Negative Outcomes For Individuals Research Articles

Health Scares: Tracing Their Nature, Growth and Spread.

Health scares are highly publicised threats to health that increase public concern and protective behaviours but are later shown to be unfounded. Although health scares have become more common in recent times, they have received very little research attention. This is despite the fact that health scares often have negative outcomes for individuals and community by affecting health behaviours and causing high levels of often unnecessary anxiety. In this paper we undertook a review and analysis of the major types of health scares as well as the background factors associated with health scares and their spread. We found most health scares fell into seven main categories; environmental contaminants, food, malicious incidents, medical treatments, public health interventions, radiation from technology and exotic diseases. For most health scares there are important background factors and incident characteristics that affect how they develop. Background factors include conspiracy theories, trust in governmental agencies, anxiety, modern health worries and wariness of chemicals. Incident characteristic include being newly developed, not understood or unseen, man-made rather than natural and whether the incident is out of personal control. We also identified the aspects of traditional and social media that exacerbate the rapid spread of health scares. More research is needed to identify the characteristics of media stories that intensify the levels of public concern. Guidelines around the media's reporting of health incidents and potential health threats may be necessary in order to reduce levels of public anxiety and the negative public health impact of health scares.

Housing cost, consistency, and context and their relationship to health

Housing insecurity is associated with myriad negative outcomes for individuals and communities. Less understood is the indirect and direct relationships between specific types of housing insecurity and health. Using Swope and Hernández’s (2019) 4C’s of housing insecurity, data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health (Add Health), structural equation modelling, and binary logistic regression, we examine the relationship between different types of housing insecurity and mental and general health. We find housing cost independently decreases health outcomes while consistency insecurity indirectly affects health by increasing cost burdens. Most forms of housing cost, consistency, and context insecurity have independent and significant negative associations with short-term (12 month) and medium-term (seven to eight years) mental health. This suggests policymakers and advocates should place greater emphasis on housing assistance as an entitlement and cash assistance that vulnerable populations can use to address the cause of their specific type of housing insecurity.

Social support and self‐efficacy serially mediate the association of strength of identification with text‐based crisis support line volunteers' compassion fatigue and compassion satisfaction

AbstractHelp‐line services provide a vital support to individuals experiencing mental or personal crisis. Recent years has seen a rise in both text‐based services as well as remote working conditions for those who offer help‐line services. Previous research has demonstrated positive and negative outcomes for individuals voluntarily offering support at crisis‐line services. However, few studies have focused on the mechanisms at work. The social identity approach offers one potential avenue for exploration. Specifically, individuals who meaningfully identify as a volunteer can unlock the benefits of the social cure. However, this pathway has not been tested for volunteers in remote working environments. The current study tested associations between identification with a crisis support organisation, well‐being outcomes, perceptions of social‐support, and self‐efficacy in remote text‐based services. This study collected data from 157 crisis‐support line volunteers in two remote‐working contexts. Results indicated a serial mediated indirect effect. Specifically, increased identification as a volunteer predicted increased perceptions of social support. In addition, social support predicted higher levels of self‐efficacy, resulting in increased levels of compassion satisfaction along with decreased levels of burnout, and secondary traumatic stress. Results emphasise the role of social identity and perceptions of social support in promoting positive outcomes for remote‐working volunteers.

How to Deal With a Difficult Boss

Abstract. As abusive supervision entails negative outcomes for individuals and organizations, a better understanding of leader- and follower-related antecedents of abusive supervision can help organizations prevent destructive leadership. In an experimental vignette study with 140 leaders, we tested an integrative model that includes leaders’ narcissism as an antecedent of their abusive supervision intentions. We also tested for the moderating role of followers’ behavior and indirect effects via leaders’ evaluations of followers. We employed the narcissistic admiration and rivalry concept (NARC) to distinguish between adaptive and maladaptive dimensions of grandiose narcissism and found that the maladaptive dimension, narcissistic rivalry, predicted abusive supervision intentions. This effect was strongest when followers behaved dominantly. Finally, we found preliminary evidence that leaders’ evaluations of followers’ likeability, but not of followers’ competence, mediated the relationship between leaders’ narcissistic rivalry and abusive supervision intentions. These indirect effects were not conditional on followers’ behavior. We discuss these findings in light of theoretical and practical implications for individuals and organizations.

