Self-injury in adolescents is a significant mental health concern. Most school staff have encountered self-injury in the educational setting, yet many report not feeling confident in dealing with self-injury. We delivered nine two-day workshops on suicidal and nonsuicidal self-injury to 199 school staff (83.9% female, 67.3% school health staff) and examined the feasibility, acceptability, and potential effect of the training. Self-report measures were administered before, immediately after, and at 6-month follow-up. The workshop was feasible with high completion rates and acceptability. There were significant main effects of time with improvements in knowledge and perceived knowledge, confidence, attitudes, and emotional burden. Moderating effects of profession and years of experience were examined, with especially profession emerging as a moderator on several outcomes. Self-reported behavioral changes at follow-up focused on increased attention to self-injury, feeling more confident and calmer, focusing on the functions of self-injury, and discussing school routines. The results from the study suggest positive effects of delivering education on self-injury to school staff. Increased knowledge and confidence, together with more positive attitudes, have the potential to improve for school staff. Examining the effects on students with self-injury in the educational setting is an important next step.

This scoping review aimed to identify the current state of knowledge on toxic leadership in high-performance sports and its consequences for mental health and performance at individual, interpersonal, and organizational levels. Abstract screening (n =768) and full-text review (n = 83) resulted in the inclusion of 26 studies, predominantly conducted in North America and Europe. Studies used inconsistent definitions, theoretical frameworks, and methodological approaches to study darker or toxic leadership. Several antecedents and maintaining factors to toxic leadershipwere identified, such as individual leader characteristics, a performance-oriented culture, status/power structures, and a lackof reporting processes or consequences within organizations. The empirical literature provided initial support for the negative consequences of toxic leadership on athletes’ mental health, injuries, and motivation to remain in high-performance sports. Few studies have investigated the consequences of toxic leadership on sports organizations, staff or coaches. We conclude that research on toxic leadership in high-performance sports is in its early stages, with an underdeveloped understanding of how problematic leadership can be detected, prevented, and addressed to minimize its impact in sports. Researchers, governing bodies, and sports organizations must intensify their efforts to comprehend the emergence and persistence of toxic leadership within high-performance sports environments.

Objectives: To explore the relationships between age, gender, type of sport, perfectionistic self-presentation and motivation on body satisfaction among young athletes in one aesthetic sport (gymnastics) and one non-aesthetic sport (basketball). The study hypothesise that (1) age, gender, and type of sport (aesthetic or non-aesthetic) will predict body satisfaction scores, (2) autonomous motivation will positively relate to body satisfaction, and (3) perfectionistic self-presentation will negatively relate to body satisfaction.

Design: Cross-sectional. 

Method: 209 athletes (132 gymnasts and 77 basketball players) aged 10-22 (median=13 years) were recruited. After data screening, 200 athletes were included in analyses (females: n=155; males: n=45). Participants completed an online survey which assessed demographic information, athlete motivation (Behavioral Regulation in Sport Questionnaire), perfectionistic self-presentation (Perfectionistic Self-Presentation Scale – Junior Form) and body satisfaction (Body Appreciation Scale-2). 

Results: Hierarchical multiple regression showed age, self-assigned gender, and two facets of perfectionism (perfectionistic self-presentation and non-disclosure of imperfection) to predict reported levels of body satisfaction significantly. Subsequently, adding motivational variables did not improve the model. A moderation analysis showed that the relationship between non-disclosure of imperfection and body satisfaction was significantly moderated by gender. 

Conclusions: Two facets of perfectionism were associated with reported body satisfaction. Additionally, the relationship between non-disclosure of imperfection and body satisfaction appears to differ between female and male athletes. Researchers should move beyond sport types and identify factors (e.g., perfectionistic self-presentation) at the individual and environmental level that can protect young athletes’ body satisfaction.

