Latent profiles of problematic internet use and their six-month subsequent psychopathology outcomes

Objective

Problematic Internet Use (PIU) has many adverse effects on youth mental health, including heightened risks of depression and anxiety. However, few studies have systematically investigated the internal heterogeneity of PIU symptoms among rural Chinese adolescents. Data was collected from 5,271 rural Chinese adolescents from two secondary schools in Guizhou and Sichuan at two waves. This study aimed to identify PIU profiles at T1 and examine their relationships with subsequent anxiety, depression, and stress after six months at T2.

Methods

A Latent Profile Analysis (LPA) was conducted to first identify PIU symptom profiles. Then, a "three-step" logistic regression mixed model was conducted to explore the association between PIU patterns and demographic correlates. Anxiety, depression, and stress symptoms collected at the second wave were compared across PIU profiles by using a Bolck-Croon-Hagenaars (BCH) approach.

Results

The study found that (1) The patterns of PIU among rural adolescents could be divided into four subgroups: low PIU group (57.18%), medium PIU group (15.65%), high PIU group (9.01%), and self-blame group (18.16%), which is a uniquely identified group. (2) Being female, an ethnic minority, living off-campus, having left-behind experiences, and having fewer siblings were risk factors for high PIU group membership. (3) The order of severity for anxiety, depression, and stress was as follows: high PIU, medium PIU, self-blame, and low PIU groups. (4) The self-blame group had relatively lower anxiety, depression, and stress scores than the medium PIU group, despite the fact that the self-blame group had higher PIU scores than the medium PIU group, which further strengthens the importance of using a person-centered approach.

Conclusions

Addressing the profiles of PIU is vital for rural Chinese adolescent mental health, necessitating tailored interventions.

Social support and online interaction and their links to psychosocial well-being among Nordic adolescents: Integrating variable-centered and person-centered approaches

The Nordic countries are among the most digitally advanced societies in the world. Past research suggests that both social support offline and interaction online are linked to adolescent psychological adjustment. However, less is known regarding the complex implications of distinctive sources of social support offline and online interaction for a broader range of indices of adolescent psychosocial well-being, including its contemporary forms such as social media addiction. This study utilized two methodological approaches to examine the social components and determinants of psychosocial well-being (psychosomatic complaints and problematic social media use) among 22,384 Nordic adolescents aged between 11 and 15 years. A variable-centered approach focused on examining perceived support from four sources (family, peers, teachers, and classmates), preference for online interaction, and intensity of online interaction as predictors of psychosocial well-being. Concurrently, a person-centered approach was utilized to explore the subgroups at risk of psychosocial ill-being. In the variable-centered analysis, lower support from family, teachers, and classmates, higher preference for online interaction, and higher intensity of online interaction with "online contacts" (i.e., interaction partners met online) were linked to higher levels of psychosomatic complaints and more problematic social media use. Additionally, lower peer support was associated with increased psychosomatic complaints, while greater intensity of online interaction with "offline contacts" (e.g., close friends, parents) was related to more problematic social media use. The person-centered analysis identified five profiles of adolescents: (1) "Multiply supported online users" (56%), (2) "Primarily (family-peer) supported high online users" (22%), (3) "Non-supported online users" (13%), (4) "Primarily non-supported online users" (5%), and (5) "Non-supported high online users" (4%). Adolescents reporting higher support from multiple sources and moderate online interaction with offline contacts experienced the lowest levels of psychosomatic complaints and the least problematic social media use, while the other profiles exhibited more complex and less optimal psychosocial well-being. In conclusion, these findings suggest that adolescents benefit most from robust social support offline across multiple social networks, but strong support from certain sources (teachers, classmates) can somewhat mitigate the adverse effects of low support from other sources (family, peers). The relationship between online interaction and psychosocial well-being is contingent on the level of social support.

A network analysis of the heterogeneity and associated risk and protective factors of depression and anxiety among college students

BACKGROUND

Comorbidity of depression and anxiety is common among adolescents and can lead to adverse outcomes. However, there is limited understanding of the latent characteristics and mechanisms governing these disorders and their interactions. Moreover, few studies have examined the impacts of relevant risk and protective factors.

METHODS

This cross-sectional study involved 1,719 students. Mplus 8.0 software was used to conduct latent profile analysis to explore the potential categories of depression and anxiety comorbidities. R4.3.2 software was used to explore the network of core depression and anxiety symptoms, bridge these disorders, and evaluate the effects of risk and protective factors.

RESULTS

Three categories were established: "healthy" (57.8%), "mild depression-mild anxiety" (36.6%), and "moderately severe depression-moderate anxiety" (5.6%). "Depressed mood", "nervousness", and "difficulty relaxing" were core symptoms in both the depression-anxiety comorbidity network and the network of risk and protective factors. Stress perception and neuroticism serve as bridging nodes connecting some symptoms of depression and anxiety and are thus considered the most prominent risk factors.

CONCLUSIONS

According to the core and bridging symptoms identified in this study, targeted intervention and treatment can be provided to groups with comorbid depression and anxiety, thereby reducing the risk of these comorbidities in adolescents.

On the nature, predictors, and outcomes of work passion profiles: A generalisability study across distinct types of employees

Thus far, little research has adopted a person-centred approach to investigate the nature of work passion profiles. As a result, our understanding of the most commonly occurring combinations of harmonious passion (HP) and obsessive passion (OP) in the workplace remains limited. To achieve a more refined understanding of the nature of these work passion profiles, our first aim was thus to identify the configurations of HP and OP for work observed among five samples, including 11 subsamples, of employees (N = 7258). Then, we also considered the extent to which these profiles and their associations with theoretically-relevant predictors (work-home segmentation and organisational support) and outcomes (work engagement, work-family conflict, turnover intentions, presenteeism, and counterproductive work behaviours) generalised across all subsamples. We identified a total of five profiles with a structure that differed slightly across samples: High OP Dominant, High HP Dominant, Average HP Dominant, Low HP Dominant (i.e., low levels of passion dominated by higher levels of HP relative to OP), and Moderately Low Passion. The High OP Dominant profile was systematically the most prevalent (37.5%-54.1% of the sample), whereas the High HP Dominant was the least prevalent (2.1%-7.7%). Across all samples, work-home segmentation was related to a higher likelihood of membership into the profiles characterised by higher, relative to lower or moderate, levels of passion (HP and OP), whereas organisational support also helped employees to stay away from the High OP Dominant profile. Lastly, the least desirable outcomes were observed in the High OP Dominant profile, whereas the most desirable outcomes were observed in the High HP Dominant profile. Interestingly, work engagement levels where comparable in these two profiles. Beyond their theoretical implications for research on work passion, these results highlight how work passion has highly similar implications across contexts.

