Mirtazapine is commonly prescribed to patients diagnosed with major depressive disorder.Some proportion of these patients do not show adequate response to treatment regimen containing mirtazapine, whereas many of them experience dose-dependent adverse drug reactions.

The objective of our study was to investigate the influence of 1846G>A polymorphism of the CYP2D6 gene on the concentration/dose indicator of mirtazapine, using findings on enzymatic activity of CYP2D6 and on CYP2D6 expression level obtained by measuring the hsa-miR-370-3p plasma levels in patients suffering from recurrent depressive disorder.

Our study included 192 patients with major depressive disorder. Treatment efficacy was evaluated using the international psychometric scales. For genotyping and estimation of the microRNA plasma levels we performed the real-time polymerase chain reaction. The activity of CYP2D6 was assessed with HPLC-MS/MS method by the content of the endogenous substrate of given isoenzyme and its metabolite in urine. Therapeutic drug monitoring has been performed using HPLC-MS/MS.

We didn’t reveal a statistical significance for concentration/dose indicator of mirtazapine in patients with different genotypes: (GG) 0.229 [0.158; 0.468] and (GA) 0.290 [0.174; 0.526], p = 0.196). We revealed the relationship between the CYP2D6 enzymatic activity and the hsa-miR-370-3p plasma concentration: rs = -0.32, p < 0.001. At the same time, correlation analysis revealed a statistically significant relationship between the mirtazapine concentration and the hsa-miR-370-3p plasma concentration: rs = 0.31, p<0.001.

Thus, the effect of genetic polymorphism of the CYP2D6 gene on the efficacy and safety profiles of mirtazapine was demonstrated in a group of 192 patients with recurrent depressive disorder.

Authors do not have any conflict of interests.

Transitions in mental health, such as the onset or sudden progression of psychopathology, are difficult to foresee. If mental health behaves like other complex systems, drops in mental health may be anticipated by early warning signals (EWS), which manifest in the dynamics of time series data.

This study aimed to establish the sensitivity and specificity of EWS as personalized risk markers for sudden drops mental health.

Individuals (N=122, mean age 23.6 ±0.7 years, 57% males) at increased risk for psychopathology completed daily questionnaires on mental states for six consecutive months. Transitions in mental health were identified by change point analyses. EWS, operationalized as rising trends in the autoregressive coefficient of 36 negative mental states, were identified using generalized additive models.

EWS were found for 59% of individuals with a drop in mental health, and for 47% without such a drop (sensitivity: 0-.12; specificity: .88-1). There were considerable individual differences in the prevalence, strength, and timing of EWS.

EWS might be informative of impeding transitions, yet they are also highly conservative. Present findings may inspire future research into the prerequisites for detecting EWS in the context of mental health, for instance with respect to the stability of pre- and post-transition phases, the magnitude of transitions, and the timescale at which EWS manifest. An improved understanding of the dynamics that govern psychopathology could ultimately allow us to determine whether a specific individual at a specific moment in time is at risk for a sudden onset or progression of mental health problems.

Clozapine, the antipsychotic of choice for treatment-resistant schizophrenia, has a narrow therapeutic range and high interpatient variability in the dose-response relationship. Serum clozapine levels are essential both for therapeutic dosing and to monitor adherence. Use of venepuncture and prolonged result turnaround times with standard laboratory based methods for drug monitoring together contribute to the suboptimal use of clozapine.

A novel portable point-of-care (POC) device has been developed to measure whole blood clozapine concentrations using an automated homogenous immunoassay. It is as accurate and reliable as standard laboratory methods but only requires a drop of blood obtained by finger prick and can produce a result in minutes. We pioneered clozapine POC testing in the acute inpatient setting during the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic.

We report on the use of POC clozapine testing in the management of 4 acutely psychotic patients with treatment resistant schizophrenia.

POC testing offered a more practical, less invasive and quicker alternative to conventional methods for monitoring of clozapine levels. Near immediate availability of clozapine levels expedited clinical decisions and helped ensure safe clozapine prescribing to severely unwell patients in a time of crisis. By facilitating patients’ early safe discharge from hospital, clozapine point of care testing also reduced length of hospitalisation.

