Emotion and stress-related illness among secondary teachers

Over the last decade there have been sharp increases in recorded levels of occupational stress. Reports of the growing incidence of stress-related illness within the teaching profession continue, the numbers of teachers pursuing litigation to secure compensation for injury to health increasing. Based on qualitative empirical data gathered from indepth longitudinal interviews guided by humanist counselling frameworks, this study focuses on the phenomenological experiences of 21 secondary school teachers (and their tmilies) diagnosed as suffering stress-related illness. It shows how stress cascaded through school systems from government directives to the chalkface, and on into family systems, leading, in some cases, to finally burnout. Analysis through the sociology and psychology of emotion emphasises the central position of emotions in the aetiology of stress-related illness. This research shows that emotions are social processes, playing a vital role as communicators both to the self and to others. Emotional climates within schools and the home, individual and organisational emotional competencies, emotional labouring, emotion management and emotion rules were key themes contributing to the experience of stress-related illness. This study finally deals with the struggle for survival and identity reconstruction processes within the self-renewal journey. Some teachers, profoundly damaged by the experience of stress, were unable to return to the teaching world. Some emerged with a renewed and strengthened sense of self. Implications are drawn regarding student achievement, individual and collective emotional literacy, and the retention, training and professional development of teachers

Foreword

The San Diego Law Review symposium contains some very thoughtful comments with respect to the validity under international law of the mining claim made by Deepsea Ventures, Inc. and the factors affecting United States policy toward negotiations of the regime for highly migratory species, and the effect that a 200-mile economic resource zone could have on the American tuna industry; the complex questions involved in attempting to create a regime for archipelagos consistent with the interests of the world community in protecting freedom of navigation and the development of the doctrine of innocent passage and its effect on the legality of reprisal by the United States in the Mayaguez incident. In summary, the editors of the San Diego Law Review have produced a stimulating symposium at a critical time int he law of the sea negotiations

News Stories of Intimate Partner Violence: An Experimental Examination of Participant Sex, Perpetrator Sex, and Violence Severity on Seriousness, Sympathy, and Punishment Preferences

This study experimentally examines the effects of participant sex, perpetrator sex, and severity of violence on perceptions of intimate partner violence (IPV) seriousness, sympathy toward the victim, and punishment preferences for the perpetrator. Participants (N = 449) were randomly assigned to a condition, exposed to a composite news story, and then completed a survey. Ratings of seriousness of IPV for stories with male perpetrators were significantly higher than ratings of seriousness for stories with female perpetrators. Men had significantly higher sympathy for female victims in any condition than for male victims in the weak or strong severity of violence conditions. Men’s sympathy for male victims in the fatal severity of violence condition did not differ from their sympathy for female victims. Women had the least sympathy for female victims in the weak severity condition and men in the weak or strong severity conditions. Women reported significantly higher sympathy for female victims in the strong and fatal severity of violence conditions. Women’s ratings of sympathy for male victims in the fatal severity of violence condition were statistically indistinguishable from any other group. Participants reported stronger punishment preferences for male perpetrators and this effect was magnified among men. Theoretical implications are presented with attention provided to practical considerations about support for public health services

The Influence of Impervious Surface Location on Water Quality in the Headwaters of the Southern Appalachian Mountains

Determining where critical areas in watersheds exist, and how land cover in these critical areas influence water quality is vital. Impervious land cover has been shown to have a negative influence on water quality; however, the influence of impervious surface location within individual watersheds is poorly understood. This study examined the effects of impervious surfaces on water quality in 23 headwaters catchments in the Southern Appalachian Mountains of Western North Carolina. An effective method for generating impervious surface classifications from aerial photography is presented. Using these impervious surface classifications, the influence of impervious surface position was examined. Additionally, using a functional definition of a riparian area, this study presents a methodology for delineating potential riparian zones from adjacent hillslopes along Southern Appalachian headwater streams. Impervious surface percentages were correlated with water quality (specific conductance) at the watershed outlet. The results indicate that impervious surface in potential riparian zones and low-order streams (i.e., less than 3rd order) are dominant controls of specific conductance measured at the watershed outlet

