Growth mindset of anxiety buffers the link between stressful life events and psychological distress and coping strategies

Investigating adolescent psychological wellbeing in an educational context using PISA 2018 Canadian data

Introduction

Adolescent psychological wellbeing has been identified as an important public health priority and one of the major challenges facing young people. However, few studies have examined the wellbeing of Canadian adolescents nationwide in the past decade, and even fewer have focused specifically on immigrant adolescents. This study aims to investigate Canadian adolescent psychological wellbeing (PWB) via nationally representative data from the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) 2018. We explored what social and educational factors were critical in predicting Canadian adolescents' PWB, how adolescents from immigrant families differed from their non-immigrant peers in their wellbeing, and how adolescents' PWB was related to their academic performance.

Methods

A total of 22,651 Grade 8 Canadian students who participated PISA 2018 were included in this study (mean age of 15; 49.9% female; 26% immigrant students). Mixed effects modeling was adopted for data analysis.

Results

Our results showed that various social and educational factors were associated with adolescent PWB, but these relationships varied depending on which aspect of PWB was examined. Immigrant adolescents were shown to have higher levels of PWB when student attitudes toward immigrants were more positive. Additionally, most aspects of PWB were important for achievement performance.

Discussion

It is important to develop healthy and supportive school and disciplinary climates that foster students' sense of belonging. To further support the PWB of immigrant adolescents, educators can implement activities and integrate learning materials on cultural diversity into curricula, encouraging students to develop positive attitudes toward immigrants. Our findings on the PWB of Canadian adolescents could provide valuable insights for other countries with diverse populations, particularly those with significant immigrant communities.

The relationship between growth mindset and cognitive fusion in college students is mediated by bias towards negative information

This study aimed to investigate the relationships among growth mindset, cognitive fusion, bias towards negative information, and bias towards positive information. The Growth Mindset Scale, the Attention to Positive and Negative Information Scale, and the Cognitive Fusion Questionnaire were employed. A total of 470 college students in China participated in the study. The findings showed a negative correlation between a growth mindset and cognitive fusion. In addition, a parallel mediation analysis demonstrated that bias towards negative information mediated the relationship between a growth mindset and cognitive fusion and that the indirect effect was significant. However, the mediation of bias towards positive information in this model was not significant. These results suggest that possessing a growth mindset is advantageous for mental health.

Creating a psychosocial intervention combining growth mindset and implementation intentions (GMII) to reduce alcohol consumption: A mixed method approach

This work aimed at creating a psychosocial intervention based on growth mindset theory and implementation intention strategies, in order to reduce alcohol consumption among users in the general population, and the clinical population of individuals with alcohol use disorder. A mixed method approach was used, combining qualitative and quantitative research methods among both populations. Four focus groups were first conducted to extract arguments in favor of a malleable view of alcohol consumption (study 1A), situations that trigger the desire to drink alcohol, as well as strategies used by people to counteract this need (study 1B). Data were analyzed using reflective thematic analysis in line with the scientific literature on alcohol consumption. The results were used to create a questionnaire scoring the relevance of each argument, situation and strategy (study 2). The 20 best scored arguments, situations and strategies were selected to create the intervention. The created intervention consisted in a popularized scientific article describing alcohol consumption as malleable, including the selected arguments and followed by two internalization exercises. Then, a volitional help sheet included the selected situations and solutions was presented, allowing forming up to three plans. The discussion focused on the added value of the created material compared to pre-existing tools in the literature, and presents plans to test the intervention in a future study.

How calling emerges and develops during COVID-19: a qualitative study of medical students

INTRODUCTION

The presence of calling in medicine has been shown to be related to a preponderance of positive outcomes among medical students. However, only a few studies examined the antecedents of calling. Of this group, little is known about how a calling emerges and develops in a crisis situation. This study examines the processes underlying the emergence and development of calling when confronted with COVID-19.

METHODS

Semi-structured interviews were conducted with medical students (N = 28) from China from February to March 2020. Medical students reported their experiences about the emergence of calling, its antecedents, and its outcomes in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. Interviews were transcribed and analyzed using a thematic analysis approach.

RESULTS

Four main themes were identified: (1) the definition of calling, (2) the trajectories of calling development, (3) the factors leading to the emergence of calling, and (4) the outcomes of the emergence of calling. Medical students conceptualized calling as both self- and other-oriented regarding serving the common good. Three calling paths were revealed: significantly enhanced, growing out of nothing, and remaining unchanged. Work sense-making and identity formation interact to facilitate the emergence of calling. The emergence of a calling affects career and study-related outcomes.

DISCUSSION

Our findings advance the concept of how the calling of medical students emerges and develops in response to life events through work sense-making and identity formation. Academic institutions and medical educators could leverage these events to facilitate calling discernment among medical students.

Single-session intervention on growth mindset on negative emotions for university student mental health (U-SIGMA): a protocol of two-armed randomized controlled trial

BACKGROUND

The university years are a developmentally crucial phase and a peak period for the onset of mental disorders. The beliefs about the changeability of negative emotion may play an important role in help-seeking. The brief digital growth mindset intervention is potentially scalable and acceptable to enhance adaptive coping and help-seeking for mental health needs in university students. We adapted the Single-session Intervention on Growth Mindset for adolescents (SIGMA) to be applied in university students (U-SIGMA). This protocol introduces a two-armed waitlist randomized controlled trial study to examine the effectiveness and acceptability of U-SIGMA in promoting help-seeking among university students in the Greater Bay Area.

