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Spirituality and religiosity can play key roles in individual lives through influencing health, social relationships, political views, as well as many other facets (Newberg, D'Aquili & Rause, 2001; Milevsky & Levitt, 2004; Hirsh, Walberg & Peterson, 2013). As important as religious and spiritual beliefs are to societies, cultures, and individuals, little is known about which psychological factors determine choices of faith. Although there are likely many determinants of religious, spiritual, atheist or agnostic beliefs, this study explored four possible factors: critical thinking skills, need for cognition, need for emotional comfort/security, and need for closure. Participants included an undergraduate sample and a community sample. It was hypothesized that religious and spiritual individuals will have lower critical thinking skills, lower needs for cognition, higher needs for emotional comfort/security and higher needs for closure than agnostic and atheist individuals. Hypotheses also included potential interactions between these variables in predicting each faith path. Religiosity was measured using the I/E Religious Orientation Scale - Revised (Gorsuch & McPherson, 1989) and Spirituality was measured utilizing the Brief Multidimensional Measure of Religiousness/Spirituality (BMMRS) (Fetzer Institute, 1999). These two faith paths were also self -reported by participants after definitions of each were provided. Atheist and Agnostic beliefs were only measured through self-report. Results indicated that both measures of logic (critical thinking skills and need for cognition) and emotional comfort/security (Need to Belong and Religious Motivations) predicted various faith paths. Limitations included sample characteristics and small numbers of Atheist and Agnostic individuals. A better understanding of the motivations for choosing either spiritual or non-spiritual paths may assist in further explanation of the multiple roles each faith choice plays in individual lives.

Tidigare studier har visat att inlärning genom övningstester med direkt feedback, så kallat testbaserat lärande, är effektivare än mer traditionella inlärningmetoder. Dessutom har personlighetsdrag visat sig påverka inlärningsstilar. Den aktuella studiens syfte var att replikera testbaserat lärande som metod och utvärdera personlighetsdragen Grit (uthållighet och passion för att nå sina mål) och Need for Cognition (viljan att kognitivt elaborera) i relation till testbaserat lärande. Vidare undersöktes om och hur testdeltagarnas upplevda ansträngning och svårighetsgrad i förhållande till testbaserat lärande hade något samband med prestationen. En kvasiexperimentell studie genomfördes där 44 gymnasieelever fick lära in och återge 30 ordpar på svenska/swahili. Hälften av deltagarna tilldelades testbaserat lärande som inlärningsmetod medan resterande tilldelades traditionell omläsning som inlärningsmetod. Studiens resultat styrker att testbaserad inlärning är en robust inlärningsteknink som inte påverkas av personlighetsdragen Grit och Need for Cognition. Dessutom framkommer tvetydiga resultat angående huruvida en högre grad av upplevd ansträngning leder till bättre minnesprestation. Framtida forskning med större stickprov behövs för att vidare utforska och eventuellt styrka resultaten. / Previous studies have shown that learning by practice tests with direct feedback, so-called test-enhanced learning, is more effective than traditional methods of learning. Moreover, personality traits have been shown to affect learning styles. The aim of the present study was to evaluate test-enhanced learning and the personality traits Grit (persistence and passion to achieve ones goals) and Need for Cognition (an individual’s tendency to engage in and enjoy effortful thinking) in relation to test-enhanced learning. It was further examined if and how test participants’ perceived exertion and difficulty in relation to test-enhanced learning affected performance. A quasi-experimental study was conducted in which 44 high school students had to learn and reproduce 30 Swedish/Swahili word pairs. Half of the participants were assigned test-enhanced learning as a learning method, while the remainder was assigned traditional rereading as their learning method. The results of the study support the earlier findings in that test-enhanced learning is a robust learning method. The results also indicate that test-enhanced learning is not influenced by the personality traits Grit and Need for Cognition. Furthermore, ambiguous results were found regarding whether a higher degree of perceived exertion leads to better memory performance. Additional research with larger samples is needed to further explore and possibly support these results. / Den lärande hjärnan