Exploring Personality Profiles as a Source of Phenotypic Diversity in Autistic Children and Adolescents

This study adopts a person-centered approach to evaluate personality diversity as a source of interpersonal variability in autistic children and adolescents, and how personality subgroup membership relates to variability in autistic characteristics, social-emotional presentations, and parenting outcomes. Latent Profile Analysis was used to analyze 569 parent reports on a child-based Five-Factor-Model personality measure (aged 6-18 years; Mage = 11.8 years, SD = 3.1; 70% boys). Four distinct personality profile groups were identified, showing varying levels in the low to average range of all five personality domains. All groups scored lowest on Extraversion and Emotional Stability. They differed the most in Imagination and the least in Emotional Stability. Group 1 (n = 72) exhibited the lowest mean-level scores on all five domains, whereas Group 4 (n = 90) had the highest domain scores. Group 2 (n = 307) and Group 3 (n = 100) showed more diverse patterns. Group membership was meaningfully associated with variation in characteristics of social interaction and communication, internalizing, externalizing, and attentional problems, psychosocial strengths, and positive parenting strategies. Only modest group differences were found in parenting stress. All groups had similar scores on repetitive and restrictive behaviors. These findings help to better understand and support natural subgroups within the autism phenotype by exploring shared personality attributes.

A longitudinal person-centered investigation of the multidimensional nature of employees' perceptions of challenge and hindrance demands at work

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES

This research relies on a combination of variable- and person-centered approaches to help improve our understanding of the dimensionality of job demands by jointly considering employees' global levels of job demands, exposure and their specific levels of exposure to challenge and hindrance demands.

DESIGN AND METHODS

We relied on a sample of 442 workers who completed a questionnaire twice over three months. Our analyses sought to identify the nature of the job demands profiles experienced by these workers, to document the stability of these profiles over time, and to assess their associations with theoretically-relevant outcomes (i.e., work engagement, job boredom, problem-solving pondering, work-related rumination, proactive health behaviors, and sleep quality and quantity). Furthermore, we examined whether these profiles and associations differed as a function of working remotely or onsite.

RESULTS

Five profiles were identified and found to be highly stable over time: Globally Exposed, Not Exposed, Not Exposed but Challenged, Exposed but Not Challenged, and Mixed. These profiles shared clear associations with all outcomes, with the most adaptive outcomes associated with the Exposed but Not Challenged profile, whereas the most detrimental ones were observed in the Mixed profile. However, none of these results differed across employees working onsite and those working remotely.

CONCLUSIONS

These findings have theoretical and practical implications regarding the effects of work characteristics on employees' functioning.

A longitudinal investigation of structural empowerment profiles among healthcare employees

PURPOSE

Research on structural empowerment has typically adopted a variable-centered perspective, which is not ideal to study the combined effects of structural empowerment components. This person-centered investigation aims to enhance our knowledge about the configurations, or profiles, of healthcare employees' perceptions of the structural empowerment dimensions present in their workplace (opportunity, information, support, and resources). Furthermore, this study considers the replicability and stability of these profiles over a period of 2 years, and their outcomes (perceived quality of care, and positive and negative affect).

DESIGN

Participants completed the same self-reported questionnaires twice, 2 years apart.

METHODS

A sample of 633 healthcare employees (including a majority of nurses and nursing assistants) participated. Latent transition analyses were performed.

RESULTS

Five profiles were identified: Low Empowerment, High Information, Normative, Moderately High Empowerment, and High Empowerment. Membership into the Normative and Moderately High Empowerment profiles demonstrated a high level of stability over time (79.1% to 83.2%). Membership in the other profiles was either moderately stable (43.5% for the High Empowerment profile) or relatively unstable (19.7% to 20.4% for the Low Empowerment and High Information profiles) over time. More desirable outcomes (i.e., higher positive affect and quality of care, and lower negative affect) were observed in the High Empowerment profile.

CONCLUSIONS

These results highlight the benefits of high structural empowerment, in line with prior studies suggesting that structural empowerment can act as a strong organizational resource capable of enhancing the functioning of healthcare professionals. These findings additionally demonstrate that profiles characterized by the highest or lowest levels of structural empowerment were less stable over time than those characterized by more moderate levels.

CLINICAL RELEVANCE

From an intervention perspective, organizations and managers should pay special attention to employees perceiving low levels of structural empowerment, as they experience the worst outcomes. In addition, they should try to maintain high levels of structural empowerment within the High Empowerment profile, as this profile is associated with the most desirable consequences. Such attention should be fruitful, considering the instability of the High Empowerment and Low Empowerment profiles over time.

REGISTRATION

NCT04010773 on ClinicalTrials.gov (4 July, 2019).

An Analysis of the Latent Class and Influencing Factors of Problematic Mobile Social Media Usage Among Chinese College Students

Purpose

To explore the potential classification of Problematic Mobile Social Media Usage (PMSMU) in Chinese college students, analyze whether there is group heterogeneity in PMSMU, and discuss the differences in the latent profile of PMSMU in fear of missing out, online positive feedback, and boredom proneness.

Methods

A total of 2591 Chinese college students were investigated using the Problematic Mobile Social Media Usage Questionnaire, Fear of Missing Out (FOMO) Scale, Online Positive Feedback Scale and Short-form Boredom Proneness Scale, and heterogeneity was tested by latent profile analysis.

