Thomas Schack
Biographic Data
| ID | 1925029 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Thomas Schack |
| GIVEN NAMES | Thomas |
| FAMILY NAME | Schack |
| SIGNATURE | SCHACK T |
| AFFILIATIONS | Bielefeld University |
| VERIFIED | No |
| TOTAL WORKS | 31 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 0 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 31 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2020 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2026 |
| H-INDEX | 0 |
Mediating roles of grit and learning motivation on students’ academic resilience and engagement in Ghana
Academic resilience helps students overcome challenges and maintain engagement in their studies. However, the interplay between academic resilience, student engagement, and the mediating roles of grit and learning motivation remains unexplored in Ghana. This study investigated these relationships among Senior High School (SHS) students in the Kwahu North districts of Ghana. Employing an explanatory correlational design, 190 students were recruite…
Cognitive, Neurophysiological, and Behavioral Adaptations in Golf Putting Motor Learning
Linking students' grit and academic engagement
The study investigated the relationships between students' grit, academic engagement, motivation and self‐regulated learning (SRL). It explored the mediating role of academic motivation and SRL in the relationship between students' grit and academic engagement. Understanding these dynamics can help educators foster environments that enhance student engagement through targeted interventions. A predictive correlational design was used to model the …
Modelling the associations between students' academic resilience, learning motivation, self-regulated learning and academic well-being in Ghana
Moderated moderation modelling of subjective social status, pocket money and depressive symptoms of university students in Ghana
Introduction: Although the relationship between subjective social status and depression in university students has been well-established, this association could be seen as a spurious one. Previous studies have shown that key variables like financial resources and age could play key roles in explaining the variances in social status and mental health outcomes. In this research, we assessed the complex interrelationships between subjective social s…
Effects of Gender and Age Interaction on Sense of Coherence and Subjective Well-Being of Senior High School Students in Northern Ghana
Though several studies have established the effect of gender and age on the sense of coherence (SoC) and subjective well-being (SWB) among diverse populations, findings have been varied and inconclusive. These inconsistencies have been attributed to the differences in sample characteristics, methodological and cultural disparities. Thus, the present study assessed the following: (1) gender and age effect on SoC, (2) gender and age effect on SWB, …
Revalidation of Teachers' Sense of Efficacy Scale using Ghanaian in‐service teachers
Teachers' Sense of Efficacy Scale (TSES), since its development, has gained much popularity because of its adequate psychometric properties. Yet, scholarly information on the soundness of this instrument in the African context has not been documented. Besides, the previous validation studies on the TSES have yielded mixed results with different factor structures, calling for further studies to test its utility and use across different cultures. T…
Gender Differences in Academic Resilience and Well-Being among Senior High School Students in Ghana
Senior high school (SHS) students are at risk of stress and other adverse exposures that may negatively affect their well-being and possibly cause attrition. The concepts of academic resilience and well-being share commonality as psychological attributes linked to positive functioning among students. Despite this connection, there seems to be limited research exploring these concepts across genders among SHS students in developing regions. This s…
Stress-related experiences and intentions to quit studies among female married postgraduate distance education students in Ghana
Key findings suggest that female married postgraduate distance education students perform multiple roles as full-time employees with family and academic demands that can negatively impact their health and academic work. Implications and recommendations of the findings are discussed
Evaluating the moderating role of information seeking platforms on university students' risk perception and anxiety during the Covid-19 pandemic in Ghana
Introduction The emergence of COVID-19 resulted in heightened usage of online information seeking platforms among students aimed at obtaining information about the virus. This situation further increased the levels of risk perception and anxiety levels as students managed to stay safe. This study examined the roles of information seeking platforms; specifically, social media platforms and professional platforms as moderators of the link between r…
Neurofeedback training
The physiological function of the Mu rhythm (8–13 Hz in the central region) is still unclear, particularly its role in visuomotor performance in sports (shooting vs. golf putting), as both the complexity of the motor skills (i.e., simple vs. complex visuomotor skills) and the skill level (e.g., novices vs. experts or low-skilled vs. highly skilled) may modulate Mu rhythm. To gain a broader understanding of the association between Mu rhythm and vi…
