Efficacy or inefficacy, that's the question: burnout and work engagement, and their relationships with efficacy beliefs

We challenge traditional view that lack of efficacy - measured with the corresponding reversed efficacy scale (Maslach Burnout Inventory, MBI) - is a burnout dimension. Instead, we claim that in addition to exhaustion and cynicism, inefficacy - measured with a newly developed scale - characterizes burnout. MBI-efficacy is apparently related to work engagement, considered as the positive antithesis of burnout. We performed Structural Equation Modeling in two samples of Spanish (n=239) and Dutch (n=235) university students, and two Spanish employee samples, working in various jobs (n=342) and working with information and communication technologies (n=283). Our expectations were largely confirmed: (1) compared with efficacy beliefs inefficacy beliefs relate more strongly to the other two burnout components; (2) the alternative three-factor burnout model including inefficacy fits better to the data than the traditional model including efficacy; (3) a model with inefficacy loading on burnout and efficacy loading on engagement fits the data. It is suggested that an inefficacy scale rather than a reversed efficacy scale should be used to assess burnout in future studies.     

The acute effects of nicotine on positive and negative affect in adolescent smokers

Although adolescent cigarette smoking remains a critical public health concern, little is known about the reinforcing mechanisms governing smoking in this vulnerable population. To assess predictions derived from both positive and negative reinforcement models of drug use, the authors measured the acute effects of nicotine, as administered via tobacco cigarettes, on both positive and negative affect in a group of 15- to 18-year-old smokers. A matched group of nonsmokers served as a comparison group. Findings revealed that whereas adolescents who smoked a cigarette experienced reductions in both positive and negative affect, the observed reductions in negative affect were moderated by nicotine content of the cigarette (high yield vs. denicotinized), level of nicotine dependence, level of baseline craving, and smoking expectancies pertinent to negative affect regulation. Nonsmokers experienced no change in affect over the 10-min assessment period, and no interaction effects were observed for positive affect. Overall, the findings conform to a negative reinforcement model of nicotine effects and strongly suggest that, even among young light smokers, nicotine dependence and resultant withdrawal symptomatology may serve as motivating factors governing smoking behavior.     

Web Site Design, Self-Monitoring Style, and Consumer Preference

This study aims to advance understanding of Internet interactions by considering the impact of Web site design and self-monitoring style on consumer preference. Four quasi-commercial Web sites were constructed containing identical information presented via a context-based (animated) or content-based (unanimated) design, and 2 advertisements of either image- or information-oriented style. Using a between-participants design, the study found that all individuals favored context-based over content-based Web site design. Matching advertising appeal to individual self-monitoring needs was found to increase Web site effectiveness of consumer preference for high self-monitors, and within Web site satisfaction and level of persuasion for low self-monitors. Results suggest that to reach their potential as a consumer-sensitive tool, Web sites must be engaging in their design and tailor their communications to accommodate individual differences.     

Why do Managers Engage in Trustworthy Behavior? A Multilevel Cross‐Cultural Study in 18 Countries

Drawing on theories of generalized exchange and the norm of indirect reciprocity, we conceptualize subordinates’ organizational citizenship behavior directed toward the organization (OCBO) and directed toward peers (OCBI) as antecedents of managerial trustworthy behavior and examine how managers’ affective trust in subordinates mediates this relationship. We also investigate the extent to which this mediation is moderated by the level of collectivism in a society. Data were collected from 741 managers and 2,111 subordinates in 18 countries representing all major cultural regions of the world. We find support for our hypothesized moderated mediation in that managers’ affective trust in subordinates mediates the relationships between both subordinates’ OCBO and managerial trustworthy behavior, and subordinates’ OCBI and managerial trustworthy behavior across the different countries studied. Further, managers’ affective trust in subordinates only mediates the relationships between both types of citizenship behavior and managerial trustworthy behavior when collectivism is low to medium but not when it is high. Implications for research on cross‐cultural psychology, trust, and organizational citizenship behavior are discussed.     