METHODS

University students (N = 250, ages 18-25) from universities in the Greater Bay Area will be randomized to either the brief digital growth mindset intervention group or the waitlist control group. Participants will report on the mindsets of negative emotions, perceived control over anxiety, attitude toward help-seeking, physical activity, hopelessness, psychological well-being, depression, anxiety, and perceived stress at baseline and the 2-week and 8-week follow-ups through web-based surveys. A 30-min digital intervention will be implemented in the intervention group, with a pre- and post-intervention survey collecting intervention feedback, while the control group will receive the link for intervention after 8 weeks.

DISCUSSION

This protocol introduces the implementation plan of U-SIMGA in multi-cities of the Greater Bay Area. The findings are expected to help provide pioneer evidence for the effectiveness and acceptability of the brief digital intervention for university students in the Chinese context and beyond and contribute to the development of accessible and effective prevention and early intervention for university students' mental health.

TRIAL REGISTRATION

HKU Clinical Trials Registry: HKUCTR-3012; Registered 14 April 2023.  http://www.hkuctr.com/Study/Show/7a3ffbc0e03f4d1eac0525450fc5187e .

Volunteers' growth mindset and continuance intention: what are the roles of nostalgia and positive emotions?

This study examined the cognitive and affective aspects of volunteering experiences by focusing on the relationships between volunteers' growth mindset, nostalgia, positive emotions, and their intention to continue volunteering. A total of 364 responses were collected from volunteers who had volunteered within the past 5 years. Results showed that the growth mindset had a positive effect on nostalgia, which in turn positively affected valenced emotions toward volunteering. Nostalgia and volunteers' positive emotions positively influenced their intention to continue volunteering. All indirect effects via nostalgia were significant. This study lays the groundwork to identify the role of nostalgia in volunteerism and contributes to extending the literature on growth mindset and mindset theory.

Role of self-esteem in the association between mindset of socioeconomic status and well-being: A cross-lagged panel analysis

People who believe that their socioeconomic status (SES) can be changed-with growth mindset or incremental implicit theory of SES-tend to have better psychological well-being. Nevertheless, it remains unclear on why growth mindset of SES benefits well-being. The present research aims to answer this question by investigating the longitudinal associations between mindset of SES and well-being (i.e. depression and anxiety) and a potential mechanism (i.e. self-esteem). We recruited 600 adults in Guangzhou, China, as participants in this study. Participants completed a list of questionnaires containing measures of mindset of SES, self-esteem, depression, and anxiety at three time points over the course of 18 months. The cross-lagged panel model showed that individuals holding a growth mindset of SES reported significantly lower depression and anxiety 1 year later, but the effect was not sustained later. More importantly, self-esteem accounted for the associations of mindset of SES with both depression and anxiety, such that individuals with growth mindset of SES had higher self-esteem, and in turn, demonstrated lower depression and anxiety over 18 months. These findings deepen the understanding of the salutary effects of implicit theories of SES on psychological well-being. Implications for future research and mindset-related interventions are discussed.

The Effect of Social Networking Site Use on Depression in Graduate Students: The Mediating Role of Negative Social Comparison and Moderating Role of Implicit Personality Theories

OBJECTIVE

The current study aimed to investigate the effect of SNS use on graduate students' depression and further explored the effect of negative social comparison and an individual's implicit personality theory.

METHODS

Scales for Social Networking Site Use Intensity, the Negative Social Comparison Measure, the Implicit Personality Theory Inventory, and CES-D were used to investigate 1792 graduate students from a full-time university in Wuhan.

RESULT

(1) Social networking site use was positively correlated with negative social comparison and depression; (2) the mediating effect of negative social comparison was significant in social networking site use's influence on depression; (3) after controlling for negative social comparison, graduate students' use of SNS could negatively predict depression; and (4) the mediation effect of negative social comparison was moderated by an individual's implicit personality theory. Specifically, the mediation effect was more pronounced among the entity theorists, while the graduate students' incremental implicit personality theory may buffer the depressive effect of negative social comparison.

CONCLUSIONS

Negative social comparison mediates the relationship between SNS use and depression; in addition, individual differences in implicit personality theory (the entity theorist vs. incremental theorist) moderate the link between negative social comparison and depression.

Examining student burnout causes among English as a foreign language students: focus on school climate and student growth mindset

Introduction

The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between student burnout and two key factors - perceived school climate and growth mindset - in the context of English as a foreign language (EFL) learning among Chinese students.

Methods

A sample of 412 intermediate English language learners from China participated in an online survey and completed valid measures of the three constructs. Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was used to establish the validity of the scales used to measure the three latent variables. Structural equation modeling (SEM) was then used to test the proposed model.

Results

The results of SEM showed that both perceived school climate and growth mindset had a significant positive impact on EFL student burnout, with perceived school climate having a stronger effect compared to growth mindset.

Discussion

The findings suggest that promoting a positive school climate and fostering a student growth mindset can help reduce student burnout in EFL settings.

Lay perspectives on emotion: past, present, and future research directions

Empirical research has demonstrated that individuals vary widely in how they view their emotions. We call the viewpoints that individuals have towards their emotions emotion perspectives. While many subdisciplines of psychology, such as social psychology and clinical psychology, have studied this topic, research thus far can be siloed, despite overlap in terms and constructs. The goal of the current special issue and this introduction is to describe the state of research on emotion perspectives, highlight common themes in streams of emotion perspective research, and present future directions for investigation. The first portion of this introduction to the special issue provides a basic review of emotion perspective research, spotlighting topics such as emotion beliefs, emotion mindsets, lay theories of emotion, and attitudes toward emotion. The second portion of the introduction presents themes that cut across papers in the special issue, with a discussion of future research directions throughout. The goal of this introduction and special issue is to serve as a guide for greater integration in emotion perspective research and to provide a roadmap for emotion perspective research moving forward.

