Maladaptive daydreaming and psychopathology : a meta-analysis

Maladaptive daydreaming (MD) is a clinical condition that cannot be explained by any existing psychopathology. The empirical literature regarding MD suggests that it is associated with mental afflictions and exhibits attributes resembling a psychological disorder. This study aimed to meta-analytically investigate the relationship between MD and various manifestations of mental distress and dysfunction. Forty studies, totaling 24,977 individuals (Mean(age) = 28.75, SD = 9.90), met our eligibility inclusion criteria and were incorporated in the analyses. Findings revealed that MD is positively associated with depression, anxiety, dissociation, obsessive-compulsive disorder, attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder, general psychopathology, psychotic symptoms, autism spectrum disorder and traumatic experiences. Some effects were moderated by sample type, age and gender. Our secondary analyses examined other psychological problems. We found a positive association between MD and difficulties in emotion regulation, loneliness, dysfunctional personality traits, negative affect, pathological celebrity worship, personality disorder, shame, somatic symptoms, problematic internet use and psychological distress. Additionally, there was a negative association between MD and self-efficacy and self-esteem. Our findings suggest that MD behaves like other DSM disorders by showing comorbidity with various psychopathologies. Theoretical and clinical implications of these findings are discussed

Factors affecting engagement in screening clinics ; exploring the experiences of patients with rare endocrine gene disorders

The aim was to explore the patient experience of those attending screening appointments for rare endocrine syndromes. Obtaining insights into the factors that potentially enhanced or detracted from attendance and engagement with the clinics could assist in developing strategies to promote patient engagement. A qualitative approach using semi-structured interviews was employed to understand individuals’ perceptions and experience of the screening clinics. Twelve interviews were conducted with patients (age 10-66 years, purposive sampling). Four main themes were identified: (1) Perception at a distance, (2) Seeing my future self (3) The body and person in clinic and (4) The patient or doctor, who knows best? These highlighted several areas which could be used to inform approaches to promote enhanced patient engagement: the importance of careful management of projections of self, balancing information overload and honesty, interpersonal relationships and humanisation of care and assisting with the early navigation for the non-expert individual

Development and validation of the short form of the Later Life Workplace Index (LLWI-SF) : a study across ten countries

This study aims to develop and validate a short form of the Later Life Workplace Index. The Later Life Workplace Index (LLWI) measures organizational practices relevant to older workers’ ability, motivation, and opportunity to continue working in later life. It consists of nine domains comprising three to four conceptual indicators each. We applied a combined qualitative and quantitative strategy to reduce the original LLWI 80-item measure into a 29-item short form (LLWI-SF). Different language versions were developed and applied to samples in ten countries: Belgium (N = 444), Germany (N = 387), Italy (N = 408), Japan (N = 349), Korea (N = 350), Norway (N = 140), Poland (N = 353), Portugal (N = 306), the Netherlands (N = 317), and the United States (N = 370). Our data provides evidence for the reliability and validity of the LLWI-SF in the ten countries and languages. Moreover, partial measurement invariance of the LLWI-SF is supported despite the diverging regulatory and cultural contexts. Thus, we provide a short but holistic measure of organizational practices for older workers that can be efficiently used in research and practice

Unlocking project success : investigating how senior management support affects the performance of project management and benefits management in IT projects

Although there are studies in the literature on the relationship of project management and benefits management with project success, there is a distinct lack of studies incorporating the role of senior management support. Therefore, this research study develops a theoretical model and investigates how senior management support affects the relationship between project management, benefits management, and project success. In this empirical study, we employed random sampling to distribute an online survey questionnaire to 210 project managers, project directors, and IT (information technology) project team members in Pakistan. As a result, 181 responses were received from the respondents giving a response rate of 85%. The results from regression analysis indicate a significant and positive impact of project management and benefits management on the success of IT projects, thereby emphasizing the value of these practices in organizations. Also, the findings of hierarchical regression reveal that senior management support strengthens the relationship between project management and project success, underscoring the importance of senior management in the project lifecycle process. However, the relationship between benefits management and the success of IT projects is found to be insignificant in the presence of senior management support. Finally, the study provides theoretical and practical implications relevant to practicing engineering managers, and future research directions

Writing, reading and teaching the (fr)agile/fragmented self : mapping life writing’s intimate geographies

The typical relation between a writing self that identifies as chronically ill, disabled, impacted by traumatic experience(s), or otherwise ‘fragile’ and the autobiographical writing that portrays that self has tended historically towards a mapping of the subject’s fragility and fragmentation. From academic autoethnographers to literary memoirists the works of such writers often comprise a chronicle of difficulties imposed by a condition or conditions seen and portrayed as a deficit. More recently, however, life stories and their readers have demonstrated a rising cultural interest in a range of skills ‘assets’ referred to by buzzwords like ‘agility’ and ‘resilience’. Such terminology and the attributes to which it attaches (self-reflection leading to positive growth and adaptation) have travelled from the spheres of psychology and self-help to those of education and business. This essay explores how a range of those self-declared ‘fragile’ life-writer-selves from Virginia Woolf to Joanne Limburg have mapped intimate geographies of both struggle and capacity-building. In so doing, they enable reflection on the often-generative dynamic between the fragile and the agile, the challenged, isolated self and the self who creates spaces of possibility, connection, and relation, open to the demands of the future