In the wake of COVID-19, the world has become a more uncertain environment-a breeding ground for stress and anxiety, especially for individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). The study examined stress, anxiety, and coping in a data-driven, real-time assessment of 122 youth with and without ASD and their parents at the height of the COVID-19 shutdown and three-months later. Standardized measures were administered to ascertain stress and coping explicitly related to the pandemic (RSQ COVID-19-Child [self-report], Adult [self-report from the guardian of youth], Parent [report about child]) and anxiety (STAI-C, STAI-A). Multivariate, univariate analyses of variance and hierarchical regression were used. ASD youth endorsed more Trait anxiety and response to specific stressors (e.g., virus). Caregivers of youth with ASD (Adults) self-reported higher anxiety, yet scores were elevated for both groups. Adults of youth with ASD reported more stress, especially related to the virus, access to healthcare, and concern for the future. In the TD group, youth and adults used more Primary and Secondary Control Coping whereas ASD youth and adults used more Disengagement Coping. Adult stress was the primary predictor of parent perception of child stress as well as Child self-reported stress. While the ASD group was consistently high compared to the TD group, there were no significant changes over time for stress or anxiety. Results reveal striking differences in youth with ASD and their parents regarding stress, anxiety, and coping. Findings highlight the need for essential support, access to services, and strategies to enhance psychological and emotional well-being. LAY SUMMARY: This study examined stress, anxiety, and coping related to the COVID-19 pandemic in 61 youth with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and 61 youth with typical development (TD) and their parents. Results showed that ASD youth reported more anxiety and stress. Adults of youth with ASD indicated higher self-reported anxiety and stress than adults of TD youth. TD youth and their parents reported using more adaptive coping strategies. Findings highlight the need for strategies to enhance psychological and emotional well-being.
In spring 2020, COVID-19 and the ensuing social distancing and stay-at-home orders instigated abrupt changes to employment and educational infrastructure, leading to uncertainty, concern, and stress among United States college students. The media consumption patterns of this and other social groups across the globe were affected, with early evidence suggesting viewers were seeking both pandemic-themed media and reassuring, familiar content. A general increase in media consumption, and increased consumption of specific types of content, may have been due to media use for coping strategies. This paper examines the relationship between the stress and anxiety of university students and their strategic use of media for coping during initial social distancing periods in March-April 2020 using data from a cross-sectional survey. We examine links between specific types of media use with psychological well-being concepts, and examine the moderating roles of traits (hope, optimism, and resilience) as buffers against negative relationships between stress and anxiety and psychological well-being. Our findings indicate that stress was linked to more hedonic and less eudaimonic media use, as well as more avoidant and escapist media-based coping. Anxiety, on the other hand, was linked to more media use in general, specifically more eudaimonic media use and a full range of media-based coping strategies. In turn, escapist media was linked to negative affect, while reframing media and eudaimonic media were linked to positive affect. Avoidant coping was tied to poorer mental health, and humor coping was tied to better mental health. Hedonic and need-satisfying media use were linked to more flourishing. Hope, optimism, and resilience were all predictive of media use, with the latter two traits moderating responses to stress and anxiety. The findings give a nuanced portrait of college students' media use during a pandemic-induced shutdown, showing that media use is closely intertwined with well-being in both adaptive and maladaptive patterns.
