Journal of Theoretical Social Psychology最新文献

The purpose of this study was to examine resilience in families raising children with disabilities in rural communities in the Manzini Region of Eswatini. Utilizing a qualitative research approach and a phenomenological research design, the study involved a purposive sample of 24 participants, all of whom were members of families with disabled children residing in rural Manzini. Data were gathered through individual interviews and observations, followed by thematic analysis. The findings revealed that families in these rural areas demonstrate resilience and actively care for their children with disabilities, despite facing numerous challenges. The study also identified several negative experiences encountered by these families, including stigma, behavioral volatility in children, financial hardships, reduced time for other siblings, unemployment, and inadequate public facilities for individuals with disabilities. Consequently, there is a need for effective coping strategies to address these challenges. The study highlighted that acceptance of their children’s disabilities, spiritual well-being, participation in counseling, and connection with others in similar situations are critical strategies that enable these families to cultivate resilience and support their children effectively. In addition, the study recommends that families raising children with disabilities establish support groups to facilitate the sharing of experiences and coping strategies.

Introduction: The pandemic has caused an indisputable level of global suffering, with drastic changes in the daily lives of citizens.

Aim: To describe the sociodemographic characteristics and degree of resilience in a sample of COVID-19 vaccine acceptors versus a sample of vaccine refusers.

Method: A descriptive design was used. The sample comprised 793 women and 207 men (n = 1.000; age 18–79 [mean = 40.43]). The study variables were sociodemographic variables; work-related variables, such as working or not in a health centre; loss of loved ones in the health crisis; levels of resilience; and pro-vaccine beliefs. The instruments used were the Resilience Scale and a set of ad hoc questions created to obtain specific information on beliefs regarding the vaccine and sociodemographic factors.

Results: Individuals with low resilience (92%–98%) and those with high resilience (87%–92%) chose to be vaccinated two or more times. The distribution of variables with the highest frequency of vaccination was in participants over 50 years, with no difference between the genders. A higher vaccination rate has been observed in medium-sized cities (more than 90% who have decided to get vaccinated (two or more vaccines). The highest scores in the acceptance of vaccination are related to belief in the obligation of mass vaccination and working in a health centre (both workers with low and high resilience, more than 95% have received two or more vaccines).

Conclusions: Great sociodemographic variability was shown in the distribution of vaccines and the importance of analysing the cognitive variables involved in the acceptance of vaccines to increase the population’s adherence to vaccination campaigns. Beliefs regarding vaccination were seen as an indispensable element when considering raising the population’s awareness of vaccination. The global priority must be develop strategies that increase the credibility of health policies, with rigorous and scientific information to increase vaccination.

The COVID-19 pandemic has introduced significant challenges worldwide, leading to the reshaping of societal dynamics. These challenges are in the form of psychosocial consequences on community members’ everyday lives. This study aims to explore the psychological factors, particularly psychosocial stressors and coping strategies influencing the two low-income communities during COVID-19 lockdowns. A qualitative community case study design was used through four focus group discussions (n = 28) and 30 semistructured interviews with adults over 18. Qualitative thematic analysis using an inductive approach was employed, to analyse the data. The findings demonstrate that social isolation, confinement, harshly imposed government restrictions and perceived neglect or lack of support from the government led to feelings of entrapment, loss of freedom, frustration and anger among individuals. These emotions, combined with food insecurity, uncertainty and fear of infection or death for oneself or loved ones, contributed to intense psychological stress and heightened levels of anxiety. This environment of uncertainty and fear significantly exacerbated worry and distress. The findings further show that participants displayed both resilience and struggle during these times, using a blend of healthy and unhealthy coping strategies. This sense of resilience was expressed through the communities being more connected in this time of need and people supporting each other where they can. The findings highlighted the importance of religion, spirituality and faith in these stressful times, functioning as a protective coping mechanism against severe psychological stressors. Unhealthy coping mechanisms included substance misuse, violence, social withdrawal and communal divisions, which ultimately deepened social and psychological challenges within communities. Addressing psychosocial stressors and coping strategies is important to prevent long-lasting consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic. Simultaneously, these insights can inform future strategies to navigate through future potential pandemics.

This study aimed to determine the effects of the pandemic on students returning to school after COVID-19 from the perspective of school psychological counsellors. The research was designed as a qualitative study using a phenomenological design. The study group of the research consists of 11 psychological counselors at schools working in public schools in Türkiye, who were determined by maximum diversity and criterion sampling from purposeful sampling methods at the end of the 2021–2022 academic year. The data were collected using a semistructured interview form created by the researchers. MAXQDA 2020 program was used to analyze the data. As a result of the analysis, themes were obtained regarding the effects of the pandemic on students. These themes include the changes in students’ emotions, thoughts, behaviors, and academic dimensions, the topics that school psychological counsellors included in their programs after the pandemic, and the topics they suggested to be included in the program in the following years. The results of the study reveal that after the pandemic, there is a need for practices on emotion regulation, conscious use of technology, development of social skills, reducing bullying, improving psychological resilience, and increasing school motivation and academic success. It is thought that the research may contribute to the development of practices that can reduce the harmful effects of COVID-19 on students and positively affect students’ mental health at school.

Objective: The aim of this empirical literature review was to conduct a scoping review outlining all research focusing on the association between social capital and depressive symptoms. To be included in the review articles were required to include a definition and measurement of depressive symptoms and social capital dimensions.

Methods: Studies from PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, ProQuest, CINAHL, and APA databases were included. Search terms included “social capital” and variations of the term “depression.” Two researchers blindly assessed studies using Covidence software. Outcome variables were various social capital measures and depressive symptoms.

