Emotional Traits Research Articles

Exploring the Associations between Emotional Maturity, Competency, and Sensitivity on Entrepreneurial Success among Indian Entrepreneurs

This research explores into the pivotal role of emotional maturity, competencies, and sensitivity in contributing to entrepreneurial success. The study employs a rigorous quantitative approach to investigate these dynamics among 422 entrepreneurs operating across various sectors within the Dindigul District of Tamil Nadu, located in the southern region of India. Data collection was meticulously executed using a comprehensive questionnaire, designed on a 5-point Likert scale, to capture nuanced responses concerning the emotional attributes of the participants. The responses were subsequently analysed using SPSS software (version 24), focusing on the interplay between these emotional traits (exogenous variables) and their influence on entrepreneurial success (endogenous variable). The findings from the statistical analysis are particularly illuminative. Emotional maturity, though beneficial, exhibited only a moderate correlation with entrepreneurial success. In contrast, emotional competencies and sensitivity were found to have a robust positive relationship with entrepreneurial success, underscoring their critical importance. Among these, emotional sensitivity emerged as the most potent predictor, indicating that the ability to perceive, interpret, and respond to the emotions of oneself and others plays a crucial role in navigating the complex demands of entrepreneurship. The implications of these results are significant for policy and practice. They suggest a need for a paradigm shift in entrepreneurial training and development programs, advocating for the integration of modules that enhance emotional competencies and sensitivity.

Self-injury and suicidal behaviors in high-risk adolescents: Distal predictors, proximal correlates, and interactive effects of impulsivity and emotion dysregulation.

Suicide rates are rising among U.S. youth, yet our understanding of developmental mechanisms associated with increased suicide risk is limited. One high-risk pathway involves an interaction between heritable trait impulsivity and emotion dysregulation (ED). Together, these confer increased vulnerability to nonsuicidal self-injury (NSSI), suicide ideation (SI), and suicide attempts (SAs). Previous work, however, has been limited to homogeneous samples. We extend the Impulsivity × ED hypothesis to a more diverse sample of adolescents (N = 344, ages 12-15 at Baseline, 107 males and 237 females) who were treated for major depression and assessed four times over two years. In multilevel models, the impulsivity × ED interaction was associated with higher levels and worse trajectories of NSSI, SI, and SAs. As expected, stressful life events were also associated with poorer trajectories for all outcomes, and NSSI was associated with future and concurrent SI and SAs. These findings extend one developmental pathway of risk for self-harming and suicidal behaviors to more diverse adolescents, with potential implications for prevention.

Development and Validation of the Career Authenticity Scale (CAS).

The self is crucial in career development, and authenticity emerges when individuals live in accordance with their true selves. This true self includes a deep awareness of one's abilities, cognitive, physical, and emotional traits, and unbiased answers to "Who am I?". Given its importance in career development, originality can significantly impact one's professional journey. This study brings a new structure to the field of career counseling with the term career authenticity. Career authenticity is a condition that emerges when individuals manage external influences and make their career choices in accordance with their true selves, thus achieving a work life that contributes to the meaning and purpose of their lives. The Career Authenticity Scale (CAS) was developed and validated in two samples of university students. In Study 1 (n = 402), the CAS was developed, and a structure consisting of 12 items and three dimensions was obtained as a result of exploratory factor analysis. Calculations also included the internal reliability coefficients of the CAS. In Study 2 (n = 322), the structure confirming the factors obtained in the first study was confirmed. Analyses also included convergent and discriminant validity, criterion-related validity, measurement invariance across gender, and item discrimination power of the CAS. The results show that the CAS meets the conditions for convergent and discriminant validity. A positive relationship was detected between the CAS and vocational outcome expectations and career proactive behaviors. The CAS was found to provide measurement invariance at configural, metric, scalar and strict invariance levels according to gender. In conclusion, the CAS was proven to be a valid and reliable measurement tool.

Lower thresholds and stronger adaptation to pain in musicians reflect occupational-specific adaptations to contact heat stimulation.

