Passive Facebook use and students' academic stress: The moderating role of authenticity

Objective: The present study examined the association between passive FB use and academic stress, as well as the moderating role of users' dispositional levels of authenticity. Participants and Methods: A total of 188 college students responded to questionnaires regarding their FB use, trait authenticity, and academic stress. Results: The amount of time users reported they routinely engaged in passive FB use significantly correlated with academic stress. Further, users' levels of trait authenticity moderated this relationship. Time spent passively using FB was positively associated with academic stress only when user authenticity was high. However, how often students passively use FB was not significantly associated with academic stress regardless of their authenticity levels. Conclusions: These findings suggest that using FB passively for longer time periods might be a way to avoid academic tasks, which in turn might be associated with greater academic stress for those students who report higher levels of authenticity.

Military and Premilitary Trauma, Attachment Orientations, and Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Severity Among Male and Female Veterans

Samples in prior studies examining attachment theory in the military have been predominantly composed of male combat veterans. Given the rates of sexual trauma among female veterans and differences in the association between attachment and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) severity for sexual trauma survivors, it was necessary to consider the attachment characteristics of veterans within a mixed-sex sample. Participants were a mixed-sex veteran sample seeking inpatient trauma-related treatment (N = 469). Using independent samples t tests, we examined sex differences in attachment. Consistent with our hypothesis, women reported a higher level of attachment anxiety than did men, t(351) = -2.12, p = .034. Women also reported a higher level of attachment avoidance, t(351) = -2.44, p = .015. Using hierarchical regression, we examined the contribution of attachment anxiety and avoidance to PTSD severity, partialing out variance accounted for by demographic variables and traumatic experiences. Consistent with our hypotheses, attachment avoidance predicted PTSD severity on the Clinician-Administered PTSD Scale for DSM-IV (CAPS), β = .20, p < .001, and the PTSD Checklist-Civilian Version (PCL-C), β = .18, p < .001. Attachment anxiety did not predict CAPS severity but did predict PCL-C severity, β = .11, p = .020. These results suggest the association between attachment avoidance and PTSD is not exclusive to combat trauma and may apply more generally to the larger veteran population. Higher levels of attachment anxiety and avoidance among female veterans potentially implicate the presence of greater attachment fearfulness among this particular subpopulation of veterans.

Development and initial validation of a measure of attachment security in late adulthood

Attachment theory-guided studies of older adults have generally relied on self-report measures that were validated on young adult samples and that focus on fears of rejection by romantic partners and on experiences of chronic discomfort with romantic intimacy as the key indicators of adult attachment security. These assessment characteristics raise important questions as to whether these measures are appropriate for use with older adults. Unlike their younger adult counterparts, older adults may face distinctive life stage-related threats to their attachment security such as declining health and autonomy, spousal loss, and increased dependence on younger family members for instrumental and emotional support. In response to these concerns, we conducted two independent studies aimed at developing and validating a novel measure of attachment security in older adults-the Late Adulthood Attachment Scale (LAAS). In study one (N = 287), exploratory structural equation modeling (ESEM) methods were used to identify and support a 2-factor structure (Fearful Avoidance, Secure Engagement) underlying LAAS scores. In study two (N = 417), ESEM and regression analyses confirmed the 2-factor structure and demonstrated the ability of LAAS scores to predict participants' well-being over a 3-month interval (n = 93). Findings from both studies support the psychometric adequacy of the LAAS as an alternative measure of attachment security for use with older adult samples. (PsycINFO Database Record

Career Planning Confidence Among Facebook Users

As a highly popular social networking site (SNS) for exchanging information about their personal activities, values, goals, and accomplishments with their online “friends,” Facebook (FB)© enables social comparisons and identity negotiations that may influence college students’ career planning confidence. However, to date, no studies have examined whether FB use activities and “friend” networks are uniquely associated with such confidence when dispositional variables associated with students’ needs for belongingness and self-presentation are concurrently controlled. In the present study, participants provided information about their FB use activities and networks and completed self-report measures of adult attachment security, authenticity, career decision self-efficacy, and career aspirations. We hypothesized that, controlling for features of FB use, adult attachment security and authenticity would make significant and incremental contributions to our indicators of career confidence and that authenticity would mediate expected relations between attachment security and these outcomes. Our findings yielded general support for these hypotheses. Implications for career counseling practice that considers both clients’ relational dispositions and uses of social media are discussed.

