Job Insecurity in Recent Business School Graduates: Antecedents and Consequences

This research examined the relationship of perceived threats to job security, job satisfaction, and psychological mood among recent business school graduates. Most job insecurity research has considered longer-tenured organizational employees. Two hundred and seventeen respondents completed anonymous questionnaires. LISREL analysis provided considerable support for the research model. Perceived threats to job security had direct effects on job insecurity and job satisfaction and indirect effects on psychological mood through job insecurity and job satisfaction.     

计划生育干部多种量表评定结果的相关分析

本研究采用DSQ、SCL－90、16PF问卷,对河南、陕西两省部分县（市）乡（镇）的计划生育专职机构的169名计生干部进行测试,结果发现：计生干部的防御方式、心理健康及个性特质三者存在着密不可分的内在联系。个性特征、心理健康状况影响制约着防御方式的动用;防御方式的使用影响行为后果及人的适应能力,进而作用于心理健康,心理健康状况又会重塑人格结构,影响防御方式的动用。     

System influences on posthomicide beliefs and distress

Criminal justice system experiences in 150 family members of homicide victims were investigated. The study had two goals: (a) to document the experiences of homicide survivors in the criminal justice system, including case outcomes, criminal justice system activities, and satisfaction with system personnel; and (b) to determine if experiences with the police impacted posthomicide beliefs (cognitive assumptions about the world and one’s relationship to it) and psychological distress. The sample, which was identified through the Medical Examiner’s Office, was drawn from all criminal homicides from 1.5 to 5 years prior to selection. Results showed that family members of homicide victims were very dissatisfied with their experiences in the criminal justice system. Additionally, whereas objective system outcomes (e.g, arrest) did not directly affect posthomicide beliefs and distress, subjective system outcomes (e.g., police satisfaction) directly affected beliefs and indirectly affected distress. There was some support for both equity theory and a cognitive theory of change, the two theories that guided the model specification. This study was funded by a predoctoral National Research Service Award fellowship to Martie Thompson, from the Violence and Traumatic Stress Research Branch at the National Institute of Mental Health. We thank Paula Vardaman for her help with sample recruitment and data collection, Nancy Deore and Kelly Harlan for their help with data collection, and Ann Price for help with data entry. Additionally, we would like to thank Lieutenant Agan of the Atlanta Homicide Division, the staff at the Fulton County Medical Examiner’s Office, and the staff at the Victim Witness Assistance Program for making this study possible by providing access to their files. Finally, we thank Morton Bard for his feedback in quastionnaire development and study design.     

应用心理测验评估轻度甲苯中毒者的脑功能状态

以２９名轻度甲苯中毒的工人和２９名作为控制组的工人,就一些神经心理测验上的作业水平,进行了比较。此两组工人工作场所的空气,以８小时的ＴＷＡ计算,所得甲苯含量分别为８８．０ｐｐｍ和１３．５ｐｐｍ。所实施的心理测验包括数字广度、ＷＭＳ视觉记忆测验、本顿视觉保持测验、连线测验、符号数字、栓子安插和手指敲击测验。结果发现,轻度甲苯中毒的工人,无论在语文或非语文的短时记忆、注意力或集中力、知觉运动或手巧等方面的作业水平,都比不上控制组,显示轻度甲苯中毒组之脑功能已受损害。该研究亦进一步表明了轻度毒害性化学溶剂所导致的脑功能损害,可通过简便的心理测验予以相当准确的测查。     

The psychological physician: Semantics and survival

The calls for change in three areas of professional psychology are briefly reviewed, along with the reasons why such changes would be in the best interest of not only psychology but also the consumers of mental health services. Psychology's survival is linked to the implementation of these changes. It is argued that psychology must (1) standardize its education, training, and doctoral degree; (2) expand its scope of practice; and (3) become, legally and otherwise, psychological physicians, or risk being rolled-over by history. The importance of terminology and semantics is also discussed. Conclusions are drawn and discussed.The opinions expressed herein are solely those of the author and do not in any way represent the opinions of the Department of Defense or the United States Air Force.     

