Search Results (2,073)

As the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic ends, it is worth considering whether the ability to cope with such a pandemic has improved. The initial response to COVID-19 was hampered by the fear of new infectious diseases and spread of misinformation on the Internet. This highlights the need to enhance our ability to critically evaluate information rather than indiscriminately search for and trust information on the Internet. Therefore, this study examined how cyberchondria and eHealth literacy moderate the effect of fear of COVID-19 on the efficacy of coping behaviors for future epidemics and pandemics. The participants were 1000 adults in South Korea who were selected based on population proportionality. The results showed that fear of COVID-19 was significantly positively related to cyberchondria, and eHealth literacy was significantly positively related to the efficacy of coping behaviors. Further, the fear of COVID-19 had a significantly negative effect on the efficacy of coping behaviors, and the moderating effect of cyberchondria varied according to the level of eHealth literacy. These results emphasize the importance of eHealth literacy in enabling critical decision-making regarding misinformation. Full article

The prevalence of depression among adolescents is increasing, which can hinder their healthy development and is intricately linked to the intolerance of uncertainty (IU). IU involves both prospective anxiety and inhibitory anxiety. However, the precise relationship between depressive symptoms and these two components of IU remains unclear, particularly when considering the specific context of rural adolescents in China. A total of 1488 adolescents (male, 848; Mean_age = 20, SD_age = 1.51, age range from 16 to 24) in China were recruited and divided into urban adolescents (N = 439) and rural adolescents (N = 1049) groups. The Patient Health Questionnaire-9 and Intolerance of Uncertainty Scale-12 were utilized to measure depression and IU. The symptom network approach and the flow network approach were employed. The prevalence of depression was significantly higher (χ² = 4.09, p = 0.04) among rural adolescents (N = 419, 40.1%) than urban adolescents (N = 152, 34.8%). The node strength of “motor” demonstrated some discrepancy between rural and urban adolescents, while there was no notable disparity in the global strength and structure of the network between the two groups. However, rural adolescents exhibited a significantly higher global strength in the flow network (including depression and IU) than their urban counterparts. In the flow networks of rural adolescents, “guilt” was directly associated with prospective and inhibitory anxiety. These findings highlight the urgent need for interventions that enhance the ability of rural adolescents to cope with uncertainty and prevent their depressive symptoms more effectively. Full article

Combining Hofstede’s cultural dimensions, value–belief–norm theory, and social exchange theory, this study explores the impact of individualism and social cohesion on pro-environmental behavior (PEB) as well as the moderating role of social cohesion in the individualism–PEB link in the context of Korean society. Using the 2021 Korean General Social Survey and multiple linear regression analyses, we found that individualism is negatively related to PEB, whereas social cohesion is positively related to PEB. Further analysis showed that social cohesion attenuates the negative relationship between individualism and PEB. Our findings suggest that although individuals with high levels of individualism are less likely to perform PEB than those with a high level of collectivism, social cohesion is a valuable community resource that encourages them to engage in eco-friendly activities even when they seek to achieve person-oriented goals and pursue their own interests. The implications and contributions of these findings regarding environmental psychology are discussed. Full article

Personalized education has been a widely shared goal pursued by Chinese and foreign educators. As the primary method of teacher–student interaction, the importance of personalized questioning is self-evident. Due to a lack of technical support, teachers rely on their teaching experience to ask questions without considering the learning situation of learners. This results in teaching questioning being unable to support learners’ learning. These questions are relatively shallow and cannot promote the construction and transfer of learners’ knowledge. Cognitive diagnostic technology could diagnose learners’ cognitive states and provide services for personalized teaching. Therefore, a personalized teaching questioning strategy based on learners’ cognitive structure diagnosis was proposed in this study. Firstly, we diagnosed learners’ cognitive structure through usability, distinguishability, and stability. Secondly, we discussed the types of questions that teachers should raise when facing learners in different situations. We also discussed the application of personalized teaching questioning strategies. The experiment took place at M Primary School in Ningxia, China, with the participation of one teacher and ninety-seven fourth-grade students. Seven lessons were observed and videotaped across a range of topics. The study revealed that personalized teaching questioning strategies could improve learners’ academic performance and subject literacy. They can also increase the number of teacher questioning, change the depth of teacher questioning content, and expand the scope of questioning subjects. Full article

