Children's Adjustment to Parental Physical Illness

We review recent empirical literature examining the impact of parent physical illness on child functioning. We review studies of illness characteristics (n = 16), individual characteristics (n = 6), and family characteristics (n = 6). Although children's self-reports indicate heightened distress, parental reports do not suggest more problematic functioning. Child adjustment appears to be more closely related to perceptions of stressfulness rather than to objective illness severity indices. Adolescent girls seem to represent a group at heightened risk. Preliminary results suggest that family variables such as cohesion, conflict, and individual and family coping styles are important predictors of child adjustment.     

“Back Home,People Say America is Heaven”: Pre-Migration Expectations and Post-Migration Adjustment for Liberians in Pittsburgh

The African-born population in the United States is now the immigrant group growing at the fastest rate, yet African immigrants are often overlooked in studies of immigrant incorporation and social adjustment. One factor negatively impacting immigrant adjustment is a lack of congruence between pre-migration expectations and post-migration realities. Existing academic literature on this topic largely overlooks African immigrants with the exception of refugees, and current studies of Liberians in the United States also focus overwhelmingly on refugees. This article reorients the discussion of African immigrant incorporation by exploring such issues with a sample of Liberian immigrants in the Pittsburgh metropolitan area who arrived with a range of visa types. Using the results of five focus groups (N?=?31), I outline shared unrealistic expectations of abundant wealth and development, an easier life, and Americans having extensive knowledge about Africa. I also examine often unanticipated challenges such as communication issues, negative interactions (including racism and African origin prejudice), cultural differences, problems finding jobs and adjusting to American work culture, and high expectations from home, including remittances. The results suggest that non-refugee immigrants face many of the same challenges as refugees and can benefit from information and resources fostering more successful integration.     

Psychometric Properties and Normative Data of the Zuckerman–Kuhlman Personality Questionnaire in a Psychiatric Outpatient Sample

The Zuckerman–Kuhlman Personality Questionnaire (ZKPQ; Zuckerman, Kuhlman, Joireman, Teta, &; Kraft, 1993 Zuckerman, M., Kuhlman, D. M., Joireman, J., Teta, P., &; Kraft, M. (1993). A comparison of three structural models for personality: The big three, the big five, and the alternative five. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 65, 757–768. doi:10.1037/0022-3514.65.4.757[Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]) was designed for the assessment of personality. The goal of this work was to determine the psychometric properties of the ZKPQ, as well as to establish normative data by gender and age in an outpatient sample attending primary mental health care services. We administered the questionnaire to 314 participants (34.7% males) 18 to 81 years old. The most prevalent primary diagnoses were mood (37.9%) and adjustment disorders (35.0%). Concerning the psychometric properties of the ZKPQ, the pattern of internal consistencies was similar to that previously found among general population, student, or clinical samples. Regarding gender differences, a general pattern was found, with women scoring higher on neuroticism and sociability, and lower on aggression-hostility. As for age, in general, scores declined with age. Norm-based decision making has the potential for significant and long-lasting consequences, and the quality of decisions based on score comparisons can be improved when scores are compared to norms fitted to the group of reference. The availability of the ZKPQ norms by gender and age in mental health care will benefit the accuracy of assessment and therapeutic decision making, providing more effective treatment planning overall.     

HR Interventions that Go Viral

What causes one Human Resource (HR) intervention to thrive while another dies? The purpose of this paper is to explore the characteristics of HR interventions that are not only self-sustaining, but adapt and gain momentum over time. Based on a review of the literature, a case study, and 16 critical incident interviews with senior Industrial-Organizational (I–O) and HR professionals, several characteristics of the organization, the intervention, and the leader consistently emerged as important in creating sustainable HR programs, suggesting several new directions for future research.     

Psychometric analysis of the Catalan version of the Alabama Parenting Questionnaire (APQ) in a community sample

The aim of this study was to adapt to Catalan the parents' and children's global report forms of the Alabama Parenting Questionnaire (APQ), using a community sample of 364 children between 10 and 15 years old and their families. Sociodemographic information (from parents) and the presence of externalizing problems (from parents and teachers) were collected. The results suggest a 3-factor structure corresponding to the scales of Positive Parenting Practices (PPP), Inconsistent and Negative Discipline (IND) and Poor Monitoring/Supervision (PMS). The internal consistency is acceptable in all the scales, except for the IND in the children's format. The scales also present good convergent and discriminant validity, and the relations with the external variable studied pointed in the expected direction: inefficient parenting practices are related to the presence of more behavior problems in children. To sum up, the Catalan version of the parents' and children's global report forms of the APQ are considered suitable for use in the area of children's and adolescents' behavior problems.     

