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Development, validation, and reliability of the Irrational Beliefs Scale for Sports Officials (IBSSO).
Get PDFApplication of Rational-Emotive Behavior Therapy (REBT) within performance environments is increasing, however measures that assess irrational beliefs in specific populations are encouraged. A population that may benefit from REBT is sports officials. This paper reports the development, validation and reliability of the Irrational Beliefs Scale for Sports Officials (IBSSO). Item development was drawn from original items of the Irrational Performance Beliefs Inventory (iPBI), then refined over three stages using an expert panel, novice panel and industry panel. Officials ( 402; 349 male, 50 female, 3 undisclosed) from 11 sports ( years' experience = 13.02; 10.24) completed the inventory, with exploratory factor analysis suggesting a 3, 4, and 5-factor model from 22 remaining items. A new sample of 154 officials (140 male, 12 female, 2 undisclosed) representing 9 sports ( years' experience = 14.61, = 11.96) completed the IBSSO, along with 6 other related measures (e.g., Automatic Thoughts Questionnaire, Affective Reactivity Index) to assess criterion validity. A four-factor model showed acceptable fit, with self-depreciation, peer rejection demands, emotional control demands, and approval identified as subscales, as well as a three-factor model. The IBSSO was positively correlated with the additional measures and negatively correlated with age, demonstrating concurrent validity. To assess convergent validity, 94 new officials (83 male, 10 female, 1 undisclosed; 36.74 years, = 15.03) completed the IBSSO and iPBI simultaneously. The IBSSO was positively correlated with the iPBI, indicating convergent validity. Furthermore, 29 officials (25 male, 4 female, years' experience = 14.57, = 12.44) completed the IBSSO over three-time points, with a repeated-measures MANCOVA and Intra-Class Coefficients confirming test-retest reliability. The 16-item four-factor model was accepted based on statistical and theoretical fit. The paper presents a measure of irrational beliefs in sports officials, with investigation into the effectiveness of REBT with this population recommended. [Abstract copyright: Copyright © 2025 Carrington, Turner, North and Brady.
‘A broken system’? Service user definitions of avoidable social and psychological harm in mental health social care and recommendations for its minimization in England
Get PDFMental health social care (MHSC) is an under-researched area, with little investigation of avoidable social and psychological harm. Understanding this type of harm from service user perspectives is critical for identifying effective strategies for harm minimization. This survivor-controlled research aimed to generate a service user-defined model of avoidable social and psychological harm in community-based MHSC in England, and gather recommendations for its minimization. We first conducted an evidence synthesis to generate an initial model. To refined and finalize the model and explore recommendations, we held two focus groups and carried out a survey with MHSC service users. The final model includes seven sources of avoidable social and psychological harm: barriers or burdens caused by systems/bureaucracy; stigma and discrimination; fragmented services; disruption to or lack of appropriate support; oppressive, controlling, or defensive organizational cultures and systems; serious misconduct or sexual abuse by staff; and neglectful, defensive, or controlling frontline practice. Nine recommendations for harm minimization are made, including: practice improvements; recruitment, education and training; monitoring and regulation; complaints processes; and independent advocacy. Further research is needed to investigate the scale of these harms, who is at particular risk, and the implementation of service user-generated harm minimization recommendations
Hospitalisation, mortality and years of life lost among chikungunya and dengue cases in Brazil: a nationwide cohort study, 2015-2024.
Get PDFThe incidence of infections from arthropod-borne viruses, including chikungunya and dengue, is increasing globally. We used nationwide data collected over a decade in Brazil to examine the factors associated with hospitalisation, in-hospital mortality, and the years of life lost from these diseases in Brazil. Using nationwide de-identified chikungunya and dengue disease records registered from 1st January 2015 to 31 December 2024, we estimated the risk factors for hospitalisation and in-hospital mortality via logistic regression and the Fine and Gray model, respectively. We also calculated the years of life lost for each disease and the average of years of life lost (aYLL), stratified by geographic region, sex and race/ethnicity. We studied 1,125,209 chikungunya cases: 21,336 (1.9%) required hospitalisations. Among hospitalised cases, 1044 (4.9%) deaths occurred within 84 days of symptom onset, of which 728 (69.7%) were attributed to chikungunya. We studied 13,741,408 dengue cases: 455,899 (3.3%) required hospitalisation, with 12,969 (2.8%) deaths among the hospitalised cases, with 9989 (77.0%) attributed to dengue. Age (<1 or ≥70 years), sex (male), and the presence of diabetes and kidney disease were risk factors for hospitalisation and in-hospital mortality in both diseases. The aYLL for chikungunya was 16.0 years, and for dengue, 14.5 years; however, the burden was not evenly distributed across the population. For chikungunya, Black participants experienced the highest aYLL of 22.0 years, while White participants were the least affected (aYLL: 13.0). For dengue, the most affected group was Indigenous (aYLL: 22.5) and the least White (aYLL: 12.6). Infants, older people (≥70 years), male sex and the presence of comorbidities are associated with increased severity in cases of chikungunya and dengue. These diseases disproportionately affect historically minoritised populations, with participants who self-identified as Black and Indigenous experiencing significantly greater years of life lost compared to the white population. Mitigating the impacts of chikungunya and dengue necessitates addressing health and social inequities. Royal Society, Wellcome Trust, CNPq. [Abstract copyright: © 2025 The Author(s).
