Mariachiara Rapuano, Francesco Ruotolo, Loreta Cannito
et al.
In the study of person-environment interaction, a well-established research field provided evidence on the power of natural environments and natural built spaces to improve human well-being. However, urban life or certain health conditions may make access to natural environments more difficult. This begs the question: is it possible to replicate the positive effects of green environments in interior spaces? To answer the question, here we manipulated the acoustic and visual features of five rooms to have nature-inspired indoor environments and urban-like indoor environments. To test the effect of these environmental features on people’s well-being two measures were taken into account: participants’ emotional state and participants’ physiological states (i.e., electrodermal activity levels). The results showed that nature-inspired rooms evoked more positive emotional states and led to decreased levels of electrodermal activity (i.e., relaxation) in participants. The findings align with so-called <i>biophilia interior design</i>, a practical perspective focused on the importance of bringing nature (e.g., colours and materiality) into built environments for optimising people’s health and well-being.
This grounded theory study investigated the difference that goal content makes in trust in one-to-one workplace coaching. It explored the experiences of Eleven participants (coaches=8, coachees=3), through Fourteen online semi-structured interviews. Three superordinate themes were identified: 1) “Different kinds of trust”, 2) “The strange triangle of trust”, and 3) “As I got to know them”. Novel findings suggest that the formation and function of trust may vary depending on goal content, including in relation to time and context. Implications include improving coach training and recruitment as well as coaching research through the inclusion of goal content data.
Special aspects of education, Industrial psychology
Michiel Frederick Coetzer, Mark Bussin, Madelyn Geldenhuys
The aim of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of a servant leadership development intervention. A one-group pre-test and post-test experimental design was applied to evaluate servant leadership behavior before and after a servant leadership intervention. A sample of 44 managers was drawn from a construction company in South Africa. The results showed that the servant leadership intervention significantly enhanced servant leadership behavior, particularly in terms of empowerment, stewardship, and forgiveness. Managers who participated in the servant leadership intervention exhibited more servant leadership behavior after the intervention, specifically in terms of empowerment, stewardship, and forgiveness. However, humility, courage, authenticity, standing back, and accountability appeared to remain stable, with no observed changes. The findings highlighted that servant leadership competencies, such as empowerment, stewardship, and forgiveness, could be enhanced by short-term and one-time interventions, whereas servant leadership traits, such as humility, courage, authenticity, standing back, and accountability, may require more continuous and alternative intervention approaches over the long term to improve. The servant leadership intervention evaluated in this study can be used as an effective method to enhance servant leadership behavior and cultivate servant leadership cultures within organizations. In return, organizations can benefit from the favorable individual and organizational outcomes that servant leadership offers. As one of the preliminary validation studies of a servant leadership intervention, this study makes a theoretical contribution to the existing body of knowledge on servant leadership by presenting empirical evidence that servant leadership behavior can be cultivated through targeted interventions. The findings endorse the theoretical premise that servant leadership is not exclusively a trait-based theory, but that it can be fostered through experiential and organizational development initiatives.
Political institutions and public administration (General)
Luque-Reca O, Marchena-Giráldez C, Carbonell-Colomer M
et al.
