Chan M. Hellman

A Reliability Generalization Study on the Survey of Perceived Organizational Support The Effects of Mean Age and Number of Items on Score Reliability

The Survey of Perceived Organizational Support (SPOS) is a unidimensional measure of the general belief held by an employee that the organization is committed to him or her, values his or her continued membership, and is generally concerned about the employees well-being. In the interest of efficiency, researchers are often compelled to use a minimum number of SPOS items in their studies. This study reports on a reliability generalization across 62 published studies using the SPOS. Findings suggest that number of SPOS items and mean age of the sample are statistically significant in the relationship to reliability estimates. Additionally, mean age accounted for significant variance in internal consistency estimates over and above the number of items used.

Factors Associated With College Student Intent to Engage in Community Service

Many universities in the United States highlight service as an integral component to their mission. Additionally, a growing pedagogical focus highlights the importance of community service as an integral component of student development. The current study was an investigation of the factors associated with college student intentions to engage in volunteer community service. University students (N = 403) at a comprehensive university located in the southern plains completed an anonymous Web-based questionnaire to assess community service attitudes and intentions. Subsequent to testing for statistical assumptions, results from multiple regression analysis suggest that a sense of community connectedness, cost and benefit considerations, and the seriousness of community needs are significant variables in explaining variance in the intent to engage in community service.

Volunteers Serving Victims of Sexual Assault

Rape crisis volunteers who provide direct-care services to victims of sexual assault are a much-understudied group. Volunteers provide a crucial role in support of nonprofit rape crisis centers, and factors influencing their continued service are an important consideration for decision makers. In the present study, the authors examined—among volunteers providing hospital and crisis-line advocacy to victims of sexual assault—the training, service self-efficacy, social support, and experiences with victim blaming as correlates with overall satisfaction, affective commitment, and the intent to remain. Overall satisfaction and affective commitment were positively related to the intent to stay. Additionally, the perceived value of training was positively related to overall satisfaction and the intent to remain.

Taking Action to Stop Violence: A Study on Readiness to Change Among Male Batterers

The Transtheoretical Model of Change (TTM) predicts that matching interventions with a person’s readiness to change should improve treatment outcomes. This cross-sectional correlational study examined characteristics that affected self-reported readiness to change abusive behavior among a sample of 109 men in a 52-week batterer treatment program. Participants completed measures of anger/hostility, readiness to change, manipulative parenting, and self-esteem. Results indicated that contemplation of the impact of abuse has the highest unique relationship with self-reported taking action to stop violence. Moreover, physical aggression and manipulative parenting account for significant variance in the scores associated with self-reported taking action to stop violence as well. These findings suggest that interventions aimed at moving clients into contemplation, and reducing physical aggression and manipulative parenting styles, may increase the likelihood that batterers will take action to stop violence.

The Belief in a Just World: An Examination of Reliability Estimates Across Three Measures

In this study, we utilized reliability generalization procedures to examine internal consistency estimates across 3 scales measuring the belief in a just world. The distribution of reliability estimates for the measures suggest low to moderate ranges of internal consistency reliability coefficients. The Global Belief in a Just World Scale (Lipkus, 1991) produced the highest average reliability score (α = .81) compared to the Just World Scale (Rubin & Peplau, 1973; α = .64) and the Just World Scale Revised (Rubin & Peplau, 1975; α = .68).

The AC-COD Screen: Rapid Detection of People with the Co-Occurring Disorders of Substance Abuse, Mental Illness, Domestic Violence, and Trauma

ABSTRACT An important SAMHSA initiative that started in 2003 is focusing on improving treatment for people with the co-occurring problems of mental illness and substance abuse. The 2002 national survey found over 23% of adults with a serious mental illness also abused alcohol or other drugs, and 20.4% of adults who abused alcohol or other drugs also had a serious mental illness. To provide more effective treatment for people with a co-occurring disorder, universal screening has been suggested. Objective: The intent of this study was to develop an integrated screen that would help identify people with a possible co-occurring disorder who needed to be fully assessed for a concurrent mental health and substance abuse disorder. Method: The screen consists of 17 common behavioral health questions used in the fields of mental health, addiction, domestic violence, and trauma. The screen was designed to be easy to use and easy to interpret. To pilot test the screen, it was administered to 234 people who called either a mental health or addiction treatment program. Statistical analysis of the screen subscales included Principal Components Analysis (PCA) of the items, calculating Cronbachs Alpha (a) coefficients, and a beginning examination of sensitivity and specificity. Results: The data analysis suggests that the three subscales had acceptable internal consistency (MH α = .70, SA α = .89, DV α = .72). Conclusion: Based on the results of this study, the AC-COD Screen although continuing to need further testing has the potential of being a tool that can identify people who have a likelihood of having a concurrent disorder and who should be fully assessed.

