Exploratory Analysis of Factors Associated with Participation in Self-Directed and Traditional Marriage and Relationship Education

Although self-directed marriage and relationship education (MRE) has the potential to reach a larger or different audience than traditional MRE, little has been done to examine the characteristics of self-directed MRE participants. This study examined whether various individual, couple, family, and sociocultural context variables predicted participation in both self-directed and traditional MRE programs. A series of logistic regressions were conducted on a cross-sectional data set. Different factors predicted participation for each intervention. For self-directed programs, factors predictive of involvement included older age, religiosity, higher education, being more self-regulated, having a neurotic partner, more open relationship boundaries, a history of divorce, more relationship problems, and more family-of-origin problems. A wider range of factors predicted participation in traditional programs. Some factors increasing odds for participation in one intervention decreased odds in the other. Implications for MRE are discussed. This study provides evidence that some higher risk couples may choose self-directed MRE over more traditional programs.     

Organizational change: The role of climate and job satisfaction in child welfare workers' perception of readiness for change

BackgroundWhen organizations embark on deliberate efforts to increase effectiveness through organizational-level changes, those that demonstrate greater readiness for change tend to have better outcomes. In contrast, when the organization is not ready, a change effort may result in resistance, conflict and, eventually, failure. However, studies addressing how agency climate and job satisfaction influence workers' perception of the organization's readiness for change in child welfare or human service organizations are scarce.MethodsData for this study was obtained from a sample of 356 direct care and clinical child welfare workers employed at eight not-for-profit child welfare agencies under contract to provide a variety of services in a large northeastern state. Workers were surveyed on their agency's readiness for change, organizational climate, and job satisfaction. The Spector Job Satisfaction Survey measured nine subscales and Parker Organizational Climate survey measured four primary domains: role, job, supervision, and organizational dimensions. A confirmatory factor analysis was conducted on nine questions derived from the Organizational Readiness for Change survey that measured workers' perceptions of organizational readiness for change. Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) was utilized to determine climate and satisfaction influences on voluntary child welfare workers' readiness for change.ResultsThe results of SEM confirmed that the exogenous independent indicators of role ambiguity, supervisor goal emphasis, organizational innovation, satisfaction with communication, and the number of years in current position were predictive of workers' perception of readiness for change with significant positive coefficients.ImplicationsThis study highlights the importance of certain organizational climate and job satisfaction factors that child welfare workers' identify for the success of agency change efforts. Workers perceive that organizations may have a higher level of readiness to implement successful change initiatives when: (1) workers feel their role is clear, supervisors articulate change goals, and job performance is held to a high standard and is measurable; (2) agency leaders establish organizational communication that is explicate, and they encourage workers to develop ideas and try new ways of doing the job; and (3) the greater the number of years workers are in their current position, the more likely change initiatives are perceived to be successful. Most importantly, this study suggests that not all organizational climate or job satisfaction factors are recognized by workers as supporting change equally.     

Actual and perceived emotional sending and personality correlates

To ascertain whether actual and perceived emotional sending are distinct constructs, the present study investigated the relationship between subjects' ability to facially express six basic emotions and their perceived success at expressing these emotions. Sixty-eight subjects completed a number of standardized personality scales and were videotaped while attempting to portray six basic emotions. Immediately following the videotaping subjects were asked to rate their perceived success in the emotional-sending task. Observers then judged the emotional-sending videotapes to determine subjects' actual sending abilities. A confirmatory factor analytic model indicated that actual and perceived emotional-sending were distinct factors. Zero-order correlations between the traditional personality measures and the actual and perceived sending factors also supported this distinction. These findings have important implications for the construction of standardized measures of individual differences in nonverbal communication skills.This research was supported by a UCR intramural research grant and a UCR NIH Biomedical Support Equipment grant. The authors would like to thank Richard Lippa and Louise Prince.     

