Resiliency,Self-Regulation,and Reemployment After Job Loss

This study investigated self-regulation and resiliency in one's search for reemployment. Although trait-based approaches are central to many resiliency conceptualizations, recent research has found that self-regulation (affective, behavioral, and cognitive) contributes to predicting resiliency-related outcomes. We hypothesized that self-regulation would incrementally predict reemployment process outcomes, specifically the job search outcomes of psychological well-being, job search self-efficacy, and job search clarity. Results indicated that, over and above resiliency traits, behavioral and cognitive self-regulation incrementally predicted well-being and job search clarity, and cognitive self-regulation incrementally predicted job search self-efficacy. Implications for theory and continued research on resiliency in reemployment are discussed.     

Traumatic brain injury and adverse psychological effects: Examining a potential pathway to aggressive offending

Contemporary scholarship has demonstrated an association between traumatic brain injury (TBI) during adolescence and aggressive offending. Research, however, has yet to identify any mechanisms linking TBI to subsequent aggressive offending. Consequently, the current study hypothesized that adverse psychological effects is one such pathway. The current study used the Pathways to Desistance data set (n = 416) to examine the pathway of TBI to aggressive offending through adverse psychological effects. The findings of the structural equation model supported the hypothesized association. Specifically, increased exposure to TBI was indirectly associated with aggressive offending through adverse psychological effects. An additional supplemental analysis illustrated that a direct link between TBI and aggressive offending did not exist for the analytical sample. The findings suggested that the neurological disruptions commonly associated with TBI could result in direct increases in negative psychological outcomes and indirect increases in subsequent negative behavioral outcomes.     

Solving problems or seeing troubles? A day-level study on the consequences of thinking about work on recovery and well-being,and the moderating role of self-regulation

This study examined, using a within-person design, how fluctuations in work-related affective rumination and problem-solving pondering are related to recovery and well-being (N = 171; 677 day-level data points over five consecutive work days). We hypothesized that trait self-regulation moderates the relationship between problem-solving during the evening and the state of being recovered at bedtime. We analyzed our data using a moderated multilevel mediation approach. The results showed that affective rumination during the evening was indirectly related to impaired well-being in the subsequent morning through its negative relationship with the state of being recovered at bedtime. Problem-solving was indirectly related to well-being in the subsequent morning through its relationship with the state of being recovered at bedtime. However, this indirect effect was moderated by trait self-regulation in a way that problem-solving pondering was positively related to the state of being recovered, and consequently, to improved well-being for employees higher in self-regulation, whereas it was negatively related to the state of being recovered, and consequently, to impaired well-being for those lower in self-regulation. These findings suggest that problem-solving pondering may be beneficial or unfavorable for recovery and well-being depending on the degree to which employees can regulate their cognitions and feelings.     

Effects of psychological interventions for patients with osteoarthritis: a systematic review and meta-analysis

The aim of this study was to determine the effects of psychological interventions (e.g. cognitive restructuring, relaxation) on physiological and psychological health in osteoarthritis patients. A systematic literature search was done using PubMed, Embase, PsycINFO, Web of Science, China National Knowledge Infrastructure, and Wanfang Database through November 2016. Studies were included if they used a randomized controlled trial designed to explore the effects of psychological interventions in osteoarthritis patients. Two independent authors assessed the methodological quality of the trials using criteria outlined by Jadad et al. Meta-analysis was done with the Revman5.0. Twelve randomized controlled trials, including 1307 osteoarthritis patients, met the study inclusion criteria. Meta-analysis showed that psychological interventions could reduce the levels of pain [standard mean difference (SMD) ?0.28, 95% CI ?0.48, ?0.08, P-value 0.005)] and fatigue (SMD ?0.18, 95% CI ?0.34, ?0.01, P-value 0.04). In addition, psychological interventions significantly improved osteoarthritis patients’ self-efficacy (SMD 0.58, 95% CI 0.40, 0.75, P-value 0.00) and pain coping (MD 1.64, 95% CI 0.03, 3.25, P-value 0.05). Although the effects on physical function, anxiety, depression, psychological disability were in the expected direction, they were not statistically significant. In conclusion, the role of psychological interventions in the management of osteoarthritis remains equivocal. Some encouraging results were seen with regard to pain, pain coping, self-efficacy, and fatigue. We believe that more methodologically rigorous large-scale randomized controlled trials are necessary to answer this study question.     

