Tyrėjai vis dažniau skiria dvi save žalojančių paauglių grupes: mėginančius nusižudyti ir nesuicidiškai save žalojančius, kurie nesiekia mirties. Tačiau iki šiol buvo atlikta mažai populiacinių tyrimų, mėginančių šias dvi grupes tiesiogiai palyginti, todėl informacija apie šių grupių psichologinių ypatumų ir save žalojančio elgesio vidinių veiksnių skirtumus yra gana prieštaringa. Tyrime buvo naudojamas „Gyvenimo būdo ir prisitaikymo klausimynas“ (orig. Lifestyle and Coping Skills Questionnaire), kurį Lietuvoje adaptavo ir paauglių save žalojančio elgesio tyrimui pritaikė A. Laskytė ir N. Žemaitienė. Dalis jų surinktų duomenų analizuojama šiame darbe. Tikslas: ištirti bendros populiacijos paauglių suicidinio ir nesuicidinio save žalojančio elgesio vidinius veiksnius: motyvus, savižudiškus ketinimus, žalojančio elgesio ypatumus ir su šiais faktoriais galimai susijusius asmens psichologinius ypatumus. Taip pat atskleisti būdingus šių veiksnių skirtumus merginoms ir vaikinams. Tiriamieji: 15-17 metų amžiaus Lietuvos moksleiviai, kurie pildydami „Gyvenimo būdo ir prisitaikymo klausimyną“, atsakė, kad bent kartą gyvenime sąmoningai save žalojo. Klausimyno pildymo metu paaiškindami save žalojančio elgesio priežastis, prie teiginio „Aš norėjau numirti“ paaugliai galėjo atsakyti „Taip“ arba „Ne“. Pagal šį atsakymą jie buvo suskirstyti į dvi grupes: suicidiškai save žalojančių – norėjusiųjų numirti (n=163), ir nesuicidiškai save žalojančių – nenorėjusiųjų numirti (n=118). Rezultatai:... [toliau žr. visą tekstą] / Researches often differentiate two groups of self-harming adolescents: those who attempters a suicide, and those who are harming themselves in a non-suicidal way, and they don‘t seek the death. However just a few community-based research, which would directly compare these groups, were done so far, and therefore information about the differences of the psychological peculiarity and self-harming behavior‘s internal factors between the groups is ambivalent. Lifestyle and Coping Skills Questionnaire (Hawton, 2006), adapted and adjusted for the research of adolescents self-harming behavior by A. Laskytė and N. Žemaitienė in 2006, was used in this work. A part of their collected data is also used in this work. The aim: to examine the intrapersonal factors of suicidal and non-suicidal self-harm in a community sample population: the motives, suicidal intentions, the peculiarities of harming self-harm and person‘s psychological traits that could be possibly related to those factors. It also aimed to reveal the typical differences of these factors between the genders. The sample: 15-17 year old Lithuanian pupils who, while answering into Lifestyle and Coping Skills Questionnaire, responded that they were harming themselves at least once in a life time. In the questionnaire while explaining the reasons of self-harming behavior, into the proposition “I wanted to die” they could write “Yes” or “No”- in this way they were separated into two groups: suicidal self-harmers – who wanted to... [to full text]

Dr. Robert A. Pape gav 1996 ut sin bok Bombing to Win – Airpower and Coercion in War där han presenterar sin teori om hur luftmakt bäst ska användas för att påtvinga sin vilja över en motståndares. Genom empiriska studier argumenterar han för att strategisk bombning inte fungerar utan luftstridskrafterna ska istället användas till att bekämpa fiendens militära strategi.Detta självständiga arbete presenterar kärnan ur Pape's teori, samt tar ut tre centrala kriterier som verkar sammanfattande för teorin och undersöker sedan om det går att urskilja dessa inom Nato's nyttjandet av luftmakt under Operation Deliberate Force i Bosnien 1995. Luftkampanjen användes som ett politiskt instrument för att få slut på ett krig som präglades av etniska rensningar och territoriella dispyter. Stödet från världssamfundet att genomföra Deliberate Force var skört, vilket gjorde att utrymmet för misstag var litet.Slutsatsen är att Pape's resonemang kring lokal luftöverlägsenhet delvis går att urskilja, medan den nekande operationskonsten samt hammare och städ-taktiken tydligt går att urskilja. En slutsats är även att luftkampanjen var en avgörande faktor vid upphävandet av belägringen i Sarajevo, och hade stor påverkan på de strider som utspelade sig på marken, som sedan skulle bli avgörande för att Dayton-avtalet skrevs.