A multi-level examination of how the organizational context relates to readiness to implement prevention and evidence-based programming in community settings

Prior theoretical and empirical research suggests that multiple aspects of an organization's context are likely related to a number of factors, from their interest and ability to adopt new programming, to client outcomes. A limited amount of the prior research has taken a more community-wide perspective by examining factors that associate with community readiness for change, leaving how these findings generalize to community organizations that conduct prevention or positive youth development programs unknown.Thus for the current study, we examined how the organizational context of the Cooperative Extension System (CES) associates with current attitudes and practices regarding prevention and evidence-based programming. Attitudes and practices have been found in the empirical literature to be key indicators of an organization's readiness to adopt prevention and evidence-based programming. Based on multi-level mixed models, results indicate that organizational management practices distinct from program delivery may affect an organization's readiness to adopt and implement new prevention and evidence-based youth programs, thereby limiting the potential public health impact of evidence-based programs. Openness to change, openness of leadership, and communication were the strongest predictors identified within this study. An organization's morale was also found to be a strong predictor of an organization's readiness. The findings of the current study are discussed in terms of implications for prevention and intervention.     

Primed for Change: Facilitating Factors in Problem Gambling Treatment

To successfully facilitate the treatment of problem gambling, change processes should be examined in order to identify those variables that differentiate good versus poor treatment outcomes. The current study explored the change facilitating effects of certain characteristics or conditions of an individual being treated: emotional support, instrumental support, emotional awareness, GA involvement, and depressed affect. These conditions were hypothesized to be predictive of a change-oriented mindset (i.e., “resources for change”) measured by abstinence self-efficacy, motivation for change, and readiness for change. Participants were 60 outpatients (54.2% male; M age = 46.7 years) with problem gambling recruited from several treatment centres throughout Ontario, Canada. Results indicated that: (1) depressed affect and emotional support seem to influence self-efficacy for abstinence, (2) emotional support alone appears to influence motivation for change, and (3) GA involvement, depressed affect, and emotional awareness, together, seem to influence readiness for change. These findings have implications for promoting change oriented dispositions in problem gambling individuals.     

Psychosocial Factors of Migration: Adaptation and Application of the Health Belief Model

Psychosocial factors influencing behaviour play a central role in health research but seem under‐explored in migration research. This is unfortunate because these factors, which include knowledge, attitudes, beliefs, intentions and personality traits, provide essential and potentially effective handles for linking migration and migrant‐integration policies. We demonstrate that the health belief model (HBM) conceptualization of behavioural intentions contributes constructs that can further our understanding of migration intentions, thereby broadening the foundations for migration policies. We adapt the HBM to migration behaviour and then test it empirically by using survey data on international migration from West Africa and the Mediterranean region to the European Union. The results confirm that indicators of “perceived threat to living conditions”, “perceived benefits” and “perceived barriers to migration”, “cues to action” and “self‐efficacy” contribute considerably to the explanation of migration intentions. We conclude that psychosocial factors deserve greater prominence in migration theories and empirical research, and we recommend that migration surveys consider this framework to identify relevant indicators of psychosocial factors of international migration and develop appropriate survey questions to measure them.     

Personality of social robots perceived through the appearance

Past research showed that people are able to perceive the personality of others at zero acquaintances. There are two main ways, verbal and non-verbal methods, which play an important role for one in perceiving personality of others. Extensive research was conducted in relating personality with verbal, paralinguistic and gestures cues. However, there are not much research, to our knowledge, that relates the appearance and perceived personality of robots. The main objective of this research is to relate individual design features with big five perceived personality of the robots. We used the results of rated perceptions across 100 pictorial images of robots and relate the results with the 40 individual design features using General Linear Model (GLM). The initial results of the GLM analysis showed that participants' rating of personality of robot fell along the dimension of perceived friendliness which is a common rotation of extroversion and agreeableness. Some relationships were found between humanlike design features and perceived friendliness of robots. Since participants are more familiar with humans, participants perceived robots with humanlike features friendlier than the others. Some other findings such as color and surface material were found related with participants' perceived friendliness as well. In the future, we will work on the analysis of the main and interaction effects of individual features on user's perceived friendliness.     

