Perceived Parental Acceptance–Rejection in Childhood Predict Psychological Adjustment and Rejection Sensitivity in Adulthood Abstract The present study examined relationships between childhood parental acceptance–rejection and the current psychological adjustment and rejection sensitivity of young adult men and women. The study also explored independent effects of childhood parental acceptance–rejection on the current psychological adjustment and rejection sensitivity of young adult men and women. Data were collected from 514 university students (49% female and 51% male) in Bangladesh. The mean age of the respondents was 22 years with a range of 18 through 26 years. Measures used were Adult version (short form) of the Parental Acceptance–Rejection Questionnaire for Mothers and Fathers, the Rejection Sensitivity Questionnaire, and the Adult version of the Personality Assessment Questionnaire. Results revealed significant correlations between remembered maternal and paternal acceptance–rejection in childhood and current psychological adjustment and rejection sensitivity of young adult men and women. Hierarchical regression analysis showed that both maternal and paternal acceptance in childhood have significant independent effects on the current psychological adjustment of both male and female young adults. Results also showed that perceived paternal rejection in childhood has significant independent effects on the rejection sensitivity of both young adult men and women, but perceived maternal rejection in childhood has no significant effects on the rejection sensitivity of young adult men and women.

Examining the Psychometric Properties of a Modified Students’ Life Satisfaction Scale: A Rasch Measurement Approach Abstract Drawing on data from the second wave of the Children’s Worlds: International Survey of Children’s Well-Being, this study examined the psychometric properties of a modified Students’ Life Satisfaction Scale (SLSS) using the Rasch measurement model in a sample of 1817 10- and 12-year-old children belonging to a highly collectivistic South Asian country, Nepal. Results of the study revealed that the modified SLSS data met the assumptions of the Rasch measurement model, and the internal structure of the modified SLSS represented a hierarchy of item difficulties. The modified SLSS items also exhibited adequate model-data fit, and they were found to be invariant across gender and age groups. Taken together, the modified SLSS is a psychometrically sound measure appropriate for assessing life satisfaction among Nepalese children.

Psychological Capital Augments Employee Engagement Abstract The purpose of this paper is to examine the importance of psychological capital as a significant predictor of employees’ engagement and also how these positive psychological capabilities motivate employees to perform beyond their job description. In today’s competitive environment, it is a challenging task for all organizations to enhance the levels of work engagement among employees. To address this challenge, the present study focuses on how core dimensions of psychological capital are related to employee engagement, as it contributes positively to different workplace outcomes and performance level of employees. The study has been conducted using a sample of 200 IT professionals. Data analyses were performed using correlation analysis and structural equation modeling. The result of path coefficient (β = .70, p < .001) suggested that high (low) psychological capital was associated with high (low) employee engagement. A positive and significant correlation was reported between psychological capital and employee engagement. The findings suggested psychological capital work as a significant predictor, along with the other variables in fostering employee engagement.

Social Connections and Well-Being: With Whom Do You Identify and Why? Abstract Feeling connected to others is a basic human need, but there are types of social connections that have yet to be examined in relation to one’s well-being. We hypothesized that identifying with people in one’s community, country, and world would all predict unique variance in well-being. We also hypothesized that the association between identification with all humanity and well-being is stronger among ethnic minorities and participants in outreach programs. Study 1 (n = 507 college sample) and Study 2 (n = 258 middle adulthood sample) participants completed surveys that assessed their varying identifications and well-being levels. Study 1 revealed that identifying with people in one’s community and country predicted well-being, but identifying with all humanity did not. Study 2 revealed the association between identification with all humanity and well-being to be stronger among members of minority groups than among members of the majority.

Role of Parents’ Socio-Economic Status, Parenting Styles and Alcohol Locus of Control on Alcohol Attitudes Abstract We assessed the roles of gender, parents’ socio-economic status (SES), parenting styles and alcohol-related locus of control (ALoC) on attitudes towards alcohol use among first-year students in a Nigerian university. In a school-based cross-sectional study, 300 first-year university students within the ages of 16 and 31 years with mean age of 21.28 and standard deviation of 2.85 completed copies of a questionnaire. Hierarchical multiple regression showed that being male, high perception of parents’ SES, low levels of responsiveness, high autonomy-granting, high demanding parenting styles and external ALoC were highly predictive of positive alcohol use attitudes and accounted for 41% of the variance. Positive alcohol attitudes were mostly predicted by high level of autonomy-granting and less responsive parenting styles, with alcohol-related locus of control recording the lowest contribution. Effective alcohol-related attitudinal change among students should be encouraged while less autonomy-granting and more responsive parenting styles should be adopted by parents. We recommend especially for the male students, the need to see themselves as capable of controlling alcohol-related attitude and behaviour.