Point of care monitoring of other psychotropic medications in addition to clozapine brings about the prospect of personalised precision medicine for patients with severe mental illness, both in the acute setting and in the community.

Artificial intelligence algorithms are increasingly used to highlight refined qualifiers of pathologies and to build treatment protocols based on them. These possibilities open up new perspectives for personalized interventions in psychotherapy. The affective neurosciences that link psychopathological phenomena to the hypersensitization of emotional systems are an excellent field of application of deep learning algorithms

In this contribution we present the standardization of a psychodiagnostic test that can be analyzed with a deep learning algorithm for the development of personalized treatments for depressive disorders in a perspective of precision psychotherapy

Previously we have constructed a psychodiagnostic test that correlates the psychopathological characteristics to the emotional systems described in affective neuroscience. The construction of this test was carried out with the use of a neural network that discriminated 161 items from a pull of 300 psychopathological and character descriptions. In the present work, the 161 selected items were compared, in a sample of 600 subjects, with the measurement of sadness described in the Panksepp model. Comparation was performed with linear and non-linear statistical analysis methods.

The items emerging from the statistical analyzes as strongly indicative of a hypersensitivity of the sadness system outline a psychopathological profile for which it is possible to adapt specific psychotherapeutic treatment protocols.

In future prospect, neurobiological and psychophysiological variables such as heart rate variability, skin conductance and activity of the areas of the cortex, measured with a scanner of the near infrared photons, will be correlated to these descriptors of psychopathology.

The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic is inducing fear, and a timely understanding of mental health status is urgently needed for society. Previous research has revealed a profound and wide range of psychosocial impacts on people at the individual, community, and international levels. On an individual level, people are likely to experience fear of falling sick or dying themselves, feelings of helplessness, and stigma. Currently, there is little understanding of mental well-being assessment under scenarios of pandemics that oblige to social isolation and quarantine.

This study aims to: a) establish the prevalence of psychiatric symptoms; b) identify risk and protective factors contributing to psychological stress; and c) identify coping strategies to promote better adjustment during and after the pandemic crisis.

We will adopt a mixed-method approach, firstly with a cross-sectional survey design (in both Portugal and Swiss context) to assess the higher education student’s psychosocial response during and after the pandemic, by using an anonymous online questionnaire. In a 2nd phase, and in order to gain more insight into the psychological stress faced by the students as a result of pandemic, a qualitative approach was chosen, focusing on the experiences of the participants.

This study has received ethical approval from both international and local institutional review boards. Data collection will start in November 2020 and will be completed at February 2021.

The findings of this study will provide important data to assist government agencies and healthcare professionals in safeguarding the psychosocial wellbeing of the community in the face of COVID-19 outbreak expansion.

In the context of COVID-19 pandemic, first-line responders (FLR) are exposed to multiple stress factors, ranging from lack of adequate protective equipment to worries about family health due to work-related exposure to the new coronavirus. Therefore, FLR became themselves a vulnerable population that need prevention strategies for professional stress-related disorders (PSRD).

To explore the literature in order to find evidence-based prevention strategies for PSRD in FLR, strategies resulted from other epidemiological crisis situations (MERS-CoV, H1N1, SARS-CoV) that may be applied in the current pandemic.

A literature review was performed through the main electronic databases (PubMed, CINAHL, SCOPUS, EMBASE) using the search paradigm “professional stress-related disorders” AND “first line responders” AND “prevention”. All papers published between January 2000 and June 2020 were included.

Reported prevalence of post-traumatic stress disorder in FLR involved in epidemiological crises was between 10% and 33%. Evidence-based recommendations for PSRD prevention are lacking, and only general advices have been detected. These suggestions were clustered on institutional level (e.g., involving of medical personnel in administrative decisions, encouraging personal initiatives, longer pauses between shifts) and individual level (e.g., training of coping abilities, relaxation techniques, and peer-focused group support). Several guidelines for prevention of mental disorders in workplace exist, but they are not focused on FLR.

