Applying a longitudinal tracer methodology to evaluate complex interventions in complex settings

Long-running multi-faceted intervention studies are particularly problematic in large complex organizations where traditional methods prove too resource intensive and can yield inaccurate and incomplete findings. This paper describes the first use of, longitudinal tracer methodology (LTM), a realist approach to evaluation, to examine the links between multiple complex intervention activities (processes) and their outcomes on a construction megaproject. LTM is especially useful when the researcher has little control over intervention delivery but has evidence drawn from multiple sources to evaluate the intervention activities effects over time. This methodology has rarely been deployed in complex organizational settings and not on a construction megaproject. This paper presents a case study of its use over a period of three years, on 24 construction sites forming London’s Thames Tideway Tunnel (Tideway) megaproject. The study examines the “transformational” power of occupational safety and health (OSH) interventions across the multiple organizations and supply chains in the megaproject. The study shows how the method can be adapted in-flight to accommodate shifting lines of inquiry as the intervention activities progress and change. This feature along with its resource-efficient operation, make it an attractive option where interventions are likely to have differential effects across multiple sites of enactment.     

Laterality of the frontal aslant tract (FAT) explains externalizing behaviors through its association with executive function

We investigated the development of a recently identified white matter pathway, the frontal aslant tract (FAT) and its association with executive function and externalizing behaviors in a sample of 129 neurotypical male and female human children ranging in age from 7 months to 19 years. We found that the FAT could be tracked in 92% of those children, and that the pathway showed age‐related differences into adulthood. The change in white matter microstructure was very rapid until about 6 years, and then plateaued, only to show age‐related increases again after the age of 11 years. In a subset of those children (5–18 years; n = 70), left laterality of the microstructural properties of the FAT was associated with greater attention problems as measured by the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL). However, this relationship was fully mediated by higher executive dysfunction as measured by the Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Function (BRIEF). This relationship was specific to the FAT—we found no relationship between laterality of a control pathway, or of the white matter of the brain in general, and attention and executive function. These findings suggest that the degree to which the developing brain favors a right lateralized structural dominance of the FAT is directly associated with executive function and attention. This novel finding provides a new potential structural biomarker to assess attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and associated executive dysfunction during development.     

Episodic memory function is affected by lifestyle factors: a 14-year follow-up study in an elderly population

Understanding the relationship between memory function and lifestyle offers great opportunities for promoting beneficial lifestyle choices to foster healthy cognitive aging and for the development of intervention programs for older adults. We studied a cohort of older adults (age 65 and older) enrolled in the Longitudinal Aging Study Amsterdam, an ongoing prospective population-based research project. A total of 1,966 men and women participated in an episodic memory test every 3 years over a period of 14 years. Lifestyle habits were repeatedly assessed using self-report measures. Physical activity, light-to-moderate alcohol consumption, difficulties staying asleep, and social engagement were associated with better memory function over the course of 14 years. In contrast, smoking and long sleep duration were associated with worse memory function. These findings suggest that certain lifestyle factors can have long-term protective or harmful effects on memory function in aging individuals.     

Positive and problematic dissertation experiences: The faculty perspective

We interviewed 14 clinical and counseling psychology faculty regarding their experiences chairing positive and problematic dissertations. Data were analyzed using consensual qualitative research (CQR). Participants reported that advisors’ roles involved guiding/facilitating dissertations and helping students shape research ideas; students’ roles included taking responsibility, working independently, and maintaining good relationships with the chair/committee. With positive dissertation experiences, chairs and students collaborated before the dissertation, worked together well during the dissertation, and students began the dissertation feeling competent and motivated; such dissertations positively affected participants. Problematic dissertation experiences evinced difficult relationships between chair and student, and students’ low research capability; such dissertations negatively affected participants.     

Examining a model of dispositional mindfulness, body comparison, and body satisfaction

The present study examined the links between dispositional mindfulness, body comparison, and body satisfaction. It was expected that mindfulness would be associated with less body comparison and more body satisfaction. Two models were tested: one exploring body comparison as a mediator between mindfulness and body satisfaction and an alternative model exploring mindfulness as a mediator between body comparison and body satisfaction. In an online survey, 1287 Dutch women answered questions concerning dispositional mindfulness, body comparison, and body satisfaction. Results showed that body comparison was related negatively to both dispositional mindfulness and body satisfaction, whereas the two latter variables were related positively. Body comparison partially mediated the relation between mindfulness and body satisfaction. However, a stronger indirect effect was noted in the alternative model, where mindfulness partially mediated the link between body comparison and body satisfaction.     

Self and partner personality and responses to relationship threats

Two studies examined the relations between three different types of jealousy and personality characteristics of self and partner in two large heterogeneous community samples of heterosexual couples (459 and 230 couples, respectively). It was expected that partners would resemble each other to some extent in both the experience of different types of jealousy and personality characteristics, and that self-reported levels of neuroticism (+) and extraversion (−) would be related to higher levels of jealousy. Moreover, it was expected that partner extraversion would be related positively to levels of jealousy, and that similarity with regard to personality characteristics would be related to lower levels of jealousy. Results largely supported our expectations with regard to both partner similarity and self-reported personality characteristics. However, our expectations with regard to partner extraversion and similarity were not supported.     

Interactive effects of work group and organizational identification on job satisfaction and extra-role behavior

Past research has focused on the differential relationships of organizational and work group identification with attitudes and behavior. However, no systematic effort has been undertaken yet to explore interactive effects between these foci of identification. We predicted that in cases of positive overlap of identifications (i.e. high work group and organizational identification) identifications are more strongly associated with employee job satisfaction and extra-role behavior than when only one of the identifications is high—that is, the one identification augments the influence of the other. These hypotheses were tested and supported with data from two samples of bank employees (N = 358) and travel agency employees (N = 308).