Psychological Adjustment Problems Research Articles

The Impact of COVID-19 on Psychological Adjustment Problems: The Mediating Roles of Meaning in Life and Resilience

The Impact of COVID-19 on Psychological Adjustment Problems: The Mediating Roles of Meaning in Life and Resilience

Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), psychological flexibility and psychological adjustment problems: Turkish validation of the PTSD checklist for short form DSM‐5 (PCL‐5-S)

Despite the existence of abbreviated versions of the Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) Checklist (PCL-5), the lack of evidence regarding the validation of this measure has become a limitation in research. This study examined the Turkish validation of the PCL-5, which is a recently developed measure of an optimal short‐form of the PTSD Checklist for DSM‐5. Also, the study aimed to investigate how psychological flexibility mediates the association between PTSD and psychological adjustment problems. This cross-sectional study consisted of 568 young adults (50.5 % males) aged between 18 and 60 years (M = 27.92, SD = 9.26). The results indicated that the PCL-5-S had good internal consistency reliability and high construct validity. The findings also revealed that PTSD was negatively associated with psychological flexibility and positively associated with psychological adjustment problems. Additionally, psychological flexibility was negatively associated with psychological adjustment problems. Furthermore, mediation findings showed that psychological flexibility partially mediated the association between PTSD and psychological adjustment problems. These findings suggest that the PCL-5-S is a valid and reliable instrument for assessing the presence of PTSD symptoms in Turkish populations. Furthermore, intervention programs targeting psychological flexibility could be developed to reduce the symptoms of psychological maladjustment problems by addressing PTSD symptoms.

The protective role of parental support in links between adolescents’ weight-based bullying and psychological adjustment problems

ABSTRACT In the United States, weight-based peer victimization (herein “bullying”) is prevalent and has been shown to have short- and long-term detrimental effects on adolescents’ mental health. We utilized secondary data analysis to explore associations between adolescents’ weight-based bullying, internalizing and externalizing symptoms, and parental involvement. Moderated mediation models found depressive symptoms mediated the relation between weight-based bullying and both callousness and social anxiety symptoms, but only in the context of low parent involvement. This study highlights parental involvement as a potential protective factor and demonstrates the need for mental health screening and intervention for adolescents who experience weight-based bullying.

Qualitative Study of the Cross-cultural Adaptation of Chinese Students in Philippines

The paper sought to understand the current situation and problems of cross-cultural adaptation of Chinese students and provide a reference basis for cross-cultural adaptation. From January 2023 to July 2023, 12 Chinese students in the Philippines were selected by purposive sampling method, and semi-structured interviews were conducted by descriptive nature research method, and the data were analyzed by using Colaizzi's seven-step analysis method to extract themes. Three themes were extracted: life adjustment problems, communicative adjustment problems, and psychological adjustment problems. Firstly, the problems of communicative adaptation of Chinese students are more prominent, especially language problems and cultural differences are the main factors that produce communicative adaptation problems; secondly, the problems of living adaptation are common, especially the problems of accommodation environment and living conditions are the most critical factors that affect living adaptation; finally, the problems of psychological adaptation are not negligible, and psychological adaptation problems are the most important factors that Chinese students tend to solve through internal adjustment. International students are more inclined to adjust their psychological adjustment problems through internal adjustment means and are less likely to share their psychological difficulties actively, and compared with other adjustment problems, psychological adjustment problems are often more easily diluted and neglected by international students. This paper provides a qualitative study on the intercultural adjustment of Chinese students to provide a reference for the study of international students' intercultural adjustment and to provide information and emotional support for Chinese international students to promote the level of international students' intercultural adjustment ability.

Concern for mianzi: Relations with adjustment in rural and urban Chinese adolescents.

