Life orientation, positive thinking, and intellectual extremism among female Physical Education teachers in post-conflict Iraqi
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.47197/retos.v73.117650Keywords:
Life orientation, positive thinking, intellectual extremism, liberated areasAbstract
Objective. This study was conducted to identify the levels of life orientation, positive thinking, and intellectual extremism of female physical education teachers in post-conflict liberated areas of Iraq and to explain the relationships between variables.
Methods: A descriptive-correlational method was used. The sample was 436 female physical education teachers in Nineveh, Salah al-Din, and Kirkuk governorates. Instruments-Data were gathered through the Life Orientation Scale, Positive Thinking Scale, and Intellectual Extremism Scale, the validity and reliability of which had been established.
Results: The results showed that the sample scored a high orientation toward life (M=34.67) and positive thoughts (M=50.75), and a low degree of intellectual extremism (M=70.89). The correlation between life orientation and intellectual extremism was −0.67 (r = 0.67, P < 0.01), indicating a strong, statistically significant negative correlation between the two variables, while positive thinking and intellectual extremism did not indicate a statistically significant correlation (r = −0.11).
Conclusion: The study results indicate that the teachers showed a high level of psychological resilience in hostile environmental conditions. Life orientation is protective against extremism when it has cognitive and existential predictive power diffuse orienting, and positive thinking is not a risk factor for the youth in countering extremism although positive thinking is an important characteristic of mental health.
Abstract: Background: Teachers in post-conflict settings are psychologically resilient. Incorporating a sense of purpose in life orientation is, therefore, a promising psychosocial mechanism for reducing vulnerability to extremist ideologies and movements.
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Copyright (c) 2025 Omar Fadhil Yahya Al-Badri, Ayman Saram Shakeeb, Yasir Irhayyim Ali, Mohammed Saleh Alsamarae, Shakir Mahmoud Abdullah
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