Perceived control over personal goals in Russian and American college students

This study investigated cultural variations in perceived control over personal goals in Russian and American college students. Several appraisal dimensions of personal goals were studied including goals’ importance, their attainability, and sources of control over goal attainment, such as self, others, luck, and fate. The association between assimilative (tenacious goal pursuit) and accommodative (flexible goal adjustment) control strategies and perceived attainability of goals was also examined. The results indicated that both Russian and American students gave higher priority to work‐ and education‐related goals and lower priority to the familial goal. In both samples, the familial goal was the most influenced and health was the least influenced by luck/chance and fate. Overall, American students were more optimistic about the perceived probability to attain their goals, which may be affected by a cultural tendency for self‐enhancement and positive outlook. Russian students had a stronger belief in control by luck/chance and fate over personal goals, which coincides with a less agentic orientation of Russian culture. Regardless of culture and goal content, goal importance was associated with greater perceived success in goal attainment. However, control strategies (assimilative and accommodative) as well as internal control differentially predicted perceived attainability of goals depending on the goals’ content. For both Russians and Americans, perceived attainability of education‐related goals was associated with assimilative strategies and internal control; leisure was associated with accommodative strategies and health‐related goals were associated with internal control. Characteristics of cultural contexts accountable for crosscultural differences in perceived control over personal goals are discussed.     

心理的动态平衡论与和谐心理构建——兼谈灾后心理辅导

人的心理是一个动态开放的系统，这个系统在运动、变化、发展中遵循从相对平衡到相对不平衡，再从相对不平衡走向新相对平衡的规律。人心理问题的实质是由于内部或外部某些因素的运动变化，致使心理系统的相对平衡状态遭到破坏，在个体内部及个体与环境之间出现的暂时相对不协调状况，属于从一种心理平衡状态向另一种心理平衡状态的过渡阶段。结合灾后心理辅导，根据动态平衡论提出了心理系统的边界调控、要素调控、途径调控和环境调控，通过个体自身的努力以及这些调控措施，让个体心理顺利地恢复到可以自我调节的动态平衡状态，或者从低级的动态平衡状态顺利地过渡到更能适应环境的高一级的动态平衡状态。     

Young managers’ drive to thrive: A personal work goal approach to burnout and work engagement

This study approaches young managers’ occupational well-being through their work-related goal pursuit. The main aim was to identify content categories of personal work goals and investigate their associations with background factors, goal appraisals, burnout, and work engagement. The questionnaire data consisted of 747 young Finnish managers (23-35 years; M = 31 years) who were mostly men (85.5%). Seven work-related content categories were found on the basis of qualitative data analysis: (1) competence goals (30.5%), (2) progression goals (23.7%), (3) well-being goals (15.2%), (4) job change goals (13.7%), (5) job security goals (7.4%), (6) organizational goals (5.6%), and (7) financial goals (3.9%). ANCOVA analyses, where goal appraisals and significant background factors were controlled for, indicated that organizational goals were related to low burnout and the highest level of work engagement, whereas well-being and job change goals were related to higher burnout and lower work engagement. The study shows that the contents of young managers’ work-related goals can contribute to the understanding of individual differences in occupational well-being.     

The role of meaning in gastric cancer patients: relationships among meaning structures,coping, and psychological well-being

ABSTRACT

Background and Objectives: Research demonstrates that the experience of cancer invariably violates patients’ meaning structures, prompting them to use coping strategies to alleviate stress and enhance well-being. The current study aimed to examine the mediating effects of coping strategies in the relationship between global and situational meaning and psychological well-being in gastric cancer patients.

Design and Method: One hundred eighty-seven patients (96 women and 91 men) with gastric cancer completed questionnaires measuring meaning in life, changes of beliefs and goals, coping, and psychological well-being. Participants were between 27 and 82 years of age. They were diagnosed with gastric cancer from 1 to 3.2 years ago. Using Structural Equation Modeling, both the direct and indirect associations between meaning structures, coping, and psychological well-being were examined.

