Journal of Mental Health最新文献

Background: Early labor market exit is common in Taiwan, yet its long-term mental health consequences are not well understood.

Aims: This study examined the association between early labor market exit and the incidence of mental disorders, and explored the moderating effects of sociodemographic and physical health factors.

Methods: Using Taiwan's National Health Insurance Research Database (2011-2021), we identified 1,195,611 individuals aged 45-64 who exited the labor market early and 1,227,084 continuously employed counterparts. Incidence rates of dementia, depressive disorders, anxiety disorders, sleep disorders, and alcohol use disorders were assessed. Lag-time exclusions of one, three, and five years were applied to minimize reverse causation.

Results: Early labor market exit was associated with higher risks of dementia (adjusted hazard ratio [aHR] = 1.04, 95% CI = 1.01-1.07) and alcohol use disorders (aHR = 1.16, 95% CI = 1.11-1.22). Associations with depressive, anxiety, and sleep disorders were weak or nonsignificant. The strength of associations varied by sex, occupation, and physical health status.

Conclusions: Early labor market exit increases the risk of dementia and alcohol use disorder. Preventive strategies promoting cognitive engagement, social participation, and healthy lifestyles may help reduce mental health risks among individuals leaving the workforce prematurely.

Background: The mental health of healthcare professionals is increasingly concerning, particularly in regions facing economic, political, and security instability.

Aims: This study assesses the psychological well-being of staff at a university hospital in Beirut, Lebanon, and identifies factors related to depression, anxiety, stress, and life satisfaction.

Methods: A cross-sectional survey was conducted in 2024 with 218 hospital employees. Participants completed an anonymous online questionnaire including the Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scale - 21 Items (DASS-21) and the Satisfaction with Life Scale (SWLS). Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, bivariate comparisons, and multivariate logistic regression.

Results: Over 56% of participants reported moderate to severe levels of stress, anxiety, and/or depression. Higher DASS-21 scores were associated with younger age, alcohol consumption, stress from relationships, and the economic crisis. Lower SWLS scores were associated with stress from the economic crisis and South Lebanon concurrent war.

Conclusions: The study reveals significant mental health challenges among Beirut's healthcare professionals, with stressors including relational stress, economic and political instability and the South Lebanon concurrent war. The authors propose targeted interventions such as improved access to psychological support, staff wellness programs, and workplace policies that promote work-life balance to enhance well-being and quality of care.

Background: Burnout is highly prevalent and impacts health and well-being. A lack of formal diagnosis and definition criteria has resulted in uncertainty regarding measurement and appropriate interventions. Neurofeedback (NF) training has shown potential in modulating patterns of stress and producing neural changes, however, its application to burnout is still in question.

Aims: This systematic review aimed to explore the impact of NF training on the management of burnout.

Methods: This systematic review was pre-registered on PROSPERO and adhered to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis (PRISMA).

Results: The search yielded a total of N = 178 articles. After screening, a total sample of N = 6 studies was included in the final review that met the study's inclusion and exclusion criteria. Results showed NF training improved negative characteristics associated with burnout, especially when combined with other intervention methods. However, a lack of specificity was found in most study designs and intervention protocols with inconsistent burnout measures and sampling bias.

Conclusions: Specific recommendations for the field were identified including consistency in study designs and NF training protocols; definition of burnout and measures used; and increasing sample representations to include diverse populations and contexts.

Background: Patient heterogeneity is defined as variation across people, explainable by their characteristics. Heterogeneity in the population with severe mental illness (SMI) is highly relevant. Economic evaluations commonly use population averages, which do not account for patient heterogeneity.

Aims: To identify patient characteristics that should be considered for inclusion in economic evaluations in SMI.

Methods: SMI researchers working in the UK were recruited via email. Recruitment took a purposive and snowball sampling approach. The first and second surveys were completed individually online with a consensus threshold set at ≥75%. The final stage to finalise consensus comprised a ranking task and an online meeting to prioritise the list of patient characteristics.

Results: The consensus exercise identified 28 characteristics to account for patient heterogeneity. A prioritised list of ten key characteristics was also produced and included age, socioeconomic status, ethnicity, symptom types and severity, diagnosis, gender identity and/or sex registered at birth, baseline health and/or quality of life, adverse childhood experiences, support network and comorbidities.

Conclusions: This list helps researchers identify, a priori, key patient characteristics. Studies are needed to validate the findings of the consensus exercise with data collection and analysis. We acknowledge that feasibility constraints may affect research.

Background: Mental health professionals have stressed the importance of terminology used to describe people with mental health conditions (MHCs) and its stigmatizing outcomes. Little research, however, has investigated the underlying processes by which terminology affects prejudice.

Aims: To investigate theoretical mechanisms by which the terms "mental illness," "psychological problem," and "mental disorder" influence prejudice via causal attributions.

Methods: An online experiment randomly assigned 765 U.S. participants from the general population to one of three conditions. Participants completed measures of hereditary/biological and social/stress attributions of MHCs and one of three 28-item measures of prejudice, which differed only in the terminology used to describe MHCs.

Results: Confirmatory factor analysis supported the four-factor structure of prejudice (Fear/Avoidance, Unpredictability, Authoritarianism, and Malevolence) for each measure. Although terminology did not directly affect prejudice, both hereditary/biological and social/stress attributions significantly decreased it. Mediation analyses demonstrated indirect effects of terminology on prejudice via causal attributions, with the term "mental illness" increasing it via reduced social/stress attributions but decreasing it via increased hereditary/biological attributions.

