Project description:ObjectivesThe purpose of this study is to investigate whether the relationship between weight stigma experiences and disordered eating behaviors during the COVID-19 pandemic is mediated by weight gain concern and psychological distress among university students with and without overweight.MethodsA cross-sectional study was conducted with university students from five regions of Brazil who participated in the baseline assessment of the Online Cohort on Eating Behavior and Health (July/August 2020). Information on the frequency of binge eating episodes, food restriction, and purging, as well as experienced weight stigma, weight gain concern, and psychological distress, were recorded in an online questionnaire. Stratified structural equation modeling (SEM) analyses were performed to address the research questions of interest.ResultsOut of the total sample (n = 2511), 33.5% of participants reported experiencing weight stigma. The prevalence of binge eating episodes, food restriction, and purging was 43.7%, 24.1%, and 5.4%, respectively. These behaviors were more prevalent in individuals with overweight than in those without this condition. Furthermore, it was observed that weight gain concern and psychological distress mediated the relationship between weight stigma and disordered eating behaviors regardless of body weight status.ConclusionsExperiences of weight stigma and disordered eating behaviors were prevalent among Brazilian university students, especially among those with overweight. Weight gain concern and psychological distress appear to be important factors underlying the relationship between these constructs during the pandemic, and they can contribute to the development of targeted strategies for the prevention and management of disordered eating.Level of evidenceLevel V, cross-sectional study.
Project description:OBJECTIVE:Lower socioeconomic status is robustly associated with obesity; however, the underpinning psychological mechanisms remain unclear. The current study sought to determine whether the relationship between lower socioeconomic status and obesity is explained by psychological distress and subsequent emotional eating as a coping strategy. It also examined whether psychological resilience plays a protective role in this pathway. METHODS:Participants (N = 150) from a range of socioeconomic backgrounds completed questionnaire measures of psychological distress, emotional eating, and resilience. They reported their income and education level as an indicator of socioeconomic status and their height and weight in order to calculate BMI. RESULTS:There was a significant indirect effect of socioeconomic status on BMI via psychological distress and emotional eating; specifically, lower socioeconomic status was associated with higher distress, higher distress was associated with higher emotional eating, and higher emotional eating was associated with higher BMI (b [SE] = -0.02 [0.01]; 95% CI: -0.04 to -0.01). However, resilience was not a significant moderator of this association. CONCLUSIONS:Psychological distress and subsequent emotional eating represent a serial pathway that links lower socioeconomic status with obesity. Targeting these maladaptive coping behaviors may be one strategy to reduce obesity in low-income populations.
Project description:The aim of this cross-sectional study is to investigate the role of psychological inflexibility in the relationship between anxiety and depression and emotional eating in a sample of 123 inpatient Italian adult individuals with obesity. Participants completed the Anxiety and Depression subscales of the Psychological General Well-Being Inventory, the Acceptance and Action Questionnaire, and the Emotional Eating subscale of the Dutch Eating Behavior Questionnaire to assess anxiety and depression, psychological inflexibility, and emotional eating, respectively. Results showed that the indirect effect of PGWBI-A on DEBQ-EE through AAQ-II was significant [b = -0.0155; SE = 0.076; 95% BC-CI (-0.0320 to -0.023)]. Similarly, the indirect effect of PGWBI-D on DEBQ-EE through AAQ-II was significant [b = -0.0383; SE = 0.0207; 95% BC-CI (-0.0810 to -0.0002)]. These findings may help to plan and develop specific psychological interventions aimed at addressing emotional eating through targeting psychological inflexibility to be included in obesity treatment programs.
Project description:Perceptions of psychological empowerment play a vital role in the way an individual perceives things at the workplace. In spite of this, there is scant research on the antecedents and consequences of psychological empowerment. This study is an attempt to fill this gap by analyzing the mediating role of psychological empowerment on the relationship between its antecedents (leader-member exchange) and its consequences (work engagement and psychological withdrawal behavior). Data were collected from 454 employees working in the Research and Development (R&D) departments of the information technology (IT) and pharmaceutical sectors operating in India. Results suggest that employees who have a high-quality relationship with their leader have high psychological empowerment, they are highly engaged at work, and their psychological withdrawal behavior is also low. In addition to this, high levels of psychological empowerment have a positive impact on their engagement toward work, which further leads to a low psychological withdrawal behavior. The theoretical and practical implications of these results are discussed.
Project description:Although an inverse relation between social support and psychological distress among chronic pain patients has been previously reported, little is known about what mediates this association. We examined mindfulness as a mediator of the relationship between social support and psychological distress. In this cross-sectional study, chronic pain patients (N=94) completed assessments of social support, mindfulness, and psychological distress. Greater social support was associated with less psychological distress. Greater mindfulness was associated with greater social support and less psychological distress. Mediation analyses demonstrated that mindfulness partially mediated the relationship between social support and psychological distress. Findings support and extend prior research by demonstrating a potentially important mediating effect of mindfulness within chronic pain patients. This suggests an important link between social support and mindfulness, and that their integration in the pursuit of mental health should be considered in future behavioral interventions.
