Faculty and Staff Perceptions of Stress, Efficacy, Personality, and Health Practices During Implementation of Comprehensive Educational Change at One Secondary School

Problem Private faith-based schools have experienced a severe drop in enrollment over the past few years contributing to perceptions of job insecurity. Especially in the realm of residential secondary education has this observation been true. This descriptive case study investigated perceptions of stress of secondary-school faculty and staff involved with a school-based systemic change implementation in an attempt to turn around the attenuation in enrollment. Method This research study followed a bounded mixed-methods case design using data collected as participant observations of the 24 residential secondary-school faculty and staff and tests were performed to show relationships between variables. Tools were selected in an attempt to specify stress symptoms, Efficacy Beliefs, Personality Type, and Health Practices, which might identify and/or contribute to stresses devolving on faculty and staff: Derogatis’s Brief Symptom Inventory, Gibson and Dembo’s Teacher Efficacy Scale, Myers-Briggs’ Personality Type Indicator-Form M, and Pender’s Health Promoting Lifestyle Profile II. The Brief Symptom Inventory was administered at three intervals during one academic year. Results Although the population studied was small and predominantly White, Asians, Blacks, and Hispanics were represented. The other demographics were surprisingly evenly spread on the basis of age, gender, education, and experience. Fifty-one statistically significant correlations were discovered between stress symptoms and the other parameters of the study. Similar to other studies related to teacher stress, selfreported stress levels were elevated in spite of efforts to compensate by changes in lifestyle. After the initial testing at Time 1, two personality types indicated statistically significant correlation with elevated stress at Time 2. These changes evaporated at Time 3. The data suggested an attempt to conceal or deny stress symptoms by some participants. Major findings are the shared planning of the innovation and its implementation resulted in buy-in and teacher engagement, teacher collaboration, and teacher initiation of learning opportunities with administration, which appeared to result in a reduction of teacher stress. Conclusions There were no correlations between Stress levels and Personality Type at the beginning of the year and at the end of the year, when Stress levels were the lowest. However, during the middle of the school year, when Stress levels were the highest, some correlations were found which indicated a protective effect for those scoring in the Feeling component of Personality Type

Firefighters, hostility, and satisfaction with life, job and marital relationship

Hostility is associated with negative health outcomes. Empirical research has indicated that high levels of hostility, in association with personal characteristics, may result in either aggressive actions and re-actions, or isolation and disengagement. The purpose of this study was to investigate hostility and its influence on mental health, overall satisfaction with life, job, and marital relationship, and cardiovascular health of professional firefighters. The study was analyzed in the context of Social Ecology Theory exploring how personality, spousal relationship, and social factors influenced the relationship between work and health. Firefighters were invited to engage their romantic partners in the study assessing how work stress impacted intimate relationship. Data analyses involved structural equation modeling, as well as repeated measures multivariate analysis of variance and multilinear regressions. The results indicated that work stress and exposure to toxic environment and hazardous conditions have a negative impact on the mental health and overall satisfaction of firefighters, but not on hostility. When controlling for personality, openness to experience revealed a significant relationship between work and hostility. No significant relationships were observed either between hostility and domestic conflict or between hostility and cardiovascular health.hostilitynegative health outcomesempirical researchassociation with personal characteristicsinfluence on mental healthSocial Ecology Theor

Ethnicity and work-related stress in Eastern European care workers for the elderly: an application of a proposed multi-dimensional model

