Abstract: Over 20% of global suicide deaths occur in India, with young adults in college representing a high-risk group. Guided by the Interpersonal Psychological Theory of Suicide, prior research demonstrates that thwarted belongingness (TB) and perceived burdensomeness (PB) are associated with increased suicide risk in Indian college students. Potential cultural factors that may strengthen or weaken this relationship have not been investigated. In this study, the influence of two culturally relevant moderators was examined: (1) collectivism and (2) inclusion of others in the self. College students from Northern India ( N = 194, 58% women, M age = 20.23 years) completed self-report questionnaires. Across bivariate and regression models, greater inclusion of mother in one’s self was associated with lower ideation duration whereas greater inclusion of romantic partner in one’s self was associated with higher ideation duration. In addition, findings indicated that inclusion of father in one’s self moderated the association between PB and suicidal ideation duration such that, at high levels of inclusion of father in one’s self, PB was positively associated with suicidal ideation duration, and, at low levels, the PB–ideation association was nonsignificant. For Indian college students, differential associations between relationship domains and their inclusion in one’s self-construal highlight the importance of examining specific relational dynamics in understanding risk, along with further contextualizing the relationship between PB and suicide risk.
Abstract: The current study explores the marital beliefs of emerging adults from Türkiye ( n = 347) and the United States ( n = 556) with emphasis on how individual and family predictors might differentially associate with marital beliefs by each cultural group. Controlling for differences regarding gender, sexual orientation, age, being in a relationship, and religious centrality, the samples differed on most of the six types of marital beliefs as prescribed by Marital Paradigm Theory. Overall, the Turkish sample placed relatively less importance on getting married and on the centrality of the marital role, but generally held more conventional beliefs (e.g., shorter ideal engagement lengths, younger age at marriage, merging of identities, marital permanence). Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) indicated that some individual (gender, age, current relationship status) and family background (married biological parents, parents’ marital quality, maternal support) predictors of marital beliefs differed by sample. This study deepens understanding of marital expectations and intentions and underscores how these intersecting factors can inform efforts to promote healthy marital perspectives.
Abstract: Objective: We aimed to assess the impact of extreme events associated with collective existential annihilation anxiety (EAA), such as the Halabja chemical attack on Iraqi Kurds 35 years ago. Method: We recruited 437 survivors and their offspring. We developed a scale to measure the severity of the chemical attack, employed measures that assess EAA, executive functions, PTSD, complex PTSD (CPTSD), depression, anxiety, the Will to Exist Live Survive (WTELS), resilience, and posttraumatic growth (PTG). We conducted correlation, SEM, and PROCESS-Macro analyses to examine the impact of the attack, and t test to measure differences between survivors and offspring. Results: The attack was associated with EAA and negatively impacted working memory and coping variables (resilience, PTG, and WTELS-F). Working memory deficits, EAA, and lower coping contributed to higher CPTSD, PTSD, depression, and anxiety. EAA moderated the mediated effects of depression and anxiety on CPTSD and the effects of CPTSD on anxiety. EAA was a significant moderator for the direct effects of the Halabja attack on anxiety and moderated the mediated effects of CPTSD. When comparing survivors to offspring, survivors showed greater EAA, working memory deficits, and PTG. There were no significant differences between them in low resilience, WTELS-F, and high PTSD, CPTSD, or depression. Conclusion: The cognitive and mental health impact of annihilation-threatening events is severe even after 35 years. The descendants continue to experience the effects of intergenerational trauma stemming from the attack. The findings underscore the need for targeted interventions and support systems for victims of EAA-associated events and their descendants.
Abstract: This study examines the relationship between sleep quality, daytime sleepiness, academic stress, and well-being in Italian university students, aiming to develop a psychosocial model, mediated by student self-efficacy, that explains these relationships. Participants (N = 252; 72% women, M age = 22) completed a self-report questionnaire that included socio-demographic data and validated scales for academic stress, well-being, sleep quality, daytime sleepiness, and student self-efficacy. Using the SPSS PROCESS macro, mediation analyses were carried out to examine whether student self-efficacy mediates the relationships between sleep quality and daytime sleepiness as predictors, and well-being and academic stress as outcomes. The results showed that poorer sleep quality and greater daytime sleepiness are associated with lower student self-efficacy. This decrease was, in turn, associated with reduced well-being and increased academic stress. In both models, student self-efficacy mediated the effect of sleep quality and daytime sleepiness on the considered outcomes. These relations echo patterns observed in Western, Asian, and Middle Eastern contexts, underscoring the international relevance of the relationships analyzed. Without assuming causal links, this transnational convergence suggests the model’s potential applicability across different cultural contexts and highlights the need for verification through longitudinal and cross-cultural studies. The study contributes to the literature by expanding the understanding of sleep-related variables as antecedents rather than outcomes, a perspective less explored, especially within the Italian context. Findings highlight the importance of sleep quality, daytime sleepiness, and student self-efficacy in the psychosocial experiences of students and suggest that addressing these dimensions preventively could improve their overall functioning.
