Unconditional Self-Acceptance Questionnaire Research Articles

COMPARISON BETWEEN PERCEIVE OF SOCIAL SUPPORT AND SELF-ACCEPTANCE AMONG MALE AND FEMALE OF DIPLOMA COLLEGE STUDENTS IN MALAYSIA

This study aimed to determine association between perceived social support and self-acceptance, with further analysis conducted to compare gender (male and female) in perceived social support and self-acceptance among polytechnic students. A cross-sectional survey was conducted with 177 students who consented to participate (90 males, 87 females), with an age range between 18 and 25 years old. The respondents were recruited using convenience sampling. Validated measures, including the Multidimensional Perceived Social Support (MPSS) and the Unconditional Self-Acceptance Questionnaire (USAQ), were employed in this study. Descriptive analysis and inferential analysis using Pearson's correlation and independent t-tests were utilized to analyze the data. The current findings suggested a non-significant relationship between perceived support from family [r (177) = - .073, p = .335] and self-acceptance. Conversely, there was a significant positive relationship between perceived support from friends and self-acceptance [r (177) = .191, p = .011], as well as between perceived support from significant others and self-acceptance [r (177) = .177, p = .019]. Furthermore, no significant differences were found between male and female polytechnic students regarding perceived social support, including family, friends, and significant others. However, a significant difference was observed in gender and self-acceptance t (175) = -3.307, p < .001) with the mean score for male self-acceptance lower than that of females. These findings contribute to the existing literature and underscore the importance of social support and self-acceptance in the well-being of diploma college students.

A Self-acceptance and Body Image on Student Self-confidence

Confidence plays a significant role for all individuals, especially in the field of education. Self-confidence can be influenced by several factors, including self-acceptance and body image. The purpose of this research is to determine the influence of selfacceptance and body image on students’ self-confidence. The sampling technique used was non-probability sampling, specifically convenience sampling, with 369 students from various educational levels, ranging from D1 to S3. Data were collected using the Unconditional Self-Acceptance Questionnaire (USAQ), the 14-item version of the Body Shape Questionnaire (BSQ), and a self-confidence scale. Data analysis was done using multiple linear regression. The results of this study indicate that all hypotheses were accepted: (1) self-acceptance has an impact on self-confidence; (2) body image has an impact on self-confidence; and (3) self-acceptance and body image, when considered together, have an impact on self-confidence. The higher the levels of self-acceptance and body image, the higher the self-confidence of the students.
 Keywords: body image, self-acceptance, self-confidence

The Effect of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy Islamic Approach On Self-Acceptance of Patients with Mental Disorder

Mental disorders have different manifestations and symptoms but are generally characterized by some combination of disturbances of thought, perception, emotion, behavior, and impaired relationships with other people. Severe mental disorders, including schizophrenia, are prone to stigma. Good self-acceptance has a robust negative correlation with stigma. This study examines the effect of Islamic acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) on self-acceptance in patients with mental disorders. The research method is quantitative with a semi-experimental pre-post-test. Respondents in this study were 31 patients with mental disorders who were selected using a purposive sampling technique that met the criteria of being Muslim, awareness, and understanding of patients with mental disorders experienced in the good category, namely being aware of the disease experienced. The measuring instrument used in this study consisted of a demographic questionnaire and an Unconditional Self-Acceptance Questionnaire (USAQ). Results showed that ACT with Islamic approach significantly increased self-acceptance in a patient with mental disorders (P<0.001). ACT can be used as an effective intervention to increase self-acceptance in a patient with mental disorders.

The effectiveness of a rational-emotive intervention on teachers' unconditional self-acceptance, perfectionism, and pupil control ideology.

The present research aimed to investigate the effectiveness of a Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy (REBT) intervention on in-service teachers. A quasi-experimental 2-group (intervention vs. control) × 3-time (pre, post-test, follow-up) design was applied to explore to what extent the REBT interventions help teachers increase their level of unconditional self-acceptance as the primary outcome and decrease their perfectionism tendencies and pupil control ideology as secondary outcomes. The sample consisted of 100 in-service teachers assigned to either the intervention group (n = 50) or the control group (n = 50). The experimental group received a 6-week intervention program. Every session was held weekly and lasted 90-120 min. The Unconditional Self-Acceptance Questionnaire (USAQ), Pupil Control Ideology Scale (PCI), and Perfectionism Inventory Scale (PI) were used to collect data. This study used a mixed model ANOVA 2 × 3 for data analysis. The results indicated that in the experimental group, there was a statistically significant increase in unconditional self-acceptance level from pre-test to post-test, which remains significant at the 6-month follow-up. Likewise, there were no statistically significant differences in unconditional self-acceptance levels between the post-test and 6-month follow-up in the intervention group. These findings prove that REBT interventions are effective in increasing teachers' unconditional self-acceptance.