Objective: To evaluate the relative impact of three brief therapist-supported internet-delivered emotion regulation treatments for maladaptive anger (mindful emotion awareness [MEA], cognitive reappraisal [CR], and mindful emotion awareness + cognitive reappraisal [MEA + CR]) and to test whether baseline levels of anger pathology moderate treatment outcome. Method: Treatments were evaluated in a randomized controlled trial. In total, 234 participants (59% female; mean age = 41.1, SD = 11.6) with maladaptive anger were randomized to MEA (n = 78), CR (n = 77), or MEA + CR (n = 79). Self-reported primary and secondary outcomes were followed up at primary endpoint, 3 months after treatment termination (88% retention). Primary outcomes were also assessed weekly during a prolonged baseline phase (4 weeks) and an active treatment phase (4 weeks). Results: At the primary endpoint, the MEA + CR was superior in terms of anger expression (d = 0.27 95% confidence interval, CI [0.03, 0.51]), aggression (d = 0.43 [0.18, 0.68]), and anger rumination (d = 0.41 [0.18, 0.63]). MEA + CR was particularly effective in reducing anger expression (d = 0.66 [0.21, 1.11]), aggression (d = 0.90 [0.42, 1.39]), and anger rumination (d = 0.80 [0.40, 1.20]) for individuals who reported high values (+1SD) of the outcomes at baseline. Conclusions: Brief therapist-supported internet-delivered MEA and CR treatments are effective interventions for maladaptive anger. Combining MEA and CR is especially effective in reducing anger expression and aggression, particularly, in individuals who report higher levels of initial anger pathology. The present study highlights the importance of emotion regulation as an important treatment target for reducing maladaptive anger.

An adequate capacity for cognitive control, the ability to maintain goal-directed behavior despite conflicting environmental demands, is a requirement for effective functioning. Whether it be the capacity to delay gratification or to effectively regulate emotions, various types of cognitive control allow us to function effectively despite the enormous complexity encountered in everyday life. Yet, some forms of cognitive control, such as thought suppression, have been shown to have delayed and potentially adverse consequences. Previous research has largely neglected to study cognitive control in the auditory domain, yet task-irrelevant and potentially distracting sounds are omnipresent, making this a highly interesting area of research.

In the current thesis, I present findings from four experimental studies with an overall aim to investigate the use, effectiveness, and delayed consequences of cognitive control in the auditory domain.  

In Study II and Study IV, the aim was to investigate the use of four common emotion regulation strategies in response to task-irrelevant, potentially distracting sound. Measures of emotional responding were also included to determine whether the use and effectiveness of these strategies was related to subjective emotion. In Study II, participants received either positive or negative information about an inherently neutral sound in an attempt to manipulate their emotional experience of the sound. In contrast, sounds used in Study IV were inherently negative or neutral. Results from both studies showed that all four of the surveyed emotion regulation strategies were used to some degree, and that participants reported use of multiple regulatory strategies. Results also suggest that subjective ratings of negative emotion in response to the sound were related to greater use of mental suppression, in line with findings from other sensory domains.  

In Study I and Study III, we specifically investigated the delayed consequences of mental suppression. In line with previous research from other sensory modalities, results from the two experiments reported in Study I suggest that mentally suppressing awareness of a task-irrelevant sound results in delayed consequences. However, the nature of these consequences varied between experiments. This may be due to the use of different sound stimuli in the two experiments, where sounds from the first experiment were emotionally neutral and unintrusive, while sounds from the second were inherently aversive. In Study III, the aim was to replicate and expand on the findings from Study I, and specifically test for delayed consequences on perceptual responding. Mental suppression, conceptualized as an experiential avoidance strategy, was compared to an approach focused strategy, with the hypothesis that mental suppression would result in hypervigilance toward previously suppressed stimuli. Results from the two experiments reported in Study III did not provide support for this hypothesis.  

In conclusion, results from the studies presented in the current thesis suggest that people regularly use cognitive control strategies in response to task-irrelevant sound, and that the use of these strategies may be related to subjective emotional experiences of the sound. Additionally, attempting to mentally suppress awareness of a sound may result in delayed consequences, but the circumstance under which these delayed consequences can be demonstrated are not yet understood. The included studies provide initial indications that developing adaptive strategies of coping with distracting sound can reduce the risk of long-term maladaptive consequences.