Mental and physical health correlates of the psychological impact of the first wave of COVID-19 among general population of Pakistan.

The primary aim was to assess the role of mental and physical health of COVID-19 and its psychological impact in the general population of Pakistan during the first wave of COVID-19. It was hypothesized that there would be a significant predictive association among socio-demographic variables, psychological impact and mental health status resulting from COVID-19, and poor self-reported physical health would be significantly associated with adverse psychological impact and poor mental health status because of COVID-19. A cross-sectional survey research design was used in which 1,361 respondents were sampled online during lockdown imposed in the country. The Impact of Events Scale-Revised (IES-R) was used to assess the psychological impact of COVID-19, and the Depression Anxiety Stress Scales (DASS-21) was used to assess participants' mental health status. 18% of the respondents reported moderate to severe event-specific distress, 22.6% reported moderate to severely extreme depression, 29% reported moderate to extreme anxiety, and 12.1% reported moderate to extreme stress. Female gender, having graduate-level education, currently studying, and self-reported physical symptoms (persistent fever, chills, headache, cough, breathing difficulty, dizziness, and sore throat) were significantly associated with higher levels of psychological impact exhibited through higher scores on the IES-R and poorer mental health status exhibited through higher scores on the DASS-21 (Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Subscales).

The unique contribution of community clinical nurse specialists in rural Wales.

To date, quality indicators that have been developed for nursing tend to focus on acute, secondary care settings. It remains unclear whether such quality indicators are applicable to community settings, particularly in rural environments. This research aims to identify the consensus view among specialist nurses regarding their unique nursing contribution within their rural community. Identifying agreed aspects of the unique role within the rural community area will enable quality care metrics to be developed, allowing specialist nurses to measure their unique contribution to rural health care in the future. The research used the Delphi technique to identify a consensus view among a population of specialist community nurses working in a designated rural area in Wales. The strongest area of consensus related to clinical and teaching expertise, where participants perceive educational expertise as being at the forefront of their role. In terms of care for individuals, consensus was focused on four main areas: developing appropriate criteria for referral in to the service, collaborative working, education, and advocacy roles. The findings highlight similarities to models of care provision elsewhere. Specific quality indicators are required for clinical nurse specialists working in rural areas. Current quality indicators may not be applicable across all clinical settings. Further work is required to explore the nature of rural nursing practice.

Children's awareness of alcohol sponsorship of sport in Ireland: Munster Rugby and the 2008 European Rugby Cup.

OBJECTIVES: Examined children's awareness of sport sponsorship in Ireland, focussing on the 2008 European Rugby Cup win by Munster Rugby. METHODS: Following the Munster Rugby win in 2008, a cross-sectional sample of 1,175 children (7-13 years) in 11 National Schools in Ireland were asked which company sponsored "the cup that Munster won" and were then asked to name the product made by that company. RESULTS: Significantly higher level of awareness of the sponsor by children in Munster (69.9 %) to those outside Munster (21.5 %). No significant difference in the level of awareness of their product (alcohol) by location (inside Munster 75.9 %, outside Munster 83.6 %). CONCLUSIONS: These findings support the view for an immediate introduction of legislation banning the sponsorship of sport.

Components of shame and eating disturbance among clinical and non-clinical populations.

OBJECTIVE: To examine the association between components of shame (characterological, behavioural and bodily) and eating disturbance. METHOD: This was a cross sectional study of 859 female and 256 male participants from the general population [non-clinical (NCP)] and 167 female participants from an eating disordered population [clinical (CP)] completing the Experience of Shame Scale. The NCP samples also completed the Eating Attitudes Test-26, and the CP samples completed the Eating Disorder Risk Composite of the Eating Disorder Inventory-3. Participants were recruited via schools/colleges, eating disorder charities and the Internet. RESULTS: Bodily and characterological shame were independently predictive of eating disturbance in female NCP samples (both, p < .001); bodily shame was uniquely predictive of eating disturbance for the male NCP (p < .05) and female CP samples (p < .001). CONCLUSION: The aetiology of eating disturbance may be different for male and female NCP samples. The male NCP and the female CP samples displayed a similar pathway to eating disturbance. It is important to acknowledge the different components of shame associated with eating disturbance in different populations.

The association between church attendance and psychological health in Northern Ireland: a national representative survey among adults allowing for sex differences and denominational difference.

This study extends previous research concerning the association between religion and psychological health in six ways: (1) by focusing clearly on religious attendance (church attendance); (2) by employing a robust measure of psychological distress (GHQ-12); (3) by studying a highly religious culture (Northern Ireland); (4) by taking sex differences into account (male or female); (5) by taking denominational differences into account (Catholic or Protestant); (6) and by obtaining a national representative sample (N = 4,281 adults aged 16 and above). Results from a 2 (sex) by 2 (denomination) ANCOVA demonstrated that Catholics recorded significantly lower levels of psychological health compared to Protestants, and that females showed significantly lower levels of psychological health compared to males. In addition, females reported higher frequency of religious service attendance than males, and Catholics reported higher attendance rates than Protestants. A significant positive association was found between frequency of religious attendance and GHQ-12 scores, and this association was moderated by sex and denomination. In conclusion, the results suggest that there may be sex and denominational differences in further understanding the relationship between frequency of religious attendance and psychological health.

