Socio-emotional Variables Research Articles

Variables Linked to Academic Stress Related to the Psychological Well-Being of College Students Inside and Outside the Context of the COVID-19 Pandemic

The present study examines the impact of academic stress on the psychological well-being of college students during and after the COVID-19 pandemic. The purpose of this study is to investigate similarities and differences in both scenarios. As a method, a review of the scientific literature was carried out following the PRISMA methodology. The Scopus and Web of Science databases were used by applying eligibility criteria and multiple filtering stages. Thirty-seven studies were selected for a qualitative content analysis. The results allowed for five groups of variables associated with academic stress to be categorized: (1) adaptation to change; (2) study modality; (3) learning resources; (4) academic–life balance; and (5) socio-emotional variables. The comparative analysis evidenced the exacerbation of academic stress and the comprehensive affectation of psychological well-being during the social restriction measures put in place due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In post-pandemic contexts, responses were mitigated by available social and affective resources. It was concluded that academic stress and its associated variables had more unfavorable consequences on the psychological well-being of college students due to social isolation measures with remote education during the pandemic.

Cybergossip in adolescence: Its relationship with social competency, empathy, emotions in online communication and socio-emotional e-competencies by gender and age

Cybergossip involves making evaluative comments about third parties through digital devices, a behaviour accentuated by the use of social networks and associated with the intensification of cyberbullying, especially among adolescents. Certain studies suggest that there may be a relationship between cybergossip and socio-emotional variables. However, few studies have analysed this, and even fewer have considered a further series of variables that are evaluated in the online environment, taking into account gender and age differences. Thus, the aim of this study is to analyse the predictive capacity of social competency, empathy, emotional online content (e-motions), and socio-emotional e-competencies in relation to cybergossip. In order to achieve this, we conducted a large-scale survey among Spanish adolescents (n = 992) aged 12–16 (54.4% girls, M = 13.80, and SD = 1.27). Results showed that cybergossip increases with age, with a similar frequency in boys and girls. Regression analysis showed that the variables we evaluated in the online environment can improve our knowledge about cybergossip in relation to social competency and empathy. Moreover, e-motions, which tend to come into play in the transmission of online messages, increase the frequency of cybergossip. Socio-emotional e-competencies, however, can reduce its occurrence, thereby helping adolescents adapt to online interaction environments. Certain socio-emotional e-competencies stand out: e-regulation of emotions in girls, e-self-control of impulsivity in boys, and emotional e-independence in both genders and in older adolescents. Finally, we highlight the need for adolescents to develop specific online emotional competencies.

The paradoxes of inclusion: cognitive and socio-emotional developmental trajectories of deaf and blind primary education students in mainstream and special schools

IntroductionStudents with special educational needs (SEN) have historically found participating in the regular education system challenging. Since the 1990s, inclusion has been considered the optimal strategy for their development. However, the effects of inclusive education on deaf and blind students are still little studied.MethodsIn the present article, we report the results of a longitudinal study on the cognitive and socioemotional developmental trajectories of 23 deaf and 29 blind primary education students attending mainstream (8 deaf and 10 blind) and special schools (15 deaf and 19 blind). The study was conducted in Santiago de Chile between 2018 and 2019.ResultsOur descriptive results suggest that deaf students attending special schools perform better on most of the variables studied. For blind students, those attending traditional schools generally perform better than those attending special schools. However, in the case of socio-emotional variables, blind students attending special schools tend to show fewer problems. However, almost all of the indicated differences are not statistically significantly different.DiscussionWe then discuss the need to consider the characteristics of each group of students with SEN when defining an adequate educational system for their optimal development.

