Examining perceived levels of stress, burnout, and job satisfaction among play therapists

Work-related stress and burnout have become a popular topic for research studies over the course of many years. The COVID-19 pandemic has also highlighted the importance of monitoring stress and well-being for workers in a variety of fields. The purpose of the present study was to examine the relationship between perceived stress, burnout, and job satisfaction among play therapists. We found a strong correlation between perceived stress and burnout among sample participants. We also found a strong negative relationship between these variables and job satisfaction. Based on our findings, we recommend several strategies that supervisors can implement when working with counselors-in-training in order to prevent stress and burnout for this specific therapist population. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved)

Playful Learning During the Reopening of Danish Schools After Covid 19 Closures

This article is based on qualitative and quantitative data collected from teachers and pupils in Danish schools in June 2020, as schools reopened following closures in the spring due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It investigates the transformations in school life that took place in this period in response to strict official guidelines to prevent the spread of infection, transformations both in school learning environments and in teaching activities. Using factor and cluster analyses and logistic regression, it explores the relation between teaching environment and pupils' emotional, social, and academic wellbeing, identifying correlations between key factors in the environment and the three dimensions of wellbeing. The study contributes both to understanding and dealing with the crisis in which education systems in the Nordic countries have found themselves in and adds relevant knowledge on themes of importance for education in the future.

Reflective inquiry on early years pedagogy: Distance learning and teaching in the post-COVID-19 era

This reflective inquiry will share how two early years educators addressed the unique challenges of teaching and learning during a pandemic situation. The major focus of this article will be within the context of full-day kindergarten in Ontario, Canada. Although teaching during a pandemic has encouraged educators to become innovative, early years educators must also engage in reflective practices. These distance learning opportunities must also hold true to play-based pedagogies and center the needs of students and families at their core. The uniqueness of the early years presents specific pedagogical considerations that educators need to explore and intentionally implement into their practice as they innovate in this new complicated reality. This chapter will be based on primary research as distance learning related to the early years is a new area of study. There is little to no research that has been conducted in this area as it does not align with early years pedagogy and practice. This chapter will explore the following topics: play-based learning in a culture of inquiry, the learning environment, assessment for and of learning, concerns and issues around equity, mental health and well-being, and teacher capacity. It will conclude with implications for early years teaching during possible future critical situations. © Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2021. All rights reserved.

Exploring the Athletic Identity, Anxiety, and Mental Health of Division II Collegiate Athletes in the COVID-19 Era

The COVID-19 pandemic has had serious implications on the health and well-being of student-athletes. The present study explored the athletic experiences of NCAA Division II college athletes during the competitive hiatus caused by the pandemic, as well as in their return to sport participation. Twenty male and female student-athletes from a variety of sports (freshman = 2, sophomores = 4, seniors = 9, and graduate = 5) participated in semistructured interviews to explore how the pandemic affected their athletic identity, anxiety, and mental health. Through the use of thematic content analysis, the following major themes were identified: (a) influence of COVID on athletic identity, (b) increased anxiety during COVID, (c) social aspects of sport participation, and (d) factors that influence mental health. Findings indicated a combination of positive and negative effects on the athletic identity, anxiety, and mental health and well-being of student-athletes.

Spectator Awareness and Support of Safety and Security Practices and Technologies During COVID-19

This study examined spectators' awareness of safety and security policies, procedures, and measures at events they attended in the US and their support of safety and security measures, including COVID-19-spe-cific policies, as they returned to live events in the spring and summer of 2021. Understanding spectators' sense of safety and their support of safety and security measures and related technologies while attending events can help venue and event directors plan accordingly to ensure the optimal spectator experience.

Playing with change: insights and lessons from researching play during the COVID-19 pandemic

The COVID-19 pandemic presented widespread disruption to our day-to-day lives and our ongoing and planned research projects at the PEDAL Centre. As the situation unfolded, it was necessary to rapidly adapt our projects to ensure continuity of work and delivery of outcomes. These adaptations were initially quick-thinking responses to huge challenges;however, upon reflection, it became clear that important lessons would be learned from these experiences. This paper uses the 6Cs framework (Golinkoff & Hirsh-Pasek, 2016) to describe what we retrospectively learned from adjusting our research programmes to the unprecedented COVID-19 circumstances. We illustrate how a 'playful' mindset and its characteristics were key to overcoming the challenges faced. Furthermore, we provide insights that can be considered as we move forward after the pandemic.

