1,721,013 research outputs found
Integrating variable- and person-oriented approaches to the study of self-efficacy beliefs development in a nursing education setting
Full text linkThe present dissertation aimed to investigate the role of self-efficacy (SE) beliefs development across different life functioning spheres with respect to some relevant health and psychosocial outcomes within a nursing education setting. As a research framework, we integrated the variable-centered and the person-centered approaches in a longitudinal perspective, hypothesizing that intra-individual cross-sectional and longitudinal variability could play an important role in explaining inter-individual differences on nursing students’ adjustment process.
Study 1 was aimed to unravel the role of patterned intra-individual differences in some self-efficacy (SE) dimensions (i.e., related to emotional, social and academic regulatory spheres) in explaining inter-individual differences along the adjustment process of two cohorts of nursing students. By adopting the integrated research perspective discussed above, 4 intra-individual configurations of SE beliefs were detected and replicated across cohorts: a group of students showed to enter the nursing program with a high sense of personal efficacy in all the considered dimensions, two groups showed an intermediate functioning (one connoted by lower sense of perceived academic regulatory skills, the second by a lower SE in emotional management dimensions), and a group with an overall low-functioning across dimensions. These pattern were found to explain individual differences in depression, life satisfaction and physical symptoms both concurrently and longitudinally, with the high-functioning group elected as the best adjusted. Moreover, results from alternative informative hypotheses enlightened an adjustment gradient, where intermediate-functioning patterns were found to be not mutually discriminative.
Study 2 investigated a cohort of nursing students by using three-time points of assessment implemented in a longitudinal design. Adopting an integrated social cognitive perspective both on personality and gender development, the aim of present study was threefold: a) investigating gender differences in self-efficacy in mastering negative emotions (henceforth, SE-MNE) growth; b) identifying unobserved intra-individual trajectories of SE-MNE; and c) evaluating the impact of alternative paths of SE-MNE trajectories on depression. Findings showed that males entered the nursing program with a higher level of SE-MNE than females, whereas girls showed a significant higher increase in SE-MNE during the overall assessment span. Moreover, 4 patterns were found to represent unobserved sub-groups in SE-MNE development: the higher was the probability to be clustered into a high-stable or mean-high increasing trajectory, the lower the probability to be depressed at the last point of assessment, after controlling for its previous levels. Finally, by using a Bayesian approach in testing a set of informative hypotheses, the 4 different patterns were found to be associated to 4 different levels of depression.
Study 3 was designed in order to understand the link between intra-individual conjoint development in SE facets and inter-individual differences in burnout and work engagement within a cohort of nursing students. By adopting a longitudinal design with three time points of assessment, Multi-Process Latent Class Growth Analysis (MP−LCGA) has been used in order to identify longitudinal integrated patterns of SE beliefs in emotional, social and academic spheres of personal functioning. Results provided a 4-class solution, evidencing an overall high-functioning pattern, two intermediate functioning configuration (the first with a less favorable trend of academic regulatory efficacy, the second by low stable trajectories of SE dimensions in emotional management), and an overall low-functioning longitudinal structure of SE beliefs development. These patterns were found to be discriminant for burnout and work engagement at the last point of assessment, where the high-functioning pattern showed to be the best adjusted. Moreover, results from Bayesian evaluation of informative hypotheses suggest that academic regulatory efficacy played a key role along the adaptation continuum, rather than SE beliefs in mastering negative consequences of affect. Findings and practical implications of the present dissertation are discussed, along with some suggestions to move forward in this direction.L’obiettivo principale di questa tesi è stato quello di investigare il ruolo dello sviluppo delle convinzioni di autoefficacia e il loro impatto sul benessere personale e psicosociale all’interno di un contesto universitario relativo alle professioni sanitarie. Come cornice di ricerca, sono stati integrati gli approcci alla variabile e alla persona, ipotizzando che la variabilità intra-individuale potesse giocare un ruolo fondamentale nella spiegazione delle differenze individuali nel processo di adattamento degli studenti target dell’indagine sia rispetto al contesto accademico che di tirocinio.
