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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]

Introduction: Family members caring for a person living with dementia (PWD) can experience caregiver burden, leading to psychological distress if unmanaged. It's essential for healthcare professionals, especially nurses to identify caregivers at risk of stress and depression, triggering prompt management during their contact with caregivers of PWD. The study team developed an evidence-based caregiver burden-mastery hybrid assessment and intervention decision matrix (CHAT-MI) for caregivers of PWD and examined its feasibility of use. Objective: To determine the feasibility and usability of implementing the CHAT-MI assessment-decision matrix tool in an outpatient setting in Singapore. Methods: CHAT-MI was developed through earlier research, research evidence, clinical guidelines, and expert opinion. A multimethod study was conducted in a Singapore outpatient memory clinic from November 2020 to January 2021. Caregivers of PWD who attended the clinic self-administered the assessment tool to determine their burden and personal mastery levels. Clinicians used a decision matrix to guide interventions based on the assessments. Feedback was gathered from both caregivers and clinicians through surveys and semistructured interviews. Results: Thirty-four caregivers and six clinicians participated in the study. Caregivers found the burden-mastery assessment tool relatively easy to use and understand and helpful. Clinicians found the assessment-decision matrix tool acceptable, feasible, and useful, enhancing standard care by providing insights into caregivers' current coping capabilities. Clinicians shared that junior clinicians could benefit from CHAT-MI to better detect caregiving stress and deliver interventions. Nevertheless, more can be done to train clinicians in the understanding of the concept of mastery (i.e., perceived control over life events) to help clinicians better engage and support caregivers. Conclusion: CHAT-MI was found to be relatively brief and can aid the outpatient clinic setting. This suggests that such an evidence-based assessment cum intervention can be considered for use in a real-world clinical setting to aid both caregivers and clinicians. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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]

Abstract Background Evidence shows that motivational practices focused on utility, importance, and autonomy shape university students’ motivational orientation toward learning. On the other hand, the relationship between these variables and motivational orientation toward learning is not linear and requires models that describe their behavior over time. Method In this study, mathematical modeling based on system dynamics methodology is used to simulate in health students the temporal dynamics of the motivational orientation toward learning based on the behavior of these variables in different scenarios. Results The results indicate that a) Mastery is sensitive to changes in frequency when importance and autonomy practices are performed; b) the development of Mastery is critical in the first three semesters of academic life, but its loss is hardly recoverable even when practices are incorporated in subsequent semesters; c) Utility-focused motivational practices have no significant effect on the development of learning-oriented motivation. Conclusion These findings have significant practical implications for higher education. Understanding the critical role of Mastery in the early stages of academic life and the limited potential for recovery if lost can help raise awareness of the importance of early implementation of motivational practices focused on relevance and autonomy.

Abstract Background Mastery may shape the way individuals cope with life challenges and influence cognitive function in later life. Mastery grows out of traumatic experience and could change over the life course. This study examined the within-person and between-person associations of mastery and cognitive function, and if these associations were moderated by age in the United States. Method Data were derived from three time points (2006–2008, 2010–2012, and 2014–2016) of the Health and Retirement Study, with 14,461 adults (aged 51 or above). Cognitive function was measured through a 27-point Telephone Interview Cognitive Screen (TICS). Mastery was measured by a modified Pearlin Mastery Scale. Multilevel modeling was employed to analyze the data. Results Both within-person ( $$\beta$$ β =0.124, SE = 0.023, p

