Job demands and psychological well-being: Moderating role of occupational self-efficacy and job social support among mid-career academics

The study investigated the moderating role of occupational self-efficacy and job social support on the relationship between job demands and psychological well-being among mid-career academics. Participants were 203 academics at three public Nigerian universities (female = 37.93%; mean years of service = 8.58 years, SD = 2.20). The academics completed measures of job demands, occupational self-efficacy, job social support, and psychological well-being. Moderated regression analysis of the data suggested only occupational self-efficacy to moderate the relationship between work demands and psychological well-being. Findings underpin the buffering effects of work self-efficacy in employee psychological well-being with high job demands.     

Art Making and Identity Formation in Children and Adolescents with Differing Social Behaviors

Not everyone develops social behaviors and interaction skills in an expected manner. This study explored the relationship between art making and identity formation in children and adolescents who were identified as having differing social behaviors. In three small group settings, 17 participants created abstract self-portraits from modeling compound and responded to questions about their self, self-concept, and self-esteem. From this, a model was created to describe identity formation as it relates to the relationships between social environment, desired occupations and activities, and creativity. Practice guidelines are proposed for those who provide children and adolescents with opportunities to make art as part of sessions aimed to promote the development of a healthy self-concept.     

吸烟利弊权衡对戒烟计划的预测作用：一个有调节的中介模型

考察吸烟利弊权衡对戒烟计划的预测,以及戒烟意愿的中介作用和未来取向的调节作用。对340名吸烟者进行问卷调查结果的统计分析发现：（1）吸烟利弊权衡显著正向预测戒烟计划;（2）戒烟意愿对吸烟利弊权衡和戒烟计划的关系起完全中介作用;（3）未来取向负向调节吸烟利弊权衡和戒烟计划的关系,但对吸烟利弊权衡和戒烟意愿关系的调节不显著。这些结果说明,吸烟者戒烟计划发展经历前决策和前行动阶段,且该过程受未来取向的调节。     

Guidelines to Integrate Spirituality and Spiritual Care in Occupational Therapy Education: A Modified Delphi Study

This modified Delphi study aimed to develop educational guidelines for integrating spirituality and spiritual care into occupational therapy education. The first round comprised a self-administered questionnaire, the second round used a face-to-face workshop, and last round reviewed the developed educational guidelines, which reached the highest agreement and median values greater than 3.25. A panel of 18 comprised occupational therapy educators, clinicians, and nursing experts were recruited. A total of 126 out of 142 items reached the highest agreements from the panel participants, categorized based on the content knowledge-based, importance, skills, ethics, pedagogical approaches, teaching and learning strategies, and assessment of student learning.     

Marines,medics, and machismo: Lack of fit with masculine occupational stereotypes discourages men's participation

Women have made substantial inroads into some traditionally masculine occupations (e.g., accounting, journalism) but not into others (e.g., military, surgery). Evidence suggests the latter group of occupations is characterized by hyper‐masculine ‘macho’ stereotypes that are especially disadvantageous to women. Here, we explore whether such macho occupational stereotypes may be especially tenacious, not just because of their impact on women, but also because of their impact on men. We examined whether macho stereotypes associated with marine commandos and surgeons discourage men who feel that they are ‘not man enough’. Study 1 demonstrates that male new recruits' (N = 218) perceived lack of fit with masculine commandos was associated with reduced occupational identification and motivation. Study 2 demonstrates that male surgical trainees' (N = 117) perceived lack of fit with masculine surgeons was associated with reduced identification and increased psychological exit a year later. Together, this suggests that macho occupational stereotypes may discourage the very men who may challenge them.     

Quality of Life in the European Union and the United States of America: Evidence from Comprehensive Indices

The main question of this article is about the quality of life in the European Union and the United States measured by different comprehensive indicators (HDI, WBI, WISP, OLS, PWI, ABS, HLE). On the world scale moderately different levels of quality of life characterize the European Area and the US. In objective terms, the US is more at the top level regarding economy and science, whereas Europe is more at the top level regarding social concerns in a broad sense. In subjective terms, which means to rely on the usual subjective measures, the average of US population seems to be slightly better off than the average of the EU population. That said, the differences inside the EU are often more significant than those between the EU and the US. Many EU countries in Northern and Western Europe show higher satisfaction levels than the US, and Eastern Europe is especially low in respect to the satisfaction of its population. It is rather obvious that the choice of criteria and values influences the results of the comparisons of nations and supranational unions to a considerable degree.     

