Exploring the Protective Function of Positivity and Regulatory Emotional Self-Efficacy in Time of Pandemic COVID-19
Despite several empirical studies on the 2019 coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic that have highlighted its detrimental effect on individuals’ mental health, the identification of psychological factors that may moderate its impact on individuals’ behavior and well-being remains partly unexplored. The present study was conceived to examine the mediation role of regulatory emotional self-efficacy in the relationship between positivity and anxiety, depression, and perceived self-efficacy in complying with the containment measures to contrast the COVID-19 spread. Furthermore, the moderation role of age was tested. A sample of 1258 participants (64.2% women; Mage = 42.09, SD = 13…
Daily Associations between Emotions and Aggressive and Depressive Symptoms in Adolescence: The Mediating and Moderating Role of Emotion Dysregulation
Nearly half of adolescents experience depressive or aggressive symptoms that impair their functioning at some point in adolescence. Experiencing intense difficult emotions and difficulties regulating such emotions may lead to these depressive and aggressive symptoms. However, existing work largely investigates how adolescent emotions at a single time point predict adolescent depressive or aggressive symptoms months or years later. New investigations are needed to capture the dynamic, changing nature of adolescents’ daily experiences of emotions and symptoms of mental distress. Such investigations would further understanding of how emotions affect mental health in adolescents’ everyday lives…
Development of internalizing symptoms during adolescence in three countries: the role of temperament and parenting behaviors
AbstractThis longitudinal study examined the unique and joint effects of early adolescent temperament and parenting in predicting the development of adolescent internalizing symptoms in a cross-cultural sample. Participants were 544 early adolescents (T1: Mage = 12.58; 49.5% female) and their mothers (n = 530) from Medellín, Colombia (n = 88), Naples, Italy (n = 90), Rome, Italy (n = 100) and Durham, North Carolina, United States (African Americans n = 92, European Americans n = 97, and Latinx n = 77). Early adolescent negative emotionality (i.e., anger and sadness experience), self-regulation (i.e., effortful control), and parent monitoring and psychological control were measured at T1. Ad…
Facing the Pandemic in Italy: Personality Profiles and Their Associations With Adaptive and Maladaptive Outcomes
The negative impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on individuals’ psychosocial functioning was widely attested during the last year. However, the extent to which individual differences are associated with adaptive and maladaptive outcomes during quarantine in Italy remains largely unexplored. Using a person-oriented approach, the present study explored the association of personality profiles, based on three broad individual dispositions (i.e., positivity, irritability, and hostile rumination) and two self-efficacy beliefs in the emotional area (i.e., expressing positive emotions and regulating anger emotion), with adaptive and maladaptive outcomes during the first Italian lockdown (March–June 20…
Predictors and outcomes associated with the growth curves of self-efficacy beliefs in regard to anger and sadness regulation during adolescence: a longitudinal cross-cultural study
IntroductionThis longitudinal study examined unique and joint effects of parenting and negative emotionality in predicting the growth curves of adolescents’ self-efficacy beliefs about regulating two discrete negative emotions (anger and sadness) and the association of these growth curves with later maladjustment (i.e., internalizing and externalizing problems).MethodsParticipants were 285 children (T1: Mage = 10.57, SD = 0.68; 53.3% girls) and their parents (mothers N = 286; fathers N = 276) from Colombia and Italy. Parental warmth, harsh parenting, and internalizing and externalizing problems were measured in late childhood at T1, whereas early adolescents’ anger and sadness were measured…
Maternal and paternal psychological control and adolescents' negative adjustment: A dyadic longitudinal study in three countries.
Psychological Control (PC) interferes with autonomy-related processes in adolescence and has a negative impact on adolescents’ development related to internalizing and externalizing problems. Several scholars suggested that PC can be used differently by mothers and fathers. However, these differences are still understudied and mainly grounded on maternal and/or adolescents’ perspectives, leading to potentially incomplete inferences on the effects of PC. The present study extends previous research on PC in two directions. First, we tested the dyadic and cumulative effects of maternal and paternal PC on adolescents’ antisocial behaviors and anxious-depressive symptoms. Secondly, we explored t…
Pathways from Maternal Harsh Discipline Through Rumination to Anxiety and Depression Symptoms: Gender and Normativeness of Harsh Discipline as Moderators
This study examined gender-specific longitudinal pathways from harsh parenting through rumination to anxiety and depression symptoms among early adolescents from three countries and six subgroups. Participants were 567 mothers, 428 fathers, and 566 children (T1: Mage = 10.89; 50% girls) from Medellín, Colombia (n = 100); Naples, Italy (n = 95); Rome, Italy (n = 99); Durham, North Carolina, United States (Black n = 92, Latinx n = 80, and White n = 100). Parent reported maternal and paternal harsh parenting were measured at T1. Adolescent reported rumination was measured at T2 (Mage = 12.58) and anxiety and depression symptoms were measured at T1 and T3 (Mage = 13.71). Rumination mediated the…