The relationship between the spiritual well-being of university students in Hong Kong and their academic performance#

The study aims to examine the relationship between the spiritual well-being of university students in Hong Kong and their academic performance measured by Cumulative Grade-Point Average, using both quantitative and qualitative methods. The quantitative part of the study consists of 1130 Year 2 and Year 3 students from three universities in Hong Kong. The questionnaire is adapted from the Spiritual Health and Life-Orientation Measure developed by John Fisher. Results indicate a moderately positive relationship between the spiritual well-being of the respondents and their academic performance. The qualitative part of the study is comprised of 11 focus group discussions. The findings of this support the quantitative findings and contribute to the exploration of how students’ spiritual well-being and their pursuits of academic success are correlated. The several spiritual attributes, namely, concentration, persistence, self-confidence, self-discipline and interpersonal relationships are found in the resulting positive relationship through the qualitative findings.     

Supervisor support,flourishing, and intention to leave in a higher education setting

This study investigated the relationship between supervisor support, flourishing at work, and intention to leave in a South African higher education setting. Participants comprised a convenience sample of 339 academic employees from three universities of technology. They completed the Supervisor Behaviour Scale (SBS), Flourishing-at-Work Scale (Short Form: FAWS-SF), and the Turnover Intention Scale (TIS). The results showed that supervisor support (autonomy, competence, and relatedness of employees) predicted employees’ flourishing at work. Higher supervisor support was associated with lower intention to leave. Employees with work flourishing were less likely to report intention to leave.     

Psychometric validation of the Flourishing-at-Work Scale – Short Form (FWS-SF): Results and implications of a South African study

The aim of this study was to validate the Flourishing-at-Work Scale Short Form (FWS-SF) in a South African fast-moving consumable goods industry. Participants were a stratified random sample of 779 employees of an alcoholic beverage company (female = 40.4%, black = 33.4%). The FWS-SF and a biographical questionnaire were administered. Latent variable modelling was applied to assess the psychometric properties of the FWS-SF. The results supported the three-factor structure of FWS-SF. Scores from the FWS-SM showed acceptable reliability. A total of 8% of participants were languishing, while 35.9% were flourishing. The FWS-SF appears valid for research use in assessing the work-related well-being of individuals in organisations.     

Traumatic Exposure and Psychological Well-Being: The Moderating Role of Cognitive Flexibility

This study examined the moderating role of cognitive flexibility between earthquake exposure and psychological well-being. The participants were 491 adolescents from three middle schools in Sichuan. Multivariable, hierarchical linear regressions were used to analyze the data. The findings showed that there were significant differences in psychological well-being for the dimension of relocation of school (T = ?3.09, p < 0.01), damage to property (F = 2.73, p < 0.05) and damage to school (F = 5.76, p < 0.01). Hierarchical regression analysis indicated that cognitive flexibility moderated the relation between being hurt during the earthquake and psychological well-being (B = 1.01, SE = 0.31, T = 3.22, p < 0.01).     

Individual and Collective Posttraumatic Growth in Victims of Natural Disasters: A Multidimensional Perspective

This study set out to incorporate the collective dimensions of posttraumatic growth and examined the construct and predictive validity of The Individual and Collective Posttraumatic Growth Scale (ICPTGS). Participants were 332 volunteers who had experienced the earthquake on February 27, 2010, in Chile. Analysis allowed us to confirm a multidimensional structure composed of four dimensions: individual, spiritual, communal growth, and societal growth. Additionally, we identified association among ICPTGS, perceived emotional impact, and social well-being. This study emphasizes that positive changes resulting from the exposure to collective disasters can be perceived also at the collective or community level.     

贫困问题:基于心理学的视角

贫困心理学,是在心理学视角下研究贫困问题的一种新研究取向,是心理学在贫困领域的最新运用。现阶段贫困心理学研究主要集中在主观幸福感、心理健康、行为决策等三个方面。贫困文化理论、稀缺理论、自我损耗论分别从贫困文化、稀缺心态以及意志力资源视角解释了贫困产生的心理机制。在摆脱贫困过程中需要打破贫困循环,未来贫困心理学研究需要进一步探讨贫困的产生机制、神经生理机制,贫困心理学的本土化研究以及心理学在扶贫工作中的应用等。     

身高的心理效应及其内在机制

身高对心理因素的影响被称为身高的心理效应。日常生活中,人们普遍认为身高较高者有更多机遇、更受重视。本文对探究身高心理效应的文献进行了梳理,发现身高影响人们的社会知觉、人格、择偶行为和心理健康水平。身高的这些效应在一定程度上可以从进化心理学、社会规范、视知觉及自证预言等视角加以解释。未来的研究应进一步理清变量之间的关系,拓展身高的测量方式和研究方法,进一步探究其内在机制,并挖掘身高心理效应在中国情境下的独特性。     

The role of implicit motivation in hot and cold goal pursuit: Effects on goal progress, goal rumination, and emotional well-being

Two cross-sectional studies examined the role of implicit motivational needs in the association between personal goal pursuits and depressive symptoms and affect. Replicating and extending on findings reported by Brunstein et al. [Brunstein, J. C., Schultheiss, O. C., & Grässmann, R. (1998). Personal goals and emotional well-being: The moderating role of motive dispositions. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 75(2), 494–508], both studies provided evidence that goal progress significantly accounted for variations in depressive symptoms and happiness only in individuals with high levels of implicit motivation, but not in individuals low in implicit motivation. Moreover, in the absence of a strong sense of goal commitment, high levels of implicit motivation were associated with high goal progress in both studies and low levels of goal rumination in Study 2. These findings are interpreted within a dual-systems framework of motivation that distinguishes an implicit, intuitive, and hedonically driven from an explicit, effortful-analytical, and non-hedonic mode of goal pursuit.     

General mood of professional caregivers in child care centers and the quality of caregiver–child interactions

The present study is the first to relate professional caregivers’ general mood to the observed quality of their interactions with the children in their care. A total of 238 female caregivers from 133 child care groups in 64 centers completed the General mood scale of Bar-On’s Emotional Quotient Inventory (1997) and was observed while playing with small groups of children. Factor analysis on the General mood scale yielded five general mood factors, one negative and four positive. Two positive mood factors in particular, i.e., positivity and optimism, were found to contribute positively to the quality of professional caregivers’ behavior toward the children and, through their caregiving behavior, to the children’s well-being.