The Effects of a Meaning-Centered Intervention on Meaning in Life and Eating Disorder Symptoms in Undergraduate Women With High Weight and Shape Concerns: A Randomized Controlled Trial

Perceived stress of COVID-19 pandemic and problematic mobile phone use during quarantine conditions among Chinese adolescents: a mediated moderation model

The relation between perceived general stress and problematic mobile phone use (PMPU) has been well established. With the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), the present study was designed to examine the association between perceived stress of COVID-19 as a kind of event-related stress and PMPU, and the mechanisms underlying this relation. Participants were 724 adolescents ranging from 12 to 16 years old (M = 13.28, SD = 1.05) who completed four online questionnaires addressing perceived stress of COVID-19, search for meaning in life, escapism motivation, and PMPU. The results revealed that escapism motivation mediated the relationship between perceived stress of COVID-19 and PMPU. In addition, search for meaning in life played a moderating role between perceived stress of COVID-19 and escapism motivation. These findings extend the literature by addressing how and under what conditions perceived stress of COVID-19 can contribute to PMPU. We discussed the implications for developing targeted intervention programs aimed at reducing PMPU among adolescents.

Life meaning and feelings of ineffectiveness as transdiagnostic factors in eating disorder and comorbid internalizing symptomatology - A combined undirected and causal network approach

The field of eating disorders is facing problems ranging from a suboptimal classification system to low long-term success rates of treatments. There is evidence supporting a transdiagnostic approach to explain the development and maintenance of eating disorders. Meaning in life has been proposed as a promising key transdiagnostic factor that could potentially not only bridge between the different eating disorder subtypes but also explain frequent co-occurrence with symptoms of comorbid psychopathology, such as anxiety and depression. The present study used self-report data from 501 participants to construct networks of eating disorder and comorbid internalizing symptomatology, including factors related to meaning in life, i.e., presence of life meaning, perceived ineffectiveness, and satisfaction with basic psychological needs. In an undirected network model, it was found that ineffectiveness is a central node, also bridging between eating disorder and other psychological symptoms. A directed network model displayed evidence for a causal effect of presence of life meaning both on the core symptomatology of eating disorders and depressive symptoms via ineffectiveness. These results support the notion of meaning in life and feelings of ineffectiveness as transdiagnostic factors within eating disorder symptomatology in the general population.