I Sverige har digitaliseringen gått fort. Forskning visar att det bland äldre personer finns sårbara grupper som inte använder digitala hjälpmedel så mycket och därför inte har tillgång till tjänster som de behöver. I föreliggande studie undersöks om tillgång till och användning av digital informationsteknologi påverkar äldre personers förmåga att bemästra sin tillvaro. Bemästringsförmågan mäts i en indexvariabel utifrån teorier om tron på den egna förmågan; inre och yttre kontroll samt känsla av sammanhang. Deltagarna (n=144) i studien var äldre som hade möjlighet att svara på en webbenkät och därför använde digitala hjälpmedel. Detta var en väsentlig begränsning som påverkade resultatet. I huvudsak framkommer inga signifikanta skillnader i bemästringsförmåga utifrån användning av digitala hjälpmedel eller demografiska faktorer bland deltagarna. En nyckelfaktor i de signifikanta samband med små effekter som framkom var erfarenheten av att regelbundet ha arbetat med datorer i sitt yrkesverksamma liv. Deltagare som anger att de har denna erfarenhet anger högre bemästringsförmåga än de som inte anger den erfarenheten. Här argumenteras för att skillnader i bemästringsförmåga är större i mer diversifierade grupper av äldre personer. Det stöder forskning som påtalar att digitaliseringen påverkar livskvalitén för äldre. Deltagare påtalar att alla inte vill eller har möjlighet att använda digitala verktyg och efterlyser kunskap och praktiskt stöd i användning av digitala verktyg. Det stöder forskning som visar att grupper av äldre inte kan delta i det digitaliserade samhället och forskning som påtalar vikten av ett livslångt lärande. / In Sweden, the digital transformation is fast. Research shows that there are vulnerable groups of elderly who do not use digital tools frequently and do not have access to services they need. This study examines whether access to and use of digital tools affects older people's ability to manage their lives. Mastery is measured based on theories of Self-efficacy, Internal and External Locus of Control and Sense of Coherence. The participants (n=144) in the study were elderly people who responded to an online survey and therefore used digital tools. This was an essential limitation that affected the result. No significant differences in mastery were found based on the use of digital tools or demographic factors among participants. Experience of professionally having worked regularly with computers was a key factor in the significant relational findings with small effects that appeared. Participants who reported this experience indicated higher mastery skills than those who did not report that experience. It argues for that differences in mastery are greater in more diverse groups of elderly. It supports research that suggests that digitization affects the quality of life of the elderly. Participants highlight that not everyone wants or are able to use digital tools and call for education and practical support in the use of digital tools. It supports studies showing that groups of elderly cannot participate in the digitized society and studies that highlights the importance of lifelong learning.

Older adults are encountering harsh recovery after disasters, and compounding this problem is the lack of research on older adults' perceptions on disaster preparedness as aging affects the ability to react to emergency situations. To partially address that gap, the purpose of this general qualitative research study was to use Rotter's spectrum of locus of control theory to examine the level of preparation regarding disaster preparation of older adults who were living independently in single-family homes in a state affected by Hurricane Sandy. Data were collected through a qualitative survey distributed to adults aged 65 to 80-years (N=88) and publicly available documents from federal and state emergency management agencies. These data were inductively coded and subjected to a thematic analysis procedure. Findings identified 3 themes that consisted of (a) delayed acceptance, (b) defective instinct, and, (c) unexpected effects of disasters. This study contributes to social change by helping emergency management officials understand the deficiencies in preparedness by an aging population which may in turn improve the quality of life for older adults by stressing proper preparation for sheltering in place or evacuation in the event of a disaster.

