Cognitive and behavioral approaches to occupational stress management: The case of adult education administrative workers in Nigeria.

BACKGROUND: Those in administrative positions in adult education are more likely to suffer from stress because of the hard work they do, long hours in the office, a lack of adequate medical and welfare packages, and a lack of financial aid. In this study, adult education workers in Nigeria were assessed on the effectiveness of a cognitive and behavioral approach to managing occupational stress in public administration. METHOD: This study was a group-randomized trial in which 94 adult education workers occupy public administrative positions within Enugu State, Nigeria, participated. Data were collected using 2 instruments, the Perceived Stress Scale, and the Workplace Stress Scale, which were validated by cognitive and behavioral psychologists at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka. The instruments contained internal construct and content validity as determined by Cronbach alpha. ANCOVA was employed to test for hypotheses and answer research questions. RESULTS: This study demonstrates that cognitive and behavioral approaches are significantly effective in managing occupational stress among adult education workers who work for public agencies. CONCLUSION: To improve stress management capacity among adults in public administration positions, researchers recommend frequent exposure to cognitive and behavioral approaches.

Intervention for job burnout reduction among a sample of Nigerian lecturers.

BACKGROUND: One of the major issues facing Nigerian university lecturers is job burnout. In the current study, Nigerian university history lecturers were examined in respect of job burnout prior to and after an online psychological intervention that followed the rational emotive behavior therapy (REBT) principles and practice. METHODS: In this study, a group randomized controlled trial approach was used, and only 80 university history lecturers with high burnout levels were included. We had 40 history lecturers participating in an online intervention group and 40 history lecturers participating in the control group. A questionnaire - Oldenburg Burnout Inventory - was used to collect data about job burnout. RESULTS: After the history lecturers underwent the online psychological intervention (online REBT), significant reductions in mean job burnout were recorded (F(1, 78) = 5756.11; P < .001). Findings show a statistically significant effects of time on burnout scores of history lecturers [F(2156) = 1323.69, P < .001, ω2 = 0.92]. There was also a significant group and time interaction effect on the participants' burnout scores [F(2156) = 1323.69, P < .001, ω2 = 0.91]. CONCLUSION: University history lecturers can benefit from online psychological intervention that targets job burnout reduction. The current study paves way for future studies to validate the efficacy of online REBT intervention among other employees who struggle with burnout problem.

Effectiveness of rational emotive behavior therapy in reducing depression among undergraduate medical students.

BACKGROUND: Studies reporting the incidence of depression among medical students have been on the increase. This research sought to determine whether rational emotive behavior therapy (REBT) can be applied to help manage depression in Nigerian undergraduate medical students. METHODS: A randomized pretest/posttest control group design was used in this study. Ninety medical students with depression participated in the study and were assisted using the REBT depression manual. Using a mixed-model repeated measures analysis of variance, the researchers examined the intervention data. RESULTS: The depressive symptoms and its associated irrational beliefs among medical students in the treatment arm were significantly altered by REBT intervention at posttest and this positive outcome was sustained at follow-up in contrast to the control arm. CONCLUSION: REBT intervention significantly improves medical students' ability to overcome depression and irrational beliefs. Similar studies could be conducted in a variety of academic settings where these students can be found to expand the findings of this study.

Intervention for depression among undergraduate religious education students: A randomized controlled trial.

BACKGROUND: This research was designed to investigate the management of depression among undergraduate religious education students and identify the research implications for school-based religious intervention. METHODS: This research is a randomized controlled trial. The treatment condition had 34 undergraduate religious education students but 33 undergraduate religious education students were in the control condition. The treatment process involved a 12-week application of religious rational emotive behavior therapy (RREBT). With Beck's depression inventory, version 2 (BDI-II), data collection was made possible. RESULTS: Compared to students in the control condition, undergraduate religious education students in the treatment condition demonstrated a significant drop in mean BDI-II scores at post-test (F [1, 65] = 592.043, P < .05, η2p = .90). The effect of RREBT among students in the treatment condition stayed consistent at 2 weeks follow-up (F [1, 65] = 786.396, P < .05, η2p = .92, ΔR2 = .922). CONCLUSION: The effect of RREBT on depression treatment among undergraduate religious education students was positive and can be consistent. The study results underscore the importance of expanding this treatment approach for these undergraduate education students in Nigeria.

Intervention for Nigerian preservice historians' maladaptive academic perfectionism: Implications for history lecturers.