Sexual Harassment Bystander Training Effectiveness: Experimentally Comparing 2D Video to VR Practice

Sexual harassment (hereafter, SH) is a dysfunctional workplace behavior, resulting in negative outcomes for individuals, workgroups, and organizations. Since #MeToo, companies have been innovating to increase the effectiveness of SH training by incorporating new content (e.g., bystander intervention skills) and new technology (e.g., virtual reality, hereafter VR). However, research has yet to determine the best practices or the effectiveness of these new innovations. The current study hypothesizes that SH bystander intervention training will be more effective when VR practice scenarios are used rather than 2D video practice scenarios. We argue that the increased presence (i.e., the perception that people and places in a virtual simulation are real) afforded by VR should better replicate bystander experiences in real SH situations, thereby allowing trainees to develop bystander skills in a more realistic practice experience than 2D video provides. We experimentally test our hypothesis in a laboratory setting (N = 100). Our results show that the VR practice condition outperformed the 2D video condition by increasing trainees’ intentions to engage in indirect, non-confrontational, and widely applicable interventions (e.g., intervene by removing the target from the situation, approach the target to offer support later). However, our manipulation showed a negative effect on practice engagement (i.e., those in the VR condition explored fewer response options) and no effect on other operationalizations of training effectiveness (e.g., motivation to learn, knowledge, attitudes toward the training, intentions to directly confront the harasser, and intentions to formally report the harassment). Implications, limitations and directions for future research are discussed.

Socioeconomic position and hearing loss: current understanding and recent advances.

The purpose of this review is to describe recent literature examining the relationship between socioeconomic position (SEP) and hearing loss, including the impact of hearing loss on several socioeconomic outcomes over the life course. Additionally, we highlight current policy advances in recent years and review alternative models of hearing care that aim to address disparities related to SEP and hearing healthcare. Applying a social epidemiologic lens to hearing health gives insight into the role of material and social contexts in understanding and improving hearing health outcomes. Recent studies investigating the intersection of SEP and hearing health highlight the disparities that exist for individuals with low SEP as well as the influence of hearing loss on SEP. Individuals with hearing loss are more likely to be unemployed, have lower educational attainment, lower income, and are less likely to use hearing aids and access hearing care. Legislation addressing cost and access to hearing care as well as transforming the current landscape of hearing care, is essential to creating equitable care for individuals, especially older adults, with low SEP. With the expected rise in prevalence of hearing loss over the next 40 years, hearing care that is affordable and accessible is a public health priority. As hearing loss is associated with negative outcomes for individuals with low SEP, advances in legislation and care delivery models are necessary in order to include populations traditionally unserved by current hearing healthcare.

Life Course Digital Twins–Intelligent Monitoring for Early and Continuous Intervention and Prevention (LifeTIME): Proposal for a Retrospective Cohort Study

BackgroundMultimorbidity, which is associated with significant negative outcomes for individuals and health care systems, is increasing in the United Kingdom. However, there is a lack of knowledge about the risk factors (including health, behavior, and environment) for multimorbidity over time. An interdisciplinary approach is essential, as data science, artificial intelligence, and engineering concepts (digital twins) can identify key risk factors throughout the life course, potentially enabling personalized simulation of life-course risk for the development of multimorbidity. Predicting the risk of developing clusters of health conditions before they occur would add clinical value by enabling targeted early preventive interventions, advancing personalized care to improve outcomes, and reducing the burden on health care systems.ObjectiveThis study aims to identify key risk factors that predict multimorbidity throughout the life course by developing an intelligent agent using digital twins so that early interventions can be delivered to improve health outcomes. The objectives of this study are to identify key predictors of lifetime risk of multimorbidity, create a series of simulated computational digital twins that predict risk levels for specific clusters of factors, and test the feasibility of the system.MethodsThis study will use machine learning to develop digital twins by identifying key risk factors throughout the life course that predict the risk of later multimorbidity. The first stage of the development will be the training of a base predictive model. Data from the National Child Development Study, the North West London Integrated Care Record, the Clinical Practice Research Datalink, and Cerner’s Real World Data will be split into subsets for training and validation, which will be done following the k-fold cross-validation procedure and assessed with the Prediction Model Risk of Bias Assessment Tool (PROBAST). In addition, 2 data sets—the Early-Life Data Cross-linkage in Research study and the Children and Young People’s Health Partnership randomized controlled trial—will be used to develop a series of digital twin personas that simulate clusters of factors to predict different risk levels of developing multimorbidity.ResultsThe expected results are a validated model, a series of digital twin personas, and a proof-of-concept assessment.ConclusionsDigital twins could provide an individualized early warning system that predicts the risk of future health conditions and recommends the most effective intervention to minimize that risk. These insights could significantly improve an individual’s quality of life and healthy life expectancy and reduce population-level health burdens.International Registered Report Identifier (IRRID)PRR1-10.2196/35738

