"Connectedness" between people with intellectual disabilities and challenging behaviour and support staff: Perceptions of psychologists and support staff

The tacit practical knowledge of psychologists and support staff to foster a real connection between support staff and people with intellectual disabilities and challenging behaviour was explored. Therefore, six dyads comprising individuals with intellectual disabilities and challenging behaviour and their support staff were video recorded during joint engagement in an activity. To tap into the implicit knowledge of professionals about when staff have 'a real connection' with a person with an intellectual disability, 10 psychologists and 10 support staff were asked to pinpoint these moments in the pre-recorded video compilation. They also shared their interpretations about what they considered to be a real connection. The results displayed that participants designated real connections as occurring when they noticed concrete interactions taking place. Based on thematic analysis of the data, four themes were identified that encapsulated what professionals deemed to be a real connection. In conclusion: joint engagement in an activity appears to be a context that fosters opportunities for real connection. Furthermore, support staff should adopt a sensitive attitude and create a safe atmosphere, to establish real connections.

Telehealth in long-term neurological conditions: the potential, the challenges and the key recommendations

Long-term neurological conditions (LTNCs) cause physical and psychological symptoms that have a significant impact on activities of daily living and quality of life. Multidisciplinary teams are effective at providing treatment for people with LTNCs; however, access to such services by people with disabilities can be difficult and as a result, good quality care is not universal. One potential solution is telehealth. This review describes the potential of telehealth to support people with LTNCs, the challenges of designing and implementing these systems, and the key recommendations for those involved in telehealth to facilitate connected services that can benefit patients, carers and healthcare professionals. These recommendations include understanding the problems posed by LTNCs and the needs of the end-user through a person-centred approach. We discuss how to work collaboratively and use shared learning, and consider how to effectively evaluate the intervention at every stage of the development process.

Identifying actual and perceived motor competence based profiles among children

This study aimed to develop motor competence (MC) profiles in children based on their actual and perceived MC, and to investigate differences in physical activity (PA) behaviour and motivation towards PA between profiles. Two hundred and sixteen British children (7-10 years) took part in this study. Perceived motor competence (PMC) was assessed using the pictorial scale of movement competence. MC was assessed using process-oriented and product-oriented measures. A validated questionnaire assessed motivation towards PA and an objective measure of PA was employed. K-means cluster analysis was used to create profiles. Differences in PA and motivation towards PA were examined using ANCOVAs. Four groups of divergent and convergent levels were identified based on the contribution of either product or process MC with PMC. Motivation towards PA differed by profiles that included actual-process and PMC. Children with high actual process and high PMC had significantly higher levels of autonomous motivation than children with high actual process but low PMC. No significant differences were found between PA levels and profiles. Developing the quality and execution of actual motor competence (AMC) and PMC is key to stimulate motivation towards PA. Furthermore, maintaining AMC and PMC simultaneously may be imperative to children's future PA behaviour.

Personality traits, stress appraisals and sleep in young elite athletes: A profile approach

The aim of this study was to identify young elite athletes' personality profiles using a person-centred approach and to investigate whether the profiles significantly differ in stress and sleep. 260 athletes from a variety of sports completed a questionnaire package to assess neuroticism and conscientiousness traits, stress appraisals (i.e. intensity and directional interpretation of stress, challenge and threat appraisals), and various indicators of sleep (i.e. sleep quality, social jet lag, Ford insomnia response to stress test (FIRST)). A latent profile analysis (LPA) approach was used to identify personality profiles based on the scores of neuroticism and conscientiousness. A multivariate analysis of variance was performed to examine if the athletes belonging to different personality profiles differ on stress appraisals and indicators of sleep. Three profiles emerged: Maladaptive profile (high levels of conscientiousness and neuroticism); Highly adaptive profile (moderate level of conscientiousness and low level of neuroticism); Adaptive profile (high level of conscientiousness and moderate level of neuroticism). Results showed that athletes from the adaptive profile reported significantly lower scores of stress intensity and threat appraisal than those from other profiles. Athletes from the maladaptive profile reported significantly higher levels of FIRST than those from other profiles as well as worse sleep quality and lower levels of challenge appraisal than the athletes from the highly adaptive profile. These results suggest that investigating personality profile may be useful in identifying athletes at higher risk of stress sensitivity and worsening sleep that are likely to benefit from preventive actions (e.g. cognitive behavioural therapy interventions).

