Abstract

     Becoming a parent is a challenging transition, and stress factors may arise. This scoping review aims to map, from the literature, the structure, potential barriers, and facilitators to be considered when conducting a parenting programme for parents of children up to 3 years old. It followed the JBI methodology and included studies with parents of children up to 3 years old (Participants), studies about parenting programme structure, its potential barriers, and facilitators (Concept) in the healthcare or community setting (Context). Qualitative and/or quantitative study designs and grey literature publications between 2016 and 2021 were eligible. The search was performed in three stages in CINAHL Plus with Full Text, MEDLINE with Full Text, and PubMed databases. It was also conducted in OpenGrey, ProQuest, Portuguese Open Access Scientific Repository, and Google Scholar. Fourteen articles were selected. The following aspects were identified regarding parenting programmes: benefits; structuring elements to be considered; facilitating factors and possible barriers to its development, and measurement instruments to assess the programme. Parenting programmes are important ways to contribute to a healthy, sustainable, and resilient society. It should be adapted to individuals, groups, and communities. They add value to parents, children, and society and should be carefully adapted to the group’s needs.

Introduction

     Healthy development during childhood promotes vigorous adulthood, contributing to a productive and sustainable society. A family household is where children establish first relationships, attachment, and continuous interaction, learn to trust and become acquainted with basic social rules [1]. However, it is also where most child abuse occurs, often caused by a parent [2–6]. This toxic stress impact on the early years triggers adverse adulthood outcomes and shortens life expectancy [7–10].

     Different kinds of stress can be induced: positive, tolerable, and toxic. The first is a normal part of healthy functioning; the second is more intense and long-lasting but can be buffered by supportive relations allowing the nervous system to get back on track; toxic stress arises from prolonged adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) such as reiterated abuse, chronic neglect, exposure to violence, or accumulated economic hardship in the family [8].

     Parents and family are those closest to the child and are expected to be the best caregivers [11]. However, cumulative toxic stress can occur without appropriate parental support, which may cause development disruption [12] and promote morbidity before adulthood and early death [8,12].

Conclusions

     This study provides an overview of parenting programmes, and the results guide several recommendations for the future. The results of this article may help public health professionals to plan evidencebased parenting programmes with better outcomes for families, children, and society. These results will guide professionals in constructing more sustainable and effective parental programmes.

      Considering the various benefits, such as increased parent competence, self-efficacy, lower parental stress, lower depression symptoms, and child behaviour problems, implementing parental programmes is an added value for parents, children, and society. However, professionals should be aware of the barriers identified in this study (related to distance strategies and individual needs) and carefully adapt any programme to individual, group or community needs.

     Parenting programmes are important ways to contribute to a healthy, sustainable, and resilient society. They benefit parents by reducing signs of stress and depression and increasing their self-efficacy and social behaviour, which leads to positive changes in childcare. In addition, they bring benefits to the parent–child relationship by relieving social pressure from parents, allowing a focus on the relationship with the child as an individual. Finally, parenting programmes also positively affect society through knowledge sharing, networking, and support so that children can grow up in healthy environments and maximise their full potential.

Abstract

Background. Psychological distress is a progressive health problem that has been linked to decreased quality of life among university students. This meta-analysis reviews existing randomized controlled trials (RCTs) that have examined the effects of mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) on the relief of psychosomatic stress-related outcomes and quality of life among university students. Methods. The PubMed, EMBASE, Web of Science, PsycINFO (formerly PsychLit), Ovid MEDLINE, ERIC, Scopus, Google Scholar, ProQuest, and Cochrane Library databases were searched in November 2023 to identify the RCTs for analysis. Data on pathology (anxiety, depression, and perceived stress), physical capacity (sleep quality and physical health), and well-being (mindfulness, self-kindness, social function, and subjective well-being) were analyzed. Results. Of the 276 articles retrieved, 29 met the inclusion criteria. Compared with control therapies, the pooled results suggested that MBSR had significant effects, reducing anxiety (SMD = −0.29; 95% CI: −0.49 to −0.09), depression (SMD = −0.32; 95% CI: −0.62 to −0.02), and perceived stress (SMD = −0.41; 95% CI: −0.60 to −0.29) and improving mindfulness (SMD = 0.34; 95% CI: 0.08 to 0.59), self-kindness (SMD = 0.57; 95% CI: 0.30 to 1.12), and physical health (SMD = −0.59; 95% CI: −1.14 to −0.04). No significant differences were observed in sleep quality (SMD = −0.20; 95% CI: −0.06 to 0.20), social function (SMD = −0.71; 95% CI: −2.40 to 0.97), or subjective well-being (SMD = 0.07; 95% CI: −0.18 to 0.32). The quality of the evidence regarding sleep quality and physical health outcomes was low. Conclusions. MBSR therapy appears to be potentially useful in relieving functional emotional disorders. However, additional evidence-based large-sample trials are required to definitively determine the forms of mindfulness-based therapy that may be effective in this context and ensure that the benefits obtained are ongoing. Future studies should investigate more personalized approaches involving interventions that are tailored to various barriers and students’ clinical characteristics. To optimize the effects of such interventions, they should be developed and evaluated using various designs such as the multiphase optimization strategy, which allows for the identification and tailoring of the most valuable intervention components.

Introduction

Mindfulness therapy is a standardized psychological intervention that aims to reduce stress, encourage mindful thinking habits, and allow recipients to manage difficult emotional processing. It focuses on the concentration of one’s attention in the moment, nonsubjective judgment, and openness to accepting personal experience and involves corresponding behavioral training, such as attention training, body scanning, and sitting meditation [1]. Previous research on psychological interventions has found that mindfulness therapy can help reduce stress among university students and affects their overall quality of life and the psychological functions to which they adapt [2].

