Stuck in the middle with you: Predictors of commitment in midlife

2019 ◽  
Vol 44 (3) ◽  
pp. 273-278
Author(s):  
Matthew D. Johnson ◽  
Sarah D. Somerville ◽  
Nancy L. Galambos ◽  
Harvey J. Krahn
Keyword(s):  
Change Score ◽  
Partner Support ◽  
Empty Nest ◽  
First Marriage ◽  
Latent Change Score ◽  
Latent Change Score Modeling ◽  
Using Data ◽  
Commitment Theory

Rooted in commitment theory, this study examines dedication, perceived investments, and felt constraint, three unique aspects of commitment, in midlife using data gathered from a sample of 224 adults surveyed at ages 43 and 50 years. Positive and negative dimensions of couple relations (partner supportiveness and the extent to which one’s partner is demanding and critical, referred to as strain) assessed longitudinally and midlife-specific circumstances, including being in a first marriage or remarriage and parental and empty nest status, were examined as predictors of commitment at age 50. Latent change score modeling revealed partner support and strain as robust predictors of commitment. Higher levels of partner support at age 43 and a more gradual intraindividual decrease in support between ages 43 and 50 predicted higher dedication and perceived investments and less felt constraint at age 50. Higher age 43 levels of partner strain predicted more perceived investments and felt constraint at age 50, while a more rapid increase in strain predicted less dedication and more felt constraint. Being in a first or remarriage, being a parent, or having an empty nest did not predict commitment. These results highlight the importance of initial levels and changes in couple relations for shaping midlife commitment.

scholarly journals The role of social media in shaping solidarity and compassion fade: How the death of a child turned apathy into action but distress took it away

2018 ◽  
Vol 20 (10) ◽  
pp. 3778-3798 ◽  
Author(s):  
Emma F Thomas ◽  
Nicola Cary ◽  
Laura GE Smith ◽  
Russell Spears ◽  
Craig McGarty
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Change Score ◽  
Syrian Refugees ◽  
Group Consciousness ◽  
Online Engagement ◽  
Social Media Engagement ◽  
The Face ◽  
Latent Change Score ◽  
Latent Change Score Modeling

An image of drowned Syrian toddler, Aylan Kurdi, was popularly shared through social media and this promoted a surge of solidarity with Syrian refugees in September 2015. However, this response was not sustained. We explore the role of social media engagement in the emergence of solidarity and its decline (compassion fade). We collected data when sympathy for refugees was peaking (September 2015), and 1 year later. Latent change score modeling ( N = 237) showed that engagement with the image through social media allowed people to form a pro-refugee group consciousness that acted as the proximal predictor of solidarity. However, reductions in the same factors explain the reduced commitment 1 year later. Distress predicted the reductions in social media engagement. The results support the power of social media to ignite world-changing action, but caution that online engagement may dissipate in the face of ongoing challenges.

Developing and Testing a Dynamic Model of Workplace Incivility Change

2016 ◽  
Vol 43 (3) ◽  
pp. 645-670 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shannon G. Taylor ◽  
Arthur G. Bedeian ◽  
Michael S. Cole ◽  
Zhen Zhang
Keyword(s):  
Dynamic Model ◽  
Survey Data ◽  
Change Score ◽  
Workplace Incivility ◽  
Theory And Practice ◽  
Time Varying ◽  
Sequential Effects ◽  
Latent Change Score ◽  
Latent Change Score Modeling ◽  
Turnover Cognitions

Theory and practice suggest workplace incivility is progressive and dynamic. To date, however, workplace incivility has been assessed as a between-person phenomenon by asking employees to summarize their exposure to incivility over some specific period (e.g., 1 year or 5 years). Consequently, little is known about the time-varying and progressive aspects of workplace incivility as suggested by both the referent literature and experience. Within the context of employee burnout and withdrawal, we developed a novel, dynamic mediated model of workplace incivility change and tested specific predictions about its time-sequential effects. Latent change score modeling of weekly survey data from 131 employees indicates that incivility change uniquely affects subsequent changes in burnout, which, in turn, lead to subsequent changes in turnover cognitions. We also explore whether this dynamic mediated effect varies across time and individuals.

scholarly journals Are Changes in Personality Traits and Alcohol Use Associated? A Cohort Study Among Young Swiss Men

2020 ◽  
Vol 11 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gerhard Gmel ◽  
Simon Marmet ◽  
Joseph Studer ◽  
Matthias Wicki
Keyword(s):  
Cohort Study ◽  
Alcohol Use ◽  
Personality Traits ◽  
Binge Drinking ◽  
Sensation Seeking ◽  
Change Score ◽  
Effect Sizes ◽  
Direction Of Effects ◽  
Latent Change Score ◽  
Second Wave

Objective: It is well known that certain personality traits are associated with alcohol use. Because less is known about it, we wished to investigate whether changes in alcohol use were longitudinally associated with changes in personality and in which direction the influence or causation might flow.Methods: Data came from the self-reported questionnaire answers of 5,125 young men at two time points during the Cohort study on Substance Use Risk Factors (C-SURF). Their average ages were 20.0 and 25.4 years old at the first and second wave assessments, respectively. Four personality traits were measured: (a) aggression–hostility; (b) sociability; (c) neuroticism–anxiety; and (d) sensation seeking. Alcohol use was measured by volume (drinks per week) and binge drinking (about 60+ grams per occasion). Cross-lagged panel models and two-wave latent change score models were used.Results: Aggression–hostility, sensation seeking, and sociability were significantly and positively cross-sectionally associated with both alcohol use variables. Drinking volume and these three personality traits bidirectionally predicted each other. Binge drinking was bidirectionally associated with sensation-seeking only, whereas aggression–hostility and sociability only predicted binge drinking, but not vice versa. Changes in alcohol use were significantly positively associated with changes in aggression–hostility, sensation seeking, and sociability. Associations reached small Cohen's effect sizes for sociability and sensation seeking, but not for aggression–hostility. Associations with neuroticism–anxiety were mostly not significant.Conclusion: The direction of effects confirmed findings from other studies, and the association between changes in personality and alcohol use support the idea that prevention programs should simultaneously target both.

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