Feeling too low to be active: Physical inactivity mediates the relationship between mental and physical health.

BACKGROUND: Physical inactivity is one of the most influential and pervasive risk factors for health problems. Therefore, public health experts call for interventions to promote physical activity across the lifespan. This study aimed to examine the role of mental health in physical inactivity and the subsequent role of physical activity in various aspects of physical health. METHODS: Data were collected in the third wave of the European Health Interview Survey (EHIS) in Slovenia. A nationally representative sample of 9,900 people (49.6% male) aged 15 years or more (M = 49.2; SD = 18.9 years) provided self-reports on depression (PHQ-8), subjective well-being (MHC-SF), physical (in)activity, bodily pain, long-standing activity limitations, their general health status, and possible chronic diseases. RESULTS: The results of a path analysis showed that depression had a positive effect and well-being had a negative effect on physical inactivity, which in turn contributed to the likelihood of severe bodily pain, activity limitations, poor self-rated health, and multimorbidity. Depression and well-being contributed to health-related outcomes directly and indirectly through physical inactivity. LIMITATIONS: Because of the cross-sectional design, this study is limited in its ability to draw causal conclusions. All health data were self-reported. CONCLUSIONS: Results suggest that high levels of depression and low levels of subjective well-being may be an early warning sign of physical health problems. Interventions aimed at preventing or reducing mental health problems and promoting positive mental health may benefit not only mental health per se, but also prevent physical inactivity and, consequently, physical health problems.

Measurement invariance of the CD-RISC-10 across gender, age, and education: A study with Slovenian adults.

The study aimed to investigate measurement invariance of the 10-item Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale (CD-RISC-10) across gender, age, and education. Adults from a general population of Slovenia (N = 431; 58% female; age 18 to 59 years) filled in the CD-RISC-10, the short form of the Mental Health Continuum and the Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scale. Measurement invariance of the proposed one-factor model of CD-RISC-10 by gender, age, and level of education was examined using multiple-group confirmatory factor analysis. The results showed configural, metric, and scalar invariance of the CD-RISC-10 across gender, age, and educational groups. The measure showed satisfactory reliability, positive associations with emotional, psychological, and social well-being, and negative links with negative emotional states. Group differences in latent means suggested higher resilience in men than women, early adults as compared to emerging adults, and people with higher as compared to those with lower level of education. The Slovenian version of the CD-RISC-10 is an acceptably reliable and valid measure of resilience, suitable to detect possible differences between gender, age, and educational groups. Resilience shows favorable associations with enhanced positive mental health and diminished symptoms of mental problems.

The effects of survey mode on self-reported psychological functioning: Measurement invariance and latent mean comparison across face-to-face and web modes.

Despite the increasing popularity of mixed-mode approaches to data collection, studies examining measurement equivalence across different survey modes in representative samples of the general population, particularly focusing on measures of socially sensitive psychological constructs, are sparse. In this study, we used data from a large representative sample of the Slovenian population (N = 9,900) collected as part of the third wave of the European Health Interview Survey (EHIS) to examine mode-inherent effects (i.e., measurement effects that cannot be neutralized by clever survey design) of the traditional interviewer-mediated face-to-face mode and the increasingly popular self-administered web mode on three measures of psychological functioning, namely the Patient Health Questionnaire Depression Scale (PHQ-8), the Satisfaction with Life Scale (SWLS), and the Mental Health Continuum - Short Form (MHC-SF). After controlling for self-selection propensities, our results showed strict measurement invariance for all three scales across the two survey modes, but statistically significant and notable differences in latent means, suggesting that individuals who respond face-to-face systematically report better psychological functioning than individuals who respond over the web. These results suggest significant mode inherent effects that cannot be attributed to measurement non-invariance of the scales between face-to-face and web survey modes, but most likely to social desirability bias in responses achieved in the presence of an interviewer. Administration mode effects must be considered when interpreting and comparing results obtained through different survey modes, particularly interviewer-mediated versus self-administered modes, especially when using measures of culturally desirable traits and behaviors, such as mental health and well-being.

Measurement Invariance of the Subjective Happiness Scale Across Countries, Gender, Age, and Time.

The purpose of this study was to examine measurement invariance of the Subjective Happiness Scale across countries, gender, and age groups and across time by multigroup confirmatory factor analysis. Altogether, 4,977 participants from nine European, American, and Australian countries were included in the study. Our results revealed that both configural and metric invariance held across countries, but scalar invariance was only partially confirmed with one item yielding varying intercepts in different countries. Measurement invariance was also confirmed across gender and age groups. Longitudinal measurement invariance was examined on a subsample of 478 English-speaking participants and was fully confirmed across five consecutive assessment points. Factor means were compared between groups and across time, and good convergent validity of the Subjective Happiness Scale was found in relation to a measure of temporal satisfaction with life. Overall, our results demonstrate that self-reported happiness was measured similarly in nine different countries, gender and age groups and over time, and provide a solid foundation for meaningful cross-group and cross-time comparisons in subjective happiness.

