Autonomy versus support: Self-reliance and help-seeking for mental health problems in young people

Purpose: Many young people with mental ill-health do not seek support, and developmental growth in self-reliance may be a barrier to help-seeking. Increasing autonomy is a positive developmental task for youth and a key aspect of resilience. This study examined the influence of perceived social support and resilience on the previously unexamined relationship between self-reliance and intentions to seek help from informal, professional, and self-help sources for mental health problems. Methods: An online survey was completed by a representative Australian community sample of 5,203 young people aged 12–25 years (half female), in May–June 2020. Results: Path analysis showed the hypothesised conceptual model did not fit the data well, but a modified model was a good fit. Higher self-reliance was associated with lower intentions to seek informal and professional help, as expected, but not with greater intentions for self-help. The relationship between self-reliance and informal help-seeking intentions was fully mediated by perceived social support, whereas the relationship between self-reliance and professional help-seeking was also direct. Perceived social support fully mediated the relationship between self-reliance and resilience. Intentions to use self-help were not influenced by variables in the study, but higher self-help intentions were associated with higher professional help-seeking intentions. Associations were consistent across age and gender groups. Conclusion: The results show the critical role of social support for combating some of the unhelpful aspects of self-reliance for mental health help-seeking in young people. Future research should explore how self-reliance can hinder or be harnessed to facilitate accessing appropriate mental health

Life after bushfire: Post-traumatic stress, coping and post-traumatic growth

Introduction Research suggests that post-traumatic stress (PTS) symptoms are common after the experience of bushfire. However, the ways in which individuals cope with, positively grow from, and find benefit in the adverse circumstances of bushfire in Australia has not been adequately explored. The main objective of this study is to assess the relationship between PTS, coping strategies and post-traumatic growth, in a sample of Australian community members affected by a bushfire event. Methods Sixty-five participants (mean age 40.66 years, SD=13.57), who had previously experienced a bushfire event in Australia, responded to an anonymous online survey. Results Results indicated that greater PTS was associated with the use of all coping strategies, as well as higher levels of post-traumatic growth. The use of coping strategies was associated with higher levels of post-traumatic growth. Hierarchical regression analyses found that post-traumatic growth and avoidant coping explained significant amounts of unique variance in PTS, whereas PTS and emotion-focussed coping explained significant amounts of unique variance in post-traumatic growth. Conclusion In communities that are seasonally threatened by bushfires, our findings suggest that not only are post-disaster stress reduction interventions required, but so too are preparedness programs that include strategies for promoting growth and positive adaptation. It is suggested further research should address implications for strength-based preparedness and recovery programs in bushfire prone areas

Gendered perceptions of climate change and agricultural adaptation practices: A systematic review

The present systematic review was undertaken to obtain a detailed understanding of how climate change perceptions and adaptation differ globally by gender and different intersections among the farmers. Findings from 41 studies selected following Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) protocol, mostly from Africa and Asia, suggest that climate change perceptions and adaptation are highly contextual and considerably varied by gender and different intersections. Existing gender role, farmers’ age, education, knowledge, marital status, intra-household power structure, religion, social status and ethnicity were intersecting with gender and climate change perception and adaptation. Apart from gender and intersectionality, access to resources, social network and local institutions are found to be important correlates of adaptation strategies by farmers. While agriculture being feminized, mere technological changes are not conclusive to climate change adaptation rather socio-cultural, structural and political changes in inevitable. Female farmers were tend to be more concerned and fatalistic about climate change which reminds us the urgency of culturally appropriate climate change communication to obtain informed decision regarding climate change. Future climate change research could be more gender transformative by exploring the existing inequalities lying in different intersections of gender rather than highlighting binary gender differences only

A psychoeducational support group intervention for people who have attempted suicide: An open trial with promising preliminary findings

