Feasibility of Monitoring Health and Well-being in Emerging Adults: Pilot Longitudinal Cohort Study.

BACKGROUND: Emerging adulthood is a distinct segment of an individual's life course. The defining features of this transitional period include identity exploration, instability, future possibilities, self-focus, and feeling in-between, all of which are thought to affect quality of life, health, and well-being. A longitudinal cohort study with a comprehensive set of measures would be a valuable resource for improving the understanding of the multifaceted elements and unique challenges that contribute to the health and well-being of emerging adults. OBJECTIVE: The main aim of this pilot study was to evaluate the feasibility and acceptability of recruiting university graduates to establish a longitudinal cohort study to inform the understanding of emerging adulthood. METHODS: This pilot study was conducted among graduates at a large university. It involved collecting web-based survey data at baseline (ie, graduation) and 12 months post baseline, and linking survey responses to health records from administrative data collections. The feasibility outcome measures of interest included the recruitment rate, response rate, retention rate, data linkage opt-out rate, and availability of linked health records. Descriptive statistics were used to evaluate the representativeness of the sample, completeness of the survey responses, and data linkage characteristics. RESULTS: Only 2.8% of invited graduates (238/8532) agreed to participate in this pilot cohort study, of whom 59.7% (142/238) responded to the baseline survey. The retention rate between the baseline and follow-up surveys was 69.7% (99/142). The completeness of the surveys was excellent, with the proportion of answered questions in each survey domain ranging from 87.3% to 100% in both the baseline and follow-up surveys. The data linkage opt-out rate was 32.4% (77/238). CONCLUSIONS: The overall recruitment rate was poor, while the completeness of survey responses among respondents ranged from good to excellent. There was reasonable acceptability for conducting data linkage of health records from administrative data collections and survey responses. This pilot study offers insights and recommendations for future research aiming to establish a longitudinal cohort study to investigate health and well-being in emerging adults. TRIAL REGISTRATION: Australian New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry number ACTRN12618001364268; https://tinyurl.com/teec8wh. INTERNATIONAL REGISTERED REPORT IDENTIFIER (IRRID): RR2-10.2196/16108.

The motivations of donor-conceived adults for seeking information about, and contact with, sperm donors.

RESEARCH QUESTION: How do the demographic characteristics, mental health experiences and disclosure experiences of donor-conceived adults shape motivations for seeking information about their sperm donors, contact with them, or both? DESIGN: Sixty-nine Australian adults who conceived through sperm donors completed an online survey. Uniquely, information and contact seeking were investigated as two distinct concepts. RESULTS: Participants reported a variety of demographic, mental health, disclosure and discovery experiences. Most had been motivated to seek information about their donor (88%), contact with them (71%), or both. The most commonly reported motivations for each act were for medical information, expanding their identity and curiosity. Logistic regression findings were significant for wanting medical information as a motivation for seeking donor information (P = 0.03). Endorsement of this motivation was associated with self-reported anxiety (P = 0.02) and less likely as participant age increased (P = 0.02). Motivation to contact donors for medical information was associated with self-reported anxiety (P = 0.02) and depression (P = 0.01), and more likely when the participant was raised in a household that included the recipient co-parent (P = 0.04). As years since disclosure or discovery increased, participants were less likely to report wanting medical information as a motivation (P = 0.02). CONCLUSION: Overall, participants were motivated to obtain information and seek contact with sperm donors. Motivations for each were similar despite participants varying in age and reporting a range of circumstances regarding disclosure, some of which were adverse.

"It's Been a Bit of a Rollercoaster": Australian Women's Difficulties and Coping Strategies.

Women's coping strategies may be affected by many factors, including their health and wellbeing, their social roles, and the broader environment. While the coping strategies of vulnerable women have been studied, little qualitative research has focussed on how women from the general population cope with their difficulties. The aim of this paper is to explore difficulties and coping strategies among Australian women. Women's perspectives on their ways of coping with the difficulties they had faced in their lives were thematically analysed from semi-structured telephone interviews with 36 women purposively sampled from over 7,000 women from the 1973-78 cohort of the Australian Longitudinal Study on Women's Health. Difficulties were identified with health, relationships, finances, and work/study. Coping strategies included using resources, support from others, lifestyle strategies, and cognitive strategies. It is helpful for psychiatric mental health nurses and other health professionals to understand women's coping strategies in order to better support women experiencing difficulties.

Monitoring Health and Well-Being in Emerging Adults: Protocol for a Pilot Longitudinal Cohort Study.

BACKGROUND: Emerging adulthood is a unique segment of an individual's life course. The defining features of this transitional period include identity exploration, instability, future possibilities, self-focus, and feeling in-between adolescence and adulthood, all of which are thought to affect quality of life, health, and well-being. A longitudinal cohort study with a comprehensive set of measures would be a unique and valuable resource for improving the understanding of the multi-faceted elements and unique challenges that contribute to the health and well-being of emerging adults. OBJECTIVE: The main aim of this pilot study is to evaluate the feasibility and acceptability of recruiting university graduates to establish a longitudinal cohort study to inform our understanding of emerging adulthood. METHODS: This is a pilot longitudinal cohort study of Australian university graduates. It will involve collecting information via online surveys (baseline and 12-month follow-up) and data linkage with health records. Recruitment, response, and retention rates will be calculated. Descriptive analysis of the representativeness of recruited participants and completeness of survey responses will be conducted. RESULTS: Participant recruitment was completed in October 2018, and data collection for the baseline and follow-up surveys was completed in November 2019. As of April 2020, the process of acquiring health records from administrative data collections has commenced. CONCLUSIONS: The findings from this pilot study will identify areas for improvement and inform the development of a future longitudinal cohort study of emerging adults. TRIAL REGISTRATION: Australian New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry ACTRN12618001364268; https://tinyurl.com/teec8wh. INTERNATIONAL REGISTERED REPORT IDENTIFIER (IRRID): DERR1-10.2196/16108.

