The primary objective was to determine whether there is a relationship between emotional intelligence, locus of control and sense of coherence in a market research organisation. A secondary objective was to determine whether individuals from various biographical groups differed significantly in terms of emotional intelligence, locus of control and sense of coherence. A sample of 179 participants completed the Bar-On EQ-i, Locus of Control Inventory and Sense of Coherence Scale. There was a statistically significant relationship between emotional intelligence, locus of control and sense of coherence. No significant gender differences were found. Furthermore, the findings showed differences between occupational levels in terms of both internal locus of control and sense of coherence, but not for emotional intelligence. No significant differences were evident between education, work experience or age in terms of the three constructs. An emotional intelligence intervention programme was recommended, as well as the use of an emotional intelligence assessment instrument. Recommendations for future research included broadening the relevance of the results. / Industrial and Organisational Psychology / M.A. (Industrial and Organisational Psychology)

Bakgrund: Att drabbas av sjukdomen Multipel Skleros (MS) påverkar personer olika och deras upplevelse av sjukdomen skiljer sig åt. Symtomen kan påverka den fysiska kroppen, välbefinnandet och vardagslivet. Begreppet Känsla av sammanhang (KASAM) lyfts och kan hjälpa personerna att hantera sjukdomen lättare. Sjuksköterskan ska även finnas med i hanteringen och hjälpa personen att finna en meningsfullhet i vardagen trots sjukdom. Syfte: Syftet var att belysa personers upplevelse av att leva med Multipel Skleros. Metod: En litteraturöversikt av induktiv ansats med tretton kvalitativa artiklar. Resultat: I resultatet framkom två huvudteman med fem underteman. Att förlora en del av sig själv beskriver hur personers identitet, vardag och kroppsuppfattning förändras då kroppen kan kännas främmande och att livets mening förändras. Strategier för att hantera dagligt liv beskriver hanteringen och acceptansen av en ny livssituation. Kontrollen och förståelsen för sjukdomen ökar genom hjälpmedel, planering och sociala kontakter. Slutsats: Sjukdomen leder till en upplevelse av förändrad identitet och självbild samt att sociala kontakter och aktiviteter blir påverkade av sjukdomen på olika sätt. Hur sjukdomen hanteras är olika. Litteraturöversikten ger en ökad förståelse och kunskap kring hur personer med MS upplever sig själva och sin vardag. / Title: To live with Multiple Sclerosis; a literature review. Background: Multiple Sclerosis (MS) affects people differently and their experience of the disease is different. The symptoms can affect the physical body, well-being and everyday life. The concept of sense of coherence (KASAM) is lifted, this can help people to manage the disease. The nurse can help to manage and find the everyday life more meaningful despite illness. Aim: The aim was to highlight the persons experience of living with Multiple Sclerosis. Method: A literature review of inductive approach with thirteen qualitative articles. Result: Two main themes were found with five subthemes. Losing a part of itself describes how the identity, everyday life and body image change as the body feels foreign and that the meaning of life changes. Strategies for managing daily life describe the management and acceptance of a new life situation. Appliance, planning and social contacts is a help to get control and understanding of the disease. Conclusion: The disease leads to an experience of changed identity and self-image. Social contacts and activities are affected by the disease in different ways. The management of the disease is different. The literature review provides an increased understanding and knowledge of how people with MS experience themselves in their daily lives.

The primary objective was to determine whether there is a relationship between emotional intelligence, locus of control and sense of coherence in a market research organisation. A secondary objective was to determine whether individuals from various biographical groups differed significantly in terms of emotional intelligence, locus of control and sense of coherence. A sample of 179 participants completed the Bar-On EQ-i, Locus of Control Inventory and Sense of Coherence Scale. There was a statistically significant relationship between emotional intelligence, locus of control and sense of coherence. No significant gender differences were found. Furthermore, the findings showed differences between occupational levels in terms of both internal locus of control and sense of coherence, but not for emotional intelligence. No significant differences were evident between education, work experience or age in terms of the three constructs. An emotional intelligence intervention programme was recommended, as well as the use of an emotional intelligence assessment instrument. Recommendations for future research included broadening the relevance of the results. / Industrial and Organisational Psychology / M.A. (Industrial and Organisational Psychology)

This study aims to explore how four Syrians, involved as case managers in Questscope’s mentoring program, describe and experience their lives in Zaatari Refugee Camp. The participants were asked to describe their experiences through qualitative interviews. The results were analyzed through the lens of Antonovsky’s salutogenic theory to examine each participant’s sense of coherence and what activities or people contribute towards a strong SOC. The results show that the participants face many challenges in Zaatari Camp, most notably the feeling that their lives have been reduced to a simple existence in which they are expected to be content with food and shelter. They express the feeling that their hopes and aspirations have come to a standstill and that camp conditions do not allow them to move forward in their lives, such as by completing university. However, their stories also include indications of strong SOC in that the participants make sense of their situation, perceive that there are resources available to deal with their situation, and have incentive to persevere in spite of their circumstances. They describe their work with Questscope, through which they are encouraged to take initiative and responsibility, as helpful and motivating because it builds their confidence, gives them purpose and allows them to hope and move forward.

