Simple and Joint Effects of Gender and Self-Esteem on Responses to Same-Sex Sexual Harassment

In a sample of 431 white-collar professionals, we examined the impact of gender and self-esteem on individuals' intentions to seek legal counsel, confront the harasser, and make formal reports within the organization in response to approach-based same-sex sexual harassment. We hypothesized that gender, self-esteem, and their interaction would be related to assertive responses. All three hypotheses received support: men were more likely than women to respond assertively; self-esteem was positively related to response intentions; and self-esteem had a greater impact on men's responses than on women's responses. These results suggest that frameworks used to describe responses to cross-sex sexual harassment may not be adequate for same-sex sexual harassment. Post hoc analyses revealed that perceiving the behavior as harassment mediated the relationship between self-esteem and the responses to harassment, but did not mediate the relationships between gender and the responses to harassment. These findings contribute to the research on acknowledging sexual harassment.     

Public Opinion on Church-State Issues in a Changing Environment

The recent waves of Muslim, Sikh, Buddhist, and other non-Judeo-Christian immigrants in American cities have increased religious diversity. This article examines changes in public attitudes on church-state issues in the Washington, D.C. metro area—a region that has experienced significant religious diversification. We find that between 1993 and 2000, aggregate support for public displays of Christianity decreased in the Washington area, and support for free exercise of minority religions increased. Yet the changing structure of church-state attitudes suggests that many residents are beginning to think of religious issues in a more polarized way.     

How Today’s Shocks Predict Tomorrow’s Leaving

Purpose

This research explores “shocking events” as part of the unfolding model of turnover, extending our understanding of the influence of various types of shocks on future voluntary employee separations.

Design/Methodology/Approach

1536 new hires at a large financial institution reported shocks monthly during their first 8 months at work as well as their job satisfaction and perceptions of marketability. We used event history to estimate the basic distributional properties of the shocks and Cox proportional hazards models to examine the effects of shocks on job satisfaction and turnover over the subsequent year as reported by the organization.

Findings

Organizational shocks generally occur earlier than personal shocks. Further, unexpected shocks have a stronger impact than expected shocks on subsequent turnover. Finally, the effects of organizational shocks on turnover are mediated by job satisfaction, whereas personal shocks have direct effects on turnover.

Implications

Our findings offer evidence for the utility of the shock construct in the unfolding model of turnover and speak to the importance of encouraging managers to monitor shocks on an ongoing basis in order to predict when different types of shocks will occur and their likely influence on turnover.

Originality/Value

Ours is the first study to examine shocks as they occur. This is a contrast to prior studies that relied on retrospective accounts. Thus, we are able to test new hypotheses (e.g., direct effects vs. mediation) that expand the unfolding model of turnover.

     

A Kinetic Sculpture Intervention for Individuals Grieving the Deaths of Family Members

This article presents a creative intervention called kinetic sculpture for loss adaptation in grief counseling. This intervention is supported by professional literature regarding Bowenian family systems and creativity in counseling. The deaths of family members may generate much uncertainty for clients regarding functioning of their family systems. Kinetic sculpture allows clients to create visual examples of family equilibrium before, in the midst of, and after the deaths of family members. Insight gained from engaging in this intervention can aid clients in making aspirational plans for their own adaptations to loss. In this article, we present step-by-step instructions for creating the kinetic sculpture, make recommendations for process questions to accompany the intervention, and apply the kinetic sculpture in a case example.     

Structural and moral commitment among same-sex couples: relationship duration, religiosity, and parental status.

This study examined ecological predictors of structural and moral commitment among cohabiting same-sex couples. Structural commitment was operationalized as the execution of legal documents, and moral commitment was operationalized as having a commitment ceremony. The authors tested 2 logistic regression models using a subsample of Rainbow Illinois survey respondents. First, the execution of legal documents was examined using the entire subsample (n=190). Because antigay victimization may sensitize individuals to the importance of legal protection, actual and feared victimization were hypothesized to predict legalization. These hypotheses were not supported. However, relationship duration, a control variable, did predict legalization. The authors then used data only from those individuals who had executed a legal document (n=150) to determine those who also reported a commitment ceremony (Model 2). Parental status, religiosity, involvement with a supportive congregation, and an interaction between gender and parental status were hypothesized to predict ritualization. Only religiosity and parental status emerged as significant. Results from this study demonstrate the importance of distinguishing between legalization and ritualization. Further, they extend knowledge about how same-sex couple commitment is shaped by noncouple factors, such as time, individual religiosity, and parental status.     

A psychometric evaluation of the revised Temperament and Character Inventory (TCI-R) and the TCI-140

The psychometric properties of the newest version of the Temperament and Character Inventory (the TCI-R) were evaluated in a large (n = 727) community sample, as was the TCI-140, a short inventory derivative. Facets-to-scale confirmatory and exploratory factor analyses of the TCI-R did not support the organization of temperament and character facet scales within their superordinate domains. Five of the 29 facet scales also displayed relatively low internal consistency (a < .70). Factor analyses of the TCI-140 item set yielded only limited support for hypothesized item-to-scale memberships. Harm Avoidance, Novelty Seeking, and Self-Directedness items, in particular, were not well differentiated. Although psychometrically comparable, the TCI-R and the TCI-140 demonstrate many of the limitations of earlier inventory versions. Implications associated with the use of the TCI-R and TCI-140 and C. R. Cloninger's theory of personality are discussed.