Background: Evidence shows that motivational practices focused on utility, importance, and autonomy shape university students' motivational orientation toward learning. On the other hand, the relationship between these variables and motivational orientation toward learning is not linear and requires models that describe their behavior over time. Method: In this study, mathematical modeling based on system dynamics methodology is used to simulate in health students the temporal dynamics of the motivational orientation toward learning based on the behavior of these variables in different scenarios. Results: The results indicate that a) Mastery is sensitive to changes in frequency when importance and autonomy practices are performed; b) the development of Mastery is critical in the first three semesters of academic life, but its loss is hardly recoverable even when practices are incorporated in subsequent semesters; c) Utility-focused motivational practices have no significant effect on the development of learning-oriented motivation. Conclusion: These findings have significant practical implications for higher education. Understanding the critical role of Mastery in the early stages of academic life and the limited potential for recovery if lost can help raise awareness of the importance of early implementation of motivational practices focused on relevance and autonomy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Emotion regulation is an important part of effective goal pursuit. Functional accounts of emotion regulation suggest that the attainment of challenging goals may be supported by regulating emotions which promote utilitarian over hedonic outcomes. When pursuing the challenging, long-term goal of acquiring expert musical skills and knowledge, musicians may wish to prioritise whichever emotions are most conducive to attaining this goal, even if those emotions are not necessarily positive. Methods: Via an online questionnaire, musicians (N = 421) answered questions concerning their musical experience and their expertise-related practice goals. They also reported how strongly they experienced different emotions during practice, and how strongly they desired to either increase or decrease the intensity of those same emotions. Data were analysed using inferential frequentist statistics and Bayesian mixed effects models. Evidence ratios (ER) > 19 were considered strong evidence in favour of an effect. Results: Our analysis showed that musicians experienced and desired strong levels of positive emotions in their practice. In addition, they reported greater desire to intensify positive compared to negative emotions [paired t (420) = 58.13, p < 0.001]. Our Bayesian mixed effects model provided strong evidence that greater desire to intensify anger increased the probability that an observation derived from a musician with stronger expertise-related goals [Est = 0.70; Odds (Est > 0) > 9,999]. In addition to anger, higher levels of expertise-related goals were increasingly predicted by less strong desire to intensify guilt and gloom and greater desire to reduce downheartedness (all ER > 19). Discussion: Overall, musicians had a strong, general desire to intensify positive emotions during their musical practice. However, musicians with higher levels of expertise-related goals increasingly indicated a nuanced approach regarding how they desired to regulate certain negative emotions. Findings suggest that musicians engage in selective and sophisticated emotion regulation behaviour that aligns with their long-term commitment to develop musical expertise. They may prioritise emotions which may be functionally beneficial, whilst avoiding emotions which may be counterproductive or undermine efforts. Findings from this study contribute to our understanding of expertise-related, domain-specific emotion regulation behaviour and may inform the design of prioritised musical practice strategies. [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 article argues that, in constantly reminding us of the relational, the contingent, and the physical in human experience, Molière anticipates more recent analyses of the modern "possessive individualist" self. His comedies undermine both the supposedly--ideally--"autonomous" individual and the epistemology of mastery. Taking place in the real, organic, vertiginously dramatic space and time of comedic performance--not in the virtual, homogeneous, fixed space and time of abstract representations--and literally subverting hegemonic discourse by bringing it to life, the comedies remind us that the body, social entanglements, and the physical world are the grounds of the mind. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

