Postpartum Psychosis in Bipolar Disorder: No Association with Personality, Cognitive Style and Temperament

Background and Aims: Bipolar disorder has been associated with a number of personality traits, cognitive styles and affective temperaments. Women who have bipolar disorder are at increased risk of experiencing postpartum psychosis, however no previous research has investigated these traits in relationship to postpartum episodes. Our aim was to establish whether aspects of personality, cognitive style and affective temperament, that have been associated with bipolar disorder, confer vulnerability to postpartum psychosis over and above their known association with bipolar disorder. Methods: Participants were 552 parous women with DSM-IV bipolar I disorder recruited into the Bipolar Disorder Research Network (www.bdrn.org). Postpartum psychosis group: lifetime episode of postpartum psychosis within 6 weeks of delivery (N = 284). Non-postpartum psychosis group: no history of any perinatal mood episodes (N = 268). Bipolar disorder-associated personality traits (neuroticism, extraversion, schizotypy and impulsivity), cognitive styles (low self-esteem and dysfunctional attitudes) and affective temperaments were measured using well validated self-report questionnaire measures. Results: After controlling for key demographic, clinical and pregnancy-related variables, and measures of current mood state, there were no statistically significant differences between the postpartum psychosis group and non-postpartum psychosis group on any of the personality, cognitive style or affective temperament measures. Conclusions: Personality traits, cognitive styles and affective temperaments associated with the bipolar disorder diathesis in general were not associated with the onset of postpartum psychosis specifically. We have found no evidence that these traits should play a key role when evaluating risk of postpartum psychosis in women with bipolar I disorder considering pregnancy.

Impacto del liderazgo de género en los estilos de dirección de las organizaciones

La investigación tuvo como objetivo conocer los rasgos de personalidad predominantes en un grupo de líderes y de igual manera describir el impacto de sus estilos de liderazgo de acuerdo al género. Metodológicamente, fue una investigación cuantitativa, descriptiva y con un diseño no experimental. La población se conformó por líderes de empresas con presencia en la ciudad de Medellín. Por un muestreo de tipo intencional, se seleccionaron 20 líderes a quienes se les aplicó una encuesta estructurada de acuerdo a los objetivos de la investigación. La incorporación de mujeres a posiciones directivas se perfila como una vía útil para aprovechar los recursos humanos disponibles, en situación de igualdad de oportunidades, la diversidad de estilos y la variabilidad individual. En los últimos años, la investigación acerca de las relaciones entre género y estilos de liderazgo ha insistido en la idea de reivindicar el papel de la mujer y su contribución al desarrollo de las organizaciones. Los resultados de la investigación permiten afirmar que la extraversión constituye uno de los rasgos de personalidad distintivos de la muestra investigada y del liderazgo carismático; también se obtuvieron puntajes relevantes en apertura, rasgo distintivo del liderazgo transformacional. La alta efectividad representa la fortaleza más importante de la muestra, conjuntamente con la marcada conducta de entrenar, dirigir y delegar. Las relaciones encontradas entre las variables indican asociación significativa entre hombres y mujeres que lideran en las organizaciones.

Giving the benefit of the doubt: the role of vulnerability in the perception of Dark Triad behaviours.

The 'Dark Triad' of socially aversive personality traits (Machiavellianism, Narcissism, and Psychopathy) is typically associated with grandiosity, callousness, and exploitation. Despite this, people with such traits can be very successful in life, especially in the occupational context. This study investigated the characteristics of individuals who enable and abet people high on Dark Triad traits (e.g. through tolerating unpleasant behaviours, not challenging unethical conduct, etc.). High Dark Triad individuals may be able to identify individuals who are susceptible to social manipulation and who are therefore less likely to challenge their behaviours. This study used a 20-item Vulnerability Scale to capture the characteristics of individuals who fall victim to people high on the Dark Triad traits. Cronbach's alpha for the Vulnerability Scale was .80. Pearson's correlation between total vulnerability scores and each of the Big Five personality traits revealed that predictors of vulnerability to social manipulation include low extraversion, low conscientiousness, high neuroticism, and high agreeableness. The vignette method was used to elicit perceptions of Dark Triad behaviours from those who are found to demonstrate signs of social vulnerability. Differences in response styles on Likert-type statements and open-ended questions were found between the high and low vulnerability groups.

