Psychology Hub

Quality of Romantic Relationships and Mortality Salience Predict Parenthood vs. Career-Oriented Intentions: A Terror Management Perspective

Federico Contu, Alessandra Ambrosio, Giuseppe Pantaleo, Simona Sciara — Thu, 03 Aug 2023 00:00:00 +0000

Drawing on Terror Management Theory (TMT; Greenberg et al., 1986; for reviews: Arrowood and Cox, 2020; Pyszczynski et al., 2015), this study examined how people living in a high-quality romantic relationship would react to reminders of their own mortality and increase their desire for offspring. Two hundred and twenty undergraduate students engaged in romantic relationships were first asked about the quality of their relationship, and then randomly assigned to one of two experimental conditions (mortality salience vs. dental pain). After completion of a filler task intended to activate distal terror management defenses, participants were asked about their desire for children, ideal time-lapse before having children, and relevance of professional vs. family goals (dependent variables). Results showed that participants in high-quality relationships, if compared with their counterparts involved in low-quality relationships, when reminded of their mortality, manifested a stronger desire for children, were less intentioned to postpone parenting, and were also less ready to prioritize their professional career over having children. The above results suggest that people in high-quality relationships—i.e., people involved in secure, harmonious, and stable relationships—may rely on comparatively stronger intentions concerning parenthood as pertinent terror management defenses as a way of coping with their existential anxieties.

The effect of Sample Size on Differential Item Functioning and Differential Distractor Functioning in multiple choice items

Hassan Alomari; Mutasem Mohammad Akour ; Jehad Al ajlouni — Thu, 03 Aug 2023 00:00:00 +0000

The current study investigated the effect of sample size on the number of items that show differential functioning (DIF) and the number of distractors that also show differential functioning (DDF) using the Mantel-Haenszel procedure. Data came from a national 8th grade mathematics exam that is composed of 40 multiple-choice items that was administered to 40,000 examinees. Eight samples with 250, 500 1250, 2500, 5000, 10000, 15000, and 20000 examinees were randomly selected. The findings of the current study indicated that increasing sample size increased the number of items detected with DIF and DDF. In addition, larger sample sizes are needed to detect items with nonuniform DIF and with negligible magnitude of DIF. Moreover, detecting DDF requires larger sample sizes as compared to the detection of DIF. Finally, sample size of 2,500 provided adequate number of items flagged with DIF (both types, and different magnitudes) and with DDF

Attachment and complicated grief: A retrospective study

Thu, 03 Aug 2023 00:00:00 +0000

The perception of the caregiver as a haven of safety in painful times is crucial for the development of a secure attachment style. The goal of this study is to retrospectively investigate the association of recalled emotional closeness to parents at the time of loss (REC) and how the news of loss was broken (HOW) with adult Complicated Grief and attachment style in 273 adults who lost a beloved person in childhood, using inventories of Complicated Grief and Parent and Peer Attachment, REC scale and an open-ended questionnaire on the circumstances of death. Data evidenced that REC and HOW scores in the experience of loss in childhood predicted less complicated grief and more secure attachment in the present.

Psychometric evaluation of the Italian Revised Exercise Addiction Inventory (EAI-R) among Italian speaking exercisers: Confirmatory factor analysis

Thu, 03 Aug 2023 00:00:00 +0000

Background: The Exercise Addiction Inventory (EAI) is a valid and reliable instrument and has been used in numerous contexts and research studies. The EAI was recently revised (EAI-R), but the psychometric properties of the EAI-R have yet to be examined in an Italian context. Therefore, the present study aimed to validate the EAI-R among Italian-speaking exercisers. Methods: The sample comprised 200 Italian-speaking exercisers comprised (62% females, 48% male; mean age = 35 years, SD±11.42), who completed a survey including the EAI-R, Depression Anxiety and Stress Scale-21 (DASS-21), Rosenberg’s Self-Esteem Scale (RSES), and Exercise Dependence Scale-Revised (EDS-R). Results: Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) showed the EAI-R had good psychometric characteristics (Cronbach’s α = 0.90) and confirmed the scale’s unidimensional properties. Scores on the EAI-R were positively correlated with EDS-R scores, the number of weekly hours of exercise, and DASS-21 scores. Conversely, EAI-R scores were negatively correlated with the RSES scores and age. Conclusion: The EAI-R is a psychometrically reliable and valid measure for assessing the risk of exercise addiction among Italian adults. The study expands the literature on exercise addiction and demonstrates important associational factors in the Italian context.

