Australian Journal of Psychology最新文献

Objective: Military service is inherently stressful, and a high prevalence of mental ill-health and suicide is reported among the veteran community. The current study examined the experiences of Navy Clearance Divers and factors that may be related to their mental health and suicide risk.

Method: Current and ex-serving Australian Clearance Divers (n = 135) completed a mixed-methods survey in June 2021 on the impact of service on their mental health.

Results: Fifty-five per cent of participants reported suffering a mental health issue, 40% had considered suicide, and 68% were concerned about another Clearance Diver's suicide risk. Transitioning out of active service presented practical, emotional, and social challenges. Qualitative analysis revealed four organisational factors (organisational culture, leadership, workplace support, and work environment) and five individual factors (attitudes to mental health treatment, experience of trauma, health and behaviour, emotional and social factors through transition, and experience of transition processes) that may be contributing to the poor mental health and high suicide risk.

Conclusions: Several systemic organisational problems may be contributing to poor mental health and wellbeing within Australian Clearance Divers, and improvements to mental health support and the transition process are required. Defence leadership is committed to enacting systematic change.

Objective: Acting practices can leave actors with unresolved emotions that may impact their daily life. The current study aims to describe how actors practice their craft, and how these practices are perceived in relation to their psychosocial wellbeing within and outside of performances.

Methodology: Seven Australian-based actors (age range = 22-60 years) were interviewed. Using a qualitative study design adopting an experiential and predominantly inductive approach, reflexive thematic analysis was conducted to analyse the interview data.

Findings: Three themes were derived from the data: preparation and development of character, transition into character, and letting go versus ongoing connection to the character. The overarching theme was the duality within the actor, which reflected how participants remained in control throughout the acting process despite sharing their body and mind with the character. This appeared to represent a kind of protection mechanism which guarded the actors from losing themselves within the character. Participants also described the necessity for both automatic and active character release strategies to accompany the use of duality and support their psychological wellbeing.

Conclusion: The findings present insights into the unique experiences and challenges faced by actors, providing a deeper understanding for practitioners supporting actor clients and presenting further research directions that may benefit this population.

Purpose: Work addiction is a relatively underexplored behaviour compared to other forms of addiction. Existing research predominantly focuses on the antecedents and consequences of work addiction. However, studies examining its relationship with other types of addiction are notably limited. Therefore the present study investigated the relationships between work addiction and five other types of addiction (i.e. social media addiction, shopping addiction, food addiction, caffeine addiction, and nicotine addiction).

Method: The research was conducted with 693 employees working in both public and private sectors. Data were collected through an online survey comprising validated scales for assessing the specific types of addiction and demographic questions. Descriptive statistics, internal consistency tests and Pearson correlation analysis were employed for data analysis.

Results: Correlation analysis showed significant (albeit weak) positive relationships between work addiction and food addiction (r = .14), shopping addiction (r = .12), and caffeine addiction (r = .16). However, no significant relationships were found between work addiction and social media addiction or nicotine addiction. Comorbidity among individuals classified as high-risk for more than one addiction was only observed between two substance-based addictions (caffeine and nicotine), and between one substance-based addiction (caffeine) and one behavioural addiction (social media).

Conclusions: These findings suggest that although multiple behavioural addictions may be associated, the observed comorbidity patterns primarily occur between two substance-based addictions or between a substance-based and a behavioural addiction, rather than between two behavioural addictions.

Objective: Australian psychology research has become globally prominent in recent years. The present study aimed to quantify its growth and describe its current standing nationally and internationally.

Method: Four databases were consulted to quantify historical trends in psychology publications by Australian-affiliated authors and to characterise the current standing of the field in terms of publications, leading researchers and research funding.

Results: Australian-affiliated researchers have produced a steeply rising proportion of psychology articles since 1970. They now account for 5.8% of global productivity, a rate that exceeds most other fields of research in Australia and most leading nations when adjusted for population. Quality, assessed by top-quartile journal publications, is also high by international standards. Australia's share of leading psychology researchers is more modest. Approximately 5.7% of grant and fellowship funding from the Australian Research Council goes to psychology researchers, with stronger outcomes for fellowships than for industry-partnered grants.

Conclusions: Psychology research in Australia is a success story. In the past half-century, the country has emerged as a major producer of psychological knowledge with a profile that stands out internationally and, in comparison with other fields, nationally. Whether its success is sufficiently recognised or rewarded is open to debate.

Objective: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, including psychologists, are actively leading and decolonising psychology. The focus of decolonising psychology is on epistemic justice for Indigenous knowledges and delivering culturally responsive services. Indigenous psychologists play a vital role in the decolonising process. Despite recommendations and initiatives aimed at decolonising psychology tertiary programs, such as increasing the representation of Indigenous peoples' completing psychology tertiary education programs, completion rates remain below parity. This study explores the current strategies and initiatives within Australian psychology tertiary programs, which support Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander psychology students.

Method: Aboriginal Participatory Action Research was foundational in this qualitative research, which included an online survey. Eighteen representatives from Australian psychology higher education providers participated in an online survey. Data were analysed using qualitative content analysis.

Results: Four key themes emerged: policies and structural support, partnerships with Indigenous communities, research and placement support and processes supporting cultural safety.

Conclusions: Findings emphasise the need for multipronged and layered initiatives to support Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander psychology students. Implementing these strategies can enhance the recruitment, retention and graduation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander psychology students, contributing to a more culturally responsive psychology workforce.

Objective: The prevalence of mental health problems among youth is high, and help seeking behaviour is low. Mental health literacy (MHL) has been suggested as a factor to enhance mental health knowledge and increase help seeking and coping behaviours. Schools have been recognised as an ideal environment for MHL programs to be delivered to reach a wide range of youth. This study aimed to understand the perspectives and experiences of secondary school students after participating in a MHL program, and how findings aligned with the theoretical model the program is based on.