The need to elaborate guidelines for prevention of PSRD in FLR can not be overemphasized, especially in the pandemic period, in order to avoid the onset of stress-related complications, and to preserve a good quality of the medical activity.

Maternal obesity may affect foetal programming representing a risk for adult mental health. Oxidative stress and inflammation associated with maternal obesity can alter the maturation of neuronal circuits affecting behaviour and mood.

We investigated the emotional phenotype of male and female mouse offspring born from a high-fat diet (HFD) fed dams. We also tested the efficacy of N-acetyl-cysteine (NAC – an antioxidant) in preventing the negative effects of HFD. We focused on adolescence, an age of main vulnerability for the onset of psychopathology.

Female C57BL/6N mice were fed HFD for 13 weeks and, after 5 weeks, were also exposed to NAC (1 g/kg b.w.) via drinking water, until delivery. The neurodevelopment of offspring was assessed through the homing test. Emotionality was assessed in 35-45-day-old adolescent mice through elevated-plus-maze (EPM) and social interaction tests (SIT). Transcriptomic analysis of hippocampal tissue were performed to identify mechanisms of action of both HFD and NAC.

NAC was effective in moderating body weight gain in HFD-fed dams. Neither HFD or NAC affected offspring development. Regardless of sex, prenatal HFD reduced exploration and decreased sociability, in EPM and SIT respectively. Prenatal HFD decreased hippocampal levels of BDNF in female offspring. Prenatal NAC administration prevented social anxiety and restored BDNF levels in the HFD group.

Data indicate long-term effects of maternal obesity on dams’ weight, offspring’s behaviour and hippocampal BDNF levels. These effects may be mediated by changes in oxidative stress as NAC was effective as a preventive agent. ERANET-NEURON-JTC 2018 (Mental Disorders) Project “EMBED”.

Previous studies have shown that emotional eating is associated with binge eating disorder, body image disturbances and depression.

In this study we wanted to find out if there is a relationship between emotional eating and body image and life satisfaction in non-clinical sample.

The study involved 182 normal participants (153 Female, 29 Male, mean age 22,6 ± 7,3), which were recruited in Moscow, Russia. Emotional eating was measured by the opposite pole of Eating for Physical Rather Than Emotional Reasons subscale of Intuitive Eating Scale-2 (IES-2), body image was measured by Multidimensional Body-Self Relations Questionnaire (MBSRQ), Satisfaction with Life Scale (SWLS) was used to measure the corresponding construct. Correlation analysis was performed in IBM SPSS Statistics 22.0.

Emotional eating was associated with the following MBSRQ subscales: lower appearance evaluation (-0,431, p<0,0001), lower body areas satisfaction (-0,335, p<0,0001), as well as lower fitness evaluation (-0,208, p=0,005) and lower health evaluation (-0,182, p=0,014), but higher overweight preoccupation (0,279, p=0,0001) and overestimation of body weight (0,362, p<0,0001). It was also connected to lower satisfaction with life (-0,195, p=0,008).

The results of the study allow us to conclude that emotional eating may pose risks to psychological health of a normal individual. It was shown that emotional eating is connected to negative evaluation of one`s body appearance, fitness and health state, weight and shape concerns, and even to the lower level of satisfaction with one’s life.

It is known that negative body image can cause significant emotional distress for an individual and thus lead to lower subjective well-being. Previous research has shown that both disordered eating and body mass are connected to negative body image.

To examine how disordered eating and BMI can predict different aspects of body image.

A sample of 180 healthy respondents (152 Female, 28 Male, mean age 22,62±7,35) were recruited in Moscow. Disordered eating was measured by Eating Attitude Test (EAT-26; Garner D. et al., 1982), body image was measured by Multidimensional Body-Self Relations Questionnaire (MBSRQ; Cash T. F., 1990). Body mass index (BMI) was calculated on the basis of self-reported data (height and weight). Multiple linear regression analysis was performed in IBM SPSS Statistics 22.0.

