Applying the social cognitive model of career self-management to career exploration and decision-making

We present two studies applying the social cognitive model of career self-management (Lent & Brown, 2013) to career exploration and decision-making outcomes in college students. In the first study (N = 180 college students), we developed a new, brief measure of career exploration and decision-making self-efficacy for use in subsequent model testing. The measure yielded two factors, decisional self-efficacy and coping efficacy, with adequate internal consistency reliability estimates. The decisional self-efficacy factor related strongly to an established measure of career decision self-efficacy and produced theory consistent relations with measures of outcome expectations, social support, conscientiousness, exploration goals, prior engagement in career exploration, decisional anxiety, and level of career decidedness. In the second study (N = 215 college students), we re-examined the factor structure of the new self-efficacy measure and used it to assess the tenability of the self-management model in a path analysis predicting exploration goals, decisional anxiety, and career decidedness. The model fit the data well overall, though certain predictors were linked to the criterion variables only indirectly via mediated pathways. Implications of the findings for the social cognitive model as well as for future research and practice are considered.     

Attribution of blame in rape cases: The impact of norm violation,gender, and sex-role attitude

The present study compares the importance of the characteristics of the rape victims to the characteristics of observers in the attribution of blame in rape cases. Both blame of the victim and blame of the rapist are considered, along with seriousness of the crime, perceived norm violation, respectability, behavioral intentions toward the victim, and behavioral intentions toward the rapist. A factorial design is applied to data collected from 389 college students. Rape is found to be rated serious independently of any factors. Gender relates only to behavioral intentions, while sex-role attitude relates to respectability of the victim, blame of the victim, and blame of the rapist. No substantial statistical interaction effects are found. The findings of the research suggest the need to consider observer characteristics in order to understand the attribution of blame and social perceptions in rape cases.     

Attachment,emotional loneliness,and bullying behaviour: A study of adult and young offenders

This research addresses the question of whether or not offenders who bully others and/or are victimised themselves can be distinguished by their attachment styles and the level of emotional loneliness that they report. Adult and young male offenders (n = 220) were required to complete a self‐report behavioural checklist (DIPC: Direct and Indirect Prisoner behaviour Checklist: Ireland, 1999a) that addressed the level of bullying behaviour at their present institution. Offenders were also required to complete a measure of attachment, namely the Three Attachment Style Measure [Hazan and Shaver, 1987] exploring secure, avoidant and anxious/ambivalent styles, and a measure of emotional loneliness, namely the revised UCLA Loneliness scale [Russell, Peplaw and Cutrona, 1980]. Young offenders were more likely than adult offenders to report behaviours indicative of ‘bullying others’ and of ‘being bullied.’ With regards to attachment style and bullying behaviour, significant differences were restricted to avoidant attachment; bully/victims reported higher avoidant scores than the other bully‐categories, with pure bullies and those not‐involved reporting lower avoidant scores. Finally, when considering emotional loneliness and bullying behaviour, bully/victims reported higher scores on emotional loneliness than the other bully‐categories, with the not‐involved group reporting significantly lower scores. Aggr. Behav. 30:298–312, 2004. © 2004 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.     

Anger management therapy with young male offenders: An evaluation of treatment outcome

The aim of the present study was to assess the effectiveness of a brief group‐based anger management intervention with young male offenders. Eighty‐seven prisoners were assessed as suitable for the intervention. Fifty of these made up the experimental group and 37 the control. Prior to intervention prisoners completed a self‐report anger questionnaire (Anger Management Assessment questionnaire: AMA). Prisoners were also assessed by officers on a checklist addressing angry behaviour (Wing Behaviour Checklist: WBC). Both measures were completed approximately two weeks before the date of the intervention and eight weeks after the intervention (and while the control group remained on the waiting list). It was predicted that the experimental group would show significant improvements in both measures following intervention and that no such change would be observed in the control group. This hypothesis was supported, with significant improvements observed in the experimental group and no change observed in the control. Aggr. Behav. 30:174–185, 2004. © 2004 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.     

