Building resilience in early adolescence through a universal school-based preventive program

1999 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 15-24 ◽  
Author(s):  
E. G. Cunningham ◽  
C. M. Brandon ◽  
E. Frydenberg
Keyword(s):  
Young People ◽  
Attributional Style ◽  
Self Efficacy ◽  
Sense Of Self ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Coping Resources ◽  
Positive Thinking ◽  
Preventive Program ◽  
School Based

The development of effective coping resources, including positive thinking and an increased sense of self-efficacy, is related to enhancing resilience and healthy development in young people. A universal school-based prevention program that adapted techniques cognitive therapists use for depressed children, and directly based on the work of Seligman (1995), was implemented over a six-week period to whole-class groups by classroom teachers within their regular school curricula. Learning was facilitated through the use of stories, cartoons, hypothetical examples, practice and role-plays. Fifty-eight Year 5 and 6 students from four schools in regional and rural Victoria completed pre- and post-program questionnaires on self-efficacy, coping and attributional style. Following program participation, children reported significant improvements in optimistic thinking and self-efficacy, as well as a reduction in the use of the non-productive coping strategies of worry, wishful thinking, not coping, and reliance on friends. These promising results provide evidence for the feasibility of implementing a low-cost, non-intrusive program that addresses the emotional well-being of all young people in school settings. The longer-term success and viability of any universal preventive programs may ultimately depend upon the extent to which such programs can be integrated into the mainstream curriculum practices of schools.

Rural Communities and Well-Being: A Good Place to Grow Up?

2003 ◽  
Vol 51 (1) ◽  
pp. 129-156 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anthony Glendinning ◽  
Mark Nuttall ◽  
Leo Hendry ◽  
Marion Kloep ◽  
Sheila Wood
Keyword(s):  
Rural Communities ◽  
Young People ◽  
Young Women ◽  
Rural Areas ◽  
Sense Of Self ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Social Aspects ◽  
Community Life ◽  
Social Lives ◽  
The Future

This study looks at young people's accounts of life in communities in rural northern Scotland, and considers in what ways affective and social aspects of community are bound up with well-being, over and above young people's concerns for the future, rural youth transitions, and out-migration. Interviews were held with 15–18 year-olds in four study areas (16 groups, N = 60+) and a parallel survey of 11–16 year-olds was conducted in eight study areas (N = 2400+). Themes to emerge from the interviews included: opportunities locally, the future and staying on, as well as local amenities and services; but older teenagers also spoke at length about their social lives, family and social networks, and their community, both as close-knit and caring and as intrusive and controlling. Rural communities were seen as good places in childhood, but not necessarily for young people. In parallel with that, the survey data paints a picture where feelings of support, control, autonomy, and attachment were all associated with emotional well-being. Importantly, links between emotional well-being and practical, material concerns were outweighed by positive identifications of community as close-knit and caring; and equally, by negative identifications as intrusive and constraining, where the latter was felt more strongly by young women. Certainly, beliefs about future employment and educational opportunities were also linked to well-being, but that was over and above, and independently of, affective and social aspects of community life. Additionally, migration intentions were also bound up with sense of self and well-being, and with feelings about community life; and links between thoughts about leaving and community life as controlling and constraining were, yet again, felt more strongly by young women. Thus, gender was a key dimension affecting young people's feelings about their communities with significant implications for well-being, and out-migration. The study illustrates the importance of understanding the experiences young people have of growing up in rural areas, and how they evaluate those experiences: particularly, how life in rural communities matters for young people's well-being; and especially, for young women.

How Can We Enhance the Sense of Self-Efficacy in Epilepsy Individual Responses from 2 Qualitative Case Reports

2017 ◽  
Vol 24 (4) ◽  
pp. 215-224 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rosa Michaelis ◽  
Christina Niedermann ◽  
Bettina Berger
Keyword(s):  
Self Efficacy ◽  
Focal Epilepsy ◽  
Single Case ◽  
Case Reports ◽  
Sense Of Self ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Self Awareness ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Post Intervention ◽  
Psychotherapeutic Interventions

