The phenomenon of treatment dropout, reasons and moderators in Acceptance and Commitment Therapy and other active treatments: A meta-analytic review

Treatment dropout is one of the most crucialissues thata therapist has to face on a daily basis.The negative effects of premature termination impact the client who is usually found to demonstrate poorer treatment outcomes. This meta-analysis reviewed and systematically examined drop out effects of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) as compared to other active treatments. The goals of this study were to compare treatment dropout rates and dropout reasons, examine the influence of demographic variables and identify possible therapy moderators associated with drop out. The current meta-analysis reviewed 76studies of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) reporting dropout rates for various psychological and health-related conditions. Across reviewed studies (N=76), the overall weighted mean dropout rate was 17.95% (ACT=17.35% vs. comparison conditions=18.62%).Type of disorder, recruitment setting and therapists’ experience level were significant moderators of drop out. The most frequently reported reasons for drop out from ACT were lost contact, personal and transportation difficulties, whereas for comparative treatments they were lost contact, therapy factors and time demands. Given that most moderators of influence are not amenable to direct changes by clinicians, mediation variables should also be explored. Overall, results suggest that ACT appears to present some benefits in dropout rates for specific disorders, settings and therapists

The effect of parental style on bullying and cyber bullying behaviors and the mediating role of peer attachment relationships: A longitudinal study

The purpose of the present study was the examination of the longitudinal effect of parental style on short-term changes in conventional and cyber forms of bullying/victimization, and the investigation of the mediating role of peer attachment relationships on this effect. The participants were 861 children and adolescents (52% girls, M  = 11.72 years) attending Cyprus public institutions. Students provided information during three measurement points. There was a six and a 12 week interval among the three measurement points, respectively. The findings of the study indicated that parenting seems to be a significant predictor of all forms of bullying/victimization, conventional and cyber, in early adolescents, even when accounting for bullying/victimization levels eighteen weeks back. More importantly, results showed that the effect of parental style on bullying forms was mediated by peer attachment relationships. Results are discussed in the light of theoretical and practical implications. [Abstract copyright: Copyright © 2018 The Foundation for Professionals in Services for Adolescents. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The development of bank-client relationships : a comparison between the consumer and the business context

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The impact of palliative care on cancer patients’ quality of life: systematic review and meta-analysis

Background: The aim of the study is to investigate and assess the quality of evidence on the impact of palliative care in cancer patients' health-related quality of life (HRQOL). Methods: A systematic review will be undertaken. The following databases will be searched using specific keywords for published papers: PsycInfo, PubMed, Embase, Medline and Cinahl. All of the papers retrieved will be qualitatively assessed on a number of quality criteria. Consistency among the observational ratings will be assessed using the inter-rater reliability. Studies that achieve certain quality criteria will be included in a meta-analysis which will be run based on the principles of the random-effects models. Expected results: It is expected that evidence will designate that palliative care has an impact on cancer patients' HRQOL. Current stage of work: Currently the preliminary searches were conducted and the abstracts of identified studies are assessed against the inclusion criteria. Discussion: This study can guide policy and practice on palliative care integration. The study can also benefit the understanding of the association between psychosocial factors enhanced by palliative care and an individual's HRQOL

Coping with depressive symptoms in young adults: Perceived social support protects against depressive symptoms only under moderate levels of stress

Introduction: The interrelationship between social support, depressive symptoms, stress and self-esteem in young adults remains unclear. This study aims to test the mediating role of self-esteem in the relationship between social support and depressive symptoms and the moderating role of perceived stress in the relationship between the two. This is important to inform components of future intervention development targeting youth depression. Methods: Three hundred forty-four (N = 344) young adults in Cyprus aged 17-26 (78% female) completed measures of self-esteem, social support, depressive symptoms, and perceived stress. Structural equation models were used to examine the interactions between social support and depressive psychopathology, whereas mediational analyses were run to examine the mediating role of self-esteem. Latent moderated mediation models were applied to examine the potentially moderating role of perceived stress. Results: Perceived social support from family and friends were significantly related to lower depressive symptoms. Self-esteem fully mediated the relationship between perceived family support and depressive symptoms. Perceived stress moderated the model, and perceived social support was found to be more protective against depressive symptoms when moderate levels of stress were presented. Conclusion: The study demonstrates that social support is protective against depressive symptoms. Self-esteem and perceived stress are important mechanisms that interact with this effect. Implications include the efforts to increase perceived family support during college years and management of stress levels before working with depressive symptoms

EMPATHIC-N in a Greek-Cypriot sample: confirming its factorial structure

Abstract Background Family-centered care has been receiving increased attention during the last decades and health professionals recognize family satisfaction with care as an important health indicator. The Empowerment of Parents in The Intensive Care-Neonatology (EMPATHIC-N) is a newly developed, yet empirically reliable and valid measure for the assessment of parental satisfaction with the care provided by Neonatal Intensive Care Units (NICU). The present study aims to present the Greek version of the EMPATHIC-N and to confirm its factorial structure. Methods The EMPATHIC-N was translated in Greek using a forward-backward translation and was piloted before use. A sample of 256 families receiving intensive care at the NICU of Archbishop Makarios III Public Hospital in Cyprus which is the only NICU in Cyprus, participated in the validation study of the EMPATHIC-N. Confirmatory factor analyses were performed using SPSS and AMOS 24.0. Results The Greek version of the EMPATHIC-N had good psychometric characteristics (Cronbach’s alpha = .87). The CFAs for the separate subscales of professionalism, organization, information, parental involvement and intervention for the EMPATHIC-N showed that all five subscales represented five distinct components of parental satisfaction with care. The CFA of the general instrument supported that a second-order model with a higher-order factor reflecting the organizational structure (professionalism, intervention and organization loaded on this factor) fitted the data best [χ2 (259) = 405.332, p < .001, ΤLI = .887, CFI = .903, RMSEA = .065 (90% CI .058, .073), SRMR = .0597]. Conclusions EMPATHIC-N is a valid and reliable measure for the assessment of parental satisfaction with neonatal care in a Greek-Cypriot context. The organizational dimension of the NICUs is an important component with specific research and clinical implications for the enhancement of parental satisfaction with care