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Family homelessness is associated with adverse outcomes in mothers and their young children. Evidence‐based programs are needed to support the socioemotional needs of these families. The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore the perceived benefits of participating in a mindfulness program in mother–child dyads receiving services at a therapeutic nursery serving homeless children under the age of 3 years. A convenience sample of 17 predominantly African American mothers participated in in‐depth qualitative interviews. Four themes were derived from the data regarding the perceived benefits of the mindfulness program: “me” time, maternal self‐regulation, dyadic connectedness, and child well‐being. Results demonstrate the perceived benefits of mindfulness on the parent–child relationship and have important implications for families at an increased risk of adverse outcomes. Because homelessness and residential instability confer considerable risk for young children, interventions to support effective parenting are critical.

A unique collection of essays that provides theoretical basis for the value of using creative teaching assignments in Medieval and Renaissance history and literature classes and offers a whole toolbox of practical suggestions that allow students to connect course material to their own experiences and help them care more about the material they are seeking to master. First and foremost for teachers of the pre-modern to adapt and use in college courses of all levels, many of the assignments are also adaptable for a high school classroom. In addition, this volume reaches into broader questions of pedagogical methodology, philosophy, and theory. The contributors reflect on the value and necessity of creative teaching and learning, on using non-traditional classroom activities to tether the students to the material in a more intimate, deeper conceived, and often transformative engagement.

A unique collection of essays that provides theoretical basis for the value of using creative teaching assignments in Medieval and Renaissance history and literature classes and offers a whole toolbox of practical suggestions that allow students to connect course material to their own experiences and help them care more about the material they are seeking to master. First and foremost for teachers of the pre-modern to adapt and use in college courses of all levels, many of the assignments are also adaptable for a high school classroom. In addition, this volume reaches into broader questions of pedagogical methodology, philosophy, and theory. The contributors reflect on the value and necessity of creative teaching and learning, on using non-traditional classroom activities to tether the students to the material in a more intimate, deeper conceived, and often transformative engagement.

Despite the vast literature that has implicated asymmetric activation of the prefrontal cortex in approach-withdrawal motivation and emotion, no published reports have directly explored the neural correlates of well-being. Eighty-four right-handed adults (ages 57-60) completed self-report measures of eudaimonic well-being, hedonic well-being, and positive affect prior to resting electroencephalography. As hypothesized, greater left than right superior frontal activation was associated with higher levels of both forms of well-being. Hemisphere-specific analyses documented the importance of goal-directed approach tendencies beyond those captured by approach-related positive affect for eudaimonic but not for hedonic well-being. Appropriately engaging sources of appetitive motivation, characteristic of higher left than right baseline levels of prefrontal activation, may encourage the experience of well-being.
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This chapter reviews theoretical models, empirical research, and treatment outcome literature connecting different constructs of mindfulness and their individual components to the alleviation of anxiety and anxiety disorders. Both theory and research support an inverse relation between anxiety and aspects of trait mindfulness, particularly those tapping nonjudgment, acceptance, and the absence of mindless states. Outcome studies indicate that mindfulness‐based interventions may be effective in the reduction of symptomatology for subclinical anxiety, generalized anxiety disorder, and social anxiety disorder, while outcome literature for other anxiety disorders is scarce to date. Future outcome studies are needed comparing mindfulness‐based interventions to established cognitive behavioral therapies to determine the relative benefits of each. At the same time, further studies should explore connections between mindfulness constructs derived from Eastern influences and social psychology, the benefits of combining mindfulness‐based interventions with established anxiety treatments, the effectiveness of mindfulness in the individual therapy setting, and the mediators of change at work in mindfulness‐based interventions for anxiety.

