The aim of this qualitative study was to investigate the participants experiences of a parent support group and the effect of their participation on their parental role from a learning perspective. As the parent support group takes place as a group activity, the focus was on the individual learning processes which, in turn, are influenced by both the group itself as well as the leaders of the group. The empirical data was collected from a focus group interview with four mothers, and analyzed using empowerment and coping theories. Based on the participants´ narratives, the result showed that the parent support group had a great social and pedagogic effect on the participants. As a result of the received knowledge in the group from both leaders as well as from other participants, they felt less stressed and more confident in their parental role. Keywords: Parent support group, empowerment, coping

The purpose of this study was to examine whether there was any connection between coping strategies; emotional and cognitive strategy and perceived level of stress among primary school teachers in primary and middle school. It was also investigated whether there was a difference between full-time and part-time employees and perceived level of stress. As a theoretical background Lazarus' transaction theory of stress was used as an explanation of mental stress, Lazarus coping strategies for stress and Karasek’s and Theorell’s model of psychosocial work environment was used to explain unhealthy at work. To measure coping we used Coping inventory resources and to measure the stress we used Percieved stress scale. Data were collected from 76 elementary school teachers in five elementary schools from small towns in southern Sweden. The result showed significant relationships between cognitive coping strategy and greater perceived stress. No significant associations were found regarding full-time, part-time and perceived degree of stress. Participating teachers between 23-66 years (M= 41 years) and gender distribution were 68 women and 8 men. Further research is suggested on studying elementary school teacher’s positive self-image and positive view of others in relation to perception of stress and to examine differences in adulthood and coping strategy. / Syftet med studien var att undersöka om det fanns något samband mellan copingstrategierna emotionell och kognitiv strategi och upplevd grad av stress hos grundskolelärare på låg och mellanstadiet. Det undersöktes också om skillnad fanns mellan heltid och deltidsanställda och upplevd grad av stress. Som teoretisk bakgrund användes Lazarus transaktionsteori för stress som förklaring till mental stress, Lazarus copingstrategier som bemästringstrategi för stress och Karaseks och Theorells Krav-kontroll-stödmodell för att förklara ohälsa på arbetet. För att mäta coping användes Coping resources inventory och för att mäta stress användes Percieved stress scale. Data samlades in från 76 grundskolelärare på fem grundskolor på mindre orter i södra Sverige. Resultatet visade signifikanta samband mellan kognitiv copingstrategi och högre grad upplevd stress. Inga signifikanta samband påträffades gällande heltid, deltid och upplevd grad av stress. De deltagande lärarna var mellan 23-66 år, (M= 41 år) och könsfördelningen var, 68 kvinnor och 8 män. Vidare forskning föreslås för studier angående grundskolelärares positiva syn på sig själv och andra i förhållande till synen på stress samt att studera skillnader i användning av copingstrategi i vuxen ålder.

Syfte - Syftet med föreliggande litteraturstudie var att beskriva kvinnors upplevelser av klimakteriet samt granska litteraturens kvalitet avseende urval och bortfall. Metod - Litteraturstudie med beskrivande design. Artikelsökningen skedde i databaserna Cinahl, PubMed samt manuell sökning vilket resulterade i 11 vetenskapliga artiklar. Upplevelser av klimakteriet sammanställdes och granskning av artiklarnas urvalsmetod och presentation av bortfall har skett. Huvudresultat - Upplevelserna av klimakteriet varierar från individ till individ. Kvinnors symtom i samband med klimakteriet varierade både i intensitet och i förekomst, likaså hanterade kvinnorna klimakteriet på olika vis. Vissa kvinnor ansåg att klimakteriet påverkade det vardagliga livet, medan andra kvinnor upplevde att klimakteriefasen var en lättsam att passage. Slutsats - Klimakteriet är en naturlig process som infaller samtidigt som andra stora förändringar i livet, därför var det inte sällsynt att kvinnorna upplevde någon form av identitetskris. Under klimakterieperioden är det fördelaktigt för kvinnor att hitta strategier för att bemästra situationen. Ett återkommande tema i kvinnornas berättelser var att de saknade kunskaper om de förändringar som uppstår i samband med klimakteriet. De önskade mer uppmärksamhet ifrån den nära omgivningen och ett bättre stöd från hälso- och sjukvården. En stor andel medelålders kvinnor kommer på något sätt att komma i kontakt med vården vilket gör det angeläget att allmänsjuksköterskan har kunskaper om klimakteriet och de förändringar som det innebär för kvinnorna. / Aim – The purpose of this study was to describe women's experiences of menopause and to highlight one methodological aspect. Method – A descriptive literature study. 11 articles on women's experiences of menopause are compiled in this study. A review of the sampling and presentation of eventual drop-outs has been occurred. The articles were found in PubMed and Cinahl and a manual search has also been done. Main results - The experiences of menopause varies among individuals. Women's symptoms associated with menopause varied both in intensity and in frequency. Women also dealt with the symptoms in different ways. Some felt that it affected their everyday life, while others experienced that the climacteric phase was easy to pass. Conclusion - Menopause is a natural process that usually coinciding with other changes in life, therefore it was not rare that women experienced some form of identity crisis. During the climacteric phase it is advantageous for women to apply their coping strategies. A recurring dilemma was the demand of increased knowledge related to women's stories. The women desired ambient responsiveness and better support from healthcare during menopause. A large proportion of middle-aged women will somehow be in contact with health services. This means that general nurses also will meet these women.

