Greater Positive Attitudes Research Articles

Psychoanalyst attitudes towards psychedelic-assisted therapy

Background Numerous clinical trials have supported psychedelic-assisted therapy (PAT) as a treatment for psychiatric disorders such as depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress, and substance use. While empirical evidence indicates PAT’s benefits, the perspectives of mental health practitioners on this topic remain unclear. Methods This quantitative study attempted to capture psychoanalyst practitioners’ attitudes toward PAT. A sample of 130 graduate-level trained psychoanalysts in at least part-time clinical practice was recruited to participate in an online survey. Results The study found that psychoanalysts were cautiously supportive of PAT, open to their clients engaging in PAT, and optimistic about PAT’s potential in treating mental disorders. Additionally, they reported that PAT would be ineffective in treating substance use disorders (SUDs). Lastly, participants who reported a history of psychedelic use were significantly more likely to have greater positive attitudes toward PAT than those who had not. Conclusion Results indicate the potential for misinformation about psychedelics and a lingering cultural stigma regarding the utility of psychedelics in the therapeutic environment among psychoanalysts. Therefore, education on the risks, potential benefits, and limitations of the evidence base of psychedelics and their effectiveness across psychiatric disorders appears warranted in the psychoanalytic community.

The relationship between older adults’ perceptions of ageing and depression: a systematic review

PurposePerceptions of ageing towards the self and towards others can positively and negatively impact an older adult’s mental wellbeing. This paper aims to consolidate literature examining the relationship between perceptions of ageing and depression in older adults to inform both practice and policy for older adult mental health services.Design/methodology/approachQuantitative research articles examining perceptions of ageing and depression in older adults were identified through searches on three electronical databases, alongside forward and backwards citation searches. A total of 14 articles involving 31,211 participants were identified.FindingsGreater negative attitudes towards ageing were associated with higher levels of depressive symptoms and greater positive attitudes towards ageing were associated with lower levels of depressive symptoms or higher levels of happiness. However, the causal direction of this relationship could not be determined. Studies demonstrated that perceptions of ageing also act as a moderator in the relationship between depression and health status, hopelessness and personality traits. Future research should attempt to examine the relationship between perceptions of ageing and depression in older adults to attempt to identify the causal direction of this relationship.Originality/valueThis is the only systematic review the authors are aware of consolidating literature which explores the relationship between older adults’ perceptions of ageing and depression. It is hoped that these findings will be able to inform both policy and practice to improve older adults’ care and support for depression.

