Mehr Glück als Verstand? Zum Wohlbefinden Hochbegabter

Im Rahmen des längsschnittlichen Marburger Hochbegabtenprojekts wurden zum einen 101 Hochbegabte mit 91 durchschnittlich Begabten und zum anderen Hochleistende (n = 128) mit durchschnittlich Leistenden (n = 104) verglichen. Die Probandinnen und Probanden waren zum Zeitpunkt der Erhebung im jungen Erwachsenenalter. Zur Erfassung des subjektiven Wohlbefindens wurden sowohl kognitive (allgemeine und bereichsspezifische Zufriedenheiten) als auch affektive Komponenten erfasst. Weiterhin wurden ausgewählte Lebensziele erfragt. Darüber hinaus wurde auf Daten zurückgegriffen, die während der unterschiedlichen Erhebungsphasen des Marburger Hochbegabtenprojekts ermittelt wurden. Sowohl in den Komponenten des subjektiven Wohlbefindens als auch in den Lebenszielen konnten keine statistisch signifikanten Unterschiede zwischen Hochbegabten und durchschnittlich Begabten aufgezeigt werden. Hochbegabte Underachiever schilderten dagegen ein geringeres subjektives Wohlbefinden. Zusätzlich gab es Hinweise darauf, dass bei Hochbegabten und durchschnittlich Begabten zum Teil unterschiedliche Selbsteinschätzungsvariablen zur Vorhersage des subjektiven Wohlbefindens relevant sind. Ein statistisch bedeutsamer Unterschied zwischen Hochleistenden und durchschnittlich Leistenden resultierte in der Zufriedenheit mit der Ehe/Partnerschaft zugunsten der Hochleistenden. Diese schilderten außerdem eine erhöhte Wünschbarkeit des Ziels Leistung. Insgesamt stellt sich die Lebenssituation Hochbegabter bzw. Hochleistender im (jungen) Erwachsenenalter positiv dar: Weder intellektuell besonders Begabte noch besonders (gut) Leistende erweisen sich als besonders glücklich oder unglücklich

School-Related and Individual Predictors of Subjective Well-Being and Academic Achievement

Recent research in the educational context has focused not only on academic achievement but also on subjective well-being (SWB) as both play a major role in students’ lives. Whereas the determinants of academic achievement have been extensively investigated, little research has been conducted on school-related determinants of SWB in comparison with other students’ characteristics. In the present cross-sectional study, we set out to investigate whether perceived school climate predicts school grades and SWB above and beyond other variables that are important for SWB and academic achievement. A sample of 767 8th and 9th grade students (n = 361 female adolescents; age: M = 14.07 years, SD = 0.92) completed measures of SWB, perceived school climate, test anxiety, self-efficacy, and interest. Grade point average (GPA) indicated students’ academic achievement. Data were analyzed with latent structural equation models in which GPA and SWB were regressed on the school climate variables and students’ characteristics. Results indicated that a positive school climate as well as self-efficacy and the worry component of test anxiety predicted SWB and/or GPA after all other variables were controlled for. Directions for future research and the importance of school climate variables on adolescents’ SWB and academic achievement are discussed

Leave Me Alone With Your Symptoms! Social Exclusion at the Workplace Mediates the Relationship of Employee's Mental Illness and Sick Leave

Although a substantial part of employees suffers from a mental illness, the work situation of this population still is understudied. Previous research suggests that people with a mental illness experience discrimination in the workplace, which is known to have detrimental effects on health. Building on the stereotype content model and allostatic load theory, the present study investigated whether employees with a mental illness become socially excluded at the workplace and therefore show more days of sick leave. Overall, 86 employees diagnosed with a mental disorder were interviewed and completed online-surveys. Path analyses supported the hypotheses, yielding a serial mediation: The interview-rated severity of the mental disorder had an indirect effect on the days of sick leave, mediated by the symptomatic burden and the social exclusion at the workplace. In the light of the costs associated with absenteeism the present paper highlights the harmfulness of discrimination. Organizations and especially supervisors need to be attentive for signs of exclusion within their teams and try to counteract as early as possible

Children of Mentally III Parents at Risk Evaluation (COMPARE): Design and Methods of a Randomized Controlled Multicenter Study—Part I

