Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) / Minimal attention has been devoted to examining the dimensionality of self-control. The present study tested a multidimensional model of self-control in which dimensions were based on the nature of the behavior required (i.e., persistence, initiation, cessation, or prevention). A total of 336 undergraduates completed measures of self-control and psychological well-being. Seventy-four of these participants completed behavioral self-control tasks representing the proposed subtypes. Participants’ GPAs were obtained from the Registrar. Stop self-control was inversely related to previously-validated measures of persistence (β = -.61, p = .010) and prevention (β = -.56, p = .040) self-control and demonstrated differential predictive ability of persistence and prevention compared to the other proposed subtypes. Initiation self-control was inversely related to life satisfaction (β = -.35, p = .012) and demonstrated differential predictive ability of life satisfaction compared to stop self-control. These results were interpreted with caution due to inadequate power and questionable validity of several of the behavioral self-control tasks. Both handgrip persistence (r = -.25, p = .033) and blinking prevention (r = -.29, p = .023) were associated with depression. These pairwise correlations were not significantly different from each other, suggesting that no conceptual distinction should be made between persistence and prevention self-control. Confirmatory factor analyses of self-report data revealed that items clustered based on domain rather than on type of behavior required for self-control exertion. Thus, the structure of self-control remains unclear. Limitations of the present study and implications for future research are discussed.

No description available.

This study investigated the subjective well-being of female strippers. The effect that certain variables namely, self-esteem, general health, self-efficacy, perceived social support and sense of coherence had on subjective well-being and the independent components of subjective well-being, namely life satisfaction and positive and negative affect, were investigated. The sample consisted of 75 female strippers and was a consequence of a combination of purposive and convenience non-probability sampling. These women were employed at Teazers - a chain of strip clubs in Gauteng, South Africa. Information was gathered through self-reported questionnaires with quantifiable scales. The results of the regression models showed that life satisfaction depends on perceived social support, but positive and negative affect depends on self-esteem and general health. If life satisfaction and positive and negative affect is combined into a measurement of subjective well-being, 6.7% of the total variance in subjective well-being is uniquely explained by self-esteem. / Psychology / M. Sc. (Psychology)

The purpose of this research was to investigate the relationship between the cross-cultural adjustment of the expatriate spouse and their level of subjective well-being. Demographic factors were considered to identify life domains that may affect cross-cultural adjustment and subjective well-being respectively. The Spousal Adjustment Scale, Scale of Positive and Negative Experience, Satisfaction with life scale, and Flourishing scale were used in the study. A quantitative, cross-sectional survey design was used, and a purposive sample which consisted of expatriate spouses currently residing in Germany was approached (N=156). Descriptive and inferential statistical analyses were applied. The results yielded a statistically significant correlation between cross-cultural adjustment and subjective well-being of expatriate spouses and indicated statistically significant differences between demographic groups including language proficiency, dependents, time spent in host country, nationality, career sacrifice, and support network. It was concluded that there is a positive relationship between the cross-cultural adjustment of the expatriate spouse and their well-being and that various demographic factors can influence both constructs. / Industrial & Organisational Psychology / M.Comm. (Industrial and Organisational Psychology)

