Health Psychology Report最新文献

Background: College students frequently encounter academic and non-academic stressors, making them highly vulnerable to mental health problems. Among various protective factors, mindfulness and self-compassion are recognized for their roles in enhancing emotional well-being. Meanwhile, the family environment plays a significant role in shaping these intrapersonal capacities. This study investigated both the direct and indirect effects in the relationship between perceived family functioning, mindfulness, and self-compassion among Indonesian college students.

Participants and procedure: A total of 278 students (17-29 years old) from 15 Indonesian universities completed online self-report questionnaires. Standardized instruments were used to measure family functioning (FAM-III), mindfulness (MAAS), and self-compassion (SCS). Mediation analysis was conducted using Jamovi with 5,000 bootstrap samples.

Results: The results revealed that higher family dysfunction was significantly associated with lower mindfulness (β = -.47, p < .001) and self-compassion (β = -.25, p < .001), while mindfulness positively correlated with self-compassion (β = .38, p < .001). Mediation analysis confirmed that mindfulness partially mediated the negative relationship between family dysfunction and self-compassion (indirect effect: β = -.18, p < .001), accounting for 42.1% of the total effect (total effect: β = -.43, p < .001).

Conclusions: The findings highlight the influence of familial relational quality on students' psychological resources and underscore mindfulness as a psychological mechanism linking family functioning to self-compassion. This study suggests that mindfulness-based interventions could enhance self-compassion, especially for students from dysfunctional families.

Background: Sex addiction is a behavioural addiction that has received increasing scientific attention in recent years. Indeed, problematic sexual behaviours represent a growing clinical concern, often associated with significant emotional distress and interpersonal difficulties. In light of this, the present study aimed to investigate its psychological antecedents by exploring the role of alexithymia and dissociation, and by examining the effect of gender as a covariate.

Participants and procedure: A sample of 326 participants completed validated self-report measures assessing alexithymia, dissociative experiences, and problematic sexual behaviour. Data analysis included ANOVAs, regression models, and a path analysis.

Results: The results showed that two subdimensions of alexithymia (difficulty in identifying feelings and difficulty in describing feelings) were significantly associated with higher levels of sex addiction. Moreover, the dissociation subdimension of absorption significantly mediated both relationships, while dissociative amnesia and depersonalization/derealization did not show significant mediation effects. Gender also played a role, with male participants reporting higher levels of problematic sexual behaviour.

Conclusions: These findings offer novel insight into the emotional and dissociative processes underlying sex addiction. The results emphasize the central role of absorption (a form of dissociation involving deep immersion in internal experience) as a potential emotional avoidance strategy that may sustain compulsive sexual behaviours. Understanding these mechanisms can guide future research and inform the development of targeted clinical interventions. Additionally, the relevance of gender differences suggests the importance of considering sex-specific pathways in assessment and treatment planning.

Background: This study analysed changes in the experience of negative emotions and feelings of loneliness in older adults in elderly care facilities. Although the physiological needs of older adults are optimally met in these facilities, their psychosocial needs remain unmet. The study's main objective was to evaluate the short-term effectiveness of an original educational Activation-Socialisation Intervention Programme on positive and negative emotional states as well as feelings of loneliness.

Participants and procedure: The programme included 40 activities divided into three concepts. The research sample consisted of 41 older adults from a specific facility in Slovakia (33 in the experimental group and 8 in the control group). The experimental group participated in the intervention for four weeks, while the control group did not participate in any activities. Data were collected at two time points: at baseline and immediately after the intervention. It included the Scale of Emotional Habitual Subjective Well-being (SEHP) supplemented with the loneliness variable. The Reflection Questionnaire was administered at the end of the intervention.

Results: The results indicated a statistically significant effect of the programme on rates of experiencing negative emotional states, positive emotional states, and feelings of loneliness in the experimental group. The results of the control group support the effectiveness of the intervention.

Conclusions: The intervention programme proved effective in influencing negative and positive emotions and loneliness in the short term. Participants evaluated the programme positively and noted improvements at the social-psychological, educational and cultural levels.

Background: Mindfulness-based interventions (MBIs) are a widely validated approach for the treatment and prevention of various pathologies, leading to increased physical and psychological health. Online MBIs have become more common in the past years, namely after the COVID-19 pandemic, but not much is known about their effectiveness. This study's goal was to compare the efficacy of a face-to-face MBI with its online equivalent.

