Quality of Life in the European Union and the United States of America: Evidence from Comprehensive Indices

The main question of this article is about the quality of life in the European Union and the United States measured by different comprehensive indicators (HDI, WBI, WISP, OLS, PWI, ABS, HLE). On the world scale moderately different levels of quality of life characterize the European Area and the US. In objective terms, the US is more at the top level regarding economy and science, whereas Europe is more at the top level regarding social concerns in a broad sense. In subjective terms, which means to rely on the usual subjective measures, the average of US population seems to be slightly better off than the average of the EU population. That said, the differences inside the EU are often more significant than those between the EU and the US. Many EU countries in Northern and Western Europe show higher satisfaction levels than the US, and Eastern Europe is especially low in respect to the satisfaction of its population. It is rather obvious that the choice of criteria and values influences the results of the comparisons of nations and supranational unions to a considerable degree.     

终末期肾病单病种付费方式患者满意度调查分析

本研究通过调查分析终末期肾病患者对当前单病种付费方式的满意度及影响因素,为医疗保险支付方式改革提供政策依据.研究采用典型抽样方法,对某市四家三级甲等医院257名透析治疗参保患者进行现场自填式问卷调查,调查结果显示,调查人员对终末期肾病单病种付费方式总体满意度为97.3％,对特约医疗机构的满意度高于对医疗保险政策的满意度.患者满意度的主要影响因素有治疗方式、文化程度和家庭收入.医疗保险部门应关注单病种付费政策的结算范围,增加医疗困难救助,加强对医护人员医疗保险政策的宣传,提高患者满意度.     

Authorship Decision Making: An Empirical Investigation

This empirical study concerns the authorship credit decision-making processes and outcomes that occur among coauthors in cases of multiauthored publications. The 2002 American Psychological Association (APA) Ethics Code offers standards for determining authorship order; however, little is known about how these decisions are made in actual practice. Results from a survey of 109 randomly selected authors indicated that most authors were satisfied with the decision-making process and outcome with few disagreements. Participants reported cases of both undeserved authorship being given and omission of deserving contributors' names as coauthors. Some factors associated with authorship decisions included “sense of loyalty or obligation,” “publish or perish pressures,” and “power differentials.” Authors who used APA standards were significantly more satisfied with both the process and outcome of authorship credit decisions.     

Effectiveness of cognitive behavioral therapy on the signs,symptoms and clinical consequences of premature ejaculation

The purpose of this research was to assess the effectiveness of cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) on the signs, symptoms, and clinical‐sexual consequences of premature ejaculation, including sexual esteem, sexual anxiety, sexual depression, sexual fear, and sexual satisfaction of patients and their wives. Fifteen patients with premature ejaculation were selected and received cognitive behavioral therapy of eight to 12 sessions. Finally, the data collected from 12 patients were analyzed using paired t‐tests. The results of the analysis showed that all of the variables changed after the treatment. All of the changes were statistically significant with a tendency towards improvement. CBT can be a more popular and effective treatment provided to patients suffering from premature ejaculation.     

Age Differences in Coping Resources and Satisfaction With Life Among Middle-Aged,Young-Old,and Oldest-Old Adults

The authors examined age differences in perceived coping resources and satisfaction with life across 3 older-adult age groups (45-64, 65-74, and 75 years and older). The 98 participants represented healthy, socially active, community-residing adults. Group comparisons were made on 12 individual coping scales, and an overall coping resource effectiveness score was computed. No significant differences were found for 11 of the coping resources or for overall coping resource effectiveness. Similar consistencies in life satisfaction were found across the 3 age groups. The findings indicate that (a) for healthy adults, the oldest old cope at least as effectively as their younger counterparts, despite their likelihood of encountering increased levels of stress; and (b) psychologically, old age may be viewed as a time of resilience and fortitude.     

Marital Satisfaction and Quality of Father–Child Interactions: The Moderating Role of Child Gender

The authors aimed to investigate the prospective links between normative variation in fathers’ marital satisfaction and the observed quality of father–toddler interactions, as well as the moderating role of child gender in these associations. Sixty-three fathers reported on their marital satisfaction when their children were 15 months of age, and were observed interacting with their child at 18 months. The results suggested that marital satisfaction was positively associated with the quality of father–son interactions, while no relations emerged among fathers of girls. These findings reiterate the importance of marital relationships for the quality of fathers’ parenting, while reaffirming previous suggestions that the role of child gender in the marriage-parenting connections requires further investigation.     

Combined Effects of Positive and Negative Affectivity and Job Satisfaction on Job Performance and Turnover Intentions

Capturing data from employee–supervisor dyads (N = 321) from eight organizations in Pakistan, including human service organizations, an electronics assembly plant, a packaging material manufacturing company, and a small food processing plant, we used moderated regression analysis to examine whether the relationships between trait affect (positive affectivity [PA] and negative affectivity [NA]) and two key work outcome variables (job performance and turnover) are contingent upon the level of job satisfaction. We applied the Trait Activation Theory to explain the moderating effect of job satisfaction on the relationship between affect and performance and between affect and turnover. Overall, the data supported our hypotheses. Positive and negative affectivity influenced performance and the intention to quit, and job satisfaction moderated these relationships. We discuss in detail the results of these findings and their implications for research and practice.     

Formative Versus Reflective Measurement: An Illustration Using Work–Family Balance

The aim of this article is to propose the formative measurement approach that can be used in various constructs of applied psychology. To illustrate this approach, the authors will (a) discuss the distinction between commonly used principal-factor (reflective) measures in comparison to the composite (formative) latent variable model, which is often applied in other disciplines such as marketing or engineering, and (b) point out the advantages and limitations of formative specifications using the example of the work–family balance (WFB) construct. Data collected from 2 large cross-sectional field studies confirm the reliability and validity of formative WFB measures as well as its predictive value regarding criteria of WFB (i.e., job satisfaction, family satisfaction, and life satisfaction). Last, the specific informational value of each formative indicator will be demonstrated and discussed in terms of practical implications for the assessment in different psychological fields.     

Content Analysis of Sexual Fantasies of Males and Females

Content analysis of the sexual fantasies of 87 community college and university students revealed no significant sex differences in the content of sexual fantasies. Both men and women preferred traditional and facilitative fantasies. Because this study was explorative, however, further research is required to validate the suggested scale and replicate these results.