Meta-analysis of the Theoretical and Empirical Connections Behind the Concept of Hypervigilance in the Field of Mental Health vis-à-vis Social Work Clients

Barbora Kováčová, Eva Žiaková

Abstract
OBJECTIVES: The article is a theoretical clarification and survey on the connections between the concepts of mental health and hypervigilance manifestations in the context of social work practice. THEORETICAL BASE: The quality of social functioning and engagement represents the important determinants of mental health levels and the well-being of individual clients. Hypervigilance represents one of the negative accompanying aspects of many psychopathological and socio-pathological phenomena, as well as one of the important protective factors. METHODS: The first section presents the interconnections found in available theoretical knowledge in the research area, and the second section contains a meta-analysis with empirical outputs and emphasis on their relevance and high topicality. OUTCOMES: The meta-analysis confirms a presumed complex connection among key concepts; and risky groups of hypervigilant individuals as well as dominant contexts of investigated manifestations were categorised within this context. SOCIAL WORK IMPLICATIONS: The research clarifies the intersections of mental health, hypervigilance, and social work practice; further, it reflects the importance and necessity of the involvement of social workers in maintaining a focus on the mental health of socially excluded, traumatised, and vulnerable client groups. The analysis thus directly suggests possibilities for intervention and social rehabilitation of hypervigilant individuals.

Keywords
hypervigilance, mental health, social workers, social work, loneliness

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