Deliberate self-harm (DSH) is a major health concern, especially for high-risk populations such as incarcerated youth. DSH refers to socially unacceptable, deliberate behaviour that causes harm to the body regardless of intent to die. There is limited research concerning prevalence rates as well as risk and protective factors for high-risk, adolescent groups. Participants were recruited from a correctional facility for youth aged 12-18. Male (n = 36) and female (n = 51) incarcerated adolescents (N = 87; mean age = 15.9) completed a survey that measured social-demographic characteristics, current depressed mood, lifetime alcohol and drug use, perceptions of social support (availability and satisfaction), approach-avoidance coping, problem-solving confidence, and DSH. The prevalence rates (81% lifetime, 74% annual, and 51% while incarcerated) for this mainly Aboriginal and Métis population were much higher than previous offender, community, and hospital findings. Youth reported much higher rates of DSH on a checklist than in response to a general question previously used in such research, suggesting that previously reported prevalence rates are likely grossly underestimated. Hypotheses regarding risk and protective factors were only partially supported. Depressed mood and drug use were positively, directly related to annual DSH frequency. Depressed mood proved to be a significant risk factor as well for incarcerated DSH. Overall, protective factors did not predict DSH well for this group of offenders. Only approach coping was inversely related to DSH frequency. Participants in this study reported very low levels of protective factors, which likely affected the outcome of statistical analyses. In general, youth reported high rates of risk factors and low rates of protective factors. Rates of DSH warranting medical attention increased with duration and frequency of such behaviour, as did actually receiving medical attention. Although 74% of offenders indicated that medical attention had been warranted at least once, only 50% actually received medical attention. Offenders were equally likely to receive medical attention whether they had engaged in DSH once or repetitively. It is likely that offenders prefer to keep their behaviour private, which affects how often they seek medical attention, even if they believe it is warranted. Recommendations are advanced for detecting and responding to DSH in incarcerated youth.

While considerable research has explored the skills elite professionals use to sustain performance excellence in a multitude of disciplines, much less research has focused on professional musicians. Multi-faceted skills are needed to maintain performance excellence. This research investigates the deliberate skills and processes professional opera singers employ to preserve elite performance. Data drawn from individual semi-structured interviews with ten professional opera singers, with a minimum career length of ten to twenty years, were analyzed within the methodology of grounded theory. Results revealed a strong role for creation of a music "road-map" in the context of deliberate preparedness in both physical and mental skills, which contributed to high levels of learning self-efficacy. High-level skills cultivated in the preparation phase were applied directly within the context of live performance, facilitated "flow" experiences, involved energy exchanges with other performers and audiences, and resulted in higher levels of performing self-efficacy.

While considerable research has explored the skills elite professionals use to sustain performance excellence in a multitude of disciplines, much less research has focused on professional musicians. Multi-faceted skills are needed to maintain performance excellence. This research investigates the deliberate skills and processes professional opera singers employ to preserve elite performance. Data drawn from individual semi-structured interviews with ten professional opera singers, with a minimum career length of ten to twenty years, were analyzed within the methodology of grounded theory. Results revealed a strong role for creation of a music "road-map" in the context of deliberate preparedness in both physical and mental skills, which contributed to high levels of learning self-efficacy. High-level skills cultivated in the preparation phase were applied directly within the context of live performance, facilitated "flow" experiences, involved energy exchanges with other performers and audiences, and resulted in higher levels of performing self-efficacy.