The present study aims to test the application of a multi-dimensional model of stress that takes as a framework of reference the DRIVE (Demands, Resources, and Individual Effects) model and previous studies on occupational health and cultural aspects in a sample of Eastern European eldercare workers. This model integrated ethnicity and work-related stress dimensions in a transactional perspective combining individual differences, ethnicity aspects, work characteristics in the prediction of psychophysical health giving closer attention to specificassociations between cultural dimensions such as cultural identity, acculturation strategies and health outcomes. Therefore the study hypothesized significant profiles of associations between individual differences, work characteristics, ethnicity dimensions, perceived job satisfaction/stress and health outcomes among these workers. A questionnaire measuring the following dimensions was submitted to 250 Eastern European eldercare workers in Southern Italy: coping strategies, personality behaviours, acculturation strategies, perceived work demands, resources/rewards, perceived job stress/satisfaction, psychological disorders and general health. Around one third (38.6%) lived in Italy from more than 5 years, all were women (Age Mean=43.18; SD=4.25) and most of them were married (94.8 %), with a high level of education (94.4 %), worked full-time (93.2 %) and had fixed contracts (97.2 %)Data were analysed using LR logistic regression to evaluate the effects of all the dimensions reported on the risk of suffering health problems. Results showed that work demands, type A and negative affectivity behavioural patterns significantlyassociated with high levels of anxious-depressive disorders, relational disorders and general health. Moreover positive coping strategies, specificacculturation strategies and perceived job satisfaction significantlyassociated with low levels of psychophysical disorders. Findings supported different aspects of the proposed stress model and will be helpful in definingpsychological interventions to support this particular type of migrant workers

Exploring the explorers: studying the mood, mental health, cognition and the lived experience of extreme environments in a small isolated team confined to an Arctic research station

Background: The human ability to adapt to extreme environments is fascinating. Research into this adaptation has been lacking in Arctic isolated teams because it has concentrated on Antarctic teams. The hazards of the poles often confine the researchers indoors with their colleagues, reducing their privacy. This deployment also limits their contact with loved ones at home. Subsequently, over the course of polar night, rates of anxiety, depression, irritability and sleep disturbance increase (Suedfeld & Palinkas, 2008). Often, the teams complain of cognitive impairments. The High Arctic’s distinctive feature is the polar bear. The presence of bears requires Arctic research station teams to handle fire arms for their personal safety. It also means that fire arms – which are highly restricted in the Antarctic – are ever-present and easily accessible at Arctic stations. This poses a unique psychological challenge for these teams which has not been well-researched. Methodology: This thesis is an original contribution to science in that it employs a mixed-methods approach combining phenomenological interviews, cognitive testing and mental health assessment via questionnaires with a team spending a year at the Polish Polar Station, Hornsund, Svalbard. The participants were ten of the eleven winter team members who spent the year between July 2015 and June 2016 at Hornsund (“Explorers”) and an age-/gender-/education-matched control group (“Controls”). They filled in the Symptom Checklist-90-Revised and the Profile of Mood States-Brief Version in July, September, January, April and June of that year. Cognitive testing was completed in September, January and June; it comprised the Figural Learning and Memory Test, the Sustained Attention to Response Task (SART), the elevator tasks of the Test of Everyday Attention (TEA) and the Raven Standard Progressive Matrices. The interviews took place at the same time as the cognitive testing. Results: The results showed that the most stressful time reported in the questionnaires was April 2016, just after the winter isolation had ended and the sun had risen again. The Explorers reported little subjective complaints about their cognition but they performed near-ceiling on the TEA while scoring far below their Controls on the SART. This implies a dichotomy between sustained attention and inhibition in the Explorers. Their lived experiences were shaped by a struggle to adapt to the other team members rather than by struggling to adapt to the hazardous environment. The environment was perceived as awe-inspiring. Over time, the Explorers shifted their view of the team from informal colleagues to a family which they did not choose to be a member of and then, to friends. Unanimously, other people were seen as the most difficult aspect of the mission. Conclusions: This thesis provides unique insight into a non-Anglo-Saxon Arctic wintering team: the conclusions suggest that participants should receive social training to get along better and be emotionally prepared. The findings can be implemented by my research partner, the Institute of Geophysics (Warsaw) to better select and prepare their future expeditions to Hornsund. Some of the insights such as the nature of the interpersonal stressors may be applicable to space missions

