The student version of the Burnout assessement tool (BAT): psychometric properties and evidence regarding measurement validity on a romanian sample

The objective of the present research was to investigate the psychometric properties and the validity of the student version of the Burnout Assessment Tool (BAT) in a Romanian undergraduate student sample. A sample of undergraduate students (N = 399, 60,70% female) from a Romanian university completed the BAT and other measures used for assessing measurement validity. Confirmatory factor analyses supported the original factor structure of the BAT, and all scales showed good internal consistency. The validity of the BAT scales was supported by their strong associations with measures of depression, anxiety, stress, psychosomatic symptoms, prospective appraisal of future tasks, and coping strategies.

Supplementary Information

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s12144-023-04232-w.

Choosing between the red and the blue pill. How do people decide when they face uncertainty regarding different treatment alternatives?

BACKGROUND

When we are faced with health challenges, we have to choose a treatment from several alternatives. Most of the time, we must make a choice even though some information regarding the options is missing. Previous research found that missing information systematically impacts our choices.

AIM

The present study investigated if context-related variables (type of information: advantages or costs, the label of the alternatives) and individual differences (moral purity, thinking style) have an impact on the way people make these kinds of choices. Methods: One hundred twenty-three students (52% males) had to make 27 decisions regarding their preferred alternative for treating various medical conditions. We manipulated the type of comparable information (i.e., regarding advantages, disadvantages, or costs), and the label of the treatment alternatives (i.e., abstract vs. recognizabletreatments). Additionally, we measured the participants' moral purity endorsement and thinking style via self-report questionnaires.

RESULTS

The results showed that context variables like the type of comparable information and the label of the alternatives are significant predictors of people's medical treatment choices. At the same time, self-reported measures were unrelated to the way people choose medical treatment.

CONCLUSION

The results highlight the importance of discussing the issue of missing information with healthcare consumers and patients.

Not All Forms of Independence Are Created Equal: Only Being Independent the "Right Way" Is Associated With Self-Esteem and Life Satisfaction

Past research has found a strong and positive association between the independent self-construal and life satisfaction, mediated through self-esteem, in both individualistic and collectivistic cultures. In Study 1, we collected data from four countries (the United States, Japan, Romania, and Hungary; N = 736) and replicated these findings in cultures which have received little attention in past research. In Study 2, we treated independence as a multifaceted construct and further examined its relationship with self-esteem and life satisfaction using samples from the United States and Romania (N = 370). Different ways of being independent are associated with self-esteem and life satisfaction in the two cultures, suggesting that it is not independence as a global concept that predicts self-esteem and life satisfaction, but rather, feeling independent in culturally appropriate ways is a signal that one’s way of being fits in and is valued in one’s context.

Perfectionism in a Transdiagnostic Context

Abstract. Despite recent claims that perfectionism is a transdiagnostic process, few studies have directly tested this hypothesis. We investigated the relationship between perfectionism measured by the Almost Perfect Scale-Revised (APS-R) and the Axis I psychopathology (affective and anxiety disorders) using a transdiagnostic approach. Adult participants ( N = 450, 78% females, Mage = 33 years) completed a series of online self-report measures of perfectionism, anxiety, and depression for this cross-sectional study. The results support a linear relationship between the Discrepancy subscale of APS-R and anxiety/affective psychopathology, while a non-linear relationship appeared between the High Standards subscale of APS-R and anxiety/affective psychopathology. Overall, we provided additional evidence for the transdiagnostic nature of perfectionism, as higher levels of perfectionistic concerns appear to be associated with higher number of clinical symptoms in multiple domains. The possible implications of the study are discussed.

The Relationship Between Faking and Response Latencies

Abstract. The purpose of this meta-analysis was to analyze the relationship between faking and response latencies (RL). Research studies included in online databases, as well as papers identified in previous reviews, were considered for selection. Inclusion criteria for the studies were (a) to have an experimental faking condition, (b) to measure RL using a computer, and (c) to provide data for calculating the d Cohen effect sizes. Overall effects were significant in the case of honest versus fake good condition ( d = 0.20, Z = 3.05, p < .05), and in the case of honest versus fake bad condition ( d = 0.39, Z = 2.21, p < .05). Subgroup analyses indicated moderator effects of item type, with larger effects computed on RL of positively keyed items, as compared with RL of negatively keyed items.

Successful management of automatic dysfunctional thoughts in the context of negative emotions

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES

Cognitive and affective overloads trigger automatic dysfunctional thoughts and undermine their voluntary management [ADTs; Beck, A. T. (1976). Cognitive therapy and the emotional disorders. New York: Meridian; Wegner, D. M. (1994). Ironic processes of mental control. Psychology Review, 101(1), 34-52]. Taking into account intense negative emotions as triggers for the ADTs, we explored whether context (i.e., social context) and emotional experience (i.e., emotional intensity) predict the successful management of ADTs. We also examine the moderating role of difficulties in emotional regulation strategies.

METHOD

Thirty-eight participants wrote in a personal online diary of at least 10 times in 40 weeks. We analyzed the conditions for managing ADTs by means of multilevel in stages models.

RESULTS

Emotional intensity negatively predicted successful management of ADTs. Attempts to control ADTs and work context positively predicted successful management of ADTs. The negative relation between the emotional intensity and the management of ADTs was stronger as individuals were less aware of their own emotions, and was weaker as they had less clear representations of their own emotions. Superior access to emotion regulation strategies explained a stronger relationship between the work context and the successful management of ADTs.

CONCLUSIONS

We discuss theoretical and practical implications of the results.