Influences on the Food Choice Behaviors of Adults With Severe Mental Illness

The objective of this research was to gain a deeper understanding of factors influencing the healthiness of food choice behaviors of community-dwelling adults with severe mental illness. Semi-structured interviews were conducted in an outpatient treatment facility with 20 program participants and 10 staff. Grounded theory analysis methods were used. Five dominant themes emerged: food availability, preference for simple food preparation, perceived cost of food, complexity of choice, and relative importance of healthy food choices. The theme of medication effects only emerged from staff interviews. This research can be useful to inform the design of nutrition interventions for this population.     

Motor Schema Formation and Retention in Young Children

The variability-of-practice hypothesis, a major prediction of Schmidt’s (1975) motor schema theory, was tested in an attempt to investigate motor-schema formation. In addition, schema retention was observed after a 2-week retention interval. The task involved preschool children in tossing a bean bag for appropriate distance. Four treatment groups received 100 practice trials equally divided over five days. Variation was provided by varying the weights of the bean bags. The testing situations involved tossing a criterion weighted bean bag as well as a novel weighted bean bag which none of the groups had experienced previously. In addition, all groups were tested on a new but similar task. The results supported the variability-of-practice hypothesis in terms of schema formation and transfer to novel tasks in the same movement class. After a two-week retention interval, loss in performance was significantly less for the group with variability of practice than all other groups.     

The impact of vacation and job stress on burnout and absenteeism

Abstract

The purpose of the present study was to test the hypothesis that vacation relief decreases psychological and behavioral strains caused by job stressors. We examined the impact of job stress and vacation on strain on 87 blue-collar employees in an industrial enterprise in central Israel. Whereas former respite research focused on the impact of vacation only on psychological strains such as burnout and job and life satisfaction, the current study also examined a behavioral strain, absenteeism. The employees completed questionnaires before and after vacation and again four weeks later. Our findings show that vacation alleviated perceived job stress and bumout as predicted, replicating findings that a respite from work diminishes levels of strain to lower than chronic, on-the-job levels. We found declines in burnout immediately after the vacation and a return to prevacation levels four weeks later, and a similar pattern with regard to absenteeism.     

Temperament and Gender: Correlates of Toddler Social Competence

The relation between temperament, gender, and social competence was examined in a sample of 202 children ranging from 12 to 36 months of age. Gender and specific characteristics of temperament corresponded more with toddler social competence than did a more general style of temperament. Females were rated by mothers and group caregivers as more socially competent than males on all four measures used in the study and significantly more so on three of these measures. Characteristics of temperament most closely associated with toddler social competence were approach/withdrawal, adaptability to change, and general quality of mood.     

How perceived interpersonal justice relates to job burnout and intention to leave: The role of leader–member exchange and cognition‐based trust in leaders

Intense competition among companies makes it particularly important for organizations to retain talented and skilled employees to maintain their competitive advantage. This study examines the linkage between employees' perceptions of the interpersonal justice demonstrated by their leaders and consequent job burnout resulting in turnover intention by focusing on the mediating role of leader–member exchange (LMX) as well as the moderating role of employees' cognition‐based trust in their leaders. Data were obtained from 158 MBA students attending a large university in South Korea. Using structural equation modelling, we examined an integrative model that combines interpersonal justice, LMX, job burnout, and turnover intention. The results reveal that (a) LMX partially mediates the relationships between interpersonal justice and job burnout and (b) employees' cognition‐based trust in their leaders moderates the relationship between LMX and job burnout. By examining the mediating role of LMX as well as the moderating role of cognition‐based trust in the relationship between perceived interpersonal justice and employee job burnout, this study (1) provides a comprehensive explanation of employee job burnout and (2) outlines the implications for job burnout research and practice.     

Secret Agent Society: A Randomized Controlled Trial of a Transdiagnostic Youth Social Skills Group Treatment

Group programs are key for targeting social skills (SS) for children with developmental disorders and/or mental illness. Despite promising evidence regarding efficacy of group treatments, there are several limitations to current research regarding generalizability and effectiveness across diagnoses. This randomized control trial assessed whether the Secret Agent Society (SAS) group program was superior to treatment as usual (TAU) in improving social-emotional functioning for children with Attention Deficit-Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), and/or anxiety. Eighty-nine youth (8–12) with ADHD, ASD, and/or an anxiety disorder receiving treatment at hospital-based outpatient clinics were randomized to receive SAS (n?=?47) or TAU (n?=?42) over a three-month period, at which point TAU participants were offered the SAS intervention. Parent report showed significant improvement in Emotion Regulation (ER) and Social Skills (SS) for youth in SAS vs. TAU (Fs?≥?6.79, ps?≤?01). Gains for the SAS condition were maintained at 6-months. Intent-to-treat analysis of teacher report indicated youth in SAS had positive gains in SS (F?=?0.41, p?=?0.475) and ER (F?=?0.99, p?=?0.322), though not significantly better than youth in TAU. Clinically reliable improvement rates were significantly higher for SAS participants than TAU for parent and teacher reported SS and ER. Improvements were significant for youth with single and comorbid diagnoses. Results suggest that SAS was superior to TAU in improving SS and ER for youth aged 8–12 with ADHD, ASD, and/or anxiety. Gains maintained in the medium-term. Trial registration number NCT02574273, registered 10/12/2015.