Moving toward interdisciplinary dialogue in mentoring scholarship: An introduction to the Special Issue

The study of mentoring spans a wide range of disciplines including psychology, organizational behavior, education, and social work, among others. However, until recently there has been little interdisciplinary dialogue among mentoring scholars. In this Special Issue we attempt to lay the groundwork for interdisciplinary research on mentoring by examining this phenomenon through the lens of youth mentoring, academic mentoring, and workplace mentoring. In this introduction we outline the aims of this Special Issue, provide a common definition of mentoring to guide the reader through the articles that follow, summarize the knowledge gained from the included articles, and offer insight into what we believe are important next steps for developing a multidisciplinary perspective on mentoring.     

A review of research methods in IO/OB work-family research

A methodological review was conducted of work-family (WF) research published in industrial-organizational psychology and organizational behavior journals over a period of 24 years (1980-2003). Content analysis was conducted on 225 individual studies published in 210 articles to categorize methodological features, including the research design, sources of data used, data analysis techniques, reliability and validity of measures used, and sociodemographic characteristics of the samples. Results support many of the criticisms of WF research and suggest that scholars publishing WF research in industrial-organizational psychology and organizational behavior journals could make greater use of longitudinal and experimental research designs, gather more multisource data, and move beyond the individual level of analysis. Adopting more diverse conceptualizations of family, including a greater proportion of racial and ethnic minorities, and studying workers in occupations other than managerial or professional positions also appear warranted. Finally, methodological trends varied across specific WF content areas, which suggests that distinct methodologies might be useful to advance knowledge of specific WF topics.     

Does Information That a Suicide Victim Was Psychiatrically Disturbed Reduce the Likelihood of Contagion?1

For example, psychological disturbance is stigmatizing, so knowledge that the suicide victim was psychiatrically disturbed may decrease the possibility that others will imitate the act. To assess this possibility, 306 undergraduate volunteers read a fictitious newspaper article about a 16-year-old high school sophomore, Pat, who committed suicide. There were 7 variations of the article, 4 containing negative circumstances (psychiatric disturbance, romantic relationship breakup, parents’ divorce, alcohol problems), and 2 containing positive circumstances (being a varsity athlete, being an honors student). A control group received no information about circumstances. Knowledge of Pat's life circumstances had no effect on respondents’ estimates of the possibility of the suicide being imitated, but did affect attitudes about the suicidal act itself and attitudes toward Pat's family. Apparently the circumstances surrounding the suicide have no affect on respondents’ estimates of themselves following suit, but do affect how they see the victim and bereaved family.     

Accurately Imagining Suicide: Imagine-Self,Imagine-Person,Observer Instructions1

To see if actor versus observer instructions influenced students' perceptions of social support during a suicidal crisis, 80 students completed social support, interpersonal reactivity, and suicidal behaviors questionnaires. In a yoked design, students who had been suicidal were matched with those who were instructed to imagine themselves being suicidal, to imagine that another person was suicidal, or to observe a person who was suicidal. Those who had been suicidal in the past (n= 20) were more suicidal than the other 3 groups (ns= 20). The suicidal group perceived high social support (belonging and appraisal), compared to the others, who perceived moderate support. Overall, nonsuicidal college students consistently underestimated their suicidal peer's social support, regardless of the instructions they were given.     

Religious Affiliation Influences on the Health Status and Behaviours of Students Attending Seventh-Day Adventist Schools in Australia

Students attending Seventh-day Adventist (Adventist) schools in Australia have been shown to have better health status and behaviours compared to secular norms, yet these schools cater for a high percentage of non-Adventist students. The purpose of this study was to investigate the influence of religious affiliation (Adventist/non-Adventist) on the health status and behaviours of students attending Adventist secondary schools in Australia. The sample included 1734 students who responded to a health and lifestyle survey that captured demographic details, self-reported height and weight, self-reported health status, mental health and select health behaviours. Students who identified themselves as Adventist reported significantly better health behaviours than the non-Adventist students in several behavioural domains, especially among the male students. However, this did not translate to a difference in health status. Further research is needed to understand the causal mechanisms responsible for the potential health advantage of Adventist students, which may include family or church religious influences.     

Associative and categorical relations in the associative memory illusion

What kinds of associations underlie the associative memory illusion? In Experiment 1, lists composed of horizontal, or coordinate, free associates elicited false recognition of critical lures much more often than did lists composed of vertical, or subordinate, category instances. Experiment 2 replicated this result, and showed that the difference between free associates and category instances was not an artifact of differential levels of forward or backward associative strength. Associative structure plays an important role in the associative memory illusion: The illusion is strongest when the critical lure lies at the same level of categorization as the studied items.     

The Family of Instruments That Assess Suicide Risk

In suicide assessment, Becks Scale for Suicide Ideation is used widely, though other adult and youth instruments are available. A creative, positive instrument is the Reasons for Living. Advantages of suicide questionnaires include rapid assessment, access to information that may be difficult to obtain by observations and verbal interaction, ease of completion for some, availability of established norms for some instruments, and indirect information provided by questionnaire responding. Disadvantages are the temptation to accept responses uncritically, the possibility that therapists or clients view the questionnaires as superseding the therapeutic relationship, the implication that suicide tendencies are static, and, at times, cost. Overall, sound clinical judgment is paramount when assessing for suicide.     

Mentorship behaviors and mentorship quality associated with formal mentoring programs: closing the gap between research and practice

Formal mentoring programs continue to gain popularity within organizations despite limited empirical research regarding how these programs should be designed to achieve maximum effectiveness. The present study examined perceived design features of formal mentoring programs and outcomes from both mentor and protégé perspectives. The outcomes examined were career and psychosocial mentoring, role modeling, and mentorship quality. In general, the results indicated that perceived input into the mentoring process and training perceived as high in quality were consistently related to the outcome variables. Implications for the design of formal mentoring programs and future theory development are discussed.     

PERSONALITY CHANGE IN WOMEN PHYSICIANS FROM MEDICAL STUDENT YEARS TO MID-40S

Scales from the California Psychological Inventory's (CPI; Gough, 1987) Externality and Control clusters, in conjunction with a case study, were used to investigate personality change in a sample of women physicians who entered a Pacific Northwest medical school in 1964–1967. A core of 40 women was retested in their early 30s and mid-40s. From mid-20s to early 30s, the physicians'decreased scores on CPI's Sociability and Empathy scales indicated a greater internality. Decreases on the Responsibility and Good Impression scales indicated greater tendencies to question duties and obligations. An increase on the Achievement-via-Conformance scale indicated greater ability to achieve in structured situations. From early 30s to mid-40s, a further shift toward internality was evidenced by decreased scores on Social Presence and Self-Acceptance. Gains in leadership potential and increases on the Responsibility, Self-Control, Good Impression, and Achievement-via-Conformance scales were also noted.