Kathryn Gow

Personality, Coping and Posttraumatic Growth in Emergency Ambulance Personnel

Inherent in emergency service work is a relatively high level of exposure to potentially traumatic experiences. Traditionally, research has examined the negative or pathological effects that trauma may have on individuals, as well as variables that are proposed to influence post-trauma outcomes, for example, personality, coping, organisational and demographic factors. In recent years, empirical post-trauma research has broadened its scope to investigate positive changes that may also occur following the experience of a traumatic event. This study examines personality and coping variables in relation to levels of posttraumatic growth (PTG) in emergency ambulance personnel (N = 526). Correlations revealed that extraversion, openness, agreeableness, conscientiousness, and coping levels significantly relate to perceptions of PTG. Multiple regression analysis demonstrated that the relationship between personality and PTG is largely mediated by levels of coping. Implications of the research include the tailorin...

The Prevalence of Post-Traumatic Growth in Emergency Ambulance Personnel

Departing from a deprivation approach to the study of trauma, a small body of literature has recently emerged that examines positive, rather than negative, post-trauma changes. Studies to date have...

Religious attributions pertaining to the causes and cures of mental illness

In this Australian study, 126 Protestant Christian participants, 52 females and 74 males, were assessed for their beliefs about the importance of 26 causal variables and 25 treatment variables for two mental disorders: Major Depression and Schizophrenia. Factor analysis revealed four causal factors, common to both conditions, labelled as religious factors, physical factors, coping style and social/environmental stressors. Furthermore, four treatment factors emerged: religious means, professional help, help from others (non-professional) and self-initiated means. Explanatory variables for these beliefs were assessed using: a Religious Beliefs Inventory (RBI) to measure religious beliefs; a Values Survey (VS) including a measure of Christian religious values; and a Religion and Mental Health Inventory (RMHI) to measure cognitive dissonance (cf. Festinger, 1957) between religious faith and perceptions of mental-health principles. The results revealed that religious beliefs, religious values and cognitive dissonance function as predictors of the attribution of the causes and treatments, for Major Depression and Schizophrenia, to religious factors. An additional finding of this study was that 38.2% of the participants endorsed a demonic aetiology of Major Depression, and 37.4% of the participants endorsed a demonic aetiology of Schizophrenia.

Attributes required of graduates for the future workplace

Abstract While many training and educational institutions and government agencies have delineated the competency standards required of professionals and trades persons in Australia, the changes in the nature of work mean that postcompulsory education (secondary schools, vocational colleges and universities) graduates need to be able to demonstrate additional knowledge, skills and abilities – herein referred to as virtual attributes – in order to generate an income in the twenty-first century. Set against a background of alternative work organisations, virtual teaming and flexible modes of income generation, this research produces some diverse findings. The virtual attributes are first gathered and ratified by a panel of experts, then 127 employers and 84 educators are surveyed as to how they perceive the importance of each of the attributes in generating an income in the year 2005. The items are then explored utilising factor analysis and four factors are produced: adaptability to changing work environments, cross-cultural competence, accountability and business management skills. Implications for the training of postcompulsory education graduates are discussed.

Do concerns about climate change lead to distress

Purpose – Climate change news and educational awareness programs have swamped Australia in the past four years, with earlier campaigns raising awareness in Europe and the USA via television and the internet. What is the impact on peoples psychological states of such concerns? The purpose of this paper is to explore the psychological impact of climate change within the general population and investigate what makes an individual vulnerable to distress.Design/methodology/approach – A questionnaire was completed by 275 adults that assessed personality factors as well as environmental beliefs and religiosity. The design was cross‐sectional, and correlational analyses determined the associations between climate change distress and symptoms indicative of depression, anxiety and stress. Independent samples t‐tests and ANOVA revealed group differences for age and gender. Hierarchical regression analyses were used to identify important, unique predictors and to determine the extent to which environmental beliefs, ...

