Correlates of Coping Styles

Five hundred participants completed a short, ten-item measure of coping along with measures of self-esteem, intelligence, belief in a just world (BJW) and conspiracy theories (CT). The scale factored into four recognisable coping styles labelled socio-emotional, cognitive, internalisation and distraction. Correlations showed all factors were related to self-esteem and trait optimism. Regressions onto each factor indicated that self-esteem was the most consistent factor being associated positively with all factors, except internalisation. Younger females with low self-esteem tended to use socio-emotional coping, optimists with high self-esteem cognitive coping, younger, less optimistic people with low self-esteem internalisation and high self-esteem, less intelligent people with BJW distraction as a coping strategy. Implications and limitations are acknowledged.

Correlates of Self-Assessed Wellness

Background: This study was concerned with correlates of self-assessed health and wellness on ten dimensions including emotional, financial and physical health. All 10 self-ratings loaded on one factor with high internal reliability. Method: In all 506 adult participants, completed short measures of the bright side, Big Five traits (TIPI) and a short measure of the dark side, personality disorders (PID-5-BF). Results: Correlations and regressions suggested that wellness was related to sex, education and religious beliefs as well as four of five bright- and dark-side traits. Being Sanguine was most positively, and Choleric most negatively, associated with subjective wellness. Detachment and Negative Affect were the highest dark-side correlates. The final regression suggested that over a third of the variance in subjective wellness could be explained by four bright- and two dark-side factors. Conclusions: Personality factors, especially instability and negative affectivity, play a crucial role in all aspects of wellness. Implications and limitations are acknowledged.

Coping with Covid

Aim and Objective: What determines how people coped with the challenges of adapting to the Covid-19 pandemic restrictions and requirements? In four studies, conducted in 2021, groups of European adults (N>1800) noted how they had personally coped with Covid-19. Method: In each study, participants reported on their age, sex and education, their political and religious beliefs, as well as giving self-ratings and completing a number of standard tests on such things as their personality, intelligence and belief in conspiracy theories. Results: In the first study, sex, self-esteem, optimism and intelligence were significant predictors of self-assessed coping. In the second study, only optimism and emotional stability were significant predictors. In the third study, sex, optimism, self-esteem and ratings of change were related to coping. In the fourth study, self-esteem was the only significant predictor. Discussion: The results suggest that optimistic, better adjusted people, with higher self-esteem claim to be better copers. Age, education as well as political and religious beliefs and many personality measures were not related to self-reported coping with Covid-19. Implications for targeting those who require most help were discussed, and limitations were acknowledged.

Modern Health Worries and the Personality Disorders: Two Studies Using Different Measures

This paper reports on two studies using different measures of both Modern Health Worries (MHW) and the Personality Disorders (PDs) to establish the relationship between the two concepts. Study 1 used the PID-5 which is a measure of maladaptive personality traits and the extended 40 item MHW scale. Study 2 used the original 28 item measure of MHW and PDs as measured by the Coolidge Axis-II Inventory—Short Form: SCATI. In study 1 a regression on the total MHW scale accounted for 14% of the variance: those who scored higher on Antagonism and Negative Affect had higher MHW scores. In the study 2 regressions showed four variables consistently related to MHW: sex (females with higher scores), optimism, political beliefs (left wing liberals with higher scores) and those with Cluster B personality disorders (dramatic, overly emotional, erratic). There was enough overlap in the two studies to conclude that various PDs mainly from Cluster B (Moving Against others) were modestly related to MHW as predicted. Limitations and implications are considered.

Childhood Hearing Impairment, Gender, and Trait Neuroticism as Independent Predictors of the Occurrence of Hearing Problems in Adulthood

This study explored psychological, biomedical, and social factors in childhood and adulthood associated with the occurrence of self-reported hearing problems in adulthood. In total, 4828 participants with complete data on parental social class at birth, childhood hearing impairment measured at age 7 years and cognitive ability accessed at age 11 years, educational qualifications obtained at age 33 years, the Big-Five-Factor personality traits measured at age 50 years, current occupational levels and self-reported hearing problems at age 54 years were included in the study. Logistic regression analysis showed that among all the factors examined childhood hearing impairment and trait neuroticism as well as gender were the significant and independent predictors of hearing problems in adulthood.

Regional Variation in the SME-Audit Firm Relationship

The purpose of the paper is to examine how the relationship between small and medium sized enterprises （SMEs） and their auditor varies between regions. Auditing literature, regional, and network studies are used to set up hypotheses on differences between rural regions and the metropolitan urban region. Survey data from 421 SMEs are analyzed and findings support that in rural regions, especially those with a strong entrepreneurial culture and tight inter-organizational links, the SME-auditor relationship is to a larger extent trust-based compared to the urban region. In the rural region, the auditor assumes the role as a business support agent providing valuable strategic advice. The SME-auditor relationship is weakest in the urban region where the auditor＇s role is limited.

Personal Correlates of Covid-19 Vaccine Hesitancy

The aim of the study was to examine some overlooked individual difference (demography, ideology, ability) correlates of attitudes to being vaccinated with the Covid-19 vaccine. Six hundred and sixteen adults were asked about receiving the COVID-19 vaccine. The relationship between demographic (age, sex, education), ideology (political and religious beliefs), intelligence (cognitive ability) and attitudes to vaccination (acceptance, hesitancy, rejection) was examined. Correlations and regressions indicated that vaccine hesitancy and rejection were associated primarily with intelligence and political beliefs as well as mental illness history, as well as religious beliefs. Effect sizes were however small. Limitations are acknowledged.

An Empirical Study on the Generation Mechanism of NIMBY Conflicts of Construction Projects

In the highly overlapped contexts of urbanization and social transformation,and with the advent of the"Risk Society," the social issues,called "Not in My Back Yard(NIMBY)" conflicts,caused by the construction or operation of the NIMBY projects have become a serious problem in China.Hence,it is in urgent need to find out the influencing factors and discover the generation mechanism of the NIMBY conflicts.From the perspective of social conflict theory,the authors built a process model of the NIMBY conflicts on the basis of identifying stakeholders and analyzing their interest interaction.Thereafter,the authors conducted a questionnaire survey,followed by exploratory factor analysis(EFA) revealing the underlying influencing factors of the NIMBY conflicts.Finally,they performed the confirmatory analysis method of Structural Equation Modeling to test the preliminary research hypothesis of the model and its interaction path in AMOS 18.0,with the results showing that unequal exchange and consensus mobilization will contribute to the formation of common consciousness of the opposition party,the opposition party's common consciousness and action mobilization affects the generation of social conflicts.The process model reveals the generation mechanism of the NIMBY conflicts,and it facilitates further investigations in the governance of the NIMBY conflicts.