Teachers’ emotional well-being is increasingly recognised as essential for effective teaching and sustainable retention across diverse educational systems. This mixed-methods study explores the emotional experiences of 50 Maltese teachers in middle and secondary schools, using the Teacher Emotions Questionnaire and interviews. The findings show that while positive emotions, including joy, pride, and love, enhance teacher-student relationships and professional fulfilment, negative emotions, including anger, fatigue, and hopelessness, intensify with teaching experience and are linked to student misbehaviour, linguistic challenges, limited parental engagement, and insufficient institutional support. These patterns mirror international trends in multilingual and multicultural settings, where language teachers face heightened emotional demands. The participants emphasised the need for emotional intelligence training and systemic support structures beyond individual coping. By situating the Maltese context within broader global discourse, this study offers new empirical insights into teacher emotionality and underscores the importance of sustained, policy-level interventions to enhance resilience in diverse classrooms. • Maltese language teachers experience both joy and emotional fatigue in diverse classrooms. • Emotional strain intensifies with years of teaching experience. • Student motivation and behaviour significantly impact teachers' emotional well-being. • Institutional and peer support is key to emotional resilience in multilingual settings. • Policy-level emotional support is essential for sustainable teacher retention.

Understanding physical activity through the biopsychosocial model of health in young adults (19-30years of age) with intellectual and developmental disabilities: A mixed methods systematic review.

Infertility is an increasing concern for many women and can affect both physical and emotional well-being. The central nervous system (CNS) - particularly the hypothalamus, pituitary gland, and pineal gland - plays a crucial role in female reproductive health. We conducted a narrative review of relevant studies published between 2015 and 2025, sourcing data from PubMed and Scopus. Our goal was to investigate how dysregulation of hormones from the hypothalamus, pituitary gland, and pineal gland contributes to fertility-related disorders, such as impairments in ovulation, oocyte quality, and embryo development. Both human and significant animal studies were considered to better understand how CNS hormones affect fertility. The findings emphasize the roles of key hormones, including gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH), luteinizing hormone (LH), follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH), melatonin, adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH), thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH), and vasopressin (ADH). The proper timing and balance of these hormones are vital. For instance, GnRH pulses regulate the release of LH and FSH, which are essential for ovulation and follicle development. Melatonin supports oocyte health and helps maintain the menstrual cycle, while ACTH and TSH are also involved in reproductive function. Vasopressin affects uterine activity and hormone production. Understanding these hormonal interactions may lead to better diagnostic tools and more effective treatment strategies for conditions such as polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) and other fertility-related disorders. Unlike previous studies, this research provides a comprehensive investigation of how CNS-mediated hormonal regulation influences female reproductive outcomes, examining the roles of all involved hormones.

Cancer-related cognitive impairment (CRCI) has become a notable long-term consequence for cancer survivors, especially among those receiving chemotherapy, radiotherapy, or targeted treatments. Despite the advances in the treatment of cancer, CRCI still disrupts the quality of life of patients, daily activities, and work performance, as well as emotional well-being. This review provides a summary of the existing information on the neurobiological basis of CRCI, including neuroinflammation, disturbed neuroplasticity, oxidative stress, and tumour-related factors. It analyses diagnostic methods, from cognitive screening to high-level neuroimaging, and reviews evidence-based interventions that play a significant role in providing highly disciplined, personalized care. The ongoing constraints on advancing machine learning-based CRCI interventions include persistent obstacles, a lack of long-term trials, and difficulties accessing data and achieving interpretability, among others. Other important risk factors are also identified in this review, as are the performance of different predictive models with respect to accuracy, generalization ability, and clinical utility. Moreover, it addresses the challenges of validating these models and biomarkers across different populations, as well as the need for further studies to enhance their validity and enable personalized interventions.

"I Go but I Don't Participate": A Scoping Review With Thematic Synthesis of the Experiences of Voice Disorders in Adulthood.

Obesity and overweight are major contributing factors for type2 diabetes (T2D). Here, we explored the perspectives of people with T2D on the value and expected impacts of reaching a lower weight. Adult residents of Canada with T2D completed a cross-sectional survey informed by qualitative interviews. Survey questions explored weight management experiences, T2D and weight impacts on quality of life, and the value of losing 5%, 10%, or 20% body weight. Results were summarized descriptively. Of 358 participants, 56% were male and 81% were white, with a mean age of 59years (SD 13) and a mean self-reported body mass index of 32.9kg/m2 (SD 7.9); 44% of participants had a current hemoglobin A1C < 7%. T2D negatively affected quality of life, particularly impacting emotional well-being (50%), other illnesses (48%), and sleep (49%). Most participants believed their weight affected their T2D (85%), felt they needed to lose weight (89%), struggled to lose weight (79%), and deemed weight management to be crucial for T2D management (94%). Participants' average "dream" weight loss was a 19% reduction. Most participants anticipated losing 5%, 10%, or 20% body weight would significantly improve their future with T2D (64%, 75%, or 71%) and overall health (79%, 85%, and 90%), and would have a positive impact (70%, 78%, or 71%), particularly on appearance, comorbidities, and emotional well-being. Participants with T2D valued weight loss and anticipated improvements to their health and quality of life with greater perceived value and impacts associated with increased weight reductions.

