Workload and burnout in nurses

This paper examines the relationship between workload, burnout and somatization in nurses. The respondents consisted of 1363 nurses employed in hospitals, which were undergoing extensive restructuring. Results of structural equation analyses showed that workload was positively related to emotional exhaustion. Emotional exhaustion led to cynicism and somatization, and cynicism was negatively related to nurses' professional efficacy. Implications of the results for nursing practice are discussed. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Inspiration or deflation? Feeling similar or dissimilar to slim and plus-size models affects self-evaluation of restrained eaters

The present studies examined the effect of perceiving images of slim and plus-size models on restrained eaters’ self-evaluation. While previous research has found that such images can lead to either inspiration or deflation, we argue that these inconsistencies can be explained by differences in perceived similarity with the presented model. The results of two studies (ns = 52 and 99) confirmed this and revealed that restrained eaters with high (low) perceived similarity to the model showed more positive (negative) self-evaluations when they viewed a slim model, compared to a plus-size model. In addition, Study 2 showed that inducing in participants a similarities mindset led to more positive self-evaluations after viewing a slim compared to a plus-size model, but only among restrained eaters with a relatively high BMI. These results are discussed in the context of research on social comparison processes and with regard to interventions for protection against the possible detrimental effects of media images.     

A non-auditory measure of interference predicts distraction by competing speech in older adults

ABSTRACT In this study, older adults monitored for pre-assigned target sounds in a target talker's speech in a quiet (no noise) condition and in a condition with competing-talker noise. The question was to which extent the impact of the competing-talker noise on performance could be predicted from individual hearing loss and from a cognitive measure of inhibitory abilities, i.e., a measure of Stroop interference. The results showed that the non-auditory measure of Stroop interference predicted the impact of distraction on performance, over and above the effect of hearing loss. This suggests that individual differences in inhibitory abilities among older adults relate to susceptibility to distracting speech.     

Social Information Processing as a Mediator Between Cognitive Schemas and Aggressive Behavior in Adolescents

This longitudinal investigation assessed whether cognitive schemas of justification of violence, mistrust, and narcissism predicted social information processing (SIP), and SIP in turn predicted aggressive behavior in adolescents. A total of 650 adolescents completed measures of cognitive schemas at Time 1, SIP in ambiguous social scenarios at Time 1 and Time 2, and reactive aggression at Time 1, Time 2, and Time 3 to determine whether SIP measured at Time 2 mediated between the cognitive schemas measured at Time 1 and the aggressive behavior measured at Time 3. The results showed that each schema predicted different SIP components: Justification of violence predicted aggressive response access, narcissism predicted anger and aggressive response access, and mistrust predicted more hostile attributions and less anger. Only the SIP component of aggressive response access was directly associated with reactive aggression. The mediational model was quite similar for boys and girls although some paths, such as the association between aggressive response access and reactive aggression, were higher for boys.     

Psychometric properties of the Spanish version of the Work Group Emotional Intelligence Profile-Short version

Research on emotions in the workplace has recently developed into a major field. The study and contribution of Emotional Intelligence (EI) to this area has been fundamental. However, EI has been predominantly studied from an individual perspective, and group level studies as well as comparisons among cultures are necessary. Thus, the development and adaptation of group measures to other languages is needed. In this study, we examine the reliability and validity of the Spanish version of the Work Group Emotional Intelligence Profile-Short version (WEIP-S) in a sample of 332 employees from 53 work groups. In summary, our Spanish version of the WEIP-S replicates the factor structure and has an adequate reliability rating, and the relations with other criterion variables were similar to those of the Australian English version. This Spanish version of the WEIP-S provides us with a good instrument to further analyze EI in groups and to promote the comparison of these variables among cultures.     

The Effectiveness of Mindfulness Training on Behavioral Problems and Attentional Functioning in Adolescents with ADHD

The effectiveness of an 8-week mindfulness training for adolescents aged 11–15?years with ADHD and parallel Mindful Parenting training for their parents was evaluated, using questionnaires as well as computerized attention tests. Adolescents (N?=?10), their parents (N?=?19) and tutors (N?=?7) completed measurements before, immediately after, 8?weeks after and 16?weeks after training. Adolescents reported on their attention and behavioral problems and mindful awareness, and were administered two computerized sustained attention tasks. Parents as well as tutors reported on adolescents’ attention and behavioral problems and executive functioning. Parents further reported on their own parenting, parenting stress and mindful awareness. Both the mindfulness training for the adolescents and their parents was delivered in group format. First, after mindfulness training, adolescents’ attention and behavior problems reduced, while their executive functioning improved, as indicated by self-report measures as well as by father and teacher report. Second, improvements in adolescent’ actual performance on attention tests were found after mindfulness training. Moreover, fathers, but not mothers, reported reduced parenting stress. Mothers reported reduced overreactive parenting, whereas fathers reported an increase. No effect on mindful awareness of adolescents or parents was found. Effects of mindfulness training became stronger at 8-week follow-up, but waned at 16-week follow-up. Our study adds to the emerging body of evidence indicating that mindfulness training for adolescents with ADHD (and their parents) is an effective approach, but maintenance strategies need to be developed in order for this approach to be effective in the longer term.     

