Growing up with grief: revisiting the death of a parent over the life course

In the era of managed care, evidence-based practice, and short term, solution focused interventions, clinicians in agency based settings generally do not have the luxury of long-term contact with bereaved children. Although a substantial, yet controversial, literature argues that children cannot fully resolve early loss until adulthood, limited attention is given to how children's understandings of early loss shift as their cognitive capacities mature. This article argues the emotional experience of grief shifts: 1) as children grapple with both normative life changes and the tasks of mourning, and 2) as their cognitive and emotional development allow them to understand and question aspects of their deceased parent's life and death in new ways. This article will present an overview of longitudinal and cross-sectional research on the long-term impact of childhood grief. We then suggest the ways bereaved children and adolescents revisit and reintegrate the loss of a parent as their emotional, moral, and cognitive capacities mature and as normative ego-centrism and magical thinking decline. To demonstrate these ideas, we draw on the case of a parentally bereaved boy and his family presenting across agency-based and private-practice work over the course of 14 years. This case suggests the need for coordinated care for children who are moving beyond the initial trauma of parental loss into various stages of grief and reintegration. While the loss of a parent is permanent and unchanging, the process is not: it is part of the child's ongoing experience. (Worden, 1996, p. 16).     

Children of the condemned: grieving the loss of a father to death row

This article explores the effects of a death sentence and execution on the children of the accused. Insight into the unique bereavement of this population is provided, while contributing to the literature on death and dying. The experience of losing a father to death row and eventual execution is compared to the wider population of children with incarcerated parents and it is determined that children of death row inmates contend with a much more complicated grief process, one that has gone largely unstudied. This article contains a brief discussion of disenfranchised grief and nonfinite loss, two theories that, we argue, shape the children's grief process. The results section of the article uses qualitative data gathered from 19 children to explore the role that nonfinite loss and disenfranchised grief share in the nature of their bereavement. Our discussion focuses on the impact of stigma and violence on the grieving process. Following a discussion of the unique challenges confronting the children of death row inmates is a discussion of the implications that their experience has for practice.     

Images of heaven and the spiritual afterlife: Qualitative analysis of children's storybooks about death, dying, grief, and bereavement

Many parents turn to picture books and storybooks to help explain issues surrounding death and dying to their young children. In addition to dealing with topics such as death, funerals, memories, and grief, a number of the books also mention the concept of heaven and what our loved ones might experience after they die. This article uses qualitative research methods to analyze 49 children's storybooks that touch on the existence of heaven or a spiritual afterlife. Results show that heaven is portrayed in a simplistic fashion, as a place high in the sky with bright lights, angels, and clouds. Even as heaven is presented in a relatively simple way, there are also patterned differences in depictions of the spiritual afterlife depending upon whether the decedent in the book was a family pet, a child, a parent, or a grandparent. The article concludes with a discussion of how these depictions of heaven and the afterlife might help young children cope with death-related grief.     

Love of life and death distress: two separate factors

The objectives of the current investigation were threefold: a) to explore the gender differences on love of life (a new construct in the well-being domain) and death distress (death anxiety, death depression, and death obsession); b) to explore the relationship between the scales of these constructs; and c) to examine the factorial structure of these scales. The sample was 245 volunteer Kuwaiti college students (53.5% women). Their mean age was 21.9 (SD = 2.3). They responded to the Love of Life Scale, the Death Anxiety Scale, the Arabic Scale of Death Anxiety, the Death Depression Scale-Revised, and the Death Obsession Scale. Gender differences on love of life were not significant. However, women had significantly higher mean scores for the four death distress scales than did their male counterparts. All the correlations between love of life and the death distress scales were not significant except one pertaining to love of life and death depression (negative) in women. Two oblique factors were extracted: death distress and love of life. It was concluded that these constructs represent two distinct and independent factors. Counselors and clinicians dealing with death distress would find that it is not associated with love of life.     

消费者参与创新体验的理论探索——对操作说明、感知复杂性、胜任感和自治感关系的实验研究

以认知评价理论为基础,采用实验研究方法探讨了消费者参与创新体验情境下影响胜任感与自治感的关键因素以及可能存在的调节效应。研究结果表明,在消费者参与创新体验的活动过程中,当提供图像说明时,消费者的胜任感水平更高,自治感水平却更低;消费者对目标任务的感知复杂性会对自治感产生积极影响,但对消费者胜任感的影响不显著。消费者个性对操作说明与感知胜任感之间的关系具有调节作用。     

Researching "good death" in a Hong Kong palliative care program: a clinical data-mining study