The bidirectional link between insufficient sleep and the distress related to a parasomnia known as isolated sleep paralysis (ISP) might lead to chronic health effects. The impact of fear-ridden hallucinations related to this REM sleep disorder can be both distressful and embarrassing for individuals often resulting in a reticence to seek help. This quantitative study was guided by a biopsychosocial approach with an integrated theoretical framework. One aim of the study was to determine if fear parameters of ISP (low and high) differ when considering psychosocial factors and sleep quality, based on the Dysfunctional Beliefs and Attitudes About Sleep Scale, the Social Phobia Inventory, the Locus of Control (LOC) subscales, and the Pittsburg Sleep Quality Inventory. Predictive associations between psychosocial factors and subjective sleep quality (SSQ) were also investigated. Retrospective online data from a sample of 159 participants ages 18 and over were analyzed via MANOVA, multiple regression, and independent samples t-tests. Findings from the MANOVA were significant and showed that participants who experience ISP with more fear scored higher on two measures, external other LOC and social phobia. The MANOVA regarding differences in SSQ in relation to psychosocial variables were not significant, and independent sample t-tests did not differentiate fear parameters for DBAS and SSQ (poor sleep was found for both parameters). Providers of therapeutic treatments should take factors of social phobia and external other LOC into account with regards to poor sleep quality for those distressed by ISP. Sleep quality assessments might benefit those who are afraid to disclose about ISP sleep distress, as long term poor sleep can place some at risk for negative health outcomes.

Research with geriatric populations suggests high levels of clinical depression and greater financial and psychological costs of treatment in long-term care facilities with more restrictive care. Research on learned helplessness, a construct separate from depression, suggests learned helplessness and perceived control are useful theories for the study of elder depression, but the relationship between depression and learned helplessness in this population is not clear. This cross-sectional quantitative study examined the relationship between depression and learned helplessness by comparing residents over age 65 in less restrictive assisted living (n =42) versus those in more restrictive skilled nursing facilities (n =63). Data were collected using the Geriatric Depression Scale, the Helplessness subscale of the Cognitive Distortion Scales, and the Learned Helplessness and Instrumental Helplessness subscales of the Multi-Score Depression Inventory. Between-group ANOVA results confirmed a higher level of depression and state learned helplessness, but not trait learned helplessness, in restrictive skilled nursing residents when compared to those in less restrictive assisted living residents. There were positive correlations between learned helplessness, instrumental helplessness, and depression regardless of level of nursing care, and a positive correlation between perceived control and depression regardless of level of facility care. Identifying state learned helplessness and depression in long-term, restrictive care facilities can promote positive social change through increased awareness, intervention, and treatment to improve individual quality of life and maximize internalization of perceived control of the decision making process for elders.

Previous literature has shown that childhood trauma and adverse experiences are related to a wide range of negative outcomes that can span into adulthood (e.g., low self-worth, poor physical health, and increased likelihood of co-morbid psychological symptoms). However, a gap remains in the existing literature regarding early interventions that may target complicated outcomes (i.e., self-esteem and self-worth) while the survivor is still in childhood. This paper attempts to elucidate the impact that traumatic childhood experiences may have on self-worth, and the importance of implementing targeted intervention before the child reaches adulthood. Therefore, an extensive review was first conducted to gain further insight in regards to how specific variables, namely locus of control and health-related quality of life, may predict childhood development of self-worth. The present study then explored the influence of each factor on a child and adolescent community sample that experienced various types of trauma 61 children and adolescents who were survivors of varying types of trauma were recruited from a local mental health clinic (M=11.89; SD=2.49; 31 males, 30 females). Measures pertaining to locus of control, health-related quality of life, and self- worth were administered at their therapeutic baseline by a randomly assigned therapist. A measure of resiliency was also administered as a secondary exploratory analysis. Results highlighted pediatric quality of life and trauma type as meaningful predictors of self-worth outcomes. Additionally, resiliency as a construct with a significant correlational relationship with self-worth. All findings were interpreted for purposes of intervention, and treatment proposals were delineated.

Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) / Exposure to racial discrimination has been consistently linked with risk for substance use. However, outside of affect-based factors, few other mechanisms have been examined in the literature. One potential candidate is locus of control (LOC). LOC is a learning processes that involves the degree to which an individual attributes rewards as resulting from their own control (internal LOC) versus outside control (external LOC). There is evidence that exposure to stressors is associated with LOC, with a separate body of literature linking LOC with substance use. Thus, it is plausible that LOC may be a mechanism underlying the relationship between racial discrimination and substance use. Additionally, there is evidence that depression is related to LOC. Thus, the relationship between racial discrimination, locus of control, and substance use may also be serially mediated through depressive symptoms. The current study investigated these two pathways among 503 racial/ethnic minority adults aged 18-35 who completed an online questionnaire that included measures on racial discrimination related stress, locus of control, depressive symptoms, and substance use. Results indicated a significant indirect effect of racial discrimination related stress through external locus of control, specifically the chance orientation, on substance use. Moreover, for both domains of external locus of control (i.e., chance and powerful others) a significant serial indirect effect was found through depressive symptoms within the racial discrimination-substance use pathway among racial/ethnic minority adults. These findings expand our understanding on potential mechanisms that underlie the racial discrimination-substance use risk pathway among racial/ethnic minority adults, which may in turn provide important targets for substance use intervention programming for this population

Att i perioder känna sig stressad är en naturlig mänsklig respons. Däremot hanterar människor sin stress på olika sätt. Utifrån tidigare forskning inom stresshantering, också kallat coping, har den här studien urskilt tre övergripande copingstrategier: problemfokuserad, aktiv emotionell och undvikande emotionell. Syftet med studien var att undersöka relationerna mellan akademisk self-efficacy, akademisk kontroll-lokus och val av copingstrategier för att hantera stress kopplat till studier. I studien deltog 163 högskolestudenter på en högskola i Södermanland. Respondenterna svarade på en enkät som bestod av svenska översättningar av tre befintliga instrument. En korrelationsanalys och tre regressionsanalyser utfördes. Resultatet visade att kön inte har någon betydelse för studenternas val av copingstrategier. Akademisk kontroll-lokus och akademisk self-efficacy var av betydelse avseende undvikande emotionell och problemfokuserad coping, men enbart akademisk kontroll-lokus kan ses som en prediktor för dessa. Akademisk self-efficacy kunde ses som en prediktor för aktiv emotionell coping.

Bakgrund I takt med den ökande förekomsten av diabetes mellitus typ 2 (DM2) är det av stor vikt att hitta behandlingsmetoder som både kan förebygga insjuknandet och minska sjukdomsbördan på både individ - och samhällsnivå. Motiverande samtal (MI) är en samtalsmetod vars behandlande kärna är att stärka individens förmåga till att göra positiva livsstilsförändringar. Metoden har haft framgång inom vård av personer med beroendeproblematik. Syfte Att undersöka om motiverande samtal som behandlingsmetod kan leda till förändrad hälsostatus hos personer med diabetes mellitus typ två. Metod En litteraturöversikt valdes som metod för att besvara syftet. Databassökningar genomfördes i CINAHL, PsycInfo samt PubMed med hjälp av MeSH-termer och fritextsökningar. Sammanlagt 15 vetenskapliga artiklar inkluderades i studien efter att ha värderats, klassificerats och sammanställts i en matris. Resultat I sammanställningen av resultatet framkom att MI kunde ha effekt på de uppsatta hälsoparametrarna. Dock var det i ett litet antal av artiklarna där det framkom statistiskt signifikanta och hållbara förändringar. Resultatet presenterades under rubriker för varje uppsatt hälsoparameter; Viktförändringar, ändrade rökvanor, förändrad fysisk aktivitet, förändrat HbA1c, ändrade kolesterolvärden och psykosociala effekter. Slutsats Ingen samstämmighet kring MI som framgångsrik behandlingsmetod framkommer i våra granskade studier. På vissa parametrar har MI effekt, på andra inte. Svårigheter framkommer också i att få hållbara resultat på lång sikt. Slutsatsen får antas vara att MI inte ger bättre effekt, på de av oss uppsatta parametrar som fått representera hälsostatusen hos personer med DM2, än sedvanlig vård.

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