Guest editorial: Playful literacies across ages and contexts: new horizons for pleasure, affect, and living texts

During the COVID-19 pandemic, educators observed increased student stress and disconnection in formal learning environments, whereas young people turned to playing, gaming and collaborative writing to cultivate connections during this upheaval. Using Thiel's previous theoretical work, Woodard and colleagues explore playful dramatizing, multimodal composing and science learning through one fourth-grade girl's video about food chains. [...]Beauchemin and Qin take up affect as relational and performed forces that emerge from the inbetweenness among people, objects and material and discursive contexts. [...]in "Press Play,” community leader Karl André St-Victor describes how playful practices at Chalet Kent, a community youth center in Montréal, sustain strong senses of belonging and companionship among youth and center staff.

Children and the city's streets: playing as a possibility for leisure in different communities in Florianópolis, southern Brazil

Playing in the streets is presented as a possibility for leisure. In order to study this phenomenon, the article aimed to understand the configuration of playing in vulnerable communities in Florianópolis, southern Brazil, during the covid-19 pandemic. This is a research with a qualitative and descriptive perspective, inspired by researchers of Merleau Ponty phenomenology, which adopts a posture of deep observation in relation to human movement. Children who were present on the streets of communities in vulnerable situations in Florianópolis participated in this study. Data collection consisted of observations performed by the main researcher. Considering the obligation to maintain a distance, the car was identified as an innovative transportation for data collection. The observations refer to the passages through the streets, at moments captured and written in a field diary. Nine car trips were carried out with an approximate duration of five hours each. The results are presented as narratives, subjected to critical review by the researchers in the study. The narratives describe the delicacy of each observation about who plays and experiences leisure on the streets. Playing in the streets of Florianópolis communities has meanings that reveal leisure as a manifestation of the creative experimentation of subjects with rights. [ FROM AUTHOR] Copyright of Leisure Studies is the property of Routledge and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full . (Copyright applies to all s.)

Response to the multi-country monkeypox outbreak: a view from Africa.

Human monkeypox was first reported in Africa in 1970. However, the disease has only entered notoriety since the current PHEIC in Europe and the Americas in 2022. At present there is a significant inequality in access to diagnostics, vaccinations and therapeutics, for which African nations are being completely left behind.

Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic Hiatus From Sports Activities on Injuries Observed Among Division I NCAA Athletes.

Background: The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic significantly disrupted athletic activities, including those in the Pacific 12 (Pac-12) Conference of the National Collegiate Athletic Association. It is currently unknown how the disruption in training and competition impacted athletes' risk of injury upon resumption of activities. Purpose: To describe and compare the rate, timing, mechanism, and severity of injuries among collegiate athletes across multiple sports in the Pac-12 Conference before and after the COVID-19 pandemic-associated hiatus of intercollegiate athletic activities. Study Design: Descriptive epidemiology study. Methods: Descriptive and injury data among intercollegiate athletes from both the season before the hiatus and the season after the hiatus were acquired from the Pac-12 Health Analytics Program database. Injury elements (timing of injury onset, injury severity, mechanism, recurrence, outcome, need for procedural intervention, and event segment during which the injury took place) were compared by time using the chi-square test and a multivariate logistic regression model. Subgroup analyses were performed on knee and shoulder injuries among athletes participating in sports with traditionally high rates of knee and shoulder injuries. Results: A total of 12,319 sports-related injuries across 23 sports were identified, with 7869 pre-hiatus injuries and 4450 post-hiatus injuries. There was no difference in the overall incidence of injury between the pre-hiatus and post-hiatus seasons. However, the proportion of noncontact injuries was higher in the post-hiatus season for football, baseball, and softball players, and the proportion of nonacute injuries in the post-hiatus season was higher among football, basketball, and rowing athletes. Finally, the overall proportion of injuries sustained by football players in the final 25% of competition or practice was higher in the post-hiatus season. Conclusion: Athletes competing in the post-hiatus season were observed to have higher rates of noncontact injuries and injuries sustained in the final 25% of competition. This study demonstrates that the COVID-19 pandemic has had varied effects on athletes from different sports, suggesting that many factors must be considered when designing return-to-sports programs for athletes after an extended absence from organized training.

Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the well-being of preschoolers: A parental guide.

Unexpected changes brought about by the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) have affected humans worldwide. This review attempts to address major parental concerns about the development of preschool-aged children during the pandemic from the perspectives of neuropsychology, consultation, and motor development for preschoolers aged 2-5 years. Methods: A total of 273 articles including original data, review articles, national and regional perspectives, government websites, and commentaries were considered in this review, of which 117 manuscripts were excluded because they were unrelated to children, adolescents, or COVID -19 pandemic/upper respiratory infections. A total of 156 manuscripts were included after reading the abstract and entire article. Results: Telehealth could be an effective tool for addressing cognitive and emotional challenges that arise during the pandemic. Online consultations are highlighted for nutritional guidelines and to overcome problems that parents face when caring for children in difficult times. Outdoor activities using sanitisers, proper cleanliness, and following standard operating procedures are recommended. Parental preoccupation with media should be avoided. Interpretation: Many preschoolers show delays in reaching their developmental milestones, and the pandemic has increased parents' concerns, as access to practitioners is limited. Therefore, parents should be encouraged to undergo neuropsychological consultations whenever necessary. This study emphasises important strategies to ensure that children's development is minimally affected while staying in the confined environment of their homes. This study serves as a new guide for parents, as they raise young children in the new normal. Parents should undergo basic yearly physical, neuropsychological, nutritional, and speech checkups.

Games and Play SIG: Connecting Through Social and Playful Technologies

Games have always been popular for connecting people, from local single-player and couch co-op, to massively multiplayer online. Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, remote games that involved and fostered social interactions and connections were a highlight among strategies for staying connected. For this year's games and play SIG, we come together to discuss the relevant and timely topic of social and playful technologies, and how they can be designed to best foster meaningful social connections over a distance. We bring together attendees from not only the games community, but also those in the broader field of CHI focusing on social and playful technologies. © 2023 Owner/Author.

Analyzing the use of videoconference by and for older adults in nursing homes: an interdisciplinary approach to learn from the pandemic.

Introduction: During the Covid-19 pandemic and the resulting visitation restrictions, digital tools were used in many nursing homes in France to allow the older adults and their relatives to maintain social contact via videoconferencing. This article adopts an interdisciplinary approach to analyze the processes that affect the use of digital technologies. Methods: Drawing on the concept of "mediation," it seeks to shed light on how individuals embrace these tools in a relational situation. The interviews and observations undertaken among residents, their relatives, professionals, and the management head of seven nursing homes in 2021, make it possible to outline the different forms of practices and uses and to identify the factors leading to the variations observed. Results: While the key objective of these technical and technological tools is to compensate - on a functional level - for the communication problems and the isolation of individuals in order to promote residents' "quality of life" by maintaining "social contact," our study reveals that these tools' uses and practices largely differ. It also shows considerable inequalities in terms of residents' acquisition of subjective feelings of ownership of the tools. These are never attributed to isolated physical, cognitive, psychic, and social difficulties, but are influenced by specific organizational, interactional, and psychic configurations. Some of the structures analyzed revealed situations in which mediation failed, occasionally exposing the risk associated with seeking "ties at all costs," or revealing a disturbing strangeness when residents were placed in front of screens. Some configurations, however, showed that it was possible to set up an intermediate space for the experience to unfold, which in turn opened up a space where individuals, groups, and institutions could experiment, allowing them to develop subjective feelings of ownership of this experience. Discussion: This article discusses how the configurations that failed to promote the mediation process reveal the need to assess the representations of care and assistance in the relationships between older adults, their loved ones, and nursing home professionals. Indeed, in certain situations, the use of videoconferencing, while seeking to produce a positive effect, risks displacing and increasing the effects of the "negative" associated with dependency, which may worsen individuals' difficulties within nursing homes. The risks associated with the failure to take into account residents' requests and consent explain why it is important to discuss how certain uses of digital tools may renew the dilemma between concerns for protection, on the one hand, and respect for autonomy on the other.

The risk of COVID-19 transmission upon return to sport: a systematic review.