When diabetes unexpectedly enters someone's life, it starts interfering with every aspect of life, requiring them to make adjustments, adapt and carefully manage their lifestyle. The objectives of this qualitative research were (a) understanding the patients' perceptions about type 2 diabetes and (b) the process of successful adaptation. The study sample consisted of 47 individuals with type 2 diabetes mellitus, aged 37 to 65 years (mean = 55.44; standard deviation [SD] = 8.56). Among them, 23 (49%) were male and 24 (51%) were female. Data were collected through a semi-structured interview schedule, which tapped information regarding demographics such as age, gender, timeline, educational qualification, and socio-economic status. The semi-structured interview schedule also comprised open-ended questions related to the meaning of diabetes, cognitive and emotional reactions, and appropriate actions for adapting to diabetes. Thematic analysis was performed to analyse and summarise the data from a theoretical perspective. The findings revealed that themes of adaptation can be divided into four broad categories: layperson's understanding of diabetes, mastery, survival competence, and successful adaptation. Patients with diabetes make many attempts to control their diabetes as advised by healthcare professionals, other diabetics and close friends. The results showed that, despite the fact that diabetes ruins their entire lives, patients attempt to cope with diabetes by trying to make sense of their condition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Mastery may shape the way individuals cope with life challenges and influence cognitive function in later life. Mastery grows out of traumatic experience and could change over the life course. This study examined the within-person and between-person associations of mastery and cognitive function, and if these associations were moderated by age in the United States. Method: Data were derived from three time points (2006–2008, 2010–2012, and 2014–2016) of the Health and Retirement Study, with 14,461 adults (aged 51 or above). Cognitive function was measured through a 27-point Telephone Interview Cognitive Screen (TICS). Mastery was measured by a modified Pearlin Mastery Scale. Multilevel modeling was employed to analyze the data. Results: Both within-person (β =0.124, SE = 0.023, p < 0.001) and between-person (β =0.089, SE = 0.029, p = 0.002) mastery were significantly associated with cognitive function. Older adults with higher between-person mastery tended to have slower cognitive decline (β =0.063, SE = 0.021, p < 0.001). Moreover, age moderated the within-person (β =0.013, SE = 0.003, p < 0.001) associations between mastery and cognition with a stronger association observed among individuals with older age. Conclusions: The current study provides evidence for within-person and between-person associations between mastery and global cognition in the United States as well as the moderating role of age. The design of the current study did not directly assess the causal direction between mastery and cognitive function. Future studies could test the directionality of associations between mastery and cognitive function. [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]

Objectives: This article examines whether older adults' perceptions of an increase in their cost of living during a time of rapid inflation are associated with multiple aspects of psychological distress, as well as whether mastery buffers these associations. Methods: Data were derived from a two-wave longitudinal survey of older adults gathered in 2021 and 2022 (N = 4,010). Multiple regression models examined symptoms of depression, anxiety, and anger. Results: Perceptions of moderate or large increases in cost of living were associated with higher levels of distress at follow-up. Taking baseline financial strain, mastery, and psychological distress into account weakened these associations, but perceptions of a large increase in cost of living were still substantially linked with anger and anxiety. Mastery also buffered associations with anxiety and anger. Discussion: Macroeconomically derived adversities can shape anxiety and anger in later-life, but these mental health consequences fall more heavily on individuals possessing lower levels of mastery. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This research aims to measure and explain mastery of scientific literacy and provide several alternatives to foster mastery of scientific literacy in elementary schools, especially at SDN Tambakrejo 2. This study is quantitative research. The population of this research was all class VI of SD Negeri Tambakrejo 2 in the 2024/2025 academic year. The research sample was one class of class VI students totaling 20 people using a cluster random sampling technique, namely by randomly selecting one class as the research sample. The data collection techniques used were tests and interviews. Data analysis techniques in research use quantitative data analysis techniques with a descriptive approach. The research results showed that of the 20 students, three students had a percentage of 15% in the very low category, 12 students had a percentage of 60% in the low category, four students had a percentage of 20% in the medium category, and a percentage of 5% in the high mastery category. This research concludes that the mastery of scientific literacy of class VI students at SDN Tambakrejo 2 still needs to be improved. To develop this ability, teachers can apply contextual problem-based learning. This method, supported by an appropriate learning approach, can improve students' critical thinking abilities and problem-solving skills.

The study aimed to investigate the implementation of Competency-Based Language Teaching assessment and proficiency in English speaking skills.

This paper aims to read together Julietta Singh’s Unthinking Mastery and Suzanne Césaire’s The Great Camouflage in order to uncover the narrative spaces in Césaire’s work that can be fruitful for unthinking mastery. I identify four connected themes in Césaire’s work. Surrealism, rejection of doudou-ism and the natural disaster explicitly reject the construction of the Caribbean as one exoticized place and mechanisms of categorization. The only stable identity of the Caribbean is its instability. The figure of the plant-human adds to this and transcends the human/non-human dichotomy in a way that dismantles this central dichotomy altogether.

