scholarly journals The Living Space: Psychological Well-Being and Mental Health in Response to Interiors Presented in Virtual Reality

2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (23) ◽  
pp. 12510
Author(s):  
Nour Tawil ◽  
Izabela Maria Sztuka ◽  
Kira Pohlmann ◽  
Sonja Sudimac ◽  
Simone Kühn
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Virtual Reality ◽  
Positive Emotions ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Design Parameters ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Psychological Well Being ◽  
Interior Spaces ◽  
Free Exploration ◽  
The Impact

There has been a recent interest in how architecture affects mental health and psychological well-being, motivated by the fact that we spend the majority of our waking time inside and interacting with built environments. Some studies have investigated the psychological responses to indoor design parameters; for instance, contours, and proposed that curved interiors, when compared to angular ones, were aesthetically preferred and induced higher positive emotions. The present study aimed to systematically examine this hypothesis and further explore the impact of contrasting contours on affect, behavior, and cognition. We exposed 42 participants to four well-matched indoor living rooms under a free-exploration photorealistic virtual reality paradigm. We included style as an explorative second-level variable. Out of the 33 outcome variables measured, and after correcting for false discoveries, only two eventually confirmed differences in the contours analysis, in favor of angular rooms. Analysis of style primarily validated the contrast of our stimulus set, and showed significance in one other dependent variable. Results of additional analysis using the Bayesian framework were in line with those of the frequentist approach. The present results provide evidence against the hypothesis that curvature is preferred, suggesting that the psychological response to contours in a close-to-reality architectural setting could be more complex. This study, therefore, helps to communicate a more complete scientific view on the experience of interior spaces and proposes directions for necessary future research.

scholarly journals The Impact of COVID-19 Concerns on the Mental Health of Older Adults: A Rapid Review

2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. 727-728
Author(s):  
Sophia Perez ◽  
Alexandria Nuccio ◽  
Ashley Stripling
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Older Adults ◽  
Risk Perceptions ◽  
Psychological Impact ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Rapid Review ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Psychological Well Being ◽  
English Language Journal ◽  
The Impact

Abstract The Coronavirus (COVID-19) Pandemic continues to drastically impact older adults. Despite COVID-19 being linked to increased social isolation and loneliness, more research is needed on the psychological effects associated with older adults’ concerns of the pandemic. The current review explores associations between the COVID-19 Pandemic and older adults’ mental health to increase awareness and understanding. For this rapid review, empirical peer-reviewed source documents were identified through a computerized search using APA PsycInfo and Google Scholar bibliographical databases covering the years 2019 to 2021. The following keywords and combinations were used: “older adults,” “COVID-19,” and “mental health effects.” Relevant exclusion criteria were applied, and all related English-language journal articles were read. 47 articles met inclusion criteria. Eight associated COVID-19 stress with loneliness, anxiety, depression, sleep disturbances, and poor psychological well-being, with three additional articles reporting elevations in women. Three articles revealed mixed findings regarding the impact of age on psychological variables. 13 articles evaluated changes among those with psychological/psychiatric diagnoses, and six explored physical activity and depression. Of the remaining articles, two concentrated on nutrition; seven examined routines, behaviors, and societal or risk perceptions; two evaluated coping mechanisms; and three examined emotional distress changes. Understanding COVID-19’s psychological impact on older adults will take time. This rapid review revealed mixed findings regarding COVID-19 related concerns on older adults’ psychological well-being, with multiple demographic variables uniquely impacting these outcomes. It is imperative that future research explore older adults’ risks and develop interventions related to the psychological impact of COVID-19.

