Maternal parenting as a mediator of the relationship between intimate partner violence and effortful control

The current study examined the relationship between intimate partner violence (IPV), maternal parenting behaviors, and child effortful control in a diverse sample of 705 families living in predominantly low-income, rural communities. Using structural equation modeling, the authors simultaneously tested whether observed sensitive parenting and/or harsh-intrusive parenting over the toddler years mediated the relationship between early IPV and later effortful control. Results suggest that parenting behaviors fully mediate this relationship. Although higher levels of IPV were associated with both higher levels of harsh-intrusive parenting and lower levels of sensitive supportive parenting, only sensitive supportive parenting was associated with later effortful control when both parenting indices were considered in the same model.     

Commentary on “Mediation analysis and categorical variables: The final frontier” by Dawn Iacobucci

The commentary discusses several topics in Dr. Iacobucci's article on mediation analysis with categorical variables including the lack of equivalency of mediated effect measures, ab, and c–c′, that are algebraically equivalent in ordinary least squares regression models. The commentary raises the issue of correlated mediation coefficients and presents formulas to include the correlation in the test of significance. References to new developments in causal mediation analysis for categorical variables are given and the importance of programs of research to establish a mediation theory is emphasized.     

Prior Trauma Exposure for Youth in Treatment Foster Care

Very little research has focused on rates of trauma exposure for youth in treatment foster care (TFC). Available research has utilized record review for assessing exposure, which presents limitations for the range of trauma types examined, as records are predominantly focused on abuse and neglect. The current study examines exposure rates and association with emotional and behavioral outcomes for 229 youth in 46 TFC agencies. The youth in this study had exceptionally high rates of trauma exposure by foster parent report, similar to youth in traditional foster care, with nearly half of the sample exposed to four or more types of traumatic events. A composite child abuse and neglect exposure variable was associated with child and adolescent emotional and behavioral outcomes. Implications for services provided as part of TFC are discussed.     

How sweet it is to be loved by you: the role of perceived regard in the terror management of close relationships

Drawing from terror management theory, the present research examined whether people turn to close relationships to manage the awareness of mortality because they serve as a source of perceived regard. Studies 1 and 2 demonstrated that mortality salience (MS) leads people to exaggerate how positively their romantic partners see them and demonstrated that people are more committed to their partners to the extent that their romantic partners serve as a source of perceived regard after MS (Study 3). Study 4 revealed that activating thoughts of perceived regard from a partner in response to MS reduced death-thought accessibility. Studies 5 and 6 demonstrated that MS led high relationship contingent self-esteem individuals to exaggerate perceived regard from a partner, and this heightened regard led to greater commitment to one's partner. Study 7 examined attachment style differences and found that after MS, anxious individuals exaggerated how positively their parents see them, whereas secure individuals exaggerated how positively their romantic partners see them. Together, the present results suggest that perceptions of regard play an important role in why people pursue close relationships in the face of existential concerns.     

The development of a Spanish language version of the Worn Out scale of the General Well-Being Questionnaire (GWBQ)

The paper describes the development of a short Spanish-language version of the General Well-Being Questionnaire (GWBQ; Cox and Gotts, 1987), based on the 12 items of its Worn Out scale. Research has shown the English-version Worn Out scale to be sensitive to aspects of the design and management of work. This study aimed to test its cross-cultural consistency in a Spanish-language workplace context. The data were collected from a sample of 229 workers in Valencia (Spain). Confirmatory Factor Analyses showed the factorial validity, reliability, and concurrent validity of the new Spanish version to be adequate. The sensitivity of the new measure to safety behavior and the reporting of accidents was also assessed and shown to be good. The new questionnaire extends the usefulness of the parent questionnaire to occupational health psychology research in the Spanish language by offering a short assessment tool appropriate for workplace studies.     

The siren's call: terror management and the threat of men's sexual attraction to women

Why do sexually appealing women often attract derogation and aggression? According to terror management theory, women's sexual allure threatens to increase men's awareness of their corporeality and thus mortality. Accordingly, in Study 1 a subliminal mortality prime decreased men's but not women's attractiveness ratings of alluring women. In Study 2, mortality salience (MS) led men to downplay their sexual intent toward a sexy woman. In Study 3, MS decreased men's interest in a seductive but not a wholesome woman. In Study 4, MS decreased men's but not women's attraction to a sexy opposite-sex target. In Study 5, MS and a corporeal lust prime increased men's tolerance of aggression toward women. Discussion focuses on mortality concerns and male sexual ambivalence.     

Modelling the Moral Dimension of Decisions

In this paper we explore the connections between ethics and decision theory. In particular, we consider the question of whether decision theory carries with it a bias towards consequentialist ethical theories. We argue that there are plausible versions of the other ethical theories that can be accommodated by “standard” decision theory, but there are also variations of these ethical theories that are less easily accommodated. So while “standard” decision theory is not exclusively consequentialist, it is not necessarily ethically neutral. Moreover, even if our decision‐theoretic models get the right answers vis‐à‐vis morally correct action, the question remains as to whether the motivation for the non‐consequentialist theories and the psychological processes of the agents who subscribe to those ethical theories are lost or poorly represented in the resulting models.     

Organizational Citizenship Behavior in Sport: Relationships with Leadership,Team Cohesion,and Athlete Satisfaction

The purpose of this study was to introduce the construct of organizational citizenship behavior (OCB; Organ, 1988 Organ, D. W. 1988. Organizational citizenship behavior: The good soldier syndrome, Lexington, MA: Lexington Books. [Crossref] , [Google Scholar]) into the sport psychology literature and examine its utility in sport. Based upon OCB research in the organizational literature, the Multidimensional Model of Leadership (MML; Chelladurai, 1978 Chelladurai, P. 1978. “A contingency model of leadership in athletics”. In Unpublished doctoral dissertation, Waterloo: University of Waterloo, Canada.  [Google Scholar]), the conceptual framework of team cohesion (CFC; Carron & Hausenblas, 1998 Carron, A. V. and Hausenblas, H. A. 1998. Group dynamics in sport, 2nd., Morgantown, WV: Fitness Information Technology.  [Google Scholar]), and a model of athlete satisfaction (MAS; Chelladurai & Riemer, 1997 Chellardurai, P. and Riemer, H. A. 1997. A classification of facets of athlete satisfaction. Journal of Sport Management, 11: 133–159.  [Google Scholar]) were selected as theoretically sound antecedents to be associated with OCB in sport. A total of 193 student-athletes from a large Division I university and a smaller Division III university representing a variety of sports participated in the study. Results of the study provide preliminary evidence for OCB as a unique and meaningful construct in sport and support many of the predictions hypothesized in the MML, CFC, and MAS. Results are discussed in the context of previous literature as well as theoretical, research, and practical implications.