Emotional Predictors Research Articles

Time map and predictors of on-spot emotional responses of Chinese people during COVID-19 outbreak: From January 27 to February 20, 2020

• Chinese people reported mild on-spot positive and negative emotions during COVID-19 outbreak. • Negative emotions declined and happy emotion increased in a curvilinear style. • Risk predictors were female, elder age, city with more confirmed cases, patients or medical staff, and higher risk perception. • Protective predictors were unmarried, high-school or college education, and later investigating dates. Background: The impact of the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic on people's mental health has been gradually revealed. Emotional responses under this pandemic have been a focus. This study aimed to observe the time map and predictors of transient daily emotions (on-spot emotional responses) during the COVID-19 outbreak in Chinese people. Methods : A total of 133,027 Chinese people from all cities and areas of China took part in this 25-day online investigation from January 27 to February 20, 2020. Hierarchical regression was carried out. Results : Chinese people reported mild positive and negative emotions during COVID-19, and the trend was that negative emotions declined and happy emotion increased in a curvilinear style. Females reported stronger on-spot negative emotions. Young and unmarried people, and individuals with lower risk perception reported lower negative emotions and higher happiness, while people with postgraduate or higher education, medical staff and patients, and individuals coming from areas with more confirmed cases, experienced stronger positive and negative emotions. In the regression model, risk predictors of negative emotions were being female, being older in age, having postgraduate or higher education, living in a city with more confirmed cases, being a patient or medical staff, and having higher risk perception, while protective predictors of negative emotions were being unmarried, having high-school or college education, and later investigating date. Notably, been married was negative predictor of happiness. Conclusions : This large sample, 25-day successive online investigation is among the first to reveal the time map of on-spot emotions in Chinese people under the COVID-19 pandemic. The risk and protective predictors of on-spot negative emotions help to recognize vulnerable people under pandemic conditions and further develop more targeted early interventions for future crises.

Predictors of affective commitment at municipalities in the Nkangala district, Mpumalanga

Orientation: Less committed employees have a huge impact on organisational performance. The affective commitment of municipal employees is critical for a municipality to achieve its strategic objectives.Research purpose: To determine the predictors of affective commitment at the four municipalities in the Nkangala district, Mpumalanga.Motivation for the study: There is a shortage of studies conducted at South African municipalities that have simultaneously measured negative emotions, positive emotions and job satisfaction as the predictors of affective commitment.Research approach/design and method: The approach was quantitative and cross-sectional in nature. A closed-ended questionnaire was developed and administered to 808 respondents who were conveniently selected from four municipalities in the Nkangala district. The data were analysed using descriptive statistics. Inferential statistics were used to determine whether the predictors and affective commitment were unidimensional and to determine the relationships and the highest predictor.Main findings: The results showed that job satisfaction was the greatest predictor of affective commitment and negative emotions were the lowest predictor. Job satisfaction, positive and negative emotions explained 68% of the variance in affective commitment.Practical/managerial implications: This research will empower municipality managers in cultivating a conducive work environment. Improving the interpersonal skills of supervisors and implementing fair human resource practices that promote a conducive work environment have been highlighted as some contributors towards increased affective commitment.Contribution/value-add: This study has developed a two-path framework that could be used by human resource management practitioners to determine the affective commitment of employees in Mpumalanga municipalities.

Big Five predictors of pandemic-related behavior and emotions in the first and second COVID-19 pandemic wave in Slovakia

This study explores the effect of Big Five personality traits on behavioral and emotional responses to the COVID-19 pandemic. Personality traits of 248 Slovak persons were assessed twice before the pandemic using the Big Five Inventory 2. Behavioral and emotional responses to the pandemic were collected during the first and second pandemic wave (April and September 2020). The results showed a statistically significant decrease in all response domains and in COVID-19 fear between the first and the second pandemic wave, suggesting that psychological adaptation to the pandemic occurred during the interim period. The results identified several meaningful links between the traits and pandemic-related behavior and emotions, especially for neuroticism, extraversion, and conscientiousness. However, the effects of personality were higher for the first pandemic wave, suggesting that these effects vary across time probably because of changes in pandemic perception in the society.

Coping With COVID-19: The Benefits of Anticipating Future Positive Events and Maintaining Optimism.

