Organizational Politics and Work Identity as Predictors of Organizational Commitment

Building on the organizational-politics (Kaemar & Baron, 1999) and social-identity (Hogg & Terry, 2000) literatures, we examined the moderating effect of work identity on the organizational-politics/organizational-commitment relationship. Data collected from 500 employees of a data-reporting organization and 943 employees of a customer-service organization indicate that employees who identified primarily with their occupations were less affected by the level of perceived politics in the organization in the consideration of their commitment than were employees who identified primarily with their employing organizations or one of its units. Implications for research and management practice are discussed.     

Treatment Foster Care in a System of Care: Sequences and Correlates of Residential Placements

We examined Treatment Foster Care (TFC) in residential trajectories for youth with psychiatric disorders and aggressive behavior. We analyzed residential placements of a statewide sample of youth during the 12 months preceding and following admission to TFC. Prior to TFC, the majority of youth were residing in more restrictive settings (group homes or residential treatment). Two-thirds of youth remained in TFC throughout the follow-up year. Of those who left, nearly half returned home, and slightly fewer were discharged to group homes. By the end of the 12-month follow-up period, rates of group home use were similar to those seen in the pre-TFC period. Movement out of TFC during the year was associated with being older at placement and with increased problem behavior (particularly externalizing behaviors). TFC serves as a step-down placement for a substantial number of youth. However, this is not the only way it is used, and models based on short-term transitioning or reunification with families may not be widely implemented or relevant in practice. Additional research is needed to understand current functions of TFC in residential trajectories and to maximize its utility in systems of care.     

Concurrent validity of the differential ability scales,second edition with the Mullen Scales of Early Learning in young children with and without neurodevelopmental disorders

Estimates of intelligence in young children with neurodevelopmental disorders are critical for making diagnoses, in characterizing symptoms of disorders, and in predicting future outcomes. The limitations of standardized testing for children with developmental delay or cognitive impairment are well known: Tests do not exist that provide developmentally appropriate material along with norms that extend to the lower reaches of ability. Two commonly used and interchanged instruments are the Mullen Scales of Early Learning (MSEL), a test of developmental level, and the Differential Ability Scales, second edition (DAS-II), a more traditional cognitive test. We evaluated the correspondence of contemporaneous MSEL and the DAS-II scores in a mixed sample of children aged 2–10 years with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), non-ASD developmental delays, and typically developing children across the full spectrum of cognitive ability. Consistent with published data on the original DAS and the MSEL, scores on the DAS-II and MSEL were highly correlated. However, curve estimation revealed large mean differences that varied as a function of the child’s cognitive ability level. We conclude that interchanging MSEL and DAS-II scores without regard to the discrepancy in scores may produce misleading results in both cross-sectional and longitudinal studies of children with and without ASD, and, thus, this practice should be implemented with caution.     

Improved low-cost,MR-compatible olfactometer to deliver tobacco smoke odor

We describe a low-cost, MRI-compatible olfactometer that delivers fresh cigarette smoke odor, a challenging odorant to present, as well as other odorants. This new olfactometer retains all of the advantages of an earlier design that was capable of only delivering volatile odors (Lowen & Lukas, Behavior Research Methods, 38, 307–313, 2006). The new system incorporates a novel switching mechanism that allows it to deliver fresh smoke generated from a burning cigarette during a stimulus presentation paradigm that might be employed in a cue-reactivity experiment. An evaluation study established that the olfactometer reliably delivered smoke to the participants and that tobacco smoke was discriminated from other odorants; there were no adverse reactions to the device.     

Estimating individual treatment effects from multiple-baseline data: A Monte Carlo study of multilevel-modeling approaches

While conducting intervention research, researchers and practitioners are often interested in how the intervention functions not only at the group level, but also at the individual level. One way to examine individual treatment effects is through multiple-baseline studies analyzed with multilevel modeling. This analysis allows for the construction of confidence intervals, which are strongly recommended in the reporting guidelines of the American Psychological Association. The purpose of this study was to examine the accuracy of confidence intervals of individual treatment effects obtained from multilevel modeling of multiple-baseline data. Monte Carlo methods were used to examine performance across conditions varying in the number of participants, the number of observations per participant, and the dependency of errors. The accuracy of the confidence intervals depended on the method used, with the greatest accuracy being obtained when multilevel modeling was coupled with the Kenward—Roger method of estimating degrees of freedom.     

Who do students with mild disabilities nominate as cool in inclusive general education classrooms?

Examined the nominations that elementary students with mild disabilities made for peers they perceived as cool. The total sample was comprised of 948 students (496 girls, 452 boys) from the metropolitan Chicago area and North Carolina and included 107 (11.3%) students with mild disabilities. Overall, students with mild disabilities nominated prosocial and athletic peers who affiliate with students with mild disabilities. However, aggressive boys who are central in the social network were highly likely to view aggressive peers as cool. Results are discussed in relation to implications for social interventions for students with mild disabilities.     

Suicidal behaviour and HIV disease: A case report

This case history describes the attempted suicide by jumping in front of a London Underground train of a man with advanced HIV disease. It illustrates the complex relationship between HIV disease and suicidal behaviour. Although the attempt was made by a man with AIDS, it is by no means evident that this disease was the sole or even the primary cause of his wish to die. This account is also interesting because of the unusual method used, the sudden onset of suicidal feelings and the patient's interpretation of the reason for his survival.     

Development of a measure of home-career conflict related to career motivation in college women

The purpose of this paper is to describe the development of a measure of Home-Career conflict (H-C) for college women. Data from two studies are presented. Subjects for the first study were college women enrolled in undergraduate psychology classes (N=163) at a large midwestern college. Subjects for the second study were fifty student teachers enrolled in Traditional female college majors (i.e., a majority are women) and fifty engineering students in Nontraditional female college majors (i.e., a majority are men). Findings from the first study indicated that high negative affect scores on the H-C measure were significantly (p<.05) related to low career motivation scores. Findings from the first study were used to revise the measure. Using discriminant analysis results from the second study obtained significantly different (p<.02) patterns of scores for Traditional college majors compared to Nontraditional college majors. Traditional majors wrote more stories depicting mothers as primarily homemakers and described more negative affect in their stories. Reliability estimates and validity data are provided. Suggestions for refinement of the measure are discussed as well as possible counseling uses.