What Does the Ambiguous Intentions Hostility Questionnaire Really Measure? The Importance of Context in Evaluating Hostility Bias.

We examine the psychometric validity of the Ambiguous Intentions Hostility Questionnaire (AIHQ) by applying confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). Previous analysis of psychometric features of the AIHQ showed problems with internal consistency and stability of the tool over time. By using CFA we wanted to check whether the scenes depicted in the questionnaire actually measure the same construct and whether the subscale measures are intercorrelated. The analysis included ambivalent scenes and was conducted on offenders (N = 108) and the general population (N = 161). Results indicated that the structure proposed by the AIHQ authors differs from that revealed by the statistical procedures. It appears that the AIHQ factor structure is centered on situational contexts rather than on particular questions measuring constructs of hostility and blame. We discuss these findings with regard to application of the AIHQ in clinical samples.

Toward a better understanding of the health impairment process. Types of demand and burnout component matter.

The aim of the study was to better understand the health impairment process, postulated by Job Demands-Resources (JD-R) model. Previous studies on the process have not clearly explained which types of job demands (challenge vs. hindrance) lead to depression and which burnout component (exhaustion or disengagement from work) mediates job demands-depression link. The direct and indirect (mediated via exhaustion and disengagement from work) effects of challenge and hindrance stressors (included 6 different demands) on depression were investigated in this 1-year cross-lagged study. Data were collected among 752 social service workers in Poland. Structural equation modeling confirmed a slightly different effects of challenge and hindrance stressors (T1) on the two components of job burnout (T2) and depression (T2). Hindrance (but not challenge) stressors were related to high depression. Hindrance stressors intensified exhaustion and disengagement from work, while challenge stressors were only associated with high exhaustion. Exhaustion (but not disengagement from work) was related to depression. These findings support the mediation function of burnout in the health impairment process but only in relation to exhaustion. They also showed that the challenge-hindrance distinction is justified also in the JD-R model. The implications for theory and research on the mental health of employees, as well as for human management practice are discussed.

Full evaluation of the psychometric properties of COPSOQ II. One-year longitudinal study on Polish human service staff.

PURPOSE: The aim of the study was the full evaluation of the psychometric properties of the COPSOQ II in one-year longitudinal study on human service staff in Poland. Data were collected from 599 employees representing three occupational groups related to human service work. METHODS: CFA was conducted in the structure proposed by the author of the original tool, based on one model, which included 119 observable variables forming 33 latent variables (single item subscales were excluded from analysis). To our knowledge, this was the first complete validation of the entire model using CFA. Reliability analysis was performed using two methods: internal consistency analysis and test-retest analysis. Predictive validity was assessed by correlating COPSOQ II variables with ten criterion variables related to job demands, job resources, work-family conflicts, mental health and well-being. RESULTS: According to the results, CFA supported the original structure of the COPSOQ II. Most of the 33 subscales were characterized by good or very good psychometric parameters. The obtained results confirmed also the fairly high reliability, as well as high convergence validity of all subscales of COPSOQ II. CONCLUSION: The final conclusion is that COPSOQ II is characterised by satisfactory psychometric properties and could be successfully used to fulfil the demand for reliable and comprehensive assessment methods also in Polish job market settings.

Longitudinal Relation between Comprehensive Job Resources and Three Basic Psychological Needs at Work.

This study aims to understand the long-term relation between comprehensive job resources and the three basic psychological needs at work (autonomy, relatedness and competence). The study was conducted in a progressive design on a sample of 1025 Polish human service professionals. Based on a typology of job resources, the three aggregated job resources index related to the task, leadership and interpersonal relations were created and the effects of each of them on the satisfaction and frustration of the three basic psychological needs, measured after 8 months, were tested. The analysis conducted by using of structural equation modelling showed that task resources are associated with the three basic psychological needs more strongly than two other kinds of resources and that that both leadership and interpersonal resources were related to the satisfaction and frustration of all the needs to the same extent. The results are discussed in the paradigm of the Conservative of Resources and the Self Determination theories.

Towards Better Understanding of the Harmful Impact of Hindrance and Challenge Stressors on Job Burnout of Nurses. A One-Year Cross-Lagged Study on Mediation Role of Work-Family Conflict.

