The relationship between maladaptive health beliefs, pandemic-related stress, and health anxiety during the COVID-19 pandemic.

BACKGROUND: Research has demonstrated that people experience specific distress and anxiety regarding COVID-19. This distress may consist of interconnected symptom categories corresponding to a COVID stress syndrome. Susceptibility to COVID stress syndrome may be related to one's maladaptive health beliefs; however, no research has investigated the association between maladaptive health beliefs and COVID stress. The present study explored the impact of health beliefs on COVID stress, health anxiety, and associated psychological constructs. PARTICIPANTS AND PROCEDURE: This cross-sectional survey study included 221 adults (M age = 20.59, SD = 2.28). Participants completed an online survey including demographic questionnaires and self-report measures of health beliefs, COVID stress, health anxiety, and related psychological constructs. RESULTS: Health anxiety, anxiety sensitivity, state/trait anxiety, intolerance of uncertainty, and depression accounted for significant variance in COVID stress (F(6, 214) = 11.18, R2 = .24, p < .001). Health beliefs (i.e., perceived likelihood of illness, medical service inadequacy, and difficulty coping) were associated with greater COVID stress, although health beliefs were not found to mediate the relationship between health anxiety and COVID stress. CONCLUSIONS: Health beliefs were associated with greater COVID stress, although health beliefs did not mediate the relationship between health anxiety and COVID stress. The relationship between health anxiety and COVID stress may be better explained by other COVID-related cognitions (e.g., vaccine efficacy, dangerousness of COVID-19). The findings highlight the importance of peoples' health beliefs during the pandemic. Given anxiety's influence on peoples' behavioural responses to the pandemic, further research should identify COVID-specific cognitions for prevention of COVID stress and health anxiety.

A systematic review of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder in people living with cystic fibrosis.

There is a lack of research that has focused on attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in people with cystic fibrosis (pwCF). Given ADHD is associated with executive functioning impairments, exploring ADHD in the context of living with cystic fibrosis (CF) is of great importance. The purpose of the current systematic review was to examine ADHD in pwCF across the lifespan in terms of its prevalence, its impact on various health outcomes, and treatments for managing ADHD. This systematic review followed the guidelines of the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses. Articles reporting studies of any design that focused on ADHD in pwCF were included. Studies were excluded if they did not meet this criterion and if they were written in languages other than English. PsycINFO, MEDLINE, EMBASE, and CINAHL databases were searched. Search items were based on three concepts: (1) terms related to CF, (2) terms related to ADHD, and (3) terms related to age. Ten studies were included in this systematic review. Reported prevalence rates of ADHD in pwCF ranged from 5.26% to 21.9%. The reported relationships between ADHD and CF and other health outcomes is inconsistent. In terms of treatment considerations, pharmacological interventions and behavioural strategies for managing ADHD in the context of living with CF have been reported as being successful. Additional research is needed to further explore ADHD in the CF population and health variables that may be associated with CF prognosis.

Examining the relationships between childhood abuse history, attachment, and health anxiety.

This study examined the relationship between childhood abuse experiences and health anxiety in adulthood and investigated the role of attachment in this relationship. In total, 181 university students (aged 18-29 years) completed a battery of measures that assessed childhood abuse, health anxiety, and attachment orientation. Health anxiety was associated with all categories of childhood abuse and overall childhood abuse severity. Anxious attachment partially mediated the relationship between overall childhood abuse and health anxiety in adulthood. The results further our understanding of the relationship between childhood abuse and health anxiety in adulthood and provide support for the interpersonal model of health anxiety.

Women Are at Greater Risk of OCD Than Men: A Meta-Analytic Review of OCD Prevalence Worldwide.

OBJECTIVE: To estimate the worldwide prevalence of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), examine whether women are at greater risk than men, and explore other potential moderators of OCD prevalence to explain variability in community-based epidemiologic studies. DATA SOURCES: An electronic search of PsycINFO and PubMed was conducted until January 2017, without date or language restrictions, using the keywords OCD, epidemiology, and prevalence. The search was supplemented by articles referenced in the obtained sources and relevant reviews. STUDY SELECTION: Studies were included if they reported current, period, and/or lifetime OCD prevalence (diagnosed according to an interview based on DSM or ICD criteria) in representative community samples of adults aged 18 years or older. A total of 4,045 studies were retrieved, with 34 studies ultimately included. DATA EXTRACTION: OCD prevalence was extracted from each study alongside 9 moderators: gender, year, response rate, region, economic status, diagnostic criteria, diagnostic interview, interviewer, and age. RESULTS: The overall aggregate current, period, and lifetime OCD prevalence estimates were 1.1%, 0.8%, and 1.3%, respectively. In a typical sample, women were 1.6 times more likely to experience OCD compared to men, with lifetime prevalence rates of 1.5% in women and 1.0% in men. There was also a trend toward younger adults' being more likely to experience OCD in their lifetime than older adults. All findings demonstrated moderate heterogeneity. CONCLUSIONS: Women are typically at greater risk of experiencing OCD in their lifetime than men.

Examination of the Effectiveness of a Brief, Adapted Dialectical Behavior Therapy-Skills Training Group for Bariatric Surgical Candidates.

BACKGROUND: Bariatric surgery is the most effective treatment for morbid obesity, yet 20 to 30% of such patients regain weight approximately 2 years post-surgery. A psychological intervention adjunctive to bariatric surgery that addresses eating pathology often observed in bariatric populations may improve outcomes. In the present study, a brief, adapted DBT-ST group for bariatric surgical candidates was evaluated as an adjunctive intervention to bariatric surgery in the pre-surgical period to reduce eating pathology and clinical impairment. METHODS: Participants included 95 bariatric surgery candidates, with 50 candidates in the DBT-ST plus treatment as usual (TAU) group and 45 candidates in the TAU (i.e., comparison) group. Participants completed measures of eating pathology at three time points (i.e., T1 = pre-DBT-ST program; T2 = post-DBT-ST program; T3 = 4 months post-DBT-ST; comparable time points employed for TAU group). Average wait time for surgery following the pre-surgical program was approximately 2 to 4 months. RESULTS: A series of 2 (group: DBT-ST + TAU versus TAU) × 3 (assessment time: T1, T2, and T3) mixed-model ANOVAs were completed. Participants in the DBT-ST plus TAU group showed significant reductions in binge eating, emotional eating, global eating pathology, and clinical impairment related to eating difficulties over time in comparison to TAU. CONCLUSIONS: Findings demonstrated that a brief DBT-ST group integrated as an adjunctive intervention to TAU in a bariatric pre-surgical program could aid in addressing eating pathology. Bariatric participants in a DBT-ST plus TAU group may be on a better weight loss trajectory than those who only receive TAU.