Attitudinal Measures Research Articles

Do Attitudes to Immigrants Change in Hard Times? Ireland in a European Context

ABSTRACT: The enlargement of the European Union (EU) and the subsequent global economic recession has drawn attention to individual-level attitudes towards immigrants across Europe. In this context, using the European Social Survey (ESS), we compared Irish attitudes towards immigrants with those in 12 other European countries at 3 critical moments in time – prior to large immigration flows in 2002; at the height of the economic boom in 2006; and after the global financial crash in 2008. Our descriptive analysis examines whether significant changes in attitudes towards immigrants has occurred in the EU as a whole and within individual countries over time. We predicted that fluctuations in economic condition such as the rise in unemployment would affect attitudes towards immigrants. This relationship receives some support from our findings. In Ireland, positive attitudes to immigrants between 2006 and 2010 decreased and negative attitudes increased, on all attitudinal measures, more sharply than in any of the other European countries. Taking the 12 countries as a whole, attitudes have tended to polarise particularly with regard to allowing access to immigrants and their impact on the economy. This research reveals worrying trends in attitudes to immigrants in European countries, particularly in light of the importance of immigrants to the European labour market, both currently and in the future.

A Cross-Cultural Comparison of American and Japanese Experiences of Personal and Vicarious Shame

The purpose of this study was to examine cultural influences on shame. In particular, the focus was to assess the influence of the following factors on the object of shame (specifically, personal vs. vicarious shame): (1) the effect of individualism/collectivism, measured by a widely used standardized measurement; (2) the role of tightness/looseness (based on ecological factors); and (3) the patterns of within- and between-cultural differences and similarities. Data were collected from two American and two Japanese universities to test within- and between-cultural influences on the object of shame. Participants were asked to describe and rate three autobiographical experiences of shame, with each successive request being increasingly specific in asking for shame about something for which the participant did not feel responsible. Cultural differences in tightness and looseness, both within and between the two nations, were predictive of the likelihood that participants would report vicarious shame. In contrast, standard measures of individualism-collectivism did not predict these differences. These findings suggest that culture affects the object of shame. However, in contrast to our hypothesis, attitudinal measures of individualism/collectivism were not a significant predictor. Rather, tightness/looseness determined by ecological factors was the better predictor of some cultural differences on the object of shame. Furthermore, these findings imply that attitudinal measures of individualism/collectivism may not agree with ecological measures, and that including multiple samples from each language/nation effectively reduces the confound between culture and language.

Development of a medication monitoring attitude measure using a mixed methods item development process.

Medication monitoring is important for safe and effective medication use; however, no attitudinal measure exists for a health care provider's medication monitoring attitude. The objectives of this study were to (1) create a measure of a community pharmacist medication monitoring attitude; (2) test concurrent validity using a validated measure of medication monitoring behaviours; and (3) report community pharmacist attitudes towards medication monitoring. A mixed methods item development process was employed to generate Likert-type items from qualitative interviews. Following item review and piloting, a four-contact survey, including 20 6-point Likert-type items and the four-item Behavioral Pharmaceutical Care Scale monitoring domain, was mailed to 599 randomly sampled US community pharmacists from the state of Iowa. Exploratory factor analysis, Pearson's correlation and descriptive statistics were used to address study objectives. There were 254 (42.4%) returned and usable surveys. Factor analysis yielded two domains, a seven-item, positively worded internal (α = 0.819) and an eight-item, negatively worded external domain (α = 0.811). Both domains were positively correlated with the monitoring domain of the Behavioral Pharmaceutical Care Scale supporting convergent validity. Overall, respondents had a positive internal monitoring attitude with a mean of 4.62 (0.68), although many practiced in an environment less conducive to monitoring, as evident by a mean of 3.13 (0.88). Pharmacists were more oriented towards medication side effect and effectiveness monitoring than nonadherence monitoring. The mixed methods item development process created a reliable and valid measure of a pharmacist's medication monitoring attitude. While pharmacists had an overall positive medication monitoring attitude, improvements are needed to bolster adherence monitoring and make pharmacy environments more conducive to monitoring.

