The construction and initial validation of the Work Volition Scale

This study constructed an instrument measuring work volition for adult populations, defined as the perceived capacity to make occupational choices despite constraints. In Study 1, an exploratory factor analysis produced a 3-factor structure containing subscales assessing general volition, financial constraints, and structural constraints. The full Work Volition Scale (WVS) and three subscales demonstrated adequate to strong internal consistency. In Study 2, a confirmatory factor analysis replicated the factor structure from Study 1 with a new sample. The hypothesized factor structure of the WVS was a good fit to the data and was internally consistent. In Studies 2 and 3, work volition correlated in hypothesized directions with work locus of control, core self-evaluations, career barriers, career compromise, and adaptive personality traits, providing evidence of construct validity. Additionally, none of these correlations was large enough to indicate overlapping constructs. Finally, work volition added unique variance in the prediction of job satisfaction above and beyond the variance accounted for by work locus of control, core self-evaluations, and the big 5 personality traits, suggesting incremental validity of the construct. Research implications are discussed.     

Social hierarchy and depression: the role of emotion suppression

Position in the social hierarchy is a major determinant of health outcomes. We examined the associations between aspects of social hierarchy and depressive symptoms with a specific focus on one potential psychological mechanism: emotion suppression. Suppressing negative emotion has mental health costs, but individuals with low social power and low social status may use these strategies to avoid conflict. Study 1 assessed perceived social power, tendency to suppress negative emotion, and depressive symptoms in a community sample of women. Low social power was related to greater depressive symptoms, and this relationship was partially mediated by emotion suppression. Study 2 examined education as a proxy for social hierarchy position, anger suppression, and depressive symptoms in a national, longitudinal cohort study (The coronary artery risk development in young adults [CARDIA] study; Cutter et al., 1991). Much as in study 1, low education levels were correlated with greater depressive symptoms, and this relationship was partially mediated by anger suppression. Further, suppression mediated the relationship between low education and subsequent depression up to 15 years later. These findings support the theory that social hierarchy affects mental health in part through a process of emotion suppression.     

Special Section Epilogue: A Call to Action

The purpose of this article is to offer specific recommendations and a call to action for counselors who engage in social justice work. Recommendations regarding the philosophical, ethical, spiritual, and religious aspects of social justice work are emphasized in this call to action based on articles presented in this special section.     

Cortisol Reactivity and Socially Anxious Behavior in Previously Institutionalized Youth

Research on Child and Adolescent Psychopathology - The current study investigated the association between cortisol stress reactivity to a social stressor and observed socially anxious behaviors...     

Emotions and Change in Spiritual Care

How does spiritual care help people change? What role do emotions play? Intercultural spiritual care helps people change their ‘lived theology/orienting system’—an emotionally-charged constellation of values, beliefs, and habitual ways of coping with stress. A case study based on the novel Affliction by Russell Banks and a film by the same title illustrates how trauma-related feelings of fear and shame pull together a lived theology for the protagonist, Wade Whitehouse, shaped by intersecting social systems of classism, sexism, and racism. His story illustrates the challenges of spiritually integrative spiritual care focused on emotionally charged lived theologies.     

Efficacy of a Train-the-Trainer Curriculum for Increasing Occupational Therapists’ Mental Health Knowledge

The marked prevalence and under detection of affective disorders including depression in older adults is associated with poor functional outcomes and patient mortality. Although occupational therapists are trained in mental health assessment and intervention, these skills are underutilized in practice. A two-group wait-list control design was used to test a DVD-based educational curriculum to increase knowledge about depression in a sample of occupational therapists. The educational intervention was delivered using a train-the-trainer model. The train-the-trainer model was found to be effective and study results showed that knowledge increased significantly after the DVD training.     

Dysfunctional cognitions mediate the relationships between religiosity,paranormal beliefs,and symptoms of obsessive-compulsive disorder

ABSTRACT

Research suggests that religious/paranormal beliefs are related to symptoms of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), including scrupulosity (i.e., religious/moral obsessions and compulsions). However, the mechanisms that underlie these relationships are not well understood. This study focused on examining whether dysfunctional beliefs (DBs) mediate the relationships between: i) religiosity and OCD, ii) religiosity and scrupulosity, iii) paranormal beliefs and OCD, as well as iv) paranormal beliefs and scrupulosity. Students (n?=?775) completed a survey measuring religiosity, paranormal beliefs, OCD, scrupulosity, DBs (inflated sense of responsibility and over-estimation of threat [RT], intolerance of uncertainty and perfectionism [PC], and importance of and the need to control thoughts [ICT]), as well as depression and anxiety. Mediation analyses revealed that RT and ICT mediated all four relationships and PC mediated three of the four relationships. This suggests that paranormal and religious beliefs are associated with DBs which in turn may contribute to the severity of OCD.     

Workaholism and work–life imbalance: Does cultural origin influence the relationship?

In recent years, workaholism has become prevalent throughout organizations and has captured the attention of organizational leaders as well as the academic and scientific communities. Most research in this area has focused on the negative consequences of workaholism, specifically work–life imbalance. One area of research that has largely been ignored is the potential influence of demographic variables on the relationship between workaholism and work–life imbalance. Therefore, the current study focused on how cultural origin might influence the intensity of this relationship. Based on relative deprivation theory and previous empirical work, it was expected that cultural origin would moderate the relationship between workaholism and work–life imbalance. Specifically, it was predicted that Caucasian participants would score higher on levels of workaholism than Black participants, and that the relationship between workaholism and work–life imbalance would be stronger for Caucasians than for Blacks. The results revealed that high levels of workaholism were significantly correlated with high levels of work–life imbalance. However, results also indicated that cultural origin did not moderate the relationship between workaholism and work–life imbalance, and there was no significant mean difference between Caucasian and Black participants on our measure of workaholism. These findings are important in that it is essential for employers to be aware of workaholic tendencies so they can better handle the negative consequences that result for the organization, and to also help promote the well‐being of their employees.     

Concurrent reinforcement schedules for problem behavior and appropriate behavior: experimental applications of the matching law

This study evaluated how children who exhibited functionally equivalent problem and appropriate behavior allocate responding to experimentally arranged reinforcer rates. Relative reinforcer rates were arranged on concurrent variable-interval schedules and effects on relative response rates were interpreted using the generalized matching equation. Results showed that relative rates of responding approximated relative rates of reinforcement. Finally, interventions for problem behavior were evaluated and differential reinforcement of alternative behavior and extinction procedures were implemented to increase appropriate behavior and decrease problem behavior. Practical considerations for the application of the generalized matching equation specific to severe problem behavior are discussed, including difficulties associated with defining a reinforced response, and obtaining steady state responding in clinical settings.