Il primo studio è stato dedicato all’individuazione di alcune configurazioni intra-individuali delle convinzioni di autoefficacia relative a tre differenti sfere del funzionamento personale (i.e., gestione delle emozioni, relazioni sociali all’interno del contesto accademico e autoregolazione nell’apprendimento universitario). A tal scopo, sono stati utilizzati due gruppi differenti di studenti delle professioni sanitarie. La soluzione che meglio ha rappresentato i dati analizzati prevedeva 4 gruppi: un primo gruppo aveva punteggi alti in tutte le dimensioni, un secondo e un terzo presentavano dei profili intermedi (uno connotato da bassi punteggi nella regolazione dell’apprendimento, l’altro nelle competenze di gestione delle emozioni), e infine un gruppo particolarmente vulnerabile sotto tutti i punti di vista. Questi pattern si sono rivelati essere discriminanti rispetto ad alcuni indicatori di adattamento (i.e., depressione, soddisfazione di vita, sintomi fisici), sia concorrentemente che longitudinalmente. Tuttavia, i pattern intermedi non si sono rivelati mutuamente differenti rispetto al processo di adattamento.
Il secondo studio ha previsto un disegno di ricerca longitudinale a tre tempi di valutazione che ha coinvolto una unica coorte di studenti delle professioni sanitarie. Adottando una prospettiva social cognitiva rispetto allo sviluppo della personalità e delle differenze di genere, tre sono stati gli obiettivi di questa ricerca: a) investigare le difference di genere nelle traiettorie relative alle capacità percepite di gestione delle emozioni negative (SE-MNE); b) identificare dei gruppi di studenti relativamente omogenei aventi simili traiettorie intra-individuali nello sviluppo di tali competenze; c) valutare l’impatto di questi percorsi alternativi di SE-MNE durate il periodo dell’indagine rispetto all’insorgenza e allo sviluppo della depressione. I risultati hanno mostrato che i maschi hanno cominciato il corso di studi con una convinzione più forte di poter gestire le emozioni negative rispetto alle femmine, sebbene queste incrementino maggiormente questa competenza durante il periodo preso in considerazione rispetto alla loro controparte maschile. Inoltre, attraverso delle appropriate tecniche di analisi dei dati finalizzate all’individuazione di gruppi longitudinali non osservabili rispetto alle traiettorie di SE-MNE, quattro pattern descrivevano tale fenomeno: un gruppo avente una traiettoria stabile che aveva cominciato il suo percorso da un alto livello, un gruppo che al primo tempo di misura aveva un livello medio-alto di SE-MNE e l’ha incrementato leggermente durante il periodo preso in considerazione, un ulteriore gruppo sostanzialmente parallelo a questo con dei livelli iniziali di SE-MNE medio-bassi e, infine, un gruppo stabile che aveva cominciato la propria esperienza accademica con punteggi bassi. Una maggiore probabilità di essere classificato nel primo o nel secondo gruppo ha rappresentato per gli studenti una protezione dalla depressione all’ultimo tempo di misura, controllando per i suoi livelli precedenti, mentre un effetto opposto veniva esercitato dalla probabilità di essere clusterizzati nell’ultimo gruppo. Inoltre, i 4 pattern longitudinali di SE-MNE si sono rivelati altamente discriminanti tra loro rispetto agli esiti depressivi dell’ultimo tempo di misurazione.
Il terzo studio è stato implementato per comprendere il legame tra lo sviluppo congiunto di alcune dimensioni di autoefficacia a livello intra-individuale e le differenze inter-individuali nel burnout e nel coinvolgimento degli studenti target del progetto di ricerca tanto in ambito accademico quanto in quello di tirocinio clinico. Sono emerse quattro configurazioni soggiacenti a tale sviluppo: un gruppo di studenti è entrato nel corso di studi con convinzioni alte in ambico emozionale, sociale e accademico e in tali dimensioni è rimasto stabile. Un altro gruppo di studenti ha avuto traiettorie medie e stabili in ambito emozionale e sociale, ma ha mostrato una traiettoria meno favorevole in ambito regolatorio-accademico, comunque stabile. Un terzo gruppo ha avuto traiettorie stabili e medie nello sviluppo delle competenze sociali e regolatorie, mentre un andamento stabile e medio-basso si è palesato per quel che riguarda le competenze di regolazione delle emozioni negative. Infine, un gruppo ha evidenziato un pattern definibile “a basso funzionamento” in tutte le dimensioni. In tutti i casi, il gruppo “ad alto funzionamento” (il primo) ha mostrato un processo di adattamento più favorevole degli altri, che hanno registrato punteggi significativamente più alti nel burnout e minori nel coinvolgimento lavorativo. Inoltre, i pattern longitudinali si sono dimostrati mutuamente escludentisi lungo il continuum del processo di adattamento misurato attraverso i due indicatori descritti in precedenza.
