THE EFFECT OF A SUBJECTIVE WELL-BEING INTERVENTION PROGRAM ON HAPPINESS

This study sets out to explore the effect of a subjective well-being intervention program on university students’ subjective levels of well-being. The study was conducted with 24 university students (18 women and 6 men) aged between 17 and 23 ( = 18.75), studying in a class called Psychological Counseling and Guidance at the Atatürk Faculty of Education, Marmara University, Istanbul. The data-collecting instruments were “Subjective Well-Being Scale” and “NEO Five-Factor Personality Inventory (NEO-FFI)”. Students in the experimental group joined a “subjective well-being intervention program” developed by the researcher. Students in the control group did not receive any experimental treatment. The “Mann-Whitney U test” and the “Wilcoxon signed-rank test” were used for data analyses. The findings showed that the subjective well-being intervention program was effective in increasing students’ levels of subjective well-being. The follow-up test, carried out three months later, indicated that the effect of the program was permanent.  Article visualizations

Kişilik ile Ayrışma Bireyleşme Arasında Akran İlişkilerinin Aracılığı

Bu çalışmanın amacı lise 11. ve 12. Sınıfa giden ergenlerin kişilik özellikleri ile ayrışma bireyleşme arasındaki ilişkide akran ilişkilerinin aracı etkisini belirlemektir. Çalışma grubunu Batman il merkezinde lise 11.ve 12 sınıfa giden 557 öğrenci oluşturmaktadır. Çalışmanın verileri LİSREL ve SPSS 22 programlarıyla analiz edilmiştir. İlk olarak çalışmada kullanılan ölçeklerin doğrulayıcı faktör analizleri ve uyum iyiliği değerlerine bakıldı. Analiz sonucuna göre bütün ölçeklerin doğrulayıcı faktör değerlerinin (p<.01) düzeyinde anlamlı olduğu ortaya çıkmıştır. Ölçeklerin uyum iyiliği değerleri ise çalışma için yeterli uyum değerlerine sahip olduğu saptanmıştır. Analizler sonucunda lise öğrencilerinin kişilik özellikleri ile ayrışma bireyleşme arasındaki ilişkide akran ilişkilerinin negatif yönde aracılık ettiği ortaya çıkmıştır. Elde edilen sonuçlara göre, lise öğrencilerinin ayrışma bireyleşme düzeyleri yükseldikçe, akran ilişkilerinin düşüş gösterdiği saptanmıştır

A qualitative study on loss of a spouse, coping strategies after loss and the future expectations among eldersYaşlılarda eş kaybı, kayıp sonrası başa çıkma stratejileri ve gelecek beklentileri üzerine nitel bir araştırma

With this study, it is aimed to present data about the important effects of losing a spouse among elders, especially to the related areas which provide services for elderly people such as healthcare, nursing and psychological counseling. Three sub-objectives were examined within the scope of the current study, namely, (1) emotional, cognitive, social and physical influences caused by the loss of a spouse in the elderly, (2) coping strategies used by the elders to cope with the loss of a spouse, and (3) the future expectations of elders after loss of a spouse.In the research, phenomenological approach is used from qualitative research methods. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with ten participants (5 males, 5 females) who were were 65 years old or older, have lost their spouses, and were not in the nursing home. The gathered data was analyzed with frequency and categorical analysis.The results of the analysis demonstrated that the loss of a spouse in the elderly can be classified in five main general area namely, “cognitive, emotional, social and physical effects of losing of a spouse”, “methods used to cope with loss of a spouse”, “future expectations of the elders”, “expressions related the loss of a spouse”, and “other expressions”. When the statements on the effects of the losing a spouse were examined, it was seen that “cognitive effects” were the most frequent, and “physical effects” were the least frequent subcategories. Besides, “lifestyle habits” were the most frequent and “receiving psychological support from an expert” was the least frequent subcategories of the second main general category which is called as the coping strategies after loss of a spouse among elders. Lastly, “expectations, plans and objectives” were the oftenest subcategory in the future expectations category of the current study.The findings of the study were discussed in comparison to the relevant information in the field of psychology, and suggestions were provided in the context of guidance and psychological counseling.Extended English summary is in the end of Full Text PDF (TURKISH) file. ÖzetBu çalışma ile yaşlılık döneminde önemli etkileri olan eş kaybı hakkında özellikle yaşlılara sağlık, bakım, psikolojik danışma gibi hizmet veren ilgi gruplarına veri sunulması amaçlanmıştır. Çalışma kapsamında; (1) yaşlılarda eş kaybetmenin yarattığı duygusal, bilişsel, sosyal ve fiziksel etkilerin (2) yaşlıların eş kaybıyla baş etmede kullandıkları stratejilerin ve  (3) yaşlılarda eş kaybı sonrası geleceğe ilişkin beklentilerin neler olduğu alt amaç olarak incelenmiştir. Araştırmada nitel araştırma yöntemlerinden fenomenolojik yaklaşım kullanılmıştır. Belirlenen amaçlar doğrultusunda 65 yaş ve üzeri eşini kaybetmiş ve bakım evinde olmayan on katılımcı (5 erkek, 5 kadın) ile yarı yapılandırılmış görüşmeler gerçekleştirilmiştir. Görüşmelerde toplanan veriler frekans analizi ve kategorisel analiz yöntemleri kullanılarak incelenmiştir. Yapılan analizler sonucunda “yaşlılarda eş kaybetmenin bilişsel, sosyal, duygusal ve fiziksel etkileri”, “eş kaybıyla baş etmede kullanılan stratejiler”, “geleceğe ilişkin beklentiler”, “eş kaybına ilişkin söylemler” ve “diğer ifadeler” şeklinde sıralanan beş genel alan kategorisi oluşturulmuştur. Yaşlılarda eş kaybetmenin yarattığı etkilere ilişkin ifadeler incelendiğinde en sık “bilişsel etkilerden” en az ise, “fiziksel etkilerden” bahsedildiği görülmüştür. Bununla birlikte yaşlıların eş kaybı ve bu kaybın ortaya çıkardığı durumlarla baş etmede en sık “yaşam alışkanlıkları” en az da  “uzmandan destek alma” alt alanına ilişkin söylemleri olduğu belirlenmiştir. Yaşlıların geleceğe ilişkin beklentilerine yönelik söylemleri incelendiğinde en sık “beklentiler, planlar ve hedefler” alt alanına ilişkin ifadelerin yer aldığı görülmüştür. Çalışmanın bulguları alan yazındaki bilgilerle karşılaştırılarak tartışılmış, bulgular doğrultusunda psikolojik danışma ve rehberlik alanında yaşlılara verilecek hizmetler çerçevesinde öneriler sunulmuştur.

