Longitudinal Mixed-methods Design Research Articles

The development of moral reasoning skills in police recruits

Purpose – Police officers are frequently confronted with moral dilemmas in the course of their job. The authors assume new police officers need guidance, and need to be taught at the police academy how to deal with these situations. The purpose of this paper is to obtain insight into the impact of socialization on police recruits’ knowledge of the code of ethics and their moral reasoning skills. Design/methodology/approach – The study applied a longitudinal mixed methods design, using two methods. The first method was a qualitative observation of integrity training sessions at five police academies in Belgium. The second method was a quantitative survey-measurement of recruits’ knowledge of the code of ethics and their moral reasoning skills at three points in time: the beginning of their theoretical training, before their field training and afterwards. Findings – The analyses show differences between the police academies in their integrity training sessions. Some of these differences are reflected in different levels of knowledge of the code of ethics. As for the development pattern of recruits’ moral reasoning skills, the study found almost no differences between the academies. Perhaps this is because recruits already have relatively high scores when they start, leaving little room for improvement during the one year training program. This suggests an important role of the police selection procedure. Originality/value – Previous research on socialization and police culture has focussed on recruits being socialized in a negative police culture where misconduct is learned. This is a negative interpretation of police integrity. A positive one refers to ethical decision making generally, and moral reasoning specifically. The impact of the socialization process on recruits’ moral reasoning is empirically understudied.

Apprehensions and Expectations of the Adoption of Systematically Planned, Outcome-Oriented Practice

Objectives: The study examined social workers’ apprehensions and expectations of the impending adoption of systematically planned, empirically based, outcome-oriented practice (SEOP). Method: Employing a mixed methods longitudinal design, the study used concept mapping to identify and map workers’ apprehensions and expectations and a self-reported questionnaire to measure their levels. Results: Apprehensions were that SEOP will increase monitoring and financial considerations in decision making and undermine professional intervention and professional responsibility. Expectations were that it will (a) empower social workers to provide better service and better cope with counterpressures and (b) systemize work procedures and improve organizational efficiency, effectiveness, and governance. Findings also showed that workers, who participated in formulating the system’s guidelines and principles, reported lower apprehensions and higher expectations than those who did not. Conclusions: In introducing SEOP, it is important to take workers’ apprehensions and expectations into consideration and to include workers in the development stage.

Family responsibility dynamics for young adults in transition to adult health care

Aim: To explore family responsibility dynamics, metabolic control, clinic attendance, and emergency admissions when young adults (YA) with type 1 diabetes transition to an adult hospital. Method: A longitudinal mixed method design with two study groups (parents, n = 28; YA intervention group, n = 23) and a YA comparison group (n = 20). Sample recruited from an outpatient diabetes centre. Demographic, clinic attendance, emergency admissions, biodata, and the Diabetes Family Responsibility Questionnaire (DFRQ) were completed on entry and sixmonths later as part of an 18-month trial of a diabetes transition coordinator (DTC). The selfreport DFRQ were analyzed using derived parent-child dyadic variables to explore differences at baseline and end of study using Wilcoxon Signed Rank Test. The relationship between metabolic control and the DFRQ patterns was explored using Spearman’s rho. Results: On completion of the study, the change in HBA1Cfor both adolescent groups was not significant but was less than ideal for 25% of adolescents in the study. The YA intervention group had significantly fewer missed appointments between them compared to the comparison group. The DFRQ indicated that the derived parent-child dyadic variable of task-discordance increased during the study. Conclusion: The clinically relevant diabetes-task dissonance between parents and young adults offers a challenge and a diagnostic opportunity for diabetes educators.

Identification Processes in Post-Acquisition Integration: The Role of Social Interactions

We examine the role of social interactions between employees of two firms in a post-acquisition context on their identification with two relevant loci of identification: the pre-acquisition unit and the acquirer group. We used a mixed methods longitudinal design to understand how social interaction foster dual identification. Quantitative results show that social interactions foster identification with the pre-acquisition unit and with the acquirer. Moreover, qualitative results give a finer-grained vision of social interactions. We show that situated identification develops thanks to joint objectives, deadlines, quick wins and contribution to the whole group. This paper contributes to the literature on organizational identification specifying the effects of an understudied antecedent on two loci of identification. It also contributes to the literature on the management of the post-acquisition integration process empirically confirming that social interactions are favorable in the integration process.