Costs and return to scale analysis of extending the offer of pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) to key populations aged 15-17 years old in two Brazilian cities.
Get PDFIn Brazil, HIV infection incidence is increasing, particularly among men who have sex with men (MSM) and transgender women (TGW). Pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) is an effective prevention strategy, offered for free for those 15 years and over, in the Brazilian National Health System (SUS), but without a consistent demand creation strategy (DCS) to support the Sustainable Development Goals targets. The objectives of this study are to assess (1) the total incremental cost, and average total incremental costs of PrEP delivery, including DCS, targeting MSM and TGW adolescent aged 15-17 years old, and (2) the potential gains of scale for the expansion of PrEP at SUS, based on different scenarios to reach the UNAIDS goals for HIV targets. We estimated the total incremental and average total incremental cost, and the gains of scale for the expansion of PrEP delivery in SUS using Cobb-Douglas functions. The average total incremental cost per PrEP delivery was estimated at USD 321 in Salvador and USD 254 in São Paulo. Gains of scale were observed in both study settings and nationally for the Brazilian SUS. Our estimates show that investments in expanding PrEP delivery to 15-17 years old will likely reduce average total incremental costs to the Brazilian SUS. However, a cost-effectiveness analysis would be required to assess whether investments in an expansion of PrEP delivery would maximise the benefits of reducing the incidence of HIV/AIDS among the target population compared to the current Brazilian SUS practices. [Abstract copyright: Copyright: © 2025 Costa Santos et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
Bio-banding influences talent experts' ratings of psycho-social behaviours during 11 v 11 soccer match-play.
Get PDFSelection into talent programmes is determined by perceptions of talent experts (i.e. professional academy scouts or coaches). Biological maturity status and/or timing can influence psycho-social behaviours in match-play. This study examined whether bio-banding (i.e. grouping players by biological maturity) influences talent experts' ratings of psycho-social behaviours. Using the Hull Soccer Behavioural Scoring Tool (HSBST), 14 talent experts rated 118 trained/developmental, male, adolescent (age: 13.7 ± 0.8 years) soccer players during six 20-minute, chronological age and bio-banded 11v11 matches. Players were bio-banded using percentage of predicted adult height (%PAH) using modified band thresholds relevant to peak height velocity (PHV; 96%PAH, post-PHV). Dependent sample t-tests between the whole group ratings identified significant differences ( < 0.05) between formats. Decision-making and composure ratings increased in pre-PHV, with X-factor improving for circa-PHV players. Perceptions of resilience, competitiveness and confidence had to ( = 0.26-0.65) reductions for early maturers. Bio-banding significantly enhanced perceptions of competitiveness, confidence, composure and X-factor in on-time maturers ( = 0.011-0.049). Data indicates bio-banding positively influences perceptions of composure, competitiveness, decision-making and X-factor by talent experts, particularly for less biologically advanced players. Bio-banding may alter talent experts' observations of psycho-social behaviours, potentially improving (de)selection accuracy by assessing talent more holistically
Why the battle for creativity is worth fighting
No full textWe hear regularly that the pipeline of future linguists is
drying up and, given the views above, we need to ask
ourselves as professionals about balance: where is the
place of authenticity and creativity within the ‘knowledge
rich curriculum’ (Gibb 2010) and reduced teaching time
on the timetable? Can they cohabit to develop intrinsic
motivation for language learning?
This is why St Mary’s University, Twickenham and The
Queen’s College, Oxford have joined forces to create a
Special Interest Group on Creativity in the MFL classroom.