The theoretical support and the understanding of the operating mode are reasonable but still have differences. Thus, the mental health benefits, potential effects, and limitations of mindfulness therapy for university students warrant further examination. Although education and social support can be effective in preventing and treating the underlying psychological problems among university students with poor mental health, such interventions do not always affect or improve psychological well-being [3, 4].

The most prevalent psychological symptoms among university students are anxiety, mental stress, and emotional distress, which can result in decreased functioning in the context of academic and interpersonal stress. Global mental health surveys conducted by the World Health Organization (WHO) indicate that mental disorders are highly prevalent among university students, with 12-month prevalence rates ranging from 20.3% to 45% of university students over the age of 18 [5–7]. The prevalence rates of insomnia, depressive symptoms, and anxiety symptoms were 37.80%, 48.20%, and 36.70%, respectively, among Chinese university students during the COVID-19 pandemic [8]. In a randomized controlled trial with 11,169 university students conducted by the WHO, students had increasing intentions to use mental health services: The results indicated lifetime use rates of 12.6% and 7.3% for psychotherapy and medication for emotional problems, respectively. Suicidal thoughts and behaviors and nonsuicidal self-injury within the preceding 12 months were also common, with 21.1% of students in the sample reporting suicidal ideation, 10.6% reporting suicide plans, 0.4% reporting suicide attempts, and 6.8% reporting nonsuicidal self-injury [5]. Furthermore, one previous study found that high-compliance mental health services had a significant effect on students’ intention to seek mental health services in the next semester [9–11].

Results

3.1. Description of Studies
A total of 276 studies items were initially obtained through the database search. Using NoteExpress, 193 deduplicated studies were obtained, and the remaining 220 items were obtained. After reviewing their titles and abstracts, 135 studies that were of incompatible research types were excluded. A total of 13 articles were further excluded after reading the full text, and the remaining 29 studies [24–53] were retained for data extraction. The baselines of the trials were comparable. The literature search process and results are shown in Figure 1.

Abstract

As customer service quality becomes an important factor that is responsible for the firms’ overall successes, many organizations are trying to seek all related clues which can help them to enhance it. Thus, this research aimed to examine how job stress, job satisfaction, and organizational commitment affected customer service quality among bank employees in Cambodia. To accomplish this objective, 630 bank employees working at different banks in Cambodia were invited to answer questionnaires. Furthermore, a structural equation model was used to analyse data. Results indicated that banks could receive high organizational commitment when their employees obtained significant changes in job satisfaction and job stress. Meanwhile, banks could improve customer service quality if there were significant changes in organizational commitment and job stress, except job satisfaction. Finally, a mediation testing result confirmed organizational commitment as a full mediator between job satisfaction and customer service quality. Despite the results highlighted the significant impacts of job stress and organizational commitment on customer service quality, organizational commitment was the stronger factor promoting better customer service quality as this factor contributed higher degree of impact on customer service quality. Therefore, banks should pay more attention to prioritize and promote their organizational commitment among their employees.

Introduction

Customer service quality represents a critical component of business success, encompassing the delivery of accurate information and high-performance interactions to meet consumers’ needs [ 1 ]. Extensive research has underscored the pivotal role of superior customer service quality in garnering positive evaluations from customers, thereby fostering heightened satisfaction with firms [ 2 ]. Furthermore, it has been well-established that high service quality serves as a potent risk mitigator, engendering greater customer trust [ 3 ] and fostering enduring loyalty towards the same firms [ 4 ]. This symbiotic relationship between customer service quality, satisfaction, and loyalty not only fortifies customer retention rates but also contributes substantially to sustained revenues and business sustainability [ 5 , 6 ]. Given the prevalence of research in this area, including the focus of Goh et al. (2016) [ 7 ] on examining satisfaction in Internet banking within the Malaysian context, it is clear that a nuanced understanding of the root causes underpinning customer service quality is imperative for firms seeking to thrive in today’s competitive landscape.

Meanwhile, amidst the economic resurgence of Cambodia, a dynamic Southeast Asian nation, following the upheaval wrought by the COVID-19 pandemic, the nation has demonstrated an impressive average economic growth rate of approximately 5.1 % [ 8 ]. This economic revitalization has catalysed the resumption of business operations across various sectors, including small and medium enterprises (SMEs), underscoring the country’s resilient spirit and commitment to progress [ 9 ]. Notably, banks have played a pivotal role in this resurgence, extending an array of financial services to support businesses in Cambodia’s evolving economic landscape [ 10 , 11 ]. Amidst the proliferation of financial service offerings, banks have emerged as crucial facilitators, providing essential services such as e-banking, loans, and various card services (ATM, debit, and credit cards) to meet the diverse needs of businesses [ 11 ]. In this context, the delivery of exemplary customer service quality emerges as a paramount differentiator for banks seeking to distinguish themselves amidst intensifying competition [ 12 ]. Failure to meet customer expectations in terms of service quality may not only jeopardize satisfaction and trust but also impede customer retention, as businesses vie to attract and retain customers amidst an increasingly crowded marketplace [ 10 ]. Thus, it is imperative for banks to discern and comprehend the underlying factors influencing customer service quality to maintain their competitive edge and foster sustainable growth.

Conclusion

The main goal of this research was to examine the effects of job stress, job satisfaction, and organizational commitment on customer service quality in the banking industry. To achieve this aim, 630 bank employees who were from different banks in Cambodia were invited to fill in the survey with 100 % response rate. The results of this study indicated that banks’ organizational commitment was significantly influenced by their employees’ job stress and satisfaction. Moreover, organizational commitment and job stress significantly affected customer service quality while job satisfaction did not show any significant impact on customer service quality. Finally, the mediation testing result confirmed that organizational commitment was the mediator between job satisfaction and customer service quality. To sum up, organizational commitment was the main predictor of customer service quality because this factor had the strongest effect on customer service quality.

