Psychology

The aim of this study was to determine the relevance of the personality tests used in Kenya for recruitment and placement purposes. The study sought to determine the construct validity of the tests as well as the tests' stability and internal consistency. The tests are published abroad and it is not known whether they are valid with the local population. The population comprised all published personality tests as well as all the Higher Diploma students at The Kenya Institute of Management, Eldoret Branch who were 57 in number (both male and female). A complete enumeration of the students was done. Purposive Sampling was used to select one personality test on the basis of frequency of use by consulting firms. A mock recruitment exercise was conducted during which the test was administered to obtain scores, which were analyzed using the spearman rank coefficient of correlation and factor analysis. The test was found to have very low levels of validity though its level of reliability was satisfactory. With alterations in the content item structure and type, the test can be adopted by the public and private sector for use in recruitment instead of the practice of posting staff.

The aim of this study was to investigate the adolescent psychopathologies among youth in Eldoret town. The objectives of the study were; to investigate the psycho-physical manifestations of psychopathology among youth in Eldoret town, the etiological factors in the psychopathologies and the relationship between the psychopathology and socio-economic factors. The study adopted the expost-facto research design. The study sample was 72 adolescents from low socio-economic status estates of the town which include Langas, Kamukunji, Kambi Nyasi, Munyaka, King’ong’o and Huruma estates. The common psychopathologies were aggression, anxiety disorders, depression, learning disorders, eating disorders and the conduct disorders. The etiological factors for the psychopathologies were peer influence, bad role models, influence of the environment and genetic factors. The psychopathologies were common in large families that that had five or more children implying laxity in control by the parents. The prevalence of the psychopathologies was high in less well-to-do families as well as those that had uneducated parents.

Having a child with disability in a family is not the same as having a child without a disability. Parents of disabled children after knowing that their children have disability, develop highly ambivalent feelings towards their babies. Parent’s social life becomes restricted, and feelings of social rejection and isolation may follow. Parents having a child with mental retardation experience a variety of stressors and stress reactions related to the child’s disability and the parents have the feelings of guilt, anxiety, hostility, and insecurity. Having a child with autism also found to be a significant financial burden to the family. Parents of children with autism are more likely to use avoidant coping strategies that may have a negative impact on the marital relationship. Parents may feel self-conscious about taking a child with autism out into the community. An attempt has been made to present a critical analysis of a preliminary review of epidemiological studies on psychological distress in parents of children with mental retardation and autism.

This article presents the confirmatory factor analysis of the 20 item career locus of control scale with a sample of 370 secondary school students. The instrument consists of 4 subscales measuring Internality, Luck, Helplessness, and Powerful Others. The overall internal reliability of the locus of control scale was satisfactory. The current study tested six models and verified four of the six models. External locus of control scores correlated significantly with measures ofcareer decision self-efficacy, career indecision and vocational identity. Internal locus of control scores correlated significantly with career decision making self efficacy. Significant gender differences were noted in most of the subscales of career locus of control with males scoring significantly higher on the subscales measuring externality and females scoring significantly higher on the subscales measuring internality. Age was not related to any of the sub scales. The current study provides the validity data for the career locus of control scale using a Kenyan sample. Based on the results, other researchers may use the instrument to measure the career locus of control of Africans.

The present study mainly attempts to compare the motion development of monozygotic twins, dizygotic twins and singletons of 7 and 10 years old in Kermanshah city. The population of the study was a total of 185 students, composed of 43 students of 7 year old boys and 46 students of 7 years old girl, 40 boys aged 10 and 56 daughters aged 10 years. The whole study population was categorized into three groups including monozygotic, dizygotic and non-twin. All of them participated in Test of Gross Motor Development Ulrich-2 (TGMD-2) which measured the Gross Motor Quotient (GMQ) through two subtests of Locomotor skills and object control skills. The data analysis indicated that there was no significant difference in relation to the GMQ score of 7-year monozygotic, dizygotic and non-twin groups of both sexes; whereas there was a significant difference in relation to the 10-year groups for both sexes. Also there was a significant difference between the GMQ scores for inter-pair 7-year twins of both sexes and those for 10-year pairs.

The research that has been done in the area of evaluation methods all seek to achieve an efficient evaluation system for employees. The purpose and expectations of an organization determine performance evaluation method. Although most researchers and human resource managers believe that comprehensive and time consuming methods provide us with more effective information, the important point is that a suitable method based on organization situation and using cost analysis must be selected. 360-degree evaluation is an evaluation method in which a list of the merits is provided and all people involved in organization including superiors, colleagues, subordinates and the individual will be asked directly and indirectly to assess somebody on the basis of the merits required. The appraisee also participates in the process of self-evaluation. The present paper aims to investigate the difference between two types of evaluation methods including 360-degree evaluation and traditional evaluation among the employees and managers of Imam Reza Hospital in Kermanshah Province. The study sample is composed of all staff involved in Imam Reza Hospital including 50 managers, 46 physicians and also 479 employees who were surveyed by traditional evaluation method and 360-degree evaluation method. The data obtained using independent t-test and F-statistics and multiple comparison Tukey test showed that there is a significant difference between the means of the results obtained from the traditional evaluation method and 360-degree evaluation method, and 360-degree method provides the system with the a more accurate evaluation than the traditional method.

The main objective of the study was to compare the Area Wise Socio-Economic Status and Emotional Fitness of Senior Citizens of Himachal Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh State of India. The present researcher used simple random sampling method for the selection of 2000 subjects (Senior Citizens) for the present study. 100 Male and 100 Female Senior Citizens were taken together from each five district taken for the present study of Himachal Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh State of India. Kuppuswamy’s Socio-Economic Standardized scale and Gross & John Emotion Regulation Questionnaire (ERQ) were used for data collection. The data collected was statistically analyzed by using Percentage and Chi Square was specially used to found the significance difference in between different socio-economic status and Emotional Fitness of Senior Citizens Himachal Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh State of India. Further Percentage, Average Percentage, Mean, Combined Mean, Average Mean and Chi Square were calculated. On the basis of above findings and conclusions it can be briefly concluded that senior citizens of Himachal Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh State of India differed significantly in respect to their socio-economic Status and Emotional Level.