Search

Introduction: Various studies indicate the role of experiential avoidance (EA) in the onset and maintenance of mental health disorders such as depression or anxiety disorders. The Brief Experiential Avoidance Questionnaire (BEAQ) is a quick tool to assess EA., Objective: This study aimed to translate the BEAQ into French and to validate it in a sample of non-clinical adults., Method: The BEAQ was translated from English into French using the translation and back-translation technique. The translated questionnaire was submitted to 93 psychology students to identify unclear/ambiguous items. Then, the final French and the original versions of the BEAQ were administered to 64 bilingual individuals two weeks apart to assess the scale's content validity and test-retest reliability. Finally, the BEAQ-French and other scales were administered to 580 non-clinical adults to assess its factor structure and its convergent and discriminant validity., Results: Results showed no significant difference between the English and French versions of the BEAQ. The BEAQ demonstrated high internal consistency and good test-retest reliability. Confirmatory factor analyses did not support the one-factor structure of the BEAQ. Exploratory factor analyses revealed a two-factor structure. The BEAQ presented satisfactory convergent and discriminant validity with related measures and measures of neuroticism, negative affect and mental health problems., Conclusion: The results suggest that the BEAQ-French is a reliable tool for assessing EA. Unlike the original version, the BEAQ-French exhibits a two-factor rather than a one-factor structure. Further research is needed to confirm this two-factor structure and to assess more precisely the convergent validity of the scale., Competing Interests: The authors have no competing interests to declare., (Copyright: © 2024 The Author(s).)

Given the lack of hope for a cure of dementia, healthcare professionals provide end-of-life patients and their families with close support. The strain they place on their medical, technical, relational and emotional skills is not without consequences for their quality of life and psycho-emotional adjustment. The aim of this study is to evaluate the consequences of the work of practitioners in a gerontological psychiatric service in Belgium. The study was carried out on 20 professionals working on a regular basis in this hospital department. The practitioners completed several questionnaires (quality of life, stress, emotional work, anxiety-depressive symptoms). The results showed that a state of emotional consonance (or congruence) underpins their quality of life and psycho-emotional adjustment. In contrast, a state of dissonance seems to contribute to the onset of symptoms such as anxiety or depression among healthcare professionals. The study highlights the importance of developing national prevention strategies and plans to detect psychological distress in healthcare professionals working in the field of psychiatric gerontology.

The COVID-19 pandemic has had a deleterious impact on students. Studies showed an increase in anxiety-depressive symptoms and changes in certain health behaviours (smoking, drugs, etc.). The aim of the present study is to measure whether students' alcohol consumption changed during the third confinement (frequency and quantity) in relation to the factor of intolerance to uncertainty. The study was conducted on a sample of 273 French-speaking Belgian students (Universities and High Schools). The students answered questionnaires measuring their psycho-emotional state, alcohol consumption and intolerance of uncertainty and its mechanisms. Results showed that 65 % of the students had anxiety symptoms. Alcohol consumption remained moderate, with 85 % having not changed the frequency of consumption and 89 % their quantity of alcohol. Finally, the results indicated that the increase in alcohol consumption was essentially linked to positive expectations about the effects of alcohol, but not to measures of anxiety or intolerance of uncertainty. The study highlights the need for national prevention strategies to detect psychological distress in post-pandemic students.

Purpose: The third Cancer Plan (2014-2019) has helped with the recognition of adolescents and young adults (AYAs) with cancer's medical and psychosocial specificities and has enabled the creation of dedicated structures in France. Methods: The study involved 43 AYA patients ( N men  = 21; N women  = 22) between 15 and 27 years old ( M age  = 19.9), diagnosed with all types of cancer, and were recruited in two French cancer centers. Online questionnaires were filled in 2 months after the beginning of treatment. AYAs completed measures of depressive and anxiety symptoms, perceived social support, and coping strategies. Results: Results demonstrated moderate depressive symptoms ( M  = 10.7, standard deviation [SD] = 7.0) and suggested a good satisfaction ( M  = 30, SD = 9.5) and a mild availability ( M  = 27, SD = 10.3) of the social support. Spearman's correlations demonstrated that coping strategies are related to depressive symptoms, for which acceptance ( p  < 0.01) of the disease played a key role in their psychological adjustment. Perceived social support subscales were positively correlated with the use of distraction as a coping strategy ( p  < 0.05). Kruskal-Wallis test demonstrated the preferential use of instrumental ( p  < 0.05) and emotional support ( p  < 0.01), denial ( p  < 0.01), and self-blame ( p  < 0.01) for women and the use of acceptance ( p  < 0.05) and humor ( p  < 0.05) for men; and there were no significant differences between patients hospitalized in the two cancer center facilities. Conclusion: Finally, a better understanding of the psychological adjustment and processes among French AYAs with cancer will help families and processionals to better adjust AYA-specific needs at the beginning of cancer treatment. ClinicalTrials.gov. : NCT03964116.

Alcohol-related problems increase after bariatric surgery. The objective of this review was to synthesize findings of qualitative studies on patients' perceptions of the mechanisms leading to problematic alcohol consumption after bariatric surgery. This review followed the Joanna Briggs Institute methodology for systematic review of qualitative evidence. A comprehensive search strategy was performed in MEDLINE, PsycInfo, Scopus and Google Scholar. Study selection, data extraction and critical appraisal of included studies were undertaken by two independent reviewers. Confidence in review findings was assessed using the ConQual approach. Four studies were included in this review and led to the development of four synthesized results: (1) persistence or reappearance of psychological problems after bariatric surgery; (2) using alcohol as a coping strategy, sometimes as a replacement for food; (3) changes in the physiological response to alcohol; and (4) importance of increased information about alcohol-related risks and long-term counselling. Confidence in the synthesized results ranged from moderate to low. The results indicated postoperative problematic alcohol consumption is a complex issue, involving psychological and physiological mechanisms. Several recommendations are formulated based on the results obtained. More qualitative and quantitative studies are needed to better understand this phenomenon given the few existing qualitative studies on this topic and some divergent results found between qualitative and previous quantitative research., (© 2022 World Obesity Federation.)