Coping profiles and their association with psychological functioning: A latent profile analysis of coping strategies during the COVID-19 pandemic.

While many adversities affect limited groups of people, the COVID-19 pandemic brought a range of stressors to entire populations. Using a person-centered approach, this study analyzed the most frequent combinations of coping strategies used by general population during the first wave of the pandemic in a sample of 1347 Slovenian adults. Latent profile analysis identified three coping profiles similar to those found in previous studies in specific samples and stressful circumstances: the engaged profile (active coping, planning, acceptance, positive reframing), the disengaged profile (low problem-focused coping, social support, acceptance, positive reframing), and the avoidant profile (substance use, self-blame, humor). Individuals with the engaged profile reported the highest levels of well-being and the lowest levels of ill-being. While individuals with the avoidant profile had the highest levels of anxiety and stress, those with the disengaged profile had the lowest levels of well-being, especially engagement and positive relationships. The results imply the need to distinguish between the two less adaptive coping profiles, as one is characterized by the active use of dysfunctional strategies, and the other by the low use of all strategies, suggesting that psychological interventions should be tailored to these specificities.

Adverse childhood experiences and somatic symptoms in adulthood: A moderated mediation effects of disturbed self-organization and resilient coping.

OBJECTIVE: Early life adversity is associated with somatic symptoms (SS) in adulthood, but the psychological mechanisms involved need to be further investigated. The aim of this study was to investigate whether disturbances in self-organization (DSO), consisting of affective dysregulation, negative self-concept, and disturbances in relationships, mediate the relationship between exposure to adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) and SS in adulthood. In addition, we investigated whether resilient coping buffers the direct and indirect effect of ACEs on SS. METHOD: The study sample comprised 4,847 Slovenian adults aged 18 to 75 years and was broadly representative of the general population. RESULTS: Results of the mediation analysis showed that DSO had a notable, significant mediating effect on the relationship between ACEs and SS, with the indirect effect (a × b = .386, p < .001) accounting for 53.3% of the total effect. A moderated mediation analysis revealed a significant interaction between ACEs and resilient coping in predicting DSO (B = -.074, p = .020), suggesting that resilient coping moderated the indirect effect of ACEs on SS. The flexible use of coping strategies to solve problems in stressful circumstances reduced the negative effect of ACEs on DSO, and hence the frequency of SS in adults with a history of ACEs. CONCLUSIONS: Health care professionals should be aware of the role that DSO may have in maintaining or exacerbating SS in victims of early trauma. Strengthening the individual's capacities for resilient coping can alleviate the negative effects of early trauma on psychological functioning and health in later life. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved).

Associations of adverse and positive childhood experiences with adult physical and mental health and risk behaviours in Slovenia.

Background: Many studies demonstrated the relationship between adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) and diminished health functioning in adulthood. A growing literature has shown that positive childhood experiences (PCEs) co-occurring with ACEs reduce the risks for negative outcomes. Objective: The aim was to investigate how ACEs and PCEs are simultaneously associated with health outcomes in adulthood, including self-rated health, physical and mental health outcomes, and health-risk behaviours. Methods: A panel sample of 4,847 Slovenian adults was used and the data were weighted to closely resemble the Slovenian population. A series of logistic regression analyses were performed to examine how ACEs and PCEs predict the risk of various health outcomes. Results: Significant associations, as measured by adjusted odds ratios, were found between higher ACEs exposure and each of the 16 health outcomes evaluated. Adjusting for above median PCEs attenuated the association between ACEs and 6 health outcomes (poor self-rated physical and mental health, depression, anxiety, suicide attempt, physical inactivity; OR for ≥ 4 vs. 0 ACEs, 1.48-9.34). Mirroring these findings, above median PCEs were associated with lowered odds of these 6 health outcomes after adjusting for ACEs (OR for above vs. below median PCEs, 0.46-0.67), but not with odds of physical health outcomes and most of the health-risk behaviours. Stratified analyses by ACEs exposure level showed that the association between PCEs and self-rated health remained stable across ACEs exposure levels, while the association between PCEs and mental health outcomes and physical inactivity varied across ACEs exposure levels. Conclusions: Our results suggest that above median PCEs attenuate the association between ACEs and poor self-rated health, mental health problems, and physical inactivity in later life, and are negatively associated with these health problems even in the concurrent presence of ACEs. Interventions to promote PCEs can help to reduce unfavourable long-term health outcomes following childhood adversity.