Octavio Luque-Reca,1 Carlos Marchena-Giráldez,2 Myriam Carbonell-Colomer,2 Christa Bewernick,3 Elena Bernabéu-Brotóns2 1Department of Psychology, Universidad Rey Juan Carlos, Madrid, Spain; 2Faculty of Education and Psychology, Universidad Francisco de Vitoria, Pozuelo de Alarcón, Spain; 3Master’s School of Psycho-Oncology and Palliative Care, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Madrid, SpainCorrespondence: Elena Bernabéu-Brotóns, Facultad de Educación y Psicología, Universidad Francisco de Vitoria, Ctra. Pozuelo-Majadahonda, km 1.8, 28223, Pozuelo de Alarcón, Madrid, Spain, Email e.bernabeu.prof@ufv.esPurpose: Addressing the complex pattern of digital behaviors and interactions among youth, this research introduces a novel comprehensive scale, the Problematic Smartphone and Social Network Use Scale (PSSNUS), meticulously developed and validated across five studies.Methods: Using a mixed-methods approach across five stages, including focus groups (Study 1; n = 31), cognitive interviews (Study 2; n = 16), exploratory factor analysis (Study 3; n = 316), and expert panel (Study 4; n = 4), this procedure reduced 58 initial items to an 18-item scale. Subsequently, a confirmatory factor analysis and further analyses (Study 5; n = 355) examined the factorial structure’s replicability, reliability, and validity of the scale.Results: The PSSNUS manifested as a reliable (ω ranging 0.70– 0.89) instrument, comprising a structure with five key factors (x2 = 173.994, df = 125, p = 0.002, CFI = 0.994, CFI = 0.993, SRMR = 0.039, and RMSEA = 0.027) that capture both individual and social aspects of this construct: Psychological dependence (PD), Online interaction preference (OIP), Digital recognition desire (DRD), Social networks control seeking (SNCS), and Productivity loss (PL). Minor gender differences in both the DRD factor and in the overall score were found, with females scoring higher. The PSSNUS showed convergent and divergent validity through significant but modest correlations with daily smartphone usage hours, procrastination, emotional intelligence and mental health symptomatology (anxiety, depression and stress). This measure further exhibited incremental validity, controlling for other possible predictors, regarding anxiety, depression, and stress (6.5, 11.5 and 7.5% of additional variance explained), highlighting the DRD dimension’s unique predictive power.Conclusion: Emerging as a solid instrument, the PSSNUS broadens the concept of problematic smartphone use among young Spaniards to include social functioning aspects, serving as an interesting tool for those aiming to explore further the adverse influence of digital media on youth.Keywords: psychometric properties, assessment tool, mobile usage patterns, social media, multidimensional scale, mixed methods
Michaela Augustin, Anne Sophie Wenzel, Maria Licata-Dandel
et al.
Background: There is a lack of evidence-based app guidance for parents of children with crying, sleeping, and feeding problems who are often highly burdened and not likely to seek professional help. A new psychoeducational app for parents providing scientifically sound information via text and videos, a diary function, selfcare strategies, a chat forum and a regional directory of specialized counseling centers may serve as a low-threshold intervention for this target group. Objective: We investigated how parents perceived the app in terms of the following: (1) overall impression and usability, (2) feedback on specific app functions regarding usefulness and (3) possible future improvements. Methods: Our clinical sample of N = 137 parents of children aged from 0 to 24 months was recruited from a cry baby outpatient clinic in Southern Germany between 2019 and 2022. A convergent parallel mixed methods design was used to collect and analyse cross-sectional data on app evaluation. After app use within the framework of a clinical trial, parents filled in an app evaluation questionnaire. Results: Most participants used the app at least once a week (86, 62.8 %) over an average period of 19.06 days (SD = 15.00). Participants rated overall impression and usability as good, and the informational texts, expert videos and regional register of counseling centers as appealing and useful. The diary function and chat forum were found to be helpful in theory, but improvements in implementation were requested, such as a timer function for the diary entry. Regarding future functionality, parents posed several suggestions such as the option to contact counseling centers directly via app, and the inclusion of the profile of their partners. Conclusions: Positive ratings of overall impression, usability, and specific app functions are important prerequisites for the app to be effective. App-based guidance for this target group should include easy-to-use information. The app is intended to serve as a secondary preventive low-threshold offer and to complement professional counseling.
Safety behavior in the workplace encompasses a broad range of psychological, sociocultural, organizational, and technological factors that influence individual behavior. The aim of this bibliometric review was to explore the conceptual evolution of the safe behavior construct and research trends in the area, based on longitudinal mapping. A total of 4,326 articles extracted from the Scopus database were analyzed. A descriptive analysis and mapping of the intellectual structure were conducted over 65 years in three temporal periods: 1957 to 2000, 2001 to 2011, and 2012 to 2022. The results suggest a significant theoretical and empirical development, especially in the field of construction and healthcare in Brazil. Various thematic interests highlight attitudes towards workplace safety, personal and situational factors, climate, and leadership. Emerging studies stand out for integrating technologies for detecting unsafe behaviors, risk management, behavioral safety, and the development of integrative models for prevention. The conceptual evolution and mapping of theme trends can provide information and opportunities for future studies.
