Nationwide implementation of media literacy training sessions on internet safety

in Communications: the European Journal of Communication Research (2021)

Although numerous media literacy training sessions on internet safety for children and adolescents have been conducted, their number contrasts sharply with the few systematic studies on their effectiveness. In this study, we describe the evaluation of nationwide-implemented training sessions on internet safety in Luxembourg, which included perceptions of learning outcomes and evaluations of implementation and effectiveness. Training data from 2011 to 2018 were analyzed, including 28,060 students and 5,031 teachers. Students reported pronounced learning effects, especially for younger students and for repeated training participation. Teachers greatly appreciated the implementation and effectiveness, which generally increased over the years. The perceived effectiveness of the training was significantly related to teachers’ planning to cover internet safety topics in future lessons. The present study shows that carefully planned and continuously evaluated training sessions on internet safety successfully support children’s understanding and teachers’ willingness to implement internet safety in their curriculum.

Schattenboxen um die psychotherapeutische Gesundheitsversorgung in Luxemburg

Article for general public (2021)

Extended telecommuting due to COVID-19 and the impact on working life

in Mein, Georg; Pause, Johannes (Eds.) Self and Society in the Corona Crisis. Perspectives from the Humanities and Social Sciences (2021)

The corona virus (COVID-19) pandemic has changed the working lives of people all over the world, amongst others, the labor market has seen a sharp increase in telecommuting. Therefore, the extent of telecommuting in Luxembourg as well as definitions and different arrangements of telecommuting will be presented. Thereafter the chapter looks at merits and demerits of telecommuting and the boundary conditions of successfully working from home by focusing on the extraordinary situation under which telework currently takes place. In this regard, the effects of telecommuting on the individual, the organization and the society are outlined and discussed. Finally, the chapter closes highlighting requirements for effective telecommuting and describing ongoing research about the effects of telecommuting on different working conditions in Luxembourg.

Trauer an Schulen. Basiswissen und Hinweise zum Umgang mit Sterben und Tod

Book published by Springer (2021)

Psychological contract violation or basic need frustration? Psychological mechanisms behind the effects of workplace bullying

in Frontiers in Psychology (2021)

Workplace bullying is a phenomenon that can have serious detrimental effects on health, work-related attitudes, and the behavior of the target. Particularly, workplace bullying exposure has been linked to lower level of general well-being, job satisfaction, vigor and performance, and higher level of burnout, workplace deviance, and turnover intentions. However, the psychological mechanisms behind these relations are still not well understood. Drawing on psychological contract and self-determination theory, we hypothesized that perceptions of contract violation and the frustration of basic needs mediate the relationship between workplace bullying exposure and well-being, attitudinal, and behavioral outcomes. Self-reported data were collected among employees with different working backgrounds (N = 1,257) via Amazon’s Mechanical Turk in an online survey. Results showed that feelings of contract violation and frustration of basic needs accounted for unique variation in well-being, work satisfaction, burnout, vigor, and turnover intentions, pointing to individual contributions of both psychological mechanisms. However, when controlled for frustration of basic needs, feelings of psychological contract violation were no longer a mediator between workplace bullying exposure and work performance. Helping employees to deal effectively with workplace bullying exposure might buffer its negative effects and reduce their experienced frustration of basic needs, preserving their well-being, vigor, and work performance and, eventually, prevent burnout. The present study is the first to concurrently elucidate the proposed psychological mechanisms and unique contributions of psychological contract violation and frustration of basic needs in the context of workplace bullying.

Effects of Emotional Music on Facial Emotion Recognition in Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD)

in Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders (2020)

Impaired facial emotion recognition in children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is in contrast to their intact emotional music recognition. This study tested whether emotion congruent music enhances facial emotion recognition. Accuracy and reaction times were assessed for 19 children with ASD and 31 controls in a recognition task with angry, happy, or sad faces. Stimuli were shown with either emotionally congruent or incongruent music or no music. Although children with ASD had higher reaction times than controls, accuracy only differed when incongruent or no music was played, indicating that congruent emotional music can boost facial emotion recognition in children with ASD. Emotion congruent music may support emotion recognition in children with ASD, and thus may improve their social skills.

Does Motivation in Physical Education Have an Impact on Out-of-School Physical Activity over Time? A Longitudinal Approach

in International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health (2020), 17(19), 7258

Previous research based on the trans-contextual model proposes that autonomous motivation in physical education (PE) is transferable to an out-of-school leisure-time (LT) context. However, only cross-sectional and unidirectional analyses have been conducted. The present study used a longitudinal design assessing N = 1681 students (M = 14.68 years) on two occasions, measuring the following constructs: perceived need for support in PE, motivational regulation during PE and LT, attitude, subjective norm, perceived behavioral control, intention, and physical activity behavior. Findings based on mixed effect models revealed that autonomy, competence, and relatedness support of the PE teacher were positively related to autonomous motivation. Moreover, similar motivational regulation types were found to significantly cross-lag across contexts. Through longitudinal mediation analyses, further support for the impact of autonomous motivation on physical activity, mediated by intention, attitude, and perceived behavioral control, was found. Suggestions for educational stakeholders regarding how to promote students’ autonomous motivation are provided.

The Job demands-resources model: A validation with employees working in Luxembourg

Poster (2020, September 02)

Purpose: The present study aimed to validate the job demands-resources model (Bakker & Demerouti, 2017) among a representative sample of the worker population in Luxembourg. Moreover, our purpose was to identify which specific job demands and resources contribute the most to burnout and work engagement, respectively. Design: Data were collected via computer assisted telephone and web interview in a large sample of 1689 employees working in Luxembourg (55.2% male, Mage = 44.1, SDage = 10.3). Most participants worked in academic professions (31.4%, n = 531), followed by technicians and associate professionals (24.0%, n = 406), clerical support workers (11.7%, n = 197) and others (32.86%, n = 555). We employed the Quality of Work Index – Luxembourg (QoWIL) to measure several areas of work, including work intensity, job design, physical and social conditions (Sischka & Steffgen, 2019). Additionally, different employment conditions were measured to get an indicator of the employment quality in Luxembourg. Findings: Results of latent moderated structural equation modelling (LMS) indicated a good fit of the model to the data, χ2(411) = 1738.017, RMSEA = .04 (95% CI = 0.04 - 0.05), CFI =.92, SRMR = .06. All job resources (i.e. social support, autonomy and job security) significantly predicted work engagement, whereas all demands (i.e. workplace mobbing, work-life inference, emotional demands) significantly predicted burnout. Particularly, social support was the most important resource (ß = .29, p < .001, R2 = 11.4%), followed by job security (ß = .17, p < .001, R2 = 3.9%) and autonomy (ß = .11, p < .001, R2 = 1.4%). Workplace mobbing explained the largest percentage of variance in burnout (ß =. 47, p < .001, R2 = 41.6%), followed by work home inference (ß = .30, p < .001, R2 = 13.0%) and emotional demands (ß = 15, p < .001, R2 = 2.2%). While burnout had a negative impact on job performance (ß = -18, p < .001), work engagement did not predict the latter (ß = .07, p > .05). Besides, only one out of nine hypothesized interaction effects had a significant effect on work engagement (i.e. social support x mobbing, ß = 0.15, p < .001) and on burnout (i.e. social support x emotional demands, ß = -0.08, p < .05). Conclusion: Whereas the present findings provided strong support for the motivational and health impairment processes proposed by the JDR model, we found limited support for the interaction hypotheses. The results outline the importance of social conditions in explaining employees’ health, illustrating important starting points for organizational interventions that aim to promote well-being. Contributions: While other studies have tested the propositions of the JDR model by focusing on different work sectors, the present study includes a more comprehensive range of occupations,classified according to the ISCO-08. Given its large data set, it provides enough statistical support to detect interaction effects and allows for the correction of measurement errors using LMS. Furthermore, it follows the parsimony principle by specifying the most important starting points for interventions across occupations.

Physical Activity Behavior of Children and Adolescents in Luxembourg - An Accelerometer-based Study

in Journal of Physical Activity Research (2020), 5(1), 23-28

Due to the continuous decrease of physical activity of children in industrialized countries physical activity behavior has become a key issue in health-related research. The purpose of this study was to assess objectively the daily physical activity of Luxembourgish children and adolescents and its distribution into school and leisure time. The physical activity behavior of 242 students (108 male students, 134 female students) with an average age of 12.84 years (SD = 2.37) was objectively assessed by wearing an accelerometer (ActiGraph GT3X-BT) for seven consecutive days. The average daily time spent in moderate to vigorous physical activity was 47.75 minutes (SD = 19.75). 62 students accumulated the recommended 60 minutes per day. 32% of students’ total moderate to vigorous physical activity occurred during school time and 63% during leisure time. During physical education, students were engaged in moderate to vigorous physical activity on average for 20.02%, whereas 46.93% of the time was spent being sedentary. Significant gender differences were found for all variables in favor of male students. Equally, physical activity in all areas decreased significantly with age. The Luxembourgish children and adolescents are insufficient physically active and the moderate to vigorous physical activity levels are mainly accounted by leisure time. Therefore, it seems reasonable for schools to create an environment that supports the physical activity throughout the school day to increase the daily physical activity, with special attention to female and older students.

Soziale Isolation durch Covid 19

Article for general public (2020)

Suicidality in adults with autism spectrum disorder: The role of depressive symptomatology, alexithymia, and antidepressants.

in Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders (2020)

People with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) have an increased risk of suicidality. However, the risk factors remain under-investigated. This study explored factors that increase suicidality risk in ASD. Through an online survey, 150 adults with ASD were compared to 189 control adults. Autistic traits, depressive symptomatology, alexithymia, and antidepressant intake were assessed on their contribution predicting suicidality. Among people with ASD, 63% scored above the cutoff for high suicidality risk. Increased autistic traits, depressive symptomatology, and antidepressant intake significantly predicted suicidality. Furthermore, among those with high levels of autistic traits, the risk of suicidality was increased if they also had high levels of alexithymia. These results highlight the importance of considering depression, antidepressants, and alexithymia to prevent suicidality in ASD.

Quality of Work – Project. Forschungsbericht zur Erhebungswelle 2019

E-print/Working paper (2020)

Der „Quality of Work Index Luxembourg“ (QoW)-Survey, der von der Universität Luxemburg und der luxemburgischen Chambre des Salariés konzipiert wurde, wurde 2019 zum siebten Mal durchgeführt. Ziel des Surveys ist es, die erlebte Arbeitssituation und -qualität luxemburgischer Arbeitnehmer zu erfassen. Der vorliegende Bericht dokumentiert die psychometrische Testung der Güte des aktuellen Erhebungsinstruments. In einem ersten Schritt erfolgt eine Beschreibung der Befragungsumstände sowie eine demographische Beschreibung der Stichprobe. Da die Erhebung 2019 als Mixed-Mode-Design – telefonische als auch Online-Befragung – durchgeführt wurde, wird auch analysiert, ob Stichprobenunterschiede zwischen den beiden Erhebungsmodi auftreten. Außerdem wird geklärt, ob es hinsichtlich demographischer Eigenschaften der Befragten, hinsichtlich der QoW-Skalen oder hinsichtlich verschiedener Well-Being-Maße zu systematischen Ausfällen seit der letzten Welle gekommen ist. Dann erfolgt eine Prüfung der Items der QoW-, der Beschäftigungsqualität- und der Well-Being-Skalen (fehlende Werte, verteilungsbeschreibender Maßzahlen, Balkendiagramme). In einem nächsten Schritt werden die Skalen mittels verschiedener Reliabilitätsstatistiken (Cronbach’s Alpha, Korrelationsanalysen der Items) sowie Koeffizienten zur Beschreibung der Skalenverteilung überprüft. Außerdem werden die Zusammenhänge der Skalen mittels Korrelationsanalysen überprüft. Im Anschluss daran wird die unterstellte Faktorenstruktur mittels konfirmatorischer Faktoren-analysen getestet. Die QoW- und Beschäftigungsqualität-Skalen werden außerdem auf verschiedene Well-Being-Skalen regressiert, um deren Relevanz für den QoW-Index zu prüfen. Ebenso werden einige Längsschnitt-Regressionsanalysen durchgeführt, um zu überprüfen ob einige Arbeitsbedingungen längerfristige Effekte auf das Well-Being der Arbeitnehmer aufweisen. Die QoW-Befragung 2019 hat außerdem das Schwerpunktthema „Leadership-Stil und Basic Needs“ behandelt. Die Güte der Skalen zu diesem Thema wird ebenfalls geprüft. Im Anschluss werden dann Korrelationen mit den QoW-, Beschäftigungsqualität- und Well-Being-Skalen berechnet. Abschließend wird das gesamte Erhebungsinstrument zusammenfassend diskutiert und Empfehlungen bezüglich zukünftiger Befragungen gegeben.

After the Move to a New Campus—Effects on Students’ Satisfaction with the Physical and Learning Environment

in Education Sciences (2020)

Few empirical studies in higher education consider the importance of the physical environment on students’ satisfaction with the learning environment. The present study first examined the effects of a move to a new campus on students’ satisfaction with the physical and learning environments. Then, it examined how students’ satisfaction with a physical environment affects students’ satisfaction with the learning environment. It was hypothesised that the move to a new and modern university campus with better study facilities would increase students’ satisfaction both with the physical and learning environment, and that these two would be linked. Results contained 771 students’ assessments of the Bachelor Evaluation Questionnaire, which included students’ satisfaction with five aspects of their learning environment as well as five items assessing satisfaction with the physical environment. Findings showed that students were overall more satisfied with the physical environment in the new campus than in the old campus. These differences were even greater when comparing only students in their last study year than students of all study years. Furthermore, results showed that students’ satisfaction with lecturers and teaching was predicted by increased satisfaction with classrooms. The implications of these findings for the need to design physical learning environments are discussed.

The Quality of Work Index and the Employment Quality Index: A multidimensional approach of job quality and its links to well-being at work

in International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health (2020)

(1) Background: Job quality is a multidimensional and elusive concept that is back in vogue among social scientists and policymaker. The current study proposes a new job quality approach that is compared with the EuropeanWorking Conditions Survey framework and structured with the help of the Job Demands-Resources model. Two new measures of job quality, the Quality ofWork Index (QoW) and the Quality of Employment Index (QoE) are developed and validated in three different languages (German, French, Luxembourgish). The QoW is composed of 43 items, focusing on four areas of work—work intensity, job design, social conditions, and physical conditions (subdivided in eleven components)—which are particularly important for employees’ well-being. The QoE is composed of 13 items that cover training opportunities, career advancement, job security, employability, work life conflict, and income satisfaction. (2) Methods: Data were collected via computer-assisted telephone interviews in a representative sample of 1522 employees working in Luxembourg (aged 17–67 years; 57.2% male). (3) Results: Confirmatory factor analysis confirmed the proposed factors structure and scalar measurement invariance for the three different language versions. Internal consistencies were satisfactory for all subscales (Cronbach’s Alpha between 0.70 and 0.87). Correlations and hierarchical regression analyses with different psychological health measures (i.e., burnout, general well-being, psychosomatic complaints, work satisfaction, vigor) and subjective work performance confirmed the construct validity of the new instruments. (4) Conclusions: The QoW and the QoE are globally and on the level of the sub-categories effective tools to measure job quality, which could be used to compare job quality between organizations and different countries. Furthermore, the current study confirms associations between the different components of the QoW and QoE and employees’ health.