Background: Epilepsy is a serious, common and chronic neurological condition characterized by an increased disposition to suffer occasional seizures. Psychological interventions may enhance the well-being of individuals with epilepsy. So far, no qualitative study has investigated the complex effects of psychotherapeutic interventions in epilepsy. Methods: This study examined the questions as to if and how the participation in a patient-centered 6-month resource-oriented mindfulness-based intervention would enhance an individual's well-being and sense of self-efficacy. Pre- and post-intervention semi-structured interviews were conducted with a total of 9 participants. Qualitative data analysis (Mayring) in an inter-professional group was combined with the evaluation of the Quality of Life in Epilepsy Inventory-31. The case reports follow the CAse REport Guidelines for Anthroposophic Art Therapies (CARE-AAT). To show the diverse nature of individual intervention objectives, we chose the single case study format, contrasting 2 participants with diagnosed focal epilepsy. Results: Pre-intervention deductive and inductive outcome categories revealed high levels of stress regarding personal seizure experience and loss of autonomy, for both participants. Post-intervention interviews consist of increased seizure-related self-efficacy and self-awareness: while minimizing the debilitating impact of the seizures on her life was relevant to Iris, Carl developed a personalized aura interruption technique. Conclusions: These qualitative case analyses suggest that enhanced psychological well-being and even positive medical results may be achieved when epilepsy care focuses on the wishes that are most meaningful to the individual. The possibility of improving the quantitative evaluation of the effects of psychotherapeutic interventions needs to be explored.

scholarly journals Evaluation of a Healthy Relationship Smartphone App With Indigenous Young People: Protocol for a Co-designed Stepped Wedge Randomized Trial (Preprint)

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jane Koziol-McLain ◽  
Denise Wilson ◽  
Alain C Vandal ◽  
Moana Eruera ◽  
Shyamala Nada-Raja ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
New Zealand ◽  
Young People ◽  
Secondary Schools ◽  
Self Efficacy ◽  
General Health ◽  
Primary Outcome ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Smartphone App ◽  
Stepped Wedge ◽  
Partner Relationship

BACKGROUND We co-designed a smartphone app, Harmonised, with taitamariki (young people aged 13-17 years) to promote healthy intimate partner relationships. The app also provides a pathway for friends and family, or whānau (indigenous Māori extended family networks), to learn how to offer better support to taitamariki. OBJECTIVE The aim of our taitamariki- and Māori-centered study is to evaluate the implementation of the app in secondary schools. The study tests the effectiveness of the app in promoting taitamariki partner relationship self-efficacy (primary outcome). METHODS We co-designed a pragmatic, randomized, stepped wedge trial (retrospectively registered on September 12, 2019) for 8 Aotearoa, New Zealand, secondary schools (years 9 through 13). The schools were randomly assigned to implement the app in 1 of the 2 school terms. A well-established evaluation framework (RE-AIM [Reach, Effectiveness, Adoption, Implementation, Maintenance]) guided the selection of mixed data collection methods. Our target sample size is 600 taitamariki enrolled across the 8 schools. Taitamariki will participate by completing 5 web-based surveys over a 15-month trial period. Taitamariki partner relationship self-efficacy (primary outcome) and well-being, general health, cybersafety management, and connectedness (secondary outcomes) will be assessed with each survey. The general effectiveness hypotheses will be tested by using a linear mixed model with nested participant, year-group, and school random effects. The primary analysis will also include testing effectiveness in the Māori subgroup. RESULTS The study was funded by the New Zealand Ministry of Business, Innovation, and Employment in October 2015 and approved by the Auckland University of Technology Ethics Committee on May 3, 2017 (application number: 17/71). CONCLUSIONS This study will generate robust evidence evaluating the impact of introducing a healthy relationship app in secondary schools on taitamariki partner relationship self-efficacy, well-being, general health, cybersafety management, and connectedness. This taitamariki- and indigenous Māori–centered research fills an important gap in developing and testing strengths-based mobile health interventions in secondary schools. CLINICALTRIAL Australian New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry ACTRN12619001262190; https://www.anzctr.org.au/Trial/Registration/TrialReview.aspx?id=377584 INTERNATIONAL REGISTERED REPORT RR1-10.2196/24792

Bright Ideas: A School-Based Program Teaching Optimistic Thinking Skills in Pre-Adolescence