Online risks related to suicidal thoughts: A cross-sectional study with a sample of Italian students

Simone Amendola, Rita Cerutti — Thu, 03 Aug 2023 00:00:00 +0000

The aims of the present study were to expand scientific evidence on exposure to online risks (i.e., contact and content risks) as well as to analyse associations between exposure to online risks and suicidal thoughts. The sample comprised 141 adolescent students (58.2% males, n= 82) with a mean age of 14.05 years (standard deviation= 1.42). Data were collected using questions adapted from the EU Kids online survey, the Body Investment Scale, the Children Depression Inventory 2 (Short), the Internet Disorder Scale and one item of the Brief Symptom Inventory for suicidal thoughts. Bivariate and multivariable associations were tested to explore the relationships between online risks and the absence/presence of suicidal thoughts.

Sixty-five percent of the sample reported at least one online risk. Online risks, in order of frequency, were the following: hate messages (43%), violent images (42%), drug experiences (22%), ways of hurting oneself (21%), committing suicide (16%) and being very thin (15%). One in ten (n= 14) participants experienced suicidal thoughts. Exposure to online content on ways of physically harming oneself, committing suicide, experiences of taking drugs, and increasing number of online risks were associated with suicidal thoughts even when controlling for body investment, symptoms of depression and problematic internet use.

Mental health professionals need to carefully investigate the way in which young patients use the Internet, with the awareness that specific online experiences may be indicative of the presence of suicidal thoughts.

Individual Differences in Teacher Hopelessness: Examining the Significance of Personal and Professional Factors

Farshad Ghasemi, Zhila Mohammadnia, Zahra Gholami — Thu, 03 Aug 2023 00:00:00 +0000

This research aimed to examine teachers’ level of experienced hopelessness across diverse personal and professional characteristics. This survey study, with a sample of 297 English as a foreign language (EFL) teachers who were working in private language schools in Iran, was an attempt to understand whether there were significant individual differences in the hopelessness feelings of teachers. To this end, participants completed the Personal Information Scale and the Beck Hopelessness Scale (BHS) to collect their personal and professional information and determine the level of experienced hopelessness. The results indicated a mild level of hopelessness experienced by the study sample with different levels of experience in the BHS dimensions. Upon further data analysis, we found no significant differences between teachers’ hopelessness level and their gender and education. However, significant results were found for the effects of teacher age, teaching experience, and the educational level they serve on the rates of experienced hopelessness. More precisely, older teachers with more than 16 years of professional experience who were teaching advanced adult students were more susceptible to experiencing hopelessness than their younger colleagues with less professional experience. Further implications are discussed.

“Play to Lead” Board Game as A Potential Intervention to Promote Entrepreneurship Competences and Servant Leadership Skills in European Adolescents

