Burnout and perceived stress among Italian physical therapists during the COVID-19 pandemic: a cross-sectional study.

High levels of burnout and psychological distress have been reported for healthcare workers, with seemingly worse outcomes after the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic. However, to date, scarce evidence has been gathered about the condition of physical therapists. This cross-sectional study investigated the three burnout dimensions of emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and personal accomplishment as measured by the Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI) and assessed perceived stress with the 10-item Perceived Stress Scale (PSS) in a sample of Italian physical therapists with the aim of examining the relationships between these variables and demographic and work-related factors. An anonymous questionnaire was administered to a convenience sample of 671 professionals from the whole nation and associations between burnout, perceived stress, and work-related variables were investigated with descriptive and inferential statistical methods. Overall, 25% of the participants showed high burnout risk (40% scored high on emotional exhaustion, 36% scored high on depersonalization, and 19% scored low on personal accomplishment), whereas 50% reported high levels of perceived stress. Having been exposed to verbal or physical aggressive behaviors at work (OR = 4.06) was associated with high burnout risk, and participants at risk were significantly younger than those showing no burnout risk (d = 0.27). Having a partner (OR = 0.54) and having children (OR = 0.56) were associated on the other hand with reduced burnout risk. Regression models identified weekly working hours (ß = 0.16), exposure to aggressive behaviors at work (ß = 0.12), and perceived stress (ß = 0.66) as significant predictors of emotional exhaustion, gender (ß = 0.18), exposure to aggressive behaviors (ß = 0.09), and perceived stress (ß = 0.37) as predictors of depersonalization, and gender (ß=-0.1) and perceived stress (ß=-0.35) as predictors of personal accomplishment.In summary, this study found high rates of burnout and psychological distress among Italian physical therapists a year after the outbreak of COVID-19. Significant relations were found between burnout, psychological distress, and both socio-demographic and work-related variables.

Use of mouse-tracking software to detect faking-good behavior on personality questionnaires: an explorative study.

The aim of the present study was to explore whether kinematic indicators could improve the detection of subjects demonstrating faking-good behaviour when responding to personality questionnaires. One hundred and twenty volunteers were randomly assigned to one of four experimental groups (honest unspeeded, faking-good unspeeded, honest speeded, and faking-good speeded). Participants were asked to respond to the MMPI-2 underreporting scales (L, K, S) and the PPI-R Virtuous Responding (VR) scale using a computer mouse. The collected data included T-point scores on the L, K, S, and VR scales; response times on these scales; and several temporal and spatial mouse parameters. These data were used to investigate the presence of significant differences between the two manipulated variables (honest vs. faking-good; speeded vs. unspeeded). The results demonstrated that T-scores were significantly higher in the faking-good condition relative to the honest condition; however, faking-good and honest respondents showed no statistically significant differences between the speeded and unspeeded conditions. Concerning temporal and spatial kinematic parameters, we observed mixed results for different scales and further investigations are required. The most consistent finding, albeit with small observed effects, regards the L scale, in which faking-good respondents took longer to respond to stimuli and outlined wider mouse trajectories to arrive at the given response.

Indicators to distinguish symptom accentuators from symptom producers in individuals with a diagnosed adjustment disorder: A pilot study on inconsistency subtypes using SIMS and MMPI-2-RF.

In the context of legal damage evaluations, evaluees may exaggerate or simulate symptoms in an attempt to obtain greater economic compensation. To date, practitioners and researchers have focused on detecting malingering behavior as an exclusively unitary construct. However, we argue that there are two types of inconsistent behavior that speak to possible malingering-accentuating (i.e., exaggerating symptoms that are actually experienced) and simulating (i.e., fabricating symptoms entirely)-each with its own unique attributes; thus, it is necessary to distinguish between them. The aim of the present study was to identify objective indicators to differentiate symptom accentuators from symptom producers and consistent participants. We analyzed the Structured Inventory of Malingered Symptomatology scales and the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-2 Restructured Form validity scales of 132 individuals with a diagnosed adjustment disorder with mixed anxiety and depressed mood who had undergone assessment for psychiatric/psychological damage. The results indicated that the SIMS Total Score, Neurologic Impairment and Low Intelligence scales and the MMPI-2-RF Infrequent Responses (F-r) and Response Bias (RBS) scales successfully discriminated among symptom accentuators, symptom producers, and consistent participants. Machine learning analysis was used to identify the most efficient parameter for classifying these three groups, recognizing the SIMS Total Score as the best indicator.

MMPI-2-RF Profiles in Child Custody Litigants.

