Europe’s Journal of Psychology (PsychOpen)
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The Relation Between Empathy and Aggression: The Role of Attachment Style
No full textThis study aimed to examine the explaining and moderating role of attachment style profiles on the association between empathy and aggression. Participants were 548 Italian adults (M = 47.62 years, SD = 6.14) who completed a survey measuring attachment, empathy, and aggression. Using cluster analytic methods, initial results indicated two attachment style profiles to be considered (secure vs. insecure). However, we also extracted a more theoretically guided four-cluster solution including preoccupied, secure, fearful, and dismissing profiles. Moreover, structural equation modelling showed that higher levels of empathy linked to lower levels of aggression. Nonetheless, when introducing in the model the dichotomous or the multi-categorical attachment style profile variable as predictive of both empathy and aggression, their association became not significant, while secure attachment profile significantly presented higher levels of empathy and lower levels of aggression compared to the other profiles. Furthermore, attachment style profile moderated the link between empathy and aggression. Specifically, in the secure group empathy and aggression were negatively related, but no significant association was evidenced in the other groups. Findings are discussed in the light of the literature
Deliberately Retrieved Negative Memories Can Improve Mood Beyond the Intention to Do So
No full textThe role of autobiographical memory in emotion regulation is deemed as limited to the selective retrieval of positive memories intended as a distraction from unpleasant stimuli. The present experimental study is the first to examine whether negative autobiographical memories serve as a way to boost one’s mood by employing the mechanism of retrospective downward autobiographical comparison between now and then. We hypothesised that this mechanism may operate in response to negative memories, leading to positive mood induction. Ninety-nine students participated in four memory tasks: autobiographical positive, autobiographical negative, vicarious positive, and vicarious negative. Emotional states at pre- and post-tests were assessed using the implicit test differentiating positive (PA) and negative (NA) components of mood. The results replicated previous studies on the mood-repair effect of deliberate positive recall. The most striking finding is that negative autobiographical recall consistently boosted PA and inhibited NA. This result supported the idea of retrospective downward autobiographical comparison as a plausible mechanism behind the efficacy of negative memories in emotion regulation
Burnout in Italian Primary Teachers: The Predictive Effects of Trait Emotional Intelligence, Trait Anxiety, and Job Instability
No full textBurnout syndrome has recently been recognized as a public health problem, widely observed in educational settings. In this study, we aimed to examine the role played by contextual variables, including job (in)stability and teachers’ personal characteristics, in predicting factors associated with teacher burnout, using a convenience sample of 137 Italian primary school teachers (94.2% female, Age: M = 47.17, SD = 8.88). The findings from the hierarchical regression analyses showed that both trait emotional intelligence (EI) and trait anxiety predicted emotional exhaustion and lack of personal accomplishment in relation to work, with EI having a negative association and anxiety having a positive association with both. As for contextual variables, job instability positively predicted low personal accomplishment, whereas teachers’ working experience predicted emotional exhaustion. We discuss these results in light of the current working environment experienced by Italian teachers, which includes a high percentage of fixed-term workers. Moreover, we examine the implications for research and interventions related to trait EI as a protective factor that might prevent the onset of chronic professional burnout among teachers and increase teachers’ effectiveness and, therefore, pupils’ well-being, resulting in positive educational outcomes
The State-Trait Model of Cheerfulness: Tests of Measurement Invariance and Latent Mean Differences in European and Chinese Canadian Students
No full textThe State-Trait Cheerfulness Inventory (STCI) assesses latent traits and states of cheerfulness, seriousness, and bad mood to represent the temperamental basis of humor. The present study (1) tested the generalizability of the three-factor model in both state and trait versions of the STCI across European Canadian (N = 489) and first generation Chinese Canadian (N = 147) participants completing the English version of the STCI and (2) compared latent mean differences. Results indicated the confirmatory factor analyses of the three-factor model for European White participants born in Canada and Chinese participants born in China showed adequate fit for both trait and state measures. Furthermore, substantial equivalence of factor model parameters and partial scalar invariance were found for both the state and trait STCI measures. In examining latent mean differences, European White Canadian participants reported significantly higher trait cheerfulness, z = 3.30, p < .001, d = 0.84, and lower trait bad mood z = 3.25, p < .01, d = 0.80 compared to the Chinese Canadian groups. European White Canadian participants reported significantly lower state bad mood, z = 3.59, p < .001, d = 1.15, compared to the Chinese Canadian groups. Limitations and future directions based on study findings are discussed
A Thematic Analysis of Students’ Perceptions and Experiences of Bullying in UK Higher Education
No full textBullying in higher education (HE) has been relatively under-researched; despite its likely prevalence and impact on student wellbeing there is scant understanding of students’ lived experiences of bullying. We conducted online and physical focus groups with UK HE students (40 undergraduates from 17 UK universities, mean age: 22), exploring their perceptions and experiences of bullying at university. Thematic analysis was used to identify key issues, specifically 1) the importance of a power imbalance and perpetuation of existing systemic inequality in a HE context; 2) bullying in HE is motivated by attainment of social and personal gains; 3) the tactics used to bully in HE resemble those seen in other contexts, but may be more nuanced; 4) bullying can be minimised and justified within HE, leading to its continued prevalence. We conclude that HE bullying shares features in common with school and workplace bullying, and with sexual harassment. However, further research is needed to accurately define and conceptualise bullying in this unique context. HE providers should consider attending to issues of power and inequality within their bullying and harassment policies. They should also ensure there is clear information and guidance to prevent and reduce bullying in universities
Refugee Mothers Mental Health and Social Support Needs: A Systematic Review of Interventions for Refugee Mothers