In early 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic forced a large portion of the world into quarantine, leading to an extensive period of stress making it necessary to explore regulatory techniques that are effective at stimulating long-lasting positive emotion. Previous research has demonstrated that anticipating positive events produces increases in positive emotion during discrete stressors. We hypothesized that state and trait positive anticipation during the COVID-19 pandemic would be associated with increased positive emotions. We assessed how often participants thought about a future positive/negative/neutral event, activity, or goal through a daily reconstruction method that represented a “day in the life” of people in the United States during the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic. The results of multi-level modeling and mediational analyses demonstrated that higher optimism, one form of trait positive anticipation, was related to higher state positive anticipation, which was in turn related to higher positive emotions during the current episode, which persisted to the next episode. In addition, both optimism and state positive anticipation were related to adaptive responses to the pandemic. These findings suggest that anticipation of future emotional experiences and hopefulness for the future can be a powerful predictor of positive emotions during global pandemics and perhaps other similar chronic stressors.

Self-efficacy in creativity and curiosity as predicting creative emotions

Self-efficacy constructs could predict students’ practices and affect in learning the sciences. Researchers have pointed at such constructs as predictors of students’ mathematics achievement and performance. Self-efficacy was also studied as predictor of emotions in learning mathematics, though little research has done so regarding self-efficacy as predictor of creative emotions. Another predictor of creative emotions could be curiosity. The present study has a regression-based modelling design, where it examined whether a set of constructs of self-efficacy in creativity or/and a set of constructs of curiosity predict significantly creative emotions in mathematical problem solving. Five hundred Grade 8-10 students participated in the study. Data were collected using three self-report questionnaires that measured the research constructs. Data analysis used SPSS 21. Results from multiple regression indicated that the set of constructs of self-efficacy in creativity explained significantly 29.6% of the variance in creative emotions. Moreover, the set of constructs of curiosity explained 17.8% of the variance in creative emotions. Furthermore, three of the five independent variables had best prediction of creative emotions, explaining 32.9% of the variance in creative emotions. The results of the stepwise regression showed that self-efficacy in originality and stretching curiosity were the first two variables in a set of three variables that best explained the variance in creative emotions. The research results lead to the recommendation of developing the previous two constructs in classroom setting to cultivate students’ creative emotions and thus their creative practices.

Prognostic factors and predictors of outcome in children with autism spectrum disorder: the role of the paediatrician

BackgroundAutism spectrum disorder is a complex condition with wide variation in type and severity that involves persistent challenges in social interaction, speech and nonverbal communication, restricted/repetitive behaviours and adaptive behaviours. In recent years, research has deepened the study of the predictive factors of optimal outcome, intended as indicators of positive trajectory in children with a previous diagnosis of autism who, after a therapeutic path, show a significant reduction in the “core” symptoms of autism and a positive evolution in social, adaptive, affective, and relational skills.MethodsThe study included 40 children aged 21 to 66 months, enrolled between 2015 and 2016 for an autism spectrum disorder clinical suspicious. Children were re-evaluated after at least 2 years of therapy and they were divided into two groups: the ASD-ASD group included children with a confirmed diagnosis of ASD, and the ASD-OO comparison group included children who no longer met the criteria for an autism classification. The aim of this retrospective study was to investigate the presence of cognitive, emotional and relational predictors capable of predicting the presence of optimal outcome in with a diagnosis of autism; the predictors taken into consideration were the intelligence quotient, the play, the emotional contagion and the understanding of other’s intentions. In this way, it is possible to support clinicians in defining a more complete diagnostic framework of autism, using assessment tools that can be administered quickly and therefore suitable for short observation sessions in paediatric patients.ResultsThe findings showed that 15 out of 40 children, after at least for 2 years, no longer fell into the diagnostic ASD category based on the ADOS-2, DSM-5 and clinical criteria. The children in the ASD-OO group initially had a higher IQ than those in the ASD-ASD group, lower severity of autistic symptoms, greater understanding of intentions, more emotional contagion, and better quality of play. The results suggest that the initial coexistence of skills in these areas at the time of the first diagnostic assessment may allow us to predict the possibility of achieving optimal outcome after 2 years of therapy.ConclusionsThe data of this study highlight the importance of considering, during assessment, intelligence quotient, play, emotional contagion, and understanding of the intentions of others as potential prognostic predictors that can become useful tools for clinicians and paediatricians. This allows us to focus attention, in both the diagnostic and prognostic phases, on emotional-relational variables that can support the clinician in defining a more complete diagnostic framework and in planning a more personalized therapeutic path.

