Psychological flexibility prospectively predicts COVID-19 PPE use across a two-month interval.

Perceived susceptibility, psychological flexibility and health behaviors (PPE use, social distancing) were measured at two time points spaced 2 months apart during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic and lockdown in the U.S.A (Time 1 April 2020; Time 2 June 2020). Demographic variables were also collected. Data from 151 Mturk workers indicated that Time 1 psychological flexibility significantly predicted PPE use and social distancing. The effect sizes were substantial. Perceived susceptibility was not a significant predictor. Psychological flexibility messaging and interventions could be an important way to increase the likelihood of people performing health protective behaviors to better constrain the continuing COVID-19 outbreak.

The Effects of Cognitive Behavioral Group Therapy on Anxiety and Emotion Regulation in Thai Middle School Students.

This quasi-experimental study examined the effects of Cognitive Behavioral Group Therapy (CBGT) in alleviating anxiety and enhancing emotion regulation in community-sample Thai middle school students. Forty-seven community-sample students in Grades 7-9 with elevated SCARED scores participated in this pre-post treatment-control study. Twenty-three in the treatment group attended the eight-session 2-hour semi-weekly CBGT. The remaining were the control group. Before and after the intervention, the participants completed the measures of anxiety and emotion regulation. Data obtained were subsequently analyzed using repeated-measures and between-groups MANOVAs. At post-intervention, the treatment group reported a significant decrease in anxiety but a significant increase in emotion regulation. Furthermore, when compared with the control group, their anxiety score was significantly lower but their emotion regulation score was significantly higher, respectively. Findings supported the benefits of CBGT in reducing anxiety in Thai middle school students and in enhancing their emotion regulation skills. Therapeutic implications for anxiety reduction were discussed.

Coping with COVID-19: Survey data assessing psychological distress to COVID-19 and vaccine hesitancy with measures of theory of planned behavior, mindfulness, compassion, cultural orientation, and pandemic fatigue.

As the COVID-19 pandemic extends into another year, the causes and consequences of pandemic fatigue and vaccine hesitancy have become prominent concerns. This dataset contains MTurk survey responses from 658 vaccinated USA samples indicating: (a) pandemic fatigue and psychological distress (physical and trauma symptoms); (b) delays in receiving medical care due to COVID-19 restrictions; (c) vaccine-related behavior and beliefs (type of vaccine and vaccine hesitancy), and (d) COVID-19 preventive health behaviors. Several predictor variables were also collected including: (a) demographic variables; (b) COVID-19 health risk factors; (c) perceived susceptibility to disease and intolerance of uncertainty; (d) attitudes, subjective norms and perceived behavioral control about COVID-19 vaccine from the theory of planned behavior; (e) compassion for self and others; (f) psychological flexibility and inflexibility; (g) Buddhist mindfulness insight (impermanence, acceptance of suffering, nonself attachment, mindfulness); and (h) cultural orientation and authoritarianism. The data were collected between August 28th and October 18th of 2021. Out of the 746 MTurk workers who responded to the survey, 88 were removed from the dataset due to failing attention checks and problems with quality data. The responses from the remaining 658 allow an examination of the associations between fatigue and distress from COVID-19; COVID-19 vaccine related behaviors and beliefs; preventive health behaviors for COVID-19; COVID-19 susceptibility; intolerance of uncertainty; together with compassion, psychological flexibility, mindfulness, cultural orientation, as well as authoritarianism as possible moderators of COVID-19 fatigue, distress, and vaccine beliefs.

Stress, self-compassion, and school burnout in Thai high school students.