Despite achieving its primary objectives, this research is not without limitations. Firstly, reliance on self-reported responses from respondents may introduce bias into the findings. Respondents’ subjective interpretations of questionnaire items could influence their responses, potentially skewing the results. Future studies could mitigate this limitation by employing structured interviews to control for respondent bias and ensure more objective data collection. Secondly, the findings of this research are primarily contextualised within the banking industry, limiting their generalizability to other sectors such as airlines, tourism, and online shopping services. Variables affecting customer service quality may vary across industries due to unique customer expectations and service delivery mechanisms. Thus, future research should explore the applicability of identified variables in diverse industry contexts to enhance understanding of customer service quality across sectors.

Abstract

Stress can lead to various health problems. Exposure to stress is linked to several diseases including cancer, hypertension, diabetes, mental disorders, and heart attacks. Stress stimulates several pathways that produce free radicals, which increases oxidative stress. This results in functional and structural damage to organs, such as the brain, which is highly sensitive to oxidative stress Vitamin E is a naturally occurring potent antioxidant used for various purposes. The main purpose of the current study was to evaluate how vitamin E protects the brain and to what extent it affects antioxidant levels in rats subjected to two hours per day of immobilization stress, the form of stress with the strongest effect. The rats were immobilized by folding their limbs in and wrapping them in netting to prevent movement, while allowing their tails to be extended. The rats were then hung upside down. The effect of vitamin E was tested by intraperitoneally injecting rats with 40 mg/kg of vitamin E daily. Oxidative stress parameters were determined at the completion of the experiment. A dramatic decrease in malondialdehyde (MDA) levels and an increase in catalase (CAT), including glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px) and superoxide dismutase (SOD), has been shown by vitamin E in the brain. The effects of vitamin E were significantly higher in the acute and chronic stress groups than in the control group. Vitamin E can decrease oxidative stress in stressed rats, indicating that it exerts therapeutic and protective effects owing to its antioxidant properties.

Introduction

Stress is a normal factor in everyday vernacular and a fundamental aspect of the human condition. Millions of missed working days are attributed to stress, which is acknowledged globally as the main contributor to chronic illnesses (e.g., Am. Psychol. Assoc. 2019, UK Health Saf. Executive 2019). It has been reported that stress affects every aspect of life. Furthermore, stress is known to have both direct and indirect negative effects on health via changes in neuroendocrine and autonomic functions (O’Connor et al., 2021).

Activation of the HPA axis, which causes an increase in corticosterone levels in the brain, is a key mechanism linked to stress-induced behavioral problems. Rapid depolarization caused by elevated corticosterone levels causes glutamate to be released into limbic and cortical areas. An increase in metabolic rate and mitochondrial dysfunction may result from glutamate overproduction. An increase in the metabolic rate results in a conflict between the generation of ROS and antioxidant system activity, which causes the generation of more free radicals. Nucleic acids, proteins, and lipids are just a few cellular components that oxidatively damage these free radical species oxidatively damage (Samarghandian et al., 2017).

Free radicals are associated with oxidative stress. Free radicals are highly reactive with unpaired electrons and atoms. An increase in the levels of antioxidants and free radicals can lead to oxidative stress.

Conclusion

Levels of the antioxidants GSH, SOD, and CAT in the brain were significantly higher in the vitamin E group than in the acute and chronic stress groups (controls). Vitamin E also significantly reduced MDA levels and oxidative stress in stressed rats. These findings suggest that vitamin E can prevent and relieve stress.

ABSTRACT

Background & objectives
Existing research indicates that not only own stress leads to physiological stress reactions, but also observing stress in others. So far, a standardized paradigm to reliably induce physiological stress contagion based on direct face-to-face stress observation compared to an active non-stress observing control group is lacking. Here, we tested a standardized randomized placebo-controlled experimental paradigm to investigate physiological reactivity to direct stress observation and characterized the stress contagion response of major endocrine stress systems including full reactivity kinetics.

Methods
Healthy young male participants were randomly assigned to (1) undergo an adapted version of the Trier-Social-Stress-Test (“TSST participants”, n=20), (2) observe it (“stress observers”, n=36), or (3) observe a corresponding placebo-stress control condition (“non-stress observers”, n=30). We repeatedly assessed heart rate, salivary alpha-amylase, salivary cortisol, as well as salivary aldosterone.

Results
Stress observers exhibited greater physiological reactivity to stress observation as compared to non-stress observers to placebo-stress observation in heart rate, salivary alpha-amylase, and cortisol (p’s≤.027), but not in aldosterone. We observed similar reactivity kinetics in TSST participants and stress observers, but less pronounced in stress observers.

Discussion
Extending previous literature, our findings indicate that independent of secondary effects of the observation setting, direct observation of stress in other individuals induces activation of the hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal axis and the sympathetic-adrenal-medullary axis. Moreover, the physiological stress contagion response resembles the physiological reactivity to first-hand stress but is less pronounced. Potential implications of physiological stress contagion regarding health, cognition, or behavior, as well as modulating factors need to be further elucidated.

INTRODUCTION

While the individual experience of and reactivity to direct stress exposure has been extensively studied over decades, comparably little is known about interindividual contagion effects of such stress exposure. Given the increasing stress burden on the one hand (Techniker Krankenkasse, 2021) and increasing population numbers especially in metropolitan areas on the other hand (Moreno-Monroy et al., 2021, United Nations, 2022), a better understanding of the contagion of stress is of importance.