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]

Taking as a starting point William Blake's indictment of the enslaving powers of militarism, the article looks at different conceptions of mastery, chiefly in the work of Friedrich Nietzsche and Martin Heidegger, also referring to Blake's poetry and the literary figures of Hamlet and Robinson Crusoe. Nietzsche's critique of slave morality and Heidegger's analysis of the metaphysics of the will to power reveal a number of contradictions inherent in the concept of mastery, including the disavowal of bodily vulnerabilities and ecological interdependences. What Heidegger sees as the modern project of "absolute humanisation" is thus read alongside the posthumanist critique of human domination, including domination over nature, in the work of Claire Colebrook, Timothy Morton and Jean-Luc Nancy, among others. Such constructions of mastery tend to also erase their dependence on the exploitation of labour, including the toil of the slaves and women. What posthumanist critique appears to aim at is a shift from the rationality of pure reason to the relationality of earthly cohabitation, which calls for a relinquishing of mastery for an openness to uncertainty and vulnerability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Affixed vocabulary is very important in learning Arabic vocabulary. Studies on Arabic affixed vocabulary in Malaysia show a lack of research on the weak aspects of affixed vocabulary among students at the pre-university level. Therefore, this study was conducted to identify the level of mastery of affixed vocabulary and the problematic vocabulary types for students to master. This quantitative study uses a survey method by distributing affixed vocabulary tests to collect data based on the research objectives. The sample consisted of 144 STPM students following the pre-university program at the Selangor State Islamic Religious Schools. Stratified random sampling was used for sample selection. The findings show that the mastery level of Arabic-affixed vocabulary among STPM students at Selangor State Islamic Religious Schools could be better. The final result revealed that the aspect of complex affixed vocabulary to mastery is sahih mahmuz al-ayn, mu'tal ajwaf, mu'tal naqis, mu'tal lafif mafruq dan mu'tal lafif maqrun. This result shows that the functions of the derivational system are essential skills for mastering the types of affixed words in Arabic. Hence, teachers, lecturers, and practitioners involved in Arabic language learning are suggested to use the skill to enhance students' vocabulary mastery. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Research has established the link between physical health, stress and cognition, and social connection with depression and anxiety. Nevertheless, an understanding of the comorbidity of depression and anxiety symptoms and their complex interrelationships with relevant factors remains still limited. This study investigated the complex pattern of interplay between depression and anxiety symptoms and pertinent physical, cognitive, and social factors and potential gender differences. Methods: Using a sample of 600 middle-aged men and women, depression and anxiety as well as physical health, perceived stress and mastery, and social connection were assessed. The network structure of depression and anxiety symptoms and risk and resilience factors were characterized by examining interrelationships and the centrality indices of Strength and Bridge Strength. Gender differences were examined using the Network Comparison Test. Results: Perceived stress and mastery were central bridge factors influencing comorbid depression and anxiety symptoms, and perceived stress, anhedonia, and mastery exhibited strong inter-connections to each other. The connections of physical health-anhedonia and sleep disturbance-irritability were stronger in men than in women, while social connection with family was linked to interpersonal problems only in women. Conclusions: The results underscore that prevention and interventions targeting reducing perceptions of stress and promoting mastery would prevent onset or recurrence of depression and anxiety symptoms among middle-aged men and women. Engaging in behavioral activities to maintain physical health and ensuring adequate sleep could be particularly beneficial for men in reducing overall symptom severity. [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]