Thu, 03 Aug 2023 00:00:00 +0000

Gaming has been shown to encourage active learning settings that increase interest and motivation, and develop the awareness of engagement and improve various skills. However, there is a dearth of literature on how to nurture young entrepreneurs or leaders through a game. This study investigates the effects of “Play to Lead”, a self-designed board game, on entrepreneurship competences and servant leadership among compulsory schooling students in four European countries (Denmark, Estonia, Italy, and Portugal). A total of 222 adolescents completed a questionnaire measuring entrepreneurship competences (EntreComp) and servant leadership dimensions before and after playing the game. Paired-samples t-tests were used to compare the scores of the participants before and after the game. Pearson correlation tests were conducted to determine the relationship between participants’ game experience (i.e., “game satisfaction” and “game comprehension”) and their EntreComp and servant leadership scores. The results showed that the servant leadership skill scores of the students did not demonstrate significant improvement, and only three items from EntreComp’s “Ideas and Opportunities” and “Into Action” dimensions exhibited a significant enhancement. Besides, participants reported positive feedback in terms of “game satisfaction” and “game comprehension”, which were related to their EntreComp scores. However, these improvements were also contingent on country and age, highlighting the need for replication in diverse samples of adolescents. Nonetheless, this study is the first to demonstrate the potential of a board game in promoting entrepreneurship competences and servant leadership skills among mandatory schooling adolescents, with important implications for education policymakers and curriculum designers seeking to foster these skills in students.

Identity and Symbolic Universes in Voting Behavior. A study of the Italian society

Thu, 03 Aug 2023 00:00:00 +0000

This study analyses the role played by identity motives and cultural worldviews in voting behavior. For this purpose, a representative national sample of Italian (N=3020) respondents completed a questionnaire battery, measuring political values, identity values, attitude towards immigrants and perceived identity threat, as well as cultural worldviews (symbolic universes). These variables were used in a model with the vote intention of respondents as an outcome variable, political values, identity motives and socio-demographics as direct predictors and symbolic universes as indirect predictors. Consistently with hypotheses, analyses revealed that the impact of identity motives is higher than that produced by socio-economic motives or political values. Symbolic universes indirectly influence identity motives and, therefore, voting behavior. Moreover, a multigroup analysis revealed that the influence of symbolic universes on voting behavior is higher in individuals exposed to higher uncertainty. Results are interpreted in the framework of Semiotic Cultural Psychology Theory, giving importance to high contextual uncertainty, characterising contemporary societies.

Polemical Social Representations in Social Media: “Snapchat Dysmorphia”

Elena Bocci, Caterina Pascarella — Thu, 03 Aug 2023 00:00:00 +0000

Introduction. On social media, it’s possible to create a personal online identity, even very different from the real one. Scientific literature indicates that in some cases there may be a risk of incurring serious problems, such, for example the Body Dysmorphic Disorder (BDD). BDD regarding the use of filters to edit the body image is called “Snapchat Dysmorphia.
Theoretical background. The Social Representations Theory (SRT) -even if it was formulated during the last century- can be used to read and to interpret emerging phenomena like “Snapchat Dysmorphia”.
Aims. The purpose of the research is to analyze the communication about “Snapchat Dysmorphia”, identifying which type of post (written post, photo or video) is the most common among the hashtags considered, the words and the emoticons used in the captions on the three main social media (Facebook, Instagram and Twitter).
Hypotheses. During the first step of the research, and behind the choice of the #, there were some expectations: 1) The comparison between the representations of the real body and of the edited body (H1); 2) The rejection of the imperfect body, far away from the beauty standard stereotypes (H2); 3) The promotion of the acceptance of imperfections, following the body positivity movement (H3).
Method. Through the use of six hashtags (snapchat dysmorphia, beauty standard, Instagram reality, selfie dysmorphia, filter no filter, unrealistic beauty standard), the contribution analyses posts published in English on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter in 2021. The analysis were made with the IRAMUTEQ software and the result was the Descending Hierarchical Classification (DHC).
Results. The DHC produced six classes: comparison between the own body and the others’ body; comparison between the real body and the edited body; positive value dimension; negative emotional/value dimension; stereotypes of beauty; filter and edited body parts. The results show key elements of the S.R.T.: the emotions, the values, the attitudes and the stereotypes of snapchat dysmorphia.
Impacts of the work. Because of the close bond between social representations and practices, the study, in its application value, supports the body positivity actions aimed at reducing the spread of “Snapchat Dysmorphia”.