Parental Stress-Coping Skills and Resilience among Parents of Children with Specific Learning Disorders

Objective: Parental stress may affect parents’ health, behavior, and children. The use of coping styles and resilience can help parents handle stress. The aim of this study was to examine the relationships among the demographic data, coping styles, resilience, and stress levels of the primary caregivers of children with Specific Learning Disorders (SLD). Methods: 160 primary caregivers of children aged 6 to 17 with SLD who attended the Child and Adolescent Psychiatric Clinic at Siriraj Hospital were asked to complete the four-part questionnaires. The data were analyzed to find any correlations. Results: 91.9% of participants had parenting stress at a typical stress level, and 68.8% were rated normal on the resilience quotient. With regard to coping style, the participants rated highest in problem-focus coping (mean score 3.8 ± 0.5), followed by seeking social support (3.0 ± 0.8), and avoidance (2.3 ± 0.6). The score on the Parenting Stress Index correlated with social support (r = 0.207, p < 0.01) and avoidance (r = 0.538, p < 0.01). The resilience quotient score demonstrated a negative association with parenting stress (r = –0.291, p < 0.01), emotional stability (r = –.0.242, p < 0.01), encouragement (r = –0.297, p < 0.01), and problem-solving (r = –0.189, p < 0.05). Conclusion: Most of the parents had typical stress. Social support and avoidance -coping skills were significantly correlated with parenting stress and resilience. This suggests that one’s coping style and resilience are crucial to parents’ or primary caregivers’ quality of life

Factors Affecting the Mental Health of Thai Medical Staff during the Second and Third Waves of the COVID-19 Pandemic: An Online Cross-sectional Survey

Objective: This comparative study of the second and third waves of the COVID-19 pandemic aimed to: 1) examine the mental health status of hospital staff; 2) describe the associations among various factors that affect mental health; and 3) investigate the impact of COVID-19. Materials and Methods: Data were collected from Siriraj Hospital staff using online questionnaires including demographics, staff characteristics, health behavior, readiness to handle COVID-19; COVID-19 impact; and the Thai version of the Depression Anxiety Stress Scales–21 (DASS-21). Results: Depression, anxiety, and stress scores were significantly higher in the third wave. Living in a high-surveillance area, social distancing difficulties, health behaviors, and office work all impacted mental health in both waves. Demographics, infection exposure outside the hospital, awareness of social distancing, and readiness to work from home impacted only the second wave. Direct work with COVID-19 patients impacted only the third wave. The common stressors included living expenses, daily life changes, and disease prevention costs in both waves, with COVID-19 news having a greater impact in the third wave. Main daily life impacts were income, transportation, and disease prevention equipment in both waves, with food becoming more important in the third wave. Conclusion: Mental health should be prioritized especially in severe waves, focusing on staff at high risk of infection, experiencing social distancing challenges, daily life changes, and having health problems. Disease protection should also be emphasized early on

Effects of Music on Preoperative Anxiety in Patients Undergoing Hair Transplantation: A Preliminary Report

Objective: To study the effects of music on anxiety in patients undergoing hair transplantation. Materials and Methods: This randomized controlled trial enrolled patients undergoing hair transplantation. The patients were randomized into a music group, who listened to music for 15 minutes during the preoperative period, and a control group, who were not exposed to music. Two scales were used to measure anxiety. One was the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI), comprised of a state anxiety scale (STAI-S) and trait anxiety scale (STAI-T). The other was the Visual Analog Scale for Anxiety (VASA). Demographic and physical parameters (blood pressure, heart rate, and respiratory rate) were recorded. Results: The 26 patients had a mean age of 40.8 ± 10.4 years. Twenty-three (88.5%) were men. The 2 groups had no significant differences in their STAI-S or VASA scores, or physical parameters before and after intervention. The STAI-S score of the control group significantly increased with time (P = 0.027). Additionally, a significant decrease in the VASA score was observed after the intervention for the music group (P = 0.039). No adverse events were noted. Conclusion: Listening to music is an easy, effective, and safe method of reducing preoperative anxiety in patients undergoing hair transplantation. The method should be employed during the preoperative period for patients undergoing hair transplantation. It may also be considered for use in similar procedures

