The short-term, medium-term, and long-term economic performance of immigrant women in Canada and the United States

This paper identifies and compares the factors that influence the short-term, medium-term, and long-term employment income of immigrant women in Canada and the United States. It is widely documented that immigrant women in both countries face barriers to employment, high status occupational attainment, and reasonable economic returns to their education, but studies typically fail to consider the various stages of integration. By examining the short-term (less than three years), medium-term (3 to 10 years), and long-term (more than ten years) stages of economic integration, we can identify factors that influence their employment income at varying stages of settlement. Results from the analysis of the Censuses of the United States and Canada reveal that the short-term stages of integration markedly affect the employment income of immigrant women in the medium- and long-term in both countries.     

A longitudinal and multi-method examination of interest–occupation congruence within and across time

Remarkably little research has addressed change and stability in person–environment fit across time. The objective of the current study was to address this gap in the literature by investigating Holland interest–occupation congruence across time for a sample of college alumni (N = 167) that were tracked during the first third of their professional career. Congruence was examined in all its complexity, including a repeated assessment of both occupations and interests, the use of objective (O*NET) and subjective (self-report) environment assessment methods, and adopting sophisticated congruence calculation methods (i.e., Euclidean distance and profile correlation). This resulted in a total of 12 interest–occupation comparisons within and across time that could be related to general and career specific well-being. The results first indicated moderate levels of stability in interests and occupations across the 15-year time interval, yet also with room for change. Congruence analyses indicated significant interest–occupation fit at the beginning of the career and 15 years later, with the magnitude of congruence slightly varying depending on which occupation assessment and which congruence method was used. Profile correlation congruence did not change over time in absolute terms and evidenced relative stability. Euclidean distance indices had little relative stability over time but did manifest some absolute changes in levels of congruence. Finally, job change moderated the association between interest–occupation congruence and life satisfaction in such a way that higher levels of satisfaction were reported only when little job change was present.     

The role of ambiguity tolerance in career decision making

The role of ambiguity tolerance in career decision making was examined in a sample of college students (n = 275). Three hypotheses were proposed regarding the direct prediction of ambiguity tolerance on career indecision, the indirect prediction of ambiguity tolerance on career indecision through environmental and self explorations, and the moderation effect of ambiguity tolerance on the link of environmental and self explorations with career indecision. Results supported the significance of ambiguity tolerance with respect to career indecision, finding that it directly predicted general indecisiveness, dysfunctional beliefs, lack of information, and inconsistent information, and moderated the prediction of environmental exploration on inconsistent information. The implications of this study are discussed and suggestions for future research are provided.     

The relationship among positive emotional dispositions,career adaptability,and satisfaction in Italian high school students

Using a sample of 242 Italian high school students, we examined the direct relation of hope and optimism on four dimensions of career adaptability (i.e. curiosity, confidence, control, and concern) as well as the mediating effect of these four adaptability dimensions on the relations of hope and optimism on the subcomponents of satisfaction. The results of the study demonstrated that both hope and optimism significantly predicted various dimensions of career adaptability. Additionally, the degree to which hope related to students' subcomponents of satisfaction was mediated by two of the four dimensions of career adaptability (i.e. curiosity and confidence). The dimensions of adaptability did not mediate the relations of optimism on satisfaction. These findings have implications for both research and practice.     

Guided self-help versus pure self-help for perfectionism: a randomised controlled trial

Perfectionism is known to be a risk factor for the development and maintenance of obsessive-compulsive (OC) and depressive symptoms. The purpose of the present study was to test the effectiveness of a cognitive-behavioural self-help therapy for perfectionism, and to examine the effect of such treatment on OC and depressive symptomatology. The study compares the effectiveness of guided self-help (GSH, n=24) with pure self-help (PSH, n=25) therapy. Both GSH and PSH were found to be effective in reducing perfectionism, and also in reducing OC and depressive symptomatology. Overall, participants in the GSH condition experienced greater symptom improvement than participants in the PSH condition, and treatment gains for both groups were largely maintained at 3-month follow-up. Twenty percent of PSH participants experienced clinically significant increases in depressive symptoms over the treatment and follow-up period (compared to 0% in the GSH condition), suggesting that PSH may be a less suitable strategy than GSH in treating this population. Overall, the findings suggest that self-help for perfectionism is effective in reducing OC and depressive symptomatology in non-clinical individuals, with GSH being superior to PSH.     

