Emotional exhaustion (EE), the core dimension of burnout, has emerged as a particularly detrimental outcome, yet limited research has examined its incidence and severity by sex or provided tools to interpret its symptomatological manifestations. This study pursued two objectives: (1) to determine the incidence and severity of emotional exhaustion in Chilean higher-education students during the pandemic, disaggregated by sex; and (2) to develop and apply an interpretive framework for the Emotional Exhaustion Scale (ECE), organizing scores into cognitive, affective, and social-interactional domains. A quantitative, cross-sectional, correlational design was employed, using a non-probabilistic snowball sample of 1,301 students who completed a digital questionnaire that included sociodemographic items, contextual information, and the ECE. Data collection was conducted between August and November 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic, prior to the availability of vaccines. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, independent-samples t-tests, one-way ANOVA, and exploratory stepwise multiple linear regression analyses. Results showed that 87.4% of students presented high or very high emotional exhaustion. Females reported significantly higher exhaustion than males (40.7 ± 7.69 vs. 36.7 ± 9.36; t(1,299) = 4.00, p < 0.001), with 90.5% of females vs. 77.4% of males in the high/very high categories. Regression analyses identified sex, GPA, age, and study schedule as significant predictors, though the explained variance was modest (R2 = .076). The ECE-Int framework contextualized total scores, showing that high EE was associated with clusters of cognitive (e.g., concentration and memory problems), affective (e.g., anxiety, irritability, depressive symptoms), and social-interactional (e.g., withdrawal, interpersonal conflict) indicators, particularly among females. By combining sex-disaggregated analyses with a complementary interpretive framework, this study extends prior research in Chilean higher education contexts and offers an interpretive approach to understanding emotional exhaustion in this context.

People have the basic need to experiment control over the most important aspects of their environment. Even though the Sense of Control Scale is one of the most used instruments to measure sense of control, its psychometric properties have not been thoroughly assessed in a Spanish-speaking context. This preregistered study adapts the Sense of Control Scale into Spanish. To achieve this, 605 adults (Mage = 33.09, SD = 14.18) filled out an online questionnaire containing the relevant measurements. Evidence of the structure of two first-order dimensions and a second-order dimension was obtained (CFI = .960; TLI = .949; RMSEA = .044; RMSR = .039). The measure showed measurement invariance across gender at the configural, metric, and scalar levels. The perceived constraints and personal mastery dimensions, as well as the overall score of the Spanish Sense of Control Scale (SP-SCS) showed good reliability. Moreover, lower levels of sense of control, whether considering scores on its two dimensions (i.e., perceived constraints and personal mastery) or the overall score, were indicative of worse subjective well-being (i.e., life satisfaction and happiness), greater psychological distress (i.e., anxiety, depression, and stress), and higher perceived financial threat. The findings of this study reveal that the SP-SCS is a promising instrument to assess sense of control in the Spanish-speaking population.

The concepts of “climate change worry” and “climate change anxiety” are often used interchangeably in climate research, but they may reflect distinct emotional responses to climate change, which could potentially have different implications for public mental health. This research brief aims to empirically examine the differences between these two constructs by comparing their associations with key indicators of subjective wellbeing. Using survey data from 32 countries (N = 12,246), we compared how strongly climate change worry and state climate anxiety were each associated with subjective wellbeing, as measured by the WHO-5 Wellbeing Index and life satisfaction. State climate anxiety showed stronger associations with both WHO-5 Wellbeing Index and life satisfaction than climate change worry. This underscores the importance of treating the two as distinct emotional responses, each with different implications for public wellbeing. These insights are especially relevant for policymakers and climate communicators, who must carefully consider the emotional tone of climate messaging to foster constructive engagement while safeguarding the psychological wellbeing of the public.

The COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated pre-existing social inequalities, exposing the most disadvantaged sectors to great vulnerability. This research (N = 1844 employees) aimed to determine possible differences in general (satisfaction with life and personal well-being) and specific (family satisfaction and job satisfaction) well-being outcomes based on socioeconomic status (as measured by income, education, and occupation) in the aftermath of the COVID-19 in Chile, a non-WEIRD country showing one of the most unequal income distributions throughout the world. We also ascertained the critical mediating role of work-family conflict. Our results indicated that, among the different dimensions of socioeconomic status evaluated, income emerged as the dominant positive predictor of all well-being outcomes. Subsequent mediation analyses revealed that lower income was associated with diminished general and specific wellbeing through increased work-family conflict (both work-to-family and family-to-work). This research provides insights into the pathways through which lower socioeconomic status could lead to reduced well-being in the aftermath of the COVID-19 era within a high inequality community.

