Does What You Do Before Class Matter?

The current study builds upon earlier work exploring task switching, learning, and interruption by expanding the timeline to discuss more complex tasks over longer periods. For a student to learn successfully, they must pay attention to the right information. The current study explores how pre-learning conditions affect academic performance by directing attention toward or away from the task. Methods: College undergraduates (N = 62) completed two sessions over two consecutive days. The goal of Session 1 was to both observe baseline distraction and learning. Notes for Session 2 were also pulled from Session 1. The goal of Session 2 was to observe differences in learning based on ten-minute pre-lecture conditions: social media usage (n = 22), notes reviewing (n = 21), and control (n = 19). In both sessions, participants were tested on learning after watching a lecture video. Note reviewing was expected to positively impact learning and social media engagement was expected to negatively impact learning due to how cognitively similar or dissimilar they were to the lecture material. Effects were expected to be most visible at the beginning of the lecture and possibly continue throughout. Social media engagement was also expected to increase attentional disruption and off-task social media usage. Results: Though the findings did show a pattern, with social media participants going off task more frequently than the others, there was no significant difference between conditions in distraction, scores during the experimental session, or duration of test-taking. Conclusions: Possible explanations and implications ranging from lack of motivation and attention to the habitual power of social media are considered in light of the previous task-switching, interruption, and interference literature

Does What You Do Before Class Matter?

The current study builds upon earlier work exploring task switching, learning, and interruption by expanding the timeline to discuss more complex tasks over longer periods. For a student to learn successfully, they must pay attention to the right information. The current study explores how pre-learning conditions affect academic performance by directing attention toward or away from the task. Methods: College undergraduates (N = 62) completed two sessions over two consecutive days. The goal of Session 1 was to both observe baseline distraction and learning. Notes for Session 2 were also pulled from Session 1. The goal of Session 2 was to observe differences in learning based on ten-minute pre-lecture conditions: social media usage (n = 22), notes reviewing (n = 21), and control (n = 19). In both sessions, participants were tested on learning after watching a lecture video. Note reviewing was expected to positively impact learning and social media engagement was expected to negatively impact learning due to how cognitively similar or dissimilar they were to the lecture material. Effects were expected to be most visible at the beginning of the lecture and possibly continue throughout. Social media engagement was also expected to increase attentional disruption and off-task social media usage. Results: Though the findings did show a pattern, with social media participants going off task more frequently than the others, there was no significant difference between conditions in distraction, scores during the experimental session, or duration of test-taking. Conclusions: Possible explanations and implications ranging from lack of motivation and attention to the habitual power of social media are considered in light of the previous task-switching, interruption, and interference literature

Cultural Values Influence Mental-Health Help-Seeking in Asian and Latinx College Students

The current study examined the influence of cultural values on mental health attitudes and help-seeking behaviors in college students of diverse ethnic backgrounds. Asian and Latinx college students (N = 159) completed an online survey in which they reported their adherence to cultural values and general attitudes towards mental health and help-seeking behavior. Factor analysis revealed two common factors of cultural values irrespective of ethnic background: Interdependent Orientation (IO) and Cultural Obligation (CO). Regardless of ethnicity, the more students endorsed IO values, the less likely they were to perceive a need for mental health treatment. IO value adherence also predicted more negative attitudes towards mental health. CO values were not predictive of perceived need or help-seeking behaviors. Findings highlight the importance of assessing certain cultural values independently from ethnicity and considering how the multidimensionality of culture may help explain shared mental health behaviors across ethnic group membership

A Relationship-Based Resilience Program for Promotores: Protocol for a Randomized Controlled Waitlist Trial

BackgroundCommunity service providers (CSPs) play an integral role in the health care of low-income Hispanic or Latinx (HL) communities. CSPs have high-stress frontline jobs and share the high-risk demographics of their communities. Relational savoring (RS) has been associated with lower cardiovascular reactivity and psychosocial benefits, with particular promise among HL participants. In this study, we aim to identify RS’s potential in promoting CSPs’ cardiometabolic health and, in so doing, having broader impacts on the community they serve. ObjectiveThis randomized controlled waitlist study aims to examine the effect of an RS intervention on (1) CSPs’ cardiometabolic health (cardiometabolic risk factors and outcomes) and (2) CSPs’ threats to leaving the workforce. MethodsWe will recruit a sample of 80 CSPs from community health agencies serving low-income HL populations. Participating CSPs will be randomized into an experimental or a waitlist control. Participants will complete 1 or 2 baseline assessment batteries (before the intervention), depending on the assigned group, and then complete 2 more assessment batteries following the 4-week RS intervention (after the intervention and at a 3-mo follow-up). The RS intervention consists of guided reflections on positive moments of connection with others. Electrocardiogram data will be obtained from a wearable device (Polar Verity Sense or Movisens) to measure heart rate variability. The primary outcome is cardiometabolic health, consisting of cardiometabolic risk (obtained from heart rate variability) and cardiometabolic health behaviors. The secondary outcomes include CSPs’ threats to leaving the workforce (assessed via psychological well-being), intervention acceptability, and CSPs’ delivery of cardiometabolic health programming to the community (exploratory). Analyses of covariance will be used to examine the effects of RS on cardiometabolic health and on CSPs’ threats to leaving the workforce, comparing outcomes at baseline, postintervention, and at follow-up across participants in the experimental versus waitlist group. ResultsThe study has been approved by the University of California, Irvine, Institutional Review Board and is currently in the data collection phase. By May 2023, 37 HL CSPs have been recruited: 34 have completed the baseline assessment, 28 have completed the 4 intervention sessions, 27 have completed the posttreatment assessment, and 10 have completed all assessments (including the 3-mo follow-up). ConclusionsThis study will provide valuable information on the potential of RS to support cardiometabolic health in HL CSPs and, indirectly, in the communities they serve. Trial RegistrationClinicalTrials.gov NCT05560893; https://clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT05560893 International Registered Report Identifier (IRRID)DERR1-10.2196/5142

Culturally adapting relational savoring: A therapeutic approach to improve relationship quality

Relational savoring (RS) is a brief, strengths-based approach to heightening attentional focus to moments of positive connectedness within relationships. RS can be administered preventatively or within an intervention context when a therapist aspires to foster more optimal relational functioning. Typically administered within a one-on-one therapy setting, RS has demonstrated efficacy in enhancing intra- and interpersonal outcomes. To increase access to mental health services, the developers of RS are committed to engaging in an iterative approach of enhancing the cultural congruence and accessibility of this intervention within various cultural contexts, beginning with Latine groups in Southern California. In this article, we describe relational savoring and its theoretical and empirical support, including the process of culturally adapting the intervention within the context of three major studies, each with a distinct focus on Latine groups, a community that is underserved in mental health care settings. We then provide a vision for future research to improve upon the intervention's compatibility for Latine families and other populations