Results

The PMSMU of college students can be divided into three latent profiles: no-problem use group (26.44%), mild problem use group (56.66%), and severe problem use group (16.91%). Male students, as compared to female students, showed a significantly lower likelihood of being classified as mild problematic users (OR=0.50, p<0.001) and severe problematic users (OR=0.29, p<0.001). Additionally, students with higher levels of FOMO, a stronger craving for online positive feedback, and increased boredom proneness are more likely to belong to the severe problematic use group (OR=2.91, p<0.001; OR=1.42, p<0.01; OR=8.72, p<0.001).

Conclusion

The results of this study highlight the factors influencing the heterogeneity of individual PMSMU. Specifically, female college students and those with a higher fear of missing out, greater susceptibility to boredom, and a stronger craving for positive online feedback are more likely to exhibit severe PMSMU. These findings provide valuable empirical evidence for developing preventive strategies to address PMSMU among college students.

Profiles of interpersonal relationship qualities and trajectories of internalizing problems among Chinese adolescents

Adolescence is a significant period for the formation of relationship networks and the development of internalizing problems. With a sample of Chinese adolescents (N = 3,834, 52.01% girls, Mage = 16.68 at Wave 1), the present study aimed to identify the configuration of adolescents' relationship qualities from four important domains (i.e., relationship quality with mother, father, peers, and teachers) and how distinct profiles were associated with the development of internalizing problems (indicated by depressive and anxiety symptoms) across high school years. Latent profile analysis identified a five-profile configuration with four convergent profiles (i.e., relationship qualities with others were generally good or bad) and one "Father estrangement" profile (i.e., the relationship quality with others were relatively good but that with father was particularly poor). Further conditional latent growth curve analysis indicated the "Father estrangement" profile was especially vulnerable to an increase in the internalizing problems as compared with other relationship profiles. This study contributes to understanding the characteristics of interpersonal relationship qualities and their influences on adolescent internalizing problems in a non-Western context. Results were further discussed from a culturally specific perspective.

Achievement goal profiles and their associations with math achievement, self-efficacy, anxiety and instructional quality: A single and multilevel mixture study

BACKGROUND

There is growing interest in studying the co-occurrence of multiple achievement goals and how different goal profiles relate to educational outcomes. Further, contextual aspects of the classroom have been known to influence the goals students pursue but existing studies remain confined within certain traditions and confounded by methods not well suited for studying classroom climate effects.

AIMS

This study sought to investigate achievement goal profiles in mathematics and their associations with background covariates (i.e., gender, prior achievement) and correlates at the student-level (i.e., achievement, self-efficacy, anxiety) and class-level (instructional quality dimensions of classroom management, supportive climate, instructional clarity and cognitive activation).

SAMPLE

Participants were 3836 Secondary-3 (Grade-9) students from 118 mathematics classes in Singapore.

METHODS

Achievement goal profiles and their relationships with covariates and student-level correlates were examined with updated procedures of latent profile analysis. Subsequently, multilevel mixture analysis assessed the associations of student-level goal profiles and different class-level dimensions of instructional quality.

RESULTS

Four profiles were identified: Average-All, Low-All, High-All and High-Approach. These profiles differed across covariates and correlates, with High-Approach students associated with positive outcomes and High-All students with math anxiety. Cognitive activation and instructional clarity predicted stronger membership in High-Approach profile than Average-All and Low-All, but not High-All.

CONCLUSION

Certain goal profile patterns were consistent with past studies and supported the fundamental separation of approach and avoidance goals. Less differentiating profiles were associated with undesirable educational outcomes. Instructional quality can be considered as an alternative framework for examining classroom climate effects of achievement goals.

Flourishing and the Prioritization of Workplace Elements in General Surgery Residents

INTRODUCTION

To explore and begin to operationalize workplace elements that influence general surgery (GS) resident wellbeing. Tailoring workplace wellbeing interventions is critical to their success. Occupational science has revealed that a person-centered approach to identifying positive and negative workplace influences can inform tailoring while accounting for individual differences. To our knowledge, this approach has not been applied to the surgical training environment.

METHODS

A national sample of GS residents from 16 Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education training programs ranked the importance of workplace elements via an anonymous survey. Latent profile analysis was performed to identify shared patterns of workplace element prioritization and their relation to levels of flourishing, a measure of global wellbeing.

RESULTS

GS trainee respondents (n = 300, 34% response rate - average for studies with this sample population) expressed a hierarchy of workplace element importance which differed by gender and race. "Skills to manage stress" and "a team you feel a part of" were prioritized higher by non-males than males. Residents of color and residents underrepresented in medicine, respectively, prioritized "recognition of work/effort" and "skills to manage stress" more than White and overrepresented in medicine residents. Flourishing prevalence varied by 40% with small differences in the specific profile of workplace element prioritization.

CONCLUSIONS

Differences in prioritization of workplace elements reveal subtle but important differences that may guide the design of wellbeing interventions for different populations within surgery.

Psychological need satisfaction across work and personal life: an empirical test of a comprehensive typology

Introduction

A comprehensive typology of the satisfaction of psychological needs at work and in personal life was developed and tested. The typology proposes five scenarios (Enriched, Middling, Impoverished, Work-Fulfilled, and Personal Life-Fulfilled) accounting for various profiles of employees showing distinct configurations of global and specific levels of need satisfaction at work and in personal life.

Methods

The scenarios were tested in a sample of 1,024 employees.

Results

Using latent profile analysis, five profiles were identified that were consistent with four or the five scenarios, either aligned (Globally Satisfied, Globally Unsatisfied) or misaligned (Globally Satisfied at Work with High Relatedness, Globally Satisfied in Personal Life with High Autonomy, and Globally Satisfied in Personal Life with Low Autonomy) across domains. No profile corresponding to the Middling scenario was observed.

Discussion

The results indicate that perceived job and individual characteristics predicted membership in distinct profiles. More importantly, unlike the profile Globally Unsatisfied, the profile Globally Satisfied contributed substantially to higher well-being (vitality and lower psychological distress), and to more favorable job attitudes (job satisfaction and lower turnover intentions) and behaviors (self-rated job performance and lower absenteeism, presenteeism, and work injuries). Furthermore, two of the misaligned profiles were also substantially associated with highly desirable outcome levels.

