Unpleasant Emotions Research Articles

Protective behaviours among orphaned learners in a district of Gauteng province, South Africa

Background: While most orphans have difficulties in coping with the loss of a mother, some of them are motivated by their circumstances to cope with the situation.Aim: The study aims to explore protective behaviours of maternally orphaned adolescents in their daily immediate environments that enable them to cope with maternal death in Tshwane North District, Gauteng province.Setting: The setting was secondary schools in Tshwane North of Gauteng province in South Africa.Methods: A qualitative exploratory design was employed among a subsample of 14 purposively sampled maternally orphaned adolescents using one-on-one, in-depth interviews with open-ended questions. The Ecological Systems Theory was used as a framework for analysis, and data were analysed thematically using NVivo12.Results: Some of the orphaned adolescents possess protective behaviours, which contribute towards resilience as the adolescents gave an account of their daily lives through their interactions within the microsystem. They engage in meaningful activities to disengage themselves from negative thoughts and unpleasant emotions. Resilient orphans demonstrate hope for the future, maintain a positive self-concept and adopt coping mechanisms such as recalling positive memories of their mother. They actively seek support for their physical and psychological needs, engage in constructive tasks and foster supportive relationships for their psychological well-being.Conclusion: Possessing personal protective resources and having supportive socioecological resources enable resilience among orphans when facing adversity.Contribution: Findings of this study will inform interventions geared towards building the resilience of orphaned adolescents to cope with maternal loss.

The hidden risk factors behind of suicidal behavior in medical students: a cross-sectional cohort study in Mexico.

Suicidal behavior among medical students is a significant concern, requiring a thorough understanding of effective intervention and prevention strategies. This study aimed to generate a situational diagnosis and establish the risk factors associated with suicidal behavior among medical students. In a cross-sectional cohort design, we surveyed 688 medical students in Zacatecas, Mexico, employing 14 validated questionnaires to assess suicidal behavior, aspects of their lifestyle, perceived support, risk factors including mental health disorders, and substance use. Univariate and multivariate analyses were performed to examine the associations between the study variables and suicidal behavior. Suicidal behavior was associated with the following variables: female sex, non-heterosexual orientation, history of psychiatric illness, childhood trauma, bullying, symptoms suggestive of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and contexts of substance use such as unpleasant emotions (p <0.05). Multivariate analysis revealed that mild tobacco use, alcohol consumption, severe hopelessness, family history of mental disease, material, and affective support significantly increased the odds of suicidal behavior (OR values: 1.56-8.78, p <0.05). Anhedonia, sexual orientation, and problematic consumption of cannabis were significantly associated with suicide attempts, with higher OR of 9.92, 6.49, and 5.56, respectively. Sexual orientation, substance use, lack of material, and affective support were identified as significant risk factors for suicidal behavior and suicide attempts among medical students. Additionally, hopelessness, history of mental health diseases, and ADHD symptoms were associated with an increased risk. These findings underscore the need for targeted interventions that include behavior modification for substance use and the reinforcement of emotional and social support networks.

Gender differences in circumstances associated with cannabis use.

Identifying circumstances associated with cannabis use is critical to the development of effective interventions for cannabis use disorder (CUD) and circumstances may differ by gender. The Inventory of Drug Taking Situations (IDTS) assesses the types of situations in which individuals most often use drugs through eight subscales: dealing with (1) Unpleasant Emotions; (2) Physical Discomfort; (3) Pleasant Emotions; (4) Testing Personal Control; (5) Urges/Temptations; (6) Conflict with Others; (7) Social Pressure; and (8) Pleasant Times with Others. The aims of this study were to determine if IDTS scores varied by gender in individuals with CUD, and to ascertain if behavioral factors such as cannabis use or stress were differentially associated with IDTS scores by gender. Baseline data were obtained from a study of 148 nontreatment-seeking individuals with CUD. Data included demographic characteristics, IDTS scores, self-reported past 90-day substance use, and measures of past-month and childhood stress. Women reported using cannabis more than men in negative affective contexts, namely when experiencing conflict with others, testing personal control, physical discomfort, and unpleasant emotions. IDTS subscale scores associated with negative affect and pleasant emotions were positively associated with past 90-day cannabis use sessions across genders, use when experiencing negative affect was associated with childhood stress across genders, and use when experiencing unpleasant emotions was differentially associated with recent stress by gender. Findings suggest gender differences in circumstances associated with cannabis use with implications for therapeutic development for CUD.

