Qualitative Research with Participants Suffering From Ostracism: A Practical Guide For the Novice Researcher

Being ostracized can be painful for most people, but for those who experience this persistently it can lead to severe levels of psychological distress. At present, there is a scarcity of qualitative research which focuses on this group of vulnerable individuals. This paper acts as a guide for the novice researcher who plans to research this population

Adaptability, Personality, and Social Support: Examining Links with Psychological Wellbeing Among Chinese High School Students

The first year of boarding senior high school marks a period of great change for students. The extent to which students are able to adjust to successfully navigate this change (adaptability) likely has an impact on their psychological wellbeing. It has also been theorized that students’ personality traits and perceived social support may impact upon their adaptability and, directly and/or indirectly through adaptability, influence their psychological wellbeing. However, the literature examining independent and mediating effects of adaptability on psychological wellbeing is sparse particularly among students from non-Western cultures. In the present study, 102 grade-one high school students in China, were surveyed for their personality, perceived social support, adaptability, and psychological wellbeing (life satisfaction, mental well-being, and psychological distress). Findings showed that adaptability (along with neuroticism, extraversion, and social support) made a significant independent contribution to students’ psychological wellbeing. Further, adaptability was found to fully mediate the relationships between personality (conscientiousness and neuroticism) and psychological wellbeing, and to partially mediate the relationships between extraversion and psychological wellbeing, and social support and psychological wellbeing. These findings have important theoretical and practical implications for researchers and educators who are seeking to support students’ adjustment to boarding senior high school

Does having a school-based wellbeing dog influence children’s socio-emotional development and learning? A thematic analysis of parent perspectives

This qualitative study explores the influence of having a ‘newly acquired’ school-based wellbeing dog on children’s socio-emotional development and learning, as reported by seven parents of children at a participating school. Results revealed three superordinate themes: Social Communication; Management of Emotions; and Attendance and Engagement. Parents held positive views towards the newly acquired wellbeing dog, especially regarding its role in their child’s socio-emotional development as well as their school engagement. The findings add to sparse literature, advocating for a wider distribution of wellbeing dogs in mainstream schools to support the mental health and wellbeing of children

Adaptability, social support, and psychological wellbeing among Malaysian adults

Malaysian adults are regularly exposed to a wide variety of complex stressors (exacerbated during the COVID-19 pandemic): these stressors, without sufficient protective resources, threaten to negatively impact upon psychological wellbeing. Recent literature has shown that personal resources (e.g., one’s adaptability) and situational resources (e.g., one’s social support) are associated with psychological wellbeing; however, limited research has examined the unique contribution of these resources to psychological wellbeing among collectivist cultures (e.g., Malaysian adults). Here, a sample of 136 Malaysian adults completed a survey measuring their adaptability and social support as well as different components of psychological wellbeing (i.e., flourishing, psychological distress, and life satisfaction). We found that adaptability and social support contribute significantly, and independently, to psychological wellbeing (all measures) among Malaysian adults, with social support being the stronger predictor in each case. Further, no significant interaction effects between adaptability and social support on psychological wellbeing were observed. The findings corroborate a developing literature suggesting that adaptability and social support may be targeted in efforts to enhance psychological wellbeing but also indicate that among Malaysian adults of a collectivist culture, social support may be more salient

Longitudinal Changes in the Relationship between Money, Financial Responsibility and Mental Health in the UK:Are we Becoming Less Future Focused?

This paper investigated the changing relationship between socioeconomic factors and mental health over time. Data were analysed from the Understanding Society Database, a representative sample of the UK population consisting of a potential of 150,393 respondents. Multiple regression coefficients over 13 years were compared over time to analyse effects of various financial predictors on mental health. Data was then split according to who reported financial responsibility for the household to investigate the effect of financial responsibility. While analysis suggested a similar pattern of predictors for mental health from the range of socioeconomic variables selected relative to other studies, temporal analysis demonstrated that perception of one's future financial position diminished in influence on mental health over time, whereas financial variables which were grounded in one’s current situation increased in predictive power. The results suggest that individuals are more concerned with current financial pressures and are less affected by what may happen in the future. The results also suggested that financial responsibility was not a strong predictor of the influence of financial situation on mental health. This finding has potential implications for employers, policy makers and mental health practitioners

Understanding and Reducing NEET: Perspectives of Schoolteachers and Career Advice Service Providers