This work is a combination of two studies, Study I and Study II, which aimed to examine the impact of animated movies on the aggression and behavioral performance of primary school students, as well as their control using the CBACT program. In Study I, the influence of animated movies on 300 students from ten primary schools in Pakistan with gender differences (50% male), family systems, and viewing time duration was examined. This study was performed on 7- to 9-year-old children on four subscales of the Buss–Perry aggression questionnaire (BPAQ), three subscales of the child behavior questionnaire (CBQ), and toy selection. Following that, in Study II the CBACT intervention was applied to aggressive students (n = 46) selected from Study I. Students were randomly divided into CBACT treatment (50%) and control groups. The results of Study I indicated that violent animated movies had a greater impact on the aggressive behavior of male students than on that of females, while girls were more affected by watching nonviolent movies. Furthermore, male viewers from nuclear families and females from joint families showed more aggressive problems. It was also observed that aggression in students significantly increased (p < 0.001) with increasing viewing animation time duration (10 to 30 min). The results of Study II showed that aggression in the treatment group was significantly reduced (p = 0.000) with the CBACT program but remained constant for the control group. The findings of Study I showed that violent animation is strongly linked with aggression and behavioral performance in primary school students. The CBACT program in Study II indicates that students may not be completely eliminated from watching violent movies, but their aggression levels were reduced when they watched animated movies. Therefore, the CBACT program opens a new window into behavioral problem treatment, which is casually influenced by violent media. Full article

This study focuses on the vocational interests of trainee teachers for kindergarten and primary school, investigating whether the RIASEC-interest dimensions are related to teaching preferences in the Swiss subject of Nature–Human–Society, which is characterized by its multidisciplinarity. Interests are a source of individual differences in people and important to study since they influence intrinsic motivation, and thus, behavior, effort, and occupational decisions. The results of the conducted survey, composed of the Nature–Human–Society questionnaire and the general interest structure test (AIST-R), show, in a sample of 220 participants, that trainee teachers’ vocational interests were partly related to their previous experiences in the specific content domains of Nature–Human–Society and slightly differed by gender. The RIASEC interest dimensions of social, investigative, realistic, and partly artistic evidence significant correlations with preferences in the teaching topics of the Nature–Human–Society subject. It became clear that trainee teachers with high realistic and investigative interests and low social and artistic interests tended to prefer thing-related teaching topics, while pronounced social and artistic interests with low realistic and investigative interests were associated with teaching preferences for people-related topics in the subject of Nature–Human–Society. The dominant role of Prediger’s people- versus thing-related interest orientation could thus also be confirmed in the choice of favorite teaching topics, signaling that teachers feel comfortable with those topics that match their interest structure. Full article

This study investigates the specific pathways through which mindfulness influences task performance, focusing on the sequential mediating roles of psychological resilience, customer-oriented behavior, and deep acting. Structural equation modeling is used to analyze data collected from 359 employees in the service industry in Korea. The results confirm that mindfulness has a significant direct and indirect relationship with task performance. Improved resilience through mindfulness can be the basis for fostering customer-oriented behavior and deep acting, which sequentially enhance task performance. This study provides a comprehensive understanding of how mindfulness leads to improvements in task performance and highlights the significance of mindfulness for both customers and service employees. It also expands the existing knowledge of mindfulness by empirically integrating resilience, customer-oriented behavior, and deep acting, which have not been extensively studied in mindfulness research. The findings have practical implications from a managerial perspective, emphasizing the importance of mindfulness resources in the workplace. Full article

This study aims to advance the theoretical understanding of the contextual antecedents underlying abusive supervision. It provides a fresh perspective on how subordinates’ perceptions of an abusive supervision climate are shaped in temporary work environments. By developing a robust model, this research examines the relationships between temporary organizational characteristics (i.e., temporariness and membership flexibility), trust in ad-hoc supervisors, and perceived abusive supervision climates. We tested the hypothesized model using data from 340 aircrew engaged in temporary and constantly shifting supervisor–subordinate relationships. The results revealed that: (a) temporariness has a direct negative relationship with trust in ad-hoc supervisors, whereas membership flexibility positively affects this trust; (b) the link between temporariness/membership flexibility and a perceived abusive supervision climate is mediated by trust in ad-hoc supervisors. Furthermore, this study highlights gender interactions in a transactional context, indicating that: (c) females perceive a stronger negative association between trust and abusive supervision climates compared to males; and (d) the relationship between temporariness/membership flexibility and trust in ad-hoc supervisors is significant for women and men, respectively. In conclusion, this study underscores the importance of considering the unique organizational characteristics of temporary work settings when examining abusive supervision. It also emphasizes the role of gender in shaping subordinates’ perceptions of a workplace victimization climate, particularly in situations where leader–member exchanges are ephemeral and contractual. Full article

