Perceived organisational support influences on job satisfaction and organisational commitment among junior academic staff members

This study investigated the relationship between perceived organisational support, employee job satisfaction and organisational commitment among junior academic staff of a South African higher education institution (N =70; female = 41 .4%; masters qualification = 85 .7%). Participants completed a self-administered questionnaire on organisational perceptions, commitment and job satisfaction. Correlations investigated whether there were any relationships between variables. T-tests and Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) were also used to examine whether participants perceived organisational support differently based on their demographics. Results showed a significant and positive relationship among employee perceptions of support from their organisation, their level of job satisfaction and level of organisational commitment. Male academic staff showed higher levels of perceived organisational support, employee job satisfaction and organisational commitment than females. Gendered work participation appears to explain aspects of work participation in the context of the South African higher education sector.     

The Mentoring Relationship Challenges Scale: The impact of mentoring stage, type, and gender

The current study investigated the role of relational challenges as reported by 309 protégés in various stages and types of mentoring relationships. The Mentoring Relationship Challenges Scale (MRCS) was newly constructed using the results of an earlier qualitative study (Ensher & Murphy, 2005). The scale measured three factors of relational challenges which were: Demonstrating Commitment and Resilience, Measuring Up to a Mentor's Standards, and Career Goal and Risk Orientation. The results demonstrated that with respect to mentoring stages, those protégés in the beginning stages of their relationships reported experiencing significantly fewer challenges related to Demonstrating Commitment and Resilience than those in the mature or ending stages of the relationship. Also, it was found that the type of mentoring relationship (traditional, step-ahead, or peer) affected the prevalence of the three types of challenges. Protégés in peer relationships reported significantly fewer of all three types of challenges than those in step-ahead or traditional relationships. However, contrary to predictions, there were no significant differences found between those in informal versus those in formal mentoring relationships. As expected, protégé and mentor gender interacted significantly. Female protégés reported experiencing significantly fewer challenges related to the factor of Measuring Up to a Mentor's Standards, than did male protégés. Also, female protégés reported experiencing a significantly higher degree of relational challenges related to Career Goal and Risk Orientation from their male mentors than from their female mentors. Finally, after controlling for perceptions of career and psychosocial support for protégés in traditional mentoring relationships, two of the three relational challenges factors remained significant and explained a significant amount of variance in overall satisfaction with the mentoring relationship. This suggests that relational challenges, at least for traditional mentoring relationships, serve as an important mechanism to impact overall relationship satisfaction.     

Toward Relational Empowerment

Psychological empowerment has been theorized as a construct with emotional, behavioral and cognitive components. Yet, many studies have stressed that empowerment processes are contingent on interpersonal relationships. Moreover, theory suggests that power is developed and exercised through relationships. This article makes the case that expanding our conceptions of psychological empowerment through the addition of a relational component can enhance our understanding of psychological empowerment and the effectiveness of empowerment-oriented community practice. Previous research on empowerment is reviewed for relational content, and additional insights into the relational context of empowerment processes are marshaled from other concepts in community research including social capital, sense of community, social networks, social support, and citizen participation. A new iteration of the nomological network for psychological empowerment is presented, including the elements of a relational component.     

The First Twenty Years of the ELCA: Remembrances of a Retired Bishop

Abstract : The ELCA has experienced a number of significant events and developments in the first twenty years of its existence as a Church. In this article you will read about the preparation and direction that newly elected Bishops received for their ministry in their synods, and some of the struggles and joys that accompanied their work with one another and with their rostered leaders and congregations. It is the perspective of one retired Bishop Emeritus who gives an account of his ministry as he experienced it.     

The roles of emotion management and perspective taking in individuals’ conflict management styles and disposition to forgive

This study aimed to link two fields of research: conflict management and forgiveness. Adult participants (n = 122) and a validating sample of significant others (n = 122) completed measures of disposition to forgive, conflict style, emotion management, and perspective taking; and multi-dimensional models of their relationships were tested. Disposition to forgive was most consistently associated with problem solving and yielding conflict styles. Greater perspective taking was associated with greater forgiveness, and greater problem solving and yielding conflict styles, as well as with lesser fighting style; and perspective taking fully or partially mediated the relationship between ability to repair emotions and dispositions to forgive and problem solve during conflict. Significant other reports confirmed most of the findings based on self-report.     

