Relative Importance Analyses Research Articles

Successful Aging in Older US Veterans: Results From the 2019–2020 National Health and Resilience in Veterans Study

ObjectiveTo identify the current prevalence, and sociodemographic, military, health, and psychosocial correlates of successful aging in older US veterans. MethodsData were analyzed from the 2019–2020 National Health and Resilience in Veterans Study, which surveyed a nationally representative sample of 3,001 US veterans aged greater than or equal to 60 years (mean = 73). Multiple regression and relative importance analyses were conducted to identify key factors associated with successful aging. ResultsA total 79% of older veterans rated themselves as aging successfully. Physical and mental health difficulties emerged as the strongest correlates of successful aging (71% variance explained), while psychosocial factors, most notably perceived resilience, purpose in life, and positive expectations about emotional aging, explained 29% of the variance in this outcome. ConclusionsNearly 4 of 5 US veterans rate themselves as successful agers. Prevention and treatment efforts designed to mitigate physical and mental health difficulties, and promote protective psychosocial factors may help bolster successful aging in this population.

Embracing the positive: an examination of how well resilience factors at age 14 can predict distress at age 17

One-in-two people suffering from mental health problems develop such distress before or during adolescence. Research has shown that distress can predict itself well over time. Yet, little is known about how well resilience factors (RFs), i.e. those factors that decrease mental health problems, predict subsequent distress. Therefore, we investigated which RFs are the best indicators for subsequent distress and with what accuracy RFs predict subsequent distress. We examined three interpersonal (e.g. friendships) and seven intrapersonal RFs (e.g. self-esteem) and distress in 1130 adolescents, at age 14 and 17. We estimated the RFs and a continuous distress-index using factor analyses, and ordinal distress-classes using factor mixture models. We then examined how well age-14 RFs and age-14 distress predict age-17 distress, using stepwise linear regressions, relative importance analyses, as well as ordinal and linear prediction models. Low brooding, low negative and high positive self-esteem RFs were the most important indicators for age-17 distress. RFs and age-14 distress predicted age-17 distress similarly. The accuracy was acceptable for ordinal (low/moderate/high age-17 distress-classes: 62–64%), but low for linear models (37–41%). Crucially, the accuracy remained similar when only self-esteem and brooding RFs were used instead of all ten RFs (ordinal = 62%; linear = 37%); correctly predicting for about two-in-three adolescents whether they have low, moderate or high distress 3 years later. RFs, and particularly brooding and self-esteem, seem to predict subsequent distress similarly well as distress can predict itself. As assessing brooding and self-esteem can be strength-focussed and is time-efficient, those RFs may be promising for risk-detection and translational intervention research.

Risk and protective factors associated with comorbid PTSD and depression in U.S. military veterans: Results from the National Health and Resilience in Veterans Study

Converging evidence suggests that veterans with co-occurring PTSD/MDD represent a high-risk group for poor mental health compared to those with PTSD alone. To date, however, little is known about the specific factors that may increase vulnerability for and buffer risk for comorbid PTSD/MDD. The purpose of this study was to provide a population-based characterization of sociodemographic, risk, and protective variables associated with comorbid PTSD/MDD among U.S. military veterans. Data were analyzed from the National Health and Resilience in Veterans Study, a nationally representative survey of U.S. military veterans (n = 2,732). Analyses (1) compared veterans with PTSD alone and co-occurring PTSD/MDD on sociodemographic, military, and psychosocial characteristics; and (2) examined variables independently associated with PTSD/MDD status. Multivariable logistic regression analyses revealed that racial/ethnic minority status (odds ratio [OR] = 12.5), number of lifetime traumas (OR = 1.3), and time spent engaged in private religious/spiritual activities (OR = 1.8) were associated with PTSD/MDD status, while higher scores on measures of community integration (OR = 0.6) and dispositional optimism (OR = 0.7) were negatively associated with comorbid PTSD/MDD status. Relative importance analyses revealed that dispositional optimism (34%) and community integration (24%) explained the largest proportions of variance in PTSD/MDD comorbidity. Taken together, results of this study suggest that racial/ethnic minority status, greater lifetime trauma burden, and engagement in private religious/spiritual activities are key distinguishing characteristics of U.S. military veterans with comorbid PTSD/MDD vs. PTSD alone. They further underscore the need to study whether targeting community integration and optimism in prevention and treatment efforts may enhance clinical outcomes in this population.

