Developing an acculturation and resilience scale for use with culturally and linguistically diverse populations

Australian multicultural society consists of culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) migrants, refugees and international students from different parts of the world. Despite hardships, these individuals show resilience and adapt successfully. However, there is a dearth of scales measuring these positive developments and personal strengths. The study describes the development and evaluation of a scale measuring resilience and acculturation of CALD people. Items were generated for the Acculturation and Resilience Scale (AARS).The AARS and other acculturation and psychological distress scales were administered to 225 CALD community members. Exploratory factor analyses resulted in a 27-item AARS with three subscales: Acculturation, Resilience, and Spirituality. The three-factor structure was subjected to a confirmatory factor analysis on a sample of 515 international students. The factor structure stability was upheld by the second sample. The psychometric properties were investigated using the two samples and demonstrated satisfactory internal consistency, test-retest reliability, and divergent validity. The scale addresses a major gap in the literature and can be used to measure the positive acculturation and resilience of the newly arrived and relocated individuals. Further research is warranted to examine the scale’s psychometric properties with migrants and refugees from a range of ethnic communities.

The nature and correlates of young women's peer-directed protective behavioral strategies

Objective Recently, a number of studies have identified self-employed Protective Behavioral Strategies (PBS) as effective in decreasing the level of alcohol-related harm among young people. However, much of the published research has ignored important gender differences, such as women's increased tendency to rely on PBS that are social in nature. To further the understanding of women's PBS, the current study sought to investigate the nature and correlates of the strategies young women employ to keep their friends safe when drinking (i.e., peer-directed PBS). Method A scale measuring peer-directed PBS was developed and administered in conjunction with existing measures of alcohol consumption, personal PBS, and peer attachment. Participants consisted of 422 women aged 18–30 years, recruited among psychology students and the general public. Results Exploratory factor analysis revealed two clusters of peer-directed PBS; those that were aimed at reducing intoxication among one's friends and those that were designed to minimize alcohol-related harms. Further analysis found a positive relationship between women's tendency to implement personal and peer-directed PBS and that risky drinkers were less likely to engage in personal or peer-directed PBS (either type). Conclusion Findings indicate that personal and peer-directed PBS are related behaviors that are less frequently adopted by risky drinkers.

Narratives of healing: a case study of a young Liberian refugee settled in Australia

The Tree of Life group program is a narrative-based expressive arts intervention, designed to target the psychological difficulties faced by young people from refugee backgrounds. This study utilised a case study methodology to investigate the experience of a single adolescent from a Liberian background resettled in Australia, who participated in a manualised version of the Tree of Life program. The case study aimed to identify the underlying therapeutic processes that enabled the participant to adopt a preferred self-narrative. The participant was observed to demonstrate positive gains as a result of program participation. Five therapeutic factors were identified as particularly salient to the program’s success: the exploration of alternative stories of self; the fostering of group cohesion; the provision of corrective emotional experiences; the experience of outsider witnesses; and the instillation of hope. These factors were discussed in relation to working with young people from refugee backgrounds. Recommendations for future implementation of the Tree of Life program are provided.

Getting there, being there, staying and belonging: a case study of two indigenous Australian children’s transition to school

Indigenous Australians are among the most unhealthy populations in the world and yet they reside in a country where the non-Indigenous population enjoys high standards of well-being. Education has been identified as the key mechanism for closing this equity gap. At school commencement many Indigenous children are already at risk of disengagement. This four-year longitudinal study of two Indigenous boys from a socially marginalised community examined key factors affecting transitional trajectories into school. While child characteristics affected level of achievement the critical factors in sustaining positive educational engagement were social support, school practices, inclusion of family and positive expectation.

Optimising the length of Random Breath Tests : results from the Queensland Community Engagement Trial

Research suggests that the length and quality of police-citizen encounters affect policing outcomes. The Koper Curve, for example, shows that the optimal length for police presence in hot spots is between 14 and 15 minutes, with diminishing returns observed thereafter. Our study, using data from the Queensland Community Engagement Trial (QCET), examines the impact of encounter length on citizen perceptions of police performance. QCET involved a randomised field trial, where 60 random breath test (RBT) traffic stop operations were randomly allocated to an experimental condition involving a procedurally just encounter or a business-as-usual control condition. Our results show that the optimal length of time for procedurally just encounters during RBT traffic stops is just less than 2 minutes. We show, therefore, that it is important to encourage and facilitate positive police–citizen encounters during RBTat traffic stops, while ensuring that the length of these interactions does not pass a point of diminishing returns.

