Irrational Beliefs Among Competitive High School Student Athletes: Are they General or Context-Driven?

While student-athletes strive for high performance both athletically and academically, understanding the role of beliefs as it relates to objective measures of performance has not been readily studied (Turner and Barker in J Appl Sport Psychol 25:131-147, 2013) and even less so among youth. This research examined if irrational beliefs that are context specific to performance settings (academic vs. athletic) are more predictive of academic and athletic performance than those more general irrational beliefs among 30 high-school student athlete basketball players. While both general and context-specific irrational beliefs were predictive of athletic performance as measured by performance analysis from game video footage and academic performance as measured by Grade Point Average, there were no differences in terms of their predictive ability. Implications for researchers and practitioners are provided to guide the scholarly research and applied implications regarding the role of specific beliefs as it relates to performance with this population.

Psychometric characteristics of the Parenting Scale in a Vietnamese sample.

The Parenting Scale (PS) is a well-established instrument for measuring discipline practices in Western populations. However, whether the PS is a valid and reliable measure in Eastern populations is not known. Thus, this study examined the psychometric properties of the PS in a sample of 433 Vietnamese parents of children aged 2-7 years. Confirmatory factor analyses (CFAs) examined the commonly used Reitman et al.'s two-factor and Rhoades and O'Leary's three-factor solutions. Neither factor structure fit the data. An exploratory factor analysis identified a 12-item one-factor and 14-item two-factor solutions that overlapped substantially with established factor structures. The one-factor solution reflected Lax/Overreactive parenting and the two-factor solution consisted of Lax/Overreactive and Hostile subscales. The factor structures were confirmed via multigroup CFA. Internal consistencies were acceptable and ranged between .70 and .85. Each factor was positively associated with parent anger, dysfunctional cognitions about child behaviour, and externalising child behaviour problems. However, when entered simultaneously in a regression, Hostile discipline was not uniquely associated with child behaviour. Overall, results support the potential utility of the 12-item one-factor PS as a measure of dysfunctional parenting practices for Vietnamese parents.

Rational emotive behavior therapy: applications for working with parents and teachers / Terapia relacional-emotiva comportamental: aplicações com pais e professores

Given the high rates of reported emotional stress among parents and teachers, the Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy approach appears to be a useful strategy to promote more effective parent and teacher emotional functioning and increase child positive behaviors and learning. The Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy model may be helpful for clinicians who work with the parents and the family by identifying and subsequently changing their unhealthy ideas, enhancing emotional functioning, and increasing their ability to make effective behavior management decisions. In addition, those who work with educators in a school-based setting may wish to consider implementing Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy methodology in their consultative and therapeutic interventions. Given the data that links stress to unhealthy beliefs among educators, Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy may be an effective tool that warrants further application.

Considerando os índices elevados de estresse emocional entre pais e professores, a abordagem Terapia Racional-Emotiva Comportamental parece ser uma estratégia útil na promoção de um funcionamento mais eficaz entre pais e professores e para aumentar o comportamento positivo e a aprendizagem da criança. O modelo Terapia Racional-Emotiva Comportamental pode ser útil para os clínicos que trabalham com os pais e as famílias, identificando e posteriormente alterando as suas idéias não saudáveis, aprimorando o funcionamento emocional, e aumentando a capacidade de tomar decisões mais eficazes sobre o gerenciamento comportamental. Além disso, quem trabalha com educadores no contexto escolar talvez deseje levar em conta a implementação da metodologia Terapia Racional-Emotiva Comportamental nas suas intervenções clínicas e terapêuticas. A partir dos dados que associam o stress com os pensamentos pouco saudáveis entre educadores, a Terapia Racional-Emotiva Comportamental pode ser uma ferramenta eficaz que merece uma mais ampla aplicação.