BackgroundEmotion regulation is an important part of effective goal pursuit. Functional accounts of emotion regulation suggest that the attainment of challenging goals may be supported by regulating emotions which promote utilitarian over hedonic outcomes. When pursuing the challenging, long-term goal of acquiring expert musical skills and knowledge, musicians may wish to prioritise whichever emotions are most conducive to attaining this goal, even if those emotions are not necessarily positive.MethodsVia an online questionnaire, musicians (N = 421) answered questions concerning their musical experience and their expertise-related practice goals. They also reported how strongly they experienced different emotions during practice, and how strongly they desired to either increase or decrease the intensity of those same emotions. Data were analysed using inferential frequentist statistics and Bayesian mixed effects models. Evidence ratios (ER) > 19 were considered strong evidence in favour of an effect.ResultsOur analysis showed that musicians experienced and desired strong levels of positive emotions in their practice. In addition, they reported greater desire to intensify positive compared to negative emotions [paired t (420) = 58.13, p 0) > 9,999]. In addition to anger, higher levels of expertise-related goals were increasingly predicted by less strong desire to intensify guilt and gloom and greater desire to reduce downheartedness (all ER > 19).DiscussionOverall, musicians had a strong, general desire to intensify positive emotions during their musical practice. However, musicians with higher levels of expertise-related goals increasingly indicated a nuanced approach regarding how they desired to regulate certain negative emotions. Findings suggest that musicians engage in selective and sophisticated emotion regulation behaviour that aligns with their long-term commitment to develop musical expertise. They may prioritise emotions which may be functionally beneficial, whilst avoiding emotions which may be counterproductive or undermine efforts. Findings from this study contribute to our understanding of expertise-related, domain-specific emotion regulation behaviour and may inform the design of prioritised musical practice strategies.

This paper explores the nature and experience of artistic mastery, that is, the experience of being long-practiced in an art such as writing, oil painting and teaching. Following the hermeneutic tradition and drawing on H.-G. Gadamer’s Truth and Method and other hermeneutic sources, the authors engage in a dialogue about their respective experiences of what it means to become experienced in an art form. The origin of their dialogue springs from one author reading and commenting on the other’s doctoral thesis, and discerning a hermeneutic sensibility in noticing the significance of emergent moments in life experience and in artistic practice.

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]

Reading and understanding the Qur'an is obligatory for Muslims, for this reason, instilling a culture of reading and memorizing selected short surahs will be better if done as early as possible. The purpose of this study is to discuss literacy skills and mastery of memorizing short verses in early childhood. This research method uses a qualitative type through surveys and in-depth interviews via WaatsApp. The subjects of this research are teachers who teach and students who take early childhood education (PAUD). The results of this study include an overview of improving literacy skills and mastery of short verses in early childhood. This study concludes that the ability to memorize short verses in early childhood is very diverse, and mastery of short verses still needs guidance and must be improved literacy skills on short verses. The limitation in this study is that researchers have not been able to examine more deeply the literacy skills possessed by each early childhood. Therefore, researchers hope that future researchers can conduct research that aims to examine more deeply the ability of early childhood in understanding short verses. [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]

During the COVID-19 pandemic, many workers have been forced to work from home. In this situation, the boundaries between work and private life have become particularly blurred, and recovering from work was even more difficult than in traditional times, with negative consequences for workers' health. Among the psychological experiences that might underlie the recovery process, mastery played a crucial role as people sought new stimuli and challenging situations. However, there are few articles that have explored the role of this specific recovery experience, its antecedents, and the health consequences under conditions of work from home. Therefore, in this multiwave study, we aimed to investigate the role of mastery as a mediator between supervisor support and insomnia problems. The study was conducted during the COVID-19 pandemic in Italy and had a three-wave design. A convenience sample of 130 employees (67% women) completed an online questionnaire. Hypotheses were tested using a three-wave autoregressive cross-lagged panel model. According to the results, supervisor support at Time 1 was positively related to mastery at Time 2, which in turn showed a negative association with insomnia at Time 3. The results demonstrated that mastery experiences have played a crucial role during COVID-19 mandatory work from home, which points to some potential implications for workers' health in the adoption of teleworking beyond the emergency situation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract 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.