Responding to COVID-19 : emerging practices in addiction medicine in 17 countries

Following the classification of the Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) as a pandemic by the World Health Organization (WHO), countries were encouraged to implement urgent and aggressive actions to change the course of the disease spread while also protecting the physical and mental health and well-being of all people. The challenges and solutions of providing prevention, treatment, and care for those affected with issues related to substance use and addictive behaviors are still being discussed by the global community. Several international documents have been developed for service providers and public health professionals working in the field of addiction medicine in the context of the pandemic (1–3), however, less is known about country-level responses. In the current paper we, as individual members of the Network of Early Career Professionals working in Addiction Medicine (NECPAM), discuss emerging country-level guidelines developed in the 6 months following the outbreak.The South African Medical Research Councilhttp://www.frontiersin.org/Psychiatryam2022Family Medicin

Variations in seasonal solar insolation are associated with a history of suicide attempts in bipolar I disorder

Background: Bipolar disorder is associated with circadian disruption and a high risk of suicidal behavior. In a previous exploratory study of patients with bipolar I disorder, we found that a history of suicide attempts was associated with differences between winter and summer levels of solar insolation. The purpose of this study was to confirm this finding using international data from 42% more collection sites and 25% more countries. Methods: Data analyzed were from 71 prior and new collection sites in 40 countries at a wide range of latitudes. The analysis included 4876 patients with bipolar I disorder, 45% more data than previously analyzed. Of the patients, 1496 (30.7%) had a history of suicide attempt. Solar insolation data, the amount of the sun’s electromagnetic energy striking the surface of the earth, was obtained for each onset location (479 locations in 64 countries). Results: This analysis confirmed the results of the exploratory study with the same best model and slightly better statistical significance. There was a significant inverse association between a history of suicide attempts and the ratio of mean winter insolation to mean summer insolation (mean winter insolation/mean summer insolation). This ratio is largest near the equator which has little change in solar insolation over the year, and smallest near the poles where the winter insolation is very small compared to the summer insolation. Other variables in the model associated with an increased risk of suicide attempts were a history of alcohol or substance abuse, female gender, and younger birth cohort. The winter/summer insolation ratio was also replaced with the ratio of minimum mean monthly insolation to the maximum mean monthly insolation to accommodate insolation patterns in the tropics, and nearly identical results were found. All estimated coefficients were significant at p &lt; 0.01. Conclusion: A large change in solar insolation, both between winter and summer and between the minimum and maximum monthly values, may increase the risk of suicide attempts in bipolar I disorder. With frequent circadian rhythm dysfunction and suicidal behavior in bipolar disorder, greater understanding of the optimal roles of daylight and electric lighting in circadian entrainment is needed

Mortality and Prevalence of Falls, and their Association with Psychiatric Diagnoses and Psychotropic Medications

Objective: Falls are a significant health problem which affects quality of life in the elderly. This study was undertaken to study mortality and prevalence of falls, and their associations with psychiatric diagnoses and psychotropic medications. Methods: The study was a retrospective 10-year data analysis of a general hospital database from 2006-2015. Prevalence, odds ratio, hazard ratio, and survival analysis were analyzed to study the association. Results: The overall prevalence of falls was 3.6%. Subjects with psychiatric diagnoses were with 3.28 more chance of falls. Subjects with psychotropic medication prescriptions were with 1.76 more chance of falls. Survival analysis revealed mean survival of 6.84 years after falls. The average survival years after falls was age related. Subjects with history of falls and carrying psychiatric diagnoses were with mean survival of 6.55 years and the hazard ratio of 0.84. Subjects with history of falls and psychotropic medication prescriptions were with means survival 6.15 years and the hazard ratio of 1.27. Conclusion: Psychiatric diagnoses and psychotropic medication prescriptions were associated with falls. Subjects with history of psychotropic medication prescriptions were associated with higher risk of mortality

Responding to COVID-19: emerging practices in addiction medicine in 17 countries.

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