Psychological involvement in the union.

Based on data from 233 union stewards (mean age 41 yrs), the authors developed a 5-item measure of psychological involvement in the union. Confirmatory factor analyses suggested that the scale is both unidimensional and distinct from union commitment. Correlation and regression analyses suggest that, after controlling for 3 dimensions of union commitment, psychological involvement in the union makes a unique contribution to the prediction of union-relevant criteria. Suggestions for the further development and use of the measure are offered. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Multiple Dimensions of Organizational Identification and Commitment as Predictors of Turnover Intentions and Psychological Well-Being.

Although it is recognized that identification and commitment are closely related aspects of employees' psychological attachment to the organization, there has been no analysis of the overlap between multiple dimensions of each construct. In this study, three-component models of organizational identification and commitment were investigated as predictors of turnover intentions and psychological well-being (self-esteem, satisfaction with life, and self-efficacy) among employees (N = 60) of a small organization. Highly identified employees tended to be committed ones, but different dimensions of each construct were specifically linked to various criteria. Affective components of both identification and commitment were negatively associated with turnover intentions, and positive in-group affect (i.e., feelings derived from being a member of the organization) predicted perceptions of self-efficacy. Continuance commitment was distinct from the other predictors, and was negatively related to self-esteem and self-efficacy. The results warrant further efforts to integrate the perspectives of social identity theory and organizational psychology. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Parental psychological control and dimensions of identity formation in emerging adulthood.

Longitudinal data were used to evaluate whether parental psychological control would have a negative impact on identity formation. Perceived psychological control and 4 identity dimensions (i.e., commitment making, exploration in breadth, identification with commitment, and exploration in depth) were assessed 5 times in a college sample. Associations between psychological control and identity (i.e., negative associations with both commitment dimensions and a positive association with exploration in breadth) were stable across time. Further, the developmental pathways of these constructs appeared to be correlated: Increases in psychological control were associated with simultaneous decreases in both commitment dimensions. Finally, reciprocal effects were found: Psychological control inhibited progress in both commitment dimensions, whereas exploration in breadth led to increased psychological control. The authors have provided suggestions for helping emerging adults to approach the task of identity formation. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Quitting before leaving: The mediating effects of psychological attachment and detachment on voice.

This research advances understanding of the psychological mechanisms that encourage or dissuade upward, improvement-oriented voice. The authors describe how the loyalty and exit concepts from A. O. Hirschman's (1970) seminal framework reflect an employee's psychological attachment to or detachment from the organization, respectively, and they argue that psychological attachment and detachment should not be considered as separate, alternative options to voice but rather as influences on voice behavior. Findings from 499 managers in the restaurant industry show that psychological detachment (measured as intention to leave) is significantly related to voice and mediates relationships between perceptions of leadership (leader-member exchange and abusive supervision) and voice, whereas psychological attachment (measured as affective commitment) is neither a direct predictor of voice nor a mediator of leadership-voice relationships. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The link between facets of neuroticism and dimensions of relationship commitment: Evidence from gay, lesbian, and heterosexual couples.

The link between six facets of both one's own and one's partner's neuroticism (anxiety, hostility, depression, self-consciousness, impulsiveness, and vulnerability) and two dimensions of one's own relationship commitment (attractions to the relationship and constraints against leaving the relationship) was examined for both partners from 33 gay, 40 lesbian, and 70 heterosexual couples. With controls for other facets of one's own and one's partner's neuroticism, only one's own depression was negatively related to one's own attraction commitment. Findings from mediational analyses were consistent with the view that one's own depression exerts its effect on one's own attraction commitment through two dimensions of one's own attachment style (positivity of the self and positivity of the other). (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Parental attachment, self-esteem, and antisocial behaviors among African American, European American, and Mexican American adolescents.

This study examined the relation of mother and father attachment to self-esteem and self-reported involvement in antisocial behaviors among African American (n=488), European American (n=661), and Mexican American (n=434) high school students. The attachment dimensions of anxiety and avoidance were examined using self-report scales that were developed and validated with participants in the study. Findings indicated that adolescents from the 3 ethnic/racial groups did not differ greatly in their reported attachment to father and mother. Consistent with theoretical formulations, securely attached adolescents from the 3 ethnic groups had a more positive sense of self-esteem and reported less involvement in antisocial behaviors than their less securely attached peers. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Youth employment, crime, and schooling: A longitudinal study of a national sample.

Examined the effect of employment on delinquent behavior in over 2,000 6th–12th grade students who were surveyed on their work experiences and the extent of their involvement during the last year in drug use and other delinquent activities. Regression analysis was used to examine the effect of working while attending secondary school on 1982 self-reported delinquency. Evidence from this study implies that teenage working does not increase delinquency and does not have a detrimental effect on commitment to education, involvement in extracurricular activities, time spent on homework, attachment to school, or attachment to parents. The models examined suggest that working decreases school attendance and dependence on parents for some subgroups, but these effects are not translated into increases in delinquency. (39 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Psychological empowerment: Definition, measurement, and validation.

