[Driving competence in older age: psychological assessment and interventions]. / Fahrkompetenz im Alter: Psychologische Diagnostik und Interventionen.

The article introduces the issue of psychological assessment and training for driving safety, driving competence, and the mobility of older drivers. The psychological methods for assessing driving competence and the training approaches for maintaining mobility in old age are outlined and illustrated with examples. Preserving driving ability in old age remains a task for which development needs and research gaps must be specified. Although periodic mandatory examinations based on age do not yield any relevant improvement in enhancing traffic safety, they do not cause harm and are widely accepted. It is desirable to move away from a theory focusing on deficits of older age and instead develop an assessment of the comprehensive functions, abilities, and resources of elderly drivers to help preserve the mobility and participation of that specific demographic in traffic.

Stress and burnout in teaching. Study in an inclusive school workplace.

BACKGROUND: Teaching is a profession associated with high levels of stress and burnout, affecting teachers' performance in the workplace. The main goal of the current study is to investigate stress and burnout conditions of teachers working presently in inclusive schools and the corresponding influence of personal variables. PARTICIPANTS AND PROCEDURE: Participants were 7086 regular teachers, or non-specialists, and 442 special education teachers, or specialists (N = 7528). RESULTS: Non-specialist teachers showed higher levels of burnout than specialist teachers in inclusive schools. Additionally, the results showed that higher levels of burnout are correlated with vulnerability to stress (perfectionism, inhibition, lack of social support, adverse living conditions, dramatization of existence and subjugation), in both groups of teachers. Non-specialists with more professional experience showed a high global score on burnout. In both groups, teachers with a higher level of training (academic degree and specialization) showed lesser vulnerability to stress, especially lower dependence. Concerning the predictors of burnout, vulnerability to stress played an important role as a predictor in both groups, suggesting that more vulnerable teachers are more prone to develop burnout, fatigue and exhaustion. CONCLUSIONS: Stress emerges as an important predictor of burnout. Non-specialist teachers are more exposed to burnout and stress in an inclusive workplace, because they have to deal with new demands, requiring new resources, especially new professional skills. On the other hand, teachers with more academic and professional training show higher resilience to stress and more independence, suggesting the crucial value of training to improve an inclusive school workplace. Training can have an important impact on stress/burnout and consequently on the professional performance and efficacy of teachers in inclusive schools.

Why has the continuous decline in German suicide rates stopped in 2007?

BACKGROUND: Whereas German suicide rates had a clear decreasing tendency between 1991 and 2006, they increased from 2007 to 2010. Deeper analyses of suicide data might help to understand better this change. The aim of this study was to analyze 1) whether recent trends can be related to changes in specific suicide methods and diverge by gender and age; 2) whether the decrease of suicide rates before 2007 as well as the increase from 2007 to 2010 are driven by the same suicide method. METHODS: Analyses were based on suicide data from the Federal Statistical Office of Germany. For 1998-2010, 136.583 suicide cases of men and women with known age and suicide method could be identified. These data were analyzed by joinpoint regression analysis, allowing identification of the best fitting point in time ("joinpoint") at which the suicide rate significantly changes in magnitude or direction. RESULTS: The national downward trend between 1998 and 2007 was mainly due to corresponding changes in self-poisoning by other means than drugs (e.g., pesticides) (annual percentage change (APC) ≤ -4.33), drowning (APC ≤ -2.73), hanging (APC ≤ -2.69) and suicides by firearms (APC ≤ -1.46) in both genders. Regarding the overall increase of age-adjusted suicide rates in Germany 2007-2010, mainly the increase of self-poisoning (e.g., by drugs) and "being overrun" (APC ≥ 1.50) contributed to this trend. LIMITATIONS: The true suicide rates might have been underestimated because of errors in the official death certificates. CONCLUSIONS: Increase in suicide rates in Germany since 2007 went along with corresponding changes for "being overrun" and "self-poisoning". Copycat suicides following the railway suicide of the goalkeeper Robert Enke partly contributed to the results. Thus, prevention of Werther effects and limitation of the availability of high pack sizes for drugs are of special relevance for the reversal of this trend.

Effective teaching of tooth-brushing to preschool children.

