The moderating role of regulatory emotional self-efficacy on smoking craving: An ecological momentary assessment study

A Novel Approach to Assess Weekly Self-efficacy for Meeting Personalized Physical Activity Goals Via a Cellphone: 12-Week Longitudinal Study

BACKGROUND

Despite the health benefits of engaging in regular physical activity (PA), the majority of American adults do not meet the PA guidelines for aerobic and muscle-strengthening activities. Self-efficacy, the belief that one can execute specific actions, has been suggested to be a strong determinant of PA behaviors. With the increasing availability of digital technologies, collecting longitudinal real-time self-efficacy and PA data has become feasible. However, evidence in longitudinal real-time assessment of self-efficacy in relation to objectively measured PA is scarce.

OBJECTIVE

This study aimed to examine a novel approach to measure individuals' real-time weekly self-efficacy in response to their personalized PA goals and performance over the 12-week intervention period in community-dwelling women who were not meeting PA guidelines.

METHODS

In this secondary data analysis, 140 women who received a 12-week PA intervention were asked to report their real-time weekly self-efficacy via a study mobile app. PA (daily step counts) was measured by an accelerometer every day for 12 weeks. Participants rated their self-efficacy on meeting PA goals (ranging from "not confident" to "very confident") at the end of each week via a mobile app. We used a logistic mixed model to examine the association between weekly self-efficacy and weekly step goal success, controlling for age, BMI, self-reported White race, having a college education or higher, being married, and being employed.

RESULTS

The mean age was 52.7 (SD 11.5, range 25-68) years. Descriptive analyses showed the dynamics of real-time weekly self-efficacy on meeting PA goals and weekly step goal success. The majority (74.4%) of participants reported being confident in the first week, whereas less than half of them (46.4%) reported confidence in the final week of the intervention. Participants who met weekly step goals were 4.41 times more likely to be confident about achieving the following week's step goals than those who did not meet weekly step goals (adjusted odds ratio 4.41; 95% CI 2.59-7.50; P<.001). Additional analysis revealed that participants who were confident about meeting the following week's step goals were 2.07 times more likely to meet their weekly step goals in the following week (adjusted odds ratio 2.07; 95% CI 1.16-3.70; P=.01). The significant bidirectional association between real-time self-efficacy and weekly step goal success was confirmed in a series of sensitivity analyses.

CONCLUSIONS

This study demonstrates the potential utility of a novel approach to examine self-efficacy in real time for analysis of self-efficacy in conjunction with objectively measured PA. Discovering the dynamic patterns and changes in weekly self-efficacy on meeting PA goals may aid in designing a personalized PA intervention. Evaluation of this novel approach in an RCT is warranted.

Childhood maltreatment influences suicidal behavior: Rumination mediates and regulatory emotional self-efficacy moderates

To investigate the mediating role of rumination in the association between childhood maltreatment and suicidal behavior, and the moderating role of regulatory emotional self-efficacy, university students (N = 1,458) from 5 universities in China completed questionnaires in classrooms. Path analyses showed emotional maltreatment had the greatest positive association with suicidal behavior and rumination compared with other types of childhood maltreatment. Rumination partly mediated the relationship between childhood maltreatment and suicidal behavior. High regulatory emotional self-efficacy moderated the relation between ruminating childhood maltreatment and suicidal behavior.

Electronic communication during nonwork time and withdrawal behavior: An analysis of employee cognition-emotion-behavior framework from Chinese cultural context

Although a large number of literatures have explored the relationship between electronic communication during nonwork time and individual perception and behavior under the Western culture background, we still have some limitations on this topic under the cultural background of collectivism, dedication and “Guanxi” in China. Different from Western organizations, Chinese employees tend to put work first and are more inclusive of handling work tasks during nonwork time. This type of communication during nonwork time can significantly affect employees’ cognition, emotion and behavior. From the perspective of Job Demands-Resources theory, this study constructs a double-edged (U-shaped) model between electronic communication during nonwork time and employee withdrawal behavior. Sample data were collected from 516 employees with clear working time boundaries in China. The results indicate that electronic communication during nonwork time has a U-shaped effect on employee withdrawal behavior and an inverted U-shaped effect on employee’s cognition, namely job engagement. Job engagement plays a mediating role between them. Moreover, regulatory emotional self-efficacy has a moderating effect on the relationship between electronic communication during nonwork time and job engagement. These findings not only provide theoretical and practical implications for managers and employees on how to reduce withdrawal behaviors, but also advance our understanding of electronic communication during nonwork time in Chinese cultural context.

