Ashlyn Tom

Bio: Ashlyn Tom is an academic researcher from All India Institute of Medical Sciences. The author has contributed to research in topics: Outbreak & Sexual dysfunction. The author has an hindex of 1, co-authored 3 publications receiving 3 citations.

Psychological Impact of COVID-19 on Children and Adolescents: A Systematic Review

Abstract: Background and aims:The outbreak of COVID-19 led to a significant psychological impact on individuals, particularly those belonging to vulnerable groups. This study aimed to synthesize literature o...

Barriers and Facilitators to Substance Use Disorder Treatment in Low-and Middle-Income Countries: A Qualitative Review Synthesis.

Abstract: One of the ways to address the treatment gap for substance use disorders is to understand the barriers and facilitators to treatment. This study aimed to synthesize the literature on barriers and f...

A systematic review of Indian studies on sexual dysfunction in patients with substance use disorders

Abstract: Background and Aims: Sexual dysfunction is often associated with substance use disorders. This study aimed to synthesize Indian literature on sexual dysfunction among patients with substance use disorders. Materials and Methods: Electronic search engines were used to identify studies of the last 20 years that reported sexual dysfunction with different substance use disorders. Information was extracted using a predefined template. Quality appraisal of the included studies was carried out using Joanna Briggs Institute checklist. Results: Twenty-seven relevant papers were identified that pertained to 24 distinct studies. Most of them were in patients with alcohol dependence, and fewer were in patients with opioid dependence. The study designs were primarily single-group cross-sectional, though many case–control, cross-sectional studies were also identified. The proportion of participants with sexual dysfunction ranged from 22.2% to 76% for studies related to alcohol dependence and 40% to 90% for studies pertaining to opioid dependence. Varied types of sexual dysfunctions were identified, including poor satisfaction, lack of desire, premature ejaculation, and erectile dysfunction. Efforts to address bias and confounders were not reported in most studies. Conclusion: Sexual dysfunction affects a substantial proportion of patients with substance use disorders. Clinicians can make an effort to ascertain and address sexual dysfunction in their routine clinical practice while dealing with patients with substance use disorders.

Global burden of mental health problems among children and adolescents during COVID-19 pandemic: An umbrella review

Abstract: Mental health problems among children and adolescents are increasingly reported amidst the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic. In this umbrella review, we aimed to synthesize global evidence on the epidemiologic burden and correlates of child and adolescent mental health (CAMH) problems during this pandemic from existing systematic reviews and meta-analyses. Adopting the Joanna Briggs Institute (JBI) methodology, we evaluated 422 citations and identified 17 eligible reviews with medium to high methodological quality. Most of the reviews reported a high prevalence of anxiety, depression, sleep disorders, suicidal behavior, stress-related disorders, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, and other mental health problems. Also, factors associated with CAMH such as age, gender, place of residence, educational attainment, household income, sedentary lifestyle, social media and internet use, comorbidities, family relationships, parents' psychosocial conditions, COVID-19 related experiences, closure of schools, online learning, and social support were reported across reviews. As most studies were cross-sectional and used nonrepresentative samples, future research on representative samples adopting longitudinal and intervention designs is needed. Lastly, multipronged psychosocial care services, policies, and programs are needed to alleviate the burden of CAMH problems during and after this pandemic.

Psychological distress and adolescents’ cyberbullying under floods and the covid-19 pandemic: Parent–child relationships and negotiable fate as moderators

Abstract: Since the outbreak of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), adolescents in 70 countries have suffered the COVID-19 pandemic and flood disasters simultaneously. Although antecedent cyberbullying variables have attracted significant research attention, the effects of psychological distress and the potential mechanisms of cyberbullying among adolescents under multiple disasters remains unclear. Based on social-ecological system theory, this study examines the moderating effects of parent–child relationships and the negotiable fate on the relationship between psychological distress and cyberbullying. A total of 1204 middle school students (52.4% boys) who suffered from floods and the COVID-19 pandemic from Zhengzhou City, China, are the participants. The results reveal that psychological distress was positively related to adolescent cyberbullying during a disaster. Parent–child relationships and negotiable fate significantly moderate the relationship between psychological distress and cyberbullying. Specifically, high parent–child relationships and a high negotiable fate could protect adolescents from the negative effects of psychological distress of cyberbullying. For adolescents with low or high parent–child relationships and low negotiable fate, the links between psychological distress and cyberbullying are stronger. These findings underline the significance of considering the interaction of psychological distress, parent–child relationships, and negotiable fate when examining adolescents’ cyberbullying during disasters.