6 Code-switching, Language Attitudes, and Executive Function in Latinx Bilinguals

Objective:Code-switching is when bilingual individuals alternate between two languages in the same conversation. Some studies find that code-switching frequency is associated with executive functioning, while others do not. Individual attitudes towards bilingual language use and code-switching may explain the inconsistency in the literature. For instance, greater positive attitudes towards code-switching may be associated with more likelihood to engage in that practice and thus strengthen the cognitive benefit in executive function. Additionally, code-switching between English and Spanish has been stigmatized in the U.S., therefore it is unclear what sociocultural factors may predict positive attitudes. In this study, we assessed Latinx bilinguals’ attitudes on code-switching and investigated their relationship with code-switching frequency, sociodemographic and linguistic factors, and executive functioning.Participants and Methods:Participants were 525 community-dwelling English-Spanish bilingual Latinx adults from the Offspring study (Mage= 55.38 (10.42); Meducation= 12.62 (3.34); 71% women; 41% tested in English, 75% immigrant). A language history questionnaire assessed for bilingualism and code-switching frequency. Participants completed 7 questions on code-switching attitudes on a 7-point Likert scale ranging from Strongly Disagree to Strongly Agree (e.g., “switching between languages in a conversation is an important part of my identity”), that were summed for a total score with higher scores indicating more positive attitudes. Executive functioning was assessed with the NIH Toolbox Cognition battery, verbal fluencies, and the digit span test. Sociodemographic and linguistic factors included age, sex, education, immigrant status, parental years of education, English and Spanish proficiency (average score on self-reported ratings on speaking, reading, writing, and understanding), and testing language. General linear models evaluated the association of code-switching attitudes on executive function, after adjusting for relevant covariates.Results:Positive code-switching attitudes were correlated with greater code-switching, r(499)=.33, p<.001. Younger age r(499)=-.11, being born in the US t(493)=-2.05, greater English proficiency r(497)=.15, and English dominance t(499)=2.22, were associated with more positive code-switching attitudes (all p’s <.05). Sex, education, parental years of education, and Spanish proficiency were not associated with code-switching attitudes. Overall models of attitudes with executive function indicated that positive code-switching attitudes were associated with worse visual working memory (b = -0.08, t(169) = -2.75, 95% CI [0.14, -0.02]) after adjusting for age, sex, education, immigration status, parental years of education and testing language. Code-switching attitudes were not significantly associated with other executive function measures.Conclusions:Among a community-based sample of bilingual middle-aged Latinx adults, positive attitudes towards code-switching were associated with greater likelihood of code-switching in conversations, higher English proficiency, being US born, younger age, and English language dominance but negatively associated with visual working memory. These findings indicate that code-switching attitudes are influenced by sociodemographic and linguistic factors. Additionally, the negative association between code-switching attitudes and visual working memory provides support for previous studies showing code-switching as a disadvantage to cognition. Results of this study suggest that detailed characterization of sociocultural factors and aspects of bilingualism can provide further clarity in determining if there is a potential bilingual cognitive advantage. Future research should examine the relationship of code-switching with other aspects of bilingualism (e.g., age of acquisition).

Association of caregiver attitudes with adolescent HPV vaccination in 13 southern US states

Background and objectivesHPV vaccination coverage is lower than that of other adolescent vaccines in the southern US. This study sought to characterize caregiver attitudes associated with adolescent HPV vaccination in the southern US and to inform interventions to promote HPV vaccination. MethodsFrom December 2019 – January 2020, caregivers of adolescents (ages 9–17 years) living in thirteen southern US states were recruited from a nationally-representative online survey panel. Caregivers (N = 1,105) completed a cross-sectional survey that assessed general adolescent vaccine attitudes as well as those associated with the HPV vaccine and HPV vaccination decision-making. The primary study outcome was adolescents’ receipt of at least one dose of the HPV vaccine. ResultsCaregivers with vaccinated adolescents had greater positive attitudes towards adolescent vaccines compared to caregivers of unvaccinated adolescents. Top three areas of concern among caregivers were related to vaccine ingredients, perceptions that adolescents receive too many vaccines, and worry about vaccine side effects. In multivariable regression models, positive attitudes towards the HPV vaccine and HPV vaccination decision-making strongly associated with HPV vaccination in addition to general adolescent vaccination attitudes. Caregivers’ reported discomfort with discussing the topic of sex was predictive of lower vaccination uptake for older adolescents. ConclusionsPublic health messaging in the southern US should be tailored to reduce concerns about vaccine safety and to communicate the importance of timely HPV vaccination. Campaigns that deliver information specific to the HPV vaccine and to support vaccination decision-making may be more effective than those delivering only general adolescent vaccination information at promoting on-time HPV vaccination.

Attitudes of high school students toward the Albanian Language and Literature course

The study aimed to examine the attitudes of high school students in Prizren, Kosovo toward the Albanian Language and Literature course. The participants of the study included volunteer students who were attending the public schools in Prizren, Kosovo during the 2020-2021 academic year. A total number of 615 students were included in the study. Descriptive analysis was first performed to determine the attitudes of the students toward the Albanian Language and Literature course. The Independent Samples t-test and One-Way Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) were employed to examine the differences between the students by gender and class, respectively since the scores were normally distributed and variances were homogeneous. The Pearson Moment Correlation analysis was used to determine the relationship between the grade in the Albanian Language and Literature course and attitude scores. The results revealed the students had a low level of attitude toward the course. Neither the positive attitudes nor the negative attitudes of the students toward the course were high. The students didn’t have a positive view of their native language, but they also did not have negative regard. The female students had greater positive attitudes toward the course than the male students while the male students had greater negative attitudes than the female students. The mean value of the positive attitudes of the 11th graders was lower than that of both the 10th and 12th graders.

