The Role of Subjective Socioeconomic Status in Predicting Academic Performance: Exploring the Mediating Influence of Sense of Belonging among Students in a Distance Learning University.

Building upon existing research conducted in face-to-face universities, our research explored whether, in the context of a distance learning institution, the positive association between subjective socioeconomic status and academic performance can be explained by students' sense of belonging. To that end, we conducted a three-wave correlational study with 2,261 students enrolled in Social Psychology in a distance learning university. At the start of the academic year, we measured participants' subjective socioeconomic status relative to other students alongside their initial expectations in terms of time investment and grades and other relevant covariates. Midway through the course, we assessed their sense of belonging to the university and, at the end, we recorded their grades. Results suggested that sense of belonging potentially serves as a mediating factor in the positive relationship between subjective socioeconomic status and grades even after accounting for variables like initial grade expectations, time commitment, gender, age, and employment situation. These findings emphasize the pivotal role of students' psychological connection to the university in shaping their academic achievement, even within the expanding landscape of distance education.

Towards a plastic-less planet. Gender and individual responsibility predict the effect of imagery nudges about marine (micro)plastic pollution on R-behavior intentions.

Emerging microplastics (MP) pollution is one of the biggest threats for the oceans today. Consumers could reduce MP pollution adopting R-behaviors such as reducing consumption of plastic, refusing products with MP, replacing them for green products, and recycling. Here we tested the efficiency of online nudges (images and short messages) for promoting MP-conscious behavior in Spain (n = 671). The perceived level of environmental responsibility and the willingness to adopt R-behaviors were measured. Messages about seafood with MP and plastic-polluted marine environment were more efficient than images of animals killed by plastics. Feeling responsible for MP pollution predicted R-behavior intention. Women would adopt more R-behaviors than men, while men were more sensitive than females to the proposed nudges. Raising the sense of environmental responsibility would be priority in education campaigns. For different cultural sensitivities to animal suffering, evoking environmental health instead of threats to wildlife would be generally recommended.

Perception of Vulnerability and Ruminant Thoughts about COVID-19 in Spanish Students.

The current situation in schools in relation to COVID-19 can generate a decrease in academic performance due to factors intrinsic to students. Therefore, rumination about COVID-19 could interfere with students' attention, resulting in a decrease in their academic performance. Therefore, the objective of this study was to explore the relationship between the perception of vulnerability to the disease and rumination about COVID-19 from a cross-sectional sample of post-compulsory education students. The differences in the perception of vulnerability to disease and rumination in different groups were analyzed, separated by gender. Our data suggest a positive relationship between the perception of vulnerability to the disease and ruminants' thoughts about COVID-19 (r = 0.29). Gender differences are significant, with women having higher scores than men in both variables.

Greater willingness to reduce microplastics consumption in Mexico than in Spain supports the importance of legislation on the use of plastics.

Introduction: Microplastics (MP) threaten all organisms worldwide. MP are produced directly as microbeads in cosmetics and hygiene products, or indirectly from breakage of larger plastics. The control of MP requires consumers' engagement to refuse products containing microbeads. Methods: We conducted a survey on 572 university students from Mexico and Spain, two countries where microbeads are not banned yet. More strict laws for plastic control areenforced in Mexico than in Spain. Results: Controlling for age and education, despite knowing less about MP, Mexicans checked for microbeads on product labels more frequently than Spaniards, and desired to reduce MP consumption more. A stronger correlation between individual awareness and willingness of MP control was found for Mexican than for Spanish students. Discussion: Perhaps more strict legislation against plastics creates an environment favorable to MP control. Unclear statement of microbeads on labels was the main reason for not checking microbead contents; environmental education and a stricter control of plastics and MP were identified as necessary policy changes in the two countries. Corporation engagement on clearer product labeling is also suggested.

Identity Leadership, Employee Burnout and the Mediating Role of Team Identification: Evidence from the Global Identity Leadership Development Project.

