In this study, 236 heavy-drinking college students completed measures of self-efficacy for limiting drinking, specific coping skills for limiting drinking, outcome expectancies associated both with expected effects of drinking and expected effects of limiting drinking, and retrospective drinking behavior. Confirmatory factor analyses were conducted to examine reliability and validity, as well as serving as a pre-requisite for structural equation modeling (SEM). Results were generally consistent with predictions and supported the distinction between self-efficacy and outcome expectancies. One notable exception was that positive expectancies for limiting drinking did not load heavily on the predicted expectancy construct. Three models predicting drinking were compared utilizing SEM. The first was a model in which all constructs predicted drinking with no indirect effects. The second was based upon the ideas of Kirsch (1995) and predicted that outcome expectancies influence self-efficacy judgments. The third was based upon Bandura's (1986) theory and predicted that self-efficacy judgments would instead influence outcome expectancies. Both the models based on Kirsch and Bandura appeared to better fit the data than the model with no indirect effects. Differences in model-fit between models based on Kirsch and Bandura were not large, but slightly supported the Kirsch model. Additional analyses also supported the importance of outcome expectancies in predicting drinking behavior. Implications for theory and future directions for research are discussed. / Ph. D.

High rates of medical errors are well documented within the healthcare industry. Nurses, in particular, play a critical role in the quality and safety of healthcare services. Fatigue is a factor that has been linked to stress, safety, and performance decrements in numerous work environments. Within healthcare, however, a comprehensive definition of fatigue encompassing multiple dimensions has not been considered, but is warranted since nurses perform tasks consisting of diverse physical and mental activities. As such, "total fatigue" was examined, as were interactions between its underlying dimensions and the effects of these dimensions on performance, in the context of actual and simulated nursing work. In a survey study (Chapter 2), registered nurses reported relatively high levels of mental, physical, and total fatigue, and higher levels of fatigue were associated with perceived decreases in performance. Work environment variables, such as work schedule or shift length, were also related to differences in reported fatigue levels. An experimental study investigated causal effects of mental and physical fatigue on mental and physical performance (Chapter 3). Mental fatigue affected a measure of mental performance, and physical fatigue had a negative effect on measures of physical and mental performance. A multidimensional view of fatigue that considers direct and crossover effects between mental and physical dimensions of fatigue and performance is relevant when quantifying effects of fatigue on performance. A model of the relationships between fatigue dimensions and performance in nursing was developed using structural equation modeling techniques (Chapter 4). The model supported the existence of a total fatigue construct that is directly affected by mental and physical fatigue levels. The final model also provides quantitative path coefficients defining the strength of relationships between mental and physical dimensions of fatigue, total fatigue, and mental and physical performance. The current research provides an increased understanding of fatigue levels in registered nurses across work environments, as well as the underlying causal mechanisms between dimensions of fatigue and performance decrements. The findings and the final model can aid in designing interventions to reduce or eliminate the contributions of fatigue to the occurrence of medical errors. / Ph. D.

Although research describing relationships between psychosocial factors and various eating patterns is growing, a model which explains the mechanisms through which these factors may operate is lacking. A model to explain overeating patterns among normal weight college females was developed and tested. The model contained the following variables: global adjustment, eating and weight cognitions, emotional eating, and self-efficacy. Three hundred ninety-one participants completed the following self-report indices: the Questionnaire on Eating and Weight Patterns-Revised, the Student Adaptation College Questionnaire, the Weight Efficacy Life-Style Questionnaire, the Center for Epidemiological Studies on Depression, the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory, the State-Trait Anger Expression Inventory, the Emotional Eating Scale, the COPE, the Dutch Eating Behaviors Questionnaire - Restraint Scale, and a self-reported frequency of current eating patterns. Forty participants were excluded based on responses suggestive of obesity (BMI>27.3), severe dietary restraint, or bulimia nervosa, resulting in a final sample of 351. Correlational matrices, factor analysis and structural equation modeling with LISREL 8.B were progressively used to develop the best measurement model and assess the goodness of fit of the proposed structural model. The model provided an excellent fit to the data (GFI=.95; AGFI = .92; RMSEA = .048) and explained as large amount of the observed variance in overeating patterns among normal weight college females (R² = .78). An alternative model, which included dietary restraint as a predictor variable was also tested and compared to the proposed structural model. On all indices of model fit and model parsimony, the proposed model without dietary restraint appeared superior. Moreover, dietary restraint was not a significant direct contributor to the explanation of overeating patterns among normal weight college females. In the final structural model, all variables had a significant direct effect on eating patterns (p < .01). Further examination revealed a large total effect of adjustment as well as a strong direct influence of emotional eating on overeating patterns (direct effect =.52, p <.001). Because emotional eating captures the extent to which negative emotions produce an urge to eat, treatment and prevention programs should specifically target acquisition and practice of alternative coping strategies for dealing with negative emotions. / Ph. D.

