Eur. J. Investig. Health Psychol. Educ., Volume 10, Issue 1 (March 2020) – 40 articles

Lack of iodine knowledge might be a risk factor for inadequate iodine intake in populations. Therefore, we aimed to determine the relationship between iodine knowledge and intake in young Chinese adults. A cross-sectional study was conducted in Suzhou, China. Iodine intake was assessed using a validated 33-item iodine-specific Chinese food frequency questionnaire (FFQ) and iodine knowledge was determined using a Chinese iodine knowledge questionnaire. A total of 150 participants (mean age 20.3 years) completed the study. The median iodine intake plus iodized salt was 260 μg/d, indicating iodine sufficiency (>150 µg/d). The median iodine knowledge score was 16/24, suggesting a medium level of knowledge. The majority of participants correctly recognized fish and seafood (95%) and iodized salt (83%) as the most important dietary iodine sources. After adjusting for age and sex, studying in the science cluster and having received iodine education were the predictors of having a higher iodine knowledge score, with adjusted odd ratios (OR) of 4.33 (1.49, 12.61) and 2.73 (1.21, 6.14), respectively. In conclusion, young Chinese adults had an adequate iodine intake despite a medium iodine knowledge score. This study provides support that iodine fortification in China has been successful, but further research is required to more fully substantiate this finding. Full article

This study explores the use of mindfulness school-based intervention program in an elementary school. Mindfulness training is an accepted and effective didactic approach to improve the executive functions (EFs) of elementary school students. This study aimed to evaluate the effects of the Mind Yeti program on the executive functions of elementary school students. A diverse sample of third, fourth, and fifth grade elementary school students (n = 177) participated in their natural classroom setting, with six sessions per week for six weeks. Students self-reported their EFs on the Executive Function Student Questionnaire (EFSQ) pre- and posttest. Paired-sample t-tests indicated that students significantly improved on the three of the six EFs examined. Additionally, students in fifth grade responded better to Mind Yeti than students in third grade. Results were consistent with the hypothesis, suggesting that Mind Yeti is an appropriate and effective intervention for improving the EFs of students. Full article

This study is part of a doctoral thesis conducted at the Faculty of Psychology of Babes-Bolyai University in collaboration with the University of Medicine, both from Cluj-Napoca, Romania. The starting point of the study was based on the eternal question of the medical student—“How should I learn to manage to retain so much information?” This is how learning through conceptual maps and learning by understanding has been achieved. In the study, a number of 505 students from the Faculty of General Medicine were randomly selected and divided into groups, to observe changes in the grades they obtained when learning anatomy with the concept mapping method vs. traditional methods. Six months later, a retest was carried out to test long-term memory. The results were always in favor of the experimental group and were statistically significant (with one exception), most notably for the 6-month retesting. It was also observed that the language of teaching, different or the same as the first language, explains that exception, at least partially. Other results were taken into account, such as the distribution of bad and good grades in the two groups. Other parameters that influenced the obtained results and which explain some contradictory results in the literature are discussed. In conclusion, the use of conceptual maps is useful for most students, both for short and long-term memory. Full article

In this article, we consider the features of the perception of student information in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education, in order to draw the attention of researchers to the topic of learning in practice through field training. The article shows the results of these studies in Russia and the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS countries: Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Russia, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan, as an example) to reflect the global trends. For this purpose, we examined the expectations of students in Russia and the CIS countries from training related to lectures and field training. We created a questionnaire and distributed it in three Moscow-based universities (Moscow State University of Geodesy and Cartography—MIIGAiK, Moscow Aviation Institute—MAI, and Moscow City University—MCU). Our key assumption is that field practices in Russian universities are qualitatively different from the phenomenon described in European literature, where digital or remote field practices have already emerged. The results obtained through the survey show the tendency of students’ perceptions to fulfill practical duties (in a laboratory with instruments of field training) in STEM education. Full article

