What Really Matters for Returning to Work After Breast Cancer? A 6-month Longitudinal Study and a Multidimensional Approach

Purpose. Return to work (RTW) after breast cancer (BC) may easily impact on women recovery and quality of life. Literature on RTW hightlighed several factors associated to RTW after BC, and there is still some concern for exploring the main sociodemographic, clinical, psychological and work-related predictors of RTW after BC treatments especially when considering the first 6 months. The present study aims to explore which baseline factors are associated with RTW at 6-month after BC surgery. Methods. A 6-month follow-up study was performed among patients recruited from a Hospital in Northern Italy after their cancer-related surgery. Partecipants filled in a battery of questionnaires at baseline and at 6-month follow-up. Measurements were on job stress, work engagement, quality of life, anxiety, depression and resilience. Moreover, sociodemographic, clinical and work-related data were collected. Univariate and multivariate analyses were performed. Results. We recruited a sample of 149 patients, whose 73.9% returned to work after surgery. The women who returned to work were more likely to be not in a relationship, nor to have children. Also, they were not treated by chemiotherapy, and had higher scores in expectations of job changes after illness, RTW expectations, perception of physical quality of life and psychological resilience. In the multivariate model, chemiotherapy and women’s RTW expectations resulted as significant predictors of RTW at 6-month after BC surgery. Conclusion Most patients returned to work within first 6 months from breast surgery. Return to work was influenced by chemiotherapy and RTW expectations at baseline. A carefully individual screening of risk factors at baseline can prevent from occupational disability and long sickness absence.

Effects of acceptance and commitment therapy on self-management skills and psychological resilience of young and middle-aged patients underwent percutaneous transluminal coronary intervention for primary myocardial infarction: a pilot study

Background Acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) is an intervention focusing on altering how patients relate to their thoughts. This study aimed to investigate the effects of ACT on self-management ability and psychological resilience of young and middle-aged patients undergoing percutaneous transluminal coronary intervention (PCI) for primary myocardial infarction (MI). Methods This pilot study included 98 young and middle-aged patients who underwent PCI for primary MI using a convenient sampling method. The patients were divided into a control group and an ACT group using the random number table method. The patients in the control group received routine nursing, while those in the ACT group received routine nursing combined with ACT. Results The psychological resilience and self-management ability scores were significantly higher in the ACT group than in the control group 3 months after the intervention (P < 0.001 and < 0.05, respectively). In addition, compared to the baseline scores of psychological resilience and self-management ability, these scores were significantly higher in the ACT group at 3 months post-intervention (P < 0.001 and < 0.05, respectively). Conclusion ACT could enhance the psychological resilience and self-efficacy and improve the self-management ability of young and middle-aged patients who underwent PCI for primary MI. Trial registration China Clinical Trial Center ChiCTR2000029775. Registered on 13 February 2020. Registration title:Study on the popularization and application of rotational atherectomy for the treatment of severely calcified coronary lesions.

Validity and reliability of resiliency measures trialled for the evaluation of a preventative Resilience-promoting social-emotional curriculum for remote Aboriginal school students

Purpose We aimed to test the reliability and validity of two brief measures of resilience adopted for the evaluation of a preventative social-emotional curriculum implemented for Aboriginal middle school students from socially disadvantaged remote communities in Australia’s Northern Territory. The questionnaires chosen were intended to measure psychological resilience and socio-cultural resilience as complementary dimensions of the capacity to cope in circumstances of significant life stress and risk of self-harm. Methods Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was conducted to assess construct validity of the 10-item Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale (CD-RISC-10), a measure of psychological resilience, and the 12-item Child and Youth Resilience Measure (CYRM-12), a measure of socio-cultural resilience, with a sample of 520 students. Associations between resilience and psychological distress and emotional and behavioural difficulty were analysed in relation to life stressors to assess criterion validity of the scales. Results CFA provided support for the validity of the respective constructs. There was good fit for both scales. However, assessment of criterion validity of the scales suggested that the adapted measure of socio-cultural resilience (CYRM-12NT) showed higher reliability and a clearer indication of predictive validity than the measure of psychological resilience (CD-RISC-10). Conclusions The CYRM-12NT appears to be a more useful measure of resilience among Aboriginal youth exposed to significant life stress and disadvantage. However, both measures may require further development to enhance their validity and utility among potentially at-risk adolescents in socially, culturally and linguistically diverse remote Aboriginal communities.