Syfte Syftet med den här studien var att undersöka förekomst av prestationsbaserad självkänsla (PBS) hos unga manliga ishockeyspelare samt vilka coping-strategier de använder sig av i idrottsliga situationer de upplever utmanande och stressande. Detta för att undersöka om det finns ett samband mellan PBS och olika coping-strategier samt om det finns ett samband mellan de olika strategierna inom coping. Metod Genom en kvantitativ ansats användes två enkäter i studien. En enkät undersökte grad av prestationsbaserad självkänsla och den andra enkäten mätte val av coping-strategier inför en utmanande och stressande situation. Enkäterna delades ut till två olika hockeyföreningar. De 65 enkäterna som kom tillbaka fördes sedan in i Statistica för analys. Resultat Resultatet visade att de unga ishockeyspelarna inte hade en särskilt hög tendens till prestationsbaserad självkänsla. De coping-strategier de var mest benägna att använda var aktiv coping, planering och positivt tänkande. De strategier som i sin tur visade sig korrelera med PBS var aktiv coping, egen skuldbeläggning och önsketänkande. Det starkaste sambandet återfanns mellan PBS och önsketänkande. I delskalorna inom coping-enkäten korrelerade flertalet strategier med varandra och bland dessa var de mer aktiva förhållningssätten: planering, aktiv coping och undantryckande av andra aktiviteter. Slutsats De unga spelarna verkade inte i stor grad koppla deras självkänsla till prestation. När det kom till hantering av utmanande och stressande situationer uppvisade de ett mestadels aktivt förhållningssätt. De med en något högre tendens till PBS hade även en ökad benägenhet att använda sig av strategin önsketänkande som ett sätt att hantera stressande situationer. Man kan dra slutsatsen att de flesta spelarna ifråga planerar och har struktur på sitt spel och hanterar stressande situationer på ett effektivt och positivt sätt i form av aktiva coping-strategier. De som har större tendens till prestationsbaserad självkänsla hanterar dessa situationer på ett sätt som kan liknas vid drömmande och visualisering vilket även det kan räknas som ett positivt förhållningssätt.

