Defying conventional wisdom: A meta-analytical examination of the differences between demographic and job-related diversity relationships with performance

Conventional wisdom in the diversity literature holds that job-related dimensions of diversity are the domain of positive performance, whereas demographic dimensions of diversity are the domain of negative performance effects. In a meta-analysis (N = 146 studies, 612 effect sizes), we show that this conclusion may be based on rater biases; it does not apply to studies involving more objective assessments of performance, assessments that cannot be influenced by knowledge of a team’s composition. We also show that the influence of job-related diversity is moderated by task complexity and that job-related diversity is more positively related to innovative performance than to in-role performance. We discuss how these results invite a reconsideration of the role of the job-related/demographic diversity distinction and provide suggestions on how to further advance our understanding of diversity’s effects.     

Reducing the barriers to accessing psychological therapies for Bengali,Urdu, Tamil and Somali communities in the UK: some implications for training,policy and practice

The aim of this research was to investigate the feasibility of achieving Improving Access to Psychological Therapies (IAPT) for people from Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) communities living in the UK, with specific reference to Bengali, Urdu, Tamil and Somali speaking communities. Focus groups were carried out with each of the communities to investigate how they conceptualise and experience ‘mental health issues’ and what they do when faced with what they regard as these issues. A thematic analysis of the data suggested that participants did not fully understand common conceptualisations about mental health issues, nor did they know how to seek mental health support. Implications of cultural barriers and recommendations for IAPT outcomes for the four communities are discussed.     

Peer status in an ethnic context: Associations with African American adolescents' ethnic identity

This investigation examined the association between ethnic identity centrality and peer status for African American adolescents who represented a sizable proportion, yet numerical minority within a high school context. Initial analyses indicated that a traditional sociometric nomination procedure did not adequately characterize peer status for African American adolescents. A modified nomination procedure varying the ethnicity of nominators yielded measures of African American adolescents' peer acceptance/rejection and perceived popularity as rated by African American or European American peers. Results suggest that high levels of peer acceptance and popularity as rated by African American peers were associated with high ethnic identity centrality; however, acceptance and popularity as rated by European American peers were unrelated to ethnic identity centrality among African American adolescents. Findings suggest the importance of examining peer status of African American adolescents with consideration given to ethnicity as a relevant context.     

Mind the ad: How personality requirements affect older and younger job seekers' job attraction

Age discrimination may explain lower labour market chances of older and younger job seekers. What remains underresearched, however, is how older/younger job seekers might self-select out from early recruitment procedures due to stigmatizing information in job ads. Building on theories of metastereotypes and the linguistic category model, two experimental studies investigated how personality requirements that older/younger job seekers hold negative metastereotypes about and the way in which these requirements are worded (behavioural vs. dispositional) affected their job attraction. Within-participant mediation analyses showed that as expected, job attraction was higher for older (N = 123, aged 50 years or more) and younger (N = 151, 30 years or less) job seekers when requirements were worded in a behavioural way (e.g., ‘You can be flexible’), compared with a dispositional way (e.g., ‘You are flexible’). This relation was mediated by perceptions of challenge among younger but not older job seekers. Contrary to expectations, perceptions of threat did not explain the effects of negatively metastereotyped personality requirements on job attraction. Understanding how job seekers perceive information in job ads might help recruiters to design age-sensitive recruitment policies.     

Changing American Congregations: Findings from the Third Wave of the National Congregations Study

The third wave of the National Congregations Study (NCS‐III) was conducted in 2012. The 2012 General Social Survey asked respondents who attend religious services to name their religious congregation, producing a nationally representative cross‐section of congregations from across the religious spectrum. Data about these congregations were collected via a 50‐minute interview with one key informant from 1,331 congregations. Information was gathered about multiple aspects of congregations’ social composition, structure, activities, and programming. Approximately two‐thirds of the NCS‐III questionnaire replicates items from 1998 or 2006–2007 NCS waves. Each congregation was geocoded, and selected data from the 2010 U.S. Census or American Community Survey have been appended. We describe NCS‐III methodology and use the cumulative NCS dataset (containing 4,071 cases) to describe five trends: more ethnic diversity, greater acceptance of gays and lesbians, increasingly informal worship styles, declining size (but not from the perspective of the average attendee), and declining denominational affiliation.     

Using census data in the management of religious diversity: an Australian case study

Abstract

Mapping and measuring religious diversity has become critical to the management of interreligious relations in the 21st century. The data about religious identification provided by the Australian census since the formation of Federal Government in Australia, and prior to that in the Colonies, has provided detailed information about the extent of and changes in religious diversity in the nation and in particular cities. Because the census also provides very detailed information about where people of different religions live, it can provide information about the extent to which religious groups are residentially segregated, a factor which affects how people of different religions relate to each other. The methodological issues related to measuring diversity are discussed and the utility in urban contexts of a ‘dissimilarity scale’ is demonstrated. The unique contribution of census data to the mapping and management of religious diversity in Australia is presented.     

Ethnic identity,thin-ideal internalization,and eating pathology in ethnically diverse college women

Although much research suggests that ethnic identity is positively correlated with psychological health for ethnic minority women, research examining ethnic identity's relationships to thin-ideal internalization, weight concerns, and eating concerns is sparse. Consequently, this study examined these relationships in European American, African American, Latina, and Asian American college women (N = 816). As expected, univariate analyses of variance indicated that European American women scored lowest on ethnic identity and highest on eating and weight concerns, whereas African American women scored lowest on thin-ideal internalization. Hierarchical regression analyses indicated that ethnic identity was negatively associated with eating and weight concerns, while body mass index and thin-ideal internalization were positively associated. Ethnic identity moderated the relationship between thin-ideal internalization and eating concerns such that the relationship was stronger for participants with lower ethnic identity. These results suggest ethnic identity may be a direct or interactive protective factor against eating concerns in ethnically diverse college women.     

Bullies,blades, and barricades: Practical considerations for working with adolescents expressing concerns regarding gender and identity

ABSTRACT

Background: Adolescents, by their very nature and need for maturity, struggle with issues of the self and identity, while challenging the very systems that are there to support them. However, gender diverse adolescents may become detached and overwhelmed as a trans identity solidifies during this time. Bullies, blades and barricades describes the challenges, hardship and dispossession that some gender diverse adolescents face from interpersonal and intrapersonal conflicts, societal pressure and hostility.

Method: This paper utilizes the current research on safety and risks affecting trans youth, the authors clinical experience of trans and gender diverse adolescents, and recommendations in the literature for professional care and support of gender diverse adolescents to identify the various ways gender diverse adolescents are negatively affected by their experiences.

Results: Bullying is not limited to school or peer environments and may be present in adolescents' homes, in local communities, in professional services or from sources of information such as the media. The physical dangers gender diverse adolescents face may arise from victimization, violence or rejection, or self-harming behaviors due to negative beliefs, fear or frustration. Barriers preventing disclosure and expression of gender and/or identity may stem from negative experiences, rejection, pubertal changes, imposed limitations, dependence upon school, home or legal environments, or other spheres of influence.

Discussion: Affirmative approaches, individual focus, recognition of family dynamics, inclusion of significant others, advocacy in school and local community environments as well as professional training are the most commonly recommended interventions. This paper provides an inclusive review of the myriad of challenges confronting gender diverse adolescents including often unrecognized forms of pressure, oppression and restrictions. This paper aims to support clinicians by contextualizing the adversity that gender diverse adolescents face and offers strategies for engagement and intervention.