Regression model with both predictors determined self-classified weight (SCW; R2=0,569, p<0,0001), overweight preoccupation (OWP; R2=0,497, p<0,0001), body areas satisfaction (BASS; R2=0,259, p<0,0001), and appearance evaluation (R2 = 0,229, p<0,0001), but only disordered eating symptoms predicted appearance (R2 = 0,193, p<0,0001) and health (R2 = 0,036, p<0,05) orientation, and none of the predictors affected fitness or health evaluation and fitness orientation.

Symptoms of disordered eating and body mass index in normal population can predict self-evaluation of one`s appearance as less attractive, body size as bigger and weight as heavier. Only symptoms of disordered eating predicted higher extent of investment in one’s appearance and health. And neither IBM, nor disordered eating predicted self-evaluation of one`s health and fitness or the extent of investment in fitness.

Unpredictable risks of COVID-19 morbidity and mortality make people suffer from threats and fears. Are there any psychological personality traits that correlate with a decrement in such feelings?

To specify the relationship between psychological characteristics of time perspective, hardiness and COVID-19-related life threat.

We used Zimbardo Time Perspective Inventory, Maddi Hardiness Scale and a 17-point Attitude towards COVID-19 Questionnaire to question 327 Russian university students on social networks. The survey was carried out in the second half of May 2020 in the period of increasing COVID-19 morbidity and mortality rates. The mean age of the respondents was 21.24±2.84; most of them were females (61.16%).

The survey showed that every fifth respondent had a high level of COVID-19-related life threat (21.10 %). At the same time, every tenth of the respondents (10.09%) saw no threat to their life in the situation of a fast spreading dangerous novel coronavirus infection. According to the correlation analysis, decrement in feeling personal threat related to the spread of COVID-19 was directly associated (p<0.05) with low indicators on the scales of Negative Past (r=0.16), Hedonistic Present (r=0.13) and Fatalistic Present (r=0.17). Certain inverse relation was found between the level of COVID-19 related life threat and such indicators as psychological hardiness – commitment (r=-0.16), and challenge (r=-0.23).

Dispositional orientation to the present and future, as well as psychological characteristics of hardiness may mediate COVID-19 related life threat; therefore, these may be used as a possible basis for preventing stress and mental disorders in population.

It’s established that aesthetic dysfunctions can be associated with psychiatric conditions. In present times, considering the exponential growth of minimally invasive and accessible techniques, alongside with ideals of beauty present in everyday life through exposure in social media, the importance of early detection of mental illness and its impact on the respective outcome should be emphasized.

To review evidence regarding psychiatric disorders in people searching for aesthetic treatments and their impact on the outcome.

Literature review using Medline database.

Around 50% of individuals seeking aesthetic procedures fulfill the diagnostic criteria for psychiatric disorders. The prevalence of Body Dysmorphic Disorder (BDD) can vary from 5-15%, with some studies showing a prevalence of more than 50%. Patients with heightened BDD symptoms are less satisfied with the outcomes of aesthetic procedures which could result in exacerbation of said symptoms. With regards to eating disorders, evidence suggests the initial satisfaction following aesthetic procedures, when observed, is usually transitory, not leading to long-term changes in self-perception relating to body image, nor improving prognosis or quality of life. There’s also some evidence suggesting that personality disorders may be a predictor of poor satisfaction with the results of aesthetic treatments.

Awareness should be raised in this matter, since psychiatric conditions are more common in patients seeking aesthetic treatments and early identification can lead to a better prognosis by providing patients with the mental health treatment they need; this could also reduce the probability of dissatisfaction and subsequent aggravation of psychiatric symptoms following aesthetic interventions.

Self-disorders (SDs) have been described as a core feature of schizophrenia-spectrum disorders. Previous studies conducted on heterogeneous clinical adult and adolescents samples demonstrated that SDs aggregate selectively in the schizophrenia spectrum disorders compared to other disorders.

To examine the specificity of SDs for schizophrenia spectrum disorders in adolescent inpatient sample.