Die Psychologie der Lebensspanne und die Soziologie des Lebensverlaufs betonen die Bedeutung von Kontexten für den Erwerb individueller Fähigkeiten und die Entwicklung im Leben. In Übereinstimmung mit diesen konzeptionellen Annahmen zeigen Studien, dass verschiedene Kontexte die Entwicklung individueller Bereiche beeinflussen. Jedoch ist wenig darüber bekannt, wie kontextuelle Faktoren in der zweiten Lebenshälfte Wohlbefinden formen und wie Wohlbefinden in diesen Lebensphasen von sich schnell verändernden Kontexten beeinflusst wird. In dieser Dissertation werden unter Anwendung des Ökosystemischen Ansatzes von Bronfenbrenner drei Kontexte unterschiedlicher Proximität untersucht, in die die Entwicklung des individuellen Wohlbefindens eingebettet ist. Als erster Kontext wird die vielfältige Ökologie des Lebens und Sterbens in den ehemaligen Regionen Ost- und Westdeutschland herangezogen, um herauszufinden wie dieses Makrosystem Wohlbefinden in den letzten Lebensjahren gestaltet. Als zweiter Kontext wird die Bedeutung des Exosystems von Gesundheitseinrichtungen in Landkreisen (z.B. Anzahl stationärer Pflegereinrichtungen) auf Wohlbefindensverläufe am Lebensende beleuchtet. Als dritten Kontext untersuchen wir, wie das Mikrosystem sozialer Ökologien und Situationen momentanes, affektives Wohlbefinden gestaltet, sowie Altersunterschiede in diesen Assoziationen. Gemeinsam zeigen die drei Studien dieser Dissertation, dass Ökologien auf regionaler, dienstleistender und sozialer Kontextebene Entwicklung von Wohlbefinden in der zweiten Lebenshälfte beeinflussen. Diese Arbeit zeigt, dass Kontexte sowohl kognitives als auch affektives Wohlbefinden und innerhalb des letzteren sowohl Valenz und Aktivierung beeinflussen, und untersucht länger- und kurzfristige Kontext-Wohlbefindens-Assoziationen in späteren Lebensphasen. Die Ergebnisse liefern erste Vorschläge für Interventionen und veränderbare regionale Faktoren für die Erhaltung oder Verbesserung von Wohlbefinden. / Lifespan psychology and life course sociology have long acknowledged the role of context for individual functioning and development throughout life. Consistent with these conceptual notions, empirical studies show that various contextual factors influence development of individual-level outcomes. However, we know little about how contextual factors shape individual-level well-being and how well-being is influenced by fast changing contexts in the second half of life. Applying Bronfenbrenner’s model of human ecology as the overarching theoretical frame, this dissertation examines three sets of contexts that differ in the degree of proximity in which individual well-being and its development is embedded in. As a first context, the multifaceted ecology of living and dying in former regions of East and West Germany is used to investigate how the macrosystem shapes individual well-being in the last years of life. For a second context, the role of the exosystem of county-level health care features (e.g., number of inpatient care facilities) on late-life trajectories in well-being is examined. As a third context, we examine how the microsystem of social ecologies and situations influences momentary affective well-being and how these associations differ across age. Jointly, the three studies in this dissertation show that regional, service, and social ecologies profoundly shape development in well-being during the second half of life. To conclude, this dissertation shows that these contexts influence both cognitive and affective components of well-being, among the affective domain two facets (valence and arousal), and investigates long-term and short-term contextwell- being associations in later life phases. Results provide initial suggestions for interventions and malleable regional factors to maintain or improve well-being.

Thesis (Ph.D. (Industrial Psychology))--North-West University, Vaal Triangle Campus, 2006.

The purpose of this study was to examine formal volunteering among retirees in order to explore whether their volunteer experiences represent an extension of their career in the paid workforce or whether their volunteer activities represent a completely new direction, and how this influences their career self-concept, as interpreted through Donald Super’s life-span, life-space theory of career development. This study employed a developmental mixed-method design. In Phase 1, qualitative interviews were conducted with 12 participants to better understand retirees’ volunteer experiences. Phase 1 informed the design of an instrument for the Phase 2 survey which examined the issues among a larger sample of 214 retirees. The Phase 2 results supported the Phase 1 findings and indicated that many retirees sought an extension of career in volunteer activities in that they used similar skills and knowledge. Study participants also displayed a desire for lifelong learning. Retirees relinquished their paid-work career, took on the retiree and volunteer roles, and integrated these roles within their career self-concept to create a new sense of self. These results indicated that the retirees had entered a new stage of life, qualitatively different from ‘retirement’. To better reflect the experiences of these retirees, it was proposed that Donald Super’s life-span, life-space theory of career development be extended to include Redirection. This theorizing is consistent with the finding that retirees both wanted to and are able to integrate previous paid work elements as well as seek out lifelong learning opportunities within their volunteer activities. This study demonstrates that the volunteer role in the lives of retirees can lead to personal renewal and reshaping of the career self-concept, or what is labeled as the stage of Redirection. This study also has implications for volunteer management, retirement planning and social policy, and may be of interest to volunteer managers, nonprofit organizations, career counsellors, financial planners, retirement planning consultants, life coaches and policy planners.

