Cumulative Stress and Mental Health in Young Adults

Completed

• Conditions: Cumulative Trauma; Mental Stress; Stress, Psychological; Stress-related Problem; Mental Health Issue; Psychological Well-Being
• Interventions: Diagnostic Test: Psychological tests and psychosocial questionnaires

• Registration Number: NCT05930652
• Lead Sponsor: Bernadetta Izydorczyk

Brief Summary

The goal of this observational study is to learn about the needs of young adults - "policrisis generation", exposed to cumulative stress during 2020-2023, in terms of quality of mental health, the psychosocial resources, protective factors for cumulative stress effect, and the standards for effective prevention. The main questions to be answered are:

* How does cumulative stress affect young adults?

* Is there a specific cumulative stress syndrome that can be described?

* What are the risk and the protective factors for cumulative stress?

* How does the "policrisis generation" deal with the cumulative stress they have been exposed to? Participants will complete psychological questionnaires

Detailed Description

Background: Epidemiological data are not sufficient to determine the mental health outcomes of exposure to cumulative stress of 2020-2023. Holistic knowledge of risk and protective factors, pathways leading to symptoms (not yet observed), and stress management strategies for the generation living under cumulative stress conditions (pandemic, war, refugee migration, economic crisis) is needed.

Participants: 400 young adults, recruited among university students.

Research methodology: Analysis of data collected by screening questionnaires, psychological scales, and questionnaires, related to mental health conditions.

Study Timeline

• Study Start: 2023-04-12
• Status Verified: 2023-06
• Primary Completion: 2023-06-15
• Study Completion: 2023-06-15
• Study First Submitted: 2023-06-26
• Study First Submitted QC: 2023-06-26
• Last Update Submitted: 2023-06-26
• Study First Posted: 2023-07-05
• Last Update Posted: 2023-07-05

Recruitment & Eligibility

• Status: COMPLETED
• Sex: All
• Target Recruitment: 400

Inclusion Criteria

• Age between 19 and 25 years
• Standard educational opportunities
• Attending the university course cycle

Exclusion Criteria

• Age below 19
• Intellectual disability
• Inability to self-complete the research questionnaires

Study & Design

• Study Type: OBSERVATIONAL
• Study Design: Not specified

Arm && Interventions

Group	Intervention	Description
Young adults	Psychological tests and psychosocial questionnaires	The population of Polish Students, who graduated from high schools/ passed leaving exams, started university studies between 2020 and 2023, and were living in Poland during this period (2020-2023: COVID-19, lockdown, economic crisis, political changes, climate changes, and the war in Ukraine).

Primary Outcome Measures

Name	Time	Method
General Well-being	April 12, 2023 until June 15, 2023	Global Flourishing Study Questionnaire Development Report (GFS). The GFS includes 12 questions that gauge respondents' level of "flourishing" across six domains: (1) happiness and life satisfaction, (2) mental and physical health, (3) meaning and purpose, (4) character and virtue, (5) close social relationships and (6) financial and material stability.
Personality Traits	April 12, 2023 until June 15, 2023	Personality Inventory for ICD-11 (PiCD). The four-factor structure of the Polish version of PiCD consists of three unipolar factors as Negative Affectivity, Detachment, and Dissociality factors, and one bipolar Anankastia vs. Disinhibition factor.
Emotion Regulation	April 12, 2023 until June 15, 2023	The Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale (DERS). It comprises the following dimensions: (1) lack of acceptance of emotional responses, (2) difficulties in realizing goal-directed behaviors, (3) difficulties in controlling impulses, (4) lack of emotional awareness, (5) limited access to emotion regulation strategies, (6) lack of emotional clarity
Meaning in Life	April 12, 2023 until June 15, 2023	Meaning in Life Questionnaire (MLQ). A 10-item questionnaire designed to measure two dimensions of meaning in life: (1) Presence of Meaning (how much respondents feel their lives have meaning), and (2) Search for Meaning (how much respondents strive to find meaning and understanding in their lives).

Secondary Outcome Measures

Name	Time	Method
Authors survey	April 12, 2023 until June 15, 2023	Survey of socio-demographic data (gender, age, sexual orientation, marital status, family, relationships, socio-economic status, place of residence, educational level, habits, attitudes, others)

Trial Locations

Locations (1)

Behaviour in Crisis Lab, Impact of cumulative stress on the mental health of young people project, Jagiellonian University in Krakow; 🇵🇱 Krakow, Poland