Levels of Desired, Actual, and Perceived Control of Employee Involvement in Decision Making: An Empirical Investigation

Using data obtained from 826 non-managers, this paper explores the effects of age, education and gender on the desired and actual levels of employee involvement in decision making. Analysis of five decision-making dimensions indicated that, though age and education appear to have an effect on desire for employee's involvement in decision-making processes, gender does not appear to be an influence. A discussion of this study's implications for human resource practice and suggestions for future research are presented.     

Impact of Psychoeducational Interventions on Distressed Family Caregivers

This study compared the effectiveness of two active interventions to a waiting-list control condition to reduce depression and burden and increase use of adaptive coping strategies in family caregivers (N = 161) of physically and/or cognitively impaired older adults. Chi-square analysis of change in depression status from pre- to postintervention showed a higher percentage of improvement among participants in the increasing life satisfaction psychoeducational condition compared to the improvement rate in either the problem-solving psychoeducational class or the wait-list condition. Change in coping strategies and subjective level of burden also differed by group, with participants in the class conditions reporting more frequent use of cognitive or behavioral coping strategies, and less subjective burden, from pre- to postintervention. There was no change in either avoidant coping or perceived stress over time. Results show that intervention programs targeted to improve specific coping skills and psychological symptoms can have a significant impact on caregivers' distress.     

2004 CAROLYN SHERIF AWARD ADDRESS: HEART DISEASE AND GENDER INEQUITY

Individual patient records from the National Hospital Discharge Survey for 1988 and 1998 comprising approximately 10 million cases were the basis for a binary logistic regression model to predict coronary artery bypass graft. Patterns in 1988 and in 1998 indicated a dramatic and pernicious gender discrepancy in medical decisions involving bypass surgery. Overall, men were twice as likely to have bypass as were women with comparable medical profiles. This result was particularly evident for women in their 40s and 50s, when angina was a primary diagnosis, and in the presence of any comorbid condition (e.g., diabetes or hypertension). Failure to pursue proactive case management of women with heart disease costs women's lives.     

Apples and Oranges: Divergent Meanings of Parents' and Adolescents' Perceptions of Parental Influence

This study examines the hypothesis that effective parental influence stems from the qualities of the parent-adolescent relationship rather than from explicit efforts to alter adolescents' behaviors. Adolescents' versus parents' perceptions of parental influence as predictors of parent-adolescent relationship quality and of adolescents' social functioning are examined using observational and multireporter data obtained from a sample of 167 adolescents (90 female, 77 male; age M = 13.34 years, SD = 0.65), their parents, and their same-sex peers. Analyses revealed that adolescents' and parents' perceptions of parental influence were uncorrelated with one another and were differentially related to qualities of adolescents' relationships with parents and friends. Adolescents' perceptions of high parental influence were linked to observations and self-reports of warm, supportive relationships with parents (particularly mothers). In contrast, parents' reports of high influence were linked to lower levels of adolescent autonomy with parents and friends and less relatedness with mothers and friends.     

MENOPAUSE RESEARCH AND THE DOMINANCE OF THE BIOMEDICAL MODEL 1984–1994

Popular images and stereotypes of women in the menopausal age range are overwhelmingly negative. Because these stereotypes are likely both to influence and to be influenced by published scholarship, it is particularly important to examine conventional knowledge as it has been represented in science-based journals. In an effort to examine the extent and nature of the accepted knowledge base regarding menopause, a survey of both medical and psychological journal articles was conducted for the years 1984–1994. Publication trends revealed a predominance of articles based on a biomedical paradigm and the virtual absence of articles presenting alternative perspectives on midlife. Ten serious methodological problems common to this literature are delineated, including such fundamental errors as failure to acquire baseline data, lack of control groups, vague operational definitions, and blatantly pejorative language. We also discuss conceptual flaws implicit in the predominant paradigm, including the messages that women are different, sicker, and weaker than a normal, male, ideal. Finally, we consider the implications of these social constructions for the political, social, and psychological status of women.