S. Hakan Can

Adult Violence With the Mother and Sibling as Predictors of Partner Violence

The present study provides the first available evaluation of how violence with the mother and siblings during adulthood is associated with the occurrence of partner violence in young adults. Because a pattern of reciprocal partner violence is well documented, the authors hypothesized that reciprocal violence would also be found for adults and their mothers and for adults and their siblings. The authors also hypothesized that reciprocal violence with the mother and sisters would explain variance in partner violence even when controlling for other known predictors (poverty, poor family support, stress, anger, low self-esteem). Study participants included 377 college adults (114 men, 263 women; mean age = 24.4 years) who completed questionnaires to report their present violence to and from their mothers, sisters, brothers, and romantic partners. Violence is measured with a modified Conflict Tactics Scale. No sibling gender differences are found in violence reported as adults. Factor analysis confirms good fit for three clusters of reciprocal violence for adults: violence with the mother, violence with siblings, violence with the romantic partner. Violence with the mother and siblings significantly explains variance in partner violence even after controlling for other contextual variables, but only for women. One interpretation of present results is that because women receive less socialization than men to use violence, these two within-family models of violence have more significance for increasing their risk of partner violence. Partner violence prevention programs could include participation of mothers and siblings to enhance development of more peaceful conflict resolution patterns within and outside the family.

Behavioral Variables Associated with Obesity in Police Officers

Past research has documented that non-behavioral variables (such as long work hours, exposure to police stressors) are associated with obesity risk in police officers, but limited research has examined behavioral variables that might be targeted by Employee Assistance Programs for police weight management. The present study compared non-obese and obese officers for behavioral variables found associated with obesity in other adult samples: physical activity (cardiovascular, strength-training, stretching), sleep duration, and consumption of alcohol, fruit and vegetables, and snack foods. Participants included 172 male police officers who completed questionnaires to report height and weight, used to calculate body mass index (BMI = kg/m2) and to divide them into “non-obese” and “obese” groups. They also reported the above behaviors and six non-behavioral variables found associated with obesity risk: age, health problems, family support, police work hours, police stressors, police support. ANCOVAs compared each behavioral variable across obesity status (non-obese, obese), with the six non-behavioral variables used as covariates. Results revealed that cardiovascular and strength-training physical activity were the only behavioral variables that differed significantly between non-obese and obese police officers. The use of self-reported height and weight values may provide Employee Assistance Program with improved cost, time, and officer participation.

Demographic and psychosocial variables associated with good and bad perceptions of social media use

Social Exchange Theory suggests that adults evaluate good and bad consequences of social relationships they experience, so the present study expected them to also report good and bad perceptions of social media, with perceptions varying according to demographic and psychosocial characteristics. Study participants included 201 working adults (74.6% women; 90.0% Caucasian; mean age?=?44.8 years) who completed online surveys to report demographics (gender, age, children, work hours, health problems), psychosocial variables (anger, self-esteem, job satisfaction, family support, friend support), and perceptions of good and bad consequences of using social media. ANCOVAs to examine demographic variables revealed that good perceptions of social media were most reported by younger individuals, and bad perceptions of social media were reported most by younger individuals and those with health problems. Multiple regression analyses to examine psychosocial variables revealed that good perceptions of social media were reported most by angry individuals with strong friend support, and bad perceptions of social media were reported most by angry individuals with low self-esteem. One interpretation of present results is that individuals use social media as a coping behavior to release anger and gather social support, although it may also produce social criticism, feeling left out, and reduced self-esteem. Examined variables associated with perceptions of social media among an adult sample.Good and bad perceptions were reported most by younger individuals.Bad perceptions were reported most by those with health problems.Good perceptions were reported most by angry individuals with strong friend support.Bad perceptions were reported most by angry individuals with low self-esteem.

