Multilevel Structural Equation Modeling Research Articles

Daily agreeableness and acculturation processes in ethnic/racial minority freshmen: The role of inter-ethnic contact and perceived discrimination.

Having higher levels of mainstream cultural orientation (MCO), an important component of acculturation attitudes and behaviors,is beneficial for ethnic/racial minority students during the transitions into university. Scant research has investigated MCO at a micro daily timescale. This study examined how personality (agreeableness) functions in conjunction with interpersonal processes (inter-ethnic contact and perceived discrimination) to influence MCO as daily within-person processes. Multi-level structural equation modeling were used to analyze month-long daily diary data from 209 ethnic/racial minority freshmen (69% female). There was a positive indirect association between agreeableness and MCO through inter-ethnic contact at both within- and between-person levels. At the within-person level, on days with lower (vs. higher) levels of ethnic/racial discrimination, higher levels of agreeableness were associated with higher levels of MCO. These findings highlight the contributions of intensive longitudinal data in elucidating ethnic/racial minority students' personality and acculturation processes in daily life involving protective and risk factors on micro timescales.

Feeling stressed but in full flow? Leader mindfulness shapes subordinates' perseverative cognition and reaction

PurposeThis study aims to illustrate the mechanisms underlying the effect of stress on flow states in the context of a multilevel organization, in which case employees' perseverative cognition and reactions to challenge–hindrance stressors are affected by leader mindfulness.Design/methodology/approachStudy 1 employed a three-wave time-lag survey, and study 2 conducted a diary study across 10 workdays to replicate the results of study 1. Multilevel structural equation modeling and Monte Carlo simulation were performed using Mplus 8.0 software to test all hypotheses.FindingsProblem-solving pondering transmits the nonlinear effect of challenge stressors on flow, and affective rumination mediates the negative effect of hindrance stressors on flow. Leader mindfulness amplifies the tendency of followers to ruminate on the positive aspects of challenge stressors, consequently increasing their positive reactions and flow. Although leader mindfulness fails to influence followers to ruminate less on hindrance stressors, it negates the harmful effect of affective rumination on the flow experience.Originality/valueThis study is one of the first to examine the associations between stressor types and flow in the workplace. The authors also develop a new theory that highlights the ability of leader mindfulness to shape subordinates' stress, cognitions and reactions through social modeling and the authors identify the boundaries of its beneficial effects.

Public acceptance of congestion pricing policies in Beijing: The roles of neighborhood built environment and air pollution perception

While public acceptance is a major obstacle to policy implementation, the factors affecting the acceptance of anti-congestion policies such as congestion pricing remain unclear. Few studies investigate whether public acceptance varies across neighborhoods of variant built environment features and with perceived air pollution levels which people are exposed to. In this article we developed a generalized multilevel structural equation model (GMSEM) with latent class variables to investigate the direct effects and mediation effects among built environment, air pollution perception, satisfaction with existing driving restriction policies, and public acceptance of congestion pricing strategies. We draw on a questionnaire survey of about 1300 residents from 26 neighborhoods in Beijing, where driving restriction policies have been implemented and congestion pricing policies under consideration. This research reveals that residents living in neighborhoods with high population density and low diversity of land uses and those proximity to transit service and in the central urban areas tend to more strongly support the congestion pricing policy. Residents who perceive serious air pollution and who believe in the policy effectiveness are more supportive to the pricing policy; they may pay more attention to the level of air pollution caused by congestion caused by driving. These findings demonstrate the importance of recognizing neighborhood variations in policy acceptance and provide policy implications for incorporating appropriate land use planning and promotion strategies.

Maternal postnatal depressive symptoms and children's internalizing problems: The moderating role of mother-infant RSA synchrony.

