Trait Self-Efficacy as a Moderator of Esteem Support Message Effects in the Parole/Probation Agent-Client Relationship

Shebib S.J., Boumis J.K., Allard A., Holmstrom A.J., Mason A.J.

AbstractThe present study examines how supportive touch impacts evaluations of esteem support content containing high emotion-focused (HEF) or high problem-focused (HPF) messages during observed esteem support interactions. A 2 (verbal content; i.e., HEF or HPF) by 2 (nonverbal content; i.e., presence or absence of supportive tactile communication) experiment was conducted to test for main and interactional effects. Results revealed that HEF conditions were perceived to be more effective by observers at enhancing the recipient’s state self-esteem, state self-efficacy, and alleviating distress compared to HPF conditions. The supportive tactile communication conditions were perceived as better at enhancing state self-esteem and alleviating distress compared to the no supportive tactile communication conditions by observers. However, these main effects were qualified by significant two-way interactions between message content and nonverbal behavior on ratings of state self-esteem and distress alleviation, such that the addition of supportive tactile communication enhanced the effectiveness of HPF message content but not HEF content.

Morrison M., Hai A.H., Bandaru Y.S., Salas-Wright C.P., Vaughn M.G.

Labrecque R.M., Viglione J., Caudy M.

Lei W., Wang X., Dai D.Y., Guo X., Xiang S., Hu W.

Previous studies have illustrated a robust relationship between academic self-efficacy and academic performance. However, the underlying psychological mechanism of this relationship is still unclear. This study employed a moderated mediation model to examine whether academic buoyancy (ability to deal with academic challenges and setbacks in school daily life) mediated the relationship between academic self-efficacy and academic performance and whether social support moderated the mediation process. A total of 860 (M = 16.39, SD = 0.73) high school students in China completed questionnaires on academic self-efficacy, academic buoyancy, and social support. Academic performance was measured by standardized tests. The results indicated that academic buoyancy partially mediated the association between academic self-efficacy and academic performance. Social support moderated the first half of the path of the mediation model. The findings of the present study provide educational guidelines and suggestions for improving academic performance among high school students.

Holmstrom A.J., Reynolds R.M., Shebib S.J., Poland T.L., Summers M.E., Mazur A.P., Moore S.

Abstract The cognitive–emotional theory of esteem support messages predicts that message style will affect the outcomes of esteem support interactions. However, little research has focused on the effects of message style; that is, how esteem support messages are delivered. The present experiment addresses this lacuna by manipulating message style in a laboratory study examining face-to-face esteem support interactions. Confederates were trained to provide emotion-focused esteem support to naïve participants (N = 173) in four styles along the assertive–inductive dimension, in addition to a listening-only control condition. We then assessed the effect of the interaction on participants’ state self-esteem. Results indicated that emotion-focused esteem support improved state self-esteem more than listening support; however, there was no significant effect of message style. Post-interaction state self-esteem improvement was positively associated with the quantity of emotion-focused esteem support content provided during the interaction.

Holmstrom A.J., Shebib S.J., Mazur A.P., Mason A.J., Zhang L., Allard A., Boumis J.K.

Abstract This experiment examines state shame and guilt responses to esteem support messages, testing predictions derived from the cognitive-emotional theory of esteem support messages (CETESM). Participants (N = 852) chose one of eight hypothetical scenarios designed to induce shame and/or guilt. Next, participants were directed to a randomization of emotion-focused (EF) and problem-focused (PF) esteem support messages and were asked to rate how the message would affect their feelings of state shame and state guilt. EF messages were expected to alleviate feelings of shame more so than guilt, but results indicated that they did not consistently do so. However, as expected, PF messages were rated as more likely to alleviate feelings of guilt (in five of eight scenarios) than shame. When comparing the messages to each other, EF messages were rated as better at alleviating both shame and guilt compared to PF messages. Theoretical and pragmatic implications are discussed.

Wilson A., Applegate B.K., Bolin R.M.

While the broad goals of U.S. probation and parole agencies have shifted over time, many departments have recently begun to implement evidence-based practices (EBPs) in supervision. Adoption of EBPs, however, requires the support and active participation of line-level officers. To explore officers’ perceptions of both traditional and EBP supervision measures, we surveyed probation and parole officers in seven community corrections departments across five states. Our analyses suggest that officers identify both traditional and EBP measures as relevant to their jobs, and officers generally feel very confident in their abilities to incorporate traditional and EBP measures into their supervision approaches. Moreover, several individual and work-related variables are associated with officers’ perceived competencies for several EBP and traditional measures. Further, officers tend to feel confident with multiple supervision techniques and do not separate into camps that favor traditional versus evidence-based practices. We discuss policy implications of these findings and directions for future research.

Lai M.H.

This article shows how the concept of reliability of composite scores, as defined in classical test theory, can be extended to the context of multilevel modeling. In particular, it discusses the contributions and limitations of the various level-specific reliability indices proposed by Geldhof, Preacher, and Zyphur (2014), denoted as ω̃b and ω̃w (and also α̃b and α̃w). One major limitation of those indices is that they are quantities for latent, unobserved level-specific composite scores, and are not suitable for observed composites at different levels. As illustrated using simulated data in this article, ω̃b can drastically overestimate the true reliability of between-level composite scores (i.e., observed cluster means). Another limitation is that the development of those indices did not consider the recent conceptual development on construct meanings in multilevel modeling (Stapleton & Johnson, 2019; Stapleton, Yang, & Hancock, 2016). To address the second limitation, this article defines reliability indices (ω2l, ωb, ωw, α2l, αb, αw) for three types of multilevel observed composite scores measuring various multilevel constructs: individual, configural, shared, and within-cluster. The article also shows how researchers can obtain sample point and interval estimates using the derived formulas and the provided R and Mplus code. In addition, a large-scale national data set was used to illustrate the proposed methods for estimating reliability for the three types of multilevel composite scores, and practical recommendations on when different indices should be reported are provided. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).

