Stress can adversely affect the emotional well-being of healthcare students, yet existing evidence is inconsistent. However, no meta-analysis has systematically examined these inconsistencies while recognizing emotional well-being as a multifaceted construct shaped by diverse stressors. Guided by the Transactional Model of Stress and Coping, Self-Determination Theory, and Resilience Theory, this meta-analysis contextualizes the stress–well-being relationship in healthcare students. The current study synthesized findings to clarify this relationship, treating emotional well-being as a multidimensional construct shaped by diverse stressors. A systematic search of PsycInfo, Scopus, PubMed, Web of Science, ScienceDirect, Oxford Academic, and gray literature sources identified 85 studies with 133 effect sizes (N = 32,029; Mage = 21.35 years; 75.41

Contemporary theories of emotion emphasize the dual role of emotions as both personal experiences and communicative signals during social interactions. However, the impact of macro-level societal structures on emotional expression remains underexplored. This study investigates the expression-experience discrepancy for self-reported emotions across nations, focusing on how societal development relates to this discrepancy, which captures expressivity. Using meta-analysis and multilevel modeling with a multinational sample ( N sample = 12,549, k nation = 48; Study 1), we assessed the directions and variabilities in the frequency of expression of both positive and negative emotions, relative to the frequency of experiencing them. Negative emotions were more likely to be under-expressed. Further analyses revealed that societal trust, system quality and fairness, and the human development index significantly predicted the size of these discrepancies. Surprisingly, these effects were not associated with traditional cultural dimensions such as individualism versus collectivism, providing new insights into the social functionality of emotions from a macro perspective. These findings were replicated in an extended multinational sample ( N sample = 19,690, k nation = 65; Study 2). Our findings highlight the importance of considering structural and societal factors in emotion research and provide a foundation for future explorations into the relations between cultural contexts and the expression of emotions.

Cross-cultural empirical evidence on the validity of measures of depression and anxiety symptoms in adolescents is scarce and inconclusive. The present study investigated the cross-national measurement invariance and convergent validity evidence of the Depression and Anxiety scales of the Depression Anxiety and Stress Scales (DASS-21). We sampled 16,802 adolescents (58.1% female) aged 14-19 years across 30 countries from five continents. Both exact and approximate measurement invariance were tested. The results provided evidence for the exploratory structural equation model (ESEM) as the best representation of the data in most countries. Full scalar invariance was not supported when tested across all countries, but only among two Southern Asian countries (Bangladesh, India), two Northern European countries (Estonia, Lithuania), the six former republics of Yugoslavia, and European and American countries grouped by UN subregions. Results of the alignment method supported the approximate invariance of the ESEM model across 29 countries. Associations between Depression and Anxiety ESEM factors and life satisfaction, positive affect, and negative affect conformed to the theoretical expectations in most countries. Our findings indicate that the Depression and Anxiety scales of the DASS-21 have potential for use in cross-national research on adolescent internalizing symptoms, but we highlight issues of using it outside of Western (European, North American) settings.

Attending college fosters intellectual growth, but also subjects students to various processes that can lead to stress, a common experience among students today. However, research into stress and resilience in this population yields inconsistent and mixed results. Moreover, there is no prior correlational meta-analysis on the relationship of resilience and stress among college students. This is the first study to investigate the estimated pooled correlation between stress and resilience in this population. We used systematic review and meta-analysis of relationship between stress and resilience among college students, covering studies up to July 6, 2024. We used databases – PsycInfo, PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science, and gray literature sources – Research Gate and Google Scholar. Study quality was evaluated using Newcastle Ottawa Scale, and statistical analyses were conducted using R Studio. Across 25 eligible studies (total participants = 32,613), we found a moderate negative correlation between stress and resilience (r = −0.29, p < .01, 95 % CI: −0.40, −0.16, I2 = 99.5 %). Egger's test did not reveal publication bias (t = −1.84, p = .07), while funnel plot asymmetry was assessed through Trim and Fill method. Subgroup analysis indicated significant effect of resilience types (Q = 15.78, p < .01), tools of measurement (Q = 18.68, p < .01), precision of findings (Q = 18.33, p < .01), and demographic factor – region (Q = 21.39, p < .01). This study finds a significant moderate negative relationship between stress and resilience among college students. While the significant influence of study's methodological and demographic variables underscores the need for customized interventions for these populations.

