Toward a consensual structure of mood

Parents' wellbeing: perceptions of happiness and challenges in parenthood in Latin America

INTRODUCTION

Traditional research on parenthood and wellbeing often employs a positivist perspective and focuses on non-LA samples -limiting our knowledge and understanding of the influence of cultural components such as Machismo and Marianismo, have in parents' wellbeing. This study explored how Latin American (LA) parents' wellbeing is influenced by parenthood in a culture strongly influenced by such gender-based perspectives.

METHODS

An interpretative perspective was employed to qualitatively explore fifteen LA parents' lived experiences and data were analysed via Thematic Analysis. The American Psychological Association's Journal Article Reporting Standards for Qualitative Research (JARS-Qual), was followed to compile this paper.

RESULTS

Results showed that socio-economic factors such as crime, violence, and economic inequality, negatively influence parents' wellbeing -emotions experienced and life satisfaction.

DISCUSSION

Parents find joy in sharing own personal experiences with their children and passing on gender-based models. However, parents perceive family pressure as a "burden" when expected to follow principles of Machismo/Marianismo. Similar to Asian, but unlike European parents, LA parents experience a mixture of positive and negative emotions whilst parenting -shaped by Machismo and Marianismo. This study makes a unique contribution by uncovering the unique influence of LA socio-economic challenges and cultural impositions and expectations and its influence on parental wellbeing.

Changes in affect variability after starting gender-affirming hormone therapy

Negative affect variability is determined by how often and how strongly negative affect changes over time. Cisgender women report greater variability in affect than cisgender men. It has been suggested that sex hormone changes may influence affect variability. Transgender people frequently opt to use sex hormones in the form of gender-affirming hormone therapy (GAHT), but the extent to which GAHT can change negative affect variability is not yet clear. Therefore, this study aims to study changes in negative affect variability after starting GAHT. We have included data from 92 participants from the RESTED study: 47 persons starting masculinizing hormones (MH), i.e. testosterone, and 45 persons starting feminizing hormones (FH), i.e., estrogens and anti-androgens. Participants completed up to 7 consecutive daily diaries at each of three time points: before starting GAHT, and after 3 and 12 months of GAHT. The daily diaries collected participants' reports on symptoms related to negative affect: experienced low mood, less interest, tense feelings and restless feelings. We have used linear mixed models to compare negative affect variability during one week, corrected for mean negative affect, between groups (MH versus FH) and measurement time points. Results show that in the MH group, variability in tense feelings and restless feelings decreased after 3 and 12 months of GAHT, respectively. In the FH group, variability in low mood increased after 3 months and 12 months of GAHT, as did variability in restless feelings after 12 months of GAHT. Group comparisons indicate significant group differences in changes in variability in low mood and restless feelings, with stronger increases in variability of negative affect in the FH group compared to MH group after 3 and 12 months of GAHT. Our findings indicate that variability patterns in negative affect in transgender persons change after starting GAHT, with participants who start masculinizing hormones moving to a profile which more closely resembles that of cisgender men and participants who start feminizing hormones moving to a profile which more closely resembles that of cisgender women. Future studies should focus on measuring both negative and positive affect variability during GAHT, preferably through multiple measurements per day, taking into account diverse social and daily contextual factors during GAHT.

From valence encoding to motivated behavior: A focus on the nucleus accumbens circuitry

How do our brains determine whether something is good or bad? The brain's ability to evaluate stimuli as positive or negative - by attributing valence - is fundamental to survival and decision-making. Different brain regions have been associated with valence encoding, including the nucleus accumbens (NAc). The NAc is predominantly composed of GABAergic medium spiny neurons (MSNs), which segregate into two distinct populations based on their dopamine receptor expression: D1-receptor-expressing (D1-MSNs) and D2-receptor-expressing neurons (D2-MSNs). Classical models propose a binary functional role, where D1-MSNs exclusively mediated reward and positive valence, while D2-MSNs processed aversion and negative valence. However, we now recognize that NAc MSN subpopulations operate in a more complex manner than previously thought, often working cooperatively rather than antagonistically in valence-related behaviors. This review synthesizes our current knowledge of valence-encoding neurocircuitry, with emphasis on the NAc. We examine electrophysiological, calcium imaging, optogenetic, chemogenetic and pharmacological studies detailing the contribution of NAc medium spiny neurons for rewarding and aversive responses. Finally, we explore emerging technical innovations that promise to advance our understanding of how the mammalian brain encodes valence and translates it into behavior.

Analysis of the impact of different background colors in VR environments on risk preferences

Metaverse virtual reality (VR) technology offers an environment that provides a sense of presence that cannot be achieved through traditional online interactions. Although this technology is used in education and industry, challenges remain to be overcome for further penetration into society. In this study, we conducted an experiment using a risk preference task in blue and red spaces to verify color impressions and their effects in VR environments. Consistent with previous studies, high calmness was observed in the blue space. However, contrary to expectations, the risk preference task results showed risk-averse behavior in red space but not in blue space. Therefore, conventional color psychology may not be applicable to constructing the same space in a virtual environment. Previous studies have shown consistent experimental results regarding emotional responses to color stimuli; however, no consistent outcomes have been reported regarding cognitive performance. This is because the effect of color impressions is thought to depend not only on the color itself but also on what is recalled. The results of this study suggest that red in a VR environment may be interpreted as a warning color, preventing people from losing focus.

The more resilient students are, the sooner they recover from examination stress: A daily diary study

Resilience, particularly under stressful circumstances, is essential for well-being. Prior research has shown the positive effects of resilience on overall self-esteem and emotional balance, but the dynamic nature of these attributes has consistently been overlooked. This study investigated how resilience influences state self-esteem and emotional balance during periods of examination stress. To this end, we utilized a 13-day daily diary design to collect data once a day from 212 participants (160 females; Mage = 18.30; SDage = 1.03). A multilevel linear model was constructed using Hierarchical Linear Modeling (HLM) to examine the effects of resilience on state self-esteem and emotional balance during daily stressful situations. Our findings revealed that resilience predicted higher levels of both state self-esteem and emotional balance, confirming previous studies. Notably, students with higher resilience demonstrated quicker recovery in these areas, underscoring resilience's role in sustaining well-being. This study contributes to the expanding literature on resilience by highlighting its value in maintaining self-esteem and emotional stability.

Associations between daily composition of 24 h physical behavior with affective states and working memory

The daily association between 24-hour physical behavior compositions (moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA), light physical activity (LPA), standing, sedentary, and sleep) and psychological outcomes-such as momentary affective state assessments and working memory-remains understudied. We investigated whether the daily 24-hour compositions, particularly MVPA and SB considering the remaining behaviors, are associated with affective states and working memory. We conducted an ambulatory assessment study with 199 university employees. Physical behaviors were measured continuously via thigh-worn accelerometers throughout the day. Affective states (i.e., valence, energetic arousal, and calmness) and working memory performance (i.e., numeric updating task) were captured up to six times a day via electronic diaries and tasks on a smartphone. We conducted Bayesian multilevel compositional data analysis to analyze within-person, and between-person associations of 24-hour physical behavior composition with affective states, and working memory. Aggregated same-day outcomes were used for main analyses to capture concurrent associations, and next-day outcomes were used for exploratory analyses to capture prospective associations. Concurrent analyses showed that higher moderate-to-vigorous physical activity relative to the remaining physical behaviors was associated with 2.49 [95%CI 1.00, 4.06] higher valence and 3.65 [95%CI 2.11, 5.28] higher energetic arousal (but not calmness) ratings at the within-person, but not at the between-person level. Sedentary behavior relative to the remaining physical behaviors was not associated with any affective states. Spending more time in moderate-to-vigorous physical activity, followed by light physical activity, and standing, each at the expense of the other behaviors was associated with higher affective state ratings on the same day (between-person: ≥1.29 [0.19, 2.51] higher valence, 1.23 [0.04, 2.40] higher calmness; within-person: ≥0.62 [0.04, 1.22] higher valence, ≥ 1.10 [0.63, 1.58] higher energetic arousal, ≥ 0.95 [0.18, 1.74] higher calmness). The 24-hour physical behavior composition was not associated with working memory. Findings underline the importance of the 24-hour composition of physical behavior for mental health, by demonstrating significant concurrent associations with affective states. Even small reallocations of behaviors may positively influence affective states, providing valuable insights for the development of future interventions.

