The Influence of Organizational Factors on Registered Nurses’ Work Attitudes in Nigeria

This study examined the influence of competence development, work-life balance, perceived organizational support and organization’s commitment to employees on job satisfaction, affective commitment and turnover intention among registered nurses in Nigeria’s Ondo State. The sample consisted of 220 registered nurses from six public hospitals in Ondo State. Data analysis was conducted using multivariate regressions, Pearson’s product-moment correlation and descriptive statistics to determine the influence of organizational factors on nurses’ job satisfaction, affective commitment and turnover intention. The results indicated that competence development practices, work-life balance policies and practices, perceived organizational support and the organization’s commitment to employees were positively correlated to job satisfaction and affective commitment but negatively correlated to registered nurses’ turnover intention. This study identified the importance of organizational factors in promoting nurses’ job satisfaction, affective organizational commitment and intention to stay which may inform hospital administration, health care institutions and the Ondo State Government about the significant role of organizational factors in improving nurses' job satisfaction, affective commitment and turnover intention. 

“Under the Radar”: How is the Jewish–Arab Conflict Reflected in Internal Jewish Dialogue?

This study explores the role of intergroup conflict in the identity exploration process among 83 Jewish participants in a dialogue in a multicultural college in Israel. Thematic analysis has shown that the behavior of most of the participants has been affected by the Jewish–Arab conflict as follows: they centered on internal commonalities among Jewish subgroups; they neither engaged in conflict among Jewish subgroups nor explored their Jewish identities, and they expressed confusion regarding who the out-group was: the Jewish subgroups’ members or the Arab students in the college. These findings expand the knowledge about the identity exploration process in a social context of religious–ethnic conflict and may pose a practical contribution to the field of intergroup dialogues and conflict resolution in divided societies.   

Impacts of Stress Coping Approaches on Covid-19 Anxiety: A Sample of Turkish Medical School Students

We aimed to assess Covid-19 anxiety among Turkish medical school students. More specifically, we examined the association between the participants’ age, gender, grades, stress coping approaches and Covid-19 anxiety using a quantitative design. The participants were 875 (493 female and 480 male students) medical school students between 19 and 26 years old. The participants completed Ways of Coping Inventory and Coronavirus Anxiety Scale. It was observed that university students in the schools of medicine used stress coping approaches such as searching for social support and self-confident. ANOVA analyses revealed that female medical school students had higher mean scores for the search for social support, optimistic, submissive, and helpless approaches, while male medical school students had higher scores for self-confident approach. Post hoc analysis indicated that the first-grade medical school students used self-confident stress coping approach more often than the higher-grade medical school students. We established that 21 years and older medical school students used submissive stress coping approach more often than younger students. Hierarchical regression revealed that gender female, submissive and helpless approaches explained 11% of the variance in Coronavirus anxiety.  

Reviewer Acknowledgements for International Journal of Psychological Studies, Vol. 13, No. 4

Reviewer Acknowledgements for International Journal of Psychological Studies, Vol. 13, No. 4

Implications of A Measurement Invariance Study by Age Cohorts for the Life Satisfaction Survey for Apostolic Women Religious (LSSAWR)

A measurement invariance study was performed on the Life Satisfaction Survey for Apostolic Women Religious (LSSAWR) across age cohorts to support its continued use to assess satisfaction with religious life across an individual sister’s life span, and to conduct intergenerational comparisons within and across congregations worldwide. Unfortunately, measurement invariance (MI) is often assumed rather than tested but is important to determine when comparisons are conducted across groups. Establishing MI produces confidence that the differences observed are a result of real differences between groups rather than a result of group membership. In general, the current study provides evidence that the LSSAWR is MI for life satisfaction across the Silent, Baby Boomer, and Generation X cohorts and should be robust to many types of analyses. Therefore, the continued use of the LSSAWR to provide feedback to individual Sisters and congregations of women religious regarding commitment to religious life and overall life satisfaction is supported. The most notable result was two of the five dimensions of the scale were statistically indistinguishable for the Silent generation, but not for the Baby Boomer or Generation X cohorts. This article discusses the importance of measurement invariance studies and implications for instruments used across the life span with items that could be age sensitive.   

General Intelligence: An Analysis of the Saudi Students’ General Mental Ability and Elementary Cognitive Task Performance

Previous studies on human intelligence has revealed that varied factors influence cognitive performance, and some studies have hypothesized the presence of “general intelligence” (g factor) that is responsible for intelligence. However, most studies have been centered on Western cultures. This study thus examines the Saudi students and the g factor hypothesis. A group of Saudi college students participated in a battery of general mental ability tests and elementary cognitive tasks and were assessed for the influence of various factors on cognitive performance. The study results revealed an increase in the average of Saudi students’ intelligence compared to the results of the previous studies, but it did not yield a g factor.

