Emotional Resources Research Articles

Growth after Trauma: The Role of Self-Compassion following Hurricane Harvey

The psychological impact of a traumatic event includes potentially both negative (e.g., PTSD, depression, and anxiety) as well as positive (e.g., post-traumatic growth) outcomes. The construct of self-compassion—the capacity to be compassionate towards oneself—has been associated with various psychological benefits following disasters; however, the association between self-compassion and PTG have not yet been examined in natural disaster settings. This study aimed to examine the relationship between these constructs, with self-compassion as a potential mediator in this relationship. Three hundred and nine undergraduate students affected by the impact of Hurricane Harvey were recruited. Statistical analyses revealed a significant mediation effect, with PTSD symptoms being both directly and indirectly (via self-compassion) associated with PTG. The capacity to grow from traumatic experiences is mediated by one’s disposition to be compassionate towards oneself, serving as a resilience factor to provide individuals with the cognitive and emotional resources to grow after trauma. These findings have significant implications in both clinical and research contexts, including the use of self-compassion interventions to protect against PTSD and other comorbid psychopathology and also act as a catalyst for growth following natural disaster events.

Program Evaluation of a Class Addressing Psychosocial Topics in Preparation for Hematopoietic Cell Transplantation: a Brief Report.

Patients undergoing hematopoietic cell transplantation (HCT) and their caregivers can experience psychosocial complications pre-, during, and post-transplant. To meet the needs of the most patients and caregivers, a class was developed to prepare patients and caregivers to prevent and manage common psychosocial challenges. We evaluated the feasibility and acceptability of the class over a 5-month pilot period. Attendance in this class became part of standard pre-transplant care. Attendees were invited to complete a questionnaire (Likert-scale and open-ended questions) to evaluate the feasibility and acceptability of this class. Data were collected over a 5-month period. Descriptive analysis was completed. Patients (n = 41) and caregivers (n = 40) were satisfied to very satisfied with the class. Patients (80%) and caregivers (65%) reported that the class met their expectations, with several describing it as worthwhile and informative. Information relating to finances and benefits were considered most helpful, followed by emotional support resources. Patients (73%) and caregivers (93%) reported that they would recommend the class to others. This education class should be provided as early as possible to ensure that psychosocial needs are addressed. Future research initiatives include further assessing the perspectives of patients, clinicians, and other stakeholders; evaluating delivery methods; and collaborating with other centers.

Assessing the Quality of Life of Parents of Children With Disabilities Using WHOQoL BREF During COVID-19 Pandemic.

Background: Caring for a child with disabilities is a challenging journey, as the parents must meet greater demands when compared with the parents of children without disabilities. Looking after a child with disablities requires additional financial, social, emotional, and physical resources. Coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has made this even more challenging and impacted the quality of life of parents of children with disabilities.Methods: The study was an analytical cross-sectional design with two comparison groups: parents of children with developmental disabilities and parents of children without disabilities. The Urdu version of the WHO Quality of Life Measure Abbreviated version (WHOQOL-BREF) was used to measure the quality of life (QoL) among parents. Sociodemographic data were also obtained from the parents.Results: Parents of children with disabilities had lower overall scores when different domains of QoL were considered (physical health, psychological health, social relationships, and environment) using WHOQoL-BREF. Statistically significant differences were observed in the physical and environmental domains of parental QoL.

Social sharing of task-related emotions in Design-Based Learning: Challenges and opportunities

Research into the role of emotions in Design-Based Learning (DBL) is growing, but little attention has been paid to the regulation of students’ emotional resources to support their DBL experiences. Here we investigate the social sharing of emotions in the DBL context and explore how such behavior affects students’ DBL experiences that might help emotional regulation and team cooperation. We report two intervention studies conducted in 2020 during the Covid-19 epidemic, which explored different ways of sharing task-related emotions with peers and teachers, and evaluated the impact upon a total of 28 students’ (aged 13-16) DBL experiences. The first study concerns the implementation of a group chat channel in Microsoft Teams ® for sharing emotions. The second employed FireFlies (i.e., an interactive lighting device) and a set of task cards that served as a peripheral display for sharing task-related emotions. Data were collected through questionnaires, observations, and interviews. Based on this study’s findings, we make recommendations for designing tools to support students in sharing emotions and suggesting how instructors could address students’ emotions.