Factors Distinguishing Positive Deviance Among Low-Income African American Women: A Qualitative Study on Infant Feeding

Background: Positive deviant individuals practice beneficial behaviors in spite of having qualities characterizing them as high risk for unhealthy behaviors. Objective: This study aimed to identify and understand factors distinguishing low-income African American women who breastfeed the longest (positive deviants) from those who breastfeed for a shorter duration or do not breastfeed. Methods: Seven mini-focus groups on infant-feeding attitudes and experiences were conducted with 25 low-income African American women, grouped by infant-feeding practice. Positive deviants, who had breastfed for 4 months or more, were compared with formula-feeding participants who had only formula fed their babies and short-term breastfeeding participants who had breastfed for 3 months or less. Results: Positive deviant women had more schooling, higher income, breastfeeding intention, positive breastfeeding and unfavorable formula-feeding attitudes, higher self-efficacy, positive hospital and Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children experiences, more exclusive breastfeeding, and greater comfort breastfeeding in public. Short-term breastfeeding women varied in breastfeeding intention and self-efficacy, seemed to receive insufficient professional breastfeeding support, and supplemented breastfeeding with formula. Some showed ambivalence, concern with unhealthy behaviors, and discomfort with breastfeeding in public. Formula-feeding women intended to formula feed, feared breastfeeding, thought their behaviors were incompatible with breastfeeding, were comfortable with and found formula convenient, and received strong support to formula feed. Conclusion: Tapping into the strengths of positive deviants; tailoring interventions to levels of general and breastfeeding self-efficacy; increasing social, institutional, and community supports; and removing inappropriate formula promotion may offer promising strategies to increase breastfeeding among low-income African American women

Manganese in Texas Soils and its Relation to Crops.

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Prevalence of Mental Health Disorder Symptoms and Rates of Help-seeking Among University-Enrolled, Black Men

Background. Black men in college represent a subgroup of emerging adults who are at increased risk of developing mental health disorders (MHDs), such as anxiety and depression. Such risk has been attributed to disproportionate experiences with everyday racial discrimination and high levels of psychological distress. Despite being at higher risk, university-enrolled, Black men are not utilizing mental health or health resources at optimal rates. The current evidence base describing prevalence of MHDs and health services utilization among Black men in college is limited. The present study addresses this by examining mental health prevalence among university-enrolled, Black men and their rates of health services utilization. Methods. We analyzed data (N ~ 2500) from a student survey, Spit for Science, a longitudinal, ongoing, research study at a mid-Atlantic, public university. Participants are given surveys in their freshman year and follow-up surveys every spring thereafter. Measures included: mental health disorders (depression and anxiety, as measured by the Symptom Checklist 90) and campus health service utilization (counseling center, health services, wellness center, and recreational sports). We conducted descriptive analyses to determine MHD symptom prevalence and utilization rates; Mann Whitney U tests to compare prevalence rates to White men and Black women; and, Chi-squared tests to compare rates of utilization among groups. Results. During their Freshman year, greater than 60% of students from each ethnic group reported at least one anxiety symptom and greater than 80% reported at least one depressive symptom. By senior year, reporting rates decreased significantly for Black men (49.6%) but remained high for White men (69.1%) and Black women (63%); p \u3c0.000. For depression, results were similar; however, only significant differences between Black men (72.7%) and Black women (87.1%); p\u3c0.000. Black men (20.4%), though reporting high levels of symptoms, still utilized counseling services at lower rates compared to White men (37.76%); p = 0.024. Conclusion. Findings suggest that Black men underutilize available campus health resources despite reporting one or more symptoms associated with anxiety and depression. Further research and prevention efforts are needed to improve help-seeking among this vulnerable population.https://scholarscompass.vcu.edu/gradposters/1077/thumbnail.jp