Collective efficacy versus self-efficacy in coping responses to stressors and control: a cross-cultural study

This study examined how cultural differences and efficacy perceptions influence the role of job control in coping with job demands. Perceiving higher control mitigated the effects of demands on psychological health symptoms and turnover intentions only among American bank tellers reporting high job self-efficacy. Among American tellers reporting low job self-efficacy, perceived control exacerbated the effects of demands. However, in a matched Hong Kong sample, collective efficacy interacted in the same way with control and demands as job self-efficacy had in the American sample. These differences appear to be explained by the individual attributes of idiocentrism and allocentrism that are linked to the societal norms of individualism and collectivism, respectively.     

Improving group decisions by better pooling information: a comparative advantage of group decision support systems

This study compared a group decision support system (GDSS) with face-to-face (FTF) group discussion on characteristics of information exchange and decision quality. Participants given conflicting information tended to share more of their unique data and engaged in more critical argumentation when using the GDSS than when meeting FTF. Conversely, when information was consistent among members, there were no such differences between FTF and GDSS groups. The GDSS groups significantly outperformed the FTF groups in agreeing on the superior hidden profile candidate, especially when there was a lack of prediscussion consensus. Individual-level analyses revealed that members of GDSS groups that did not have a prediscussion consensus tended to experience stronger preference shifts toward the group's consensus decision.     

Comparing the self-concepts of Hong Kong Chinese adults with visible and not visible physical disability

In the present study, the authors evaluated the self-concept levels of Hong Kong Chinese adults with visible and not visible physical disabilities. Fifty-five Hong Kong Chinese (22 men and 33 women) aged 18 to 55 (M = 39.50, SD = 10.21) participated-20 without physical disabilities (control group), 20 with visible physical disabilities, and 15 with physical disabilities that were not visible. All the participants responded to the Self-Concept Questionnaire for Hong Kong Chinese With Physical Disabilities (SCQPD; S. F. Tam & D. Watkins, 1997). The group with visible disabilities scored significantly lower in self-concept than did the control group and the group with disabilities that were not visible. There were also significant differences between specific facets of self-concept for people with visible and not visible disabilities. It was interesting to find that there was no significant difference in self-concept levels between the not visible group and the control group. The implications for rehabilitation and social services for these various groups are discussed.     

The Age and Gender Effect on Four Forms of Peer Victimization among Chinese Children and Adolescents

Applied Research in Quality of Life - This study is the first to examine the effects of age and gender on different forms of peer victimization among local Chinese schoolchildren in Hong Kong. The...     

Insomnia and eating expectancies among college students: the role of emotion dysregulation

There is limited understanding of the relation between insomnia and aspects of eating among college students though available data suggest salient clinical relationships. The present study explored a potential transdiagnostic mechanism in the relation between insomnia symptoms and eating expectancies. Participants were a racially/ethnically diverse sample of 1589 college students (80.4% females; Mage = 22.2 years, SD = 5.27) from an urban university. Primary analysis included three regression-based models of eating expectancies. Insomnia symptoms served as the predictor, and emotion dysregulation served as the indirect (mediator) variable in all models. Results indicated that insomnia symptoms yielded a significant indirect effect through emotion dysregulation on expectancies of eating to help manage negative affect, alleviate boredom, and lead to feeling out of control. Students experiencing insomnia symptoms may be at higher risk for experiencing dysregulated emotions and consequently maladaptive eating expectancies compared to good sleepers.     

Organizational citizenship behavior and counterproductive work behavior: Do males and females differ?

While there has been considerable research on gender differences in core task performance, gender differences in organizational citizenship behavior (OCB) and counterproductive work behavior (CWB) have been largely ignored. Gender-consistent roles of females as being supportive would lead to the prediction that females engage in more OCB and less CWB than males. Using meta-analytic data gathered across 395 samples, we found several (weak) gender differences in CWB but none in OCB. We explain null and weak relationships from the perspective of social role theory, especially regarding males' roles being career-focused.     

Sleep disturbance and neuropsychological function in young children with ADHD

Sleep disturbance, common among children with ADHD, can contribute to cognitive and behavioral dysfunction. It is therefore challenging to determine whether neurobehavioral dysfunction should be attributed to ADHD symptoms, sleep disturbance, or both. The present study examined parent-reported sleep problems (Children’s Sleep Habits Questionnaire) and their relationship to neuropsychological function in 64 children, aged 4–7 years, with and without ADHD. Compared to typically developing controls, children with ADHD were reported by parents to have significantly greater sleep disturbance—including sleep onset delay, sleep anxiety, night awakenings, and daytime sleepiness—(all p ≤ .01), and significantly poorer performance on tasks of attention, executive control, processing speed, and working memory (all p < .01). Within the ADHD group, total parent-reported sleep disturbance was significantly associated with deficits in attention and executive control skills (all p ≤ .01); however, significant group differences (relative to controls) on these measures remained (p < .01) even after controlling for total sleep disturbance. While sleep problems are common among young children with ADHD, these findings suggest that inattention and executive dysfunction appear to be attributable to symptoms of ADHD rather than to sleep disturbance. The relationships among sleep, ADHD symptoms, and neurobehavioral function in older children may show different patterns as a function of the chronicity of disordered sleep.     

Research Ethics Board (REB) Members’ Preparation for,and Perceived Knowledge of Research Ethics

The Tri-Council Policy Statement: Ethical Conduct for Research Involving Humans (TCPS) was first developed to establish a standard of practice in research ethics by the three federal agencies responsible for funding institutional research in Canada: Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR), Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC), and Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC). In 2010, a second edition of the policy, known as the TCPS 2, was released with updated information and expanded coverage of research ethics issues. According to the TCPS 2, the Agencies’ mandate is “to promote research that is conducted according to the highest ethical standards,” and the TCPS 2 serves as a benchmark for this with respect for human dignity as its underlying value. Research institutions receiving Agency funding are to comply with this policy statement by forming Research Ethics Boards (REBs) to review all research involving human participants. The intention behind this review requirement is to provide a proportionate assessment of the benefit-to-risk ratio of the research, and in that process, to safeguard “respect for persons”, express a “concern for welfare”, and uphold “justice” (CIHR, SSHRC, NSERC 2010, p. 8). Research may not proceed until ethics approval is granted by an institution’s REB. The current study evaluates REB members’ perspectives on their knowledge of research ethics, and juxtaposes these perceptions with those of researchers. Specifically, we are interested in the extent to which REB members with less experience read the TCPS 2, and whether those with less experience have decreased confidence in their ethics knowledge.