Self-efficacy in life skills and satisfaction among adolescents in school transitions

Background: Life skills, according to the World Health Organization, can promote youth well-being through educational school programs. Among life skills, decision-making and problem-solving skills can help adolescents consciously choose their career path.The Italian school system, in fact, requires students, already at a young age (13-14 years old) to make important decisions about their future, like for example choosing the high school that they would like to attend. This study aims to analyze differences in decision-making, self-efficacy, and life satisfaction in a sample of adolescents in secondary school in Italy. It aims to analyze whether there are differences in those dimensions according to students' age, gender, regularity, and future choice intentions.Background:Life skills, according to the World Health Organization, can promote youth well-being through educational school programs. Among life skills, decision-making and problem-solving skills can help adolescents consciously choose their career path.The Italian school system, in fact, requires students, already at a young age (13-14 years old) to make important decisions about their future, like for example choosing the high school that they would like to attend. This study aims to analyze differences in decision-making, self-efficacy, and life satisfaction in a sample of adolescents in secondary school in Italy. It aims to analyze whether there are differences in those dimensions according to students' age, gender, regularity, and future choice intentions.Design and methods:Here we present a cross-sectional study involving 2104 students, balanced by gender, and attending upper secondary school in Italy. Participants completed Soresi and Nota's questionnaires on life satisfaction and Caprara's questionnaire on problem-solving self-efficacy. The data were processed using MANOVA.Results:Research results show significant differences in self-efficacy and school satisfaction in relation to the age at which school transition occurred. Specifically, incoming preadolescents (13-14 years old) scored lower than outgoing late adolescents (17-18 years old) in both decision-making self-efficacy and school satisfaction. Girls scored lower than boys in decision-making self-efficacy. Students who expressed the intention to drop out of school scored lowest on both the self-efficacy and perceived support satisfaction scales.Conclusions:The results highlight the importance of promoting the development of self-efficacy in life skills and school satisfaction to help students in school transitions

Teacher Satisfaction in Relationships With Students and Parents and Burnout

In the educational field, the role of the support component of the teacher-student relationship is well known, while the role of the teacher-student relationship on teacher burnout is a more current field of investigation. Several studies on the sources of burnout have recently focused on job satisfaction and teacher-student satisfaction. However, the role of teacher-parent satisfaction is still little explored in this field. Moreover, in the Italian school context, students’ seniority and educational level require further investigation, as the average age of teachers is particularly high compared to their European colleagues. The present study aims to examine in a sample of 882 Italian teachers the presence of burnout and differences in teacher-student and teacher-parent satisfaction between primary (students aged 6–10years) and lower secondary (students aged 11–13years) teachers. A further objective is to test whether teacher-student and teacher-parent satisfaction and seniority can be significant predictors of burnout. Teachers completed the Job Satisfaction Scale (MESI) and the MBI-Educators Survey and the data were then processed using MANOVA and multiple linear regression analysis. The results revealed that 8.2% of the teachers suffered from burnout and lower secondary teachers showed the highest levels of emotional exhaustion, depersonalisation and reduced personal accomplishment. Predictors of emotional exhaustion were job dissatisfaction and seniority, and predictors of depersonalisation were job dissatisfaction and teacher-student dissatisfaction. Finally, predictors of personal accomplishment were also teacher-parent satisfaction and teacher-student satisfaction. The implications of these findings for practice and research are discussed in this article

Burnout without a job: An explorative study on a sample of Italian unemployed jobseekers

Background: Search for work is in itself a job and its outcomes are similar to those of job burnout: it can generate feelings of exhaustion, detachment from the commitment to research, and a sense of ineffectiveness. The aim of the present study is to investigate the construct of burnout within the category of long-term unemployed people engaged in job search activity. Design and methods: The study has a cross-sectional, descriptive, and exploratory nature. Two hundred eight Italian unemployed jobseekers compiled an adaptation of the OCS Burnout scale, by Maslach and Leiter. An Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) was performed to investigate the psychometric features of the instrument. The relations between the instrument and age and months of job search variables were assessed through Spearman's Rho coefficient of co-graduation. Finally, a MANOVA was carried out. Results: The questionnaire is able to intercept and describe the dimensions of respondents' burnout with respect to four dimensions: Exhaustion, Disengagement, Effectiveness in job search, Disillusion. Correlation analysis shows that the duration of the job search period has a positive relationship with Exhaustion, Disillusion, and Disengagement; a negative relationship with Effectiveness in job search. Finally, MANOVA shows that older unemployed people rate themselves less effective in job searching and more exhausted, compared to younger unemployed people. Conclusions: The psychosocial effects of job search on the unemployed are still little studied, and this research, through the construct of burnout, proposes a comprehensive and articulated key to its understanding