Socio-economic predictors of undernutrition and anaemia in adolescent mothers in West and Central Africa.

BackgroundAdolescence is a formative period when an individual acquires physical, cognitive, emotional, and social resources that are the foundation for later life, health, and well-being [1]. However, in West and Central African region, this trajectory is curtailed by early childbearing associated with an increased risk of undernutrition and anemia. Evidence on socio-economic determinants of anemia and undernutrition in adolescent mothers is limited. This paper aims to shed some light on this issue and, more specifically, assess the socio-economic determinants of anemia among childbearing adolescents in the region.MethodsFor this observational study, we pooled data from all Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS) conducted in countries in West and Central Africa region between 1986 and 2017. Outcomes were undernutrition and anemia in adolescent mothers. Predictors were education, wealth, place of residence (rural/urban), and religion. Descriptive statistics were calculated using survey weights for individual surveys and in the pooled sample each country was additionally weighted with its population share. We estimated multiple regression models with and without primary sampling unit fixed effects for both outcomes. All regressions were linear probability models.ResultsHaving no formal education was the strongest predictor for both anemia and undernutrition. Belonging to the richest asset quintile was also associated with lower anemia and undernutrition prevalence in some specifications. While urban location of the mother was positively associated with anemia, there was no association with undernutrition.ConclusionsOverall, having any formal education emerged as a sole strong predictor of reduced adolescent maternal undernutrition and anemia. Promotion of female education can potentially serve as a high-impact intervention to improve adolescent girls’ health in the region. However, we cannot make conclusions about its causal impact based on this study alone.

Investment in Emotional Labor: Daily Resource Spirals and Recovery

Service workers perform emotional labor with customers by surface acting (modifying expressions) or deep acting (modifying mood). Surface acting clearly has more costs and fewer gains than deep acting, but it is less clear how those daily costs and gains contribute to the performance of emotional labor over time. Based on emotional labor theorizing and conservation of resources (COR) theory, daily investment of resources (i.e., emotional and cognitive) are needed for surface and deep acting, which result in that day’s net resource loss or gain, respectively. We argue that over time, this creates accumulating resource losses or gain (i.e., spirals) that predict future strategy use, unless one recovers those resources after work. We conduct a novel and rigorous test of this idea, using two experience sampling methodology (ESM) studies of service workers, and applying latent difference score models to capture resource accumulation over time. Across both studies, results supported resource gain and loss spirals: Deep acting required an investment of emotional resources that created increasingly greater resource gains, while surface acting had accumulating losses to emotional resources each day, making it harder and harder to invest in deep acting in future days. Importantly, recovery after work, specifically low-effort activities, mitigated resource loss spirals from surface acting and enhanced resource gain spirals via deep acting. Results offer new evidence for untested theoretical assumptions about emotional labor and COR, while providing recommendations for how to replenish and protect service workers’ emotional resources over time.

Mitigation of Work-Family Frustration in Dual-Earner Couples during COVID-19

In this paper, we develop and test a framework of work-family frustration in live-in, dual-earlier couples in the context of COVID-19 which acts as a work-life shock event. We tested the model using a 10-day diary study of dual-earner couples in live-in partnerships. The paper contributes to the literature on work-from-home (WFH) phenomenon, which has been enabled by advanced information and communication technologies (ICTs) such as email, messaging, and video conferencing (such as Google Meet and Zoom). We posit that given the human limitations of cognitive and emotional resources, the ICT permeability in WFH situations can favor the emergence of a state of frustration leading to potential conflicts between partners as they deal with coordination issues with work, with each other and if they have children, with the demands of caring and home schooling. We also examine the moderating effect of gender on this relationship, given the recent reports showing that women are carrying a higher proportion of domestic responsibilities even as they meet the demands of their own employment. Further, we investigate planning as a mitigating behavior that interrupts the pattern of permeability creating frustration and conflict. We find strong support for our model, providing empirical evidence of psychological costs and alleviating strategies for employees who have made an unanticipated switch to WFH with ICTs.