Increasing child involvement by understanding emotional expression during needle procedures: A video-observational intervention study.

To evaluate child-nurse emotional communication during needle procedures using a child-centered intervention versus a control group. A controlled, video-observational study, incorporating 66 children and seven nurses was conducted. Data were collected using video-recordings of child-nurse communication during needle procedures when receiving standard care (control group) or standard care plus the i Can Choose intervention (intervention group). Children expressed their unpleasant emotions mostly non-verbally. Compared to children in the intervention group, those in the control group more often expressed vague or unspecified words to describe an emotion (χ2(1)=14.4, p<0.001). The nurses' focus and overall communication style varied between the groups. When using i Can Choose, nurses provided more space to children's communication preferences. This seemed to increase children's involvement during the needle procedure. Communicating with the child, the so-called communicative interaction, instead of to the child, can play a critical role in children's handling of fear and pain related to needle procedures.

Motivated to feel better and doing something about it: Cross-cultural differences in motivated emotion regulation during COVID-19.

Emotion regulation is linked to adaptive psychological outcomes. To engage in such regulation, people must be motivated to do it. Given that people in different countries vary in how they think about unpleasant emotions, we expected motivation to decrease unpleasant emotions to differ across countries. Furthermore, given that emotion regulation strategies operate in the service of motivation, we expected people who are less motivated to decrease unpleasant emotions to use emotion regulation strategies less across countries. To test these predictions, we conducted two studies during the COVID-19 pandemic: Study 1 in 2020 (N = 1,329) and Study 2 in 2021 (N = 1,279). We assessed the motivation to decrease unpleasant emotions and the use of emotion regulation strategies among members of East Asian countries (i.e., Japan, South Korea, and China) and Western countries (i.e., United States, United Kingdom, and Germany). Because we found substantial variation within these two broader cultural categories, we examined motivation and overall strategy use in emotion regulation at the country level. In both studies, motivation to decrease unpleasant emotions was the lowest in Japan and relatively high in the United States. As expected, across countries, weaker motivation to decrease unpleasant emotions was associated with using emotion regulation strategies less. We discuss implications of our findings for understanding cultural differences in motivated emotion regulation. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2025 APA, all rights reserved).

Mixing groups of sheep changes vocalizations when an individual animal is isolated

In recent years, welfare, which includes pleasurable and unpleasant emotions, is of utmost importance in animals reared under intensive farming systems. Various indices have been reported to evaluate welfare. Among them, vocalizations form non-invasive indices of animals’ inner state. The aim of the study was to determine whether changes in ewes’ raising group composition may alter differences in their vocal characteristics. Forty animals of two dairy sheep breeds (Chios and Karagouniki) were used. The experiment lasted for six months divided into three equal periods (A, B, and C). During period A, the animals were divided in two groups based on their breed. In period B the animals were equally mixed in two groups, while in period C the animals returned to their initial state, as in period A. The behaviour of the ewes was recorded during the entire experimental period. At the end of each period, each ewe was isolated, and its vocalizations and behaviour recorded. The composition of the group influenced (p < 0.05) the basic parameters related to frequency and amplitude, which indicates a negative emotional valence. This negative effect was also supported by the behavioural observations. Breed influenced parameters related to the bleat duration, fundamental frequency disturbance (i.e., shivering, shimmering) and behavioural indices including success index during an agonistic intersection and proportion of related affiliative behaviours. The study showed that changes in group composition can affect the emotional state of animals providing information for better handling practices with regard to improving welfare.

