Preventing Health Anxiety:The Role of Self-Evaluation,Sense of Coherence,Self-Rated Health and Perceived Social Support

Background:Components of Self,completed with the perceived social support determine the individual differences in theevaluation of a stressor and the behavioral responses toward it,such as health-related anxiety.The study set as a goal theanalysis of associations between the components of Self,such as self-evaluation,sense of coherence,perceived social support,and reported health-related anxiety in an adult sample.Methods:147 adults from the 18–73 age group(mean age 37.5)voluntarily completed the questionnaire through Qualtrics online platform containing the Short Health Anxiety Inventory,Core Self-Evaluation Scale,Social Support Assessing Scale,and one Health Self-Evaluation Item.Results:ANOVA foundrelevant differences in total scores and subscales’scores of the health anxiety scale depending on the positive self-evaluation.Linear regression shows that the analyzed variables were responsible for the prediction of a higher value on the“Perceivedprobability of becoming ill”subscale in a proportion of 45.6%and for the“Perceived consequence of illness”subscale in aproportion of 20.2%The predictive value of the linear regression model for the total score on the health anxiety scale was46.3%.Our findings show that negative Core Self-Evaluation is linked with perceived health anxiety.Conclusions:Selfevaluation,sense of coherence and perceived social support influence the perceived health and can explain the differences inthe reported health-related anxiety.

Comparative study of self-compassion and sense of coherence in nurses of psychiatric hospitals

Objective:Nurses,due to the nature of their job,are subjected to various forms of stress and physical and psychological injuries.Self-compassion and a sense of coherence have attracted much attention in research in recent years as having high potential for improving the health and performance of people in the workplace.The present study aimed to compare self-compassion and the sense of coherence in nurses working in psychiatric hospitals and other hospitals of Kerman University of Medical Sciences.Methods:The present study was a descriptive-comparative study of applied type conducted on 100 nurses of Shahid Beheshti Psychiatric Hospital in Kerman by the census method and 100 nurses of other hospitals of Kerman University of Medical Sciences by the stratified random sampling method.The instruments included the self-compassion questionnaire and the sense of coherence questionnaire.Data were analyzed using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences software.Results:The results of the present study showed that self-compassion and sense of coherence were higher in psychiatric nurses(39.35±7.7 and 53.02±8.01)than among other nurses(36.03±5.81 and 49.76±6.30).There was a direct and moderate relationship between a sense of coherence and self-compassion(P-value<0.005).The higher the score of compassion for oneself,the higher was the score of sense of coherence.Furthermore,the sense of coherence had a direct and weak relationship with all dimensions of self-compassion,except for the extreme imitation dimension,which showed a direct and moderate relationship to other dimensions(P-value<0.001).Conclusions:Self-compassion and a sense of coherence,as a form of self-communication,increase nurses’satisfaction and reduce nurses’job stress and,as a result,job performance is improved.

Sense of Coherence, Self-Disclosure, and Depression in Lung Cancer Patients

This study aimed to investigate the relationship between sense of coherence and depression and the mediating role of self-disclosure in lung cancer patients. Α cross-sectional study was conducted in “Sotiria” Chest Diseases Hospital, Greece, with a sample of 200 lung cancer patients. The administered questionnaires included demographic-medical information, SOC-13, Distress Disclosure Index, and CES-D scale. Analysis was performed by SPSS v.23 and PROCESS. Depression was common (41%) and negatively correlated to SOC (rho = -0.843, df = 198, p < 0.001), while self-disclosure did not mediate this relationship. Hierarchical linear regression analysis showed that patients with weak SOC, disease recurrence, metastases, low income, and receiving therapy in Day clinic had higher levels of depression. In conclusion, a strong SOC represents a protective factor against depression in lung cancer patients. Consequently, there is a need for targeted interventions, which should mainly increase SOC of these patients.

Reliability and Validity of the Norwegian Family Sense of Coherence Scale

Aims and Objectives: To investigate reliability and validity of the translated Norwegian version of the Family Sense of Coherence scale. Background: The Family Sense of Coherence scale measures the global sense of coherence in families and might help health professionals to identify vulnerable families and to facilitate the strengthening of coping strategies in families. Design: Cross-sectional. Methods: In total, 264 parents of children with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and 157 parents of children in secondary schools in three municipalities responded to a questionnaire regarding the characteristics of the parent and the child, with four scales: Family Sense of Coherence, Sense of Coherence, Family Assessment Device and Well-being. Statistics with Cronbach alpha, intra-class correlation coefficient, independent sample t-test and Pearson’s correlation coefficient were used to establish the reliability and validity of the scale. Results: Internal consistency with Cronbach’s alpha was acceptable and test-retest reliability with intra-class correlation coefficient was sufficient. Known-groups test revealed statistical differences between the two groups of parents as pre-considered and significant correlations between Family Sense of Coherence and Sense of Coherence, Family Assessment Device and Well-being were found. Conclusion: The Norwegian version of Family Sense of Coherence scale can be considered as reliable and valid for the studied population. Relevance to Clinical Practice: The Family Sense of Coherence scale appears to be an appropriate instrument for evaluating and assessing to find vulnerable families who are in need of interventions strengthening the family’s resources.