Den palliativa vården även kallad vård vid livets slutskede, innebar stora omställningar för patienter, vilket skapade ett intresse att belysa copingstrategier patienter använder sig av i palliativ vård. Målet med problemformuleringen var att utreda hur patienter upplever sina copingstrategier och hur sjuksköterskor bäst kan stödja patienter med sina copingstrategier. Syftet med föreliggande litteraturstudie var att belysa patienters copingstrategier i palliativ vård. Som en metod utfördes en systematisk litteraturstudie, innehållande 12 vetenskapliga artiklar. Resultatet framhöll copingstrategierna: undvikande, att känna hopp och tro, samt  behovet av stöd. Några patienter undvek relationer med närstående och vänner, som ett sätt att hantera sin situation. Andra kände hopp med hjälp av positiva tankar och positiv energi från andra människor. Den spirituella delen hade en betydelsefull roll för patienter vid livets slutskede. Sjuksköterskornas stöd var viktigt och patienterna behövde samtalshjälp för att utveckla copingstrategier och hantera de känslor och tankar som uppstod. Resultatet visade också att sjuksköterskorna inte alltid lyckades förstå och hjälpa patienterna på bästa sätt. Vidare forskning i ämnet kan utveckla kunskapen om hur sjuksköterskor bäst kan hjälpa patienter med sina copingstrategier. / Palliative care is also called care at the end of life, meant great changes for the patients, and thereby the interest fell in how patients handled coping strategies in the palliative care. The formulation of the problem was aimed at investigating how patients experienced their coping strategies and how nurse`s could best support patients with their coping strategies. The aim of the present study was to illustrate patients coping strategies in the palliative care. The method was a systematic literature review with 12 scientific articles. The results pointed to the coping strategies: avoidance, to have hope and faith, and the need for support. Studies showed that some patients avoided relationships with the family and friends, it was a way to cope with their situation. Others could feel hope through positive thoughts and positive people and that the spiritual path was shown to have an important role for patients at the end of life. Nursing support was important and patients needed supportive conversations to develop their coping strategies, and manage the emotions and thoughts that arose. The results also showed that nurses did not always managed to understand and help the patients in the best way. Further research on the topic can develop knowledge about how nurses can best help patients with their coping strategies.

Sammanfattning   Sjuksköterskor som jobbar på akutmottagningen kan vid tillfällen vara exponerade för stressfulla situationer och oförutsedda händelser. Som en konsekvens av detta är utbrändhet och emotionell trötthet vanligt bland personal inom akutsjukvården. Syftet med litteraturöversikten var att identifiera copingstrategier hos sjuksköterskan efter traumatiska omvårdnadsmöten på akutmottagningen. Metoden som användes var litteraturöversikt med en deduktiv ansats. Resultatet presenterades i tre kategorier, problemfokuserad, emotionellfokuserad och undvikande coping, med hjälp av en teoretisk ram konstruerad utifrån Folkmans (1984) och Lazarus (1993) teorier om coping. Den vanligaste copingstrategin som sjuksköterskan på akutmottagningen använde sig av efter ett traumatiskt omvårdnadsmöte var problemfokuserad coping. Problemfokuserad coping visar att sjuksköterskan försöker lösa problemet och ändra situationen. Emotionell coping kan leda till en positiv omvärdering men framstod också som negativ. Den minst använda var den undvikande copingstrategin. Den undvikande copingstrategin användes för att undvika personligt lidande och kan leda till att problem inte blir lösta och därmed ökad stress. Slutsatsen var att sjuksköterskan på akutmottagningen använder sig av olika copingstrategier efter ett traumatiskt omvårdnadsmöte på akutmottagningen. Den problemfokuserade copingstrategin visade sig vara den mest effektiva copingstrategin och innefattar bland annat socialt stöd från arbetsledning, kollegor, familj och vänner. Arbetsledningen har en viktig funktion att stödja sjuksköterskan på akutmottagningen.     Nyckelord: Akutsjukvård, stress, coping / Summary   How do you do it? Copingstrategies by the nurse in the emergency department.     Nurses working at emergency services may at times be exposed to stressful situations and unforeseen events. As a consequence of confrontation with stressful situations, burnout and emotional fatigue are common among emergency medical professionals. The purpose of the literature review was to identify the nursing coping strategies after a traumatic meeting at the emergency department. The method used was a literature review with a deductive approach. The result was presented in three categories based on the theoretical framework of Folkman (1984) and Lazarus (1993). The most common coping strategy that the nurse at the emergency department used after a traumatic meeting was problem-focused coping. The least used was the avoidance coping strategy. Problem-focused coping shows that the nurse is trying to solve the problem and change the situation. Emotional coping can lead to a positive revaluation but also emerged as a negative. The avoidance coping strategy was used to avoid personal suffering and can lead to problems not being resolved and thus increased stress. The conclusion was that the nurse at the emergency department uses different coping strategies after a traumatic meeting at the emergency department. The problem-focused coping strategy proved to be the most effective coping strategy, including social support from work management, colleagues, family and friends. The management team has an important function to support the nurse at emergency department.   Keywords: Emergency nursing, stress, coping

