Returning to work after maternity leave: a systematic literature review.

PURPOSE: Working women often experience difficulties associated with balancing family and career, particularly if they choose to have children. This systematic literature review aimed at investigating women's experience in returning to work after maternity leave. METHODS: The review was conducted using the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses. The literature search led to the identification of 52 articles, which underwent data extraction and qualitative analysis. RESULTS: Results were organized in 5 categories: (1) Work-life balance; (2) Women's mental and physical health; (3) Job-related wellbeing and working experience; (4) Breastfeeding. Women's both mental and physical health seem connected to a longer maternity leave and a greater coworkers' and supervisors' support. Returning to work seems to constitute one of the most important barriers for exclusive breastfeeding or breastfeeding continuation. A shorter duration of maternity leave, a higher workload and the lack of occupational policies supporting breastfeeding seem to be hindering factors. Partner and family support, and the opportunity for fathers to work under a flextime system after childbirth seem to increase both breastfeeding initiation and duration. Women who continue breastfeeding after returning to work seem to experience more family-to-work conflict and overload. CONCLUSIONS: This paper show that there are still many understudied aspects in exploring women's experience of returning to work after maternity leave. This represents an important gap in the literature, since returning to work represents a particularly critical time in women's personal and occupational life, in which challenges and barriers may arise, potentially affecting their experience in the immediate future and years to come.

The psychological impact of sarcoma on affected patients.

OBJECTIVE: Sarcoma diagnosis and its treatment trajectory may deeply affect the somatopsychic balance of patients and their caregivers. This systematic review aimed at deepening the understanding of sarcoma's impact on the entire family unit involved in the illness experience on a physical (e.g. fatigue), psychological (e.g. mental health, affective regulation, defense mechanisms), and interpersonal (e.g. social isolation, loneliness) level. METHODS: The systematic review was conducted using the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses. The literature search led to the identification and subsequent inclusion of 44 articles focused on sarcoma patients. Results were classified into seven categories: Quality of Life, worries and distress, anxiety and depression, suicide ideation, financial and occupational consequences, unmet needs, and coping strategies. Our search identified only one study focusing on informal caregivers, thus we could not perform a systematic review on these results. RESULTS: Our findings underlined the traumatic impact of the sarcoma diagnosis. Patients can experience an impoverished emotional life, somatization, social withdrawal, difficulty in decision-making, increased feelings of discouragement and demoralization, and profound experiences of helplessness and vulnerability. Moreover, they seemed to display anxiety and depression and might present a higher suicide incidence than the general population. CONCLUSION: Our review highlighted that the psychosocial aftermath of sarcoma patients should guide institutions and healthcare professionals toward the design of assessment and intervention models that could contemplate the different dimensions of their suffering. Furthermore, it points out that there is still a lack of evidence regarding the psychosocial impact affecting sarcoma patients' caregivers.

Preliminary validation of a brief PROM assessing psychological distress in patients with malignant mesothelioma: The mesothelioma psychological distress tool-Patients.

Objective: Psychological suffering in malignant mesothelioma (MM) differs from that in other cancers because of its occupational etiology, and we aimed to develop specific patient-reported outcome measures to assess it. Methods: We used a multi-method prospective observational multicentric study (N = 149), and a preliminary questionnaire validation was performed through a Bayesian approach. Results: Item analysis showed a good internal consistency and reliability (Cronbach alpha = 0.79 [95% CI = 0.74-0.93]. Twenty of the 41 initial items were selected as posterior 95% highest density interval factor loading standardized effect size fell outside of the region of practical equivalence. Bayesian exploratory factor analysis showed a two-factor structure: (1) Trauma-related reactions (TR, 13 items) and (2) Claim for justice (CJ, 7 items), confirmed by the Bayesian confirmatory factor analysis. Latent factors were poorly correlated (Posterior median: 0.13; 95% CI = -0.079 to 0.323). The 90% root mean square error of approximation posterior median was 0.04 [90% CI = 0.03-0.58]; the 90% chi-square posterior median was 242 [90% CI = 209-287]. Conclusion: Psychological suffering in MM patients implies negative cognitive, emotional, and somatic reactions related to the traumatic impact of the disease and the need to obtain justice through economic compensation. Our findings provide preliminary evidence that the Mesothelioma Psychological Distress Tool-Patients could be a promising and reliable instrument to assess MM patients' psychological distress.

Suicidal Ideation among University Students: A Moderated Mediation Model Considering Attachment, Personality, and Sex.

