Personality Traits Predict Social Network Size in Older Adults.

Humans live in unusually large groups, where relationships are thought to be maintained through complex socio-communicative abilities. The size and quality of social networks are associated with health and well-being outcomes throughout life. However, how some individuals manage to form larger social networks is not well understood. If socio-communicative traits evolved to form and maintain relationships, personality traits should be associated with variation in network size. Here, using the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing (ELSA), we investigate the impact of extraversion, agreeableness, and verbal communication on network size (N = 5,202) and network size change over time (N = 1,511) in later life for kin and friend networks. Higher levels of extraversion and agreeableness were associated with greater social network sizes but did not predict network size change over 14 years. The findings are discussed considering the evolutionary hypothesis that communicative and affiliative traits may have evolved to support the maintenance of social networks.

A contribution to the validation of the Italian version of the work-related quality of life scale.

BACKGROUND: Quality of working life has been shown to play a key role in reducing strain inside and outside the workplace, supporting the fulfillment of workers' wellbeing and increasing workforce productivity. Van Laar et al. in 2007 developed the Work-Related Quality of Life (WRQoL) scale that was applied to several different work environments and translated into nine languages. OBJECTIVES: We aimed to test and validate an Italian version of the WRQoL scale. METHODS: A cross-sectional design was conducted to collect a sample of healthcare professionals (N=430) in 8 hospitals in the Northwest of Italy. Internal consistency of each scale was tested through Cronbach's alpha. A Confirmatory factor analysis was performed. Independent samples t-tests and ANOVA were performed to determine whether the scores on the subscales differed according to various socio-demographic variables. RESULTS: A seven factors structure was confirmed (Control at work; General well-being; Home-work interface; Stress at Work; Job and career satisfaction; Working conditions; Employee Engagement; χ2=682.453, p<.001; χ2 and df(251) ratio=2.71; CFI=.90; RMSEA=.06; SRMR=.06). All subdimensions showed Cronbach's alphas ≥ 0.70 but for Stress at Work (alpha 0.65). The subscales differentiated between groups of people according to several socio-demographic characteristics (i.e., profession, age, length of employment). DISCUSSION: The Italian version of WRQoL is a brief and sufficiently reliable tool that can contribute to a more complex and complete evaluation of the psychological well-being at work due to its multidimensionality. Overall, the use of this tool in occupational health practice, in addition to that of other instruments already available, should prove useful in monitoring workers' well-being before and after interventions.

Planting the seeds of change: Directionality in the narrative construction of recovery from addiction.

OBJECTIVE: The dominant theoretical perspective that guides treatment evaluations in addiction assumes linearity in the relationship between treatment and outcomes, viewing behaviour change as a 'before and after event'. In this study we aim to examine how the direction of the trajectory of the process from addiction to recovery is constructed in personal narratives of active and recovering users. DESIGN: 21 life stories from individuals at different stages of recovery and active use were collected and analysed following the principles of narrative analysis. RESULTS: Personal trajectories were constructed in discontinuous, non-linear and long lasting patterns of repeated, and interchangeable, episodes of relapse and abstinence. Relapse appeared to be described as an integral part of a learning process through which knowledge leading to recovery was gradually obtained. CONCLUSION: The findings show that long-term recovery is represented as being preceded by periods of discontinuity before change is stabilised. Such periods are presented to be lasting longer than most short-term pre-post intervention designs can capture and suggest the need to rethink how change is defined and measured.

Assessing Quality of Working Life Among Malaysian Workers.

The Work-Related Quality of Life Scale-2 (WRQLS-2) has been used to measure quality of working life (QOWL) in the United Kingdom. In this study, the scale was translated and normalized into Malay. The scale was translated using the back-translation method, pretesting, and pilot testing. It was conducted among health care and office workers. It was tested in 3 stages; confirmatory factor analysis at stages 1 and 3 and exploratory factor analysis at stage 2. The Malaysian WRQLS-2 had 5 factors: "General Well-Being," "Job and Career Satisfaction," "Employee Engagement," "Home-Work Interface," and "Stress at Work." The scale showed good convergent and construct validity and also reliability. Perception of good QOWL may differ because of cultural influences and varying work environments. The validated Malaysian WRQLS-2 can be used to determine the QOWL of Malaysian office and health care workers.

A new quality of life scale for teenagers with food hypersensitivity.

