Search results for "Psychological flexibility"
showing 10 items of 19 documents
Examining the relationship between public speaking anxiety, distress tolerance and psychological flexibility
2020
Public speaking is an important skill for university students to learn and practice as they progress through education and into their careers. However, individuals often avoid facing public speaking, as they lack the skills to cope with the anxiety that arises when speaking in front of others. The current study aimed to investigate the relationship between public speaking anxiety, distress tolerance, and psychological flexibility. A sample of 95 college students completed psychological flexibility measures and self-ratings of public speaking anxiety before and after a public speaking challenge. A behavioral index of public speaking distress tolerance (i.e., speech duration) was also recorde…
A psychological flexibility -based intervention for burnout : A randomized controlled trial
2020
A novel eight-week program based on Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) principles was created to alleviate burnout-related ill-being and to enhance well-being. This randomized controlled trial investigated the effectiveness of the program and explored whether changes in psychological flexibility mediated the results of the intervention. The program consisted of structured weekly face-to-face group meetings and daily practices provided via a website. Employees from varying professional backgrounds with burnout (mean age = 47 years, 79% female), who all received usual treatment, 1 were randomized into control (TAU, n = 80, receiving no other support) and ACT + TAU intervention (n = 88, r…
Acceptance and Commitment Therapy for Health Behavior Change: A Contextually-Driven Approach.
2018
Promoting health behavior change presents an important challenge to theory and research in the field of health psychology. In this paper, we introduce a context-driven approach, the Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) model which is built on Relational Frame Theory. The ACT-based intervention aims to promote individuals’ new health behavior patterns through the improvement of the key construct of psychological flexibility, which is defined as the ability to contact the present moment more fully with acceptance and mindfulness as a conscious human being. Building on the psychological flexibility model, implemented through the six core ACT processes, individuals improve maintenance of lon…
Psychological flexibility and mindfulness explain intuitive eating in overweight adults.
2015
The current study investigated whether mindfulness and psychological flexibility, independently and together, explain intuitive eating. The participants were overweight or obese persons ( N = 306) reporting symptoms of perceived stress and enrolled in a psychological lifestyle intervention study. Participants completed self-report measures of psychological flexibility; mindfulness including the subscales observe, describe, act with awareness, non-react, and non-judgment; and intuitive eating including the subscales unconditional permission to eat, eating for physical reasons, and reliance on hunger/satiety cues. Psychological flexibility and mindfulness were positively associated with intu…
Psychological flexibility mediates change in intuitive eating regulation in acceptance and commitment therapy interventions
2017
AbstractObjectiveDespite the promising results related to intuitive eating, few studies have attempted to explain the processes encouraging this adaptive eating behaviour. The focus of the present study was on exploring mechanisms of change in intuitive eating and weight in acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) interventions. Mediation provides important information regarding the treatment processes and theoretical models related to specific treatment approaches. The study investigates whether psychological flexibility, mindfulness skills and sense of coherence mediated the interventions’ effect on intuitive eating and weight.DesignSecondary analysis of a randomized control trial. Mediati…
Patterns of Psychological Responses among the Public during the Early Phase of COVID-19: A Cross-Regional Analysis
2021
This study aimed to compare the mediation of psychological flexibility, prosociality and coping in the impacts of illness perceptions toward COVID-19 on mental health among seven regions. Convenience sampled online survey was conducted between April and June 2020 from 9130 citizens in 21 countries. Illness perceptions toward COVID-19, psychological flexibility, prosociality, coping and mental health, socio-demographics, lockdown-related variables and COVID-19 status were assessed. Results showed that psychological flexibility was the only significant mediator in the relationship between illness perceptions toward COVID-19 and mental health across all regions (all ps = 0.001–0.021). Seeking …
The Effects of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) Intervention on Inflammation and Stress Biomarkers : a Randomized Controlled Trial
2020
Abstract Background Psychological processes can be manifested in physiological health. We investigated whether acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT), targeted on psychological flexibility (PF), influences inflammation and stress biomarkers among working-age adults with psychological distress and overweight/obesity. Method Participants were randomized into three parallel groups: (1) ACT-based face-to-face (n = 65; six group sessions led by a psychologist), (2) ACT-based mobile (n = 73; one group session and mobile app), and (3) control (n = 66; only the measurements). Systemic inflammation and stress markers were analyzed at baseline, at 10 weeks after the baseline (post-intervention), and…
Psychological flexibility, occupational burnout and eating behavior among working women
2013
Background: Occupational burnout is associated with diminished psychological flexibility and higher emotional (EE) and uncontrolled eating (UE). Psychological flexibility could be a mediating factor between burnout and eating behaviour. Objectives: To investigate differences in eating behaviour between those with different levels of psychological flexibility, and the association of the interaction between psychological flexibility and occupational burnout with eating behaviour. Design: The participants were working women (n = 263), who took part in the randomized controlled health intervention trial. Analyses were performed in a cross-sectional setting at baseline. Methods: Eating behaviour…
Can peer-tutored psychological flexibility training facilitate physical activity among adults with overweight?
2021
Objective An increase in psychological flexibility has been found to be associated with health behavior changes. Peer-led interventions have been advantageous in improving physical activity among individuals at health risk. This study aimed to discover whether an ACT-based peer-tutored online intervention can increase self-reported physical activity participation and psychological flexibility among adults with overweight. Design The study was a non-randomized longitudinal intervention study. The intervention participants (N = 177) were primary health care clients with overweight. They participated in a 24-month program provided by health services, including three online modules of ACT of si…
Virtual reality acceptance and commitment therapy intervention for social and public speaking anxiety : A randomized controlled trial
2023
Virtual reality (VR) offers new and flexible ways to provide psychological interventions. The aim of this study was to develop and investigate the effectiveness of a VR intervention based on acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) for social and public speaking anxiety. ACT is a process-based approach that aims to (a) increase individuals’ abilities to handle difficult emotional and cognitive experiences and (b) develop the motivation required for change to occur. In this study, a sample of university students with social interaction or communication anxiety (N = 76; age M = 24.95, SD = 6.50, 69.7% females) was blindly randomized into a total of 2 h of VR ACT training (VRACT; n = 37) or a w…