In research, the interindividual contagion of stress, or stress contagion, respectively (Dimitroff et al., 2017, Erkens et al., 2019, Schury et al., 2020, Waters et al., 2020, Waters et al., 2017, Waters et al., 2014) is captured by additional different terms such as crossover effects of stress (for review see: (Wethington, 2000), autonomic contagion (Ebisch et al., 2012), vicarious autonomic response (Manini et al., 2013), empathic physiological resonance (Blons et al., 2021, Buchanan et al., 2012), and vicarious or resonant empathic stress (Blons et al., 2021, Engert et al., 2019, Engert et al., 2014, Engert et al., 2018, Park et al., 2021) that in part differ slightly with respect to implications. Stress contagion research started in the 1990s, with a focus on stress contagion at the cognitive and emotional level between close individuals (Wethington, 2000). Within the last 10 years, investigation of stress contagion has been extended to the physiological level with studies assessing physiological responses in reaction to the observation of stressed individuals.

So far, studies investigated physiological stress contagion in terms of significant physiological increases following the observation of other stressed individuals and/or of covariation of physiological parameters between observers and stressed individuals (for review see: (Engert et al., 2019, White and Buchanan, 2016). Hitherto, the physiological contagion of stress was examined between parents (mostly mothers) or stranger women and children (Ebisch et al., 2012, Manini et al., 2013, Waters et al., 2020, Waters et al., 2017, Waters et al., 2014), couples (Engert et al., 2014, Engert et al., 2018), or strangers (Blons et al., 2021, Buchanan et al., 2012, Dimitroff et al., 2017, Engert et al., 2014, Erkens et al., 2019, Park et al., 2021, Schury et al., 2020) in various settings.

RESULTS

3.1. Participant characteristics
Our final sample comprised 20 TSST participants, 36 stress observers, and 30 non-stress observers. Participant characteristics are depicted in Table 1. As expected, participants did not significantly differ in terms of age and BMI as well as in terms of physiological measures at baseline (p’s ≥.074). Moreover, panel size did not differ between stress observation (2.85 ±.17) and placebo stress observation condition (2.67 ±.26) (t(30) =.63, p =.54).

3.2. Intraclass-correlation coefficients
Table 2 shows the ICCs for all dependent variables at every measurement timepoint. With the exception of aldosterone and changes from baseline in aldosterone and HR, the proportion of variance that can be explained by study group was generally rather low (both for stress observers and non-stress observers) which suggests that ANOVAs and t-tests should be rather robust. Nevertheless, alternatives for the inferential-statistical procedures are reported in Appendix A. These are SEM-analyses that consider potential between-study group differences in accordance with the ICCs. No substantially different conclusions were yielded with the alternative analyses.

Abstract

Aims. To explore university students’ levels of stress, stressors, and their coping style. Methods. A cross-sectional correlational design with a convenience sample (n = 676) of university students who completed the Student-Life Stress Inventory (SSI) and Coping Strategies Indicator (CSI) was used. Findings. Overall, two-thirds of the participant reported moderate levels of stress. Students with chronic illness, living alone, low CGPA, and having exams today experienced a statistically higher mean level of stress. Students who are living alone used the “avoidance” method more significantly and the “social support” method significantly less compared with students who are living with their families and friends. Conclusion. This study concurs with others that university students are prone to distress. To our knowledge, this is the first study in the region to explore the students’ coping skills. Some of the employed coping and associated factors could be used to lay the groundwork for evidence-based prevention and mitigation.

Introduction

Mounting evidence supports the belief that university students experience moderate to high levels of stress [1–5]. The interplay between biology and the environment renders vulnerable adolescents and young adults to experience stress and distress. Researchers have identified various predictors of stress among university students, including individual, environmental, and coping factors. Personality traits are an example of individual factors. A study by Rettew et al. [6] found that students with high levels of neuroticism, a personality trait characterized by anxiety and negative thinking, reported higher levels of stress. In addition, students who are introverted and have a tendency to withdraw from social situations may be more susceptible to stress than those who are extroverted and enjoy social interaction [7]. There is evidence to suggest that other personality traits, such as conscientiousness and agreeableness, may also be positively associated with stress levels among university students [6].

Environmental factors such as specialisation, living situation, social support, and campus resources are also important explanatory variables of stress among university students. For example, a study by McLean et al. [8] found that students who reported lower levels of social support had higher levels of stress. In addition, students who have supportive peers and family members are more likely to have positive attitudes toward university and lower levels of stress [9]. Similarly, a meta-analysis found that students who had access to mental health services and other campus resources reported lower levels of stress than those who lacked such support [10]. Additionally, students who have access to other campus resources, such as academic support services, may be better equipped to manage stress and succeed academically [10]. Other factors which were significantly associated with a higher level of stress were smart phone use and sleeping hours [11].

Discussion

The current study explored university students’ levels of stress, stressors, and their coping styles. The results revealed that the majority of students have a moderate level of stress (75.1%), followed by those with a severe level of stress (13.5%) and a mild level of stress (11.4%). Stress and burnout syndrome have emerged in the Arabian Gulf countries from research using different measures such as Influence of Studying on Student Health (ISSH), Perceived Stress Scale (PSS), Stress subscale of Depression Anxiety Stress Scales (DASS-21), Copenhagen Burnout Inventory, Cohen’s Perceived Stress Scale, Common Stressor Inventory, Maslach Burnout Inventory, and Maslach Burnout Inventory (Student Survey). In Oman, in studies of medical students, various researchers including Aboalshamat et al. [32], Al-Alawi et al. [33], Al-Dabal et al. [34], Al-Khani et al. [35], Al Rasheed et al. [36], and Mahfouz et al. [37] have reported the rate of stress and distress as ranging from 7.4% to 96.3%. In Bahrain, Al Ubaidi et al. [38] and Sanad [39] found 47% and 92% to be subject to stress and distress, respectively; in Qatar, Fadhel and Adawi [40] reported 89.2% stress and distress. In Kuwait, the prevalence of 43% and 43.8% was reported by Ahmed et al. [41] and Badr et al. [42], respectively. The rate in the present study appears to tend towards a higher figure, even though such comparison may not be valid because of the use of different assessment measures and catchment areas.

