Promoting Self-Esteem in Adolescents: The Influence of Wellness Factors

Associations Between Mental Health, Interoception, Psychological Flexibility, and Self-as-Context, as Predictors for Alexithymia: A Deep Artificial Neural Network Approach

Background: Alexithymia is a personality trait which is characterized by an inability to identify and describe conscious emotions of oneself and others.

Aim: The present study aimed to determine whether various measures of mental health, interoception, psychological flexibility, and self-as-context, predicted through linear associations alexithymia as an outcome. This also included relevant mediators and non-linear predictors identified for particular sub-groups of participants through cluster analyses of an Artificial Neural Network (ANN) output.

Methodology: Two hundred and thirty participants completed an online survey which included the following questionnaires: Toronto alexithymia scale; Acceptance and Action Questionnaire 2 (AQQII); Positive and Negative Affect Scale (PANAS-SF), Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Scale 21 (DAS21); Multidimensional Assessment of Interoceptive Awareness (MAIA); and the Self-as-Context (SAC) scale. A stepwise backwards linear regression and mediation analysis were performed, as well as a cluster analysis of the non-linear ANN upper hidden layer output.

Results: Higher levels of alexithymia were associated with increased psychological inflexibility, lower positive affect scores, and lower interoception for the subscales of “not distracting” and “attention regulation.” SAC mediated the relation between emotional regulation and total alexithymia. The ANNs accounted for more of the variance than the linear regressions, and were able to identify complex and varied patterns within the participant subgroupings.

Conclusion: The findings were discussed within the context of developing a SAC processed-based therapeutic model for alexithymia, where it is suggested that alexithymia is a complex and multi-faceted condition, which requires a similarly complex, and process-based approach to accurately diagnose and treat this condition.

The influence of coping skills training and family health education on self-esteem among adolescents in substance abuse prevention

OBJECTIVE

Substance abuse is one of the most serious problems in Indonesia and is highly prevalent among adolescents. Therefore, psychotherapy is needed in preventing substance abuse for adolescents. This study aims to analyze the influence of coping skills training and family health education on self-esteem in a sample of 87 young people.

METHOD

The sample was divided into two groups using simple random sampling. ANOVA was used to determine differences between the control group and those receiving coping skills training and family health education.

RESULTS

Self-esteem improved significantly in the group that received the experimental training (F(1.85)=44.70, p<0.001). Some practical implications can be deduced for psychiatric nurses to implemented coping skill training and family health education as a standard treatment in substance abuse prevention among adolescents.

A study of psychological sense of community as a mediator between supportive social systems, school belongingness, and outcome behaviors among urban high school students of color

Psychological sense of community (SOC) has been examined minimally among the youth of color, and as a mediating variable, as well as construct implicated in promoting wellness. Using data from a sample of 401 students of color (M age  = 16.55, standard deviation = 1.31; 54.7% female; 57% Hispanic/Latina[o]) from an underserved northeastern US urban community, we examined the mediating relationship of psychological SOC between social support, participation in youth-based community programs, and outcomes including school belongingness, risk behaviors such as substance use and violent behavior, and psychological symptoms, including depression. Results indicated that access to social supports and youth-based community programs was negatively associated with risk behaviors and experiencing depressive symptoms, through both psychological SOC and school belongingness. Implications include the need for community-based activities for youth that not only foster support but encourage a positive psychological SOC and in-turn offset negative developmental trajectories and risk behaviors.

Solution-Focused Wellness: A Randomized Controlled Trial of College Students

Heightened stress levels and compromised well-being are common among college students. Current trends on college campuses include an increase in the number of students experiencing mental health issues and an increase in students seeking help, illustrating a need for evidence-based brief interventions that improve student wellness. This research study used a randomized controlled study design to examine the effects of a short-term (seven-week), solution-focused wellness intervention on perceived stress and wellness of college students. Repeated measures analysis of variance results demonstrated that the effect of group membership across time was significant for both perceived wellness and stress (p < .01). Effect sizes using partial eta2 statistics were large for both outcome variables. Findings indicate that a brief solution-focused wellness intervention can significantly improve perceptions of wellness and reduce stress among college students and is more effective than treatment as usual. Intervention replicability allows for dissemination across varied academic groups and locations, and potential generalization across populations.

Self-compassion and suicidal behavior in college students: Serial indirect effects via depression and wellness behaviors

OBJECTIVE

College students may be at heightened risk for suicide and suicidal behavior due to maladaptive cognitive-emotional factors and failure to practice basic health behaviors. However, self-compassion and wellness behaviors may protect against risk. The relation between self-compassion and suicidal behavior and the contributing roles of depressive symptoms and wellness behaviors was examined.

PARTICIPANTS

Participants were 365 undergraduate students. Data were collected in April 2015.

METHODS

A cross-sectional, survey design was employed. Participants completed measures assessing self-compassion, depressive symptoms, wellness behaviors, and suicidal behavior. Serial mediation analyses were conducted covarying age, sex, and ethnicity.

RESULTS

Self-compassion was inversely related to suicidal behavior, and this relationship was serially mediated by depressive symptoms and wellness behaviors.

