Motivation of UK graduate students in education: Self-compassion moderates pathway from extrinsic motivation to intrinsic motivation

Academic motivation is recognised as a key factor for academic success and wellbeing. Highly motivated students actively engage with academic activities and maintain higher levels of wellbeing. Despite the importance of motivation in education, its relationship with engagement and wellbeing remains to be evaluated. Accordingly, this study explored the relationships between motivation, engagement, self-criticism and selfcompassion among UK education postgraduate students. Of 120 postgraduate students approached, 109 completed three self-report scales regarding those constructs. Correlation, regression and moderation analyses were performed. Intrinsic and extrinsic motivation were positively associated with engagement, whereas amotivation was negatively associated with it. Engagement positively predicted intrinsic motivation. Self-criticism and self-compassion moderated the pathway from extrinsic motivation to intrinsic motivation: higher self-criticism weakened the pathway, while higher selfcompassion strengthened it. Findings suggest the importance of engagement in relation to cultivating intrinsic motivation of education students. Moreover, enhancing selfcompassion and reducing self-criticism can help transfer extrinsic to intrinsic motivation.N/

Self-compassion in Irish social work students: Relationships between resilience, engagement and motivation

Self-compassion recognises a meaning of life's suffering, aligning with existential positive psy-chology. Although this construct is known to protect our mental health, how to augment self-compassion remains to be evaluated. Social work students suffer from high rates of mental health problems, however research into self-compassion in this population remains to be devel-oped. This study aimed to evaluate i) relationships between self-compassion and more tradition-al positive constructs—resilience, engagement and motivation, and ii) differences of these con-structs between the levels of studies, to inform how self-compassion can be enhanced in social work students. One hundred twenty-nine Irish social work students completed self-report scales regarding self-compassion, resilience, engagement and motivation. Correlation, regression, and one-way MANOVA were conducted. Self-compassion was associated with gender, age, resili-ence, engagement and intrinsic motivation. Resilience and intrinsic motivation were significant predictors of self-compassion. There was no significant difference in the levels of these constructs between the levels of studies. Findings suggest that social work educators across different levels can strengthen students’ resilience and intrinsic motivation to cultivate the students' self-compassion. Moreover, the close relationships between self-compassion, resilience and in-trinsic motivation indicate that orienting students to a meaning of the studies helps their mental health.N/

A qualitative meta-synthesis of pregnant women's experiences of accessing and receiving treatment for opioid use disorder

Addressing opioid use disorder (OUD) among pregnant women is of growing importance, and substance use treatment positively impacts outcomes for mother and baby. Understanding substance use treatment experiences is important to improve access, and retention, and no review or synthesis of research addressing the treatment experiences of pregnant women exists. Approach: Thus, a qualitative meta-synthesis (QMS) was conducted, which investigated the psychological motivators and barriers of pregnant women with OUD trying to access treatment and their perceptions of treatment. Key Findings: Three thousand, eight hundred forty-four articles were retrieved from the literature search. Nine articles met eligibility criteria, were appraised, then synthesised using a comparative thematic approach. Four themes, (i) Embodied Experiences, (ii) Institutional Pressures, (iii) Social Context, and (iv) Reconstructing Selves, indicate that women with OUD are motivated to engage in treatment (a) to pursue the safety and custody of the unborn baby, and (b) to pursue and enact the changes necessary to claim 'normal' parenthood status. Pregnant women describe psychological and relational barriers to engaging in treatment, including anxieties about the baby's health, fears of authorities' involvement, stigma, and experiencing relationships with treatment providers as constrictive or invalidating. Implications: Identity Theory's concepts of identity verification, closed environments and master status identities illuminate the findings. Implications include recognising the salience of bodily experiences, providing medication assisted treatment (MAT) support groups, and promoting validating relationships in treatment using strengths-based approaches. Conclusions: Pregnant women face unique psychological challenges in accessing and engaging in substance use treatment for OUD.N/

Mental Health Shame, Caregiver Identity, and Self-Compassion in UK Education Students

Although students in education have high rates of mental health problems, many of them do not ask for help, which can exacerbate their symptoms. One reason for their low help-seeking is shame associated with mental health problems. As education students aspire to provide care for children, they may feel ashamed to care for themselves, as the role identity theory suggests. Self-compassion is reported to reduce shame and mental health problems. This study explored the relationships between mental health problems, mental health shame, self-compassion, and caregiver identity among UK education students. One hundred and nine postgraduate students completed four self-report scales regarding those constructs. Correlation and regression analyses were performed. Mental health problems were positively associated with shame and identity, and negatively associated with self-compassion. Self-compassion was the only significant predictor of mental health problems. Findings will help educators and education students to develop effective approaches for their mental health problems