Maternal depressive symptoms are a crucial risk factor for children's internalizing problems, though positive mother-child relationships may buffer this risk transmission. Mother-child physiological coregulation (e.g., synchrony) has emerged as a potentially important mechanism of developmental psychopathology and may play a role in the transmission of internalizing symptoms. In this two-wave longitudinal study, we examined whether and how mother-infant physiological synchrony (of respiratory sinus arrhythmia; RSA) moderated the association between maternal postnatal depressive symptoms and children's internalizing problems in a rural, low-SES community sample (N = 166 dyads). At 6 months, mother-infant RSA synchrony and infant negative affect were assessed during free play. Mother reported their depressive symptoms at 6 months and children's internalizing problems at 24 months. Multilevel structural equation models indicated that mother-infant dyads demonstrated significant and positive RSA synchrony on average and RSA synchrony significantly moderated the association between maternal depressive symptoms and children's internalizing problems even after controlling for infant negative affect. Greater maternal depressive symptoms were associated with higher child internalizing problems when RSA synchrony was lower but not when it was higher. This finding suggests that mother-infant RSA synchrony may operate as a resilience factor for the intergenerational transmission of internalizing symptoms in community samples.

The Impact of Consumer Loyalty and Customer Satisfaction in the New Agricultural Value Chain

Affected by advances in artificial intelligence and awareness of green environmentalism, consumers’ purchasing behavior of fresh agricultural products has been transformed. New agricultural value chains are being created, such as the new retail model. This study used principal component analysis (PCA) to select essential factors of online consumer behavior and adopted multilevel structural equation modeling (MSEM) to analyze the consumer behavior of Fresh Hema, a new retail format completely reconstructed by Alibaba for offline supermarkets, under different levels of the new retail model. The study adopted an online questionnaire of the consumer behavior of Fresh Hema in 2022. The results show that playfulness and epidemic prevention positively impacted customer satisfaction; convenience benefits and green logistics had the most significant positive impact on customer loyalty.

Daily strengths use and work performance: A self‐determination perspective

AbstractDrawing on self‐determination theory, this study examines how using personal strengths at work in the morning is associated with different types of performance throughout the workday. Momentary satisfaction of the needs for autonomy, relatedness and competence are proposed as mechanisms that differentially link strengths use to four different performance outcomes: task accomplishment, goal attainment, organizational citizenship behaviour and counterproductive work behaviour. We collected data from 216 Dutch employees in a large variety of sectors twice a day for one workweek (N = 1470 observations) using a smartphone application. Results of multilevel structural equation modelling showed that momentary satisfaction of the needs for autonomy and competence at noon mediated the positive relationship between morning strengths use and afternoon task accomplishment and goal attainment. Furthermore, satisfaction of the need for relatedness mediated the positive relationship between morning strengths use and afternoon organizational citizenship behaviour, but not the negative relationship between morning strengths use and counterproductive work behaviour. These findings deepen our understanding of strengths use theory and uncover novel insight on the temporal aspects of strengths use within a working day.

Explicating the role of amygdala substructure alterations in the link between hypoleptinemia and rumination in anorexia nervosa.

The amygdaloid complex plays a pivotal role in emotion processing and has been associated with rumination transdiagnostically. In anorexia nervosa (AN), we previously observed differential reductions of amygdala nuclei volumes (rostral-medial cluster substantially affected) and, in another study, elevated food-/weight-related rumination. Both amygdala volumes and rumination frequency correlated with characteristically suppressed leptin levels in AN. Thus, we hypothesized that amygdala nuclei alterations might be associated with AN-related rumination and potentially mediate the leptin-rumination relationship in AN. Rumination (food-/weight-related) was assessed using ecological momentary assessment for a 14-day period. We employed frequentist and Bayesian linear mixed effects models in females with AN (n = 51, 12-29 years, majority admitted to inpatient treatment) and age-matched healthy females (n = 51) to investigate associations between rostral-medial amygdala nuclei volume alterations (accessory basal, cortical, medial nuclei, corticoamygdaloid transitions) and rumination. We analyzed mediation effects using multi-level structural equation models. Reduced right accessory basal and cortical nuclei volumes predicted more frequent weight-related rumination in AN; both nuclei fully mediated the effect of leptin on weight-related rumination. In contrast, we found robust evidence for the absence of amygdala nuclei volume effects on rumination in healthy females. This study provides first evidence for the relevance of specific amygdala substructure reductions regarding cognitive symptom severity in AN and points toward novel mechanistic insight into the relationship between hypoleptinemia and rumination, which might involve the amygdaloid complex. Our findings in AN may have important clinical value with respect to understanding the beneficial neuropsychiatric effects of leptin (treatment) in AN and potentially other psychiatric conditions such as depression.

