Trust and quality of life: A study in organizations for individuals with intellectual disability.

BACKGROUND: Based on social exchange within organizations for individuals with intellectual disability, we explore trust between supervisors and team members and its association with organizational performance oriented to the quality of life of service users. AIMS: We examine the mediating role of teams' trust in supervisors in the relationship between supervisors' trust in teams and performance focused on improving the quality of life of service users. We expect teams to reciprocate supervisors' trust by reporting greater levels of trust in supervisors and better performance. METHOD AND PROCEDURES: We tested this trust-mediated model with a sample of 139 supervisors (reporting trust in their teams), 1101 team members (reporting trust in their supervisors), and 1468 family members (reporting performance focused on quality of life). OUTCOMES AND RESULTS: Our findings confirmed a cross-level mediation process. Supervisors' trust in their teams leads to teams' trust in their supervisors. This trust at the team level in turn is positively associated with organizational performance oriented to improving the quality of life of individuals with intellectual disability, reported by family members. CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS: Our study builds on and extends an established stream of research on trust theory by considering trust and its association with performance focused on quality of life.

Fears during the Covid-19 pandemics and their influence on physical health: A cross-sectional study on the general population in Spain.

Background/objective: This study examines the paths through which Covid-19 can negatively impact health and lead to somatic symptoms. Based on the dual process theory, fears can impair health in two ways: through psychological distress, which is an automatic reaction to fear, and through a more conscious and deliberative rumination process. Method: Data from a representative sample of the Spanish population (N = 3083 subjects,18 years or older) were obtained from a Survey by the Sociological Research Center (CIS). The dual path model was tested, and a longer sequence was included where the two mediators act sequentially to produce an impact on somatic symptoms. Results: The results showed how Covid-19 fears translate into somatic problems. Beyond the direct relations, and after comparing with other possible alternative models, our findings support a process where rumination mediates between fears and psychological distress, and psychological distress in turn leads to somatic problems. Conclusions: This process reveals a plausible mechanism that explains the somatization of health problems during the Covid-19 pandemic, and it provides theoretical and practical inputs to better understand the role of fears in health in crisis contexts.

Effects of a Justice-Based Partnership Between Employees and Families in Creating Services and Supports to Enhance Quality of Life Outcomes.

We propose a justice-based partnership between employees and family members as a means to create services and support systems for people with intellectual disability, enhancing quality of life indicators. More specifically, we examine the links from mutual intergroup justice to three outcomes reported by family members: satisfaction with the center, service quality delivered by employees, and performance focused on the quality of life of people with intellectual disability. We used data from 111 centers. In each center, a group of family members (n = 845) and a group of employees (n = 914) participated. Multilevel modeling revealed that mutual intergroup justice (between employees and family members) has a positive effect on satisfaction with the center, perceptions of functional and relational service quality, and performance based on quality of life.

Linking functional and relational service quality to customer satisfaction and loyalty: differences between men and women.

This study assessed differences between men and women in the association of perceptions of service quality with customer evaluations. Functional (efficiency with which the service is delivered) and relational (customers' emotional benefits, beyond the core performance, related to the social interaction of customers with employees) dimensions of service quality were measured as well as customer satisfaction and loyalty. The sample of 277 customers (191 men, 86 women), surveyed in 29 Mexican hotels, had a mean age of 38.1 yr. (SD=9.7) for men and 34.5 yr. (SD=11.0) for women. To be eligible for survey, customers had to have spent at least one night in the hotel in question. Analysis indicated that the women and men differed in the association of functional and relational dimensions of service quality with their satisfaction and loyalty. Functional service quality was higher for the men than the women, while relational service quality showed greater predictive power for women than for men, although these accounted for only 4% of the customers' satisfaction variance and 6% of the loyalty variance.

Participation in collaborative projects as a precursor of trust in organizations for individuals with intellectual disability.

