The relationship between resilience and psychological characteristics of paramedicine students.

BACKGROUND: Paramedics' continued exposure to occupational stressors can have a detrimental effect on their psychological well-being. Resilience can provide for better coping. Understanding individual differences provides explanations why some individuals thrive while others are more at risk. AIM: To explore the effect of Personality according to the Big-Five, Ways of Thinking and Occupational Preference according to Holland's RIASEC Model, on resilience. METHOD: Using a quantitative cross-sectional design, The Big-Five Inventory, Ways of Thinking, Brief RIASEC Marker Scales and Connor Davidson CD-RISC were administered. RESULTS: Standard Multiple Regression showed that resilience is more likely to be seen in those who score high in Conscientiousness and low in Neuroticism. Modelling also showed that resilience is more likely to be seen in those who score high in Surgency (ß = 0.364, p = .001) followed by the Freethinker (ß = 0.312, p = .001), Scientific (ß = 0.112, p = .027) and Controlled (ß = 0.105, p = .040) ways of thinking. Although the RIASEC model was not a strong predictor of resilience, the Social (ß = 0.252, p = .001) and Investigative (ß = 0.153, p = .020) factors were highlighted as contributing towards a paramedic's resilience. CONCLUSION: The paramedicine students that participated in this study report higher levels of some of the personality traits inherently protective in facilitating resilience.

What personality types dominate among nurses and paramedics: A scoping review?

BACKGROUND: Certain personality traits captured by the Big Five framework have been shown to play an important role in predicting burnout in response to stressors, with evidence they reflect a relationship to psychological resilience. Understanding such distributions can subsequently serve to facilitate identification and implementation of more specifically targeted preventative strategies. METHODS: Arksey and O'Malley's five stage scoping was used to review the literature. The research question that guided this scoping was: Big Five personality factor predominance's among nurses and paramedics, and any relationships with constructs critical for wellbeing. Five electronic databases were searched during November 2018: PsycINFO, Embase, Medline, ProQuest and Scopus. RESULTS: Eighteen articles met inclusion criteria. Two broad themes emerged: those specifically about personality traits of nurses and/or paramedics, and those concerned with various associations between one or other construct and personality trait(s). Low Neuroticism and higher Extraversion are considered desirable traits in nurses and paramedics as they have each been found to have a negative correlation with burnout. CONCLUSIONS: Nurses and paramedics with higher Neuroticism and lower Extraversion suggest being less suited to their profession, particularly when exposed to critical incidents.

What occupational preference types dominate among nurses and paramedics with implications for wellbeing?: A scoping review.

Understanding the occupational typological nature of nursing and paramedicine and the typological preferences of these within the professions offers significant evidence of factors that can facilitate wellbeing and efficiencies. Arksey and O'Malley's five-stage scoping methodology was used to review the literature. The research question used to guide this scoping review was: Which Holland code is more dominant among nurses and paramedics? Nine articles were included in this review, from which two broad themes emerged: Job satisfaction/academic success; and personality-employment fit across gender and subgroups within the same occupation. While the Social (S) personality type dominated across the studies for both nurses and paramedics, overall, the studies identified various combinations of the personality profile and, in some cases, personality types foreign to the occupation also formed part of the Holland code. Congruence can be thought of as playing an important role in nurses'/paramedics' overall well-being regardless of the order of their three dominant personality types.

Psychomotor Ability and Short-term Memory, and Reading and Mathematics Achievement in Children.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of our study was to examine whether the findings from previous research, indicating the role of short-term memory as a mediator of the relationship between motor coordination and academic achievement in adolescents, is also evident in a younger child population. METHOD: The study utilized a quantative cross-sectional design involving 133 children aged 8-12. The McCarron Assessment of Neuromuscular Development (MAND) provided four indicators of psychomotor ability (Finger Nose, Walking, Balancing, and Jumping). The Woodcock-Johnson Cognitive battery and the Automated Working Memory Assessment (AWMA) provided two measures of short-term memory (Numbers Reversed and Digit Recall) and the WJIII Achievement battery provided two measures of reading achievement (Letter-word Identification and Passage Comprehension) and two measures of mathematics achievement (Applied Problems and Calculation). Structural equation modeling was used, controlling for age, processing speed, crystallized, and fluid intelligence where appropriate. RESULTS: The results found support for the hypothesis that short-term memory fully mediates the relationship between psychomotor ability and reading and mathematics achievement. CONCLUSION: These findings indicate the significant affect of psychomotor ability on learning outcomes and consequently the need to assess these in considering learning difficulties, and as such these findings also advance understanding of developmental neural mechanisms underpinning the relationships.