Assessing Experiences With LGBT Microaggressions in the Workplace: Development and Validation of the Microaggression Experiences at Work Scale

ABSTRACT

LGBT people experience microaggressions in the workplace; however, limited research exists in this area partly due to a lack of psychometrically sound instruments measuring the prevalence of LGBT microaggressions in the workplace. To address this gap, an empirical study was conducted and the LGBT-MEWS was created and tested. The LGBT-MEWS is a 27-item self-report scale comprising three subscales. Each subscale conceptually represents a different domain through which microaggressions impact LGBT employees: (1) workplace values, (2) heteronormative assumptions, and (3) cisnormative culture. The results of testing indicated that the subscales demonstrate strong reliability and validity.     

Towards a conceptual model of youth leadership development

Youth leadership development is a growing area of research and practice in recent years. This paper will present a conceptual model highlighting the key components necessary in cultivating young leaders including skills development, environmental factors and commitment to action. In each of these categories, a number of aspects, supported by international literature known to be important in developing leaders, are presented. In the skills section, important factors include social and emotional intelligence, the ability to collaborate with others (including problem solving and conflict resolution), the ability to articulate a vision and finally the ability to gain insight or knowledge into the particular subject area. Environmental conditions include having authentic opportunities that enable young people to practise and hone their skills. In terms of action, both the ability to inspire and motivate followers through high expectations and role modelling pave the way to having a good team on which to build youth leadership. This, together with mastery as developed through the ability to persist and endeavour, is critical to any successful youth leader.     

Gauging the Impact of Growing Nonresponse on Estimates from a National RDD Telephone Survey

Declining contact and cooperation rates in random digit dial(RDD) national telephone surveys raise serious concerns aboutthe validity of estimates drawn from such research. While researchin the 1990s indicated that nonresponse bias was relativelysmall, response rates have continued to fall since then. Thecurrent study replicates a 1997 methodological experiment thatcompared results from a "Standard" 5-day survey employing thePew Research Center’s usual methodology with results froma "Rigorous" survey conducted over a much longer field periodand achieving a significantly higher response rate. As withthe 1997 study, there is little to suggest that unit nonresponsewithin the range of response rates obtained seriously threatensthe quality of survey estimates. In 77 out of 84 comparableitems, the two surveys yielded results that were statisticallyindistinguishable. While the "Rigorous" study respondents tendedto be somewhat less politically engaged, they did not reportconsistently different behaviors or attitudes on other kindsof questions. With respect to sample composition, the Standardsurvey was closely aligned with estimates from the U.S. Censusand other large government surveys on most variables. We extendour analysis of nonresponse to include comparisons with thehardest-to-reach respondents and with respondents who terminatedthe interview prior to completion.     

Developing a Core Competency Model and Educational Framework for Primary Maternity Services: a national consensus approach

BackgroundAn appropriately educated and competent workforce is crucial to an effective health care system. The National Health Workforce Taskforce (now Health Workforce Australia) and the Maternity Services Inter-Jurisdictional Committee funded a project to develop Core Competencies and Educational Framework for Primary Maternity Services in Australia. These competencies recognise the interdisciplinary nature of maternity care in Australia where care is provided by general practitioners, obstetricians and midwives as well as other professionals.ParticipantsKey stakeholders from professional organisations and providers of services related to maternity care and consumers of services.MethodsA national consensus approach was undertaken using consultation processes with a Steering Committee, a wider Reference Group and public consultation.FindingsA national Core Competencies and Educational Framework for Primary Maternity Services in Australia was developed through an iterative process with a range of key stakeholders. There are a number of strategies that may assist in the integration of these into primary maternity service provider professional groups’ education and practice.ConclusionsThe Core Competencies and Educational Framework are based on an interprofessional approach to learning and primary maternity service practice. They have sought to value professional expertise and stimulate awareness and respect for the roles of all primary maternity service providers. The competencies and framework described in this paper are now a critical component of Australian maternity services as they are included in actions in the newly released National Maternity Services Plan and thus have relevance for all providers of Australian maternity services.     