Mental Health and Well-Being Among Individuals With a Sensory Loss During COVID-19 Lockdown Measures

2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. 409-409
Author(s):  
Natascha Merten ◽  
Amy Schultz ◽  
Matthew Walsh ◽  
Suzanne van Landingham ◽  
Paul Peppard ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Hearing Impairment ◽  
Mental Health Problems ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Vision Impairment ◽  
Sensory Loss ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Sensory Impairment ◽  
Psychological Well Being ◽  
Health And Well Being

Abstract Hearing and vision impairment are highly prevalent chronic conditions and are associated with poorer mental health and well-being. Mental health problems may be exacerbated by COVID-19-related lockdown measures and limitations of in-person contacts may affect those with sensory impairments more severely. We aimed to determine whether hearing and/or visual impairment were associated with worse mental health and psychological well-being during lockdown measures in Spring/Summer 2020 in Wisconsin. We included 1341 (64% women, aged 20-92 years) Survey of the Health of Wisconsin participants of a COVID-19 survey (May-June, 2020). We assessed self-reported current mental health and psychological well-being and vision and hearing impairment. Logistic regression models with vision and hearing impairments as determinants and multiple mental health and well-being outcomes were used and adjusted for age, gender, race, education, heart disease, hypertension, hyperlipidemia and diabetes. In preliminary analyses, we found associations of vision impairment with increased odds of generalized anxiety disorder (odds ratio=2.10; 95% confidence interval=1.32-3.29) and depression (2.57; 1.58-4.11). Individuals with a vision impairment were more likely to be taking medication for depression (1.75; 1.13-2.68), report being lonely (1.65; 1.00-2.64) and report hopelessness (1.45; 1.01-2.08). Individuals with a hearing impairment were more likely to be taking depression medications (1.72; 1.07-2.73) and to report being lonely (1.80; 1.05-2.98). Sensory impairment was not associated with stress levels or sense of purpose in life. Individuals with sensory impairment may represent a particularly vulnerable population during the COVID-19 pandemic. Future research should determine underlying reasons and interventions to mitigate this populations’ disadvantages.

scholarly journals Shame Mediates the Relationship Between Pain Invalidation and Depression

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Brandon L. Boring ◽  
Kaitlyn T. Walsh ◽  
Namrata Nanavaty ◽  
Vani A. Mathur
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Depressive Symptoms ◽  
Social Withdrawal ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Poor Mental Health ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Internalized Shame ◽  
Self Worth ◽  
The Impact ◽  
The Relationship

The experience of pain is subjective, yet many people have their pain invalidated or not believed. Pain invalidation is associated with poor mental health, including depression and lower well-being. Qualitative investigations of invalidating experiences identify themes of depression, but also social withdrawal, self-criticism, and lower self-worth, all of which are core components of shame. Despite this, no studies have quantitatively assessed the interrelationship between pain invalidation, shame, and depression. To explore this relationship, participants recounted the frequency of experienced pain invalidation from family, friends, and medical professionals, as well as their feelings of internalized shame and depressive symptoms. As shame has been shown to be a precursor for depression, we further explored the role of shame as a mediator between pain invalidation and depressive symptoms. All sources of pain invalidation were positively associated with shame and depressive symptoms, and shame fully mediated the relationship between each source of pain invalidation and depression. Relative to other sources, pain invalidation from family was most closely tied to shame and depression. Overall, findings indicate that one mechanism by which pain invalidation may facilitate depression is via the experience of shame. Future research may explore shame as a potential upstream precursor to depression in the context of pain. Findings provide more insight into the harmful influence of pain invalidation on mental health and highlight the impact of interpersonal treatment on the experiences of people in pain.