Results: Meaning in life exerted significant indirect effects on psychological well-being through three coping strategies: problem-, emotion-, and meaning-focused. The relationship between changes of beliefs and goals and psychological well-being was also mediated by coping.

Conclusions: Findings suggest that coping strategies are mediators in the relationship between global and situational meaning and psychological well-being. They also provide empirical evidence that in severe cancer-related stress conditions both meaning structures and coping strategies influence patients’ psychological well-being.     

Family structure and functioning: Influences on adolescents psychological needs,goals and aspirations in a South African setting

This study aimed to determine the effects of family structure and functioning on basic psychological need fulfilment, life goals and aspirations of adolescents in a South African setting. Participants were 457 adolescent learners (M_age = 16.31, SD = 1.45, females = 54%, coloured = 56%) selected from four public schools in the Western Cape, South Africa. The adolescents completed the Family Assessment Device, Aspirations Index and Psychological Needs Scales. Results following multiple regression analysis suggested that a two-parent family structure predicted higher satisfaction of basic psychological needs and higher pursuit of extrinsic goals among adolescents than did a one-parent family structure. Family functioning determined pursuit of intrinsic goals by adolescents from one-parent families.     

大学生目标内容与主观幸福感的关系：一个有调节的中介模型

基于自我决定理论考察了目标内容对主观幸福感的影响,以及基本心理需要、自尊在其中的作用。采用欲望指数量表、基本心理需要满足量表、自尊量表、正负情绪量表、生活满意度问卷对535名大学生进行了调查。结果显示：（1）目标内部性显著正向预测主观幸福感;（2）基本心理需要在目标内部性和主观幸福感之间起部分中介作用;（3）基本需要的中介作用受到自尊的调节。因此,目标内部性对主观幸福感的影响是一个有调节的中介效应。     

Personality and job satisfaction: their role in work-related psychological well-being

This study investigated the role of work related psychological well-being in the relationship between personality and job satisfaction. Participants were 207 (females?=?58.9%, blacks?=?20.3%, white?=?64.3%, Indian?=?7.7% and Coloured?=?6.8%) employees of various South African organisations. The participants completed the Ryff's Scale of Psychological Well-being, Minnesota Satisfaction Questionnaire, and the Basic Traits Inventory. The data were analysed by means of moderated hierarchical regression analysis. Results show self-acceptance, environmental mastery, and purpose in life fully explain extraversion and job satisfaction, and partly explain conscientiousness and job satisfaction. Self-acceptance, environmental mastery and purpose in life also moderated the relationship between neuroticism and job satisfaction. Findings lead to the conclusion that aspects of work related psychological well-being are influenced by personality traits and job satisfaction, growth and development.     

Effective pursuit of personal goals: The fostering effect of dispositional optimism on goal commitment and goal progress

Personal goals play a leading role in directing behavior and influencing well-being. Thus, it is important to assess goal dimensions promoting effective goal pursuit. The current research aimed at identifying the best predictors of goal pursuit, operationalized as perceived goal progress, among goal-related variables and individual differences in dispositional optimism. Two studies examined the influence of optimism on goal progress, commitment, expectancy, value, and conflict. Moreover, the mediation effect of expectancy in the relationships among optimism, commitment and progress was assessed.Participants in the first cross-sectional study were 283 young people (19–32 years old), whereas participants in the second longitudinal study were 409 people (19–71 years old). They reported their most important personal goals and rated each of them with respect to goal progress, conflict, expectancy, commitment, and value. Dispositional optimism was also assessed.In both studies, multilevel and mediational analyses demonstrated the fostering role of optimism on perceived goal progress and commitment through the mediation of goal expectancy. Thus, optimists are more likely than pessimists to report more perceived progress in their pursued personal goals. By clarifying the role of optimism in fostering goal progress and commitment, this research provides insight on how effective goal pursuit could be promoted.     