BACKGROUND: In the case of people who carry an increased number of anxiety traits and maladaptive coping strategies, psychosocial stressors may further increase the level of perceived stress they experience. In our research study, we aimed to examine the levels of perceived stress and health anxiety as well as coping styles among university students amid the COVID-19 pandemic. METHODS: A cross-sectional study was conducted using an online-based survey at the University of Debrecen during the official lockdown in Hungary when dormitories were closed, and teaching was conducted remotely. Our questionnaire solicited data using three assessment tools, namely, the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS), the Ways of Coping Questionnaire (WCQ), and the Short Health Anxiety Inventory (SHAI). RESULTS: A total of 1320 students have participated in our study and 31 non-eligible responses were excluded. Among the remaining 1289 participants, 948 (73.5%) and 341 (26.5%) were Hungarian and international students, respectively. Female students predominated the overall sample with 920 participants (71.4%). In general, there was a statistically significant positive relationship between perceived stress and health anxiety. Health anxiety and perceived stress levels were significantly higher among international students compared to domestic ones. Regarding coping, wishful thinking was associated with higher levels of stress and anxiety among international students, while being a goal-oriented person acted the opposite way. Among the domestic students, cognitive restructuring as a coping strategy was associated with lower levels of stress and anxiety. Concerning health anxiety, female students (domestic and international) had significantly higher levels of health anxiety compared to males. Moreover, female students had significantly higher levels of perceived stress compared to males in the international group, however, there was no significant difference in perceived stress between males and females in the domestic group. CONCLUSION: The elevated perceived stress levels during major life events can be further deepened by disengagement from home (being away/abroad from country or family) and by using inadequate coping strategies. By following and adhering to the international recommendations, adopting proper coping methods, and equipping oneself with the required coping and stress management skills, the associated high levels of perceived stress and anxiety could be mitigated.
Recent research indicates that young adult college students experience increased levels of depression, anxiety, and stress. It is less clear what strategies college health care providers might use to assist students in decreasing these mental health concerns. In this paper, we examine the relative importance of coping style, life satisfaction, and selected demographics in predicting undergraduates' depression, anxiety, and stress. A total of 508 full-time undergraduate students aged 18-24 years completed the study measures and a short demographics information questionnaire. Coping strategies and life satisfaction were assessed using the Brief COPE Inventory and an adapted version of the Brief Students' Multidimensional Life Satisfaction Scale. Depression, anxiety, and stress were measured using the Depression Anxiety and Stress Scale-21 (DASS-21). Multiple regression analyses were used to examine the relative influence of each of the independent variables on depression, anxiety, and stress. Maladaptive coping was the main predictor of depression, anxiety, and stress. Adaptive coping was not a significant predictor of any of the three outcome variables. Reducing maladaptive coping behaviors may have the most positive impact on reducing depression, anxiety, and stress in this population.
PURPOSE: This study examines disaster awareness and coping among college students to identify their influence on stress, anxiety, and depression. DESIGN AND METHODS: Overall, 291 college students participated. A multiple regression analysis was conducted to analyze the influence of disaster awareness and coping on stress, anxiety, and depression. FINDINGS: In the multiple regression model, anxiety, and depression were influenced by an awareness of natural and social disasters, level of perception of disaster response strategies, and level of information relating to disasters. PRACTICE IMPLICATIONS: It is important to deliver effective information on disaster response and strategies to prevent disaster-related mental health issues.
Suicide is a major public health concern worldwide. This study aimed to predict the suicidal behavior of Chinese university students by studying psychological measures such as hopelessness, orientation to happiness, meaning in life, depression, anxiety, stress, and coping styles. In November 2016, a stratified-clustered-random sampling approach was utilized to select subjects from two large public medical-related universities in Shandong province, China. This sample consisted of 2,074 undergraduate students (706 males, 1,368 females; mean age = 19.79±1.39 years). The students' major risk factors for suicide were depression, anxiety, stress, and hopelessness, and the students' minor risk factors included orientation to happiness and coping styles (including self-distraction, self-blame and substance use). Notably, the presence of meaning in life had a positive effect on preventing suicide and acted as a protective factor, which suggests that it is important to identify risk factors as well as protective factors relevant to the target population group in order to increase the effectiveness of counseling and suicide prevention programs.
The purpose of the present study was to determine the level of stress, anxiety, and depression among Slovenian parents of children with autism spectrum disorder and their coping mechanisms. The study included 42 parents of children with ASD who were enrolled at a specialised clinic for children with hearing and speech difficulties. We used the Depression Anxiety Stress Scales (DASS), the Coping Orientation to Problems Experienced (COPE) inventory, and a demographic questionnaire which included questions on satisfaction with life and social support received. The respondents reported no clinically elevated levels of stress, depression or anxiety. However, the mothers reported more stress and anxiety related symptoms then did the fathers. The results showed that coping strategies of positive reinterpretation and growth were positively correlated to higher perceived social support and greater satisfaction with life, and were negatively correlated with depression and anxiety. Perceived social support was highly negatively correlated with anxiety. Strategies of acceptance were used significantly more often by individuals with a higher level of education.
