Introducing Assertiveness Training in Hungary

Abstract

The preliminary results of an evaluation of a systematic assertiveness training programme (based on a cognitive-behavioural approach) in psychiatric care in Hungary are presented. The method adopted was specific to the Hungarian/Middle-European circumstances since people had difficulty in exercising their personal rights in the past. In groups of “neurotic” patients and comparison subjects three questionnaires (the Rathus-scale (R), the Assertiveness Inventory (AI) and the Uncertainty Questionnaire (UQ)) were administered at the beginning and at the end of the treatment. The training programme consisted of eight sessions with an emphasis on education about assertiveness and on the practice of skills such as saying “no” or standing up for oneself. A statistical analysis indicated significant improvement in the social skills of the participants, while an item analysis showed high internal consistency in all three questionnaires, and a concurrent validity analysis revealed a strong correlation between the Rathus-scale and the Assertiveness Inventory. The results indicate that assertiveness training can be used effectively in mental health care in Hungary.     

The effects of safety behavior availability versus utilization on inhibitory learning during exposure

ABSTRACT

This study re-analyzes data from Sy and colleagues (2011; Behaviour Research and Therapy, 49, 305–314) comparing safety behavior availability (SBA) to safety behavior utilization (SBU) during exposure therapy for claustrophobic concerns. The present investigation assessed differential rates of inhibitory learning (i.e. change in danger expectancy and coping self-efficacy) between SBA and SBU before, during, and after a single-session treatment. Thirty-nine participants with marked claustrophobic fear completed six consecutive 5-minute exposure trials in a claustrophobia chamber. Participants in the SBA condition exhibited more interference with inhibitory learning relative to the SBU condition. Danger expectancy was significantly higher in the SBA group and decreased at a markedly slower rate across exposure trials relative to SBU. Coping self-efficacy was also significantly lower among participants in the SBA condition, although groups demonstrated similar rates of change across trials. Limitations, clinical implications, and future directions are discussed.     

Safety Behaviour Enhances the Acceptability of Exposure

Compulsive washing and contamination fears are among the most common symptoms of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). Research suggests that exposure and response prevention (ERP) is effective for OCD. However, ERP is prone to dropouts and refusals, and a substantial proportion of clients therefore do not receive the care they need. A proposed solution involves the judicious use of safety behaviour to enhance the acceptability of exposure-based interventions. The current study aimed to test this proposed solution. Participants were 70 undergraduate students who completed two exposure exercises for contamination fear, one with safety behaviour and one without. Participants then rated the acceptability of the two exercises. Exposure with safety behaviour (ESB) was rated as significantly more acceptable than ERP. Furthermore, subjective fear ratings were lower and behavioural approach to a series of contaminants was greater in the ESB condition. Results demonstrated the acceptability-enhancing potential of safety behaviour in exposure, and are discussed in terms of both theoretical and practical aspects of safety behaviour, exposure, and evidence-based interventions for anxiety disorders.     

空巢老人心理健康的现状及研究述评

空巢老人的心理健康引起了国内外研究者们的高度关注,逐渐成为一个热点课题.在综合国内外有关空巢老人心理健康的研究文献后发现,目前,学界对空巢老人的界定并不统一;从其心理健康现状来看,空巢综合症是空巢老人各种身心症状的主要体现,主要受社会支持、性别、婚姻状况、经济收入以及其他一些社会人口学因素的影响.虽然对空巢老人心理健康的研究已取得一些成就,但仍存在一些尚待解决的问题,未来研究应从统一空巢老人的涵义,完善研究方法,深入对其自身内部心理因素的探讨及加强跨文化的比较与借鉴等方面来开展.     

工作要求-资源模型新视角——基于心理社会安全氛围的分析

心理社会安全氛围(Psychosocial safety climate,简称PSC)指员工对组织是否重视员工工作过程中与心理健康和安全相关的政策、规程和行为实践的共同感知和看法.回顾相关研究,对PSC的理论建构、测量方法、效度验证及PSC在工作要求-资源模型(Job Demand-Resource Model,简称JD-R模型)中的作用机制等进行了系统梳理.在此基础上,总结JD-R模型完善的理论贡献与管理启示,并提出PSC理论与测量工具完善、工作要求与工作资源层次匹配、考虑组织外及个人因素、开展本土化研究等未来研究方向.     