Participants and procedure: A total of 114 university students of multiple nationalities participated in the investigation. This is a quasi-experimental study, with pre-, post-, and 3-month follow-up comparative measurements in two types of group formats: in-person groups and synchronous online groups.

Results: The results showed benefits for participants in both the face-to-face and online interventions. Anxiety was significantly reduced at post-test, while stress, depression, and emotion regulation difficulties were significantly reduced at post-test and at follow-up. Furthermore, well-being and optimism were significantly increased at post-test and at follow-up. Between-group comparisons indicated higher efficacy for these variables in the online group.

Conclusions: The fact that differential outcomes were observable for mindfulness and one of the expected mechanisms, in goal-directed thinking, while no significant differences were present for any outcome, shines a light on possible hidden mechanisms that differentiate how online interventions function when compared to their face-to-face counterparts. Despite these differences, the findings support the viability of online mindfulness interventions as an alternative to in-person formats. The present study adds to current knowledge about mindfulness interventions by supporting the feasibility of online mindfulness interventions.

Background: Studies have highlighted the negative impact of parental drinking on offspring, but the perception of drinking parents about their parenting role remains poorly explored. This study assessed the parental sense of competence among individuals with alcohol consumption and examined the relationship with parental guilt, burnout, and psychopathological symptoms.

Participants and procedure: The sample was composed of 759 individuals who had at least one child aged below 18 living at home. Participants answered questionnaires measuring alcohol consumption, parental sense of competence, parental burnout and guilt, and psychopathological symptoms (anxiety, depression and post-traumatic stress disorder, PTSD).

Results: An analysis comparing participants having low/no alcohol consumption with those having higher consumption showed that parents of the latter group had lower scores of perceived parental competence, higher scores of parental guilt and burnout, and higher levels of anxiety, depression, and PTSD symptoms. A cluster analysis was performed in the subsample with higher alcohol consumption. This identified a cluster ("High") with participants scoring well above the mean in psychopathology, while another cluster ("Low") included individuals scoring below the mean. The "High" cluster, compared to the "Low" cluster, exhibited lower scores in sense of competence, higher burnout and guilt, and higher alcohol use, with large effect sizes.

Conclusions: In conclusion, parents with higher alcohol consumption perceived themselves as less competent and experienced more significant mental health challenges. However, among those parents, cluster analysis identified one group with higher psychopathology and negative parenting experiences coexisting with another group having lower psychopathology and more positive parenting experiences, suggesting a contrasted typology in parents with higher alcohol consumption.

Background: Black, Latine, and Asian patients report higher levels of pain and experience more pain treatment disparities compared to White patients. Providers' modern racism might lessen the attention to such disparities and therefore affect how they manage pain. The aim of this study was to identify differences in pain management among participants high vs. low in modern racism and who vary in racial and gender identity according to race and gender of the patient.

Participants and procedure: Participants (N = 762) were purposefully sampled on Prolific, a crowdsourcing website, to vary in race (White, Black, Asian, Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander, Multiracial) and gender (cisgender men, cisgender women, transgender men, transgender women, nonbinary, genderqueer, agender, two-spirit, gender nonconforming, multiple genders). In a cross-sectional survey study, participants were randomly assigned to read 20 hypothetical emergency medicine vignettes of acute injuries that varied by patient race (White, Black, Latine, and Asian) and patient gender (cisgender woman, cisgender man, nonbinary, transgender woman, transgender man). Participants rated the extent of pain management for each vignette. Participants self-reported modern racism.

Results: Participants low in modern racism provided more pain management to Black patients than all other groups, while participants high in modern racism provided similar amounts of pain management to all racial groups, but less pain management overall. In addition, among White participants, men prescribed less pain management to Black patients than women.

Conclusions: The results suggest that modern racism predicts racial disparities in pain management in addition to participant gender and racial identity.

Background: Research has suggested that the relationship between perfectionism and perceived health may be mediated by psychological distress. However, there is a lack of studies that demonstrate this relationship in older adults and that also use objective physical health measures (such as physical fitness). This study aimed to investigate whether the associations between perfectionistic dimensions and physical fitness in older adults are mediated by psychological distress.