Abstract

Background
Exposure to childhood maltreatment (CM) increases the risk of psychiatric morbidity in youths. The new Complex Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (CPTSD) diagnosis captures the heterogeneity and complexity of clinical outcomes observed in youths exposed to CM. This study explores CPTSD symptomatology and its association with clinical outcomes, considering the impact of CM subtypes and age of exposure.

Methods
Exposure to CM and clinical outcomes were evaluated in 187 youths aged 7–17 (116 with psychiatric disorder; 71 healthy controls) following the Tools for Assessing the Severity of Situations in which Children are Vulnerable (TASSCV) structured interview criteria. CPTSD symptomatology was explored by confirmatory factor analysis, considering four subdomains: post-traumatic stress symptoms, emotion dysregulation, negative self-concept and interpersonal problems.

Results
Youths exposed to CM (with or without psychiatric disorders) showed greater internalizing, externalizing and other symptomatology, worse premorbid adjustment and poorer overall functioning. Youth with psychiatric disorder and exposed to CM reported more CPTSD symptomatology, psychiatric comorbidity and polypharmacy and earlier onset of cannabis use. Different subtypes of CM and the developmental stage of exposure differentially impact CPTSD subdomains.

Limitations
Small percentage of resilient youths was studied. It was not possible to explore specific interactions between diagnostic categories and CM. Direct inference cannot be assumed.

Conclusions
Gathering information on type and age of exposure to CM is clinically useful to understand the complexity of psychiatric symptoms observed in youths. Inclusion of the CPTSD diagnosis should increase the implementation of early specific interventions, improving youths’ functioning and reducing the severity of clinical outcomes.

Introduction

Childhood maltreatment (CM) according to the definition of the World Health Organization (WHO) is the abuse and neglect that occurs to children under 18 years of age. Includes all types of physical and/or emotional abuse, sexual abuse, neglect and negligence, and commercial or other exploitation that results in actual or potential harm to the child’s health, survival, development, or dignity in the context of a relationship of responsibility, trust or power (WHO, 2022).

Exposure to CM might increase vulnerability to different psychiatric disorders, soon after traumatic experiences but also throughout life (Heim et al., 2010; Scott et al., 2010; Teicher and Samson, 2013). Adverse childhood experiences (ACE) occur with the exposure during childhood or adolescence to environmental circumstances that are likely to require significant psychological, social, or neurobiological adaptation by an average child with trauma being one of the possible outcomes of exposure to adversity (McLaughlin, 2016). ACEs are associated with up to 45 % of all childhood onset psychiatric disorders and with around 30 % of later-onset non-specific psychiatric disorders (McLaughlin et al., 2010). Furthermore, evidence suggests that psychological outcomes may depend upon the nature, timing, chronicity and severity of the adverse experiences (Hughes et al., 2017; Jonson-Reid et al., 2012).

Conclusions

CM is a highly complex phenomenon affecting individuals systemically and a major risk factor for dysfunctionality and a huge range of psychiatric disorders and comorbidity. The present study supports the clinical utility of gathering information on CM and adverse childhood experiences to help understand the complexity of psychiatric symptoms observed in children and adolescents exposed to complex trauma. The new diagnosis accepted by ICD-11, CPTSD, may help explain the worse clinical prognosis observed in patients exposed to CM, and may guide the development of more efficient preventive treatments and interventions focused on trauma, emotional dysregulation, negative self-concept and interpersonal problems, which are fundamental aspects during development.

Different subtypes of CM and the developmental stage of exposure differentially impact CPTSD subdomains. Specifically, emotional neglect was the most prevalent CM and contributed to all CPTSD subdomains throughout development. Although post-traumatic stress symptomatology increased with all CM subtypes, a significant effect of physical neglect only appeared after exposure during infancy (0–5 years). Physical abuse also appears to be especially harmful when it occurs at 0–5 years. Emotional abuse seems to be the CM subtype that best explains the variability of PTSD symptoms. PTSD can particularly result from emotional abuse suffered at age six to 12. Sexual abuse seems to be harmful and induce PTSD when occurs after age 5. Regarding DSOs subdomains, both emotional neglect and abuse, and physical abuse had a strong impact on emotional dysregulation. Negative self-concept and interpersonal problems seem to be affected by all CM subtypes. Specifically, physical neglect and abuse was of greater risk during the first 5 years of life, while emotional and sexual abuse were during primary school age (6–12 years).

Abstract

Recent developments in information and communication technology have blurred the line between the workplace and the home. This can have a negative influence on employees’ well-being and thus has gained increasing attention from academics and practitioners. In this study, we developed a research model based on the transactional perspective of stress and the challenge–hindrance stressor framework. We defined the two dimensions of work–family conflict as the perceptual stress resulting from a chronic challenge and hindrance technostressors, which ultimately affect employees’ satisfaction in both the work and family domains. We tested our model using a three-wave time-lagged survey study with data collected from 268 employees. Challenge and hindrance technostressors had different effects on these two main forms of work–family conflict (time-based and strain-based) but further induced negative effects on both job and family satisfaction. Overall, we make both scientific and practical contributions to the fields of work-related technology use and work–family conflict.

Introduction

Managing employee health and productivity is an essential aspect of modern organisational strategies. A study by Aviva (Wedgwood, 2022) showed that, nowadays, more employees were attracted to their current job for the work-life balance (41%) than the salary (36%). Other industry reports have shown that work–life conflicts are the main reason for job resignations (Joblist, 2021). Employees are currently experiencing increasing work–life conflict due to technology-induced stress (Li et al., 2021; Sarker et al., 2018). Previous studies have suggested that technology-related work stress often bleeds over into employees’ home domains with the potential to bring harm to both domains (Harris et al., 2021). Clearly understanding technology-related work–family conflict is therefore important, as a failure to intervene in the resulting stress can lead to major personal and family problems for employees (e.g., depression and divorce), which can cause productivity losses worth billions of dollars (Butts et al., 2015).

