Individual and Environmental Predictors of College Adjustment: Prevention and Intervention

In this study, an ecological model was used to expand the current understanding of what contributes to college adjustment. Individual and environmental variables, and their relative contributions to college adjustment, were explored. This study also included the additional feature of the examination of environmental variables as possible mediators between the individual variables and college adjustment. The sample included 240 college freshmen at a large urban university. As predicted, both groups of variables accounted for significant proportions of variance in college adjustment. Further, the combination of both groups explained a greater proportion of variance than did either group alone. Maladaptive coping and perceived university environment were the most essential to college adjustment. Surprisingly, social support and gender were not essential for college adjustment. However, the environmental variables proved to be significant partial mediators between the individual variables and college adjustment. Finally, possible interventions and suggestions for future research are outlined.     

Examining School Attachment,Social Support,and Trauma Symptomatology Among Court-Involved,Female Students

Court-involved youth (i.e., youth in the foster care and/or juvenile justice systems), and particularly those in residential placement facilities, often present with trauma histories that can impede various areas of development and functioning. These traumatic histories can negatively impact academic performance and school success, leading to poorer outcomes later in life. In particular, female youth in these systems exhibit unique responses to traumatic experiences that further complicate healthy development. This study assesses female, court-involved students (n?=?141), exploring the relationship between school attachment and school involvement, school social support (from peers, teachers, and other staff), and trauma symptomatology among a sample of residential placement students exposed to a trauma-informed teaching intervention over the course of a school year. It was hypothesized that higher school attachment/involvement and social support would be associated with lower student trauma symptomatology. As expected, findings demonstrated that students in the sample had experienced high trauma exposure, as indicated by their high trauma symptomatology. Unexpectedly, they also had high school attachment. Furthermore, higher school attachment was associated with lower trauma symptoms among students. On the other hand, students reported lower levels of social support from classmates, which was associated with significantly higher trauma symptomatology. Implications for future research are addressed.     

Patterns of attachment to organizations: Commitment profiles and work outcomes

Commitment profiles were studied with a sample of 572 hospital workers. Seven of the eight commitment profiles in Meyer and Herscovitch's (2001) typology emerged using K‐means clustering including: highly committed, affective dominant, continuance dominant, affective‐continuance dominant, affective‐normative dominant, continuance‐normative dominant, and uncommitted. Outcome variables included: turnover intentions, turnover, absenteeism, and person–organization value congruence. Results were consistent with prior findings in that normative commitment alone and in conjunction with continuance commitment enhanced the benefits of affective commitment. Turnover rates were much higher for poorly socialized employees suggesting that there is a self‐corrective effect in which uncommitted employees are more likely to leave their organizations.     

Perceptions of sexual harassment as a function of sex of rater and incident form and consequence

The purpose of this study was to investigate differences in perceptions of two “severity dichotomies” present in the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission Guidelines on sexual harassment. Alale and female undergraduates (N = 198), from a predominately white midwestern university, were given one of four statements based on these guidelines, varying “form” (physical/verbal) and “consequence” (economic injury/hostile environment) of the behavior. Analysis of variance results showed females rated the incident as more definitely sexual harassment and as affecting perfonnance more than did males. Participants reading “economic injury” statements rated them as having more effect on the victim’s job status than did those reading “hostile environment” statements. A multivariate analysis of variance revealed significant “consequence” and “sex” effects on several factors: A significant three-way interaction showed that males rated statements less negatively than did females, especially when the statement described “physical” behavior with “hostile environment“ consequences. Cluster analysis results are also presented.     

Spouse marital adjustment and patient dietary adherence in chronic hemodialysis: A Comparison of Afro-Americans and Caucasians

Abstract

This study investigated racial differences in the relationship between spouse marital adjustment and dietary adherence of chronic hemodialysis patients. Sixty-eight adult patients and their spouse were subjects. Fifty-two percent of the patients were Caucasians while 48% were Afro-Americans. Spouses completed the Locke-Marital-Questionnaire (LMQ) and provided demographic data pertaining to their patient spouses. The patients' predialysis potassium levels (indices of food intake compliance) for the previous three months were matched with the respective questionnaires. Afro-American spouses, especially males, evidenced significantly lower marital satisfaction than Caucasian spouses. Afro-American female patients seemed to be most compliant as far as food intake wasconcemed. Although the spouse LMQ score was negatively correlated with interdialysis weight gain. Afro-Americans who generally scored lower on the LMQ did not differ from Caucasians in so far as their adherence to the dietary regimen was concerned. Implications for improving quality of life of hemodialysis couples in general, and Afro-Americans in particular are discussed.     