Being out to others: The relative importance of family support, identity and religion for LGBT latina/os

Contemporary accounts emphasize that family often plays a deleterious role in the lives of Latina/os who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender (LGBT). Though there is a vast literature on the importance of family for Latina/os, little research examines how this may affect this LGBT population. Quantitative data analysis from a nationwide sample of LGBT Latina/os (N=1159) assesses the importance of family support in understanding how many people a person chooses to be “out” to, or “outness.” It also examines how a selection of demographic characteristics, attitudinal measures of identity and religion are related to being an out LGBT Latina/o today. Findings reveal that, when controlling for a variety of characteristics and measures, family support is the strongest, positive predictor of outness for LGBT Latina/os. Two other predictors include the belief that one’s sexual orientation is an important part of one’s identity and having a connection to the LGBT community. Interestingly, when compared to their adult counterparts, youth were not likely to be out to as many people in their lives; and being born outside of the United States was found to be a consistent, negative predictor of being out to others. The significance of these findings is discussed regarding future research and social movement organizing with LGBT Latina/o populations.

Interrelations of service quality and service loyalty dimensions in medical tourism

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to identify the dimensions of service quality as well as of service loyalty in the context of medical tourism. It seeks to demonstrate the conceptualization of medical tourism service loyalty (MTSL) construct. This research also attempts to examine the effect of service quality dimensions on service loyalty dimensions of medical tourism. Design/methodology/approach – The dimensions of service quality as well as of service loyalty are identified using an exploratory factor analysis. Next, the reliability and validity of the quality factors and loyalty factors are established through confirmatory factor analysis using AMOS 18.0 version. The related hypotheses are tested using structural equation modeling (SEM). Findings – The paper identifies eight-factor construct for medical tourism service quality and three-factor construct for MTSL. It is found that the treatment satisfaction dimension of service quality has positive and significant impact on MTSL. It is also observed that, overall, medical tourism service quality has positive impact on MTSL. Practical implications – These dimensions of service quality should be viewed as the levers of improving perceived service quality with respect to medical tourism. Examining the service quality dimensions’ impact on customer loyalty for medical tourism sector can offer the industry valuable insights regarding which aspects of the service to focus on in order to improve medical tourist’s satisfaction and loyalty toward the firms. Originality/value – This paper introduces the concept of service quality and service loyalty in medical tourism sector. In conceptualizing MTSL, the authors propose an integration of behavioral measures, attitudinal measures and cognitive measures. The interrelationship between the service quality construct and medical loyalty construct was established using SEM. This is useful for the healthcare manager to measure the medical tourist’s perceptions of service quality on these dimensions as related to medical tourism performance.

Development and psychometric properties of the attitudes towards heterosexuals scale (ATHS): a useful tool alone or in combination

While a number of scales exist for studying explicit attitudes towards sexual minorities (i.e., lesbians, gay men and bisexuals), there is currently no heterosexual parallel. The utility of such a scale, however, would be a boon for researchers interested in comparative, longitudinal and/or experimental studies of attitudes based on sexual orientation. With this goal in mind, we created the attitudes towards heterosexuals scale (ATHS) and tested its psychometric properties across three studies. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis revealed a uni-dimensional factor structure for the 15-item ATHS. Multiple groups’ analysis suggested a similar factor structure for both heterosexuals and sexual minorities. We also investigated relationships between ATHS and other attitudinal, affective and demographic measures for evidence of construct validity. More positive attitudes on ATHS were related to more negative attitudes towards sexual minorities, less awareness of heterosexual privilege and greater positive affect towards heterosexuals. Lastly, we examined ATHS for temporal stability, finding high test-retest reliability. We offer ATHS as a measure to be used on its own, or in combination with other attitudinal measures, in research in a number of different fields across a number of different methodologies.

Assessing Childrearing Attitudes: Validation of a Shortened Version of the Parenting Questionnaire

SYNOPSISObjective. This study investigated the feasibility and validity of the parenting questionnaire, a measure designed to assess attitudes toward acceptable and unacceptable parenting practices in parents of young children. In addition, the study aimed to reduce the number of items in the parenting questionnaire to increase the utility of the measure. Design. Participants were ethnically diverse parents (N = 420) of children between the ages of 2 and 6 living in an urban, Midwestern city. Both principal components analysis and principal axis factoring were conducted to reduce redundant items and to examine the factor structure of the questionnaire. Correlations between the parenting questionnaire factors and independent scales of constructs similar to the parenting questionnaire factors were examined to assess convergent and discriminant validity. Results. The shortened (30-item) parenting questionnaire accounted for a moderate amount of total variance, retained the same factor structure as the longer measure, and demonstrated adequate internal reliability. Validity findings show a pattern of correlations between independent scales and parenting questionnaire factors consistent with hypothesized expectations. Conclusions. The shortened parenting questionnaire is a valid and feasible measure for assessing childrearing attitudes in parents of young children. The findings provide support for the parenting questionnaire’s potential to fill a void in attitude assessment methodology by contributing a vignette-based attitudinal measure that assesses both positive and negative parenting constructs.

