Integrating motivational, social, and contextual work design features: A meta-analytic summary and theoretical extension of the work design literature.

The authors developed and meta-analytically examined hypotheses designed to test and extend work design theory by integrating motivational, social, and work context characteristics. Results from a summary of 259 studies and 219,625 participants showed that 14 work characteristics explained, on average, 43% of the variance in the 19 worker attitudes and behaviors examined. For example, motivational characteristics explained 25% of the variance in subjective performance, 2% in turnover perceptions, 34% in job satisfaction, 24% in organizational commitment, and 26% in role perception outcomes. Beyond motivational characteristics, social characteristics explained incremental variances of 9% of the variance in subjective performance, 24% in turnover intentions, 17% in job satisfaction, 40% in organizational commitment, and 18% in role perception outcomes. Finally, beyond both motivational and social characteristics, work context characteristics explained incremental variances of 4% in job satisfaction and 16% in stress. The results of this study suggest numerous opportunities for the continued development of work design theory and practice. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Development and validation of the Smoking Expectancy Scale for Adolescents.

This study assessed the factor structure, internal consistency, and concurrent validity of the Smoking Expectancies Scale for Adolescents (SESA) using 717 Australian adolescents (87% nonsmokers, 11% current smokers, and 2% ex-smokers). Exploratory factor analysis of SESA yielded 8 factors. Confirmatory factor analysis indicated that the 8-factor model, and also a 2nd-order cost-benefit model, fit the data significantly better than 4 alternatives. Validation analyses revealed the 8-factor model explained 26% to 32% of the variance in adolescent cigarette use, smoking intentions, smoking subjective norms, and peer smoking. The 2nd-order model explained 12% to 17% of the variance in these same variables. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Identifying Shared Environmental Contributions to Early Substance Use: The Respective Roles of Peers and Parents.

Although behavior genetic studies have suggested that early substance use is primarily environmentally mediated, no study has sought to identify the specific sources of environmental variance. Using data obtained from multiple informants, this study assessed the contributions of peer deviance and parent-child relationship problems to substance use in 14-year-old male and female twins (N = 1,403) drawn from the Minnesota Twin Family Study (MTFS). All three phenotypes were influenced primarily by shared environmental variance (average c2 = .51), as was the overlap among them. Moreover, peer deviance and parent-child relationship problems accounted for approximately 77% of the variance in early substance use. Findings also indicated that peer deviance, but not parent-child relationship problems, accounted uniquely for variance in early substance use. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Social ecological model of illness management in high-risk youths with type 1 diabetes.

In this study, the authors tested a social ecological model of illness management in high-risk, urban adolescents with Type 1 diabetes. It was hypothesized that management behaviors would be associated with individual adolescent characteristics as well as family, peer, and provider relationships. Questionnaires were collected from 96 adolescents in poor metabolic control and their primary caregivers. Variables in each system were correlated with illness management. Multiple regression demonstrated that higher externalizing symptoms, poorer family relationships, lower satisfaction with providers, and greater age contributed to the variance in illness management. Internalizing symptoms and peer relationships were no longer significant in the model. Results support a social ecological model of illness management in high-risk youths. Interventions grounded in social ecological theory are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Condom use: A self-efficacy model.

A survey of heterosexually active college students gathered information about condom use, self-efficacy (SE), outcome expectancies, sexual attitudes, peer group influences, AIDS knowledge, and a perceived vulnerability to AIDS. On the basis of A. Bandura's (1986) social-cognitive theory, a structural model with SE as the central mediator was formulated and evaluated with LISREL. This model explained 46% of the variance in condom use from judgments of SE and effects attributable to peers and 53% of the variance in SE from outcome expectancies and peer group influences. Sexual attitudes, AIDS knowledge, and perceived vulnerability did not predict condom use. Most students were well-informed about HIV transmission but reported not feeling at risk, even though many engaged in risky sexual behavior. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Social-cognitive determinants of hoist usage among health care workers.