BACKGROUND: During the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, emergency departments and fever clinics nurses acted as gatekeepers to the health care system. To manage the psychological problems that these nurses experience, we should develop appropriate training and intervention programs. OBJECTIVE: To identify the impact of COVID-19 on the psychology of Chinese nurses in emergency departments and fever clinics and to identify associated factors. METHODS: This online cross-sectional study recruited participants through snowball sampling between 13 February and 20 February 2020. Nurses self-administered the online questionnaires, including a general information questionnaire, the Self-Rating Anxiety Scale, the Perceived Stress Scale-14, and the Simplified Coping Style Questionnaire. RESULTS: We obtained 481 responses, of which 453 were valid, an effective response rate of 94.18%. Participants who had the following characteristics had more mental health problems: female gender, fear of infection among family members, regretting being a nurse, less rest time, more night shifts, having children, lack of confidence in fighting transmission, not having emergency protection training, and negative professional attitude. CONCLUSION: Effective measures are necessary to preserve mental health of nurses in emergency departments and fever clinics. These include strengthening protective training, reducing night shifts, ensuring adequate rest time, and timely updating the latest pandemic situation.
Donald O.Hebb Award for Distinguished Contribution to Psychology as a ScienCe (1997) / Prix Donald O. Hebb pour contribution remarquable a la psychologie en tant que science (1997)AbstractThe multidimensional interaction model of stress, anxiety and coping processes is discussed and tested. aim is to advance our understanding of the systematic nature of coping processes in relation to psychological variables such as anxiety, as well as to determine how coping is related to other personality and situational variables, and to physical and mental well being. Coping styles and strategies mediate between antecedent stressful events, and such consequences as anxiety, psychological distress and somatic complaints.Task-oriented coping is most efficacious in a controllable situation, while emotion-oriented coping is most efficacious in an uncontrollable situation. While avoidance-oriented coping may be initially appropriate as a reaction to stress, in the long run task-oriented coping is most efficacious. A number of laboratory studies assessing the multidimensional interaction model are reviewed. These studies have both theoretical and practical implications, and contribute to empirical knowledge about stress, coping processes, and personality.PrologueIt gives me great pleasure to be the 1997 recipient of the Canadian Psychological Association Donald O. Hebb Award for Distinguished Contribution to Psychology as a Science. It is doubly delicious because of my past associations with McGill University and specifically with Professor Donald Hebb. I was a student of Hebb in that I took Introductory Psychology and a Graduate Seminar in Psychology from him. Although my undergraduate degree was in Mathematics and Physics, Don Hebb accepted me into the M.Sc. program in Psychology at McGill. He was not interested in how many Psychology courses one had taken but was rather interested in whether a student was capable of thinking and focussing on issues rather than facts. (I might add, parenthetically, that I probably would not be accepted into the Graduate Programme in Psychology at York, my home University, because I did not have the requisite eight undergraduate psychology courses. Now, back to McGill.)The Graduate Seminar with Hebb on the Organization of Behavior was and still is the best Psychology course I ever took. He focussed on concepts, issues and encouraged us to think and to challenge his ideas.Not only did Don Hebb teach us how to think clearly and concisely, but he also taught us how to express ourselves in seminar presentations. We were limited to 10-minute presentations. At 9 minutes, Professor Hebb would start tapping on the table and at 10 minutes you were history even if you were in the middle of a word. This was a very sobering experience, indeed! With respect to revising papers, he suggested we discard our drafts and start afresh, because none of us could part with our pearls of wisdom. I must admit I have never been able to do this -- much as I have tried. I had planned a much longer paper, but in tribute to Hebb, I have cut it down.With respect to Comprehensive Exams, Hebb would contact us by surprise a few days before the exam and ask us to appear. He said he knew that we were frightened, but to calm down. He wanted to know how well we could think and conceptualize; not how well we could memorize.The Organization of Behavior: A Neuropsychological Theory (Hebb, 1949) (affectionately known by us as The Bible) has provided the foundation for the cognitive revolution in psychology and many aspects of physiological psychology. His concepts of cell assemblies and phase sequences developed in the 1940s are very relevant today. This book is probably one of the most seminal psychology books in this century and he is probably the most eminent psychologist Canada has produced. I still cherish, some 40 plus years later, the skills, values, and orientations I learned from Prof. …