The Impact of Technostress Generated by Artificial Intelligence on the Quality of Life: The Mediating Role of Positive and Negative Affect

In the era of Artificial Intelligence, the magic of achieving results at the "speed of light" for tasks that until recently required a lot of work and effort shocks, arouses enthusiasm and generates fears at the same time. Therefore, starting from this reality of our days, we proposed within the current research to study the relationship between the factors of technostress (techno-overload, techno-invasion, techno-complexity, techno-insecurity, techno-uncertainty) perceived as a result of the implementation of AI at the societal level and the quality of life, filtering the relationship through the "lens" of the positive and negative affect mediators. The mediation analyses, conducted on a sample of 217 adult Romanian citizens (18-62 years old), suggested that although AI-related technostress does not directly influence quality of life, it has a significant indirect impact through affective traits-general tendencies to frequently experience positive or negative emotions. This indicates that technostress contributes to variations in quality of life by influencing emotional experiences, which mediate the relationship. These findings emphasize not only the absence of a direct effect, but also the importance of the indirect pathway in understanding how individuals are affected by AI-related stress. We believe that the results of the current study can be equally useful in raising awareness of the psychological mechanisms responsible for the quality of life and in understanding the importance of implementing official programs, both technically, regarding the development of skills to understand and work with AI, and psychological support programs, considering the management of emotions, with reference to this technology.

Biased Information Routing Through the Basolateral Amygdala, Altered Valence Processing, and Impaired Affective States Associated With Psychiatric Illnesses

Accumulating evidence supports a role for altered circuit function in impaired valence processing and altered affective states as a core feature of psychiatric illnesses. We review the circuit mechanisms underlying normal valence processing and highlight evidence supporting altered function of the basolateral amygdala, valence processing, and affective states across psychiatric illnesses. The mechanisms controlling network activity that governs valence processing are reviewed in the context of potential pathophysiological mechanisms mediating circuit dysfunction and impaired valence processing in psychiatric illnesses. Finally, we review emerging data demonstrating experience-dependent, biased information routing through the basolateral amygdala promoting negative valence processing and discuss the potential relevance to impaired affective states and psychiatric illnesses.

Repeated exposure decreases aesthetic chills likelihood but increases intensity

Aesthetic chills are a peak emotional response to stimuli such as music, films, or speech characterized by shivers and goosebumps and activation of dopaminergic circuits. Despite growing scientific interest in this phenomenon, repeated exposure to chills stimuli has not been studied yet, due to the absence of a validated database. This study leverages a recent gold standard in chills stimuli to investigate the impact of repeated exposure on the frequency and intensity of aesthetic chills. Participants (n = 58) were randomly exposed to 6 chill-evoking stimuli pre-validated on the population of interest, in a counterbalanced order. Our findings revealed a significant decrease in the likelihood of experiencing chills with repeated exposure, suggesting habituation to chills itself or potential fatigue in response to aesthetic stimuli. However, we observed an increase in the intensity and duration of chills over successive exposures among those who did experience chills. The study also identified distinct demographic and psychophysiological response patterns across different participant groups, indicating variability in chill responses. These results provide insights into the dynamic nature of aesthetic experiences and their underlying neural mechanisms, with implications for understanding emotional and reward processing in psychophysiology.

Individual and socio-psychological characteristics as predictors of physical activity among men living with overweight and obesity taking part in the Aussie Fans in Training weight management behaviour change programme

Background

Sufficient physical activity (PA) is important to reduce the risk of men developing chronic diseases and to improve mental health. The effectiveness of PA programmes can vary, however, among men. Individual and socio-psychological characteristics may affect the level of men's PA before starting a behaviour change programme as well as changes in PA during the programme.

Aims

The primary objective of this study was to examine the role of individual and socio-psychological characteristics in predicting men's (a) accelerometer-assessed PA (step count and moderate to vigorous PA [MVPA]) upon presentation to a behaviour change programme and (b) changes in PA (step count and MVPA) during a behaviour change programme.

Methods

A total of 109 men (mean age = 45.5 years, SD = 7.8 years, mean body mass index = 34.5 kg/m2, SD = 5.1 kg/m2) who participated in the Australian Fans in Training 3-month PA and dietary behaviour change programme in 2018 participated in this study. Before and after completing the 12-week programme, men completed assessments including individual (age, weight) and socio-psychological (psychological needs support, psychological needs satisfaction, positive affect and negative affect) characteristics. We used regression analysis to examine the relationship between these variables and PA.

Results

At baseline, men's weight (β = -.36, p < .001) and positive affect (β = .29, p < .01) were significant predictors of step count. At baseline, men's weight (β = -.21, p < .05) and negative affect (β = .23, p < .05) were significant predictors of MVPA, though the overall model did not display statistical significance. The overall regression models did not significantly predict changes in either step count or MVPA pre- to post-programme.

Conclusion

The influence of weight and positive and negative affect in predicting PA outcomes suggests that tailoring men's health behaviour change interventions to individual circumstances and needs could enhance their effectiveness for some men.

Why do individuals with generalized anxiety disorder and depression engage in worry and rumination? A momentary assessment study of positive contrast enhancement

The contrast avoidance model suggests that individuals with generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) use worry to sustain negative emotionality and thus avoid a sharp increase in negative emotion. Maintenance of negative mood increases the probability of subsequent decreased negative and increased positive affect (positive emotional contrast; PEC) when worrisome outcomes are better than expected. However, occurrence of PECs via increased positive affect and its application to rumination are unclear. Using a momentary assessment design, we examined effects of worry/rumination on PECs associated with relief and positive events. Participants with GAD and/or major depressive disorder (MDD; N = 76), or without psychopathology (N = 85) rated the occurrence of relief and positive events, emotions, and repetitive thought 8x/day for 8 days. Higher vs. lower worry and rumination were associated with greater decreased anxiety and sadness, and greater increased happiness pre-to-post positive and relief events. Greater GAD and MDD symptoms predicted ongoing higher ratings on intentionally thinking pessimistically to be pleasantly surprised if something good happened. Results suggest that worry/rumination led to enhanced PECs via decreased negative and increased positive affect pre-to-post positive and relief events. Individuals with higher GAD and depression symptoms reported intentionally using worry/rumination to increase PECs in daily life.

Satisfaction with life, affects, and subjective happiness in military personnel

BACKGROUND

Satisfaction with life, affects, and subjective happiness in military personnel are significantly correlated, as the experience of positive emotions, such as pride and camaraderie, often improves both satisfaction with life and the perception of happiness. On the other hand, negative effects, such as stress and anxiety, derived from deployment in high-risk environments, can bring down these indicators of well-being. Adaptability and resilience play a crucial role in moderating these affects, allowing military personnel to keep a good degree of emotional balance.

OBJECTIVE

The objective of this study was to measure satisfaction with life, subjective happiness, and affects on Spanish military personnel. The initial hypothesis was that these variables are correlated and that affects can be used to predict satisfaction with life and subjective happiness.

METHODS

This study examined the mutual relationships between satisfaction with life, affects, and subjective happiness in a sample of 416 Spanish military personnel (336 men 80.67% and 80 women 19.23%), with an average age of 35.56 years, using the satisfaction with life, affects, and subjective happiness scales.

RESULTS

The results indicate that all the variables analyzed are correlated and together constitute subjective well-being. Network analysis indicates that the axial factor in this relationship is subjective happiness. It was found that both positive and negative affects can be used to predict satisfaction with life and subjective happiness.

CONCLUSION

This paper emphasizes the need to conduct more studies with military personnel, who are usually exposed to high levels of professional stress, and that these consider a wider range of variables. Understanding these dynamics is essential to design measures that promote mental health and holistic well-being in this population group. This study is the first empirical approach to models that argue for the mutual interaction of these constructs in psychological well-being, also emphasizing the need to work with military personnel in this regard, not only during their training but throughout their military career.