Problematic Use of the Internet and Well-Being among Youth from a Global Perspective: A Mediated-Moderated Model of Socio-Emotional Factors

Problematic Use of the Internet (PUI) is characterized as the inability to control one’s internet use or as an excessive use of the internet that may result in social, psychological, and emotional difficulties (Fernandes et al., 2019). It is regarded nowadays as an increasingly worrisome public heath issue, especially among youth. This study explored the contexts in which youth PUI occurs and its associations with socio-emotional functioning that may lead to a decrease in one’s sense of well-being. We conducted this exploration among 783 middle school students from the US (425 students; 54.27%) and Israel (358 students; 45.73%). The overall age of both samples ranged between 12 and 16 (M = 13.94, SD = 1.59). In the Israeli sample, 49.1% of the students were girls and 50.9% were boys, whereas in the US sample, 48.8% were girls and 51.2% were boys. The study examined the role of depressive mood, loneliness, resilience, self-control, and school engagement in mediating the relationship between PUI and well-being, and how country of origin might moderate these relationships. Results indicate PUI was related to lower well-being only for the US sample. Yet, for both samples, higher loneliness was related to lower well-being, and higher school engagement was related to higher well-being. A moderated mediation analysis revealed the socio-emotional variables were all mediators in these associations, but differently for each country sample. The study results are discussed according to key factors required for developing intervention programs for coping with youth PUI behaviors.

The Pandemial babies: effects of maternal stress on temperament of babies gestated and born during the pandemic.

The COVID-19 pandemic may configure an adverse prenatal context for early development. The aim of this study was to analyze the effects of pandemic-related negative experiences, prenatal anxiety and depression on the temperament of six-month-old babies. The sample consisted of 105 mother-child dyads. A longitudinal evaluation was carried out using pre- and postnatal online surveys. Mothers completed the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory, the Beck Depression Inventory - II, the Pandemic Impact Questionnaire and the Infant Behavior Questionnaire Revised. Serial mediation models were tested, in which the pandemic-related negative experiences constituted the independent variable, the prenatal anxiety and depression were the mediators, and the children's temperament dimensions were the dependent variables. Pandemic-related negative experiences were indirectly associated with the offspring's negative affect and surgency through anxious symptomatology, which acted as a mediating variable. This was the first study to identify the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on temperament. Such an adverse context implies risks for child development. Public health policies aiming to evaluate socioemotional variables during early childhood become necessary to allow on-time interventions for lessening these risks.

Longitudinal Analysis of Adolescent Adjustment: The Role of Attachment and Emotional Competence.

Emotional competencies as well as secure attachment relationships with peers are protective factors that facilitate psychological adjustment among adolescents. In this study, we will analyse how these socio-emotional factors influence adolescents' emotional symptoms, conduct problems and peer problems. The participants were 815 Spanish adolescents aged 12-17 years (M = 13.69; SD = 1.21) who completed the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ), the Parent and Peer Attachment Inventory (IPPA) and the Emotional Skills and Competence Questionnaire (ESCQ). Besides descriptive analyses, such as Pearson's bivariate correlations, two different methodologies were combined to predict adolescent adjustment: structural equation modelling (SEM) and fuzzy set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA). The results show that secure attachment with peers and high emotional competence predict better psychological adjustment (low levels of emotional symptoms, conduct problems and peer problems), while insecure peer attachment and low emotional competence predict maladjustment. These results emphasise the role of socio-emotional variables in the promotion of psychological adjustment in adolescence through the implementation of emotional education programs.

Cyber-Victimization Experience among Higher Education Students: Effects of Social Support, Loneliness, and Self-Efficacy.

Most of the research literature on cyberbullying (CB) has focused on adolescents, but due to their intensive, unsupervised use of Information Communication Technologies (ICT), higher education students are at high risk of being involved in CB. The current study examined the nature of CB among 1004 higher education students. In addition, we explored the relationships between cyber-victimization, social support, loneliness, and self-efficacy. For that purpose, we applied a path analysis model (PA) to explain the effect of each variable on the cyber-victimization experience, expecting that high levels of loneliness and low levels of self-efficacy will predict cyber-victimization, but might be moderated and reduced by high levels of social support. Results revealed that social support moderated the relationships between these socio-emotional variables and cyber-victimization, and might serve as a protective factor. These findings on young adults may contribute to the understanding of the nature of cyber-victimization throughout the life cycle. Nowadays, academic institutions are facing an uphill effort in trying to restrain online misbehavior. In view of the findings, higher education policy could help facilitate coping with CB through student support and focused intervention programs.