Clients’ experiences in their first entry to the operating room: a descriptive phenomenological study

BackgroundThe unfamiliar atmosphere of the operating room, waiting for anesthesia, and the process of surgery and anesthesia are some of the factors causing fear and anxiety in patients. It leads to physical and psychological pressure on patients. Better understanding of patients’ feelings, beliefs, or fears and recording their experiences for optimal care after surgery is helpful. This study explains the experiences of clients in the first entry to the operating room.MethodsThis qualitative study was conducted using a descriptive phenomenological method. In this study, 17 patients who had the experience of entering the operating room for the first time as an elective surgery under general anesthesia over the last 6 months were purposefully selected as participants. Then, they underwent an in-depth and semi-structured interview. After conducting the interview, the participants’ statements were qualitatively analyzed using the seven-step Colaizzi method. During the steps of this study, Lincoln and Guba’s four reliable criteria were observed.ResultsBy continuous analysis of interviews about patients’ experiences, 308 codes, 10 sub-themes, 6 primary themes, and 3 general themes were obtained. Themes included unpleasant emotions experienced, unpleasant atmosphere factors, and the induction of relaxation and hope.ConclusionPatients’ exposure to an unfamiliar place with new and unknown equipment, personnel with different clothing, stress, worry, psychosomatic reactions following stress, and annoying environmental factors can lead to an unpleasant experience for patients, if they are not managed. Also, the effective communication of the surgical team with the patients leads to reducing or removing the stress and complications caused by it.

Basic psychological needs satisfaction, coping functions, and emotional experiences in competitive athletes: a multi-states theory perspective

The aim of the study was to investigate the relationship between basic psychological needs satisfaction, coping functions, cognitive appraisals, emotions, and psychobiosocial experiences in competitive athletes. Multi-states (MuSt) theory was used as the theoretical framework. The study involved a convenience sample of 183 Italian athletes (102 men), aged 16 to 48 years (M = 24.86, SD = 7.42), who were engaged in individual or team sports. The results showed that basic psychological needs satisfaction was positively related to problem-focused and emotion-focused coping, challenge appraisal, pleasant emotions, and functional psychobiosocial experiences, while negatively linked to threat appraisal and unpleasant emotions. Furthermore, problem-focused and emotion-focused coping were positively related to challenge appraisal, pleasant emotions, and functional psychobiosocial experiences, while negatively related to threat appraisal and unpleasant emotions. Path analysis findings showed positive indirect effects via problem-focused coping and challenge appraisal from both competence and relatedness to excitement, happiness, and functional psychobiosocial experiences. The results highlight the impact of basic psychological needs satisfaction, coping functions, and cognitive appraisals on athletes’ emotional experiences. Overall findings support MuSt theoretical underpinnings and suggest that athletes who experience competence, autonomy, and relatedness are likely to adopt adaptive coping, view challenges as growth opportunities, experience pleasant emotions, and undergo functional psychobiosocial experiences. From an applied perspective, practitioners should prioritize basic psychological needs satisfaction in athlete development programs to foster functional coping, challenge appraisal, optimal emotional experiences, and performance.

An Emotion Detection GIS-Based Framework for Evaluating Exposure to Heatwave Scenarios in Urban Settlements During a Pandemic

The study of impacts on and risks to citizens generated by climatic or environmental phenomena in urban settlements is made complex by the coexistence of events that can affect the risk assessment. In this work, a model for the assessment of impacts on and risks to the population generated by heatwaves in urban settlements in the presence of pandemic periods is proposed. The presence of epidemics is treated as a stressor that contributes to altering exposure. To assess the prevalence of this stressor, a fuzzy-based emotion detection method is utilized, which uses the FREDoC framework to categorize the subzones that comprise the urban study area according to the relevance of the pleasant and unpleasant emotions of the citizens, identified based on the examination of posts that have been published on social networks. The proposed model was tested on the urban area of study of the city of Naples in Italy, taking into consideration a heatwave scenario that occurred in the summer of 2021 during the COVID-19 pandemic and analyzing the variation in exposure in the thirty districts into which the city is partitioned. The findings demonstrate that the model can accurately represent the range of impacts and hazards associated with the heatwave brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic.

