Positive Psychological Wellbeing Is Required for Online Self-Help Acceptance and Commitment Therapy for Chronic Pain to be Effective

The web-based delivery of psychosocial interventions is a promising treatment modality for people suffering from chronic pain, and other forms of physical and mental illness. Despite the promising findings of first studies, patients may vary in the benefits they draw from self-managing a full-blown web-based psychosocial treatment. We lack knowledge on moderators and predictors of change during web-based interventions that explain for whom web-based interventions are especially (in)effective. In this study, we primarily explored for which chronic pain patients web-based Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) was (in)effective during a large three-armed randomized controlled trial. Besides standard demographic, physical and psychosocial factors we focused on positive mental health. Data from 238 heterogeneously diagnosed chronic pain sufferers from the general Dutch population following either web-based ACT (n = 82), or one of two control conditions [web-based Expressive Writing (EW; n = 79) and Waiting List (WL; n = 77)] were analysed. ACT and EW both consisted of nine modules and lasted nine to 12 weeks. Exploratory linear regression analyses were performed using the PROCESS macro in SPSS. Pain interference at 3-month follow-up was predicted from baseline moderator (characteristics that influence the outcome of specific treatments in comparison to other treatments) and predictor (characteristics that influence outcome regardless of treatment) variables. The results showed that none of the demographic or physical characteristics moderated ACT treatment changes compared to both control conditions. The only significant moderator of change compared to both EW and WL was baseline psychological wellbeing, and pain intensity was a moderator of change compared to EW. Furthermore, higher pain interference, depression and anxiety, and also lower levels of emotional well-being predicted higher pain interference in daily life 6 months later. These results suggest that web-based self-help ACT may not be allocated to chronic pain sufferers experiencing low levels of mental resilience resources such as self-acceptance, goals in life, and environmental mastery. Other subgroups are identified that potentially need specific tailoring of (web-based) ACT. Emotional and psychological wellbeing should receive much more attention in subsequent studies on chronic pain and illness

The relationship between family adjustment and expatriate performance

Following the global economic collapse, executives are significantly more demanding in understanding the Return on Investment of employee-related programmes including expatriate programmes. Expatriates are defined as employees who are recruited to provide a service in a country which is not the country of residence, typically for at least three years. Expatriate programmes carry high risk; even more so when the family accompanies the employee. The cost of an expatriate assignment is, on average, three times higher than that of a local; yet the failure rate is estimated to be up to 40%. Despite the cost, expatriate resources are critical to embed culture, policies and transfer of skills to a host country environment. The objective of this study was to identify the relationship between the adjustments of the expatriate’s family in the host country on the performance of expatriates. The study was conducted using a quantitative research approach. A convenience sample was used and 81 expatriates completed the questionnaire. The results confirmed home to work spillover and that expatriates would value more organisational support for families in the new location. The length of stay in the host location was linked to higher levels of performance – the longer the assignment, the better the performance levels of the expatriate. Human Resources Practitioners can develop support programmes to ensure that expatriates and families are equipped to enhance their adjustment period and consequently positively impact the expatriate’s performance whilst on assignment

Exploring facilitators and barriers to using a person centered care intervention in a nursing home setting

Person-centered care (PCC) interventions have the potential to improve resident well-being in nursing homes, but can be difficult to implement. This study investigates perceived facilitators and barriers reported by nursing staff to using a PCC intervention consisting of three components: assessment of resident well-being, planning of well-being support, and behavioral changes in care to support resident well-being. Our explorative mixed method study combined interviews (n = 11) with a longitudinal survey (n = 132) to examine which determinants were most prevalent and predictive for intention to use the intervention and actual implementation 3 months later (n = 63). Results showed that perceived barriers and facilitators were dependent on the components of the intervention. Assessment of resident well-being required a stable nursing home context and a detailed implementation plan, while planning of well-being support was impeded by knowledge. Behavioral changes in nursing care required easy integration in daily caring tasks and social support

Are processes in acceptance & commitment therapy (Act) related to chronic pain outcomes within individuals over time? : an exploratory study using n-of-1 designs

Acknowledgements The authors would like to thank the European Health Psychology Society for providing a grant that enabled the collaboration of the co-authors for this article. Author contributions HT designed the study, organized the data collection, carried out the statistical analyses and drafted the first version of the manuscript. DJ and MJ supervised the statistical analyses and were actively involved in writing and revising the manuscript. MVH and KS designed the study and were actively involved in writing and revising the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Positive psychology of Malaysian students: impacts of engagement, motivation, self-compassion and wellbeing on mental health

Malaysia plays a key role in education of the Asia Pacific, expanding its scholarly output rapidly. However, mental health of Malaysian students is challenging, and their help-seeking is low because of stigma. This study explored the relationships between mental health and positive psychological constructs (academic engagement, motivation, self-compassion, and wellbeing), and evaluated the relative contribution of each positive psychological construct to mental health in Malaysian students. An opportunity sample of 153 students completed the measures regarding these constructs. Correlation, regression, and mediation analyses were conducted. Engagement, amotivation, self-compassion, and wellbeing were associated with, and predicted large variance in mental health. Self-compassion was the strongest independent predictor of mental health among all the positive psychological constructs. Findings can imply the strong links between mental health and positive psychology, especially selfcompassion. Moreover, intervention studies to examine the effects of self-compassion training on mental health of Malaysian students appear to be warranted.N/

The chemical compound 'Heatin' stimulates hypocotyl elongation and interferes with the Arabidopsis NIT1-subfamily of nitrilases

Temperature passively affects biological processes involved in plant growth. Therefore, it is challenging to study the dedicated temperature signalling pathways that orchestrate thermomorphogenesis, a suite of elongation growth-based adaptations that enhance leaf-cooling capacity. We screened a chemical library for compounds that restored hypocotyl elongation in the pif4-2-deficient mutant background at warm temperature conditions in Arabidopsis thaliana to identify modulators of thermomorphogenesis. The small aromatic compound 'Heatin', containing 1-iminomethyl-2-naphthol as a pharmacophore, was selected as an enhancer of elongation growth. We show that ARABIDOPSIS ALDEHYDE OXIDASES redundantly contribute to Heatin-mediated hypocotyl elongation. Following a chemical proteomics approach, the members of the NITRILASE1-subfamily of auxin biosynthesis enzymes were identified among the molecular targets of Heatin. Our data reveal that nitrilases are involved in promotion of hypocotyl elongation in response to high temperature and Heatin-mediated hypocotyl elongation requires the NITRILASE1-subfamily members, NIT1 and NIT2. Heatin inhibits NIT1-subfamily enzymatic activity in vitro and the application of Heatin accordingly results in the accumulation of NIT1-subfamily substrate indole-3-acetonitrile in vivo. However, levels of the NIT1-subfamily product, bioactive auxin (indole-3-acetic acid), were also significantly increased. It is likely that the stimulation of hypocotyl elongation by Heatin might be independent of its observed interaction with NITRILASE1-subfamily members. However, nitrilases may contribute to the Heatin response by stimulating indole-3-acetic acid biosynthesis in an indirect way. Heatin and its functional analogues present novel chemical entities for studying auxin biology