No full textRefugee mothers endure and are at risk for depression, post-traumatic stress, suicidality, and anxiety. There is a gap in the literature regarding interventions for refugee mothers’ mental health and well-being. Interventions involving refugee mothers rarely provide adequate support for refugee mothers’ specific mental health needs and challenges. This paper presents empirical evidence to contextualize the risks refugee mothers face, such as gender-based violence, mental health challenges, and language barriers. Then, the paper provides a critical systematic review of interventions conducted with refugee mothers. The critical systematic review suggests that creating and providing a safe space, being a linguistic liaison, community-building, and advocating for refugee mothers’ needs are emergent protective factors for refugee mothers. Finally, based on the review, recommendations for future interventions followed
The Importance of Awareness, Acceptance, and Alignment With the Self: A Framework for Understanding Self-Connection
No full textWe provide a theoretical framework for what it means to be self-connected and propose that self-connection is an important potential contributor to a person’s well-being. We define self-connection as consisting of three components: 1) an awareness of oneself, 2) an acceptance of oneself based on this awareness, and 3) an alignment of one’s behavior with this awareness. First, we position the concept within the broader self literature and provide the empirical context for our proposed definition of self-connection. We next compare and contrast self-connection to related constructs, including mindfulness and authenticity. Following, we discuss some of the potential relationships between self-connection and various aspects of mental health and well-being. Finally, we provide initial recommendations for future research, including potential ways to promote self-connection. In all, we present this theory to provide researchers with a framework for understanding self-connection so that they can utilize this concept to better support the efforts of researchers and practitioners alike to increase individuals’ well-being in various contexts
A Network Perspective on Neuropsychiatric and Cognitive Symptoms of the Post-COVID Syndrome
No full textMany patients that were infected with SARS-CoV-2 experience cognitive and affective symptoms weeks and months after their acute COVID-19 disease, even when acute symptoms were mild to moderate. For these patients, purely neurological explanations are struggling to explain the development and maintenance of the great variety of neuropsychiatric and cognitive symptoms occurring after COVID-19. We provide a psychological perspective based on the network theory of mental disorders as an added explanation that does not displace neurological mechanism but rather complements them. We suggest viewing the SARS-CoV-2 infection as a trigger that first activates nodes in a causally connected network of neuropsychiatric and cognitive symptoms. In the following, activation will spread throughout the network that will get in a self-sustaining stable and dysfunctional state manifesting in ongoing symptoms known as post-COVID-19 syndrome. The network perspective allows to generalize explanations for persistent neuropsychiatric and cognitive symptoms to patients that experienced mild or moderate acute courses of COVID-19, but also to similar phenomena following other viral infections. In addition, it could explain why some symptoms did not occur during acute COVID-19, but develop weeks or months after it. This network perspective shifts the focus from viewing persistent symptoms as a continuation of COVID-19 to acknowledging it as a complex syndrome that indeed originates from the disease but fully unfolds after it (post-COVID). To test the presented network perspective, we will need extensive cross-sectional as well as longitudinal data on cognitive and neuropsychiatric symptoms in post-COVID patients
Work Addiction Among Employees and Self-Employed Workers: An Investigation Based on the Italian Version of the Bergen Work Addiction Scale
No full textThe increasing interest in work addiction is connected to recent changes in the work culture and work habits. Despite this interest, knowledge pertaining to this phenomenon and measures to assess it are still limited. This study aims to contribute by examining the psychometric features of the Italian version of the Bergen Work Addiction Scale, a unidimensional scale based on the perspective of addiction. The research method consisted in two steps: in the first cross-sectional study, a convenience sample of 1,035 workers filled in a self-report questionnaire; the second step was a two-wave longitudinal study that involved a convenience sample of 292 workers. Results confirmed the psychometric properties of the scale across employees and self-employed groups. Moreover, results showed a significantly higher level of work addiction among self-employed workers than employees. This study provides support for the evaluation of workaholism in the Italian context among different kind of professions
Perceived Discrimination and Psychological Well-Being Among Immigrants Living in Greece: Separation as Mediator and Interdependence as Moderator
No full textThe present study was based on the rejection-identification model regarding migrants acculturation. Personal perceived discrimination, acculturation attitudes, self-construal, and psychological well-being were examined simultaneously in Albanian and Indian immigrants residing in Greece (N = 233). It was hypothesized that perceived discrimination would be related negatively to immigrants’ psychological well-being, both directly and indirectly. A positive relationship was expected between perceived discrimination and separation and a negative relationship between discrimination and integration, or assimilation. It was, also, expected a positive relationship of perceived discrimination to interdependent self-construal and a negative relationship to independent self-construal. Furthermore, it was examined the mediating role of separation in the association of perceived discrimination with psychological well-being and the moderating role of interdependent self-construal in the association of perceived discrimination with psychological well-being. According to the results, perceived discrimination was positively related to separation and negatively to integration, but was related neither to independent nor to interdependent self-construal. Perceived discrimination was, also, positively related to depression directly and indirectly. Fewer depressive symptoms were reported by those immigrants who face discrimination but also select separation. Immigrants with high levels of interdependence, also, do seem to be protected from depression and anxiety. The interpretation of these findings signifies that, when immigrants who perceive discrimination choose separation from the host country, they may reduce their depression feelings, by fitting into relationships with in-group members. Interdependence and the perception of immigrants self as a social unit, also, may act protectively for their psychological well-being, enhancing the identification with the in-group, as well