OBJECTIVES: This study investigated the relationships between job characteristics and coping in predicting levels of anxiety and depression in nurses. The study was based on current theories of occupational stress, and predictors included job demands, social support, decision authority and skill discretion control, effort, over-commitment, rewards, and ways of coping. It was predicted that job demands, extrinsic effort, over-commitment, and negative coping behaviours would be positively associated with depression and anxiety, and social support, rewards, decision authority, skill discretion control, and positive coping would be negatively associated with depression and anxiety. METHODS: Participants were 870 nurses, who responded to a bulk mail sent randomly to 4,000 nurses from the south of England. RESULTS: The results showed that job demands, extrinsic effort, and over-commitment were associated with higher levels of anxiety and depression. Social support, rewards, and skill discretion were negatively associated with mental health problems. Few interactions were found between the variables. Coping behaviours significantly added to the explanation of variance in anxiety and depression outcomes, over and above the use of demand-control-support, and effort-reward factors alone. CONCLUSION: The results from the study demonstrated the importance of coping factors in work-stress research, in accordance with the multi-factorial premise of transactional stress models. It is argued that multi-factor research is needed to help develop effective organizational interventions.
OBJECTIVE: Although stress is often presumed to cause sleep disturbances, little research has documented the role of stressful life events in primary insomnia. The present study examined the relationship of stress and coping skills, and the potential mediating role of presleep arousal, to sleep patterns in good sleepers and insomnia sufferers. METHODS: The sample was composed of 67 participants (38 women, 29 men; mean age, 39.6 years), 40 individuals with insomnia and 27 good sleepers. Subjects completed prospective, daily measures of stressful events, presleep arousal, and sleep for 21 consecutive days. In addition, they completed several retrospective and global measures of depression, anxiety, stressful life events, and coping skills. RESULTS: The results showed that poor and good sleepers reported equivalent numbers of minor stressful life events. However, insomniacs rated both the impact of daily minor stressors and the intensity of major negative life events higher than did good sleepers. In addition, insomniacs perceived their lives as more stressful, relied more on emotion-oriented coping strategies, and reported greater presleep arousal than good sleepers. Prospective daily data showed significant relationships between daytime stress and nighttime sleep, but presleep arousal and coping skills played an important mediating role. CONCLUSIONS: The findings suggest that the appraisal of stressors and the perceived lack of control over stressful events, rather than the number of stressful events per se, enhance the vulnerability to insomnia. Arousal and coping skills play an important mediating role between stress and sleep. The main implication of these results is that insomnia treatments should incorporate clinical methods designed to teach effective stress appraisal and coping skills.
The influence of personality on the way people cope with stressful situations has been discussed many times. It has even been discussed whether stress-coping styles and personality traits could be confused. In this paper, we examine the relationships between coping strategies in stressful situations and personality dimensions, and anxiety and depression. We also study the modulating effect of gender, both in the type of coping strategies used, as well as in its relationship with personality. To do this, a sample of 274 participants (56% women) completed assessment instruments of stress-coping styles, personality traits, locus of control, self-esteem, anxiety, and depression. Correlation analyses and tests of mean differences were carried out. In general, differences in coping styles between groups of participants with both high and low levels in different dimensions of personality were found. Furthermore, it was observed that gender modulates the coping styles used (for example, although task-focused coping is used equally by both genders, the emotion-focused coping is used more by women). Considering overall measures of coping styles, the results indicate that task-focused coping is used more by participants with low external locus of control, high self-esteem, and low anxiety and depression. On the contrary, the emotion-focused coping is used more by participants with high external locus of control, low self-esteem, and high depression. However, gender exerts a modulating effect on these results. Finally, some suggestions are made on assessment of coping styles, for the purpose of supplementing information from the questionnaires with other methods (rating scales, etc.).