"Longing is good": proof-of-concept for a novel psychological intervention to tackle self-blaming emotions.

Many people with depression, for which self-blame plays a key role, are not amenable to current standard psychological treatments. This calls for novel self-guided interventions, which require less attention and motivation. The present study sought to establish proof-of-concept for a novel self-guided intervention in a non-clinical sample, which prompts people to transform self-blaming feelings into "longing," as a related unpleasant, but presumably more adaptive and approach-related emotion, which plays a key role in many musical and literary genres but has been largely overlooked in clinical research. Thirty nine participants with no previous self-reported history of mental disorders, but who experienced frequent feelings of self-blame were enrolled remotely (n = 3 lost to follow-up). Self-blaming thoughts, along with depressive symptoms and other outcomes, were assessed pre- and post-intervention to determine the potential of the intervention, which consisted of creating a 10-min video starting with self-blame evoking materials, transitioning to sadness and finally longing. Participants were then asked to watch their video daily for 7 days. The number of participants lost to follow-up was low (n = 3) and engagement with the intervention was very high. As predicted, the intervention significantly reduced depressive symptoms on our primary outcome measure (Beck's Depression Inventory, BDI-II, Cohen's d = 0.40) after 1 week. This was further confirmed by a reduction on the Maudsley-modified Patient Health Questionnaire-9. Unexpectedly, no changes were observed on the non-clinical measures. A randomized controlled trial design is needed to determine whether these symptom reductions were causally related to the intervention. Additionally, our findings may not generalize to men, due to our inability to recruit a sex-balanced sample. As predicted, participants benefited from being prompted to transform self-blaming feelings into those related to longing which shows the feasibility and potential to be further developed in people with clinical depression. Our study highlights the adaptive potential of unpleasant approach-related emotions such as longing, which are rarely considered in standard psychotherapies.

Examining Longitudinal Relations Between Eating Disorder Symptoms and Negative Emotion Variability in Military Members.

Up to a third of service members and Veterans experience disordered eating. Disordered eating can be maintained through negative reinforcement of painful and unpleasant emotions such as guilt, shame, sadness, and hostility. Hostility is a negative emotion that may be particularly relevant for service members and Veterans, yet hostility's relation to disordered eating remains understudied. Further, variability in emotions may be particularly relevant, given that variability in emotions is often a stronger predictor of psychopathology than mean levels. Thus, the goal of the present study was to assess a potential bidirectional relationship between disordered eating symptoms and individuals' variability of hostility, stress, anxiety, sadness, and shame. Participants (N = 94, Mage = 32.2, 75.8% men; 81.8% White) completed 30 days of ecological momentary assessment (EMA) with four assessments per day along with baseline and follow-up measures including the Eating Pathology Symptom Interview (EPSI), which assessed eight disordered eating symptom domains. Hierarchical regressions revealed that higher baseline levels of Binge Eating and Excessive Exercise predicted greater intraindividual hostility variability. Further, more hostility variability predicted higher Cognitive Restraint at 1-month follow-up. Baseline disordered eating symptoms were not associated with intraindividual variability in stress, anxiety, sadness, or shame. However, greater intraindividual variability in shame predicted higher Muscle Building at 1-month follow-up. Hostility variability was the only emotion that was predicted by, and predictive of, disordered eating symptoms. These findings suggest that hostility may be a relevant treatment target for service members with disordered eating.

Emotion Acceptance Questionnaire (EAQ): Factor Analysis and Psychometric Evaluation

Emotion acceptance is defined as the willingness to experience pleasant and unpleasant emotions. Extant research suggests that emotion acceptance—and its converse, emotion nonacceptance or rejection—importantly contributes to experiences of negative affect, symptoms of psychopathology, and physiological markers of emotional responding. However, no validated measurement scale is available in English for assessing emotion acceptance. The current research involved factor analysis and validation of the Emotion Acceptance Questionnaire (EAQ), drawing from items translated from a German scale (FrAGe). In Study 1, exploratory factor analysis (N = 346) revealed four correlated factors: Reject Unpleasant Emotion, Reject Pleasant Emotion, Accept Unpleasant Emotion, and Accept Pleasant Emotion. In Study 2, confirmatory factor analysis on another sample (N = 413) corroborated the four-factor measurement structure. Internal reliability coefficients of the subscales were satisfactory or higher. Preliminary convergent and discriminant validities were established by examining the extent the four EAQ subscales correlated with previously validated measures of emotion regulation, mindfulness skills, life satisfaction, and positive and negative affect. This psychometric investigation offers a novel multidimensional instrument to help conceptualize, understand, and facilitate the assessment of emotional acceptance in future research.

