The relationship between emotion awareness and somatic complaints in children and adolescents: Investigating the mediating role of anxiety and depression

The objective of this study was to examine if emotion awareness in children and adolescents (age 7–18 years old) is directly related to somatic complaints, and if this relationship holds when considering symptoms of anxiety and depression as mediating factors. A number of questionnaires measuring emotion awareness, symptoms of anxiety and depression and somatic complaints were administered to Dutch schoolchildren (N?=?617). A path model was constructed, with the use of structural equation modelling. The results showed that two aspects of emotion awareness (bodily awareness and differentiating between emotions) contributed to the prediction of somatic complaints. However, this was no longer the case when controlling for symptoms of anxiety and depression. Thus, in this study, no direct relation was found between emotion awareness and somatic complaints. Instead, the relation was perfectly mediated by symptoms of anxiety and depression. The results suggest that focusing only on the relation between emotion awareness and somatic complaints is an oversimplified perspective that falls short as a starting point to find therapeutic solutions for children who suffer from somatic complaints.     

Emotions and self‐esteem as indicators of somatic complaints in children

The literature on somatic complaints in children without a clear physical medical cause often demonstrates connections with various psychological factors, such as negative emotions and problems handling them, poor self‐image, and coping potential. We entered these elements into a structural model to elucidate the relationships among them and tested it on 330 children (mean age 10 years and 9 months). The results showed that mood balance contributed most to the prediction of self‐reported somatic complaints. Moreover, mood (in combination with anxiety and depression problems) had an indirect impact on children's somatic complaints by influencing self‐esteem. The influence and position of coping was less clear. The results are discussed in terms of the ‘symptom perception theory’. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Swedish pupils' suggested coping strategies if cyberbullied: Differences related to age and gender

The aim of this study was to investigate the coping strategies that Swedish 10 and 12 year‐olds (N = 694) suggested they would use if they were cyberbullied, with a special focus on whether there are differences in these strategies related to age and gender. The most commonly suggested coping strategy was telling someone, especially parents and teachers (70.5%). Surprisingly few of the pupils reported that they would tell a friend (2.6%). Differences in suggested coping strategies were found related to age and gender. Findings are discussed in relation to the Swedish sociocultural context as well as in relation to the implications for prevention strategies against cyberbullying.     

Job stress and coping strategies in patients with subjective food hypersensitivity

Lind, R., Lillestøl. K., Valeur, J., Eriksen, H. R., Tangen, T., Berstad, A. & Arslan Lied, G. (2009). Job stress and coping strategies in patients with subjective food hypersensitivity. Scandinavian Journal of Psychology, 51, 179–184. Psychological distress may be causally related to multiple, unexplained somatic symptoms. We have investigated job stress, coping strategies and subjective health complaints in patients with subjective food hypersensitivity. Sixty‐four patients were compared with 65 controls. All participants filled in questionnaires focusing on job stress, job demands and control, work environment, coping strategies and subjective health complaints. Compared with controls, patients scored significantly lower on job stress and job demands, and significantly higher on authority over job decisions. Coping strategies and satisfaction with work environment did not differ significantly between the two groups, but the patients reported significantly more subjective health complaints than the controls. Scores on job stress and job demands were generally low in patients with subjective food hypersensitivity. It is unlikely, therefore, that the patients’ high scores on subjective health complaints are causally related to the work situation.     

The effects of a positive health priming intervention on somatic complaints

Somatic complaints are common and form a major burden. Previous studies suggested that such complaints might be increased by ‘illness-related memory’, for example due to worries about health. In this ambulatory study we tested whether we could decrease somatic complaints through enhancing the activation of health-related memory by a ‘positive health’-priming intervention. Forty-three students were randomly assigned to the ‘positive health’-group or a control group. Using online measures, participants reported negative affect (NA) and somatic complaints for a period of six days, while each morning performing the priming task. The intervention caused a decrease in somatic complaints but only for participants with low trait NA or low somatosensory amplification. These findings seem to suggest that priming or other interventions directed at activating positive health memory might reduce health complaints, but only in certain subgroups.     

