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Over the last few decades, medical and surgical advances have led to a growing population of individuals living with congenital heart disease. The challenges of this condition can reach beyond physical limitations to include anxiety, depression and post-traumatic stress disorder. To date, these psychological outcomes have been neglected; yet, they need not be inevitable. The factors contributing to these difficulties are considered here, drawing on current evidence and neuropsychological theories including the novel application of polyvagal theory. Suggestions for developing psychologically informed medical and social care to improve mental health, wellbeing and recovery and influence policy and training are proposed (See supplemental material for video abstract). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In Part 1 of this UK-based study, across four timepoints between March and October 2020, autistic children and young people showed higher levels of parent-reported depression and anxiety symptoms than those with other special educational needs and disabilities. In this study, we draw on qualitative data from 478 parents/carers of autistic pupils and those with other special educational needs and disabilities to conduct a longitudinal qualitative content analysis examining stability and change in the mental health of these young people, and their parents/carers, during the first 6 months of the COVID-19 pandemic. Worry and psychological distress were dominant categories at all timepoints and we noted that, in line with quantitative findings, worry in autistic pupils stayed stable over time but decreased for those with other special educational needs and disabilities. The third dominant category was wellbeing and we saw evidence that removing demands, especially the demand to attend school, was a driver of wellbeing for a significant minority of pupils, particularly autistic pupils, and their parents/carers. Overall, we observed no differences in mental health experiences between the two groups of parents, also mirroring quantitative findings. We know that autistic children and young people, and their caregivers, are at increased risk of mental ill health. We asked whether the first 6 months of COVID-19 exacerbated that risk, and whether the implications were different for autistic pupils and their caregivers, than for those with other special educational needs and difficulties. In a linked paper, we found that caregivers of autistic pupils reported higher levels of depression and anxiety symptoms in their children than parents of children with other special educational needs and difficulties (Toseeb & Asbury, 2022). For pupils with other special educational needs and difficulties, their parent-reported anxiety symptoms eased over time while remaining high throughout for autistic pupils. There were no differences in mental health and wellbeing between caregivers of autistic pupils and those with other special educational needs and difficulties. Here, we used parents' written descriptions of their own and their child's mental health during the first 6 months of COVID-19 to explore these linked findings in greater depth. We identified strong evidence of worry and distress for all, but most prominently autistic children and young people. Our finding that worry and distress declined over time for pupils with other special educational needs and difficulties, but not for autistic pupils, was supported and we observed a few differences between caregivers. We also found evidence of wellbeing throughout the sample, and examples of some (mainly autistic) pupils benefitting from a reduction in demands (e.g. going to school). This has implications for our understanding of the school experience for autistic pupils. Findings suggest that the mental health of autistic children and young people may have been disproportionately affected during the first 6 months of COVID-19 and that careful consideration of optimal support, from both health and education perspectives, is vital. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper sets out to investigate the relationship between environment and mental health, and specifically between contact with nature and the presence of well-being, satisfaction with life, personality traits and symptoms of anxiety and depression. The sample comprised 59 people aged 18 to 70, and included 29 subjects from Spain and 30 from Italy. The following tests were utilized: a questionnaire about the frequency of activities carried out in natural surroundings, the Five Factor Inventory, the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory, the Beck Depression Inventory II, the Satisfaction With Life Scale and the Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Well-being Scale. All variables were analysed using Pearson's correlation coefficient with the exception of level of education, which was analysed using Spearman's coefficient. The results suggest that contact with nature positively affects well-being and satisfaction with life, and that there is a negative correlation between contact with nature and symptoms of anxiety and depression. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper introduces and applies an operationalization of mental health as a syndrome of symptoms of positive feelings and positive functioning in life. Dimensions and scales of subjective well-being are reviewed and conceived of as mental health symptoms. A diagnosis of the presence of mental health, described as flourishing, and the absence of mental health, characterized as languishing, is applied to data from the 1995 Midlife in the United States study of adults between the ages of 25 and 74 (n = 3, 032). Findings revealed that 17.2 percent fit the criteria for flourishing, 56.6 percent were moderately mentally healthy, 12.1 percent of adults fit the criteria for languishing, and 14.1 percent fit the criteria for DSM-III-R major depressive episode (12-month), of which 9.4 percent were not languishing and 4.7 percent were also languishing. The risk of a major depressive episode was two times more likely among languishing than moderately mentally healthy adults, and nearly six times greater among languishing than flourishing adults. Multivariate analyses revealed that languishing and depression were associated with significant psychosocial impairment in terms of perceived emotional health, limitations of activities of daily living, and workdays lost or cutback. Flourishing and moderate mental health were associated with superior profiles of psychosocial functioning. The descriptive epidemiology revealed that males, older adults, more educated individuals, and married adults were more likely to be mentally healthy. Implications for the conception of mental health and the treatment and prevention of mental illness are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]