Emotional Wellbeing in Saudi Arabia During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A National Survey

PurposeThis study aims to evaluate the overall emotional wellbeing and emotional predictors of the Saudi population during COVID-19.Patients and MethodsA cross-sectional design was employed; the data were collected by using the Arabic version of the Mental Health Inventory.ResultsA total of 5041 participants were successfully recruited over 1 week. The participants scored moderately on Anxiety, Depression, Loss of Behavioral/Emotional Control, General Positive Affect, Emotional Ties, and Life Satisfaction. The results indicated that age, gender, marital status, socioeconomic status, and having chronic health conditions are major predictors of emotional wellbeing during the COVID-19 pandemic.ConclusionA rehabilitation program should be initiated to restore the community function and the wellbeing of individuals who have been impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Cognitive Patterns and Coping Mechanisms in the Context of Internet Use

Recent research indicates there are different cognitive patterns and coping mechanisms related to increased levels of Internet use and emotional distress in adolescents. This study aims to investigate the relationship between coping mechanisms, dysfunctional negative emotions, and Internet use. A total of 54 participants aged between 14 and 19 years old completed a questionnaire containing several measures and demographics information. We measured participants’ coping strategies, emotional distress, social and emotional loneliness, and their online behavior and Internet addiction using self-report questionnaires. In order to identify the relation between the investigated variables, we used correlation analysis and regression, and we tested one mediation model. The results showed that maladaptive coping strategies and Internet use were significant predictors of dysfunctional negative emotions. Moreover, passive wishful thinking, as a pattern of thinking, was associated with anxious and depressed feelings. The relation between Internet use and dysfunctional negative emotions was mediated by participants’ coping mechanisms. Therefore, we can conclude that the level of negative feelings is associated with the coping strategies used while showing an increased level of Internet addiction. Future studies should also consider different and multiple types of measurement other than self-reports, especially related to Internet addiction.

Corporate Social Responsibility and the Reciprocity Between Employee Perception, Perceived External Prestige, and Employees' Emotional Labor.

BackgroundCorporate social responsibility (CSR) is emerging as a relevant subject in the business world and in the field of management research. Therefore, the current study incorporates classifications often used in organizational level CSR research that distinguish social responsibility relevant to its focus (internal and external), in proposing diverse routes that link various CSR practices (ie, internal and external) to employees’ choice of emotional labor strategy (ie, via perceived organizational support and perceived external prestige).MethodsData were collected from front-line employees of banks operating in Pakistan. Due to the study’s focus on front-line employees, other personnel were excluded for data collection. We collected data through a self-administered questionnaire. The structural equation model (SEM) was employed on 376 valid responses using Smart-PLS3 to test the study hypotheses.ResultsAfter the analysis, we found satisfactory results for the fitness of both measurement and satisfactory models. Moreover, the results strongly support our proposed theoretical framework, and all proposed hypotheses were accepted.DiscussionThis study confirms that the perception of external prestige is a strong predictor of employees’ emotions and relevant behaviors. Moreover, this study discusses under the light of social exchange theory that perceived organizational support strongly predicts employees’ emotional labor, which diminishes the myth that prestige is the only factor to influence employees’ emotions in the workplace. Moreover, this study negates the findings of Anwar et al that perceived external prestige does not have a significant negative effect on surface acting. It provides an insight not only for managers and researchers but also for society, especially in an Eastern workplace setting like Pakistan’s banking sector.

Environmental and emotional predictors of cognitive styles of air traffic controllers

The article describes the theoretical and empirical study of cognitive styles of air traffic controllers as a guarantee of their professional success. The aim of the article was to present the results of the study, which were to establish the emotional predictors of cognitive styles of future air traffic controllers. The following methods were used for the study: “Gottschaldt’s figures”, “Comparison of similar drawings” by J. Kagan, “Free sorting of objects” by R. Gardner in the modification of V. Kolga, “Four-modal emotional questionnaire” by L.A. Rabinovych, “EmIn Emotional Intelligence Questionnaire” by D.V Lyusin, “Self-assessment of mental states” by G. Eisenk. The specifics of the manifestation of the following cognitive-stylistic parameters of air traffic controllers are analyzed: social field dependence-field independence, impulsivity-reflexivity, analyticity-syntheticity. Based on the analysis of the results of the study, it was found that the vast majority of respondents have the following cognitive styles: field-independent (77.7%), reflexive (74.4%), and slightly less synthetic (53.5%). Emotional intelligence at the intrapersonal and interpersonal levels of air traffic controllers is characterized by high rates in only half of the sample. Among emotions, almost half of the respondents are dominated by “joy” at a high level, “anger”, “fear” at a low level and “sadness” at a medium level. It was also found that two thirds of air traffic controllers are dominated by low levels of anxiety and frustration. Regression analysis revealed the influence of emotional characteristics on cognitive styles of future air traffic controllers: “aggression” is a predictor of “field dependence”, and “rigidity” and “joy” are predictors of analytical cognitive style.