Psychoeducational groups have been used to address many health needs. Yet, there are few such options available for people who have attempted suicide. This study presents preliminary findings from an open trial of Eclipse, an 8-week closed, psychoeducational group for people who have attempted suicide. It examined the effectiveness of the Eclipse program in reducing suicidal ideation, depressive symptoms, perceived burdensomeness and thwarted belongingness, and increasing resilience and help-seeking. Results showed statistically significant improvements in depressive symptoms, perceived burdensomeness, resilience and help-seeking from baseline (T1) to immediate post-test (T2), and in perceived burdensomeness from T1 to 1-month follow-up (T3). A pervasiveness analysis showed that over half of the participants reported improvements in key study outcomes, respectively, as a result of participating in the Eclipse group. Psychoeducational support groups could provide broad application for those who have previously attempted suicide in decreasing severity of suicidal thinking by reductions in depressive symptoms, burdensomeness, and thwarted belongingness

Evidence-Based Practice by Psychologists Treating Secondary Psychological Injuries Within State Insurance Regulatory Authority Governed Frameworks

While psychopathology arising from musculoskeletal injury (i.e., secondary psychological injury) is predictive of poor recovery by injured people claiming compensation, the application of evidence-based practice (EBP) treatment guidelines is associated with improved outcomes. In 2010, the State Insurance Regulatory Authority (SIRA) in New South Wales (NSW), Australia- a body that governs the regulatory functions of Workers Compensation (WC) and motor vehicle Compulsory Third Party (CTP) insurance schemes-implemented EBP treatment guidelines. These guidelines are contained in the document titled: Clinical framework for the delivery of health services (Transport Commission & WorkSafe Victoria, 2012). At the time of conducting this research, the SIRA EBP treatment guidelines had been in effect for over five years; however, their effect on psychologists' practice and injured persons' outcomes was unknown. Therefore, the aims of the thesis were to: 1) to examine the effect of the introduction of the EBP treatment guidelines on claims cost and injured person outcomes within the SIRA insurance schemes and assess the use of EBP by psychologists treating musculoskeletal injuries with secondary psychological injury in this context, 2) to identify barriers to psychologists' use of EBP from the perspective of psychologists and 3) from the perspective of key stakeholders and 4) to elicit and test the feasibility of recommendations made by expert psychologists to improve psychologists' practice. Study 1 investigated whether the implementation of EBP treatment guidelines had reduced claims costs, improved injured person outcomes and resulted in psychologists using EBP. From a time range sample of n = 238 administrative records of people with a musculoskeletal injury and secondary psychological injury, the results revealed that the implementation of EBP had acted as a buffer against broader negative trends in claims cost and return to work timeframes (i.e., compared to the population of injured people n = 26,254 who had suffered a musculoskeletal injury and not consulted a psychologist during the same time period). The second phase of the study included a qualitative case-level analysis of n = 12 WC files and n = 9 CTP showed that within both WC and CTP positive injured person outcomes occurred when psychologists' adherence with EBP guidelines was high. However, the findings also showed that psychologists' application of EBP treatment guidelines was suboptimal. Study 2 explored the barriers in psychologists' adherence with the SIRA EBP guidelines. Psychologists (n = 20) practicing within rural, regional and metropolitan in NSW participated in focus groups. The results revealed three key issues functioned as barriers: 1) a lack of trust in the validity of the recommended EBP guidelines, 2) a lack of knowledge of the psychologist's role in this context and insufficient skills to fully apply the guidelines, protocols and procedures and 3) a poor fit between EBP guidelines, client presentations and circumstances and the SIRA compensation schemes. The findings showed that both individual practitioner variables and contextual barriers influenced adherence to EBP. Study 3 explored the contextual barriers that were identified in Study 2 as affecting practice. These included perceived barriers created by general practitioners (GPs), insurers and injured patients' actions. A sample of n = 27 participants was involved. The results showed that GPs were reticent to access psychological services due to a poor fit between their practice and treatment guidelines. Insurers lacked trust in the validity of 'secondary psychological injury' claims and this was exacerbated by psychologists' non-adherence to insurers' protocols and deficits in insurers' knowledge. Injured peoples' willingness to engage with treatment was impaired by a poor fit between the treatment guidelines and their experience of insurers' and psychologists' practices. Study 4 elicited recommendations to overcome the barriers in psychologists' adherence to EBP guidelines that were identified in Study 2 and examined the feasibility of their implementation. The recommendations proposed by field experts (n = 8) included: 1) mandatory training and continuing professional development in the area of practice, 2) using independent consultants for expert advice, 3) completion of outcome measures prior to the first session, 4) completion of a treatment plan in-session with the injured person and 5) completion of outcome measures in the eighth and final session. These recommendations were considered feasible by most of the participating psychologists (n =150). Taken together, the findings of this project highlight the important role of psychologists in the treatment of musculoskeletal injuries with secondary psychological injury and reinforced the need to integrate the best available research evidence with clinician's expertise and patient expectations and values to deliver beneficial outcomes to people. In addition, the findings illustrate that while psychologists have skills in the treatment of mental disorders they may not be competent in EBP approaches for managing and addressing pain and functional disability arising from secondary psychological injury within the compensation frameworks. The findings also highlight that to increase the application of EBP guidelines, a broad-based commitment from all stakeholders within the SIRA compensation schemes is required. This includes education programs that support all stakeholders to understand that the management of secondary psychological injuries requires a functional restoration perspective within a biopsychosocial paradigm. Lastly, empirical data from the research can be used to encourage stakeholders to change their practices and for policymakers, administrators and professional associations to provide support to facilitate psychologists' adherence with EBP in ordinary clinical settings

