Adaptation of the Emotional Contagion Scale (ECS) and gender differences within the Greek cultural context

BACKGROUND: The Emotional Contagion Scale (ECS) is a self-report scale used to measure individual differences in susceptibility to converge towards the emotions expressed by others. The main aim of the present paper was to examine the psychometric properties of the Greek translation of the scale. METHODS: The Greek ECS was completed by 691 undergraduate students (312 males and 379 females). To investigate the factor structure of the ECS, principal components analysis (PCA) was used. RESULTS: The results showed that a four-factor model was tenable. Regarding homogeneity, the Greek ECS version showed acceptable results for the full scale (alpha = 0.74) but not for all subscales. Gender differences were also identified concerning the susceptibility to emotional contagion between men and women. Women score significantly higher than men for all the different emotions described by the ECS (love, happiness, sadness) except the anger emotion, where there was no significant difference. CONCLUSION: The Greek version of the ECS showed good psychometric properties. It can be used to assess susceptibility to emotional contagion in correlation with psychopathological processes, mood and anxiety disorders primarily. The usefulness of the ECS in the fields of group psychotherapy and health psychology is also under consideration. Further investigation is needed in all these areas.Ann Gen Psychiatr

Defensive coping and health-related quality of life in chronic kidney disease: a cross-sectional study

BACKGROUND: Coping with the stresses of chronic disease is considered as a key factor in the perceived impairment of health related quality of life (HRQL). Little is known though about these associations in chronic kidney disease (CKD). The present study aimed to investigate the relationship of defensive coping and HRQL among patients in different CKD stages, after adjusting for psychological distress, sociodemographic and disease-related variables. METHODS: The sample consisted of 98 CKD patients, attending a university nephrology department. Seventy-nine (79) pre-dialysis patients of disease stages 3 to 4 and 19 dialysis patients were included. HRQL was assessed by the 36-item Short-Form health survey (SF-36), defensive coping by the Rationality/Emotional Defensiveness (R/ED) scale of the Lifestyle Defense Mechanism Inventory (LDMI) and psychological distress by the depression and anxiety scales of the revised Hopkins Symptom CheckList (SCL-90-R). Regression analyses were carried out to examine the association between SF-36 dimensions and defensive coping style. RESULTS: Patients on dialysis had worse scores on SF-36 scales measuring physical aspects of HRQL. In the fully adjusted analysis, a higher defensive coping score was significantly associated with a lower score on the mental component summary (MCS) scale of the SF-36 (worse mental health). In contrast, a higher defensive score showed a small positive association with the physical component summary (PCS) scale of the SF-36 (better health), but this was marginally significant. CONCLUSIONS: The results provided evidence that emotional defensiveness as a coping style tends to differentially affect the mental and the physical component of HRQL in CKD. Clinicians should be aware of the effects of long-term denial and could examine the possibility of screening for defensive coping and depression in recently diagnosed CKD patients with the aim to improve both physical and mental health.BMC Nephro

Energy justice intermediaries: Living Labs in the low-carbon transformation

This paper foregrounds the use of “Living Labs” as instruments for the delivery of just low carbon transformations. Living Labs are commonly understood as stakeholder-centred, iterative and open-innovation ecosystems that involve multiple forms of co-creation and engagement among different actors in a given territory. Over a period of three years, thanks to a unique pan-European action research study, three such Labs were set up in different locations in Europe – a large North-western European city (Manchester, England), a mid-sized mountainous town in South-eastern Europe (Metsovo, Greece) and a series of rural settlements in Central Europe (Nyírbátor, Hungary). Working closely with local residents and relevant organisational stakeholders, the research teams that led the Labs undertook multiple low-carbon interventions in the homes of low-income residents, while continuously monitoring the broader impacts of intermediation practices on energy equity and sustainability across three consecutive cycles of activity. We present and discuss the results of these activities, so as to uncover the impacts of Living Labs on energy poverty both before and during the Covid-19 pandemic

Defensive coping and health-related quality of life in chronic kidney disease: a cross-sectional study

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Coping with the stresses of chronic disease is considered as a key factor in the perceived impairment of health related quality of life (HRQL). Little is known though about these associations in chronic kidney disease (CKD). The present study aimed to investigate the relationship of defensive coping and HRQL among patients in different CKD stages, after adjusting for psychological distress, sociodemographic and disease-related variables.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>The sample consisted of 98 CKD patients, attending a university nephrology department. Seventy-nine (79) pre-dialysis patients of disease stages 3 to 4 and 19 dialysis patients were included. HRQL was assessed by the 36-item Short-Form health survey (SF-36), defensive coping by the Rationality/Emotional Defensiveness (R/ED) scale of the Lifestyle Defense Mechanism Inventory (LDMI) and psychological distress by the depression and anxiety scales of the revised Hopkins Symptom CheckList (SCL-90-R). Regression analyses were carried out to examine the association between SF-36 dimensions and defensive coping style.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Patients on dialysis had worse scores on SF-36 scales measuring physical aspects of HRQL. In the fully adjusted analysis, a higher defensive coping score was significantly associated with a lower score on the mental component summary (MCS) scale of the SF-36 (worse mental health). In contrast, a higher defensive score showed a small positive association with the physical component summary (PCS) scale of the SF-36 (better health), but this was marginally significant.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>The results provided evidence that emotional defensiveness as a coping style tends to differentially affect the mental and the physical component of HRQL in CKD. Clinicians should be aware of the effects of long-term denial and could examine the possibility of screening for defensive coping and depression in recently diagnosed CKD patients with the aim to improve both physical and mental health.</p

An overview of environmental valuation methods for the mining industry

During recent decades, public concern about the protection, preservation and restoration of the environment has increased. Towards this direction, legislative action on environmental issues that affect the mining industry has been taken worldwide. Within this new framework, two issues are of critical importance to the sector-namely, project appraisal by means of social cost-benefit analysis (SCBA), and natural resource damage assessments. In a vast majority of cases, both issues require analysis to be carried out in a way that the loss of natural resources and the effects of environmental degradation on human health and well-being are assessed in monetary terms. This paper focuses on the application of environmental valuation methods in mining. Principal legislative requirements are briefly described, some critical points of the most important valuation methods are outlined, and demonstrative examples are presented. (c) 2005 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.Journal of Cleaner Productio