Search Results (801)

Social and emotional skills can be addressed within ordinary mathematics activities, but the teacher-level conditions associated with such emphasis remain unclear. This study examined whether mathematics teachers’ perceived instructional autonomy was associated with their reported emphasis on students’ social and emotional skill development and whether overall teacher self-efficacy statistically carried part of that association. Data came from 863 teachers in 352 schools in TALIS 2024 Türkiye. Analyses retained the teacher weight, school clustering, and the 100 official Fay-BRR replicate weights for the separately calibrated ISCED 2 and ISCED 3 populations. Instructional autonomy was positively associated with self-efficacy and with reported social–emotional emphasis, and self-efficacy was positively associated with the outcome. The statistical indirect association was positive (B = 0.140, 95% CI [0.100, 0.179]); all four primary hypotheses were supported. The association was positive at both educational levels, and no statistically reliable difference from teachers of other subjects was detected. The findings identify a design-sensitive association pattern in a substantively meaningful mathematics-teaching context, but they do not establish temporal or causal mediation and should not be interpreted as evidence about observed practice or student outcomes. Full article

Background: Nomophobia is increasingly common and may impair daily functioning, academic performance, and social relationships. Although neuroticism has been linked to nomophobia, the role of digital stress in this association remains unclear. This study examined the indirect association between neuroticism and nomophobia through digital stress and whether emotion management skills moderated the digital stress–nomophobia association. Methods: Data were obtained from 434 undergraduate students using self-report measures. Hypotheses were tested with PROCESS Macro Model 14 in SPSS, controlling for gender and using bootstrap confidence intervals. Results: Neuroticism was associated with higher digital stress, and higher digital stress was associated with greater nomophobia. A significant statistical indirect effect of neuroticism on nomophobia through digital stress was observed, whereas the direct association between neuroticism and nomophobia was not statistically significant after digital stress was included in the model. Emotion management skills showed a small but statistically significant moderating effect on the digital stress–nomophobia association; however, the observed pattern was not protective. The association between digital stress and nomophobia was slightly stronger among students with higher emotion management skills. Conclusions: The findings support a statistical indirect association between neuroticism and nomophobia involving digital stress. Because the data were cross-sectional, the results do not establish temporal ordering or a causal mediation mechanism. Full article

Teacher education programs increasingly recognize emotion regulation as central to teachers’ professional functioning, particularly in settings serving at-risk youth. Yet less is known about how pre-service teachers learn to apply explicit regulation skills during practicum. This qualitative study examined reflective journals written by 47 teacher trainees who participated in an eight-week low-intensity Dialectical Behavior Therapy (LI-DBT) workshop. Reflexive thematic analysis explored emotionally demanding practicum encounters, spontaneous regulation attempts, use of DBT skills, perceived well-being, and professional insights. Findings showed an uneven pattern: participants continued to report emotional flooding and difficulty accessing skills in real time, yet many began to use mindfulness, distress tolerance, and emotion-regulation skills to pause, tolerate distress, and respond more deliberately. The study suggests that LI-DBT may help translate social-emotional learning into situated professional practice in teacher education. Full article

Background/Objectives: This study aimed to identify and categorise the educational, training, and support needs of informal caregivers of stroke survivors in order to inform the development of an Immersive Virtual Reality (IVR) intervention within the European caregIVR project (Project No. 101129454; EU4Health Programme). Methods: A qualitative descriptive study was conducted using three focus groups involving informal caregivers, healthcare professionals and other stakeholders, and academics and healthcare students in Portugal (n = 33). Discussions explored everyday caregiving challenges, priority educational needs, and expectations regarding digital support tools. Data were analysed using qualitative content analysis with an inductive–deductive coding strategy supported by NVivo software (version 14). Results: Participants identified the transition from hospital to home as the most critical stage of the caregiving journey, characterised by poor continuity of care and insufficient preparation before hospital discharge. Major challenges included limited stroke-related health literacy, difficulties adapting the home environment, and substantial emotional, financial, and social burdens that frequently resulted in social isolation and caregiver burnout. Participants regarded IVR as a promising educational strategy for delivering practical, repetitive, and low-risk skills training. Conclusions: The findings suggest that caregiver empowerment should be promoted through progressive, person-centred, and non-judgemental educational programmes tailored to caregivers’ evolving needs. Caregivers should be supported by multidisciplinary teams capable of addressing the clinical, practical, and psychosocial complexity of post-stroke home care. Rather than replacing professional support, IVR should be considered a complementary educational tool with the potential to improve caregivers’ preparedness, confidence, and safety in the home-care setting. Full article