当局者迷,旁观者清?自我-他人决策的理性差异及其机制

生活充满抉择,由于知识经验的局限,人们常需寻求他人建议,抑或直接请他人代己决策.诸多研究探讨了自我决策、向他人建议,以及代他人决策之间的差异.探究这种差异的动因之一在于考察何种条件下的决策更优或更“理性”.以往研究表明,自我决策或他人决策(向他人建议或代他人决策)均有可能更易违背理性决策原则,隐含着他人决策优于自我决策的“当局者迷,旁观者清”这一传统智慧有一定的边界条件.研究者一般从认知(建构水平理论)、情绪(类型和卷入度),以及动机(调节聚焦理论)三种视角对自我-他人决策差异进行解释.本文作者提出基于理由的决策(reason-based account)假设来解释自我-他人决策在理性程度上的差异.未来研究可从决策过程及脑机制上深入考察自我-他人决策差异及其机制.     

对环保行为的心理学解读——规范焦点理论述评

社会规范对个体行为的影响常被低估.通过将社会规范区分为描述性规范和命令性规范,并强调注意焦点的作用,规范焦点理论重新强调了社会规范的重要作用.根据规范焦点理论,不同类型的社会规范有不同的作用,恰当地使用相应的社会规范信息对环保行为进行干预,可以减少乱丢垃圾、促进垃圾分类,改善节能、节约和保护资源等行为.立足于环保应用,总结了运用这种既科学又省力的措施时应注意的问题.最后,从文化差异和我国社会现阶段特征两个方面,论述了规范焦点理论及其所倡导的措施对我国环保工作的适用性.     

Effects of lifestyle and stress on the employee and organization: Implications for promoting health at work

Abstract

This research was designed to determine the extent to which employee health and performance are predicted by lifestyle and stress. Data were collected from 345 employees working in a variety of organizations in southern California. Additionally, supervisors evaluated the work performance of the participating employees whom they directly supervised, and company records of employee health care costs were obtained. Hierarchical multiple regression analyses revealed (a) that physical lifestyle (i.e., exercise pattern, eating habits, and general health practices) predicted unique variance in vitality and positive well-being; (b) that psychosocial lifestyle (i.e., social relations, intellectual activity, occupational conditions, and spiritual involvement) predicted unique variance in vitality, positive well-being, anxiety, depression, lack of self-control, and somatic complaints; (c) that employee stress predicted unique variance in vitality, positive well-being, anxiety, depression, physician visits, somatic complaints, illness absences, and supervisory ratings of job performance, absenteeism and tardiness; (d) that physical lifestyle buffered the adverse consequences of stress for anxiety, depression, physician visits, and company health care costs; and (e) that there was a Physical x Psychosocial Lifestyle interaction for anxiety, depression, and lack of self-control. However, the employee lifestyle factors were not related to supervisory ratings of performance at work. The findings have direct implications for organizational health programs and policies.     

The direct and indirect benefits of dispositional mindfulness on self-esteem and social anxiety

This study investigated the long‐term health effects of combat stress reaction (CSR) among Israeli CSR casualties (112) and control veterans (184) of the 1973 Yom Kippur war. Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), physical symptoms, and adverse health practices were examined 18 years after the war. The relationship between CSR, PTSD, physical symptoms and adverse health practices was examined via hierarchical linear regression. Findings indicate that although CSR was positively associated with more current physical symptoms and adverse health practices in univariate analyses, these associations were not significant once demographic differences between the groups were controlled. In contrast, current PTSD symptoms were positively associated with current physical symptoms (p < 0.001) and showed a trend association with adverse health practices (p = 0.06). PTSD was the most powerful predictor of current physical symptoms and appears to mediate the association between CSR and physical symptoms almost two decades after the war. Both combat stress reaction and the results of the study were discussed in the light of the theory of Conservation of Resources (COR).     

Effects of anxiety on handgun shooting behavior of police officers: a pilot study

Abstract

The current pilot study aimed at providing an initial assessment of how anxiety influences police officers’ shooting behavior. Seven police officers participated and completed an identical shooting exercise under two experimental conditions: low anxiety, against a non-threatening opponent, and high anxiety (HA), against a threatening opponent who occasionally shot back using colored soap cartridges. Measurements included shooting accuracy, movement times, head/body orientation, and blink behavior. Results showed that under HA, shooting accuracy decreased. Underlying this degradation of performance, participants acted faster and made themselves smaller to reduce the chance of being hit. Furthermore, they blinked more often, leading to increases in the amount of time participants had their eyes closed. Findings provide support for attentional control theory, hereby also pointing to possible interventions to improve police officers’ shooting performance under pressure.