Extensive audio-motor training and psychological stress can cause professional musicians acute overstrain-injury and chronic pain, resulting in damaged careers and diminished quality of life. It has also been previously shown that musicians might perceive pain differently than non-musicians. Therefore, the aim of our study was to quantify differences between musicians and non-musicians regarding their subjective responses to painful contact heat stimuli and assess how emotional traits might influence these responses. Upon completing the StateTrait-Anxiety-Depression Inventory, 15 healthy musicians and 15 healthy non-musicians from German universities received 15 noxious contact heat stimuli at the dorsal side of each hand and foot. After each stimulation, participants were asked to provide a pain rating from 0 to 10. Musicians not only reported significantly higher pain ratings after the first stimulation but also showed a significantly higher degree of habituation compared to non-musicians. Additionally, musicians showed a significantly less pronounced difference regarding the pain rating of the hands compared to the feet than non-musicians. Trait anxiety and trait depression scores had no effect on the pain rating or the habituation. The more pronounced habituation of musicians might hint at a neuroplastic nociceptive alteration in musicians. The lack of significance between the psychological traits and their effect on the pain ratings is surprising but could be a result of both participant groups having stressful careers. The findings of this report justify musicians' repetitive sensorimotor training as an important model for plasticity and contribute to a better understanding of pain perception in musicians.

Beyond the stereotypes: Artificial Intelligence image generation and diversity in anesthesiology.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is increasingly being integrated into anesthesiology to enhance patient safety, improve efficiency, and streamline various aspects of practice. This study aims to evaluate whether AI-generated images accurately depict the demographic racial and ethnic diversity observed in the Anesthesia workforce and to identify inherent social biases in these images. This cross-sectional analysis was conducted from January to February 2024. Demographic data were collected from the American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) and the European Society of Anesthesiology and Intensive Care (ESAIC). Two AI text-to-image models, ChatGPT DALL-E 2 and Midjourney, generated images of anesthesiologists across various subspecialties. Three independent reviewers assessed and categorized each image based on sex, race/ethnicity, age, and emotional traits. A total of 1,200 images were analyzed. We found significant discrepancies between AI-generated images and actual demographic data. The models predominantly portrayed anesthesiologists as White, with ChatGPT DALL-E2 at 64.2% and Midjourney at 83.0%. Moreover, male gender was highly associated with White ethnicity by ChatGPT DALL-E2 (79.1%) and with non-White ethnicity by Midjourney (87%). Age distribution also varied significantly, with younger anesthesiologists underrepresented. The analysis also revealed predominant traits such as "masculine, ""attractive, "and "trustworthy" across various subspecialties. AI models exhibited notable biases in gender, race/ethnicity, and age representation, failing to reflect the actual diversity within the anesthesiologist workforce. These biases highlight the need for more diverse training datasets and strategies to mitigate bias in AI-generated images to ensure accurate and inclusive representations in the medical field.

German Parents and Educators of Two to Four-Year-Old Children as Informants for the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ).

Screeners are used in early intervention and early childhood education and care programs to identify children's potential need for further evaluation and diagnostics. The Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) is a brief behavioral screening instrument that can be completed by both parents and educators to assess the social and emotional traits of children. However, multiple informants' reports vary. In this study, the extent to which parents' (n = 241) and educators' (n = 157) differ and agree in their assessments of children aged 3.5 years on average, was examined. T-tests were used to examine differences between informants and correlations within a multitrait-multimethod matrix (MTMM) in their agreement. Results showed moderate to high levels of rater agreement ranging from r = .35 and r = .53 on the five subscales of the SDQ. We found that hyperactivity, peer relationship problems, and prosocial behavior vary due to meaningful reasons, e.g., the home vs. pre-school setting, and the informant's relationship towards the child. Hyperactivity seems to be relatively consistent across settings. Methodological variations might explain differences in emotional symptoms and conduct problems. Considering ratings from multiple informants outlines a more comprehensive view of children's behavior and should be preferred over single-informant research designs.

Psychological mechanisms and neural correlates of trait mindfulness in emotion regulation: Testing a novel approach to the monitor and acceptance theory

BackgroundThe ongoing mental health crisis warrants investigations to understand why trait mindfulness is associated with beneficial mental health outcomes. This study examined attention monitoring and acceptance as psychological mechanisms underlying the relationship between trait mindfulness and emotion regulation and connectivity between the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (dlPFC) and posterior cingulate cortex (PCC) as a potential neural mechanism. MethodsA cross-sectional study was conducted with 501 adult participants (age range: 17–79, M = 31, SD = 11.3) representing the general population. To assess emotion regulation and trait mindfulness, participants completed the Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale (DERS) and Five Facets Mindfulness Questionnaire (FFMQ). Resting-state functional MRI was acquired in a subsample of 20 participants to explore the role of dlPFC-PCC functional connectivity. ResultsHigher levels of acceptance, as measured using the Non-judging and Non-reactivity subscales of the FFMQ, were significantly associated with fewer overall emotion regulation difficulties and predicted all emotion regulation subscales. In contrast, higher levels of attention monitoring, measured using the Observe subscale, predicted only three DERS subscales and with mixed effects: higher emotional awareness and clarity, but greater difficulties in goal-directed behaviour. The interaction between monitoring and acceptance was not significant, and no correlation was found between these variables and dlPFC-PCC functional connectivity. ConclusionsThese findings challenge previous theories that argue that attention monitoring is crucial for effective emotion regulation. Instead, we conclude that acceptance is the key psychological mechanism, indicating that the traditional focus on attention monitoring in mindfulness training may be less effective than a primary emphasis on acceptance. This study provides a critical review of past research, highlighting issues with operationalising acceptance, and offers recommendations for future studies and practical implications for developing mindfulness interventions.