Socio-emotional skills profiles and their relations with career exploration and perceived parental support among 8th grade students

Socio-emotional skills can play a crucial role in students career development. This study used a person-centered approach to explore socio-emotional skills (curiosity, optimism, empathy, sociability, and responsibility) profiles among 8° grade students (N = 310). We also explored the relations of these profiles with career exploration (self and environmental), perceived parental support (emotional support, instrumental assistance, career-related modeling, and verbal encouragement) and school achievement. Using Latent Profile Analysis (LPA), four distinct profiles emerged that differed in terms of level and shape, namely: Other and Task oriented profile, Socio-emotional Adaptive profile, Socio-emotional non-Adaptive profile, Self- Oriented profile. Our results show that the "Socio-emotional Adaptive" profile can be clearly differentiated from the "Socio-emotional non-Adaptive" profile given the higher values it presents regarding all the variables in study. However, the differences between the "Other and Task Oriented" profile and "Self-Oriented" profile (intermediate profiles) were analyzed and discussed from qualitative point-of-view and adopting an exploratory approach. Overall, the findings of this study indicate that socio-emotional profiles have the potential to account for variations in career behaviors and academic performance. These results provide valuable insights for the development and implementation of career-oriented interventions targeted at 8th grade students and their immediate relational environments.

Merits and limitations of latent profile approaches to teachers' achievement goals: A multi-study analysis

Research on teacher goals has primarily followed a variable-centered approach, although person-centered approaches have inspired achievement goal research in other domains. The multiple goal perspective posits that individuals pursue different combinations of goals-goal profiles-that might be differentially adaptive or maladaptive. We investigate how beneficial goal profiles may be for research on teacher motivation, using data from three study sets (total N = 3,681) from different countries (Israel, Germany) and institution types (schools, universities). We analyzed whether psychologically meaningful, coherent, and generalizable goal profiles could be identified and compared the explanatory power of profiles and individual goals as predictors of teachers' self-efficacy and work-related distress. Results showed six psychologically meaningful and largely generalizable goal profiles. Compared to individual goals, profiles only explained little differences in self-efficacy and work-related distress. Given these findings, we critically evaluate achievement goal profiles as a means to study effects of teacher goals.

Total reward satisfaction profiles and work performance: A person-centered approach

It has recently become an incentive management challenge for organizations to implement a total reward system. Existing variable-centered studies have neglected to explore the incentive effect of a total reward system from the perspective of individual differences. Our study aimed to initially investigate the profiles of total reward satisfaction (TRS) and the impact of these profiles on work performance. Using a person-centered approach, two studies were conducted using retail industry employees in China as samples. Study 1 identified the TRS profiles of 429 samples using latent profile analysis. Study 2 replicated Study 1's configuration of profiles and examined the relationship of these profiles with demographic variables and work performance using 885 samples. Our results were as follows: (1) there were four quantitatively and qualitatively distinct profiles (subpopulations) of TRS, namely, dissatisfied (DS), development and career opportunities satisfied-dominant (DOS-dominant), work-life balance satisfied-dominant (WLS-dominant), and compensation satisfied-dominant (CS-dominant); (2) demographic variables involving gender, age, education, and position level affected the likelihood of membership in each TRS profile; and (3) the four profiles predicted different levels of work performance, or more specifically, different levels of task and contextual performance. The task and contextual performance of the four subpopulations listed from best to worst were WLS-dominant, DOS-dominant, CS-dominant, and DS. For practical management, organizations should customize a classified total reward system according to employee subpopulations to improve work performance.

Commitment profiles for employee voice: dual target and dominant commitment mindsets

Based on the person-centered approach and the EVLN (exit, voice, loyalty, neglect) model, this study explores how the components of commitment create "profiles" and the implications of this for voice behaviors in response to malpractice at work. The study includes not just affective and continuance commitment forms but also a commitment to the team as a multi-target commitment. A survey was conducted of 518 employees from a broad range of organizations in Turkey. An attempt was made to differentiate the EVLN responses across diverse commitment profiles by expanding the context. Four clusters (low commitment, weakly-committed, affective-team dominant, and continuance dominant) were identified using k-means cluster analysis. Analysis of the variance results indicated that the affective-team dominant profile demonstrated the constructive voice. The low commitment profile showed the least desirable outcomes (exit and neglect), followed by the weakly-committed profile. The continuance dominant profile also demonstrated passive behaviors (neglect and patience). Affective and team commitments, which have similar foci, were found to be the primary drivers of voice behavior, especially when combined with low continuance commitment. Also, continuance commitment did not contribute to the voice behavior once a certain level of affective and team commitment was seen. This study contributes to expanding commitment profiles for data from Turkey by explaining diverse EVLN responses to dissatisfaction at work.

Profiles of circumscribed interests in autistic youth

Circumscribed interests (CI) encompass a range of different interests and related behaviors that can be characterized by either a high intensity but otherwise usual topic [referred to as restricted interests (RI)] or by a focus on topics that are not salient outside of autism [referred to as unusual interests (UI)]. Previous research has suggested that there is pronounced variability across individuals in terms of the endorsement of different interests, however, this variability has not been quantified using formal subtyping approaches. Therefore, using Latent Profile Analysis in a sample of 1,892 autistic youth (M_age = 10.82, SD_age = 4.14; 420 females), this study aimed to identify subgroups based on the RU and UI profiles. Three profiles of autistic individuals were identified. They were characterized as Low CI, Predominantly RI, and Predominantly UI. Importantly, profiles differed on several key demographic and clinical variables, including age, sex composition, IQ, language level, social and communication abilities, anxiety, and obsessive-compulsive behaviors. Although replication across other samples is needed, the profiles identified in this study are potentially promising for future research given their distinct profiles of RI and UI and unique patterns of associations with key cognitive and clinical variables. Therefore, this study represents an important initial step towards more individualized assessment and support for diverse presentations of CI in autistic youth.

