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Burnout is an increasing public health problem. Although research indicate that cognitive and affective factors are related to burnout, there is a lack of knowledge about the extent to which specific cognitive and affective symptoms are related to burnout, and whether there are sex-related differences. An aim of this study was to identify specific self-reported cognitive and affective symptoms that are particularly associated with burnout, both in the population in general and in men and women separately. Another aim was to examine the risk of burnout for specific symptoms and total number of symptoms in the general population and in men and women separately. Cross-sectional data were used from a large population-based questionnaire study consisting of 3406 participants (18–79 years) randomly selected from a general population in northern Sweden. Eleven cognitive and affective symptoms were assessed with a subsection of the Environmental Hypersensitivity Symptom Inventory, and the 22-item Shirom-Melamed Burnout Questionnaire (SMBQ) was used to assess burnout. The findings suggest that burnout is associated with a rather large number of cognitive and affective symptoms, in particular feeling tired/lethargic, having concentration difficulties, sleep disturbance, feeling depressed and being absent minded. Women with burnout (SMBQ score ≥ 4) reported higher prevalence of feeling tired/lethargic and sleep disturbance. The results add to the understanding of affective and cognitive symptomatology in burnout, which might have implications for early identification and prevention of burnout and exhaustion disorder.

Retrieval practice is a learning strategy that has repeatedly been found to have positive effects on memory and learning. However, studies indicate that students rarely use retrieval practice on a voluntary basis. The objective of the present study was to examine students’ self-regulated use of retrieval practice, and to determine whether sex and individual differences in cognitive and non-cognitive aspects are related to optional use of practice testing. A classroom study was conducted with 146 upper-secondary school students taking courses in mathematics and Swedish. An ABAB design was used to compare students’ optional and non-optional use of retrieval practice (i.e., repeated online quizzing). Students performed cognitive tasks to assess working memory capacity and fluid intelligence and completed self-reports of non-cognitive factors related to school achievement, such as grit, need for cognition (NFC), conscientiousness and openness. Quiz use was then compared using paired- and independent-samples t-tests, and hierarchical linear regression analyses explored relations to individual differences. The results showed that students completed significantly fewer quizzes in the optional sections than in the non-optional sections, and that females completed significantly more optional quizzes than males in Swedish, but not in mathematics. Further, the results showed that conscientiousness predicted optional quiz use in mathematics, whereas sex, NFC, conscientiousness, and openness predicted quiz use in Swedish. To conclude, although the findings show a relatively low optional/self-regulated use of practice testing, in line with earlier research, they suggest that sex and non-cognitive factors, such as personality characteristics, can predict optional use of practice testing.

The overall aim of the present study was to examine the construct validity of different versions of the Shirom-Melamed Burnout Questionnaire/Measure (SMBQ/M) suggested in previous work, as well as to provide normative data for a large population-based sample in Sweden with a broad range in age. Cross-sectional data from the Västerbotten Environmental Health Study in Sweden were used. The 3406 participants (56% women) in this study, aged 18–79 years, constituted a random sample stratified for age and sex. Participants responded to a questionnaire including the 4-factor 22-item version of the SMBM as well as background questions and a number of validated questionnaire instruments assessing for example, sleep disturbance, depression, anxiety, perceived stress, and somatic symptoms. The dimensionality of different versions of the SMBM were examined with confirmatory factor analysis. A modified 4-factor 19-item model of the SMBM provided good model-fit, and two 2-factor models (11-item and 6-item) provided excellent model fit. The relationships to relevant psychological constructs provided support for convergent validity for the suggested versions of the SMBM. Finally, normative data were obtained for a broad age group for the different versions. In conclusion, we suggest that for assessing the core of the burnout construct in terms of emotional and physical exhaustion and cognitive weariness, the SMBM-11 or SMBM-6 for repeated measures, are to be used. For a broader assessment of burnout incorporating both symptoms and information about the process of exhaustion via the subscales of listlessness and tension, we recommend the use of the modified 4-factor SMBM-19.

Purpose: Assessment of complex clinical skills and abilities is a challenge in mental health education. In the present study, an objective structured clinical examination (OSCE) was adapted to psychology and implemented in a Master in Psychology program. The purpose of the present study was to examine aspects of validity of this OSCE.

Design/methodology/approach: A total of 55 students enrolled in the Master in the Psychology program at Umeå University, Sweden, participated in two OSCE occasions. In addition to OSCE data, questionnaires were administered immediately after the OSCE to students (n = 18) and examiners (n = 13) to examine their perceptions of the OSCE.

Findings: The results provided support for different aspects of validity. The level of internal consistency was close to acceptable, and there was a good correspondence between global ratings and checklist scores for many stations. However, adding an additional category to the global rating scale and reviewing some of the station checklists might improve the assessment further. The present cut-score of the OSCE was comparable to a cut-score set by the borderline regression model. In general, students and examiners perceived the OSCE as a high-quality examination, although examiners raised some issues that could improve the OSCE further.

Originality/value: In conclusion, OSCE is a promising assessment in psychology, both from a psychometric perspective and from a test-taker and examiner perspective. The present study is an important contribution to the field as there are only a few examples where OSCE has been used in clinical psychology, and to the best of the authors’ knowledge, this paper is the first to evaluate the validity of such an assessment.

