Dark Tetrad Personality during COVID-19: An Overview of Psycho-somatic Therapies for Managing Mental Health Response.

The recent empirical data represented the unprecedented opportunity to understand how threatful situations affect people adaptive and mal-adaptive behaviour and diverse ways to cope with the situation. In particular, the people with existing mental health issues such as dark tetrad personality found to be higher in forming an unhealthy relationship on cyber as well as real life during COVID-19. The current paper provides an interesting but alarming picture of how people with dark tetrad personality trait formed relationships with others during COVID-19. Also, the current paper highlights the significance of psycho-somatic therapies in managing their mental health response during COVID-19.

Investigating the relation among disturbed sleep due to social media use, school burnout, and academic performance.

INTRODUCTION: Previous studies have revealed the significant influence of electronic devices, especially social media use, on sleep difficulties among adolescents. In this study, disturbed sleep due to social media use (DSSM) was defined as reduced or troubled sleep caused by nighttime-specific behaviors such as waking to check updates, being notified by incoming messages, or postponed bedtime because of social media activities. Inadequate and disturbed sleep during youth interferes with daytime academic efficiency and may be associated with school burnout, which were examined in this study. METHODS: Using two data waves collected from questionnaires on school burnout and DSSM and school test scores of 2462 Taiwanese middle school students (52.5% males) from various school types with average ages of 13.9 (SD = 0.72) and 14.3 (SD = 0.66) at Time 1 and Time 2, we investigated the relationship between the variables across time. RESULTS: DSSM, academic performance, and school burnout were significantly correlated. Cross-lagged analyses to the group of adolescents with higher than the average DSSM scores revealed that burnout predicted lower academic achievements through DSSM as a mediator. Burnout did not have a direct effect on school performance but influenced the latter through disturbed sleep. Poor academic achievement in its turn showed a feedback effect on higher levels of burnout. CONCLUSIONS: This research reveals a vicious cycle of burnout, disturbed sleep, and academic achievement. During adolescence, school burnout through DSSM increase can lead to a lower academic performance that may later cause even higher burnout.

Burnout of registered nurses in South Africa.

AIM: The aims of this study were to validate the Maslach Burnout Inventory-Human Services Survey (MBI-HSS) for registered nurses in South Africa and to analyse the differences between the levels of burnout of different biographical groups. BACKGROUND: The nursing profession is seen as a stressful and emotionally demanding profession, which makes nurses susceptible to burnout. METHOD: A cross-sectional survey design with a stratified random sample (n = 818) was used. The MBI-HSS and a biographical questionnaire were administered. RESULTS: Exploratory factor analysis resulted in a three-factor structure of burnout, consisting of emotional exhaustion, depersonalization and personal accomplishment. Construct equivalence and reliability of the three factors were confirmed. Significant differences were found in burnout levels with regard to language, age, rank, job satisfaction, reciprocity, full-time employment and specialised training. CONCLUSIONS: The MBI-HSS showed acceptable validity and reliability for South African nurses. Burnout is associated with specific factors, including language, age, rank, job satisfaction, reciprocity, full-time employment and specialised training. IMPLICATIONS FOR NURSING MANAGEMENT: The use of the MBI-HSS is recommended to assess burnout of nurses in South Africa. Organisations employing nurses should intervene to prevent and/or manage burnout.

Burnout of emergency nurses in a South African context: the role of job demands and resources, and capabilities.

