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Positive psychology is a useful framework to understand Mexican American adolescents’ academic experiences. We used a quantitative, predictive design to explore how presence of meaning in life, search for meaning in life, subjective happiness, hope, and family importance influenced 131 Mexican American adolescents’ college-going beliefs. We used the Meaning in Life Questionnaire, Subjective Happiness Scale, Hope Scale, Pan-Hispanic Familism Scale, and College-Going Self-Efficacy Scale to measure the aforementioned factors. Using multiple regression analysis, findings indicated that hope and familism were significant predictors of college-going beliefs. Higher levels of hope and familism positively predicted college-going beliefs. We provide a discussion regarding the importance of these findings as well as recommendations for future research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Positive psychology is a useful framework to understand Mexican American college students’ complete mental health. In the current study, we examined how presence of meaning in life, search for meaning in life, hope, mindfulness, and grit influenced 130 Mexican American college students’ life satisfaction and depression. Within the first regression model, hope, mindfulness, and presence of meaning in life were positively related with life satisfaction. Within the second regression model, mindfulness and search for meaning in life were related with depression. Higher levels of mindfulness negatively predicted depressive symptoms, while higher levels of search for meaning in life were related with higher levels of depressive symptoms. A discussion regarding the importance of these findings and recommendations for future research are provided. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The authors examined the association between relational health and student adjustment to college. Data were collected from 138 undergraduate students completing their 1st semester at a large university in the mid-southern United States. Regression analysis indicated that higher levels of relational authenticity were a predictor of success during the 1st semester; no significant findings were detected for relationships between relational empowerment and engagement constructs and adjustment. Suggestions for promoting relational development are provided. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We implemented a meta-analysis of randomized trials to estimate the treatment effect of mindfulness-based cognitive therapy in a group format compared to no treatment or alternative group interventions. We inspected moderators of effect size and estimated treatment effects over time across 31 studies with yielded mean effect sizes revealing large and medium effects for no treatment and alternative treatment comparisons, respectively. Moderator analyses revealed differential models for explaining variations in treatment effects related to age, percentage of men in studies, domicile, study setting, and type of alternative treatment comparison. Implications for group work and limitations of this study are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Positive psychology is a useful framework to understand Latina/o students’ experiences. In the current study, we examined how presence of meaning in life, search for meaning in life, hope, and family importance influenced 128 Latina/o college students’ psychological grit. We used the Meaning in Life Questionnaire (MLQ), Subjective Happiness Scale, Hope Scale, Pan-Hispanic Familism Scale, and Short Grit Scale to measure the aforementioned factors. Using multiple regression analysis, findings indicated that hope and search for meaning in life were significant predictors of psychological grit. Higher levels of hope positively predicted psychological grit, while higher levels of search for meaning in life negatively predicted psychological grit. We provide a discussion regarding the importance of these findings as well as recommendations for future research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We conducted a meta-study of research articles published in Rehabilitation Counseling Bulletin from 2001 to 2012. Variables associated with authors (biological sex, setting, domicile) and study characteristics (sample and research methodology) were coded and analyzed across groups of 4-year publication periods. Our findings and related implications for the rehabilitation counseling profession are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This study provided preliminary evidence for a new Social Media Identity Distress Scale (SMIDS) using two subsamples of emerging adults (18-25 years of age) from Amazon Turk (each n = 373). The factor analysis revealed a single-factor scale explaining 72.9% of the variance in the items and supported a 20-item version of the original 66-item instrument. The evidence of convergent validity and reliability supported using the SMIDS as a potential instrument to evaluate the mental stress regarding the ability to create a coherent self-concept while engaging in social media activities experienced by emerging adults. Implications for practice and future directions of research are provided. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although the call to understand how sexual behaviors have been impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic has been established as an important area of study, research examining the extent to which gender, sexual attitudes, impulsivity, and psychological distress predicted breaking shelter-in-place (SIP) orders to engage in sexual behaviors with partners residing outside the home is undefined. Obtaining a deeper examination of the variables which predict risky sexual behaviors during SIP has important implications for future research at the intersection of public health, sexuality, and mental health. This study addressed the gap in the literature by considering how partnered sexual behaviors may be used during the COVID-19 pandemic to alleviate stress, as measured by breaking SIP orders for the pursuit of sexual intercourse. Participants consisted of 186 females and 76 males (N = 262) who predominately identified Caucasian/White (n = 149, 57.75%) and heterosexual/straight (n = 190, 73.64%) cultural identities with a mean age of 21.45 years (SD = 5.98, range = 18-65). A simultaneous logistic regression was conducted to examine whether mental health symptoms, sexual attitudes, and impulsivity predicted participants' decision to break SIP orders to engage in sexual intercourse. Based on our results, breaking SIP orders to pursue sexual activities with partners residing outside the home during the COVID-19 pandemic may be understood as an intentional strategy among men with less favorable birth control attitudes to mitigate the effects of depression. Implications for mental health professionals, study limitations, and future areas of research are additionally provided., (© 2023. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature.)