Assessing licensed nurses COVID-19 vaccine attitudes and intentions: a cross-sectional survey in the state of Hawaii

ABSTRACT Nurses are the largest single occupation of health care providers and at greatest risk for exposure to and acquisition of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19). In December 2020, nurses in Hawaii were recruited for an online survey that measured perceived risk/threat of COVID-19, vaccine attitudes, and perceived safety of COVID-19 vaccines, as well as level of intention: primary, secondary (i.e., delayed), or no intention to vaccinate. The final sample consisted of 423 nurses. Participants were primarily Asian (27.9%) and White (45.2%). The majority were 18–50 years (65.5%) and female (87.0%), held an RN license (91.7%), and identified as a staff nurse (57.7%) in the hospital setting (56.7%). Among participants, 52.3% indicated primary intention, 27.9% secondary intention, and 19.9% no intention to vaccinate. The strongest predictors of any level of intention were greater positive attitudes toward COVID-19 vaccination and lower concerns related to COVID-19 vaccine safety. Findings can guide interventions to support vaccine acceptance for those who initially decline vaccination.

An analysis of transformational leadership, talent acquisition and talent retention of engineers at an energy provider in South Africa

Orientation: Scholars long debated the importance of transformational leadership, talent acquisition and talent retention.Research purpose: The purpose of this study was to analyse transformational leadership, talent acquisition and talent retention of engineers at Eskom by investigating the demographic differences, relationships and transformational leadership as the mediating variable.Motivation for the study: Eskom has improved the remuneration of engineers over the years but continued encountering challenges to attract and retain them. The researcher investigated whether the perceived lack of transformational leadership caused the challenges experienced by the organisation.Research approach/design and method: This was quantitative study, which used convenience-sampling method to obtain 585 completed questionnaires from the engineers.Main findings: The researcher performed a one-way Anova test to establish if engineers from a gender and educational qualification perspectives were different from each other on the eight sub-factors identified through exploratory factor analysis. The p-values were greater than 0.05, meant that there was no statistical difference between genders and between engineers with different educational qualifications. The researcher conducted a post-hoc pairwise test (p-values 0.05) on different age groups and results revealed that older respondents (31 – 40 years of age) had greater positive attitude on the perception of before-selection, during-selection and development than the younger group (18 – 30 years of age). In addition, the study revealed that transformational leadership mediated the relationship between talent acquisition and retention of engineers.Practical/managerial implications: The study emphasises that not only salaries are important to attract and retain engineers, but also effective leadership is essential, especially the transformational leadership philosophy.Contribution/value-add: South Africa has a dearth of engineers. The study results illustrates the importance of transformational leadership philosophy in addressing the challenge the organisation faces. Therefore, the organisation must consider designing programmes to help leaders embrace the transformational leadership philosophy.

Bem-estar psicológico e meditação: um estudo associativo

A meditação budista é amplamente estudada devido aos benefícios percebidos pelos meditadores. Todavia, quando o tema é bem-estar psicológico em relação à prática de meditação budista a literatura ainda é escassa. Essa pesquisa verificou a associação entre o bem-estar psicológico e indicadores de envolvimento com a meditação (tempo, frequência de prática e sentidos da prática para a vida do meditador) em dois centros de meditação budista Vajrayana. Foram avaliados 50 meditadores, maiores de 18 anos (M = 41,2 anos, DP=13,7) e que praticavam há pelo menos um mês completo. Os dados foram coletados por meio de três instrumentos de autorrelato e submetidos a análises descritivas e inferenciais. Percebeu-se a relação positiva entre o tempo de meditação e o domínio autoaceitação da escala de bem-estar utilizada, indicando que os anos de prática meditativa parecem estar relacionados a um maior autoconhecimento e uma maior atitude positiva em relação a si mesmo.

