No abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic is a major health crisis associated with adverse mental health consequences. This study examined 2908 calls made to a national mental health helpline over a 10 month period, 2 months prior to (Pre-COVID) and 8 months during the pandemic phase, that incorporated the imposition of a partial lockdown, followed by the removal and reintroduction of restrictive measures locally. Data collected included reason/s for call assistance, gender, age and number of daily diagnosed cases and deaths due to COVID-19. In the Pre-COVID phase, calls for assistance were related to information needs and depression. With the imposition of a partial lockdown, coupled with the first local deaths and spikes in number of diagnosed cases, a significant increase in number of calls targeting mental health, medication management and physical and financial issues were identified. Following the removal of local restrictions, the number of calls decreased significantly; however, with the subsequent reintroduction of restrictions, coupled with the rise in cases and deaths, assistance requested significantly targeted informational needs. Hence, whilst calls in the initial phase of the pandemic mainly targeted mental health issues, over time this shifted towards information seeking requests, even within a context where the number of deaths and cases had significantly risen.

This correlational study examined the potential effects of child abuse history on the psycho-spiritual status of Maltese college students. Data collected from 312 subjects indicated that 10.9% of the sample qualified as "severely" abused. Furthermore, in examining the correlations noted above, a sequential pattern of relationships appeared to emerge, which was clarified through a path analysis. Child abuse seems to impact more selectively closer to the traumatic experience. Results also point at spirituality as a potential resource in treating child abuse. The social and pastoral implications of these findings were discussed.Keywords Child abuse . Psychology of religion . Spirituality Child abuse is an important reality that can seriously inhibit children's normal development and their psycho-spiritual status (Doehring 1993;Flaherty 1992;Hall 1995). This could be particularly true in cultures where abuse is not given appropriate and immediate attention, as in Malta. A recent United Nations (UN) report on children's well-being highlighted the situation in Malta and called for the proper appraisal of this reality to fight maltreatment successfully. This study is aimed at evaluating the prevalence and impact of child abuse on the psycho-spiritual, religious and personality status of a sample of Maltese college students. In particular, childhood maltreatment was found to have a complex array of relationships to these key variables, with varied implications for the adjustment and well-being of victims.

This population study examined the incremental validity of spirituality in predicting burnout among Maltese professional nurses. Cross-sectional and mixed-method design was conducted. Measures in this self-report questionnaire included the Maslach Burnout Inventory, Faith Maturity Scale, Satisfaction with Life Scale, Big Five Inventory and a demographic section, together with a brief qualitative section. Response rate was 78%. All hypotheses were supported. Maltese nurses (N = 121) suffer from high levels of burnout, in particular from low professional accomplishment, high levels of depersonalization, and moderate to high emotional exhaustion. Qualitative data supported these findings and suggested that the physical and moral environment of nurses was conducive to an increase of burnout. Furthermore, multiple regression analysis indicated that spirituality predicted burnout after controlling for personality and well-being. This study suggests that spirituality may be an important potential source of resilience for nurses who risk burnout in their employment.

A growing number of studies are indicating that a number of people report psychological growth after experiencing trauma. This may be so because suffering stimulates the need and search for meaning [1]. In this cross-sectional and correlational study, we sought the relationship of subjective wellbeing to posttraumatic growth in view of past trauma experiences and perceived stress. In particular, we investigated a sample of tertiary students' perceived stress, past traumas, subjective well-being, faith maturity, positive and negative affect, and personality, together with demographic correlates. Past traumas included loss of a loved one, chronic or acute illness, injury, divorce, violent crime, and job loss, amongst others. Only a quarter of respondents experienced their trauma/s 5 years or more prior the study, thus indicating relatively recent trauma experiences. Post-traumatic growth correlated with personality, faith maturity, wellbeing and positive affect. In examining the patterns of correlations noted above, a hierarchical multiple regression analysis was employed. Posttraumatic growth was found to have unique variance even after partialling out key variables such as perceived stress, personality and faith maturity. Although situational factors and personality did play important roles, this study clearly points at the relevance of faith maturity and posttraumatic growth for the promotion of holistic wellbeing of those affected by trauma. Religious beliefs may counter hopelessness and form an important buffer in this equation. The psycho-social implications of these results were discussed.