Patient use of complementary and alternative medicine for psoriasis vulgaris and factors believed to trigger the disease: A multicenter cross-sectional study with 1621 patients

Introduction: Due to the chronic recurrent nature of psoriasis vulgaris (PV) and lack of definitive treatment for the disease, patients often resort to alternative treatments. Physicians seem to have low awareness of this issue. Objectives: To elicit the perceptions of 1,621 PV patients on complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) and examine factors reported to worsen PV. Methods: The patients sociodemographic characteristics, Psoriasis Area Severity Index (PASI), Dermatology Life Quality Index (DLQI), disease duration, and severity were recorded, and the patients CAM use was questioned in detail. The patients were also asked about factors that worsened PV and their experiences with a gluten-free diet. Results: Of the patients, 56.51% had used CAM. The mean age, illness duration, PASI scores and DLQI of those using CAM were significantly higher. CAM use was significantly higher in those with facial, genital involvement, and arthralgia/arthritis. The patients mostly referred to CAM when PV became severe (46.4%). Of the CAM users, 45.52% used herbal topicals. The physicians of 67.03% did not inquire whether they used CAM. Of the participants, 37.73% considered that stress worsened their disease. Gluten-free diet did not affect PV symptoms in 52.22%. Conclusions: Patients CAM use is often overlooked by dermatologists. Our results showed that more than half the patients used CAM and did not share this information with their physicians. Therefore, the awareness of physicians should be increased and patients should be asked about the use of CAM and directed to the appropriate medical treatment options by physicians

Habits of using social media and the internet in psoriasis patients

Introduction: Psoriasis significantly affects the patients quality of life, which often leads patients to seek online information about this disease. Objectives: To explore the habits of patients with psoriasis related to their use of social media (SM) and the internet to obtain information about their disease. Methods: 1,520 patients completed the survey and the Dermatology Life Quality Index (DLQI) questionnaire. The Psoriasis Area Severity Index scores (PASI) and clinical data of the patients were recorded by their physicians. Results: Of the 1,114 patients that reported using SM and internet, 48.38% regularly and 31.14% sometimes resorted to obtain information about psoriasis. The use of SM and internet for psoriasis was statistically significantly higher among young people (P = 0.000), those with university or higher education (P = 0.009), higher DLQI (P = 0.000) and PASI (P = 0.011) scores, facial (P = 0.050), scalp (P = 0.032), hand (P = 0.048), genital (P = 0.001) and inverse (P = 0.000) involvement, and arthralgia/arthritis (P = 0.006). The participants mostly used the Google (86%) and Facebook (41%). More than half of the participants (62.8%) expected dermatologists to inform society that psoriasis is not contagious. Conclusions: Internet and SM being widely available and offering substantial information to be easily accessed make it very attractive for patients to use these platforms to investigate diseases, including psoriasis. If what is presented on SM conflicts with what the physician says, patients mostly trust the latter, but at the same time, they tend not to share the results of their online inquiries with their physicians