Elucidating the Relationship between Borderline Personality Disorder and Intimate Partner Violence

This was the first research project to examine the established Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) and Intimate Partner Violence (IPV) relationship comparing the DSM-5 traditional categorical personality disorder (PD) model with the DSM-5 Alternative Model of Personality Disorder (AMPD). The AMPD is meant to address several limitations of the traditional PD system, and is consistent with how most PD experts considers PDs to be best conceptualised. The specific BPD-relevant AMPD personality traits that influence the BPD-IPV association were also examined, in addition to the associations between BPD symptomology, IPV intervention programme outcomes and recidivism. Study 1 used a sample of 250 community-dwelling men and women recruited through an established crowdsourcing platform, and Study 2 was based on archival data of 531 men who took part in a court-ordered IPV intervention programme. Across both studies, the results showed that both traditional and AMPD BPD operationalisations were approximately equally associated with IPV perpetration, although traditional BPD demonstrated some advantages in regards to psychological IPV. Study 1 indicated that the AMPD trait facets of hostility (negative affectivity), suspiciousness (negative affectivity), and risk-taking (disinhibition) were most strongly associated with IPV perpetration for the total sample, and additional negative affectivity trait facets were also associated with IPV for men only. Study 2 findings showed that the AMPD disinhibition domain was most strongly associated with IPV perpetration, though negative affectivity conferred a meaningful association as well. Study 2 further indicated that IPV offenders with BPD symptomology were at increased risk of failing to complete IPV treatment, and to re-offend in a one year follow up period. Implications for these findings across studies are discussed

Relevance of parental monitoring strategies in explanation of externalising behaviour problems in adolescence: Mediation of parental knowledge

A process model of parental monitoring (PM) proposes that PM occurs in two distinct stages: before the adolescent goes out and when they return home. Parental and adolescent responses to monitoring interactions impact on future monitoring episodes. Research suggests that passive PM strategies (e.g. child disclosure) correlate with higher parental knowledge and less behavior problems. Self-reported measures were used on a sample of 507 Belgrade secondary school students (42.1% male) to examine the mediating effect (mediation analysis using JASP) of parental knowledge (the Scale of Parental Monitoring) on the relationship of PM strategies (Child Disclosure, Parental Solicitation and Parental Control) (the Scale of Parental Monitoring) with externalising problems (Aggressive and Rule-Breaking Behaviour) (ASEBA, YSR). The research results show that Parental Knowledge mediate the relation of Child Disclosure and RuleBreaking Behaviour (z = -6.544, p < .001) and Parental Control and Rule-Breaking Behaviour (z =-3.770, p< .001). No direct link between Parental Control and RuleBreaking Behavior, as well as Parental Solicitation and Rule-Breaking Behavior were established. Full mediation of the link between Child Disclosure and Aggressive Behavior by Parental Knowledge is found (total indirect effect z = -4.050, p < .001). The research results were discussed in the context of the relevance of the PM strategies for greater parental knowledge and prevention of externalising problems in adolescence

Student engagement and prosocial behavior in high school students

School or student engagement is widely recognized as a multidimensional construct that encompasses three aspects of engagement – cognitive, behavioral, and emotional. Previous research has linked student engagement to various positive developmental outcomes such as academic achievement, prosocial behavior, and sense of belonging to the school. Examining school engagement and its relationship with prosocial behavior is especially important in high school, when engagement is known to decline. Therefore, the aim of this study is to examine whether adolescents’ school engagement is associated with prosocial behavior among high school students. The research sample consisted of 766 students (61.1% female) from four high schools in Serbia, age from 15 to 19 (M = 16.36, SD = 1.04). School engagement was assessed by Delaware Student Engagement Scale (four-point Likert-type scale, α = .90). The results of the confirmatory factor analysis did not yield three separate factors, but instead showed that the items of the behavioral and cognitive engagement subscales were best represented by one factor. Thus, the scale consists of only two subscales: cognitive/behavioral engagement (8 items, α = .89) and emotional engagement (4 items, α = .90). Data on prosocial behavior were collected using the prosocial subscale of The Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (5 items, α = .84). The results show that school engagement is statistically significantly positively correlated with students’ prosocial behavior. Students with higher scores on the engagement scale exhibit more prosocial behaviors (r = .64, p = <.001). In addition, a stronger relationship is found between students' cognitive-behavioral engagement and prosocial behaviors (r = .65, p = <.001), compared to emotional engagement (r = .46, p = <.001). The correlation remains significant even when age and gender of respondents are taken into account. The results of this study suggest that school engagement can be a powerful resource for prevention practice and the promotion of prosocial behavior, and that it would be useful to plan interventions that promote active engagement of students in school