The present study examined relations between concern for mianzi, or the social perception of one's prestige and standing in the group, and adjustment in Chinese adolescents. Participants were seventh- and ninth-grade students in rural and urban regions of China (n = 794, Mage = 14 years). Data were obtained from multiple sources including peer assessments, teacher ratings, self-reports, and school records. The results showed that concern for mianzi was associated with social competence, leadership, academic achievement, as well as aggression and mixed peer relationships in rural adolescents. In contrast, concern for mianzi was associated with comprehensive social, school, and psychological adjustment problems in urban adolescents. The results indicate the role of context in shaping the relations between adolescents' concern for mianzi and adjustment.

SOCIAL-PSYCHOLOGICAL ADAPTATION OF SYRIAN-ARMENIAN CHILDREN DIFFICULTIES IN PRIMARY SCHOOL EDUCATION PROCESS

This article analyzes and reveals the socio-psychological difficulties of adaptation of Syrian-Armenian children during elementary school educational activities. The effectiveness of social-psychological adaptation in the educational process is conditioned not only by the correct choice and application of educational programs, methods, means, but also by the pedagogues who implement the whole systematic educational process. The problem of the adaptation of Syrian-Armenian children in the educational process of primary classes can be called one of the most important problems of the school. It needs extensive research in terms of pedagogy and psychology and practical work in this direction. In order to study and identify the difficulties of adaptation in the educational process of Syrian-Armenian children, we have carried out research and corrective works from previously developed psychological tasks. The positive results of the research can be used to work with Syrian-Armenian children in educational institutions, reducing their social and psychological adjustment problems in the educational process.

Psychology Professionals in Educational Contexts: An Unavoidable Necessity

Mental health problems and psychological adjustment difficulties among young people are emerging as a personal, family, educational, social, and health challenge. It is necessary to address this emerging social defiance by studying and implementing strategies to promote emotional well-being and prevent psychological problems in educational contexts. The aim of this work is to highlight, based on the epidemiological data derived from the PSICE (Evidence-based Psychology in Educational Contexts) project, the importance of addressing mental health in school settings. First, an introduction to the study of human behavior and psychological adjustment problems is given. Secondly, the importance of educational centers as the natural place to promote the psychological well-being and child and adolescent mental health is discussed. Thirdly, the prevalence results derived from the PSICE study are mentioned. To conclude, a summary section highlights the imperative need to promote, protect, and care for mental health during childhood and adolescence in educational settings. The promotion of psychological well-being and the prevention of mental health problems in educational contexts are the best investments on the part of societies, governments, and institutions.

The role of cognitive flexibility and hope in the relationship between loneliness and psychological adjustment: a moderated mediation model

ABSTRACT Objectives The COVID-19 pandemic caused people to suffer from secondary problems such as social isolation and loneliness as well as experiencing anxiety about catching and spreading the virus. Existing research emphasizes the roles of cognitive flexibility and hope for psychological adjustment but the mediating and moderating mechanisms have not yet been researched widely. Therefore, this study examined whether hope mediated the relationship between loneliness and psychological adjustment problems and whether cognitive flexibility moderated this mediation effect of hope in the relationship between loneliness and psychological adjustment problems during the COVID-19 pandemic curfew in Turkey. Methods A total of 512 Turkish students and young adults completed UCLA Loneliness Scale, Brief Psychological Adjustment Scale, Dispositional Hope Scale, and Cognitive Flexibility Inventory for this cross-sectional study. Results The results indicated that loneliness had a significant and positive predictive effect on the psychological adjustment problems and that this relationship was partially mediated by hope. Further, psychological flexibility moderated the relationship between loneliness and hope. Conclusions The current study contributes a better understanding of the influence of loneliness on psychological adjustment, especially during the COVID-19 curfew period. KEY POINTS What is already known about this topic: (1) Loneliness is positively associated with psychological adjustment problems. (2) Hope proved to play an important role in psychological adjustment during the COVID-19 pandemic. (3) Cognitive flexibility is positively related to hope. What this topic adds: (1) Hope mediates the relationship between loneliness and psychological adjustment problems during the COVID-19 curfew. (2) The association between loneliness and hope is moderated by cognitive flexibility, such that the association becomes weaker for those who report higher levels of cognitive flexibility. (3) The indirect effect of loneliness on psychological adjustment problems via hope is conditional on the levels of cognitive flexibility.

