Work performance norms and organizational efficacy as cross-level effects on the relationship between individual perceptions of self-efficacy,overcommitment, and work-related stress

In the past 10 years, there has been increasing interest in applying multilevel analysis to explain how psychosocial work conditions may influence organizational behaviour. In the present study, we investigated how the individual level variables of self-efficacy and overcommitment may relate to job stress within an analytic context controlling for the main effects of dimensions of the psychosocial work environment, as well as the employees' collective perceptions of work performance norms and organizational efficacy beliefs. The final sample consisted of 924 employees from the food and beverage industry in Norway. Hierarchical linear analysis shows that overcommitment and self-efficacy together have significant main effects on stress. As expected, the results show that overcommitment is positively related to experiences of stress and self efficacy is negatively related to work-related stress. Norms governing performance, magnitude of production, attendance, and work pressure in the workplace are directly and positively related to job stress experiences at the individual level. Contrary to our expectations we did not find a significant interaction effect of work performance norms, nor did we find main or interactional cross-level effects of organizational efficacy on stress.     

Workplace violence and the changing nature of work in Europe: Trends and risk groups

Incidence rates of third party workplace violence in Europe have increased, but little is known about the causes thereof. It has been suggested that the growth of the service sector and the intensification of work could be responsible for the increase. This study aimed to identify trends in the prevalence of physical workplace violence across Europe, as well as to uncover factors explaining these trends. Three cross-sectional waves (1995, 2000, and 2005) of the European Working Conditions Survey were used, involving 58,520 workers and covering 15 European member states. Logistic regression analyses were performed to investigate associations between work characteristics and violence prevalence. Workplace violence increased significantly during the study interval. Although violence was clearly related to specific characteristics of the labour market (gender, age, sector, etc.) and the work environment (client contact frequency, time pressure, control, and computer work), recent changes in the European labour market composition and work environment could not explain the increase in violence. In jobs characterized by high levels of computer work in particular, violence appears to be an emerging risk. Our results suggest that the nature (and perhaps quality) of client contact is changing, leading to higher violence risks.     

Expatriates’ success in Ethiopia: Empirical evidence on the overlooked impact of cultural value alignment

The present study assessed the impact on the work engagement of expatriates’ personal value orientation alignment with the host country’s national culture. Participants were 231 expatriates from seven countries who are working in Ethiopia (females = 17%; mean age = 36 years, SD = 2.72 years). The expatriates completed measures of personal value orientation, cross-culture adjustment, and work engagement levels. Structural equation modelling analysis indicated expatriates with personal value orientations that align with the host country’s national culture to have a higher work engagement level. Cross-cultural adjustment mediated the relationship between personal value orientation and work engagement. Expatriates’ personal value orientation fit with the host country’s national culture is a resource to accomplish their work successfully.     

A randomized controlled trial of the impact of a teacher classroom management program on the classroom behavior of children with and without behavior problems

This randomized controlled trial (RCT) evaluated the efficacy of the Incredible Years (IY) Teacher Classroom Management (TCM; Webster-Stratton & Reid, 2002) program to assess whether training teachers in IY-TCM principles improve teacher behavior, whether any observed improvements impact pupil behavior classroom-wide, and whether these effects can be demonstrated with children at risk of developing conduct problems. Six intervention and six control classrooms comprising 12 teachers and 107 children (aged 3 to 7 years) were recruited. Children were screened for high or low behavior problems using the cut-off points of the teacher-rated Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (Goodman, 1997). The primary outcome measure was independent classroom observations using the Teacher–Pupil Observation Tool (Martin et al., 2010). Multilevel modeling analyses were conducted to examine the effect of the intervention on teacher, classroom, and child behavior. Results showed a significant reduction in classroom off-task behavior (d = 0.53), teacher negatives to target children (d = 0.36), target child negatives towards the teacher (d = 0.42), and target child off-task behavior (d = 0.48). These preliminary results demonstrate the potential impact of IY-TCM on both teacher and child behavior.     

