Resilience and the burnout-engagement model in formal caregivers of the elderly

This paper investigates the relationship between resilience and positive/negative mental aspects of psychological well-being in formal caregivers for the elderly. The sample consisted of 265 caregivers who work in different residential homes in Extremadura and Castilla y León (Spain). The instruments used included the Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale , the Maslach Burnout Inventory-General Survey and the Utrecht Work Engagement Scale. The most significant findings show that caregivers with higher levels of resilience also have higher levels of professional efficacy and job engagement (vigor, dedication and absorption) and appear to be less emotionally exhausted or cynical than caregivers with lower levels of resilience. It cannot be concluded that more resilient caregivers will not get burned out, but they develop better engagement skills. As they strengthen these personal attributes, they become less vulnerable to burnout.     

Suicide and the suicidal body. 2002 Dublin Award Address

This paper focuses on the bodily experiences and attitudes toward the body in suicidal individuals. It is argued that bodily experiences and attitudes toward the body, such as rejection of the body, detachment, numbness, physical anhedonia, and lack of protection can facilitate acts of self-destruction. This argument is supported by theories of developmental psychology, theories on suicide, and empirical data. It is demonstrated that suicidal individuals experience their body differently from other populations and that these are related to suicidal behavior.     

LATERAL DIFFERENCES IN DIGIT AND NONSENSE FORM RECOGNITION AMONG JAPANESE AND ISRAELI SUBJECTS

Digit and nonsense figure sequences which were arranged vertically or horizontally, were tachistoscopically presented to native Japanese and Hebrew readers to the left or right visual field. Both groups showed a right visual field superiority in the horizontal condition and a strong tendency toward a right visual field superiority in the vertical condition for the digit sequences, and no visual field difference was shown both in the vertical and horizontal conditions for the nonsense figure sequences. There was no difference between Japanese and Israelis in either the direction or the degree of the visual field differences. A slight influence of the different directional reading biases between both groups appeared in the analysis of serial position effect in recall, but this influence was not prominent. Based on these findings, cross-cultural influences on cerebral functioning were discussed.     

Some thoughts on correspondence between saying and doing

Recent research on verbal-nonverbal correspondence is evaluated, and conceptual, methodological, and applied issues regarding correspondence are addressed. Directions for research concerning the correspondence training procedure and extended applications are suggested.     

Instrument considerations in measuring fast eye movements

The dynamic limitations of eye movement recorders can distort the measurement of fast eye movements such as saccades and nystagmic quick phases. In this paper, the effects of the bandwidth and noise of recording methods and the problems incurred by digital sampling are discussed theoretically with respect to the measurement of peak velocity and duration of fast eye movements. As a practical example, a TV-based infrared corneal reflex system is examined and a method for calibrating it for peak velocity measurement is described.     

Correspondence training, prior verbal training, and control of nonverbal behavior via control of verbal behavior

The role of prior verbal training in correspondence training and later verbal control of nonverbal behavior was examined in two groups of Head Start children. One group received correspondence training without prior verbal training, the other with. Essentially no differences were found between the two sequences; thus it seems appropriate to consider the content phases (reinforcement contingent on target verbalization alone) of previous research as control procedures and not a necessary precursor to correspondence training.     

A validity study of existential/dialectical marital questionnaire [EDMQ]: A psychometric questionnaire for assessing marital interaction

This paper reports the successful development of a psychometric questionnaire for analyzing marital functioning and interaction based on an existential/dialectical model originally presented by Charny as the basis for a clinical model for rating couples,Existential/Dialectical Marital Profile [EDMP]. The clinical model and psychometric questionnaire address five main areas of functioning in marriage: family management, companionship, relationship and communication, attraction and sexuality, and parenting; as well as five main dimensions of marital relationship: competence, commitment, respect, power, and closeness.Presented at the Conference of the International Family Therapy Association, Amsterdam, May, 1993. This study was completed as a master's thesis by Shlomit Asineli in collaboration with and under the supervision of Professor Israel Charny at the Bob Shapell School of Social Work, Tel Aviv University.     

The elimination of learned helplessness deficits as a function of induced self-esteem

The efficiency of induced self-esteem in reducing various deficits caused by learned helplessness was tested in this study. Sixty undergraduate students were divided into three equal groups. The first group received uncontrollability treatment, the second received controllability treatment, and the third received no treatment. The subjects in the first two groups were asked to reduce the anxiety reaction of a confederate, as shown on an oscilloscope, by talking to him. The anxiety waves were shown on the oscilloscope and were preprogrammed so that subjects in the uncontrollability treatment group experienced lack of control over the results, while the ones in the controllability group were led to belive that they successfully controlled the changes of the confederate's anxiety. Then, half of the subjects in each of the three groups received positive feedback on their personality, while the other half received no feedback. In the last phase all subjects participated in a word recognition task using a tachistoscope operated by a combined push-button and microphone device. Response latency, number of correct identifications, and persistence in the task were recorded. In addition, the subjects completed a mood scale. The results indicate that subjects who received induced self-esteem treatment showed significantly more deficit reversal as reflected in response latency, persistence, feelings of potency, and sadness. The results are discussed in relation to (a) the assumption regarding the similarities between learned helplessness and depression, and (b) the usefulness of induced self-esteem as a form of treatment for helplessness depression.