Premarital Sexual Practice (PSP) among adolescents usually involves sexually risky behaviors, such as multiple sexual partners and inconsistent or non-condom use. These behaviors, in combination with other underlining factors, undermine the overall outcomes of Adolescent Sexual and Reproductive Health (ASRH). To assess the adolescents’ knowledge, attitudes and perception of risk and preventive behaviors towards PSP, a school-based analytical cross-sectional study was conducted among a sample of 423 students aged 15 through 19 years. A well-validated anonymous self-administered questionnaire was used for collecting the data, which were analyzed using mean (SD), frequency (%), t-test, ANOVA and multiple regression methods. Participants’ knowledge of risk and preventive behaviors was average, as only 53% of knowledge items were correctly answered. Being a female, of high-income status, in the second study year, perceived susceptibility and perceived severity were significant determinants of knowledge. All measures of perception except perceived self-efficacy were positive determinants of attitude. Being female, in the third study year and of high-income status were determinants of perception as measured by perceived self-efficacy. Therefore, our results suggest that tailored educational programs, with special emphasis on financially disadvantaged male adolescents, are needed to effectively increase adolescents’ knowledge, attitude and perception of risk and protective behaviors towards PSP. Full article

Teacher well-being represents a key factor in assuring the quality of learning in terms of both process and outcomes. Despite a growing literature addressing the role of job demands and job resources in teacher well-being, fewer studies have focused on the effect of individual variables. The present paper aims at developing a teacher well-being model using self-efficacy and teaching emotions such as enjoyment of teaching, anger and anxiety to explain the influence of job demands and job resources on teachers’ subjective happiness. A cross-sectional quantitative design was applied to a sample of 1092 Romanian pre-university teachers. The participants completed a self-report questionnaire. Descriptive statistics, factor analysis and structural equations modelling were used to analyse the data. The findings indicate significant paths between the variables included in the model. Thus, job resources have a considerable positive influence on the enjoyment of teaching and the teachers’ subjective happiness, having a more powerful effect than personal resources, namely self-efficacy. In turn, perceived self-efficacy mediates the effect of job demands on teaching emotions and subjective well-being. It is argued that the enjoyment of teaching has a notable effect on teachers’ general well-being. Full article

There are few options available for school managers who wish to effectively tackle school conflicts. The aim of the present work was to assess the issue of school conflict, its sources, and the effectiveness of different conflict management styles in Secondary Education school units in Greece. Teachers (n = 128) from twelve randomly selected schools in the region of Epirus, NW Greece, participated in the present work. Teachers’ views on their school Principals’ leadership style as well as the sources, the type(s), and the severity of conflict in their school unit were surveyed. Conflict appeared to be a frequent issue in schools. Frequent sources of conflict included interpersonal and organizational parameters. School leaders exhibited a range of conflict management styles. Compromise and Collaborative styles were frequently observed, followed by Smoothing and Forcing. Avoidance was less frequently exhibited by school leaders. The transformational and transactional leadership styles exhibited were equally effective in successful conflict resolution, whereas a laissez-faire leadership style was not. The results indicate that leadership and conflict management style can be associated with the effectiveness of conflict management. Full article

(1) Background: leadership behaviour is a poorly explored phenomenon among early-career doctors (ECDs). Good leadership is vital in maximising the effective management of patients in a clinical setting. While a good number of studies, though with small sample surveys, have researched the role of leadership in clinical setting quantitatively, qualitative investigations are yet to be done in Nigeria. This study aims to explore the attitudes, skills, and experience of ECDs in Nigeria on issues pertaining to leadership in a medical setting, using a mixed-method approach. (2) Methods: we conducted two sessions of key informant focus group discussion (FGD) that involved 14 ECD leaders in Nigeria, exploring their leadership experience in a clinical setting. Furthermore, we used a self-administered questionnaire to quantitatively survey 474 ECDs from seven Nigerian teaching hospitals to explore their attitudes, skills, and experience on issues pertaining to medical leadership. (3) Results: taking on leadership roles is a common phenomenon (52.7%) among the surveyed ECDs; however, the medical leadership position can be very challenging for ECDs in Nigeria. Despite the fact that many (91.1%) of the surveyed ECDs perceived leadership skills as essential skills needed by a doctr, many (44.1%) of them were yet to be formally trained on medical leadership. About three out of every 10 (23.6%) of surveyed ECDs that have ever held leadership positions in a medical setting experienced major leadership challenges while in such office due to their lack of training on leadership skills. Leadership skill acquisition programmes are highly recommended to become an integral part of medical training programmes in Nigeria. (4) Conclusion: there is a need for a structured leadership skill acquisition programme for ECDs in Nigeria. This programme will help in the robust delivery of highly effective healthcare services in Nigeria, as effective leadership is crucial to patient care services. Full article