1999 ◽  
Vol 9 (S1) ◽  
pp. 147-158 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cathy M. Brandon ◽  
Everarda G. Cunningham ◽  
Erica Frydenberg
Keyword(s):  
Outcome Measures ◽  
Attributional Style ◽  
Explanatory Style ◽  
Thinking Skills ◽  
Positive Thinking ◽  
School Based ◽  
Attributional Style Questionnaire ◽  
Key Factor ◽  
Pessimistic Explanatory Style

Research into the areas of depression and resilience suggests that an optimistic attributional style is a key factor in coping effectively with stressors and functioning adaptively despite adversity. This study evaluates the effectiveness of a program designed to increase positive thinking skills, through awareness and practice, to pre-adolescent children who have been identified as exhibiting a more pessimistic explanatory style. From a total of 110 Year 5 and 6 students, 38 students were selected to participate in the program because they exhibited a more pessimistic explanatory style. Program participants were administered the Children's Attributional Style Questionnaire (CASQ) at pre-, post-, and 3-month post-program. Non-program participants completed the CASQ at pre- and 3-month post- program. Results indicated that program participants significantly improved their attributional style scores post program, and that these improvements were maintained at 3-month post-program follow-up. When attributional style difference scores at pre- and 3-month post program were compared, improved scores for program participants were significantly greater than changes in attributional style scores for those students who were not in the program. Given the links between attributional style, depression, and a range of behaviours, such promising results warrant further investigation into the effects of such a program on other outcome measures. The findings provide support for the benefits to be gained by developing positive attributional style during the pre-adolescent years.

Depression in Young People: A National School-Based Initiative for Prevention, Early Intervention and Pathways for Care

2002 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 134-138 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jane Burns ◽  
Ian Hickie
Keyword(s):  
Young People ◽  
Intervention Strategy ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Whole School ◽  
Education And Health ◽  
School Based ◽  
National School ◽  
The Social ◽  
Whole School Approach ◽  
The Individual

Objective: To describe the national school-based initiative of ‘beyondblue’. Conclusions: The goals of the initiative are: to reduce levels of depressive symptoms in young people, to promote emotional well-being in adolescence and to increase the capacity of organisations to design, implement and evaluate interventions relevant to the prevention of depression. The theoretical framework underpinning the program will build on expertise and evidence-based research from both the education and health sectors while the proposed initiative will draw on the existing capacity of school systems. The program will target not only the specific needs of individual students but will combine this targeted approach with a whole-school approach that addresses the quality of the social climate in which the individual is situated. The intervention strategy in partnership with the education sector will seek to make changes in the schools' social and learning environments, introduce relevant and important life skills through the curriculum, and strengthen structures that promote links between the school, families and communities.

Looking for adolescents' well-being: self-efficacy beliefs as determinants of positive thinking and happiness

2006 ◽  
Vol 15 (1) ◽  
pp. 30-43 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gian Vittorio Caprara ◽  
Patrizia Steca ◽  
Maria Gerbino ◽  
Marinella Paciello ◽  
Giovanni Maria Vecchio
Keyword(s):  
Interpersonal Relationships ◽  
Self Efficacy ◽  
Structural Model ◽  
Personal Characteristics ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Efficacy Beliefs ◽  
Longitudinal Impact ◽  
Positive Thinking ◽  
Subjective Well Being ◽  
The Impact

SUMMARYAims – The present study is part of a longitudinal project aimed at identifying the personal characteristics and the developmental pathways conducive to successful adaptation from childhood to adulthood. The study examined the concurrent and longitudinal impact of self-efficacy beliefs on subjective well-being in adolescence, namely positive thinking and happiness. Positive thinking has been operationalized as the latent dimension underlying life satisfaction, self-esteem and optimism. Happiness has been operationalized as the difference between positive and negative affects, as they are experienced in a variety of daily situations. Methods – In a group of 664 Italian adolescents, a structural model positing adolescents' emotional and interpersonal self-efficacy beliefs as proximal and distal determinants of positive thinking and happiness has been tested. Results – Findings attest to the impact of affective and interpersonal-social self-efficacy beliefs on positive thinking and happiness both concurrently and longitudinally. Conclusions – Adolescents' self-efficacy beliefs to manage positive and negative emotions and interpersonal relationships contribute to promote positive expectations about the future, to mantain a high self-concept, to perceive a sense of satisfaction for the life and to experience more positive emotions.Declaration of Interest: none.