We explored the effects of continuation care based on trans-theoretical model (TTM) in adult patients with acute leukemia (AL). Patients with AL who had been discharged from our hospital were randomly assigned to the control group (n = 68) and intervention group (n = 74). The control group received routine nursing, while the intervention group received a structured psychoeducational follow-up program based on the Transtheoretical Model (TTM). 2 months after intervention, the quality of life (QoL), mood, self-care ability, and incidence of complications were assessed and compared. The patients were then followed up for 18 months to observe their long-term survival. The incidence of complications was significantly lower in the intervention group than in the control group, whereas the QoL scores, positive mood scores, and self-nursing ability scores were higher (P<0.05). At a median follow-up of 18 months, the overall survival was significantly better in the intervention group than in the control group (P = 0.013). The Program effectively reduced the incidence of complications and improved the QoL, emotional well-being, and self-nursing ability, thereby offering certain advantages in enhancing the AL patients' survival rates. The TTM-based continuation care can be implemented to improve the QoL in patients with AL, and is worth promoting.

Asthma's impact on brain function: an investigation of changes in functional connectivity and network topology.

Reiki and Therapeutic Touch are complementary therapies sometimes used in palliative and end-of-life care. To examine the available evidence regarding the effects of Reiki and Therapeutic Touch, compared to usual care, in palliative and end-of-life care. Systematic review registered in PROSPERO (CRD420251059364; May 23, 2025). MEDLINE, Web of Science, and Scopus were searched for English-language studies published between 2013 and 2024. Eligible studies included patients receiving palliative care who underwent Reiki and/or Therapeutic Touch compared with usual care. Any primary study design was eligible. Risk of bias was assessed and findings synthesized narratively. Nine studies involving 415 participants were included: five mixed-methods studies, three randomized controlled trials, and one qualitative cross-sectional study conducted in North America (n = 6) and Europe (n = 3). Cancer was the predominant diagnosis. Risk of bias raised some concerns in randomized trials and was moderate to high in qualitative and non-randomized designs. Some studies reported improvements in symptoms (pain, anxiety, depression, fatigue, and stress), and in quality-of-life domains (sleep, relaxation, energy, hope, and emotional well-being). Qualitative findings described perceived relaxation, comfort, and emotional support. Reporting of harms was limited; only one study monitored adverse events and reported one serious event considered potentially related to the intervention. Evidence regarding Reiki and Therapeutic Touch in palliative and end-of-life care remains limited and heterogeneous. The very low certainty of evidence precludes firm conclusions regarding their effectiveness. Further well-designed studies are needed to clarify their potential role in palliative care.

Setting the research priorities for Developmental Coordination Disorder (DCD)/Dyspraxia in the UK.

Concern about falling (CaF) can emerge after experiencing a fall or recognizing personal fall risk. High CaF may lead to activity curtailment, greater fall risk, and reduced quality of life and participation in full-time wheelchair/scooter (WC/S) users. Identifying predictors of CaF can help clinicians address CaF in rehabilitation interventions. To examine predictors of CaF among individuals living with various health conditions who use WC/S full-time. This cross-sectional online survey included adults who used WC/S full-time for at least one year and had experienced at least one fall in the prior three years. Path analysis identified predictors of CaF, measured by the Fall Concerns Scale for people who use WC/S (FCS-WC/S). 137 people who use WC/S full-time (63% male, 37% female) participated. Being younger (p<.05), being male (p <.05), having experienced at least one fall-related injury in the past year (p<.01), having a higher impact of chronic dizziness on physical, emotional, and functional well-being (p<.001), inability to get up from the ground independently (p<.01), and lower burden of depressive symptoms (p< .05) were predictors of increased levels of CaF. This study's findings suggest that the influences of CaF among people who use WC/S are multifactorial. Awareness of these predictors can help researchers and clinicians develop screenings to better identify people who use WC/S with high levels of CaF and develop treatment plans to effectively manage CaF.