Manual action re-planning interferes with the maintenance process of working memory
The current study investigated the re-planning of the grasping movements, its functional interactions with working memory (WM), and underlying neurophysiological activity. Mainly, the current study investigated the movement re-planning interference with WM domains (verbal, visuospatial) and processes (maintenance, retrieval). We combined a cognitive-motor dual-task paradigm with an EEG setting. Thirty-six participants completed the verbal and vis…
Gender digital health literacy gap across age
The COVID‐19 pandemic amplified the need for digital health literacy aimed at reducing the psychological distress levels of people, including in‐school adolescents. Available evidence suggests the presence of a gender health literacy gap among adolescents in schools in Ghana and beyond. Previous literature has established the role of age in digital health literacy levels. What is unknown is how gender and age interact with digital health literacy…
Association between female genital mutilation and girl-child marriage in sub-Saharan Africa
Two commonly linked harmful practices that negatively impact the health of girls and women in sub-Saharan Africa, and threaten their development and quality of life, are female genital mutilation and girl-child marriage. The central focus of the study was to investigate the association between female genital mutilation and girl-child marriage in sub-Saharan Africa. Data from the most recent Demographic and Health Surveys of twelve sub-Sahara Afri…
Subjective social status and well-being of adolescents and young adults in Ghanaian schools
The findings underscore the relevance of providing sufficient financial support for students in secondary schools in Ghana; thus, highlighting the sheer relevance of economic capital as a leading factor for better well-being. The findings also place much emphasis on building students' personal coping mechanisms as a key variable in explaining how the students' SSS and MR translate into having positive mental health outcomes
Investigating teachers' experience and self-efficacy beliefs across gender in implementing the new standards-based curriculum in Ghana
The introduction of the new standards-based curriculum in Ghana required teachers to make adjustments, including teaching routines. Despite the challenges encountered in the introduction of this new curriculum, its passage was successful. Previous studies have revealed mixed reactions from teachers and how their experiences affect their efficacy during the implementation stage. This study examined whether teachers' experiences and self-efficacy b…
Perceived Safety of Learning Environment and Associated Anxiety Factors during Covid-19 in Ghana
The outbreak of COVID-19 led to the swift migration to alternate instructional delivery models and pedagogical practices in educational institutions. This study examined the perceived safety of the learning environment and associated anxiety factors among physical education students amidst COVID-19. Using a cross-sectional design, a sample of 638 students drawn purposively and conveniently from a public university in Ghana completed a self-develo…
Validation of the WHO-5 Well-Being Scale among Adolescents in Ghana
The WHO-5 well-being measure happens to be one of the most renowned measures of subjective well-being across the globe. Although the instrument has been calibrated in different countries, its psychometric properties and applicability in Africa, especially in Ghana, are not known. In this study, the WHO-5 well-being scale was validated among adolescents in Ghana by assessing the validity evidence of the measure based on the internal and external s…
Validity and Reliability of Cultural Mix Coping Inventory for Stressful Situations among Healthcare Professionals in Ghana Amidst Covid-19
The Cultural Mix Coping Inventory for Stressful Situations is one of the recent coping measures developed to overcome the weaknesses of existing coping scales. Since its development and validation, the inventory has been used by previous studies to measure coping among teachers and students in stressful situations. Health professionals are workers who typically encounter stressful situations due to their work demands. In this study, we assessed t…
Then and Now
Information on the concentration of body mass index and child death among females in Malawi, where the epidemics of weight gain have been disconcerting and preventable deaths among children linger, is limited. Therefore, the study examined the polarity of body mass index and the death of children among females. Using data from the Malawian Demographic and Health Survey from 2000 to 2015-2016, the study applied for the first time the index of conc…
Linking Covid-19-Related Awareness and Anxiety as Determinants of Coping Strategies’ Utilization among Senior High School Teachers in Cape Coast Metropolis, Ghana