Antecedentes: Muchos estudios demostraron la relación entre las experiencias adversas en la infancia (ACE) y una disminución en el funcionamiento de la salud en la edad adulta. Una creciente literatura ha demostrado que las experiencias infantiles positivas (PCE) que concurren con ACE reducen los riesgos de resultados negativos.Objetivo: El objetivo era investigar cómo las ACE y PCE se asocian simultáneamente con los resultados de salud en la edad adulta, incluida la salud autoevaluada, las condiciones de salud física y mental y las conductas de riesgo para la salud.Métodos: Se utilizó una muestra de panel de 4.847 adultos eslovenos y los datos se ponderaron para asimilarlos a la población eslovena. Se realizó una serie de análisis de regresión logística para examinar cómo los ACE y PCE predicen el riesgo de varios resultados de salud.Resultados: Se encontraron asociaciones significativas, medidas por razones de probabilidades ajustadas, entre una mayor exposición a ACE y cada uno de los 16 problemas de salud evaluados. El ajuste de los PCE por encima de la mediana atenuó la asociación entre los ACE y 6 problemas de salud (mala salud física y mental autoevaluada, depresión, ansiedad, intento de suicidio, inactividad física; OR para ≥ 4 frente a 0 ACE, 1,48-9,34). Reflejando estos hallazgos, los PCE por encima de la mediana se asociaron con probabilidades más bajas de estos 6 problemas de salud después de ajustar por ACE (OR para PCE por encima o por debajo de la mediana, 0,46-0,67), pero no con mayores probabilidades de problemas de salud física y la mayoría de las conductas de riesgo para la salud. Los análisis estratificados por nivel de exposición a las ACE mostraron que la asociación entre los PCE y la salud autoevaluada se mantuvo estable en los niveles de exposición a los ACE, mientras que la asociación entre los PCE y los resultados de salud mental y la inactividad física varió entre los niveles de exposición de los ACE.Conclusiones: Nuestros resultados sugieren que los PCE por encima de la mediana atenúan la asociación entre los ACE y una pobre autoevaluación de la salud, los problemas de salud mental y la inactividad física en la edad adulta, y se asocian negativamente con estos problemas de salud incluso en la presencia concurrente de ACE. Las intervenciones para promover los PCE pueden ayudar a reducir los resultados de salud desfavorables a largo plazo luego de adversidades en la infancia.

COVID-19 lockdown distress, but not the infection concerns, shape psychological functioning during the pandemic: The mediating role of basic psychological needs.

This study examined the effect of COVID-19 lockdown and infection concerns on positive and negative aspects of psychological functioning during the first weeks of the new coronavirus pandemic, and the mediating role of basic psychological needs satisfaction and frustration. Slovene adults (N = 425; 79% female) filled in questionnaires measuring COVID-19-related stressors, satisfaction and frustration of basic psychological needs, well-being, and ill-being. Results of the path analysis with Bootstrap estimation procedure revealed that the perceived severity of the COVID-19 lockdown circumstances predicted diminished psychological functioning of participants both directly and via decreased needs satisfaction and increased needs frustration. Conversely, the infection concerns had a much weaker and direct only effect on the increased ill-being, but no effect on well-being. These findings indicate that lockdown circumstances, but not the possibility of COVID-19 infection, predominantly shape individuals' ability to satisfy their basic needs and subsequently their psychological functioning during the pandemic. The study suggests that public health responses should address not only risk of infection but also people's psychological needs.

Resilience matters: Explaining the association between personality and psychological functioning during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The objective of the study was to elucidate the underlying mechanism through which basic personality dimensions predict indicators of psychological functioning during the COVID-19 pandemic, including subjective well-being and perceived stress. As a personality characteristic highly contextualized in stressful circumstances, resilience was expected to have a mediating role in this relationship. METHOD: A sample of 2,722 Slovene adults, aged from 18 to 82 years filled in the Big Five Inventory, the Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale, the Perceived Stress Scale, and the Mental Health Continuum. A path analysis with the Bootstrap estimation procedure was performed to evaluate the mediating effect of resilience in the relationship between personality and psychological functioning. RESULTS: Resilience fully or partially mediated the relationships between all the Big Five but extraversion with subjective well-being and stress experienced at the beginning of the COVID-19 outburst. Neuroticism was the strongest predictor of less adaptive psychological functioning both directly and through diminished resilience. CONCLUSIONS: Resilience may be a major protective factor required for an adaptive response of an individual in stressful situations such as pandemic and the associated lockdown.