Climate change anxiety encompasses a constellation of disturbing psychological responses associated with climate change concern. However, the psychometric evaluation of the Climate Change Anxiety Scale (CCAS), one of the most relevant measures of this phenomenon, has yielded inconsistent results. This research aims to elucidate these discrepancies while concurrently seeking to validate a Spanish adaptation of the CCAS (CCAS-SP) using a Spanish population sample (N = 460). Three different latent representations of the CCAS-SP were modelled, describing climate change anxiety as uni-, bi- or tri-dimensional. Model fit analyses supported the conceptualization of climate change anxiety as comprising two related yet distinct components: cognitive and functional impairments. Moreover, these types of impairments, after controlling for common variance, could be well differentiated in their linkages with pro-environmental orientation, subjective well-being and psychological distress. Notably, alternative, less parsimonious structures did not seem to provide a more accurate representation of the correlates of climate change anxiety. These findings suggest that the CCAS-SP can be considered a promising instrument for assessing this construct in Spanish samples. La ansiedad por el cambio clim & aacute;tico abarca un conjunto de respuestas psicol & oacute;gicas inquietantes asociadas a la preocupaci & oacute;n por el cambio clim & aacute;tico. Sin embargo, la evaluaci & oacute;n psicom & eacute;trica de la Escala de Ansiedad por el Cambio Clim & aacute;tico (Climate Change Anxiety Scale, CCAS), una de las medidas m & aacute;s relevantes de este fen & oacute;meno, ha arrojado resultados contradictorios. Esta investigaci & oacute;n tiene como objetivo dilucidar estas discrepancias y, al mismo tiempo, validar una adaptaci & oacute;n al espa & ntilde;ol de la CCAS (CCAS-SP) utilizando una muestra de la poblaci & oacute;n espa & ntilde;ola (N = 460). Se modelaron tres representaciones latentes distintas de la CCAS-SP, que describen la ansiedad por el cambio clim & aacute;tico como uni-, bi- o tridimensional. Los an & aacute;lisis de ajuste del modelo respaldaron la conceptualizaci & oacute;n de la ansiedad por el cambio clim & aacute;tico como una agrupaci & oacute;n de dos componentes relacionados pero distintos: el deterioro cognitivo y el funcional. Adem & aacute;s, tras controlar la varianza com & uacute;n, estos tipos de deterioro pudieron diferenciarse claramente por sus v & iacute;nculos con la orientaci & oacute;n proambiental, el bienestar subjetivo y el malestar psicol & oacute;gico. Cabe destacar que otras estructuras alternativas menos parsimoniosas no parecieron oferecer una representaci & oacute;n m & aacute;s precisa de los correlatos de la ansiedad por el cambio clim & aacute;tico. Estos resultados sugieren que el CCAS-SP puede considerarse un instrumento prometedor para evaluar este constructo en muestras espa & ntilde;olas.

Recent cross-sectional and experimental research has found measures of climate change related distress to be positively associated with measures of self-efficacy. Authors of some of these studies have interpreted this finding in terms of motivated control, that is, people who experience climate change related distress are motivated to believe that they can help mitigate climate change. We extend this notion of motivated control by assuming that efficacy beliefs flowing from climate change related distress play a role in encouraging climate action. In two cross-sectional studies, we investigate this assumption: Study 1 used data from a multi-country study and found that negative emotions regarding climate change were positively associated with climate action and both individual and collective self-efficacy. Furthermore, we found evidence for an indirect effect of negative emotions on climate action via self-efficacy (individual and collective). Study 2 conceptually replicated this mediation effect, using data from a sample of citizens in Germany and a different measure of distress, focusing on climate change worry. Additional exploratory analyses revealed that associations with self-efficacy and climate action were stronger for more adaptive forms of climate change worry, compared to less adaptive forms. We conclude that our findings provide correlational support for motivated control being one of the psychological processes – and self-efficacy being one of the person-level factors – that account for adaptive behavioral reactions to climate change related distress. Experimental and longitudinal studies are needed to further substantiate this conclusion.

This cross-cultural study examines the relationship between perceived COVID-19 changes due to the impacts on everyday life by the pandemic with social exclusion and across 32 cultures and their levels in collectivism. With data from the start of the first outbreak from March 2020 to June 2020 (N = 9245), multilevel analysis indicated that as individuals perceive greater daily life changes induced by the pandemic, they experience heightened levels of social exclusion, with this association being particularly pronounced in less collectivistic cultures. These findings underscore the importance of considering cultural context in understanding responses to crises such as the COVID-19 pandemic, with implications for culturally sensitive interventions aimed at promoting social inclusion across diverse cultural contexts.