Cyclical Links Between Daily Partner Interactions and Sleep Quality in Older Adult Couples: The Mediating Role of Perceived Partner Responsiveness and Negative Affect.

Researchers have found significant associations between romantic relationship experiences and sleep quality. However, most existing studies are cross-sectional, few have focused on the aging population, and few have considered mechanisms underlying such associations. To address these gaps, 238 older adult couples completed 7-day daily diaries, reporting on their daily relationship, emotional, and sleep experiences. Multilevel structural equation modeling revealed that husbands' higher negative partner interactions and lower positive partner interactions were indirectly associated with their own and their wives' decreased sleep quality that night via lower perceived partner responsiveness and increased negative affect. Moreover, decreased sleep quality was associated with participants' and their partners' increased negative partner interactions and participants' decreased positive partner interactions the next day, with no significant gender differences. This research provides a foundation for future research on cyclical associations between romantic relationship experiences and sleep quality, with implications for relationship-based interventions to improve sleep quality.

Antecedents of employee intrapreneurship in the public sector: a proactive motivation approach

Public servants’ intrapreneurship (entrepreneurial actions performed by employees from within an organization) is gaining importance as a micro-foundation of public sector innovation and improved service delivery. This study addresses this topic from a proactive motivation perspective and using weekly diary surveys filled out by 757 public servants from 37 departments of the Dutch national public administration for five consecutive weeks (n = 2279 datapoints). Confirmatory factor analyses showed that antecedents of intrapreneurship could be grouped into three categories of proactive motivation: (1) reason-to (prosocial impact, job accountability), (2) can-do (job autonomy, self-efficacy, optimism), and (3) energized-to (work engagement). Multilevel structural equation modeling showed that public servants reported more intrapreneurial behavior when they had more reason-to and were energized-to be proactive. Can-do motivation moderated (strengthened) these relationships. Necessary conditions analyses showed that each predictor was essential, emphasizing the importance of careful alignment of human resource practices aimed at evoking different types of proactive motivation.

Extraversion, social interactions, and well-being during the COVID-19 pandemic: Did extraverts really suffer more than introverts?

A large body of research suggests that extraversion is positively related to well-being. However, it is unclear whether this association can be explained by social participation (i.e., more extraverted individuals engage in social interactions more frequently) or social reactivity (i.e., more extraverted individuals profit more from social interactions) processes. Here, we examined the role of social interactions for the extraversion-well-being relationship during the COVID-19 pandemic, an unprecedented time of reduced social contact. We analyzed data from an international, longitudinal study (Study 1: 10,523 assessments provided by 4,622 participants) and two experience sampling studies (Study 2: 29,536 assessments provided by 293 participants; Study 3: 61,492 assessments provided by 1,381 participants). Preregistered multilevel structural equation models revealed that extraversion was robustly related to well-being, even when social restrictions were in place. Across data sets, we found some support for the social participation hypothesis (i.e., the relationship between extraversion and well-being is mediated by social interactions), but the social reactivity hypothesis (i.e., extraversion moderates the relationship between social interactions and well-being) was not consistently supported. Strikingly, however, exploratory analyses showed that the social reactivity hypothesis was supported for specific facets of extraversion (i.e., sociability) and well-being (i.e., activated positive affect). Moreover, changes in social interaction patterns during the COVID-19 pandemic (e.g., decreases in face-to-face interactions and interactions with friends) were unrelated to extraversion, and more extraverted individuals did not suffer more from these changes. Taken together, these findings underline the robustness of the effect of extraversion on well-being during a societal crisis. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).

Daily manifestations of caregiver- and self-reported maladaptive personality traits in adolescent girls.

