Perceived employability and employee strain: A meta-analysis

This meta-analysis addresses the association between perceived employability (PE) and employee strain (k = 34). Consistent with expectations, PE was negatively related to strain (ρ = −.12, 95% CI = −.16 to −.08). Moderator analysis showed that this relationship was stronger post-2008 (ρ = −.20, 84% CI = −.23 to −.17) versus pre-2008 (ρ = −.06, 84% CI = −.08 to −.05) and in high (ρ = −.17, 84% CI = −.21 to −.14) versus low (ρ = −.07, 84% CI = −.09 to −.06) uncertainty avoidant cultures. Our results suggest that career competency development interventions can be effective for reducing employee strain and that national uncertainty avoidance need be incorporated into models of boundaryless careers, especially as it relates to employee health and well-being.     

Loneliness and the Big Five Personality Traits: A Meta-analysis

This preregistered meta-analysis (k = 113, total n = 93 668) addressed how the Big Five dimensions of personality (extraversion, agreeableness, conscientiousness, neuroticism, and openness) are related to loneliness. Robust variance estimation accounting for the dependency of effect sizes was used to compute meta-analytic bivariate correlations between loneliness and personality. Extraversion (r = −.370), agreeableness (r = −.243), conscientiousness (r = −.202), and openness (r = −.107) were negatively related to loneliness. Neuroticism (r = .358) was positively related to loneliness. These associations differed meaningfully in strength depending on how loneliness was assessed. Additionally, meta-analytic structural equation modelling was used to investigate the unique association between each personality trait and loneliness while controlling for the other four personality traits. All personality traits except openness remained statistically significantly associated with loneliness when controlling for the other personality traits. Our results show the importance of stable personality factors in explaining individual differences in loneliness. © 2020 The Authors. European Journal of Personality published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of European Association of Personality Psychology.     

Depression mediates the relationship between social performance impairment and hostility

The goal of this study was to test depressive symptoms as a mediator between social difficulties and hostility in young adults. Hostility is often a reaction to both intrinsic and extrinsic factors; therefore a greater understanding of contributing factors is needed, especially among emerging adults. College students (n = 608; 408 females, 200 males) self-reported on social difficulties, depression, and hostility. Via exploratory factor analyses, two latent constructs related to social difficulty were identified: social performance and social motivation. Using structural equation modeling, the direct effects found that poor social performance was significantly positively associated with BPAQ Total (β = .44, p < .01). Social motivation was not associated with BPAQ Total (β = −.07, p = .21). Further, depression scores were found to partially mediate the relationship between social performance deficits (β = .34, p < .01; 95% CI = .05–.16), but not social motivation (β = −.06, p > .05; 95% CI = −.04 to .04), and overall aggression. Results are discussed in terms of the influence of negative affect and impaired emotion regulatory processes on hostility as a consequence of social performance deficits.     

A meta-analysis of support variables and well-being in ethnic minority populations

Aims: The importance of social support as a predictor of well-being has been documented in the literature for decades. The extent to which social support may be uniquely relevant to the well-being of ethnic minority populations has not yet been empirically supported with meta-analytic techniques. The current meta-analytic study attempted to clarify the nuances of the relationship between support and well-being in ethnic minority populations and to identify what moderators may be relevant to understanding such relationships. Method: Data from 111 articles were included in the analyses that examined both the main effects and moderators of the relationship between social support and well-being. Results: Overall findings revealed a greater effect size (ES) between support and positive well-being (r = .38) than between support and negative well-being (r = −.27). Significant moderators included the proportion of females in the sample, age of the participants, and nature of support. Several ES differences were found in support type and ethnic group interactions as well. Conclusions: Implications of these data include the importance of social support enhancement in efforts to increase the positive well-being and attending to gender and other cultural modifiers in future studies of social support with racial and ethnic minorities.     

