Life Stress (life + stress)

Distribution by Scientific Domains
Distribution within Medical Sciences


Selected Abstracts


Gender Differences in Perceived Work Demands, Family Demands, and Life Stress among Married Chinese Employees

MANAGEMENT AND ORGANIZATION REVIEW, Issue 2 2006
Jaepil Choi
abstract Although gender-based division of labour and the identity theory of stress suggest that the relationship between work and family demands and life stress may vary as a function of gender, it is largely unknown whether these arguments are also valid in China. To address this gap in the existing literature, the current study investigates the gender differences in perceived work and family demands, and the effects of these perceived demands on the life stress of Chinese male and female employees. The study of 153 married Chinese employees found that Chinese women perceived a higher level of family demands than did Chinese men, whereas there was no significant gender difference in the perception of work demands. In addition, while perceived family demands were similarly related to life stress differently for men and women, perceived work demands were associated more strongly with the life stress of men than that of women. [source]


Self-Efficacy Mediates Effects of Exposure, Loss of Resources, and Life Stress on Posttraumatic Distress among Trauma Survivors

APPLIED PSYCHOLOGY: HEALTH AND WELL-BEING, Issue 1 2009
Aleksandra Luszczynska
Trauma exposure, loss of resources, and stressful life events are usually listed among key predictors of posttraumatic adaptation. Our studies investigated if self-efficacy (i.e. beliefs about ability to deal with posttraumatic adversities) mediates the relationships between these peri- and post-traumatic risk factors and mental health. Study 1 investigated these relationships among 50 Hurricane Katrina survivors infected with HIV. Specifically, it was hypothesised that the effects of exposure and loss of resources (measured 1 year after the disaster) on posttraumatic symptoms and general distress (measured 2 years after disaster) would be mediated by self-efficacy (assessed 1 year after trauma). Study 2, enrolling 70 survivors of motor vehicle accidents, tested the mediating effect of self-efficacy in the relationship between stressful life events (reported at approximately 7 days after the trauma) and PTSD symptom severity and number (measured 90 days later). Results of both studies confirmed the mediating effects of beliefs about the ability to deal with posttraumatic adversities, whereas the direct effects of trauma exposure, number of stressors, and losses on mental health were negligible. Our findings indicate that although self-efficacy beliefs are affected by trauma and stressful life events (in particular, balance of negative and positive events), they should facilitate posttraumatic adaptation. [source]


Life Stress as a Risk Factor for Postpartum Depression: Current Research and Methodological Issues

CLINICAL PSYCHOLOGY: SCIENCE AND PRACTICE, Issue 1 2000
Joel D. Swendsen
There is compelling evidence to suggest that acute adverse life events and certain stressors specific to motherhood increase the risk of maternity blues and diagnoses of postpartum depression. Other psychosocial factors that are likely to explain vulnerability to postpartum depression include previous history of depression and the stress-moderating effects of social support and coping responses. This article reviews the emerging empirical literature on stress and postpartum depression and presents a discussion of methodological issues relevant to advancing this area of research. Multivariate models that examine the interplay of these variables are now required to further our understanding of these syndromes. [source]


Psychotic reactivity in borderline personality disorder

ACTA PSYCHIATRICA SCANDINAVICA, Issue 2 2010
J.-P. Glaser
Glaser J-P, Van Os J, Thewissen V, Myin-Germeys I. Psychotic reactivity in borderline personality disorder. Objective:, To investigate the stress relatedness and paranoia specificity of psychosis in borderline personality disorder (BPD). Method:, Fifty-six borderline patients, 38 patients with cluster C personality disorder, 81 patients with psychotic disorder and 49 healthy controls were studied with the experience sampling method (a structured diary technique) to assess: i) appraised subjective stress and ii) intensity of psychotic experiences. Results:, All patient groups experienced significantly more increases in psychotic experiences in relation to daily life stress than healthy controls, borderline patients displaying the strongest reactivity. Borderline patients, moreover, reported significantly more hallucinatory reactivity than healthy controls and subjects with cluster C personality disorder. Paranoid reactivity to daily life stress did not differ between the patient groups. Conclusion:, These results are the first to ecologically validate stress-related psychosis in BPD. However, psychotic reactivity was not limited to expression of paranoia but involved a broader range of psychotic experiences including hallucinations. [source]