Histories of poverty and self-rated health trajectories

This paper investigates the dynamic relationship between poverty histories and self-rated health trajectories. We are interested in patterns of change in individuals' health over time and the ways in which such patterns are structured by continuity and change in poverty experiences. Data, collected for adults aged 25 and older in 1984 (N = 7,258), are from the 1968-1996 annual waves of Panel Study of Income Dynamics (PSID). Individual growth curves allow us to investigate health trajectories as continuous processes, as well as individual and group heterogeneity in these trajectories. We find that, on average, health deteriorates slowly over time, but there is significant variation in health in 1984 and the rate at which health declines. Histories of poverty partly accounted for the sources of individual differences in self-rated health in 1984, but they were not related to health change over time. Although increasing incomes were better for self-rated health than falling incomes, current economic circumstances did not erase the health effects of earlier poverty experiences.     

An ecological approach to facilitate successful employment outcomes among people with multiple chemical sensitivity

Many adults with multiple chemical sensitivity (MCS) must prematurely exit the workforce because of the severity of their MCS symptoms, the resulting disability stigma, and their unmet needs for on-the-job accommodations. To help individuals with MCS continue working or re-enter employment, rehabilitation professionals must understand the barriers resulting in unemployment and implement interventions to reduce or remove those barriers. In this article, the Ecological Model of Career Development is presented as a scheme for identifying barriers and implementing rehabilitation interventions to improve the employment outcomes among people with MCS.     

Multiple chemical sensitivity and workplace discrimination: the national EEOC ADA research project

Information from the Integrated Mission System of the United States Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) was used to investigate the employment discrimination experiences of Americans with multiple chemical sensitivity (MCS) in comparison to Americans in a general disability group with allergies, asthma, HIV, gastrointestinal impairment, cumulative trauma disorder and tuberculosis. Specifically, the researchers examined demographic characteristics of the charging parties; the industry designation, location, and size of employers against whom allegations were filed; the nature of discrimination (i.e., type of adverse action) alleged to occur; and the legal outcomes or resolutions of these allegations. Findings indicate that persons with MCS were, on average, older than the comparison group and comparatively overrepresented by Caucasians and women. People with MCS were proportionally more likely than the comparison group to allege discrimination related to reasonable accommodations. People with MCS were proportionally more likely than the comparison group to file allegations against employers in the manufacturing and public administration industries, employers with 201-500 workers, and employers in the Western Census region. People with MCS were proportionally more likely than the comparison group to receive non-merit resolutions as a result of the EEOC's Americans with Disabilities Act Title I investigatory process. Implications for policy and advocacy are addressed.     

What is Adult Attachment?

This paper explores the concept of adult attachment. Although attachment theory is now getting a great deal of attention, there is not yet a clear picture of what it means to be attached in adulthood or what the clinical applications of the approach might be. Using Bowlby’s distinctive ethological-evolutionary framework and updating it with findings from neurobiology and attachment research, it is proposed there is an attachment behavioral system that operates throughout the lives of adults and that this changes the way we understand our clients’ distress and carry out psychotherapy.

Intergenerational Support and Marital Satisfaction: Implications of Beliefs About Helping Aging Parents

Everyday support given to aging parents is a salient aspect of married life that may have implications for marital quality. Among 132 middle‐aged couples drawn from Wave 1 of the Family Exchanges Study, the authors examined the moderating effects of each spouse's normative and motivational beliefs about helping parents on associations between the frequency of everyday support that wives and husbands gave to their own parents and marital satisfaction. Husbands' more frequent provision of support was linked to wives' greater marital satisfaction when reports of personal rewards linked to helping parents were high for wives or low for husbands. Conversely, wives' more frequent provision of support was linked to husbands' lower marital satisfaction when reports of filial obligation were low for husbands or high for wives. Findings highlight the interdependence within couples and indicate that both spouses' perceptions are important in understanding linkages between intergenerational support and marital satisfaction.