Romanian Version of the Frustration Discomfort Scale (FDS): A Preliminary Validation on a Non-clinical Sample

Low frustration tolerance is one of the key concepts in rational emotional behavior therapy (REBT). The purpose of this study is to explore the factorial structure, reliability, and validity of the Romanian version of the Frustration Discomfort Scale (FDS), developed by Harrington (Clin Psychol Psychother 12(5):374–387, 2005b. https://doi.org/10.1002/cpp.465), within a non-clinical sample (N = 308) of Romanian teachers. For validation purposes, participants also completed several measures such as the Unconditional Self-Acceptance Questionnaire (USAQ) (Chamberlain and Haaga in J Ration Emot Cogn Behav Ther 19(3):163–176, 2001. https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1011189416600), Attitudes and Belief Scale 2 (ABS2) (DiGiuseppe et al. J Ration Emot Cogn Behav Ther 36(1):47–79, 2018. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10942-017-0273-3), Teacher Irrational Belief Scale (TIBS) (Bernard Teacher irrationality and teacher stress, 24th international congress of psychology, Sydney, Australia, 1988), and Pupil Control Ideology Scale (PCI) (Willower et al. The school and pupil control, The Pennsylvania State University, 1967). Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) suggests that the initial four-factor solution from the scale development study received similar support to the one-factor solution found in some previous studies. Patterns of correlations linking the FDS total sum score versus the FDS 4-factor scale scores with other variables provide some support for the one-factor solution, mainly because it is a more parsimonious solution. Differentiating between several subcomponents of FDS does not bring discriminant validity in our non-clinical sample. Based on current preliminary validation, the FDS is a reliable and valid instrument for assessing frustration discomfort in a Romanian-speaking population as a single-factor construct. Our results do not exclude the possibility that future discriminant validity endeavors could support the utility of treating low frustration tolerance as a multidimensional construct since using a non-clinical sample is likely to impact the factorial structure of the FDS.

Pengaruh Self-Efficacy Terhadap Self-Acceptance Mahasiswa Pendidikan Kesejahteraan Keluarga

<p><strong><strong>This study aims to determine self-efficacy's effect on the students' self-acceptance of the Family Welfare Education Study Program at Universitas Negeri Jakarta. The study uses the associative quantitative method on 148 active students from the 2019-2021 class (129 female and 19 male). The study was conducted at Universitas Negeri Jakarta from April to October 2022. The self-efficacy was measured using a general self-efficacy scale. Whereas self-acceptance was measured using an unconditional self-acceptance questionnaire. The results showed that: (1) students had a high level of self-efficacy, (2) students had a high level of self-acceptance, (3) there was a significant effect of self-efficacy on students' self-acceptance, and (4) 69% of the variation of the self-acceptance variable can be explained through the variation of the self-efficacy variable. Students need to have confidence in their abilities, effort, and perseverance to solve the problems they face to have high self-acceptance. The findings of this study, it is</strong>.</strong></p><p><strong><strong><em>Keywords</em></strong> - </strong><em>Self-efficacy</em>, <em>Self-acceptance, College student.</em></p>

Standard CBT versus integrative and multimodal CBT assisted by virtual-reality for generalized anxiety disorder

