Evidence for use of a healthy relationships assessment tool in the CHARISMA pilot study

Introduction The CHARISMA intervention, nested within the MTN-025/HOPE vaginal ring trial in Johannesburg, South Africa, seeks to facilitate women’s use of HIV prevention products by promoting partner dialogue and mitigating intimate partner violence (IPV). We developed “HEART”, a lay counselor-administered relationship assessment tool, for the CHARISMA pilot. The five-scale tool assesses participants’ endorsement of Traditional Values (TV), her HIV Prevention Readiness (HPR) and levels of partner support (PS), abuse and control (PAC), and resistance to HIV prevention (PR), guiding decisions about which of three counselling modules to offer (partner communication/A; ring disclosure/B; and IPV prevention/C). Methods We correlated baseline scores on HEART subscales with a) independent measures of relationship stability, disclosure and IPV to assess construct validity, and b) with specific modules offered to determine how HEART was used in the pilot. We examined changes in HEART scores at three and six months. Finally, we ran separate growth models for each subscale to examine changes in scores, accounting for partnership changes and counseling module(s) received. Results Baseline HEART scores correlated as predicted among subscales and with other measures. Reliabilities for four subscales were 0.75 or higher. Women who disclosed study participation and ring use scored higher on PS and lower on PR. Women experiencing IPV scored lower on PS, and higher on PAC and PR. During the pilot, 82% of women received one and 17% received two or more modules; over half received the IPV module. Women with higher PAC and PR scores were more likely to receive the IPV than the communication or disclosure modules. Over time, the TV, PAC and PR scores decreased, and PS score increased. Receiving the IPV module was associated with a decreased PAC score. Conclusions These data offer preliminary evidence for HEART construct and predictive validity and support its further evaluation to guide implementation and monitor the impact of the CHARISMA intervention in a randomized controlled evaluation.

STRESS, SLEEP QUALITY, PSYCHOLOGICAL WELL-BEING AND RELATIONSHIP SATISFACTION AMONG MARRIED WORKING WOMEN

This research was an initiation to explore the relationship of stress, sleep quality, psychological well-being and relationship satisfaction among married working women. Stress, sleep quality and relationship satisfaction were explored as predictors of psychological well-being in married working women. Correlational research design was used to measure the relationship between these variables. Convenient sampling technique was used to recruit sample. The sample of study was comprised of married working women (N= 200) age ranged between 25 to 59 years. Working Women Stressor’s Scale (WWSS) (α=.87), Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index(α=.74), Ryff Psychological well-being Scale(α=.74), and Relationship Assessment Scale (α=.72)were used as data collection tools. Results showed significant positive relationship among stress, sleep quality, psychological wellbeing and relationship satisfaction. Stress, sleep quality, and well-being emerged as predictors of relationship satisfaction in married working women. Key Words: Stress, Sleep Quality, Psychological Well-being, Relationship satisfaction

The Soul of Therapy: The Therapist’s Use of Self in the Therapeutic Relationship

This paper is based on the premises that the conscious, active and purposeful use of self by the therapist in the therapeutic process is an essential aptitude in establishing an effective therapeutic relationship, and that this therapeutically purposeful use of self can and should be incorporated in the training of all therapists in a explicitly systematic manner. The paper will attempt to identify the contributions of the “what and how” the use of self by therapists contributes to the therapeutic process. First of all, therapists’ use of self is meant to be viewed as a Common Factor as defined by Sprenkle, Davis & Lebow (2009), which is a perspective about the effectiveness of therapy that “asserts that the qualities and capabilities of the person offering the treatment are more important than the treatment itself” (p. 4). Secondly, the use of self by therapists emphasizes developing the skill set of the therapist in the conscious, active and purposeful use of self as is in the moment of the therapeutic engagement with clients, and does so without denying the importance of therapists working to resolve personal issues of theirs that may interfere with the therapist's professional effectiveness. Therapists’ use of self gives particular emphasis to the purposeful use of self as is in therapy’s relationship, assessment and interventions whatever the therapy model (Aponte & Kissil, 2016). Thirdly, the use of self represents an aptitude that can be developed and refined through well elaborated structures for schooling therapists in the therapeutic use of all they bring of their personal selves to the therapy relationship including through the use of their human vulnerabilities as they exist at the moment of empathic engagement with clients.

