Katsuyuki Yamasaki

Stress coping and the adjustment process among university freshmen

The purpose of the present study was to investigate causal relationships between dispositional and situational coping and health status in university freshmen. Two hundred and twenty-nine university freshmen completed questionnaires at Time 1 (immediately after university matriculation) and at Time 2 (approximately three months later) in a short-term, prospective study. Structural equation modeling was used to analyze causal relationships between four coping strategies (i.e., emotion expression, emotional support seeking, cognitive reinterpretation, and problem solving) and four health status variables (i.e., somatic symptoms, anxiety and insomnia, social dysfunction, and depression). Increases in dispositional coping predicted increases in situational coping at certain time points. In addition, increases in dispositional emotion-focused coping, such as emotion expression and emotional support seeking, predicted poor health status. This relationship was mediated by situational coping variables. Finally, increases in dispositional problem-focused coping, such as cognitive reinterpretation and problem solving, predicted better health status. This relationship was direct or indirectly mediated by situational coping variables. Our data suggest that the use of coping skills such as cognitive reinterpretation and problem solving may promote better health and adaptation in university freshmen.

DISPOSITIONAL AND SITUATIONAL COPING AND MENTAL HEALTH STATUS OF UNIVERSITY STUDENTS

The results of stress coping studies do not clearly demonstrate whether dispositional and situational coping can predict health status or whether dispositional coping can predict situational coping. The present study used structural equation modeling to test proposed directional relationships. 292 Japanese university students completed questionnaires concerning dispositional and situational coping and mental health status. Analysis showed that dispositional coping predicted situational coping for some coping strategies. In women, an increase in dispositional Problem-solving predicted a reduction in mental distress via situational Problem-solving. The results suggest that, only for Problem-solving by women, dispositional coping is related to mental health status, but only through situational coping.

The relationship between three types of aggression and peer relations in elementary school children

Previous studies have repeatedly found that aggression causes various internalizing and externalizing problems. Despite the robust relationship, exactly how aggression causes these problems remains unclear, although it is plausible to postulate that this occurs both directly and indirectly (via other behavioural factors). One possible indirect factor might be the aggravation of peer relations. The poor peer relations of aggressive children could make them isolated psychologically or physically from peers, which in turn might result in depressive or disruptive problems. This study examined the relationships between three types of aggression and peer relations in Japanese elementary school children. The three aggression types comprised reactive-expressive (i.e., verbal and physical aggression), reactive-inexpressive (e.g., hostility), and proactive-relational aggression (i.e., aggression that can break human relationships, for instance, by circulating malicious rumours). Participants were 1581 children in grades 4 to 6 (752 boys and 829 girls), all of whom completed the Proactive-Reactive Aggression Questionnaire for Children to measure three types of aggression and the Peer Relation Questionnaire to measure peer relations (mutual understanding, self-disclosure, and similarity of taste) and number of friends. Hierarchical regression analyses of the data showed that higher scores of relational aggression were significantly associated with higher scores of all of the peer relations and the number of friends, and that higher scores of inexpressive aggression were significantly associated with lower scores of all except for self-disclosure in the peer relations. These findings suggest that among the three types of aggression, relational aggression leads to the best friendship in both dyadic relations and the number of friends, whereas inexpressive aggression to the poorest friendship. The implications of these findings with respect to internalizing and externalizing problem behaviours for aggressive children are discussed.

Development of a Japanese Version of the Positive and Negative Affect Schedule for Children

In this paper, the Positive and Negative Affect Schedule for Children originally developed in 1999 by Laurent, et al. was adapted for use in Japan. In Study 1, a total of 763 children in Grades 4 to 6 completed this Schedule, and 103 of them completed it again about three months later. Principal factor analysis with promax rotation identified two factors, positive and negative affect, in the Japanese version, whose alphas (over .80) and test-retest correlations (over .50) were sufficient to indicate internal consistency and stability over time. In Study 2, a total of 328 children completed the Japanese version, the Depression Self-rating Scale for Children, and the Trait Form of the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory for Children. Intercorrelations showed convergent and discriminant validity using these self-report measures of depression and anxiety. Overall these data support the reliability and validity of this Japanese version.

SOCIAL SUPPORT MEDIATING BETWEEN COPING BY EMOTIONAL EXPRESSION AND DEPRESSION

The present purpose was to investigate the effects of social support on the relationship between coping by expressing emotions and depression in women. Japanese undergraduate students (N = 218) completed four self-report questionnaires: the dispositional and situational versions of the Emotional Coping Questionnaire which measures the mode of expression as being either to self as in a diary or to others as in telling a friend, the Social Support Scale to evaluate received support, and the Center for Epidemiologic Studies–Depression Scale. Analysis showed that expression of emotions to self in both dispositional and situational coping had significant positive correlations with depression, especially for women who scored high on depression, and expression of emotions to others in both dispositional and situational coping were significantly positively correlated with social support. However, no significant mediation effects of social support in emotional expression and depression were found. Limitations and topics for research are discussed.