VOCATIONAL REHABILITATION AS A CORRELATE TO PERSONALITY DEVELOPMENT OF PERSONS WITH VISUAL IMPAIRMENT IN THE ANGLOPHONE REGIONS OF CAMEROON

Vocational rehabilitation seeks to restore individuals with disabilities to their optimal, physical, mental, social, vocational, and economic ability. These individuals with disabilities include persons with visual impairment. Visual impairment has a devastating effect with deep emotional and economic complications. The loss of vision after an illness or trauma causes major changes in lifestyle and habits which may results to problems in psychological adjustment. This study investigated “Vocational rehabilitation as a correlate to personality development of persons with visual impairment in the Anglophone Regions of Cameroon”. To achieve the objective of the study, the specific objectives used were; to evaluate the relationship between vocational guidance and counselling and the personality development of persons with visual impairment, to assess the relationship between Orientation and mobility and the personality development of persons with visual impairment. The study adopted a correlational survey design with the sample of 30 persons who had gone through vocational rehabilitation. The instrument used for data collection was a questionnaire. The data were analyzed using frequency counts, percentages and the Pearson moment correlation test to establish the relationship between vocational rehabilitation and personality development. The findings showed that there exist a moderately strong and positive relationship between vocational guidance and counselling and personality development of persons with visual impairment (P=0.049, <0.05). . Findings equally affirmed that there exist a very significant strong and positive relationship between orientation and mobility and personality development of persons with visual impairment (P=0.001, <0.05). Based on the findings, some recommendations were made that policy makers should formulate rules and policies governing the welfare of persons with visual impairment in choosing careers they like. The government and community should provide well equipped training institutions to enhance the training of persons with visual impairment.

STUDI KASUS PENGARUH HIPNOTERAPI TERHADAP PENURUNAN PTSD (POST TRAUMATIC STRESS DISORDER) PADA REMAJA PEREMPUAN KORBAN KEKERASAN BERPACARAN

Teenagers who are dating go through a lot of anxiety, rashness, internal and external conflicts because they need to adapt to their physical and psychological adjustment problems. The consequences and impacts of adjustment problems in the adolescent phase will lead to violence in dating. Female victims who experience dating violence both physiologically and psychologically from their lover and then break the relationship, instead of getting peace they actually get post- violent trauma called PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder). This research is entitled “Case Study of the Effect of Hypnotherapy on the Reduction of PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder) in Adolescent Female Victims of Dating Violence” is aimed at seeing the effect of hypnotherapy on the reduction of PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder) in adolescent females who are victims of datting violence. The research design is mixed methods research (MMR) and is a pre-experimental design, one group pretest-posttest design. Subjects in this study amounted to 2 people as indicated PTSD and 1 subject as data triangulation. PTSD was revealed through the PTSD Scale with a total of 92 statements. The results showed that WA subject after being given the intervention decreased from the category of severe PTSD symptom degrees with a number of 245 to the category of mild PTSD symptom degrees with a score of 170. And AV subject after being given the intervention decreased from the category of mild PTSD symptom degrees with a number of 216 to the category of mild PTSD symptom degrees with a number of 158. The results of descriptive statistics on the pre-test with SD= 20,506 and the results on the post-test with SD= 8,485. This shows that hypnotherapy has been proven to reduce PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder) in adolescent girls who are victims of dating violence.

