined in this study were war-related trauma experienced as children or in early adulthood during World War II. As a person's age increases, so does the prevalence of war-related traumatic experiences. There are some gender differences in traumatic experiences, but not in post-traumatic symptoms. Conclusion: The results emphasize the importance of war-related traumatic experiences from World War II in the German elderly population and their impact on the prevalence of PTSD more than 60 years late
Risikoabschätzung bei suizidalen Patienten: Geht das überhaupt?
Eine Risikoabschätzung ist im Kontext suizidalen Erlebens
und Verhaltens nicht sicher möglich. Aktuelle Metaanalysen
zeigen, dass weder Einzelvariablen noch Risikoscores, das
klinische Urteil oder die Orientierung an einem Theoriemodell eine zufriedenstellende Vorhersage suizidalen Verhaltens erlauben. Es stellt sich die Frage, wie in der klinischen
Praxis mit dem Wissen um die mangelnde Präzision der Risikoabschätzung umgegangen werden sollte. Der vorliegende Artikel skizziert zunächst die aktuelle Befundlage und reflektiert im Anschluss die Bedeutung dieser Befunde für die
praktische Arbeit: Die Risikoabschätzung sollte als kollaborativer Prozess verstanden werden, in dem der Therapeut
anerkennt, dass er kein ausreichendes Expertenwissen hinsichtlich des Gefährdungspotentials eines Patienten besitz
Should the definition of the term "children born of war" and vulnerabilities of children from recent conflict and post-conflict settings be broadened?
Adjustment disorders: prevalence in a representative nationwide survey in Germany
Objectives: This is the first study to estimate the prevalence of adjustment disorder (AjD) in the general population. A new conceptualisation of AjD as a stress response syndrome was applied, which allowed AjD to be assessed directly from its symptom profile, including intrusive, avoidance and failure-to-adapt symptoms (Maercker et al., Psychopathology 40:135-146, 2007). Methods: Prevalence rates of distressing life events and AjD were estimated from a representative sample of the German general population (n=2,512) with a broad age range (14-93years). A questionnaire including a life events checklist and self-rating questions that assessed AjD symptoms and symptom duration were personally handed out by an interviewer. Results: The prevalence of AjD fulfilling the criterion of clinically significant impairment was 0.9%; a further 1.4% of the sample was diagnosed with AjD without fulfilling the impairment criterion. In ~72.5% of AjD cases, symptoms had developed 6-24months prior to assessment. AjD was most often associated with acute events such as moving or chronic stressors such as serious illness, conflicts at the respondent's job or with friends or neighbours (with ~5% conditional probability each). Conclusions: The results correspond with the few other studies that have examined the prevalence of AjD, even though a new conceptualisation of the disorder was used. Explorative results regarding the duration of AjD syndromes and symptoms call for further redefinition and empirical investigation of this under-researched mental conditio
Peacekeeper-perpetrated sexual exploitation and abuse, and life satisfaction:A cross-sectional study in Haiti
Peacekeeper-perpetrated sexual exploitation and abuse, and life satisfaction:A cross-sectional study in Haiti
The relationship between perceived own health state and health assessments of anchoring vignettes
Self-reported health depends on the internal frame of reference and on response styles. One way of studying this dependency is using anchoring vignettes. Response shift effects are assumed to induce a negative correlation between self-reported health and the health assessments attributed to the vignettes. Method: A representative sample of the German adult population (N = 2,409) was selected. Participants were asked to rate their health state and the health states of two rather complex vignettes representing patients with several health complaints on a 0-100 scale. Results: The mean score of self-assessed health was M = 76.20 (SD = 20.6). There was a very small positive correlation between the assessment of the vignettes and the self-assessed health state (r = .12). After controlling for a proxy of objective health, measured in terms of chronic conditions, the relationship remained slightly positive. Chronic conditions were only marginally associated with the assessments of the vignettes (0 conditions: M = 44.8; ≥ 2 conditions: M = 42.2). Conclusions: The lack of the postulated association between self-reported health and vignettes’ ratings means that we cannot derive tools to correct the subjective ratings for differential use of frames of reference
Gravitational wave and collider probes of a triplet Higgs sector with a low cutoff
We study the scalar triplet extension of the standard model with a low
cutoff, preventing large corrections to the quadratic masses that would
otherwise worsen the hierarchy problem. We explore the reach of LISA to test
the parameter space region of the scalar potential (not yet excluded by Higgs
to diphoton measurements) in which the electroweak phase transition is strongly
first-order and produces sizeable gravitational waves. We also demonstrate that
the collider phenomenology of the model is drastically different from its
renormalizable counterpart. We study the reach of the LHC in ongoing searches
and project bounds for the HL-LHC. Likewise, we develop a dedicated analysis to
test the key but still unexplored signature of pair-production of charged
scalars decaying to third-generation quarks: . These results apply straightforwardly to other
extensions of the Higgs sector such as the 2HDM/MSSM.Comment: 12 pages, 19 figure
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