Does self-efficacy mediate the association between socioeconomic background and emotional symptoms among schoolchildren?

Becoming More Rugged and Better Resourced: The R2 Resilience Program's© Psychosocial Approach to Thriving

The past decade has seen growing interest in interventions that build resilience as a complementary practice to trauma-informed care. From school-based programs focused on self-regulation and academic success to programs that support the well-being of disadvantaged populations or healthcare workers at risk of burnout, the concept of resilience is being used most commonly for programming that builds the capacity of individuals to adapt under conditions of adversity. Critiques have raised concerns that resilience-promoting programs demonstrate bias toward changing individual-level factors such as cognitions (e.g., mindfulness and grit), behavior (e.g., expressing gratitude and changing personal routines), or attachments (e.g., feeling secure in relationships) which help people adapt to socially toxic situations without changing access to the resources they require to overcome exposure to adverse psychosocial factors. This trend belies advances to the theory of resilience which support a more contextualized, multisystemic understanding of how external protective factors (resources) enhance individual qualities (ruggedness) and vice versa. Building on a multisystemic description of resilience, the R2 Resilience Program© was developed and piloted with six different populations ranging from clients of urban social services to workers in a long-term care facility, managers in the health care sector, staff of a Fortune 500 corporation, students in a primary to grade 12 school, and adult volunteers affiliated with an international NGO. Focused on building both individual ruggedness and enhancing people's resources (the two Rs), the program provides contextualized content for each population by selecting from 52 resilience promoting factors with a strong evidence base to create training curricula that enhance the personal qualities and social, physical, and institutional resources most likely to support resilience. This paper reviews the justification for a multisystemic approach to designing resilience interventions and then explains the process of implementation of the R2 program. Preliminary findings are reported, which suggest the program is experienced as effective, with evaluations ongoing.

When Movement Moves: Study Protocol for a Multi-Method Pre/Post Evaluation Study of Two Programmes; the Danish Team Twin and Cycling Without Age

Physical activity (PA) can improve physical, mental, and social health, leading to quality of life (QoL). However, some are unable to participate independently due to age-related impairments or disabilities. This study protocol presents the design, methods, outcomes, strengths and limitations of the study “When Movement Moves” (WMM). WMM investigates whether indirect PA in a social context, where persons are unable to participate independently, can result in outcomes similar to those of independent PA, by evaluating the effects of disabled’s, elderly, volunteers’, relatives’ and nursing staff’s participation in either the running programme (Team Twin) or cycling programme (Cycling Without Age). Both programmes seek to enhance QoL through indirect PA in a social context, making PA possible for elderly and disabled persons through PA conducted by abled-bodied volunteers. WMM is a multi-method 12–16-week pre/post evaluation with quality of life, physical, mental and social health as main outcomes. Pre/post measurements consist of questionnaires, clinical examinations, and physical and cognitive appraisal. Throughout, interviews and participant observations will be conducted. Combined results will provide essential knowledge on the effects and experiences of indirect PA. Explorative data will pave the way for further research. Findings may inform policies, guidelines and health promotion among the elderly and disabled.

Psychosocial determinants of sexual norms and their impact on sexual debut in Polish adolescents

OBJECTIVES

In an attempt to describe composite scales relating to sexual norms, we present their structure, psychosocial determinants, and the association with adolescent sexual initiation.

METHODS

A representative sample of Polish students was surveyed in 2015 (n = 1024, mean age 17.8 ± 0.31). Three scales of sexual norms were identified using principal component analysis. Logistic regression and path models were applied.

RESULTS

The scales concerning stereotype gender norms, as well as restrictive and permissive sexual norms, were developed. Restrictive norms lead to later sexual initiation and were more frequent in combination with love for the first partner. The variability of all the indices was significantly correlated with the peer environment. A number of direct and indirect paths were found among the above indices, family relationships (support, communication), and socio-emotional strengths, such as the meaning of life, coherence, and self-esteem.

CONCLUSIONS

The norms of sexual morality should be included in the analysis of the determinants of adolescent sexual behaviours along with an investigation of complex causal models. The results may contribute to improvement in sexual health promotion.