IntroductionGeneralized Anxiety Disorder (GAD) is a prevalent emotional disorder associated with increased dysfunctionality, which has a lasting impact on the individual’s quality of life. Besides medication, Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy (CBT) represents the golden standard psychotherapeutic approach for GAD, integrating multilevel techniques and various delivery formats that enable the development of tailored treatment protocols. The objective of this study was to compare the efficiency of a standard CBT protocol targeting worries, dysfunctional beliefs, and intolerance of uncertainty with an integrative and multimodal CBT intervention augmented with Virtual Reality (VR).Materials and methodsThis study included 66 participants (Mage = 22.53 years; SD = 2.21) with moderate GAD symptoms that were randomized to the standard CBT group (CBTs; N = 32) and the Integrative and Multimodal CBT augmented with VR (IM-VRCBT; N = 34) group. The interventions comprised 10 weekly sessions conducted by trained CBT therapists, including cognitive restructuring, problem-solving, behavioral exposure, and relaxation techniques. Baseline and post-assessments were conducted with both groups. Primary outcome measures included the Hamilton Anxiety Rating Scale (HARS) and Penn-State Worry Questionnaire (PSWQ) to evaluate the severity of GAD symptoms and worries, respectively. Secondary outcomes involved the administration of Automatic Thoughts Questionnaire (ATQ), Dysfunctional Attitudes Scale (DAS) and Unconditional Self-Acceptance Questionnaire (USAQ).ResultsBoth interventions determined statistically significant effects on both primary and secondary outcomes (ps < 0.001) in the expected direction. However, CBTs was associated with higher effect sizes for anxiety (Cohen’s d = 2.76) and worries (Cohen’s d = 1.85), in contrast to IM-VRCBT. Also, secondary analyses revealed positive correlations between changes in anxiety and worries level and the reduction of dysfunctional cognitive processes.ConclusionThis research emphasized the effectiveness of CBT interventions for treating adults with moderate GAD symptomatology. Specifically, both interventions were efficient for reducing anxiety symptomatology present at individuals with GAD. However, regarding cognitive dysfunctions like worries, the standard CBT protocol performed better, as compared to the IM-VRCBT. In addition, we conclude that VR could be integrated within CBT interventions in a single protocol for GAD treatment.

Coping Mechanisms and Emotional Distress for Young People and Adults in Pandemic Context

The COVID-19 pandemic context put to test all adaptive skills of human beings around the world. In this disruptive context, a sample of 401 respondents (173 male and 228 female), aged between 19 and 65 years old, were assessed using the Unconditional Self-Acceptance Questionnaire (USAQ), the Cognitive Emotion Regulation Questionnaire (CERQ), the Emotional Distress Profile (PDE) and the Autonomy Questionnaire, from Cognitrom Assessment System. The main objectives of the study aimed at identifying the significant differences in emotional distress, coping mechanisms, autonomy and self-acceptance based on gender and age as grouping variables, and the significant relationships between all these variables. Statistics show differences in behavioural and emotional autonomy between male and female, differences related to catastrophizing and blaming others as resilience mechanisms between male and female, differences in self-acceptance and positive assessment (as coping mechanism) between young people and adults, and significant negative correlations between emotional distress and all types of autonomy (value, cognitive, behavioural and emotional), significant positive correlation with coping mechanisms like blaming others, catastrophizing, self-blame and acceptance, and significant negative correlation with positive assessment and refocusing on planning. All results are discussed in the context of the disruption caused by the pandemic context and in relationship with the necessity of supporting people to maintain their mental health and well-being, now more than ever, with the new turning back to the previous way of life caused by the lifting of the state of alert by the authorities.

Can We Boost Treatment Adherence to an Online Transdiagnostic Intervention by Adding Self-Enhancement Strategies? Results From a Randomized Controlled Non-inferiority Trial.