Fuel2Flourish is a nurse-led initiative designed to center the voices of nurses, who are active leaders within the National Association of Hispanic Nurses (NAHN), as trusted messengers and role models in advancing the nutritional and emotional well-being of school-age children. Operating across nine local chapters in different states, this community-rooted program was built in partnership with national policy stakeholders and community leaders to respond to what children and families need most: support they can trust from people who understand their lived experiences. This study employed qualitative methods to gain feedback from chapter program leads to examine implementation processes and early perceived impacts. Through bilingual education toolkits, culturally relevant storytelling, and nurse-led workshops, nurses engaged directly with students, parents, and educators to create safe, inclusive spaces for learning and connection. Despite limited budgets and varied local conditions, Fuel2Flourish thrived by aligning clinical nursing expertise with community insight and action. This article describes the partnerships formed, and the early signs of impact seen on the ground. Fuel2Flourish shows what's possible when nurses are equipped and empowered to lead, bringing creative, locally tailored solutions to the forefront of child health promotion.

From emotion to health: A narrative review of positive psychology in early childhood using PERMAH model.

Family-centered interventions for people with substance use disorders in low-and middle-income country settings: a scoping review.

Stress in raising a child with autism is disconcerting. I explored the stress of a mother raising a child with autism spectrum disorder. Using a descriptive qualitative research design, I interviewed 4 individuals whom I selected using criterion sampling. Through thematic analysis, I found out that the mother’s stress is caused by behavioral and communication challenges, caregiving demands, limited family and social support, strained relationships, and societal stigma. Emotional regulation, acceptance, rest, and support systems help strengthen caregiving capacity. Social workers, counselors, and therapists may implement caregiver-centered support programs and inclusive parent collaborations to strengthen sustainability efforts and emotional well-being. Future studies may use mixed methods and exploratory factor analysis to further explore the environment, stress, and coping experiences of mothers raising children with autism spectrum disorder.

A significant proliferation of boarding schools and boarding students has been observed in rural areas of China due to the challenges associated with "school consolidation" policies and parental migration from rural to urban areas for employment purposes. Hence, boarding has emerged as a prominent characteristic within the present-day rural student community. However, there remains a lack of consensus regarding the impact of boarding on noncognitive development among rural students. This study investigates the impact of boarding on students' noncognitive development using a two-period panel dataset collected during the research conducted on rural elementary schools in 2019 and 2020. Using a two-period panel dataset comprising 10,923 students from 195 rural elementary schools in 21 counties, we employ both the propensity score matching method and instrumental variable approach to establish a causal relationship between boarding arrangements and students' noncognitive development. This study finds that boarding has detrimental effects on students' noncognitive skills, negatively impacting certain aspects such as openness and grit, and affinity for schools. The study also reveals that the impact of boarding varies across different student subgroups, with girls, younger students, those from affluent families, and students with more educated mothers benefiting more from the boarding experience. The study also examines pathways through which boarding influences students' noncognitive development. This paper proposes the following policy recommendations: (1) At the familial level, parents should allocate additional time and effort towards nurturing their children's emotional well-being and academic performance. (2) Schools ought to incorporate curriculum training programs aimed at enhancing students' noncognitive skills, including self-care, resilience, and interpersonal abilities. (3) The government should ensure the cultivation of students' non-cognitive skills by implementing policies, allocating funds, as well as promoting and raising awareness about the significance of these skills.

Storytelling is a widely used method in community-based research. We conducted a scoping review to explore restorative storytelling and community theatre as a tool to support mental health literacy and wellness as well as equity among immigrant communities. Our review followed the methodological framework espoused by Arksey and O'Malley and modified by Levac et al. All 13 peer-reviewed studies that met the inclusion criteria were conducted in Canada. Twelve of the included studies employed qualitative methods, with only one using a quantitative approach. The included studies involved diverse immigrants living in communities across Canada. We identified five themes that spoke to the objective of the review: (1) stories of social marginalization and barriers; (2) increased awareness and understanding through stories; (3) storytelling as a space for transformation and healing; (4) connectedness and sharing through stories; and (5) storytelling promoting empowerment and resilience. Language barriers alongside race were identified as major hurdles encountered by some immigrants. Digital storytelling was seen by some immigrants as a process that provided the opportunity to reflect and reminisce on life, which fostered understanding and (re)connection with self and, in so doing, improved emotional wellbeing. Given the increasing mental health disparities in immigrant and racialized communities in Canada, efforts toward improving the mental wellbeing of immigrants through restorative storytelling and community theatre warrant further investigations.