Helin Ma,1 Liang Chen2 1School of Marxism, Southeast University, Nan Jing, 211189, People’s Republic of China; 2School of Marxism, University of Science and Technology Liaoning, Anshan, 114051, People’s Republic of ChinaCorrespondence: Helin Ma; Liang Chen, Email 124186748@qq.com; chenlfly@126.comObjective: The present study explores the relationship between childhood psychological maltreatment and procrastination among college students and the mediating effect of time management disposition.Materials and Methods: The present study surveyed 682 college students from two universities with the Children’s Psychological Maltreatment Scale, Aitken Procrastination Questionnaire, and Adolescence Time Management Disposition Scale.Results: There are significant positive correlations between childhood psychological maltreatment and undergraduates’ procrastination (r = 0.197, p < 0.01), namely, individuals with more severe childhood psychological maltreatment are more likely to procrastinate. Time management disposition negatively correlates with childhood psychological maltreatment (r = − 0.136, p < 0.01) and procrastination (r = − 0.573, p < 0.01). The mediating roles of the time management disposition in the association between childhood psychological maltreatment and undergraduates’ procrastination are significant.Conclusion: Time management disposition plays a mediating role in the relationship between childhood psychological maltreatment and college students’ procrastination behavior.Keywords: childhood psychological maltreatment, time management, procrastination, college students, mediating role
Background: Relatively limited literature is available on lethality assessment for suicide attempts in affective disorders from the Indian subcontinent. Aims: To assess the lethality and its clinical correlates in lifetime suicide attempters with mood disorders. Methods: A total of 100 lifetime suicide attempters, aged ≥18 years, with a DSM-5 diagnosis of bipolar disorder (BD) or major depressive disorder—recurrent (MDD-R) were recruited. Current euthymia was ascertained (Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HAM-D) ≤7; Young Mania Rating Scale (YMRS) ≤4). Assessments were conducted using clinical pro forma, Risk–Rescue Rating Scale (RRRS), Columbia Suicide Severity Rating Scale (C-SSRS) and Barratt's Impulsiveness Scale (BIS). Results: Average age of the sample was 36.32 ± 11.76 years (48% males, 52% females). The mean duration of affective illness was 10.59 ± 8.32 years. Risk–rescue scores for lethality were significantly higher in males (vs females), bipolar disorder (vs unipolar), multiple attempters (vs single) and planned (vs unplanned) attempters. Risk–rescue score also showed a significant positive correlation with lifetime total and depressive episodes, and intensity of ideations, and a significant negative correlation with BIS—attention impulsiveness. Regression analysis [F (3,96) = 12.196, P < 0.001, adjusted R2 = 0.253] found that lifetime lithium prescription, intensity of suicidal ideations and attention impulsiveness explained 25.3% variance in lethality. Conclusion: Absence of lifetime lithium, higher intensity of suicidal ideations and lower attentional impulsiveness predicted higher lethality of suicide attempts. Lethality of suicide attempts was found to be associated with a multitude of clinical factors, notably male gender, bipolarity, multiple attempts, planned attempts and number of total and depressive episodes. Assessment of lethality and its correlates can help to plan strategies towards risk prevention in mood disorders.
The existential psychiatrist Viktor Frankl (1905–1997) lived an extraordinary life. He witnessed and experienced acts of anti-Semitism, persecution, brutality, physical abuse, malnutrition, and emotional humiliation. Ironically, through these experiences, the loss of dignity and the loss of the lives of his wife, parents and brother, his philosophy of human nature, namely, that the search for meaning is the drive behind human behaviour, was moulded. Frankl formulated the basis of his existential approach to psychological practice before World War II (WWII). However, his experiences in the concentration camps confirmed his view that it is through a search for meaning and purpose in life that individuals can endure hardship and suffering. In a sense, Frank’s theory was tested in a dramatic way by the tragedies of his life. Following WWII, Frankl shaped modern psychological thinking by lecturing at more than 200 universities, authoring 40 books published in 50 languages and receiving 29 honorary doctorates. His ideas and experiences related to the search for meaning influenced theorists, practitioners, researchers, and lay people around the world. This study focuses specifically on the period between 1942 and 1945. The aim is to explore Frankl’s search for meaning within an unpredictable, life-threatening, and chaotic context through the lens of his concept of noö-dynamics.
