Kara B. Wettersten

Work hope: Development and initial validation of a measure

Hope is a core construct of positive psychology that has received only minimal application to work and vocational situations. C. R. Snyder (2000) conceptualized hope as a cognitive process with 3 primary components: goals, agency, and pathways. This article presents the development and validation of the Work Hope Scale (WHS), which was rationally based in Snyders hope theory and designed to assess the presence of work hope in diverse populations. The 3 studies (N = 79, N = 224, and N = 31) presented here provide evidence of both convergent and discriminant validity for the WHS, establish the stability of the WHS, and demonstrate the criterion validity of the WHS by its ability to distinguish among groups that can be expected to have more or less hope about their work situations on the basis of their access to economic resources. The results, based on a diverse sample that includes welfare recipients, economically disadvantaged youth, college students, and community members, support the usefulness of the WHS for both research and interventions in vocational psychology.

Freedom through Self-Sufficiency: A Qualitative Examination of the Impact of Domestic Violence on the Working Lives of Women in Shelter.

Using consensual qualitative research (C. Hill, B. Thompson, & E. Williams, 1997), the purpose of this study was to explore the impact of domestic violence on the working lives of women currently in shelter. Several emergent categories suggested that domestic violence has a profound effect on womens working lives, including their ability to maintain work and their ability to concentrate on the job. Contextual factors such as children, external barriers, and community resources also facilitated (or impeded) battered womens ability to obtain or maintain meaningful employment. The relationship between domains suggested a model in which physical and psychological violence act as moderating influences on a womans vocational self-concept and actual ability to work. Implications for practitioners and researchers are discussed.

Vocational Research for the Liberation of Battered Women

Domestic violence interferes with women’s exploration of career interests, pursuit of career goals, and attainment of economic independence. Vocational research may contribute significantly to preventive-intervention efforts against domestic violence and to the liberation of battered women by increasing their economic stability and strengthening their support network. In this article, the authors’ aim is to inspire vocational research with battered women. We use Prilleltensky’s emancipatory communitarian approach to outline a vocational research agenda with battered women and to describe research practices that facilitate collaboration among researchers and community stake-holders and that increase battered women’s self-determination and contribution to their communities. We discuss general research and specific vocational research practices to assist researchers with building research partnerships, recruiting and retaining participants, and disseminating vocational research results to effect social change.

Relationship Formation and Relational Control as Correlates of Psychotherapy Quality and Outcome.

This study examined the nature of therapist-client interactions within and across seven psychotherapy cases (a) to test whether therapeutic outcome is a function of a transition from relational incongruence to relational congruence (S. Strong, 1982) and (b) to investigate the relation of relational congruence and control to qualitative aspects of the therapy relationship and to therapy outcome. Measures of therapist and client response patterning served as indices of relational congruence and of relational control. Relationship quality was assessed in terms of therapist and client ratings of their working alliance and of therapy session depth and smoothness. Outcome was operationalized in terms of symptom reduction. Results showed limited support for a relationship between relational congruence and therapy outcome and suggested that relational control is not a significant factor in client or therapist evaluations of relationship quality or therapy outcome.

Initial Development and Psychometric Properties of the Adolescent Perceptions of Parental Pro-Educational Attitudes and Behaviors Scale

Abstract The initial development and psychometric properties of the Adolescent Perceptions of Parental Pro-Educational Attitudes and Behaviors Scale (APPPEABS) are reviewed. Evidence of content, convergent, and construct validity are reported. The APPPEABS demonstrated usefulness as a scale for predicting the role of adolescents ‘perceptions of parents’ proeducational attitudes and behaviors in school and future work success.