Applying Evidence-Centered Design to Measure Psychological Resilience: The Development and Preliminary Validation of a Novel Simulation-Based Assessment Methodology

Modern technologies have enabled the development of dynamic game- and simulation-based assessments to measure psychological constructs. This has highlighted their potential for supplementing other assessment modalities, such as self-report. This study describes the development, design, and preliminary validation of a simulation-based assessment methodology to measure psychological resilience—an important construct for multiple life domains. The design was guided by theories of resilience, and principles of evidence-centered design and stealth assessment. The system analyzed log files from a simulated task to derive individual trajectories in response to stressors. Using slope analyses, these trajectories were indicative of four types of responses to stressors: thriving, recovery, surviving, and succumbing. Using Machine Learning, the trajectories were predictive of self-reported resilience (Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale) with high accuracy, supporting construct validity of the simulation-based assessment. These findings add to the growing evidence supporting the utility of gamified assessment of psychological constructs. Importantly, these findings address theoretical debates about the construct of resilience, adding to its theory, supporting the combination of the “trait” and “process” approaches to its operationalization.

Overseas Chinese Returnees’ Swindler Syndrome and Their Entrepreneurial Education Under Psychological Resilience

The study aims to explore the entrepreneurship education of overseas Chinese returnees with the swindler syndrome through psychological resilience. First, a questionnaire survey is conducted to analyze the current situations of entrepreneurship education of overseas Chinses returnees and college students, and it is found that the entrepreneurship education received by overseas Chinese returnees is more advanced and perfect than that by domestic students, which makes overseas Chinese returnees have the ability to solve the problems in the process of entrepreneurship, realizing their entrepreneurial dream. However, the emergence of swindler syndrome changes the self-awareness and psychology of these returnees, which is improved through appropriate entrepreneurship education under resilience analysis. The results show that entrepreneurial resilience and entrepreneurial optimism covered by psychological resilience have a significant positive impact on entrepreneurial intention, indicating that entrepreneurial resilience and entrepreneurial optimism can enhance individual’s entrepreneurial intention. The scores of the subjects with the experience of studying abroad are higher than those without such experience, indicating that overseas Chinese returnees have stronger resilience and more optimistic attitudes in the face of difficulties and setbacks, which provides a new perspective for in-depth analysis of Chinese returnees’ entrepreneurship education and promotes the development of entrepreneurship education in colleges and universities in China.

3RT INTERVENTION ON COGNITIVE DISTORSIONS REGARDING THE JUSTIFICATION OF SEXUAL OFFENDERS

Mean-making is a very complex process, involving social, moral and psychological aspects. When it comes to trauma or crimes, the ability to “make sense” of the events and to find meaning in the midst of chaos is associated with greater psychological resilience (Chan et al., 2006). However, when it comes to sexual offenders, the existence of a usual stuck-point in mean-making. Specifically, given the many levels of the crime the offender is usually not able to access all these levels, as some are deeper than their awareness. At that moment, the talk therapy and cognitive behavioral therapy for developing adaptive skills are crucial, as they have to create a safe context, in which the person can think freely and explore their inner world.

Factors That Shape Women’s Physical Activity: Development of the Reasons to Participate in Physical Activity Scale (RPPAS)

(1) Background: Obesity could deepen women’s susceptibility to COVID-19 infections and deaths. While physical activity has the potential to improve women’s physical and psychological resilience to the pandemic, there is a dearth of research on factors that motivate women’s participation in physical activity. Thus, to bridge the research gap, this study aims to identify factors that motivate women’s participation in physical activity. (2) Methods: An online survey on motivations for physical activity was developed and distributed to the participants. A total of 108 women offered complete answers (N = 108, 18–33 years old, Mage = 20.34 ± 2.42 years). Participants selected factors that promote their physical activity from a list of 34 factors from the Reasons to Participate in Physical Activity Scale (RPPAS) developed in this study. (3) Results: Exploratory factor analysis revealed that factors that motivate women’s participation in physical activity are: enjoyment and gratification, consideration for other activities (i.e., exergaming), health benefits, networking opportunities, and appearance and performance. Multiple linear regression analyses indicate that only consideration for appearance and performance was significantly associated with participants’ physical activity levels after controlling for compounding factors. (4) Conclusions: The findings of this study underscore the importance of appearance and performance in shaping women’s participation in physical activity. Furthermore, the results also emphasize the need for a nuanced understanding of factors that influence women’s physical activity levels. Future research could investigate how to leverage these motivators in tailored health interventions that aim to improve women’s physical activity.