The Urge to Splurge in Time of COVID-19: Emotional Spending, Revenge Buying and Compulsive Shopping.

BACKGROUND: Shopping is a reality for all of us; it can also be a pleasure or a source of problem, depending on the psychology behind it and our decision making. Furthermore, our spending patterns were seriously shaken and impacted by the COVID pandemic; restrictions, safety measures and lockdown generated changes in the way we buy. So, what has changed and why? SUBJECTS AND METHODS: Between January 2023 and May 2023, a literature search based on electronic bibliographic databases as well as other sources of information (grey literature) was conducted in order to investigate the most recent data on shopping habits and especially how they were impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. RESULTS: Various shopping behaviors observed post COVID, such as the urge to splurge, emotional spending, revenge buying and problematic shopping behavior, can be read and explained via psychology. Customers's socio-demographic characteristics play considerable roles in new buying patterns, but some general changes show that online shopping and contactless payment have certainly increased, consumers are more aware of their spending habits, looking for value first and not remaining loyal to brand, homebody economy has risen and money is rather spent on domestic tourism instead of foreign holidays. CONCLUSIONS: A lot of buying habits have changed during COVID-19 and many of these modifications will remain in a post pandemic world. If many consumers gained some insight in their spending behaviors and are looking for durability and sustainability as preferred choices, luxury products will always attract clients. Shopping being emotionally driven, money should rather been spent on experiences (rather than things) and on others (rather than ourselves) in order to make happy.

Psychological impact of COVID-19 lockdown on staff and residents of nursing and care homes in Belgium and EHPADs France.

More than a third of the world's population is currently living under lockdown due to the coronavirus pandemic. Lockdown measures have been in place in many countries for several weeks. The health authorities are waging war against COVID-19 and have to provide information to the public on it while facing many unknowns about the virus. What impact does this have on mental health? What impact can lockdown have upon a population? What psychological impact will this lockdown have on elderly people living in nursing and care homes in Belgium and EHPADs France? We are not aware of any French-language research which has been published on the psychological aspects of the coronavirus among the population. We will try, through this article, to approach the psychological impact upon nursing staff and residents within nursing homes.

[Medico-psychological aspect relating to the coronavirus epidemic: implementation of a support strategy for nursing staff by coordinating doctors in rest and care homes in Belgium and in France and psychological impact for the residents of these private and public nursing and care homes]. / Aspect médico-psychologique relatif à l'épidémie du coronavirus : mise en place d'une stratégie de soutien pour le personnel soignant par les médecins coordinateurs dans les maisons de repos et de soins en Belgique ou Ehpad en France et impact psychologique pour les résidents de ces maisons de repos et de soins privées et publiques.

More than a third of humanity is currently under containment due to the coronavirus pandemic. Containment has been in place in many countries for several weeks. Health authorities are on the warpath against a still mysterious virus and for which they are brought to inform the population while being confronted with many unknowns concerning the Covid-19. So what about mental health? What can generate a situation of containment with the population in quarantine? What psychological impact will this confinement have on our elderly people who are accommodated in rest and care homes in Belgium or in Ehpad in France? Currently, we are not yet aware of French-language articles already published in the medical-psychological aspects related to the coronavirus among the population. We will try, through this article, to approach the medico-psychological question of the nursing staff within the nursing homes and the psychological impact of the residents.

Exploration of the Epidemiological and Emotional Impact of Quarantine and Isolation During the COVID-19 Pandemic.

Starting in December 2019 in Wuhan Municipal Health Commission, the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has crossed the borders forming a pandemic in 2020. The absence of pharmacological interventions has pushed governments to apply different sets of old, non-pharmacological interventions, which are, though temporary, helpful to prevent further pandemic propagation. In the context of COVID-19, research confirms that quarantine is useful, mainly if applied early and if combined with other public health measures. However, the efficacy of quarantine and isolation is limited in many ways, ranging from legal issues and suspension of economic activities to mental health considerations. This chapter is an exploration of (i) epidemiological impact of isolation and quarantine; (ii) emotional impact of isolation and quarantine; and (iii) the possible effect of culture on quarantine experience.