Signs of Divorce Before Marriage: The Role of Premarital Events in Iran

Premarital relationships form the basis for couples’ future relationships. There are certain factors in couples’ premarital relationships that could play a role in divorce. This study was conducted to investigate the role of premarital events (courtship, engagement, and Nikah [marriage]) in marital conflicts leading to divorce. In this qualitative study, which was carried out in Iran using the phenomenological method, 23 divorced applicants were purposefully selected, and their experiences and perceptions were examined. Data were collected using semistructured interviews. Analysis of interviews showed that little opportunity to get to know each other, neglecting the guidance of family members, disregarding signs of defect in the spouse, starting and continuing the relationship with lies and secrecy, infidelity, financial problems, and eventually ignoring the spouse’s appearance and its underestimation during the courtship period are special factors that predispose couples to divorce; however, couples, due to the special context of their relationships, ignore these factors. The findings of the study include implications for couple therapists, counselors, and couples’ families, and they can be useful in premarital education and postmarital interventions.     

Do Some Students Need Special Protection From Research on Sex and Trauma? New Evidence for Young Adult Resilience in “Sensitive Topics” Research

Institutional review boards (IRBs) have expressed concerns that certain individuals or groups, such as participants who are younger, ethnic minorities, or who have certain psychological or personality traits, may be particularly distressed when participating in “sensitive topics” research. This study examined the effects of several demographic and individual difference factors (i.e., age, sex, ethnicity, religiosity, Big Five personality traits, and baseline psychological distress levels) on reactions to participation in sensitive topics research. Participants were 504 undergraduates who completed an extensive battery of either trauma/sex questionnaires or cognitive tests and rated their positive and negative emotional reactions and the perceived benefits and mental costs of participating. They also compared research participation to normal life stressors. Our findings indicated that individual difference and demographic risk factors do not increase participant distress after participating in sex/trauma research over and above that experienced after participating in traditionally minimal-risk cognitive tasks. Participants generally found research participation less distressing than normal life stressors and even enjoyable.     

Academic Engagement and Achievement Predict Career Adaptability

Abundant evidence indicates that personality, social, cultural, and contextual factors predict career adaptability. However, little research attends to the roles of academic engagement and achievement in career adaptability, especially in non‐Western cultural contexts. We examined the associations of perceived academic engagement dimensions (i.e., behavioral and emotional engagement) and academic achievement with facets of career adaptability among 324 Filipino high school students. Results of hierarchical regression analyses demonstrate that, after controlling for age and gender, behavioral engagement served as the strongest predictor of concern, curiosity, confidence, and control. In addition, perceived academic achievement was the weakest predictor of career adaptability dimensions. Our findings underscore the benefits of integrating active involvement in school‐related tasks to foster career adaptability in high school student populations.     

UPSTREAM! Together evaluation results from community efforts to prevent mental,emotional, and behavioral health problems

Mental, emotional, and behavioral (MEB) health problems are prevalent globally. Despite effective programs that can prevent MEB problems and promote mental health, there has not been widespread adoption. UPSTREAM! Together was a planning project in three Colorado communities. Communities partnered with academic and policy entities to 1) translate evidence about MEB problem prevention into locally-relevant messages and materials and 2) develop long-term plans for broad implementation of interventions to prevent high-priority MEB problems. Community members recognized the need to talk about MEB problems to prevent them. The UPSTREAM! communities localized messages designed to start conversations and sustain attention on preventing MEB problems. The communities understood that prevention takes sustained community attention and advocacy, knowing that important outcomes may be years away. Long-term implementation plans aimed to strengthen families and enhance social connections among youth. Despite community readiness and capacity to implement evidence-based programs, there were few funding opportunities, delaying program implementation and revealing gaps between funding policies and community readiness. This community-engaged experience suggests an achievable approach, acceptable to communities, and worthy of further development and testing. Policies that cultivate and support local expertise may help to increase wider community adoption of evidence-based programs that promote mental health among youth.     

Examining Recruitment Follow-Up Phone Calls and Their Influence on Attendance for Husbands and Wives in a Marriage and Relationship Education Program

Low-income married couples face unique stressors that contribute to increased relationship distress. Federal funding has supported research initiatives aimed at studying how marriage and relationship education (MRE) influences the relationships of low-income married participants. However, research identified recruitment and retention of low-income participants as a major obstacle to the replication of these programs. Therefore, this study examined programmatic data from 786 low-income married participants to investigate how recruitment follow-up influenced attendance in the MRE program. A weak, inverse relationship was found for women between the number of pre-enrollment phone calls made and hours spent in MRE. We found a statistically significant difference between who was contacted (wife, husband, or both) and attendance to the initial intake appointment for program enrollment. Implications and future research are discussed.     