Cognitive-behavioral coping among teachers is an important issue of investigation due to the reported high prevalence of anxiety associated with the COVID-19 pandemic. Whereas several studies have assessed COVID-19 awareness of individuals as a predictor of anxiety, the moderating role of awareness in anxiety and coping mechanisms remains unclear. The study primarily examined the nexus between awareness of COVID-19 and (a) anxiety and (b) coping …
Assessing the prevalence, sources and selective antecedents of organizational stressors among elite football players and coaches in the Ghana premier league
Globally, job-related stress has been classified as a health epidemic which is common among many individuals across diverse populations. Despite this established knowledge, research has primarily focused on the general population and among health workers. Therefore, understanding stress related experiences in the context of professional sport would help design appropriate stress management interventions for effective coping. The overarching aim o…
Mental Representation and the Cognitive Architecture of Skilled Action
The aim of this paper is to understand the functional role of mental representations and intentionality in skilled actions from a systems related perspective. Therefore, we will evaluate the function of representation and then discuss the cognitive architecture of skilled actions in more depth. We are going to describe the building blocks and levels of the action system that enable us to control movements such as striking the tennis ball at the r…
Physical Activity Reduces Clinical Symptoms and Restores Neuroplasticity in Major Depression
Major depressive disorder (MDD) is the most common mental disorder and deficits in neuroplasticity are discussed as one pathophysiological mechanism. Physical activity (PA) enhances neuroplasticity in healthy subjects and improves clinical symptoms of MDD. However, it is unclear whether this clinical effect of PA is due to restoring deficient neuroplasticity in MDD. We investigated the effect of a 3-week PA program applied on clinical symptoms, m…
The Influence of Anthropometric Indices and Intermediary Determinants of Hypertension in Bangladesh
Hypertension is a major public health burden in Bangladesh. However, studies considering the underlying multifaceted risk factors of this health condition are sparse. The present study concurrently examines anthropometric parameters and intermediary factors influencing hypertension risk in Bangladesh. Using the 2018 World Health Organisation (WHO) STEPwise approach to non-communicable disease risk factor surveillance (STEPS) study conducted in Ba…
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Rising Above Misinformation or Fake News in Africa
Misinformation related to the COVID-19 pandemic is gradually gaining much popularity and amplifying the threat facing humanity about the continuous spread of the virus regardless of one’s location. Although some of the influx of these falsehoods may be harmless, others might pose a serious threat by misleading the general population to depend on unjustified and/ unsubstantiated claims for protection and show preference for them against scientific…
Africa's Covid-19 Situation in Focus and Recent Happenings
Given that COVID-19 (SARS-CoV-2) has crept into Africa, a major public health crisis or threat continues to linger on the continent. Many local governments and various stakeholders have stepped up efforts for early detection and management of COVID-19. This mini review highlights the current trend in Africa, history and general epidemiological information on the virus. Current ongoing efforts (e.g., improving testing capacity) and some effective …
Working memory load does not affect sequential motor planning
Assessing the Quality of Physical Environments of Early Childhood Schools within the Cape Coast Metropolis in Ghana Using a Sequential Explanatory Mixed-Methods Design
(1) Background: The last few decades have seen researchers giving considerable attention to the physical context of early childhood care and development (ECCD) centers because many of the underlying processes that link physical context are quite similar to psychosocial environmental factors regarding child development. However, research on the physical environments, and the employees’ understanding of the importance of physical environments, is o…
Understanding the linkages between male circumcision and multiple sexual partnership among married Ghanaian men
Based on the current findings, educational campaigns by stakeholder groups (e.g., Ministry of Health in collaboration with the National Commission on Civic Education, civil society, educational institutions) should sensitize the sexually active population at the community level to consistently use condoms, especially when they have multiple sexual partners, even when a man is circumcised. Campaign messages must clearly emphasize that male circumc…
A multi-country cross-sectional study of self-reported sexually transmitted infections among sexually active men in sub-Saharan Africa
STIs prevalence across the selected countries in SSA showed distinct cross-country variations. Current findings suggest that STIs intervention priorities must be given across countries with high prevalence. Several socio-demographic factors predicted SR-STIs. To reduce the prevalence of STIs among SAM in SSA, it is prudent to take these factors (e.g., age, condom use, employment status, HIV/AIDS knowledge) into consideration when planning health …