Psychological Health and Coping Strategies of Adolescents with Chronic Stuttering

Abstract Objective: To assess the psychological health and coping strategies of 35 male adolescents with chronic stuttering and 35 male adolescents who do not stutter using standardized instruments. The study will also identify any relationships between psychological health and coping strategies and make recommendations to improve therapy outcomes for adolescents with chronic stuttering. Methods: Adolescents with chronic stuttering were diagnosed through case history, stuttering history, qualitative and quantitative overt speech behaviors and attitudinal measures. Participants who do not stutter were matched on age, race/ethnicity, grade level and SES. Standardized scales measuring coping strategies (The Coping Inventory for Stressful Situations-Adolescent, CISS-A) and psychological health (The Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire, SDQ) were completed. Results: Adolescents with chronic stuttering reported a higher number of peer relationship difficulties and a lower number of pro-social behaviors than adolescents who do not stutter. Adolescents with chronic stuttering reported significantly greater use of emotion-oriented coping strategies in dealing with general stressors compared with adolescents who do not stutter. Significant relationships were found between emotion-oriented coping strategies, peer relationship difficulties and pro-social behaviors for adolescents with both groups of participants. Conclusions: Adolescents with chronic stuttering may be vulnerable to peer relationships difficulties and poor pro-social behaviors. The results may reflect adolescents with chronic stuttering responses’ to reported negative biases and stereotypes by multiple conversation partners and the general public view of their social communication disability. Adolescents with chronic stuttering were more likely to use emotional-based coping strategies in dealing with general stressors in their lives. The data provide additional evidence for the need to address emotional and social assessment and treatment concerns for some adolescents who stutter.

Employee Perceptions of Job Conditions in Explaining Employee Job Satisfaction: A Stakeholder’s Perspective

This study examines employee perceptions of job conditions in their workplaces in explaining an organisation’s employee-outcomes. It argues that when employees have positive perceptions of various workplace conditions, their attitudes influence their perceived job satisfaction. The study examines the extent to which employees consider important various employment conditions in the workplace and relate these attitudes towards their job satisfaction. It hypothesizes that employees’ perceptions of fairness in workplaces mediate the relationship between perceptions of job conditions and employees’ job satisfaction. Data for employee attitudinal measures was collected by soliciting employee surveys from five different centres of financial and higher education institutions in Tanzania. The study concludes that there is a positive relationship between positive employee perceptions towards employment conditions and perceived job satisfaction.

The effects of schema congruity on consumer response to celebrity advertising

The trend of celebrity-branded products is on the rise, creating a new domain in which to explore the match-up hypothesis. Moving beyond the celebrity as an endorser, but rather, a brand promoting a brand extension, this article examines how perceived congruence between a celebrity's image and the brand image of products they have developed is related to attitudinal and behavioral measures of advertising effectiveness. Employing a 2 × 3 full factorial design, congruence between the celebrity's image and the brand's image was varied (less vs. more congruent), along with the use of the celebrity's image (present, absent, non-celebrity models) to determine how schema congruity influences consumer's response to celebrity advertising. The results of a multivariate analysis of covariance analysis indicating lower levels of congruence between the celebrity's image and the brand's image led to greater advertising effectiveness compared to higher levels of congruence. Specifically, the means of the attitudinal dependent variables in the less congruent condition were significantly higher than the means in the more congruent condition. These effects were more pronounced when a celebrity's image was featured in the advertisement compared to when it was not featured. The implication of the findings suggests that moderate violations in the consumer's celebrity schema may improve advertising effectiveness.

Rationalizing Delinquency

Multiple criminological theories predict that attitudes toward delinquency should affect an individual’s delinquent behavior. Criminological research, however, has not sufficiently incorporated social psychological theory predicting the reverse causal relationship, and tends to suffer from important methodological limitations. The present study addresses these issues using longitudinal data from the New Hampshire Youth Study (N = 626). After using latent variable models to demonstrate the discriminant validity of attitudinal and behavioral measures, it uses structural equation models to examine whether attitudes are stronger predictors of behavior or vice versa. Net of controls, results provide qualified support for a reciprocal relationship but suggest that behavior affects attitudes much more than attitudes affect behavior. We conclude by discussing the implications of these findings for future research and for interventions aimed at controlling delinquency.