Effect of Training on Sensory Room and Cart Usage

In this study, the authors assess the effectiveness of education on the consistency of use of sensory rooms within a large mental health facility. Eleven staff and thirty-six clients received additional multimodal education in sensory strategies, the use of the sensory rooms on their assigned units, and the link between the rooms and clients' personal crisis intervention plans. Staff knowledge and room usage rates were analyzed pre- and post-training. The authors found statistically significant increases in staff knowledge post-training and increases in the use of the sensory rooms by study participants. The results support the effectiveness of training which uses hands-on, population-specific strategies.     

Exploring What Was Missing in One Parent-Child Activity Group

Abstract

Barriers to parent-child interaction that arose in the parent-child activity group studied by the author are discussed. An analysis of what factors within the group may have led to the barriers is provided so that readers can consider how to minimize barriers to parent-child interaction in similar groups.     

家庭因素中父母情感温暖、文化性与责任心对大学生职业决策自我效能的中介与中介调节研究

目的：探讨大学生家庭因素中父母情感温暖教养方式、文化性家庭环境与责任心对职业决策自我效能的中介效应与中介调节效应。方法：采用责任心量表、职业决策自我效能量表、父母教养方式评价量表和家庭环境量表,对大学四个年级1207名学生进行测量,运用SPSS12.0、AMOS17.0对数据进行统计分析。结果：（1）父母情感温暖通过责任心对大学生职业决策自我效能具有稳定而持久的间接作用。（2）文化性作为父母情感温暖的调节变量,其与父母情感温暖的交互作用对责任心具有明显的预测作用,并通过责任心中介变量,对大学生职业决策自我效能产生稳定而持久的间接作用。     

Don't throw the bathwater in with the baby

The Presidential Address of the European Association of Developmental Psychology, Goossens (2012, this issue), this year concerned how genes and environments interplay to shape loneliness and other developmental psychological relevant outcomes. This is a very welcome. However, when developmental psychology is now ready to integrate recent genetic and neuroscience knowledge and methods, I think it would be very wise not to go uncritically through the mistakes that have been made in other disciplines and instead to learn from their hard lessons. I discuss some problems (genes vs. environments, identifying genes for a phenotype, environmental causes of developmental outcomes, and gene×environment interaction and epigenetics) and some suggestions for solutions that can be used to avoid throwing the bathwater in with the baby.     

家庭创新环境的特征及其与中学生日常创造性行为的关系：创造性人格的中介作用

以1117名中学生为被试,采用问卷法考察家庭创新环境的特点及其对日常创造性行为的影响机制。结果发现：（1）家庭创新环境体现在家庭情感氛围、父母创造性行为、父母教育理念和自主准予,可分为抑制型（17.3%）、一般型（41.9%）和创新型（40.8%）,创新型在日常创造性行为上得分显著高于抑制型;（2）家庭创新环境与创造性人格、日常创造性行为以及同伴提名得分相关显著;（3）创造性人格在家庭创新环境和同伴提名之间起完全中介作用,在家庭创新环境和日常创造性行为之间起部分中介作用。     

遗传因素在风险决策加工中的作用

风险决策是指个体对不同选项及其概率进行权衡之后做出决定的过程。它是一个复杂的加工过程, 需要平衡奖赏选项的诱惑和损失选项的忧虑。风险决策能力是人脑最重要的高级功能之一。在现实生活中, 风险决策能力具有非常大的个体差异, 而遗传和环境各自都在其中起着关键的作用。在这篇文章中, 我们首先综述近年来风险决策研究领域中探讨遗传影响风险决策加工的研究, 包括双生子研究与分子遗传学研究。在介绍分子遗传学研究时, 按照基因所属神经递质系统, 分别介绍了多巴胺递质系统相关基因(如COMT、DAT等)、五羟色胺递质系统相关基因(如SLC6A4、TPH1等)和其他基因(如BDNF)对风险决策能力个体差异的影响。随后, 我们探讨了环境对风险决策个体差异的影响, 以及基因-环境交互作用对风险决策个体差异的影响。接下来, 我们介绍了将脑的结构与功能作为内表型来考察基因和环境对风险决策个体差异的影响的最新进展。在文章的最后, 我们指出今后对风险决策个体差异的研究应该同时考虑遗传和环境, 并考察脑的结构和功能在其中的中介作用。