Financing social ventures by crowdfunding: The inflluence of entrepreneurs’ personality traits

Purpose – This research aims to understand the role played by social entrepreneurs’ personality traits on the choice between the traditional donation model and social crowdfunding (CF) to finance social projects. Design/methodology/approach – Social CF is examined as an instrument to capture funds for social projects, and the particular case of the Portuguese Social Stock Exchange (PSSE) is presented. The approach is quantitative in nature and the data were collected through a questionnaire that was emailed to non-governmental organizations in Portugal and founders of the projects listed on PSSE. Logistic regression was employed to predict the probability that a social entrepreneur would use PSSE rather than traditional financing. The predictor variables were based on the big five personality traits. Findings – Our investigation reveals that the agreeableness and neuroticism factors were not even considered in the results of the factorial analysis, which indicates the minor importance of these personality traits in the funding decisions of the Portuguese social entrepreneurs. The same applies to the factors of openness to new experiences and extraversion, which, although considered in the logistic analysis, showed no statistical significance. Finally, the conscientiousness personality trait seems to be the only factor that might explain the use of the PSSE platform.Originality/value – Studies on the profile of the social entrepreneurs that use CF for financing social projects are relatively rare, specifically in the context of Social Stock Exchange platforms. Additionally, there is a need to carry out more empirical evidence about the effect of social entrepreneurs’ personality traits on the decision to finance social projects through social CF platforms vis-a-vis the traditional donation model.

Multicomponent cognitive-behavioral therapy for intermittent explosive disorder by videoconferencing: a case study

Cognitive-behavioral Therapy (CBT) for the treatment of Intermittent Explosive Disorder (IED) has proved to be effective, with moderate to large effect sizes both in individual and group interventions. Videoconferencing has been used effectively to treat different mental disorders but its use for IED patients is as yet unknown. The aim of this study is to provide preliminary evidence of the possibility of treating IED by videoconference. We present a case-study experiment of a Spanish male, aged 33 years, living and working in China. After the intervention, the patient's aggressive episodes decreased dramatically, as well as his negative affect. In contrast, he showed an important increment in positive emotions and self-esteem. There were also positive changes in some personality dimensions and facets measured by NEO-PI-R, specifically in neuroticism, extraversion, and agreeableness. The benefits were maintained at 3-, 8- and 18-month follow-ups. These preliminary results reveal that CBT by videoconference oriented to increasing emotion regulation skills was effective when implemented in a case study of a person suffering from IED.

TESTING THE JOINT ROLES OF CAREER DECISION SELF-EFFICACY AND PERSONALITY TRAITS IN THE PREDICTION OF CAREER INDECISION

Career decision-making self-efficacy and the Big Five traits of neuroticism, extraversion, and conscientiousness were examined as predictors of career indecision in a sample of 181 undergraduates. Participants completed an online survey. I predicted that the Big Five traits and career decision-making self-efficacy would (a) interrelate moderately and (b) each relate significantly and moderately to career indecision. In addition, I predicted that career decision-making self-efficacy would partially mediate the relationships between the Big Five traits and career indecision, while the Big Five traits were predicted to moderate the relationship between career decision-making self-efficacy and career indecision. Finally, I predicted that career decision-making self-efficacy would account for a greater amount of unique variance in career indecision than the Big Five traits. All predicted correlations were significant. Career decision-making self-efficacy fully mediated the relationship of Extraversion to career indecision and partially mediated the relationships of Neuroticism and Conscientiousness to career indecision. Conscientiousness was found to moderate the relationship of career decision-making self-efficacy to career indecision such that the negative relation between self-efficacy and career indecision was stronger in the presence of high conscientiousness. This study builds upon existing research on the prediction of career indecision by examining potential mediating and moderating relationships.

Personality of the caregiver influences the use of strategies to deal with the behavior of persons with dementia

Personality of family caregiver is an important factor influencing the caregiver's burden, depression and distress. We now hypothesized that the personality is associated with specific strategies used by family caregivers to deal with the behavioral and psychological symptoms of demented relatives (BPSD). Participants were 98 consecutive persons with dementia and their family caregivers. Assessments included: Personality (NEO-FFI), Burden (ZBI), Depression (CES-D), Cognitive Function (MMSE), BPSD (NPI), Distress (NPI-D), and an open question to identify the strategies used by caregivers when faced with BPSD. Caregivers used different strategies to cope with their relatives' behavior: avoiding conflict; confronting; reassuring; orienting; responding coercively; distracting; colluding; medicating and restricting the movements. Extraversion was the only dimension of caregiver's personality that determined the use of caregiver strategies to deal with BPSD. Extroverted caregivers used the "confronting" strategy less often. Caregiver's personality should be taken into account when designing adapted intervention programs.

