Psychology in Russia: State of the Art, Moscow: Russian Psychological Society, Lomonosov Moscow State University, 2019, 4

Background. Children with deficits in self-regulation often perform worse in school and are less accepted by peers. However, self-regulation can be trained and developed by making detailed plans to achieve specific goals. One such strategy is WOOP (it includes thinking about wishes, outcomes, and obstacles, and creating a plan to achieve a goal), known in the literature as MCII, or if-then plans. 

Objective. Noting the encouraging results of the WOOP method, we aimed to evaluate whether WOOP has the potential to ameliorate self-regulation deficits on a day-to-day-level .

Design. In total, 49 school-aged children (M= 11.2 years, SD= 8.4 months) were randomly assigned to one of two groups: 1) Condition 1, underwent a WOOP intervention; and 2) Condition 2,  performed the intervention without contrasting obstacles and planning. The self-regulation abilities were assessed each day over an 18-day survey period by both the children themselves and their parents. ADHD symptom-severity was assessed as a proxy for self-regulation; specifically, we used six items from the Conners 3 scale and the German adaptation of the Brief Self-Control Scale.

Results.The children in both conditions demonstrated increased self-regulation, according to their self-reports at the beginning and end of the survey period. The parents reported different progressions of the two conditions over the survey period, but these did not differ significantly. In addition, both conditions  are helpful to improve children's self-regulation in daily life. 

Conclusion. Further research on implementing practicable interventions in schoolchildren´s daily life is highly recommended.

Background. In Sweden, teachers are subject to high turnover, unfavorable working conditions, and high incidence of stress-related disorders. The aim of the present study was to (a) assess teachers’ perceptions of work-related health and working conditions, (b) examine the relationship among several key characteristics in teachers’ work environment, and (c) examine the importance for well-being of job satisfaction, separation between work and spare time,and recovery from work.

Design. Primary and lower secondary school teachers in Sweden were invited to participate in a questionnaire study assessing five central aspects of health (subjective well-being, physical activity, self-rated health, sleep quality, and health complaints). Building on previous research, the effect of job satisfaction on well-being as well as on health complaints was tested using a mediation model with separation between work and spare time, and recovery from work, as mediators.

Results. Of the respondents, 40.2% scored below the cut-off recommended in the screening for depression, 43.8% qualifiedas leading a sedentary lifestyle, and 33.7% reported insufficient recovery from work. Sixty-one percentreported one or more sleep problems indicative of insomnia. Well-being correlated highly with self-rated health, health complaints, and separation between work and spare time. There is moderate support for the two models used to analyze the associations between job satisfaction and the outcome variables – well-being and health complaints – as both separation between work and spare time, and recovery from work, partially mediate the associations.

Conclusion. The results confirm recent research pointing to the teaching profession as a vulnerable occupational group. Especially disconcerting and relevant for teachers in Sweden are results indicative of problems with recovery from work and insufficient separation between work and spare time.

Background. Children and adolescents currently spend a great deal of time at school and teachers are viewed as a source of social support in different areas of their personal development, such as their career adaptability.

Objective. To provide insight into the way students in secondary vocational education perceive teacher support and to explore the association between perceived teacher support, career adaptability, and other demographic and academic variables.

Design. A questionnaire battery with two main tools, the Teacher Support Scale and the Career Adapt-Abilities Scale, was the data collection method. Subjects were students in the last year of full-time study at public secondary vocational schools and vocational upper-secondary schools. The sample comprised 3,028 participants aged 18–26.

Result. Students perceived the support of their teachers quite positively, with the difference between boys and girls not being statistically significant. The satisfaction of the student with the field of study, academic performance, and satisfaction with the academic success rate predict the perception of teacher support. The level of perceived teacher support positively correlates with students’ overall career adaptability, as well as with all the dimensions of career adaptability, and is also a significant predictor.

Conclusion. Both key concepts, teacher support and career adaptability, have the potential to attract the attention of psychologists working in the educational system.