Cognitive and behavioral approaches to occupational stress management: The case of adult education administrative workers in Nigeria.

BACKGROUND: Those in administrative positions in adult education are more likely to suffer from stress because of the hard work they do, long hours in the office, a lack of adequate medical and welfare packages, and a lack of financial aid. In this study, adult education workers in Nigeria were assessed on the effectiveness of a cognitive and behavioral approach to managing occupational stress in public administration. METHOD: This study was a group-randomized trial in which 94 adult education workers occupy public administrative positions within Enugu State, Nigeria, participated. Data were collected using 2 instruments, the Perceived Stress Scale, and the Workplace Stress Scale, which were validated by cognitive and behavioral psychologists at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka. The instruments contained internal construct and content validity as determined by Cronbach alpha. ANCOVA was employed to test for hypotheses and answer research questions. RESULTS: This study demonstrates that cognitive and behavioral approaches are significantly effective in managing occupational stress among adult education workers who work for public agencies. CONCLUSION: To improve stress management capacity among adults in public administration positions, researchers recommend frequent exposure to cognitive and behavioral approaches.

Effect of a religious coping intervention of rational emotive behavior therapy on mental health of adult learners with type II diabetes.

BACKGROUND: Some previous studies have highlighted the high rate of mental health problems associated with type II diabetes (T2DM). The primary purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of a religious coping intervention of rational emotive behavior therapy (REBT) on the mental health of adult learners with T2DM. METHODS: This study utilized a randomized controlled trial to select 146 adult learners with T2DM and mental health-related problems. The treatment group was made up of 73 adult learners, while the control group was also made up of 73 adult learners. The experimental group received 8 sessions of a religious coping intervention of REBT, while the control group received usual care. Data were collected using the patient health questionnaire, Warwick-Edinburgh mental well-being scale, and Kessler psychological distress scale. Repeated ANOVA and univariate analysis of covariance were used for data analyses. RESULTS: The religious coping intervention of REBT substantially enhanced the mental health of adult learners with T2DM as measured by Warwick-Edinburgh mental well-being scale (P < .000) and patient health questionnaire (P < .000). The religious coping intervention of REBT significantly alleviated the psychological distress of adult learners with T2DM as measured by Kessler psychological distress scale (P < .000). CONCLUSION: In this study, it has been demonstrated that a religious coping intervention of REBT effectively improves the mental health of adult learners with T2DM. The study concludes that the religious coping intervention of REBT is a practical alternative medicine approach to enhancing the mental health of adult learners with T2DM.

Intervention for job burnout reduction among a sample of Nigerian lecturers.

BACKGROUND: One of the major issues facing Nigerian university lecturers is job burnout. In the current study, Nigerian university history lecturers were examined in respect of job burnout prior to and after an online psychological intervention that followed the rational emotive behavior therapy (REBT) principles and practice. METHODS: In this study, a group randomized controlled trial approach was used, and only 80 university history lecturers with high burnout levels were included. We had 40 history lecturers participating in an online intervention group and 40 history lecturers participating in the control group. A questionnaire - Oldenburg Burnout Inventory - was used to collect data about job burnout. RESULTS: After the history lecturers underwent the online psychological intervention (online REBT), significant reductions in mean job burnout were recorded (F(1, 78) = 5756.11; P < .001). Findings show a statistically significant effects of time on burnout scores of history lecturers [F(2156) = 1323.69, P < .001, ω2 = 0.92]. There was also a significant group and time interaction effect on the participants' burnout scores [F(2156) = 1323.69, P < .001, ω2 = 0.91]. CONCLUSION: University history lecturers can benefit from online psychological intervention that targets job burnout reduction. The current study paves way for future studies to validate the efficacy of online REBT intervention among other employees who struggle with burnout problem.