Student engagement and prosocial behavior in high school students

School or student engagement is widely recognized as a multidimensional construct that encompasses three aspects of engagement – cognitive, behavioral, and emotional. Previous research has linked student engagement to various positive developmental outcomes such as academic achievement, prosocial behavior, and sense of belonging to the school. Examining school engagement and its relationship with prosocial behavior is especially important in high school, when engagement is known to decline. Therefore, the aim of this study is to examine whether adolescents’ school engagement is associated with prosocial behavior among high school students. The research sample consisted of 766 students (61.1% female) from four high schools in Serbia, age from 15 to 19 (M = 16.36, SD = 1.04). School engagement was assessed by Delaware Student Engagement Scale (four-point Likert-type scale, α = .90). The results of the confirmatory factor analysis did not yield three separate factors, but instead showed that the items of the behavioral and cognitive engagement subscales were best represented by one factor. Thus, the scale consists of only two subscales: cognitive/behavioral engagement (8 items, α = .89) and emotional engagement (4 items, α = .90). Data on prosocial behavior were collected using the prosocial subscale of The Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (5 items, α = .84). The results show that school engagement is statistically significantly positively correlated with students’ prosocial behavior. Students with higher scores on the engagement scale exhibit more prosocial behaviors (r = .64, p = <.001). In addition, a stronger relationship is found between students' cognitive-behavioral engagement and prosocial behaviors (r = .65, p = <.001), compared to emotional engagement (r = .46, p = <.001). The correlation remains significant even when age and gender of respondents are taken into account. The results of this study suggest that school engagement can be a powerful resource for prevention practice and the promotion of prosocial behavior, and that it would be useful to plan interventions that promote active engagement of students in school

Relevance of parental monitoring strategies in explanation of externalising behaviour problems in adolescence: Mediation of parental knowledge

A process model of parental monitoring (PM) proposes that PM occurs in two distinct stages: before the adolescent goes out and when they return home. Parental and adolescent responses to monitoring interactions impact on future monitoring episodes. Research suggests that passive PM strategies (e.g. child disclosure) correlate with higher parental knowledge and less behavior problems. Self-reported measures were used on a sample of 507 Belgrade secondary school students (42.1% male) to examine the mediating effect (mediation analysis using JASP) of parental knowledge (the Scale of Parental Monitoring) on the relationship of PM strategies (Child Disclosure, Parental Solicitation and Parental Control) (the Scale of Parental Monitoring) with externalising problems (Aggressive and Rule-Breaking Behaviour) (ASEBA, YSR). The research results show that Parental Knowledge mediate the relation of Child Disclosure and RuleBreaking Behaviour (z = -6.544, p < .001) and Parental Control and Rule-Breaking Behaviour (z =-3.770, p< .001). No direct link between Parental Control and RuleBreaking Behavior, as well as Parental Solicitation and Rule-Breaking Behavior were established. Full mediation of the link between Child Disclosure and Aggressive Behavior by Parental Knowledge is found (total indirect effect z = -4.050, p < .001). The research results were discussed in the context of the relevance of the PM strategies for greater parental knowledge and prevention of externalising problems in adolescence