Mental Representation and the Cognitive Architecture of Skilled Action
The aim of this paper is to understand the functional role of mental representations and intentionality in skilled actions from a systems related perspective. Therefore, we will evaluate the function of representation and then discuss the cognitive architecture of skilled actions in more depth. We are going to describe the building blocks and levels of the action system that enable us to control movements such as striking the tennis ball at the r…
Physical Activity Reduces Clinical Symptoms and Restores Neuroplasticity in Major Depression
Major depressive disorder (MDD) is the most common mental disorder and deficits in neuroplasticity are discussed as one pathophysiological mechanism. Physical activity (PA) enhances neuroplasticity in healthy subjects and improves clinical symptoms of MDD. However, it is unclear whether this clinical effect of PA is due to restoring deficient neuroplasticity in MDD. We investigated the effect of a 3-week PA program applied on clinical symptoms, m…
The Influence of Anthropometric Indices and Intermediary Determinants of Hypertension in Bangladesh
Hypertension is a major public health burden in Bangladesh. However, studies considering the underlying multifaceted risk factors of this health condition are sparse. The present study concurrently examines anthropometric parameters and intermediary factors influencing hypertension risk in Bangladesh. Using the 2018 World Health Organisation (WHO) STEPwise approach to non-communicable disease risk factor surveillance (STEPS) study conducted in Ba…
Investigating teachers' experience and self-efficacy beliefs across gender in implementing the new standards-based curriculum in Ghana
The introduction of the new standards-based curriculum in Ghana required teachers to make adjustments, including teaching routines. Despite the challenges encountered in the introduction of this new curriculum, its passage was successful. Previous studies have revealed mixed reactions from teachers and how their experiences affect their efficacy during the implementation stage. This study examined whether teachers' experiences and self-efficacy b…
Perceived Safety of Learning Environment and Associated Anxiety Factors during Covid-19 in Ghana
The outbreak of COVID-19 led to the swift migration to alternate instructional delivery models and pedagogical practices in educational institutions. This study examined the perceived safety of the learning environment and associated anxiety factors among physical education students amidst COVID-19. Using a cross-sectional design, a sample of 638 students drawn purposively and conveniently from a public university in Ghana completed a self-develo…
Validation of the WHO-5 Well-Being Scale among Adolescents in Ghana
The WHO-5 well-being measure happens to be one of the most renowned measures of subjective well-being across the globe. Although the instrument has been calibrated in different countries, its psychometric properties and applicability in Africa, especially in Ghana, are not known. In this study, the WHO-5 well-being scale was validated among adolescents in Ghana by assessing the validity evidence of the measure based on the internal and external s…
Validity and Reliability of Cultural Mix Coping Inventory for Stressful Situations among Healthcare Professionals in Ghana Amidst Covid-19
The Cultural Mix Coping Inventory for Stressful Situations is one of the recent coping measures developed to overcome the weaknesses of existing coping scales. Since its development and validation, the inventory has been used by previous studies to measure coping among teachers and students in stressful situations. Health professionals are workers who typically encounter stressful situations due to their work demands. In this study, we assessed t…
Then and Now
Information on the concentration of body mass index and child death among females in Malawi, where the epidemics of weight gain have been disconcerting and preventable deaths among children linger, is limited. Therefore, the study examined the polarity of body mass index and the death of children among females. Using data from the Malawian Demographic and Health Survey from 2000 to 2015-2016, the study applied for the first time the index of conc…
Linking Covid-19-Related Awareness and Anxiety as Determinants of Coping Strategies’ Utilization among Senior High School Teachers in Cape Coast Metropolis, Ghana
Cognitive-behavioral coping among teachers is an important issue of investigation due to the reported high prevalence of anxiety associated with the COVID-19 pandemic. Whereas several studies have assessed COVID-19 awareness of individuals as a predictor of anxiety, the moderating role of awareness in anxiety and coping mechanisms remains unclear. The study primarily examined the nexus between awareness of COVID-19 and (a) anxiety and (b) coping …
Assessing the prevalence, sources and selective antecedents of organizational stressors among elite football players and coaches in the Ghana premier league
Globally, job-related stress has been classified as a health epidemic which is common among many individuals across diverse populations. Despite this established knowledge, research has primarily focused on the general population and among health workers. Therefore, understanding stress related experiences in the context of professional sport would help design appropriate stress management interventions for effective coping. The overarching aim o…