OBJECTIVES: To evaluate COVID-19 transmission rates in athletes upon return to sport (RTS), as well as the effectiveness of preventive and surveillance measures associated with RTS. METHODS: In accordance with Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines, the PubMed, Embase, and Cochrane Library databases were searched to identify all articles reporting on RTS during COVID-19. Articles were excluded on the basis of the following criteria: (1) non-English text, (2) only abstract available, (3) population not athlete-specific, (4) outcome not RTS-specific, (5) COVID-19 transmission data not quantified, (6) editorial, or (7) review article or meta-analysis. Study characteristics; athlete demographics; COVID-19 preventive, surveillance, and diagnostic measures; COVID-19 transmission outcomes; and RTS recommendations were collected from each included article and analyzed. RESULTS: 10 studies were included in the final analysis, comprising over 97,000 athletes across a wide variety of sports, levels of play, and RTS settings. Of the 10 studies, eight identified low transmission rates and considered RTS to be safe/low risk. Overall, COVID-19 transmission rates were higher in athletes than in contacts, and more prevalent in the greater community than in athletes specifically. The risk of COVID-19 did not appear to be necessarily higher for athletes who played high-contact team sports, shared common facilities, or lived in communities impacted by high transmission rates, provided that rigorous COVID-19 safety and testing protocols were implemented and followed. Mask wearing and physical distancing during active play presented the greatest challenge to athletes. CONCLUSION: Rigorous preventive and surveillance measures can mitigate the risk of COVID-19 transmission in athletes upon RTS. However, the heterogeneity of RTS playing conditions, availability of COVID-19 resources, rise of unforeseen novel variants, and undetermined long-term impact of vaccination on athletes remain a challenge to safe and effective RTS in the era of COVID-19.

Trans Comedy as Trans Care

Malatino compares two billboards, one declaring "Trans lives are sacred," found in Detroit in July 2019, and one stating "Trans people deserve health care, support, justice, safety, love," stationed near the border of Joshua Tree and Twentynine Palms in November 2018 (2020, 25–26 and 30–31). (Nothing works for staving off isolation, illness, and routine workplace discrimination like stabbing your friends dressed as a neon cartoon alien with funky accessories, am I right?) Play, laughter, and jokes—collective endeavors, done with others, whether real or imaginary, present or distant (Freud 1905, Bergson 1912)—are key to trans care via media2. Playing together, via media, including the comedy of our own making, on the other hand, can take on a form of care, and we in turn keep each other alive. The newest iteration of the decades-long irony wherein cis/straight people reveal themselves as relying on the very healthcare they would deny trans and queer folks but with a new toxic twist, a spoof image of the cover of trans theorist Paul B. Preciado's Testo Junkies with Rogan photoshopped on the cover was soon circulating through the trans internet.

Cultures of Play: Actors, Affordances and Arenas

The principles of EECERA focus on providing a relevant and rigorous academic forum in Europe;facilitating collaboration and cooperation between European researchers and other researchers around the world;encouraging clear articulation and communication links between research, practice, and policy;and offering interaction, development, and support to those interested in early childhood education. The conference aimed to answer the following questions: * In what ways do cultures shape play in early childhood across time and space? * How is play sculpted by its actors, affordances, and arenas? * In light of the recent global pandemic and other disruptions to daily life, how does play feature in research, teaching, and experience? In addition to these thought-provoking keynote addresses, researchers and practitioners engaged in special interest group presentations in the following areas: birth to three, children from refugee or migrant backgrounds, digital childhoods, multimodality and STEM, disability studies and inclusive education in the early years, gender balance, holistic wellbeing, mathematics birth to 8 years, multilingual childhoods, outdoor play and learning, participatory pedagogy and praxeological research, professionalism in early childhood education and care, rethinking play, sustainability in early childhood education, transforming assessment evaluation and documentation in early childhood pedagogy, transitions, working with parents and families, and young children's perspectives.