Good, Bad, and Ugly Leadership Patterns: Implications for Followers' Work-Related and Context-Free Outcomes

This research responds to calls for a more integrative approach to leadership theory by identifying subpopulations of followers who share a common set of perceptions with respect to their leader's behaviors. Six commonly researched styles were investigated: abusive supervision, transformational leadership (TFL), contingent reward (CR), passive and active management-by-exception (MBE-P and MBE-A, respectively), and laissez faire/avoidant (LF/A). Study hypotheses were tested with data from four independent samples of working adults, three from followers (N = 855) and a validation sample of leaders (N = 505). Using latent profile analysis, three pattern cohorts emerged across all four samples. One subpopulation of followers exhibited a constructive pattern with higher scores on TFL and CR relative to other styles. Two cohorts exhibited destructive patterns, one where the passive styles of MBE-A, MBE-P and LF/A were high relative to the other styles (passive) and one where the passive styles co-occurred with abusive supervision (passive-abusive). Drawing on conservation of resources theory, we confirmed differential associations with work-related (i.e., burnout, vigor, perceived organizational support and affective organizational commitment) and context-free (i.e., physical health and psychological well-being) outcomes. The passive-abusive pattern was devastating for physical health, yet passiveness without abuse was damaging for psychological well-being. Interestingly, we find a clear demarcation between passiveness as "benign neglect" and passiveness as an intentional and deliberate form of leadership aimed at disrupting or undermining followers-hence, the two faces of passiveness: "bad" and "ugly." We discuss the novel insights offered by a pattern (person)-oriented analytical strategy and the broader theoretical and practical implications for leadership research.

COVID-19 Vaccine Hesitancy among Italian Healthcare Workers: Latent Profiles and Their Relationships to Predictors and Outcome

Vaccine hesitancy and conspiracy beliefs among healthcare workers (HCWs) represent operational priorities that require urgent attention. Identifying and classifying specific subpopulation of hesitancy is crucial to customize educational and intervention strategies to enhance the acceptance and uptake rate of vaccination. Thus, the main purpose of our study was to empirically identify latent profiles of vaccine hesitancy among Italian HCWs adopting a person-centered approach and investigating their relationships with antecedents and intention to get a fourth dose of COVID-19 vaccine. We conducted latent profile analyses (LPA) to identify different configurations of vaccine hesitancy based on five antecedents of vaccination: confidence, complacency, constraints, calculation, and collective responsibility among a sample of Italian HCWs (n = 573). LPA revealed four distinct profiles: believer (61.5%), middler (24.7%), hesitant (9.00%), and rejecter (4.7%). Having conspiracy beliefs was associated with a greater likelihood of membership in all but believer. Finally, the likelihood of intention to get a fourth dose of COVID-19 vaccine was lowest in the rejector and hesitant profiles. Theoretical contributions and implications for practice are discussed.

Live to Work, Work to Live, and Work as a Necessary Evil: An Examination of the Structure and Stability of Work Ethic Profiles

The goal of the present study is twofold. First, we take a person-centered approach to individual differences in work ethic. Here, we focus on the identification and stability of profiles of work ethic dimensions across individuals from two relatively diverse samples. Second, we examine the extent to which work ethic profile membership influences which characteristics of an ideal coworker are viewed as most important. To assess our hypotheses, we used a diverse US-based sample of 2440 as well as a sample of 692 employees in sales-related positions in the financial sector in Mexico. Results from a series of latent profile analyses (LPAs) clearly support the idea that from the combination of scores on the seven dimensions of work ethic, clear and reliable profiles emerge and were generalizable across samples. The three profiles were identified as “Live to Work,” “Work to Live,” and “Work as a Necessary Evil.” Significant differences were found in 5 of 11 desired attributes of an ideal coworker between the employees in the three emerging profiles. Also, in line with our hypotheses, results show that employees belonging to the profile with the highest scores on the core dimensions of the work ethic construct reported that the top desired characteristic in an ideal peer is the hard worker attribute.

Variable- and person-centered approaches to examining construct-relevant multidimensionality in writing self-efficacy

Self-efficacy is an essential component of students' motivation and success in writing. There have been great advancements in our theoretical understanding of writing self-efficacy over the past 40 years; however, there is a gap in how we empirically model the multidimensionality of writing self-efficacy. The purpose of the present study was to examine the multidimensionality of writing self-efficacy, and present validity evidence for the adapted Self-Efficacy for Writing Scale (SEWS) through a series of measurement model comparisons and person-centered approaches. Using a sample of 1,466 8th-10th graders, results showed that a bifactor exploratory structural equation model best represented the data, demonstrating that the SEWS exhibits both construct-relevant multidimensionality and the presence of a global theme. Using factor scores derived from this model, we conducted latent profile analysis to further establish validity of the measurement model and examine how students disaggregate into groups based on their response trends of the SEWS. Three profiles emerged, differentiated by global writing self-efficacy, with substantively varying factor differences among the profiles. Concurrent, divergent, and discriminant validity evidence was established through a series of analyses that assessed predictors and outcomes of the profiles (e.g., demographics, standardized writing assessments, and grades). Theoretical and practical implications and avenues for future research are discussed.

There and back again. Examining the development of employee commitment during a prolonged crisis

To effectively function and adapt in crises, healthcare organizations rely on the skills and commitment of their workforce. Yet, our current understanding of how employees' workplace commitment is affected by and evolves throughout the course of a crisis remains limited. In this paper, we explore the commitment of hospital staff to an important workplace target, the COVID-19 crisis response, and show how this commitment develops over time. We report on an exploratory case study of hospital staff in a heavily hit region of the Netherlands. We conducted interviews with hospital executives, management, medical and support staff to uncover the issues hospitals faced in recruiting staff to provide COVID-19 care throughout the first and second wave of the crisis. Our findings suggest that while staff initially exhibited high levels of commitment to aiding in the crisis effort, staff were perceived to exhibit lower levels of commitment in the second wave, complicating the provision of COVID-19 care. We unveil three contributing factors to this shift, namely: competing demands, energy depletion and a lack of support and appreciation. Our findings suggest that while staff were initially willing to dedicate themselves and take responsibility for the crisis effort, as their other more stable commitments became more salient in the second wave, their willingness to dedicate limited resources to the crisis effort decreased. In our discussion, we examine the implications of our findings for the literature on workplace commitment, and advance our understanding of employee workplace commitment during crises.