The effect of competition and passive avoidant leadership style on the occurrence of workplace bullying

in Personnel Review (2020)

Purpose – The present study aimed to investigate the main effect of competition on workplace bullying (WB) exposure and perpetration as well as its hypothesized moderation through passive avoidant leadership style. Specifically, the authors hypothesized that competition would have a stronger influence on WB when supervisors score higher on passive avoidant leadership style. Design/methodology/approach – Data were collected among employees (N = 1,260) on Amazon’s Mechanical Turk utilizing an online survey.WBexposure and perpetration were cross-sectionally assessed via self-labeling and behavioral experience self-reports. Findings – The results partially corroborated the proposed model. Competition and passive avoidant leadership were predictors of WB exposure and perpetration (as determined by both assessment methods). Furthermore, passive avoidant leadership moderated the relationship between competition and self-labeled WB exposure. Passive avoidant leadership only moderated the relationship between competition and selflabeled WB perpetration but not the competition–WB perpetration link assessed with the behavioral experience method. Practical implications – This study shows that competition needs to be embedded within a leadership style sensitive to the detection of and taking action against WB phenomena. Originality/value – While other studies have mainly focused on work stressors as antecedents of WB exposure, this study looks at the motivators and facilitators of WB occurrence. Furthermore, not only WB exposure but also WB perpetration is considered here, with the latter being an underresearched topic. Moreover, the authors used two assessment methods in order to test the generalizability of the authors’ findings.

Workplace bullying exposure and subjective well-being – The mediating role of the frustration of the need for relatedness. A longitudinal six-wave study

Scientific Conference (2019, November 08)

Workplace bullying is a serious phenomenon that has serious detrimental effects on victim’s health, attitudes, and work-related behavior. Drawing on self-determination theory, we propose that bullying exposure thwarts employee’s need for relatedness with the result of decreased well-being. Studies examining these mechanisms used either a cross-sectional design (Trépanier et al., 2013) or a longitudinal design with (not theoretically justified) long time intervals (i.e., 12-month time lag; Trépanier et al., 2015). Therefore, the aim of our study was to test this mediation in a longitudinal design with much shorter time intervals (i.e. monthly), whether to see if the bullying exposure also shows short-term effects on well-being. A six-wave online survey design with monthly time lag was employed and data were collected among U.S. employees. The sample consists of 1,595 respondents (55.8% females, n=890, ageM = 36.9, ageSD =10.3). Workplace bullying exposure was assessed with the S-NAQ (Notelaers et al., 2018), frustration of the need for relatedness with the Psychological Needs Thwarting Scale (Bartholomew et al., 2011) and well-being with the WHO-5 well-being-index (Topp et al., 2015). Cross-lagged mediation analysis within a structural equation modeling framework confirmed the mediation model: Bullying exposure was significantly related to a change in frustration of relatedness and frustration of relatedness was significantly related to a change in well-being across all waves. The study findings advance the field through showing that bullying exposure has not only a long-term effect on well-being but also a short one, and that this effect is mediated through the frustration of relatedness.

The association between workplace bullying exposure and workplace bullying perpetration – The role of frustration of the need for relatedness

Scientific Conference (2019, October 24)

Workplace bullying (WB) is a serious phenomenon that has serious detrimental effects on victim’s health, attitudes, and work-related behavior (Nielsen & Einarsen, 2012). WB is seen as an escalated conflict, where both parties engage in increasing overt acts of aggression (e.g., Einarsen et al., 2011). This perspective is supported by one of the most robust finding in WB and aggression literature, the association between experienced workplace aggression and enacting in workplace aggression (e.g., Baillien et al., 2016). However, there are only a few studies that have researched the mechanism between these phenomena (Samnani & Singh 2012). Self-determination theory (SDT) might explain this link. As need frustration is linked to less self-control (Vansteenkiste & Ryan, 2012), the frustration of the need for relatedness might also lead to increased aggressive behavior. Drawing on SDT, we propose that bullying exposure thwarts employee’s need for relatedness that increase aggressive behavior. Thus, the aim of our study was to test this mediation in a longitudinal design with short time intervals (i.e. monthly). A six-wave online survey design with monthly time lag was employed and data were collected among U.S. employees. The sample consists of 1,595 respondents (55.8% females, n=890, ageM = 36.9, ageSD =10.3). Workplace bullying exposure was assessed with the S-NAQ (Notelaers et al., 2018). Being a perpetrator of bullying was measured by the same nine items of the S-NAQ, however, formulated in an active manner (e.g., Baillien et al., 2011). Finally, frustration of the need for relatedness was assessed with the Psychological Needs Thwarting Scale (Bartholomew et al., 2011). Cross-lagged mediation analysis within a path modeling framework only partially confirmed the proposed model: WB exposure was significantly related to a change in frustration of relatedness. However, frustration of relatedness did (most of the time) not increase WB perpetration, but WB exposure. These longitudinal findings underline the vicious circle nature of WB exposure.

The impact of resilience on perceived chronic stress in undergraduate psychology students

Poster (2019, September 26)

The purpose of this exploratory study was to analyze the relationship between academic stressors and chronic stress in undergraduate psychology students, and to identify whether resilience and/or social support function as mediators amid this relationship. Students from the University of Luxembourg and the University of Trier (N = 152) were recruited to fill out an online questionnaire consisting of the Trier inventory of chronic stress (Schulz et al., 2004), the resilience scale (Leppert et al., 2008), the perceived social support scale (Kliem et al., 2015), and five dimensions of academic stressors (Herbst et al., 2016). Results show a positive correlation between academic stressors and chronic stress. Multiple regression analysis prove that neither gender, home university, additional occupation nor social support are significant predictors of chronic stress. Compared to academic stressors and resilience, which account for more than 56% of the variance of students’ experienced chronic stress. Furthermore, academic stressors and chronic stress are mediated by resilience but not by perceived social support. The implications of the findings are discussed in terms of their relevance for the development of intervention programs against chronic stress of undergraduate students.

Differences in physical activity among children with physically active and inactive parents

Scientific Conference (2019, September 13)

Objectives: Parental physical activity is considered as positively related to children´s physical activity (PA; Sallis, Prochaska & Taylor, 2000). Since parents serve as role models, have the potential to influence the health-related behavior and, for instance, to alter a mainly sedentary lifestyle of their children (Beets, Cardinal & Alderman, 2010), the impact of parental PA has become a key issue in research. Many studies report associations between parental PA and the PA behavior of their children, e.g., the direct involvement of the parents in activities with their children is related to increased levels of their PA (Adkins, Sherwood, Story, & Davis, 2004; Beets, Vogel, Chapman, Pitetti, & Cardinal, 2007). However, the mechanisms of parental influence are still poorly understood and besides recent studies are based on self-reported data. Therefore, this study aims to examine if parental PA is related to the subjectively and objectively measured PA of their children. Methods: 237 Luxembourgish children and adolescents (134 girls and 103 boys) aged from 10-18 years participated in the study. Via a digital questionnaire, the children indicated if their mother and father are physically active on a regular basis and if they are active together with their parents. Furthermore, the children and adolescents indicated if they are active at least 60 minutes/ day and if they own a membership in a sports club (MoMo physical activity questionnaire). Additionally, children’s PA behavior was objectively assessed by wearing an accelerometer (ActiGraph GT3X-BT) for a period of seven consecutive days. Activity was categorized as sedentary, light physical activity or moderate to vigorous physical activity (MVPA) using age-specific thresholds. Results: A multivariate ANOVA revealed significant differences in self-reported physical activity if the mother was physically active (F (2, 166) = 5.4, p < .01). Thus, children reported subjectively higher daily activity duration (p < .05) and more activities in a regular week (p < .01). There was no impact on self-reported PA if the father was active or the children were active with their parents together. Regarding the objective data, there were no significant differences between children with active parents and children with inactive parents. If the parents were active with their children together there were significant differences (F (3, 229) = 3.2, p < .05), thus MVPA per day was higher (p < .05) and the sedentary time was lower (p < .01). Neither subjective nor objective data revealed gender-specific differences. Discussion: In contrast to other studies, only the mother seems to have an influence on the subjective PA behavior of the children. The fact, that parents being active or in a sports club does not appear to enhance the PA of the children objectively. However, the objective PA is merely affected by being active together. According to this finding, joint activities of parents and children seem to be necessary to promote children’s PA effectively. It is important to note that in our study the parental PA was rated by the children. In future studies, parents should be included via self-report questionnaires and/or accelerometer.

Overestimation of physical activity among young people: Does age and gender play a role?

Scientific Conference (2019, June 22)

Background and purpose: Due to the continuous decrease of physical activity (PA) of people in industrialized countries (Kohl et al., 2012), PA behavior and its psychological foundations has become a key issue in health-related research. Studies show that most people tend to overesti-mate their habitual PA (Skender et al., 2016), however, there is very little research on the role of demographic variables in this respect. Therefore, the aim of this study was to examine whether age and/or gender affect the (over)estimation of PA among children and adolescents. Methods: Data of 75 students (38 girls and 37 boys, 10 to 18 years) of various primary and sec-ondary schools were randomly included in the study. Habitual PA was assessed through an online self-report questionnaire (Schmidt et al., 2017) as well as by wearing an accelerometer (Acti-Graph GT3X-BT) over seven consecutive days. A multiple regression analysis was used to ana-lyze the impact of age and gender on the accuracy of PA estimation. Results: The students reported being active for at least 60 minutes on average on 4,0 ± 2,1 days per week, whereas the accelerometer data verify only 1,8 ± 1,6 days per week. Thus, a majority of 76% of the children and adolescents overestimated and 9% underestimated their PA. Almost 15% were correct in their PA estimation. However, results of the regression analysis indicate neither an effect of age ( = .003, p > .1) nor of gender ( = -.070, p > .1). Conclusions: Overestimation of PA is common not only among adults but also among children and adolescents. However, this misperception appears to be independent of age and gender, at least in the age group considered here. Future studies should examine further demographic and psychological variables in order to explain why most of the people significantly overestimate their habitual PA.

Is the effect of workplace bullying exposure on subjective well-being mediated through the frustration of the need for relatedness? A longitudinal six-wave study.

Scientific Conference (2019, May 30)

Workplace bullying is a serious phenomenon that has serious detrimental effects on victim’s health, attitudes, and work-related behavior. Drawing on self-determination theory, we propose that bullying exposure thwarts employee’s need for relatedness with the result of decreased well-being. Studies examining these mechanisms used either a cross-sectional design (Trépanier et al., 2013) or a longitudinal design with (not theoretically justified) long time intervals (i.e., 12-month time lag; Trépanier et al., 2015). Therefore, the aim of our study was to test this mediation in a longitudinal design with much shorter time intervals (i.e. monthly), whether to see if the bullying exposure also shows short-term effects on well-being. A six-wave online survey design with monthly time lag was employed and data were collected among U.S. employees. The sample consists of 1,595 respondents (55.8% females, n=890, ageM = 36.9, ageSD =10.3). Workplace bullying exposure was assessed with the S-NAQ (Notelaers et al., 2018), frustration of the need for relatedness with the Psychological Needs Thwarting Scale (Bartholomew et al., 2011) and well-being with the WHO-5 well-being-index (Topp et al., 2015). Cross-lagged mediation analysis within a structural equation modeling framework confirmed the mediation model: Bullying exposure was significantly related to a change in frustration of relatedness and frustration of relatedness was significantly related to a change in well-being across all waves. The study findings advance the field through showing that bullying exposure has not only a long-term effect on well-being but also a short one, and that this effect is mediated through the frustration of relatedness.

Competence support in physical education: a predictor towards a more self-determined physical activity behavior?

Scientific Conference (2019, May 22)

Objectives: Given a widespread continuous decrease in children’s and adolescents’ physical activity (PA), the potential of physical education (PE) in promoting young people’s PA motivation and behavior has become a key issue. Research in line with the trans-contextual model highlights the support of perceived autonomy in PE as a significant predictor for self-determined PA behavior in a leisure-time (LT) context (Hagger et al., 2003). However, the impact of competence and relatedness support still remains unclear. Therefore, the present study aimed to investigate the role of support during PE, differentiated into three basic needs for behavioral regulation in PE and LT. It was expected that, in addition to perceived autonomy, competence and relatedness would be relevant predictors. Method: 244 students (139 girls) from Luxembourg, ranging from 11 to 21 years, participated in the study. Via a digital questionnaire, the scales need support (perceived autonomy, competence and relatedness; Standage, Duda, & Ntoumanis, 2005), basic needs (BPNES; Vlachopoulos, Ntoumanis, & Smith, 2010), and external and intrinsic motivation in PE (PLOC-R; Vlachopoulos et al., 2011) as well as in LT (BREQ-II; Markland & Tobin, 2004) were applied in the classroom. With regard to the theory of planned behavior (Ajzen, 1985), the attitudes, perceived behavioral control, and intentions toward PA were assessed (Hagger et al., 2003). Results: A SEM analysis showed that competence support in PE was the major predictor for self-determined behavior in PE, while perceived autonomy produced mixed findings. Relatedness support had a negative effect on external regulated behavior in PE. In accordance with the assumptions of the trans-contextual model, similar behavioral regulations in PE and LT were found. Furthermore, a more self-determined behavior in LT predicted higher attitudes, subjective norms, and perceived behavioral control towards PA, which increased the intention of doing sports. Discussion: Results suggest that the children’s perceived support of competence from the teacher during PE is an important factor to increase self-determined PA behavior. Further intervention programs may focus on improving the perception of competence during PE in order to increase motivation. In addition, these findings underline the importance for future research to consider the different roles of perceived support of competence, autonomy and relatedness in PE.

Emotion Regulation Difficulties in Adolescents with ADHD and/or Dyslexia

Poster (2019, April 26)

Objectives: ADHD is commonly associated with emotion regulation (ER) problems. Although around 10-45% of adolescents with ADHD also present with specific learning disorders such as dyslexia, studies on ER in dyslexia or comorbid cases of ADHD/dyslexia remain limited. The aim was to examine potential differences in ER abilities between 11 to 16-year-old adolescents diagnosed with ADHD, dyslexia as well as comorbid dyslexia/ADHD. Method: Preliminary data from an ongoing research project was analyzed for 3 diagnostic groups (AD(H)D: n=15; dyslexia: n=12; dyslexia/AD(H)D: n=9) paired on age (F<1, n.s.), gender (X2(2)=0.68, p=.71) and IQ (F<1, n.s.). ER was investigated experimentally using a frustration inducing task (Behavioral Indicator of Resiliency to Distress; BIRD; Lejuez et al., 2006) while assessing adolescents’ subjective positive and negative affect before and after the task (PANAS-C; Laurent et al., 1999). Additionally, adolescents completed questionnaires on alexithymia (AQC, Rieffe, Oosterveld & Terwogt, 2006) and difficulties in ER (DERS-SF; Kaufman et al., 2016). Results: Preliminary findings showed a significant effect of time (F(1,33)=6.46, p=.02, n2=.16) with higher negative affect reported after the task and a marginal diagnostic group effect (F(2,33)=3.05, p=.06, n2=.16) showing marginally higher negative affect for the comorbid group compared to the dyslexia group (p=.06). Marginally significant group differences (F(2, 33)=3.21, p=.05, n2=.16) also showed higher alexithymia scores for the comorbid group compared to the dyslexia group (p=.06) but alexithymia and post-task negative affect were not found to be correlated (r=.25, p=.13). No differences in self-reported ER difficulties were found (F(2,33)=2.52, p=.10, n2=.13) between the three diagnostic groups. Conclusion: These preliminary findings indicate that, compared to a single diagnosis of dyslexia, a dyslexia/ADHD comorbidity might potentially entail less developed ER skills. The ongoing data collection (bigger sample, control group) will help to further elucidate these tentative results in the future.