Une étude sur les déterminants biologiques, psychologiques et du travail de l'épuisement professionnel

Cette thèse de doctorat s’intéresse à mieux comprendre, d’une part, ce qui influence la sécrétion de cortisol salivaire, et d’autre part, ce qui influence l’épuisement professionnel. Plusieurs objectifs en découlent. D’abord, elle vise à mieux cerner la contribution des conditions de l’organisation du travail (utilisation des compétences, autorité décisionnelle, demandes psychologiques, demandes physiques, horaire de travail irrégulier, nombre d’heures travaillées, soutien social des collègues, soutien social des superviseurs, insécurité d’emploi) sur la sécrétion de cortisol salivaire, ainsi que le rôle modérateur de certains traits de personnalité (extraversion, agréabilité, névrosisme, conscience, ouverture d’esprit, estime de soi, centre de contrôle) sur la relation entre les conditions de l’organisation du travail et la sécrétion de cortisol salivaire. Par ailleurs, cette thèse vise à établir la contribution des conditions de l’organisation du travail sur l’épuisement professionnel, ainsi que le rôle modérateur des traits de personnalité sur la relation entre les conditions de l’organisation du travail et l’épuisement professionnel. Finalement, cette thèse vise à vérifier si la sécrétion de cortisol salivaire joue un rôle médiateur sur la relation entre les conditions de l’organisation du travail et l’épuisement professionnel, ainsi qu’à identifier les effets de médiation modérés par les traits de personnalité sur la relation entre les conditions de l’organisation du travail et la sécrétion de cortisol salivaire. Ces objectifs sont inspirés de nombreuses limites observées dans la littérature, principalement l’intégration de déterminants à la fois biologiques, psychologiques et du travail dans la compréhension de l’épuisement professionnel. La thèse propose un modèle conceptuel qui tente de savoir comment ces différents stresseurs entraînent une dérégulation de la sécrétion de cortisol dans la salive des travailleurs. Ensuite, ce modèle conceptuel vise à voir si cette dérégulation s’associe à l’épuisement professionnel. Finalement, ce modèle conceptuel cherche à expliquer comment la personnalité peut influencer la manière dont ces variables sont reliées entre elles, c’est-à-dire de voir si la personnalité joue un rôle modérateur. Ce modèle découle de quatre théories particulières, notamment la perspective biologique de Selye (1936). Les travaux de Selye s’orientent sur l’étude de la réaction physiologique d’un organisme soumis à un stresseur. Dans ces circonstances, l’organisme est en perpétuel effort de maintien de son équilibre (homéostasie) et ne tolère que très peu de modifications à cet équilibre. En cas de modifications excessives, une réponse de stress est activée afin d’assurer l’adaptation en maintenant l’équilibre de base de l’organisme. Ensuite, le modèle conceptuel s’appuie sur le modèle de Lazarus et Folkman (1984) qui postule que la réponse de stress dépend plutôt de l’évaluation que font les individus de la situation stressante, et également sur le modèle de Pearlin (1999) qui postule que les individus exposés aux mêmes stresseurs ne sont pas nécessairement affectés de la même manière. Finalement, le modèle conceptuel de cette thèse s’appuie sur le modèle de Marchand (2004) qui postule que les réactions dépendent du décodage que font les acteurs des contraintes et ressources qui les affectent. Diverses hypothèses émergent de cette conceptualisation théorique. La première est que les conditions de l’organisation du travail contribuent directement aux variations de la sécrétion de cortisol salivaire. La deuxième est que les conditions de l’organisation du travail contribuent directement à l’épuisement professionnel. La troisième est que la sécrétion de cortisol salivaire médiatise la relation entre les conditions de l’organisation du travail et l’épuisement professionnel. La quatrième est que la relation entre les conditions de l’organisation du travail et la sécrétion de cortisol salivaire est modérée par les traits de personnalité. La cinquième est que la relation entre les conditions de l’organisation du travail, la sécrétion de cortisol salivaire et l’épuisement professionnel est modérée par les traits de personnalité. Des modèles de régression multiniveaux et des analyses de cheminement de causalité ont été effectués sur un échantillon de travailleurs canadiens provenant de l’étude SALVEO. Les résultats obtenus sont présentés sous forme de trois articles, soumis pour publication, lesquels constituent les chapitres 4 à 6 de cette thèse. Dans l’ensemble, le modèle intégrateur biopsychosocial proposé dans le cadre de cette thèse de doctorat permet de mieux saisir la complexité de l’épuisement professionnel qui trouve une explication biologique, organisationnelle et individuelle. Ce constat permet d’offrir une compréhension élargie et multiniveaux et assure l’avancement des connaissances sur une problématique préoccupante pour les organisations, la société ainsi que pour les travailleurs. Effectivement, la prise en compte des traits de personnalité et de la sécrétion du cortisol salivaire dans l’étude de l’épuisement professionnel assure une analyse intégrée et plus objective. Cette thèse conclue sur les implications de ces résultats pour la recherche, et sur les retombées qui en découlent pour les milieux de travail.