Authentic leadership and personal and job demands/resources: A person-centered approach and links with work-related subjective well-being

The job demands-resources theory considers an open group of personal and job demands and resources. Thus, it allows us to include personal resources not yet covered (i.e., vigor at work) or less explored (i.e., emotional abilities), as well as personal demands not yet explored (i.e., overcommitment). Additionally, from this theory, it is proposed that leaders may influence employee wellbeing. Therefore, of particular interest is to analyze positive leadership styles, such as authentic leadership (AL). This study addresses three research objectives: 1) to identify profiles of employees from a person-centered approach, combining personal resources (self-perception of emotional abilities, vigor at work and self-efficacy) and personal demands (overcommitment) with job resources and demands; 2) to analyze the relation of the identified profiles with indicators of work-related subjective well-being; and 3) to acknowledge whether the AL style determines the pertaining to a profile probability. A large heterogeneous sample of Spanish employees (N = 968) responded to a questionnaire. Data were analyzed by adopting a person-centered approach using latent profile analysis. The results revealed five patterns of job and individual characteristics: Profile 5 (very low personal resources, and low job resources and demands); Profile 4 (low resources and high demands); Profile 3 (mid-level personal resources, high job resources and low demands); Profile 2 (high personal resources, mid-level job resources and high demands); and Profile 1 (high resources and low demands). Analyses showed that workers differed significantly in well-being depending on their profile membership, with Profile 1 having the highest well-being. Profiles that yielded the worst outcomes were Profile 4 and Profile 5, especially the latter. Finally, the results indicated that AL increased the probability that a profile would show a high well-being level.

Latent transition analysis in organizational psychology: A simplified "how to" guide by using an applied example

Demands for more robust designs in organizational research have led to a steady increase in the number of longitudinal studies in organizational psychology (OP) journals. Similarly, the number and ways to analyze longitudinal data have also increased. In this paper, we adopt a relatively new and promising approach to help researchers analyze their longitudinal data in OP, namely latent transition analysis (LTA). We present a simplified guideline on LTA and discuss its role for OP researchers. Moreover, we demonstrate how organizational scholars can use this method with a practical example. In this example, we investigate (a) if there are qualitatively distinct subgroups of employees based on particular patterns of psychological capital (PsyCap) dimensions (i.e., efficacy, hope, resilience, and optimism), (b) if employees stay in these subgroups or transition to other groups over time, and finally, (c) if leader-member exchange (LMX) is associated with this transition. We use LTA to examine these steps in a German sample (N = 180).

Latent profile analysis of personal values among Chinese college students: associations with mental health disorders and life satisfaction

Interindividual differences in personal values are prevalent both within and across societies. Interindividual differences in personal value and the relationships with mental health disorders and life satisfaction remain to be holistically considered, especially in China. The present study aims to characterize personal value profiles based on Schwartz's theory model and to examine differences in several mental health-related disorders and life satisfaction potentially across these profiles. Using convenience sampling, a sample of 8,540 Chinese college students (Mage = 18.89, SDage = 2.02, 57.7% male) from three universities completed a questionnaire assessing personal values, internalizing problems, externalizing problems, substance disorders, crime/violence, and life satisfaction. The latent profile analysis identified five personal value profiles, which were labelled as traditional social orientation, open personal orientation, open social orientation, moderate traditional social orientation, and average. Chinese college students in the three social orientation profiles reported low mental health disorders and high life satisfaction. In contrast, students in the personal orientation profile reported high mental health disorders and low life satisfaction. The results indicate the heterogeneity of Chinese college students' personal values and the positive relationship of social-oriented values with mental health and life satisfaction in collectivist cultures.

Symptoms of problematic pornography use among help-seeking male adolescents: Latent profile and network analysis

BACKGROUND AND AIMS

Little data exist on exploring the subgroups and characteristics of problematic pornography use (PPU) in help-seeking adolescents. The aims of the study were to classify the subgroups among help-seeking male adolescents, explore their similarities and differences, and uncover their core symptoms.

METHODS

A total of 3,468 Chinese male adolescents (Mage = 16.64 years, SD = 1.24) who were distressed about their pornography use were recruited. The Problematic Pornography Consumption Scale, the Brief Pornography Screen Scale, and Moral Disapproval of Pornography Use were used to classify them. The General Health Questionnaire, the Pornography Craving Questionnaire, and the Sexual Compulsivity Scale were used to investigate participants' negative consequence related to their pornography use; and the Online Sexual Activity Questionnaire (OSAs) and time spent on pornography use every week were considered as quantitative indicators.

RESULTS

Help-seeking male adolescents could be divided into 3 profiles, namely, self-perceived problematic (SP, n = 755), impaired control (IC, n = 1,656), and problematic use groups (PPU, n = 1,057). Frequency of OSAs was important for the identification of SP individuals, while negative consequences were more effective in identifying individuals with objective dysregulated behavior. Salience and mood modification were shared by all groups; however, in addition to this, the SP and PPU groups also showed withdrawal symptoms.

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION

This study's results provide support for the presence of different profiles of help-seeking individuals and information on potential intervention targets among adolescents which is lacking in the literature.