Background: Internet-delivered psychotherapy represents an impactful large-scale solution for addressing psychological disorders. In spite of its flexibility and scalability, the fact that the ones in need have to initiate and sustain the curse of the treatment by themselves comes with considerable downsides in terms of treatment adherence. One solution could be to increase the ease of use and attractivity of the strategies and assignments from such programs. The present study aims to address this issue by incorporating a series of self-oriented strategies to the validated internet-delivered short version of the Unified Protocol (UP). By this mean we intend to complement the symptom-focused assignments, which may be more suitable in a therapist assisted context, with ones designed for self-enhancement, which may be easier approached as self-initiated. Based on a randomized controlled non-inferiority trial we compared the modified version of the UP with the standard short version.Method: The trial design was factorial, with two parallel arms and three measurement moments (baseline, post-intervention and 6-months follow-up). A total of 284 participants were randomly assigned to the intervention or the active control groups. The intervention group (baseline n = 142) received the self-enhanced nine modules of the UP (Self-enhanced 9UP) while the active control (baseline n = 142) received the standard nine modules (9UP). The newly added techniques were inspired by the acceptance and commitment therapy and were specific for self-concepts such as self-compassion or unconditional self-acceptance. Both programs lasted for 9 weeks. The non-inferiority of the Self-enhanced 9UP was tested against a margin of d = −0.35, on the following primary outcome measures: Patient Health Questionnaire 9 (PHQ9) – operationalization for depression; Generalized Anxiety Disorder 7 (GAD7) – operationalization for generalized anxiety or worry; Social Phobia Inventory (SPIN) – operationalization for social phobia; and Panic Disorder Severity Scale-Self Report (PDSS-SR) – that showed participants’ level of panic. Treatment adherence was assessed through the drop-out analyses and the engagement in completing the homework assignments. Secondary outcome measures included several self-concept measures: Self-Compassion Scale (SCS); Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (RSES); Unconditional Self-Acceptance Questionnaire (USAQ); New General Self-Efficacy Scale (NGSE); and Self-Concept Clarity Scale (SCCS). On the secondary outcomes we explored the potential boost of effectiveness produced by the newly added self-enhancement components.Results: The dropout rates were similar in both groups (approximately 45%) and high overall. Adherence to treatment assignments was also modest and similar between groups (on average participants completed approximately half of the tasks), without a statistically significant bias toward the self-enhancement ones. Overall, both the intention-to-treat and completers analyses yielded no significant group by time interactions for any of the post-intervention and follow-up measurements, but a few non-inferiority analyses suggested that the Self-enhanced 9UP had a significantly weaker effectiveness than the standard 9UP. Within-group analyses showed significant alleviations on all the primary and secondary outcomes for both groups. The effect size estimates were mainly medium and high, and their magnitude tended to be kept also at 6-months follow-up.Discussion: We failed to increase treatment adherence, but we found support with some exceptions, for the non-inferiority hypothesis. Hence, the alterations performed to the 9UP protocol, although they did not boost the treatment attractiveness, they also did not decrease the treatment effectiveness as suggested by most non-inferiority analyses. Likewise, the gain on self-concepts was produced by both groups. Hence, the short version of the UP seems to have the potential of effectively alleviating a larger palette of psychological variables associated with mental health symptoms than previously known. Even though our main objective was only partially achieved, these secondary results are insightful and could open new avenues of research.Clinical Trial Registration: This trial has been registered at ClinicalTrials.Gov (NCT03917550; 17 April 2019; https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT03917550).

An Analysis of Psycho-cognitive Factors in Relation to Postpartum Depression and Anxiety in Women with and without Changes in Body Weight

The aim of this study is firstly to analyze the differences in postpartum self-acceptance, patterns of beliefs (rationality) and perfectionism in women with and without changes in body weight and secondly to identify the relationships among self-acceptance, rationality, and perfectionism on the one hand and postpartum depression and anxiety on the other hand. The study involved 123 women, newly mothers, aged between 20 and 46 years, M = 32.29, SD = 6.56. The instruments used were Unconditional Self-Acceptance Questionnaire, Inventory of Ideas II, Frost Multidimensional Perfectionism Scale, Hamilton Depression Scale, and Inventory of State-Trait Anxiety. The results showed that the level of rationality and self-acceptance was lower in women with higher body weight, while the level of perfectionism was higher in same tier. At the same time, the results obtained by regression and mediation analyzes showed that self-acceptance is negatively associated with both depression and anxiety, rationality is also negatively associated with both depression and anxiety, and perfectionism mediates the relationship between rationality and depression, but not the relationship between rationality and anxiety. The conclusions of the study highlighted the women’s need for support to regain their pre-pregnancy emotional balance and well-being.