Psychological empowerment was defined from the perspective of the individual employee, and a measure was developed using three different samples. The psychologically empowered state was considered to be a cognitive state characterized by a sense of perceived control, perceptions of competence, and internalization of the goals and objectives of the organization. Using an initial sample of 311 employed individuals (mean age 30 yrs), a 9-item, 3-factor scale of psychological empowerment was developed with subscale reliabilities as follows: perceived control (.83), perceived competence (.80), and goal internalization (.88). In the validation sample of 66 employees from a single organization, empowerment as measured by the scale was negatively related to organizational centralization while being positively related to delegation. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The relationship between attachment, psychopathology, and childhood disability.

Analyzes the literature on 3 aspects of attachment—neurobiological influences, interpersonal and intrapersonal factors, and societal factors—in the psychological development of chronically disabled children. Evidence suggests that neurochemical substances such as cortisol and brain biogenic amine systems reciprocally interact with psychological and psychosocial factors to influence attachment. Interpersonal and intrapersonal factors such as temperamental characteristics of children, severity and type of disability, and family influences interact in the process of attachment. Social perceptions and prejudices about the disabled individual increase parental stress, and diminish parental involvement and resources, which are necessary for attachment. These 3 processes are powerful and interrelated forces in child development, with potential to modify social competence, neurological development, and psychosocial adjustment. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Organizational commitment and job performance: It's the nature of the commitment that counts.

In this study, we examined relations between the performance of first-level managers in a large food service company and their affective commitment (i.e., emotional attachment to, identification with, and involvement in the organization), continuance commitment (i.e., perceived costs associated with leaving the company), and job satisfaction. Commitment and satisfaction scores were correlated with three indexes of performance obtained from the managers' immediate supervisors. As predicted, affective commitment correlated positively and continuance commitment correlated negatively with all three measures of performance. Job satisfaction did not correlate significantly with performance ratings. The findings are interpreted as illustrating the importance of distinguishing between commitment based on desire and commitment based on need and as supporting organizational efforts to foster affective commitment in their employees. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Religious commitment, adult attachment, and marital adjustment in newly married couples.

Existing literature on the role of religiosity in marital functioning is often difficult to interpret due to the frequent use of convenience samples, statistical approaches inadequate for interdependent dyadic data, and the lack of a theoretical framework. The current study examined the effects of religious commitment and insecure attachment on marital adjustment. Newly married couples who did not have children (N = 92 couples, 184 individuals) completed measures of religious commitment, adult attachment, and marital functioning. There was a small positive association between religious commitment and marital adjustment. Religious commitment buffered the negative association between attachment avoidance and marital adjustment, but exacerbated the negative association between attachment anxiety and marital adjustment. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Mother-Child Discourse in Two Contexts: Links With Child Temperament, Attachment Security, and Socioemotional Competence.

The goal of this study was to examine whether attachment security and child temperament predicted differences in the elaboration and emotional content of mother-child discourse in 2 contexts and whether those differences were related to a child's socioemotional development. Fifty-one preschool children and their mothers were videotaped reading a storybook and discussing the child's previous behavior. These conversations were coded for maternal elaboration and emotional content. Mothers also completed reports of child temperament, attachment security, and social behavior. Children completed measures of emotional understanding, behavioral internalization, and representations of relationships. The findings suggested that both aspects of mother-child discourse were related to attachment, temperament, and socioemotional competence, although the findings varied depending on the context of the discourse. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The Adult Attachment Interview and self-reports of attachment style: An empirical rapprochement.

Although 10 studies have been published on the empirical overlap of the Adult Attachment Interview (AAI) and measures of self-reported attachment style, results in this literature have been inconsistently interpreted in narrative reviews. This report was designed as a rapprochement of the AAI and attachment style literatures and includes 3 studies. Study 1 (combined N = 961) is a meta-analytic review showing that by J. Cohen's (1992) criteria (mean r = .09), the association between AAI security and attachment style dimensions is trivial to small. Study 2 (N = 160) confirms meta-analytic results with state-of-the-art assessments of attachment security and also examines attachment dimensions in relation to the Big 5 personality traits. Finally, Study 3 is an investigation of 50 engaged couples that shows that developmental and social psychological measures of attachment security predict somewhat distinct--though theoretically anticipated--aspects of functioning in adult relationships. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Prediction of psychological symptoms under high-risk psychosocial circumstances: Life events, social support, and symptom specificity.

Examined life events, perceived dimensions of events, and social support in predicting different types of psychological symptoms (e.g., depressive and anxiety symptoms), all within the context of a specific high-risk situation for psychological distress: the final-examination period for university students (N?=?167). Ss were administered a battery of tests that included the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory and the Beck Depression Inventory. Results indicate that (a) certain dimensions of events and particular aspects of social support are directly related to symptoms manifested during final-examination stress, (b) perceived dimensions of events and social support interactively predict symptoms, and (c) depressive symptoms—in contrast to general distress or anxiety symptoms—are relatively specifically a function of events and support. Findings are discussed within the context of existing research; the implications for extending similar strategies employing other high-risk psychosocial circumstances are advanced. (59 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Attachment to groups: Theory and management.