Effects of Stressors of COVID-19 on Chinese College Students' Problematic Social Media Use: A Mediated Moderation Model

PURPOSE

Isolation policies are long-term and strictly enforced in China during the COVID-19 outbreak. Social media might be widely used for communication, work, understanding the development of the epidemic, etc. However, these behaviors might lead to problematic social media use. The present study investigated the effect of stressors of COVID-19 on problematic social media use, as well as the internal mechanisms involved.

METHODS

One thousand three hundred seventy-three Chinese college students (M _age = 19.53, SD _age = 1.09) were recruited randomly from four grades who completed Coronavirus Stress Scale, Fear of Missing Out Scale, Problematic Mobile Social Media Usage Assessment Questionnaire, and Regulatory Emotional Self-Efficacy Scale.

RESULTS

Stressors of COVID-19 were positively related to problematic social media use. The link between stressors of COVID-19 and problematic social media use was mediated by fear of missing out. Additionally, the association between fear of missing out and problematic social media use, as well as the association between stressors of COVID-19 and problematic social media use were moderated by regulatory emotional self-efficacy.

CONCLUSION

The current findings reveal the mechanism that may be used to reduce the likelihood of problematic social media use in the context of the COVID-19 outbreak. To prevent and intervene in problematic social media use during the COVID-19 pandemic, this study stressed the importance of decreasing the fear of missing out and enhancing regulatory emotional self-efficacy.

Exploring the Associations between Perceived Organizational Support and Job Burnout among Chinese Academic Journal Editors: A Moderated Mediation Model

BACKGROUND

Job burnout (JB) has become a prevalent emotional and psychological syndrome across diverse contexts, especially in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic. This study aimed to examine the relationship between perceived organizational support (POS), job satisfaction (JS), self-efficacy (SE), and JB, alongside their mechanism of interplay.

METHODS

We took 210 Chinese academic journal editors as the research participants and designed a moderated mediation model to examine the posited construct. All the data were gathered online and analyzed with the statistical software SPSS and SmartPLS.

RESULTS

The participants comprised 117 women (55.71%) and 93 men (44.29%). There were significant differences among observed variables in age, experience, and title. POS had a significant negative predictive effect on JB (95% CI = -0.43; -0.06). JS mediated the relationship between POS and JB (95% CI = -0.48; -0.11). SE moderated the association between JS and JB (95% CI = 0.04; 0.75) but did not function as a moderator in the relationship between POS and JS (95% CI = -0.01; 0.24).

CONCLUSIONS

POS, JS, and SE were crucial determinants of JB among Chinese academic journal editors. Targeted interventions should be initiated to diminish editors' feelings of being unappreciated, inefficient, dissatisfied, and unaccomplished at work.

Associations between affect, craving, and smoking in Korean smokers: An ecological momentary assessment study

Cigarette smoking remains the largest cause of preventable death in the United States and worldwide. In South Korea and other Asian countries, a large proportion of males smoke, increasing the need to examine cigarette smoking in these populations. Research suggests that the association between positive affect and negative affect, and between affect and craving, may differ across cultures, and that it is useful to examine these associations using Ecological Momentary Assessment (EMA). South Korean smokers (N = 20, Mean Age = 21.15, 25% female) completed baseline questionnaires and downloaded an EMA app which prompted 4 random assessments (RAs) each day for 1-week. At each assessment, participants responded to items assessing momentary negative affect (NA) and positive affect (PA), craving, and number of cigarettes smoked since the previous EMA assessment. Linear mixed models (LMMs) were used to analyze EMA data (544 assessments), separating out between- and within- subject associations. There was a significant positive association between positive affect and negative affect at the between-subjects level. Both positive affect and negative affect were significantly positively associated with craving at between-subjects and within-subject levels. Craving was associated with subsequent smoking behavior at the within-subjects level. Overall, results suggest that associations between positive affect and negative affect may be different in South Korean smokers than in Western smokers, and that there are robust associations between both negative and positive affect and craving.

