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Measuring distress in older population: Rasch analysis of the Kessler Psychological Distress Scale
No full textObjectives: The 10-item Kessler Psychological Distress Scale (K-10) is a widely applied distress measure; however, its psychometric properties were not established with older populations using advanced methodology. The aim of this study was to examine psychometric properties of the K-10 through application of Rasch methodology and if possible, develop an ordinal-to-interval conversion to improve its reliability in older populations. Method: The Partial Credit Rasch Model was applied to analyse K-10 scores of the sample including 490 participants (56.3% females) aged 70 to 90 years and without dementia from the Sydney Memory and Aging Study (MAS). Results: The initial analysis of the K-10 showed poor reliability and significant deviation from the expectations of the Rasch model. The best model fit was evident after correcting disordered thresholds and creating two testlet models to address local dependency between items (χ2(35)=29.87, p=0.71). The modified K-10 demonstrated strict unidimensionality, enhanced reliability and scale invariance across personal factors, such as sex, age, and education and permitted development of ordinal-to-interval transformation algorithms. Limitations: Ordinal-to-interval conversion can only be applied for older adults with complete data. Conclusions: The K-10 satisfied principles of fundamental measurement defined by Rasch model after minor modifications. Clinicians and researchers can transform K-10 raw scores into interval-level data using converging algorithms published here without altering the original scale response format, which increases reliability of the K-10
Predicting authenticity: The effects of self-monitoring, self-presentation styles, and biological sex
Get PDFThe field of authenticity research is quickly expanding, and much research has investigated the antecedents of authenticity; however, some factors have only been theorised. This thesis project aims to take two concepts theorised to affect authenticity, which are self-monitoring levels and self-presentation styles and explore their relationship to it. Sex is known to influence self-monitoring and self-presentation styles and was therefore included as a moderating variable. Expanding our knowledge into the factors that affect authenticity allows us to construct interventions to help increase individuals' authenticity and well-being. In this cross-sectional study (N = 388), respondents rated themselves on scales measuring their authenticity, self-monitoring and self-presentation styles. Via the regression analyses, we found that the respondent's age played a significant role in their authenticity level. The self-presentation styles, exemplification and supplication, were found to have negative relationships with authenticity. Sex moderated the relationship between self-promotion and authenticity, so that the non-significant positive relationship was stronger for women than men. The respondent's sex also moderated the relationship between intimidation and authenticity, making the non-significant negative relationship stronger for women. All other findings were non-significant, indicating that self-monitoring and ingratiation do not significantly predict authenticity regardless of whether sex was a moderator or not
Increasing compliance with teacher instructions within the classroom using variable interval tactile prompting in a self-management intervention
Get PDFThe skill of compliance is considered an essential keystone behaviour that correlates with academic performance and pro-social behaviours. This study extended the research of Lee (2016) by implementing a self-management intervention (with and without a tactile prompt) to increase compliant behaviour of a typically developing child in a mainstream New Zealand classroom. Two key components of this intervention were treating compliance as a skill to be taught, and evaluating the use of a discrete tactile prompt. It was expected that this self-management intervention would effectively increase compliance with teacher instructions within the classroom. The main hypothesis of this study was that a self-management intervention is more effective at increasing compliance with teacher instructions if it includes the use of a tactile prompt than if no prompts are used. A single-subject alternating treatment design was used to assess and compare the efficacy of both conditions. Secondly it was hypothesised that this self-management intervention would have high social validity for both the student and teacher. Thirdly, it was hypothesised that the intervention would result in a concomitant increase in on task behaviour. The findings of this study supported these hypotheses. Additionally increases in both compliance and on-task behaviour generalised to other settings and were maintained beyond the fading phase of the intervention. The findings of this study have theoretical implications relevant to the general classroom and future research
Uptake, experiences and barriers to cervical screening for trans and non‐binary people in Aotearoa New Zealand
Get PDFBackground: Little is known about experiences and barriers for trans and non- binary (TGNB) people eligible for cervical screening in Aotearoa New Zealand.
Aims: To identify uptake, barriers and reasons for delaying cervical cancer screen-ing among TGNB people in Aotearoa.
Materials and Methods: The 2018 Counting Ourselves data on TGNB people as-signed female at birth aged 20– 69 years who had ever had sex, were analysed to report on experiences of those who were eligible for cervical screening (n = 318). Participants answered questions about whether they had taken part in cervical screening and reasons behind any delays in receiving the test.
Results: Trans men were more likely than non- binary participants to report that they did not require cervical screening or were unsure if they needed it. For those who had delayed cervical screening, 30% did so due to feeling worried about how they would be treated as a trans or non- binary person and 35% due to another reason. Other reasons for delay related to general and gender- related discomfort, previous traumatic experiences, anxiety or fear of the test and pain. Material bar-riers to access included cost and lack of information.
