Editorial

This volume includes a paper by Amani Nuru-Jeter and colleagues from the USA reporting on psychological distress as an important indicator of the mental well-being of the population. They use data from a nationally represented multiracial ethnic sample of adults in USA. Report shows that after adjusting for income, there were no statistically significant differences in distress levels between race groups. They report that black men and women of higher income status represent a particularly vulnerable group, and that Hispanic men are especially hardy. Brigitta Bunzel and colleagues from Austria and Switzerland investigate the long-term psychological aftermaths of the implantation of a ventricular assist device as bridge to successful heart transplantation using a number of standardized instruments and a questionnaire. They report that 23 per cent of partners met the criteria for post-traumatic stress. Only 2 percent of the patients and 19 percent of the partners had mild to moderate depression. A supporting person needs significant support. Anita Fernander and colleague from the University of Kentucky report on socio-culturally specific stress and coping on smoking status among African American women. They show that the association between general stress and smoking status was strong for women who were less educated, had lower incomes and were single. Anita Fernander and a colleague from Belgium and the Netherlands investigate the match between job demands and job resources in the prediction of employees' well-being in 207 informatics. Their findings support earlier research. Kevin McIntyre and colleagues from the Saint Louis University examine the level of stress caused by different daily ‘hassles’ in 164 participants in all types of hassles. The amount of negative emotion evoked is a strong predictor of stress. This showed gender differences and described the conditions under which different types of everyday events become stressful. Debora Baldwin and colleagues from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, examine the role of dispositional optimism in levels of stress resiliency in employed mothers using a timed saliva sample and questionnaire. Optimistic mothers tended to report less distress and greater resiliency. Salivary IgA did not correlate significantly. Adriel Boals from the University of North Texas reports that 13 Holocaust survivors showed that intrusive thoughts predicted the frequency of cognitive difficulties while avoidance of memory predicted lifetime physical health. In Japan, Manami Yamashita and colleagues studied a group while undergoing genetic testing. They show that it seems possible to minimize the risk of a psychological impact of disclosure of genetic test results. A book review of the Biological Bases of Clinical Anxiety Barry Burijon was reviewed. Yingbo Guo from the University of Toronto reports that the book presents a great overview for both the clinician and layperson. This is the 50th Journal I have been Editor-in-Chief over the past 10 years. At the end of 2008, I will retire as planned 3 years ago as professor/director at Austin Health. During the past 10 years, I have received a strong editorial support from Dr Robb Stanley and an excellent administrative support from Mrs Rosanna Pace. This small team has been effective with the aid of our review team and the editorial board. I have thoroughly enjoyed working with the team and the results have been extremely encouraging, the standard of the Journal has improved significantly and distribution has increased. I plan to continue as co-editor until the new editor-in-chief has been appointed and has settled in.

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