OBJECTIVES: High school has been recognized as a critical period for many students. With the upcoming competition for university admission, they tend to encounter significant stress. Exceeding its optimal level, stress became debilitating and could escalate into school burnout, which entailed various negative outcomes. The current study, hence, was aimed to identify a protective factor that helped mediate the relationship between stress and school burnout in Thai high school students. Self-compassion was selected here, given its relevant conceptual grounds and its cultural relevance (i.e., Thai individuals shown to be particularly oriented toward self-compassion). METHODS: Data were collected from 170 Thai high school students, who responded to measures of stress, self-compassion, and school burnout. A structural equation model (SEM) was used to test the hypothetical model where the positive association between stress and school burnout was mediated by self-compassion. RESULTS: All indices of the model fits were confirmed, and the proposed model explained 80% of the variance in school burnout. CONCLUSION: The role of self-compassion in alleviating the impact of stress on school burnout was shown and relevant implications were discussed.

Assessment of the Perceived Importance of Religion in Couple Relationships in Christians, Muslims, Buddhists, and the Nonreligious.

Couple relationship standards (beliefs about what makes for a satisfying couple relationship) have not included standards held about religion, which is surprising given how important religion is in many parts of the world. In the current study, we developed the Importance of Religion in Couple Relationships Scale (IRCRS) with the aim of having a scale suitable for use across different cultural and religious groups. The IRCRS was administered to three samples: 354 Pakistani residents (178 females, 176 males) who identified as Muslim; 274 Thai residents (157 females, 117 males) who identified as Buddhist; and 165 Westerners (resident in Australia or the United States, 60 males, 105 females) who identified as either not religious (n = 74) or Christian (n = 91). We developed a 13-item measure with a two level structure yielding an overall importance of religion score. The items in the IRCRS had acceptable cross-cultural structural invariance in a multi-group confirmatory factor analysis of the Pakistani Muslims, Thai Buddhists, and Westerners. Pakistani Muslims endorsed IRCRS standards most strongly, Western Christians next most strongly, Thai Buddhists next, and Westerners with no religion least strongly. There were no gender differences, and only very small differences by relationship status. The IRCRS can be used in future research to investigate the association of religious relationship standards with couple relationship satisfaction and might be a useful clinical tool to assess the importance of religion to couples.

Los estándares de las relaciones de pareja (las creencias acerca de lo que conduce a una relación de pareja satisfactoria) no han incluido los estándares relacionados con la religión, lo cual es sorprendente teniendo en cuenta cuán importante es la religión en muchas partes del mundo. En el presente estudio desarrollamos la Escala de la Importancia de la Religión en las Relaciones de Pareja (IRCRS, por sus siglas en inglés) con el objetivo de tener una escala apta para el uso en diferentes grupos religiosos y culturales. Se administró la IRCRS a tres muestras: 354 residentes pakistaníes (178 mujeres, 176 hombres) que se identificaron como musulmanes; 274 residentes tailandeses (157 mujeres, 117 hombres) que se identificaron como budistas; y 165 occidentales (residentes en Australia o en EE. UU., 60 hombres, 105 mujeres) que se identificaron como irreligiosos (n = 74) o como cristianos (n = 91). Desarrollamos una escala de 13 ítems con una estructura de dos niveles que da un puntaje de la importancia general de la religión. Los ítems de la IRCRS tuvieron una invarianza estructural intercultural aceptable en un análisis factorial confirmatorio multigrupo de los musulmanes pakistaníes, los budistas tailandeses y los occidentales. Los musulmanes pakistaníes confirmaron los estándares de la IRCRS más marcadamente, luego le siguieron los cristianos occidentales, los budistas tailandeses y finalmente los occidentales irreligiosos. No hubo diferencias de género y solo muy pequeñas diferencias según el estado civil. La IRCRS puede utilizarse en investigaciones futuras para averiguar la asociación de los estándares religiosos de las relaciones con la satisfacción con la relación de pareja, y podría ser una herramienta clínica útil para evaluar la importancia de la religión para las parejas.

Mindfulness and eudaimonic well-being: the mediating roles of rumination and emotion dysregulation.

