Strategies to promote treatment compliance: a grounded theory study with relatives of people with a serious mental health condition.

BACKGROUND: Treatment pressures encompass communicative strategies that influence mental healthcare service users' decision-making to increase their compliance with recommended treatment. Persuasion, interpersonal leverage, inducements, and threats have been described as examples of treatment pressures. Research indicates that treatment pressures are exerted not only by mental healthcare professionals but also by relatives. While relatives play a crucial role in their family member's pathway to care, research on the use of treatment pressures by relatives is still scarce. Likewise, little is known about other strategies relatives may use to promote the treatment compliance of their family member with a serious mental health condition. In particular, no study to date has investigated this from the perspective of relatives of people with a serious mental health condition. AIM: The aim of this study was to answer the following research questions: Which types of treatment pressures do relatives use? Which other strategies do relatives use to promote the treatment compliance of their family member with a serious mental health condition? How do treatment pressures relate to these other strategies? METHODS: Eleven semi-structured interviews were conducted with relatives of people with a serious mental health condition in Germany. Participants were approached via relatives' self-help groups and flyers in a local psychiatric hospital. Inclusion criteria were having a family member with a psychiatric diagnosis and the family member having experienced formal coercion. The data were analyzed using grounded theory methodology. RESULTS: Relatives use a variety of strategies to promote the treatment compliance of their family member with a serious mental health condition. These strategies can be categorized into three general approaches: influencing the decision-making of the family member; not leaving the family member with a choice; and changing the social or legal context of the decision-making process. Our results show that the strategies that relatives use to promote their family member's treatment compliance go beyond the treatment pressures thus far described in the literature. CONCLUSION: This qualitative study supports and conceptually expands prior findings that treatment pressures are not only frequently used within mental healthcare services but also by relatives in the home setting. Mental healthcare professionals should acknowledge the difficulties faced and efforts undertaken by relatives in seeking treatment for their family member. At the same time, they should recognize that a service user's consent to treatment may be affected and limited by strategies to promote treatment compliance employed by relatives.

Experience of financial toxicity and coping strategies in young and middle-aged patients with stroke: a qualitative study.

BACKGROUND: While financial toxicity (FT) is prevalent in patients with cancer, young and middle-aged patients with stroke are also affected by FT, which can exacerbate their physical and psychological challenges. Understanding the patient's experience and response measures can further understand the impact of FT on patients with stroke, to help alleviate FT. However, little is known concerning the experience of patients with stroke with FT or their coping strategies. Therefore, this study aimed to describe the experiences of FT in young and middle-aged patients with stroke and their coping strategies. METHODS: A phenomenological method was utilized. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 21 young and middle-aged stroke patients (aged 18-59) between October 2022 and March 2023. The participants were recruited from a tertiary hospital in Shanghai, China. The research team used NVivo 12.0 software. Giorgi's phenomenological analysis method was used to analyse the interview data. RESULTS: The interview results were divided into two categories in terms of patients' experiences of FT and their coping strategies. Nine subthemes were constructed. The experience category included four subthemes: (1) taking on multifaceted economic pressure, (2) dual choice of treatment, (3) decline in material living standards, and (4) suffering from negative emotions such as anxiety and depression. The coping strategy category included five subthemes: (1) reducing expenses, (2) improving living habits, (3) proactive participation in medical decision-making, (4) making a job position choice, and (5) seeking social support. CONCLUSIONS: FT in young and middle-aged patients with stroke, which affected their physical and mental health, led them to implement strategies for dealing with FT. The Chinese government needs to broaden the reach of health insurance coverage and advance the fairness of healthcare policies. Healthcare professionals must pay active attention to FT in such patients in terms of strengthening their health education and considering their needs and preferences. Patients need to improve their sense of self-efficacy, actively reintegrate into society, and adhere to rehabilitation and treatment. Individuals at a high risk of stroke are recommended to purchase health insurance. Multifaceted efforts are needed to reduce the impact of FT in young and middle-aged patients with stroke.

Pulling the Trigger: The Effect of a 5-Minute Slow Diaphragmatic Breathing Intervention on Psychophysiological Stress Responses and Pressurized Pistol Shooting Performance.