The term technostress has been coined for the stress-creating effects of technology use, in terms of the stressful experiences resulting from individuals’ inability to cope with information systems (IS) in a healthy manner (e.g., Ayyagari et al., 2011; Ragu-Nathan et al., 2008). Previous studies have investigated how technology use at the workplace induces technostress and blurs the boundary between work and family (Ayyagari et al., 2011; Butts et al., 2015). Among them, a significant number of studies examined episodic technostressors which are acute and result from transitory and periodic events (e.g., system breakdown) (Weinert et al., 2020). For example, technology-mediated interruption, which is considered as an episodic technostressor, is found to significantly hinder employees’ work and nonwork performance, by increasing errors in tasks and their execution time (Chen & Karahanna, 2018; Galluch et al., 2015). Similarly, Benlian (2020) investigated how daily and transient (i.e., episodic) technostressors trigger short-term work–family spillover and affect employees’ home lives. While, it is worth noting that, the chronic technostressors (e.g., “techno-overload” and “techno-invasion”) employees experience over the long-term can also significantly impact work–family conflict, as they result in ongoing resource depletion (Harris et al., 2021). In fact, studies have suggested that work–family conflict is associated more closely with chronic stressors because addressing such a source of stress requires a change in work or family life over a long period of time (Galluch et al., 2015). In addition, work–family conflict is often considered to be a type of role stress, which manifests in a prolonged response to chronic job-related stressors (e.g., work overload) (Ahuja et al., 2007; Grzywacz et al., 2006). Accordingly, as information systems (IS) researchers have mainly assumed that technostress is relatively static, investigations of how aggregated and retrospective technostress experiences contribute to employees’ work–family conflict and ultimately influence their performance in both domains are needed.

RESULTS AND ANALYSIS

Although our proposed model operates at the individual level, our data structure is nested, with 268 employees within 64 teams. Single-level analyses (e.g., ordinary regression) violate the assumption of observation independence when hierarchically clustered data are used and lead to downwardly biased standard errors (Preacher et al., 2010). Multilevel structural equation modelling (MSEM) can address our mediation hypotheses when the data are hierarchically organised (see Appendix C for a review; Preacher et al., 2010). As such, we followed Preacher et al. (2010) and conducted two-level path analyses using multilevel SEM with Mplus 7.4 (Muthén & Muthén, 1998). In this approach, we first conducted a psychometric assessment of the measurement model and then evaluated the hypothesised model. This approach ensured that the conclusions drawn from the hypothesised model were based on a set of measures with desirable psychometric properties (Hair et al., 2010). To avoid identifying any spurious cross-level moderation effects, we centered all of the predictors at the individual level (i.e., grand-mean centering) to reduce multicollinearity (Hofmann, 1997; Hofmann & Gavin, 1998). To confirm the robustness of our hypothesis testing, we also tested the conditional indirect effects using Monte Carlo bootstrap simulations in R (Preacher & Selig, 2012).

Abstract

     Following an embedded sequential explanatory mixed-method research design in which quantitative and qualitative data were merged, this paper examines teachers’ experiences of stress and job satisfaction and their relation to the DI practice. The quantitative study uses data from the National Educational Panel Study in Germany (N = 209 teachers), while the qualitative study analyses interview responses of 24 secondary school teachers. Findings reveal that teachers experience positive effects from implementing DI, but also perceive the practice as slightly stressful. Additionally, the paper discusses teachers’ DI training needs and the implications of the results, and calls for further research.

Introduction

     In their classroom, teachers around the world are confronted with a highly diverse student population that differs not only in performance and academic readiness, but also in their learning preferences, cultural backgrounds, language competence, learning styles, and motivation, as well as social, methodological, and self-regulatory competencies (Hardy et al., 2019; Jokinen et al., 2012). In order to maximize each student’s learning potential, policymakers, and researchers urge teachers to embrace student diversity and adapt their instruction to the diverse learning needs of the students in their classrooms (e.g., Unesco, 2017).

     One pedagogical approach that acknowledges the differences among learners and aims to respond effectively to students’ varying learning needs is “differentiated instruction” (DI). DI is an approach by which teachers aim to provide optimal learning for all by carefully aligning learning tasks and activities with students’ learning needs (Roy et al., 2013; Tomlinson, 2014, 2017). Research has documented the positive effects of DI across the educational settings in which it has been implemented, reporting positive effects of DI on student achievement as well as learning interest and self-confidence (Eysink et al., 2017; Johnsen, 2003; Mc Quarrie & Mc Rae, 2010).

Conclusion

     Previous studies on DI have mostly focused on the positive effects of DI towards students. On the other hand, effects on teachers have been somewhat ignored. To summarise, the findings from this study confirmed that teacher practice of DI is a “two-sided coin” when it comes to focusing on the effects on teachers. There are, without doubt, positive effects on teachers’ job satisfaction which arise from perceptions of achievement, for instance. However, there are negative effects resulting from teachers’ implementation of DI that mainly originate from lack of time, support and workload associated with DI produces. Therefore, future research would need to gain more insights into teachers’ working environments (e.g. resources) and other requirements (e.g. teacher training) to find out what is needed for high-quality implementation of DI without negative effects on teachers’ well-being (e.g. teachers stress level and job satisfaction). Improving conditions to more easily implement DI would make the “positive side” of DI more visible. If teachers are able to experience more positive feelings and attitudes towards DI, the implementation rate would probably increase.

