Validating a Japanese Version of the Athlete Psychological Strain Questionnaire

Background There is increasing international interest in clinical practice and research related to mental health in the international sports society. The athlete-specific psychological distress assessment tool that addresses potential mental health needs can help promote early detection and recovery of mental illness, as well as physical illnesses. Currently, little is known about the applicability of the useful assessment tool for Japanese elite athletes. The Athlete Psychological Strain Questionnaire (APSQ) is a brief, effective and reliable screening tool to identify early signs of athlete-specific distress and potential mental health symptoms. We examined the applicability and reliability of a Japanese version of the APSQ (APSQ-J) in a Japanese elite athlete context. Further, we examined the construct validity of the APSQ-J. Methods We collected web-based anonymous self-report data from 219 currently competing Japanese professional male rugby players. A two-stage process was conducted to validate the factor structure of the APSQ-J using exploratory factor analysis (EFA) in a randomly partitioned calibration sample and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) in a separate validation sample. Cronbach’s alpha is used to assess internal consistency. Pearson product-moment correlation coefficients were calculated to determine if the APSQ-J was significantly associated with measures of psychological distress and well-being using Kessler-6 (K6) and the WHO-5 Well-Being Index, respectively. Results We identified a one-factor structure for the APSQ-J. Confirmatory factor analysis supports this one-factor model, revealing good model fit indices. The standardized path coefficients for each of the items were β = 0.41–0.83 (p < 0.001). A Cronbach’s alpha of 0.84 was obtained for the APSQ-J. The APSQ-J demonstrated significant correlations with the K-6 (r = 0.80, p < 0.001) and WHO-5 (r = −0.58, p < 0.001). Conclusion The APSQ-J can be an appropriate and psychometrically robust measure for identifying athlete-specific distress in elite athletes in Japan. Widely disseminating and utilizing this scale in Japanese sports society may support athletes' mental health via early detection of symptoms of psychological distress.

Please Do Something: What Caregivers for Family Members with FTD Need

Frontotemporal dementia (FTD) often presents with pronounced behavioral symptoms that contribute to family Care Partner (CP) burden and psychological strain. FTD-specific interventions that support the unique challenges of FTD-CPs are lacking. The present focus group study (Phase 1), elicited feedback from twelve CPs of persons with FTD on the multi-component video-based STELLA intervention (Support via TEchnology: Living and Learning with Advancing ADRDs), to inform the revision and adaptation of STELLA for FTD-CPs (Phase 2). Using Thomas’s (2006) analytic approach to evaluation data, the investigators reviewed the raw text from two focus groups and used an inductive approach to create categories that informed future STELLA adaptation and revision. To address trustworthiness, each investigator independently analyzed the transcripts and CP-annotated STELLA booklets. Six commonalities emerged. Three address the caregiver experience: Burden and living with complex behaviors; Difficulties in getting a diagnosis; and Barriers to participation. The other three reflect specific intervention adaptations: Make a Roadmap, STELLA-FTD Structure, and Booklet edits. The focus group findings offer practical suggestions to create a revised STELLA intervention to address the needs of families living with FTD. The suggestions are nested in the intense caregiving experience of living with complex behavioral symptoms, feeling burdened, isolated, and “living in darkness.” Both the investigators and caregivers appreciate the difficulty in crafting an intervention that meets the needs of all families living with FTD, but the caregivers encouraged the team to develop “something”: “…You won't be able to solve every problem or meet every need… [but] please, please do something.”

Pengaruh Job Insecurity terhadap Turnover Intention dengan Employee Morale dan Psychological Strain sebagai Variabel Mediasi pada Profesi Keperawatan di Jakarta

The Covid-19 pandemic that has been going on since March 2020 in Indonesia until the time this research was conducted has had a tremendous impact on all industries, including health services in general and hospitals in particular. The economic impact on health care institutions caused by the decline in patients at the beginning of the pandemic and the necessity to prepare personal protective equipment so that they must carry out efficiency and the risk of contracting disease for health workers and workers in hospitals can create feelings of insecurity (job insecurity). These feelings affect work morale (employee morale) and psychological barriers (psychological strain) of nurses as the frontline and can trigger a desire to resign (turnover intention). The online questionnaire was filled out by 110 nurses who worked in hospitals in Jakarta, Indonesia in the period leading up to the 1-year period of the Covid-19 pandemic (February-April 2021) faced by Indonesia. Classical Assumption Test with SPSS and PLS-SEM was used to determine the effect of job insecurity on turnover intention with employee morale and psychological strain as mediating variables. From the test results, it was found that job insecurity positively affects the turnover intention of nurses who work in hospitals in Jakarta. Employee morale mediates the relationship between job insecurity and turnover intention, while psychological strain is not proven to mediate this relationship. In conclusion, the turnover intention of nurses working in hospitals in Jakarta 1 year after the pandemic can be influenced by job insecurity conditions. Hospital management and policy makers also need to consider the moral and psychological aspects of health workers, especially nurses as one of the health workers on the front line

Praise and recognition from supervisors buffers employee psychological strain: A two-sample investigation with tourism workers