Fifty-five adolescent inpatients admitted to the Child Psychiatry Unit at the Sapienza University in Rome were assessed for psychopathology using Kiddie Schedule for Affective Disorders and Schizophrenia (K-SADS-PL), Structured Interview for Prodromal Syndromes (SIPS/SOPS),Examination of Anomalous Self-Experiences (EASE), Multidimensional Anxiety Scale for Children (MASC), Calgary depression scale for schizophrenia (CDSS)

Patients, aged 14-18 years, were divided in four diagnostic groups: schizophrenia spectrum disorders (5 pts.), mood disorders (19 pts.), anxiety disorders (27 pts.) and other disorders (4 pts.). Frequency of self-disorders was different among the 4 groups. Including patients schizotypal personality disorder in the schizophrenia-spectrum disorder group, the difference is still significant. Mann-Whitney U test shows no differences between EOP and UHR patients in SD. Furthermore, correlations between EASE total score and Calgary and MASC total scores were significant.

Our results confirm the specificity of SDs for schizophrenia spectrum disorders and also the belonging of schizotypal personality disorder to schizophrenia-spectrum.

The perceived self-efficacy, framed by Bandura, is one of the most important concepts within Cognitive Social (Villegas Barahona et al., 2018). General self-efficacy is defined, as the global confidence a person has in order to perform tasks successfully (Stanley & Murphy, 1997). The perception of stress may be more for people with lower level of self-efficacy (Shilpa & Prasad, 2017).

Students often suffer from stress (Saleh et al., 2019) and student health intervention and prevention programs must therefore act on this variable. The French version the General Self-Efficacy Scale could be an element for the validation of these programs.

955 French students aged 17 to 67 (M = 22.22; SD = 5.1) participated to the study. We performed an Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) to determine the most appropriate factor structure then a Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA).

Kaiser’s criterion pointed towards a one-factor model while Cattel’s criterion pointed towards a two-factor solution. Both models have been tested and the two-factor model seemed to be better. Indices showed an excellent fit between the model and the data (CFI = 0.97, TLI = 0.96, SRMR = 0.035).

We have tested two models and one of them, the two-factor model, presented better psychometric qualities. However, the one-factor result is also satisfactory and it will be discussed in the communication.

This study is a part of the bigger research project on the burnout syndrome risk and prevention factors [1,2,4].

At the current phase we aimed to discover: 1- trends observed in sociodemographic profiles of Ukrainian social workers(SW) who respond to the online survey; 2- if there is any correlation between the SW work engagement(WE) and general health(H).

The survey is designed out of two questionnaires - Gallup Q12 Employee Engagement survey(Q12) and the 15-item Patient Health Questionnaire(PHQ-15). Questions on the socio-demographic status are included according to the study purpose [3,4]. SW ‘from the field’ in Ukraine included in the study group(SG). Other professionals (doctors, lawyers, etc.) formed the comparison group(CG). Descriptive statistics applied for the data analyses.

Our sample has the next socio-demographic characteristics: age 20-57 (average 33.2) years old, male/female ratio is 0.36; single at the moment of the study are 66.7%. The SG: women-87.5%, married-62.5%, social work experience -from 1 to 15years. In 28.6% of the CG respondents the Q12 revealed low(less than 50%) WE while in the SW no one showed low WE. PHQ-15: in the SG -62.5% mild and 12.5% -severe somatic problems; in the CG -57.1% mild and 28.6% -severe somatic symptoms. There were no statistically significant differences between 2 groups with regard to WE and H (p<0.05). Relations between variables are non-linear; therefore,Spearman’s coefficient (ρ) applied.

The weak association between the work engagement and health condition (ρ=0.3;p<0.05) is found. There are several limitations due to the sample specificity (online users in Ukraine).This study is ongoing.

Burnout occurs in every stage of a medical graduation and career. In the first years of graduation, is affects 35-45% of medical and dentistry students. This has severe consequences, such as: higher levels of suicidal ideation, substance abuse, medical errors and medical neglect; lower levels of empathy and self-compassion - essential to the quality of healthcare. Students with certain personality traits (e.g., neuroticism and, particularly, perfectionism) are more vulnerable to emotional dysregulation when facing stressors of daily life. Our recent studies proved that mindfulness and self-compassion can attenuate the effect of perfectionism on psychological distress.

