The impact of work stress on sexual minority employees: Could psychological flexibility be a helpful solution?

Perceived precarious life: a SEM model for re-dimensioning of precarious work and its impact on mental health

Introduction

Precarious work is one of the most studied concepts related to work, and its effects have been analyzed in relation to variables such as mental health and wellbeing. However, there is a tendency to atomise the analysis of precarious work, without understanding that people's working life is intertwined with other areas of their life.

Objective

Faced with this situation, this paper presents the concept of perceived precarious life, which is aligned with contemporary models of social inclusion and exclusion. Thus, perceived precarious life comprises variables of labor precariousness, social support and hopelessness in the family economic situation.

Methods

To test this idea, a structural equation model (SEM) is presented, which tests the structure of the construct of perceived precarious life by relating it to mental health and coping strategies.

Results

After testing the fit of the model in both men and women, a SEM path analysis is designed between the variables, observing that perceived precarious life has an effect on mental health (β = 0.635, p < 0.01). This relationship is mediated by unproductive coping strategies (β = 0.142, p < 0.01).

Conclusion

This model exposes a broad and integrated conceptualization of precariousness, combining aspects of work, relationships and hopelessness, which allows for an understanding of the integral experience of precariousness.

Perceived Stress, Psychological Flexibility Profiles, and Mental Health During COVID-19: A Latent Profile Analysis

Purpose

Although the link between psychological flexibility and healthy functioning has been widely analyzed, the employed measurements often lacked accuracy. The current study introduced a person-centered approach that identified subgroups of college students across the dimensions of the Personalized Psychological Flexibility Index (PPFI) and explored how these subgroups relate to a risk factor (perceived stress) and mental health outcomes (depression, anxiety, negative affect, and positive affect) in the context of COVID-19.

Methods

A sample of 659 participants (M_age = 19. 99, SD = 1.27; 57.97% females) completed the questionnaires online. Latent profile analysis (LPA) was employed to determine the optimal number of subgroups or profiles. Then, multinomial logistic regression and analyses of variance were used to identify variables associated with profile membership.

Results

LPA identified three distinct profiles (active strategy, inconsistent strategy, and passive strategy). Furthermore, multinomial logistic regressions indicated that students with high perceived stress were more likely to be in the passive strategy group than the active strategy group (β = -0.104, OR = 0.901, p < 0.001) and the inconsistent strategy group (β = -0.087, OR = 0.917, p < 0.001). Additionally, analyses of variance revealed that the three profiles differed in depression (η² = 0.062, p < 0.001), anxiety (η² = 0.059, p < 0.001), negative affect (η² = 0.047, p < 0.001), and positive affect (η² = 0.048, p < 0.001).

Conclusion

The current study employed LPA based on the PPFI to identify and confirm three profiles of psychological flexibility. We found that perceived stress and mental health outcomes were associated with these three profiles. This study offers a new perspective on understanding psychological flexibility through a person-centered approach. Furthermore, interventions aimed at reducing college students' perceived stress during the COVID-19 crisis are critical for preventing the deterioration of psychological flexibility.

PSYCHOLOGICAL QUALITY IN MIDDLE AND LONG-DISTANCE TRAINING

ABSTRACT Introduction: Middle and long-distance running combine endurance and speed, demanding constant speed and minimizing physical losses. Sports fatigue is frequent in competition and the practice of these races. Therefore, middle and long-distance runners are prone to characteristics such as nervousness, negativity, or boredom. Objective: Explore the role of mental health in middle and long-distance runners in track and field events. Methods: Fourteen Chinese middle and long-distance runners were selected. The players undergo a 10-week psychological quality test. A questionnaire survey was conducted before and after completing the 10 weeks of psychological quality education. The data obtained from the experiment were statistically analyzed. The practical teaching of athletes and the form of psychological education were explained and discussed. Results: The psychological quality of stability in the athletes’ movements are reflected inaccurate feedback, the balance of challenging skills, a high sense of control, concentration, and clear purpose. The characteristics of psychological quality were a fusion of awareness of behavior, pleasant experience, loss of self-consciousness, and space-temporal transformation. There were significant differences in the level of stable psychological quality of athletes under different sports levels (P<0.05). Conclusion: Mental quality promotion exercises for middle and long-distance runners can help them to quickly adjust their minds, improving their competitive abilities. Level of evidence II; Therapeutic studies - investigation of treatment outcomes.

An Avatar-Led Digital Smoking Cessation Program for Sexual and Gender Minority Young Adults: Intervention Development and Results of a Single-Arm Pilot Trial

BACKGROUND

Sexual and gender minority young adults have a high prevalence of smoking and unique barriers to accessing tobacco treatment.