Conclusions: The current cervical screening program in Aotearoa does not con-sider the needs of TGNB people, leading to delayed and reduced uptake of cervical screening. Health providers require education on the reasons TGNB people delay or avoid cervical screening in order to provide appropriate information and affirm-ative healthcare environments. The human papillomavirus self- swab may address some of the existing barriers
Feminism and education in post-war New Zealand: a sociological analysis
Get PDFFor the purposes of this thesis, feminism has been viewed as both a set of social theories which identify, describe and account for the contradictions experienced by women in their everyday lives and the social movement which has developed and employed these theories to assist in generating political strategies aimed at redressing social inequalities and injustices recognised as based, wholly or in part, on gender. Since the late 1960s, many New Zealand educators have been influenced by feminism. Although feminist social scientists have given some attention to the origins of post-war feminism, there has been little attention given by scholars to describing and explaining how individual women came to adopt a feminist analysis of the social world. This thesis is a sociological analysis of the lives of twelve feminist educators, born in New Zealand in the years immediately following World War Two. The method used in this is life-history analysis, which focusses on ‘biography, history and social structure.’ It is argued that these New Zealand women, who attended school in the post-war years, and who have, as adults, become both educators and feminists, experienced in their lives contradictions and a sense of ‘marginality’, which generated in them visions of both the desirability and the possibility of change in their own lives and in the lives of women in general. During their schooling, they experienced contradictions between their upbringing to be professionally-autonomous ‘intellectuals’ and the expectations of them as women to be subordinately ‘feminine.’ They also experienced contradictory expectations with respect to their sexual morality: while the dominant ideology of family and school emphasised pre-marital virginity, the permissive anarchy of the ‘sexual revolution’ stressed freedom of sexual expression. These women believed that education could provide a vision of the desirability and the possibility of change in their own lives and in those of their students. As feminist educators within institutions, these women experienced a ‘double marginality’: as women, they were marginal in attaining senior positions within professional hierarchies and as feminists they were members of a small and dissenting minority
“They expect me to be caring”: The challenges of claiming an androgynous leadership approach
Get PDFPurpose: This study aims to explore the experience of performing androgynous leadership approaches by New Zealand women leaders within the context of everyday conflict situations. Design/methodology/approach: The research question “How do women leaders experience gender in conflict situations?” was explored through the facilitation of 4 focus groups with 19 senior female leaders in New Zealand. Poststructural discourse analysis was used to explore how participants negotiated positions of power within their environments and in accordance with competing gendered discourses. Findings: Participants described taking a flexible, balanced, androgynous leadership approach to managing conflict situations. While the expectations to be “empathetic”, “sympathetic”, “gentle”, “nurturing” and “caring” resonated with the participants preferred approach, they remained firm that if conflict persisted, they would “cross the line” and adopt stereotypically masculine behaviours to resolve the situation. However, participants describe that when perceived to be crossing the line from feminine to masculine approaches, they experienced significant backlash. This demonstrates the tensions between the approaches women leaders would like to take in managing conflict and the experiences of doing so within a prescriptively gendered organisational context. Originality/value: This research contributes to a gap which exists in understanding how gender is experienced from the viewpoint of the woman leader. This research presents a nuanced view of gendered leadership as a contested ground, rather than a series of strategic choices. Despite an increase in the acceptance of women into leadership positions, the authors seemingly remain bound by what is considered a “feminine” leader
"Be feared, or live in fear": A descriptive model of institutional gang violence
Get PDFPrison violence is a significant concern both in New Zealand and across the globe. While past theories and empirical research have highlighted several risk factors implicated in prison violence, we continue to have a limited understanding of what happens, and why it happens, during a prison violence event (PVE). Furthermore, we have even less of an understanding about the involvement of gangs in prison violence despite research suggesting that gang members are over-represented when it comes to involvement in such incidents. Previous research on gang violence in prison also focuses heavily on prisons in the United States of America which have different cultural, social, and judicial dimensions and may not generalise to the New Zealand prison population. This research project aimed to fill some of these gaps by taking an exploratory approach to induce new ideas following interviews with gang members who have first-hand experience with perpetrating prison violence. We used Grounded Theory to collect and analyse event descriptions to build a descriptive model of institutional gang violence which describes the distal and proximal features of the PVE process. The resulting model contributes to a better understanding of the function of PVEs involving gang members and the extent to which these events differ when carried out for or on behalf of the gang. It also highlights the role of past trauma and the prison ecology in the perpetuation of these events