Following our talk on creativity in the MFL classroom session at the Language Show in November 2024, we felt it was time to bring practitioners together to think about creativity and authenticity
in languages lessons. So, our Special Interest Group [SIG] for Creativity in MFL was born. This article summarises the work of the SIG and our journey to promote creativity in the MFL classroom
Barriers to equitable COVID-19 booster uptake among adults aged 50 and older in the UK: psychological factors and misinformation influencing vaccine hesitancy
Get PDFBackground The booster dose was developed to enhance protection againstemerging strains of SARS-CoV-2. However, disparities in booster dose uptake persist,particularly among ethnic minority groups and socioeconomically disadvantagedpopulations, exacerbating existing health inequalities. Addressing these inequities iscritical to ensuring equitable vaccine access and achieving global health security. TheTRUST study aimed to bridge this gap by improving the effectiveness of future boosterdose campaigns targeting specific audiences.Methods Individuals aged 50 and above who had declined the booster dose andresided in London (n = 15) and the West Midlands (n = 15) were invited to participatein online qualitative interviews. These interviews delved into participants’ attitudestowards COVID-19 vaccine booster doses and their encounters with misinformationrelated to COVID-19. Zoom recordings were transcribed using Otter.ai andsubsequently imported into NVivo V.12 for thematic analysis.Results Analysis revealed four primary themes: ‘Vaccine production andadministration’, ‘Health misinformation and beliefs’, ‘Personal circumstances and socialinfluences’, and ‘Policy and logistical factors’. Key factors influencing vaccine hesitancyincluded mistrust in vaccine manufacturing, lack of culturally tailored communication,and logistical barriers to access. The role of social determinants emerged, as significantcontributors to disparities in booster dose uptake.Conclusion Future booster dose campaigns must integrate equity-driven approachesto overcome vaccine hesitancy and increase uptake among underrepresentedpopulations. By prioritizing transparent communication about vaccine manufacturingand regulatory processes, these campaigns can build trust in the vaccine’s safety andefficacy. Addressing misinformation with culturally sensitive messages tailored todiverse communities will help dispel misconceptions. Additionally, leveraging variouscommunication channels will ensure that the messages reach and resonate with allaudience segments. Establishing robust monitoring and adaptation mechanismswill enable timely responses to public sentiment and emerging concerns, ultimately ensuring that vaccine distribution strategies contribute to health equity rather thanperpetuate disparities
A Mystical Therapy: Re-Booting the Mystical
Get PDFOne of the central themes of this journal is to ‘re-boot’ the mystical tradition for the contemporary seeker. The author, a practising psychotherapist, undertakes this in the present article by connecting three strands of thought and practice to propose a ‘mystical therapy’. First, there is the Christian mystical tradition as exemplified by the medieval tradition of theologia mystica. Secondly, the practices and insights of present-day therapy and counselling arising from the pioneering work of Sigmund Freud (1856 – 1939) and his successors, including recent approaches from practitioners such as James Hillman and Wilfred Bion. Finally, the philosophical reflections of Freud’s Viennese contemporary Ludwig Wittgenstein (1889 – 1951), especially in regard to das Mystische and the choreography of saying and showing. All three strands are blended together as the author reflects on three decades of work in the area and the possibility of ‘re-booting’ the mystical through these means
TAS1R2 rs35874116 Associations with Taste, Diet, and Health in an Italian Population
Get PDFBackground/Objectives: The TAS1R2 SNP rs35874116 has previously been associated with sweet taste, diet, and health status, although never comprehensively in a single study. Also, associations between TAS1R2 and sweet taste might be body mass index (BMI)-dependent. Therefore, this study aimed to conduct a comprehensive investigation
of rs35874116 and sweet taste intensity and liking, food liking, and diet and health status whilst considering BMI.
Methods: Five-hundred and fifty-four participants were recruited. Linear regression models were used to explore rs35874116 associations with sweet taste intensity and liking, food liking, and diet and health status. A secondary analysis stratified participants by BMI <25/≥25 kg/m2
. Results: The rs35874116 wildtype was associated with increased sweet taste intensity (p = 0.0345, B 1.29, SE 0.61) and liking (p = 0.021, B 0.25,
SE 0.11). However, these associations only remained in BMI ≥25 individuals (intensity: p = 0.037, B 1.29, SE 0.61, liking: p = 0.008, B 0.46, SE 0.17). It was also associated with decreased diet quality (p = 0.03, B −0.27, SE 0.13) and reduced free sugar consumption but increased saturated fat consumption in BMI ≥25 individuals (free sugars: p = 0.0416, B −0.8, SE 0.38, saturated fat: p = 0.031, B 1.38, SE 0.62). There was no association with the mean liking score for sweet foods, although there were some associations with individual foods, which require further investigation. There were no associations with health status.
Conclusions: This study revealed an association between the rs35874116 wildtype and an increased intensity and liking of the sweet taste and a corresponding worse overall dietary quality. This study adds to previous evidence regarding how associations between TAS1R2
and sweet taste are BMI-dependent