Balancing acts: Parental coping and adaptation during COVID-19 in Türkiye

The global health crisis, COVID-19, swiftly enveloped people all around the world. Upon the World Health Organization declared the COVID-19 as a pandemic, numerous countries have determined their own road maps. The main purpose of this study was to understand the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on the life balance of parents with children aged 0-6 years in Türkiye. This study was a cross-sectional design. The data was collected from 514 parents who have at least one child at the age of 6 or less. Results showed that there were several direct and indirect relationships between demographic measures (gender, age, educational status, number of children in home and employment status of parents), mediating variables (self-rated measures such as support from distance learning, support from others), and endogenous variables (life balance variables). The findings of the study showed that “new normal” has entailed potential job losses for some individuals and changed perspectives and delivery methods of education. The findings also highlighted the importance of parents’ engagement into education for understanding and helping children’s development

Evaluation of the Short Grit Scale (GRIT-S) with Latinx College Students

In the current study, the psychometric properties of a measure of psychological grit among 344 Latinx college students was investigated. Researchers used confirmatory factor analysis to validate a previously identified two-factor model of the Short Grit Scale (Grit-S). Internal consistency was acceptable as measured by coefficient alpha. A two-factor model of Grit-S had a good model fit with the data. A discussion regarding the importance of these findings is provided and implications for counselors and researchers are offered

Life balance and traumatic txperiences in undergraduate students living near conflict zones

This study aimed to examine the prevalence of PTSD among undergraduate students and how PTSD affected life balance of undergraduate students who live close to conflict zones. The participants of the study were 253 undergraduate students who lived close to conflict zone and witnessed or experienced bombing or war conflicts. Data collection instruments were Juhnke-Balkin Life Balance Inventory- Turkish Form and Turkish Version of the PTSD Checklist for Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders Fifth Edition. The data were collected in paper-pencil format one month after bombing by terrorists across the border. Structural equation modeling was used in data analysis. The results indicated that PTSD symptomatology positively affects the students’ depression and sleep disturbance levels. However, PTSD symptomatology negatively affects global health and positive orientation. All effect sizes were in small to large range. We suggest that administrators should invest counseling services and have practioners providing help especially for undergraduate students in conflict zones; and to make families familiar with PTSD symptoms. © 2020, Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature

Development and Validation of the Contextual Achievement Motivation Measure

This study investigated the factorial validity of the Contextual Achievement Motivation Measure, assessing achievement motivation in multiple settings with a sample of 493 undergraduate and graduate students. Exploratory factor analysis identified a four-factor model: School (6 items), Employment/Work (6 items), Family (5 items), Community (4 items). These factors accounted for approximately 60% of the variance and correlated in the expected directions with a criterion measure, the Adult Hope Scale. Confirmatory factor analysis indicated that the identified four-factor model fit the data, χ2(182)= 348.10, p< .001; χ2/df = 1.91, Tucker-Lewis index (TLI)= .92, comparison fit index (CFI)= .93, root mean square error of approximation (RMSEA) [.058, .080]= .069, and standardized root-mean square residual (SRMR)= .063. In addition, the scale showed partial scalar invariance between genders. Implications, limitations, and suggestions for future research are provided

The Effect of Counselling on Anxiety Level from the Perspective of Ecological Systems Theory: A Quasi-experimental Pre-test - Post-test Control Group Study

In this study, we aimed to examine how counseling service provided to college students, through a contextual clinical counseling model, affects the anxiety level of college students at a university in the east of Turkey. We followed a quasi-experimental with pretest-posttest and with control group design method. The experimental group comprised 205 and the control group comprised 75 college students. Seven supervisors with PhD degree in counseling and counselor education provided weekly supervision to 120 counselors-in-training who provided individual counseling services to the participants. Each client in the experimental group received in average six sessions, each for 45-55 minutes. We have used an adapted version of Beck Anxiety Inventory for Turkey to examine the clients’ anxiety levels. Throughout the counseling process, we have collaborated with the psychiatry department at the university when it was necessary. Additionally, in order to conduct the complex quasi-experimental study in a smooth process, we developed and utilized the contextual clinical counseling model, as such models are utilized in some of the best counseling departments in the USA. The model facilitated to conduct the complex and dynamic research and providing the services with limited resources. That means optimized the resources through the model and got significant results. As a result, receiving counseling service seems significantly decreasing anxiety level for this sample. The current study meets some important gaps in mental health. We disccussed the findings from an ecological systems theory perspective and suggested some implications in mental health

COVID-19: Are School Counseling Services Ready? Students' Psychological Symptoms, School Counselors' Views, and Solutions

