Ways of coping and religious commitment in Muslim adolescents

The aim of this study was to find out methods of coping used most frequently by Kurdish adolescents and to investigate the relationship of methods of coping with their level of religiosity and gender. A convenience sample of 171 secondary school students, self-identified as Muslims, took part in answering two sets of questionnaires: methods of coping and religious commitment. Means, standard deviations, t-test and Pearson Correlation Coefficients were used to analyse the data. Results of the study suggest that the method of coping used most frequently by the sample was spiritual connection while passivity and avoidance were the least used methods of coping. Religiosity was correlated with all other methods of coping except seeking social support and passivity. Girls used avoidance and passivity for coping more than boys did. Kurdish Muslim adolescents use various methods to cope with problems they face. Counsellors in secondary schools should pay more attention to maladaptive methods of coping particularly among girl adolescents.     

Servant Leadership and Follower Outcomes: Mediating Effects of Organizational Identification and Psychological Safety

This study investigated the mediating role of organizational identification and psychological safety in the relationship between servant leadership and two employee outcomes: employee voice and negative feedback seeking behavior. The sample for this study comprised of 174 full-time employees drawn from a large food company based in Pakistan. Results showed that organizational identification and psychological safety partially mediated the effects of servant leadership on voice and negative feedback seeking behavior. The theoretical and practical implications of this research are discussed.     

Correction to: Effects of Parental Acceptance-Rejection on Children’s Internalizing and Externalizing Behaviors: A Longitudinal,Multicultural Study

Journal of Child and Family Studies -     

Piety among Tablīghī women

Islamic piety in Muslim women has been on the rise in the last three decades around the world. Much of it involves formerly nominal Muslim women becoming observant of Islamic rules, rituals and practices and taking their faith seriously. For these women, it is a journey of spiritual elevation. It is a new endeavour of Islamic awakening and self discovery. All this is occurring in an era characterized by a modernity which claims, among other things, that religion is the basis for women’s oppression in society. Thus, western and western-educated scholars and feminist theorists have argued for the “unveiling” of Muslim women as part of the process of weakening the hold of Islam and allowing women to become free thinking, liberal and independent. This article is an attempt to explore the continuous growth of Islamic piety in Muslim women around the world. Using the Tablīgh Jamā‘at in Australia as a case study, the article seeks to understand the role of Islamic piety in Muslim women. The article argues that Islamic piety in Muslim women is an attempt by Muslim women to find a religious response to modernity.     

Matrices with a given number of violations of Regular Minimality

A row (or column) of an n×n matrix complies with Regular Minimality (RM) if it has a unique minimum entry which is also a unique minimum entry in its column (respectively, row). The number of violations of RM in a matrix is defined as the number of rows (equivalently, columns) that do not comply with RM. We derive a formula for the proportion of n×n matrices with a given number of violations of RM among all n×n matrices with no tied entries. The proportion of matrices with no more than a given number of violations can be treated as the p-value of a permutation test whose null hypothesis states that all permutations of the entries of a matrix without ties are equiprobable, and the alternative hypothesis states that RM violations occur with lower probability than predicted by the null hypothesis. A matrix with ties is treated as being represented by all matrices without ties that have the same set of strict inequalities among their entries.     

Does probability weighting matter in probability elicitation?

One of the most widely used methods for probability encoding in decision analysis uses binary comparisons (choices) between two lotteries: one that depends on the values of the random variable of interest and another that is contingent on an external reference chance device (typically a probability wheel). This note investigates the degree to which differences in probability weighting functions between the two types of events could affect the practice of subjective probability encoding. We develop a general methodology to investigate this question and illustrate it with two popular probability weighting functions over the range of parameters reported in the literature. We use this methodology to (a) alert decision analysts and researchers to the possibility of reversals, (b) identify the circumstances under which overt preferences for one lottery over the other are not affected by the weighting function, (c) document the magnitude of the differences between choices based on probabilities and their corresponding weighting functions, and (d) offer practical recommendations for probability elicitation.     

Depression symptoms among Omani children: age and sex differences

The present study explored the existence of depressive symptoms among Omani children according to sex and age. The Arabic translated version of the Multidimensional Child and Adolescent Depression Scale was administered to 1,749 children (828 boys, 921 girls) ranging in age from 10 to 18 years old (M= 13.9, SD = 2.3) from 10 schools representing different areas of Muscat, Oman. The results showed no differences in the total mean scores on depression between boys and girls, although differences were observed on 4 of the 8 subscales. Boys had significantly higher scores on Weak concentration and Loneliness, while girls scored higher for Sleep problems and Anhedonia. Significant differences across ages also were exhibited for the total score as well as four subscales (Pessimism, Weak concentration, Anhedonia, and Fatigue), suggesting higher rates of depression among 15- to 18-year-olds.     

Who Voted for Whom? Comparing Supporters of Obama and McCain on Value Types and Personality Traits

This study investigates the personalities and values of Obama and McCain supporters in the 2008 election. A total of 278 American participants completed the Big Five Inventory and the Portrait Values Questionnaire along with demographic items. For value types, Obama supporters were more likely to endorse universalism values and less likely to endorse tradition, conformity, and security values compared with McCain supporters. With regard to personality traits, Obama supporters scored higher on agreeableness and lower on conscientiousness than did McCain supporters. As predicted, logistic regression revealed that values were better predictors of voting preference than were personality traits. These findings demonstrate the importance of individual differences in political preferences and are discussed with regard to findings in other cultures.