Belonging and Social Integration as Factors of Well-Being in Latin America and Latin Europe Organizations.

BACKGROUND: Studies and meta-analyses found individual, meso and micro-social factors that are associated with individual well-being, as well as a positive socio-emotional climate or collective well-being. AIM: This article simultaneously studies and examines these factors of well-being. METHOD: Well-Being is measured as a dependent variable at the individual and collective level, as well as the predictors, in three cross-sectional and one longitudinal studies. Education and social intervention workers (N = 1300, K = 80) from Chile, Spain and Uruguay participate; a subsample of educators (k = 1, n = 37) from the south central Chile and from Chile, Uruguay and Spain (n = 1149); workers from organizations in Latin America and Southern Europe, military cadets from Argentina (N < 1000); and teams (K = 14) from Spanish companies. RESULTS: Individual and collective well-being indicators were related, suggesting that the emotional climate as a context improves personal well-being. Individual factors (emotional creativity and openness and universalism values), psychosocial factors (low stress, control over work and social support supervisors and peers) were positively associated with personal well-being in education and social intervention context. Organizational dynamic or transformational culture is directly and indirectly associated with individual well-being through previously described psychosocial factors. Group processes such as internal communication and safe participation, task orientation or climate of excellence as well as leadership style that reinforces participation and belonging, were positively associated with collective well-being in labor and military context and predict team work socio-emotional climate in a longitudinal study- but were unrelated to individual well-being. Transformational leadership plays a mediating role between functional factors and social-emotional climate in work teams. Organizational role autonomy, functional organizational leadership, integration and resources were associated with collective well-being in organizations. Organizational leadership moderates the relationship between task orientation and collective well-being in military context. CONCLUSION: Individual and microsocial factors influence personal well-being. Meso level factors favorable to well-being through processes which reinforce social belonging, influence directly collective well-being and indirectly personal well-being. Leadership that reinforces participation and belonging play a central role for emotional climate. Stress and emotional climate playing an important pivotal role for psychological well-being.

Incivility at work, upset at home? Testing the cross-level moderation effect of emotional dysregulation among female nurses from primary health care.

Workplace incivility is a growing problem in nursing. However, most studies that explore this psychosocial risk and its consequences do so considering a single level and a between-person perspective. The aims of the study were to explore whether the effects of experiencing incivility during work-time could explain the daily levels of well-being of nurses at home; and to analyze if that relationship could be moderated by their levels of emotional dysregulation as a trait. This is a multilevel study with diary methodology. The study was carried out in 18 primary health-care centers belonging to Madrid and the Basque Country, in Spain. Ninety-four nurses completed a general questionnaire and 54 of them a diary booklet over five consecutive working days in two different moments, immediately after work and at bedtime. The results showed that nurses' emotional dysregulation moderated the relationship between daily workplace incivility and daily fatigue, and positive affect at night at home. However, there were no direct effects of daily incivility on these outcome variables. In conclusion, the presence of difficulties in emotional regulation among nurses can increase the negative effects of daily workplace incivility on their health and well-being.

Preliminary validation of the Perceived Locus of Causality scale for academic motivation in the context of university studies (PLOC-U).

BACKGROUND: Research has shown that self-determination theory can be useful in the study of motivation in sport and other forms of physical activity. The Perceived Locus of Causality (PLOC) scale was originally designed to study both. AIM: The current research presents and validates the new PLOC-U scale to measure academic motivation in the university context. We tested levels of self-determination before and after academic examinations. Also, we analysed degree of internalization of extrinsic motivation in students' practical activities. SAMPLE: Two hundred and eighty-seven Spanish university students participated in the study. METHOD: Data were collected at two time points to check the reliability and stability of PLOC-U by a test-retest procedure. Confirmatory factor analysis was performed on the PLOC-U. Also convergent validity was tested against the Academic Motivation Scale (EME-E). RESULTS: Confirmatory factor analysis showed optimum fit and good reliability of PLOC-U. It also presented excellent convergent validity with the EME-E and good stability over time. Our findings did not show any significant correlation between self-determination and expected results before academic examinations, but it did so afterwards, revealing greater regulation by and integration of extrinsic motivation. The high score obtained for extrinsic motivation points to a greater regulation associated with an external contingency (rewards in the practical coursework). CONCLUSIONS: PLOC-U is a good instrument for the measurement of academic motivation and provides a new tool to analyse self-determination among university students.

Improving Communication between Physicians and Their Patients through Mindfulness and Compassion-Based Strategies: A Narrative Review.

Communication between physicians and patients is a key pillar of psychosocial support for enhancing the healing process of patients and for increasing their well-being and quality of life. Physicians and other health professionals might benefit from interventions that increase their self-care, awareness, compassion, and other-focused concern, and reduce the chances of distress and burnout. There is substantial evidence for the contribution of different management strategies to achieve these aims. The goal of this article is to review the potential effect of mindfulness and compassion-based strategies for the improvement of physician-patient interactions. The acquisition of the necessary skills by physicians requires continuous education. Future research will be useful for identifying more evidence on the cost-effectiveness of this type of intervention.