Injuries caused by unsafe manual handling of patients are a major source of ill health in health care workers. The present study evaluated the ability of 4 classes of variable to predict use of a hoist when moving a heavily dependent patient. Variables examined were occupational role characteristics, such as hours of work and type of shift worked; biographics, including age and height; aspects of occupational context, such as number of hoists available and number of patients; and motivational variables specified by the theory of planned behavior (Ajzen, 1985) and protection motivation theory (Rogers, 1983). Regression analyses showed that background and social-cognitive variables were able to account for 59% of variance in intention to use a hoist and 41% of variance in use of the hoist assessed 6 weeks later. Height, hoist availability, coworker injunctive norm, perceived behavioral control, response cost, response benefits, and social and physical costs of not using the hoist each explained independent variance in motivation to use a hoist at work. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Differential experiences of siblings in the same family as predictors of adolescent sibling personality differences.

Examined whether the differential experience of siblings can be used to predict their personality differences in an extension of a previous study by the present author and colleagues (see record 1985-25181-001). 50 biological sibling and 98 adoptive sibling pairs (aged 12–28 yrs) completed the Sibling Inventory of Differential Experience (SIDE), a temperament survey, and questions regarding their career expectations. Results indicate that differential sibling interaction and differential peer characteristics as self-reported on the SIDE explained 6–26% of the variance in sibling personality difference scores. For example, siblings who reported more sociability as compared to their siblings also experienced more sibling closeness and more peer popularity as compared to their siblings. Comparisons between adoptive and biological siblings indicated that the SIDE relations were mediated environmentally rather than genetically. Results demonstrate that the SIDE is an effective predictor of sibling personality differences and suggest that it should prove to be a useful environmental instrument. (20 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Between-subjects expectancy theory research: A statistical review of studies predicting effort and performance.

A large number of between-Ss expectancy theory studies have correlated measures of employee motivation (force) to perform with measures of effort and performance. The results of these studies vary considerably. A statistical review of the studies was conducted to determine the extent to which the variance explained (the dependent variable) was a function of various characteristics of the effort and performance and of the force-to-perform measures (the independent variables). There were 160 observations, derived from 32 studies. With the use of multiple regression analysis it was found that variance explained in these studies was greater when (a) self-report or quantitative measures of effort and performance were used rather than evaluations of these variables by someone other than the S; (b) 10–25 outcomes were included in the force measure rather than a greater or smaller number of outcomes; (c) outcome valence was numerically scaled with positive numbers only, and the scale values were described in terms of desirability rather than importance; and (d) the force measure contained either no assessment of expectancy or an assessment that confounded expectancy and instrumentality. These variables accounted for 42% of the variance in the results obtained in the studies reviewed. (31 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A cross-cultural study of family and peer correlates of adolescent misconduct

Participants were 4 groups of early adolescents from middle-class backgrounds (European and Chinese Americans in southern California and Chinese in Taipei, Taiwan, and Beijing, China). The 591 adolescents (M age = 13.8 years) completed questionnaires about their involvement in misconduct and about family and peer characteristics. Mothers of a subsample of adolescents (n = 405) also completed a questionnaire about their relationships with their adolescents. The 4 groups of adolescents reported significantly different mean levels of family and peer correlates but showed strikingly similar levels and patterns of self-reported misconduct. Structural equation models revealed that 2 latent variables (family relationships and peer sanctions) accounted for more variance in misconduct among European and Chinese American adolescents (51%-62%) than among the 2 Chinese groups (15%-24%), mainly because of a greater contribution of peer factors in the former groups.     

Ethnic differences and the closing of the sex gap in alcohol use among college-bound students.