Background: Health professional training is inherently challenging, with elevated rates of burnout, stress, and diminished well-being. Dedicating curricular time to well-being education may build awareness and skills to help students navigate these demands. Methods: A 10-week well-being elective was designed and implemented for health professional students. Participants in the intervention group were predominantly pharmacy students. This pilot feasibility study used a pre- and post-intervention survey design with a comparison group. Course evaluation, self-reported confidence, knowledge, skills, and attitudes about well-being practices, and measures of empathy, compassion, stress, social support, and burnout were assessed [n = 29 intervention, n = 24 comparison]. Results: Students in the elective reported high satisfaction in the course and significantly greater improvements than those in the comparison group in confidence applying wellness strategies in their personal and academic lives, identifying mental health and wellness resources, preparing nourishing meals, showing up authentically, using mindfulness, practicing self-compassion, as well as in frequency of reflecting on wellness, practicing mindfulness and self-compassion, and applying wellness strategies (all p < 0.05). Prioritization of wellness and feelings of social connection also improved significantly more than in the comparison group. At 6-week delayed follow-up, participants reported significantly greater increases in confidence in preparing nourishing meals, showing up authentically, applying mindfulness, as well as in frequency of mindfulness practice, reflection on wellness, and greater gains in social connection (all p < 0.05). No significant between-group differences were observed on the validated measures of empathy, burnout, or self-compassion. Conclusions: A novel well-being elective designed for health professional students significantly improved select well-being-promoting behaviors and emotional connectedness among participating students. Scalable curricula may bolster student well-being and foster community in demanding academic environments. Full article

Previous studies have shown that Bouldering Psychotherapy (BPT), an emerging integrative intervention combining bouldering with psychotherapeutic techniques, may promote improvements in mental health and well-being. This pilot study aimed to examine the effects of BPT on symptoms of depression and anxiety in a Brazilian population and explore participants’ perceptions of its psychological and social impacts. Eleven participants completed an eight-week BPT program and were compared with a matched control group. Symptoms of anxiety and depression were assessed before and after the intervention. Qualitative data were collected through semi-structured interviews and analyzed using word-frequency analysis and reflexive thematic analysis. The BPT group showed a significant reduction in depressive symptoms (p = 0.015, d = 0.66) and a marginally non-significant reduction in anxiety symptoms (p = 0.059, d = 0.44). The qualitative findings indicated perceived improvements in psychological well-being, emotional regulation, self-awareness, social connectedness, and psychological skills. Participants also reported transferring skills and insights acquired during the program to everyday life. Overall, the findings suggest that BPT may improve mental health, particularly depressive symptoms, while fostering supportive social relationships and positive psychological experiences. The results support the feasibility of adapting BPT to the Brazilian context and encourage further research on climbing-based psychotherapeutic interventions. Full article