Emergency nurses are prone to burnout due to the nature of their profession and working environment, potentially putting their sustainable employability at risk and so too the care provided by and success of emergency departments. Psychological research has predominantly focused on samples drawn from western, educated, industrialized, rich, and democratic (WEIRD) societies, concerning a small part of the world population. Consequently, this study investigated emergency nurses' burnout in a non-WEIRD society and assessed the role of job demands-resources and work capabilities on their burnout levels. A total of 204 emergency nurses in a South African context participated in a cross-sectional survey. The Job Demands-Resources Scale, the Capability Set for Work Questionnaire, and the Burnout Assessment Tool-Short Form were administered. Using and developing knowledge and skills and building and maintaining meaningful relationships were the strongest work capabilities of emergency nurses. In contrast, earning a good income, involvement in important decisions, and contributing to something valuable were the weakest capabilities. Latent class analysis resulted in three capability sets: a robust capability set, an inadequate capability set, and a weak capability set. Regarding job resources, emergency nurses with a robust capability set reported better relationships with their supervisors and higher job autonomy than the inadequate and weak capability sets. In addition, emergency nurses with a robust capability set reported better co-worker relationships and better access to good equipment than those with a weak capability set. Nurses with an inadequate capability set experienced significantly more challenging job demands than the other two sets. Finally, nurses with a weak capability set (compared to the robust capability set) experienced significantly higher levels of exhaustion and mental distance. Improving emergency nurses' job resources (especially relationships with co-workers and supervisors, job autonomy, and equipment sufficiency) would increase their capabilities, decreasing their burnout levels, especially exhaustion and mental distance.

Intergroup contact is reliably associated with reduced prejudice, even in the face of group threat and discrimination.

Intergroup contact provides a reliable means of reducing prejudice. Yet, critics suggested that its efficacy is undermined, even eliminated, under certain conditions. Specifically, contact may be ineffective in the face of threat, especially to (historically) advantaged groups, and discrimination, experienced especially by (historically) disadvantaged groups. We considered perceived intergroup threat and perceived discrimination as potential moderators of the effect of contact on prejudice. Two meta-analyses of correlational data from 34 studies (totaling 63,945 respondents-drawn from 67 subsamples across 19 countries) showed that contact was associated with decreased prejudice and increased out-group positivity, in cross-sectional and longitudinal designs, among advantaged and disadvantaged group members, and in both Western, Educated, Industrialized, Rich, and Democratic (WEIRD) and non-WEIRD contexts. Both perceived threat and perceived discrimination moderated the contact-attitude association, but in an unanticipated direction. Indeed, contact's beneficial effects were at least as strong among individuals high (r = .19) as among individuals low (r = .18) in perceived threat. Similarly, the effects of contact were at least as strong among those high (r = .23) as among those low (r = .20) in perceived discrimination. We conclude that contact is effective for promoting tolerant societies because it is effective even among subpopulations where achieving that goal might be most challenging. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).

Exploring the personality structure in the 11 languages of South Africa.

The present study, part of the development of the South African Personality Inventory (SAPI), explores the implicit personality structure in the 11 official language groups of South Africa by employing a mixed-method approach. In the first, qualitative part of the study, semistructured interviews were conducted with 1,216 participants from the 11 official language groups. The derived personality-descriptive terms were categorized and clustered based on their semantic relations in iterative steps involving group discussions and contacts with language and cultural experts. This analysis identified 37 subclusters, which could be merged in 9 broad clusters: Conscientiousness, Emotional Stability, Extraversion, Facilitating, Integrity, Intellect, Openness, Relationship Harmony, and Soft-Heartedness. In the second, quantitative part, the perceived relations between the 37 subclusters were rated by 204 students from different language groups in South Africa and 95 students in the Netherlands. The outcomes generally supported the adequacy of the conceptual model, although several clusters in the domain of relational and social functioning did not replicate in detail. The outcomes of these studies revealed a personality structure with a strong emphasis on social-relational aspects of personality.

A confirmatory investigation of a job demands-resources model using a categorical estimator.

A confirmatory investigation of a job demands-resources model was conducted with alternative methods, in a sample of 15,633 working adults aggregated from various economic sectors. The proposed model is in line with job demands-resources theory and assumes two psychological processes at work which are collectively coined "the dual process." The first process, the energetic, presents that job demands lead to ill-health outcomes due to burnout. The second process, the motivational, indicates that job resources lead to organizational commitment due to work engagement. Structural equation modelling analyses were implemented with a categorical estimator. Mediation analyses of each of the processes included bootstrapped indirect effects and kappa-squared values to apply qualitative labels to effect sizes. The relationship between job resources and organizational commitment was mediated by engagement with a large effect. The relationship between job demands and ill-health was mediated by burnout with a medium effect. The implications of the results for theory and practice were discussed.