This study examined the effect of slow diaphragmatic breathing on psychophysiological stress responses and pressurized performance. Sixty-seven participants (40 female; Mage = 20.17 ± 2.77 years) were randomly assigned to either a diaphragmatic-breathing, paced-breathing, or control group. Participants completed a nonpressurized shooting task and then received instructions about a pressurized version. Next, the diaphragmatic group was told to breathe at 6 breaths/min, the paced group at 12 breaths/min, and the control group received no instructions. Following a 5-min intervention period, participants completed the pressurized task while performance was assessed. Psychophysiological stress responses (e.g., cognitive anxiety, heart rate) were recorded throughout. Results revealed that diaphragmatic breathing had mixed effects on stress responses, with some unaffected (e.g., heart rate) and others reduced (e.g., cognitive anxiety), and little effect on performance. Findings suggested that slow diaphragmatic breathing might not aid pressurized performance but could benefit psychological stress responses.

Can smartphones be used to bring computer-based tasks from the lab to the field? A mobile experience-sampling method study about the pace of life.

Researchers are increasingly using smartphones to collect scientific data. To date, most smartphone studies have collected questionnaire data or data from the built-in sensors. So far, few studies have analyzed whether smartphones can also be used to conduct computer-based tasks (CBTs). Using a mobile experience-sampling method study and a computer-based tapping task as examples (N = 246; twice a day for three weeks, 6,000+ measurements), we analyzed how well smartphones can be used to conduct a CBT. We assessed methodological aspects such as potential technologically induced problems, dropout, task noncompliance, and the accuracy of millisecond measurements. Overall, we found few problems: Dropout rate was low, and the time measurements were very accurate. Nevertheless, particularly at the beginning of the study, some participants did not comply with the task instructions, probably because they did not read the instructions before beginning the task. To summarize, the results suggest that smartphones can be used to transfer CBTs from the lab to the field, and that real-world variations across device manufacturers, OS types, and CPU load conditions did not substantially distort the results.

Xiaoyaosan formula augments adjuvant therapy and enhances postoperative breast cancer care.

Introduction: Xiaoyaosan (XYS), a traditional Chinese formula, not only has good antitumor effects but also attenuates distress, anorexia, and quality of life (QoL) by regulating neurology, the microbiota, immunology, and oxidative stress. This study aimed to assess the effect of XYS on QoL, psychological pressure, and spiritual well-being in breast cancer patients undergoing adjuvant chemotherapy. Methods: This prospective cohort study enrolled 176 postoperative breast cancer patients who received adjuvant chemotherapy combined with (n = 81) or without (n = 95) XYS for comparison. The Quality-of-Life Questionnaire Core-30 (QLQ-C30), Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS), University of California Los Angeles (UCLA-LS), and Functional Assessment of Chronic Illness Therapy-Spiritual Well-being (FACIT-Sp) scores were evaluated before adjuvant chemotherapy (T0) and after the first (T1), second (T2), third (T3), and fourth cycles (T4) of adjuvant chemotherapy. Results: XYS improved the QLQ-C30 score at T2 (p = 0.043), T3 (p = 0.021), and T4 (p = 0.040) and the QLQ-C30 score at T4 (p = 0.027); moreover, XYS attenuated the QLQ-C30 score at T2 (p = 0.040), T3 (p = 0.023), and T4 (p = 0.027). Regarding distress, XYS reduced the HADS-anxiety score at T2 (p = 0.010), T3 (p = 0.025), and T4 (p = 0.019) and the HADS-defined anxiety score at T3 (p = 0.038). XYS also decreased the HADS-depression score at T2 (p = 0.016), T3 (p = 0.018), and T4 (p = 0.017) and the HADS-defined depression rate at T2 (p = 0.047), T3 (p = 0.012), and T4 (p = 0.013). In addition, XYS decreased the UCLA-LS at T2 (p = 0.023) but enhanced the FACIT-Sp at T2 (p = 0.029) and T4 (p = 0.026). Furthermore, after adjustment via propensity score matching, most of the significant findings remained. Discussion: The addition of XYS to adjuvant chemotherapy improved QoL, psychological health, and spiritual well-being in breast cancer patients.