BACKGROUND: Focusing on employees with psychological strain, this research draws on Frederickson’s ‘undoing hypothesis’ to examine praise and recognition from one’s supervisor as an organizational resource. OBJECTIVE: A model is tested in which psychological strain is a mediator in the positive relationship between role demands and employees’ intentions to take sick leave and seek medical advice, and positions supervisor praise and recognition as a buffer of psychological strain on such intentions. METHODS: The model was tested using two Australian samples in the tourism sector, consisting of motel workers (n = 104) and museum workers (n = 168). RESULTS: For museum workers, but not motel workers, there was a positive indirect effect of each role demand on sick leave intentions through psychological strain that weakened as a function of supervisor praise and recognition. The proposed moderated mediated model was supported for both samples in regards to intentions to seek medical advice. CONCLUSIONS: This research contributes new evidence regarding the antecedents of employees’ intentions to take sick leave and seek medical advice for work stress-related problems. It also contributes to the limited evidence regarding supervisor praise and recognition as a protective factor for employees exhibiting the symptoms of psychological strain.

Activities, Housing Situation and Other Factors Influencing Psychological Strain Experienced During the First COVID-19 Lockdown in Switzerland

Background: The Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) crisis and the corresponding first nationwide lockdown from mid-March to 10 May 2020 engendered considerable psychological strain among people in Switzerland. This study analyzes determinants of changes in subjective levels of psychological strain experienced during the lockdown.Methods: An online survey conducted as part of a larger mixed methods study examined the material and emotional aspects of individual reactions to the lockdown from a socio-ecological perspective. Participants (N = 5932) were asked about their personal and employment status, housing features, changes in various activities (e.g., physical activity, watching TV, social media use) and aspects of mental distress and well-being.Results: A substantial share of participants reported to feel depressed (33%) and anxious (43%) more often during the COVID-19 lockdown than before, whereas significantly (p &lt; 0.001) less persons reported a decrease of these negative feelings (depressed 17%; anxious 14%). Women, single people, students and people who lost their jobs or were temporally unemployed due to the lockdown experienced a particularly strong increase of subjective psychological strain. Important residential factors reducing subjective psychological strain were the general comfort of the housing situation and having a private garden or multiple types of outdoor space. Considering leisure activities, the strongest positive psychological effect resulted from increased physical activities, followed by reading and cooking. However, 45% of the participants reported a decreased frequency of physical activity during the lockdown compared to before, whereas significantly less persons (26%) reported a corresponding increase (p &lt; 0.001).Conclusion: Consistent with other studies, the results indicate a substantial reduction of subjective psychological well-being of the population during the first COVID-19 lockdown in Switzerland. The psychological burdens which the participants experienced differ depending on personal characteristics and situational factors. Negative psychological and economic consequences and gender inequalities should accordingly be carefully considered and actively prevented when designing COVID-19 measures. Supportive economic and social, cognitive and behavioral psychological interventions need to be designed and implemented to maintain the well-being of residents during lockdown.

Understanding stressor–strain relationships during the COVID-19 pandemic: the role of social support, adjustment to remote work, and work–life conflict

This study investigates how the transition to remote work during the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic is experienced by employees. We investigate to what extent perceived work stressors relate to psychological strain through perceptions of social support, work–life conflict, and adjustment to remote work. The findings expound the mechanisms underlying psychological strain in the context of sudden organizational change. Specifically, this study shows that both challenge stressors and hindrance stressors have negative impact on adjustment to remote work, whereas hindrance stressors are more strongly negatively related to social support. The study further demonstrates that there is hardly any buffering impact of job control, work structuring, and communication technology use on the implications of these work stressors. These findings contribute to our theoretical understanding and provide actionable implications for organizational policies in facilitating employees' adaptation to remote work.

Pengaruh Safety Climate dan Perceived Supervisor Safety terhadap Safety Performance yang Dimediasi oleh Psychological Strain: Studi pada PT PAL Indonesia (Persero)

<em>The role of human research is basic to determine the objective of an organization or company. The case of a work accident can be detrimental for workers and can decrease the safety performance of the company. Some factors could affect it for instance human factors (unsafe actions), which are caused by undiscipline in applying regulation of work, worker's skilled less in mastering production tools, etc. While environmental factors can be caused by various things for instance an unsafe circumstance of work which concerns all equipment or machinery, and also buildings. The purpose of this research is to obtain the knowledge to gain broader knowledge about the influence of Safety Climate, Perceived Supervisor Safety, and Psychological Strain on Safety Performance. The research population is about 115 employees consist of 45 supervisors and 70 active employees in the Commercial Ship Division of PT PAL Indonesia (Persero), Surabaya. Due to a total population of 115 employees which consist of 45 supervisors, and 70 active employees are used as respondents to the commercial ship division. The data analysis in this research uses partial least square (PLS). The result obtained from this research is that safety climate and perceived supervisor safety are low practice, so the company's safety performance will be low as well and for the psychological strain highly level could make a negative impact on the company's safety performance.</em>