Social support,psychological vulnerability,and HIV risk among African American men who have sex with men

Previous research has suggested a need to understand the social-psychological factors contributing to HIV risk among African American men who have sex with men (MSM). We conducted individual in-depth interviews with 34 adult African American MSM to examine their personal experiences about: (i) sources of social support, (ii) psychological responses to the presence or absence of social support and (iii) influences of social support on sexual behaviours. The majority of participants described limited positive encouragement and lack of emotional support from family, as well as few meaningful personal relationships. Feelings of isolation and mistrust about personal relationships led many participants to avoid emotional intimacy and seek physical intimacy through sexual encounters. Findings highlight a need for multilevel interventions that enhance social support networks and address the social-psychological, emotional and interpersonal factors that contribute to HIV risk among African American MSM.     

Postwar Recovery to Stress Symptoms Ratio as a Measure of Resilience,Individual Characteristics,Sense of Danger,and Age

This study maintains that postwar resilience should be defined by the proportion of recovery from war adversity and level of postwar symptoms. We hypothesize first that four resilience-promoting factors will predict this measure of resilience. Second, these associations will be mediated by sense of postwar danger. Third, war-afflicted older people will be comparable to younger people on these variables. The sample included 829 Israeli adults who experienced the 2006 second Lebanon war. Results that have generally supported these hypotheses have been discussed in terms of the definition of resilience, the role of sense of danger in postwar adjustment, and the resilience of older people to war.     

Divergent Interpersonal Paths to Well‐Being for Insecurely Attached Emerging Adults

This study explored attachment, social support, and well‐being among 237 emerging adults. The model predicted that social support would (a) mediate the relationship between attachment anxiety and well‐being and (b) moderate the relationship between attachment avoidance and well‐being. All hypotheses were supported. Implications for counselors are discussed.     

来访者动机:心理咨询与治疗理论与实践的整合

来访者动机是影响行为改变和治疗结果的重要因素,是贯穿心理咨询与治疗过程的关键问题。自我决定理论(SDT)是关于动机行为的一种宽泛理论,将动机看成一个随自主水平变化的连续体,认为来访者自主水平越高,治疗效果越好,并强调治疗师的自主支持对来访者参与和坚持改变的重要性;动机访谈(MI)则是在成瘾行为治疗中发展起来的一种临床技术和策略,遵循来访者中心的原则激发和增强来访者动机。在健康行为领域两种治疗模型有不同的起点、焦点和发展路径,研究者却发现两者可以系统而有机地整合,促进了有实证支持的实践发展。     

Workplace and family support and work–life balance: Implications for individual psychological availability and energy at work

This study presents three studies that explore the ways in which multiple support sources (workplace and family social support) help individuals to experience work–life balance (WLB) and thereby develop a sense psychological availability and positive energy at work. We examine this serial mediation model across three population groups in Israel using time-lagged data from part-time students (sample 1), as well cross-sectional data from workers in the industrial sector (sample 2) and physicians in public hospitals (sample 3). The results indicate a complex process in which workplace and family support augment employee positive energy through WLB and psychological availability. The findings shed light on the importance of support from work and nonwork sources for the pursuit of employees to achieve balance in the spheres of work and life and suggest that the WLB helps in the development of psychological availability and augmenting employee positive energy.     

The Role of Family Support in Interparental Conflict and Adolescent Academic Achievement

Family support was examined as a mediator of the relation between interparental conflict and adolescent academic achievement. Results indicated that two dimensions of family support, family cohesion and parent–school involvement, mediated the relation between interparental conflict and academic achievement. The results further suggested that family support was more likely to function as a mediator for girls than for boys. Lastly, in the presence of a mediating effect, a direct path remained between interparental conflict and grade point average.     

大学新生社会支持的特点与变化的研究

本研究以374名大学新生为被试,采用问卷法考察了在进入大学的第一个学期中,新生社会支持感受总体水平及来自父母、同伴与教师的社会支持特点与变化。研究发现,在不同时期,来自家长、同伴、教师的支持程度具有显著差异。新生社会支持感受的总体水平存在升高的变化趋势,而不同支持源的支持水平具有不同的变化趋势;同时,来自家长、新同伴的支持与个体总体社会支持感受的变化具有相对紧密的联系。     

Time complexity and consistency issues in using the AHP for making group decisions

Two different ways of using the AHP in making group decisions are compared and evaluated. The first method combines different experts’ opinions before applying an eigenvalue method to obtain final weights for decision alternatives. The second, in contrast, derives each expert's rating for the decision alternatives before combining them. Both methods take into account the relative importance of different experts in making decisions. Comparison and evaluation of these two methods are made by using two criteria: time complexity and consistency indices. A numerical example is provided to illustrate the use of these two methods, and results of a mathematical simulation are presented for comparing the time complexity in different-sized problems. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Experience from a Staff Support Service

The paper describes an overview of the work of one NHS Staff Support Department, its history, development of a proactive and reactive model, and extent of the work involved. It goes on to give three case studies of bullying in the workplace, all of which are real and ongoing. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.