School socioeconomic status and psychological complaints among adolescents in 44 countries: The mediating role of schoolwork pressure and classmate support and the moderating role of family SES and country-level income inequality

Previous research has reported both positive and negative associations between school socioeconomic status (SES) and internalizing problems among adolescents. Little is known about cross-national differences in this association, as well as potential mediators and moderators. Therefore, this study investigated this association using representative cross-national samples of adolescents whilst exploring the mediating role of schoolwork pressure and classmate support, and the moderating role of family SES and country-level income inequality. Using data from adolescents aged 11-15 from 44 countries, participating in the 2017/2018 Health Behaviour in School-aged Children (HBSC) study (N = 202,202), we employed multilevel regression models with cross-level interactions. School SES was operationalized as the average family affluence of adolescents within a school and psychological complaints (e.g., feeling low/depressed) were used as an indication of internalizing problems. On average across countries, adolescents in higher SES schools reported more psychological complaints, with a large effect size. However, differences in this association were observed across countries, with a positive association in 19 out of 44 countries, a negative association in one country, and nonsignificant associations in the remaining countries. Schoolwork pressure partially mediated the average association between school SES and psychological complaints, as school SES was positively associated with schoolwork pressure which was associated with more psychological complaints. Our results did not support the mediating role of classmate support. Also, we found a moderating effect of family SES, indicating a stronger positive association between school SES and psychological complaints for those with a below average family SES compared to those with an average and above average family SES. No moderating effect was observed for country-level income inequality. These findings suggest that adolescents with low family SES attending higher SES schools are especially at risk for psychological complaints, and may therefore require tailored support. A promising strategy to reduce psychological complaints entails addressing schoolwork pressure.

Effects of relative deprivation on change in displaced aggression and the underlying motivation mechanism: A three-wave cross-lagged analysis

Displaced aggression refers to pernicious acts against innocent people. To date, little is known about mechanisms underlying dynamic changes in displaced aggression. The present study constructed a cross-lagged model to examine the dynamic effects of relative deprivation on displaced aggression and the mediation mechanisms underlying these effects. A total of 1130 undergraduate students participated in this three-wave longitudinal study. The results showed that relative deprivation predicted changes in displaced aggression through concurrent changes in levels of hostile attribution bias and moral disengagement. Hostile attribution bias and moral disengagement could predict each other longitudinally. The relationships between relative deprivation and displaced aggression, and relative deprivation and hostile attribution bias were mutual. This multiple mediation model with two mutually predicting mediators was explained from the aggressive motivation perspective. The findings help inform aggression theories and have implications for the prevention of and interventions against displaced aggression.

Perceived Social Support and Experiential Avoidance in Adolescents: A Moderated Mediation Model of Individual Relative Deprivation and Subjective Social Class

Based on the integration of ecological systems theory and the risk and protective factor model, the current study tested whether individual relative deprivation mediated the association between perceived social support and adolescents' experiential avoidance and whether this mediation model was moderated by subjective social class. A sample of 582 senior high school students in China participated in the current survey. The results indicated that perceived social support was negatively related to the students' experiential avoidance. Mediation analysis showed a significant indirect effect of perceived social support on experiential avoidance, via individual relative deprivation. Moreover, the mediation effect of individual relative deprivation was moderated by subjective social class. Specifically, the negative relationship between perceived social support and individual relative deprivation, and the direct relationship between perceived social support and experiential avoidance were stronger for adolescents with low subjective social class. In contrast, the positive relationship between individual relative deprivation and experiential avoidance was stronger for adolescents with high subjective social class.

Cognitive reappraisal and empathy chain-mediate the association between relative deprivation and prosocial behavior in adolescents

Background

Relative deprivation is one of the factors that influences the development of personality and behavior. However, it is still unclear whether and how relative deprivation decreases the prosocial behavior in adolescents. This study aimed to examine the association between relative deprivation and adolescent prosocial behavior and the role of emotion regulation strategies and empathy in modifying this association.

Methods

The present study included 609 secondary school students (M = 15.42 years, SD = 0.653) in Fujian Province, China. All participants completed the Relative Deprivation Questionnaire, Emotion Regulation Scale, the Basic Empathy Scale, and Prosocial Behavior Scale. The collected data were analyzed using SPSS 25.0 and Mplus 7.4.

Results

Relative deprivation was negatively correlated with cognitive reappraisal, but positively correlated with expressive suppression. Cognitive reappraisal was positively correlated with empathy and prosocial behavior, but expressive suppression was not. Empathy was positively correlated with prosocial behavior. Relative deprivation decreased prosocial behavior through (a) cognitive reappraisal, (b) empathy, and (c) chain mediation of cognitive reappraisal and empathy. No significant mediating effect of expressive suppression was found.

