Social change and children’s well-being in Chile

Chilean society has been changing rapidly for the last few decades during a time of rapid economic growth. Some sociological and economical analyses state that when a nation grows, inequality between the rich and poor grows too, leaving the poor behind. The Chilean economy is the most rapidly growing in Latin America in recent years. It is therefore important to examine whether or not the people’s quality of life has improved in Chile over the last few years. Particularly, I focused on how the well-being of Chilean children has been changing over time. In addition, I looked at political issues about how the former leader, Augusto Pinochet, has been influencing both the political parties and the public. In terms of family issues, Chile is facing a serious issue; namely, it has one of the highest child abuse rates in the world. Also, I examined how new policies regarding health programs such as contraception and sex education have been difficult to advance in Chilean society because of the power of the Roman Catholic Church. Finally, I addressed new initiatives that the new president, Michelle Bachelet, has been promoting. In short, this thesis addresses this question -- what makes people’s well-being improve over-time? My approach was conducted using any available public literatures, via electronic methods, and my case study from El Monte, Chile where I conducted a participant observation

Preliminary Validation of a Short-Form Version of the Attachment Style Questionnaire for Use in Clinical Rehabilitation Counseling Research and Practice

The purpose of this study was to develop and validate a short-form version of the Attachment Style Questionnaire (ASQ) in people with disabilities. The construction sample consisted of 108 participants recruited from spinal cord injury (SCI) advocacy organizations. The cross-validation sample comprised 140 individuals with traumatic injuries recruited from a rehabilitation hospital. Measures administered were the ASQ, Trait Hope Scale, Sense of Coherence Scale, and Satisfaction With Life Scale. Results showed that the three subscales of secure, anxious, and avoidant attachment from the short-form ASQ had high correlations with the three subscales from the long-form ASQ. The reliability of the subscales for the short-form ASQ was adequate and similar to the long-form ASQ. Both the short- and long-form ASQ subscales were found to correlate with hope, sense of coherence, and subjective well-being in the expected theoretical directions. Confirmatory factor analysis also supported the three-factor measurement structure of the short-form ASQ. This study provides evidence to support the psychometric properties of the abbreviated ASQ in people with disabilities. The short-form version of the ASQ is a brief, reliable, and psychometrically sound measure of attachment that can be used in clinical rehabilitation counseling research and practice

Preliminary Validation of a Short-Form Version of the Attachment Style Questionnaire for Use in Clinical Rehabilitation Counseling Research and Practice

The purpose of this study was to develop and validate a short-form version of the Attachment Style Questionnaire (ASQ) in people with disabilities. The construction sample consisted of 108 participants recruited from spinal cord injury (SCI) advocacy organizations. The cross-validation sample comprised 140 individuals with traumatic injuries recruited from a rehabilitation hospital. Measures administered were the ASQ, Trait Hope Scale, Sense of Coherence Scale, and Satisfaction With Life Scale. Results showed that the three subscales of secure, anxious, and avoidant attachment from the short-form ASQ had high correlations with the three subscales from the long-form ASQ. The reliability of the subscales for the short-form ASQ was adequate and similar to the long-form ASQ. Both the short- and long-form ASQ subscales were found to correlate with hope, sense of coherence, and subjective well-being in the expected theoretical directions. Confirmatory factor analysis also supported the three-factor measurement structure of the short-form ASQ. This study provides evidence to support the psychometric properties of the abbreviated ASQ in people with disabilities. The short-form version of the ASQ is a brief, reliable, and psychometrically sound measure of attachment that can be used in clinical rehabilitation counseling research and practice

A Psychometric Validation of the Impact on Participation and Autonomy Questionnaire in a Sample of Turkish Cancer Survivors