Efforts to improve the achievement gap between low-income children and their more affluent peers has led to the development of classroom interventions and curricula to increase executive functioning (EF) and social-emotional skills (SE), thought to be foundational for learning. The Second Step Early Learning (SSEL) curriculum is a commercially available curriculum designed to improve school readiness by building EF and SE skills. However, although widely used, it has not been widely studied. Modeling SSEL's underlying theory of change, structural equation modeling (SEM) was used to longitudinally examine the effects of the curriculum on low-income preschool children's kindergarten school readiness through the hypothesized mediating role of EF and SE skills in improving pre-academic skills and task behavior in preschool. In a cluster randomized trial, 972 children attending 63 preschool classrooms within 13 low-income Head Start or community preschools were individually tested at the beginning (T1) and end of preschool (T2, n = 770) and followed into kindergarten (T3, n = 526). Children's average age at T1 was 53 months, with 51% male, 42% Anglo-American, 26% African-American, and 40% Hispanic-American. Children's executive functioning, social skills, pre-literacy/language, and pre-math skills were assessed by trained child assessors blind to study conditions at T1 and T2. Assessors also rated children's task behavior in the testing situation at T1 and T2. School records of children's kindergarten screening scores were obtained on 345 children at T3. It was expected that SSEL would improve children's SE and EF skills, and that these skills would lead to better preschool academic skills and on-task behavior, which in turn would result in better kindergarten readiness. We found no direct effects of SSEL on either pre-academic or on-task behavior outcomes in preschool, or on later kindergarten readiness. However, SSEL significantly increased EF, and as expected by SSEL's theory of change, growth in EF predicted gains in both pre-academics (pre-math and pre-literacy/language skills), and on-task behavior in preschool. End-of-year pre-academic skills and on task behavior in turn predicted better kindergarten readiness. Further, SE (although not impacted by SSEL) had direct and indirect effects on kindergarten readiness. Thus, overall, our findings largely support SSEL's theory of change, particularly in relation to EF.

Longitudinal social network analysis (SNA) was used to examine how a social-emotional learning (SEL) intervention may be associated with peer socialization on academic performance. Fifth graders (N = 631; 48 % girls; 9 to 12 years) were recruited from six elementary schools. Intervention classrooms (14) received a relationship building intervention (RBI) and control classrooms (8) received elementary school as usual. At pre- and post-test, students nominated their friends, and teachers completed assessments of students' writing and math performance. The results of longitudinal SNA suggested that the RBI was associated with friend selection and peer influence within the classroom peer network. Friendship choices were significantly more diverse (i.e., less evidence of social segregation as a function of ethnicity and academic ability) in intervention compared to control classrooms, and peer influence on improved writing and math performance was observed in RBI but not control classrooms. The current findings provide initial evidence that SEL interventions may change social processes in a classroom peer network and may break down barriers of social segregation and improve academic performance.

Longitudinal social network analysis (SNA) was used to examine how a social-emotional learning (SEL) intervention may be associated with peer socialization on academic performance. Fifth graders (N = 631; 48 % girls; 9 to 12 years) were recruited from six elementary schools. Intervention classrooms (14) received a relationship building intervention (RBI) and control classrooms (8) received elementary school as usual. At pre- and post-test, students nominated their friends, and teachers completed assessments of students' writing and math performance. The results of longitudinal SNA suggested that the RBI was associated with friend selection and peer influence within the classroom peer network. Friendship choices were significantly more diverse (i.e., less evidence of social segregation as a function of ethnicity and academic ability) in intervention compared to control classrooms, and peer influence on improved writing and math performance was observed in RBI but not control classrooms. The current findings provide initial evidence that SEL interventions may change social processes in a classroom peer network and may break down barriers of social segregation and improve academic performance.

<p>This article articulates a theory of ‘presence’ in teaching and seeks to establish a theoretical foundation for presence that can serve as a platform for further research. It seeks to address the current educational climate that sees teaching as a check list of behaviors, dispositions, measures, and standards, and to articulate the essential but elusive aspect of teaching we call presence. Presence is defined as a state of alert awareness, receptivity, and connectedness to the mental, emotional, and physical workings of both the individual and the group in the context of their learning enviroments, and the ability to respond with a considered and compassionate best next step. The article is divided into four sections and explores existing conceptions of presence: presence as self‐awareness, presence as connection to students, and presence as connection to subject matter and pedagogical knowledge. Within each section the role that context plays in a teacher’s ability to be present is also explored. The authors draw upon papers and stories from student teachers, interview data from children and experienced teachers, and stories from a study group of experienced educators that explored the notion of presence on three different occasions. They conclude by connecting presence to the essential purpose of teaching and learning, the creation of a democratic society.</p>
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Marital stress is associated with a higher incidence of psychiatric disorders, in particular major depression. One pathway through which marital stress may impact emotional health is by compromising emotion-responding processes. We examined a longitudinal sample of adults (N = 116; 59 males; 39-84 years) to verify how marital stress predicts reactivity to, and recovery from, emotional provocation. Individuals watched positive, neutral, and negative pictures while an objective measure of affective state, corrugator supercilii muscle activity, was recorded continuously. Our results indicate that marital stress is associated with short-lived responses to positive pictures, indexed by a less persistent decrease in corrugator activity after picture offset. Extending beyond the prior focus on negative emotional processes, these results suggest that social stress may impact health by influencing the time course of responding to positive events.
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A positive social and emotional climate in the classroom allows for students to communicate and interact in beneficial ways. Positive peer interactions are necessary for academic and career success, as well as for success in physical education. This article provides physical educators with principles and guidelines for developing, implementing and assessing effective strategies for promoting social and emotional learning within their programs. The five core competencies of social and emotional learning as described by the Collaborative for Academic, Social and Emotional Learning's (CASEL) will be discussed.