Tyrimo objektas – moksleivių agresyvumas ir vidinė darna. Tyrimo tikslas – nustatyti Kauno miesto 12-13 ir 15-16 metų paauglių agresyvumo raišką ir vidinę darną. Uždaviniai: 1. Nustatyti paauglių agresyvumą ir vidinę darną, jų ryšį. 2. Išanalizuoti paauglių agresyvumą ir vidinę darną pagal lytį. Hipotezė: agresyvių paauglių vidinė darna yra mažesnė. Išvados 1. Atlikus tyrimą nustatyta, jog Kauno miesto mokyklų paaugliai pasižymi vidutiniškai išreikšta agresija (p<0,001). Manoma, jog agresyvus elgesys yra dažnas reiškinys mokymosi įstaigoje. Kauno miesto mokymosi įstaigų paaugliams buvo nustatyta vidutinė vidinės darnos reikšmė (p<0,001). Atlikus tyrimą, pastebėta, jog tie paaugliai kurie surinko aukštus agresijos klausimyno balus, pas juos vidinė darna buvo ženkliai mažesnė, negu tų paauglių kurie buvo surinkę žemesnius balus. 2. Išanalizavus, agresyvų elgesį pagal lytį, nustatyta, jog vaikinai surinko aukštesnius balus, nei merginos (P<0,05). Analizuojant vidinę darną, skirtumas tarp lyčių buvo statistiškai nereikšmingas (p>0.05). Rekomendacijos, pasiūlymai 1. Būtina skirti daugiau lėšų ir priežiūros, agresijos prevencinių priemonių, įgyvendinimui mokymosi įstaigose. 2. Neužtenka įrengti kameras mokymosi įstaigų kiemuose ar viduje, turi būti atsakingas už tai žmogus, ir visa tai stebėti. 3. Reikėtų skatinti mokinių bendradarbiavimą tarpusavyje pamokų metu, taip stiprinant mokinių ryšį tarpusavyje ir kartu mažinant mokinių atsiskyrimą, izoliaciją nuo klasės draugų. 4... [toliau žr. visą tekstą] / The object of research - students aggressiveness and sense of coherence . The aim – to identify connection between agression and internal coherence at Kaunas city in 12-13 and 15-16 years old adolescents. Objectives: 1. To indetify adolescent aggression and internal coherence. 2. To analyze adolescent aggression and internal coherence by gender; Hypothesis: The aggressive adolescent sense of coherence is lower. Findings 1. Research showed that aggressive behavior is a common phenomenon in the school. Descending the internal consistency of increased aggression, adolescents noted a lower level of internal coherence . 2. Analyzed the aggressive behavior by gender it‘s seen that both girls and boys average aggression occurs. Sense of coherence with the boys was slightly higher. 3. The connection between aggressive behavior and internal coherence is that adolescents are often more aggressive behavior if sense of coherence is lower. Recommendations, suggestions: 1. Necessary to devote more resources and maintenance to aggression prevention in learning institutions. 2. It is not enough to install cameras at learning institutions yards or inside, responsible worker should be to watch records. 3. Cooperation among the students during the lessons should be promoted to enhance student‘s relationship with each other and to reduce separation and isolation from classmates . 4. It is recommended to perform regular aggression prevention research and to draw conclusions.

The history of HIV/AIDS dates back to 1985, when it was thought to be a disease affecting animals. Later, HIV/AIDS was regarded as an illness which affected gay individuals. However, research world-wide has shown that HIV/AIDS is a disease that affects everyone irrespective of race, gender, social status and sexual orientation. Research regarding the psychological well-being (coping, sense of coherence, locus of control and general health) of HIV infected persons in the workplace seems appropriate and relevant. The objective of this study was to investigate the relationship between sense of coherence, locus of control, coping, and general health. A cross-sectional survey design was used to achieve research objectives. For the purpose of this study, an availability sample of (n = 91) HIV infected individuals in the workplace was used. Four questionnaires were employed in the empirical study, namely the General Health Questionnaire, the Coping Orientations to the Problems Experienced Questionnaire, the Work Locus of Control Scale, and the Orientation to Life Questionnaire. Descriptive statistics (means, standard deviations, skewness and kurtosis) were used to analyse the data. Pearson correlations and canonical analysis were used to assess the relationships between sense of coherence, locus of control, coping strategies and general health. Approach coping strategies such as active coping, planning, seeking support for instrumental reasons, seeking support for emotional reasons, positive reinterpretation and growth, and acceptance were positively related to a strong sense of coherence and a low external locus of control. Avoidance coping strategies, such as focus on and ventilation of emotions, denial, behavioural disengagement, and mental disengagement were negatively related to sense of coherence and positively related to an external locus of control. HIV infected employees who measured high on planning, low on focus on and venting of emotions, and low on mental disengagement, experienced less anxiety and fewer somatic problems. Recommendations for future research were made. / Thesis (M.A. (Industrial Psychology))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2007.