Aim: Violence does not stop with age. There are many studies on the topic of domestic violence but few focus on the elderly and the role of the social worker in dealing with this issue.  The purpose of this study is to analyse and describe how social workers in the field of gerontological social work are actively identifying cases of domestic abuse involving the elderly.    Method: This study has a qualitative approach and the data has been gathered through ten semi structured interviews with social workers. The gathered material has been analysed through content analysis.    Results: The result of the study highlights various means of identifying abuse such as asking direct questions about violence, asking for assistance by managers and other professionals, adapting the conversation with the client to the given situation, being watchful of physical or abstract signs of violence. In spite of these strategies, the analysis shows that organisational deficiencies puts a large responsibility burden on the individual social worker. Lack of adequate training and standardised questions leads to the social worker having to gather information themselves in order to perform their duties.       Keywords: Social worker, elderlies, domestic violence, need assessment

Despite an increased understanding of the individual and contextual factors that influence both employee safety behavior and workplace safety incidents (e.g., injuries, accidents), there has been surprisingly little theoretical or empirical consideration of the individual employee's psychological experience of safety at work. Given that feeling safe is widely theorized to be a basic psychological need with implications for individual well-being and safety-related work behavior, the purpose of this dissertation was to use cybernetic theory-a conceptual framework that explains self-regulation through negative feedback processes-to explore both the antecedents and outcomes of individuals' perceived safety at work. Theory-based hypotheses were tested in a field sample of 595 production employees and their foremen at three weapons production sites in the southern United States. Results revealed that psychological safety climate and perceived job risk were both meaningful correlates of workers' perceived safety whereas personality variables (i.e., trait anxiety, safety locus of control) and personal safety knowledge were not meaningful correlates. Consistent with cybernetic theory, lower perceived safety was associated with increased safety-related anxiety. However, contrary to theoretical expectations, safety-related anxiety did not share consistent, positive associations with self- or foreman-rated safety behaviors. There was limited support, however, which suggested that safety-related anxiety is positively associated with self-reported safety participation behaviors. The implications of these findings in conjunction with a number of explorative analyses are discussed and recommendations for future research are provided.

Research supports rehabilitative programming addressing youths’ risk to reoffend, criminogenic needs and responsivity factors with the goal of reducing reoffending. However, the Risk-Need-Responsivity (RNR) framework takes a ‘gender neutral’ approach that critics assert overlooks the unique needs of females. It remains largely unknown whether matching treatment to RNR needs is as effective for female youth as it has been shown to be for male youth. Comparative analyses of 39 male and 37 female justice system-involved youth indicate that across RNR categories, females and males were similar in quality and quantity of needs, and had them met through probation services at a similar rate. However, while the RNR assessment tool predicted risk for recidivism equally well, the matching of services to RNR needs appears to be far more potent in reducing recidivism for boys than girls, suggesting a moderating effect of sex on the relationship between RNR matched treatment and re-offending.

Research supports rehabilitative programming addressing youths’ risk to reoffend, criminogenic needs and responsivity factors with the goal of reducing reoffending. However, the Risk-Need-Responsivity (RNR) framework takes a ‘gender neutral’ approach that critics assert overlooks the unique needs of females. It remains largely unknown whether matching treatment to RNR needs is as effective for female youth as it has been shown to be for male youth. Comparative analyses of 39 male and 37 female justice system-involved youth indicate that across RNR categories, females and males were similar in quality and quantity of needs, and had them met through probation services at a similar rate. However, while the RNR assessment tool predicted risk for recidivism equally well, the matching of services to RNR needs appears to be far more potent in reducing recidivism for boys than girls, suggesting a moderating effect of sex on the relationship between RNR matched treatment and re-offending.

