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Biomedical subjects

Reg Arthur Williams

Publications and source records attributed to Reg Arthur Williams.

8 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2005

The role of sense of belonging and social support on stress and depression in individuals with depression.

This longitudinal study examined the role of sense of belonging, social support, and spousal support on the relationship between perceived stress and symptoms of depression in 90 men and women who had a history of depression (n = 51) and who did not have (n = 39) a history of depression. Data were obtained at 3, 6, and 9 months after initial entry into the study. A series of regression analysis procedures revealed a mediation effect, but not a moderation effect, of sense of belonging and perceived social support on the relationship between perceived stress and depression in only the depressed group. Spousal support had neither a direct effect nor an interaction effect on the perceived stress-depression relationship in the depressed group. For the comparison group, perceived stress did not correlate significantly with the symptoms of depression. Repeated measures analysis of variance showed that increased perceived stress and lower sense of belonging had significant direct effects on the severity of depression and the effects were consistent over the period of 9 months. Social support and spousal support had only indirect effects that fluctuated over time. The results emphasize that interventions geared toward stress reappraisal and promotion of sense of belonging should yield direct and stable effects of decreasing depression.

Adaptation, Psychological↗
PubMed2005

Psychiatric nurses' anxiety and cognition in managing psychiatric patients' aggression.

This study explored the anxiety, attitudes, and cognition of the need for aggression management among Taiwanese psychiatric nurses caring for psychiatric patients. Data were collected with self-report questionnaires from 180 psychiatric nurses in the acute wards of three large psychiatric centers in Taiwan. Results showed increased threat of cognitive appraisal of aggression, increased trait anxiety, and decreased positive attitudes toward aggression predicted higher levels of state anxiety. There were significantly higher levels of state anxiety among psychiatric nurses when patients exhibited verbal and physical aggression rather than just physical aggression. An important outcome of this study is the added understanding of cognitive appraisal, trait anxiety, and attitudes, that influence the anxiety of psychiatric nurses.

Adaptation, Psychological↗
PubMed2005

Chronic stress, salivary cortisol response, interpersonal relatedness, and depression among community-dwelling survivors of traumatic brain injury.

Depression is a common mood disorder after traumatic brain injury (TBI). Largely, study of this phenomenon is theoretical and without biological measures. This explanatory study, guided by McEwen's allostasis model of stress, examined relationships among chronic stress, salivary cortisol profiles, post-injury depression, and interpersonal relatedness. Seventy-five participants, who were or had participated in outpatient brain injury rehabilitation therapies and experienced mild-to-moderate levels of brain injury, were recruited for this cross-sectional study. Salivary cortisol levels showed the usual patterns of circadian rhythmicity, and those with milder injuries had higher 8 am cortisol levels. Salivary cortisol values were not related to measures of chronic stress, interpersonal relatedness, or depression with two exceptions. The 8 am and noon mean values were significantly greater for those who reported more pre-injury childhood adversity, while the 8 pm cortisol mean level was associated with the frequency of pre-injury stressful life events. For this outpatient sample, salivary cortisol levels do not appear to be elevated after TBI or to lack circadian rhythmicity as previously reported. There may be some value in using this measure as a correlate with persons treated in specialized TBI clinics who report pre-injury chronic stress, but future studies are needed with TBI persons who were not treated in specialized clinics or were not taking medications known to influence the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis.

Adult↗
PubMed2002

Factors associated with depression in navy recruits.

The age of onset for depression is decreasing and seems to be linked with major life events. This study examined predisposing and concomitant factors related to Navy recruit basic training, and consisted of 443 recruits (200 with depressive symptoms and 243 matched comparison subjects). Two hypotheses were proposed, and both were supported by results of the study. Depressed recruits were more likely to be separated from the Navy and not complete training. They had significantly more predisposing factors than comparison recruits including family history of mental illness, family history of alcohol abuse, and history of psychiatric problems. They also had significantly more concomitant factors such as higher levels of stress, more loneliness, more life-change events, lower sense of belonging, more emotion-oriented coping, and less task-oriented coping. Although the study examined Navy recruits, the findings are applicable to depression in young people. This study adds to understanding the role of life stressors, interpersonal functioning, and development of depressive symptoms.

Adaptation, Psychological↗
PubMed2002

Childhood antecedents of adult sense of belonging.

Sense of belonging has been proposed to be a basic human need, and deficits in sense of belonging have been linked to problems in social and psychological functioning. Yet, there is little evidence about what early life experiences contribute to sense of belonging. The purpose of this study was to examine potential childhood antecedents of adult sense of belonging. The sample consisted of 362 community college students ranging in age from 18 to 72 years, with a mean age of 26 years. Measures included the Sense of Belonging Instrument, the Parental Bonding Instrument, and the Childhood Adversity and Adolescent Deviance Instrument. Multiple regression analysis was used to correlate childhood antecedents with adult sense of belonging. The final reduced model included 12 variables, which accounted for 25% of the variance in sense of belonging. Significant positive antecedents with a relationship with sense of belonging were perceived caring by both mother and father while growing up, participation in high school athletic activity, and parental divorce. Significant negative variables with a relationship with sense of belonging included perceived overprotection of father, high school pregnancy, family financial problems while growing up, incest, and homosexuality. Knowledge of these factors should influence interventions with families regarding child-rearing and parenting practices, mediating the effects of crises during childhood such as divorce and teen pregnancy, and the interpersonal growth needs of teenagers.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2002

Emergency nurses' experience with violence: does it affect nursing care of battered women?

OBJECTIVE: To determine what effect nurses' experience of interpersonal violence had on proposed nursing care of battered women ED patients. METHODS: One hundred ninety-five emergency nurses completed surveys on their personal experiences with violence involving patients or intimate partners and on their proposed nursing care of battered women given 2 vignettes. RESULTS: Seventy percent of participants experienced violence perpetrated by a patient; 40% of the nurses reported violence perpetrated by their intimate partners; and 19% had used force on their partners. Prior assault of a nurse by a patient or partner did not affect the proposed nursing care that would be provided by that nurse to battered women ed patients. Female nurses who committed violence against their intimate partners proposed less nursing care than did those who did not commit violence against their intimate partners for the vignette describing a woman who had received minor injuries. CONCLUSIONS: This study documents the vulnerability of nurses to assault by patients and intimate partners. This vulnerability does not affect their proposed nursing care of battered women. An exception is nurses who themselves commit violence against intimate partners. Findings point to the need to increase safety for nurses in the workplace and provide employee assistance to help nurses confront violence at home.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Trier Social Stress Test: a method for use in nursing research.

BACKGROUND: Researchers face the difficulty of inducing psychosocial stress in a laboratory setting using a method that institutional review boards could consider an acceptable research protocol. METHODS: This article describes the Trier Social Stress Test, a research protocol that can be used to induce psychosocial stress and capture the integrated aspects of an individual's biologic and psychological responses. RESULTS: The test involves 15 minutes of psychosocial stress induced by a mock job interview and followed by a mental arithmetic challenge before a panel of three judges. The discomfort associated with performance requirements induces stress in socially acceptable ways that can be measured using physiologic and/or psychological parameters. CONCLUSIONS: This method allows stress to be induced and measured in a controlled, laboratory setting.

Clinical Protocols↗