Anchoring Relationships at Work: High‐Quality Mentors and Other Supportive Work Relationships as Buffers to Ambient Racial Discrimination

Applying a unifying theoretical framework of high‐quality work relationships, we conducted a set of 3 complementary studies that examined whether high‐quality mentoring relationships can buffer employees from the negative effects of ambient discrimination at work. Integrating relational mentoring with relational systems theory, we first examined whether the presence of a high‐quality mentoring relationship buffers employees in a sample of 3,813 workers. In support of the “mentors‐as‐buffers” hypothesis, we found that employees who witnessed or were aware of racial discrimination at work had lower organizational commitment than those not exposed, but employees with high‐quality mentoring relationships experienced less loss of commitment than those lacking mentors. We then examined the specific buffering behaviors used by mentors in high‐quality relationships and whether these behaviors were effective for other work relationships and outcomes. Applying Kahn's typology, we developed and validated a measure of high‐quality relational holding behaviors in a sample of 262 workers. Using this measure in a third sample of 557 workers, we found that mentors buffer by providing holding behaviors, but we did not find this buffering effect when supervisors or coworkers provided holding behaviors. This potent mentor buffering effect held across a range of outcomes, including organizational commitment, physical symptoms of stress, insomnia, and stress‐related absenteeism. These studies suggest that mentoring may be a singularly effective relationship that offers a safe harbor for employees faced with ambient discrimination at work.     

Positive affect and suicide ideation in older adult primary care patients

Suicide is a significant public health problem for older adults. Identification of protective factors associated with reduced risk is important. The authors examined the association of positive affect and suicide ideation in 462 primary care patients ages 65 and older. Positive affect distinguished suicide ideators from nonideators, after controlling for age, gender, depression, negative affect, illness burden, activity, sociability, cognitive functioning, and physical functioning. There was a trend toward age moderation of this relationship. Clinical and theoretical formulations of late-life suicide should consider the role of positive affect, including the possibility that its protective effects grow more pronounced with age.     

Personality is associated with perceived health and functional status in older primary care patients

Using data collected on 265 primary care medical patients 60 years of age and older, the authors examined the personality bases of subjective health (perceived health, functional status) after controlling for observer-rated depression and medical burden. Four hypotheses were tested: High Neuroticism is associated with poorer perceived health, low Extraversion is associated with poorer perceived health, low Openness to Experience is associated with worse functional status, and age moderates the relationships between personality and subjective health. Findings supported the notion that personality is associated with subjective health; moreover, this effect appeared to grow more pronounced with increasing age. This study underscores the conceptual and heuristic value of examining moderators of the links between personality variables and health.     

The cerebrovascular model of depression in late life

Depression in older people, especially depression with an older age of onset, may be a manifestation of acquired brain disease. The cerebrovascular model of depression, often referred to as "vascular depression," hypothesizes that otherwise clinically occult small vessel brain disease contributes to the pathogeneses of some late-life depressive conditions. This paper reviews several lines of evidence supporting the cerebrovascular model and addresses the limitations of the existing literature. Several directions for future research are noted, including empirical testing of the notion that cerebrovascular disease might underlie the pathogeneses of depression with prominent executive dysfunction or other cognitive impairments. At this time, there are no specific therapeutic options for patients with suspected vascular depression beyond standard approaches to depression treatments, although education about the possibly greater risks of chronicity should be included in treatment planning. Therapy of cerebrovascular risk factors and stroke-risk reduction are important as consistent with general practice guidelines, although it is not known whether this will reduce the incidence or improve the outcome of late-life depression.     

The Distressed personality type: replicability and general health associations

The Distressed personality type, identified in a cardiac population, confers risk for worse cardiac outcomes. Whether such a class of persons is identifiable in general patient populations, as well as its health correlates, remains unknown. We investigated these questions in a sample of 482 older primary care patients. Mixture structural equation modelling revealed that a Distressed Type was identifiable in Five Factor Model (FFM) personality data and associated with higher levels of medically documented multimorbidity, and worse subjective health ratings, physician assessed physical functioning and interviewer rated psychosocial functioning. In models including paths from outcomes to both traits and types, traits and types were independently associated with health outcomes, pointing towards the value of considering both approaches in epidemiologic personology research. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.