The Home Self-Administered Tool for Environmental Assessment of Activity and Diet (HomeSTEAD) survey evaluates a broad spectrum of food parenting practices related to parental use of control, autonomy support, and structure. This study aims to test the psychometric properties of the Portuguese version of the HomeSTEAD family food practices survey in parents of 3–12 year old children. Data were collected from 184 parents/caregivers. We performed an exploratory factor analysis (EFA), calculated the internal consistency coefficients of each subscale, and tested for associations with children’s food intake and weight. Based on the EFA, 61 items were included in the Portuguese version of the HomeSTEAD family food practices survey, and were distributed among four Coercive Control Practices (16 items); five Autonomy Support Practices (17 items); and nine Structure Practices (28 items). All scales demonstrated an acceptable level of internal consistency. A higher body mass index (BMI) SD score in children was associated with higher levels of restriction and weight talk by parents and distractions during meals. Higher levels of distractions during meals were also associated with higher sweets intake in children. Additionally, higher levels of parental modeling and the establishment of rules and limits were associated with lower intake of sugar-sweetened beverages. These associations provide preliminary evidence of the HomeSTEAD family food practices survey’s construct validity and attest to its potential to assess parental strategies and provide useful information to improve children’s eating. Full article

(1) Background: This study aims to explore the usefulness of personal construct psychology as a comprehensive framework and assessment tool to embrace a diversity of self-knowledge organization constructs, and to account for developmental differences across adolescence. (2) Methods: The repertory grid technique was used to measure self-knowledge differentiation, polarization, discrepancies between Actual Self, Ideal Self, and Others, and implicative dilemmas, a particular kind of intrapersonal conflict. Data were collected from two samples of early and late adolescents, respectively. (3) Results: Globally, they showed that the organization of self-knowledge was different in both samples. In particular, older adolescents revealed a less polarized self-knowledge. In addition, they tended to construe higher Actual–Ideal self-discrepancies and to present more internal conflicts. No differences were found between early and late adolescents concerning global differentiation and the discrepancies between the self (Actual and Ideal) and the Others. (4) Conclusions: Despite the limitations of the study (e.g., small sample size, cross-sectional design), these novel results support the suitability of the repertory grid technique to capture developmental changes in self-knowledge organization during adolescence, as well as the explanatory potential of personal construct psychology to advance their understanding. Full article

Heart rate variability (HRV) is an accepted method for determining autonomic nervous system activity and cardiovascular risk in various populations. This study assessed the validity and reliability of a commercially available finger photoplethysmography (PPG) system for measuring pediatric HRV in a real-world setting. Sixteen healthy children (4.06 ± 0.58 years) were recruited. The PPG system was compared to the Polar H10 heart rate (HR) sensor validated against ECG (gold standard) for HRV measurement. Seated short-term resting R-R intervals were recorded simultaneously using both systems. Recordings were performed on 3 days at the participants’ school. Paired t-tests, effect sizes and Bland–Altman analyses determined the validity of the PPG system. The relative and absolute reliability of both systems were calculated. No HRV parameters were valid for the PPG system. Polar H10 yielded moderate (0.50–0.75) to good (0.75–0.90) relative reliability with R-R intervals and the standard deviation of instantaneous and continuous R-R variability ratio showing the best results (ICCs = 0.84). Polar H10 displayed better absolute reliability with the root mean square of successive differences, R-R intervals and HR showing the lowest values (TEM% < 12%). The use of the Polar H10 and not the PPG system is encouraged for HRV measurement of young children in an educational real-world setting. Full article

The main purpose of this research was to examine the construct validity of the Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scales (DASS-21) in order to determine whether it is able to adequately discriminate between symptoms of depression and anxiety in the Hispanic population in Puerto Rico. This study has an instrumental design. A total of 1073 Hispanics participated in this psychometric study. The results showed that the DASS-21 has serious psychometric deficiencies, especially related to the construct validity, as well as convergent and discriminatory validity. In addition, it was shown that DASS-21 do not replicate the three-dimensional structure of the original instrument in the Hispanic community. Finally, it was confirmed that the DASS-21 have difficulty in properly identifying and discriminating between symptoms associated with depression and anxiety in a Hispanic population. Full article