Lerneffekte interaktiver Medien bei Kindern und Jugendlichen

Report (2019)

Gender differences with regard to physical activity motivation and behavior in physical education and leisure time

Scientific Conference (2019, January)

Objectives: Given a widespread continuous decrease in children’s and adoles-cents’ physical activity (PA), the potential of physical education (PE) in promoting young people’s PA motivation and behavior has become a key issue in research. Based on the self-determination theory (SDT) of Deci and Ryan (1985), the present study aimed to ex-amine gender differences with regard to PA motivation and behavior during PE and lei-sure time (LT). Previously, girls were found to be more self-determined than boys (Wil-liams & Deci, 1996), but showed lower self-reported PA and were meeting the PA guide-lines of the WHO to a lesser extent (Trost et al., 2002). Method: 244 students (139 girls and 125 boys) from 11 to 21 years participated in the study. PA motivation was assessed via a digital questionnaire containing the scales need support (Standage, Duda and Ntoumanis, 2005), basic needs (BPNES; Vlachopou-los, Ntoumanis & Smith, 2010), external and intrinsic motivation in PE (PLOC-R; Vla-chopoulos et al., 2011) and in LT (BREQ-II; Markland & Tobin, 2004). PA behavior was measured through a self-report questionnaire (Schmidt, Will, Henn, Reimers & Woll, 2016). Additionally, 76 students (38 girls and 38 boys) wore an accelerometer (ActiGraph GT3X-BT) over seven consecutive days to measure PA behavior objectively, too. Results: With regard to PA motivation, girls reported a lower fulfillment in the basic need of competence during PE and scored higher in the external motivation during PE and LT than boys. In contrast, boys reported higher rates of intrinsic motivation during PE and LT. Concerning PA behavior, boys showed higher PA than girls for self-reported and objectively measured PA in PE and LT. Independently of gender, higher levels of intrinsic motivation were associated with increased self-reported PA. Discussion: In conflict with previous findings, girls reported a lower intrinsic motiva-tion in PA than boys. As girls simultaneously show lower self-reported and objectively measured PA, future intervention programs should focus on strengthening the more in-ternally driven behavior of girls in order to foster regular PA. Key Reference: Deci, E.L. & Ran, R.M. (1985). Intrinsic motivation and self-determination in human behav-ior. New York: Plenum Press.

Mobbing an Schulen: Maßnahmen zur Prävention, Intervention und Nachsorge

Book published by Springer (2019)

Mobbing stellt an Schulen ein weit verbreitetes Problem dar. Dieses Buch liefert zum einen aktuelle Erklärungsansätze für das Phänomen Mobbing an Schulen. Es wird aufgezeigt, dass Mobbing nicht nur zwischen Opfern und Tätern stattfindet, sondern dass in der Regel alle Mitglieder einer Schulklasse beteiligt sein können. Entsprechend wird beschrieben, welche Folgen Mobbing für alle Beteiligte haben kann. Zum anderen werden allgemeine Präventions- und Interventionsansätze beschrieben sowie elf Anti-Mobbing-Programme detailliert vorgestellt. Einen besonderen Fokus richtet das Buch auf Mobbingnachsorgekonzepte sowie praxisbezogene Exkurse von ausgewiesenen Experten.

The role of alexithymia in parent-child interaction and in the emotional ability of children with autism spectrum disorder

in Autism Research (2019)

Children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) have more emotional difficulties than typically developing (TD) children. Of all the factors that impact children’s emotional development, parents, and the way they interact with their children, are of crucial importance. The present study compared the amount of parent-child interactions among 35 dyads of parents and their children with ASD and 41 dyads of parents and their TD children, aged between 3 and 13 years, during a frustration-eliciting situation. We further examined whether children’s alexithymia is linked to parent-child interactions and whether parent-child interactions are linked to children’s emotional difficulties. We found that parents of children with ASD interacted significantly less with their children than parents of TD children. This reduced interaction was better explained by children’s alexithymia than by children’s ASD diagnosis. Finally, parent-child interaction mediated the relationship between children’s ASD diagnosis and children’s emotion regulation ability, as well as some aspects of children’s emotional reactivity but only if not accounting for children’s alexithymia levels. Our results demonstrate the determinant role children’s alexithymia plays on parent-child interactions and on how these interactions are linked to children’s difficulties in emotion regulation and emotional reactivity. Results are discussed in light of how parent-child interactions and the emotional ability of children with ASD can be improved by targeting children’s alexithymia.

Erster Forschungsbericht zur Weiterentwicklung der „Enquête concernant la qualité de vie et la motivation au travail“.

E-print/Working paper (2019)

Das Ministère de la Fonction publique et de la Réforme administrative hat 2017 eine Befragung mit dem Titel “Enquête concernant la qualité de vie et la motivation au travail” unter den Mitarbeitern des öffentlichen Dienstes durchgeführt. Die Universität Luxembourg wurde damit betraut, die psychometrische Qualität des Fragebogens zu prüfen, die Zusammenhänge zwischen den Gruppenvariablen zu untersuchen, die gruppenbezogene Vergleiche vorzulegen, die Befunde mit mit denen anderer Studien zu vergleichen sowie Handlungshinweise zur Optimierung der Arbeitsqualitàt vorzulegen (siehe Convention de recherche entre l‘Université du Luxembourg et le Minsitère de la Fonction Publique et de la Réforme administrative du 24. mai 2018). Entsprechend der Vorgaben der Konvention werden in dem vorliegenden ersten Bericht, die Befunde a) zu der psychometrischen Testung der Güte des aktuellen Erhebungsinstruments (Punkt 2.1.1 der Konvention), b) zu den gruppenbezogenen Vergleiche (Punkt 2.1.3, Satz 1 der Konvention) sowie c) zu den Zusammenängen zwischen den Gruppenvariablen (Punkt 2.1.2 der Konvention) vorgelegt. In einem ersten Schritt erfolgt zunächst eine Beschreibung der Items mittels verteilungsbe-schreibender Maßzahlen und Balkendiagramme, wobei die Items auch auf fehlende Werte un-tersucht werden. Ergebnisse der inhaltlichen und psychometrischen Itemprüfung zeigen, dass der Fragebogen z.T. noch wichtige Entwicklungsfelder aufweist. In einem zweiten Schritt werden exploratorische Faktorenanalysen durchgeführt, um einen Überblick über die Faktorstruktur des Fragebogens zu erhalten. Die Faktoranalysen erfolgen bezogen auf die einzelnen Themenblöcke (Zufriedenheit, Motivation, Wohlbefinden, Arbeits-bedingungen). Auf Basis der identifizierten Faktorstruktur wurden geeignete Items aus den vier Bereichen zu 17 Skalen zusammengefasst. In einem dritten Schritt erfolgt eine Analyse der internen Konsistenz der neu gebildeten Skalen. Zudem werden die Inter-Korrelationen dieser Skalen vorgelegt. Befunde zeigen, dass die meisten Skalen akzeptable bis exzellente Reliabilitätskoeffizienten aufweisen. Allerdings lassen sich erhöhte Inter-Korrelationen zwischen einigen Skalen identifizieren, die auf eine vorliegende Redundanz der Skalen deuten. In einem vierten Schritt werden gruppenbezogene Vergleiche hinsichtlich Geschlecht, Alters-gruppen, Beschäftigungssituation, Jahre im öffentlichen Dienst, Gehaltsgruppen, Anzahl Zusammenfassung II zugeordneter Mitarbeiter sowie Länge des Arbeitswegs zu den neu gebildeten Skalen durchgeführt und die Befunde präsentiert. Beispielsweise zeigen Mitarbeiter mit den wenigsten Jahren im öffentlichen Dienst tendenziell günstigere Werte hinsichtlich der vier Themenblöcke auf. In einem fünften Schritt werden Regressionsanalysen durchgeführt, um Zusammenhänge zwischen den Gruppenvariablen, Arbeitsbedingungen und den einzelnen Themenblöcken zu veranschaulichen. Die Befunde verdeutlichen, dass Zufriedenheit, Motivation und Wohl-befinden mit verschiedenen Arbeitsbedingungen assoziiert sind. In einem abschließenden Schritt wird das gesamte Erhebungsinstrument zusammenfassend diskutiert und Empfehlungen bezüglich der weiteren Entwicklung des Fragebogens und der Skalen gegeben.

Mental health benefits of a robot-mediated emotional ability training for children with autism: An exploratory study.

Scientific Conference (2019)

Background: Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) have a high prevalence of mental health problems that are linked to reduced emotional abilities. Therefore, interventions that teach emotional abilities are fundamental for their development. However, existing interventions are costly, of difficult access, or inefficient for children with ASD. Furthermore, children with ASD have a preference for sameness and routines that makes technology, and especially robots, an ideal medium to convey interventions that are suitable to their needs. Objectives: The aim of the present exploratory study is to evaluate whether a robot-mediated emotional ability training is effective in enhancing the emotional ability and the mental health of children with ASD. Methods: Using a pre-post training design, 12 children with ASD (all boys) aged between 8 and 14 years (M = 10.93; SD = 2.46) undertook a 7 week long emotional ability training mediated by a robot. Sessions took place weekly and lasted 1h each. Children were compared before (T1) and after (T2) the training on their emotional ability and their mental health. Emotional ability was measured through the parent-report measures Emotion Regulation Checklist (ERC; Shields & Cicchetti, 1997), Emotion Regulation Rating Scale (ERRS; Carlson & Wang, 2007), Self-Control Rating Scale (SCRS; Kendall & Wilcox, 1979), and the Alexithymia Questionnaire for Children (Rieffe et al., 2006); as well through a direct measure of children’s use of emotion regulation strategies using the Reactive and Regulation Situation Tasks (Carthy et al., 2010). Mental health was measured through the parent-report measures Children Behavior Checklist (CBCL; Achenbach & Rescorla, 2001), Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ; Goodman, 1997), and the Social Responsiveness Scale-2 (SRS-2; Constantino, 2002). Results: It was found that regarding emotional ability, children’s use of emotion regulation strategies in the Reactive and Regulation Situation Task, improved significantly after the training (t(10) = 2.81, p < .01) but no significant improvements were found on the parent-reported measures (ERC: t(10) = 0.43, p = .34; SCRS: t(10) = 1.26, p = .12), except for a marginally significant effect on children’s emotional control (ERRS: t(10) = 1.79, p = .05). Regarding mental health, the training significantly reduced internalizing problems (CBCL: t(11) = 1.91, p < .05; SDQ: t(11) = 3.19, p < .01) and autism-related symptomatology (SRS-2: t(11) = 3.24, p < .01), but did not have an effect on externalizing problems (CBCL: t(11) = 0.41, p = 34; SDQ: t(11) = 3.13, p = 07). Discussion: Overall, the results of the present study are to be interpreted cautiously, they provide restricted evidence of positive effects of the robot-mediated emotional ability training in children’s use of adaptive emotional abilities and in mental health issues such as depressive symptomatology and anxiety as well as autism-related social communication difficulties. This exploratory study contributes to the research progress in the domain of robot-mediated interventions for children with ASD.

Physical activity of students in Luxembourg on days with and without physical education and during physical education

Scientific Conference (2018, December)

Frustration inducing tasks as tools for assessing adolescent emotion regulation

Scientific Conference (2018, November)

Adolescents can be at risk for the development of mental health symptoms which can be exacerbated by emotion regulation problems. Hence, empirically validated tools to assess emotion regulation among adolescents in experimental settings are needed, but so far potential differences between already existing frustration inducing tasks are not well understood. The aim of the present study was thus to compare the efficacy of two non-verbal distress tolerance tasks – the Behavioural Indicator of Resiliency to Distress (BIRD, Lejuez et al.), and the Mirror Tracing Persistence Task (MPTP; Strong et al., 2003), in inducing frustration in a sample of 72 adolescents between the ages of 11 and 16. Adolescents’ subjective, physiological and behavioural emotion responses were assessed via self-report (PANAS-C; Laurent et al., 1999), heart rate monitoring and persistence on the task respectively, and associated with their self-reported emotion regulation difficulties (DERS-SF, Gullone & Taffe, 2012) as well as strategy use during the task (ERQ-state; Egloff et al., 2006). Both tasks were found to be subjectively frustrating, as evidenced by significant differences between pre- and post- reported negative affect. Beyond the similar self-reported psychological distress for both tasks, stronger negative physiological and behavioural reactions were however found for the BIRD task with higher heart rates as well as a tendency towards a shorter persistence on this task. The emotional responses were found to be correlated with adolescents reported difficulties, above all with their reported impulsiveness. Adolescents’ strategy use of reappraisal and suppression did not differ between tasks. Due to the similar self-reported negative affect after both tasks, these findings validate the use of both tasks in an adolescent population. In addition, they highlight potential differences between tasks in terms of emotion responses. These discrepancies should be taken into account in further studies due to their implications for the interpretation of findings.

Das PALUX-Projekt in Luxemburg: Forschungsdesign und erste Ergebnisse einer Pilotstudie

Poster (2018, October)

Das Palux-Projekt in Luxemburg: Forschungsdesign und erste Ergebnisse einer Pilotstudie

Poster (2018, September)

Psychological contact violation or basic need frustration? Psychological mechanisms behind the effects of workplace bullying.

Scientific Conference (2018, July 12)

Workplace bullying is a serious phenomenon that has serious detrimental effects on victim’s health, attitudes, and work-related behavior. However, research that examines the mechanisms behind these relations is still sparse. Two theories that may explain the links between workplace bullying and various negative outcomes are social exchange theory and self-determination theory. Drawing on these theories, we hypothesized that the relationship between workplace bullying and various outcomes is mediated by perceptions of psychological contract violation and the frustration of basic psychological needs (i.e. autonomy, competence, relatedness). Therefore, the aim of our study was to test these mediators separately and simultaneously to see whether they have an incremental mediation effect between workplace bullying and well-being, work satisfaction, engagement, performance, burnout, workplace deviance and turnover intentions. An online survey design was employed and data were collected among U.S. employees. The final sample consists of 1,408 respondents (56.6% females, n=798, age: M=37.3, SD =10.4). Single mediation analysis within a structural equation modeling framework revealed that psychological contract violation acted as a mediator for all outcome variables. Furthermore, basic need frustrations were also meaningfully mediators between workplace bullying and all outcomes, but different need frustration were differently linked with them. The multiple mediation analyses mainly supported the hypothesized importance of the mediators for the different outcomes. The study findings advance the field through identifying the most important mediators between workplace bullying and several outcome variables guiding possible interventions.

Attitudes of Children with Autism towards Robots: An Exploratory Study

in ACM SIGCHI IDC2018 Workshop on Children's Robotics and Child-Robot Interaction (2018, June)

In this exploratory study we assessed how attitudes of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) towards robots together with children’s autism-related social impairments are linked to indicators of children’s preference of an interaction with a robot over an interaction with a person. We found that children with ASD have overall positive attitudes towards robots and that they often prefer interacting with a robot than with a person. Several of children’s attitudes were linked to children’s longer gazes towards a robot compared to a person. Autism-related social impairments were linked to more repetitive and stereotyped behaviors and to a shorter gaze duration in the interaction with the robot compared to the person. These preliminary results contribute to better understand factors that might help determine sub-groups of children with ASD for whom robots could be particularly useful.

Teachers make the difference! Gender specific predictors of bullying and cyberbullying

Scientific Conference (2018, April 26)

Digitalisierung der Arbeit in Luxemburg - Teil 3

E-print/Working paper (2018)

Arbeitnehmer unterscheiden sich hinsichtlich dem Grad durch den ihre Arbeit von der Digitalisierung betroffen ist sowie durch die Auswirkungen, die die Digitalisierung auf ihre Arbeit und ihr Arbeits(er)leben haben. Arbeitnehmer, deren Arbeit stärker durch die Digitalisierung beeinflusst ist, erleben tendenziell mehr Partizipation, Feedback und Autonomie auf ihrer Arbeit. Gleichzeitig weisen sie auch mehr emotionale und mentale Anforderungen, sowie mehr Zeitdruck auf. Arbeitnehmer, deren Arbeit nur in geringem Maß von der Digitalisierung betroffen ist, sind dagegen weniger von emotionalen und mentalen Anforderungen, sowie von Zeitdruck, Konkurrenz und Mobbing betroffen. Insbesondere die geringere Planbarkeit von Arbeitszeit und Freizeit sowie die stärkere Überwachung und Kontrolle der Arbeitsleistung sind negative Konsequenzen der Digitalisierung, die zu einem verstärkten Erleben von emotionalen und mentalen Anforderungen sowie von Zeitdruck, Konkurrenz und Mobbing führt. Die Möglichkeit durch die Digitalisierung auch von zuhause oder von unterwegs arbeiten zu können führt einerseits zu mehr wahrgenommener Autonomie, andererseits ist dieses Potenzial der Digitalisierung auch mit negativen Konsequenzen verknüpft (z.B. erhöhter Zeitdruck).