The purpose of the current study was to investigate the effects of COVID-19 on high school students' psychological symptoms and to understand how ready counselors and school counseling services are based on the data we have. Therefore, this research is designed under two different studies: (A) Study 1: Effects of COVID-19 pandemic on students' psychological symptoms and (B) Study 2: Views and expectations of students and school counselors about school counseling services. The first study was a quantitative study and included 549 high school students (398 female, 151 male). A structural equation model (SEM) was created to examine the effects of COVID-19 pandemic on participants' psychological symptoms. The Impact of Event Scale-Revised (IES-R) scores showed that 107 (19.50%) individuals had a score of 50 and above pointing out that individuals in this group had severe impact of event/trauma symptomologies. The SEM analysis indicated that IES-R scores had a total effect of 0.79 on anxiety, 0.75 on depression, 0.74 on negative self-concept, 0.68 on somatization, and 0.66 on hostility scores. Furthermore, female students had significantly higher scores on anxiety, depression, negative self-concept, somatization, hostility, and impact of events variables than male students. Study 2 was a qualitative design and consisted of five school counselors and five students from different schools. The results indicated that students' difficulties during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak were educational, cognitive, emotional, physiological, relational, technological, and related to routines. Academic, social, emotional, and behavioral issues came to the fore among the difficulties that can be experienced if students start face-to-face education. On the other hand, the school counselors listed that family relations, personal-social, emotional, and academic themes were the difficulties experienced by the students at the beginning of the COVID-19. In addition, when COVID-19 started, the services offered by school counselors were discussed under (1) services for the student, (2) services for the family, and (3) services for the teacher. Finally, according to the opinions of the school counselors, if students start face-to-face education, they may experience emotional, academic, and relational difficulties. In summary, it is vital that student personality services be prepared and implemented by school counseling services for schools based on the results

Investigating the Factors Related to Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) on Undergraduate Students’ Interests in Coursework

Today the world is suffering from coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic illness, and people all around the world stay at home due to its rapid spread. People including students gather information and government instructions through TVs, social media and others around them. Since the classes were canceled in many countries, the novel coronavirus affects students’ interest in coursework. The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of TV news, social media and communication with people on interest in coursework, and mediating roles of fear of contamination, depression, and anxiety on these effects. A path analysis was carried out with the data collected from 773 college students. The results showed that interest in coursework was most strongly affected by communication with people. This was due to its direct and indirect effects. Social media and TV News did not directly affect interest in coursework, but indirectly affected. The study also found that among the three mediator variables, the mediator roles of anxiety was bigger than the others. Understanding the findings of this research has become very important to us, especially at a time when face-to-face lessons have been canceled all over the world and transitioned to online education. Specific recommendations for practitioners and limitations for future research were also provided in the study

The relationship among life satisfaction, academic stress, locus of control, and achievement motivation: a comparison of domestic and international students

A Dissertation Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY in COUNSELOR EDUCATION from Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi in Corpus Christi, Texas.International students are one of the fastest growing higher education populations in the U.S. Adapting to new environments and cultures is stressful and may affect a student’s life satisfaction and motivation. Knowing how international and domestic students correspond or differentiate in terms of satisfaction of life, academic stress, locus of control, and achievement motivation is important for university administrators and student support personnel. The purpose of this study was to compare locus of control, academic stress, life satisfaction, and achievement motivation across international and domestic college students in the U.S. Participants in this study were 307 international and domestic undergraduate students. The data were collected during the fall 2015 semester at a Hispanic Serving Institution in South Texas. The data were collected utilizing the Smith Achievement Motivation Scale (Smith, Balkin, Karaman, & Arora, 2016), the Internal-External Scale (Rotter, 1966), the Student-life Stress Inventory-Revised (Gadzella & Masten, 2005), and the Satisfaction with Life Scale (Diener, Emmons, Larsen, & Griffin, 1985). Descriptive statistics and MANOVA were used to analyze the variables in this study. A hierarchical multiple regression was employed to determine the extent locus of control, academic stress, and life satisfaction predicted achievement motivation. In addition, Fisher’s z transformation was used to evaluate whether two regression models were significantly different. The results indicated a statistically significant difference between domestic and international students as related to achievement motivation. Further analysis revealed significant relationships among predictor and criterion variables. Locus of control, academic stress, and life satisfaction significantly explained 18% of the variance in achievement motivation. However, comparison of the fit of the model from domestic and international students revealed no statistically significant differences between the groups. The study has practical implications for college administrators, educators, and college counselors. The results of the study can help college administrators further understand the unique needs of international students, thereby assisting in their adjustment to new environments and educational systems. In addition, perhaps educators can use the results of this study to modify curricular experiences and syllabi to further meet the needs of international students. Also, findings of this study might encourage college counselors to design and implement achievement focused training programs for domestic and international college students to increase their academic success and retention.Counseling & Educational PsychologyCollege of Education and Human Developmen

Middle school students’ academic motivation in Turkey: Levels of perfectionism and self-efficacy

The purpose of the current study was to understand to what extent Turkish middle school students’ self-efficacy and perfectionism scores explained their academic motivation. Findings from this study have potential to influence counseling interventions, education, and future research. First, findings show that perceptions of self-oriented perfectionism were associated with lower levels of amotivation, lower levels of extrinsic motivation, and higher levels of intrinsic motivation. Findings also suggest that perceptions of socially prescribed perfectionism did not have a relationship with amotivation and had a negative relationship with extrinsic motivation as well as a positive relationship with intrinsic motivation. Finally, self-efficacy continues to be an important factor in outcomes among middle school students and extends previous findings that self-efficacy has been related with students’ resilience, achievement, and perseverance of effort. Based on this study’s findings, we provide implications for practitioners and researchers. One way to increase students’ self-efficacy is to foster hope for the future. Narrative therapy is another way to help students increase their levels of self-oriented perfectionism. © Copyright © 2020 AMLE