The present study aimed to examine the link between attachment, personality traits, and suicidal ideation with consideration of the potential moderating role of age and sex. The Suicidal History Self-Rating Screening Scale, the Personality Inventory for DSM-5-Brief Form, and the Attachment Style Questionnaire were administered to 183 students. There was a significant indirect effect of need for approval on suicidal ideation via detachment. Moreover, the moderated mediation models of need for approval and preoccupation with relationships on suicidality via negative affectivity were significant in men, but not women, whereas the moderated mediation model of need for approval on suicidality via detachment was significant in women, but not men. Young men and women seem at risk for increased suicidal ideation based on specific attachment and personality characteristics, which should be considered for the development of prevention and therapeutic interventions.

Student Counseling Centers in Europe: A Retrospective Analysis.

Objective: Tertiary education can be stressful for many young people, who consistently report high levels of distress. The issue has major implications for campus health services and mental health policymaking more widely. The present study proposes to map student counseling services in Europe. Methods: The sample of institutions was sourced, using standardized data extraction, from the European Tertiary Education Register (ETER). Then, each institution's website was analyzed for information about the availability of student counseling centers and the services provided. Data extracted from the ETER database were: ETER ID, national identifier, institution name, English institution name, number of students, legal status (in English), institution category (in English), and institutional website. Data extracted from institutions' websites concerned the availability of students' psychological centers and the services provided. Analyses were carried out using the SPSS Statistics software package (IBM Corp., Armonk, NY, United States), version 26. Results: Overall, it was found that most institutions do not provide mental health counseling services for their students. Institutions of medium dimensions showed a higher probability of reporting students' psychological centers than small institutions. Moreover, private institutions and public institutions were more likely to report having such centers, while private government-dependent institutions were less likely. Universities of applied sciences and universities were more likely to report having them, while other institutions were less likely. Regarding provision according to geographic area, compared to Northern Europe, every other European region was less likely to report featuring such centers. Most institutions reported offering counseling, career counseling, or not otherwise specified psychological services, but only a small number reported providing services such as psychotherapy, psychiatric services, or counseling for learning-specific disabilities. Conclusion: It is critically important to catalog European data on student counseling centers and services, to encourage tertiary education institutions to invest in such services as key sites for mental health promotion. Indeed, professionally trained staff and the possibility of long-term treatment options would go a long way in supporting students who might not otherwise have access to treatment.

Preliminary validation of a questionnaire assessing psychological distress in caregivers of patients with malignant mesothelioma: Mesothelioma Psychological Distress Tool-Caregivers.

OBJECTIVE: To develop a short, flexible, and comprehensive tool to measure psychological distress in caregivers of malignant mesothelioma (MM) patients: the Mesothelioma Psychological Distress Tool-Caregivers version (MPDT-C). METHODS: Based on a systematic review of the relevant literature, aspects associated with caregiver distress were derived. Expert researchers/clinicians developed a pool of items for each identified aspect. Content validity was assessed through a multiple mixed-methods approach. A multicenter study was conducted to explore the factorial structure of the 47-item MPDT-C through Bayesian factor analysis. RESULTS: The Bayesian exploratory factor analysis revealed an underlying three-factor structure. Factors were labeled Secondary Traumatic Stress, Engagement in Caring, and Meaningful Cognitive Restructuring. All scales showed sufficient reliability and corrected item-total correlations. Females scored higher than males for Engagement in Caring. CONCLUSIONS: Taking care of malignant mesothelioma patients is a stressful process that influences the caregiver's physical, emotional, and social wellbeing. Our study offers preliminary evidence in support of the adequate psychometric properties of the MPDT-C, and these should now be replicated. Results suggest that the MPDT-C is a reliable tool with which to detect the psychological distress of this traumatized population.

Self-Rated Health and Psychological Distress among Emerging Adults in Italy: A Comparison between Data on University Students, Young Workers and Working Students Collected through the 2005 and 2013 National Health Surveys.

BACKGROUND: The present study aimed at comparing self-reported physical health and mental health among university students, workers, and working students aged between 19 years and 29 years. METHOD: Using data from National Health Surveys held in 2005 and 2013, a cross-sectional study was conducted on 18,612 Italian emerging adults grouped into three groups: university students, workers, and working students. The odds ratios of self-reported anxiety or depression, poor general health, and poor mental health and physical health (as assessed through SF-12) were estimated through logistic regression models adjusted for potential confounders. RESULTS: Compared with workers, students showed an increased risk of anxiety or depression and a lower risk of poor general health. Students and working students showed an increased risk of reporting weak mental health compared with that in workers, while students displayed a lower risk of poor physical health. Significant differences were not found between the 2005 and 2013 surveys. CONCLUSIONS: These results are of considerable importance for psychologists as well as educational and occupation-based institutions for planning prevention programs and clinical interventions.

