Psychological reports
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Psychological reports · Oct 2011
Meta Analysis Comparative StudyTreatment of posttraumatic stress disorder in U.S. combat veterans: a meta-analytic review.
Among U. S. veterans who have been exposed to combat-related trauma, significantly elevated rates of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) are reported. Veterans with PTSD are treated for the disorder at Veterans Affairs (VA) hospitals through a variety of psychotherapeutic interventions. ⋯ VA treatments incorporating exposure-based interventions showed the highest within-group effect size. Effect sizes were not moderated by treatment dose, sample size, or publication year. Findings are encouraging for treatment seekers for combat-related PTSD in VA settings.
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Psychological reports · Jun 2011
An evolutionary hypothesis of suicide: why it could be biologically adaptive and is so prevalent in certain occupations.
From an evolutionary perspective, suicide is a puzzle, because it has serious adverse effects, yet is remarkably common and heritable. An hypothesis is proposed to explain this puzzle, by explaining how suicide could be adaptive through reducing risk that individuals will transmit infections to kin. Empirical evidence supports four predictions from the hypothesis. ⋯ Suicide is more prevalent in occupations with greater exposure to infection and immune-compromising factors and at higher latitudes, where key environmental factors increase vulnerability to infection. In several other highly social species, suicide-like behaviors have evolved to reduce transmission of infections. If the hypothesis is correct, detection and treatment of underlying infections and immune dysfunction should help predict and prevent suicidal behavior, while also combating spread of infectious diseases.
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The relationship between individual humor styles and several organizational variables was investigated: stress, satisfaction with coworkers, team cooperation, and organizational commitment. Four humor styles from the Humor Styles Questionnaire were measured. Survey results of 349 participants indicated different humor styles (affiliative, self-enhancing, aggressive, and self-defeating) can have either a positive or negative effect on organizational outcomes. Results suggested that both researchers and practitioners can benefit from having a better understanding of how different humor styles affect people and outcomes in organizations.
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Psychological reports · Feb 2011
Employee-oriented leadership and quality of working life: mediating roles of idiosyncratic deals.
Leader consideration has long been suggested to be conducive to quality of working life experienced by employees. The present study links this classic leadership dimension with more recent research on idiosyncratic deals, referring to personalized conditions workers negotiate in their employment relationships. A two-wave survey study (N = 159/142) among German hospital physicians suggests that authorizing idiosyncratic deals is a manifestation of employee-oriented leader behavior. ⋯ Cross-lagged correlations supported the proposed direction of influence between consideration and idiosyncratic deals in a subsample of repeating responders (n=91). The relation between development and engagement appeared to be reciprocal. Longitudinal results for the association between flexibility and work-family conflict were inconclusive.
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Psychological reports · Feb 2011
Deliberate faking on personality and emotional intelligence measures.
This study examined the extent the Big Five personality traits and emotional intelligence can be faked. Using a student sample, the equivalence of measurement and theoretical structure of models in a faking and honest condition was tested. ⋯ These results suggest that faking does change the rank orders of high scoring participants. The personality dimensions most affected by faking were emotional stability and conscientiousness within the Big Five and the general mood and stress management dimensions of Bar-On's Emotional Quotient Inventory-Short Form (1997) measure of emotional intelligence.