Perceptual-Motor Contributions to Static and Dynamic Balance Control in Children

The authors addressed balance control in children from the perspective of skill development and examined the relationship between specific perceptual and motor skills and static and dynamic balance performance. Fifty 11- to 13-year-old children performed a series of 1-legged balance tasks while standing on a force platform. Postural control was reflected in the maximum displacement of the center of mass in anterior-posterior and mediolateral directions. Simple visual, discrimination, and choice reaction times; sustained attention; visuomotor coordination; kinesthesis; and depth perception were also assessed in a series of perceptual and motor tests. The correlation analysis revealed that balancing under static conditions was strongly associated with the ability to perceive and process visual information, which is important for feedback-based control of balance. On the other hand, when greater task demands were imposed on the system under dynamic balancing conditions, the ability to respond to the destabilizing hip abductions-adductions in order to maintain equilibrium was associated with motor response speed, suggesting the use of a descending, feedforward control strategy. Therefore, like adults, 11- to 13-year-old children have the ability to select varying balance strategies (feedback, feedforward, or both), depending on the constraints of a particular task.     

Development of Postural Adjustment During Gait Initiation: Kinematic and EMG Analysis

The authors studied the development of postural adjustments associated with the initiation of gait in children by using kinematic and electromyographic (EMG) analysis. Participants (N = 28) included infants with 1-4 and 9-17 months of walking experience, children 4-5 years of age, and adults. Anticipatory postural adjustments (APA) were present in the youngest age groups, including a clear anticipatory lateral tilt of the pelvis and the stance leg, which enabled the child to unload the opposite leg shortly before its swing phase. An anticipatory activation of the hip abductor of the leg in stance phase prior to heel-off was found, suggesting pelvis stabilization. APA did not appear consistently until 4-5 years of age. A decrease in segmental oscillations occurred across the ages, indicating better control of intersegmental coordination in the frontal and sagittal planes during the postural phase of gait initiation. Young walkers presented APA involving movements of both the upper and the lower parts of the body, whereas, like adults, 4- to 5-year-olds were able to laterally shift only the pelvis and the stance leg. The oldest children and the adults also showed lower activation levels of hip and knee muscles but higher activation at the ankle level. Those kinematic and EMG results taken together suggest a clear developmental sequence from an en bloc operation of the body through an articulated operation with maturation, walking experience, or both.     

Influence of Destabilization on the Temporal Characteristics of “Volitional” Stepping

Previous work suggests that there may be fundamental differences between compensatory stepping responses evoked by postural perturbation and visually cued “volitional” stepping (e.g., gait initiation). In contrast to visual cueing, postural destabilization evokes an array of sensory inputs that are intrinsically linked to the mobilization of rapid compensatory responses. The hypothesis examined in this study was that this fundamental difference would lead to distinct changes in the temporal characteristics of the stepping response. Six healthy young adults were instructed to step quickly in response to either visual cueing or anterioposterior platform motion. Both forward and backward stepping responses were characterized, using measures of vertical ground reaction force. A stereotypical temporal patterning of the stepping response occurred in both stimulus conditions and both directions of stepping, and anticipatory postural adjustments were evident in all trials. However, postural destabilization led to a more rapid initiation and execution of the temporal pattern, in comparison with visually cued responses. The most pronounced effect was seen in the duration of the response, which was reduced by a factor of two, with approximately proportional foreshortening of both the preparatory and swing phases. The results suggest that sensory information conveying a state of instability has a distinct influence on the characteristics of a subsequent stepping reaction. The persistence of the anticipatory postural adjustments suggests that the failure to see this element of the response in previous studies may reflect fundamental differences between volitional and unplanned compensatory stepping.     

Immediate and Latent Interlimb Transfer of Gait Stability Adaptation Following Repeated Exposure to Slips

The authors trained 21 participants by using blocked-and-mixed exposure to right-side slips and then caused them to slip unexpectedly on the untrained left side. Authors retested participants with a right slip and a left slip at 1 week, 2 weeks, 1 month, and 4 months. The authors found that preslip stability on the first untrained left slip improved and was significantly greater than that on the first right slip, which probably contributed to the reduction in incidence of falls from ~30% to ~10%. Postslip stability and base of support (BOS) slip velocity were similar to those on the first right slip and much lower than those on the last right slip. Increases in pre- and postslip stabilities and BOS slip velocity during the left slip led to reductions in backward balance loss (BLOB) from ~95% on initial left slip to ~60% and to ~25% on the 1st and 3rd retest sessions, respectively. In contrast, BLOB remained at a constant ~40% level on the right slip of the same retest sessions. The results indicate a partial immediate transfer and a possible latent transfer.