Background: Subjective well-being (SWB) contributes to health and mental health. It is a major objective of the new World Health Organization health policy framework, ‘Health 2020’. Various approaches to defining and measuring well-being exist. We aimed to identify, map and analyse the contents of self-reported well-being measurement scales for use with individuals more than 15 years of age to help researchers and politicians choose appropriate measurement tools. Methods: We conducted a systematic literature search in PubMed for studies published between 2007 and 2012, with additional hand-searching, to identify empirical studies that investigated well-being using a measurement scale. For each eligible study, we identified the measurement tool and reviewed its components, number of items, administration time, validity, reliability, responsiveness and sensitivity. Results: The literature review identified 60 unique measurement scales. Measurement scales were either multidimensional ( n = 33) or unidimensional ( n = 14) and assessed multiple domains. The most frequently encountered domains were affects (39 scales), social relations (17 scales), life satisfaction (13 scales), physical health (13 scales), meaning/achievement (9 scales) and spirituality (6 scales). The scales included between 1 and 100 items; the administration time varied from 1 to 15 min. Conclusions: Well-being is a higher order construct. Measures seldom reported testing for gender or cultural sensitivity. The content and format of scales varied considerably. Effective monitoring and comparison of SWB over time and across geographic regions will require further work to refine definitions of SWB. We recommend concurrent evaluation of at least three self-reported SWB measurement scales, including evaluation for gender or cultural sensitivity.

Built environment design can be considered as an influential factor in the quality of life of people with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). This scoping review provides an overview of the current available literature on the relationship between people with ASD and built environment in the specific field of the design of autism-friendly spaces. The literature review allowed the identification of three main factors to be considered when designing for people with ASD—the sensory quality, the intelligibility, and the predictability of the built environment—and, for each of them, a description of the spatial requirements that have been recognized as fundamental according to the specific spatial needs of people with ASD.

Zusammenfassung: Angst, Depressionen und Posttraumatische Belastungssymptome und Störungen gehören zu den häufigsten psychischen Belastungen bei Flüchtlingen. Wir führten einen systematischen Review durch. Zunächst wurden Schlüsselwörter für die systematische Suche in PUBMED festgelegt. Dann führten wir eine systematische Suche anhand der festgelegten Suchbegriffe in PUBMED durch. Eingeschlossen wurden: Originalartikel seit 2009 zu Flüchtlingen, die 1) nicht in psychiatrischen Einrichtungen lebten, 2) höchstens 5 Jahre im Zufluchtsland lebten, 3) auf Zufallsstichproben basierten und 4) über quantitative Daten zu Angst, Depression und PTBS berichteten sowie 5)>100 Studienteilnehmende hatten. Zusätzlich suchten wir manuell nach Studien in den Referenzlisten. Wir identifizierten an Hand der Suchstrategie insgesamt n=1 877 Studien. Von diesen erfüllten 15 Studien die Einschlusskriterien. 52% der Flüchtlinge kamen aus Afrika (Somalia, Kongo, Ruanda, Liberia, Sierra Leone, Togo), 33% aus Asien (Syrien, Bhutan, Vietnam, Kambodscha, Irak) und 16% der Flüchtlinge kamen aus mehr als einem Kontinent. In diesen Studien wurden insgesamt n=6 769 Flüchtlinge hinsichtlich ihrer psychischen Gesundheit untersucht. Die Anzahl der Teilnehmer variierte von n=117 bis n=1 422 (Median: n=366). Die Prävalenzrate variierte bei posttraumatischer Belastungsstörung von 5–71% (Mittelwert: 32%), bei Depression von 11–54% (Mittelwert 35%). Flüchtlinge aus Ländern mit massiven Menschenrechtsverletzungen zeigten mehr psychopathologische Symptome als die aus Ländern ohne massive Menschenrechtsverletzungen. Die Heterogenität der Prävalenzraten ist zum einen auf methodische Unterschiede zurückzuführen, zum anderen auf Unterschiede in den Flüchtlingspopulationen. Der Bedarf an psychosozialer und medizinischer Versorgung von Flüchtlingen aus Ländern mit hohen Menschenrechtsverletzungen sollte dringend mithilfe repräsentativer Studien überprüft werden und Versorgungsangebote entsprechend des Bedarfs und der Bedürfnisse entwickelt werden um eine Lebensperspektive im Zufluchtsland Deutschland aufzubauen.