This study seeks to offer a meaningful statement about the relative importance of self-processes and activated social capital in the process that links high school students and educational outcomes. The conceptual model for the study draws on the large and diverse body of research that aims to understand the process and effects of the interaction of the person and his or her environment. It is hypothesized that adaptive self-processes and social capital are positively related to school engagement, educational aspirations, and actual performance in school; and, that these factors mediate the effects of family background and other potential social capital on educational outcomes. The data for this study were obtained from a sample of N=1,176 in grades 9-12 from three school divisions in Virginia. Students completed the School Relationships and Experiences Survey (SRES), an instrument designed for this study. The study uses structural equation modeling (SEM) to model the relationships between the variables of interest. Data were analyzed using LISREL 8.3 (Jöreskog & Sörbom, 1993). The covariance structure models tested include both single-indicator and multiple-indicator constructs. The analysis follows the two-step procedure suggested by Anderson and Gerbing (1988). First, a measurement model was tested using confirmatory factor analysis to develop a model with acceptable fit to the data. In step two, the theoretical model of interest was specified as an a priori model. This theoretical model was then tested and revised until a theoretically meaningful and statistically acceptable model was found. In conclusion, the results of the analyses are discussed, and possible explanations for the results are proposed. Directions for future research are outlined, including the need for cross-validation of this model on additional samples of high school students. Social capital has previously been conceptualized primarily as family resources and parent-child relationships. This study provides promising initial evidence that activated social capital (education-related support received by adolescents from the broader social network) has stronger and more meaningful effects on academic engagement and other educational outcomes than the more passive indicators of social capital used in previous research. This work was supported by a doctoral fellowship from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC) and a grant from the ASPIRES program at Virginia Tech. / Ph. D.

The current study drew on a large and diverse body of literature on social capital and aimed to understand its role in the process of transition from college to work. In particular, this research studied the cumulative effects of social capital formed in high school years and college years and examined its relationship with job outcomes. The study used the National Education Longitudinal Study (NELS) to examine whether early investment in the social capital of young adolescents produced better job outcomes in their adulthood. Families and schools were two primary sources of social capital considered in the current study. Parental involvement in a young person's life, extra-curricular activities and participation in volunteer organizations were some of the forms of social capital hypothesized to influence job outcomes after college. Structural equations modeling was used to trace the effects of the presence of social capital as early as the 8th grade in shaping student's later career status. The longitudinal data measured social capital beginning in the 8th grade and every 2 years thereafter, so that the cumulative effects of the social capital resources were investigated. Overall, the hypothesized model was found to fit the data and the findings have suggested a set of positive and direct effects of social capital on job outcomes. / Ph. D.

