Coping strategies and perceived social support in fibromyalgia syndrome: Relationship with alexithymia

Fibromyalgia (FM ) is a chronic pain syndrome characterized by high levels of psychological distress and alexithymia, a personality disposition affecting emotional self‐awareness. The main aim of the present study was to investigate for the first time the relationship between alexithymia and coping strategies on the one hand, and alexithymia and perceived social support on the other, in a sample of FM patients. To reach this aim, 153 FM patients completed a battery of tests assessing coping strategies, perceived social support, alexithymia, psychological distress and pain intensity. Four regression analyses were performed to assess whether alexithymia was still a significant predictor of coping strategies and perceived social support, after controlling for psychological distress. High levels of both psychological distress and alexithymia were found in our sample of FM patients. Regarding coping strategies, FM patients reported higher scores on problem‐focused coping, with respect to the other two coping strategies. The regression analyses showed that the externally‐oriented thinking factor of alexithymia significantly explained both problem‐ and emotion‐focused coping, while the difficulty‐describing feelings factor of alexithymia proved to be a significant predictor of perceived social support. Only the variance of dysfunctional coping ceased to be uniquely explained by alexithymia (difficulty identifying feelings factor), after controlling for psychological distress, particularly anxiety. These results highlight a negative relationship between alexithymia and both the use of effective coping strategies and the levels of perceived social support in FM patients. An adequate assessment of both alexithymia and psychological distress should therefore be included in clinical practice with these patients.     

四种新的基于属性平衡的CD-CAT选题策略开发研究

基于属性平衡的CD-CAT选题策略能够保证每个认知属性被相当数量的题目测量,从而提高被试属性判准率,传统的基于属性平衡的选题策略包括MMGDI法和MGCDI法。本文针对传统的基于属性测量次数平衡选题策略进行改进,提出4种新的基于属性平衡的选题策略：RMGDI、RMCDI、SE-RMGDI、SE-RMCDI,前两种为基于属性测量次数平衡,后两种为基于属性测量精度平衡的选题策略。模拟研究表明：（1）定长CD-CAT条件下,短测验中,MMGDI表现最好,而长测验中,SE-RMGDI和SE-RMCDI的表现优于传统的属性平衡选题策略。（2）不定长CD-CAT条件下,RMGDI在判准率指标上表现优于传统的属性平衡选题策略,4种新的属性平衡策略在测量效率和综合指标上的表现均优于传统的选题策略。     

Exploring the Relationship Between Child Maltreatment,Intimate Partner Violence Victimization,and Self-Injurious Thoughts and Behaviors

Child maltreatment is considered a significant risk factor for young adult self-injury; however, the mechanisms that underlie this relationship are not yet understood. To elucidate this association, the mediating role of intimate partner violence victimization in the relationship between child maltreatment and self-injurious thoughts and behaviors was investigated. The sample consisted of 406 young adults (346 females; M_age = 19.87 years; SD = 1.72) involved in a couple relationship. Results of bootstrapping procedures demonstrated that intimate partner violence victimization mediated the relationship between child maltreatment and self-injurious behaviors but did not mediate the association between child maltreatment and self-injurious thoughts. Results suggest that young adults with a history of child maltreatment may be more likely to be exposed to IPV victimization, which, in turn, is associated with the use of self-injurious behaviors, but not the use of self-injurious thoughts. Findings highlight the utility of examining models that incorporate distal and proximal factors contributing to self-injury, and provide direction toward better understanding the relationship experiences of self-injuring young adults.     

The relation between career decision-making strategies and person-job fit: A study of job changers

This study examined relations between three career decision-making strategies (rational, intuitive, and dependent) and person-job fit among 361 professionals who had recently changed jobs. We found that the relation between each decision-making strategy and fit was contingent upon the concurrent use of other strategies. A rational strategy related more strongly to fit when individuals also engaged in extensive intuitive decision making than when they engaged in limited intuitive decision making. In addition, a dependent strategy related negatively to fit only in the absence of extensive rational or intuitive strategies. Moreover, self-awareness and awareness of the environment mediated relations between career decision-making strategies and person-job fit. The implications of these findings for future research on career decision making were discussed.     

