Predictors of cultural adjustment: Intergroup status relations and boundary permeability

We examined intergroup predictors of cultural adjustment among Asian international students in Australia. Sociostructural beliefs (status, legitimacy, and permeability) and initial adjustment were assessed (N = 113) at Time 1, and measures of adjustment were obtained (N = 80) at Time 2 eight weeks later. International students who perceived their cultural group to be relatively low in status experienced lower levels of psychological adjustment. Also, as expected, the effects of status were moderated by perceptions of both the permeability of intergroup boundaries and the legitimacy of the status differential. At high levels of legitimacy, perceptions of permeable group boundaries were associated with better psychological, sociocultural, and academic adjustment among international students perceiving their group to be low in status, but lower levels of adjustment among students who perceived their group to be high in status. At low levels of legitimacy, irrespective of group status position, perceived permeability was not related to adjustment.

Professionalism and functional outcomes

A foundation principle of professionalism is listening carefully to clients' needs. This paper reviews current studies that have sought to listen to the needs of people with aphasia and their families. The preliminary evidence to date suggests that people with aphasia have goals that cover the bio-psycho-social spectrum but place a lot of importance on functional outcomes such as participation in life's activities, relationships, and personal self-esteem. In contrast, descriptions of current aphasia management practices reflect a predominantly medical model approach that emphasizes impairment-level goals. This paper suggests that a proportion of speech-language pathologists are not truly listening and responding to their clients' needs. This leads to a mismatch between the therapists' and clients' goals in therapy. The concept of person-centred goal-setting is described. This may contribute to greater alignments of goals and better outcomes of rehabilitation. Learning outcomes: As a result of reading this work, the participant will be able to: (a) have knowledge of criticisms of aphasia therapy by people with aphasia; (b) understand the concept of person-centred goal-setting; (c) understand the complexity of mismatched goals between therapist and client. (c) 2006 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

The MMPI-2 Gender-Masculine and Gender-Feminine scales: Gender roles as predictors of psychological health in clinical patients

Previous research measuring various biosocial factors such as age, sex, and marital status has found them to be essentially unrelated to measures of psychological health. Recent empirical studies have revealed that personality constructs may be more significant than demographic variables in the prediction of psychological well-being. The present study assessed the personality constructs of masculinity and femininity and hypothesized that the Gender-Masculine ( GM) scale of the MMPI-2 would be more effective than the Gender-Feminine (GF) scale in predicting psychological well-being. This hypothesis stems from previous research that has indicated the dominance of the masculinity model. It is suggested that previous research supporting androgyny as a primary indicator of well-being was influenced by the masculinity component of this gender orientation. One hundred and seventy-seven psychiatric patients from Australia (N = 107) and Singapore ( N 5 70) completed the MMPI-2. Hierarchical multiple regression revealed significantly stronger masculinity effects, with significance achieved on measures of ego strength and low self-esteem. No significant relationship between psychological well-being and the GF variable was found. Similarly, androgyny did not add any further variance to the model when masculinity was controlled for. Overall, the results are consistent with an interpretation that GM is a better correlate of psychological well-being as compared to the GF scale.

Hostile sexism and rape proclivity amongst men

In the current study, we examined the influence of victim type and hostile sexism on men's judgments about an acquaintance rape victim and their self-reported acquaintance rape proclivity. It was predicted that hostile sexism would predict self-reported rape proclivity, but that this relationship would be moderated by victim type. Specifically, it was predicted that participants would report greater proclivity in relation to a victim who appeared not to adhere to traditional gender stereotypes than to a victim who appeared to adhere to such stereotypes. Further, in line with D. Abrams, G. T. Viki, B. Masser, and G. Bohner (2003), it was predicted that the relationship between hostile sexism and rape proclivity would be mediated by perceptions of token resistance by the victim. Results partially supported the hypotheses. Hostile sexism was positively related to rape proclivity, but victim type was not found to moderate the relationship. In addition, perceptions of token resistance were found to mediate the hostile sexism and rape proclivity relationship. The results suggest that, at least in terms of rape proclivity, hostile sexists may not differentiate in their targets for sexual aggression.

