Parent and teacher effects on academic coping and classroom engagement: Testing a motivational model

Little is known about the contextual antecedents and consequences of children’s academic coping. One hundred and eighty-three-sixth grade students participated in a study that examined a process model whereby children’s perceptions of parent and teacher behaviors were associated with children’s coping strategies through children’s appraisals of failure. It also examined whether these coping strategies were then associated with students’ classroom engagement. Results revealed that parent autonomy support was indirectly associated with defensive coping through its effects on children’s appraisals of failure. There was also some support that cognitive appraisals, particularly threat appraisals were indirectly associated with child reported engagement through coping, suggesting that coping appraisals impact children’s engagement and participation in the classroom through their effects on coping behavior/strategy use. The findings underscore the importance of parent autonomy support for children’s appraisals of failure, coping, and engagement.     

Job satisfaction among Swedish soldiers: Applying the Job Characteristics Model to newly recruited military personnel

A professional military organization was introduced in Sweden in 2010. This means that the Swedish Armed Forces (SAF) need to attract and employ soldiers, and to retain them within the organization. This scenario creates new types of challenges in manning the organization. The transition to an all-volunteer force puts job satisfaction in focus in order to retain personnel. This cross-sectional study of the relations between working conditions and job involvement among 300 recently employed soldiers showed that the dimensions of the Job Characteristics Model related significantly to job satisfaction and work motivation and (negatively) to turnover intentions from the SAF. The results further showed that all the critical psychological states contributed independently to the variance in the outcome variables.     

Construct of job performance: Evidence from Chinese military soldiers

The construct of job performance has been one of the important topics in job performance research. The present study investigated the construct of job performance among Chinese military soldiers using both qualitative and quantitative methods. First, after interviewing 95 officers and soldiers, we categorized and conceptualized eight sets of typical behavioural incidents related to soldiers' job performance, and designed a questionnaire measuring job performance. Then, using a sample of 1402 Chinese soldiers, questionnaire reliability and validity were tested, and then the questionnaire was revised. The construct of job performance was further refined using confirmatory factor analyses and regression analyses using another sample of 1068 soldiers. The results showed that Chinese military soldiers' job performance consisted of two dimensions of task performance and contextual performance. Furthermore, task performance had three subfactors: military training, task accomplishment and work capability, whereas contextual performance encompassed four factors: helping others, love of learning, promoting organizational benefit and self-discipline. Task performance and contextual performance contributed independently to overall job performance.     

Assessment of stress-buffering effects of social networks on psychological symptoms in an inner-city elderly population

Social network researchers have been divided into two camps: those who propose that social networks have a direct effect on subsequent psychological symptoms and those who posit a stress-buffering effect as well. Previous research has been limited by rudimentary measures of social interaction and the absence of longitudinal data as well as by different approaches to the assessment of possible buffering effects. In the present study, using 19 social network variables, the authors followed 133 elderly residents of mid-Manhattan SRO hotels for 1 year. Three different methods of determining buffering effects were examined: Dividing the sample into high- and low-stress groups and contrasting differences in percentage variance accounted for by social networks between the two groups; Examining the group as a whole to assess if any Network Variable X Stress interactional terms are significant; Examining the group as a whole to assess whether there is a reduction in the beta value of stress with respect to psychological symptoms when network variables are added to the analysis. Method 1 indicated a direct network effect, but none of the methods indicated a buffering effect. Of clinical relevance was the nonlinearity of the network effects, that is, depending upon a person's stressor level, different network dimensions must be emphasized and strengthened.     

Exploring the effects of a youth enrichment program on academic motivation and engagement

This study explores the effects of a youth enrichment program on academic motivation and engagement. Fifty-three students aged 14–16 years participated in the Rotary Youth Program of Enrichment (RYPEN). Embedded within the program were workshops revolving around the Student Motivation and Engagement Wheel [Martin (2003a). How to motivate your child for school and beyond. Sydney: Bantam] and strategies aimed at enhancing students’ academic motivation and engagement. Motivation was measured using the Student Motivation and Engagement Scale [Martin (2001). Australian Journal of Guidance and Counselling 11, 1–20; Martin (2003b) Australian Journal of Education, 14, 34–49] at the outset of the program, towards the end of the program, and again 6–8 weeks later. Data showed that there were gains on key facets of students’ motivation by the end of the program – gains that were sustained 6–8 weeks later. These gains were demonstrated by boys and girls. Moreover, when compared to a larger weighted sample (2769 high school students), by Time 2 and also by Time 3, significant declines in motivation had been reversed and any pre-existing advantages or parallel strengths of the RYPEN sample over the weighted sample were maintained. Five facets of the program proposed to have contributed to its effectiveness are: the optimistic expectations held by adults, the program’s focus on mastery, the climate of cooperation and the ensuing sense of belonging, the positive relationships that developed amongst students and between students and adults, and embedding school-related elements within a broader enrichment program. Each of these is discussed.     