OBJECTIVE:The present review aimed to examine the association between different styles of attachment and proneness to shame. METHOD:A systematic literature search was conducted across databases including PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, and Google Scholar which led to the inclusion of 18 studies in the analysis. The meta-analysis incorporated studies involving diverse populations, ensuring a comprehensive understanding of the attachment-shame relationship across various demographic contexts. Four correlational meta-analyses were conducted to investigate the relationship between secure, insecure styles- dismissive, preoccupied, and fearful attachment styles and proneness to shame. Random-effect models in R were employed and the quality of the studies was assessed using the Newcastle-Ottawa Scale. RESULTS:Study findings revealed a significant small to moderate negative association between secure attachment and shame (Effect Size [ES] = -0.29); moderate positive associations were found between fearful (ES = 0.39) and preoccupied attachment styles (ES = 0.33) with shame; small but significant positive association was found between dismissing attachment and shame (ES = 0.13). Subgroup analysis revealed that the association between all three insecure attachment styles and shame was more pronounced among LGBTQ+ individuals. Meta-regression analysis showed that gender significantly influenced the associations for preoccupied and dismissing attachment styles. CONCLUSION:These results demonstrate that the strength of association with shame varies by type of attachment style. The results also point to the moderating influence of gender and sexual orientation. These insights have important clinical implications and suggest directions for future research on tailoring interventions based on attachment styles.

BACKGROUND:Depression is a major global health concern, affecting millions of people worldwide. It is especially widespread in regions such as Asia and Africa, where the number of affected individuals is significantly high. Women are particularly at risk, with studies showing they are almost twice as likely as men to suffer from depression. One helpful explanation comes from Silencing the Self (STS) theory, which suggests that many women tend to suppress their true feelings in relationships to maintain peace. This pattern of emotional suppression can lead to increased psychological distress and contribute to the development of depression. AIMS:This study looks at how family communication patterns (FCPs), specifically conversation and conformity orientations, affect STS and depression among Indian women. METHOD:An online survey was conducted with 304 women aged 25 to 35, who were in relationships. They completed questionnaires assessing FCPs, STS, and depression. Structural equation modeling (SEM) was used to test the relationships between these constructs. RESULTS:The results showed that conformity orientation (a family communication pattern focused on following rules and authority) strongly predicted self-silencing behaviors, which in turn increased depression risk. Conformity orientation indirectly affected depression through STS, while conversation orientation had a more direct effect on depression. CONCLUSIONS:The study highlights STS as a key link between family and societal influences on women's mental health. Despite limitations like the use of self-report measures and a cross-sectional design, the study emphasizes the need for addressing both sociocultural and cognitive factors in interventions for depression in women.

Even in the most egalitarian societies, hierarchies of power and status shape social life. However, power and received status are not synonymous-individuals in positions of power may or may not be accorded the respect corresponding to their role. Using a cooperatively collected dataset from 18,096 participants across 70 cultures, we investigate, through a survey-based correlational design, when perceived position-based power (operationalized as influence and control) of various powerholders is associated with their elevated social status (operationalized as perceived respect and instrumental social value). We document that the positive link between power and status characterizes most cultural regions, except for WEIRD (Western, Educated, Industrialized, Rich, Democratic) and Post-Soviet regions. The strength of this association depends on individual and cultural factors. First, the perceived other-orientation of powerholders amplifies the positive link between perceived power and status. The perceived self-orientation of powerholders weakens this relationship. Second, among cultures characterized by low Self-Expression versus Harmony (e.g., South Korea, Taiwan), high Embeddedness (e.g., Senegal), and high Cultural Tightness (e.g., Malaysia), the association between power and status tends to be particularly strong. The results underline the importance of both individual perceptions and societal values in how position-based power relates to social status.