scholarly journals Online practicum and teacher efficacy: correlation, challenges, and lessons arising from Covid-19 pandemic

2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (41) ◽  
pp. 19-29
Author(s):  
David Wafula Waswa ◽  
Suleyman Celik
Keyword(s):  
Preservice Teachers ◽  
Student Engagement ◽  
Classroom Management ◽  
Self Efficacy ◽  
Online Teaching ◽  
Sense Of Self ◽  
Teaching Practicum ◽  
School Based ◽  
Low Levels ◽  
Insight Into

This study examined the influence of teaching practicum on preservice teachers’ sense of self-efficacy during the covid-19 pandemic. In particular, the study sort to establish if both online and school-based teaching practicums have the same influence on the preservice teachers self-efficacy. A questionnaire was used to collect data from 40 preservice teachers, 2 of them were also interviewed for further insight into the answers provided. It was found that the preservice teachers’ sense of self-efficacy was at best “average” during the pandemic time, with online-based practicum teachers showing a slightly stronger self-efficacy overall. However, school-based practicum teachers showed higher self-efficacy in classroom management and student engagement. The slight differences in efficacy levels were found not to be statistically significant to cause a difference in opinion between online teaching practicum and school-based teaching practicum. Possible reasons for general low levels of self-efficacy were discussed, and causes for slightly higher efficacy for online-based practicum also suggested.

scholarly journals Working with Socially Maladjusted Youths and Children With Developmental Disorders. Predictors and Correlations of Health Among Personnel in Youth Centres

2019 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 155-169
Author(s):  
Justyna Szrajda ◽  
Ewa Sygit-Kowalkowska ◽  
Magdalena Weber-Rajek ◽  
Malwina Tudorowska ◽  
Marcin Ziółkowski ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Physical Health ◽  
Self Efficacy ◽  
Developmental Disorders ◽  
Sense Of Self ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Helping Professions ◽  
Physical Health Problems ◽  
Socially Maladjusted ◽  
Mental Well Being ◽  
Mental And Physical Health

Abstract Background Representatives of helping professions who are working with socially maladjusted youths and children with developmental disorders are particularly exposed to occupational stress. The aim of the study was to evaluate mental and physical well-being, as well as their correlates and predictors in a group of employees working at youth educational centres and sociotherapy centres. Materials and Methods A total of 96 employees working at youth educational centres and sociotherapy centres took part in the study. The following psychometric tools were used: the Psychosocial Working Conditions Questionnaire, the Mini-COPE, the LOT-R, and the GSES. Results The results obtained indicate that people working in helping professions experience mental and physical health problems. Only 3% of the subjects declared they sleep all night. Over 40% and over 35% of the subjects estimate they suffer from low mood and irritation episodes, respectively, rather frequently or continually. Subjects with poorer mental health are more likely to use Helplessness, Avoidance behaviours, or Turning to religion to cope with stress. The strongest predictor of mental well-being is the sense of self-efficacy. Whereas, the strongest predictor of physical well-being is the ability to cope with stress by giving into the feeling of Helplessness.   Conclusions The study demonstrated poor mental and physical well-being of the subjects. A statistically significant correlation was found between sex and the level of mental and physical health. Employees working at youth educational centres and sociotherapy centres with better mental and physical well-being had a stronger sense of self-efficacy and a higher level of life optimism.

scholarly journals POST-SECONDARY PAW PATROL: Effects of Animal-Assisted Activities on Students’ Stress, Happiness and Well-being

2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 24
Author(s):  
Laura Sokal ◽  
Taylor Martin
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
College Students ◽  
Health Promotion ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Post Secondary ◽  
Positive Effects ◽  
School Based ◽  
Dependent Variables ◽  
Mental Wellness

Two hundred forty-two students, including 76 college students and 166 university students from Canadian post-secondary schools, participated in a pre-post study of the effects of animal-assisted activities on their stress, happiness, and well-being. Findings showed that those students who had recently experienced a negative event showed significantly greater positive effects of the animal-assisted activities on all three dependent variables when compared with other students, although all students benefitted from participating in terms of desired effects on their stress, happiness, and well-being. In keeping with Keyes’ model of mental wellness, these school-based, animal-assisted activities are supported as low-cost, low-stigma, universal approaches to mental health promotion.

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