Evaluating the moderating role of information seeking platforms on university students' risk perception and anxiety during the Covid-19 pandemic in Ghana
Introduction The emergence of COVID-19 resulted in heightened usage of online information seeking platforms among students aimed at obtaining information about the virus. This situation further increased the levels of risk perception and anxiety levels as students managed to stay safe. This study examined the roles of information seeking platforms; specifically, social media platforms and professional platforms as moderators of the link between r…
Neurofeedback training
The physiological function of the Mu rhythm (8–13 Hz in the central region) is still unclear, particularly its role in visuomotor performance in sports (shooting vs. golf putting), as both the complexity of the motor skills (i.e., simple vs. complex visuomotor skills) and the skill level (e.g., novices vs. experts or low-skilled vs. highly skilled) may modulate Mu rhythm. To gain a broader understanding of the association between Mu rhythm and vi…
Manual action re-planning interferes with the maintenance process of working memory
The current study investigated the re-planning of the grasping movements, its functional interactions with working memory (WM), and underlying neurophysiological activity. Mainly, the current study investigated the movement re-planning interference with WM domains (verbal, visuospatial) and processes (maintenance, retrieval). We combined a cognitive-motor dual-task paradigm with an EEG setting. Thirty-six participants completed the verbal and vis…
Gender digital health literacy gap across age
The COVID‐19 pandemic amplified the need for digital health literacy aimed at reducing the psychological distress levels of people, including in‐school adolescents. Available evidence suggests the presence of a gender health literacy gap among adolescents in schools in Ghana and beyond. Previous literature has established the role of age in digital health literacy levels. What is unknown is how gender and age interact with digital health literacy…
Association between female genital mutilation and girl-child marriage in sub-Saharan Africa
Two commonly linked harmful practices that negatively impact the health of girls and women in sub-Saharan Africa, and threaten their development and quality of life, are female genital mutilation and girl-child marriage. The central focus of the study was to investigate the association between female genital mutilation and girl-child marriage in sub-Saharan Africa. Data from the most recent Demographic and Health Surveys of twelve sub-Sahara Afri…
Subjective social status and well-being of adolescents and young adults in Ghanaian schools
The findings underscore the relevance of providing sufficient financial support for students in secondary schools in Ghana; thus, highlighting the sheer relevance of economic capital as a leading factor for better well-being. The findings also place much emphasis on building students' personal coping mechanisms as a key variable in explaining how the students' SSS and MR translate into having positive mental health outcomes
Moderated moderation modelling of subjective social status, pocket money and depressive symptoms of university students in Ghana
Introduction: Although the relationship between subjective social status and depression in university students has been well-established, this association could be seen as a spurious one. Previous studies have shown that key variables like financial resources and age could play key roles in explaining the variances in social status and mental health outcomes. In this research, we assessed the complex interrelationships between subjective social s…
Effects of Gender and Age Interaction on Sense of Coherence and Subjective Well-Being of Senior High School Students in Northern Ghana
Though several studies have established the effect of gender and age on the sense of coherence (SoC) and subjective well-being (SWB) among diverse populations, findings have been varied and inconclusive. These inconsistencies have been attributed to the differences in sample characteristics, methodological and cultural disparities. Thus, the present study assessed the following: (1) gender and age effect on SoC, (2) gender and age effect on SWB, …
Revalidation of Teachers' Sense of Efficacy Scale using Ghanaian in‐service teachers
Teachers' Sense of Efficacy Scale (TSES), since its development, has gained much popularity because of its adequate psychometric properties. Yet, scholarly information on the soundness of this instrument in the African context has not been documented. Besides, the previous validation studies on the TSES have yielded mixed results with different factor structures, calling for further studies to test its utility and use across different cultures. T…
Psychology (23 works) · Medicine (19 works) · Social Psychology (14 works) · Political science (8 works) · Clinical Psychology (7 works) · Developmental psychology (7 works) · Environmental health (7 works) · Cognitive psychology (6 works) · Computer Science (6 works) · Medical education (6 works)