The mechanism connecting the antecedents to positive attitudes like affective commitment (AC) and positive behaviors like organizational citizenship behavior (OCB) is an under-researched area in the field of positive organizational scholarship. Drawing on Social Exchange Theory (SET), this study empirically validates family motivation and civility as antecedents of affective commitment and organizational citizenship behavior through the mediating mechanism of self-efficacy. The process by Hayes (2013) was used to analyze time-lagged and multi-source data collected from 335 employees of educational and telecom sector. Results indicate that the relationship of affective commitment with family motivation and civility is partially mediated whereas the relationship of organizational citizenship behavior with family motivation and civility is fully mediated by self-efficacy. This study adds to the literature of family-work enrichment accounts by validating family motivation as a novel antecedent for positive behavioral outcomes. The implications of the study are discussed. Full article

Fictional medical programs are often used for more than just their recreational enjoyment; they can also influence career decision making. Very little research has examined the pedagogical value of fictional medical programs in terms of their motivational value in the choice of a nursing career. As such, the aim of this study was to examine what motivated nursing students to choose nursing careers, if fictional medical programs were motivators, and if they are used by students as a learning tool. The cross-sectional study collected data using a questionnaire and occurred between April and June 2018. The findings were generated from students’ short answers and extended responses within the questionnaire. Data were analysed using descriptive and inferential statistics, while qualitative data were analysed thematically. A total of 291 students participated (82.6% response rate), with motivations for entering nursing being similar to other international studies; however, as motivators, fictional medical television programs were rated higher than job security. Overall, students engage with medical television programs along a television–learning continuum, ranging from limited watching time, recognising inaccuracies, understanding dialogue, through to using fictional medical television programs as tools for learning. However, this is dependent on time, interest, current level of understanding, and a program’s perceived value. Full article

In the establishment, development, and provision of equal access to the health care system, the operation of adequate primary health care is essential and has undergone significant transformation in the most developed countries over the past decades. The central and eastern European countries, including Hungary, are struggling with the disadvantages of the traditional model of primary health care, based on independent general practitioner and family paediatrician practices: the ability of the system is extremely limited to meet emerging needs and is facing a chronic human resource crisis. In the current study, the functions, legislation, and challenges of the Hungarian primary health care system, as well as the basic interrelations of the development of vacant general practitioner and family paediatrician districts were examined, and the government measures for the sake of solving the occurrence of the vacancy and improving access in the lagging areas. (The situation of the other fields of primary health care—e.g., dental care, child care officer care, etc.—was not subject of the analysis.). The basic characteristics of the vacant districts (type by supplied age group, bounding region, population size, length of vacancy) were primarily examined by the analysis of categorical and metric variables, with the use of cross-tabulation and nonparametric correlation, while the discovery of soft interrelations was supported by an expert interview conducted with the professionals of the Primary Health Care Department of the National Health Care Services Centre. In Hungary, the fundamentals of primary health care are made up of the individual practices of general practitioners and paediatricians, and there is a growing concern about the permanent vacancy of the districts, and the fact that the system is less suitable for meeting the needs of the population. The ever-increasing number of vacant general practitioner and family paediatrician districts due to the growing shortage of professionals because of aging and emigration poses the burden of substitution on the physicians in existing practices, that concerns the access of more than a half million people to health care, almost 70 percent of which live in settlements with a population less than 5000 inhabitants. Full article

This article aims to analyze the influence of professional training on the digital competence of tourism students at a Mexican public university. For this, a quantitative methodology was used through the application of a survey amongst 400 students. Moreover, the partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) and other multivariate techniques were used to test the hypotheses. The results show that the role of teaching, the curriculum proposal, and the student autonomy as part of professional training all have an impact on digital competence in order to generate and effectively use digital knowledge, manage information in support of their activities and use the media in individual and collective channels, as well as emancipate collaborative learning and maintain leadership in the network. It is discussed how the emphasis of curricular programs and the support of teachers play a significant role as cultivators of digital competence, as well as the initiative and independence of students to better exploit digital media for their personal, academic and professional activities. Full article

