Aging, care and dependency in multimorbidity: how relationships affect elderly women’s homecare and health service use

Relationships are multidimensional, and we know little about the facets of relationships in the way elderly patients’ with multimorbidity utilise homecare and health services. Gerontology literatures emphasize the importance of place of care, inequalities, availability of health services and affordability. However, the diversity of relationships and associated dependency in elderly care remain underassessed. A qualitative study involving a demographic survey and interviews was conducted to explore relationship experiences of elderly women with multimorbidity in homecare and health services utilization. Civil Surgeon of Sylhet District in Bangladesh was contacted to recruit participants for the study, and this resulted in 33 interviews [11 staff and 22 elderly women with multimorbidity]. Three domains of Axel Honneth’s Theory of Recognition and Misrecognition [i.e. intimate, community and legal relationships] were used to underpin the study findings. Data was analysed using critical thematic discourse method. Four themes were emerged: nature of caregiving involved; intimate affairs [marital marginalization, and parent-children-in law dynamics]; alienation in peer-relationships and neighbourhood [siblings’ overlook, neighbourhood challenges, and gender inequality in interactions]; and legal connections [ignorance of rights, and missed communication]. A marginalization in family relationships, together with poor peer supports and a misrecognition from service providers, resulted in a lack of care for elderly women with multimorbidity. Understanding the complexities of elderly women’s relationships may assist in policy making with better attention to their health and well-being support needs. Staff training on building relationships, and counselling services for family and relatives are essential to improve the quality of care for the women.

Purpose in Life among First-Generation College Students: Friends Make a Difference

Purpose in life is linked with numerous positive outcomes among adolescents and emerging adults. Peer relationships may play an important role in the cultivation of purpose, especially among first-generation college (FGC) students. The present study examined the association between the quality of peer relationships and commitment to purpose among students from three universities (N = 195). Analyses also examined whether FGC student status moderated this association. The results indicated that the quality of peer relationships significantly predicted commitment to purpose. FGC status moderated this association; high-quality relationships with peers helped close the gap in purpose commitment between FGC students and their counterparts.

Expectations and Experiences With Online Education During the COVID-19 Pandemic in University Students

Due to COVID-19, university students continued their academic training remotely. To assess the effects of emergency remote teaching (ERT), we evaluated the expectations and, subsequently, the experiences of university students about online education. This study employed a simple prospective design as its method. We assessed the expectations of 1,904 students from different discipline areas (1,106 women and 798 men; age M = 21.56; SD = 3.07) during the beginning of the first semester, March 2020 (T1), and their experiences at the end of the same academic period, September 2020 (T2). We used convenience non-probability sampling. Participants responded to the questionnaire on Expectations toward virtual education in higher education for students and the questionnaire on virtual education experiences in higher education. The results showed that students’ responses reflected low expectations regarding peer relationships and comparison with face-to-face education (T1). This perception was maintained during the evaluation of experiences (T2). Students reported positive experiences regarding online teaching and learning, online assessment, and their self-efficacy beliefs at T2. Statistically significant differences between measurements were found, with the expertise presenting higher averages than expectations. Furthermore, differences by gender were identified, reporting a positive change in the scores of women. In addition, results reflected differences according to the disciplinary area, showing Social Sciences and Medical and Health Sciences students a more significant size effect. Findings regarding the empirical evidence and the implications for future teaching scenarios in Higher Education are discussed.

Peer Relationships and Depressive Symptoms Among Adolescents: Results From the German BELLA Study

Background: Poor mental health affects adolescent development and is associated with health and social outcomes in later life. The current study uses cross-sectional data to explore the understudied aspects of peer relationships as a predictor of depressive symptom severity of adolescents in Germany.Method: Data from the German BELLA study were analyzed. We focused on the most recent measurement point of the BELLA study and analyzed data of 446 adolescents (aged 14–17 years). Peer relationship was measured using four items from the internationally established Patient-Reported Outcome Measurement Information System (PROMIS). Depressive symptoms were assessed via seven items of the German version of the Centre for Epidemiological Studies Short Depression Scale (CES-D). Hierarchical linear regression models were computed to explore the association between depressive symptoms and peer relationships. Hierarchical linear regression models served to determine the added predictive effects of each aspect of peer relationships.Result: The regression model showed that 22% of the variance of the severity of depressive symptoms could be explained by the quality of adolescents’ peer relationships (F(1,444) = 125.65, p < 0.001). Peer acceptance has the most substantial unique contribution to peer relationship as a predictor of depressive symptom severity (Change in R2 = 0.05; Change in F = 27.01, p < 0.001). The gender-specific analysis shows different trends for boys and girls.Conclusion: The quality of peer relationships is a significant predictor of adolescents’ depressive symptoms severity. Improved peer acceptance, dependability, and ease of making new friends are significantly associated with reduced depression symptoms for Germany’s adolescent population.