PURPOSE: The purpose of the present study was to compare artificial tooth-brushing models (TBM) and individual modeling regarding their efficacy in teaching the correct brushing movements to younger preschool children. METHODS: A total of 141 30- to 50-month-old preschool children who had not been previously instructed on tooth-brushing were enrolled in the present trial. Four different model types/groups were compared: (1) giant TBM; (2) animal TBM puppet; (3) child him/herself in front of the mirror; (4) another person with the child in the mirror. Parameters of imitational learning were investigated by means of single-person monitoring on the basis of a standardized observational method. The subjects were randomly assigned to 4 experimental groups, which were comparable regarding gender and age. Statistical analysis was performed using the chi-square test. RESULTS: This study demonstrated that behavioral modeling types 3 and 4 were more suitable as a methodological basis than TBM. Correct tooth-brushing position and movement were correlated with the attractiveness of the model and its similarity to the child. It was shown that human models achieved greatest learning success. CONCLUSION: It is important to find a "helper" and an attractive model person assisting in guiding the brush with a feedback in a mirror.

Early marriage, rape, child prostitution, and related factors determining the psychosocial effects severity of child sexual abuse in Ethiopia.

This study was aimed at identifying factors that determine the psychosocial effects severity of child sexual abuse. Data were collected from 318 female children in Ethiopia using the Children's Impact of Traumatic Events Scale-Revised and the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale. The results revealed that respondents who survived rape and child prostitution were more symptomatic than those who were married early. Respondents for whom less time had elapsed since their first experience of abuse demonstrated a significantly higher level of post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms, negative reactions by others, self-blame, and guilt than those for whom more time had elapsed since such an experience. The respondents in an intact marital relationship were found to be less symptomatic than their never married and divorced counterparts. Implications for intervention and further investigations are discussed.

The psychosocial consequences of child sexual abuse in Ethiopia: a case-control comparative analysis.

Child sexual abuse (CSA) continues to be a pressing public health concern around the globe. Few existing reports, however, indicate the alarming rate at which the problem is increasing in sub-Saharan Africa. The present study is designed to investigate the psychosocial consequences of sexual abuse among child survivors in Ethiopia who were abused mainly through early marriage, rape, and child prostitution. Data are collected from 318 such CSA survivors-and 318 matched, non-sexually abused, normal controls- using the Children's Impact of Traumatic Events Scale-Revised and the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale. The results reveal the CSA survivors to be significantly more symptomatic than the control group: They demonstrated a lower degree of social support, a lower degree of empowerment, as well as a higher degree of guilt and increased likelihood of viewing the world as dangerous. Finally, these CSA survivors show a lower degree of positive self-worth than their non-sexually abused counterparts. These findings have important implications for the formulation of appropriate preventions and interventions to be undertaken by various stakeholders ranging from family to policy makers.

Long-term outcomes of war-related death of family members in Kosovar civilian war survivors.

Exposure to war-related experiences can comprise a broad variety of experiences and the very nature of certain war-related events has generally been neglected. To examine the long-term outcomes of war-related death of family members, the authors investigated the prevalence rates of major depressive episode (MDE), anxiety disorders, and quality of life among civilian war survivors with or without war-related death of first-degree family members 9 years after the war in Kosovo. Compared to participants without war-related death of family members, those who had experienced such loss had signficantly higher prevalence rates of MDE, posttraumatic stress disorder, and generalized anxiety disorder, and reported a lower quality of life 9 years after the war. These results indicate that bereaved civilian survivors of war experience significant mental health problems many years after the war.

German version of the Kuwait University Anxiety Scale: psychometric parameters.

A German translation of the Kuwait University Anxiety Scale, written originally in Arabic, was prepared. A sample of 207 men and women German college students was recruited. Coefficient alpha was .88, whereas the item-remainder correlations ranged from .21 to .63, denoting good internal consistency. The correlation of the scale with the German form of the Trait Anxiety Scale was .76, indicating high criterion-related validity. Three factors were identified: General, Somatic, and Cognitive/Affective Anxiety. German students scored lower (less anxious) than students from the U.S. and 18 Arab countries. The sex difference was not significant for the German sample.