The relationship between trait anger and loneliness among early adolescents: The moderating role of emotion regulation

Does Resting Respiratory Sinus Arrhythmia Buffer the Link from Trait Anger to Aggression in Young Adults?

From both psychological and physiological perspectives, the current study focused on investigating the moderating role of resting respiratory sinus arrhythmia (resting RSA) in the association between trait anger and aggression. One-hundred and sixteen college students (73.28 % females, Mage= 19.15, SD = 0.92) reported their trait anger and aggression. RSA data was collected during a resting period in the laboratory. The results showed that trait anger interacted with resting RSA in predicting aggression, such that a positive association between trait anger and aggression was found among participants with lower, rather than higher, resting RSA. Our findings suggested that high resting RSA may be a protective physiological factor in the relation between trait anger and aggression among college students.

Suppression of Positive and Negative Emotions and Loneliness among Emerging Adults: A Moderated-Mediation Model of Romantic Relationship Satisfaction and Gender

Loneliness is prevalent in emerging adults, and there is a great need to understand its antecedents to combat loneliness. This study aimed to examine whether romantic relationship satisfaction mediated the relationship between the suppression of positive and negative emotions and loneliness and whether gender moderated the relationship between the suppression of positive and negative emotions and romantic relationship satisfaction in Turkish emerging adults. The study sample consisted of 452 (248 females and 204 males) emerging adults involved in a romantic relationship and attending university, 18-25 years old. The participants completed the measures of the suppression sub-dimension of emotion regulation, romantic relationship satisfaction, and loneliness, as well as a demographic survey. Firstly, the findings demonstrated that romantic relationship satisfaction mediated the relationship between the suppression of both positive and negative emotions and loneliness, regardless of gender. Secondly, the findings reported that gender moderated the mediating role of romantic relationship satisfaction in the relationship between suppression of negative emotions and loneliness. More specifically, suppression of negative emotions significantly put female emerging adults at increased risk of poor romantic relationship satisfaction and, consequently, loneliness in comparison with males.

Loneliness and posttraumatic stress in U.S. adolescents: A longitudinal study

BACKGROUND

Loneliness and posttraumatic stress (PTS) are common in adolescence. However, there has been little longitudinal research on their association. To address this deficit, this study examined the longitudinal association between these phenomena in a sample of U.S. school students while also exploring if gender was important in this context.

METHODS

Data were analysed from 2807 adolescents (52.1 % female; age at baseline 11-16 years (M = 12.79)) who were followed over a one-year period. Information was obtained on loneliness in year 1 using a single-item question, while PTS was assessed with the self-report Child Post-Traumatic Stress - Reaction Index (CPTS-RI). A full path analysis was performed to assess the across time associations.

RESULTS

Almost one-third of the students reported some degree of loneliness while most students had 'mild' PTS. In the path analysis, when controlling for baseline PTS and other covariates, loneliness in year 1 was significantly associated with PTS in year 2 (β = 0.06, 95%CI: 0.02, 0.09). Similarly, PTS in year 1 was significantly associated with loneliness in year 2 (β = 0.19, 95%CI: 0.15, 0.23). An interaction analysis further showed that loneliness was higher in girls with PTS than in their male counterparts.

LIMITATIONS

The use of a single-item measure to assess loneliness that used the word 'lonely' may have resulted in underreporting.

CONCLUSION

Loneliness and PTS are bidirectionally associated in adolescence. Efforts to reduce loneliness in adolescence may help in combatting PTS, while clinicians should intervene to address loneliness if detected in adolescents with PTS.

Cultural Dimensions Moderate the Association between Loneliness and Mental Health during Adolescence and Younger Adulthood: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Cultural factors, such as country or continent, influence the relationship between loneliness and mental health. However, less is known about how cultural dimensions moderate this relationship during adolescence and younger adulthood, even if these dimensions manifest as country or continent differences. This study aims to examine the potential influence of Hofstede's cultural dimensions on this relationship using a three-level meta-analysis approach. A total of 292 studies with 291,946 participants aged 10 to 24 were included in this study. The results indicate that cultural dimensions, such as individualism vs. collectivism, indulgence vs. restraint, power distance, and long-term vs. short-term orientation, moderated the associations between loneliness and social anxiety, stress, Internet overuse, and negative affect. The association between loneliness and mental health was not moderated by cultural dimensions, such as masculinity and uncertainty avoidance. These findings suggest that culture's influence on the association between loneliness and mental health is based on a domain-specific mechanism.

