Katariina Salmela-Aro

School-Burnout Inventory (SBI) Reliability and Validity

This study introduces a measure for school burnout and examines its validity and reliability among students in upper secondary high schools and vocational schools by using confirmatory factor analysis. School-related burnout comprises three dimensions: (a) exhaustion at school, (b) cynicism toward the meaning of school, and (c) sense of inadequacy at school. A total of 1418 (709 girls, 709 boys) adolescents from 13 postcomprehensive schools (6 upper secondary high schools, 7 vocational schools) filled in a questionnaire concerning their school burnout and background variables. The results showed that the three-factor solution, compared to one- or two-factor solutions, fit the data best and also gave the best reliability indices. The three theoretically-derived dimensions of school burnout were closely related but separate constructs. Finally, concurrent validity for the School-Burnout Inventory (SBI) was found when the correlations of depressive symptoms, school engagement, and academic achievement with e...

Fear of childbirth according to parity, gestational age, and obstetric history

Objective  To examine fear of childbirth according to parity, gestational age, and obstetric history.

A randomized controlled trial of intervention in fear of childbirth

OBJECTIVE To compare intensive and conventional therapy for severe fear of childbirth. METHODS In Finland, 176 women who had fear of childbirth were randomly assigned at the 26th gestational week to have either intensive therapy (mean 3.8 ± 1.0 sessions with obstetrician and one with midwife) or conventional therapy (mean 2.0 ± 0.6 sessions), with follow‐up 3 months postpartum. Pregnancy‐related anxiety and concerns, satisfaction with childbirth, and puerperal depression were assessed with specific questionnaires. Power analysis, based on previous studies, showed that 74 women per group were necessary to show a 50% reduction in cesarean rates. RESULTS Birth‐related concerns decreased in the intensive therapy group but increased in the conventional therapy group (linear interaction between the group and birth‐concerns P = .022). Labor was shorter in the intensive therapy group (mean ± standard deviation 6.8 ± 3.8 hours) compared with the conventional group (8.5 ± 4.8 hours, P = .039). After intervention, 62% of those originally requesting a cesarean (n = 117) chose to deliver vaginally, equally in both groups. Cesarean was more frequent for those who refused to fill in the questionnaires than for those who completed them (57% compared with 27%, P = .001). In the log‐linear model, parous women who had conventional therapy and refused to fill in the questionnaires chose a cesarean more often than expected (standardized residual 2.54, P = .011). There were no differences between groups in satisfaction with childbirth or in puerperal depression. CONCLUSION Both kinds of therapy reduced unnecessary cesareans, more so in nulliparous and well‐motivated women. With intensive therapy, pregnancy‐ and birth‐related anxiety and concerns were reduced, and labors were shorter.

Psychosocial characteristics of women and their partners fearing vaginal childbirth.

Objectives To examine the personal characteristics and socio‐economic background of women and their partners fearing vaginal childbirth.

Goal Contents, Well-being, and Life Context During Transition to University: A Longitudinal Study

To examine the relationships between young adults’ goal contents, their life situation, experienced life events, and subjective well-being, 256 university students filled in the Little’s Personal Project Analysis (PPA), the revised Beck’s Depression Inventory (BDI), Rosenberg’s Self-esteem Scale (RSE), and a background questionnaire at the beginning of their studies. One year later, they also completed a life event scale (LES). Two years later, they again filled in the PPA, BDI, RSE, LES, and a background questionnaire. The results showed that an earlier life situation such as being married and having children was associated with interest in family-related goals, which again predicted subsequent transitions in this life domain. Moreover, goals that concern major age-graded developmental tasks, such as a future family, were found to predict high subjective well-being. In turn, high subjective well-being also predicted interest in these types of goals. By way of contrast, low self-esteem predicted interest in self-related goals, which again were associated with low well-being later on.

Psychosocial predictors of disappointment with delivery and puerperal depression. A longitudinal study.

Background. To examine the extent to which personality characteristics, depression, fear and anxiety about pregnancy and delivery, and socio‐economic background, predict disappointment with delivery and the risk of puerperal depression.