Contingent worker monetary influence, work attitudes and behavior

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to examine the relationships between pay satisfaction, global job satisfaction, loyalty and organizational citizenship behaviors (OCBs) – as they all pertain to contingent workers. The proposed model suggests, due to the nature of contingent work, pay satisfaction will influence the above variables. Additionally, this study aims to explore the relationship between pay satisfaction and OCB directed toward an individual employee.Design/methodology/approachThis study used a cross-sectional research design, administering a web-based survey to the participants (n=117) for data collection. Hierarchical regression, correlation and relative importance analyses were used for hypothesis testing.FindingsThe results suggest pay satisfaction of contingent workers is positively related to global job satisfaction, loyalty to a hiring agency, loyalty to a client company and OCB directed toward a client organization.Originality/valueThe primary contribution of the current study was the assessment of extrinsic rewards and their relationship to job satisfaction, loyalty and OCBs among contingent workers. This appears to be the first study to assess the relationship between pay satisfaction and loyalty, along with OCBs of contingent workers. The findings establish the importance of pay when loyalty to both staffing agency and client company is considered.

The effect of donation activity dwarfs the effect of lifestyle, diet and targeted iron supplementation on blood donor iron stores.

The iron status of blood donors is a subject of concern for blood establishments. The Finnish Red Cross Blood Service addresses iron loss in blood donors by proposing systematic iron supplementation for demographic at-risk donor groups. We measured blood count, ferritin and soluble transferrin receptor (sTfR) and acquired lifestyle and health information from 2200 blood donors of the FinDonor 10000 cohort. We used modern data analysis methods to estimate iron status and factors affecting it with a special focus on the effects of the blood service’s iron supplementation policy. Low ferritin (< 15 μg/L), an indicator of low iron stores, was present in 20.6% of pre-menopausal women, 10.6% of post-menopausal women and 6% of men. Anemia co-occurred with iron deficiency more frequently in pre-menopausal women (21 out of 25 cases) than in men (3/6) or post-menopausal women (1/2). In multivariable regression analyses, lifestyle, dietary, and blood donation factors explained up to 38% of the variance in ferritin levels but only ~10% of the variance in sTfR levels. Days since previous donation were positively associated with ferritin levels in all groups while the number of donations during the past 2 years was negatively associated with ferritin levels in pre-menopausal women and men. FRCBS-provided iron supplementation was negatively associated with ferritin levels in men only. Relative importance analyses showed that donation activity accounted for most of the explained variance in ferritin levels while iron supplementation explained less than 1%. Variation in ferritin levels was not significantly associated with variation in self-reported health. Donation activity was the most important factor affecting blood donor iron levels, far ahead of e.g. red-meat consumption or iron supplementation. Importantly, self-reported health of donors with lower iron stores was not lower than self-reported health of donors with higher iron stores.