IntroductionContexts of heightened economic or health instability present a threat to perceived personal control and wellbeing. Although perceived personal control has been fundamentally postulated as a unitary category, there is some evidence suggesting that levels of perceived personal control might vary throughout different areas of life.MethodsAcross three independent studies (N = 2646) we examined, through a series of online surveys, whether perceived personal control in different life domains (i.e., control over close relationships, health, work, and finances) mediates the linkages of perceived financial and health threats with subjective wellbeing (i.e., life satisfaction and happiness), self-rated health status, and psychological distress.ResultsHigher perceived financial threat was related to diminished subjective wellbeing via perceived personal control over health, work (Studies 1 and 3), and finances (Study 3). Moreover, increased perceived health threat was associated with lower subjective wellbeing via perceived personal control over close relationships (Study 2) and health (Studies 2 and 3).ConclusionOverall, these findings suggest that distinct domains of perceived personal control may underlie the relationships between various sources of perceived threat (economic vs. health) and well-being outcomes.

Background Research on the nature and prevalence of phenomena like climate anxiety (or eco-anxiety) is increasing rapidly but there is little understanding of the conditions under which climate change worry becomes more or less likely to significantly impact mental wellbeing. Here, we considered two plausible moderators of the relationship between climate change worry and mental wellbeing: neuroticism and efficacy beliefs. Methods Analysis was conducted with survey data gathered in six European countries in autumn 2019. Participants were recruited from universities in the participating countries using opportunity sampling. Results We found that climate change worry is negatively related to mental wellbeing at any level of perceived efficacy. In contrast, climate change worry is only significantly related to mental wellbeing at low and average levels of neuroticism. High neuroticism appears to have a masking, rather than amplifying, role in the relationship between climate change worry and mental wellbeing. Limitations The cross-sectional design of the study precludes verification of causal relationships among variables. The brief measure of neuroticism employed also did not allow for nuanced analysis of how different facets of neuroticism contribute to the observed interaction with climate change worry. Findings cannot be indiscriminately generalised to less privileged groups facing the worst impacts of the climate crisis. Conclusion Our findings lend to a view that harmful impacts of climate change worry on mental wellbeing cannot simply be ascribed to dispositional traits like neuroticism. We advocate for interventions that tackle negative climate-related emotions as unique psychological stressors.

Postpartum depression (PPD) affects nearly 20% of postpartum women and has severe short- and long-term detrimental effects on their mental health. While there is ample evidence linking depression-related outcomes and individuals’ socioeconomic status (SES), the examination of differences in PPD as a function of SES has received relatively little empirical attention, resulting in inconsistent empirical evidence. There are also no well-established systematic reviews on the linkage between SES and PPD. Thus, we conducted A PRISMA-compliant systematic review to comprehensively analyze the association of SES (as measured by long-established objective [e.g., income or education] and subjective measures) with PPD (as measured by widely validated scales). We performed a bibliographic search on CINAHL Complete, MEDLINE complete, and EBSCO Psychology and Behavioral Sciences Collection. Among the 201 articles retrieved, 16 met the eligibility criteria. Our results reveal that mothers with lower income and education levels (objective indicators of SES) were more likely to experience PPD. Notably, we also found that subjective SES, compared to objective SES, was more strongly associated with PPD. Overall, these findings indicate that low-SES mothers may be at increased risk of PPD compared to high-SES mothers, reflecting the need for more efficient early detection programs for PPD among low-SES mothers.

Although different social crises may eventually favor undemocratic and authoritarian forms of governance, at some point, such antidemocratic practices require the support of a significant part of the population to be implemented. The present research investigates how and whether the COVID-19 pandemic might have favoured greater support for antidemocratic governmental practices, on the premise of regaining control and security. Using data from 17 countries (N = 4364) and national-level indicators (i.e., real number of contagions and deaths, and sociopolitical indicators), we test how the risk of contagion and death from COVID-19, along with personal orientations (i.e., social dominance orientation [SDO], right-wing authoritarianism [RWA], and perceived anomie) motivate authoritarian and antidemocratic practices. Results from multilevel models indicate that risk perception and perceptions of political instability predict a wish for stronger leadership, agreement with martial law, and support for a controlling government especially when SDO and RWA are high, while more egalitarian and less conservative people agree less with these authoritarian measures in spite of the levels of risk perception. We discuss the implications for these findings for future research on similar but also dissimilar external events (natural disasters, war, or terror incidents) and the consequences for societies with higher authoritarian tendencies.