Digitalisierung der Arbeit in Luxemburg - Teil 1

E-print/Working paper (2018)

Die Digitalisierung steht derzeit im Fokus der öffentlichen und politischen Debatte. Im Folgenden wird dargestellt, wie Arbeitnehmer in Luxemburg ihre Arbeit durch die Digitalisierung beeinflusst sehen. Hierbei werden die verschiedenen Formen der Digitalisierung sowie die Angst durch den technischen Fortschritt seinen Arbeitsplatz zu verlieren näher beleuchtet. Manager und Führungskräfte, Arbeitnehmer in akademischen Berufen, Techniker sowie Bürokräfte konstatieren einen starken Einfluss der Digitalisierung auf ihre Arbeit. Diese Einschätzung fällt für Arbeitnehmer in Dienstleistungs- und in Handwerksberufen sowie für Bedienern von Anlagen und Hilfsarbeitskräfte moderater aus. Während Manager und Führungskräfte, sowie Arbeitnehmer in akademischen Berufen vor allem die Bedeutung von elektronischer Kommunikation und unterstützender elektronischer Geräte hervorheben, kommt für Techniker und Arbeitnehmer in Handwerksberufen auch noch das Arbeiten mit computergesteuerten Maschinen oder Robotern hinzu. Die mit der Digitalisierung und dem technischen Fortschritt häufig debattierte Angst vor Arbeitsplatzverlust ist insgesamt moderat ausgeprägt. Etwas stärker ist diese bei Arbeitnehmern der Altersgruppe ab 35 Jahren sowie bei Bedienern von Anlagen und Bürokräften ausgeprägt.

Luxembourg and Autism

in Volkmar, Fred (Ed.) Encyclopedia of Autism Spectrum Disorders (2018)

Editorial: Special issue on bystanders of online aggression

in Cyberpsychology: Journal of Psychosocial Research on Cyberspace (2018), 12(4), 1-7

Online aggression — and especially cyberbullying — are topics which have gained substantial attention from researchers as well as public in the past years. While online aggression denotes any aggressive incidents conducted through information and communication technology, cyberbullying is a specific form of this aggressive behavior characterized by the repetition of intended harm via digital media (see e.g., Menesini & Nocentini, 2009; Smith & Steffgen, 2013). Though the first years of research in this field were dominated by a focus on victimization, there is currently growing attention centered on the experiences of those who witness aggressive incidents online — that is, the bystanders of online aggression. This attention on bystanders is highly warranted since their roles are often pivotal in the whole process. Online aggression often takes place in the virtual presence of bystanders (Jones, Mitchell, & Turner, 2015). Similar to offline aggression and bullying (Cowie & Hutson, 2005; Salmivalli, 2010), the responses and reactions of bystanders can influence the course and consequences of the online incidents (Pfetsch, Steffgen, Gollwitzer, & Ittel, 2011). These responses can take on many forms (Pfetsch, 2016; Shultz, Heilman, & Hart 2014), including, in general, offering support to the victim, reinforcing the aggressive acts, or remaining passive. To understand bystander reactions, prior research focused on several individual characteristics, such as age and gender differences, empathy, coping, self-efficacy, anxiety and loneliness, or prior victimization (e.g., Barlińska, Szuster, & Winiewski, 2013; Machackova & Pfetsch, 2016; Olenik-Shemesh, Heiman, & Eden, 2017; Steffgen, Costa, & Slee, 2018; Van Cleemput, Vandebosch, & Pabian, 2014). Moreover, attention has been given to the specific context of the online incidents. Though there is ongoing fruitful discussion concerning the specificity of the online aggression, especially with regard to bullying and cyberbullying (Menesini, 2012; Olweus, 2012; Olweus & Limber, 2018), there are several features of online aggression which should be recognized because they can create the specific context which may affect bystanders’ responses. For instance, online bystanders can be distant from all of the actors and they can be invisible and unidentifiable, while the other actors can be also unknown and invisible to the bystanders (Dooley, Pyżalski, & Cross, 2009; Slonje & Smith, 2008; Sticca & Perren, 2013). Contextual factors, such as anonymity or proximity, have also been examined, as well as other factors, including the relationship to a victim or aggressor (e.g., Brody & Vangelisti, 2016; Machackova, Dedkova, Sevcikova, & Cerna, 2016; Sticca & Perren, 2013). So far, the research on the bystanders of online aggression has provided some explanations concerning the nature of their responses. However, many questions still remain unanswered or require more robust empirical evidence. These questions concern, for instance, the contextual factors which differentiate the responses of the bystanders of offline and online aggression, the assessments of the severity of the online incidents, and the interplay between the individual and contextual factors. Responding to the need to gain more insight into such topics, we decided to launch a special issue to address the different aspects related to the bystanders of online aggression.

Further Evidence for Criterion Validity and Measurement Invariance of the Luxembourg Workplace Mobbing Scale

in European Journal of Psychological Assessment (2018)

Workplace mobbing has various negative consequences for targeted individuals and are costly to organizations. At present it is debated whether gender, age, or occupation are potential risk factors. However, empirical data remain inconclusive as measures of workplace mobbing so far lack of measurement invariance (MI) testing – a prerequisite for meaningful manifest between-group comparisons. To close this research gap, the present study sought to further elucidate MI of the recently developed brief Luxembourg Workplace Mobbing Scale (LWMS; Steffgen, Sischka, Schmidt, Kohl, & Happ, 2016) across gender, age, and occupational groups and to test whether these factors represent important risk factors of workplace mobbing. Furthermore, we sought to expand data on criterion validity of the LWMS with different self-report criterion measures such as psychological health (e.g., work-related burnout, suicidal thoughts), physiological health problems, organizational behavior (i.e., subjective work performance, turnover intention, and absenteeism), and with a self-labeling mobbing index. Data were collected via computer-assisted telephone interviews (CATI) in a representative sample of 1,480 employees working in Luxembourg (aged from 16 to 66; 45.7% female). Confirmatory factor analyses revealed scalar MI across gender and occupation as well as partial scalar invariance across age groups. None of these factors impacted on the level of workplace mobbing. Correlation and receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analyses strongly support the criterion validity of the LWMS. Due to its briefness while at the same time being robust against language, age, gender, and occupational group factors and exhibiting meaningful criterion validity, the LWMS is particularly attractive for large-scale surveys as well as for single-case assessment and, thus, general percentile norms are reported in the Electronic Supplementary Materials.

A comparison between a person and a robot in the attention, imitation, and repetitive and stereotypical behaviors of children with autism spectrum disorder.

Scientific Conference (2018)

The aim of the present study was to assess the usefulness of QT, a socially assistive robot, in interventions with children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) by assessing children’s attention, imitation, and presence of repetitive and stereotyped behaviors. Fifteen children diagnosed with ASD, aged from 4 to 14 years participated in two short interactions, one with a person and one with QT robot. Statistical analyses revealed that children directed more attention towards the robot than to the person, imitated the robot as much as the person, and engaged in fewer repetitive or stereotyped behaviors with the robot than with the person. These results support previous research demonstrating the usefulness of robots in interventions with children with ASD and provide new evidence to the usefulness of robots in reducing repetitive and stereotyped behaviors in children with ASD, which can affect children’s learning.

Working conditions and work-related anger: A longitudinal perspective

Scientific Conference (2017, November 24)

Does physical learning environment matter? Effects after the move to a new campus on the perception of the quality of studies

Poster (2017, September 18)

The present study examined the effects of a move to a new physical learning environment – Belval Campus – on the students’ satisfaction with the course program in psychology. It was hypothesized that the move to a new and modern University campus with better study facilities increases course climate, learning promotion, and skill acquisition. Participants were 538 undergraduate students who completed the Bachelor Evaluation Questionnaire, which assessed the perceived quality of the course program as well as five infrastructure and equipment aspects of the new campus. Findings show that students were more satisfied with the classrooms, the capacity of the rooms, and the library facilities, but there was no increase in perceived course climate, learning promotion, and skill acquisition of the students after 6 months nor after 18 months from the move. The implications of these findings for the need to change physical learning environments are discussed and recommendations for the design of learning environments are presented.

Arbeitsmotivation von Arbeitnehmern in Luxemburg

E-print/Working paper (2017)

Die europäische Studie EWCS (Eurofund, 2016a, 2016b) zeigt auf, dass sich die Arbeitsmotivation der Arbeitnehmer in Luxemburg eher im mittleren Bereich wiederfindet. Die nationale Studie Quality of Work Index belegt nur geringfügige Unterschiede der Arbeitsmotivation sowohl zwischen männlichen und weiblichen Arbeitnehmern als auch zwischen den verschiedenen Altersgruppen. Arbeitnehmer in einer Vorgesetztenposition, Manager und Führungskräfte zeigen im Durchschnitt eine höhere, Hilfsarbeitskräfte dagegen im Durchschnitt eine geringere Arbeitsmotivation. Überdurchschnittlich motiviert erweisen sich Arbeitnehmer in Nichtregierungsorganisationen (NGO). Die Arbeitsmotivation ist dabei mit verschiedenen psychosozialen Abeitsbedingungen sowie Arbeitsrahmenbedingungen korreliert. Parizipation an Entscheidungen, Feedback von Kollegen und Vorgesetzten, Kooperation unter Kollegen sowie Rollenklarheit sind positiv mit Arbeitsmotivation assoziert, das Erleben von Konkurrenz und Mobbing sind hingegen negativ assoziiert. Hinsichtlich Arbeitsrahmenbedingungen weist vor allem Arbeitsplatzsicherheit einen hohen Zusammenhang mit der Arbeitsmotivation auf, gefolgt von Einkommenszufriedenheit und Ausbildungsmöglichkeiten.

3. Forschungsbericht zur Weiterentwicklung des Arbeitsqualitätsindexes in Luxemburg

E-print/Working paper (2017)

Der Survey zu dem „Quality of Work Index Luxembourg“ (QoW), der von der Universität Luxemburg und der luxemburgischen Chambre des Salariés entwickelt wurde (Steffgen, Kohl, 2013; Sischka, Steffgen, 2015, 2016), wurde 2016 bereits zum vierten Mal mittels einer telefonischen Befragung durchgeführt. Ziel des Index ist es, die erlebte Arbeitssituation und -qualität luxemburgischer Arbeitnehmer zu erfassen. Der vorliegende Bericht dokumentiert die psychometrische Testung der Güte des aktuellen Erhebungsinstruments. Dazu erfolgt zunächst eine Beschreibung der für die Skalen genutzten Items, die Überprüfung der internen Konsistenz der jeweiligen Skala mittels verschiedener Reliabilitätsstatistiken (Cronbach’s Alpha, Korrelationsanalysen der Items) sowie Koeffizienten zur Beschreibung der Skalenverteilung. Explorative und konfirmatorische Faktorenanalysen dienen dazu, zu testen, ob die Items auf den a priori festgelegten Faktoren laden und ob sich die unterstellte Faktorenstruktur auch in den Daten zeigt. Außerdem werden die Zusammenhänge der Skalen mittels Korrelationsanalysen überprüft. Die QoW-Skalen werden außerdem auf verschiedene Well-Being-Skalen regressiert, um deren Relevanz für den QoW-Index zu prüfen. Da der QoW Survey teilweise als Panelbefragung durchgeführt wird, wird außerdem geklärt, ob es hinsichtlich demographischer Eigenschaften der Befragten, hinsichtlich der QoW-Skalen oder hinsichtlich verschiedener Well-Being-Maße zu systematischen Ausfällen seit der letzten Welle gekommen ist. Ebenso werden einige Längsschnitt-Regressionsanalysen gerechnet, um zu überprüfen, ob einige Arbeitsbedingungen längerfristige Effekte auf das Well-Being der Arbeitnehmer aufweisen. Abschließend wird das gesamte Erhebungsinstrument zusammenfassend diskutiert und Empfehlungen bezüglich der weiteren Entwicklung der Skalen gegeben.

Gesundheitsverhalten von Arbeitnehmern in Luxemburg

E-print/Working paper (2017)

Insbesonders unter den jüngeren Arbeitnehmern und unter den Arbeitnehmern mit geringer Bildung ist der Anteil der Raucher vergleichsweise hoch. Männliche und ältere Arbeitnehmer weisen wieder einen vergleichsweise hohen Alkoholkonsum auf. Differenziert nach Berufsgruppen zeigen vor allem Arbeitnehmer in Handwerksberufen sowie Manager und Führungskräfte einen hohen Alkoholkonsum. Die Arbeitnehmer in der jüngsten Altersgruppe (16 bis 24 Jährige) schlafen durchschnittlich etwas länger, im Vergleich zu den älteren Arbeitnehmern. Außerdem ist die Sporthäufigkeit in der jüngsten Altersgruppe am höchsten. Männliche Arbeitnehmer sowie Arbeitnehmer ohne Partner oder ohne Kinder treiben ebenfalls überduchschnittlich häufig Sport. Etwa 17% der Arbeitnehmer leidet unter Adipositas. Knapp 30% der Arbeitnehmer leidet manchmal oder häufiger an gesundheitlichen Problemen. Unter den gesundheitlichen Problemen sind Rückenprobleme besonders häufig, gefolgt von Schlafschwierigkeiten und Kopfschmerzen. Herzprobleme sind dagegen eher selten ausgeprägt. Arbeitnehmer mit Hochschulabschluss sowie Manager und Führungskräfte sind seltener von Gesundheitsproblemen betroffen. Gesundheitliche Probleme sind insgesamt mit Zigarettenkonsum, Schlafstunden pro Tag, Sporthäufigkeit und Body Mass Index assoziiert: Je weniger geraucht wird, je mehr geschlafen und Sport getrieben wird und je geringer das körperliche Gewicht der Arbeitnehmer, desto weniger Gesundheitsprobleme liegen tendenziell vor.

Die "geknechtete" Universität

Article for general public (2017)

Der Psychotherapeut übt seinen Beruf in autonomer Weise aus

Article for general public (2017)

Der Patient im Mittelpunkt! Autonomes Handeln von Psychotherapeuten im Dienste des Patienten

Article for general public (2017)

Contributors to well-being and stress in parents of children with autism spectrum disorder

in Research in Autism Spectrum Disorders (2017)

Background: Parents of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) present more well-being and stress problems than parents of typically developing (TD) children. However not all parents present these problems. These problems can be due to a dynamic interaction between environmental antecedents, person antecedents, and mediating processes. Understanding how these factors separately contribute to explain parents’ well-being and stress can have implications for intervention programs. The aim of this study was to explain parents’ subjective well-being and physiological stress by considering whether they had a child with ASD or not and their child’s negativity (environmental antecedents), their perception of their child’s problems (person antecedents), and their use of reappraisal (mediating processes). Method: Thirty-seven parents of children with ASD and 41 parents of TD children reported their subjective well-being and their physiological stress was assessed. Additionally, children’s negativity was observed, parents rated their perception of their child’s problems (autistic traits, emotion regulation ability, and lability/negativity), and parents reported their use of reappraisal. Results: Compared to parents of TD children, parents of children with ASD reported having lower subjective well-being and had increased physiological stress. Parents’ perceptions of children’s lability/negativity and parents’ use of reappraisal were better predictors of parents’ subjective well-being than ASD and parents’ perceptions of children’s lability/negativity contributed to parents’ physiological stress as much as ASD. Conclusions: Prevention and intervention programs targeting parental well-being and stress will benefit from working with parents at the level of perceptual constructs and reappraisal ability.

