Adaptation of Emotional Flexibility Scale: Its Association with Subjective Well Being and Resilience During Covid-19 Pandemic

Meaning-Focused Coping in University Students in Hong Kong During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Qualitative Study

Many studies were conducted during and after the COVID-19 pandemic to examine its impact on young people's well-being. However, most studies are quantitative ones focusing on the negative impact of the pandemic on young people. In contrast, there are few studies examining the benefits of the pandemic using a qualitative methodology. Hence, we conducted focus group interviews to understand meaning-focused coping in 56 university students from late December 2022 to mid-January 2023 when Hong Kong was approaching the end of the pandemic. Thematic analysis using a deductive analytical approach based on the Revised Stress and Coping Model was applied during data analysis. The results showed that most students were able to generate positive experiences and emotions during the pandemic. Many of them reported improved mental well-being during the pandemic by infusing ordinary events with meaning. They engaged in adaptive goal processes by having a more positive attitude towards life. Students also found benefits in terms of enhanced personal strengths, better interpersonal relationships, and improved pandemic-related abilities. Furthermore, the current study compared the difference in the use of meaning-focused coping and perceived benefits by students with family or personal financial difficulties, students who coped well, and Mainland Chinese students studying in Hong Kong. This paper provides an alternative picture of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on university students.

Translating theoretical insights into an emotion regulation flexibility intervention: assessing effectiveness

ABSTRACTObjective: Traditional research often categorizes emotion regulation strategies as adaptive or maladaptive, overlooking crucial situational and individual differences that dictate their efficacy. The literature highlights the need for a more nuanced approach, like the role of emotion regulation flexibility. Despite its importance, research on developing and testing interventions that promote this flexibility is scarce. Addressing this gap, our study designed and tested an "Emotion Regulation Flexibility Booster Program" (ERFBP). We aimed to assess its efficacy in improving emotion regulation flexibility (ERF) and its impact on various mental health indicators. Method: We recruited 153 participants with low emotion regulation flexibility, randomly assigning them to experimental, control, and no-treatment groups. The experimental group was provided with an intervention based on an ERF model. The control group received sessions on study habits, whereas no-treatment group received no training. Results: The analysis indicated that participants in the ERFBP group exhibited significant changes in ERF, subjective wellbeing, and emotion regulation goals and psychological distress compared to baseline measurements and post-intervention scores of other two groups. Conclusion: These findings support the effectiveness of the ERFBP in enhancing ERF and wellbeing. However, further research must confirm these findings across diverse contexts and populations.

Relationship between Perceived Family Resilience, Emotional Flexibility, and Anxiety Symptoms: a Parent-Adolescent Dyadic Perspective

Family resilience is crucial for individual's psychological health. Previous studies explored the protective factors of anxiety at the individual level, with less attention paid to the impact of family interaction from a dyadic perspective. This study utilized the Actor-Partner Interdependence Mediation Model to investigate the relationship between family resilience, emotional flexibility, and anxiety symptoms. A sample of 2144 Chinese parent-adolescent dyads (36% upper grades of primary school, 64% secondary school, 49.39% girls; 70.38% mothers) was recruited. Perceived family resilience was inversely related to anxiety symptoms, directly or indirectly, through the mediation of emotional flexibility at the individual level. At the dyadic level, adolescents' perceived family resilience was significantly associated with parents' anxiety symptoms through their own or parents' emotional flexibility. Parents' perceived family resilience was inversely link to adolescents' anxiety symptoms through parents' emotional flexibility. Parents emotional flexibility also mediated the association between adolescents' perceived family resilience and their anxiety symptoms. These findings contribute to understanding the intricate dynamics of family resilience and psychological outcomes in parent-child relationships under adversity, emphasizing the need for child-centered interventions to improve family members' mental health.

Multi-level factors associated with psychological resilience in the face of adverse childhood experiences among Chinese early adolescents

BACKGROUND

Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) are pervasive and exert enduring negative effects on health throughout one's life. A better understanding of resilience among adolescents with ACEs exposure is crucial to enhance their mental health; however, comprehensive and multifaceted analyses of its associated factors are limited.

OBJECTIVE

This study aimed to investigate multi-level correlates of psychological resilience in Chinese early adolescents exposed to ACEs.

PARTICIPANTS AND SETTING

In a sample of 5724 middle school students, 65.5 % (n = 3749; 49.1 % females; Mage = 13.57, SD = 0.96) reported ACEs during their primary school period and were finally included in this study.

METHOD

Both linear regression and network models were conducted to explore correlates of capacity- and outcome-oriented resilience at the individual (i.e., five personality traits, emotional release, and loneliness), family (i.e., family support and relationships with the mother and father), and school levels (i.e., peer support, teacher support, and relationships with classmates and teachers).

RESULTS

Linear regression analysis revealed that all correlates were associated with capacity- (β ranged from -0.271 to 0.503, PFDR < 0.001 for all) and outcome-oriented resilience (β ranged from -0.516 to 0.229, PFDR < 0.001 for all). Similarly, network analysis revealed that neuroticism, conscientiousness, loneliness, emotional release, extraversion, and the relationship with the mother were directly associated with both capacity- (weights ranged from 0.029 to 0.179) and outcome-oriented resilience (weights ranged from 0.024 to 0.396). However, openness, peer and family support, and relationships with classmates and teachers were directly associated with capacity-oriented resilience (weights ranged from 0.020 to 0.201).