The purpose of this paper is to understand the implications of different dimensions of cultural models of selfhood for the frequency of being in love across cultures. This is achieved by analyzing large cross-cultural datasets encompassing 49 and 70 countries. In doing so, this paper extends the current discussion regarding the impact of cultural contexts and individual mindsets on the experience of being in love by correlating eight dimensions of independent and interdependent selves (Vignoles et al., 2016). Across eight different self-construal dimensions, we found that the strongest correlate of being in love was the self-expression (vs. harmony) dimension, where a higher frequency of feeling in love, measured by Likert scale from never to all the time, was associated with greater self-expression, both at the country and at the individual levels. Our results refine the discussion on the impact of Individualism/Collectivism on love experiences by demonstrating that it is specifically the self-expression aspect of individualistic/modernized countries that contributes to a higher frequency of being in love.

Despite the critical role of culture in understanding adolescent self and identity, there is a lack of cross‐culturally validated measures of adolescent self‐construal. The present study evaluated cross‐national measurement invariance of the Aspects of Identity Questionnaire‐IV (AIQ‐IV), assessing four dimensions of self‐construal: personal, relational, public, and collective. The sample included 16,795 adolescents aged 14–19 years from 30 countries across four continents. The four‐factor structure of the AIQ‐IV obtained using exploratory structural equation modeling (ESEM) was supported in the vast majority of countries. Exact invariance testing using multi‐group ESEM supported configural invariance, indicating that the overall structure of the AIQ‐IV was similar across countries. Full scalar invariance was supported only on a subset of countries (i.e., when tests were conducted using European countries grouped by UN geographical regions). An alignment approach provided evidence for the approximate invariance of the ESEM model, with 15.6% of parameters showing noninvariance and allowing for comparison of latent means. The largest number of noninvariant parameters was evident in Asian countries, with items assessing collective‐interdependent aspects of identity showing the most variation across countries. A comparison of mean levels of identity orientations across countries revealed that culture‐level dimensions of collectivism–individualism do not translate simply into individual‐level dimensions of self‐construal.

ObjectivePandemics have been shown to affect both physical and mental health, with healthcare workers (HCWs) bearing a particularly heavy burden. During the COVID-19 pandemic, HCWs faced a high volume of cases, extended work hours, and heightened pandemic-related stressors, which placed them at increased risk for mental health issues. This study examines the effects of COVID-19-related anxiety on HCWs' mental health, specifically exploring the roles of compassion fatigue (comprising burnout and secondary traumatic stress) as potential mediators in this relationship.MethodA sample of 104 HCWs completed an online survey measuring their demographic characteristics (such as gender, age, length of service, marital status, and education), levels of COVID-19 anxiety, compassion fatigue, and mental health outcomes. Path analysis and bootstrapping procedures were used to analyze the data.ResultsResults indicated that COVID-19 anxiety was positively associated with compassion fatigue, defined as the emotional strain of caring for others, which includes both burnout (emotional exhaustion from work) and secondary traumatic stress (stress from exposure to others' trauma). Compassion fatigue, particularly secondary traumatic stress, mediated the relationship between COVID-19 anxiety and various mental health indicators, including symptoms of anxiety, depression, and psychological distress. Both COVID-19 anxiety and compassion fatigue were significant predictors of these mental health outcomes.ConclusionsThese findings suggest that COVID-19 anxiety alone does not fully explain mental health outcomes among HCWs, as compassion fatigue, specifically secondary traumatic stress, plays a substantial role. Recognizing the complex interplay of pandemic-related stressors and compassion fatigue may guide interventions to better support HCWs' mental health.