Why students tend to compare themselves with each other? The role of mattering and unconditional self-acceptance

&lt;span lang="EN-US"&gt;Previous studies suggested that university students who are not able to accept themselves tend to develop negative tendency to compare themselves with each other. This study aimed to investigate the role of unconditional self-acceptance (USA) in explaining the association between mattering and social comparison among Malaysian undergraduate students. &lt;/span&gt;&lt;span lang="EN-US"&gt;Three hundred and seventy &lt;/span&gt;&lt;span lang="EN-US"&gt;undergraduate students were recruited and asked to complete an online version of Unconditional Self-Acceptance questionnaire, Iowa-Netherlands Comparison Orientation Measure and University Mattering Scale. Data analysis was conducted by employing Bootstrap Method with 95% confidence interval and 5000 sampling. The result showed that USA partially mediated the relationship between mattering and social comparison. Mattering and USA were identified as robust protective factors of social comparison among university students.&lt;/span&gt;

Psychometric characteristics of a Serbian translation of the unconditional self-acceptance questionnaire and the development of a short form

The Unconditional Self-Acceptance Questionnaire is extensively used in the assessment of one?s ability to evaluate their skills, actions, thoughts, and feelings, without a generalized evaluation of one?s worth or value. However, it has often been criticized for being contaminated with self-esteem items and, hence, theoretically incongruent. We evaluated the psychometric properties of the instrument and provided the first validation of the short Serbian adaptation of the USAQ. In Study 1 (n = 288), we examined the latent structure of the original USAQ translated to the Serbian language and found a three-factor solution, consisting of Conditional Self-Acceptance, Unconditional Self-Acceptance, and Attitudes About Human Worth. In Study 2 (n = 354), we sought to validate the shorter version of the scale. The twofactor solution, comprising Unconditional and Conditional Self-Acceptance, explained 51 % of the variance. Re-testing the two-factor structure on a different sample, the CFA revealed satisfactory fit indices. Apart from good internal consistency, the shortened scale showed comparable associations with appropriate convergent and discriminant constructs (e.g., explicit self-esteem, positive and negative state/trait affectivity, and the states of anxiety and depression), supporting the construct validity of the Serbian version. Further implications for research and therapeutic practice are discussed.

When is Unconditional Self-Acceptance a Better Predictor of Mental Health than Self-Esteem?

In REBT, self-esteem (SE) is seen as detrimental to mental health, in comparison to more adaptive construct—unconditional self-acceptance (USA). USA represents an absence of the person`s tendency to globally evaluate his/her self-worth or ability to fully accept his/herself, regardless of the particular outcome of his/her behavior (Ellis in Reason and emotion in psychotherapy: revised and updated, Carol Publishing Group, New York, 1994). Still, in empirical studies, USA and SE often correlate moderately, while SE correlates with positive outcomes in mental health measures, sometimes more than USA (Popov et al. in J Evid Based Psychother 15(2):219–236, 2015). This study aimed to compare USA and SE as predictors of mental health when positive and negative affectivity traits are included in the same model. Indicators of mental health were subjective well-being, a state of positive and negative affect, and state of anxiety and depression. The sample consisted of 268 university students. The following instruments were used: Big five plus two (Smederevac et al. in Velikih pet plus dva: Primena i nterpretacija [Big Five Plus Two: Manual for administration and interpretation], Centar za primenjenu psihologiju, Beograd, 2010), Unconditional Self-Acceptance Questionnaire (Chamberlain and Haaga in J Ration Emot Cogn Behav Ther 19:177–189, 2001a). The Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (Rosenberg in Society and the adolescent self-image, Princeton University Press, Princeton, 1965), Short subjective well-being scale (Jovanovic in Primenjena psihologija 3(2):175–190, 2010), Serbian Inventory of Affect based on the Positive and Negative Affect Schedule-X (Novovic and Mihic 2008), Anxiety Scale (Lovibond and Lovibond in Behav Res Ther 33:335–343, 1995), The State Depression Scale (Novovic et al., in: Biro, Smederevac, Novovic (eds) Procena psiholoskih i psihopatoloskih fenomena, Centar za primenjenu psihologiju, Beograd, pp 19–28, 2009). To test the predictive power of USA in comparison with SE, a series of linear regression analyses were conducted. The results showed that besides affectivity traits, USA has significant contribution to the prediction of mental health indicators, unlike SE.

