Students’ Well-being: Impacts of studying out-EU and perceived autonomy on the Psychological Quality of Life

in European Health Psychologist (2015), special

Introduction: With an increasing number of university students in preparation of their entrance in the labor market, the wellbeing of the postgraduates became a priority for many universities. Despite ... [more ▼]

Introduction: With an increasing number of university students in preparation of their entrance in the labor market, the wellbeing of the postgraduates became a priority for many universities. Despite numerous studies on this topic, respective relationships of wellbeing and other psychosocial factors still remain unclear. Aims: (1) to assess Psychological Quality of Life of postgraduates who study in Grand Duchy of Luxembourg (GDL), EU and non – EU countries; (2) to analyze its associations with their socio-economic,health and employability related cofactors. Method: All masters’ students registered at the Centre for Documentation and Information on Higher Education (CEDIES) database in GDL were contacted by mail to participate at an online questionnaire (in English or French) measuring: 1. Psychological Whoqol-bref (6 items) (dependent variable) 2. Wellbeing attributes: Quality of Life Autonomy, Health Satisfaction, and Penn state worry questionnaire (Worries). 3. Employability attributes: Search for Work Self Efficacy scale (SWSES), Career Goals setting. 4. Perceived financial situation and socio-demographic characteristics. Respondents who did not mention the country of their studies were excluded from the analysis. Bivariate tests and correlations were performed for association analyses between the variables. Only significant relationships (p<0.05) were used in the multiple linear model. Results: 490 participants were volunteers from which 13.5% study in Luxembourg, 77.8% in an EU country and 8.7% in a non EU country. Majority were women, with exception for those studying in non-EU countries who were mainly men. Participants studying in GDL were older than those studying abroad. Natives of Luxembourg were prevalent with higher percentages among those who study in a non EU-country. Those studying in non-EU showed significantly (p<0.05) higher Psychological Quality of Life (M=76.8; SD=12.8) than those in GDL (M=74.5;SD=12.6) respectively in EU (M=71.4; SD=15.3). While participants differ in their QoL-Autonomy score there isn’t any significant difference in their career goals setting, Search for work self efficacy, Health satisfaction, Worries and Perceived financial situation across the country of study.Conclusion: Better psychological quality of life mobilized the capability of students to study abroad, which is related to better wellbeing attributes. However this relationship remains true only for students studying in Non-EU countries. Implementing workshops to increase individual self-efficacy towards a future employment may improve and/or maintain wellbeing of academics and limit so, respective social inequalities. [less ▲]

Socioeconomic inequalities in fatal opiate and cocaine related overdoses: Transgenerational baggage versus individual attainments

in European Health Psychologist (2014)

Background. To determine socioeconomic inequalities in opiates and cocaine related Fatal OverDose (FOD) cases and their implications in terms of preventive measures. Methods. Cross-examination of law ... [more ▼]

Background. To determine socioeconomic inequalities in opiates and cocaine related Fatal OverDose (FOD) cases and their implications in terms of preventive measures. Methods. Cross-examination of law enforcement and healthcare data sources and of forensic evidence in a nested case-control study design. FOD cases were individually matched with 4 controls, according to sex, year of birth, drug administration route and duration of drug use. 272 cases vs. 1,056 controls were compared through conditional logistic regression. Findings. Being professionally active [OR=0.662 (95% CI 0.446–0.985)], reporting salary as main income source [OR=0.417 (95% CI 0.258–0.674)], and education attainment higher than primary school [OR=0.501 (95% CI 0.344-0.729)] revealed to be protective factors, whereas parental professional status was not associated to FOD. Discussion. Compared to their peers, drug users with lower socioeconomic profiles show increased odds of FOD. However, actual and self-referred socioeconomic characteristics of drug users, impacting on daily life quality, such as educational attainment, employment and revenue, appeared to be more predictive of FOD than transgenerational factors such as the parental socioeconomic status. Thus, motivational interventions aimed at socio-professional reintegration should be given due attention in dedicated harm prevention policies. [less ▲]

Family caregivers’ health capability: Contribution of, and relations between its dimensions

in European Health Psychologist (2014)

Background. Being family caregiver poses certain risks for physical, mental and social health. The health capability paradigm (Ruger, 2010) explores the capacity to achieve one’s optimal health. Family ... [more ▼]

Background. Being family caregiver poses certain risks for physical, mental and social health. The health capability paradigm (Ruger, 2010) explores the capacity to achieve one’s optimal health. Family caregivers’ health capability partly consists of 8 dimensions: physical and psychological functioning, lifestyle value, self-efficacy, family support, social capital, socio-economic conditions and access to health services. Which relations exist between these dimensions, and which ones contribute the most to health capability? Methods. Home-based structured interviews were led among 62 family caregivers living in Luxembourg 2 years after their relatives’ stroke. Twenty items measured the 8 dimensions of health capability. Using a Bayesian approach, a structural equation modelling was applied. Findings. Socio-economic conditions were positively correlated with all the other dimensions. Family caregivers’ fatigue and feeling abandoned by their families impeded their health capability the most. Discussion. Enhancing family caregivers’ well-being involves finding interventions relieving them physically and fostering family networking around the ill, giving priority to the socially disadvantaged. [less ▲]