Retention and intentions to quit among Australian male apprentices

Purpose: In response to both the increasing concern of the declining rates of apprentices and the limited research in this area, the purpose of this paper is to investigate the individual processes involved in apprentices’ decisions to remain in their apprenticeship.----- Design/methodology/approach: Specifically, five individual domains were investigated: motivation style (intrinsic and extrinsic motivation); coping style (emotion-focused and problem-focused); apprentice experiences (satisfaction, work conditions, expectations, formal training and recognition); financial responsibility; and demographic factors (age, geographic location, education/training and organisational tenure). Three measures were used to assess these five domains: the work preference inventory, the brief cope and the apprentice experience questionnaire. A total of 326 male participants were recruited from Victoria and Queensland.----- Findings: Logistic regression was performed to determine if motivation style, coping style, apprentice experiences and demographic factors could predict thoughts towards remaining in an apprenticeship. A Chi-square test was conducted to determine if financial responsibility had an impact on thoughts towards remaining in a trade. Overall results suggested that intrinsic motivation, satisfaction, working conditions and geographic location could predict apprentices’ thoughts towards staying in an apprenticeship.----- Research limitations/implications: The results can only be generalised to those who were currently undertaking an apprenticeship and not those who had already left. Furthermore, the outcome variable in this study was “thoughts towards quitting” and not actual quitting per se; however, social desirability effects may have influenced the responses somewhat.----- Originality/value: By utilising this data, educators and employers alike could now be one step closer to retaining the much-needed apprentices of Australia and it may be that other countries such as Germany, India, France, Turkey, the USA, and the UK may pool informational research resources to counter the global downturn in apprentices’ availability.

Hypnotizability, Eating Behaviors, Attitudes, and Concerns: A Literature Survey

The literature suggests that aspects of hypnotizability may be involved in the etiology and maintenance of self-defeating eating. However, interpretation of the published research findings has been complicated by the use of instruments that appear to have measured different or, at best, only related facets of the underlying constructs. This article reports relationships between weight, shape, dietary concerns, hypnotizability, dissociative capacity, and fantasy proneness. Implications for a key role for hypnosis in the treatment of eating behaviors, attitudes, and concerns are discussed.

Letting Go: For Physical, Emotional, and Spiritual Health

This article weaves together some fundamental spiritual and psychological principles, and draws on different perspectives on how people in the West can find healthy release in the concept of “letting go.”

Employment Status, Attributional Style and Psychological Well-being: A Study of Vietnamese Employed and Unemployed in Queensland

Abstract The aim of the current study was to examine the psychological impact of employment status, locus of control and attribution stability in the Vietnamese community in a Queensland sample. It was hypothesised that employment status, locus of control and stability of attributions regarding employment status would contribute significantly to the prediction of depression, anxiety, stress and somatisation symptomatology. One hundred and seventeen people in the Vietnamese community participated in this community-based explorative research. Results indicated that employment status and locus of control made significant contributions to the prediction of depression, stress, anxiety and somatisation. The clinical implication from the current research is that in the Asian community studied, individuals who encounter an adverse situation such as unemployment, and internally attribute that adverse experience to themselves, have a higher risk of developing mental disorders. Practitioners working in the field may find this information useful in their consultations with the ‘at-risk’ community.

Using structural equation modeling to examine McCollough Effects (orientation-contingent color aftereffects): influence of dissociative experiences and age on illusory aftereffects.

Abstract Conventional accounts of the McCollough Effect (ME) have focused on strictly bottom-up processing accounts of the phenomenon, most commonly involving the fatiguing of orientation-selective neurons; although association-learning mechanisms have also gained acceptance. These lower order accounts do not take into account higher order variables related to key personality traits and/or associated cognitive control processes. This article reports the use of confirmatory factor analysis and follow-up structural equation style regressions that model MEs and also the part played by the personality trait of dissociation. After considering the relative impact of age and dissociative processes, the article concludes that trait dissociation is positively associated with reports of MEs.