Results: 2486 studies were identified, which were reduced to 1258 after the duplicates were removed. 1135 studies were found irrelevant and 125 studies were assessed for eligibility through a full-text review. 39 studies were found to be eligible for this review.

Conclusion: The review indicated a strong association between cognitive social capital and depression. However, mixed results between other dimensions of social capital and depression warrant further research. Specifically, more longitudinal research is needed to examine the association between variables.

Mindfulness along with cognitive factors such as metacognition, rumination, and emotion regulation profoundly impact individual mental health and well-being. The primary goal of this study is to understand the global research trends in mindfulness, mental health, and cognitive factors and to provide a bird’s eye view of the research carried out so far, which provides a strong foundation for future research. Bibliometric analysis was carried out using the VOS viewer and RStudio software, using publication data extracted from the Scopus database. The COVID-19 pandemic triggered researchers to focus more on mental health-related issues. Developed nations contributed significantly to most of the bibliometric indicators. In developed countries, research on mental health and well-being emphasizes key determinants such as mindfulness, metacognition, rumination, and emotion regulation more extensively than in developing countries. Significant research gaps are identified in “Mental Health,” “Well-Being,” and “Metacognition.” A significant share of the research activity is concentrated in the European region. Developing nations need to improve their research and collaborations keeping in view of the potential possibility of improvement of the Human Development Index (HDI) and achieving Sustainable Development Goal 3, thereby contributing to “Good Health” and “Well-Being” at a global level.

Self-compassion is a crucial factor in psychological well-being, particularly among young adults facing various life challenges. This study investigates the multidimensional nature of self-compassion and its impact on flourishing and life satisfaction in 994 college students. We found that the Self-Compassion Scale is best understood as comprising separate “protective” (e.g., self-acceptance and kindness) and “vulnerability” (e.g., self-criticism) factors. Both men and women interpreted the scale similarly, suggesting a shared understanding of self-compassion. However, gender differences emerged in how these dimensions relate to well-being. The “protective” dimension positively influenced flourishing and life satisfaction for both genders. Notably, for women, managing “vulnerability” was a stronger predictor of life satisfaction compared to men. This highlights the importance of fostering self-compassion, particularly by addressing the vulnerability factor, to enhance women’s overall well-being. The study emphasizes the need to consider the multidimensional nature of self-compassion and gender differences when examining its relationship with well-being.

Background: Little research has been done to identify the individual-level factors contributing to the prevention of administrative corruption. Specifically, Iranian public employees are an understudied population in terms of individual and contextual factors that contribute to the prevention of administrative corruption. This study aimed to identify the perception of public servants about the psychosocial factors that facilitate the prevention of corruption.

Method: Data were collected using semistructured interviews with 14 individuals working in public sector departments or agencies in Tehran.

Results: Six main themes emerged from the data: cognitive characteristics (including “detachment-promoting thoughts and beliefs” and “consequence-focused thoughts and beliefs”), emotional patterns (including “deterrent negative emotions” and “deterrent positive emotions”), personality characteristics (including “self-oriented conservative personality traits” and “other-oriented prosocial personality traits”), behavioral strategies (including “need-fulfillment strategies” and “self-care strategies”), familial background (including “growing up in a rule-oriented and value-oriented family” and “living with an honest and supportive spouse”), and organizational context (including “employee monitoring” and “rule-based and ethical space of the organization”).

Conclusion: The study reveals some psychological and contextual factors that could be involved in preventing administrative corruption in Iran. These factors can be taken into consideration when designing preventive measures and policies aimed at reducing corrupt behaviors in public agents and promoting ethics in public service.

A diverse workforce is innovative and women are equally contributing to the country’s economic development along with men. In a dynamic business community, women are more enthusiastic and progressively using their potential for financial growth and providing benefits to their families as well. In the subcontinent, women also participate in the workforce and contribute to improving their quality of life and financial responsibilities. The objective of current research is to find out the relationship between emotional health, positive life orientation, and work-life balance in professional married women. A correlational research design and purposive sampling strategy were utilized to conceptualize the study. A total of 300 professional married women who served in various positions in different organizations were selected. Standardized instruments were used to measure study variables along with sociodemographic Performa. Statistical findings of the study revealed a significant positive relationship between emotional wellness, positive life orientation, and work-personal life enhancement ( ^∗∗∗p < 0.01,  ^∗∗p < 0.1,  ^∗p < 0.05) by using Pearson product-moment correlation. Mediation through PLS revealed that positive life orientation mediates the relationship between emotional wellness and work-life balance. Independent Sample T-test results also revealed that working women living in the nuclear family system have higher work interference with personal life and personal life interference with work than those women who live in a joint family system. This research will be helpful for organizations to design a conducive and women-friendly job environment and use women’s potential for constructive and productive professional growth and organizational progress.

Although it is widely recognized that atmosphere influences people’s decision-making process, few studied have examined the effect of atmosphere in the context of consensus building concerning the construction of controversial infrastructures. At local residents’ briefing sessions, the negative words used by certain members of the strong opposition can often create a negative atmosphere, leading to unpleasant arguments. Therefore, in this study, a vignette experiment was conducted to examine the influence of the atmosphere at briefing sessions on local residents’ intention to participate in discussion. The results showed that local residents reported greater intention to participate in discussion in a positive atmosphere compared to a negative atmosphere. As for the cognitive process, however, while in the positive atmosphere only a single factor (i.e., interest) affected local residents’ intention, in the negative atmosphere multifactors (e.g., procedural justice, disbenefit, and mental burden) affected the intention. These findings suggest the importance of choosing an appropriate strategy to increase resident’s intention to participate in discussion depending on the atmosphere (positive or negative). The psychological mechanism of the influence of atmosphere and effective strategies that project implementers should take when the atmosphere becomes negative at a briefing session are discussed.