Do leaders who build a sense of shared social identity in their teams thereby protect them from the adverse effects of workplace stress? This is a question that the present paper explores by testing the hypothesis that identity leadership contributes to stronger team identification among employees and, through this, is associated with reduced burnout. We tested this model with unique datasets from the Global Identity Leadership Development (GILD) project with participants from all inhabited continents. We compared two datasets from 2016/2017 (n = 5290; 20 countries) and 2020/2021 (n = 7294; 28 countries) and found very similar levels of identity leadership, team identification and burnout across the five years. An inspection of the 2020/2021 data at the onset of and later in the COVID-19 pandemic showed stable identity leadership levels and slightly higher levels of both burnout and team identification. Supporting our hypotheses, we found almost identical indirect effects (2016/2017, b = -0.132; 2020/2021, b = -0.133) across the five-year span in both datasets. Using a subset of n = 111 German participants surveyed over two waves, we found the indirect effect confirmed over time with identity leadership (at T1) predicting team identification and, in turn, burnout, three months later. Finally, we explored whether there could be a "too-much-of-a-good-thing" effect for identity leadership. Speaking against this, we found a u-shaped quadratic effect whereby ratings of identity leadership at the upper end of the distribution were related to even stronger team identification and a stronger indirect effect on reduced burnout.

On the way to reduce marine microplastics pollution. Research landscape of psychosocial drivers.

Current human lifestyle generates enormous amounts of plastics and microplastics that end in the ocean and threaten marine life. Exposure to microplastics seems to threaten human health too. Although the degree of damage is not clear yet, precautionary approach urgently requires a change of societal habits. The objective of this study was to discover emerging issues of priority for psychosocial investigation. For this we have compared the landscape research of Reviews with that of Perspectives articles of the last decade, to identify mismatches that unravel still understudied subjects. Results revealed that circular economy is a focus in Perspectives but is not main topic of current psychosocial research. Regarding the actors involved in the change towards circular economy, although companies are priority in Perspectives current research is focused on consumers. Results suggest the need for more efforts on the investigation of corporative responsibility in the way to stop microplastics pollution.

Occupational Stress and Catholic Priests: A Scoping Review of the Literature.

This study offers an exploratory review of the experience of stress and burnout syndrome among Catholic priests. Following Arksey and O'Malley's (Int J Soc Res Methodol 8(1):19-32, 2005, https://doi.org/10.1080/1364557032000119616 )  protocol, a scoping study was conducted. Given the scarcity of studies found on the subject, a broad selection criterion  was used, which included quantitative, qualitative and mixed studies, literature reviews and comparative studies with other professions. The results reveal various risk factors: work overload among younger generations of priests, a sociocultural context that distrusts the clergy, neurotic, introverted, perfectionist and narcissistic personality styles, avoidant and complacent coping styles, living alone, not having sufficient support (especially from the Church authorities), excessive demands and lack of boundaries related to the priestly role and submissive obedience styles, among others. However, the studies reviewed also identified important protection factors: promoting optimism, an approach-based coping style and a collaborative way of resolving conflicts, frequent physical exercise, eating a balanced diet, finding time to rest, strengthening personal identity, social support (from parishioners, collaborators, colleagues, superiors) and leading an active spiritual life. Stress and burnout are associated with certain pathologies linked to smoking, alcoholism, obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, anxiety and depression. Strengthening protective factors and minimizing the impact of risk factors would do much to improve the clergy's occupational health.

Investigating the Relationship between Stress and Self-Rated Health during the Financial Crisis and Recession in 2008: The Mediating Role of Job Satisfaction and Social Support in Spain.

BACKGROUND: the 2008 financial crisis and subsequent recession had a strong impact on employment and certain health indicators, such as mental health. Many studies carried out with diverse samples attest to the negative influence of stress on health. However, few studies focus on stress and self-rated health among the Spanish workforce, or analyse which variables can act as a buffer against the negative effects of stress on self-perceived health. AIM: to analyse the mediator role of social support and job satisfaction in the relationship between work-related stress and self-rated health among the Spanish working population between 2006 and 2017. METHOD: repeated cross-sectional study using Spanish Surveys from 2006 to 2017, a total of 32.105 participants (47.4% women) aged 16 years and over (M = 42.3, SD = 10.7) answered a series of questions about work-related stress (PV), self-rated health (CV), job satisfaction, and social support (mediator variables) through the National Health Survey (NHS) prevalences of work-related stress, self-rated health, job satisfaction, and social support were calculated (standardised by age). We performed mediation/moderation analysis with Macro Process for SPSS to analyse the role of social support and job satisfaction in the relationship between self-rated health and work-related stress among the Spanish working population. RESULTS: three mediation analyses were conducted, one for each time point in the study period. The results revealed a significant direct association between stress and job satisfaction. In the 2006 model, both job satisfaction and social support acted as mediators between stress and self-rated health, while in the 2011 and 2017 models, only job satisfaction acted as a mediator. The data reveal that the working population in Spain has a good capacity for resilience, since no drop in health indicators was observed. CONCLUSION: following the economic recession, employment has partially recovered. However, social and employment policies are required to help the population face the recent situation triggered by the Coronavirus crisis.