Introduction to the special issue on “psychological research and practice in organ transplantation”

This paper provides a brief overview of articles in this Special Issue on Psychological Research and Practice in Organ Transplantation. The articles provide empirical information on the psychological adaptation of transplant candidates and recipients, as well as addressing the myriad ethical and clinical issues evident in the field of organ transplantation. Heart, liver, lung, kidney, and bone marrow transplantation for children and adults has increased in frequency in recent years, and the articles address the need for more sophisticated and comprehensive assessment of psychological concomitants. The Guest Editor's Top Ten list of research needs which transplantation psychologists might further address is discussed in this article.     

A rose by any other name: Maintaining the name and highlighting the uniqueness of psychology as a health care profession

In this article, we reply to the comments made by Holden and Levant (preceding articles). While we agree with their goals of expanding the scope of practice of psychology, standardizing training, and educating the public and other health care professionals about the field of clinical psychology, we do not agree that changing the discipline's name to psychological physician is a necessary or sufficient means to these ends. We outline the bases for our disagreement with the name change proposal and provide other proposals for reaching the goals set forth by Holden and Levant.     

Struggling with self: The personal projects of students seeking psychological counselling

Personal projects can be described as self-articulated goals and related sequences of actions. In order to investigate what kind of personal projects people with psychological problems have, and how they work on them, 28 counselling client students, 44 students of psychology, and 45 students of technology completed a Finnish version of Little's (1987) Personal Project Inventory. The results showed that the clients scored lower on project accomplishment than other groups. Their personal projects were frequently self-related, while those of the technology students were often task-related. The higher their sense of coherence, self-esteem, mental health and life satisfaction, the more subjects expected to accomplish their projects, the more frequently they described task-related projects, the less negative affect they reported, and the less frequently they described self-related projects. These results suggest that psychologically distressed individuals struggle with self-related projects and have problems in accomplishing their projects.     

The relationship among the transtheoretical model of behavioral change,psychological distress,and diet attitudes in obesity: Implications for primary care intervention

Obesity is prevalent but undertreated in primary care. Family practice volunteer outpatients (N=454) were administered the Stage of Change for Weight (URICA), the Brief Symptom Inventory (BSI), and the Diet Readiness Test (DRT) to assess the relationship between these variables and obesity. The body mass index (BMI) was used to classify obesity revealing 197 patients with elevated BMI's. There was no significant difference between the obese and the nonobese on any of the psychological measures. The obese reported significantly more difficulty setting diet goals and less control over their eating, ate more to emotional situations, and exercised less than the nonobese. The obese sample (46.7%) reported being in the Action stage of change for weight management. Implications for intervention in primary care include targeting attitudes (DRT) and dispelling physician attitudes that obese individuals have increased levels of psychological distress. Addressing Stage of Change for weight management can facilitate tailoring the appropriate intervention when used in concert with the DRT variables.     

Health,social comparisons,and psychological well-being: Their cross-time relationships

The purposes of this short-term longitudinal study were to investigate (a) stability and change in social comparisons across time; (b) the relationship between physical health and the use of social comparisons across time; (c) whether psychological well-being is best predicted by prior or concurrent social comparisons; and (d) the moderating effects of social comparisons. Community-dwelling elderly women (N=149) completed self-report instruments designed to measure social comparisons, psychological well-being, and physical health at two times, 2 years apart. Worse health at Time 1 predicted more frequent and less positive social comparisons at Time 2. Concurrent, but not prior, social comparisons contributed to a number of domains of psychological well-being. Further, the effects of prior health status on subsequent psychological functioning (Time 2) were moderated by social comparison processes. Women in poorest health who engaged in positive social comparisons showed less depression and anxiety and more positive relations with others at Time 2. Little support was found for the influence of prior psychological functioning on subsequent physical health.