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Perceived control (PC) is associated with lower perceived stress, but the mechanisms of this relationship have not yet been established. The current study examined whether moderate or vigorous intensity physical activity (MVPA) mediated the relationship between PC and daily stress in a sample of US adults. Participants (N = 264, Mage = 34.08, 61.4% female) completed a baseline measure of two dimensions of PC (i.e., mastery and constraints), followed by 11 days of daily surveys that assessed daily MVPA and perceived stress. We employed linear mixed effects modelling to estimate the within‐and between‐person indirect effects (IE) of MVPA on the relationships between each dimension of PC and daily perceived stress. Greater PC (i.e., higher mastery and lower constraints) was associated with a higher frequency of MVPA engagement, and participants reported lower levels of end‐of‐day perceived stress on the days in which they had engaged in MVPA. We observed within‐person mediating effects of MVPA on the relationship between both PC dimensions and daily stress (mastery: within‐person IE = −0.03, 95% CI: [−0.06, −0.01]; constraints: within‐person IE = 0.03, 95% CI: [0.01, 0.06]). These findings suggest that MVPA is a potential mechanism through which US adults with greater PC experience reduced levels of daily stress. The current study illuminates a key pathway for the stress‐reducing impact of PC to inform future research and interventions targeting stress and its associated sequelae. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Stigma, as a process of shame, fosters social exclusion and diminishes bodily competences. Thus, stigmatized consumers often turn to the marketplace for respite. Based on an ethnographic study of drag artists, this study proposes a new understanding of the body that emerges from the mastery of creative consumption practices to combat shame. We theorize a novel "body-in-practice" framework to examine how consumers transform from an imagined persona to an accomplished body to embody pride. Six novel stigma resistance strategies emerged—experimenting, guarding, risk-taking, spatial reconfiguring, self-affirming, and integrating. Body-in-practice thus explains how shame weakens, pride strengthens, emotions stabilize, and self-confidence grows. This research contributes by explaining the hard work of identity repair, exploring stigma resistance across safe and hostile social spaces, and highlighting the emancipatory potential of embodied mastery. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Life changes that impelled Saint-John Perse and Lorand Gaspar into the desert are well known: Perse's 1920 expedition into the Gobi Desert during his diplomatic assignment in China, and Gaspar's residence in Jerusalem near the Judaean Desert, 1954 to 1970. More interesting is the poetic stratification that barren ecologies instill in Anabase (1924) and Sol absolu (1972). Perse's adventurer prince encounters several climates during his inland journey yet binds particularly with the desert, which infiltrates his discourse and the texture of his self-image. Human geography becomes a means to master the habitat as a stepping-stone for personal assertion. Climate on the frontier inspires his encomiastic language of jubilation for quest and companions. Gaspar's topography suggests a less rhetorical contact with environment, yet his desert's materiality penetrates its inhabitants, nomads like the Beduin or the poet, who treks this desert via language. Gaspar's poetics of barren environment is not as epic as Anabase (1924), yet the jubilation that tectonic challenge incites in his idiom is founded on interpenetration of psyche and ecosystem rather than the poetics of dominion deployed in Anabase. Omnipresent conceits of "living matter" and "material psyche" are critical to the understanding of these two desert poems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigated psychological toll of the ongoing war in neighboring Ukraine in a sample of adult Poles (N = 1245). Data were collected online in early February and August 2022. Prospective analyses that accounted for psychological health status assessed before the Russian invasion showed that higher levels of sense of danger due to the war predicted higher levels of psychological distress and lower levels of affect balance close to 6 months after Russia attacked Ukraine. Sense of country's mastery (i.e. beliefs that government, its major institutions, and citizens would effectively cope with various emergencies and crises) served as a protective factor. Likewise, Poles who had confidence in their personal mastery (e.g., beliefs in ability to exercise control over life challenges) exhibited less distress and more subjective well‐being. These findings emerged after controlling for sociodemographic factors, the presence of stressful experiences associated with the COVID‐19 pandemic, and other life events. Wars dramatically reverberate beyond the borders of the countries involved. People's own sense of mastery and their trust in the resilience of their governmental and public institutions are critical in times of coping with existential security threats and wars. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study was conducted with the goal of identifying participatory communication methods employed by special education teachers for demonstrating mastery of mathematical skills of algebra and geometry to pupils with moderate hearing impairment (H.I.) at higher secondary level in Punjab, Pakistan. Special education teachers teaching to pupils with hearing impairment in the special education institutions of the Punjab province made up the population of the study. Convenience sampling technique was used to choose the sample of the sixty special education teachers. The researcher collected data by using a structured self-developed questionnaire. Descriptive statistics and inferential statistics were used to describe the data. The findings of the study demonstrated no significant difference (p> .05) in participatory communication methods used by special education teachers for demonstrating mastery of mathematical skills of algebra and geometry to pupils with moderate hearing impairment based on gender, designation and district. The results of this study showed that participatory communication methods can help increase pupils' mathematical knowledge and improve outcomes. It was recommended that special education need to be flexible and understand how their pupils learn best. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and Objectives Perceived control is an important psychological resource for middle-aged and older adults. Aging in place may help foster feelings of control, yet many community-dwelling older adults must rely on others—whether family, friends, or professionals—for physical assistance. This study investigated how receiving home care from different sources was associated with two facets of perceived control (mastery and perceived constraints) among adults with varying levels of physical disability. Research Design and Methods Data were drawn from the 2012 and 2014 waves of the Health and Retirement Study. Community-dwelling adults aged 50 years and older receiving help for at least one activity of daily living (ADL) impairment (N  = 884) reported their relationship to each respective caregiver (formal professional and/or informal family or friend), level of ADL impairment, and ratings of perceived control. Ordinary least squares regression was used to examine the association between type of support and perceived control, as well as the moderating effect of physical disability on that relationship. Results Compared to receipt of informal support alone, receiving a combination of formal and informal support was related to perceptions of greater control over one's life, but only in terms of mastery. The level of one's ADL impairment did not have a moderating effect on the relationship between support type and perceived control. Discussion and Implications Findings suggested that the type of instrumental support adults receive in their home has implications for specific facets of perceived control. These findings can help inform home care program development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using a theoretical framework of policy assemblage, we analyse current primary mathematics teacher professional development in England, in the context of a transnational policy of mastery in mathematics influenced by East Asian practices. As well as the increased discourse of marketisation, and school and teacher autonomy, there has also been a paradoxical process of greater state influence over the content and form of professional learning. This paper maps the mathematics mastery market to show how marketisation and competition form a mirage that masks state-market assemblage. An analysis of these assemblages illuminates the state's role in fostering a market whilst also operating as an actor in this market, in this case in mastery professional development. Within the mastery