O objetivo deste trabalho foi investigar a relação entre o bem-estar pessoal e o uso de estratégias de coping religioso entre crianças. A investigação teve como base dois estudos realizados a partir de uma única coleta de dados. O primeiro estudo refere-se à tradução, adaptação e validação da escala Children´s Religious Coping (CRC) e foi dividido em duas fases: (1) tradução, adaptação e teste piloto (N = 74) e (2) Aplicação e Validação da Escala CRC. Participaram da pesquisa 1612 crianças entre 08 e 13 anos (M = 10,2; DP = 1,47), sendo 54,7% meninas, matriculadas em escolas públicas (54,6%) e particulares (45,4%) do Estado do Rio Grande do Sul. Foram realizadas Análises Fatoriais Exploratórias e Confirmatórias para verificar a estrutura fatorial da escala, além de análise da consistência interna. Os resultados indicaram uma composição da CRC com duas dimensões: Coping Religioso Positivo (CRP), formada por 19 itens em três fatores, e Coping Religioso Negativo (CRN), formada por 12 itens em três fatores. Os índices de consistência interna apresentaram bons níveis tanto para a escala geral ( = 0,90), como para as duas dimensões ( = 0,92 para CRP; e = 0,81 para CRN). Pode-se afirmar que a escala apresentou bons indicadores de funcionamento para essa amostra, mostrando-se um instrumento promissor para futuras pesquisas. O segundo estudo teve como objetivo principal avaliar a relação entre o bem-estar pessoal e o uso de estratégias de coping religioso pelas crianças. Foram utilizados como instrumentos a escala CRC adaptada e o Índice de Bem-estar Pessoal para Crianças (PWISC). Através de análises descritivas foram avaliados o índice de bem-estar pessoal e a satisfação com diferentes domínios da vida. Também foram descritas a frequência do uso de estratégias de coping religioso, e as situações de estresse relatadas pelas crianças. ANOVAs indicaram que o índice de bem-estar é maior entre meninos, bem como entre as crianças menores. Em relação ao uso de estratégias de coping, foram encontradas diferenças significativas por idade no uso das estratégias de CRP, indicando que à medida que a idade aumenta, diminui o uso dessas estratégias. As análises de regressão múltipla identificaram a dimensão CRP, especificamente as estratégias relacionadas à crença no apoio e proteção de Deus, como preditor de maior bem-estar, e a dimensão CRN, especificamente as estratégias relacionadas à reavaliação do estressor como uma punição, como preditor de menor bemestar. Conclui-se que as crianças fazem uso de diferentes estratégias de coping religioso ao lidarem com situações de estresse e que esse engajamento parece estar relacionado ao seu bem-estar pessoal. / The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between the personal well-being and the use of religious coping strategies of children. The investigation was based upon two studies made from a single data collection. The first study concerns the translation, adaptation and validation of the Children’s Religious Coping Scale (CRC) and it was divided in two phases: (1) Translation, Adaptation and Pilot Test (N = 74) and (2) Application and Validation of the CRC Scale. A number of 1612 children between 08 and 13 years old (M = 10.2, SD = 1.47), of which 54.7% girls, enrolled in public (54.6%) and private (45.4%) schools of the State of Rio Grande do Sul participated in the research. Exploratory and Confirmatory Factorial Analyses were performed to verify the scale’s factor structure, besides the analysis of the internal consistency. Results indicated the CRC was composed by two dimensions: Positive Religious Coping (PRC), with 19 items in three factors, and Negative Religious Coping (NRC), consisting of 12 items in three factors. The internal consistency indices showed good levels both for the overall scale ( = .90), as well as for the two dimensions ( = .92 for PRC; and = .81 for NRC). It can be stated that the scale showed good indicators of functioning for this sample, demonstrating that it can be a promising instrument for future research. The second study aimed mainly at evaluating the relationship between personal well-being and the use of religious coping strategies by children. The instruments used were the adapted CRC scale and the Personal Wellbeing Index - School Children (PWI-SC). Personal well-being and satisfaction with different life domains were evaluated through descriptive analyzes. The frequency of the use of religious coping strategies and stressful situations reported by children were also described. ANOVAs indicated that the well-being index is higher among boys and between younger children. Regarding the use of coping strategies, significant age differences were found in the use of the PRC strategies, indicating that as age increases, the use of these strategies decreases. The multiple regression analysis identified the PRC dimension, more specifically the strategies related to the belief in the support and protection of God, as a predictor of greater well-being, and the NRC dimension, more specifically the strategies related to the revaluation of the stressor as a punishment, as a predictor of lower well-being. Our conclusion is that children make use of different religious coping strategies to deal with stressful situations and that this engagement seems to be related to their personal well-being.