Conscientiousness-related personality traits are relevant predictors of many outcomes in achievement domains outside sport. They have also been associated with several outcomes in sport, however, their relative role on athletes’ deliberate practice (DP) and other criteria of expertise development has not been investigated. The overall aim of this dissertation was to examine the role of conscientiousness-related traits on sport expertise development. It had six specific purposes: (a) to examine the structural validity of conscientiousness-related measures; (b) to understand whether athletes’ DP amounts, skill level, and other criteria of expertise development could be predicted by these measures; (c) to identify the best personality predictor and combination of predictors that explained the maximal variance in different criteria of expertise development; (d) to examine whether grit facets predicted athletes’ practice engagement across a demanding sport season; (e) to explore coaches’ perspectives on the behavioural indicators of conscientious, gritty, and self-controlled athletes in training; and (f) to explore coaches’ views about how these personality traits may impact athletes’ quantity and quality of practice and development toward higher skill levels. The dissertation used a sequential explanatory mixed-methods design, wherein Phase 1 (Articles 1, 2, and 3) quantitatively pursued purposes (a) to (c), Phase 2 (Article 4) addressed (d), and Phase 3 (Article 5) qualitatively addressed (e) and (f). Article 1 tested the factor structure of the Brief Self-Control Scale in sport and showed distinct associations between self-control variables and (a) sport-specific practice amounts, (b) engagement in various practice contexts, and (c) threats to commitment to one’s sport, in a diverse sport sample. Article 2 conducted factor analyses of the Grit Scale in sport and examined a full latent variable model showing associations between grit variables and several criteria of expertise development. In particular, perseverance of effort associated with athletes’ weekly amounts of DP, engagement in different practice contexts, and skill level, while consistency of interests associated with athletes’ commitment to their sport. Article 3 comprised two studies. In Study 1, path analyses were used to assess the role of conscientiousness on criteria of expertise development. At the broad level, conscientiousness predicted athletes’ engagement in practice contexts and commitment to their sport; at the facet-level, achievement-striving was the best predictor of athletes’ weekly DP and engagement in practice contexts. The systematic test of the role of self-control (Article 1), grit (Article 2), and conscientiousness (Article 3, Study1) for key criteria of expertise development culminated with Study 2 of Article 3, which reported comparative analyses of the predictive ability of self-control, grit, and conscientiousness facets—which had shown to be significant predictors when assessed separately—for the criterion measures of sport expertise. Study 2 showed that (a) perseverance of effort was the best predictor of athletes’ weekly DP, engagement in mandatory practice, and the only predictor of higher skill level, (b) achievement-striving best predicted athletes’ engagement in optional practice, and (c) consistency of interests best predicted athletes’ commitment to their sport. Article 4 tested whether athletes’ self-reported levels of grit (broad and facets) were longitudinally associated with their coach-reported practice engagement throughout one sport season. Perseverance of effort was the grit variable most related to indicators of practice engagement, the only variable related to overall practice engagement across three time points, and the only variable marginally associated with athletes’ stability of practice engagement over time. Article 5 explored coaches’ views about the behavioural indicators of athletes’ conscientiousness, grit, and self-control in the daily training environment and how these traits impacted athletes’ training and development. Coaches described (a) conscientious athletes as systematic and detail-oriented, highly considerate of others, and highly engaged in self-regulation; (b) gritty athletes as those who persevere despite adversity and work hard in practice; and (c) self-controlled athletes as those who control impulses, resist temptations, and delay gratification. Coaches believe grit, conscientiousness, and self-control play important roles on athletes’ development toward higher skill levels, but results generally highlighted the preponderance of perseverance of effort. Potential mechanisms (e.g., conscientiousness—self-regulation—practice quality and conscientiousness—self-regulation—skill level) were highlighted to help explain the personality-expertise link found in Phases 1 and 2. This dissertation contributed to the literature on sport expertise by parsimoniously identifying conscientiousness-related personality traits that were associated with measures of athletes’ practice quantity, quality, and stability, commitment to sport, and higher skill level. Although several facets (i.e., perseverance of effort, consistency of interests, achievement-striving, self-discipline, and dutifulness) showed associations with practice and performance-related outcomes, this dissertation generally highlighted the role of grit facets. In particular, while perseverance of effort was the best predictor of athletes’ amounts of DP, the only grit variable associated with quality practice engagement over time, and the only predictor of higher skill level, consistency of interests was the best predictor of commitment variables. Furthermore, results based on coaches’ descriptions (a) provided behavioural indicators of conscientiousness-related traits that serve as reference points for practitioners aiming to help athletes develop desirable traits, (b) suggested that gritty athletes ‘work hard’ and conscientious athletes ‘work smart’, and (c) proposed mechanisms to explain the personality-expertise link found in the quantitative studies. Taken together, the results of this dissertation suggest that the tendency to persevere despite adversity and mindfully use self-regulated processes seems to be a powerful predisposition for athletes’ development toward expert levels of performance.

Övning är en helt central del av tillvaron för alla som aspirerar att bli professionella klassiska musiker och som med så mycket annat så finns det digitala verktyg avsedda för att underlätta och effektivisera denna process. I studien undersöktes hur applikationen Modacity i kombination med inspelning kan användas och om den erbjöd några fördelar resp. nackdelar under instuderingen av Capriccio da Camera av Berhard Krol. Studien kom fram till att övning med Modacity erbjuder en mängd fördelar gentemot traditionell övning. Framförallt så underlättar applikationens logiska arbetsflöde att uppnå ”flow” och leder till ökad effektivitet i övningen. Den är dock inte en helhetslösning för hela instuderingen av ett nytt stycke och vissa tekniska begränsningar gör att användbarheten minskar något. Sammantaget så är dock applikationen ett potent hjälpmedel och området med mobilapplikationer i övningen kommer säkerligen att fortsätta utvecklas i framtiden.

