Media Exposure to Armed Conflict: Dispositional Optimism and Self-Mastery Moderate Distress and Post-Traumatic Symptoms among Adolescents

Perceived life threat in children during the COVID-19 pandemic: associations with posttraumatic stress, anxiety, and depressive symptoms

Defining children's "trauma exposure" in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic has been a source of debate. Children were exposed to threatening messaging about COVID-19 but might interpret this information differently than adults. Perceived life threat (PLT), the belief that one's life is in danger, has been identified as a robust predictor of posttraumatic stress symptoms (PTSS), and may be a better predictor of PTSS than actual life threat (ALT). This study investigated parent reports of children's self-PLT (belief that they might die from COVID-19) and family-PLT (belief that a family member might die from COVID-19). The aims were to compare PLT to ALT, evaluate their associations with children's psychological functioning, and identify risk factors associated with PLT. We hypothesized an association between PLT and children's psychological functioning in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. Parents (N = 140) reported on their child's (M age = 9.81 years, 47% female) pandemic experiences, psychological functioning, and both self-PLT and family-PLT. Results revealed self-PLT for 10% of the children and family-PLT for 43% of the children, yet only 6% experienced ALT (i.e., they or their parent tested positive for COVID-19). Children with reported self- or family-PLT had higher PTSS, depressive symptoms, anxiety symptoms, and functional impairment compared to children without these reported beliefs. PLT, but not ALT, was associated with psychological outcomes. Children with only PLT had greater PTSS and impairment than children with ALT. There were differences in parental functioning and pandemic-related information/media exposure between children with and without PLT. Children's perceptions, rather than objective experiences, may be more central to their psychological functioning. This has implications for screening for pandemic-related symptomatology in children as traditional trauma exposure measures may not adequately identify distressed children.

Professional Quality of Life Among Professionals Working with People with Eating Disorders: The Interplay Between Meaning in Work, Optimism, and Career Duration

Purpose

Scientific literature findings reflect the challenges experienced by healthcare professionals (HCPs) whose work is dedicated to helping clients with eating disorders (EDs) in various treatment centers (wards). These challenges can affect the professional quality of life (comprised of compassion satisfaction, burnout, and secondary traumatic stress) of HCPs. The present study delved into this relationship and explored the moderating role of dispositional optimism and the role of career duration in ED wards in the link between meaning in work and professional quality of life.

Methods

Two hundred HCPs working in ED wards in Israel were recruited through their professional social networks. Participants completed self-report questionnaires related to socio-demographic and work data, professional quality of life, meaning in work, and dispositional optimism.

Results

Career duration in ED wards was negatively associated with secondary traumatic stress, while dispositional optimism and meaning in work were positively associated with compassion satisfaction and negatively associated with burnout and secondary traumatic stress. With respect to the moderation effect of dispositional optimism and EDs ward career duration, the findings revealed that the positive relationship between meaning in work and compassion satisfaction weakened as dispositional optimism scores increased. Additionally, the negative relationship between meaning in life and burnout was significant only when the career duration in EDs wards was less than 12.31 years.

Conclusion

HCPs working in ED wards could draw on the findings to improve their professional quality of life, especially through enhancing meaning in work. Attention should be paid especially toward HCPs with many years (>12.31) of experience in the ED wards.

Psycho-Social Correlates of Cyberbullying among Polish Adolescents

Cyberbullying has recently attracted attention due to its increasing prevalence and serious consequences for both victims and perpetrators. The objective of this population-based study was to examine the determinants of a person becoming a perpetrator of cyberbullying, including personal resources (emotional self-regulation, self-esteem, internal locus of control, optimism), social skills (prosocial behavior, assertiveness, cognitive empathy, cooperation), peer relationships (peer support, threats from peers, peer rejection, dislike of peers), and problematic Internet use (excessive Internet use, impulsive reactions to Internet deprivation). Participants (N = 541) were students at elementary schools (age 14-15) in Ostroleka, a city in central-eastern Poland. Two-part regression was used to explore protective/risk factors of the likelihood of an individual using cyberviolence (dichotomous part: involvement in violence) and how often it is used (continuous part: frequency of cyberbullying). The results showed that the emotional component is crucial to cyberbullying, as indicated by the importance of emotional self-control, which reduces the frequency of cyberbullying. Other important factors are assertiveness, impulsive response to limited Internet access (which increases the likelihood of engaging in cyberbullying) and fear of peers (which reduces its frequency). In turn, the importance of pro-sociality (which inhibits engagement) and peer support (which promotes engagement) points to the second important component of cyberbullying-that is, group mechanisms. At the same time, the results indicate that while the importance of Internet addiction as a risk factor for cyberbullying should not be underestimated, the amount of time spent online cannot be seen as the source of the problem. The study leads to the conclusion that effective interventions targeting cyberbullying should focus on the development of more adaptive styles of coping with emotions.