personal growth
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Objective: Studies have consistently found a positive relationship between social support and a sense of purpose; however, less is known about the underlying mechanisms of this relationship. The present study bridges this gap by proposing and testing a path model illustrating the mediating effects of personal growth initiative and academic self-efficacy on the linkage between social support and a sense of purpose.Method: A total of 2,085 Chinese college students completed the revised versions of the Social Support, Personal Growth Initiative, Academic Self-Efficacy, and Sense of Purpose Scales.Results: The results show that social support, personal growth initiative, and academic self-efficacy were all significantly associated with a sense of purpose. As predicted, personal growth initiative and academic self-efficacy mediated the relationship between social support and a sense of purpose, respectively. The results also support the hypothesized serial mediating effect.Conclusion: Individuals who feel more social support have a higher level of personal growth initiative, their academic self-efficacy is stronger, and their academic self-efficacy further enhances their sense of purpose. Additionally, comparisons among the three indirect effects indicated that the effect of personal growth initiative was significantly greater than those of the other two measures. Thus, it can be concluded that personal initiative plays a greater role in enhancing a sense of purpose. These findings not only help to understand how social support enhances the sense of purpose, but also provide insight into the underlying mechanism.

The problem of self-development of a student related to the transformation of the educational process in the post- neoclassical science is highlighted. This problem is considered in the context of a synergetic approach with the actualization of the needs and opportunities for self-organization of the applicant’s personality as a holistic characteristic of a human. It is noted that the pedagogical process of an educational institution of innovative type should be aimed at developing the abilities of the applicant, their ability to meet the challenges of the information society and self-realization in the changing conditions of the modern world. It is stated that self-development of an applicant within the synergetic paradigm of education requires a reorientation of the educational process from traditional conservative to innovative creative, in which the acquisition of vital competencies is carried out in interaction (communication) with other subjects and taking into account external (physical) and internal (mental) human activity. It is substantiated that the key aspects of the self-development of the student should be focused on the formation of their optimal developmental lifestyle. It is about the ability to self-determination, personal growth, self-regulation, existence, self-expression, self-realization. In the projections of the synergetic paradigm, the individual as a complex, open, nonlinear system appears with all the potential opportunities for self-development, which can be realized under certain organizational and pedagogical conditions. It is stated that despite the fact that the applicant – the future specialist controls their own development, the teacher of higher education should exercise general management of educational activities and is fully responsible for the quality of training of the applicant. This is inherent in any level of education. The new roles of the modern teacher (“moderator”, “coach”, “tutor”, “speaker”, “medium”, etc.) set adequate requirements for these roles. Not only the updated knowledge, but also the ways of obtaining it and the possibilities of its application become valuable for the student at various stages and levels. Key aspects of self-development: the ability to self-determination, personal growth, self-regulation, existence, self-expression, self-realization will contribute to the formation of the individual’s personality, open to new knowledge and values, able to realize their own life purpose.

Abstract Background Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) has been shown to be elevated among first responders (Emergency Medical Services, fire service, police force) compared to the general population. Examining the prevalence of mental health issues in a work force with an elevated occupational risk is fundamental towards ensuring their wellbeing and implementing safeguard measures. The goal of this study is therefore to report the prevalence of depression, anxiety, posttraumatic development, and PTSD in Norwegian ambulance personnel. Methods This study is a cross-sectional, anonymous, web-based survey (Questback®), performed among operative personnel employed in the Emergency Medical Services in the Regional Health Trust of Central Norway between 18. February and 9. April 2021. The study was sent to 1052 eligible participants. Questions reported demographic data, a traumatic events exposure index, Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (Depression), Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7 scale, Posttraumatic symptom scale (PTSD) and Posttraumatic change scale. Results The response rate in this study was 45.5% (n = 479/1052). The mean age of respondents was 37.1 years (std. 11.1) and 52.8% (n = 253) were male. Of the respondents, 80.6% (n = 386) were married or had a partner, and 91.6% (n = 439) reported having access to a peer support programme, with 34.9% (n = 167) reporting that they had utilized peer support. In this study, 5% (n = 24) showed a prevalence of manifest posttraumatic stress disorder symptoms, while 8.6% (n = 41) reported moderate to severe depression and 2.9% (n = 14) presented moderate to severe symptoms of general anxiety. Of the respondents, 77.2% (n = 370) reported personal growth because of their work experiences. Conclusions This study indicates that Norwegian ambulance personnel report a prevalence of posttraumatic stress symptoms and depression, which is slightly higher for men, and lower for the female proportion in this study, when compared to an adult Norwegian population. The vast majority of respondents reported personal growth because of their work experience, and both the degree of peer support and having a partner seem to influence levels of posttraumatic stress and -development.

