The influence of workplace discrimination and vigilance on job satisfaction with people who stutter

Purpose The purpose of the present study is to examine the association between workplace discrimination, vigilance, and job satisfaction in people who stutter and compare this with people who do not stutter. Method Seventy-two people who stutter (PWS) and 92 people who do not stutter (PWNS) participated in an online survey. Participants completed a survey assessing 6 different areas: (a) background information, (b) job satisfaction, (c) everyday discrimination, and (d) heightened vigilance. Mediation analyses were conducted to evaluate the relationship between the independent variables and dependent variable. Results There was a relationship between being a PWS and job satisfaction, discrimination, and vigilance. PWS were found to experience higher discrimination as well as be more vigilant. Discrimination and vigilance were found to mediate the relationship between stuttering and job satisfaction. Conclusion Results of this study indicate that the participants who stutter differ from PWNS in their job satisfaction, discrimination, and vigilance. Clinicians can prepare PWS with self-advocacy strategies, legal knowledge of what their rights are as an employee who identifies as a person who stutters with a disability, a legal understanding of workplace discrimination, and counseling on the impact of vigilance on workplace experiences.     

Self-acceptance,resilience, coping and satisfaction of life in people who stutter

PurposeThe purpose of the present study was to evaluate self-acceptance and satisfaction with life with people who stutter and the influence of coping and resilience on the two factors.MethodForty-seven people who stutter (PWS) and 47 people who do not stutter (PWNS) participated in an online survey. Participants completed a survey assessing 6 main areas: (a) background information, (b) satisfaction with life, (c) coping, (d) avoidance, (e) self-acceptance, and resilience.ResultsAvoidant coping and maladaptive coping moderated the association between stuttering and self- acceptance but not satisfaction with life. Resilience was found to moderate the association between stuttering and self-acceptance as well as satisfaction with life.ConclusionStuttering was associated with lower self-acceptance at higher levels of avoidant coping and maladaptive coping. PWS who have lower levels of resilience were more likely to have a lower satisfaction with life indicating that higher levels of resilience could serve as a protective factor for having a greater satisfaction with life. Further, stuttering was associated with lower self-acceptance at lower levels of resilient attitude. Resilience and coping appear to protect against having diminished self-acceptance and satisfaction with life for PWS.     

Utility of center of pressure measures during obstacle crossing in prediction of fall risk in people with Parkinson’s disease

IntroductionPostural instability during walking and tripping over obstacles are the main causes of falls in people with Parkinson’s disease (PD). Preliminary limited evidence suggests that the length of the prospective follow-up period affects falls prediction in PD, with shorter periods leading to more accurate prediction. Thus, the primary aim of the present study was to test the performance of center of pressure (CoP) variables during obstacle crossing to predict fall risk in people with PD during subsequent periods of four, six, and 12 months. We also compared CoP variables during obstacle crossing between fallers and non-fallers.MethodsForty-two individuals with PD, in mild to moderate stages, completed the baseline obstacle crossing assessment and reported falls for 12 months. Participants walked at their self-selected pace and were instructed to cross an obstacle (half knee height) positioned in the middle of an 8-m long pathway. A force platform was used to analyze CoP parameters of the stance phase of the trailing limb (most affected limb). The ability of each outcome measure to predict fall risk at four, six, and 12 months was assessed using receiver operating characteristic curve analyses.ResultsTen individuals (23.8%) were considered fallers at four months, twelve individuals (28.5%) at six months, and twenty-one individuals (50%) at 12 months. CoP amplitude and CoP velocity in the mediolateral direction significantly predicted fall risk at four, six, and 12 months. As judged by the area under the curve, mediolateral CoP velocity showed the best performance at four months, while mediolateral CoP amplitude showed the best performance at six months. Fallers presented greater values of mediolateral CoP velocity and amplitude than non-fallers.ConclusionThese findings suggest that mediolateral CoP velocity and amplitude during obstacle crossing might be useful to predict fall risk in people with PD. Therefore, larger studies are encouraged.     

Does job crafting assist dealing with organizational changes due to austerity measures? Two studies among Greek employees

In this paper, we focussed on Greek employees that are heavily affected by austerity-led organizational changes, and studied whether job crafting (defined as seeking resources, seeking challenges, reducing demands) helps them deal with these changes. In the first, cross-sectional study we examined whether job crafting relates to adaptive performance, and whether individuals’ assessment of changes moderates this relationship. The results showed that the relationship between reducing demands and adaptive performance was positive for those assessing the changes more positively, and negative for those assessing them more negatively. This interaction was replicated in the second, quasi-experimental field study, where we examined the effects of an intervention designed to help employees deal with organizational changes and increase their well-being, adaptive performance and openness to such changes by stimulating job crafting behaviours. Participants received training and worked for 3 weeks on self-set job crafting goals. The intervention was effective in increasing reducing demands, positive affect and openness to change. Moreover, it had a positive effect on openness to change and adaptive performance through positive effect, but a negative effect on adaptive performance through reducing demands. Thus, the intervention facilitated to some extent employee functioning under unfavourable working conditions that result from austerity measures.     

Motives to Report Stalking Cases to the Police: A Comparison Between a Large City and a Small Town in Italy

This study aimed to analyze the cases reported to police by women who were victims of stalking. The use of police offense records is well known in investigations of victims of this phenomenon as well as other violent crimes (e.g., domestic violence). The objective was to compare the 3 motives (own safety, other safety, change habits) indicated by victims in reporting the cases to police as recorded in case files. For each motive, a comparison was made of the characteristics of victims and stalkers, the nature of the relationship between the victims and stalkers, and the characteristics of the stalking campaign, the stalker’s behaviors, the consequences to the victims, and coping strategies. This information was reported by victims to police in a large city and small town in Italy. The comparison showed that victims in large cities were less prone to report stalking cases to the police than victims in small towns. Differences addressed the duration of the stalking campaign, the behaviors involved, the consequences, and the coping strategies adopted. Police forces could benefit from the results of this research in defining both training courses for police officers and prevention courses for the general population.     

