Predicting post‐traumatic growth and post‐traumatic stress in firefighters

Emergency service workers (e.g., firefighters, police, and paramedics) are exposed to elevated levels of potentially traumatising events through the course of their work. Such exposure can have lasting negative consequences (e.g., post‐traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)) and/or positive outcomes (e.g., post‐traumatic growth (PTG)). Research had implicated trauma, occupational and personal variables that account for variance in post‐trauma outcomes yet at this stage no research has investigated these factors and their relative influence on both PTSD and PTG in a single study. Based in Calhoun and Tedeschi's model of PTG and previous research, in this study regression models of PTG and PTSD symptoms among 218 firefighters were tested. Results indicated organisational factors predicted symptoms of PTSD, while there was partial support for the hypothesis that coping and social support would be predictors of PTG. Experiencing multiple sources of trauma, higher levels of organisational and operational stress, and utilising cognitive reappraisal coping were all significant predictors of PTSD symptoms. Increases in PTG were predicted by experiencing trauma from multiple sources and the use of self‐care coping. Results highlight the importance of organisational factors in the development of PTSD symptoms, and of individual factors for promoting PTG.     

Can CBT Be Effective for Aboriginal Australians? Perspectives of Aboriginal Practitioners Trained in CBT

The objective of the study was to investigate whether high and low intensity versions of cognitive behaviour therapy (CBT) might be an effective therapeutic approach for enhancing the mental health of Aboriginal Australians. Five university‐educated Aboriginal counsellors received in‐depth training in CBT. Over the following year, they used CBT strategies with their clients, and met 10 times as a participatory action research group. The group addressed three key questions: (a) Does CBT appear to be useful for Aboriginal Australians? (b) If so, what elements of CBT are perceived to be effective? (c) What adaptations might be made to CBT to enhance its effectiveness with Aboriginal Australians? The resulting qualitative data were transcribed and analysed. Counsellors perceived CBT to be very useful for their Aboriginal clients and for themselves. They reported that it enhanced their clients' well‐being, their own clinical skills, and their own well‐being, and it reduced burnout. The qualities of CBT that were perceived to be effective were its adaptability, pragmatic here‐and‐now approach, capacity for low‐intensity interventions, safe containing structure, promotion of self‐agency, and valuable techniques. It was suggested that the prime requirement for adaptations to CBT were that they would need to fit different social and cultural contexts.     

Assessing Violence Risk: A Review and Clinical Recommendations

Guidance to identify and manage clients with a perceived high risk for future violence is of great importance for mental health professionals. In the past decade, several structured instruments have been developed to assess risk of future violence. Awareness of the limits and abilities of such instruments is required. This article reviews the most well‐known risk assessment tools and provides recommendations for how to approach the area of violence risk assessment.     

Spirituality and Counselor Competence: A National Survey of American Counseling Association Members

A random sample of 505 American Counseling Association (ACA) members completed a questionnaire that evaluated respondents' ratings of the importance of 9 competencies developed at the Summit on Spirituality (G. Miller, 1999; “Summit Results,” 1995) meetings to effectively address spiritual and religious issues in counseling practice. Results suggest that, in general, ACA members strongly support the importance of the competencies for effective counseling practice.     

Single‐limit interval estimates as reference points

People often describe uncertain quantities by suggesting a lower or upper limit of an uncertainty interval, rather than the complete range. Five studies are reported, which demonstrate how interval limits function as provisional reference points (PRP), conferring evaluative meanings to the target objects, by suggesting downward or upward comparisons. Thus, a price above X appears expensive, whereas a price below Y appears cheap, even when Y > X. This can give rise to framing effects: a purchase can appear to be recommended or advised against, and a seller can appear as optimistic or pessimistic, and, more generally, an estimate can indicate abundance or scarcity, depending upon which boundary (upper or lower) that is selected. Furthermore, inclusive lower bounds (minimum, at least) and upper bounds (maximum, at most) differ from exclusive lower (more than, above) and upper bounds (less than, below), by suggesting possible (likely) rather than implausible (unlikely) values. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The Role of Job Challenge and Organizational Identification in Enhancing Creative Behavior among Employees in the Workplace

Organizations recognize the importance of creative employees and constantly explore ways to enhance their employees' creative behavior. Creativity research has directed substantial efforts to understanding how work environment fosters creativity. Yet, this research has paid little attention to the importance of specific characteristics of the work environment and organizational identification in augmenting creative behavior in employees at work. The present study examines the influence of job challenge on employees' creative behavior, arguing that organizational identification plays a mediating role in this relationship. The results show that organizational identification mediates the relationship between job challenge and employees' creative behavior.     

Approach‐Avoidance Motivation and the Use of Affect as Information

Individuals often rely on their affect for information. However, positive or negative affect may not be informative for individuals who are more prone to feel affect of this particular valence in general, unless they chronically monitor their internal states. A series of studies demonstrates that differences in individuals’ internal versus external focus of attention and in trait affective valence associated with their approach versus avoidance motivation determine reliance on affect as information. Specifically, our findings show that while positive affect is used as an input in product satisfaction judgments regardless of individuals’ approach versus avoidance motivation, negative affect is used only by individuals with a predominant approach motivation.     

Empathic accuracy of intimate partners in violent versus nonviolent relationships

This study compared the empathic accuracy of men and women who had perpetrated physical intimate partner violence with that of partners in nonviolent but distressed and nonviolent and nondistressed relationships. Examined was the empathic accuracy (a) of partners for one another’s thoughts and feelings during a relationship problem discussion in the laboratory, (b) of partners’ empathic accuracy for each other with the empathic accuracy of objective observers who watched the couples’ interactions, and (c) the males’ empathic accuracy for their female partner to their empathic accuracy for female strangers. No significant group differences were found among women’s empathic accuracy, but the data suggest that violent men exhibit poor empathic accuracy when attempting to understand their female partner’s thoughts and feelings.