Managing job stress among teachers of children with autism spectrum disorders: A randomized controlled trial of cognitive behavioral therapy with yoga.

BACKGROUND: Job-related stress undermines occupational, personal, and organizational outcomes. Stress symptoms are common among teachers of children with autism spectrum disorders and affect the academic progress of the children. This study investigated the effectiveness of yoga-based cognitive behavioral therapy in reducing occupational stress among teachers of children with autism in Lagos states, Nigeria. METHODS: The current study adopted a group-randomized waitlist control (WLC) trial design with pre-test, posttest, and follow-up assessments. Participants included 58 teachers of children with autism in public and private special schools in Lagos state. Participants were randomly assigned to combined cognitive behavioral therapy and yoga (Y-CBT) (N = 29) and WLC (N = 29) groups. The Y-CBT group participated in a 2 hours Y-CBT program weekly for 12 weeks. Three instruments - Demographic Questionnaire, Single-Item Stress Questionnaire, and Teachers' Stress Inventory (TSI) were used to collect data. Data were collected at baseline; posttest and follow-up evaluations. Data were analyzed using means, standard deviations, t test statistics, repeated measures analysis of variance, and bar charts. RESULTS: Results revealed that all dimensions of job stress (perception of stress sources, stress manifestation, and total TSI scores) reduced significantly at posttest and follow up assessments among the Y-CBT group, compared to the WLC. CONCLUSION: It was concluded that Y-CBT modalities could help to minimize the perception of stress sources and stress manifestation as well as total TSI scores among teachers of children with autism spectrum disorders.

Yoga complemented cognitive behavioral therapy on job burnout among teachers of children with autism spectrum disorders.

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVE: Job burnout is a syndrome of reaction to chronic job-related stress which affects overall health, limits occupational efficacy, and personal accomplishments of employees thereby thwarting organizational outcomes. Burnout symptoms are common among teachers of children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) and affect the academic progress of the children. This study investigated the effectiveness of Yoga-based cognitive behavioral therapy (Y-CBT) in reducing occupational burnout among teachers of children with autism in Lagos States, Nigeria. METHODS: A group-randomized control-trial with immediate intervention and waitlist control groups was design was adopted. Participants included 58 teachers of children with autism in public and private special schools in the area. Participants were randomly assigned to Y-CBT (N = 29) and waitlist control (N = 29) groups. The Y-CBT group participated in a 2 hours Y-CBT program weekly for 12 weeks. Three instruments Demographic variable, Single Item Stress Questionnaire (SISQ), and Maslach Burnout Inventory-Educators' Survey (MBI-ES) were used to collect data. Data were collected at baseline; post-test and follow-up evaluations. Data were analyzed using means, standard deviations, t test statistics, repeated measures analysis of variance, and bar charts. RESULTS: Results revealed that job-burnout reduced significantly at post-test assessment among the Y-CBT group compared to the waitlisted group. The reduction in the participant was sustained across 3months follow-up evaluation. CONCLUSION: It was concluded that Y-CBT modalities could help to reduce the burnout symptoms among teachers of children with ASD.

Effect of cognitive-behavioral therapy with music therapy in reducing physics test anxiety among students as measured by generalized test anxiety scale.

BACKGROUND: The study determined the effect of cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) with music in reducing physics test anxiety among secondary school students as measured by generalized test anxiety scale. METHODS: Pre-test post-test randomized control trial experimental design was adopted in this study. A total of 83 senior secondary students including male (n = 46) and female (n = 37) from sampled secondary schools in Enugu State, Nigeria, who met the inclusion criteria constituted participants for the study. A demographic questionnaire and a 48-item generalized test anxiety scale were used for data collection for the study. Subjects were randomized into treatment and control groups. The treatment group was exposed to a 12-week CBT-music program. Thereafter, the participants in the treatment group were evaluated at 3 time points. Data collected were analyzed using repeated measures analysis of variance. RESULTS: The participants who were exposed to CBT-music intervention program significantly had lower test anxiety scores at the post-treatment than the participants in the control group. Furthermore, the test anxiety scores of the participants in the CBT-music group were significantly lower than those in the control group at the follow-up measure. Thus, the results showed a significant effect of CBT with music in reducing physics test anxiety among secondary school students. CONCLUSION: We concluded that CBT-music program has a significant benefit in improving the management of physics test anxiety among secondary school students.

Effectiveness of music therapy with relaxation technique on stress management as measured by perceived stress scale.

BACKGROUND: Living in Nigerian environment is enough stress. In our time, many students could not cope with the stress of school environment like ours and others are still suffering from different health problems attributed to stress. Based on this, we investigated the effect of music therapy with relaxation technique on stress management among university students in southeastern Nigeria. METHODS: Participants for the study were 142 university students in the Southeastern Nigeria. Perceived stress scale (PSS) was used to measure the symptoms of stress. Statistical tool used was repeated measures with analysis of variance (ANOVA) to ascertain the effectiveness of music therapy with relaxation. Among other tools used was Partial η to examine the effect sizes and level of changes inthemanagement of stress across groups. RESULTS: The finding indicated that there were no baseline differences in levels of stress management between participants in the treatment and waitlist control conditions. Results revealed significant improvement in stress management for participants in the music therapy with relaxation group, whereas the waitlist control group showed no significant change in their score over the same period. Furthermore, the positive effect of music therapy with relaxation was maintained at follow-up. CONCLUSION: The findings of this study suggest that the efficacy of music therapy with relaxation technique for improving the students' stress management can be consistent at follow-up. Hence, music therapists, counsellors and psychotherapists should continue to investigate the beneficial effects of music therapy with relaxation on stress management among university students in every part of the world.

Effect of music therapy combined with cognitive restructuring therapy on emotional distress in a sample of Nigerian married couples.

BACKGROUND: Music therapy combined with cognitive restructuring could provide a mechanism to improve patients' sense of control over emotional distress. This study evaluates the effect of music therapy combined with cognitive restructuring therapy on emotional distress in a sample of Nigerian couples. METHODS: The participants for the study were 280 couples in south-east Nigeria. Perceived emotional distress inventory (PEDI) was used to assess emotional symptoms. Repeated measures with analysis of variance were used to examine the effects of the intervention. Mean rank was also used to document the level of changes in emotional distress across groups. Effect sizes were also reported with partial η. RESULTS: There were no significant baseline differences in emotional distress level between participants in the music therapy with cognitive restructuring group and waitlisted group. Significant decreases in the level of emotional distress were observed in the music therapy with cognitive restructuring group, but the waitlisted group demonstrated no significant change in their score both at posttreatment and 3 follow-up assessments. CONCLUSION: Our findings suggest music therapy with cognitive restructuring therapy is effective for reducing emotional distress of couples. In addition, the positive effect of the music therapy with cognitive restructuring therapy program can persist at follow-up. Therefore, therapists have to continue to examine the beneficial effects of music therapy with cognitive restructuring therapy on emotional distress level of couples both in Nigeria and in other countries.