A Qualitative Study of Potential Suicide Risk Factors Among Soldiers Transitioning From Operation Iraqi Freedom/Operation Enduring Freedom

Using qualitative methods, this study explored potential risk factors for suicide, as defined by Joiner's Interpersonal-Psychological Theory of Suicide (IPTS), in a population of Soldiers returning from deployment in Operation Enduring Freedom/Operation Iraqi Freedom (OEF/OIF). Sixty-eight Soldiers participated in semi-structured interviews during the period of transition from deployment to the garrison environment. These Soldiers were asked about changes in perception of pain, experiences of perceived burdensomeness, and lack of belonging. Interviews were transcribed and analyzed. A phenomenological methodology was employed (Creswell, 2006). In response to questions about perception of pain, Soldiers discussed both positive and negative changes in their experience of physical and emotional pain. When asked about experiences of perceived burdensomeness, Soldiers described changes related to deployment, such as injuries and combat related guilt, as well as changes related to transition from combat, including care seeking, reintegration into family and society, and emotional distancing. Regarding the experience of lack of belonging, Soldiers described difficulties related to the deployment, such as combat injuries, leadership roles, and individual differences, as well as difficulties related to reintegration such as symptoms of emotional numbing and distancing. Findings highlight the potential utility of IPTS in exploring both acute and chronic suicide risk factors associated with deployment and transition, as well as potential treatment strategies that may reduce suicide risk in the population of Soldiers during reintegration.

An Acceptance and Commitment Approach to Issues of Behavioral Health Care in Soldiers

For over a decade, the U.S. military has been engaged in two distinct, yet equally deadly conflicts: Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF) and Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF). There are many physical and psychological effects of war necessitating the activation and interventions of a myriad of behavioral health professionals. The purpose of the paper was to understand how and if contemporary military culture may work to support or hinder application of an Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) approach to issues of psychological health among Soldiers. While the empirical research on efficacy with Soldiers is limited, a review of military culture revealed the promotion of rigid rule following, although effective in combat, influences the emotional control agenda and stigma while in garrison. However, empirical research demonstrating the clinical benefits and flexibility of ACT is rapidly emerging with civilian and Veteran populations. Suggested as a prevention technique utilized early in Soldier's training to increase psychological flexibility, ACT appears to demonstrate much promise in ameliorating the psychological consequences of war.

La presencia de mobbing y sus determinantes laborales en profesores universitarios

En este artículo se analiza la presencia de mobbing en el profesorado universitario como parte de un estudio trasversal más amplio sobre su calidad de vida, trabajo y salud. Los objetivos del estudio son tres: 1) conocer la frecuencia del mobbing en un contexto universitario, 2) examinar la asociación existente entre mobbing y la edad, el género y la categoría académica de los profesores, y 3) estudiar los mejores predictores del mobbing. Respondieron el cuestionario 252 profesores a tiempo completo, lo que ha significado una tasa de respuesta del 61,6%. Nuestros resultados muestran que casi el veintitrés por ciento (22,6%) de los profesores se sintieron víctimas de mobbing. No hemos encontrado diferencias estadísticamente significativas en mobbing debidas a la edad, género o categoría académica de los profesores. Según diversos análisis de regresión logística jerárquica por bloques que hemos realizado, los mejores predictores del mobbing han resultado ser: el grado de autonomía en el trabajo y la satisfacción experimentada en las relaciones con los supervisores. Estas 2 variables han explicado, en nuestro estudio, casi un 37% de la variabilidad del mobbing. Serían necesarios estudios longitudinales o experimentales para poder establecer relaciones de causalidad entre mobbing y contexto laboral.

Bullying Victimization and Perpetration Among Adolescent Sport Teammates

Purpose: Bullying is a specific pattern of repeated victimization explored with great frequency in school-based literature, but receiving little attention within sport. The current study explored the prevalence of bullying in sport, and examined whether bullying experiences were associated with perceptions about relationships with peers and coaches. Method: Adolescent sport team members (n = 359, 64% female) with an average age of 14.47 years (SD = 1.34) completed a pen-and-paper or online questionnaire assessing how frequently they perpetrated or were victimized by bullying during school and sport generally, as well as recent experiences with 16 bullying behaviors on their sport team. Participants also reported on relationships with their coach and teammates. Results: Bullying was less prevalent in sport compared with school, and occurred at a relatively low frequency overall. However, by identifying participants who reported experiencing one or more act of bullying on their team recently, results revealed that those victimized through bullying reported weaker connections with peers, whereas those perpetrating bullying only reported weaker coach relationships. Conclusion: With the underlying message that bullying may occur in adolescent sport through negative teammate interactions, sport researchers should build upon these findings to develop approaches to mitigate peer victimization in sport.

Condutas agressivas, bullying e integração social em crianças em idade escolar

Nos últimos anos, quer os comportamentos agressivos, quer o bullying têm vindo a constituir uma crescente preocupação para a comunidade educativa. Tem havido muita investigação sobre este fenómeno mas a maioria tem incidido em escolas situadas em contextos urbanos. Os objetivos da investigação que se apresenta foram: Obter dados que permitam conhecer o tipo e a frequência de bullying em crianças, bem como identificar quais os locais mais frequentes onde ocorre numa escola situada numa zona rural. Conhecer qual a relação entre a integração social no grupo de pares (através do estatuto sociométrico) e os vários padrões de comportamento social, nomeadamente comportamentos pró-sociais, liderança, isolamento social e, em particular, agressão e vitimação (quer na perspetiva do próprio, quer na perspetiva dos pares). Deste modo, dois questionários foram aplicados a 87 crianças: uma adaptação do questionário de autorrelato sobre agressividade entre alunos na escola (QAEANE) de Pereira (1994) (composto por 10 perguntas, relativas às ocorrências de bullying, na perspetiva da vítima e do agressor, bem como sobre os locais em que ocorre); e um questionário de heterorrelato, isto é, de nomeação de pares (QNP), composto por duas partes: a primeira com 4 perguntas que estuda a sociometria (índices de preferências e rejeições) e a segunda com 5 perguntas permitindo estudar os atributos percebidos pelos colegas (agressão; isolamento social; liderança; conduta pró-social e vitimação). Os resultados permitiram concluir que o bullying também ocorre em zonas rurais mas de forma bastante menos frequente quando se compara com os dados de Pereira (2008) obtidos em zonas urbanas e que o local mais frequente onde ocorre é o recreio. Verificou-se ainda que quer os agressores, quer as vítimas são mais rejeitados pelos pares do que os não envolvidos. Discutem-se algumas formas de prevenção destes comportamentos no 1.º ciclo do ensino básico.