Carrie L. Torrey

Perceiving a Calling, Living a Calling, and Job Satisfaction: Testing a Moderated, Multiple Mediator Model.

The current study examined the relation between perceiving a calling, living a calling, and job satisfaction among a diverse group of employed adults who completed an online survey (N = 201). Perceiving a calling and living a calling were positively correlated with career commitment, work meaning, and job satisfaction. Living a calling moderated the relations of perceiving a calling with career commitment and work meaning, such that these relations were more robust for those with a stronger sense they were living their calling. Additionally, a moderated, multiple mediator model was run to examine the mediating role of career commitment and work meaning in the relation of perceiving a calling and job satisfaction, while accounting for the moderating role of living a calling. Results indicated that work meaning and career commitment fully mediated the relation between perceiving a calling and job satisfaction. However, the indirect effects of work meaning and career commitment were only significant for individuals with high levels of living a calling, indicating the importance of living a calling in the link between perceiving a calling and job satisfaction. Implications for research and practice are discussed.

Examining a Model of Life Satisfaction among Unemployed Adults.

The present study examined a model of life satisfaction among a diverse sample of 184 adults who had been unemployed for an average of 10.60 months. Using the Lent (2004) model of life satisfaction as a framework, a model was tested with 5 hypothesized predictor variables: optimism, job search self-efficacy, job search support, job search behaviors, and work volition. After adding a path in the model from optimism to work volition, the hypothesized model was found to be a good fit for the data and a better fit than a more parsimonious, alternative model. In the hypothesized model, optimism, work volition, job search self-efficacy, and job search support were each found to significantly relate to life satisfaction, accounting for 35% of the variance. Additionally, using 50,000 bootstrapped samples, optimism was found to have a significant indirect effect on life satisfaction as mediated by job search self-efficacy, job search support, and work volition. Implications for research and practice are discussed.

Work Volition as a Critical Moderator in the Prediction of Job Satisfaction

Building on the Psychology of Working Framework, the current study explored the extent to which work volition functioned as a moderator in the relation between positive affect, core self-evaluations, perceived organizational support (POS), and work self-efficacy to job satisfaction. In a diverse sample of 206 employed adults, work volition was found to be a significant moderator in the relations of self-efficacy and POS to job satisfaction. Specifically, as work volition increased, the relation of self-efficacy to job satisfaction increased, whereas the relation of POS to job satisfaction decreased. Results of this study lend initial support to the proposition that the strength and direction of established predictors of job satisfaction depend, in part, on an individual’s level of work volition. Implications for research and practice are discussed.

Calling and Well-Being Among Adults: Differential Relations by Employment Status

With a sample of 194 adults, approximately half of which were involuntarily unemployed, the present study explored (a) how calling related to core self-evaluations and life satisfaction, (b) whether core self-evaluations mediated the relation of calling to life satisfaction, and (c) how these relations differed for employed/voluntarily unemployed and involuntarily unemployed adults. Mediation analyses among the three variables were tested for each group. For both groups, calling was a significant, moderate predictor of core self-evaluations. Further, core self-evaluations was found to fully mediate in the link between calling and life satisfaction among the involuntarily unemployed group and partially mediate this relation among the employed/voluntarily unemployed group. The results of the present study suggest that higher levels of calling (regardless of employment status) relates to life satisfaction via a more positive sense of self. For the employed/voluntarily unemployed group, there may be benefits of a calling beyond positive self-evaluations.

Time Management, Passion, and Collaboration A Qualitative Study of Highly Research Productive Counseling Psychologists

The present study interviewed 17 of the most research-productive counseling psychologists within APA-accredited counseling psychology programs. Using Consensual Qualitative Research, seven domains emerged from the interviews: root of productivity, personality characteristics, productivity strategies, work environment, nonwork life, impact, and tips. Within these domains, 13 general categories emerged and 19 typical categories emerged. Overall, these participants were successful early in their careers, received mentorship/support while in graduate school, chose research topics that were salient to them and about which they were passionate, effectively managed their time, collaborated well with students and professionals, had a structured approach to writing, worked in a supportive research environment, and spent a considerable amount of time outside of work with family or participating in hobbies. Based on the results, practical suggestions are offered for individuals within the field of counseling psychology who wish to be productive researchers.

Calling in retirement: A mixed methods study

Abstract This mixed methods study aimed to examine the experiences of a calling in retirement with a sample of 196 retired adults. First, a qualitative analysis explored the types of activities participants experienced as a calling as well as the types of barriers that participants perceived as keeping them from living their calling. ‘Helping Others’ emerged as the largest category of calling that participants endorsed and ‘No Resources to Live Calling’ emerged as the most frequently endorsed barrier. Building on our qualitative findings, we conducted a quantitative analysis to examine the relation of perceiving a calling with well-being. Consistent with prior research with working adult populations and in support of our hypotheses, perceiving a calling related to life meaning and life satisfaction, and structural equation modeling demonstrated that life meaning and living a calling (via life meaning) fully mediated the perceiving calling–life satisfaction relation. Implications for research and practice are discussed.

Counseling Health Psychology: Assessing Health Psychology Training Within Counseling Psychology Doctoral Programs

Training directors of American Psychological Association–approved counseling psychology doctoral programs completed a questionnaire assessing (a) student and faculty involvement in health-related research, practice, and teaching; (b) health-related research conducted by students and faculty; and (c) programs’ expectations and ability to increase health training opportunities. Statistical comparisons suggest that a high frequency of programs name health psychology as an area of emphasis, offer specialized health psychology training, and provide health-psychology-related practica. Many reported faculty and student interest and involvement in health psychology training and research. Yet few faculty in these programs identified themselves as counseling health psychologists. Results suggest that there is interest in health psychology within counseling psychology training programs but that only a minority of programs has developed structured curricula in the area. Given counseling psychology’s unique emphasis on prevention, well-being, multiculturalism, and social justice, counseling psychology programs are well suited to developing counseling health psychology curricula.

A minority stress model for suicidal ideation in gay men

There is a dearth of research on mechanisms underlying higher rates of suicidal ideation among gay men compared to heterosexual men. The purpose of this study was to establish the link between social/psychological predictor variables and suicidal ideation by testing a hypothesized minority stress model. Structural equation modeling was used to assess the relationships posited in the model using data from a community sample of 167 gay men. Model fit was adequate and hypothesized relationships were partially supported. Also, depressive symptoms partially mediated the relationship between (less) outness predicting suicidal ideation. These findings imply that therapeutic approaches targeting the coming out process may be more effective than approaches targeting internalized homophobia when suicidal ideation is indicated in the clinical presentation of gay and bisexual men.