Religious orientation and coping with cancer

In this study we investigated the role of religious orientation in coping with stresses associated with cancer. A measure of daily coping and the Religious Orientation scale were administered to forty hematology-oncology patients in order to examine frequency of eight coping responses across religious orientations. It was found that proreligious and intrinsic participants used religion significantly more often than nonreligious and extrinsic types to cope with stresses associated with their cancer. We concluded that religious orientation and commitment influence the coping process, and suggest that religious commitment be included in studies of coping with cancer.     

SLEEP DEPRIVATION,ALLERGY SYMPTOMS,AND NEGATIVELY REINFORCED PROBLEM BEHAVIOR

We studied the relation between the presence versus the absence of sleep deprivation or allergy symptoms and the rate and function of problem behavior. Three students whose problem behavior was negatively reinforced by escape from instruction were studied across several weeks using analogue functional analyses. Our results indicated that the extraexperimental events were associated with (a) termination of instruction functioning as a negative reinforcer, (b) increased rates of negatively reinforced problem behavior, or (c) increased rates of problem behavior across all conditions.     

Affective, Continuance, and Normative Commitment to the Organization: An Examination of Construct Validity

Within the past few years, several studies have used the Affective, Continuance, and Normative Commitment Scales (Allen & Meyer, 1990; Meyer & Allen, 1984, 1991) to assess organizational commitment. The purpose of this paper is to review and evaluate the body of evidence relevant to the construct validity of these measures. Although some empirical questions remain at issue, the overall results strongly support the continued use of the scales in substantive research.     

Criterion validation of two approaches to performance appraisal: The behavioral observation scale and the relative percentile method

We compared the criterion validity of a new relative performance appraisal format (percentile-based ranking) to that of an absolute format (BOS) in a sample of 88 unit managers. Overall, our results suggest that the relative format has higher criterion-related validity than does the absolute format. These findings contradict conventional wisdom that format-related differences in measures of performance are minimal and that relative approaches to performance appraisal are inferior.This research was supported by grants from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC) to Richard D. Goffin, Douglas N. Jackson, John P. Meyer, Sampo V. Paunonen, and Mitchell G. Rothstein. Additional funding provided by a research grant from Imperial Oil Ltd. to Douglas N. Jackson.A version of these results was presented at the 7th Annual Meeting of the Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology, Montreal, Canada, May, 1992. Limited portions of these data, addressing distinctly different research issues, were published in Gellatly, Paunonen, Meyer, Jackson, & Goffin (1991) and Meyer, Paunonen, Gellatly, Goffin, & Jackson (1989).     

Supervisory styles index: Examining supervisees' perceptions of Supervisory Style

The goal of this research was to develop an instrument, the Supervisory Styles Index (SSI), that would examine supervisory style. Style has been described as the way in which the personality and convictions of the supervisor are demonstrated in the supervisory relationship (Leighton, 1991). This study focuses on the interplay between supervisory style and the influence of sex and gender. The findings of this study reveal that female supervisees discern their supervisors to be more self-disclosing than do male supervisees. Implications of the findings and utilization of the index are discussed.Portions of this paper were presented at the 52nd annual conference of the American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy, Chicago, Illinois, November, 1994.     

Culture change: A training program for recent immigrant professionals from the former Soviet Union

The article describes a training program in structural/integrative family therapy for immigrant professionals from the former Soviet Union at the Training Center of the Shiluv Institute for Family and Couple Therapy in Jerusalem. The program was instituted to meet the pressing needs of a mass immigration of half a million people that came to Israel between 1990 and 1992. This is a retrospective look at the journey of the initial group of psychiatrists and psychologists who changed country, culture, language, and professional orientation in just two years. The authors state their conclusions as to the most expedient way to organize therapy for families from the former Soviet Union — a population in need of help but lacking an awareness of therapy and suspicious of the outsider.     

The impact of parental divorce on the attainment of the developmental tasks of young adulthood

The purpose of this study was to assess the impact of parental divorce on young adult development. One hundred twenty-five participants provided demographic information and completed the PAFS-Q (college version) and the conflict subscale of the Family Environment Scale. Results indicate that parental divorce and family conflict significantly affect developmental task attainment. The interactions between sex and age and family structure (i.e., single-parent or stepfamily) were also significant predictors of post-divorce task attainment. Implications of these results for therapists as well as recommendations for future research are provided.This is a revised version of a paper presented at the annual conference of the American Psychological Association, Los Angles, California, August 1994.     

Retention and treatment failure in Classwide Peer Tutoring: Implications for further research

Knowledge of basic arithmetic facts aids in the acquisition and speed of performance of arithmetic operations. A peer mediated instructional procedure, Classwide Peer Tutoring (CWPT), has been shown to increase the rates and accuracy of students responses to academic tasks and to improve student performance on a variety of academic tasks. The present investigation evaluated the retention of 100 subtraction items by primary grade-age children with mild disabilities using CWPT for 10 weeks. Short- and long-term retention of items, and rate of correct responding were assessed. Results indicated that the students' average pretest score was 58.0% correct, and their average weekly posttest score was 87.12 correct, a 27% improvement in accuracy. Short- and longer-term retention measured on posttests was 88.7 % and 85.0% correct, respectively. Improvement in students rate of accurate responding to subtraction items practiced during CWPT was obtained. Student failure to learn particular items was not attributable to fewer opportunities to practice these items, less accurate practice, or item difficulty. Students reported positive evaluation of CWPT and perceived positive social and self esteem outcomes. Directions for future research focusing on retention and analysis of treatment failure are suggested.     

Co-morbidity of crying and feeding problems with sleeping problems in infancy: Concurrent and predictive associations

The co-morbidity of crying, feeding and sleeping problems at 5 months of age was investigated in a representative sample of 432 infants in South Germany. A crying, sleeping or feeding problem was reported in 32.7% of these infants by their parents and a further 14.6% had two or more of these problems. Little co-morbidity between crying and feeding problems was found. There were moderate to strong associations between crying and sleeping behaviours. Feeding problems showed little relationship to sleeping behaviour, but feeding type and frequency of feeds were related to night waking. Breastfed infants woke much more often at night. Crying and feeding problems at 5 months were poor predictors of sleeping behaviour at 20 or 56 months of age. Later sleeping behaviour was best predicted by infant sleeping behaviour. At 56 months, maternal distress due to sleeping and co-sleeping practices was predicted by maternal distress due to crying and feeding practices at 5 months of age. The predictions were significant but generally weak to modest in strength. Future studies on the consequences of crying or feeding problems should take into account patterns of co-morbidity. So-called ‘post-colicky’ sleep problems are not due to increased crying per se but rather appear to be the consequence of associated infant sleeping problems and parental caretaking patterns for dealing with night waking in infancy.