[Correction Notice: An erratum for this article was reported in Vol 22(3) of Psychology of Addictive Behaviors (see record 2008-11981-017). The article was published with incorrect figures. The correct Figures 1 and 2 are reprinted in this correction.] In this study, the authors used Web-based surveys to examine differences in alcohol use by sex and ethnicity and factors associated with these group differences among 2,241 college-bound students. A Sex × Ethnicity interaction indicated that the sex gap was much larger for Latino than for Caucasian students. Although peer influence was important for both Caucasian and Latino students, family influences were significant only for Latino youths. The sex differences in drinking among Latino youths were largely explained by the combination of same-sex family member and same-sex peer drinking through values about the acceptability of drinking behavior. Among Caucasians, perceptions of peer behavior exerted a stronger influence on drinking behavior than among Latinos. These results suggest that interventions targeting peer influence are likely to be most effective for Caucasian students. In contrast, for Latinos, particularly Latina women, family characteristics may be an important target for prevention. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

An investigation of classroom situational dimensions of emotional and behavioral adjustment and cognitive and social outcomes for Head Start children.

This study used a developmental-ecological approach to investigate the relationship across the school year between early problems in preschool classroom situations and a comprehensive set of readiness competencies for urban low-income children. Study 1 identified 3 reliable and unique underlying classroom situational dimensions where behavior problems occurred: structured learning, peer interaction, and teacher interaction situations. Boys and younger children evidenced more problematic behavior across all situations. Study 2 investigated the relationship between early problems in the situations and readiness outcomes. Early situational difficulties uniquely and differentially predicted lower peer social and classroom learning outcomes. In combination, both the type of behavior problem (what) and the situational problem (where) explained greater variance in the prediction of readiness outcomes, contributing to a more comprehensive understanding of developmental trajectories. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

When syndromal similarity obscures functional dissimilarity: Distinctive evoked environments of externalizing and mixed syndrome boys.

This research examined how syndromal approaches to assessment can obscure differences between children in the quality of their social interactions. Mixed boys (high for externalizing and internalizing problems) showed heterogeneity in the responses they evoked from others: For one subgroup, aggression and withdrawal evoked aversive responses from others, and even prosocial behavior evoked hostile peer responses; for the other, aggression and withdrawal evoked positive peer responses. Externalizing boys also showed heterogeneity in the patterning of their evoked responses. Within-group heterogeneity was not explained by boys' syndrome scores but was linked to their reactions to specific antecedent events. The results illustrate how a contextualized analysis of behavior can reveal distinctive social interactional patterns that underlie similar overall rates of problem behaviors. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Self-verification and depression among youth psychiatric inpatients.

According to self-verification theory (e.g., W.B. Swann, 1983), people are motivated to preserve stable self-concepts by seeking self-confirming interpersonal responses, even if the responses are negative. In the current study of 72 youth psychiatric inpatients (36 boys; 36 girls; ages 7-17, M?=?13.18; SD?=?2.59), the authors provide the 1st test of self-verification theory among a youth sample. Participants completed self-report questionnaires on depression, self-esteem, anxiety, negative and positive affect, and interest in negative feedback from others. The authors made chart diagnoses available, and they collected peer rejection ratings. Consistent with hypotheses, the authors found that interest in negative feedback was associated with depression, was predictive of peer rejection (but only within relatively longer peer relationships), was more highly related to cognitive than emotional aspects of depression, and was specifically associated with depression, rather than being generally associated with emotional distress. The authors discuss implications for self-verification theory and for the phenomenology of youth depression. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Links from emotional distress to adolescent drug use: A path model.

Administered anonymous surveys asking about drug use, emotional distress, and peer drug associations to 11th and 12th grade high school students (N?=?563). Emotional distress variables accounted for only 4.8% of the variance in drug use. The addition of peer drug associations as a predictor variable increased the variance accounted for to 43.4%. A path model of adolescent drug use based on peer cluster theory was tested using LISREL, and this provided a good fit with the data. As predicted, peer drug associations dominated the prediction of drug use and mediated the effect of emotional distress on drug use, with the exception of a small residual path directly from anger to drug use. The hypothesis that young people take drugs to alleviate emotional distress does not hold up well; emotional distress variables, with the exception of anger, produced only very small and indirect links to drug use. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Fiedler's Contingency Theory of Leadership: An application of the meta-analysis procedures of Schmidt and Hunter.