The present study focuses on organizations delivering services to individuals with intellectual disability, where trust relations between professionals and family members are required. More specifically, we examine the existence of significant differences in the degree to which family members and professionals trust each other. We also propose that their joint participation in collaborative teams (VI) will improve trust (VD). Specifically, our teams (experimental condition) designed and implemented collaborative projects with the participation of professionals and family members. Participants in the control condition did not participate in the collaborative projects. Our results confirmed that family members trust professionals more than professionals trust family members. Their joint participation in collaborative projects improved professionals' trust in family members over time, compared to the control condition. The effect of collaborative projects was not significant for family members' trust in professionals.

The Positive Spiral Between Problem-Solving Management and Trust: A Study in Organizations for Individuals With Intellectual Disability.

To achieve their goals, organizations for individuals with intellectual disability have to stimulate high-quality relationships between professionals and family members. Therefore, achieving professionals' trust in family members has become a challenge. One relevant factor in explaining professional's trust in families is the degree to which family members use the "problem-solving" conflict management strategy (high concern for oneself but also for the other party) in their disputes-disagreements with professionals. It is reasonable to argue that when family members use problem-solving conflict management, professionals' trust increases. Professionals' trust, in turn, stimulates the use of problem-solving strategies by family members. However, it is also plausible that professionals are the initiators of this positive spiral (professionals' trust-problem-solving conflict management by family members-professionals' trust). To examine this relationship between problem solving and trust over time, we conducted a longitudinal survey study in which 329 professionals reported on these two constructs three times (with 4 weeks between the measurements). Using structural equation modeling, we compared four nested models: (a) stability, (b) causality (where the problem-solving strategy by familiar members is the initiator of the spiral), (c) reversed causation (where the professional's trust is the initiator of the spiral), and (d) reciprocal (where problem-solving conflict management and trust reinforce each other). The results of the χ2 difference tests, regarding the comparison of the models, showed that the reciprocal model was significantly superior to the alternative proposals. Our findings supported a complex view of the relationships between problem-solving conflict management and trust, based on dynamic reciprocal relationships over time.

Sex differences in the psychophysiological response to an intergroup conflict.

Conflict induces psychophysiological responses, but less is known about responses to intergroup conflict. Intergroup relationships activate social processes, adding complexity to people's physiological responses. This study analyzes the psychophysiological responses to intergroup conflict considering sex differences. Thus, 150 young people were distributed in 50 groups in two conditions (conflict vs. non-conflict). Conflict was created in the interaction between two groups (three people each) in the laboratory. Their responses were compared to a control group. Mood, heart rate variability, cortisol, and testosterone were measured. Results showed that intergroup conflict induced a less pronounced decrease in negative and positive mood, and a reduction in parasympathetic activity (RMSSD of IBI). Moreover, women in conflict showed lower testosterone levels than men in conflict and control women. Finally, women's conflict perception correlated with their psychophysiological response. Results suggest that intergroup conflict induces emotional, cardiovascular, and endocrine responses, and that men and women interpret conflict differently.

Enhancement of antitumor properties of rhTRAIL by affinity increase toward its death receptors.

Tumour necrosis factor-related apoptosis-inducing ligand (TRAIL) is a potent and selective inducer of apoptosis in various tumor types, raising enthusiasm for TRAIL as a potential anticancer agent. TRAIL-induced apoptosis is mediated by death receptors 4 (DR4) and DR5. The design of rhTRAIL variants either with improved affinity or selectivity toward one or both death-inducing receptors is thought to enhance the therapeutical potential of TRAIL. Here we demonstrate that a single amino acid mutation at the position of glycine 131 to lysine or arginine in wild-type rhTRAIL significantly improved the affinity of rhTRAIL toward its death receptors, with the highest affinity increase observed for the DR4 receptor. These variants were able to induce higher in vitro levels of apoptosis in cancer cells responsive to only DR4 or to both death receptors and could therefore increase the potential use of rhTRAIL as an anticancer therapeutic agent.

Reconstruction of protein backbones from the BriX collection of canonical protein fragments.

