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Objective—This study explored the relationship of experiential avoidance (e.g., the tendency to avoid, suppress, or otherwise control internal experiences even when doing so causes behavioral harm) to alcohol use disorders and alcohol-related problems. Participants—Cross-sectional data was collected from 240 undergraduate college students in their first year in college between December 2009 and April 2010.Methods—Participants completed a diagnostic interview and online self-report survey.
Results—Students with a history of alcohol abuse or dependence had significantly higher levels of experiential avoidance relative to students with no alcohol use disorder diagnosis. A hierarchical linear regression analysis found that experiential avoidance significantly predicted alcohol-related problems, even after controlling for gender and psychological distress. Furthermore, experiential avoidance mediated the relationship of psychological distress to alcoholrelated problems.
Conclusions—These findings suggest experiential avoidance may play a role in problematic alcohol use among college students.
Teachers' psychological wellbeing is important for teachers and students, but is highly stressful, particularly in special education. We examined the role of experiential avoidance (EA) in the wellbeing of 529 middle and elementary school teachers. EA involves the tendency to avoid thoughts, feelings, and other internal experiences even when doing so causes long-range consequences. Using a teacher-specific measure, we investigated its relationship to stress associated with student misbehavior and limited social support. We assessed EA's relationship to burnout and depression, finding EA significantly and moderately correlated with depression and all scales of Maslach's Burnout Inventory. Mediation analyses showed EA mediated the relationship between stress associated with student behavior and measures of wellbeing. We found 26.8% of teachers mildly, 8.9% moderately, and 2.8% moderately severely or severely depressed. This evidence concurs with studies showing the value of mindfulness-based interventions and points to the utility of implementing interventions aimed at decreasing EA in teachers.