Anger management - Evaluation of a cognitive-behavioral training program for table tennis players

in Journal of Human Kinetics (2017), 55

Based on a systematic review of the literature on anger and anger management in sport, there is evidence that anger might be dysfunctional, especially in sports requiring selective attention and fine-tuned motor skills. The research literature suggests that cognitive-behavioral intervention programs can be fruitful in helping athletes to understand and control dysfunctional anger. Therefore, the main goal of the present study was to evaluate the effectiveness of a brief training program for table tennis players in cognitive-behavioral anger management that aimed at changing their non-effective anger reactions. The sample comprised 18 young competitive table tennis players (age range from 16 to 22 years) divided randomly into a treatment (n = 10) and a control group (n = 8). A trained group leader instructed the treatment group. Six sessions were held over a period of two months. Cognitive-relaxation coping skills associated with social skills of subjects from the treatment group were compared to no-treatment controls. Psychological measurements (i.e., self-reports on anger) were applied before, during and after treatment as well as in a follow-up session. The one-year follow-up session revealed that, in contrast to the control group, the treatment group showed a significant reduction in outwardly negative anger expression as well as anger reactions specific to table tennis. Despite limitations inherent in the research design, the training program was deemed effective.

The role of parents in children’s emotional ability.

Scientific Conference (2017)

Understanding the processes that lead to different emotional responses in children is important for prevention and intervention programs aimed at improving developmental outcomes. Among the many factors that can influence children’s emotional reactivity and emotion regulation, parents and the way they interact with their children can impact children’s emotional responses. Even though the influence of parents in children’s emotional responses has been extensively studied during infancy and toddlerhood, the way parents interact with their preschool and school-aged children during upsetting moments has received little attention. The present study aimed at examining the effects of parental presence and parental interaction during a frustration-eliciting situation on preschoolers’ and school-aged children’s emotional reactivity and emotion regulation. More specifically, it aimed at examining whether parents’ presence during a frustration-eliciting situation (attractive toy removal) influences children’s emotional reactivity and emotion regulation. Moreover, whether children whose parents interact with them differ in emotional reactivity and emotion regulation from those whose parents do not interact with them. A convenience sample of 66 children (19 girls) together with one of their parents participated in the study. Children were aged between 3 and 13 years (Mage=8.65; SDage=2.32) and parents were aged between 26 to 53 years (Mage=40.38; SDage=5.22). For 41 children, parents were present during the frustration-eliciting situation. For the remaining 25 children, parents were absent. Children and parents who were present were videotaped during the situation. Parents’ interaction with their children, children’s emotional reactivity, and children’s emotion regulation during the situation were coded by 2 independent observers. Ethical approval as well as parents’ and children’s informed consent was obtained before conducting the study. It was found that children whose parents were present, compared to children whose parents were absent, expressed more positive emotions [t(63)=3.19, p<.01, r=.37] and less neutral emotions [t(64)=2.92, p<.01, r=.34], but did not differ in the amount of negative emotions [t(64)=0.28, p=.78, r=.03], or in the use of adaptive emotion regulation strategies [t(64)=0.99, p=.33, r=.12]. Regarding parents’ interaction, it was found that children of parents who interacted with them, compared to children of parents who did not interact with them, expressed less neutral emotions [t(39)=2.80, p<.01, r=.41], expressed more positive [t(39)=2.01, p=.05, r=.31] and more negative emotions [t(33)=2.30, p<.05, r=.37], and used more emotion regulation strategies [t(39)=2.55, p<.05, r=.38]. These results show that parents’ presence can have an influence in preschoolers’ and school-aged children’s positive reactivity but not in children’s negative reactivity or in the use of adaptive emotion regulation strategies. Furthermore, when present, parents’ interaction with their children is related to children’s lower neutrality, and to higher positive and negative reactivity. It is also related to children’s use of more adaptive emotion regulation strategies. These results suggest that, either because parents interact more with reactive children, or because children are more expressive with interactive parents, parents’ interaction is related to children’s reactivity and better regulation. Including parents in interventions and providing parents with training on emotional support for their children may be beneficial for improving developmental outcomes in children with emotional difficulties.

Arbeitszeitflexibilität in Luxemburg

E-print/Working paper (2016)

Männliche Arbeitnehmer weisen im Vergleich zu weiblichen Arbeitnehmern eine höhere Differenz zwischen vertraglich vereinbarter und faktischer Wochenarbeitszeit auf. Differenziert nach Berufsgruppen zeigt sich, dass inbesondere Manager sowie Führungskräfte deutlich mehr arbeiten, als vertraglich festgelegt. Atypische Arbeitszeiten (nach 19 Uhr, nach 22 Uhr oder am Wochenende) treten dagegen insbesondere bei jüngeren Arbeitnehmern (bis 44 Jahre) häufiger auf. Auch zeigen sich hier große Unterschiede über die Berufsgruppen hinweg. Für die Mehrheit der Arbeitnehmer entspricht die vertraglich vereinbarte Stundenzahl ihren Wünschen. Jedoch ist bei den jüngeren Arbeitnehmern der Anteil der Personen, die sich einen Vertrag mit mehr bezahlten Stunden wünschen deutlich höher. Differenziert nach Berufsgruppen äußern vor allem Hilfsarbeitskräfte sowie Arbeitnehmer in Dienstleistungs- und Handwerksberufen den Wunsch mehr bezahlte Stunden zu arbeiten. Die Arbeitszeitbedingungen der Arbeitnehmer weisen auch Zusammenhänge mit erlebten Work-Life-Konflikten, Zeitdruck, Stress und Arbeitszufriedenheit auf. Die Arbeitszeitbedingungen sind außerdem assoziiert mit nächtlichen Schlafstunden sowie mit der Gefährdung durch Burnout. Arbeitnehmer, die 46 Stunden und mehr arbeiten, die häufig atypische Arbeitszeiten haben, oder deren faktische Arbeitszeit stark von der vertraglich vereinbarten Arbeitszeit abweicht, erleben stärker Work-Life-Konflikte, Zeitdruck sowie Stress, geben jedoch eine geringere Arbeitszufriedenheit an, schlafen weniger und weisen eher Burnout auf.

Géi méi aggressiv un de Mann! Nur ein "harmloser" Appell?

Article for general public (2016)

The longitudinal impact of psychosocial working conditions on workplace mobbing exposure and occupational risk factors

Scientific Conference (2016, July 20)

Workplace mobbing is a serious phenomenon that is costly to organizations and has various negative social, occupational, and health-related consequences. Since Leymann (1996) it is frequently assumed that a poor working environment will create conditions that encourage workplace mobbing. Theoretical explanations indicate that a poor working environment may increase the likelihood of interpersonal conflicts, that might end in mobbing of one of the conflict party (Hoel, & Salin, 2003). Another explanation points out, that a stressful work environment may lead to a reduction in performance or a violation of social norms and by thus lead to mobbing behavior (Neuman, & Baron, 2011). Many cross-sectional studies showed associations between workplace mobbing exposure and a poor psychosocial working environment (e.g., Agervold, & Mikkelsen, 2004). However, cross-sectional studies are problematic as the other theoretically plausible causal direction (i.e. workplace mobbing leads to a poor psychosocial work environment) cannot be ruled out statistically. There are only few studies that used a longitudinal design (e.g., Baillien, De Cuyper, & De Witte, 2011; Balducci, Cecchin, & Fraccaroli, 2012; Hauge, Skogstadt, & Einarsen, 2011) that showed mixed results. The main purpose of the present study was to investigate the role of different psychosocial working conditions as predictors of mobbing exposure and its sequelae from a longitudinal perspective.

Burnout am Arbeitsplatz in Luxemburg

E-print/Working paper (2016)

Die Burnoutprävalenz der luxemburgischen Arbeitnehmer liegt für 2013 bis 2015 zwischen 15,7 und 18,0%. Während Frauen 2013 eine höhere Burnoutprävalenz im Vergleich zu Männern aufweisen, verringert sich diese Differenz 2014 und 2015 etwas. Die 25-34 Jährigen Arbeitnehmer scheinen seltener von Burnout betroffen zu sein. Demgegenüber weisen die 35-44 und 45-54 Jährigen über alle drei Erhebungsjahre überdurchschnittliche Burnoutprävalenzen auf. Differenziert man die Arbeitnehmer nach Voll- und Teilzeitstellen, ergeben sich nur geringfügige Unterschiede. Arbeitnehmer, die 0-5 Jahre in ihrem jetzigen Betrieb arbeiten sind im Vergleich zu Arbeitnehmern mit einer längeren Betriebszugehörigkeitsdauer unterdurchschnittlich von Burnout betroffen. Arbeitnehmer, die eine Reduktion der Belegschaft in ihrem Betrieb konstatieren, sind deutlich stärker von Burnout betroffen, als Personen, die keine Veränderung oder sogar eine Erhöhung der Belegschaft festgestellt haben. Arbeitnehmer, die von Aktionen zur Aufklärung von Gesundheitsproblemen in ihrer Organisation berichten, sind ebenfalls weniger stark von Burnout betroffen im Vergleich zu Arbeitnehmern, die berichten, dass in den letzten drei Jahren keine Aktionen zur Aufklärung von Gesundheitsproblemen stattgefunden haben. Differenziert man die Arbeitnehmer nach ISCO-Berufsklassifikation, ist die Burnoutprävalenz unter Managern bzw. Führungskräften am Geringsten, bei Arbeitnehmern die Anlagen bedienen und Montageberufen als auch bei Technikern dagegen am höchsten. Arbeitnehmer mit deutscher und luxemburgischer Nationalität sind seltener, Arbeitnehmer mit französischer und belgischer Nationalität dagegen öfter von Burnout betroffen.

Quality of work Index Luxembourg: Entwicklung eines validen Messinstruments

Scientific Conference (2016, May 23)

Emotional difficulties in parents of children with Autism Spectrum Disorder

Poster (2016, May 14)

Physical activity behavior of children and youth in luxembourg: The role of physical education

Diverse speeches and writings (2016)

Background. Due to its importance in providing and promoting sports activities, physical education is seen as a key resource to counteract the continuing reduction of children’s physical activity. Objectives. Based on self-determination theory, the objectives are …  to measure children’s physical activity during physical education and leisure time,  to analyse how motivation is transferred from physical education to leisure time. Method. Accelerometers and questionnaires are used to measure physical activity and motivation of students during physical education and leisure time. Expected outcomes. Results will give insights into the role of physical education for children’s physi-cal activity behavior and motivation. Substantial impact on political debates are expected. Costs. The project cost will be 347k€ out of which are 310k€ staff costs..

Trick with treat – Reciprocity increases the willingness to communicate personal data

in Computers in Human Behavior (2016)

Information security is a significant challenge for information and communication technologies (ICT). This includes withstanding attempts of social engineering aimed at manipulating people into divulging confidential information. However, many users are lacking awareness of the risks involved. In a field survey that tested reciprocal behavior in social interactions, 1208 participants were asked to reveal their personal password. In line with the social norm of reciprocity, more than one third of the participants were willing to do so when they received a small incentive. Elicitation was even more successful when the incentive was given right before asking for the password. The results, including moderating factors (e.g., age, gender), are discussed in the light of security awareness of ICT users and the mechanisms of psychological persuasion.

Was ist das Problem? Diagnostisches Handeln in der Psychotherapie

Article for general public (2016)

The contribution of emotion dysregulation to depressive symptomatology in parents of children with ASD.

Scientific Conference (2016)

Children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) usually present more disruptive and aggressive behaviors than typically developing (TD) children (Farmer & Aman, 2011). These difficult behaviors from the child can put parents of these children at a greater risk of increased mental health problems than parents of TD children (Totsika et al., 2011). The use of specific emotion regulation strategies can be a strong protective factor against adverse life events (Troy & Mauss, 2011). Additionally, how parents perceive their children’s emotional difficulties is related to their own well-being (Davis & Carter, 2008). The current study analyses how parents’ emotion dysregulation (e.g. lack of adaptive regulatory strategies) and parents’ perceptions of their children’s emotion dysregulation (e.g. negative reactivity, easily frustrated, presence of disruptive behaviors) contribute to parents’ depressive symptomatology. 37 parents of children with ASD and 41 parents of TD children completed questionnaires regarding their depressive symptomatology, their emotion dysregulation, and their perception of their children’s emotion dysregulation. Parents of children with ASD, compared to parents of TD children, reported more depressive symptomatology and more emotion dysregulation in themselves and in their children. Regression analyses revealed that parents’ own emotion dysregulation and their perception of their children’s emotion dysregulation contributed to their depressive symptomatology above and beyond ASD diagnosis. Furthermore, mediation analysis revealed that parents’ emotion dysregulation mediates the relation between ASD diagnosis and parents’ depressive symptomatology. These results may have implications for the prevention and development of interventions on the well-being and mental health of parents of children with ASD.

Arbeitszufriedenheit der Arbeitnehmer in Luxemburg

E-print/Working paper (2015)

Die Arbeitszufriedenheit der Arbeitnehmer in Luxemburg hat sich von 2013 zu 2014 insgesamt verringert. Von diesem Rückgang waren insbesondere Arbeitnehmer in der Altersklasse der 45-54 Jährigen, Arbeitnehmer mit portugiesischer Nationalität sowie in Belgien wohnhafte Arbeitnehmer betroffen. Die Veränderungen von 2014 zu 2015 fallen insgesamt moderater aus. Innerhalb dieses Zeitraums nimmt die Arbeitszufriedenheit der 16-24 Jährigen jedoch relativ stark ab. Arbeitnehmer mit portugiesischer Nationalität steigen in ihrer Arbeitszufriedenheit dagegen wieder an. Zu keinem der drei Erhebungszeitpunkte sind hinsichtlich der Arbeitszufriedenheit Unterschiede zwischen Männern und Frauen sowie zwischen Arbeitnehmern in Vollzeit und in Teilzeit festzustellen. Insgesamt berichten Manager und Führungskräfte sowie Arbeitnehmer in akademischen Berufen im Jahr 2015 über die höchste Arbeitszufriedenheit, dagegen Arbeitnehmer, die Anlagen und Maschinen bedienen sowie Arbeitnehmer, die in Land- und Forstwirtschaft beschäftigt sind, über die geringste Arbeitszufriedenheit.

Victimization and Safety in Luxembourg - Findings of the "Enquête sur la sécurité 2013"

E-print/Working paper (2015)

Cette publication présente les principaux résultats de « l'Enquête sur la sécurité 2013 » réalisée au Luxembourg par le STATEC et l'Université du Luxembourg/INSIDE. Les principaux objectifs de l’enquête étaient de mesurer les taux de prévalence des délits de droit commun et de sonder les comportements relatifs à la délinquance et la sécurité.

Zur Relevanz psychosozialer Arbeitsbedingungen und mentaler Arbeitsanforderungen für das Erleben von Stress und Burnout.

Poster (2015, September 07)

Das Job Demands-Resources-Modell(JD-R-Modell, z.B.Bakker & Demerouti, 2007; Schaufeli, Bakker, vanRhenen, 2009) weist auf die Bedeutung von psycho-sozialen Arbeitsbedingungen für das Erleben von Stress und Burnout hin. Während unterschiedliche ‚JobDemands‘ (Berufsbelastungen, z.B. emotionale, kognitive, physische) einen negativen Einfluss auf die Gesundheit ausüben können, können sich ‚JobResources‘ positiv auf die Gesundheit auswirken. Diese Ressourcen können unterschiedliche Formen annehmen, z.B. soziale Unterstützung durch Kollegen oder eine hohe Autonomie bei der Arbeit. In dieser Studie wurde geprüft, ob wahrgenommener Respekt, Kooperation mit Arbeitskollegen sowie Autonomie bei der Ausführung der Arbeit als Job Ressourcen einen Einfluss auf das Erleben von Stress und Burnout haben.