Psychiatric Considerations on Infanticide: Throwing the Baby out with the Bathwater.

BACKGROUND: Infanticide is not a new concept. It is often confused with child murder, neonaticide, filicide or even genderside. Each of these concepts has to be defined clearly in order to be understood. Through time reasons for infanticide have evolved depending on multiple factors such as culture, religion, beliefs system, or attempts to control the population. It was once seen as a moral virtue. So what has changed? SUBJECTS AND METHODS: Between January 2020 and May 2020, a literature search based on electronic bibliographic databases as well as other sources of information (grey literature) was conducted in order to investigate the most recent data on infanticide and child murder, especially the newest socio-economic and psychiatric considerations as well as the different reasons why a mother or a father ends up killing their own child and the Irish situation. RESULTS: Recent works on the subject demonstrate how some new socio economic factors and family considerations impact on infanticide. Mental illness, especially depression and psychosis, is often part of the picture and represent a very high risk factor to commit infanticide and filicide. Fathers and mothers do not proceed the same way nor for the same reasons when they kill their offspring. Neonaticide and infanticide are almost always committed by women. A recent case in Ireland (2020) proves how filicide remains an actual problem. CONCLUSIONS: Filicide is a relatively rare event, and therefore particularly impact both the public and the press when it occurs. Infanticide does not result from a unique cause, but from multiple factors (some being well known, some remaining hypothetical). Psychopathological and socio-economical parameters associated to peculiar family grounds are currently prevalent. To help and prevent infanticide, screening for psychiatric disorders and risk factors and treating or offering assistance to parents at risk should be implemented.

Vulnerability of caregivers of people with a neurodegenerative disease: a synthesis.

The aging of the population and the increasing of the neurodegenerative pathologies encourage the current policies in health to further promote the home maintenance for dependent elderly people. Therefore, informal caregivers provide a substantial assistance to the medical team by monitoring home care. These volunteer caregivers who play an essential role in the survival of our health system however may expose to dangers of systematic assistance. In order to better understand the plural risks which caregivers are likely to face, this paper proposes a critical analysis of the consequences of caregiving on health and quality of life and summarizes factors that contribute to vulnerability - protection of caregivers. It seems caregivers will present very heterogeneous reactions in the way they are considering the care situation. Facing to many difficulties encountered, caregivers are dealing with their skills and adopt personal coping strategies. There is thus a wide range of fragility profiles and needs among caregivers. Better taking into account the multiple components of aid relationships paves the way toward possible new care perspectives by recognizing the specific needs of each caregiver with respect for its uniqueness. In this way only, we can effectively contribute to challenge one of the important and actual social issue: the prevention of global exhaustion of caregivers of people with neurodegenerative disease.

Cost comparison of open approach, transoral laser microsurgery and transoral robotic surgery for partial and total laryngectomies.

Activity-based costing is used to give a better insight into the actual cost structure of open, transoral laser microsurgery (TLM) and transoral robotic surgery (TORS) supraglottic and total laryngectomies. Cost data were obtained from hospital administration, personnel and vendor structured interviews. A process map identified 17 activities, to which the detailed cost data are related. One-way sensitivity analyses on the patient throughput, the cost of the equipment or operative times were performed. The total cost for supraglottic open (135-203 min), TLM (110-210 min) and TORS (35-130 min) approaches were 3,349 euro (3,193-3,499 euro), 3,461 euro (3,207-3,664 euro) and 5,650 euro (4,297-5,974 euro), respectively. For total laryngectomy, the overall cost were 3,581 euro (3,215-3,846 euro) for open and 6,767 euro (6,418-7,389 euro) for TORS. TORS cost is mostly influenced by equipment (54%) where the other procedures are predominantly determined by personnel cost (about 45%). Even when we doubled the yearly case-load, used the shortest operative times or a calculation without robot equipment costs we did not reach cost equivalence. TORS is more expensive than standard approaches and mainly influenced by purchase and maintenance costs and the use of proprietary instruments. Further trials on long-term outcomes and costs following TORS are needed to evaluate its cost-effectiveness.

