Suchergebnisse

Psychological approach to the study of world politics; influence of mass communication on decision making.

BackgroundThere are very few studies that investigate the qualitative experiences of people with a learning disability who have engaged in psychological therapy. Indeed, having a learning disability has traditionally been an exclusion criterion for good quality research about psychological treatments (Psychotherapy and Learning Disability. Council Report CR116. London: Royal College of Psychiatrists, 2004; Journal of Applied Research in Intellectual Disabilities, 19, 2005 and 5). The current research was developed in response to a clinical psychology service recognizing the need to evaluate their psychological service and, as part of this evaluation, the importance of consulting with service users about their experience of psychological therapies. The overall aim of gaining this feedback would be to improve the service offered and to ensure that people receive the best psychological care.MethodsSix service users with a learning disability were interviewed about their experience of individual psychological therapy. The interviews were analysed using interpretative phenomenological analysis.ResultsThemes were generated from the interviews which highlighted both positive and negative feedback on the psychological therapy process. The feedback covered areas such as access to therapy, feelings about therapy, preparing for therapy, skill development and collaborative working, accessibility and making therapy fun, challenges to confidentiality, positive feelings towards the therapist, aspects of the therapeutic relationship, therapy being challenging but helpful, and positive outcomes.ConclusionsThese results have contributed to the evidence base that people with a learning disability are able to meaningfully engage in research and provide essential feedback on the services that they receive. No longer can people be excluded from individual psychological therapy or research just because of their label.

Reflections are offered on the interdisciplinary conference that gave birth to the papers on the 14 "landmark" studies presented in this volume, highlighting implications for the future of longitudinal research. Differences in disciplinary perspectives, eg, between sociologists & psychologists, that contribute to metadifferences at the theoretical & methodological levels are discussed, & lessons that each side can learn from the other are identified. A historical overview is offered of the growth & development of longitudinal studies, citing the contributions of several key researchers & theorists. The use of autobiography as a narrative method, as participants did in these papers, is discussed. 1 Table, 29 References. K. Hyatt Stewart

AbstractLeadership in peer groups is an important issue in adolescent socioemotional development, yet it has received limited attention in research. This one-year longitudinal study examined peer group leadership and the roles of social, academic, and psychological characteristics in the dynamics of group leadership. Participants included 1061 Chinese students (initial mean age =11.17 years; SD = 6.98 months; 49.4% female). Data were collected from peer assessments, teacher ratings, and self-reports. The longitudinal social network analysis (SIENA) indicated that peer group leadership was fluid with leadership status evolving over time across groups in a hierarchical manner. Adolescents displaying higher social competence and aggression and lower shyness were more likely to become group leaders. Academic performance and loneliness were not significantly associated with the dynamics of peer group leadership. The results help understand peer group leadership and contributions of social behaviors to the attainment of leadership status in peer groups in early adolescence.

This book aims to promote individuals' personal and vocational wellbeing through an increased awareness on the invaluable nature of the positive role interaction between work and family contexts. Built upon rich theoretical and empirical evidence in the existing literature, the book presents a research study focusing on the construct of work-family enrichment, one of several constructs representing the positive interdependencies of work and family roles. It illustrates vividly how the psychological process of enrichment takes place, demonstrating movements and correlations between various variables and dynamics in the process. Through a critical eye, findings of the current research contribute to greater understanding of the positive linkages between work and family role participation. The book concludes with a synopsis of the newly expanded, innovative, and comprehensive framework of worklife and family life enrichment, highlighting the implications for theory, research, and practice

Abstract
The goal of the present study was to replicate and extend previous research that demonstrated the incremental validity of narrative identity in predicting psychological well-being among Korean adults. We recruited 147 Korean adults living in South Korea who completed a battery of questionnaires that assessed the Big Five traits, extrinsic value orientation, self-concept clarity, and psychological well-being. Participants then wrote a story about how they had become the persons they were, which was subsequently coded in terms of agency. We found that psychological well-being was positively related to extraversion, agreeableness, openness, conscientiousness, and self-concept clarity, but negatively to neuroticism and extrinsic value orientation. The positive relation between agency, coded from narratives, and psychological well-being was significant both with and without controlling for the other variables. These results showed that narrative identity has incremental validity in predicting well-being among individuals who live in a culture where collectivism and individualism coexist.