Mindfulness has been widely studied in Western psychology for reducing psychological distress. However, several scholars noted that in the East, where the concept originated, mindfulness may be understood differently. In Eastern cultures such as Thailand, mindfulness is not only employed to deal with suffering but also to promote well-being. To the best of our knowledge, no studies have been undertaken to evaluate the relationship between traditional mindfulness and eudaimonic well-being in Eastern contexts. In the present study, we investigated the relationships between mindfulness and eudaimonic well-being in Thai contexts. We also explored the mediating roles of rumination and emotion dysregulation on this relationship. Data were collected from 312 Thai undergraduates who completed a measure of Eudaimonic Well-Being, the Freiburg Mindfulness Inventory, the Rumination-Reflection Questionnaire, and the Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale. Results largely supported our hypotheses. Mindfulness was found to have a positive and direct association with eudaimonic well-being. Rumination and emotion dysregulation partially mediated this association. Additionally, both rumination and emotion dysregulation had negative and direct association with eudaimonic well-being. The findings highlight the positive influences of mindfulness on well-being. The benefits of mindfulness for improvement of eudaimonic well-being through reducing rumination and emotion dysfunction are discussed.

Psychological reactions to COVID-19: Survey data assessing perceived susceptibility, distress, mindfulness, and preventive health behaviors.

The COVID-19 pandemic created a complex psychological environment for persons in America. A total of 450 USA MTurk workers completed measures of: (a) basic demographic characteristics; (b) health risk factors for COVID-19; (c) perceived susceptibility variables related to COVID-19; (d) COVID-19 preventive health behaviors; and (e) distress, physical symptoms, and quality of life measures. The surveys were completed between April 9, 2020 and April 18, 2020. This recruitment period corresponded to the first 2-3 weeks of lockdown in most of the USA. Follow-up surveys were completed by 151 of the USA participants between June 19, 2020 and July 11, 2020 (approximately 2 months after the first measurement). These data permit evaluation of relationships among demographic variables, COVID-19 stress and coping, COVID-19 preventive health behavior, and the role of mindfulness as a possible moderator of distress as well as a predictor of preventive health behavior. The availability of follow-up data permit longitudinal analyses that provide a stronger basis for causal inference.

A Cross-National Analysis of the Psychometric Properties of the Geriatric Anxiety Inventory.

OBJECTIVES: Assessing late-life anxiety using an instrument with sound psychometric properties including cross-cultural invariance is essential for cross-national aging research and clinical assessment. To date, no cross-national research studies have examined the psychometric properties of the frequently used Geriatric Anxiety Inventory (GAI) in depth. METHOD: Using data from 3,731 older adults from 10 national samples (Australia, Brazil, Canada, The Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Singapore, Thailand, and United States), this study used bifactor modeling to analyze the dimensionality of the GAI. We evaluated the "fitness" of individual items based on the explained common variance for each item across all nations. In addition, a multigroup confirmatory factor analysis was applied, testing for measurement invariance across the samples. RESULTS: Across samples, the presence of a strong G factor provides support that a general factor is of primary importance, rather than subfactors. That is, the data support a primarily unidimensional representation of the GAI, still acknowledging the presence of multidimensional factors. A GAI score in one of the countries would be directly comparable to a GAI score in any of the other countries tested, perhaps with the exception of Singapore. DISCUSSION: Although several items demonstrated relatively weak common variance with the general factor, the unidimensional structure remained strong even with these items retained. Thus, it is recommended that the GAI be administered using all items.

Mechanisms of change of traditional mindfulness practice in Thai adolescent students: a cross-sectional mediation study.

Given the substantial evidence for the efficacy of secular mindfulness-based interventions (MBIs) for reducing psychological distress and increasing wellbeing, research attention has more recently turned to investigating the mechanisms by which this is achieved and has revealed that MBI works not only directly on reducing distress, but also indirectly through a reduction in mediating problems such as rumination and emotional regulation difficulty. However, to the best of the authors' knowledge, no studies have yet been undertaken to evaluate the effect on such mediating conditions, of traditional Buddhist mindfulness meditation, as practiced in Eastern cultures and increasingly in the West, from which MBIs have been derived but remain distinctly different. The current study was therefore designed to examine the effect of traditional mindfulness on mediating conditions in participants who were born into and were experienced in this approach. Specifically, the study examines the relationship between traditional mindfulness and distress, and between traditional mindfulness and the mediating conditions of rumination and emotional regulation difficulty, in Thai adolescent students experienced in Buddhist meditation practices. The results resonate well with the findings from MBI studies, showing significant negative correlations between rumination and distress and emotional regulation difficulty and distress, and significant positive correlations between mindfulness and the mediators. The implications of the benefits of traditional mindfulness for reducing non-clinical distress, rumination and difficulties in emotion regulation are discussed.

