Relationship between burnout, psychological empowerment, and gender role orientation in long term-care nurses

The influence o f psychological empowerment and gender roles on burnout was investigated. Ninety-six nurses employed at long-term care facilities completed the Personal Attributes Questionnaire (Spence, Helmreich, & Stapp, 1974), Spreitzer’s (1995) Psychological Empowerment Scale, and the Maslach Burnout Inventory - Human Services Survey (Maslach & Jackson, 1996). No significant associations were observed between the perceived importance of empowerment factors and burnout. However, all participants’ current (on-the-job) perceptions of empowerment were significantly related to global burnout (rs = -.30 to -.54, ps < .001). Empowerment disparity scores (perceived importance minus current perceptions) were even more strongly associated with burnout scores (rs = .34 to .60, ps < .001). Dominance scores were significantly associated with personal accomplishment scores (i = .38, p < .001) and global burnout scores (r = -.25, p < .01). Affiliation was only related to depersonalization scores (r = -.27, p < .01). Finally, the influence o f gender role on the relationship between empowerment and burnout was examined using moderated regression analyses. Dominance and affiliation moderated a number o f relationships, but the effects were modest (R2 changes < .052). These findings highlight the importance of psychological empowerment as a factor associated with burnout, and suggest that gender role might interact with empowerment

Integrating the cognitive-specificity and dual vulnerability hypotheses : implications for vegetative and cognitive/affective differences in seasonal, nonseasonal, and sub-syndromal seasonal depression / Jennine S. Rawana.

This study compared seasonal affective disorder (SAD), nonseasonal depression, sub-syndromal SAD, and control groups on dysfunctional eating cognitions and behaviours, physical activity levels, cognitive content specificity to winter stimuli, interpersonal context-specificity, response styles to depressed mood, and general negative attitudes. Study participants : Lakehead University students and staff and residents of Thunder Bay, Northwestern Ontario, Canada

Development and Evaluation of a Peer Mentorship Program for Aboriginal University Students

Although Aboriginal students encounter educational challenges, few post-secondary mentorship programs that facilitate positive educational and mental health outcomes within this population are described in the literature. This study describes the development and evaluation of a mentorship program for Aboriginal university students. Program development was informed by a literature review and needs assessment. Using a mixed-methods design, 12 Aboriginal students completed pre- and post-program measures of resilience and ethnic identity awareness. Post-program, improvements in social competence resiliency, other-group ethnic orientation, and school engagement were identified. Research and community stakeholders are encouraged to develop mentorship programs to improve the well-being of Aboriginal students.

A school-based program implemented by community providers previously trained for the prevention of eating and weight-related problems in secondary-school adolescents : the MABIC study protocol

Background: The prevention of eating disorders and disordered eating are increasingly recognized as public health priorities. Challenges in this field included moving from efficacy to effectiveness and developing an integrated approach to the prevention of a broad spectrum of eating and weight-related problems. A previous efficacy trial indicated that a universal disordered eating prevention program, based on the social cognitive model, media literacy educational approach and cognitive dissonance theory, reduced risk factors for disordered eating, but it is unclear whether this program has effects under more real-world conditions. The main aim of this effectiveness trial protocol is to test whether this program has effects when incorporating an integrated approach to prevention and when previously-trained community providers implement the intervention. Methods/design: The research design involved a multi-center non-randomized controlled trial with baseline, post and 1-year follow-up measures. Six schools from the city of Sabadell (close to Barcelona) participated in the intervention group, and eleven schools from four towns neighboring Sabadell participated in the control group. A total of 174 girls and 180 boys in the intervention group, and 484 girls and 490 boys in the control group were registered in class lists prior to baseline. A total of 18 community providers, secondary-school class tutors, nurses from the Catalan Government's Health and School Program, and health promotion technicians from Sabadell City Council were trained and delivered the program. Shared risk factors of eating and weight-related problems were assessed as main measures. Discussion: It will be vital for progress in disordered eating prevention to conduct effectiveness trials, which test whether interventions are effective when delivered by community providers under ecologically valid conditions, as opposed to tightly controlled research trials. The MABIC project will provide new contributions in this transition from efficacy to effectiveness and new data about progress in the integrated approach to prevention. Pending the results, the effectiveness trial meets the effectiveness standards set down by the Society for Prevention Research. This study will provide new evidence to improve and enhance disordered eating prevention programs