Effects of question order on the assessment of police performance

in Criminology as unitas multiplex : Theoretical, epistemological and methodological developments - Book of Abstracts (2015, August 27)

Background Answering questions in a survey is a complex cognitive process. The question order plays a key role in this process: Preceding questions may activate information that may not have come to the respondents’ minds if other question had been asked. The activated information in turn can influence how respondents answer subsequent questions (“priming”). An example: Asking questions about victimization in the past 5 years may make non-victims realize that they were not victimized in the past 5 years. Realizing this may “prime” the subsequent answers of non-victims resulting for example in a very positive assessment of police performance. Experimental approach In the International Crime Victims Survey (ICVS) 2005, the respondents were first asked whether they had fallen victim to different crimes in the past 5 years. Crime victims, who had reported the crime to the police, were asked to rate their satisfaction with the way the police handled the crime. After these specific questions addressing the victims only, all respondents were asked the following question to assess police performance in general “Taking everything into account, how good do you think the police in your area are at controlling crime?“ We wondered whether this question order affected the assessment of police performance. To discover a potential question-order effect, a split-ballot experiment was conducted within a follow-up of the ICVS – the Luxembourgish “Enquête sur la sécurité 2013“ (N = 3025). Half of the respondents were asked the general question regarding police performance at the beginning of the questionnaire before the questions concerning victimization and victimization details (Group 1). The other half answered the general question after the specific questions (Group 2). Results Respondents in group 2 (general question at the end) were less likely to choose the extreme categories “very good job” (G2: 6.7% vs G1: 11.5%) and “very bad job” (G2: 1.3% vs G1: 2.6%) and instead were more likely to choose “don’t know” (G2: 7.7% vs G1: 3.4%; Sig. <.001). Furthermore, the question order had a strong effect on the sub-group of respondents who were dissatisfied with the way the police handled a crime. Respondents who had already expressed dissatisfaction (group 2) were much more likely to say the police in Luxembourg are doing a “very good/good job” than respondents with the opposite question order (G2: 62.6% vs G1: 39.8%; Sig. = .002). This result suggests a “contrast effect” of asking the more specific question first; i.e., respondents did not consider the negative information regarding their dissatisfaction with the way the police handled a specific crime when they answered the general question regarding police performance. Conclusion The question order affects the assessment of police performance by activating information that is relevant for the assessment. Researcher should conduct split-ballot experiments if they think that preceding questions “prime” subsequent answers.

A multimethod assessment of emotion regulation in children with autism spectrum disorder

Scientific Conference (2015, July)

Coping with Bullying questionnaire: Validation of the German adaptation

Poster (2015, May 21)

Anger management - Evaluation of a cognitive-behavioral training programme for table tennis players

Scientific Conference (2015, April 24)

Sozialpsychologie

in Schmithüsen, Franziska (Ed.) Lernskript Psychologie - Die Grundlagenfächer kompakt (2015)

Entstehungsgeschichte des Buches Noch gut kann ich mich daran erinnern, wie meine Kommilitonen und ich im ersten Semester des Studiums eine Hausarbeit zu dem Thema »mon processus d‘apprentissage« (mein Lernprozess) schreiben mussten. Wir wurden darin zur Selbstreflexion aufgerufen und sollten uns einmal Gedanken darüber machen, wie wir lernen und was wir brauchen, um Lerninhalte abspeichern zu können. Diese Hausarbeit machte mir bewusst, wie wichtig eine klare, logische Struktur und die Verkürzung auf das Wesentliche sind. In der Folge schrieb ich deshalb Zusammenfassungen des Lehrstoffs, um mich auf meine Prüfungen vorzubereiten. Durch diese Strategie der kompakten Darstellung konnte ich während meines gesamten Studiums erfolgreich lernen. Im Laufe des Studiums stellte ich zweierlei fest: Erstens erhielt ich von Kommilitonen, denen ich meine Zusammenfassungen auslieh, fast immer die Rückmeldung, dass ihnen die Unterlagen einen klaren und hilfreichen Überblick gaben und sie sehr gut damit lernen konnten. Zweitens stellte ich nach einem Hochschulwechsel fest, dass ich aus dem Bachelor in Luxemburg ein sehr fundiertes Grundlagenwissen mitgebracht hatte. Beides trug dazu bei, dass in mir die Idee heranreifte, diese gesammelten Texte aufzubereiten und zu veröffentlichen. Das vorliegende Werk ist aus meinen eigenen Lernzusammenfassungen entstanden. Diese habe ich jedoch etwas verständlicher aufbereitet, mit Lerninhalten anderer Hochschulen verglichen, umstrukturiert und ggf. ergänzt. Es bleiben jedoch große Überschneidungen zu den Vorlesungen in Luxemburg, die ich selbst besucht habe – mit Absicht, da ich feststellte, dass die Lehre, so wie ich sie erfahren durfte, sehr gut war. Nach der Überarbeitung der Lernzusammenfassungen wurden diese von den jeweiligen Professoren auf Richtigkeit und Aktualität hin überprüft und korrigiert. zz Intention des Buches Das Ziel des Buches ist es, eine Orientierung darüber zu geben, was in dem jeweiligen Fachbereich und für die jeweilige Prüfung wichtig ist. Manche Vorlesungen überfrachten den Zuhörer mit interessanten Informationen, und man bekommt das Gefühl, dass unglaublich viele Dinge oder gar »alles« wichtig ist. Hier soll dieses Buch Informationen reduzieren und Orientierung geben. Es kann konkret dazu dienen, während des Semesters die Vorlesung nachzubereiten, vor einer Prüfung nochmal einen Überblick zu bekommen oder zum Nachschlagen, wenn das Studium bereits vorüber ist. Es ist nicht dazu geeignet, das Besuchen von Vorlesungen zu ersetzen – dafür sind die Inhalte zu stark verkürzt. Ich hoffe, dass es dabei hilft, sich Vorlesungsinhalte langfristig zu merken, und dass es dem »Bulimie«-Lernen entgegenwirkt. Denn es nützt meiner Meinung nach nichts, viele Details für eine Prüfung auswendig zu lernen, um sie nach der Prüfung gleich wieder zu vergessen. Deshalb hat mir das Prinzip »Weniger ist mehr« als Leitfaden während des Schreibens gedient. Das Buch weist bewusst unterschiedliche Schreibstile auf: Es besteht zum Teil aus Fließtext, zum Teil aus Auflistungen. Leicht missverständliche oder komplizierte Inhalte, bei denen es vor allem darum geht, den Inhalt zu verstehen, habe ich eher als Fließtext formuliert, einfachere Inhalte habe ich eher in Stichpunkten zusammengefasst, da diese meist nur auswendig gelernt werden sollen. zz Danksagungen Es ist erstaunlich, wie oft einen während des Schreibens Zweifel an der eigenen Arbeit überkommen. Nicht umsonst sind in Vorworten meist lange Dankesreden enthalten. Ohne Menschen in meinem privaten und beruflichen Umfeld, die mir immer wieder zusicherten, dass die Buchidee wirklich gut, der Text wirklich verständlich und diese oder jene Abbildung wirklich klärend ist, hätte ich nicht die Geduld und Ausdauer aufbringen können, dieses Werk fertigzustellen. Dieses Buchprojekt wäre ohne die großzügige Unterstützung meiner ehemaligen Professoren Prof. Steffgen, Prof. Krampen, Prof. Ferring und Prof. Anton nicht möglich gewesen, denn große Teile der Kapitel basieren auf ihren Vorlesungen. Ich danke für die gute Lehre sowie die Erlaubnis, mich auf diese Vorlesungen beziehen zu dürfen. Weiterhin bedanke ich mich für das kritische Gegenlesen und Feedback zu meinen Texten. Ich hoffe, dass die studentischen Leser von dem Werk ebenso profitieren werden wie ich. Mein Dank gilt ferner folgenden Personen: Herrn Joachim Coch für die Begeisterungsfähigkeit für die Buchidee und jegliche Beratung während des gesamten Entstehungsprozesses; Frau Dr. Marion Sonnenmoser für die Anregungen und Ergänzungen, die den Text haben flüssiger werden lassen; Thomas Berg für die tägliche Unterstützung, die konkreten strukturellen Anregungen und die Geduld mit meinen wiederkehrenden Zweifeln; Anke Dörsam für das ehrliche Feedback, den fachlichen Austausch, die immer wieder ermutigenden Worte und dafür, dass sie mir den letzten Anstoß gegeben hat, das Buch tatsächlich anzufangen; meiner Familie, auf deren Unterstützung ich mich stets verlassen kann, insbesondere meinem Vater für das unerschütterliche Vertrauen in das Buchprojekt und die Selbstverständlichkeit von finanzieller und jeder anderen Unterstützung in Ausbildungszeiten; allen Kollegen und Freunden, die das Buch für eine gute Idee hielten und mir damit Mut und Hoffnung gegeben haben. Franziska Schmithüsen Wilhelmshaven, im Juli 2014

Quality of work-Index – Forschungsbericht zur Weiterentwicklung des Arbeitsqualitätsindexes in Luxemburg

Report (2015)

Führt eine negative Erfahrung mit der Polizei zwangsläufig zu einer negativen Bewertung der Polizei? Die Rolle von Assimilations- und Kontrasteffekten bei "part-whole question sequences"

in Monatsschrift für Kriminologie und Strafrechtsreform (2015), 98(4), 320-334

Method research has shown that responses to an item can depend on the question order. This applies especially to part-whole question sequences: If a specific item is asked before a general item, the respondents might react in two different ways. They might include their validation of the specific item into the assessment of the general item (assimilation effect) or they might ignore them (contrast effect). Although many questionnaires contain part-whole question sequences, these effects are rarely discussed or even investigated in applied research. The article outlines the theoretical background of question order effects in general with a particular regard to part-whole question sequences. Furthermore, a split ballot experiment verifies the impact of question order effects on the general assessment of the police.

Vorwort der Koautoren

in Schmithüsen, Franziska (Ed.) Lernskript Psychologie - Die Grundlagenfächer kompakt (2015)

Regards sur la violence

E-print/Working paper (2014)

Dans le cadre de l’enquête sur la sécurité 2013, 3 025 résidants ont été interrogés sur divers délits violents éventuellement subis. Il en ressort que 17% des personnes interviewées ont été harcelées au cours des 5 années précédant l’enquête (harcèlement moral / menaces / brimades), 4% ont été victimes de vols avec violence, 9% ont subi des violences physiques et 4% ont été victimes de violence sexuelle. Globalement, les jeunes résidants étaient plus exposés que les moins jeunes. Les hommes ont été deux fois plus souvent victimes de vols avec violence que les femmes alors que ces dernières ont beaucoup plus fréquemment vécu des agressions sexuelles. Les victimes de violence sexuelle ont également subi plus fréquemment de la violence physique. La classe d’âges des 25 – 34 ans se dit la moins inquiète par des atteintes physiques, même si elle est la plus concernée. Les hommes les appréhendent également moins que les femmes alors qu’ils en sont presque aussi souvent victimes. Parmi les personnes ayant subi de la violence physique entre 2008 et 2012, 38% en ont été victimes à plusieurs reprises. La plupart des agressions ont eu lieu au Grand-Duché (86%) et l’agresseur a le plus souvent agi seul (70%). 33% des victimes connaissaient leurs agresseurs de nom et dans 26% de ces cas il s’agissait de l’ex-conjoint.

Predicting Workplace mobbing by working conditions

Scientific Conference (2014, November 22)

Emotion Regulation and Anger Expression in Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder

Scientific Conference (2014, November)

Emotion regulation (ER) is an important aspect of children’s emotional and social development. It maximizes learning and allows the development of trusting relationships. ER is particularly relevant for children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Children with ASD have frequent behavioural disturbances that are believed to derive from low ER capacities. The main purpose of the present study was to investigate the relationship between ER and anger expression in children with ASD compared to typically developing (TD) children. Participants were 29 children aged from 5 to 12 years old. 8 children were diagnosed with ASD accompanied by intellectual and language impairments, 9 children were diagnosed with ASD without intellectual or language impairments, and 12 were TD children. ER was assessed by parents’ reports of their child’s ER and anger expression by the observation of children during a frustration-eliciting situation. Analyses of variance revealed that children with ASD were evaluated by their parents as having lower ER than TD children and, that children with ASD demonstrated more anger-related behaviours than TD children. However, no differences were found between the two groups of children with ASD for ER or anger expression. This shows that intellectual or language impairments in ASD are not key-factors on how parents perceive their children’s ER or on how they express anger. Moreover, a negative correlation was found between ER and expressed anger. These results stress the necessity of developing interventions for teaching adequate ER strategies to children with ASD.

Manipulation ist die Pest unserer Zeit - Ein Diskurs zu potentiellen Präventionsmassnahmen

Presentation (2014, October 28)

Regards sur les cambriolages

E-print/Working paper (2014)

Au cours des 5 dernières années, 10% des ménages ont fait l’objet d’un cambriolage. À ceux-là s’ajoute un autre 5% qui n’a pas fait l’objet d’un cambriolage mais d’une tentative infructueuse de cambriolage. La peur d’être cambriolé est présente : 34% de la population résidente pense pouvoir faire l’objet d’un cambriolage au cours des 12 prochains mois. Qui sont ces personnes ? Où vivent-elles ? Voici deux questions auxquelles nous donnerons des éléments de réponse grâce à l’enquête sur la sécurité de 2013. Le travail d’intérêt général est, aux yeux de la population, la peine la mieux adaptée pour un cambrioleur récidiviste. La peine de prison ferme est deux fois moins plébiscitée. Mais les avis divergent un peu, entre autres, selon la génération et la nationalité.

The Luxembourg Workplace Mobbing Scale: Psychometric properties of a new instrument

Poster (2014, July 17)

Frustration and anger regulation in children with autism spectrum disorder

Poster (2014, July)

Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is characterized by impairments in social interaction, communication and difficulties regulating emotions. Emotion regulation is an important aspect of children’s emotional and social development. It maximizes learning and allows the development of trusting relationships. In the present study we aimed at studying how children with ASD regulate frustration and anger. Participants were 17 children diagnosed with ASD aged between 5 and 12 years old (14 boys and 3 girls) and their parents. Emotion regulation was assessed by parents’ reports of their child’s emotion regulation (Emotion Regulation Checklist, Shields & Cicchetti, 1998) and through the observation of children during the episode “Attractive toy placed behind a barrier”. The purpose of this episode was to elicit frustration and anger by placing a toy, with which the child had been playing, behind a barrier. Anger was coded as verbal and physical action against the barrier or persons present. Results revealed that children with more autistic symptoms were evaluated by their parents as having more difficulties regulating their emotions. Furthermore, parents’ evaluations of their child’s emotion regulation were positively correlated to the expression of anger during the frustration and anger regulation episode. However, no significant differences were observed in terms of autistic symptoms during the frustration and anger regulation episode. In conclusion, results show that children with more autistic symptoms are seen by their parents as having more difficulties regulating their emotions but do not show differences in terms of their emotion regulation during a frustration and anger eliciting episode.

Regards sur l'évaluation du travail de la police

E-print/Working paper (2014)

86% de la population estiment que la Police Grand-Ducale réalise du « bon », voire du « très bon » travail. L’évaluation du travail de la police est ainsi légèrement meilleure que pour les tribunaux. En effet, concernant les tribunaux, 75% de la population trouvent qu’ils effectuent du « (très) bon » travail. Une différence existe dans l’appréciation du travail de la police chez les personnes victimes et non-victimes. Parmi les personnes qui n’ont été victimes d’aucun des 14 délits pris en compte par l’enquête au cours des 5 dernières années, 91% sont d’avis que la police fait du « (très) bon » travail. Les victimes, elles, sont 82% à partager cet avis. L’évaluation varie selon la nature et le lieu du délit dont les résidents ont été victimes. 88% des victimes d’un délit ayant eu lieu à l’étranger jugent comme « (très) bon » le travail policier. Ce chiffre descend à 79% pour les victimes de délits qui se sont produits sur le territoire national. Concernant la nature du délit, les victimes de délits sans violence ont une meilleure opinion du travail de la police que les victimes de délits avec violence (82% contre 71%). 89% des victimes qui ont rapporté le délit à la police et qui ont été « très satisfaits » par la manière dont leur affaire personnelle a été traitée pensent que le travail de la Police Grand-Ducale est « (très) bon ». Si par contre les victimes étaient « très insatisfaits » par le traitement de leur dossier, ils sont moins enclins (45%) à évaluer comme « (très) bon » le travail de la police.