Objectives: Mental disorders are frequent, associated with disability-adjusted life years, societal, and economic costs. Children of parents with a mental illness (COPMI) are at an increased risk to develop disorders themselves. The transgenerational transmission of mental disorders has been conceptualized in a model that takes parental and family factors, the social environment (i.e., school, work, and social support), parent-child-interaction and possible child outcomes into account. The goal of the “Children of Mentally Ill Parents At Risk Evaluation” (COMPARE) study will thus be twofold: (1) to establish the efficacy and cost-effectiveness of a high-quality randomized controlled trial (RCT) with the aim of interrupting the intergenerational transmission of mental disorders in COPMI, (2) to test the components of the trans-generational transmission model of mental disorders. Methods: To implement a randomized controlled trial (RCT: comparison of parental cognitive behavioral therapy/CBT with CBT + Positive Parenting Program) that is flanked by four add-on projects that apply behavioral, psychophysiological, and neuro-imaging methods to examine potential moderators and mediators of risk transmission (projects COMPARE-emotion/-interaction/-work/-school). COMPARE-emotion targets emotion processing and regulation and its impact on the transgenerational disorder transmission; COMPARE-interaction focuses especially on the impact of maternal comorbid diagnoses of depression and anxiety disorders and will concentrate on different pathways of the impact of maternal disorders on socio-emotional and cognitive infant development, such as parent-infant interaction and the infant's stress regulation skills. COMPARE-work analyzes the transmission of strains a person experiences in one area of life to another (i.e., from family to work; spill-over), and how stress and strain are transmitted between individuals (i.e., from parent to child; cross-over). COMPARE-school focuses on the psychosocial adjustment, school performance, and subjective well-being in COPMI compared to an adequate control group of healthy children. Results: This study protocol reports on the interdisciplinary approach of COMPARE testing the model of the transgenerational transmission of mental disorders. Conclusion: The combination of applied basic with clinical research will facilitate the examination of specific risk transmission mechanisms, promotion, dissemination and implementation of results into a highly important but largely neglected field. Clinical Trial Registration: DRKS-ID: DRKS00013516 (German Clinical Trials Register, https://www.drks.de/drks_web/navigate.do?navigationId=trial.HTML&TRIAL_ID=DRKS00013516)

Leave Me Alone With Your Symptoms! Social Exclusion at the Workplace Mediates the Relationship of Employee's Mental Illness and Sick Leave

Although a substantial part of employees suffers from a mental illness, the work situation of this population still is understudied. Previous research suggests that people with a mental illness experience discrimination in the workplace, which is known to have detrimental effects on health. Building on the stereotype content model and allostatic load theory, the present study investigated whether employees with a mental illness become socially excluded at the workplace and therefore show more days of sick leave. Overall, 86 employees diagnosed with a mental disorder were interviewed and completed online-surveys. Path analyses supported the hypotheses, yielding a serial mediation: The interview-rated severity of the mental disorder had an indirect effect on the days of sick leave, mediated by the symptomatic burden and the social exclusion at the workplace. In the light of the costs associated with absenteeism the present paper highlights the harmfulness of discrimination. Organizations and especially supervisors need to be attentive for signs of exclusion within their teams and try to counteract as early as possible

Mehr Glück als Verstand? Zum Wohlbefinden Hochbegabter

Im Rahmen des längsschnittlichen Marburger Hochbegabtenprojekts wurden zum einen 101 Hochbegabte mit 91 durchschnittlich Begabten und zum anderen Hochleistende (n = 128) mit durchschnittlich Leistenden (n = 104) verglichen. Die Probandinnen und Probanden waren zum Zeitpunkt der Erhebung im jungen Erwachsenenalter. Zur Erfassung des subjektiven Wohlbefindens wurden sowohl kognitive (allgemeine und bereichsspezifische Zufriedenheiten) als auch affektive Komponenten erfasst. Weiterhin wurden ausgewählte Lebensziele erfragt. Darüber hinaus wurde auf Daten zurückgegriffen, die während der unterschiedlichen Erhebungsphasen des Marburger Hochbegabtenprojekts ermittelt wurden. Sowohl in den Komponenten des subjektiven Wohlbefindens als auch in den Lebenszielen konnten keine statistisch signifikanten Unterschiede zwischen Hochbegabten und durchschnittlich Begabten aufgezeigt werden. Hochbegabte Underachiever schilderten dagegen ein geringeres subjektives Wohlbefinden. Zusätzlich gab es Hinweise darauf, dass bei Hochbegabten und durchschnittlich Begabten zum Teil unterschiedliche Selbsteinschätzungsvariablen zur Vorhersage des subjektiven Wohlbefindens relevant sind. Ein statistisch bedeutsamer Unterschied zwischen Hochleistenden und durchschnittlich Leistenden resultierte in der Zufriedenheit mit der Ehe/Partnerschaft zugunsten der Hochleistenden. Diese schilderten außerdem eine erhöhte Wünschbarkeit des Ziels Leistung. Insgesamt stellt sich die Lebenssituation Hochbegabter bzw. Hochleistender im (jungen) Erwachsenenalter positiv dar: Weder intellektuell besonders Begabte noch besonders (gut) Leistende erweisen sich als besonders glücklich oder unglücklich

School-related and individual predictors of subjective well-being and academic achievement

Recent research in the educational context has focused not only on academic achievement but also on subjective well-being (SWB) as both play a major role in students’ lives. Whereas the determinants of academic achievement have been extensively investigated, little research has been conducted on school-related determinants of SWB in comparison with other students’ characteristics. In the present cross-sectional study, we set out to investigate whether perceived school climate predicts school grades and SWB above and beyond other variables that are important for SWB and academic achievement. A sample of 767 8th and 9th grade students (n = 361 female adolescents; age: M = 14.07 years, SD = 0.92) completed measures of SWB, perceived school climate, test anxiety, self-efficacy, and interest. Grade point average (GPA) indicated students’ academic achievement. Data were analyzed with latent structural equation models in which GPA and SWB were regressed on the school climate variables and students’ characteristics. Results indicated that a positive school climate as well as self-efficacy and the worry component of test anxiety predicted SWB and/or GPA after all other variables were controlled for. Directions for future research and the importance of school climate variables on adolescents’ SWB and academic achievement are discussed