Brief Acceptance and Commitment Therapy for Fibromyalgia: Feasibility and Effectiveness of a Replicated Single-Case Design

Objective

Overall, the literature on the effectiveness of psychological treatments in general and those for fibromyalgia in particular has been dominated by research designs that focus on large groups and explore changes on average, so the treatment impact at the individual level remains unclear. In this quasi-experimental, replicated single-case design, we will test the feasibility and effectiveness of a brief acceptance and committed therapy intervention using ecological momentary assessment supported by technology.

Methods

The sample comprised 7 patients (3 in the individual condition and 4 in the group condition) who received a brief, 5-week psychological treatment. Patient evolution was assessed one week prior to treatment onset and during the whole study with a smartphone app. Because ecological momentary assessment and the use of an app are not frequent practices in routine care, we also evaluated the feasibility of this assessment methodology (i.e., compliance with the app). Change was investigated with a nonoverlap of all pairs index. Outcomes were pain interference with sleep and social activities, fatigue, sadness, and pain intensity.

Results

Patient change was not uniform across outcomes. Four patients (two in each condition) showed relatively moderate levels of change (approximately 60% nonoverlap in several outcomes). The remaining patients showed more modest improvements which affected a reduced number of outcomes. Based on nonoverlapping indices, there was no clear evidence in favor of any treatment format.

Conclusions

An alternative design to large-scale trials, one that focuses on the individual change, exists and it can be implemented in pain research. The use of technology (e.g., smartphones) simplifies such designs by facilitating ecological momentary assessment. Based on our findings showing that changes were not homogeneous across patients or outcomes, more single-case designs and patient-centered analyses (e.g., responder and moderation analyses) are required.

Smoking Prevalence, Attitudes and Behavior among Dental Students in Poland and Italy

The aim of the study was to perform preliminary research to compare the smoking prevalence, attitudes and behavior between dentistry students in two universities in Europe using the standardized Global Health Professions Student Survey (GHPSS) questionnaire. This was cross-sectional carried out among dentistry students from the Medical University in Bialystok, Poland and Sapienza University of Rome, Italy. There were 582 participants; 282 were Italians, 202 were smokers and 42% were Italians. The response rate was 79.9% of Italian students and 79.6% of Polish students. The prevalence of smoking was significantly higher among Italian students (42% vs. 28.0%). Attitudes and behaviour of smokers and non-smokers differed statistically. Polish and Italian dental students presented statistically different behavior regarding the time to smoke the first cigarette, the willingness to stop smoking and trying to stop smoking in the last year. The multiple logistic regression analysis revealed that two independent variables, exposure to second-hand smoke (SHS) both at home and in public places (OR = 3.26 and OR = 5.9, respectively), showed a significantly higher occurrence of smoking. There is a high use of tobacco among dental students, which is particularly high in Italian dental students. Students realizes the positive perception of their own tobacco counsellor role in a dental setting. Dental students should be role models to their peers and patients.

The Influence of Job and Individual Resources on Work Engagement Among Chinese Police Officers: A Moderated Mediation Model

Background

The work engagement of police officers pertains to social stability and security, as well as to the orderly operation of the political-economic environment. Although there are many studies on work engagement at present, few studies focus on the influencing factors of police officers' work engagement. According to the job demands-resources model and the conservation of resources theory, job resources (e.g., perceived organizational support) and personal resources (e.g., regulatory emotional self-efficacy) are important factors influencing work engagement. We assume that a moderated mediation model, in which job satisfaction plays a mediating role in the relationship between perceived organizational support and work engagement, regulatory emotional self-efficacy moderates not only the relationship between perceived organizational support and job satisfaction but also the relationship between job satisfaction and work engagement.