La substance grise périaqueducale (PAG) est une région cérébrale impliquée dans l’expression des réponses émotionnelles chez les mammifères et est décrite comme la structure de la stratégie d’adaptation comportementale (coping style) chez le rat et le chat. La PAG est composée de plusieurs subdivisions qui se distinguent par des spécificités fonctionnelles et anatomiques. En particulier, elles présentent des spécificités de connexions avec le reste du cerveau. Afin d’examiner la place de la PAG dans le circuit neuronal des émotions chez le mouton, animal grégaire, nous avons décrit les connexions de la PAG par traçage de voies et tractographie par imagerie par résonance magnétique de diffusion. Nous avons ainsi montré que la PAG ovine est composée de subdivisions qui ont des connexions avec des structures cérébrales impliquées dans les émotions. Ces résultats, cohérents avec ceux obtenus chez d’autres mammifères, placent la PAG dans le circuit neuronal des émotions. Notre étude montre également que l’organisation des connexions de la PAG ovine est d’avantage similaire à celles décrites chez des espèces sociales qu’à celles décrites chez des espèces territoriales et/ou prédatrices. Suite aux connaissances acquises dans ces études, nous pouvons maintenant initier des études fonctionnelles et ainsi confirmer le rôle de la PAG ovine dans les processus émotionnels. / The periaqueductal gray matter (PAG) is a brain region involved in the expression of emotional responses in mammals and is described as the structure of the coping style of behaviours in rats and cats. The PAG is composed of several subdivisions that are distinguished by functional and anatomical specificities. Particularly, they have connections specificities with the rest of the brain. In order to examine the place of the PAG in the neuronal circuit of emotions in sheep, a gregarious species, we described the PAG connections using neuronal tracer and tractography by diffusion magnetic resonance imaging. In this way, we have shown that the sheep PAG is composed of subdivisions which have connections with brain structures involved in emotions. These results, consistent with those obtained in other mammals, place PAG in the neuronal circuit of emotions. Our study also shows that the organization of the sheep PAG connections is more similar to those described in social species than those described in territorial and/or predatory species. Following the knowledge obtained in these studies, now we can initiate functional studies and thus confirm the role of the sheep PAG in emotional processes.

O objetivo deste trabalho foi investigar a relação entre o bem-estar pessoal e o uso de estratégias de coping religioso entre crianças. A investigação teve como base dois estudos realizados a partir de uma única coleta de dados. O primeiro estudo refere-se à tradução, adaptação e validação da escala Children´s Religious Coping (CRC) e foi dividido em duas fases: (1) tradução, adaptação e teste piloto (N = 74) e (2) Aplicação e Validação da Escala CRC. Participaram da pesquisa 1612 crianças entre 08 e 13 anos (M = 10,2; DP = 1,47), sendo 54,7% meninas, matriculadas em escolas públicas (54,6%) e particulares (45,4%) do Estado do Rio Grande do Sul. Foram realizadas Análises Fatoriais Exploratórias e Confirmatórias para verificar a estrutura fatorial da escala, além de análise da consistência interna. Os resultados indicaram uma composição da CRC com duas dimensões: Coping Religioso Positivo (CRP), formada por 19 itens em três fatores, e Coping Religioso Negativo (CRN), formada por 12 itens em três fatores. Os índices de consistência interna apresentaram bons níveis tanto para a escala geral ( = 0,90), como para as duas dimensões ( = 0,92 para CRP; e = 0,81 para CRN). Pode-se afirmar que a escala apresentou bons indicadores de funcionamento para essa amostra, mostrando-se um instrumento promissor para futuras pesquisas. O segundo estudo teve como objetivo principal avaliar a relação entre o bem-estar pessoal e o uso de estratégias de coping religioso pelas crianças. Foram utilizados como instrumentos a escala CRC adaptada e o Índice de Bem-estar Pessoal para Crianças (PWISC). Através de análises descritivas foram avaliados o índice de bem-estar pessoal e a satisfação com diferentes domínios da vida. Também foram descritas a frequência do uso de estratégias de coping religioso, e as situações de estresse relatadas pelas crianças. ANOVAs indicaram que o índice de bem-estar é maior entre meninos, bem como entre as crianças menores. Em relação ao uso de estratégias de coping, foram encontradas diferenças significativas por