Background Perceived social support is associated with adolescent mental health, but the pathways linking support with positive func-tioning and psychological problems remain insufficiently examined in Vietnamese schools. This study examined associa-tions among support from family and friends, self-esteem, sense of mastery, life satisfaction, and internalizing and external-izing problems. It also tested self-esteem and sense of mastery as parallel statistical mediators. Participants and procedure A cross-sectional survey included 375 students in Grades 8-11 from lower- and upper-secondary schools in Hanoi, Vietnam. Participants completed translated self-report measures. Descriptive statistics and Pearson correlations were calculated in SPSS, while direct and specific indirect associations were estimated using partial least squares structural equation modeling with 5,000 bootstrap resamples. Results Social support was positively associated with self-esteem, sense of mastery, and life satisfaction and negatively associated with internalizing and externalizing problems. Self-esteem was positively associated with life satisfaction and negatively associated with both problem domains. Sense of mastery was negatively associated with internalizing and externalizing problems but was not significantly associated with life satisfaction. Self-esteem showed statistical partial mediation of the associations between social support and all three outcomes. Sense of mastery showed statistical partial mediation of the associations between social support and internalizing and externalizing problems, but not life satisfaction. Conclusions Self-esteem showed a broader indirect role across positive functioning and psychological problems, whereas sense of mas-tery was specifically associated with fewer internalizing and externalizing problems. The findings may inform school- and family-based efforts to strengthen supportive relationships, positive self-evaluation, and students’ perceived capacity to manage difficulties.
Background Global health crises such as the COVID-19 pandemic place individuals under significant psychological strain, highlighting the importance of effective coping styles. The present study aimed to examine factors related to individuals’ health behav-iors in the context of a global health crisis by examining the association between coping styles and health locus of control, as well as the variation in this relationship across cultural contexts. Participants and procedure The sample included 2,617 participants from European (n = 1,205) and Asian (n = 1,412) countries. Participants completed measures of health locus of control and coping styles during the COVID-19 pandemic. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, reliability analyses, analyses of variance, correlation analyses, and hierarchical regression analyses. Results The findings reveal that health locus of control beliefs are meaningfully related to coping responses, and that the patterns of these associations vary across the European and Asian samples. The powerful health locus of control dimension showed a substantially stronger positive association with problem-focused coping among Asian participants than among European participants. Differences between the two samples were also found in the relationship between chance-oriented locus of control and coping styles. Conclusions The study reveals that the dimensions of health locus of control are significantly associated with coping styles, and that the patterns of these associations differ across cultural contexts. The findings may contribute to more effective health behavior management in the context of global health crises.
Background Guilt proneness is considered an important factor influencing social and ethical behavior, but excessive guilt proneness may also be associated with adverse mental health outcomes. The aim of this study was therefore to provide empirical infor-mation on guilt proneness and associated factors in the German adult population. Participants and procedure The results are based on the weighted data from 1,070 participants (aged 18-79) who took part in a standardized, nation-wide online survey in Germany. Guilt proneness was assessed using weighted scores from the Guilt and Shame Proneness Scale (GASP). The GASP includes two subscales: Guilt-NBE, which assesses negative behavior evaluations, and Guilt-Repair, which assesses repair action tendencies following transgressions. Group differences and associations with socio-demographic characteristics and depression were analyzed using nonparametric tests, Pearson correlations, and multivaria-ble linear regression. Results With weighted mean scores of 5.6, guilt proneness findings were comparable for both guilt subscales (on a scale of 1 to 7, where higher scores indicate a greater extent of guilt proneness; the SDs were 1.3 for Guilt-NBE and 1.0 for Guilt-Repair). Guilt proneness was higher in older age groups and in women than in men, but it was not associated with probable major depression. Conclusions Guilt proneness was generally high in German adults and was associated with age and gender, but not with a positive screen for probable major depression. These findings provide initial population-based data on guilt proneness in Germany and highlight the need for further research on its psychological and behavioral correlates.
Background Most research on the relationship between well-being and sexual satisfaction has focused on hedonic or eudaimonic well-being. In contrast, the PERMA model integrates both axes of this phenomenon. In addition, Latin American samples are underrepresented in sexuality research. Therefore, this study aimed to identify the direct relation between PERMA well-being and subjective sexual satisfaction in a Mexican sample. Participants and procedure This research was a quantitative, non-experimental cross-sectional study and included 237 people from a northwest state in Mexico. The scales implemented were Subjective Sexual Satisfaction and PERMA-Profiler. The database was downloaded and adapted for analysis through SPSS and AMOS. Five analyses were performed: a) confirmatory factor analysis, b) Cronbach’s alpha, c) descriptive and data distribution statistics, d) correlation matrix, and e) structural equation model. Results According to the correlation matrix, subjective sexual satisfaction presents significant associations with PERMA well-being (.21, p < .01). In addition, the structural equation model (SEM) indicated that PERMA well-being presents a positive and direct relation with sexual satisfaction (.31, p < .01). Conclusions As expected, well-being was directly associated with sexual satisfaction, suggesting that higher perceived well-being may contribute to increased sexual satisfaction. These results provide evidence of the close relationship between these two constructs.
Background Sociocultural pressures can influence perceptions of physical appearance ideals, often driving the internalization of unrealis-tic standards, which can contribute to eating disorders (ED). Today, there is a strong focus on health ideals, promoting personal responsibility for leading a healthier lifestyle. For some, this pursuit can escalate into disordered eating behaviours or orthorexia nervosa (ON), an obsessive focus on consuming only “healthy” foods. This study explored the impact of ap-pearance-related sociocultural pressures on symptoms of ED and ON, focusing on the role of internalizing thin and muscu-lar body ideals. It also investigated whether this internalization mediates the association between sociocultural pressures and these symptoms. Participants and procedure The study surveyed 1,318 young women aged 18-21 from Croatia, who completed online assessments measuring appear-ance-related sociocultural pressures and internalization (thin/muscular) body ideals (SATAQ-4), eating disorder (EAT-11 – revised EAT-26) and orthorexia symptoms (DOS) using a cross-sectional design. Results The results show that sociocultural pressures significantly contribute to the severity of ED and ON symptoms. Thinness ideals are a central factor driving both ED and ON symptoms, whereas muscularity ideals are more specifically associated with ON. Sociocultural pressures exert their influence on ED and ON indirectly through the internalization of thinness ide-als. However, while muscularity ideals did not mediate the relationship between sociocultural pressures and ED symptoms, they did mediate the effects on ON symptoms. Conclusions The findings highlight the critical role of sociocultural pressures and the internalization of thinness and muscularity ideals in the development of disordered eating behaviours. Interventions could therefore focus on educating young women and their social circles on the impact of sociocultural influences, promoting a supportive environment to challenge harmful norms.
