Academic promises and family (dis)enchantments: clues for guidance and counselling in higher education

Family has an undeniable influence upon the career construction of higher education (HE) students, since it is a primary source of their socialisation. This article presents a qualitative analysis of 30 interviews conducted with first-year students, aimed at understanding the relationship between family sociocultural status and career choice and the perceived meaning in the family of the enrolment of one of their elements in HE. Results show that HE students came mainly from economic, cultural and social upper classes. It was a ‘logic path’, for who would inherit in the adult age, not only the economic capital, but also the relational capital. The educational and economic resources of the students' families are key factors in the choice to pursue HE studies, rather than the professional world.     

Social-cognitive antecedents of hand washing: Action control bridges the planning–behaviour gap

Objectives. To examine motivational and volitional factors for hand washing in young adults, using the Health Action Process Approach (HAPA) as a theoretical framework.

Design. In a longitudinal design with two measurement points, six weeks apart, university students (N = 440) completed paper-based questionnaires.

Main outcome measures. Prior hand washing frequency, self-efficacy, outcome expectancies, intention and action planning were measured at baseline, and coping planning, action control and hand washing frequency were measured at follow-up.

Results. A theory-based structural equation model was specified. In line with the HAPA, the motivational factors of self-efficacy and outcome expectancies predicted intention, whereas the volitional factors of planning and action control mediated between intention and changes in hand washing frequency. Action control was confirmed as the most proximal factor on hand washing behaviour, thus representing a bridge of the planning–behaviour gap.

Conclusions. Both motivational and volitional processes are important to consider in the improvement of hand hygiene practices. Moreover, the statistically significant effects for planning and action control illustrate the importance of these key self-regulatory factors in the prediction of hand hygiene. The current study highlights the importance of adopting models that account for motivational and volitional factors to better understand hand washing behaviour.     

Age Differences in the Variance of Personality Characteristics

In contrast to mean‐level comparisons, age group differences in personality trait variance have received only passing research interest. This may seem surprising because individual differences in personality characteristics are exactly what most of personality psychology is about. Because different proposed mechanisms of personality development may entail either increases or decreases in variance over time, the current study is exploratory in nature. Age differences in variance were tested by comparing the standard deviations of the five‐factor model domain and facet scales across two age groups (20 to 30 years old versus 50 to 60 years old). Samples from three cultures (Estonia, the Czech Republic and Russia) were employed, and two methods (self‐reports and informant‐reports) were used. The results showed modest convergence across samples and methods. Age group differences were significant for 11 of 150 facet‐level comparisons but never consistently for the same facets. No significant age group differences were observed for the five‐factor model domain variance. Therefore, there is little evidence for individual differences in personality characteristics being systematically smaller or larger in older as opposed to younger people. We discuss the implications of these findings for understanding personality development. Copyright © 2015 European Association of Personality Psychology     

Creativity and Psychopathology: Sex Matters

The association between creativity and psychopathology has, for decades, been a focus of heated debate fuelled by contradictory findings. Nevertheless, the findings suggest complex associations between creativity and psychopathology. Other studies have investigated the association between creativity and sex, with inconsistent results. The aim of this study was to investigate the influence of sex on the association between creativity and psychopathology. In total, 106 participants (37 men and 69 women) were administered the Symptom Check List (SCL90-R) and the CREA test of creativity. There were no significant associations in the total sample between the variable creativity and the psychopathology scales. Strikingly, when the sample was divided by gender, a moderate-to-high significant positive association between creativity and psychopathology was found among men. Previously, the associations between creativity and gender and between creativity and psychopathology were studied in relative isolation from each other, rather than together as the main focus of research. Our results suggest that the complex associations between psychopathology and creativity differ between men and women.     

Psychometric Properties of the Mental Health Continuum-Short Form: A Study of Portuguese Speaking Children/Youths

The development of measures of children and adolescents’ subjective well-being is crucial to the conceptualization and evaluation of positive mental health. The aim of this study was to investigate the factorial structure and invariance of the Mental Health Continuum-Short Form (MHC-SF—adolescents) across children and youths. Participants were from two different samples: 208 elementary school children (sample 1) and 216 middle school youths (sample 2). Results confirmed the three-dimensional structure of subjective well-being in both samples. The three sub-scales of the MHCSF yielded high internal consistency and results from the HTMT85 indicated discriminant validity. Measurement invariance testing across three different age groups (7–8, 9–10 and 11–14 years) confirmed the full metric and approximate scalar invariance of the MHC-SF. Full scalar invariance was achieved across gender. The study also compared the latent means for mental well-being in the three age groups, and found that the younger groups showed significantly higher levels of wellbeing. The present research study strongly suggests that the MHC-SF (adolescents) is an appropriate instrument to measure the positive mental health and well-being of children and pre-adolescents as multidimensional construct.     