The impact of sociocultural and psychological stress on the outcome of assisted reproductive technology in remarried families.

OBJECTIVE: In China, there is a unique type of second marriage (SM) family where the woman is remarried, and the man is experiencing his first marriage. Additionally, the woman is older than the man. Therefore, these families experience many challenges: psychological, emotional, and societal pressure. Such family is a typical sample for studying sociocultural and psychological stress influencing on outcome of assisted reproductive technology (ART). This study aimed to investigate the impact of social psychological stress on the live birth outcomes AR. METHODS: In this retrospective cohort, second marriage (SM) families who visited the Second Hospital of Hebei Medical University reproductive center between January 2012 to December 2022 were screened, and 561s marriage families (the SM group) with 5600 first marriage (FM) families (the FM group) were included undergoing their first ART cycles. The primary outcome of this study was the live birth rate (LBR). RESULTS: The live birth rate (LBR) of SM group (30.7%) is lower than that of the FM group (43.6%) (p < 0.01). After adjustment by logistic regression, the second marriage group (OR = 1.269, 95%CI 1.031-1.562, p = 0.025) were independent factors associated with the outcome of live birth. After propensity score matching (PSM), the live birth rate of SM group (28.7%) is lower than the FM group (35.9%) (0 = 0.011). CONCLUSION: The SM family experience higher levels of social and psychological pressure, which lead to lower level of LBR than FM family.

Mental well-being and sleep quality among vocational college students in Sichuan, China during standardized COVID-19 management measures.

Purpose: This research investigated the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the mental well-being and sleep quality of students in higher vocational colleges in Sichuan, China, identifying key factors influencing their psychological health during this period. Methods: Between January and February 2022, a comprehensive survey was conducted among students from several higher vocational colleges in Sichuan, utilizing a randomized selection approach to involve 3,300 participants. Data were collected through direct interviews executed by skilled interviewers. Results: Out of 3,049 valid responses, a significant number reported experiencing symptoms of poor mental health, anxiety, depression, and insomnia, with prevalence rates of 21.2%, 9.7%, 14.1%, and 81.9%, respectively. Factors contributing positively to mental health and sleep included a higher family economic status, reduced stress from the pandemic, and decreased online activity. Conversely, lack of physical activity post-pandemic, disruptions to education and employment, and deteriorating relationships emerged as negative influencers. Interestingly, a lack of pre-pandemic mental health knowledge acted as a protective factor against insomnia. Conclusion: The ongoing management of COVID-19 has notably influenced the psychological and sleep health of vocational college students, driven by economic, emotional, lifestyle, and educational factors. The findings underscore the necessity for targeted interventions to address these challenges effectively.

Relationship between perceived social support and mental health among Chinese college football athletes: a moderated mediation model.

Previous researches have confirmed that perceived social support has a profound effect on individuals' mental health. However, the effects and potential mechanisms of perceived social support on mental health of college athletes are still largely unknown, especially during and after the COVID-19 pandemic. Thus, the aim of this study was to explore the relationship between perceived social support and mental health in college football athletes, and to evaluate whether hopelessness and psychological pressure affected this relationship. A sample of 672 Chinese college football athletes (37.9% girls; Mage = 20.43 years; SDage = 1.68) were investigated with the Perceived Social Support Scale (PSSS), the Kessler Psychological Distress Scale (K10), the Beck Hopelessness Scale (BHS) and the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS). Surveys were voluntary and anonymous. The findings revealed that, after adjusting for demographic factors, hopelessness mediated the relationship between Chinese college football athletes' perceived social support and their mental health. Furthermore, psychological pressure moderated the negative association between perceived social support and hopelessness, and the association was stronger for them with high-level psychological pressure. These results underline the need for focused strategies in the prevention and treatment of mental health issues among Chinese college football athletes.

A Study on the Improvement of College Students' Psychological Pressure and Anxiety by Using English Psychological Script Activities.