Abstract: This paper investigates the prevalence of common mental health (MH) disorders among women in rural Maharashtra while examining their coping styles along with the potential barriers to receiving mental health care and their preference for MH interventions. Using telephonic surveys, data were collected from 1,003 participants ( M age = 38.14, SD age = 8.93, range age = 20–67) on symptoms associated with depression, anxiety, stress, somatic concerns, perceived coping, and social desirability, among others. Aligned with earlier research, somatic symptoms were frequently prevalent among this population and were associated with depression and anxiety. Common barriers to seeking mental health support included a lack of knowledge regarding treatments (intrapersonal-barrier), concerns about the community’s response to the one seeking help (interpersonal-barrier), and lack of funds to seek MH services (logistical-barrier). Written and visual material explaining mental health concerns was the most commonly preferred MH intervention. Proactive coping was most often used, followed by instrumental and avoidance-based coping. Further, proactive coping was associated with lower MH symptoms such as depression, whereas avoidance-based coping was associated with higher levels of MH symptoms. Future research can leverage these results to adopt suitable MH interventions for rural populations in India and consider probable barriers to implementation and uptake.
Abstract: Guided by Minority Stress Theory (MST), this study explored the well-being of Iranian immigrants in the United States, investigating the potential buffering role of social support in coping with discrimination in both workplace and everyday situations. The research sought to understand the unique challenges faced by this demographic, especially in the context of recent political events and the broader US-Iran relationship in a sample of 139 Iranian immigrants currently residing in the United States (62% female, M age = 35.54, range age = 21–85). We investigated whether subjective well-being in Iranian immigrants in the United States was associated with their demographic characteristics (e.g., age, relationship status, health) and the degree of discrimination they faced at work and in everyday life. We also examined whether social support would buffer the effect of discrimination on subjective well-being for this group. Consistent with MST, both everyday and workplace discrimination were linked to lower well-being, while older age, being in a relationship, and better health were associated with higher well-being. These findings refine MST by showing that, within collectivist immigrant communities such as Iranians, social support may promote well-being broadly but may not fully mitigate the stress associated with systemic or institutionalized discrimination. The results highlight the need for culturally informed approaches that address both individual and structural dimensions of immigrant well-being.
Abstract: Not all living wage standards are equally inclusive. Mainstream ‘shopping basket’ calculations for determining the living wage do not capture the diverse needs and experiences of workers and their households, and/or only identify an indeterminate living wage range. Addressing these concerns is an alternative approach which measures wages and wellbeing directly, using induction to discover not only the wage range in which there is a cusp in wellbeing but also how far it can be adjusted as a psychometric cutoff score to maximize the number of workers and households benefitting, in-context, from its coverage. Evidence from a study of wage and wellbeing conducted in New Zealand, before and during the COVID-19 pandemic, reveals that applying this protocol could have provided a significantly greater number of individuals and households with a functional living wage. Some of the wellbeing indicators used have theoretical and empirical links to work productivity. This psychometric protocol thereby addresses both halves of Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) 8, i.e., Decent Work and economic prosperity. It may render econometric methods, based on shopping basket assumptions and conducted largely by fiat, unnecessary.
Abstract: Safety management in organizations takes too little account of the cultural beliefs of workers. Despite the cultural diversity that characterizes the working population, the contribution of cultural beliefs to the understanding of attitudes toward risk in general, and of perception of safety climate in particular, remains underexplored. In France, the significant presence of workers of African origin in the workplace suggests analyzing the relationships between cultural beliefs, attitudes to safety rules, and perceived safety climate in workers of African origin. Referring to the existing literature on these three dimensions ( Auzoult & Ngueutsa, 2019 ; Ngueutsa et al. 2023 ; Zohar, 2010 ), we hypothesized that both reasoned acceptance of the rules and acceptance of the rules based on collective experience mediate the effect of three dimensions of cultural beliefs – namely, beliefs related to the protection and celebration of life, to group identification and belonging, and to manifestations of joy – on perceived safety climate in these workers. The study was conducted by questionnaire on 216 workers of sub-Saharan African origin, living in France. Results revealed that cultural beliefs relating to the protection and celebration of life were negatively associated with reasoned acceptance of the rules and with perceived safety climate. But reasoned acceptance of the rules was positively associated with perceived safety climate. This suggests taking into account the cultural beliefs of workers and their attitude to safety rules in a multicultural professional context, when designing safety management practices.