Interpersonal and intrapersonal predictors of suicidal thoughts and actions in first-year college students

OBJECTIVE

The aim was to determine the unique predictors of suicide risk in first-year college students.

PARTICIPANTS

First-year students (N = 665) at a Midwestern university participated.

METHODS

An online survey assessed Joiner's interpersonal factors (i.e., thwarted belongingness, perceived burdensomeness, and acquired capability) as well as intrapersonal factors (i.e., perfectionism, self-compassion, emotional intelligence/reactivity, and growth mindset) often associated with suicidal thoughts and actions.

RESULTS

Linear regression indicated that the factor set significantly predicted thoughts, F (12, 632) = 114.90, p < .000, R² = .680, and actions, F (12, 632) = 58.42, p < .000, R² = .526. Perceived burdensomeness, acquired capability, and underrepresented sexual orientation were positive predictors of both thoughts and actions, whereas growth mindset was a negative predictor of thoughts and stressful life events was a positive predictor of actions.

CONCLUSION

The results offer direction for evidence-informed interventions aimed at reducing suicide risk in first-year college students.

Relative Effects of Sexual Assault and Temperament Traits on Cognitive Characteristics of Histrionic Personality Disorder

Histrionic personality disorder (HPD) is a common and problematic form of personality pathology involving excessive attention-seeking, often through overly sexualized means. Much of the research on HPD has involved the association between HPD characteristics and basic temperament traits. Given the sometimes hypersexualized presentation of HPD, another potential influence on HPD characteristics may be exposure to sexual assault. However, there is little research on the association between sexual assault and HPD in general or with respect to temperament traits in particular. In this study, we examine the relative associations of sexual assault and temperament traits with the cognitive characteristics of HPD in a large sample of college students (N = 965) using a Bayesian approach to the analysis of covariance. Results suggest that sexual assault is associated with HPD cognitive characteristics over and above the robust influence of temperament traits. The study findings have implications for future research on and clinical intervention with people with HPD.

Examining associations between intelligence mindset, mental health symptom severity, and academic self-efficacy and performance

Individuals possess different beliefs regarding the malleability of intelligence, also known as intelligence mindsets. Despite evidence demonstrating a link between a growth mindset of intelligence-the belief that intelligence can develop through effort-and academic achievement, this link has not been closely examined from a mental health perspective. Given the increasing prevalence of mental health conditions, such as anxiety and depression, among undergraduate students, an important question is whether the well-established link between mental health symptom severity and academic outcomes depends on the intelligence mindset beliefs that individuals possess. A growth mindset of intelligence might buffer the negative impact of anxiety and depression on academic outcomes, whereas a fixed mindset-the belief that intelligence cannot be changed-might exacerbate this negative relationship. The present study examined data collected from 660 undergraduate psychology students in the United States to test whether intelligence mindset beliefs moderated the relationship between mental health symptom severity and various indicators of academic outcomes: academic self-efficacy, GPA, and perceived academic standing. Results revealed that intelligence mindset beliefs did not moderate the observed negative association between mental health symptom severity and academic outcomes. Findings indicate that promoting a growth mindset of intelligence might not be a particularly effective strategy for buffering university students from the negative impact of anxiety and depression on academic outcomes. However, this conclusion is limited by the cross-sectional design of the study, and future prospective research is necessary to further clarify the relationship between intelligence mindset, mental health, and academic outcomes.

Entity theory of emotion was associated with more daily negative affect during quarantine: Evidence from a 14-day diary study among healthy young adults

During the COVID-19 pandemic, quarantine has been implemented as a physical distancing measure to reduce the risk of transmission. However, no studies have examined the relationship between quarantine and daily affective experiences. Few studies have examined the individual-level factors that may alleviate or strengthen the negative impact of quarantine on daily affective experiences. To this end, we conducted a diary study by comparing the affective experiences of people in quarantine with those of people not subject to quarantine. There were 201 participants in the study. After the pretest collecting responses on demographic information and entity theory of emotion, the participants completed a daily questionnaire measuring their daily positive and negative affect for 14 consecutive days. The results of hierarchical linear modeling showed that the participants in the quarantine condition reported less daily positive affect than those in the social interaction condition. We found that when the participants under quarantine believed more strongly that their emotions could not be changed, they reported a higher level of daily negative affect. These findings demonstrate the role of entity theory of emotion in understanding daily negative affect during quarantine.

The role of growth mindset and symbol of shared event representation in the promotion of challenge-pursuit

Challenges are rigorous opportunities to grow and learn. Yet many students underutilize these opportunities. This study investigated how the growth mindset and priming of a shared-event representation might independently affect students’ tendency to challenge-pursuit. In a school-wide intervention, a long-distance running program (POMA Run) that embodies the concept and shared experiences of “ascend beyond current self” was created. In our study, students were randomly selected, then randomly assigned to one of the two event representation conditions: (1) think about the POMA Run (prime condition) or (2) think about a neutral target (control condition). Afterwards, to measure their willingness to extend one's limit, they were presented with four school-life situations and asked to indicate their intention to engage in activities of varying levels of difficulty described in each situation. Next, they ideographically categorized the activities into those that fell in the comfort zone (within their current capacity), stretch zone (beyond current capacity, challenging but attainable), or panic zone (far beyond current capacity). Challenge-pursuit was defined as the intention to engage in the activities categorized in the stretch zone. In the control condition, students with a stronger (weaker) endorsement of growth mindset reported higher (lower) challenge-pursuit intention. The effect of event representation prime on promoting challenge-pursuit intentions was significant among students with a weaker growth mindset: their challenge-pursuit intention was stronger in the prime condition than the control condition. In contrast, students in the prime condition displayed equally strong challenge-pursuit intention regardless of their level of growth-mindset endorsement. The effectiveness of forming a shared-event representation will be discussed.