Animal models of early life stress: Implications for understanding resilience

DEVELOPMENTAL PSYCHOBIOLOGY, Issue 5 2010
David M. Lyons
Abstract In the mid-1950s, Levine and his colleagues reported that brief intermittent exposure to early life stress diminished indications of subsequent emotionality in rats. Here we review ongoing studies of a similar process in squirrel monkeys. Results from these animal models suggest that brief intermittent exposure to stress promotes the development of arousal regulation and resilience. Implications for programs designed to enhance resilience in human development are discussed. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Dev Psychobiol 52: 402,410, 2010. [source]


Stress, the hippocampus, and epilepsy

EPILEPSIA, Issue 4 2009
Marian Joëls
Summary Stress is among the most frequently self-reported precipitants of seizures in patients with epilepsy. This review considers how important stress mediators like corticotropin-releasing hormone, corticosteroids, and neurosteroids could contribute to this phenomenon. Cellular effects of stress mediators in the rodent hippocampus are highlighted. Overall, corticosterone,with other stress hormones,rapidly enhances CA1/CA3 hippocampal activity shortly after stress. At the same time, corticosterone starts gene-mediated events, which enhance calcium influx several hours later. This later effect serves to normalize activity but also imposes a risk for neuronal injury if and when neurons are concurrently strongly depolarized, for example, during epileptic activity. In the dentate gyrus, stress-induced elevations in corticosteroid level are less effective in changing membrane properties such as calcium influx; here, enhanced inhibitory tone mediated through neurosteroid effects on ,-aminobutyric acid (GABA) receptors might dominate. Under conditions of repetitive stress (e.g., caused from experiencing repetitive and unpredictable seizures) and/or early life stress, hormonal influences on the inhibitory tone, however, are diminished; instead, enhanced calcium influx and increased excitation become more important. In agreement, perinatal stress and elevated steroid levels accelerate epileptogenesis and lower seizure threshold in various animal models for epilepsy. It will be interesting to examine how curtailing the effects of stress in adults, for example, by brief treatment with antiglucocorticoids, may be beneficial to the treatment of epilepsy. [source]


Factors Associated With Burden of Primary Headache in a Specialty Clinic

HEADACHE, Issue 6 2003
Eugene M. Cassidy MRCPsych
Objective.,To examine factors associated with social, occupational, and psychological burden of common primary headache (migraine and tension-type headache). Background.,The personal and social burden of primary headache is high. Health, occupational, social, and psychological factors contributing to burden in people with disabling headache have not been fully unravelled. Methods.,One hundred eighty consecutive patients with either migraine or tension-type headache attending a specialty headache outpatient clinic for the first time were evaluated over a 9-month period. Headache subtype was operationally defined according to International Headache Society criteria. Headache frequency, duration, and severity were recorded. Occupational and social disability were quantified using the Migraine Disability Assessment questionnaire. Psychological burden was quantified using the 28-item General Health Questionnaire, the Beck Depression Inventory, and the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory. Premorbid vulnerability to life stress was quantified using the neuroticism subscale of the Eysenck Personality Inventory. Results.,Patients with frequent (chronic) headache scored higher on the Migraine Disability Assessment questionnaire and had higher Beck Depression Inventory and General Health Questionnaire depression scores than those with less frequent (episodic) headache. Frequency of headache, but not pain severity, duration, or diagnosis, predicted both Migraine Disability Assessment total disability and General Health Questionnaire/Beck Depression Inventory depression. Neuroticism was predictive of depression but not disability. Patients with chronic migraine had the highest depression and disability scores. Conclusion.,The number of days per month with headache is a key determinant of headache-related burden in those attending specialty clinics. Frequent (chronic) headache is associated with significantly higher psychopathology scores and general social impairment, but the direction of this relationship is not clear. Those with migraine and chronicity are the most impaired. [source]


Cumulative parenting stress across the preschool period: relations to maternal parenting and child behaviour at age 5

