Goal orientation,evaluative fear,and perceived coach behavior among competitive youth swimmers in Germany and Japan

ObjectivesThe primary objective of this study was to compare youth athletes from two culturally distinct nations (Germany and Japan) on key aspects of their psychological make-up (goal orientation, fear of evaluation) and perceived coach support.DesignData were obtained with questionnaires distributed during a training session and analyzed with regression as well as multivariate and univariate analyses of variance.MethodThere were 56 German (30 female, 26 male) and 117 Japanese (60 female, 57 male) swimmers with a mean age of 13.2 (SD = 2.0) and 14.1 (SD = 1.8) years, respectively. All of the athletes participated regularly in high-level competitions.ResultsAs hypothesized, the German athletes were more task than ego oriented and more task focused than the Japanese, whereas the latter group had higher ego orientation scores than the German swimmers and put similar emphasis on both task and ego concerns. Contrary to expectations, however, there were no differences between the national cohorts in evaluative fear. The Japanese swimmers perceived their training climates to be more competition oriented than did the German participants. In terms of coach–athlete interactions, the German athletes reported significantly more instruction, positive feedback, and social support than the Japanese. Coach variables contributed significantly to the Japanese participants' feelings of satisfaction, with no such correlations in the German sample.ConclusionsResults are interpreted through cultural traditions and may be partly explained by differences in individualism. Practical recommendations for coaches and consultants are offered in light of the research findings.     

Stability and Change of Ego Resiliency From Late Adolescence to Young Adulthood: A Multiperspective Study Using the ER89–R Scale

In this research, we examined the psychometric properties of the Revised Ego Resiliency 89 Scale (ER89–R; Alessandri, Vecchio, Steca, Caprara, & Caprara, 2008), a brief self-report measure of ego resiliency. The scale has been used to assess the development of ego resiliency from late adolescence to emerging adulthood, focusing on different ways to define continuity and change. We analyzed longitudinal self-report data from 267 late adolescents (44% male) using 4 different approaches: factor analysis for testing construct continuity, correlational analysis for examining differential stability, latent growth modeling for analyzing mean level change, and the reliable change index for studying the occurrence of change at the individual level. Converging evidence points to the marked stability of ego resiliency from 16 to 20 years, both for males and females. The scale predicts externalizing and internalizing problems, both concurrently and at 2 and 4 years of distance. Findings suggest that the ER89–R scale represents a valid and reliable instrument that can be fruitfully suited for studying ego resiliency through various developmental stages.     

Using Latent Class Analysis to Model Temperament Types

Mixture models are appropriate for data that arise from a set of qualitatively different subpopulations. In this study, latent class analysis was applied to observational data from a laboratory assessment of infant temperament at four months of age. The EM algorithm was used to fit the models, and the Bayesian method of posterior predictive checks was used for model selection. Results show at least three types of infant temperament, with patterns consistent with those identified by previous researchers who classified the infants using a theoretically based system. Multiple imputation of group memberships is proposed as an alternative to assigning subjects to the latent class with maximum posterior probability in order to reflect variance due to uncertainty in the parameter estimation. Latent class membership at four months of age predicted longitudinal outcomes at four years of age. The example illustrates issues relevant to all mixture models, including estimation, multi-modality, model selection, and comparisons based on the latent group indicators.     

“Don't throw the baby out with the bathwater!” Interpersonal strain at work and burnout

Interpersonal strain represents the feeling of discomfort and disengagement in the relationships with people at work resulting from exceeding social requests and pressures. This article has three aims: (1) to introduce the Interpersonal Strain at Work scale (ISW), (2) to examine its construct validity and reliability, and its relationship with the Maslach Burnout Inventory exhaustion and cynicism; and (3) to test the generalizability of the ISW across different work settings. Multilevel CFA on two samples of call centre agents (5407) and hospital professionals (753), nested in 191 and 43 units, respectively, confirmed the good psychometric properties of the ISW and its distinctiveness from established burnout dimensions. The generalizability of ISW was also supported. Interpersonal strain at work seems to be a promising construct to recapture the interpersonal nature of the burnout syndrome that was lost when the concept of burnout was extended beyond the human services.     

Individual Differences in Personality Conducive to Engagement in Aggression and Violence

This paper examined empirically the value of a conceptual model in which emotional stability and agreeableness contribute to engagement in aggression and violence (EAV) indirectly through irritability, hostile rumination and moral disengagement. Three hundred and forty young adults (130 male and 190 female) participated in the study. The average age of participants was 21 at time 1 and 25 at time 2. Findings attested to the role of basic traits (i.e. agreeableness and emotional stability) and specific personality dispositions (i.e. irritability and hostile rumination) in predisposing to EAV and to the pivotal role of moral disengagement in giving access to aggressive and violent conduct. In particular, the mediational model attested to the pivotal role of emotional stability and agreeableness in contributing directly to both hostile rumination and irritability and indirectly to moral disengagement, and to EAV. Agreeableness and hostile rumination contribute to moral disengagement that plays a key role in mediating the relations of all examined variables with EAV. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Sexuality and Death (Discussion)

Abstract

The case is presented to show how the fear of death, triggered off by sexuality, is related to the fear of castration. Instead the discussant develops the hypothesis that the fear of death depends on a shift of deep regression towards a primary identification with the figure of the dead father.     

Personal values and political activism: A cross‐national study

Using data from 28 countries in four continents, the present research addresses the question of how basic values may account for political activism. Study (N = 35,116) analyses data from representative samples in 20 countries that responded to the 21‐item version of the Portrait Values Questionnaire (PVQ‐21) in the European Social Survey. Study (N = 7,773) analyses data from adult samples in six of the same countries (Finland, Germany, Greece, Israel, Poland, and United Kingdom) and eight other countries (Australia, Brazil, Chile, Italy, Slovakia, Turkey, Ukraine, and United States) that completed the full 40‐item PVQ. Across both studies, political activism relates positively to self‐transcendence and openness to change values, especially to universalism and autonomy of thought, a subtype of self‐direction. Political activism relates negatively to conservation values, especially to conformity and personal security. National differences in the strength of the associations between individual values and political activism are linked to level of democratization.     

The Future of the Christian Past: Marcel Gauchet and Charles Taylor on the Essence of Religion and its Evolution

This article explores the differences between Marcel Gauchet and Charles Taylor with respect to their theories of secularization. It starts by looking at their resemblances; it continues by distinguishing a two‐fold difference in their approach. The variation within their similar methodologies is examined, and then the consequences of these divergent definitions of religion are investigated. We focus on four themes: the role of the Axial religions, the significance of Incarnation and Reformation, the significance of Christianity as the ‘religion of the departure from religion’, and the possibility of religious ‘conversion’. Taylor's and Gauchet's views on the future of religion diverge as a function of their different interpretations of ‘fulfilment’ and ‘hunger for meaning’.     

Psychometric Properties of the Italian Version of the Psychological Capital Questionnaire

Two studies were conducted in order to investigate the psychometric properties of Italian version of the Psychological Capital Questionnaire (PCQ). Results from Study 1 (N = 401) provided support of the factorial validity of its four facets (self‐efficacy, optimism, hope, and resilience), as well as of its composite factor measure. Results from Study 2 (N = 465) attested the measurement invariance of the PCQ across one year. Study 2 also explored the relationship between psychological capital, job satisfaction, work engagement, and job performance. Limitations and practical implications are discussed in the article.