Qigong is a therapeutic Chinese practice that has been used for thousands of years to optimize and restore energy (Qi) to the body, mind, and spirit. Elements of Taoist and Buddhist philosophies form the foundation of Qigong, which promotes health and vitality through gentle exercises for the breath, body, mind, and the voice. One component of Qigong is T'ai Chi, an exercise modality that uses gentle movements. Research has demonstrated that Qigong and T'ai Chi have beneficial effects on the body and that these are becoming popular holistic modalities in the United States. Nurses should understand the philosophy, concepts, and elements of Qigong and T'ai Chi so that they can guide patients to the benefits of this ancient art and science.
The current study tested predictions that well-being and mindfulness are positively associated with sleep quality and with a morning circadian preference. A model was also tested wherein mindfulness directly predicts well-being and indirectly predicts well-being through improved sleep quality. Results from a sample of 305 undergraduates revealed positive associations among measures of emotional, psychological, and social well-being, mindfulness, sleep quality, and morningness. A path analysis yielded support for mindfulness as a direct predictor of well-being and for mindfulness as an indirect predictor of well-being, mediated by sleep quality. Results are considered in terms of additional plausible relationships between mental health and sleep, and in terms of suggestions for future work.
Mindfulness is often part of treatment for non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI); however, there has been limited research examining the role of mindfulness in NSSI. Thus, the current study sought to investigate the relationship among mindfulness, depressive symptoms, and NSSI (past year) in adolescents (N = 764; 56.8% female, M age = 14.42, SD = 0.64) with consideration of gender. Adolescents with recent NSSI (n = 74; 83.8% female, M age = 14.36, SD = 0.56) and a matched for age and gender no-NSSI group completed measures of mindfulness and depression. Findings revealed that mindfulness and depressive symptoms were negatively correlated, although significantly less so for the NSSI group. Second, the NSSI group reported greater depressive symptoms and less mindfulness. Finally, mindfulness was found to partially mediate the effect of depressive symptoms on NSSI. The present study is the first to provide empirical support for the protective role of mindfulness in NSSI.
Psychoneuroimmunology is a framework for mind–body practice and research that combines cutting-edge scientific exploration with holistic philosophy to appreciate and understand stress responses. The rapidly growing research literature provides a foundation for building an integrative stress management model with the potential to positively influence the stress–disease relationship and, ultimately, health outcomes. This article introduces a novel tai chi intervention and provides quantitative and qualitative data from a randomized clinical trial indicating its effects on psychosocial variables in individuals living with various stages of HIV disease.
The aims of this study were to investigate whether and how teachers' perceptions of social-emotional learning and climate in their schools influenced three outcome variables--teachers' sense of stress, teaching efficacy, and job satisfaction--and to examine the interrelationships among the three outcome variables. Along with sense of job satisfaction and teaching efficacy, two types of stress (workload and student behavior stress) were examined. The sample included 664 elementary and secondary school teachers from British Columbia and Ontario, Canada. Participants completed an online questionnaire about the teacher outcomes, perceived school climate, and beliefs about social-emotional learning (SEL). Structural equation modeling was used to examine an explanatory model of the variables. Of the 2 SEL beliefs examined, teachers' comfort in implementing SEL had the most powerful impact. Of the 4 school climate factors examined, teachers' perceptions of students' motivation and behavior had the most powerful impact. Both of these variables significantly predicted sense of stress, teaching efficacy, and job satisfaction among the participants. Among the outcome variables, perceived stress related to students' behavior was negatively associated with sense of teaching efficacy. In addition, perceived stress related to workload and sense of teaching efficacy were directly related to sense of job satisfaction. Greater detail about these and other key findings, as well as implications for research and practice, are discussed. (Contains 5 tables and 2 figures.)
This chapter explores three context and education system factors that are implicated in educators’ experiences of stress in the workplace: occupational support, interpersonal relationships, and educational policy changes. More precisely, the first factor concerns occupational support provided to educators to conduct their work with a specific focus on principals’ provision of autonomy support. Autonomy support stems from self-determination theory and refers to the extent to which an authority figure supports individuals’ self-determination in a particular context. The second factor concerns the relational context of teaching with a focus on educators’ relationships with students and colleagues. The third factor concerns the impact of systemic factors in educational policy. For this, we have focused on the impacts of standardized testing and educational innovations. Together, the three overarching factors represent defining features of school and educational systems that shape educators’ work and their experiences of stress in that environment. Overall, our aim is to broaden understanding of the role that schools and educational systems play in educators’ psychological functioning at work.