Challenging the "'Mean Kid"' Perception: Boys' and Girls' Profiles of Peer Victimization and Aggression from 4th to 10th Grades

Student involvement in peer aggression is assumed to include the uninvolved, victims, aggressors, and victim-aggressor groups. Yet, evidence supporting this four-group configuration is equivocal. Although most studies report the four groups, several of the aggressor groups could have been labeled as moderate victim-aggressors. This study first reviews studies identifying subgroups of students involved in verbal, relational, and physical aggression. The study then assesses students' perceived involvement in elementary (n = 2,071; Grades 4-6) and secondary school (n = 1,832; Grades 7-10), as well as the associations with outcomes (school belonging, depressive thoughts, and perceived school violence). Latent profile analysis identified three profiles (uninvolved, victim-only, and victim-aggressor) across all grades and genders. In primary school, the uninvolved, victim, and victim-aggressor respectively included 54.56%, 37.51%, and 7.83% of the girls, and 44.23%, 31.92%, and 23.85% of the boys. In secondary school, the uninvolved, victim, and victim-aggressor respectively included 80.16%, 14.93% and 4.91% of the girls, and 64.31%, 22.95% and 12.74% of the boys. Victims and victim-aggressors reported poorer adjustment than uninvolved students. Victims and victim-aggressors reported lower levels of school belonging and higher levels of depressive thoughts than uninvolved students. Also, victim-aggressors perceived more violence in their school than victims and uninvolved students, and victims perceived more violence than uninvolved students. These findings question the existence of an aggressor-only profile, at least, according to student perception, suggesting the need for a new perspective when intervening with students involved in peer aggression.

Understanding the heterogeneity of anxiety in autistic youth: A person-centered approach

The present study aimed to examine anxiety profiles among children and adolescents on the autism spectrum. It further aimed to characterize the association between the identified anxiety profiles and key clinical and developmental variables. The Spence Children's Anxiety Scale-Parent Version (SCAS-P) data from a large international pooled sample of 870 caregivers of autistic children and adolescents (M_age  = 11.6 years, SD_age  = 2.77; 107 females) was used. Latent profile analysis identified a three-anxiety profile solution exhibiting high entropy (0.80) and high latent profile probabilities, with good classification accuracy. Identified profiles fell along the severity spectrum and were named as the mild (n = 498), moderate (n = 272) and severe (n = 100) anxiety profiles. There were no statistically significant differences between the three anxiety profiles in terms of sex distribution. Participants in the mild profile were significantly younger than those in the severe profile, had significantly fewer social communication difficulties than youth in the moderate anxiety profile group and had significantly fewer restricted and repetitive behaviors and lower cognitive functioning scores compared to participants in moderate and severe anxiety profiles. This is the first study to move beyond identifying associations and group-level differences to exploring and identifying characteristics of anxiety-based subgroups at an individual level that differ on key clinical and developmental variables. The subgroups identified in this study are a preliminary, yet important, first step towards informing future assessment and individualized interventions aiming to support young people on the autism spectrum to reduce and manage anxiety. LAY SUMMARY: This study tried to understand if there are subgroups of autistic young people who may have similar anxiety profiles. We found that we could meaningfully group young people into three groups based on how severe the anxiety symptoms their caregivers reported were: a group with low levels of anxiety, those with moderate anxiety, and those with more severe anxiety. We also found that the young people in the mild group were younger, had fewer autism traits and lower levels of intellectual functioning than young people in the other two groups.

Human resource development in SMEs in a context of labor shortage: a profile analysis

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to examine small and medium-sized enterprises’ (SMEs) level of participation in human resource development activities during a labor shortage. Drawing on human capital theory, it examines whether SMEs’ profiles, determined according to their participation in different types of training activities, relate to perceived benefits of training, barriers to participation in training and learning culture.

Design/methodology/approach

This study applies latent profile analysis (LPA) to 10 training practices of 427 SMEs in Quebec, Canada.

Findings

The LPA distinguished four profiles of SMEs, reflecting differing capacities for mobilizing training resources during a labor shortage. These four profiles show differences with regard to perceived training benefits, barriers to participation in training and learning culture.

Originality/value

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study is among the first to focus on the specific ability of SMEs to invest in their human capital in the unique and recent context of a labor shortage.

Participation and Organizational Commitment in the Mondragon Group

The scientific literature has shown Mondragon Corporation (MC), with 65 years of history, as a clear example that cooperativism can be highly competitive in the capitalist market while being highly egalitarian and democratic. This cooperative group has focused on its corporate values of cooperation, participation, social responsibility, and innovation. Previous scientific research reports its enormous transformative and emancipatory potential. However, studies on the effects of various types of worker participation on competitiveness and workers' psychological wellbeing in this cooperative group exist to a lesser extent. Specifically, one aspect that needs further empirical research and that represents a competitive advantage for Mondragon is the degree of commitment and emotional attachment that can be observed in the people who work there. For this reason, this article aims to identify key elements of the democratic participation of workers in these cooperatives that relate to the development of organizational commitment. Based on a communicative and qualitative approach, data collection included 29 interviews to different profiles of workers (senior and junior workers, members and non-members of the cooperative, and researchers involved in the cooperatives) from eight different cooperatives of the Corporation. Through this research methodology, the participants interpret their reality through egalitarian and intersubjective dialogue because their voices are considered essential to measure the social impact. This study found three different ways in which the democratic participation of worker-members in management and ownership contributes to developing affective organizational commitment among those working in Mondragon cooperatives, generating positive psychological and economic outcomes for both workers and cooperatives.

In Whom Do We Trust? A Multifoci Person-Centered Perspective on Institutional Trust during COVID-19

Institutional trust plays a crucial role when a nation is facing mega crises (e.g., the COVID-19 pandemic) and has implications for employee work experiences and well-being. To date, researchers largely consider how institutional trust or trust in government may predict variables of interest in isolation. However, this variable-centered perspective ignores the possibility that there are subpopulations of employees who may differ in their trust in different institutions (i.e., the state government, the federal government). To address this, we examined institutional trust with two foci (i.e., trust in state government and trust in federal government) from a person-centered perspective. Using latent profile analysis and data from 492 U.S.-based employees, we identified five trust profiles: high trustors, federal trustors, state trustors, the ambivalent, and distrusters, and found that these profiles differentially predicted attitudes towards and behavioral compliance with CDC recommended COVID-19 prevention practices, job insecurity, affective commitment, helping behavior, and psychological well-being.

