Self-Efficacy for Enhancing Students’ Career and College Readiness: A Survey of Professional School Counselors

Grounded in Bandura’s (1997) self-efficacy theory and Savickas’s (2011) career construction theory, this study examined school counselors’ beliefs about whether they can perform specific tasks related to supporting students’ career and college readiness. A national sample of school counselors (N = 2,047) completed the School Counselor Self-Efficacy for Enhancing Student Career and College Readiness Scale (Baker, Parikh-Foxx, & Martinez, 2017). Findings from a survey research design indicated that the extent of related training and the challenges associated with implementation of career service delivery were of concern to participants. Recommendations for training, practice, and further research are presented.     

Legal and Ethical implications of HIV and Duty to Warn For Counselors: Does Tarasoff Apply?

The Tarasoff decision has been used as a benchmark in the professional literature for arguments on a counselor's duty to warn individuals who are sexually intimate with a client diagnosed as having HIV infection. Implications of the current application of Tarasoff principles to those cases are considered and conclusions are drawn that question such an application. The counseling profession's ethical standards related to these issues and the professional literature are reviewed with regard to current legislative and case law. Potential alternate courses of action that would be indicated by a broad application of Tarasoff are presented.     

High School Final Year Students’ Career Decision-Making Self-Efficacy,Attachment Styles and Gender Role Orientations

The purpose of this research was to investigate the relation between final year high school students’ career decision-making self-efficacy and attachment styles. The research group consisted of 808 final year students selected at random and receiving high school education in the province of Trabzon, Turkey in the 2013–2014 academic years. Participants completed a Personal Data Form prepared by the researchers, the Career Decision-Making Self-Efficacy Scale in order to measure career decision-making self-efficacy, the Relationship Scales Questionnaire and the BEM Gender role Inventory. Results showed that career decision making efficacy was significantly correlated with the secure and fearful and attachment styles, and career decision making self-efficacy varied according to gender roles. Subjects with masculine and feminine gender roles had greater career decision making self-efficacy than those with indeterminate roles, and those with androgynous roles had greater career making self-efficacy than those with masculine, feminine or indeterminate gender roles.     

Exploring the Relationship Between School Counselors’ Perceived ASCA National Model Implementation,Supervision Satisfaction,and Burnout

The authors investigated the relationship between perceived American School Counselor Association (ASCA) National Model implementation, supervision satisfaction, and burnout in a sample of 208 practicing school counselors, of whom all were members of ASCA. After school district type, grade level, and consultation hours were controlled, results showed that increases in perceived ASCA National Model implementation and supervision satisfaction were related to decreases in burnout. Implications for the school counseling profession are discussed.     

‘Biologizing’ Psychopathy: Ethical,Legal, and Research Implications at the Interface of Epigenetics and Chronic Antisocial Conduct

Epigenetics, a field that links genetics and environmental influences on the expression of phenotypic traits, offers to increase our understanding of the development and trajectory of disease and psychological disorders beyond that thought of traditional genetic research and behavioural measures. By extension, this new perspective has implications for risk and risk management of antisocial behaviour where there is a biological component, such as psychopathy. Psychopathy is a personality disorder associated with repeat displays of antisocial behaviour, and is associated with the disproportionate imposition of harm on communities. Despite advances in our knowledge of psychopathic individuals, the construct remains complex and is hampered by a lack of integration across a range of fundamental domains. The clinical and forensic research on psychopathy is brought into conversation with the emerging field of epigenetics to highlight critical issues of (1) clinical definition and diagnosis, (2) assessment, (3) aetiology of psychopathic phenotypes, and (4) treatment and rehabilitation approaches. Broader ethical and legal questions of the role of epigenetic mechanisms in the management of psychopathy beyond the criminal justice arena are also outlined. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Genetic Counselors’ Religiosity & Spirituality: Are Genetic Counselors Different from the General Population?

