Different effects between the current capability of and changes in self-management strategies on improving health behavior and psychological health after 6 months: evidence from a prospective cohort study of patients with cancer.

PURPOSE: We aimed to examine different effects of the current capability of and changes in self-management strategies on improving health behavior and psychological health (satisfaction of life, depression, and anxiety) after 6 months in cancer patients. METHODS: A prospective cohort study was conducted, including 540 cancer patients. We measured cancer patients' self-management strategies' capability with Smart Management Strategies for Health (SMASH) Assessment Tool (SAT) baseline scores and changes with SMASH change scores based on a clinically meaningful 10% change of the scores. We conducted adjusted multivariate multiple logistic regression analyses using the stepwise selection method between SMASH baseline and health behavior, satisfaction with life (SWL), depression, and anxiety and between SMASH changes and health behavior, SWL, depression, and anxiety. RESULTS: 256 cancer patients completed both the first and second surveys. While various SMASH capabilities positively affected each health behavior, SWL, depression, and anxiety, the positive-reframing strategy at baseline only affected all health behavior, SWL, and depression. However, based on SMASH changes, using the positive-reframing strategy a lot for 6 months adversely affected some physical health behaviors' practice (balanced diet and stop smoking and drinking). Changes in the life value pursuing strategy only positively affected HB (proactive living) and anxiety. CONCLUSION: SMASH baseline and change scores were generally associated with practicing cancer patients' health behaviors, lower depression, and anxiety. However, it is necessary to consider that excessively using the positive-reframing strategy would interfere with practicing a balanced diet and stopping smoking and drinking behaviors.

Religion, Health, and Life Satisfaction Among Somali and Gambian Women in Norway.

This article describes and analyses the religious justifications for the life satisfaction reported by two groups of Muslim women. Approximately, twenty Somali women and twenty Gambian women, living in Norway, who had experienced trauma and pain due to female genital mutilation/cutting as well as other traumas and hardships, were interviewed. While the Somali women adhere to conservative Islam and try to cope with their life through endurance and patience, the Gambians belong to a Sufi tradition and verbalise their dissatisfaction in order to receive help from Sufi saints. Therefore, there are two religious codes, here called emotionologies, within the Muslim tradition that have different impacts on the expression of life satisfaction and women's ways of coping with pain and suffering.

Self-Esteem as a Mediator between Life Satisfaction and Depression among Cardiovascular Disease Patients.

This study explores the association between life satisfaction and depression among patients with cardiovascular diseases and whether this association is mediated by self-esteem. A cross-sectional study was conducted in a third-grade hospital. We examined 300 patients with cardiovascular diseases with a mean age of 62.00 years (females, 133). Life satisfaction was associated with depression. Adding self-esteem to the model weakened the strength of the association between the two. Moreover, 34.2% of the effect of life satisfaction on depression could be explained by self-esteem. We found that self-esteem could totally explain the effect of life satisfaction on depression among patients with cardiovascular diseases.

Age and Gender Differences in Emotion Recognition.

BACKGROUND: Existing literature suggests that age affects recognition of affective facial expressions. Eye-tracking studies highlighted that age-related differences in recognition of emotions could be explained by different face exploration patterns due to attentional impairment. Gender also seems to play a role in recognition of emotions. Unfortunately, little is known about the differences in emotion perception abilities across lifespans for men and women, even if females show more ability from infancy. OBJECTIVE: The present study aimed to examine the role of age and gender on facial emotion recognition in relation to neuropsychological functions and face exploration strategies. We also aimed to explore the associations between emotion recognition and quality of life. METHODS: 60 healthy people were consecutively enrolled in the study and divided into two groups: Younger Adults and Older Adults. Participants were assessed for: emotion recognition, attention abilities, frontal functioning, memory functioning and quality of life satisfaction. During the execution of the emotion recognition test using the Pictures of Facial Affects (PoFA) and a modified version of PoFA (M-PoFA), subject's eye movements were recorded with an Eye Tracker. RESULTS: Significant differences between younger and older adults were detected for fear recognition when adjusted for cognitive functioning and eye-gaze fixations characteristics. Adjusted means of fear recognition were significantly higher in the younger group than in the older group. With regard to gender's effects, old females recognized identical pairs of emotions better than old males. Considering the Satisfaction Profile (SAT-P) we detected negative correlations between some dimensions (Physical functioning, Sleep/feeding/free time) and emotion recognition (i.e., sadness, and disgust). CONCLUSION: The current study provided novel insights into the specific mechanisms that may explain differences in emotion recognition, examining how age and gender differences can be outlined by cognitive functioning and face exploration strategies.