"If you were a cow, what would you want?" Findings from participatory workshops with dairy farmers
Get PDFWhen looking to improve animal welfare, it is essential to understand the viewpoints of stakeholders in the industry. Previous research has engaged stakeholders such as farmers, veterinarians, and the public to better understand future dairy industry directions. However, the use of perspective-taking as a tool to overcome farmer's focus on current barriers to the industry has not been explored. Therefore, the aims of this study were to have farmers take the perspective of the cow, to elicit: (1) farm elements that are essential to create a cow-centric dairy system, and (2) how this system can be achieved in the next 50 years. To do this, we employed participatory methods (photo elicitation, timelining) to generate discussion with 12 New Zealand dairy farmers. Pasture access is frequently cited as an integral component for promoting good welfare in dairy cows, thus, this cohort of farmers was considered a good case study as they all had experience managing cows in grazing systems. Participants were asked to create a cow-centric farm design, and a pathway to implementation. Following thematic analysis of the multiple data sources, the results are presented under the following three themes: (1) cow-centric farm designs (environmental considerations, cow handling and care), (2) timeline to achieve and sequence of implementation ("low hanging fruit" and long-term investments), and (3) assumptions and resources needed (including financial considerations, technology, farmer buy-in, regulations and enforcement and other stakeholder involvement). By better understanding how current industry practice aligns, and also differs, from what the cow would want, we can work towards future management systems that incorporate the requirements of all stakeholders, including the cow
The science-society relationship in Aotearoa: practicing responsible innovation in the New Zealand research and innovation system
Get PDFReports on Aotearoa New Zealand’s research, science, and innovation (RSI) system suggest the sector could improve its social responsibility and create more social value. However, researchers and innovators within the sector find this challenging. Through qualitative interviews and a national survey of RSI system participants, this study explores the current perceptions, practices enacted, and support given around responsible research and innovation practices. Findings indicate that researchers and innovators have diverse understandings of what responsible research and innovation entails, viewing anticipation and reflexivity-aligned practices as the most important aspects of responsible research and innovation. Participants feel most supported by research organisations and funding bodies to enact such aspects of responsible practice. However, they perceive a discrepancy, across all dimensions explored, between what researchers and innovators should do, and what they actually do in terms of enacting responsible practices. Thus, significant room for improvement is identified, particularly regarding practices that align with researchers’ and innovators’ obligations under Te Tiriti o Waitangi, and requirements under Vision Mātauranga
Parent mental health and associations with mind-mindedness across two infant interactions: free play and a teaching task
Get PDFMind-mindedness (MM) is the tendency of a parent to recognise and treat their child as having a mind of their own. The current study aimed to examine associations of parent mental health and wellbeing symptoms with parental MM across two infant interactions: a free play and a teaching task. Sixty-two parent-infant dyads from New Zealand and Australia participated in the interactions, which were recorded and then coded for positive and negatively valenced appropriate and non-attuned MM. In addition, parents also completed the Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scale (DASS-21; Lovibond & Lovibond, 1995), the Difficulties with Emotion Regulation Scale (DERS; Gratz & Roemer, 2004) and the Parental Reflective Functioning Questionnaire (PRFQ; Luyten, Mayes, Sadler, Fonagy, Nicholls, Crowley & Slade, 2009) via an online survey.
The results showed that the proportion of appropriate positive MM comments differed across the tasks. Parents spoke more overall during free play but made more appropriate positive and negative comments in the teaching task. Greater parental stress and anxiety symptoms were associated with more appropriate negative mind-minded comments, with different patterns seen across the two tasks. In free play, stress was associated with appropriate negative MM; whereas in the teaching task, greater parent stress and anxiety were associated with more appropriate negative MM and fewer non-attuned MM comments. Appropriate and non-attuned MM comments were positively correlated with parental pre-mentalising. Increased parental difficulties with emotional regulation were linked to an increase in appropriate negative and also non-attuned MM comments. Stress explained 11.7% of the variance in appropriate negative MM comments in free play, and anxiety explained 12.1% of the variance in appropriate negative MM during the teaching task. Stress and PRFQ pre-mentalising together explained 23.2% of the variance in non-attuned MM comments in the teaching task
The current findings have implications for understanding how parental wellbeing is associated with differences in MM and extend existing research from free play contexts to the parent-infant teaching context. Understanding differences in MM as a function of parent mental health is important in targeting future MM interventions to support high-risk parents. This research was conducted over the COVID period with varying impacts. In particular, DERS and DASS scores were higher than other research conducted prior to COVID, so caution is required when considering the generalisability of the results. However, this may reflect the ‘new normal’ for a significant portion of time as COVID impact has been reported to be significant and ongoing