Anxiety, Post-Traumatic Stress, and Burnout in Health Professionals during the COVID-19 Pandemic: Comparing Mental Health Professionals and Other Healthcare Workers.

The psychological impact of the pandemic on healthcare workers has been assessed worldwide, but there are limited data on how mental health professionals (MHPs) have been affected. Thus, this paper aims to investigate anxiety, post-traumatic stress, and burnout in a sample of MHPs. We conducted a descriptive, cross-sectional study on 167 participants: 56 MHPs, 57 physicians working closely with COVID-19 patients, and 54 physicians not working closely with such patients. MHPs reported good overall mental health. Most MHPs reported no post-traumatic stress, and their scores were significantly lower compared to HPs working closely with COVID-19 patients. MHPs' hyperarousal scores were also significantly lower compared to HPs working closely with COVID-19 patients, while their intrusion scores were statistically significantly lower than those of all other professionals. Multivariable logistic regressions showed that MHPs had lower odds of exhibiting state anxiety and low personal accomplishment compared to HPs not working closely with COVID-19 patients. In sum, MHPs seem to show almost preserved mental health. Thus, given the high mental healthcare demand during a pandemic, it would be useful to rely on these professionals, especially for structuring interventions to improve and support the mental health of the general population and other healthcare workers.

Psychological Distress after a Diagnosis of Malignant Mesothelioma in a Group of Patients and Caregivers at the National Priority Contaminated Site of Casale Monferrato.

BACKGROUND: Patients of malignant mesothelioma (MM) and their caregivers face significant physical and psychological challenges. The purpose of the present study is to examine the emotional impact after the diagnosis of MM in a group of patients and familial caregivers in a National Priority Contaminated Site (NPCS). METHODS: A sample of 108 patients and 94 caregivers received a sociodemographic/clinical questionnaire, the Beck Depression Inventory II, the Davidson Trauma Scale, the Coping Orientation to the Problems Experienced-New Italian Version, and the Defense style questionnaire. The risk of depressive and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms in relation to the strategies of coping and defense mechanisms was estimated in patients and caregivers separately by logistic regression models. RESULTS: For patients, a high risk of depression was associated with high usage of Defense Style Questionnaire (DSQ) Isolation (OR: 53.33; 95% CI: 3.22-882.30; p = 0.01) and DSQ Somatization (OR: 16.97; 95% CI: 1.04-275.90; p = 0.05). Other significant risks emerged for some coping strategies and some defenses regarding both depression and trauma in patients and caregivers. CONCLUSIONS: This research suggests that for both patients and caregivers unconscious adaptive processes have a central role in dealing with overwhelming feelings related to the disease.

State and Trait Anxiety Among University Students: A Moderated Mediation Model of Negative Affectivity, Alexithymia, and Housing Conditions.

OBJECTIVE: Starting university education is a crucial period for the mental health of students, who report higher levels of distress compared to the general population. This study sought to better understand the distress experienced by students by considering contextual facets (e.g., housing conditions) as well as stable clinical variables (e.g., negative affectivity, emotion regulation, and anxiety). METHODS: A total of 177 University students (71.2% females) aged 18-29 were administered the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory-Y, the Beck Depression Inventory-II, the Suicidal History Self-Rating Screening Scale, the Personality Inventory for DSM-5-Brief Form, and the Toronto Alexithymia Scale-20. RESULTS: University students showed concerning levels of distress, particularly concerning anxiety, and depression. We found that the relationship between negative affectivity and both state and trait anxiety was mediated by alexithymia but housing conditions did not act as a moderator for the indirect effect of negative affectivity on state or trait anxiety through alexithymia. CONCLUSION: Undoubtedly, university lifestyle can be demanding, but experiencing distress is not inevitable nor inexplicable. The present study sought to gain insight into the anxiety experienced by Italian University students while taking into account the importance of personality and clinical characteristics that have previously been widely underestimated. We found that these characteristics can be of extreme importance for developing preventative and therapeutic interventions tailored to the clinical characteristics of students, as well taking into account their living environment.