Blatant Dehumanization is Not Influenced by Dual Identity Labels: Evidence from the Canadian Context

Blatant dehumanization has been shown to be prevalent in modern society. However, little work has explored the possible ways in which blatant dehumanization may be attenuated. The current study addresses this gap in the literature by exploring if activating a dual identity attenuates (or even erases) blatant dehumanization. To investigate these issues, Canadian participants completed the “Ascent of Man” scale, rating various groups in terms of their perceived evolutionary qualities. Half of our participants saw labels with the qualifier “-Canadians” attached, while the other half saw no such qualifier. Results showed that, regardless of whether the “-Canadians” label was provided, participants rated Filipinos, Christians, Arabs, Muslims, and Indigenous groups as significantly lower than Whites on the evolution scale. As such, provision of the additional group label “-Canadians” did not influence the manifestation of blatant dehumanization. We also found that ratings on the evolution scale significantly correlated with both Social Dominance Orientation and Empathic Concern levels, such that stronger adherence to current power structures and social hierarchies showed stronger blatant dehumanization, while those with a high pre-disposition for altruistic behaviours and emotions showed weaker blatant dehumanization. We discuss our results in the light of other research on blatant dehumanization and intergroup processes.  

Single and Multiplayer Video Gamers: Looking at Their Experiences and Psychosocial Well-Being During the COVID-19 Pandemic

The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted our lives in many different ways. One significant impact on daily life was the increased indoor time due to quarantine measures. Data collected suggests video games have become more popular than ever during these unprecedented times (Epstein, 2020). This study aims to explore the experiences and psychosocial well-being of individuals who played single and multiplayer video games during the pandemic. Data was collected through a questionnaire distributed to multiple online communities and forums from June 28th to July 29th, 2021. The total collected responses were n=260. 132 participants identified themselves as playing mostly single-player video games and 128 identified themselves as playing mostly multiplayer games. The results show during the pandemic individuals spent more time playing both types of video games. Motivations for playing single-player games trended towards decreasing anxiety and stress, and avoiding real life, whereas multiplayer motivations tended to trend towards socialization rather than decreasing stress or anxiety. During the pandemic, 40-50% of single and multiplayer gamers indicated decreased mental health. However, both types of players reported improvement in mental and social well-being while playing video games. More multiplayer gamers reported improved social well-being while playing compared to single-player gamers. The survey respondents tended to report having more positive experiences with single-player and multiplayer video games during the pandemic. Results presented video games as a way for individuals to socialize or decrease stress and anxiety. In addition, the comparison between the two types of gamers revealed that single-player respondents tended to play for relaxation, stress reduction, and perhaps improvement in mental health, while multiplayer gamers play to increase social interaction and improve social well-being. Further research is needed to explore the long-term effects of video games during the pandemic after everyone has returned to a pre-pandemic state.

The Impact of Israel’s “Models’ Law” on Young Women

Background: The development of eating disorders (EDs) and disordered eating pathology (DEP) is related to a complex interplay of various factors, with the media being a main risk factor. The high comorbidity related to EDs and DEP highlights the importance of preventive interventions and requires additional prevention strategies that create opportunities for policy changes, while targeting media influences. In 2012, Israel initiated the “models’ law”, setting limits on both the employment of underweight models and the use of photo editing. This study examined the impact of the models’ law on body dissatisfaction, DEP, and EDs among young women in Israel. Methods: The study included two parts: self-report questionnaires and a telephone interview. The sample of 203 women was divided into two age groups, 81 women aged 18-24 and 122 women aged 25-35-that completed both parts of the study. Results: The models’ law had significantly higher impact on younger as opposed to older participants. Yet younger participants were found to have higher levels of DEP than the older participants. Additionally, participants who were highly supportive of the law had lower levels of DEP. Conclusion: The results indicate that younger participants had higher levels of DEP and were more influenced by the thin ideal and the media. Thus, these results highlight the importance of implementing prevention programs at younger ages and expanding the spectrum of prevention programs to the field of policy change, using legislation.

Test Anxiety and Its Relationship to Self-Esteem During the COVID-19 Pandemic

This research aimed to investigate the level of test anxiety and the relationship between test anxiety and self-esteem among the students of the faculty of Science and Arts in Rafha campus, Northern Border University, KSA during the COVID-19 pandemic. In addition, it intended to identify the differences in test anxiety among the students according to gender variable. The researcher applied the descriptive method, prepared a preliminary data form, and used the Westside Test Anxiety Scale by Driscoll (2007) and the Self-esteem Scale by El Sayed (2019). The data were collected online, and the sample size was (336) students. The results showed that the level of test anxiety among the students of the faculty of Science and Arts during the COVID-19 pandemic was high. The correlation coefficient between the impairment subscale and self-esteem was negative but statistically insignificant. Moreover, the correlation coefficients between both the worry subscale and the test anxiety total scores with the self-esteem resulted in a negative sign and statistically significant. There were significant differences in test anxiety among the students in the impairment subscale, the P-value was (0.005), which indicates that the difference between the two means is statistically significant, and the males’ mean is greater. While the P-value for the worry subscale was (0.226), which indicates that the difference was insignificant, the P-value of the test anxiety total scores was (0.029), which reveals that the difference between the two means is statistically significant, and the males’ mean is greater.