"Mad Scared" versus "I Was Sad": Emotional expression and response in urban adolescent males

Does Bullying Victimization Accelerate Adolescents' Non-suicidal Self-injury? The Mediating Role of Negation Emotions and The Moderating Role of Submissive Behavior

Based on general strain theory, the current study examined whether bullying victimization was significantly related to adolescents' non-suicidal self-injury and whether negation emotions mediated this association and submissive behavior moderated this mediation process. A total of 1,984 adolescents completed a series of anonymous questionnaires regarding bullying victimization, negative emotions, non-suicidal self-injury, and submissive behavior. Results showed that bullying victimization was significantly and positively associated with non-suicidal self-injury and this relation was partially mediated by negative emotions. Submissive behavior moderated the relation between bullying victimization and non-suicidal self-injury as well as negation emotions and non-suicidal self-injury. Specifically, the victims of bullying with high submissive behavior were more likely to develop non-suicidal self-injury. Adolescents who had higher negative emotions were at greater risk of engaging in non-suicidal self-injury when they also had high submissive behavior. The positive association between negative emotions and non-suicidal self-injury was stronger in females than males.

Predicting Anxiety from the Complex Interaction Between Masculinity and Spiritual Beliefs

Research suggests that adherence to traditional and hegemonic masculinities can be detrimental to men’s mental health. In particular, anxiety can result from the incongruence between idealised and lived experiences. Emerging research suggests that holding spiritual beliefs may protect against such anxiety. This Australian study investigated whether two aspects of spiritualism (Spiritual Openness and Spiritual Support) could moderate the relationship between four stereotypical masculine behaviours (Success Dedication, Restrictive Emotionality, Inhibited Affection and Exaggerated Self-Reliance and Control) and anxiety. A cross-sectional, correlational design, with a heterogeneous, Western community sample included 331 male participants aged 18–67 (M = 24.57, SD = 10.37). In partial support of the hypotheses, two significant moderation models were found. Both Spiritual Support and Spiritual Openness moderated the relationship between Exaggerated Self-Reliance and Control and anxiety. There were no significant moderations for Success Dedication, Restrictive Emotionality, and Inhibited Affection. Masculinity and spiritualism did not have significant direct effects on anxiety. These findings suggest that when working with men and their mental health, it may be important to consider the congruence between their behaviors and belief systems, as spirituality was only protective against anxiety where these beliefs were congruent with masculine self-reliance and control. It appears that the potential benefit of spirituality in reducing masculine anxiety is dependent on the man being more open to external supports, and having a lower need for control.

A Systematic Review of Adolescent Masculinities and Associations with Internalizing Behavior Problems and Social Support

Interest in the connection between masculinities and mental health continues to grow. However, no previous systematic review has explored this association for adolescents. We present the systematic review of 29 articles that explore the connection between adherence to stereotypical male gender role norms (e.g., emotional restriction), attributes (e.g., "ambitious"), and identity (most commonly, gender "typicality") and internalizing behavior problems and social support. A total of 24,795 adolescent boys (6th-12th grade) were included in the reviewed studies from 1997-2017. In the quantitative articles (n = 20), associations varied by aspect of masculinity assessed. Specifically, we found that greater endorsement of "masculine" traits (e.g., ambitious, assertive) was generally associated with fewer internalizing behavior problems and greater social support. However, lower gender "typicality" and higher adherence to stereotypical gender role norms were generally associated with more internalizing behavior problems and lower social support. In the qualitative articles (n = 9), the most predominant theme was emotional restriction (i.e., a gender role norm) and consequences for mental health. While research in this area is newer for community psychologists, the connection between masculinities and mental health is directly relevant to the field. Given the focus on individual-level conceptions of masculinity and mental health found in our review, we describe key future directions for masculinities research in community psychology.

Posttraumatic Growth Impacts Views of Others’ Trauma: The Roles of Shared Experience and Gender

Posttraumatic growth (PTG) may foster skills that allow one to understand traumatic experiences in others. The primary aim of this study is to determine the relationship between an individual’s PTG reports and their ability to relate to two growth types, PTG and illusory growth. The purpose of this study is to elucidate perceptions of illusory growth and PTG so clinicians may more readily identify catalysts for growth and customize treatments. Participants were read two vignettes that detailed the experience of PTG and illusory growth as a result of a specific traumatic event (i.e., car accident). They completed a questionnaire regarding their perceptions of the vignettes. Results revealed that participants with higher PTG were more likely to relate to the PTG vignette than the illusory growth vignette, and when participants had experienced the same event in the vignette (i.e., car accident), this relationship was stronger. Last, participants mostly perceived the PTG vignette as female, and the illusory growth vignette as male. Our results suggest that interventions following traumatic experiences could be best facilitated/supplemented by reflective interactions with others who have experienced similar events. Considering one’s gender may be important in order to ensure that gender stereotypes regarding emotional expression are mitigated.

Bidirectional effects between expressive regulatory abilities and peer acceptance among Chinese adolescents

The current study examined potential bidirectional effects between adolescents' expressive regulation (the ability to enhance and suppress overt emotional behavior in line with situational demands) and peer interactions via two experiments. Experiment 1 tested the hypothesis that adolescents' expressive regulation affects their social acceptance from peers. Participants (N = 147) were randomly divided into three conditions and watched video clips in which a same-sex partner differed in his or her levels of expressive enhancement and suppression abilities. Results showed that participants reported greater liking of the partner when he or she was able to flexibly enhance and suppress emotional expressions in line with situational demands compared with when either one of these abilities was impaired. Experiment 2 then examined whether peer rejection reduced participants' enhancement and suppression abilities. We manipulated participants' feelings of rejection through a virtual Cyberball game. Following this manipulation (N = 100; Inclusion vs. Exclusion), we tested participants' expressive enhancement and suppression abilities, as well as their natural expressivity, via an observational task. Peer exclusion resulted in lower levels of enhancement ability and natural expressive behaviors but did not impair suppression ability. The results of these experiments suggest that both expressive enhancement and expressive suppression are important for adolescents to obtain higher peer acceptance. In addition, peer exclusion also caused impairments in expressive regulation, specifically reduced enhancement abilities. In summary, these results evidenced the bidirectional effects between expressive regulation and peer acceptance.

Brain and Emotion

Progress in understanding the relation between brain profiles and emotions is being slowed by the belief in a collection of basic emotional states, with the names: fear, anger, joy, disgust, and sadness, that do not specify the species or age of the experiencing agent, the origin of the state, or the evidence used to infer it. This article evaluates critically the premise that decontextualized emotional words refer to natural kinds. It also suggests that investigators set aside the currently popular words and search for relations, in humans and animals, between patterns of measures to varied incentives presented in distinctive contexts.