In-vehicle crowding: Integrating tangible attributes, attitudes, and perceptions in a choice context between BRT and metro

Understanding in-vehicle crowding is crucial to improving public transportation service levels. Although in-vehicle crowding has usually been studied as a tangible attribute, previous research has shown that the standing passenger density cannot fully explain the experience of crowding. In the present work, we used the hybrid discrete choice modeling approach in order to provide a richer explanation of in-vehicle crowding in a choice context between Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) and Metro, using Bogotá as a case of study. Modeling results showed that perceived discomfort, perceived insecurity, waiting time, fare, travel time, and its interaction with the positive attitude towards crowding, are the main variables in explaining the choice process. We found that the positive attitude towards crowding affects the perception of the standing passengers’ density level. We demonstrated that this attitude depends on non-transportation information since people who live in larger spaces, as well as people who live in apartments, have a greater positive attitude towards crowding. We obtained crowding multipliers in regarding the users’ attitude for different levels of overcrowding and analyze several policies related to latent variables.

Attitudes of Psychologists in Australia towards evidence‐based practice in psychology

ObjectiveIn the Australian context, literature searches did not identify any empirical research of Australian psychologists exploring their knowledge of, and attitudes towards, evidence‐based practice in psychology (EBPP). This study aimed to investigate whether psychologists in Australia understood the EBPP model, their attitudes towards EBPP, and the individual differences that affect attitudes towards EBPP.MethodA cross‐sectional design study using an online survey was completed by 113 psychologists, aged between 23 and 78-years. The participants completed a set of questionnaires assessing their understanding of the EBPP model and their attitudes towards implementing the model in practice.ResultsDescriptive analysis showed that 60% of the psychologists were able to define EBPP, with women showing a greater positive attitude towards EBPP. Psychologists with 4-years or less of academic training endorsed stronger positive attitudes than those psychologists’ with more than 5-years academic training. Psychologists with more years of professional experience were found to be associated with more negative attitudes towards EBPP.ConclusionsThis is the first Australian study exploring psychologist's understanding of and attitudes towards the model. The findings suggest that further research is required to examine the impact of training, years of practice, and individual differences towards attitudes.

Users ’ attitude towards telecommunication operators: a Study on Grameenphone and Banglalink

Attitude is the amount of affect or feelings for or against stimulus. This study adopts with descriptive in nature. Main objective of the study is to find out users’ attitude towards telecommunication operators. Fishbeins multi-attribute model was used to measure the attitude of users of Grameenphone and Banglalink.64 salient beliefs were identified but respondents are awarded about eighteen salient beliefs. Those are network facility, SMS services, 3g services, internet modem, sports news, health line, face book services, call block, F& F services, Balance transfer, conference call, emergency balance, ring tone, internet services, promotional offer, welcome tune, availability of services and SMS alert. The users of Grameenphone has greater positive attitude than the users of Banglalink.

The visual framing of graphics when used in preventative health digital news packages: exploring the use of a narrative structure as the message infrastructure

Visual framing can improve health-message effectiveness. Narrative structure provides a template needed for determining how to frame visuals to maximise message effectiveness. Participants (N = 190) were assigned to a message condition determined by segments (establisher, initial, peak), graphic (static, animated) and cancer (lung, melanoma). ANOVAs revealed that melanoma was more believable than lung cancer with static graphics at the establisher and peak; narratives were more believable with animated graphics at the peak segment; melanoma elicited greater positive attitudes; graphics in the peak influenced greatest intentions. Animated graphics visually framed to emphasise information at the establisher and peak segments suggest maximum effectiveness.