Relation of Positive Affect with Emotion-Focused Coping in Japanese Undergraduates

This study examined the relationships between coping and positive affect and sex differences in those relationships, focusing on emotional expression as an emotion-focused coping strategy. Undergraduates (193 men and 225 women) completed the Center for Epidemiologic Studies-Depression to assess positive affect by using the Positive Affect subscale and the General Coping Questionnaire for measurement of coping. Analysis showed a positive relationship between positive affect and both problem-solving and cognitive reinterpretation, but only for men, while a positive relation between positive affect and emotional expression was found only for women. Also there were no interactions of emotional expression and other coping strategies, such as problem-solving, cognitive reinterpretation, and emotional support-seeking, on positive affect. These findings provide evidence to suggest that the relationship between positive affect and coping should be examined by sex.

Effects of positive and negative affect and emotional suppression on short-term life satisfaction

Relationships between emotional experiences and health and adjustment are influenced by many variables, with emotional suppression (ES) being one of the most influential factors. In the current study, we examined the effects of affect and ES on short-term life satisfaction (LS) measured over the previous week. We also considered the dimension of activation status for both positive affect (PA) and negative affect (NA). The final sample included data collected from 398 undergraduates (184 men and 214 women). Participants answered six questionnaires, two of which were used for another study. All of the tests were of Japanese versions and were answered with regard to the previous weeks experiences. Results showed that LS was positively associated with PA and negatively with NA, but that the positive association was stronger for activated PA than deactivated PA, while the negative association was stronger for deactivated NA than activated NA. Furthermore, an interactive effect between deactivated NA and ES on LS was significant in men, where post hoc tests demonstrated that deactivated NA was more negatively associated with LS when ES was higher. This study suggests that activated and deactivated affect differ in their effects on LS. In addition, it is likely that the detrimental effect of deactivated NA on LS is larger when NA is more strongly suppressed. The necessity of interventional research along with the limitations of this study is discussed for future research.

An intervention study of the relations of positive affect to the coping strategy of 'finding positive meaning' and health

This study examined the relations of positive affect (PA) to the coping strategy of ‘finding positive meaning’ and to health. Participants in the intervention group (29 university students) wrote about a happy event once a week in an experimental room and noted happy events each day as homework for four consecutive weeks. In addition, they received a small present each time they left the room after writing. Participants in the control group (29 university students) wrote about and noted trivial neutral events instead of happy events, and they did not receive any small presents. Results showed that PA induced by this manipulation did not significantly enhance coping but did significantly improve health status on several self-report scales.

P02-109 - Effects of positive and negative affect and emotional supression on short-term life satisfaction and depression: Considering activation of affect

Objectives We examined the effects of affect and emotional suppression (ES) on short-term life satisfaction (LS) and depression. In doing so, we considered the dimension of activation for positive affect (PA) and negative affect (NA). Methods The final sample included the data collected from 496 undergraduate and graduate students (240 men and 256 women). Participants answered seven questionnaires for assessing activated PA and NA, ES of PA and NA, short-term LS, and depression, three of which were used for another study. All of them were Japanese versions, answered on the past week. Results Results from hierarchical regression analyses showed that LS was positively associated with PA and negatively with NA, but that its positive association was stronger in activated PA than deactivated PA while its negative association was stronger in deactivated NA than activated NA. Similar findings were obtained for depression. The significant interactions suggested: (1) higher scores of ES of PA weaken the positive association between activated PA and LS in both sexes; (2) higher scores of ES of NA strengthen the negative association between activated NA and LS in men and weaken the association in women; and (3) the positive association between activated NA and depression is weakened by higher scores of ES of NA in women. Conclusion This study suggested that activated and deactivated affect differ in their relations to life satisfaction and depression. Moreover, it is likely that although ES of PA and NA influences health, its effects would be different between men and women.

PW01-130 - Effects of positive and negative affect and emotional suppression on short-term life satisfaction

Objectives We examined the effects of affect and emotional suppression (ES) on short-term life satisfaction (LS). In doing so, we considered the dimension of activation for positive affect (PA) and negative affect (NA). Methods The final sample included the data collected from 398 students (184 men and 214 women). The mean ages were 19.15 yrs for men and 19.84 yrs for women. Participants answered six questionnaires two of which were used for another study. The Positive and Negative Affect Schedule was utilized for assessing activated PA and NA, two subscales of the Multiple Mood Scale to measure deactivated PA and NA, respectively, one subscale of the Emotion Regulation Questionnaire for gauzing ES, and the Short-term Life Satisfaction Scale for LS. All of them were Japanese versions, answered on the past week. Results Results showed that LS was positively associated with PA and negatively with NA, but that its positive association was stronger in activated PA than deactivated PA while its negative association was stronger in deactivated NA than activated NA. The interaction between deactivated NA and ES was significant in men, whose post-hoc tests suggested that deactivated NA was more negatively associated with LS when ES was higher. Conclusion This study suggested that activated and deactivated affect differ in their relations to life satisfaction. Moreover, it is likely that the detrimental effect of NA on life satisfaction is larger when the expression of NA is more strongly suppressed.