OBJECTIVE

To address these challenges as well as their preferences for sexual and gender minority-targeted interventions and digital programs, we developed and evaluated the acceptability, preliminary efficacy, and impact on theory-based change processes of an acceptance and commitment therapy-based digital program called Empowered, Queer, Quitting, and Living (EQQUAL).

METHODS

Participants (n=22) of a single-arm trial conducted to evaluate the program were young adults, age 18 to 30 years, who self-identified as sexual and gender minority individuals and smoked at least one cigarette per day. All participants received access to the EQQUAL program. Participants completed web-based surveys at baseline and at a follow-up 2 months after enrollment. We verified self-reported smoking abstinence with biochemical testing; missing data were counted as smoking or using tobacco.

RESULTS

For young adults who logged in at least once (n=18), the mean number of log-ins was 5.5 (SD 3.6), mean number of sessions completed was 3.1 (SD 2.6), and 39% (7/18) completed all 6 sessions. Overall, 93% of participants (14/15) were satisfied with the EQQUAL program, 100% (15/15) found it easy to use, and 100% (15/15) said it helped them be clearer about how to quit. Abstinence from smoking or using tobacco was confirmed with biochemical testing for 23% of participants (5/22). Both quantitative and qualitative results suggested a positive overall response to the avatar guide, with areas for future improvement largely centered on the avatar's appearance and movements.

CONCLUSIONS

Treatment acceptability of EQQUAL was very promising. The rate of abstinence, which was biochemically confirmed, was 3 times higher than that of the only other digital program to date that has targeted sexual and gender minority young adults and 6 to 13 times higher than those of nontargeted digital smoking interventions among sexual and gender minority young adults. Planned improvements for the next iteration of the program include making the avatar's movements more natural; offering multiple avatar guides with different on characteristics such as race, ethnicity, and gender identity from which to choose; and providing a support forum for users to connect anonymously with peers.

Sexual Orientation Beliefs and Identity Development: A Person-Centered Analysis among Sexual Minorities

We conducted person-centered analysis of sexual orientation beliefs among sexual minorities to explore potential relationships between these beliefs and sexual orientation, developmental milestones, race and ethnicity, and attitudes about sexual orientation. We recruited participants (N = 416) via Amazon Mechanical Turk who completed measures of beliefs about sexual orientation and attitudes about their own sexuality, as well as assessments of mental health and age of sexual identity development milestones. We conducted a latent profile analysis and found three distinct sexual orientation belief profiles, similar to those previously observed in predominantly straight samples. We found that sexual orientation and race-ethnicity predicted belief profile membership, with the latter exhibiting the most substantial effect. Of the four identity developmental milestones tested, only the age of first same-sex attraction predicted belief profile membership. Across profiles, members differed significantly in their mean endorsement of both positive and negative attitudes regarding sexual orientation and psychological distress. Thus, the current research suggests that sexual orientation beliefs are powerful constructs in the lives of sexual minorities, with relationships to sexual orientation, other social identities, and mental health.

Assessing the Impact of COVID-19 on Work-Related Quality of Life through the Lens of Sexual Orientation

In the face of the COVID-19 pandemic and the exceptional situation that has been experienced on a global scale since 2020, it is essential to assess the impact of COVID-19 in several areas and domains. Therefore, this research seeks to evaluate the impact of COVID-19 on work-related quality of life (WRQoL) in a Portuguese-speaking sample, through the lens of sexual orientation. One thousand, five hundred and seventy-seven individuals participated in this study, of which 1396 (88.5%) self-identified as heterosexual, 95 (6.0%) as gay or lesbian, and 87 (5.5%) as bisexual. Participants responded to the "Work-Related Quality of Life" scale, the "Fear of COVID-19" scale, and the "Negative Impact of COVID-19" scale. Bisexuals scored higher on "Fear of COVID-19" and "Negative Impact of COVID-19" than heterosexual, and gay, or lesbian participants. Differences between sexual orientations for all dimensions of WRQoL were found: heterosexual participants scored higher on general well-being, home-work interface, career satisfaction, working conditions, and lower on stress at work, compared to bisexual, and gay, or lesbian participants. Gay or lesbian participants scored lower than heterosexual and bisexual participants on career satisfaction and working conditions. Sexual orientation, the fear of COVID-19, and the negative impact of COVID-19 were significant predictors of overall WRQoL (explaining 13% of variance). Moderation analysis also showed that sexual orientation is a significant moderator of the association between the fear of COVID-19, the negative impact of COVID-19, and WRQoL. LGB people (especially bisexuals) suffer more severe impacts of COVID-19 and have lower WRQoL than heterosexual people. Inevitably, this has consequences in terms of mental health and overall quality of life for sexual minorities, thus reinforcing the need to adopt inclusive policies in organizations and companies to improve their WRQoL.