Conclusion

The results indicate that relative deprivation decreases adolescent prosocial behavior, and that cognitive reappraisal and empathy are the potential psychological mechanisms that affect the association between relative deprivation and adolescent prosocial behavior.

How relative deprivation affects the sleep quality of Chinese college students: testing an integrated model of social anxiety and trait mindfulness

Although previous studies have confirmed the association between relative deprivation and individual health, the relationship between and underlying mechanisms of relative deprivation and sleep quality have rarely been explored. Therefore, the present study investigated how relative deprivation affected sleep quality by testing an integrated model and examining the roles of social anxiety and trait mindfulness. We surveyed 568 college students using the Relative Deprivation Scale, Interaction Anxiousness Scale, Mindful Attention Awareness Scale, and Pittsburg Sleep Quality Index. Data were analyzed using SPSS 24.0 and PROCESS macro for SPSS. We found that a high relative deprivation score predicted poor sleep quality, and social anxiety partially mediated this relationship. Our model also indicated that the relationship between relative deprivation and sleep quality via social anxiety was moderated by mindfulness. Specifically, increasing trait mindfulness may decrease the indirect effect of relative deprivation on sleep quality through social anxiety. The current study expands our understanding of the underlying mechanisms, paths, and conditions of the effects of relative deprivation on sleep quality. Furthermore, we provide additional evidence that trait mindfulness can mitigate the adverse effects of negative events. College students should consciously use trait mindfulness techniques to consider problems, reduce anxiety, and improve their sleep quality.

Does Compulsory Citizenship Behavior Necessarily Reduce Employee’s Work Well-Being? The Role of Relative Deprivation and Resource Compensation Based on Compulsory Citizenship Behavior

Purpose

On the basis of previous research results, the opinion that compulsory citizenship behavior (CCB) leads to negative impacts over employees and organizations prevails. However, the latest researches negate the absence of rewards and favorable evaluation from organizational system for CCB. Instead, CCB is likely to be awarded by incentive allocation and recognitive affirmation. In the case of the resource compensation based on CCB, will the expected utility of CCB still show the consistence with the traditional CCB researches, imposing negative effects over employees and organizations?

Methods

This research explored the mechanism and boundary condition based on self-determination theory (SDT) and relative deprivation theory (RDT) to avert the negative effects of CCB, hoping to explain the above question. Time-lagged survey data from 227 employees tested the moderated mediation model, and the results verified the hypotheses.

Results

With resource compensation after the delivery of CCB, employees will not feel relative deprivation caused by reluctant false citizenship behaviors. In addition, relative deprivation expresses the gap between expectation and reality, low psychological discrepancy will not deeply undermine employees’ work well-being.

Relative deprivation and social anxiety among Chinese migrant children: Testing a moderated mediation model of perceived control and belief in a just world

To examine the relationship between relative deprivation and social anxiety, which affects mental health, and investigate the mediating role of perceived control and the moderating role of belief in a just world (BJW) in an understudied population in Asia, we surveyed 1573 rural-to-urban migrant children (48% female; M_age = 12.3, SD = 1.7) in southeast China. Relative deprivation was positively correlated with social anxiety; perceived control partially mediated this connection. Moreover, BJW moderated the indirect effect, which was stronger for male migrant children with lower levels of BJW. The limitations and practical implications of this study are discussed.

Personal relative deprivation and pro-environmental intentions

Personal relative deprivation (PRD; the belief that one is worse off than other people who are similar to oneself) is associated with a reduced willingness to delay gratification, lower prosociality, and increased materialism. These results suggest that PRD may play a role in shaping people’s willingness to act to protect the natural environment. We report 3 studies that investigate a possible link between PRD and pro-environmental intentions (ENV). Study 1 was an exploratory study using a US sample; Studies 2 and 3 were pre-registered replications using UK and US samples, respectively. In each study, participants self-reported PRD and ENV; they also indicated their subjective social status (where they come on a national “ladder” of social class) and reported their income, education, age, and gender/sex. All three studies found a negative correlation between PRD and ENV. However, multiple regression analyses in which ENV was regressed on PRD and all other variables simultaneously indicated that the unique effect of PRD was small and, for Studies 2 and 3, the 95% confidence intervals included zero. No other variable emerged as a clear unique predictor across all three studies. The data suggest that PRD may be associated with reduced intention to act pro-environmentally, but the causal status of this association, and its relationship to other demographic and social-status variables, remains a topic for further research.