DeWayne Moore

Loneliness at adolescence: Correlates, attributions, and coping

The present study provides much needed empirical data on the adolescent loneliness experience. One hundred adolescents were given measures of loneliness, loneliness attributions, coping styles, and personal characteristics. Loneliness was positively related to state and trait anxiety, an external locus of control, depression, self-consciousness, and social anxiety and negatively related to self-reported attractiveness, likability, happiness, and life satisfaction. Lonely adolescents were also less willing to take social risks. Adolescents most often attributed loneliness to boredom and most often coped with loneliness by watching TV or listening to music. The implications of these findings for adolescent social development are discussed.

Development of the serious leisure inventory and measure.

In this investigation, the serious leisure inventory and measure (SLIM) was developed from convenience and target samples. The multidimensional framework of serious leisure contains six qualities from which 18 operations were employed. With the use of a q-sort, an expert panel, and confirmatory factor analysis, the 72 item SLIM demonstrated acceptable fit, reliability and equivalence across samples. Mean differences and correlation patterns found between samples demonstrated preliminary evidence for the predictive ability of the new measure. The SLIM short form (54 items) demonstrated good model fit and construct validity. Future replications are needed to adequately address the psychometric complexities of the SLIM within the network of interrelated leisure constructs.

Development of a Theory-Based Assessment of Team Member Effectiveness.

This article describes the development of the Comprehensive Assessment of Team Member Effectiveness. The authors used the teamwork literature to create potential items, which they tested using two surveys of college students (Ns = 2,777 and 1,157). The authors used exploratory factor analysis and confirmatory factor analysis to help them select items for the final instrument. The full instrument has 87 items that measure 29 types of team member contributions with 3 items each. These fall into five categories (contributing to the teams work; interacting with teammates; keeping the team on track; expecting quality; and having relevant knowledge, skills, and abilities). A short version of the instrument has 33 items. Potential uses for the instrument and suggestions for future research are discussed.

Insomnia as predictor versus outcome of PTSD and depression among Iraq combat veterans.

OBJECTIVES The study conducted a longitudinal assessment of insomnia as an antecedent versus consequence of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and depression symptoms among combat veterans. DESIGN Two postdeployment time points were used in combination with structural equation modeling to examine the relative strength of two possible directions of prediction: insomnia as a predictor of psychological symptoms, and psychological symptoms as a predictor of insomnia. Participants were active duty soldiers (N = 659) in a brigade combat team who were assessed 4 months after their return from a 12-month deployment to Iraq, and then again eight months later. RESULTS Although both insomnia and psychological symptoms were associated at both time periods and across time periods, insomnia at 4 months postdeployment was a significant predictor of change in depression and PTSD symptoms at 12 months postdeployment, whereas depression and PTSD symptoms at 4 months postdeployment were not significant predictors of change in insomnia at 12 months postdeployment. CONCLUSIONS Results support the role of insomnia in the development of additional psychological problems and highlight the clinical implications for combat veterans, to include the importance of longitudinal assessment and monitoring of sleep disturbances, and the need for early intervention.

Correlates and consequences of morale versus depression under stressful conditions.

The role of morale as a positive psychological construct distinct from the construct of depression was examined using data from a longitudinal study of 1,685 U.S. soldiers on a peacekeeping mission to Kosovo. Structural equation modeling analyses revealed morale was best predicted by indices of engagement in meaningful work and confidence in unit functioning and leadership, whereas depression was best predicted by deployment stressors and negative events. Morale assessed during the deployment was related to perceiving benefits from deploying six months later, whereas depression was related to posttraumatic stress disorder and negative perceptions of deploying. The relationship between morale and benefits was a function of engagement in meaningful work. Discussion focuses on the importance of longitudinal research in specifying the antecedents of positive and negative outcomes of a stressful work environment.

Leadership as a predictor of stigma and practical barriers toward receiving mental health treatment: a multilevel approach.

The present research examined positive and negative leadership behaviors as predictors of stigma and practical barriers to mental health treatment. Soldiers completed measures of noncommissioned officer (NCO) and officer leadership, stigma, and practical barriers to getting mental health treatment at 2, 3, and 4 months following a 15-month deployment to Afghanistan. The results revealed that positive and negative NCO and officer leader behaviors were predictive of overall stigma and barriers to care (collapsed across the three time periods), with only NCO positive and negative behaviors being uniquely predictive of stigma when included in the same model with officer behaviors. In addition, negative and positive NCO leader behaviors were predictive of stigma within participants over the course of the three month time period, and positive NCO leader behaviors were inversely related to practical barriers to mental health treatment within participants across the same time period. The results are discussed in terms of how different leader behaviors may be linked to different factors influencing a soldiers decision to seek mental health treatment.

The Loneliness Experience of College Students Sex Differences

The present study examined sex differences among college students in the quantitative and qualitative aspects of loneliness. Measurements of loneliness, emotional reactivity, and social risk taking were administered to 112 undergraduates. Males evidenced greater self-reported loneliness than females. Generally, affective and social risk-taking measures were more highly related to loneliness among males than females. The results suggest that loneliness is more likely to be associated with negative personal and affective self-evaluations for males than for females. Males may react to loneliness more negatively than females because of a tendency to attribute loneliness to personal failure rather than external, uncontrollable causes. Evidence also suggests that having difficulty in initiating social risks may contribute to loneliness for males more than females.

Knowing your customers: Using a reciprocal relationship to enhance voluntary information disclosure

Customer information is increasingly being solicited by organizations as they try to enhance their product and service offerings. Customers are becoming increasingly protective of the information they disclose. The prior research on information disclosure has focused on privacy concerns and trust that lead to intentions to disclose. In this study, we tread new ground by examining the link between intent to disclose information and the actual disclosure. Drawing from social response theory and the principle of reciprocity, we examine how organizations can influence the strength of the link between intent and actual disclosure. We conduct an experiment using 15 pieces of information in a non-commercial context that examines voluntary individual information disclosure. Our results indicate that by implementing a reasoned dyadic condition where the organization provides reasoning on why they are collecting particular information; individuals are more likely to actually disclose more information. The results open up opportunities to go beyond intent, and study the actual disclosure of sensitive information. Organizations can use the concept of reciprocity to enhance the design of information acquisition systems.

Loneliness: Differences Across Three Age Levels

The present study examined differences in the loneliness experience with subjects from three age levels (high school students, college undergraduates, retirees). In accordance with social role theory and existing research, we predicted differences across these age periods in level of loneliness and the relation of loneliness to other indices of adjustment, and personal and social competency. Results indicated that the greatest loneliness and strongest loneliness correlates were among high school students, while loneliness was least associated with other variables for retirees. These results are consistent with those suggested by previous cross-study comparisons. The results also support a social role theory interpretation of loneliness that age-related changes in social demands will influence the relation among measures of adjustment, and personal and social competency.

A Theoretical Model to Measure the Appraisal and Coping Response to Hassles in Outdoor Recreation Settings

Confirmatory factor analysis was used to assess measurement models for the stress/coping process experienced in outdoor recreation settings. Three separate measurement models were evaluated: (1) experience use history and social support, (2) secondary appraisal, and (3) ways of coping scales. This research documents the development of models that can be improved upon by future researchers and promote stress/coping theory building in outdoor recreation research. Social support performed well, and experience use history was reduced to a single dimension measure. The secondary appraisal factor was problematic; the four variables may not be functioning as a unidimensional measure. A model consisting of two, second-order factors and four error covariances was identified for the ways of coping scales. An acceptable fit was achieved for all three models, statistical and theoretical justification is provided for modifications made to the models, and explanations of problems are offered.