Stress, trauma, and perception of eating behavior changes during the first weeks of the COVID-19 outbreak

OBJECTIVE

The COVID-19 pandemic is one of the largest collective stressors in recent history. Consistent with prior research, this stress has led to impactful eating behavior change. While prior life traumas also impact eating behavior, it is unclear whether the current stress experienced during COVID-19, and prior life traumas (overall, socially relevant, and nonsocially relevant), interact to influence eating behavior changes. Moreover, it is unclear whether current stress and prior traumas impact how eating behavior changes are perceived (i.e., in magnitude, valence, or both) by the individuals experiencing the changes. Therefore, this study sought to examine both the relationship between current stress and perception of eating behavior changes, as well as the moderating impact of prior life traumas on this relationship.

METHODS

Between March and April 2020, participants completed a subjective, self-report online assessment of current stress, prior life traumas, pandemic-related changes in eating behaviors, and the perceived impact of eating behavior changes.

RESULTS

Higher current stress was associated with larger, more negative perceptions of eating behavior changes. This relationship was moderated by prior life traumas. Specifically, the association between current stress and perceived negative impact of eating behavior change was potentiated among those with more prior socially relevant (but not nonsocially relevant) traumas.

DISCUSSION

These results suggest eating behavior changes occurred early in the pandemic and were uniquely impacted by the cumulative effect of present stress and socially relevant prior life traumas.

PUBLIC SIGNIFICANCE

Changes in eating behaviors and pathology have been prevalent during COVID-19. We examined how stress and prior life traumas interacted during the first weeks of COVID-19 to influence perceptions of eating behavior change. As altered perception of eating behaviors is a notable feature of eating pathology, these results will help inform development of intervention targets for those at risk for developing disordered eating during future- and post-pandemic recovery.

What matters for adolescent suicidality: Depressive symptoms or fixed mindsets? Examination of cross-sectional and longitudinal associations between fixed mindsets and suicidal ideation

BACKGROUND

Fixed mindsets or beliefs about the non-malleability of self-attributes are linked to a wide range of negative psychological outcomes. Its association with suicidal ideation (SI) among young people has not been explored.

OBJECTIVES

To examine the association of fixed mindsets of depression, anxiety, and stress and SI; and its mediating role underlying the association between depression and SI.

METHODS

A sample of 1393 adolescents (M_age  = 13.04, SD = 0.85, 640 boys) from 11 middle schools voluntarily participated in a two-wave longitudinal study before and during the COVID-19 pandemic with a 9-month interval.

RESULTS

Both depressive symptoms and fixed mindsets were positively and significantly associated with concurrent and future suicidality, after controlling for demographic and socioeconomic status and previous SI. Participants with stronger fixed mindsets were more likely to have SI than those with only depressive symptoms. Also, fixed mindsets mediated the association between depressive symptoms and SI in both cross-sectional and longitudinal models.

CONCLUSION

The current study provides empirical evidence of the effects of fixed mindsets and SI and the mediating role of fixed mindset between depressive symptoms and SI among young people. Interventions to foster a growth mindset may enhance hope and reduce suicidality among adolescents.

Contradiction between Supply and Demand of Public Sports Services and Coping Strategies Based on the Genetic Algorithm

The current situation of China’s sports public service is not very satisfactory. This research analyzes not only the operation characteristics of the public sports service supply mode but also the connotation mechanism of the public sports service collaborative supply. The article also constructs the mechanism elements and the index system of the public sports service collaborative supply from the perspective of the genetic algorithm. Taking the eastern and central regions as research cases, this paper analyzes the actual situation of the collaborative supply of public sports services, and further explores the gap between urban and rural public sports. It puts forward the ideas and strategic paths for the innovative development of the collaborative supply model of public sports services. This research uses descriptive statistical analysis on the evaluation results of public sports service quality to examine the actual performance value of public sports service quality in various regions and uses the characteristics of different fitness of genetic algorithms to select the optimal supply and demand of public sports services in different regions. By analyzing the characteristics of insufficient supply and demand of public sports services in various regions, an optimal genetic algorithm model is constructed, and then combined with the scope of the study area and the number of people in the area, the genetic algorithm is used to continuously optimize until a set of optimal solutions appears, thus completing the optimal configuration of public sports services. The optimal path for the development of public sports in different regions is obtained, so as to promote the development of regional public sports. The study found that the satisfaction of sports funds in primary and middle schools in the east and middle is not very high, and the satisfaction with sports funds in middle schools is higher than that in primary schools, but only 50% of schools choose that sports funds are basically sufficient. The difference in satisfaction with sports funding in middle schools in the eastern and central regions is not obvious, and the satisfaction with sports funding in primary schools in the eastern region is higher than that in the central region. Judging from the amount of sports expenditures filled in by schools, 2000–3000 yuan per school year for primary schools and 4000–5000 yuan for middle schools are more common. Based on the calculation of 1,000 students in a school, the per capita sports expenditure is less than 10 yuan, which is very limited for sports training. This research will help to change the service concept and scientific decision-making and change the supply mode of sports public services. It will establish not only a vertical, complete, and horizontally smooth organizational structure and coordination mechanism but also a clear strategy for equalization of urban and rural sports public services.

