Factor Structure and Construct Validity of the Worker Role Self-Assessment (WRS) When Used for People With Psychiatric Disabilities in Sweden

A self-report instrument assessing work-related factors among people with psychiatric disabilities would be useful when trying to match possible employment or prevocational opportunities with people’s desires and capacities. The aim of this study was to explore the factor structure, internal consistency, and construct and criterion validity of the Worker Role Self-Assessment (WRS) in this group as well as possible floor and ceiling effects. The participants were 283 clients from day centers for people with psychiatric disabilities and from outpatient units for people with psychosis. They completed the WRS and instruments selected to assess construct validity in terms of convergent (motivation for work and current activity level as reference variables) and discriminant validity (quality of life and self-rated health as reference variables). Two factors were identified, one tapping beliefs in a future worker role and one reflecting current capacities and routines. The internal consistency for the scale as a whole was good at 0.84. The factor reflecting a future worker role correlated as expected with the reference variables used to assess convergent and discriminant validity, whereas current capacities and routines showed a moderate association with quality of life and self-rated health, assumed to indicate discriminant validity. Criterion validity was shown in that those who had recent work experiences scored higher than the others on WRS. No floor or ceiling effects were identified. The findings indicate acceptable psychometric properties of the WRS. Further development is still warranted, however; the factor solution needs to be replicated and the construct validity should be further established

Journal for the history of analytical philosophy: Gilbert Ryle: intelligence, practice, skill, v. 5, no. 5

Special issue on Gilbert Ryle edited by Juliet Floyd and Lydia Patton. Articles: "Volume Introduction: Gilbert Ryle on Propositions, Propositional Attitudes, and Theoretical Knowledge" by Julia Tanney; "Ryle’s “Intellectualist Legend” in Historical Context" by Michael Kremer; "Skill, Drill, and Intelligent Performance: Ryle and Intellectualism" by Stina Bäckström and Martin Gustafsson; "Ryle on the Explanatory Role of Knowledge How"by Will Small.https://jhaponline.org/jhap/issue/view/319Published versio

Models of Workplace Incivility: The Relationships to Instigated Incivility and Negative Outcomes

The aim of the study was to investigate workplace incivility as a social process, examining its components and relationships to both instigated incivility and negative outcomes in the form of well-being, job satisfaction, turnover intentions, and sleeping problems. The different components of incivility that were examined were experienced and witnessed incivility from coworkers as well as supervisors. In addition, the organizational factors, social support, control, and job demands, were included in the models. A total of 2871 (2058 women and 813 men) employees who were connected to the Swedish Hotel and Restaurant Workers Union completed an online questionnaire. Overall, the results from structural equation modelling indicate that whereas instigated incivility to a large extent was explained by witnessing coworker incivility, negative outcomes were to a high degree explained by experienced supervisor incivility via mediation through perceived low social support, low control, and high job demands. Unexpectedly, the relationships between incivility (experienced coworker and supervisor incivility, as well as witnessed supervisor incivility) and instigated incivility were moderated by perceived high control and high social support. The results highlight the importance of including different components of workplace incivility and organizational factors in future studies of the area

New types of employment, new ways to be uncivil? A thematic analysis of temporary agency workers’ exposure to workplace incivility

The aim of the study was to explore what types of incivility temporary agency workers might experience or witness. A total of 162 temporary agency workers (97 women and 65 men) from three unions and three temporary work agencies completed an online questionnaire. The questionnaire consisted of a one-item question, with an open-ended response format, regarding what types of incivility temporary agency workers might experience or witness in the workplace. The participants were employed in the sectors of healthcare, education, transportation, IT, retail and whitecollar service work. Overall, thematic analysis resulted in the identification of six themes: 1) exclusion from the collegiality, 2) with-holding information and resources, 3) acting condescendingly and using insulting remarks, 4) questioning competence and making higher demands, 5) threatening job security and using abusive terms of employment, and 6) showing more severe negative workplace behaviors. The results show that there are types of uncivil behaviors that are not fully captured by the most frequent used measures of today. Exclusion from the collegiality and not being respected for their competence, and condescending behavior were uncivil behaviors typically associated with temporary agency work. The study has implications for the future development of methods for studying incivility and negative workplace behaviors among temporary agency workers

A measure of internal and external motivation to control in-group bias

A measure of individual differences in the motivation to control in-group bias (favouritism) was created. As in Plant and Devine’s (1998) measure of out-group bias, one subscale referred to an internal motivational source and the other to an external motivational source. The psychometric properties of the measure were tested across four samples. The results indicate that the measure reliably captures individual differences in the motivation to control in-group bias, and that a distinction between internal and external motivational sources of control can be made. However, the convergent and discriminant validity of both subscales needs to be examined further before the measure can be considered launchable. Implications for research on intergroup bias are discussed