High levels of anxiety and psychological well-being in college students: A dual factor model of mental health approach

2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 32-41
Author(s):  
Katherine Carver ◽  
Hajar Ismail ◽  
Christopher Reed ◽  
Justin Hayes ◽  
Haifa Alsaif ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
College Students ◽  
Life Satisfaction ◽  
Positive Emotions ◽  
Factor Model ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Psychological Well Being ◽  
Treatment And Prevention ◽  
Positive Rumination ◽  
High Life Satisfaction

Anxiety disorders are prevalent among college students and contribute to problems in social and academic functioning. The primary focus in the anxiety literature has been on symptoms and deficits in functioning rather than psychological well-being. The present study investigated the extent to which high levels of anxiety co-occurred with self-reported psychological well-being using a dual-factor model of mental health approach. Participants (n = 100) were categorized into two groups (high anxiety crossed with low and high life satisfaction), and groups were compared on several psychological well-being indicators. Supporting a dual-factor approach, students reporting high levels of anxiety and life satisfaction reported higher levels of hope, grit, gratitude, self-focused positive rumination, and savoring of positive emotions than students reporting high levels of anxiety and low levels of life satisfaction. Groups did not differ in emotion-focused positive rumination or in dampening of positive emotion. These results highlight well-being heterogeneity within individuals reporting high levels of anxiety, with implications for treatment and prevention efforts.

scholarly journals Declining mental health among disadvantaged Americans

2018 ◽  
Vol 115 (28) ◽  
pp. 7290-7295 ◽  
Author(s):  
Noreen Goldman ◽  
Dana A. Glei ◽  
Maxine Weinstein
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Psychological Health ◽  
Positive Emotions ◽  
Well Being ◽  
The United States ◽  
Opioid Epidemic ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Modest Improvement ◽  
The Us ◽  
The Impact

Although there is little dispute about the impact of the US opioid epidemic on recent mortality, there is less consensus about whether trends reflect increasing despair among American adults. The issue is complicated by the absence of established scales or definitions of despair as well as a paucity of studies examining changes in psychological health, especially well-being, since the 1990s. We contribute evidence using two cross-sectional waves of the Midlife in the United States (MIDUS) study to assess changes in measures of psychological distress and well-being. These measures capture negative emotions such as sadness, hopelessness, and worthlessness, and positive emotions such as happiness, fulfillment, and life satisfaction. Most of the measures reveal increasing distress and decreasing well-being across the age span for those of low relative socioeconomic position, in contrast to little decline or modest improvement for persons of high relative position.

scholarly journals Measuring the Impact of COVID-19 on Mental Health: A Scoping Review of the Existing Scales

2020 ◽  
Vol 42 (5) ◽  
pp. 421-427 ◽  
Author(s):  
Viswa Chaitanya Chandu ◽  
Yamuna Marella ◽  
Gnana Sarita Panga ◽  
Srinivas Pachava ◽  
Viswanath Vadapalli
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Scoping Review ◽  
Mental Health Problems ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Health Problems ◽  
Economic Consequences ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Electronic Database ◽  
Electronic Database Search ◽  
The Impact

Background: The coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, associated with the economic consequences of non-pharmaceutical interventions such as lockdown, has led to mental health consequences among people worldwide. Protecting the mental well-being of populations is an imperative component of fighting the COVID-19 pandemic. This scoping review attempts to present an overview of the existing tools to measure COVID-19-related mental health problems. Methods: Literature search was conducted in the PubMed electronic database using developed key search terms. Reference lists of the identified eligible articles were reviewed to locate relevant articles missed from the electronic database search. Fifteen scales measuring COVID-19-associated mental health problems, validated among diverse populations across the world, were included in this review. Results: The majority of these scales were validated among middle-aged adults in Turkey. Only a few validated scales encompass the negative socioeconomic consequences of COVID-19. None of the available scales focused on the aspects of suicidal ideation or behavioral responses/coping strategies, neither were they inclusive of participants from diverse age, geographic, and COVID-19 exposure groups. Conclusion: This scoping review highlights the need for future research to develop and validate comprehensive psychometric tools to assess COVID-19-associated mental health problems. Also, in view of the vulnerable nature of healthcare professionals for developing mental health concerns in the course of providing services for COVID-19-affected individuals, future psychometric research needs to concentrate on the development of measures specific for these professionals.

scholarly journals Psychological well-being in Italian families: An exploratory approach to the study of mental health across the adult life span in the blue zone