Understanding human amygdala function with artificial neural networks

The amygdala is a cluster of subcortical nuclei that receives diverse sensory inputs and projects to the cortex, midbrain, and other subcortical structures. Numerous accounts of amygdalar contributions to social and emotional behavior have been offered, yet an overarching description of amygdala function remains elusive. Here we adopt a computationally explicit framework that aims to develop a model of amygdala function based on the types of sensory inputs it receives, rather than individual constructs such as threat, arousal, or valence. Characterizing human fMRI signal acquired as male and female participants viewed a full-length film, we developed encoding models that predict both patterns of amygdala activity and self-reported valence evoked by naturalistic images. We use deep image synthesis to generate artificial stimuli that distinctly engage encoding models of amygdala subregions that systematically differ from one another in terms of their low-level visual properties. These findings characterize how the amygdala compresses high-dimensional sensory inputs into low-dimensional representations relevant for behavior.Significance Statement The amygdala is a cluster of subcortical nuclei critical for motivation, emotion, and social behavior. Characterizing the contribution of the amygdala to behavior has been challenging due to its structural complexity, broad connectivity, and functional heterogeneity. Here we use a combination of human neuroimaging and computational modeling to investigate how visual inputs relate to low-dimensional representations encoded in the amygdala. We find that the amygdala encodes an array of visual features, which systematically vary across specific nuclei and relate to the affective properties of the sensory environment.

Psychometric Properties of the Positive and Negative Affect Schedule (PANAS) Among Indian Youth

Background

The positive and negative affect schedule (PANAS) is widely used to assess positive (PA) and negative affect (NA). Despite its extensive global validation, its psychometric properties remain unexamined among the Indian youth population (IYP). This study aims to evaluate the structural validity, reliability (internal consistency), and criterion validity of the PANAS among IYP.

Methods

This cross-sectional study involved 660 students (57.4% females, mean age 16.25 ± 2.79 years) from 10 educational institutions across five cities in [State name], India. Participants were selected using random sampling. They underwent a comprehensive assessment, including face-to-face semi-structured interviews using the PANAS, anxiety measures, depressive measures, and happiness measures. The SPSS (version 16) and JASP (version 0.14.1) software were used for reliability, validity, and factor analysis.

Results

Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) confirmed a two-independent-factor structure with satisfactory fitness indices (goodness-of-fit index [GFI] = 0.96; root mean square error of approximation = 0.07; standardized root mean square residual = 0.06). The PANAS factor loads ranged from 0.44 to 0.73. Internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha) was 0.85 for PA and 0.83 for NA. Analyses showed adequate criterion validity.

Conclusion

The findings demonstrate adequate structural validity, internal consistency, and criterion validity of the PANAS, confirming its suitability for assessing effect in IYP. However, some indices in CFA suggest further refinement.

Application of automated face coding (AFC) in older adults: A pilot study

OBJECTIVES

The study aimed to assess the prevalence and nature of emotional expressions in care-dependent older adults, using an automated face coding (AFC) software. By examining the seven fundamental emotions, the study sought to understand how these emotions manifest and their potential implications for dental care in this population.

METHODS

Fifty care-dependent older adults' (mean-age: 78.90 ± 10.83 years; n = 50, men = 25, women = 25) emotional expressions were analyzed using an AFC software. The study measured the prevalence of the seven fundamental emotions including neutral, happy, sad, angry, surprised, scared, and disgusted. Correlations were explored between these expressions and demographic variables such as sex, age, Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) scores, as well as the use of sedation. Descriptive statistics, non-parametric tests and Spearman's rho correlations were applied for statistical analysis (p < 0.05).

RESULTS

Neutral expression was the most common emotion (0.732 ± 0.23), with other emotions largely inactive. A trace of happiness was detected in women (0.110 ± 0.23), though not statistically significant (p = 0.061). Significant correlations were found between happy expressions and left eye opening (p = 0.021), and a negative correlation was observed between mouth opening and sad expressions (p = 0.049). No significant associations were found with age, MMSE scores, or sedation use.

CONCLUSIONS

This study found that AFC software can detect and quantify emotions from facial expressions of dependent older adults and that they predominantly exhibited neutral expressions, with few signs of other emotions. Future research should explore these influences to inform personalized care approaches.

Sports experience, affects and life satisfaction in Portuguese athletes with disabilities

This study aims to validate the Portuguese version of the Satisfaction with Life Scale (Cronbach's alpha = 0.82) and the Positive and Negative Affect Scale (Cronbach's alpha = 0.86 for positive affect and 0.89 for negative affect) for people with disabilities and to examine the association between engaging in physical activity and affective responses, investigating the relationship with satisfaction with life. 143 Portuguese with disabilities filled in the Portuguese version of the scales. The findings endorsed the single factorial structure and reliability of the Satisfaction with Life Scale [χ2/df = 6.3, B-S p = 0.487, TLI = 0.989, CFI = 0.995, SRMR = 0.0263, RMSEA = 0.043 (CI = 0, 0.130)]. For Positive and Negative Affect Scale, the results also confirmed the factorial structure and reliability [χ2/df = 1.871, B-S p = 0.114, TLI = 0.891, CFI = 0.918, SRMR = 0.0778, RMSEA = 0.078 (CI = 0.048, 0.108)]. On the other hand, the structural model presented satisfactory fit to the data [χ2/df = 1.436, B-S p = 0.269, TLI = 0.917, CFI = 0.930, SRMR = 0.0748, RMSEA = 0.055 (CI = 0.033, 0.075)]. Significant direct effects have been found, as has been theoretically proposed, namely: years of practice displayed a positive and significant association with positive affect; positive affect was positively associated with satisfaction with life (β = 0.073, CI = 0.020, 0.139; p = 0.031).

Heterogeneity in momentary affective experiences related to suicidal urges in a non-clinical sample of adult handgun owners and non-owners recruited from the community

Although suicide is complex and heterogeneous, most suicide theories assume that suicidal urges occur primarily in the context of extreme emotional distress. Newer models of suicide based on complex systems theory propose greater heterogeneity in suicidal experiences across individuals and groups, such that some, but not all, suicidal thoughts, urges, and behaviors are associated with extreme negative affect. The present study investigated individual differences in affective states experienced during suicidal urges among 138 adults recruited from the community; 81 (59.1 %) owned handguns and 57 (41.6 %) did not. Participants self-reported their current affect and urge to kill themselves 6 times per day for 28 consecutive days via ecological momentary assessment. Positive and negative affect ratings varied significantly during suicidal urges. The association of positive and negative affect with suicidal urges significantly varied within and between handgun owners and non-owners. Results suggest suicidal urges are characterized by high affective heterogeneity.

Post-event processing in social anxiety: A scoping review

Graded exposure successfully reduces fear in specific phobias and anxiety disorders, yet social exposure in daily life often fails to mitigate social anxiety. Post-event processing, perseverative, negative, self-referential thinking that occurs following a social-evaluative event, may partly explain inhibited desensitization to social fears. Post-event processing has been studied extensively since its first description by Clark and Wells (1995) and previously reviewed (e.g., Brozovich & Heimberg, 2008; Wong, 2016). However, these reviews are now dated or limited in scope. In the present scoping review, we pay particular attention to contemporary research that addresses unanswered questions raised in past reviews (e.g., Brozovich & Heimberg, 2008), synthesizing existing knowledge. Specifically, we discuss post-event processing's evolving role in cognitive models of social anxiety disorder, its core features, its eliciting situations (e.g., performance vs. social interactions), its relation to other cognitive and affective constructs (e.g., memory, performance appraisal, self-focused attention), and its assessment. Our findings indicate that post-event processing is more frequent after performance situations than social interactions, is related to negative memory biases, is bi-directionally related to worsening performance appraisals, and may be precipitated by self-focused attention. Future research directions include elucidating post-event processing's course, clarifying post-event processing's potential causal role in the development of social anxiety disorder, and identifying factors that underlie post-event processing's deleterious nature.