Job Seekers’ Burnout and Engagement: A Qualitative Study of Long-Term Unemployment in Italy

Long-term unemployment has major consequences from an economic, physical and psychosocial perspective. Several authors have pointed out that the search for employment is in itself work, which can generate feelings of exhaustion of psychophysical energies, cynicism and disinvestment, as well as a sense of ineffectiveness to the point of complete disillusion. The construct of burnout can be used to describe this psychological process. This study evaluated the burnout and engagement dimensions in individuals searching for work for a long time, from a qualitative perspective. Fifty-six semi-structured interviews were conducted with a sample of long-term unemployed job seekers (Sardinia, Italy), based on Maslach’s model of burnout (exhaustion, cynicism, effectiveness in job search). The answers to the semi-structured interviews were processed through T-Lab, a semi-automatic textual analysis software. Four thematic cores emerged: exhaustion vs. engagement, cynicism vs. trust, inefficacy vs. efficacy in job search and disillusion vs. hope. This result is consistent with the four-dimensional theoretical model of burnout, originally proposed by Edelwich and Brodsky, recently taken up by Santinello, and framed as the opposite of engagement, as shown in the JD-R model. This study highlights that burnout can describe the psychosocial experiences of long-term unemployed job seekers

Teacher Stress and burnout: a study using MIMIC modelling

A number of recent studies carried out in the education sector have revealed the incidence of burnout in school environments and have highlighted the principal psycho-social sources of burnout syndrome among teachers. This study attempts to look further at the results of a previous research carried out on a sample of 882 Italian teachers. Using advanced statistical techniques such as MIMIC modelling, it intends to verify whether the following psycho-social stress factors are significant as predictors: interpersonal relations, workload, organisational conflict, role ambiguity, perceived role image, work-home interface. Considering that in Italy the recent regulations regarding retirement are triggering new stressful conditions for teachers, this study also aims to assess the role played by age in relation to the sources of psycho-social stress and burnout. The scales we have adopted are the Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI-ES) and the Cooper’s Occupational Stress Indicator (OSI) specifically adapted for Italian schools. Results have shown the clear predictive role of factors such as interpersonal conflict and home-work interface in determining the onset of emotional exhaustion and depersonalization among teachers

Burnout and engagement dimensions in the reception system of illegal immigration in the Mediterranean Sea. A qualitative study on a sample of italian practitioners

The present study describes the semantic nature of burnout and engagement in the operators involved in the management of illegal immigration. Semi-structured interviews were conducted on a sample of Italian practitioners (n = 62) of the two levels of the reception system considered: (1) rescue and first aid and (2) reception and integration. Within the framework of the job demands–resources model (JD-R), the interviews deepened the analysis of the positive and negative dimensions of burnout and engagement: exhaustion versus energy, relational deterioration versus relational involvement, professional inefficacy versus professional efficacy and disillusion versus trust. The interviews were analysed using the T-Lab software, through a cluster analysis (bisecting K-means algorithm), which emphasised noteworthy themes. The results show that, in the vast majority of the dimensions considered (for both levels of reception), the same dimensions of engagement of the operators (energy, relational involvement, professional efficacy and trust) are able to lead them into a condition of burnout, with experiences, conversely, of exhaustion, relational deterioration, professional inefficacy and disillusion. These findings expand the knowledge on burnout and engagement in practitioners of illegal immigration, a context characterised by the value of help and welcome

The Impact on Anxiety Symptoms of an Immersive Virtual Reality Remediation Program in Bipolar Disorders: A Randomized Clinical Trial

: Background: The objective of this work is to investigate the effectiveness of a cognitive remediation intervention on anxiety symptoms in people with bipolar disorder and the therapeutic effect on people whose anxiety symptoms were above the threshold for a screener and whose comorbidity could be identified as an anxiety disorder. Methods: The experimental intervention included 24 sessions (around 45 min each), two for each week over three months. The entire program was inspired by user-centered rehabilitation principles in a recovery-oriented perspective and an approach to bipolar disorder in an evolutionary and non-discriminating vision. The primary outcomes measure the score of the Zung Self-Rating Anxiety Scale (SAS), hypothesizing a higher decrease in the experimental group than in the control group. The survey has been conducted per the CONSORT guidelines for feasibility studies. Results: We evaluate a decrease in the overall SAS score from T0 to T1 to be higher in the experimental group compared to the control group, indicating an improvement in anxiety symptoms (p < 0.0001). Conclusions: The study suggests that virtual reality could have a role in treating anxiety symptoms and disorders in young adults with bipolar disorders or anxiety symptoms in people with hyperactivity and novelty-seeking behaviorsunder stress and high risk for bipolar disorder

