Positive Reappraisal Research Articles

Stress-Related Growth in Adolescents Returning to School After COVID-19 School Closure.

The move to remote learning during COVID-19 has impacted billions of students. While research shows that school closure, and the pandemic more generally, has led to student distress, the possibility that these disruptions can also prompt growth in is a worthwhile question to investigate. The current study examined stress-related growth (SRG) in a sample of students returning to campus after a period of COVID-19 remote learning (n = 404, age = 13–18). The degree to which well-being skills were taught at school (i.e., positive education) before the COVID-19 outbreak and student levels of SRG upon returning to campus was tested via structural equation modeling. Positive reappraisal, emotional processing, and strengths use in students were examined as mediators. The model provided a good fit [χ2 = 5.37, df = 3, p = 0.146, RMSEA = 0.044 (90% CI = 0.00–0.10), SRMR = 0.012, CFI = 99, TLI = 0.99] with 56% of the variance in SRG explained. Positive education explained 15% of the variance in cognitive reappraisal, 7% in emotional processing, and 16% in student strengths use during remote learning. The results are discussed using a positive education paradigm with implications for teaching well-being skills at school to foster growth through adversity and assist in times of crisis.

On-site vs Online Teaching: Challenges and Coping Strategies

We address in this work the relationship between the perceived demands of the teaching profession as they are conceptualized by job demands-resources model and the teachers coping strategies activated in on-site and online teaching. The participants (N=127) were a convenience sample of Romanian teachers. Specifically, we found that the teaching demands are perceived as being more challenging in online environment when teaching involves interacting with talented children, with children with behavioural problems or with abandoned children. Teachers from rural areas perceive the online teaching of talented children more demanding compared to teachers from urban areas and there are correlations between the teachers’ seniority and the teaching demands. The obtained results also showed that some teaching demands in online situation correlate significantly with certain coping strategies (e.g. the positive reappraisal coping strategy is activated by teachers who perceive the different levels of children's development as being challenging in online situation, and the acceptance strategy is used by teachers who resent an increase in teaching workload due to children who disturb the activity in the classroom). These findings are discussed in order to develop strategies to enhance the quality of teaching practices.

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.

Coping strategies for stress in medical students with type D personality

Abstract Funding Acknowledgements Type of funding sources: None. Aim. To study the choice of coping strategies and coping adequacy in medical students with type D personality. Material and methods. The study included 98 participants - 68 women and 30 men, studying at the General Medicine Faculty (Kemerovo State Medical University), aged 18 to 23 years (mean age 19.1 ± 2.0 years). All participants completed psychological questionnaires to identify predisposition to psychological distress and choice of coping strategies. Results. All subjects (n = 98) were divided into two groups: subjects with type D personality (n = 44) and subjects without type D personality (n = 54). Type D personality in men was detected in 20.4%, in women in 79.6% (p = 0.03). In students with type D, the average scores on the negative affectivity (NA) and social inhibition (SI) scales were higher (16.0 and 13.5 points) than in students without type D (6.5 and 9.0 points), (p < 0.001 in both cases). Subjects with type D had higher scores on the "Escape-avoidance" (p < 0.001), "Accepting responsibility" (p = 0.009) and "Distancing" (p = 0.05) scales of the Ways of Coping Questionnaire (WSQ) and "Avoidance" (p = 0.007) scale of the Central Sensitisation Inventory (CSI) questionnaire. The indicator of coping strategies showed a very low level of use of avoidance strategies: with type D - 9.09%, without type D - 31.48% (p = 0.007). Students with type D had a pronounced preference for the "Escape-avoidance" strategy of 75.0% (p = 0.000018). According to univariate logistic regression analysis, an increase of 1 point in the values on the "Escape-avoidance" scale increased the chance of identifying type D by 1.15 times (95% CI 1.07-1.23; p < 0.001). On the contrary, an increase in the score on the "Positive Reappraisal" scale reduced the probability of identifying type D personality (OR 0.98; 95% CI 0.86-0.98; p = 0.005). Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis showed that the identified association between the "Escape-avoidance" strategy and type D personality has high values (AUC = 0.779; 95% CI 0.688-0.870). Conclusion. Predominance of inadequate of coping strategies, such as "Escape-avoidance" and "Avoidance", was found in healthy medical students with type D personality. According to logistic regression analysis, the independent strategy associated with type D personality is the "Escape-avoidance" and without type D - "Positive Reappraisal".

