[Personal Resources of Geriatric Nursing Staff - Results of a Cross-Sectional Study]. / Gesundheitsressourcen von Altenpflegepersonal ­ Ergebnisse einer Querschnittsstudie.

OBJECTIVES: Geriatric nursing staff are exposed to high workloads, which often lead to stress, incapacity to work and early retirement. Personal resources can help deal with work demands and can have a positive effect on health. To design tailored interventions, this study aims to identify personal resources of staff and its impact on stress levels. MEASURES: Data on 195 geriatric nurses (87.4% female, 40.1±12.2 years) were collected using a set of validated questionnaires consisting of Slesina questionnaire, Nordic Questionnaire, SF-12, personal resources (according to WHO criteria), AVEM questionnaire and the SSCS scale of the TICS questionnaire. According to the SSCS scale, nursing staff were divided into stressed and non-stressed. To further investigate potential factors influencing the development of stress, a four-step regression analysis was carried out. RESULTS: Non-stressed geriatric nursing staff felt less burdened by work-related stress factors, had fewer physical complaints, had higher physical (p<0.001) and mental well-being (p <0.001), better personal resources and healthier work-related behavior and experience. The regression analysis showed that personal resources such as satisfaction with health status, nutritional behavior, frequency of being calm and relaxed, frequency of being full of energy as well as the stress level can improve physical and mental well-being, but cannot decrease the emergence of stress in case of unhealthy work coping behavior (R²=0.760). CONCLUSION: When developing stress prevention interventions, the focus should be on strengthening personal resources. In addition, individual work-related behavior and experience patterns should be taken into account.

Psychological distress, self-harming behavior, and suicidal tendencies in adults with disorders of sex development.

Evaluation of psychological distress has received relatively little attention in research on persons with disorders of sex development (DSD). Results of previous studies varied considerably, but most studies did not find increased levels of psychological distress. We conducted a pilot study based on a sample of 37 persons with diverse forms of DSD recruited via various strategies. The Brief Symptom Inventory (BSI) was used to assess self-reported psychological distress. Psychological distress varied broadly across all diagnostic subgroups. Overall, the BSI Global Severity Index indicated higher distress in the sample of persons with DSD compared to a non-clinical norm population of women, with an effect size of d = 0.67. According to predefined BSI criteria, 59% of participants were classified as a clinical case. Self-harming behavior and suicidal tendencies were also assessed and compared to a community based sample of women, including subgroups of traumatized women with a history of physical or sexual abuse. The prevalence rates of self-harming behavior and suicidal tendencies in the DSD sample exceeded the rates of the non-traumatized comparison subgroup, with rates comparable to the traumatized comparison groups of women with physical or sexual abuse. As possible explanations for the higher distress found here compared to most previous studies, differences in measures and sample recruitment are discussed. Our results suggest that adults with DSD are markedly psychologically distressed with rates of suicidal tendencies and self-harming behavior on a level comparable to non-DSD women with a history of physical or sexual abuse, but sample recruitment procedures do not permit a firm generalization.

Gender assignment and medical history of individuals with different forms of intersexuality: evaluation of medical records and the patients' perspective.

INTRODUCTION: Until now, there are only few studies that focus on the specific treatment experiences of people with intersexuality and evaluate their outcome in terms of psychological, physical, and social well-being. Further, the presentation of the patients' perspective is often neglected in research. AIM: Overview of preliminary results of the Hamburg-Intersex-Study on gender assignment and medical history of adult subjects with intersexuality (disorders of sex development), as well as the patients retrospectively stated thoughts and feelings regarding these interventions. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Medical records from participants of the study were analyzed. The subjective attitudes and evaluation of the treatment measures were assessed with a self-constructed questionnaire. Data on psychological well-being were measured with the Brief Symptom Inventory. METHODS: In total, 37 adult participants (mean age 30.6 years) with following diagnosis were included: congenital adrenal hyperplasia, complete and partial androgen insensitivity syndrome, gonadal dysgenesis and disturbances of the androgen biosynthesis, such as 5 alpha reductase deficiency and 17 beta hydroxysteroid deficiency. RESULTS: The majority of participants had (often multiple) genital surgery to correct the appearance of their genitalia and/or to enable sexual functioning. The diagnostic groups differ not only in amount and invasiveness of experienced surgical and medical treatment but also in the subjective and retrospective evaluation of the treatment measures and in the amount of reported psychological distress. CONCLUSION: Many subjects stated to have experienced the medical procedures and care very negatively, whereby the aspects of secrecy, untruthfulness, and concealment were stated as most difficult and burdening.

[Parental bonding in childhood and psychological symptoms in a sample of adults with intersexuality]. / Elterliche Bindung in der Kindheit und psychische Symptombelastung in einer Stichprobe von Erwachsenen mit Intersexualität.

In a sample of 37 persons with intersexuality the recalled parental bonding and its associations with symptomatic distress in adulthood were analysed. The Questionnaire on Parental Attitudes and Rearing Practices (FEPS), an extended version of the widely used Parental Bonding Instrument, was used to retrospectively assess relevant aspects of perceived parental rearing behaviour. The Brief Symptom Inventory was used to assess actual symptomatic distress. Compared to a community based sample of women, the persons with intersexuality rated their parents as being less caring and showing less emotional warmth while being more punitive. Subsequently, the BSI-cut-off score was used to differentiate clinically disturbed from non-disturbed persons with intersexuality. Analyses revealed that the perceived parental bonding of the non-disturbed subgroup was comparable to the community based sample while only the disturbed subgroup differed as described. Using the FEPS-subscales CARE and Punishment Behavior as predictors in logistic regression correctly classified 71.4 % of all subjects as either being clinically disturbed or non-disturbed.