BACKGROUND: Individuals enrolled in a university program that will lead to a degree in history are considered preservice historians in the context of this study. Their goal is to become professional historians after graduating from the university. The purpose of this study was to determine whether cognitive behavioral coaching (CBC) had an effect on maladaptive academic perfectionism in Nigerian preservice historians. METHOD: The study included a randomized sample of 98 preservice historians from Nigerian public universities in the country's Southeast zone [49 preservice historians were assigned to the cognitive behavioral coaching group-CBC Group, while 49 preservice historians were assigned to the waitlist control group-Waitlist control Group]. RESULTS: The finding indicate that preservice historians' maladaptive academic perfectionism decreased significantly following cognitive behavioral coaching. There was also a significant interaction effect of time and group on the reduction of preservice historians' maladaptive academic perfectionism. CONCLUSION: This study suggests that cognitive behavioral coaching is an effective intervention for preservice historians who struggle with maladaptive academic perfectionism. The study's implications for history lecturers were discussed. Future study could investigate how maladaptive academic perfectionism affects postgraduate history students and how CBC can help them.

Managing job stress among teachers of children with autism spectrum disorders: A randomized controlled trial of cognitive behavioral therapy with yoga.

BACKGROUND: Job-related stress undermines occupational, personal, and organizational outcomes. Stress symptoms are common among teachers of children with autism spectrum disorders and affect the academic progress of the children. This study investigated the effectiveness of yoga-based cognitive behavioral therapy in reducing occupational stress among teachers of children with autism in Lagos states, Nigeria. METHODS: The current study adopted a group-randomized waitlist control (WLC) trial design with pre-test, posttest, and follow-up assessments. Participants included 58 teachers of children with autism in public and private special schools in Lagos state. Participants were randomly assigned to combined cognitive behavioral therapy and yoga (Y-CBT) (N = 29) and WLC (N = 29) groups. The Y-CBT group participated in a 2 hours Y-CBT program weekly for 12 weeks. Three instruments - Demographic Questionnaire, Single-Item Stress Questionnaire, and Teachers' Stress Inventory (TSI) were used to collect data. Data were collected at baseline; posttest and follow-up evaluations. Data were analyzed using means, standard deviations, t test statistics, repeated measures analysis of variance, and bar charts. RESULTS: Results revealed that all dimensions of job stress (perception of stress sources, stress manifestation, and total TSI scores) reduced significantly at posttest and follow up assessments among the Y-CBT group, compared to the WLC. CONCLUSION: It was concluded that Y-CBT modalities could help to minimize the perception of stress sources and stress manifestation as well as total TSI scores among teachers of children with autism spectrum disorders.

Impact of spiritual beliefs and faith-based interventions on diabetes management.

Management of diabetes constitutes significant social and economic burdens worldwide. There is a shortage of empirical studies on the management of diabetes and the associated mental health issues through spiritual beliefs and faith-based interventions (FBIs). It is not also clear how spiritual beliefs and FBIs account for the effective management of diabetic conditions. This article discusses the impact of spiritual beliefs and FBIs in the management of diabetes, from relationship and efficacy studies that report outcomes from experimental procedures of related interventions. The majority of the relationship studies showed positive relationships, while efficacy studies showed a high efficacy of interventions in faith-based approaches. However, none of the studies clearly reported the mechanisms of change or modality of operation in a FBI that can serve as a model across culture and context. Possible mechanisms of change were discussed for further development of a standard faith-based model, and finally, suggestions for future research were also highlighted by the authors.

Gender effect on eating habits of Nigerian school children.

ABSTRACT: It is important to investigate children's eating habits based on different eating behaviors such as satiety responsiveness (SR), slowness in eating (SE), food fussiness (FF), food responsiveness (FR), enjoyment of food (EF), desire to drink (DD), emotional under-eating (EUE), and emotional over-eating (EOE). The main objective of this research was to investigate whether gender affects the eating habits of Nigerian school children.A cross-sectional survey was conducted between March and June 2019. A total of 120 parents of school children participated in the study. The Child Eating Behavior Questionnaire (CEBQ) was used to collect data. The CEBQ is composed of 35 items and eight subscales.Based on the analysis of parents' reports, DD was higher in boys than girls, t (118) = 7.086, P < .001; EOE was higher in boys than girls, t (118) = 5.184, P < .001; EF was higher in boys than girls, t (118) = 2.183, P < .001; FF was higher in boys than girls, t (118) = 9.441, P < .001; and SR was higher in boys than girls, t (118) = 7.323, P < .001. However, EUE was lower in boys than girls, t (118) = -4.339, P < .001; FR was lower in boys than girls, t(118) = -3.112, P < .001; SE was lower in boys than girls, t(118) = -3.832, P < .001; thus, gender had a significant influence on eating habits of the school children.Gender significantly affects the eating habits of Nigerian school children. Thus, gender is an important factor to be considered when aiming to improve the eating habits of Nigerian school children.

Influence of parental education levels on eating habits of pupils in Nigerian primary schools.