We stick together! COVID-19 and psychological adjustment in youth residential care

BackgroundChildren and youth residential care institutions were forced to introduce adaptations to their regular functioning in order to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic challenges. ObjectiveThe purpose of this study was to examine the effects of the lockdown on the adolescents' psychological adjustment and whether adolescents' perceived cohesion mitigated the increase of adolescents' psychological adjustment problems. ParticipantsParticipants were 243 adolescents aged 12 to 18 years, living in 21 different residential care institutions. ResultsThe results suggested a moderating role of cohesion on the stability of adolescents' emotional distress across time. Lower levels of cohesion were related with higher emotional distress stability across time. On the contrary, as cohesion increased, the association between adolescents' emotional distress at T0 and T1 decreased. DiscussionResults are discussed considering the mechanisms raised by the institutions to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic and minimize the negative effects on the psychological adjustment of adolescents living in residential care.

What matters to children with lower limb deformities: an international qualitative study guiding the development of a new patient-reported outcome measure

BackgroundLower limb deformities include conditions such as leg length discrepancy, lower limb deficiency and associated angular and rotational deformities of the hips, knees, ankles and feet. Children with lower limb deformities often have physical limitations due to gait irregularities and pain. The differences in the appearance and function of their lower limbs can discourage participation in social, recreational and leisure activities, which may result in behavioural, emotional, psychological and social adjustment problems. The health-related quality of life (HRQL) of these children is often impacted due to the factors discussed above, as well as by the complex surgical procedures. Surgical treatment options for limb deformities in children vary from limb lengthening and reconstruction to amputation. The lack of evidence demonstrating superiority of either treatment options and their effect on HRQL limits the ability of healthcare providers to counsel families on the best evidence-based treatment option for them.This manuscript describes the international qualitative study which guided the development of a new patient-reported outcome measure (PROM). Individual semi-structured face-to-face interviews with children with lower limb deformities and their parents were conducted at five sites: Canada (2 sites), Ethiopia, India and the USA.ResultsSeventy-nine interviews were conducted at five international sites. Five main themes emerged from the qualitative interviews and formed the basis of the conceptual framework. These themes were: 1) appearance, 2) physical health, 3) psychological health 4) school and 5) social health.ConclusionsLower limb deformities have a substantial impact on the HRQL of children. The concepts of interest identified in our study were similar across children from all countries. The conceptual framework guided the development of outcome scales specific to these patients.The information about the impact of various treatment options on the HRQL of children with lower limb deformities, collected using this new PROM, could be used to inform parents and children about outcomes (physical, social, psychological) associated with specific treatment options. This information could supplement other objective outcome information (e.g., complication rates, how the leg will look, etc.) to help families to come to a more informed decision on a child’s course of treatment.

Adolescent Acne and Disparities in Mental Health

AbstractAcne is a hallmark of adolescence, affecting 85% of youth between the ages of 12 and 25 worldwide. Perhaps because of its ubiquity and minimal impact on physical functioning, acne is often dismissed as a time‐delimited cosmetic nuisance and has been summarily neglected by developmental scientists. However, emerging evidence suggests that acne is associated with clinically significant psychological adjustment problems, including depression and anxiety. Adopting an interdisciplinary approach that bridges developmental and dermatological science, we reposition acne as a prominent source of psychological maladjustment and health disparities in adolescence. Specifically, we propose that females and youth with darker skin may be disproportionately affected by the pernicious psychological effects of acne. Reconceptualizing adolescent acne as a developmentally and psychologically meaningful dermatologic disease with effects shaped by culture and health care disparities will advance our understanding of youth’s mental health.