The purpose of this online study was to develop an explicative model regarding the origin of infidelity-related behaviors on social networks for Hispanic women. We propose that sexual satisfaction and emotional intimacy have a direct impact on the satisfaction of couple relationships, and an indirect impact in the development of infidelity-related behaviors on social networks. To investigate this proposal, we used a non-probabilistic sample of 341 Hispanic women living in Puerto Rico. Statistical analyses confirmed that satisfaction and ambivalence in couple relationship completely mediate the association between sexual satisfaction and infidelity-related behaviors on social networks, as well as the relationship between emotional intimacy and infidelity-related behaviors on social networks. Overall, women who practice infidelity-related behaviors on social networks showed less sexual satisfaction, less emotional intimacy, less relationship satisfaction, and greater ambivalence. Our results provide theoretical and empirical evidence on how infidelity-related behaviors on social networks develop in couple relationships, and these results could help to inform possible forms of prevention and intervention. Full article

Social communication and motor skill deficits are prevalent characteristics of individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). This systematic research review investigates whether and how broad social skills and motor skills may be related among individuals with ASD. We performed a PubMed search of articles written in English, using these study inclusion criteria: (a) an association between social and motor and skills among individuals previously diagnosed with autism; (b) one or more social skills measures were used; and (c) one or more measures of gross or fine motor skills were used. We classified data into two categories, and we based the association of these variables on correlation coefficients, p-values, coefficients of determination, and authors’ description of “may be associated” and “may not be associated.” Despite heterogeneity among these relevant studies, a highly likely association between social and motor skills emerged. Of a total of 16 studies reviewed, 12 reported associations between these skill sets. Three studies reported that fine motor skills had a stronger relationship with social skills than did gross motor skills. Among the gross motor skills associated with social skills, object control skills seemed most closely linked to social skills. Among fine motor skills, manual dexterity seemed to most closely related to social skills. Full article

This study proposed that the transformational style of nursing staff supervisors inculcate commitment amongst nurses. Moreover, psychological empowerment and psychological well-being were posited as multiple meditators in the above-mentioned association, based on the tenant of conservation of resource (COR) theory. The authors have collected the survey data from the sample of (n = 299) hospital nurses working in Sargodha district of Pakistan. The bootstrap results have supported the direct, as well as indirect relationships. These findings imply that when the nursing staff perceives their leader as transformational, their psychological empowerment is enhanced, and they have higher well-being, which in turn increases their commitment to their hospitals. This study offers a better understanding of psychological states that mediate transformational leadership and organizational commitment linkage. Full article

Diabetes mellitus self-management (DMSM) is an essential strategy used to maintain blood glucose levels and to prevent severe complications. Several barriers have been documented while implementing DMSM practices. A qualitative study aimed to explore barriers to effective DMSM practice among uncontrolled glycemic type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) patients in Indonesia. We conducted in-depth interviews and focus group discussions (FGDs) among 28 key informants, including patients, family members, healthcare providers (HCPs), and village health volunteers (VHVs). The interviews and FGDs were audiotaped and transcribed verbatim. The results revealed six core themes with sub-categories of themes used by all participants to describe the barriers to effective DMSM practice among uncontrolled T2DM patients. The critical barriers of DMSM practice included low perception of susceptibility to and severity of the illness; inadequate knowledge and skill of diabetes mellitus self-management; lack of motivation to perform diabetes mellitus self-management; insufficient human resources; lack of social engagement; and social exclusion and feelings of embarrassment. Our findings provide valuable information regarding the barriers while implementing the DMSM practice. Healthcare providers should negotiate with both T2DM patients and caretakers to participate in a DMSM program at a community health care level. Full article