Age-specific Effects of Shift Work and Age Structure Analysis on Psychological Well-being

As the global workforce ages, it has become more important to understand how the effects of seemingly age-neutral practices change across working lives. Shift work has been shown to have stronger negative effects on the physical health of older workers, however the age-specific effects of shift work on psychological well-being is poorly understood despite the changes to cognitive, social, and emotional resources associated with age. Moreover, the role of the organization in setting human resource practices and policies may also in part determine the strength of the age-specific effects of shift work on psychological well-being. Using mixed effects and marginal effects analyses in a large linked dataset of German employees and employers, the present study draws on selection, optimization, and compensation theory to examine the relationship between shift work and psychological well-being at each year of age between 18 and 67 in establishments that do and do not conduct an age structure analysis of their employees. Results show that in establishments that do not conduct an age structure analysis, shift work is associated with increasingly lower psychological well-being with age. In establishments that do conduct such an analysis, effects of shift work on psychological well-being are more consistent across age.

Stress and coping resources of divorced women in the Maldives

he paper explores the stress level and the coping resources utilized by divorced women in the Maldives. While the study is designed as a quantitative investigation, the general objectives are not to generalize findings but to gain an understanding of divorce demographic and coping strategies of women after divorce. The Taylor’s manifest anxiety scale was used to assess stress, and a second questionnaire assesses divorcees’ current situation and their coping strategies. Both the questionnaires were self-administered by 60 participants identified through snowball sampling strategy. The findings show that divorced women exhibit notable psychological stress, with 46.7% of the participants having high stress, 51.7% having low stress and only 1.7% exhibiting no stress. While other unknown stressors in their life cannot be ruled out, the findings suggest that better socioeconomic, cognitive and emotional resources such as education, employment, adequate finance including child maintenance from the father of the child, emotional support from immediate family as well as friends have a positive impact on reducing stress. Contrarily, the findings also show lack of employment, rental expenses, dependency on an external party for child maintenance support, the uncertainties of a new romantic relationship, and the experience from a painful divorce process can have a negative impact on psychological wellbeing. Furthermore, in adjusting to life after divorce, most of the participants seek financial independence through upskilling and employment, while some divorced women seek remarriage for financial and emotional security.

Patchwork and Paying It Forward: Undocumented Students’ Access to Social Capital

ABSTRACT The primary purpose of this systematic review is to assess how undocumented students in the United States leverage their assets to successfully attend and graduate from higher education institutions (HEI). A 1982 U.S. Supreme Court decision gave undocumented children access to public education from pre-school through grade 12. While no single U.S. legislation forbids the enrollment of undocumented students in HEI, there are laws that remove access to federal financial aid. Federal legislation gives states the freedom to determine whether these students receive reduced in-state tuition rates and state financial aid. This paper explores how undocumented students use the strengths of their communities to patchwork together the financial and emotional resources needed to overcome systemic barriers. It also examines the ways that students pay it forward through shared information and activism.

Crouching Standards, Hidden Morals: A Choreographed National Rebuttal of Cosmopolitan Designs

This case describes a sequence of events which started from allegations by non-government organizations of violations in the production unit of a global brand, and moved to (acrimonious) denials by the supplier and multinational buyers, failed negotiations, court cases, and judgments that crossed national boundaries. In the end, these events drew politicians and diplomats unwillingly into its vortex. The study shows how corporate actors, working from within a particular national space, can mobilize financial and emotional resources to align regulatory apparatuses of the state in their defence. The case also shows how global actors can be left in a no man’s land if they remain unaware of alliances being forged within national boundaries under a convenient smokescreen created by the confusion of roles and responsibilities to which they themselves may have contributed.

When workplace family-support is misallocated: effects of value congruence and fairness perceptions on supervisor family-support

Abstract To better manage our work demands and family demands, we often erect mental or physical ‘boundaries’ to help manage our experiences. However, preferences for preserving these boundaries differ across individuals (e.g., some individuals may prefer to segment work/family roles, while others may prefer to integrate these roles) and employees may not always have similar preferences/values as their supervisors. Applying a resource framework from the job demands-resources model (JD-R; Bakker & Demerouti, 2007), we explicate the process through which supervisor–employee value congruence reduces work–family conflict, when supervisors provide valuable emotional and instrumental resources through family-supportive supervisor behaviors (FSSB). Furthermore, we find evidence that supervisors can demonstrate adequate FSSB even when having incongruent values with employees by fairly allocating and individually tailoring family-support. With a diverse sample of 815 staff members from four southern US universities, we conduct mediation and moderation analyses to test our hypotheses.

Barriers and Motivators to Opioid Treatment Among Suburban Women Who Are Pregnant and Mothers in Caregiver Roles.