BACKGROUND: A disease-specific health-related quality of life (HRQL) scale enables the impact of current and new interventions on the HRQL of teenagers with food hypersensitivity (FHS) to be evaluated. No such scale exists for teenagers with FHS living in the U.K. This research aimed to develop and validate a disease-specific HRQL scale for this group, thus facilitating HRQL measurement in this population. METHODS: A preliminary 51-item questionnaire was generated from interviews with 21 teenagers with FHS, the coverage and acceptability of which was refined in pre- and pilot testing (N = 102). On the basis of the field test data (N = 299), principal components analysis identified those items best measuring HRQL. RESULTS: The final 34-item You and Your Food Allergy scale covered five domains: social well-being and independence, support, day-to-day activities, family relations and emotional well-being. The whole scale displayed excellent internal consistency (Cronbach's α = 0.92) and test-retest reliability (ICC = 0.87). The scale correlated as hypothesised with a generic HRQL scale (PedsQL) and discriminated by disease severity, providing evidence for its construct validity. CONCLUSIONS: The You and Your Food Allergy scale is the first HRQL scale to have been developed and validated with U.K. teenagers with FHS. Subject to further evaluation of its psychometric properties, its development has important applications in future research into the HRQL of teenagers with FHS. Short and easy-to-complete, the scale has been designed to appeal to teenagers and is likely to be useful to facilitate discussion of HRQL issues.

Teenagers' experiences of living with food hypersensitivity: a qualitative study.

Teenagers are a high-risk group for food-hypersensitivity fatalities, engage in risk-taking behaviours and may experience impaired quality of life. Understanding their experience is important to inform their care. This study aimed to describe the lived experiences of teenagers with food hypersensitivity. Individual semi-structured interviews were conducted with 21 teenagers (13-18 yr) with food hypersensitivity to a variety of foods and analysed using a phenomenological approach. Teenagers described living with (or coming to know) food hypersensitivity (FHS) as a way of life but still found living with food hypersensitivity to be burdensome. A necessary part of living with food hypersensitivity was coping with associated burden; a variety of coping strategies were employed to this effect. Teenagers described ways in which the burden of living with food hypersensitivity was alleviated or exacerbated by others. Management of food hypersensitivity was based on an assessment of acceptable risk resulting in varying levels of precaution taking. Teenagers' understanding of their FHS and ability to cope with it needs to be regularly assessed. Educational support may be required to ensure they take an appropriate level of precautions to minimize the chance of future reactions while not over compromising their quality of life. Psychological support may be required to help them to utilize healthy adaptive strategies to cope with the stresses of living with FHS. This approach is also likely to facilitate the smooth handover of responsibility from parent to teenager.

Children with speech, language and communication needs: their perceptions of their quality of life.

BACKGROUND: This study is part of a programme of research aiming to develop a quantitative measure of quality of life for children with communication needs. It builds on the preliminary findings of Markham and Dean ( 2006 ), which described some of the perception's parents and carers of children with speech language and communication needs had regarding children's experience of quality of life. However, this earlier study did not observe and evaluate the perceptions of children themselves and consequently left a vital gap in the evidence. The study reported here seeks to address this by describing the quality of life experiences reported by children and young people themselves. AIMS: The study aimed to provide a qualitative, child-centred, description of the quality of life experiences of children and young people with speech language and communication needs. METHODS & PROCEDURES: The study used a qualitative methodology to provide a credible and thick description of the quality of life experiences of children and young people with speech language and communication needs. Children and young people participating in the study were selected to represent a range of speech and language pathologies, according to their capacity to comprehend and participate within the data-collection activities. A modified focus group technique was used as a method of data collection and data were analysed according to the principles of Grounded Theory and Framework analysis. OUTCOMES & RESULTS: Seven focus group interviews were conducted with a range of children and young people in full-time education and in receipt of speech and language therapy. The data showed a number of key themes regarding children's quality of life experiences. These themes ranged from the participant's perceptions of what improves their daily lives to the difficulties they experience and consequently the negative impacts perceived on their quality of life. CONCLUSIONS & IMPLICATIONS: This study illuminates the quality of life experiences of children with speech language and communication needs. The findings are of direct benefit to clinicians, researchers, and policy-makers alike as they broaden the understanding of children's speech and language difficulties. Despite the potential bias inherent in qualitative research with children, the findings provide support for the development of a quality of life scale for children with speech language and communication needs. Such an outcome measure would enable clinicians and researchers to quantify children's quality of life, thereby broadening the range of clinical outcomes available.