Children spend most of their day hours in school, so the dietary choices they make during school days are important for their childhood development and later life. This research examined food choices among immigrant families with school-age children in Indiana, USA. Open-ended questions were answered by 52 immigrant parents in 2017. Parents who answered the questions had children in classes ranging from kindergarten to grade 12. NVivo 11 was used for the initial analysis of the dataset, and several themes were identified. After the initial analysis, the data were categorized into major themes to condense the themes. Thirty-eight (73%) of the respondents indicated that their children ate school lunch, 14 (27%) indicated that they prepared lunch for their children to eat at school, and 39 (75%), mostly from non-industrialized countries, indicated that their children ate their home-country staple foods for dinner and on non-school days. Parents indicated that schools are serving the needs of immigrant children by serving varieties of foods during lunchtime. Full article

This study has provided insight into the complex relationship between situational interest, the social environment, competence, and behavior. This quasi-experiential design included a pre-test questionnaire, intervention activity of throwing and catching a football, and post-test questionnaire administered to forty children aged 7–13 enrolled in a summer camp. The results of this study supported a theoretical approach that hypothesized that competence positively influences situational interest. The implications for summer camp owners and counselors support providing an environment that is supportive of elementary-age children participating in an established curriculum that results in positive interactions and activities where summer campers can perceive that they are competent. Full article

Top management in organizations have begun to realize that innovative employees add to the competitive edge of a company which serves to maintain their position in intense market competition. For this purpose, management needs to seek new ways to combine the social environment and employees in the workplace in an inextricable manner that supports innovation. The purpose of this paper was to examine the role of thriving at work and its effects on an individual’s innovative behavior. Based on the socially embedded model of thriving, we aimed to assess the relevant related work on structured potential effects with relational ties (i.e., strong versus weak). Particularly, these ties affect the heedful relating differently. This study examined the antecedents of thriving at work and the innovative behavior among employees at a global investment company. Using partial least squares modeling on a sample of 412 observations (strong and weak ties), strong support was found for the theory-driven hypothesized relationships. The results contribute to a better understanding of the relational roles concerning recently emerging constructs of “thriving at work” and “positive organizational scholarship.” The implications and limitations of this study are further discussed. Full article

There were few studies of individual differences in prognostic decision-making from the psychological point of view; most of them focused on the differences between novices and experts making the prognoses. In this study, we suggested a new task that matched the criteria of a prognostic one, was computerized, and did not require expertise in any field of knowledge. Thus, the proposed method investigated how people processed information and controlled uncertainty in prognostic tasks. On a sample of 78 people aged 17–66, we used a quasi-experimental design to find the patterns of the proposed task parameters and how they correlated with personality and cognitive variables. Five well-known personality questionnaires accessing traits, known to be included in decision-making regulation, were used along with a cognitive abilities test to measure those variables. Two patterns were identified via cluster analysis. Differences in intolerance for uncertainty were demonstrated for the people from two identified clusters. Those patterns could be interpreted as uncertainty control strategies for decision-making grounding in prognostic tasks. Full article

Approach-avoidance achievement goals are studied extensively in the context of competitive sports and physical activity, including leisure and physical education. Building upon past meta-analyses, the purpose of this quantitative review was to provide basic descriptive data, estimated means for testing of several research questions (i.e., context, gender, culture, and socioeconomic status), and meta-analyzing outcome correlates (i.e., self-determination constructs, affect, effort, and physical activity). A total of 116 studies up to 1 December 2018, met inclusion criteria. These 116 studies, totaling a sample size of 43,133 participants (M sample size = 347.85 + 359.36), from 22 countries with 92.7% of samples, are drawn from participants less than 30 years of mean age. From the 116 unique studies, nearly half (49.6%) were from a sport context and the rest from leisure-time physical activity (PA) (19.4%) and physical education (PE) (31.0%) contexts. A number of different analyses were conducted to examine our research questions. Support was found for several of our research questions: The mastery-approach goal was endorsed more than all the other goals, while sport participants endorsed the performance-approach goal more than PA and PE groups; females endorsed the mastery-avoidance goal more than males; more culturally individualistic countries endorsed the mastery-approach goal; and countries from lower socioeconomic and interdependent countries endorsed the mastery-avoidance goal than higher socioeconomic and independent countries. Concerning, the meta-analyzed correlates, most relationships were hypothesized through the performance-approach goal, and both avoidance goals appeared to be too similar in relationships with the correlates raising theoretical concerns. Overall, the mastery-approach goals had the most meaningful biased corrected effect size values (r_c) with the outcome correlates, such as relative autonomy (0.47), intrinsic motivation (0.52), effort (0.40), positive affect (0.42), physical activity intent (0.38). Based on the present and past meta-analytic results, the 2 × 2 achievement goals as currently measured was questioned. Future research suggestions included fundamental questionnaire issues, the need for latent profile analysis or other more advanced statistics, and whether the 2 × 2 achievement goal framework is the most appropriate framework in physical activity contexts. Full article

