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Losing a loved one is both common and profoundly stressful for young adults. Little research has examined the longitudinal course of post‐loss cognitive processing, depression, and sleep difficulties. Further, little is known about the context of other stressors or the role of individual regulatory resources, such as attentional regulation, that might determine whether loss‐related cognitive processing reduces distress. This prospective study examined changes in depression and sleep disturbance over 9 weeks as a function of within‐ and between‐person variation in stress exposure, loss‐related cognitive processing, and attention regulation. Participants were 108 recently bereaved college students completing a lab‐based assessment of attention regulation and four self‐report surveys, spaced three weeks apart. Results revealed that most participants gradually reduced loss‐related processing over the study period, with corresponding improvements in depression and sleep. Stress exposure was associated with increased processing, depression, and sleep disturbance. In exploratory analyses, high attentional alertness and slow re‐orienting strengthened the association of within‐person loss processing with sleep disturbance. Both within‐ and between‐person variation in stress appear to engender risk for a prolonged course of bereavement. Future research should integrate objective attention measures with self‐reported adjustment to stress to illuminate reciprocal links between depression, sleep, and loss‐related cognitive processing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: There is a need for more research on minority stress theory (MST) with sexual and gender minority (SGM) adolescents of color, because of their disproportionate risk for depression. Method: We recruited 1,627 SGM adolescents of color in the United States to complete measures assessing lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) climate, LGBTQ microaggressions within one's ethnoracial community, internalized LGBTQ stigma, stress management ability, and depressive symptoms. Using structural equation modeling, a hybrid measurement-structural model was tested, indicating good model fit. Results: Multiple significant indirect pathways linking LGBTQ climate and depressive symptoms emerged. A less positive LGBTQ climate was associated with more microaggression-related stress, more internalized LGBTQ stigma, and worse stress management ability, all of which were associated with greater depressive symptoms. A serial mediation with more microaggression-related stress being associated with greater internalized LGBTQ stigma approached significance. Conclusions: Our findings generally support MST processes in terms of depressive symptoms in SGM adolescents of color, suggesting that psychosocial interventions targeting these processes may have meaningful implications for the mental health of this vulnerable group. Public Significance Statement: The stress related to being LGBTQ can contribute to risk of depression among adolescents of color. This study showed that the stressors of an unsupportive climate, as well as anti-LGBTQ sentiments from adolescents' own ethnoracial community, are directly and indirectly linked to depressive symptoms, through the internalization of stigma about being LGBTQ and poor stress management ability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Stress is often associated with poor diet in young adulthood. However, very few studies have examined whether snacking on non-nutritious sweet or salty 'comfort food' is directly linked with daily stress, a common intervention target. Further, trait mindfulness, a psychological resource that may be enhanced by psychological training and regular practice, has yet to be tested as a moderator of daily stress-eating linkages. This 11-day daily diary study examined multilevel linkages between daily stress appraisals and comfort food eating in undergraduates. Daily stress appraisals positively predicted comfort food eating at the between-, but not within-person, level. Mindfulness moderated these effects, such that only more mindful participants demonstrated a negative association between within-person stress and comfort food eating. Results illustrate that chronic stress exposure and acute stress reactivity relate differently to eating behavior. Mindfulness and chronic stress may be key intervention targets for non-clinical groups at risk for unhealthy eating., Author(s): Lucy Finkelstein-Fox [sup.1] , Katherine E. Gnall [sup.1] , Crystal L. Park [sup.1] Author Affiliations: (1) grid.63054.34, 0000 0001 0860 4915, Department of Psychological Sciences, University of Connecticut, , [...]