An analogue study of the effects of Psychological Debriefing on eyewitness memory

Sixty-one participants from the community participated in a randomised controlled trial of group debriefing to assess the effect of this intervention upon memory for a stressful event. Participants were randomly allocated to one of three groups: debriefing; debriefing with an experimenter confederate present (who supplied three pieces of misinformation to the group regarding the stressful event); and a no-treatment control. All groups were shown a very stressful video and were again reviewed after 1 month. Members of the debriefing group where a confederate provided misinformation were more likely to recall this misinformation as fact than members of the other two groups. The debriefing group was also more accurate in their recall of peripheral content than the confederate group. Across all groups, participants were found to be more accurate at central rather than peripheral recall yet more confident for incorrect memories of the video than correct memories.     

Expressed emotion in families of children and adults with intellectual disabilities

Expressed emotion (EE) is a measure of the affective relationship between two people characterized by criticism, hostility, and emotionally over-involved attitudes. Outside of the field of intellectual disabilities, there has been considerable interest in EE as an environmental marker that explains variance in the severity and/or course of a number of psychiatric disorders. Researchers have also studied EE in parents and found strong associations with children's behavior problems. In this review, we focus on the data from 11 published studies of EE in families of children and adults with intellectual disabilities. We conclude that there is evidence for the presence of high EE in some families, and that this alone should concern researchers and clinicians and set an agenda for considerable future research effort. We also note a lack of attention to the measurement of EE in intellectual disability. In terms of the existing evidence base, we suggest that there is support for the hypothesis that behavior problems in children and adults with intellectual disabilities may be related to high EE in parents, and a small amount of data predicting over time support the putative causal effect of high EE on maintaining or exacerbating behavior problems. Given that EE is perhaps best conceptualized as the result of an interaction between caregivers and those cared for, there is a need to explore interventions that may help to remediate high EE within families. It is also important to understand from this position that EE may be a normative part of the experience of caring for someone under very stressful circumstances and not something for which families are blamed. Other future research priorities and some implications for practice are also discussed.     

Remembering the Pattern that Connects: Toward an Eco-Informed MFT

Gregory Bateson, who is regarded as one of the founders of the field of family therapy, warned about the dangers of chopping up the ecology (literally and metaphorically). Yet the ecosystem is showing signs of faltering under the pressure of human mistreatment, and increasingly people are manifesting symptoms associated with extreme disconnection from nature. Although family therapists have devoted little attention to the relationship between human and ecological planetary suffering, as systemically trained professionals MFTs are uniquely situated to see the big picture and to promote integrative healing between individual, familial, and environmental levels. This article explores some of the factors underpinning the field’s lack of attention to ecological issues and provides recommendations for how MFTs can remember the pattern that connects by cultivating a more eco-informed approach to training and clinical practice.     

Community-Based Interventions to Reduce Low Income, African American Women's Risk of Sexually Transmitted Diseases: A Randomized Controlled Trial of Three Theoretical Models

A community-based sample of disadvantaged African American women (n = 445) was recruited to participate in 1 of 3 theoretically driven experimental interventions based on either the theory of gender and power, social learning theory, or cognitive behavioral theory. Intervention outcomes were compared with a waiting list control condition. From baseline to postintervention, women in the experimental interventions showed differential change on cognitive indices (knowledge and attitudes) and skill acquisition (partner negotiation skills, correct condom application, lubricant selection, and information-provision to social networks) whereas control participants were unchanged. Women in the 3 experimental interventions also completed follow-up assessments for 1 year following the interventions. In all 3 experimental conditions, condom use increased relative to the control group and there were no differences between the experimental interventions. Women who participated in one of the theoretically grounded interventions continued to increase condom use over the following year. Women entering new relationships reported significantly more condom use than did women who remained in ongoing relationships. The findings suggest that intervention models that have proven effective for women who engage in high-risk behavior may be less effective for women in established relationships for whom risk is primarily derived from the extrarelationship behavior of their partners.     

Effect of physical fitness program in the workplace

This study examined the effect of employee's participation in a physical fitness program in an industrial workplace on: job satisfaction, body image, and sickdays, using a pre-post matched control group design. Experimental and control groups (n's=23) were measured on the three dependent variables at the start of the fitness program and six months later. Analyses of covariance showed significantly higher job satisfaction, more positive body image, and fewer sickdays in the experimental group. Benefits of preventative health programs are discussed.Presented at 93rd Annual Convention of the American Psychological Association at Los Angeles, California, August 1985.