1,720,969 research outputs found
Dealing with the Ups and Downs of Life: Positive Dispositions in Coping with Negative and Positive Events and Their Relationships with Well-Being Indicators
Full text linkIn a four-wave, longitudinal study (N = 323), we tested the relationships between five positive dispositions—mindfulness, self-compassion, gratitude, hedonism, and eudaimonism—and time-varying negative affect, positive affect, life satisfaction, and meaning in life. These relationships were tested while controlling for the ups and downs in life across three months, operationalized as the effects, for a respondent, of having experienced more frequent and intense positive and negative events compared to other individuals in the sample (inter-individual variation) and of having experienced more frequent and intense positive and negative events than usual for that person (intra-individual variation). We also tested the interactive effects between each disposition and intra-individual variation in the frequency and intensity of negative and positive events on well-being variables. Results, obtained through multilevel models with repeated observations nested in individuals, showed that each disposition had specific associations with well-being indicators, although stronger effects were detected for eudaimonism and, especially, self-compassion. Moderation analyses showed that: mindfulness and self-compassion buffered intra-individual variation in negative events; people scoring higher on hedonism, eudaimonism, and self-compassion showed less need to rely on positive events to experience positive emotions; experiencing a negative event that was more intense than usual was associated with higher meaning in life for people with high levels of eudaimonism. Overall, findings suggest that mindfulness, self-compassion, gratitude, hedonism, and eudaimonism build well-being through different channels. Positive interventions could benefit from mixing these healthy functioning strategies and considering their roles in reactions to events
How mindfulness, decentering, nonattachment and rumination interact with the temporal associations between emotions and thoughts: An experience sampling study
Full text linkThe way emotions and thoughts affect each other in daily life deeply impacts an individual's well-being. This experience sampling study (N = 132, 24 random-schedule signals in 6 days) aimed to (a) test the bidirectionality of within-person concurrent (simultaneous) and prospective (from time t-1 to time t) associations between real-life emotions and thoughts; (b) explore the moderator roles of dispositions involving the ability to take an aware and detached perspective on inner experience (i.e., mindfulness, decentering, nonattachment and low rumination) in the abovementioned associations. Multilevel within-person and multilevel lagged models assessed concurrent and prospective links, respectively. Emotions and thoughts showed concurrent associations, and prospective associations only between same-valence emotions and thoughts. Low rumination and decentering strengthened the-respectively-simultaneous and prospective relationship between positive thoughts and positive emotions; decentering, nonattachment and low rumination suppressed the positive association between lagged negative emotions and present negative thoughts. Decentering also nullified the negative concurrent link between positive thoughts and negative emotions. Mindfulness and nonattachment strengthened the concurrent negative link between negative thoughts and positive emotions. Dispositions involving a detached perspective on inner experience improve individual abilities to deal with negative emotions and promote upward spirals between positive emotions and thoughts
A deeper look at the relationship between dispositional mindfulness and empathy: Meditation experience as a moderator and dereification processes as mediators
No full textStudies on the relationship between dispositional mindfulness and empathy reported results that vary across specific components of the constructs and employed measures. We investigated the associations between facets of mindfulness (acting with awareness, nonjudging, nonreactivity, describing, observing) and dimensions of empathy (perspective taking, empathic concern, personal distress), while considering meditation experience of respondents as a moderator (Study 1), and variables associated to the mindfulness-related dereification process (adaptive emotion regulation, decentering, reduced rumination, nonattachment, and social connectedness) as mediators (Studies 2 and 3). We hypothesized that most facets of mindfulness would be positively associated with perspective taking and empathic concern, and negatively with personal distress (H1), that the association between mindfulness facets and empathy would be stronger in meditators (H2), and that the relationship between mindfulness and empathy would be mediated by adaptive emotion regulation (H3) and by the other mindfulness-related dereification constructs (H4). Results substantially supported H1, H2, and H3, and H4 for what concerned decentering, nonattachment, and social connectedness; unexpectedly, rumination conveyed a negative indirect effect from mindfulness facets – except observing – to empathy. Findings clarify the ambivalent (positive via adaptive emotion regulation and dereification, negative via rumination) relationship between mindfulness and empathy, and the moderating role of meditation
A Deep Dive into Compassion: Italian Validation, Network Analysis, and Correlates of Recent Compassion Scales
No full textThe present multi-sample study (N = 723) explores in depth the construct of dispositional compassion and its assessment, relying on two recent multidimensional scales: the Sussex-Oxford Compassion Scale—toward Others (SOCS-O; Gu et al., 2020) and the Compassion Scale (CS; Pommier et al., 2020). First, we validated the two scales in Italian, finding substantial support for their original factor structures and second-order solutions aggregating first-order factors into a general dispositional compassion factor. Second, we tested the simultaneous links between SOCS-O and CS facets via network analysis to identify which facets stand at the core of dispositional compassion or are more distal. Kindness (CS) and Feeling (SOCS-O) facets were more central components of compassion, leaning on the ability to tune in to (CS Mindfulness) and understand others’ pain (SOCS-O Universality) and connected to the urge to alleviate that pain (SOCS-O Acting). Third, we explored the nomological net of correlates of dispositional compassion and examined the differences between the SOCS-O and the CS in their relationship with the correlates. Results supported the convergent and discriminant validity of the scales and showed that the SOCS-O, compared to the CS, may capture some emotionally aversive sides of compassion
