Coping strategies of Ethiopian immigrants in Israel: Association with PTSD and dissociation

Finklestein, M., Laufer, A. & Solomon, Z. (2012). Coping strategies of Ethiopian immigrants in Israel: Association with PTSD and dissociation. Scandinavian Journal of Psychology 53, 490–498. The aim of this study was to examine the relations between coping strategies, posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and dissociation among Jewish Ethiopian refugees in Israel (following exposure to pre‐, peri‐ and post‐migration stressful events). Method: A random sample (N = 478) of three waves of refugees took part in the research (N = 165; N = 169; N = 144). Religiosity, coping strategies, stressful and traumatic events, pre‐ and peri‐ migration, post‐migration difficulties, posttraumatic symptoms, and dissociation were assessed. Results: A significant relationship was found between PTSD symptoms and avoidance coping over and above immigration wave and traumatic events. Dissociation was positively associated with passivity and antisocial coping and negatively associated with social joining and level of religiosity, over and above immigration wave and traumatic events. The findings are discussed in the light of the coping strategies employed by Ethiopian refugees.     

新手—熟手—专家型教师心理特征的比较

为了更深入地了解教师的教学专长发展,采用了量表法分别对433名和469名新手型、熟手型、专家型教师进行了教学策略、成就目标定向、人格特征和职业承诺、职业倦怠两个比较研究。结果表明：⑴在教学策略、成就目标、人格特征上,专家型教师均优于熟手型教师,而熟手型教师又优于新手型教师;在职业承诺和职业倦怠上,专家型教师均优于熟手型教师和新手型教师,而熟手型教师与新手型教师不存在差异。⑵重视课前准备,成绩目标是其重要的工作动机是新手型教师的主要特征;课中策略水平较高,任务目标成为重要的工作动机,具有随和、宽容、乐群、能关心他人的人格特点是熟手型教师的主要特征;教学策略以课前计划、课后的评估、反思为核心,具有鲜明的情绪稳定性、理智、着重实际、自信心和批判性强的人格特点,职业的情感投入程度和职业成就感高是专家型教师的主要特征。⑶三类教师在课后的补救策略、成绩目标、内外向、继续承诺和情绪耗竭上没有显著差异是其共同点。     

社会支持系统在中学生学业压力源和应对策略间的中介作用

采用问卷法对551名中学生的学业压力源、社会支持系统对其应对策略的影响进行研究,结果发现:不同的学业压力源类型及社会支持系统的不同作用方向分别对三种应对策略有不同的预测作用:(1)竞争压力对被动应对策略有直接影响,挫折压力对维持应对策略和主动应对策略有直接影响;(2)发展压力和任务要求压力通过冲突和惩罚等具有反向作用的支持系统间接影响三种应对策略,即具有反向作用的妨碍支持在发展压力、任务要求压力与三种应对策略间具有中介作用;(3)任务要求压力通过肯定与支持、陪伴、满意度等具有正向作用的支持系统间接影响维持应对策略和主动应对策略,即具有正向作用的积极支持在任务要求压力与维持应对策略、主动应对策略间具有中介作用。     

Movement Control Strategies in a Dynamic Balance Task in Children With and Without Developmental Coordination Disorder

Abstract

Our study aimed to analyze movement control strategies using predefined criteria for amplitude and differences in these strategies between children with and without DCD. Children with (n?=?28) and without DCD (n?=?15) were included. A video-observation-tool was used to score the moving body parts during a Wii Fit slalom task over multiple time points. Two-step cluster analysis was used to extract distinct movement strategies. Two different movement strategies were identified that were independently validated by a measure of task performance and a subjective mark of quality of the movement. Initial differences between groups and changes over time toward the more successful strategy were found in both groups, albeit in a different percentage. This study shows that the more efficient movement strategy is seen in the majority of the TD children and only in a small number of children with DCD, even after practice.     