Rethinking the Multidimensionality of Growth Mindset Amid the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Systematic Review and Framework Proposal

Students, staff, and faculty in higher education are facing unprecedented challenges due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Recent data revealed that a good number of academic activities and opportunities were disrupted as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic and its variants. While much uncertainty remains for the next academic year, how higher education institutions and their students might improve responses to the rapidly changing situation matters. This systematic review and framework proposal aim to update previous empirical work and examine the current evidence for the effectiveness of growth mindset interventions in young adults. To this end, a systematic search identified 20 empirical studies involving 5, 805 young adults. These studies examined growth mindset within ecologically valid educational contexts and various content areas. Generally, these findings showed that brief messages of growth mindset can improve underrepresented students' academic performance and facilitate other relevant psychological constructs. In addition, we argue, although growth mindset has been identified as a unitary concept, it is comprised of multiple interdependent skills, such as self-control, self-efficacy, and self-esteem. Understanding the nature of growth mindset may contribute to successful mindset implementation. Therefore, this article presents a practical framework to help educators in higher education rethink the multidimensionality of growth mindset and to provide their students with alternative routes to achieve their goals. Finally, additional articles were discussed to help evaluate growth mindset interventions in higher education.

The Influence of Growth Mindset on the Mental Health and Life Events of College Students

Growth mindset refers to our core belief that our talents can be developed through practice, which may influence our thoughts and behaviors. Growth mindset has been studied in a variety of fields, including education, sports, and management. However, few studies have explored whether differences in individuals' growth mindsets influence college students' self-reported mental health. Using the Growth Mindset Scale, Adolescent Self-rating Life Events Checklist, and SCL-90 Scale, data was collected from 2,505 freshmen in a University in China. Findings revealed that the students within the growth mindset group scored significantly lower on "mental health issues" and "stress due to life events" than the students in the fixed mindset group. Our findings suggest that individuals with a growth mindset are less prone to mental health problems than individuals with a fixed mindset.

Psychometric properties of the Mindsets of Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Scale (MDASS) in Chinese young adults and adolescents

AIM

Mindset has been found to be closely related to mental health symptoms. Yet no scale for the Mindsets of Depression, Anxiety, and Stress (MDASS) has been validated. This study developed a 12-item MDASS with four items in each domain and examined its psychometric properties among young adults and adolescents.

METHODS

Young adults (Study 1: N = 1735, aged 18-25) and adolescents (Study 2, N = 1648, aged 9-16) completed socio-demographics information, MDASS (unidirectional items in Study 1 and bi-directional items in Study 2), and mental health symptoms measures. Both samples were randomly divided into two equal sub-samples, one for exploratory factor analysis (EFA) to identify the factor structure, the other for confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) to assess the goodness-of-fit of EFA models. Spearman correlations were used to assess the convergent validity of MDASS with measures of depression, anxiety, and stress.

RESULTS

In Study 1, EFA yielded a three-factor model with underlying factors of fixed mindsets on depression, anxiety, and stress; CFA revealed a good goodness-of-fit (CFI and TFI >0.95; RMSEA and SRMR <0.08). In Study 2 with reversed items, EFA and CFA yielded a complex model structure. Fixed mindsets were positively correlated with depression, anxiety, and stress symptoms (all absolute correlations >0.3) in both studies.

CONCLUSION

MDASS is a reliable scale with clear factor structure to measure mindsets of negative emotions among early adults. MDASS is suggested to use only fixed-mindset statements. The MDASS are highly associated with symptoms of depression, anxiety, and stress.

A longitudinal study of the impact of parental discipline on wellbeing among primary school students in China: The roles of school attachment and growth mindset

BACKGROUND

Various parental disciplinary strategies may have different impacts on children's wellbeing. Protective factors, such as school attachment and a growth mindset, may mitigate the influence of harsh discipline on a child's wellbeing.

OBJECTIVE

Based on the strengths-based trauma-informed positive education model, the current study investigated the impacts of three types of parental discipline (corporal punishment, psychological aggression, and nonviolent discipline) on primary school students' wellbeing and examined the moderating roles of school attachment and a growth mindset (both disjunctive and conjunctive moderating effects) in the relationship between parental discipline and student wellbeing.

METHODS

A sample of 854 primary school students (M = 9.40) from eight schools in Hong Kong, China, completed the questionnaire survey at two time points (Time 1 and Time 2), one year apart. Hierarchical regression analysis was applied for data analysis.

RESULTS

Parental psychological aggression at Time 1 (T1) was significantly and negatively related to student wellbeing at Time 2 (T2). Parental nonviolent discipline students' school attachment and growth mindset at T1 were significantly and positively correlated with student wellbeing at T2, when controlling for the students' initial wellbeing and important confounding demographic variables. School attachment moderated the association between parental psychological aggression and student wellbeing.

CONCLUSIONS

Parental psychological aggression has negative impacts while nonviolent discipline has positive impacts on primary school students' wellbeing. Students who are more attached to school and have a growth mindset show higher levels of wellbeing. The study provides further evidence of the role of school attachment in moderating the effect of parental psychological aggression on children's wellbeing in the trauma-informed positive education model.

