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The Positive Thinking Skills Scale: A Screening Measure For Early Identification Of Depressive Thoughts, Abir K. Bekhet, Mauricio Garnier-Villarreal

College of Nursing Faculty Research and Publications

Background

Depression is currently considered the second leading cause of disability worldwide. Positive thinking is a cognitive process that helps individuals to deal with problems more effectively, and has been suggested as a useful strategy for coping with adversity, including depression. The Positive Thinking Skills Scale (PTSS) is a reliable and valid measure that captures the frequency of use of positive thinking skills that can help in the early identification of the possibility of developing depressive thoughts. However, no meaningful cutoff score has been established for the PTSS.

Aim

To establish a cutoff score for the PTSS for early identification …

Risk And Protective Factors In The Lives Of Caregivers Of Persons With Autism: Caregivers’ Perspectives, Abir K. Bekhet, Denise M. Matel-Anderson

College of Nursing Faculty Research and Publications

PURPOSE

The purpose of this descriptive exploratory study is to understand the experience of being a caregiver of a person with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in the light of the resilience theory.

METHODS

Qualitative data were collected as a part of a larger quantitative study. Ninety-three caregivers completed this qualitative study and responded to the two open-ended questions. In the parent study, subjects were recruited by convenience sampling from the Interactive ASD Network (IAN).

FINDINGS

The identified categories appeared to reflect three distinct categories consistent with the resilience theory, labeled as follows: risk factors, protective factors, and overlapping factors.

PRACTICE …

Positive Thinking Training Intervention For Caregivers Of Persons With Autism: Establishing Fidelity, Abir K. Bekhet

College of Nursing Faculty Research and Publications

More than 3.5 million in the US are diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and caregivers experience stress that adversely affects their well-being. Positive thinking training (PTT) intervention can minimize that stress. However, before testing the effectiveness of PTT, its fidelity must be established. This pilot intervention trial examined fidelity of an online PTT intervention for ASD caregivers with a random assignment of 73 caregivers to either the online PTT intervention or to the control group. Quantitative data [Positive Thinking Skills Scale (PTSS)] and qualitative data (online weekly homework) were collected. The mean scores for the PTSS improved for the …