Background: Determinants of changes in cognitive function during aging are not well-understood. We aimed to estimate the effects of depression-, anxiety- and anger symptoms on cognition and on cognition changes, especially on changes in episodic memory (EM) and executive functioning (EF).Methods: We analyze data from the Mid-Life in the Midlife in the United States Biomarker study at two time points including n = 710 women, and n = 542 men (1996/1997) at the first assessment and n = 669 women, and n = 514 men at the second assessment (2013/2014). To assess cognition we used the Brief Test of Adult Cognition (BTACT). To measure depression-, anxiety- and anger symptoms we used the Mood and Anxiety Symptom Questionnaire (MASQ), the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CES-D) and the State-Trait Anger Expression Inventory (STAXI). We used repeated models analyses to explore changes in cognition, and repeated measures linear mixed-effects models to investigate depression, anxiety and anger effects on cognition. All analyses were adjusted for potential confounders (cognition at baseline, age, education, income).Results: At the first assessment, women had significantly better episodic memory functioning than men; men in the oldest age group had significant better executive functioning. At the second assessment, more education, and white ethnicity were associated with less negative changes on episodic memory and executive functioning. Depression- and anger symptoms were associated with declines in episodic memory among women; anxiety symptoms were associated with declines in episodic memory and executive functioning in both gender in men (EF: β: −0.02, (95% CI: −0.03, −0.01; EM: β −0.02 (−0.02, 95% CI: −0.03, −0.01) and in women (EF: β −0.01, 95% CI: −0.02, −0.0004; EM: β −0.013, 95% CI: −0.03, −0.001).Conclusions: Depression-, anxiety- and anger symptoms were associated with changes in episodic memory and executive functioning. Further longitudinal studies are critical in populations in more countries to better understand the impact of depression, anxiety and anger symptoms on cognition changes.

Background: Syrians have been the largest group of refugees in Germany since 2014. Little is known about Syrian refugees` perspectives on substance use. The aim of this study is to investigate the perspective of male refugees from Syria and to foster specific knowledge and understanding of substance use.Methods: We applied a qualitative study design. Five semi-structured focus group discussions with a total of 19 refugees were conducted in 2019 among the difficult to reach population of Syrian refugees. Audio recordings were translated and transcribed. We used a hybrid approach by integrating inductive and deductive thematic frameworks.Results: We identified common themes. Firstly, refugees perceived that substances are widely available and accepted in Germany. Secondly, refugees perceived that rules and norms in Germany differ from rules and norms in the home country and favor availability of substances. Thirdly, substance use is related to the intention to escape the past. Fourthly, substance use is related to living in the present through connecting with others and being part of the community. Finally, mental health professional treatment for substance use is associated with shame.Conclusions: Findings support Syrian refugees` perspectives of substance use as a way of both escaping the past and coping with psychosocial difficulties in the present in a socio-ecological understanding. Understanding the explanatory model of Syrian refugees can inform future interventions to prevent substance abuse and design tailored interventions. Further studies with Syrian refugees in more countries are needed to better understand resettled refugees` perspectives on substance use.

Objectives: We aimed at 1) collating and evaluating the current evidence on factors contributing to resilience of adult transnational migrants, 2) identifying methodological factors which contribute to the findings, 3) identifying and analyzing promotive and preventive factors contributing to the findings.Methods: A systematic search for relevant studies published until 2021 was conducted in PubMed, PsycINFO, PTSDPubs, and Web of Science. Both, quantitative and qualitative peer-reviewed observational studies reporting on resilience and wellbeing, sense of coherence, or post-traumatic growth outcomes among transnational migrants (aged 18+). Risk of Bias was assessed using the Critical Appraisal Skills Program for qualitative studies and the Appraisal Tool for cross-sectional studies. Due to the heterogeneity of studies we did a narrative review.Results: Database search yielded 3,756 unique records, of those n = 80 records, representing n = 76 studies met the inclusion criteria. The studies provided knowledge on resilience for n = 9,845 transnational migrants across 23 countries. All studies except two were cross sectional. N = 45 reported on resilience, n = 4 on Sense of Coherence and n = 15 on Post-Traumatic Growth. The study methods were not related to the findings. Future orientation, hope and religion/spirituality, caring for others and having opportunities were shown to be more pertinent to resilience outcomes than institutional care structures.Conclusion: Our findings highlight that mental health professionals and policymakers should try to support positive perspectives for the future and encourage policies tailored towards giving refugees opportunities to work, learn and care and to help others.