This study investigated the eating habits of pupils in Nigerian primary schools based on the respective education levels of their parents.Data were obtained using the Child Eating Behavior Questionnaire (CEBQ). Participants included a total of 144 pupils who were purposively selected from 6 primary schools. Based on responses, a cross-sectional analytic study design was implemented to investigate how parental education levels (PELs) influenced the eating habits of their children. Data assessment was performed using a one-way between-group analysis of variance at the .05 probability level.PELs significantly affected the eating habits of participants, respectively. Specifically, low PEL was associated with more satiety responsiveness to food (F [2, 141] = 14.251, P < .001), higher responsiveness to food (F [2, 141] = 36.943, P = <.001) greater food enjoyment (F [2, 141] = 93.322, P < .001), greater drinking desires (F [2, 141] = 23.677, P < .001), and the tendency for emotional over-eating (F [2, 141] = 13.428, P < .001), while high PEL was associated with slower eating (F [2, 141] = 11.665, P < .001), fussier responses to food (F [2, 141] = 14.865, P < .001), and a higher tendency for emotional under-eating (F [2, 141] = 5.137, P < .01).This study examined PELs in relation to the respective eating habits of their children, who were attending Nigerian primary schools. Data showed that children with parents who had high, middle, and low education levels tended to exhibit progressively worse eating habits, in descending order.

Managing job stress in teachers of children with autism: A rational emotive occupational health coaching control trial.

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVE: Teaching has been found to be 1 of the most stressful occupations worldwide. Stress associated with teaching is more critical among teachers teaching children with special needs in general and those with autism specifically, partly due to the heterogeneous nature of the disorders. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of Rational Emotive Occupational Health Coaching (REOHC) in minimizing job stress in teachers of children with autism (CWA). METHODS: A group-randomized waitlist control-trial design was adopted. A sample of 87 teachers of CWA who participated in the study was randomized into the immediate intervention group (IIG) and waitlist group (WLG). Participants were evaluated on 3 occasions: pretest, post-test and follow-up. Three instruments (Occupational Stress Index, Perceived Occupational Stress Scale and Stress Symptom Scale) were used to measure dimensions of job stress. After the pretest exercise, the IIG participated in a 2-hour REOHC programme weekly for a period of 12 weeks. Post- and follow-up evaluations were conducted respectively at 2 weeks and 3 months after the REOHC programme. Those in WLG were exposed to the REOHC after the follow-up assessment. Data collected were analysed using t-test statistics, repeated measures analysis of variance and bar charts. RESULTS: Results revealed that the perceived stress and stress symptoms of the REOHC group reduced significantly over WLG at post-test, and follow-up assessments. Changes in the occupational stress index scores across pre-, post- and follow-up measurements were minimal and could not account for a significant difference between the IIG and WLG. CONCLUSION: It was concluded that REOHC is effective in reducing subjective feelings and physiological symptoms of job stress, even when the objective stressors remain constant among teachers of CWA and other employees who work in stressful occupational environments.

Randomized controlled evaluation of the effect of music therapy with cognitive-behavioral therapy on social anxiety symptoms.

OBJECTIVE: This study examined the effects of music therapy with cognitive behavioral therapy on social anxiety in a sample of schooling adolescents in south-east Nigeria. METHODS: We adopted a randomized controlled trial design involving a treatment group and a waiting-list control group. A total of 155 schooling adolescents served as the study sample. The sample size was ascertained using GPower software. A 12-week MTCBP manual for social anxiety was employed to deliver the intervention. Data analyses were completed using repeated measures analysis of variance. RESULTS: We found that social anxiety significantly decreased in the treatment group over time, whereas the waitlist control group showed no significant changes in social anxiety. Therefore, music therapy with cognitive-behavioral therapy was significantly beneficial in decreasing social anxiety symptoms of the treatment group. The follow-up assessment performed after 3 months revealed a significant reduction in social anxiety for the treatment group. CONCLUSION: The study, therefore, suggests that the use of music therapy with cognitive-behavioral therapy is significant in reducing social anxiety among schooling adolescents.

Efficacy of prison-based cognitive behavioral rehabilitation intervention on violent sexual behaviors among sex offenders in Nigerian prisons.

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVE: Evidence showed that reoffending habits are increasing among offenders with violent sexual behaviors. Given the recidivism rates, a psychotherapeutic intervention becomes imperative. This study examined the efficacy of prison-based cognitive behavioral rehabilitation intervention (PCBRI) on violent sexual behaviors among sex offenders in Nigerian prisons. METHOD: A total of45 participants were the sample size. Compulsive Sexual Behavior Inventory and Hypersexual Behavior Inventory were employed in assessing the participants at 3 points. Using a simple random allocation sequence, 23 participants were exposed to PCBRI programme and 22 participants allocated to control condition. The data obtained were analyzed using repeated measures 2-way analysis of variance. RESULTS: Results indicated a significant effect of the treatment on violent sexual behaviors among sex offenders in Nigerian prisons exposed to the PCBRI programme when compared to the no-intervention group. Result also showed a significant interaction effect of time and group on sex offenders with violent sexual behaviors. Follow-up tests showed significant decrease in violent sexual behaviors after 6 months for the PCBRI group in comparison to the control group. CONCLUSION: This study concluded that PCBRI approach is a type of psychotherapy that reduces violent sexual behaviors among sex offenders in Southeast Nigeria.