Mood disorders in adolescents: concepts and interrogations among Francophone psychiatrists.

BACKGROUND: With the publication of DSM III, the nosology of children and adolescents' disorders has evolved differently in Francophone and Anglo-Saxon countries. We want to 1 / familiarize readers with the nosographic concepts of mood disorders and bipolar disorders in the Francophone world of Adolescent Psychiatry; 2/ highlight the major current issues of concern to both Francophone and Anglo-Saxon adolescents' psychiatrists. METHOD: A review of the literature in PubMed, PsycINFO and PsycARTICLES, but also of Francophone journals or textbooks not included in these databases nor distributed outside Francophone countries. RESULTS: Although Francophone adolescents' psychiatrists still rely on the DSM II, particularly in reference to the transitory dimension of problems during adolescence, the DSM III led to a tightening of criteria for bipolar disorder in the Anglo-Saxon countries. These disorders have become rare in the 2000s while still common in Francophone countries. Nowadays the evolution of current criteria in Anglo-Saxon countries tends to bring the diagnostic criteria closer to the Francophone's one even though important differences still persist. CONCLUSION: Despite differences between these two approaches in Psychiatry, there is agreement regarding the poor prognosis of type I bipolar disorder, particularly when psychotic traits are observed. Early diagnosis and treatment are therefore a challenge for both, but their limitations are inherent to their respective approaches. In Anglo-Saxon countries, if the criteria are met for bipolar disorder, treatment is decided at the risk of over-diagnosis and stigmatization of false positives. In Francophone countries, even if the criteria for bipolar disorder are met, it is still necessary that the psychopathological analysis of the disorder in the developmental framework of adolescence confirms that the disorder is stable, at the risk of later treatment and of increase of insufficiently treated false negatives. A reconciliation of these fields may limit the above side effects.

Families and health interactions.

BACKGROUND: In recent years, psychologists of health have attempted to understand the relations between family dynamics and health. The aim of our study is not only to study relations inside families and couples (relations between family of origin, nuclear and ideal family, current and ideal couple) but also outside between families and couples and different health indicator (physical and mental health, consumption of medications, and frequency of medical consultations). SUBJECTS AND METHODS: Twenty healthy subjects are included in a two years long longitudinal study. At baseline, subjects' age, gender, family composition, net income, chronic treatments, family dynamics (FACES III), Health Locus of Control (MHLC), and personality (NEO-FFI) are recorded. RESULTS: The adaptability level that we experience in our current couple appears partially to be an inherited value of the adaptability that we had in our family of origin (r=0.694; p=0.026). Moreover, the closer we are to each other in our nuclear family, the closer and more adaptable is our couple (r=0.893; p=0.007). Cohesion in the nuclear family is correlated with a desire for even more cohesion in the ideal family (r=0.898; p=0.000) and in the ideal couple (r=0.732; p=0.016). The only mechanism that slows down this aspiration for "always more" cohesion is the cohesion that the current couple is experiencing. Some of these factors seem to affect health indicators: cohesion of the ideal family and of the family of origin as well as cohesion of the current couple have positive effects on health indicators whereas levels of adaptability of the ideal family and the current couple have negative effects on health indicators. CONCLUSION: At T0 and T6 months, the level of physical health appears to be the more predictable variable. At time T0, a tree factors model of linear regression including cohesion of family of origin, and of the current couple, with adaptability of the ideal family explains 82.4% of the variance. At time T6months, nuclear family cohesion, account for 46.5% of the variance.