Toward Perceived Sustainable Employability: Capabilities of Secondary School Teachers in a South African Context.

This study aimed to identify the capabilities of secondary school teachers - valued aspects of work that are enabled and can be realized - and investigate the effects of these capabilities on three functionings: flourishing at work, organizational citizenship behavior, and intention to leave. A convenience sample of secondary school teachers (N = 144) in the Gauteng province in South Africa participated in the study. The teachers responded to the Capability Set for Work Questionnaire, Flourishing-at-Work Scale - Short Form, Organizational Citizenship Behavior Questionnaire, and Intention to Leave Scale. The results showed that three capabilities were most likely to form part of the capability set of teachers: using knowledge and skills, building and maintaining meaningful relationships at work, and contributing to something valuable. Capabilities least likely to form part of the capability set included having a good income, involvement in important decisions, and developing knowledge and skills. The capability set was a strong predictor of emotional, psychological, and social well-being, and a moderate predictor of organizational citizenship behavior and intention to leave. A capability set for work, rather than single work capabilities, seemed to be critical for the sustainable employability of secondary school teachers.

Adolescent Mental Health Resilience and Combinations of Caregiver Monitoring and Warmth: A Person-centred Perspective.

Caregiver monitoring and warmth have protective mental health effects for adolescents, including vulnerable adolescents. However, combinations of the aforesaid parenting behaviours and their relationship with adolescent mental health are underexplored, especially among younger and older South African (SA) adolescents challenged by structural disadvantage. Hence, the purpose of this study was to investigate unique profiles of caregiver monitoring and warmth and their associations with depression and conduct problems as reported by younger and older adolescents from disadvantaged SA communities. Latent profile and linear regression analyses were used to examine cross-sectional survey data generated by 891 adolescents from two disadvantaged SA communities (62.2% aged 13-17 [average age: 16.13]; 37.5% aged 18-24 [average age: 20.62]). Two profiles emerged. The first, i.e. substantial caregiver warmth and some monitoring, was associated with younger and older adolescent reports of statistically significantly fewer symptoms of depression and conduct problems. The second, i.e. caregiver monitoring without much warmth, was associated with significantly more symptoms of depression or conduct problems among younger and older adolescents. Traditional gender effects (i.e. higher depression symptoms among girls; higher conduct problem symptoms among boys) were amplified when caregiver monitoring was combined with low warmth. In short, protecting the mental health of younger and older adolescents from disadvantaged communities requires higher levels of caregiver warmth combined with moderate levels of caregiver supervision. Because stressors associated with disadvantaged communities jeopardise warm parenting, supporting caregiver resilience to those stressors is integral to supporting adolescent mental health.

Special education teachers' job demands-resources profiles and capabilities: Effects on work engagement and intention to leave.

This study aimed to investigate the job demands-resources profiles and work capabilities of special education teachers in Namibia and their effect on work engagement and intention to leave. A convenience sample was taken of teachers from seven different regions across Namibia (N = 200). The Capability Set for Work Questionnaire, the Job Demands-Resources Questionnaire, the Work Engagement Questionnaire, and the Intention to Leave Questionnaire were administered. Using latent profile analysis, four job demands-resources profiles were identified: resourceful job, demanding job, poor job, and rich job. A poor job was negatively associated with the capability to use knowledge and skills, while resourceful and rich jobs were associated with developing new knowledge and skills, being involved in important decisions, building and maintaining relationships, and setting own goals. Job experience was negatively associated with five of the seven capabilities. Resourceful and rich jobs and the capability set predicted a large percentage of the variance in work engagement and a moderate percentage of the variance in intention to leave. High emotional demands, coupled with overload and a lack of resources interfere with teachers' functioning (e.g., work engagement and intention to leave).

The happy learner: Effects of academic boredom, burnout, and engagement.

