Transgenerational Consequences of PTSD: Risk Factors for the Mental Health of Children Whose Mothers Have Been Exposed to the Rwandan Genocide

This chapter illustrates the mental health clinician’s relationship with behavioral emergencies. The chapter begins by distinguishing the terms behavioral emergency and behavioral crisis, and underlying themes among all behavioral emergencies are identified. Given that most clinicians will face a behavioral emergency in their careers, the importance of enhancing the process of educating and training practitioners for such situations far beyond the minimal training that currently exists is highlighted. The chapter continues by exploring various aspects of evaluating and managing high-risk patients (i.e., those who exhibit violent tendencies toward themselves or others, and those at risk for victimization). It includes a discussion of the benefits and limitations to estimating life-threatening risk factors and specific protective factors. The chapter concludes by discussing the emotional impact that working with high-risk patients has on clinicians, and an emphasis is placed on the importance of creating a supportive work environment.

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Loneliness, social isolation and cardiovascular risk

British Journal of Cardiac Nursing ◽

10.12968/bjca.2019.0093 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 14 (10) ◽

pp. 1-8 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Jackson Alun ◽

Barbara Murphy

Keyword(s):

Mental Health ◽

Risk Factors ◽

Social Isolation ◽

Mental Health Problems ◽

Cognitive Disorders ◽

Premature Death ◽

Physical And Mental Health ◽

Cardiac Events ◽

Patients At Risk ◽

Traditional Risk Factors

Loneliness and social isolation are increasingly being acknowledged as risk factors for both physical and mental health problems. Recent statistics demonstrate that loneliness and isolation are on the rise internationally, to the point of being classed as an epidemic. In this paper, the authors outline some of the recent research linking loneliness and isolation to significant chronic diseases such as cardiovascular disease and type II diabetes; mental health disorders such as anxiety and depression; cognitive disorders and dementia. Isolation has also been shown to compromise recovery after acute cardiac events, being associated with increased hospital readmission and premature death. Indeed, isolation has now been identified as a risk factor equivalent in effect to traditional risk factors such as smoking, hypertension and obesity. While distinguishing between objective and subjective indicators of isolation, the authors highlight the complexity of this phenomenon, both in terms of definition and measurement, as well as the interplay between subjective and objective indicators. Important clinical implications for health professionals working with cardiac patients are also proposed, in terms of screening for isolation, and possible interventions to support patients at risk of isolation. The aim of the current article is to emphasise the importance of acknowledging loneliness and isolation as key risk factors requiring urgent attention, both in research and in clinical practice.

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Customization of Diet May Promote Exercise and Improve Mental Wellbeing in Mature Adults: The Role of Exercise as a Mediator

Journal of Personalized Medicine ◽

10.3390/jpm11050435 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 11 (5) ◽

pp. 435

Author(s):

Lina Begdache ◽

Cara M. Patrissy

Keyword(s):

Mental Health ◽

Risk Factors ◽

Mental Distress ◽

Rank Order ◽

Principal Component ◽

Dietary Factors ◽

Mental Wellbeing ◽

Modifiable Risk Factors ◽

Food Groups ◽

Dietary Practices

Diet, dietary practices and exercise are modifiable risk factors for individuals living with mental distress. However, these relationships are intricate and multilayered in such a way that individual factors may influence mental health differently when combined within a pattern. Additionally, two important factors that need to be considered are gender and level of brain maturity. Therefore, it is essential to assess these modifiable risk factors based on gender and age group. The purpose of the study was to explore the combined and individual relationships between food groups, dietary practices and exercise to appreciate their association with mental distress in mature men and women. Adults 30 years and older were invited to complete the food–mood questionnaire. The anonymous questionnaire link was circulated on several social media platforms. A multi-analyses approach was used. A combination of data mining techniques, namely, a mediation regression analysis, the K-means clustering and principal component analysis as well as Spearman’s rank–order correlation were used to explore these research questions. The results suggest that women’s mental health has a higher association with dietary factors than men. Mental distress and exercise frequency were associated with different dietary and lifestyle patterns, which support the concept of customizing diet and lifestyle factors to improve mental wellbeing.