Intensity of symptoms from alcohol withdrawal in alcohol-dependent patients: comparison between smokers and non-smokers.

BACKGROUND: In patients with a dual dependence on alcohol and tobacco, the spontaneous discourse among doctors is not to encourage them to consider preparing to give up both substances. The argument put forward is that withdrawal would be more difficult. We wanted to compare the intensity of withdrawal symptoms in patients hospitalised for alcohol detoxification between smokers and non-smokers. SUBJECT AND METHODS: We compared patients hospitalised for alcohol detoxification who smoke versus non-smokers who received replacement therapy through benzodiazepines and not nicotine replacement. The blood pressure and the cardiac frequency measure on the first day of hospitalisation, the doses of Diazepam dispensed on the first day, and the Clinical Institute Withdrawal Assessment of Alcohol Scale Revised (CIWA-Ar) score on the second day were compared. RESULTS: A trend emerged whereby smoking patients undergoing alcohol detoxification showed higher blood pressure, higher cardiac frequency and required higher doses of benzodiazepines on the first day of hospitalisation. Patients who smoke also had higher CIWA-Ar scores on the second day of hospitalisation. DISCUSSION: From a physiological point of view, the intensity of the symptoms of alcoholic withdrawal seems to be greater in hospitalised patients who smoke vs. non-smokers in the first two days. Does giving up both substances at the same time result in fewer withdrawal symptoms? And in this case, should a double replacement be recommended: benzodiazepines and nicotine replacement therapy? CONCLUSION: To be able to refine the recommendations on alcohol-tobacco dual withdrawal programmes, other studies are needed to compare giving up both substances with or without nicotine replacement.

Quit smoking? quit drinking? why not quit both? analysis of perceptions among belgian postgraduates in psychiatry.

INTRODUCTION: cooncurrent alcohol and tobacco dependency appears to be a common phenomenon yet medical literature often focuses on only one substance at a time when examining the question of withdrawal and illustrates that the evaluation of tobacco consumption appears to be overlooked in psychiatry. SUBJECT AND METHODS: in this study, we analyse perceptions among first-year postgraduates in Psychiatry, before and after training in Motivational Interviewing, with regard to the idea of suggesting that patients might consider simultaneous dual alcohol-tobacco withdrawal. RESULTS: the trend is to disregard the systematic history of substance consumption and to not recommend concurrent alcohol-tobacco withdrawal. Motivational interview training tends to reverse this trend. DISCUSSION: the lessening of the therapist's feeling of powerlessness in the face of relapse is one of the explanatory factors behind this change of approach. A study design is proposed focusing on the patient's perceptions. CONCLUSION: guidelines concerning dual alcohol-tobacco withdrawal programs are to be developed.

Natural killer cell cytotoxity and course of illness in depressed mood.

There is now some evidence that depressed mood is associated with activation of the immune system. First, we evaluated, within a cross-sectional design, NKCA (in vitro) in 49 subjects meeting inclusion criteria either for a major depressive episode, for dysthymia, or for "double depression". We found that recent and long depressive episodes (dysthymia) are associated with a lower immunodepression. Second, we compared two subset of subjects: 14 patients meeting criteria of major depression to 14 healthy controls. The data show a significant improvement in major depression when compared to controls througout a treatment combining supportive psychotherapy and 8 mg Reboxetine™.

Physicians' communication with a cancer patient and a relative: a randomized study assessing the efficacy of consolidation workshops.

