Kenneth G. Rice’s research while affiliated with Georgia State University and other places

The COVID-19 pandemic produced massive workforce disruptions and threatened job security across the globe. The current study was prompted by this unprecedented situation, combined with our limited understanding of the relationship between job security, personal characteristics, and work-related factors. The study was designed to (a) examine the association between job security and work task performance, and through person-centered or variable-centered approaches (b) evaluate the direct and moderating effects of perfectionism on job security and work performance. Results were based on a final sample of 485 employees from 12 financial organizations in Northern China who completed a web-based questionnaire early during the COVID-19 pandemic. Findings revealed job security was positively associated with work task performance. Job security was also positively related to perfectionistic strivings and negatively associated with perfectionistic concerns; that negative relationship was stronger when perfectionistic strivings were low, suggesting that high strivings may serve as a buffer to self-critical perfectionism influencing job security There was no support for interaction effects involving perfectionism and job security predicting task performance, but strong conditional effects emerged. Workers with high job security, high perfectionistic strivings, and low perfectionistic concerns reported the highest levels of work performance during the pandemic. A risk profile of lower performance emerged for workers with low perfectionistic strivings and high perfectionistic concerns. Findings suggest workplaces that thrive, even during major stressful disruptions, are likely those that can maintain or enhance job security by encouraging high performance expectations and discouraging the stress-generating effects of self-critical perfectionistic concerns among their workers.

Although overt discrimination has decreased in recent years, certain groups in our society continue to experience more subtle and chronic types of discrimination, such as discrimination related to race/ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, and age. Particularly for international students, the list could expand due to their different cultural identities, including discrimination based on immigration status, nationality, and language ability (e.g., Smith & Khawaja, 2011). Perceived discrimination of different types has negative effects on both physical health and mental health outcomes across different populations (Pascoe & Smart Richman, 2009; Schmitt et al., 2014). Multiple studies also showed that, for international students, different forms of perceived discrimination were related to more anxiety and depressive symptoms, and worse general psychological wellbeing (Ko, 2022; Sun et al., 2021). However, the studies used different outcome variables as measures of mental health, and the potential moderators of discrimination effects have not been tested in a systematic way. Therefore, we designed a meta-analysis to evaluate the relationship between discrimination and mental wellbeing in international student samples to synthesize current research findings in this area. Research Questions Research questions included: (a) What is the association between perceived discrimination and psychological wellbeing for international students? (b) Is this association moderated by population characteristics (e.g., gender, racial/ethnic group membership, length of stay in host country, socioeconomic status, language proficiency), report characteristics (publication year, report type, the study), or the quality of the study (e.g., whether there are reliable measures used)? Overall meta-analysis (n=58, k=205) The random effects average effect was -0.31 (SE = 0.02, df = 54.5, p < .001), and heterogeneity was large (Tau2 = 0.034, based on combining the between-study and within-study heterogeneity parameter estimates). The estimated middle 95% of true underlying effects (i.e., the 95% prediction interval) was between -0.60 to 0.04. Meta-regression results: In the meta-regression model, types of psychological well-being indicators showed significant effects. Average effect sizes were larger for negative well-being indicators compared to positive indicators (b=.09, p<.001). When we included reliability of discrimination measures in the meta-regression model, host country and reliability of discrimination measures showed significant effects. Effects were larger for those reports with more reliable measures for perceived discrimination (b=-.56, p<.01), and effects were smaller for reports with U.S. as the host country. Meta-analysis for U.S. students (n=42, k=144) The random effects average effect was -0.31 (SE = 0.03, df = 39, p < .001), and heterogeneity was large (Tau2 = 0.036). The 95% prediction interval was between -0.60 to 0.06. Meta-regression results: In the meta-regression model, types of psychological well-being indicators showed significant effects, with effect sizes larger for negative well-being indicators (b=.09, p<.01). Percentage of Asian students did not show significant effects.

Studyholism (or study obsession) is a construct Loscalzo and Giannini (2017) defined as a new potential clinical condition of problematic overstudying. Two multidimensional scales have been developed to measure this construct: the Studyholism Inventory (SI-10) and the Studyholism Inventory-Extended Version (SI-15). The current study analyzes the psychometric properties of these two instruments among U.S. college students. We also examined measurement invariance of the items based on comparisons between Western and Southern U.S. samples, and between Italian and U.S. students. The analyses generally supported the factor structure and other psychometric properties of the SI-10 and SI-15. Also, we found metric and scalar measurement invariance between the two U.S. samples for the SI-10, while analyses supported only metric invariance for the SI-15. Regarding the invariance between Italy and the U.S., we found support for SI-15 metric invariance (but not for the SI-10). Hence, we suggest that future studies further investigate this construct and context-specific factors across countries (and U.S. states) that may play a role in its measurement and interpretation. Finally, for potential screening purposes, we derived cutoff scores for the U.S. SI-10 to identify high/low combinations of Studyholism and Study Engagement. Those results were consistent with scores based on Italian samples. In conclusion, this study introduces the U.S. validation of the two instruments currently available for measuring Studyholism, paving the way for further studies to highlight potential differences between countries with different cultures or educational systems.