Objective and Method

This study explores the drivers of work engagement through perceived organizational support and regulatory emotional self-efficacy among Chinese police officers using a convenient sampling method to administer a questionnaire to 744 Chinese police officers. A mediated model is proposed to investigate the mediating role of job satisfaction and the regulating role of regulatory emotional self-efficacy.

Results

Job satisfaction mediated a positive relationship between organizational support and work engagement, and the perceived organizational support-job satisfaction and the job satisfaction-work engagement relationships were positively moderated by regulatory emotional self-efficacy, such that these relationships were stronger at higher levels of regulatory emotional self-efficacy. These findings have a practical significance for Chinese police officers' work engagement advancement.

Emotion reactivity, nonsuicidal self-injury, and regulatory emotional self-efficacy: A moderated mediation model of suicide ideation

BACKGROUND

Adolescent suicide ideation (SI) has received increased attention in recent years, and emotion reactivity (ER) has been found to be a risk factor for SI. However, little is known about the mediating and moderating mechanisms underlying this relationship. The aim of this study is to test a moderated mediation model of SI.

METHOD

A total of 2,716 Chinese adolescents (53.2% males, mean age = 13.19 years, SD = 0.52) completed self-report questionnaires regarding SI, ER, nonsuicidal self-injury (NSSI), and regulatory emotional self-efficacy (RESE).

RESULTS

After controlling for gender, ER was significantly associated with SI, and this association was mediated by NSSI. RESE buffered the relation between ER and SI, as well as the relation between ER and NSSI.

LIMITATION

This study was cross-sectional in design and relied upon self-report measures only. Almost all participants were recruited from a single city of China.

CONCLUSION

Findings of this study demonstrate a relationship among ER, NSSI, and SI, and expand our understanding of the development of SI. Further, RESE may be a protective factor against SI and NSSI in adolescence, which suggests a potential role of promoting RESE in the prevention and intervention of SI and NSSI.

Social cognitions and smoking behaviour: Temporal resolution matters

Objectives Health behaviour theories outline how cognitions predict behaviours, but rarely specify the temporal relation between cognitions and behaviours. It is not known whether these predictive relationships vary depending on temporal resolution or whether the relative influence of cognitions varies with measurement schedules. The current exploratory study therefore investigates whether the associations between behavioural cognitions (self-efficacy, intention, and risk perception) and smoking vary when measured momentarily, at day level, or using the more common baseline-follow-up design. Design EMA study involving 36 continuing smokers over 17 days. Participants logged cigarettes and reported their cognitions at baseline, daily (evening), and in response to momentary surveys. Methods Random-effects models were used to compare the effects of cognitions measured at different time points on (1) the number of cigarettes smoked daily and (2) the time interval until the next cigarette smoked. Results Self-efficacy and risk perception measured at baseline significantly predicted cigarettes smoked each day, but this effect became non-significant when daily measurements of cognitions were included in the model. Momentary smoking behaviour was predicted by momentary measurements of risk perception, with no significant effects of social cognitions at baseline. Conclusions Relationships between cognitions and behaviours vary according to the temporal resolution of the measurement schedule. Ensuring that the temporal resolution of assessment is appropriate for the temporal dynamics of the behaviour being assessed is important. Future research is needed to investigate the potential for leveraging specific cognitive processes depending on temporal importance in order to increase health-promoting behaviours. Statement of contribution What is already known on this subject? Social cognitions including intentions, risk perception, and self-efficacy have been observed to predict smoking. Little is known about the role of time in the cognition-behaviour relationship. Cognitions have been observed to fluctuate, but instability is typically not considered in research design. What does this study add? Daily measurement of social cognitions predicts behaviour better than measurements taken at baseline. Momentary smoking behaviour is predicted by momentary cognitions at the intra-individual level. Temporal resolution of measurement should be considered when investigating cognition-behaviour relationships.