The Moderating Effect of Sex on Autistic Trait Emotional Intelligence, Alexithymia, and Empathy.

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is associated with differences in social communication, and these differences are related to trait emotional intelligence (TEI), alexithymia, and empathy. Autism is known to present differently in males and females, but research on sex differences in TEI, alexithymia, and empathy is largely relegated to non-autistic people. Therefore, the current research sought to explore individual relationships between autistic characteristics and TEI, alexithymia, and empathy, as well as the possible influence of sex in these relationships. In the current study, autistic and non-autistic adults reported on their autistic characteristics, TEI, alexithymia, and empathy. Based on previous research, it was hypothesized that more autistic characteristics would be associated with less TEI, more alexithymia, and less empathy, and that these relationships would be more prominent amongst males. More autistic characteristics were associated with greater challenges across the three areas of interest. However, only the relationship between TEI and autistic characteristics was moderated by sex, such that males demonstrated higher support needs related to TEI than females. Results from this analysis indicate that adults with more autistic characteristics, regardless of diagnostic status, demonstrate differences in TEI, alexithymia, and empathy. The current analysis may offer additional context to the evolving understanding of empathy and autism by suggesting that TEI and alexithymia could account for differences in empathy. Moreover, sex seems to play a role in the relationship between autistic characteristics and TEI such that differences are especially prominent for males.

From individual motivation to substance use initiation: A longitudinal cohort study assessing the associations between reward sensitivity and subsequent risk of substance use initiation among US adolescents

BackgroundSubstance use in youth remains a pressing problem in the United States. Existing studies have shown the importance of neuropathways responsible for affective response and reward motivation in adolescents’ substance use initiation and maintenance. However, limited observational studies have explored the relationship between aspects of behavioral motivation traits and the likelihood of substance use initiation in adolescents. In this prospective cohort study, we assessed the associations between behavioral motivation traits based on the Behavioral Inhibition and Approach Systems (BIS-BAS) Scale and substance use initiation using data from the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) study. MethodIn the 9216 eligible sample population, we assessed the associations between mean Behavioral Inhibition System (BIS) / Behavioral Approach System (BAS) scores measured at year 2 of the ABCD study and substance use initiation at year 3 of the ABCD study using multivariable logistic regressions adjusting for ABCD study site, sampling weights, as well as sociodemographic characteristics. ResultsWe found that higher BIS mean score was associated with higher odds of initiating substance use at year 3 (AOR=1.20, 95 % CI: 1.03, 1.40). Out of three BAS measure categories, only BAS Fun-seeking mean score was positively associated with higher odds of initiating substance use at year 3 (AOR=1.23, 95 % CI: 1.07, 1.43). ConclusionOur study showed that inhibitory and fun-seeking behavioral tendencies are associated with an increased likelihood of substance use initiation in adolescents. Our findings suggest a potential pathway linking emotional traits to early substance initiation in adolescents.

Risk factor patterns define social anxiety subtypes in adolescents with brain and clinical feature differences.

Social anxiety disorder (SAD) is one of the most common psychiatric disorders in adolescents. The heterogeneity of both symptoms and etiology is an essential source of difficulties in the treatment and prevention of SAD. The study aimed to identify subtypes of adolescent SAD based on etiology-related phenotype dimensions and examine symptom and brain associations of the subtypes. We used a deeply phenotyped sample (47 phenotype subscales from 13 measures) of adolescents with SAD (n = 196) and healthy controls (n = 109) to extract etiology-relevant risk factors, based on which we identified subtypes of SAD. We compared the subtypes on clinical characteristics and brain morphometrics and functional connectivity, and examined subtype-specific links between risk factors, brain aberrance, and clinical characteristics. We identified six etiology-relevant risk factors and two subtypes of adolescent SAD. One subtype showed mainly elevated negative emotionality trait and coping style and diminished positive emotionality trait and coping style, while the other additionally had significantly high environmental risk factors, more severe impairments in social functioning, and significant abnormalities in brain structure and function. There were subtype-specific links between the risk factor profiles, brain aberrance, and clinical characteristics. The finding suggests two etiology-based subtypes of adolescent SAD, providing novel insights to the diversity of pathological pathways and precise intervention strategies.