The Work-Related Quality of Life scale for healthcare workers.

AIM: This paper is a report of a study to develop and test the psychometric properties of the Work-Related Quality of Life scale for healthcare workers. BACKGROUND: As problems associated with stress and job satisfaction are evident for healthcare workers and nurses, a reliable tool to assess employees' quality of working life is required. However, previous research has produced inconsistent factor structures and inadequate psychometric properties for a range of quality of working life measures. This new scale expands the concept of quality of working life by incorporating a broad six-factor structure derived from a theoretical review of the field. METHOD: We used data from a 2003 survey of 953 healthcare workers. Eighty-six per cent of the sample is female and 36% had been employed by the organization for 1-5 years. Approximately 50% of workers were employed full-time. FINDINGS: Both exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis using split-half data sets produced a good fit and a reliable 23-item, six-factor measurement model of Work-Related Quality of Life. The factors generated were labelled: Job and Career Satisfaction, General Well-Being, Home-Work Interface, Stress at Work, Control at Work and Working Conditions. CONCLUSION: The Work-Related Quality of Life measure is one of the most succinct yet psychometrically valid and reliable Quality of Working Life scales in the literature. We propose that it can appropriately be used in healthcare organizations to assess quality of working life. Further research is required to refine the instrument and assess its applicability to other areas.

Color coding of control room displays: the psychocartography of visual layering effects.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate which of three color coding methods (monochrome, maximally discriminable, and visual layering) used to code four types of control room display format (bars, tables, trend, mimic) was superior in two classes of task (search, compare). BACKGROUND: It has recently been shown that color coding of visual layers, as used in cartography, may be used to color code any type of information display, but this has yet to be fully evaluated. METHOD: Twenty-four people took part in a 2 (task) x 3 (coding method) x 4 (format) wholly repeated measures design. The dependent variables assessed were target location reaction time, error rates, workload, and subjective feedback. RESULTS: Overall, the visual layers coding method produced significantly faster reaction times than did the maximally discriminable and the monochrome methods for both the search and compare tasks. No significant difference in errors was observed between conditions for either task type. Significantly less perceived workload was experienced with the visual layers coding method, which was also rated more highly than the other coding methods on a 14-item visual display quality questionnaire. CONCLUSION: The visual layers coding method is superior to other color coding methods for control room displays when the method supports the user's task. APPLICATION: The visual layers color coding method has wide applicability to the design of all complex information displays utilizing color coding, from the most maplike (e.g., air traffic control) to the most abstract (e.g., abstracted ecological display).

Evaluation of a visual layering methodology for colour coding control room displays.

Eighteen people participated in an experiment in which they were asked to search for targets on control room like displays which had been produced using three different coding methods. The monochrome coding method displayed the information in black and white only, the maximally discriminable method contained colours chosen for their high perceptual discriminability, the visual layers method contained colours developed from psychological and cartographic principles which grouped information into a perceptual hierarchy. The visual layers method produced significantly faster search times than the other two coding methods which did not differ significantly from each other. Search time also differed significantly for presentation order and for the method x order interaction. There was no significant difference between the methods in the number of errors made. Participants clearly preferred the visual layers coding method. Proposals are made for the design of experiments to further test and develop the visual layers colour coding methodology.

The effect of name category and discriminability on the search characteristics of colour sets.

Within (and between) cultures, people tend to agree on which parts of colour space are easiest to name and what the names for these regions are. Therefore it is likely that the manipulation of ease of naming (nameability) of colours should change performance in tasks where categorisation by colour name is important. More specifically? highly 'nameable' colour sets should lead to better performance than metrically equivalent but less categorically distinct sets, when the task requires categorisation. This hypothesis was investigated by testing observers on a name-based task, the naming and subsequent identification by name of colour sets with up to sixteen members. These sets were designed to be easy to name (nameable), maximally discriminable, or matched discriminable. The first were derived from previously generated data, the second by a standard algorithm to space colours widely in colour space, and the latter by closely matching their metric characteristics to those of an easy-to-name colour set. This final condition was metrically (but not categorically) equivalent to the nameable set. It was found that sets designed to be nameable did indeed lead to superior performance as measured by response times, confidence ratings, and response accuracy. Perceptual colour similarity, measured by a AE metric, did not predict errors. Nameability may thus be a valid, manipulable, aspect of sets of colours, and one which is not otherwise duplicated in the metric characteristics of such sets.