The Role of Job Satisfaction behind the Link between Group Cohesion, Collective Efficacy, and Life Satisfaction Abstract The thrust of this study is to understand whether a group member’s perception of their cohesion and collective efficacy impacts life satisfaction. It examines whether job satisfaction mediates between group cohesion and collective efficacy. The hypotheses were tested using structural equation modeling on data obtained through questionnaire from 389 software professionals deployed on various projects. Controlling for the effects of job satisfaction, the results revealed that job satisfaction is a partial mediator between group cohesion and life satisfaction. However, job satisfaction did not mediate the relationship of collective efficacy with life satisfaction. Contrarily, collective efficacy is found to be negatively significantly associated with the mediator of job satisfaction. The authors discussed these results in relation to the literature on job satisfaction, group cohesion, collective efficacy, and issues related to life satisfaction specificity.

Entrepreneurial Passion, Self-efficacy, and Spiritual Intelligence among Iranian SME Owner–Managers Abstract This research aims to explore the concept of entrepreneurial passion among private sector business people and study the effects of spiritual intelligence and self-efficacy on developing and enhancing its levels. Structural equations modeling approach is being utilized. Drawing on a survey conducted among a sample of SME owner–managers in an industrial park in Tehran (Iran), it has been verified that spiritual intelligence and self-efficacy are positively associated with two dimensions of entrepreneurial passion (passion for inventing and passion for founding). However, their impact on the third dimension (passion for developing) is not statistically significant. Entrepreneurial passion is a newly formed construct in the intersection of entrepreneurship and psychological studies of the workplace literature. Empirically proved to be an effective motivator for initiating economic activities, sufficient theoretical explanations in this field are yet to come. This study is one of the first to investigate the issue in the context of a developing nation.

Beliefs about the Meaning of Life in American and Indian College Students: Similar or Different? Abstract The top ten themes regarding beliefs about the meaning of life were obtained from archival research by Kinnier et al. (J Humanist Psychol 48:196–202, 2003) from quotes of eminent people like Einstein, Gandhi, Nietzsche, and the Dalai Lama. These themes included the following: “To enjoy or experience life, enjoy the moment, the journey,” “to love, help, or serve others; to show or experience compassion,” “life is meaningless,” “to serve or worship God and/or prepare for the next (or after-) life,” “to become self-actualized,” and “life is absurd or a joke.” The present study compared American (N = 108) and Indian (N = 110) college students’ degree of agreement or disagreement with these themes. Both American and Indian participants reported the most agreement with these two themes: “Main aim of life is to love, help, or serve others; to show or experience compassion,” and “main aim of life is to enjoy or experience it.” Similarly, both American and Indian participants reported the least agreement with the following two themes: “Life is meaningless” and “life is absurd or a joke.”

New Evidence for Gender Differences in Performing the Corsi Test but Not the Digit Span: Data from 208 Individuals Abstract We investigated whether the gender differences in working memory are linked to the nature of the stimuli (verbal vs. visuo-spatial) or to the type of processing (active vs. passive). With this aim, we administered two well-known tests: Corsi Block-tapping test (CBT) and the Digit span (DS) using two versions: forward (fCBT and fDS) and backward (bCBT and bDS). During the forward processing (fCBT and fDS), subjects being required to repeat stimuli in the same order they are presented, passive working memory is assessed. Otherwise, during the backward processing (bCBT and bDS), subjects being required repeating stimuli in an order opposite to that of presentation, active working memory is assessed. A total of 208 college students (104 women) were assessed. We found a gender effect on fCBT and bCBT, but not on fDS and bDS, with men outperforming women. The results from the present study support previous findings in which the presence of gender differences emerged in visuo-spatial working memory, that is, when verbal encoding is less efficacious with respect to other strategies. Failing in finding the opposite trend in fDS and bDS, that is, women performing better than men on these tasks, previously documented, may be due to the fact that we selected a sample of young subjects with the same educational level. Indeed, gender differences in verbal working memory have been reported especially for low level of education. Furthermore, our results suggest that such differences are more related to the type of material (verbal vs. visuo-spatial) more than to the type of processing (active vs. passive). This last finding supports the idea that when age and educational level are well matched among sexes, differences due to the stimuli processing disappear.

Expressions of Women Survivors of Domestic Violence: Idioms of Distress Abstract Domestic violence is prevalent worldwide; however, there are cultural differences in women’s experiences of this phenomenon. This study used the concept of idioms of distress, to understand the impact of domestic violence on women survivors in India. A qualitative method was adopted, and semi-structured interviews were conducted with six women survivors of domestic violence. Using thematic network analysis, one global theme, four organizing themes and 19 basic themes emerged. The idioms of distress identified included, physiological idioms (such as aches and pains, nutritional deficiencies, reproductive), psychological idioms (such as depression, low self-confidence, change in aspirations and ambitions, mistrust, rumination) and behavioral idioms (such as crying, withdrawal, irritability, disturbed sleep). Of all the idioms, only nutritional deficiencies and the reproductive idioms were of concern to the survivors and their marital family. Implications for improving the screening of domestic violence are discussed based on the identified idioms and the responses toward them.