Motivations for group membership: The role of subjective importance and uncertainty reduction

An experiment was conducted to investigate the idea that an important motive for identifying with social groups is to reduce subjective uncertainty, particularly uncertainty on subjectively important dimensions that have implications for the self-concept (e.g., Hogg, 1996; Hogg & Mullin, 1999). When people are uncertain on a dimension that is subjectively important, they self-categorize in terms of an available social categorization and, thus, exhibit group behaviors. To test this general hypothesis, group membership, task uncertainty, and task importance were manipulated in a 2 x 2 x 2 between-participants design (N = 128), under relatively minimal group conditions. Ingroup identification and desire for consensual validation of specific attitudes were the key dependent measures, but we also measured social awareness. All three predictions were supported. Participants identified with their group (H1), and desired to obtain consensual validation from ingroup members (H2) when they were uncertain about their judgments on important dimensions, indicating that uncertainty reduction motivated participants towards embracing group membership. In addition, identification mediated the interactive effect of the independent variables on consensual validation (H3), and the experimental results were not associated with an increased sense of social awareness and, therefore, were unlikely to represent only behavioral compliance with generic social norms. Some implications of this research in the study of cults and totalist groups and the explication of genocide and group violence are discussed.

AVALIAÇÃO DE SINTOMAS DEPRESSIVOS E DA QUALIDADE DE VIDA EM PACIENTES COM SÍNDROME FIBROMIÁLGICA

Fibromialgia é uma síndrome de etiologia desconhecida com dor difusa, generalizada e crônica. O diagnóstico da fibromialgia deve ser feito de acordo com o critério do American College of Rheumatology (ACR) 1990. O paciente deve apresentar dor difusa por mais de três meses e relatar dor à palpação em pelo menos 11 de 18 pontos sensíveis, chamados de tender points , caracaterizando assim a síndrome. A maioria dos pacientes acometidos são mulheres, e o pico de incidência etária na ocasião do diagnóstico está entre 40 e 50 anos. A dor crônica promove um impacto na qualidade de vida dessas pessoas, diminuindo sua auto-estima, isolando-as do convívio social e fazendo com que percam o controle dos seus pensamentos e sentimentos. Sintomas depressivos podem ser o resultado da disfunção orgânica, associada às condições de limitação das atividades diárias.Este estudo tem como objetivo investigar a presença dos sintomas depressivos e analisar o impacto dos mesmos sobre a qualidade de vida das pacientes com SF. Foram selecionadas 30 mulheres com diagnóstico de SF, em atendimento no período de outubro a novembro de 2005, as quais responderam a dois questionários: Inventário de Depressão de Beck, para investigar a presença de sinto- mas depressivos e o SF-36 Medical Outcome Survey Short Form -36, para avaliar a qualidade de vida. Os resultados obtidos na estatística pelo programa SPS demons- tram que os sintomas depressivos são responsáveis pelo impacto na qualidade de vida dessas pessoas, principalmente nos domínios: aspectos físicos, aspectos sociais, saú- de mental, vitalidade e saúde geral. A análise dos dados sugere que os sintomas depressivos podem influenciar negativamente a qualidade de vida das mulheres fibromiálgicas, pois aumenta a sensação de incapacidade física, diminui a qualidade das relações sociais, aumenta o pessimismo, a fadiga e o desânimo

