Psychological capital bolsters motivation,engagement, and achievement: Cross-sectional and longitudinal studies

Psychological capital (PsyCap) has been widely investigated in the organizational context. However, limited attention has been given to the role of PsyCap in the academic setting. The primary objective of this study was to examine how PsyCap is associated with academic motivation, engagement, and achievement using both cross-sectional (Study 1) and longitudinal (Study 2) approaches. Study 1 revealed that PsyCap was associated with higher autonomous motivation and controlled motivation even after controlling for relevant demographic variables. PsyCap was also associated with lower levels of amotivation. Study 2 showed that PsyCap was both a concurrent and prospective predictor of autonomous motivation, controlled motivation, academic engagement, and academic achievement even after controlling for their respective autoregressors and other relevant covariates. Mediational analyses indicated that the effects of T1 PsyCap on T2 achievement and T2 engagement were mediated by T2 autonomous motivation. The theoretical and practical implications are elucidated.     

Feeling Half-Half? Exploring Relational Variation of Turkish-Heritage Young Adults’ Cultural Identity Compatibility and Conflict in Austria

Growing up in multicultural environments, Turkish-heritage individuals in Europe face specific challenges in combining their multiple cultural identities to form a coherent sense of self. Drawing from social identity complexity, this study explores four modes of combining cultural identities and their variation in relational contexts. Problem-centered interviews with Turkish-heritage young adults in Austria revealed the preference for complex, supranational labels, such as multicultural. Furthermore, most participants described varying modes of combining cultural identities over time and across relational contexts. Social exclusion experiences throughout adolescence related to perceived conflict of cultural identities, whereas multicultural peer groups supported perceived compatibility of cultural identities. Findings emphasize the need for complex, multidimensional approaches to study ethnic minorities’ combination of cultural identities.     

Perseverance Counts but Consistency Does Not! Validating the Short Grit Scale in a Collectivist Setting

The present research aims to validate the Short Grit Scale (Duckworth et al. Journal of Personality Assessment 91:166–174, 2009) among a sample of university (n?=?220) and high school students (n?=?606) from a collectivist culture (i.e., the Philippines) using both within-network and between-network approaches to construct validation. Our results revealed interesting cross-cultural differences in grit. First, grit was comprised of two distinct dimensions rather than as a hierarchical construct. Only the perseverance of effort dimension loaded onto the higher-order grit factor. Second, perseverance of effort was more salient in predicting key psychological outcomes (i.e., academic engagement and subjective well-being) compared to consistency of interests. This suggests that in collectivist cultures, the perseverance of effort dimension of grit is more relevant compared to the consistency of interest. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.     

Psychological Treatments for Symptoms of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder in Children,Adolescents, and Young Adults: A Meta-Analysis

Meta-analyses of the treatment of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in childhood and adolescence are restricted to specific trauma, selected interventions, and methodologically rigorous studies. This large meta-analysis quantifies the effects of psychological treatments for PTSD symptoms in children and adolescents. An extensive literature search yielded a total of 13,040 articles; 135 studies with 150 treatment conditions (N = 9562 participants) met the inclusion criteria (psychological interventions with children and/or adolescents with PTSD symptoms that report quantitative measures of symptom change). The mean effect sizes (ESs) for PTSD symptoms ranged from large to small, depending on the control condition. Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) yielded the highest ESs. Age and caretaker involvement were identified as moderators. CBT, especially when conducted in individual treatment with the inclusion of parents, is a highly effective treatment for trauma symptoms. Psychological treatments need to be modified to address younger patients’ specific needs.     

Distinct neuronal patterns of positive and negative moral processing in psychopathy

Psychopathy is a disorder characterized by severe and frequent moral violations in multiple domains of life. Numerous studies have shown psychopathy-related limbic brain abnormalities during moral processing; however, these studies only examined negatively valenced moral stimuli. Here, we aimed to replicate prior psychopathy research on negative moral judgments and to extend this work by examining psychopathy-related abnormalities in the processing of controversial moral stimuli and positive moral processing. Incarcerated adult males (N = 245) completed a functional magnetic resonance imaging protocol on a mobile imaging system stationed at the prison. Psychopathy was assessed using the Hare Psychopathy Checklist–Revised (PCL-R). Participants were then shown words describing three types of moral stimuli: wrong (e.g., stealing), not wrong (e.g., charity), and controversial (e.g., euthanasia). Participants rated each stimulus as either wrong or not wrong. PCL-R total scores were correlated with not wrong behavioral responses to wrong moral stimuli, and were inversely related to hemodynamic activity in the anterior cingulate cortex in the contrast of wrong > not wrong. In the controversial > noncontroversial comparison, psychopathy was inversely associated with activity in the temporal parietal junction and dorsolateral prefrontal cortex. These results indicate that psychopathy-related abnormalities are observed during the processing of complex, negative, and positive moral stimuli.     