Aspects of people's identification with groups may be understood by borrowing theoretical ideas and measurement strategies from research on attachment in close relationships. People have mental models of the self as a group member and of groups as sources of identity and esteem. These models affect thoughts, emotions, and behaviors related to group membership. Three studies show that two dimensions of attachment to groups, attachment anxiety and avoidance, can be assessed with good reliability, validity, and over-time stability. These factors are distinct from relationship attachment and from other measures of group identification. Group attachment predicts several important outcomes, including emotions concerning the group, time and activities shared with a group, social support, collective self-esteem, and ways of resolving conflict. This conceptualization provides new insights into the nature of people's psychological ties to groups. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

An examination of the mediating role of psychological empowerment on the relations between the job, interpersonal relationships, and work outcomes.

A field investigation of 337 employees and their immediate superiors tested the mediating role of empowerment in relations between job characteristics, leader–member exchange (LMX), team–member exchange (TMX), and work outcomes. The meaning and competence dimensions of empowerment mediated the relation between job characteristics and work satisfaction. The meaning dimension also mediated the relation between job characteristics and organizational commitment. Contrary to prediction, empowerment did not mediate relations between LMX, TMX, and the outcome variables. Rather, LMX and TMX were directly related to organizational commitment. In addition, TMX was directly related to job performance. These findings suggest that work satisfaction is explained largely by job characteristics (through empowerment) but that LMX and TMX combine with job characteristics and empowerment to explain variation in organizational commitment and job performance. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Attachment at (not to) work: Applying attachment theory to explain individual behavior in organizations.

In this article, we report the results of 2 studies that were conducted to investigate whether adult attachment theory explains employee behavior at work. In the first study, we examined the structure of a measure of adult attachment and its relations with measures of trait affectivity and the Big Five. In the second study, we examined the relations between dimensions of attachment and emotion regulation behaviors, turnover intentions, and supervisory reports of counterproductive work behavior and organizational citizenship behavior. Results showed that anxiety and avoidance represent 2 higher order dimensions of attachment that predicted these criteria (except for counterproductive work behavior) after controlling for individual difference variables and organizational commitment. The implications of these results for the study of attachment at work are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The experiences in close relationships—Relationship Structures Questionnaire: A method for assessing attachment orientations across relationships.

Most research on adult attachment is based on the assumption that working models are relatively general and trait-like. Recent research, however, suggests that people develop attachment representations that are relationship-specific, leading people to hold distinct working models in different relationships. The authors report a measure, the Relationship Structures questionnaire of the Experiences in Close Relationships—Revised (ECR-RS; R. C. Fraley, N. G. Waller, & K. A. Brennan, 2000), that is designed to assess attachment dimensions in multiple contexts. Based on a sample of over 21,000 individuals studied online, it is shown that ECR-RS scores are reliable and have a structure similar to those produced by other measures. In Study 2 (N = 388), it is shown that relationship-specific measures of attachment generally predict intra- and interpersonal outcomes better than broader attachment measures but that broader measures predict personality traits better than relationship-specific measures. Moreover, it is demonstrated that differentiation in working models is not related to psychological outcomes independently of mean levels of security. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Basic need satisfaction and identity formation: Bridging self-determination theory and process-oriented identity research.

The fulfillment of the basic psychological needs for autonomy, competence, and relatedness as postulated within self-determination theory was hypothesized to play an energizing role in identity formation, conceptualized as multiple dimensions of exploration and commitment. Two studies among high school and college students (N = 714) were conducted to investigate (a) the cross-sectional relationships between need satisfaction and the identity dimensions and (b) the direction of effects using cross-lagged analyses. Three competing longitudinal models were tested: a need satisfaction main-effects model, an identity main-effects model, and a reciprocal effects model. All 3 needs had meaningful relationships with the identity dimensions, and, although there was a predominance of paths from the needs to the identity dimensions, the reciprocal effects model received most support. Further, identity statuses (representing multivariate combinations of the identity dimensions) were meaningfully related to satisfaction of the 3 needs, with identity achievement scoring highest on all 3 indices of need satisfaction. Suggestions for future research and counseling implications are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Psychological contract breaches, organizational commitment, and innovation-related behaviors: A latent growth modeling approach.

This study examined the relationships among psychological contract breaches, organizational commitment, and innovation-related behaviors (generating, spreading, implementing innovative ideas at work) over a 6-month period. Results indicate that the effects of psychological contract breaches on employees are not static. Specifically, perceptions of psychological contract breaches strengthened over time and were associated with decreased levels of affective commitment over time. Further, increased perceptions of psychological contract breaches were associated with decreases in innovation-related behaviors. We also found evidence that organizational commitment mediates the relationship between psychological contract breaches and innovation-related behaviors. These results highlight the importance of examining the nomological network of psychological contract breaches from a change perspective. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)