Student subjective wellbeing, school functioning, and psychological adjustment in high school adolescents: A latent variable analysis

Well-being is a multi-faceted construct that encompasses all aspects of healthy and successful human functioning across multiple domains. The purpose of the present study was to investigate the predictive power of student subjective wellbeing on several specific adolescent school and psychological adjustment indicators: school achievement, academic satisfaction, prosocial behavior, and internalizing and externalizing problems. Participants included 223 adolescents, comprising of 54.9% girls, ranging in age from 13 to 18 years (M= 15.67, SD= 1.21). Findings from the LVPA indicated that student subjective wellbeing was significantly associated with youth school functioning and adjustment outcomes, ranging from small-to-large effect size (R2 range = .05 to .42). Student subjective wellbeing had the strongest predictive effect on prosocial behavior, followed by academic satisfaction, psychological health problems, and school achievement. With regard to the first-order models, school connectedness and joy of learning significantly predicted student academic satisfaction, prosocial behavior, and psychological adjustment problems. However, the predictive effect of these variables on student school achievement was non–significant. Educational purpose and academic efficacy were significant predictors of all adolescent outcomes. Taken together, these results suggest that student subjective wellbeing is an essential resource for improving youth academic functioning and psychological health.

The mediating mechanisms underlying the longitudinal effect of trait anger on social aggression: Testing a temporal path model

Social aggression is widely emerging among young adults and can cause social and psychological adjustment problems. Although trait anger is believed to affect aggression, the longitudinal effect of trait anger on social aggression has not been tested, and the underlying mechanisms are unclear. A temporal path model (TPM) was constructed to explain how trait anger longitudinally predicts social aggression. Three-wave data were collected in five provinces of China from 1209 valid young adults. The results showed that trait anger predicts social aggression through both hostile attribution tendency (an in-process tendency) and anger rumination tendency (a post-process tendency), and these tendencies may predict each other. The present study supports the idea of TPM for aggression and develops General Aggression Model.

Derivation and assessment of the opioid use disorder severity scale: prediction of health, psychological and social adjustment problems

ABSTRACT Background: Severity of substance use disorder (SUD) is typically evaluated by tabulating the number of symptoms. The resulting estimate of disorder severity is, however, biased due to intercorrelations among symptoms and their unequal salience. Objective. Employing item response theory (IRT) methodology, opioid use disorder symptoms were calibrated to derive the Opioid Use Disorder Severity Scale (OUDSS) and assess its predictive ability in men and women separately. Methods: A two-parameter IRT model was utilized to derive the OUDSS from DSM-IV symptoms recorded on the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV (SCID) in 438 men and 429 women who reported at least one lifetime opioid consumption event. The predictive ability of the OUDSS was evaluated using the 10 health, psychological, and social adjustment domains of the revised Drug Use Screening Inventory (DUSI-R) assessed 2 years later. Results: The OUDSS score predicted the severity of problems in all 10 DUSI-R domains in men and women. The OUDSS also predicted the DUSI-R diagnostic cutoff score of overall problem density score in men and women (OR = 2.21 and OR = 4.83, respectively). Withdrawal was the most frequently endorsed symptom in this sample of opioid users. The other symptoms’ frequencies, while somewhat lower than withdrawal’s, did not differ from it substantially, indicating a similar severity threshold. Conclusions: OUDSS enables dimensional measurement of opioid use severity on an interval scale. The OUDSS and DUSI-R together can identify problem areas requiring prevention or treatment.

Ergenlerde Okul Aidiyeti, Okul İşlevleri ve Psikolojik Uyum Arasındaki İlişkinin İncelenmesi

Bu çalışmada ergenlerde okul aidiyet duygusu, okul işlevleri ve psikolojik uyum arasındaki ilişki incelenmiştir. Araştırmanın örneklemini yaşları 11 ile 18 arasında değişen, ortaokul ve lisede öğrenci olan 333 ergen oluşturmaktadır (Ortalama = 15.45; ss = 1.75). Katılımcıların %55.9’u (186) kız ve %44.1’i (147) erkektir. Korelasyon analiz sonuçları, ergenlerde okul aidiyeti artarken içselleştirilmiş ve dışsallaştırılmış problemlerin azaldığını ve okul işlevlerinde de anlamlı bir artışın olduğunu ortaya koymuştur. Yol (path) analiz sonuçları, okul aidiyetinin öğrencilerin akademik başarı, öğrenmeden zevk alma, eğitimsel amaçlar, akademik yeterlik, akademik doyum ve prososyal davranımlarını pozitif yönde ve anlamlı düzeyde yordadığını göstermiştir. Ayrıca sonuçlar okul aidiyetinin ergenlerde içselleştirilmiş ve dışsallaştırılmış problemleri negatif yönde ve anlamlı düzeyde yordadığını ortaya koymuştur. Okul aidiyet duygusu, akademik başarı değişkeni hariç, diğer tüm değişkenler üzerinde güçlü bir yordayıcı etkiye sahip olduğu görülmüştür. Araştırma sonuçları alan yazın ışığında tartışılmış ve önerilerde bulunulmuştur.