Cultivating the Values of Communication Ethics in Madrasah

this study is motivated by the current symptoms of moral decline, such as poor communication occurs among vulnerable adolescents with emotional traits. Many facts in society prove that wrong or incorrect communication will give birth to various immoral behaviors, fights, brawls, and various negative things that arise due to communication that does not care about ethics. This study uses a qualitative approach with descriptive analytical methods. The method of data collection in this study used in-depth interviews and supported by observation and documentation data. The results of this study indicate that: planting the value of communication ethics in the four MTs Banjar has been done through polite, courtesies, and greetings, both inside and outside the madrasah. So that it becomes a daily habit with the aim to improve the morale, and mental learners but not maximal. Therefore, instilling an understanding of communication ethics to students is very important so that they know how good communication ethics when communicating in terms of behaving and speaking appropriately.

Impact of state and trait emotion regulation on daily emotional exhaustion among Korean school counsellors.

School counsellors in South Korea face significant emotional exhaustion due to their challenging occupational environment. Previous studies have shown that cognitive reappraisal (CR) reduces emotional exhaustion, whereas expressive suppression (ES) increases it. However, these findings predominantly rely on trait questionnaires within cross-sectional approaches, overlooking the dynamic nature of emotion regulation (ER) strategy selection. Individuals may choose strategies that deviate from their general tendencies based on situational demands. There is limited empirical knowledge regarding the interaction between trait and state regulation strategies and their influence on exhaustion. Utilizing the strategy-situation fit hypothesis, this study examines the context-specific effects of ER strategies, considering both situational contexts and individual response tendencies. A multilevel analysis was performed to examine the influence of state and trait ER strategies on daily emotional exhaustion. A daily diary study was conducted for 5days with 111 Korean school counsellors. Daily CR was associated with lower daily exhaustion and daily ES predicted higher daily exhaustion. Contrastingly, none of the trait ER strategies had an impact on daily exhaustion, but the trait level of both strategies significantly moderated the relationship between daily CR and exhaustion. The positive impact of daily CR was more pronounced in school counsellors who often utilized suppression strategies, and this impact was also evident in trait reappraisal. Re-evaluating daily emotions instead of suppressing them may assist in coping with emotional exhaustion caused by work. The effectiveness of these strategies may vary based on an individual's inclination to regulate emotions as state and trait. ER may aid in implementing preventive interventions for school counsellors experiencing emotional exhaustion.

CORRELATIONS BETWEEN INNATE AND ENVIRONMENTAL TRAITS AND THE ATTITUDES` ASSESSMENT TOWARD ACTIVE LISTENING AMONG EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATORS

ABSTRACT The aim of the study is to examine the correlation between innate (neuroticism and openness) and environmental (self-esteem and emotional regulation strategies) personality traits and the attitudes` assessment toward active listening (AL) among early childhood educators in Israel. Accordingly, this study presents a multipath analysis model exploring the correlations between all those variables. In this study, AL was evaluated using the active listening attitude scale (ALAS) questionnaire, which measures a person-centered attitude through three key factors: “listening attitude,” which identifies values that support active listening; “listening skill,” which represents the technical expression of active listening; and “conversation opportunity,” which identifies listening situations conducive to AL. AL is perceived as an interpersonal communication skill that encourages listeners to integrate multi-sensory and cognitive processes to produce positive and supportive outcomes. To facilitate AL, listeners should be emotionally stable, well-regulated, and possess high self-esteem. Early educators have a decisive influence on children’s behavior, so this study examines personality traits and the educators’ perception toward active listening. A survey conducted among 390 early childhood educators, both female and male, indicated that both innate and environmental emotional traits correlate with two major factors of AL: “listening attitude” and “listening skill.” The path analysis model supports the perception that an effective and supportive listener must have a stable, open and curious emotional foundation, along with emotional regulation skills and high self-esteem.