Although there is evidence that the religious beliefs of genetic counselors (GCs) can induce internal conflict in at least some genetic counseling scenarios, empirical research on the religiosity of GCs is limited. This study compares genetic counselors to a representative sample of the adult U.S. population on multiple religiosity measures. After controlling for several sociodemographic factors the percentage of GCs who report having a religious affiliation is similar to the general U.S., but GCs are less likely to affiliate with conservative Christian religions and are more likely to be Jewish. GCs are significantly less likely than the general U.S. population to: believe in god, attend religious services, pray, and believe in an afterlife even after controlling for relevant sociodemographic factors. Despite the lower levels of religiosity, a majority of GCs do report themselves to be moderately to highly spiritual. We explore potential reasons for religiosity differences as well as possible implications in the context of the GC scope of practice.     

The Legal and Ethical Fiction of “Pure” Confidentiality

In the newly emerging debates about genetics and justice three distinct principles have begun to emerge concerning what the distributive aim of genetic interventions should be. These principles are: genetic equality, a genetic decent minimum, and the genetic difference principle. In this paper, I examine the rationale of each of these principles and argue that genetic equality and a genetic decent minimum are ill-equipped to tackle what I call the currency problem and the problem of weight. The genetic difference principle is the most promising of the three principles and I develop this principle so that it takes seriously the concerns of just health care and distributive justice in general. Given the strains on public funds for other important social programmes, the costs of pursuing genetic interventions and the nature of genetic interventions, I conclude that a more lax interpretation of the genetic difference principle is appropriate. This interpretation stipulates that genetic inequalities should be arranged so that they are to the greatest reasonable benefit of the least advantaged. Such a proposal is consistent with prioritarianism and provides some practical guidance for non-ideal societies–that is, societies that do not have the endless amount of resources needed to satisfy every requirement of justice.     

Protecting Ideas: Ethical and Legal Considerations When a Grant’s Principal Investigator Changes

Ethical issues related the responsible conduct of research involve questions concerning the rights and obligations of investigators to propose, design, implement, and publish research. When a principal investigator (PI) transfers institutions during a grant cycle, financial and recognition issues need to be addressed to preserve all parties’ obligations and best interests in a mutually beneficial way. Although grants often transfer with the PI, sometimes they do not. Maintaining a grant at an institution after the PI leaves does not negate the grantee institution’s obligation to recognize the PI’s original ideas, contributions, and potential rights to some forms of expression and compensation. Issues include maintaining a role for the PI in determining how to take credit for, share and publish results that involve his or her original ideas. Ascribing proper credit can become a thorny issue. This paper provides a framework for addressing situations and disagreements that may occur when a new PI continues the work after the original PI transfers. Included are suggestions for proactively developing institutional mechanisms that address such issues. Considerations include how to develop solutions that comply with the responsible conduct of research, equitably resolve claims regarding reporting of results, and avoid the possibility of plagiarism.     

Knowledge, Naturalism, and Cognitive Ethology: Kornblith’s Knowledge and its Place in Nature

This paper explores Kornblith’s proposal in Knowledge and its Place in Nature that knowledge is a natural kind that can be elucidated and understood in scientific terms. Central to Kornblith’s development of this proposal is the claim that there is a single category of unreflective knowledge that is studied by cognitive ethologists and is the proper province of epistemology. This claim is challenged on the grounds that even unreflective knowledge in language-using humans reflects forms of logical reasoning that are in principle unavailable to nonlinguistic animals.     

Athletes’ Perceptions of Coaching Behavior,Relation-Inferred Self-Efficacy (RISE), and Self-Efficacy in Youth Sport

Research implies that athletes’ perceptions of how coaches view their abilities (relation-inferred self-efficacy [RISE]) stems from verbal and nonverbal interactions. We investigated relationships between youth athletes’ perceptions of RISE-relevant coaching behavior, RISE, and self-efficacy. A RISE-relevant behavior measure was developed in Phase 1. In Phase 2, youth athletes (N = 277) completed questionnaires designed to measure the target variables. All of the variables were positively correlated, and RISE was found to mediate the relationship between coaching behavior and self-efficacy.     