An examination of the moderating role of growth mindset in the relation between social stress and externalizing behaviors among adolescents

INTRODUCTION

Experiencing elevated stress increases the risk of further difficulties in mental health, including externalizing behaviors in adolescents. There is a need for understanding the factors that help adolescents mitigate social stress to prevent problematic externalizing behaviors. Growth mindset has been found to be a promising protective factor in adolescent development including mental health. This study aimed to examine the potential buffering role of growth mindset of thoughts-emotion-and-behaviors in the context of two types of social stress (i.e., family and peer) to reduce externalizing behaviors among adolescents.

METHODS

The sample is composed of 399 adolescents (age range 14-18 years, M = 16.22, SD = 1.21; 56.4% female, 42.3% male, 1.3% gender-nonconforming or variant) from a large, urban, diverse high school in the United States. Adolescent self-reports were administered at one time.

RESULTS

Moderation analyses revealed that growth mindset of thoughts, emotion, and behaviors moderate the association between family stress and externalizing behaviors. The magnitude of this association weakened as the level of growth mindset increased, supporting the buffering effect of the moderator. Neither the moderation effect of growth mindset nor the main effects of peer stress and growth mindset were significant in predicting externalizing behaviors.

CONCLUSION

Taken together, the findings suggested that growth mindset has protective effects in reducing externalizing behaviors when adolescents experience family stress. Future directions and implications are discussed.

Growth mindset matters: Influences of socioeconomic status on Chinese secondary vocational students’ learning engagement

Two studies carried out in China examined the relationship between socioeconomic status and learning engagement and explored the roles of psychological needs satisfaction and growth mindset in this relationship. Study 1 investigated the relationship between socioeconomic status and learning engagement among 280 secondary vocational students by manipulating their perceptions of their relative socioeconomic rank. We found that Chinese secondary vocational students primed with high socioeconomic status scored significantly higher in learning engagement measurements than did those primed with low socioeconomic status. Study 2 consisted of 1,146 secondary vocational students (686 boys and 460 girls) who completed questionnaires assessing socioeconomic status, growth mindset, psychological needs satisfaction, and learning engagement. The results showed that psychological needs satisfaction mediated whereas growth mindset moderated the positive relationship between socioeconomic status and learning engagement. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.

The Mediating Effect of Coping Strategies Between Psychological Capital and Small Tourism Organization Resilience: Insights From the COVID-19 Pandemic, Malaysia

Amid difficulty, the psychological capital of small tourism firm owners/managers has been given less attention. In the coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, this research examined how psychological capital (self-efficacy, hope, optimism, and resilience) affects organizational resilience. By structural equation modeling (AMOS 21.0), 644 small tourism firm owners in Malaysia were randomly selected to investigate the relationship between psychological capital and organizational resilience, and the mediating effect of problem-focused and emotion-focused coping strategies on this relationship. The findings of the study supported hypothesized relationships, as the psychological capital of small tourism firm owners in Malaysia significantly affects organizational resilience. Furthermore, the study discovered that problem-focused and emotion-focused coping strategies have partial mediating effects on the association between psychological capital and organizational resilience. In the context of small tourism businesses sector, the findings of the study have implications, as the firms identify the recovery procedure in the COVID-19 pandemic.

Mindset Theory and School Psychology

Mindset theory is an achievement motivation theory that centers on the concept of the malleability of abilities. According to mindset theory, students tend to have either a growth mindset or a fixed mindset about their intelligence; students with a growth mindset tend to believe that intelligence is malleable, whereas students with fixed mindsets tend to believe that intelligence is unchangeable. As described in many empirical and theoretical papers, the mindset a student holds can influence important psychological and behavioral factors, including reaction to failure, persistence and level of effort, and expectations of success, which ultimately impact academic achievement. Importantly, mindsets can be changed, and interventions have been developed to promote a more growth mindset. A growth mindset allows students to view challenges as an opportunity for improvement, is linked to enjoyment of learning, and increases motivation in school. School psychologists are often working with students with learning differences and/or mental health concerns who are particularly at-risk for poor academic achievement, and researchers have demonstrated the important impact a growth mindset can have for these vulnerable students. School psychologists are well-positioned to incorporate mindset theory into the school environment in order to best support the students they serve. In this paper we provide a theoretical overview of mindset theory and mindset interventions, and specifically review the literature on mindset theory for individuals with learning disabilities and mental health challenges. We discuss how school psychologists can incorporate mindset theory into their practice to support the shift from a fixed to a growth mindset for all students.

Using the Intervention Mapping Approach to Develop a Mental Health Intervention: A Case Study on Improving the Reporting Standards for Developing Psychological Interventions

Replicating or distilling information from psychological interventions reported in the scientific literature is hindered by inadequate reporting, despite the existence of various methodologies to guide study reporting and intervention development. This article provides an in-depth explanation of the scientific development process for a mental health intervention, and by doing so illustrates how intervention development methodologies can be used to improve development reporting standards of interventions. Intervention development was guided by the Intervention Mapping approach and the Theoretical Domains Framework. It relied on an extensive literature review, input from a multi-disciplinary group of stakeholders and the learnings from projects on similar psychological interventions. The developed programme, called the “Be Well Plan”, focuses on self-exploration to determine key motivators, resources and challenges to improve mental health outcomes. The programme contains an online assessment to build awareness about one’s mental health status. In combination with the exploration of different evidence-based mental health activities from various therapeutic backgrounds, the programme teaches individuals to create a personalised mental health and wellbeing plan. The use of best-practice intervention development frameworks and evidence-based behavioural change techniques aims to ensure optimal intervention impact, while reporting on the development process provides researchers and other stakeholders with an ability to scientifically interrogate and replicate similar psychological interventions.