Sexual harassment bystander training effectiveness: Experimentally comparing 2D video to virtual reality practice.

Sexual harassment (hereafter SH) is a dysfunctional workplace behavior, resulting in negative outcomes for individuals, work groups, and organizations. Since #MeToo, companies have been innovating to increase the effectiveness of SH training by incorporating new content (e.g., bystander intervention skills) and new technology (e.g., virtual reality, hereafter VR). However, research has yet to determine the best practices or the effectiveness of these new innovations. The present study hypothesizes that SH bystander intervention training will be more effective when VR practice scenarios are used rather than two-dimensional (2D) video practice scenarios. We argue that the increased presence (i.e., the perception that people and places in a virtual simulation are real) afforded by VR should better replicate bystander experiences in real SH situations, thereby allowing trainees to develop bystander skills in a more realistic practice experience than 2D video provides. We experimentally test our hypothesis in a laboratory setting (N = 100). Our results show that the VR practice condition differed from the 2D video condition by increasing trainees’ intentions to engage in indirect, nonconfrontational, and widely applicable interventions (e.g., intervene by removing the target from the situation, approach the target to offer support later). However, our manipulation showed a negative effect on practice quantity (i.e., those in the VR condition explored fewer response options) and no effect on other operationalizations of training effectiveness (e.g., motivation to learn, knowledge, attitudes toward the training, intentions to directly confront the harasser, and intentions to formally report the harassment). Implications, limitations, and directions for future research are discussed.

Supplemental Material for Sexual harassment bystander training effectiveness: Experimentally comparing 2D video to virtual reality practice.

Sexual harassment (hereafter SH) is a dysfunctional workplace behavior, resulting in negative outcomes for individuals, work groups, and organizations. Since #MeToo, companies have been innovating to increase the effectiveness of SH training by incorporating new content (e.g., bystander intervention skills) and new technology (e.g., virtual reality, hereafter VR). However, research has yet to determine the best practices or the effectiveness of these new innovations. The present study hypothesizes that SH bystander intervention training will be more effective when VR practice scenarios are used rather than two-dimensional (2D) video practice scenarios. We argue that the increased presence (i.e., the perception that people and places in a virtual simulation are real) afforded by VR should better replicate bystander experiences in real SH situations, thereby allowing trainees to develop bystander skills in a more realistic practice experience than 2D video provides. We experimentally test our hypothesis in a laboratory setting (N = 100). Our results show that the VR practice condition differed from the 2D video condition by increasing trainees’ intentions to engage in indirect, nonconfrontational, and widely applicable interventions (e.g., intervene by removing the target from the situation, approach the target to offer support later). However, our manipulation showed a negative effect on practice quantity (i.e., those in the VR condition explored fewer response options) and no effect on other operationalizations of training effectiveness (e.g., motivation to learn, knowledge, attitudes toward the training, intentions to directly confront the harasser, and intentions to formally report the harassment). Implications, limitations, and directions for future research are discussed.

