Grounded in the Theory of Planned Behavior and the Technology Acceptance Model, this longitudinal study examines the relationship family interactions, their actual smartphone use, and the perceived negative consequences on family dynamics. The data come from 284 Croatian early and middle adolescents between the ages of 11 and 15. Adolescents reported the acceptability of smartphone use in family interactions (wave 2), their smartphone use behavior (wave 3), and the consequences of smartphone use in parent-child interactions (wave 4). Structural equation in family interactions on negative consequences. However, higher acceptafrequent negative consequences. These findings underscore that cognitive interactions, especially when attention is shared but not focused. Prevenpromote mindful smartphone use among families.
Emotional engagement in the classroom is an adaptive and desirable construct as it implies that schoolwork is valued positively by the student. This form of engagement has been linked to better academic performance, psychological well-being, and long-term motivation. Understanding the factors that contribute to students' emotional engagement is therefore crucial for fostering effective educational environments. The aim of this research is to examine how the parenting styles of fathers and mothers relate to students' emotional engagement via satisfaction or thwarting of basic psychological needs and intrinsic motivation. The participants consisted of 412 undergraduate students (304 females, aged 18-23 years). Four structural equation models were tested, one for each parenting style (i.e., perceived control and autonomy support) and parent. Results showed broadly similar patterns for fathers and mothers across the tested models; parental autonomy support was positively related to the satisfaction of students' psychological needs, while parental control was negatively related; the satisfaction of psychological needs related positively with intrinsic motivation, whereas the thwarting of these related negatively; and the intrinsic motivation positively predicted emotional engagement. The results align with self-determination theory, emphasizing the role of parenting styles in shaping students' emotional engagement. These findings highlight the importance of fostering autonomy-supportive parenting practices to promote students' motivation and emotional investment in their academic journey.
Background: The swift growth of digital engagement has heightened vulnerability to online threats, including cyberstalking, which poses significant threats to mental health. Despite growing evidence linking problematic digital behaviors to reduced well-being, limited research has examined how cyberstalking disrupts broader indicators of life balance such as harmony in life. Objective: To examine the impact of cyberstalking on harmony in life and explore how social media addiction and digital wellbeing mediate this relationship. Methods: A cross-sectional design was employed with 427 participants aged 18-60. Participants completed validated measures of cyberstalking, social media addiction, digital well-being, and harmony in life. Serial mediation analysis was conducted using bootstrapping procedures (10,000 resamples) via PROCESS Model 6 to examine indirect effects. Results: Cyberstalking significantly predicted higher levels of social media addiction (a1 = 0.27, p < .001) and lower levels of digital wellbeing (a2 =-0.06, p < .05). Both social media addiction, and digital wellbeing mediated the relationship between cyberstalking and harmony in life, indicating that cyberstalking's adverse effects on mental health can manifest through increased social media engagement and diminished digital well-being. The direct relationship between cyberstalking and harmony in life became nonsignificant when controlling for these mediators, indicating full mediation. Conclusion: The findings highlight the necessity for targeted interventions aimed at enhancing digital well-being and addressing social media addiction to promote harmony in life among individuals affected by cyberstalking.
Choosing a university degree plays a key role in identity formation and professional development. This process may be influenced by individual traits such as personality and temperament, which have been studied primarily in medicine and dentistry, with limited evidence available for other health-related disciplines. This quantitative, cross-sectional, correlational study examined the personality and temperament traits of 420 first-year Chilean students enrolled in Physical Therapy, Midwifery and Childcare, Medical Technology, Speech-Language Pathology, Nutrition and Dietetics, and Occupational Therapy. The sample comprised 83.3% female students and had a mean age of 19.9 years (SD = 2.7). The NEO-FFI and ATQ instruments were administered to assess personality and temperament. The study adhered to ethical standards and received approval from the institutional ethics committee. Significant differences were found across programs: Speech-Language Pathology students scored higher in agreeableness and effortful control, Midwifery students in negative affect, and Occupational Therapy students in extraversion/surgency. Students with higher conscientiousness were less likely to choose Nutrition and Dietetics. These findings suggest that vocational choice is partially associated with personality and temperament profiles and may help inform improvements in university curricula and student support strategies.
University dropout is a global problem that is under-researched, despite an increasing number of studies. Most of these studies have adopted a cross-sectional approach, which limits the understanding of the dynamic processes leading to dropout. The present study aims to analyse how university students' psychological profiles, characterised by levels of academic stress, evaluation anxiety and resilience, change over three academic semesters and to examine the relationship between these profiles and intention to drop out of university. A longitudinal sample of 307 students was studied and latent transition analyses were conducted. The analysis identified four latent profiles: 'vulnerable', 'restless', 'balanced' and 'resilient'. The first two profiles had higher rates of intention to drop out and were more stable over time than the other two. Each profile is described and the influence of the university context on the development of resilience, academic stress and evaluation anxiety is discussed.