PURPOSE: The purpose of this study is to examine the association of anxiety with self-rated general health, satisfaction with life, stress and coping strategies of university students during the COVID-19 pandemic outbreak in Poland. PARTICIPANTS AND METHODS: = 2.60), participated in an online survey. The study was performed between 30 March and 30 April 2020, during the general coronavirus quarantine. Participants completed a standard psychological questionnaire, including General Anxiety Disorder (GAD-7), General Self-Rated Health (GSRH), Satisfaction With Life Scale (SWLS), Perceived Stress Scale (PSS), and Coping Inventory for Stressful Situations (CISS). RESULTS: The majority of students (65%) showed mild to severe GAD and a high level of perceived stress (56%). Those students who had the worst evaluated current GSRH, in comparison to the situation before the COVID-19 outbreak, also demonstrated higher levels of anxiety, perceived stress, and emotion-oriented coping styles. The study indicates that the variance of anxiety during the COVID-19 outbreak may be explained for about 60% by such variables, like high stress, low general self-rated health, female gender, and frequent use of both emotion-oriented and task-oriented coping styles. CONCLUSION: University students experience extremely high stress and anxiety during quarantine period and they need professional help to cope with COVID-19 pandemic. The results of this study may help prepare appropriate future intervention and effective prevention programs at universities.
Participants completed anxiety and coping diaries during 10 periods that began 7 days before an academic stressor and continued through the evening after the stressor. Profile analysis was used to examine the anxiety and coping processes in relation to 2 trait anxiety grouping variables: debilitating and facilitating test anxiety (D-TA and F-TA). Anxiety and coping changed over time, and high and low levels of D-TA and F-TA were associated with different daily patterns of anxiety and coping. Participants with a debilitative, as opposed to facilitative, trait anxiety style had lower examination scores, higher anxiety, and less problem-solving coping. Covarying F-TA, high D-TA was associated with a pattern of higher levels of tension, worry, distraction, and avoidant coping, as well as lower levels of proactive coping. Covarying D-TA, high F-TA was associated with higher levels of tension (but not worry or distraction), support seeking, proactive and problem-solving coping.
Our review has focused centrally on the etiologic significance of social factors in the development of psychopathology. Our implicit assumption has been that social factors in general, and stressors in particular, may play a causal role in the development of psychopathology. Yet the evidence is clear that the vast majority of people who are exposed to stressful life events or to chronic stress situations do not develop significant psychiatric impairments. For this reason, research interest over the past decade has shifted to factors like social support and coping strategies that may ameliorate the impact of stress. We have examined some of the important empirical results from recent studies of stress, support, and coping, and we have discussed ways in which these new understandings have informed long-standing attempts to explain group differences in emotional functioning. In each section of the review we have attempted not only to summarize existing results but also to provide some evaluation of the literature and suggestions for future research. It is important to recognize that the contributors to the work reviewed here do not all share a common research agenda. Some of them are primarily committed to unraveling the psychosocial determinants of a particular clinical disorder. Others are mainly concerned with the effects of a particular stressor. Still others are interested in the processes that link stress to health across a broad array of stress situations and health outcomes. In the face of these diverse interests, it is little wonder that our understanding of social factors in psychopathology is uneven. There is good reason to believe, however that these diverse strands of research are beginning to converge on a common conception of the stress process and on a common research design. The conception at present is only in rough form, but its outlines are nonetheless capable of description. At its center is the notion that stress exposure sets off a process of adaptation. It recognizes that this process unfolds over time, and it acknowledges that this process is modified by structural factors as well as by personal dispositions and vulnerabilities. There is growing recognition that the analysis of this process requires longitudinal methods. Also, it is becoming increasingly clear that experimental interventions are required to unravel the parts of this process that link stress and health. It is too early to know if this nascent convergence will lead to an integrative theory of adaptation, yet it is almost certain to promote methodological and conceptual rigor and facilitate replication and cumulation of findings.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)
