Kindness as an Intervention for Student Social Interaction Anxiety, Resilience, Affect, and Mood: The KISS of Kindness Study II

The purpose of this study was to assess the impact of deliberate acts of kindness (DAKs) plus access to a stress management booklet (intervention), compared to the booklet alone (control) on the stress-related outcomes of resilience, social interaction anxiety, affect, and mood of undergraduate and graduate students. Participants’ study-related experiences were also explored, as were the types of DAKs. This repeated-measures, randomized controlled trial included 112 students (80 undergraduate and 32 graduate) with 56 in each condition. Four previously validated scales were implemented at baseline, immediate post-intervention, and 3-months post-intervention. A linear mixed effects model was utilized with group and time entered as fixed effects. Content analysis of open-ended question responses and DAKs logs was conducted. The KISS of Kindness II had a statistically significant interaction effect on the intervention group participants’ resilience (p = 0.0099), social anxiety (p = 0.0016), and negative affect (p = 0.0033), but had no significant impact on their positive affect or mood. Intervention participants described improvements in mental wellbeing. DAKs were plentiful (1,542 DAKs, 26 types), and show promise for university-based mental health interventions

Randomized clinical trial of the effects of screening and brief intervention for illicit drug use: the Life Shift/Shift Gears study.

BackgroundAlthough screening, brief intervention, and referral to treatment (SBIRT) has shown promise for alcohol use, relatively little is known about its effectiveness for adult illicit drug use. This randomized controlled trial assessed the effectiveness of the SBIRT approach for outcomes related to drug use among patients visiting trauma and emergency departments (EDs) at two large, urban hospitals.MethodsA total of 700 ED patients who admitted using illegal drugs in the past 30 days were recruited, consented, provided baseline measures of substance use and related problems measured with the Addiction Severity Index-Lite (ASI-Lite), and then randomized to the Life Shift SBIRT intervention or to an attention-placebo control group focusing on driving and traffic safety (Shift Gears). Both groups received a level of motivational intervention matched to their condition and risk level by trained paraprofessional health educators. Separate measurement technicians conducted face-to-face follow-ups at 6 months post-intervention and collected hair samples to confirm reports of abstinence from drug use. The primary outcome measure of the study was past 30-day drug abstinence at 6 months post-intervention, as self-reported on the ASI-Lite.ResultsOf 700 participants, 292 (42%) completed follow-up. There were no significant differences in self-reported abstinence (12.5% vs. 12.0% , p = 0.88) for Life Shift and Shift Gears groups, respectively. When results of hair analyses were applied, the abstinence rate was 7 percent for Life Shift and 2 percent for Shift Gears (p = .074). In an analysis in which results were imputed (n = 694), there was no significant difference in the ASI-Lite drug use composite scores (Life Shift +0.005 vs. Shift Gears +0.017, p = 0.12).ConclusionsIn this randomized controlled trial, there was no evidence of effectiveness of SBIRT on the primary drug use outcome.Trial registrationClinicalTrials.gov NCT01683227

Ontario adults’ health behaviors, mental health, and overall well-being during the COVID-19 pandemic

Background: Public health measures such as physical distancing and work-from-home initiatives have been implemented to slow the spread of COVID-19. These measures may also be associated with unhealthy lifestyle behaviors, which could be particularly problematic for those already at highest risk for losing years of healthy life due to chronic disease (i.e., 30–59-year-olds). The purpose of this paper is two-fold: (1) to provide an overview of Ontario adults’ health behaviors (i.e., physical activity, sedentary behaviors, and dietary intake), mental health, and well-being during the first few months of the COVID-19 pandemic (April–July 2020); and (2) to explore the difference between physical activity and various health behaviors (i.e., well-being, mental health, and dietary intake). Methods: As a part of a larger, longitudinal study, participants completed an online survey that included demographic information, the Global Physical Activity Questionnaire, Starting the Conversation, the Mental Health Inventory, and the Personal Wellbeing Index-Adult. Data analyses involved computing measures of central tendency and dispersion for demographic characteristics and tools followed by descriptive statistics. Separate independent t-tests were conducted to investigate the difference between physical activity status and well-being, mental health, and dietary intake. Results: A total of 2157 Ontarians completed an online survey. Descriptive statistics indicated that respondents met physical activity and sedentary behavior guidelines, reported double the amount of recommended recreational screen time, practiced moderately healthy dietary behaviors, experienced mental health problems, and scored below “normal” in some well-being domains. Conclusion: As the end of the COVID-19 pandemic is currently unknown, its associated restrictions and society changes may influence adults’ behaviors in both the short- and longer-term. As such, our findings might provide immediate insight into the development of timely and evidence-informed health promotion and disease prevention strategies for Canadians, which could support adults’ health behaviors, mental health, and well-being during the COVID-19 pandemic and other, future pandemics

Not so sweet dreams: adults\u27 quantity, quality, and disruptions of sleep during the initial stages of the COVID-19 pandemic