Ten years of longitudinal research on U.S. adolescent sexual behavior: Developmental correlates of sexual intercourse,and the importance of age,gender and ethnic background

We integrated findings from 35 recent, longitudinal studies of the onset of heterosexual intercourse. Correlates of adolescent sexual intercourse onset, whether in early (before age 16) or middle (ages 16–18) adolescence, included living with other than two biological parents, being less monitored by parents, having more advanced physical maturity and more involvement in dating behavior, and having more permissive attitudes toward sex. When studies were organized by age of participants, the onset of intercourse was more strongly associated with alcohol use, delinquency, school problems and (for girls) depressive symptoms in Early studies (sexual intercourse by age 15 or before only) than was found in studies classified as Middle (assessment of sexual intercourse up to age 18) or Late (knowledge of those who delayed until after age 18). Although more research is needed, additional factors were associated with delaying first sexual intercourse until after age 18, including religious attitudes and anxiety, with some factors more relevant for girls and some more applicable to boys. In total, the evidence suggests there are many similarities, but also some important differences, in the correlates associated with early versus middle versus later onset of sexual intercourse. This seems to signify more than one pathway (set of distal and proximal correlates) associated with sexual behavior during adolescence that should be tested in future research. Throughout the review, we highlight differences in the correlates of girls’ versus boys’ sexual intercourse and how race/ethnicity moderates associations. These gender and racial/ethnic differences were found largely in analyses of family processes, school and religion, and parent education. We end by summarizing several priority areas for future research.     

Coping with Crisis Across the Lifespan: The Role of a Telephone Hotline

We describe over 300,000 crisis calls made to a large national hotline over a 5-year period. Callers consisted of males and females between the ages of 10 and 89. Overall, a slight majority of callers were first time callers (52%) and most (73%) sought assistance with issues related to parenting, youth concerns, and mental health. Across the lifespan, issues dealing with loneliness increased with age whereas depression-related calls decreased. Additionally, females were more likely than their male counterparts to call the hotline by over a 2- to 1-margin. Findings lend preliminary support to the efficacy of crisis call centers to utilize a flexible, yet well-defined problem-solving approach to assist those of all ages calling with the wide range of problems.     

Self-disclosure, emotional expression and intimacy within romantic relationships of people with social phobia

The current study examined aspects of communication and intimacy between people with social phobia and their romantic partners. Forty-eight individuals with social phobia and 58 community controls completed a series of questionnaires to measure self-disclosure, emotional expression and levels of intimacy within their romantic relationships. Participants with social phobia reported less emotional expression, self-disclosure and intimacy than controls, even after controlling for a diagnosis of mood disorder. The group differences did not differ significantly by gender. A continuous measure of social anxiety also correlated significantly with the three relationship measures and these associations held for emotional expression and self-disclosure after controlling for levels of dysphoria. People with social phobia report reduced quality within their romantic relationships, which may have implications for impairment, social support and ultimately maintenance of the disorder.     

Pathways Triple P‐Positive Parenting Program: Effects on Parent‐Child Relationships and Child Behavior Problems

This study examined the effects of Pathways Triple P (PTP), an early intervention program designed to promote positive parent‐child relationships. Sixty parents met the inclusion criteria of borderline to clinically significant relationship disturbance and child emotional and behavioral problems. They were randomly allocated into PTP or a wait‐list (WL) control group. PTP was delivered in a group format for 9 weeks and consisted of parent skills training and cognitive behavior therapy targeting negative attributions for child behavior. Significant intervention effects were found for improving parent‐child relationships and reducing behavior problems with gains maintained at 3‐month follow‐up. Limitations of the study and implications for future research are discussed.