Predictors of Career Indecision in Three Racial/Ethnic Groups of College Women

This study examines the contributions of career-related barrier and social support perceptions, barrier-related coping beliefs, and career decision-making self-efficacy beliefs to the prediction of career indecision in three racial/ethnic groups of college women. Results indicate that although there are no racial/ethnic differences across scores on most of the key measures, African American women perceive significantly greater career barriers than do either White or Hispanic women. Separate within-racial/ethnic group regressions of career indecision scores indicate that the full model collectively accounted for substantial amounts of criterion variance (range of R2 = .31 to .47), although the pattern of predictor contributions varies somewhat across the three groups.

Further Validation of the Commitment to Career Choices Scale: Extensions to a High-School Sample

The present study examined the reliability and validity of the Commitment to Career Choices Scale (CCCS; Blustein, Ellis, & Devenis, 1989) within a large sample of high-school students (N = 481). Data were concurrently gathered on students' college- versus work-bound orientations, cumulative GPAs, and their parents' educational levels; in addition, students indicated whether or not they presently had a definite career goal. Results demonstrated that the CCCS subscales possessed adequate reliability and were significantly related in expected directions with students' career decision status (i.e., decided/undecided). Tendency to foreclose (TTF), but not Vocational exploration and commitment (VEC), scores were negatively related to cumulative GPAs. Regression analysis of student GPAs demonstrated that VEC scores and their interaction with TTF scores significantly predicted students' academic grades beyond that explained by their parents' educational levels and the students' own decision status and college- versus work-bound orientations. Implications of these findings for using the CCCS within high-school samples are considered.

Development and Initial Validation of a Measure of Academic Hardiness

Drawing upon hardiness theory and research on academic motivation we developed and administered a measure of academic hardiness to a large sample of high school students. In line with theory- and research-derived expectations, results of both principal axis factor analyses (PAF) and confirmatory factor analyses (CFA) yielded support for a three-factor model of the construct. Supplemental analyses indicated that, after controlling for general academic self-concept, the challenge subscale of our novel measure differentiated students who pursued more difficult academic coursework and educational plans from those who did not.

Development and Evaluation of the Revised Academic Hardiness Scale

Researchers have a long-standing interest in better understanding why some students avoid challenging academic course work at the risk of harming their academic standing, whereas others are willing to pursue these types of challenges. The Academic Hardiness Scale (AHS) was developed to better understand characteristics that may differentiate these two types of students. Although preliminary findings provided support for the initial version of the AHS, the measure exhibited only good to marginal coefficient alphas and limited discriminant validity. The present investigation represents the second phase of measurement development for the AHS. The study was designed to evaluate the factor structure; internal consistency reliability; discriminant, convergent, and concurrent validity; and testretest reliability of the Revised Academic Hardiness Scale (RAHS). Results from this study identified a three-component measure that has very good basic psychometric properties. The RAHS is a significant improvement over its parent instrument.

Contemporary Attachment Theory

Although originating from the study of infant development, attachment theory has recently been extended into domains of adult adjustment, and this emergent literature underscores the theory's promise as an integrative framework for inquiry and practice in counseling psychology. This article briefly reviews the theory's conceptual foundations and key empirical findings and traces important conceptual and methodological advances. Results of contemporary theory-guided studies of adult affect regulation, social competence, and intergenerational continuity are selectively reviewed Finally, implications of these findings for advancing an integrative understanding of healthy adult coping are considered.

Parents' work-family experiences and children's problem behaviors: The mediating role of the parent-child relationship

Studies on the impact of work-family dynamics on both parenting and children's outcomes are scarce. The present study addressed this gap by exploring how parents' negative (conflicting) and positive (enriching) experiencing of work and family roles related to children's internalizing and externalizing problem behaviors through its association with the quality of parent-child relationships. A sample of 317 dual-earner couples with preschool children was used to conduct a dyadic analysis of both within- and cross-dyad influences of parents' work-family experiences on child problem behaviors. Our results indicated that the way parents balance work and family is associated with their parent-child relationships, which in turn is differentially linked with their children's behaviors. We found that mothers' work-family conflict (WFC) contributed to children's externalization difficulties through its detrimental associations with their own and with their partners' parent-child relationship quality. By contrast, mothers' work-family enrichment (WFE) was negatively linked to children's externalization difficulties through its positive link with the mother-child relationship. Fathers' experience of WFC was associated with both children's internalization and externalization difficulties through its negative association with their own father-child relationship quality. In addition, fathers' experience of WFE also linked to children's externalization difficulties, but only indirectly, via its positive association with the quality of their relationship with the child. Further implications of these findings for advancing understanding of the impact of work-family dynamics on intrafamily relationships, as well as for individual and organizational interventions, are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record