Unravelling late adolescents’ addiction to social media: a unified theory perspective

Purpose This study aims to explore the intricate connections among late adolescents in Malaysia by considering their attachment patterns, attitudes towards technology acceptance, malevolent psychological and emotional traits and addiction to social media. This is achieved by integrating and refining the attachment theory (AT), the technology acceptance model (TAM) and the dark triad (DT) personality traits. Design/methodology/approach A total of 217 quantitative data were gathered from adolescents between 17 and 19 years of age. The data was analysed using partial least square structural equation modelling with established constructs, including TAM (perceived ease of use, perceived usefulness, attitude), DT traits (narcissism, Machiavellianism, psychopathy, fear of missing out), AT (attachment avoidance, attachment anxiety) and social media addiction. Findings The findings indicate that the perceived ease of use and usefulness are significantly positively related to attitude. Additionally, both attitude and FOMO were found to have a significant positive relationship with social media addiction. Notably, attachment anxiety was found to have a significant positive impact on FOMO, whereas attachment avoidance did not. Furthermore, among the dark triad traits, only narcissism showed a positive relationship with FOMO. Originality/value This study is novel because it integrates and expands unified theoretical perspectives to uncover the multifaceted factors contributing to late adolescents’ social media addiction. Moreover, introducing new concepts such as FOMO lays the groundwork for future research. Additionally, it proposes interventions that target specific vulnerabilities associated with attachment styles, technology acceptance and personality traits.

Social Isolation Mediates the Effects of Negative Emotionality and Resilience on Drinking to Cope and Drinking Alone

Objective: The purpose of this research was to test an extension of the incentive motivation model of alcohol by examining effects of personality traits on drinking motives and contexts, as mediated by social isolation. Methods: Participants were 1269 adults who resided in the United States (n = 618) or United Kingdom (n = 651) and completed an online questionnaire measuring the traits of negative emotionality and resilience, along with social isolation, drinking motives (coping, social) and drinking contexts (alone, at a party, at a bar/club). Six months later, 70% of the participants returned to complete a similar online questionnaire. Results: Path analysis was used to test the hypothesized models and revealed that negative emotionality had a prospective indirect effect on drinking to cope and drinking alone through increased social isolation over the 6-month period of observation. In contrast, the trait of resilience had a prospective indirect effect on reductions in the drinking to cope motive and reductions in drinking alone, through decreased social isolation. Conclusion: The findings suggest that personality traits that contribute to social isolation may be risk factors for dysfunctional drinking motives and contexts.

The whole thing needs a shake-up: A mixed method study examining teachers’ perspectives on social and emotional skills in schools

This study employed an explanatory sequential design to investigate how teachers' social and emotional capacities and schooling stage impact beliefs about Social and Emotional Learning (SEL). 109 primary and 72 secondary teachers completed surveys assessing emotional traits, comfort, and commitment to SEL. Results showed that relational capacity, the ability to form positive relationships, predicted comfort in promoting positive SEL beliefs, while self-compassion predicted commitment to SEL. Comfort with SEL was higher among primary teachers, indicating a schooling stage effect. Interviews with 8 teachers revealed that identity influenced SEL provision, while beliefs conflicted with job demands, highlighting areas for future research.

Neuroticism/Negative Emotionality Is Associated with Increased Reactivity to Uncertain Threat in the Bed Nucleus of the Stria Terminalis, Not the Amygdala.

Neuroticism/negative emotionality (N/NE)-the tendency to experience anxiety, fear, and other negative emotions-is a fundamental dimension of temperament with profound consequences for health, wealth, and well-being. Elevated N/NE is associated with a panoply of adverse outcomes, from reduced socioeconomic attainment to psychiatric illness. Animal research suggests that N/NE reflects heightened reactivity to uncertain threat in the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis (BST) and central nucleus of the amygdala (Ce), but the relevance of these discoveries to humans has remained unclear. Here we used a novel combination of psychometric, psychophysiological, and neuroimaging approaches to test this hypothesis in an ethnoracially diverse, sex-balanced sample of 220 emerging adults selectively recruited to encompass a broad spectrum of N/NE. Cross-validated robust-regression analyses demonstrated that N/NE is preferentially associated with heightened BST activation during the uncertain anticipation of a genuinely distressing threat (aversive multimodal stimulation), whereas N/NE was unrelated to BST activation during certain-threat anticipation, Ce activation during either type of threat anticipation, or BST/Ce reactivity to threat-related faces. It is often assumed that different threat paradigms are interchangeable assays of individual differences in brain function, yet this has rarely been tested. Our results revealed negligible associations between BST/Ce reactivity to the anticipation of threat and the presentation of threat-related faces, indicating that the two tasks are nonfungible. These observations provide a framework for conceptualizing emotional traits and disorders; for guiding the design and interpretation of biobank and other neuroimaging studies of psychiatric risk, disease, and treatment; and for refining mechanistic research.

