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Although leisure constraints that individuals have to cope with can negatively affect their social inclusion and satisfaction with life, little research has addressed the link between these variables. Therefore, the current paper examined the moderator role of leisure constraints on the relationship between satisfaction with life and leisure constraints among adults living in five different European countries. The respondents were 1,382 women and 877 men adults. The findings of analysis revealed that all factors used in the study accounted for 15% of the variance in satisfaction with life and social inclusion had a significant and positive impact on satisfaction with life. As a result, it can be said that leisure constraints had a moderating effect on the relationship between satisfaction with life and social inclusion. The present research study recommends that social inclusion should be encouraged through decreasing to leisure constraints to increase the life satisfaction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this study was to explore cross‐level mechanisms stimulating employees' innovative behavior in small firms, specifically emotional contagion between small business owners and their employees. Using data from three European countries and applying a multilevel approach, we tested how small business owners' work‐related affect—enthusiasm and comfort—relate to their employees' work‐related affect and innovative work behavior. The sample consisted of 85 small business owners and 711 employees from firms operating in the Netherlands, Poland, and Spain. Controlling for country, the results of multilevel modeling showed that small business owners' work‐related affect was positively related to their employees' work‐related affect. The hypothesized contagion of work‐related affect in small firms was, thus, supported. Employees' work‐related affect, in turn, was positively associated with their innovative behavior. Employees' work‐related affect mediated the relationship between small business owners' work‐related affect and employees' innovative behavior. The results also showed cross‐country differences in the strength of some of the relationships. The study is a step forward in understanding innovation in small firms, extending the insights gained from single‐level investigations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This study illustrates the huge untapped potential of quantifying the impact of culture in making meaningful comparisons across groups. Our focus is on cross‐national differences in nurses' reports of their relations with physicians, and how the measurement of this complex construct and the evaluation of true differences are related to dimensions of national culture. Design: We examine across 14 European countries the association between indices of national culture from the seminal work of Hofstede and 39,435 nurses' ratings of their relations with physicians. Multilevel confirmatory factor analysis was used to evaluate strong factorial invariance across countries and to examine the influence of power distance and masculinity. Findings: There was wide variation across countries in nurses' reports of their relations with physicians. Strong factorial invariance was shown for a one‐factor model, which confirmed that across countries the seven survey items measure a common factor of physician‐nurse relations. This model showed no country bias for any of the seven survey items, which suggests that differences across countries reflect true differences. These true differences were significantly associated with variation in country values of power distance, which showed a significant negative correlation with physician–nurse relations. Conclusions: Continuously pursuing a better understanding of characteristics that impact the studied indicators, such as national culture, is elementary to better understand the construct under study. In this application, country values of power distance negatively impacted nurse‐reported relations with physicians, which strongly varied across countries. Clinical Relevance: Better nurse‐reported relations between nurses and physicians link to higher nurse job satisfaction, lower emotional exhaustion, better nurse‐perceived quality of care, and lower patient mortality. The Practice Environment Scale of the Nursing Work Index is an excellent instrument to characterize variation in working relations between nurses and physicians as well as physicians' professional posture towards nurses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The job-related affective well-being measure developed by Warr (1990, J. Occup. Psychol., 63, 193) has been a frequently used tool estimating affect in the work context. The main purpose of this study was to test the measurement invariance of the instrument across cultures and genders. The model with four correlated factors, representing anxiety, comfort, depression, and enthusiasm, had a superior fit compared to alternative models in a sample of 807 employees and was used as the basis of measurement invariance tests. The results of multigroup confirmatory factor analysis showed partial metric invariance across samples of employees from the Netherlands ( n = 254), Poland ( n = 436), and Spain ( n = 207), as well as full scalar invariance across genders (female n = 323; male n = 466). This indicates that cross-cultural comparisons of relationships between job-related affect as measured with this instrument and other constructs can be meaningful. Additionally, mean scores on the scales of the instrument can be meaningfully compared across genders, but not across countries. Practitioner points Warr's job-related affective well-being measure is a valid and reliable operationalization of four correlated affective dimensions: anxiety, comfort, depression, and enthusiasm., Mean scores on these dimensions can be meaningfully compared across genders, but comparisons of mean scores between countries should be interpreted with caution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of the study was to create a simplified, easy implementable multidimensional instrument to assess all relevant elements of the structure and function of social network within individuals across different European countries and to provide the tool for health professionals and policy makers. The analysis was based on the sample of 10 446 non-institutionalized adult population from Finland, Poland and Spain. The Social Network Questionnaire Collaborative Research on Ageing in Europe Social Network Index (COURAGE-SNI) was part of the COURAGE questionnaire. The indicators of the functioning of social network ties (close relations), frequency of direct contact and general support were evaluated. Functions were assess within the main structural components as spouse, parents, children, grandchildren, other relatives, friends, coworkers and neighbours. The exploratory factor analysis revealed five main latent components of social network with one component composed of hierarchical part. The confirmatory factor analysis provided an acceptable fit for the model. The generalize partial credit model was used to calculate factor scores for five components of the COURAGE-SNI considering the social networks of 'spouse/partner', 'parents', 'other family members', 'neighbours' and 'friends and co-workers'. The scores for every component were recalculated so as to provide the social network saturation ranged from 0 (the lowest) to 100% (the highest possible). Finally, the COURAGE-SNI score was obtained as the sum of weighted information calculated by the item response theory procedure for every aforementioned component. In summary, the COURAGE-SNI showed good reliability and content validity and seems to be a promising tool for the assessment of the social network phenomenon across European countries. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Key Practitioner Message The Courage-SNI is a new tool to assess the construct of social network in population studies., The Courage-SNI is an instrument useful to identify high risk groups or populations whose social network is poorer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]