Mobile-Centric Ambient Intelligence in Health- and Homecare—Anticipating Ethical and Legal Challenges

Ambient Intelligence provides the potential for vast and varied applications, bringing with it both promise and peril. The development of Ambient Intelligence applications poses a number of ethical and legal concerns. Mobile devices are increasingly evolving into tools to orientate in and interact with the environment, thus introducing a user-centric approach to Ambient Intelligence. The MINAmI (Micro-Nano integrated platform for transverse Ambient Intelligence applications) FP6 research project aims at creating core technologies for mobile device based Ambient Intelligence services. In this paper we assess five scenarios that demonstrate forthcoming MINAmI-based applications focusing on healthcare, assistive technology, homecare, and everyday life in general. A legal and ethical analysis of the scenarios is conducted, which reveals various conflicting interests. The paper concludes with some thoughts on drafting ethical guidelines for Ambient Intelligence applications.     

Teachers’ Knowledge of Evidence-Based Interventions and Available School Resources for Children with Emotional and Behavioral Problems

School professionals need to be prepared to support children with emotional and behavioral problems. Teachers in particular should be aware of the resources provided by their school as well as the evidence-based practices available to support children with behavioral problems. This study explored general education teachers’ knowledge of 10 evidence-based interventions as well as resources and data collected at their schools to support children with mental health problems. Participants included 239 general educators from 5 school districts. Overall, most teachers had not heard of 9 out of 10 of the evidence-based programs presented. Teachers were also not sure whether their schools provided specific assessments and interventions to support children. One particularly noteworthy finding was that 57% of teachers were not sure whether their schools provided functional behavioral assessment and intervention planning. Findings illuminate a need for continued work in this area.     

Parenting Practices,Parenting Style,and Children’s School Achievement

This study, drawing on data from the 2002 Survey of Approaches to Educational Planning (SAEP), examined the predictive effects of parenting practices and parenting style on children’s school achievement, and the predictive effects of parental expectations and parental beliefs on parenting style for 6,626 respondents with children aged 5–18 years in Canada. Hierarchical multiple regression analyses, after controlling for family socioeconomic status (SES), revealed the substantial positive predictive effects of family SES, parental encouragement, parental expectations, and parental beliefs on children’s school achievement. In contrast, parental monitoring had a substantial negative predictive effect on children’s school achievement in the context of other variables. Although parental expectations were not related to parenting style, parental beliefs were positively associated with both parental encouragement and parental monitoring—the two dimensions of authoritative parenting style.     

Ethics Training,Ethical Context,and Sales and Marketing Professionals’ Satisfaction with Supervisors and Coworkers

Because organizational support for ethical conduct is valued highly in personal selling and sales management, ethics training, functioning through a company’s ethical values and culture, should prompt greater satisfaction with supervisors and coworkers because these individuals play a part in the ethical practices that impact job satisfaction in others. Using a national sample of 324 sales and marketing professionals representing a variety of organizations, this study examined the mediating role of perceived ethical context in the proposed relationships between hours of ethics training and satisfaction with supervisors and coworkers. The results indicated that the focal variables were indeed related, with either full or partial mediation identified, using two separate measures of perceived ethical context. Organizational leaders in the sales and marketing professions should consider using ethics training to institutionalize an ethical environment in sales organizations, as well as involving sales managers and other professionals in this institutionalization process. Such efforts could yield greater employee satisfaction for supervisors and coworkers.     