The relatively sparse literature has documented various challenges international migration poses to martial stability, yet we know little about immigrant women's experiences with marital breakdown. Drawing data from a qualitative study of Chinese economic immigrants to Canada, this article explores women's experiences of navigating the processes of this life circumstance, and of how gender—including their senses of changing gender roles in post-immigration and postmarital contexts—plays out in these trajectories. The results of this exploratory study illustrate the value of transcending dichotomous conceptions of the relationship between gender and migration, and of opening spaces in which to better understand immigrant women's increasingly diversified life trajectories and the range of barriers they encounter along the way. The study also reveals multiple opportunities for social work contributions: tackling systematic barriers to settlement, facilitating social support in the community, and recognizing individuals’ diverse trajectory potentials (including the potential for this typically unwelcome event to be integrated as personal growth and transition).

Background: Close relatives provide much of the care to people with cancer. As resilience can shield family caregivers from mental health problems, there has been a burgeoning interest in resilience-promoting interventions. However, the evidence necessary for the development of these interventions is scant and unsynthesized. Aim: To create an overall picture of evidence on resilience in cancer caregiving by a theory-driven meta-synthesis. Design: In this systematically constructed review a thematic synthesis approach has been applied. The original findings were coded and structured deductively according to the theoretical framework. Consequently, the codes were organized inductively into themes and subthemes. Data sources: Through September 2019, five electronic databases were searched for qualitative studies on resilience in cancer caregiving. The search was extended by a supplementary hand search. Seventeen studies met the eligibility criteria. Results: The elements of resilience, as described in the pre-defined theoretical framework of Bonanno, are reflected in the lived experiences of family caregivers. The resilience process starts with the diagnosis of advanced cancer and may result in mental wellbeing, benefit finding, and personal growth. The process is influenced by context elements such as individual history, sociocultural background, caregiver characteristics, and the behavior of the supportive network. A repertoire of coping strategies that caregivers use throughout the caregiving process moderates the resilience process. Conclusion: This review and theoretical synthesis reveal key elements of resilience in the process of cancer caregiving, including influencing factors and outcomes. Implications and avenues for further research are discussed.

Part 1 of this 2-paper series identified a wide and deep network of context, generative mechanisms and outcomes responsible for psychosocial development in a performance basketball club. In this – part 2 – study, the stakeholder’s programme theories were tested during a full-season ethnography of the same club. The findings confirm the highly individualised nature of each young person’s journey. Methodologically, immersion in the day-to-day environment generated a fine-grain analysis of the processes involved, including: i) sustained attentional focus; ii) structured and unstructured skill building activities; iii) deliberate and incidental support; and iv) feelings indicating personal growth. Personal development in and through sport is thus shown to be conditional, multi-faceted, time-sensitive and idiosyncratic. The findings of this two-part study are considered to propose a model of psychosocial development in and through sport. This heuristic tool is presented to support sport psychologists, coaches, club administrators and parents to deliberately create and optimise developmental environments.

The family is the basis of human development, it is the social context that provides the necessary conditions for children to acquire their autonomy at all levels; in addition to the necessary physical care to guarantee their survival. The family is the one that provides the essential affective climate so that there is a process that changes the biological being that is a baby, in a person, in a biopsychosocial being. Marriage arguments emotionally deplete parents and diminish their interest in the emotional needs of their children, who may understand it as rejection or absence of affection, very detrimental to their personal growth. Additionally, marital conflict decreases the parents ability to integrate and participate socially. The provision of affective and emotional stability that child development requires can be seriously threatened by the separation or divorce of the parents, it affects children in the form of coping they use in stressful situations, in the formation of the attachment process, the affective and emotional stability required for child development and how they respond to changes in the family.

Studies have shown that for Service-Learning (SL) to be truly valuable and transformative, it must employ participatory project management practices and is ideally conducted in a face-to-face setting. This case study aims to highlight the strategies used to make SL projects long-term and participatory.  It also measures the effectiveness of such approach in achieving a valuable and transformative SL experience for students and partner communities. Qualitative results show that students were able to develop desired personal, professional, and civic competencies. On the part of the partner communities, qualitative results reveal that they appreciate the year-long participatory SL engagement with the students that brought about high quality SL projects. Quantitative data, on the other hand, indicate that the paired samples t-test resulted in a moderate practical significant difference in the pre-and post-test scores of students when it came to their personal, professional, and civic mindedness skills. Finally, quantitative results indicate that partner communities reported that SL projects brought them a very favorable impact in terms of skills and competencies, motivation and commitments, personal growth and self-concept, and acquisition of knowledge. 

Integrative bilingual teaching/learning of foreign language and engineering disciplines at a technical university provides a good opportunity for students of the personal growth both in cognitive and communicative aspects, which contributes to their better positions in the labor market. To put this opportunity into practice, the educators should have clear ideas about the goal of this educational process, psychological aspects accompanying the process, conditions of its implementation, basic units of teaching/learning, means of monitoring, assessment, and control and some others. All these components of methodology are discussed in this chapter.

Communication is an essential component for social interaction and personal growth. Communication is simply sharing information from one person to another. Four pillars of effective communication are Listening, Speaking, Reading and Writing. The article focuses on the basics of communication. It tries to delve deep into the various aspects of the communication process. Developing the LSRW skills would help one to enrich the overall quality of their lives. This article assists the readers to get acquaintance with the skills which are the key for building a better communication.