Exploring identity and personal meanings in psychosis using the repertory grid technique: A systematic review

Current research and clinical practice in person-centred approaches highlight the importance of self, identity, and personal meanings in psychosis. Previous research has focused on dimensions of self, but less attention has been paid to the personal meanings involved in identity. The personal construct theory framework and the repertory grid technique (RGT) allow the study of identity and personal meanings within person-centred approaches of psychopathology and treatment in psychosis, as suggested by studies that began more than 40 years ago. However, their contributions have not yet been reviewed. We aimed to systematically review the evidence for the role of identity and personal meanings in psychotic disorders. We performed a systematic search using personal construct and RGT terms in PsycINFO, Web of Science, PubMed, EBSCO, Scopus, and Google Scholar. After identifying 2,574 articles, 15 were included. Nine studies followed an idiographic assessment, and six were nomothetic. Patients reported their subjective experience of isolation in terms of high self-ideal discrepancy and high perceived discrepancy with their significant others, which some studies associated with a lower degree of recovery or with the way in which positive symptoms were construed. Self-fragmentation either decreased with interventions or was associated with recovery. Evidence regarding interpersonal construing was less consistent, but there was a tendency for patients to show a more rigid cognitive structure than controls. To conclude, we found some evidence that self-discrepancies, fragmentation of self, and interpersonal construing are affected in psychosis and potentially modifiable through psychotherapy.

Supporting decision-making by a health promotion programme: experiences of persons ageing in the context of migration

This study is part of the Promoting Aging Migrants’ Capabilities programme that applied person-centred group meetings and one individual home visit to prolong independence in daily activities among people ≥70 years who had migrated to Sweden from Finland or the Western Balkan region. With the purpose to understand programme outcomes, the study aimed to explore the participants’ everyday experiences of using health-promoting messages exchanged during the programme. Using a grounded theory approach, 12 persons aged 70–83 years were interviewed six months to one year after their participation in the programme. The participants experienced how using health-promoting messages was a dynamic process of how to make decisions on taking action to satisfy health-related needs of oneself or others immediately or deferring action. Five sub-processes were also identified: gaining inner strength, meeting challenges in available resources, being attentive to what is worth knowing, approaching health risks, and identifying opportunities to advocate for others. The results suggest that the programme could develop personal skills to support older people who have migrated to overcome health-related challenges. They further demonstrate the importance of supporting their health literacy before personal resources hinder action, and call for research on programmes to overcome environmental barriers to health.

Intercultural Profiles and Adaptation Among Immigrant and Autochthonous Adolescents

Few studies examine relationships between intercultural strategies and adaptation among adolescents using a person-oriented approach. Framed from an intercultural psychology perspective, this study used such an approach in order to examine the influence of intercultural profiles, patterns of relationships among variables related to intercultural strategies, on the adaptation of adolescents of both non-dominant and dominant groups. Two hundred and fifty-six adolescents living in Italy and aged from 14 to 18 participated to the study: 127 immigrants from Tunisia (males = 49.61%) and 129 autochthonous (males = 44.19%). Data were collected through self-report questionnaires. Using cluster analytic methods to identify profiles, the results showed that immigrant adolescents were divided in two acculturation profiles, ethnic and integrated-national, with adolescents belonging to the latter showing higher self-esteem, life satisfaction and sociocultural competence than the former. Also among autochthonous adolescents two acculturation expectation profiles were identified, not-multicultural and multicultural, with adolescents belonging to the latter showing higher self-esteem and life satisfaction than the former. Findings highlight the importance of using multiple indicators in order to gain a more comprehensive understanding of the acculturation process as well as suggesting implications for the social policies in this field.