Fanning the Flames of Passion: A Develop Mindset Predicts Strategy-Use Intentions to Cultivate Passion

College students are encouraged to major in subjects they are passionate about but less often advised about what to do when passion is low. What self-regulatory strategies do students use to up-regulate their passion toward their subjects, and how might they be oriented toward using such effective strategies? Three studies examined how the belief that passion is developed – a “develop” mindset – relates to students’ intentions to use strategies to actively grow their passion. The more strongly students endorsed a develop mindset, the more of these “cultivation strategies” they reported using, and in turn, the larger their increase in reported passion toward their subject majors (Study 1). Instilling a develop mindset causally increased students’ intentions to use more cultivation strategies (Study 2) – with some effects lasting up to a year (Study 3). Instilling a develop mindset can potentially help students to ignite their passion when its flame burns low.

Personality Development in Emerging Adulthood-How the Perception of Life Events and Mindset Affect Personality Trait Change

Personality changes throughout the life course and change is often caused by environmental influences, such as critical life events. In the present study, we investigate personality trait development in emerging adulthood as a result of experiencing two major life events: graduating from school and moving away from home. Thereby, we examined the occurrence of the two life events per se and the subjective perception of the critical life event in terms of valence. In addition, we postulate a moderation effect of the construct of mindset, which emphasizes that beliefs over the malleability of global attributes can be seen as predictors of resilience to challenges. This suggests that mindset acts as a buffer for these two distinct events. In a large longitudinal sample of 1,243 people entering adulthood, we applied latent structural equation modeling to assess mean-level changes in the Big Five, the influence of life events per se, the subjective perception of life events, and a moderating role of mindset. In line with maturity processes, results showed significant mean-level changes in all Big Five traits. While no changes in the Big Five dimensions were noted when the mere occurrence of an event is assessed, results indicated a greater increase in extraversion and diminished increase in emotional stability when we accounted for the individual's (positive/negative) perception of the critical life event. In case of extraversion, this also holds true for the moderator mindset. Our findings contribute valuable insights into the relevance of subjective appraisals to life events and the importance of underlying processes to these events.

Instructor Strategies to Alleviate Stress and Anxiety among College and University STEM Students

While student stress and anxiety are frequently cited as having negative effects on students' academic performance, the role that instructors can play in mitigating these challenges is often underappreciated. We provide summaries of different evidence-based strategies, ranging from changes in instructional strategies to specific classroom interventions, that instructors may employ to address and ameliorate student stress and anxiety. While we focus on students in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics, the strategies we delineate may be more broadly applicable. We begin by highlighting ways in which instructors can learn about and prepare to act to alleviate stress and anxiety. We then discuss how to better connect with students and build an inclusive, equitable, and empowering classroom environment. When coupled with strategies to change student evaluation and assessment, these approaches may collectively reduce student stress and anxiety, as well as improve student performance. We then discuss the roles that instructors may play in empowering students with skills that improve their time management, studying, and approach toward learning, with an eye toward ensuring their success across all their academic endeavors. We conclude by noting areas in which further research is needed to determine best practices for alleviating student stress and anxiety.

Empathy Mind-Set Moderates the Association Between Low Empathy and Social Aggression

Empathy plays an important role in creating and maintaining adaptive interpersonal relationships. Accordingly, existing studies often report a negative correlation between empathy and interpersonal aggression. However, findings are sometimes inconsistent, and concerns have been raised about the size of the overall effect. Here, we examined the potential moderating role of empathy mind-sets-beliefs about the malleability of empathy. We hypothesized that the association between low empathy and aggression would be especially strong if individuals also believed that their levels of empathy were unchangeable (i.e., they endorsed a fixed mind-set about empathy); in contrast, a belief that empathy was malleable may weaken the association. Results supported this hypothesis, such that individuals with low levels of empathy were less likely to report aggression-social aggression in particular-if they also believed that empathy was changeable. These results point to a role for beliefs about the malleability of empathy as an important moderator and may point to ways to enhance empathy interventions by targeting mind-sets.

Mindsets in the clinic: Applying mindset theory to clinical psychology

Beliefs about the malleability of attributes, also known as mindsets, have been studied for decades in social-personality psychology and education. Here, I review the many applications of mindset theory to clinical psychology and psychotherapy. First, I review social psychological and cognitive neuroscience evidence that mindsets and mindset-related messages are, to a large extent, focused on emotional tolerance. Specifically, the growth mindset, or the belief that attributes are malleable, encourages confronting and tolerating anxiety, frustration, and disappointment in healthy and adaptive ways that promote resilience, whereas the fixed mindset and related messages discourage the experience of these emotions and often leads to helplessness. Second, I review the emerging research on the anxiety mindset and discuss its relevance to clinical work. A model is proposed illustrating connections between mindsets, emotion regulation strategies, treatment preferences, and outcomes. Case examples are used to illustrate practical applications. I conclude that mindsets can inform psychotherapy, research, and public policy.