An important question in cognitive and evolutionary psychology is how the human mind anticipates the future and copes with stress and risk of disease. The parasite-stress model suggests that many patterns of human behavior and thought are adaptations to varying levels of exposure to parasites and pathogens. A growing body of health psychology research shows a link between positive future thinking and resiliency to various forms of disease. In this study, we investigate the link between historical pathogen prevalence in countries and individuals' perception of the future of humanity. We surveyed 18,981 participants across 68 nations, examining their beliefs about how well humanity will be doing 1000 years from now compared to the present. We found that individuals residing in regions with higher historical disease risk tend to have more positive views about the future of humanity than individuals residing in areas with lower historical disease risk. The difference could not be attributed to several other stress-inducing factors, such as climate stress, population density or objective or subjective socioeconomic indicators. This research contributes to a growing body of evidence demonstrating how disease risk shapes human cognition and encourages future exploration of the evolution of temporal forecasting and consciousness.

Accurately measuring life orientation (or continuum from optimism to pessimism) is essential for research focused on enhancing health and well-being. The psychometric statistics of the Revised Life Orientation Test (LOT-R) has been examined using Classical Test Theory (CTT). This method has been criticized for relying on the imprecise ordinal scores. We have employed the advance Rasch methodology to examine the psychometric statistics of the Revised Life LOT-R within a community sample from Ghana, Germany, India, and New Zealand. Utilizing the Partial Credit Rasch model, we analyzed responses from a randomly selected sample of 1,000 individuals (n= 250 from each country) out of the total sample of 1,822 recruited from these countries. Our initial analysis of the LOT-R revealed significant misfit to the unidimensional Rasch model (χ2 (24) = 93.38, p < 0.001). The best fit was achieved through the advanced modification process of testlet creation, as evidenced by no significant deviations from the model expectations (χ2 (27) = 10.85, p < 0.99). The optimal three testlet model demonstrated strict unidimensionality, good reliability (Person Separation Index = 0.73), monotonous pattern of item thresholds, and adequate sample targeting (M = 0.20; SD = 0.72). The LOT-R demonstrated internal structural validity, as well as convergent and external validity reflected by expected correlations with measures of compassion towards others, self-compassion, positive affect, distress and negative affect. The LOT-R further showed invariance across sociodemographic factors, and the optimal parameters guided the creation of an algorithm for transforming ordinal to interval data, enhancing precision of the instrument. Our study supports the LOT-R's reliability and validity, improving its precision for investigating dispositional optimism. The study provides an ordinal-to-interval conversion table presented in the paper that can be used to enhance measurement accuracy.

The present study investigated the cross-national measurement invariance of a 10-item Youth Externalizing Problems Screener (YEPS) on a sample of 17,489 adolescents from 32 countries. The original one-factor and two-factor models of YEPS were found to provide a poor fit to the data in most countries. Following the removal of two semantically overlapping items and the inclusion of correlated error terms, adequate model fit was obtained in 31 of 32 countries. Measurement invariance testing of an abbreviated 8-item YEPS (YEPS-SF) supported configural invariance. Partial scalar invariance was achieved only after freely estimating numerous parameters. The alignment analysis revealed that 22% of parameters were non-invariant across countries. South Africa, Hungary, and India showed the largest number of non-invariant parameters, whereas the lowest number was detected in several European countries. These findings highlight the potential of the YEPS-SF for use within individual countries and the challenge of developing cross-culturally comparable measures, suggesting that cultural adaptations may be necessary.