Attachment and behavioral addictions in adolescents: The mediating and moderating role of coping strategies

Gambling, video gaming, and Internet use are typically included as everyday activities that could potentially become behavioral addictions. There is growing evidence that views non‐substance related addictions as coping mechanisms, and considers that attachment styles are likely to play a pivotal role on the development of such addictions, especially on young people. Therefore, the present study aimed to: (1) explore the association between attachment, coping, and behavioral addictions (i.e., gambling disorder, video game addiction, and problematic Internet use); and (2) to analyze the mediating/moderating effect that coping has in the relationship of attachment and these behavioral addictions. A sample consisting of 472 students from secondary education (Mean age = 15.6; SD = 1.33; 51.6% females) was recruited. The findings showed a negative association between attachment and behavioral addictions. Most coping strategies were found to be associated with attachment styles, except for self‐critique and emotional avoidance. In particular, problem avoidance was significantly correlated to all behavioral addictions. In addition, self‐blame and problem solving were significantly correlated to video game addiction and problematic Internet use. Finally, coping was found to act as a mediator and moderator between attachment and video game addiction and problematic Internet use.     

The role of action and coping planning in the relationship between intention and physical activity: A moderated mediation analysis

Objective: Using a moderated mediation model, the present study investigated whether the mediation of intention into physical activity (PA) behaviour via action planning depends on the level of coping planning.

Method: A four-month prospective study was conducted among 157 French adults, who were recruited through a web-based survey. They were administrated measures of behavioural intention and sociodemographic variables at baseline and action and coping planning and PA four months later.

Results: Action planning partially mediated the contribution of intention on PA level. However, this indirect effect was conditional on the level of coping planning, insofar as action planning acted as a mediator of the intention–PA relationship only for individuals with high level of coping planning.

Conclusion: The results highlight the complexity of the relationship between intention and behaviour and provide evidence for the distinct role of both forms of planning.     

Gender Stereotypes of Emotional Reactions: How We Judge an Emotion as Valid

In this paper we report a partial replication of the finding that women face a double-bind with respect to emotional expression (Kelly & Hutson-Comeaux, 2000) and explore the hypothesis that gender-inconsistent emotional reactions are perceived to be more valid indicators of one's underlying emotional experience than gender-consistent emotional reactions. Men and women evaluated the appropriateness and sincerity of women's and men's overreactions to happy and angry events in both interpersonal and achievement contexts. Women's overreactions to happy events were judged as less appropriate and their emotional reactions were perceived as less sincere than were men's, particularly in an interpersonal context. In addition, men's overreactions to angry events in the interpersonal context were judged as less appropriate and less sincere than were women's. Implications of the findings for other types of social judgments are discussed.     

Bullying bystander behaviors: The role of coping effectiveness and the moderating effect of gender

Researchers have suggested that bystander behaviors and victim coping play an important role in counteracting the negative effects of bullying. The current study investigated the relationship between students’ ratings of coping effectiveness when addressing bullying and their behaviors as bystanders when witnessing bullying. Surveys were administered in a Midwestern, suburban school district. Some associations between perceptions of coping effectiveness and bystander behavior supported our hypotheses (e.g., constructive coping associated with defending bystander behaviors, externalizing associated with pro-bullying behaviors). However, some findings did not support hypothesized relationships. For example, higher ratings of effectiveness for cognitive distancing as a coping strategy were associated with increased defending behaviors as a bystander. Gender moderated some of these relationships. Pro-bullying bystander behavior was associated with increased ratings of cognitive distancing and decreased reports of constructive coping effectiveness for girls. Implications for future research and practice are discussed.     

互动公平对员工幸福感的影响:心理授权的中介作用与权力距离的调节作用

近些年,由于积极心理学的兴起,员工幸福感的研究得到了广泛的关注。本论文从互动公平这一特定的组织公平概念出发,以公平理论为主体,并结合自我决定理论,从心理授权的视角既分析了互动公平影响员工幸福感的内在机制,又探讨了权力距离对整个影响机制的调节作用。通过对国内一家制造业企业的199名员工多时点匹配问卷的调查,结果表明:互动公平与员工幸福感之间呈现正相关关系;心理授权中介了互动公平对员工幸福感的影响作用;权力距离不仅负向调节了互动公平与心理授权之间的关系,而且还负向调节了互动公平—心理授权—员工幸福感这一中介机制。本研究的发现有利于充分了解互动公平影响员工幸福感的内在机制和边界条件,同时能为管理实践提供更好的指导,有效地提高员工幸福感。     