The Curvilinear Association Between Posttraumatic Distress and Posttraumatic Growth Among Pellet Gun Victims: The Moderating Roles of Time Since Trauma and Age

Since 2010, the use of pellet guns in Indian-administered Kashmir has led to serious physical and psychological consequences among a growing number of victims. However, no research to date has examined the association between posttraumatic distress and posttraumatic growth (PTG) within this population. Previous research conducted on other types of trauma exposure has yielded inconsistent findings regarding the nature and directionality of this association; namely, whether it is linear or curvilinear. Moreover, this inconsistency may also be due to the effects of other variables, such as time since trauma and age. In the present study, we investigated whether the association between posttraumatic distress and PTG among pellet gun victims is best explained as linear or curvilinear and tested whether this association was moderated by time since trauma and/or age. Using purposive sampling, 120 pellet gun victims were recruited from Indian-administered Kashmir. The results of quadratic hierarchical regression suggested that an inverted U-shaped curvilinear association, sr² = 0.07 (medium effect), was a better fit over and above a linear term, sr² = 0.06 - 0.08 (medium effect). The moderation test further revealed that this effect was present across time but became apparent, as an inverted U-shape, 18 to 24 months posttrauma, sr² = 0.04 (small effect); age, however, was not found to influence this association. These findings held even after controlling for the effects of confounding variables. The present findings suggest that across time, moderate levels of posttraumatic distress are associated with the highest levels of PTG.

How School Contexts Shape the Relations Among Adolescents' Beliefs, Peer Victimization, and Depressive Symptoms

The present research examined how school contexts shape the extent to which beliefs about the potential for change (implicit theories) interact with social adversity to predict depressive symptoms. A preregistered multilevel regression analysis using data from 6,237 ninth-grade adolescents in 25 U.S. high schools showed a three-way interaction: Implicit theories moderated the associations between victimization and depressive symptoms only in schools with high levels of school-level victimization, but not in schools with low victimization levels. In high-victimization schools, adolescents who believed that people cannot change (an entity theory of personality) were more depressed when they were victimized more frequently. Thus, the mental health correlates of adolescents' implicit theories depend on both personal experiences and the norms in the context.

Advancing the Understanding of Suicide: The Need for Formal Theory and Rigorous Descriptive Research

Suicide is a leading cause of death worldwide and perhaps the most puzzling and devastating of all human behaviors. Suicide research has primarily been guided by verbal theories containing vague constructs and poorly specified relationships. We propose two fundamental changes required to move toward a mechanistic understanding of suicide. First, we must formalize theories of suicide, expressing them as mathematical or computational models. Second, we must conduct rigorous descriptive research, prioritizing direct observation and precise measurement of suicidal thoughts and behaviors and of the factors posited to cause them. Together, theory formalization and rigorous descriptive research will facilitate abductive theory construction and strong theory testing, thereby improving the understanding and prevention of suicide and related behaviors.

Emotion Beliefs, Emotion Regulation, and Emotional Experiences in Daily Life

One potential factor that could influence how individuals with at least moderate symptoms of depression cope with upsetting events in their daily lives is the beliefs that these individuals hold about whether emotions are malleable or fixed. The current study adopted an experience sampling approach to examine how the beliefs about emotion's malleability related to daily positive and negative affect and daily emotion regulation efforts among individuals with at least moderate symptoms of depression (N = 84). Results demonstrated that individuals having at least moderate symptoms of depression who held more malleable beliefs about emotions reported decreased negative affect both overall during the day and specifically in response to daily upsetting events. Additionally, these individuals who held more malleable beliefs about their emotions also reported more daily use of cognitive reappraisal to regulate their emotions in response to upsetting daily events. Results from the current study extend previous work examining the relationship between emotion malleability beliefs, emotional experiences, and emotion regulation to examine these relationships in people who are moderately depressed as they navigate the emotional landscape of their daily lives.

Examining the DSM-5 latent structures of posttraumatic stress disorder in a national sample of student veterans

To date, no studies have examined the latent structures of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) within a sample of student veterans. To examine these constructs in a student veteran sample (n = 297), confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was conducted on six different models of PTSD, including a one-factor model, based on the 20 symptoms found in the DSM-5; PTSD was assessed using the PCL-5. Global fit statistics suggest that fit across all models, including the 1-factor model, were good [RMSEAs(0.054-0.056); CFIs(0.928-0.940); SRMRs(0.043-0.045)], and the AIC was lowest for the seven-factor hybrid model. Statistical tests and fit guidelines for nested models suggest there is no quantitative advantage of a five, six, or seven-factor model over the existing DSM-5 four-factor model. Given the high percentage of student veterans that screened positive for a probable PTSD diagnosis (53 %) in this study compared to non-student veterans (11-20 %) and the general student population (11-15 %) found in other studies, further research is needed to assess the clinical utility of these symptoms and model structures.

Cyberbullying Victimization and Adolescent Depression: The Mediating Role of Psychological Security and the Moderating Role of Growth Mindset

The objective of this study was to examine the mechanisms (the mediating role of psychological security and the moderating role of growth mindset) underlying the association between cyberbullying victimization and depression among adolescents. A sample of 755 adolescents (Mage = 13.35 ± 1.02; 373 boys) was recruited from two junior high schools, and the participants were asked to voluntarily complete a set of measures, including the cyberbullying victimization subscale in the Chinese version of the Cyberbullying Inventory, the Chinese version of the Security Questionnaire, the Chinese version of the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale, and the Growth Mindset Inventory. The results indicated that: (1) cyberbullying victimization was positively associated with depression through the mediating effect of psychological security and (2) both the direct association between cyberbullying victimization and depression and the indirect association through the mediating effect of psychological security were moderated by growth mindset. Specifically, growth mindset could significantly alleviate the adverse effects of cyberbullying victimization on psychological security and on depression. These findings not only shed light on the mechanisms linking cyberbullying victimization to depression among adolescents, but also provide an empirical basis for formulating prevention and/or intervention programs aimed at reducing depression levels and the negative influences of cyberbullying victimization among adolescents.