CONCLUSIONS

This study identified the shared and unique associated factors for capacity- and outcome-oriented resilience in the face of ACEs and demonstrated the complex interactions between these factors, which can guide tailored interventions to enhance resilience among Chinese early adolescents with ACEs exposure. Further longitudinal studies may endeavor to confirm our results.

Youth psychosocial resilience during the COVID-19 pandemic

Globally, youth have experienced heightened levels of stress due to the COVID-19 pandemic, though many youth showed resilience to mental health problems despite this increased stress. The current review covers emerging literature published in the past three years on resilience factors that promote more positive mental health in youth ages 10-18 years. These factors generally fall into three categories: 1) resilience factors at the level of the individual, 2) social resilience factors, and 3) interventions to enhance youth resilience during the pandemic. We include recommendations for future longitudinal research to better understand and promote resilience given the context of the pandemic, particularly for youth who experienced high levels of adversity.

Investigating Relationships Among Self-Efficacy, Mood, and Anxiety Using Digital Technologies: Randomized Controlled Trial

BACKGROUND

Digital tools assessing momentary parameters and offering interventions in people's daily lives play an increasingly important role in mental health research and treatment. Ecological momentary assessment (EMA) makes it possible to assess transient mental health states and their parameters. Ecological momentary interventions (EMIs) offer mental health interventions that fit well into individuals' daily lives and routines. Self-efficacy is a transdiagnostic construct that is commonly associated with positive mental health outcomes.

OBJECTIVE

The aim of our study assessing mood, specific self-efficacy, and other parameters using EMA was 2-fold. First, we wanted to determine the effects of daily assessed moods and dissatisfaction with social contacts as well as the effects of baseline variables, such as depression, on specific self-efficacy in the training group (TG). Second, we aimed to explore which variables influenced both groups' positive and negative moods during the 7-day study period.

METHODS

In this randomized controlled trial, we applied digital self-efficacy training (EMI) to 93 university students with elevated self-reported stress levels and daily collected different parameters, such as mood, dissatisfaction with social contacts, and specific self-efficacy, using EMA. Participants were randomized to either the TG, where they completed the self-efficacy training combined with EMA, or the control group, where they completed EMA only.

RESULTS

In total, 93 university students participated in the trial. Positive momentary mood was associated with higher specific self-efficacy in the evening of the same day (b=0.15, SE 0.05, P=.005). Higher self-efficacy at baseline was associated with reduced negative mood during study participation (b=-0.61, SE 0.30, P=.04), while we could not determine an effect on positive mood. Baseline depression severity was significantly associated with lower specific self-efficacy over the week of the training (b=-0.92, SE 0.35, P=.004). Associations between higher baseline anxiety with higher mean negative mood (state anxiety: b=0.78, SE 0.38, P=.04; trait anxiety: b=0.73, SE 0.33, P=.03) and lower mean positive mood (b=-0.64, SE 0.28, P=.02) during study participation were found. Emotional flexibility was significantly enhanced in the TG. Additionally, dissatisfaction with social contacts was associated with both a decreased positive mood (b=-0.56, SE 0.15, P<.001) and an increased negative mood (b=0.45, SE 0.12, P<.001).

CONCLUSIONS

This study showed several significant associations between mood and self-efficacy as well as those between mood and anxiety in students with elevated stress levels, for example, suggesting that improving mood in people with low mood could enhance the effects of digital self-efficacy training. In addition, engaging in 1-week self-efficacy training was associated with increased emotional flexibility. Future work is needed to replicate and investigate the training's effects in other groups and settings.

TRIAL REGISTRATION

ClinicalTrials.gov NCT05617248; https://clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT05617248.

Reflections on the battle against COVID-19: The effects of emotional design factors on the communication of audio-visual art

Fighting against the epidemic is an arduous and prolonged battle where many artists hope to inspire people with the power of art through cultural creativity. To explore the effects of emotional design factors on the communication of audio-visual art and the audience's perceptive experience, this research takes the original anti-epidemic song and the film China Braves Headwind as the research object. The research also uses such methods as questionnaires, Structural Equation Models, and dependent samples t-tests to conduct statistical analysis. The results are as follows: First, the emotional design evaluation matrix based on the emotional communication model is reasonable, and the scales of this research are feasible. Second, the emotional design of audio-visual works can significantly affect the audience's emotional experience and further improve sharing intention. Third, Attribute A2 (Artistic style, Thematic perception) and attribute C3 (Emotional resonance, Spiritual sublimation) serve as common factors affecting the emotional experience in terms of both musical works and film and television works. Fourth, compared with musical works, film and television works are likely to resonate with the audience. The combination of music and visual sensation can help open up the conception of artistic works and convey their meanings to viewers. Therefore, it's necessary to explore the emotional communication mode between audio-visual artists and the audience. It helps artists think about how to create works innovatively and is conducive to marketizing works and stimulating cultural consumption demand.