Taboo Texts and Troubling Silences: How Textual Choices Coconstruct a Positive School Climate for Same-Sex- Attracted Students

This paper offers insights into the relationship between curriculum decision making, positive school climate, and academic achievement for same-sex attracted (SSA) students. The authors use critical discourse analysis to present a ‘conversation’ between six same-sex attracted young people, aged 14-19, and three pop-culture texts currently popular with both teachers and school-aged peers: The Hunger Games, Tomorrow When the War Began, and Neighbours. Analysis starts from the perspective that schools are empowered agents in the production of students’ sexualised identities and seeks to understand how textual choices function as active discourse in that production. Through this analysis, an argument is made for expanding notions of what it means to ‘attend to’ gender and sexuality through textual choice and critical pedagogy.

Promoting resilience and posttraumatic growth in medical professionals

Across the lifespan traumatic experiences are common with more people experiencing such events than not. Within the context of being a medical professional trauma may result from a direct experience (e.g., in a person’s personal life) but may also occur vicariously. For example, a medical professional may be traumatized during the course of their employ as they come to the aid of a trauma survivor. Although there can be long term negative sequale for trauma survivors (e.g., PTSD, depression), the majority of people who experience trauma, vicariously or otherwise, are resilient to long term effects and some people grow or develop beyond their pre-event level of functioning. Therefore, in addition to interest in antecedents and correlates of pathology, research examining the predictors and correlates of resilience and growth has gained notable attention. In this chapter the fundamental assumptions of the salutogenic theory are discussed. Salutogenisis refers to the study of the origins of health and to that end has a goal to determine factors involved in promoting and maintaining health. The chapter then goes on to describe posttraumatic growth, a term used to denote positive post-trauma changes as well as resilience including discussion of the similarities and differences between these two constructs. Ways of promoting growth and resilience in medical professionals are then identified. The chapter concludes with discussion of ways in which individuals can enhance their potential for growth and also of ways in which the organization they work for can best facilitate and promote resilience and growth in its employees.

Partial mediation role of self-efficacy between positive social interaction and mental health in family caregivers for dementia patients in Shanghai

We explored the mediation effect of caregiver self-efficacy on the influences of behavioral and psychological symptoms (BPSD) of dementia care recipients (CRs) or family caregivers’ (CGs) social supports (informational, tangible and affectionate support and positive social interaction) on CGs’ mental health. We interviewed 196 CGs, using a battery of measures including demographic data of the dyads, CRs’ dementia-related impairments, and CGs’ social support, self-efficacy and the Medical Outcome Study (MOS) Short-Form (SF-36) Health Survey. Multiple regression analyses showed that gathering information on self-efficacy and managing CG distress self-efficacy were the partial mediators of the relationship between positive social interaction and CG mental health. Managing caregiving distress self-efficacy also partial mediated the impact of BPSD on CG mental health. We discuss implications of the results for improving mental health of the target population in mainland China.

Safety climate : recent developments and future implications

Safety climate is a current interest to construction practitioners and researchers. The concept of safety climate has been actively explored in the field of Industrial and Organizational (I/O) psychology but yet in the construction industry. This paper aims to review the literature of safety climate in a systematic manner and highlight future directions for safety research and development of safety practices in the construction industry. The value of safety climate lies on its ability to predict safety behavior. Safety climate, as a mediator, unfolds the relationship between organizational variables and safety behavior. It, as a moderator, affects the effectiveness of any safety initiatives to improve safety performance. Future research directions would be likely to look at relationship between organizational factors and safety climate using multi-level analysis. To the construction industry, safety climate measurement is a good indicator to assess safety performance. Empirical studies show that frontline supervisor would be the best conduit to create a positive safety climate at workgroup level. It is believed that this paper is beneficial to researchers interested in behavioral aspect of construction safety and industry practitioners striving for safety on site.

