The present study was conducted with the aim of investigating whether perceived organisational support or HEXACO personality traits: honesty-humility, emotionality, extraversion, agreeableness, conscientiousness and openness; was a better predictor of work engagement among university teachers. A sample size of 157 university teachers was conveniently drawn both online and in person. The HEXACO-PI, Survey of Perceived Organisational Support (SPOS) and the Utrecht Work Engagement Scale (UWES) were used to measure personality, perceived organisational support and work engagement respectively. Multiple Regression Analysis was used to examine the data. The study revealed that Extraversion, Conscientiousness and Perceived Organisational Support were significant predictors of work engagement. The similarities in beta values suggest that both personality traits and perceived organisational support were crucial to work engagement. Limitations, as well as suggestions for future research, are discussed.

Speaking a second language requires the ability to keep the two languages apart so that language interference can be avoided, allowing the target language to be used fluently. As such, cognitive control systems are used more extensively in bilinguals compared to monolinguals, a process referred to as bilingual language control (BLC). In the past few decades, the cognitive and structural effects of this lifelong language control experience have been of great interest among researchers within the field of cognitive neuroscience. The present thesis reviews current knowledge on the neural correlates of bilingual language control in high proficient bilingual speakers who actively use both languages in their everyday lives. Language proficiency and frequency of use are important aspects to consider since they both modulate brain activity and structure. Indeed, some studies fail to provide this information. Neuroimaging studies reveal consistent brain activity in a network of cortical and subcortical areas in bilingual speakers during non-verbal and verbal executive control tasks. These brain areas include the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC), prefrontal cortex (PFC), inferior parietal lobes (IPLs), basal ganglia (BG) and the cerebellum. Research also indicates that bilingualism serves as a protective variable against age-related cognitive decline. Studying the effects of lifelong bilingualism on the brain has therefore proven to be important since it can influence an individual’s ability to cope with age decline at a cognitive level.

Sveriges lärare upplever en stor press från olika håll och undersökningar har visat att sociala och organisatoriska faktorer i deras arbete är en stor orsak till psykisk ohälsa. Upplevelsen av det psykosociala arbetet beror på vilken nivå som individen upplever psykologiska krav, kontroll samt socialt stöd. Studiens syfte var att undersöka hur högstadielärare upplever den psykosociala arbetsmiljön på sin arbetsplats och om det är någon skillnad om de arbetar på större eller mindre skola. Studien utfördes bland högstadielärare från sex skolor i södra Sverige där 69 lärare deltog, 27 från större skolor och 42 från mindre skolor. Instrumentet som användes var QPS-Nordic34+ samt bakgrundsfrågor och tre tillagda frågor som rörde önskat socialt stöd. Generellt sett såg den upplevda psykosociala arbetsmiljön bra ut hos deltagarna. Resultatet visade ingen signifikant skillnad mellan de mindre och större skolorna gällande upplevd psykosocial arbetsmiljö eller önskat socialt stöd. Dock fanns signifikanta samband mellan ålder, antal år som lärare, antal år på nuvarande arbetsplats och upplevelse av den psykosociala arbetsmiljön. / The teachers in Sweden experience a great pressure from different directions and previous studies has shown that social and organizational factors in their work are a major cause of mental illness. The experience of the psychosocial work depends on what level the individual experience psychological demands, control and social support. The purpose of this study was to see how secondary school teachers experience the psychosocial work environment in their workplace and if there is any difference depending on if they work in a bigger or smaller school. This study was conducted among secondary school teachers from six schools in southern Sweden where 69 teachers participated, 27 from bigger schools and 42 from smaller schools. To measure this QPS-Nordic34+ was used and also background questions and three added questions which concerned the desired social support. The psychosocial work environment among the participants looked good in general. The result did not show any statistically significant difference between the smaller and bigger schools concerning the experience of the psychosocial work environment or desired social support. But there were significant correlations between age, number of years as a teacher, number of years at current workplace and the experience of the psychosocial work environment.

Arbetet handlar om motivation inom beroendevården i Sverige. Beroende av alkohol och andra droger har arbetats med i flera tusen år på olika sätt och med olika framgång. Allt ifrån inlåsningar på psykiatriska institutioner till elchocker. Syftet med denna studie var att se om behandlare i Sverige har speciella medvetna strategier i sättet de jobbar på för att väcka motivation hos klienterna till fortsatt behandling.    En större del av de tillfrågade (87 %) uppgav att de använder en speciell metod eller har en speciell tanke innan ett första möte. Flertalet av dessa använder sig av motiverande samtal eller lågaffektivt bemötande.    Flera av de tillfrågade ansåg att vara lyhörd och förmedla tillit var de viktigaste sakerna i ett första bemötande med en ny klient.    Det finns stöd för att behandlare inom beroendevården i Sverige använder sig av specifika metoder i ett möte med klienten. Flera av dessa metoder finner stöd i tidigare forskning och litteratur i att vara främjande för att skapa känslor av autonomitet, samband/släktskap och kompetens. Enligt Self-Determination theory (jfr. Deci & Ryan, 2008) kan detta ses som något som något som är nödvändigt för att kunna bygga en stark inre motivation. Studier visar att en stark inre motivation är positivt för att kunna tillgodogöra sig behandlingen.