INFANT AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT, Issue 2 2005
Keith A. Crnic
Abstract Despite increasing interest in the effects of parenting stress on children and families, many questions remain regarding the nature of parenting stress and the mechanism through which stress exerts its influence across time. In this study, cumulative parenting stress was assessed across the preschool period in a sample of 125 typically developing children and their mothers. Indices of parenting stress included both major life events stress-assessed annually from age 3 to 5, and parenting daily hassles assessed every 6 months across the same period. Naturalistic home observations were conducted when children were age 5, during which measures of parent and child interactive behaviour as well as dyadic pleasure and dyadic conflict were obtained. Mothers also completed the CBCL to assess children's behaviour problems. Results indicated that parenting daily hassles and major life stress are relatively stable across the preschool period. Both cumulative stress indices also proved to be important predictors of parent and child behaviour and dyadic interaction, although the predictions were somewhat differential. Despite meaningful relations between the stress factors and child well being, no evidence was found to support the premise that parent behaviour mediates the association between parenting stress and child outcomes. Results are discussed within a developmental framework to understand the stability and complexity of cumulative stress associations to early parent,child relationships. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source]


The Role of Racial Identity in Perceived Racism and Psychological Stress Among Black American Adults: Exploring Traditional and Alternative Approaches

JOURNAL OF APPLIED SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY, Issue 5 2010
Alex L. Pieterse
This investigation tested whether racial identity status attitudes moderated the relationship between perceived racism and psychological functioning in a sample of 340 Black American adults. The study utilized 2 approaches to racial identity assessment: the standard group-means approach, plus a profile analysis of individual racial identity statuses. Results based on the group-means approach indicated that racial identity did not moderate the relationship between racism and psychological functioning. Findings based on the profile analysis, however, indicated that individuals whose profile type was identified as internalization-dominant exhibited the lowest levels of general life stress, the lowest levels of psychological distress, and the highest levels of psychological well-being. Implications for ongoing research are discussed. [source]


Analysis of opium use by students of medical sciences

JOURNAL OF CLINICAL NURSING, Issue 4 2006
Jamshid Ahmadi MD
Aims and objectives., To investigate the prevalence of opium use in university students. Background., University health professionals and authorities are very concerned about substance use among university students. Design., A survey with a representative sample of 2519 (1126 men and 1393 women) university students and opium use disorders assessed by means of DSM-IV criteria (Diagnostic Statistical Manual-IV Axis I during the year 2003). Findings., Mean age of the sample was 23·8 year and SD was 3·9. Of the students, 110 (4·4%) admitted using of opium once or more during their lives (9.1% of men and 0·6% of women; P < 0·01). Fifty (2%) were occasional opium user (4·2% of men and 0·2% of women; P < 0·01). Nineteen (0·8%) were current opium user (1·4% of men and 0·2% of women; P = 0·001). Mean age of opium users was higher than the remainder. Opium use was significantly related to gender (P = 0·001), and life stress (P = 0·04). Conclusion., These findings can be considered for preventive and therapeutic programmes, because early intervention during the formative university years may present an opportunity to reduce the risk of long-term problems, to decrease social and individual harm and also to promote public health of society. Relevance to clinical practice., These findings can be considered in clinical practice for detection and treatment of opioid abuse. [source]


When the Levee Breaks: Treating Adolescents and Families in the Aftermath of Hurricane Katrina

JOURNAL OF MARITAL AND FAMILY THERAPY, Issue 2 2008
Cynthia L. Rowe
Hurricane Katrina brought to the surface serious questions about the capacity of the public health system to respond to community-wide disaster. The storm and its aftermath severed developmentally protective family and community ties; thus its consequences are expected to be particularly acute for vulnerable adolescents. Research confirms that teens are at risk for a range of negative outcomes under conditions of life stress and family disorganization. Specifically, the multiple interacting risk factors for substance abuse in adolescence may be compounded when families and communities have experienced a major trauma. Further, existing service structures and treatments for working with young disaster victims may not address their risk for co-occurring substance abuse and traumatic stress reactions because they tend to be individually or peer group focused, and fail to consider the multi-systemic aspects of disaster recovery. This article proposes an innovative family-based intervention for young disaster victims, based on an empirically supported model for adolescent substance abuse, Multidimensional Family Therapy (MDFT; Liddle, 2002). Outcomes and mechanisms of the model's effects are being investigated in a randomized clinical trial with clinically referred substance-abusing teens in a New Orleans area community impacted by Hurricane Katrina. [source]