Why are Some Victims Also Bullies? The Role of Peer Relationship Management and Anger Regulation in Traditional Bullying

There is ample evidence of bullying victimization-perpetration association. However, little is known about the role of socioemotional variables in reinforcing or mitigating it. There is a need to delve deeper into what victims feel and do that leads them to bully. This study aimed to analyze the moderating role of peer relationship management and anger regulation in the victimization-perpetration association, controlling gender and age. This cross-sectional study involved 874 Spanish middle school students (47.8% girls) aged 11 to 18 years ( M = 13.92, SD = 1.45). The results revealed that the perpetration was positively related to victimization and negatively related to peer relationship management and anger regulation. In addition, peer relationship management can moderate the victimization-perpetration association, acting as a protective factor, when the ability of victims to regulate anger is sufficiently trained. These findings highlight the importance of designing effective prevention based on socio-emotional development to fully curb bullying.

Peer likeability and victimization in young adolescents: Moderating effects of descriptive and status group norms for aggression and prosocial behaviour and network density

Previous research has shown that peer victimization can be highly responsive to variables at the classroom level. Aggressive and prosocial norms may promote or reduce its status in classrooms. However, yet there is an apparent lack of success to explain which types of norms are more influential. This study examined the role of aggressive and prosocial descriptive and status norms in the peer victimization-status link. It also explores how the network density increases adherence to the prevailing norm in the classroom and its effect on the status of the victims. Data on peer acceptance and rejection, victimization, prosocial behaviour, and aggression were collected with sociometric methods in a sample of 6,600 students (M = 13.1 years, SD = 0.6; 49.2% girls), from 269 classrooms in 81 secondary schools in Spain. Group norms for aggression and for prosocial behaviour were assessed in three ways, the behaviour of all peers (class-norm), the behaviour of most-liked peers (likeability-norm), and the behaviour of most salient peers (visibility-norm). Multilevel regression analyses revealed that the negative impact of victimization on peer likeability was moderated by the classroom's norm for prosocial behaviour, by the status norm of most visible peers' norm for prosocial behaviour and for aggression, and by the group's network density. The behavioural status norms of most likeable peers had no significant effect. These results underscore the overall importance of group context as a moderating factor of the relation between victimization and peer status in adolescents, and add to the growing body of knowledge driven by the socio-ecological approach to the study of peer relations in developmental psychology. As implications for education, these results affect the importance of considering socio-emotional variables in the formation of class groups in order to reduce victimization.

Mediating Role of Fatalism on the Relationship between Emotional Intelligence and Psychological Reactance in a Health Crisis Context (Covid-19)

The messages on barrier gestures to COVID-19 rather seem to produce reactance. This study aimed the mediating effect of fatalism on the relationship between emotional intelligence and psychological reactance to COVID-19 barrier messages. Data were collected from 232 participants using a composite questionnaire containing the emotional intelligence, psychological reactance and fatalism scales. The simple mediation model were used for data processing because it fit with three variable mediational study design. The results showed that fatalism mediates the relationship between emotional intelligence and psychological reactance vis-à-vis messages on barrier gestures to COVID-19. Emotional intelligence inhibits fatalistic beliefs and eliminates psychological reactance. In the health crisis context it is important to take socio-emotional variables into account when designing awareness campaigns inviting individuals to adopt preventive behaviors, especially when those represent the main means of eradicating the pandemic. More implications of these results, as well as future perspectives were discussed.

