Aitziber Pascual

Intensity of Habitual Guilt in Men and Women: Differences in Interpersonal Sensitivity and the Tendency towards Anxious-Aggressive Guilt

In this study we analyzed gender differences in the intensity of habitual guilt, as well as those in interpersonal sensitivity and the tendency towards experiencing feelings of guilt with a high anxious-aggressive component. The 360 participants (adolescents, young adults and adults) were asked to relate one of the situations that most frequently caused them to experience guilt and to rank its intensity and that of 9 other emotions they may have experienced at the same time on a 7-point scale. These scales were used to obtain the scores for the anxious-aggressive component of guilt. Two interpersonal sensitivity measures were used: the IRI Empathic Concern scale and an ad hoc measure focusing on the guilt produced by interpersonal events (Interpersonal Guilt). Habitual guilt was found to be more intense in women than in men in all age groups. The results suggest that this difference is linked to differences in interpersonal sensitivity and the tendency to experience types of guilt with a high anxious-aggressive component.

Risky eating behaviors and beliefs among adolescent girls.

This study investigated the prevalence of weight control and binge eating behaviors in a sample of 767 adolescent girls aged 16–20 years, and the differences between adolescents with and without altered eating behaviors regarding anthropometric and body image variables and beliefs associated with eating disorders. Adolescents who engaged in unhealthy strategies were found to be at a higher risk of eating disorders, since these behaviors were accompanied by higher levels of drive for thinness and body dissatisfaction, as well as by beliefs associated with the importance of weight and body shape as a means of personal and social acceptance.

Normal-weight and overweight female adolescents with and without extreme weight-control behaviours: Emotional distress and body image concerns:

The objective of this study was to analyse emotional distress and concerns related to body image in 712 normal-weight and overweight adolescent girls. A total of 12.3 per cent of the normal-weight girls and 25 per cent of the overweight girls showed extreme weight-control behaviours. In normal-weight adolescents, their engagement in extreme weight-control behaviours was associated with high levels of somatic symptoms, a drive for thinness and control over eating. In overweight girls, high levels of drive for thinness and anxiety were associated with extreme weight-control behaviours. Finally, the implications for preventive and therapeutic programmes are discussed.

Pride as moral motive: moral pride and prosocial behaviour / El orgullo como motivación moral: orgullo moral y conducta prosocial

Abstract Moral pride, namely the pride generated by morally positive behaviour, can foster prosocial behaviour. To demonstrate this, two quasi-experimental studies were conducted with nine- to 11-year-old children. Study 1 analysed the effect of the pride felt after engaging in prosocial behaviour, in four classrooms from two different schools (N = 94). Study 2 analysed the effect of the pride generated by the evocation of a past example of one’s own prosocial behaviour, in four classrooms from another school (N = 77). The hypothesis was supported in Study 1 but not in Study 2. Interesting correlations were found between dispositional moral pride (measured using a scale designed ad hoc) and other relevant variables in the moral field: intention to engage in prosocial behaviour, habitual prosocial behaviour and dispositional empathy. In general, these studies attest to the importance of moral pride, both dispositional and that felt in a specific situation, in moral life.

Antecedents of moral pride: the harder the action, the greater the pride?

The studys aim was to analyze if some specific types of action generate higher levels of moral pride. Three variables were analyzed: whether the actions involved going against the group majority, whether they involved a personal cost of a different kind and whether they were the result of a prior intention. Participants were 160 adolescents aged between 14 and 16. Sixteen scenarios were designed (two for each combination of the three variables) in which someone needed help. Half of the participants were presented with 8 of these scenarios, and half with the other 8. In each scenario, participants were asked to state what they would feel and do and how much pride they would feel if they helped. Curiously enough, both prosocial behaviors which involved going against the majority, F(1, 140) = 60.36, p = .001, η2 = .301 and those which involved a personal cost of a different kind, F(1, 140) = 10.17, p = .002, η2 = .068 generated less moral pride.

Moral pride, more intense in girls than in boys?

ABSTRACT Moral pride has been found to be a positive component of moral life. Nevertheless, this emotion has been the object of little attention and hardly any studies focus on gender differences in this regard. Is this emotion more intense in girls than in boys? Five studies on authentic moral pride, with sample groups in different age ranges (two with children and the other three with adolescents) and using different measures (moral pride scales and vignettes), were carried out to answer this question. When significant (Study 5, with adolescents) or marginally significant (Study 2, with children, and Study 3, with adolescents) differences were observed, they were always in favor of girls, but were fairly small. In the discussion, these results are interpreted in light of the feeling rules about pride in general and a series of guidelines are suggested for children’s education.

The effect of body dissatisfaction on disordered eating: The mediating role of self-esteem and negative affect in male and female adolescents:

This study aimed to determine whether self-esteem and negative affect sequentially mediate the relationship between body dissatisfaction and disordered eating. A total of 806 adolescents (61.8% females) completed the Drive for Thinness, Bulimia, and Body Dissatisfaction subscales of the Eating Disorder Inventory-2, the Anxiety and Depression subscales of the General Health Questionnaire-28, and the Negative Self-beliefs subscale of the Eating Disorder Belief Questionnaire. Mediational analyses showed that body dissatisfaction had both direct and indirect effects through self-esteem and negative affect on disordered eating. It was also observed that negative self-esteem mediated—completely in boys and partially in girls—the relationship between body dissatisfaction and negative affect.