Financial Factors and Psychological Distress during the COVID-19 Pandemic in Poland.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, many factors have simultaneously affected people's psychological distress (PD). The most commonly studied types of factors have been those relating to health risks involving SARS-CoV-2 infection and sociodemographic factors. However, financial changes at both the national and global levels and these changes' influences on people's personal finances constitute another group of factors with the potential to cause symptoms of anxiety and depression. A correlation study of 1135 working adults in Poland was conducted to analyze the roles of a wide range of financial variables in explaining the extent of people's PD during the pandemic. Three groups of financial factors predicted PD over and above sociodemographic variables and COVID-19 health-related factors: a person's objective financial situation, their subjective financial situation, and their individual financial disposition, the last of these being the most important. The present study adds to the current state of knowledge by showing that financial variables explain a significant portion of variance in PD over and above sociodemographic and COVID-19 health-related factors. Moreover, the study also identified individual financial variables that were capable of predicting people's psychological distress during the pandemic.

The role of psychological and medical variables in the process of adaptation to life with chronic illness in a group of COPD outpatients.

Many studies suggest that psychological factors play an important role in chronic diseases. This study aimed to describe the role of certain medical variables (airflow obstruction indicators), personal resources, coping strategies, and health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in the process of adaptation to chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). The Brief COPE inventory, the General Self-Efficacy Scale, COPD Assessment Test, and the Acceptance of Life with the Disease Scale were completed by 111 outpatients. Groups of patients distinguished based on degree of airflow obstruction did not differ in frequency of use of coping strategies, General Self-efficacy, HRQoL, or level of acceptance of life with the disease. Groups distinguished in terms of frequency of the strategies used differed in terms of indicators of airflow obstruction and acceptance of life with the disease. General Self-efficacy was correlated with active coping, use of emotional support, and planning. The best predictors of Acceptance of Life with the Disease were coping strategies, HRQoL, and General Self-efficacy. The obtained data indicated that psychological factors play an important role in adapting to life with illness. This study also found that self-efficacy is a very significant personal resource which future psychological interventions for COPD could focus on.

[The assessment of chosen psychometric features of B-CATS test battery in schizophrenia - preliminary report]. / Ocena wybranych wlasciwosci psychometrycznych baterii testów do pomiaru funkcjonowania poznawczego pacjentów psychotycznych B-CATS - wstepne opracowanie.

AIM: The assessment of cognitive impairment in schizophrenia proves helpful in the diagnosis of disease, identification of individuals at risk for adverse outcome and choosing the most adequate treatment. It is also a valuable complement of the psychiatric diagnosis. For this reason, there is a great need for a practical well-validated instrument to measure cognitive deficits that can be administered and interpreted easily in a clinical setting. The aim of the study was to verify the reliability, validity and practicality of the Brief Cognitive Assessment Tool for Schizophrenia (B-CATS) in a clinical setting. METHODS: 68 psychotic patients were included in the study during their stay in a psychiatric ward. A double measurement was conducted. Test-retest assessment included tests of B-CATS battery (TMT part B, Category Fluency, Digit Symbol Test). To evaluate the intensity of psychopathological symptoms the PANSS was performed. SLOF, GAF, GARF, SOFAS were used to assess functioning of the subjects. RESULTS: The B-CATS is characterized by a satisfactory relative stability. The absolute stability should be seen as sufficient in case of one test: Fluency. The diagnostic validity of the battery is satisfactory. B-CATS is easy to administer and "friendly" for the patient. CONCLUSIONS: B-CATS is a brief and practical instrument that can provide clinicians with meaningful data regarding the global cognitive functioning of the psychotic subjects.