How strongly are trait positive and negative affectivity associated with anxiety symptoms? A multilevel meta-analysis of cross-sectional studies in anxiety disorders

There are well-established theoretical and empirical foundations for a negative association between trait positive affectivity and anxiety symptoms in anxiety disorders and a positive association between trait negative affectivity and anxiety symptoms, respectively. However, no previous meta-analysis systematically estimated to what extent trait positive and negative affectivity are associated with anxiety symptoms in anxiety disorders. The aim of this study was to conduct a systematic review and meta-analysis to obtain an evidence-based estimate of the associations between trait positive and negative affectivity with anxiety symptoms in anxiety disorders. We performed a systematic search including studies reporting estimates of the associations between trait positive and negative affectivity measures and anxiety measures in clinical populations that suffer from at least one anxiety disorder. We identified 13 and 14 eligible studies, documenting 19 and 21 mainly unpublished effect sizes from 1489 individuals that suffer from an anxiety disorder. We estimated an overall correlational effect size (r) using multilevel meta-analytic models accounting for within- and between-study variance components. The results of the omnibus models showed a small to moderate negative association between positive affectivity and anxiety symptoms (r = -0.19, 95 % CI [-0.30, -0.09]) and a strong positive association between negative affectivity and anxiety symptoms respectively (r = 0.53, 95 % CI [0.44, 0.61]). These associations are different from each other (r = .35, p < .001). The results are consistent with theoretical claims that anxiety disorders are highly associated with negative affectivity but to a lesser extent with positive affectivity. More research and systematic documentation are necessary to determine moderators of these overall associations.

Causal effects of sedentary breaks on affective and cognitive parameters in daily life: a within-person encouragement design

Understanding the complex relationship between sedentary breaks, affective well-being and cognition in daily life is critical as modern lifestyles are increasingly characterized by sedentary behavior. Consequently, the World Health Organization, with its slogan "every move counts", emphasizes a central public health goal: reducing daily time spent in sedentary behavior. Previous studies have provided evidence that short sedentary breaks are feasible to integrate into daily life and can improve affective and cognitive parameters. However, observational studies do not allow for causal interpretation. To overcome this limitation, we conducted the first empirical study that integrated the within-person encouragement approach to test the causal effects of short 3-min sedentary breaks on affective and cognitive parameters in daily life. The results suggest that brief sedentary breaks may have a beneficial impact on valence and energetic arousal. Moreover, our methodological approach powerfully demonstrated the possibility of moving towards causal effects in everyday life.

The Influence of Work Engagement on Employee Affect and Creativity: Insights from Occupational Mental Health

Affect plays a pivotal role in shaping employees' work performance and mental health, with growing recognition of its capacity to drive creativity. However, the differential impacts of positive and negative affect on creative performance remain a subject of debate. This study aims to compare the relationships between high- and low-arousal affect, as well as PANA dimensions of affect, and creative performance, emphasizing the mediating role of work engagement from an occupational mental health perspective. A survey was conducted involving 278 employees and their managers across 25 companies in China. The findings reveal significant associations between high-arousal positive affect, low-arousal positive affect, high-arousal negative affect, and low-arousal negative affect with both work engagement and creative performance. Moreover, the results indicate that work engagement partially mediates the relationship between high-arousal affect and creative performance while fully mediating the relationship between low-arousal affect and creativity. These findings underscore the importance of occupational mental health-particularly work engagement-in fostering employee creativity and highlight its critical role in organizational management strategies.

Cross-condition risk and protective factors for psychosocial distress in parents and carers of children and young people with appearance-affecting conditions and injuries

Alongside typical parenting challenges, initial condition-specific research suggests thadifferent experiences and support needs.t parents of children with different visible differences may experience similar psychosocial difficulties. Despite this, large-scale cross-condition research to identify risk and protective factors for parental distress and psychosocial adjustment has been lacking. Two hundred and nine parents and carers of children with a range of visible differences completed an online survey comprised of standardised outcome measures, study-specific measures, and open-ended questions. Multiple regression modelling identified possible risk and protective factors, and data collected via open-ended questions were analysed using content analysis. Findings support themes previously identified in small-scale cross-condition qualitative research with parents of children with visible differences. Risk factors for parental negative affect and stress included parental reports of the noticeability of their child's visible difference and teasing. Protective factors included good parent-child communication, self-compassion, knowledge of their child's condition and satisfaction with treatment. The risk and protective factors identified provide important insight into the experiences of this parent population and indicate possible avenues for psychosocial intervention.

Application of the positive and negative affect scale in Chinese children with intellectual disability

The purpose is to test the applicability of the Positive and Negative Affect Scale (PANAS) to Chinese children with intellectual disabilities. The study was done by distributing the questionnaire to the parents through teachers online. Asked the parents to fill out the scale based on their observations of their children's daily life. The correlation coefficients between each item and the total score of the corresponding dimension ranged from 0.52 to 0.77. Factor analysis confirmed the establishment of the PA-NA two-factor structure of affect. A significant positive correlation existed between the NA and the challenging behavior. The Cronbach's α coefficient and split-half reliability of the PA scale were 0.87 and 0.85, and the Cronbach's α coefficient and split-half reliability of the NA scale were 0.85 and 0.83, respectively, higher than 0.80. It was concluded that PANAS has good applicability in Chinese children with intellectual disabilities.

Perceptions of Justice in Clinical Learning Environments: Development and Validation of an Organizational Justice Measure for Medical Trainees

PURPOSE

This study aimed to develop an instrument to measure medical trainees' perceptions of justice in clinical learning environments.

METHOD

Between 2019 and 2023, the authors conducted a multiyear, multi-institutional, multiphase study to develop a 16-item justice measure with 4 dimensions: interpersonal, informational, procedural, and distributive. The authors gathered validity evidence based on test content, internal structure, and relationships with other variables across 3 phases. Phase 1 involved drafting items and gathering evidence that items measured intended dimensions. Phase 2 involved analyzing relevance of items for target groups, examining interitem correlations and factor loadings in a preliminary analysis, and obtaining reliability estimates. Phase 3 involved a confirmatory factor analysis and collecting convergent and discriminant validity evidence.

RESULTS

In phase 1, 63 of 91 draft items were retained following a content validation exercise gauging how well items measured targeted dimensions (mean [SD] item ratings within dimensions, 4.16 [0.36] to 4.39 [0.34]) on a 5-point Likert scale (with 1 indicating not at all well and 5 indicating extremely well). In phase 2, 30 items were removed due to low factor loadings (i.e., < 0.40), and 4 items per dimension were selected (factor loadings, 0.42-0.89). In phase 3, a confirmatory factor analysis supported the 4-dimensional model ( χ2 = 610.14, P < .001; comparative fit index = 0.90, Tucker-Lewis Index = 0.87, root mean squared error of approximation = 0.11, standardized root mean squared residual = 0.06), with convergent and discriminant validity evidence showing hypothesized positive correlations with a justice measure ( r = 0.93, P < .001), trait positive affect ( r = 0.46, P < .001), and emotional stability ( r = 0.33, P < .001) and negative correlations with trait negative affect ( r = -0.39, P < .001).

CONCLUSIONS

Results indicate the measure's potential utility in understanding justice perceptions and designing targeted interventions.

Cultural adaptation and validation of the Positive and Negative Affect Schedule for Children (PANAS-C) among Indonesian adolescents

BACKGROUND

Although mental health issues among Indonesian adolescents are of growing concern, a psychometrically valid measure of affect in Indonesia to inform related research and prevention and treatment efforts does not exist.

METHODS

The present study's aim was to culturally adapt and validate the widely used Positive and Negative Affect Schedule for Children (PANAS-C) among Indonesian adolescents. The original 30-item PANAS-C in English underwent forward and back translations to Bahasa Indonesia (the national language of Indonesia) followed by cognitive interviews with private and public school students ages 12-15 (n = 18). The adapted PANAS-C and measures to assess convergent validity were completed by 704 Indonesian adolescents from Greater Jakarta and the Javanese city of Surabaya (Mage = 13.56, SD = 0.906) (56.96% girls; 42.75% boys; 0.28% other). Most participants identified their ethnicity as Javanese (72.59%), Betawi (8.24%), or Sundanese (3.41%).