Psykisk ohälsa förekommer i yrkeslivet. Att ha en hög grad av psykisk ohälsa kan leda till otrivsel på arbetet. Studien avsåg att undersöka sambandet mellan psykisk ohälsa och KASAM och arbetsrelaterad KASAM samt ålder, kön, etnicitet, anställningstid, anställningsform och befattning som kan antas vara relaterad till psykisk ohälsa. Detta undersöktes genom nio hypoteser och en frågeställning. 95 individer som arbetade inom hemtjänsten deltog i undersökningen och besvarade en enkät bestående av KASAM-skalan, arbetsrelaterade KASAM-skalan samt General Health Questionnarie 12. Via korrelationer och regressionsanalyser undersöktes materialet. Resultatet visade att hemtjänstpersonal med hög grad av psykisk hälsa hade en hög grad av KASAM och arbetsrelaterad KASAM, samt att andra faktorer såsom anställningsform och ålder relaterar till viss del med psykisk ohälsa. Studien gav en indikation på att höga värden på KASAM och arbetsrelaterad KASAM ger förutsättningar för individerna att klara av stressorer bättre, som också påverkar psykisk ohälsa

Psykisk ohälsa ökar och enligt socialstyrelsen lider cirka 20 % av arbetsför ålder av psykisk ohälsa. En enkätundersökning genomfördes för att undersöka, hur stor betydelse kön, ålder, coping och känsla av sammanhang har på psykisk ohälsa? Totalt insamlades 108 enkäter var av 101 användes för analys. Data analyserades med hjälp av en hierarkisk multipel regressionsanalys och Pearson korrelationer. 39 % av variationen i psykisk ohälsa förklarades av KASAM, copingstil, ålder och kön. Starkast relaterad till ohälsa i regressionsanalysen var KASAM. Högre KASAM hos en individ innebär bättre psykisk hälsa. Diskussion förs kring bland annat fördelar och nackdelar med valda instrument, sned könsfördelning, samhällsnytta och enkätkonstruktion. Att se vilka faktorer som starkt påverkar psykisk ohälsa är av betydelse för vidare forskning för att sätta fingret på vad som påverkar psykisk ohälsa och till vilken grad.

The aim of this research was to longitudinally and quantitatively investigate sense of coherence (SOC) and coping strategies as predictors of compassion satisfaction (CS) and compassion fatigue (CF) as measured by secondary traumatic stress (STS) and burnout (BT) during the first six months of training in a professional psychology training programme. Trainee therapists’, “dramatically shift” their “focus of functioning over time” to adorn the personality and self of the therapist (Rønnestad & Skovholt, 2003, p. 28). This adaptive process may initially unravel over six months as trainees balance client and workload stressors (Hill, Sullivan, Knox & Schlosser, 2007; Tryssenaar & Perkins, 2001). However, research on the developmental processes behind the negative (CF) and positive (CS) avenues of therapeutic stressors is lacking in the trainee therapists’ population, especially quantitatively (Schwing, LaFollette, Steinfeldt & Wong, 2010; Thériault, Gazzola & Richardson, 2009). This research aimed to explore these issues in relation to professional development through SOC and coping as predictors of CS and CF over a six month training period. Variables were investigated quantitatively through the Professional Quality of Life Scale (ProQOL) (Stamm, 2010) the Brief COPE (BCOPE) (Carver, 1997) and the 29-item self-report Orientation to Life Questionnaire (OLQ) (Antonovsky, 1987). As such, the primary focus of this research was on how SOC and coping strategies were utilised by trainee therapists as process variables in predicting the positive (CS) and negative (CF) avenues of therapeutic work over a six month period of psychotherapy training. Findings suggested that, at the beginning of training, sense of coherence was directly associated with the core outcome variables (CS and CF (as measured by STS and BT). When trainee therapists started seeing clients two months later, the effect of SOC was mediated by coping. At the end of training, only coping was directly associated with outcome variables as the effect of SOC on CS and CF disappeared. These implications are further discussed in the research.

Tidigare forskning som undersökt relationen mellan alkoholkonsumtion, Big Five personlighetsfaktorerna samt känsla av sammanhang utfördes med fokus på riskbruk eller på populationer utanför Sverige. Därför testade denna studie samband mellan alkoholkonsumtion och (a) Big Five personlighetsfaktorerna, (b) KASAM, (c) utbildning samt demografiska variablerna (d) kön och ålder bland högskolestudenter i Sverige. Resultatet kan bidra till forskning om alkoholkonsumtion samt vara av intresse för initiativ som försöker begränsa alkoholkonsumtion. Urvalet bestod av 115 deltagare (64 kvinnor, 50 män och 1 ospecificerad. M = 24.64 år SD 4.27 år). Alkoholkonsumtion mättes med AUDIT-C, Big Five mättes med BFM och KASAM mättes med SOC-13. Alkoholkonsumtion korrelerade signifikant endast med en variabel, extravertion. Negativa korrelationer fanns mellan variabeln riskbruk av alkohol och variablerna KASAM och kön, i riskgruppen fanns fler kvinnor än män. Eftersom urvalet i riskgruppen var lågt hade det varit intressant för framtida forskning att undersöka denna relation igen med högre deltagarantal.