Subtypes of Aggressive Behavior in Children with Autism in the Context of Emotion Recognition, Hostile Attribution Bias, and Dysfunctional Emotion Regulation

The causes of aggressive behavior in children with autism are poorly understood, which limits treatment options. Therefore, this study used behavioral testing and parent reports of 60 children with autism to investigate the interplay of emotion misinterpretation and hostile attribution bias in the prediction of different aggressive behaviors. Further, the additional impact of dysfunctional emotion regulation was examined. Path analyses indicated that hostile attribution bias increased verbal and covert aggression but not physical aggression and bullying. Dysfunctional emotion regulation had an additional impact on bullying, verbal aggression, and covert aggression. Emotion recognition was positively associated with hostile attribution bias. These findings provide a first insight into a complex interplay of socio-emotional variables; longitudinal studies are needed to examine causal relationships.

Neuroanatomical Profile of Young Females with Fragile X Syndrome: A Voxel-Based Morphometry Analysis.

Fragile X syndrome is a genetic condition associated with alterations in brain and subsequent cognitive development. However, due to a milder phenotype relative to males, females with fragile X syndrome are underrepresented in research studies. In the current study, we investigate neuroanatomical differences in young females (age range: 6.03-16.32years) with fragile X syndrome (N = 46) as compared to age-, sex-, and verbal abilities-matched participants (comparison group; N = 35). Between-group analyses of whole-brain and regional brain volumes were assessed using voxel-based morphometry. Results demonstrate significantly larger total gray and white matter volumes in girls with fragile X syndrome compared to a matched comparison group (Ps < 0.001). In addition, the fragile X group showed significantly larger gray matter volume in a bilateral parieto-occipital cluster and a right parieto-occipital cluster (Ps < 0.001). Conversely, the fragile X group showed significantly smaller gray matter volume in the bilateral gyrus rectus (P < 0.03). Associations between these regional brain volumes and key socio-emotional variables provide insight into gene-brain-behavior relationships underlying the fragile X syndrome phenotype in females. These findings represent the first characterization of a neuroanatomical phenotype in a large sample of girls with fragile X syndrome and expand our knowledge about potential neurodevelopmental mechanisms underlying cognitive-behavioral outcomes in this condition.

Socio-Emotional Competencies and School Performance in Adolescence: What Role for School Adjustment?

There is growing evidence in the literature of positive relationships between socio-emotional competencies and school performance. Several hypotheses have been used to explain how these variables may be related to school performance. In this paper, we explored the role of various school adjustment variables in the relationship between interpersonal socio-emotional competencies and school grades, using a weighted network approach. This network approach allowed us to analyze the structure of interrelations between each variable, pointing to both central and mediatory school and socio-emotional variables within the network. Self-reported data from around 3,400 French vocational high school students were examined. This data included a set of interpersonal socio-emotional competencies (cognitive and affective empathy, socio-emotional behaviors and collective orientation), school adjustment measures (adaptation to the institution, school anxiety, self-regulation at school, and self-perceived competence at school) as well as grades in mathematics and French language. The results showed that self-regulation at school weighted the most strongly on the whole network, and was the most important mediatory pathway. More specifically, self-regulation mediated the relationships between interpersonal socio-emotional competencies and school grades.

Exploring neuropsychological and socio-emotional task performance in anorexia nervosa: A cluster analytic approach.

The aim of this study was to characterise heterogeneity in neuropsychological and socio-emotional task performance in young women with anorexia nervosa (AN) using hierarchical cluster analysis. Further, we aimed to test whether cognitive profiles were associated with differences in clinical variables (body mass index, illness duration and age at diagnosis), psychopathology (eating disorder, autistic symptoms, anxiety and depression) and functional impairment. Set-shifting, central coherence and theory of mind abilities were measured in 118 women with acute or remitted AN. A hierarchical cluster analysis using Ward's method with a Euclidean distance measure was performed with the neuropsychological and socio-emotional variables. Differences between clusters were assessed using ANOVAs. Four clusters emerged, with significant differences in neuropsychological and socio-emotional task performance. There were no significant differences between clusters in clinical variables, psychopathology or functional impairment, however, these analyses lacked power due to small cluster sizes. Our results demonstrate significant heterogeneity in cognitive profiles in AN, supporting a more personalised approach to treatment. Studies in larger samples are required to establish whether these variables map onto clinically significant differences in aetiology, clinical presentation, comorbidity patterns and/or treatment responses.

