Life Satisfaction,Sense of Coherence and Job Precariousness in Italian Young Adults

We investigated (in 95 Italians aged 19–29, of both genders, and who were all facing the transition to job): (1) the relationships between job precariousness, life satisfaction (LS), and the perception that the reality is comprehensible, manageable and meaningful (sense of coherence—SOC—Antonovsky 1987); (2) the potential buffering effect of SOC versus job precariousness on LS. The findings showed that (a) young adults with a higher level of education perceive less LS and higher manageability, and youths with a precarious job perceive reality as less controllable, manageable and meaningful; (b) manageability is positively related with satisfaction with close relationships and meaningfulness is positively related with LS in general; (c) meaningfulness also buffers the effect of job precariousness on satisfaction for close relationships; among precarious workers there is a curvilinear relationship with LS: youths with intermediate meaningfulness also show higher LS with respect to both low and high meaningfulness.     

Predicting the Vote: Implicit Attitudes as Predictors of the Future Behavior of Decided and Undecided Voters

Two studies assessed the predictive validity of implicit political attitudes in relation to voting behavior. In Study 1 , we demonstrated the validity of the adopted measure (i.e., the IAT; Greenwald, McGhee, & Schwartz, 1998 ) with a sample of voters who clearly sided with one of the opposing parties. In Study 2 , implicit political preferences were measured in a sample of undecided voters one month before the election, and actual voting behavior was assessed immediately after the election. Results demonstrated that implicit political attitudes were good predictors of future voting behaviors. These findings support the hypothesis of the presence of embryonic attitudes even in the case of those voters who at the explicit and conscious level deny any preference for one of the two opposing candidates.     

An integrating approach to the study of burnout in university professors

The aim of this paper is to use an integrative approach to identify the main correlates and/or predictors at different levels (personal, psychosocial, occupational and outside the workplace) of the burnout dimensions. The sample consists of 813 university professors. Results from statistical analyses show that there are, indeed, both common and specific predictors for the different facets of the syndrome. Specifically, while social support and optimism are selected to confirm all manifestations of burnout, other factors (work hours per week, time in the profession, hardiness, Type A behavioural pattern, life events, daily hassles) do increase the emergence of differential profiles. Lastly, findings are discussed and the main conclusions are presented.     

Learning approaches, self-regulation and achievement in three European universities

The current study seeks to analyze the relationship between learning approaches, self-regulation and performance. Data are gathered from three public European universities, one from the UK (University of Wales Institute, Cardiff) and two from Spain (Universities of Almeria and Granada). Two self-report measurements were used to collect information, the R-SPQ-2F questionnaire and the IATLP Scales. Results indicate that learning approaches are related to self-regulation and to academic performance. Different relationships with learning approaches are obtained depending on the type of performance analyzed (conceptual, procedural, attitudinal), which may account for divergent conclusions in other research studies. New lines of research are proposed based on the conclusions.     

Spanish adaptation of the Adolescents' perceived collective family efficacy scale

The aim of current article was the adaptation and validation of the Adolescents' Perceived Collective Family Efficacy Scale (EFCP/A) in the Spanish context. The sample includes 486 adolescents. Psychometric properties of the EFCP/A were examined with exploratory factor analysis, item analysis and reliability. Construct validity was examined by means of correlations with parental relationships (PBI). The correlations with drug use (tobacco, alcohol, cannabis) and coping strategies were also examined. Results supported the unidimensionality and reliability of the EFCP/A scale in the Spanish context. As hypothesised, adolescents' beliefs in collective family efficacy are highly correlated with the quality of their paternal and maternal relationships. Further, the adolescents who are convinced that their family is efficacious display more productive coping strategies and less drug use.     

Premarital precursors of marital infidelity

Premarital precursors of infidelity were evaluated in a sample of 72 couples (N = 144) who were taking part in a longitudinal study of marriage. Premarital self-report and observational data were compared for couples who experienced infidelity and those who did not experience infidelity in the first years of marriage. Couples in which the male engaged in marital infidelity were characterized, premaritally, by significantly lower male sexual satisfaction, lower male positive communication, and higher female invalidation, whereas couples in which the female went on to engage in infidelity were characterized, premaritally, by significantly lower levels of female positive communication, higher levels of male and female negative communication, and higher levels of male and female invalidation. Implications of the findings for future research on the prediction and prevention of infidelity are discussed.     

Developing elementary science skills: Instructional effectiveness and path independence

We explore the immediate and longer term consequences of different types of instruction about a central topic in middle school science: the “Control of Variables Strategy” (CVS). CVS represents the procedural and conceptual basis for designing simple, unconfounded experiments, such that unambiguous causal inferences can be made. CVS appears to be what has been called a “developmentally-secondary” process, because even though infants and pre-schoolers can make simple causal inferences from data, middle school children do poorly at CVS unless they receive instruction on this important topic in the science curriculum. In this study, 72 third, fourth, and fifth-grade students were taught CVS via two instructional methods located at extreme points on the direct-to-discovery spectrum with respect to the amount of guidance, information, support, teacher control, and feedback provided during training. Our design included near- and far-transfer measures (at 1 week, 3 months and 3 years). There were two primary outcomes, both of which replicated and partially extended earlier work by Klahr and Nigam (2004) [Klahr, D., & Nigam, M. (2004). The equivalence of learning paths in early science instruction: Effects of direct instruction and discovery learning. Psychological Science, 15, 661–667] First, at each of the three grade levels, many more children learned CVS in the explicit condition than in the exploration condition. Second, but equally important, what students learned was a better predictor of far transfer than the way that they learned.     

Living up to high standards and psychological distress

We argue and demonstrate that setting high standards, an essential aspect of perfectionism, is not associated with maladaptive responses in and of itself. Rather, our findings suggest that people's responses to their perceptions that they consistently fail to meet their own standards are maladaptive. More importantly, in the present survey study (n = 293), we extend previous research by showing that low personal standards and the perception that others are imposing high standards on the self operate in concert to strengthen the link between perceived discrepancy and psychological distress. Furthermore, in support of our moderation‐mediation model, regression analyses provided evidence for the mediating role of generalised self‐efficacy beliefs. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Temporomandibular Disorder in Brazilian Patients: A Preliminary Study

The objective of the current study was to evaluate disease-related beliefs, adherence to treatment, quality of life, coping strategies and cognitive status in a group of Brazilian patients with Temporomandibular Disorder (TMD). Thirty patients were evaluated with a semi-directed interview, the Coping Strategies Inventory, and a Mini-Mental State Examination. Although half (50%) of the patients had known their diagnosis long term, 40% of the sample were not correctly following proposed treatment. All patients had a similar pattern of pain behavior related to TMD, while disease-related beliefs, quality of life and coping strategies were variable. Expectations about treatment also had significant association with treatment adherence. The findings of this study suggest that a more thorough understanding of individual differences in TMD is warranted.