Positive childhood experiences as predictors of anxiety and depression in a large sample from Turkey.

BACKGROUND: Positive childhood experiences positively influence one's adult life, while the absence of such positive experiences can potentially yield mental health problems throughout the lifespan. OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to investigate the role of positive childhood experiences on depression and anxiety levels. PARTICIPANTS AND SETTING: 3090 (2059 women) young adults participated in this research. They ranged in age between 18 and 68 years (M = 28.78, SD = 9.44) and completed the self-report measures including the Positive Childhood Experiences Scale, Beck Depression and Anxiety Scales and Personal Information Forms. METHOD: A cross-sectional research design was used to collect the data through social media platforms. We conducted a regression analysis to examine how positive childhood experiences contribute to depression and anxiety. RESULTS: The results of correlation analysis indicated that positive childhood experiences were significantly negatively related to depression and anxiety. Regression analysis revealed that positive childhood experiences explained a significant amount of variance in the prediction of depression (10 %) and anxiety (8 %) after controlling for demographic factors. CONCLUSIONS: The results suggest that the frequency of positive experiences lived during childhood might significantly reduce anxiety and depression, and positive childhood experiences might positively affect them.

The Role of Spirituality in Anxiety and Psychological Resilience of Hemodialysis Patients in Turkey.

Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is a significant health problem that affects millions of people worldwide and its end-stage manifestation requires hemodialysis treatment, which can have a considerable impact on patients' mental health and quality of life. This study aims to examine the relationship between spirituality and anxiety, as well as spirituality and psychological resilience among hemodialysis patients using the iterative weighted least squares method. Participants included 91 hemodialysis patients, consisting of 49 females and 42 males, whose ages ranged from 20 to 82 years, with a mean age of 48 (SD = 14). The data were collected using the Beck Anxiety Inventory, Spirituality Scale, and Brief Psychological Resilience Scale. Results indicated a weak positive relationship between spirituality and psychological resilience (t = 1.35, P = .183) and a moderate negative relationship between spirituality and anxiety (t = -2.84, P = .006). Furthermore, spirituality accounted for a 1% variance in psychological resilience and a 5% of the variance in anxiety. Additionally, patients' education level, gender, and whom they live with were relatively stronger correlates of psychological resilience, while the patient's education level, gender, marital status, whom they live with, presence of another patient at home receiving hemodialysis treatment were strong correlates of anxiety. This study emphasizes the need for comprehensive care that addresses both physical and psychological aspects of CKD management to improve patient outcomes and quality of life.

Optimism and pessimism mediate the association between parental coronavirus anxiety and depression among healthcare professionals in the era of COVID-19.

Identifying factors related to healthcare professionals' mental health has become an imperative topic for offering mental health services to foster their psychological functioning. This study, for the first time, examined the mediating role of optimism and pessimism in the association between parental coronavirus anxiety and depression among Turkish healthcare professionals during the COVID-19 pandemic. Participants included 429 healthcare professionals whose age ranged between 22 and 61 years (50.3% female; M = 36.65, SD = 7.0). Results from mediation analysis revealed that parental coronavirus anxiety had a significant predictive effect on optimism, pessimism, and depression. Optimism and pessimism also had significant predictive effects on depression. Most importantly, optimism and pessimism mitigated the adverse impact of parental coronavirus anxiety on healthcare professionals' depression. The findings suggest that optimism is an essential source in reducing depression symptoms in the face of parental coronavirus experiences. Decision-makers and health organizations may integrate strength-based approaches into their guidelines to address parental coronavirus anxiety and depression.

Coronavirus stress and COVID-19 burnout among healthcare staffs: The mediating role of optimism and social connectedness.

Coronavirus stress has been associated with undesirable mental health and well-being outcomes, including burnout. However, little is known about the underlying mechanism of change. The present study aimed to examine if optimism and social connectedness mediated the relationship between coronavirus stress and COVID-19 burnout in a large sample of healthcare staffs. Participants included 1046 healthcare staffs (56.8% females) aged 20-61 years (mean age = 30.29 years, SD = 7.80), who completed the measures of coronavirus stress, optimism, social connectedness, and COVID-19 burnout. Females reported more coronavirus stress and burnout and less social connectedness. People confirmed with COVID-19 reported lower optimism. The results indicated that coronavirus stress did not only have a direct effect on increased COVID-19 burnout but also had an indirect effect on it through reduced optimism and social connectedness. These results are important given the shortage of intervention efforts targeting coronavirus stress. Future intervention efforts aimed at reducing coronavirus stress and related outcomes may benefit from simultaneously focusing on optimism and social connectedness.

Psychological Well-Being, Depression and Stress During COVID-19 Pandemic in Turkey: A Comparative Study of Healthcare Professionals and Non-Healthcare Professionals.

In this study, we aimed to investigate psychological well-being, depression, and stress among healthcare professionals and non-healthcare professionals in Turkey. An online questionnaire was prepared and shared with participants using social networking sites. Participants were 546 healthcare professionals (females = 313) and 445 non-healthcare professionals (females = 333), aged between 20 and 67 years. All participants completed measures of Depression Anxiety and Stress Scale-21 and Psychological Well-Being Scale. The results showed no significant difference in the scores of psychological well-being, depression and stress of healthcare professionals and non-healthcare professionals. However, the psychological well-being of healthcare professionals and stress varied in terms of age, gender, marital status, job descriptions, and ways of working in clinic. Women, non-physician healthcare professionals, young and single people and those who worked in COVID-19 service and stayed at least one week away from their families during the pandemic were found to have poor mental well-being. Psychological well-being was significantly and negatively correlated with depression and anxiety. Our findings indicate that healthcare professionals who are at the frontline of the fight against the COVID-19, and nurses, women, single person and those who are away from their family for more than a week during the pandemic are at greater risk.