Abstract: This study aimed to explore the impact of the Persian Montessori Wooden Calendar on the temporal understanding of autistic children. Children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) often experience difficulties in understanding temporal concepts such as sequencing, duration, and the passage of time, which can interfere with daily functioning and transitions. Using a multiple baseline design, the study analyzed data from three male participants with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) through visual inspection and regression-based effect size estimation to evaluate changes in temporal understanding. The intervention’s effectiveness was examined in relation to the acquisition of time-related concepts across baseline, intervention, and maintenance phases. The intervention demonstrated a significant improvement in the participants’ understanding of time concepts. Results from both visual inspection and statistical analyses indicated sustained gains across all participants, with improvements persisting into the maintenance phase. These findings highlight the effectiveness of using a structured visual support, such as the Montessori Wooden Calendar, for enhancing time-related concepts in autistic children, offering a valuable tool for educators and clinicians. Implications for educational and mental healthcare professionals, as well as recommendations for future research, were provided.
Abstract: An increasing burden of mental health problems paired with an inadequately trained workforce contributes to the mental health treatment gap in low- and middle-income countries such as India. An untapped resource in efforts to address the shortage of adequately trained mental health professionals is students enrolled in mental health graduate training programs. The current study evaluated the feasibility and effectiveness of a four-week virtual DBT Skills training workshop using a mixed-methods approach. Master’s students in a counseling psychology program from India (N = 42) participated in weekly virtual DBT Skills training workshops and engaged in a self-learning process with supplementary materials. Quantitative analyses were conducted on a subset of participants who completed both, pre- and post-training surveys ( N = 22, 90.9% women). We assessed two clinical training outcomes through participants' ratings of DBT Skills knowledge and self-efficacy in counseling at the pre-DBT Skills and post-DBT Skills training phases. Findings indicated that Master’s students’ DBT Knowledge increased significantly from pre- to post-training, whereas confidence in cofacilitating DBT Skills groups showed a modest, nonsignificant increase after correcting for multiple comparisons. A separate subset of participants (90% women) participated in focus groups at three time points (pretraining: n = 20; post-training: n = 17; postfacilitation of DBT Skills training: n = 11), sharing their workshop expectations, training workshop experiences, and experiences facilitating DBT Skills trainings. Overall, findings suggested that our short-term, virtually delivered DBT Skills training workshop effectively enhanced Master’s trainees' knowledge of DBT Skills with implications for future training workshops.
Abstract: This study examines the relationship between employees' perceptions of organizational change, job insecurity, and organizational commitment within the Mutual General of Public Administrations Employees (MGPAE) in Morocco. Using a quantitative approach with a cross-sectional design, data were collected from 150 employees through a self-administered questionnaire and analyzed the data with independent-samples t tests and multiple linear regression. The findings show that permanent employees show significantly higher levels of organizational commitment compared to contractual employees. Moreover, the results reveal a positive relationship between the perception of organizational change, job insecurity, and organizational commitment. These findings align with the Job Demands-Resources (JD-R) theory ( Bakker & Demerouti, 2014 , 2017 ), which posits that job demands can function as stressors, leading to negative outcomes such as reduced organizational commitment. The study's conclusions are consistent with previous research ( De Witte et al., 2016 ; Devine, 2009 ; Kang et al., 2020 ; Madsen et al., 2005 ; Schaufeli, 2016 ) and highlight the urgent need for protective labor policies, especially for contractual positions, within the African work context, particularly in Morocco.
Abstract: Gender roles and attitudes are often based on negative stereotypes and prejudice. The multidimensional aversion to women who work scale (MAWWWS; Valentine, 2001 ) was developed to assess both women’s employment skepticism and traditional role preferences. The present study uses both classical testing theory (CTT) and item response theory (IRT) to examine the psychometric properties of the Saudi version of the MAWWWS, which was first standardized for the US population. For the current study, the 10-item scale was first translated into Arabic using the back-translation method. An online version of the translated MAWWWS was administered to 826 Saudi participants. Both the reliability and validity of the scale were examined, and the two-dimensional structure of the scale was confirmed. The robustness of the results was confirmed using a network psychometrics approach. The Saudi version of the scale appears to be psychometrically robust and might be used in research assessing attitudes toward women who work among a Saudi adult population.
