Australian Journal of Psychology最新文献

Objective: The Adult Hope Scale (AHS) is a widely used measure of hope and is reported to contain two distinct but interrelated constructs of agency (motivation to achieve goals) and pathways (planning routes to goals). Hope is thought to play a key role in the wellbeing of older people and while the AHS has been validated in young/middle-aged adults, the factor structure remains to be tested in older adults.

Method: Using computer-assisted personal communication, the AHS was completed by 1454 older Australians (726 F, age (mean (sd)) = 66.4 (5.81) y, range 55-84 y) stratified according to gender, location (metropolitan vs non-metropolitan), retirement status (yes/no) and age (55-65 vs 65 + y). Dimensionality was tested by (i) bifactor modelling (one-factor, two-factor and a bifactor model with a general factor, Hope, and two specific factors, Agency and Pathways) and (ii) exploratory graph analysis (which uses community detection algorithms to cluster variables into factors). Cross-gender invariance was also tested. Hope scores were compared between demographics and wellbeing (i.e. WHO-5 mental wellbeing and positive/negative coping questionnaire) groupings.

Results: Both bifactor modelling and exploratory graph analysis reveal that the AHS is unidimensional. Gender was shown to be invariant. Hope scores were comparable between demographic groupings, but higher scores were observed in older adults with higher mental wellbeing and positive coping with effect sizes in the small to medium range.

Conclusions: This study confirms that the AHS is a unidimensional scale and can be used to reliably measure hope in older Australian men and women.

Objective: Childhood experiences of traumatic events are common in all countries, and children may require psychotherapy after a traumatic experience. For those children who have experienced trauma and are involved in therapy, the parent-therapist relationship is important in promoting child trauma recovery. However, alliance barriers can interrupt the working relationship, compromising child treatment efficacy. Few studies have explored therapists' perceptions of the complexities in the parent-therapist relationship when treating children for trauma.

Method: This exploratory study uses trauma theory to understand obstacles interfering with the parent-therapist alliance. Qualitative research methods were used to explore data obtained from 15 therapists. An interpretive phenomenological research design supported the study to answer the research question.

Results: Therapists were motivated to work with parents, as they recognise the important role of parents in treatment. They identified alliance barriers as reduced parent investment, parent trauma and therapists' emotions. Therapists also applied a trauma-informed framework to moderate alliance obstacles preventing them from impacting child treatment success.

Conclusion: The findings highlight that therapists require knowledge of trauma theory and expertise in trauma-informed practice to work effectively with parents when treating children for trauma. This new knowledge will help therapists manage and support the parent-therapist relationship when treating children who have experienced trauma, improving long-term treatment outcomes of child psychotherapy.

Objective: Young Indigenous people are vulnerable to lateral violence, where negative feelings and behaviours are directed towards members within their own oppressed group. Lateral empowerment, in contrast, is where young people can promote resilience and strength and collectively prevent and repair the effects of lateral violence. The aim of this scoping review was to describe how young Indigenous people aged between 0 and 25 years across the CANZUS nations (Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and the United States) experience lateral violence particularly relating to the context and forms in which young people are experiencing it; and what mechanisms of lateral empowerment pertaining to healing programmes and interventions, address young Indigenous people's healthy wellbeing?

Methods: A scoping review was conducted using the Joanna Briggs Institute (JBI) framework to search for peer-reviewed publications between January 1980 and May 2024. In total, 170 peer-reviewed publications were thematically mapped into nine themes to provide an overview of the existing literature.

Results: Four themes to describe how young people experience lateral violence were identified: Familial and/or community violence; Interpersonal violence victimization (IVV); Peer and gang violence and Self-harm behaviour. Five themes related to the mechanisms of lateral empowerment which included: Community informed treatment approaches; Cultural identity and resilience; Family wellbeing; Use of digital technology; and Trauma intervention.