The Depiction of Environment Through Art: The Role of Exhibited Environmental Art in Public Engagement with Environmental Sustainability: A Case Study of the Bimblebox Art-Science-Nature Exhibition

This research set out to further validate and extend a sparse academic literature: on the capacity of art advocacy to influence pro-environmental behaviour and sustainability adoption in the audiences for exhibited environmental art. It was also developed to further validate the use of art to help close an environmental attitudes-action gap: that limiting divergence between citizen and community held pro-environmental motivation and intention; and the subsequent pro-environmental behaviour they undertake. A mixed method survey design was applied within a case study of audience response to an Australian environmental art exhibition. The Bimblebox: art-science-nature exhibition was seen by over 45,500 people during its national tour between 2014 and 2017. A purposive sample of research participants (N=79) drawn from the exhibition audience was used to further validate the existence of several theoretical components of environmental art influence. Findings revealed that over half of participants who answered a survey within two months of seeing the exhibition stated future pro-environmental intentions linked to their art experience; and that frequency rose slightly for those who answered the survey 12 months after seeing the exhibition. This latter response also included examples of specific pro-environmental behaviours performed. Additionally, participant response to the software app designed for exhibition art presentation was combined with literature review of emerging digital technologies and international museum practice. The response of a cohort of Australian environmental art and museum practitioners to these published findings was also obtained. Jointly, these data sources helped reconfirm the value of environmental art advocacy as an important resource in public sustainability engagement. The research concluded that this resource could probably be further enhanced by a more systematic intersection of environmental art advocacy, its presentation in museum spaces using digital technology; and the better integration of this intersection with other, public, capacity building initiatives such as environmental art-science collaboration and education for sustainable development

The Nature of Well-Being: The Roles of Hedonic Processes, Eudaimonic Processes, Emotional Intelligence, and Cultural Orientation