Background/Objectives: Adolescent substance use and mental health problems frequently co-occur and share common risk and protective factors. Some school-based prevention programs address substance use and mental health within an integrated approach. However, the characteristics and intervention components of these integrated approaches remain insufficiently understood. This review aimed to describe the program characteristics of school-based integrated mental health and substance use prevention programs for adolescents that were evaluated in randomized or cluster randomized controlled trials (RCTs/cRCTs), with particular attention to their intervention components, delivery approaches and prevention strategies. Methods: This review used a structured approach comprising a systematic literature search, predefined eligibility criteria, independent study selection, standardized data extraction and coding, and descriptive synthesis. Electronic databases (PubMed, Embase, Cochrane Library, CINAHL, PsycINFO, KMbase, KoreaMed, ScienceON, DBpia, KISS, RISS, and PQDT) were searched for studies published between January 2016 and April 2026. Studies were eligible if they were randomized or cluster randomized controlled trials evaluating school-based interventions that incorporated both substance use prevention and mental health promotion components among adolescents. Data were extracted and synthesized descriptively at the program level to summarize program characteristics and intervention components. Results: Fifteen studies representing 10 unique programs were included. Mental health literacy was identified in 5 programs and emotional regulation in 4. Drug literacy and resistance skills were each identified in 6 programs, alcohol prevention in 5, and cannabis prevention in 4. A descriptive cross-domain analysis identified overlapping patterns involving literacy, self-regulation, help-seeking, social competence, peer support, and family-focused approaches rather than mutually exclusive program types. Conclusions: The school-based integrated prevention programs evaluated in randomized or cluster randomized controlled trials and included in this review combined substance use prevention with mental health promotion components, including psychosocial skill development, peer support, and, in one program, a family-focused approach. The descriptive synthesis of program characteristics provides an initial basis for understanding the diverse approaches used in integrated school-based prevention and may inform the future design and evaluation of programs targeting adolescent mental health and substance use. Full article

Research on how children develop emotion concepts is vital to successful, culturally sensitive social–emotional learning (SEL) programs that account for individual differences in the development of SEL skills. This study presents a thematic analysis of child emotion definitions and potential implications for SEL programs as an exploration of how children are taught about emotions and to center child voice in SEL research. It is the first, to the researchers’ knowledge, to link child emotion representation with SEL programs by analyzing emotion-focused program content through the lens of a child’s emotional representational system. A total of 1239 definitions produced by 49 children ages 8 to 11 (M_age = 9.24; SD = 0.75; 46.9% Female; 69% multilingual) were analyzed. Eight themes were identified in the definition corpus via thematic analysis and used as a framework to which 38 SEL programs were mapped. A majority of SEL programs addressed the following themes in the child-informed emotion framework: ‘interpersonal dynamics’ (addressed by 97% of programs), ‘cognitive states’ (95%), ‘performing an activity’ (87%), and ‘observable signs’ (71%) that referred to physical/sensory experience. When defining emotions, over 80% of children mentioned ‘interpersonal dynamics’ (e.g., rejection), ‘experiencing a non-social situation’ (e.g., a disappointing event), and ‘observable signs’ (e.g., sleeping). Findings offer preliminary insight into how a sample of children in middle childhood describe and make meaning of emotions, and prompt an exploratory discussion on emotion-focused content in SEL programs for middle childhood. Definitions collected constitute an emotion definition database available for future research on child emotion language. Full article

Background: Resilience is an important resource in nursing education, supporting students in adapting to demanding academic and clinical environments. However, evidence regarding the factors associated with resilience among nursing students remains inconsistent. This study aimed to examine the factors associated with resilience among undergraduate nursing students, with particular emphasis on gender, age, academic progression, institutional context, and selected sociodemographic characteristics. Methods: A cross-sectional quantitative study was conducted with 263 undergraduate nursing students from two higher education institutions in Portugal. Data were collected using the Takviriyanun Resilience Factors Scale, adapted and validated for the Portuguese population. Descriptive and inferential statistical analyses were performed to examine the two dimensions of the scale—Personal and Social Support Skills and Problem-Solving Skills—and their associations with sociodemographic and academic variables. Results: Students reported generally favourable levels of resilience-related factors, with higher scores observed in items reflecting personal responsibility and perceived social support. Comparatively lower scores were observed for items related to calmness and patience, confidence, optimism, and perceived social acceptance. A statistically significant gender difference was found in Problem-Solving Skills, with male students showing higher mean ranks than female students (p = 0.038); however, the effect size was small (r = 0.13). A moderate positive correlation was observed between Problem-Solving Skills and Personal and Social Support Skills (ρ = 0.394, p < 0.001). No statistically significant associations were found between the resilience dimensions and age, year of study, higher education institution, displacement status, place of residence, or religious affiliation. Conclusions: Undergraduate nursing students demonstrated generally favourable levels of resilience-related factors. Personal and Social Support Skills and Problem-Solving Skills were positively associated, suggesting a meaningful relationship between interpersonal resources and problem-solving competencies. Although a small gender difference was observed in Problem-Solving Skills, the findings do not indicate substantial gender-related differences in resilience-related factors. Educational strategies aimed at strengthening problem-solving, adaptive coping, emotional self-regulation, and social support may be relevant throughout undergraduate nursing education. Longitudinal and multicentre studies are warranted to further investigate the factors associated with resilience and to evaluate the effectiveness of resilience-focused educational interventions. Full article