As modeling of changes in backbone conformation still lacks a computationally efficient solution, we developed a discretisation of the conformational states accessible to the protein backbone similar to the successful rotamer approach in side chains. The BriX fragment database, consisting of fragments from 4 to 14 residues long, was realized through identification of recurrent backbone fragments from a non-redundant set of high-resolution protein structures. BriX contains an alphabet of more than 1,000 frequently observed conformations per peptide length for 6 different variation levels. Analysis of the performance of BriX revealed an average structural coverage of protein structures of more than 99% within a root mean square distance (RMSD) of 1 Angstrom. Globally, we are able to reconstruct protein structures with an average accuracy of 0.48 Angstrom RMSD. As expected, regular structures are well covered, but, interestingly, many loop regions that appear irregular at first glance are also found to form a recurrent structural motif, albeit with lower frequency of occurrence than regular secondary structures. Larger loop regions could be completely reconstructed from smaller recurrent elements, between 4 and 8 residues long. Finally, we observed that a significant amount of short sequences tend to display strong structural ambiguity between alpha helix and extended conformations. When the sequence length increases, this so-called sequence plasticity is no longer observed, illustrating the context dependency of polypeptide structures.

[A cross-level analysis of the links between service quality and disconfirmation of expectations and customer satisfaction]. / Un análisis transnivel de las relaciones de la calidad de servicio y la confirmación de expectativas con la satisfacción de los usuarios.

This article examines links between disconfirmation of expectations and functional and relational service quality perceived by employees and customer satisfaction. A total of 156 employees, who were working in 52 work units, participated in the research study. In addition, 517 customers who were assisted by these work units were surveyed. Using a cross-level approach, we used a random coefficient model to test the aforementioned relationships. A strong relationship between disconfirmation of expectations and customer satisfaction was observed. Also, the results confirmed that functional service quality maintains an additional and significant association with customer satisfaction. In contrast, there were no significant relationships between relational service quality and customer satisfaction. The article concludes with a discussion of these results.

Why do people spend money to help vulnerable people?

Prosocial spending has been linked to positive benefits for individuals and societies. However, little is known about the precursors of prosocial spending directed to vulnerable people. We experimentally tested the effect of a first exposure to a prosocial donation decision on subsequent prosocial spending. We also examined the direct links from eudaimonic well-being beliefs (contribution-to-others and self-development) to prosocial spending, as well as the interaction between these beliefs and autonomy in predicting the money given. A total of 200 individuals participated in the study. Results showed that, compared to two control groups ("totally self-focused" and "no first-exposure"), an initial exposure to a prosocial donation decision increases subsequent prosocial spending. In addition, we observed an anchoring bias from the initial prosocial donation to subsequent prosocial spending. Regression analyses also confirmed the existence of a positive significant relationship between contribution-to-others beliefs and prosocial spending. Finally, we observed a significant interaction between autonomy and self-development well-being beliefs, such that autonomy strengthens the link from self-development beliefs to prosocial spending. In general, our results confirmed the significant role of exposure, anchoring, autonomy, and well-being beliefs in predicting the money spent to help vulnerable people.

[Tangibles as predictors of customer satisfaction in sports services]. / Los tangibles como predictores de la satisfacción del usuario en servicios deportivos.

This study investigates the power of tangible dimensions of service quality to predict customer satisfaction. For this purpose, we statistically controlled the effects of dimensions of service quality that describe social interaction between employees and customers, both functionally and relationally. A field survey was conducted with the participation of 556 customers of a sports centre. The results showed that tangible dimensions of service quality predicted an additional and significant amount of customer satisfaction variance, beyond the effects of service quality of the social interaction. The article concludes with the discussion of the implications of these results.

