The study aims to assess the role of social support, sociocultural adjustment, and other social and demographic factors in international students' mental health. In total, 193 international first-year students studying Health and Technology Sciences in Lithuania filled out a self-report questionnaire. The study revealed that overall 59% of international students had symptoms of depression and 36%—of anxiety. Students' well-being was sufficient in 56% of the cases. The regression analyses were conducted to test the role of sociocultural adjustment, social support, English reading skills, and the study field for mental health and well-being. The multivariate regression model revealed that sociocultural adjustment is a stronger predictor compared to social support for depressiveness (βs = 0.42), anxiety (βs = 0.30), psychosomatic symptoms (βs = − 0.24), and subjective health (βs = 0.16), though social support was a stronger independent predictor for well-being (βs = 0.37). Moreover, sociocultural adjustment and social support were stronger predictors than gender, while English reading skills and study field were non-significant indicators.

Background: Happiness is a phenomenon that relates to better mental and physical health and even longevity. There has been an increase in surveys assessing subjective well-being as well as happiness, one of the well-being components that reflect one’s feelings or moods. Happiness is mostly measured in adult samples. There is a lack of an overview of the tools used to evaluate adolescent happiness, so this paper aimed to review them. Methods: A literature search was performed in the PubMed and PsycArticles databases (2010–2019). In total, 133 papers met the eligibility criteria for this systematic review. Results: The results are grouped according to the type of measure, single or multiple items, that was used in a study. Almost half of the studies (64 of 133) evaluated subjective happiness using single-item measures. The most commonly used scales were the 4-item Subjective Happiness Scale and the Oxford Happiness Questionnaire. Among the 133 articles analyzed, 18 reported some validation procedures related to happiness. However, in the majority of cases (14 studies), happiness was not the central phenomenon of validation, which suggests a lack of happiness validation studies. Conclusions: Finally, recommendations for future research and for the choice of happiness assessment tools are presented.

Policing is a demanding occupation which can expose its employees to many adverse, such as alcohol misuse and dependence. The aim of the study was to analyze and determine factors associated with police officers’ alcohol dependence (AD). Five hundred and thirteen Lithuanian police officers and employees were surveyed. The variables measured were increased risk of AD (CAGE), traumatic event exposure (Life Events Checklist), increased risk of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) (Los Angeles Symptom Checklist), increased risk of anxiety and depression (HADS), social support (Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support), and demographic variables. Increased risk of AD was found in 4.4% of the sample. Logistic regression results demonstrated that high traumatization and more years of employment in law enforcement are associated with a higher risk of AD.

(1) Background. During the COVID-19 pandemic, healthcare professionals faced psychological and social challenges in addition to a sharp increase in workload. The aim of this work was to reveal how healthcare and pharmacy workers assessed their wellbeing and the methods of coping they employed to overcome stress during quarantine. (2) Methods. The mixed-method study was conducted between August and October 2020, integrating quantitative (n = 967) and qualitative (n = 27) strategies. Doctors, nurses, healthcare administrative staff, pharmacy specialists, and other employees of the healthcare system were interviewed retrospectively about their experiences during and following lockdown (March–June 2020). (3) Results. Overall, 38.7% of the respondents reported a decrease in psychological wellbeing, while 23.4% of the respondents reported a decrease in physical wellbeing during quarantine. The healthcare professionals’ narratives identified a shift from nonspecific fears at the beginning of the pandemic to the more concrete fear of contracting COVID-19, of infecting others, and about their loved ones, as well as undifferentiated fear. Multivariate analysis revealed that a subjective decrease in wellbeing was typical in professionals who had had direct contact with patients infected with COVID-19, as well as those with stronger fears, and those who were more likely to employ compulsive distancing and substance use as ways to cope with stress. (3) Conclusions. The results suggest that lockdown had a negative impact on healthcare workers’ wellbeing during the first pandemic wave in 2020.

Background: State Border Guards (SBGs) are an under-researched group in law enforcement. Their role involves exposure to threats and actual traumatic events. This study is designed to assess the nature of SBGs’ traumatic experi-ences, their perceptions of their need for psychological counselling and their attitudes towards counselling.Participants and procedure: 168 Lithuanian State Border Guard Service (SBGS) officers were surveyed, using the following tools: a modi-fied form of the Life Events Checklist (LEC), six questions to assess the need and attitudes towards psychologi-cal counselling, and socio-demographic variables.Results: 72.6% of the sample reported direct exposure to at least one type of traumatic event, 73.2% reported indirect exposure, and 64.3% reported exposure to trauma at work during the previous 5 years. Those who experienced more different types of direct traumatic events are more inclined to feel uneasy if their colleagues knew about them needing psychological help, more willing to look for help outside of their current employer, more likely to think that their boss might fire them if their need for psychological help became known, and less likely to think that psychological help at work is easily accessible.Conclusions: SBGS officers with more extensive direct traumatic event exposure exhibit more negative attitudes towards psychological counselling than their less traumatized counterparts.