Mediating effect of academic achievement between self-acceptance and career adaptability among nursing undergraduates

Objective To explore the influence of self-acceptance and academic achievement on career adaptability, and the mediating effect of academic achievement between self-acceptance and career adaptability among nursing undergraduates. Methods In September 2017, we selected 281 nursing undergraduates from Grade 1 to 3 of School of Nursing at China Medical University as subjects by convenience sampling. All of the patients were investigated with the College Students' Career Adaptability Questionnaire (CSCAQ) , Unconditional Self-acceptance Questionnaire (USAQ) and Academic Achievement Scale. Results The average score of CSCAQ, USAQ and academic achievement scale of nursing undergraduates were (3.70±0.39) , (3.64±0.51) and (3.51±0.46) respectively. Nursing undergraduates' career adaptability had positive correlations with self-acceptance and academic achievement (r=0.395, 0.382; P<0.05) . Three-step mediating regression analysis showed academic achievement played a partial mediating effect in the influence of self-acceptance on career adaptability with a significant mediating effect (P<0.01) . The mediating effect accounted for 27.94% of the total effect. Conclusions Nursing undergraduates' academic achievement has effects on their career adaptability. Their self-acceptance not only has effects on career adaptability directly, but also has effects on career adaptability by the mediating effect of academic achievement indirectly. Key words: Students, nursing; Education, medical, undergraduate; Self-acceptance; Academic achievement; Career adaptability

Empirical Investigation of the Relationships Between Irrationality, Self-Acceptance, and Dispositional Forgiveness

Milburn (J Ration Emot Cogn Behav Ther 33:325–340, 2015) recently suggested a theoretical link between REBT and forgiving, proposing that irrational beliefs, particularly demandingness and global evaluations of human worth, play a role in lack of forgiveness. The present study investigated a quantitative link between the concepts of irrationality, self-acceptance, and dispositional forgiveness. Four-hundred and thirty-three participants (70% female) participated in a 69-item online survey combining four previously validated scales: Shortened General Attitude and Belief Scale; Heartland Forgiveness Scale; Unconditional Self-Acceptance Questionnaire; and the Transgression Narrative Test of Forgivingness—(with revised response-options). Results indicated moderate and strong negative correlations between irrationality and dispositional forgiveness. Conversely, unconditional self-acceptance was significantly positively correlated with dispositional forgiveness. Regression analyses indicated that subtypes of irrationality and self-acceptance could predict dispositional forgiveness of self, other, and situation. No significant differences were found between sexes. These findings add empirical support to the hypotheses made by Milburn, suggesting that holding irrational beliefs impedes the process of forgiving, and one’s level of self-acceptance predicts one’s disposition to forgive.

Bezuvjetno samoprihvaćanje i mentalno zdravlje u eksperimentalnom ego- provocirajućem kontekstu

Although it is one of the central concepts of Rational Emotive Behavioral Therapy (REBT), unconditional self-acceptance has not been sufficiently empirically examined, especially not experimentally. Therefore, the aim of this study was to examine the effects of unconditional self-acceptance on mental health indicators in an egoprovoking experimental situation. For a sample of 182 students, we simulated the situation of public speaking. After the simulation, participants were given previously prepared and randomly assigned positive, neutral and negative feedback. We used the Unconditional Self-Acceptance Questionnaire (USAQ: Chamberlain &amp; Haaga, 2001), Serbian Inventory of Affect based on PANAS-X (SIAB-PANAS: Novović &amp; Mihić, 2008), Anxiety subscale (DASS-42: Lovibond &amp; Lovibond, 1995), State Depression Scale (SD: Novović, Biro &amp; Nedimović, 2009) and Situational Attributional Style constructed for the purpose of this study (according to Peterson &amp; Seligman, 1984). Data were collected during the winter semester 2013/2014 at the University of Novi Sad. In the case of anxiety and depression as outcome variables (posttest measures), the analysis of covariance revealed a significant three-way interaction between the level of unconditional self-acceptance, the type of feedback and the satisfaction with feedback. On the other hand, the same predictors did not influence the measures of positive and negative affect. Various expectations from the feedback, as well as the feedback, provoke a certain self-assessment. Different pattern of effects in case of different outcome variables is in accordance with REBT theory. Keywords: unconditional self-acceptance, feedback, anxiety, depression

Feelings of control, unconditional self-acceptance and maternal self-esteem in women who had delivered by caesarean