The relationship between emotion awareness and somatic complaints in children and adolescents: Investigating the mediating role of anxiety and depression

The objective of this study was to examine if emotion awareness in children and adolescents (age 7-18 years old) is directly related to somatic complaints, and if this relationship holds when considering symptoms of anxiety and depression as mediating factors. A number of questionnaires measuring emotion awareness, symptoms of anxiety and depression and somatic complaints were administered to Dutch schoolchildren (N?=?617). A path model was constructed, with the use of structural equation modelling. The results showed that two aspects of emotion awareness (bodily awareness and differentiating between emotions) contributed to the prediction of somatic complaints. However, this was no longer the case when controlling for symptoms of anxiety and depression. Thus, in this study, no direct relation was found between emotion awareness and somatic complaints. Instead, the relation was perfectly mediated by symptoms of anxiety and depression. The results suggest that focusing only on the relation between emotion awareness and somatic complaints is an oversimplified perspective that falls short as a starting point to find therapeutic solutions for children who suffer from somatic complaints.     

Cyberbullying victimization and somatic complaints: A prospective examination of cognitive emotion regulation strategies as mediators

Background/Objective: The main purpose of this study was to examine the relationships among cybervictimization, maladaptive cognitive emotion regulation strategies and somatic complaints in a 4-month follow-up study. Method: A total of 1,024 high school students (456 male and 568 female, M (SD) = 13.69 years (1.3 years), range 12–18 years, voluntarily participated in this study. Measures of cybervictimization and cognitive strategies were obtained at Time 1. Four months later (Time 2), measures of somatic complaints were obtained. Results: Multiple mediation analyses were conducted to determine the mediating roles of maladaptive strategies in the link between cybervictimization and somatic complaints. As expected, path-analytic results showed that cybervictimization predicted somatic symptoms. Furthermore, some maladaptive regulation strategies, namely self-blame and rumination, partially mediated the link between cybervictimization and somatic symptoms evaluated 4-months later. Conclusions: The findings are discussed in terms of the role that maladaptive cognitive emotion regulation strategies might play with regards to physical health in cyberbullying episodes. In general, these findings have important implications for developing an understanding about the affective determinants of somatic health problem initiation and maintenance after a victimization and for developing intervention programs specifically for cybervictimized adolescents.     

Gender and coping: The dual-axis model of coping

Examined a dual-axis model of coping that included both action (active vs. passive) and social dimensions (prosocial vs. antisocial) of coping strategies among a combined sample of students and community residents. We developed an assessment device to represent the model and allow investigation. Mixed support for the model and instrument were noted. Women were more prosocial than men in their coping, but no less active. Men were more likely to use antisocial and aggressive, but less assertive coping strategies than women. More prosocial, action coping strategies were also more likely to be related to greater sense of mastery and more liberal gender-role orientation. Antisocial and passive strategies tended to be related to lower mastery and more traditional gender-role orientation. Active coping was related to lower emotional distress for men and women, but both prosocial and antisocial coping were related to greater emotional distress for men, suggesting that men may have a narrower band of beneficial coping strategies than do women. This research was made possible, in part, by a grant from the National Institute of Health (R01-HD24901-01) and by support of the Kent State Applied Psychology Center, which was established through the support of the Ohio Board of Regents.     

矛盾态度的成因与应对

矛盾态度是指个体或群体对某一态度客体同时存在的积极与消极的认知评价和情绪体验。近年来, 学者们从认知、社会、个体差异等角度探讨了矛盾态度的成因, 并指出个体主要使用情绪中心策略、信息加工策略和补偿性策略以应对矛盾态度带来的不适。未来研究需要继续整合矛盾态度的测量方式, 考察矛盾态度在不同文化和不同个体发展阶段的差异, 并进一步深入探索影响矛盾态度与个体行为后果的变量。     

Validation of the Portuguese emotion awareness questionnaire for children and adolescents

This study examined the construct and concurrent validity of the Portuguese version of the Emotion Awareness Questionnaire (EAQ) in 302 children and adolescents (mean age 13 years old). The EAQ is a self-report questionnaire that allows for analysis of how youth experience and understand their own and others’ emotions. Participants completed the EAQ along with questionnaires for Worry and Somatic Complaints. Results confirmed the expected six-factor structure, good psychometric properties, and good concurrent validity. The EAQ is a reliable questionnaire, suitable for examining emotion awareness in Portugal.     