The relationship between student core self-evaluations,support for school,and the work–school interface

More students than ever before are combining the experience of higher education with paid employment, but relatively little research has been done exploring how students manage these roles. In the current study, we explored the association between personality (i.e. core self-evaluations) and support, both specific to the school context. The relationship between support for school and both work–school conflict (WSC) and work-school enrichment (WSE) were also studied, and in turn, associated outcomes (i.e. grade point average, job satisfaction, general psychological health, and school burnout) of inter-role conflict and enrichment. In a two-wave study of 291 employed college students, we found that individuals high in school-specific core self-evaluations perceived greater organizational support and family support for school, which was associated with decreased WSC and increased WSE (through organizational support). In turn, WSC was related to lower general psychological health and higher school burnout whereas WSE was related to higher job satisfaction. These findings are consistent with theories of personality and stress, conservation of resources theory, and organizational support theory, and suggest that both organizations and universities have a role to play in helping students manage ‘learner’ and ‘earner’ roles.     

Variables Affecting Readiness to Benefit From Career Interventions

This article identifies and briefly describes the broad range of variables that may influence clients’ readiness to benefit from career interventions. The article also discusses consequences of low readiness for effective use of career interventions and addresses implications for practice as well as for future research. Variables contributing to low readiness for effective use of career interventions include personal characteristics and circumstances; knowledge of self, options, and decision making; and prior experience with career interventions. Consequences of low readiness for using career interventions include premature disengagement, negative perception of skills and interests, selective acquisition of incomplete information, premature choice foreclosure, protracted exploration, dependent decision‐making style, and poor evaluation of options.     

Health care providers' readiness to screen for intimate partner violence in Northern Nigeria

Research on screening for intimate partner violence (IPV) within health care in a sub-Saharan African context is rare. This paper assessed factors associated with the readiness to screen for IPV among care providers (HCP, n = 274) at Kano hospital, Nigeria. Readiness was measured using the Domestic Violence Health Care Providers' survey instrument, which measures grade of perceived self-efficacy in screening for IPV, fear for victim/provider safety, access to system support to refer IPV victims, professional roles resistant/ fear of offending clients, and blaming the victim for being abused victim. Social workers perceived a higher self-efficacy and better access to system support networks to refer victims than peers in other occupation categories. Female care providers and doctors were less likely to blame the victim than males and social workers, respectively. Younger care providers of Yoruba ethnicity and social workers were less likely to perceive conflicting professional roles related to screening than older providers of Hausa ethnicity and doctors, respectively. Implications of our findings for interventions and further research are discussed.     

Decreasing risk factors for later alcohol use and antisocial behaviors in children in foster care by increasing early promotive factors

Children in foster care are at high risk for poor psychosocial outcomes, including school failure, alcohol and other substance abuse, and criminal behaviors. Promoting healthy development by increasing broad-impact positive skills may help reduce some of the risk factors for longer-term negative outcomes. School readiness has been linked to a number of positive outcomes across childhood, adolescence, and adulthood, and may also boost intermediary positive skills such as self-competence. This paper presents findings from a longitudinal study involving 192 children in foster care who were 5 years old at the start of the study. They participated in a randomized controlled trial of a school readiness program to prepare them for kindergarten. Outcomes were assessed at third grade (9 years old) on variables associated with risk for later involvement in substance use and delinquency. These included positive attitudes towards alcohol use, positive attitudes towards antisocial behaviors, and involvement with deviant peers. Results showed that the intervention decreased positive attitudes towards alcohol use and antisocial behaviors. Further, the mediating role of children's self-competence was tested. The intervention positively influenced children's third-grade self-competence, which in turn, decreased their involvement with deviant peers. Findings suggest that promoting school readiness in children in foster care can have far-reaching, positive effects and that increased self-competence may be a mechanism for reducing risk.     