Exploring the relationships between trait emotional intelligence and objective socio‐emotional outcomes in childhood

Background Trait emotional intelligence (trait EI or trait emotional self‐efficacy) is a constellation of emotion‐related self‐perceptions and dispositions located at the lower levels of personality hierarchies. This paper examines the validity of this construct, as operationalized by the Trait Emotional Intelligence Questionnaire‐Child Form (TEIQue‐CF), in primary schoolchildren. Aims The main aim was to examine the construct validity of trait EI in middle and late childhood by exploring its relationships with cognitive ability, emotion perception, and social behaviour. Sample The sample comprised 140 children aged between 8 and 12 years (M = 9.26 years, SD = 1.00 year; 63 girls) from two English state primary schools. Method Pupils completed the TEIQue‐CF, the standard progressive matrices (SPM), the guess who peer assessment, the social skills training (SST) test, and the assessment of children's emotion skills (ACES) during formal class periods. The procedure took approximately two hours with a short break between assessments. Results Trait EI scores were positively related both to peer‐rated prosocial behaviour and to overall peer competence. They also predicted emotion perception accuracy beyond overall peer competence. As hypothesized in trait EI theory, the construct was unrelated to IQ (Raven's matrices) and academic performance. Conclusions Trait EI is successfully operationalized through the TEIQue‐CF and has important and multifaceted implications for the socialization of primary schoolchildren.     

Evaluation of Group Genetic Counseling for Hereditary Breast and Ovarian Cancer

As demand for genetic counseling regarding hereditary cancer continues to grow, more efficient methods of providing this service must be explored. In this pilot study, group genetic counseling was offered to two different cohorts of women seeking genetic counseling for Hereditary Breast and Ovarian Cancer. Seven group sessions, designed to cover all aspects of an individual genetic counseling appointment, were conducted. Although patients were receptive to group genetic counseling, a significant proportion chose individual counseling when given the option. Advantages of group genetic counseling include shared experience and increased efficiency. Disadvantages include increased frustration at not being eligible for genetic testing, group influence on decision-making, privacy concerns, increased need for follow-up, and difficulty booking group appointments. Overall, the level of patient satisfaction with group genetic counseling was similar to that of individual counseling. The results of this pilot study suggest that further research is needed to determine whether group genetic counseling is an acceptable alternative to individual counseling.     

How similar is false recognition to veridical recognition objectively and subjectively?

Three recognition memory experiments were conducted using modified Deese-Roediger-McDermott (DRM) and DRM paradigms. In Experiment 1, the reaction time (RT) of the false alarms to critical nonpresented words (false memory) was compared with the RT of hits to the critical presented words and with the RT of hits to the studied list words (true memory). The RT of the false alarms to the critical nonpresented words was significantly longer than that of the hits to the critical words and than that of the studied list words. In Experiment 2, in addition to RT, participants' confidence level was measured on a 4-point scale for a yes or no response. Confidence rating was significantly higher for the hits to the critical presented words and to the list words than for the false alarms to the critical non-presented words. Experiment 3 further showed that how similar false memory experience was to that of true memory was a function of retention size (number of lists of words retained in memory). In all three experiments, the participants' recognition RTs distinguished false memory from veridical memory, and in Experiments 2 and 3, so did their confidence ratings. Therefore, false memory and veridical memory differ at both the objective and the subjective levels. The results are consistent with a single familiarity dimension model of recognition memory.     

Black and White Tokens in Academia: A Difference of Chronic Versus Acute Distinctiveness1

Token status effects, also called distinctiveness, include feelings of racial/gender awareness, representativeness, and accountability. In this multimethod three-part research, it is argued that Black students in a predominantly White university feel chronically distinctive, whereas White students may feel acutely distinctive when they are in the numerical minority. However, this acute distinctiveness is situation specific. First a pilot study confirmed that Black and White females differ in their reports of distinctiveness. Study 1 showed that Black students feel chronically distinctive and that they are often “solos” in classrooms. Study 2 tried to separate race and solo status effects on distinctiveness by experimentally manipulating group solo status. Results indicate a main effect for solo status and also a main effect for race on feelings of distinctiveness across solo conditions. Applications of this research for the token literature and for distinctiveness theory are discussed.