Bully/victim problems in Northern Ireland's schools: data from the 2003 Young Persons' Behavior and Attitude Survey.

McGuckin and Lewis (2003, 2006, 2008), Mc Guckin, Lewis and Cummins (under review b) have reported that little is known about the nature, incidence and correlates of bully/victim problems in the Northern Ireland school system. The aim of the present study was to examine the prevalence of self-reported experiences of bully/victim problems among a representative sample of 7,223 11- to 16-year-olds living in Northern Ireland who participated in the 2003 Young Persons' Behaviour and Attitude Survey (YPBAS: Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency [NISRA], 2003). Respondents were presented with three questions inquiring explicitly and three questions inquiring implicitly about bully/victim problems. Among other questions, respondents volunteered other salient information about personal experiences of bully/victim problems (i.e., through use of the "other" response option). Almost one-fifth of all respondents (17.2%, n = 1,026) reported being a victim of bullying behavior, and 8.1% (n = 492) reported that they had picked on or bullied another school pupil. Bully/victim problems also pervaded personal experiences of school meal times, sporting activities, and perceptions of personal safety. These findings are placed within the context of previous findings.

On positive psychological outcomes: what helps groups with a history of conflict to forgive and reconcile with each other?

Three studies examined the roles of traditional and novel social psychological variables involved in intergroup forgiveness. Study 1 (N = 480) revealed that among the pro-Pinochet and the anti-Pinochet groups in Chile, forgiveness was predicted by ingroup identity (negatively), common ingroup identity (positively), empathy and trust (positively), and competitive victimhood (the subjective sense of having suffered more than the outgroup, negatively). Political ideology (Right vs. Left) moderated the relationship between empathy and forgiveness, trust and forgiveness, and between the latter and competitive victimhood. Study 2 (N = 309), set in the Northern Irish conflict between Protestants and Catholics, provided a replication and extension of Study 1. Finally, Study 3 (N = 155/108) examined the longitudinal relationship between forgiveness and reconciliation in Northern Ireland, revealing that forgiveness predicted reconciliation intentions. The reverse direction of this relationship was also marginally significant. Results are discussed in terms of their theoretical and practical implications.

The role of religious fundamentalism in terrorist violence: a social psychological analysis.

This paper examines the social-psychological factors often implicated in discussions of terrorist violence/martyrdom, with a particular focus on the role of religion. We offer a brief description of the psychological theories underpinning terrorist research before focusing on social-psychological factors. The roles of psychopathology, irrationality and grievance/threat are examined, followed by empirical research on the beliefs which have been associated with the perpetration and support of terrorist violence, and the social factors which foster those beliefs, including social identity, socially carried interpretations, group leadership and individual differences. Although religion is not a single, simple causal factor in terrorist violence, religious elements often feature strongly in the belief systems associated with terrorist violence, and can also feature in other important fostering factors for terrorist violence, such as the use of rhetoric. Finally, the status of lay explanations of terrorist violence, focusing on the role of religious fundamentalism is examined.

Experiences of school bullying in Northern Ireland: data from the Life and Times Survey.

Little is known about the levels of bully/victim behaviors in schools in Northern Ireland. The aim of the present study was to supplement previous research findings from Northern Ireland by examining the self-reported experiences of school bullying among Northern Ireland children through data collected as part of the 1998 "Youth Life and Times Survey." A random sample of 397 12 to 17-year-olds living throughout Northern Ireland were interviewed during 1998 and 1999. As part of the larger survey, six questions were asked relating to experience of bullying behaviors and being a victim of such behaviors. The findings suggests that the incidence of school bullying in Northern Ireland may be higher than those found in the rest of Ireland and the United Kingdom. Furthermore, the data supplements previous findings among Northern Irish children employing alternate measures of bully/victim problems.

Temporal stability of the Czech translation of the Satisfaction with Life Scale: test-retest data over one week.

The present study supplemented the limited 1999 psychometric data by Lewis, et al. on the Czech translation of the Satisfaction With Life Scale by examining the temporal stability of the measure over a 1-wk. period for 64 Czech undergraduate university students. Analysis indicated stability across the two administrations was very high (r=.90), and there was no significant change between Time 1 (M=23.7, SD=5.1) and Time 2 (M=24.1, SD=5.5). Short-term test-retest reliability of this Czech translation is supported.

The General Health Questionnaire and Eysenck's three-dimensional model of personality.

A sample of 115 men and women between the ages of 20 and 60 completed the 30-item General Health Questionnaire together with the short-form Revised Eysenck Personality Questionnaire. The data indicate psychological distress so assessed is correlated .43 (p <.001) with Neuroticism and -.26 (p <.01) with Introversion but is unrelated to Psychoticism scores.