This research project explores whether the delivery of positive psychology interventions in the workplace through an employee assistance program (EAP) can improve employees’ authentic happiness/flourishing as well as decrease symptoms of depression. A small convenience sample of 13 Manitoba public school educators accessing employee assistance were recruited for a quasi-experimental research design. Nine participants were randomly assigned to the experimental group and the remaining participants assigned to the control. Experimental group members participated in a six session psychoeducational, experiential, and process-oriented positive psychotherapy group that met once a week over six weeks. Experimental group participants’ scores on the authentic happiness/flourishing measure increased by a statistically significant 9% and depression scores decreased by a statistically significant 45% from pre-intervention to one month post-intervention. The study’s findings therefore provide promising confirmation that positive psychology interventions delivered through EAPs can make a meaningful difference as both secondary prevention and primary enhancement strategies in the workplace.

The information technology industry is considered to be one of the most demanding industries, with significant social, physical and psychological consequences for the wellbeing of the information technology professional. Work wellness and general psychological well-being plays an important role in the well-being of the information technology professional. The measurement of work-related wellness requires valid, reliable and culturally fair measuring instruments. However research on work wellness and occupational well-being in South Africa is lacking, especially in the information technology context. A lack of norms for work-related wellness in South Africa makes the identification of work-related wellness in the information technology industry difficult. Consequently, investigating the reliability, validity, equivalence and bias of work-related well-being measuring instruments would result in the standardisation of work wellness (consisting of burnout and engagement) and occupational well-being, suitable for use in the multicultural information technology industry setting. Moreover, the operationalisation of work wellness, as well as an inclusive model regarding the work-related wellness of information technology professionals that includes work wellness and occupational wellbeing are lacking in the South African literature. The objectives of this research were to standardise the measurement of work wellness for information technology professionals in South Africa, to develop and test a model of occupational well-being for information technology professionals in South Africa, to develop and test a comprehensive model of work-related wellness for information technology professionals in South Africa (consisting of work wellness and occupational well-being), and to test for moderating effects of affectivity in the experience of mark related well-being of information technology professionals in South Africa. The research consists of three separate articles, each consisting of a brief literature overview and an empirical study. A cross-sectional survey design with a snowball sample (n = 214) of information technology professionals in South Africa was used. Adapted versions of the Maslach Burnout Inventory - General Survey (MBI-GS) and Gtrecht Work Engagement Scale (UWES), as well as the Satisfaction with Life Scale (SWLS), Affectometer 2 (AFM-2), Life Orientation Test - Revised (LOT-R), Organisational Commitment Questionnaire (OC-Q), Information Technology Job Characteristics Inventory (ITJCI), as well as the Health scale of the Organisational Screening Evaluation Tool (ASSET) and a biographical questionnaire were used. Descriptive statistics, analysis of variance, correlations, exploratory factor analysis and structural equation modeling were used. Exploratory factor analysis confirmed a two-factor model for the MBI-GS consisting of a combined Burnout factor and Professional Efficacy, while a one-factor model was found for the UWES, namely Engagement, with acceptable internal consistencies. Exploratory second-order factor analysis confirmed a two-factor, culturally fair model of work wellness for information technology professionals in South Africa, consisting of burnout and work engagement. Item bias analysis revealed no evidence of bias for the MBI-GS, while uniform bias was found for two items (Items 7 and 12) of the UWES. Construct equivalence in terms of work wellness was obtained for the different language groups in the sample. The results confirmed a four-factor model of occupational well-being for information technology professionals in South Africa, namely negative and positive work wellness, organisational commitment and general psychological well-being. The model of occupational well-being was found to be equivalent across language groups, except for general psychological well-being, which seemed to differ for the non-mother-tongue English language speakers. In terms of work-related wellness, a model consisting of work wellness and occupational well-being was constructed and uccessfully tested. Structural equation analysis confirmed main effects for negative affectivity in terms of burnout and engagement, while main effects were confirmed for burnout, ill-health and engagement in terms of positive affectivity. Interaction effects for affectivity were not confirmed in the model of work-related wellness of information technology professionals in South Africa. Recommendations for the organisation and future research were made / Thesis (Ph.D. (Industrial Psychology))--North-West University, Vaal Triangle Campus, 2006.

