Consequences of job insecurity and the moderator role of occupational group

In recent decades, transformations in organizations and the labour market have produced an increase in employee job insecurity. In response to this situation, workers present different negative reactions. However, the intensity of these reactions varies across studies that have investigated the outcomes of job insecurity. One possible explanation for this inconsistency may lie in the influence of other factors, such as the occupational group (Sverke et al., 2002). The aim of this study is to provide additional evidence about the relationship between job insecurity and its outcomes (i.e., life satisfaction, job satisfaction, perceived performance and organizational commitment), and examine the moderator role of occupational group in this relationship. The sample was composed of 321 employees from different Spanish organizations. The results showed that job insecurity was directly and negatively related to life satisfaction, job satisfaction and organizational commitment, and they suggest that occupational group moderated relations between job insecurity and three studied outcomes. In the case of life satisfaction and perceived performance, this relationship was stronger among blue collar workers. The relationship between job insecurity and job satisfaction was stronger in white collar workers. The implications and limitations of this study are discussed.     

Cognitive control in number processing: evidence from the unit-decade compatibility effect

In this study we evaluated whether the reverse compatibility effect observed when participants compare two-digit Spanish number words might be modulated as a function of the percentage of filler trials (within-decade comparisons). The participants performed a comparison task with two-digit Spanish number words while the unit–decade compatibility in between decade comparison trials was manipulated. We biased the relevance of units by increasing the intra/inter decade comparison ratio (20%, 50%, and 70%). The compatibility effect shifted from reverse to regular depending on the unit relevance which indicates that the relative emphasis on the unit processing in two-digit number word can be modulated by the stimulus list. These results are discussed in terms of cognitive control in number processing.     

Partial Likelihood Estimation of IRT Models with Censored Lifetime Data: An Application to Mental Disorders in the ESEMeD Surveys

Developmental studies of mental disorders based on epidemiological data are often based on cross-sectional retrospective surveys. Under such designs, observations are right-censored, causing underestimation of lifetime prevalences and correlations, and inducing bias in latent trait models on the observations. In this paper we propose a Partial Likelihood (PL) method to estimate unbiased IRT models of lifetime predisposition to develop a certain outcome. A two-step estimation procedure corrects the IRT likelihood of outcome appearance with a function depending on (a) projected outcome frequencies at the end of the risk period, and (b) outcome censoring status at the time of the observation. Simulation results showed that the PL method yielded good recovery of true frequencies and intercepts. Slopes were best estimated when events were sufficiently correlated. When PL is applied to lifetime mental health disorders (assessed in the ESEMeD project surveys), estimated univariate prevalences were, on average, 1.4 times above raw estimates, and 2.06 higher in the case of bivariate prevalences.     

The effects of age and emotional valence on recognition memory: An ex‐Gaussian components analysis

The aim of this work was to study the effects of valence and age on visual image recognition memory. The International Affective Picture System (IAPS) battery was used, and response time data were analyzed using analysis of variance, as well as an ex‐Gaussian fit method. Older participants were slower and more variable in their reaction times. Response times were longer for negative valence pictures, however this was statistically significant only for young participants. This suggests that negative emotional valence has a strong effect on recognition memory in young but not in old participants. The τ parameter, often related to attention in the literature, was smaller for young than old participants in an ex‐Gaussian fit. Differences on the τ parameter might suggest poorer attentional performance in old participants.     

Working memory and two-digit number processing

The processing of two-digit numbers in comparison tasks involves the activation and manipulation of magnitude information to decide which number is larger. The present study explored the role of different working memory (WM) components and skills in the processing of two-digit numbers by examining the unit–decade compatibility effect with Arabic digits and number words. In the study, the unit–decade compatibility effect and different WM components were evaluated. The results indicated that the unit–decade compatibility effect was associated to specific WM skills depending on the number format (Arabic digits and number words). We discussed the implications of these results for the decomposed view of two-digit numbers.     