The first part of the present project reconceptualised the role of hedonic (pleasure) and eudaimonic (engagement) functions as satisfaction "processes" and distinguished them from well-being "outcomes". Well-being "outcomes" cover the full spectrum of human well-being by encompassing life satisfaction, positive affect, psychological well-being, social well-being, general physical health and absence of depression, anxiety, and stress. It was hypothesised that adaptive emotional functioning as operationalised by emotional intelligence would mediate the relationship between satisfaction "processes" and well-being "outcomes", and that cultural orientation would moderate the relationship among satisfaction processes, emotional intelligence, and well-being outcomes. Participants were university students from both Australia and India. Path analysis using structural equation modelling showed that emotional intelligence fully mediated the relationship between hedonic and eudaimonic satisfaction processes and well-being outcomes. Multi-group analyses showed that cultural orientation did not moderate this mediation model. An experimental study explored the effect of expressive writing about positive satisfaction experiences with a focus on emotional functioning on the overall well-being of an individual. Participants in the experimental condition wrote about meaningful activities that provide them with an intense sense of enjoyment and pleasure and how satisfaction derived from such activities can be increased by strengthening emotions associated with them. The control group participants were asked to write about their daily activities. Results indicated that writing about positive satisfaction experiences in the context of adaptive emotional functioning led to a significant increase in well-being at post-test as compared to writing about daily activities

Feasibility and acceptability of a remotely delivered transdiagnostic CBT treatment for postnatal anxiety and related disorders: A pilot case series

Women in the postnatal period are at a high risk of developing clinically significant symptoms of anxiety. Cognitive behavioural therapy is effective in the treatment of postnatal anxiety; however, there are many barriers to accessing this treatment. This study examined the feasibility and acceptability of transdiagnostic cognitive behavioural therapy delivered remotely via Internet videoconferencing. Three women (Mage = 28.33 years; SD = 4.04) with a postnatal anxiety-related disorder were treated using the videoconference-delivered cognitive behavioural therapy. The treatment was delivered once per week over a 5-week period. All participants met criteria for clinically significant change in anxiety symptoms at post-treatment, and one participant met criteria for clinically significant change in depressive symptoms, which was maintained at 3-month follow-up. The intervention was also found to be acceptable by participants. The results provide preliminary feasibility evidence of the clinical utility and acceptability of remotely delivered transdiagnostic cognitive behavioural therapy as an intervention for postnatal anxiety disorders

Suicide exposure experience screener for use in therapeutic settings: A validation report

Introduction: A brief screener assessing experience of exposure to suicide for use in therapeutic settings is warranted. To examine the concurrent validity of such a screening tool, labeled as the Suicide Exposure Experience Screener (SEES), the associations of the two SEES items: (i) reported closeness with the person who died by suicide and (ii) perceived impact of suicide death with psychological distress are presented. Methods: Five separate datasets comprising surveys from Australia, Canada, and the United States (Ncombined = 7782) were used to provide evidence of concurrent validity of closeness and impact of suicide exposure. Results: Overall, closeness and impact were significantly correlated with measures of global distress across five different datasets, showing small to medium effect sizes. Closeness and impact were also intercorrelated demonstrating a large effect size across all surveys. This report used cross-sectional data and comprised varied sample sizes across different datasets that influenced statistical significance of obtained effects and did not tease apart the roles of cumulative exposure of suicide and prolonged bereavement in experiencing global distress. Conclusion: The SEES has clinical utility in determining psychological distress in bereaved individuals and is recommended for use in therapeutic settings

Personality profiles and persuasion: An exploratory study investigating the role of the Big-5, Type D personality and the Dark Triad on susceptibility to persuasion

The present study investigated the relationship between personality profiles and susceptibility to persuasion.
 Participants (N = 316) were recruited for an online questionnaire and asked to complete self-reported measures of their personality – Big-5, Dark Triad and Type D. Individual differences in susceptibility to persuasion were also explored using Cialdini's model of persuasion. Latent profile analysis identified three distinct profiles which were labelled Socially Apt, Fearful and Malevolent. These profiles were correlated with scores on the persuasion sub-scales – authority, commitment, liking, scarcity, reciprocity, consensus – and a number of interesting associations were identified. The malevolent profile self-reported as more susceptible to a higher use of scarcity relative to the other principles of persuasion, and was least susceptible to reciprocity and authority. The socially apt profile appear to be more inclined to be persuaded to do something if it is consistent with their beliefs or a prior act whereas individuals in the Fearful profile were more likely to report obeying those in authority and going along with a crowd. Implications for persuasion are discussed along with research on personality types