The mediation role of work-family conflict (WFC) in job demands - job burnout link is well documented, also in group of nurses. It is still unclear, however, which job demands are particularly conducive to WFC and job burnout. Moreover the mediational effect of WFC was tested mainly in cross-sectional studies that were conducted in countries of North America and Western Europe. Drawing on the Job Demands-Resources and the Effort-Recovery models, this one-year cross-lagged study investigates the effects of five types of job demands related to challenge and hindrance stressors on job burnout (measured with exhaustion and disengagement from work) as well as the mediational role of WFC in Polish nurses. Job demands included emotional, cognitive demands, and demands for hiding emotions (as challenge stressors) as well as quantitative demands and work pace (as hindrance stressors). Data were collected among 516 nurses. Structural equation modelling (SEM) showed that hindrance stressors (T1) are predictor of higher job burnout (T2). The positive role of challenge stressors (T1) were not supported. Only emotional demands were associated with exhaustion but the direction of the relation was opposite than expected. WFC (T1) mediated the harmful effect of the two hindrance stressors and emotional demands on disengagement from work (but not on exhaustion). Cognitive demands and demands for hiding emotions were not related to negative outcomes. The obtained results shed light on the role of the challenge-hindrance stressors and WFI in development of job burnout. The implications for theory and research on the mental health of nurses are discussed.

Is self-determination good for your effectiveness? A study of factors which influence performance within self-determination theory.

Despite the vast body of studies within self-determination theory, the impact of factors which influence performance in experimental paradigm is still underresearched. The aim of the two studies presented in this paper was to investigate the impact of basic psychological needs on performance with the simultaneous presence of external incentives. Study 1 tested whether the satisfaction of competence and relatedness during task performance (while external incentives were present) can impact individual's performance. Study 2, on the other hand, investigated whether the basic psychological needs and provision of external incentives can impact an individual's performance. Moreover, in both studies the mechanisms behind the need-performance relationship was checked. Our results showed that out of the three basic needs, competence had the strongest positive impact on performance, which was partially mediated by the subjective evaluation of the levels of difficulty and intrinsic motivation. The weak relationship between relatedness and task performance was fully mediated by the level of intrinsic motivation.

The basic psychological needs satisfaction and frustration scale at work: A validation in the Polish language.

The aim of this research project was to validate the work-related version of the Basic Psychological Need Satisfaction and Frustration Scale (BPNSFS) into the Polish language and culture. Although studies have demonstrated the benefits associated with basic psychological need satisfaction and the costs associated with need frustration at work, the concept of needs has been neglected both in Polish scientific research and in practical organizational studies. The adaptation of the BPNSFS-Work Domain may change this situation and stimulate research in the Polish community. The scale has been validated in a sample consisting of three occupational groups: healthcare workers, education staff and customer service workers (N = 1315, Mage = 43.8). The findings suggest that the Polish scale has robust psychometric features. The CFA analysis proves that the scale has a six-dimensional structure similar to the original scale. These dimensions show satisfactory to high Cronbach's α and McDonalds ω reliability, and high criterion validity is shown by association of the six need dimensions with correlates of both positive (i.e., engagement, job crafting and self-efficacy) and negative aspects of work (i.e., burnout and stress). The structure of the scale is the same in all three occupational groups, although the regression weights and covariances are only partially invariant. The validated version of the BPNSFS-Work Domain can be used in future basic and applied studies in the paradigm of self-determination theory.

The Relationship Between the Dark Triad Personality Traits, Motivation at Work, and Burnout Among HR Recruitment Workers.

We focus on the Dark Triad personality traits (Machiavellianism, narcissism, and psychopathy) and their relationships to the mechanisms of motivation and level of burnout that people experience at work. From the motivational perspective, the needs associated with the Dark Triad traits might be satisfied in work environments by selecting different goals or motives. Moreover, the selection of different goals and motives may be related to the level of burnout syndrome that some people develop. We use the Short Dark Triad Personality Test, Barbuto's Motivation Sources Inventory, and Oldenburg Burnout Inventory to measure triad traits, preferred work motives, and level of burnout, respectively. The results show that in general, some part of the relationship between the Dark Triad traits and burnout is mediated by the motivational sources. As expected, the Dark Triad traits are more closely related to external sources of motivation (especially instrumental motivation), which are in turn partly associated with higher levels of burnout. The results also suggest that the trajectory of the relationship between the Dark Triad traits and burnout via motivation sources is different from expected, presenting a background for discussion.