Socio-Emotional Variables Linked to the Consumption of Drugs amongst University Students of Social Sciences: A Pilot Study.

This descriptive and transversal study, carried out on an intentional sample of 211 subjects who were split in terms of their consumption of psychoactive substances over the last month and who were aged between 18 and 28 (M = 21.36, and SD = 1.90), aimed to explore the emotional intelligence, perceived socio-family support and academic performance of university students vis-à-vis their consumption of drugs and to examine the link between them. The goal was to define university student consumer profile through a regression model using the multidimensional Perceived Social Support Scale (EMAS) and the Trait Meta Mood Scale-24 (TMMS-24) as instruments, together with academic performance and gender. The results report alcohol, tobacco, and cannabis consumption rates that are above the levels indicated by the Spanish household survey on alcohol and drugs in Spain (EDADES 2019) for the 15–34-year-old age range in Castilla y León. A certain link was observed between the consumption of substances and academic performance, although no differences were seen in academic performance in terms of consumer type. There was also no clear link observed between emotional intelligence and academic performance or between social support and academic performance. The predictive contribution of the variables included in the regression model was low (9%), which would advocate completing the model with other predictive variables until more appropriate predictability conditions can be found.

The Role of Ethnic Prejudice in the Modulation of Cradling Lateralization

The left-cradling bias is the tendency to cradle an infant on the left side, regardless of the individuals’ handedness, culture or ethnicity. Many studies revealed associations between socio-emotional variables and the left-side bias, suggesting that this asymmetry might be considered as a proxy of the emotional attunement between the cradling and the cradled individuals. In this study we examined whether adult females with high levels of prejudice toward a specific ethnic group would show reduced left-cradling preferences when required to cradle an infant-like doll with ethnical features of the prejudiced group. We manipulated the ethnicity of the cradled individual by asking 336 Caucasian women to cradle a White or a Black doll and then assessed their prejudice levels toward African individuals. Significant correlations were shown only in the Black doll group indicating that the more the prejudice toward Africans, the more the cradling-side preferences shifted toward the right. Furthermore, participants exhibiting low levels—but not those exhibiting high levels—of ethnic prejudice showed a significant left-cradling bias. These findings show that ethnic prejudice toward the specific ethnic group of the cradled individual can interfere with the left preference in the cradling woman. The present study corroborates our suggestion that the left-cradling bias might be considered as a natural index of a positive socio-communicative relationship between the cradling and cradled individuals. On the contrary, the right-cradling bias might be considered as a cue of the presence of affective dysfunctions in the relationship.

Study of the efficacy of the Hero program: Cross-national evidence.

The present study focuses on an analysis of the efficacy of the online intervention program called “Hero” for promoting prosociality and other socioemotional variables related to prosocial behavior, such as empathy, positive emotions, and forgiveness, in two Latin American countries: Argentina and Uruguay. The final Argentinean sample consisted of 579 adolescents (experimental group = 319 and control group = 260), and the Uruguayan sample consisted of 330 adolescents (experimental group = 140 and control group = 169), aged 12 to 15 years old. The ‘Hero’ program provided evidence of efficacy for the promotion of prosociality, empathy, positive emotions, and attitudes of forgiveness. It impacted each of the dimensions comprising these variables differently depending on the country where it was applied. We discuss the differences found in each country.

