The Impact of Parental Suicide on Child and Adolescent Offspring

Child and adolescent survivors of parental suicide experience two stressful events simultaneously: (1) the loss of a primary caregiver, and (2) suicidal death of a significant person. These youths are thought to be at increased risk for mental health problems, but a systematic review of studies on these survivors has not yet been conducted. A comprehensive search for published literature identified nine studies. The existent studies provided modest yet inconsistent evidence on the impact of parental suicide on offspring psychiatric and psychosocial outcomes. More methodologically rigorous research is needed to inform and guide postvention efforts for these survivors.     

Recent Suicidal Ideation Among Patients in an Inner City Emergency Department

The rates and associated features of suicidal ideation among 5,641 patients seeking routine, nonsuicide related care in an inner‐city emergency department were examined. Approximately 8% of patients seeking routine care in the emergency department reported some form of suicidal ideation within the past 2 weeks. Suicidal ideation was common in individuals who were single with poorer mental health, had higher depression, and had received some drug or alcohol treatment in the past 3 months or had used cocaine or marijuana in the past 30 days. Improved screening procedures could help to identify routine care patients who are at risk for suicide.     

Time-to-passage judgments on circular trajectories are based on relative optical acceleration

Current theories of arrival time have difficulty explaining performance in the common but neglected case of nonlinear approach. Global tau, a variable supposed to guide time-to-passage (TTP) judgments of objects approaching on linear trajectories, does not apply to circular movement. However, TTP judgments are surprisingly accurate in such cases. We simulated movement through a three-dimensional cloud of point-lights on various circular trajectories. Arrival-time judgments were found to be above chance when observers had to determine which of two expansionless targets would pass them first. Similar to the inside bias observed in heading studies on circular trajectories, observers showed a strong bias to select the target on the inside of their own curved motion path as passing by first. Analysis of the projected target motion revealed that targets on the inside had lower optical velocities and relatively high optical acceleration rates. Empirical TTP judgments agreed best with a strategy based on relative optical velocity changes.     

Proactive Personality, Employee Creativity, and Newcomer Outcomes: A Longitudinal Study

Purpose  To examine the relationship between proactive personality, employee creativity, and newcomer outcomes (i.e., career satisfaction and perceived insider status). Design/methodology/approach   A survey was conducted using a 3-wave longitudinal design with 146 Hong Kong Chinese employees from various organizations. Structural equation modeling was used to test the research hypotheses including the mediation effects. Findings   Proactive personality was positively associated with employee creativity and employee creativity was positively associated with career satisfaction and perceived insider status. In addition, employee creativity fully mediated the relationships between proactive personality and career satisfaction and perceived insider status. Implications   Based on self-reported responses, these data show that newcomers with a proactive personality shape their work environments in part through creative behavior, which in turn leads to feelings of career satisfaction and perceptions of being an organizational insider. Our study’s results also show that employee creativity is positively and significantly related to workers’ career satisfaction and perceived insider status, suggesting that employee creativity can improve employees’ attitudes toward their career and perceptions as valued and contributing organizational insiders. Future research may examine other possible variables that might mediate the relationship between proactive personality and individual outcomes. Originality/value  One of the few studies that have examined the intervening mechanism by which proactive personality leads to employee outcomes and examined the effects of proactive personality on employee outcomes in Asian culture. Received and reviewed by former editor, George Neuman.     

“I Wouldn’t Classify Myself as a Patient”: The Importance of a “Well-being” Environment for Individuals Receiving Counseling about Familial Cancer Risk

Many individuals receiving genetic counseling are healthy with no need for clinical cancer services. We have recently relocated our cancer genetic clinic to a small house on the outskirts of a hospital site which incorporates many elements proven to be important in creating a “well-being” environment. This study explored participants’ perceptions of such an environment. Eleven semi-structured telephone interviews were conducted with women who had attended the new cancer genetic clinic. All were at high risk of familial cancer, five were gene carriers and three had a personal diagnosis of cancer. The new clinic was perceived to be less medical and more relaxing than other clinics, encouraged other family members to attend in support of the attendee and did not appear to impede information comprehension. The importance of not being made to feel like an ill patient was apparent. A desire for a quiet area allowing time for reflection whilst waiting for, and following, counseling was identified. A poorly designed counseling area could reduce the quality of the interaction between patient and counselor. Consideration of specific environmental design features may promote individuals’ well-being and make those attending genetic counseling feel less like “patients.” Larger studies should seek to explore further the potential associations between factors such as environmental design, psychological well-being and comprehension of risk information.