There are growing concerns about the number of children and young people who are “Not in Education, Employment, or Training” (NEET). The literature suggests that further research is warranted to help understand what can be done to reduce the number of pupils at risk of NEET, to enable a successful transition into education, employment, or training. In this study, the views of schoolteachers (who provide careers support in schools and make NEET referrals) and career advice service providers (who receive NEET referrals from schoolteachers) are gauged to gain better insight regarding existing careers provision in schools and the efficacy of NEET referral processes. Using a qualitative interview approach, two schoolteachers from the West Midlands (UK) and three career advice service providers were recruited for the study. Thematic analysis of the interviews with schoolteachers identified four superordinate themes: Pupil Contact and Support; A Whole-School Approach to Careers Guidance; Broadening Horizons and Creating Opportunities; NEET Identification and Referral: When, How, and What Happens Next? The interviews with career advice service providers distinguished three superordinate themes: Navigating a Dynamic Landscape; Integration and Affiliation with Schools; Reaching Pupils at Risk of NEET. Taken together, the findings indicate that providing improved and continued communication, collaboration, and coordination of different services appear to be key leverages to address the multiple service needs of young people at risk

Understanding and Reducing NEET:Perspectives of Schoolteachers and Career Advice Service Providers

There are growing concerns about the number of children and young people who are “Not in Education, Employment, or Training” (NEET). The literature suggests that further research is warranted to help understand what can be done to reduce the number of pupils at risk of NEET, to enable a successful transition into education, employment, or training. In this study, the views of schoolteachers (who provide careers support in schools and make NEET referrals) and career advice service providers (who receive NEET referrals from schoolteachers) are gauged to gain better insight regarding existing careers provision in schools and the efficacy of NEET referral processes. Using a qualitative interview approach, two schoolteachers from the West Midlands (UK) and three career advice service providers were recruited for the study. Thematic analysis of the interviews with schoolteachers identified four superordinate themes: Pupil Contact and Support; A Whole-School Approach to Careers Guidance; Broadening Horizons and Creating Opportunities; NEET Identification and Referral: When, How, and What Happens Next? The interviews with career advice service providers distinguished three superordinate themes: Navigating a Dynamic Landscape; Integration and Affiliation with Schools; Reaching Pupils at Risk of NEET. Taken together, the findings indicate that providing improved and continued communication, collaboration, and coordination of different services appear to be key leverages to address the multiple service needs of young people at risk

Adaptability and Social Support:Examining Links with Engagement, Burnout, and Wellbeing among Expat Teachers

(1) Background: Expatriate (expat) teachers, i.e., those living and working outside of their own country, face several unique challenges. Without sufficient protective resources, these challenges threaten to negatively impact upon their workplace engagement and psychological wellbeing, and lead to burnout. In the present study, we utilise the ‘conservation of resources’ (COR) theory to examine the influence of expat teachers’ adaptability (a personal resource) and social support (a conditional/situational resource) on their workplace engagement, burnout, and psychological wellbeing. (2) Methods: A sample of expat teachers (N = 88), mostly working and residing in Middle Eastern countries, completed a series of validated self-report scales to measure each substantive construct. (3) Results: Results revealed that adaptability, but not social support, was a significant positive predictor of both work engagement and psychological wellbeing. There were no significant interaction effects observed. Moreover, neither adaptability nor social support were associated with burnout in this study. Personal resources, such as adaptability, may be more significant determinants of workplace engagement and psychological wellbeing among expat teachers relative to conditional/situational resources, such as social support, according to this research. (4) Conclusions: These findings have important implications for researchers, practitioners, and businesses/organisations, underlining the need to concentrate on strengthening personal resources such as adaptability to improve workplace engagement and psychological wellbeing outcomes among expat teachers

Psychological flexibility and ostracism: Experiential avoidance rather than cognitive fusion moderates distress from perceived ostracism over time

Psychological inflexibility has been found to moderate psychological distress following perceived ostracism. Two component processes of psychological inflexibility, experiential avoidance and cognitive fusion, are considered key in exacerbating general emotional distress. The present study (n = 286) examined whether both experiential avoidance and cognitive fusion moderate distress from perceived ostracism or whether one of these processes alone underpins the moderation effect of psychological inflexibility. In a structural equation model analysis, when accounting for both factors, experiential avoidance moderated distress from perceived ostracism alone. Thus, it seems that experiential avoidance is a key driver underlying emotional regulation of psychological distress in the context of perceived ostracism