Community participation and autonomy are two of the vital treatments and rehabilitation outcomes for people with chronic health conditions and disabilities, including people with cancer. The purpose of this study is to investigate psychometric properties of the Impact on Participation and Autonomy Scale (IPA) in a sample of Turkish cancer survivors. An exploratory factor analysis was used to analyze data collected from 186 cancer survivors who completed the IPA, Health Care Climate Questionnaire, Satisfaction with Life Scale, and the Role Functioning subscale of the EORTC Core Quality of Life Questionnaire. In contrast to the original five-factor solution, the results provided a better fit for a three-factor correlated model (Activities of Daily Living [ADL]/Instrumental ADL, social relations, and employment and education). The IPA factors were significantly associated with supportive healthcare climate, role functioning, and life satisfaction in the theoretically expected directions, providing support for the nomological construct validity of the Turkish version of the IPA. Overall, the Turkish version of the IPA is a psychometrically sound measure of participation and autonomy that can be used to assess cancer survivors’ levels of community participation for treatment planning and selection of evidence-based healthcare and psychosocial interventions for cancer survivors

Characterization and evaluation of graphene oxide scaffold for periodontal wound healing of class II furcation defects in dog

Introduction: The 3-dimensional scaffold plays a key role in volume and quality of repair tissue in periodontal tissue engineering therapy. We fabricated a novel 3D collagen scaffold containing carbon-based 2-dimensional layered material, named graphene oxide (GO). The aim of this study was to characterize and assess GO scaffold for periodontal tissue healing of class II furcation defects in dog. Materials and methods: GO scaffolds were prepared by coating the surface of a 3D collagen sponge scaffold with GO dispersion. Scaffolds were characterized using cytotoxicity and tissue reactivity tests. In addition, GO scaffold was implanted into dog class II furcation defects and periodontal healing was investigated at 4 weeks postsurgery. Results: GO scaffold exhibited low cytotoxicity and enhanced cellular ingrowth behavior and rat bone forming ability. In addition, GO scaffold stimulated healing of dog class II furcation defects. Periodontal attachment formation, including alveolar bone, periodontal ligament-like tissue, and cementum-like tissue, was significantly increased by GO scaffold implantation, compared with untreated scaffold. Conclusion: The results suggest that GO scaffold is biocompatible and possesses excellent bone and periodontal tissue formation ability. Therefore, GO scaffold would be beneficial for periodontal tissue engineering therapy

Disability inclusion strategies: An exploratory study

BACKGROUND: In order to promote equal opportunity in employment, rehabilitation researchers implement demand-side employment research to increase the presence of employees with disabilities in the workplace. Previous research indicates the inclusion of people with disabilities in an organization\u27s diversity and inclusion policies and procedures is strongly associated with employment of people with disabilities. Despite the potential advantages of disability inclusion, there is limited evidence to evaluate employers\u27 perception about the importance of disability inclusion strategies. OBJECTIVE: The current study examined the relative importance of six common disability inclusion strategies and the relationship between each of these strategies and employers\u27 hiring intention and validated a 6-item Disability Inclusion Strategy Scale, in order to promote employer engagement and provide disability and business technical assistance. METHODS: One hundred and eighty employers completed questionnaires assessing disability inclusion strategies and hiring intention. RESULTS: Results indicated all disability inclusion strategies in the present study were positively related to hiring intention, and findings support the 6-item DISS as a psychometrically sound measurement tool. CONCLUSIONS: Future research and practice implications are provided

Core self-evaluations as a mediator of the relationship between stress and quality of life in women with multiple sclerosis

BACKGROUND: People living with multiple sclerosis (MS) have to cope with many emotional, physical, social, and practical challenges associated with their chronic health condition on a daily basis. These daily challenges, by their chronic and accumulating nature, can cause considerable psychosocial stress and affect quality of life (QOL). Core-self evaluations (CSE) is a higher order positive psychology construct that has been described as a protective factor for psychological stress in people with chronic health conditions and disabilities. It is also positively associated with life satisfaction. OBJECTIVE: This study explored the mediation effect of CSE on the relationship between stress and QOL in women with MS. RESULTS: Results revealed that stress was negatively associated with CSE and QOL. Conversely, CSE was positively correlated with QOL. In fact, CSE served as a mediator between stress and QOL, suggesting that higher levels of CSE can buffer the negative impact of stress on QOL. CONCLUSION: Findings provide support for rehabilitation counselors to integrate CSE into the rehabilitation process and facilitate CSE development, which can help clients with MS better cope with their daily hassles and stressors to improve functioning and well-being, leading to higher QOL