Sexual victimization (SV) history is common among college students and has many adverse effects on health, but little is known about whether these effects are explained by everyday stress and coping. Further, most studies conflate between- and within-person effects, limiting our understanding of distinct trait- versus state-level pathways. To address these gaps, we examined the multilevel association of SV history with contemporary positive and negative affect and somatic symptoms via daily control appraisals and coping (problem-focused, meaning-focused, and avoidance) with daily stressors. Online daily diary surveys assessed stress, appraisals, coping, affect, and somatization among 261 undergraduates with and without SV history over 11 consecutive days. Between- and within-person differences in appraisals, coping, affect, and somatic symptoms were examined using multilevel covariance modeling in a causal system, testing daily stressor type as a moderator of within-person effects. Across days, SV history was indirectly linked only to average positive affect via meaning-focused coping, with no other between-person indirect effects. At the within-person level, greater negative affect was experienced in the context of interpersonal stress, driven by greater problem-focused coping, greater positive affect was experienced in the context of academic stress, driven by greater control appraisals, and less positive and negative affect were experienced in the context of intrapersonal stress, driven by lower control appraisals and less problem-focused coping. SV may influence daily stress processes at multiple levels, depending on stressor type. Appraised control and active coping are potentially important but understudied ways in which SV history informs contemporary stress management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The negative mental health impact of coronavirus disease 2019‐related stressors may be heightened for those caring for children, who bear responsibity for their welfare during disasters. Aim: Based on the Transactional Model of Stress and Coping, we inquired whether caregivers' emotion regulation and coping behavior were associated with posttraumatic stress symptoms (PTSS). Materials & Methods: Data were collected through a national online survey in April 2020, and again 60 days later. Results:Of the 801 longitudinal cases, 176 (63.6% female; mean age = 33.5) reported caring for minors in their homes during the pandemic. Over 20% of caregivers experienced clinically concerning PTSS, rates higher than their noncaregiving counterparts. Regression analysis indicates caregivers' baseline mental health symptoms and emotion regulation predicted PTSS 60 days later. Discussion: Implications for needed parenting supports among families experiencing traumatic stress are provided. Conclusion: Anxiety symptoms at baseline were the most significant and consistent contributor to all models and were significantly higher among those with clinically concerning levels of PTSS suggesting a clear intervention target. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Yoga interventions can reduce stress, but the mechanisms underlying that stress reduction remain largely unidentified. Understanding how yoga works is essential to optimizing interventions. The present study tested five potential psychosocial mechanisms (increased mindfulness, interoceptive awareness, spiritual well‐being, self‐compassion and self‐control) that have been proposed to explain yoga's impact on stress. Forty‐two participants (62% female; 64% White) in a yoga program for stress reduction completed surveys at baseline (T1), mid‐intervention (T2) and post‐intervention (12 weeks; T3). We measured two aspects of stress, perceived stress and stress reactivity. Changes were assessed with paired t‐tests; associations between changes in mechanisms were tested in residual change models. Only stress reactivity decreased, on average, from T1 to T3. Except for self‐compassion, all psychosocial mechanisms increased from T1 to T3, with minimal changes from T2 to T3. Except for self‐control, increases in each mechanism were strongly associated with decreases in both measures of stress between T1 and T2 and decreases in perceived stress from T1 to T3 (all p's < 0.05). Increased psychosocial resources are associated with stress reduction. Yoga interventions targeting these resources may show stronger stress reduction effects. Future research should test these linkages more rigorously using active comparison groups and larger samples. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

People living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA) often face significant stress, ranging from perceiving identity changes to encountering barriers to daily health behavior engagement. To manage these experiences, many people use positive reappraisal coping (including benefit finding and perceiving growth). Effective coping is highly important for PLWHA; stress reduction has salutary effects on multiple indicators of health. The present systematic review, conducted in PubMed, PsycINFO, and CINAHL, synthesises findings from 33 studies of PLWHA, addressing effects of positive reappraisal on health-related outcomes for adults living with HIV as a chronic illness. Studies were evaluated based on methodological considerations, measurement of key variables, and implications for specific aspects of health. Results suggest that positive reappraisal is often beneficial when dealing with the implications of a potentially traumatic HIV diagnosis on one's identity, although effects may be contextually bound. Implications of these findings are reviewed, emphasizing the importance of positive reappraisal for enhancing health promotion and self-management of HIV. Although the present review is limited by inclusion of multiple disparate outcomes and exclusion of non-English-language articles, these findings inform a comprehensive model of direct and indirect effects of positive reappraisal on emotional, functional, physiological, and behavioural aspects of health useful for guiding future research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]