Attitudinal Measures of Political Consumption as a Form of Civic Engagement in a Developing Country

The use of the marketplace as a site for political action with social change motives is referred as political consumption. The phenomenon of political consumption has been widely studied in post-industrialized nations such as the United States of America but less is written about such social change-oriented behaviors in developing countries. This paper aims at determining the attitudinal measures of political consumption in Ghana, a developing nation in West Africa. The study is based on data collected in August 2013 from a total of 356 Ghanaians sampled from higher institutions of learning. Findings suggest that influence over government (political efficacy) is a consistent predictor of the respective attitudinal measures of political consumption. To some extent this pattern of behavior of engagement in political consumption contradicts findings in post-industrialized nations where it is consistently linked to variables such as: socio-demographics, political interest, and trust in institutions.

Socio-economic consequences of technical change in palm fruit processing in Osun State, Nigeria

The traditional palm fruit processing method is basically manual, but is currently undergoing changes. This study identifies the stages that have been mechanised in traditional processing methods and the socio-economic implications of the technical change to assist decision-making on the superiority or otherwise of the mechanised (modern) method over the traditional method used by processors in Osun State of Nigeria. Primary data were collected during the 2004 production season with the aid of a structured questionnaire on the production resources and outputs of the two methods. These were analysed using descriptive and inferential statistics, budgetary technique dominance and sensitivity analyses, and attitudinal measure. Results indicate that only two (pounding to form paste and cracking) of the stages identified in the traditional method were mechanised in the modern method. This resulted in greater efficiency of palm oil extraction, higher labour productivity, more income to stakeholders, greater market orientation, increased volume of operation and unchanged product types and quality. Other consequences are the creation of one additional group of stakeholders (machine owners), dominance, resilience to adverse yield and machine charges by 27 per cent and 150 per cent, respectively; more favourable attitude, less drudgery and health hazards, less labour requirements (female) and lower processing time in the modern method than the traditional method. This made the modern method a better choice, which could boost palm oil production at the aggregate level.

Perceptions of fair treatment in financial services

Purpose – The purpose of this article is to derive, test and validate a comprehensive, inclusive measure of perceptions of fairness in consumers of financial services, as current attempts to measure fairness in a broad-based multi-dimensional manner are underdeveloped. Design/methodology/approach – A quantitative approach where a large-scale sample of the perceptions of financial services consumers is taken in three periods. Subsequently, exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis are used to analyse the data. Findings – Fairness comprises three distinct but related elements, namely, procedural, interactional and distributive fairness, and further sub-dimensions are also apparent. The measurement scale exhibits a high degree of validity and reliability and represents a robust measure of fairness perceptions. Research limitations/implications – Previous conceptual suppositions as to the multi-dimensional nature of fairness are strongly supported. A comprehensive scale is provided for fellow researchers to utilise in other settings. The main limitation is that the measures were tested in a single context, although this is offset by the large scale of the pilot exercise and multiple waves of data collection. Practical implications – Perceptions of fairness can be measured accurately and tracked, measures for sub-dimensions of fairness can be compared and differences among sectors and demographic segments can be explored. Perceptions of fairness can be related to factors such as trust and purchase intentions in addition to other attitudinal measures. Originality/value – The fairness measure developed, tested and validated here is the most comprehensive, multi-dimensional measure of fairness available that the authors know of. As such, it represents a valuable conceptual contribution to the assessment of perceptions of fairness.

Supply chain orientation in SMEs as an attitudinal construct

Purpose – The paper aims to advance the conceptual understanding of supply chain orientation (SCO) in small and medium-sized enterprises (SME) as a general attitude and to empirically measure the link between SCO and willingness to implement supply chain management (SCM). Coordination among supply chain stages is widely considered important for competitiveness in all sectors. Recently, SCO of the actors has been discussed as a precondition for successful implementation of SCM. Design/methodology/approach – SCO is operationalized as a two-dimensional attitudinal construct. In all, 279 German dairy farmers participated in an online-survey. By means of factor and cluster analysis and one-way analysis of variance, the relation between the two SCO dimensions and their link with willingness to implement several currently discussed SCM measures is analysed. Findings – The SCO dimensions are not purely linearly related, as shown by three clusters with different patterns of vertical cooperation orientation and common goal orientation. No differences occur in terms of socio-economic characteristics, but the share of cooperative members varies. SCO is related to the intention to implement SCM. However, the greater the (monetary) efforts required by farmers, the lower their acceptance of an SCM measure. Trust and perception of the power relation play an important role, revealing patterns of coopetitive behaviour. Originality/value – SCO is a relatively new and little investigated construct. To the authors' best knowledge, this is the first time that a purely attitudinal measure was used, and that SMEs and the milk supply chain were investigated with respect to SCO and implementation of concrete SCM measures.

An investigation into the attitudes of nursing students toward technology.