With a predicted shortfall in the worldwide nursing workforce, efforts to understand attributes that influence attrition and workforce longevity remain fundamental. Self-efficacy and the broader construct of psychological capital have been linked to positive workplace-based attributes in occupations. The aim of the study was to examine the relationship between general self-efficacy, occupational (nursing) self-efficacy, and psychological capital and their predictive factors among nursing students. A cross sectional design was used to address the aims of the study where all nursing students studying a three-year bachelor’s degree were invited to complete a questionnaire examining traits that might assist in the preparation for, and longevity in, a nursing career. Although the participating nursing students demonstrated high levels of general self-efficacy, their reported levels of nursing-specific self-efficacy were significantly lower. Psychological capital measures indicated that students had high levels of belief, hope, and resilience concerning their capacity to commit to and achieve goals, succeed now and into the future, and overcome obstacles. The findings suggest an opportunity exists for education providers to nurture the malleable aspects of self-efficacy and psychological capital, while developing greater capacity to bounce back and overcome the challenges that nursing students may encounter in their undergraduate academic training, and to reduce attrition as they prepare to enter the workplace. Full article

Quality surgical practice is a fundamental subject in health institutions, and it is important to understand the structural and organizational conditions of the operating room (OR). The present exploratory study sought to understand the motivations that underlie the choice of surgeons for the best healthcare unit to perform surgery, as well as the characteristics of those professionals regarding age, years of work experience, and sex. A questionnaire survey was administered to a convenience sample of 99 surgeons, 67.3% male and 32.7% female, aged 37 to 66 (M = 23.7; Std = 8.92). The results show that at the top of the surgeons’ motivations to perform surgery is the 77.8% attributed to the human resources and equipment available and at the other extreme the 3% to the previous online visit to facilities. This study opens important clues to the development of more in-depth and comparative approaches, necessary for the continuous improvement of the healthcare provided in the context of surgical practice. Full article

This paper consists of an analysis of the concept of empowerment—which is often defined as a key issue in health care—at the macro, meso, and micro levels by focusing on health care reform in Belgium. Three research teams collected data and combined them in an inductive secondary analysis. Our preliminary results demonstrate that patient empowerment does not always encompass the same scientific reality. At the macro level, this concept is linked to the authorities’ wish to support at-home care for chronic patients. At the meso level, the role of caregivers in maintaining patients’ autonomy, but also the social conditions of their lives, is a salient component of empowerment. At the micro level, individual and personal features such as identity can influence patient empowerment and behavior in the health care system. This cross-level research suggests that patient empowerment is not sufficiently clearly defined at each level of the care production chain, which could impede the reform of health care. This paper underlines the polysemy of a concept viewed as a milestone in European health care policy and the necessity of a clear, collective definition to operationalize and implement it. Full article

The purpose of this study is twofold: (a) To confirm the mediating role of teachers’ self-efficacy between the relation of school climate and teachers’ job satisfaction and (b) to tease apart any cross-cultural effects of the association of self-efficacy and job satisfaction by comparing teachers’ responses. Drawing upon the publicly available TALIS 2018 (June 2019) database, a representative sample of 51,782 primary school teachers from 15 countries was used for the analyses. Structural equation modeling was implemented to test for mediation effects of teachers’ self-efficacy at the individuals’ level and a general linear model (GLM) MANOVA was applied to compare the participants’ scores in self-efficacy and job satisfaction across cultures. Results indicate, in accordance with previous research, that self-efficacy is a mediating variable of the relation between school climate and job satisfaction at the individuals’ level across cultures. Moreover, the GLM revealed statistically significant cross-cultural differences among teachers’ responses in job satisfaction and self-efficacy. These findings have implications for teachers’ wellbeing and resilience. Full article