Background: Suicidal behaviour is increasingly widespread in South Africa and constitutes a significant burden of disease, often within resource-constrained hospital settings. Little is known about the factors associated with psychiatric admission following an act of deliberate self-harm (DSH) in South Africa. Aim: The aim of this study was to investigate the sociodemographic and clinical factors which differentiated DSH patients who were admitted to an emergency psychiatric unit compared to those who were treated in the emergency department and discharged. Setting: Data were collected for 272 consecutive patients presenting to the emergency department of a tertiary, public, urban hospital in South Africa, as a result of self harm, between 16 June 2014 and 29 March 2015, for an initial epidemiological study of DSH at the hospital. This study had a data subset of 174 of those patients (84 admitted to the emergency psychiatric unit and 90 treated in the emergency department and discharged). Methods: This study was a retrospective cross-sectional analysis, and it analysed existing data from the epidemiological study, using bivariate and multivariate logistic regression analysis. Results: Of the patients admitted to the emergency psychiatric unit, a greater proportion of patients were female (61,9%), were not in a relationship (83,3%), had no dependents (60,7%), were unemployed (73,8%), and had a low socioeconomic status (59,5%). Having dependants was associated with an increased likelihood of admission to the emergency psychiatric unit in bivariate analysis; however, when controlling for other sociodemographic variables, this was no longer significant. None of the clinical variables were significantly associated with admission to the emergency psychiatric unit. Conclusion: The lack of significant findings in the sociodemographic and clinical factors associated with an admission to the emergency psychiatric unit (compared to being treated in the emergency department and discharged) is surprising. At face value, it suggests that there are no obvious differences between the two groups. The use of a validated screening tool or more accurate measure of the clinical correlates (e.g. screening tool for substance-related 6 disorders) could have better highlighted, perhaps subtle, differences between the two groups. It is perhaps more important to question whether the perceived risk factors in DSH patients are associated with suicidal behaviour and whether emergency psychiatric unit admission, based on these factors, is more effective at treating DSH short-term, and reducing suicidal behaviour long-term, than say outpatient-based treatment interventions. Clinician-related factors that influence psychiatric admission decisions following DSH is also an important area for future research.

Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) / While deliberate self-harm (DSH) in adolescents and adults has been established as a reliable predictor of future suicidal behavior and attempts, whether the same is true for younger children has rarely been studied. Two separate articles will address issues regarding intentional self-injury in young children. The first identified describes the demographic profile of young children who engage in NSSI and evaluated whether predictors of adolescent NSSI are also associated with NSSI in children. The second manuscript analyzed NSSI behaviors to see if they can be correctly predicted from knowledge of a child's history of maltreatment to identify which trauma variables are central in prediction of NSSI status. A Chi-square and logistic regression were run on data from 16,271 records of children ages 5-9 years who received services from the IDMHA in 2018. NSSI was significantly (p < .000) associated with trauma history (x2 = 75.54, df = 1), anxiety (x2 = 107.59, df = 1), depression (x2 = 217.011, df = 1), suicide risk (x2= 993, df = 1), and impulsivity (x2 = 122.49, df = 1. Presence of a caregiver mental health problem (x2 =38.29, df = 1), age (x2 = 14.18, df = 4), being male (x2 = 11.59, df = 1), and being Caucasian (x2 = 23.29, df = 6) at p < .05. Regression results indicated the overall model of seven predictors (sexual abuse [OR 1.14], physical abuse [OR 1.26], emotional abuse [OR1.3], neglect [OR .895], medical trauma [OR 1.34], exposure to natural disaster [OR 1.81] and victim of a crime [1.14] was statistically reliable in distinguishing between children who self-injure and those who do not. [-2 Log Likelihood = 6228.78, x2(6) = 105.416, p < .000]. NSSI does occur in preadolescent children and while there is some indication that the risk factors and co-variates are like those of adolescents, there are some differences which need further study. Training clinicians to inquire about self-injury during assessment of younger children is a simple step. The variables of age and sex throughout development as well as identifying protective as well as risk factors with children should be studied.

<p> Ericsson, Krampe and Tesch-Römer (1993) have concluded from work with musicians that expertise is the result of "deliberate practice". So how valid is this conclusion in sport? Four groups of wrestlers (n=42); 2 international and 2 club (current & retired) recalled the hours spent in wrestling activities since beginning wrestling. All groups had begun at a similar age (M =13.2 ± 0.6year) and had been wrestling for 10 years or more. Contrary to Ericsson et al., practice alone activities did not discriminate between the groups, only practice with others. At 6 years into their careers, the international group practised 4.5 hour/week more than the club wrestlers and at age 20 years the international wrestlers had accumulated over 1000 more hours of practice with others. Evaluations of wrestling activities showed that those judged as relevant, were also rated high for concentration and enjoyment. Diary data were collected from current wrestlers, however, no differences were found for time spent in wrestling activities. The international wrestlers spent longer travelling to practice, which reflected the necessity to train at a club with the best sparring partners. Practice with others yielded high correlations between estimates for a typical week and the diary data for the international wrestlers only, suggesting a more consistent training schedule for this group. In conclusion Ericsson et al.s' definition of "deliberate practice" needs to be reconsidered. It is suggested that "maintenance" hours should be considered separately from practice, and that future studies focus on what it is that motivates people to practice.</p> / Thesis / Master of Science (MSc)