Teachers' attunement to students' peer group affiliations as a source of improved student experiences of the school social-affective context following the middle school transition

A randomized control trial examined the impact of a professional development program on rural teachers' attunement to student social dynamics, and the influence of teacher attunement on students' school experiences. In intervention schools serving Latino and White rural early adolescents, teachers (N = 14) received training on social dynamics and aspects of early adolescent adjustment; control school teachers (N = 12) received no training. Social cognitive mapping procedures assessed and compared students' and teachers' perceptions of peer groups; structured observations assessed teachers' management of social dynamics. Students (N = 225) self-reported their perceptions of the school social-affective context. Intervention and control schools differed on teacher attunement and management of the social environment. Students whose teachers were more attuned to peer group affiliations evidenced improved views of the school social environment. Findings are discussed in terms of attunement as an element of teachers' invisible hand, and for teachers' role in promoting productive contexts for students during the middle school transition.     

Long-Term Follow-Up of an Occupation-Based Group Addressing Occupational Performance and Satisfaction in University Freshmen

The long-term impact of a 5-week, occupation-based intervention to address the life transition of university students into young adulthood is presented here. Study participants showed statistically significant gains from baseline to long-term follow-up in both occupational performance and performance satisfaction. In post hoc analyses, occupational performance maintained a level of significance. During a time of rapid change, occupation-based interventions have the potential to provide transitioning university freshmen students the skills that they need for a successful transition into a university. Changes in the structure, timing, and focus of the intervention and studies using more diverse and larger samples are warranted.     

破解“通勤悖论”:通勤时间如何影响幸福感

本文从社会过渡带和心理过渡带两个方面对"通勤悖论"进行解析,构建了通勤时间影响幸福感的理论模型。通过对广州市白领的追踪调查和多项式回归分析,结果发现:(1)婚姻状态(社会过渡带)具有调节作用,未婚员工通勤时间负向影响生活满意度,已婚员工通勤时间对生活满意度和快乐度有曲线影响;(2)恢复体验(心理过渡带)具有交互效应,心理解脱调节了未婚员工通勤时间与通勤效用的关系,放松体验调节了未婚员工通勤时间与快乐度的关系;(3)已婚员工通勤时间与通勤效用和快乐度的关系受放松体验调节,与生活满意度的关系受心理解脱调节;(4)通勤时间对生活满意度和快乐度的影响,以及婚姻状态和恢复体验的交互效应,以通勤效用为中介;(5)员工在"通勤时间陷阱"(1.75~2.75小时)的效用均衡。结论有助于分析"通勤悖论"的深层原因,对城市管理、企业管理和个人都具有积极启示。     

The role of chance events in the school-to-work transition: The influence of demographic, personality and career development variables

Chance events are considered important in career development, yet little empirical research is available on their predictors and consequences. The present study investigated socio-demographic (gender, nationality, school-type), personality (openness, locus of control) and career development variables (career decidedness, career planning) in relation to perceived chance events with a retrospective (N = 229, eleventh grade), and 1-year longitudinal prospective study (N = 245, eighth/ninth grade) among Swiss adolescents. The results showed that the majority of both groups reported a significant influence of chance events on their transition from compulsory school to vocational education or high school. Importance of chance events related to socio-demographics and personality but not career preparation. Career preparation and chance events predicted subjective career success in terms of wish correspondence and overall satisfaction with transition outcome among the younger cohort. Implications include the necessity to integrate both thorough career preparation and chance events in theory and counseling practice.     

Parental and school effects on students' occupational exploration: A longitudinal and multilevel analysis

The study examines school and parental influences on adolescents' occupational exploration. Analyses of data from 859 6th, 8th, and 10th graders attending high- and lower-track high schools in the German federal state of Thuringia suggested more extensive exploration among students closer to the school-to-work transition. Besides cross-sectional effects of parenting and achievement orientation at school, acceptance and openness students experienced in class predicted increases of their exploratory behaviors. Multilevel analyses showed, however, that school effects operated on the level of subjective perceptions (individual level), but not on the level of intersubjective reality (classroom level). Implications for attempts to foster and facilitate exploration are discussed.     