BACKGROUND: The COVID-19 pandemic has seriously impacted various aspects of the society on a global scale. Schools and universities provide rich resources for adolescents and young adults to develop significant coping mechanisms. AIM: This study assessed the perceptions of risk, fear, mental health status, and coping strategies among Saudi student nurses amid the COVID-19 pandemic. METHODS: Using an online survey, the mental health of the students was assessed by the Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scale short form version, whereas the coping was assessed by the Brief-Coping Orientation of Problem Experienced scale. RESULTS: The students had modest risk perception and fear of contracting COVID-19. "Religion" was reported as the most frequently used coping strategy. Approximately 43.3%, 37.2%, and 30.9% of the respondents manifested some degree of depression, anxiety, and stress, respectively. Poor COVID-19 knowledge, perceived seriousness of COVID-19 in Saudi Arabia, perceived risk of COVID-19 infection, and the use of some coping strategies were predictors of fear. Knowing someone infected with COVID-19, fear, and several coping strategies predicted students' mental health. CONCLUSION: This study provides data that can be used to create educational and health policies that focus on the mental health of university students, specifically nursing students.
BACKGROUND: For many nursing students, clinical training represents a stressful experience. The levels of stress and anxiety may vary during students' educational training, depending on their ability to adopt behavioral strategies for coping with stress, and other factors. This study aimed to investigate the relationship between anxiety, perceived stress, and the coping strategies used by nursing students during their clinical training. METHODS: A cross-sectional correlational descriptive study. The sample consisted of 190 nursing students enrolled in the Nursing Faculty of Ciudad Real University in Spain. Participants provided data on background characteristics and completed the following instruments: the Perceived Stress Scale; the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory and the Coping Behavior Inventory. Relationships between scores were examined using Spearman's rho. RESULTS: The mean age of participants was 20.71 ± 3.89 years (range 18-46 years). Approximately half of the students (47.92%) indicated a moderate level of stress with a mean Perceived Stress Scale score of 22.78 (±8.54). Senior nursing students perceived higher levels of stress than novice students. The results showed a significant correlation for perceived stress and state anxiety (r = 0.463, p < .000) and also for trait anxiety (r = 0.718, p < .000). There was also a significant relationship between the total amount of perceived stress and the following domains of the coping behavior inventory: problem solving (r = -.452, p < .01), self-criticism (r = .408 p < .01), wishful thinking (r = .459, p < .01), social support(r = -.220, p < .01), cognitive restructuring (r = -.375, p < .01), and social withdrawal (r = .388, p < .01). In the current study, the coping strategy most frequently used by students was problem-solving, followed by social support and cognitive restructuring. CONCLUSIONS: Nursing students in our study presented a moderate level of stress, in addition there was a significant correlation with anxiety. Nursing teachers and clinical preceptors/mentors should be encouraged to develop programs to help prepare nursing students to cope with the challenges they are about to face during their clinical placements.
BACKGROUND: The COVID-19 pandemic raises concerns about the mental health of the world population. Protection measures to prevention the disease impacted education and undergraduate students were exposed to additional stressors. OBJECTIVES: Analyze depression, anxiety and stress symptoms in undergraduates, their respective predictors and the association with satisfaction with life, psychological well-being and coping strategies. METHODS: An online cross-sectional study was conducted from September 14 to October 19, 2020, involving undergraduate students enrolled in 33 courses from 5 public university campuses in the state of Parana, Brazil, using: questionnaire with sociodemographic, academic, health and pandemic effects variables; Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scale-21 (DASS-21); Satisfaction with Life Scale (SWLS); Psychological Well-Being (PWB); BriefCOPE. The convenience sample was composed of 1,224 participants, with 18 years old or older, that completed all research instruments. Spearman correlation and logistic analysis (univariate and multivariate) were applied to the collected data. RESULTS: Most of the undergraduates presented symptoms of depression (60.5%), anxiety (52.5%) and stress (57.5%). Depression, anxiety and stress presented significant correlations in common: negative with satisfaction with life, all dimensions of psychological well-being, and 3 adaptive copings (active coping, planning, positive reframing); positive with 5 maladaptive copings (behavioral disengagement, denial, self-blame, self-distraction, substance use). In addition, there were 7 common predictors for symptoms of depression, anxiety and stress: female; age 18-24 years old; having a chronic disease; lower scores in 2 dimensions of psychological well-being (positive relations with others, self-acceptance); higher scores in 2 maladaptive copings (self-blame, substance use). CONCLUSIONS: The data indicate a high prevalence of symptoms of depression, anxiety and stress, and suggest that higher scores of satisfaction with life, psychological well-being dimensions and adaptive copings may present protective effects in undergraduates during a pandemic crisis.
