Assessing the effect of a Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (CBT)-based workshop on work-related rumination, fatigue, and sleep

This quasi-experimental longitudinal study assessed the effect of a one-day Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (CBT)-based workshop on work-related rumination, chronic fatigue and sleep quality. We hypothesised that participants who attended the workshop would report lower levels of affective work-related rumination and chronic fatigue and improved sleep quality, at follow-up, six months after workshop completion. Two hundred and twenty seven participants took part in the study, with 102 participants attending a one-day workshop delivered in their place of work. Participants completed an online questionnaire at two time-points, with follow-up occurring 6 months after initial survey completion. Results showed that participants who took part in the CBT workshop reported significantly lower levels of affective rumination (p=.03) and chronic fatigue (p=.003), at follow-up in comparison to individuals who did not attend the workshop; however there were no significant differences between the groups in self-reported sleep quality (p=.06). A combination of more effective recovery both at work and outside of work may explain the reductions in both affective rumination and fatigue over time. This study adds to the recovery from work literature by providing initial support for a one-day CBT-based workshop delivered in the workplace

Is Work-Related Rumination Associated with Deficits in Executive Functioning?

Work-related rumination, that is, perseverative thinking about work during leisure time, has been associated with a range of negative health and wellbeing issues. The present paper examined the association between work-related rumination and cognitive processes centred around the theoretical construct of executive functioning. Executive functioning is an umbrella term for high level cognitive processes such as planning, working memory, inhibition, mental flexibility; and it underlies how people manage and regulate their goal directed behaviour. Three studies are reported. Study I, reports the results of a cross-sectional study of 240 employees, and demonstrates significant correlations between work-related rumination and three proxy measures of executive functioning: cognitive failures (.33), cognitive flexibility (-.24) and situational awareness at work (-.28). Study II (n = 939), expands on the findings from study 1 and demonstrates that workers reporting medium and high work-related rumination were 2.8 and 5 times, respectively, more likely to report cognitive failures relative to low ruminators. High ruminators also demonstrated greater difficulties with ‘lapses of attention’ (OR = 4.8), ‘lack of focus of attention’ (OR = 3.4), and ‘absent mindedness’ (OR = 4.3). The final study, examined the association between work-related rumination and executive functioning using interview data from 2460 full time workers. Workers were divided into tertiles low, medium and high. The findings showed that high work-related rumination was associated with deficits in starting (OR = 2.3) and finishing projects (OR = 2.4), fidgeting (OR = 1.9), memory (OR = 2.2), pursuing tasks in order (OR = 1.8), and feeling compelled to do things (OR = 2.0). It was argued that work-related rumination may not be related to work demands per se, but appears to be an executive functioning/control issue. Such findings are important for the design and delivery of intervention programmes aimed at helping people to switch off and unwind from wor

Developmental contexts and features of elite academy football players: Coach and player perspectives

Player profiling can reap many benefits; through reflective coach-athlete dialogue that produces a profile the athlete has a raised awareness of their own development, while the coach has an opportunity to understand the athlete's viewpoint. In this study, we explored how coaches and players perceived the development features of an elite academy footballer and the contexts in which these features are revealed, in order to develop a player profile to be used for mentoring players. Using a Delphi polling technique, coaches and players experienced a number of 'rounds' of expressing their opinions regarding player development contexts and features, ultimately reduced into a consensus. Players and coaches had differing priorities on the key contexts of player development. These contexts, when they reflect the consensus between players and coaches were heavily dominated by ability within the game and training. Personal, social, school, and lifestyle contexts featured less prominently. Although 'discipline' was frequently mentioned as an important player development feature, coaches and players disagreed on the importance of 'training'

Variation in C - reactive protein response according to host and mycobacterial characteristics in active tuberculosis

BACKGROUND: The C - reactive protein (CRP) response is often measured in patients with active tuberculosis (TB) yet little is known about its relationship to clinical features in TB, or whether responses differ between ethnic groups or with different Mycobacterium tuberculosis (M.tb) strain types. We report the relationship between baseline serum CRP prior to treatment and disease characteristics in a metropolitan population with TB resident in a low TB incidence region. METHODS: People treated for TB at four London, UK sites between 2003 and 2014 were assessed and data collected on the following characteristics: baseline CRP level; demographics (ethnicity, gender and age); HIV status; site of TB disease; sputum smear (in pulmonary cases) and culture results. The effect of TB strain-type was also assessed in culture-positive pulmonary cases using VNTR typing data. RESULTS: Three thousands two hundred twenty-two patients were included in the analysis of which 72 % had a baseline CRP at or within 4 weeks prior to starting TB treatment. CRP results were significantly higher in culture positive cases compared to culture negative cases: median 49 mg/L (16-103 mg/L) vs 19 mg/L (IQR 5-72 mg/L), p = <0.001. In those with pulmonary disease, smear positive cases had a higher CRP than smear negative cases: 67 mg/L (31-122 mg/L) vs 24 mg/L (7-72 mg/L), p < 0.001. HIV positive cases had higher baseline CRPs than HIV negative cases: 75 mg/L (26-136 mg/L) vs 37 mg/L (10-88 mg/L), p <0.001. Differing sites of disease were associated with differences in baseline CRP: locations that might be expected to have a high mycobacterial load (e.g. pulmonary disease and disseminated disease) had a significantly higher CRP than those such as skin, lymph node or CNS disease, where the mycobacterial load is typically low in HIV negative subjects. In a multivariable log-scale linear regression model adjusting for host characteristics and M.tb strain type, infection with the East African Indian strain was associated with significantly lower baseline-CRP (fold-change in CRP 0.51 (0.34-0.77), p < 0.01). CONCLUSIONS: Host and mycobacterial factors are strongly associated with baseline CRP response in tuberculosis. This analysis suggests that there are important differences in innate immune response according to ethnicity, Mtb strain type and site of disease. This may reflect differing mycobacterial loads or host immune responses

