Lang and Goulet Hardiness Scale: development and testing on bereaved parents following the death of their fetus/infant

Improving hardiness among university students: A meta-analysis of intervention studies

Introduction

Increasing the hardiness of students is a crucial objective in higher education. Universities and colleges have created a variety of interventions to improve students' overall hardiness.

Methods

In terms of the effects of such interventions, empirical research has shown inconclusive results. This meta-analysis applies 12 effect sizes from 12 independent empirical studies, with a total of 640 participants, to assess the overall impact of interventions on students' hardiness and to test for moderators, in light of the contradictory findings in prior work. The current meta-analysis calculates the standardized mean differences (SMD) of pre-post interventions. The level of study heterogeneity, represented by I ², was interpreted as small (I ² ≤ 25%), moderate (25% < I ² ≤ 50%), substantial (50% < I ² ≤ 75%), or considerable (I ² > 75%). Twelve studies met the inclusion criteria and were included in the meta-analysis.

Results

The results show that the interventions had a significant positive overall effect on students' hardiness (g = 0.998, k = 12) and show significant heterogeneity among effect sizes. Among the interventions, cognitive-based intervention yielded the largest mean effect size (g = 2.015, k = 5). Furthermore, moderator analyses suggest that the effects of the interventions on students' hardiness are moderated by respondent type, culture, intervention type, research design, years, and duration of intervention.

Discussion

We conclude that interventions that promote students' hardiness are officious. Despite the low homogeneity of the results and limitations of this meta-analysis (e.g., a small number of included studies) which might have influenced the findings, the large fail-safe N suggests that these findings are robust. The study examined potential causes of heterogeneity and emphasized the importance of further research in this area.

Evaluation of Psychometric Properties of Hardiness Scales: A Systematic Review

Background

Hardiness is one of the personality traits that can help individuals in stressful situations. Since human beings are constantly under stressful situations and the stresses inflicted on people in each situation are different, various scales have been developed for assessing this feature among different people in different situations. Hence, it becomes necessary for researchers and health workers to assess this concept with valid and reliable scales. This systematic review aims to rigorously assess the methodological quality and psychometric properties of hardiness scales.

Method

In the first step, the databases including Scopus, PubMed, Web of science, and Persian databases were searched using suitable keywords without limitation time. We select eligible suitable studies after screening titles and abstracts. The quality of studies was evaluated using the Consensus-based Standards for the selection of health Measurement Instruments (COSMIN) checklist and the Terwee quality criteria.

Result

Of the 747 articles identified, 33 articles were entered in this study. Based on the COSMIN checklist, the most reported properties were as following structural validity (84%), hypothesis testing (56%), content validity (42%), and internal consistency (39%). Furthermore, 12 studies reported cross-cultural validity, three studies criterion validity, and one study reported measurement error.

Conclusion

The "family caregivers' hardiness scale," "Japanese Athletic Hardiness Scale," "Occupational Hardiness Questionnaire," and "Children's Hardiness Scale" are the best tools for assessing hardiness in family caregivers, athletes, employees, and children respectively. In addition, the "Dispositional Resilience Scale" (DRS-15) and The Personal Views Survey (PVS III-R) are the most frequently used scales with suitable features for measuring hardiness in the general population.

Development and Psychometric Evaluation of Family Caregivers' Hardiness Scale: A Sequential-Exploratory Mixed-Method Study

Objective

Caring for patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a stressful situation and an overwhelming task for family caregivers. Therefore, these caregivers need to have their hardiness empowered to provide proper and appropriate care to these older adults. From the introduction of the concept of hardiness, few studies have been conducted to assess the hardiness of caregivers of patients with AD. Presumably, one reason for this knowledge gap is the lack of a proper scale to evaluate hardiness in this group. This study was conducted to develop a reliable and valid Family Caregivers' Hardiness Scale (FCHS) to measure this concept accurately among Iranian family caregivers sample.

Methods

This study is a cross-sectional study with a sequential-exploratory mixed-method approach. The concept of family caregivers' hardiness was clarified using deductive content analysis, and item pools were generated. In the psychometric step, the samples were 435 family caregivers with a mean age of 50.26 (SD ± 13.24), and the data were gathered via an online form questionnaire. In this step, the items of the FCHS were evaluated using face and content validity. Then, the factor structure was determined and confirmed using exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) followed by convergent and divergent validity, respectively. Finally, scale reliability, including stability, and internal consistency were evaluated.

Results

The finding revealed that FCHS consists of five factors, namely, "Religious Coping" (5 items), "Self-Management" (6 items), "Empathic Communication" (3 items), "Family Affective Commitment" (3 items), and "Purposeful Interaction" (4 items) that explained 58.72% of the total variance. The results of CFA showed a good model fit. Reliability showed acceptable internal consistency and stability.

Conclusion

Based on the results of the psychometric evaluation of the FCHS, turned out that the concept of hardiness in Iranian family caregivers is a multidimensional concept that is most focused on individual-cultural values, emotional family relationships, and social relationships. The designed scale also has acceptable validity and reliability features that can be used in future studies to measure this concept in family caregivers.

Sense of Coherence in Parents of Children With Cancer and Its Relationship With Self-Construal in Southeastern Iran

This study aimed to determine sense of coherence and its relationship with self-construal in parents of children with cancer in southeastern Iran. In this descriptive correlational study, 127 parents of children with cancer were studied using sense of coherence scale (SOC) and self-construal scale (SCS) in Iran. The results of the study showed that total mean score of SOC was 51.4 ± 14.2 and the interdependent self-construal (INT) in parents was higher than independent self-construal (IND). Also, the relationship between SOC and SCS showed that IND had a positive and statistically significant relationship with SOC manageability subscale. The weak SOC in the studied parents can cause more stress and suffering in dealing with their child's disease. It is essential that health care providers provide a comprehensive program to enhance parents' SOC and it should be noted that people who have a more INT felt less able to manage challenging situations.