Tiny hearts and hands: Nature sensory play promotes infant mental health

The field of infant mental health is growing exponentially and many practitioners from a range of professional disciplines are desiring to grow their expertise to work with infants and young children. In that, practitioners are searching for new therapy strategies to intervene with parents and infants. As the growing interest in nature-based therapies increases, many practitioners are thinking about how to incorporate nature approaches for the youngest of clients. After the crisis of the COVID-19 pandemic and the healing benefits of nature came more to the forefront of awareness, the association began to widen their definition and recognized that infant mental health was supported by connection to nature overall-beyond just the physical health benefits. At birth, infants have garnered millions of nerve connections that are chemically ready to encode sensory input. The chapter presents a case study that examines how nature can provide a rich growing experience for a mother-infant relationship where they can develop and optimize their wide-range sensory systems and coregulate interrelational experiences while also exploring the boundaries of autonomy, attunement, risk taking, and safety within a series of therapist directed nature-based play therapy interventions. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved)

Outdoor play of children with and without disabilities. Insights from the Covid-19 pandemic in Ireland and Italy

Several factors might affect outdoor play (individual and family aspects, neighbourhood environment, policy and socio-cultural factors). The Covid-19 lockdowns became a barrier to outdoor play and had a greater impact on children with disabilities. This study describes the outdoor activities and play and the contextual factors that affected them in 4- to 13-year-old children with and without disabilities. 1,667 parents answered an online questionnaire with both open-ended and close-ended questions during the first lockdown in Ireland and Italy in 2020. Parents perceived their children as being unable to play outside as they could before Covid-19. The built environment impacted children's access to outdoor spaces. A content analysis was run on the parents' responses to open-ended questions describing children's outdoor activities and play, and the contextual factors affecting them. Results showed that the active role of adults in organising routines, spaces and introducing changes, and the existing features of the outdoor built environment were crucial to support outdoor play. Comparing the contextual factors supporting outdoor play and activities of children with and without disabilities, the main difference concerned the type of role played by the adults. Some differences due to age, gender and nationality were also discussed. [ FROM AUTHOR] Copyright of European Journal of Special Needs Education is the property of Taylor & Francis Ltd and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full . (Copyright applies to all s.)

Playing and Affective and Behavioral Symptoms in Children and Adolescents [Playing and Mental Health]

Introduction: Pediatric mental problems have been increasing, especially after COVID-19, which led to reduced active play. In childhood and adolescence, active play has been recognized as a protective factor against psychopathology. Objective(s): To determine the association between gambling and internalizing or externalizing symptoms in children and adolescents. Material(s) and Method(s): Cross-sectional analytical observational study, with a sample of 1533 children and adolescents, between six and 18 years of age in the city of Manizales, during the second semester of 2021. The Child Behavior Checklist 6-18 (CBCL/6-18) and inquired about hobbies and active play, where bivariate analyzes were performed. Result(s): 69.4% of those surveyed are fond of art and 12.0% of sports. 46.37% presented significant symptoms in the CBCL. Statistically significant negative correlations were found between active gaming and the presence of symptoms in all CBCL domains, as well as a positive correlation between alterations in mental health and the use of video games. Conclusion(s): Active play is a behavior related to child and adolescent mental health, which is why it should be investigated and promoted from the first levels of health care.Copyright © 2023 Asociacion Colombiana de Psiquiatria

Predicting preschool children's digital play addiction tendency during Covid-19 pandemic: Regarding the mother-child relationship, and child- and family-related factors.

Previous research about children's digital play has predominantly focused on parental perspectives and parental mediation strategies. Although research on the effects of digital play on young children's development is plentiful, there is little evidence on young children's digital play addiction tendency. Herein, preschool children's digital play addiction tendency, and the mother-child relationship perceived by mothers, examining child- and family-related factors were explored. The present study also aimed to contribute to the current research pertaining to preschool-aged children's digital play addiction tendency through an examination of the mother-child relationship, and child- and family-related factors as potential predictors of children's digital play addiction tendency. A sample of 450 mothers of children between 4 and 6 years filled out two measures that identify the mother-child relationship and children's digital play addiction tendency. Correlational analyses revealed that in general, the mother-child relationship was significantly associated with children's digital play addiction tendency. Significant differences were evident in the relationship between numerous child- and family-related factors, and children's digital play addiction tendency, as well as the mother-child relationship. Hierarchical regression analyses indicated that a negative mother-child relationship, the children's digital play usage, and the mothers' digital device usage predicted the children's digital play addiction tendency.