Participants and procedure: Older adults (N = 121; 90 women) were evaluated for perfectionism (perfectionistic strivings and perfectionistic concerns), psychological distress (depression, anxiety, and stress) and physical fitness (cardiorespiratory fitness, balance, and upper limb strength). The mediation model was run with the PROCESS macro for SPSS.

Results: Perfectionistic strivings and perfectionistic concerns significantly and positively predicted depression, anxiety, and stress (all p < .050). Anxiety negatively predicted balance, while depression negatively predicted upper limb strength (both p < .050). Mediation analyses indicated that perfectionistic strivings and perfectionistic concerns were associated with poorer balance via higher levels of depression. Both dimensions were also associated with less upper limb strength via higher levels of anxiety. No associations were found between perfectionism and cardiorespiratory fitness.

Conclusions: These findings support the idea that psychological distress has an important role in the link between perfectionism and physical health in older adults.

Background: This study aims to examine the predictive role of communal and agentic workplace climates in relation to work engagement and job burnout among Polish employees across various industries. A communal workplace climate emphasizes organizational and managerial priorities related to fostering positive relationships among employees, whereas an agentic workplace climate highlights a focus on employee productivity and performance.

Participants and procedure: Two cross-sectional studies comprising a total sample of 910 participants were conducted. Each study utilized distinct methods for measuring burnout and work engagement. The research employed multiple linear regression models and path analysis to explore how these climates affect employee outcomes.

Results: Findings from the study indicate that a communal workplace climate is associated with significantly lower levels of burnout and higher levels of work engagement. In contrast, an agentic workplace climate marginally contributes to burnout, displaying a positive relationship - indicating that stronger perceptions of the workplace as agentic are associated with increased burnout. However, it also weakly correlates with increased work engagement. Additionally, attitudes toward the organization were found to mediate these relationships.

Conclusions: This research highlights the beneficial effects of a communal climate in reducing burnout and boosting engagement, while also pointing out the complexities introduced by an agentic climate. The results contribute to understanding how to create more optimal and psychologically safe work environments.

Body dysmorphic disorder (BDD) has had a growing impact in Western cultures, manifesting itself in social pressures to achieve physical standards, affecting both men and women. Media influences have magnified these ideals, promoting a standardized body appearance, which has generated an increase in appearance-related disorders. The COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated body concerns. Therefore, we aimed to determine the post-pandemic prevalence and its consequences. For these purposes, a systematic review was carried out based on the PRISMA strategy to identify relevant studies between 2019 and 2023 in databases such as Web of Science and Scopus. Selection criteria were applied, including cross-sectional or longitudinal studies that focused on populations without a previous diagnosis of BDD and used clinical instruments. Of the 52 articles identified, 10 met the inclusion criteria and were selected. Four were used for the systematic review and 6 to carry out the meta-analysis. The prevalence of BDD was high, at 20.8% (6 studies, logOR = 0.208 [95% CI: 0.121-0.294], Z = 4.69, p < .001, I ² = 98.51%). In conclusion, the restrictions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic such as remaining in isolation, the closure of beauty services, and the increase in the use of social networks and video calls increased anxiety and stress levels in patients diagnosed with BDD and also in people with symptoms related to BDD.

The wellbeing of healthcare professionals is a topic of utmost importance in public health, given the close connection between healthcare professionals' mental health and their ability to provide high-quality care. A promising protective resource is the concept of "meaning in life" (MiL), defined as the extent to which people give meaning and purpose to their lives. A systematic review was conducted according to the PRISMA statement on three databases (PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science), searching for MiL and its influence on wellbeing among healthcare professionals. Only quantitative and qualitative research papers published in English-language peer-reviewed journals from 2000 to 2022 were considered eligible. Initially, 842 papers were retrieved. After the removal of duplicates, screening (title, abstract, full text) and quality check, 19 articles were included in the review. A narrative summary and description of the findings were given. The main findings demonstrate that a variety of sociodemographic variables (i.e. age, gender) and personality traits (i.e. self-esteem, attachment style, functional coping strategies, optimism, hope, social support) can positively impact fostering MiL, which, in turn, prevents psychological malaise. Moreover, for the majority of healthcare professionals, their work serves as a crucial source for sustaining personal MiL. Thus, workplace health promotion interventions should focus on the dimension of MiL, which can potentially act as a protective factor to preserve and improve the wellbeing of healthcare workers.