Teacher–student relationship quality (TSRQ) predicts academic motivation (Wentzel, 1997), school engagement, and academic achievement (Hughes, 2011). However, TSRQ appears to differ across demographics. For example, boys and racially/ethnically minoritized students consistently have poorer relationships with their teachers than girls and White students (Koomen & Jellesma, 2015; Murray et al., 2008). Ensuring that TSRQ is consistently conceptualized across individuals will allow demographic differences on TSRQ to be compared. The present study aims to further validate a survey instrument used to measure TSRQ, called the Inventory of Teacher–Student Relationships (IT-SR; Murray & Zvoch, 2011). Participants included 3,541 middle and high school students in a large school district in the Southeastern United States. The results of the study confirmed the hypothesized three-factor structure of the instrument. The instrument demonstrated configural, metric, and scalar invariance across race/ethnicity (Black/African American, White, Hispanic/Latinx, and multiracial) and partial metric and scalar invariance across gender (boys and girls) and school level (middle school and high school). Significant latent mean differences were found, where boys, Black/African American students, Hispanic/Latinx students, and high school students reported lower scores on various factors on the IT-SR compared to girls, White students, multiracial students, and middle school students, respectively. Results support future research and applied use of the IT-SR with middle and high school students.

Short empirically-supported scales or individual items are preferred in comprehensive surveys, brief screeners, and experience sampling studies. To that end, we examined the Short Almost Perfect Scale (SAPS) to evaluate empirical support for the interchangeability of items to measure perfectionistic strivings (Standards) and perfectionistic concerns (Discrepancy). Based on a large and diverse sample (N = 1,103) and tests of tau-equivalence (equal factor loadings) for each respective set of items, Study 1 advanced a subset of SAPS items to measure Standards (2 items) and Discrepancy (3 items). Cross-sectional gender and race/ethnicity invariance were supported, and in structural equations analyses, the SAPS5 factors were significantly associated with depression, state anxiety, life satisfaction, and gratitude. Study 2 cross-validated Study 1 measurement and structural findings with a new U.S. sample (N = 803). The three items representing the Discrepancy (perfectionistic concerns) factor also were supported in a cross-national comparison between the U.S. sample and a scale development sample in New Zealand (N = 3,921). For the most part, across both studies and all analyses, the three Discrepancy items were empirically interchangeable indicators of perfectionistic concerns and comparably strong predictors of psychological outcomes, supporting their use in studies or other contexts with space or time restrictions for measurement.

The current study explored the intelligibility and acceptability ratings of dysarthric speakers with African American English (AAE) and General American English (GAE) dialects by listeners who identify as GAE or AAE speakers, as well as listener ability to identify dialect in dysarthric speech. Eighty-six listeners rated the intelligibility and acceptability of sentences extracted from a passage read by speakers with dysarthria. Samples were used from the Atlanta Motor Speech Disorders Corpus and ratings were collected via self-report. The listeners identified speaker dialect in a forced-choice format. Listeners self-reported their dialect and exposure to AAE. AAE dialect was accurately identified in 63.43% of the the opportunities; GAE dialect was accurately identified in 70.35% of the opportunities. Listeners identifying as AAE speakers rated GAE speech as more acceptable, whereas, listeners identifying as GAE speakers rated AAE speech as more acceptable. Neither group of listeners demonstrated a difference in intelligibility ratings. Exposure to AAE had no effect on intelligibility or acceptability ratings. Listeners can identify dialect (AAE and GAE) with a better than chance degree of accuracy. One's dialect may have an effect on intelligibility and acceptability ratings. Exposure to a dialect did not affect listener ratings of intelligibility or acceptability.

The current study focused on those who had recently experienced a relationship breakup, which add extra stressors to college students who have already suffered from negative influences of COVID-19. Social support could act as a coping resource to alleviate the negative consequences of breakup and COVID-19 on mental health. Although social support has long been found to have a protective role on mental health, several studies indicated that social support could have differential effects, and even harmful effects on people with high negative emotionality. To understand the roles social support play, we used a longitudinal design to study potential moderators (negative emotionality [or neuroticism] and gender) in the relationship between social support and depression. For students who experienced a relational disruption, our research questions were (1) what are the cross-sectional and longitudinal associations between social support and depression before and during COVID-19, and (2) are these relationships moderated by negative emotionality and gender? Participants 361 students (Mage = 23.3, 64% female) from Argentina and the USA who had experienced recent relationship breakups. Participants completed pre-pandemic questionnaires, and were followed up on depression level six months later, after the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Results indicated that social support and negative emotionality were significantly related to concurrent depression. Pre-pandemic social support showed a weak correlation with depression levels during COVID-19. Negative emotionality and gender were not significant moderators in both the cross-sectional and longitudinal associations. Results supported the concurrent effects of social support on depression and indicated the potential value of targeting social support during COVID-19. The study also offered several directions for future research.