The continuous and multidisciplinary care of children with type 1 diabetes contributes improving their quality of life. Nevertheless, psychological follow-up issues among parents of a diabetic child are less developed in studies. At present, there is a need to develop research on psychological parental adjustment in order to identify risk and protective factors for understanding the parental experience and improving the initiatives to prevent the parental distress. Our results argue for a crucial role of intolerance of uncertainty in parental concerns. This study supports the continuous psychological follow-up of parents in close collaboration with medical teams.

Purpose: This research aimed to investigate the psychological adjustment related to the risk factor of intolerance of uncertainty in parents of childhood cancer survivors., Design: Participants were mothers (N = 45) and fathers (N = 16) of a childhood cancer survivor (from 4 until 6 years of cancer remission). Parents completed measures of intolerance of uncertainty and its associated factors (positive beliefs about worry, cognitive avoidance, rumination, and problem solving), measures of psychological distress (anxiety, depression somatization, and worries), and performed two Stroop tasks., Findings: A substantial subgroup of parents reported clinical levels of psychological distress and 64% reported a significant level of intolerance of uncertainty. Parents presented a high profile for intolerance of uncertainty (generalized anxiety disorder [GAD] profile) were those who had a high level of distress associated with ineffective psychological adjustment., Conclusion: The data are supportive of brief intervention to reduce intolerance of uncertainty. Sensitizing health care professionals to the identification of intolerance of uncertainty and its associated factors is essential for efficient intervention strategies.

Purpose: In a 3-month follow-up study, we assessed the intolerance of uncertainty in 61 parents of a childhood cancer survivor. The objective was to compare its prevalence over time. We tested these parents twice i.e., at treatment completion (time 1) and 3 months later (time 2). We hypothesized that this personality factor stayed stable and had aversive effects on cognitive processes., Findings: Noticeable intolerance of uncertainty rates were found. At both assessments, results showed that this factor was central in the development of excessive worries, poor problem orientation, rumination, cognitive avoidance and positive beliefs about worry. Repeated measures revealed a decrease for anxiety and cognitive avoidance, and an increased level for somatic symptoms., Conclusions: Parents who are intolerant of uncertainty are at risk to display dysfunctional behaviors over time. Sensitizing health care professionals to the identification of this factor and its associated difficulties is essential for the implementation of efficient intervention strategies.

The aim of the study was to assess the degree of similarity between the distress expressed by parents of a child cancer survivor and the distress perceived by the oncologist. Overall, 61 parents of a child cancer survivor (between 4 and 6 years of cancer remission) were recruited in Belgian hospitals (Province of Liège). Parents filled out questionnaires about the intolerance of uncertainty (IUS), positive beliefs about worry (WW-II), parental worries about the evolution of their child's health (QIPS-R15), problem orientation (NPOQ), cognitive avoidance (CAQ), ruminations (Mini-CERTS), and anxiety/depression (HADS). Eight oncologists who having taken care of the child filled out the «OncoMed» questionnaire that examines their perception of the parental distress (e.g. anxiety, worries). Parents suffered from anxiety,worries about their child's health and showed a low level of tolerance of uncertainty. Overall, oncologists demonstrated a low perceived distress compared to the level of parental distress. The study highlights the need to detect early parents who are intolerant of uncertainty in order to offer them an efficient psychological follow-up. This study underlines finally the necessity to develop medical perception tools about the distress in order to strengthen the medical communication and the follow-up of these families.

Studies in pediatric oncology describe a relative good quality of life in child cancer survivor. However, few studies were interested in the parents of a child cancer survivor. 61 parents are recruited in the Belgian hospitals. Three groups of parents are constituted : the parents whose child is in 4 years of survivorship (group 1), in 5 years of survivorship (group 2) and in 6 years of survivorship (group 3). Clinical scales and a Stroop emotion task are administered. Parents (of the 3 groups) present a low tolerance of uncertainty, have excessive worries about the evolution of the health of their child, and suffer from anxious symptoms. The Stroop emotion tasks reveals a cognitive bias of the attention in favour of threatening stimuli. The study highlights the importance to detect parents who are intolerant of uncertainty at the cancer diagnosis stage and their continuous psychological follow-up once the treatments are ended.

Objective: This review examines stress and its consequences on attention and working memory, stress symptoms in parents of child cancer patients and survivors and long-term consequences of stress on cognitive processing in parents of child cancer survivors., Method: Eligible studies were experimental, meta-analyses, and qualitative (2000-2013) from Pubmed, Medline, the Cochrane Library, PsycArticles, and Google Scholar., Results: We identified 92 eligible papers. They showed that elevated stress can impede performances on tasks requiring attention and memory patterns. In pediatric oncology, parental stress increased shortly after diagnosis involving depression and anxiety. Consequences of stress on cognitive performances were observed mainly among depressed individuals. As regards parents of child cancer survivors, female gender, low Socioeconomic Status (SES), and innate traits of anxiety/anger predicted the development of PTSS., Conclusion: Evidence of stress on attention and working memory processes in parents of child cancer survivors is insufficiently developed.