Establishing maladaptive personality traits at a younger age in a developmentally appropriate and clinically tangible way may alert clinicians to dysfunction earlier, and thus reduce the risk of significant impairment later in life. The fifth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5) Alternative Model for Personality Disorders (AMPD) provides a set of traits useful for organizing behavioral and experiential patterns central to daily personality functioning. The goal of the present study was to evaluate manifestations indicative of AMPD traits via ambulatory assessments in the daily lives of adolescent girls. Caregivers and girls (N = 129; age: M = 12.27, SD = 0.80) provided baseline assessments of girls' trait vulnerabilities (negative affectivity, detachment, antagonism, disinhibition, psychoticism) and girls additionally completed a 16-day ecological momentary assessment protocol (N = 5,036 observations), rating social behaviors and experiences in their daily lives. Multilevel structural equation models revealed that trait vulnerabilities were linked to more extreme shifts in interpersonal experiences and behaviors from one moment to the next, suggesting that maladaptive personality traits were linked to greater variability. Furthermore, AMPD traits were positively and strongly related to negative affect in daily interpersonal situations. More specifically, girls' trait ratings were associated with elevated mean-levels of boredom, as well as interpersonal tension. Caregiver-reports complemented this perspective of dissatisfying social interactions, suggesting that especially detachment and antagonism accounted for lower levels of social connectedness and more variability in social activities in girls' daily lives. Results are discussed in terms of the short-term dynamics and related intervention targets of developmental personality pathology. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).

Teacher personality domains and facets: Their unique associations with student-ratings of teaching quality and teacher enthusiasm

BackgroundPrevious research on the relationship between teacher personality and teaching performance yielded mixed results and typically considered only the broad personality domains while neglecting the narrower personality facets that constitute the domains. AimThe aim of this study was to examine the incremental value of teacher Big Five personality facets in explaining student-ratings of teaching quality and teacher enthusiasm. SamplesIn total, 1067 teachers and 18,814 of their students from 73 secondary schools in Croatia participated in the study. MethodTeachers self-reported their personality whereas students rated the teaching quality and displayed enthusiasm of their teachers. Each teacher was rated by one class of students. ResultsThe bifactor-(S-1) multilevel structural equation models for each Big Five personality domain showed that both the general reference factor and the specific factors explained the variance in student-ratings of teaching quality and teacher enthusiasm. ConclusionsA more fine-grained approach to examining the effects of teacher personality at different levels of hierarchy might be helpful for identifying specific parts of teacher personality with the greatest explanatory power in predicting teaching performance.

Executive Functioning and Self-Management Processes Mediate the Relationship Between Insomnia and Pain-Related Disability

Insomnia has been identified as a predictor of reduced benefit from cognitive-behavioral treatment (CBT) for adolescent chronic pain; however, it is not well understood how insomnia leads to reduced treatment response. The purpose of this study was to evaluate executive function and self-management processes as 2 potential mediators of the relationship between insomnia symptoms and pain-related disability outcomes from internet-delivered CBT using a single-arm clinical trial design. Eighty-five adolescents with chronic pain (77% female, ages 12–17 years) and their caregiver received an 8-week internet-delivered CBT intervention. Youth completed validated measures of insomnia symptoms, executive function, self-management processes, and pain-related disability at baseline, mid-treatment, immediate post-treatment, and 3-month follow-up. Results from multilevel structural equation modeling indicated that more severe insomnia symptoms were associated with greater problems with executive function, which, in turn, led to lower engagement in self-management processes and less improvement in pain-related disability. These findings identify 2 mediators by which higher insomnia symptoms may lead to reduced benefit from CBT intervention for chronic pain. Research is needed to understand whether psychological treatments for chronic pain may be optimized by strategies targeting insomnia, executive function, and/or engagement in self-management. This trial was registered at clinicaltrials.gov (NCT04043962). PerspectiveOur study suggests that executive functioning and self-management processes mediate the relationship between insomnia and treatment outcomes for pediatric chronic pain, highlighting the impact of insomnia on youth learning and implementation of self-management strategies and the critical need for targeted sleep interventions in this population.