Satisfaction with the marriage of spouses in Muslim monogamous and polygamous family relations in Russia

The article presents the results of the analysis of the marriage satisfaction level of Muslims in monogamous and polygamous families in Russia. Such studies have not been conducted previously despite the fact that this problem is relevant for the institution of family and marriage as a whole. Muslims make up approximately 15 percent of the population of the Russian Federation, and their well-being in family relations is important both for each individual, and for the community and the state as a whole. The study involved 172 people between the ages 18 to 71 years: 85 men and 87 women. The satisfaction of spouses with marital relations was measured using the Russian-language version of Susan S. Hendrik’s (1988) “7-point Relationship Assessment Scale (RAS)” adapted by Sychev O. A. Data analysis was performed using Microsoft Offi ce and IBM SPSS Statistics. The results obtained allow us to conclude that the level of satisfaction of spouses in monogamous marriages is higher than the level of satisfaction in polygamous marriages, and the level of satisfaction with the marriage of the fi rst wives is lower than the level of satisfaction of the second/third/fourth wives. These results make it possible to develop practical recommendations for improving the practical application of theoretical and empirical research data in counseling, therapeutic, adaptive and preventive work with Muslims who are already married and who intend to enter into it.

Exploring the Association Between Social Media Addiction and Relationship Satisfaction: Psychological Distress as a Mediator

Social media use has become part of daily life for many people. Earlier research showed that problematic social media use is associated with psychological distress and relationship satisfaction. The aim of the present study was to examine the mediating role of psychological distress in the relationship between social media addiction (SMA) and romantic relationship satisfaction (RS). Participants comprised 334 undergraduates from four mid-sized universities in Turkey who completed an offline survey. The survey included the Relationship Assessment Scale, the Social Media Disorder Scale, and the Depression Anxiety and Stress Scale. According to the results, there were significant correlations between all variables. The results also indicated that depression, anxiety, and stress partially mediated the impact of SMA on RS. Moreover, utilizing the bootstrapping procedure the study found significant associations between SMA and RS via psychological distress. Consequently, reducing social media use may help couples deal with romantic relationship dissatisfaction, thereby mitigating their depression, anxiety, and stress.

Peculiarities of Training Engineering Students with Disabilities

In this day and age, there are increasing discussions and calls for shifting towards inclusive education. In view of this, the present study intended to identify the most severe challenges disabled engineering students face according to their own view and find possible ways to solve them. For this particular aim, a survey of 555 students from five universities of Russia, Kazakhstan, and Uzbekistan was performed. These were the Bauman Moscow State Technical University, Northern Trans-Ural State Agricultural University, Sarsen Amanzholov East Kazakhstan State University, Tashkent Institute of Irrigation and Agricultural Mechanization Engineers, and South Ural State University. The survey was carried out in two stages. The first focused on identifying the main problems of disabled students (physical environment, staff skills and knowledge, theory-practice relationship, assessment peculiarities, and bias). The second intended to define the most critical of them (unadapted physical environment and reduced abilities to apply theoretical knowledge in practice). To resolve these issues, the authors propose the following recommendations to be adopted. These include adapted laboratories and equipment; programs that allow performing practical tasks; engineering tutors able to assist in performing practical tasks; an adapted assessment system with reference to health condition; psychological support to integrate disabled students into an inclusive team and eliminate prejudices. The obtained research findings can be used by other universities to promote a comprehensive integration of students with special needs into the educational process.