Repressed anger mediates associations between sexual minority stressors and negative psychological outcomes in gay men and lesbian women

ABSTRACT Sexual minority individuals may be exposed to unique social stressors that include anticipation of harassment and concealment of their sexual identity, with increased risk for psychological problems as a result of such stressors. The present study identified coping behaviors of gay men and lesbian women that mediate these associations between sexual minority stressors and negative psychological outcomes. Participants included 128 gay men and 123 lesbian women who completed online surveys to report two social stressors (harassment, concealment), three psychological outcomes (health concerns, self-esteem, posttraumatic stress disorder [PTSD] symptoms), and seven possible coping behaviors (exercise, sleep, alcohol use, tobacco use, religiosity, expressed anger, repressed anger). For both gay men and lesbian women, repressed anger was the only coping behavior that mediated associations between sexual minority stressors (harassment and concealment for men, concealment for women) and negative psychological outcomes of health concerns, poor self-esteem, and PTSD. Results from the study suggest that responding to sexual minority stressors with repressed anger may be a “maladaptive” coping behavior that increases the risk of poor psychological outcomes. Counselors could guide sexual minority individuals to develop more “emotional openness” while taking action to reduce the prevalence of sexual minority stressors.

Comparison of police stressors and negative psychosocial outcomes for officers in departments with and without community conflict directed toward them

The present study offers a unique comparison of workplace stressors and negative psychosocial outcomes for police officers with and without community conflict directed toward their departments, using identical measures for each sample. Participants included 233 Turkish officers from Istanbul who were presently receiving community conflict targeting their department and 207 officers from the northeastern United States who were not experiencing such community conflict. The two samples differed in age, years of police service and household size, so these variables were used as covariates in ANCOVAs that compared the two samples for four police stressors (Critical Incidents, Departmental Politics, Daily Hassles, Work-Home Conflict) and three negative psychosocial outcomes (police partner conflict, romantic partner conflict, poor self-esteem). Results revealed that the Turkish officers reported less intense stressors from Critical Incidents than did the USA officers, perhaps because the atypical stressor of community conflict directed at their department reduced concerns about more typical Critical Incidents of police work (burglaries, car accidents, barricaded suspects). The impact of this community conflict may have also been evident in the increased Work-Home Conflict, increased police partner conflict and worse self-esteem reported by the Turkish police in comparison to the USA police. A limitation of the present study is that broader cultural differences between the Turkish and USA police samples could have explained differences in their stressors and negative outcomes. Future research could compare departments with and without community conflict, but matched for nationality, size and resources. Future research could also examine whether officer concerns associated with community conflict lead to reduced job performance and decisions to leave the police force.

Patrol Officer Job Satisfaction Scale (POJSS): Psychometrics and associations with individual and police department demographics

Purpose When patrol officers experience poor job satisfaction and make the decision to leave their profession, their departments face the cost of recruiting and training new officers. The purpose of this paper is to develop a new measure that could be used by police departments to identify specific dimensions of job satisfaction in their officers so that appropriate interventions could be made before officers reach the point of ending their employment. Design/methodology/approach To enhance widespread applicability of the new measure, the 221 study participants were from convenience samples of patrol officers in the USA and Turkey (95.9 percent male; mean age=29.4 years; mean service=5.9 years). Officers completed anonymous surveys to report individual and departmental demographics, to give satisfaction ratings for a variety of aspects of their work environment, and to report other psychosocial variables that might be used to assess validity of job satisfaction dimensions. Findings Exploratory factor analysis produced the 14-item Patrol Officer Job Satisfaction Scale (POJSS) with three dimensions: supervisor fairness, peer comradery, occupational pride. The three POJSS dimensions showed acceptable goodness-of-fit, internal reliability, and test-retest reliability. Multiple regression analyses demonstrated no significant associations between nine individual and department demographics (gender, age, marital status, education, service years, weekly work hours, nation, city location, number of officers) and any of the three POJSS dimensions. Research limitations/implications One limitation of the present study was that it included only convenience samples of patrol officers from the USA and Turkey. Future research could conduct confirmatory factor analyses on more diverse and representative samples of patrol officers from various international locations to determine if they also perceive the same three POJSS dimensions of job satisfaction (supervisor fairness, peer comradery, occupational pride). Practical implications Police departments could use the POJSS as an assessment tool to identify any problems of poor job satisfaction in their patrol officers so they could provide targeted improvements. For example, if patrol officers report low ratings for supportive peers, some scholars have recommended the formation of officer support groups (Johnson, 2012; Pienaar et al., 2007; Rhoades and Eisenberger, 2002; Scott, 2004; Stamper and Johlke, 2003; Toch, 2002; Walker et al., 2006). Social implications If patrol officers report low ratings for supervisor fairness, peer comradery, and occupational pride, police departments could arrange leadership seminars, hold “Clear the Air” meetings or anonymous surveys to allow patrol officers to identify specific improvements they suggest to improve these components of job satisfaction. Originality/value Research on police officer job satisfaction has been increasing in recent decades, but is still relatively sparse when compared to the study of employee job satisfaction in the private sector and other areas of government. Recent research on police job satisfaction has typically included law enforcement officers with a wide range of ranks, rather than focusing solely on patrol officers. Also, the few studies that focus on job satisfaction in patrol officers used either secondary data (Ingram and Lee, 2015) or re-evaluated data over eight-year old (Johnson, 2012). Especially with the recent turbulent events seen between community members and their front-line police officers (including in the USA and Turkey), available research may have missed the most important dimensions of job satisfaction for present patrol officers supporting the measures widespread relevance.

