Saving graces: Impact of partner support and maternal attachment on partner attachments in an individualistic and a collectivist context

The current study investigated the relationships between current attachment to mother and attachment to romantic partners, and the role of current partner support and culture as moderators of that relationship. University students who were currently in a romantic relationship were recruited from Hong Kong and USA, and completed measures on attachment styles and partner support. Results showed that maternal attachment anxiety was correlated with romantic attachment anxiety; maternal attachment avoidance was correlated with romantic attachment avoidance, but this linkage varied by level of current partner support. Romantic attachment avoidance was also associated with current partner support, but this linkage was stronger for HK Chinese than for Americans. These results are discussed in terms of how interpersonal and personality factors promoted by culture can affect the developmental course of romantic relationships.     

Proactivity,adaptability and boundaryless career attitudes: The mediating role of entrepreneurial alertness

We examined the role of entrepreneurialism in careers in the information society and global economy, bringing together key constructs in the fields of career studies and entrepreneurship. Specifically, our study involving a diverse group of 750 undergraduate students from Singapore showed that entrepreneurial alertness to opportunities partially mediates the relation of proactive personality to boundaryless career mindset and career adaptability, but not to self-directed or protean career attitudes. Findings are discussed in relation to the contribution of entrepreneurialism to careers research and the larger issues of workforce development.     

Factor Structure and Construct Validity of the Temporal Experience of Pleasure Scales

Feelings of pleasure felt in the moment of goal attainment (consummatory pleasure) are thought to be dissociable from feelings of desire connected with the motivated approach of goals (anticipatory pleasure). The Temporal Experience of Pleasure Scales (TEPS; Gard, Gard, Kring, & John, 2006) was developed to assess individual differences in these distinct processes. Recently, an independent evaluation of the psychometric characteristics of a Chinese-translated TEPS suggested a more complex factor structure (Chan et al., 2012). This study aimed to reexamine the factor structure and convergent and divergent validity of the TEPS in two previously unexamined multiethnic samples. University students in the United Kingdom (N = 294) completed the TEPS and university students in Australia (N = 295) completed the TEPS as well as a battery of conceptually related questionnaires. A confirmatory factor analysis of Gard et al.'s (2006) 2-factor model produced inadequate fit, which model-modification indexes suggested might be due to item cross-loadings. This issue was examined further using an exploratory factor analysis, which revealed a clear 2-factor solution despite cross-loadings among some items. Finally, mixed evidence for convergent–divergent validity was obtained, in terms of relationships between the TEPS and measures of anhedonia, approach-motivation, and positive emotion.     

On The Exchange of Hostility With Supervisors: An Examination of Self‐Enhancing and Self‐Defeating Perspectives

We invoke competing theoretical perspectives to examine the consequences for subordinates of involvement in relationships that vary in terms of downward hostility (i.e., hostility enacted by supervisors against direct reports) and upward hostility (i.e., hostility enacted by subordinates against immediate supervisors). Consistent with the perspective that targets of downward hostility are less likely to see themselves as victims when they perform acts of upward hostility, analysis of 2‐wave data from a sample of supervised employees suggested that upward hostility weakens the deleterious effects of downward hostility on subordinates’ job satisfaction, affective commitment, and psychological distress. Study 2 directly examined the presumed mechanism that underlies the effects observed in Study 1. In a 3‐wave sample, support was found for a moderated‐indirect effect framework in which the indirect effects of downward hostility on subordinates’ attitudes and psychological distress (through victim identity) were weaker when upward hostility was higher. Study 2 results also suggested that the enhancing effect of upward hostility generalizes to subjective indicators of career satisfaction and future career expectations.     

Believing in My Strength: Personal Best Goals as Mediators in Strength-Based Parenting and Adolescents’ Well-Being

Journal of Child and Family Studies - Research has paid growing attention to the contributions of strength-based parenting (SBP) to adolescents’ well-being. However, only a few studies exist...     

Missio Dei Trinitatis and Missio Ecclesiae: A Public Theological Perspective

In this article I address the mission of the triune God (missio Dei trinitatis) and the mission of the church (missio ecclesiae) that participates in the mission of God the Trinity, particularly from the perspective of public theology. First, I investigate that the concept of the missio Dei trinitatis so expanded our understanding of mission that the church‐centred view of mission was replaced by the public mission taking place in the midst of the world. Second, from the public theological perspective I argue for the need of the diakonia mission in order to realize the reign of God in the world. Third, I insist that the mission of the church participating in the mission of the triune God ought to appropriate the post‐colonial hermeneutics of suspicion and develop a post‐post‐colonial public mission theology for the sake of a mature democratic civil society. Fourth, I suggest that the mission of the church participating in God's mission should develop a transcultural‐indigenous public hermeneutics of mission in such a way as to encourage different stories through transcultural‐indigenous interpretations of the biblical narrative.     

School-aged Children’s Psychobiological Divergence as a Prospective Predictor of Health Risk Behaviors in Adolescence

Recent attachment research suggests that children with avoidant attachment often underreport their psychological distress compared to their physiologic indicators of distress (neuroendocrine reactivity, startle response, event-related potentials). This pattern of behavior (referred to as psychobiological divergence) may confer risk for suboptimal coping behaviors, including substance use, sexual risk-taking, and non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI), because individuals who are not aware of or cannot express their emotional needs may engage in maladaptive strategies to regulate their emotions. In the current pilot study (N?=?45 youth), we investigate whether psychobiological divergence of neuroendocrine and self-reported reactivity in middle childhood prospectively predicts health risk behaviors (HRBs) in adolescence. The results revealed that divergence was significantly associated with adolescents’ substance use and non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI), but not with their sexual behavior. Among adolescents currently reporting low levels of attachment security, divergence was associated with greater self-reported NSSI. Our results provide initial evidence that psychobiological divergence confers risk for substance use and NSSI in combination with current relational distress. We discuss the implications of our findings for adolescent development and clinical risk.     

A Multi-Disciplinary Inquiry of Secular and Christian Approaches to Sex Education

Secular scholars have criticized Christian education and counseling on sex as restrictive, ineffective, and outdated. The authors of the current study explored both common non-Christian and Christian approaches to human sexuality with reference to overarching domains of religion, philosophy, psychology, sociology, and anthropology. Secular approaches were classified as the inward approach, the spatial approach, and the temporal approach, whereas Christian approaches were categorized as the traditional and the modern perspectives. Although Christian faith can be signified as a protective factor against casual and risky sexual behaviors, traditional Christian values should be reevaluated in favor of comprehensive Christian approaches to sexuality, which embrace sexual desires as divine gifts for completeness of humanity.     

Knowledge-sharing intention in a virtual community: a study of participants in the Chinese Wikipedia

This study proposes a model for evaluating virtual community members' knowledge-sharing intention toward Chinese Wikipedia. The results of this study reveal that knowledge-sharing intention is influenced directly by attitude, subjective norms, and perceived behavioral control, whereas anticipated reciprocal relationships and enjoying helping are positively related to attitude; sense of self-worth and peer influences are positively related to subjective norms; and self-efficacy and resource-facilitating conditions are positively related to perceived behavioral control on knowledge sharing.