An Adaptationist Framework to Examine Intergroup Contact

Many culturally-plural societies like Canada or Russia seek ways to manage their cultural diversity in order to promote harmony among coexisting groups. The social sciences have long viewed intergroup contact as a beneficial intervention to achieve such harmony. This paper proposes an adaptationist framework within which to explain how and why intergroup contact contributes to the positive and negative outcomes for individuals who live together in a plural society. We employed this framework in a case study that may serve as an example of the conceptualization and analysis of these issues in international research. Its structural framework included both positive and negative contact and the role of this contact in the distribution of intercultural and psychological adaptation among a large representative sample of the Canadian population. We used a correlational design with a representative sample of Canadians from a survey carried out by Environics in 2019, which was stratified according to the most current population statistics. The total sample was 3,111 persons age 18 and over and included the largest racialised groups in the country. Our main finding was that intergroup contact (both positive and negative) related to both psychological and intercultural adaptation. These findings have implications for improving intercultural relations, especially through the role of positive contact. The experience of negative contact (e.g., discrimination) in the near term is an important factor in undermining both forms of adaptation. Nonetheless, while intergroup contact can bring both positive and negative experiences during intercultural interactions, it leads to mutual adaptation over time.

A qualitative exploration of exercise blog believability among emerging adult women

ABSTRACT Emerging adults aged 18–30 years are a unique population who have lifelong experience with digital media. This has contributed to comfort and familiarity with using the internet as a preferred source of information in particular with regard to exercise. Previous research suggests emerging adults may be conflicted about whether or not to believe the information encountered online. The purpose of this study was to explore what aspects of an exercise blog message are believed, and which aspects contribute to personal relevance for a population of emerging adult women. Using a qualitative descriptive design, one-on-one interviews were completed by the principal investigator with ten women (Mage = 25.6 years) residing in a Western Canadian province, all of whom had or were currently attending university. All interviews were recorded and transcribed verbatim. Qualitative content analysis was used to examine and categorise the data, in line with qualitative description designs. Following data analysis, three themes emerged related to blog article believability: information relevance, selective believability, and projecting believability. Exercise blogs may provide an opportunity for some individuals to learn about and diversify personal exercise opportunities. Additionally, participants expressed concern for others, and the potential of these media to contribute to negative outcomes for individuals without prior knowledge in the health disciplines.

“It’s Not Us, It’s You!”: Extending Managerial Control through Coercion and Internalisation in the Context of Workplace Bullying amongst Nurses in Ireland

This article investigates why workers submit to managerial bullying and, in doing so, we extend the growing research on managerial control and workplace bullying. We employ a labour process lens to explore the rationality of management both engaging in and perpetuating bullying. Labour process theory posits that employee submission to workplace bullying can be a valuable method of managerial control and this article examines this assertion. Based on the qualitative feedback in a large-scale survey of nurses in Ireland, we find that management reframed bullying complaints as deficiencies in the competency and citizenship of employees. Such reframing took place at various critical junctures such as when employees resisted extremely pressurized environments and when they resisted bullying behaviours. We find that such reframing succeeds in suppressing resistance and elicits compliance in achieving organisational objectives. We demonstrate how a pervasive bullying culture oriented towards expanding management control weakens an ethical climate conducive to collegiality and the exercise of voice, and strengthens a more instrumental climate. Whilst such a climate can have negative outcomes for individuals, it may achieve desired organisational outcomes for management.

Can addressing inequality unleash economic growth?

Barriers to entering the field of invention have led to negative outcomes for individuals and for the economy. We built a vibrant middle class in the post-war era because we started to tear down many of the barriers that had kept women of all races and men of color from contributing their full talents. A quarter of the growth in aggregate output from 1960 to 2010 can be explained by improved allocation of talent. We didn't finish the work. We allowed barriers to opportunity to return, or new ones to grow up. This turned out to be a tragedy, not only for those people who lost their livelihoods, but also for the economy. Policy can make a difference. The Civil Rights Act really did make a huge difference in the opportunities and gains for Black Americans and for women. Subsequent advancements in automation and trade, which left a lot of workers behind, were not accompanied by changes in policy to help those workers adapt. One thing that we know is that, especially in laboratories or patent teams where people are working together, equality of opportunity is much more than just getting things like as many job interviews. Women and underrepresented minorities are not pulled in and kept in the same way as others. We may, in fact, as a society be underinvesting in the people who could be creating the companies that would be creating the jobs that put those people to better use. A key concern now is that this could be a recession that would harm pathways to the middle class for a long time.