Doel: Doel van dit onderzoek is na te gaan welke factoren van invloed zijn op vermindering van regie over het eigen leven bij ouderen, teneinde risicogroepen te kunnen identificeren. Behoud van voldoende regie over het eigen leven is noodzakelijk om de zelfredzaamheid te bewaren en bij afnemende gezondheid en optredende beperkingen zich aan te passen aan de gewijzigde omstandigheden. Methode: Er is gebruik gemaakt van data van de waarnemingscycli 1998/1999 en 2001/2002 van Longitudinal Aging Study Amsterdam (LASA). Geselecteerd zijn die respondenten van wie zowel op de eerste als de tweede meting data beschikbaar waren over mastery (n=1268). Als methode voor de identificatie van risicogroepen is gekozen voor de ‘classification tree’, de constructie van een zogenaamde beslisboom. Resultaten: Bij veertien procent van de ouderen die in 1998/1999 nog voldoende regie over het eigen leven hadden, is deze regiecapaciteit drie jaar later gedaald tot onder het risiconiveau. Ouderen met een depressie hebben een ruim tweemaal zo grote kans op regieverlies en bij verminderd cognitief functioneren van deze ouderen met depressie neemt dit risico toe tot 56%. Bij depressieve ouderen met een goede cognitie wordt de kans op regieverlies 33% indien er sprake is van e´e´n of meer functionele beperkingen. Ook niet depressieve ouderen met lage competentieverwachtingen en een lage zelfwaardering lopen verhoogd risico op regieverlies (38%). De beslisboom kon in totaal bij 9,9% van de oudere bevolking een verhoogd risico op regieverlies aantonen. Conclusie: De combinatie van een klinisch relevant depressief syndroom met verminderend cognitief functioneren geeft het hoogste risico op verlies van regie over het eigen leven. Dit treft echter slechts een kleine groep. Een lager maar substantie¨ler risico wordt gevormd door de combinatie van een depressie met functionele beperkingen bij een goede cognitie.

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Objectives: The aim of this study was to evaluate the relative contributions of visual learning and conceptual disorganization to specific metacognitive domains in a sample of outpatients with stable schizophrenia. Methods: A total of 92 consecutive outpatients with stable schizophrenia were recruited in a cross-sectional study. We analyzed the data with five path analyses based on multiple regressions to analyze the specific effect of visual learning on metacognitive capacity and metacognitive domains and the possible mediating role of conceptual disorganization. Results: We found that (i) visual learning was negatively correlated to metacognitive capacity and its domains on the one hand and conceptual disorganization on the other hand; (ii) conceptual disorganization was negatively associated with metacognition and its domains; and (iii) when the mediation effect was considered, conceptual disorganization fully mediated the relationship between visual learning and mastery, whereas it served as a partial mediator of the effect of visual learning on the other metacognition domains, i.e., self-reflectivity, understanding others' mind, and decentration. Conclusion: These results delineate an articulated panorama of relations between different dimensions of metacognition, visual learning, and conceptual disorganization. Therefore, studies unable to distinguish between different components of metacognition fail to bring out the possibly varying links between neurocognition, disorganization, and metacognition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BackgroundOne in seven women experience postpartum depression, posing a serious public health concern. One of the most robust predictors of elevated postpartum depressive symptoms is major stressful life events that occur during pregnancy. Having greater resilience resources that promote successful adaptation to stressful demands may be protective in the face of stress during pregnancy. The current study tested whether three resilience resources- mastery, dispositional optimism, and spirituality- each predicted early symptoms of postpartum depression and moderated the hypothesized association between experiencing stressful life events during pregnancy and symptoms of postpartum depression.MethodsThe sample included 233 women who participated in a prospective longitudinal study from pregnancy through postpartum. Depressive symptoms were assessed at approximately 4 to 8 weeks after birth, whereas resilience resources and stressful life events were measured in pregnancy. Multiple linear regressions were used to test hypotheses.ResultsStressful life events predicted greater symptoms of depression postpartum. Mastery and optimism predicted fewer symptoms of depression postpartum. Mastery moderated the association between stressful life events and symptoms of depression when controlling for previous psychiatric history, t(231) = -1.97, p=.0497.LimitationsThere was some attrition among study participants across timepoints, which was accounted for in analyses with multiple imputation.ConclusionsThese findings point to the protective nature of a mother's sense of mastery in the face of major life stressors during pregnancy and suggest this is an important construct to target in interventions addressing postpartum depression.