SARS-CoV-2 and Asbestos Exposure: Can Our Experience With Mesothelioma Patients Help Us Understand the Psychological Consequences of COVID-19 and Develop Interventions?

Since its emergence, the novel coronavirus disease of 2019 (COVID-19) has had enormous physical, social, and psychological impacts worldwide. The aim of this article was to identify elements of our knowledge on asbestos exposure and malignant mesothelioma (MM) that can provide insight into the psychological impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and be used to develop adequate interventions. Although the etiology of Covid-19 and MM differs, their psychological impacts have common characteristics: in both diseases, there is a feeling of being exposed through aerial contagion to an "invisible killer" without boundaries that can strike even the strongest individuals. In both cases, affected persons can experience personality dysfunction, anxiety, depression, and posttraumatic symptoms; helplessness, hopelessness, and projection of destructive thoughts onto external forces often emerge, while defense mechanisms such as denial, splitting, repression, and reduced emotional expression are used by individuals to contain their overwhelming anxieties. We believe that in both diseases, an integrated multidimensional intervention offered by hospitals and other public health services is the most effective approach to alleviating patients' and caregivers' psychological distress. In particular, we emphasize that in the context of both MM and COVID-19, Brief Psychoanalytic Group therapy can help patients and caregivers attribute meaning to the significant changes in their lives related to the experience of the disease and identify adaptive strategies and more realistic relational modalities to deal with what has happened to them. We also highlight the importance of developing a surveillance system that includes individual anamnestic evaluation of occupational risk factors for COVID-19 disease.

Body image, personality profiles and alexithymia in patients with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS).

Aim: Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is a common endocrine-metabolic disorder. It affects women's physical well-being and leads to great psychological distress. Indeed, women with PCOS show a compromised quality of life as well as impaired emotional well-being. The aim of this study is to assess personality characteristics, body image and alexithymia in women with PCOS. Materials and methods: A total of 59 women with PCOS and 38 healthy controls were administered the Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS), the Body Uneasiness Test (BUT) and the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-2 (MMPI-2). Results: The PCOS group showed higher values of alexithymia and a higher body uneasiness. They also showed higher values on many clinical, content and supplementary scales of the MMPI-2. Discussion: It seems that physical appearance and bodily function have a central place in the minds of women with PCOS, as well as in their relationships. However, it is a body they find it hard to feel and with which they mostly feel uncomfortable. Their approach to the outside world seems to be characterized by a certain degree of immaturity, anger, hostility and distrust. Low self-esteem also seems to be connected to a certain tendency toward introversion and withdrawal. This leads to problems in social, professional and intimate relationships.

Research and malignant mesothelioma: lines of action for clinical psychology.

The purpose of this paper is to present two studies. Study 1 is a literature review on psychological needs of malignant mesothelioma (MM) patients. Study 2 is aimed at assessing how patients and caregiver experience the diagnosis. In study 1 we performed a systematic literature review; while in study 2 we performed a thematic analysis of semi-structured interviews. Study 1 detected 5 psychological constructs (i.e. 1. Psychological impact of MM diagnosis; 2. Emotional aspects connected to the occupational context; 3. Coping strategies; 4. Treatment experiences; 5. Quality of life). Study 2 identified 4 themes (i.e. 1. Physical symptoms, affects, and defenses; 2. Living in or near a National Priority Contaminated Site; 3. "Nothing is like it was"; 4. "What will become of us?"). The literature review suggests a specific profile of suffering for MM, a result strengthened by the qualitative study on semi-structured interviews. The present paper highlights the lack of specific measures and clinical interventions for this distinctive population.

Development of a Brief Psychoanalytic Group therapy (BPG) and its application in an asbestos national priority contaminated site.

The aim of the present paper is to describe the development of a Brief Psychoanalytic Group therapy for contaminated sites and its application in the National Priority Contaminated Site of Casale Monferrato. Before presenting the core of the clinical intervention, a brief examination of some clinical features encountered working with malignant mesothelioma patients and their caregivers is offered. These aspects have been pivotal elements in the construction of a psychoanalytically oriented time-limited (i.e., 12 sessions) group therapy. This model of intervention was designed by one of the Authors (AG) and is aimed at reducing the impact of living in a threatening place where both physical well-being and health are put to the test. At a psychological level, in fact, living in contaminated sites arouses death anxieties, which can deeply compromise the quality of time remaining to live together with loved ones after a fatal cancer diagnosis.