Preparing Veterans Health Administration Psychologists to Meet the Complex Needs of Aging Veterans.

Background: There are significant workforce shortages for geriatric mental health care. The imbalance is particularly pronounced in the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) due to the large number of aging veterans receiving care. Workforce-based educational programs are needed to train existing clinicians to meet the mental health needs of aging veterans. Observations: This article describes an expansion of the Geriatric Scholars Program to train VHA psychologists to care for aging veterans. The multicomponent program includes an introductory course and opportunities to apply geriatric knowledge and skills through quality improvement initiatives. The Geriatric Scholars Program-Psychology Track evolved to incorporate ongoing specialized elective learning opportunities for scholars. A webinar series extends the educational programs to reach the entire VHA workforce. Conclusions: The Geriatric Scholars Program-Psychology Track represents a longitudinal educational approach to training VHA psychologists in clinical geropsychology. Other community-based organizations can use this model to construct and implement similar programs.

Workplace harassment, psychological distress, and alcohol problems: A longitudinal study.

OBJECTIVES: Addresses the role that psychological distress (ie depression and anxiety) plays in mediating the relationship between workplace harassment (ie sexual and generalized workplace harassment) and increased alcohol problems among employed college students. PARTICIPANTS: Two waves of data were collected from 905 study participants sampled from eight colleges and universities in the Midwestern United States. METHODS: A mediation analysis was conducted using Hayes's PROCESS macro with bootstrapping. RESULTS: The findings indicated that that workplace harassment predicts increased alcohol problems, and that the association between harassment and alcohol problems is mediated by psychological distress. CONCLUSIONS: Workplace harassment is a prevalent problem associated with increased alcohol problems and poor mental health for both genders in the U.S. collegiate workforce. Mental health practitioners and counselors at colleges can help students identify such issues and determine which steps a student might take to address them.

Perfectionism, substance use, and mental health in college students: A longitudinal analysis.

The study examined the relationship between perfectionism (categorized by adaptive, maladaptive, and non-perfectionist clusters), substance use (i.e., drinking and smoking), and mental health in a large sample of college student (N = 841; M = 19.6 years of age) in a time-lagged design. Students were classified using a two-step cluster analysis where subscales are used in hierarchical and k-means cluster analysis. Results revealed that adaptive perfectionists reported better mental health compared to non-perfectionists and maladaptive perfectionists. Additionally, adaptive perfectionists reported lower levels of alcohol use compared to non-perfectionists. Differences between mental health and alcohol use by cluster were found over time, but not for smoking behaviors. Across all participants, substance use did not mediate the relationship between perfectionism and mental health. Future research directions as well as practical implications are discussed.

Caregiver Burden, Work-Family Conflict, Family-Work Conflict, and Mental Health of Caregivers: A Mediational Longitudinal Study.

Caregivers are responsible for the care of another, such as a young adult, disabled child, elderly parent, or sick spouse. Individuals who have caregiving responsibilities must blend the often-contradictory behavioral expectations from the different roles in which they reside. Building on the theoretical foundations of Conservation of Resources theory, this study tests a mediational model explicating the process through which caregiver burden impacts mental health through work-family conflict among a community sample of 1,007 unpaid caregivers in the greater Chicago area who responded to a mail survey at three time points. Structural equation modeling analyses indicate strain-based conflict as being a consistent mediator between caregiver burden and mental health at baseline and two years later. These findings can inform practice and policy for workers with caregiving responsibilities.

Did you get that thing I sent you? Mediating effects of strain and work-family conflict on the telepressure and burnout relationship.

Employees who feel the urge and preoccupation to respond to workplace asynchronous communication quickly may be suffering from workplace telepressure (WPT). Although information and communication technologies have many organizational benefits, it is imperative to understand the cost of blurring work and family roles. Using the Job Demands-Resources model, the relationship between WPT and key outcomes, such as strain, work-family conflict, family-work conflict (FWC), and burnout was examined. In Study 1, a sample of 220 working students supported the mediation of strain in the WPT and work-family and family-work relationship. Additionally, Study 2 expanded this model using a sample of 269 working individuals. Specifically, the relationship between WPT and burnout was sequentially mediated by strain and either work-family or FWC. Implications are discussed.

Interdisciplinary development and implementation of a dementia skills training program in a VA community living center: a pilot study.