Emotion regulation abilities as a predictor of anxiety, positive emotions, heart rate, and alpha asymmetry during an impromptu speech task

ABSTRACT Background and Objectives Recent approaches suggest that emotion regulation (ER) abilities represent potential predictors of emotional response among youths navigating stressful situations. To test this, we investigated whether ER abilities predicted the subjective and physiological emotional response experienced by youths during a stressful situation. Design A cross-sectional design was employed. Method One hundred and thirty-four youths completed measures of ER abilities (emotional awareness, anxiety sensitivity, emotional control) and were asked to deliver a speech while their anxiety, positive emotions, heart rate, and alpha asymmetry were collected at four time points: baseline, anticipation, speech, and post-recovery. Results Pearson r correlations showed that poor emotional control and awareness, as well as high anxiety sensitivity were related to greater anxiety and lower positive emotions experienced during the speech. Hierarchical multiple regressions also revealed that emotional control and emotional awareness predicted greater speech anxiety and lower positive emotions. Moreover, anxiety sensitivity was related to and predicted an increased heart rate experienced during speech. Conclusions Findings suggest that difficulties in emotional awareness, anxiety sensitivity, and emotional control predict the emotional response experienced by youths during a stressful situation. Interventions delivered by clinicians/teachers that target ER difficulties may be effective in improving emotional functioning when navigating stressful situations.

An overview of current mental health in the general population of Australia during the COVID-19 pandemic: Results from the COLLATE project

The novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) poses mental health challenges globally; however, to date, there is limited community level data. This study reports on the COLLATE project (COvid-19 and you: mentaL heaLth in AusTralia now survEy), an ongoing study aimed at understanding the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on Australian mental health and well-being. We addressed prevailing primary concerns related to the COVID-19 pandemic, current levels of negative emotions and risk factors predicting negative emotions. On April 1st to 4th 2020, 5158 adults from the general public completed an online survey. Participants ranked their top ten current primary concerns about COVID-19, and completed standardized measures of negative emotions. The top three primary concerns were related to health and well-being of family and loved ones. Levels of negative emotion were high. Modelling of predictors of negative emotions established several risk factors related to demographic variables, personal vulnerabilities, financial stresses, and social distancing perceptions; particularly being young, female, or having a mental illness diagnosis. The data provides important characterization of the current Australian mental health. It appears that specific groups may need special attention to ensure their mental health is protected. These results may provide direction for international researchers characterizing similar issues.

Subjective Rank of the Competition as a Factor Differentiating Between the Affective States of Swimmers and Their Sport Performance.

PurposeThe aim of the study was to establish the differences in affective states of swimmers depending on the subjective rank of the competition and the relationship between affective states and performance in sports competitions of low, medium and high subjectively perceived rank.MethodsThe respondents (n = 31) aged from 15 to 23 years (18.1 ± 2.397) were studied using the psychological questionnaires Perceived Stress Scale (PSS-10), Profile of Mood State (POMS), and Positive and Negative Affect Schedule (PANAS) during sports events. 362 measurements using POMS and 232 measurements using PANAS before the starts were collected. The significance of intergroup differences was determined using the Kruskal-Wallis test. A stepwise regression analysis was used to determine the emotional predictors of sports results.ResultsSubjective rank of sports competition differentiated significantly anger (chi2 = 6.826; p = 0.033), confusion (chi2 = 11.345; p = 0.003), depression (chi2 = 10.2; p = 0.006), fatigue (chi2 = 49.394; p ≤ 0.001), vigour (chi2 = 11.345; p ≤ 0.001), positive emotions (chi2 = 51.233; p ≤ 0.001), and negative emotions (chi2 = 11.552; p = 0.003). Regression analysis showed the influence of mood states and positive emotions on the sports result.ConclusionThe swimmers’ affective state changed depending on the subjective rank of the competition. Depression and positive emotional state made it possible to predict the result in medium- and high-rank competition.