Polish Honor and Norwegian Dignity: Life Satisfaction, Acculturation, and Self-Worth / El Honor Polaco, La Dignidad Noruega: Satisfacción de Vida, Aculturación y Autoestima

Abstract Locus of self-worth shifts from internal in cultures of dignity to external in cultures of honor. It remains yet unknown whether it can be modified, for example, under an influence of important life events, as migration to a culture of a distinct logic. Our study aimed to analyse relationships between the locus of self-worth and the acculturation strategies on life satisfaction. We collected data from 60 heterosexual Polish couples living in Poland, 120 Polish migrant couples in Norway, and 60 Norwegian couples living in Norway. Groups differed from each other in life satisfaction and in locus of self-worth, with Norwegians valuating the self the most internally and Poles in Poland the most externally. Our results on locus of self-worth show that Polish culture fits in the classification of culture of honor, while Norwegians represent culture of dignity. Moreover, a series of hierarchical linear regressions demonstrated that both locus of self-worth and acculturation strategy are significant predictors of participants' life satisfaction, with a moderating role of migrants' attachment to Polish culture and adaptation to Norwegian society.

Resumen En las culturas de dignidad, que ocurren principalmente en los estados del norte de los Estados Unidos, Canadá y el noroeste de Europa, la autoestima es inalienable y se valora internamente. Esto significa que la autoestima se basa en los logros, las decisiones y los valores del individuo (Aslani et al., 2016). En las culturas de dignidad, nadie puede privar a los individuos de su valor, ya que su ubicación está en lo más profundo de la persona. Por el contrario, en culturas de honor, el valor de una persona se basa en cualidades internas y externas. El honor puede ser quitado, si una persona rompe las reglas de conducta social. El locus de la autoestima cambia de lo interno en las culturas de dignidad, a lo externo en las culturas de honor. Aún no es claro si se puede modificar, por ejemplo, bajo la influencia de eventos importantes de la vida, como la migración a una cultura de una lógica distinta. Este estudio tuvo como objetivo analizar las relaciones entre el locus de autoestima y las estrategias de aculturación sobre la satisfacción con la vida. Se levantaron datos de 60 parejas heterosexuales polacas que viven en Polonia, 120 parejas polacas de inmigrantes en Noruega y 60 parejas noruegas que viven en Noruega. Los grupos diferían entre sí en la satisfacción con la vida y en el locus de la autoestima, los noruegos valoraban el yo más internamente y los polacos en Polonia más externamente. Los resultados en el locus de la autoestima muestran que la cultura polaca encaja en la clasificación de la cultura del honor, mientras que los noruegos representan la cultura de la dignidad. Además, una serie de regresiones lineales jerárquicas mostraron que tanto el locus de la autoestima como la estrategia de aculturación son predictores significativos de la satisfacción con la vida, con un papel moderador del apego de los migrantes a la cultura polaca y la adaptación a la sociedad noruega.

Prevalence and Factors Related to Depressive Symptoms among University Students : From the Honam District, Korea / 신경정신의학

