Improving Youth Mentoring Interventions Through Research-based Practice

Youth mentoring programs are in the limelight. Over three million young people have a Big Brother, a Big Sister, or a similar adult volunteer involved in their lives–a sixfold increase from just a decade ago–and generous federal funding continues to fuel new initiatives. This expansion speaks volumes about the faith our society places in one‐on‐one relationships between vulnerable young people and caring adults. But what do we know about the effectiveness of this intervention strategy? A better understanding of the research evidence for youth mentoring, including findings from reviews, evaluations, and meta‐analyses, provides a basis for a more informed, practically applicable approach to strengthening youth mentoring interventions.     

共享心理模型的前因变量研究：群体合成特征的视角

以192个被试组成64个三人团队,通过计算机完成团队合成任务,从群体合成特征的视角出发探讨共享心理模型的前因变量。结果表明:团队成员的价值取向合成特征和初始心理模型合成特征对于共享心理模型的形成具有显著的主效应;群体合成特征与合作任务的信息分布特征形成了显著的交互效应,表明共享心理模型的形成存在潜在的信息分布依存性。最后对研究结果在共享心理模型理论研究上的意义和进一步研究的方向进行了讨论。     

组织认同的基础理论、测量及相关变量

组织认同是个体源于组织成员身份的一种自我构念,它与组织认定、组织承诺等概念存在显著差异。文章阐述了组织认同基础理论的三种主要观点,对比了差异论、资源论和信息论的研究视角和相互关系。文章着重说明了组织认同的测量工具,分析了组织层面和个人层面的前因变量,以及组织认同对离职意愿等结果变量的影响。文章最后指出今后有必要对扩展定义、影响因素和国家文化差异等方面进行探讨     

心理授权研究的现状

心理授权是授权的个体内心体验的综合体,包含意义、自我效能感、自我决定以及影响四个维度。个体心理授权的影响因素方面包括个体特征、工作特征以及团体和组织特征等三个方面。心理授权不仅能作为自变量对相关工作态度、工作行为及绩效发挥积极的作用,也能作为中介变量对某些因素之间的关系起着中介作用。该文最后在对心理授权的相关研究进行总结的基础上,指出未来的研究有必要加强对心理授权的纵向过程研究等四方面问题的考察     

Personal and social support factors involved in students’ decision to participate in formal academic mentoring

In this study, we examined the role of personal and social support factors involved in students’ decision to participate in formal academic mentoring. Three hundred and eighteen students completing Grade 11 and planning to study sciences in college filled out a questionnaire and were then asked to participate in an academic mentoring program during their first year of college. A total of 150 students agreed to take part in this program (volunteers) and 168 declined the offer (non-volunteers). The overall findings support the hypothesis that academic mentoring is more attractive for some students than others depending on their personality, help-seeking attitudes, academic dispositions, perceived support from friends, and support available during the transition to college. These findings were discussed in light of the different mechanisms proposed by mentoring and social support literatures.     

Physical aggression toward teachers: Antecedents,behaviors, and consequences

School violence is a significant public health concern that occurs in many forms. Physical aggression can cause serious bodily injury and long-term negative effects, and both teachers and students experience significant rates of physical aggression. There are few studies examining teachers’ experiences of physical aggression. Studies that go beyond prevalence are limited, and we know little about the triggers and consequences that surround these incidents. This qualitative investigation used an antecedent-behavior-consequence (A-B-C) framework to understand how incidents of physical aggression directed toward teachers unfold. The sample included 193 elementary and secondary teachers who completed an anonymous, online survey and described events leading up to and following their experiences with physical aggression. Using conventional content analysis, we identified common antecedents, such as breaking up fights, discipline, and directives, and common consequences, such as student removal, school staff involvement, positive outcomes, and inaction. Further analyses revealed seven common A-B-C patterns among physical aggression incidents that are highlighted and discussed. Utility of the A-B-C framework for teacher-directed violence is described, along with implications for research, practice, and policy. Exploring the context surrounding incidents of physical aggression directed against teachers provides useful information for violence prevention and interventions.     

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.     

A SCATTER PLOT FOR IDENTIFYING STIMULUS CONTROL OF PROBLEM BEHAVIOR

Line graphs that average response frequency over long periods obscure the major rate changes that indicate sources of behavioral control. A scatter plot can make patterns of responding identifiable and, in turn, suggest environmental features that occasion undesirable behavior. Use of scatter diagrams is illustrated in three cases.     

Antecedents and Consequences of Job Stressors: A Study in a Third World Setting

The present study investigates the antecedents and consequences of job stressors, especially role conflict and role ambiguity, in an environment where multiculturalism is a dominant feature of the workforce. This study used a sample of 397 employees in various manufacturing and service organizations in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Path analysis revealed that age is negatively related to role conflict and positively to role ambiguity, and that nationality is positively related to role ambiguity. Results further indicate that role conflict directly and negatively influences job satisfaction, whereas role ambiguity directly and indirectly influences job satisfaction. Role conflict (directly), role ambiguity (directly and indirectly) and positively influence absenteeism. Both role conflict and role ambiguity negatively influence affective and behavioral tendency dimensions of attitudes toward organizational change, while role ambiguity directly and negatively influences cognitive attitude toward organizational change. Implications, limitations, lines of future research, and contributions were discussed.