Échelle de temporalité : validation française d’une version courte de la Zimbardo Time Perspective Inventory (ZTPI)

Lewin (1951, p. 75) defined time perspective as the “totality of the individual's view of his psychological future and psychological past existing at a given time”. Indeed, time perspective is considered to guide behaviors and participate in the construction of personal identity. The Zimbardo Time Perspective Inventory (ZTPI) was constructed by Zimbardo and Boyd (1999) to measure the five dimensions of time perspective (Past-Negative, Past-Positive, Present-Hedonistic, Present-Fatalistic and Future scales) and contained fifty-six items. The ZTPI was validated in more than twenty countries, as well in France (Apostolidis and Fieulaine, 2004) and a short version (15-25 items) was also studied in numerous cultural settings like in USA, Australia and various European countries. Nevertheless, the short version of the ZTPI has never been validated in French. The aim of this study is to validate a brief French measure of the ZTPI (Zimbardo and Boyd, 1999) in order to apply it to adults of all ages. Based on the long ZTPI (fifty-four items) validated by Apostolidis and Fieulaine (2004), we tested a version containing fifteen items, the ZTPI-15, among 466 adults (18-98 years). The exploratory analysis revealed a factorial structure representing five factors comprising three items for each scale. The model was tested through a confirmatory factorial analysis, showing that the ZTPI-15 fit indices were satisfactory (χ²/dl = 2.58, RMSEA =.066, CFI = .90, AGFI =.90, RMSR = .067). Internal consistency and test-retest reliability was verified. Correlations between mean scores of the five factors showed relationships. Present-Fatalistic was related to Past-Negative (r =.23) and to Future (r = −.20), whereas a correlation between Past-Negative and Future (r = −.22) was demonstrated. Moreover, Future related to Past-Positive (r =.12). Age was associated to all scales of the ZTPI-15 and the strongest correlation was to Present-Hedonistic (r = −.31). The comparison between 253 young adults (M = 22.5 years) and 160 older adults (M = 73.3 years) showed that the older were less oriented to Past-Negative and Present-Hedonistic but more to Past-Positive, Present-Fatalistic and Future. Furthermore, educational level was correlated to Fatalistic-Present (r = −.28). The validity of the ZTPI-15 was also confirmed with the scores of anxiety and depression and with the Self-Esteem Scale: individuals with high score of anxiety were oriented to Past-Negative (r = .34) and those with high score of depression were oriented to past-Negative (r = .27) and Fatalistic-Present (r = .27). Finally, individuals with low self-esteem were strongly oriented to Past-Negative (r = −.45) and Present-Fatalistic (r = −.27), and individuals with high self-esteem to Future (r = .28).     

The buffering role of in‐group identification and intergroup contact on the association between perceived discrimination and mental health

Previous research has shown that disadvantaged group members cope with the negative effects of perceived discrimination (PD) on mental health using various mechanisms. We examined the potential protective role of two processes—in‐group identification and intergroup contact—on the association between PD and mental health (anxiety and depression) among physically disabled adults (N = 269, M_age = 39.13, SD = 13.80). Intergroup contact, but not in‐group identification, had a buffering role on the association between PD and both depression and anxiety. However, this effect was further moderated by in‐group identification such that high levels of intergroup contact had a protective role against PD, only when in‐group identification was low. Findings highlight the importance of evaluating various social–psychological processes interactively in creating a resilient outlook among disadvantaged groups.     