Psychological distress is widespread globally, affects both mental and physical health, and has been significantly exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. Reliable and valid instruments to assess psychological distress are needed so that interventions to address this condition can be directed and evaluated. We evaluated the psychometric statistics of the Depression Anxiety Stress Scales (DASS-21) using the Rasch method and a population survey sample dataset from four nations. To meet the requirements of the Rasch model, we randomly selected 500 participants (at least 110 from each country) from a total sample of 1822 individuals from Germany (n = 475), Ghana (n = 523), India (n = 411), and New Zealand (n = 413). Minor testlet modifications were necessary to achieve a satisfactory model fit for the depression (χ2 (30) = 40.32, p = 0.099), anxiety (χ2 (32) = 31.22, p = 0.510), and stress (χ2 (20) = 29.64, p = 0.076) subscales, and the full-scale (χ2 (18) = 23.93, p = 0.16). The scales were strictly unidimensional with acceptable reliability reflected by Person Separation Index (PSI) values of 0.86 for depression, 0.74 for anxiety, 0.82 for stress, and 0.87 for the total scale. The scales' items showed invariance across the countries and sociodemographic factors. The scales also demonstrated convergent, structural, and external validities. The study supported the reliability and validity of the DASS-21 for assessing psychological distress in four countries. Rasch model algorithms developed in this study enable conversion of the ordinal DASS-21 scale and its subscale scores to interval-level scores, which increases the precision of measurement. Future studies should apply Rasch methodology to the DASS-21 in various cultural contexts, incorporating subgroup analyses.

Background: Somatic symptoms, such as chronic pain, fatigue, and gastrointestinal disturbances, are commonly reported in individuals with a history of childhood maltreatment (CM), which includes various forms of abuse and neglect experienced before age 18. Although CM is strongly associated with somatic symptoms, the specific relationships between CM subtypes and these symptoms, as well as the mechanisms connecting them, remain insufficiently understood. This review examines the complex interaction between CM and somatic symptoms, which often coexist with mental disorders and significantly impact quality of life and healthcare systems. Summary: Somatic symptoms, frequently a mix of "explained" and "unexplained" conditions, are associated with personal distress and pose diagnostic challenges. CM has been linked to these symptoms through neurobiological mechanisms, such as HPA axis dysregulation and allostatic load, while theoretical models emphasize the roles of hyperawareness, cultural factors, and vulnerability in symptom development. However, existing research often fails to account for specific CM subtypes, the full range of somatic symptoms, and cultural and situational factors, leading to inconsistencies in findings. Key Messages: Bridging gaps in literature requires adopting the World Health Organization’s CM subtype definitions and ICD-11 codes (MA00-MH2Y) to encompass a broader spectrum of somatic symptoms. Employing rigorous methodologies, such as systematic reviews and meta-analyses, is essential for advancing understanding. These approaches can enhance diagnostic accuracy, support tailored interventions, and promote a biopsychosocial framework for CM research, ultimately improving patient outcomes and alleviating societal burdens.

Previous research indicates that the significance of love varies considerably across cultures. In the present study, we introduce an often-overlooked cultural factor - religiosity - to explore its influence on the relationship between being in love and five dimensions of subjective well-being. We conducted two cross-cultural studies with 31,608 participants from 117 samples across 83 societies. Our findings reveal that, in more religious cultures, being in love is a weaker predictor of well-being compared to more secular cultures in four out of six models. These findings indicate that national context influences the relative importance of various emotions and experiences for well-being, underscoring the need to account for cultural context in research on love.

Despite a growing interest in adolescent subjective well-being, cross-cultural research on positive and negative affect in adolescents has been surprisingly scarce. Moreover, a cross-cultural evaluation of affective well-being measures in adolescents has lagged behind research in adults. The present study evaluated the cross-national and gender invariance of the Scale of Positive and Negative Experience (SPANE), using adolescent samples from 32 countries (N = 17,489; age range = 14–19) spanning five continents. The original two-factor structure of the SPANE was supported in 29 of the 32 countries. We could establish partial metric invariance of the SPANE across countries and full or partial scalar invariance across gender in 18 and 11 countries, respectively. The alignment method showed evidence for approximate invariance across countries, allowing for cross-national means comparisons of positive and negative affect. In most countries, girls reported higher levels of negative affect, and no substantial gender differences in positive affect were observed. Cross-national differences in mean levels of positive and negative affect yielded complex findings. Our results suggest that the SPANE is a solid candidate for measuring emotional experiences among adolescents in large-scale cross-national studies.