Baseline verbal fluency performance as predictor of state anxiety during a live hand-grenade throwing exercise – A prospective study of Swedish military conscripts

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>We investigated whether individual differences in baseline executive control capacity could predict state anxiety during a potentially life-threatening situation.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>19 Swedish military conscripts were assessed during two measurement occasions. During a baseline measurement, data regarding performance on a letter fluency task and state anxiety were assessed. During a second measurement, performed immediately prior to participation in a live hand-grenade throwing exercise, data regarding state anxiety was assessed. All participants were male, right-handed and had fulfilled 12 years of education.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The level of state anxiety was significantly increased between the two measurement occasions (<it>p </it>< .01). Both the number of words produced (<it>β </it>= -.37; <it>p </it>< .05) and the number of perseveration made (<it>β </it>= .43; <it>p </it>< .05) on the verbal fluency task predicted, while controlling for state anxiety at baseline, the level of experienced state anxiety during the threatening situation.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Although more research is needed the present finding suggests that individual differences in executive control capacity might be related to emotion regulation ability during acute stressor exposure.</p

Validity of the Brief Child and Family Phone Interview by comparison with Longitudinal Expert All Data diagnoses in outpatients

Background: The Brief Child and Family Phone Interview (BCFPI) is a standardized intake and follow-up interview used in child and adolescent mental health services (CAMHS). Although it has shown good validity compared with other measures using parent reports, it has not yet been compared with diagnoses derived from a Longitudinal Expert All Data (LEAD) procedure, which includes information from separate diagnostic interviews with parent(s) and child. The aim was to compare the BCFPI evaluation in an outpatient child and adolescent psychiatry setting with an evaluation derived from a LEAD procedure.Methods: At four Swedish outpatient CAMHS, 267 patients were interviewed at intake with the BCFPI. Within six weeks, patients and parents were interviewed separately with the 2009 version of the semi-structured Kiddie Schedule for Affective Disorders and Schizophrenia for School-age Children, Present and Lifetime Version (K-SADS-PL) and parents completed the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL). LEAD diagnoses were subsequently determined by two senior clinicians based on 1.2 years of clinical records including the K-SADS-PL and ensuing information from further assessments, psychological tests, information from teachers and other informants as well as treatment outcome. The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders subscales from the CBCL and the subscales from the BCFPI were compared with LEAD diagnoses. These measured symptoms of attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, oppositional defiant disorder, conduct disorder, separation anxiety disorder, generalized anxiety disorder, and major depressive disorder.Results: The criterion validity for BCFPI versus LEAD diagnoses was fair for oppositional defiant disorder (area under curve, 0.73), generalized anxiety disorder (0.73) and major depressive disorder (0.78), good for attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (0.81) and conduct disorder (0.83), and excellent for separation anxiety disorder (0.90). The screening properties of BCFPI and CBCL were similar.Conclusion: The BCFPI is a concise and valid tool, performed along with the larger and more established CBCL, in screening for major psychiatric disorders. It is well suited as an intake interview in CAMHS

Controversial significance of early S100B levels after cardiac surgery

BACKGROUND: The brain-derived protein S100B has been shown to be a useful marker of brain injury of different etiologies. Cognitive dysfunction after cardiac surgery using cardiopulmonary bypass has been reported to occur in up to 70% of patients. In this study we tried to evaluate S100B as a marker for cognitive dysfunction after coronary bypass surgery with cardiopulmonary bypass in a model where the inflow of S100B from shed mediastinal blood was corrected for. METHODS: 56 patients scheduled for coronary artery bypass grafting underwent prospective neuropsychological testing. The test scores were standardized and an impairment index was constructed. S100B was sampled at the end of surgery, hourly for the first 6 hours, and then 8, 10, 15, 24 and 48 hours after surgery. None of the patients received autotransfusion. RESULTS: In simple linear analysis, no significant relation was found between S100B levels and neuropsychological outcome. In a backwards stepwise regression analysis the three variables, S100B levels at the end of cardiopulmonary bypass, S100B levels 1 hour later and the age of the patients were found to explain part of the neuropsychological deterioration (r = 0.49, p < 0.005). CONCLUSIONS: In this study we found that S100B levels 1 hour after surgery seem to be the most informative. Our attempt to control the increased levels of S100B caused by contamination from the surgical field did not yield different results. We conclude that the clinical value of S100B as a predictive measurement of postoperative cognitive dysfunction after cardiac surgery is limited