Die Psyche, ein wertvollles Gut

Article for general public (2014)

Moral disengagement as a predictor of violent video game preference

Scientific Conference (2014, May)

Fear of crime and victimization: A paradox?

Presentation (2014, January)

Anger

in Michalos, A. (Ed.) Encyclopedia of Quality of Life and Well-Being Research (2014)

Aggression, Ärger und Gesundheit

in Steffgen, Georges; Michaux, Gilles; Ferring, Dieter (Eds.) Psychologie in Luxemburg - Ein Handbuch (2014)

Bachelor académique en Psychologie

in Steffgen, Georges; Michaux, Gilles; Ferring, Dieter (Eds.) Psychologie in Luxemburg - Ein Handbuch (2014)

Like the Good or Bad Guy—Empathy in antisocial and prosocial games

in Psychology of Popular Media Culture (2014)

Evidence suggests that violent media influence users’ cognitions, affect, and behavior in a negative way, whereas prosocial media have been shown to increase the probability of prosocial behavior. In the present study, it was tested whether empathy moderates these media effects. In two experiments (N = 80 each), inducing empathy by means of a text (Study 1) or a video clip (Study 2) before playing a video game caused differential effects on cognitions and behavior depending on the nature of the subsequent video game: The induction had positive effects on participants’ behavior (i.e., decreasing antisocial and increasing prosocial behavior) after a prosocial game (Study 1), or when participants played a positive hero character in an antisocial game (Study 2). In contrast, empathy increased antisocial behavior and reduced prosocial behavior after playing a mean character in an antisocial game (Study 1 and 2). These findings call attention to the differential effects of empathy depending on game type and game character, thereby questioning the unconditional positive reputation of empathy in the context of video game research.

Vorwort

in Steffgen, Georges; Michaux, Gilles; Ferring, Dieter (Eds.) Psychologie in Luxemburg - Ein Handbuch (2014)

Regards sur la sécurité et les délits au Luxembourg

E-print/Working paper (2013)

Cette publication présente les principaux résultats de l’enquête sur la sécurité réalisée courant 2013 au Luxembourg. L’exploitation des résultats est réalisée conjointement par le STATEC et l’Université du Luxembourg/INSIDE (Integrative Research Unit on Social and Individual Development). L’enquête couvre différents types de « délits ». Les délits pris en compte sont les délits dont les résidents de 16 ans ou plus ont été victimes entre 2008 et 2013, mais pouvant avoir eu lieu dans un autre pays. De plus, ces délits reprennent les faits déclarés à la police, mais également tous les délits qui n’ont pas fait l’objet d’une plainte. Les données récoltées permettent ainsi d’apporter un nouveau regard sur les données de la criminalité au Luxembourg.

Effects of Habitual Anger on Employees Behavior during Organizational Change

in International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health (2013), 10(12), 6215-6234

Organizational change is a particularly emotional event for those being confronted with it. Anger is a frequently experienced emotion under these conditions. This study analyses the influence of employees’ habitual anger reactions on their reported behavior during organizational change. It was explored whether anger reactions conducive to recovering or increasing individual well-being will enhance the likelihood of functional change behavior. Dysfunctional regulation strategies in terms of individual well-being are expected to decrease the likelihood of functional change behavior—mediated by the commitment to change. Four hundred and twelve employees of different organizations in Luxembourg undergoing organizational change participated in the study. Findings indicate that the anger regulation strategy venting, and humor increase the likelihood of deviant resistance to change. Downplaying the incident’s negative impact and feedback increase the likelihood of active support for change. The mediating effect of commitment to change has been found for humor and submission. The empirical findings suggest that a differentiated conceptualization of resistance to change is required. Specific implications for practical change management and for future research are discussed.

The nature of cyberbullying, and an international network

in Smith, Peter K.; Steffgen, Georges (Eds.) Cyberbullying through the new media: Findings from an international network (2013)

Do bystanders differ in coping of cyberbullying

Scientific Conference (2013, November)

Emotion regulation in Autism Spectrum Disorder: A review

Poster (2013, October)

Introduction: Emotion regulation is an important aspect of children emotional and social development. Especially, children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) seem to be at a disadvantage regarding emotion regulation due to social interaction difficulties. In the present study we review the research findings on the specific emotion regulation strategies in children with ASD. Participants and Methods: We carried out literature searches using Primo Central ExLibris for all articles published on emotion regulation in children with ASD since 2003. Articles were included if they met the following criteria: a) comprised participants with ASD under the age of 18 years; b) contained empirical research findings on emotion regulation; and c) used a prospective group comparison design. At the end, the review includes 12 independent studies. Results: In general, findings indicate that children with ASD use less emotion regulation strategies than typically developing peers. However, some studies prove less efficient strategies in children with ASD, while others did not find differences. In studies analysing the impact of interventions, children show diminished expression of negativity and more appropriate emotion regulation during post-treatment. Conclusion: Emotion regulation difficulties are a serious concern for children with ASD, yet empirical studies on this topic are still scarce. More studies with larger samples are needed. Especially, other characteristics, such as social interaction and caregiver’s intervention, that might influence emotion regulation have to be further analysed.

Measuring bystander bahaviour in bullying and cyberbullying incidents

Scientific Conference (2013, September)

Multilingual Teaching of Psychology: Does language matter?

Poster (2013, July)

Mobbing und Gewalt auf der Arbeit - Eine Ursache suizidalen Verhaltens

Scientific Conference (2013, February)

Cyberbullying: Recent Areas of Research, and the Work of COST IS0801

in Bulletin of the International Society for Research on Aggression (2013), 35(1), 20-23

The Allure of the Forbidden: Breaking Taboos, Frustration, and Attraction to Violent Video Games

in Psychological Science : A Journal of the American Psychological Society (2013), 24(4), 507-513

Although people typically avoid engaging in antisocial or taboo behaviors, such as cheating and stealing, they may succumb in order to maximize their personal benefit. Moreover, they may be frustrated when the chance to commit a taboo behavior is withdrawn. The present study tested whether the desire to commit a taboo behavior, and the frustration from being denied such an opportunity, increases attraction to violent video games. Playing violent games allegedly offers an outlet for aggression prompted by frustration. In two experiments, some participants had no chance to commit a taboo behavior (cheating in Experiment 1, stealing in Experiment 2), others had a chance to commit a taboo behavior, and others had a withdrawn chance to commit a taboo behavior. Those in the latter group were most attracted to violent video games. Withdrawing the chance for participants to commit a taboo behavior increased their frustration, which in turn increased their attraction to violent video games.

Was ist Psychotherapie?

Article for general public (2012)

I love violent media, but it may harm others: Personality factors and attitudes towards violent media

Scientific Conference (2012, July)

Aviophobia: evaluation of a treatment program reducing the anxiety of flying.

in International Journal of Psychiatry in Clinical Practice (2012), 16

Resistance to Change: The Role of Anger Regulation Strategies

Scientific Conference (2011, November)

Emotionale Medienstimuli und die moderierende Rolle von Empathie auf Entscheidungsprozesse

Scientific Conference (2011, September)

Dare to Care! Benefits of a patient-centred care approach on glycaemic control management

Scientific Conference (2011, September)

Les nouvelles formes de harcèlement

Presentation (2011, May)

Can you feel the game – How empathy in video games affects behavior

Poster (2011, May)

Evaluation of a peer-based aggression prevention program in school. Impact on bystander behavior intentions and victimization

Scientific Conference (2011, April)

Empathy and cyberbullying behavior: A critical review of the research findings

Scientific Conference (2011, April)

Gewaltrisiko - Armut bei Kindern und Jugendlichen

in Jungblut, Marie-Paule; Wey, Claude (Eds.) Armes Luxemburg? (2011)

Der folgende Beitrag setzt sich mit der Frage auseinander, ob in Luxemburg bei Kindern und Jugendlichen aus sozioökonomisch benachteiligten Familien verstärkt Gewalterfahrungen auftreten. Im Rahmen der Auseinandersetzung mit dieser Frae wird in einem ersten Schritt das Armutsrisiko für Kinder und Jugendliche in Luxemburg dargelegt. In einem zweiten Schritt werden dann die für Luxemburg vorliegenden empirischen Befunde zu den Gewalterfahrungen von Kindern und Jugendlichen aufgeführt. Auf dem Hintergrund der aufgezeigten Lage sowie soziologischen und sozialpsychologischen theoretischen Annahmen werden dann Schlussfolgerungen zur aktuellen Situation in Luxemburg gezogen und diskutiert.

Bringing empathy into play: On the effects of empathy in violent and nonviolent video games

in Anacleto, J.L.; Fels, S.; Graham, N.; Kapralos, B.; El-Nasr, M.S.; Stanley, K. (Eds.) Entertainment Computing - ICEC 2011: 10th International Conference, ICEC 2011, Vancouver, BC, Canada, October 5-8, 2011, 6972 (2011)

While violent media has adverse effects on cognition, emotion and behavior, prosocial content promotes these variables in a prosocial way. Greater individual levels of empathy as well as increasing the level of empathy in media content typically foster prosocial behavior and reduce aggression. Two experiments replicated game content findings, and also showed that inducing empathy prior to a video game had a positive influence on behavior. However, under certain circumstances, inducing empathy before playing a violent video game may even have negative effects on behavior. As empathy is a common tool in prevention programs, the implications of these findings are discussed.

Schulklima - Überblick und Reflexionen zum aktuellen Forschungsstand

Presentation (2010, November)

Preventing Violence and Aggressive Behavior in Children and Adolescents Using Interactive Media Instruments (PREVAMI-Projekt) - Grundlagen eines medienunterstützten Gewaltpräventionsprogramms

Scientific Conference (2010, November)

Besser werben mit Liebe und Hass? Zur Wirkung empathie- und aggressionsbezogener Wörter in einem gewalthaltigen Rennspiel

Scientific Conference (2010, September)

Do effects of fairness last? The long term effects of student's fairness perceptions on later alumni commitment

Scientific Conference (2010, August)

Once unfairly treated, always angry? The long-lasting effect of university staff's unfairness on alumni's tendency for aggressive retaliation

Poster (2010, July)

Environmental influences on school violence: A meta-analysis on the relationship between school climate and school violence

Scientific Conference (2010, July)

Aktuelle Befunde zur Gewalt und Gewaltprävention an Luxemburger Schulen

in Service National de la Jeunesse (Ed.) Jugend mit und ohne Gewalt. Wie gewalttätig ist unsere Jugend (2010)

Gewaltprävention im Kindergarten – Evaluation des Trainingsprogramms Faustlos. Projektbericht

Report (2010)

Cyberbullying as an act of revenge?

in Australian Journal of Guidance & Counselling (2010), 20(2), 210-224

Despite significant overlaps between victim status in traditional forms of bullying and cyberbullying, and qualitative results about self-reported reasons for cyberbullying, the role of revenge and retaliation as a motive to engage in acts of cyberbullying has not yet been examined systematically. As a first step, this study investigates whether and to what extent traditional victims, when they become cyberbullies, actually choose their former (traditional) perpetrators as targets of their own cyberbullying behavior. Furthermore, the impact of individual differences in relevant traits, such as vengefulness and justice sensitivity, on the choice of cybervictims is examined. Data from 473 students were collected via an online survey. Of these, 149 were identified as traditional victims/cyberbullies. Results show that traditionally bullied students indeed tend to choose their former perpetrators as cybervictims, and that individual differences play a role in the choice of their victims. Implications for further research, as well as for interventions and prevention programmes, are discussed.

Media, violence and prevention: A literature survey. Report of the PREVAMI project

Report (2010)

Effects of traditional bullying and empathy on cyberbullying

in Proceedings of the XIV European Conference on Developmental Psychology ECDP. (2010)

Validation française de l’échelle de réactions et de buts liés à la colère (RBC)

in Encéphale (L') (2010), 36(3), 202-211

L’étude présente la validation française d’une échelle allemande (AERZ) [Diagnostica 49 (2003) 97–109, révisée Eur J Pers (2009)], évaluant la régulation de la colère. Cet instrument mesure sept réactions et sept buts liés à la colère (RBC). L’apport principal de cette échelle est la mise en évidence des dimensions réactionnelles et intentionnelles lors de la régulation de la colère. Au-delà d’un panel de réactions fonctionnelles, voire dysfonctionnelles, la RBC revient sur les buts offensifs et défensifs associés à l’émotion de la colère. La version française adaptée a été administrée à un échantillon d’étudiants (n = 184). La structure factorielle de la version originale a en grande partie pu être retrouvée avec des consistances internes satisfaisantes pour les différentes dimensions. Globalement, les résultats obtenus attestent la validité, la fidélité et la sensibilité des construits mesurés par la RBC. Cette validation offre, en particulier dans le contexte français, un inventaire multidimensionnel permettant d’étudier les réactions et les buts liés à la colère, par exemple en testant l’efficacité d’interventions de régulation de la colère ou en tant que diagnostic.

Cyberbullying in the Benelux-Countries: First findings and ways to address the problem

in Mora-Merchan, J.; Jäger, T. (Eds.) Cyberbullying: a cross-national comparison (2010)

Students in Anger - How do teachers' provocations influence anger regulation?

Poster (2009, November)

Interdisciplinary cooperation on media effects

Presentation (2009, October)

Gewaltprävention - Was wirkt?

Presentation (2009, October)

Der Einfluss von Gerechtigkeitswahrnehmungen von Studierenden auf deren Hochschulbildung

Scientific Conference (2009, September)

Do anger expression and emotional distress affect diabetes patients' well-being?

Poster (2009, September)

Preliminary results demonstrated that anger coping style is linked to mental and physical health in diabetes (Kolbasovsky, 2004; Yi et al., 2008). The present study examined the effect of anger expression and emotional distress on well-being of diabetics. A sample of diabetic patients (n1⁄488 type I, n1⁄4111 type II) completed the WHO-five well-being index, the Problem Areas in Diabetes scale and the State-Trait-Anger-Expression-Inventory. Results showed that diabetics with type I demonstrated significantly more emotional distress than type II patients and that well-being was negatively correlated with emotional distress and anger in. Regression analyses showed that well-being was predicted for both types of diabetes by emotional distress. In addition, type II patients’ well-being could be explained by anger in. These findings confirmed anger in as a risk factor of type II diabetics’ mental health. Considering these results, anger-management interventions may be useful in particular for type II diabetics’ patients.

Does banning all cell phones in schools reduce cyber bullying?

Scientific Conference (2009, August)

Cyber bullying among school aged children in Luxembourg

Scientific Conference (2009, August)

Cyber bullying: Current research findings

Scientific Conference (2009, April)

Deviant behavior and violence in schools: A report from Luxembourg

Presentation (2009, January)

Deviant behaviour and violence in Luxembourg schools

in International Journal on Violence and Schools (2009), 5

Cyber bullying: The role of traditional bullying and empathy

in Sapeo, B.; Haddon, L.; Mante-Meijer, E.; Fortunati, L.; Turk, T.; Loos, E. (Eds.) The good, the bad and the challenging. Conference Proceedings (Vol. II) (2009)

The role of empathy for adolescents' cyberbullying behaviour

in Kwartalnik Pedagogiczny = Pedagogical Quarterly (2009), 214(4), 183-198

The negative relationship between empathy and aggressive behaviour has been demonstrated in meta-analyses (e.g., Jolliffe & Farrington 2004). On the basis of these findings it was hypothesized that a lack of empathic responsiveness may also be a characteristic of cyber bullies. In the present study 2,070 students of Luxembourg secondary schools completed an online survey that included a German version of the Cyberbullying questionnaire (Smith et al. 2008) and a newly developed empathy scale. ANOVAs indicated significant differences between cyber bullies and non-cyber bullies. Most importantly, it was observed that cyber bullies demonstrated less empathic responsiveness than non-bullies. The findings confirm and substantially extend the research on the relationship between empathy and aggressive behaviour. From an educational point of view the findings suggest that training of empathy skills might be an important tool in decreasing cyberbullying.