market, tensions arise between the phenomena of replication and isomorphism and differentiation of 'offers' that develop affinity groups and networks. Thus, we extend previous descriptions of the hierarchy, markets, and networks, and the roles of state funded actors within teacher professional development by identifying the importance of multiplicity of logics, assemblage as a process of labour, and the dynamic nature of relationships and activity. Resources to support teacher professional learning are mobilised in competitive processes with apparent choice hiding state direction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Republicans and conservatives report better self-rated health and well-being compared to Democrats and liberals, yet they are more likely to reside in geographic areas with heavy COVID-19 morbidity and mortality. This harmed health on "both sides" of political divides, occurring in a time of rapid sociopolitical upheaval, warrants the revisiting of psychosocial mechanisms linked to political health differences. Drawing on national Gallup data (early 2021), we find that predicted differences in health or well-being vary substantially by ideology, party, voting behavior, and policy beliefs, with model fit depending on how politics are measured. Differences in self-rated health, psychological distress, happiness, trouble sleeping, and delayed health care tend to reveal worse outcomes for Democrats or liberals. Such differences often are reduced to insignificance by some combination of mastery, meritocratic beliefs, perceived social support, and COVID-19–related exposures and attitudes. Policy beliefs predict health differences most robustly across outcomes and mechanism adjustments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In Cuba is frequently to occur among graduates on technical universities courses a tendency, not adequately based, on which postgraduate overcoming take. This dichotomy, less probable to take place in others Latin-Americans countries and in others universities courses, like medicine for example, it is due to two causes. The first is that is not very well conceptualized the difference between the objective that bring each one of them and the benefits and disadvantages of each one. The second is due to the effect that has the concept of mastery and the term of master on technical courses graduates. The present article pretends to give the futures university technical courses graduate's more clarity in which decision they will take in its posterior overcoming. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The evaluation and scoring of spoken English during virtual classes has become a common task in public schools. Several teachers have identified various challenges, such as the student's limited language proficiency, lack of prior knowledge of English, student dependency on the teacher, poor exposure to English outside the classroom, lack of consistency in student performance. student and teachers' limited expectations of what students can achieve, as well as the scarcity of technological devices that support development in the use of language platforms and courses. The main objective of this research is to improve students' English proficiency by using self-assessment in collaboration with Flipgrid, an online tool that allows users to create audio recordings and short videos. The methodology used is based on action research with an interpretive approach to analyze the environment and seek solutions through open research. The population under study includes a group of students with whom virtual English classes were carried out. The findings obtained facilitate feedback and foster a supportive learning environment as means that contribute to the progress of students, providing them with the opportunity to take corrective measures in their learning process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aims of this study were to explore the predictive relationship between sleep quality and sense of coherence (SOC) and to examine a possible moderating role of mastery in this relationship. A three‐wave longitudinal design was employed using a sample of 304 older adults aged 55–87 years old. Cross‐lagged panel analyses and moderating effect analyses showed that sleep quality can predict the levels of SOC 6 months later, whereas SOC cannot predict sleep quality 6 months later. In addition, mastery can moderate the effect of sleep quality on SOC. Specifically, the lagged effects of sleep quality on SOC in older adults who had low levels of mastery were stronger than in those who had high levels of mastery. Overall, these findings provide valuable insights for understanding the predictive relationship between sleep quality and SOC and emphasise the moderating role of mastery. Also, our results offer important implications for enhancing the SOC in older adults by improving sleep quality and mastery. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, Leonard Waks investigates connections between listening and expertise or mastery, contrasting approaches from Eastern and Western philosophy. The first section accounts for listening in the Daoist classic Zhuangzi, a work addressing themes in Chinese philosophy through metaphor and story narratives. In one story a character named "Confucius" advises a student to fast the mind and listen recklessly. The affinity between reckless and what has been called "apophatic" listening is demonstrated by the shared feature of mental emptiness — listening without the imposition of conceptual categories. The second section demonstrates close affinities between the account of listening and expertise or mastery in the Zhuangzi and in the account of expert perception in contemporary Western philosophy and psychology, as exemplified by phenomenologist Hubert Dreyfus. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Medication adherence is a multi-faceted construct associated with several positive consequences in people with chronic conditions. However, non-adherence currently represents a major issue in Parkinson's, potentially due to low perceptions of control. This study investigated the predictive ability of several aspects of perceived control on adherence in people with Parkinson's, while accounting for previously established predictors such as depression and medication variables. An online cross-sectional survey was carried out with 1210 adults with Parkinson's from 15 English-speaking countries. Demographic and clinical questions, as well as measures of depression, aspects of perceived control, and medication adherence were included. Pearson's correlations and a 4-block hierarchical regression analysis were performed to assess the relationship between the variables. Perceived control explained a slightly higher amount of variance in medication adherence compared to medication variables when entered in the last block. Unexpectedly, depression was not significantly related with adherence. Internal locus of control was an independent negative predictor of adherence, while external dimensions of locus of control emerged as independent positive predictors. In people with Parkinson's, perceptions of control may have a larger impact on adherence compared to medication variables. Implications for clinical practice and future research are discussed. Perceived control and depression are considered important constructs for medication adherence in Parkinson's, which in turn is often problematic for affected individuals. The specific predictive value of different aspects of perceived control on medication adherence in Parkinson's is currently unclear. This large-scale study found that perceptions of control may have a larger impact on adherence compared to medication variables, while depression was unrelated to it. A need for psychologically-informed interventions, person-centred approaches to medication management, and Parkinson-specific measures of adherence are highlighted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Perceived control is an important construct for the psychological well-being of people affected by chronic conditions, and higher perceived control is associated with better outcomes. Psychosocial interventions have been trialled in these populations to improve both global and specific perceptions of control. However, most interventions involving people with Parkinson's have focused on single-domain forms of control, while those addressing global perceived control are yet to be reviewed. This study aimed to identify and map the types of psychosocial interventions in individuals with Parkinson's which have included forms of global perceived control as an outcome. Scoping review based on a search across MEDLINE, PsycINFO, CINAHL, Academic Search Ultimate. From an initial return of 4388 citations, 12 citations were eventually included. These consisted of 8 quantitative and 4 qualitative studies, and covered 4 overarching categories of psychosocial interventions. Mixed results were found for cognitive, educational, and physical interventions, while a randomised controlled trial on mindfulness-based lifestyle programme showed more preliminary positive evidence. Further rigorous research is required on the topic to build on these preliminary findings. In the meantime, clinicians may need to consider programmes which proved effective with populations similar to people with Parkinson's. Perceived control is a psychological construct important for people with chronic illnesses, which can be targeted by psychosocial interventions. This article reviewed psychosocial interventions targeting global forms of perceived control in Parkinson's. Mixed results were reported for the cognitive, educational, and physical interventions identified, while a randomised controlled trial on a mindfulness-based lifestyle programme showed more promising evidence. In the meantime, clinicians may need to consider programmes found to be effective with people with similar conditions to Parkinson's. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: User perspectives and involvement are crucial for improving substance use treatment service provision. First-hand accounts provide rich perspectives on how users experience change within therapeutic approaches like music therapy. People with substance use problems have a higher incidence of experiencing challenges with impulsivity, hyperactivity and inattention. Such challenges can negatively affect social functioning and outcomes of substance use treatment. Music therapy can offer people a means to regulate emotions and facilitate social relationships. There is a lack of research on user perspectives of music therapy in substance use treatment, and we could identify no studies that explore user perspectives of music therapy for adults with substance use problems and co-occurring impulsivity, hyperactivity and inattention. Methods: The aim of this phenomenological study was to center the voices of people living with co-occurring attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and substance use disorder (SUD) to understand how they experience music and music therapy in their process of recovery. We used a hermeneutic phenomenological approach to qualitative analysis of transcripts from in-depth interviews with 8 adult service users from a Norwegian substance use treatment facility. Results: Our main finding was that music and music therapy enabled experiences of motivation and mastery that ultimately afforded social belonging. The participants demonstrated detailed and nuanced understanding of how they use music to steer the energy and restlessness that are characteristic of ADHD, to change mood, and to shift negative thought patterns. These forms of music-centered regulation served as pre-requisites for more active and gratifying participation in social communities. For several participants, musicking offered a means of establishing drug-free identity and fellowship. The motivation and mastery experienced during musicking lowered the threshold for social engagement, and served as an incentive for continuing substance use treatment for some participants. Conclusions: The nuanced descriptions from our participants illustrate the importance of motivation, and how music therapy can contribute to motivation in substance use treatment. In particular, the context surrounding musicking, adaptations from the music therapist, and social affordances of such musicking contributed to pleasure, mastery, participation, development of identity and social belonging, which in interaction generated motivation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Faculty development should be a priority to sustain and support simulation-based training programs. Clinical educators in ophthalmology should be provided with development opportunities and training in simulation-based education opportunities to become better facilitators and keep up with this fast-growing educational field. Faculty development results in better-skilled faculty and optimized application of this specialized learning strategy. Faculty include experts in simulation-based education, simulation expert technicians as a specialized category, and faculty in the field of ophthalmology, who should embark on a continuing education pathway that keeps them up to date with the latest developments in simulation-based education. Learning experiences on training by simulation can be multimodal with several delivery formats, such as formal courses and training programs, informal apprenticeship, conference attendance, web-based learning, and participation in online discussion forums. Faculty development on simulation-based education programs should be designed in accordance with the level of the facilitator within a progressive skill acquisition model. In this review, we chose to use Kern's six-step model for designing faculty development programs on education by simulation in ophthalmology. Kern's model represents curriculum design that is cyclical, spiral, and multidirectional, and includes problem identification and general needs assessment, targeted needs assessment, goals and objectives for faculty development, educational strategies, implementation, and evaluation and feedback. Faculty development programs must be designed to train facilitators who are competent in simulation-based education which aligns with social needs and the institution's mission and philosophy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This work analyses the motivational regulation, achievement goals and sport commitment of Spanish Masters swimmers, being the first study of its kind. A total of 211 (106 women and 105 men) Masters swimmers from the Federation of Castilla-La Mancha (Spain) aged between 20 and 74 participated. Each participant completed the Sport Motivation Scale (motivation regulation), the Achievement Goals Questionnaire for Sport (achievement goals) and the Sport Commitment Questionnaire (sport commitment), all validated for the Spanish population. A mixed rANOVA was performed to analyse the results, using sex and age group as covariates, and the different groupings of the sample (weekly training days, weekly training hours and practice of other sports) as between-participants factors. The results showed that the participants presented a predominantly intrinsic–integrated and identified regulation, rather than introjected and external regulation. Mastery goals were more prevalent than performance–approach and performance–avoidance goals. In addition, current sport commitment was high, being greater than future commitment. Pearson's correlation analysis showed moderate relationships between our variables. We found no influence of either the covariates of sex and age or the grouping variables. These findings serve as the basis for further study of the motivation of Masters swimmers in Spain. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The COVID-19 pandemic has had devastating emotional consequences. The present study aimed to examine the relationships between personal resources and emotional distress while accounting for COVID-19–related variables. Seven hundred and seventy-seven (N = 777) participants completed demographic, mastery, forgiveness, optimism, resilience, PTSD, and anxiety questionnaires. A stepped hierarchical multiple regression revealed that mastery, forgiveness, cultural group, age, acquaintance with a person who died of COVID-19, and having been infected with COVID-19 contributed significantly to the explained variance in PTSD symptoms. Mastery, forgiveness, optimism, age, and acquaintance with a person who died of COVID-19 contributed significantly to the explained variance in anxiety. However, resilience was not found to significantly contribute to the explained variance in PTSD symptoms or anxiety. This study demonstrates the importance of being aware of both PTSD symptoms and anxiety associated with COVID-19. Thus, it is suggested that therapy programs should pay special attention to mastery and forgiveness as coping resources. In addition, among medical and mental-health personnel awareness should be given to individuals who have been in close acquaintance with those who died of COVID-19, those with COVID-19 risk factors, and those who have been infected. Special attention should also be paid to minority groups as they might tend to experience more emotional distress and trauma symptoms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores unconscious maternal messages of endangerment for Black men living in US urban environments. Using qualitative methodology, the author intensively interviewed five Black men and their mothers to explore "the talk" from the men's and their mother's perspectives. Findings from the data revealed that mothers communicated endangerment messages to their sons that (1) taught them how to safely master a threatening and racist environment by using a double consciousness, (2) served as communications between mothers and sons about intergenerational trauma and strength, and (3) finally, created physically and emotionally safe connections between mothers and sons. Men also heard their mothers encourage a false self as a way to manage threats in their environment, and while this