Fears during the Covid-19 pandemics and their influence on physical health: A cross-sectional study on the general population in Spain

Background/objective: This study examines the paths through which Covid-19 can negatively impact health and lead to somatic symptoms. Based on the dual process theory, fears can impair health in two ways: through psychological distress, which is an automatic reaction to fear, and through a more conscious and deliberative rumination process. Method: Data from a representative sample of the Spanish population (N = 3083 subjects,18 years or older) were obtained from a Survey by the Sociological Research Center (CIS). The dual path model was tested, and a longer sequence was included where the two mediators act sequentially to produce an impact on somatic symptoms. Results: The results showed how Covid-19 fears translate into somatic problems. Beyond the direct relations, and after comparing with other possible alternative models, our findings support a process where rumination mediates between fears and psychological distress, and psychological distress in turn leads to somatic problems. Conclusions: This process reveals a plausible mechanism that explains the somatization of health problems during the Covid-19 pandemic, and it provides theoretical and practical inputs to better understand the role of fears in health in crisis contexts. (AU)

Organizational performance focused on users' quality of life: The role of service climate and "contribution-to-others" wellbeing beliefs.

The investigation of organizational factors as precursors of the quality of life (QoL) of service users in organizations for individuals with intellectual disability has been relatively neglected.With this in mind, this study tests the mediation of service climate between employee's "contribution-to-others" wellbeing beliefs (COWBs) and organizational performance focused on the QoL of individuals with intellectual disability. A total of 104 organizations participated in the study. Data were collected from 885 employees and 809 family members of individuals with intellectual disability. The results of the multilevel mediation model supported the hypotheses. When employees believe that their own wellbeing depends on helping others (COWBs) service climate reported by employees is stimulated. Service climate in turn was associated with organizational performance focused on QoL of people with intellectual disability, assessed by family members. The manuscript concludes with theoretical and practical implications of the study.

La Transformación Organizacional en los Servicios de Atención Temprana en Castilla la Mancha Hacia un Enfoque Centrado en la Familia / Organizational Transformation in Early Intervention Services in “Castilla-La Mancha”: Towards an Approach Centered in the Family

Se está produciendo un cambio en España, y a escala internacional, con respecto a la atención temprana y a la concepción de los/as niños/as y la discapacidad (Tamarit, 2015). Se está pasando de un enfoque clínico, basado en la rehabilitación y centrado en las/los niñas/os, a un enfoque más global, sistémico, ecológico, centrado en la familia y en los entornos naturales. Sin embargo, su alcance y generalización siguen siendo desiguales. En Castilla-La Mancha (una comunidad autónoma española) se está realizando un esfuerzo de transformación en este sentido. El presente estudio, a través de entrevistas en profundidad a agentes relevantes (familiares, personal de la Administración y profesionales que ocupaban los roles de coordinación y de gerencia en entidades de Plena inclusión Castilla-La Mancha) y el análisis de su contenido, ha indagado en los avances logrados en el proceso de transformación; los factores involucrados, tanto en la vida interna de los servicios y entidades como en el entorno externo; y los principales obstáculos y los retos pendientes. A partir de la información recabada, se propone un modelo que describe la transformación y que puede facilitar la transferencia de conocimiento a centros y comunidades que estén desarrollando (o se lo estén planteando) un proceso de transformación similar hacia un enfoque centrado en la familia. (AU)

A change is taking place in Spain, and internationally, regarding early intervention and the conception of children and disability (Tamarit, 2015). It is moving from a clinical approach, based on the rehabilitation and focused on children, to a more global, systemic and ecological approach centered on the family and natural contexts. However, its scope and generalization remain irregular. In Castilla-La Mancha (a Spanish autonomous region), a transformation effort is being made in this regard. The present study, through in-depth interviews with relevant agents (family members, public administration staff, and professionals who perform coordination and management roles in organizations pertaining to “Plena inclusión Castilla-La Mancha”) and the analysis of its content, has examined the following aspects: progress made in the transformation process; the factors involved, both in the internal life of the services and organizations and in the external environment; and the main obstacles and pending challenges. Based on the information collected, a model is proposed that describes the transformation, facilitating the transfer of knowledge to centers and communities that are developing (or considering it) a similar transformation process towards an approach centered on the family. (AU)

‘Digitalized’ Competences. A Crucial Challenge beyond Digital Competences / Las competencias "digitalizadas". Un reto crucial más allá de las competencias digitales