Trajectories of At-Homeness and Health in Usual Care and Small House Nursing Homes

Long-term care providers across the United States are building innovative environments called "Green House" or small-house nursing homes that weave humanistic person-centered philosophies into clinical care, organizational policies, and built environments. To compare and contrast trajectories of at-homeness and health over time between residents remaining in a usual care nursing home (ucNH) and residents moving from that home to a small house (SmH). Mixed methods longitudinal design with 4 waves of data collection: before the move and 1, 3, and 6 months after the move (or equivalent for nonmovers). Prior to the move, individuals who decided to relocate to the SmH had more depressive symptoms and lower levels of at-homeness (measured by the Experience of Home [EOH] Scale). Most participants who chose to stay in the ucNH reported high baseline levels of at-homeness and maintained this over the next 6 months. All EOH scores in the SmH group increased after the move. Individuals who moved to the SmH also had greater less functional dependence over time. Qualitative findings highlight variables that contributed to at-homeness in both groups. This study demonstrates that a "one size fits all" approach may not be best because at-homeness is an individualized construct. Complex relationships emerged between perceived self-care ability, functional performance, and SmH nursing homes. Mixed methods enable deeper understanding of therapeutic environments and inform the development and testing of tailored interventions.

528 Transition From Child to Adult Care for Young People with Mental Health Problems: A Process of Transition

The transition of young people from child to adult healthcare services has become increasingly important. Evidence suggests that the process is often poorly managed and many young people with mental health problems experience abrupt ad hoc transitions from child to adult healthcare services. A well planned transition is viewed as leading to improved clinical, educational and social outcomes for young people. Whilst a poorly planned transition is associated with increased risk of non- adherence to treatment and decrease of follow up which can lead to serious consequences for the young persons' health and well-being. There is limited empirical evidence in Ireland on how the process is experienced by young people with mental health problems; how it impacts on their health and wellbeing and how the transition process is managed by all stakeholders. This study proposes a mixed methods longitudinal design to explore the views of young people, their parents and healthcare professionals (Child Psychiatrist, Registrars, Nurses, Psychologist and Social Workers) on the experiences of transition. The data will be obtained using questionnaires and interviews at five different time periods:

Listeners’ perceptual and emotional responses to tonal and atonal music

Research in music and emotion has largely focused on responses to tonal music on isolated occasions. This article presents a novel approach to the study of music and emotion that investigates the effects of familiarity on listeners’ responses to tonal and atonal music. A mixed-methods longitudinal design was adopted to enable access to the familiarization process. Nineteen student participants (10 musicians; nine non-musicians) embarked on the study. Participants used a range of quantitative and qualitative self-report mechanisms to record their emotional responses to music by Clementi, Schoenberg and Berio over a two-week familiarization period. Results suggested that with increased familiarity, participants showed greater understanding of the musical structure and increased awareness of details in the music, which impacted on the emotional triggers identified by participants. There was evidence for increasing anticipation of emotional events with familiarity. The musical language also showed profound effects: participants found it more difficult to identify the musical structure of the atonal pieces than the tonal pieces; emotional responses to the atonal pieces were lower than those for the tonal piece, and these effects were greatest for non-music students. The implications of these results are discussed.

Quality of life of patients who have undergone the Nuss procedure for pectus excavatum: Preliminary findings

Background/Purpose: The current project is a preliminary qualitative exploration of changes in quality of life of patients who have undergone the Nuss Procedure. The current study explores quality of life after surgical repair from the perspectives of both the patients and the parent(s) of the younger participants. Methods: This research constitutes the first segment in a mixed-method longitudinal design. The author conducted semistructured interviews based on the Keith and Schalock's quality of life model. Five youth who have undergone the Nuss Procedure and the parent(s) of the 4 younger participants were included in the study for a total of 10 participants. Textual analysis has been carried out using Atlas.ti, a qualitative data analysis program that facilitates such activities as selecting, coding, and comparing textual segments. Results: Results based on these preliminary data indicate that the patients interviewed had significant improvement in overall quality of life, which they attributed to the surgery. Specific examples of patients' expressions of improved self-confidence and renewed interest in physical activity are given. Conclusions: The Nuss Procedure is a minimally invasive surgical option for correcting pectus excavatum deformities that may make important contributions to patients' self-perceptions and quality of life. The participants in the current study expressed satisfaction with both the physical results of the surgery and with how it improved their overall quality of life. The authors recommend further prospective longitudinal research that assesses pre- and postsurgery psychosocial status and the maintenance of perceived quality of life changes. J Pediatr Surg 38:779-783. © 2003 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.