Political Competence and Mass Media Use

Relationships are examined between feelings of political competenceand cumulative media usage in five Western nations. Wide differentiationamong the nations studied is found, suggesting that multivariateanalysis is needed to establish whether media usage makes aunique contribution to feelings of political competence, oracts as a surrogate for other background variables.     

A Method to Handle Zero Counts in the Multinomial Model

In the context of an objective Bayesian approach to the multinomial model, Dirichlet(a, …, a) priors with a < 1 have previously been shown to be inadequate in the presence of zero counts, suggesting that the uniform prior (a = 1) is the preferred candidate. In the presence of many zero counts, however, this prior may not be satisfactory either. A model selection approach is proposed, allowing for the possibility of zero parameters corresponding to zero count categories. This approach results in a posterior mixture of Dirichlet distributions and marginal mixtures of beta distributions, which seem to avoid the problems that potentially result from the various proposed Dirichlet priors, in particular in the context of extreme data with zero counts.     

Bullying and Victimization Among Young Elementary School Children: The Role of Child Ethnicity and Ethnic School Composition

School-aged children with an ethnic minority background are relatively often involved in bullying and victimization, but the role of ethnic composition of schools in this context remains unclear. This study examined the relation between ethnic minority background, ethnic school composition, and bullying behaviour around primary school entry in the Netherlands. The study was based on a 2008/2009 school survey in Rotterdam, a Dutch city where about 50 % of children have a non-Dutch background. For 8523 children, teacher reports of bullying behaviour at age 5–6 years were available. Children with a non-Dutch background had higher odds of being a victim (adjusted OR 1.41, 95 % CI 1.11, 1.80), bully (OR 1.38, 95 % CI 1.20, 1.58) or bully-victim (OR 1.38, 95 % CI 1.19, 1.62) than children of Dutch national origin. Ethnic diversity in schools increased children’s risk of bullying behaviour (e.g. OR_victim per 0.1 increase in 0–1 diversity range = 1.06, 95 % CI 1.00, 1.13), with children of both Dutch and non-Dutch national origin relatively more often involved in bullying in ethnically diverse schools. The proportion of same-ethnic peers in school reduced the risk of bullying among children of Dutch national origin (e.g. OR_victim per 10 % more same-ethnic children = 0.90, 95 % CI 0.83, 0.98), but not among non-Dutch children. In conclusion, ethnic minority background and ethnic diversity within schools are risk factors for bullying among 5–6 year olds. Plausibly, reductions in absolute numbers of bullying events may be obtained with tailor-made interventions in ethnically diverse schools. Such interventions should preferably be offered early in the school curriculum.     

American High School Students’ Perceptions of Determinants of Life Satisfaction

Life satisfaction can be assessed either globally or with regard to satisfaction with specific domains of life. The latter multidimensional approach presumes science has delineated with confidence the specific domains most relevant to evaluating whether the criteria for a good life have been met. This paper shares results of a qualitative study of the perceived determinants of life satisfaction among 30 high school students who were diverse in terms of mental health; 6–10 participants were classified as complete mental health, vulnerable, symptomatic but content, or troubled at two time points separated by a year. Thematic analyses of transcribed individual interviews suggested eight themes that capture the domains of life adolescents perceive influence their happiness. These themes are compared and contrasted to domains included in existing multi-dimensional measures of youth life satisfaction. The factors likely to be particularly salient to students with different levels of mental health are noted.

     

Warum und wodurch Coaching wirkt

The contribution reviews the state oft the art of the research on general success factors in the coaching process. Research in the field of psychotherapy on basic variables of client centered counseling and general therapeutic change mechanisms set an example. Results of first studies on these and modified factors show that the coaching outcome depends on observed esteem and emotional support by the coach, resource activation and support of transfer into practice. Process analysis of nonverbal interactions between coach and client demonstrate that goal attainment influence goal attainment. Finally, the paper focuses on limitations, of the studies, scientific and practical conclusions as well as future perspectives.     

Humility,Forgiveness, and Emerging Adult Female Romantic Relationships

Among a sample of emerging adult females (N = 152) we empirically examined the role of humility and forgiveness in romantic relationships. We specifically tested a model linking perceived humility to relationship satisfaction with self‐forgiveness and partner‐forgiveness. Participants in a romantic relationship completed measures of self‐reported humility, self‐forgiveness, partner‐forgiveness, and relationship satisfaction. Serial mediation analyses were conducted using path analysis to test the following sequence, humility self‐forgiveness partner‐forgiveness relationship satisfaction. Findings indicate that humility was related to relationship satisfaction via a serially mediated path of self‐forgiveness and partner‐forgiveness, which was not reducible to impression management. We consider implications for research and clinical practice.     

Education,Skills, and Wage Gaps in Canada and the United States

We analyse data from the Programme for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies to reveal that immigrants in Canada and the United States make over $200 less per month than native‐born workers. In the United States, immigrants disproportionately work in low‐wage occupations, leading to large mean national differences between immigrants and native workers. The wage differential disappears after accounting for education and cognitive skills, indicating policies must focus on reducing education and skill gaps in the United States. In Canada, an immigrant wage gap persists in nearly all occupational fields, suggesting that the better skilled and educated immigrants in Canada are not receiving the same wage premium as native workers. We close with implications for policy and future research.     

Income inequality and self-reported values

What is the relationship between income inequality and the values people endorse? Using survey data from all thirty-four OECD countries over a period of almost thirty years, we investigate the following dimensions of value systems: work ethic, civism, obedience, honesty, altruism, and tolerance. In most cases, no robust relation to income inequality is detected. However, we find some evidence that larger income disparities are associated with a stronger work ethic. This suggests that income inequality might spur hard work not only through pecuniary incentives but also because it makes people attach a symbolic value to being laborious.     

Barriers to Managing Coronary Artery Disease Among Older Women

Numerous barriers to managing coronary artery disease (CAD) among older women are reported in the literature; however, few studies adjust for demographic and health status differences. A survey assessing barriers and other factors was distributed to a stratified random sampling of older women with CAD. Factor analysis and multiple logistic regression procedures were used to estimate the impact of these issues on receiving a CAD-related office visit. The most problematic barriers included denial and low health literacy. Efforts to promote patient awareness of heart health and better communication between patients and clinicians may alleviate these barriers.