Dance Movement Therapy (DMT) is based on the mind-body interaction, where changes in movement can promote psychological well-being and physical health. This study aimed to assess the effects of DMT on stress-related physiological markers and psychological health outcomes, and to explore whether previous physical activity influenced participants' responses. A pre-post experimental design was used with three groups classified by prior activity: previous DMT experience, previous physical exercise, and no prior physical activity. Thirty healthy adults (aged 25-55) participated in an 8-week DMT intervention. Salivary cortisol, systolic and diastolic blood pressure, heart rate, Borg of Perceived Exertion (RPE) scores, and the Satisfaction with Life Scale (SWLS) were measured at baseline and post-intervention. All participants showed significant reductions in cortisol levels (P < .001), systolic and diastolic blood pressure (P < .05) and heart rate (P < .05) at the end of the session. Participants who had previously exercised had significantly lower heart rate values throughout the session (P < .05). Borg RPE scores fluctuated over time, with week-to-week changes suggesting variable perceived exertion. SWLS scores increased significantly from baseline to post-intervention (P < .001), with similar trends in all groups. DMT was associated with improvements in both physiological stress markers and life satisfaction, regardless of participants' prior physical activity levels, and was perceived as a low-to-moderate intensity intervention. These findings could support the use of DMT as a non-pharmacological approach that can be used to improve emotional well-being and cardiovascular regulation in a wide range of situations.

Clown visits are increasingly used as psychosocial interventions in long-term care settings. However, existing evidence is predominantly qualitative and/or short-term, with a lack of controlled longitudinal studies examining effects across affective, resilience-related, sleep-related, and functional outcomes. Moreover, the role of individual-based visit frequency remains largely unexplored. This longitudinal controlled field study examined the effects of clown visits over two years in four long-term care facilities in Eastern Germany. The intervention group comprised nIG_T0 = 135 residents at baseline, nIG_T1= 163 after one year, and nIG_T2= 121 after two years; the control group included nCG_T0= 27, nCG_T1= 50, and nCG_T2= 43 participants. An additional waiting control group included nWGC_T-1= 43 residents assessed prior to intervention onset. Validated self- and proxy-report measures assessed affect, resilience, sleep quality, and functionality. Multilevel models were used to analyse group differences in change over time and to test individual-based visit frequency as a moderator; exploratory multilevel analyses distinguished within-person and between-person associations. After one year, residents receiving clown visits showed more favourable developments in sleep-related outcomes and depressive mood than the control group. After two years, the declines in positive mood and resilience were significantly less pronounced in the intervention group. No consistent effects emerged for other functional domains, and visit frequency did not moderate longitudinal change. Exploratory analyses indicated that, within individuals, higher visit frequency was associated with greater self-care difficulties, disorientation, withdrawal, lower resilience, and higher daytime sleepiness; between individuals, it was linked to higher disorientation, positive affect, and lower negative affect. Clown visits showed time-specific benefits for residents' mood, sleep quality, and resilience - without adverse effects. Their contribution appears to lie particularly in supporting residents' emotional well-being and sustaining resilience over time, rather than broadly altering functional trajectories. The pattern of visit frequency underscores an adaptive delivery aligned with residents' psychosocial and functional needs, highlighting clown visits as a flexible, context-sensitive intervention embedded in everyday care. As such, clown visits may contribute to preventive care and supportive emotional climate in long-term care, with potential benefits for nursing practice. Not applicable.

Prosocial behaviors, helpful actions directed toward the well-being of others, are an essential component of social behavior. Adolescence is a particularly sensitive period for the development of social behaviors, yet how social experience during this window shapes prosocial behavior remains poorly understood. Here, we used behavioral assays to examine how social isolation at different ages affects emotional discrimination and affiliative helping behavior in mice of both sexes. We found that adult mice raised in social isolation since weaning failed to allogroom distressed conspecifics and were unable to distinguish stressed from unstressed mice in an emotional discrimination assay. Remarkably, two weeks of post-weaning social isolation was already sufficient to impair both emotional discrimination and prosocial allogrooming, and these deficits persisted despite two months of resocialization. In contrast, two weeks of adult social isolation spared emotional discrimination but impaired allogrooming toward stressed conspecifics. These findings reveal a dissociation between emotional discrimination and prosocial helping behavior. Overall, this work identifies adolescence as a sensitive period for the development of emotional state recognition and provides a behavioral framework for investigating how early social experience sculpts neural circuits underlying empathy and stress-buffering.Significance Statement Prosocial behaviors are essential for social cohesion and emotional well-being in social animals, but what shapes their development remains poorly understood. We show that social isolation during adolescence impairs the mouse's ability to recognize the emotional state of stressed conspecifics, which cannot be rescued by subsequent resocialization. In contrast, social isolation in adulthood impairs prosocial actions without disrupting emotional discrimination. These findings identify adolescence as a critical period for the development of socio-affective behavior, and reveal a dissociation between emotional discrimination and prosocial helping behavior. Our study provides a behavioral framework for investigating how early social experience sculpts neural circuits underlying empathy and stress-buffering and establishes a foundation for mechanistic studies of adolescent vulnerability to social and affective disorders.