Improving interprofessional teamwork in a community mental health team: a team building circle program based on the restorative justice paradigm.

Improving teamwork among mental health practitioners is crucial. However, there have been few intervention studies on teamwork enhancement among community mental health practitioners in South Korea. We aimed to determine the effectiveness of the Team Building Circle program (TBC) based on the restorative justice paradigm, which sought to promote integration and cohesion. The TBC was developed to improve conflict interpretation mind-set, interpersonal skills, and teamwork among practitioners in community mental health centers. We conducted a quasi-experimental study using a pre and posttest design with a non-equivalent control group. The participants were 44 practitioners from four community mental health centers. Data were collected before the implementation TBC (pretest), just after (posttest), and 3 months after TBC (follow-up test). A generalized estimating equation model was used for analysis. Our findings indicate that the intervention group had improved scores in the ability to cope with interpersonal stress in a constructive way, interpersonal relationship skills, and teamwork compared to the control group. To improve teamwork among community mental health practitioners, managers are encouraged to consider providing TBC intervention.

Exploring the relationship between teacher growth mindset, grit, mindfulness, and EFL teachers' well-being.

Introduction: This study examines the relationship between teacher growth mindset, mindfulness, grit, and teacher well-being, with a particular emphasis on the mediating role of grit. Methods: The study involved 547 Chinese EFL teachers as participants. Data collection utilized validated measures of growth mindset, mindfulness, grit, and occupational well-being. Structural equation modeling was employed to analyze the data and investigate the proposed relationships. Results: The findings reveal several important relationships. Firstly, both teacher growth mindset and teacher grit exhibit a direct positive influence on teacher well-being. Secondly, teacher grit acts as a mediator in the connection between teacher mindfulness and teacher occupational well-being. This suggests that the positive impact of mindfulness on well-being is, in part, explained by the presence of grit. Discussion: These findings significantly contribute to our comprehension of the factors influencing teacher well-being. They underscore the importance of cultivating growth mindset, mindfulness, and grit in educational contexts. Moreover, the implications of these findings for teacher training and support programs are discussed.

Older Adults Documenting Purpose and Meaning Through Photovoice and Narratives.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: The purpose of this study was to explore how older adults perceived meaning and purpose in their lives. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS: Participants (N = 15) ranged in age from 66 to 89 years, and were asked to document purpose and meaning in their lives for 15 consecutive days by using photovoice and narrative methodologies. Latent thematic analysis was used to interpret the data. RESULTS: Findings indicated 3 themes including: (1) mindful practices, (2) active participation in society with a subtheme on technology, and (3) goal-oriented mindset. Mindful practices involved spending time in nature and working to improve it and reflecting and engaging in creative endeavors to help understand the changing world. Active participation in society created feelings of usefulness and belonging among participants and ranged from taking care of and helping others to leaving a legacy. The subtheme on technology demonstrated it used to maintain social relationships, particularly during the pandemic. Examples of the goal-oriented mindset incorporated informal lifelong learning opportunities that encouraged physical and cognitive stimulation. In addition, possessions appeared to bring increased meaning and purpose to individuals who were more homebound. DISCUSSION AND IMPLICATIONS: Older adults identified purpose and meaning in their lives and demonstrated adaptability. For example, due to the pandemic or other personal dynamics such as declining mobility, some participants modified their activities to compensate. These findings have implications for policy and practice. Although older adults in this study demonstrated adaptability, others will need guidance and resources to successfully adapt and maintain levels of well-being.

Web-based training for post-secondary student well-being during the pandemic: a randomized trial.

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic has been a highly stressful period where post-secondary education moved to online formats. Coping skills like decentering and reappraisal appear to promote stress resilience, but limited research exists on cultivating these skills in online learning contexts.Methods: In a three-arm randomized trial design, we evaluated three-week, web-based interventions to gauge how to best cultivate mindfulness and stress-reappraisal skills and whether the proposed interventions led to improved mental health. Undergraduate participants (N = 183) were randomly assigned to stress mindset, mindfulness meditation, or mindfulness with choice conditions.Results: At the study level (baseline vs. post-intervention), decentering improved across all conditions. Mindfulness with choice significantly decreased negative affect and rumination compared to stress mindset, while stress mindset significantly enhanced stress mindset skills compared to both mindfulness groups. At the daily level (three sessions per week), stress mindset significantly increased positive affect compared to mindfulness meditation.Conclusions: Results suggest that student mental health can be remotely supported through brief web-based interventions. Mindfulness practices seem to be effective in improving students' negative mood and coping strategies, while stress mindset training can help students to adopt a stress-is-enhancing mindset. Additional work on refining and better matching students to appropriate interventions is needed.