protected them, they also had to learn to suppress important parts of themselves. Clinicians treating Black men must be mindful of the psychological benefits and costs of these messages on their clients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present study aimed to identify psychosocial risk factors for binge eating disorder (BED) in Black individuals from the National Survey of American Life (NSAL). A matched pair case-control study design was used to compared individuals with BED (n = 88) against healthy controls (n = 88) on family dysfunction and self-concept. Family dysfunction was assessed through feelings of closeness, emotional support, and frequency of negative interactions. Self-concept included measures for self-esteem, hopelessness, and mastery. Results indicated a higher likelihood of BED when family dysfunction or a weak self-concept was present (Hypotheses 1 and 2). A significant relationship between family dysfunction and low mastery predicting BED was found (Hypothesis 3), but no evidence was found for family dysfunction predicting a weak self-concept in individuals with BED (Hypothesis 4). This study supports the importance of psychosocial factors, particularly family dysfunction and low mastery, as risk factors for BED in Black individuals. Future research should focus on understanding the role of family environment and self-concept, especially as it relates to mastery, in the development and persistence of BED and other eating disorders, which will inform the development of targeted intervention strategies and prevent the development of eating disorders and other psychiatric conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines the relationship between cognitive processing and mastery. While scholars have called for the integration of sociological and cognitive analyses of mastery, sociological research has focused almost exclusively on mapping its social correlates. As a result, sociologists have relied on untested and underspecified assumptions about cognition to explain the efficacy of mastery. Taking an interdisciplinary approach integrating research on mastery, dual-process models of cognition, and intersectionality, we specify and test the hypothesis that deliberate thinking dispositions are associated with a greater sense of control over one's life chances and assess whether this relationship varies across different intersections of social positions. Regression results from survey data in a diverse student sample (N = 982) suggest a positive correlation between deliberate cognitive style and personal mastery. However, results from a quantitative intersectional analysis demonstrate that this relationship does not hold for East Asian women. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The field of achievement motivation is concept and data rich, housing more than a dozen major theories, all of which have withstood empirical scrutiny. Their very success, however, has enabled them to flourish within siloed territories. Such fragmentation creates major problems for educators, interventionists, and researchers entering the field. They are faced with a splintered and confusing picture of student motivation. Researchers new to the field find it difficult to see the commonalities or compare the differences across theories. Interventionists cannot design comprehensive educational programs, nor can teachers form coherent mental models of the field. This paper offers four guideposts to aid in the principled integration of motivational theories: (1) motivational resilience, an umbrella construct encompassing the core observable features of motivation—the energy, direction, and durability of action; (2) academic identity, which provides common ground for the many self-systems featured in motivational theories; (3) complex social ecologies, which serve as a home for motivationally-relevant features of classrooms and other important contexts, and the higher-order meso- and macrosystems that pervade them; and (4) developmental embeddedness. Together, these organizational guideposts sketch the outlines of an overarching framework useful for mapping the place and function of core constructs from motivational theories. To a field that already provides a differentiated, dense, and detailed understanding of student motivation, integrative efforts would add the kind of comprehensiveness, coherence, and comprehensibility that can foster even greater theoretical and empirical progress and the design of even more effective educational interventions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Informal caregivers of children with leukemia can be emotionally and psychiatrically vulnerable when facing difficult treatment decisions (e.g., chemotherapy, targeted therapy, radiation, transplantation). A common behavioral manifestation of decisional conflict is the verbalized expression of uncertainty about which medical treatment plan to take. The study aims to examine the associations between decisional conflict, mastery, and depressive symptoms among parental caregivers of children with leukemia in China. It explored the mediating role of mastery in the relationship. Methods: A cross-sectional survey design was adopted. A total of 386 parental caregivers were recruited, and 325 valid questionnaires remained. The mean age of caregivers was 37.7 years, and 61.5% caregivers were female. We used Question Format Decisional Conflict Scale to assess decisional conflict, Pearlin's Mastery Scale to assess mastery, and Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression 10 to assess depressive symptoms. We used mediation analyses to test the mediating effect of mastery. Results: The total score of decisional conflict scale, along with its dimensions of uncertainty, support, and effective decision were found negatively associated with depressive symptoms. In contrast, the dimension of information and value were not significantly associated with depressive symptoms. Mediation analyses demonstrated the direct effects of overall decisional conflict and uncertainly were fully mediated by mastery, while the direct effect of support and effective decision were partially mediated. Conclusions: Efforts should be made to alleviate parental caregivers' decisional conflict and enhance sense of mastery. Particular attention should be paid to the psycho-social support to relieve uncertainties and ineffectiveness in decision making. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Absolute income is commonly used in studies of health inequalities, however it does not reflect spending patterns, debts, or expectations. These aspects are reflected in measures concerning perceived income inadequacy. While health inequities by absolute income or perceived income inadequacy are well established, few studies have explored the interplay of absolute income and perceived income inadequacy in relation to health. Methods: Multiple data sources were linked into a nationally representative dataset (n = 445,748) of Dutch adults (18 +). The association between absolute income, perceived income inadequacy and health (self-reported health, chronic disease and psychological distress) was tested using logistic and Poisson regressions, controlling for various potential confounders (demographics, education) and mastery. Interactions were tested to check the association between perceived income inadequacy and health for different absolute income groups. Results: Perceived income inadequacy was reported at every absolute income group (with 42% of individuals in the lowest income group and 5% of individuals in the highest income group). Both absolute income and perceived income inadequacy were independently associated with health. The adjusted relative risk (RR) for lowest absolute income group is 1.11 (1.08–1.1.14) and 1.28 (1.24–1.32) for chronic disease and self-reported health respectively, and the Odds Ratio (OR) for psychological distress is 1.28 (1.16–1.42). For perceived income inadequacy the RR's were 1.41 (1.37–1.46) and 1.49 (1.44–1.54) and the OR for psychological distress is 3.14 (2.81–3.51). Mastery appeared to be an important mediator for the relationship between perceived income inadequacy, poor self-rated health and psychological distress. Conclusions: Absolute income and perceived income inadequacy reflect conceptually different aspects of income and are independently associated with health outcomes. Perceived income inadequacy may be accounted for in health inequality studies, alongside measures of absolute income. In policy-making, targeting perceived income inadequacy might have potential to reduce health inequalities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Research remains mixed on whether racial-ethnic self-designation impacts psychological health and well-being among Americans of African descent. Existing studies mainly use non-representative samples to address this question. Some scholars argue that Black people who express an African-centered identity should experience improved mental health because it enhances one's sense of self. However, what role self-designation may have on