Career exploration in adolescents: The role of anxiety, attachment, and parenting style

The aim of the study was to examine the role of parent-adolescent attachment, adolescent anxiety and parenting style in the career exploration process and in career satisfaction. Three kinds of anxiety were considered: general trait anxiety, fear of failing in one’s career and fear of disappointing one’s parents. The participants were 283 French high school students on the threshold of one of the most important school transitions. The results varied by gender. For girls, general anxiety and neglectful style were negatively related to career exploration; secure attachment and fear of failing were positively related to it. For boys, fear of disappointing parents was positively related to career exploration. Attachment to parents, authoritative style, general anxiety, and fear of failing were related to some career exploration satisfaction scores, though differently for boys and girls. The differences between boys and girls in the roles played by anxiety, attachment and parenting style are discussed.     

Company matters: Goal-related social capital in the transition to working life

Using longitudinal data on 343 young adults, the present study investigated the social ties involved in young adults’ work-related goals, how these ties change during transition to working life, and whether social ties contribute to success in dealing with the transition. The results showed that goal-relevant social ties reflected changes in the young adults’ developmental context. Furthermore, social ties that included a person with high socioeconomic status and weaker social ties contributed to employment success, whereas social ties containing one’s supervisor were associated with quality of employment. The results also showed that goal-related social hindrance increased young adults’ intentions to quit and decreased job satisfaction.     

Effects of shyness and friendship on socioemotional adjustment during the college transition

This study identified (a) friendship changes during the first year of college, and how this change is affected by shyness, and (b) how shyness and friendship individually and in combination affect socioemotional well‐being. In Fall and Spring, first‐year college students reported on shyness, friendship quality and stability, internalizing symptoms, loneliness, and life satisfaction. There was substantial stability in friendships, particularly among shy students. A Person × Interpersonal Environment Interaction predicted socioemotional well‐being. Shy students with high‐quality versus low‐quality friendships reported lower internalizing symptoms. Although shyness was associated with increased loneliness and decreased life satisfaction, high‐quality friendships showed modest evidence of moderating these relationships. Many students maintained precollege friendships, but high‐quality friendships were particularly beneficial for shy students.     

Human walk-to-run transition in the context of the behaviour of complex systems

This study had two main aims: 1) to investigate if the walk-to-run (WR-) transition occurs when the speed of locomotion is kept constant below the WR-transition speed (speed clamp) and the stride rate is increased monotonously using a metronome and 2) to investigate if diversion of attention and awareness from the locomotion process influences the position of the WR-transition in stride rate, stride length, and locomotion speed (SrSlLs) space.Eighteen healthy individuals (13 men and 5 women) were recruited (age: 23.9 ± 1.5 years, height: 1.77 ± 0.10 m and body mass: 77.3 ± 12.8 kg). Stride-by-stride stride rates, stride lengths, locomotion speeds, and duty factors were determined on a treadmill in 4 different tests: 1) reference WR-transition, 2) preferred walking speed, 3) dual-task test including arithmetic calculations and 4) four speed clamp bouts with different initial velocities.Walk-to-run transitions were elicited in all participants in the speed clamp bouts. When the stride rate ramp was clamped at preferred walking speed the WR-transition stride rate was not significantly different from the WR-transition stride rate during the reference test (t = 2.2, p = 0.312). However, in the SrSlLs space the speed clamp WR-transitions all deviated from the position of the reference WR-transition. Additionally, it was demonstrated that intensive attentional diversion using a dual-task paradigm had very little influence on the position of the WR-transition in the SrSlLs space.It is argued that these observations can be explained in the context of the behavior of complex systems.     

Attachment and coparenting representations in men during the transition to parenthood

Coparenting is based on parents’ representations of themselves as coparents. Attachment theory can be a useful framework to understand the way that different coparenting representations are developed during the transition to parenthood. This study aimed to analyze the association between men's attachment and coparenting representations at the first trimester of pregnancy and from the first trimester of pregnancy to 6 months’ postpartum. A sample of 86 men was recruited and completed self-report measures of attachment and coparenting representations at the first and third trimester of pregnancy and at 1 and 6 months’ postpartum. At the first trimester of pregnancy, higher attachment avoidance was associated with higher lack of coparenting support. From the first trimester of pregnancy to 6 months’ postpartum, higher attachment avoidance was associated with (a) a steeper increase on lack of coparenting support, (b) an increase on coparenting conflict (while low attachment avoidance was associated with a decrease), and (c) a lower decrease on coparenting disagreement. This study may contribute to coparenting research by showing new evidence on attachment theory as a useful framework to understand how different coparenting representations are developed in men during the transition to parenthood.