This text on the social and emotional development of gifted children includes the following 24 papers: (1) "Effects of Acceleration on Gifted Learners" (Karen Rogers); (2) "Peer Pressures and Social Acceptance of Gifted Students" (Sylvia Rimm); (3) "Social and Emotional Issues for Exceptional Intellectually Gifted Students" (Miraca Gross); (4) "Asynchronous Development" (Linda Silverman); (5) "Affect Regulation and the Gifted" (Margaret Keiley); (6) "The Application of Dabrowski's Theory to the Gifted" (Kevin O'Connor); (7) "Individual Differences in Gifted Students' Attributions for Academic Performances" (Nancy Robinson); (8) "Perfectionism in Gifted Children and Adolescents" (Patricia Schuler); (9) "Underachievement in Gifted Students" (Sally Reis and D. Betsy McCoach); (10)"Gifted Children and Depression" (Maureen Neihart); (11) "Delinquency and Gifted Children" (Maureen Neihart); (12) "Risk and Resilience in Gifted Children: A Conceptual Framework" (Maureen Neihart);(13) "Gifted Females in Elementary and Secondary School" (Sally Reis); (14) "Gifted Males" (Thomas Hebert); (15) "Gifted Students Who Are Gay, Lesbian, or Bisexual" (Sanford Cohn); (16) "Racial Identity among Gifted African American Students" (Donna Ford); (17) "Creatively Gifted Children" (Maureen Neihart and F. Richard Olenchak); (18) "Gifted Students with Learning Disabilities" (F. Richard Olenchak and Sally Reis); (19) "Gifted Children with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder" (Sidney Moon); (20) "Parenting Practices That Promote Talent Development, Creativity, and Optimal Adjustment" (Paula Olszewski-Kubilius); (21) "Counseling Needs and Strategies" (Sidney Moon); (22) "Career Counseling for Gifted and Talented Students" (Meredith Greene); (23) "Promoting a Positive Achievement Attitude with Gifted and Talented Students" (Del Siegle and D. Betsy McCoach); and (24) "Models and Strategies for Counseling, Guidance, and Social and Emotional Support of Gifted and Talented Students" (Sally Reis and Sidney Moon). A final chapter by the book's editors is "Social and Emotional Issues: What Have We Learned and What Should We Do Now?" (Individual chapters contain references.) (DB)
The study investigated how social and emotional learning (SEL) is reflected in the attitudes, beliefs, and practices of itinerant teachers of the deaf and hard of hearing (ITDHHs). A mixed-methods approach was taken to survey 53 ITDHHs about their comfort with teaching SEL, commitment to ongoing professional development in SEL skills, and perceptions of SEL in school cultures. Follow-up interviews with 11 ITDHHs provided a deeper perspective on how these teachers prioritize and teach SEL skills within their unique teaching role. Overall, the findings revealed that ITDHHs overwhelmingly recognized the need to provide SEL support to their students, and very often provided direct teaching of SEL skills. However, they did not necessarily feel adequately prepared, nor supported by their schools, in terms of teaching SEL. Implications of the findings for professional preparation and practice are discussed.
<p>The author argues that accounts of fertility variations across cultures increasingly have come to be formulated in terms of the relative value of children to their parents. This value has been examined in diverse spheres of life and in different social environments, principally by economists and psychologists who are interested in identifying and measuring specific benefits and costs entailed. The author believes that one of the factors hindering the development of a more flexible, cross-culturally appropriate methodology has been narrow conceptions of "the family". This article considers this problem with reference to one group in northwestern Nepal. The article studies the "Nyinba", their economic and social structure and their demographic regime. (Rajeev Ranjan Singh 2007-01-24)</p>
Social and emotional learning (SEL) is critical to the success of students of all ages--and for educators across all stages of the career continuum. Because SEL skills take time to develop and mature, they should be part of the content addressed in teacher preparation programs, beginning teacher support, and ongoing teacher professional learning. However, training and support for SEL are rare at all of these levels. One powerful way to create effective and meaningful SEL learning across the teacher professional development continuum is through a university-district partnership. This is the approach taken by the Center for Reaching & Teaching the Whole Child together with San José State University and Sunnyvale School District in California. These three partners use student teacher placements to build SEL capacity in two generations of teachers simultaneously. They lead professional learning with cooperating teachers--district teachers who serve as supervisors for teacher candidates' student teaching experiences. Feedback suggests that participants consider the approach helpful in developing an understanding of and competence in SEL.
<p>The article surveys webs of dependence in rural Nepal and discusses debt, poverty, and depopulation in the far northwest. The article states that serious indebtedness among Nepal's rural peasantry has been identified and has been the focus of periodic reforms since the time of King Prithvi Narayan Shah. Despite this, indebtedness remains a pervasive and unresolved problem throughout the country. Chronic debt is aggravated by exorbitant rates of interest and consumes limited household budgets already strained by low and often declining productivity in traditional agriculture. Thus debt may remain one of the fundamental economic problems in remote hill districts of Nepal. This article derives from a study of indebtedness in six villages of Humla district, and some of its findings may counter existing presumptions about debt in traditional rural villages of Nepal. (Rajeev Ranjan Singh 2007-02-11)</p>
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