Mitigating Burnout Among High-NA Employees in Health Care: What Can Organizations Do?

The purpose of this study was to examine the extent to which factors in the nursing environment have differential effects on burnout levels among nurses high and low in negative affectivity (NA). Specifically, this field study examined the moderating relationships among role ambiguity, role conflict, and collective efficacy on the NA–burnout relationship among nurses in a hospital setting. Findings suggest that perceived role conflict exacerbates while perceptions of collective efficacy reduce specific dimensions of burnout for nurses high in NA. These results offer some evidence regarding which environmental characteristics may mitigate burnout for high-NA nurses.     

Mothers’ attuned responses to infant affect expressivity promote earlier achievement of language milestones

To investigate infants’ affective expressivity and maternal attuned responsiveness to infant expressivity in relation to early language achievement, 77 dyads were visited in their homes at 9 and 13 months, and mothers were interviewed about their children’s language between 9 and 21 months. Maternal responses that were attuned to infant affect, by selectively matching either the gradient features or the valence of infants’ affective expressions, were more predictive of children’s language achievement than maternal nonmatching responses; and maternal matching responses at 9 months were more predictive of children’s language achievements than maternal responses at 13 months. Moreover, maternal matching responses at 9 months predicted second-year language achievements over and above infant affect expressivity at 9 and 13 months, and over and above maternal matching responses at 13 months. Infants’ affective expressivity per se was not predictive.     

JOB CHARACTERISTICS AND WELL-BEING AT MIDLIFE Ethnic and Gender Comparisons

Lacking in the research on work and well-being is a focus on the characteristics of the employment role that contribute to well-being and their differential relations across ethnicity and gender. White and Black women and men at midlife (ages 40-64) were studied. The samples were drawn from two national surveys and included 186 White women, 202 White men, 254 Black women, and 169 Black men. Multiple regression analyses were conducted to assess the relation of work commitment, job satisfaction, role stress, occupational status and personal income to perceived control, life satisfaction, and happiness. Marital status, age, and hours worked were included as control variables. Results indicate that job satisfaction is positively related to life satisfaction for all four groups, and to happiness for White women and Black men. Personal income is positively related to perceived control for Black women and White men, and to life satisfaction for White women. Occupational status is positively related to perceived control for White and Black women; role stress is negatively related to life satisfaction among White men, and to happiness among Black women. Among the control variable, being married positively related to well-being for all four race-sex groups.     

Research on Women of Color

Evidence that women of color are dealt with as anomalies in psychological research is discussed in order to: (a) inform researchers about the omissions, (b) stimulate interest in increased inclusion of women of color among research populations, and (c) demonstrate the need for increased diversity in research paradigms. It is noted that research paradigms directed at the study of the universal woman have in actuality focused on White middle class populations. This article examines the methodological and theoretical transformations that have occurred in the literature, and evaluates the extent to which researchers have successfully incorporated ethnicity into the study of gender issues. This is a call for an examination of women's experiences relative to ethnicity and a paradigmatic shift in the assumptions about what is worthy or appropriate for investigation.     

Self-esteem, academic self-concept, and aggression at school

The present study explores the relation between academic self-concept, self-esteem, and aggression at school. Longitudinal data from a racially diverse sample of middle-school students were analyzed to explore how academic self-concept influenced the likelihood of aggressing at school and whether high self-concept exerted a different pattern of influence when threatened. Data include self-reported academic self-concept, school-reported academic performance, and parent-reported school discipline. Results suggest that, in general, students with low self-concept in achievement domains are more likely to aggress at school than those with high self-concept. However, there is a small sample of youth who, when they receive contradictory information that threatens their reported self-concept, do aggress. Global self-esteem was not found to be predictive of aggression. These results are discussed in the context of recent debates on whether self-esteem is a predictor of aggression and the use of a more proximal vs. general self-measure in examining the self-esteem and aggression relation.     

FEMINIST RESEARCH METHODS A Content Analysis of Psychology and Social Science Textbooks

This research examined the extent to which research methods textbooks in psychology and general social science discuss feminist challenges and approaches to social science (N = 40 textbooks). Two dimensions were examined. First, within the nonsexist dimensions, textbooks were analyzed to determine if they used nonsexist language and if they discussed ways to avoid sexist bias in research. The second dimension was profeminist. Within this dimension four subdomains receiving considerable attention from feminist researchers were explored: (a) epistemology (or ways of knowing); (b) objectivity and subjectivity; (c) the relationship between the researcher and the researched; and (d) qualitative versus quantitative methodologies. Results demonstrated that although the majority of the textbooks did not use sexist language, they did not move much beyond this standard. There was little discussion of feminist challenges to these research issues. When the textbook authors did mention these topics, their analyses were most often inconsistent with feminist approaches.     

The etiology of psychopathy: A neuropsychological perspective

While there is no universally accepted cause of psychopathy, there are basic biological patterns in brain dysfunction observed in individuals who display psychopathic tendencies. These individuals show significant impairment in specific regions of the brain, particularly the orbital frontal cortex (OFC). Such abnormalities exist in brain areas most involved in impulse control and behavior inhibition. There are also significant environmental factors that the majority of these individuals have in common. For example, a strong correlation exists between attachment disorder and anti-social personality disorder (ASPD). Finally, the differences between ASPD, psychopathy, and sociopathy are considered. While these terms are often used interchangeably, there are clear differences between these psychopathologies.     

A COMPARISON OF THE EFFECTS OF BRIEF RULES, A TIMER, AND PREFERRED TOYS ON SELF-CONTROL

Some children make impulsive choices (i.e., choose a small but immediate reinforcer over a large but delayed reinforcer). Previous research has shown that delay fading, providing an alternative activity during the delay, teaching participants to repeat a rule during the delay, combining delay fading with an alternative activity, and combining delay fading with a countdown timer are effective for increasing self‐control (i.e., choosing the large but delayed reinforcer over the small but immediate reinforcer). The purpose of the current study was to compare the effects of various interventions in the absence of delay fading (i.e., providing brief rules, providing a countdown timer during the delay, or providing preferred toys during the delay) on self‐control. Results suggested that providing brief rules or a countdown timer during the delay was ineffective for enhancing self‐control. However, providing preferred toys during the delay effectively enhanced self‐control.