Infertile women of Ethiopia: Psychological challenges and coping strategies.

Worldwide, an estimated 48 million couples and 186 million individuals are infertile, according to estimates from the World Health Organization. Ethiopia has a higher rate of infertility than the World Health Organization estimated for the entire world. Though research on the issue of infertility is growing both globally and in Ethiopia, not much has been studied. Therefore, the main objective of this study was to explore the psychological and coping strategies of infertile women in Bichena town, Ethiopia. The study followed a qualitative research approach and a descriptive phenomenological design. Data were collected through in-depth interviews with 15 infertile women using a purpose-sampling technique. Thematic analysis was the method of data analysis. The findings of this study indicated that stress, anxiety, depression, low self-esteem, and sexual dissatisfaction were the main psychological challenges that infertile women experience. Infertile women also used a variety of coping strategies, such as religious strategies, traditional strategies, medical strategies, and other strategies (marital separation and acceptance). The study concluded that infertile women in the study area were challenged by psychological factors and used different coping strategies to manage their ongoing problems. This study also has theoretical implications for the current literature and practical implications for infertile women, non-governmental organizations, community and health professionals.

Effect of educational music intervention on college students' aggressive behaviour.

BACKGROUND: Students' aggressive behavior and its negative implications have continued to intrigue researchers. Thus, the present study examined the effect of educational music intervention in reducing aggressive behavior among college students. METHOD: Quantitative data were collected from 30 college student participants in the treatment group and 30 college student participants in the control group using the teacher-rating of students' aggressive behaviors and self-rated aggression scale instruments. This study adopted the IBM SPSS version 25 program and JASP statistical program for data analysis. RESULTS: The result of the study indicated that college students in the educational music group showed considerable mean decline in aggressive behavior at posttest compared to their counterparts in the control group. At follow-up, it was revealed that educational music intervention consistently reduced the college students' aggressive behavior. CONCLUSION: Educational music intervention proved to be a helpful intervention in reducing Nigerian college students' aggressive behavior. In light of this, it would be beneficial to implement educational music intervention to reduce aggressive behavior among college students in other localities.

Effectiveness of rational emotive behavior therapy in reducing depression among undergraduate medical students.

BACKGROUND: Studies reporting the incidence of depression among medical students have been on the increase. This research sought to determine whether rational emotive behavior therapy (REBT) can be applied to help manage depression in Nigerian undergraduate medical students. METHODS: A randomized pretest/posttest control group design was used in this study. Ninety medical students with depression participated in the study and were assisted using the REBT depression manual. Using a mixed-model repeated measures analysis of variance, the researchers examined the intervention data. RESULTS: The depressive symptoms and its associated irrational beliefs among medical students in the treatment arm were significantly altered by REBT intervention at posttest and this positive outcome was sustained at follow-up in contrast to the control arm. CONCLUSION: REBT intervention significantly improves medical students' ability to overcome depression and irrational beliefs. Similar studies could be conducted in a variety of academic settings where these students can be found to expand the findings of this study.

Effects of educational music training on music performance anxiety and stress response among first-year undergraduate music education students.

BACKGROUND: The effectiveness of educational music training in lowering stress and performance anxiety among first-year undergraduate music education students is an understudied area. The goal of this study was to determine if educational music training affects first-year undergraduate music education students' stress and anxiety associated with musical performance. METHODS: A randomized controlled trial design was used in this study. A waiting list group of 35 students and an educational music training intervention group of 35 first-year undergraduate music education students were randomized for the study to commence. The Kenny music performance anxiety (MPA) scale and perceived stress scale (PSS) were used as outcome measures. RESULTS: The findings show that, among first-year undergraduate music education students, educational music training decreased their stress level associated with music performance [F(1, 68) = 390.751; P = .001, ηp2 = 0.270]. It was also found that after the educational music training, the students reported decreased anxiety level associated with music performance [F(1, 68) = 1375.495; P = .001, ηp2 = 0.344]. Significant interaction effects of educational music training and time on students' stress [F(2, 68) = 127.301; P = .001] and anxiety levels [F(2, 68) = 260.535; P = .001] were also found. CONCLUSION: Educational music intervention can be successful as a means of reducing anxiety and stress in undergraduate music education students during the first year of study.

