Anxiety sensitivity and psychological distress among hypertensive patients: the mediating role of experiential avoidance.

Hypertension is often associated with adverse psychosocial outcomes and psychological factors have been advanced for better explanatory models and to enhance the development of effective interventions in the treatment of hypertensive patients. Although the link between anxiety sensitivity (AS) and poor mental health outcomes has been established, the mechanism through which it results in psychological distress (PD) is not yet well understood. In addition to investigating the direct associations of AS and experiential avoidance (EA) to PD, the present study examines whether AS predicts adverse mental health outcomes via EA. Hypertensive patients (N = 240; women = 135; Mean age = 41.09, SD = 9.11 years) drawn from cardiology unit of a Nigerian teaching hospital completed the following measures: Psychological Distress Scale, Anxiety Sensitivity Index - 3, and Acceptance and Action Questionnaire. Results showed that that greater AS and greater EA predicted increased PD, even when controlling for age and gender. The mediation hypothesis was further supported suggesting that the association between AS with increase in PD was a function of heightened EA. These findings are consistent with the notion that acceptance of daily experiences may serve to buffer against the potential adverse mental health outcomes and may be a critical target for interventions to ameliorate PD in patients with chronic health conditions such as hypertension. Psychological interventions that deals with experiential avoidance could be used in the management of distressed hypertensive patients.

Negative centralisation of HIV/AIDS trauma and health-related quality of life: do post-traumatic stress symptoms explain the link?

Over-integration of HIV-related trauma into the client's memory in a negative emotional valence could be a serious health debilitating process which may result in negative post-traumatic health outcomes, affecting health-related quality of life (HRQoL) of people living with HIV (PLWH). We hypothesized that post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms are the mediating link between negative event centrality (NEC) and HRQoL among PLWH. Nine hundred and sixty-nine PLWH in Nigeria completed measures of NEC, PTSD symptoms and HRQoL. Model 4 of Hayes' regression-based PROCESS macro version 3.0 for SPSS was employed to investigate relationships between variables of interest. NEC was positively associated with all domains of HRQoL. PLWH who had high negatively centralized identity on HIV also had high scores on PTSD symptoms. PTSD symptoms were also positively associated with all domains of HRQoL. PTSD symptoms also mediated the relationship between NEC and all domains of HRQoL. Assessing and treating PTSD symptoms among PLWH by clinicians could be helpful in enhancing HRQoL.

Narratives of childless widows: exploring the lived experiences and well-being of childless widows in rural Nigeria.

Background: Widows are socioeconomically disadvantaged, especially in low resource regions. Childless widows are a group whose plight may be worse given sociocultural circumstances. In the current study, we examined the lived experiences of childless widows living in remote Nigeria, highlighting this group as being in critical need for social interventions.Method: Childless widows (n = 11) in rural settings in South East Nigeria were interviewed. Narrative analysis was used in navigating the lived experiences of the widows.Results: Extreme distress, ostracism, stigma, and traumatic experiences were common in the narratives of the widows. However, childlessness was at the core of their distress. Treated as outcasts, the widows resigned to God, though some were scarcely allowed to play supportive roles among relatives. As social welfare packages are almost non-existent in this region, religious groups often played supportive roles.Conclusion: Legislation protecting widows are good but may not be sufficient if it does not translate to improved wellbeing/welfare for widows. Childless widows, especially those in rural areas, are especially vulnerable as they face peculiar deprivation and psychological distress arising from cultural/social realities. Recognising the limited resources in low income countries, mobilisation of local structures and resources to educate and monitor local communities are important.

Prolonged incarceration and prisoners' wellbeing: livid experiences of awaiting trial/pre-trial/remand prisoners in Nigeria.