Le implicazioni di ricerca e per la pratica professionale desumibili da tale lavoro sono discusse e argomentate
Remote, Disconnected, or Detached? Examining the Effects of Psychological Disconnectedness and Cynicism on Employee Performance, Wellbeing, andWork–Family Interface
No full textOwing to the COVID-19 pandemic, organizations worldwide have implemented remote working arrangements that have blurred the work–family boundaries and brought to the forefront
employees’ sense of disconnectedness from their workplace (i.e., organizational disconnectedness) as a concern for multiple organizational outcomes. Cynicism, a job burnout subdimension, refers to a negative and excessively detached response to relational overload at work. While both workplace
disconnectedness and cynicism involve a toxic sense of detachment, they refer to different psychological
mechanisms. The present study aims to examine how employee workplace disconnectedness differs from their cynicism, and how both constructs differentially exert their detrimental effects
on employee performance, work–family interface, and wellbeing. Using anonymous survey data collected online in 2021 and 2022 from a sample of in-person and flexible workers nested within organizations, conceptual distinctiveness between workplace disconnectedness and cynicism was supported. Measurement invariance across the two groups was supported, and subsequent structural invariance analyses suggested a similar pattern of results for flexible and in-person workers.
Specifically, compared to disconnectedness, cynicism exerted higher negative effects on mental health and higher positive effects on cognitive failures and family-to-work conflict. Conversely, compared to cynicism, disconnectedness exerted higher negative effects on performance and work-to-family
conflict. That is, feeling indifferent toward others particularly affects mental health and errors, while feeling excluded especially hampers productivity and family life. Theoretical and practical (e.g., inclusive leadership, support groups) implications of these results are discussed in light of the globally rising rates of hybrid work arrangements and related costs for employee wellbeing and productivity
The Self-Rating Scale of Self-Directed Learning tool: findings from a Confirmatory Factor Analysis
No full textIntroduction: Healthcare students and professionals possess self-directed learning abilities at different levels of development. For educators, measuring these abilities allow to tailor teaching and mentoring interventions. The aim of this study was to validate the structure of the Self-Rating Scale of Self-Directed Learning, Italian version (SRSSDL-Ita).
Methods: A cross-sectional study design was adopted involving a convenience sample of 593 healthcare students and professionals. A Confirmatory Factor Analysis was performed to confirm the validity of the measurement model of the original structure of the SRSSDL-Ita.
Results: The Maximum Likelihood Meand-and-Variance (MLMV) to confirmatory factor analysis was used to examine the underlying latent variable structure of the SRSSDL-Ita, which was composed of 40 items. All standardized factor loadings were > 0.42. Latent dimensions were all positively correlated, ranging in magnitude between 0.28 and 0.78. The Chi-square value for the overall model was χ2 (712) = 1,104.273 with p < .001, Root Mean Square Error of Approximation (RMSEA) (90% confidence interval (CI)) = 0.031 (lower bound 0.027; upper bound 0.054) with p = 1.00, and Standardized Root Mean Square Residual (SRMR) = 0.055. The overall interpretation of the fit indices suggests a more than acceptable fit between the hypothesized model and the data. The emerged structure confirms the original structure of the instrument composed of eight factors: “Awareness”, “Attitudes”, “Motivation”, “Learning Strategies”, “Learning Methods”, “Learning Activities”, “Interpersonal Skills” and “Constructing Knowledge”.
