Flexible Work Arrangements Availability and their Relationship with Work‐to‐Family Conflict,Job Satisfaction,and Turnover Intentions: A Comparison of Three Country Clusters

The present study explored the availability of flexible work arrangements (FWA) and their relationship with manager outcomes of job satisfaction, turnover intentions, and work‐to‐family conflict (WFC) across country clusters. We used individualism and collectivism to explain differences in FWA availability across Latin American, Anglo, and Asian clusters. Managers from the Anglo cluster were more likely to report working in organisations that offer FWA compared to managers from other clusters. For Anglo managers, flextime was the only FWA that had significant favorable relationships with the outcome variables. For Latin Americans, part‐time work negatively related with turnover intentions and strain‐based WFC. For Asians, flextime was unrelated to time‐based WFC, and telecommuting was positively associated with strain‐based WFC. The clusters did not moderate the compressed work week and outcome relationships. Implications for practitioners adopting FWA practices across cultures are discussed.     

FACTORS THAT INFLUENCE DEPRESSIVE SYMPTOMS IN MOTHERS OF INFANT

This study explored the association between interpersonal factors and depressive symptoms in first-time mothers over the first two years of parenthood. An interpersonal style characterized by dependency, recollections of rejection in childhood, and current relationship characteristics was assessed in a nonclinical sample of 133 women. The final model explained 52% of the variance in depressive symptoms at 24 months. Controlling for initial symptom levels, interpersonal variables explained 24% of the outcome variance. The findings suggest that two interpersonal attributes, peer rejection in childhood and a dependent interpersonal style, are particularly important to our understanding of depressive symptomatology.     

The Heart of the Matter: An Essay about the Effects of Managed Care on Family Therapy with Children*

This essay is based on a pilot study that examined the effects of managed care on the treatment of children and families, with special attention to community mental health. We embarked on the pilot study to test the accuracy and generalizability of our impression that family therapy and other systemic practices have been marginalized in ordinary clinics and agencies, and to understand the reasons why. We interviewed managed care providers, researchers, family therapy trainers, and clinicians in the Northeast. Our findings led to seven themes that support our impression that, even though there is a consensus about the need for coordinated family-based services, there is a disconnection between state policies, contractual requirements and what is actually occurring at the implementation level. This study suggests that our knowledge of human systems may be in danger of being disqualified and lost, with damaging consequences for the care of children. Yet, as systemic thinkers and practitioners, it is our belief that ethical and effective treatment need not be at odds with care that is cost-efficient. The direction of our future research will be to study whether the involvement of all stakeholders at all levels of planning and training leads to systemic family-based practices that consistently save costs and provide high-quality care.     

A COMPARISON OF PEER-DIRECTED AND TEACHER-DIRECTED EMPLOYMENT INTERVIEW TRAINING FOR MENTALLY RETARDED ADULTS

Interview skills deficits may limit employment prospects of mentally retarded adults. Although numerous papers highlight the importance of interview skills, few have validated effective strategies for use with mentally retarded persons. Further, there has been a lack of research contrasting rival interview skills training strategies. The present study was conducted with two mentally retarded young adults. It contrasted peer-directed instruction, in which both participants were equally deficient in the target skills, with teacher-directed instruction. Results of the investigation indicated that instruction, rehearsal, and feedback may be effective strategies regardless of who provides instruction. Comparisons of teacher-directed and peer-directed instruction indicated little or no difference in the effectiveness of the two procedures. However, the peer-directed procedure involved considerably less staff time than did the teacher-directed procedure.     

Should physicians be Bayesian agents?

Because physicians use scientific inference for the generalizations of individual observations and the application of general knowledge to particular situations, the Bayesian probability solution to the problem of induction has been proposed and frequently utilized. Several problems with the Bayesian approach are introduced and discussed. These include: subjectivity, the favoring of a weak hypothesis, the problem of the false hypothesis, the old evidence/new theory problem and the observation that physicians are not currently Bayesians. To the complaint that the prior probability is subjective, Bayesians reply that there will be ultimate convergence, but the rebuttal to this is that there will not be uniform convergence. Secondly, since the Bayesian scheme favors a weak hypothesis, theories turn out to be a gratuitous risk. The problem with the false hypothesis comes out in the denominator of the theorem, revealing that a factor which is not a theory at all is being considered in the reasoning. On the old evidence/new theory problem old evidence cannot confirm a new theory so that the posterior probability will equal the prior probability. Finally, empiric studies have shown that current physicians are not Bayesians. But on consideration of Bayesian inference as a system of inference, it can be reasoned that physicians should be Bayesians. However, the problem of physicians' and patients' own subjectivity continue to plague this system of medical decision making.     

A ray of light about frozen embryos.

The Tennessee Supreme Court's decision in Davis v. Davis, a case that raises the question of how to allocate frozen embryos in the event of divorce, addresses many of the legal issues posed by in vitro fertilization. The decision considers the interests of the progenitors as well as of the children who may result. For example, the court held that gamete providers' discretion regarding the disposition of embryos can be limited only when their decisions would harm the children who might be born. The court also made clear that efforts to seek genetic parenthood are protected only when accompanied by a desire to raise the resulting children, a conclusion that also affects other reproductive technologies. In addition to elaborating an analytic framework, the court set guidelines for resolving disputes when the couples had made no prior agreements, including holding that while the embryos are ex-utero the desire to avoid genetic parenthood almost always trumps the wish to become a parent. The well-reasoned analysis in Davis v. Davis should help shape legal and ethical discussion regarding the use of in vitro fertilization for many years to come.     

Carl Rogers and Martin Luther—A “reformation” in the helping professions

The 16th century schism in Christian thought leading to the Reformation has an interesting analogy in Carl Rogers' attempt to reform the helping professions. An exploration of this analogy clarifies much of the theoretical tension in the contemporary arena of pastoral counseling.