PURPOSE: Awaiting trial prisoners (ATPs) are represented in prisons globally, and may stay for long periods in detention. This group is however underrepresented in literature on incarcerated persons. We aim to explore the lived experiences of ATPs detained for prolonged years in a sub-Saharan country; examining what they make of their status and how their conditions have affected their wellbeing. METHOD: Eight inmates awaiting trial for armed robbery and murder offences, held for between 8 years and 15 years participated in a focus group discussion. Hermeneutic phenomenology guided the interpretation of transcripts. RESULT: ATPs recount disbelief and negative emotional experiences upon incarceration. Alienated and uncertain about their status, ATPs experience intensified distressful ruminations which impact wellbeing. ATPs re-rationalized incarceration and made social comparisons which breed poor perception of self. ATPs nonetheless recounted hopefulness, made favorable comparisons; and find consolation in religious beliefs. CONCLUSION: Prolonged years spent awaiting trial fuels a deterioration of wellbeing. Alternatives to incarceration are urgently needed for ATPs. Distressful experiences recalled by the inmates beg for the inclusiveness of ATPs in programs that promote wellbeing. The Good Lives Model holds potentials for building an inclusive framework to accommodate ATPs in prison interventions.

Role of smartphone addiction in gambling passion and schoolwork engagement: a Dualistic Model of Passion approach.

There are growing concerns that seem to suggest that students no longer engage in school-related activities as they ought to. Recent observation has revealed that students now spend excessive time participating in Internet gambling with their smartphone during school period. This trend could have far-reaching consequences on their schoolwork engagement and by extension, academic performance. Drawing on the Dualistic Model of Passion, this study therefore, examined the mediatory role of smartphone addiction in the gambling passion-schoolwork engagement relation. A cross-sectional design was adopted. Male undergraduates (N = 278) of a large public university in Nigeria who engage in Internet gambling participated in the study. They completed self-report measures of gambling passion, smartphone addiction, and schoolwork engagement. Results showed that harmonious gambling passion was not related to smartphone addiction whereas it was positively related to schoolwork engagement. Obsessive gambling passion had positive and negative relations with smartphone addiction and schoolwork engagement, respectively. Smartphone addiction was negatively related to schoolwork engagement and mediated only the obsessive gambling passion-schoolwork engagement relation but not that between harmonious gambling passion and schoolwork engagement. The theoretical and practical implications of the findings are discussed.

Business-life balance and wellbeing: Exploring the lived experiences of women in a low-to-middle income country.

AIM: With most studies on work-life balance focused on employees, this study sets out to explore the everyday living of business women who trade on petty goods and earn very little in a low-to-middle income country (LMIC). We explore their conceptions of balance, how they manage intersecting roles, and how they cope with daily hassles and stress to maintain wellbeing. BACKGROUND: With the proportion of self-employed to employed people in Sub-Saharan LMICs being an inverse of the situation in Euro-American countries, there is a need to explore what balance could mean for the people in LMICs. Most studies in the work-life literature have explored how employees pursue balance and the various strategies that work for a specific group of people. Perhaps because work-life balance literature has largely sprung from advanced economies, little focus has been placed on how other societies, especially people in LMICs, navigate balance, given their unique milieu. DESIGN: Adopting the reflective life-world approach, we inquire into the daily lives of women in very small businesses. METHOD: Twenty women who trade on a range of items and earn very little (gross daily sales of $0.41 to $62.98) were interviewed using a semi-structured guideline. Analysis was conducted using interpretative phenomenology. RESULT: Conceptions of balance for the women incorporated the notions of satisfactory progress across roles, proper time apportionment to roles, conditional balance as well as harmony and/or synchrony across roles-a slight difference from the popular understandings. Their conception of business life roles was deemed much more integral. Negative physical and psychological experiences impacting health and wellbeing, identified as culminating as a result of both roles, were commonplace but were typically considered a normal part of living. Engagements in extra-social roles appeared to have a double-edged effect. Placing the family first, time management, and prioritizing were some of the important measures of ensuring balance and wellbeing. Financial gains and personal satisfaction were top motivational reasons that kept the women committed to pursuing simultaneous roles. CONCLUSION: There is a strong overlap between what balance means for petty trading women and employees. However, the unique social platform offers a more communal perspective of issues in pursuing balance.