An Exploration of Gender and Career Stage Differences on a Multidimensional Measure of Work Meaningfulness

In recent years, the constructs of work meaning and work meaningfulness have been differentiated, and multidimensional measures of the latter have been developed. In the present study, we administered one such measure—the Comprehensive Meaningful Work Scale (CMWS)—to a gender-balanced and age-diverse sample of managers and conducted a multivariate analysis of CMWS scores that explored the contributions of participants’ gender and their adult career stage. As hypothesized, the CMWS subscale scores were negatively correlated with participants’ scores on an independent measure of work stress. Results also revealed a significant multivariate effect associated with their career stage that was limited to one CMWS subscale (i.e., “balancing tensions”), with managers in their “prime work years” (i.e., 40–54) evidencing less favorable scores than those in either the “settling in” (i.e., 25–39) or “approaching retirement” (i.e., 55–65) stages. The implications of these findings for future research on work meaningfulness are discussed.

Mental Health, Self-Stigma, and Help-Seeking Intentions Among Emerging Adults

Many college students experience common mental health concerns, such as anxiety and depression, but do not seek psychological help. The present study proposed an attachment theory–driven model interrelating adult attachment, mental health concerns, and self-stigma in predicting intentions to seek counseling with a college student sample ( N = 1,682). Structural equation modeling revealed that attachment anxiety, but not attachment avoidance, directly and positively predicted intentions to seek counseling. However, mediation analyses indicated that attachment anxiety was also indirectly and negatively linked to help-seeking intentions through self-stigma. Specifically, higher levels of attachment anxiety, or the combination of attachment anxiety and mental health concerns, predicted greater levels of self-stigma, which in turn predicted weaker intentions to seek counseling. The findings point to the importance of considering the combined contributions of individual differences in attachment dimensions, levels of mental health concerns, self-stigma, and help-seeking intentions in understanding the help-seeking process.

Preliminary development and validation of the Supervisee Attachment Strategies Scale (SASS)

The influence of counselor trainees' adult attachment orientations in the context of supervision has the potential to inform both training and supervision practice. However, the pursuit of such research requires the availability of appropriate assessment tools. The present study describes the development and validation of the Supervisee Attachment Strategies Scale (SASS), a theory-based measure of counseling trainees' attachment orientations toward their clinical supervisors. Participants were recruited online through their training directors at Association of Psychology Postdoctoral and Internship Centers member programs. Data were nationally collected from 352 trainees representing programs in the United States and Canada. Exploratory factor analysis yielded 2 interpretable factors along the adult attachment dimensions of avoidance vs. engagement and rejection concern vs. security. These 2 factors accounted for 55.85% of the interitem variance in the rotated solution of the 22-item SASS scale. SASS subscale scores were negatively correlated with the supervisory working alliance and predicted greater endorsement of role conflict and role ambiguity in the current supervisory relationship. Higher avoidance (but not rejection concern) predicted diminished perceptions of satisfaction with the overall training experience. Findings from this study suggest that trainees who engaged in adaptive attachment strategies may be more likely to address conflict, negotiate additional explorative opportunities in training, and seek out their supervisors in times of uncertainty.

Profiling the Multiple Role Planning Attitudes of College Women

We conducted a latent profile analysis of scores on a measure of multiple role planning attitudes obtained from an ethnically diverse sample of undergraduate women (age range: 18–29 years) to determine whether clusters of participants with distinct profiles of these attitudes were identifiable and whether these groups differed with respect to their educational level, relationship commitment status, and in their responses to independent measures of their relationship dispositions and orientations. Findings yielded support for the presence of three groups representing varying patterns of attitudinal investment in multiple role planning. Relative to their peers in the other two classes, women in the “actively engaged” group demonstrated significantly lower levels of attachment anxiety and avoidance, higher scores on relational interdependence, and stronger dispositions toward healthy self-assertion. Implications of these findings for both future research and for interventions designed to promote adaptive multiple role planning attitudes are discussed.

Further Validation of Work–Family Conflict and Work–Family Enrichment Scales Among Portuguese Working Parents

This study aimed to develop and validate two Portuguese versions of the Work–Family Conflict Scale (WFCS) and the Work–Family Enrichment Scale (WFES), testing for its factor structure validity, reliability, and measurement invariance across gender. Both WFCS and WFES were translated according to the guidelines of the International Test Commission and tested with two Portuguese samples of working parents, involved in dual-earner relationships. The validation of these two scales was established by confirming the dimensionality of their structures (first- and second-order confirmatory factor analyses) and demonstrating the good discriminant validity, convergent validity, and internal consistency of its subscales. Finally, for both WFCS and WFES, a two-group measurement procedure allowed to demonstrate their measurement invariance across gender.

