Family and food variables that influence life satisfaction of mother-father-adolescent triads in a South American country

This study explored the influence of each family member’s life satisfaction on the other family members’ life satisfaction in mother-father-adolescent triads. We also explored the influence of each family member’s satisfaction with food-related life and family life on their own life satisfaction (LS) as well as on the other family members’ LS in mother-father-adolescent triads. The influence of family eating habits, food-related parenting practices used by each parent and sociodemographic characteristics on each family member’s LS were also explored. A survey was applied to a sample of 300 two-parent families with one child between 10 and 17 years of age in Temuco, Chile. The questionnaire included the Satisfaction with Life Scale, Satisfaction with Food-related Life scale, Satisfaction with Family Life scale, Adapted Healthy Eating Index, Family Food Behavior Survey and Family Eating Habits Questionnaire. Frequency and sources of family meals as well as sociodemographic characteristics were also consulted. Three multivariate ordinal logit models were proposed, with the dependent variable LS in the three subsamples: mothers, fathers and adolescents. The three logit models were significant, but differed in the explanatory variables. Mothers’ LS was influenced by their children’s LS and vice versa. Mothers’ LS was positively influenced by both their own satisfaction with family life and the fathers’ satisfaction with family life and vice versa. Children’s LS was also positively influenced by their own satisfaction with food-related and family life. Both parents’ LS was influenced by eating habits, food-related parenting practices and sociodemographic characteristics, but in different ways. Therefore, different interventions should be implemented to improve each family member’s life satisfaction.

     

Development and validation of a vocational interests questionnaire revised: the CIP 4

The "Cuestionario de Intereses Profesionales (CIP, Vocational Interests Questionnaire)" was developed by Fogliatto et al in three different versions: a paper and pencil-based one, a computer-based one, and a revised form. The instrument was originally created for the assessment of vocational interests of adolescents assisting the last years of the secondary school in Argentina. The aim of the present study was to adapt the inventory for the adolescents coursing the initial period of the secondary school. Psychometric studies analyzing the factorial structure of the instrument and internal consistence of their scales were accomplished. Additionally, evidences of criterion validity concerning to a specialized field of the secondary school and career choice intentions were analyzed. Results bring initial validity evidence of this new version of the CIP, which its main utility is career counseling applied to late-adolescence. Further studies are required in order to validate this instrument for being utilized in counseling of adolescent facing decisions related to specialty choice of the secondary school.     

Do Mindsets Shape Students’ Well-Being and Performance?

“Mindsets (or implicit theories) are people’s lay beliefs about the nature of human attributes, such as intelligence or personality”. Individuals with a fixed mindset believe that intelligence is an unchangeable trait, whereas those with a growth mindset think of it as a malleable quality that can be increased and developed. This study explored the relationships among growth mindset, wellbeing, and performance in a sample of 1,240 students from a multi-campus private university located in 18 states across Mexico. Our results indicated that individuals who scored high in growth (vs. fixed) mindset showed increased levels of wellbeing and also performed better in school. Furthermore, we found that wellbeing mediated the relationship between growth mindset and performance and that the effect of growth mindset on grades was higher among younger students. These findings have interesting implications for psychology and education.     

Testing the Spillover-Crossover Model between Work-Life Balance and Satisfaction in Different Domains of Life in Dual-Earner Households

This study explored the spillover and crossover associations between work-life balance and satisfaction with life, food-related life and family life in dual-earner parents. Questionnaires were administered to 303 dual-earner couples with adolescent children in Temuco, Chile. Both members of the couples answered the Work-life Balance (WLB) scale, Satisfaction with Life Scale (SWLS), Satisfaction with Food-related Life scale (SWFoL) and the Satisfaction with Family Life scale (SWFaL). Using the actor-partner independence model and structural equation modeling and having controlled for the effects of age, number of children, number of family members and family socioeconomic status, we found that the man’s work-life balance was positively associated with his own levels of satisfaction with life, family life and food related life, as well as with his partner’s (the woman’s) levels of satisfaction with life, food related life and family life. Likewise, the woman’s work-life balance was positively associated with her own levels of satisfaction with life, family life and food related life, as well as with her partner’s (the man’s) levels of satisfaction with food related life and family life, but not with his level of life satisfaction. These findings suggest the need to improve work-life balance for employees of both genders in order to enhance their overall life satisfaction, as well as their satisfaction in the family and food domains.

     

A feeding scale for research and clinical practice to assess mother—infant interactions in the first three years of life

The Feeding Scale provides a reliable rating of mother-infant/toddler interactions during a 20-minute feeding in a laboratory setting. The scale consists of 46 mother and infant behaviors, which are rated at the end of the feeding session. Observations of mother—infant interactions during two feedings separated by 2 weeks showed considerable stability. Five subscale scores are derived (1) Dyadic Reciprocity, (2) Dyadic Conflict, (3) Talk and Distraction, (4) Struggle for Control, and (5) Maternal Non-Contingency, Predictive validity of the Feeding Scale has been demonstrated and it discriminates between infants with and without feeding disorders as well as three diagnostic categories of feeding-disordered infants. The Feeding Scale can be used with infants and toddlers ranging in age from 1 month to 3 years. © 1997 Michigan Association for Infant Mental Health     

Air Pollution and interpersonal Attraction1

It was predicted that negative affect associated with one component of air pollution (malodor) reduces attraction toward both similar and dissimilar strangers. In one experiment, 27 subjects rated attitudinally similar or dissimilar strangers while confined in a room whose atmosphere was ambient (no-odor control) or polluted by ammonium sulfide. Contrary to predictions, similar strangers elicited greatest liking in the polluted atmosphere. It was suggested that air pollution had increased attraction for another who might be experiencing the same disagreeable situation (i.e., “shared stress”). In a second experiment, this suggestion was examined by assuring subjects that they were alone and would not meet the similar or dissimilar person they rated. As predicted, exposure to either ammonium sulfide or butyric acid combined additively with attitudinal dissimilarity to depress liking, mood-affect, time spent in the setting, and ratings of the environment. These results were viewed as consistent with the reinforcement-affect model of attraction, but it was cautioned that the effects of air pollution may depend on social factors, such as shared stress, and dosage level of the pollutant.