This study aimed to investigate the impact of demographic and contextual variables on boredom in English and mathematics, and to test structural models of boredom, learner burnout, learner engagement, and life satisfaction. Using a cross-sectional survey design and employing a convenience sampling technique, 544 secondary school learners in the Sedibeng District, Gauteng, South Africa, took part in the study. The participants completed the Achievement Emotions Questionnaire - English, the Achievement Emotions Questionnaire - Mathematics, the Schoolwork Engagement Inventory, the School Burnout Inventory, and the Satisfaction with Life Scale. Latent variable modeling was used to test measurement and structural models of boredom, burnout, engagement, and life satisfaction. The indirect effects of boredom on life satisfaction were also computed. The results showed that Afrikaans as the home language, the final mark for English in the previous examination, caregivers that cannot help with English homework, and disliking the English teacher predicted boredom in English. Afrikaans as the home language, marks for mathematics in the previous examination, not having the ability to focus on schoolwork at home, and disliking the mathematics teacher predicted boredom in mathematics. Boredom in mathematics and English resulted in an increase in learner burnout and a decrease in learner engagement. Furthermore, boredom in mathematics and English indirectly affected life satisfaction via learner burnout and engagement.

Balancing Work Life: Job Crafting, Work Engagement, and Workaholism in the Finnish Public Sector.

The aim of this study was to investigate how job crafting, work engagement, and workaholism were related in public sector organizations. The participants (N = 213) were civil servants from three Finnish public organizations, representing different professions, such as school personnel, secretaries, directors, parking attendants, and ICT specialists. We duly operationalized job crafting, work engagement, and workaholism by using the Job Crafting Scale, the UWES-9, and the Work Addiction Risk Test. The current study focused on the Finnish public sector, since work engagement is recognized at the governmental level and has been shown to be strongly and positively associated with economic activity and productivity, while workaholism is associated with poor wellbeing. We analyzed the data by using structural equation modeling and found that three job crafting dimensions were strongly intertwined with one another. These dimensions were increasing structural job resources, increasing social job resources, and increasing challenging job demands. In the structural model, dimension "increasing structural job resources" was positively related to work engagement, whereas dimension "decreasing hindering job demands" was negatively associated with workaholism. This study highlighted the relevance of employees learning to balance their job resources and demands. We recommend that, in the public sector, employees be systematically encouraged to practice job crafting behavior by enabling them to increase structural job resources. These results are of high relevance, considering the heavy workload of public sector employees during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Motivational Profiles in Unemployment: A Self-Determination Perspective.

In general, being unemployed has negative implications for the individual and the mental health of the public as a collective. One way to escape this situation is to search for a job. However, following self-determination theory (SDT), unemployed people's different reasons (i.e., their motivation) for engaging in a job search influence their well-being, attitudes, and behaviors for better or worse. Some research has already supported the associations between different types of motivation and these outcomes, but less is known about how these types of motivation simultaneously associate with these outcomes. The current study addressed this issue by studying how different motivational profiles had different implications for the affective experiences, commitment to employment, and job search behavior of the unemployed. Latent profile analysis, among 865 unemployed individuals from previously disadvantaged communities in South Africa, highlighted four distinct motivational profiles: motivated, ambivalent, amotivated, and unmotivated. The motivated reported some good well-being (i.e., positive experiences) and economic outcomes (i.e., employment commitment and job search), but these came at a cost (i.e., more negative experiences). The same went for the ambivalent, but to a lesser extent. Being unmotivated seemed to have the opposite effect in that it came with psychological benefits, but with economic costs, as these individuals might withdraw from the labor market. This also applied to the amotivated, although they experienced less psychological benefit than their unmotivated counterparts. The findings made several contributions to SDT and unemployment research and could help tailor interventions and policies for particular types of unemployed people.

Trust Profiles: Associations With Psychological Need Satisfaction, Work Engagement, and Intention to Leave.