Depressive Symptoms and Their Associated Factors in Vocational–Technical School Students during the COVID-19 Pandemic

Abstract: The objectives of this study were to compare the prevalence of depressive symptoms, behavioral habits, and QoL in students from two vocational-technical schools, and to determine the association of depressive symptoms with behavioral habits and quality of life (QoL) in these students during the COVID-19 pandemic. A cross-sectional survey was conducted with students attending the institution of the Brazilian Federal Network of Professional, Scientific and Technological Education. The students answered a questionnaire on sociodemographic variables, situations related to the COVID-19 pandemic, behavioral habits, QoL, and depressive symptoms. The outcome variable was the presence of depressive symptoms, assessed using the Children's Depression Inventory (CDI). Poisson regression analysis with robust variance was performed. A total of 343 students participated in this study (women, 55.7%; mean age of 16.1 ± 0.93 years). The prevalence of depressive symptoms among students was 43.4% (95% confidence interval [CI]: 38.0-49.0), and these symptoms were significantly associated with being female (prevalence ratio [PR] 1.72; 95% CI: 1.31-2.27); being in the 10th grade (PR: 1.80; 95% CI: 1.18-2.76) and 9th grade (PR 2.08; 95% CI: 1.37-3.18); social isolation (PR: 2.04; 95% CI: 1.00-4.14); hunger due to a lack of food at home (PR: 1.78; 95% CI: 1.33-2.39); low physical activity levels (PR: 1.68; 95% CI: 1.09-2.59); and moderate (PR: 2.87, 95% CI: 1.68-4.89) and low QoL (PR: 5.66; 95% CI: 3.48-9.19). The results emphasize the importance of interventions aimed mainly at female students and those in the initial years of high school, in addition to the importance of physical activity, food safety, and QoL to improve the mental health of students.

The Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Affect, Fear, and Personality of Primary School Children Measured During the Second Wave of Infections in 2020

Abstract: In relation to the COVID-19 pandemic outbreak, a large body of research has identified a negative impact on individuals' affectivity, frequently documented by increased prevalence of anxiety and depression symptoms. For children, this research was less extensive, was mainly based on caregivers' reports and neglected personality assessment. In order to measure the impact of the pandemic, and the fears it caused, on primary school children's affect and personality, 323 (180 boys and 143 girls) Italian third, fourth and fifth graders were assessed between October and November 2020, namely during the second wave of COVID-19 infections in Italy, with validated self-reports of affect (Positive and Negative Affect Scale for Children, PANAS-C), fear of COVID-19 (Fear of COVID-19 Scale, FCV-19S) and personality (junior Temperament and Character Inventory, jTCI). In comparison with PANAS-C and jTCI normative scores collected prior to the pandemic, data obtained from children in 2020 showed unchanged affect scores in the overall sample, a decrease of Positive Affect in girls, and a decrease in the Harm Avoidance and an increase in the Self-Transcendence scales of personality. Fear of COVID-19 scores were positively correlated with Negative Affect scores and negatively predicted by children's personality profile of resilience (calculated using scores on the Harm Avoidance and the Self-Directedness scales of personality). These results suggested that Italian primary school children, especially boys, maintained their pre-pandemic levels of affect (or restored them after the first COVID-19 wave) and partially diverged from the typical development of personality in an apparently positive sense, namely toward more courageous/optimistic and spiritual profiles. This sort of children's post-traumatic growth might also be attributed to children's family and education systems, which should continue to be supported to promote and maintain community mental health.

A cross-sectional investigation of psychosocial stress factors in German families with children aged 0–3 years during the COVID-19 pandemic: initial results of the CoronabaBY study

Abstract: Abstract Background Psychosocial stress during the COVID-19 pandemic is increasing particularly in parents. Although being specifically vulnerable to negative environmental exposures, research on psychosocial stress factors in infants’ and toddlers’ families during the pandemic is so far sparse. The CoronabaBY study investigates the perceived pandemic burden, parenting stress and parent and child mental health problems in families with children aged 0–3 years in Bavaria, Southern Germany. Further, the relationships between these psychosocial stressors are examined and sociodemographic characteristics that may be predictive of these factors will be explored. Methods Participants were cross-sectionally surveyed via smartphone app. Standardized questionnaires on perceived pandemic burden, parenting stress, parental symptoms of depression and anxiety, infants’ crying, sleeping and feeding problems or toddlers’ emotional and behavioral problems were applied. Results N = 991 parents ( M age = 33.7 years, SD = 4.5; 93.7% mothers, 91.5% born in Germany) with infants ( n = 554; M age = 5.9 months, SD = 3.0) or toddlers ( n = 435; M age = 25.9 months, SD = 6.5) participated in the first half-year of 2021. Sixty-five percent of the parents perceived a high pandemic burden, 37.7% experienced parenting stress and 24.1% showed affective symptoms (anxiety: 30.1%, depression: 18.5%). Feeding problems, crying/ sleeping problems and multiple regulatory problems were found in 34.8%, 26.2% and 13.5% of the infants, respectively. Amongst toddlers, 8.5% showed noticeable behavior and emotional problems. Children`s mental health problems correlated moderately with parenting stress and parental affective symptoms and weakly with perceived pandemic burden. A lower financial status, higher parental education and increasing child age were significant but weak predictors for higher parenting stress, affective symptoms and higher psychological problems in children. Conclusions A majority of the surveyed families with infants and toddlers experience the pandemic as stressful. The main challenges are parental affective symptoms and limited resources for childcare due to parenting stress. Overall, infants and toddlers show similar levels of mental health problems when being compared to pre-pandemic studies, but staggered detrimental effects on children`s mental health might occur if the stressful conditions persist. This is already indicated by correlations between parental and child psychosocial stress factors.