Associations of experiential avoidance with burnout, wellbeing, and productivity loss among police officers: The mediating role of negative and positive affect.

OBJECTIVES: The current study aims to investigate the indirect associations between experiential avoidance (EA) and burnout, wellbeing, and productivity loss (PL) via the mediating role of positive and negative emotions among police officers. METHODS: Data were collected on 187 officers (84% male) aged 21-64 years between 2019 and 2020. Participants completed online self-report measures. RESULTS: EA was indirectly associated with burnout via positive and negative affect. EA was indirectly associated with wellbeing through positive affect, positive affect and burnout, and negative affect and burnout. Finally, EA was indirectly associated with PL via positive affect and burnout, and negative affect and burnout. CONCLUSION: Results provide support for the role of EA in officers' wellbeing and job performance via increasing negative affect and decreasing positive affect. This highlights the importance of interventions, such as acceptance and commitment therapy that target acceptance and psychological flexibility.

Social Reactions to Sexual Assault Disclosure: The Role of Posttraumatic Cognitions.

Sexual assault can have a detrimental impact on women's mental, physical, sexual, and interpersonal health and well-being. After experiencing sexual assault, 74% to 88% of individuals disclose the assault to someone they trust. After such disclosures, individuals experience both perceived positive and negative reactions. While positive reactions may be protective and aid in recovery, negative reactions can contribute to feelings of self-blame and maladaptive beliefs about the cause of the assault. Previous studies have shown independent associations between social reactions, negative cognitions, and posttraumatic stress symptoms (PTSS) following sexual assault. However, prior research has not explored the joint role of social reactions and posttraumatic cognitions in relationship to PTSS and sexual assertiveness. Moreover, the mechanism regarding these associations is not well established. The present study tested a path model of the effects of social reactions (positive and negative) to disclosure of sexual assault on posttraumatic cognitions, PTSS, and sexual assertiveness in college women. It was hypothesized that posttraumatic cognitions would mediate the relationship between social reactions and both sexual assertiveness and PTSS. A total of 102 college women participated in the study and completed measures of Sexual Experiences, Social Reactions, Posttraumatic Cognitions, PTSS, and Sexual Assertiveness. Results indicated that negative social reactions were indirectly associated with sexual assertiveness through posttraumatic cognitions. Social reactions were indirectly associated with PTSS partially through posttraumatic cognitions. Furthermore, there was a direct relationship between negative social reactions and PTSS. Positive social reactions were not significantly associated with outcome variables. Results highlight the influential nature of negative social reactions and posttraumatic cognitions. The importance of educating bystanders on the influence of social reactions is further discussed.

Helping the Helpers: Assisting Staff and Volunteer Workers Before, During, and After Disaster Relief Operations.

Self-care strategies and system supports employed in preparation for, during, and after disaster relief operations (DROs) are crucial to relief worker well-being and the overall effectiveness of relief efforts. Relief organizations and management must structure DROs in a manner that promotes self-care and workers must implement proper self-care strategies. Proper self-care before, during, and after a DRO can reduce negative reactions to stressful emergency work and promote growth, mastery, and self-efficacy after the experience. Therefore, the purpose of this article is to discuss the importance of organizational supports and self-care strategies in disaster relief settings. This article emphasizes the role of both individual and management participation and commitment to relief worker support and positive experience in DROs and provides suggestions for doing so. These suggestions are derived from the empirical and experiential literature and extensions from the theoretical background, and from our experience as managers in DROs.

Disaster Mental Health and Community-Based Psychological First Aid: Concepts and Education/Training.

Any community can experience a disaster, and many traumatic events occur without warning. Psychologists can be an important resource assisting in psychological support for individuals and communities, in preparation for and in response to traumatic events. Disaster mental health and the community-based model of psychological first aid are described. The National Preparedness and Response Science Board has recommended that all mental health professionals be trained in disaster mental health, and that first responders, civic officials, emergency managers, and the general public be trained in community-based psychological first aid. Education and training resources in these two fields are described to assist psychologists and others in preparing themselves to assist their communities in difficult times and to help their communities learn to support one another.