Prior Engagement in Physical Activity Correlates with Enhanced Quality of Life Perceptions among Older Adults during COVID-19 Lockdown

Background: This longitudinal study aimed to evaluate whether prior engagement in a physical exercise program correlated with enhanced perceptions of quality-of-life components among older adults during the COVID-19 lockdown period. Methods: The cohort comprised elderly individuals (aged ≥ 65 years) who had previously partaken in a 12-week randomized controlled trial investigating the effects of a mixed aerobic-anaerobic, moderate-intensity exercise program. Participants' health-related quality of life was assessed using the Short Form Health Survey-12 item (SF-12) at the beginning of the initial trial and, again, one year later during the COVID-19 lockdown. In the exercise group, 44 participants were included, while the control group consisted of 49 participants, with computer-based, double-blind randomization conducted in Cagliari, Italy. The differences in scores for each SF-12 item between the two groups from T0 to T1 were compared using one-way ANOVA with Bonferroni corrections. Data were analyzed using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 27. Results: No statistically significant differences were observed on average by age (exercise group vs. control group 72.20 ± 4.78 vs. 72.91 ± 4.77; F = 0.513, p = 0.476). A decrease from T0 to T1 towards a better score on the SF-12 was observed in the exercise group compared to the control group in item 1 (F = 67.463, p < 0.0001); in item 5 (F = 4.319, p = 0.041); item 8 (F = 4.269, p = 0.041); item 9 (F = 10.761, p = 0.001); item 10 (F = 170.433, p < 0.001); and item 11 (F = 4.075, p = 0.046). Conclusions: The results suggest that participation in a moderate physical exercise program one year prior may have equipped older adults with better coping mechanisms to navigate the stress and isolation imposed by the COVID-19 lockdown, as reflected by their enhanced scores on quality-of-life components pertaining to mental well-being. Exercise may confer a protective effect against the adverse psychological impacts of stressful events like the pandemic, even among older adults with chronic conditions. This study underscores the potential benefits of exercise interventions for promoting quality of life and preventing mood disorders in the elderly population

Reliability and Factor Structure of the Well-Being and Respect for Human Rights Questionnaire in Measuring Caregivers' Perception

Background: This study has investigated perceptions of respect for users' rights among informal caregivers in mental healthcare settings, aligning with the guidelines outlined in the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) and the World Health Organization QualityRights initiative. The study has employed the questionnaire on Well-being at Work and Respect for Human Rights (WWRR) among informal caregivers and tested whether the questionnaire's factor structure among informal caregivers aligns with that of users and health workers. We have hypothesized that informal caregivers prioritize users' needs and rights over the care context's climate. Methods: This was a cross-sectional study. The "Well-being at Work and Respect for Human Rights" questionnaire was distributed to 100 caregivers in 4 territorial mental health facilities in Sardinia, Italy. Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) was utilized to assess the participants' responses. Results: Participants reported high satisfaction with their relatives' treatment, perceiving a high level of respect for human rights among users and healthcare professionals. However, they highlighted insufficient resources for services, particularly the need for additional staff. CFA revealed that a scale with the first five items demonstrated good reliability, convergent validity, and discrimination. Mean scores indicated high satisfaction and perception of respect for human rights across the sample, with no significant differences by age or gender. Conclusion: Satisfaction with users' rights is closely correlated with other factors comprising the notion of organizational well-being within a healthcare service

Informal caregivers compared with users and health workers on well-being and respect for human rights in mental health care services

Background: This study aimed to measure differences among informal caregivers, users, and mental healthcare workers (MHW) regarding job/organizational satisfaction and perceptions of respect for rights in the mental health services of one region of Italy. Methods: A sample of 100 caregivers, 240 MHW, and 200 users completed the “Well-Being at Work and Respect for Human Rights Questionnaire” (WWRR) in community mental health centers in Sardinia. Results: Caregivers reported higher satisfaction toward MHW on perceiving respect for human rights among users (5.2 ± 1.0 vs 5.1 ± 1.1, p < 0.0001) and health professionals (5.3 ± 0.8 vs 4.5 ± 1.3, p < 0.0001) and organization well-being (5.1 ± 1.2 vs 3.9 ± 1.3, p < 0.0001); toward users about respect of rights of MHW (5.3 ± 0.8 vs 4.9 ± 1.2, p < 0.0001) and both toward users and MHW on dissatisfaction on resources (p < 0.0001). Caregivers strongly highlighted insufficient resources for services. Conclusion: Despite caregiver satisfaction, resource deficiencies signal a critical juncture in Italian mental health care. Continued cuts in healthcare spending, especially in mental health, raise concerns for future outcomes