idade no uso das estratégias de CRP, indicando que à medida que a idade aumenta, diminui o uso dessas estratégias. As análises de regressão múltipla identificaram a dimensão CRP, especificamente as estratégias relacionadas à crença no apoio e proteção de Deus, como preditor de maior bem-estar, e a dimensão CRN, especificamente as estratégias relacionadas à reavaliação do estressor como uma punição, como preditor de menor bemestar. Conclui-se que as crianças fazem uso de diferentes estratégias de coping religioso ao lidarem com situações de estresse e que esse engajamento parece estar relacionado ao seu bem-estar pessoal. / The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between the personal well-being and the use of religious coping strategies of children. The investigation was based upon two studies made from a single data collection. The first study concerns the translation, adaptation and validation of the Children’s Religious Coping Scale (CRC) and it was divided in two phases: (1) Translation, Adaptation and Pilot Test (N = 74) and (2) Application and Validation of the CRC Scale. A number of 1612 children between 08 and 13 years old (M = 10.2, SD = 1.47), of which 54.7% girls, enrolled in public (54.6%) and private (45.4%) schools of the State of Rio Grande do Sul participated in the research. Exploratory and Confirmatory Factorial Analyses were performed to verify the scale’s factor structure, besides the analysis of the internal consistency. Results indicated the CRC was composed by two dimensions: Positive Religious Coping (PRC), with 19 items in three factors, and Negative Religious Coping (NRC), consisting of 12 items in three factors. The internal consistency indices showed good levels both for the overall scale ( = .90), as well as for the two dimensions ( = .92 for PRC; and = .81 for NRC). It can be stated that the scale showed good indicators of functioning for this sample, demonstrating that it can be a promising instrument for future research. The second study aimed mainly at evaluating the relationship between personal well-being and the use of religious coping strategies by children. The instruments used were the adapted CRC scale and the Personal Wellbeing Index - School Children (PWI-SC). Personal well-being and satisfaction with different life domains were evaluated through descriptive analyzes. The frequency of the use of religious coping strategies and stressful situations reported by children were also described. ANOVAs indicated that the well-being index is higher among boys and between younger children. Regarding the use of coping strategies, significant age differences were found in the use of the PRC strategies, indicating that as age increases, the use of these strategies decreases. The multiple regression analysis identified the PRC dimension, more specifically the strategies related to the belief in the support and protection of God, as a predictor of greater well-being, and the NRC dimension, more specifically the strategies related to the revaluation of the stressor as a punishment, as a predictor of lower well-being. Our conclusion is that children make use of different religious coping strategies to deal with stressful situations and that this engagement seems to be related to their personal well-being.

Syftet med föreliggande studie var att genom en kvalitativ intervjustudie undersöka hur lärare upplever och hanterar stress på arbetsplatsen och vad det är för stressande situationer som kan uppkomma i läraryrket. Tidigare forskning har visat att lärare är en av de yrkesgrupper som upplever mest stress på arbetsplatsen och att det är många lärare som byter yrke på grund av för höga stressnivåer. Forskning visar också att negativ stress kan påverka en person både psykiskt och fysiskt och att förhållningssätt till stress kan påverka hur skadlig stressen blir. Deltagare i studien var 8 lärare med olika undervisningsämnen som arbetat i olika lång tid och de fick under intervjuer dela med sig av sina erfarenheter och upplevelser av stress i läraryrket. Resultaten av de semistrukturerade intervjuerna visade de sex huvudkategorierna: 1) Negativ stress. 2) Ta med arbetet hem. 3) Problemfokuserad coping. 4) Känslofokuserad coping. 5) Krav från omvärlden. 6) Stöd från kollegor och skolledning. Kunskaperna kan användas för att förebygga stress på arbetsplatsen och för att angripa de problem som kan uppstå i läraryrket. Föreliggande studies resultat stämmer således överens med tidigare forskning och visar att läraryrket i många fall är mycket stressande och kräver god planering och stöd från kollegor för att undvika skadlig stress.