Can Psychological Empowerment Prevent Emotional Disorders in Presence of Fear of COVID-19 in Health Workers? A Cross-Sectional Validation Study.

The global emergency produced by COVID-19 has been a turning point for health organizations. Healthcare professionals have been exposed to high levels of stress and workload. Close contact with infected patients and the infectious capacity of COVID-19 mean that this group is especially vulnerable to contagion. In various countries, the Fear of COVID-19 Scale has been shown to be a fast and reliable tool. Early detection of fear complements clinical efforts to prevent emotional disorders. Thus, concepts focused on positive occupational health, such as Job Crafting or psychological empowerment (PE), have been examined as a tool to prevent mental health problems at work. In this work, we intended to adapt and validate the 7-item Fear of COVID-19 Scale in health workers (N = 194). The interpretation of the measurement model indicates adequate values of internal consistency reliability, and convergent and discriminant validity. The overall goodness of fit of the model was also adequate. The structural model indicates that the implementation of job crafting measures in health services leads to workers' greater PE. High levels of anxiety and depression prevent health professionals from psychologically detaching from work. In turn, PE can reduce the emotional disorders caused by the fear of COVID-19.

Well-Being at Work after Return to Work (RTW): A Systematic Review.

BACKGROUND: Employees' well-being at work after the return to work (RTW) is considered a key aspect of rehabilitation and maintenance of workability. This systematic review aimed at identifying the common psychosocial factors that predict the subjective and psychological well-being in RTW processes after having a long-standing health problem or disability. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the subjective and psychological well-being at work of employees with chronic or long-standing health problems or those returning to work after any cause of disability. DATA SOURCE: Systematic review of articles published in English or Spanish using PsycINFO, PsycARTICLES, MEDLINE, Psychology, and Behavioral Sciences Collection, and Pubpsych. An additional study was identified by contacting expert academics in the field. The search equations used included terms such as Return to Work, Long-Standing Health Problems or Disability, Work Health Balance, and job satisfaction or subjective well-being. Eligibility criteria for the studies: Studies that included a measure of employees' well-being at work following return to work were selected for the review. Evaluation of the studies and synthesis methods: The studies were selected using predefined fields which included quality criteria. RESULTS: Of the 264 articles returned by the initial search, a total of 20 were finally selected. Results were organized around the three different theoretical approaches for understanding RTW and its antecedents and consequences: (a) RTW and autonomy at work have a positive effect on psychological well-being; (b) job demand is linked to less job satisfaction, whereas a higher level on the work-health balance is associated with job satisfaction and work engagement; (c) internal and external support is linked to job satisfaction in the case of a disease. LIMITATIONS: The evidence provided by the results is restricted by the limited availability of studies focusing on well-being at work following return to work. Moreover, the studies identified are of different kinds, thereby preventing comparisons. Conclusions and implications of the main findings: Employees' subjective well-being after return to work has received very little attention to date. Given its importance in the current configuration of the labor market, it should be the object of more research.

The Influence of Work Resources, Demands, and Organizational Culture on Job Satisfaction, Organizational Commitment, and Citizenship Behaviors of Spanish Police Officers.