Authenticity, Social Context, and Well-Being in the United States, England, and Russia

The study investigated interrelationships among trait authenticity, context-specific authenticity, and well-being in three samples drawn from England, the United States, and Russia. Six hundred and twenty-eight adults participated: 196 from the United States, 240 from England, and 192 from Russia. The overall sample consisted of 151 men and 477 women with a mean age of 27 years (range = 18 to 56). Authenticity was rated both as a general trait and specific to four contexts: with partner, parents, friends, and work colleagues. Well-being was measured using a measure of positive mental health. English and American samples showed higher mean authenticity levels than the Russian sample. In all three subsamples, within-subjects differences in the context-specific ratings were in the same ordinal series; authenticity was rated highest with partner, followed by friends and parents, and lowest with work colleagues. Context and country showed an interaction in their effect on authenticity; United States and England were higher than Russia in partner, friend, and parent contexts but not in the work context. Trait and context-specific authenticity measures contributed unique and significant variance to a prediction of well-being in all three subsamples.

The contributions of parental attachment bonds to college student development and adjustment: a meta-analytic review

We report findings from a meta-analysis of 156 studies conducted between 1987 and 2009 (N = 32,969) that examined the relationship between self-reported parental attachment and multiple adjustment outcomes and developmental advances during the college years. Overall, a small-to-medium relationship was found between indicators of parental attachment quality and favorable adjustment outcomes (r = .23). Effect sizes were of similar magnitude for mother and father attachment relationships, for male and female students, and across ethnicity and nationality of the sample. The attachment-adjustment relationship varied somewhat according to the developmental task being investigated in the study, showing the strongest association for the task of separation-individuation. Additionally, we found stronger attachment-adjustment links for students residing away from their parents when compared with students living at home during college.

Psychological abuse perpetration in college dating relationships: contributions of gender, stress, and adult attachment orientations

This study investigated whether gender, stressful problems common among college students, and adult attachment orientations (anxiety and avoidance) contributed to self-reported perpetration of psychological abuse in dating relationships among 127 college students. College men's stress levels were the strongest predictor of perpetration of emotional abuse against their female romantic partners. Attachment avoidance among college men and women was associated with higher levels of emotional abuse perpetration when self-reported stress levels were high. Recommendations for research and practice are provided.

Authoritarian and homophobic attitudes: gender and adult attachment style differences

This study explored the relations of gender and adult attachment styles to college students' scores on several measures of authoritarian attitudes (e.g., right-wing authoritarianism, ethnocentrism, homophobia, and religious fundamentalism). A multivariate analysis of authoritarian attitudes yielded significant main and interaction effects involving students' gender and their (categorical) attachment style scores. Relative to women, men reported higher levels of homophobia, ethnocentrism, and right-wing authoritarianism. Gender differences in homophobia were additionally conditioned by participants' adult attachment styles: Men with dismissing styles evidenced the highest levels of homophobia, whereas women with dismissing styles demonstrated the lowest levels; that is, a fear of intimacy seemed to contribute to homophobic attitudes found among heterosexual men. This was the first U.S. study of the relationship between adult attachment styles and right-wing authoritarianism, and further investigation is warranted.

A latent classification of male batterers

Regression latent class analysis was used to identify batterer subgroups with distinct violence patterns and to examine associations between class membership and adult attachment orientations as well as antisocial and borderline personality disorders. Results supported three batterer subgroups, with classes varying on frequency and severity of violence. The high-level violence class represented 40% of batterers, and both anxious and avoidant adult attachment orientations as well as borderline personality characteristics predicted membership in this class. The moderate-level violence class represented 35% of the batterers, and adult anxious attachment orientation was associated with membership in this class. The low-level violence class represented 25% of the sample and reported significantly less violence than other classes. Neither adult attachment orientations nor personality disorders predicted membership in this class.

Borderline and antisocial personality scores as mediators between attachment and intimate partner violence

Court-mandated male batterers (n = 192) attending an intervention program completed measures examining adult attachment orientations (anxious and avoidant), personality disorders (borderline and antisocial), type of violence (psychological and physical), and social desirability. Structural equation modeling was used to determine whether there were significant relationships between anxious attachment and physical and psychological violence that are mediated by either borderline or antisocial personality disorders. Social desirability was included in both models as a covariate. Results indicated that personality disorders fully mediated the relationship between avoidant attachment and physical as well as psychological violence. Personality disorders only partially mediated the relationship between anxious attachment and psychological violence. Implications for intervention are discussed.