The study aimed to identify trust profiles in the work domain and to study how these patterns related to psychological need satisfaction, work engagement, and intentions to leave. A cross-sectional survey with a convenience sample (N = 298) was used. The Behavioral Trust Inventory, the Work-related Basic Need Satisfaction Scale, the Work Engagement Scale, and the Turnover Intention Scale were administered. The results showed four trust profiles: skeptic, reliance-based, moderately cautious, and optimistic trustors represented participants' responses on behavioral trust. Skeptic and optimistic trustors (who represented about 50% of the sample) differed primarily regarding their reliance and disclosure intensity. The other two trust profiles (representing the other 50% of the sample) reflected higher reliance and lower disclosure or lower reliance and higher disclosure. Psychological need satisfaction (comprised of autonomy, competence, and relatedness satisfaction) and work engagement were the strongest and intentions to leave the weakest for optimistic trustors (compared to skeptic trustors).

Longitudinal Trajectories of Study Characteristics and Mental Health Before and During the COVID-19 Lockdown.

The COVID-19 lockdown has significantly disrupted the higher education environment within the Netherlands and led to changes in available study-related resources and study demands of students. These changes in study resources and study demands, the uncertainty and confusion about educational activities, the developing fear and anxiety about the disease, and the implementation of the COVID-19 lockdown measures may have a significant impact on the mental health of students. As such, this study aimed to investigate the trajectory patterns, rate of change, and longitudinal associations between study resources-demands and mental health of 141 university students from the Netherlands before and during the COVID-19 lockdown. The present study employed a longitudinal design and a piecewise latent growth modeling strategy to investigate the changes in study resources and mental health over a 3 month period. The results showed that moderate levels of student resources significantly decreased before, followed by a substantial rate of increase during, lockdown. In contrast, study demands and mental health were reported to be moderate and stable throughout the study. Finally, the growth trajectories of study resources-demands and mental health were only associated before the lockdown procedures were implemented. Despite growing concerns relating to the negative psychological impact of COVID-19 on students, our study shows that the mental health during the initial COVID-19 lockdown remained relatively unchanged.

Basic Psychological Needs in the Work Context: A Systematic Literature Review of Diary Studies.

According to the self-determination theory, individuals' basic psychological needs for autonomy, competence, and relatedness should be satisfied for optimal psychological growth. The satisfaction of these needs seems to vary due to changes in a person's social context, and the outcomes of the satisfaction of these needs also vary along with the needs. Despite several studies investigating daily and weekly variations in need satisfaction and its correlates, no systematic investigation exists. This study aimed to conduct a narrative synthesis of existing quantitative diary studies of basic psychological needs in the work context. We specifically aimed to evaluate if psychological need satisfaction varies daily and weekly and judge whether they vary more daily or weekly. Additionally, we also aimed to review the literature regarding the relations between daily or weekly variations in need satisfaction and its assumed antecedents and outcomes. We included peer-reviewed articles in English that measured work-related basic psychological needs using a quantitative diary study design. Database searching (Web of Science, ScienceDirect, EBSCOhost, and Scopus) led to the extraction of 2 251 records by February 2020. Duplicates were removed, the remaining records were screened (n = 820), and 30 articles were assessed using eligibility criteria. Two authors individually conducted the screening and eligibility processes to manage selection bias. In total, 21 articles were included in the final review. The review indicated that basic psychological need satisfaction showed considerable within-person variation and was more dynamic daily (compared to weekly). Job demands, job resources, organisational resources, and individual characteristics appeared to associate with these variations. The organisational context seemed to matter the most for need satisfaction. Variations in need satisfaction were also related to employee well-being, performance, and motivation. Despite the small number of published studies (particularly for weekly studies), our results indicate that researchers should pay attention to within-person variations in need satisfaction. Measuring daily need satisfaction could be prioritised. Different antecedents and outcomes seem to be associated with different needs. Thus, when needs are viewed as distinct constructs instead of unidimensional ones, one can derive greater insights. The study is funded by the National Research Foundation.

The Strengths Use Scale: Psychometric Properties, Longitudinal Invariance and Criterion Validity.