Designing Mindfulness Conversational Agents for People With Early-Stage Dementia and Their Caregivers: Thematic Analysis of Expert and User Perspectives.

BACKGROUND: The number of people with dementia is expected to grow worldwide. Among the ways to support both persons with early-stage dementia and their caregivers (dyads), researchers are studying mindfulness interventions. However, few studies have explored technology-enhanced mindfulness interventions for dyads and the needs of persons with dementia and their caregivers. OBJECTIVE: The main aim of this study was to elicit essential needs from people with dementia, their caregivers, dementia experts, and mindfulness experts to identify themes that can be used in the design of mindfulness conversational agents for dyads. METHODS: Semistructured interviews were conducted with 5 dementia experts, 5 mindfulness experts, 5 people with early-stage dementia, and 5 dementia caregivers. Interviews were transcribed and coded on NVivo (QSR International) before themes were identified through a bottom-up inductive approach. RESULTS: The results revealed that dyadic mindfulness is preferred and that implementation formats such as conversational agents have potential. A total of 5 common themes were also identified from expert and user feedback, which should be used to design mindfulness conversational agents for persons with dementia and their caregivers. The 5 themes included enhancing accessibility, cultivating positivity, providing simplified tangible and thought-based activities, encouraging a mindful mindset shift, and enhancing relationships. CONCLUSIONS: In essence, this research concluded with 5 themes that mindfulness conversational agents could be designed based on to meet the needs of persons with dementia and their caregivers.

The Role of Impulsivity and Stress Mind-Set in Understanding the Mindfulness-Intimate Partner Aggression Relationship.

Perpetration of relational aggression, which is estimated to occur in 60% to 90% of relationships, has been demonstrated to have lasting negative effects both systemically and for its victims. Relational aggression has also been demonstrated to be impacted, in part by impulsivity, stress mind-set, and mindfulness. The present study examined a path analysis model of the relation between mindfulness and relational aggression, utilizing impulsivity as the mediating variable. Furthermore, the present study incorporated an examination of the potential moderating effects of stress mind-set on the relation between impulsivity and relational aggression. Three hundred eighty-three participants were recruited from across the United States, using Facebook ads. Participants completed online questionnaires assessing key study variables. We hypothesized that the negative urgency aspect of impulsivity would mediate the relation between the five facets of mindfulness and relational aggression, and further that this relationship would be moderated by stress mind-set, such that a stress mind-set which conceptualizes stress as negative would make the relation between impulsivity and relational aggression stronger. We hypothesized that the negative urgency aspect of impulsivity would mediate the relation between mindfulness and relational aggression. Furthermore, we hypothesized that the relation between impulsivity and aggression would be moderated by stress mind-set. Results indicated that the negative urgency component of impulsivity mediated the relation between all five facets of mindfulness and perpetration of relational aggression. Furthermore, stress mind-set moderated the relation between negative urgency and relational aggression, such that a lower stress mind-set was related to a stronger association between negative urgency and aggression. Implications for clinical intervention and future research efforts are discussed.

Mindfulness, mindset, motivation, and academic performance of speech pathology undergraduate students: A correlational study

Background@#Speech pathology (SP) students report great difficulty as they experience academic and mental health concerns while completing their programs. Even with increased global attention on non-cognitive factors influencing academic performance, no study focusing on Filipino SP students has been done. @*Objectives@#This study aimed to (1) explore the relationships among mindfulness, growth mindset, academic intrinsic motivation, and academic performance, and (2) investigate the influence of mindfulness, mindset, and motivation levels on academic performance. @*Methodology@#SP undergraduate students from a university in Manila (n=89) responded to an online survey measuring the three variables. Grades were extracted and analyzed alongside survey scores. Correlation and multiple linear regression analysis were performed. @*Results@#Higher mindfulness level was significantly related to better academic performance (rs(89) = -.235, p<.05). Correlation analysis further revealed a significant association between mindfulness and growth mindset (rs(89) = .390, p<.01); mindfulness and academic intrinsic motivation (rs(89) = .504, p<.01); and growth mindset and academic intrinsic motivation (rs(89) = .409, p<.01). No significant relationship was found between grades and growth mindset or motivation levels. Furthermore, regression analysis revealed that mindfulness, mindset, and motivation levels do not significantly predict grades (F(3,85)=.461, p=.710, R2=.016). @*Conclusion@#This study provides scientific findings to help educators develop a better understanding of Filipino health professions education student characteristics. Evidence on the significance of mindfulness in student performance is presented. It also provides new knowledge regarding the association between the constructs of mindfulness, growth mindset, and intrinsic motivation in this specific population.

