Moving the dial on prenatal stress mechanisms of neurodevelopmental vulnerability to mental health problems: A personalized prevention proof of concept

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lauren S. Wakschlag ◽  
Darius Tandon ◽  
Sheila Krogh‐Jespersen ◽  
Amelie Petitclerc ◽  
Ashley Nielsen ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Prenatal Stress ◽  
Mental Health Problems ◽  
Health Problems ◽  
Proof Of Concept

scholarly journals Effectiveness of a Videoconferencing-Delivered Psychological Intervention for Mental Health Problems during COVID-19: A Proof-of-Concept Randomized Clinical Trial

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-10
Author(s):  
Richard A. Bryant ◽  
Katie S. Dawson ◽  
Dharani Keyan ◽  
Suzanna Azevedo ◽  
Srishti Yadav ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Effect Size ◽  
Primary Outcome ◽  
Mental Health Problems ◽  
Psychological Intervention ◽  
Health Problems ◽  
Mean Difference ◽  
Secondary Outcome ◽  
Anxiety And Depression ◽  
Proof Of Concept

<b><i>Introduction:</i></b> Anxiety and depression have increased markedly during the COVID-19 pandemic. There is a lack of evidence-based strategies to address these mental health needs during the pandemic. <b><i>Objective:</i></b> We aim to conduct a proof-of-concept trial of the efficacy of a brief group-based psychological intervention delivered via videoconferencing for adults in Australia distressed by the pandemic. <b><i>Methods:</i></b> In this single-blind, parallel, randomised controlled trial, adults who screened positive for COVID-related psychological distress across Australia were randomly allocated to either a 6-session group-based program based on behavioural principles (<i>n</i> = 120) or enhanced usual care (EUC, <i>n</i> = 120). Primary outcome was total score on the Hospital Anxiety and Depression (HADS) anxiety and depression subscales assessed at baseline, 1 week posttreatment, 2 months (primary outcome time point), and 6 months after treatment, as well as secondary outcome measures of worry, sleep impairment, anhedonia, mood, and COVID-19-related stress. <b><i>Results:</i></b> Between May 20, 2020, and October 20, 2020, 240 patients were enrolled into the trial. Relative to EUC, at 2 months participants receiving intervention showed greater reduction on anxiety (mean difference, 1.4 [95% CI, 0.3 to 2.6], <i>p</i> = 0.01; effect size, 0.4 [95% CI, 0.1 to 0.7]) and depression (mean difference, 1.6 [95% CI, 0.4 to 2.8], p = 0.009; effect size, 0.4 [95% CI, 0.2 to 0.7]) scales. These effects were maintained at 6 months. There were also greater reductions of worry, anhedonia, COVID-19-related fears, and contamination fears. <b><i>Conclusions:</i></b> This trial provides initial evidence that brief group-based behavioural intervention delivered via videoconferencing results in moderate reductions in common psychological problems arising during the COVID-19 pandemic. This program may offer a viable and scalable means to mitigate the rising mental health problems during the pandemic.

scholarly journals Pregnancy as a period of risk, adaptation, and resilience for mothers and infants

2020 ◽  
Vol 32 (5) ◽  
pp. 1625-1639 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elysia Poggi Davis ◽  
Angela J. Narayan
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Prenatal Stress ◽  
Mental Health Problems ◽  
Child Outcomes ◽  
Health Problems ◽  
Sensitive Period ◽  
Risk And Resilience ◽  
Environmental Signals ◽  
Response Systems ◽  
Prenatal Interventions

AbstractThe pregnancy period represents a unique window of opportunity to identify risks to both the fetus and mother and to deter the intergenerational transmission of adversity and mental health problems. Although the maternal–fetal dyad is especially vulnerable to the effects of stress during pregnancy, less is known about how the dyad is also receptive to salutary, resilience-promoting influences. The present review adopts life span and intergenerational perspectives to review four key areas of research. The first part describes how pregnancy is a sensitive period for both the mother and fetus. In the second part, the focus is on antecedents of maternal prenatal risks pertaining to prenatal stress response systems and mental health. The third part then turns to elucidating how these alterations in prenatal stress physiology and mental health problems may affect infant and child outcomes. The fourth part underscores how pregnancy is also a time of heightened fetal receptivity to maternal and environmental signals, with profound implications for adaptation. This section also reviews empirical evidence of promotive and protective factors that buffer the mother and fetus from developmental and adaptational problems and covers a sample of rigorous evidence-based prenatal interventions that prevent maladaptation in the maternal–fetal dyad before babies are born. Finally, recommendations elaborate on how to further strengthen understanding of pregnancy as a period of multilevel risk and resilience, enhance comprehensive prenatal screening, and expand on prenatal interventions to promote maternal–fetal adaptation before birth.

Fetal growth and subsequent mental health problems in children aged 4 to 13 years

2000 ◽  
Vol 42 (01) ◽  
pp. 14 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stephen R Zubrick ◽  
Jennifer J Kurinczuk ◽  
Brett M C McDermott ◽  
Robert S McKelvey ◽  
Sven R Silburn ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Fetal Growth ◽  
Mental Health Problems ◽  
Health Problems

Mental Health Among Adolescents from Returned Portuguese Immigrant Families

2010 ◽  
Vol 69 (3) ◽  
pp. 131-139 ◽  
Author(s):  
Félix Neto
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Health Outcomes ◽  
Mental Health Problems ◽  
Immigrant Families ◽  
Health Problems ◽  
Mental Health Outcomes ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Older Adolescents ◽  
The Mean ◽  
Portuguese Adolescents

This study investigated mental health problems and their predictors among adolescents from returned immigrant families. The sample consisted of 360 returned adolescents (mean age = 16.8 years; SD = 1.9). The mean duration of a sojourn in Portugal for the sample was 8.2 years (SD = 4.5). A control group of 217 Portuguese youths were also included in the study. Adolescents from immigrant families reported mental health levels similar to those of Portuguese adolescents who have never migrated. Girls showed more mental health problems than boys. Younger adolescents showed fewer mental health problems than older adolescents. Adaptation variables contributed to mental health outcomes even after acculturation variables were accounted for. Implications of the study for counselors are discussed.

Physical and Psychological Benefits of Written Emotional Expression

2015 ◽  
Vol 20 (4) ◽  
pp. 242-251 ◽  
Author(s):  
Éva Kállay
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Expressive Writing ◽  
Mental Health Problems ◽  
Cost Effective ◽  
Health Problems ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Psychological Benefits ◽  
Cost Effective Treatment ◽  
Meta Analyses

Abstract. The last several decades have witnessed a substantial increase in the number of individuals suffering from both diagnosable and subsyndromal mental health problems. Consequently, the development of cost-effective treatment methods, accessible to large populations suffering from different forms of mental health problems, became imperative. A very promising intervention is the method of expressive writing (EW), which may be used in both clinically diagnosable cases and subthreshold symptomatology. This method, in which people express their feelings and thoughts related to stressful situations in writing, has been found to improve participants’ long-term psychological, physiological, behavioral, and social functioning. Based on a thorough analysis and synthesis of the published literature (also including most recent meta-analyses), the present paper presents the expressive writing method, its short- and long-term, intra-and interpersonal effects, different situations and conditions in which it has been proven to be effective, the most important mechanisms implied in the process of recovery, advantages, disadvantages, and possible pitfalls of the method, as well as variants of the original technique and future research directions.

Mental Health Problems in Childhood

1979 ◽  
Vol 24 (3) ◽  
pp. 205-206
Author(s):  
MARILYN T. ERICKSON
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Mental Health Problems ◽  
Health Problems
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