An Integrative Review of School-Based Mental Health Interventions for Elementary Students: Implications for Occupational Therapy

Occupational therapy for children and youth experiencing mental health conditions is often overlooked in current school-based services, as the traditional role within the system is often limited to physical health issues. The purpose of this integrative review is to investigate current psychosocial interventions within school settings to understand the effects of services provided and to determine potential roles for school-based occupational therapists. The findings of this review support occupational therapists in facilitating interventions that target mental health in school settings. Psychotherapy presented the strongest evidence for reducing psychosocial symptoms in school settings.     

Occupational gender stereotypes and problem-solving in Italian adolescents

The first purpose of the study was to establish how Italian adolescents perceive jobs in the newly emerging economy sectors as well as more traditional jobs from gender-stereotyped and gender-segregated perspectives. The second purpose was to verify the role of problem-solving and gender in gender-role stereotyping. A total of 217 Italian high school students were involved. A questionnaire developed by Miller and Hayward was used to examine the students’ occupational gender-role stereotyping, segregation and interests. The Problem-Solving Inventory was administered to examine problem-solving. Adolescents perceived most jobs as being gender-stereotyped and -segregated. Female gender and problem-solving ability were associated with a reduced tendency to perceive jobs as gender-stereotyped.     

Authenticity: a mediator in the relationship between attachment style and affective functioning

Attachment has been show to exhibit a strong effect on emotional well-being throughout an individual’s lifetime. This study examined individuals’ authenticity as a potential mediating variable in the relationship between insecure attachment and affective functioning. Authenticity was examined from multiple perspectives to better define its role as a mediating variable. Results showed that avoidant attachment is a predictor of affective functioning, and that authenticity acts as a mediating variable in this relationship. Anxious attachment showed no direct relationship with affective functioning, yet evidence was found for an indirect pathway from anxious attachment through authenticity on affective functioning. The differing results by attachment style support Mikulincer, Shaver, and Pereg’s theory suggesting a two-part model of emotional response style, wherein individuals with avoidant attachment deactivate emotion and individuals with anxious attachment show hyper-activation when coping with emotion. The study examines the construct of authenticity and its importance in affective functioning. Implications for therapists working with clients are made that highlight the importance of authentic relationships in therapy and life.     

不同职业认同水平教师对职业生活事件的社会认知加工特征

探讨不同职业认同水平教师在对职业生活事件的编码、再认和启动阶段是否具有不同的社会认知加工特点。采用Tversky的社会认知实验范式对高、低职业认同水平教师进行比较研究,结果发现：（1）高职业认同教师更多将正性条目编码为正性,更少将正性和中性条目编码为负性;高职业认同教师在正性和中性条目的编码正偏向上显著高于低职业认同教师;（2）高职业认同教师能够再认更多原有正性和中性条目,低职业认同教师将更多新加的中性和负性条目判断为阅读材料中的原有条目;（3）高职业认同教师的正性启动量和启动正偏向都显著高于低职业认同教师。结论：不同职业认同水平的教师对职业生活事件存在不同的社会认知加工特征,高职业认同教师的社会认知加工更积极有效。     

幼儿教师胜任力和职业压力对职业幸福感的影响:职业认同和职业倦怠的作用

为探索幼儿教师胜任力、职业压力、职业认同以及职业倦怠对职业幸福感的影响机制,选取四川、重庆、西藏、贵州和北京五地幼儿教师326名,用幼儿教师职业幸福感量表、幼儿教师胜任力问卷、幼儿教师工作压力源问卷、幼儿教师职业认同问卷和教师职业倦怠量表进行调查。结果表明：（1）控制学校性质、每月收入、教师教龄和年龄影响后,幼儿教师职业认同是胜任力提升职业幸福感的中介。（2）幼儿教师职业倦怠和职业认同是职业压力降低职业幸福感的中介,具体包括职业倦怠和职业认同的单独中介效应以及职业倦怠--职业认同的链式中介效应三条路径。（3）幼儿教师胜任力缓解职业压力对职业倦怠的影响;职业压力放大胜任力对职业认同的影响。以上研究结果拓展了职业幸福感的JD-R模型,并对提升幼儿教师职业幸福感具有重要价值。     

A focus on commitment: the roles of transformational and transactional leadership and self-regulatory focus in fostering organizational and safety commitment

The concept of employees’ commitment is one of the most challenging concepts in the management, organizational behaviour and human resource management literatures and research. The current study focuses on the construct of commitment as an emotional attitude, and expands the concept of general organizational commitment to a new more specific form of commitment, commitment to safety. Furthermore, commitment theorists commonly identify leadership as an important contributing factor to the development of organizational commitment. We aim to explain an underlying motivational mechanism, self-regulatory foci, through which leadership styles foster followers’ commitment. Results of three studies that used different methods (field and experimental), within different samples, demonstrated that transformational leadership was positively associated with followers’ promotion focus, which in turn was positively associated with both followers’ general and affective commitment to safety. Prevention focus mediated the positive relationship between a transactional active leadership style and both followers’ general and continuance commitment to safety. The implications of the findings for theory and practice are further discussed.     

Group acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) for bipolar disorder and co-existing anxiety – an open pilot study

Previous studies have supported acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) for reducing impairment related to various chronic conditions. ACT may possibly be beneficial for bipolar disorder (BD) with co-existing anxiety, which is associated with a poorer treatment outcome. Efforts are needed to identify suitable psychological interventions for BD and co-existing anxiety. In this open clinical trial, we included 26 patients with BD type 1 or 2 at an outpatient psychiatric unit specializing in affective disorders. The intervention consisted of a 12-session manualized group treatment that included psychoeducation, mindfulness, engaging in values-based behaviour, cognitive defusion, acceptance and relapse prevention modules. Participants completed four self-report questionnaires covering anxiety symptoms (Beck Anxiety Inventory - BAI), depressive symptoms (Beck Depression Inventory - BDI-II), quality of life (Quality of Life Inventory - QOLI) and psychological flexibility (Acceptance and Action Questionnaire - AAQ-2) before, during and after the treatment. At post-treatment, the participants reported significant improvements in all outcome measures, with large effects (Cohen’s d between 0.73 and 1.98). The mean reduction in anxiety symptoms was 45%. At post-treatment, 96% of the patients were classified as responders on at least one of the outcome measures. A limitation is that the trial is uncontrolled. The results suggest that ACT has the potential to be an effective treatment for BD patients with co-existing anxiety. Further randomized studies are warranted.