Abstract: This research examined the impact of the Quranic teachings on the resilience and caring behaviors of nursing students amid crises such as the COVID-19 pandemic. This quasi-experimental study was conducted on 87 nursing students. The participants were randomly divided into intervention and control groups. For the intervention group, Quranic teachings were taught and the control group attended the clinical environment according to the routine. Before and after the intervention, the groups completed the resilience and caring behavior questionnaire. The findings of the study show a statistically significant difference in the resilience score before and after the training in the intervention group compared to the control group. The results also show a statistically significant difference in the care behavior score before and after the training in the intervention group compared to the control group. Findings illustrate how health organizations and their leaders may improve nurses' resilience and caring behaviors by integrating religious teachings in their training programs. More specifically, results provide insights into the advantages of including Quranic teachings in nursing education as these may foster resilience and caring behaviors that are essential in providing quality of nursing care especially amid health crises.
Abstract: Work ethic is a highly desired and valued attribute among employees: It has been associated with enhanced productivity at individual, organizational, and national levels. However, poor work ethic has been singled out as a leading cause of low performance and poor service delivery in Botswana. This misguided assertion has been made without contextualizing and empirically investigating work ethic among other factors of performance in Botswana. To address this gap, this paper presents a conceptual model of performance that theorizes the role of work ethic in relation to other factors that influence performance. These factors are work ethic, work environment, motivation, and knowledge, skills, and attitudes. The model proposes direct, mediating, and moderating effects among the factors and performance. The influence of work ethic on performance has been studied internationally but the construct has not been considered in the context of varied factors in a developing country such as Botswana. The proposed conceptual model can serve as a theoretical basis for empirical research and practical applications.
Abstract: Background: Teaching has been considered a very demanding job and high-stress occupation. Moroccan teachers face several constraints and demands (e.g., overcrowded classrooms, work overload, lack of pedagogical resources, student misbehaviors) that impact their motivation and engagement. In this context, this study aims to identify the factors of well-being and psychological distress at work among primary and secondary school teachers in Morocco. Method: Data were collected by semi-structured interviews among 60 public teachers: 19 teachers in primary school, 16 teachers in middle school, and 25 teachers in high school. Results: The thematic analysis shows that teachers highlighted many harmful aspects of their job, namely: low-level students, lack of support from hierarchy, workload and overcrowded classrooms, emotional demands and student misbehaviors, poor working conditions, and low pay. It indicates that there are several sources of well-being at work among Moroccan teachers, such as a positive organizational climate, achieving objectives at work, motivation, seriousness, and desire to learn among students, having free time for itself, autonomy at work, and utility of the profession. Conclusion: The findings are in line with previous work and add some enrichment to the Job Demands-Resources theory.
Abstract: The health measures enforced by the Moroccan government during the lockdown have significantly affected services for people with disabilities (PWDs). This study aims to examine how these measures have transformed working methods and practices among professionals in this sector. It focuses on a sample of 470 professionals across six different professions, using a self-reported online questionnaire. The questions address the specific measures implemented by this group, the transformations in professional practices, and the challenges faced in providing remote services. The findings indicate that professionals working with PWDs have experienced a profound transformation in their operating environment, activities, and tools, adopting unconventional methods during the health crisis. These results support the conclusions of other studies ( Agostinucci et al., 2020 ; Masselin-Dubois et al., 2022 ; Mouhssine et al., 2021 ).
Abstract: Epidemiological data show cross-national variations in the prevalence rates of depression. Whether these variations in prevalence reflect actual differences in symptomatology or differential importance of depression symptoms across nations is unknown. Unlike more commonly applied methods, the network approach offers a viable framework for examining symptomatology across populations. We used regularized partial correlation network models to compare the structure and connectivity of depression symptoms between the United States (US; N = 1,169; M age = 22.20 years, SD = 5.02; 66% = female) and South African (RSA; N = 917; M age = 21.23 years, SD = 3.02; 64% = female) university students. The Network Comparison Test (NCT) revealed statistically significant differences in the depressive symptom network structure between US and RSA students. Our findings demonstrate how network analysis may inform the understanding and treatment of psychological disturbance across populations and cultural groups. These findings provide insight for researchers and interventionists to create individualized and culturally-adapted diagnostic assessments and evidence-based interventions to accurately treat depression for culturally-diverse populations.