To present the rational, materials, methodology and preliminary results of our project COMBURNOUT, aimed to develop, implement and assess the efficacy of a mindfulness and self-compassion-based intervention to prevent burnout in medical and dentistry students.

Students with high levels of burnout, psychological distress and perfectionism will be randomly assigned to intervention (8 weekly sessions) or control groups. The sessions will be composed by psychoeducation about burnout, mindfulness and self-compassion practices, within and between sessions. The follow up will include three assessment moments until a year after the intervention.

We expect that the experimental group will present significantly lower levels of burnout, psychological distress and perfectionism, and higher levels of emotional regulation skills.

The facilitators training and the manualization are guaranties of standardization and sustainability. If the positive impact of COMBURNOUT is verified, we intend to provide the program to medical/dentistry students from all over the country.

In modern health psychology there is a question of separating the concepts of “personal anxiety” and “health anxiety” and defining the interaction features and mutual influence between these concepts.

To study the interaction between personal anxiety and health anxiety in children, taking into account the parents’ influence and depending on the child’s personal illness experience.

The sample: 145 respondents (46 frequently ill children (mean age 16.3±0.3), 41 rarely ill children (mean age 16.1±0.1), 28 parents of frequently ill children (mean age 44.9±0.8), 30 parents of rarely ill children (mean age 44.5±1.5)). We used: “Short Health Anxiety Inventory” (SHAI; Salkovskis et al., 2002), STAI (Spielberger, 2002).

We find significant differences in the personal anxiety indicator (1.386, p≤0.01), which is higher in frequently ill children (moderate level of severity). Parents of frequently ill children have the same level of personal anxiety (no statistically significant differences) (12.825, p>0.05). For groups of rarely ill children and their parents we find significant differences (2.382, p≤0.01), and the level of personal anxiety is higher in children. The indicator of health anxiety in frequently and rarely ill children has no significant differences (9.265, p>0.05). The same is typical for rarely ill children and their parents while in the groups of frequently ill children and their parents this indicator has significant differences and is higher in parents (9.136, p ≤0.01).

The results show that health anxiety is an independent construct, the consideration of which should begin with non-clinical, normative forms of manifestation in both adults and children.

Commitment to sports is especially important for well-being in people with disabilities (Malm et al., 2019), although mental health problems are common among Paralympic athletes (Hunt et al., 2019). Importance of representations of and regulation in sport situations was supported for different kind of sports (Moran, 1993, Suinn R., 1982, Hardy et al., 1996) but Paralympic ones.

The aim was to reveal aspects of psychological regulation important for achievement and longer commitment to Paralympic sports comparing to non-Paralympic sports.

51 athletes from Paralympic sports (49.1% candidates and masters of sports) filled Questionnaire of Image Representations of Professional Activity of Athletes (Leonov et al., 2020) measuring general importance and self-appraisals of different aspects of image representation and regulation in sport activities: control of temporal, spatial, informational, technical and tactical, energetic aspects, game intelligence, motivational, emotional and social aspects (Cronbach’s alphas .61-.89). Data were compared to 399 athletes without disabilities (48.4% candidates and masters of sports).

Comparing to athletes without disabilities, Paralympic athletes higher appraise general importance and their capacities for emotion regulation during sport situation (t=2.26-3.35, p<.01). High-level Paralympic atheletes report marginally better emotion regulation (t=1.74, p<.10). Longer experience in sport in Paralympic athletes is associated with better representations of spatial and social aspects of sport situations and better emotion regulation (r=.25-.29, p<.05).

Data suggest that improvement of emotion regulation in sport situation in Paralympic athletes could be helpful for longer participation and better achievement. Research is supported by the Russian Science Foundation, project No. 19-78-10134.