Differentiating insight from non-insight problems

This study aimed to investigate whether a range of tasks that have been generally classed as requiring insight form an empirically separable group of tasks distinct from tasks generally classed as non-insight. In this study, 24 insight tasks, 10 non-insight tasks, and tests of individual differences in cognitive abilities and working memory were administered to 60 participants. Cluster analysis of the problem-solving tasks indicated that the presumed insight problems did tend to cluster with other presumed insight problems, and similarly the presumed non-insight problems tended to cluster with other presumed non-insight tasks. Performance on presumed insight problems was particularly linked to measures of ideational flexibility with a different pattern of results for the non-insight tasks. Spatial insight problems were linked to spatial flexibility and verbal insight tasks were linked to vocabulary scores. The results are discussed in relation to recent developments of dual process theories of thinking.     

Deleuze's Use of Kant's Argument from Incongruent Counterparts

The aim of this paper is to explore Deleuze's use of Kant's argument from incongruent counterparts, which Kant uses to show the existence of what he calls an “internal difference” within things. I want to explore how Deleuze draws out an important distinction between the concept and the Idea, and provides an incisive account of his relationship to both the Kantian and Leibnizian projects. First, I look at Kant's use of the argument to provide a refutation of the Leibnizian account of space, before showing how this criticism in fact rests on the question of the conceptual determination of object. Second, I show how Deleuze develops a taxonomy of difference on the basis of his reading of Kant's argument. Finally, I look at what Deleuze sees as the limitations in Kant's understanding of this concept and Deleuze's attempt to overcome these limitations through the introduction of the notion of the Idea, which will provide a genetic and nonconceptual account of the object. In doing so, I show why Deleuze takes the formulation of an adequate account of difference to be one of the central aims of his own metaphysics.     

Racial Differences in Work Attitudes: What You See Depends on What You Study

Differences in a constellation of work attitudes were studied with respect to black and white employees using a sample of healthcare workers. Preliminary analyses using MANOVA indicated that blacks had more positive work attitudes than did whites. However, systematic analyses of set of covariates including personal, lifestyle, and organizational variables eliminated all racial differences in work attitudes. Implications of these findings and directions for future research were discussed.     

A Recursive Frame Qualitative Analysis of MFT Progress Note Tipping Points

Medically oriented psychotherapists typically record progress notes by articulating client symptoms, diagnoses, functional status, progress, and adherence to treatment plans. This orientation can challenge marriage and family therapists working from discursive or post-modern perspectives. Although there are discursive therapy friendly treatment planning guides, no published research on such practice exists. To address this gap the researchers conducted a recursive frame qualitative analysis of 206 de-identified progress notes from 30 completed cases seen by MFT master’s students learning discursive approaches to therapy in a university-based training clinic. Researchers found students noted problem to solution-focused discourse tipping or turning points in 20 cases with positive outcomes and no comparable shifts in 10 cases with negative or unclear outcomes.     

Cancer Genetics Service Interest in Women with a Limited Family History of Breast Cancer

Women with a limited family history of breast cancer may be interested in cancer genetics information although their objective risk of breast cancer may not indicate routine referral to cancer genetics services. This study examined factors related to interest and use of cancer genetics services in a community sample of women with a limited family history of breast cancer (N = 187) who had no previous contact with cancer genetics services. Participants provided demographic information and ratings of perceived risk, cancer distress, attitudes, and intentions to initiate cancer genetics services. Participants were given information about a cancer genetics clinic that served women having concerns about their breast cancer risk. Women were contacted within 6 weeks and 8 months following their study appointment. Six weeks following their study appointment, 25% of women had initiated cancer genetics services. Eight months following their study appointment, 18% of women reported having completed a cancer genetics service appointment. Baseline intentions independently predicted both initiation at 6 weeks and appointment at 8 months. Cancer distress was positively associated with cancer genetics service initiation and appointment. Results suggest that some women with a limited family history of breast cancer are interested in seeking out cancer genetics information. Women with a limited family history of breast cancer may benefit from the availability of cancer genetics information provided through primary healthcare settings.