PERCEPÇÃO DE AUTO-ESTIMA E QUALIDADE DE VIDA DO JOVEM-ADULTO SURDO UNIVERSITÁRIO

O presente trabalho tem como tema central a opinião do surdo universitário sobre sua auto- estima e qualidade vida. Os objetivos foram conhecer o joven-adulto surdo universitário, segundo sua opinião, buscando especificamente identificar os fatores que contribuíram para o seu desenvolvimento psicológico e sua auto-estima; e identificar as características da qualidade de vida, considerando os aspectos físico, psicológico, relações sociais e meio ambiente. Participaram desta pesquisa 3 jovens-adultos surdos, universitários. O método utilizado foi o descritivo qualitativo, usando-se como fonte de coleta de dados a entrevista livre e o WHOQOL-bref. O método qualitativo na área da saúde visa investigar o significado que os fenômenos sentimentos, idéias, vivências, manifestações, dentre outros, tem para as pessoas e que dão molde às suas vidas incluindo os cuidados com a saúde. Percebemos que ao atingirem a fase adulta, os sujeitos pesquisados conseguem tomar decisões e escolher seus caminhos com maior liberdade em função das experiências e condições que lhes foram apresentadas. Verificamos que as situações vividas no ambiente escolar e o aprendizado da língua de sinais contribuíram para sua constituição como sujeito não limitado à condição da surdez. Foi possível identificar que possuem expectativas profissionais futuras e expressaram suas dificuldades, desejos, frustrações diante do mercado de trabalho, relações sociais e familiares como qualquer outro individuo, encontrando recursos internos para o enfrentamento das circunstâncias cotidianas. Os resultados da pesquisa também permitiram observar que os surdos reconhecem o grau de satisfação que têm com a vida, seu estado de saúde e cuidados com seu bem-estar físico, psicológico e social. Concluímos que ao recontar sua história de vida os surdos têm a possibilidade de se reconhecer como sujeitos e a oportunidade de dar continuidade às próprias vivências que contribuíram para seu bem-estar

Uso do protocolo no serviço de psicologia e avaliação psicodinâmica em candidatos à cirurgia bariátrica

A clínica da Obesidade Mórbida e a Cirurgia Bariátrica exige estudos e acompanhamentos do paciente. Os benefícios e riscos do emagrecimento por tratamento cirúrgico devem servir como ponto de alerta aos profissionais da saúde. O uso do questionário no serviço de psicologia é norteado pela escuta psicológica. Objetivos: 1) Descrever o perfil sócio-demográfico candidatos à cirurgia bariátrica. 2) Analisar a percepção dos pacientes sobre características de personalidade associadas à obesidade e transtornos alimentares. 3) Descrever os conteúdos psicodinâmicos da narrativa do sujeito e avaliar o sistema tensional inconsciente de dois pacientes por meio do Teste das Relações Objetais de Phillipson (TRO). Método: O delineamento metodológico com análise de dados pelo método epidemiológico e estudo de caso clínico, orientação psicanalítica. Na primeira etapa foram consultados 300 questionários do serviço de psicologia e na segunda dois pacientes com ganho de peso após 24 meses. São pacientes que procuraram tratamento em clínica especializada, em uma metrópole do sudeste brasileiro, sob consentimento pós-informado. Os questionários foram preenchidos por 227 mulheres e 73 homens; com média de idade igual a 36 anos; escolaridade ensino médio e superior, 53%; maioria casados; IMC entre grave e super mórbido (94,3%). Técnicas cirúrgicas indicadas Capella Bypass e Fobi-Capella (67%). Resultados: características psicológicas referidas pelos pacientes, a ansiedade apontou em 93,7% das respostas, seguidas por impulsividade, depressão, tolerância à frustração, baixa auto-estima, resolvedor de problemas dos outros (mais de 50%). No histórico familiar da obesidade está em mais de 70% depressão e uso do álcool em 30%; realização de psicoterapia (30%) e medicamentos para depressão e ansiedade (10%). Na segunda etapa, foi realizado o diagnóstico psicodinâmico, por meio do Teste das Relações Objetais de Phillipson com duas pacientes, cuja análise indicou necessidade de psicoterapia psicanalítica, pois tinham fixações na posição esquizoparanóide e apresentavam dificuldade em lidar com perdas e baixa motivação para mudança e insigth. Conclusões: Com a aplicação do questionário e o registro das observações empíricas, este questionário de entrevista semidirigida preenche condições de melhor acessar e avaliar os conteúdos revelados pelos pacientes. As contradições entre as respostas e o discurso, no contato individual com o psicólogo, apontam a necessidade de investimento no preparo do paciente para a cirurgia e mais acentuadamente o acompanhamento psicológico no primeiro ano do pós-operatório. Há um pensamento mágico a ser trabalhado durante a aplicação do questionário sobre as crenças frente à cirurgia e o emagrecimento e assim convocar o paciente a ocupar o lugar do sujeito implicado em seu processo pré e pós-operatório. O TRO contribuiu na compreensão do diagnóstico psicodinâmico de pacientes com ganho de peso após cirurgia e reforçou a necessidade de maior investimento no pré-operatório.(AU)

