Psychological Distress among Young Norwegian Health Professionals

High psychological distress has been shown to be a risk for acquisition of skills that are necessary when working in the health professions. In this study, we present longitudinal data on psychological distress among 169 young Norwegian health professionals. We measured distress at the end of their studies, and three years later on, when being professional nurses, physiotherapists and occupational therapists. Psychological distress was assessed by applying the 12-item version of the General Health Questionnaire (GHQ 12). 27% of the nursing students scored higher than the GHQ 12 case score at the end of the study, but as nurses, they became significantly less distressed three years later (13%). The other two professions showed relatively small and non-significant reductions in psychological distress during the first three years as a professional. Hierarchical multiple analyses showed that the level of psychological distress when finishing the study, the young professionals’ experience of personal support from colleagues, the experience of work-home conflicts and the experience of methodological coping at work were significant predictors of psychological distress three years after working as young health professionals. These four predictors explained together 28% in the variance in GHQ 12 three years after graduation. Belonging to any of the three professions did not contribute to the explained variance in psychological distress three years after graduatio

Changes in Psychological Distress in Five Groups of Welfare State Service Workers over a Nine-Year Period

Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY).Health and social care workers are exposed to varying degrees of stress in their work, which may be reflected in their trajectories of psychological distress during the education program and the first years in the job. The aim of this study was to add to the knowledge concerned with the long-term development of psychological distress in five groups of welfare state service workers in Norway. The study included 1612 individuals. Psychological distress was measured with General Health Questionnaire-12 at four occasions from the start of the education program to 6 years post-graduation (nine year follow-up period). Results of linear mixed models (LMM) for repeated measures showed that psychological distress changed significantly over time in the social work professional groups. At the start of the education program, the lowest and highest levels of psychological distress were found among the child welfare and social workers, respectively. Six years post-graduation, social workers had become less distressed and child welfare workers had become more distressed. No significant change pattern for psychological distress was found among any of the health care professional groups.publishedVersio

Psychological distress and its associations with psychosocial work environment factors in four professional groups: a cross-sectional study

This study aimed to explore associations between psychosocial work environment factors and psychological distress in four groups of professionals in Norway. Eight hundred fifty-six professionals participated in this cross-sectional study 6 years after graduation. Data were analyzed with linear and logistic regression analyses. For the sample as a whole, higher psychological distress was associated with higher demands, lower support, lower job satisfaction, more work-home interaction problems, and lower coping in the job. Work-home interaction problems increased the likelihood of having case-level psychological distress. The strength of associations between psychological distress and other factors, such as demands, support, and coping in the job, varied by professional group. In conclusion, problems concerned with work-home interaction were generally associated with higher psychological distress. Between professional groups, other independent variables were differently associated with psychological distress. Work environment factors should receive continued attention in efforts to promote mental health. Key points In the sample as a whole and for most of the professional groups, problems concerned with the interaction between work and home significantly predicted higher psychological distress Associations between psychological distress and other psychosocial work environment factors, such as demands, support, and coping in the job, varied by professional group Assessing work environment factors to better understand variations in psychological distress is relevant among nurses, physiotherapists, and social workers, and appears to be particularly useful among occupational therapistspublishedVersio

Mental health in women experiencing preterm birth

Background: The aim of the study was to explore the degree of psychological distress, anxiety, and trauma related stress reactions in mothers who experience preterm birth. Secondarily, we wanted to identify possible predictors of maternal mental health problems. Methods: Twenty-nine mothers of 35 premature children born before 33rd week of pregnancy were assessed within two weeks after given birth. The standardized psychometric methods; Impact of Event Scale (IES), General Health Questionnaire (GHQ) and State Anxiety Inventory (STAI) assessed mental health problems. The predictors for maternal distress, anxiety, and trauma related stress reactions were pregnancy variables, preterm delivery, Gestation Age, maternal trait anxiety and parity. In addition, maternal prevalence of mental health problems was assessed by clinical diagnoses. Results Our study revealed a high prevalence (52%) of posttraumatic stress responses in the mothers. Conclusions: Our results suggest an early examination of mothers’ psychological reactions to preterm birth at the maternity ward. An early intervention should be considered while the child still is in the neonatal intensive care unit

Fra grandiositet til gjensidighet. Utdrag fra en psykoterapi med en narcissistisk forstyrret gutt