Communication with Local Officials, Self-Efficacy, and Individual Disaster Preparedness: A Case Study of Rural Northwestern China

Promoting individual disaster preparedness is one of the most effective ways to reduce disaster risk. Effective disaster risk communication is widely known to motivate individuals to take protective measures. However, the mechanisms underlying the communication of risk, particularly between local officials and individuals, and its effects on individuals’ disaster preparedness are still unclear. This study established a moderated mediation model to investigate the mediating and moderating roles of individuals’ level of disaster preparedness knowledge and self-efficacy, respectively, with a focus on local officials as the disaster information source. To test this conceptual model, 1080 villagers from Weinan city, Shaanxi province, China were randomly selected and interviewed. The results showed that frequent interpersonal communication with local officials enhanced villagers’ disaster preparedness. However, this relationship was mediated by the extent of villagers’ disaster preparedness knowledge. Moderated mediation analysis further indicated that those with a higher level of self-efficacy were more likely to prepare for disasters after receiving disaster risk-reduction information with village officials, but this effect was not significant for villagers with low self-efficacy. These findings indicated that individuals’ preparedness level can be increased if local officials regularly communicate disaster risk reduction knowledge to villagers, and that this effect is stronger for individuals with a higher level of self-efficacy.

Measurement Invariance and Intergenerational Parallelism of General Self-Efficacy in Adolescent and Parent Dyads

General self-efficacy refers to global beliefs about one's capabilities across a variety of tasks or conditions. It is regarded as an important, relatively stable, motivational trait, and is associated with positive outcomes in a wide range of domains. The general self-efficacy scale (GSE) is the most commonly used measure to evaluate general self-efficacy among adults and youths. This study aimed to examine the measurement invariance of the GSE across age groups among adolescent and parent dyads, and to investigate the intergenerational parallelism of general self-efficacy and the moderating roles of parents' gender and family socioeconomic status (SES). Participants were 807 adolescent/parent dyads. Multi-group confirmatory factor analysis revealed that full metric and scalar measurement invariance held. Regression analysis showed that parents' self-efficacy significantly predicted their children's self-efficacy (β = 0.232, p < 0.001). Multiple regression analysis indicated family SES played a moderating role (β = 0.066, p < 0.001), although parents' gender did not (β = -0.053, p = 0.288). The results demonstrated the GSE's measurement invariance across age, and further supported use of the GSE among adults and adolescents. Moreover, our findings provided evidence for the presence of this kind of intergenerational parallelism and the moderating role of family SES.

Self-efficacy and social competence reduce socioeconomic inequality in emotional symptoms among schoolchildren

BACKGROUND

Many adolescents experience mental health problems which may have serious consequences for short- and long-term health and wellbeing. This study investigates socioeconomic inequality in emotional symptoms, self-efficacy and social competence. Further, whether self-efficacy and social competence reduce socioeconomic inequalities in emotional symptoms.

METHODS

Data stem from the cross-sectional Danish Health Behaviour in School-aged Children Methodology Development Survey 2012. Data were collected among all schoolchildren in grades 5-9 (11-15-year-olds) in 23 public schools in two municipalities. Participation rate was 76.8% (n = 3969). Analyses of the associations between daily emotional symptoms, occupational social class, self-efficacy and social competence were performed through logistic regression analyses using SAS version 9.3. Multilevel logistic regression analyses were used to study effect modification.

RESULTS

Schoolchildren from lower socioeconomic positions have higher odds for daily emotional symptoms and lower levels of high self-efficacy and high social competence compared to schoolchildren from higher socioeconomic positions. High self-efficacy and high social competence buffer the association between socioeconomic position and emotional symptoms, i.e. they seem to protect children and adolescents from lower socioeconomic strata against the higher risk of daily emotional symptoms.

CONCLUSIONS

High self-efficacy and high social competence buffer the negative effects of low socioeconomic status on emotional symptoms among schoolchildren. Self-efficacy and social competence can be promoted e.g. through school-based initiatives and may be an effective way to improve mental health and reduce socioeconomic inequality in emotional symptoms among children and adolescents.

Self-efficacy and barriers to disaster evacuation in Hong Kong

OBJECTIVES

To investigate specific challenges to Hong Kong's capacity for effective disaster response, we assessed perceived barriers to evacuation and citizens' self-efficacy.

METHODS

Global positioning system software was used to determine random sampling locations across Hong Kong, weighted by population density. The resulting sample of 1023 participants (46.5% female, mean age 40.74 years) were invited to complete questionnaires on emergency preparedness, barriers to evacuation and self-efficacy. Latent profile analysis and multinomial logistic regression were used to identify self-efficacy profiles and predictors of profile membership.

RESULTS

Only 11% of the sample reported feeling prepared to respond to a disaster. If asked to evacuate in an emergency, 41.9% of the sample cited significant issues that would preclude them from doing so. Self-efficacy was negatively associated with barriers to disaster response so that participants reporting higher levels of self-efficacy cited fewer perceived barriers to evacuation.

CONCLUSIONS

Hong Kong has established effective strategies for emergency response, but concerns regarding evacuation and mobilisation remain. The findings indicate that improving self-efficacy for disaster response has potential to increase evacuation readiness.