The study focused on the relationship between management styles and job satisfaction of employees in the organization. The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between management style, using Theory X and Y management style and job satisfaction as moderated by employees’ self-efficacy and gender. The study involved N = 137 participants from two different Swedish organizations in the engineering and manufacturing sector based in Stockholm and Växjö, Sweden. The data was collected through surveys from each participant. Study findings showed that there was a positive correlation between self-efficacy and job satisfaction. Additionally, results revealed that the relationship between theory X and Y and job satisfaction is not moderated by either self-efficacy and gender. Based on the study, it was observed that job satisfaction is greatly impacted by management styles which are oriented more towards theory Y than theory X in the relationship between management and employees in organizations in Sweden. Thus, the study highlights the importance of employee-oriented leadership style for the organizations and how this influences job satisfaction of employees.

This experimental study aimed to investigate intuitive and analytic decision making approach when assessing job applicants during employee selection process, and feedback related to employee selection process. Theories used in the study to explain intuition are the dual process model and the recognition model. The population was recruiters and non-recruiters. A sample of 169 participants were included. Recruiters’ and non-recruiters’ were randomly assigned into two conditions: use of intuition or analytic thinking as assessment strategy when assessing eight real job applicants. A comparison between their decision making approaches was made. Based on previous research, three hypotheses were obtained and tested. The first hypothesis was that intuitive decision making approach, in combination of experience of employee selections, will enhance assessments of the job applicants. The second hypothesis was that there is a positive relationship between feedback related to employee selection and accuracy in assessing job applicants. The third hypothesis was that there is a positive relationship between participants’ guessed cognitive ability test scores of the job applicants, with employability of the job applicants. The last hypothesis was supported, there was a significant and strong positive relationship between the two variables for all eight job applicants. Significant and non-significant results, methodological influences and theories accounted for are discussed.

Previous research has shown that students transition from high school to university can lead to different levels of stress. However, there is no consensus of how the students’ stress levels develops throughout the years they study at a university. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to examine if there was a diffence in perceived stress between first year, second year, and third year students at a university in Sweden. A quantitative approach was applied, where the data was gathered through the Perceived Stress Scale 14 that was supplemeted with a selfconstructed self-rating scale and demographic questions. A total of 126 students participated in the survey where 41 were first-year students, 41 were second-year students, and 44 were third-year students. The empirical data was analyzed with the help of Karasek and Theorell’s (1990) job demand-controlsupport model and previous research. The result showed that there was no significant difference in perceived stress between the students in the different study-years, however, all students’ experienced a high level of stress.

An up to date, psychometrically robust measure of the level of community participation of adults with intellectual disabilities was not in existence, despite research identifying community participation as an important aspect of quality of life. The current research aimed to bring up to date, revise and revalidate the Guernsey Community Participation and Leisure Assessment (GCPLA; Baker, 2000). Adults with intellectual disabilities, carers and relevant experts were consulted in creating a 46-item GCPLA-R. The measure was then tested and the data from 153 adults with intellectual disabilities were analysed for their factor structure and psychometric properties. A stable set of factors emerged from factor analysis describing three different clusters of community participation activities. A full and a brief version of the scale were produced, each containing the three sub-scales. Both the 22-item and 46-item GCPLA-R were found to have satisfactory reliability. Scores on the GCPLA-R were related to challenging behaviour and adaptive behaviour in theoretically consistent ways, and were correlated with scores on comparable measures. The 46-item GCPLA-R was selected for publication due to its stronger face and content validity. The outcome of the analyses is discussed, along with limitations and implications for future research and clinical practice.

Coping with dementia has generally been conceptualised at an individual rather than relational level. In couples coping with chronic illness, dyadic coping models involving shared appraisals of stress and coping have been explored. This study aimed to explore dyadic coping in couples living with dementia. Qualitative framework analysis methodology was used to analyse data from nine joint interviews with spouse dyads living with dementia. Six main themes were identified: ‘Dementia awareness and ownership’, ‘Emotional closeness’, ‘Responsibility’, ‘Individual needs and difficulties’, ‘Individual coping by people with dementia’, and ‘Wider social context’. Findings suggested couples coping with dementia may utilise dyadic coping strategies, with couples maintaining closeness associated with sustaining joint coping. However, the impact of dementia upon a lack of shared dementia awareness and ownership, and loss of shared responsibility for coping, was associated with a lack of shared appraisals of stress and dyadic coping.

Gränslöst arbete innebär en förskjutning av gränser mellan arbetsliv och privatliv och är en konsekvens av dagens teknik och möjligheter att kunna arbeta när som helst, var som helst. Syftet var att undersöka hur chefer i en säljorganisation upplevde gränslöst arbete, vilka psykologiska konsekvenser det medförde samt vilka strategier som användes för att hantera ett gränslöst arbete. Deltagarna bestod av tio chefer från en säljorganisation med höga krav på prestation, och de intervjuades genom en semistrukturerade intervjuer. Studien kom fram till att cheferna upplevde det gränslösa arbetet som något positivt och att det medförde stora möjligheter. Det kunde dock innebära negativa konsekvenser, som sömnsvårigheter och stress. Vidare visade studien att cheferna använde sig av integrering och segmentering i stor utsträckning för att hantera det gränslösa arbetet.