Search

Purpose: A large literature shows important effects of self-esteem and stress on mental and physical health in young adulthood. Negative life events are one type of stressor associated with poor health, but it is less clear whether more neutral stressors are also associated with poor health. This study contributes to the existing literature by investigating the association between different types of stressful life events, self-esteem, and health during the transition from adolescence to early adulthood in Switzerland., Methods: We draw on the "Transitions from Education to Employment" (TREE) panel study, a nationally representative longitudinal survey of a cohort of Swiss young adults, using logistic regression analysis. The study includes eight waves over a 10-year period, from 2001, average age 16, to 2010, average age 26. Our dependent variable is a dichotomized health self-assessment, and key independent variables include self-esteem and three measures of cumulative significant life events (SLEs): total cumulative SLEs, cumulative negative SLEs, and cumulative neutral SLEs., Results: Self-esteem had a significant positive impact on health, whereas cumulative SLEs had a significant negative impact. Negative SLEs had a larger negative impact than total SLEs, and neutral SLEs had a smaller impact. Considered individually, negative SLEs were more likely to have a significant negative impact on health., Conclusions: In addition to their known influence on mental health, stress and self-esteem are important factors influencing individuals' general health, even in adolescence and young adulthood. While all types of stressors have a negative impact on health, the negative stressors seem to have more prominent effects than neutral stressors.

Objective: To assess the relationship between hospital patients' quality of care ratings and their experiences with health-related information exchanges and communication during hospitalization., Design: Cross-sectional multivariate dimensional analysis of data from a quality of care experience questionnaire of hospital patients comparing scores across three levels of reported satisfaction., Setting and Participants: Five thousand nine hundred and fifty-two patients from a Swiss University Hospital responded to the questionnaire at discharge during 2010., Main Outcome Measures: Survey questions measuring patients' evaluation of quality of care, patient loyalty and overall satisfaction., Results: Different levels of reported satisfaction are associated with differing experiences of health-related information and communication during a hospital stay., Conclusions: Patients who report lower satisfaction appear to attribute to the hospital staff enduring negative dispositions from behaviours that may be due to specific situational contexts. Negative experiences appear to influence scores on most other communication and information domains. Patients who report higher satisfaction, in contrast, appear to differentiate negative experiences and positive experiences and they appear to relativize and compartmentalize negative experiences associated with their hospital stay.

Aims: To develop and test the validity of a questionnaire measuring the confidence of current and former smokers in their ability to abstain from smoking in high-risk situations., Design and Participants: We collected qualitative data in a first mail survey in 115 smokers and ex-smokers, and used these data to develop survey items. We collected quantitative data in a second mail survey in 529 smokers and ex-smokers to finalize the instrument., Setting: General population in Geneva, Switzerland, 1995, 1997 and 1998., Findings: The study resulted in a two-dimensional 12-item scale: the "Smoking Self-Efficacy Questionnaire" (SEQ-12). The two six-item subscales measure confidence in ability to refrain from smoking when facing internal stimuli (e.g. feeling depressed) and external stimuli (e.g. being with smokers). Internal consistency coefficients were high ("internal stimuli": alpha = 0.95; "external stimuli": alpha = 0.94). Test-retest intraclass correlation coefficients were high (0.95 and 0.93 for the two scales, respectively). In smokers, baseline self-efficacy scores predicted smoking cessation at 16-month follow-up. Finally, the scale respected criteria of content- and construct validity., Conclusion: SEQ-12 is a valid and reliable scale, which has applications in both research and clinical settings. It can also produce input data for computer systems that generate counselling reports tailored to the characteristics of each individual smoker.