A meta‐analysis of the relationship between socioeconomic status and executive function performance among children

The relationship between childhood socioeconomic status (SES) and executive function (EF) has recently attracted attention within psychology, following reports of substantial SES disparities in children's EF. Adding to the importance of this relationship, EF has been proposed as a mediator of socioeconomic disparities in lifelong achievement and health. However, evidence about the relationship between childhood SES and EF is mixed, and there has been no systematic attempt to evaluate this relationship across studies. This meta‐analysis systematically reviewed the literature for studies in which samples of children varying in SES were evaluated on EF, including studies with and without primary hypotheses about SES. The analysis included 8760 children between the ages of 2 and 18 gathered from 25 independent samples. Analyses showed a small but statistically significant correlation between SES and EF across all studies (r_random = .16, 95% CI [.12, .21]) without correcting for attenuation owing to range restriction or measurement unreliability. Substantial heterogeneity was observed among studies, and a number of factors, including the amount of SES variability in the sample and the number of EF measures used, emerged as moderators. Using only the 15 studies with meaningful SES variability in the sample, the average correlation between SES and EF was small‐to‐medium in size (r_random = .22, 95% CI [.17, .27]). Using only the six studies with multiple measures of EF, the relationship was medium in size (r_random = .28, 95% CI [.18, .37]). In sum, this meta‐analysis supports the presence of SES disparities in EF and suggests that they are between small and medium in size, depending on the methods used to measure them.     

Self-compassion and women athletes' responses to emotionally difficult sport situations: An evaluation of a brief induction

ObjectivesTo examine self-compassion as a way to promote healthy responses in women athletes when faced with emotionally difficult sport-specific situations.DesignPhase I, cross-sectional; Phase II, experimental.MethodsIn Phase I, participants (N = 101; M_age = 20.0, SD = 2.8 years) completed measures of self-compassion, self-esteem, and narcissism, as well as reactions, thoughts, and emotions in response to hypothetical (i.e., responsible for a team loss) and recalled scenarios. Participants returning for Phase II were randomly assigned to a brief self-compassion induction (n = 21), self-esteem induction (n = 20), or writing control (n = 18) group. Following the induction, they responded to the same hypothetical scenario as in Phase I.Phase I resultsAfter partialling out self-esteem and narcissism, self-compassion was related (p < .01) to negative affect (r = −.40), catastrophizing thoughts (r = −.30), personalizing thoughts (r = −.32), and behavioral equanimity (r = .28) for the hypothetical scenario. A similar pattern was found for the recalled scenario.Phase II resultsA MANOVA with Phase I self-compassion, self-esteem, and narcissism as covariates resulted in a non-significant group by time interaction, Wilks' Lambda = .75, F(12,96) = 1.27, p = .25. Follow-up hierarchical regression analysis showed Phase I levels of self-compassion as the only significant predictor for negative affect, personalizing thoughts, and behavioral equanimity.ConclusionsWomen athletes with higher self-compassion levels generally responded in healthier ways to emotionally difficult hypothetical and recalled situations in sport than their less self-compassionate counterparts. However, future research needs continued focus on evaluating self-compassion inductions and interventions for use in sport.     

Rumination as a transdiagnostic factor in depression and anxiety

The high rate of comorbidity among mental disorders has driven a search for factors associated with the development of multiple types of psychopathology, referred to as transdiagnostic factors. Rumination is involved in the etiology and maintenance of major depression, and recent evidence implicates rumination in the development of anxiety. The extent to which rumination is a transdiagnostic factor that accounts for the co-occurrence of symptoms of depression and anxiety, however, has not previously been examined. We investigated whether rumination explained the concurrent and prospective associations between symptoms of depression and anxiety in two longitudinal studies: one of adolescents (N = 1065) and one of adults (N = 1317). Rumination was a full mediator of the concurrent association between symptoms of depression and anxiety in adolescents (z = 6.7, p < .001) and was a partial mediator of this association in adults (z = 5.6, p < .001). In prospective analyses in the adolescent sample, baseline depressive symptoms predicted increases in anxiety, and rumination fully mediated this association (z = 5.26, p < .001). In adults, baseline depression predicted increases in anxiety and baseline anxiety predicted increases in depression; rumination fully mediated both of these associations (z = 2.35, p = .019 and z = 5.10, p < .001, respectively). These findings highlight the importance of targeting rumination in transdiagnostic treatment approaches for emotional disorders.     