CRITICAL NURSES’ EXPERIENCE WHILE PERFORMING CPR AT HOSPITAL X BATAM

Cardiac arrest is one of the leading life-threatening emergencies, requiring life-saving procedures commonly known as Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR). In hospitals, nurses are the first responders to cardiac arrest cases. The success of CPR is greatly influenced by several factors that affect nurses' ability to act in emergency situations. This study aims to explore the in-depth experiences of nurses while performing CPR at X Hospital Batam. The research involved 10 critical care nurses, recruited through snowball sampling, with data saturation being achieved. In-depth semi-structured interviews were conducted, audio-recorded, and transcribed verbatim to collect the data. The data were analyzed using Colaizzi’s method of analysis. The findings of this study identified five key themes: The Important Role of Nurses during CPR, Accuracy in Therapy Administration, Nurses' Experiences of Pleasant and Unpleasant Emotions, Expectations of CPR Success, and Focusing on the Patient during Family Presence in CPR, among others. In conclusion, the study highlights the diversity of feelings, experiences, abilities, and knowledge that critical care nurses encounter while performing CPR at X Hospital Batam.

A Gender-Informed Smoking Cessation App for Women: Protocol for an Acceptability and Feasibility Study.

Tobacco smoking remains the leading preventable cause of death and disease among women. Quitting smoking offers numerous health benefits; however, women tend to have less success than men when attempting to quit. This discrepancy is partly due to sex- and gender-related factors, including the lower effectiveness of smoking cessation medication and the presence of unique motives for smoking and barriers to quitting among women. Despite the gendered nature of smoking, most smoking cessation apps are gender-neutral and fail to address women's specific needs. This study aims to test the acceptability and feasibility of a smartphone app that delivers gender-informed content to support women in quitting smoking. We co-developed a smoking cessation app specifically tailored for women, named My Change Plan-Women (MCP-W). This app builds upon our previous gender-neutral app, MCP, by retaining its content grounded in behavioral change techniques aimed at supporting tobacco reduction and cessation. This includes goal setting for quitting, identifying triggers to smoking, creating coping strategies, tracking cigarettes and cravings, and assessing financial savings from quitting smoking. The MCP-W app contains additional gender-informed content that acknowledges barriers to quitting, such as coping with stress, having smokers in one's social circle, and managing unpleasant emotions. This content is delivered through testimonials and animated videos. This study is a prospective, single-group, mixed methods investigation in which 30 women smokers will trial the app for a period of 28 days. Once participants provide informed consent, they will complete a baseline survey and download the app on their smartphones. After 28 days, participants will complete follow-up surveys. Acceptability will be assessed using the Theoretical Framework of Acceptability, which evaluates whether participants perceive the app as helpful in changing their smoking. The app will be deemed acceptable if the majority of participants rate it as such, and feasible if the majority of the participants use it for at least 7 days. Furthermore, after the 28-day trial period, participants will complete a semistructured interview regarding their experience with the app and suggestions for improvement. Development of the MCP-W app was completed in September 2023. Participant recruitment for testing of the app commenced in February 2024 and was completed in July 2024. We will analyze the data upon completion of data collection from all 30 participants. We expect to share the results of this acceptability trial in the middle of 2025. Offering smoking cessation support tailored specifically to address the unique needs of women through a smartphone app represents a novel approach. This study will test whether women who smoke perceive this approach to be acceptable and feasible in their journey toward smoking cessation. DERR1-10.2196/60677.