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Sociodemographic and Psychological Risk Factors for Anxiety and Depression: Findings from the Covid-19 Health and Adherence Research in Scotland on Mental Health (CHARIS-MH) Cross-sectional Survey

International Journal of Behavioral Medicine ◽

10.1007/s12529-021-09967-z ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Gill Hubbard ◽

Chantal den Daas ◽

Marie Johnston ◽

Diane Dixon

Keyword(s):

Mental Health ◽

Risk Factors ◽

Social Support ◽

Illness Representations ◽

Gender Effects ◽

Anxiety And Depression ◽

Perceived Threat ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Psychological Risk Factors ◽

Psychological Risk

Abstract Background Investigations about mental health report prevalence rates with fewer studies investigating psychological and social factors influencing mental health during the Covid-19 pandemic. Study aims: (1) identify sociodemographic groups of the adult population at risk of anxiety and depression and (2) determine if the following social and psychological risk factors for poor mental health moderated these direct sociodemographic effects: loneliness, social support, threat perception, illness representations. Methods Cross-sectional nationally representative telephone survey in Scotland in June 2020. If available, validated instruments were used, for example, Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-4) to measure anxiety and depression. Simple linear regressions followed by examination of moderation effect. Results A total of 1006 participants; median age 53 years, 61.4% female, from all levels of area deprivation (i.e., 3.8% in the most deprived decile and 15.6% in the most affluent decile). Analyses show associations of anxiety and depression with sociodemographic (age, gender, deprivation), social (social support, loneliness) and psychological factors (perceived threat and illness representations). Mental health was poorer in younger adults, women and people living in the most deprived areas. Age effects were exacerbated by loneliness and illness representations, gender effects by loneliness and illness representations and deprivation effects by loneliness, social support, illness representations and perceived threat. In each case, the moderating variables amplified the detrimental effects of the sociodemographic factors. Conclusions These findings confirm the results of pre-Covid-19 pandemic studies about associations between sociodemographics and mental health. Loneliness, lack of social support and thoughts about Covid-19 exacerbated these effects and offer pointers for pre-emptive action.

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Suicide risk assessment in a large public mental health service: do suicide risk classifications identify those at risk?

Australasian Psychiatry ◽

10.1177/1039856220984032 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 103985622098403

Author(s):

Marianne Wyder ◽

Manaan Kar Ray ◽

Samara Russell ◽

Kieran Kinsella ◽

David Crompton ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Mental Health ◽

Risk Factors ◽

Risk Assessment ◽

High Risk ◽

Suicide Risk ◽

Public Mental Health ◽

Assessment Tools ◽

Suicide Risk Assessment ◽

Public Mental Health Service ◽

Risk Assessment Tools

Introduction: Risk assessment tools are routinely used to identify patients at high risk. There is increasing evidence that these tools may not be sufficiently accurate to determine the risk of suicide of people, particularly those being treated in community mental health settings. Methods: An outcome analysis for case serials of people who died by suicide between January 2014 and December 2016 and had contact with a public mental health service within 31 days prior to their death. Results: Of the 68 people who had contact, 70.5% had a formal risk assessment. Seventy-five per cent were classified as low risk of suicide. None were identified as being at high risk. While individual risk factors were identified, these did not allow to differentiate between patients classified as low or medium. Discussion: Risk categorisation contributes little to patient safety. Given the dynamic nature of suicide risk, a risk assessment should focus on modifiable risk factors and safety planning rather than risk prediction. Conclusion: The prediction value of suicide risk assessment tools is limited. The risk classifications of high, medium or low could become the basis of denying necessary treatment to many and delivering unnecessary treatment to some and should not be used for care allocation.

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