Yearly and Daily Relationship Assessment between Air Pollution and Early-Stage COVID-19 Incidence: Evidence from 231 Countries and Regions

The novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has caused significantly changes in worldwide environmental and socioeconomics, especially in the early stage. Previous research has found that air pollution is potentially affected by these unprecedented changes and it affects COVID-19 infections. This study aims to explore the non-linear association between yearly and daily global air pollution and the confirmed cases of COVID-19. The concentrations of tropospheric air pollution (CO, NO2, O3, and SO2) and the daily confirmed cases between 23 January 2020 and 31 May 2020 were collected at the global scale. The yearly discrepancies of air pollutions and daily air pollution are associated with total and daily confirmed cases, respectively, based on the generalized additive model. We observed that there are significant spatially and temporally non-stationary variations between air pollution and confirmed cases of COVID-19. For the yearly assessment, the number of confirmed cases is associated with the positive fluctuation of CO, O3, and SO2 discrepancies, while the increasing NO2 discrepancies leads to the significant peak of confirmed cases variation. For the daily assessment, among the selected countries, positive linear or non-linear relationships are found between CO and SO2 concentrations and the daily confirmed cases, whereas NO2 concentrations are negatively correlated with the daily confirmed cases; variations in the ascending/declining associations are identified from the relationship of the O3-confirmed cases. The findings indicate that the non-linear relationships between global air pollution and the confirmed cases of COVID-19 are varied, which implicates the needs as well as the incorporation of our findings in the risk monitoring of public health on local, regional, and global scales.

PENGARUH ATTACHMENT STYLE DAN KEPUASAN HUBUNGAN ROMANTISTERHADAP PERILAKU DATING VIOLENCE PADA MAHASISWA UNIVERSITAS BUANA PERJUANGAN KARAWANG ANGKATAN 2016

The phenomenon of dating violence is often encountered and shows a number that continues to increase every year. This can affect individual satisfaction in their romantic relationships. This study aims to examine the effect of attachment style and romantic relationship satisfaction toward dating violence behavior. The subjects in this study were students of University Buana Perjuangan Karawang 2016. This study used a quantitative approach with snowball sampling techniques. The sample used was 251 from 936 students. The data analysis technique used is multiple linear regression with an error rate of 5%. The research instrument used three Likert scale questionnaire such as the Experiences in Close Relationships-Revised (ECR-R) questionnaire, the Relationship Assessment Scale, and the Conflict Tactics Scale. The results of the research obtained a significant value of 0.053; p>0.05 indicates that there is no influence between attachment style and romantic relationship satisfaction toward dating violence behavior. Keywords: Attachment style, dating violence, romantic relationship satisfaction, student dating. Fenomena kekerasan dalam pacaran sering banyak dijumpai dan menunjukkan angka yang terus meningkat setiap tahunnya. Hal ini dapat berpengaruh pada kepuasan individu dalam menjalani hubungan romantisnya. Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk menguji pengaruh attachment style dan kepuasan hubungan romantis terhadap perilaku dating violence. Subjek pada penelitian ini adalah Mahasiswa Universitas Buana Perjuangan Karawang angkatan 2016. Penelitian ini menggunakan pendekatan kuantitatif dengan teknik pengambilan snowball sampling. Sampel yang digunakan sebanyak 251 dari 936 mahasiswa. Teknik analisis data yang digunakan adalah regresi linear berganda dengan taraf kesalahan 5%. Instrumen penelitian menggunakan tiga kuesioner skala likert, yaitu kuesioner Experiences in Close Relationships-Revised (ECR-R), Relationship Assessment Scale, dan Conflict Tactics Scale. Hasil penelitian diperoleh nilai signifikan 0,053; karena p > 0,05 menunjukkan bahwa tidak terdapat pengaruh antara attachment style dan kepuasan hubungan romantis terhadap perilaku dating violence. Kata Kunci: Attachment style, dating violence, kepuasan hubungan romantis, mahasiswa berpacaran.