Internet Addiction Leads to Loneliness or Loneliness Leads to Internet Addiction?

Introduction: Internet users in Indonesia are growing from year to year. Based on the latest data from the Indonesian Internet Service Provider Association, known as Asosiasi Penyelenggaraan Jasa Internet Indonesia (APJII), in 2022, internet users in Indonesia reached 210 million. With a large number of internet users, there are positive and negative consequences that occur. Internet addiction began to be studied by many researchers. These studies include research on the factors that cause internet addiction, as well as its correlation with loneliness. To explain the correlation between internet addiction and loneliness. Methods: Literature review. Results: Loneliness is a complex and usually unpleasant emotion that is thought to be a factor in individuals experiencing internet addiction. Loneliness is the thought of loss and dissatisfaction that occurs due to a mismatch between the individual’s social interaction and the social interaction one expects. Hence to overcome the loneliness that is felt, individuals express themselves better in cyberspace than in person. Internet addiction is a condition in which internet users use the internet excessively, due to a lack of self-control and interferes with their daily tasks and functions, to the detriment of themselves. This sums in several negative consequences. Studies showed that internet addiction and loneliness are correlated and mutually reinforcing. Conclusions: The relationship between loneliness and internet use is bidirectional in the sense that just as the internet may drive individuals towards loneliness, loneliness can also encourage individuals to spend more time on the internet. Keywords: Internet Addiction, Loneliness

Race-based trauma: Teacher responses, supports, barriers, and burnout

Race-based trauma: Teacher responses, supports, barriers, and burnout

The use of act therapy in working with parents of children experiencing peer violence

Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) is a key representative of the so-called the third wave of cognitive-behavioral therapies, which in recent years it has been becoming more and more popular in Poland. The aim of the article is to present the theoretical foundations and practical implications regarding the use of ACT therapy in working with parents of children experiencing bullying. The text presents the theoretical basis of the analyzed approach – the model of psychological flexibility and the main assumptions of therapy which is based on the acceptance of what is beyond control and involvement in activities that give meaning to life and they are close to the values. Parents of children experiencing bullying vave to experience a number of dilemmas regarding the recognition and understanding of their child’s situation, doubts when choosing the right way to respond, strong fear for the health and life of their children, and a number of other emotions, such as anger, sadness or disappointment. The article presents examples of methods and strategies for working with unpleasant emotions, negative thoughts and dilemmas that accompany parents of children experiencing peer violence on a daily basis. All conclusions were also collected from conducted research on the attitudes, dilemmas and emotions of this group of parents and the effectiveness of ACT therapy in working with parents and their children.

Unpleasant emotions and life satisfaction - a study of burnout among nurses

Unpleasant emotions and life satisfaction - a study of burnout among nurses

Language teachers’ emotions in online classrooms: Relations among teachers’ appraisals of classroom events, emotional responses, and instructional practices

Drawing upon Frenzel’s (2014) framework of appraisals, the current study explored language teachers’ emotional experiences and their antecedents in the online teaching context. Moreover, the interrelations between teachers’ emotions and their instructional practices were also investigated. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews with eleven language teachers from a top-tier international university in China. Our findings revealed that positive appraisals of online classroom events, including goal attainment, the capacity in and responsibility of effectively delivering lessons online, and the importance teachers attached to online teaching, tended to result in positive emotional experiences, which consequently led to motivational stimulations in more creative and productive instructional practices. By contrast, teachers who had negative appraisals of online teaching events tended to experience more unpleasant emotions and emotional vulnerability, which would possibly impede effective instructional practices and steer their teaching towards more traditional teaching methods. Our study contributes to the understanding of the relations among teachers’ appraisals of classroom events, emotional experiences, and instructional practices in online language classrooms. Implications for how to prepare teachers emotionally for online teaching are also discussed.

Unpleasant emotions and task-unrelated thoughts and their associations with amygdala activity during emotional distraction: A functional magnetic resonance imaging study

Unpleasant emotions and task-unrelated thoughts and their associations with amygdala activity during emotional distraction: A functional magnetic resonance imaging study