Abstract

Introduction

Methods

Analysis and Results

Discussion

Conclusion

Data Availability

Ethical Approval

Consent

Conflicts of Interest

References

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Related articles

Abstract

The novel coronavirus pandemic has made life significantly more stressful for large populations of people. As one such demographic, university students worldwide have experienced a sudden shift toward the provision of socially distanced online education, often in the absence of a coherent institutional plan. The mechanisms of stress appraisal and response differ between individuals in part determined by personality. With a sample of 293 undergraduate students at a Japanese university operating under prohibitions relating to face-to-face education, this article examines the impact of personality on the affordance of socially distanced online education mediated through generalized life stress and online learning stress appraisal. A retrimmed structural model returned an acceptable goodness of fit accounting for 31.6% of the criterion variance. The model indicates that conscientiousness (positive) and neuroticism (negative) hold a significant mediated impact on the affordance of socially distanced online education through generalized life stress and online learning stress appraisal. Moreover, and in the absence of face-to-face social interaction, the model shows that extroverted students experience greater online learning stress appraisals than neurotic students. Neurotic students were, however, negatively impacted by appraisals of generalized life stress but not online learning stress. Informed by personality characteristics and stress appraisals, the outcomes are discussed in relation to educational improvements and appropriate pedagogies for the delivery of socially distanced online education.

1. Introduction

The novel coronavirus pandemic has exerted a profound impact on public mental health contributing to an increase in depression, anxiety, insomnia, and stress appraisal [1–5]. As a defensive physiological, psychological, and behavioral reaction, stress can be understood as the disruption arising from a perception that threat demands exceed one’s adaptive mitigation capacity [6]. The transactional stress theory [7, 8] contends that stress as an objective variable is present neither within the individual nor the environment but rather is emergent via an abstract relationship wherein “the separate person and situation elements are joined together to form a new relational meaning” ([9]: 294). The mechanisms of stress appraisal and coping are known to differ significantly between individuals [10] and are at least partially determined by personality [11–13]. Personality “not only affects the appraisal of and coping with stress, but it is also crucial with regard to the selection and shaping of stressful situations” ([14]: 335). Certain individuals are therefore more predetermined to experience and respond to stress based on personality characteristics [15, 16].

Prior to the novel coronavirus pandemic, a declassified Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) report contextualized education within an emergent volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous global environment [17]. The pandemic has exacerbated these concerns and situated education as a stressful domain for various stakeholders including students. In the context of Japanese society, a recent Japan Times (2021, February 28) [18] article entitled “COVID-19 pushes 1,300 Japanese university students to drop out” documents how many students have quit university due to an inability to pay tuition fees, loneliness and isolation, and an inability to make friends through online education, factors which also had a negative impact upon motivation to study. Beyond Japan, a plethora of recent studies have highlighted increases in stress among students brought about by conditions surrounding the pandemic [13, 19–27]. These studies are important as mental health problems among students are associated with reduced academic performance, substance abuse, poor physical health, increased dropout rates, and avoidance-based coping strategies [28–33].

Abstract

     Facing the Covid outbreaks, public health researchers share a consensus that community resilience should be maintained and strengthened because it helps mitigate the physical and emotional tolls on individuals and communities. One way to achieve the goal is to build and strengthen community resilience through social media. However, social media’s role in building community resilience has been poorly understood from a behavioral perspective. Guiding by uses and gratification theory and the coping literature, we build a model to examine how social media behaviors may influence community members’ perceived community resilience, providing a “bottom-up” voice to deepen our understanding of community resilience and its implications for public health. The results shows that community members’ social media engagement was significantly associated with their perceived community resilience. While helping others on social media led people to perceive their communities as less resilient, the use of social media for social support helped foster social capital, leading to more perceived resilience at the collective level. Overall, social media use played important roles in shaping people’s perception of community resilience, helping community members and organizations evaluate their strengths and weaknesses, and make improvement to better address future challenges in the times of global disasters.

Introduction

     Resilience has gained increasing attention these years as a fundamental construct to disaster preparedness, emergency response, and crisis recovery. Facing the Covid pandemic, there is a consensus among public health researchers that community resilience should be maintained and strengthened (Zhang, 2022) as it helps mitigate both physical and emotional tolls on individuals and communities (Zhong, Jiang, et al., 2020). Community resilience incorporates individual-level response and preparedness with a networked social support system in communities to withstand and recover from public health emergencies (Norris et al., 2008). How individuals perceive their communities as being resilient or bouncing back from the devastation wrought by a pandemic can be an important component of the recovery process in terms of allocating resources, imparting information, or providing assistance for others. The construction of a resilient community relies heavily on networked social support and resources. Increasingly, social media have become a central part of emergency responses and resilience construction with timely information exchange and promotion of connectedness for social support as core strengths (Houston, Hawthorne, et al., 2015; Taylor et al., 2012). Studies on social media use after natural disasters or health crises have outlined the roles social media play in the timely communication of critical information (Cho et al., 2013; Jin et al., 2014), social support (Tandoc & Takahashi, 2017), and psychological well-being (Taylor et al., 2012). However, social media’s role in resilience construction has been poorly understood from a behavioral perspective. To advance our knowledge on resilience construction in the social media era under the context of a global health crisis like Covid, we examine the relations between social media use and perceived community resilience.

Conclusions

     The importance of community resilience has gained recognition from scholars, policymakers, and international organizations. The World Health Organization has encouraged its member states to build resilient communities and supportive environments as a public health priority (WHO Regional Office for Europe, 2013). The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services also highlighted the construction of community resilience as one of the two major focuses of its National Health Security Strategy (Morton & Lurie, 2013). By providing a “bottom-up” voice about how people perceive community resilience during the pandemic, the current study highlights the importance of using social media as a community-based coping strategy during a public health crisis. The results should be used to promote community resilience by gaining social support and strengthening networked social capitals utilizing social media platforms. This becomes imperative to communities in a social distancing time, where social media become the major form of community-based communication. Through the examination of social media’s role in building perceived community resilience during the Covid pandemic, this study contributed to the expanding application of community resilience to the effort of coping with public health crises and other disastrous conditions. The growing recognition of constructing community resilience as an attempt to combat public health challenges among health practitioners and researchers has become even more salient in the context of the current global pandemic.