PERCEPÇÃO DE FAMÍLIA EM CRIANÇAS ABRIGADAS

A família é a base fundamental para o desenvolvimento saudável da personalidade. A vivência de afetos positivos permitirá à criança a capacidade de estabelecer novos vínculos, desenvolver auto-estima e confiança em si mesmo, tolerar frustrações e superar as angústias. Muitas crianças, no entanto, são privadas do convívio com seus familiares, por diversos motivos, como maus-tratos, abandono, negligência, abusos físico ou sexual, até a orfandade. Os abrigos existem para assegurar a estas crianças a garantia de seus direitos fundamentais até que retornem às suas famílias de origem ou até que sejam encaminhadas à adoção. O presente trabalho tem o objetivo de investigar a percepção de família das crianças abrigadas e ainda, identificar os principais conflitos e idealizações no que se refere à introjeção das figuras parentais. Trata-se de uma pesquisa qualitativa orientada pelo método clínico. Participaram deste estudo 04 crianças, com idade compreendida entre 08 e 10 anos, que viviam em uma casa-abrigo localizada na Zona Leste de São Paulo. Os procedimentos utilizados foram o Desenho da Família com Estória, além de observação, entrevistas abertas não-diretivas e dados fornecidos pela instituição. Os resultados encontrados indicam que, apesar de estarem separadas de suas famílias, estas crianças possuem internalizadas as figuras parentais e nutrem sentimentos ambivalentes em relação à identificação estabelecida com estes objetos. Entretanto, também foi identificada a presença de impulsos amorosos. Frente a isso, destaca-se o importante papel que as instituições ocupam na vida dessas crianças no sentido de poder oferecer às mesmas a oportunidade de sentirem-se amadas, acolhidas e cuidadas, desenvolvendo assim a capacidade de amar e estabelecer vínculos afetivos com outras pessoas. Os resultados apresentados limitam-se a essa amostra de quatro crianças, não tendo a pretensão de tecer generalizações acerca da percepção de família de todas as crianças abrigadas.

Determinants of sales performance in insurance industry:a cross-cultural comparison between the UK and Malaysia

This thesis is concerned with an empirical investigation of the factors that predict a successful salesperson, using a cross-cultural comparison of two countries: the UK and Malaysia. Besides collecting quantitative data, qualitative data on organisational, environmental and cultural factors were also collected through interviews, personal and case observations. The quantitative data consist of sixteen independent factors and three dependent factors. The independent variables include self-efficacy, self-esteem, locus of control, self-monitoring, extrinsic motivation, intrinsic motivation, experience, training perception, role ambiguity, role conflict, role inaccuracy, gender, age, education, race and religion. The dependent variables are performance target achieved, performance earnings and performance ratings. Questionnaires were distributed to about 500 salespersons in each country, from three insurance companies in the UK and two insurance companies in Malaysia. Response rates were 75 and 50 percent from the UK and Malaysia respectively. The survey results indicated that a salesperson's performance in the UK is predicted by self-efficacy, internal locus of control, self-esteem, extrinsic motivation, experience, training perceptions, role conflict and gender. In Malaysia, a salesperson's performance is predicted by self-efficacy, self-monitoring, experience, role conflict, role ambiguity, education, gender, race and religion. Self-efficacy, experience, role conflict and gender are common predictors of salespersons' performance in both cultures. The likely explanation for these results is culture differences, i.e. UK has a homogeneous culture, while Malaysia has a heterogeneous one. Results from the case observations, such as organisational and environmental factors, give supporting evidence in explaining the empirical results. Implications from the findings are discussed from two aspects: (1) theoretical implications for divergence/convergence theory, Hofstede's model, Churchill's model, and (2) managerial implications for selection, training, motivation and appraisal.

Do managerial strategies influence service behaviours? Insights from a qualitative study

Based on a review of the extant literature, a conceptual framework for analyzing the associations between managerial strategies (internal communications, empowerment, supportive leadership and professional development), employee job attitudes (organizational commitment and job satisfaction) and prosocial service behaviours (PSBs) is developed. The authors explore the relevance of the proposed conceptual model and testable propositions regarding the associations between managerial strategies, employee attitudes and PSBs by conducting in-depth interviews of FLEs in a travel service organization. Based on the findings of the in-depth interviews, the relationships between managerial strategies, job attitudes and PSBs in the conceptual framework are largely supported.