Strengths use is an essential personal resource to consider when designing higher-educational programs and interventions. Strengths use is associated with positive outcomes for both the student (e.g., study engagement) and the university (e.g., academic throughput/performance). The Strengths Use Scale (SUS) has become a popular psychometric instrument to measure strengths use in educational settings, yet its use has been subjected to limited psychometric scrutiny outside of the U.S. Further, its longitudinal stability has not yet been established. Given the wide use of this instrument, the goals of this study were to investigate (a) longitudinal factorial validity and the internal consistency of the scale, (b) its equivalence over time, and (c) criterion validity through its relationship with study engagement over time. Data were gathered at two-time points, 3 months apart, from a sample of students in the Netherlands (n = 360). Longitudinal confirmatory factor analyses showed support for a two-factor model for overall strengths use, comprised of Affinity for Strengths and Strengths Use Behaviors. The SUS demonstrated high levels of internal consistency at both the lower- and upper bound limits at both time points. Further, strict longitudinal measurement invariance was established, which confirmed the instrument's temporal stability. Finally, criterion validity was established through relating strengths use to study engagement at different time stamps. These findings support the use of the SUS in practice to measure strengths use and to track the effectiveness of strengths use interventions within the higher education sector.

Experiences, Attitudes, and Behaviors of the Unemployed: The Role of Motivation and Psychological Needs.

Alleviating the psychological burden of unemployment and preventing the unemployed from withdrawing from the labor market remains a priority for unemployment researchers and practitioners alike. Job search motivation and the differential relationships with experienced psychological need satisfaction (and need frustration) potentially induce different well-being (i.e., experiences), attitudinal outcomes (i.e., employment commitment), and behavioral outcomes (i.e., job search intensity) in unemployment. This study examined if job search motivation relates to the experiences, attitudes, and behavior of the unemployed over time through basic need satisfaction and frustration. In a two-wave study (nT1 = 461; nT2 = 244), the results demonstrated that job search motivation has no relationship with the affective experiences, attitudes toward employment, and job search behavior over time. It also showed that only controlled motivation and amotivation were significantly related to need frustration. Finally, only psychological need satisfaction, and not the frustration of their needs, was significantly related to affective experiences over time. The implications for unemployment and self-determination theory research are discussed, and recommendations for practitioners are made.

The Implementation and Evaluation of the South African Adaptation of the JOBS Program.

No validated intervention that specifically addresses the psychosocial needs of unemployed people exists in the South African context. This study intends to evaluate an evidence-based job-search program, called the JOBS intervention, that is aimed at the self-efficacy, amotivation, and self-esteem related to participants searching for jobs. A quasi-experimental research design was used. Convenient samples were taken of unemployed individuals from two low-income communities (N = 130; experimental group = 69; control group = 61). The Qhubekela Phambili program, which is based on the JOBS program, was adapted for the South African context and was implemented over six 4-h sessions. Data collection took place pre- and post-intervention. One-way repeated measures multivariate analysis of variance was used to analyze the data. Those who had undergone the intervention showed statistically significantly higher levels of job-search self-efficacy and self-esteem. This study makes a novel contribution to the literature on the JOBS program, particularly regarding developing countries. This study showed that in a context characterized by poverty and a lack of support for the unemployed, the program also delivered promising results. It confirms previous findings that the JOBS program is suitable in a variety of labor market and economic conditions.

Flourishing-at-Work: The Role of Positive Organizational Practices.

The first aim of the study was to investigate the effects of flourishing at work (as measured by the Flourishing-at-Work Scale-Short Form) on intention to leave, performance, and organizational citizenship behavior. The second aim was to determine the prevalence of workplace flourishing and to examine differences in the perceived flourishing levels of teachers based on the positive practices they experience in their organization. A sample of 258 secondary school educators in the Gauteng province of South Africa was used in the cross-sectional design. The Flourishing-at-Work Scale-Short Form, Turnover Intention Scale, In-Role Behavior Scale, Organizational Citizenship Behavior Scale, and the Positive Practices Questionnaire were administered. The results showed acceptable psychometric properties for the short scale which measures flourishing. Workplace flourishing negatively predicted intention to leave, while positively predicting in-role performance and organizational citizenship behavior. A total of 44.19% of the population flourished, while 49.22% were moderately mentally healthy and 6.59% languished. Positive organizational practices were associated with flourishing at work.