Psychosocial correlates of organized physical activity in Portuguese urban youth

Abstract This study aimed to explore the association between psychosocial factors and organized physical activity (PA) in urban children and adolescents. Data on organized PA, psychosocial variables, and demographic characteristics were collected via questionnaires. Logistic regression analyses were used to examine the relationship between psychosocial correlates and organized PA. Analyses were run separately for different age groups. Results showed that children and adolescents with a greater positive attitude toward PA were more likely to be involved in organized PA. Ego orientation was associated with organized PA at the age of 13-15 years. Task orientation was related to PA participation at the age of 13-15 and 16-18 years. Perception of competence was related to participation at the age of 10-12 and 13-15 years. These findings suggest that interventions to increase the level of participation in organized PA in youth should focus on increasing students' perceived physical competence, attitude toward PA, and establishing a strong motivational task/mastery climate.

Relación entre la alexitimia y las respuestas psicológicas de duelo ante la pérdida de la salud en mujeres con cáncer

Alexithymia has not been studied in relation to the Kubler-Ross psychological responses of grief. The aim of this research was to study the association and predict psychological responses of grief with alexithymia, religiosity, level of schooling, and economic income. The scale of psychological responses of grief before the loss of health and Toronto alexithymia scale were administered to a non-probability sample of 120 women with cancer. Alexithymia predicted greater negative affect reaction with a large effect size, but it was independent of positive attitude. Lower economic income predicted greater positive attitude with a medium effect size. Religious conviction predicted greater positive attitude with a small effect size. Although religious practice had a greater relationship to psychological responses of grief than to religious conviction, it offered worst fit. It is concluded that the studied variables have significant effects on the psychological responses of grief.

Healthy menu promotions: A match between dining value and temporal distance

This study intended to identify a persuasive communication strategy in the context of healthy menu promotions in restaurants by adopting construal level theory (CLT) and considering temporal distance. The study proposed that customers’ psychological states, in terms of hedonic versus utilitarian dining values, can qualitatively evoke different types of thinking (abstract versus concrete) with respect to the level of construal. The study demonstrated that a focus on hedonic value tends to lead people to think at a more abstract level of construal and have greater positive attitudes and purchasing intentions toward a healthy menu when the advertising message is framed in terms of the long-term benefits of a healthy diet. Conversely, a focus on utilitarian value tends to lead people to think at a more concrete level of construal and have greater positive attitudes and purchasing intentions toward a healthy menu when the advertising message is framed in terms of the immediate benefits of a healthy diet. Finally, the study also determined that gender plays a moderating role in the relationship between dining values and temporal frames. The results enhance the existing literature by identifying an antecedent influencing CLT and provide practical implications for effective marketing communication in the context of healthy menu item promotion in restaurants.

Korean American dementia caregivers' attitudes toward caregiving: the role of social network versus satisfaction with social support.

The purpose of this study was to explore how Korean American family caregivers view the services they offer to patients with dementia. It also investigated the roles of social networks and satisfaction with social support on attitudes toward caregiving. Social network, satisfaction with social support, demographic characteristics, caregiving-related stress factors, and cultural factors were examined. We used a convenience sample of 85 Korean American dementia caregivers. The results from hierarchical multiple regression models show that the level of satisfaction with social support significantly contributed to Korean American caregivers' attitudes toward working with patients with dementia, while no statistically significant associate was found for social network. Higher levels of satisfaction with social support were associated with greater positive attitudes toward caregiving among Korean American caregivers (b = 0.26, p = .024). The implications for mental health professionals and policy makers are discussed.