Job stress and coping strategies in patients with subjective food hypersensitivity

Lind, R., Lillestøl. K., Valeur, J., Eriksen, H. R., Tangen, T., Berstad, A. & Arslan Lied, G. (2009). Job stress and coping strategies in patients with subjective food hypersensitivity. Scandinavian Journal of Psychology, 51, 179–184. Psychological distress may be causally related to multiple, unexplained somatic symptoms. We have investigated job stress, coping strategies and subjective health complaints in patients with subjective food hypersensitivity. Sixty‐four patients were compared with 65 controls. All participants filled in questionnaires focusing on job stress, job demands and control, work environment, coping strategies and subjective health complaints. Compared with controls, patients scored significantly lower on job stress and job demands, and significantly higher on authority over job decisions. Coping strategies and satisfaction with work environment did not differ significantly between the two groups, but the patients reported significantly more subjective health complaints than the controls. Scores on job stress and job demands were generally low in patients with subjective food hypersensitivity. It is unlikely, therefore, that the patients’ high scores on subjective health complaints are causally related to the work situation.     

How Change Happens: Controlling Images,Mutuality, and Power

SUMMARY

Change is inevitable but it can go in a positive direction toward growth or in a negative direction. Extending Patricia Hill Collins' concept of controlling images (2000), we can see how these images interact with relational images and strategies of disconnection to obstruct growth on both the societal and the personal level. In therapy, change is defined as movement-in-relationship toward better connection; and increased connection leads to growth. Several aspects of therapy that lead to deeper and wider connection are explored, especially increasing the patient's power. Prior versions of parts of this article were presented at the Jean Baker Miller Summer Training Institutes in 2001 and 2002 and at the 2002 Learning from Women Conference sponsored by the Jean Baker Miller Training Institute and the Harvard Medical School/Cambridge Hospital in Boston, Massachusetts.

As therapists, we're “in the business” of change–change for the better. That's our goal. Another word for change for the better is growth. Change is the essence of life. It is most obvious in children but it is a necessity through all of life. Change will occur inevitably but it can go in a positive or a negative direction. Further, I believe change toward growth creates pleasure. We feel most alive and zestful when we are engaged in this expanding activity.     

Priming effects of arithmetic signs in 10- to 15-year-old children

In this research, 10- to 12- and 13- to 15-year-old children were presented with very simple addition and multiplication problems involving operands from 1 to 4. Critically, the arithmetic sign was presented before the operands in half of the trials, whereas it was presented at the same time as the operands in the other half. Our results indicate that presenting the ‘x’ sign before the operands of a multiplication problem does not speed up the solving process, irrespective of the age of children. In contrast, presenting the ‘+’ sign before the operands of an addition problem facilitates the solving process, but only in 13 to 15-year-old children. Such priming effects of the arithmetic sign have been previously interpreted as the result of a pre-activation of an automated counting procedure, which can be applied as soon as the operands are presented. Therefore, our results echo previous conclusions of the literature that simple additions but not multiplications can be solved by fast counting procedures. More importantly, we show here that these procedures are possibly convoked automatically by children after the age of 13 years. At a more theoretical level, our results do not support the theory that simple additions are solved through retrieval of the answers from long-term memory by experts. Rather, the development of expertise for mental addition would consist in an acceleration of procedures until automatization.     

Is cleanliness next to abstinence? The effect of cleanliness priming on attitudes towards harm reduction strategies for people with substance use disorders

Can exposure to a cleanliness prime affect moral judgements towards harm reduction strategies (HRS) for individuals with substance use disorders? Our research examined (a) the effect of a cleanliness prime on attitudes towards HRS and (b) whether this effect would be attenuated by a brief educational presentation. Participants were randomly assigned to a priming condition and an educational presentation condition. Results demonstrated that (a) the cleanliness prime did not shift attitudes towards HRS, however, (b) the educational presentations significantly shifted attitudes to be more positive after the Harm Reduction presentation and more negative after the Healthy Living presentation. The literature on priming is mixed and our results support a growing body of research challenging the robustness of cleanliness priming and also demonstrates that brief presentations can change attitudes. Our research has implications for education on the benefits of HRS in reducing disease transmission, refuse in the community, and overdose deaths.