The present study aims to analyze the influence of work demands and resources (support and control) on the attitudes and behaviors (satisfaction, organizational commitment, and organizational citizenship behaviors toward the organization, OCBO) of Spanish police officers, and to examine the potential mediating role of the flexibility-oriented organizational culture. Participants were 182 Spanish police officers. The analysis was carried out using the Smart PLS (Partial Least Squares) program. Firstly, reliability and convergent and discriminant validity were analyzed. Secondly, the structural model was evaluated. Overall, findings support the hypothesized model, except there was not a significant effect of demands and support on OCBO (Organizational Citizenship Behavior Organization-oriented). Results of the importance-performance map analysis also show that, in terms of predicted job satisfaction and organizational commitment, control and support are not so important, but both of them perform relatively well compared to the remaining constructs (demands and flexibility-oriented culture).

Perceived discrimination and self-esteem among family caregivers of children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) and children with intellectual disabilities (ID) in Spain: The mediational role of affiliate stigma and social support.

BACKGROUND: People with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) and people with intellectual disabilities (ID) are stigmatized, and therefore discriminated against worldwide and, on many occasions, this stigma and discrimination are expanded to include their family caregivers. The main objective of this research was to examine the consequences of perceived discrimination on family caregivers of children with ASD and children with ID. METHODS: The sample consisted of 109 Spanish caregivers of children with ASD and 83 caregivers of children with ID. They completed four questionnaires: Multidimensional Perceived Discrimination Scale, Affiliate Stigma Scale, Social Support Questionnaire and Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale. RESULTS: Using path analysis, we found support for a model in which personal discrimination perceived by caregivers was positively associated with affiliate stigma, which, in turn, was negatively related to caregivers' self-esteem. The model also shows the total mediational role of affiliate stigma in the association between perceived discrimination and self-esteem and the partial mediational role that social support plays in the association between perceived discrimination and caregivers' self-esteem. CONCLUSIONS: Caregivers' perceived discrimination negatively influences caregivers' self-esteem, but this relationship is mediated by both affiliate stigma (totally) and social support (partially). These results have theoretical and practical implications and may contribute to improving the quality of life of parents of children with ASD and ID that in turn would result in an improvement of the quality of life of their children.

The Mediating Role of Psychological Capital between Motivational Orientations and Their Organizational Consequences.

Just as we can speak of different personality traits, it is also possible to identify distinct motivational traits, which may be related to a series of organizational consequences. In this sense, understanding how these traits are related to workers performance is fundamental. Specifically, the purpose of this study is to test the mediating role of psychological capital in the relationship between such traits and organizational citizenship behaviors and counterproductive work behaviors, which is expected to be more significant in the first case. The study was carried out using a panel design, with a sample group of Spanish employees aged over 40 (n = 741), in two waves (with a 4-month interval). The results support the hypothesis that psychological capital resources may play a mediating role in some of the relationships explored and that approach orientation traits are mainly related to a better performance, fostering organizational citizenship behaviors and diminishing counterproductive work behavior. The findings show that employees who develop their personal resources may have a positive impact on their organizations. The implications of this study for counseling practices are discussed.

Consequences of perceived personal and group discrimination against people with physical disabilities.

OBJECTIVE: To analyze the consequences for self-esteem of perceived discrimination against people with physical disabilities, as individuals and as a group. METHOD: A structural model based on the psychosocial literature was tested in a sample of 288 Spanish participants with different degrees of physical disability. This model predicted that personal perceived discrimination would be associated with the internalization of stigma that, in turn, would be negatively associated with the self-esteem of people with physical disabilities. On the other hand, group perceived discrimination, was predicted to enhance group identification and promote intention to contribute to collective action and hence have a beneficial effect on the self-esteem of people with physical disabilities. RESULTS: The model provided a good fit to the data. The relationship between personal discrimination and the self-esteem of people with physical disabilities was completely mediated by internalized stigma. The model also showed that group perceived discrimination had only an indirect effect on self-esteem. CONCLUSION: This research makes two main contributions. From a theoretical perspective we found that perceived personal and group discrimination influence self-esteem through different paths. From an applied point of view, our results may contribute to the design of interventions to enhance the quality of life of people with physical disabilities. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2019 APA, all rights reserved).

The Effects of Occupational Status and Sex-Typed Jobs on the Evaluation of Men and Women.