Conclusions: The results illustrate complex relationships between terminology, causal attributions, and prejudice, and are largely consistent with the mixed-blessings model. The study contributes to discussions about terminology suited for public discourse and prejudice-reduction campaigns.

Background: The current study focuses on clients who identify at the intersection of religious/spiritual and ethnic minority backgrounds, as research has demonstrated that therapists often fail to attend to the constellation of these identities and therefore may not provide optimal care.

Aims: By studying the association between client reports of therapists' broaching for ethnic background and religious/spirituality affiliation on the one hand, and the therapeutic alliance on the other hand, the aim is to explore how therapists' intersectional sensitivity enhances the therapeutic alliance.

Method: Data consisted of an online cross-sectional survey about experience in therapy administered to 260 religious ethnic minority members who received at least one session of psychotherapy in the last 6 months.

Results: Therapists are perceived to use broaching strategies to an equal extent for both ethnic and religious/spiritual identities. Moreover, results indicate that therapists' ability to attend to both identities, instead of just one, is positively reflected in clients' reported quality of the therapeutic alliance with evidence of both additive and synergistic effects.

Conclusions: The findings underscore the importance of an intersectional lens to broaching to enhance the perceived quality of the therapeutic alliance.

Burnout among healthcare workers is a growing concern worldwide, adversely affecting job satisfaction, performance, and well-being. Understanding the prevalence and psychosocial work-related factors that contribute to burnout is essential for designing effective interventions. We assessed the prevalence of burnout and examined psychosocial work environment factors as predictors among healthcare workers in Ghana. A cross-sectional design was used with 462 health workers from 14 healthcare facilities in three regions of Ghana (mean age = 34.05, SD = 5.62; 51.1% female). Descriptive statistics and regression modelling were used to analyse the data. Results shows that 33.3% reported moderate to high occupational exhaustion, 55.9% moderate to high depersonalization, and 95.2% low personal accomplishment. Job autonomy and control was associated with lower exhaustion and depersonalization and higher personal accomplishment. Workload and emotional demands, and performance feedback, were positively associated with exhaustion and depersonalization, while meaningful and skilful work, autonomy, and feedback positively predicted personal accomplishment. Burnout among Ghanaian health workers is high and closely linked to psychosocial work conditions. Interventions enhancing autonomy, managing workload, providing supportive feedback, and promoting emotional resilience are needed to reduce burnout and improve occupational well-being.

Aims: Given the importance of intimacy to well-being and recovery, this systematic review aimed to synthesise the available qualitative literature on mental health practitioners' views and experiences of supporting people's needs for romantic/intimate relationships.

Methods: We conducted searches on four research publication databases. Quality of studies was assessed using the Joanna Briggs Institute Checklist for Qualitative Research. Results were summarised using meta-aggregation. Confidence in the findings was measured using the ConQual assessment tool.

Results: We identified 24 papers which met our inclusion criteria. Four synthesised findings were developed, namely (1) ideas and perceptions surrounding the intimacy needs of service users, (2) service provision at a personal level, (3) fitting intimacy needs into the therapeutic context and (4) service provision at an organisational level. Staff understood the importance of addressing intimacy needs, but voiced a need for improved knowledge, skills and support on how to have such conversations.

Conclusions: Our findings can inform mental health policy change and support the development of interventions and guidelines that will enable staff to discuss with service users their needs regarding romantic/intimate relationships.

Background: There is growing interest in measuring patient experience within mental health care and central to doing so is the development of appropriate measurement methods. Whilst numerous patient-reported experience measures (PREMs) are available, systematic reviews examining their psychometric properties have excluded measures designed specifically for older people.

Aims: This review aimed to identify and critically analyse all available patient and carer-reported patient experience measures designed to, or applicable in, measuring the mental health care experience of older people.

Methods: Four databases were systematically searched and identified 21 reports dealing with the process of development and/or validation of relevant instruments.

Results: The methodological quality and psychometric properties of the instruments were assessed according to Pesudovs et al. (2007) quality criteria, and results were heterogeneous. An inductive qualitative analysis of instrument content identified 10 key domains of patient experience applicable to OPMH: interpersonal/relational aspects, information, patient involvement, service aspects, discharge, goal setting, safety, social support, access and medication.

Conclusions: The heterogeneity of study designs highlights the need for greater standardization and rigour of methodological processes for the development and validation of PREMs. Further well-designed studies to appropriately validate existing and new PREMs applicable for use within older people's mental health services are required.

Background: Emerging adulthood is a peak period for mental health problems, and transition to university heightens both risks and opportunities. Targeted interventions may support students with pre-existing conditions, but the evidence base has not been systematically updated since 2021.

Methods: Following PRISMA guidelines, we searched MEDLINE, PsycINFO, Embase, and ERIC (2015-2025) for peer-reviewed studies evaluating interventions supporting students with diagnosed or self-reported mental health conditions during transition to higher education. Eligible designs included quantitative pre-post and controlled studies. Data extraction followed the TIDieR checklist, and risk of bias was assessed using a modified NIH tool.

Results: Eight studies (five interventions) were identified. Four interventions used controlled designs, three were randomised controlled trials. Common components included peer mentorship, goal setting, psychoeducation, and skills for independence. Several targeted help-seeking barriers, empowerment, and loneliness. Interventions were generally acceptable, with evidence of improvements in educational outcomes, adjustment, and depressive symptoms, but not anxiety. Most were opt-in, reliant on disclosure, and none were university-led.

Conclusion: Targeted interventions show promise in supporting students with mental health conditions during university transition. However, evidence remains limited, heterogeneous, and predominantly North American. Larger, equity-focused, and university-led trials are urgently required.