Women of childbearing age who misuse opioids are a particularly vulnerable population, and their barriers to treatment are unique because of their caregiver roles. Research on treatment for opioid use generally draws from urban and rural areas. This study fills a gap in research that focuses on barriers and motivators to opioid treatment in suburban areas. The aim of this study was to give voice to suburban pregnant women and mothers caring for children while using opioids. Ethnographic methods were used for recruitment, and 58 in-depth interviews were analyzed using a modified grounded theory approach. Barriers to medication-assisted treatment (MAT) included stigma, staff attitudes, and perceptions the women had about MAT treatment. Barriers associated with all types of treatment included structural factors and access difficulties. Relationships with partners, friends, family, and providers could be barriers as well as motivators, depending on the social context of the women’s situation. Our findings suggest increasing treatment-seeking motivators for mothers and pregnant women by identifying lack of resources, more empathetic consideration of social environments, and implementing structural changes to overcome barriers. Findings provide a contemporary understanding of how suburban landscapes affect mothers’ treatment-seeking for opioid dependence and suggest the need for more focus on emotional and structural resources rather than strict surveillance of women with opioid dependence who are pregnant or caring for children.

Burnout and job satisfaction among nurses in three Spanish regions.

To determine the levels of job satisfaction and burnout syndrome and related factors among nurses in three Spanish regions. The nursing profession involves high work stress due to emotional involvement, workload and available resources. Descriptive multicentric cross-sectional study. Sociodemographic and migration data were collected and participants completed the Job Satisfaction Questionnaire S20/23 and Maslach Burnout Inventory. The data were analysed using descriptive statistical methods using the program SPSS. The sample included 228 nurses (187 women and 41 men), with a mean age of 37.11±10.87. Reported job satisfaction was medium to high. Overall, values were low in emotional fatigue and medium in depersonalization and personal fulfilment. In terms of migration, 21.59% of the participants had already moved to other Spanish regions or another country, while 18.58% had the intention of doing so. Nurses with a temporary contract showed a high burnout rate, and high levels of emotional fatigue, depersonalization and lack of personal fulfilment. Strategies are needed to improve working and contractual conditions such as enhancing teamwork, management and leadership skills in nurses; achieving internal promotion; and having higher participation in decision-making and a better balance of power between health institution managers and health professionals.

Coping Skills in Pre- and Early Adolescents: The Role of Temperament and Character

Coping skills represent cognitive, emotional, and behavioral resources to overcome developmental challenges and tasks. Based on Cloninger’s model of personality, the main aim of this study was to analyze the relation among temperament, character, and coping skills in nonclinical pre- and early adolescents by also considering adolescents’ gender and age. One hundred and thirty-eight Italian pre- and early adolescents (52.2% boys and 47.8% girls), aged between 10–14 years (M = 12.33 ± 0.87 SD), filled out the Junior Temperament and Character Inventory and the Children’s Coping Strategies Checklist Revision 1. Regression and relative weights analyses showed that several of adolescents’ personality dimensions did predict their coping skills. Specifically, Harm Avoidance was negatively related to Positive Reframing and Distraction; this latter (i.e., Distraction) was also negatively associated with Novelty Seeking, Self-Directedness, and Cooperativeness. On the contrary, Cooperativeness was positively related to the use of Problem Focus strategy, and Reward Dependence was positively related to Distraction and Social Support. Significant gender and age differences in personality as well as in coping skills emerged. Girls scored higher on Harm Avoidance, Reward Dependence, Persistence and Problem Focus, and boys scored higher on Novelty Seeking and Distraction. Moreover, pre-adolescents (10–12 years) reported lower scores on Novelty Seeking and higher on Problem Focus than early adolescents (13–14 years). Overall, the results suggest that bio-psycho-social individual factors linked to personality, gender, and age have an important role in shaping pre- and early adolescents’ coping and adaptation responses. Practical implications of the results and future developments are discussed.