Study of attention measured by event-related potential as a predictive factor of violence among patients with schizophrenia and substance use disorder

BackgroundThe prediction of violence in patients with psychiatric disorders remains a challenging aspect in the field of clinical research. Many studies search the linkage between aggressive behavior and certain genetic conditions, impaired socio-emotional information processing, demographic, and clinical variables. To our knowledge, by far the relationship between aggressive behavior and impaired attention is not clear. Attention is one of the clinical variables that might have a relation to increased aggressive tendency in many psychiatric patients. So the purpose of this study is to measure the attention using ERP and search for its relation to violence in schizophrenic patients and patients with substance use disorder. This cross-sectional study was carried out on a sample of schizophrenic inpatients and patients with SUD (86 male patients) at the psychiatric department of Al-Hussein University Hospital, Cairo, Egypt.ResultsThe majority of the sample lies in the age group 20–29 years old (38.4%), whereas MOAS showed that the higher tendency to violence was in the dual diagnosis of schizophrenia disorder with SUD followed by patients diagnosed with SUD.P300 wave measurement analysis reflected that the attention is highly affected in SUD patients, while schizophrenics showed delayed thinking. The relationship has a statistical significance (P = 0.001).A statistically significant direct correlation between P300 wave amplitude, latency, and the scale of violence was also found (P = 0.009 and P = 0.022) respectively.ConclusionAffected attention in both schizophrenic and SUD patients could be considered a potential risk factor of violence.

How Schools Affect Student Well-Being: A Cross-Cultural Approach in 35 OECD Countries.

A common approach for measuring the effectiveness of an education system or a school is the estimation of the impact that school interventions have on students’ academic performance. However, the latest trends aim to extend the focus beyond students’ acquisition of knowledge and skills, and to consider aspects such as well-being in the academic context. For this reason, the 2015 edition of the international assessment system Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) incorporated a new tool aimed at evaluating the socio-emotional variables related to the well-being of students. It is based on a definition focused on the five dimensions proposed in the PISA theoretical framework: cognitive, psychological, social, physical, and material. The main purpose of this study is to identify the well-being components that significantly affect student academic performance and to estimate the magnitude of school effects on the well-being of students in OECD countries, the school effect being understood as the ability of schools to increase subjective student well-being. To achieve this goal, we analyzed the responses of 248,620 students from 35 OECD countries to PISA 2015 questionnaires. Specifically, we considered non-cognitive variables in the questionnaires and student performance in science. The results indicated that the cognitive well-being dimension, composed of enjoyment of science, self-efficacy, and instrumental motivation, as well as test anxiety all had a consistent relationship with student performance across countries. In addition, the school effect, estimated through a two-level hierarchical linear model, in terms of student well-being was systematically low. While the school effect accounted for approximately 25% of the variance in the results for the cognitive dimension, only 5–9% of variance in well-being indicators was attributable to it. This suggests that the influence of school on student welfare is weak, and the effect is similar across countries. The present study contributes to the general discussion currently underway about the definition of well-being and the connection between well-being and achievement. The results highlighted two complementary concerns: there is a clear need to promote socio-emotional education in schools, and it is important to develop a rigorous framework for well-being assessment. The implications of the results and proposals for future studies are discussed.

Relationship between neuropsychological cognitive and socioemotional aspects in Primary School students

This study analyzes the relationship between different neuropsychological and educational aspects such as academic performance, competences, reading comprehension, empathy, creativity and self-concept. The general objective is to study the relationship between the neurocognitive and socio-emotional variables involved in the teaching-learning process. 82 students participated, 42 men and 40 women, from the 3rd year of Primary Education of a concerted school in Avila (Spain). As instruments and materials, academic performance, the individual assessment test, ACL (reading comprehension evaluation), BES-A (Short Basic Empathy Scale), CREA (Creative Intelligence) and a self-concept questionnaire are analyzed. A descriptive analysis of the study variables was carried out using the calculation of the Mean and Standard Deviation. Subsequently, the correlations between variables were calculated using the Pearson correlation index. Finally, for the comparison between groups, a one-way ANOVA was performed. Among the results were relationships between performance, skills and reading comprehension, between the qualification of the subject of Mathematics and the level of cognitive empathy, and self-concept, and between creativity and mathematical proficiency and critical reading comprehension. When comparing students with medium and high performance, differences were found in their level of reading comprehension and self-concept. Students with low and high creativity differ in their level of mathematical proficiency. It is latent the need to design neuropsychological intervention programs that work together on all these variables, in order to achieve an integral development of our students, both in cognitive, emotional and social aspects.