CONCLUSIONS

Self-compassion may protect against suicidal behavior, in part, due to reduced depressive symptoms and heightened engagement in wellness behaviors. Individual and campus-wide strategies promoting self-compassion and wellness behaviors may reduce suicide risk on college campuses.

Adolescents' Interpretation of the Concept of Wellness: A Qualitative Study

Introduction: This study sought to explore and describe the interpretation which adolescents ascribe to the term wellness at a selected high school in the Western Cape Province of South Africa.

Methods: A qualitative research design was utilized. Nine focus-group discussions were conducted among 58 adolescents. Sample was selected purposefully and collected data was analyzed using open coding.

Results: Findings reflected adolescents’ interpretations of the term wellness in the realm of holistic well-being transcending the nonexistence of illness or sickness in the body. The interpretations given include: healthy living which embrace eating enough nutritious foods, exercising regularly and being actively involved in physical activities; practicing self-care habits such as personal hygiene and grooming; well-being of the mind (psychological, emotional); having a balanced personality and interpersonal processes; being focused and goal directed and spiritual well-being.

Conclusion: It is imperative to consider adolescents’ understandings of wellness when planning, designing, implementing and evaluating adolescent wellness programs.

Does positivity mediate the relation of extraversion and neuroticism with subjective happiness?

Recent theories suggest an important role of neuroticism, extraversion, attitudes, and global positive orientations as predictors of subjective happiness. We examined whether positivity mediates the hypothesized relations in a community sample of 504 adults between the ages of 20 and 60 years old (females = 50%). A model with significant paths from neuroticism to subjective happiness, from extraversion and neuroticism to positivity, and from positivity to subjective happiness fitted the data (Satorra–Bentler scaled chi-square (38) = 105.91; Comparative Fit Index = .96; Non-Normed Fit Index = .95; Root Mean Square Error of Approximation = .060; 90% confidence interval = .046, .073). The percentage of subjective happiness variance accounted for by personality traits was only about 48%, whereas adding positivity as a mediating factor increased the explained amount of subjective happiness to 78%. The mediation model was invariant by age and gender. The results show that the effect of extraversion on happiness was fully mediated by positivity, whereas the effect of neuroticism was only partially mediated. Implications for happiness studies are also discussed.

The association between adolescent self-reported physical activity and wellness: the missing piece for youth wellness programs

PURPOSE

Potential positive associations between youth physical activity and wellness scores could emphasize the value of youth physical activity engagement and promotion interventions, beyond the many established physiological and psychological benefits of increased physical activity. The purpose of this study was to explore the associations between adolescents' self-reported physical activity and wellness.

METHODS

This investigation included 493 adolescents (165 males and 328 females) aged between 12 and 15 years. The participants were recruited from six secondary schools of varying socioeconomic status within a metropolitan area. Students were administered the Five-Factor Wellness Inventory and the International Physical Activity Questionnaire for Adolescents to assess both wellness and physical activity, respectively.

RESULTS

Data indicated that significant associations between physical activity and wellness existed. Self-reported physical activity was shown to be positively associated with four dimensions including friendship, gender identity, spirituality, and exercise-the higher order factor physical self and total wellness, and negatively associated with self-care, self-worth, love, and cultural identity.

CONCLUSION

This study suggests that relationships exist between self-reported physical activity and various elements of wellness. Future research should use controlled trials of physical activity and wellness to establish causal links among youth populations. Understanding the nature of these relationships, including causality, has implications for the justification of youth physical activity promotion interventions and the development of youth physical activity engagement programs.

Reliability of a wellness inventory for use among adolescent females aged 12-14 years

Background

The wellness construct has application in a number of fields including education, healthcare and counseling, particularly with regard to female adolescents. The effective measurement of wellness in adolescents can assist researchers and practitioners in determining lifestyle behaviors in which they are lacking. Behavior change interventions can then be designed which directly aid in the promotion of these areas.

Methods

The 5-Factor Wellness Inventory (designed to measure the Indivisible Self model of wellness) is a popular instrument for measuring the broad aspects of wellness amongst adolescents. The instrument comprises 97 items contributing to 17 subscales, five dimension scores, four context scores, total wellness score, and a life satisfaction index. This investigation evaluated the test-retest (intra-rater) reliability of the 5F-Wel instrument in repeated assessments (seven days apart) among adolescent females aged 12–14 years. Percentages of exact agreement for individual items, and the number of respondents who scored within ±5, ±7.5 and ±10 points for total wellness and the five summary dimension scores were calculated.

Results

Overall, 46 (95.8%) participants responded with complete data and were included in the analysis. Item agreement ranged from 47.8% to 100% across the 97 items (median 69.9%, interquartile range 60.9%-73.9%). The percentage of respondents who scored within ±5, ±7.5 and ±10 points for total wellness at the re-assessment was 87.0%, 97.8% and 97.8% respectively. The percentage of respondents who scored within ±5, ±7.5 and ±10 for the domain scores at the reassessment ranged between 54.3-76.1%, 78.3-95.7% and 89.1-95.7% respectively across the five dimensions.

Conclusions

These findings suggest there was considerable variation in agreement between the two assessments on some individual items. However, the total wellness score and the five dimension summary scores remained comparatively stable between assessments.