Gay, Lesbian, and Bisexual Patients’ Recommendations for Genetic Counselors: A Qualitative Investigation

Gay, lesbian, and bisexual (GLB) individuals comprise a growing patient population in genetic counseling. However, only one article from a genetic counseling journal provides empirical data on GLB patients' genetic counseling experiences and genetic counselor attitudes and practices regarding GLB patients. The present study, an extension of the aforementioned article, gathered further information about patients' genetic counseling experiences through semi-structured telephone interviews. Twelve of the previous study's 29 patient respondents (n?=?10 lesbian women, n?=?1 gay man, n?=?1 bisexual woman) participated. Interview questions concerned the use of medically inclusive forms, factors influencing patient disclosure, counselors' ability to relate to them, and their expectations of genetic counselors. Inductive analysis of the interviews yielded seven themes: 1) Medically inclusive forms with gender neutral terms are important; 2) Genetic counselor ability to relate to a GLB person depends more on the relationship established during the session and less on external symbols; 3) The presence of GLB-friendly symbols increases comfort when disclosing one's orientation; 4) Inclusion of the patient's partner is important and best done by encouraging their active participation in sessions; 5) When GLB patients disclose their orientation, they expect to be treated like any other patient; 6) Providers should ask about orientation if medically pertinent and the remaining discussion should take orientation into consideration; and 7) When a provider inquires about orientation it should be done in a safe and appropriate way. Illustrative quotations, genetic counseling practice implications, and research recommendations are presented.     

Genetic Counselors’ Perspectives About Cell-Free DNA: Experiences,Challenges, and Expectations for Obstetricians

The expansion of cell-free fetal DNA (cfDNA) screening for a larger and diverse set of genetic variants, in addition for use among the low-risk obstetric population, presents important clinical challenges for all healthcare providers involved in the delivery of prenatal care. It is unclear how to leverage the different members of the healthcare team to respond to these challenges. We conducted interviews with 25 prenatal genetic counselors to understand their experience with the continued expansion of cfDNA screening. Participants supported the use of cfDNA screening for the common autosomal aneuploidies, but noted some reservations for its use to identify fetal sex and microdeletions. Participants reported several barriers to ensuring that patients have the information and support to make informed decisions about using cfDNA to screen for these different conditions. This was seen as a dual-sided problem, and necessitated additional education interventions that addressed patients seeking cfDNA screening, and obstetricians who introduce the concepts of genetic risk and cfDNA to patients. In addition, participants noted that they have a professional responsibility to educate obstetricians about cfDNA so they can be prepared to be gatekeepers of counseling and education about this screening option for use among the general obstetric population.     

Parkinson’s Disease: Patients’ Knowledge,Attitudes, and Interest in Genetic Counseling

The objective of this study was to assess the genetics knowledge of patients with Parkinson’s disease (PD), and to explore their attitudes on genetic testing and interest in genetic counseling. We surveyed 158 patients from the University of Maryland Parkinson’s Disease and Movement Disorders Center. Patients averaged a score of 63% on general genetics knowledge and 73% on PD genetics knowledge. Participants had an overall positive attitude toward genetic testing: 80% believed that the use of genetic tests among people should be promoted, and 83% would undertake genetic test for PD if it was available. Patients reported a high interest to discuss the benefits, risks, and impacts of genetic testing for PD (mean sum score?=?26, range?=?9–35), and 43% patients expressed interest in meeting with a genetic counselor. Multivariate regression analysis showed that patients who had more positive attitudes toward genetic testing for PD were more interested in meeting with a genetic counselor (β?=?0.6, p?<?0.001). This study is the first to demonstrate an interest in genetic counseling among patients with PD. Our findings demonstrate a new niche for genetic counselors to support patients in clarifying gaps or misconceptions in knowledge about PD genetics as well as the possible risks, benefits, and limitations of genetic testing.     

Gender Difference of Chinese High School Students’ Math Anxiety: The Effects of Self-Esteem,Test Anxiety and General Anxiety

Sex Roles - The present study aimed to explore gender differences in, and the effects of, self-esteem on math anxiety. A total of 751 (450 young women) junior and senior high school students...