The roles of leader emotion management and team conflict for team members' personal initiative: A multilevel perspective

Employees' personal initiative (i.e., their active and future-oriented engagement at work) is of high relevance to organizations that strive for innovation and competitiveness. To better understand its drivers and diminishers, the present study refers to Affective Events Theory and examines the impact of leader emotion management, team conflict, and affective well-being on personal initiative. Data from 300 members of 59 work teams in Germany were gathered from multiple sources at three points in time over the course of 2 weeks. Multilevel analyses indicated that leader emotion management positively affected team members' personal initiative and that this effect was mediated by team members' affective well-being. Data also revealed a contrasting negative indirect effect of task conflict within the team on team members' personal initiative via team members' affective well-being. The study's results suggest that the improvement of leaders' emotion management as well as the establishment of work conditions and experiences that foster affective well-being should be seriously considered by organizations wishing to facilitate personal initiative in team settings.     

中学生内在生活目标与主观幸福感的关系:基本心理需求的中介作用

为探究中学生内在生活目标、基本心理需求与主观幸福感的关系,采用内在生活目标量表、基本心理需求量表和主观幸福感量表对885名中学生进行问卷调查.结果表明:(1)男生的基本心理需求得分显著高于女生,独生子女的基本心理需求得分、主观幸福感得分显著高于非独生子女;(2)中学生内在生活目标、基本心理需求及主观幸福感两两均呈显著正...     

Issues in brief counselling with postgraduate research students

In this study it is suggested that for some postgraduate research students, their ability to learn and their coping resources to deal with the emotionally demanding process of undertaking a PhD may derive in part from their attachment style, which in turn derives from early attachment experience. A time-limited counselling intervention resulted in a reduction in the CORE-OM global index of psychological distress from above the clinical cut-off point to below it in 10 out of 12 participants, and a significant reduction in the remaining two cases. All participants presented with concerns over their ability to complete their theses and yet all did so within four years or its part time equivalent. Self-report ratings of the degree of perceived impairment also reduced significantly and these correlated positively with reduction in global distress. It is further proposed that although a direct link between a counselling intervention and outcome of study has not been shown, the correlation shown here between global distress and reported academic impairment coupled with an earlier reported statistical association between difficulties experienced by students and outcome strongly suggests such a link.     

Use of student support services among university students: associations with problem-focused coping,experience of personal difficulty and psychological distress

ABSTRACT

Universities provide a range of problem-focused social support services to help students who are experiencing personal difficulties. The current study examines how the effectiveness of students' (N = 131) problem-coping style, experience of personal difficulty and psychological distress are associated with actual use of support services in the academic setting. Results indicate that students who experienced a personal difficulty and who had a more reflective problem-coping style were more likely to use student support services. In addition, students with less effective problem-focused coping styles (more reactive and suppressive, less reflective) reported greater psychological distress. The potential personal, psychological and academic benefits of the reflective problem-coping style are discussed.     

Health,social comparisons,and psychological well-being: Their cross-time relationships

The purposes of this short-term longitudinal study were to investigate (a) stability and change in social comparisons across time; (b) the relationship between physical health and the use of social comparisons across time; (c) whether psychological well-being is best predicted by prior or concurrent social comparisons; and (d) the moderating effects of social comparisons. Community-dwelling elderly women (N=149) completed self-report instruments designed to measure social comparisons, psychological well-being, and physical health at two times, 2 years apart. Worse health at Time 1 predicted more frequent and less positive social comparisons at Time 2. Concurrent, but not prior, social comparisons contributed to a number of domains of psychological well-being. Further, the effects of prior health status on subsequent psychological functioning (Time 2) were moderated by social comparison processes. Women in poorest health who engaged in positive social comparisons showed less depression and anxiety and more positive relations with others at Time 2. Little support was found for the influence of prior psychological functioning on subsequent physical health.     

