Intimate partner support: A comparison of gay,lesbian, and heterosexual relationships

In this investigation, intimate partner support, relationship satisfaction, and separation proneness were assessed for four types of people: men in a relationship with a woman (MRW), men in a relationship with a man (MRM), women in a relationship with a man (WRM), and women in a relationship with a woman (WRW). Men and women in same‐sex relationships received more support, were more satisfied, and reported fewer thoughts of separating than their counterparts in opposite‐sex relationships. The effect of relationship type on satisfaction was not significant once the amount of received support was controlled. The implications of these findings for understanding the support process in same‐sex relationships are discussed.     

PROTÉGÉS NEGATIVE MENTORING EXPERIENCES: CONSTRUCT DEVELOPMENT AND NOMOLOGICAL VALIDATION

Two studies were conducted to operationalize the construct of negative mentoring experiences, establish content validity, and test theory-based predictions associated with a nomological network of related variables. As predicted, the negative experiences of mentor Distancing Behavior and Lack of Mentor Expertise were more often reported in the separation phase and among protégés in formally arranged mentoring relationships. All types of experiences were related to career-related support, psychosocial support, and learning, with Distancing Behavior being most highly related to career support and learning. Significant correlations were also found with relational complementarity, social exchange perceptions, intentions to leave the relationship, depressed mood, and psychological job withdrawal. Negative mentoring was also distinct from positive mentoring, general workplace stress, and dissatisfying social relationships at work, providing discriminant validity evidence. Finally, negative mentoring had explanatory power in predicting protégéoutcomes over and above positive mentoring. The findings are discussed in terms of future research on mentoring as well as applied practice.     

The Effect of Job Search Method,Sex, Activity Level,and Emotional Acceptance on New Job Characteristics: Implications for Counseling Unemployed Professionals

This study investigated intrinsic and extrinsic new job characteristics for a sample of involuntarily dismissed white-collar workers. Results suggest employment counselors can ease the transition into satisfying new jobs by helping clients deal with the negative emotional trauma of job loss, encouraging active coping strategies, fostering realistic job expectations, and tailoring counseling to meet individual needs.     

PREDICTORS OF OBJECTIVE AND SUBJECTIVE CAREER SUCCESS: A META-ANALYSIS

Using the contest- and sponsored-mobility perspectives as theoretical guides, this meta-analysis reviewed 4 categories of predictors of objective and subjective career success: human capital, organizational sponsorship, sociodemographic status, and stable individual differences. Salary level and promotion served as dependent measures of objective career success, and subjective career success was represented by career satisfaction. Results demonstrated that both objective and subjective career success were related to a wide range of predictors. As a group, human capital and sociodemographic predictors generally displayed stronger relationships with objective career success, and organizational sponsorship and stable individual differences were generally more strongly related to subjective career success. Gender and time (date of the study) moderated several of the relationships examined.     

THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN FORMAL MENTORING PROGRAM CHARACTERISTICS AND PERCEIVED PROGRAM EFFECTIVENESS

Formal mentoring programs continue to gain popularity within organizations despite limited empirical research regarding how these programs should be designed to achieve maximum effectiveness. This study examined design features of formal mentoring programs and perceived program effectiveness from both mentor and protégé perspectives. Mentor commitment and program understanding were examined as mediators. Substantial support for the proposed path analytic model was found. These results help begin to bridge the gap between science and practice concerning the design of formal mentoring programs.