BackgroundCountries in recession experience high unemployment rates and a decline in living conditions, which, it has been suggested, negatively influences their populations’ health. The present review examines the recent evidence of the possible association between economic recessions and mental health outcomes.MethodsLiterature review of records identified through Medline, PsycINFO, SciELO, and EBSCO Host. Only original research papers, published between 2004 and 2014, peer-reviewed, non-qualitative research, and reporting on associations between economic factors and proxies of mental health were considered.ResultsOne-hundred-one papers met the inclusion criteria. The evidence was consistent that economic recessions and mediators such as unemployment, income decline, and unmanageable debts are significantly associated with poor mental wellbeing, increased rates of common mental disorders, substance-related disorders, and suicidal behaviours.ConclusionOn the basis of a thorough analysis of the selected investigations, we conclude that periods of economic recession are possibly associated with a higher prevalence of mental health problems, including common mental disorders, substance disorders, and ultimately suicidal behaviour. Most of the research is based on cross-sectional studies, which seriously limits causality inferences. Conclusions are summarised, taking into account international policy recommendations concerning the cost-effective measures that can possibly reduce the occurrence of negative mental health outcomes in populations during periods of economic recession.

Behavior change interventions are effective to the extent that they affect appropriately-measured outcomes, especially in experimental controlled trials. The primary goal of this study was to analyze the impact of a 1-year weight management intervention based on self-determination theory (SDT) on theory-based psychosocial mediators, physical activity/exercise, and body weight and composition. Participants were 239 women (37.6 +/- 7.1 years; 31.5 +/- 4.1 kg/m(2)) who received either an intervention focused on promoting autonomous forms of exercise regulation and intrinsic motivation, or a general health education program (controls). At 12 months, the intervention group showed increased weight loss (-7.29%,) and higher levels of physical activity/exercise (+138 +/- 26 min/day of moderate plus vigorous exercise; +2,049 +/- 571 steps/day), compared to controls (P < 0.001). Main intervention targets such as more autonomous self-regulation (for treatment and for exercise) and a more autonomous perceived treatment climate revealed large effect sizes (between 0.80 and .96), favoring intervention (P < 0.001). Results suggest that interventions grounded in SDT can be successfully implemented in the context of weight management, enhancing the internalization of more autonomous forms of behavioral regulation, and facilitating exercise adherence, while producing clinically-significant weight reduction, when compared to a control condition. Findings are fully consistent with previous studies conducted within this theoretical framework in other areas of health behavior change.

Background: Research on the motivational model proposed by Self-Determination Theory (SDT) provides theoretically sound insights into reasons why people adopt and maintain exercise and other health behaviors, and allows for a meaningful analysis of the motivational processes involved in behavioral self-regulation. Although obesity is notoriously difficult to reverse and its recidivism is high, adopting and maintaining a physically active lifestyle is arguably the most effective strategy to counteract it in the long-term. The purposes of this study are twofold: i) to describe a 3-year randomized controlled trial (RCT) aimed at testing a novel obesity treatment program based on SDT, and ii) to present the rationale behind SDT's utility in facilitating and explaining health behavior change, especially physical activity/exercise, during obesity treatment.

No abstract

The current work aims to study both the peer group and family influence on adolescent behaviour. In order to achieve the aforementioned objective, an explanatory model based on the Structural Equations Modelling (SEM)was proposed. The sample used was the group of adolescents that participated in the Portuguese survey of the European study Health Behaviour in School-aged Children (HBSC). The Portuguese survey included students from grades 6, 8 and 10 within the public education system, with an average age of 14 years old (SD=1.89). The total sample of the HBSC study carried out in 2006 was 4,877; however with the use of the SEM, 1,238 participants were lost out of the total sample.The results show that peers have a direct influence in adolescents’ risk behaviours. The relationship with parents did not demonstrate the expected mediation effect, with the exception of the following elements: relation between type of friends and risk behaviour; and communication with parent and lesser involvement in violence behaviours and increased well-being. The negative influence of the peer group is more connected to the involvement in risk behaviours, whilst the positive influence is more connected with protective behaviours.