This study operationalizes and assesses the percentage of "good deaths" achieved among Chinese cancer patients in a palliative care program, the profile of these patients, the relationship between patients with a good death and psychosocial factors, and the differences in background factors, and physical and psychosocial conditions between patients who experienced a good death and those who did not. Clinical data mining was the research method used. Records of deceased cancer patients between 2003 and 2005 in a palliative care unit were the sole data source. Good death was operationally defined as the patient's record indicating no pain (physical) or anxiety (psychological), and having open and honest communication with family (social) in the final assessment by the Support Team Assessment Schedule (STAS) just before death. Using these criteria, about one-fifth of patients (21.5%; 137 out of 638) experienced a good death. Those with a good death were significantly older and were in palliative care longer. Their records also indicated lower levels of constipation, insomnia, oral discomfort, and family anxiety at their first and at their final STAS assessments. Good death was positively associated with recorded indicators of fullness in life, caregivers' acceptance and support, and negatively with reported feelings of upset about changes in the course of their illness. The results heighten awareness among social workers and other healthcare professionals about the value of good death in patients in palliative care. This empirically-based awareness can foster professionals' ability to set intervention objectives to help patients in palliative care achieve this universally accepted goal.     

General beliefs about the world as defensive mechanisms against death anxiety

Death ideation and death anxiety represent the cognitive and affective dimensions of death attitudes, respectively. General beliefs about the world are proposed to be useful defensive mechanisms protecting persons against the death anxiety provoked by death ideation. SEM is employed to test the proposed mediation model, using a sample of 133 Hong Kong Chinese university students. Results showed that death ideation was significantly and inversely linked to belief in social cynicism, reward for application, and fate control. Moreover, higher levels of belief in fate control and lower levels of religiosity predicted greater death anxiety. Only belief in fate control partially mediated the relationship between death ideation and death anxiety. Discussion focused on how social axioms serve as useful defensive mechanisms against death anxiety.     

Task and Relationship Orientation of Pakistani Managers and Working Professionals: The Interaction Effect of Demographics in a Collective Culture

This study focused on identifying the task and relationship orientations of respondents working in various Pakistani organizations. To explore their orientations, respondents in Khyber Pakhtunkwa (KPK) and Punjab provinces of Pakistan were surveyed. The data were analyzed by Univariate General Linear Model considering age, qualification and managerial experience as independent variables. Pakistani managers seem to use both styles in moderation. While they are more relationships focused, they demonstrate an overall balance between the two styles. In the task orientation, no individual factor showed any significant main effect. But the interaction of age by academics, and academics by management experience has a significant effect on task orientation. In the case of relationship orientation, academics seem to be a statistically significant factor and the interaction of age by academics has a significant effect as well. After the multiple comparisons of sub-classes of independent variables by Tukey Post Hoc test, the common trend of both styles found is that getting advancement in all three independent variables has a significant effect on both orientations.     

Older adults' attitudes toward death: links to perceptions of health and concerns about end-of-life issues

The current study had two primary goals, to determine whether: 1) self-rated mental and physical health, pain, and experience with health problems were predictors of elderly adults' attitudes toward death; and 2) death attitudes predict end-of-life medical treatment concerns. Participants were 109 adults, 65 years of age or older (M=78.74 years), recruited from the local community. Regression analysis indicated that poorer perceived physical health predicted a greater likelihood of viewing death as an escape, and poorer perceived mental health predicted a greater fear of death. Viewing death as an escape and fearing death predicted end-of-life medical treatment concerns; a greater endorsement of either attitude predicted more concern. Possible explanations for the links between perceived health, attitudes toward death, and concern about end-of-life issues are suggested.     

Developing human resource competencies: an empirical evidence

The paper conceptually defines and empirically investigates the density of work experience along with individual characteristics (cognitive ability, Conscientiousness, and Openness to Experience) and examine their influence on Human Resource (HR) competencies. 274 HR executives from diverse industry background and their supervisors participated in the data collection efforts spread over three phases. Data analyses revealed three key findings (i) executives’ density of work experience positively relates to HR competencies, (ii) executives’ cognitive ability is the strongest predictor of the positive relationship to HR competencies, and (iii) executives with high Conscientiousness tend to achieve levels of density of work experience. Relative weight analyses reinforce that cognitive ability and density of work experience are the most prominent predictors of HR competencies. Implications for practice are discussed.     

