Divine Relations as a Basis of Subjective Social Status During Later-Life: Direct and Moderating Effects

Early social theorists, including W.E.B Du Bois, recognized the importance of religion and its links to inequality, particularly in how religious vocabularies are attuned to frictions with inimical concrete social and political realities. We apply these ideas to research on the intersection of religious beliefs and economic deprivation, examining how beliefs in divine relations not only structure subjective social status (SSS), but also the association between financial stress and SSS. Analyses of data from the Caregiving, Aging, and Financial Experiences Study—a national study of Canadian older adults (N = 4010)—show that financial strain is associated with lower SSS, but better divine relations (higher support from a divine power and lower troubled relationships with a higher power) benefit SSS. Divine support also attenuates the association between financial strain and SSS. This research suggests a Du Bosian “double consciousness,” in which relations with a divine power serve as a basis for individual conceptualizations of social status that run counter to predominant narratives based on economic standing. We suggest directions for future research to explore the nuances of SSS within the religious context informed by a Du Boisian mode of inquiry.     

Measuring the impact of informal caring

A factor-analysis of caregiving impact appraisals amongst a community-derived sample of informal carers of elderly people revealed two negative (care work strain and relationship dissatisfaction) and two positive (care work satisfaction and care lifestyle satisfaction) scales. Validity was assessed by means of concurrent correlations with levels of assistance with daily living tasks provided by carers and levels of behaviour problems exhibited by elderly dependents. Criterion validity was considered in relation to two important carer outcomes; willingness to care and a standardized measure of strain. Each of the four scales was significantly associated with concurrently assessed willingness to care. Care work strain and relationship dissatisfaction were associated with concurrently measured strain symptomology. Evidence of 6-month predictive validity was obtained for the care work strain scale.     

Cooperative social coordination and aggression: Sex and strain differences in the effects of housing on gonadectomized rats with hormone replacement

Laboratory rats were used to investigate sex and strain differences in the effects of aggression on a cooperative behavior in which pairs learned to coordinate shuttling in a rectangular chamber. The level of aggression was manipulated by comparing males and females of the aggressive S3 strain and a less aggressive Sprague-Dawley-derived strain and housing same-sex partners either together or individually (8 groups, n = 7 pairs per group). Hormone levels were stabilized by gonadectomy and daily injections of the appropriate sex hormone. The only serious coordination deficits were in individually housed males, associated with violent fighting and an extreme dominance/subordinance relationship that was not observed in females. All other groups readily learned and performed the coordination with evidence that low and moderate levels of aggression could facilitate coordination by evoking species-typical behaviors that increased proximity, synchrony, and differentiation within pairs. The discussion focused on models of affiliative behavior in the study of aggression and the compatibility between moderate levels of aggression and cooperation.     

Cooperative social coordination and aggression: Sex and strain differences in the effects of housing on gonadectomized rats with hormone replacement

Laboratory rats were used to investigate sex and strain differences in the effects of aggression on a cooperative behavior in which pairs learn to coordinate shuttling in a rectangular chamber. The level of aggression was manipulated by comparing males and females of the aggressive S3 strain and a less aggressive Sprague-Dawley-derived strain and by housing same-sex partners either together or individually (eight groups, n = 7 pairs per group). Hormone levels were stabilized by gonadectomy and daily injections of the appropriate sex hormone. The only serious coordination deficits were in individually housed males, associated with violent fighting and an extreme dominance/subordinance relationship that was not observed in females. All other groups readily learned and performed the coordination, with evidence that low and moderate levels of aggression could facilitate coordination by evoking species-typical behaviors that increased proximity, synchrony, and differentiation within pairs. The discussion focused on models of affiliative behavior in the study of aggression and the compatibility between moderate levels of aggression and cooperation.     

Racial Differences in Responses to the Caregiver Strain Questionnaire

The aim of this study was to examine differences in responses to the Caregiver Strain Questionnaire (CGSQ) between African American and White caregivers of children with emotional and behavioral challenges. Significant item- and scale-level differences were detected across groups with African Americans consistently reporting less strain. We examined whether these differences were more likely due to nonequivalent measurement than to real differences in the experience of caregiver strain. Confirmatory factor analysis showed that the model fit the data well for both racial groups, but there were some differences in structural components. Internal consistency was equivalent across the groups. In an examination of criterion validity, regression analyses showed that African American caregivers experienced a slower rate of increase in objective caregiver strain at a given increase in child internalizing problems. No other race differences were found in the regression analyses. In general, we conclude that the CGSQ can be useful for detecting caregiver strain and identifying family support needs for both White and African American caregivers. Differences across groups in reports of caregiver strain, however, call for more research on racial differences in the impact on the family of caring for a child with emotional and behavioral disorders.     