The link between school climate and mental health among an ethnically diverse sample of middle school youth

School climate consistently relates to adolescent adjustment across academic, socioemotional, and behavioral domains. Although past research highlights the impact of school climate on youths' experience of internalizing symptoms and violent behavior, examination of potential links with specific externalizing processes is limited. The current study examined associations between middle school students' perceived school climate and internalizing and externalizing mental health symptoms. A positive school climate was hypothesized to be inversely related to all mental health measures. Seventh grade students (N = 2768; 50% female) were recruited from 24 Texas middle schools. Participants completed baseline self-reports of perceived school climate across three dimensions (student-student relationships, student-teacher relationships, and awareness/need of reporting violence) as well as self-reports of internalizing (i.e., depression and anxiety) and externalizing (i.e., impulsivity and hostility) symptoms. Multilevel regression analyses were implemented to test all hypotheses, controlling for participant sex and race/ethnicity. Results indicated student-student relationships were negatively related to depressive symptoms, student-teacher relationships were positively related to anxiety and negatively linked to hostility, and help-seeking/reporting awareness was inversely related to all four indices of mental health. The current research underscores the impact of school climate on adolescents' psychological adjustment and emphasizes the need to address awareness and responsivity in reporting concerning school behavior.

Language Learning Motivation and Burnout Among English as a Foreign Language Undergraduates: The Moderating Role of Maladaptive Emotion Regulation Strategies

In the context of English as a Foreign Language (EFL), burnout study dominantly revolves around teachers but learners' academic burnout is largely underexplored. Academic burnout is a concerning issue worldwide that is particularly predicted by academic motivation. However, we know little about the association between motivation and burnout among EFL learners and whether maladaptive emotion regulation strategies (ERS) could moderate their association. To fill this research gap, we recruited 841 EFL undergraduates from two universities in China. Descriptive analysis showed that participants reported high levels of language learning burnout. Correlational and bootstrapped moderation analysis found that motivation and maladaptive ERS were significantly correlated with burnout in opposite directions and the correlation between motivation and burnout was significantly influenced by students' use of two maladaptive ERS (avoiding and venting). The more frequently students chose to avoid and vent unpleasant feelings, the protective role of motivation on burnout was weaker. The implications of these findings are discussed.

Maladaptive emotion regulation strategies and trait anger as predictors of depression severity

BACKGROUND

According to empirical evidence, trait anger and emotion regulation strategies are associated with depression severity. The objective of this study was to investigate the impact of trait anger and maladaptive emotion regulation strategies in explaining the variance of depressive symptoms severity.

METHODS

Two hundred three participants diagnosed with major depressive disorder completed measures of depression, trait anger, depressive rumination, anger rumination and experiential avoidance. Path analysis using Mplus was employed for data analysis.

RESULTS

Trait anger and depressive rumination were significant predictors of the level of depressive symptomatology, while experiential avoidance and anger rumination did not predict the level of depressive symptoms severity.

CONCLUSION

Maladaptive emotion regulation strategies and trait anger seem to be associated with the level of depressive symptoms, and, as such, should also be investigated when working with depressive symptomatology.

Loneliness, Risky Beliefs and Intentions about Practicing Safer Sex among Methamphetamine Dependent Individuals

BACKGROUND

Methamphetamine use is a known predictor of riskier sexual behaviors, which can have important public health implications (e.g., HIV-transmission risk). Loneliness also is associated with riskier sexual behaviors, though the relationship between loneliness and beliefs and/or intentions to practice safer sex has not been examined among people dependent on methamphetamine.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Individuals who met DSM-IV criteria for lifetime methamphetamine dependence and current (≤ 18-months) methamphetamine abuse or dependence (METH+ n = 56) were compared to those without severity and recency of methamphetamine use (METH- n = 59). These groups did not differ on social network size or proportion of people with HIV (∼58% HIV+). Participants completed the NIH Toolbox Loneliness Scale and the Sexual Risks Scale's "Norms" and "Intentions" subscales.

RESULTS

METH+ individuals were significantly lonelier than METH- controls (t(113) = 2.45, p = .02). Methamphetamine dependence remained significantly associated with greater loneliness, after controlling for HIV status and other relevant covariates (e.g., neurocognitive impairment, history of mood disorder, social network size; F = 3.70, Adjusted R2 = 0.18, p = .0009). Loneliness, above and beyond the aforementioned covariates, was significantly associated with riskier beliefs and intentions to practice safer sex among METH+, but not METH-, individuals (β = 2.92, p = .02).

CONCLUSIONS

Loneliness is prevalent among individuals dependent on methamphetamine, and is uniquely associated with riskier beliefs and intentions regarding practicing safer sex. Findings may aid in identifying individuals at-risk of engaging in riskier sexual behaviors and guide risk prevention strategies.

Mediation analysis of social deficits between self-criticism and aggression in adolescents

This research aims to determine the mediating role of social deficits in self-criticism and aggression using a sample of 695 adolescents (girls = 49%, boys = 51%), aged 12 to 19 years (M = 14.97, SD = 1.30) from an urbanized city of Pakistan. Interpersonal Difficulties Scale, Self-Criticism Scale, and Aggressive Behavior Scale were used in the present study. Results indicated a significant positive association of social deficits with self-criticism and aggression (p < .001). Furthermore, findings also suggested a significant positive association between self-criticism and aggression. Mediation analysis revealed that self-criticism partially mediated the relationship between social deficits and aggression. Findings are discussed in terms of the expression and manifestation of self-criticism, social deficits, and aggression in adolescents in collectivistic cultures.