The multidimensionality of state and trait anxiety

Abstract.— The two major problems investigated were ( a ) the multidimensionality of trait (A-Trait) and state (A-State) anxiety, and ( b ) the relationship between A-Trait and A-State under neutral conditions, using two measures of A-Trait (SR-GTA and STAI-T) and two measures of A-State (BRQ and STAI-S). These scales were administered to a sample of Swedish university students (54 males and 105 females). Factor analyses of the GTA situational scales yielded an interpersonal ego threat A-Trait factor and a physical danger A-Trait factor. Factor analyses of the GTA reaction scales and STAI-T reaction scales yielded, respectively, two and three factors providing evidence for the multidimensionality of A-Trait. Results of variance components analyses of the GTA scales provided further evidence for the multidimensionality of A-Trait. Factor analyses of the BRQand STAI-S measures yielded four and three factors, respectively, indicating the multidimensionality of A-State. The correlations between trait and state measures were higher than the correlations between the two state measures, and a factor analysis of the trait and state scales did not yield separate state and trait factors, questioning the proposition that A-Trait and A-State are distinct concepts. Via latent profile analysis, it was possible to compare A-State differences for different A-Trait profiles. Problems for further research were discussed.     

Leading here-and-now groups

Here-and-now groups present common events that demand specific responses from leaders if movement toward desired goals is to occur. This article describes some of these events and explicit interventions that are useful in leading these groups.     

Emotional Stress: Investigating the Restrictiveness of Residential Security and the Pains of Juvenile Incarceration

The authors found significant differences in emotional stress levels experienced by juvenile offenders confined to facilities having higher degrees of security and structure.     

THE INFLUENCE OF TRAINING METHOD AND TRAINEE AGE ON THE ACQUISITION OF COMPUTER SKILLS

This experiment examined the influence of training method and trainee age on performance during training in the acquisition of computer software skills. A behavioral modeling training method yielded consistently superior computer software mastery compared with a nonmodeling approach. Older trainees exhibited significantly lower performance than did younger trainees in both the modeling and the nonmodeling training conditions. Findings are discussed in terms of strategies for overcoming older worker technological obsolescence.     

Elderly Persons as Intergenerational Child Care Providers

Programs involving elderly adults in the provision of child care services have evolved as a possible solution to problems identified by working parents and the elderly.     

Attitudes toward men's intergenerational financial obligations to older and younger male family members following divorce

In this study 116 men and 200 women randomly selected from phone books in the midwestern United States responded to a vignette designed to assess their attitudes about the obligation of men toward intergenerational family financial obligations following divorce. The hypotheses were: (1) Men will be perceived to have greater obligations to financially assist a father than to assist a stepfather or former father-in-law, and (2) men will be perceived to have greater obligations to financially assist a son than to assist an elderly family member. An additional research question was addressed: What rationale do people give to explain their beliefs about men's intergenerational financial obligations following divorce? Data were analyzed using chi-square tests (forced-choice responses) and qualitative methods (open-ended responses). Both hypotheses were supported. Obligation was greatest to offspring, followed by fathers, stepfathers, and former fathers-in-law. However, attitudes about intergenerational obligations were contextual, and they depended on relationship quality, resources available, acuity of need, and ongoing commitments.     

A Multi-Method Investigation of Two Family Constructs

Two family constructs—prominence and interpersonal distance—are examined. Their origins are traced in the experimental and theoretical literature. The validity of each construct is investigated using data obtained from 15 families with a symptom-bearing child. Validity is supported in both cases through the occurrence of significant correlations among different measures of the same construct. It is suggested that the current distress of the families being studied may have increased the clarity of the prominence hierarchies and dyadic distances that emerged.