Measuring the Masses: Understanding Health Outcomes Arising from Mass Gatherings, Reporting Gaps, and Recommendations (Paper 2).

Within the world of mass-gathering (MG) medicine and event medicine, researchers are making continued efforts to standardize data collection, analysis, and reporting.1-6 Given the number of MGs that occur annually around the globe, and the associated mortality and morbidity that can arise, it is time to harmonize post-event reporting on health outcomes. In the context of the present coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, there is a world-wide “pause” on MGs. Perhaps this is the time for the MG research community to realign and sharpen the focus of this evolving academic field. Coordinating post-event reporting through the consistent capture and publication of essential data points will allow researchers and clinicians to make comparisons between events and across event types with the goal of mitigating or obviating negative outcomes for individuals and communities. In a recent paper, Turris, et al carried out an analysis of the current state of post-event reporting, with a focus on understanding and documenting patterns. The study found widespread reporting inconsistencies.7 As expected, a number of recommendations arise from an analysis of current state. Below is a summary of six identified gaps in reporting, along with ten initial recommendations for beginning to address the gaps (Table 1). These recommendations lay out a beginning roadmap for subsequent papers that may assist in addressing these important issues in the literature.

Green assets; quantifying contributions of autochthonous tree-like perennials to food and nutrition security resilience in southern Ethiopian Highlands.

Abstract Efficient small-farm food systems produce a significant portion of global food supply and can support relatively high population densities. Yet chronic food insecurity on small farms persists as poverty traps when socio-ecological and techno-cultural drivers reinforce negative outcomes for individuals and households. Understudied food socionatures in traditional and autochthonous farming systems may offer sustainable pathways to food security and resilience. Here, we study the food and nutrition security contributions, and asset-like characteristics of enset, a perennial tree-like staple crop for 20-million people, indigenous to and domesticated in Ethiopia. We apply the law of diminishing returns to identify asset dynamics and use spatially informed hierarchical mixture models to estimate the marginal contribution of enset to four common measures of food and nutrition security. We find mature enset acts like a green asset with flexible timing for a relatively large one-time harvest and is associated with significantly lower childhood stunting, higher diet diversity, lower levels and shorter duration of food insecurity. Increased enset cultivation in conjunction with reduced mature stocks implies enset is a strategic asset, protecting food security in the face of change. Overall, a farmers' stock of mature enset represents a better indicator of food and nutrition security than existing variables, and may be more sensitive to cultural or socio-economically mediated resilience status due to its relevance in the local food socionature. Autochthonous approaches to intensification may partially explain the bifurcation of successful small farms to those falling into policy resistant poverty traps. We recommend the inclusion and potential formalization of a wider range of green assets, such as trees and tree-like perennials, in research on sustainable rural livelihoods and food and nutrition security.

A Systematic Research Review of Internet Addiction and Identity

A small but growing body of research documents how internet misuse can lead to negative outcomes for individuals. One particularly important area of public concern is the connection between addictive internet usage and human identity. This study addressed the connection between excessive internet use on real-world and virtual-world identity. This systematic research review synthesized research studies conducted between 2008 to 2018 on the influence of internet addiction on identity. Findings revealed that the majority of published studies focused on young individuals aged 9-30 years old (89%) and that the connection between excessive internet use on real-world identity and virtual-world identity was complex and multi-faceted. Online gaming addiction was identified as a leading theme within the published research (30%). Based on study findings, recommendations are made for greater future research attention to internet addiction among adults, comprehensive studies of the relationship between online and offline identity to internet addiction, and the inclusion of internet addiction as a multifaceted disorder in future editions of DSM, which includes online gaming addiction among other forms of online addiction.

Feasibility and Acceptability of Digital Legacy-Making: An Innovative Story-Telling Intervention for Adults With Cancer.