Trauma-related differences in socio-emotional functioning predict housing and employment outcomes in homeless veterans

RationaleMental health and substance use disorders are strong risk factors for homelessness. Understanding the role of transdiagnostic factors could help inform efforts to reduce homelessness among veterans with a range of disorders. Homeless veterans have high rates of trauma exposure, which can result in the depletion of social and emotional resources that may contribute to housing and employment stability. In this study, we evaluated the role of problems with emotional lability and interpersonal closeness as transdiagnostic socio-emotional factors that might interfere with efforts to achieve housing and employment stability. MethodsThe sample consisted of 346 homeless veterans with co-occurring disorders that were admitted to a U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) residential treatment program between 2004 and 2009. Assessments were conducted at treatment entry (baseline) and two follow-up timepoints (6- and 12-months). Variables used in the current analyses included history of interpersonal trauma exposure, emotional lability and interpersonal closeness at baseline and 6-months, and homelessness and employment problems during follow-up. Data were analyzed using structural equation modeling and counterfactually-defined mediation effects. ResultsVeterans exposed to more trauma types experienced more baseline impairment and less improvement during treatment in emotional lability and interpersonal closeness. Problems with interpersonal closeness mediated 73% of the relationship between exposure to multiple traumas and homelessness, and 32%–61% of the relationship between trauma exposure and employment problems. Emotional lability mediated 36% of the relationship between exposure to multiple traumas and employment problems. Decomposition of indirect pathways revealed that indirect effects were primarily transmitted through changes during treatment, and not baseline levels. ConclusionFindings support a cumulative effect of trauma on persistence of socio-emotional deficits across treatment, which increased risk of homelessness and employment problems during follow-up. Greater attention and more targeted efforts should be directed at helping trauma-exposed veterans build socio-emotional resources during treatment.

An Imperfect Legacy

An Imperfect Legacy

Coping with Pastoral Burnout Using Christian Contemplative Practices

Three Christian Devotion Meditation (CDM) practices—lectio divina, centering prayer, and the examen—will be offered to aid in coping with ministerial stress and to prevent burnout. CDM or Christian contemplative practices are uniquely suited to develop the emotional resources pastors need for coping with burnout. The office of the pastor faces pressures which can cause burnout and threaten their ministries and personal relationships. The experience of pastoral burnout consists of acedia. Pastors experience spiritual emptiness due to two unique aspects of pastoral life. First, because pastors often work alongside with their families in the church while simultaneously serving their congregants, they experience inter-role conflict due to the high level of boundary ambiguity between their vocational and family lives. Second, pastors need to rely on their psychological resources to provide for their church members due to the emotional labor required of their positions. Consequently, pastors must rely on emotional labor strategies to respond positively to their congregations, which in turn can lead to emotional exhaustion.

Student engagement in K-12 online learning amid COVID-19: A qualitative approach from a self-determination theory perspective

ABSTRACT During the pandemic, school and university students had to urgently move away from traditional classrooms to online learning in their homes. Student engagement that can be explained by self-determination theory (SDT) is important in online learning. Indeed, the founders of SDT recently stated that SDT-based future research should look closely at how to satisfy the basic needs in the theory in technology enhanced learning environments. We also know very little about K-12 student engagement in online learning. Therefore, this qualitative study used the SDT as a framework to understand K-12 school student engagement and disengagement in online learning. It used a thematic analysis to analyse interview data from 36 students and 18 teachers. The findings highlight that (i) online learning environments that supported more autonomy were more likely to engage students cognitively in developing two important lifelong skills of digital literacy and self-regulated learning; and (ii) those environments that lacked emotional attachment, equipment and resources, coupled with perceived digital incompetence and ineffective learning experience of the students suppressed cognitive and emotional engagement. Hence, this study suggests how to satisfy the need for competence and relatedness to prepare and implement online learning.

Stress-Related Growth Among Transgender Women: Measurement, Correlates, and Insights for Clinical Interventions

ABSTRACT Although transgender women (TGW), and especially TGW of color, are disproportionately exposed to discrimination and violence, many of them experience stress-related growth. However, little is known about the experience of stress-related growth and its correlates among TGW. Using data from a racially-diverse sample of 210 TGW, the short version of the Stress-Related Growth Scale was modified to assess growth as a result of coming to terms with one’s transgender identity among TGW. The psychometric properties of the modified scale were examined, along with its associations with various cognitive, emotional, and social factors. A confirmatory factor analysis revealed a unidimensional factor, along with excellent reliability. A stepwise regression revealed that positive reappraisal, internal locus of control, social support, and emotional expression were associated with greater stress-related growth. Findings suggest that cognitive, emotional, and social resources are related to stress-related growth in TGW. Interventions to foster stress-related growth among TGW are discussed.