Perceived Parental Acceptance and Cyberbullying Perpetration among Chinese Adolescents: Moderated Mediation Models of Materialism and Insecure Attachment

Cyberbullying perpetration (CP) is a common and devastating network deviation behavior. Some parenting factors for CP have been identified, but few studies have examined the correlation between perceived maternal/paternal acceptance (PMA/PPA) and CP, and the mediating and moderating mechanisms underlying this relation are also largely unknown. Thus, by using a cross-sectional designed questionnaire survey of 4,206 adolescents (M = 16.41 years, SD = 0.77), the current study examined the relationship between PMA/PPA and CP, as well as the mediating effect of materialism and the moderating effects of father/mother-child attachment anxiety and attachment avoidance in this relation. The results showed that PMA/PPA was protective factors of CP. The moderated mediation models showed that materialism played a partial mediation role in the relationship between PMA/PPA and CP. Moreover, the direct association of PMA/PPA with CP was exacerbated by stronger father/mother-child attachment anxiety, in contrast, it was weakened by stronger father/mother-child attachment avoidance. Besides, both father/mother-child attachment anxiety and father/mother-child attachment avoidance strengthened the direct relationship between materialism and CP, and further strengthened the indirect association of PMA/PPA with CP. This study highlighted the importance of uncovering the link between perceived parental acceptance and adolescents' CP and emphasized the underlying mechanisms, which are of great significance for the prevention and intervention of adolescents' CP.

Relationship between Honesty-Humility and Cyberbullying Perpetration: A Moderated Mediation Model

Previous studies have verified the roles of big five personalities in cyberbullying perpetration (CP). The Big Five model has been revised to include an additional dimension, called Honesty-Humility (HH). It is not clear whether HH would be associated with CP. Thus, the effect of HH on CP was examined. To further explore this influencing mechanism, materialism was examined as a mediator, and parental psychological control (PPC) was examined as a moderator in the relationship between HH and CP. A total of 1,004 Chinese adolescents (M = 12.95, SD =1.12) participated in this study using a cross-sectional design and multiple questionnaires, namely, the Honesty-Humility subscale of the 24-item Brief HEXACO Inventory, the Revised Cyber Bullying Inventory, the Material Values Scale for Children, and the Parental Control Questionnaire. Correlation analyses indicated that CP, materialism, and PPC were significantly and positively correlated with each other, and were significantly and negatively associated with HH. The mediation model revealed that materialism played a mediating role in the relationship between HH and CP. The moderated mediation model revealed that stronger PPC strengthened the direct associations of HH with materialism and CP, and further strengthened the indirect relationship between HH and CP. Specifically, Chinese adolescents with lower levels of HH were more likely to build material values and further engaged in cyberbullying perpetration, when they perceived stronger PPC.

Associations between Profiles of Self-Esteem and Achievement Goals and the Protection of Self-Worth in University Students

The high demands of academia and the fear of failure lead some university students to prioritize defending their personal worth through the use of complex strategies such as self-handicapping or defensive pessimism. Adopting a person-centered approach, this study established two objectives: First, to analyze the conformation of different motivational profiles based on the combination of self-esteem and achievement goals (learning, performance approach, and performance avoidance); and second, to determine if the identified profiles differ from one another in the use of self-handicapping and defensive pessimism. A total of 1028 university students participated in the research. Four motivational profiles were obtained: (a) High self-esteem, low learning goals, high performance approach goals, and high performance avoidance goals; (b) high self-esteem, high learning goals, low performance approach goals, and low performance avoidance goals; (c) low self-esteem, low learning goals, high performance approach goals, and high performance avoidance goals; and (d) low self-esteem, high learning goals, high performance approach goals, and medium performance avoidance goals. Profiles (c) and (d) were significantly related to self-handicapping and defensive pessimism, respectively. These results suggest that students with low self-esteem are more vulnerable to self-protection strategies. Additionally, under self-handicapping and defensive pessimism, the achievement goals are slightly different.

Buying to Blunt Negative Feelings: Materialistic Escape from the Self

We propose that escape theory, which describes how individuals seek to free themselves from aversive states of self-awareness, helps explain key patterns of materialistic people's behavior. As predicted by escape theory, materialistic individuals may feel dissatisfied with their standard of living, cope with failed expectations and life stressors less effectively than others, suffer from aversive self-awareness, and experience negative emotions as a result. To cope with negative, self-directed emotions, materialistic people may enter a narrow, cognitively deconstructed mindset in order to temporarily blunt the capacity for self-reflection. Cognitive narrowing decreases inhibitions thereby engendering impulsivity, passivity, irrational thought, and disinhibited behaviors, including maladaptive consumption.

The Effect of Self-Esteem on Corrupt Intention: The Mediating Role of Materialism

The present set of studies aimed to explore the effect of self-esteem on corrupt intention and the mediating role of materialism in generating this effect. In Study 1, we used questionnaires to investigate the correlation among self-esteem, materialism, and corrupt intention. In Study 2, we manipulated self-esteem to explore the causal effect of self-esteem on materialism and corrupt intention. In Study 3, we manipulated materialism to examine whether inducing materialism can reduce the relationship between self-esteem and corrupt intention. The three studies converged to show that increased self-esteem caused a low level of materialism, which in turn decreased corrupt intention. The theoretical and practical implications of the results are discussed.

Materialism and well-being among Chinese college students: The mediating role of basic psychological need satisfaction

Based on self-determination theory, this study explored the potential mediating role of basic psychological need satisfaction in the relationship between materialism and well-being among Chinese college students. The results showed that basic psychological need satisfaction partially mediated the relationship between materialism and life satisfaction and fully mediated the relationships among materialism and emotional well-being, subjective vitality, and self-actualization. The findings indicated the importance of considering both subjective and psychological well-being and the interpretative power of basic psychological need satisfaction and Chinese culture in the flow from materialism to well-being.