This study conducted an experiment of English script activities on 279 senior students from two universities in Guangdong Province, China. The purpose of this study was to explore the effect of English psychological script activities on improving the psychological pressure and anxiety of college students. The results show that, firstly, before the experiment, the overall psychological pressure and anxiety of college students are at a medium high level. The gender difference shows that the psychological pressure and anxiety level of girls are higher than that of boys. The professional difference shows that the psychological pressure and anxiety level of Humanities and social sciences majors are higher than that of science and engineering majors. After the experiment, the overall psychological pressure and anxiety level of college students have a significant improvement effect. From the overall level, English psychological script has the highest impact on evaluation anxiety and test anxiety. From the perspective of gender differences, English psychological scripts have the highest effect on improving the evaluation anxiety of boys, and the effect of improving test anxiety and evaluation anxiety of girls is the highest. From the perspective of professional differences, English psychological scripts have an average impact on the psychological pressure and anxiety of students majoring in Humanities and Social Sciences, while they have the highest impact on the interpersonal stress of students majoring in science and technology. The results of this research provide more reference value for college students' English education and mental health improvement.

A Systematic Review of Multilevel Influenced Risk-Taking in Helicopter and Small Airplane Normal Operations.

The violation of aviation rules, particularly meteorological flight rules, can have fatal outcomes. Violation can sometimes be explained by intentional risk-taking, alternatively it can be the manifestation of a strategy to enhance performance and influence outcomes, such as saving time or fulfilling customer expectations. The aim of this study was to determine the types of risk-taking behavior within extant empirical research and identify multilevel antecedents related to risk-taking in the context of aviation operations, via a systematic literature review. 4,742 records were identified, which after screening resulted in the detailed consideration of 10 studies, three qualitative and seven quantitative studies, which met the eligibility criteria. Only published works were included in the review, thus the results may have been subject to publication bias, however, the types of risk taking within the research were consistent with that observed in Australian and New Zealand accident reports. The predominate risk-taking behavior was that of continuing Visual Flight Rules (VFR) flight into deteriorating conditions / Instrument Meteorological Conditions (IMC). Multilevel influences could be categorized under two overarching themes, being "continuation influence" and "acceptance of risk / normalization of deviance." One or both themes was consistently observed across the finding in all studies, although precaution should be given to the relative frequency of the reported associations. This review indicates the value of considering the social and organizational influences on risk-taking, and suggests avenues for future research, in particular exploring the influences through a Self-Determination Theory (SDT) lens.

The Impact of Cross-Cultural Adaptation on the Psychology and Entrepreneurial Intention of Venture Entrepreneurs.

The purpose was to integrate cultural psychology into cross-cultural adaptation and analyze the factors of entrepreneurial psychology and entrepreneurial intention of venture entrepreneurs. The research framework of cross-cultural adaptation is constructed, and four hypotheses are put forward, and 100 venture entrepreneurs in multinational enterprises are randomly recruited and investigated through the QS (Questionnaire Survey) design. Finally, the results are analyzed through statistical software. The results show that among the basic information of venture entrepreneurs, the proportion of gender is balanced, and the educational level is generally high, with the majority of young entrepreneurs aged 20-35. Meanwhile, there are significant differences in the four dimensions of cross-cultural competence, cross-cultural adaptation, entrepreneurial intention, and psychological adaptation of venture entrepreneurs (p<0.05). Length of service influences cross-cultural competence, cross-cultural adaptation, and entrepreneurial intention but does not affect psychological adaptation. Hence, cross-cultural adaptation has a great impact on the entrepreneurial intention and psychological adaptation of venture entrepreneurs and provides a practical basis for the entrepreneurial optimization of venture entrepreneurs.

Psychological stress and its relation to social distancing among a sample of Saudi during COVID-19 pandemic.

BACKGROUND: Over the last year, the world has witnessed an infectious disease (COVID-19) outbreak that has shown a high rate of spread. Therefore, several prevention and mitigation measures have been imposed to control the spread of the virus worldwide. The aim of the current study is to identify the commitment level to social distancing and its relationship to psychological stress among members of Saudi society during COVID-19 pandemic. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The descriptive correlational design was employed in the current study, and the sample of the study consisted of 536 Saudis selected using convenient sampling method. The study was conducted in four cities in Saudi Arabia (Altayef, Mecca, and Najran, in 2020 during COVID-19 pandemic using quantitative survey method. Several analysis methods using SPSS software were used to analyze the data such as mean and standard deviation, three-way ANOVA, Scheffe's test, and Pearson correlation. RESULTS: The study revealed that the psychological stress and commitment level to social distancing by the study sample during COVID-19 pandemic was moderate, and differences were observed among the study variables. Furthermore, the study revealed a statistically significant negative correlation between the commitment level to social distancing and the exposure to psychological pressures. CONCLUSION: The study contributed to literature by developing a model to enhance the importance of social distancing of people during COVID-19 pandemic. The study recommends the necessity to provide advice and counseling services that enhance community members' awareness about the application of social distancing during COVID-19 pandemic.