Patient-Provider Communication, Decision-Making, and Psychosocial Burdens in Palliative Radiotherapy: A Qualitative Study on Patients' Perspectives.

CONTEXT: Patient-provider communication impacts how patients with cancer make decisions about treatment. OBJECTIVES: To examine patient perceptions of discussions, decision-making, and psychosocial burdens related to receiving palliative radiotherapy (RT), in order to inform best practices for communication about palliative RT. METHODS: We conducted an exploratory qualitative study using oral questionnaires and semi-structured interviews. Seventeen patients receiving their first course of palliative RT for lung or bone metastases at a comprehensive cancer center were interviewed. Patient interviews were transcribed verbatim and thematically analyzed using NVivo software. RESULTS: Themes that impacted patients' decisions to initiate RT included a desire to minimize pain, optimism about what RT could provide for the future, perception of having "no other choice," disappointment about cancer progression, and unfamiliarity with RT. Most patients preferred shared decision-making regarding RT initiation and reported patient empowerment, effective communication, and team collaboration as contributing to shared decision-making. Most patients preferred their physicians to make decisions about RT treatment intensity and described trust in their physicians, institutional reputation, and RT expertise as motivators for this preference. Patients who possessed a proactive decisional mindset about initiating RT as opposed to having "no other choice" were less likely to report experiencing psychosocial burdens. CONCLUSION: Most patients prefer shared decision-making regarding RT initiation but prefer their radiation oncologists to make decisions regarding treatment intensity. Communication that empowers patients in their desired level of engagement for RT decision-making may help patients make informed decisions, contribute toward a proactive decisional mindset, and reduce their perception of psychosocial burdens.

Targeting Mindsets, Not Just Tumors.

Mindsets - core assumptions about the nature and workings of things in the world - are a critical but relatively understudied variable that can influence mental and physical health in patients with cancer. Precise, targeted psychological interventions aimed at instilling adaptive mindsets have the potential to transform supportive care in oncology.

Persistence Mindset among Adolescents: Who Benefits from the Message that Academic Struggles are Normal and Temporary?

Research proposing that mindset interventions promote student achievement has been conducted at a frenetic pace nationwide in the United States, with many studies yielding mixed results. The present study explores the hypothesis that mindset interventions are beneficial for students only under specific circumstances. Using a randomized controlled trial with student-level random assignment within two public schools (School 1: n = 198 seventh-graders, 73% Black, 27% White, 53% male; School 2: n = 400 ninth-graders, 98% White, 2% Black, 52% male), this trial conceptually integrated elements from three evidence-based mindset interventions. It then examined two theoretically driven moderators of student performance following the transition to middle or high school: students' racial backgrounds and students' educational expectations. Results indicated that the intervention was effective for a particular subset of students-Black students with high educational expectations-resulting in higher grades over the course of the year. Among students with low educational expectations (regardless of race), the intervention did not impact grades. For White students with high educational expectations, the control activities actually benefitted grades more than the mindset intervention. Both theoretical and practical implications for mindset research are discussed.

Factors associated with high antimicrobial use in young calves on Dutch dairy farms: A case-control study.