Assessing PTSD in the military: Validation of a scale distributed to Danish soldiers after deployment since 1998

Since 1998, soldiers deployed to war zones with the Danish Defense (≈31,000) have been invited to fill out a questionnaire on post‐mission reactions. This provides a unique data source for studying the psychological toll of war. Here, we validate a measure of PTSD‐symptoms from the questionnaire. Soldiers from two cohorts deployed to Afghanistan with the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) in 2009 (ISAF7, N = 334) and 2013 (ISAF15, N = 278) filled out a standard questionnaire (Psychological Reactions following International Missions, PRIM) concerning a range of post‐deployment reactions including symptoms of PTSD (PRIM‐PTSD). They also filled out a validated measure of PTSD‐symptoms in DSM‐IV, the PTSD‐checklist (PCL). We tested reliability of PRIM‐PTSD by estimating Cronbach's alpha, and tested validity by correlating items, clusters, and overall scale with corresponding items in the PCL. Furthermore, we conducted two confirmatory factor analytic models to test the factor structure of PRIM‐PTSD, and tested measurement invariance of the selected model. Finally, we established a screening and a clinical cutoff score by application of ROC analysis. We found high internal consistency of the PRIM‐PTSD (Cronbach's alpha = 0.88; both cohorts), strong item‐item (0.48–0.83), item‐cluster (0.43–0.72), cluster‐cluster (0.71–0.82) and full‐scale (0.86–0.88) correlations between PRIM‐PTSD and PCL. The factor analyses showed adequate fit of a one‐factor model, which was also found to display strong measurement invariance across cohorts. ROC curve analysis established cutoff scores for screening (sensitivity = 1, specificity = 0.93) and clinical use (sensitivity = 0.71, specificity = 0.98). In conclusion, we find that PRIM‐PTSD is a valid measure for assessing PTSD‐symptoms in Danish soldiers following deployment.     

动机性视角与认知加工视角下三重自我的层级关系

自我并非是一个单一的、整体的认知结构,至少包含3个基本的自我表征形式:个体自我、关系自我与集体自我。从动机性视角出发,3种自我的层级关系存在4种可能的假设:(1)个体自我首要性假设;(2)关系自我首要性假设;(3)集体自我首要性假设;(4)情境性假设。以往动机性视角出发的研究偏向于支持个体自我首要性假设,但其结论仍需通过进一步考察其他可能变量的作用而加以验证。从认知视角考虑三重自我的层级关系时,以往的研究结果并不统一,缺乏同时比较个体自我、关系自我、集体自我的层级关系的整合性研究。今后需要重点探索将三重自我整合起来的新的实验范式,从而有助于对三重自我层级关系的分析与探究。     

The impact of self on materialism among teenagers

No previous research has investigated the relationship between the concept of self and materialism, especially among teenagers. Our study seeks to reverse this trend by examining how independent self‐construal and interdependent self‐construal affect materialism among Brazilian teenagers (grades 7 through 12). Hypotheses were tested using structural equation modelling. We find that independent self‐construal has a positive effect on materialism. Furthermore, we created three sub‐constructs out of the original interdependent self‐construal construct, none of which affected materialism in the same way. Group dependency, a need to achieve the group's authorisation, increases materialism; group loyalty, an attitude of group fidelity, has no effect on materialism; and group respect, a respect for group decision, diminishes materialism. These are interesting results, because they question our prior beliefs on the matter and introduce new factors into the scholarly discussion of this issue. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The effects of a concurrent task on human optimization and self control

Memory deficits have been shown to hamper decision making in a number of populations. In two experiments, participants were required to select one of three alternatives that varied in reinforcer amount and delay, and the effect of a concurrent task on a behavioral choice task that involved making either an impulsive, self-controlled, or optimal response was studied. The studies aimed to see whether or not individuals were capable of optimizing when confronted with a three-alternative choice paradigm, and if a concurrent task could induce over-selectivity toward a self-controlled, or impulsive, choice, rather than an optimal choice. Various factors which could possibly influence optimization were also explored. The results suggest that some, but not all, individuals are capable of optimizing in a three-alternative choice paradigm, especially when there is a great differential between reinforcement rates of optimal versus non-optimal behaviors. Participants with a concurrent task (continuously subtracting seven from a large number) displayed over-selectivity, evidenced by the high proportion of self-controlled responses.     