Influencing factors on the voluntary premarital medical examination among Chinese population

To explore the factors influencing the premarital medical examination in Chinese population and to discuss the related possible intervention strategies. Data were collected through self-designed questionnaires on 2572 newly married respondents, selected under a stratified randomized sampling method, at Marriage Registration Office in 12 counties in Zhejiang province. Predictive factors were derived from the integrating complementary constructs of Health Belief Model, Theory of Reasoned Action as well as individual demographic characteristics. Multiple logistic multilevel analyses was used as the main statistical method, with individuals as the 'low' and counties as the 'high' levels. Behaviors on premarital medical examination showed a clustering trait at the county level (P = 0.018) and variance partition coefficients (VPC) of each variables was between 15.40% and 17.58%. There were no statistical significances found in the rates of premarital medical examination among gender, age, residence of Household Registration, education, income, health insurance and history of premarital medical examination. However, significant correlation was seen on occupation of the respondents. The rate of premarital medical examination among the respondents who had not attended medical examination during the last six moths was 1.31 times (95% confidence intervals, 1.05 - 1.65) more than those who had, with OR (odds ratio) as 1.51 (95%CI: 1.14 - 2.00) for the pregnant respondents in their first marriage and 0.35 (95%CI: 0.23 - 0.51) for remarried respondents, compared with women at first marriage but remained unpregnant. Regarding premarital medical examination, the respondents reported greater benefits, less barriers, greater positive behavioral attitudes and normative beliefs to it, with an ORs as 2.32 (95%CI: 1.18 - 4.60), 0.71 (95%CI: 0.57 - 0.90), 1.69 (95%CI: 1.10 - 2.58) and 1.72 (95%CI: 1.34 - 2.20) respectively, but with no significant association with perceived susceptibility, perceived severity and motivation to comply. Factors such as individual perceived benefits, barriers, attitudes and normative beliefs etc., were determinants of premarital medical examination accompanied by minor (16%) influence coming from the geographical environment.

The effects of diversity training on specific and general attitudes toward diversity

PurposeThis paper aims to examine the effects of watching a video providing knowledge about either a Sikh student or an older student on participants' knowledge about each particular group, their attitudes towards that group.Design/methodology/approachThe study used a pre‐post experimental design and examined the effects of diversity awareness training using a short web‐based video.FindingsResults indicated that watching a Sikh video significantly increased knowledge of Sikhs and had a marginally significant effect on improving attitudes toward that target group. Additionally, White participants experienced a greater positive attitude change towards Sikhs than non‐White participants. There were no significant effects on knowledge or attitude change for older individuals. However, watching either video was associated with a decline in participants' multiculturalism attitudes.Research limitations/implicationsThe results suggest that further work is needed on the effects of specifically focused diversity training as well as more general multicultural training. The study only examined short‐term change in participants' knowledge and attitudes: more research is needed to examine the long‐term effects of diversity training.Practical implicationsThe results indicate that organizations should perform some type of need assessment prior to conducting diversity training because narrowly focused diversity training is not likely to have generalized effects.Originality/valueThe paper should interest academics and practitioners since there is very little research that has examined how diversity training works and whether it is effective.

Tecnología y educación de adultos. Cambio metodológico en las matemáticas

The present work analyses and assesses the application of the information and communication technologies (ICTs) in the education of adult people.This application consists of a methodological investigation in the field of mathematics, specifically in Statistics and Geometry, combining the conventional classroom with the computers lab. The obtained results reflect a better performance and a greater positive attitude on the part of the students and of the professors when they face this matter.

Étude de la possibilité d’activation de schémas spécifiques chez des sujets anxieux

Because of changes in the health-care system that tend to emphasize short-term treatment, the number of graduate students and psychotherapists interested in learning cognitive-behavioral techniques is increasing. The present study examines how pre-existing biases toward cognitive-behavioral therapy may affect acquisition of knowledge, attitude change, and use of cognitive-behavioral techniques over a nine-month practicum. Forty graduate students were classified by their theoretical orientation: cognitive-behavioral, not cognitive-behavioral, and undecided. Results indicated that all students gained significant amounts of knowledge, had greater positive attitudes about cognitive-behavioral therapy, and used more cognitive and behavioral techniques at the end of the practicum than at the beginning. These findings suggest that pre-existing theoretical orientations may not significantly affect learning of cognitive-behavioral techniques.