Applied the meta-analytic procedures of J. Hunter et al (1982) to the available literature testing the contingency theory of leadership proposed by F. Fiedler (see PA, Vol 47:2819; 1978). This involved the quantification of the variance in correlations between leader style and performance that can be explained by sampling error. Separate meta-analyses were conducted for those studies that led to the specification of contingency theory and those conducted specifically to test the theory. Results show that contingency theory was appropriately induced from the studies on which it was based. Results regarding studies specifically testing contingency theory, however, yielded less supportive evidence. The theory was supported for all octants except Octant II within the laboratory data set, but only 4 of the 8 octants produced supportive evidence within the field data set. It is suggested that additional variables need to be specified to account more fully for the variance within those octants that cannot be explained by sampling error alone. (47 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Biographical, physiological, and personality variables as predictors of performance under sickness-inducing motion.

Developed a screening procedure for the early identification of individuals whose performance is likely to be damaged by sickness-inducing motion by collecting from 199 US Navy seamen (Exp I) biographical, personality (Rotter's Internal–External Locus of Control Scale and the Repression–Sensitization Scale), and physiological (nystagmic eye movement and spiral aftereffect) data. In addition, each S's performance under sickness-inducing motion was assessed by self- (the Pensacola Motion Sickness Questionnaire), peer, and officer ratings. Results show that a combination of biographical data and eye nystagmus explained 40% of performance variance. The remaining variables failed to add significantly to the proportion of explained variance. In Exp II, the biographical inventory and the test of eye nystagmus were administered to 71 new Navy recruits, and the quality of Ss' performance was assessed 8 mo later. The multiple correlation between predictors and criterion was .51, thereby indicating that this screening procedure is highly effective. (54 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Aggression toward female partners by at-risk young men: The contribution of male adolescent friendships.

Deviancy training was examined as a risk factor for physical and psychological aggression toward a female partner among boys and young men in the Oregon Youth Study. Hostile talk about women during videotaped male friendship interactions was hypothesized to indicate a process by which aggression toward women is reinforced within male peer networks. Both antisocial behavior and hostile talk were predicted to be associated with later aggression toward a female partner. Prospective developmental models were tested from 9–10 years of age through young adulthood. Findings indicated that the relation of deviant peer association in adolescence and later aggression toward a partner was mediated by antisocial behavior; observed hostile talk about women with male peers explained additional variance in aggression toward a partner. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Familial and temperamental determinants of aggressive behavior in adolescent boys: A causal analysis.

On the basis of previous knowledge and theoretical considerations, a causal model was formulated and tested by path analysis on 2 representative samples of Swedish boys—76 13-yr-olds and 51 16-yr-olds. Ss' habitual aggression levels were assessed through peer ratings. Data on early rearing conditions and temperamental characteristics were obtained in retrospective interviews with all of the mothers and the majority of the fathers. Main results were that the 4 factors in the model—mother's negativism, mother's permissiveness for aggression, mother's and father's use of power-assertive methods, and boy's temperament—all contributed to the development of an aggressive reaction pattern, with the former 2 factors having the greatest causal impact. Results in the 2 samples were similar, and a substantial amount of variance in the boys' aggression levels could be explained by the variables included in the model. Neither the Ss' aggression level nor the rearing variables were related to the socioeconomic conditions of the family. (44 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Psychosocial factors and high-risk sexual behavior: race differences among urban adolescents

Adolescence is a period of sexual experimentation. We examined psychosocial predictors of high-risk sexual behavior and condom use. The sample included 824 ninth-graders, most of whom are African American. We conducted separate analyses for whites and African Americans. Predictors included alcohol and substance use, delinquency, prosocial behaviors, and family and peer influences. We found that problem behaviors predicted high-risk sexual behavior, but the effects were stronger for white youth. We also found that friends' behaviors were more predictive than family influences, except for family conflict. In general, the models explained more variance for white youths than for African-American youths. The results suggest that problem behavior theory and social interactions theory may be most relevant for white youth and that other models may be necessary to explain high-risk sexual behavior among African-American youths.