Sexual minority young adults (SMYAs), compared to heterosexual young adults (HYAs), are a uniquely high-risk population for problematic substance use, a disparity perhaps exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. This study tested whether SMYAs had more problematic substance use than HYAs during the pandemic due to isolation and loneliness as well as lower family closeness. Participants (N = 141) aged 23–29 completed self-report surveys in 2014–2015 as college students and in the summer of 2021 as young adults (59% White, 26% Black/African American, 9% Asian/Middle Eastern, 6% Hispanic/Latino, and <1% American Indian/Alaska Native). Results of multivariate regression and multiple group path analyses did not support hypothesized effects—SMYAs did not have greater increases in problematic substance use compared to HYAs, isolation and loneliness were not significant mediators, and family closeness was not a significant moderator. However, SMYAs experienced a lack of social safety—increased loneliness and decreased family closeness—compared to HYAs. Further research is needed to investigate both the impact and underlying processes of this decreased social safety on SMYA well-being beyond the pandemic to better inform tailored supports and interventions. Full article

Several studies have demonstrated the effectiveness of motivational interviewing (MI) in reducing sexual risk behaviors. However, limited information is available on the acceptability of brief MI among men who have sex with men (MSM) in poor resource settings like sub-Saharan Africa. The objective of this study was to assess the views of MSM about the benefits and utility of brief MI (bMI) in changing their risky behavior. A qualitative study among men who have sex with men (MSM) who were enrolled in a longitudinal observational study between December 2021 and May 2023. The setting was in Tshwane North and participants were scheduled for baseline, 6-month, and 12-month visits. All participants received 20 min one-on-one face-to-face brief motivational interview (bMI) sessions during their follow-up visits. At month 12, an exit interview was conducted with consenting conveniently sampled participants (n = 23) who had completed all scheduled visits and received three bMI sessions. The findings indicated that the most recalled conversation was related to multiple sexual partners, having sex under the influence of alcohol, and MSM learned more about sexually transmitted diseases. Many expressed being comfortable with the sessions because the counselor was respectful and non-judgmental. Most found the bMI sessions to have a positive impact on changing and reducing risky sexual behaviors, particularly it reportedly increased their use of condoms and reduced the number of multiple partners. MSM found the bMI to be useful and acceptable in reducing sexual risk behaviors among MSM. Full article

The COVID-19 pandemic was one of this century’s deadliest and most widespread viral outbreaks, with higher mortality rates in men than women. Disruptions in funeral rituals and customs, no social recognition of the losses, and limited social support have complicated the grieving process and are linked to disenfranchised (not openly acknowledged, socially recognized, or publicly mourned) grief. Depression is also highly comorbid with complicated grief. Losing a spouse can be devastating, and this is more severe for women with limited or no resources, who are vulnerable because of the patriarchal society. In the current COVID-19 era, increased uncertainty and disenfranchised grief can worsen the clinical scenario and hamper interventions, as highlighted by the present case report on disenfranchised grief with depressive symptoms in a 30-year-old woman from rural India who, after a year of marriage, lost her husband due to COVID-19. This case study emphasizes the impact of multiple types of disadvantages due to sociodemographic and cultural determinants that can complicate the grieving process in the current context. The bioecological model of grief recovery considers individual features and societal/environmental factors to postulate the appropriate intervention. Finding meaning and purpose in life and restoration-oriented coping were successful for the clinical management of the patient. Full article