Chouhy C., Cullen F.T., Lee H.

Following Cullen’s spirit when setting forth his version of social support theory, this article shows the value of social support as an organizing concept for life-course theory. Specifically, this article describes four different pathways through which social support matters for desistance. First, social support is a constitutive part of adults’ social bonds that operate as resources that make change possible in individuals’ lives. Second, social support can promote and help sustain a cognitive transformation that encourages desistance. Third, socially supportive interventions are better equipped to promote desistance, whereas punishment-oriented interventions (those lacking and undermining social supports) are criminogenic. Finally, social support can help former inmates navigate the many stressors they encounter upon release and contribute to sustaining their desistance. This article reaffirms the value of social support as a fundamental factor in the desistance process. A social support theory of desistance could help integrate much of the criminological research on desistance. Furthermore, putting social support at the center of the discussion of the desistance process would help consolidate a policy agenda that not only reaffirms rehabilitation but also promotes a broader set of policies aimed at constructing a more fair and supportive society. In doing so, it will move the debate away from individuals and make governmental institutions and society as a whole acknowledge their responsibility in the crime problem and their role in promoting desistance.

Shebib S.J., Holmstrom A.J., Mason A.J., Mazur A.P., Zhang L., Allard A.

ABSTRACTResearch suggests that sex and gender differences in self-esteem, emotional reactions to esteem threats, and ways of coping with esteem threats may impact the likelihood of using esteem sup...

Smith S.W., Morash M., Walling B., Adams E.A., Holmstrom A.J.

Supervising agents serve as sources of social support for over one million women in the US on probation and parole who strive to avoid recidivism. Little is known about the supportive messages agen...

Shebib S.J., Holmstrom A.J., Summers M.E., Clare D.D., Reynolds R.M., Poland T.L., Royer H.R., Mazur A.P., Moore S.

Two experiments were conducted to extend research on the Cognitive-Emotional Theory of Esteem Support Messages by examining order, interaction, and absolute effects of emotion- and problem-focused esteem support in the context of the job search. Participants were presented with an esteem support message and rated its perceived effects on their job-search state self-esteem and self-efficacy. Study 1 participants ( N = 228) were college students seeking post-graduation employment. Study 2 participants ( N = 268) were adults in the community with experience seeking full-time employment. Results of both studies revealed that a message that addressed the esteem threat and contained problem- or emotion-focused content was rated as more effective than a message that failed to address the esteem threat and contained neither form of content. Mixed-focused messages were rated similarly to messages containing only high emotion-focused content, though some differences between the samples emerged. No order effects were observed in either study.

Johnston T.M., Brezina T., Crank B.R.

To explain why many offenders desist from crime, and why some persist, some theorists highlight the role of personal agency. Qualitative studies, in particular, observe that desisting offenders tend to express a “language of agency”—they view themselves as capable of influencing their actions and environment—while persistent offenders tend to see themselves as relatively helpless and even “doomed to deviance.” Drawing on Bandura’s social cognitive theory, which highlights self-efficacy as a key mechanism of agency, we analyze quantitative data from a large sample of serious offenders and examine how confidence in their ability to desist (desistance self-efficacy) is related to offending behavior. To advance research in this area, we focus on within-person effects and examine how changes in desistance self-efficacy relate to changes in offending over time. We also examine factors that are expected to enable or constrain personal agency. The findings indicate that a number of factors contribute to changes in desistance self-efficacy. An increase in desistance self-efficacy, in turn, is associated with a decrease in overall criminal involvement. Implications for theory, research, and policy are discussed.

Roddy A.L., Morash M., Adams E.A., Holmstrom A.J., Smith S.W., Cobbina J.E.

Using semistructured interviews with 388 women under supervision, this study integrates criminal justice and communication theories by investigating gender responsivity and type of support in messages women receive about employment from supervision agents. Informational support was the most frequent form of supportive communication clients received from their agents, and was the only type of supportive communication clients perceived negatively. Women recalled agents’ messages that varied in their sensitivity to the range of women offenders’ needs (child and family care demands, human capital attainment, mental health issues, and substance abuse recovery). Supportive messages that took into account a variety of problems commonly shared by women on probation and parole had positive effects, whereas supportive messages that were relevant to employment, but failed to consider other needs, had negative effects. Results of this work have implications regarding effective support offered by community supervision agents as they discuss employment.

Chamberlain A.W., Gricius M., Wallace D.M., Borjas D., Ware V.M.

Parole officers are an integral part of parolees’ reentry process and success. Few studies, however, have examined whether the quality of the relationship between parolees and their parole officer influences outcomes such as recidivism. This study assesses how recidivism is affected by the quality of the relationship that parolees have with their parole officers. Using the Serious and Violent Offender Reentry Initiative (SVORI) dataset, we use parolees’ perceptions of their relationship with their parole officer to determine whether they have established a positive or negative relationship, and whether these types of relationships differentially affect recidivism. Results show that parolees who have a negative relationship with their parole officer have higher rates of recidivism, while a positive relationship lowers parolees’ likelihood of recidivating. An implication of this study emphasizes parole officer training that develops positive, high-quality relationships with parolees. Further implications are discussed below.