Background: Occupational segregation by gender is one of the major problems faced by professional women in the labor market. Since the sixties, psychological explanations point out that gender stereotypes are responsible for this persistent inequality in the workforce. Nevertheless, most of research has overlooked that emotions are particularly important as the discrimination faced by professional women is better explained by the ambivalent feelings they provoke than by stereotyping. Aim: The aim of this research is to analyse from the Stereotype Content Model (SCM, Fiske et al., 2002) and the Behaviors from Intergroup Affect and Stereotypes (BIAS) Map (Cuddy et al., 2007) whether cognitive, affective and behavioral components of prejudice act jointly to explain gender segregation in the labor market. Method: 1098 Spanish workers (59% women) from different occupational sectors were requested to rate how professional men and women in high (leaders) and low status (secretaries) positions who work in male (high-tech company) and female-dominated (health company) occupations are perceived (stereotypes), as well as the affective responses and the behavioral tendencies that they arouse. Data analyses: Two analyses of variance (a) and two ANOVAs with repeated measures (b) were carried out to analyze the effect of occupational status (high vs. low), type of company (high-tech vs. health) and workers' sex (men vs. women) on: (a) the social structural variables (status and competition), (b) on the stereotyped dimensions (competence and warmth) and (c) on emotions (admiration, envy and contempt). Finally, mediational analyses were carried out to examine the link between stereotypes, emotions, and behavioral tendencies. Results: The most striking results show that (a) competition and status differentiate leaders and secretaries, (b) men leaders are rated as more competent and less warm than secretaries, whereas women leaders are viewed as more competent than women secretaries but with equivalent warmth, and (c) admiration and envy predict behavioral tendencies, but restricted to professional men regardless of organizational context. Conclusion: Results reveal that cognitive, affective and behavioral components of prejudice act jointly to explain discrimination against women in the workplace. Findings are discussed according to the SCM and the BIAS Map.

Perceived Discrimination and Emotional Reactions in People with Different Types of Disabilities: A Qualitative Approach.

The purpose of this study is to assess the discourse of people with disabilities regarding their perception of discrimination and stigma. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with ten adults with physical disabilities, ten with hearing impairments and seven with visual impairments. The agreement between the coders showed an excellent reliability for all three groups, with kappa coefficients between .82 and .96. Differences were assessed between the three groups regarding the types of discrimination they experienced and their most frequent emotional responses. People with physical disabilities mainly reported being stared at, undervalued, and subtly discriminated at work, whereas people with hearing impairments mainly reported encountering barriers in leisure activities, and people with visual impairments spoke of a lack of equal opportunities, mockery and/or bullying, and overprotection. Regarding their emotional reactions, people with physical disabilities mainly reported feeling anxious and depressed, whereas people with hearing impairments reported feeling helpless, and people with visual impairments reported feeling anger and self-pity. Findings are relevant to guide future research and interventions on the stigma of disability.

Gender-typing of leadership: evaluations of real and ideal managers.

This research focuses on female underrepresentation in managerial positions. Specifically, two studies examine gender-typing for managerial roles in Spain using ratings for real and ideal managers. In addition, we analyse the existence of same-gender bias on evaluations of the behavior of actual leaders. In the first study, 195 Spanish workers evaluate the extent to which gender-stereotypical traits are important for becoming a successful middle manager in three conditions (female managers, male managers, and managers in general). In the second study, we explore the degree to which the behavior of real Spanish managers is gender-typed and the existence of same-gender bias on leadership styles - transformational, transactional and avoidant/passive - and on leadership outcomes - effectiveness, extra effort and satisfaction - from the perspective of subordinates (N = 605). Overall, the results demonstrate that masculine characteristics were rated as more important than feminine characteristics for managerial positions, and they were more often assigned to male managers than to female managers. Unexpectedly, this manager-male association is stronger among female participants than among male participants. Our findings also demonstrate that women subordinates evaluate their same-sex supervisors more favorably in transformational leadership, effectiveness, and extra effort. The negative consequences derived from gender-typing managerial positions are highlighted according to the role congruity theory of prejudice toward female leaders. The positive effects of in-group female bias on behavior ratings are also noted. The mixed implications of these results for women's advancement to leadership positions are discussed.

