Papers by George Tsouvelas
Social work education, Jun 19, 2024
International Journal of Stress Management, Dec 6, 2023
Journal of Clinical Nursing, Jan 14, 2024
Dialogues in Clinical Neuroscience & Mental Health, 2024
Stigma associated with mental illness is recognized as a significant public health issue. Cultura... more Stigma associated with mental illness is recognized as a significant public health issue. Cultural factors, particularly those embedded in military culture, significantly influence the stigma experienced by military personnel. Within military environment, current research illustrates that the stigma experienced by military personnel towards mental illness has been identified as a barrier to accessing mental health services. The purpose of the present study has been to investigate the beliefs towards specific psychopathological entities, as well as to identify the factors associated with mental illness stigmatization by military personnel. The data analysis elucidate certain distinctions in dimensions related to mental illness stigmatization by the certain sample. The findings suggest that initiatives directed at enhancing mental health care utilization in the military would be most effective by concentrating on mitigating mental illness stigma associated with seeking mental health services. Further comprehensive studies are warranted to delve deeper into these results. The sample consisted of three hundred military personnel. 273 of them were males, the mean age was 33.5 years (±7.7) and the mean of years of professional experience was 14.8 (±7.7). A demographics questionnaire (covering data as gender, age, professional experience, marital status, educational level and direct/ indirect contact with people with mental disorders) was administered and Stigma Cognitive Schemes were assessed with the Mental Illness Stigma Scale. The scale is composed of 9 items and a Comprehensive Stigma Perception Index finally derived from the mean of items per mental disorder. Confirmatory Factor Analysis in Mental Illness Stigma Scale presented satisfactory goodness-of-fit indices. Through analysis of variance for dependent measures, statistically significant differences were identified for all the items of the scale per mental disorder. The highest scores in Comprehensive Stigma Perception Index appeared for Schizophrenia and Substance Use and the lowest for Anxiety Disorders and Anorexia. With reference to the sources on which the participants relied to answer the questions it emerged that Comprehensive Stigma Perception Index for Alchool use disorder and Anorexia were predicted by information from media. The current study elucidated distinctions in dimensions related to the stigma of mental illness within a military personnel sample. These findings suggest that initiatives directed at enhancing mental health care utilization in the military would be most effective by concentrating on mitigating mental illness stigma associated with seeking mental health services. Further comprehensive studies are warranted to delve deeper into these results.
Journal of Research in Health Sciences
Background: Although a surge of interest has recently emerged in investigating the simultaneous p... more Background: Although a surge of interest has recently emerged in investigating the simultaneous problematic use of various technology-based tools, the findings are still inconclusive. The present web-based survey aimed at examining whether (a) personality traits, coping strategies, and sociodemographics are associated with problematic internet, smartphone, and SMS use among Greek users and (b) personality traits mediate the relationship between maladaptive coping strategies and problematic use of the three media. Study Design: A cross-sectional study. Methods: A convenience and snowball sample of 1016 participants (84.4% female, mean age of 30.3 years) completed the Problematic Internet Use Questionnaire-9 (PIUQ-9), the Mobile Phone Problem Use Scale (MPPUS), the Self-Perception of Text Message Dependency Scale (STDS), the Personality Diagnostic Questionnaire 4+(PDQ-4+), and the Brief Coping Orientation to Problems Experienced Inventory (Brief COPE). Results: Shared predictors betwe...