ANTECEDENTES/OBJETIVO: El objetivo fue dilucidar el mecanismo subyacente a través del cual las dimensiones básicas de la personalidad predicen indicadores del funcionamiento psicológico durante la pandemia de COVID-19, incluido el bienestar subjetivo y el estrés percibido. Como característica de la personalidad altamente contextualizada en circunstancias estresantes, se esperaba que la resiliencia tuviera un papel mediador en esta relación. MÉTODO: Una muestra de 2.722 adultos eslovenos (18-82 años), completó el Big Five Inventory, la Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale, la Perceived Stress Scale y el Mental Health Continuum. Se realizó un análisis de ruta con el procedimiento de estimación Bootstrap para evaluar el efecto mediador de la resiliencia en la relación entre la personalidad y el funcionamiento psicológico. RESULTADOS: La resiliencia medió total o parcialmente las relaciones entre los Cinco Grandes, y la extraversión con bienestar subjetivo y el estrés experimentado, al comienzo del estallido de COVID-19. El neuroticismo fue el predictor más fuerte de un funcionamiento psicológico menos adaptativo, tanto directamente como a través de la disminución de la capacidad de resiliencia. CONCLUSIONES: La resiliencia puede ser un factor de protección importante y requerido para una respuesta adaptativa de un individuo en situaciones estresantes como la pandemia y el confinamiento asociado.

Psychological Functioning of Slovene Adults during the COVID-19 Pandemic: Does Resilience Matter?

As a public health emergency, a pandemic increases susceptibility to unfavourable psychological outcomes. The aim of the present study was to investigate the buffering role of personal resilience in two aspects of psychological functioning, mental health and stress, among Slovene adults at the beginning of the COVID-19 outbreak. Within five days after Slovenia declared epidemics, 2722 participants (75% female) completed an on-line survey measuring mental health and perceived stress as outcome variables and demographics, health-related variables, and personal resilience as predictor variables. Hierarchical logistic regression analyses demonstrated that women, younger, and less educated participants had higher odds for less favourable psychological functioning during the COVID-19 outbreak. In addition, poorer health indicators and COVID-19 infection concerns predicted diminished psychological functioning. The crucial factor promoting good psychological functioning during the COVID-19 pandemics was resilience, additionally buffering against detrimental effects of demographic and health-related variables on mental health and perceived stress. While previous research suggests that mental health problems increase during pandemics, one way to prevent these problems and bolster psychological functioning is to build individuals' resilience. The interventions should be targeted particularly at younger adults, women, less educated people, and individuals who subjectively perceive their health to be rather poor.

Validity and reliability of the Slovene version of the Morningness-Eveningness Questionnaire.

Morningness-eveningness (ME) can be defined as individual differences in sleep-wake patterns, and the time of day people feel and perform best. Various self-report instruments that measure ME have been developed. The Horne and Östberg Morningness-Eveningness Questionnaire (MEQ) has most frequently been used for classifying ME types. The aim of this study was to investigate the validity and reliability of the Slovene version of the MEQ (Slovene MEQ). Two hundred and sixty-five participants (65.3% women, 34,7% men, mean age 38,1 years, range 19-67) took the Slovene MEQ twice, 2 weeks apart (MEQ test and retest). Internal consistency of the Slovene MEQ items was high, with Cronbach's Alpha coefficients of 0.86. The test-retest reliability was also high, with intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) of 0.96. The classification of chronotypes on middle-aged population offered a more balanced representation of the five chronotypes than those proposed by the authors Horne and Östberg . Age changes in chronotype could be confirmed in this study in the supposed direction with older adults being more morning-oriented. The criterion validity of the Slovene MEQ through the relationship of morningness and basic personality traits showed that conscientiousness and agreeableness demonstrated positive and significant correlations with morningness. A low negative correlation was observed between openness and morningness, with higher eveningness among more open participants.

The Prevalence and Predictors of Suicidal Ideation Among Slovene Adolescents.

We set out to investigate the prevalence of suicidal ideation among Slovene adolescents and to examine the predictive value of gender, depression, loneliness, multiple health complaints, bullying and degree of family support for the presence of suicidal thoughts. Our sample consisted out of 1547 15-year-old high-school students which took part in the Health Behaviour in School-Aged Children (HBSC) in 2014. Suicidal ideation was more present in girls, in adolescents with depressive feelings, and in those reporting higher levels of loneliness and multiple health complaints. Being a bully, loneliness and depression were important risk factors, while family support acted as a protective factor.