Consistent Partial Least Squares for Nonlinear Structural Equation Models

Partial Least Squares as applied to models with latent variables, measured indirectly by indicators, is well-known to be inconsistent. The linear compounds of indicators that PLS substitutes for the latent variables do not obey the equations that the latter satisfy. We propose simple, non-iterative corrections leading to consistent and asymptotically normal (CAN)-estimators for the loadings and for the correlations between the latent variables. Moreover, we show how to obtain CAN-estimators for the parameters of structural recursive systems of equations, containing linear and interaction terms, without the need to specify a particular joint distribution. If quadratic and higher order terms are included, the approach will produce CAN-estimators as well when predictor variables and error terms are jointly normal. We compare the adjusted PLS, denoted by PLSc, with Latent Moderated Structural Equations (LMS), using Monte Carlo studies and an empirical application.     

Daily hassles,their antecedents and outcomes among professional first responders: A systematic literature review

Occupational groups such as firefighters, military officers, paramedics and police officers are exposed to a combination of acute, severe and accumulated everyday stress. Drawing on the daily hassles perspective on stress, the aim was to synthesize existing research on daily hassles in professional first responder settings into a theoretical model. A systematic mixed studies review with an integrated design was undertaken. The selection process resulted in 40 articles meeting the inclusion criteria. The selected papers represented two literature reviews, one qualitative study, eight longitudinal studies and 29 cross‐sectional studies. Five superior categories emerged in the analysis: Individual antecedent and continuously framing factors, Environmental antecedent and continuously framing factors, Appraisal and coping processes, Daily hassles and Outcome. Suggestions for future research are presented.     

Positive affect predicts engagement in healthy behaviors within a day,but not across days

Motivation and Emotion - Identifying causes of healthy behaviors is important for harnessing health benefits. A growing body of experience sampling research suggests that positive emotion may drive...     

Muslim Adolescent Mental Health in Australia: A Cross-Cultural Comparison of the Risk of Developing Clinically Significant Psychological Problems

Journal of Child and Family Studies - This study explores the risk of developing clinically significant social, emotional, and behavioural problems among Muslim adolescents living in Australia...     

Testing Children’s Mentalizing in Middle Childhood: Adopting the Child and Adolescent Reflective Functioning Scale with Clinical and Community Children

Journal of Child and Family Studies - Beginning with Ensink’s seminal study (2015), the field entered a new era in which we were able to measure mentalizing in school-aged children. The goal...     

Psychotherapie auf Palliativstationen

Exemplary for psychotherapeutic activity in the ??sphere of death?? the article focuses on the present situation of psychotherapists working on palliative care units in Germany. For that a questionnaire has been developed which includes 17 items dealing with fields of concrete psychotherapeutic work, psychotherapy training, relations with teams and institutions, subjectively felt burden and contentment etc. The questionnaire was sent to most of the German palliative care infirmaries. There is a high presence of psychotherapists in these units who are well trained in different therapeutic methods, numerically led by behavior therapy and non-directive therapy. In addition most colleagues are qualified in psychooncology and specialized pain management. Surprisingly topics, such as death or spirituality are not so often found in therapeutic contacts as would be expected. Furthermore there is a rather negative outlook on the preparation for the palliative working field during psychotherapy training. This requires extensions and supplementary curricula concerning existential themes in psychotherapy. The psychotherapists feel well integrated in their therapeutic teams but many of them have a feeling of at best a mediocre appreciation in their institutions. In spite of the difficult and stressful work the general job satisfaction is stated as high to very high.     

Personality,life events and the course of anxiety and depression

Using data from the Netherlands Study of Depression and Anxiety, we examined among 1322 participants with a DSM‐IV diagnosis of depression or anxiety: (i) whether positive and negative life events influence 1‐year course of anxiety and depressive symptoms; (ii) whether personality traits (neuroticism and extraversion) predict symptom course and moderate the impact of life events on symptom course; and (iii) whether life events mediate relationships of neuroticism and extraversion with symptom course. Negative life events were predictive of both anxiety and depressive symptoms, while positive life events predicted the course of depressive symptoms only. Personality traits had significant predictive and moderating effects on symptom course, though these effects were rather small. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Dissoziation

Dissociation and dissociative disorders represent a heterogenous phenomenology of symptoms which are understood as a result of the disintegration of certain usually integrated functions of the psyche. Despite an ongoing debate among scientists about its causation the assumption of a trauma-related etiology is carried forward both in clinical and scientific contexts. Therapists often believe dissociation to constitute an infirm basis for psychotherapeutic treatments. Contrarily, research suggests several kinds of therapeutic interventions and combinations thereof in particular, to be effective in relieving patients even of complex dissociation if certain requirements are met. This review summarizes the historical and conceptual implications as well as recent developments in the concept, diagnosis and therapy of dissociation.     

Encouraging Active Classroom Discussion of Academic Integrity and Misconduct in Higher Education Business Contexts

The present study assessed business students’ responses to an innovative interactive presentation on academic integrity that employed quoted material from previous students as launching points for discussion. In total, 15 business classes (n = 412 students) including 2nd, 3rd and 4th year level students participated in the presentations as part of the ethics component of ongoing courses. Students’ perceptions of the importance of academic integrity, self-reports of cheating behaviors, and factors contributing to misconduct were examined along with perceptions about the presentation. Discussion sessions revealed that academic misconduct is a complex issue. For example, knowledge of what constitutes misconduct was not consistent across domains (e.g. exam contexts versus group work), penalties were not wholly known, and there was variation in perceived responsibility for reporting and representing academic integrity. Survey measures revealed that self-reported academic misconduct was more prevalent than expected with only 7.5% of students indicating they had never cheated in any way. Furthermore, results showed gender and year of study as predictive factors for issues related to academic misconduct. In general, students were receptive to this form of presentation. The implications of such instructional interventions for enhancing ethical behaviors in higher education classrooms are discussed.     

A robust classic

In the present research, we argue for the robustness of illusory correlations (ICs, Hamilton & Gifford, 1976) regarding two boundary conditions suggested in previous research. First, we argue that ICs are maintained under extended experience. Using simulations, we derive conflicting predictions. Whereas noise-based accounts predict ICs to be maintained (Fielder, 2000; Smith, 1991), a prominent account based on discrepancy-reducing feedback learning predicts ICs to disappear (Van Rooy et al., 2003). An experiment involving 320 observations with majority and minority members supports the claim that ICs are maintained. Second, we show that actively using the stereotype to make predictions that are met with reward and punishment does not eliminate the bias. In addition, participants' operant reactions afford a novel online measure of ICs. In sum, our findings highlight the robustness of ICs that can be explained as a result of unbiased but noisy learning.