Think manager--think male in adolescents and its relation to sexism and emotions in leadership.

From the perspective of the Think manager--think male, this study was conducted to examine the type of leadership role depending on gender in a sample of 158 Spanish adolescents -according to three types of leaders: "male middle leader", "female middle leader" and "middle leader in general". The kind of emotional expression (positive and negative) evoked by their leadership behaviors (task- and relationship- oriented) was also analyzed. Lastly, whether adolescents' sexist beliefs affected the attribution of traits and the emotional expression towards these leaders was examined. Results showed that task-oriented traits were more characteristic of the leadership role than relationship-oriented traits. Adolescents expressed more positive emotions towards a task-oriented leader and towards a leader behaving in ways associated with both task- and relationship- oriented styles, but only for men. Finally, hostile sexism predicted fewer task-oriented traits to female leaders, more negative affect towards task-oriented male leaders and towards counter-stereotypic leaders. These results were moderated by the sex of adolescents.

La relación entre la discriminación percibida y el balance afectivo en personas con discapacidad física: el papel mediador del dominio del entorno / The relationship between perceived discrimination and affective balance on people with physical disabilities: the mediating role of environmental mastery / A relação entre a discriminação percebida e o balanço afetivo em pessoas com deficiência física: o papel mediador do dominio do ambiente

Numerosas investigaciones ponen de manifiesto que la discriminación percibida tiene un efecto negativo importante en la salud física y mental de las personas pertenecientes a diversos grupos estigmatizados. El objetivo del presente estudio es investigar la relación entre la discriminación percibida y el balance entre emociones positivas y negativas en personas con discapacidad física. Asimismo, se analiza el papel mediador de una variable especialmente relevante en relación con las personas con discapacidad física, el dominio del entorno (Ryff, 1989a), como factor protector de la influencia negativa de la discriminación. En el estudio participaron 52 personas con discapacidad física. Los resultados mostraron que la relación negativa entre la discriminación percibida y el balance afectivo se reduce significativamente al introducir el dominio del entorno en la ecuación. Asimismo, se encontró que la edad de los participantes está positivamente relacionada, tanto con el balance afectivo, como con el dominio del entorno. Esta investigación demuestra que en la medida en que las personas con discapacidad física se sienten con la habilidad personal de elegir o crear entornos favorables, los efectos negativos del estigma disminuyen.

There is a large body of research showing that perceived discrimination has a negative effect on physical and mental health of persons belonging to different stigmatized groups. The aim of this study is to investigate the relationship between perceived discrimination and affective balance in people with physical disabilities. In addition, the mediating role of a special relevant variable -the environmental mastery (Ryff, 1989a) - is analyzed in relation to people with physical disabilities as a protective factor against negative discrimination. Participants in the study were 52 people with physical disabilities. Results showed that the negative relationship between perceived discrimination and affective balance is significantly reduced by introducing environmental mastery into the equation. It was also found that the age of the participants shows a positive association both with affective balance and environmental mastery. This research shows that to the extent that people with physical disabilities feel able to choose or create favorable environments, the negative effects of stigma are reduced.

Numerosas pesquisas põem em evidência que a discriminação percebida tem um efeito negativo grande na saúde física e mental das pessoas pertencentes a diversos grupos estigmatizados. O objetivo do presente estudo é pesquisar a relação entre a discriminação percebida e o balanço entre emoções positivas e negativas em pessoas com deficiência física. Da mesma forma, analisa-se o papel mediador de uma variável especialmente relevante em relação com as pessoas com deficiência física, o domínio do ambiente (Ryff, 1989a), como fator protetor da influência negativa da discriminação. No estudo participaram 52 pessoas com deficiência física. Os resultados mostraram que a relação negativa entre a discriminação percebida e o balanço afetivo se reduz significativamente ao introduzir o domínio do ambiente na equação. Da mesma forma, encontrou-se que a idade dos participantes está positivamente relacionada, tanto com o balanço afetivo, como com o domínio do ambiente. Esta pesquisa demonstra que na medida em que as pessoas com deficiência física sentem-se com a habilidade pessoal de escolher ou criar ambientes favoráveis, os efeitos negativos do estigma diminuem.