BACKGROUND: Although patients with cancer are often accompanied by a relative during medical interviews, to the authors' knowledge little is known regarding the efficacy of communication skills training programs on physicians' communication skills in this context. The objective of the current study was to assess the efficacy of 6 consolidation workshops, 3 hours in length, that were conducted after a 2.5-day basic training program. METHODS: After attending the basic training program, physicians were assigned randomly to consolidation workshops or to a waiting list. Training efficacy was assessed through simulated and actual interviews that were recorded on an audio tape at baseline, after consolidation workshops for the consolidation-workshops group, and 5 months after the end of basic training for the waiting-list group. Communication skills were assessed according to the Cancer Research Campaign Workshop Evaluation Manual. Patients' and relatives' perceptions of and satisfaction with physicians' communication performance were assessed using a 15-item questionnaire. RESULTS: Sixty-two physicians completed the training program. Compared with physicians who participated to the basic training program, when addressing the patient, physicians who were randomized to the consolidation workshops used more open, open directive, and screening questions (P = 0.011 in simulated patient interviews and P = 0.005 in actual patient interviews) and elicited and clarified psychologic concerns more often (P = 0.006 in simulated patient interviews and P < 0.001 in actual patient interviews). When they addressed the relative, physicians who were randomized to the consolidation workshops gave less premature information (P = 0.032 in simulated patient interviews and P < 0.001 in actual patient interviews). When they addressed the patient and the relative simultaneously, physicians who were randomized to the consolidation workshops used more empathy, educated guesses, alerting to reality, confronting, negotiating, and summarizing (P = 0.003 in simulated patient interviews and P = 0.024 in actual patient interviews). Patients, but not relatives, who interacted with physicians in the consolidation-workshops group were more satisfied globally with the interviews (P = 0.022). CONCLUSIONS: Six 3-hour consolidation workshops resulted in improved communication skills addressed to patients and to relatives. The current results showed that the transfer of skills addressing relatives' concerns remained limited and that consolidation workshops should focus even more systematically on the practice of three-person interviews.

Family, health, and adolescence.

The present research examined the correlations between types of family relationships and adolescents' beliefs about their own health. "Healthy" adolescents (N=765) completed both the Multidimensional Health Locus of Control questionnaire and Olson's scale assessing family cohesion and adaptability. They were compared to a group of 358 adolescents diagnosed with mental disorders. Cohesion in the family of origin was a significant factor in the adolescents' feeling of control over their own health as well as in the level of power they attributed to other people. Among these adolescents, adaptability of the family of origin was positively correlated with stronger feelings of control over one's own health and with lower levels of belief in chance. Family relations were significant in the adolescents' acquisition of feelings of control over their own health.

How to optimize physicians' communication skills in cancer care: results of a randomized study assessing the usefulness of posttraining consolidation workshops.

PURPOSE: Although there is wide recognition of the usefulness of improving physicians' communication skills, no studies have yet assessed the efficacy of post-training consolidation workshops. This study aims to assess the efficacy of six 3-hour consolidation workshops conducted after a 2.5-day basic training program. METHODS: Physicians, after attending the basic training program, were randomly assigned to consolidation workshops or to a waiting list. Training efficacy was assessed through simulated and actual patient interviews that were audiotaped at baseline and after consolidation workshops for the consolidation-workshop group, and approximately 5 months after the end of basic training for the waiting-list group. Communication skills were assessed according to the Cancer Research Campaign Workshop Evaluation Manual. Patients' perceptions of communication skills improvement were assessed using a 14-item questionnaire. RESULTS: Sixty-three physicians completed the training program. Communication skills improved significantly more in the consolidation-workshop group compared with the waiting-list group. In simulated interviews, group-by-time repeated measures analysis of variance showed a significant increase in open and open directive questions (P =.014) and utterances alerting patients to reality (P =.049), as well as a significant decrease in premature reassurance (P =.042). In actual patient interviews, results revealed a significant increase in acknowledgements (P =.022) and empathic statements (P =.009), in educated guesses (P =.041), and in negotiations (P =.008). Patients interacting with physicians who benefited from consolidation workshops reported higher scores concerning their physicians' understanding of their disease (P =.004). CONCLUSION: Consolidation workshops further improve a communication skills training program's efficacy and facilitate the transfer of acquired skills to clinical practice.