Changes in the workforce have led to in an increase in work-family conflict for many employed individuals. Fortunately, many organizations have recognized and responded to employees’ work-family issues through the implementation of family-friendly benefits, such as flexible work arrangements (FWA). While offering family-friendly benefits is an important step in easing work-family conflicts, the mere availability of such initiatives may not be enough, as research shows that availability of benefits and utilization are only moderately correlated. These statistics highlight the presence of intermediating factors in the relationship between availability and utilization of family-friendly benefits. With this in mind, some researchers have examined the role of organizational factors in inhibiting benefit use. Although these organizational variables are essential in understanding the relationship between availability and use of flexible benefits, they neglect an important factor – the role that the individual may play in deciding whether to take advantage of these policies. With the exception of general demographic information, only one known study (Butler et al., 2004) has investigated the influence of an individual difference psychological factor in predicting benefit use. The current study addresses this gap in the literature by testing the influence of individual differences on FWA utilization. The study focuses on individual differences in four need-based motivational factors, need for affiliation at work, need for structure in the workplace, need for segmentation of work from other life roles, and need for occupational achievement, on flextime and flexplace usage. Furthermore, because FWA policies involve altering physical presence at work, a situational variable that involves the same dynamics, value of "face-time" within an organization, was examined as a moderator in each these relationships. Participants were 238 faculty members at a large research university. Results showed that the need for segmentation and the need for structure were negatively related to flextime and flexplace use, and the need for achievement and need for affiliation were not significantly related to either FWA. Face-time orientation did not significantly moderate any of these relationships. Theoretical and practical implications, as well as future directions, are discussed.

Darbo tikslas - nustatyti tėvystės įgūdžių lavinimo poreikį tėvų ir socialinių darbuotojų požiūriu. Teorinėje dalyje analizuojama tėvystės samprata, šeimos funkcijos, auklėjimo samprata šeimose. Išsiaiškinama, kokios yra tėvystės įgūdžių lavinimo mokyklos, įvertinamas pagalbos šeimai procesas, socialinio darbo galimybės tėvystės įgūdžių lavinimo procese. Analitinėje baigiamojo darbo dalyje pateikiami ir analizuojami rezultatai tyrimo, atlikto Telšių miesto įstaigose taikant, apklausos (tėvams) ir interviu (socialiniams darbuotojams dirbantiems su šeimomis) metodus. Nustatyta, kad tėvai jaučia psichologinės ir pedagoginės informacijos trūkumą, tačiau mažai žino apie tėvystės lavinimo programas. Jų poreikių tenkinimui reikėtų labai įvairaus pobūdžio ir turinio tėvystės įgūdžių lavinimo programų, taip pat akcentuotina, kad ne visuomet tėvai kritiškai vertina savo elgesį ir teigia, kad jiems tokios programos nėra reikalingos. Socialiniai darbuotojai nuolat susiduria su tėvais, kuriems reikia suteikti pagalbą auklėjant vaikus. Socialiniai darbuotojai patys neinicijuoja tėvystės įgūdžių lavinimo programų, tačiau teigia, kad jos reikalingos ir turi būti rengiamos specialistų komandos ar mokykloje dirbančių specialistų komandos. Taip pat nurodoma, kad tokias programas įgyvendinti turėtų specialiai tam darbui ruošti specialistai. / The aim of the project is to determine the need for parental skills training from the viewpoint of parents and social workers. The concept of parenthood, family functions and the notion of upbringing in the family are analyzed in the theoretical part. Attempts are made to find out parental skills training schools, to evaluate the process of assisting a family and social work possibilities in the process of parental skills training. The analytical part deals with the results of the study carried out at Telšiai town education establishments by applying the methods of questioning (with respect to parents) and an interwiew (with respect to social workers working with families). It is established that parents feel lack of psychological and pedagogical information but they know little about parenthood training programmes. The satisfaction of their needs would require the parental skills training programmes that differ greatly in nature and contents. It is also pointed out that parents not always assess critically their behaviour and state that such programmes are not necessary for them. Social workers constantly encounter the parents who need assistance in upbringing of children. The social workers themselves do not initiate the programmes of parental skills training. However, they state that they are necessary and specialist groups or specialist teams working at schools should be trained. It is also noted that such programmes should be developed by specialists trained specifically... [to full text]