Relationships among empathy, prosocial behavior, aggressiveness, self-efficacy and pupils' personal and social responsibility

The aim of this study was, on the one hand, to present/display the Spanish version of diverse instruments that assess Empathy, Prosocial behavior, Aggressiveness, Self-efficacy and Personal and social responsibility, and, on the other hand, to analyze which of these variables could predict responsibility. Participants were 822 pupils, ages 8 to 15 years, who studied in 11 educational centres of the Valencian Community. Measures include Spanish versions of the Index of Empathy for Children and Adolescents, Prosocial Behaviour, and Physical and Verbal Aggression, the Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Self-Efficacy, and the Contextual Self-Responsibility Questionnaire. Through structural equation modelling (SEM), the results showed positive relationships between Prosocial behaviour, Empathy, Self-efficacy, and Responsibility; and negative relationships between Aggressiveness and Responsibility. The results and implications for education are discussed.     

The effects of the Demand-Support-Control model on construction workers' health

This work takes as reference the Demand-Control-Support model and analyzes the relation of job control and social support and some job demands and physical well-being in a sample of 285 construction workers. In general, job demands, exposure to harmful conditions, social support, and job control were found to be related to physical well-being. The modulator effects of job control and social support were verified. Job control modulates the negative effects of stress, mainly in situations of high demand. Moreover, social support modulates the negative effects of stress in situations of high exposure to harmful conditions. A three-way interaction effect was found but the increase in explained variance was not significant. Thus, the results do not reveal empirical evidence of the Demand-Control-Support model. The limitations and practical implications of this study are discussed.     

Neural bases of language switching in high and early proficient bilinguals

The left inferior frontal cortex, the caudate and the anterior cingulate have been proposed as the neural origin of language switching, but most of the studies were conducted in low proficient bilinguals. In the present study, we investigated brain areas involved in language switching in a sample of 19 early, high-proficient Spanish–Catalan bilinguals using a picture naming task that allowed contrasting switch and non-switch trials. Compared to the non-switching condition, language switching elicited greater activation in the head of the left caudate and the pre-SMA/ACC. When the direction of the switching was considered, the left caudate was more associated with forward switching and the pre-SMA/ACC with backward switching. The discussion is focused on the relevance of these brain structures in language control in early, high-proficient bilinguals, and the comparison with previous results in late bilinguals.     

Future-oriented emotions in the prediction of binge-drinking intention and expectation: the role of anticipated and anticipatory emotions

The Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) offers a parsimonious explanation of purposive behavior, but in the study of healthy and risk behaviors its sufficiency may be questioned. Working with binge-drinking, a very common risk behavior in Spanish undergraduate students, we used two strategies for improving predictions from TPB: using behavioral intention (BI) and behavioral expectation (BE) as proximal antecedents of behaviors and adding as new predictors two future-oriented emotions (anticipated and anticipatory). Hierarchical regression analyses show that while anticipated emotions improved TPB explanations of BI, anticipatory emotions improved the explanations of BE. The present results show the influence of future emotions in the prediction of behavioral intention and behavioral expectation.     

Ego-Syntonicity and Ego-Dystonicity Associated with Upsetting Intrusive Cognitions

Ego-dystonicity and ego-syntonicity are usually considered opposite ends of the same dimension, and they are used to define both obsessions and eating disorder-related symptoms. This study aims to examine the characteristics of ego-dystonicity/syntonicity, their relationships with symptom contents, and with the emotions, behaviours, and evaluative appraisals provoked by these symptoms. A sample of 349 community individuals rated the ego-dystonicity and ego-syntonicity associated with their most upsetting obsessional intrusive thought (OIT) and eating disorder-related intrusive thought (EDIT). Three dimensions, Undesirability/Desirability, Immorality/Morality/, and Irrationality/Rationality explained ego-dystonicity and ego-syntonicity. The size of the relationships among these dimensions was medium, and no correlation exists between morality/immorality concerning the OIT. Since the OIT was rated as more egodystonic and less egosyntonic than the EDIT, both thought modalities were egosyntonic, as they were considered rational/coherent with the personality, but at the same time egodystonic, as they were undesirable. The ego-dystonicity of both the OIT and EDIT was associated with negative emotions, dysfunctional appraisals, and interference in on-going activities, with Immorality being the most noteworthy dimension of ego-dystonicity. Both subclinical OCD and ED subjects scored higher than non-clinical participants on the ego-dystonicity caused by their most upsetting intrusive thought.     

Meta-analytical review of teacher burnout across 36 societies: the role of national learning assessments and gender egalitarianism

Objective: Teacher burnout has hardly been compared across countries, although it has become a global health issue. This review aimed to examine teacher burnout (effect size) and its variation across countries by testing the effects of gender, gender egalitarianism, and national learning assessments (NLAs).

Design: A systematic literature search was carried out using keywords. In all, 156 studies from 36 countries were included that used quantitative methodology. Meta-analytical procedures were used to estimate effect sizes of three dimensions of burnout. Two-level multilevel mixed-effect model tested moderator variables at the country level.

Results: The overall effect size found for emotional exhaustion was 38.29 (95% CI = 35.26, 41.32), 29.45 (95% CI = 25.91, 32.99) for cynicism, and 68.75 (95% CI = 65.63, 71.87) for personal accomplishment, with significant differences across countries. Gender was negatively significant for personal accomplishment. Significant linear, curvilinear and interaction effects of NLAs and gender egalitarianism explained variations in burnout. Whereas more NLAs tends to increase burnout, more gender egalitarianism tends to decrease it, although this effect is not linear.

Conclusion: Teacher burnout, as a health issue, varies significantly across countries suggesting that programmes to prevent this problem should consider environmental (educational system) and cultural conditions for a greater impact.