Interactive Effects of Cumulative Stress and Impulsivity on Alcohol Consumption

ALCOHOLISM, Issue 8 2010
Fox Helen C.
Background:, Alcohol addiction may reflect adaptations to stress, reward, and regulatory brain systems. While extensive research has identified both stress and impulsivity as independent risk factors for drinking, few studies have assessed the interactive relationship between stress and impulsivity in terms of hazardous drinking within a community sample of regular drinkers. Methods:, One hundred and thirty regular drinkers (56M/74F) from the local community were assessed for hazardous and harmful patterns of alcohol consumption using the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT). All participants were also administered the Barratt Impulsiveness Scale (BIS-11) as a measure of trait impulsivity and the Cumulative Stress/Adversity Checklist (CSC) as a comprehensive measure of cumulative adverse life events. Standard multiple regression models were used to ascertain the independent and interactive nature of both overall stress and impulsivity as well as specific types of stress and impulsivity on hazardous and harmful drinking. Results:, Recent life stress, cumulative traumatic stress, overall impulsivity, and nonplanning-related impulsivity as well as cognitive and motor-related impulsivity were all independently predictive of AUDIT scores. However, the interaction between cumulative stress and total impulsivity scores accounted for a significant amount of the variance, indicating that a high to moderate number of adverse events and a high trait impulsivity rating interacted to affect greater AUDIT scores. The subscale of cumulative life trauma accounted for the most variance in AUDIT scores among the stress and impulsivity subscales. Conclusions:, Findings highlight the interactive relationship between stress and impulsivity with regard to hazardous drinking. The specific importance of cumulative traumatic stress as a marker for problem drinking is also discussed. [source]


Self-Esteem and Socioeconomic Disparities in Self-Perceived Oral Health

JOURNAL OF PUBLIC HEALTH DENTISTRY, Issue 1 2009
David Locker
Abstract Objective: To determine if psychosocial factors explain the socioeconomic disparities in self-perceived oral health that persist after controlling for oral status variables. Methods: Data came from the participants in the Canadian Community Health Survey 2003 who were residents in the city of Toronto. Oral health variables included self-rated oral health, a 13-item oral health scale, denture wearing, and having a tooth extracted in the previous year. The last two measures were regarded as proxy indicators of tooth loss. Psychosocial variables included a self-esteem scale, a depression scale, and single items measuring life satisfaction, life stress, and sense of cohesion. Socioeconomic status was assessed using total annual household income. Results: Interviews were completed with 2,754 dentate persons aged 20 years and over. Bivariate analyses confirmed that there were income gradients in self-rated oral health and scores on the oral health scale. Linear regression analyses confirmed that these persisted after controlling for age, gender, denture wearing, and having a tooth extracted in the previous year. In the model predicting self-rated oral health self-esteem, life satisfaction, stress, a sense of cohesion, and depression also contributed to the model, increased its explanatory power, and reduced the strength of but did not eliminate the association between income and self-rated oral health. Broadly, similar results were obtained when the oral health scale score was used as the dependent variable. In both analyses and all models, denture wearing had the strongest and most enduring effect. Conclusion: Psychosocial factors partly but do not wholly explain the socioeconomic disparities in self-perceived oral health in this population after controlling for tooth loss and denture wearing. Other variables need to be added to the models to increase their explanatory power. [source]


Gender Differences in Perceived Work Demands, Family Demands, and Life Stress among Married Chinese Employees

MANAGEMENT AND ORGANIZATION REVIEW, Issue 2 2006
Jaepil Choi
abstract Although gender-based division of labour and the identity theory of stress suggest that the relationship between work and family demands and life stress may vary as a function of gender, it is largely unknown whether these arguments are also valid in China. To address this gap in the existing literature, the current study investigates the gender differences in perceived work and family demands, and the effects of these perceived demands on the life stress of Chinese male and female employees. The study of 153 married Chinese employees found that Chinese women perceived a higher level of family demands than did Chinese men, whereas there was no significant gender difference in the perception of work demands. In addition, while perceived family demands were similarly related to life stress differently for men and women, perceived work demands were associated more strongly with the life stress of men than that of women. [source]


Relationship between late-life depression and life stressors: Large-scale cross-sectional study of a representative sample of the Japanese general population