Sleep as a mediator of the relationship between social class and health in higher education students

A substantial body of research indicates that higher education students from lower social class backgrounds tend to have poorer health than those from higher social class backgrounds. To investigate sleep as a potential mediator of this relationship, online survey responses of students from five large Australian universities, one Irish university and one large Australian technical college were analysed in three studies (Study 1 N = 628; Study 2 N = 376; Study 3 N = 446). The results revealed that sleep quality, sleep duration, sleep disturbances, pre-sleep worries and sleep schedule variability mediated the relationship between social class and physical and mental health. Sleep remained a significant mediator when controlling for related variables and other mediators. Thus, the findings suggest that sleep partly explains social class differences in health. We discuss the importance of addressing sleep issues among students from lower social class backgrounds.     

Multidimensional Perfectionism and the Big Five Personality Traits: A Meta‐analysis

Multidimensional perfectionism includes the dimensions perfectionistic concerns and perfectionistic strivings. Many studies have investigated the nomological network of multidimensional perfectionism by relating perfectionistic concerns and perfectionistic strivings to the Big Five personality traits. Results from these studies were largely inconsistent. In the present study, we meta‐analytically integrated 672 effect sizes from 72 samples (N = 21 573) describing relations between multidimensional perfectionism and the Big Five personality traits. Perfectionistic concerns correlated positively with Neuroticism (r = 0.383) and negatively with Extraversion (r = ?0.198), Agreeableness (r = ?0.198), Conscientiousness (r = ?0.111), and Openness (r = ?0.087). Perfectionistic strivings correlated positively with Conscientiousness (r = 0.368), Openness (r = 0.121), Neuroticism (r = 0.090), and Extraversion (r = 0.067) and were unrelated to Agreeableness (r = 0.002). The measures of perfectionistic concerns and perfectionistic strivings moderated most of these relations. Meta‐analytic structural equation modelling allowed controlling each perfectionism dimension for the respective other. This partialling increased all correlations with the exception of the previously positive correlation between perfectionistic strivings and Neuroticism, which ceased to be significant. The findings support the distinction between perfectionistic strivings and perfectionistic concerns and demonstrate how multidimensional perfectionism is situated in the context of broader personality traits. © 2019 European Association of Personality Psychology     

When is received social support related to perceived support and well-being? When it is needed

How do perceptions of being supported relate to the amount of social support received? Received and perceived support have generally been found to be only moderately related. Previous research has however focused on the amount of support received regardless of whether it was needed. We hypothesized that a measure of support received when needed would predict perceived support and well-being better than would an unqualified measure of received support. Study 1 found that correlations between received support and perceived support measures were, on average, twice as high when received support was measured as the proportion of times support was received when needed (average r = .54) than when it was measured as the number of times support was received (average r = .28). Similar results were found for correlations between received support and mental health which rose from r = .04 to r = .31 when need for support was considered. Study 2 replicated the strong relationship between support received when needed and both perceived support and mental health. Received support measures should be adapted to take the need for support into consideration in future investigation of these relationships. Social support interventions may only be beneficial if the recipient’s support needs are not already being met.     

Group evaluations as self-group distancing: Ingroup typicality moderates evaluative intergroup bias in stigmatized groups

Outgroup favoritism among members of stigmatized groups can be seen as a form of self-group distancing. We examined how intergroup evaluations in stigmatized groups vary as a function of ingroup typicality. In Studies 1 and 2, Black participants (N = 125,915; N = 766) more strongly preferred light-skinned or White relative to dark-skinned or Black individuals the lighter their own skin tone. In Study 3, overweight participants (N = 147,540) more strongly preferred normal-weight relative to overweight individuals the lower their own body weight. In Study 4, participants with disabilities (N = 35,058) more strongly preferred non-disabled relative to disabled individuals the less visible they judged their own disability. Relationships between ingroup typicality and intergroup evaluations were at least partially mediated by ingroup identification (Studies 2 and 3). A meta-analysis across studies yielded an average effect size of r = .12. Furthermore, higher ingroup typicality was related to both ingroup and outgroup evaluations. We discuss ingroup typicality as an individual constraint to self-group distancing among stigmatized group members and its relation to intergroup evaluations.     