Marketing channel behaviour and performance

Thesis submitted to University of Manchester for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the Faculty of Business Administration.

Imagem do corpo, perturbações alimentares e traços de personalidade

Este estudo tem como objetivo investigar a relação entre a imagem do corpo, perturbações alimentares e traços de personalidade. 254 estudantes do ensino superior, 191 raparigas (Idade média = 21,53) e 63 rapazes (Idade média = 22,87) responderam a: Questionário sobre a Imagem do Corpo (Bruchon-Schweitzer, 1992), Eating Disorder lnventory (Garner, Olmstead & Polivy, 1983) e o NEO-FFI-20 (Bertoquini & Ribeiro, 2006). Os resultados obtidos revelaram uma correlação positiva entre a imagem corporal e o comportamento alimentar. As dimensões de personalidade Extroversão e Conscienciosidade estão correlacionadas positivamente com a imagem corporal, enquanto que a dimensão Abertura à Experiência correlaciona-se de modo negativo com a imagem corporal e com o comportamento alimentar. /ABSTRACT: This study aims to investigate the relationship between body image, eating disorders and personality traits. 254 higher education students, 191 girls (mean age = 21.53) and 63 boys (mean age = 22.87) answered: Questionnaire on Body lmage (Bruchon-Schweitzer, 1992), Eating Disorder lnventory (Garner, Olmstead & Polivy, 1983) and the NEO-FFI-20 (Bertoquini & Ribeiro, 2006). The results revealed a positive correlation between body image and eating behaviors. The personality dimensions Extraversion and Conscientiousness was positively correlated with body image, while the dimension Openness to Experience correlated negatively with body image and eating behavior.

The effects of the quality of social relationships and emotion regulation ability on the happiness of introvert individuals

Previous research has shown that extraverts are happier than introverts and, although happy introverts exist, it is unclear under what conditions they can achieve happiness. The aim of the present study is to analyze the quality of social relationships and emotion regulation ability as a possible factor for happiness in introvert individuals. 1006 adults (42% males) completed measures of extraversion, neuroticism, quality of social relationships, emotion regulation ability and happiness. Results shows that introverts have significantly lower happiness, quality of life, quality of social relationship and emotion regulation ability scores than extraverts. Besides, those individuals with high quality social relationships or high emotion regulation ability were happier. Introverts were happier when they had high scores for quality of social relationships and emotion regulation ability, however the effect size was small. These results suggest that emotion regulation and social relationships are important to understand the relationships between introversion and happiness.

Time Orientation in Organizations: Polychronicity and Multitasking

This dissertation consists of four studies examining two constructs related to time orientation in organizations: polychronicity and multitasking. The first study investigates the internal structure of polychronicity and its external correlates in a sample of undergraduate students (N = 732). Results converge to support a one-factor model and finds measures of polychronicity to be significantly related to extraversion, agreeableness, and openness to experience. The second study quantitatively reviews the existing research examining the relationship between polychronicity and the Big Five factors of personality. Results reveal a significant relationship between extraversion and openness to experience across studies. Studies three and four examine the usefulness of multitasking ability in the prediction of work related criteria using two organizational samples (N = 175 and 119, respectively). Multitasking ability demonstrated predictive validity, however the incremental validity over that of traditional predictors (i.e., cognitive ability and the Big Five factors of personality) was minimal. The relationships between multitasking ability, polychronicity, and other individual differences were also investigated. Polychronicity and multitasking ability proved to be distinct constructs demonstrating differential relationships with cognitive ability, personality, and performance. Results provided support for multitasking performance as a mediator in the relationship between multitasking ability and overall job performance. Additionally, polychronicity moderated the relationship between multitasking ability and both ratings of multitasking performance and overall job performance in Study four. Clarification of the factor structure of polychronicity and its correlates will facilitate future research in the time orientation literature. Results from two organizational samples point to work related measures of multitasking ability as a worthwhile tool for predicting the performance of job applicants.