RESULTS

Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses were conducted, which resulted in 26 items with a two-factor structure consistent with the original PANAS-C: A 12-item Positive Affect subscale and a 14-item Negative Affect subscale. Internal consistency was satisfactory for the Positive Affect subscale (Cronbach's alpha was 0.88; McDonald's omega was 0.88) and excellent for the Negative Affect subscale (Cronbach's alpha was 0.90; McDonald's omega was 0.89). Test-retest reliability was acceptable for all items, and convergent validity was confirmed by significant correlations with measures of distress and well-being.

CONCLUSION

The adapted PANAS-C was found to be a reliable and valid measure of positive and negative affect that can be used with Indonesian adolescent girls and boys. This is the first validated measure of positive and negative affect for young people in Indonesia, which fills a need in mental health research and practice.

Effect of neuroticism on Chinese athletes' vigor: serial mediating roles of pre-competition anxiety and mind wandering

Introduction

Vigor plays an important role in mental health, and it is closely related to sporting performance. Neuroticism can affect individual vigor, but its internal mechanism remains unclear. This study aims to examine the relationship between neuroticism and vigor, and the role of anxiety and mind wandering between the two.

Methods

A total of 591 athletes completed questionnaires on neuroticism, pre-competition anxiety, mind wandering and vigor. The survey data were tested for common method biases, Pearson's correlation, and structural equation model via SPSS 25.0 and Mplus 7.0.

Results

Results showed that neuroticism had a predictive effect on athletes' vigor 4 (β = -0.511, p < 0.001). Pre-competition anxiety (β = -0.056, BC 95% CI = [-0.091, -0.028]) and mind wandering (β = -0.030, BC 95% CI = [-0.054, -0.014]) mediate neuroticism effects on vigor separately. There was a significant serial mediation effect from "neuroticism→Pre-competition anxiety→mind wandering→energy" (β = -0.010, BC 95% CI = [-0.023, -0.002]).

Discussion

This study provides a reference for the systematic investigation of the relationship between neuroticism and vigor, and specific intervention methods for ensuring athletes' vigor and improving sports performance.

Using online negative emotions to predict risk-coping behaviors in the relocation of Beijing municipal government

This article explores the use of online negative emotions to predict public risk-coping behaviors during urban relocation. Through a literature review, the paper proposes hypotheses that anticipate advanced prediction of public risk-coping behaviors based on online negative emotions. The study's empirical focus is on the relocation of the Beijing municipal government, using time series data for Granger causality analysis in EViews 10.0 software. Data on online negative emotions is sourced from Sina Weibo. After data cleaning, 1420 pieces of data related to the relocation policy of the Beijing Municipal Government within the period from June 9, 2015 to April 28, 2019 are retained. while risk-coping behaviors are measured through public information search behaviors and the incidence of violent crimes, the data coverage is also from June 9, 2015 to April 28, 2019. The results indicated that: (1) Online negative emotions regarding the relocation policy predict public risk-coping behaviors in advance. (2) Negative comments are more effective predictors than negative feelings; (3) Negative emotions about relocation policy formulation predict risk-coping behaviors better than those related to policy effectiveness and implementation; (4) Negative emotions from individuals better predict public risk-coping behaviors than those from institutions; (5) Negative emotions from key stakeholders better predict public risk-coping behaviors than those from non-key or marginal stakeholders. It is recommended that relevant departments establish a real-time monitoring system to track negative public opinions and emotions expressed online, adopt a stakeholder-centric approach to facilitate communication, and promote transparency and educational campaigns to address the challenges of urban relocation. In future studies, methods such as expanding the sample size and adding indicators will be used to address the limitations of potential bias in sample data.

"I must make the grade!": the role of cognitive appraisals, irrational beliefs, exam anxiety, and affect, in the academic self-concept of undergraduate students

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES

Examination anxiety is a common occurrence, and is potentially detrimental to student attainment. In recent theorizing, it has been suggested that cognitive appraisals, as put forth in cognitive appraisal theory, and irrational beliefs, as put forth in rational emotive behavior therapy, may interact to predict affectivity. The current research examines the antecedents and associates of examination affect and academic self-concept in undergraduate students.

DESIGN

A preliminary study applied confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) to test the factor structure of an irrational beliefs inventory. Study 1 utilized a cross-sectional and correlational approach to testing core theoretical assumptions. Study 2 took a two-wave longitudinal and path analytical approach to examine temporal effects between target variables.

METHOD

All self-report data collection took place in the United Kingdom with university students. We recruited n = 1150, n = 362, n = 662 for preliminary, study 1, and study 2, respectively.

RESULTS

Across studies, data indicated that a pattern of adaptive cognitive appraisal was associated with more advantageous affectivity, and better academic self-concept.

CONCLUSIONS

Reciprocal temporal relationships were revealed between many variables, supporting an interactive and bidirectional view of how cognition and affect are related pertaining to examination anxiety.

Unification of the food and alcohol disturbance literature: A systematic review

Food and alcohol disturbance (FAD) reflects the functional relationship between disordered eating and alcohol use. There are two motivations underlying FAD - to enhance the effects of alcohol and/or to compensate for alcohol-related calories. Yet, most FAD studies have failed to adequately measure the motives underlying these behaviors, leading to inconsistent and imprecise findings. The aim of the current systematic review was to thematically consolidate FAD research findings by motive, identify limitations of the existing literature, and highlight next steps for FAD researchers. Eighty-one publications, presenting data from 38,536 participants, were included in the current review. Prevalence rates for the caloric compensation and alcohol enhancement motives range from 5.6% - 88.7% and 4.7% - 81.7%, respectively. Alcohol use and disordered eating were the primary correlates of FAD for both motives, and alcohol-related consequences were positively associated with both FAD motives cross-sectionally. Major limitations of the literature include inconsistent operationalization and imprecise measurement of FAD. Primary recommendations include adopting the terminology of and operationalization of FAD presented here, ensuring attention to FAD motive in developing and testing research questions, and moving beyond cross-sectional studies. Findings from this review can be used to contribute to more rigorous and unified FAD research.

Daily challenge-hindrance stress and work engagement in preschool teacher: the role of affect and mindfulness

BACKGROUND

The engagement of preschool teachers in their work is pivotal for maintaining teaching quality, ensuring teacher well-being, and fostering children's development. Despite its significance, there is limited knowledge regarding the daily fluctuations in work engagement and the underlying factors influencing it. This study, guided by the Job Demands-Resources model and Affect Event Theory, utilized an experience sampling methodology to investigate the impact of challenge and hindrance stressors on daily work engagement, as well as the mediating role of affect and the moderating effect of mindfulness.

METHODS

Utilizing an experience sampling method, this study collected data from 220 preschool teachers in Shanghai over five consecutive workdays, conducting surveys once daily. Data analysis was performed using multilevel linear models.

RESULTS

The results from multilevel regression indicated that: (1) daily challenge stressors were positively related to work engagement, (2) daily hindrance stressors were negatively related to work engagement, (3) daily positive affect mediated the relationship between challenge stressors and work engagement, (4) daily negative affect mediated the relationship between hindrance stressors and work engagement, and (5) daily mindfulness played a crucial moderating role by alleviating the adverse effects of hindrance stressors on daily negative affect.

CONCLUSIONS

This study provides valuable insights into the daily experiences of preschool teachers and the factors that influence their work engagement. Understanding the impact of stressors, affect, and mindfulness on work engagement can inform the development of interventions and strategies to improve teacher well-being and work engagement.

