The Spiritual Well-Being Scale in the Polish Catholic Setting: Construct, Structure, and Relationships with Psychological Well-Being.

The population of Poland could be of particular interest to researchers studying religion and spirituality. Catholicism has played a significant role in shaping the country's culture, history, and tradition and is considered a national religion. More recently, however, the processes of moving away from regular participation in religious services and loosening ties with the institution of the Catholic Church are marked (Polish Public Opinion Research Center, CBOS). The Polish Catholic setting may modify the associations between psychological variables that have been studied in their relationships with spirituality, which have been investigated in religious contexts differing from a Polish Catholic one. Given this context, we examined the internal structure of spiritual well-being in the sample of present-day Polish Catholics (Study 1) and how spiritual well-being is related to mental health (Study 2). The internal structure of the Spiritual Well-Being Scale was replicated in the Polish sample, but only positively worded items loaded on the Religious and Existential Well-Being subscales. Spiritual well-being was positively related to positive mood, satisfaction with life, and psychological well-being; it was negatively associated with negative mood, depression, and anxiety, thus remaining significantly related to psychological well-being among Polish Catholics.

Psychological and spiritual factors affecting well-being among military personnel engaged in remote combat.

INTRODUCTION: Remotely piloted aircraft (RPA) require multiple crewmembers to successfully operate the aircraft. RPAs shape modern warfare and pose challenges for the spiritual-emotional health of RPA personnel. This study explored whether (a) RPA crewmembers could be separated into groups based on their experiences, (b) the groups differed in psychological health outcomes, and (c) they differed in aspects of spiritual well-being. METHOD: Participants included 354 United States Air Force personnel involved in RPA duty. Participants provided demographic information and completed the Work Role Strain Scale as a predictor. Outcome measures included job satisfaction, the Maslach Burnout Inventory, Outcome Questionnaire-45.2, Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Checklist for Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 5th edition (DSM-5), and medical complaints and psychosocial services indices. The Spiritual Well-Being Scale and Unit Cohesion Scale were assessed as moderating factors. RESULTS: Cluster analysis identified two groups of crewmembers. Psychologically healthy participants included 73.4% of crewmembers (n = 260); the remaining 26.6% (n = 94) were distressed. The distressed group included more imagery analysts, weapon-strike pilots, and females, and fewer sensor operators and males compared with the healthy group. Symptoms among the distressed group included more psychological difficulties and PTSD symptoms, more medical complaints, and greater use of psychosocial services. The distressed group reported greater work-role conflict, role ambiguity, work overload, relationship stress, emotional exhaustion, and cynicism as well as lower job satisfaction, unit cohesion, professional efficacy, and existential well-being. DISCUSSION: The strongest predictors of distress were lack of meaning and feeling overextended at work. Emotional exhaustion and low existential well-being identified distressed crewmembers. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).

The importance of group cohesion in inpatient treatment of combat-related PTSD.

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is the most widespread mental illness resulting from exposure to combat, necessitating an increase in the provision of group therapy. This pilot study examined the efficacy of, and treatment outcome predictors associated with, group inpatient treatment of combat-related PTSD. Participants included 38 active duty military personnel deployed during Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF) and Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF), diagnosed with PTSD, and consecutive admissions to an inpatient PTSD treatment facility. A paired samples t-test revealed significant change in symptom severity and global functioning between pre- and post-treatment. Multiple regression analyses supported the predictive utility of baseline symptomatology and group cohesion (> 50% of the variance in treatment outcome), highlighting the importance of group cohesion in the efficacy of group treatment for combat-related PTSD.