Assessing gender differences in the relationship between religious coping responses and alcohol consumption

The purpose of this study is to see if the use of religious coping responses is associated with alcohol intake. In addition, tests are conducted to see if the relationship between religion and alcohol use varies by gender. Data from a recent nationwide survey (N?=?2173) indicate that greater use of religious coping responses is associated with less alcohol consumption. The findings further reveal that even though women use religious coping responses more often than men, the relationship between the use of religious coping responses and alcohol consumption is stronger for men than for women. This suggests that, with respect to alcohol consumption, men may benefit more from using religious coping responses than women. The theoretical implications of these results are discussed.     

Coping Strategies and Psychological Outcomes: The Moderating Effects of Personal Resiliency

Certain coping strategies alleviate stress and promote positive psychological outcomes, whereas others exacerbate stress and promote negative psychological outcomes. However, the efficacy of any given coping strategy may also depend on personal resiliency. This study examined whether personal resiliency moderated the effects of task-oriented, avoidance-oriented, and emotion-oriented coping strategies on measures of depression, anxiety, stress, positive affect, negative affect, and satisfaction with life. Results (N = 424 undergraduates) showed higher personal resiliency was associated with greater use of task-oriented coping strategies, which were in turn associated with more adaptive outcomes, and less reliance on nonconstructive emotion-oriented strategies, which in turn were associated with poorer psychological outcomes. In addition, individual differences in personal resiliency moderated the effects of task-oriented coping on negative affect and of emotion-oriented coping on negative affect and depression. Specifically, proactive task-oriented coping was associated with greater negative affect for people lower in personal resiliency. Moreover, high personal resiliency attenuated the negative effects of emotion-oriented coping on depression and negative affect. The effects of avoidance-oriented coping were mixed and were not associated with or dependent on levels of personal resiliency.     

The mediating role of anxiety in self-reported somatic complaints of depressed adolescents

This study examined the mediating role of anxiety in the self-reports of somatic complaints in 96 depressed adolescent inpatients. Sixty-four subjects with major depressive episodes and comorbid anxiety disorders (MDE-A) determined from the Diagnostic Interview for Children and Adolescents-Revised (DICA-R) reported significantly more somatic complaints than 32 adolescents having major depressive episodes without comorbid anxiety (MDE). An analysis of covariance demonstrated that, with anxiety symptoms controlled, MDE and MDE-A groups did not differ significantly in somatic complaints. A hierarchical multiple-regression analysis revealed that, with demographic and anxiety symptoms controlled, depressive symptoms did not contribute to the explanation or prediction of somatic complaints. The results suggest that anxious, but not depressive symptoms, are independently associated with somatic complaints. The results are discussed in light of new affective models of psychopathology.     

The relationship between self-control and health: The mediating effect of avoidant coping

Trait self-control is related to a number of positive outcomes, including mental health, interpersonal success, academic success and health-related behaviours. This study sought to explore the relationships between self-control, reports of mental and physical health symptoms and coping styles. The results revealed that higher self-control was related to fewer mental and physical health symptoms and less avoidance coping. There was not a significant relationship between self-control and problem-focused or emotion-focused coping styles. Further, the relationships between self-control and mental and physical health outcomes were partially mediated by avoidance coping style. Specifically, the data suggest lower self-control is associated with unhealthy coping strategies (avoidance coping), which in turn are associated with worse mental health outcomes and greater reports of physical health symptoms. Thus lower trait self-control can serve as an indicator, suggesting circumstances in which individuals’ tendencies to engage in unhealthy coping strategies are increased. These findings add to a growing body of literature underscoring the importance of trait self-control.