Forgotten but not gone: An examination of fit between leader consideration and initiating structure needed and received

We examined the effects of fit between leader consideration and initiating structure needed and received on employees' work-related attitudes (i.e., trust in the supervisor, job satisfaction, and affective commitment to the organization). Consistent with predictions that derive from the person-environment fit research tradition, results from Study 1 suggested that deficient amounts of both leadership behaviors were associated with unfavorable attitudinal outcomes. However, while excess levels of consideration were associated with favorable attitudinal outcomes, excess levels of initiating structure were associated with unfavorable attitudes, and for both forms of leadership, higher levels of absolute fit were associated with more favorable outcomes. Results from Study 2 suggested that attitudes generated by the fit between leadership needed and received influence employees' organizational citizenship behavior as reported by their supervisors. The relationship between consideration needed and received and subordinates' organizational citizenship behavior relating to individuals (OCBI) and organizational citizenship behavior relating to the organization itself (OCBO) was partially mediated by employees' trust in the supervisor, while the relationship between initiating structure needed and received and OCBI was fully mediated by trust in the supervisor, and for OCBO was partially mediated. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved).     

Security of attachment and quality of mother-toddler social interaction in a high-risk sample

The quality of children's social interactions and their attachment security with a primary caregiver are two widely studied indices of socioemotional functioning in early childhood. Although both Bowlby and Ainsworth suggested that the parent-child interactions underlying the development of attachment security could be distinguished from other aspects of parent-child interaction (e.g., play), relatively little empirical research has examined this proposition. The aim of the current study was to explore this issue by examining concurrent relations between toddler's attachment security in the Strange Situation Procedure and quality of mother-child social interaction in a high-risk sample of toddlers characterized by prenatal cocaine exposure and low levels of maternal education. Analyses of variance suggested limited relations between attachment security and quality of social interaction. Further research examining the interrelations among various components of the parent-child relationship is needed.     

Preferring the One in the Middle: Further Evidence for the Centre‐stage Effect

The location of an item influences a person's preference for that item, but it is unclear whether there is a preference for items located on the right or in the centre. In replication of the centre‐stage effect, it was found that when participants were presented with a line of five pictures, they preferred pictures in the centre rather than at either end. This applies when the line of pictures was arranged horizontally or vertically and when participants selected from five pairs of identical socks arranged vertically. The results support the centre‐stage explanation of location‐based preference rather than the hemispheric difference or body‐specific accounts. Implications of the effects of location on consumer choices and preference decisions are discussed. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Early Predictors of Urban Adolescents’ Community Violence Exposure

This study examined the extent to which individual, peer, and family factors predicted the onset of community violence exposure in middle and high school, as well as the indirect effects of early factors. We were particularly interested in the timing of exposure to community violence during adolescence, and thus conducted survival analyses on data from 632 urban youth, followed from first grade through high school. Early aggressive behavior and poor academic readiness were associated with an earlier onset of community violence exposure in adolescence. The effects of early aggression on community violence exposure and victimization were accounted for, in part, by peer rejection and deviant peer affiliation; there was no evidence of moderation by gender or parental monitoring. Findings highlight potential targets for preventive interventions with youth at risk of community violence exposure.     

Visual orienting with central and peripheral precues: Deconfounding the contributions of cue eccentricity,cue discrimination and spatial correspondence

Five experiments examined effects of spatial precues on visual attention. Precues consisted of letters (X, T, O) presented bilaterally at central and peripheral locations.In the spatial correspondence conditions targets tended (p= .8) to appear on the same side as one of the letters. In the spatial translation conditions the bilateral letters were identical; one letter (e.g., X) indicated that the target would probably (p= .8) appear on the left, and the other (e.g., T) indicated that the target would probably appear on the right. In the spatial correspondence conditions (Experiments 1, 3A, 4, and 5) response latencies were quicker on valid than invalid trials, even at very brief (0 ms, 33 ms, 66 ms, 100 ms) stimulus onset asynchronies (SOAs) between cue and target onset. Also,the dynamic pattern of cost and benefit resembled that seen in previous studies with unilateral peripheral precues. In the spatial translation conditions (Experiments 2 and 3B), a clear advantage for valid trials was only apparent at somewhat longer SOAs (150 ms, 300 ms, 500 ms). Results show that the need to discriminate between cue stimuli, and the visual eccentricity of cues, are not critical factors mediating attentional effects of spatial precues. However, the presence or absence of spatial correspondence between the location of a cue stimulus and the location of the target was critically important.     

Religious Prosociality and Aggression: It's Real

Individual religiosity relates to prosocial attitudes, behavioral intentions, and behaviors of minimal (no/low cost; limited to in‐group members) prosociality in hypothetical situations. Yet evidence on religious prosociality through other‐oriented, costly helping behavior in real life is still to be documented. Similarly, religiosity relates to cognitive, emotional, and attitudinal components of prejudice toward moral out‐groups. Evidence on real behavior of prejudice is nevertheless still needed. In two experiments using the same measure of religiosity and samples from the same population, religiosity predicted helping, in a real‐life context, of an in‐group member in need (Experiment 1) as well as overt and direct aggression by means of allocating hot sauce to a gay, but not to a neutral, target (Experiment 2). Religious prosociality and aggression are real, concern distinct kinds of targets, and are at the heart of personal religiosity.     

Neighborhood Racial Composition,Racial Discrimination,and Depressive Symptoms in African Americans

While evidence indicates that experienced racial discrimination is associated with increased depressive symptoms for African Americans, there is little research investigating predictors of experienced racial discrimination. This paper examines neighborhood racial composition and sociodemographic factors as antecedents to experienced racial discrimination and resultant levels of depressive symptoms among African American adults. The sample included 505 socioeconomically-diverse African American adults from Baltimore, MD. Study data were obtained via self-report and geocoding of participant addresses based on 2010 census data. Study hypotheses were tested using multiple pathways within a longitudinal Structural Equation Model. Experienced racial discrimination was positively associated with age and sex such that older individuals and males experienced increased levels of racial discrimination. In addition, the percentage of White individuals residing in a neighborhood was positively associated with levels of experienced racial discrimination for African American neighborhood residents. Experienced racial discrimination was positively associated with later depressive symptoms. Neighborhood-level contextual factors such as neighborhood racial composition and individual differences in sociodemographic characteristics appear to play an important role in the experience of racial discrimination and the etiology of depression in African American adults.     

Resilience of Professional Counselors Following Hurricanes Katrina and Rita

Professional counselors who provided services to those affected by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita completed the K6+ (screen for severe mental illness), the Posttraumatic Growth Inventory, and the Professional Quality of Life Scale. Results indicated that participants who survived the hurricanes had higher levels of posttraumatic growth than participants who served as volunteers. Both volunteer and survivor‐volunteer participants were susceptible to compassion fatigue. To further resiliency, self‐care strategies were found to minimize burnout, compassion fatigue, and vicarious traumatization.     

Capturing the Child’s Perspective: A Review of Self-Report Measures used with Children

Recent policy extends the patient-professional collaboration in making health care decisions to children. As a result, the development of self-reporting measures allowing children to express their concerns is growing. A literature review identified 33 self-report measures for children among a range of disciplines. While these tools allow children to be part of the rehabilitation process, the information obtained does not seem to capture what matters to children. This is particularly true for children with mental illness whose views are often ignored. More research is needed on clinical approaches that access the unique experiences of children with mental illness.