Changes in lumbar kinematics and trunk muscle electromyographic activity during baseball batting under psychological pressure.

Psychological pressure during sports competition disturbs the ideal physical movement and causes injury. Baseball batting frequently causes trunk injuries. This study aimed to examine the influence of psychological pressure on the lumbar kinematics and trunk muscle activity during the baseball batting. Fourteen collegiate baseball players participated in this study. The participants performed bat swings under three different psychological conditions (non-pressure, pressure, and emphasized pressure). The lumbar kinematics and trunk muscle activity were measured during each bat swing. One- and two-way analyses of variance were performed to compare the lumbar kinematics and trunk muscle activity among different psychological pressure conditions. The lumbar flexion angle throughout the bat swing in the swing phase, from the moment of ground contact of the lead foot to the moment of ball contact, was significantly larger under the pressure and emphasized pressure conditions than under the non-pressure condition (P<0.05). The bilateral lumbar erector spinae (LES) activities in the swing and follow-through phases were significantly higher under the emphasized pressure condition than under the non-pressure condition (P<0.05). These results indicate that the baseball batting under psychological pressure influenced the lumbar kinematics and bilateral LES activities and may be related to the development of low back pain.

Heart Rate Behavior in Speed Climbing.

Speed climbing is an Olympic discipline within the combined sport climbing event in 2020 for the first time. Speed climbing is a high-speed and anaerobic exercise against gravity over a few seconds with extreme psychological pressure. Although there is some literature on heart rate (HR) when lead climbing, there is no literature on the behavior of the HR when speed climbing. The HR of seven near-elite participants was measured with a Polar HR monitor while climbing a 10- and 15-m wall, respectively, three times each, with pauses of 5 min between the first and last three climbs and a 20-min pause between the third and fourth climb. The average climbing times on the 10- and 15-m walls were 9.16 ± 3.06 s and 14.95 ± 3.14 s, respectively (data pooled between climbing heights). The peak HR on the 10- and 15-m walls were 164.57 ± 7.45 bpm and 176.43 ± 8.09 bpm. The rates of change in HR were as follows: average HR acceleration before peak HR, 2.53 ± 0.80 bpm/s; peak HR acceleration before peak HR, 4.16 ± 1.08 bpm/s; and average HR deceleration after peak HR, -0.98 ± 0.30 bpm/s. The average HR during the pauses ranged from 105.80 to 117.89 bpm. From the results, in comparison to the literature, we conclude that athletes, trained for sustaining high physical exertion and psychological pressure, have a far smaller HR acceleration than untrained people during light and unstressful exercises. Furthermore, the current rule that athletes shall have a minimum resting time of 5 min between climbing attempts during a speed climbing competition seems justified as sufficient time for HR recovery.

Improving performance by anchoring movement and "nerves".

Golf's governing bodies' recent decision to ban all putting styles "anchoring one end of the club against the body" bridges an important practical problem with psychological theory. We report the first experiment testing whether anchoring provides technical and/or psychological advantage in competitive performance. Many "greats" of professional golf from Arnold Palmer and Jack Nicklaus to Tiger Woods have argued against anchoring, believing that it takes "nerves" out of competitive performance and therefore artificially levels the playing field. To shed more light on the issue, we tested participants' performance with anchored and unanchored putters under low and high pressure when controlling for the putter length. We found no statistically significant evidence for a technical advantage due to anchoring but a clear psychological advantage: participants who anchored their putters significantly outperformed unanchored counterparts under high, but not low, pressure. Results provide tentative evidence for the ban's justification from a competitive standpoint. However, before any definite conclusions can be made, more research is needed when using high-level golfers.