Effect of educational music intervention on emotion regulation skills of first-year university music education students.

BACKGROUND: Making music and listening to music have been found to contribute to positive mental health. In this study, we examined whether educational music intervention improved emotion regulation skills among first-year university music education students. METHODS: The design of the study consisted of a randomized controlled trial with a treatment group as well as a control group. Students were randomly distributed to an intervention group and a control group. Students in the intervention group participated in twice-weekly group sessions for 8 weeks that discussed problem-solving skills, calming techniques, and retraining attributions. Instruments for data collection were; the Emotion Regulation Skills Scale and the Emotion Regulation Questionnaire. RESULTS: Results demonstrate that educational music intervention can facilitate the development of emotional regulation skills in undergraduate students majoring in music education. CONCLUSION: Based on the results of this study, educational music intervention is effective in enhancing emotional regulation among first-year undergraduate music education students. The educational music program provides participants with the opportunity to enhance their ability to regulate their emotions.

Assessment of stress management coaching among Nigerian pre-service history teachers: A randomized controlled study.

BACKGROUND: Studies have found that pre-service teachers commonly face stressful circumstances that prevent them from completing their academic tasks effectively. In terms of psychological factors and interventions, pre-service history teachers in Nigeria are the least studied group. The objective of this study was to investigate the effect of stress management coaching among Nigerian pre-service history teachers. METHODS: The research participants consisted of a randomized sample of 109 pre-service history teachers from Nigerian public higher education institutions (55 pre-service history teachers composed the stress management coaching group while 54 pre-service history teachers composed the waitlist control group). The stress management coaching for the pre-service history teachers was guided by a coaching manual created using the theoretical framework of rational emotive behavior coaching. RESULTS: Pre-service history teachers who participated in stress management coaching showed significantly reduced stress levels at the post-test and follow-up. There was an interaction effect between group and time on the stress of pre-service history teachers. CONCLUSION: The study suggests that pre-service history teachers can benefit from a stress management coaching intervention that uses the rational emotive behavior coaching approach. The development of this form of stress management coaching program on a large scale among pre-service history teachers could prove beneficial to their academic and personal success. Studies may be conducted in the future to examine the stress of history teachers in colleges and the efficacy of stress management coaching.

Intervention for depression among undergraduate religious education students: A randomized controlled trial.

BACKGROUND: This research was designed to investigate the management of depression among undergraduate religious education students and identify the research implications for school-based religious intervention. METHODS: This research is a randomized controlled trial. The treatment condition had 34 undergraduate religious education students but 33 undergraduate religious education students were in the control condition. The treatment process involved a 12-week application of religious rational emotive behavior therapy (RREBT). With Beck's depression inventory, version 2 (BDI-II), data collection was made possible. RESULTS: Compared to students in the control condition, undergraduate religious education students in the treatment condition demonstrated a significant drop in mean BDI-II scores at post-test (F [1, 65] = 592.043, P < .05, η2p = .90). The effect of RREBT among students in the treatment condition stayed consistent at 2 weeks follow-up (F [1, 65] = 786.396, P < .05, η2p = .92, ΔR2 = .922). CONCLUSION: The effect of RREBT on depression treatment among undergraduate religious education students was positive and can be consistent. The study results underscore the importance of expanding this treatment approach for these undergraduate education students in Nigeria.

Academic burnout among undergraduate history students: Effect of an intervention.

BACKGROUND: This study aimed to examine the effect of an online psychological intervention on academic burnout of undergraduate history students in Nigeria. METHOD: The sample for the study consists of burned-out undergraduate history students selected randomly from public universities. A total of 18 undergraduate history students with moderate to high burnout symptoms were randomly allocated to the online intervention group, while 17 were randomly assigned to the waitlist control group. RESULTS: The use of online rational emotive behavior therapy (online REBT) effectively reduced academic burnout and sustained this significant reduction among Nigerian undergraduate history students compared with a waitlist control condition. CONCLUSION: Online rational emotive behavior therapy intervention delivered to undergraduate history students brought about a significant decrease in academic burnout. Further studies should expand the benefits of online psychological intervention for burnout treatment among Nigerian undergraduate history students.