Modeling relationships between physical fitness,executive functioning,and academic achievement in primary school children

ObjectivesThe relationship between physical fitness and academic achievement in children has received much attention, however, whether executive functioning plays a mediating role in this relationship is unclear. The aim of this study therefore was to investigate the relationships between physical fitness, executive functioning, and academic achievement, more specifically to test whether the relationship between physical fitness and academic achievement is direct or indirect, via executive functioning.DesignCross-sectional.MethodThis study examined 263 children (145 boys, 118 girls), aged 7–12 years, who performed tests on physical fitness, executive functioning, and academic achievement.ResultsIn a structural equation model linking physical fitness to executive functioning and academic achievement there was a significant relationship between physical fitness and executive functioning (r = .43, R² = .19) and academic achievement (r = .33, R² = .11). Adding a relationship from executive functioning to academic achievement resulted in a non-significant direct link between physical fitness and academic achievement (r = −.08, R² = .006). However, a significant indirect relation through executive functioning persisted. The indirect relation between fitness and academic achievement (r = .41), was stronger than both the direct and total relation (r = .33).ConclusionExecutive functioning thus served as a mediator in the relation between physical fitness and academic achievement. This highlights the importance of including executive functioning when studying the relationship between physical fitness and academic achievement in children.     

Young Chinese children's beliefs about the implications of subtypes of social withdrawal: A first look at social avoidance

The goal of this study was to examine young Chinese children's beliefs about the implications of different subtypes of social withdrawal (e.g., shyness, unsociability), including for the first time, social avoidance. Participants were 133 children in kindergarten (n = 58, M_age = 70.85 months) and grade 1 (n = 75, M_age = 83.49 months). Children were presented with vignettes describing hypothetical peers displaying shy, unsociable, avoidant, and socially competent behaviours and were then asked a series of questions to assess their beliefs about the implications of these different behaviours. Young children made distinctions between social withdrawal subtypes in terms of underlying motivations and emotions. Children also appeared to hold differential beliefs about the implications of different forms of social withdrawal: Of note, they anticipated that socially avoidant peers would experience the most negative outcomes. These findings provide some of the first evidence to suggest that social avoidance represents a distinct form of social withdrawal among young Chinese children. Results are discussed in terms of the importance of distinguishing between different subtypes of social withdrawal in Chinese culture.     

The relationships between socially prescribed perfectionism,in‐group affect,negative urgency,and disordered eating in women

Socially prescribed perfectionism (SPP) is often considered as a key risk factor for disordered eating (DE). However, current conceptualizations of SPP largely assume that this perfectionism pressure is non‐specific (i.e., a global pressure), despite research indicating that for females experiencing DE, female‐dominated groups impose this pressure (as a perceived norm). Furthermore, this relationship may be mediated by a negative reaction to this pressure, in the form of impulsivity (or negative urgency). To date, no research has investigated whether the relationship between SPP and DE is mediated by negative urgency, nor has there been research clarifying how in‐group identification relates to DE, independent of SPP and negative urgency. To address these gaps, we assessed these variables in 147 female dieters (M_age = 25.12 years, SD = 3.08) using a cross‐sectional design. Consistent with our hypotheses, negative urgency fully mediated the link between female‐based SPP and disordered eating, while female‐based in‐group affect (identification) was predictive of disordered eating (although the latter relationship was not sustained in a multiple regression model). These findings suggest that the SPP from other women may relate to DE through increasing negative urgency, and that the link between in‐group (female) affect and DE may be better explained by SPP's link to DE.     