The information technology industry is considered to be one of the most demanding industries, with significant social, physical and psychological consequences for the wellbeing of the information technology professional. Work wellness and general psychological well-being plays an important role in the well-being of the information technology professional. The measurement of work-related wellness requires valid, reliable and culturally fair measuring instruments. However research on work wellness and occupational well-being in South Africa is lacking, especially in the information technology context. A lack of norms for work-related wellness in South Africa makes the identification of work-related wellness in the information technology industry difficult. Consequently, investigating the reliability, validity, equivalence and bias of work-related well-being measuring instruments would result in the standardisation of work wellness (consisting of burnout and engagement) and occupational well-being, suitable for use in the multicultural information technology industry setting. Moreover, the operationalisation of work wellness, as well as an inclusive model regarding the work-related wellness of information technology professionals that includes work wellness and occupational wellbeing are lacking in the South African literature. The objectives of this research were to standardise the measurement of work wellness for information technology professionals in South Africa, to develop and test a model of occupational well-being for information technology professionals in South Africa, to develop and test a comprehensive model of work-related wellness for information technology professionals in South Africa (consisting of work wellness and occupational well-being), and to test for moderating effects of affectivity in the experience of mark related well-being of information technology professionals in South Africa. The research consists of three separate articles, each consisting of a brief literature overview and an empirical study. A cross-sectional survey design with a snowball sample (n = 214) of information technology professionals in South Africa was used. Adapted versions of the Maslach Burnout Inventory - General Survey (MBI-GS) and Gtrecht Work Engagement Scale (UWES), as well as the Satisfaction with Life Scale (SWLS), Affectometer 2 (AFM-2), Life Orientation Test - Revised (LOT-R), Organisational Commitment Questionnaire (OC-Q), Information Technology Job Characteristics Inventory (ITJCI), as well as the Health scale of the Organisational Screening Evaluation Tool (ASSET) and a biographical questionnaire were used. Descriptive statistics, analysis of variance, correlations, exploratory factor analysis and structural equation modeling were used. Exploratory factor analysis confirmed a two-factor model for the MBI-GS consisting of a combined Burnout factor and Professional Efficacy, while a one-factor model was found for the UWES, namely Engagement, with acceptable internal consistencies. Exploratory second-order factor analysis confirmed a two-factor, culturally fair model of work wellness for information technology professionals in South Africa, consisting of burnout and work engagement. Item bias analysis revealed no evidence of bias for the MBI-GS, while uniform bias was found for two items (Items 7 and 12) of the UWES. Construct equivalence in terms of work wellness was obtained for the different language groups in the sample. The results confirmed a four-factor model of occupational well-being for information technology professionals in South Africa, namely negative and positive work wellness, organisational commitment and general psychological well-being. The model of occupational well-being was found to be equivalent across language groups, except for general psychological well-being, which seemed to differ for the non-mother-tongue English language speakers. In terms of work-related wellness, a model consisting of work wellness and occupational well-being was constructed and uccessfully tested. Structural equation analysis confirmed main effects for negative affectivity in terms of burnout and engagement, while main effects were confirmed for burnout, ill-health and engagement in terms of positive affectivity. Interaction effects for affectivity were not confirmed in the model of work-related wellness of information technology professionals in South Africa. Recommendations for the organisation and future research were made / Thesis (Ph.D. (Industrial Psychology))--North-West University, Vaal Triangle Campus, 2006.