Method: Thirty-eight participants aged 12-16 years provided feedback through an open-ended questionnaire. The questionnaire comprised seven items to gather participants' experiences and perspectives on the MHL program, including usefulness, ideas for program improvement, impact, and coping strategies. This study was preregistered on the Australian New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry, Registration Number: ACTRN12621000325808.

Results: Reflexive thematic analysis generated three themes and three subthemes from the findings: 1) A safe environment, 2) Perceived positive impact, 2.1) Attitudes towards mental health, 2.2) Coping strategies, 2.3) Need for MHL, and 3) Suggestions for program improvement.

Conclusions: These findings indicate that the school-based program meets the current MHL needs of young people, aligns with the MHL Child Focused theoretical model, and was viewed as beneficial to be incorporated into the education system in future.

Background: Psychology course regulatory standards for Australian universities have evolved in that universities are required to include cultural responsiveness in psychology curriculum and demonstrate graduate competencies for working with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander clients.

Aim: This study aimed to explore psychologists' perspectives about the higher education (HE) psychology curriculum in relation to their preparedness to practice with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander clients and share their suggestions for improving cultural responsiveness and preparedness.

Method: Psychologists (N=108, Female 83.2%, Male 16.8%, Aboriginal 13.9%, non-Indigenous 86.1%, age range 22-83) responded to an electronic mixed-method survey.

Findings: The majority of participants (91.43%, including all Aboriginal psychologists) reported that their psychology HE training did not adequately prepare them to work with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander clients. Moreover, 87.5% (Group 3 n=16) reported apprehensions about working with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander clients for the first time. Limited understanding of culture, concerns for their competence, or worry about perpetuating harm underpinned psychologists' apprehensions. Most participants (90.5%, n=85) indicated they plan to increase their knowledge in this area. Non-Indigenous participants suggested that the psychology curriculum should incorporate increased exposure to lived experiences (28%), Indigenous-specific information (e.g. the impact of intergenerational trauma; 24%), more practical exercises (20%), and guidelines for adapting existing clinical interventions (28%). The study also revealed indicators of racially motivated biases in some participants' responses.

Conclusion: All Aboriginal and the majority of non-Indigenous participants reported that HE psychology training did not adequately prepare them to work with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander clients.

Objective: Recent evidence that few help-seeking children and adolescents receive evidence-based care for anxiety in Australia highlighted the need for an increased understanding of clinical decision-making in this field. This article reports on a survey that explored the perspective of clinicians regarding the care they provide for children and adolescents with anxiety disorders, and the factors influencing this decision-making process. Underlying decision-making constructs were investigated, including theoretical orientation, assessment, treatment planning and techniques, attitudes towards research and sources used to support clinical practice. Willingness to engage with clinical decision support was also examined.

Method: A sample of Australian mental health practitioners (n = 42) completed an online survey investigating clinical treatment decisions and the principles underlying their choices.

Results: Generally, clinicians subscribe to more than one theoretical orientation, with a majority incorporating a CBT approach. Clinical assessment and treatment formulation processes aligned with evidence-based practices and recommendations. Most clinicians reported high esteem for research to inform both their theoretical approach and clinical practice, and most respondents indicated interest in user-testing a decision support tool.

Conclusions: In contrast to earlier research, Australian clinicians self-report routine employment of evidence-based practices to guide clinical assessment, treatment formulation and treatment delivery in their practices.

Objective: Gender identity is contextually dependent yet is often studied as a static trait. This study used ecological momentary assessment to examine daily variations in multiple dimensions of gender identity (gender salience, gender typicality, gender discontentedness, felt pressure to conform to gender stereotypes) and their associations with gender proportion and location.

Method: Participants (N = 138; M_age = 19.31; 67 men) completed 4 to 5 reports a day on gender identity and social contexts for 7 days, resulting in 4,409 reports.

Results: All gender identity components showed half as much within-person variance as between-person variance. When the other-gender proportion in the surrounding increased, participants scored higher in gender salience, and men felt more pressure to conform to gender stereotypes than women. When at home (versus other locations), participants scored lower in gender salience, gender typicality, and felt pressure, and men, in particular, reported higher gender discontentedness.

Conclusions: The findings support the social constructivist view that gender identity is dynamic. The findings are discussed in relation to developmental intergroup and distinctiveness theories and social role and reinforcement processes.

Objective: The Competencies of Professional Psychology Rating (COPPR) Scales provide a standardised, multi-dimensional framework for conceptualising and measuring the competencies of registered psychologists across all domains of practice. The COPPR Scales consist of both a self-report version for practitioner self-evaluation (the COPPR-S) and an observer version (COPPR-O) for supervisors and educators to rate competence of trainees. These scales have utility for psychologists to self-assess their competence within self-reflection, for supervisors to rate trainee competence, and for research and educational contexts.

Method: Following on from an initial pilot study, this study provides a psychometric evaluation of the COPPR-S, including tests of dimensionality, reliability and validity, with a sample of Australian Psychologists (N = 211).

Results: The confirmatory factor analysis provided support for the structure of the measure and all 11 domains of competence. Internal consistency was calculated for each of the domains and the total score, and strong support for convergent and divergent validity was obtained. In addition, the COPPR-S was able to discriminate between the three participant registration groups of provisional registration, general registration, and additional endorsements. Thus, strong support for the COPPR-S as a conceptual model of psychologist competencies and multi-dimensional measure was provided, and the items are presented for use in practice, education and research.