Covid-19 in Slovakia: Economic, social and psychological factors of subjective well-being and depressive symptoms during a pandemic

Objectives and hypotheses. It was expected that income and its rate of deterioration as an economic factor, insufficient opportunities to talk to others and subjective feelings of isolation as social variables, and worries about income impairment, worries related to Covid-19, low tolerance of uncertainty, rumination, and catastrophizing as psychological variables, will reduce the frequency of positive experiencing, increase the frequency of negative experiencing and the number of depressive symptoms. On the other hand, personal belief in a just world and a positive reappraisal were expected to positively affect the research variables. Sample and settings. The online data collection was carried out at the end of April 2020 at the peak of the number of people affected by the disease in Slovakia. It was a stratified selection of N = 1108 persons, taking into account the proportional representation of persons from the territory of the whole republic. Statistical analysis. Variable relationships were tested using PLS-SEM (Partial Least Squares – SEM). This procedure was preferred for three reasons: the exploratory nature of complex models, the predictive orientation of models, and the measurement of multiple variables with one-item questioning. Results. Three predictors out of 16 tested had a positive relationship to the frequency of positive experiencing as an affective component of subjective well-being – subjectively assessed health, personal belief in a just world, and a positive reappraisal; rumination was in a negative relationship. Six predictors were related to the frequency of negative experiencing as an affective component of subjective well-being and to symptoms of depression – in addition to the four mentioned above, it was age and worries about income impairment: with higher age, the frequency of negative experiencing and the number of depressive symptoms decreased, and a positive relation had also variables: subjective assessment of health, personal belief in a just world and a positive reappraisal. Worries about income impairment and rumination had a relationship to the frequency of negative experiencing and depressive symptoms. Study limitations. Cross sectional research did not provide information on changes in the affective component of subjective well-being and depressive symptoms of the Slovak population as a result of the pandemic, as the obtained data could not be compared with the results of the same participants from the period before the pandemic. Although this research can be considered representative in several aspects, the validity of the findings is limited by the fact that no specific groups were included in the sample – e.g. the most vulnerable groups were medical staff and the elderly over 70 years of age. Also, those who were ill or suspected of having Covid-19 were excluded from the analysis. Finally, data collection via the Internet presupposes a certain standard of living of respondents.

Pain regulation during mindfulness meditation: Phenomenological fingerprints in novices and experts practitioners

The way people respond to pain is based on psychological mechanisms, beliefs and expectations. Mindfulness meditation (MM) has been shown to regulate pain and mental suffering through different mechanisms such as positive reappraisal, attentional and emotional regulation. Yet, subjective experience and meaning of pain in connection with MM are still largely unexplored. The present mixed-methods study combined an interpretative-phenomenological qualitative approach with an experimental thermal pain paradigm to explore and compare the meaning of experiencing pain in 32 novices who received short meditation training and 30 experts in meditation practice (more than 10, 000hr in life). We collected the qualitative data during in-depth semi-structured interviews where we probed participants' response strategies. During the pain task, we collected self-reports of intensity and unpleasantness, while after the task we collected self-reports of avoidance, openness, vividness and blissfulness. Five phenomenological clusters (PhC) emerged from the interviews, including three which described pain as an unpleasant sensation calling for: (1) experiential avoidance-suppression, (2) volitional agency-distanciation, or (3) a positive cognitive reappraisal and flexibility. Two additional clusters (4-5), containing mostly expert meditators, thematized pain sensation as an opportunity to gain metacognitive insights about mental processes, and to deconstruct one's suffering through these insights. PhC5 further integrates these insights with the recognition that suffering is part of the shared human experience and with the aspiration to relieve others from suffering. Each PhC was correlated to a unique profile of self-reports during the pain paradigm. These findings need to be replicated in patients and practicing MM. They also warrant the integration of this mixed-method approach with brain imaging data to refine the experiential neuroscience of pain. We compared the meaning of experiencing and regulating pain in novices and expert meditators using qualitative interviews. We identified five phenomenological clusters describing relevant features implicated in pain response strategies and meditation. These clusters were organized along a pseudo-gradient, which captured meditation expertise and predicted self-reports related to a pain paradigm and psychometric scales associated with pain and its regulation. These findings advance our understanding of the metacognitive mechanisms and beliefs underlying mindfulness meditation and can inform pain treatment strategies.

