Emotional Intelligence and resilience in mental health professionals caring for patients with serious mental illness

Emotional Intelligence (EI) and resilience may be considered as prerequisites for mental health professionals caring for patients with serious mental illness (SMI), since they are often exposed to severe emotional stress during daily work. Accordingly, this cross-sectional study assessed both EI and resilience and their interrelationship in 61 individuals belonging to an assertive outreach team for patients suffering from SMI compared 61 control subjects without healthcare-related working conditions. EI was assessed by means of the German version of the Mayer-Salovey-Caruso-Emotional-Intelligence Test (MSCEIT), resilience was assessed using the German version of the Resilience Scale. Both groups showed an average level of EI in all categories of the MSCEIT and indicated high levels of resilience. They did not differ significantly from each other, neither in terms of EI nor resilience. Correlation analysis revealed a positive association between EI and resilience, albeit small in magnitude. Our results suggest that mental health professionals are not more resilient and therefore not more ‘protected’ from stressors than the general population. Though this finding warrants cautious interpretation, the positive correlation between EI and resilience suggests that EI may be a potential target for education and training in order to strengthen resilience even in healthy individuals and vice versa.     

Relationship between positive mental health and appreciation in Korean individuals

Appreciation is a key component of subjective well‐being and may contribute to positive mental health. Few studies have examined relationships between specific aspects of appreciation and the 3 dimensions of positive mental health, and thus, the aim of this study was to identify associations between aspects of appreciation and positive mental health. Appreciation and positive mental health were measured in 266 Korean university students (50% females) using the Appreciation Inventory and the Mental Health Continuum‐Short Form. The results obtained showed that Have Focus significantly predicted Emotional Well‐being; Have Focus and Loss/Adversity significantly predicted Social Well‐being and Have Focus, Expression and Nature/Daily Life significantly predicted Psychological Well‐being. The implications of results that might enable positive mental health to be enhanced are discussed.     

Personality,social support and burnout among human service professionals in India

Recent research has investigated the relationship between personality and social support in predicting various forms of adjustment. This study explores this relationship in a sample of 137 human service professionals engaged in post‐degree clinical skills training at the Christian Counselling Centre in Vellore, India. The impact of certain forms of social support on burnout was examined, after controlling for the effect of the personality trait of anxiety. As hypothesized, perceived social support was negatively associated with burnout, even after controlling for the effects of anxiety. This pattern was strongest for the males in this sample. Emotional exhaustion and depersonalization were the components of burnout most strongly related to perceived support. The perception of support received from ‘work‐related’ and ‘other’ relationships made a stronger contribution than did ‘family’ or ‘social’ ties with respect to burnout. Implications for future cross‐cultural investigation of the relationships among personality, social support and adjustment are discussed. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

An improved method for counting stressful life events (SLEs) when predicting mental health and wellness

Objective: Checklists for registering stressful life events (SLEs) generally correlate negatively, but weakly, with mental health outcome measures. Thus, the present study examined various methodological approaches for improving these relationships.

Design: A total of 1679 participants (women?=?943, men?=?736, M age-39.8) were randomly drawn from the general Norwegian population (response rate 34%). This prospective cohort study included two follow-ups at 10 (n?=?1181) and 23 months (n?=?942).

Main outcome measures: Satisfaction with life and absence of psychological distress (i.e. anxiety and depression) represented a joint measure for indexing ‘mental wellness’ (MW).

Results: A simple count of SLEs weakly predicted MW, as expected, whereas the addition of a moderator (i.e. manageability of the event) substantially improved predictive power. Four additional moderators were examined: duration, impact, help-seeking and time since onset, but these were non-significant after inserting manageability into the model. This SLE counting method also retained its predictive power after including multiple criterion-related variables that substantially adjusted the longitudinal statistical model.

Conclusion: This new SLE counting method exhibited a considerable improvement to predicting mental health and well-being. It is well suited for use in epidemiological research requiring a short SLE checklist format with high predictive power.     