Length of caregiving and well-being among older widowers: implications for the dual process model of bereavement

The intent of this study was to examine if length of caregiving was associated with older widowers' adjustment to bereavement and to identify factors, based on principles underlying the Dual Process Model of Bereavement, that might mitigate the potential adverse effects of time spent caring. Two-hundred men over the age of 60 and in the second year of bereavement were identified from death records of older women who had died within a 12-month period. Interviews lasted about 2 hours and focused on widowers' experiences surrounding their wives' deaths along with questions about social support, health, retirement, and other demographic information. The Bradburn Affect Scale was used to measure positive and negative affect. Restoration-oriented coping, such as starting new relationships and activities were measured. These variables included extent of family contact, number of friends, having a confidante, involvement with neighbors, and participation in sports and clubs. Time since death and demographic variables were used as controls. Hierarchical linear regression was conducted on positive and negative affect after which potentially moderating effects were analyzed. Results indicated that the most important influences on negative affect were time since death, ethnicity, and participation in clubs while for positive affect the most significant factors included length of caregiving, number of friends, and having a confidante. Although no interaction effects were significant, patterns emerged. Implications for applying the DPM with older bereaved men are made.     

Quality insights of university students on dying, death, and death education--a preliminary study in Hong Kong

Death is a subject seldom studied in school and often misunderstood and feared by many people. Children often learn about death from their family and mass media. From the literature review on dying, death, and death education, it may be concluded that people are generally ignorant about the issues of death and dying. There is a need to investigate what young people, such as university students, know about death and dying, and their attitudes toward them. Eight university students were recruited for this study. Most participants have had death experiences. They seldom talked about death and loss. Some of these experiences were quite pleasant but some of them were not. Most participants addressed the need to have "life and death" education in schools at their young age. Such a need is further supported by the incidents of two participants who attempted suicide unsuccessfully when they encountered a life problem which they could not solve.     

Breaking the routines: Entrepreneurial orientation,strategic learning,firm size,and age

Drawing upon prior research suggesting inertia prevents organizations from learning, we suggest that the relationship between entrepreneurial orientation (EO) and strategic learning (SL) is not as straightforward and linear as has been suggested. The size and age of an organization, considered indicators of inertia, are important factors affecting how EO contributes to the components of SL. Data from 182 software companies confirm the non-linear relationships between EO and the dissemination, interpretation, and implementation components of SL. The results also indicate that the U-shaped association between EO and specific components of SL is more pronounced for larger and established companies than for younger and smaller ones. These findings depart from previous work based on strategic learning from mistakes, and offer a specific understanding of the relationship between EO and the four distinct components of SL. These results suggest that companies should opt to facilitate the individual components of SL as they are affected differently depending on the level of EO, and the age and size of the organization.     

The Effect of Early Cognitive Ability on Earnings Over the Life‐Cycle

This paper utilizes information on cognitive ability at age 10 and earnings information from age 20 to 65 to estimate the return to ability over the life‐cycle. Cognitive ability measured at an early age is not influenced by the individual's choices of schooling. We find that most of the unconditional return to early cognitive ability goes through educational choice. The conditional return is increasing for low levels of experience and non‐increasing for experience above about 15–25 years. The return is similar for men and women, and highest for individuals with academic education. Only a small part of the return can be explained by higher probability of having a supervisory position.     

Work and shopping overflow — Consequences and differentiation among selected psychological and demographic characteristics

Contemporary individuals are forced to deal with excessive stimulation, which causes an overload in the cognitive and emotional areas. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the possible factors differentiating the perceived level of work and shopping overflow experienced by individuals and consequences of these states. Two psychological variables: cognitive control and sensation seeking, are chosen as potential factors differentiating the perceived levels of overflow. We assume that individuals with high cognitive control and sensation seeking will report lower levels of both types of examined overflows. Experiencing low overflow levels may manifest in the search for additional stimuli, rather than in the desire to limit them. Two indexes of behavior connected to seeking extra stimulation are selected: one belonging to the area of consumer behavior (readiness to participate in the experience economy) and one belonging to vocational behavior (choosing a boundaryless career). The quantitative study is conducted on a sample of 297 management students who are currently employed. The research results support the relation between cognitive control and perceived level of work and shopping overflow. Individuals who can cognitively control the situation and the incoming stimuli report lower levels of overflow. No significant relationship between sensation seeking and the level of overflow is found. The demographic variables that influence the perceived overflow are age and salary for work overflow and age for shopping overflow. As far as consequences of overflow are concerned, a low level of shopping overflow is related to readiness to participate in the experience economy. However, there is no link between work overflow and preferred career pattern. The managerial implications for human resource management and marketing strategy design are discussed.     

