health psychology report • volume 9(1),  original article background Teaching is a profession associated with high levels of stress and burnout, affecting teachers' performance in the workplace. The main goal of the current study is to investigate stress and burnout conditions of teachers working presently in inclusive schools and the corresponding influence of personal variables. participants and procedureParticipants were 7086 regular teachers, or non-specialists, and 442 special education teachers, or specialists (N = 7528). resultsNon-specialist teachers showed higher levels of burnout than specialist teachers in inclusive schools. Additionally, the results showed that higher levels of burnout are correlated with vulnerability to stress (perfectionism, inhibition, lack of social support, adverse living conditions, dramatization of existence and subjugation), in both groups of teachers. Non-specialists with more professional experience showed a high global score on burnout. In both groups, teachers with a higher level of training (academic degree and specialization) showed lesser vulnerability to stress, especially lower dependence. Concerning the predictors of burnout, vulnerability to stress played an important role as a predictor in both groups, suggesting that more vulnerable teachers are more prone to develop burnout, fatigue and exhaustion. conclusionsStress emerges as an important predictor of burnout. Nonspecialist teachers are more exposed to burnout and stress in an inclusive workplace, because they have to deal with new demands, requiring new resources, especially new professional skills. On the other hand, teachers with more academic and professional training show higher resilience to stress and more independence, suggesting the crucial value of training to improve an inclusive school workplace. Training can have an important impact on stress/burnout and consequently on the professional performance and efficacy of teachers in inclusive schools.

This paper postulates that psychology can make an important contribution at an individual level to help children with school failure problems in a context where too little applied research has been conducted on the instructional needs of these children. Some data are analyzed, revealing that, despite some progress, school failure is still a main educational problem in many countries. In this study, Behavioral Skills Training (BST) was applied in Portugal to train children with school failure difficulties. BST is a method based on Applied Behavior Analysis, a teaching package consisting of a combination of behavioral techniques: instructions, modeling, rehearsal, and feedback. Two empirical studies are presented. Their main purpose was to develop behavioral diagnostic and training techniques to teach lacking skills. School success was defined in terms of a set of skills proposed by teachers and school failure as a lack of one or more of these skills. The main instrument was a package of training programs to be applied in three areas: basic behavior (precurrents), academic behavior, or social behavior. The second instrument is a package of check-lists, aimed to determine the level of performance of the child in an area. This check-list was applied before (pre-test) and after (post-test) training. In the first study, 16, 7- to 8-year old children were trained. They were attending the second or third grades and having academic difficulties of different origins. The effects of the training programs are evaluated in terms of percentage of attained objectives, comparing a pre- and a post-test. The results showed an increase in correct responses after training in all cases. To provide a sounder demonstration of the efficacy of the training programs, a second study was carried out using a quasi-experimental design. A multiple baseline design was applied to three 10- to 11-year-old children, referred by teachers because of learning difficulties in the fourth grade. Results showed few performance changes without training. Increases in behavior following BST were evident in all cases, indicating that training generated improvement in all three children. In both studies, comparable results occurred across students, demonstrating replication of the effects of the training programs.

Several factors like pupils’ characteristics, school conditions and family context have been pointed out in the literature as being linked to academic achievement. Regarding the latter, family socio-economic status and parental support have been identified as determining variables on success at school. The current study analyses the influence of family support on the achievement of school children in their native language [Portuguese language course (PLC)]. Participants were 885 students attending PLC on basic and secondary schools (6th and 9th school grades) (ISCED 1); 418 boys and 467 girls, ranged between 10 and 18 years of age (M = 12.99). School achievement was assessed using year-end classifications in PLC. Family support was assessed using the Family Support-Context Variables Questionnaire. A regression analysis showed that students’ perception about instrumental and affective family support in school life was positively related to their Portuguese grades. However, different predictive values were revealed according to gender. Girls’ Portuguese languge couse classification seemed to depend on affective variables like their perception of affective parental support and affective attitudes toward the PLC, while boys’ results seemed to be influenced by instrumental variables, such as the perception of instrumental support from parents and boys’ attitudes toward the utility of learning Portuguese language. These results supported those of other studies, showing the need to take gender differences into account in educational interventions, especially during early adolescence. In conclusion, the study shows an influence of parental support on PLC achievement. Such influence differs according to gender, with girls being more sensitive to the affective dimension of parental support and boys to the instrumental one.

Introduction: The pandemics crisis had consequences in psychological adjustment of persons all over the world. The current study analyzes comparatively the topics of quality of life, and well-being, considering as predictors trait anxiety, feeling of threat, difficulty to relax, empathy and pro-social attitude, health care, sleep quality and optimism, in a population of German and Portuguese adults during the pandemics, in order to obtain a deeper understanding of the psychological reactions to crisis across countries and cultures.Methods: A sample of 470 adults divided in three age groups – —young adults (18—34 years), middle-age adults (34–54 years) and old adults (55 years and older)— completed a self-report questionnaire assessing socio-demographic data, quality of life, well-being, quality of sleep, trait anxiety, Coronavirus threat, optimism regarding the pandemics, difficulty to relax, empathy, and pro-social attitude during the pandemics period.Results: Portuguese participants expresses higher empathy and pro-social attitude and health care but in Germany people have higher quality of sleep. Young adults (a) rated their quality of life lower than middle-age adults and old adults, (b) showed also lower optimism than middle-age and old adults, and (c) showed lower well-being than middle-age,.Conclusions: Young adults rated their quality of life, optimism and well-being during pandemics lower than middle-age and old adults, and experienced higher levels of trait anxiety and difficulty to relax. It seems that young adults show a lower psychological adjustment than other age groups during COVID-19 crisis. It is concluded that quality of life, optimism, and well-being during the pandemics are affected differently according to country and group of age, suggesting individual differences across cultures and ages, and consequently the need of specific interventions to cope with the psychological reactions to pandemics crisis.

health psychology report · volume 4(2), 6 original article background Relationships between psychological features and psychophysical parameters, such as blood pressure, have a high relevance in research on coping with stress. We want to investigate the correlation between blood pressure and these psychological features. participants and procedureWe investigated 79 teachers from high schools and secondary schools in and around Leipzig, Germany. Using the systolic blood pressure as an indicator, we formed three groups: hypotensive, normotensive, and hypertensive. We assessed several psychological health dependent variables and looked for differences between these groups (χ 2 test). resultsHypotensive subjects experienced more stress and less planning and goal behaviour. Furthermore, they more often used physical exercises in order to increase their social well-being. Hypertensive subjects, on the other hand, were driven by fear of loss of control and showed a higher sense of feeling threatened. conclusionsWe found for each group different relationships that are highly relevant to health. This result shows how psychological features and physiological regulation mechanisms are linked.