Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jan 19, 2026
Short-distance Transport of Resources in Plants
Loss of resources and demoralization in the chronically ill
M I Dischinger1, L Lange1, S Vehling2
1Department of Psychology, University of North Florida, Jacksonville, FL, United States.
Objective:
The study examined whether the association between the severity of physical symptoms and demoralization is mediated by loss of resources in individuals with chronic conditions including conventional diagnoses, functional somatic syndromes, and medically unexplained symptoms.
Method:
This cross-sectional study evaluated N = 194 patients (mean age = 46, 83.5% female) who reported at least 3 months of persistent physical symptoms using the following self-report instruments: PHQ-15 (modified), Loss of Resources Inventory, Psychosocial Questionnaire - Demoralization Subscale, and PHQ-8. The mediation hypothesis was tested by multiple regression analyses controlling for age, race, employment status, income, educational attainment, and depression.
Results:
Participants experienced M = 9.3 out of 16 possible health-related losses (SD = 4.4). Average to severe demoralization scores were indicated by 59.1% of individuals, of which only 17.1% experienced high demoralization. Loss of resources fully mediated the effect of symptom severity on demoralization, explaining 56% of the variance of demoralization and inhibiting the initially significant effect of symptom severity on demoralization to nonsignificant levels [from b = 0.67, 95% CI (0.26, 1.07) to b = 0.03, 95% CI (-0.27, 0.32)].
Conclusion:
Early recognition of the loss of resources phenomena and interventions to reduce its progression through the introduction of resource gains may diminish, or even prevent, the installation of demoralization in individuals with chronic symptoms.
Related Concept Videos
Short-distance Transport of Resources
Line Loss
Line loss impacts power delivery efficiency in a balanced three-phase circuit. The symmetry in such a circuit simplifies the...
Reducing Line Loss
With a step-up transformer at the source, the voltage is increased, thereby reducing the current in the transmission lines since power loss in...
Major Losses in Pipes
Fluid flow can be classified as laminar or turbulent, primarily based on the Reynolds number. This dimensionless number reflects the relative influence of inertial to viscous...
Minor Losses in Pipes
Valves play a significant role in generating minor losses by obstructing or redirecting the fluid flow. When a valve is closed or partially closed, it restricts the flow...
Energy Losses in Transformers
There are four main reasons for energy losses in transformers.
The first cause can be the high resistance of the...
