Stresor dan Penanggulangan Stres Selama Masa Awal Pandemi Covid-19

Pandemi COVID-19 menciptakan gangguan pada beberapa aspek kehidupan manusia sehingga dapat menjadi sumber stres (Stresor). Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk mengidentifikasi stresor dan strategi penanggulangan stres individu selama 3 bulan awal pandemi COVID-19, yaitu bulan Maret – Mei 2020. Partisipan dalam penelitian ini merupakan 3 orang dewasa awal yang berpartisipasi dalam wawancara semi-terstruktur secara online. Analisis tematik digunakan untuk mengolah hasil data wawancara. Berdasarkan hasil dari penelitian ini, ditemukan 2 jenis stresor yang dirasakan selama pandemi COVID-19, yaitu stresor primer yang berkaitan secara langsung dengan COVID-19 dan stresor sekunder, yaitu stresor terkait aktivitas dan kehidupan sosial individu. Dalam mengatasi stres, strategi yang dikatakan sudah efektif dalam mengatasi stres yang dirasakan adalah dengan mencari social support, melakukan aktivitas yang bermanfaat, melakukan protokol kesehatan, dan memilah informasi terkait COVID-19. The COVID-19 pandemic creates disruption in several aspects of human life so that it can become source of stress (stressors). This study aims to identify stressors and individual coping strategies during the first 3 months (March – May 2020) of the COVID-19 pandemic. Participants in this study were 3 early adults who participated in online interviews. Thematic analysis is used to process the results of the interview. Based on the results of this study, 2 types of stressors were found: primary stressors that are directly related to COVID-19 and secondary stressors related to individual activities and social life. In dealing with stress, strategies that are said to be effective are to seek social support, carry out useful activities, carry out health protocols, and sort out information related to COVID-19.

Psychological Effects of the Coronavirus Disease 2019 Pandemic

The novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has spread across the world, reducing social interactions and causing substantial psychological distress and economic losses. This review summarizes the psychological effects of the COVID-19 pandemic in terms of uncertainty, the loss of autonomy associated with preventive measures, and secondary stressors such as potential future economic losses.

Dementia Caregiving and Cognition: An Extension of the Stress Process Model

As cases of Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias (ADRD) continue to rise, informal caregivers are critical resources in providing dementia care, yet caregiving is associated with high levels of burden, stress, anxiety and depression. Caregiving can be a prolonged and stressful experience, and impaired cognitive functioning in caregivers could impact their own health and quality of life and compromise the quality of care provided to their care-recipient. Thus, the purpose of the current study is to use the Stress Process Model as a guiding theoretical framework to identify whether primary stressors (e.g., care recipient functional status, cognitive problems) or secondary stressors (e.g., loss of self, economic conflict) predict performance across seven domains of cognition in 50 primary ADRD caregivers. Hierarchical regression analyses were used to examine which primary and secondary stressors emerge as predictors of cognitive performance. Results indicated that primary stressors (e.g., problematic dementia behaviors and relational deprivation) significantly predicted working memory performance and secondary stressors (e.g., economic strain, loss of self) significantly predicted implicit memory performance. Additionally, higher levels of caregiver burden predicted worse performance on executive functioning and implicit memory measures. Overall, the findings of this study indicate that the stress associated with caregiving may have adverse effects beyond psychosocial outcomes, and findings can be used to inform policies and practices with regard to caregiver health and well-being.

Identifying the Stressors Impacting Rescued Avian Wildlife

Urbanisation exposes avian wildlife to an array of environmental stressors that result in clinical admission and hospitalisation. The aim of this pilot study was to conduct a retrospective analysis of clinical data and characterise this based on categories of stress experienced by avian wildlife patients. The results from this study indicated that impact injuries (n = 33, 25%) and vehicle-related injuries (n = 33, 25%) were the most common occurring preliminary stressors that resulted in the hospitalisation of avian wildlife. The most common outcome of avian patients that suffered from vehicle-related injuries was euthanasia (n = 15, 45%), as was avian patients that suffered from impact injuries (n = 16, 48%). Immobility (n = 105, 61%) and abnormal behaviour (n = 24, 14%) were the most commonly occurring primary stressors of avian patients. Finally, trauma (n = 51, 32%) and fractures (n = 44, 27%) were the most common occurring secondary stressors in avian patients. The most common outcome of all these stressors was euthanasia. This study provided further evidence towards the notion that human- and urbanisation-related stressors are the main causes of hospitalisation of avian wildlife, but also indicated that birds admitted as a result of human-related stressors are more likely to be euthanised than released. This study also provided a categorisation system for the stressors identified in avian wildlife patients (preliminary, primary and secondary) that may be used to monitor the stress categories of wildlife patients and gain a deeper understanding of the complex notion of stress.

Sildenafil Citrate Does Not Reprogram Risk of Hypertension and Chronic Kidney Disease in Offspring of Preeclamptic Pregnancies in the Dahl SS/Jr Rat

BackgroundPreeclampsia is a disorder of pregnancy with accompanying high disease and economic burdens in the United States. Evidence supporting longstanding effects of preeclampsia on the offspring of affected pregnancies is high, but the effects of current antihypertensive therapies for preeclampsia on cardio-renal outcomes are largely unknown. The purpose of this study was to test the hypothesis that sildenafil citrate, a phosphodiesterase-5 inhibitor, reprograms the risk of hypertension and kidney disease in offspring of preeclamptic pregnancies by altering responses to secondary stressors.MethodsDahl SS/Jr rats on a 0.3% NaCl diet were mated. At gestational day 10, pregnant dams were randomized to vehicle diet or diet with sildenafil (50 mg/kg per day), which was continued until birth. Pups were weaned at 4 weeks of age and allowed to age on a 0.3% NaCl diet until 3 months of age. At this point, pups were randomized into three groups: baseline or no intervention, 2% NaCl diet challenge for 4 weeks, or a subpressor infusion of angiotensin II (200 ng/kg per minute) for 2 weeks.ResultsThere were no differences among maternal treatment groups at baseline. Upon introduction of 2% NaCl diet, male offspring of sildenafil-treated dams exhibited an attenuated rise in BP; however, this protection was not observed during angiotensin II infusion.ConclusionsOur findings indicate that intrapartum sildenafil does not reprogram the risk of hypertension and kidney disease in offspring of preeclamptic pregnancies.

Childhood Disadvantage, Social and Psychological Stress, and Substance Use Among Homeless Youth

We used a life stress framework to examine linkages between distal or primary stressors (e.g., child abuse) and proximal or secondary stressors (e.g., street victimization) and their association with substance use among 150 youth experiencing homelessness in the Midwestern United States. Results revealed that numerous primary stressors such as number of times youth ran from home and number of foster care placements were associated with secondary stressors, such as anxiety, total duration of homelessness, and street victimization. Only street physical victimization (e.g., been beaten up since leaving home) was associated with greater substance use. Our findings provide a more holistic picture of both distal and proximal life stressors that these young people experience and reveal the complexity of issues that service providers must acknowledge when working with this population.