Testing hypotheses about the self: Assessments of job suitability1

This investigation examined the strategies employed by individuals when testing hypotheses about the self. Participants known to possess masculine, feminine, or androgynous sex role identities tested hypotheses about their suitability for one of two jobs: either a job characterized in terms of the attributes and aptitudes typically associated with a “masculine” personality, or one characterized in terms of those typically associated with a “feminine” personality. When testing these hypotheses about themselves, participants preferentially reported those aspects of themselves that would suggest their suitedness rather than their unsuitedness for the job under consideration regardless of their sex role identity. Moreover, subsequent judgments of job suitability were positively related to the amount of suitedness evidence reported, but unrelated to the amount of unsuitedness evidence reported. Some consequences of these strategies for testing hypotheses about the self are discussed.     

Exploring age differences in the stress-buffering function of social support

The purpose of this study is to see if there are age differences in the relationship between chronic financial strain, emotional support, and life satisfaction among people aged 65 and older. Data from a nationwide survey of older people (N = 1,518) indicate that emotional support tends to reduce the noxious effects of economic problems on life satisfaction for the sample as a whole. However, the findings further reveal that the potential benefits of emotional support arise primarily among the oldest-old. In contrast, emotional support does not offset the negative effects of financial strain on life satisfaction among the young-old.     

Interactive effects of cumulative lifetime traumatic brain injuries and combat exposure on posttraumatic stress among deployed military personnel

Growing research links Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) with greater posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms. Much of this research has focused on the influence of the presence or severity of a single TBI while neglecting the potential cumulative effects of multiple TBIs incurred across an individual’s lifetime on combat-related PTSD. The present study addressed this gap using a sample of 157 military service members and 4 civilian contractors who underwent structured TBI interviews at a military hospital in Iraq and completed the Combat Experiences Scale (CES) and Posttraumatic Checklist – Military (PCL-M). Results indicated that a greater number of lifetime TBIs were associated with greater PTSD symptoms when accounting for the presence and severity of a recent, deployment-related TBI. Additionally, a significant interaction of number of lifetime TBIs and combat exposure emerged, indicating that exposure to combat yielded greater PTSD symptoms among those with multiple lifetime TBIs compared to those with one or zero lifetime TBIs. These data suggest that incurring multiple TBIs may amplify the link between combat exposure and PTSD and underscore the need to screen for lifetime TBI history.     

Correlates of life satisfaction among military wives

Military life includes constant change. This study explored the relationship of life satisfaction among military wives with the individual attitudinal and personality variables of perceived social support, locus of control, and temperament. Sixty wives of noncommissioned military personnel were selected as participants. Life satisfaction was found to be related to high levels of perceived social support from family and from friends, to an internal locus of control, and to low levels of emotionality-stress and emotionality-fear. The results supported the role of individual resources for mediating adjustment and enhancing life satisfaction during the changes inherent in military life. Implications for identifying and helping high-risk women emerged.     

Improved resiliency and well‐being among military personnel in a Swedish Naval Force after a counter‐piracy operation off the coast of Somalia

The aim of this study was to explore: (1) how the psychological health of the members of the first European Union Naval Force (ME01) was affected by international deployment off the coast of Somalia; and (2) if and how organizational and personal factors (e.g., type of personnel category, previous experiences, and resilience) affected their psychological health and well‐being post‐deployment. The study had an exploratory longitudinal design, where the participants were assessed both before and after deployment (i.e., T1 and T2). The participants (n = 129, 120 men, 9 women) were equally distributed between officers (n = 68; 64 men, 4 women) and sailors (n = 61; 56 men, 5 women). The members' average age was 31 years, ranging from 20 to 61. For the majority (78%) ME01 was their first international deployment and officers were, in general, more experienced than sailors. The overall results showed that the members' reported a positive experience with improved resilience and well‐being (e.g., sense of coherence). However, the result also showed that type of personnel category (i.e., officer or sailor) affected their psychological health. Why and how these differences among military personnel arise is discussed, but deserves further attention.     

Testing a Burnout Model Based on Affective-motivational Factors among EFL Teachers

The purpose of the present study was to explore English as a Foreign Language (EFL) teacher’s motivations for teaching and testing a model of burnout based on motivations and emotions using structural equation modeling (SEM). For this purpose, a total number of 326 Iranian EFL teachers in different language institutes completed the related scales. Results of the study showed that altruistic and intrinsic factors are the main motivations of EFL teachers. Results of SEM indicated that both motivations and emotions predicted different dimensions of burnout. However, emotions had a stronger effect on burnout dimensions than motivational factors. Finally, the pedagogical implications were discussed based on the results of the study.