<p>BACKGROUND: Increasingly, researchers attend to both positive and negative aspects of mental health. Such distinctions call for clarification of whether psychological well-being and ill-being comprise opposite ends of a bipolar continuum, or are best construed as separate, independent dimensions of mental health. Biology can help resolve this query--bipolarity predicts 'mirrored' biological correlates (i.e. well-being and ill-being correlate similarly with biomarkers, but show opposite directional signs), whereas independence predicts 'distinct' biological correlates (i.e. well-being and ill-being have different biological signatures). METHODS: Multiple aspects of psychological well-being (eudaimonic, hedonic) and ill-being (depression, anxiety, anger) were assessed in a sample of aging women (n = 135, mean age = 74) on whom diverse neuroendocrine (salivary cortisol, epinephrine, norepinephrine, DHEA-S) and cardiovascular factors (weight, waist-hip ratio, systolic and diastolic blood pressure, HDL cholesterol, total/HDL cholesterol, glycosylated hemoglobin) were also measured. RESULTS: Measures of psychological well-being and ill-being were significantly linked with numerous biomarkers, with some associations being more strongly evident for respondents aged 75+. Outcomes for seven biomarkers supported the distinct hypothesis, while findings for only two biomarkers supported the mirrored hypothesis. CONCLUSION: This research adds to the growing literature on how psychological well-being and mental maladjustment are instantiated in biology. Population-based inquiries and challenge studies constitute important future directions.</p>
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<p>The current study evaluated psychosocial variables that may contribute to the experience of headache in college adults. One hundred ninety-nine participants, 103 women and 96 men, completed head pain logs for 4 weeks after completing measures assessing psychosocial variables. Multiple regression analyses indicated that level of emotional functioning, perception of stress, and gender were predictive of future headache frequency, intensity, and duration. Family history and health habits did not predict headache activity. These findings are consistent with research investigating psychosocial variables and headache activity.</p>

Purpose in life predicts both health and longevity suggesting that the ability to find meaning from life’s experiences, especially when confronting life’s challenges, may be a mechanism underlying resilience. Having purpose in life may motivate reframing stressful situations to deal with them more productively, thereby facilitating recovery from stress and trauma. In turn, enhanced ability to recover from negative events may allow a person to achieve or maintain a feeling of greater purpose in life over time. In a large sample of adults (aged 36-84 years) from the MIDUS study (Midlife in the U.S., http://www.midus.wisc.edu/), we tested whether purpose in life was associated with better emotional recovery following exposure to negative picture stimuli indexed by the magnitude of the eyeblink startle reflex (EBR), a measure sensitive to emotional state. We differentiated between initial emotional reactivity (during stimulus presentation) and emotional recovery (occurring after stimulus offset). Greater purpose in life, assessed over two years prior, predicted better recovery from negative stimuli indexed by a smaller eyeblink after negative pictures offset, even after controlling for initial reactivity to the stimuli during the picture presentation, gender, age, trait affect, and other well-being dimensions. These data suggest a proximal mechanism by which purpose in life may afford protection from negative events and confer resilience is through enhanced automatic emotion regulation after negative emotional provocation.
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Purpose: Chronic insomnia is a prevalent health problem in primary care associated with morbidity and health service utilization. Mindfulness Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT) is a therapeutic approach developed over the last few decades although only few large randomized control trials have been conducted in those with primary insomnia. This study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of MBCT in treating primary chronic insomnia in primary care by comparing with a psycho-education control (PEC) group in the community.Methods: This was a single-blinded, randomised, controlled clinical trial. Eligible participants were Chinese adults (18 years of age or above) with diagnosed chronic insomnia at baseline assessment. Subjects were randomly assigned into MBCT group (intervention) and PEC group (control), were followed up for six months. Primary outcome was changes in the score of a validated Chinese version of 7-item Insomnia Severity Index (ISI). Paired t-test was used to examine between-group differences. Analysis was performed by intention-to-treat. Results: We recruited 216 subjects with an average age of 56.05 (SD 9.39), where 77.0% [116/216] were female. At baseline, there was no significant differences between MBCT group [N=110] and PEC group [N=106] in terms of age (p=0.450), gender (p=0.250), ISI scores (17.67, SD 3.70 for PEC; 17.94, SD 3.70 for MBCT; p=0.623). At eight-week (follow-up rate 93.6% [88/94] for MBCT group, 93.5% [87/93] for PEC group), there was a significant decrease in ISI scores in MBCT group (-4.26, SD 3.87) when compared to that of PEC group (-2.81, SD 4.08) (p=0.041). Conclusion: Results demonstrated that MBCT programme may significantly reduce the insomnia severity among Chinese subjects with chronic insomnia when compared to PEC group in the primary care group. The study suggested that MBCT programme may be an evidence-based treatment options for subjects with chronic insomnia in primary care although longer follow-up is needed to evaluate the sustainability of the effects.