The changing picture of the housework gender gap in contemporary Chinese adults

Prior research has shown that time availability, relative resources, and gender perspective have great effects on couples’ division of housework, yet less attention has been paid to how the magnitude of these influences varies by cohort. By embedding the three dominant micro-level perspectives on housework in a macro-level context (i.e. cohort-level), this study examines each of the three perspectives’ explanatory powers for explaining the housework behaviors of two post-1976 cohorts: the early- and late-reform marriage cohorts. Regression results and Relative Importance analyses examining the three perspectives on housework show dissimilar effects for the two cohorts: the relative resources and gender perspectives better predict the housework gender gap in early-reform couples, while the time availability perspective better predicts the housework gender gap in late-reform couples. Specifically, the three most important predictors of the housework gender gap for the early-reform cohort are wife’s weekly paid work hours, wife’s proportion of couple’s income, and wife or her parents owning the house, while for the younger, late-reform cohort, the three most important predictors are wife’s employment, wife’s weekly paid work hours, and number of co-living children, suggesting that the relative resources perspective is weakened for the late-reform cohort. In addition, both the Relative Importance analyses and the Seemingly Unrelated Regression estimations reveal that although early-reform couples are likely to ‘do gender’ as a performance, this diminishes for late-reform Chinese couples. These changes indicate an uneven process regarding gender equality and the need to take cohort into account when testing the micro-level theoretical perspectives on the housework gap.

Quantifying teacher resilience: Context matters

Previous research has identified individual and contextual level factors that may promote resilience in teachers; however, little is known about their relative importance in predicting measures of positive adaptation. Questionnaire data were collected from 226 UK teachers. Relative importance analyses identified a number of significant predictors of job satisfaction, burnout, and wellbeing. The results suggest that contextual influences on teachers' ability to thrive within the profession are just as important as individual factors. Any intervention designed to develop teacher resilience should therefore focus on improving the professional environment as well as looking at ways to enhance teachers’ personal resources.

Influences of water quality and climate on the water-energy nexus: A spatial comparison of two water systems

As drinking water supply systems plan for sustainable management practices, impacts from future water quality and climate changes are a major concern. This study aims to understand the intraannual changes of energy consumption for water treatment, investigate the relative importance of water quality and climate indicators on energy consumption for water treatment, and predict the effects of climate change on the embodied energy of treated, potable water at two municipal drinking water systems located in the northeast and southeast US. To achieve this goal, a life cycle assessment was first performed to quantify the monthly energy consumption in the two drinking water systems. Regression and relative importance analyses were then performed between climate indicators, raw water quality indicators, and chemical and energy usages in the treatment processes to determine their correlations. These relationships were then used to project changes in embodied energy associated with the plants' processes, and the results were compared between the two regions. The projections of the southeastern US water plant were for an increase in energy demand resulted from an increase of treatment chemical usages. The northeastern US plant was projected to decrease its energy demand due to a reduced demand for heating the plant's infrastructure. The findings indicate that geographic location and treatment process may determine the way climate change affects drinking water systems.

What Does Leaders' Character Add to Transformational Leadership?

ABSTRACTThe influence of leaders' character (e.g., integrity, humility/forgiveness) has rarely been examined in leadership research. The current investigation focused on the impact of integrity and humility/forgiveness on both followers' perceptions of leaders' worthiness of being followed (WBF) and stress. Results from a scenario experiment (n = 347) and a field study (n = 110) indicated that these aspects incrementally predict WBF above and beyond the impact of transformational leadership. Similar results were found concerning followers' stress with the exception of leader integrity in the field study. According to relative importance analyses, integrity and transformational leadership predict WBF equally well. The results have conceivable implications for human resources (personnel selection and development). Future research should examine additional outcome variables that are affected by certain leader characteristics as well as potential negative effects of the examined character aspects.

The Multidimensional Existential Meaning Scale: A tripartite approach to measuring meaning in life

To address conceptual difficulties and advance research on meaning in life (MIL), it may be useful to adopt a tripartite view of meaning as consisting of comprehension, purpose, and mattering. This paper discusses the development of the Multidimensional Existential Meaning Scale (MEMS), which explicitly assesses these three subconstructs. Results from three samples of undergraduates showed the MEMS to have favorable psychometric properties (e.g. good factor structure and reliability) and demonstrated that it can effectively differentiate the three subconstructs of meaning. Regression and relative importance analyses showed that each MEMS subscale carried predictive power for relevant variables and other meaning measures. Additionally, the MEMS subscales demonstrated theoretically consistent, differential associations with other variables (e.g. dogmatism, behavioral activation, and spirituality). Overall, results suggest that the MEMS may offer more conceptual precision than existing measures, and it may open new avenues of research and facilitate a more nuanced understanding of MIL.