Associations between youth’s daily social media use and well-being are mediated by upward comparisons

Studies examining the associations between social media use and subjective well-being have revealed inconsistent results and mainly refer to the between-person level. We conducted a 14-day diary study among 200 youths ages 10 to 14 to examine within- and between-person associations of social media use (Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube), subjective well-being (positive/negative self-worth, positive/negative affect), and upward social comparisons (general impression of others being better off). Multilevel structural equation models showed that social media use was linked to lower positive and higher negative self-worth on a daily basis, and that upward social comparisons were linked to diminished subjective well-being on all dimensions. Furthermore, our findings were consistent with (partial) mediation of the effect of social media use on subjective well-being by upward social comparisons on the between- and within-person levels. Youths’ feelings that others are better off than themselves may help explain part of the heterogeneity of previous findings.

The influence of teachers' intrinsic motivation on students' intrinsic motivation: The mediating role of teachers' motivating style and teacher‐student relationships

AbstractTeachers' intrinsic motivation for teaching and students' intrinsic motivation for learning are important contributors to effective teaching and learning, and exploring their relationships and influencing mechanisms can clarify the path to promote teachers' professional development and students' overall growth. In our study, 44 secondary school teachers and 2461 secondary school students completed questionnaires, and a multilevel structural equation model was used to explore the influence of teachers' intrinsic motivation for teaching on students' intrinsic motivation for learning and the mediating role of teachers' motivating style and teacher‐student relationships. The results showed that (1) teachers' intrinsic motivation for teaching was significantly positively correlated with students' intrinsic motivation for learning, and the former had a significant direct effect on the latter; (2) teachers' autonomy‐supporting motivating style, positive teacher‐student relationships, and negative teacher‐student relationships played mediating roles between teachers' intrinsic motivation for teaching and students' intrinsic motivation for learning; and (3) teachers' motivating style and teacher‐student relationships played a chained mediating role between teachers' intrinsic motivation for teaching and students' intrinsic motivation for learning.

When work bothers your mind: a diary study on the relationship of German teachers’ work-related rumination with fatigue

This study investigated the association of school attendance restrictions in the early stages of the coronavirus disease pandemic with teacher-specific workload, and work-related rumination of teachers in Germany. Deduced from the effort-recovery model, that assumes that work might lead to strain reactions, making recovery necessary to avoid long-term health impairments, fatigue and positive as well as negative contents of work-related rumination in nonwork time were investigated in a five-day diary study with three measurement points per day. A total of 1,697 daily measures of 174 teachers were gathered over three consecutive workdays and the weekend. Only those days were included in which the teachers worked. Multilevel structural equation modeling revealed that teachers during school restrictions showed lower teacher-specific workload, which was associated with lower levels of affective rumination and problem-solving pondering. The effect on fatigue was mediated only by affective rumination such that a higher affective rumination was related to a higher fatigue level on the between and within-level. There was a significant three-path mediation from group belongingness over teacher-specific workload to affective rumination and fatigue. Problem-solving pondering did not affect fatigue level. The present study provides evidence of the association of COVID-19 restrictions with teacher-specific workload and the importance of differentiating the facets of work-related rumination.

How and when is boundary-spanning behaviour related to innovative behaviour: role of intrinsic motivation and organisational support

PurposeThis study aimed to investigate the underlying boundary conditions under which boundary-spanning behaviour has a positive or negative effect on innovative behaviour.Design/methodology/approachA multi-wave and multi-source research design was adopted to collect data. Data were analysed using the multilevel structural equation modelling and latent moderated structural equation approach.FindingsThe results showed that boundary-spanning behaviour was significantly and negatively associated with employees' innovative behaviour via ego depletion when employees' intrinsic motivation or organisational support was low. Additionally, boundary-spanning behaviour was significantly and positively associated with employees' innovative behaviour via ego depletion when employees' intrinsic motivation or organisational support was high.Originality/valueThis research suggests that the consequences of boundary-spanning behaviour are conditional, explaining the contrasting conclusions in this regard.