This pilot study investigates the usefulness of a dementia care training program developed by an interdisciplinary team to address problem behaviors associated with dementia. Staff members of a VA Community Living Center completed an 8-hour workshop covering fundamental knowledge about dementia and instruction in skills to use with patients through video, lecture, and role-plays. Measures on dementia knowledge and perceived self-efficacy were completed by staff members before and after the workshop. Results revealed increases in self-efficacy and knowledge, with particular gains in general knowledge of dementia and communicating with patients. Younger staff members scored higher on tests of knowledge at pre- and post-test, whereas staff members with more years of work experience rated their self-efficacy higher at post-test only. There was an associated decrease in assaultive behaviors by patients with dementia in the year this workshop was implemented. Results highlight the benefit of interdisciplinary collaboration in developing educational content and the value of providing staff training on managing dementia-related behaviors. Adjustments to this training program are discussed.

Understanding the Correlates between Care-Recipient Age and Caregiver Burden, Work-family Conflict, Job Satisfaction, and Turnover Intentions.

Although the caregiver literature has explored a wide array of different variables, there is a gap in research on how demographics of the care recipient affect their caregiver. Using data from a diverse sample of 1,007 unpaid caregivers, individuals were separated into four groups based on care recipient age; childcare, adultcare, eldercare, and those with care recipients from multiple age categories. Then, following previous literature, childcare was split into four groups based on the age of the youngest child cared for (0-2 years; 3-5 years; 6-12 years; and 13-17 years). Group differences were found in work-family conflict (time) and five types of caregiver burden. Specifically, time-dependence burden differed most between groups with caregivers of children (0-2 years) having the highest levels and caregivers of children (13-17) having the lowest levels. There were no differences found between groups for job satisfaction, turnover intentions, or family-work conflict. Additional differences were found when considering caregivers' gender. This research is an exploratory step in understanding how age of care recipient relates to different outcomes for caregivers. Implications are discussed.

A Fresh Look at Socio-demographics in Work-Family Conflict: A Cluster Analysis Approach.

An important gap in work-family literature is the understanding of how socio-demographic variables, such as sex, age, hours worked, age of youngest child, and household income may relate to work-family conflict. Using data from 667 individuals and longitudinal data from 1,007 caregivers, separate exploratory cluster analysis by gender provided a three cluster solution for caregiving men, non-caregiving men, and caregiving women and a four cluster solution for non-caregiving women. Differences in work interfering with family were found in the caregiving men, caregiving women, and non-caregiving women clusters. Non-caregiving men, non-caregiving women, and caregiving women had differential levels of family interfering with work by cluster. Cohen's D revealed that age had the largest effect size between clusters for individuals and caregivers. Findings and implications are discussed.

Swimming against the Tide: A Case Study on the Removal of Conservatorship and Guardianship.

OBJECTIVE: This article evaluates the role healthcare providers play in balancing safety versus autonomy among elders when performing capacity evaluations. METHODS: Presentation of a case study consisting of an 85-year-old, Caucasian, widowed, male, post-stroke veteran, residing in long-term care. He was assigned a permanent court-appointed joint guardian and conservator, but wanted to remove both of these as he felt he had the ability to manage his own affairs. This case study specifically addresses the issue of financial capacity. RESULTS: After completion of the evaluation, a case was made for the least restrictive means balancing patient autonomy and protection, opting for a limited conservatorship. The court, using the evaluation as evidence, completely removed the guardianship and conservatorship. CONCLUSIONS: This article outlines how providers can navigate multiple roles, team dynamics, and advocate for enhancing the capacity of an older adult.

Probabilistic thinking and death anxiety: a terror management based study.

Terror Management Theory has been utilized to understand how death can change behavioral outcomes and social dynamics. One area that is not well researched is why individuals willingly engage in risky behavior that could accelerate their mortality. One method of distancing a potential life threatening outcome when engaging in risky behaviors is through stacking probability in favor of the event not occurring, termed probabilistic thinking. The present study examines the creation and psychometric properties of the Probabilistic Thinking scale in a sample of young, middle aged, and older adults (n = 472). The scale demonstrated adequate internal consistency reliability for each of the four subscales, excellent overall internal consistency, and good construct validity regarding relationships with measures of death anxiety. Reliable age and gender effects in probabilistic thinking were also observed. The relationship of probabilistic thinking as part of a cultural buffer against death anxiety is discussed, as well as its implications for Terror Management research.