PubMed, Nov 5, 2013
Since 2008 several European countries have fallen into a financial crisis. This crisis has mainly... more Since 2008 several European countries have fallen into a financial crisis. This crisis has mainly affected the Greek population. The lower of income and the increase of unemployment as consequences of crisis lead to negative effects on people's mental health. Usually, in periods of economic crisis there is an increase of suicidality of population. The aim of this study is to examine the changes of suicide rates in Greece during the last decade (2001-2011) with particular consideration in the recent period of economic crisis (2008-2011). Data regarding the greek general population and the crude data on suicides were obtained from the Hellenic Statistical Authority (ELSTAT). We assessed the specific suicide rate, i.e. the number of suicide cases per 100.000 inhabitants (SSR) using population data on the 2001 and 2011 census. Yearly and mean total, age and sex-SSR were calculated in five years age groups. There were no suicide cases among children under the age of fifteen. We compared total and male, female SSR during the period before the crisis (2001-2007) and during the crisis (2008-2011). During the decade 2001-2011 a total number of 4133 suicide cases were recorded. There were 3423 (82.8%) male suicides and 710 (17.2%) female suicides. During the decade 2001-2011 total SSR increased by 38.4%. In males increased by 33.1% and in females by 69.6%. In the period before the crisis (2001-2007) total SSR decreased by 3.9%. In males decreased by 8.4% but in females increased by 22.3%. During the period of crisis (2008-2011) total SSR increased by 27.2%. In males increased by 26.9% and in females by 28.5%. There was a statistically significant increase in total SSR during the crisis regarding subjects 50-54 years old (t=3.43, p=0.007) and in total SSR of males (t=2.31, p=0.047) as well as of the males age groups 50-54 (t=3.56, p=0.006), 45-49 (t=2.87, p=0.02), 30-34 (t=2.96, p=0.02). There were no statistically significant differences both in total SSR and in SSR of all age groups of females during the crisis. The most often used method of suicide all the year of this study was by hanging. In absolute count the total suicide cases for the year 2011 in Greece were 477 (SSR=4.22) and the male suicides 393 (SSR=7.02) which are the highest number of suicides observed in Greece during the last decades. Findings suggest an increase in suicide mortality in Greece during the financial crisis. Reorientation of the goals of the national mental health system as well as targeted interventions should be applied in high risk individuals, i.e. unemployed, poor, suffering from mental or/and physical illnesses, in order to prevent or to mitigate the impact of the financial crisis in the greek population.
Journal of Music Therapy
The primary aim of this randomized controlled trial pilot was to investigate the potential effect... more The primary aim of this randomized controlled trial pilot was to investigate the potential effectiveness of the music psychotherapy method, Guided Imagery and Music (GIM), to assist female patients who are undergoing chemotherapy treatment for breast or gynecologic cancer. A secondary aim was to suggest performance improvements regarding the protocol and the resources required to undertake a future larger scale study. The researchers randomized participants (n = 20) into two groups: Intervention group (n = 10) and Control group (n = 10). The Intervention group received a series of six individual, short GIM sessions whereas the Control group received two verbal counseling sessions that took place at Week 1 and at Week 6 of treatment. All participants in the study completed the Profile of Mood States (POMS-Brief); Cancer Fatigue Scale (CFS); and Herth Hope Index (HHI) before the beginning of Week 1 and again after Week 6 or, in the case of the Intervention group, after the last GIM se...
Dialogues in Clinical Neuroscience & Mental Health, 2023
COVID-19 pandemic brought us face to face with existential threats, a sense of insecurity and ide... more COVID-19 pandemic brought us face to face with existential threats, a sense of insecurity and ideological challenges. Trust in institutions is a key issue for compliance with the measures and restrictions we were called upon to follow during the pandemic. Our studies explored with a mixed-methods approach the role of ideological and existential parameters in trust in institutions during COVID-19 pandemic. Students from several departments of National and Kapodistrian University of Athens and University of West Attica participated in our studies (219 in study 1 and 166 in study 2). Study 1, through a correlational and repeated cross-sectional survey explored the relationship of political orientation on trust in institutions in college students during the 1 st (June-July 2020) and 3 rd (November-December 2021) wave of pandemic. Participants in 3 rd wave reported statistically significant lower scores on trust on Prime Minister, Government, Doctor and Nurses and National Health System during 3 rd wave of pandemic in comparison to 1 st wave. In both waves, right political orientation was correlated with strong trust in Prime Minister, Government, Greek Army, Church and Greek Police. Study 2, through a quasi-experimental and correlational design, explored the role of ideological and existential parameters in trust in institutions during the second wave of the pandemic (February-April 2021). Exposure to mortality salience was introduced in the experimental group by administering the Mortality Attitudes Personality Survey, while participants of the control group responded to a questionnaire about TV watching. Measures for both groups included the Social Dominance Orientation, the Right-Wing Authoritarianism, the Global Belief in a Just World, the Connection of the Soul Scale and a questionnaire included 16 domains of trust. Five factors were explicitly extracted in the Exploratory Factor Analysis (Political institutions, Health/Law institutions/Law, Local authorities, Executive institutions, Established order). Participants in mortality salience condition presented higher support in the Health/Law institutions. Mortality salience moderated the relationship between Social Dominance Orientation and trust in institutions. Predictive indicators of institutional trust emerged the post mortem expectations for connection with God and belief in a just world. Policy-making implications of these findings are discussed.