This study examined the feasibility, burden and acceptability of a legacy-making intervention in adults with cancer and preliminary effects on patient quality-of-life (QOL) measures. We conducted a Stage IB pilot, intervention study. The intervention was a digital video legacy-making interview of adults with advanced cancer to create a digital video of their memories and experiences. Baseline and post-video QOL assessments included: Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy-General (FACT-G), Patient Dignity Inventory (PDI), Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS), and Emotional Thermometers for distress, anxiety, anger, help and depression. Participants received a final copy of the digital video for distribution to their families. Adults (n = 16) ages 38-83 years old with an advanced or life-limiting cancer diagnosis completed an intervention. Feasibility and acceptability was strong with 0% attrition. While the pilot study was not powered for quantitative significance, there were changes from baseline to post-intervention in the participants' total or subscale FACT-G scores, PDI, HADS anxiety or depression scores, and Emotional Thermometer scores. A digital video legacy-making intervention is feasible for adults with cancer without significant negative outcomes for individuals completing the study. It remains unclear whether this intervention contributes to positive quality of life outcomes.

The Strengths of Minority Status: Advantages Drawn from Marginalized and Stigmatized Identities

Marginalized and stigmatized identities frequently invoke unchallenged assumptions of negative outcomes for individuals. This symposium illustrates the AOM 2020 theme of Broadening our Sight by showcasing research-driven perspectives that embrace increasingly holistic and nuanced theoretical conceptualizations of these identities and novel methodological approaches to studying them. Bridging diverse scholarly foci, session panelists will draw primarily from their research to present key insights on how individuals are influenced by and respond to identity-based adversity (e.g., cognitive reframing, entrepreneurial ventures), including the specific roles of organizations in shaping these processes. Panelists and attendees will critically examine varying mechanisms in which individuals leverage strengths associated with their marginalized and stigmatized identit(ies) to prosper in organizational contexts. We will address specific organizational practices for reducing biases that stifle these strengths and reflect on how we as scholars can reduce similar biases in our research.

‘You live and breathe it…’: Exploring experiences of workplace cyberbullying among New Zealand nurses

AbstractCyberbullying presents a new workplace issue with initial research demonstrating strong links to negative outcomes for individuals and organisations across a range of sectors. Yet, detailed accounts of target experiences of cyberbullying remain largely unexamined. To address this crucial research gap, this study explores nurses' experiences of workplace cyberbullying – a profession with high rates of workplace bullying. Adopting a work environment perspective, this paper provides an in-depth examination of eight cases of workplace cyberbullying that emphasise the practical and theoretical complexities associated with this emerging workplace hazard. Specifically, workplace cyberbullying is often experienced within a broader pattern of bullying behaviours, leading to a potentially wider scope of harm for those involved. A new typology of cyberbullying based on the source of perpetration is also presented that contributes to our growing understanding of the issue while extending the knowledge base for the effective management of workplace cyberbullying.

Best practice recommendations for the use of external telemetry devices on pinnipeds

Pinnipeds spend large portions of their lives at sea, submerged, or hauled-out on land, often on remote off-shore islands. This fundamentally limits access by researchers to critical parts of pinniped life history and has spurred the development and implementation of a variety of externally attached telemetry devices (ETDs) to collect information about movement patterns, physiology and ecology of marine animals when they cannot be directly observed. ETDs are less invasive and easier to apply than implanted internal devices, making them more widely used. However, ETDs have limited retention times and their use may result in negative short- and long-term consequences including capture myopathy, impacts to energetics, behavior, and entanglement risk. We identify 15 best practice recommendations for the use of ETDs with pinnipeds that address experimental justification, animal capture, tag design, tag attachment, effects assessments, preparation, and reporting. Continued improvement of best practices is critical within the framework of the Three Rs (Reduction, Refinement, Replacement); these best practice recommendations provide current guidance to mitigate known potential negative outcomes for individuals and local populations. These recommendations were developed specifically for pinnipeds; however, they may also be applicable to studies of other marine taxa. We conclude with four desired future directions for the use of ETDs in technology development, validation studies, experimental designs and data sharing.