Predicting Academic Alienation From Emotion Dysregulation, Social Competence, and Peer Relationships in School-Attending Girls: A Multiple-Regression Approach

School alienation (SA) refers to a collection of negative attitudes toward the social and academic realms of schooling consisting of cognitive and affective components. The current study was designed to examine whether emotion dysregulation, social competence, and peer problems predict school alienation. In this vein, 300 school-attending adolescents in Sarab were recruited and completed difficulties in emotion regulation scale (DERS), academic alienation questionnaire (AAQ), social competence test (SCT), and index of peer relations (IPR) measures, but 280 (M age = 16.35; SD = 0.82; 46% girls) completed data were gathered. The results of hierarchical multiple regression indicated that school alienation was significantly predicted by emotion dysregulation, social competency, and peer problems. In conclusion, our findings suggest that school psychologists and other clinicians design interventions to improve the students’ shortcomings in emotion regulations, social competency, and peer relationships domains.

Who is likely to hide knowledge after peer ostracism? An exchange-based perspective of contact quality and need to belong

Purpose The purpose of this study is to uncover how peer ostracism (POS) elicits knowledge hiding directed towards ostracizing peers through the intervening role of peer contact quality (PCQ). Moreover, the authors aim to highlight the role of the need to belong (NTB) as a first-order boundary condition in direct and indirect hypothesized paths. Design/methodology/approach The research opted for a three-wave time-lagged survey design. The data were obtained from the 234 teaching and non-teaching employees working in Higher Educational Sector in Pakistan through random sampling. Mediation and moderated mediation analysis was done by using PROCESS Models 4 and 7. Findings The results embraced the mediation, moderation and moderated mediation hypotheses. It was noted that POS creates negative exchange relationships. As a result, the ostracized employees withhold knowledge from the predating peer. NTB served as a buffering agent between POS and PCQ, as well as, in the indirect POS, PCQ and peer-directed knowledge hiding relationship. Practical implications This research serves as a guideline for management and faculty of Higher Educational Institutions for minimization of POS to promote effective collegial contact quality and curb knowledge hiding. Originality/value Although the research in workplace ostracism and knowledge hiding is not new, yet how this association emerges from the viewpoint of peers is not known. This study has added to the literature by answering who is more likely to reciprocate ostracism from peers by having poor quality contact and directing knowledge hiding towards the predator. By this, the authors have added to the limited stream of moderated mediation mechanisms underlying ostracism and knowledge hiding behaviour. In addition, the authors have drawn attention to the importance of peer relationships in higher educational settings.

What Contributes to the Development and Maintenance of School Refusal in Chinese Adolescents: A Qualitative Study

Objective: Although, there has been a growing number of studies on school refusal in Western cultures, the underlying factors that contribute to school refusal in Chinese adolescents remain unclear. This study aimed to better understand why Chinese adolescents refuse to go to school and to further interpret what they want to express through their school refusal behaviors.Methods: We performed a qualitative study using an interpretative phenomenological analysis. Twenty adolescents with school refusal experiences were recruited from the clinical psychology department of two mental health hospitals in Shanghai, China. They participated in semistructured, face-to-face in-depth interviews. The interviews were transcribed verbatim and analyzed according to the guidelines of interpretative phenomenological analysis.Findings: Five main superordinate themes emerged from data analysis: (a) competition-oriented social environment; (b) family living space dominated by conflicts; (c) personal living space lacking meaningful support; (d) conflict between the pros and cons of being labeled with a psychiatric diagnosis; and (e) reintegration in school life.Conclusions: Our analysis emphasized the complex interacting effects of the social environment, family interpersonal conflicts, personal psychological factors and mental health complaints on the development and maintenance of Chinese adolescents' school refusal. These factors contributed to school refusal at each level and influenced each other's effects on school refusal behaviors. Therefore, interventions for Chinese teenagers with school refusal may need to integrate strategies that inspire reorganization and changes in different ecosystems, such as strategies related to government policy, peer relationships, family systems and individual inner dynamics.