Choreography, controversy and child sex abuse: Theoretical reflections on a cultural criminological analysis of dance in a pop music video

This article was inspired by the controversy over claims of ‘pedophilia!!!!’ undertones and the ‘triggering’ of memories of childhood sexual abuse in some viewers by the dance performance featured in the music video for Sia’s ‘Elastic Heart’ (2015). The case is presented for acknowledging the hidden and/or overlooked presence of dance in social scientific theory and cultural studies and how these can enhance and advance cultural criminological research. Examples of how these insights have been used within other disciplinary frameworks to analyse and address child sex crime and sexual trauma are provided, and the argument is made that popular cultural texts such as dance in pop music videos should be regarded as significant in analysing and tracing public perceptions and epistemologies of crimes such as child sex abuse

Psychological rumination and recovery from work in Intensive Care Professionals : associations with stress, burnout, depression, and health

Background The work demands of critical care can be a major cause of stress in intensive care unit (ICU) professionals and lead to poor health outcomes. In the process of recovery from work, psychological rumination is considered to be an important mediating variable in the relationship between work demands and health outcomes. This study aimed to extend our knowledge of the process by which ICU stressors and differing rumination styles are associated with burnout, depression and risk of psychiatric morbidity among ICU professionals. Methods Ninety-six healthcare professionals (58 doctors and 38 nurses) who work in ICUs in the UK completed a questionnaire on ICU-related stressors, burnout, work-related rumination, depression and risk of psychiatric morbidity. Results Significant associations between ICU stressors, affective rumination, burnout, depression and risk of psychiatric morbidity were found. Longer working hours were also related to increased ICU stressors. Affective rumination (but not problem-solving pondering or distraction detachment) mediated the relationship between ICU stressors, burnout, depression and risk of psychiatric morbidity, such that increased ICU stressors, and greater affective rumination, were associated with greater burnout, depression and risk of psychiatric morbidity. No moderating effects were observed. Conclusions Longer working hours were associated with increased ICU stressors, and increased ICU stressors conferred greater burnout, depression and risk of psychiatric morbidity via increased affective rumination. The importance of screening healthcare practitioners within intensive care for depression, burnout and psychiatric morbidity has been highlighted. Future research should evaluate psychological interventions which target rumination style and could be made available to those at highest risk. The efficacy and cost effectiveness of delivering these interventions should also be considered

Testing the independence of self-reported interoceptive accuracy and attention

It has recently been proposed that measures of the perception of the state of one’s own body (‘interoception’) can be categorized as one of several types depending on both how an assessment is obtained (objective measurement vs. self-report) and what is assessed (degree of interoceptive attention vs accuracy of interoceptive perception). Under this model, a distinction is made between beliefs regarding the degree to which interoceptive signals are the object of attention, and beliefs regarding one’s ability to perceive accurately interoceptive signals. This distinction is difficult to test, however, because of the paucity of measures designed to assess self-reported perception of one’s own interoceptive accuracy. This paper therefore reports on the development of such a measure, the Interoceptive Accuracy Scale (IAS). Use of this measure enables assessment of the proposed distinction between beliefs regarding attention to, and accuracy in perceiving, interoceptive signals. Across six studies we report on the development of the IAS and, importantly, its relationship with measures of trait self-reported interoceptive attention, objective interoceptive accuracy, confidence in the accuracy of specific interoceptive percepts, and metacognition with respect to interoceptive accuracy. Results support the distinction between individual differences in perceived attention towards interoceptive information and the accuracy of interoceptive perception

A Sustained Dietary Change Increases Epigenetic Variation in Isogenic Mice

Epigenetic changes can be induced by adverse environmental exposures, such as nutritional imbalance, but little is known about the nature or extent of these changes. Here we have explored the epigenomic effects of a sustained nutritional change, excess dietary methyl donors, by assessing genomic CpG methylation patterns in isogenic mice exposed for one or six generations. We find stochastic variation in methylation levels at many loci; exposure to methyl donors increases the magnitude of this variation and the number of variable loci. Several gene ontology categories are significantly overrepresented in genes proximal to these methylation-variable loci, suggesting that certain pathways are susceptible to environmental influence on their epigenetic states. Long-term exposure to the diet (six generations) results in a larger number of loci exhibiting epigenetic variability, suggesting that some of the induced changes are heritable. This finding presents the possibility that epigenetic variation within populations can be induced by environmental change, providing a vehicle for disease predisposition and possibly a substrate for natural selection