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The final years of university study are associated with greater burnout than the early years of a career.

Burnout is a psychological syndrome related to prolonged stress at work and is often defined as the experience of exhaustion, cynicism and low professional efficacy. Researchers at the University of Adelaide explored the transition from study to work and the potential impact of student burnout on later work burnout. Two hundred and sixty participants studying in nursing, social work, occupational therapy or psychology were recruited and evaluated for burnout across three time-points; the first evaluation during their studies, and the second and third evaluations in their first two years of work.

Contrary to the researchers' prediction, participants were more likely to report burnout in their final year of study than in their first years of work. Exhaustion and cynicism during the final year of study both predicted exhaustion and cynicism in the workplace, controlling for factors such as other aspects of mental health. The authors highlight the importance of exploring and addressing burnout in university settings which may confer vulnerability to early career burnout in the field.

doi.org/10.1080/07294360.2017.1344827

Identification with being Australian and self-employment linked to flourishing for migrants.

While most research has focused on psychological distress in migrant populations, researchers at La Trobe University explored demographic, social, and psychological factors related to a broader spectrum of wellbeing by including the concept of 'flourishing' as well as that of psychological distress. A national online survey of 1446 migrants to Australia found that being younger, wishing to return to the home country, experiencing a greater degree of racism, and dissatisfaction with the quality of relationships to be predictive of distress. Being a student rather than working full-time was also associated with high distress levels. Conversely, satisfaction with relationships, greater identification with being Australian, and being self-employed were associated with flourishing. The promotion of flourishing is not merely the prevention of distress, and that targeting social interventions to tackle these factors may support the positive adaptation of migrants to life in a new country.

doi.org/10.1007/s10902-018-9961-7

Contrary to common workplace assumptions, open-plan offices are linked to lower-levels of job satisfaction and wellbeing.

Researchers from Sweden and Denmark explored the employee job satisfaction and productivity of 271 participants across differing office environments, comparing individual office-based settings, shared-room offices (sharing with 1 to 2 co-workers), small open-plan offices (sharing with 3 to 9 co-workers) and medium-sized open-plan offices (sharing with 10 to 20 co-workers). Contrary to assumptions that open-plan offices improve communication and productivity, employees working in small or medium-sized open-plan offices reported lower levels of job satisfaction, subjective wellbeing, and ease of interaction with co-workers than employees working in individual or shared-room offices. The association between office type and job satisfaction was mediated by ease of interaction and, in turn, subjective wellbeing.

doi.org/10.5271/sjweh.3707

Findings demonstrate that the protective impact of positive childhood experiences may offset the impact of adverse events.

Adverse childhood experiences are a known risk factor for mental health concerns and social adversity later in life, however less is known about the possible influence of positive early life experiences. Researchers in the US piloted a new measure – the Benevolent Childhood Experiences (BCEs) scale, designed to assess positive early life experiences in adults with histories of childhood maltreatment and other adversities. Participants were 101 pregnant women, representing a broad range of ethnic groups. Participants completed both the BCEs and Adverse Childhood Experiences scales and a range of other measures relating to prenatal and broader life stress. Higher levels of positive childhood experiences predicted less mental health concerns and less prenatal stress, above and beyond that apparent influence of adverse experiences.

The study highlights the importance of considering favourable childhood experiences as well as adversity when considering prenatal histories, and of identifying health-promoting childhood influences which may serve to offset the typically negative effects of early adverse life experiences and increase the odds of intergenerational trajectories of resilience in mothers and babies.

doi.org/10.1016/j.chiabu.2017.09.022

Celebrity endorsements of e-cigarettes in social media campaigns significantly increase positive attitudes towards e-smoking.

Utilising a between-subject experiment, this study examined the effects of endorser type (celebrities, non-celebrities and products only) in e-cigarette brand Instagram advertisements on e-cigarette attitudes and smoking intentions. Results showed that celebrity endorsers significantly increased positive attitudes towards e-cigarettes and smoking intentions, compared to non-celebrities or products only. Celebrity endorsers also rated significantly higher on trustworthiness, expertise, goodwill and attractiveness, compared to non-celebrities. Additionally, identification, social comparison, health consciousness and social networking site use moderated between endorser type and key dependent measures. Implications for e-cigarette marketing regulation are discussed.

doi.org/10.1177/1359105317693912

Social connectedness may prove a stronger predictor of mental health than mental health of social connectedness.

The importance of overall social connectedness in aiding public mental health is well established. However, the direction of the relationship has been unclear – does poor social connectedness lead to psychological ill-health, or does psychological ill-health lead to a loss of social connectedness, which has been a dominant perspective in the field. In this large scale, longitudinal national study spanning four years and involving over 21,000 participants, researchers in New Zealand assessed the bi-directional longitudinal relationship between social connectedness and mental health, controlling for baseline levels of both. For each prospective year, social connectedness proved a stronger and more consistent predictor of mental health than mental health was of social connectedness. The authors highlight the importance of interventions which improve social connectedness and which help build new connections as a means for promoting mental health at a societal level.

doi.org/10.1177/0004867417723990