Conclusions: The SRSSDL-Ita structure was confirmed. Therefore, SRSSDL-Ita is a valid and practical tool that may contribute to determining learning needs among students and healthcare professionals; helping educators in identifying and implementing strategies to enhance SDL abilities in both groups
Lavoro atipico, progettualità personale e risorse sociali
No full textNell’attuale mondo del lavoro l’impiego a tempo indeterminato ha subito profondi cambiamenti. Il diffondersi dell’Information Technology e la globalizzazione dei mercati hanno reso meno statici gli scenari produttivi ed hanno soppiantato la stabilità dell’economia industriale con un approccio più modulare ed elastico nell’organizzazione dei processi produttivi e, di conseguenza, con un maggiore dinamismo, ma anche una maggiore incertezza, nell’impiego e nell’allocazione delle risorse umane (Szabò e Negyesi, 2005; Boyce, Ryan, Imus e Morgeson, 2007). Il presente contributo si sviluppa intorno a tre principali nuclei tematici: (a) la progettualità personale ed il suo sviluppo in ambito scolastico, che esplora la rappresentazione del futuro personale e professionale in un ampio campione di lavoratori atipici italiani e approfondisce il ruolo di variabili psicologiche, quali l’efficacia personale e i valori lavorativi, che contribuiscono a determinare tale prefigurazione e come essa si configura in base all’età del lavoratore; (b) la progettualità personale ed i nessi con la famiglia; (c) la progettualità collettiva ed il ruolo dei network, che approfondisce lo sviluppo delle convinzioni collettive, che nascono in gruppo e che predispongono le persone ad agire di concerto per superare le difficoltà comuni
Economic stress, emotional contagion and safety outcomes: a cross-country study
Full text linkBACKGROUND: Economic instability produced by financial crises can increase employment-related (i.e., job insecurity) and income-related (i.e., financial stress) economic stress. While the detrimental impact of job insecurity on safety outcomes has been extensively investigated, no study has examined the concurrent role of financial stress let alone their emotion-related predictors.
OBJECTIVE: The present cross-country research sought to identify the simultaneous effects of affective job insecurity and financial stress in predicting employee safety injuries and accidents under-reporting, and to examine the extent to which emotional contagion of positive/negative emotions at work contribute to the level of experienced economic stress.
METHODS: We performed multi-group measurement and structural invariance analyses.
RESULTS: Data from employees in the U.S. (N= 498) and Italy (N= 366) suggest that financial stress is the primary mediator between emotional contagion and poor safety outcomes. Moreover, greater anger-contagion predicted higher levels of financial strain and job insecurity whereas greater joy-contagion predicted reduced economic stress.
CONCLUSIONS: Our findings support the relevance of considering the concurrent role of income- and employment-related stressors as predictors of safety-related outcomes. Theoretical and practical implications for safety are discussed in light of the globally increasing emotional pressure and concerns of income- and employment-related economic stress in today’s workplace, particularly given the recent pandemic spread of Coronavirus disease (COVID-19)
Applying the latent state-trait analysis to decompose state, trait, and error components of the self-esteem implicit association test
No full textIn the literature, self-report scales of Self-Esteem (SE) often showed a higher test-retest correlation and a lower situational variability compared to implicit measures. Moreover, several studies showed a close to zero implicit-explicit correlation. Applying a latent state-trait (LST) model on a sample of 95 participants (80 females, mean age: 22.49 ± 6.77 years) assessed at five measurement occasions, the present study aims at decomposing latent trait, latent state residual, and measurement error of the SE Implicit Association Test (SE-IAT). Moreover, in order to compare implicit and explicit variance components, a multi-construct LST was analyzed across two occasions, including both the SE-IAT and the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (RSES). Results revealed that: (1) the amounts of state and trait variance in the SE-IAT were rather similar; (2) explicit SE showed a higher consistency, a lower occasion-specificity, and a lower proportion of error variance than SE-IAT; (3) latent traits of explicit and implicit SE showed a positive and significant correlation of moderate size. Theoretical implications for the implicit measurement of self-esteem were discussed
Cognitive failures in response to emotional contagion: Their effects on workplace accidents
No full textThe purpose of this study was to examine contagion of positive and negative emotions among employees as an antecedent of cognitive failures and subsequent workplace accidents. Using emotional contagion theory and the neural model of emotion and cognition, we tested the proposition that higher contagion of anger (i.e., a negative emotion accompanied by dysfunctional cognition) would be associated with greater cognitive failures, whereas higher contagion of joy (i.e., a positive emotion accompanied by pleasant information processing, attention and positive cognition) would be associated with fewer cognitive failures. In turn, cognitive failures were predicted to be related to higher rates of subsequent workplace accidents. Using a two-wave lagged design, anonymous survey data collected from N = 390 working adults in the U.S. supported the hypothesized mediation model. Specifically, emotional contagion of anger positively predicted cognitive failures, whereas emotional contagion of joy negatively predicted cognitive failures. Furthermore, cognitive failures positively predicted experienced accidents and fully mediated the relationship between contagion of joy/anger and experienced accidents. These findings suggest that lapses in cognitive functioning may be prevented by positive emotions (and enhanced by negative emotions) that employees absorb during social interactions at work and represent a more proximal source of accidents in comparison to emotions. Theoretical and practical implications of these results are discussed in light of the globally rising rates of workplace accidents and related costs for safety