Since 2012, the Dutch Veterinary Medicine Authority reports antimicrobial usage (AMU) in young calves (<56 d) on dairy farms on an annual basis. The AMU distribution in this age group is skewed, with a low AMU in young calves on the majority of dairy farms and a high AMU in a relatively small number of farms. This results in a notable difference between the mean and median AMU. To further reduce the mean AMU, the AMU on the high-AMU farms must be decreased. The objective of this study was to evaluate the association between both young stock management and an indication of the farmers' mindset and AMU in young calves on Dutch dairy farms with a high and low AMU in young calves. This knowledge may be helpful in decreasing AMU in young calves on high-AMU farms. We performed a case-control study in which 200 dairy farms (100 with high AMU and 100 with low AMU in young calves) participated. Case farms were defined as farms with an animal daily-defined dose at the farm level in young calves >28 in 2012 and 2013, based on the 90th percentile of the use of antimicrobials in young calves in 2012. Control farms had an animal daily-defined dose at the farm level in young calves of <0.5 in 2012 and 2013, which was determined to be low use. A questionnaire was conducted about general farm and young stock management, hygiene, housing, vaccination, and calf health. An indication of the farmers' mindset with regard to AMU and treatment of sick calves was determined by including statements (agree/disagree) in the questionnaire. In addition, routinely collected data on herd size, growth in herd size, replacement, and calf mortality were available for analysis. Dairy farmers that immediately started antimicrobial treatment in sick calves had higher odds of being in the high-AMU group than farmers who started treatment of sick calves with supportive nonantimicrobial therapy. Other variables associated with a high AMU in young calves included housing calves on partially slatted floors, a high prevalence of respiratory disease, an unfavorable Salmonella status, and not agreeing with the statement "Young stock need specific management." Both dairy farm management and opinions of dairy producers regarding AMU, indicative of mindset, are important when distinguishing farms with high and low AMU in young calves. Although the rationale behind mindset warrants more research, likely a change in both aspects seems to be required to reduce the AMU in young calves on dairy farms.

Promoting a growth mindset in pharmacy educators and students.

COMMENTARY: Mindsets are implicit theories that influence how individuals think, act, and respond. Those with a fixed mindset tend to resist learning opportunities; those with a growth mindset embrace learning opportunities. It is important that pharmacy educators work to shift the mindsets of their students toward a growth mindset in order to promote resilience, improve personal outcomes, and enhance attitudes toward learning. Mindsets are not static, and with persistence and effort, can be modified. IMPLICATIONS: Pharmacy educators can do much to influence the mindsets of their learners, and with purposeful effort, can help cultivate an environment that enhances a learner's growth mindset. If an educator is not deliberate, fixed mindsets can be inadvertently promoted to learners, which can result in diminished learning experiences for both student and educator. This commentary will inform pharmacy educators about mindsets and present several teaching and precepting techniques that can help promote a growth mindset among themselves and their learners.

The Prevalence of Pseudoscientific Ideas and Neuromyths Among Sports Coaches.

There has been an exponential growth in research examining the neurological basis of human cognition and learning. Little is known, however, about the extent to which sports coaches are aware of these advances. Consequently, the aim of the present study was to examine the prevalence of pseudoscientific ideas among British and Irish sports coaches. In total, 545 coaches from the United Kingdom and Ireland completed a measure that included questions about how evidence-based theories of the brain might enhance coaching and learning, how they were exposed to these different theories, and their awareness of neuromyths. Results revealed that the coaches believed that an enhanced understanding of the brain helped with their planning and delivery of sports sessions. Goal-setting was the most frequently used strategy. Interestingly, 41.6% of the coaches agreed with statements that promoted neuromyths. The most prevalent neuromyth was "individuals learn better when they receive information in their preferred learning style (e.g., auditory, visual, or kinesthetic)," which 62% of coaches believed. It is apparent that a relatively large percentage of coaches base aspects of their coaching practice on neuromyths and other pseudoscientific ideas. Strategies for addressing this situation are briefly discussed and include changing the content of coach education programs.

Make up your mind about food: A healthy mindset attenuates attention for high-calorie food in restrained eaters.

Attention bias for food could be a cognitive pathway to overeating in obesity and restrained eating. Yet, empirical evidence for individual differences (e.g., in restrained eating and body mass index) in attention bias for food is mixed. We tested experimentally if temporarily induced health versus palatability mindsets influenced attention bias for food, and whether restrained eating moderated this relation. After manipulating mindset (health vs. palatability) experimentally, food-related attention bias was measured by eye-movements (EM) and response latencies (RL) during a visual probe task depicting high-calorie food and non-food. Restrained eating was assessed afterwards. A significant interaction of mindset and restrained eating on RL bias emerged, ß = 0.36, t(58) = 2.05, p = 0.045: A health mindset - as compared to a palatability mindset - attenuated attention bias for high-caloric food only in participants with higher eating restraint. No effects were observed on EM biases. The current results demonstrate that state differences in health versus palatability mindsets can cause attenuated attention bias for high-calorie food cues in participants with higher eating restraint. Our findings add to emerging evidence that state differences in mindsets can bias attention for food, above the influence of trait differences.