Effect of ecoliteracy on farmers' participation in pesticide packaging waste governance behavior in rural North China

Farmers' participation in pesticide packaging waste (PPW) governance is important for improving agricultural pollution and achieving sustainable agricultural development. By incorporating the theory of planned behavior, value-belief-norm theory, cognition and behavior theory etc., we construct a theoretical model comprising "ecoliteracy-farmers' WTP in PPW governance-participation in PPW governance behavior." This study investigates how ecoliteracy affects farmers' participation in PPW governance and explores the mediating effect of farmers' willingness to participate (WTP) in PPW governance. We use structural equation modeling to analyze data collected from a questionnaire survey including 1118 samples of Chinese farmers. The results show that (1) Ecoliteracy significantly affects farmers' WTP in PPW governance. Ecological cognition, emotion, values, and knowledge and skills positively affect WTP in PPW governance, while ecological cognition and ecological knowledge and skills significantly affect participation in PPW governance behavior. (2) Farmers' WTP in PPW governance mediates ecoliteracy and governance participation behavior. (3) Heterogeneity analysis reveals that different planting scales, different planting categories, and receiving/not receiving government project support have different effects on farmers' participation in governance behavior. Farmers in the large-scale group are more likely to participate in governance than those in the medium- and small-scale groups, and farmers in the mixed grain and economic category are more likely to participate in governance than those in the economic and grain categories. Furthermore, farmers who receive government support are more likely to participate in governance than those who do not. Our results can serve as a policy making reference for promoting PPW governance in various regions.

Health Care Team Interventions to Reduce Distress Behaviors in Older Adults: A Systematic Review

OBJECTIVES

This review examines health care team-focused interventions on managing persistent or recurrent distress behaviors among older adults in long-term residential or inpatient health care settings.

METHODS

We searched interventions addressing health care worker (HCW) knowledge and skills related to distress behavior management using Ovid MEDLINE, Elsevier Embase, and Ovid PsycINFO from December 2002 through December 2022.

RESULTS

We screened 6,582 articles; 29 randomized trials met inclusion criteria. Three studies on patient-facing HCW interactions (e.g. medication management, diagnosing distress) showed mixed results on agitation; one study found no effect on quality of life. Six HCW-focused studies suggested short-term reduction in distress behaviors. Quality-of-life improvement or decreased antipsychotic use was not evidenced. Among 17 interventions combining HCW-focused and patient-facing activities, 0 showed significant distress reduction, 8 showed significant antipsychotic reduction (OR = 0.79, 95%CI [0.69, 0.91]) and 9 showed quality of life improvements (SMD = 0.71, 95%CI [0.39, 1.04]). One study evaluating HCW, patient-, and environmental-focused intervention activities showed short-term improvement in agitation.

CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL IMPLICATIONS

Novel health care models combining HCW training and patient management improve patient quality of life, reduce antipsychotic use, and may reduce distress behaviors. Evaluation of intervention's effects on staff burnout and utilization is needed.

Scaling a common assessment of associative ability: Development and validation of a multiple-choice compound remote associates task

The assessment of creativity as an individual difference has historically focused on divergent thinking, which is increasingly viewed as involving the associative processes that are also understood to be a key component of creative potential. Research on associative processes has proliferated in many sub-fields, often using Compound Remote Associates (CRA) tasks with an open response format and relatively small participant samples. In the present work, we introduce a new format that is more amenable to large-scale data collection in survey designs, and present evidence for the reliability and validity of CRA measures in general using multiple large samples. Study 1 uses a large, representative dataset (N = 1,323,480) to demonstrate strong unidimensionality and internal consistency (α = .97; ωt = .87), as well as links to individual differences in temperament, cognitive ability, occupation, and job characteristics. Study 2 uses an undergraduate sample (N = 685) to validate the use of a multiple-choice format relative to the traditional approach. Study 3 uses a crowdsourced sample (N = 357) to demonstrate high test-retest reliability of the items (r =.74). Finally, Study 4 uses a sample that overlaps with Study 1 (N = 1,502,922) to provide item response theory (IRT) parameters for a large set of high-quality CRA items that use a multiple-choice response mode, thus facilitating their use in future research on creativity, insight, and related topics.

Why Are Young People Willing to Pay for Health? Chained Mediation Effect of Negative Emotions and Information Seeking on Health Risk Perception and Health Consumption Behavior

The perception of health risks can influence people's health behaviors. However, in the context of modern consumer society, few people delve into in-depth discussions on health consumption as a form of health protection behavior. Inspired by the Health Belief Model and Protection Motivation Theory, this study interprets health consumption behavior as a new form of health protection behavior. A survey was conducted on a sample of Chinese youth (N = 885) to explore the mechanisms of action between health risk perception and health consumption behavior using structural equation modeling. The study found that: (1) health risk perception has a significant positive impact on the health consumption behavior of young people; (2) negative emotions and information seeking play mediating roles respectively in the mechanism of the impact of health risk perception on health consumption behavior; and (3) in addition to their individual mediating roles, negative emotions and information seeking behavior collectively play a chained mediation role in this process. Implications of these results, both theoretical and practical, are further discussed.

Emotional food craving across the eating disorder spectrum: an ecological momentary assessment study

PURPOSE

Emotional eating during negative emotions might underlie disordered eating behavior (i.e., binge eating and food restriction). Positive emotions, by contrast, seem to promote healthier eating behavior. Naturalistic research on the links between emotions and eating across individuals with binge-eating disorder (BED), bulimia nervosa (BN), binge-purge anorexia nervosa (AN-BP), and restrictive anorexia nervosa (AN-R) is, however, lacking.

METHODS

Individuals without eating disorders (comparison group, CG, n = 85), and patients with BED (n = 41), BN (n = 50), AN-BP (n = 26), and AN-R (n = 29) participated in an ecological momentary assessment study. Six daily notifications over eight days prompted ratings of momentary food craving and emotional states differing in valence and arousal.

RESULTS

Results supported specific emotion-food-craving patterns in each group. Compared to the CG, arousing negative emotions and higher cravings co-occurred in patients with BN. In patients with AN-BP (at trend level also in patients with AN-R) less arousing negative emotions and lower cravings co-occurred. In patients with AN, positive emotions and higher cravings co-occurred whereas in patients with BED less arousing positive emotions and lower cravings co-occurred.

CONCLUSION

The found emotion-craving associations may underlie group-specific (dys-)functional eating behaviors, i.e., binge eating and food restriction during negative emotions in patients with BN and AN, and normalized appetitive responses during positive emotions in patients with BED and AN. Therapeutic efforts could target arousing negative emotions in patients with BN, and less arousing negative emotions in patients with AN. Positive emotions could be used in a salutogenetic approach in patients with BED and AN.

Bi-directional associations of core affect and physical activity in adults with higher body weight: An ecological momentary assessment study

Affect is known to be predictive of and enhanced by higher physical activity (PA) levels in the general population. This secondary analysis aimed to increase the understanding of the bi-directional relationship between PA and core affect (i.e. valence, energetic arousal, and calmness) among adults with higher body weight. Affect and PA were assessed in naturalistic settings via ecological momentary assessment using a mixed sampling scheme from 157 participants (body mass index: 32.99 ± 3.78 kg/m2). Multilevel models revealed that being more physically active in the 15 minutes prior to the assessment predicted an increase in energetic arousal and a decrease in calmness. Subsequently, feeling more energetic and agitated was associated with increased PA within the following 15 minutes. Valence (i.e. pleasure-displeasure) was not associated with PA nor predictive of subsequent PA. Digital PA interventions may target the enhancement of feelings of energy and present psychoeducation about these distinct psychological benefits.

The affective grounds of the mind. The Affective Pertinentization (APER) model

The paper presents the Affective Pertinentization model (APER), a theory of the affect and its role it plays in meaning-making. APER views the affect as the basic form of making sense of reality. It consists of a global, bipolar pattern of neurophysiological activity through which the organism maps the instant-by-instant variation of its environment. Such a pattern of neuropsychological activity is constituted by a plurality of bipolar affective dimensions, each of which maps a component of the environmental variability. The affect has a pluri-componential structure defining a multidimensional affective landscape that foregrounds (i.e., makes pertinent) a certain pattern of facets of the environment (e.g., its pleasantness/unpleasantness) relevant to survival, while backgrounding the others. Doing so, the affect grounds the following cognitive processes. Accordingly, meaning-making can be modeled as a function of the dimensionality of the affective landscape. The greater the dimensionality of the affective landscape, the more differentiated the system of meaning is. Following a brief review of current theories pertaining to the affect, the paper proceeds discussing the APER's core tenets - the multidimensional view of the affect, its semiotic function, and the concepts of Affective Landscape and Phase Space of Meaning. The paper then proceeds deepening the relationship between the APER model and other theories, highlighting how the APER succeeds in framing original conceptualizations of several challenging issues - the intertwinement between affect and sensory modalities, the manner in which the mind constitutes the content of the experience, the determinants of psychopathology, the intertwinement of mind and culture, and the spreading of affective forms of thinking and behaving in society. Finally, the unsolved issues and future developments of the model are briefly envisaged.