Abstract

     Online peer victimized adolescents are at an increased risk of several behavioral and emotional problems. Most cyberbullying interventions have focused on reducing the frequency of online peer aggressions. Meanwhile, less attention has been given to building resilience in victims to reduce the impact of victimization on their mental health. This study tested the effects of an online growth mindset intervention aimed at building resilience in victims. Eight hundred and fifty-six adolescents (47.10% female) were randomly assigned to the resilience vs. educational control intervention. The adolescents completed measures of online peer victimization, behavioral and emotional problems (online peer aggressions, depression, social anxiety, eating problems, and non-suicidal self-injury), entity theory of personality beliefs, and attitudes toward defending the victims of online peer aggressions at pretest and at three and six months. The resilience intervention reduced the predictive association between online peer victimization and online peer aggression and social anxiety, and it increased the association between online peer victimization and attitude towards defending the victims. The resilience intervention also reduced the entity theory of personality beliefs in all adolescents. These results are promising given that the intervention lasted only approximately 40–45 min.

Introduction

     Online peer aggressions are a major problem among adolescents. They consist of behaviors of threat, harassment, and embarrassment through electronic means or devices (Chun, Lee, Kim, & Lee, 2020). When these behaviors include as properties the vulnerability of the victims and the repetitiveness of the behaviors they are labeled as cyberbullying (Chun et al., 2020; Smith et al., 2008). According to a scoping review that included 159 studies distributed worldwide, the prevalence of online peer victimization in the last year varied from 1.0 to 61.1% (Brochado, Soares, & Fraga, 2017). Adolescents who are victims of online peer aggressions exhibit an increased risk of several emotional and behavioral problems. For example, findings of several meta-analyses reveal significant relationships between online peer victimization and anxiety, depression, low self-esteem, self-harming behaviors, and suicidal ideation (Fisher, Gardella, & Teurbe-Tolon, 2016; John et al., 2018; Katsaras et al., 2018). A recent meta-analysis of longitudinal studies found cyberbullying victimization as a predictor of internalizing problems, such as anxiety and depression (Marciano, Schulz, & Camerini, 2020). Online peer victimization was also associated with other behavioral problems, such as aggressions and social problems with peers and family members (Fisher et al., 2016). Moreover, the meta-analysis of longitudinal studies conducted by Marciano et al. (2020) showed that victimization significantly predicted perpetration of online aggressive behaviors over time, contributing to the perpetuation of these problematic behaviors and to the bully-victim circle. Beyond the emotional and behavioral problems highlighted in previous meta-analyses, some studies have also found a significant relationship between online peer victimization and eating problems as, for example, body dissatisfaction and unhealthy eating behaviors (Calvete, Orue, & Gámez-Guadix, 2016; Marco, Tormo-Irun, Galán-Escalante, & Gonzalez-García, 2018; Salazar, 2021).

Conclusions

     The findings of this study support the benefit of this growth mindset intervention in reducing the typical increase in social anxiety and online peer aggression after being victimized and improving attitudes to defend victims. The high prevalence rates of victimization among adolescents and the adverse effects that this victimization entails call for the implementation of interventions to reduce the effects of these aggressions. This type of short intervention, which can be applied easily and cheaply in schools, can be a useful tool. Future studies should continue to investigate its effects on other problems and in the long term.

Abstract

Keywords

Introduction

The transactional model of stress and coping

The functions of social media in the stress-coping process

Social media as stressors

Social media as resources

Social media as coping tools

The use of social media as coping tools

The effectiveness of social media as coping tools

Challenges for future research

Conclusion

Credit author statement

Conflict of interest statement

References

Abstract

In this review, we systematize work on the relationship between social media use and stress by providing a functional perspective that distinguishes between three functions that social media can have in the stages of the stress-coping process: as stressors, as resources, and as coping tools. Current research provides evidence that social media can cause stress, serve as resources, and can be used as a tool for various coping strategies, but it remains unclear when social media can successfully mitigate stress. Future research should use more fine-grained research designs that consider the timing of social media use, the situational context, and the encountered content to determine when social media serves which function and when social media reduces or increases stress.

Introduction

Empirical studies repeatedly found positive correlations between social media use and stress [1∗, 2, 3]. Such positive relationships could indicate that social media use causes stress or that stress triggers social media use. Researchers have argued for both directions [1,4, 5∗∗, 6∗]. We reason, however, that it falls short to only ask about the direction of the effect between social media use and stress. We argue that to fully understand the association between social media use and stress, we need to focus on social media’s functions in the different stages of the stress-coping process. A positive effect of social media use on stress over time, for instance, could mean that social media causes stress [7]. At the same time, such a positive effect could also indicate that individuals use social media for coping with stress, but in an ineffective way which further increases stress [1]. Looking at the different functions of social media helps clarify these different processes and derive conclusive practical recommendations.

In this paper, we show that social media use can serve three functions in the stress-coping process (i.e., stressor, resource, coping tool). Building on these three functions, we derive four hypotheses to guide future research. In the following, we will first introduce the transactional model of stress and coping and then describe research supporting the four hypotheses. We close by discussing challenges for future research.

The transactional model of stress and coping

Lazarus and Folkman’s [8] transactional model of stress and coping and its extension by Wolfers and Schneider [9] provide a useful theoretical framework to identify the functions of social media in the stress-coping process. According to the transactional model of stress and coping, which is depicted in Figure 1, individuals experience stress when the demands placed on them (= stressors) exceed their resources [8]. This disbalance is symbolized by the seesaw on which stressors and resources are pitted against each other (see Figure 1). The model proposes that individuals assess the (dis)balance between resources and stressors in a first appraisal. In a second appraisal, they evaluate available coping options. Coping options include coping strategies and the coping tools with which coping strategies are implemented [9].