Residents’ Cognitive Appraisals, Emotions, and Coping Strategies at Local Dark Tourism Sites

While tourist emotions elicited at dark tourism sites are well understood, little is known about residents’ experiences at local dark tourism sites. This study explores residents’ emotional experiences at dark tourism sites, the cognitive appraisals of their experiences and emotions, and the coping strategies they deploy to address them. In-depth interviews with 37 residents of Christchurch, New Zealand (site of the Canterbury earthquakes), reveal that residents cognitively appraised their experience at local dark tourism sites on important facets such as centrality and controllability. Visits to local dark tourism sites embodied memories of the disaster that elicit more negative (e.g., sadness) than positive emotions (e.g., gratefulness). Residents coped through seeking comfort from others or positive reappraisal of the experience. Furthermore, visits to dark tourism sites are in and of themselves a coping strategy for residents postdisaster. Implications for the development of dark tourism attractions and support for resident well-being are offered.

Relationships between frustration intolerance beliefs, cognitive emotion regulation strategies and burnout among geriatric nurses and care assistants

The purpose of this study was to address cognitive emotional factors (frustration intolerance beliefs, cognitive emotion regulation strategies) related to burnout among professionals caring for older persons. A sample of 202 nurses and care assistants for older people completed online questionnaires about their cognitive emotion regulation strategies, frustration intolerance beliefs, and burnout. Use of maladaptive strategies, especially self-blame and catastrophizing, predicted greater emotional exhaustion and depersonalization. Adaptive strategy use, such as refocusing on planning and positive reappraisal, was found to be linked to both lower emotional exhaustion and higher personal accomplishment. Frustration intolerance beliefs appeared to be closely associated with the emotional exhaustion and depersonalization dimensions of burnout, with higher frustration intolerance beliefs indicating a high risk of depersonalization. The present findings have several practical implications for reducing nurses’ burnout based on cognitive behavioral therapy approaches, such as rational emotive behavior or mindfulness therapies.

Caregiver burden and coping strategies in caregivers of older patients with stroke

BackgroundCoping strategies play a key role in modulating the physical and psychological burden on caregivers of stroke patients. The present study aimed to determine the relationship between the severity of burden of care and coping strategies amongst a sample of Iranian caregivers of older stroke patients. It also aimed to examine the differences of coping strategies used by male and female caregivers.MethodsA total of 110 caregivers of older patients who previously had a stroke participated in this descriptive and cross-sectional study. The Zarit Burden Interview and Lazarus coping strategies questionnaires were used for data collection. Questionnaires were completed by the caregivers, who were selected using convenience sampling. The collected data were analyzed using Pearson's correlations and independent t-tests.ResultsThe mean age of participants was 32.09 ± 8.70 years. The majority of the caregivers sampled reported mild to moderate (n = 74, 67.3%) burden. The most commonly used coping strategies reported were positive reappraisal and seeking social support. Results of the independent t-test showed that male caregivers used the positive reappraisal strategy (t(110) = 2.76; p = 0.007) and accepting responsibility (t(110) = 2.26; p = 0.026) significantly more than female caregivers. Pearson’s correlations showed a significant positive correlation between caregiver burden and emotional-focused strategies, including escaping (r = 0.245, p = 0.010) and distancing (r = 0.204, p = 0.032).ConclusionsCaregivers with higher burden of care used more negative coping strategies, such as escape-avoidance and distancing. In order to encourage caregivers to utilize effective coping skills, appropriate programs should be designed and implemented to support caregivers. Use of effective coping skills to reduce the level of personal burden can improve caregiver physical health and psychological well-being.