Background and Purpose: A psychological assessment of parents in post-divorce child custody disputes highlighted parents' motivation to appear as adaptive and responsible caregivers. The study hypothesized that personality self-report measures completed by child custody litigants (CCLs) during a parental skills assessment would show underreporting, rendering the measures worthless. The study also analyzed gender differences in a CCL sample, general CCL profiles, and the implicit structure of the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-2-Restructured Form (MMPI-2-RF) in the CCL sample. Materials and Methods: The sample comprised 400 CCLs undergoing personality evaluation as part of a parenting skills assessment. The mean age of the 204 mothers was 41.31 years (SD = 6.6), with an overall range of 24-59 years. Mothers had a mean educational level of 14.48 years (SD = 3.2). The 196 fathers were aged 20-59 years (M = 42.31; SD = 7.8), with an average of 14.48 years (SD = 3.9) of education. The MMPI-2-RF was administered. To test the hypotheses, multivariate analyses of variance (MANOVAs) and two-step cluster analyses were run. Results: CCL subjects reported higher scores in underreporting (L-r and K-r) and lower scores in overreporting [F-r, Fp-r, Fs-r, and response bias scale (RBS)] validity scales and restructured clinical (RC) scales, with the exception of RC2 and RC8. RC6 (Ideas of Persecution) was the most elevated. Intercorrelations within the RC scales significantly differed between CCL and normative samples. Women appeared deeply motivated to display a faking-good defensive profile, together with lower levels of cynicism and antisocial behaviors, compared to CCL men. Two-step cluster analyses identified three female CCL profiles and two male CCL profiles. Approximately 44% of the MMPI-2-RF profiles were deemed possibly underreporting and, for this reason, considered worthless. Discussion: The present study adds useful insight about which instruments are effective for assessing the personality characteristics of parents undergoing a parental skills assessment in the context of a child custody dispute. The results show that almost half of the MMPI-2-RF protocols in the CCL sample were worthless due to their demonstration of an underreporting attitude. This highlights the necessity to interpret CCL profiles in light of normative data collected specifically in a forensic setting and the need for new and promising methods of mainstreaming and administering the MMPI-2-RF.

Introducing Machine Learning to Detect Personality Faking-Good in a Male Sample: A New Model Based on Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-2 Restructured Form Scales and Reaction Times.

Background and Purpose. The use of machine learning (ML) models in the detection of malingering has yielded encouraging results, showing promising accuracy levels. We investigated the possible application of this methodology when trained on behavioral features, such as response time (RT) and time pressure, to identify faking behavior in self-report personality questionnaires. To do so, we reintroduced the article of Roma et al. (2018), which highlighted that RTs and time pressure are useful variables in the detection of faking; we then extended the number of participants and applied an ML analysis. Materials and Methods. The sample was composed of 175 subjects, of whom all were graduates (having completed at least 17 years of instruction), male, and Caucasian. Subjects were randomly assigned to four groups: honest speeded, faking-good speeded, honest unspeeded, and faking-good unspeeded. A software version of the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-2 Restructured Form (MMPI-2-RF) was administered. Results. Results indicated that ML algorithms reached very high accuracies (around 95%) in detecting malingerers when subjects are instructed to respond under time pressure. The classifiers' performance was lower when the subjects responded with no time restriction to the MMPI-2-RF items, with accuracies ranging from 75% to 85%. Further analysis demonstrated that T-scores of validity scales are ineffective to detect fakers when participants were not under temporal pressure (accuracies 55-65%), whereas temporal features resulted to be more useful (accuracies 70-75%). By contrast, temporal features and T-scores of validity scales are equally effective in detecting fakers when subjects are under time pressure (accuracies higher than 90%). Discussion. To conclude, results demonstrated that ML techniques are extremely valuable and reach high performance in detecting fakers in self-report personality questionnaires over more the traditional psychometric techniques. Validity scales MMPI-2-RF manual criteria are very poor in identifying under-reported profiles. Moreover, temporal measures are useful tools in distinguishing honest from dishonest responders, especially in a no time pressure condition. Indeed, time pressure brings out malingerers in clearer way than does no time pressure condition.

Psychopathology and personality in problematic internet users.

Few studies have addressed the issue of psychopathology and personality of individuals with problematic use of internet. In this study we research psychopathological symptoms, personality traits and predictive variables associated with problematic internet use. The study was conducted on a total of 343 students from four Italian Universities using Pathological Internet Use Scale, Big Five Questionnaire, and Symptom Check List 90 Revised. According to this study 52.7% of the sample shows a problematic internet use while only 7.6% don't suffer from any symptom. More than half of subjects admits to have got into arguments with a significant other over being online, and to have missed social engagements because of online activities. Subjects with problematic internet use scored higher in psychopathological scales. Low levels of Friendliness and Emotional Stability could predict the problematic use of internet. Problematic internet use may be associated with higher psychopathology levels and personality traits.