Mindfulness-meditation on the move : implementation of an ACT-based mindfulness practice intervention and training within a University Dance program

As part of the introduction of a broader dance medicine and science related health and wellbeing program, a 9 week mindfulness-meditation ACT-based program was delivered to all students undertaking full-time University dance training (N = 106). The aim of the program was to assist students in the further development of performance psychology skills that could be applied in both performance and non-performance settings. Participant groups were comprised of both male (N = 12) and female (N = 94) students from across all three year levels of two undergraduate dance courses, divided into three groups by mixed year levels due to timetable scheduling requirements. Pre- and post-testing was undertaken utilising the Mindful Attention Awareness Scale (MAAS-15), a uni-dimensional measure of mindfulness, in addition to qualitative questions checking the current level of awareness and understanding of mindfulness practice and its application. Weekly sessions were conducted by qualified sport and exercise psychologists and covered key practices such as: Mindfulness of Body, Mindfulness of Breathing, Mindfulness of Sounds, ACT-based and general Imagery exercises, Developing Open Awareness, Mindfulness of Emotions, and Developing Inner Stillness. Students were required to maintain a reflective journal that was utilised at the end of each weekly session, in addition to completion of a mid-Semester reflective debrief. Teaching staff additionally attended the weekly sessions and linked the mindfulness practice learnings into the student’s practical dance and academic classes where appropriate. Anecdotal feedback indicates that participation in the mindfulness-meditation sessions and the development of these mental skills has resulted in positive performance and personal outcomes. Observations collated from staff and students, results from the data collection phases and recommendations regarding future applications within dance training settings will be discussed within the presentation.

What aspects of demographic, personality, attitudes, and perceptions of law enforcement influence self-reported likelihood of drink driving?

The aim of the current study was to examine the associations between a number of individual factors (demographic factors (age and gender), personality factors, risk-taking propensity, attitudes towards drink driving, and perceived legitimacy of drink driving enforcement) and how they influence the self-reported likelihood of drink driving. The second aim of this study was to examine the potential of attitudes mediating the relationship between risk-taking and self-reported likelihood of drink driving. In total, 293 Queensland drivers volunteered to participate in an online survey that assessed their self-reported likelihood to drink drive in the next month, demographics, traffic-related demographics, personality factors, risk-taking propensity, attitudes towards drink driving, and perceived legitimacy of drink driving enforcement. An ordered logistic regression analysis was utilised to evaluate the first aim of the study; at the first step the demographic variables were entered; at step two the personality and risk-taking were entered; at the third step, the attitudes and perceptions of legitimacy variables were entered. Being a younger driver and having a high risk-taking propensity were related to self-reported likelihood of drink driving. However, when the attitudes variable was entered, these individual factors were no longer significant; with attitudes being the most important predictor of self-reported drink driving likelihood. A significant mediation model was found with the second aim of the study, such that attitudes mediated the relationship between risk-taking and self-reported likelihood of drink driving. Considerable effort and resources are utilised by traffic authorities to reducing drink driving on the Australian road network. Notwithstanding these efforts, some participants still had some positive attitudes towards drink driving and reported that they were likely to drink drive in the future. These findings suggest that more work is needed to address attitudes regarding the dangerousness of drink driving.

A psychology student’s reflections on learning psychodynamic psychotherapy in the classroom

A graduate psychology student reflects upon the experience of learning psychodynamic psychotherapy exclusively in the classroom. The majority of undergraduate psychology students have scant, and frequently inaccurate, exposure to psychodynamic psychotherapy. This appears to heavily influence students’ choice of postgraduate programs, and to reduce the likelihood that they will expose themselves to psychodynamic therapy at any stage of their careers. It is hoped that the original insights provided by this reflection will inform the development of psychodynamic psychotherapy teaching material that can be imparted effectively in undergraduate programs, even when access to patients and supervisors is not possible, so that more students are inspired to study psychodynamic psychotherapy in postgraduate programs.

Practical Advice for Entrepreneurs

I am interested in the psychology of entrepreneurship—how entrepreneurs think, decide to act, and feel. I recently realized that while my publications in academic journals have implications for entrepreneurs, those implications have remained relatively hidden in the text of the articles and hidden in articles published in journals largely inaccessible to those involved in the entrepreneurial process. This book is designed to bring the practical implications of my research to the forefront. I decided to take a different approach with this book and not write it for a publisher. I did this because I wanted the ideas to be freely available: (1) I wanted those interested in practical advice for entrepreneurs to be able to freely download, distribute, and use this information (I only ask that the content be properly cited), (2) I wanted to release the chapters independently and make chapters available as they are finished, and; (3) I wanted this work to be a dialogue rather than a one-way conversation—I hope readers email me feedback (positive and negative) so that I can use this information to revise the book. In producing the journal articles underpinning this book, I have had the pleasure of working with many talented and wonderful colleagues—they are cited at the end of each chapter. I hope you find some of the advice in this book useful.