Observational, student, and teacher perspectives on interpersonal teacher behavior: Shared and unique associations with teacher and student emotions

Teachers’ interpersonal behavior in class is important for teacher and student emotions. Often the same rater (either teacher or students) is used to assess both perceptions of teacher behavior and emotions, which makes it vulnerable to common-method bias. Including other perspectives on teacher behavior has been proposed as a solution, but it is unclear to what extent different perspectives are correlated and how to separate their shared and unique variance in explaining emotions. Behavior of 80 teachers was rated from three perspectives (observers, students, and teachers) in terms of Agency (i.e., social influence) and Communion (i.e., friendliness). The three perspectives overlapped more strongly for teacher agency than for communion. Especially for students, teacher communion was a stronger predictor of emotions than agency. Our innovative statistical approach showed that the strong association between ratings of teacher behavior and emotions of the same rater are unlikely to result from common-method bias only.

Verbal Emotional Disclosure of Moral Injury in Holodomor Survivors

Objectives. The purpose of the current research is to define and operationalize moral injury based on moral standards, moral judgements, moral reasoning, moral emotions, moral behaviour, and moral consequences; to explore verbal emotional disclosure of moral injury in Holodomor survivors’ narratives.
 Materials & Methods. The study applies traumatic narratives of 42 survivors of the Holodomor of 1932–1933 in Ukraine. Main themes aligned with morality structure were captured, using software tool NVivo.12. The study uses LIWC2015 to search for psychological meaningful categories, notably anxiety, anger, sadness, and insights (deep comprehension). The research uses the cross-sectional design utilizing the independent variables of anxiety, anger, insights and dependent variable of moral emotions represented in narratives for multiple linear regression analysis and correlations (2-tailed Pearson r) between components of morality, anxiety, sadness and insights, SPSS. 26.
 Results. There is a high frequency of moral judgements and a low frequency of moral emotions and moral consequences in the narratives. A significant positive correlation was found between moral standards and other components of morality, in particular moral judgements, moral reasoning, moral consequences, anxiety, sadness and insight. There was a significant positive correlation between moral emotions and anger, and insight. Anxiety, insights and anger taken together are significant predictors of moral emotions, however, only anger is a robust significant independent predictor of moral emotions.
 Conclusions. Verbal emotional disclosure of traumatic experience relates to expressing righteous anger, contempt, disgust, decreased empathy, and embarrassment, which substitute other moral emotions, notably shame and guilt. The study contributes to our understanding of anxiety, anger, insights (deep comprehension) taken together as robust predictors of moral emotions. Finally, we captured that there are difficulties in verbal emotional disclosure of experience and moral consequences of the Holodomor, since Holodomor survivors predominantly focus on moral judgements and moral standards.

The association of addictive mukbang watching with mukbang watching motives, emotion regulation, impulsivity, and psychiatric distress

Extant literature has focused on the psychological and emotional predictors of addictive use of different types of specific online activities, including social media addiction, online gaming addiction, and online sex addiction. However, there is little research on the addictive engagement of watching online eating shows called mukbang. The present paper describes the research protocol of a study that will examine motivational, emotional, and psychological risk factors of addictive mukbang watching. An online survey comprised of the Motives for Watching Mukbang Questionnaire, Mukbang Addiction Scale, Short UPPS-P Impulsivity Scale, Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale, and Depression Anxiety Stress Scales will be used to collect data from at least 1,000 mukbang watchers. The research methodology of the investigation is illustrated in the present paper, and describes the data collection, assessment tools, and analytic strategy that will be used to investigate the research questions and hypotheses. The study will contribute to the literature by providing empirical evidence on associations which have never before been demonstrated. More specifically, the relationship between addictive mukbang watching and mukbang watching motives, impulsivity, emotion regulation, and psychiatric distress will be provided. Furthermore, future directions on studying addictive mukbang watching are discussed.