Today’s societies are experiencing a digitalization that is transforming organizations and jobs. Scholars, practitioners, and policy makers tend to focus on digital competences as a way to adapt the general population and workers to the technological revolution, enhance competitiveness and employability, and reduce social exclusion. It is important to develop “digital competences”, but we propose that this strategy only provides a partial view of the necessary capabilities. To achieve a more complete picture, “digitalized competences” should also be considered, that is, non-digital competences that are transformed through the intervention of digital technologies. Increasingly, jobs in which purely digital skills are not core elements change dramatically when they incorporate digital objects and processes. This change forces workers and professionals to perform traditional tasks in a very different way. It is likely that the shift from non-digital to digitalized competences involves a more pervasive transformation for organizations, jobs, and workers than pure digital competences. With this in mind, this article has two main objectives. First, we provide a definition of digitalized competences, linked to job transformation. Second, we use a typology of competences (professional, core cognitive, transversal, and leadership) and some cases to illustrate this change.(AU)

La sociedad actual experimenta un proceso de digitalización que está transformando las organizaciones y puestos de trabajo. Investigadores, profesionales y desarrolladores de políticas tienden a focalizar el reto de esa transformación en las competencias digitales cuando plantean la necesidad de preparar a la población general y a los trabajadores para esa revolución tecnológica, potenciar la competitividad y empleabilidad y reducir la exclusión social. Es importante desarrollar las competencias digitales, pero esta estrategia solo proporciona una visión parcial de las capacidades necesarias. Para conseguir una visión más completa se debe considerar las “competencias digitalizadas”, es decir aquellas competencias no digitales que se transforman por la introducción de las tecnologías digitales. De forma creciente, los trabajos en los que las competencias puramente digitales no son el elemento nuclear cambian de forma dramática cuando incorporan objetos y procesos digitales. Estos cambios empujan a los trabajadores y profesionales a desempeñar las tareas tradicionales de formas muy diferentes. Es probable que el cambio de las competencias no digitales a las digitalizadas implique una transformación más importante para las organizaciones, los puestos y los trabajadores que la derivada de la incorporación de las competencias puramente digitales. En este contexto, el artículo se plantea dos objetivos principales: primero, ofrecer una definición de las competencias digitalizadas vinculada a la transformación de los puestos de trabajo y segundo, el uso de una tipología de competencias (profesionales, cognitivas nucleares, transversales y de liderazgo) presentando casos que ilustren estos cambios.(AU)

Surface acting and exhaustion: The moderating role of eudaimonia.

Surface acting (faking emotions) is one of the stressors experienced by contact employees during service interactions with customers, and it has implications for workers' exhaustion. One challenge of research and practice is to identify moderators that help to better understand the positive relationships between surface acting and exhaustion. The present study proposes the two dimensions of eudaimonia beliefs about well-being (self-development and contribution-to-others beliefs) as moderators between surface acting and exhaustion. We performed regression analyses with 817 contact employees working in 118 health-care organizations providing services to people with intellectual disability. Results confirmed the hypotheses, showing that contribution-to-others strengthens the link from surface acting to exhaustion, whereas self-development weakens this relationship. Therefore, self-development beliefs act as a protector for workers when they have to deal with situations that require surface acting.

Linking Staff Burnout to Family Members' Satisfaction in Centers for People With Intellectual Disabilities: A Service Chain Approach.

Research in centers for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities has somewhat neglected the relationship between workers' burnout and users' service evaluations. Two independent survey studies tested this connection. In the first study (100 centers, 714 workers, and 612 family members), results confirmed that burnout has a negative relationship with workers' perceptions of service quality. In turn, these perceptions are associated with the service quality perceptions of family members and their satisfaction with the service. In a replication sample (86 centers, 601 workers, and 819 family members), we reproduced these results and added situational constraints in the model. Both social and technical constraints correlated positively and significantly with burnout. These studies offer a view of the relationships between burnout and service quality.