The Effectiveness of Group Training of CBT-Based Stress Management on Anxiety, Psychological Hardiness and General Self-Efficacy Among University Students

Background:

Admission to university is a very sensitive period of life for efficient, active, and young workforces in any country, and it is mostly associated with many changes in social and human relationships. These changes lead to anxiety in students. Moreover, humans need certain functions in order to adaptively deal with different life situations and challenges. By training stress management, these functions can help human acquire the required abilities.

Objective:

The present study was aimed at investigating the effectiveness of stress management training in anxiety, psychological hardiness, and general self-efficacy among university students.

Method:

The study was a quasi-experimental intervention (pretest-posttest-follow-up) including a control group, it was a fundamental applied study. The statistical population consisted of all students of Islamic Azad University, Karaj, Iran. Convenient sampling was employed to select 30 students who were divided into an experimental group (n=15) and a control group (n=15). Before stress management training, both groups filled out Beck Anxiety Inventory, Long and Goulet scale of psychological hardiness, and General Self-efficacy Scale (GSE-10). Afterwards, the experimental group was provided with stress management training. And after the experiment, the abovementioned questionnaires and scales were responded by the two groups. Finally the collected data were analyzed and compared using one-way MANOVA.

Results:

The results of MANOVA indicated that there was a significant difference between the two groups in terms of anxiety, hardiness, and general self-efficacy (p<0.001).

Conclusion:

According to the results of the present study and those of previous investigations that are in agreement with those of the present study, it can be concluded that stress management among university students cause anxiety to drop; moreover, it enhances their psychological hardiness and self-efficacy. In regard with the role and importance of stress management, training this skill should be included in educational plans of university.

Quick, simple measures of family relationships for use in clinical practice and research. A systematic review

BACKGROUND

Family functioning has been implicated in the onset of child and adult psychopathology. Various measures exist for assessing constructs in the areas of parent-child relationships, parental practices and discipline, parental beliefs, marital quality, global family functioning and situation-specific measures.

OBJECTIVES

To identify systematically all questionnaire measures of family functioning appropriate for use in primary care and research.

METHODS

A systematic literature review was conducted, following PRISMA guidelines and searching 14 bibliographic databases using pre-determined filters, to identify family functioning measures suitable for use in families with children from 0 to 3 years old.

RESULTS

One hundred and seven measures of family functioning were reported and tabulated and the most commonly used measures were identified.

CONCLUSIONS

There are numerous measures available demonstrating characteristics, which make them suitable for continued use. Future research is needed to examine the more holistic measurement of family functioning using integration of multi-informant data.

Resilience: research evidence and conceptual considerations for posttraumatic stress disorder

The growing recognition and occurrence of traumatic exposure in the general population has given increased salience to the need to understand the concept of resilience. More than just the "flip side" of a risk factor, the notion of resilience encompasses psychological and biological characteristics, intrinsic to an individual, that might be modifiable and that confer protection against the development of psychopathology in the face of stress. In this review, we provide some perspective on the concept of "resilience" by examining early use of the term in research on "children at risk" and discuss the relationship between risk and resilience factors. We then review psychological and biological factors that may confer resilience to the development of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) following trauma, examine how resilience has been assessed and measured, and discuss issues to be addressed in furthering our understanding of this critical concept going forward.

Hardiness and grief in a sample of bereaved college students

The relationship between hardiness and both grief symptoms and personal growth were investigated in a sample of bereaved college students. Hardiness was inversely associated with grief symptoms and offered prediction of grief misery above and beyond that provided by more commonly investigated individual and death-related variables. Hardiness was not linearly associated with personal growth; however, results suggest the need for future research focused on the comprehensive evaluation of the potential non-linear relationship between these constructs. Closeness to the deceased was a significant and linear predictor of personal growth. Directions for future research and implications for practice are discussed.

A qualitative study of hardiness and social support among underserved, inner-city minority adults recovering from oral surgery

Using qualitative data, this study examines hardiness and social support among twenty-two African American and Hispanic subjects, at least 18 years of age, who received treatment for a jaw fracture and participated in an hour-long focus group to discuss the treatment they received at King/Drew Medical Center, an inner-city hospital in Los Angeles, California. Treatment was either a non-surgical wiring of the teeth closed for six to eight weeks or surgical placement of a metal bone plate in the lower jaw with a short period of jaw fixation following surgery. A mandibular fracture is one of the most common orofacial traumas for minority individuals, and the majority of these fractures among patients at urban trauma centers are a result of interpersonal violence. Thus the link between psychosocial stress and oral health is evident, yet exposure to daily stress does not automatically place one at risk for distress. Some people under daily stress have hardiness, conceptualized as an internal personal resource consisting of control, commitment, and challenge. This study examines hardiness and social support relevant to an underserved, minority population. Hardiness and social support were identified and noted in order of frequency according to participant characteristics of treatment type, gender, and ethnicity. Main themes related to hardiness and social support are highlighted with verbatim quotes providing additional context to the theme presented.

Explanatory model of health in bereaved parents post-fetal/infant death

In order to identify which features contribute to attenuating or intensifying the deleterious consequences of a perinatal loss such that some family systems endure and sometimes even thrive when faced with such a situational stressor, while other family units seem to deteriorate and disintegrate under similar circumstances, an explanatory model of health was tested. The purpose of this longitudinal study was to examine how the relationships between the elements in the model namely: resources both internal (hardiness) and external (marital and social supports), as well as appraisal of the situation, predicted the health of 110 bereaved couples (husbands and wives).