A thematic analysis exploring the psychological well-being of adults born with esophageal atresia

BackgroundLiving with a rare and chronic health condition can have a significant impact on psychological well-being and mental health. There is a growing understanding that Esophageal Atresia (EA), a rare birth defect often accompanied by a Trachea-Esophageal Fistula (TEF), is a complex health condition that requires lifelong medical attention beyond pediatric care into adulthood. Given the reciprocal relationship between one's physical and psychological well-being, the aim of this study was to develop a better understanding of the mental health of adults born with EA/TEF. MethodsAn international online survey was designed and disseminated in collaboration with an EA/TEF patient charity. The qualitative data was analyzed using a reflexive and inductive Thematic Analysis to explore the research question “How can being born with EA/TEF affect psychological well-being in adulthood?” ResultsA total of 92 adults born with EA/TEF completed the online survey from 11 different counties. Five themes were generated during the analysis: ‘Negative Experience with Healthcare Professionals’, ‘The Perception of Surgical Scars’, ‘The Psychosocial Consequences of Dysphagia’, ‘The Legacy of Medical Trauma’, and ‘Resilience in the Face of Adversity’. ConclusionThe results indicated that adults born with EA/TEF might face emotional challenges that can negatively affect their psychological well-being and mental health. It was also found that some adults born with EA/TEF demonstrate resilience through positive reappraisal of adverse experiences. The current study suggests that a multidisciplinary approach to the care of adults born with EA/TEF is necessary and directions for future research are discussed.

Work-Life Balance Research in Athletic Training: Perspectives on Future Directions.

Work-Life Balance Research in Athletic Training: Perspectives on Future Directions.

Functional specificity of the left ventrolateral prefrontal cortex in positive reappraisal: A single-pulse transcranial magnetic stimulation study

Neuroimage studies have yielded evidence for a correlation between the left ventrolateral prefrontal cortex (VLPFC) and a specific type of cognitive reappraisal strategy, positive reappraisal. However, evidence is still lacking for a direct relation. We used single-pulse transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) over the left VLPFC at different time points to investigate the functional specificity of the left VLPFC in the success of positive reappraisal and the timing at which the left VLPC was involved in positive reappraisal. Fifteen participants engaged in a baseline experiment and in TMS experiments. All participants successfully reduced their negative emotional ratings using positive reappraisal in the baseline experiment. In the TMS experiments, participants performed the same task as in the baseline experiment but single-pulse TMS was applied over the left VLPFC at 300 ms or/and 3,300 ms after stimulus onset, as well as over the vertex as a control stimulation. Valence ratings of negative stimuli increased (unpleasantness reduction) when participants reappraised negative stimuli with TMS stimulation over the left VLPFC, regardless of the timing of the stimulation at 300 ms or/and at 3,300 ms after the stimulus onset, relative to the vertex stimulation and the baseline experiment. Our study provided evidence of the functional specificity of the left VLPFC in regulation of negative emotions using positive reappraisal. The left VLPFC was believed to be involved in different stages of positive reappraisal. The prominent facilitation effect of TMS over the left VLPFC makes it possible to consider potential applications in clinical practice for mood disorders.

Modeling the mindfulness‐to‐meaning theory's mindful reappraisal hypothesis: Replication with longitudinal data from a randomized controlled study

The Mindfulness to Meaning Theory provides a detailed process model of the mechanisms by which mindfulness may promote well-being. Central to the Mindfulness to Meaning Theory is the mindful reappraisal hypothesis (MRH), which suggests mindfulness training promotes well-being by facilitating positive reappraisal. Emerging evidence from interconnected domains of research supports the MRH. However, it remains unclear whether mindful reappraisal continues to develop after a mindfulness training course and whether this continued development encourages well-being over time. As such, this randomized controlled study compared participants receiving a mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) course with participants receiving no mindfulness training on positive reappraisal use and well-being over the course of 6 years. Latent growth curve modeling revealed that mindfulness training increased well-being by significantly increasing the trajectory of positive reappraisal over time. The MRH was then unpacked by examining whether MBSR also stimulated decentering and broadened awareness, core components of the MRH. Multivariate path analysis revealed that mindfulness training increased decentering, which in turn broadened awareness, which was then associated with positive reappraisal, ultimately promoting well-being. Taken together, these findings suggest that MBSR cultivates a downstream cascade of adaptive psychological processes that continue to promote quality of life 6-years after mindfulness training.

