Organizational values,job experiences and satisfactions among female and male psychologists1

This study examined the relationship of managerial and professional women's and men's perceptions of organizational values supportive of work–personal life integration and their job experiences, work and non-work satisfactions and psychological well-being. Data were collected from 324 women and 128 men psychologists in Australia using anonymous questionnaires. Both women and men reported benefits from such values. Women psychologists reporting organizational values more supportive of work–personal life integration also reported working fewer hours and extra-hours worked per week, greater job and career satisfaction, more optimistic career prospects, less time to job and less work stress, greater friends satisfaction, and more positive emotional and physical well-being. Men psychologists reporting organizational values more supportive of work–personal life integration also reported less job stress, greater joy in work, lower intentions to quit, greater job and career satisfaction, more optimistic career prospects, fewer psychosomatic symptoms and more positive emotional and physical well-being. Multiple regression analyses indicated more independent and significant correlates of organizational values supporting work–personal life integration among women than among men. Possible explanations for why women might benefit more from such organizational values are offered.     

Factors associated with exercise participation in adults with arthritis

Most people with arthritis are not regularly active. Understanding what factors influence exercise is essential for designing programs to increase participation. The objective of this study was to examine the correlates of exercise in people with arthritis. Using a cross-sectional design, sociodemographic, health-related, and psychosocial variables were collected from community-dwelling individuals with arthritis (N = 141). Associations with exercise level were examined with bivariate statistics (ANOVAs, chi-squares) and logistic-regression analyses. Exercisers were less likely than nonexercisers and insufficiently active people to report that arthritis negatively affected their physical and social functioning, and they reported more positive affect and greater self-efficacy (p < .05). Exercisers also reported less pain than nonexercisers (p < .05). In multiple logistic-regression analyses, self-efficacy and physical limitations remained independent predictors of exercise. The results suggest the need to target exercise self-efficacy when designing exercise interventions. Results also suggest the need to tailor exercise programs to individuals' physical limitations.     

Do teenage mothers experience childbirth as traumatic?

Although several hundred thousand teenagers give birth each year in the United States, little is known about their psychological experience of childbirth, especially with respect to its traumatic impact. This article highlights the findings of a pilot study of 28 teenage mothers who reported on their traumatic and depressive symptoms related to childbirth. Literature on adolescent childbearing, posttraumatic stress, and postpartum depression is also reviewed.     

Managing a depressed and suicidal loved one at home: impact on the family

This qualitative study examined the process families use to care for a depressed and suicidal family member at home. The grounded theory method was used for data collection and analysis. Seventeen family members were interviewed. The data revealed the basic social process of Maintaining Vigilance Through Managing, which depicts an ongoing, cyclical process that begins at a point of not knowing. Family members then move on to identifying, then gaining awareness, followed by knowing or understanding. This allows them to take action, then to proceed to watching and waiting. They then return to gaining awareness armed with new knowledge or understanding. It is at this point that the process becomes cyclical. It varies in intensity over time, depending on the level of depression and the risk for suicide. To preserve the integrity of these families, nurses must help develop strategies to guide them through this process as they care for their depressed and suicidal loved one.     

Moving to a hostel: The perceptions of older people who move from hospital to hostel (‘low level’) care

Abstract

The aims of this research were threefold: to explore the perceptions of older people regarding the process of transition from hospital to hostel ('low level') care; to examine their experiences of hostel living after transfer; and to develop, on the basis of these findings, appropriate professional practice guidelines.     

A Process Model of Parenting and Adolescents' Friendship Competence

This study examined the prospective relationship between negative parenting behaviors and adolescents' friendship competence in a community sample of 416 two‐parent families in the Southeastern USA. Adolescents' externalizing problems and their emotional insecurity with parents were examined as mediators. Parents' psychological control was uniquely associated with adolescents' friendship competence. When both mediators were included in the same model, adolescents' perceptions of emotional insecurity in the parent–adolescent relationship fully mediated the association between parents' psychological control and adolescents' friendship competence. Parental hostility was associated with friendship competence indirectly through adolescents' emotional insecurity. Results contribute to identifying the mechanisms by which parenting affects youths' friendship competence, which is important in informing theory and practice regarding interpersonal relationships in adolescence.     

When Social Workers Are Stalked: Risks,Strategies, and Legal Protections

By virtue of their work, social workers are at risk of becoming victims of stalking. This is because social workers assist individuals who suffer from major mental health problems that may cause them to develop delusional beliefs about their therapists, and because social workers may need to exercise authority against individuals with personality disturbances that present a risk to others. Surveys suggest that 16% of social workers have been stalked at one point in their career by a client. Stalking of social workers by clients has far-reaching personal and professional implications, potentially affecting all aspects of an individual’s life. This paper reviews the nature and incidence of stalking of social workers, the legal remedies available to social workers who are victims of stalking, and strategies for protection.     

Reflective practice: action learning sets for managers in social work

The author evaluates action learning sets, established as part of a management development programme, for managers in social work. The impact on management practice, the processes contributing to effectiveness and the elements of learning that participants viewed as making most difference to their management practice are identified. The issues brought for consultation are described, including working with contradiction and paradox. It is concluded that participants experience action learning to make a positive contribution to their development as managers in a challenging environment.