Effects of pre-sleep cognitive intrusions on subjective sleep and next-day cognitive performance in insomnia
Full text linkPre-sleep cognitive intrusions about next-day activities, or proprioceptive and environmental stimuli are thought to trigger insomnia in neurocognitive models. Recent research showed that intrusive cognitions at bedtime may interact with sleep in influencing next-day emotional functioning; their effects on cognitive functioning, however, is largely unknown. We tested the effects of pre-sleep cognitive intrusions on subjective sleep and next-day cognitive performance in 80 participants, either with chronic insomnia or good sleepers. Pre-sleep intrusions were inspected using a validated questionnaire and sleep was assessed with a sleep diary. Cognitive functioning the following morning was measured using task switching paradigm assessing executive functions. Structural equation modelling with manifest variables (i.e., path analysis) shows that pre-sleep cognitive intrusions predicted increased sleep onset latency and wake after sleep onset, and lowered sleep efficiency. Moreover, task switching accuracy was independently predicted by pre-sleep cognitive intrusions in the previous night in those with insomnia but not in controls, beyond the effects of trait anxiety, task switching components, and previous night's sleep. Findings confirm detrimental effects of pre-sleep intrusions on sleep continuity and suggest the presence of links between pre-sleep conscious activity and next-day executive performance in patients with insomnia, with the need to better elucidate potential mediators
Safety climate and production pressure as moderators of workload-compliance link
No full textOver 3 million work-related injuries and illnesses occur annually. This symposium presents five empirically, contextually, and methodologically diverse studies that provide insight on how to enact effective safety interventions given different national, industry, and organizational features. The session opens with empirical findings from a large scale study undertaken in hospitals in China and India, providing important evidence on the role of national and organizational labor practices in safety management. Collectively, the studies provide a comprehensive approach to the promotion of workplace safety, spanning from a) individual- (e.g., workload) and organizational-level factors (e.g., safety climate, production pressure, affective job insecurity climate) that may increase/decrease employees’ unsafe behaviors, injuries and reporting attitudes, b) the measurement issues associated with trying to use self-report data to assess work-related accidents, and c) what organizations can do after an accident has occurred, especially when a work-related injury is blamed on the organization. The five empirical papers examine what organizations can do to promote workplace safety at various stages: 1) to prevent injuries by considering multiple organization-level predictors (e.g., safety climate vs. production pressure; affective job insecurity climate); 2) get an accurate assessment of employee injuries; and 3) intervene once an injury has occurred
Disentangling the roles of safety climate and safety culture: Multi-level effects on the relationship between supervisor enforcement and safety compliance
No full textDespite increasing attention to contextual effects on the relationship between supervisor enforcementand employee safety compliance, no study has yet explored the conjoint influence exerted simulta-neously by organizational safety climate and safety culture. The present study seeks to address thisliterature shortcoming. We first begin by briefly discussing the theoretical distinctions between safetyclimate and culture and the rationale for examining these together. Next, using survey data collectedfrom 1342 employees in 32 Italian organizations, we found that employee-level supervisor enforce-ment, organizational-level safety climate, and autocratic, bureaucratic, and technocratic safety culturedimensions all predicted individual-level safety compliance behaviors. However, the cross-level moder-ating effect of safety climate was bounded by certain safety culture dimensions, such that safety climatemoderated the supervisor enforcement-compliance relationship only under the clan-patronage culturedimension. Additionally, the autocratic and bureaucratic culture dimensions attenuated the relation-ship between supervisor enforcement and compliance. Finally, when testing the effects of technocraticsafety culture and cooperative safety culture, neither safety culture nor climate moderated the relation-ship between supervisor enforcement and safety compliance. The results suggest a complex relationshipbetween organizational safety culture and safety climate, indicating that organizations with particularsafety cultures may be more likely to develop more (or less) positive safety climates. Moreover, employeesafety compliance is a function of supervisor safety leadership, as well as the safety climate and safetyculture dimensions prevalent within the organization
- …