PSYCHIATRY AND CLINICAL NEUROSCIENCES, Issue 4 2010
Tatsuhiko Kaji MD
Aim:, The purpose of the present study was to clarify the relationship between late-life depression and daily life stress in a representative sample of 10 969 Japanese subjects. Methods:, Data on 10 969 adults aged ,50 who participated in the Active Survey of Health and Welfare in 2000, were analyzed. The self-administered questionnaire included items on 21 reasons for life stressors and the magnitude of stress, as well as the Japanese version of the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CES-D). The relationship between the incidence of life stressors and mild,moderate (D16) and severe (D26) depressive symptoms was examined using logistic regression analysis. Results:, A total of 21.9% of subjects had D16 symptoms, and 9.3% had D26 symptoms. Further, increased age and being female were associated with more severe depressive state. Logistic regression analysis indicated that the strongest relationship between both the incidence of D16 and D26 symptoms and life stressors stemmed from ,having no one to talk to' (odds ratio = 3.3 and 5.0, respectively). Late-life depression was also associated with ,loss of purpose in life', ,separation/divorce', ,having nothing to do', ,health/illness/care of self', and ,debt'. Conclusion:, There is a relationship between late-life depression and diminished social relationships, experiences involving loss of purpose in life or human relationships, and health problems in the Japanese general population. [source]


A Theory of Physical Activity Maintenance

APPLIED PSYCHOLOGY, Issue 4 2008
Claudio R. Nigg
Regular physical activity is related to numerous psychological and physical benefits. Physical activity interventions have had varying degrees of success with adoption; however, maintenance over the long term is even more difficult to achieve, as the majority of individuals who start a physical activity program drop out or relapse. Although the physical activity maintenance literature is scant, there is evidence that the predictors of adoption are different from those of maintenance. Thus, it follows that physical activity adoption and maintenance require unique approaches. The explanatory power of such predictors, however, is limited by the absence of a cogent theoretical framework. Therefore, this paper presents the Physical Activity Maintenance (PAM) theory, which incorporates individual psychosocial variables (goal-setting, motivation, and self-efficacy), and contextual variables of the environment and life stress (triggers of relapse). Goal-setting is framed as satisfaction, attainment, and commitment; motivation as self-motivation and expectations; and self-efficacy as both barrier and relapse. The contextual variables may facilitate or impede physical activity maintenance directly and indirectly via the individual psychosocial variables. The PAM is presented to stimulate research on physical activity maintenance and advance our understanding of how and why people do and do not maintain physical activity long term. Une activité physique régulière procure de nombreux bénéfices psychologiques et physiques. Les investigations portant sur l'activité physique ont plus ou moins réussi pour ce qui est de la décision, mais l'étude du maintien à long terme est encore plus difficile à réaliser puisque la majorité des individus qui commencent un programme d'activité physique renoncent ou reprennent leur conduite antérieure. Quoique la littérature sur le maintien de l'activité physique soit parcellaire, il existe des indices selon lesquels les prédicteurs de la décision sont différents de ceux du maintien. Il s'ensuit que la décision d'avoir une activité physique et son maintien dans le temps doivent être abordés de la même façon. Le pouvoir explicatif de tels prédicteurs est cependant limité par l'absence d'un cadre théorique pertinent. En conséquence, cet article présente la théorie du Maintien d'une Activité Physique (PAM) qui intègre des variables psychosociologiques individuelles (fixation d'un objectif, motivation et auto-efficience), et des variables relevant de l'environnement et du stress (déclencheurs d'abandon). La fixation d'un objectif est déclinée en termes de satisfaction, de réalisation et d'implication; la motivation en termes d'auto-motivation et d'expectations; et l'auto-efficience en termes d'obstacle et de rechute. Les variables contextuelles peuvent faciliter ou entraver le maintien d'une activité physique directement ou indirectement par l'intermédiaire des variables psychosociologiques individuelles. Le PAM est présenté dans le but de stimuler la recherche sur le maintien d'une activité physique et de nous aider comprendre pourquoi et comment les gens maintiennent ou non à long terme une activité physique. [source]