OBJECTIVES: This study investigates the prevalence of depressive symptoms and co-variates among university students in Honam district, Korea. METHODS: One thousand seven hundred and thirty (792 male and 938 female) university students were randomly selected to participate in a survey. Subjects were administered self-report questionnaires : Beck Depression Inventory, Life Experience Survey, Satisfaction with Life Scale. RESULTS: The prevalence of depressive symptoms was 14.9% overall, and 10.8% in males, 18.3% in females. In stepwise multiple regression analysis, satisfaction with life (β=-0.405, R²=0.257, p<0.001), stress (β=0.212, R²=0.312, p<0.001), suicidal attempt (β=0.133, R²=0.349, p<0.001) and female gender (β=-0.108, R²=0.358, p<0.001) were significantly associated with depressive symptoms. Among life stress factors, worry about employment, maladaptation of major field of study, appearance and body shape, lack of time and academic achievement were significantly associated, over r=0.25 with depression in sequence (r=0.256 to r=0.321). CONCLUSION: This study showed very high prevalence of depressive symptoms among university students in Honam district, Korea. Intensive mental health promotion programs to prevent depression and early detection of depressive symptoms appear needed to improve mental health status for university students.

[Analysis of relationships between perimenopausal symptoms and professional functioning and life satisfaction--Subjective perception of the dependence in women aged 40+]. / Analiza zwiazku objawów okolomenopauzalnych z funkcjonowaniem zawodowym i poczuciem satysfakcji z zycia--subiektywne postrzeganie zaleznosci przez kobiety w wieku 40+.

BACKGROUND: The aim of the study was to analyse and present the opinions of women in perimenopause on subjectively perceived symptoms characteristic of the climacteric period, and connected with their professional functioning, as well as to evaluate the effects of selected variables on the incidence and severity of these symptoms and the women's life satisfaction. MATERIAL AND METHODS: The study included 250 professionally active women in perimenopausal age (40-57 years). The study used the Satisfaction with Life Scale (SWLS) to evaluate life satisfaction of women and the Kupperman Index (KI) as quantitative and qualitative self-assessment of climacteric symptoms. The authors also used a questionnaire of their own design that contains an index of defined symptoms of perimenopause, which warrants the use of Pareto-Lorenz analysis. RESULTS: The obtained results prove the presence of statistically significant correlations between the occurrence and severity of menopausal symptoms and the place of enployment (p=0.04912), gynecological care (p=0.00325), hormone replacement therapy (HRT) (p=0.01523) and assessment of life satisfaction (p=0.0325). Among the symptoms particularly influencing effective professional functioning, women pointed out hot flashes, irritability, reduced concentration and coordination, sleep disturbances, and increased sweating. CONCLUSIONS: There is a statistically significant correlation between the woman's place of employment, gynecological care, HRT, the evaluation of life satisfaction and the severity of perimenopausal symptoms. A set of symptoms whose presence and severity influence the sense of life satisfaction and evaluation of professional functioning was observed. Among the most frequently reported symptoms that exert an adverse effect on professional functioning of women are: hot flushes, irritability, reduced concentration and coordination, sleep disturbances, and increased sweating.

The Relationships among Satisfaction with Food-Related Life, Depression, Isolation, Social Support, and Overall Satisfaction of Life in Elderly South Koreans

Food is an essential component of good health and a high quality of life. This is especially true for the elderly, where health and quality of life can vary due to eating issues. This study attempts to measure the satisfaction with food-related life in the elderly of South Korea, while examining differences in social support, depression, isolation, and life satisfaction based on the level of satisfaction with food-related life. Data collection was conducted using one-on-one surveys from December 2011 to January 2012. A total of 390 elderly (aged 65 and over) who live in Korea participated in this study. The results showed that the satisfaction with food-related life was high (3.52 out of 5). The elderly who had company during a meal or a meal preparer showed a higher satisfaction with their food-related life. Social support was high (5.32 out of 7) and the feelings of isolation were low (3.85 out of 5). The average satisfaction with life was 4.42 out of 7, indicating a fair satisfaction with life, while the average depression score was relatively low (8.77 out of 26). In general, the elderly with a higher satisfaction with food-related life had a higher social support and overall satisfaction with their life. On the other hand, the elderly with a lower satisfaction with food-related life generally reported higher levels of depression and isolation. A positive correlation was observed between satisfaction with food-related life, social support, and satisfaction of life, while a negative correlation was found between satisfaction with food-related life, isolation, and depression. The results of this study indicate that managing the satisfaction with food-related life is an important component of mental health in the elderly.