Conclusion: Young Indigenous people are experiencing lateral violence in many forms. Fortunately, empowering strategies were identified that strengthen young people's wellbeing, cultural identity, connectedness to community and country to mitigate the negative impacts of lateral violence were identified.

Objective: Emerging evidence suggests a negative impact of COVID-19 on children's mental health. The aims of this study were to examine trajectories of mental health in children younger than 6 years as well as risk and protective factors during the first year of the pandemic.

Method: In a prospective, longitudinal online study, data were collected on N = 837 children aged 1 to 5 years in Australia between May and July 2020 and after 3, 6 and 12 months, with n = 257 participating at all 4 timepoints. Individual trajectories ofanxiety, anger/irritability, depressive symptoms and sleep disturbance were analysed using latent growth mixture modelling.

Results: The results showed that 1 in 4 children experienced moderate to severe symptoms in each problem domain. The overall means for depressive symptoms, anger/irritability, and sleep disturbance decreased while anxiety increased over time. For most outcomes, two individual trajectories were identified: moderate/high-decreasing (26-29%) andlow-increasing. Important predictors were negative COVID-19 related impact on daily life, caregiver distress, lower child positive affect and self-regulation.

Conclusions: The current results highlight that the pandemic indirectly affected young children's mental health, especially in the presence of risk factors such as caregiver distress and poor child self-regulation skills.

Objective: Mental health problems in children and young people in Australia are not improving and continue to have a costly impact. Significant changes to the current child youth mental health (CYMH) system are needed and should be informed by key stakeholders such as practitioners "on the ground" delivering services.

Method: Australian practitioners (N = 206) working in CYMH were surveyed using quantitative rating scales and qualitative open-response items. The survey examined current waitlists and waitlist management strategies, treatment dropouts, perceived barriers to accessing care, satisfaction levels, and ease of navigating services.

Results: Around 70% practitioners reported being dissatisfied with the current CYMH system in meeting the needs of children, young people, and families. About 50% reported it is difficult to navigate the system to find referrals. About half of practitioners reported their service currently has a waitlist. Of those practitioners, approximately 32% reported wait times of between one and three months, and 21% reported wait times of three-to-six months. Qualitative responses from practitioners highlighted several systems issues including long waitlists, underfunded public services, and a lack of specialised training in CYMH.

Conclusion: The results reveal several practice, policy, and research priorities for improving the CYMH system in Australia.

Objective: To conduct a preliminary survey of staff involved in teaching accredited psychology units at Australian tertiary institutions about their inclusion of lived experience in education.

Method: Academics were informed about the study by Heads of School/Directors of Education. Thirty-two educators across undergraduate and postgraduate psychology courses completed an online survey. Content analysis was used to identify recurring themes and patterns in the data.

Results: Over 50% of the respondents were using their own or others' lived experience in their curriculum, with the primary reason being to enrich learning. The main barriers reported were resource constraints, perceived relevance, and work-safety concerns. Key enablers were identified as resourcing, leadership support, and increasing acceptability of lived experience. Almost two thirds of respondents self-identified as having personal lived experience.

Conclusions: This study provides an initial snapshot of the current state of lived experience inclusion in Australian psychology tertiary education. The findings are of importance for our discipline to maintain consistency with other disciplines and ensure we are preparing graduates to effectively contribute to a workforce which values consumer and community expertise.

Objective: Prosocial behaviour is essential for human existence such that it is expected in every society. However, different pathways of social change experienced by different societies over time may implicate different ways in which prosocial behaviour is understood and experienced. The current study aims to understand how societies experiencing different contexts of social changes hold their perspectives towards the meaning and practices of prosocial behaviour.

Method: A total of 42 participants from Indonesian and Australian younger and older generations participated in a focus group designed to explore cultural and generational diversity in prosociality. Themes were generated using thematic analysis and the multiple meaning of the data were discussed using a consensual qualitative research-modified (CQR-M) approach.