Developmental and Adolescent Health
International Journal of Stress Management
Archives of Psychiatric Nursing
Developmental and Adolescent Health
This socio-political cross-sectional study describes public trust in Greece and investigates its ... more This socio-political cross-sectional study describes public trust in Greece and investigates its ideological determinants soon after the national lockdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Our web-based questionnaire included 22 domains of trust and was completed by 438 participants. We estimated the correlations between trust domains and belief in conspiracy theories, conservatism, institutional liberalism, and political orientation within the spectrum extreme left- extreme right.
Journal of B.U.ON. : official journal of the Balkan Union of Oncology, 2021
PURPOSE Peroxiredoxins (Prdxs) represent a family of proteins that act as antioxidant enzymes and... more PURPOSE Peroxiredoxins (Prdxs) represent a family of proteins that act as antioxidant enzymes and are involved in a variety of metabolic functions including mainly the intracellular hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) levels reduction. Especially, Prdx-6 protein encoded by the PRDX6 gene (1q25.1) regulates also phospholipid modifications and induces response to oxidative stress and injuries. Our aim was to investigate the expression of Prdx-6 in colon adenocarcinoma (CA). METHODS A series of 30 formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded primary CAs tissue sections were used and analyzed. Immunohistochemistry was performed using an anti-Prdx-6 antibody. Digital image analysis was also implemented for evaluating objectively the protein expression levels on the corresponding stained cells. RESULTS Prdx-6 protein overexpression (increased immunostaining levels) was observed in 12/30 (40%) cases, whereas 18/30 (60%) CA tissues demonstrated low to moderate protein levels, respectively. Prdx-6 overall express...
<strong>ABSTRACT</strong> <strong>Introduction: </strong>The study of wor... more <strong>ABSTRACT</strong> <strong>Introduction: </strong>The study of workplace affect constitutes a new paradigm of research, which is mainly determined by the theory of Emotional Intelligence (EI) and the theory of emotion regulation. Emotional management at workplace is crucial especially in environments where interdisciplinary collaboration and teamwork is needed, such as the Diagnostic and Support Centers for Diagnosis for Special Education (KEDDY). <strong>Aim: </strong>The present study investigates the relationship between strategies of emotion regulation, EI and workplace affect. <strong>Material and Method: </strong>A quantitative cross-sectional study was conducted among 197 employees (153, 77,7% were women), with a mean age of 39,5 years, derived from 34 KEDDY of the country. Data was collected using printed anonymous questionnaires, namely scales of workplace affect, EI and emotion regulation, which were voluntarily completed by the participants. Correlation checks (Pearson's <em>r) </em>were performed, the <em>t</em> criterion was used to compare independent samples, while two structural equation models were used. <strong>Results: </strong>Positive workplace affect was positively correlated with the cognitive reappraisal strategy and EI. Negative workplace affect was positively correlated with emotional suppression and negatively with EI. According to structural equation models, EI fully mediated the relationship between cognitive reappraisal and positive workplace affect. Socio-demographic factors did not correlate with dimensions of workplace affect (positive and negative). <strong>Conclusions: </strong>Cognitive reassessment constitutes an adaptive workplace emotion regulation strategy. This study highlights the usefulness of developing emotional skills programs in the workplace, aiming to improve work satisfaction and empower employees to manage workplace conflicts and difficulties.
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Papers by George Tsouvelas