Hospitalization of a patient in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) negatively affects the mental health of the family caregivers and they might eventually come up with psychological disorders. This study aimed to assess the relationship between depression, anxiety, stress and coping strategies of family members of hospitalized critically ill patients. A descriptive study was conducted among 107 family members of patients admitted to ICU in Lagos State University Teaching Hospital. The Depression Anxiety Stress Scale (DASS-21) and Coping Inventory for Stressful Situation (CISS-21) were administered to the respondents. Data collected were analyzed using descriptive statistics, one-way analysis of variance and correlations statistics. The mean scores and standard deviation of the family members’ stress level is 8.7 (SD = 4.4); anxiety 8.5 (SD = 3.9) and depression 1.3 (SD = 1.9); 41% were anxious and 10% were stressed. There was a significant negative correlation between task oriented coping strategies and the mental health factors (depression; r = −0.193, p = 0.046; anxiety r = −0.456, p = 0.000, stress r = −0.485, p = 0.000). Family members who utilized emotion oriented coping strategies reportedly experienced anxiety (r = 0.450, p = 0.000) and stress (r = 0.564, p = 0.000). Age, income, nature of the family types, residential area and the level of education influenced the level of emotional distress. Patients’ relatives of different socio-demographic characteristics such as age and family size experienced psychological distress and family members who used more task coping strategies experienced low level of depression, anxiety and stress.
BACKGROUND: Fear of the dentist and dental treatment is a common problem. It can cause treatment difficulties for the practitioner, as well as severe consequences for the patient. As is known, the level of stress can be evaluated thought electrodermal activity, cortisol measure in saliva, or indirectly by psychometric tests. AIM: The present study examined the psychological influence of dental interventions on the child as well as coping patterns used for stress diminution. METHODS: We examined two matched groups of patients: a) children with orthodontic problems (anomalies in shape, position and function of dentomaxillofacial structures) (N = 31, mean age 10.3 ± 2.02) years; and b) children with ordinary dental problems (N = 31, mean age 10.3 ± 2.4 years). As psychometric instruments, we used: 45 items Sarason's scale for anxiety, 20 items simple Stress - test adapted for children, as well as A - cope test for evaluation coping patterns. RESULTS: Obtained scores confirmed the presence of moderate anxiety in both groups as well as moderate stress level. For Sarason's test obtained scores for the group with dental problems are 20.63 ± 8.37 (from max 45); and for Stress test 7.63 ± 3.45 (from max 20); for the orthodontic group obtained scores are 18.66 ± 6.85 for Sarason's test, while for the Stress test were 7.76 ± 3.78. One way ANOVA confirmed a significant difference in values of obtained scores related to the age and gender. Calculated Student t - test shows non-significant differences in obtained test results for both groups of examinees. Coping mechanisms evaluated by A - cope test shows that in both groups the most important patterns used for stress relief are: developing self-reliance and optimism; avoiding problems and engaging in demanding activity. CONCLUSION: This study confirmed that moderate stress level and anxiety are present in both groups of patients (orthodontic and dental). Obtained scores are depending on gender and age. As more used coping patterns in both groups are developing self-reliance and optimism; avoiding problems and engaging in demanding activity. Some strategies for managing this problem are discussed.