"The Art of Authenticity is an in-depth leadership development guidebook, designed to help its readers become the very best versions of themselves by replacing habitual reactions with authentic ones. It answers the most asked questions on authentic leadership: What can I do to become genuinely authentic in a way that befits my personal values? How can I be an honest, loyal, ethical, considerate person yet still lead a team or organization ... and maintain authenticity? Based in validated psychological research, The Art of Authenticity will equip its readers with practical real world tools to become a more authentic leader over time via reflection, action, and conscious choice"--

Multiple sclerosis (MS), as a progressive and degenerative illness, has an impact on different aspects of individual lives and may lead to difficulties, concerns, and worries in patients. The aim of the present study was to investigate concerns, worries and problems in patients with MS. We used a descriptive phenomenological qualitative approach. Participants were volunteers purposively selected based on their availability. We carried out deep interviews with 15 MS patients and analyzed the detailed information obtained from these interviews by using Colaizzi's method. We extracted six essential themes and thirty-four sub-themes associated with MS from the content of the interviews. The main themes were labelled "Confronting existential concerns," "Crisis of facing up with the illness," "Suffering from the illness," "Relationship," "Confrontation with spirituality and religion," "Searching for tranquility." Results of the present study also reiterated the following: Patients with MS seem to lose meaning of life and this together with problems in dealing with existential concerns, may lead to the "disintegration of self," hence resulting in considerable psychological disturbance and distress. It is concluded that the illness evokes psychological injury such as existential anxiety, relationship disturbance and hopelessness, and these psychological injuries can lead to relapsing of MS.

Background: Military training plays an important protective role in enhancing mental health. However, the effects of military training on psychological resilience and depression among college freshmen in China remain unclear. The present study aimed to evaluate changes in psychological resilience and depression through military training among college freshmen, and to investigate associated psychosocial factors including childhood trauma that may influence its effects on psychological resilience. Methods: A prospective and self-comparison study design was employed. College freshmen who received 3 weeks of military training were recruited. Socio-demographic variables were collected and childhood trauma exposure was estimated by the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire (CTQ). The Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale (CD-RISC) and Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9) were used to assess psychological resilience and depression before and after the military-style training. Results: The military training significantly increased the total and subscale scores of CD-RISC (p < 0.001), and decreased the PHQ-9 score (p < 0.001). The proportion of students with clinical depression reduced from 10.5% at baseline to 7.2% after the training (p < 0.001). Improvement of CD-RISC scores was positively affected by male gender and urban area, while negatively affected by older age, and higher baseline scores of PHQ-9 and CTQ. A significant correlation was found between changes in scores of CD-RISC and PHQ-9 through the training (r = −0.238, p < 0.001). Conclusions: Military training may have a positive effect on increasing psychological resilience and reducing depressive symptoms among college freshmen, especially in male students and those from an urban area, while older age, childhood trauma, higher depression levels, and resilience at baseline may weaken, or even mask its positive effect. Follow-up research should be considered for the long-term effects of military-style training.

There is an interest from scholars and practitioners in understanding how nonprofit organizations (NPOs) can design and implement practices to enhance desirable volunteer attitudes and behaviors (Alfes et al., 2017). One important attitude is volunteers' organizational commitment (OC). This research aims to identify factors that diminish volunteers' OC and suggest effective ways to deal with them, which lead to NPOs performance improvement. This is achieved through a single case study in a Puerto Rican non-profit organization, which consists of in-depth interviews and self-administered questionnaires on psychological contract violation Five categories of factors that negatively affect volunteers' OC were identified and analyzed: organizational structure, communication, recognition, strategic planning, and conflict management. General actions were provided to help NPOs deal with similar issues.

e-ISSN: 2357-1330 ; The aim of the study is to explore links between happiness, optimism, resilience and meaningfulness, and socio-demographic factors in 25 European countries. Research methods. Experts-generated single-item questions from European Social Survey round 6 were used to assess happiness, optimism, resilience, meaningfulness in life. Results. Greater number of years of completed education relates to higher scores of happiness, optimism, meaningfulness and resilience in most European countries. However, in Western Europe and Scandinavian countries age does not relate or positively relates with psychological aspects of well-being, however, in most Post-Soviet countries this relationship is negative. Conclusions. Happiness, optimism, meaningfulness and resilience in most European countries were related to age and years of completed education with no specific differences between regions ; Psichologijos katedra ; Vytauto Didžiojo universitetas

Profiling political leaders : an introduction / Jerome M. Post, Stephen G. Walker, and David G. Winter -- Assessing leaders' personalities : a historical survey of academic research studies / David G. Winter -- Leader personality assessments in support of government policy / Jerrold M. Post -- The search for causal mechanisms / Stephen G. Walker and Jerrold M. Post -- Assessing leaders at a distance : the political personality profile / Jerrold M. Post -- Psychoanalytic assessments of character and performance in presidents and candidates : some observations on theory and method / Stanley A. Renshon -- Verbal behavior and personality assessment / Walter Weintraub -- Measuring the motives of political actors at a distance / David G. Winter -- Assessing leadership style : trait analysis / Margaret G. Hermann -- Profiling the operational codes of political leaders / Stephen G. Walker, Mark Schafer, and Michael D. Young -- Assessing integrative complexity at a distance : archival analyses of thinking and decision making / Peter Suedfeld, Karen Guttieri, and Philip E. Tetlock -- The construction of causal stories about political leaders / Jerrold M. Post and Stephen G. Walker -- William Jefferson Clinton's psychology / Stanley A. Renshon -- General personality traits and ego defense / Walter Weintraub -- Motivations and mediation of self-other relationships / David G. Winter -- William Jefferson Clinton's leadership style / Margaret G. Hermann -- Operational code beliefs and object appraisal / Stephen G. Walker, Mark Schafer, and Michael D. Young -- President Clinton : cognitive manager in trouble / Peter Suedfeld and Philip E. Tetlock -- Saddam Hussein of Iraq : a political psychology profile / Jerrold M. Post -- General personality traits and ego defenses / Walter Weintraub -- Motivations and mediation of self-other relationships / David G. Winter -- Saddam Hussein's leadership style / Margaret G. Hermann -- Operational code beliefs and object appraisal / Stephen G. Walker, Mark Schafer, and Michael D. Young -- Saddam Hussein's integrative complexity under stress / Peter Suedfeld -- Assessing political leaders in theory and in practice / Jerrold M. Post and Stephen G. Walker