Research is supported by the Russian Science Foundation, project No. 19-78-10134

Sport trauma is a stressful situation demanding not only physical but also psychological rehabilitation (Clement et al, 2015, Ardern et al, 2012) including prevention of mental health symptoms. Revealing coping strategies that are related not only to rehabilitation effectiveness but also to well-being of athletes is important for rehabilitation programs (Crowther et al, 2017, Hamson-Utley, Vazquez, 2008, Johnston, Carroll, 1998).

The aim was to reveal coping strategies that are related to better well-being in athletes after trauma after adjusting for trauma perception.

61 athletes (15-25 years old, 31 males) rehabilitating after sport trauma filled COPE with specific instruction about trauma (Carver et al., 1989), Illness Perception Questionnaire (Moss-Morris et al., 2002) modified for trauma situation, Satisfaction with Life Scale (Diener et al., 1985), Scale of Positive and Negative Experience (Diener et al., 2009).

After adjusting for subjective trauma representation humor related to trauma predicted better satisfaction with life (β=.43, R2=43.7%). Active coping with trauma was related to more positive emotions (β=.31, R2=9.8%) while emotion venting, substance use and lower instrumental support are related to negative emotions (β=.39, β=.24, β=-.29, respectively, R2=30.5%), although these effects eliminate after adjusting for trauma representation.

Humor, active coping and instrumental support as well as control of emotion venting and substance use could be helpful strategies of promotion of better well-being in athletes after sport trauma. Research is supported by the Russian Science Foundation, project No. 19-78-10134.

Research is supported by the Russian Science Foundation, project No. 19-78-10134.

Motivation is an important indicator of predicting an adult’s commitment to exercise so it is important to explore the reasons that may lead a person to participate in physical activity programs.

To investigate the socio-demographic and psychological parameters that motivate adults to participate in exercise programs and athletic activities.

245 adults, being engaged in physical activity programs were given a questionnaire to collect information on socio-demographic characteristics, possible previous problems with body weight, type of exercise, frequency and main reason for their participation in exercise programs, as well as the somatometric characteristics of the participants.

It is noteworthy that participants’ motive for exercise was pleasure (for 46.1% of the participants), championship (for 20.8% of the participants), health reasons (for 18.4% of the participants), weight loss (for 7.8% of the participants) and improvement of physical appearance (for 6.9% of the participants). A greater percentage of male compared to female participants were engaged to exercise due to championship reasons, while more women than men exercised to a statistically significant extent in order to improve their appearance and for health reasons.

Understanding the main factors that make individuals being engaged to physical activity may help health professionals to implement educational and counseling intervention programs regarding the positive effects of exercise on individuals’ mental and emotional health. Physical activity contributes to the improvement of their quality of life, which may be the most important issue for mental and public health.

The increase of job satisfaction in mental health nurses, working in community mental facilities, helps them to become more efficient and understand the needs of individuals suffering from mental health problems.

To investigate sociodemographic and job characteristics, as well as the level of professional satisfaction of nurses working in psychosocial rehabilitation facilities of the psychiatric hospital of Athens, named Dafni.

220 nurses, working in the field of psychosocial rehabilitation completed (a) a sociodemographic questionnaire, (b) Spectοr’s Job Satisfaction Survey (JSS).

Nursing staff consists of mental health nurses (44.1%) and nursing assistants (55.9%) in the present study. 90% of the participants were female; while the 65% were married, the 19.5% had a university-level education and the 25% had administrative responsibilities. The 44.1% of our sample worked in hostels, 41.8% in nursing homes and 6.8% in Community Mental Health Centers. More specifically, moderate levels of total professional satisfaction were observed. Concerning the dimensions of satisfaction, low satisfaction rates were recorded in “salary”, “promotion” and in “privileges and benefits”. High satisfaction rates were recorded in “supervision by their superiors”, “cooperation between colleagues” and “the nature of their work”, while moderate satisfaction rates were reported in “communication” within facilities, as far as the explanation of tasks and objectives is concerned.

The results can be exploited by those with administrative and scientific responsibilities in the field of mental health in order to recognize nurses’ difficulties and solve their problems in psychosocial rehabilitation facilities.