Multi-layer architecture for adaptive fuzzy inference system with a large number of input features

The Sugeno adaptive fuzzy neural network using training data is a good approximation to model different systems. The large number of adaptive neuro-fuzzy inference system (ANFIS) input features is a major challenge in using ANFIS and is not applicable with increased parameters. We present a solution for many input features solving modular problems; we created a multi-layer architecture of SUB-ANFIS (MLA-ANFIS) for this purpose. Different topologies were created with various combinations of multiple input features, and an error indicator was calculated for each combination of topologies. Finally, the best topology was chosen among the states with the highest possible performance. We implemented a multi-layered approach based on 365-day concrete compressive strength data with eight input features and the optimized MLA-ANFIS topology (5-3-1) for this purpose from different ANFIS topologies and neural networks. Finally, the results from five other datasets prove the impact of the proposed MLA-ANFIS approach compared to the neural network method.     

Emotional experiences in youth tennis

ObjectivesTo explore adolescents' emotional experiences in competitive sport. Specifically, this study sought to identify, 1) The emotions adolescents' experience at tennis tournaments, 2) The precursors of the emotions they experience, and, 3) How adolescents attempt to cope with these emotions.DesignCase-study.MethodFour adolescent tennis players competed in four or five tennis matches under the observation of a researcher. Immediately following each match, participants completed a post-match review sheet and a semi-structured interview. A further semi-structured interview was completed at the end of the tournament. Review sheets, notes from match observations, and video recordings of matches were used to stimulate discussions during final interviews. All data were analyzed following the procedures outlined by Miles and Huberman (1994).ResultsParticipants cited numerous positively and negatively valenced emotions during matches and tournaments. Participants' emotions seemed to be broadly influenced by their perceptions of performance and outcomes, as well as their opponent's behavior and player's perceptions of their own behavior. Participants described various strategies to cope with these emotions, such as controlling breathing rate, focusing on positive thoughts, and individualized routines. Further, if participants perceived them to be facilitative, negative emotions could be beneficial for performance.ConclusionThis study provided original insights into the complexity of adolescent athletes' emotional experiences at competitions and highlights the critical need for further in-depth examinations of youth sport to fully comprehend the experiences of young people. Most notably, the findings highlight the necessity of considering the impact of both intra- and interpersonal influences on adolescents' emotional experiences, while also accounting for temporal changes.     

Mentoring as a Mediator or Moderator of the Association between Racial Discrimination and Coping Efficacy in Urban,Low‐Income Latina/o Youth

The aim of this study was to examine the associations among mentoring relationship quality (i.e., relational and instrumental quality), racial discrimination and coping efficacy with racial discrimination. Three social support models were tested, including the stress buffering, support mobilization, and support deterioration models. Participants were 257 urban, low‐income Latina/o high school students, who completed surveys in both 9th and 10th grades. While controlling for gender and coping efficacy with discrimination in 9th grade, results supported the social support deterioration model. Specifically, there was a significant indirect effect of racial discrimination in 9th grade on coping efficacy in 10th grade through instrumental mentoring quality. As racial discrimination increased, mentoring quality decreased and then coping efficacy decreased. We also found that more racial discrimination in 9th grade was significantly associated with lower coping efficacy in 10th grade, and higher instrumental mentoring quality in 9th grade was significantly associated with higher coping efficacy in 10th grade, while controlling for gender and coping efficacy in 9th grade. Implications and recommendations for future research are discussed.     

The timeline of threat processing in repressors: more evidence for early vigilance and late avoidance

Evidence is mixed concerning whether individuals with a repressive coping style can actually selectively avoid threatening stimuli. Recent research (Calvo & Eysenck, 2000) on repressors’ threat processing suggests that it is necessary to take into account the timeline of this bias. A spontaneous trait inference paradigm was used here to test the hypothesis that repressors would, relative to others, be less likely to infer unfavorable and threatening traits. However, if pressured to make trait inferences quickly, it was predicted that they would be less likely than others to infer favorable and unthreatening traits. Repressors and nonrepressors were presented with passages that could have supported positive or negative trait inferences. In Study 1, they were asked to respond to trait words as quickly as possible but were not held accountable for doing so. In Study 2, time pressure was increased to capture uncorrected trait inferences. Results indicated that repressors were more likely to make positive trait inferences than others when simply asked to respond quickly. Under time pressure, this bias disappeared. Results point to the importance of taking into account an important moderator between coping style and threat, namely, the stage of processing at which differences in threat processing are being assessed.     

Young men's coping with androgenetic alopecia: acceptance counts when hair gets thinner

The present study examined how young men cope with balding (androgenetic alopecia). The sample consisted of 160 university students (18–30 years) with varying degrees of hair loss (stages II–VII on the Norwood–Hamilton Scale). Three ways of coping were distinguished: compensation, avoidance, and acceptance. Psychological distress due to hair loss depended neither on the age of participants nor on the stage of balding. Since compensation and avoidance were associated with high levels of distress, their functional value might be questioned. Acceptance, however, was negatively related to distress – even, or rather, especially when stage of hair loss was advanced. Furthermore, acceptance had a direct negative effect on medical consultation about hair loss. By contrast, compensation and avoidance had a positive distress-mediated effect on medical consultation. Taken together, this study underlines the adaptive role of acceptance when confronted with irreversible changes such as androgenetic alopecia.