1
|
Liu J, Li D, Jia J, Liu Y, Lv Y, Zhai B. Peer Victimization and Subjective Well-Being Among Chinese Adolescents: Moderated Mediation by Forgiveness and Self-Esteem. JOURNAL OF INTERPERSONAL VIOLENCE 2023; 38:7355-7382. [PMID: 36625317 DOI: 10.1177/08862605221145721] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/09/2023]
Abstract
Considerable developmental research has shown an association between peer victimization and subjective well-being among adolescents. However, the mediating processes and protective factors that constrain this association are less understood. To fill these gaps, we investigated whether self-esteem mediates the association between peer victimization and subjective well-being and whether forgiveness moderates the direct and indirect associations of peer victimization with adolescents' subjective well-being via self-esteem. A large sample of 2,758 adolescents (Mage = 13.53 years, SD = 1.06) from 10 middle schools in China participated in this study. Participants provided data on demographic variables, peer victimization, self-esteem, forgiveness, and subjective well-being by answering anonymous questionnaires. After controlling for demographic covariates, we found that self-esteem mediated the relationship between peer victimization and subjective well-being. Furthermore, as a protective factor, forgiveness moderated the relationship between peer victimization and self-esteem. Consistent with the protective-reactive model, when adolescents experienced more peer victimization, those with higher forgiveness levels exhibited a greater decline in self-esteem, and low self-esteem was then associated with decreased subjective well-being. These findings demonstrate the utility of examining both mediating and moderating factors in this relationship and highlight the negative impact of peer victimization on adolescent self-worth and the limited role of forgiveness as a protective factor.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Jiaoyu Liu
- Central China Normal University, Wuhan, China
| | - Dongping Li
- Central China Normal University, Wuhan, China
| | - Jichao Jia
- Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China
| | - Yuxiao Liu
- Central China Normal University, Wuhan, China
| | - Yaxin Lv
- Central China Normal University, Wuhan, China
| | - Boyu Zhai
- Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| |
Collapse
|
2
|
Yeager DS, Bryan CJ, Gross JJ, Murray JS, Krettek Cobb D, H F Santos P, Gravelding H, Johnson M, Jamieson JP. A synergistic mindsets intervention protects adolescents from stress. Nature 2022; 607:512-520. [PMID: 35794485 PMCID: PMC9258473 DOI: 10.1038/s41586-022-04907-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 28] [Impact Index Per Article: 14.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/22/2021] [Accepted: 05/25/2022] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
Abstract
Social-evaluative stressors-experiences in which people feel they could be judged negatively-pose a major threat to adolescent mental health1-3 and can cause young people to disengage from stressful pursuits, resulting in missed opportunities to acquire valuable skills. Here we show that replicable benefits for the stress responses of adolescents can be achieved with a short (around 30-min), scalable 'synergistic mindsets' intervention. This intervention, which is a self-administered online training module, synergistically targets both growth mindsets4 (the idea that intelligence can be developed) and stress-can-be-enhancing mindsets5 (the idea that one's physiological stress response can fuel optimal performance). In six double-blind, randomized, controlled experiments that were conducted with secondary and post-secondary students in the United States, the synergistic mindsets intervention improved stress-related cognitions (study 1, n = 2,717; study 2, n = 755), cardiovascular reactivity (study 3, n = 160; study 4, n = 200), daily cortisol levels (study 5, n = 118 students, n = 1,213 observations), psychological well-being (studies 4 and 5), academic success (study 5) and anxiety symptoms during the 2020 COVID-19 lockdowns (study 6, n = 341). Heterogeneity analyses (studies 3, 5 and 6) and a four-cell experiment (study 4) showed that the benefits of the intervention depended on addressing both mindsets-growth and stress-synergistically. Confidence in these conclusions comes from a conservative, Bayesian machine-learning statistical method for detecting heterogeneous effects6. Thus, our research has identified a treatment for adolescent stress that could, in principle, be scaled nationally at low cost.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- David S Yeager
- Department of Psychology and Behavioral Science and Policy Institute, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, USA.
| | - Christopher J Bryan
- Department of Business, Government, and Society and Behavioral Science and Policy Institute, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, USA.
| | - James J Gross
- Department of Psychology, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA
| | - Jared S Murray
- Department of Information, Risk and Operations Management, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, USA
- Department of Statistics and Data Sciences, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, USA
| | | | - Pedro H F Santos
- Department of Information, Risk and Operations Management, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, USA
| | - Hannah Gravelding
- Department of Psychology, University of Rochester, Rochester, NY, USA
| | - Meghann Johnson
- Department of Psychology and Behavioral Science and Policy Institute, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, USA
| | - Jeremy P Jamieson
- Department of Psychology, University of Rochester, Rochester, NY, USA.
| |
Collapse
|
3
|
Killen M, Yee KM, Ruck MD. Social and Racial Justice as Fundamental Goals for the Field of Human Development. Hum Dev 2021; 65:257-269. [PMID: 35034976 PMCID: PMC8759609 DOI: 10.1159/000519698] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/19/2022]
Abstract
Social justice refers to promoting fairness, equality, equity and rights across multiple aspects of society, including economic, educational, and workforce opportunities. A number of scholars across academia have called for a greater incorporation of social and racial justice approaches to the field of human development, and have asserted that social justice constitutes both a theoretical framework as well as a set of hypotheses to investigate and understand the human condition. The emergence, experience, and awareness of social injustice has to be much better understood from a psychological and developmental perspective. Four areas that reflect theoretical changes in human development research are discussed: a) socialization theories about race, b) ethnic/racial identity and development, c) developmental social identity and moral reasoning, and d) lay theories and social essentialism. Childhood is a period of intense change and development; human development research is uniquely positioned to promote change that will contribute to challenging social and racial injustice.
Collapse
|
4
|
The Role of Defending Norms in Victims' Classroom Climate Perceptions and Psychosocial Maladjustment in Secondary School. Res Child Adolesc Psychopathol 2020; 49:169-184. [PMID: 33301130 PMCID: PMC7826303 DOI: 10.1007/s10802-020-00738-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 11/17/2020] [Indexed: 11/06/2022]
Abstract
Victims of bullying are at increased risk of developing psychosocial problems. It is often claimed that it helps victims when others stand up against the bullying and when defending is typical (descriptive norm) or rewarded with popularity (popularity norm) in classrooms. However, recent work on the healthy context paradox suggests that victims – paradoxically – tend to do worse in more positive classrooms. Therefore, it is possible that defending norms are counterproductive and exacerbate victims’ adjustment difficulties, possibly because social maladjustment is more apparent in classrooms where everybody else is doing well. The current study examined whether descriptive and popularity norms for defending predicted victims’ classroom climate perceptions and psychosocial adjustment. Using data of 1,206 secondary school students from 45 classrooms (Mage = 13.61), multi-level analyses indicated that descriptive norms for defending increased rather than decreased negative classroom climate perceptions and maladjustment of victimized youths. In contrast, popularity norms for defending positively predicted all students’ classroom climate perceptions and feelings of belonging, except victims’ self-esteem. Interventions may benefit more from promoting popularity norms for defending rather than descriptive norms for defending in secondary schools.
Collapse
|