The impact of mindfulness on self-stigma and affective symptoms among sexual minorities

BackgroundResearch shows that mindfulness may enable sexual minorities to resist stigma and reduce distress. Less is known, however, about the underlying processes. The present study addressed this gap in the literature by examining how mindfulness would mitigate self-stigma and, in turn, alleviate affective symptoms among lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) individuals. MethodsA total of 401 LGB individuals from Hong Kong, China, provided cross-sectional questionnaire data on mindfulness, positive reappraisal, negative rumination, self-stigma content, self-stigma process, disempowerment, depressive symptoms, and anxiety symptoms. Structural equation modeling and Bootstrap analyses were conducted to analyze the relations among the variables. ResultsStructural equation modeling showed that mindfulness was associated with increased positive reappraisal and reduced negative rumination, which were, in turn, associated with lower levels of self-stigma content and process, respectively. Moreover, lower levels of self-stigma content and process were associated with a reduced sense of disempowerment, which was, in turn, associated with lower levels of depressive and anxiety symptoms. Bootstrap analyses further demonstrated that mindfulness had significant indirect effects on depressive and anxiety symptoms via positive reappraisal, self-stigma content, and disempowerment and via negative rumination, self-stigma process, and disempowerment. ConclusionsTheoretically, this study revealed the potential pathways through which mindfulness could enable LGB individuals to mitigate self-stigma content and process and thereby alleviate depressive and anxiety symptoms. Practically, this study pointed to the potential utility of mindfulness training in facilitating LGB individuals to resist societal stigma, reduce internalized stigma, and lessen emotional distress.

MENTAL HEALTH AND WAYS OF COPING DURING THE TIME OF COVID-19 OUTBREAK

Objectives: The study was conducted to find out the relationship between mental health and ways of coping of university students during the outbreak of COVID-19.
 Methodology: The study design was cross-sectional and the data was analyzed using correlation method. Data for the study was collected via online Google Forms. The online questionnaire was based on two scales, the Mental Health Inventory in which the mental health characteristics were anxiety, depression, behavior control, positive affect, and the ways of coping (revised) scale.
 Findings: The sample size of this study consisted of 400 university students of which 206were male and 194 were female. The outcomes of this study showed that during the outbreak of COVID-19, a significant relationship was found between mental health and ways of coping in university students. The relationship of overall mental health scores with Painful problem-solving, seeking social support, and Positive reappraisal was significant but no significant relationship was found with other subscales of ways of coping.
 Applications of the study: From the student viewpoint, universities should be aware of the students' changing emotional responses from positive to negative during the COVID-19 pandemic. Given that the impact of COVID-19 would probably induce more negative emotional states, universities should offer more support for emotional management and coping. This should encourage students to talk about their concerns, worries, and anxiety toward COVID-19 and to help them de stigmatize the fear of COVID-19 on their studies and future. This support should not be a one-time-event, but ongoing. With positive emotions and coping, students are more capable to counterbalance the perceived negative impact of COVID-19 on their degree completion and job prospects by effectively using different resources to reduce resource loss.
 Novelty/Originality of the study: It is necessary for university institutions to focus their efforts on quality attention to students, in order to establish fluid communication with them and to adapt to their better well-being with good way of coping and fulfill their academic and personal needs.

Supplemental Material for Emotion Regulation in the Face of Loss: How Detachment, Positive Reappraisal, and Acceptance Shape Experiences, Physiology, and Perceptions in Late Life

Supplemental Material for Emotion Regulation in the Face of Loss: How Detachment, Positive Reappraisal, and Acceptance Shape Experiences, Physiology, and Perceptions in Late Life

Caregiver overload and factors associated with care provided to patients under palliative care.