Can Sense of Coherence Indicate Resilience and Mitigate the Cycle of Violence in Parenting?

Background: Harsh parenting practices during childhood have long-term negative effects on children’s mental health. A focus of nursing care on women’s resilience should be implemented because mothers who have experienced violence tend to be harsh parents. Aim: This study investigated the association between mothers’ violent experiences and harsh parenting (HP) and examined the effects of a sense of coherence (SOC) on this association, assuming that SOC can be an indicator of resilience. Method: In this prospective cohort study of 487 mothers, data were collected on SOC and history of intimate partner violence (IPV) at 1 year after childbirth and HP of their child at 18 months after childbirth. Results: In the 277 responses analyzed by multiple logistic regression analysis, a strong SOC moderating the effect on HP was observed for current IPV and witnessing IPV in childhood, but not for experiencing childhood corporal punishment. Discussion: SOC is a useful indicator of resilience in female victims of violence and is effective in regulating stress spillover. However, its effects are weakened by the learned acquisition aspect of violence. Conclusion: In nursing, providing support to alleviate stress and relearn parenting based on an assessment of the mother’s history of violence and SOC as the resilience indicator is important in curbing HP.

The status of caregiver burden and influencing factors among family caregivers in maintenance hemodialysis patients

Objective: To investigate the status of caregiver burden and influencing factors among family caregivers in maintenance hemodialysis (MHD) patients under the background of coronavirus disease 2019, and to provide references for nursing intervention. Methods: From May to August 2020, 237 convenient samples were recruited from the Hemodialysis Centers of The Renmin Hospital of Wuhan University and Zhongnan Hospital of Wuhan University. Questionnaires were conducted with the General Information Questionnaire, Zarit Burden Interview (ZBI), Sense of Coherence-13 (SOC-13) and Perceived Social Support Scale (PSSS). Multiple linear regression was used to analyze the influencing factors of caregiver burden. Results: The score of ZBI among the caregivers was (36.05 ± 14.09). The ZBI of family caregivers was negatively correlated with SOC-13 and PSSS (P < 0.01). Multiple regression results showed that professional status of MHD patients, activity of MHD patients, comprehensibility, manageability and other support were the main influencing factors of their caregiver burden (P < 0.01), which explained 44.4% of the variance. Conclusion: The caregiver burden among family caregivers of MHD patients was above average under the background of COVID-19, which indicated that they felt more burden in the process of caring. Medical staff could give targeted support and guidance in combination with their influencing factors to reduce their caregiver burden further.

Widening the perspectives of fracture prevention in osteoporosis by identifying subgroups based upon psychological aspects and health behaviour

The potential importance of psychological aspects in relation to risk factors for fractures and preventing unhealth behaviour has rarely been investigated in the field of osteoporosis. This study explores some psychological aspects and health behaviour of people detected to have osteoporosis at the time of a forearm fracture. Moreover, it aims at revealing subgroups within this population with clinical relevance for managing secondary prevention actions. Data collection was based on questionnaires and physical tests. Eighty-five individual were analysed. The results confirm earlier research on a similar population having relatively good self-reported health behaviour. The individuals reported high quality of life, high amount of physical activity and low alcohol intake. A majority reported good osteoporosis knowledge, a high sense of coherence (mean = 74) and high activity-specific balance confidence (mean = 81). Furthermore, hierarchical cluster analysis indicated a typology of two subgroups where 75% matched a health-resilient group while 25% matched a health-vulnerable group. The vulnerable group had a significantly lower sense of coherence SOC (p = 0.02) and activity-specific balance confidence, ABC (p = 0.001). This pattern was confirmed from behavioural aspects but only regarding one traditional risk factor namely the history of fractures. The health-vulnerable group achieved a significantly weaker physical profile, less reported time spent outdoors and lower quality of life. The differences found between the subgroups indicate that this typology, as a complement to models based upon relative risk like FRAX, can be relevant for widening perspectives in future research and clinical practice of fracture prevention in osteoporosis.