Objective: the objective of this study is to establish a greater understanding of the emotional and cognitive mechanisms associated with caesarean delivery. Method: 201 women who had given birth in the previous year (58 by caesarean) responded to 3 scales: the Labor Agentry Scale (LAS) evaluating sense of control during the delivery, the Maternal Self Report Inventory (MSRI) measuring the level of maternal self-esteem and the Unconditional Self-Acceptance Questionnaire (USAQ) assessing the degree of unconditional self-acceptance. Results: women who had undergone a planned or an emergency caesarean had a lower sense of control and reduced maternal self-esteem when compared to women who had spontaneous vaginal delivery. The sense of control at the delivery had a mediating role in the relationship between the delivery mode and the level of maternal self-esteem. No significant difference was found for unconditional self-acceptance concerning the type of delivery. Conclusions: delivery by caesarean has repercussions regarding women’s beliefs. Giving a sense of control at the birth and unconditional self-acceptance should be of central importance in improving maternal self-esteem.

Anxiety, automatic negative thoughts, and unconditional self-acceptance in rheumatoid arthritis: a preliminary study.

Objectives. This research was carried out in two stages: the objectives of the first stage were (1) to identify the existing relationships between the level of anxiety, the frequency of automatic negative thoughts, and unconditional self-acceptance and (2) to capture the existing differences regarding these variables between people diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis and those with no such medical history. Methods. The sample made up of 50 subjects filled out the following three questionnaires: the Hamilton Anxiety Scale, the Automatic Thoughts Questionnaire, and the Unconditional Self-Acceptance Questionnaire. Results. Psychological anxiety is positively correlated with automatic negative thoughts, while unconditional self-acceptance is negatively correlated with both psychological anxiety and somatic anxiety as well as with automatic negative thoughts. All studied variables were significantly different in rheumatoid arthritis as compared to the control population. Conclusions. The results showed the presence to a greater extent of anxiety and automatic negative thoughts, along with reduced unconditional self-acceptance among people with rheumatoid arthritis. Intervention on these variables through support and counseling can lead to reducing anxiety and depression, to altering the coping styles, and, implicitly, to improving the patients' quality of life.

The Relationship of a Measure of Frustration Intolerance with Emotional Dysfunction in a Student Sample

This study extended earlier research (Harrington in Cong Ther Res 30:699–709, 2006) on the relationship of the multidimensional Frustration Discomfort Scale (FDS) with measures of depressed mood, anxiety and anger, independent of self-esteem. The study employed a non-clinical student sample (N = 323) and measures of both state and trait anger and anxiety. In addition, the Unconditional Self-Acceptance Questionnaire (USAQ) was also used to specifically assess REBT self-acceptance beliefs regarding self-worth, as well as a measure of self-esteem. A Serbian version of the FDS was developed for use in the study. Consistent with the earlier research, significant predictive relationships were found, whilst controlling for self-worth, between entitlement and anger, emotional intolerance and anxiety, and discomfort intolerance with depressed mood. Emotional intolerance also proved to be a significant positive predictor of depression, whilst achievement frustration had a negative relationship with depression. Overall, the FDS dimensions had a weaker relationship with emotional states than traits. The results are discussed in regard to the relationship between FDS dimensions and dysfunctional emotions in a non-clinical sample.

The Effect of Perfectionism and Unconditional Self-acceptance on Depression

The study examined the relationships between perfectionism, unconditional self-acceptance and depression. The non-clinical sample comprised 134 participants, each of whom completed a battery of questionnaires, including the Unconditional Self-Acceptance Questionnaire (USAQ), the Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Inventory (CES-D) and several measures of perfectionism. Significant levels of association were found between all measures, and support was provided for the concept of perfectionism as having a neutral core, distinguishable from its consequences, and for the theory that it is the negative consequences of perfectionism, rather than perfectionism per se, that lead to depression. Path Analysis provided support for the mediator model proposed by Flett et al. [Flett, G. L., Besser, A., Davis, R. A., Hewitt, P. L. (2003). Journal of Rational-Emotive & Cognitive-Behavior Therapy, 21, 119–138], in which unconditional self-acceptance mediates the effect of socially prescribed perfectionism on depression, and for a more generic model, in which the core construct of perfectionism can have negative consequences, which lead to low levels of unconditional self-acceptance, and thence to depression. Finally, a distinction was drawn between developmental and operational models of perfectionism.