The aim of this study was to examine the psychometric properties of the Swedish version of the Clinical Outcomes in Routine Evaluation–Outcome Measure (CORE-OM) using classical test theory and item response theory (IRT). The CORE-OM is a commonly used 34-item self-report instrument measuring psychological problems/distress covering four domains: subjective well-being, problems/symptoms, functioning and risk. Despite its broad application, only a few studies have used IRT to examine the psychometric properties, and the properties of the Swedish version have only been examined in one initial study. The present study included 1,011 clients with mild to moderate symptoms of distress, applying for psychotherapy at an outpatient training clinic in Sweden. Clients' responses were subjected to classical item analyses as well as IRT (Rasch) analysis using the partial credit model. The classical analyses demonstrated high levels of internal consistency and acceptable levels of item discrimination for the majority of the items, although lower for some items, particularly in the Risk domain. IRT analyses showed that there was a rather good match between item and respondent locations and the measurement precision was high. Disordered step and average measures for some of the items in the Risk domain indicate that these items were problematic from a psychometric point of view and only applicable for a minority of the participants. Differential item functioning for gender in some of the items suggests that they might need to be revised to minimise potential gender bias.

Finding valid and reliable ways to assess complex clinical skills within psychology is a challenge. Recently, there have been some examples of applying Objective Structured Clinical Examinations (OSCEs) in psychology for making such assessments. The aim of this study was to examine students’ and examiners’ perceptions of a digital OSCE in psychology regarding quality and students’ feelings about the OSCE. Participants were 51 students enrolled in the Programme for Master of Science in Clinical Psychology during two semesters and nine examiners assessing each OSCE occasion, at Umeå University, Sweden. Web-based questionnaires were used for data collection. Psychometric analyses indicated that the subscales in the student questionnaire had adequate or close to adequate levels of item and scale reliability. Both students and examiners felt that the digital OSCE was realistic, valid and well-aligned with professional practice. Although students perceived the digital OSCE as stressful, the results showed that they were focused and concentrated and found the OSCE to be a positive learning experience, implying that the stress did not affect performance to any significant extent. Based on the examiners’ experiences, it can be concluded that there are both advantages and disadvantages which need to be considered when planning future digital OSCEs.

The aim of this study was to examine ninth-grade students' perception of a Swedish national test in science (high-stakes for the students) and a field trial (low-stakes for the students), in terms of test-taking motivation. The study is based on semi-structured interviews with 12 students. Overall, the students had a positive perception of the national test; they were motivated to do their best, believed they did well and found the test important and good. Several students were nervous before the test and some during the test whereas others felt okay, or even enjoyed taking the national test. The students talked about less effort and test anxiety in the field trial and perceived the test as less important compared to the national test. The interviews provided a rich understanding of the different aspects of test-taking motivation as described by the expectancy-value theory. Furthermore, they indicated how the test administration could be adjusted so as to achieve higher test validity.

Objectives: This study investigated the relationships between client personality traits, and changes in those traits after cognitive behavioral or psychodynamic short-term therapy, and clients' perceived working alliances with their therapists and their clinical outcomes at a university training clinic in Sweden.

Design: This was a longitudinal study, with the measures collected at pre- and post-therapy.

Methods: The sample consisted of 138 clients with moderate psychological symptoms. Personality traits were measured using the Health-Relevant Personality Inventory, a health-relevant instrument that measures five factors.

Results: The results showed that Antagonism, Impulsivity, Hedonic Capacity, and Negative Affectivity improved significantly during therapy, while Alexithymia did not. Pre-therapy personality traits were not related to perceived working alliances (as measured by the Working Alliance Inventory) or therapeutic outcomes (as measured by the Clinical Outcomes in Routine Evaluation Outcome Measure). Post-therapy personality traits negative affectivity, hedonic capacity and alexithymia were related to working alliance, and changes in personality traits were predictive of therapy outcome. The change in Hedonic Capacity and Negative Affectivity explained about 20% of the variance in post-therapy symptoms after controlling for pre-therapy symptoms.

Conclusions: The results suggest that therapeutic foci on hedonism (extraversion) and negative affectivity (neuroticism) could be important for working alliance formation and symptom reduction in therapy. Future research should examine whether changes in clients' negative affectivity or hedonic capacity mediates the relation between perceived working alliance quality and clinical outcome in training and other psychotherapeutic contexts.

This study examined whether practice testing with short-answer (SA) items benefits learning over time compared to practice testing with multiple-choice (MC) items, and rereading the material. More specifically, the aim was to test the hypotheses of retrieval effort and transfer appropriate processing by comparing retention tests with respect to practice testing format. To adequately compare SA and MC items, the MC items were corrected for random guessing. With a within-group design, 54 students (mean age = 16 years) first read a short text, and took four practice tests containing all three formats (SA, MC and statements to read) with feedback provided after each part. The results showed that both MC and SA formats improved short- and long-term memory compared to rereading. More importantly, practice testing with SA items is more beneficial for learning and long-term retention, providing support for retrieval effort hypothesis. Using corrections for guessing and educational implications are discussed.

This study examined student police officers’ job values and differences in job values with respect to gender and educational background. Three hundred fifty-two Swedish first-year police students responded to a job value questionnaire. Psychometric analyses indicated that there are three dimensions of job values: intrinsic, altruistic, and extrinsic. In general, students rated altruistic values as more important than intrinsic/ leisure and extrinsic values. Females valued intrinsic and altruistic aspects of a job as more important than males did. In conclusion, the three dimensions of job values, as well as the differences found between males and females are supported by previous research on job values. Future studies should be directed on examining whether police students’ job values change during education and in the transition to work.