The Quality of Genetic Counseling and Connected Factors as Evaluated by Male BRCA1/2 Mutation Carriers in Finland

There is little written about the quality of genetic counseling for men with the BRCA1/2 mutation. The purpose of this study was to describe the quality of genetic counseling and connected factors according to Finnish male BRCA1/2 mutation carriers’ (n?=?35) perspectives and reasons for seeking genetic counseling. Data were collected from the Departments of Clinical Genetics at five Finnish university hospitals. The exploratory study design was conducted using a 51-item questionnaire based on a previously devised quality of counseling model and analyzed using non-parametric tests and principle content analysis. The satisfaction level with genetic counseling was high, especially with regard to the content of genetic counseling. The benefit of genetic counseling on the quality of life differed significantly (p?<?0.001–0.009) from other factors. In particular, genetic counseling was in some cases associated to reduce the quality of life. Only 49 % of the male carriers felt they received sufficient counseling on social support. Attention to individual psychosocial support was proposed as an improvement to genetic counseling. Primary and secondary reasons for seeking genetic counseling and background information, such as education, affected the perceived quality of genetic counseling. The results of the study could be used to tailor genetic counseling for male BRCA1/2 mutation carriers.     

Polemics on Ethical Aspects in the Compost Business

This paper focuses on compost use in overpasses and underpasses for wild animals over roads and other similar linear structures. In this context, good quality of compost may result in faster and more resistant vegetation cover during the year. Inter alia, this can be interpreted also as reduction of damage and saving lives. There are millions of tones of plant residue produced every day worldwide. These represent prospective business for manufacturers of compost additives called “accelerators”. The opinions of the sale representatives’ with regards to other alternatives of biowaste utilization and their own products were reviewed. The robust analyzes of several “accelerated” composts revealed that the quality was generally low. Only two accelerated composts were somewhat similar in quality to the blank sample that was produced according to the traditional procedure. Overlaps between the interests of decision makers on future soil fertility were weighed against the preferences on short-term profit. Possible causes that allowed the boom of these underperforming products and the possible consequences are also discussed. Conclusions regarding the ethical concerns on how to run businesses with products whose profitability depends on weaknesses in the legal system and customer unawareness are to follow.     

The moderating impact of temporal separation on the association between intention and physical activity: a meta-analysis

Previous meta-analyses have estimated that the intention–behaviour association in physical activity (PA) is large in magnitude. However, these prior meta-analyses have also revealed a large degree of heterogeneity, suggesting the presence of moderating variables. This study examines the impact of one such moderator, testing the hypothesis that the magnitude of the association between intention and behaviour decreases as the temporal separation between the two increases. A systematic literature search was used to identify published and unpublished studies that met the inclusion criteria. A random-effects meta-regression was conducted to test the study hypothesis. A total of 78 journal articles and 11 unpublished dissertations were identified, yielding 109 effect sizes. The mean number of weeks between the measurement of intention and behaviour was 5.4 (SD = 6.6, range = .43, 26). The average correlation between intention and behaviour was r = 0.51. In line with theoretical predictions, temporal separation was a significant moderator of the intention–behaviour correlation (B = ?.014, p < .001) and explained 24% of the between-study variance. This result remained unchanged when entered simultaneously with several control variables. The results of this analysis have important implications both for researchers and for intervention designers aiming to increase rates of PA.     

Jealousy Revisited: Recent Philosophical Work on a Maligned Emotion

Taking as its starting point a previous work by the author which reviewed early philosophical sources on jealousy and proposed both a conceptual and moral account of this much-maligned emotion, the present article reviews the relevant philosophical literature from the last decade or so. Most noticeable is how scarce those sources still are. Special attention is given, however, to a new conceptual model proposed by Purshouse and Fredericks which rejects the standard architectonic of jealousy as a three-party compound emotion. While the essential contours of the new model are rejected, Fredericks is shown to offer some powerful misgivings about putative instrumentalist defences of jealousy. In addition to this new model, a number of other recent writings about jealousy – historical, conceptual and moral – are subjected to critical scrutiny in this overview article.