Parental attachment, coping, and psychological adjustment among adolescents following an earthquake: a longitudinal study

Do Resources Help or Hurt? The Critical Roles of Me, Others, and Organization in Mitigating Workplace Demands

Today's job demands-resources (JD-R) literature emphasizes the interactions between job demands and resources. However, the dynamism of JD-R processes in which individuals manage to counteract the detrimental effects of job demands on employees by flexibly adjusting resources calls this relationship into question. Hence, in this study, we depict JD-R dynamics in the workplace by developing a cross-level moderated-mediation model that unveils the different roles played by job and personal resources when they are woven together with job demands. We examine how and when the relationships among three types of resources-organizationally assigned high-performance work systems (HPWSs), psychological capital (PsyCap), and social support climate (SSC)-help employees deal with excessive workload and unhealthy emotional demands. Using a two-wave research design, we measured and tested the causal relationships of the proposed variables. We found that (1) HPWSs had a negative effect on workload, (2) workload provoked employee emotional demands, (3) the interaction between HPWSs and PsyCap increased workload, and (4) SSC mitigated the positive effect of workload on employee emotional demands. This study contributes to the JD-R theory and literature by unlocking the potential roles of various resources. Theoretical and practical implications, limitations, and future research avenues are also presented.

Sometimes Less is More: Switching Influence of Social Support on Posttraumatic Growth over Time after a Natural Disaster

Few studies have investigated the causal link between social support and posttraumatic growth. Using a four-wave longitudinal design, the present study examined the reciprocal relationship between posttraumatic growth and social support in family and school contexts. A total of 285 adolescents (61.3% female) were recruited to complete self-report questionnaires 12, 18, 24, and 30 months after the Wenchuan earthquake. The data were analyzed using a random intercept cross-lagged panel model. Results revealed a trend for total social support initially promoting posttraumatic growth, followed by no influence, and finally a hindering of growth. This pattern varied between different sources of support. Specifically, the influence of support from parents and peers was consistent with the pattern for total support, whereas that from teachers and others prevented posttraumatic growth during later stages. These results suggest that timing is an important issue in posttraumatic growth and that providing more support for a prolonged period following a traumatic event constrains adolescents' autonomy and thus inhibits posttraumatic growth.

Multi-layer relationships between psychological symptoms and life adaptation among humidifier disinfectant survivors

In April 2011, the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced the results of an epidemiological investigation that an unknown cause of lung disease that occurred throughout Korea was caused by humidifier disinfectants. The unprecedented social catastrophe caused by humidifier disinfectants, a household chemical, has so far reported 1,784 deaths and 5,984 survivors in South Korea. This study was designed to investigate the multi-layer relationships between psychological symptoms and adaptive functioning in survivors of the Humidifier disinfectants in South Korea caused by chemical toxic substances. Specifically, this study aimed to explore how psychological symptoms affect actual interpersonal relationships and job adjustment with two variable sets, six internalizing and externalizing subscales, and three adaptation subscales. A total of 224 survivors recruited from a program to support humidifier disinfectant survivors by the government participated in this study. This research was approved by the Institutional Review Board of one of the Universities in South Korea. The age range of the participants was 18–73 years (M = 42.23, SD = 10.90), 37.1% (n = 83) were male, and 62.9% (n = 141) were female. The participants responded to the Adult Self-Report (ASR) of the Achenbach System of Empirically Based Assessment (ASEBA). A Canonical Correlation Analysis (CCA) generated three unique patterns in the relationships between psychological symptoms and adaptive functions. Humidifier disinfectant survivors in the first pattern were more vulnerable to psychological symptoms and showed maladaptive functioning in life. Survivors in the second pattern showed intrusive behaviors and appeared to be adaptive in relationships with friends. Finally, survivors in the third pattern showed aggressive behaviors and reported poor partner relationships while showing good relationships with friends. The practical implications of the interventions are also discussed.

Measuring Psychosocial Reactions to COVID-19: The COVID Reaction Scales (COVID-RS) as a New Assessment Tool

Knowing and measuring the psychosocial reactions of people to the coronavirus crisis could be useful for predicting citizen responsibility and psychological well-being in the general population. In this research, we present the COVID Reaction Scales (COVID-RS), a new tool that can measure and quantify the psychopathological reactions of the population to the COVID-19 crisis. The sample consisted of 667 subjects. Explorative and confirmative factor analyses were applied to examine the validity and reliability of the COVID-RS. Five dimensions were extracted that predicted 35.08% of the variance of the psychopathological reactions: (1) disorganized behaviors, (2) avoidant behaviors, (3) maladaptive information consumption, (4) herd behaviors and (5) loneliness. The results indicated that social quarantine induces and increases psychopathological reactions. However, emotional loneliness is reduced for each person with whom the respective subject lives during the quarantine. Finally, we can conclude that the COVID-RS has satisfactory validity and reliability. Measuring dysfunctional reactions to COVID-19 can enable the prediction of citizen responsibility.