depression, one of the most common forms of disability, is largely unknown among African Americans. There is also limited evidence on whether one's self-concept can help us understand the relationship between self-designation and mental health among African Americans. Methods: Using data from a national probability sample of African American adults (n = 3,329), I examined whether self-designation as African American, Afro-American, Negro, Black American, or some other label versus Black was associated with self-esteem, mastery, and major depressive episodes. Results: Using OLS models, I found that respondents who preferred the terms African American or Afro-American exhibited higher mastery levels compared to individuals who preferred the label Black, the most common term used among respondents. African American identifying respondents also exhibited significantly higher levels of self-esteem compared to Black identifying individuals. Using logistic regression models, I found that only African American identifying respondents were significantly less likely than Black identifying respondents to meet the criteria for major depressive episodes in the past-year. Higher levels of mastery and self-esteem helped to explain such differences. Conclusion: In sum, among Americans of African descent, identification as African American rather than Black may help fight depressive episodes because such self-designation may enhance one's self-concept. Further research is necessary to explore other possible psychological implications of self-designation among the African American/Black population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A million Canadian workers suddenly became temporarily laid off (TLO) early into the pandemic. How did this affect mental health? Guided by the Stress Process Model (SPM), we would expect that this job disruption should increase psychological distress. However, given the unique context surrounding the early period of the pandemic, we advance the forced vacation hypothesis, which argues that those who became TLO would—at least initially—report lower levels of distress. To address this puzzle, we use a mixed-methods approach combining a national longitudinal survey dataset and in-depth interviews. Our quantitative analyses reveal that individuals who were TLO had lower distress in April 2020 compared with their peers who continued working. Our interviews uncover several potential explanations for these patterns. The findings provide an elaboration to the SPM as the pandemic context altered the meaning of being TLO, making it feel like a "forced vacation"—at least initially. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Prospective teachers' mathematics efficacy beliefs affect school placement experiences and influence later teacher behaviour and subsequent student outcomes. These efficacy beliefs are open to change during initial teacher education and become more resistant to change once the teacher enters the workforce. Therefore, it is important to measure mathematics teacher efficacy early in initial teacher education and identify low efficacy beliefs. This study measured the mathematics teaching efficacy beliefs of 402 prospective primary teachers. Arising from Rasch analysis of the efficacy scores of these teachers, 22 participants who displayed a range of mathematics teaching efficacy beliefs were interviewed to gain insights into factors affecting these beliefs. Participants communicated greater confidence in tasks requiring procedural (tell-items) than conceptual knowledge (explain-items). Both low and high efficacy participants reported traditional experiences of mathematics teaching and learning as students. However, high efficacy participants reported mastery of mathematics within these traditional contexts, whereas their low efficacy peers did not report mastery. Furthermore, all participants reported how memories of their school mathematics experiences informed their level of efficacy when thinking about teaching mathematics, thus revealing the powerful influence of mastery experiences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present study aims to investigate the association of functional social support, social isolation and mastery with PTSD among adults exposed to interpersonal violence versus non-interpersonal events. Data were drawn from a large cross-sectional survey conducted in four French regions in a representative sample of 22,138 adults. This study used the subsample of adults exposed to any lifetime traumatic event (n = 4,445), either to interpersonal violence (n = 2,987) or to non-interpersonal events (n = 1,458). Lifetime exposure to traumatic events and past-year DSM-IV PTSD were assessed using the CIDI-SF. Perceived functional social support, social isolation and mastery were also assessed. Results support a main effect of a poor sense of mastery and social isolation as well as an interaction between these two factors on the risk of 12-month PTSD among adults exposed to both types of traumatic events. Individuals exposed to interpersonal violence were at higher risk of PTSD when reporting not having a confidant, no one who cares about them, and no one to count on when making important decisions. The results may underline the importance of considering simultaneously social support components and mastery as their interrelation might play a role in the outcomes of a potentially traumatic event exposure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Inferentialism has emerged as a valuable theoretical resource in mathematics education. As a theory of meaning about the use and content of concepts, it offers a fresh perspective on traditional epistemological and linguistic questions in the field. Despite its emergence, important inferentialist ideas still need to be operationalized. In this paper, I operationalize multiple inferentialist concepts to analyze prospective secondary mathematics teachers’ learning about graphs and quantitative and covariational reasoning in a mathematics content course. I use Robert Brandom’s ideas about upstream, downstream, and incompatible inferences to illustrate the inferentialist mastering metaphor for learning and Brandom’s ideas about objectivity. My analysis shows (a) inferentialism’s capacity to address epistemological issues like objectivity and conceptual understanding, (b) the importance of attending to different types of inferences to assess learning from an inferentialist perspective, and (c) how the development of mastery is associated with virtues. I conclude by identifying the study’s potential limitations and trajectories for future research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The design and implementation processes play an influential role in the craftsmanship analysis. The concept was presented in the previous studies from several aspects and levels. Previous studies focused on the intellectual side, others on the performative and executive side, and partially on factors of craftsmanship. The research problem is determining the extent of craftsmanship's factors at their intellectual and executive levels in the contemporary local product. The research aims to define the scope of the craftsmanship factors at the levels of their intellectual and executive aspects in contemporary local products. The study assumes that the achievement of craftsmanship in contemporary local production at the executive level is more significant than at the intellectual. This hypothesis was tested within six local samples, selected from accomplished projects, where the designer supervised and conducted the craftsman work directly. The samples were tested by a questionnaire method that the experts approved. Finally, the research discussion and results demonstrated that the craft includes a structure built with a set of influences that shape the design and construction processes and a mastery of the construction process. The research recommends a close interaction between intellectual and executive levels, for such an interaction is critical to the acquisition of craftsmanship. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The study sough to establish whether final year pre-service mathematics teachers have mastered secondary school mathematics subject matter as a basis for teaching mathematics at secondary school level immediately after graduation. Based on the assumption of 80% of scores (Guskey & Anderman, 2013) and above in the test administered as accepted cut off point to signify mastery of secondary school mathematics curriculum, the finding of the study revealed that 48.57% of the final year pre-service mathematics teachers have scored 80% and above in the test, which signifies their level of knowledge of secondary school mathematics subject matter, while 51.43% of the final year pre-service mathematics teachers have scored less than 80% in the test, which signifies their inadequate mastery of school mathematics subject matter. The finding shows that over 50% of the final year preservice mathematics teachers cannot be relied upon to teach secondary school mathematics curriculum with confidence, this is because majority of the final year pre-service mathematics teachers' (51.43%) have demonstrated inadequate mastery of the subject matter for which they have been trained to teach immediately after graduation. Based on the findings, the following recommendation were put forward; to ensure adequate mastery of school mathematics subject matter among final year pre-service mathematics teachers as a predictable tools for employment, and to serve as a basis for teaching mathematics at secondary school level, mathematics teacher education training should include all secondary school mathematics curricular in their training to ensure adequate mastery of the subject matter among the pre-service teachers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Context: The motivational climate created by the athletic trainer in rehabilitation may be critical in influencing athletes’ intrinsic motivation and other psychosocial outcomes in the rehabilitation and the recovery processes. Objective: To examine intercollege athletes’ perceptions of the motivational climate in the rehabilitation setting. Specifically, examining if perceptions of the motivational climate can predict athletes’ levels of intrinsic motivation with rehabilitation as well as the relationship between perceptions of the motivational climate and athlete demographics (gender, starter status, athletic trainer gender, etc). Design: Cross-sectional, descriptive research. Setting: College sport team and athletic training center. Participants: National Collegiate Athletic Association Division II intercollege athletes from one institution (n = 187; 125 males and 62 females). Main Outcome Measures: Paper-based survey measuring mastery and performance perceptions of the motivational climate in rehabilitation, athletes’ goal orientation in sport, and athletes’ levels of motivation in rehabilitation. Results: Perceptions of a performance climate were positively related to intrinsic motivation effort–improvement (effect size = 25.34%). Perceptions of a mastery climate were positively related to interest–enjoyment and perceived competence and negatively related to tension–pressure (effect size = 39.03%). In general, female athletes, as well as athletes with a female athletic trainer, had significantly higher perceptions of mastery motivational climate effort–improvement than male athletes and athletes with male athletic trainers. While male athletes and athletes with male athletic trainers had higher perceptions of intrateam member rivalry in rehabilitation. Conclusions: The athlete’s gender and goal orientation, as well as the gender of the athletic trainer creating the motivational climate, can influence whether the environment is perceived as more mastery or performance. The recovering athletes’ perceptions of the climate in rehabilitation can, in turn, affect their intrinsic motivation toward the therapeutic interventions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The minority stress model states that routine forms of discrimination are associated with adverse health consequences. Despite this well-supported association, there is a limited body of research applying this model for sexual minorities of colour. We utilise an intersectional approach to investigate how minority stress at the intersection of sexual and racial identities impacts psychological health outcomes. In the current study, we examine how various sources of minority stress (perceived stigma, internalised homophobia, and everyday discrimination) are associated with psychological health, through an indirect effect of mastery (Study 1) in addition to authenticity (Study 2) in two independent samples of sexual minorities of colour. Study 1 (n = 262) included sexual minorities of colour from Project STRIDE, and in Study 2, participants (n = 75) were recruited across several online platforms. Mediation analyses revealed that increased minority stressors, like discrimination, were significantly associated with a decrease in psychological health, through a decline in mastery. We did not find support for authenticity as a mediator. This study has important implications for understanding the experiences and health consequences for sexual minorities of colour. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although previous studies have shown a correlation between mastery, self-efficacy, and perceived social support among Chinese patients with advanced kidney disease, few studies have examined their relationship pathways. This study aimed to examine decisional control preference and the relationship between mastery, perceived social support, and self-efficacy among patients with advanced chronic kidney disease. A cross-sectional survey was conducted, and 350 participants were investigated using Control Preference Scale, Personal Mastery Scale, Perceived Social Support Scale, and Self-efficacy Scale. The mediating relationships were determined via structural equation modeling. Results showed that education and economic status were demographic factors influencing patients' decisional control preference. The model showed that mastery and self-efficacy had a direct effect on decisional control preference while perceived social support had an indirect effect mediated via mastery and self-efficacy. Therefore, improving self-efficacy can increase patient willingness to involve in medical decision-making. This study provides new interventions and future directions for promoting decisional control preference. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article develops a translation-conceptual resumption of the differences between the instinct to master and aspects of the death drive, based on Sigmund Freud and teachings by Jacques Lacan. Since Bemächtigungstrieb, term used by Freud, was translated both as "pulsão de dominação" and "pulsão de apoderamento" in Portuguese, the texts argues that the latter translation allows us to conceptualize it as originally intended, as a force to master the world, operationalized by the muscular apparatus. Thus, we point out its participatory action in the constitutive organization of the subject, underlining its specificity in the third time of the drive, called here passivation. This resumption reveals the distinction between the death drive and the idea of mastery, exploring the nature of taking possession, reopening the epistemological field. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: The Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID‐19) pandemic was previously associated with psychopathological symptoms. However, the psychological mechanisms underlying these associations are largely unexplored. Previous studies suggested associations between metacognitive abilities (e.g., mastery) and symptomatology, which may have impacts on COVID‐19 perceptions. This study aims to explore, using path analysis, the mediational role of Critical Distance (differentiation and decentration abilities) and Mastery on the relationships between COVID‐19 perceptions and psychological well‐being and distress. Methods: In a cross‐sectional design, 227 participants (M = 34.21, SD = 10.9) filled self‐report questionnaires. Results: Metacognitive abilities were negatively correlated with psychopathological symptoms. Both Critical Distance and Mastery mediated the path from COVID‐19 perceived severity and anxiety to psychological distress and well‐being. Critical Distance seems to augment Mastery which tends to increase psychological well‐being and limited psychological distress. Conclusions: Metacognition seems to play a mediational role on the relationship between COVID‐19 perceptions and mental health. Clinical psychologists and psychotherapists may enhance psychological interventions regarding COVID‐19 psychopathological symptomatology by working on metacognitive Critical Distance and Mastery abilities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Globally, there is a growing need to recognise and realise the importance of physical activity (PA). For children to be active, they need to be proficient in fundamental movement skills (FMS) because these skills serve as the building blocks for more specific and complex movements later in life. To date, no previous study has investigated the FMS proficiency of children in the Western Cape, South Africa (SA). This study investigated the FMS proficiency of Grade 1 children (N = 178) from two schools in Cape Town (SA) using the Test of Gross Motor Development-2 (TGMD-2). The results indicated that 35% of the participants mastered all their FMS. Generally, children performed better in locomotor than object control skills, however, no statistically significant differences were found in locomotor skills between boys and girls. There was a statistically significant difference (p = 0.01) in object control skills, where boys performed better than girls. The results indicated that run was the highest mastered skill and hop the most difficult to master. The greatest difference between boys and girls was in kick and roll, where boys performed better. Although the results look seemingly good in comparison to international studies, it is recommended that children should continue to practice their FMS, especially strike, hop, leap and gallop, as they were the most difficult skills to master. These results highlight the importance of FMS proficiency and describe the proficiency of Grade 1 children in a selected area in the Western Cape. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Depressive symptoms after coronary events are associated with a worse prognosis. When changing the focus from psychopathology towards a resilience framework, treatments such as mindfulness meditation could offer novel ways to address psychological distress among coronary artery disease (CAD) patients. We studied the feasibility of mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) for CAD patients with depressive symptoms. Seventy-nine CAD patients with elevated depressive symptoms were invited to an 8-week MBSR course. Twenty-four patients (30%) accepted and 16 (20%) completed MBSR. Depressive symptoms decreased immediately after the course (p =.006). After 12 months, this improvement remained, and Mastery scores increased (p =.005). A reference group of 108 CAD patients did not show any significant changes in depressive symptoms or Mastery between 1 and 12 months after a coronary event. MBSR thus appears to be a feasible alternative for CAD patients with elevated depressive symptoms. Future studies are warranted to study if MBSR can improve psychological functioning in CAD patients. Clinicaltrials.gov (Registration Number: NCT03340948). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Greater perceived control is associated with better health and well‐being outcomes, possibly through more adaptive stress processes. Yet little research has examined whether facets of perceived control (personal mastery and perceived constraints) predict psychological and physiological stress reactivity. The present study evaluated the associations of personal mastery and perceived constraints with changes in subjective stress and cortisol in response to acute laboratory stressors, with age and race as potential moderators. In the Midlife in the United States Refresher Study (N = 633 adults aged 25–75), participants completed a baseline perceived control measure and were subsequently recruited to participate in the laboratory stress protocol. The protocol consisted of completing two mental stress tasks (mental arithmetic and Stroop) as well as providing saliva samples and subjective stress ratings. Race moderated the association between perceived constraints and subjective stress reactivity, such that higher constraints predicted greater subjective stress responses in White participants, but no association was observed in Black participants. Higher personal mastery and perceived constraints each predicted greater increases in cortisol in response to the stress tasks (AUCi) among younger but not older adults. These findings suggest that older adults were buffered against the association between facets of control and cortisol stress reactivity. Discussion on potential racial differences in the link between constraints and stress reactivity are elaborated further, as well as considerations for future work to distinguish between facets of control and examine age and racial differences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Chronic diseases may negatively interfere with the course of depression. Our aim was to examine whether the association between chronic disease and course of depression is moderated by mastery. N = 1146 persons, aged 18–88, with depressive disorder according to DSM-IV criteria were followed for two years. Outcomes were change in depression severity (change in IDS-SR) (n = 945), chronic course (life chart interview) (n = 971), depression at follow-up (DSM-diagnosis) (n = 971), and time to remission (life chart interview) (n = 799). Predictors were number of chronic somatic diseases and mastery. Regression models (linear, logistic and Cox) were used, adjusted for depression severity, sociodemographics, loneliness, smoking and alcohol use. Next, an interaction term (chronic diseases*mastery) was added to the models. We only found significant interaction between mastery and chronic diseases (p = 0.02), when outcome was defined as change in depression severity. In analyses, stratified for level of mastery, chronic diseases were significantly associated with chronic course in persons with moderate (B = 1.03; p = 0.03) and high (B = 1.10; p = 0.02) mastery levels. In unstratified analyses, mastery was associated with both chronic course (B = -0.18, p = 0.03) and time to remission (B = 1.03; p < 0.001). Chronic diseases did not reach significance in three outcomes. While impact of chronic diseases on depression trajectories was less consistent than expected, when present, this association was moderated by mastery, suggesting that persons with higher levels of mastery may have difficulties coping with somatic illnesses. In clinical practice, attention to the impact of somatic diseases and coping strategies, in persons with higher levels of mastery, is warranted. [Display omitted] • Mastery moderates in opposite direction, in multimorbidity and depression course. • Impact of disease on depression stronger in high mastery group after stratification • Mastery as a coping resource is less influential. • Limited association between multimorbidity and depression chronicity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The “countervailing powers” framework conceptualizes health care as an arena for power contests among key stakeholders, drawing attention to the moves, countermoves, and alliances that have challenged physicians’ dominance since the 1970s. Here, we focus on one of the lesser known micro-level consequences of such forces for physicians: emotional distress. We draw on 145 interviews with frontline physicians across four U.S. cities during the COVID-19 pandemic to trace physicians’ experiences with three countervailing forces: the state, health care organizations, and patients. We find that threats to physician dominance eroded physicians’ sense of mastery (perceived personal control) at work, thereby prompting emotional distress, including anger and moral conflict. Conversely, in certain cases, acts of resistance may have helped increase mastery, thus moderating distress. Our findings advance the countervailing powers framework by elucidating some of the micro-level, personal consequences of macro-level power struggles and offer practical implications for understanding contemporary threats to physician dominance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Limiting contagion during the Covid-19 pandemic has necessitated employment of drastic measures ranging from complete lockdown to home isolation and quarantines. This study examined the psychiatric effects of home isolation, the effects of interacting previous traumatic events and the moderating effect of self-mastery as a resilience factor that could mitigate negative effects. Methods: Six hundred forty-five adults aged 18–67 completed an online survey during the first wave lockdown during the Covid-19 outbreak in Israel. Participants completed a demographic questionnaire including measures of strictness of adherence to home isolation, a traumatic life events measure, the Mastery Scale, and the Brief Symptom Inventory. Data was analyzed using Structural Equation Model. Results: Findings showed positive relations between strictness of home isolation adherence and psychiatric symptoms, and between previous trauma exposure and psychiatric symptoms. A negative relation between self-mastery and psychiatric symptoms emerged. During home isolation, effects of previous trauma exposure on psychiatric symptoms was moderated by self-mastery. Individuals with high self-mastery showed less psychiatric symptoms than those with low self-mastery, at both high and low levels of previous trauma exposure. Conclusions: Home isolation adherence is associated with significant psychological distress and symptomatology and, thus, should be of great concern for public mental health service providers. The present study offers a new slant on appropriate clinical interventions during this period with a focus on strengthening resilience factors that can moderate mental health decline. Therapy and interventions based on promoting self-mastery could exert a significant effect on lowering psychiatric symptoms during stressful periods of home isolation. Trial registration: Not relevant. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Resilience serves as a protective factor against adverse outcomes following exposure to traumatic events. The extant literature focuses on psychiatric resilience in the context of internalizing symptoms, though resilience is also important in relation to externalizing symptoms. Research is needed to clarify the predictors of resilience across contexts. The aims of the current study are twofold: 1. Determine the association between psychiatric resilience (PR) and alcohol resistance (AR) and 2. Test for differential prediction of each form of resilience by exogenous predictors. Methods: The sample (n = 7585) was drawn from the Virginia Adult Twin Studies of Psychiatric and Substance Use Disorders (VATSPSUD). Participants completed measures of internalizing symptoms, exposure to stressful life events, DSM alcohol abuse and dependence symptoms, maximum alcohol consumption, personality variables, and social support. All cross-sectional, structural equation modeling (SEM) analyses were conducted using Mplus software version 8.2. Results: A single common factor model provided adequate fits for both PR and AR. In the full measurement model the correlation between the two resilience factors was estimated (r = 0.28, SE = 0.018, p < 0.001). Neuroticism and mastery predicted AR and PR, but differentially, with a stronger effect size for PR (neuroticism: B = 0.35, p < 0.001; mastery: B = − 0.36, p < 0.001). The positive social support factor did not predict either resilience variable, while interpersonal conflict was associated with both (AR = 0.09, p < 0.001; PR = 0.07, p < 0.001). Conclusions: Findings extend the current literature on resilience in two ways. First, rigorous measurement model based definitions of two resilience variables are specified. Second, external validation of the AR and PR constructs is carried out using latent variable modeling techniques. The modest correlation suggests resilience may not be well-characterized by a single general attribute. Findings provide further evidence for predictors of resilience by way of displaying differential patterns of prediction effect sizes of PR and AR. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Mastery is the extent to which an individual perceives their life circumstances as being under their control and not predominantly influenced by external factors. The relationship of mastery with clinical outcomes in people with multiple sclerosis (pwMS) has not been well-researched. We assessed the relationships of mastery with fatigue, disability, relapse number, and depression risk among pwMS over 2.5 years' follow-up. Methods: Data from the Health Outcomes and Lifestyle in a Sample of people with Multiple sclerosis study, among 839 participants who completed the 2.5 and 5-year reviews, were analysed. Mastery was measured by the Pearlin Mastery Scale, fatigue by Fatigue Severity Scale, depression risk by Patient Health Questionnaire-9, and disability by Patient-Determined Disease Steps, and diagnosed relapse number in the previous 12 months was queried. Cross-sectional and prospective analyses were undertaken by log-binomial, log-multinomial, and Poisson regression, as appropriate, adjusted for relevant confounders. Results: Cross-sectionally, pwMS with the highest quartile mastery (> 25/28) had 90% lower frequency of depression risk, 60% lower frequency of clinically significant fatigue, and 77% fewer had severe disability, all largely robust to adjustment. Prospectively, those in the top two quartiles of mastery (> 21–25, > 25/28) had 66% and 74% lower subsequent depression risk, robust to adjustment. No significant associations were seen prospectively for change in fatigue, disability, or relapse number, however, and no robust associations of mastery with relapse number were evident. Conclusions: Prospectively, a protective relationship of mastery with subsequent risk of depression was observed, suggesting this may be a point of intervention to improve wellbeing in pwMS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Does hearing about or witnessing someone else experience discrimination harm individuals' mental health? Using data from the Nashville Stress and Health Study, we answer this question by examining how vicarious discrimination impacts depressive symptoms, anxiety symptoms, and anger among black Americans. We also test whether mastery and self-esteem moderate the association between vicarious discrimination and each mental health outcome. Findings indicate experiencing vicarious discrimination via a family member has a similar impact on mental health to personally experiencing discrimination. While experiencing vicarious discrimination via a close friend also increased mental health problems, it appeared to be less harmful than personally experiencing discrimination. Moreover, self-esteem moderated the association between vicarious discrimination via a family member and via a close friend and mental health, while mastery did not. This study provides new insights into ways vicarious discrimination impacts health as well as the role that psychosocial resources play in shaping this relationship. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and Objectives Family caregivers will grow in number as dementia prevalence increases, underscoring the continued importance of equipping these individuals for their new roles and ameliorating the adverse effects of caregiving. Research Design and Methods A three-armed, waitlist, randomized trial design tested Tele-Savvy, an online adaptation of a successful in-person psychoeducation program, the Savvy Caregiver. Tele-Savvy is delivered over 43 days to groups of 6–8 caregivers in 7 weekly synchronous sessions accompanied by 36 brief asynchronous video lessons. We enrolled 23 cohorts of 15 eligible caregivers (N = 261), randomized 2:2:1 to active, attention control, and usual care arms. We assessed caregiver psychological well-being and caregiving mastery at baseline and 3, 6, 9, and 12 months. Multilevel linear models assessed outcomes over the 3 time points examined. The trial was slightly truncated, with Data and Safety Monitoring Board approval, because of the apparent confounding psychological effects of coronavirus disease 2019 restrictions. Results Study findings indicate statistically and clinically significant benefits to Tele-Savvy arm caregivers (with moderate to large effect sizes) in the areas of depression, perceived stress, reaction to care recipients' behaviors, and enhancement of caregiver mastery. Expected benefits for caregiver burden and anxiety were not found. Discussion and Implications Findings attest to program efficacy and the viability of employing distance means to improve family caregivers' emotional well-being and sense of mastery in the caregiving role over a 6-month period. Next steps entail finding alternate ways to deliver the program to those with connectivity and/or time constraint problems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Neighborhood environment plays an important role in late-life health; yet, the social aspect of neighborhood environment and its impact on mobility limitations have rarely been examined. This nonexperimental, cross-sectional study examines the relationship between neighborhood social cohesion and mobility limitations and the potential mediators (i.e., depressive symptoms, mastery) of this relationship. A total of 8,317 Americans aged 65 years and older were selected from the Health and Retirement Study. Using ordinary least squares regressions, this study shows that neighborhood social cohesion was negatively associated with mobility limitations (B = −0.04, p <.01). A Sobel test of mediation indicated that this relationship was significantly mediated by depressive symptoms (z = −9.10, p <.001) and mastery (z = −8.86, p <.001). Findings suggest that neighborhood cohesion can reduce mobility limitations through mitigating depressive symptoms and increasing mastery. Future research should disentangle the temporal ordering of the mediators. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Type 2 diabetes is a chronic condition primarily self-managed by the individual. Mastery is a protective factor linked to better control of chronic conditions, effective self-management and improved medication adherence. Mastery appears increasingly important as treatment regimens and self-management demands become more complex and burdensome. Diabetes distress negatively impacts self-management, glycaemic control and treatment adherence. Understanding the relationship between diabetes distress and mastery may provide opportunities to improve condition management and adherence. This relationship may be impacted by other factors affecting the individual's perceived sense of control over their condition. This study examined the role of diabetes empowerment and depression in the relationship between diabetes distress and mastery. Data were drawn from a randomised controlled trial of 131 adults with type 2 diabetes transitioning to injection therapy. Participants completed measures of diabetes distress , mastery , depression and empowerment. Diabetes distress and depression were negatively associated with mastery, whilst diabetes empowerment was positively associated. A significant interaction effect (b =.024, t(112) = 3.79, p = <.005) confirmed the relationship between diabetes distress and mastery was moderated by depression. Findings highlight the additive deleterious effects of depression. Interventions to improve mastery among those living with type 2 diabetes should address diabetes distress and depression to optimise outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]