Psychometric Qualities of Turkish Version of Perseverative Thinking Questionnaire (PTQ)

Repetitive negative thinking (RNT) is an umbrella term that refers to an individual’s tendency to have negative thoughts in an uncontrollable and repetitive manner regardless of their content and temporal focus. RNT is suggested to be a transdiagnostic factor that may be associated with vulnerability for many different psychological disorders. The aim of the present study is to examine the psychometric qualities of Perseverative Thinking Questionnaire (PTQ), which is a scale that assesses non-disorder-specific form of RNT. The data was gathered from 446 Turkish individuals between the ages of 18 and 58 years through a web based data collection method. In addition to PTQ, the participants also completed questionnaires that measure worry, rumination, anxiety, depression, and thought suppression. Two models were tested, and CFA revealed a better fit for the 3-factor model. Results indicated that the scale has satisfactory levels of internal consistency, split-half reliability, and test–retest reliability. Further, correlation analyses showed moderate correlations with measures of worry, rumination, anxiety, and depression; which is indicative of satisfactory levels of both convergent and concurrent validity. In sum, Turkish version of PTQ is a psychometrically sound measure that researchers can utilize in research focusing on transdiagnostic processes.     

The necessary impossibility: Dynamics of identity among young people of different backgrounds in Vienna

Identity, the key term during the last two decades in social sciences, is employed for different, even opposite purposes. On the one hand, there are liberal aims claiming social recognition, which usually are summarized under the term politics of identity. On the other hand, there are social movements and conceptions, the objectives of which are diametrically opposed to emancipatory ideas, and which encompass nationalisms, ethnopluralism, cultural fundamentalism, differential racism, and xenophobia. In this field of tensions this contribution is focusing on narratives and strategies of identity among young people in group discussions. Encounters among youth from different cultural, ethnic, and social contexts and with different expectations produce diasporic public spheres, which are neither predominantly emancipatory nor fully controlled, but rather emerging and therefore contested. In our theoretical reflections we challenge common dichotomies and main models of identity; in our empirical approaches we examine the topography and the dynamics of identity as well as “situated hierarchies” of different sources of identity.     

Understanding the Role of Cultural Intelligence in Individual Creativity

Employing creative cognition theory, this study investigates the relationship between cultural intelligence (CQ) and creativity. Using data from 394 full-time employees, metacognitive, cognitive, and motivational forms of CQ were found to have positive relationships with individual creativity. In addition, the positive effect of cognitive CQ on creativity was more pronounced when curiosity was high. However, the influence of metacognitive CQ on creativity was enhanced when curiosity was low. Several contributions to the multicultural creativity literature are offered.     

The relative influence of advice from human experts and statistical methods on forecast adjustments

Decision makers and forecasters often receive advice from different sources including human experts and statistical methods. This research examines, in the context of stock price forecasting, how the apparent source of the advice affects the attention that is paid to it when the mode of delivery of the advice is identical for both sources. In Study 1, two groups of participants were given the same advised point and interval forecasts. One group was told that these were the advice of a human expert and the other that they were generated by a statistical forecasting method. The participants were then asked to adjust forecasts they had previously made in light of this advice. While in both cases the advice led to improved point forecast accuracy and better calibration of the prediction intervals, the advice which apparently emanated from a statistical method was discounted much more severely. In Study 2, participants were provided with advice from two sources. When the participants were told that both sources were either human experts or both were statistical methods, the apparent statistical‐based advice had the same influence on the adjusted estimates as the advice that appeared to come from a human expert. However when the apparent sources of advice were different, much greater attention was paid to the advice that apparently came from a human expert. Theories of advice utilization are used to identify why the advice of a human expert is likely to be preferred to advice from a statistical method. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Considering religious education in context: politics,reform and debates among Turkish Cypriots

This article exemplifies the politicisation of religious education that has polarised the Turkish Cypriot community and explores a possible approach to religious education for primary schools in north Cyprus. In the light of the long-standing debate, this study has a particular focus on the mandatory religious instruction in public primary schools and evaluates the textbooks and teachers' perceptions. Unlike lower and upper secondary schools, divinity classes have constantly been offered to primary school pupils since the 1960s. Religious education at the primary school level is a contentious issue on which the educational experts have been unable to reach a consensus, and continue to discuss on different perspectives. To this end, a comprehensive review of the content analysis of the primary school religious education textbooks and semistructured interviews with teachers and education specialists has been undertaken. Although this study is set in the north Cyprus context, it is also relevant for other conflict-affected societies as it describes the challenges of religious education, secularism and pluralism.     

Predicting depressive symptoms among the mothers of children with leukaemia: a caregiver stress model perspective

The aim of this study was to find out the predictors of depressive symptoms of mothers of children with leukaemia. The potential predictors were chosen in the light of the caregiver stress model [Pearlin, Mullan, Semple, and Skaff, 1990. Caregiving and the stress process: An overview of concepts and their measures. The Gerontologist, 30(5), 583-594.], which examines the caregiver stress as composed of many factors such as the background variables, primary and secondary stressors, mediators and psychological health outcomes. This study included the caregiving tasks, basic needs of the caregivers and role strain as the stressors; coping strategies and perceived social support as mediators and depressive symptoms as the outcome variable. The participants of this study were 90 mothers of children with leukaemia. The results revealed that the satisfaction level of the basic needs and role strain were the predictors of the depressive symptoms. While emotion-focussed coping and perceived social support mediated the stressors and the depressive symptoms relationship, problem-focussed coping did not. The possible explanations of the results were explored and the implications were discussed.