Psychometric Validation of the Meaningful Role Functioning Questionnaire in a Sample of 229 Women With Fibromyalgia Syndrome

Background: Participation is one of the most important interdisciplinary outcome variables in biopsychosocial conceptions of health and disability. While the literature surrounding social and community participation in persons with disabilities indicates that participation is a highly subjective construct, there are few known psychometrically validated instruments designed to measure participation in a way that captures the subjective nature of the concept. The present study aimed to develop and test a measure of participation in a way that prioritizes roles that are subjectively meaningful to the individual. Objective: To establish the psychometric properties of the Meaningful Role Functioning Questionnaire (MRFQ) a new life role participation scale intended to measure life role functioning in a way that weighs life roles that are more important to the individual more heavily than those that are less important to the individual. Methods: 229 women with fibromyalgia took an online survey measuring the following biopsychosocial constructs: meaningful role functioning, participation in society, perceived social support, core self-evaluations, fibromyalgia severity, and life satisfaction. Findings: The 4-week test-retest reliability coefficient for the MRFQ was .74, indicating acceptable reliability for this measure of life role functioning. The MRFQ was significantly correlated in the expected directions with several external correlates, establishing its construct validity. Conclusions: The MRFQ is a reliable and valid subjective measure of life role functioning in women with fibromyalgia. Future research should seek to validate the scale in a wider range of disability populations and the general public

Psychometric Validation of a Turkish Version of the Inventory of Common Problems: a Tool for Turkish College Counselors

Umucu, Emre/0000-0002-3945-6975WOS: 000477630500009Transition from high school to college can be very challenging for Turkish students, and poor adjustment can affect students' physical and mental health and well-being. It is important for college counseling center staff in Turkey to have access to screening instruments to identify students with high risk for college life adjustment difficulties. The purpose of this study was to validate a Turkish version of the Inventory of Common Problems (ICP; Hoffman and Weiss 1986) for Turkish college students. Two hundreds and thirty-five Turkish university students participated in this study. Factorial structure of the ICP was evaluated using exploratory factor analysis, resulting in a four-factor structure with the internal consistency reliability coefficients for all factors being excellent to average: (a) emotional problems (Cronbach's alpha = .90), (b) academic problems (alpha = .80), (c) substance use problems (alpha = .77), and (d) physical health problems (alpha = .73). The emotional problems factor, academic problems factor, and physical health problems factor were significantly associated with perceived stress, depression, and anxiety in the expected direction, as measured by the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS-10; Cohen and Williamson 1988), Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9; Kroenke et al. 2001) and General Anxiety Disorder (GAD-7) Scale (Spitzer et al. 2006). This study demonstrated that the Turkish version of the ICP could be regarded as a reliable, valid and multidimensional measure, valuable to counseling and health services professionals in Turkey as well as for Turkish international students studying aboard

Demographic Covariates, Vocational Rehabilitation Services, and Employment Outcomes of Working-Age Adults with Anxiety Disorders: A Multivariate Logistic Regression Analysis

Purpose This study aimed to investigate the relationships between demographic covariates, vocational rehabilitation (VR) services, and employment outcomes of individuals with anxiety disorders. The specific research question for the current study investigate demographic variables and vocational rehabilitation services as predictors of competitive employment outcomes. Methods Data for the present study were extracted from the most recent United States Rehabilitation Service Administration 2018 Case Service Report (RSA-911) data. A purposeful selection, multivariate logistic regression analysis was conducted to examine the case service report data of 9266 individuals with anxiety disorders who received vocational rehabilitation services based on their demographic variables and receipt of VR services. Results The results indicated that African Americans and Latinx, people who have completed high school or more, people who do not receive disability-related benefits, and those who received more vocational rehabilitation services were more likely to be gainfully employed. In addition, receipt of financial support for life crises and occupational credentials (i.e., other services and maintenance services) and vocational rehabilitation counseling and guidance services were significant predictors of employment outcomes. Conversely, receipt of supported employment and transition services were negatively associated with employment outcome. Conclusions In the present study, we identified VR services that can improve and risk factors that can impede employment outcomes of people with anxiety disorders. We also identified medical, psychosocial, and vocational interventions that can lessen the effect of anxiety disorders on physical and mental health functioning