Cultural competence, acculturation orientations, and attachment dimensions in future social workers and occupational therapists before entering these professions: A comparative study

Abstract The paper discusses the importance of considering diversity in public institutions and the need for intercultural training for practitioners. It emphasizes the psychological characteristics essential for dealing with diversity, focusing on multicultural personality traits, host community acculturation orientations, and adult attachment. The study aims to assess these psychological characteristics in future social workers and occupational therapists across three settings (France, n=273, Quebec, n=63, and Switzerland, n=66) before their integration internships. It is expected that certain personality profiles will be associated with favorable acculturation orientations and secure attachment, while others will be linked to less welcoming acculturation orientations and insecure attachment. Participants completed the Multicultural Personality Questionnaire (MPQF), the Host Community Acculturation Scale (HCAS) and the Revised Adult Attachment Scale (R-AAS). Analysis methods include hierarchical cluster analysis on the MPQF to identify intercultural personality profiles and subsequent ANOVAs to explore associations with acculturation orientations and attachment dimensions. Four multicultural personality profiles are identified: considerate (open and attentive), adaptive (handling new situations well), maladaptive (low scores on all traits, uncomfortable in intercultural situations), and reticent (reserved in intercultural encounters). Specific profiles align with distinct acculturation orientations, such as the considerate profile with a rejection of exclusion. Additionally, the adaptive profile displays consistently low anxiety levels. The study highlights that a significant proportion of students (40% to 60%) may lack competence in intercultural contexts. It questions the adequacy of intercultural training in curricula and emphasizes the need for further research on the impact of such training on students’ competence in handling diversity

Grip strength, muscle soreness and pain threshold perception evolution in baseball pitchers in a simulated 75-pitch game: A repeated measures study

Abstract Background/aim In baseball pitching, neuromuscular fatigue and its manifestations on muscle strength, muscle soreness and pain perception affect pitching performance. The purpose of this study was to quantify the evolution of grip strength, muscle soreness and pain threshold perception and pitching velocity in baseball pitchers throughout a simulated 75-pitch game. Methods 30 high-level amateur male baseball pitchers were recruited. Repeated measure analysis of covariance with age as a covariate (p<0.05) was used to identify significant differences across blocks of pitches for grip strength, muscle soreness, pain threshold perception and pitching velocity. Results Dominant arm grip strength (55.67±12.32 kg to 48.62±12.25 kg ; −12.66%) and pitching velocity (119.87±8.00 km/hour to 118.75±6.90 km/hour ; −0.93%) declined while muscle soreness perception increased in dominant arm forearm flexors (1.65±1.16 to 4.19±2.02 ; 25.38%), biceps (1.81±1.39 to 4.31±1.85 ; 25%) and non-dominant arm forearm flexors (1.38±1.10 to 2.12±1.63 ; 7.31%) across the pitching blocks (p<0.05). Conclusion In summary, a pitch count of 75 fastball pitches triggered an acute decline in grip strength combined with an increase in muscle soreness perception of the throwing arm in baseball pitchers