Network analysis of negative emotions in patients with episodic migraine: need for a multidisciplinary perspective.

Episodic migraine (EM) is the second most prevalent neurological disorder worldwide and is responsible for more disability than all other neurological disorders combined. Triggers for the development of migraine include, stress, emotional burden, low blood sugar levels, tobacco, skipped meals, anxious and depressive feelings. Migraine affects both children and adults, occurring three times more frequently in women than in men. The aim of this study was to evaluate the psychological profile of EM patients and the relationship among negative emotions in EM patients, analyzing self-efficacy measures in pain management. We performed an observational study in 60 outpatients aged 18-55 years (mean age 33.8; SD ±10.4) with EM. All patients have been enrolled at the Headache Center of the San Salvatore Hospital of L'Aquila. The assessment comprised five standardized psychological self-assessments investigating relevant emotional dimensions and pain self-efficacy, along with two questionnaires assessing migraine-related disability. A network analysis of negative emotions was performed to evaluate which emotional traits and relationships play a crucial role in pain coping and management. Our findings indicate that migraine significantly impairs the quality of life of patients in their daily lives. Over half of the patients reported experiencing severe disability, with negative emotions significantly influencing their ability to cope with pain and maintain productivity during migraine attacks. Dysphoric variables (irritability, interpersonal resentment, and surrender) were correlated with difficulties in emotion regulation ability and with the capacity of engaging in goal-directed behaviors despite experiencing pain. The ability to regulate one's emotions and manage dysphoria were positively correlated with pain self-efficacy, whereas positive mental health was associated with individuals' confidence in performing activities despite experiencing pain. Negative emotions had a negative correlation with positive mental health and were linked to a lower capacity to carry out daily activities despite experiencing migraine pain. This suggests that psychological interventions could improve mental health and potentially surpassing the effects of pharmacological interventions alone in migraine management. An integrated, patient-centered approach may represent an effective paradigm to address and reduce the burden of migraine, leading to a reduction in healthcare costs.

Polyvictimization and emotion regulation in daily life: An ecological momentary assessment study of young adults.

Individuals who experience polyvictimization, or victimization across multiple life contexts, show particularly severe outcomes across a range of mental health diagnoses, potentially related to difficulties in regulating emotion. However, prior research has been limited by reliance on cross-sectional designs and retrospective trait measures of emotion regulation. The present study used ecological momentary assessment to test associations between polyvictimization and emotion regulation in daily life. After completing a baseline survey assessing trauma exposure, mental health symptoms, and trait emotion regulation, undergraduates (N = 122) completed smartphone surveys assessing state emotion regulation four times per day for 14 days. Low correspondence was observed between trait and state measures of emotion regulation. After accounting for baseline mental health symptoms, polyvictimization independently predicted lower scores on an aggregative measure of putatively adaptive strategies (i.e., reappraisal, acceptance, problem solving) in daily life. However, polyvictimization did not predict aggregate scores of putatively maladaptive strategies (i.e., cognitive and expressive suppression, rumination, impulsive behavior, avoidance). Baseline depression and posttraumatic stress predicted higher use of putatively maladaptive strategies. Results suggest polyvictimization may be associated with less use of adaptive emotion regulation in daily life, whereas mental health symptoms may be associated with more use of maladaptive strategies. These findings highlight the utility of experience sampling approaches for increasing insight into emotion regulation difficulties among trauma survivors. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).

Predicting life engagement and happiness from gaming motives and primary emotional traits before and during the COVID pandemic: a machine learning approach

The present study investigated whether life engagement and happiness can be predicted from gaming motives and primary emotional traits. Two machine learning algorithms (random forest model and one-dimensional convolutional neural network) were applied using a dataset from before the COVID-19 pandemic as the training dataset. The algorithms derived were then applied to test if they would be useful in predicting life engagement and happiness from gaming motives and primary emotional systems on a dataset collected during the pandemic. The best prediction values were observed for happiness with ρ = 0.758 with explained variance of R2 = 0.575 when applying the best performing algorithm derived from the pre-COVID dataset to the COVID dataset. Hence, this shows that the derived algorithm based on the pre-pandemic data set, successfully predicted happiness (and life engagement) from the same set of variables during the pandemic. Overall, this study shows the feasibility of applying machine learning algorithms to predict life engagement and happiness from gaming motives and primary emotional systems.