Distress among Korean Cancer Survivors: A Latent Profile Analysis

This study aimed to classify cancer survivors' latent profile analysis (LPA) according to the problem list and identify the differences in distress between subgroups. Furthermore, this study identified differences between subgroups based on their demographic and clinical characteristics. A self-reported cross-sectional survey was administered to 446 adult cancer survivors in Korea. A distress thermometer and problem list were used, and four domains of the problem list were used to perform LPA and create subgroups. Quade's non-parametric analysis of covariance was used to determine the difference in distress between the profiles. The three identified subgroups of the problem list were: "low problem group" (36.7%), "high problem group" (49.1%), and "family only low problem group" (14.2%). The analysis showed that there was a difference in the distress level according to the sub-profile of the problem list (F = 43.69, p < 0.001). In interventions for distress, integrative interventions that are not limited to one area are necessary, and cultural characteristics as well as the problem list relevant to cancer survivors should be considered.

Addiction to Social Networking Sites and User Responses

Prior studies have primarily used "variable-centered" perspectives to identify factors underlying user responses to social networking site (SNS) addiction, their predictors and outcomes. This paper extends this perspective by taking a person-centered approach to examine (1) the prototypical subpopulations (profiles) of users' extent of SNS addiction and responses to it, (2) how affiliations with these profiles can explain user behaviors toward SNS use, and (3) how personality traits can predict affiliations with these profiles. To this end, we propose a typological theory of SNS addiction and user responses to it via two empirical, personcentered studies. Study 1 draws on survey data from 188 SNS users to develop a typology of users based on the extent of their SNS addiction and their responses to it. It further examines the relations between affiliation with these profiles and users' SNS discontinuance intention, as a typical behavioral response to SNS addiction. Study 2 uses survey data from 284 SNS users to validate the user typology developed in Study 1 and investigate its relations to users' Big Five personality traits. Our findings shed light on a typology of five prototypical profiles of SNS users-cautious, regular, consonant, dissonant, and hooked-who differ in their extent of SNS addiction and their cognitive, emotional, and behavioral responses to it. Our findings also demonstrate how Big Five personality traits can predict user affiliations with these prototypical profiles.

Most Chinese Preschool Teachers Value Guided Play Over Free Play: Latent Profiles and Associated Predictors

Longitudinal research suggests that optimal long-term outcomes are achieved when early childhood education and care (ECEC) balance free with guided play. A prerequisite for this achievement is that ECEC teachers value both equally. This study examines preschool teachers' play beliefs profile and explores its association with teachers' backgrounds (e.g., teaching experience, education level) in a sample of 674 Chinese teachers in Fujian, China. Participants completed an adapted form of the Parent Play Belief Scale, the Chinese Teacher Play Beliefs Scale (CTPBS), to report their beliefs regarding young children's play and early academics. Latent profile analysis (LPA) revealed 91% of teachers exhibited high Academics over Guided Play (AGP) and low Free Play and Socio-Emotional Skills Support (FPSSS), whereas only 9% were high in both factors. Teachers with a decade or more teaching experience were more likely to belong to the high AGP and low FPSES profile. The findings indicate that the majority of Chinese ECEC teachers value guiding play to academic skills more than they do facilitating free play for socio-emotional skills. Professional development focused on balancing guided with free play may be necessary for the majority of Chinese ECEC teachers to catch up with the zeitgeist of contemporary international research and policy on intentional teaching in play.

Predicting employee telecommuting preferences and job outcomes amid COVID-19 pandemic: a latent profile analysis

In this two-study research using latent profile analysis (LPA), we investigated intra-individual combinations of conscientiousness, autonomy, self-regulation, and extraversion. Based on these combinations, we designed profiles and explored telecommuting preferences and job outcomes of employees during the COVID-19 pandemic. In Study 1, we recruited 199 participants (77 females, ages ranging from 18 to 65). Results of this study revealed three profiles. One profile scored high on all of the variables and displayed preferences for working on-site more than the other profiles. Additionally, this profile showed higher work engagement, job satisfaction, and perceived productivity than the other two profiles. To validate these findings, we conducted a second study with a sample of 492 participants (169 females; age ranged from 18 to 65). The results yielded five profiles, one scoring high on all of the variables. Similar to Study 1, this profile exhibited higher work engagement, job satisfaction, and perceived productivity than the other four profiles. Individuals in this profile preferred to work on-site compared to individuals in other profiles. Our findings add to the research demonstrating the importance of personality characteristics for telecommuting preferences and work-related outcomes.

Supplementary Information

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s12144-021-02496-8.

Multidimensional profiles of parent involvement: Antecedents and impact on student engagement

BACKGROUND

Parent involvement in school is a consistent predictor of educational success. However, research has been inconsistent in addressing how parent involvement ought to be defined and measured, which has led to varied findings across schools and educational systems.

AIMS

Attending to the multidimensionality of the construct, this study adopted a person-centred approach to identify subpopulations of school-based parent involvement. Subsequently, profile differences were investigated in relation to student engagement and three antecedent variables (gender, socio-economic status, and authoritative parenting).

SAMPLE

Data were obtained from primary (10-year old; N = 4,284) and secondary (14-year old; N = 3,346) school students in Singapore.

METHODS

Latent profile analysis was conducted on student-rated surveys of multiple parent involvement behaviours in school and their perceptions. Subsequently, the manual BCH method was employed to concurrently model covariates and outcomes on the latent profile model. Pairwise comparisons between profiles were examined for statistical significance.

RESULTS

Consistent across both cohorts, four distinct profiles emerged that revealed high, moderate, selective, and low parent involvement patterns. High parent involvement reflected high ratings across multiple activities, combined with positive perceptions of parental involvement. These profiles differed significantly in terms of their antecedent characteristics, particularly, authoritative parenting, and in relation to their impact on student engagement.

CONCLUSION

Results from this study clarify relations between multi-faceted dimensions of parent involvement in school. Additionally, there is a case for continued school-family partnerships among secondary students as students remain academically engaged when parents are involved in school and students relate positively to their involvement.