Cognitive Functions Buffer Age Differences in Technology Ownership

Background: Technology plays a major role in enhancing quality of life and everyday competence in old age. Mechanic and pragmatic cognitive functions are known to serve as resources when using technology in everyday life. Not much is known about the differential role of mechanic and pragmatic cognitive functions when moderating reduced technology ownership in old age. Objective: In this research, we explored whether perceptual speed or verbal fluency is more important for buffering age differences in technology ownership. We investigate possible moderation effects of cognitive functions relative to demographic characteristics, socioeconomic status, and household composition variables. Methods: We report findings based on a nationally representative German sample of 3,357 younger and older adults between 18 and 94 years of age (mean = 51.2, SD = 17.3). Interaction and relative importance analyses were conducted to examine the relative importance of perceptual speed and verbal fluency for the moderation of age differences in technology ownership across adulthood. Results: Findings suggest that perceptual speed (B = 0.0008, t = 6.23, p < 0.001) and verbal fluency (B = 0.0003, t = 2.70, p < 0.01) buffered age differences in technology ownership. The moderating role of perceptual speed remained robust (B = 0.0007, t = 5.48, p < 0.001) when including interactions of age with demographic, socioeconomic, and household composition variables; however, the interaction between age and verbal fluency was no longer significant (B = 0.0002, t = 1.82, p = 0.069). Relative importance analysis indicates that perceptual speed was the most important moderator of age differences (DW = 0.0121), whereas verbal fluency was less important for moderating the relation between age and technology ownership (DW = 0.0039). Conclusions: Mechanic and pragmatic cognitive functions may serve differently as moderators of the relation between age and technology ownership. Our findings suggest that perceptual speed was more important for buffering age differences in technology ownership than verbal fluency. Such findings underscore the relevance of information processing for the ownership of technological devices in late life.

Method variation in the impact of missing data on response shift detection.

Missing data due to attrition or item non-response can result in biased estimates and loss of power in longitudinal quality-of-life (QOL) research. The impact of missing data on response shift (RS) detection is relatively unknown. This overview article synthesizes the findings of three methods tested in this special section regarding the impact of missing data patterns on RS detection in incomplete longitudinal data. The RS detection methods investigated include: (1) Relative importance analysis to detect reprioritization RS in stroke caregivers; (2) Oort's structural equation modeling (SEM) to detect recalibration, reprioritization, and reconceptualization RS in cancer patients; and (3) Rasch-based item-response theory-based (IRT) models as compared to SEM models to detect recalibration and reprioritization RS in hospitalized chronic disease patients. Each method dealt with missing data differently, either with imputation (1), attrition-based multi-group analysis (2), or probabilistic analysis that is robust to missingness due to the specific objectivity property (3). Relative importance analyses were sensitive to the type and amount of missing data and imputation method, with multiple imputation showing the largest RS effects. The attrition-based multi-group SEM revealed differential effects of both the changes in health-related QOL and the occurrence of response shift by attrition stratum, and enabled a more complete interpretation of findings. The IRT RS algorithm found evidence of small recalibration and reprioritization effects in General Health, whereas SEM mostly evidenced small recalibration effects. These differences may be due to differences between the two methods in handling of missing data. Missing data imputation techniques result in different conclusions about the presence of reprioritization RS using the relative importance method, while the attrition-based SEM approach highlighted different recalibration and reprioritization RS effects by attrition group. The IRT analyses detected more recalibration and reprioritization RS effects than SEM, presumably due to IRT's robustness to missing data. Future research should apply simulation techniques in order to make conclusive statements about the impacts of missing data according to the type and amount of RS.

Hospital-physician relations: the relative importance of economic, relational and professional attributes to organizational attractiveness.