Can past intergroup contact shape support for policies in a pandemic? Processes predicting endorsement of discriminatory Chinese restrictions during the COVID-19 crisis

A survey of 340 UK residents was conducted when the COVID-19 virus first reached the UK in February 2020. We measured past experiences of positive and negative intergroup contact with Chinese people as predictors of intergroup threat and emotions in the context of the pandemic; and how these processes in turn predicted support for discriminatory policies designed to restrict the freedom of Chinese people in the UK. We tested a novel threat-matching hypothesis which draws upon models of outgroup-specific social perception to predict that the emotional processes underlying contact effects will depend on the specific threat posed by the outgroup. In the present epidemiological context, Chinese people posed a salient threat to individuals’ physical health and welfare. Accordingly, we show that whilst intergroup contact predicted both fear and anger towards the outgroup, the indirect effect of contact on support for Chinese restriction policies via fear was significantly stronger than the indirect effect via anger. Our findings provide a more nuanced understanding of how specific threat and emotions drive intergroup contact effects, and offer important insights for efforts to maintain positive intergroup relations in the face of the crisis.

Masculine Norms and Infectious Disease: The Case of COVID-19

AbstractDuring the novel coronavirus pandemic, early data suggested that men were slightly more likely to contract COVID-19 than women, less likely to seek medical attention for the disease, and far more likely to die as a result of COVID-19. While several studies have explored this gender gap, none has attempted to isolate the psychological processes underpinning this phenomenon. In this research note, I suggest that sexism partly explains these differences. Using data from a large (N = 100,689) survey of American adults conducted between March and June 2020 by the Democracy Fund and the University of California, Los Angeles (Nationscape), I find that sexist beliefs, a component of masculine norms, are consistently the strongest predictor of coronavirus-related emotions, behaviors, policy attitudes, and ultimately contracting COVID-19. This study highlights how gender ideology can impact health and impede government public health efforts.

Analysis of causal relationships between emotional and pathopersonal predictors in the genesis of post-stress psychological maladaptation in servicemen of the State border guard service of Ukraine

The aim of the work is to investigate the causal relationships between emotional and pathopersonal predictors of post-stress psychological maladaptation in the servicemen of the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine who took part in hostilities, to determine further targets of psychocorrectional influence. research methods. With informed consent, 159 servicemen of the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine who took part in hostilities were examined based on the Hospital of the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine. The patterns identified in the study indicated the presence of a wide range of psychopathological and negative socio-psychological phenomena associated with PPD in persons who participated in hostilities. Among the main manifestations - the presence of affective disorders of mild depression (subdepression), comorbid manifestations of addictive behavior at the level of risky or harmful use of alcohol, tobacco, coffee (tea), cannabinoids, sedatives, and stimulants, overeating, watching TV, computer use, computer, and gambling, as well as reducing the level of general socio-psychological adaptation and quality of life. The question of the causal relationship between these negative phenomena and the reduced level of personal vitality found in COs is the subject of this study. The identified correlations reflect pathogenetic and psychopathogenic links between the state of the psycho-emotional sphere, individual psychological predisposition, and manifestations of addictive behavior, as well as between individual-typological characteristics, manifestations of various addictions and the state of socio-psychological adaptation and resilience. Naturally, most addictive manifestations (except for dependence on work and stimulants) increase with increasing manifestations of depression. Instead, vitality decreases with the activation of addictive behavior (except for the same areas - work and stimulants); the same applies to socio-psychological adaptation. Manifestations of hyperthymia naturally increase the rates of adaptation, resilience and quality of life, and depression and hypochondria - decrease. The identified patterns should be considered in the development of treatment-and-rehabilitation and preventive measures.

Depressive Symptoms and Loneliness in Early Adolescence: The Role of Empathy and Emotional Self-Efficacy

Knowledge about the role of empathy, emotional self-efficacy, and loneliness on early adolescents’ depressive symptoms is scarce. The main aims of the study were to investigate the following: (a) the role of empathy and emotional self-efficacy (additive and interactive) on loneliness and depressive symptoms, taking into account gender differences and (b) the possible mediating role of loneliness in the relationship between emotional predictors and depressive symptoms. Three hundred forty-eight Italian early adolescents (48% girls; mean age, 13; SD = 0.3) completed an anonymous self-report questionnaire at two time points (1 year apart). Structural equation modeling (SEM) was used to analyze data. Results indicated the following: (a) high empathy and low emotional self-efficacy were related to higher subsequent loneliness and depressive symptoms; (b) emotional self-efficacy moderated the relationship between empathy and loneliness and, only for girls, between empathy and depressive symptoms; (c) no mediation role of loneliness between emotional predictors (empathy and emotional self-efficacy) and depressive symptoms was found. Results are discussed in relation to preventive interventions targeting early adolescents.