The role of objective health indicators and neuroticism in perceived health and psychological well-being among patients with chronic heart failure

A total of 119 clinically stable patients with symptomatic congestive heart failure (34 females, 85 males) were recruited from an outpatient hospital practice to explore the role of objective health indicators and neuroticism in subjective health (physical limitations) and psychological well-being. Patients were grouped according to the New York Heart Association functional class criteria (NYHA: indicator of functional status) and proatrial natriuretic factor (proANF), a cardiac hormone that maintains normal fluid balance and vascular resistance. Scores on these two objective indicators of disease severity were generally unrelated to psychological measures, whereas neuroticism scores (EPQ-N) were significantly correlated with indicators of subjective health (perceived disease-related physical limitations) and psychological well-being (depression, general life-satisfaction). Significant interactions between proANF and neuroticism appear due to low physical limitation score among subjects with elevated level of proANF and low scores on neuroticism. High physical limitation was reported by subjects with high level of proANF as well as high scores on neuroticism. Moreover, a marginal significant interaction between NYHA and EPQ-N scores in relation to severity of depression was detected by analyses from two-way ANOVA. Gender differences were due to higher proANF scores in males than females, whereas females scored higher than males on EPQ-N, perceived physical limitation and depression. Results from path analyses supported an indirect effect of neuroticism via perceived physical limitation for males. Possible mechanisms involved in these relations are discussed.     

Project systems of procrastinators: a personal project-analytic and action control perspective

The purpose of this research was to explore the Personal Project Systems (e.g., Little, 1983) of state-oriented and action-oriented individuals. Eighty-four female and 57 male undergraduates enrolled in an introductory psychology class completed Little’s Personal Projects Analysis (e.g., 1983) and Kuhl’s Action Control Scale (Kuhl, 1994). The results from the present study revealed that the project systems of state-oriented individuals are higher in procrastination, frustration, boredom, uncertainty, and guilt, and lower in absorption, control, outcome, progress and self-identity. These findings are discussed in terms of previous research in the area of procrastination, project-analytic theory (e.g., Little, 1983) and Kuhl’s theory of action (e.g., Kuhl, 1994).     

Humility,stressful life events,and psychological well-being: Findings from the landmark spirituality and health survey

A growing body of research suggests that people who are more humble tend to enjoy better physical and mental health than individuals who are less humble. The next step in moving this literature forward involves explaining and empirically demonstrating how the potentially beneficial effects of humility arise. The purpose of this study is to address this issue by seeing whether humility buffers the effects of stressful life events on four measures of well-being: happiness, life satisfaction, depressed affect, and generalized anxiety disorder. Data from a new nationwide survey (N = 3010) suggest that the magnitude of the negative relationship between stressful life events and all four measures of well-being is reduced among people who are more humble. The theoretical implications of these findings are discussed.     

Employee psychological wellbeing in the face of pandemic: The role of belief in work priority

Traditionally, individuals who prioritize work over other aspects of life have been lauded as ideal employees. Individuals vary in the extent to which they endorse the beliefs that work should be prioritized over other aspects of life, known as the Belief in Work Priority (BWP). Various lockdown restrictions imposed due to the COVID-19 pandemic have blurred work-family boundary, which consequently made prioritizing work over family responsibilities challenging. A repeated cross-sectional study was conducted to examine the relationship between BWP and employee wellbeing during (vs. before) the pandemic outbreak. We recruited 398 participants who were employed and resided in the U.S. Results revealed that during the pandemic, BWP and employee wellbeing showed a negative relationship through increased work-family conflict. Furthermore, such relationship was particularly strong among married employees and male employees.     

The benefits of passion and absorption in activities: Engaged living in adolescents and its role in psychological well-being

Across five studies and three samples of early and late adolescents from suburban areas (N = 2198), this research provides a theoretical and empirical examination of a new construct, engaged living, which consists of social integration and absorption. Engaged living, as we define it, is having a passion to help others and be completely immersed in activities. The development and psychometric properties of The Engaged Living in Youth Scale (ELYS) are described. Cross-sectional and longitudinal data, including self and other reports, then show that the ELYS is related to a variety of attributes, well-being, and academic achievement outcomes. Overall, the pattern of associations indicates that youth high in engaged living tend to be more grateful, hopeful, happier (via self, peer, and teacher reports), prosocial, and report elevated life satisfaction, positive affect, and self-esteem and higher grade point averages. Higher scorers also tend to be less depressed, envious, antisocial, and delinquent.