Attachment--and loss.

Principles and Practice of Structural Equation Modeling (2nd ed.)

Many researchers have concerns about work engagement's distinction from other constructs and its theoretical merit. The goals of this study were to identify an agreed-upon definition of engagement, to investigate its uniqueness, and to clarify its nomological network of constructs. Using a conceptual framework based on Macey and Schneider (2008; Industrial and Organizational Psychology, 1, 3–30), we found that engagement exhibits discriminant validity from, and criterion related validity over, job attitudes. We also found that engagement is related to several key antecedents and consequences. Finally, we used meta-analytic path modeling to test the role of engagement as a mediator of the relation between distal antecedents and job performance, finding support for our conceptual framework. In sum, our results suggest that work engagement is a useful construct that deserves further attention.

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Work engagement: a quantitative review and test of its relations with task and contextual performance

This article reports a meta-analysis of personality-academic performance relationships, based on the 5-factor model, in which cumulative sample sizes ranged to over 70,000. Most analyzed studies came from the tertiary level of education, but there were similar aggregate samples from secondary and tertiary education. There was a comparatively smaller sample derived from studies at the primary level. Academic performance was found to correlate significantly with Agreeableness, Conscientiousness, and Openness. Where tested, correlations between Conscientiousness and academic performance were largely independent of intelligence. When secondary academic performance was controlled for, Conscientiousness added as much to the prediction of tertiary academic performance as did intelligence. Strong evidence was found for moderators of correlations. Academic level (primary, secondary, or tertiary), average age of participant, and the interaction between academic level and age significantly moderated correlations with academic performance. Possible explanations for these moderator effects are discussed, and recommendations for future research are provided.

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A meta-analysis of the five-factor model of personality and academic performance.

There has been an exponential increase of interest in the dark side of human nature during the last decade. To better understand this dark side, the authors developed and validated a concise, 12-item measure of the Dark Triad: narcissism, psychopathy, Machiavellianism. In 4 studies involving 1,085 participants, they examined its structural reliability, convergent and discriminant validity (Studies 1, 2, and 4), and test-retest reliability (Study 3). Their measure retained the flexibility needed to measure these 3 independent-yet-related constructs while improving its efficiency by reducing its item count by 87% (from 91 to 12 items). The measure retained its core of disagreeableness, short-term mating, and aggressiveness. They call this measure the Dirty Dozen, but it cleanly measures the Dark Triad.

https://psycnet.apa.org/journals/pas/22/2/420.pdf

The dirty dozen : a concise measure of the Dark Triad

The negative effects of sleep difficulties have been well documented. However, the prevalence of such problems among US college students has not been well studied. Design difficulties are common in the limited number of existing investigations, making it difficult to estimates the prevalence and types of disturbance studied. The authors describe the use of a quantitative-based assessment instrument to provide an initial indication of students' sleep problems and to serve as a means of addressing some of the deficiencies in the literature. In their sample of 191 undergraduates at a rural southern university, they found that most of the students exhibited some form of sleep disturbance and that women, in general, reported more sleep disturbances than men did. They suggest how colleges and university officials can alter procedures to minimize students” sleep disturbances and reduce the deleterious effects of sleep problems on academic performance.

Sleep habits and patterns of college students: a preliminary study.

College students are known for their variable sleep schedules. Such schedules, along with other common student practices (e.g., alcohol and caffeine consumption), are associated with poor sleep hygiene. Researchers have demonstrated in clinical populations that improving sleep hygiene knowledge and practices is an effective treatment for insomnia. However, researchers who have examined relationships between sleep hygiene and practices in nonclinical samples and overall sleep quality have produced inconsistent findings, perhaps because of questionable measures. In this study, the authors used psychometrically sound instruments to examine these variables and to counter the shortcomings in previous investigations. Their findings suggest that knowledge of sleep hygiene is related to sleep practices, which, in turn, is related to overall sleep quality. The data from their regression modeling indicated that variable sleep schedules, going to bed thirsty, environmental noise, and worrying while falling asleep contribute to poor sleep quality.

Relationship of Sleep Hygiene Awareness, Sleep Hygiene Practices, and Sleep Quality in University Students

University students report significantly worse sleep quality than the general population. Sleep problems are related to increased health concerns, irritability, depression, fatigue, and attention and concentration difficulties, along with poor academic performance. Clinical research indicates that psychoeducational interventions are among the most effective methods for improving sleep quality in the general population. Similar studies for university students are lacking. In this study, the authors describe the development of the Sleep Treatment and Education Program for Students (STEPS) and evaluate its effectiveness with a double blind, experimental design. Students in the treatment group reported significantly improved sleep quality and sleep hygiene behaviors at 6 weeks posttreatment.

/pdf/development-and-evaluation-of-the-sleep-treatment-and-wvh3o6b39m.pdf

Development and Evaluation of the Sleep Treatment and Education Program for Students (STEPS)

A content analysis of the research published in the Journal of Counseling Psychology (JCP) was conducted for a 26-year period (1973-1998). A total of 2,027 articles were classified into 14 substantive content categories. Frequency distributions were used to identify the most frequently published authors and institutional affiliations, as well as the gender and ethnic characteristics reported. The principal areas of research activity and publication in the JCP were process only, process and outcome, vocational behavior research, and the development and evaluation of tests and measures. These 4 categories accounted for 55.2% of the articles examined. Typical reported samples contained college students of both genders. This content analysis revealed that over this 26-year time span, the research reported in the JCP has remained consistent with the mission statement of the journal.

Content analysis of research in the Journal of Counseling Psychology (1973-1998)

Psychological reactance, the theory that people resist attempts to constrain either their thoughts or their behaviors (J. W. Brehm, 1966), has been an influential concept in social psychology. In an attempt to measure reactance, J. Merz (1983) developed the Questionnaire for the Measurement of Psychological Reactance (QMPR). Subsequent researchers (S.-M. Hong & R. Ostini, 1989; R. K. Tucker & P. Y. Byers, 1987) have debated both the exact factor structure and the psychometric stability of the QMPR. In the present study, 898 undergraduates completed the QMPR. Factor analysis suggested that psychological reactance is multidimensional. The authors found 3 factors underlying the QMPR, but the QMPR provided unreliable estimates for each of those factors. According to the results, the QMPR as currently written is psychometrically unsatisfactory.

Walter C. Buboltz

Papers

Sleep habits and patterns of college students: a preliminary study.

Relationship of Sleep Hygiene Awareness, Sleep Hygiene Practices, and Sleep Quality in University Students

Development and Evaluation of the Sleep Treatment and Education Program for Students (STEPS)

Content analysis of research in the Journal of Counseling Psychology (1973-1998)

Psychological Reactance: Factor Structure and Internal Consistency of the Questionnaire for the Measurement of Psychological Reactance