Children of victims of terrorist activities: A family approach to dealing with tragedy

Abstract

The present report deals with the treatment of families of victims of terrorist activities. Such families are subject to an initial crisis situation involving severe stress as well as disruption in family role structure and homeo-stasis. Much of the trauma precipitated by such events is a result of their suddenness, their salience in the public consciousness and the consequent stigma they produce towards survivors and/or relatives of victims. A number of specific issues were common in the two case studies presented in this report as well as in other families affected by terrorism. These included dealing with the need to be a superparent and correcting unrealistic expectations, teaching effective limit setting including giving permission to be a parent, giving permission to be an adult, dealing with guilt and phobic reactions as well as family and network reorganization. Therapy concentrated on promoting family strengths and coping and deemphasized individual pathology. Common to most families treated was the strong desire of the victim's children to be treated as normal and not as psychological casualties. Thus, family therapy proved to be an ideal treatment modality for dealing with the tragic loss. By focusing on the problems of day-to-day living, the mourning work evolved naturally in the course of therapy. Specific therapeutic modalities such as cotherapy and network intervention facilitated family adjustment considerably.     

GENDER DIFFERENCES IN INTERNAL BELIEFS ABOUT WEIGHT AND NEGATIVE ATTITUDES TOWARDS SELF AND OTHERS

Previous research has found that people with an internal weight locus of control (beliefs in self-control over weight) are more likely to join and stay in weight-loss programs and have higher self-esteem than those who have an external locus of control (e.g., belief that weight is due to luck, genes). There has been no research on how weight locus of control affects the self-esteem of people who are not average weight or not satisfied with their weight. The present study predicted that for people who are overweight, weight locus of control would be negatively related to self-esteem. The results confirmed this interaction between weight locus of control and weight on self-esteem for women, but not for men. The second prediction was that internal weight locus of control would have negative social consequences in terms of greater negative stereotyping of obese people, and this was also confirmed for women. Because weight loss is rarely permanent, it would seem important to change people's attitudes about the lack of control that they (and others) have over body weight.     

Impact of intention on the ERP correlates of face recognition

The present study investigated the impact of study-test similarity on face recognition by manipulating, in the same experiment, the expression change (same vs. different) and the task-processing context (inclusion vs. exclusion instructions) as within-subject variables. Consistent with the dual-process framework, the present results showed that participants performed better on the inclusion task than on the exclusion task, with no response bias. A mid-frontal FN400 old/new effect and a parietal old/new effect were found in both tasks. However, modulations of the ERP old/new effects generated by the expression change on recognized faces differed across tasks. The modulations of the ERP old/new effects were proportional to the degree of matching between the study face and the recognition face in the inclusion task, but not in the exclusion task. The observed modulation of the FN400 old/new effect by the task instructions when familiarity and conceptual priming were kept constant indicates that these early ERP correlates of recognition depend on voluntary task-related control. The present results question the idea that FN400 reflects implicit memory processes such as conceptual priming and show that the extent to which the FN400 discriminates between conditions depends on the retrieval orientation at test. They are discussed in relation to recent controversies about the ERP correlates of familiarity in face recognition. This study suggests that while both conceptual and perceptual information can contribute to the familiarity signal reflected by the FN400 effect, their relative contributions vary with the task demands.     

Perceived social support,coping, and symptoms of distress in American and Spanish students

Abstract

The aim of this study was to test whether coping responses mediated the influence of perceived social support on symptoms of anxiety/depression, social withdrawal, and aggressive behavior in American (N=349) and Spanish students (N=437). Participants completed measures of perceived support, social stress, coping, and distress. Coping partially mediated relations between perceived support and distress, with coping mediation most evident in individuals facing high levels of social stress. Decreased use of disengagement coping by individuals with high perceived support appears to partially explain the protective value of perceived social support. Multiple group covariance structure analysis showed that models linking perceived support, coping, and distress were very similar across cultures, suggesting that the mechanisms underlying decreased risk for individuals with high perceived support may be relatively independent of cultural context, and that interventions designed to increase perceived support and decrease disengagement could be appropriate in both cultures.