Affiliation with depressive peer groups and social and school adjustment in Chinese adolescents.

The purpose of the present study was to examine the role of depressive peer group context in individual social and school adjustment in a sample of 1,430 Chinese adolescents (672 boys, mean age = 15.43 years) from middle (n = 430) and high (n = 1000) schools. Peer groups were identified using the Social Cognitive Map technique. One-year longitudinal data on depression and social and school adjustment were obtained from self-reports, peer nominations, teacher ratings, and school records. Multilevel analyses showed that group-level depression positively predicted later individual depression. Moreover, group-level depression negatively predicted later social competence, peer preference, school competence, and academic achievement, and it positively predicted later peer victimization and learning problems. The results suggest that affiliation with more depressive peer groups contributes to more psychological, social, and school adjustment problems in a cascading manner among Chinese adolescents.

A Bright and a Dark Path to Adolescents’ Functioning: The Role of Need Satisfaction and Need Frustration Across Gender, Age, and Socioeconomic Status

A central tenet of Self-Determination Theory is that the basic psychological needs for autonomy, relatedness, and competence represent universal psychological nutriments for adolescents’ functioning. This study contributed to the investigation of this universality claim by examining whether the satisfaction and frustration of basic psychological needs would relate, respectively, to adolescents’ wellbeing and psychological maladjustment across gender, age, and socioeconomic status (SES). Having gathered data in a large sample of Spanish adolescents (N = 1047; M = 14.68, SD = 1.53), through a series of confirmatory factor analyses we began by providing validity evidence for the Spanish child-adapted version of the Basic Psychological Need Satisfaction and Frustration Scale (BPNSFS; Chen et al. in Mot Emot 39:216–236, 2015b. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11031-014-9450-1). A 6-first-order factor model, distinguishing the satisfaction and frustration of each of the three needs, better represented the data. In addition, evidence for measurement and structural invariance of the BPNSFS-child version across the three sociodemographic characteristics was largely achieved. Structural equation models further revealed that need satisfaction contributed uniquely to well-being, whereas need frustration contributed uniquely to adolescents’ psychological adjustment problems. Further, multigroup comparisons generally supported invariant patterns of relations across gender, age, and SES groups. Results are discussed in light of the generalizability of need-based dynamics among adolescents.

Psychological adjustment in Spanish young adult domestic adoptees: Mental health and licit substance consumption.

Although adoptive families have been shown to provide a protective context for human development, some adopted children and adolescents are at increased risk for psychological adjustment problems. On the other hand, little is known about psychological adjustment of young adult adoptees. The aim of this study is to analyze the mental health and legal substance consumption (tobacco and alcohol) of young adults (n = 134) who were domestically adopted by Spanish families. Young adults showed significantly worse scores on the Symptom Check-List-90-R (Derogatis, 1975) and also more substance use than did the Spanish general population, but fewer difficulties than did the clinical population. On the Global Severity Index (GSI), 65.7% of adoptees were within the normal range, 24.6% were at risk, and 9.7% were within the clinical range. Male adoptees scored higher than expected for the general population on all subscales, whereas female adoptees did not. Age at adoption was not found to have a significant impact on adjustment. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2019 APA, all rights reserved).