Age-related changes and the attention network task: an examination of alerting, orienting, and executive function

The effects of aging on alerting, orienting, and executive function were examined with the use of the Attention Network Task, which combines the Posner spatial cuing task and the Eriksen flanker task into a single procedure. We found that older adults showed significantly less alerting than young adults in response to a warning cue, although there were no age differences in orienting or executive function once processing speed was taken into account. We suggest that age differences in alerting may depend in part upon the presentation duration or persistence of the warning cue.     

When wanting and fearing go together: The effect of co‐occurring social approach and avoidance motivation on behavior,affect, and cognition

Three studies investigated the association of social approach and avoidance motivation with cognition, behavior, emotions, and subjective well‐being. Study 1 (N = 245), a correlative self‐report study, showed that approach and avoidance motivation mediated the effects of adult attachment‐styles on social anxiety. A secure attachment‐style was associated with co‐occurring approach and avoidance motivation. Study 2, a social‐interaction study (N = 38), revealed an association of avoidance motivation with a negative experience and passive behavior, and approach motivation with a positive experience and active behavior. Interestingly, the interaction of approach and avoidance motivation predicted engaged behavior and a positive emotional experience. Study 3 (N = 203), an online survey, showed that subjective well‐being was negatively associated with high avoidance motivation, irrespective of the strength of approach motivation. Taken together, the studies show that social approach and avoidance motivation interact in predicting positive experiences and social behavior in a concrete social situation. However, from the long‐term perspective, the negative consequences of social avoidance motivation seem to prevail when approach and avoidance motivation co‐occur. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Online we are all able bodied: Online psychological sense of community and social support found through membership of disability‐specific websites promotes well‐being for people living with a physical disability

People with a physical disability are a population who for a number of reasons may be vulnerable to social isolation. Research into Internet‐based support sites has found that social support and an online sense of community can be developed through computer mediated communication channels. This study aims to gain an understanding of the benefits that membership of disability‐specific online communities may have for people with a physical disability. An online survey was administered to a sample of users of such sites (N = 160). Results indicated that users did receive moral support and personal advice through participating in such online communities. Further, results indicated that online social support and feeling a sense of community online were positively associated with participants' well‐being in the areas of personal relations and personal growth. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The relevance of sleep and circadian misalignment for procrastination among shift workers

This daily diary study contributes to current research uncovering the role of sleep for employees’ effective self‐regulation at work. We focus on shift workers’ effective self‐regulation in terms of their general and day‐specific inclination to procrastinate, that is, their tendency to delay the initiation or completion of work activities. We hypothesized that transitory sleep characteristics (day‐specific sleep quality and sleep duration) and chronic sleep characteristics in terms of circadian misalignment are relevant for procrastination. Sixty‐six shift workers completed two daily questionnaires over the course of one work week, resulting in 332 days of analysis. Results of multilevel regression analyses showed that on days when shift workers slept better and longer—compared to days when they slept worse and shorter—they had more energy and willpower available after sleep and subsequently were less prone to procrastination. Moreover, the more work times (permanent shift) were misaligned with employees’ sleep–wake preferences (chronotype) the more pronounced was shift workers’ inclination to procrastinate at work. The present findings provide important implications for shift workers’ effective functioning at work.

Practitioner Points

• To promote shift workers’ effective functioning at work, when scheduling shift work, circadian principles should be taken into account, and work times should be aligned with workers’ chronotypes.
• Day‐specific sleep quality and duration co‐vary with procrastination at work. Thus, on days on which procrastination would be especially harmful, sleep of good quality and of sufficient duration should be obtained.

     

Exploring the Association Between Peace of Mind and Academic Engagement: Cross-Sectional and Cross-Lagged Panel Studies in the Philippine Context

Peace of mind (PoM) has been associated with positive psychological and well-being outcomes. However, it seems that limited research has been done to assess the role of PoM in the educational setting. The present study addressed this gap through examining the association of PoM with academic engagement via a cross-sectional (Study 1) and a two-wave cross-lagged study (Study 2) in the Philippine setting. Results of hierarchical regression in Study 1 revealed that PoM was positively associated academic engagement even after controlling for relevant demographic variables, positive affect, and life satisfaction. In Study 2, results of the cross-lagged structural equation modeling showed that Time 1 PoM was associated with higher extent of Time 2 academic engagement even after controlling for autoregressor effects, Time 1 positive affect, and Time 1 life satisfaction. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.