Authentic Behavior and Job Satisfaction among Child Welfare Caseworkers.

This study was designed to investigate the relationship between authentic behavior and job satisfaction among child welfare caseworkers in Pennsylvania. Confirmatory factor analysis was conducted to validate the domains of the Authentic Behavior Scale (balanced processing, relational transparency, and internalized morality) and Job Satisfaction Scale, and the results provided consistent support for the factorial structure of the scales across child welfare caseworkers. The findings of this study revealed a positive correlation between authentic behavior and job satisfaction. To further explore this relationship, a path model was developed that included the elements of authentic behavior, job satisfaction, and demographic variables. The results indicated an association between the type of agency and internalized morality, impacting job satisfaction. Private workers showed a higher level of authentic behavior compared with public workers, with authentic behavior associated with greater job satisfaction. The findings suggest that authentic behavior can play a crucial role in social work practice and warrants considerable attention.

Coresidence of Older Parents and Adult Children Increases Older Adults' Self-Reported Psychological Well-Being.

A multigenerational household is no longer a rare phenomenon in contemporary society. However, relevant literature has focused on elderly parents receiving support from their adult child, thereby coresiding. This is potentially problematic, as both generations could benefit from living together, and little is known about the benefit of living with adult children from older adults' perspectives compared to the risk of this living situation. Previous research suggests a significant negative effect of living alone, e.g., low psychological well-being, and it becomes more salient among single parents, such as widowed or divorced. The current paper utilizes the National Health Measurement Study with a sample of age 55 and over. Their SF-36 Mental Health and Physical Health Component and self-acceptance scores were measured. Path analysis reveals that both physical and mental health and self-acceptance scores are lower among single older adults at the time of the survey (e.g., divorced and widowed) than among those who are nonsingle and living with their adult child. A complete mediation effect of living with an adult child on older adults' mental health and self-acceptance was observed in both White and non-White minority older adults. This suggests that living with an adult child possibly serves as a protective factor for the negative relationship between living alone and their well-being. The current study seeks to stimulate ideas that might generate the following answer to community-based care in our contemporary aging society.

Stereotype Threat Lowers Older Adults' Self-Reported Hearing Abilities.

BACKGROUND: Although stereotype threat is a well-documented phenomenon, previous studies examining it in older adults have almost exclusively focused on objective cognitive outcomes. Considerably less attention has been paid to the impact of stereotype threat on older adults' subjective assessments of their own abilities or to the impact of stereotype threat in noncognitive domains. OBJECTIVE: Older adults are stereotyped as having experienced not only cognitive declines, but physical declines as well. The current study tested the prediction that stereotype threat can negatively influence older adults' subjective hearing abilities. METHODS: To test this, 115 adults (mean age 50.03 years, range 41-67) read either a positive or negative description about how aging affects hearing. All participants then answered a questionnaire in which they assessed their own hearing abilities. RESULTS: The impact of stereotype threat on self-reported hearing was moderated by chronological age. Participants in their 40s and early 50s were unaffected by the stereotype threat manipulation. In contrast, participants in their late 50s and 60s rated their hearing as being subjectively worse when under stereotype threat. CONCLUSION: The current study provides a clear demonstration that stereotype threat negatively impacts older adults' subjective assessments of their own abilities. It is also the first study to demonstrate an effect of stereotype threat within the domain of hearing. These results have important implications for researchers investigating age-related hearing decline. Stereotype threat can lead to overestimation of the prevalence of age-related hearing decline. It can also serve as a confounding variable when examining the psychosocial correlates of hearing loss. Because of this, researchers studying age-related hearing loss should aim to provide a stereotype threat-free testing environment and also include assessments of stereotype threat within their studies.