This study explores the relationship between staff rejection sensitivity (a psychological concept grounded in histories of loss and trauma) and organizational attachment among mental health agencies transitioning to Trauma-Informed Care (TIC), which is currently outside the focus of most research. Specifically, this study examines: (1) whether staff rejection sensitivity predicts organizational attachment; (2) whether staff turnover intentions account for the association between rejection sensitivity and organizational attachment; and (3) whether those associations hold once taking into account staff demographic factors (gender, race and ethnicity, education, and income)? Around 180 frontline workers in three Northeastern U.S. mental health agencies responded to surveys collected between 2016 and 2019 using the organizational attachment, rejection sensitivity and turnover intention measures, and their previous TIC training experience. Rejection sensitivity was significantly associated with organizational attachment (β = −0.39, p < 0.001), accounting for 6% of its variance in organizational attachment. The relationship between these variables retained significance, and staff education significantly predicted organizational attachment, with higher education predicting lower levels of organizational attachment (β = −0.15, p < 0.05), accounting for 22% of its variance. This study concludes that TIC transitioning mental health agencies’ staff with a higher rejection sensitivity are more likely to express lower organizational attachment and higher intent-to-turnover. Full article

Anorexia nervosa (AN) is a mental health disorder that has serious physical, emotional and social consequences. Whilst cognitive behavioural therapy for AN (CBT-AN) has demonstrated efficacy, there remains a global need to improve AN treatment. Compulsive exercise activity therapy (LEAP) is an active therapy consisting of the addition to CBT-AN of eight specific sessions that focus on exercise and motivation for behavioural change. This paper presents a secondary analysis of 74 female participants in a randomised control trial of LEAP plus CBT-AN versus CBT-AN alone. The main aim of this study was to explore putative predictors and to estimate the magnitude of changes due to LEAP for specific outcome measures. Participants (LEAP: n = 36; CBT-AN: n = 38) were assessed at three successive surveys: baseline, end of therapy, and 6 months post-therapy. The overall effect sizes for changes between baseline to end of therapy and baseline to 6-month follow-up assessment showed large effect sizes (Cohen’s d > = 0.80) for mental-health-related quality of life (MHRQoL), weight concern, dietary restraint, eating concern, AN stage change, and psychological distress (all p < 0.05). The results also indicated that several pre-treatment characteristics, including body mass index (BMI), level of eating disorder (ED) symptoms, and MHRQoL are important for identifying whether a treatment is likely to be effective. Future treatment programs should aim to optimise early improvements in BMI, ED symptoms, and MHRQoL. Full article

The positive effects of youth civic engagement can be felt both at the individual level (e.g., better emotional regulation, a greater sense of empowerment) and at the community level (e.g., a greater likelihood of participation in civic and political activities). They may also be a protective factor for at-risk youth in the short and long term and a valuable element for positive identity development in general. The purpose of this longitudinal study was to assess the impact of an educational intervention implemented in secondary schools to promote youth civic engagement (N = 508 at Time 1, N = 116 at Time 2). The study is divided into two parts: first, it examines the changes stimulated by the project, and second, it uses a path analysis model to explain the intention to participate. Results show that after participation, hostile and benevolent sexism, classic and modern ethnic prejudice, and social dominance orientation decreased, while trust in institutions increased. In addition, the path analysis showed that policy control, social trust, and civic engagement increased the intention of civic engagement at time T1. Despite some limitations, this study may provide useful guidance for those designing and implementing civic education interventions for young people. Full article

Due to the advances in internet communications technology (ICT), the use of digital devices, such as laptops, tablets, or smartphones, in the educational setting has become very common among young people. A considerable body of research has shown that there are adverse effects of in-class internet usage, termed “cyberloafing” on students’ academic performance, making it a rising concern for scholars. Within this context, the present study examines cyberloafing as a multidimensional construct and studies the mediating effects of psychological wellbeing and social media learning between cyberloafing behaviour and cyberloafing activities of students. Using an online survey, data was collected from 240 undergraduate and graduate students at a private university in India. The data were analyzed using structural equation modelling and mediation analysis. The results indicate that cyberloafing behaviour negatively influences student’s psychological wellbeing, whereas psychological wellbeing is positively related to cyberloafing activities. It was also found that, on one hand, cyberloafing behaviour negatively influences social media learning, whereas social media learning did not have any effect on cyberloafing activities in students. This study highlights that it is crucial for educators and course instructors to incorporate appropriate practices and interventions to manage the misuse of the internet through cyberloafing in classrooms. Full article