Life skills are cognitive, emotional and social competencies that help adolescents manage everyday demands and participate in school and social contexts. This study aimed to translate, culturally adapt and examine the psychometric properties of the European Portuguese Life Skills Scale (LSS). A cross-sectional methodological study included a convenience sample of 1807 Portuguese adolescents aged 13–19 years from public secondary schools in Central Portugal. The sample was randomly split for exploratory factor analysis (EFA; n = 903) and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA; n = 904). EFA supported an interpretable eight-factor solution explaining 50.7% of the variance. CFA compared the original ten-factor model with the EFA-derived eight-factor model. The ten-factor model showed significant standardised loadings (λ = 0.444–0.849) and comparatively better fit, with acceptable root mean square error of approximation (RMSEA = 0.045) and standardised root mean square residual (SRMR = 0.062), although the comparative fit index (CFI = 0.855) and Tucker–Lewis index (TLI = 0.849) remained below preferred thresholds. Internal consistency was satisfactory to excellent (α = 0.782–0.963; ω = 0.783–0.964). Average variance extracted (AVE) and heterotrait–monotrait ratio (HTMT) analyses provided partial evidence of convergent validity and additional support for discriminant validity. Supplementary multi-group CFA provided preliminary support for measurement invariance across female and male adolescents. Findings provide initial support for the European Portuguese LSS as a multidimensional measure of adolescent life skills. Full article

Although high-quality healthcare requires both technical expertise and soft skills, the precise connections between emotional intelligence (EI), interpersonal skills (IS), and communication skills (CS) remain insufficiently explored. This lack of research creates an educational gap in training students to effectively manage clinical anxiety. This study aims to analyze the predictive and mediational role of IS between EI and CS in healthcare undergraduates. A quantitative, cross-sectional study was conducted with 816 Spanish undergraduate healthcare students recruited between October and December 2024. The inclusion criteria required participants to be actively enrolled in a healthcare degree and provide written informed consent. Data from four standardized self-reports were analyzed using Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) estimated via Unweighted Least Squares (ULS) to account for non-normal data distributions. The structural model showed that EI positively predicted IS (β = 0.69) and directly predicted CS (β = 0.35). Crucially, IS strongly predicted CS (β = 0.69), acting as a key psychological mediator. Together, EI and IS explained 91% of the variance in communication skills (R² = 0.91). These findings imply that interpersonal skills structurally translate internal emotional regulation into effective outward communication. For educators and professionals, this underscores the need for healthcare training to move beyond basic communication protocols to integrate formal emotional intelligence and social skills programs to enhance clinical patient safety and prevent student burnout. Full article

This study explores the role of arts-based educational interventions in fostering social mending and urban regeneration in disadvantaged urban contexts. The intervention consisted of participatory mosaic workshops designed to foster cooperation, inclusion, and civic engagement, culminating in the co-creation of public artworks installed in a degraded urban underpass and included 193 children aged 5–15 living in Tor Bella Monaca, a highly marginalized suburb of Rome (Italy). The analysis of the intervention used a mixed-methods approach, based on systematic observation, questionnaires, interviews, and document analysis. The findings indicate that the artistic process acted as a catalyst for both individual and collective transformation: at the individual level, participation enhanced relational skills, emotional expression, and sense of agency; at the community level, the intervention contributed to the reactivation of public space, increased social cohesion, and improved care for the urban environment. We interpret these outcomes through the capability approach, identifying art as a “conversion factor” linking individual capabilities to collective regeneration. The intervention aligns with SDGs 4, 10, 11, and 17 of the 2030 Agenda and supports the relevance of scalable, community-based models for inclusive and sustainable urban policies in deprived areas. Full article

