A Brief Mindfulness-Based Intervention (bMBI) to Reduce Teacher Stress and Burnout.

Teacher stress and burnout contribute to attrition and stress-related health concerns. Despite some positive effects, previous mindfulness-based interventions (MBI) have failed to incorporate key elements of methodological rigor and have included large dosages despite research suggesting that such dosages are iatrogenic. The current study demonstrates the efficacy of a brief MBI (bMBI; four sessions, six total hours) to reduce self-reported stress, burnout, and depression, and suggests the bMBI can protect against deleterious impacts to physiological functioning. The study informs the design and implementation of future MBIs, including strategies for reducing intervention dosages, in order to improve effectiveness and maximize cost-effectiveness.

The Relation Between Early Adolescent Physical Activity and Internalizing Problems: Variations in Exercise Motivations as a Critical Moderator.

Inconsistencies exist regarding the relation between physical activity (PA) and internalizing symptomology in early adolescence, and there is need for investigation of potential moderators that may account for these discrepancies. The current study utilized a Self-Determination Theory Framework to investigate the main effects of five key motivations to exercise and their moderating effects between PA and internalizing problems in an underserved sample of adolescents (n = 167; mean age = 12.19 years; 73% African American). Analyses showed that intrinsic motivations were negatively related to internalizing problems and extrinsic motivations were positively related. PA was only protective against internalizing problems when intrinsic motivations were high and had iatrogenic effects when these were low. Exploratory analyses further delineated the unique effects of motivational orientations. Clinical implications and future research directions are discussed.

Factor Structure of the Teacher Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire in a Large Community-Based Sample: An Investigation of Alternative Measurement Models.

The Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) is a screening measure commonly used to assess behavioral and emotional symptoms and strengths among children and adolescents. However, despite its frequent use, its underlying factor structure remains an important area of inquiry. Whereas the original five-factor structure has often been supported through exploratory factor analysis, results from confirmatory analyses continue to yield mixed results. We analyzed data from youth in Grades K through 12 from a large epidemiologic study in the Southeastern United States. Teacher-report SDQ data were used to test three confirmatory factor models by school level (i.e., elementary [Grades K-5] and secondary [Grades 6-12]): The original five-factor model, a three-factor model, and a bifactor model. Model fit indices and reliability measures supported the original five-factor model as the preferred model when using the teacher-reported SDQ with both elementary and secondary school children. Implications for using the SDQ in applied research and predictive modeling are discussed.

Staggered bilateral total knee arthroplasty performed four to seven days apart during a single hospitalization.

BACKGROUND: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the types and prevalence of complications associated with bilateral total knee replacement performed four to seven days apart during a single hospitalization and to compare them with those associated with bilateral knee replacement performed sequentially under the same anesthetic session or staged unilateral replacements performed during separate hospitalizations. METHODS: Using a computerized database and medical records, we retrospectively evaluated 332 consecutive patients who underwent bilateral total knee replacement performed by two surgeons. A total of 241 patients underwent staggered bilateral knee replacement with the procedures performed four to seven days apart during one hospitalization, twenty-six underwent sequential bilateral total knee replacement, and sixty-five underwent staged bilateral knee replacement performed during two separate hospitalizations. The data on major complications, including death, return to operating room, myocardial infarction, and pulmonary embolism, and on minor complications, including atrial fibrillation, deep-vein thrombosis, and urinary tract infection, were evaluated. RESULTS: Patients undergoing sequential bilateral total knee replacement and staged bilateral knee replacement had an overall rate of complications that was 2.5 times higher than that of the staggered group. Major complications were rare in all groups, but they occurred most often in the staged bilateral replacement group. The overall rate of complications for the patients who had staggered bilateral knee replacement (13%) was significantly less (p = 0.0009) than that for the patients who had sequential bilateral knee replacement (35%) or staged bilateral knee replacement (31%). The length of inpatient stay for those with staggered total knee arthroplasty was four days longer than that for the sequential arthroplasty group (p = 0.0001). CONCLUSIONS: Staggered bilateral total knee replacement, with the procedures performed four to seven days apart in a single hospitalization, is a safe and practical method for performing bilateral total knee replacement.