Math anxiety in Thai early adolescents: a cognitive-behavioral perspective.

With its high prevalence and debilitating impact on students, math anxiety is well studied within the educational context. However, the problem has yet to be examined from the psychological perspective, which is necessary in order to produce a more comprehensive perspective and to pave the way for therapeutic intervention. The current study, therefore, was conducted to identify cognitive and behavioral factors relevant to the occurrence and maintenance of math anxiety. Data were collected from 300 grade 9 students (150 females and 150 males) from public and private schools in Bangkok, Thailand. Participants responded to the measures of math anxiety, negative math beliefs, negative math appraisals and math avoidance. Structural equation modeling was conducted. Model fit indices obtained consistently suggested the good fitness of the model to the data [e.g. χ2/df = 0.42, root mean square error of approximation (RMSEA) = 0.00]. Negative math beliefs, negative math appraisals and math avoidance had a significant direct effect on math anxiety. Additionally, the indirect effect of negative math appraisal was observed between negative math beliefs and math anxiety. In summary, the proposed model accounted for 84.5% of the variance in the anxiety. The findings are discussed with particular focus on implications for therapeutic intervention for math anxiety.

Looks can be deceiving: body image dissatisfaction relates to social anxiety through fear of negative evaluation.

Introduction Emerging adults are particularly vulnerable to body image dissatisfaction and social anxiety. These bring about a host of negative outcomes, including compromised social adjustment and well-being. Fear of negative evaluation has been shown to be a core element of social anxiety, but it is rarely considered in studies of body image and its effects on social anxiety. This study aimed to bridge this gap by examining the role of fear of negative evaluation in the association between body image dissatisfaction and social anxiety. Methods A cross-sectional study using 80 Thai undergraduates (mean age of 21 years) was conducted by self-reported (questionnaire) measures. Body image dissatisfaction was measured with the short version of the Body Shape Questionnaire (BSQ-8C), fear of negative evaluation with the Brief Fear of Negative Evaluation Scale, and social anxiety with the Interaction Anxiousness Scale (IAS). Correlation and mediation analyses were conducted to assess how these constructs were related to one another. Results The key hypothesis was supported: positive associations were found among body image dissatisfaction, fear of negative evaluation and social anxiety, and the association between body image dissatisfaction and social anxiety was mediated by fear of negative evaluation. Discussion Generalizing from the current findings, ideas for possible amelioration of social anxiety are discussed.

Body image satisfaction and self-esteem in Thai female adolescents: the moderating role of self-compassion.

AIM: Body image satisfaction significantly influences self-esteem in female adolescents. Increased reports of lowered satisfaction in this population have raised concerns regarding their compromised self-esteem. This research study, therefore, sought to identify a culturally significant moderator of the association between body image satisfaction and self-esteem in Thai female adolescents. Orientation toward self-compassion, found to be particularly high in Thailand, was examined. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A total of 302 Thai female undergraduates from three large public and private universities in the Bangkok metropolitan area responded to a set of questionnaires, which measured demographic information, body image satisfaction, self-compassion, and self-esteem. Data were analyzed using correlation and multiple regression analyses. Self-compassion was tested as a moderator of the relationship between body image satisfaction and self-esteem. RESULTS: Although its effect was relatively small, self-compassion significantly moderated the positive relationship between body image satisfaction and self-esteem. The relationship became less stringent for those with high self-compassion. DISCUSSION: The cultivation of self-compassion was recommended in female adolescents. In addition to moderating the association between body image satisfaction and self-esteem, the benefits to health and well-being of generalizing this cultivation are discussed.