Socio-emotional skills are essential for teachers’ wellbeing, classroom functioning, and promotion of students’ social–emotional development. Digital game-based learning (DGBL) represents a promising approach to promote these competencies through engaging and experiential learning processes. Empathy Quest is a DGBL experience—aimed at fostering emotional intelligence—designed by a multidisciplinary group involving game design, educational psychology, media communication, and teaching expertise. An exploratory evaluation involved 83 teachers in training (74 female; mean age = 46.11 years). Our research questions inquired about teachers’ perceptions of Empathy Quest in terms of game enjoyment, user experience, motivation toward DGBL, and interest in emotional intelligence. After completing a gameplay session, participants filled in the individual interest questionnaire, situational motivation scale, intrinsic motivation inventory, user experience questionnaire, and ad hoc items. Descriptive analyses indicated high levels of motivation, enjoyment, and interest in emotional intelligence. Participants also reported positive user experiences in terms of attractiveness, novelty, and stimulation, alongside good ratings for dependability, perspicuity, and efficiency. Although the post-test-only design does not allow for causal conclusions, the findings suggest that Empathy Quest is a promising tool for engaging future teachers with emotional intelligence and may support the integration of socio-emotional learning into teacher education and professional development contexts. Full article

Children with Down syndrome may experience developmental differences in communication, social participation, adaptive functioning and peer interaction. However, they also possess individual strengths, learning potential and adaptive capacities that can be enhanced through structured, responsive and contextually relevant early intervention. This study aimed to design and develop an Early Intervention Module for Social Skills of Children with Down Syndrome in Malaysian Taska OKU settings. A Design and Development Research approach was applied across three phases: needs analysis, module design and development, and usability evaluation. Phase 1 involved semi-structured interviews with teachers to identify contextual challenges, existing strengths, available practices and support needs in teaching social skills to children with Down syndrome. Phase 2 focused on module development through expert consensus using the Fuzzy Delphi Method. Phase 3 examined the usability of the developed module among teachers in real daycare settings. The findings from the needs analysis showed that teachers required a structured module that could support children’s social participation, communication, turn-taking, emotional expression and interaction with peers and adults. At the same time, the findings highlighted the importance of recognising children’s strengths, including their responsiveness to visual cues, enjoyment of routine-based activities, imitation skills and ability to participate when appropriate support is provided. The developed module consists of structured social skill domains, learning outcomes, teaching activities, visual support, play-based strategies, parental involvement components and progress monitoring tools. The usability evaluation indicated that the module was practical, understandable and relevant for use in Taska OKU settings. Teachers reported that the module supported clearer planning, more consistent implementation and better opportunities for children to participate socially. This study contributes to the development of a locally adapted early intervention module that is grounded in stakeholder input, expert consensus and inclusive education principles. The module also reflects strength-based and functioning-oriented terminology aligned with the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health framework. The findings suggest that contextually developed modules can support teachers and caregivers in enhancing the social participation of children with Down syndrome in Malaysian early childhood settings. Full article

How do cultural participants legitimate engagement in situations where cultural participation is experienced as substandard? Drawing on pragmatist approaches to valuation, this article conceptualises justification as valuation-in-action. It maps the situated axiological work through which actors render suboptimal participation worthwhile despite experiential disincentives. Specifically, this study examines divergent sites of cultural participation: a museum makerspace in Belfast and a variety of London-based choirs, all of which were compelled to migrate online to comply with pandemic lockdown restrictions. This digitally mediated participation was experienced as inferior to co-present practice, but participants nonetheless engaged. Using inductive analysis based on interviews and focus groups, we identify six shared value repertoires mobilised to legitimate digitally mediated participation: Emotional Regulation, Socialisation, Identity, Time, Capabilities, and Indexical Continuity. These repertoires organise participants’ value talk legitimising online participation based on socio-emotional coping, connection/communitas, temporal anchoring, identity continuity, skill maintenance/development, and indexical links to the felt qualities and sociality of pre-pandemic co-presence. These findings provide scholars and policymakers with a pragmatic language for diagnosing what audiences treat as valuable in digital and hybrid cultural provision, enabling the creation of evaluation infrastructures that reflect participants’ value criteria rather than relying on access metrics or assumed hierarchies of cultural value. Full article