Stereotypes of Norwegian social groups

We present a pilot study and two main studies that address the nature of stereotypes of social groups in Norway within the framework of the Stereotype Content Model (SCM). The first study focused on stereotypes of a wide range of groups across categories such as gender, age, religious conviction, socioeconomic and health status. The second study focused on stereotypes of immigrant groups. Participants (n = 244 and n = 63, respectively) rated the groups on perceived warmth, competence, status, and competition. Results from both studies support the applicability of the SCM in Norway and provides a unique insight into stereotypes of Norwegian social groups.     

Personality and physical activity: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Whether personality determines physical activity or its outcomes is relevant for theory and public health but has been understudied. We estimated the population correlations between Big-Five personality factors and physical activity and examined whether they varied according to sample characteristics and study features. Database searches were conducted according to PRISMA guidelines, for articles published in the English language prior to November 1st, 2013. Sixty-four studies including a total of 88,400 participants yielded effects (k) for Extraversion (88), Neuroticism (82), Conscientiousness (69), Openness (51) and Agreeableness (52). Significant mean r was found for Extraversion (r = .1076), Neuroticism (r = −.0710), Conscientiousness (r = .1037) and Openness (r = .0344), but not Agreeableness (r = .0020). Effects were moderately heterogeneous (I² range = 44–65%) and varied by sample characteristics (e.g., age, gender, or clinical status) and/or study features (e.g., measure quality or item format). This analysis expands results of previous reviews and provides new support for a relationship between physical activity and Openness. Future studies should use better measures of physical activity and prospective designs, adjust for statistical artifacts, and consider advances in the conceptualization of personality.     

Loneliness and the social monitoring system: Emotion recognition and eye gaze in a real‐life conversation

Based on the belongingness regulation theory (Gardner et al., 2005, Pers. Soc. Psychol. Bull., 31, 1549), this study focuses on the relationship between loneliness and social monitoring. Specifically, we examined whether loneliness relates to performance on three emotion recognition tasks and whether lonely individuals show increased gazing towards their conversation partner's faces in a real‐life conversation. Study 1 examined 170 college students (M_age = 19.26; SD = 1.21) who completed an emotion recognition task with dynamic stimuli (morph task) and a micro(‐emotion) expression recognition task. Study 2 examined 130 college students (M_age = 19.33; SD = 2.00) who completed the Reading the Mind in the Eyes Test and who had a conversation with an unfamiliar peer while their gaze direction was videotaped. In both studies, loneliness was measured using the UCLA Loneliness Scale version 3 (Russell, 1996, J. Pers. Assess., 66, 20). The results showed that loneliness was unrelated to emotion recognition on all emotion recognition tasks, but that it was related to increased gaze towards their conversation partner's faces. Implications for the belongingness regulation system of lonely individuals are discussed.     

Are effect sizes in self-efficacy field changing over time? A meta–meta analysis

Theories relating to self-efficacy have developed rapidly since Bandura first proposed the concept in 1977. In the past two decades, psychologists have carried out numerous studies to research the cultural and psychological changes in social development. The research topic of this study is whether self-efficacy changes over time. This study uses a meta–meta analysis and includes 13 meta-analyses, including 536 effect sizes, with a total sample size of 421,880. We find that individual self-efficacy increases over time, which may be related to social development trends. However, the effects of interventions on self-efficacy remain similar (Q_model = 1.807, df = 1, p > .05), and a possible explanation is that time effects of self-efficacy confuse the effects of intervention, because both in the intervention group and control group, the average of self-efficacy increases over time. And we find that a general decline in the predictive effects of self-efficacy (Q_model = 5.117, df = 1, p = .024), especially the ability to predict relatively objective variables (e.g. job performance, teaching effectiveness, and transfer of training). A possible explanation is that as social development people tend to overestimate their self-efficacy. Another possible explanation is that the effect sizes in the original studies being overrated, may due to intentional selective reporting or unintentional statistical errors.