Well-being balance and lived experiences assessment: a valid, comprehensive measure of positive well-being

Introduction

Widely used measures of self-reported subjective well-being and flourishing generally do not directly measure positive experiences that have been demonstrated to improve subjective well-being and flourishing, which could aid in developing personalized interventions to improve individuals' well-being. The present study evaluated the validity of the Well-being Balance and Lived Experience (WBAL) Model and Assessment, a new model of well-being and corresponding assessment instrument that evaluates the self-reported frequency of positive experiences and positive feelings of well-being, balanced across activation and arousal levels.

Methods

A total of 496 evaluable subjects completed the WBAL Assessment, the PERMA+ Profiler (PERMA+) and the Well-Being Assessment Adult 24-item (WBA-24). A confirmatory factor model corresponding to the WBAL construct was created, and internal and external validity of the WBAL Assessment were interrogated.

Results

The confirmatory factor model showed good fit, indicating that each of the model factors are related but distinct and all items load significantly onto their factors. The WBAL Assessment demonstrated high internal consistency (Cronbach's α = 0.95) and internal validity across well-being factors and Feelings (r = 0.96) and Experiences (r = 0.94) domains. The WBAL Assessment demonstrated strong convergent validity in comparison to PERMA+ (r = 0.80) and WBA-24 (r = 0.75), indicating that the WBAL Assessment measures a similar overall concept of well-being and flourishing. Discriminant validity of WBAL factors was demonstrated for an average of 14.3 of 17 comparator domains. The main differences between instruments are WBAL's assessment of positive Experiences, the comparator instruments' inclusion of feelings with negative valence, and WBA-24's inclusion of financial stability.

Discussion

The WBAL Assessment is a reliable and valid instrument to comprehensively measure positive aspects of well-being that evaluates multiple modifiable contributors to individuals' well-being to guide design of personalized assessment and intervention programs to enhance positive well-being.

Social media emotions annotation guide (SMEmo): Development and initial validity

The proper measurement of emotion is vital to understanding the relationship between emotional expression in social media and other factors, such as online information sharing. This work develops a standardized annotation scheme for quantifying emotions in social media using recent emotion theory and research. Human annotators assessed both social media posts and their own reactions to the posts' content on scales of 0 to 100 for each of 20 (Study 1) and 23 (Study 2) emotions. For Study 1, we analyzed English-language posts from Twitter (N = 244) and YouTube (N = 50). Associations between emotion ratings and text-based measures (LIWC, VADER, EmoLex, NRC-EIL, Emotionality) demonstrated convergent and discriminant validity. In Study 2, we tested an expanded version of the scheme in-country, in-language, on Polish (N = 3648) and Lithuanian (N = 1934) multimedia Facebook posts. While the correlations were lower than with English, patterns of convergent and discriminant validity with EmoLex and NRC-EIL still held. Coder reliability was strong across samples, with intraclass correlations of .80 or higher for 10 different emotions in Study 1 and 16 different emotions in Study 2. This research improves the measurement of emotions in social media to include more dimensions, multimedia, and context compared to prior schemes.

On Personality Measures and Their Data: A Classification of Measurement Approaches and Their Recommended Uses

We employ a new approach for classifying methods of personality measurement such as self-judgment, mental ability, and lifespace measures and the data they produce. We divide these measures into two fundamental groups: personal-source data, which arise from the target person's own reports, and external-source data, which derive from the areas surrounding the person. These two broad classes are then further divided according to what they target and the response processes that produce them. We use the model to organize roughly a dozen kinds of data currently employed in the field. With this classification system in hand, we describe how much we might expect two types of measures of the same attribute to converge-and explain why methods often yield somewhat different results. Given that each measurement method has its own strengths and weaknesses, we examine the pros and cons of selecting a given type of measure to assess a specific area of personality.

Attachment and propensity for reporting compassionate opportunities and behavior in everyday life

Introduction

Researchers have identified links between anxious and avoidant attachments and difficulties with self-compassion, giving others compassion, and receiving compassion. However, while compassion requires both awareness of opportunities for compassion and compassionate action, little is known about attachment-related differences in reporting compassionate opportunities. Further, most research relies on retrospective-reports that may not accurately assess compassionate behaviors in everyday life.

Method

Consequently, we collected 2,757 experience sampling survey responses from 125 participants (95 women, 27 men, 3 non-binary, M age = 18.74, SD age = 1.66) to investigate whether attachment anxiety, avoidance, or their interaction were associated with differences in propensity for reporting compassionate opportunities, actions, and emotional responses to opportunities in everyday life across self-compassion, giving compassion, and receiving compassion.

Results

Anxiety was associated with greater likelihood of reporting all types of compassionate opportunities and less positive responses to opportunities to receive compassion. Avoidance was associated with less likelihood of reporting opportunities to give and receive compassion and less positive responses to opportunities to give compassion. Those high in anxiety but simultaneously low in avoidance reported fewer self-compassionate actions, but we identified no further differences in compassionate action.

Discussion

This study highlights the potential role of awareness of compassionate opportunities in attachment-related differences in compassion.

Understanding human amygdala function with artificial neural networks

The amygdala is a cluster of subcortical nuclei that receives diverse sensory inputs and projects to the cortex, midbrain and other subcortical structures. Numerous accounts of amygdalar contributions to social and emotional behavior have been offered, yet an overarching description of amygdala function remains elusive. Here we adopt a computationally explicit framework that aims to develop a model of amygdala function based on the types of sensory inputs it receives, rather than individual constructs such as threat, arousal, or valence. Characterizing human fMRI signal acquired as participants viewed a full-length film, we developed encoding models that predict both patterns of amygdala activity and self-reported valence evoked by naturalistic images. We use deep image synthesis to generate artificial stimuli that distinctly engage encoding models of amygdala subregions that systematically differ from one another in terms of their low-level visual properties. These findings characterize how the amygdala compresses high-dimensional sensory inputs into low-dimensional representations relevant for behavior.

Exploring the effect of environmental sensitivity on emotional fluctuations among adolescents during the COVID-19 pandemic: a three-wave longitudinal study

Introduction

The COVID-19 pandemic significantly impacted the emotional well-being of adolescents worldwide. Some studies suggested that individuals with high Environmental Sensitivity may have been more likely to experience poor psychological adjustment during the pandemic than those with lower sensitivity. However, there is still limited research on how emotional responses varied across different stages of the pandemic and whether Environmental Sensitivity increased adolescents' vulnerability to the psychological impact of prolonged pandemic restrictions.

Methods

To address this gap, this study used a three-year longitudinal design (2020-2022) with a sample of 453 adolescents. They completed an online survey measuring their positive and negative emotions throughout the pandemic period, with Environmental Sensitivity considered a time-invariant covariate.

Results

The results revealed that all participants, regardless of their level of Environmental Sensitivity, experienced a decrease in positive emotionality between the first and second years. However, this trend reversed, showing an increase between the second and third years. Regarding negative emotions, highly sensitive adolescents experienced a significant linear increase over time. In contrast, low-and medium-sensitive adolescents exhibited a quadratic trend, with a notable increase in negative emotions between the first and second years, followed by a slight decrease between the second and third years.

Discussion

These findings provide further evidence of the negative impact of the pandemic on adolescents' emotional well-being. They also support the notion that Environmental Sensitivity is associated with individuals' ability to respond and adjust to adverse life events, with significant implications for future research and practice.