Attitudes toward technology may impact the levels of technology acceptance and training willingness among nursing students. Nurse acceptance and effective utilization of technology are critical to improving patient care and safety. The aims of this cross-sectional study were to measurethe attitude of nursing students toward technology and to determine if demographic characteristics affect their attitudinal measures. Furthermore, the amount of formal education provided on the use of technology applications is explored. A convenience sample of nursing students attending a public university in Jordan was recruited, and a technology attitude scale designed to measure the attitude of nursing students toward technology was used. Scales designed to gather data on participant demographics, self-reported technology skills, and level of formal technology education were also used. The results showed that participants held a positive attitude toward technology. Students who reported a high level of technology skill had the most positive attitude toward technology. The impact years of formal education on the use of technology applications were low, whereas academic level had a significant impact on technology attitudes. Senior student participants had the highest level of technology education, likely because of their exposure to relatively more educational opportunities, and the most positive attitude toward technology. Despite the positive attitude of nursing students toward technology, the problem of minimal technology education should be addressed in future nursing programs to further enhance positive attitudes toward technology.

Attitudinal barriers to participation in oncology clinical trials: factor analysis and correlates of barriers.

Patient participation in cancer clinical trials is low. Little is known about attitudinal barriers to participation, particularly among patients who may be offered a trial during an imminent initial oncology consult. The aims of the present study were to confirm the presence of proposed subscales of a recently developed cancer clinical trial attitudinal barriers measure, describe the most common cancer clinical trials attitudinal barriers, and evaluate socio-demographic, medical and financial factors associated with attitudinal barriers. A total of 1256 patients completed a survey assessing demographic factors, perceived financial burden, prior trial participation and attitudinal barriers to clinical trials participation. Results of a factor analysis did not confirm the presence of the proposed four attitudinal barriers subscale/factors. Rather, a single factor represented the best fit to the data. The most highly-rated barriers were fear of side-effects, worry about health insurance and efficacy concerns. Results suggested that less educated patients, patients with non-metastatic disease, patients with no previous oncology clinical trial participation, and patients reporting greater perceived financial burden from cancer care were associated with higher barriers. These patients may need extra attention in terms of decisional support. Overall, patients with fewer personal resources (education, financial issues) report more attitudinal barriers and should be targeted for additional decisional support.

Untethering Education: Creating a Pilot Hybrid Class to Enhance Learning in Intercultural Communication

Improvements in educational technology in the past couple of decades have led institutions of higher learning to encourage and implement various types of distance education courses. This article reports on the conversion process of a face-to-face Intercultural Communication class at a mid-Atlantic university in the USA. First, the impetus for its creation is described, followed by the process of creating this course. Then a description of the course is presented, followed by the assessment design and results comparing the hybrid course to its face-to-face version offered in the past in terms of cognitive, behavioural, and attitudinal measures. The assessment results show that students enrolled in the hybrid course performed as well or better on knowledge questions. Students in the hybrid course outperformed face-to-face students in terms of attendance, but performed similarly for other behavioral measures. Overall, students in the hybrid course had positive attitudes toward the course.

A Racial/Ethnic Comparison of Teen Sexual Attitudes and Behavior

OBJECTIVES: The objective of this study was to compare and contrast sexual attitudes and behavior of white, African-American, Hispanic, Asian, Native American, Alaskan Native, Pacific Islander, Middle Eastern, and multi-racial/ethnic teens. METHODS: Participants were 99,085 teens in sexual abstinence programs across 16 states. One behavioral measure and 10 attitudinal measures were tested for differences using a univariate general linear model, ANOVAs, and Tukey's post-hoc tests. RESULTS: Statistically significant differences were found across the 9 racial/ethnic groups on most measures; Middle Eastern teens scored highest on abstinence attitudes and intentions whereas African-American teens scored lowest. CONCLUSIONS: Teen sexual attitudes and behavior can vary significantly by race/ethnicity and sex education programs may need to be more culturally sensitive. Language: en

Prosocial Lies: When Deception Breeds Trust

Philosophers, psychologists, and economists have long asserted that deception harms trust. We challenge this claim. We break new ground by demonstrating that some types of deception increase trust. Across four studies, we demonstrate that prosocial lying increases both behavioral and attitudinal measures of trust. In Study 1, we find that prosocial lying increases trust in the trust game. In Study 2, we rule out reciprocity as an alternative explanation and examine different types of lies. In our third study, we disentangle deception from selfish and prosocial intentions. We find that deception, per se, has no effect on trusting behavior, but intentions matter immensely. Our results suggest that benevolence is more important than integrity in predicting trust behavior. In Study 4, we explore the relationship between prosocial lies and distinct types of trust. This work expands our understanding of deception and deepens our insight into the mechanics of trust.