El Liderazgo transformacional en las organizaciones: variables mediadoras y consecuencias a largo plazo / Transformational leadership in organizations: Mediating variables and long-term consequences

El liderazgo transformacional destaca como unos de los tipos de liderazgo más adecuados para orientar las organizaciones hacia el cambio y la innovación. Este estudio se desarrolla en cuatro organizaciones, participando directivos (n=47) y subordinados (n=107) en Vizcaya, Guipúzcoa y Navarra (España). El liderazgo transformacional se asocia con más fuerza que el transaccional a la satisfacción con el líder, la efectividad percibida de este y la motivación a trabajar en el caso de los subordinados. En el caso de los directivos el liderazgo transaccional se asocia con la misma fuerza que el transformacional con la satisfacción y efectividad, mostrando este último una relación más fuerte con la motivación que el transaccional. El liderazgo transformacional y la satisfacción con el líder predicen la motivación a trabajar extra, mediante una mayor satisfacción. Se comentan los resultados en relación a los valores dominantes y a la cultura organizacional (AU)

Transformational leadership stands out as one of the most suitable types of leadership to guide organizations towards change and innovation. This study was developed in four organizations in, in a sample of managers (n=47) and subordinates (n=107) in the provinces of Vizcaya, Guipúzcoa, and Navarra (Spain). Transformational leadership is more strongly associated with satisfaction with the leader, the perceived effectiveness of the leader, and motivation to work in the case of subordinates than transactional leadership. In the case of managers transactional leadership is associated with the same strength than transformational leadership to satisfaction and effectiveness. However, there is a stronger relationship with motivation than transactional leadership. Transformational leadership and satisfaction with the leader predict motivation to work overtime through increased satisfaction. The results are discussed in relation to the dominant values and organizational culture (AU)

Enhancing relaxation states and positive emotions in physicians through a mindfulness training program: A one-year study.

Previous research on mindfulness has focused mainly on stress-related negative symptoms and short-term effects. In contrast, the present article focuses on the impact of a mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) program on improving well-being (i.e. relaxation states and related positive emotions) in a longitudinal study for a period of one year. A randomized controlled trial in a sample of 42 physicians was used. The intervention group participated in an 8-week MBSR program, with an additional 10-month maintenance period and completed measures of mindfulness and relaxation at pre-intervention, post-intervention and after 10 months. Heart rate measures were also obtained. Significant improvements in favor of the experimental group compared with the control group on the levels of mindfulness and relaxation (including positive emotional states, such as at ease/peace, renewal, energy, optimism, happiness, acceptance, and even transcendence) were obtained after eight weeks. Remarkably, change magnitudes (effect size) significantly increased at the end of the maintenance period after a year, especially for mindfulness and positive energy. Additionally, heart rate significantly decreased for the intervention group and maintained a year after the beginning of the treatment. Results are relevant in terms of practical consequences for improving health and well-being in this population and also in terms of cost-efficiency.

Acceptability and Effectiveness of a Long-Term Educational Intervention to Reduce Physicians' Stress-Related Conditions.

INTRODUCTION: This study aimed to test the acceptability and effectiveness of a two-phase mindfulness-based stress reduction program (8-week initial treatment plus a 10-month maintenance phase) in alleviating work stress-related symptoms (i.e., burnout, heart rate [HR], and blood pressure [BP]) in a sample of 42 physicians. METHODS: A randomized controlled trial and a simple pre-post design were used, respectively, for each of the two phases of the study. Outcome measures included the Five Facets of Mindfulness Questionnaire and the Maslach Burnout Questionnaire. HR and BP measures were also obtained in the experimental group by means of a digital monitor. RESULTS: After the initial 8 weeks of treatment, significant improvements for the experimental group in mindfulness levels and reductions in emotional exhaustion, HR, and BP were obtained. Effect sizes (Cohen d) significantly increased over the 10-month maintenance period, especially for mindfulness and systolic BP. Acceptance was notably high (low attrition rate and high compliance with program activities). DISCUSSION: Outcomes are significant in terms of practical consequences for reducing and controlling risks of developing burnout and cardiovascular disease in this population and enhancing well-being in life.

Procedimientos analítico-racionales en la adaptación de tests. Adaptación al español de la batería de pruebas de razonamiento: Adaptation to Spanish of the Reasoning Tests Battery / Judgmental-analytical procedures for adapting tests

Adaptar un test entre culturas o idiomas requiere considerar aspectos legales, culturales, lingüísticos, métricos y de uso. La atención prestada por la literatura especializada a los aspectos metodológicos implicados en el estudio de la equivalencia métrica ha sido significativamente mayor que la dedicada a los procedimientos analítico-racionales previos a la fase de confirmación empírica. Sin embargo, la consideración de estos últimos es crucial en el proceso de adaptación. En esta línea, el objetivo de este trabajo es incidir en la relevancia de las etapas previas y describirlas, ofreciendo una sistematización que considera diez apartados. Todos ellos contribuyen a garantizar y favorecer la construcción de un test adaptado y equivalente, en la medida de lo posible, al test original. El proceso es ejemplificado con la adaptación al español de una prueba cognitiva construida en portugués para la población portuguesa, la Bateria de Provas de Raciocínio.

Adapting a test between cultures or languages requires taking into account legal, linguistic, metric, and use-related considerations. Significantly more attention has been paid to the methodological aspects involved in the study of metric equivalence than to judgmental-analytical procedures prior to the empirical confirmation stage. However, considering the latter is crucial in the adaptation process. Along these lines, this paper seeks to describe and focus on the relevance of the previous stages, thereby offering a systematization process that comprises ten sections. This approach contributes to ensuring the construction of a test adapted and equivalent in as much as possible to the original. This process is exemplified by means of a Spanish language adaptation of a cognitive test originally designed in Portuguese for the Portuguese population, the Reasoning Test Battery.