Haydn Washington, John Piccolo, Erik Gomez-Baggethun
et al.
Anthropocentrism in Western (modern industrial) society is dominant, goes back hundreds of years, and can rightly be called ‘hubris’. It removes almost all moral standing from the nonhuman world, seeing it purely as a resource. Here, we discuss the troubling components of anthropocentrism: worldview and ethics; dualisms, valuation and values; a psychology of fear and denial; and the idea of philosophical ‘ownership’. We also question whether it is a truly practical (or ethical) approach. We then discuss three troubling examples of anthropocentrism in conservation: ‘new’ conservation; ecosystem services; and the IPBES values assessment. We conclude that anthropocentrism is fuelling the environmental crisis and accelerating extinction, and urge academia to speak out instead for ecocentrism.
Hsin-Ping Hsu Department of Psychology, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan, TaiwanCorrespondence: Hsin-Ping HsuDepartment of Psychology, National Cheng Kung University, No. 1, University Road, Tainan, 701, TaiwanTel +886-6-2757575#56510Email hphsupsy@mail.ncku.edu.twPurpose: Self-forgiveness requires a cognitive reframing of one’s views of the self. It may be a positive situational strength, and it has been shown that higher levels of self-forgiveness are related to well-being and a specific personality type. However, the concept, per se, and the inner healing process of self-forgiveness are still unclear because of a lack of cultural awareness in this research field. The current research aimed to conduct a conceptual analysis in a collectivist context and create an optional measurement scale for assessing self-forgiveness in a target population.Methods and Results: In Study 1, using multidimensional scaling (MDS), the findings suggested that the conceptual structure of self-forgiveness among Taiwanese participants (N = 232) can be categorized into three dimensions: embodied awareness, positive change, and wisdom growth. The scale was created by using item analysis, factor analysis, hierarchical regression analysis, and correlation analyses in Study 2 (N = 231) and Study 3 (N = 805), the scale was found to have adequate reliability and validity, and the scores correlated with measures of self-control and resilience.Conclusion: The constructs of self-forgiveness among a sample in Taiwan have three basic psychological meanings. The measure designed here is supported by adequate psychometric evidence. Further research will be necessary to increase the understanding of self-forgiveness cross-culturally, provide additional empirical validation and methodological refinement within different target groups, and investigate intra-individual positive strength change for the improvement and practical application of the current measurement tool.Keywords: cultural mind, resilience, positive psychology, self-control, self-forgiveness, well-being
Orientation: Nurses make up 80% of Namibia’s healthcare workforce, and they are considered as the backbone of the industry. Because of the lack of other healthcare providers nurses are exposed to high levels of job stress.
Research purpose: This study investigated how job demands-resources and psychological capital impact general health and burnout of nurses in Oshikoto, Kavango East, Oshana, Omaheke and Khomas regions.
Motivation for the study: Improving the work environment by balancing the relationship between job demands and job resources will result in lower levels of burnout, improved healthcare services, improved employee performance and patient satisfaction.
Research design/approach and method: Using questionnaires, this study investigated the perceptions of nurses within selected regions of Namibia to understand the relationship amongst these variables. The results were analysed using the SPSS (version 24), Pearson’s product–moment correlation and multiple regression analyses.
Main findings: Emotional exhaustion was found to have a positive relationship with general health and workload. Social dysfunction and anxiety and insomnia were found to be significant predictors of cynicism. Anxiety and insomnia, workload and social dysfunction were found to be significant predictors of emotional exhaustion.
Practical/managerial implications: Healthcare sector needs to invest in health education and stress management programmes for nurses on how to take care of their own health and emotional well-being. Providing training and development opportunities and coping strategies increases nurses’ psychological capital, general health, skills and abilities.
Contribution/value-add: This ground breaking study in Namibia will pave the way for future research regarding the health and well-being of health professionals, add to the already existing knowledge within industrial and organisational psychology and guide interventions to improve the health and well-being.