先前经验、学习风格与创业能力的实证研究

如何提升创业者的创业能力是目前创业实践中亟待解决的问题。在将经验和能力区分开的基础上,从创业学习的视角出发,深入挖掘创业者先前经验与创业能力之间的作用关系机制,探讨创业者经验向创业能力转化的内在机理,采用探索性因子分析、验证性因子分析、层级回归分析等方法,对173家中国新创企业的调查问卷进行分析。研究结果表明,学习风格在创业者先前经验与创业能力的关系中发挥调节作用,不同类型的先前经验对不同类型的创业能力产生影响,创业者的学习风格也并非像以往研究所认为的那样存在优劣之分,而是存在一个匹配关系,当创业者的信息获取/转化方式与他的先前经验类型相匹配时,这一类型的经验才能更好的转化为创业能力。     

Psychosocial effects of war experiences among displaced children in southern Darfur

This study focused on assessing the psychosocial effects of the long standing, high intensity, and guerrilla-style of warfare among displaced children in Southern Darfur. The goal was to better understand the etiology, prognosis, and treatment implications for traumatic reactions, depression, and grief symptoms in this population. Three hundred thirty-one children aged 6-17 from three IDP Camps were selected using a quota sampling approach and were administered a Demographic Questionnaire, Child Post Traumatic Stress Reaction Index, Child Depression Inventory, and the Expanded Grief Inventory. Forty-three percent were girls and 57% were boys. The mean age of the children was 12 years. Results found that children were exposed to a very large number of war experiences with no significant differences between genders for types of exposure, including rape, but with older children (13-17 years) facing a larger number of exposures than younger children (6-12 years). Out of the 16 possible war experiences, the mean number was 8.94 (SD = 3.27). Seventy-five percent of the children met the DSM-IV criteria for PTSD, and 38% exhibited clinical symptoms of depression. The percentage of children endorsing significant levels of grief symptoms was 20%. Increased exposure to war experiences led to higher levels of: (1) traumatic reactions; (2) depression; and (3) grief symptoms. Of the 16 war experiences, abduction, hiding to protect oneself, being raped, and being forced to kill or hurt family members were most predictive of traumatic reactions. Being raped, seeing others raped, the death of a parent/s, being forced to fight, and having to hide to protect oneself were the strongest predictors of depressive symptoms. War experiences such as abduction, death of one's parent/s, being forced to fight, and having to hide to protect oneself were the most associated with the child's experience of grief. In addition to Total Grief, Traumatic Grief, Existential Grief, and Continuing Bonds were measured in these children. Although trauma, depression, and grief often exist as co-morbid disorders, the mechanisms and pathways of these is less understood. In this study we used Structural Equation Modeling to better understand the complex interaction and trajectories of these three symptoms evolving from war exposure and loss. This study is the first of its kind to assess the psychosocial effects of war experiences among children currently living in war zone areas within Sudan. It identifies some of the most prevalent war-related atrocities and their varying impact on the children's psychological well-being and overall adjustment. Implications for planning mental health interventions are discussed.     

Untangling the trust–control nexus in international buyer–supplier exchange relationships: An investigation of the changing world regarding relationship length

Control and trust are the primary governance mechanisms buying organizations rely upon to organize and maintain their collaborative exchange relationships with foreign suppliers. But the question of how control and trust interrelate and should be pursued seems entangled and practical advice remains largely elusive. Based on empirical data on 212 recently- and long-established buyer-supplier exchange relationships in the textile industry, we test the relationship between three practices of interorganizational control (output, process, and normative controls), two dimensions of interorganizational trust (competence and goodwill trust), and relationship performance. Using structural equation modelling, we demonstrate the value of controls for building and validating trust to depend as much on the specific control practice deployed and dimension of trust observed, as on the temporal stage of the exchange relationship. Moreover, we reveal distinct performance effects of the different control practices and dimensions of trust. Herewith, this study allows for a comprehensive understanding of the trust-control nexus in collaborative exchange relationships between buyers and their foreign suppliers. Addressing managers, we reveal how normative controls can be used to build trust and promote performance at the start of the relationship, whereas output controls need time to reach their full potential. Process controls, in turn, are found to have adverse effects.     

The Relational Antecedents of Interpersonal Helping: ‘Quantity’, ‘Quality’ or Both?

Having a large network of colleagues means having several opportunities to help those colleagues, as well as a higher chance of receiving requests for help from them. Employees with large networks are therefore expected to help more in the workplace than those with small networks. However, large networks are also associated with cognitive costs, which may reduce the focal employee's ability to both recognize the need for help and engage in helping behaviours. For these reasons, the authors assert an inverted U‐shaped relation between the size of an ego's social network and engagement in helping behaviour. However, high‐quality relationships imply higher mutual understanding between the actors, and hence lower cognitive costs. In turn, the position (and threshold) of the curve between network size and interpersonal helping should be influenced by the quality of the relationship between the provider and the beneficiaries of help. Analysis of employee‐level, single‐firm data supports these ideas, providing preliminary evidence that quality of relationship compensates for the difficulties that may arise from having large social networks.