Project description:Study objectivesThe characteristics of neighborhood social environments, such as safety and social cohesion, have been examined as determinants of poor sleep. The current study investigates associations between neighborhood social characteristics and sleep health, as well as the mediating role of psychological distress on these possible associations.MethodsThree waves of PHRESH Zzz (n = 2699), a longitudinal study conducted in two low-income, predominately Black neighborhoods, were utilized for this analysis. The characteristics of neighborhood social environments were measured using crime rates, a neighborhood social disorder index, and self-reported social cohesion. Sleep health was measured via 7 days of wrist-worn actigraphy as insufficient sleep, sleep duration, wake after sleep onset (WASO), and sleep efficiency. G-estimations based on structural nested mean models and mediation analyses were performed to estimate the effects of neighborhood social environments on sleep as well as direct/indirect effects through psychological distress.ResultsCrime rate around residential addresses was associated with increased risk of insufficient sleep (risk ratio: 1.05 [1.02, 1.12]), increased WASO (β: 3.73 [0.26, 6.04]), and decreased sleep efficiency (β: -0.54 [-0.91, -0.09]). Perceived social cohesion was associated with decreased risk of insufficient sleep (OR: 0.93 [0.88, 0.97]). Psychological distress mediated part of the associations of crime and social cohesion with insufficient sleep.ConclusionsNeighborhood social environments may contribute to poor sleep health in low-income, predominantly Black neighborhoods, and psychological distress can be a salient pathway linking these neighborhood characteristics and sleep health.
Project description:BACKGROUND:This analysis helps clarify the individual and joint effects of moderate to vigorous physical activity (MVPA) in concert with significant life events (eg, divorce, marriage, job change or loss, pregnancy, etc) on weight following a behavioral weight loss intervention. METHODS:Data from the Tracking Study weight loss trial were utilized to perform a 4-way decomposition of moderation and mediation of life events (??1 vs 0) and MVPA (low <2500 kcal vs high ? 2500 kcal) on 24-month weight. RESULTS:The total effect of life events and MVPA on weight was estimated to be 1.63 kg (95% confidence interval?=?0.30 to 2.96; P?=?.02). The controlled direct effect of life events on 24-month weight suggested that experiencing at least one life event controlling for MVPA was associated with an increase of 2.31 kg (95% confidence interval?=?0.29 to 4.33) at 24 months. Other interaction and mediation estimates were not statistically significant. CONCLUSIONS:This analysis offers new potential for examining health behaviors that may act as both mediators and effect modifiers of health. Although more work is needed to understand the interaction of life events and MVPA on weight loss maintenance, findings help rule out mediation. Life events and MVPA should be considered for their unique effects on weight loss maintenance in the future.
Project description:BackgroundPrevious studies indicate that social functioning and resilience can mitigate the adverse psychological effects of interpersonal violence. Unfortunately, the role of these variables has not been studied in survivors of groups, organizations, and communities in which psychological abusive strategies are inflicted to recruit and dominate their members.ObjectiveTo examine the mediating role of social functioning and resilience in the relationship between psychological abuse experienced in the past while in a group and current psychosocial distress and psychopathological symptoms.MethodIn this cross-sectional study, an online questionnaire was administered to 794 English-speaking former members of different kinds of groups, such as religious, pseudo therapeutic, pyramid scheme groups, and others. Among them, 499 were victims of group psychological abuse and 295 were non-victims.ResultsVictims of group psychological abuse reported lower levels of social functioning and resilience than non-victims, and higher levels of psychosocial difficulties and psychopathological symptoms. Serial mediation analyses revealed that social functioning and resilience mediated part of the impact of group psychological abuse on psychosocial difficulties and psychopathological symptoms. Sex and age joining the group were included as covariates. Participants who had experienced higher levels of group psychological abuse tend to have poorer social functioning, which is related to lower resilience. In turn, lower levels of social functioning and resilience are related with higher distress.ConclusionsThis research sheds light on the underlying mechanisms involved in the relationship between group psychological abuse and distress suffered following this kind of traumatic experiences. Findings highlight the protective role of social adjustment, which can help promote and enhance resilience and mitigate psychosocial difficulties and psychopathological symptoms in survivors of group psychological abuse.
Project description:The recent literature highlights the need to explore phubbing, a worrying growing phenomenon, and the potential associated factors and outcomes. Thus, the present study focused on perceived phubbing and the potential associations with life satisfaction and psychological distress. Additionally, this study examined the mediating role of loneliness. The cross-sectional, web-based study involved 720 Romanian adults aged 18 to 77 (M = 24.12, SD = 8.80, 74% females) who completed self-reported scales measuring perceived phubbing, and life satisfaction. Results suggested positive associations between perceived phubbing, loneliness, and psychological distress. A significant negative association was also found between loneliness and life satisfaction. Further analyses suggested that loneliness partially mediated the link between perceived phubbing and life satisfaction and between perceived phubbing and psychological distress. The study highlights the significant role of perceived phubbing when discussing psychological distress and life satisfaction, underlining the need to address further the (mis)use of digital devices (e.g., smartphones) within interpersonal relationships, as well as the need to understand better the outcomes of such behaviors to shape effective interventions in this regard.
Project description:Employee-based brand equity plays a crucial role in building organizations' brand equity, and organizations strive to maintain it because of its stimulating effect on competitive achievement. Based on psychological contract and stress theory, this study developed a model that points out the antecedents which can play an adverse role in the EBBE building process. This study explores the role of employee loneliness, job uncertainty, and psychological distress on employee-based brand equity. This study also explores the mediating role of emotional exhaustion in these relationships. For the empirical analyses of the model, this study gathered data based on a 459 sample size under a time-lag approach from the employees of clothing brands in China. This study analyzed the data through partial least square structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM). For this purpose, SmartPLS software was used. The outcomes revealed that employee loneliness has no direct relationship with employee-based brand equity; however, job uncertainty and psychological distress negatively influence employee-based brand equity, such as job uncertainty and psychological distress reduce employee-brand-based equity. Moreover, emotional exhaustion mediates the relationship between employee loneliness and employee-based brand equity and job uncertainty and employee-based brand equity; however, emotional exhaustion does not mediate the relationship between psychological distress and employee-based brand equity. Finally, practical implications, limitations, and future directions are discussed in this study.