Diego Gomez-Baya

A Two-Year Longitudinal Study Of Gender Differences In Responses To Positive Affect And Depressive Symptoms During Middle Adolescence

This study aimed to analyze the prospective associations during adolescence between depressive symptoms and response styles to positive affect and to examine gender differences. A longitudinal study was conducted with three waves separated by 1 year each to assess a non-clinical sample of 622 Spanish adolescents who were 13 and 14 years old (50.2% boys, 49.8% girls). The participants completed self-report measures of depressive symptoms and responses to positive affect (emotion-focused positive rumination, self-focused positive rumination and dampening of positive emotion). The results showed that the increase in depressive symptoms was associated with an increase in dampening and decreases in emotion-focused and self-focused positive rumination. Furthermore, girls presented more depressive symptoms, as well as higher dampening and lower self-focused positive rumination, than boys. The conclusions highlight the need to consider responses to positive affect in explaining gender differences in depressive symptoms during mid-adolescence, as well as in designing prevention programs.

Socioeconomic Context as a Moderator in the Relationship between Body Mass Index and Depression in Europe

BACKGROUND Obesity and depression are two major health issues in contemporary societies. This study aims to address two fundamental questions: (1) what is the impact of macro-level adverse socioeconomic circumstances on depression? and (2) how do macro-level variations in the socioeconomic context affect the relationship between body mass index (BMI) and depression? METHODS Data from the 7th round of the European Social Survey were used, collected from a sample size of 37,623 participants and aggregated around a total of 20 countries. A random intercept multilevel model was constructed to study the variations in the relationship between depression and BMI. The contextual effect of risk of poverty, unemployment rate, and gross domestic product per capita were studied at the country level. RESULTS First, both unemployment and poverty risk were found to be positively associated with depressive disorders. Second, the results show that a higher risk of poverty at the macro level may increase the effect of BMI on depression in European countries. CONCLUSION The present study provides new evidence suggesting that the obesity-depression relationship will be, on average, stronger in countries with poor socioeconomic conditions. Therefore, adverse socioeconomic contextual conditions may increase depression associated with obesity.

Sport participation, body satisfaction and depressive symptoms in adolescence: a moderated-mediation analysis of gender differences

Abstract This research aimed to analyse the partial mediating role of body satisfaction in the relationship between sport participation and depressive symptoms, as well as to examine the moderating role of gender in these associations. A cross-sectional study was conducted with a sample of 1810 adolescents aged 13–18 years old who completed self-report measures regarding sport participation, body satisfaction and depressive symptoms. The results indicated that a higher frequency of sport participation was associated with a lower presence of depressive symptoms, both directly and through greater body satisfaction, although gender differences were found in this partial mediation model. It was detected that sport participation had a greater effect on positive body satisfaction among boys, whereas body dissatisfaction indicated a greater presence of depressive symptoms among girls. The results emphasize the need to implement gender-specific programmes to improve psychological adjustment in adolescents by promoting sport practice and body acceptance.

Responses to positive affect, life satisfaction and self-esteem: A cross-lagged panel analysis during middle adolescence

During middle adolescence, elevated stress and a greater presence of psychological disorders have been documented. The research has paid little attention to the regulation of positive affective states. Fredricksons broaden-and-build theory suggests that cultivating positive emotions helps to build resources that boost well-being. The current research aimed to examine the longitudinal associations between responses to positive affect (emotion-focused positive rumination, self-focused positive rumination, and dampening) and psychological adjustment (self-esteem and life satisfaction) during middle adolescence. A longitudinal study with two waves separated by one year was conducted, assessing 977 adolescents (M = 13.81, SD = 0.79; 51.5% boys) with self-report measures. A cross-lagged panel analysis was performed by including within the same model the relationships between all of the variables in the two assessment points. The results indicated cross-lagged positive relationships of self-focused positive rumination with both self-esteem and life satisfaction, while dampening showed a negative cross-lagged relationship with self-esteem. Moreover, higher self-esteem predicted more emotion-focused positive rumination, and more dampening predicted lower life satisfaction. Thus, the use of adaptive responses to positive affect and a better psychological adjustment were found to be prospectively interrelated at the one-year follow-up during middle adolescence. The discussion argues for the need to implement programmes to promote more adaptive responses to positive affect to enhance psychological adjustment in the adolescent transition to adulthood.

Online communication, peer relationships and school victimisation: a one-year longitudinal study during middle adolescence

ABSTRACT This study aimed to analyse how different styles of online and offline communication were associated in middle adolescence with certain indicators of the quality of peer relationships and school victimisation. A longitudinal study with two waves separated by one year was conducted, in which 882 adolescents aged 13–16 years old from Andalusia (Spain) completed self-report measures. Results showed that online communication was very frequently used to talk with friends, even more often that offline means. Cross-sectionally, online communication was positively associated with quality of peer relationships and negatively to school victimisation, reaching stronger associations than offline communication. Longitudinally, results indicated that more frequent text messaging was related to more easiness to make friends and no bullying in those adolescents with more initial difficulties. Thus, it suggests the need to develop safe spaces for online interactions in order to improve the quality of their relationships with their friends and partners.

Gender Differences in Psychological Well-Being and Health Problems among European Health Professionals: Analysis of Psychological Basic Needs and Job Satisfaction

Background: The aim was to examine the mediating role of basic psychological needs and job satisfaction in the relationship between the gender effect on health problems and psychological well-being for health professionals in Europe in 2015. Methods: Two multiple partial mediation analyses were conducted in order to test the partial mediation of both basic needs and job satisfaction, with gender as the independent variable and health problems or well-being, respectively, as the dependent variables, with a sample of health professionals. Results: Women reported lower psychological well-being and more health problems than men. The total effect of gender on both well-being and health problems was found to be significant. Regarding multiple mediation analyses: (a) the effect of gender on well-being was fully mediated by global basic need satisfaction and job satisfaction, such that gender did not present a significant direct effect and (b) the effect of gender on health problems was partially mediated by global basic need satisfaction and job satisfaction, such that the direct effect remained significant. Conclusions: The fulfillment of basic needs for autonomy, competence, and relatedness, as postulated within self-determination theory, was hypothesized to play a mediating role in the relationship between gender and well-being. Since significant gender differences in basic need satisfaction were observed, such a mediator should be controlled in order to achieve a significant relationship between gender and well-being when basic needs comes into play. The current study adds to the research emphasizing the need for satisfaction as a promising mechanism underlying for female health professionals’ well-being.

Adolescent drunkenness and street drinking as predictors of increased participation in bullying

ABSTRACT Numerous studies have provided evidence of disorders associated with experiencing bullying at school and the current level of bullying among schoolchildren. However, little is known about the extent to which frequent binge drinking in adolescence might prove to be a predictor of increased participation in bullying at school. To cast light on this subject, the data from two waves (one year apart) of a longitudinal study using a sample of 714 adolescents between 13 and 16 years old from Andalusia (Southern Spain) were analyzed. Transversally, a clear association was detected in wave 1 between the frequency of being drunk 7and participation in the Spanish botellon phenomenon (groups of young people binge drinking outdoors) and the frequency of actively bullying others. Longitudinally, reporting getting drunk frequently or taking part in street drinking on a weekly basis in wave 1 prove to be predictors of increased active bullying in wave 2. Furthermore, the predictor that presents the greatest effect is participation in street drinking. These results suggest that both frequent binge drinking in adolescence and frequent participation in street drinking may contribute to active bullying.