Associations between job burnout and self-efficacy: a meta-analysis

Background and Objectives: This study aimed at systematically reviewing and meta-analyzing the strength of associations between self-efficacy and job burnout (the global index and its components). We investigated whether these associations would be moderated by: (a) the type of measurement of burnout and self-efficacy, (b) the type of occupation, (c) the number of years of work experience and age, and (d) culture. Design and Methods: We systematically reviewed and analyzed 57 original studies (N?=?22,773) conducted among teachers (k?=?29), health-care providers (k?=?17), and other professionals (k?=?11). Results: The average effect size estimate for the association between self-efficacy and burnout was of medium size (?.33). Regarding the three burnout components, the largest estimate of the average effect (?.49) was found for the lack of accomplishment. The estimates of the average effect were similar, regardless of the type of measures of burnout and self-efficacy measurement (general vs. context-specific). Significantly larger estimates of the average effects were found among teachers (compared to health-care providers), older workers, and those with longer work experience. Conclusions: Significant self-efficacy–burnout relationships were observed across countries, although the strength of associations varied across burnout components, participants' profession, and their age.     

Associations between multiple health risk behaviors and mental health among Chinese college students

Although there is substantial evidence that health risk behaviors increase risks of premature morbidity and mortality, little is known about the multiple health risk behaviors in Chinese college students. Here, we investigated the prevalence of multiple health risk behaviors and its relation to mental health among Chinese college students. A cross-sectional study was conducted in Wuhan, China from May to June 2012. The students reported their health risk behaviors using self-administered questionnaires. Depression and anxiety were assessed using the self-rating depression scale and self-rating anxiety scale, respectively. A total of 2422 college students (1433 males) aged 19.7 ± 1.2 years were participated in the study. The prevalence of physical inactivity, sleep disturbance, poor dietary behavior, Internet addiction disorder (IAD), frequent alcohol use and current smoking was 62.0, 42.6, 29.8, 22.3, 11.6 and 9.3%, respectively. Significantly increased risks for depression and anxiety were found among students with frequent alcohol use, sleep disturbance, poor dietary behavior and IAD. Two-step cluster analysis identified two different clusters. Participants in the cluster with more unhealthy behaviors showed significantly increased risk for depression (odds ratio (OR): 2.21; 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.83, 2.67) and anxiety (OR: 2.32; 95%CI: 1.85, 2.92). This study indicates that a relatively high prevalence of multiple health risk behaviors was found among Chinese college students. Furthermore, the clustering of health risk behaviors was significantly associated with increased risks for depression and anxiety.     

Deliverance,demonic possession,and mental illness: some considerations for mental health professionals

This paper outlines an unconventional treatment for mental illness, the exorcism or deliverance ritual used by Pentecostals and some other charismatic Christians. Deliverance beliefs and practices are based on the assumption that both mental and physical ills result from possession of the sufferer by demons, and are to be treated by the expulsion of those demons. Deliverance practitioners claim to treat schizophrenia, ADHD, and Reactive Attachment Disorder, and believe that these problems are related to sins either of the person in treatment or of an ancestor. Clinicians and counsellors dealing with clients who partially or completely espouse deliverance beliefs may need to understand their worldviews and to discuss their belief system before managing to engage them in conventional mental health treatments. Unusual ethical problems may also be met in the course of such work.     

流动儿童歧视知觉与心理健康关系的元分析

本研究基于心理健康双因素模型,通过运用元分析技术探讨流动儿童歧视知觉与各项心理健康指标的关系,以及调节变量对二者关系的影响,以期为提升流动儿童心理健康提供有效借鉴。经过文献检索和筛选,共纳入原始文献30篇,含49个独立样本,被试总数达到40351名。根据同质性检验结果,选择随机效应模型分析发现,流动儿童歧视知觉与积极心理健康指标存在中等程度的负相关(r=-0.323,95%CI为[-0.378,-0.266]),与消极心理健康指标存在中等程度的正相关(r=0.41,95%CI为[0.36,0.458])。流动儿童歧视知觉测量工具、学龄段对流动儿童歧视知觉与积极心理健康的关系存在显著的调节效应,而对流动儿童歧视知觉与消极心理健康的关系不存在显著的调节效应。同时,元回归分析结果发现,性别对二者的关系不存在显著的调节效应。后续研究应该进一步探索流动儿童歧视知觉与心理健康间的调节变量,结合中国流动儿童心理发展特点,探索提升流动儿童心理健康水平的新路径。     

The relationship between ethnicity,Christian orthodoxy,and mental health

Although researchers have noted differences in the role of religiosity in the lives of people from different ethnic backgrounds, the components of religion's influence (i.e., membership and orthodoxy) on mental health have not been previously examined. In the current study, Christian participants’ Christian Orthodox Scale (COS) scores were used to predict scores on mental health. As hypothesized, African Americans with higher COS scores exhibited fewer mental-health problems than did all ethnicities studied with lower COS scores. Implications and future directions for understanding the cultural influence of religion on African Americans are discussed.     