The physical postures of yoga practices may protect against depressive symptoms,even as life stressors increase: a moderation analysis

Yoga contains sub-components related to its physical postures (asana), breathing methods (pranayama), and meditation (dhyana). To test the hypothesis that specific yoga practices are associated with reduced psychological distress, 186 adults completed questionnaires assessing life stressors, symptom severity, and experience with each of these aspects of yoga. Each yoga sub-component was found to be negatively correlated with psychological distress indices. However, differing patterns of relationship to psychological distress symptoms were found for each yoga sub-component. Experience with asana was negatively correlated with global psychological distress (r = ?.21, p < .01), and symptoms of anxiety (r = ?.18, p = .01) and depression (r = ?.17, p = .02). These relationships remained statistically significant after accounting for variance attributable to Social Readjustment Rating Scale scores (GSI: r = ?.19, p = .01; BSI Anxiety: r = ?.16, p = .04; BSI Depression: r = ?.14, p = .05). By contrast, the correlations between other yoga sub-components and symptom subscales became non-significant after accounting for exposure to life stressors. Moreover, stressful life events moderated the predictive relationship between amount of asana experience and depressive symptoms. Asana was not related to depressive symptoms at low levels of life stressors, but became associated at mean (t[182] = ?2.73, p < .01) and high levels (t[182] = ?3.56, p < .001). Findings suggest asana may possess depressive symptom reduction benefits, particularly as life stressors increase. Additional research is needed to differentiate whether asana has an effect on psychological distress, and to better understand potential psychophysiological mechanisms of action.     

Effects of perception on public bike-and-ride: A survey under complex,multifactor mode-choice scenarios

Bicycles are an environmentally-friendly, energy-saving mode of transportation. Public bike-and-ride is a term used to describe the use of public bicycles combined with transit as a means of transportation. A new stated preference (SP) design scheme based on the factors respondents felt were most important was proposed to augment the traditional SP design under complex multi-factor and multi-level situations. iPads were used to automatically administer the survey under each design scheme and collect the choice behavior data for public bike-and-ride. The concept of perceived psychological distance was further proposed and used to estimate Logit models. Comparative analysis of these models shows for the traditional SP design scheme, some factors, including perceived psychological distance, have reduced statistically significant effects on public bike-and-ride choice relative to the new SP design scheme. This indicates that in scenarios with complex decisions, the decision-makers would reduce their consideration of some factors and simplify their decision process making the new SP survey design scheme more suitable to analyze their choice behavior in those cases. Model analysis showed that perceived psychological distance for each traveler is the most critical factor during the decision process for travel behavior analysis. Finally, sensitivity analysis was conducted to determine which factors in the new survey design were important to increase the share of public bike-and-ride users. Practical findings for promoting public bike-and-ride use are presented in addition to theoretical references for improving the traditional survey methods.     

The mismeasure of a young man: an alternative reading of autism through a co-constructed fictional story

The combination of academic article and the fictional story it contains represents an attempt to convey our combination of qualitative participatory research and collaborative creative writing as used in a project with a group of young people with disabilities. Through our story involving the fictional character Jasper, we have tried to distil some of the essence of his real-life inspiration, Peter, a young man with autism. At the same time, we recognise the impossibility of “pinning down” any character as a representation of any psychological condition. By questioning the boundaries between science and art, and by considering alternative ways of creating research reports, we present the story as an alternative reading of autism. We suggest that the value of fiction in this context is that it allows a reframing of problems while presenting readers with an accessible means of connecting with others across disciplinary, methodological, and social divides.     

The indifferent

This article presents a portrait of indifference, a psychosocial analysis of middle class bystanding of social suffering. It arises as a way to tell a research story of colonially produced racism, classism, and denial. Together, these ways of being produce a mode of perception that denies reality, an active erasure that makes the indifferent apathetic. It is based on research in postcolonial Jamaica, yet some of its features can be recognized elsewhere, where bystanders bury their witness, their insight, concealing their understanding of other’s pain. Because this portrait is based on what male and female research participants said, “he/she” are used interchangeably throughout the portrait.     

Why theatre-based research works? Psychological theories from behind the curtain

While many scholars have demonstrated the effectiveness of theatre-based knowledge mobilization, fewer studies have examined its psychological dimensions. This article examines some psychological theories that may account for the success behind theatre-based knowledge mobilization. Drawing from the Canadian Experience Project, a study about the labor market challenges of skilled immigrant workers, we show how theatre-based research dissemination efforts attempt to achieve optimal stress by using aesthetic distance processes. We maintain that this psychological capacity to attune to audience members, especially evident in forum theatre, makes theatre a particularly effective means for knowledge mobilization.