Students Reported for Cheating Explain What They Think Would Have Stopped Them

I analyzed 298 open-ended responses of undergraduate students who have been reported for cheating to the question, “What, if anything, would have stopped you from committing your act of academic dishonesty?” These responses included a few major themes: students pled ignorance of what constitutes academic dishonesty and the consequences/seriousness associated with violations; students tended to deflect blame, usually by saying that their professor could have done something differently (neutralization); students did not feel they had enough time, resources, and/or skills to get the desired result without taking responsibility for this lack of time, resources, and/or skills (strain); students felt they did not manage their time well with accepting the blame for the poor time management; and that a bad grade was not an option. These data and results are discussed in relation to the extant literature on the topic.     

Soldiers Lead Themselves to More Success: A Self-Leadership Intervention Study

Neck and Manz (1999) Neck, C. P., & Manz, C. C. (1999). In search of the self-led soldier: Army leadership in the twenty-first century. In J. G. Hunt, G. E. Dodge, & L. Wong (Eds.), Out of the box leadership: Transforming the twenty-first army and other top organizations (pp. 153–176). Stamford, CT: JAI Press. [Google Scholar] elaborated in their article “In Search of the Self-Lead Soldier” on the need for continuous improvement of personnel qualities such as increase in self-efficacy, increase of performance, and decrease of perceived strain. Self-leadership is a tool that fosters exactly these personal resources. This study examines self-leadership training effects on soldiers participating in a military training course over 14 weeks. It is the first self-leadership training study to evaluate performance improvement using objective criteria (examination marks, physical tests) in intervention and control group consisting of soldiers of the Austrian army. Its design features a large sample (N = 130), duration of self-leadership training over 10 weeks, and evaluation over 4 time points. The intervention group accomplished significantly higher educational achievements in examinations and physical tests. Also levels of self-efficacy were significantly higher and levels of strain were marginally to significantly lower.     

Adolescents' Reactions to the Evacuation of the Sinai Settlements: A Longitudinal Study

This study investigated psychological reactions of adolescents to a severe stress situation—the evacuation of the Sinai settlements. The research focused on emotional reactions of anxiety and anger to this stress situation. Two central problems were investigated: (a) The intensity of the emotional responses of anxiety and anger of the adolescents to the stress situation, before and after the evacuation, and (b) the impact of three intervening variables on these emotional reactions—cognitive perception of the political situation, family functioning, and personality characteristics. Data for this study were collected in a regional high school in Israel from 418 pupils in 9th through 12th grades. Seventy-eight of the pupils lived in the Yamit area. Measurements were obtained at three points in time: 6 weeks and 1 week before the evacuation and 2 months after it. The results supported the predicted trend that adolescents in the Yamit group before the evacuation would score higher on state anxiety and state anger than would those in the comparison group. Two months after the evacuation there was a significant drop in those scores. The trait measures remained stable in both groups and no significant differences were found between the two groups on these scores. Concerning the impact of the three intervening variables on the intensity of the state emotional responses, the results did not support any of the hypotheses.     

Examining the Relationships Between the Justice Facets and Turnover Intent: The Mediating Roles of Overall Justice and Psychological Strain

We examined how interpersonal justice from coworkers, the traditional justice facets (i.e., distributive, procedural, interpersonal, informational), and overall justice perceptions relate to employee psychological strain and turnover intentions in Canadian Armed Forces personnel. Specifically, we hypothesized that overall justice would mediate the relationships between the justice facets (including coworker justice) and strain, and strain would mediate the relationship between overall justice and turnover intent. We used a cross-sectional correlational design with personnel from 2 military units (total N = 218) as our sample. A 2-step structural equation modeling technique was used to evaluate our hypotheses. Support for our hypotheses was obtained with 1 exception: informational justice did not predict overall justice judgments. Our results suggest that employees’ reactions to individual justice events and different sources of justice exert their effects on strain and turnover intent indirectly through their impact on a global evaluation of justice in their work environment.     

Marital role strain,illness intrusiveness,and their impact on marital and individual adjustment in end-stage renal disease

Abstract

A marital role theory approach was used to investigate individual psychosocial well-being and marital adjustment in 89 end-stage renal disease (ESRD) patients and their spouses. Four different patient groups were selected according to a continuum of clinical milestones in the treatment of ESRD, including pre-dialysis (n=17), incenter dialysis (n=18), home dialysis (n=19), and posttransplant patients (n=17). A nephrology clinic control group (n=18) was also included. Standardized instruments were employed to investigate marital role strain (Marital Role Questionnaire, KDS-15), marital adjustment (Locke-Wallace Marital Adjustment Test), subjective well-being (Affect Balance Scale, Rosenberg Self-Esteem Inventory), and psychopathology (Symptom Checklist 90-R). Hierarchical multiple regression analyses provided strong and consistent support for the major hypotheses relating elevated marital role strain to compromised marital adjustment and individual well-being. Further analyses demonstrated that increased perceived intrusiveness of ESRD was significantly related to greater marital role strain, poorer marital adjustment, and decreased individual well-being. This is consistent with the idea that perceived intrusiveness may be an important mediator of marital role strain and of coping with chronic illness. “Objective” intrusiveness, defined in terms of patient group, was not significantly related to marital or individual well-being. These findings support a dyadic approach to the psychosocial study of chronic illness.