Self-perceived clinical competence,gender and workplace setting predict burnout among psychotherapists

Work-related stress, or burnout, is elevated among healthcare staff but the specific risk factors for psychotherapists are not clear, which makes it difficult to design interventions to target this population. Therefore, the aim of this study was to investigate a set of background variables and work-related risk factors for burnout among psychotherapists. Potential protective factors such as level of education, number of years in the profession and access to clinical supervision were investigated. Symptoms of burnout were measured with the Copenhagen Burnout Inventory, and data were collected from 327 psychotherapists. In this group, 62% reported moderate or high levels of burnout symptoms, with significantly higher levels of personal- and work-related burnout than client-related burnout. Being female, having low self-perceived competence and working in the public sector were associated with higher levels of burnout. Other factors, such as age, work experience, level of education or having clinical supervision, were not associated with burnout after controlling for gender, perceived competence and workplace setting. These results confirm previous research that underlines the importance of perceived competence and control over one's work environment, and that women are at higher risk of burnout, possibly because of factors outside of work. The importance of perceived competence as a protective factor suggests that methods that increase therapeutic competence may play an important role in countering work-related stress. In conclusion, there may be a need to continue to develop and integrate specific burnout prevention interventions for psychotherapists.     

Cultural aspects of mental health and mental health service delivery with a focus on Nigeria within a global community

With an endless range of subgroups and individual variations, culture bears upon what all people bring to the clinical setting. Culture could account for health-seeking behaviour, type of services and support system and variations in how people communicate their health concerns. Culture may underlie presentation of sets of symptoms that are peculiar to certain societies – culture-bound syndromes. Culture also influences the meanings that people impart to their illness and also stigma associated with such illnesses. Culture must be viewed from the patients, clinicians and health system dimensions. Changes in mental health service delivery in last few decades have yielded culturally competent mental health services. The aim of this paper was to discuss culture and mental health with a focus on Nigeria and from a global perspective.     

Emotion work and job stressors and their effects on burnout

Abstract

This article reports research on emotion work, organizational as well as social variables as predictors of job burnout. In burnout research, high emotional demands resulting from interactions with clients are seen as a core characteristic of service jobs. However, these emotional demands were seldom measured in a direct manner. It was only recently that emotional demands were included in studies on burnout referring to the concept of emotion work (emotional labor). Emotion work is defined as the requirement to display organizationally desired emotions. A multi-dimensional concept of emotion work was used to analyze the relations of emotion work variables with organizational and social variables and their joint effect on burnout in five samples including employees working in children's homes, kindergartens, hotels, banks and call centers. Emotion work variables correlated with organizational stressors and resources. However, hierarchical multiple regression showed a unique contribution of emotion work variables in the prediction of burnout. Moreover, the analysis of interaction effects of emotional dissonance and organizational and social stressors showed that for service professionals, the coincidence of these stressors led to exaggerated levels of emotional exhaustion and depersonalization.     

Activity during unemployment and mental health

The main purpose of this study was to investigate activity during unemployment and the relationship between such activity and mental health in a sample ( n = 213) of unemployed Norwegians. The results indicate that the unemployed are generally more passive than the average population, and that they are considerably less involved in social activities. However, the unemployed do not constitute a homogenous group in terms of activity level and activity profile. Women were somewhat more active that men, particularly in connection with domestic chores. Young people were more active than the other age groups, particularly in connection with extra-familial activities. Several significant relationships were found between different activity categories and mental health. The more active the unemployed were, the better their mental health. The results are discussed in relation to similar data for the average population, other unemployment research, subjective and objective factors which can be of importance to the activity level and profile of the unemployed, sex role issues, theoretical models developed to explain and understand the effects of unemployment, methodological considerations, and the possible functions of activity for mental health.     