Mood and judgments based on sequential sampling

Different adaptive styles characterize cognition and behavior in different affective states. Whereas negative affect supports accommodation (i.e., stimulus‐driven bottom‐up processing), positive affect supports assimilation (i.e., self‐determined top‐down processing). Applying this well‐established rule to binary choices after self‐truncated information sampling, we predicted that positive mood should render choices less dependent on large samples than negative mood. Consequently, the potential primacy advantage underlying Wald's ( 1947 ) sequential testing (i.e., quick and correct decisions from the first few items in a sample) was exploited more efficiently when participants were in positive rather than negative mood. This efficient utilization of small samples in positive mood was obtained under the very conditions derived on a priori ground from a statistical model, namely, when a response criterion or threshold was high and when the true difference between choice options was relatively small. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Quality home visits: Activities to promote meaningful interactions

Examination of and support for specific practices that promote high-quality home visiting are essential as family support programs continue to expand across the country. The current study used direct observation of 91 home visits across 41 home visitors to examine relations among interaction partners, content of the interactions, the home-visitors’ activities, and quality of home-visitors’ practices and family-members’ engagement within programs funded by the Maternal, Infant, and Early Childhood Home Visiting program. More time spent in triadic interactions focused on child-related content, as measured by the Home Visit Rating Scale-Revised, was related to higher quality of family engagement in home visits, as measured with the Home Visit Observation Rating Scales. Time spent in adult-focused interactions and administrative tasks, however, was related to lower quality of home-visiting practices and family engagement. Implications for research and practice are discussed.     

员工负性情绪对情绪劳动策略的影响

情绪劳动指的是员工在工作中按照组织的要求来调节自己的情绪感受和表达, 是服务行业普遍关注的问题。本研究基于自我调节理论(Self-Regulation Theory), 探讨了员工个体内负性情绪对情绪劳动策略的影响效应, 以及个体间水平上员工工作年限和情绪智力对该效应的跨层次调节作用。通过分析收集自210名呼叫中心员工14个工作日的追踪数据, 本研究发现员工每天的负性情绪显著抑制了深层动作; 工作年限和情绪智力显著调节了个体内负性情绪对情绪劳动策略的影响效应。数据分析结果支持了情绪劳动的研究中自我调节理论的作用, 本研究也据此讨论了理论意义和实践应用价值。     

Doing Despite Disliking: Self‐regulatory Strategies in Everyday Aversive Activities

We investigated the self‐regulatory strategies people spontaneously use in their everyday lives to regulate their persistence during aversive activities. In pilot studies (pooled N = 794), we identified self‐regulatory strategies from self‐reports and generated hypotheses about individual differences in trait self‐control predicting their use. Next, deploying ambulatory assessment (N = 264, 1940 reports of aversive/challenging activities), we investigated predictors of the strategies' self‐reported use and effectiveness (trait self‐control and demand types). The popularity of strategies varied across demands. In addition, people higher in trait self‐control were more likely to focus on the positive consequences of a given activity, set goals, and use emotion regulation. Focusing on positive consequences, focusing on negative consequences (of not performing the activity), thinking of the near finish, and emotion regulation increased perceived self‐regulatory success across demands, whereas distracting oneself from the aversive activity decreased it. None of these strategies, however, accounted for the beneficial effects of trait self‐control on perceived self‐regulatory success. Hence, trait self‐control and strategy use appear to represent separate routes to good self‐regulation. By considering trait‐ and process‐approaches these findings promote a more comprehensive understanding of self‐regulatory success and failure during people's daily attempts to regulate their persistence. © 2018 European Association of Personality Psychology     

2岁儿童母亲教养目标与使用策略关系的研究

以105名2岁儿童及其母亲为被试,采用实验室录像观察法,探讨在自由游戏情景下母亲教养目标、使用策略及两者的关系.母亲的教养目标分为四个方面:鼓励儿童的独立、鼓励儿童的接近、不鼓励独立和不鼓励接近;根据压力程度的不同将教养策略分为三大类共11种.结果表明:(1)鼓励儿童独立自主活动是母亲在自由游戏情景下的主要教养目标;(2)母亲使用得最多的为中等程度压力策略、其次是低压力的建议策略;(3)与四种教养目标相关密切的为中、低程度压力的教养策略,即建议、解释、积极评价和指导,在否定的教养目标下使用高压力的干扰和坚持要求执行策略.