Comparisons of Contraceptive Use between Rural and Urban Teens.

STUDY OBJECTIVE: The purpose of the study was to determine if barriers in rural areas might decrease an adolescent's likelihood of obtaining effective contraception. Previous studies have reported mixed results in comparisons of rural and urban contraception use. DESIGN: Electronic survey. SETTING: Midwestern Public University. PARTICIPANTS: Undergraduate and graduate women. INTERVENTIONS: Questionnaire. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Participants retrospectively recalled their contraceptive use and barriers to contraceptive use between the 9th and 12th grades. RESULTS: A Barriers to Contraception Use Scale was created using exploratory factor analysis and yielded 31 questions with 1 underlying factor: barriers. Participants were identified as rural or urban using the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) definition and the participant's self-identification. Overall, rural participants endorsed more barriers to accessing contraceptives than urban participants using the OMB definition (χ(2) (2; n = 388) = 2.04; P < .05), and self-identification (χ(2) (2; n = 398) = 2.37; P < .05). However, no differences were found in contraception use according to the OMB definition, t (380) = -1.90; P = .06, or self-identification, t (380) = -2.11; P > .05. The Barriers to Contraception Use Scale total score predicted whether an individual would have a prescription for contraceptives 70.5% of the time compared to the base rate of 54.1%. CONCLUSION: Although no rural-urban differences in actual contraception use were found, rural participants reported more barriers to accessing contraception, and those who endorsed more barriers were less likely to obtain contraceptives while in high school. Pregnancy prevention programs should thus take these barriers into account when developing future interventions.

Initial development of a Cultural Values and Beliefs Scale among Dakota/Nakota/Lakota people: a pilot study.

This study was the initial phase in the development of a mental health assessment tool. The Native American Cultural Values and Beliefs Scale is a 12-item instrument that assesses three dimensions of American Indian/Alaska Native values and beliefs: 1) the importance, 2) the frequency of practicing, and 3) the amount of distress caused by not practicing traditional values and beliefs. The initial project was targeted to Dakota/Nakota/Lakota people, though future scale development is intended to establish sufficient generality across several groups of American Indian and Alaska Native persons. The survey was administered to 37 Dakota/Nakota/Lakota adults. The results indicated high internal consistency with Cronbach's alphas of .897 for importance and .917 for practice.

Psychiatric symptoms and health service utilization in rural and urban combat veterans with posttraumatic stress disorder.

This study investigated differences in rural/urban mental health and service use in veterans with combat-related posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Data were obtained from 48 urban and 52 rural residing combat veterans diagnosed with PTSD at a Veterans Affairs Medical Center's outpatient PTSD clinic. Rural and urban groups were compared on health service utilization indices (PTSD, primary and specialty care clinic visits), the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-2, the Mississippi Combat PTSD Scale, the Beck Depression Inventory, and the Dissociative Experiences Scale. Results indicated a lack of substantive differences between rural and urban combat PTSD patients. The sole difference involved higher dissociation scores among rural patients. Rural combat PTSD patients therefore seem to have similar mental health needs compared with their urban counterparts, with important service delivery implications.

Lessons from the aftermath of flight 232 : Practical considerations for the mental health profession's response to air disasters

The fiery crash of a DC-10 at Sioux City, Iowa, on July 19, 1989, caused a crisis of major proportions, with attendant mental health needs. Various articles have described the need for psychological response teams in such crises. The present article provides practical guidelines for the preparation of a mental health disaster plan and for the coordination of a mental health team responding to a major air disaster. Such disasters can occur in any part of the country at any time. It is hoped that the suggestions in the present article will help teams that respond to future air disasters provide more rapid effective, and efficient delivery of services to the survivors and their families, and to the families of those who are killed