Maternal cognitions, psychopathologic symptoms, and infant temperament as predictors of early infant feeding problems:a longitudinal study

Objective: The current study examined the contribution of prenatal and postnatal maternal core beliefs, self-esteem, psychopathologic symptoms, and postnatal infant temperament to the prediction of infant feeding difficulties. Method: Ninety-nine women completed questionnaires assessing their core beliefs, psychopathology, and self-esteem during pregnancy and at 6 months postpartum. At 6 months, mothers also rated their infant's temperament and feeding, and were observed feeding their infants. Results: Maternal reports of child feeding difficulties were predicted by higher levels of emotional deprivation and entitlement core beliefs and lower levels of self-sacrifice and enmeshment core beliefs during pregnancy. Postnatal social isolation core beliefs, lower maternal self-esteem, and more difficult infant temperament added significantly to the variance explained by prenatal factors. Maternal core beliefs, self-esteem, psychopathology, and infant temperament failed to significantly predict independent observations of child food refusal. Conclusion: Maternal cognitions are implicated in the development of maternal reports of feeding difficulty.

Do managerial strategies influence service behaviours? Insights from a qualitative study

Based on a review of the extant literature, a conceptual framework for analyzing the associations between managerial strategies (internal communications, empowerment, supportive leadership and professional development), employee job attitudes (organizational commitment and job satisfaction) and prosocial service behaviours (PSBs) is developed. The authors explore the relevance of the proposed conceptual model and testable propositions regarding the associations between managerial strategies, employee attitudes and PSBs by conducting in-depth interviews of FLEs in a travel service organization. Based on the findings of the in-depth interviews, the relationships between managerial strategies, job attitudes and PSBs in the conceptual framework are largely supported.

Assessment of social cognition in bipolar disorder

Background: Impairment in social cognition may contribute to deficits in social functioning in patients with bipolar disorder (BD). In this study, a complex social cognition task was administered during a neuroimaging session. The behavioral and neural correlates of social cogniton in patients with BD were compared to healthy comparison (HC) subjects. Methods: The task was administered to 25 HC and 25 patients with depression scores ranging from euthymic to depressed at the time of assessment. The task required participants to evaluate situations that were “enhancing” or “threatening” to self-esteem, directed at both oneself, and at other people. For instance, self-esteem enhancing scenarios involved vignettes of activities such as receiving praise during a sports game, while a threatening scenario involved, for example, receiving criticism at a party. Participants were then required to evaluate characters in the scenarios on the basis of positive (“kind”) or negative (“mean”) descriptors. Evaluations were classified from extremely negative to extremely positive. The frequencies of behavioral responses were analyzed using chi-square tests and fMRI data were analyzed using Statistical Parametric Mapping software. Results: Patients differed significantly from HCs in their evaluation of threatening scenarios, directed at both oneself and at other people (p<0.001). Patients had a lower proportion of responses in the neutral category, and more responses in the positive and negative categories, relative to HCs. Neuroimaging results reveal differential patterns of prefrontal-cortical and limbic-subcortical activation in BDs throughout the task [p<0.05 (unc.)]. Conclusions: Findings will contribute to understanding difficulty in interpersonal functioning in patients with BD.

Adaptation and change in organizational learning research

To understand the role of organizational learning in the organization’s endeavor to overcome challenges, organizational learning research need to be spread out to the field of adaptation and change. This paper is the first part of a bigger empirical research, a literature review that examines the link between these topics and search for gaps in prior literature. However, these phenomena are closely related in the prior literature, the thinking about organizational learning is rather idealistic than reflective and there are still research gaps regarding the following questions: (1) Is there a need to examine internal organizational challenges from the organizational learning perspective? (2) How can the earlier organizational adaptation be characterized using the constructs of organizational learning? (3) Is the earlier adaptation process or organizational learning process always good and useful for the organization? Based on reviewing prior literature the author formulated an own organizational learning definition and identified future research directions in order to fill these gaps.