Drinking and driving relapse: Data from BAC and MMPI-2.

Road traffic injuries are the ninth cause of death across all age groups, globally (WHO, 2015). Many road traffic crashes are caused by Driving Under the Influence (DUI) of alcohol by persons who have previously had their license suspended for the same reason. The aim of this study was to identify specific risk factors and personality characteristics in repeat offenders. The sample was comprised of 260 subjects who were not repeat DUI offenders (DUI-NR), but had a single license suspension between 2010 and 2011; and 97 repeat offenders who received at least two DUI convictions within a period of 5 years. At the time of their first driving license suspension, participants provided their blood alcohol content (BAC) and completed a valid MMPI-2 test. ANOVA and MANOVAs were performed to determine whether there were significant differences in BAC and MMPI-2 profiles between DUI-NR and DUI-R participants and a logistic regression was run to identify whether BAC at the time of the first suspension and specific personality features could predict recidivism. A two-step cluster analysis was run to identify recidivist typologies. Results showed that, relative to DUI-NR participants, DUI-R participants had higher BAC at the time of their first conviction and more problematic MMPI-2 profiles, despite the presence of social desirability responding. The best predictors of recidivism were BAC and the scales of Lie (L), Correction (K), Psychopathic Deviate (4-Pd), Hypomania (9-Ma), and Low Self-Esteem (LSE). Two-step cluster analyses identified two recidivist profiles, according to 32 selected MMPI-2 validity, clinical, content, supplementary, and PSY-5 scales. Comparisons with previous research are discussed and ideas for further study are generated.

Could Time Detect a Faking-Good Attitude? A Study With the MMPI-2-RF.

Background and Purpose: Research on the relationship between response latency (RL) and faking in self-administered testing scenarios have generated contradictory findings. We explored this relationship further, aiming to add further insight into the reliability of self-report measures. We compared RLs and T-scores on the MMPI-2-RF (validity and restructured clinical [RC] scales) in four experimental groups. Our hypotheses were that: the Fake-Good Speeded group would obtain a different completion time; show higher RLs than the Honesty Speeded Group in the validity scales; show higher T-Scores in the L-r and K-r scales and lower T-scores in the F-r and RC scales; and show higher levels of tension and fatigue. Finally, the impact of the speeded condition in malingering was assessed. Materials and Methods: The sample was comprised of 135 subjects (M = 26.64; SD = 1.88 years old), all of whom were graduates (having completed at least 17 years of instruction), male, and Caucasian. Subjects were randomly assigned to four groups: Honesty Speeded, Fake-Good Speeded, Honesty Un-Speeded, and Fake-Good Un-Speeded. A software version of the MMPI-2-RF and Visual Analog Scale (VAS) were administered. To test the hypotheses, MANOVAs and binomial logistic regressions were run. Results: Significant differences were found between the four groups, and particularly between the Honest and Fake-Good groups in terms of test completion time and the L-r and K-r scales. The speeded condition increased T-scores in the L-r and K-r scales but decreased T-scores in some of the RC scales. The Fake groups also scored higher on the VAS Tension subscale. Completion times for the first and second parts of the MMPI-2-RF and T-scores for the K-r scale seemed to predict malingering. Conclusion: The speeded condition seemed to bring out the malingerers. Limitations include the sample size and gender bias.

Burnout and work-related stress in Italian rehabilitation professionals: A comparison of physiotherapists, speech therapists and occupational therapists.

BACKGROUND: Healthcare workers are exposed to work related stresses that significantly increase their risk of burnout. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate and compare burnout and work related stress levels in three categories of health professionals: physiotherapists, speech therapists and occupational therapists. METHODS: A convenience sample of 391 health professionals participated, including 210 physiotherapists, 101 speech therapists and 80 occupational therapists. We collected general socio-demographic information and administered the standardized Italian version of the Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI) and the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) Management Standards Indicator Tool. RESULTS: We found the proportion of professionals with high-risk scores in the three dimensions of the MBI to be as follows: Emotional Exhaustion 32%, Depersonalisation 13% and Personal Accomplishment 9%. Overall, 14% of participants were at high risk of burnout. No significant differences were found between the three professional categories. Five subscales of the HSE were associated with burnout: Control (p < 0.01), Management support (p < 0.01), Relationship (p < 0.05), Role (p < 0.01), and Change (p < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Like all health care workers, rehabilitation professionals are at a high risk of burnout. There are common mechanisms underlying burnout in the different professional groups investigated. Further research in occupational health in rehabilitation settings is needed to prevent burnout.