Parental Models of Family Violence and Associations with Partner Violence for College Women from Three Countries

The present study provides a cross-national comparison of parental models of family violence as predictors of romantic partner violence reported by college women. Participants included college women from the United States (n = 319), Spain (n = 95), and Turkey (n = 207) to report violence in five relationships: father-to-mother, mother-to-father, father-to-participant, mother-to-participant, and romantic-partner-to-participant. Multiple regression revealed that partner violence received by college women was best explained by mother-to-father violence for the United States sample, but by father-to-mother violence for the Spanish and Turkish samples. Results may be useful for college women to identify family and cultural risk factors for romantic partner violence so that they may work to protect themselves and their educational opportunities.

Models for violence by Turkish police officers toward romantic partners and police partners

Social learning theory suggests that displays of violence in close relationships would be increased for individuals exposed to family models of violence, especially from parents. Because police officers may regard their departments as a second ‘family,’ violence shown by the ‘father figure’ police supervisor may be a significant model for violence, as recent research has found for American police officers. The police supervisor might also be expected to be a powerful model for violence because Turkish police officers serve in a male-dominated workplace in a largely male-dominated society. This study examined how violence reported by Turkish police officers in their close relationships (toward romantic partners, toward police partners) was explained by parental models from the ‘home family’ (father-to-mother, mother-to-father, father-to-participant, mother-to-participant) and from the ‘police family’ (supervisor-to-participant). Study participants included 233 Turkish police officers (96% male; 66% under 30 years of age; 6.9 mean years of service) who completed anonymous questionnaires to report violence in each relationship using the six-item subscale of the Revised Conflict Tactics Scale. Multiple regression analyses revealed that the set of ‘home family’ and ‘police family’ parental models explained 42% of variance in romantic partner violence and 74% of variance in police partner aggression. Violence from the police supervisor was the most consistent and significant model, perhaps because the police supervisor was a new and powerful ‘father figure’ for the relatively young officers of the present study. Violence received from the mother was also associated with increased risk of police partner violence, perhaps because mothers were the officers’ primary caretakers during childhood, making their style of conflict resolution the most prevalent parental model. Employee assistance programs to encourage ‘Peace in the Family’ for Turkish police officers may require participation by police supervisors, who must model non-violent conflict resolution in their departments.

University Students Leaving Relationships (USLR): Scale Development and Gender Differences in Decisions to Leave Romantic Relationships.

The University Students Leaving Relationships scale was developed to identify student concerns when contemplating dissolution of romantic relationships. Participants included 1,106 students who rated the importance of issues when deciding to leave relationships. Factor analysis produced three dimensions: Missing the Relationship, Social Embarrassment, and Fear of Harm.