Descriptive analysis of the nature and extent of bullying behavior in a maximum‐security prison

This aim of this study was to investigate the nature and extent of direct and indirect bullying in a maximum‐security prison and to assess prisoners' attitudes toward victims of bullying. A total of 194 adult male prisoners completed the Direct and Indirect Prisoner Behavior Checklist (DIPC) [Ireland (1998): University of Central Lancashire; Ireland (1999a): Aggressive Behavior] and a modified version of the Rigby and Slee [1991: J Social Psychol 131:615–627] provictim scale. The results showed that more than half of the prisoners sampled had been bullied in the past week. Only a small number of prisoners could be classified as either a pure bully or a pure victim, with almost half classified as both a bully and a victim. The most frequent types of bullying used were psychological/verbal and indirect forms. No significant differences were found between pure bullies, bully/victims, pure victims, and the not involved groups' attitudes toward the victims of bullying. These findings hold implications for anti‐bullying programs that fail to fully consider the prevalence of indirect forms of bullying and that an individual can be both a bully and a victim. Aggr. Behav. 26:213–223, 2000. © 2000 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.     

Research priorities for the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond: A call to action for psychological science

The severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) that has caused the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic represents the greatest international biopsychosocial emergency the world has faced for a century, and psychological science has an integral role to offer in helping societies recover. The aim of this paper is to set out the shorter- and longer-term priorities for research in psychological science that will (a) frame the breadth and scope of potential contributions from across the discipline; (b) enable researchers to focus their resources on gaps in knowledge; and (c) help funders and policymakers make informed decisions about future research priorities in order to best meet the needs of societies as they emerge from the acute phase of the pandemic. The research priorities were informed by an expert panel convened by the British Psychological Society that reflects the breadth of the discipline; a wider advisory panel with international input; and a survey of 539 psychological scientists conducted early in May 2020. The most pressing need is to research the negative biopsychosocial impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic to facilitate immediate and longer-term recovery, not only in relation to mental health, but also in relation to behaviour change and adherence, work, education, children and families, physical health and the brain, and social cohesion and connectedness. We call on psychological scientists to work collaboratively with other scientists and stakeholders, establish consortia, and develop innovative research methods while maintaining high-quality, open, and rigorous research standards.     

Bullying in different contexts: Commonalities,differences and the role of theory

Research on bullying has grown very rapidly in the last two decades, initially in schools but also in a variety of other settings and relationships; and there has been relatively little communication between the different groups of researchers. We describe the nature of bullying in schools, between siblings, in children's residential care homes, in prisons, and in the workplace. Commonalities and differences in the phenomenon, and the ways in which it is exhibited and experienced are explored. The role of individual and organizational factors in the development and maintenance of these behaviors across contexts is compared. We then examine a number of theoretical approaches which have been suggested as relevant to our understanding of bullying. Integrative approaches from different research traditions are proposed which view these behaviors as being influenced by a combination of situational and individual factors.     

The perceived consequences of responding to bullying with aggression: A study of male and female adult prisoners

This research addresses whether prisoners who bully others and/or are victimised themselves can be distinguished by the perceptions that they have of the consequences about using aggression as a solution to being bullied. Male and female adult prisoners (n = 406) were required to complete a self‐report behavioural checklist (Direct and Indirect Prisoner Behaviour Checklist [DIPC]) that addressed the level of bullying behaviour at their present institution. Prisoners were also required to complete a questionnaire (Bullying Social Problem Solving Questionnaire [BSPSQ]) that provided them with five different bullying situations and asked them what would be the consequences if they were to respond aggressively to each. Four categories of prisoners were examined: pure bullies, pure victims, those who reported both bullying others and being victimised themselves (bully/victims), and those not involved in bullying/victimisation. Pure bullies reported significantly more positive than negative consequences of aggression compared with the overall category mean in response to theft‐related bullying. Bully/victims reported significantly more positive than negative consequences compared with the overall category mean in response to indirect and indirect‐physical bullying. Those not involved reported significantly more negative than positive consequences compared with the overall category mean in response to all scenarios except one involving indirect‐physical bullying. Males reported significantly more positive than negative consequences compared with females for all types of bullying. Aggr. Behav. 28:257–272, 2002. © 2002 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.