Not Every Day is Monday for Employees Confined due to COVID-19: Anticipatory Happiness Matters / No todos los días son lunes para los empleados confinados por la COVID-19: la felicidad anticipatoria importa

This study focuses on anticipatory happiness during the week (current happiness but considering the rest of the week) in employees confined due to COVID-19. In Diary Study 1, 71 employees with home-based telework participated on five consecutive workdays (Monday-Friday). We found a quadratic change pattern with an acceleration of the increase in anticipatory happiness right before the weekend. Results also confirmed a positive association between daily variability in anticipatory happiness and daily fluctuations in job satisfaction and positive affect. In Diary Study 2, 83 employees who carried out an essential activity outside the home participated for two consecutive weeks. Our findings showed a cubic change pattern where anticipatory happiness reaches its highest average score on Friday, dropping sharply on Monday, and then the cycle (rhythm) begins again. Changes in anticipatory happiness were positively associated with changes in job satisfaction and positive affect, and negatively related to fluctuations in negative affect.(AU)

El estudio se centra en la felicidad anticipatoria durante la semana (felicidad actual, pero considerando el resto de la semana) en empleados confinados por la COVID-19. En el Estudio de diario 1 participaron 71 empleados con teletrabajo en el hogar durante cinco días laborables consecutivos (de lunes a viernes). Encontramos un patrón de cambio cuadrático con una aceleración de la felicidad anticipatoria justo antes del fin de semana. Los resultados también confirmaron una asociación positiva entre la variabilidad diaria en la felicidad anticipatoria y las fluctuaciones diarias en la satisfacción laboral y el afecto positivo. En el Estudio de diario 2 participaron 83 empleados que realizaban una actividad esencial fuera del hogar durante dos semanas consecutivas. Los resultados muestran un patrón de cambio cúbico en el que la felicidad anticipatoria alcanza la puntuación promedio más alta el viernes, cae bruscamente el lunes y luego el ciclo (ritmo) comienza nuevamente. Los cambios en la felicidad anticipatoria se asociaron positivamente con los cambios en la satisfacción laboral y el afecto positivo y negativamente con las fluctuaciones en el afecto negativo.(AU)

Coping with burnout symptoms through task significance in professionals working with individuals with intellectual disability / El afrontamiento de los síntomas de burnout a través del significado de la tarea en profesionales que trabajan con personas con discapacidad intelectual

This study examined an intervention that links task significance (one’s job has a positive impact on other people) to burnout symptoms of professionals working in organizations for individuals with intellectual disability. Professionals assigned to the experimental condition participated in teams designed to enhance the positive impact of their work on others (task significance). To do so, teams focused on a task to improve the quality of life of individuals with intellectual disability. Professionals assigned to the control condition did not participate in these teams, and they continued with their usual work. All the participating professionals answered a questionnaire about burnout before and after the intervention. Mixed ANOVA indicated that professionals who participated in teams reduced their exhaustion symptoms (comparing pre vs. post intervention scores) and kept their cynicism levels stable. Professionals assigned to the control condition increased their cynicism symptoms. We conclude with a discussion of theoretical and practical implications (AU)

Este estudio puso a prueba una intervención que vincula el significado de la tarea (el trabajo de uno tiene un impacto positivo en otras personas) con los síntomas de burnout de los profesionales que trabajan en organizaciones para personas con discapacidad intelectual. Los profesionales asignados a la condición experimental participaron en equipos diseñados para mejorar el impacto positivo de su trabajo en los demás (significado de la tarea). Para ello, los equipos se centraron en una tarea para mejorar la calidad de vida de las personas con discapacidad intelectual. Los profesionales asignados a la condición control no participaron en estos equipos y continuaron con su trabajo habitual. Todos los profesionales que participaron respondieron un cuestionario sobre burnout antes y después de la intervención. Los ANOVA mixtos indicaron que los profesionales que participaron en los equipos redujeron sus síntomas de agotamiento (comparando las puntuaciones pre y post intervención) y mantuvieron estables sus niveles de cinismo. Los profesionales asignados a la condición de control aumentaron sus síntomas de cinismo. Se concluye comentando las implicaciones teóricas y prácticas (AU)