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to investigate Ontario adults\u27 reported sleep quantity, quality, and disturbances during the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic (April–July 2020). Methods: As part of a larger, chronic disease-focused, and ongoing longitudinal study designed to explore Ontario adults\u27 health and wellness-related behaviors during the pandemic, participants completed an online survey that included demographic information and the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI). The PSQI consists of 19 items, one of which is open-ended, designed to assess an individual\u27s quantity, quality, and patterns of sleep on seven domains (ie, subjective sleep quality, sleep latency, sleep duration, habitual sleep efficiency, sleep disturbances, use of sleep medication, and daytime dysfunction over the last month). Summative content analysis was used to analyze responses to the open-ended question regarding participants\u27 sleep disturbances. Results: This study included 2192 individuals, 85% of whom slept 6+ hours/night. The mean global PSQI score was 7.57, out of a possible 21 (SD = 4.09). The self-reported sleep disturbances of largest concern were: (1) general fear/anxiety/worry (n = 203); (2) children (n = 167); (3) mind wandering/overthinking (n = 118); (4) pain/injury (n = 78); (5) partner (n = 78); and (6) fear/anxiety/stress related to COVID-19 (n = 74). Conclusion: The global PSQI score was indicative of poor sleep quality, and Ontario adults experienced a number of sleep disturbances during early days of the COVID-19 pandemic. These findings are noteworthy as sleep is a crucial component in positive health and wellbeing

Impacts of COVID-19 on the Coping Behaviours of Canadian Women Experiencing Intimate Partner Violence

Background: Strict public health measures central to slowing the spread of COVID-19 have, unintentionally, exacerbated risks for women experiencing intimate partner violence (IPV) while impeding their usual coping strategies. The goal of this study was to understand how coping was influenced by COVID-19 for women who have experienced IPV and identify changes in coping strategies and gaps that need to be addressed to support coping. Methods: A qualitatively driven, sequential, cross-sectional design, where quantitative data informed and was embedded within qualitative data collection, was used to explore the experiences of IPV (CAS-R-SF scale) and coping (Brief-COPE scale) specific to IPV of 95 Canadian women. A subset of 19 women was invited to complete an interview exploring coping strategies identified within the survey to contextualize and validate these findings. Results: Survey data subjected to quantitative content analysis identified ten themes, all of which were explored in semi-structured interviews. Thematic interview findings included (1) influence of COVID-19 on coping, (2) coping during COVID-19, and (3) needed coping strategies. Conclusion: COVID-19 had important impacts on the experiences and coping strategies of women who experience IPV. To better support this population in pandemic circumstances, in-person services should be prioritized with an emphasis on accessible and empathetic care. Public health measures in response to COVID-19, and the eventuality of future pandemics, should aim to be gender- and violence-informed

Crustal structure of the Mid Black Sea High from wide-angle seismic data

The Mid Black Sea High comprises two en echelon basement ridges, the Archangelsky and Andrusov ridges, that separate the western and eastern Black Sea basins. The sediment cover above these ridges has been characterized by extensive seismic reflection data, but the crustal structure beneath is poorly known. We present results from a densely sampled wide-angle seismic profile, coincident with a pre-existing seismic reflection profile, which elucidates the crustal structure. We show that the basement ridges are covered by approximately 1–2 km of pre-rift sedimentary rocks. The Archangelsky Ridge has higher pre-rift sedimentary velocities and higher velocities at the top of basement (c. 6 km s−1). The Andrusov Ridge has lower pre-rift sedimentary velocities and velocities less than 5 km s−1 at the top of the basement. Both ridges are underlain by approximately 20-km-thick crust with velocities reaching around 7.2 km s−1 at their base, interpreted as thinned continental crust. These high velocities are consistent with the geology of the Pontides, which is formed of accreted island arcs, oceanic plateaux and accretionary complexes. The crustal thickness implies crustal thinning factors of approximately 1.5–2. The differences between the ridges reflect different sedimentary and tectonic histories

Steady late quaternary slip rate on the Cinarcik section of the North Anatolian fault near Istanbul, Turkey

The distribution of plate motion between multiple fault strands and how this distribution may evolve remain poorly understood, despite the key implications for seismic hazards. The North Anatolian Fault in northwest Turkey is a prime example of a multistranded continental transform. Here we present the first constraints on late Quaternary slip rates on its northern branch across the Cinarcik Basin in the eastern Marmara Sea. We use both deep penetration and high‐resolution multichannel seismic reflection data with a stratigraphic age model to show that a depocenter has persisted near the fault bend responsible for that transform basin. Successively older depocenters have been transported westward by fault motion relative to Eurasia, indicating a uniform right‐lateral slip rate of 18.5 mm/yr over the last 500,000 years, compared to overall GPS rates (23–24 mm/yr). Thus, the northern branch has slipped at a nearly constant rate and has accounted for most of the relative plate motion between Eurasia and Anatolia since ~0.5 Ma

Surface-wave imaging of the weakly-extended Malawi Rift from ambient-noise and teleseismic Rayleigh waves from onshore and lake-bottom seismometers

Located at the southernmost sector of the Western Branch of the East African Rift System, the Malawi Rift exemplifies an active, magma-poor, weakly extended continental rift. To investigate the controls on rifting, we image crustal and uppermost mantle structure beneath the region using ambient-noise and teleseismic Rayleigh-wave phase velocities between 9 and 100 s period. Our study includes six lake-bottom seismometers located in Lake Malawi (Nyasa), the first time seismometers have been deployed in any of the African rift lakes. Noise-levels in the lake are lower than that of shallow oceanic environments and allow successful application of compliance corrections and instrument orientation determination. Resulting phase-velocity maps reveal slow velocities primarily confined to Lake Malawi at short periods (T 25 s) a prominent low-velocity anomaly exists beneath the Rungwe Volcanic Province at the northern terminus of the rift basin. Estimates of phase-velocity sensitivity indicates these low velocities occur within the lithospheric mantle and potentially uppermost asthenosphere, suggesting that mantle processes may control the association of volcanic centers and the localization of magmatism. Beneath the main portion of the Malawi Rift, a modest reduction in velocity is also observed at periods sensitive to the crust and upper mantle, but these velocities are much higher than those observed beneath Rungwe