Beyond Deficits: Intimate Partner Violence,Maternal Parenting,and Child Behavior Over Time

Exposure to intimate partner violence (IPV) has negative consequences for children’s well-being and behavior. Much of the research on parenting in the context of IPV has focused on whether and how IPV victimization may negatively shape maternal parenting, and how parenting may in turn negatively influence child behavior, resulting in a deficit model of mothering in the context of IPV. However, extant research has yet to untangle the interrelationships among the constructs and test whether the negative effects of IPV on child behavior are indeed attributable to IPV affecting mothers’ parenting. The current study employed path analysis to examine the relationships among IPV, mothers’ parenting practices, and their children’s externalizing behaviors over three waves of data collection among a sample of 160 women with physically abusive partners. Findings indicate that women who reported higher levels of IPV also reported higher levels of behavior problems in their children at the next time point. When parenting practices were examined individually as mediators of the relationship between IPV and child behavior over time, one type of parenting was significant relationship, such that IPV lead to higher authoritative parenting and lower child behavior problems. On the other hand, there was no evidence that higher levels of IPV contributed to more child behavior problems due to maternal parenting. Instead, IPV had a significant cumulative indirect effect on child behavior via the stability of both IPV and behavior over time. Implications for promoting women’s and children’s well-being in the context of IPV are discussed.     

Coping with work and family: How do dual‐earners interact?

Juggling the demands of both work and family has become increasingly difficult, especially for dual‐earner households; nevertheless, families have developed strategies to deal with work‐family challenges. This paper uses couple level analyses (APIM models) with 100 dual‐earner couples to provide insight about partners' mutual influence on the use of work‐family coping strategies. The results show that women's use of coping strategies is more associated with work‐family conflict and work‐family enrichment than men's coping. In addition, using partner coping, having a positive attitude towards multiple roles, using planning and management skills and avoiding having to cut back on professional responsibilities is associated with better outcomes (more enrichment and less conflict). Surprisingly, the use of childcare facilities is associated with women's conflict and partner effects were only found concerning the use of management and planning skills. These skills, however, have distinct effects for men and women's outcomes: their use by men reduces their own conflict but increases their wives', while their use by women decreases their own conflict and increases their own and their partner's enrichment. These results point to the fact that gender roles continue to be a hallmark of work‐family issues. Our design and results point out the need for new interventions that take couple interdependences into account.     

‘If you look the part you’ll get the job’: should career professionals help clients to enhance their career image?

This article presents a critical exploration of the role of career professionals in supporting people to reflect on and enhance their appearance, attractiveness and self-presentation (career image). The article is conceptual and based on a review of the broader literature on career success, appearance and attractiveness. It explores the evidence for a relationship between attractiveness and career, and the authors propose a conceptual framework in which career image is comprised of three elements (interpersonal skills, aesthetic presentation and beauty). The paper examines a possible role for career professionals in relation to this and then critically examines this role and concludes with the proposition of a research agenda in this area.     

Professional Self-Efficacy as a Predictor of Burnout and Engagement: The Role of Challenge and Hindrance Demands

ABSTRACT. The objective of the current study is to analyze the role of professional self-efficacy as a predictor of psychosocial well-being (i.e., burnout and engagement) following the Social Cognitive Theory of Albert Bandura (1997). Structural Equation Modeling was performed in a sample of secondary school teachers (n = 460) and users of Information and Communication Technology (n = 596). Results show empirical support for the predicting role that professional self-efficacy plays in the perception of challenge (i.e., mental overload) and hindrance demands (i.e., role conflict, lack of control, and lack of social support), which are in turn related to burnout (i.e., erosion process) and engagement (i.e., motivational process). Specifically, employees with more professional self-efficacy will perceive more challenge demands and fewer hindrance demands, and this will in turn relate to more engagement and less burnout. A multi-group analysis showed that the research model was invariant across both samples. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.     

The Relationship Between Racial Identity and Perceived Significance of the Election of President Barack Obama Among African American Mothers

African American women’s racial identity is a major determinant for how they interpret the world around them, yet there is little research examining how specific aspects of racial identity are linked with attitudes about an event that has been highly significant for African Americans: the election of President Barack Obama. The present study examines the relationship between African American mothers’ racial identity and their perceived significance of the election of President Barack Obama as an indicator of reduced systemic and actual racism for African Americans, using a sample of 110 African American mothers residing in a Northeastern metropolitan area. Results revealed that racial centrality and assimilation positively predicted perceived significance of President Obama’s election for diminishing racism. Implications and future directions are discussed.