In this study, conceptual models of young adult citizenship participation eight years post high school using Putnam's (1993) theory of social capital are tested. This study uses a longitudinal database. Specifically, the models posit that accumulation of more social capital resources during adolescence will be associated with more positive future life expectations related to educational, occupational, and family life outcomes. Subsequently, these more positive future life expectations and social capital resources will be associated with a higher degree of citizenship participation (as measured by voting behavior, community integration and volunteerism) as young adults. Measures from the 1990, 1992 and 2000 waves of the National Education Longitudinal Study (NELS:88) dataset were used. The models were examined using structural equation modeling procedures. Findings indicate that school and community social capital had mixed results regarding their effects on the final outcome variables. Teacher interactions were not found to have a statistically significant direct effect on any of the three citizenship participation outcome variables. But this result should be viewed with caution due to possible measurement problems with the construct of teacher interactions. Peer interactions did have a statistically significant, direct, effect on community integration and volunteerism, but it did not have a direct effect on voting behavior. Participation in extracurricular school activities did have a small, direct, effect on all three outcome variables. Participation in community sports activities had a positive direct effect on community integration, a small negative effect on voting behavior, and no statistically significant effect on volunteerism. Finally, participation in other types of community activities had the largest direct effects on all three citizenship participation outcome variables. The adolescent social capital variables of teacher interactions, peer interactions, and participation in other types of community activities for tenth graders did have positive, direct effects on future life expectations for twelfth graders. Extracurricular activities participation and community sports participation were not found to have an effect on future life expectations. Future life expectations were found to have a very small, but statistically significant, positive, direct effect on all three citizenship participation variables. These findings indicate that some adolescent social capital resources can have positive direct effects on the long term, young adult, educational outcome of citizenship participation. But it varies by type of social capital resource and by the particular aspect of citizenship behavior being measured. / Ph. D.

No description available.

Although anxiety disorders and conduct problems often co-occur in children and adolescents, literature describing the effects of such co-occurrence is mixed. There is evidence that symptoms of anxiety disorders may mitigate symptoms of conduct problems (buffering hypothesis) or may exacerbate symptoms of conduct problems (multiple problem hypothesis). A dual-pathway model has been proposed that suggests several possible etiological or risk processes that may differentiate these pathways (i.e., the buffering hypothesis or the multiple problem hypothesis) (Drabick, Ollendick, & Bubier, 2010). Executive functioning is one factor that has been identified that may differentially confer risk to the proposed pathways; however, little research has been done investigating its role. The purpose of the present study was to evaluate the dual-pathway model by determining whether executive functioning abilities contribute to differentiating those youth for whom anxiety exacerbates conduct problems from those for whom anxiety mitigates conduct problems. Specifically, the study sought to examine if executive functioning moderated the effect of anxiety symptom severity on conduct problems. Latent variable structural equation modeling (SEM) was used to analyze the data of 221 youth aged 9 to 16 in a residential treatment center who completed a full neuropsychological evaluation. Results of the study failed to support the hypothesis that executive functioning moderates the effect of anxiety on conduct problems. Furthermore, a structural equation model without an interaction between executive functioning and anxiety was found to fit the data better than a model with an interaction between those variables. Overall, the study found that executive functioning abilities could not distinguish youth for whom anxiety exacerbates conduct problems from youth for whom anxiety mitigates conduct problems. Recommendations for future research in light of the limitations of the current study, as well as remaining gaps in the literature, are discussed. / text

The aim of the study was to determine whether there is a relationship between organisational culture and occupational health. The General Health Questionnaire and the South African Culture Instruments were used for this purpose. Structural equation modelling (SEM) was used for this purpose. The study focused on clarifying the two concepts and their impact on the organisation. The effects of general health factors were determined in the organisation under investigation. The existing organisational culture was also investigated. In conclusion, the assumption that occupational health can have an impact on organisational health, or vice versa, was confirmed. / Industrial & Organisational Psychology / MCom (Industrial and Organisational Psychology)

The aim of the study was to determine whether there is a relationship between organisational culture and occupational health. The General Health Questionnaire and the South African Culture Instruments were used for this purpose. Structural equation modelling (SEM) was used for this purpose. The study focused on clarifying the two concepts and their impact on the organisation. The effects of general health factors were determined in the organisation under investigation. The existing organisational culture was also investigated. In conclusion, the assumption that occupational health can have an impact on organisational health, or vice versa, was confirmed. / Industrial and Organisational Psychology / MCom (Industrial and Organisational Psychology)