Preschool teachers' knowledge, beliefs, and self-efficacy concerning autism: A parallel mixed-methods study of an intervention to improve autism identification.

LAY ABSTRACT: Preschool teachers can play a critical role in early detection of autism. Equipping preschool teachers with prerequisite knowledge and skills would allow them to identify children with probable autism and referral to diagnostic services. This study aimed to investigate the impact of an educational module (EMiASD) that prepared preschool teachers to identify autism symptoms. The sample included 144 preschool teachers, of which 120 were stratified and randomly assigned to an intervention arm receiving training in EMiASD (n = 60) or a comparison arm receiving standard training (n = 60) using a parallel mixed-methods design. Responses to open-ended questions about video case studies revealed improvement in the identification of autism symptoms in preschool teachers in the intervention arm, in contrast to preschool teachers in the comparison arm. Moreover, significant changes in knowledge, belief, and self-efficacy about autism favoured EMiASD. Overall, these results demonstrate the influence of EMiASD in the Yemeni cultural context.

Psychologists' perspective of mental health in Yemen during the civil war and COVID-19: a qualitative inquiry.

In comparison to other Middle Eastern nations that are experiencing conflicts and wars, Yemen has the greatest rate of mental health issues since the war was accompanied by distressing experiences and severe chronic psychological crises. This study aims to examine the current state of psychological problems from the perspectives of psychologists and psychiatrists in light of the ongoing civil war and the COVID-19 pandemic. This study included 20 psychologists and psychiatrists in total. Semi-structured face-to-face interviews with the psychologists and psychiatrists were done between October 2021 and December 2021 and between May 2022 and June 2022. Handwritten notes and field notes were used to record the interview process. The transcripts were inductively analysed using Braun and Clarke's thematic analytic approach to get the main themes and subthemes. The four major themes that emerged from the emerging codes are the impact of war on mental health, the impact of COVID-19 on mental health, the healthcare system, and the lack of awareness about mental health. These themes reveal how the civil war and COVID-19 contributed to Yemenis' mental health issues and resulting psychological disorders. Yemenis' mental health and well-being are under several threats; thus, the government and other relevant authorities must take urgent measures to lessen the impact of mental illness on society.

Happiness at work: A cross-cultural validation of happiness at work scale.

The idea of Happiness at Work is drawn from psychology and economic studies. It is often considered as a synonym with 'wellbeing' and defined as a state characterized by a high level of life satisfaction, a high level of positive emotions, and less negative emotions. This research aims to validate the Happiness at Work scale in the Indonesian context. In this study, the researchers conducted cross-cultural adaptation for the Happiness at Work scale following systematic procedures to produce the Scale of Happiness at Work in the Indonesian language. Afterward, the researchers evaluated the content validity with the help of professional judgment and measured the Content Validity Index at the item level and the scale level. Further, to examine the psychometric properties of the Happiness at Work scale, the researchers administer the questionnaire to a sample of 105 (35 male and 70 female) lecturers to conduct exploratory factor analysis to formulate the new dimensionality of the Happiness at Work scale. The results of Exploratory Factor Analysis indicated that Happiness at Work in the Indonesian context could be measured using four dimensions. To confirm that the extracted dimensions measure a single construct, the researchers administered the produced version to a sample of 370 (147 male and 223 female). Afterward, researchers conducted confirmatory factor analysis to evaluate the validity and reliability of the measurement model. This research found out that the Indonesian version of Happiness at Work measurement is reliable and valid. Thus, this study may contribute to the happiness at work literature of non-western context. In conclusion, the Indonesian-Happiness at Work scale shows robust psychometric properties that can be used for further research.

Sadness regulation strategies and measurement: A scoping review.

BACKGROUNDS: Accurate measurement and suitable strategies facilitate people regulate their sadness in an effective manner. Regulating or mitigating negative emotions, particularly sadness, is crucial mainly because constant negative emotions may lead to psychological disorders, such as depression and anxiety. This paper presents an overview of sadness regulation strategies and related measurement. METHOD: Upon adhering to five-step scoping review, this study combed through articles that looked into sadness regulation retrieved from eight databases. RESULTS: As a result of reviewing 40 selected articles, 110 strategies were identified to regulate emotions, particularly sadness. Some of the most commonly reported strategies include expressive suppression, cognitive reappraisal, distraction, seeking social or emotional support, and rumination. The four types of measures emerged from the review are self-reported, informant report (parents or peers), open-ended questions, and emotion regulation instructions. Notably, most studies had tested psychometric properties using Cronbach's alpha alone, while only a handful had assessed validity (construct and factorial validity) and reliability (Cronbach's alpha or test-retest) based on responses captured from questionnaire survey. CONCLUSION: Several sadness regulation strategies appeared to vary based on gender, age, and use of strategy. Despite the general measurement of emotion regulation, only one measure was developed to measure sadness regulation exclusively for children. Future studies may develop a comprehensive battery of measures to assess sadness regulation using multi-component method.

Mainstream Preschool Teachers' Skills at Identifying and Referring Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD).

Background: Early intervention will help children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) to attain early learning reinforcement. This study focuses on exploring the ability of preschool teachers to identify children with ASD and their referral decision-making process. Method: This is a mixed-method study (qualitative and quantitative methods) involving 20 respondents. The qualitative study is based on an open question case study, while the quantitative study consists of questionnaire with demographic variables to identify the effect of the demographic variables on the preschool teachers' ability to identify children with ASD. Sample: The sample was selected via convenience sampling among mainstream preschool teachers. The data was analyzed using SPSS software and thematic analysis. Results: The findings show that preschool teachers did not have skills at identifying children with ASD, and the majority of them labelled children with ASD as spoilt or hyperactive children. They also viewed children with ASD as having other disorders such as attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) or communication disorders such as introversion. Moreover, preschool teachers expressed that the reason for the child's behaviour could be due to the parents' inability to properly educate their child. Additionally, the demographic variables of the preschool teachers, such as age, education level and teaching experience, were found not to affect their ASD identification skills. Conclusion: Preschool teachers need to improve their skills in identifying ASD among children via training.

Pre-School Teachers' Knowledge, Belief, Identification Skills, and Self-Efficacy in Identifying Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD): A Conceptual Framework to Identify Children with ASD.

Recently, the identification and detection of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) has become an essential issue under ASD intervention services. The high percentage of ASD among children requires preschool teachers to recognizse children's abnormal development and identify them at an early stage, followed by referral to specialists. Therefore, this identification calls for a specific ability among preschool teachers, identified as knowledge, belief, identification skills, and self-efficacy (KBISSE). This conceptual framework aims to utilize the current literature to present a discussion on preschool teachers' KBISSE in identifying children with ASD and making decisions to refer children suspected with ASD to specialists. The conceptual framework is discussed based on social cognitive theory (SCT) and the health belief model (HBM). The conceptual framework emphasizes the need for preschool teachers to be educated in ASD via an educational module that could increase teachers' self-efficacy in identifying children with ASD. Besides, knowledge in ASD, belief in ASD, and identification skills are also necessary variables for building the educational module. The educational module is useful for guiding future research on preschool teachers' identification of children with any disability, one of which is ASD, and subsequent specialist referral at an early stage.