2017 ◽  
Vol 13 (3) ◽  
pp. 441-454 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paul Kenneth Hitchcott ◽  
Maria Chiara Fastame ◽  
Jessica Ferrai ◽  
Maria Pietronilla Penna
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Marital Status ◽  
Hierarchical Linear Modeling ◽  
Family Members ◽  
Depression Scale ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Personal Satisfaction ◽  
Psychological Well Being ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Blue Zone

Self-reported measures of psychological well-being and depressive symptoms were examined across differently aged family members, while controlling for the impact of marital status and personal satisfaction about family and non-family relations. Twenty-one grandchildren (i.e., ages 21-36 years) were recruited with their parents (i.e., 48-66 years old) and grandparents (i.e., 75-101 years of age) in the ‘blue zone’ of Ogliastra, an Italian area known for the longevity of its inhabitants. Each participant was individually presented a battery of questionnaires assessing their lifestyle and several perceived mental health indices, including the Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Well-Being Scale (WEMWBS, Tennant et al., 2007), and the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (i.e., CES-D, Radloff, 1977). After assessing the level of concordance among adults sharing the same context, the Hierarchical Linear Modeling (HLM) approach was used to assess the nested dataset. It was found that family membership (i.e., grandchildren versus parents and grandparents) predicted the WEMWBS score but not the CES-D when the impact of marital status and personal satisfaction about social (i.e., family and non-family) ties was controlled for. Moreover, two separate repeated-measure Analyses of Variance (ANOVAs) documented similar level of personal satisfaction about social relationships across the three family groups. In conclusions, satisfying social ties with friends and family members together with an active socially oriented life style seems to contribute to the promotion of mental health in adult span.

scholarly journals Effects of Economic Uncertainty on Mental Health in the COVID-19 Pandemic Context: Social Identity Disturbance, Job Uncertainty and Psychological Well-Being Model

2020 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 61-74 ◽  
Author(s):  
Danijela Godinic ◽  
Bojan Obrenovic ◽  
Akmal Khudaykulov
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Social Identity ◽  
Low Income ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Mental Illnesses ◽  
Economic Uncertainty ◽  
Psychological Well Being ◽  
Identity Disturbance ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
The Impact

Psychological well-being is a major global concern receiving more scholarly attention following the 2008 Great Recession, and it becomes even more relevant in the context of COVID-19 outbreak. In this study, we investigated the impact of economic uncertainty resulting from natural disasters, epidemics, and financial crisis on individuals’ mental health. As unemployment rate exponentially increases, individuals are faced with health and economic concerns. Not all society members are affected to the same extent, and marginalized groups, such as those suffering from chronic mental illnesses or low-income families cannot afford the downsizing, mass lay-offs and lack of access to public health services. Psychiatric profession is familiarized with the phenomenon of intolerance of uncertainty (IU), and we examine how this concept is associated with job uncertainty and social identity disturbance. Several studies have formally investigated the effects of IU, but to our knowledge, this is the first research integrating the psychological well-being, job uncertainty and identity disturbance caused by economic breakdown. Literature points to many reported cases of PTSD, anxiety, depression and suicidal tendencies following major social disasters. Yet, we have undertaken to analyze the subjective experiences underlying the self-harming behaviors in an attempt to fill the methodological gap by drawing insights from prominent psychological, sociological and economic theories. We find economic uncertainty to have a positive relation to job uncertainty and identity disturbance, and a negative relationship with psychological well-being. Psychological well-being depends on coherency between both abstract subjective and concrete objective identity, and when these perceptions are inconsistent, cognitive dissonance arises resulting in identity disturbance. We argue that stability is not associated with monetary advantage only, but also with a wide range of other benefits that are crucial for individuals’ growth, satisfaction and sense of identity. Therefore, we propose the implementation of social support and public welfare policies to mitigate health risks during the turbulent socio-economic changes.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document