Associations of rumination, behavioral activation, and perceived reward with mothers’ postpartum depression during the COVID-19 pandemic: a cross-sectional study

IntroductionThe COVID-19 pandemic has led to increased social isolation for mothers, and rumination exacerbates postpartum depression in mothers with poor social support. Although behavioral activation can help to decrease their depressive symptoms, the mechanism by which behavioral activation reduces postpartum depression remains unclear.MethodsWe examined the effects of rumination and behavioral activation on depression in postpartum women by examining a model mediated by subjective reward perception. A questionnaire was administered to 475 postpartum women (Age: Mean = 30.74 years, SD = 5.02) within 1 year of childbirth using an Internet survey. The measurements included perinatal depression, rumination, and behavioral activation, and we assessed environmental reward. To control for confounding variables, we assessed psychiatric history, social support, parenting perfectionism, and COVID-19 avoidance.ResultsEighty-four (17.68%) mothers had possible postpartum depression. The covariance structure analysis showed that not only was there a direct positive path from rumination to postnatal depression but also a negative path via reward perception.DiscussionThis finding indicated that the COVID-19 pandemic could have increased depression in many of the mothers. Rumination not only directly relates to postpartum depression, but it could also indirectly relate to postpartum depression by decreasing exposure to positive reinforcers. In addition, having a history of psychiatric illness increases the effect of rumination on postpartum depression. These findings suggest that psychological interventions are needed to reduce rumination and increase contact with positive reinforcements to reduce postpartum depression, especially for high-risk groups

COVID-19 Behavioral change

The aim of this project was to explore factors affecting behavioral change as a preventive measure against coronavirus infection (COVID-19) in adults living in Tokyo. The main outcomes are self-restraint from going out and hygiene behaviors, which will be examined based on the protection motivation theory. We will also examine the relationship between contact with various information

Factors associated with unwillingness to seek professional help for depression: a web-based survey

Abstract Objective Depression is a prevalent disorder that has a substantial impact on not only individuals but also society as a whole. Despite many effective depression interventions, delay in initial treatment contact is problematic. The Internet is a possible tool for low-cost dissemination of appropriate information and awareness raising about depressive disorders among the general public. This study aimed to identify factors associated with unwillingness to seek professional help for depression in Internet users. Results This web-based cross-sectional study surveyed 595 participants who scored over the cutoff point for depression on a self-rated mental-health questionnaire for depression, had never been assessed or treated by a mental health professional, and were experiencing depressive symptoms for at least 6 months. Among the 595 participants, 329 (55.3%) reported they were unwilling to seek professional help for depression. Regression analysis indicated that unwillingness to seek professional help for depression was associated with male sex and financial issues as a depression trigger, and that willingness to seek professional help was associated with problems with interpersonal relationships. The Internet warrants further complementary investigation to elucidate factors associated with unwillingness to seek professional help for depression

Impact of cognitive function-focused mental health promotion campaign for psychiatric help-seeking behavior in Japanese university students

Purpose: We developed a mental health promotion campaign program to promote psychiatric help-seeking behavior among university students by adopting a social marketing approach and nudge theory from behavioral economics. The purpose of this study was to examine the effectiveness of the campaign. The campaign focused on the illustration of cognitive function-related symptoms and was called the “Fatigue of Brain” campaign. Methods: This study retrospectively compared the duration until psychiatric consultation at health care centers in a Japanese university between data obtained from our previous study (2016-2018) with data from our newly developed mental health campaign (2018-2020). The campaign program included a small leaflet, given to all students during their physical examinations, which directed them to a special website. Results: The results of logistic regression analysis using data that met the eligibility and inclusion/exclusion criteria showed that the proportion of students (40.3%) who visited psychiatric consultations within two weeks of the campaign’s onset was significantly higher than the proportion of students visiting before the campaign (37.6%; OR = .578, 95% CI = .343 - .972, p = .039). Multivariate analysis revealed that the proportion of students with depressive symptoms (31.6%) was significantly higher during the campaign than before the campaign (17.3%; OR = .444, 95%CI = .234–.843, p = .013). Conclusions: The results suggest that our cognitive function-focused mental health campaign promotes earlier psychiatric consultation

Impact of cognitive function-focused mental health promotion campaign for psychiatric help-seeking behavior in Japanese university students

Purpose: We developed a mental health promotion campaign program to promote psychiatric help-seeking behavior among university students by adopting a social marketing approach and nudge theory from behavioral economics. The purpose of this study was to examine the effectiveness of the campaign. The campaign focused on the illustration of cognitive function- related symptoms and was called the “Fatigue of Brain” campaign. Methods: This study retrospectively compared the duration until psychiatric consultation at health care centers in a Japanese university between data obtained from our previous study (2016- 2018) with data from our newly developed mental health campaign (2018-2020). The campaign program included a small leaflet, given to all students during their physical examinations, which directed them to a special website. Results: The results of logistic regression analysis using data that met the eligibility and inclusion/exclusion criteria showed that the proportion of students (40.3%) who visited psychiatric consultations within two weeks of the campaign’s onset was significantly higher than the proportion of students visiting before the campaign (37.6%; OR = .578, 95% CI = .343 - .972, p = .039). Multivariate analysis revealed that the proportion of students with depressive symptoms (31.6%) was significantly higher during the campaign than before the campaign (17.3%; OR = .444, 95%CI = .234–.843, p = .013). Conclusions: The results suggest that our cognitive function-focused mental health campaign promotes earlier psychiatric consultation