A model of stress and coping and their influence on individual and organizational outcomes

A model of coping with stress is proposed in which coping mediates the relationship among organizational stressors and personal characteristics, and job-related strains and organizational outcomes. Study results, based on a sample of professional salespeople, provide overall support for most of the hypothesized relationships among work-related stressors, personal characteristics, and coping styles. Findings also support the influence of emotion-focused coping on the psychological outcomes of emotional exhaustion and job-induced anxiety; which in turn are found to influence job satisfaction and intention to withdraw. While problem-focused coping had no effect on job-induced anxiety, problem-focused coping did effect emotional exhaustion, which in turn influences job satisfaction and intention to withdraw. Minor differences were found when the proposed model was applied to saleswomen versus salesmen. Overall, however, the model was robust across both genders.     

HOW BROADLY DOES EDUCATION CONTRIBUTE TO JOB PERFORMANCE?

This study looks at the effects of education level on job performance in 2 ways. First, it provides a meta-analysis on the relationships between education level and 9 dimensions of job behaviors representing task, citizenship, and counterproductive performance. Results here show that, in addition to positively influencing core task performance, education level is also positively related to creativity and citizenship behaviors and negatively related to on-the-job substance use and absenteeism. Second, we investigate the moderating effects of sample and research design characteristics on the relationships between education and job performance. Significant results were found for gender, race, job level, and job complexity. The article concludes with implications for future research and the management of an increasingly educated workforce.     

The control of contextual extinction effects during a fear-incubation procedure

The role of contextual (apparatus) cues upon baseline control groups in a fear-incubation procedure was examined. Using a suppression-of-licking measure, it was determined that infrahuman demonstrations of fear incubation have not clearly demonstrated an enhanced fear response (fear incubation) following brief unreinforced CS exposures. Adequate control for background apparatus exposures for the baseline-control group indicated that a facilitation of extinction for the no-CS-exposure group may, in fact, account for group differences. Results were interpreted within the context of existing theoretical models of fear extinction and incubation.     

THE RELATIONSHIPS OF AGE WITH JOB ATTITUDES: A META-ANALYSIS

Although organizational research on age has largely focused on the age–performance relationship, the relationships between age and job attitudes have received less attention. Guided by socioemotional selectivity theory, this paper provides a comprehensive meta-analysis of the relationships of chronological age with the 35 job attitudes most frequently studied as its correlates. Results of meta-analyses from more than 800 articles indicate that the relationships between chronological age and favorable attitudes (and/or to less unfavorable attitudes) toward work tasks, colleagues and supervisors, and organizations are generally significant and weak to moderate in strength. Moderator analyses also revealed that organizational tenure, race, gender, education level, and publication year of study moderate the relationships between age and job attitudes. Based on these findings, we make recommendations for future theory development and empirical research on age in organizational settings. We also discuss the implications of our findings for practice.     

A Comparison of the Sources and Nature of Body Image Messages Perceived by Indigenous Fijian and European Australian Adolescent Girls

Australian and Fijian adolescent girls reported on the influence that sociocultural factors, including parents, peers, and the media, had on their body image attitudes. It was expected that messages that promote a thin body would be less prevalent among Fijians, as their cultural traditions place more importance on robust body sizes. An inductive thematic analysis of the girls’ semi-structured interviews indicated that both Fijian (n = 16) and Australian (n = 16) girls (aged 13–17) reported messages from similar sources, which included parents, siblings, and friends/peers. Australian girls consistently reported messages that reinforced thinness. On the other hand, Fijian girls reported messages that emphasized both thinness and robustness. The discussion focuses on the conflict between Western ideals and cultural Fijian traditions and the implications for culturally sensitive interventions.     

Dad2K: An Adaptation of SafeCare to Enhance Positive Parenting Skills With At-Risk Fathers

Positive father involvement in the lives of their children is critically important. This article describes pilot data from the Dad2K program, an adaptation of the evidence-based SafeCare Parent-Child Interaction module, which targets positive parenting skills and the prevention of child neglect and physical abuse. Dad2K includes a unique approach to intervention delivery utilizing computer software, and instruction and practice with a home visitor provider. The development process of the Dad2K program is described, and data are presented from four fathers of young children who completed the program. The article concludes with describing the next steps in the examination of the Dad2K program, which includes a large randomized control trial funded by the National Institute of Minority Health and Health Disparities.