A Psychometric Evaluation of the Harvey Imposter Phenomenon Scale

In this article, we present psychometric properties on the 14-item Harvey Imposter Phenomenon (IP) Scale (Harvey, 1981) among a sample of U.S. adolescents (N = 136). Item analyses, internal consistency reliability, and principal components analysis (PCA) were computed to assess the reliability and factor structure of the IP scores. Although the internal consistency reliability (e.g., Cronbachs α) was reasonably acceptable (α = .70), the item analyses and subsequent PCA suggest concern for the content homogeneity and factor structure of composite scores obtained from the 14-item measure. The results of this study suggest that the indiscriminate use of the Harvey IP Scale is cautioned relative to the insufficient psychometric properties.

Exploring the Relationship Between Adverse Childhood Experiences and Hope

ABSTRACT To explore the relationship between adverse childhood experiences and hope, a convenience sample of caregivers bringing in children for medical investigation of child abuse at a regional child advocacy center were surveyed for adverse childhood experiences and dispositional hope. Hope in this sample had a significant negative correlation to the adverse childhood experiences subscale “abuse” (r = –.19; p < .05). The relationship between hope and the other adverse childhood experiences subscales “neglect” (r = –.14) and “dysfunctional family” (r = –.16) was not statistically significant. An analysis of variance was performed to determine if caregivers who have experienced both sexual and physical abuse (M = 29.67; SD = 15.96) have lower hope scores compared to those caregivers who have experienced neither physical nor sexual abuse (M = 42.64; SD = 18.44). This analysis (F (1, 84) = 5.28; p < 0.05) showed that caregivers who experienced both physical and sexual abuse scored significantly lower on hope compared to their counterparts who experienced no adverse events, with an estimated effect size of moderate strength (d = 0.70). Higher adverse childhood experiences scores are associated with lower hope. This result was especially true for those adult caregivers who reported experiencing both physical and sexual abuse when compared to adults who did not experience either form of child trauma. While the empirical literature continues to demonstrate the negative consequences of adverse childhood experiences across the life span, hope offers a compelling new line of inquiry in child maltreatment research especially for studies targeting prevention or intervention.

Adverse childhood experiences and posttraumatic stress as an antecedent of anxiety and lower hope.

It is well established in literature that hope is an important psychological strength associated with resilience and overall psychological well-being. Early research also indicates that both posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and anxiety have a negative relationship with hope. To better understand the potential mechanisms of the relationship between childhood trauma, PTSD, anxiety, and hope, we conducted a cross-sectional study of homeless individuals residing in the south central United States (N = 180). The study measured individual differences in the experience of childhood trauma, PTSD symptoms, anxiety, and hope. Based on the hope theory by C.R. Snyder, we hypothesized that PTSD has a negative relationship with hope because trauma memories can be “attention robbers” that take one’s focus off developing pathways toward future goals. The result is greater anxiety and lower hope. To test this theory, covariance-based structural equation modeling was used to evaluate a model of the variables in the sequential order as follows: (a) adverse childhood experiences, (b) PTSD symptoms, (c) increased anxiety, and (d) lower hope. The results indicated that the observed data produced a “good fit” to a model based on Snyder’s theory (&khgr;2 = 419.38; df = 247; p = < 001; root mean square error of approximation = .06 [90% confidence interval: .05, .07]; comparative fit index = .93; standardized root mean square residual = .06). Such a result suggests that future research is needed with survivors of childhood trauma to further explore mechanisms, such as “attention robbing,” that may link PTSD to greater anxiety and less hope.

The Effects of Mindfulness Meditation on Hope and Stress

Purpose: To evaluate mindfulness meditation as an antecedent of reductions in stress and increases in hope. Method: A quasi-experimental design (N = 46; meditation group, n = 23; comparison group, n = 23) using a community sample was used to evaluate the impact of mindfulness meditation on stress and hope. A path analysis was also used to model a directional relationship between meditation participation and increases in hope mediated by reductions in stress. Results: The data indicated that the meditation group exhibited significantly higher hope and lower stress than the comparison group. The path analysis indicated that reductions in stress fully mediated the relationship between mindfulness meditation and increases in hope. Discussion: The data support that meditation can increase hope via stress reduction. The results suggest a need for further research into mindfulness meditation and hope, especially since increasing hope is a fundamental aim of strengths-based practice.