Pressure to Drink but Not to Smoke: Disentangling Selection and Socialization in Adolescent Peer Networks and Peer Groups.

This paper examined the relative influence of selection and socialization on alcohol and tobacco use in adolescent peer networks and peer groups. The sample included 1419 Finnish secondary education students (690 males and 729 females, mean age 16 years at the outset) from nine schools. Participants identified three school friends and described their alcohol and tobacco use on two occasions one year apart. Actor-based models simultaneously examined changes in peer network ties and changes in individual behaviors for all participants within each school. Multi-level analyses examined changes in individual behaviors for adolescents entering new peer groups and adolescents in stable peer groups, both of which were embedded within the school-based peer networks. Similar results emerged from both analytic methods: Selection and socialization contributed to similarity of alcohol use, but only selection was a factor in tobacco use.

Therapeutic group psychoeducation and relaxation in treating fear of childbirth

Background. The increase in the numbers of women fearing childbirth and requesting cesarean sections call for new forms of antenatal treatment. Methods. Finnish nulliparous women experiencing severe fear of childbirth (experimental group, n = 102) attended 5 group sessions with a psychologist, once together with a midwife, during the third trimester. One session was held 3 months after the delivery. Each session consisted of a discussion of fear and feelings towards the impending birth and parenthood in a psychotherapeutic atmosphere and of relaxation exercises focused on an imaginary childbirth. The results were compared with those of 85 women treated for fear of childbirth by 2 appointments with an obstetrician (conventional treatment). Results. Before the sessions, among the women in the experimental group, scored fear of childbirth, on a scale of one to ten, was 6.9±2.0 (SD), which is similar to the score of those receiving conventional treatment (6.0±1.6). After the sessions, 84 women in the experimental group (82.4%) and 57 in the conventional treatment group (67.1%) chose to have a vaginal delivery (p = 0.02). The women in the experimental treatment group rated the helpfulness of the sessions 8.5±1.6 on a scale where 10 was maximum help and 1 no help at all, and mentioned “sharing their feelings” twice as often as “receiving information” as the most helpful factor in relieving fear. Conclusions. Group psychoeducation and relaxation exercises were well received and rated as very helpful. More cesarean section requests were withdrawn than in the comparison group and in previous studies.

The role of educational track in adolescents' school burnout: A longitudinal study

BACKGROUND Transition from comprehensive school to later educational tracks is challenging for many adolescents. The present three-wave longitudinal study conducted in Finland considers this issue from the perspective of school burnout. AIMS The study investigated the extent to which school-related burnout (exhaustion, cynicism, and feelings of inadequacy) changes during the transition from comprehensive school to an academic or vocational track. SAMPLE The participants of the present study were 658 ninth graders, who filled in questionnaires twice during their final term of comprehensive school and once after the transition to post-comprehensive schooling. METHODS The participants filled in the school burnout inventory and supplied background information on gender and academic achievement. The data have analysed by latent growth curve modelling. RESULTS The results showed that adolescents on an academic track experienced more exhaustion at school than those on a vocational track. Moreover, among adolescents on an academic track both the level of cynicism and inadequacy at school increased across time. In turn, among adolescents on a vocational track inadequacy at school decreased across time while cynicism increased before the school transition and decreased thereafter. Girls experienced more overall school burnout than boys, and adolescents whose academic achievement was lower experienced a higher level of burnout than adolescents who did better at school. CONCLUSIONS The results support the stage-environment fit theory according to which the nature of the environments in academic and vocational education are more important than the transition per se for changes in how adolescents think and feel about school (see Eccles & Midgley, 1989).

Peer Group Influence and Selection in Adolescents' School Burnout: A Longitudinal Study

The present study investigated the extent to which peer group similarity in school burnout is due to peer group influence and the extent to which it is due to peer group selection. Moreover, the roles of academic achievement and gender in school burnout were examined. A total of 611 ninth graders were examined at the beginning of the final term of comprehensive school, and 614 were examined at the end of the final term. The results of the Multilevel Latent Growth Modeling showed that peer group influence was responsible for peer group similarity, but no evidence was found for peer group selection. The results showed further that high academic achievement protected group members against an increase in school burnout.