Effects of 12 Weeks of At-Home, Application-Based Exercise on Health Care Workers’ Depressive Symptoms, Burnout, and Absenteeism

During the COVID-19 pandemic, health care workers (HCWs) reported a significant decline in their mental health. One potential health behavior intervention that has been shown to be effective for improving mental health is exercise, which may be facilitated by taking advantage of mobile application (app) technologies. To determine the extent to which a 12-week app-based exercise intervention can reduce depressive symptoms, burnout, and absenteeism in HCWs, compared with a wait list control condition. A 2-group randomized clinical trial was conducted, with participants screened from April 6 to July 4, 2022. Participants were recruited from an urban health care organization in British Columbia, Canada. Participants completed measures before randomization and every 2 weeks thereafter. Exercise condition participants were asked to complete four 20-minute sessions per week using a suite of body weight interval training, yoga, barre, and running apps. Wait-listed control participants received the apps at the end of the trial. The primary outcome consisted of the between-group difference in depressive symptoms measured with the 10-item Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale. The secondary outcomes corresponded to 3 subfacets of burnout (cynicism, emotional exhaustion, and professional efficacy) and absenteeism. Intention-to-treat analyses were completed with multilevel structural equation modeling, and Feingold effect sizes (ES) were estimated every 2 weeks. A total of 288 participants (mean [SD] age, 41.0 [10.8] years; 246 [85.4%] women) were randomized to either exercise (n = 142) or wait list control (n = 146) conditions. Results revealed that ESs for depressive symptoms were in the small to medium range by trial's end (week 12, -0.41 [95% CI, -0.69 to -0.13]). Significant and consistent treatment effects were revealed for 2 facets of burnout, namely cynicism (week 12 ES, -0.33 [95% CI, -0.53 to -0.13]) and emotional exhaustion (week 12 ES, -0.39 [95% CI, -0.64 to -0.14]), as well as absenteeism (r = 0.15 [95% CI, 0.03-0.26]). Adherence to the 80 minutes per week of exercise decreased from 78 (54.9%) to 33 (23.2%) participants between weeks 2 and 12. Although exercise was able to reduce depressive symptoms among HCWs, adherence was low toward the end of the trial. Optimizing adherence to exercise programming represents an important challenge to help maintain improvements in mental health among HCWs. ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT05271006.

How's the boss? Integration of the health-oriented leadership concept into the job demands-resources theory

PurposeHealth-oriented leadership (HoL) encompasses leaders' health behaviors and attitudes toward their followers (StaffCare) and themselves (SelfCare), and there is ample evidence of its positive effects on employee well-being. However, research on the antecedents of StaffCare is still in its infancy and does not account for within-person variability. Therefore, the authors adopt a leader-centered perspective and propose a serial mediation model that links leaders' intrapersonal fluctuations in job resources and demands to StaffCare, mediated by leaders' SelfCare, work engagement and emotional exhaustion.Design/methodology/approachOver five working weeks, 234 school principals responded to a weekly questionnaire, resulting in a total of 956 responses. Multilevel structural equation models were used for analysis.FindingsThe data supported SelfCare as a mechanism in leaders' motivational and health-impairment processes. The proposed serial mediation of the relationship between job resources and StaffCare via leader SelfCare and work engagement was also supported.Practical implicationsThe study can guide job redesign for leaders by highlighting the role of job resources. Investing in interventions aimed at the SelfCare of leaders is likely to have a positive impact on their leadership.Originality/valueThese findings suggest that job characteristics and the leader's well-being shape leader cognitions and behaviors. Therefore, the authors suggest integrating the HoL model into the job demands–resources (JD-R) model for leaders.

The role of national institutions in the effects of consumers’ perceived customer orientation and firm innovativeness

Many multinational corporations force global customer orientation and firm innovativeness. However, little is known about how or why they benefit from perceived customer orientation and firm innovativeness in one country but not in another. The authors fill this gap by referring to information processing and institutional theories. They contribute to research by analyzing the roles of country development and dimensions of national culture in the direct and indirect effects of perceived customer orientation through firm innovativeness on consumer product purchase intention across 53 countries. The results of multilevel structural equation modeling show different explained variances of the institutions and varying moderations for the differently strong effects of perceived customer orientation and firm innovativeness. Institutional theory strongly complements behavioral theorizing. The findings have direct implications for managers interested in understanding how perceived customer orientation and firm innovativeness interact and attract consumers in different country contexts.