Self‐criticism and self‐reassurance as mediators between mental health attitudes and symptoms: Attitudes toward mental health problems in Japanese workers

Japanese workers suffer high rates of mental health symptoms, recognised recently by the Japanese government, which has enacted workplace well‐being initiatives. One reason for poor mental health concerns negative attitudes about mental health problems such as shame, which may be mediated by self‐reassurance and self‐criticism. This study aimed to evaluate shame‐based attitudes toward mental health problems and explore the relationship between mental health attitudes, self‐criticism, self‐reassurance, and mental health symptoms. Japanese workers (n = 131) completed three measures: attitudes toward mental health problems, mental health symptoms, and self‐criticism/reassurance. A high proportion of workers reported negative attitudes about mental health problems. There were strong relationships between mental health attitudes, mental health symptoms, self‐criticism, and self‐reassurance. Path analyses revealed that the total and indirect effects (through self‐criticism and self‐reassurance) of mental health attitudes on mental health were larger than the direct effect alone. Hated‐self and family reflected shame were identified as predictors for mental health symptoms. The findings suggest the importance of self‐criticism and self‐reassurance in mental health and mental health attitudes. Implications for help‐seeking behaviours also are discussed. Interventions aimed at reducing self‐criticism and enhancing self‐reassurance are recommended to improve mental health attitudes and increase help‐seeking in Japanese workers.     

话务员成就目标与工作倦怠关系的研究

目的:探讨话务员成就目标与工作倦怠的关系。方法:采用修订的成就目标量表、工作倦怠量表调查270名移动一线话务员。结果:1.掌握目标取向与负性的情绪耗竭以及玩世不恭存在显著负相关,而与成就动机存在显著正相关;2.表现趋向以及表现回避与情绪耗竭、玩世不恭存在显著正相关,与成就动机存相关系数不显著;3.掌握目标取向负向预测情绪耗竭以及玩世不恭,而正向预测成就动机,而表现回避正向预测情绪耗竭和玩世不恭。结论:掌握目标取向的个体感受的倦怠程度越低,而表现回避和表现趋向的得分越高的个体感受职业倦怠程度越高。     

Relationship between burnout, job strain, and sleep characteristics

The purpose of the present study is to analyse the relationship between sleep, burnout, and job strain in a sample of 316 healthy workers from various professional sectors. Multiple significant correlations between the principal sleep parameters, the dimensions of burnout, and job strain were found. The regression analyses show that sleep quality and various dimensions of job strain are significant predictors of several aspects of burnout. Sleep quality explains an even higher percentage of the variance in emotional exhaustion than the variance explained by more well-known variables such as job demands. Moreover, sleep quality interacts with aspects of job strain in its influence on the dimensions of burnout, although the exact relationship between these variables needs to be investigated in future longitudinal studies. Our results suggest that interventions to optimise sleep habits could prevent or alleviate burnout and could be a part of organisational work.     

Challenges and opportunities in moving toward a public health approach in school mental health

These three outstanding papers are important for the discipline of school psychology, the field of school-based mental health, and more generally for systems of education and mental health for children and adolescents. As the authors emphasize, there is an unprecedented focus on improving programs that remove barriers to learning and enhance development, health, and mental health in youth, in the most universal natural setting—the schools. The authors also correctly highlight that school psychology is uniquely positioned to play a leading role in this reform and change effort. Two interconnected themes of the public health approach—applying the evidence base and moving toward preventive and population-focused interventions—are emphasized in these papers, and while they focus on school psychology, the issues discussed are generalizable to the many disciplines that operate within educational and mental health systems. In the following discussion, I react to the papers' two major themes, discuss realities that should be addressed for progress to be made, and comment on their implications for school psychology.     

Association between burnout and anger in oncology versus ophthalmology health care professionals

The prevalence of burnout in oncology staff was compared with that of the ophthalmology staff, who normally present a low prevalence of burnout as described in this literature. The correlation of burnout with the emotion of anger was also investigated. Thirty-six subjects working in an oncology department and 32 working in an ophthalmology department were examined using the Maslach Burnout Inventory and the State-Trait Anger Expression Inventory. The oncology group showed higher mean scores on the MBI Emotive Exhaustion and Depersonalization scales with respect to ophthalmology staff. Correlation analysis showed that increasing burnout was associated with higher anger expressed towards the environment and loss of anger control. Anger, as a response to frustration, appears to be a feature constantly associated with the clinical expression of burnout and it should not be underestimated in theoretical and preventive contexts.