Medical students' and tutors' experiences of directed and self-directed learning programs in evidence-based medicine: a qualitative evaluation accompanying a randomized controlled trial

This qualitative study aims to interpret the results of a randomized controlled trial comparing two educational programs (directed learning and self-directed learning) in evidence-based medicine (EBM) for medical students at the University of Oslo from 2002 to 2003. There is currently very little comparative educational research in this field. In the trial, no statistically significant differences between the study groups were shown for any outcomes considered (EBM knowledge, skills, and attitudes). Further analysis suggests that main reason for the negative trial results was that the majority of students learned equally effectively, whichever program they received, although implementation of the educational programs was not complete because of varying attendance. This study illustrates a stepwise evaluation model that might be useful in evaluating other socially complex interventions.     

The impact of the positive action program on substance use,aggression, and psychological functioning: Is school climate a mechanism of change?

The social emotional learning (SEL) conceptual model posits that SEL programs lead to increased knowledge and skills, improved attitudes about self, others, and school, and supportive learning environments, which in turn improve student emotional, behavioral, and academic outcomes. Positive Action (PA) is an SEL program for elementary-, middle-, and high-school students. Extensive research documents the effectiveness of PA in decreasing adolescent risk factors and enhancing protective factors, however, minimal research has examined the mechanisms of change responsible for these effects. The current study examined whether PA was associated with SEL outcomes (i.e., alcohol use, aggression, depression, and anxiety) through school hassles (a proxy for school climate). The analytic sample consisted of 8333 ethnically/racially diverse, rural adolescents (51% female) in grades 6 through 12. Structural Equation Modeling was used to analyze the data. Engagement in PA was significantly associated with decreased school hassles, indicating an improvement in school climate. Subsequently, decreases in school hassles were significantly associated with decreased alcohol use, aggression, depression, and anxiety. Thus, there was an indirect effect between PA, decreased school hassles, and improved adolescent outcomes. Implications were discussed.     

Access is not enough: the impact of emotional costs and self-efficacy on the changes in African-American students’ ICT use patterns

Previous research has examined the impact of computing interventions to reduce digital inequity. However, few studies focus on factors such as inequalities to material access, Internet use patterns, and affective or emotional anxiety. This paper investigates the potential role of emotional costs and computer self-efficacy in the connection between computer use at home and students’ computer use patterns. Data for this research come from pretest and posttest surveys administered to fourth- and fifth-grade African-American students. The results reveal that students’ home computer use is a significant predictor of the change in their information and entertainment usage over the course of the intervention. Students’ emotional costs partially mediate the relationship between home computer use and information-oriented usage over the intervention period. The findings suggest that providing students access to digital devices is not enough to close the digital divide.     

Grandparent-Headed Families in the United States

Abstract

Grandparents are returning to the role of parents in ever-increasing numbers. Custodial grandparents often find themselves isolated from sources of support as they face unique emotional, physical, and financial challenges on a daily basis. Nearly half are grandparents without partners and the majority are caring for two or more young children. Children in the care of grandparents are more likely to experience cognitive, emotional, and physical challenges. Their early traumatic experiences may lead to difficulties in communication and forming attachments.

The Parent Topics Questionnaire is a standardized assessment measure designed to provide parent education group facilitators with specific information about needs, desires, and expectations of participants. Administration of this instrument to four parent groups revealed a high readiness for information among the custodial grandparent population. Based on information obtained from this measure, a holistic program was developed which simultaneously provided services to care-giving grandparents, their young grandchildren, and educational professionals.

Grandparent and grandchildren's groups met weekly and emphasized topics and activities aimed at meeting common needs within these populations. Educational professionals participated in a series of inservice meetings aimed at increasing awareness of needs and strengths of grandparent-headed families, modifying curriculum to more effectively meet grandchildren's needs, and enhancing knowledge of existing resources. Pre- and post-test analysis demonstrate significant positive effects for all involved populations. Grandparents were found to increase in parenting knowledge, perceived levels of social support, willingness to utilize existing resources, and enjoyment of time with their grandchildren. Levels of isolation and perceived depression were decreased. Participating grandchildren demonstrated increased abilities to interact effectively with peers and adults and perceived their interactions with grandparents more positively. Educational professionals reported feeling more informed about custodial grandparent family issues, more confident about interacting with grandparents, and more knowledgeable about existing resources.