Seminary Students and Physical Health: Beliefs,Behaviors, and Barriers

Journal of Religion and Health - As an occupational group, clergy exhibit numerous physical health problems. Given the physical health problems faced by clergy, understanding where physical health...     

Relational schemas and the developing self: perceptions of mother and of self as joint predictors of early adolescents' self-esteem

This 1-year longitudinal study examined early adolescents' (N=278, age 11-13 years) perceptions of their mother's behavior (affection, knowledge of child's activities, and psychological control) and of how they react to their mother (trust in mother, defiance, and debilitation) as predictors of self-esteem among peers. Perceived maternal affection predicted self-esteem for girls; perceived psychological control forecast lower self-esteem for boys. Perceptions of self as untrusting, defiant, or debilitated led to lower self-esteem. Furthermore, perceived maternal behavior interacted with perceived self-reactions to predict self-esteem: Perceived debilitation led to reduced self-esteem only under high perceived maternal psychological control; perceived defiance predicted lower self-esteem only under low perceived maternal knowledge. The prediction of self-esteem is clearly enhanced when perceived self-reactions are included along with perceived maternal behavior as predictors. Combinations of perceived maternal behavior and perceived self-reactions--relational schemas--warrant increased attention as possible influences on the developing self.     

Gender identity and adjustment in black, Hispanic, and white preadolescents

The generality of S. K. Egan and D. G. Perry's (2001) model of gender identity and adjustment was evaluated by examining associations between gender identity (felt gender typicality, felt gender contentedness, and felt pressure for gender conformity) and social adjustment in 863 White, Black, and Hispanic 5th graders (mean age = 11.1 years). Relations between gender identity and adjustment varied across ethnic/racial groups, indicating that S. K. Egan and D. G. Perry's model requires amendment. It is suggested that the implications of gender identity for adjustment depend on the particular meanings that a child attaches to gender (e.g., the specific attributes the child regards as desirable for each sex); these meanings may vary across and within ethnic/racial groups. Cross-ethnic/racial investigation can aid theory building by pointing to constructs that are neglected in research with a single ethnic/racial group but that are crucial components of basic developmental processes.     

Comparing self-esteem and perceived control as predictors of first-year college students’ academic achievement

Due to its widespread popularity, self-esteem is continually being promoted to students despite limited empirical support for its effectiveness in improving their academic achievement. As a result, constructs that are potentially more salient to academic performance, such as perceived control, have gone relatively unnoticed. Although past research has examined the link between students’ academic achievement and either their self-esteem or perceived control, few studies have compared both constructs simultaneously to elucidate which one is more important to academic success. This longitudinal study directly contrasted the effects of self-esteem and perceived control on the academic performance of 802 first-year college students. After accounting for incoming ability (high school grades), age, and gender, a structural equation model showed perceived control positively predicted students’ GPA. In contrast, the predictive effect of self-esteem on GPA was non-existent. Findings indicate that compared to self-esteem, perceived control is a more powerful predictor of first-year college students’ GPA. Implications for utilizing educational interventions to boost perceived control among college students are discussed.     

Academic optimistic bias: Implications for college student performance and well-being

Although optimism has several benefits, there are potential drawbacks associated with “too much of a good thing”. Within an academic context, a possible determinant of the adaptiveness of optimistic bias is whether students have a sense of control over academic outcomes: optimistically-biased (OB) achievement expectations paired with perceptions of academic control may enhance performance and well-being; optimistic bias in the absence of perceived control may result in disappointment, poor performance, and diminished well-being. The current longitudinal study examined academic control cognitions (ACC) among OB college students (n = 319) versus non-optimistically biased (non-OB) students (n = 321). We also examined the effects of academic optimistic bias on composite measures of college performance (perceived success, final psychology course grades, cumulative GPA, course attrition) and well-being (positive and negative emotions, health behaviors, future optimism) 6 months later; and determined whether ACC accounted for those associations. Significant MANCOVAs showed OB students had greater ACC, better subsequent well-being, and outperformed their non-OB counterparts. These well-being and performance differences remained significant after statistically accounting for initial aptitude and ACC. Overall, academic optimistic bias was accompanied by perceived controllability over scholastic outcomes, yet beyond the effects of ACC, optimistic bias was associated with better year-end performance and well-being. Findings have implications for maximizing the successful transition of first-year college students.     

Exploring Ethnic,Gender, and Sexual Orientation Variables in Supervision: Do They Really Matter?

This study explored discussions of cultural variables in supervision and their influence on supervisory satisfaction and working alliance. Results indicated limited discussions occurred, but when these discussions did occur, supervisees reported enhanced supervisory working alliance and increased satisfaction with supervision. These findings highlight the importance of supervisors initiating discussions of cultural variables. Este estudio exploró discusiones sobre variables culturales y su influencia en la satisfacción y alianza de supervisión. Los resultados indicaron discusiones limitadas, pero cuando estas ocurrieron, los supervisados reportaron un aumento en la alianza de trabajo y satisfacción con la supervisión. Estos resultados hacen notable la importancia de que los supervisores inicien discusiones sobre los variables culturales.     

What Makes Women-Friendly Public Accounting Firms Tick? The Diffusion of Human Resource Management Knowledge Through Institutional and Resource Pressures

Through the analysis of qualitative data, this research applies institutional theory and the resource-based perspective to examine why public accounting firms adopt women-friendly human resource management policies. The study reveals that 5 types of institutional pressures explain why women-friendly policies have proliferated in the public accounting industry. In addition to these institutional pressures, the proliferation of women-friendly policies in accounting firms has occurred because these firms are motivated to optimize available economic choices. Firms view women-friendly policies as a means to acquire, develop, and accumulate resources that will give them a competitive advantage in the marketplace. However, these women-friendly policies only provide competitive advantage when they are both valuable and difficult for competitors to imitate because of social complexity, knowledge management, and tacitness.     

How predictable is spelling? Developing and testing metrics of phoneme-grapheme contingency

Prior research has purported to show that words with infrequent phoneme-grapheme correspondences are more difficult to spell than words with frequent phoneme-grapheme correspondences. Defining exactly what a phoneme-grapheme relationship is, however, is not necessarily straightforward. There are a number of different assumptions that can be made. In this study, we developed four metrics of sound-spelling contingency based on all monosyllabic English words, including those with complex morphology. These metrics differed in the extent to which they included assumptions about spelling. The psychological reality of these different metrics was evaluated against data from a large-scale study of skilled adult spelling and a nonword spelling experiment. The results suggest that when spelling, people are sensitive to positional information, morphological status, vowel type, and a number of more idiosyncratic constraints.