This study addressed the specific problem of whether there is a significant correlation between stress and the onset of predisposed disease. Because most graduate programs are stressful and it is known that several social work graduate students in one cohort at CSUSB were diagnosed with diabetes as well as migraines and depression, the population for this study was Master's of Social Work (MSW) students at California State University, San Bernardino, (CSUSB).
The understanding of how to reduce risk factors for mental disorders has expanded remarkably as a result of recent scientific advances. This study, mandated by Congress, reviews those advances in the context of current research and provides a targeted definition of prevention and a conceptual framework that emphasizes risk reduction. Highlighting opportunities for and barriers to interventions, the book draws on successful models for the prevention of cardiovascular disease, injuries, and smoking. In addition, it reviews the risk factors associated with Alzheimer's disease, schizophrenia, alcohol abuse and dependence, depressive disorders, and conduct disorders and evaluates current illustrative prevention programs. The models and examination provide a framework for the design, application, and evaluation of interventions intended to prevent mental disorders and the transfer of knowledge about prevention from research to clinical practice. The book presents a focused research agenda, with recommendations on how to develop effective intervention programs, create a cadre of prevention researchers, and improve coordination among federal agencies.
This graduate project focused on understanding what levels of stress social work graduate students are experiencing, explore if the social work graduate students' level of perceived stress is related to the development of somatic symptoms, and understand if the amount of hours worked relate to somatic symptoms. The researcher's current hypothesis is that students' perceived stress level will be related to emotional, psychological, and overall physical health and is displayed through somatic symptoms. To demonstrate the effect of the number of hours worked, perceived stress, and life event stressors on somatic symptoms, a multiple hierarchical regression model was used to analyze the relationship. The findings revealed that perceived stress is a stronger predictor of somatic symptoms. Is it not so much events of Masters of Social Work (MSW) students' lives that cause somatic symptoms but how MSW students perceived the life event stressors that is related to somatic symptoms. Limitations to the study included having a small and non-randomized sample size. Further research with a larger and randomized sample size is recommended to support the external validity of the study and apply the results to the general population of MSW graduate students. vi The findings could be helpful in supporting practices that could assist MSW graduate students in reducing their perceived stress and somatic symptoms. As a result this could improve MSW graduate students' emotional, psychological, and overall medical health and may prepare them to provide the best quality service to the community and society.
The Social Determinants of Mental Health aims to fill the gap that exists in the psychiatric, scholarly, and policy-related literature on the social determinants of mental health: those factors stemming from where we learn, play, live, work, and age that impact our overall mental health and well-being. The editors and an impressive roster of chapter authors from diverse scholarly backgrounds provide detailed information on topics such as discrimination and social exclusion; adverse early life experiences; poor education; unemployment, underemployment, and job insecurity; income inequality, poverty, and neighborhood deprivation; food insecurity; poor housing quality and housing instability; adverse features of the built environment; and poor access to mental health care. This thought-provoking book offers many beneficial features for clinicians and public health professionals: Clinical vignettes are included, designed to make the content accessible to readers who are primarily clinicians and also to demonstrate the practical, individual-level applicability of the subject matter for those who typically work at the public health, population, and/or policy level. Policy implications are discussed throughout, designed to make the content accessible to readers who work primarily at the public health or population level and also to demonstrate the policy relevance of the subject matter for those who typically work at the clinical level. All chapters include five to six key points that focus on the most important content, helping to both prepare the reader with a brief overview of the chapter's main points and reinforce the "take-away" messages afterward. In addition to the main body of the book, which focuses on selected individual social determinants of mental health, the volume includes an in-depth overview that summarizes the editors' and their colleagues' conceptualization, as well as a final chapter coauthored by Dr. David Satcher, 16th Surgeon General of the United States, that serves as a "Call to Action," offering specific actions that can be taken by both clinicians and policymakers to address the social determinants of mental health. The editors have succeeded in the difficult task of balancing the individual/clinical/patient perspective and the population/public health/community point of view, while underscoring the need for both groups to work in a unified way to address the inequities in twenty-first century America. The Social Determinants of Mental Health gives readers the tools to understand and act to improve mental health and reduce risk for mental illnesses for individuals and communities. Students preparing for the Medical College Admission Test (MCAT) will also benefit from this book, as the MCAT in 2015 will test applicants' knowledge of social determinants of health. The social determinants of mental health are not distinct from the social determinants of physical health, although they deserve special emphasis given the prevalence and burden of poor mental health.
Contents: (I) Introduction; (II) Background: Mental Illness in the United States; History of Mental Health Care Delivery in the United States; Advances in Mental Health Treatment; (III) Current Mental Health Care Delivery System: Providers and Settings; Financing Mental Health Care; Quality of Care; (IV) Issues and Options for Congress: Evidence-Based Practices; Access to Care; Financing Mental Health Care; Coordination of Care; Quality of Care; (V) Conclusion. Figures.
This book explains how stress – either psychological or physical – can activate and/or paralyse human innate or adaptive immunity. Adequate immunity is crucial for maintaining health, both on Earth and in space. During space flight, human physiology is specifically challenged by complex environmental stressors, which are most pronounced during lunar or interplanetary missions. Adopting an interdisciplinary approach, the book identifies the impact of these stressors – the space exposome – on immunity as a result of (dys-)functions of specific cells, organs and organ networks. These conditions (e.g. gravitation changes, radiation, isolation/confinement) affect immunity, but at the same time provide insights that may help to prevent, diagnose and address immune-related health alterations. Written by experts from academia, space agencies and industry, the book is a valuable resource for professionals, researchers and students in the field of medicine, biology and technology. The chapters “The Impact of Everyday Stressors on the Immune System and Health”, “Stress and Radiation Responsiveness” and “Assessment of Radiosensitivity and Biomonitoring of Exposure to Space adiation” are available open access under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License via link.springer.com.