From distress to flourishing: towards a strengths-based approach for young mothers.

Objective: The current study aims to better understand the predictors of flourishing, as well as the predictors of distress, among first-time Australian mothers in their teens and early 20s in the first year postpartum.Background: Past research has linked early motherhood with poor outcomes for mother and baby. However, other research has demonstrated that disadvantage often precedes early motherhood, rather than results from it, and there has been a consistent body of qualitative research highlighting positive outcomes for young mothers. In this paper, we investigate who is doing well amongst a sample of young mothers.Methods: Through quantitative analysis of survey data of 86 women aged 16-24 years who had transitioned to motherhood in the past 12 months, we investigate the predictors of flourishing, along with postnatal distress.Results: Our findings suggest that this sample of women was doing well, with relatively high scores on flourishing and low scores on distress. As expected, the two constructs were negatively correlated.Conclusion: Whilst self-esteem was a consistent predictor of both distress and flourishing, and acted as a mediating factor, this research also showed that there are unique and independent predictors for distress and flourishing, which can be used to inform tailored programs for young mothers.

The Florence Nightingale Effect: Organizational Identification Explains the Peculiar Link Between Others' Suffering and Workplace Functioning in the Homelessness Sector.

Frontline employees in the helping professions often perform their duties against a difficult backdrop, including a complex client base and ongoing themes of crisis, suffering, and distress. These factors combine to create an environment in which workers are vulnerable to workplace stress and burnout. The present study tested two models to understand how frontline workers in the homelessness sector deal with the suffering of their clients. First, we examined whether relationships between suffering and workplace functioning (job satisfaction and burnout) would be mediated by organizational identification. Second, we examined whether emotional distance from clients (i.e., infrahumanization, measured as reduced attribution of secondary emotions) would predict improved workplace functioning (less burnout and greater job satisfaction), particularly when client contact is high. The study involved a mixed-methods design comprising interview (N = 26) and cross-sectional survey data (N = 60) with a sample of frontline staff working in the homelessness sector. Participants were asked to rate the level of client suffering and attribute emotions in a hypothetical client task, and to complete questionnaire measures of burnout, job satisfaction, and organizational identification. We found no relationships between secondary emotion attribution and burnout or satisfaction. Instead, we found that perceiving higher client suffering was linked with higher job satisfaction and lower burnout. Mediation analyses revealed a mediating role for identification, such that recognizing suffering predicted greater identification with the organization, which fully mediated the relationship between suffering and job satisfaction, and also between suffering and burnout. Qualitative analysis of interview data also resonated with this conceptualization. We introduce this novel finding as the 'Florence Nightingale effect'. With this sample drawn from the homelessness sector, we provide preliminary evidence for the proposition that recognizing others' suffering may serve to increase job satisfaction and reduce burnout - by galvanizing organizational identification.

Two pathways through adversity: Predicting well-being and housing outcomes among homeless service users.

People who experience homelessness face many challenges and disadvantages that negatively impact health and well-being and form barriers to achieving stable housing. Further, people who are homeless often have limited social connections and support. Building on previous research that has shown the beneficial effect of group identification on health and well-being, the current study explores the relationship between two social identity processes - multiple group memberships and service identification - and well-being and positive housing outcomes. Measures were collected from 76 participants while they were residing in a homeless accommodation service (T1) and again 2-4 weeks after leaving the service (or 3 months after T1 if participants had not left the service). Mediation analyses revealed that multiple group memberships and service identification at T1 independently predicted well-being at T2 indirectly, via social support. Further, both social identity processes also indirectly predicted housing outcomes via social support. The implications of these findings are twofold. First, while belonging to multiple social groups may provide a pathway to gaining social support and well-being, group belonging may not necessarily be beneficial to achieve stable housing. Second, fostering identification with homeless services may be particularly important as a source of support that contributes to well-being.

Discrimination and well-being amongst the homeless: the role of multiple group membership.

The homeless are a vulnerable population in many respects. Those experiencing homelessness not only experience personal and economic hardship they also frequently face discrimination and exclusion because of their housing status. Although past research has shown that identifying with multiple groups can buffer against the negative consequences of discrimination on well-being, it remains to be seen whether such strategies protect well-being of people who are homeless. We investigate this issue in a longitudinal study of 119 individuals who were homeless. The results showed that perceived group-based discrimination at T1 was associated with fewer group memberships, and lower subsequent well-being at T2. There was no relationship between personal discrimination at T1 on multiple group memberships at T2. The findings suggest that the experience of group-based discrimination may hinder connecting with groups in the broader social world - groups that could potentially protect the individual against the negative impact of homelessness and discrimination.