BackgroundBelgian hospitals face a growing shortage of physicians and increasingly competitive market conditions. In this challenging environment hospitals are struggling to build effective hospital-physician relationships which are considered to be a critical determinant of organizational success.MethodsEmployed physicians of a University hospital were surveyed. Organizational attributes were identified through the literature and two focus groups. Variables were measured using validated questionnaires. Descriptive analyses and linear regression were used to test the model and relative importance analyses were performed.ResultsThe selected attributes predict hospital attractiveness significantly (79.3%). The relative importance analysis revealed that hospital attractiveness is most strongly predicted by professional attributes (35.3%) and relational attributes (29.7%). In particular, professional development opportunities (18.8%), hospital prestige (16.5%), organizational support (17.2%) and leader support (9.3%) were found to be most important. Besides these non-economic aspects, the employed physicians indicated pay and financial benefits (7.4%) as a significant predictor of hospital attractiveness. Work-life balance and job security were not significantly related to hospital attractiveness.ConclusionsThis study shows that initiatives aimed at strengthening physicians’ positive perceptions of professional and relational aspects of practicing medicine in hospitals, while assuring satisfactory financial conditions, may offer useful avenues for increasing the level of perceived hospital attractiveness. Overall, hospitals are advised to use a differentiated approach to increase their attractiveness to physicians.

The relative importance of proactive behaviors and outcomes for predicting newcomer learning, well-being, and work engagement

New employees can accelerate and optimize their socialization by behaving proactively, although the key behaviors vary across studies. Recent research suggests that newcomer proactive behaviors influence socialization through the mediating effect of corresponding proactive outcomes. This may partly explain differences across studies, along with possible variations in the relative importance of specific proactive behaviors. This study investigates further the mediating role of proactive outcomes, and the relative importance of different proactive behaviors and proactive outcomes in predicting newcomer learning, well-being, and work engagement. Based on a sample of 176 temporary agency workers, support for the mediating role of proactive outcomes was found, although some proactive behaviors were effective in their own right. Relative importance analyses revealed that different proactive behaviors were important for different socialization criteria. Practical and theoretical implications of these findings are discussed.

An Interdependent Approach to Understand Trust Development in Negotiation

Trust developed in the process of negotiation facilitates future cooperation. Drawing on the actor-partner interdependence model, we investigated how dispositional and situational factors affected trust developed during negotiation. Study 1 demonstrated that both trust propensity and information sharing, of both focal negotiators (actors) and their counterparts (partners), contributed to trust developed during the negotiation. Dyadic interaction effects and relative importance analyses highlighted a stronger influence of the situation than that of the disposition, since partners� information sharing was strongly associated with actors� trust. Study 2 investigated the different effects of information sharing and substantiation on the development of trust, indicating that information about priorities but not substantiation of positions was positively associated with trust. Study 3 deconstructed information sharing further by showing that for the purposes of developing trust information providing was more important than information seeking.

Residualized Relative Importance Analysis

The current article notes that the standard application of relative importance analyses is not appropriate when examining the relative importance of interactive or other higher order effects (e.g., quadratic, cubic). Although there is a growing demand for strategies that could be used to decompose the predicted variance in regression models containing such effects, there has been no formal, systematic discussion of whether it is appropriate to use relative importance statistics in such decompositions, and if it is appropriate, how to go about doing so. The purpose of this article is to address this gap in the literature by describing three different yet related strategies for decomposing variance in higher-order multiple regression models—hierarchical F tests (a between-sets test), constrained relative importance analysis (a within-sets test), and residualized relative importance analysis (a between- and within-sets test). Using a previously published data set, we illustrate the different types of inferences these three strategies permit researchers to draw. We conclude with recommendations for researchers seeking to decompose the predicted variance in regression models testing higher order effects.