The processing of Arabic numbers is under cognitive control

In this study, we evaluated whether the processing of two-digit Arabic numbers is subject to cognitive control. Participants performed a number comparison task with unit–decade compatible trials (36–47) and unit–decade incompatible number pairs (37–46). The unit–decade compatibility (incompatible minus compatible trials) was considered an index of conflict situation in numerical processing. To examine whether participants adapted to numerical conflict, we manipulated the percentage of incompatible trials relative to the percentage of compatible trials (20, 50, 80 % incompatible trials). The unit–decade compatibility effect was modulated by the amount of incompatible trials: the compatibility effect decreased progressively as the percentage of incompatible trials increased. This result indicated that participants adapted to numerical conflict. The findings are discussed in terms of cognitive control. Implications for models of two-digit number processing are also addressed.     

Factors Associated with Psychological Maladjustment of Mexican Adolescents Living in Poverty

The objectives of this study were to test the replicability of the Youth Self-Report structure in Mexican adolescents living in poverty; to determine gender and rurality differences in internalizing and externalizing problems; and to identify predictors of internalizing and externalizing problems. Data were collected from a probabilistic sample of households that are beneficiaries of the Oportunidades program, including the heads of those households, their spouses and their adolescent children. The self-reports of parents and children were analyzed using structural equation modeling. Results confirmed the Youth Self-Report structure in Mexican adolescents, and indicated higher levels of emotional disorders in females, higher levels of behavioral disorders in males, and higher levels in all the Youth Self-Report scales in rural adolescents. Internalizing and externalizing problems were mediated by the presence of loneliness, oppositional behavior and stress, through which the model’s other latent variables exerted indirect influence on the determination of youth psychopathology.     

Measurement Invariance of the Day Reconstruction Method: Results from the COURAGE in Europe Project

Given the growing interest in the study of subjective well-being as a measure of social progress, instruments that produce valid and reliable scores and that can be used within and across countries are needed. The aim of the present study was to analyze the measurement equivalence of the Day Reconstruction Method in its brief version, using nationally representative samples from Finland, Poland, and Spain obtained within the COURAGE in Europe project. The goodness-of-fit of a two-correlated-factors model and the reliability of the scores obtained were assessed. Cross-country invariance was tested employing a multiple group confirmatory factor analysis, through sequential constraint imposition. In each country, measurement invariance was tested across time frames (morning, afternoon and evening) and days of the week (weekday and weekend). The results found support for the hypothesis of a two-correlated-factors (positive and negative affect) structure; the reliability of the positive, the negative and the net affect scores showed appropriate values. A high equivalence across the three national samples was found: all items except one showed strong measurement invariance indicating that respondents from Finland, Poland, and Spain attribute the same meaning to the latent construct under study, and the levels of the underlying items are equal in all three countries. Similar results were found for the measurement equivalence across time frames and days of the week. Our findings support the assumption of comparability across the different samples considered; in general, higher positive affect and lower negative affect were found in Finland, in the evening and at the weekend.     

More than Altruism: Cultural Norms and Remittances Among Hispanics in the USA

Cultural norms embody the communalism and familism that characterize social structures and traditions of care among certain identity groups, notably, Hispanics. In turn, they affect remitting behavior as they do family dynamics thereby extending care transnationally. Using the 2006 Latino National Survey, the largest instrument that captures socioeconomic variables and political perspectives among Hispanics residing in the USA, we constructed a Hispanic identity index that is used to capture the role of cultural norms in remittance behavior. This index is used as an explanatory variable in a logit model for the probability and frequency of remitting money. We find that both the probability and frequency of remitting increase with higher levels of self-defined familism as reflected by the Hispanic index. This effect is stronger among males, renters, foreign-born non-US citizens, and migrants with fewer years of residence in the USA. Incorporating variables such as our Hispanic identity index may shed light on a relatively unexplored area in the field of economics that explains remitting behavior.     

The challenge of measuring immigrant origin and immigration-related ethnicity in Europe

Different European nation-states use the most diverse statistical constructions of foreign origin or ethnic minority populations. Several countries traditionally even shun from producing such data. This makes international comparison a very difficult endeavour. Anyone wanting to perform comparative research on immigrants or (immigrant origin) ethnic minorities in Europe is unavoidably confronted with the most diverse types of national statistical data and has to opt for ad hoc solutions. Attempts at international comparison can thus be very tricky due to data characteristics. It is important that researchers are aware of these problems and do not simply accept data (especially in comparisons) at face value. In this article we embark on a comparative explorative study of the way in which immigrant background and immigration related ethnicity is taken stock of by national statistical institutes in a set of European nation-states.