Work gets unfair for the depressed: Cross-lagged relations between organizational justice perceptions and depressive symptoms.

The organizational justice literature has consistently documented substantial correlations between organizational justice and employee depression. Existing theoretical literature suggests this relationship occurs because perceptions of organizational (in)justice lead to subsequent psychological health problems. Building on recent research on the affective nature of justice perceptions, in the present research we broaden this perspective by arguing there are also theoretical arguments for a reverse effect whereby psychological health problems influence perceptions of organizational justice. To contrast both theoretical perspectives, we test longitudinal lagged effects between organizational justice perceptions (i.e., distributive justice, interactional justice, interpersonal justice, informational justice, and procedural justice) and employee depressive symptoms using structural equation modeling. Analyses of 3 samples from different military contexts (N? = 625, N? = 134, N? = 550) revealed evidence of depressive symptoms leading to subsequent organizational justice perceptions. In contrast, the opposite effects of organizational justice perceptions on depressive symptoms were not significant for any of the justice dimensions. The findings have broad implications for theoretical perspectives on psychological health and organizational justice perceptions. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Correction to Adler et al. (2005).

Reports an error in "The Impact of Deployment Length and Experience on the Well-Being of Male and Female Soldiers" by Amy B. Adler, Ann H. Huffman, Paul D. Bliese, and Carl Andrew Castro (Journal of Occupational Health Psychology, 2005, Vol. 10, No. 2, pp. 121-137). As stated in the original article, all service members re-deploying from the Bosnia Area of Operations were required by Department of Defense policy (tasker P 231639Z FEB 96) to complete the psychological screening survey. The screening data were collected as part of routine clinical care under the Privacy Act Regulation, and secondary analysis of these data was conducted under a protocol approved by the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research, Human Use Review Committee. It should be noted, however, that subjects were not asked to consent to the secondary analyses of the screening data for research purposes. (The following abstract of this article originally appeared in record 2005-03471-004.) This study examined the effects of stressor duration (deployment length) and stressor novelty (no prior deployment experience) on the psychological health of male and female military personnel returning from a peacekeeping deployment. The sample consisted of men (n = 2,114) and women (n = 1,225) surveyed for symptoms of depression and posttraumatic stress. The results confirmed the hypotheses. Longer deployments and 1st-time deployments were associated with an increase in distress scores. However, the relationship between deployment length and increased distress was found only for male soldiers. The findings demonstrate the importance of considering the impact of exposure to long-term occupational stressors and confirm, in part, previous research that has demonstrated a different stress response pattern for men and women. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Job Demands and Job Performance: The mediating effect of psychological and physical strain and the moderating effect of role clarity.

The aims of the present study were twofold: First, in differentiating between specific job characteristics, the authors examined the moderating influence of role clarity on the relationship between job demands and psychological and physical strain. Second, in providing a more comprehensive link between job demands and job performance, the authors examined strain as a mediator of that relationship. Participants were 1,418 Army cadets attending a 35-day assessment center. Survey data were collected on Day 26 of the assessment center and performance ratings were assessed throughout the assessment center period by expert evaluators. Role clarity was found to moderate the job demands-strain relationship. Specifically, cadets experiencing high demands reported less physical and psychological strain when they reported high role clarity. Moreover, psychological strain significantly mediated the demands-performance relationship. Implications are discussed from theoretical and applied perspectives. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Timing of postcombat mental health assessments.

When soldiers return from combat and peacekeeping operations, the United States and many NATO and Partnership for Peace countries conduct some form of postdeployment mental health assessment. To date, however, no research has been published examining changes in prevalence rates of mental health problems in the first several months after returning from combat duty. In this study, the authors examined the degree to which timing was related to reported prevalence rates of mental health problems in a matched sample of 509 US Army soldiers returning from combat in Iraq. Results showed significant increases in mental health problems at 120 days postdeployment relative to immediate reintegration. The findings are discussed in terms of providing mental health services to soldiers returning from combat. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

General mental ability and two types of adaptation to unforeseen change: Applying discontinuous growth models to the task-change paradigm.

The present research provides new insights into the relationship between general mental ability (GMA) and adaptive performance by applying a discontinuous growth modeling framework to a study of unforeseen change on a complex decision-making task. The proposed framework provides a way to distinguish 2 types of adaptation (transition adaptation and reacquisition adaptation) from 2 common performance components (skill acquisition and basal task performance). Transition adaptation refers to an immediate loss of performance following a change, whereas reacquisition adaptation refers to the ability to relearn a changed task over time. Analyses revealed that GMA was negatively related to transition adaptation and found no evidence for a relationship between GMA and reacquisition adaptation. The results are integrated within the context of adaptability research, and implications of using the described discontinuous growth modeling framework to study adaptability are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)