BACKGROUND The current randomized trial examined the effects of a Tibetan yoga program (TYP) versus a stretching program (STP) and usual care (UC) on sleep and fatigue in women with breast cancer who were undergoing chemotherapy. METHODS Women with stage (American Joint Committee on Cancer (AJCC) TNM) I to III breast cancer who were undergoing chemotherapy were randomized to TYP (74 women), STP (68 women), or UC (85 women). Participants in the TYP and STP groups participated in 4 sessions during chemotherapy, followed by 3 booster sessions over the subsequent 6 months, and were encouraged to practice at home. Self-report measures of sleep disturbances (Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index), fatigue (Brief Fatigue Inventory), and actigraphy were collected at baseline; 1 week after treatment; and at 3, 6, and 12 months. RESULTS There were no group differences noted in total sleep disturbances or fatigue levels over time. However, patients in the TYP group reported fewer daily disturbances 1 week after treatment compared with those in the STP (difference, -0.43; 95% confidence interval [95% CI], -0.82 to -0.04 [P = .03]) and UC (difference, -0.41; 95% CI, -0.77 to -0.05 [P = .02]) groups. Group differences at the other time points were maintained for TYP versus STP. Actigraphy data revealed greater minutes awake after sleep onset for patients in the STP group 1 week after treatment versus those in the TYP (difference, 15.36; 95% CI, 7.25-23.48 [P = .0003]) and UC (difference, 14.48; 95% CI, 7.09-21.87 [P = .0002]) groups. Patients in the TYP group who practiced at least 2 times a week during follow-up reported better Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index and actigraphy outcomes at 3 months and 6 months after treatment compared with those who did not and better outcomes compared with those in the UC group. CONCLUSIONS Participating in TYP during chemotherapy resulted in modest short-term benefits in sleep quality, with long-term benefits emerging over time for those who practiced TYP at least 2 times a week. Cancer 2018;124:36-45. © 2017 American Cancer Society.

There is growing recognition that humans are faced with a critical and narrowing window of opportunity to halt or reverse some of the key indicators involved in the environmental crisis. Given human activities’ scale and impact, as well as the overly narrow perspectives of environmental research's dominant natural sciences, a major effort is necessary to place the perspectives and insights of the humanities’ and social sciences’ perspectives and insights at the forefront. Such effort will require developing integrated approaches, projects, and institutions that truly do so. This article's goal is to help mobilize the social sciences and the humanities on the topic of sustainability transitions, but also call for a meaningful research agenda to acknowledge the profound implications of the advent of the Anthropocene epoch. We formulate the need for an innovative research agenda based on a careful consideration of the changing human condition as linked to global environmental change. The humanities and social sciences will need to change and adapt to this pressing, historic task.

Important features of the self-concept can be located outside of the individual and inside close or related others. The authors use this insight to reinterpret data previously said to support the empathy-altruism model of helping, which asserts that empathic concern for another results in selflessness and true altruism. That is, they argue that the conditions that lead to empathic concern also lead to a greater sense of self-other overlap, raising the possibility that helping under these conditions is not selfless but is also directed toward the self. In 3 studies, the impact of empathic concern on willingness to help was eliminated when oneness--a measure of perceived self-other overlap--was considered. Path analyses revealed further that empathic concern increased helping only through its relation to perceived oneness, thereby throwing the empathy-altruism model into question. The authors suggest that empathic concern affects helping primarily as an emotional signal of oneness.

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