When forming a relationship, people can to some extent include their partner’s resources, perspectives and identities in their own identity (i.e., inclusion of the other in the self, or IOS). In this study, which was conducted with 169 couples, we examine the association of three sources of IOS: (a) the IOS of one member of the relationship; (b) the IOS of their partner; and (c) the similarity of both partners’ IOS with indicators of relational quality (partner conflicts, satisfaction with the relationship and sexual satisfaction) and quality of life (life satisfaction and stress). Using a multilevel approach, the results showed that higher IOS was related to higher levels of relational quality in the person and their partner, and with higher levels of quality of life in the person but not in their partner. Likewise, couples showed a strong similarity in IOS, which was indicative of higher relational quality and quality of life. These results underscore the importance of analysing the (inter)personal mechanisms and their consequences at different levels (i.e., individual and couple).

Cognitive biases affect how people perceive social class mobility. Previous studies suggest that people find it difficult to estimate actual economic social mobility accurately. These results have also noted differences between regions. While in the United States people overestimate actual economic social mobility, in Europe people tend to underestimate it. Across two independent cross-sectional studies, we examined whether cognitive biases operate in the Spanish context and, if so, whether they depend on the type of social mobility. In Study 1 (N = 480), we tested whether people in Spain have an accurate estimation of actual upward economic societal mobility. The results showed that people in Spain have a pessimistic view of upward societal mobility. In Study 2 (N = 274), we analyzed whether people in Spain are more or less optimistic according to the type of social mobility: Personal vs. societal. We found that Spaniards are more optimistic when estimating their own mobility (i.e., personal mobility) than when estimating the mobility of the Spanish society (i.e., societal mobility). Contrary to our predictions, we found that meritocratic beliefs do not play a relevant role in determining any type of social mobility. These results extend previous research on social mobility and its psychosocial consequences. Furthermore, they are well aligned with a new psychosocial perspective suggesting that social mobility is a multidimensional construct. We also discussed the psychosocial implications of this optimistic bias for personal mobility.

People find humour in the darkest and most tragic situations. However, there is remarkable interpersonal variability when it comes to setting the so-called limits of humour. We examine how the Dark Tetrad personality traits (DT4; Machiavellianism, narcissism, psychopathy, and sadism) relate to responses to black humour jokes in online settings. A community sample of 745 adults completed the Short Dark Triad and the Assessment of Sadistic Personality inventories before rating a set of 'black' and neutrally humourous jokes in terms of their (a) appreciation (fun/offence), (b) likelihood of sharing, and (c) censoring them on social networks (e.g. Twitter/Facebook). After controlling for common variance, everyday sadism emerged as the strongest DT4 predictor of black humour preferences. This type of dark personality was uniquely associated with higher fun and sharing, and lower offence and censorship of black humour jokes. Machiavellianism was related to negative levels of black humour censorship and offence, whereas the opposite associations were observed for narcissism. Yet, the DT4 only showed rather modest amounts of shared variance regarding responses to black humour jokes, suggesting that interpersonal callousness is insufficient to account for the complexity of black humour interposal variability. We discuss the findings with respect to earlier humour literature.

The Comic Style Markers (CSM) is a questionnaire that allows a fine-grained description of how people differ in the way they display humor in their daily lives. It includes 48 statements capturing eight interrelated, yet distinct comic styles: fun, irony, wit, sarcasm, benevolent humor, satire, nonsense humor, and cynicism. Despite the independent conceptual roots of these humorous domains, the analysis of the CSM scales' latent structure shows that their empirical distinction needs to be improved. Using the information derived from a competitive latent approach, including confirmatory factor analysis, bifactor analysis, and exploratory structural equation modeling, we proposed and validated a shorter 24-item version of the CSM in a large sample of 925 Spanish individuals (SP-CSM-24). This scale-refinement improved the psychometric differentiation of the eight comic styles without undermining the good internal consistency and the temporal stability of the CSM scores. Strong invariance was held for gender and age groups, and partial scalar invariance for countries also emerged using a sample of 318 U.S. American adults. Structural equation modeling also corroborated a convincing test-criterion validity for the SP-CSM-24, with dispositional expressions of benevolent humor (positively) and cynicism (negatively) outperforming other comic styles in accounting for individuals' well-being.