Cyberbullying – zur Wirkung spezifischer Interventionsmaßnahmen. Befunde einer wissenschaftlichen Begleitstudie. Projektbericht.

Report (2009)

Schulsozialarbeit

in Handbuch der sozialen und erzieherischen Arbeit in Luxemburg - Manuel de l'intervention sociale et éducative au Grand-Duché de Luxembourg, Band 2 (2009)

Dieses Handbuch gibt einen Überblick über die vielfältigen Felder der sozialen und erzieherischen Arbeit in Luxemburg, über Konzeptionen, Theorien und Methoden der sozialen Arbeit in den jeweiligen Bereichen sowie über internationale theoretische Einflüsse.

Diagnose der posttraumatischen Belastungsstörung bei Bankangestellten nach einem Banküberfall

in Arbeitsmedizin, Sozialmedizin, Umweltmedizin (2009), 33

Im Rahmen einer Informationsveranstaltung des arbeitsmedizinischen Dienstes des Luxemburger Finanzdienstleistungssektors wurden 29 Bankangestellte, die Opfer von Überfällen waren, hinsichtlich posttraumatischer Belastungsreaktionen untersucht. Ziel des Beitrages ist es, ein ökonomisches und rationelles Verfahren zur Diagnose der "Posttraumatischen Belastungsstörung" (PTBS) vorzustellen. Die Diagnosen ergaben, daß über ein Drittel der Befragten (34,5%) als hoch belasten anzusehen sind. Diejenigen, die mehr als einen Banküberfall miterlebt haben, weisen dabei im Durchschnitt eine höhere Zahl an posttraumatischen Symptomen auf. Eine hohe Komorbidität der PTBS mit Somatisierungs- und Angstreaktionen ist ebenfalls zu verzeichnen. Die Befunde belegen zudem, daß der auf Grundlage des "Dignostischen Interviews bei Psychischen Störungen" entwickelte Diagnose-Fragebogen sich als nützliches sowie aussagekräftiges Verfahren erweist. Weitergehende Analysen und Erprobungen sind jedoch erforderlich. Aufgrund der Ergebnisse der Untersuchung wurde für den luxemburgischen Bankensektor ein umfassendes Präventionsprogramm zur PTBS etabliert.

Reasons for prosocial interventions of bystanders

Scientific Conference (2008, November)

Comment diagnostiquer et gérer la colère?

Scientific Conference (2008, July)

Prediction and training of civil courage in schools

Scientific Conference (2008, July)

Deffenbacher Driving Scale: Psychometric properties of a German Version

Scientific Conference (2008, July)

Genussfähigkeit und Ärgerausdruck als Prädiktoren des Wohlbefindens von Typ 1 und Typ 2 Diabetikern

Poster (2008, May)

Les problèmes psychosociaux - un défi en promotion de la santé

in Promotion & Education (2008)

Le terme «psychosocial» connaît un grand succès sans qu'il soit clairement conceptualisé. Il peut caractériser le déclencheur autant que le médiateur ou le résultat d'une interaction ou d'un développement, être cause ou effet d'un trouble. La psychologie écologique de Bronfenbrenner (1977) définie les relations existantes entre l'individu et la société par quatre sphères relationnelles emboîtées du centre vers la périphérie, parmi lesquelles il est possible de localiser le « psychosocial » et de la même façon d'en comprendre son développement. L'événement social devient « psychosocial » une fois perçu au niveau psychologique, et dans le cas où les ressources ne sont pas suffisantes pour y faire face, l'événement est susceptible de devenir un trouble psychosocial. Ainsi par exemple, sur le lieu de travail une confrontation régulière à des tensions non surmontables peut engendrer l'épuisement professionnel, encore appelé « burnout ». Une étude sur le burnout a été réalisée auprès d'un échantillon représentatif de 399 enseignants de l'enseignement secondaire au Luxembourg. Ils ont répondu à un questionnaire auto administré évaluant l'épuisement et les contraintes professionnelles, ainsi que les stratégies d'ajustement à la colère et les symptômes les accompagnant. Les résultats montrent que 3,3% des enseignants du secondaire souffrent d'un burnout élevé ayant un impact indéniable sur la santé. Un modèle d'équation structurale indique que les facteurs à risque pour la profession enseignante se retrouvent tant au niveau individuel (âge, fatigue, stratégies de gestion de la colère) qu'au niveau organisationnel (contraintes professionnelles) et qu'il est possible de tamponner l'effet de l'épuisement professionnel par la mise à distance face à la colère. Les résultats de cette recherche appellent à aller plus loin dans l'analyse, à améliorer la méthodologie et à mettre à l'épreuve l'efficacité des programmes de prévention existants ou à développer.

Bullying in Schulen Prädiktoren zivilcouragierten Verhaltens

Book published by VDM Verlag Dr. Müller (2008)

Health risk behaviours and life satisfaction among victims of physical aggression

in Journal of Prenatal and Perinatal Psychology and Health (2008)

Evaluation von Zivilcourage-Trainings

Scientific Conference (2007, November)

Persönlichkeitsdeterminanten der Zivilcourage

Scientific Conference (2007, September)

Teacher Burnout - An international comparison

Scientific Conference (2007, July)

Gewalt gegen Schiedsrichter - Ursachen und Interventionsansätze

Presentation (2007, June)

Neue Arbeitswelt = Gesunde Arbeitswelt?

Scientific Conference (2007, May)

Le burnout des enseignants luxembourgeois: une question de santé publique

Scientific Conference (2007, February)

Multidimensional Anger Reaction Scale - Validation of a new German questionnaire

in Health Psychology Review (2007)

Gewalthaltige Computerspiele - Wirkmechanismen und Präventionsansätze

in Gollwitzer, M.; Pfetsch, J.; Schneider, V.; Schulz, A.; Steffke, T.; Ulrich, C. (Eds.) Gewaltprävention bei Kindern und Jugendlichen. Aktuelle Erkenntnisse aus Forschung und Praxis (2007)

Emotions and Aggressive Behavior

Book published by Hogrefe (2007)

Self-Concept Clarity Scale (SCSS): Psychometric properties and aggression correlates of a German version

in Individual Differences Research (2007), 5(4), 230-245

Two studies (participants: N =126; N = 247) examined the reliability and validity of the German version of the Self-Concept Clarity Scale (Stucke, 2002). The results from exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis showed a one-factor solution fit best for adults, whereas a two-factor solution fit best for adolescents. Internal reliability was high for adult and adolescent samples. In adults, self-concept clarity was negatively correlated with both narcissism and self-reported aggression. The German version of the SCCS is a useful scale for predicting aggression, especially in adults.

Gewaltprävention - Kooperative Ansätze zur Entwicklung der Schulkultur

Presentation (2006, October)

Effects of self-esteem and stress on aggressive drinking behavior

Scientific Conference (2006, July)

Violence in Luxembourg schools: The role of school culture

in Österman, K.; Björkqvist, K. (Eds.) Contemporary research on aggression. (2006)

Le burnout chez les enseignants du primaire: l'influence de l'irritabilité et de l'auto-efficacité professionnelle

in Houssemand, C.; Martin, R.; Dickes, P. (Eds.) Perspectives de psychologie différentielle. (2006)

Motorcyclists' road rage - Effects of threatened egotism and self-esteem on aggressive driving behavior

Poster (2005, July)

Schulbezogene Gewaltforschung in Luxemburg

Article for general public (2005)

Lehrer als Opfer von Gewalt - Welche Rolle spielen Schulkultur, Belastung und individuelle Ärgerverarbeitungsstile

Scientific Conference (2004, November)

Le burnout chez les enseignants du primaire. Influence de l'irratibilité et de la présomption d'efficience professionelle

Scientific Conference (2004, September)

Betriebliche Gesundheitsförderung - Problemzentrierte psychologische Interventionen

Book published by Hogrefe (2004)

Körperliche Gewalt

in Steffgen, G. (Ed.) Betriebliche Gesundheitsförderung. Problemzentrierte psychologische Interventionen. (2004)

Vorwort

in Steffgen, Georges (Ed.) Betriebliche Gesundheitsförderung - Problembezogene psychologische Interventionen (2004)

La violence à l'école au Luxembourg. Refléxions sur l`état des savoirs.

in Steffgen, G.; Ewen, N. (Eds.) Gewalt an Luxemburger Schulen - Stand der Forschung (2004)

Gewalt an Luxemburger Schulen. Stand der Forschung

Book published by Imprimerie Saint-Paul (2004)

Umgang mit Ärger, Ärger- und Konfliktbewältigungstraining auf kognitiv-verhaltenstherapeutischer Grundlage (Japanische Übersetzung)

Book published by Brain Shuppan (2004)

Préface aux actes

in Ewen, Norbert; Fixmer, Alexandra; Rihm, Pascaline; Russon, Claire; Steffgen, Georges (Eds.) Violences et climat scolaires - Actes du symposium (2004)

Clinical psychology and psychotherapy in Luxembourg

Scientific Conference (2003, July)

Gewalttätige Übergriffe - Auswirkungen und Interventionen

Presentation (2002, December)

Zum Einfluss der Berufswahlmotive auf die Berufszufriedenheit von Grundschullehrern

in Psychologie in Erziehung und Unterricht (2002), 49

In dieser Studie wurde überprüft, ob sich die Berufszufriedenheit von Grundschullehrern aus den Berufswahlmotiven bei Studienantritt ableiten lässt. Dabei wurden die Probleme beim Berufseinstieg in der Funktion eines Mediators berücksichtigt. Die Berufswahlmotive und Probleme beim Berufseintritt wurden bei 402 luxemburgischen Grundschullehrern retrospektiv anhand eines Fragebogens erfasst. Ebenfalls ermittelt wurde die aktuelle Berufszufriedenheit. Mittels eines Strukturgleichungsmodells wurden die Beziehungen zwischen den relevanten Variablen dargestellt. Bei geringer Effektstärke konnten sowohl direkte als auch indirekte Einflüsse der Berufswahlmotive auf die Berufszufriedenheit belegt werden. Lehrer, welche ihre Berufswahl stärker mit einem positiven Berufsbild und weniger mit der Suche nach Annehmlichkeiten bei der Ausbildung und beim Berufsleben begründeten, gaben auch weniger Probleme beim Berufseinstieg an und zeigten sich zufriedener in der Ausübung ihres Berufes. Bestimmte Risikokonstellationen von Berufswahlmotiven können also bereits bei Studienantritt identifiziert werden. Mögliche Schlussfolgerungen für die Berufsberatung von lehramtsstudierenden werden diskutiert.

Influence de l'expression émotionelle de l'enseignant sur l'agressivité des élèves

in Flieller, A.; Bocéréan, C.; Kop, J.-L.; Thiébaut, E.; Toniolo, A. M.; Tournois, J. (Eds.) Questions de psychologie différentielle (2001)

Influence de l'expression émotionnelle de l'einseignant sur l'agressivité des élèves

Scientific Conference (2000, September)

Der Einfluss der Berufswahlmotive auf die Berufszufriedenheit von Grundschullehrern in Luxemburg

Scientific Conference (1999, September)

Vorwort

in Schwenkmezger, Peter; Steffgen, Georges; Dusi, Detlev (Eds.) Umgang mit Ärger - Ärger- und Konfliktbewältigungstraining auf kognitiv-verhaltenstherapeutischer Grundlage (1999)

Ärger im Betrieb. Ursachen, Wirkungen und Bewältigung

in Steffgen, Georges; Meis, M.; Bollendorff, C. (Eds.) Psychologie in der Arbeitswelt (1998)

Vorwort der Herausgeber

in Bollendorff, Claude; Steffgen, Georges; Meis, Markus (Eds.) Psychologie in der Arbeitswelt (1998)

Schule und Sport aus der Sicht jugendlicher Vereinsmitglieder - ein internationaler Vergleich

in Sportunterricht (1997), 46(7), 292-300

The findings are presented of an international comparative study of youth sports club members to determine their perspectives on the relationship between school and sport, and the influence of physical education on sport participation and membership of sports clubs. Participants in the study comprised two groups of 344 sports club members and school pupils from Luxembourg and Germany. Differences in terms of age, sex and school type were taken into account. The main findings indicate that school and physical education in both countries only have a slight, indirect influence on young people's decisions to become members of sports clubs and participate in sport. Indeed, the pressures of school may in some cases be an obstacle to intensive sports activity and training outside school. This is particularly so in Luxembourg where students often have to refuse participation in sports competitions and training because of the pressures of school work. Some final thoughts are presented on ways in which school and physical education could become more supportive of youth sport training and club membership, and could give greater encouragement to young people to succeed in competitive and high level sport.

Sportliche Aktivität und Gesundheit - Forschungslage in Luxemburg

Scientific Conference (1996, November)

Zur Wirkung des Ärgers und Formen der Ärgerbewältigung auf die sportliche Leistung

in Nitsch, J.R.; Allmer, H. (Eds.) Emotionen im Sport (1995)

Ärgerbewältigungstraining

in Psychologie und Sport (1995), 2(3), 89-95

Stressimpfungstraining

in Psychologie und Sport -Schorndorf- (1995), 2(3), 83-86

Das Streßimpfungstraining (SIT) nach Meichenbaum (1991) stellt ein Verfahren dar, durch das gelernt wird, Streßsituationen bzw. emotional belastende Ereignisse angemessen zu bewältigen. Trainiert werden allgemein anwendbare Strategien. Einheitliches Merkmal dieser Strategien ist die Kompetenz, Problem- bzw. Streßsituationen frühzeitig zu erkennen und diese Situationen durch alternative/kognitive und verhaltensbezogene Bewältigungsmaßnahmen zu meistern.

Ärger und sportliche Leistung

Scientific Conference (1994, September)

Zusammenfassung des Arbeitskreises Varia I

in Alfermann, D.; Scheid, V. (Eds.) Psychologische Aspekte von Sport und Bewegung (1994)

Ärgerbewältigung: Evaluation eines Trainingsprogramms

in Alfermann, D.; Scheid, V. (Eds.) Psychologische Aspekte von Sport und Bewegung in Prävention und Rehabilitation (1994)

Zur psychischen Wettkampfbelastbarkeit im Leistungssport: Die Wirkung von Angst und Ärger

in Nitsch, J.R.; Seiler, R. (Eds.) Bewegung und Sport. Psychologische Grundlagen und Wirkungen (1993)

Ärgerbewältigung: Evaluation eines Trainingsprogramms

Scientific Conference (1992, September)

Barcelona '92 - Psychologische Betreuung einer Olympia-Delegation

in Sportpsychologie (1992), 6(4), 29-30

In seiner Funktion als beratender Psychologe des Olympischen Komitees von Luxemburg (C.O.S.L.) hat der Autor die luxemburgische Olympia Delegation bei den Olympischen Spielen in Barcelona begleitet. Im Rahmen des vorliegenden Erfahrungsberichtes zeigt er seine Aktivitäten im Vorfeld wie auch während der Olympischen Spiele auf.

Ärger und Ärgerausdruck: Diagnostik, Funktionalität und Bewältigung

in Janssen, J. P.; Schlicht, W.; Rieckert, H.; Carl, K. (Eds.) Belastung und Beanspruchung (1992)

Zur psychischen Wettkampfbelastbarkeit im Leistungssport: Die Wirkung von Angst und Ärger

Scientific Conference (1991)

Validity of the interaction model of anger: Studies in management and competitive sport

in German Journal of Psychology (1991)

Coaching in der Halbzeit

Article for general public (1990)

Sind Emotionen im Leistungssport hinderlich?

Article for general public (1990)

Nur Trainingsweltmeister?

Article for general public (1990)

Seniorensport - eine Chance

Article for general public (1990)

Mentales Training ist keine Zauberei

Article for general public (1990)

Anxiety and motor performance

in Kirkcaldy, B. (Ed.) Normalities and abnormalities in human movement (1989)