Clinical observations suggest that during times of COVID-19 pandemic lockdown university students exhibit stress-related responses to fear of contagion and to limitations of personal and relational life. The study aims to describe the development and validation of the 7-item COVID-19 Student Stress Questionnaire (CSSQ), a measurement tool to assess COVID-19-related sources of stress among university students. The CSSQ was developed and validated with 514 Italian university students. Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) was conducted with one split-half sub-sample to investigate the underlining dimensional structure, suggesting a three-component solution, which was confirmed by the Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) with the second one split-half sub-sample (CFI = 0.95; TLI = 0.95; RMSEA = 0.06). The CSSQ three subscales measure COVID-19 students' stressors related to (1) Relationships and Academic Life (i.e., relationships with relatives, colleagues, professors, and academic studying); (2) Isolation (i.e., social isolation and couple's relationship, intimacy and sexual life); (3) Fear of Contagion. A Global Stress score was also provided. The questionnaire revealed a satisfactory internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha = 0.71; McDonald's omega = 0.71). Evidence was also provided for convergent and discriminant validity. The study provided a brief, valid and reliable measure to assess perceived stress to be used for understanding the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown among university students and for developing tailored interventions fostering their wellbeing.
Both positive/active and avoiding/distancing coping strategies are effective to promote QoL and psychological health in infertile couples, but they are all compromised by a long duration of infertility. Conversely, positive effects of educational level and couple's Dyadic Adjustment persist and should be emphasised in the definition of interventions to promote well-being in couples undergoing long-term treatments.
Aim: This study aims to investigate the associations of perceived work-family conflict with nurses' psychophysical health conditions, exploring gender differences and analyzing the potential moderating effects of perceived job control (skill discretion and decision authority), social support, and job satisfaction. Methods: The study was carried out in five hospitals of the Italian Public Health Service. Participants were 450 nurses (206 men, 244 women). Selfadministered questionnaires were used to collect data. Descriptive statistics and hierarchical regression analyses were conducted.Results: Female nurses perceived significantly higher levels of work-family conflict, anxiety, depression and somatization. Significant gender differences emerged in the associations between work-family conflict and nurses' psychological health conditions and in moderating variables. Work-family conflict was significantly associated with anxiety and depression in male nurses and with somatization in both genders. The associations of work-family conflict with nurses' psychophysical health conditions were moderated by decision authority and job satisfaction, in male nurses, and by social support, in female nurses.Conclusions: Findings suggest including gender-specific moderating variables for defining tailored policies and interventions within healthcare organizations to reduce perceived work-family conflict and to promote nurses' wellbeing.
Research has shown a direct relationship between infertility-related stress and anxiety in infertile patients. The present study goes into this relationship in depth, testing the moderating role of coping strategies (Seeking Social Support, Avoidant, Positive Attitude, Problem-Solving, Turning to Religion) in the associations between specific infertility-related stress dimensions (Social Concern, Need for Parenthood, Rejection of Childfree Lifestyle, Couple’s Relationship Concern) and State-Anxiety among male and female partners of infertile couples. Gender differences were also explored. Both members of 254 infertile couples completed a questionnaire consisting of Socio-demographics, Fertility Problem Inventory–Short Form (FPI-SF), Coping Orientation to Problem Experienced–New Italian Version (COPE-NIV), and State-Trait Anxiety Inventory-Y (STAI-Y). The results revealed that Social Concern and Couple’s Relationship Concern, in both partners, and Need for Parenthood, in female partners, had positive correlations with State-Anxiety. Seeking Social Support and Avoidant coping were related to increasing levels of State-Anxiety in both partners, whereas Positive Attitude coping strategies were related to lower levels of State-Anxiety in female partners. Problem-Solving and Avoidant coping played moderating roles between specific infertility-related stress dimensions and State-Anxiety in unexpected directions. Problem-Solving exacerbated the negative effects of Social Concern, whereas Avoidant coping buffered the negative effects of several infertility-related stress dimensions in both partners. Interventions to improve stress management and psychological health in infertile couples should consider that the adequacy of coping strategies is inherently situation specific. It therefore follows that patient-centered clinical interventions should consider the potential inadequacy of promoting Problem-Solving strategies, and that even Avoidance can be an efficient strategy for dealing with specific infertility-related stress dimensions.
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