From “work–family” to “work–life”: Broadening our conceptualization and measurement

Despite frequent reference to “work–life” issues in the organizational literature, little theoretical or empirical attention has been paid to nonwork areas beyond family. The purpose of the research described here is to move beyond work–family conflict to a broader conceptualization and measurement of work interference with life. A measure of work interference with life across eight nonwork domains and two forms of interference (strain- and time-based) was developed and tested in two studies of 1811 and 3145 university alumni from multiple organizations and diverse occupations. In Study 1 evidence for the dimensionality of this measure is presented. In Study 2 work interference with life demonstrated incremental validity above and beyond work interference with family with respect to job satisfaction, turnover intentions, life satisfaction, and mental health. The results of relative importance analyses are presented for the same outcomes. This research has implications for designing more inclusive work–life policies and practices and presents a new lens for understanding individual differences at the work–life interface.

Beyond step-down analysis: A new test for decomposing the importance of dependent variables in MANOVA.

Multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) is often categorized as a tool for experimental psychologists. However, it also continues to be a popular statistical procedure used by organizational scientists. Unfortunately, when the dependent variables (DV) are correlated with one another, interpreting the significant omnibus test in MANOVA becomes difficult. The present article proposes a novel way of interpreting a significant MANOVA that draws from work dedicated to understanding the relative importance of correlated predictors in multiple regression. Relative importance analyses are specifically designed to overcome the limitations caused by correlated variables and permit researchers to appropriately partition shared variance. We derive and extend relative weight analysis to MANOVA designs and demonstrate how these weights may be used to draw inferences concerning the relative contribution of each DV to the overall multivariate effect. Through our example, we illustrate how researchers must consider the correlations among the DVs when interpreting a significant multivariate effect, and our procedure provides an effective mechanism for doing just that.

How to Spot a Careerist Early On: Psychopathy and Exchange Ideology as Predictors of Careerism

Careerism refers to an individual’s propensity to achieve their personal and career goals through nonperformance-based activities (Feldman, The Indus Org Psychol 39–44, 1985). We investigated the role of several dispositional predictors of careerism, including Five-factor model (FFM) personality traits, primary psychopathy, and exchange ideology. Based on data from 131 respondents, as expected, we observed that emotional stability was negatively correlated with careerism. Primary psychopathy and exchange ideology explained additional variance in careerism after accounting for FFM traits. Relative importance analyses indicated that psychopathy (relative weight percentage of explained variance = 42.1 %) and exchange ideology (relative weight percentage = 44.1 %) were equally important in predicting careerism. We highlight the need for future research efforts investigating the combined effects of contextual factors—particularly, human resource practices—and individual differences to understand careerism in the workplace.

Single subject fMRI test–retest reliability metrics and confounding factors

While the fMRI test-retest reliability has been mainly investigated from the point of view of group level studies, here we present analyses and results for single-subject test-retest reliability. One important aspect of group level reliability is that not only does it depend on between-session variance (test-retest), but also on between-subject variance. This has partly led to a debate regarding which reliability metric to use and how different sources of noise contribute to between-session variance. Focusing on single subject reliability allows considering between-session only. In this study, we measured test-retest reliability in four behavioural tasks (motor mapping, covert verb generation, overt word repetition, and a landmark identification task) to ensure generalisation of the results and at three levels of data processing (time-series correlation, t value variance, and overlap of thresholded maps) to understand how each step influences the other and how confounding factors influence reliability at each of these steps. The contributions of confounding factors (scanner noise, subject motion, and coregistration) were investigated using multiple regression and relative importance analyses at each step. Finally, to achieve a fuller picture of what constitutes a reliable task, we introduced a bootstrap technique of within- vs. between-subject variance. Our results show that (i) scanner noise and coregistration errors have little contribution to between-session variance (ii) subject motion (especially correlated with the stimuli) can have detrimental effects on reliability (iii) different tasks lead to different reliability results. This suggests that between-session variance in fMRI is mostly caused by the variability of underlying cognitive processes and motion correlated with the stimuli rather than technical limitations of data processing.