Factors Associated with Distress in Urban Residential Fire Survivors

JOURNAL OF NURSING SCHOLARSHIP, Issue 1 2002
Anne Keane
Purpose: To identify factors associated with recovery in a sample of urban residential fire survivors. Design and Methods: 440 survivors of residential fires were interviewed at approximately 3, 6, and 13 months after the fire to measure psychological distress. A set of factors was identified that correlated with survivors' ability to recover from the fire event. Potential predictors of increased distress were identified. Hypotheses were that participants who were lower in socioeconomic status, who were minority members, who had less social support, who engaged in attributional thinking, and had greater concurrent life stresses would have greater psychological distress in response to a residential fire and would be less able to recover from the fire event. Findings: Distress after fire was high at 3 months and decreased for the majority of participants, although one-third of survivors had higher distress at 13 months than at 3 months. Loss of control and attributional variables had the strongest influence on psychological distress over time. Conclusions: The findings are consistent with stress-response tendencies expected after a stressful event. A set of predictor variables was identified to help clinicians target survivors at high risk for psychological distress after a residential fire. [source]


Differential stress-induced alterations of colonic corticotropin-releasing factor receptors in the Wistar Kyoto rat

NEUROGASTROENTEROLOGY & MOTILITY, Issue 3 2010
D. O'malley
Abstract Background, A growing body of data implicates increased life stresses with the initiation, persistence and severity of symptoms associated with functional gut disorders such as irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). Activation of central and peripheral corticotropin-releasing factor (CRF) receptors is key to stress-induced changes in gastrointestinal (GI) function. Methods, This study utilised immunofluorescent and Western blotting techniques to investigate colonic expression of CRF receptors in stress-sensitive Wistar Kyoto (WKY) and control Sprague Dawley (SD) rats. Key Results, No intra-strain differences were observed in the numbers of colonic CRFR1 and CRFR2 positive cells. Protein expression of functional CRFR1 was found to be comparable in control proximal and distal colon samples. Sham levels of CRFR1 were also similar in the proximal colon but significantly higher in WKY distal colons (SD: 0.38 ± 0.14, WKY: 2.06 ± 0.52, P < 0.01). Control levels of functional CRFR2 were similar between strains but sham WKYs samples had increased CRFR2 in both the proximal (SD: 0.88 ± 0.21, WKY: 1.8 ± 0.18, P < 0.001) and distal (SD: 0.18 ± 0.08, WKY: 0.94 ± 0.32, P < 0.05) regions. Exposure to open field (OF) and colorectal distension (CRD) stressors induced decreased protein expression of CRFR1 in SD proximal colons, an effect that was blunted in WKYs. CRD stimulated decreased expression of CRFR2 in WKY rats alone. Distally, CRFR1 is decreased in WKY rats following CRD but not OF stress without any apparent changes in SD rats. Conclusions & Inferences, This study demonstrates that psychological and physical stressors alter colonic CRF receptor expression and further support a role for local colonic CRF signalling in stress-induced changes in GI function. [source]


Sense of coherence and social support predict living liver donors' emotional stress prior to living-donor liver transplantation

CLINICAL TRANSPLANTATION, Issue 3 2008
Yesim Erim
Abstract:, The protection of the donors from physical or emotional harm has been a fundamental principle in living-donor liver donation from the beginning. Psychosomatic donor evaluation aims at the selection of eligible donors and the screening and exclusion of psychiatrically vulnerable donors. As clinical interviews may include subjective biases, efforts should be made to establish objective criteria for donor assessment. In recent research, protective factors have been reported to be a significant force behind healthy adjustment to life stresses and can be investigated as possible predictors of donors' eligibility. Being the central construct of Antonovsky's theory of salutogenesis, the sense of coherence is one of the most surveyed protective factors and a good predictor of individuals' stability when experiencing stress. Furthermore, family support has been shown to be a valuable protective resource in coping with stress. This study surveyed whether sense of coherence and social support predict donors' emotional strain prior to transplantation. Seventy-one donor candidates were included in the study during the donor evaluation prior to living-donor liver transplantation. Sense of coherence proved to be a significant predictor for all criterion variables, namely anxiety, depression and mental quality of life. In addition to this, donor candidates who were classified as eligible for donation in the psychosomatic interview had significantly higher values on sense of coherence total scores compared with rejected donors. In a multiple regression analysis, sense of coherence and social support together yielded a prediction of depression with an explained variance of 22% (R2 = 0.22). Sense of coherence and social support can be implemented as self-rating instruments in the psychosomatic selection of donors and would help to further objectify donors' eligibility. [source]