Sometimes you just can't: within-person variation in working memory capacity moderates negative affect reactivity to stressor exposure.

The executive hypothesis of self-regulation places cognitive information processing at the center of self-regulatory success/failure. While the hypothesis is well supported by cross-sectional studies, no study has tested its primary prediction, that temporary lapses in executive control underlie moments of self-regulatory failure. Here, we conducted a naturalistic experiment investigating whether short-term variation in executive control is associated with momentary self-regulatory outcomes, indicated by negative affect reactivity to everyday stressors. We assessed working memory capacity (WMC) through ultra-brief, ambulatory assessments on smart phones five times per day in a 7-day ecological momentary assessment (EMA) study involving college-aged adults. We found that participants exhibited more negative affect reactivity to stressor exposures during moments when they exhibited lower than usual WMC. Contrary to previous findings, we found no between-person association between WMC and average stress reactivity. We interpret these findings as reflecting the role of executive control in determining one's effective capacity to self-regulate.

Relations among gratitude, adaptation to disability, and flourishing among adults with disabilities: A longitudinal mediation model.

PURPOSE/OBJECTIVE: Flourishing, a primary outcome of rehabilitation psychology, is understudied among adults with disabilities. Gratitude has emerged as an individual strength that is both malleable and robust in predicting flourishing and adaptation to disability. The purpose of this study was to assess the influence of gratitude on flourishing over time and to analyze the potential mediating role of adaptation to disability on this relationship for a group of adults with disabilities. RESEARCH METHOD/DESIGN: Data were collected at 3 time points over 21 months (N = 429). A single mediator model with external demographic variables was tested to determine the relationship of gratitude (Time 1) with adaptation to disability (Time 2) and flourishing (Time 3). Approximately 40% of the initial sample was retained across all time points. RESULTS: Gratitude predicted later flourishing and adaptation to disability accounted for a significant portion of this relationship, accounting for 27% of the total effect. CONCLUSIONS/IMPLICATIONS: Results of this single mediator model indicate that adaptation to disability serves as a partial mediator of the relationship between gratitude and flourishing, with both gratitude and adaptation to disability having a significantly positive influence on flourishing. Understanding gratitude's influence on later adaptation and flourishing provides data to inform rehabilitation psychology interventions. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved).

Development and validation of the social motivation scale in people with disabilities.

OBJECTIVE: Social effectiveness is key to success in the labor market. For decades, social motivation has been empirically studied as both a presumed cause and consequence of social effectiveness. Yet, few direct measures of social motivation exist, and even fewer have been validated with a disability population. This study provides the measurement structure and psychometric properties of a newly created measure of social motivation tested with a general disability population. RESEARCH DESIGN: Participants included 1,013 US adults with disabilities. Exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) were implemented to validate the measure. RESULTS: Results of the EFA suggest that a reduced 26-item inventory exhibits a 5-factor structure in a general population of people with disabilities. These results were confirmed with the CFA. Concurrent validity analysis revealed that most factors were significantly associated with relevant psychosocial variables in the expected directions. CONCLUSIONS: The Social Motivation Inventory provides a useful tool for enhancing understanding of social motivation in rehabilitation psychology and rehabilitation counseling research and practice. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).

Treatment-seeking college students with disabilities: Presenting concerns, protective factors, and academic distress.

Students with disabilities are a growing population on college campuses and have unique challenges that put them at risk for early departure, creating complexity in efforts to address their personal and academic needs. PURPOSE: The purpose was to explore academic and other sources of distress among college students with disabilities to identify possible areas where enhanced supports might benefit this population. Research Method and Design: Researchers analyzed cross-sectional data from the Center for Collegiate Mental Health to compare subsamples of students with (n = 1,774) and without disabilities (n = 1,774) on presenting concerns, and to determine significant predictors of academic distress among students with disabilities. RESULTS: Results indicated that students with disabilities have many similar treatment concerns with their peers, but showed greater concerns in depression and self-harm; academic performance; anxiety and obsessions/compulsions; and fewer concerns in relationship problems. Significant predictors of academic distress for students with disabilities included attention deficit-hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), depression and self-harm, trauma or victimization, stress and academic performance, and social support from family and peers. CONCLUSIONS/IMPLICATIONS: These results suggest the importance of several factors in understanding the presenting concerns of treatment-seeking students with disabilities and mitigating academic distress for this population. Additional areas for research are presented. (PsycINFO Database Record

Mediators of disability and hope for people with spinal cord injury.

PURPOSE: To test potential strength-based mediators of functional disability and hope in adults with spinal cord injury. METHOD: Two hundred and forty-two participants with spinal cord injury were recruited for this study. The mean age of participants was 44.6 years (standard deviation = 13.2), and 66.1% were men. Participants completed a survey containing a demographic questionnaire, as well as measures of functional disability, hope, self-esteem, proactive coping, perceived social support and disability acceptance. Mediation analysis was conducted using a bootstrap test for multiple mediators. RESULTS: Proactive coping, self-esteem and perceived social support significantly mediated the relationship between functional disability and hope, while disability acceptance did not. The combination of mediators resulted in functional disability no longer being a significant predictor of hope. CONCLUSIONS: The strength-based constructs of proactive coping, self-esteem and social support appear effective in predicting hope regardless of severity of spinal cord injury. Functional disability was no longer predictive of hope after controlling for these strength-based constructs. Disability acceptance did not significantly add to the mediation model. These results provide further evidence for strength-based interventions in rehabilitation. Implications for Rehabilitation Strength-based constructs of proactive coping, self-esteem and social support are important factors for addressing hope following spinal cord injury, regardless of level of severity. Rehabilitation services providers should focus efforts on supporting clients in the accurate appraisal of predictable stressors and then generate means for addressing them as a form of proactive coping. Rehabilitation services providers must be cautious when addressing self-esteem to focus on perceived competence and learning processes rather than self-esteem directly or through the accomplishment of goals that may not be achieved. Knowing that social supports are related to hope post-spinal cord injury, it is important for rehabilitation services providers to recognize potential social supports early in the rehabilitation process and involve those social supports in the rehabilitation process when possible.

Work-related social skills: Definitions and interventions in public vocational rehabilitation.

OBJECTIVE: Social skills play an important role in employment. This study provides a qualitative analysis of salient work related social skills and interventions for addressing social skills in public vocational rehabilitation (VR). RESEARCH DESIGN: A modified consensual qualitative research (CQR) approach was taken to understand the elements and influence of work related social skills in public VR. Thirty-five counselors, supervisors, and administrators participated in semistructured interviews to provide their perspectives of work related social skills and the interventions they use for addressing these skills. RESULTS: Multiple aspects of work-related social skills were described as being important for VR consumer success. The most common work related social skills across all participants were nonverbal communication and the ability to connect with others. Primary social interventions included informal social skills training (SST), systems collaboration, and creating an appropriate job match. CONCLUSIONS: Public rehabilitation agency staff, constantly faced with addressing work related social skills, possess many insights about salient skills and interventions that can benefit future research and practice. Agencies currently address social skills deficits by providing interventions to both person and environment. The research provides directions for future research related to identification of social skills and interventions to address related deficits.