A shared structure for emotion experiences from narratives, videos, and everyday life

Our knowledge of the diversity and psychological organization of emotion experiences is based primarily on studies that used a single type of stimulus with an often limited set of rating scales and analyses. Here we take a comprehensive data-driven approach. We surveyed 1,000+ participants on a diverse set of ratings of emotion experiences to a validated set of ca. 150 text narratives, a validated set of ca. 1,000 videos, and over 10,000 personal experiences sampled longitudinally in everyday life, permitting a unique comparison. All three types of emotion experiences were characterized by similar dimensional spaces that included valence and arousal, as well as dimensions related to generalizability. Emotion experiences were distributed along continuous gradients, with no clear clusters even for the so-called basic emotions. Individual differences in personality traits were associated with differences in everyday emotion experiences but not with emotions evoked by narratives or videos.

The experience of stuttering in everyday life among adults who stutter: The impact of trait social anxiety and the social situations

PURPOSE

The purpose of this study was to investigate the emotional and stuttering experience of adults who stutter (AWS) in everyday life, and how that experience may be shaped by personal (i.e., trait social anxiety) and situational factors (i.e., social partner reaction, communication channel type, social closeness, stuttering knowledge).

METHOD

AWS completed ecological momentary assessments on their smartphones multiple times a day for up to three weeks. Data (n = 62) were analyzed with multilevel models to determine how situational factors and trait social anxiety influence the Negative Affect (NA), Positive Affect (PA), and self-reported stuttering severity of AWS.

RESULTS

Results indicated that having high (vs. low) trait social anxiety was associated with a tendency to experience high NA, low PA, and high self-reported stuttering severity among AWS. A range of situational factors significantly influenced the within-person variation of NA, PA, and self-reported stuttering severity in everyday life. In addition, interacting with distant social partners relative to being alone heightened NA, and the effect was more prominent among AWS with high (vs. low) trait social anxiety.

CONCLUSIONS

Overall, the findings suggest that the variation of affects and stuttering severity among AWS can be partly accounted for by factors from both the situational and personal levels. Clinicians should be aware of the low PA experienced by AWS who have high (vs low) trait social anxiety in everyday life.

Affect under need satisfaction and need thwarting: A new classification for the prediction of creative performance

Affect plays a pivotal role in fostering creative performance, and there is increasing recognition that different levels and types of affect may exert distinct impacts on creative performance. Drawing upon self-determination theory, this study aims to explore a novel classification of affect-affect under need satisfaction and need thwarting-and examine its relationship with creative performance. Study 1 involved 75 participants to investigate the content of affect under need satisfaction and need thwarting. Study 2 explores the relationship between affect and creative performance using a sample of 115 employees from Beijing. The findings unveiled nine types of affect under need satisfaction (e.g., moderate levels of excited) and eleven types of affect under need thwarting (e.g., low levels of afraid). Positive associations were observed between affect under need satisfaction and creativity, while negative associations were found between affect under need thwarting and creativity. Empirical evidence corroborating the significant role of the new classification of affect in enhancing employee creativity within the context of Chinese academia and researchers is presented.

Enjoyment and Affective Responses to Moderate and High-Intensity Exercise: A Randomized Controlled Trial in Individuals with Subsyndromal PTSD

This crossover randomized controlled trial examined the acute psychological effects of a bout of moderate-intensity continuous aerobic exercise (MICE) and a bout of high-intensity functional exercise (HIFE), relative to a no-exercise sedentary control (SED), in participants (N = 21; 15 f; 24.7 ± 9.3 years) with subsyndromal post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Affective state (Energy, Tiredness, Tension, Calmness) was assessed before (Pre), immediately after (Post 0), 20-min after (Post 20), and 40-min after (Post 40) each condition. Affective valence was assessed during each condition, and exercise enjoyment was assessed at Post 0. Enjoyment was significantly greater following HIFE and MICE relative to SED. Energy was significantly increased Post 0 HIFE and MICE but decreased Post 0 SED. Tension was reduced following all conditions and was significantly lower at Post 40 relative to Pre for HIFE, MICE, and SED. Tiredness was significantly reduced at Post 40 relative to Pre following MICE only, while Calmness was significantly lower at Post 40 relative to Pre following MICE and SED. Overall, both exercise conditions were enjoyed to a greater extent than the control, but MICE may provide greater psychological benefits with respect to Calmness and Tiredness. This study is among the first to assess acute changes in affective states relative to various exercise modes in individuals living with subsyndromal PTSD.

Susceptibility to positive versus negative emotional contagion: First evidence on their distinction using a balanced self-report measure

Susceptibility to emotional contagion is defined as the disposition of how susceptible someone is to catch others' emotions and it has long been studied in research on mental health, well-being, and social interaction. Given that existing self-report measures of susceptibility to emotional contagion have focused almost exclusively on negative emotions, we developed a self-report measure to assess the susceptibility to emotional contagion of both positive and negative emotions (2 scales). In two studies, we examined their factor structure, validity, and reliability using exploratory factor analysis (Study 1, N = 257), confirmatory factor analysis (Study 2, N = 247) and correlations. Our results confirmed the two-factor structure and demonstrated good internal consistencies. Regarding external validity, our scales showed diverging correlational patterns: While susceptibility to negative emotional contagion was linked to mental health problems and negative emotions, susceptibility to positive emotional contagion was linked to interpersonal functioning and prosocial tendencies. In conclusion, our scales appear to be internally/externally valid and a promising tool for future research.

Emotional wellbeing in teachers

Wellbeing is determined by happiness and both positive and negative affects. These constructs are, in turn, related to emotional intelligence and play an important role in individual behaviour. This study examined the relationship between happiness, emotional intelligence, and positive and negative affects in a sample of 344 (121 men 35.17 % and 223 women 64.83 %) trainee teachers, with an average age of 22.36 years. Happiness and affects yielded lower values, which may be related to the age of the participants. All variables under study were found to be correlated, which suggests that they are measuring the same construct: subjective wellbeing. Network analysis indicated that the self-regulation of emotions was the axial factor in the relationship. Finally, it was found that only the factor of emotional intelligence that measures the self-regulation of emotion and affects (both positive and negative) can be used to predict happiness. The present investigation reveals that more research is needed that takes more variables into consideration to describe the effect of these variables on personal wellbeing. The study offers empirical support to models that argue for a relationship between happiness, emotional intelligence, and affects, and emphasises the need to work on future teachers during their training to address their psychological wellbeing.

Attachment insecurities, emotion dynamics and stress in intimate relationships during the transition to parenthood

BACKGROUND

In intimate relationships, which are characterized by emotional interdependence, partners act as attachment figures which serve emotion regulation functions. The experience of emotions as well as the strategies that partners use to regulate them and to respond to relational experiences, especially during stressful periods, differ greatly according to their attachment orientation. An important aspect in emotion dynamics is emotional inertia, which reflects the degree to which a person's current affective state is resistant to change on a moment-to-moment basis. Inertia has been related to maladaptive emotion regulation strategies, like suppression and rumination, preferentially used by highly anxious and avoidant individuals. The aim of this study is to examine associations between attachment orientations and reports on the experience of positive and negative affect, and their dynamics in daily life across the transition to parenthood.

METHODS

Longitudinal data from a sample of 152 mixed-gender couples collected across the transition to parenthood was analyzed. We predicted that individuals with a more insecure attachment would report more negative and less positive affect, and that their emotional experience would be more resistant to change over time. We explored effects when participants reported feeling stressed.

RESULTS

The data suggested that attachment anxiety was associated with less positive and more negative affect and that attachment avoidance was associated with more positive affect. Anxious individuals showed lower emotional inertia and not higher as we expected. Reported stress for anxious and avoidant individuals was significantly associated with more negative but not less positive affect.

CONCLUSIONS

Results are discussed in the light of their impact on couples during stressful periods. Differences between anxiety and avoidance are found, emphasizing the importance of attachment insecurities on the experience of emotion. Furthermore, our findings on momentary fluctuating affect offer complementary insight into the emotional functioning of individuals with different attachment orientations.