Quick Self-Compassion: Italian Validation, Network Analysis, Item Response Theory Analysis, and Correlates of the Self-Compassion Scale Short Form
Full text linkObjectives: This study aimed to test the factorial structure and gender invariance of the Self-Compassion Scale Short Form (SCS-SF) in the Italian context (Aim 1), underlying relationships among SCS-SF items (Aim 2), questionnaire performance of SCS-SF (Aim 3), and correlations of SCS-SF (and its subscales) with cognitive, affective, and well-being variables (Aim 4). Method: Six questionnaires including the SCS-SF and different correlates were respectively administered to six Italian convenience samples (total n = 2068). We performed confirmatory (ULS estimator) factor analysis (Aim 1), exploratory graph analysis and network analysis (Aim 2), multidimensional item response theory (IRT) analyses (Aim 3), and correlational analyses (Aim 4). We tested Aims 1–3 on the global sample and Aim 4 on the six samples separately. Results: We found a two-factor (hierarchical) solution — which also had strict gender invariance — identifying Compassionate and Uncompassionate Self-Responding (CSR and USR), respectively composed of positive and negative items, while three- and six-factor structures did not hold (Aim 1). The SCS-SF network was structured into the CSR and USR clusters (Aim 2). CSR and — especially — USR had a satisfactory performance in terms of IRT discrimination and information (Aim 3). Correlational analyses supported the convergent and discriminant validity of the scales, showing the cognitive and emotion-regulation strategies associated with self-compassion and confirming that CSR and USR have slightly different correlates (Aim 4). Conclusions: The Italian SCS-SF and its CSR and USR subscales are valid instruments. Future research and interventions can employ CSR and USR to assess different nuances of self-kindness and self-criticism
Deprovincialization as a key correlate of ideology, prejudice, and intergroup contact
No full textThis paper aimed to examine deprovincialization, defined as a less ingroup-centric worldview fostering openness to other cultures and outgroups, and to test its relationships with personality, cognitive styles, values, political ideologies, intergroup contact, and prejudice. In Study 1, we proved the factorial validity of the Cultural Deprovincialization Scale (CDS), an instrument specifically designed to assess a growing acceptance of other peoples and cultures following intergroup encounters, and we provided evidence for its construct validity by exploring its nomological net. People scoring higher on the CDS were more extraverted, agreeable, open to experience, cognitively flexible, and scored lower on social dominance orientation, right-wing authoritarianism, and nationalism. Moreover, deprovincialized people reported higher scores on positive contact, lower scores on negative contact, better outgroup attitudes, and lower levels of prejudice. In Study 2, using a longitudinal design, we tested the within- and between-individual associations that deprovincialization had with positive and negative intergroup contact, outgroup attitudes, and prejudice. Both between-individual and within-individual variations in positive and negative contact predicted time-varying deprovincialization, whereas between-individual and within-individual variations in deprovincialization predicted time-varying outgroup attitudes and prejudice, controlling for age, gender, and social dominance orientation, and also for contact when deprovincialization was a predictor
Quality of life, coping strategies, social support and self-efficacy in women after acute myocardial infarction: A mixed methods approach
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Close to me: The importance of closeness versus superficiality in explaining the positive-negative contact asymmetry
No full textThe evidence for differential effects of positive and negative intergroup contact on prejudice is mixed. We propose that the closeness of the relationships respondents have with contact partners can explain inconsistencies in previous findings. In three studies (total N = 953), we tested the associations between positive intimate, negative intimate, positive superficial, and negative superficial contact and attitudes toward different outgroups (immigrants and gay people). We hypothesized that: (H1) the effect of positive contact would be maximized in intimate interactions; (H2) the effect of negative contact would be maximized in superficial interactions; (H3) positive intimate and negative superficial contact would have similar power in predicting attitudes. Results always supported H1, and supported H2 and H3 only with immigrants. Findings held also when controlling for category salience and agreeableness, but not for social dominance orientation, which instead strengthened the effect of negative superficial contact. Overall, findings clarify the positive–negative contact asymmetry
COVID-19 threat and perceptions of common belonging with outgroups: The roles of prejudice-related individual differences and intergroup contact
Full text linkCOVID-19 represents a multidimensional threat with the potential to worsen intergroup relations, but perceiving a common belonging with various outgroups may prevent intergroup tensions. During the Italian lockdown, we conducted an online survey with 685 Italian participants investigating whether perceptions of common belonging (belonging to a common group, sharing a common destiny, perceiving the difficulties faced by other groups) with disadvantaged and national outgroups were associated with perceived COVID-19 threat and prejudice-related individual differences, namely social dominance orientation (SDO), need for cognitive closure (NFC), deprovincialization, pre-lockdown positive and negative face-to-face contact with immigrants. We also explored the moderating roles of individual differences in the link between perceived threat and perceptions of common belonging. Results showed that common belonging was negatively associated with COVID-19 perceived threat, SDO, and NFC, and positively associated with deprovincialization and positive contact, with differences depending on the common belonging index and on the type of outgroup. Moderations showed that negative relationships between common belonging and COVID-19 threat held only at low levels of NFC (floor effect), deprovincialization, and positive contact. Summarizing, positive contact with minorities and openness to other cultures can favor a sense of communion with other social groups in a global health emergency
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