Såvidt jeg vet har ingen prøvd å evidensbasere at psykodynamisk orientert leketerapi ”virker”. Selv om jeg mener at vi også må fremme forskning som virker så høyt som mulig i evidens-hierarkiet, kan det også være viktig å; A, beskrive langvarige terapier i detalj og; B, tolke det som beskrives med teoretisk rimelige konsistente begreper og; C, bruke A og B for å sammenholde klinikk og teori – over tid. Er det et mønster i dette materialet som peker i retning av en årsak og virkningssammenheng? Eller, er det for mye i materialet som taler imot? Resonnementet er noe av det samme som brukes i moderne kasusforskning (Elliott, 2002). Selv om jeg stort sett har arbeidet med voksne i langtids psykodynamisk psykoterapi, er det én barneterapi jeg ofte kommer tilbake til i mine terapirefleksjoner. Jeg mener selv at terapiforløpet over fire år omfatter et så rikt materiale og som ligger så tett opp til sentrale dynamiske begreper, at denne terapien bør beskrives. Dessuten ble barnet faktisk svært mye bedre! Men årsaken til bedringen bør selvfølgelig diskuteres

Psychological Distress among Young Norwegian Health Professionals

High psychological distress has been shown to be a risk for acquisition of skills that are necessary when working in the health professions. In this study, we present longitudinal data on psychological distress among 169 young Norwegian health professionals. We measured distress at the end of their studies, and three years later on, when being professional nurses, physiotherapists and occupational therapists. Psychological distress was assessed by applying the 12-item version of the General Health Questionnaire (GHQ 12). 27% of the nursing students scored higher than the GHQ 12 case score at the end of the study, but as nurses, they became significantly less distressed three years later (13%). The other two professions showed relatively small and non-significant reductions in psychological distress during the first three years as a professional. Hierarchical multiple analyses showed that the level of psychological distress when finishing the study, the young professionals’ experience of personal support from colleagues, the experience of work-home conflicts and the experience of methodological coping at work were significant predictors of psychological distress three years after working as young health professionals. These four predictors explained together 28% in the variance in GHQ 12 three years after graduation. Belonging to any of the three professions did not contribute to the explained variance in psychological distress three years after graduatio

Psychological Distress in Norwegian Nurses and Teachers over Nine Years

Psychological dist ress have been found to be high and influence nega- tively nurses’ and teachers’ work. In t his nine - year project , we present the first lon- gitudinal study comparing psychological distress from 1467 students and young pro- fessionals in nursing and teaching. Psychological distress was measured with GHQ 12 at the start and the end of their studies an d three and six years after graduation. Both descriptive statistics and estimated models were used to assess psychological distress over time. Psychological distress increased significantly in both groups dur- ing education. The reduction of psychological di stress was significant among the nurses , and they clearly showed a “healthy worker effect” when coming into clinical work. The teachers had a small and non - significant reduction in the same period and did not show a positive effect after starting pedagogic al work

Psychological Distress in Norwegian Nurses and Teachers over Nine Years

Psychological distress have been found to be high and influence negatively nurses’ and teachers’ work. In this nine-year project, we present the first longitudinal study comparing psychological distress from 1467 students and young professionals in nursing and teaching. Psychological distress was measured with GHQ 12 at the start and the end of their studies and three and six years after graduation. Both descriptive statistics and estimated models were used to assess psychological distress over time. Psychological distress increased significantly in both groups during education. The reduction of psychological distress was significant among the nurses, and they clearly showed a “healthy worker effect” when coming into clinical work. The teachers had a small and non-significant reduction in the same period and did not show a positive effect after starting pedagogical work

Changes in Psychological Distress in Five Groups of Welfare State Service Workers over a Nine-Year Period

Health and social care workers are exposed to varying degrees of stress in their work, which may be reflected in their trajectories of psychological distress during the education program and the first years in the job. The aim of this study was to add to the knowledge concerned with the long-term development of psychological distress in five groups of welfare state service workers in Norway. The study included 1612 individuals. Psychological distress was measured with General Health Questionnaire-12 at four occasions from the start of the education program to 6 years post-graduation (nine year follow-up period). Results of linear mixed models (LMM) for repeated measures showed that psychological distress changed significantly over time in the social work professional groups. At the start of the education program, the lowest and highest levels of psychological distress were found among the child welfare and social workers, respectively. Six years post-graduation, social workers had become less distressed and child welfare workers had become more distressed. No significant change pattern for psychological distress was found among any of the health care professional groups

Changes in Psychological Distress in Five Groups of Welfare State Service Workers over a Nine-Year Period

Health and social care workers are exposed to varying degrees of stress in their work, which may be reflected in their trajectories of psychological distress during the education program and the first years in the job. The aim of this study was to add to the knowledge concerned with the long-term development of psychological distress in five groups of welfare state service workers in Norway. The study included 1612 individuals. Psychological distress was measured with General Health Questionnaire-12 at four occasions from the start of the education program to 6 years post-graduation (nine year follow-up period). Results of linear mixed models (LMM) for repeated measures showed that psychological distress changed significantly over time in the social work professional groups. At the start of the education program, the lowest and highest levels of psychological distress were found among the child welfare and social workers, respectively. Six years post-graduation, social workers had become less distressed and child welfare workers had become more distressed. No significant change pattern for psychological distress was found among any of the health care professional groups