Front Cover -- Adolescent Dating Violence -- Copyright Page -- Contents -- List of Contributors -- Preface -- I. Theory and Consequences -- 1 Changing Your Status in a Changing World: It Is Complicated! A Developmental Systems Framework for Understanding Dating V... -- Romantic Development: Ages and Stages -- Trajectories of Dating Violence Over Time -- Developmental Systems Perspective -- The Developmental Changes in Dating Relationships and Implications for Dating Violence -- Bullying, Dating Violence, and Spousal Violence-Converging Influences Across Childhood, Adolescence, and Young Adulthood -- The Effects of Social and Cultural Contexts on Dating Norms and Dating Violence -- Dating and Dating Violence in the Digital Age -- Conclusions and Implications for Research and Intervention -- References -- 2 Theories on the Causation of Partner Abuse Perpetration -- Defining and Understanding the Importance of "Theory" to Dating Abuse Prevention -- Defining Dating Abuse, Understanding Typologies and Other Considerations Relevant to Theory -- Causal Explanations for Partner Abuse -- Historical Theories: Early Psychoanalytic Theory and Frustration-Aggression Hypothesis -- Intergenerational Transmission Theories -- Distal-Proximal (or Background-Situational) Factor Theories -- Sociocultural Theories -- Criminologic Theories -- Biological Theories -- Personality Traits -- Social-Ecological Model -- Conclusion -- References -- 3 The Acute and Chronic Impact of Adolescent Dating Violence: A Public Health Perspective -- Study Selection -- Sample Characteristics -- Types of Dating Abuse -- Timing Considerations in Measurement of Dating Abuse Exposure and Outcomes -- Outcomes Associated With Adolescent Dating Abuse -- Mental/Psychological Health Outcomes -- Physical Health Outcomes -- Substance Use/Abuse Outcomes -- Victimization/Perpetration Outcomes

Abstract Background The fulfilment of expectations, labour pain, personal control and self-efficacy determine the postpartum evaluation of birth. However, researchers have seldom considered the multiple determinants in one analysis. To explore to what extent the results can be generalised between countries, we analyse data of Belgian and Dutch women. Although Belgium and the Netherlands share the same language, geography and political system and have a common history, their health care systems diverge. The Belgian maternity care system corresponds to the ideal type of the medical model, whereas the Dutch system approaches the midwifery model. In this paper we examine multiple determinants, the fulfilment of expectations, labour pain, personal control and self-efficacy, for their association with satisfaction with childbirth in a cross-national perspective. Methods Two questionnaires were filled out by 605 women, one at 30 weeks of pregnancy and one within the first 2 weeks after childbirth either at home or in a hospital. Of these, 560 questionnaires were usable for analysis. Women were invited to participate in the study by independent midwives and obstetricians during antenatal visits in 2004–2005. Satisfaction with childbirth was measured by the Mackey Satisfaction with Childbirth Rating Scale, which takes into account the multidimensional nature of the concept. Labour pain was rated retrospectively using Visual Analogue Scales. Personal control was assessed with the Wijma Delivery Expectancy/Experience Questionnaire and Pearlin and Schooler's mastery scale. A hierarchical linear analysis was performed. Results Satisfaction with childbirth benefited most consistently from the fulfilment of expectations. In addition, the experience of personal control buffered the lowering impact of labour pain. Women with high self-efficacy showed more satisfaction with self-, midwife- and physician-related aspects of the birth experience. Conclusion Our findings focus the attention toward personal control, self-efficacy and expectations about childbirth. This study confirms the multidimensionality of childbirth satisfaction and demonstrates that different factors predict the various dimensions of satisfaction. The model applies to both Belgian and Dutch women. Cross-national comparative research should further assess the dependence of the determinants of childbirth satisfaction on the organisation of maternity care.

"This reference set discusses the impact social media has on an individuals' identity formation as well as its usage within society and cultures, exploring new research methodologies and findings into the behavior of users on social media as well as the effects of social media on society and culture as a whole"--