Personality and Performance: Assessing the Mediating Role of Mental Model Formation in the Personality-Performance Relationship

Personality has long been linked to performance. Evolutions in this relationship have brought forward new questions regarding the true nature of how personality impacts performance. Both direct and indirect relationships have been proven significant. This study further investigated potential indirect relationships by including a mediating variable, mental model formation, in the personality-performance relationship. Undergraduate students were assessed in a 6-week period, Time 1 - Time 2 experiment. Conceptualizations of personality included measures of the Big 5 model and Self-efficacy, with performance measured by content quiz and overall course scores. Findings showed that the Big 5 personality traits, extraversion and agreeableness, positively and significantly impacted commonality with the instructor’s mental model. However, commonality with the instructor’s mental model did not impact performance. In comparison, commonality with an expert mental model positively and significantly impacted performance for both the content quiz and overall course score. Furthermore, similarity with an expert mental model positively and significantly impacted overall course performance. Hypothesized full mediation of mental model formation for the personality-performance relationship was not supported due to a lack of direct effect relationships required for mediation. However, a revised conceptualization of results emerged. Findings from the current study point to the novel and unique role mental models play in the personality-performance relationship. While personality traits do impact mental model formation, accuracy in the mental models formed is critical to performance.

Work creativity as a dimension of job performance

To stay competitive, many employers are looking for creative and innovative employees to add value to their organization. However, current models of job performance overlook creative performance as an important criterion to measure in the workplace. The purpose of this dissertation is to conduct two separate but related studies on creative performance that aim to provide support that creative performance should be included in models of job performance, and ultimately included in performance evaluations in organizations. Study 1 is a meta-analysis on the relationship between creative performance and task performance, and the relationship between creative performance and organizational citizenship behavior (OCB). Overall, I found support for a medium to large corrected correlation for both the creative performance-task performance (ρ = .51) and creative performance-OCB (ρ = .49) relationships. Further, I also found that both rating-source and study location were significant moderators. Study 2 is a process model that includes creative performance alongside task performance and OCB as the outcome variables. I test a model in which both individual differences (specifically: conscientiousness, extraversion, proactive personality, and self-efficacy) and job characteristics (autonomy, feedback, and supervisor support) predict creative performance, task performance, and OCB through engagement as a mediator. In a sample of 299 employed individuals, I found that all the individual differences and job characteristics were positively correlated with all three performance criteria. I also looked at these relationships in a multiple regression framework and most of the individual differences and job characteristics still predicted the performance criteria. In the mediation analyses, I found support for engagement as a significant mediator of the individual differences-performance and job characteristics-performance relationships. Taken together, Study 1 and Study 2 support the notion that creative performance should be included in models of job performance. Implications for both researchers and practitioners alike are discussed.^

An Examination of Psychological Meaningfulness, Safety, and Availability as the Underlying Mechanisms linking Job Features and Personal Characteristics to Work Engagement

The present study tested a nomological net of work engagement that was derived from its extant research. Two of the main work engagement models that have been presented and empirically tested in the literature, the JD-R model and Kahn’s model, were integrated to test the effects that job features and personal characteristics can have on work engagement through the psychological conditions of meaningfulness, safety, and availability. In this study, safety refers to psychological perceptions of safety and not workplace safety behaviors. The job features that were tested in this model included person-job fit, autonomy, co-worker relations, supervisor support, procedural justice, and interactional justice, while the personal characteristics consisted of self-consciousness, self-efficacy, extraversion, and neuroticism. Thirty-four hypotheses and a conceptual model were tested in order to establish the viability of this nomological net of work engagement in which it was expected that meaningfulness would mediate the relationships between job features and work engagement, safety would mediate the relationships that job features and personal characteristics have with work engagement, and availability (physical, emotional, and cognitive resources) would mediate the relationships that personal characteristics have with work engagement. Furthermore, analyses were run in order to determine the factor structure of work engagement, assess whether or not it exhibits differential validity from organizational commitment and job satisfaction, and confirm that it is positively related to the outcome variable of organizational citizenship behavior (OCB). The final sample consisted of 500 workers from an online labor market who responded to a questionnaire composed of measures of all constructs included in this study. Findings show that work engagement is best represented as a three-factor construct, composed of vigor, dedication and absorption. Furthermore, support was found for the distinction of work engagement from the related constructs of organizational commitment and job satisfaction. With regard to the proposed model, meaningfulness proved to be the strongest predictor of work engagement. Results show that it partially mediates the relationships that all job features have with work engagement. Safety proved to be a partial mediator of the relationships that autonomy, co-worker relations, supervisor support, procedural justice, interactional justice, and self-efficacy have with work engagement, and fully mediate the relationship between neuroticism and work engagement. Findings also show that availability partially mediates the positive relationships that extraversion and self-efficacy have with work engagement, and fully mediates the negative relationship that neuroticism has with work engagement. Finally, a positive relationship was found between work engagement and OCB. Research and organizational implications are discussed.