Objective.To identify overload and associated factors among caregivers of adult patients receiving palliative care.Methods.Descriptive, quantitative, and cross-sectional study addressing 40 adults under palliative care and their respective caregivers enrolled in the Home Care System in Ribeirão Preto, Brazil. Data concerning the patients included demographic profile and Mini-Mental State Examination. A form was used to collect the caregivers’ demographic data along with the Zarit Burden Interview Scale, Self-Reporting Questionnaire, Beck Depression Inventory, and Coping Strategies Inventory.Results.Regarding the patients, 84.2% were women, 52.6% were over 80, 65.8% had no partner, and 76.3% presented cognitive impairment. The caregivers were mostly women (84.5%), aged 56.67 years old on average, were the patients’ children (42.5%); had no partner (55%), and lived with the patient (77.5%). The mean score obtained in the burden scale was 28.78 points, 32.5% had stress, and 42.5% depression. Regarding coping strategies, the ones most frequently used were positive reappraisal (12.8), withdrawal (10.2), and problem solution (9.7). A positive and statistically significant correlation was found between time spent with care (days and hours) and escape/avoidance with overload. Linear regression analysis revealed an association between being a woman (p=0.002), number of days spent with care (p=0.004), and depression (p<0.001) with overload.Conclusion.Being a woman, spending more days providing care, and depressive symptoms were associated with caregiver overload.

Compassion Fatigue, Compassion Satisfaction and Coping Between Male and Female Intensive Care Unit Nurses

This study is anon-experimental, descriptive, co-relational design to examine the extent to which there is a relationship between Compassion fatigue and Compassion satisfaction with coping between Male and Female Intensive Care Unit Nurses. A convenience sample of 148 participants with 53 males and 95 females responded to the survey. The snow ball technique of non-probability sampling was used. The tools used to study the variables are the Professional Quality of Life Scale (proQOL) by Stamm (2012) and Ways of Coping Questionnaire by (Lazarus & Folkman, 1988). Inferential statistics comprising of the two tailed t-test and Pearson's correlation test were considered for analysis. The results were further analyzed using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (version 22). The study found no statistical significance between males and females on both compassion satisfaction and compassion fatigue dimension and with both the groups securing low scores on all three dimensions. The results from the correlational analysis indicated that Compassion satisfaction showed a significant relationship with selfcontrolling, positive reappraisal, seeking social support, accepting responsibility and plan ful problem solving. Burnout showed a significant correlation with escape avoidance, plan ful problem solving and positive reappraisal. Secondary traumatic stress had a statistical relationship with Confrontive coping, distancing, self-controlling, seeking social support, accepting responsibility and escape-avoidance.

Staff resilience and coping behavior as protective factors for mental health among construction tradesmen

PurposeConstruction tradesmen are exposed to high levels of stress that can worsen mental health, negatively impacting safety compliance and organization productivity. Hence, effectively coping with stress to prevent mental ill-health becomes an essential point of reference. Thus, this study aims to examine the role of factors such as resilience and coping strategies in protecting tradesmen against mental ill-health.Design/methodology/approachUsing a cross-sectional survey design, 110 tradesmen from 65 construction companies were surveyed using the Patient Health Questionnaire, Generalized Anxiety Disorder, Brief Resilience Scale and Ways of Coping Questionnaire.FindingsThe results were analyzed using descriptive statistics and logistic regression analysis. With a 74.5%, 36.4% and 14.6% prevalence rate of self-reported depression, anxiety and suicide ideation among the tradesmen, only positive reappraisal, accepting responsibility coping behaviors and resilience would mitigate the likelihood of developing mental ill-health symptoms.Originality/valueThis study has extended existing literature by providing information vital to building interventions to deal with stressors effectively. This information would benefit individuals, organizations and the economy and equip policymakers with a deeper knowledge base toward improving mental health.

COPAHS Study: protocol of a randomised experimental study comparing the effects of hypnosis, mindfulness meditation, and spiritual practices on experimental pain in healthy adults

BackgroundThere has been an increasing interest in studying the potential benefits of so-called complementary and alternative approaches for pain management, such as hypnosis and mindfulness-based interventions. More recently, researchers have...