Results: Four themes and 23 subthemes were identified in the dataset. Findings from this study suggest that forms of prosocial behaviours are similar across cultures and generations. However, cultural differences observed in the older and younger generations reflect that Australia and Indonesia may hold different perspectives of prosocial behaviour. Interestingly, generational differences were evident in Indonesian but not in Australian participants.

Conclusions: The current study suggests that understanding and experience of prosocial behaviour are not congruent between societies going through different experiences of sociocultural changes.

Objective: This study investigated implicit bias towards people with disability and the relationship between implicit bias and personal values.

Method: A convenience sample of 146 people living in Australia completed an online survey that included the Portrait Values Questionnaire - Revised (PVQ-RR), experience with disability questions, and two Implicit Association Tests (IAT) that measured stereotypes of incompetency and coldness towards people with disability.

Results: There was a moderate IAT effect, with 80.1% of participants implicitly stereotyping people with disability as incompetent and 74.1% implicitly stereotyping people with disability as cold. Personal values of universalism-concern and universalism-tolerance were significantly positively correlated, and security-society was significantly negatively corelated with the Competence IAT. Universalism-concern and Self-transcendence were significantly positively correlated with the Warmth IAT. Higher scores on universalism-concern and if a person had a disability predicted lower implicit stereotyping of people with disability as incompetent. Higher scores on universalism-concern and Self-transcendence predicted lower stereotyping of people with disability as cold.

Conclusion: People in Australia have similar moderate negative implicit biases towards people with disability as reported in other countries. Personal values identified could be targeted in reflective practice interventions with employment and healthcare professionals to reduce the effects of implicit bias towards people with disability.

Objective: To investigate how satisfaction of basic psychological needs (autonomy, competence, and relatedness) influences achievement emotions through control and value appraisals among university students in Australia.

Method: The study employed an online survey completed by 420 university students. Measurements included scales for psychological needs satisfaction, control and value appraisals, and achievement emotions. Structural equation modelling analysed the relationships between these variables.

Results: Analysis revealed that autonomy satisfaction positively correlated with perceived value, while competence and relatedness satisfaction showed no significant associations. The three basic psychological needs demonstrated no significant relationship with perceived control. Perceived value positively associated with both positive and negative activating emotions. Perceived control showed no significant links to achievement emotions. The hypothesised indirect effect of autonomy satisfaction on achievement emotions through value appraisals was not supported, and the overall model demonstrated inadequate fit.

Conclusions: The findings highlight autonomy satisfaction's unique role in shaping students' value appraisals and achievement emotions. Educational practitioners should consider incorporating strategies that support students' basic psychological needs, particularly autonomy, when designing curriculum and learning environments. Future research should explore alternative pathways between psychological needs satisfaction and achievement emotions to better understand these relationships.

Objective: Domestic and family violence (DFV) is a pervasive issue in Australia, with Indigenous Australians disproportionately represented. While research is increasing specifically for victims of DFV, this is the first study to investigate factors that influence male Indigenous Australians to comply or contravene domestic and family violence orders (DFVO).

Methods: Six participants (2 males, 4 females, aged >18 years) working in service provider roles related to domestic and family violence (e.g. psychologists, social workers, counsellors, support workers). Semi-structured interviews lasted approximately 50 min, focusing on factors that participants believed influenced Indigenous men's compliance or non-compliance with DFVOs. Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis was conducted.

Results: Five master themes were identified relating to service providers perspectives of factors that might influence Indigenous men to contravene a DFVO: language and understanding, trauma, shame, repercussions, and trust. Three master themes emerged as factors that might contribute to compliance with a DFVO: language, specific support for respondents, and legal understanding.

Conclusions: Service providers held valuable unique perspectives on reasons for the persistence of DFV for Indigenous Australians. Participants agreed that more culturally appropriate intervention and prevention programs supporting positive cultural change would be beneficial.