Tina Yu

Loneliness and Negative Affective Conditions in Adults: Is There Any Room for Hope in Predicting Anxiety and Depressive Symptoms?

ABSTRACT This study examined the role of hope in understanding the link between loneliness and negative affective conditions (viz., anxiety and depressive symptoms) in a sample of 318 adults. As expected, loneliness was found to be a significant predictor of both anxiety and depressive symptoms. Noteworthy, hope was found to significantly augment the prediction of depressive symptoms, even after accounting for loneliness. Furthermore, we found evidence for a significant Loneliness × Hope interaction effect in predicting anxiety. A plot of the interaction confirmed that the association between loneliness and anxiety was weaker among high, compared to low, hope adults. Some implications of the present findings are discussed.

Relation Between Sexual Assault and Negative Affective Conditions in Female College Students: Does Loss of Hope Account for the Association?

The present study examined dispositional hope as a potential mediator of the association between sexual assault and negative affective conditions, namely, depressive and anxious symptoms in a sample of 223 female college students. Results from conducting bootstrapped mediation analyses indicated that hope agency, but not hope pathways, mediated the link between sexual assault victimization and negative affective conditions in females. Importantly, the associations of sexual assault with both depressive and anxious symptoms remained highly significant independent of hope. Some implications of the present findings are discussed.

Perceived interpersonal sources of life satisfaction in Chinese and American students: Cultural or gender differences?

Abstract This study evaluated cultural and gender differences in perceived interpersonal sources of life satisfaction between 341 Chinese and 222 American college students. Comparative analyses indicated overall lower life satisfaction in Chinese, than in Americans. However, Chinese, compared to Americans, reported greater life satisfaction derived from perceived sources involving the self, parents, teachers and peers. Results of regression analyses indicated that, for both Chinese and Americans, the self and parents were unique sources associated with life satisfaction. However, for Americans, close friends also emerged as an additional unique source. When gender differences were examined, additional nuances were found within each cultural group. Thus, some evidence for both cultural and gender differences in perceived interpersonal sources of life satisfaction across Chinese and Americans was found. Some implications of the present findings are discussed.

Understanding the Association Between Negative Life Events and Suicidal Risk in College Students: Examining Self‐Compassion as a Potential Mediator

OBJECTIVE We tested a hypothesized model consistent with the notion that self-compassion mediates the association between negative life events and suicidal risk (viz., depressive symptoms and suicidal behaviors) in college students METHOD: The sample was comprised of 331 college students. Self-compassion facets (viz., self-kindness, self-judgment, common humanity, isolation, mindfulness, and overidentification) were used in testing for multiple mediation, controlling for sex. RESULTS Common humanity, mindfulness, and overidentification were found to mediate the association between negative life events (NLE) and depressive symptoms. However, common humanity was found to be the only mediator of the association between NLE and suicidal behaviors. CONCLUSION These findings suggest that there are specific facets of self-compassion that account for the association between NLE and suicidal risk in college students and that (loss of) common humanity plays a central role in this process.

Understanding the Association Between Spirituality, Religiosity, and Feelings of Happiness and Sadness Among HIV-Positive Indian Adults: Examining Stress-Related Growth as a Mediator

This study examined the role of stress-related growth as a mediator of the associations between spirituality, religiosity, and feelings of happiness and sadness in a sample of 178 HIV-positive Indian adults. Results indicated that spirituality, but not religiosity, was associated with feelings of happiness and sadness. Subsequent mediation analyses indicated that stress-related growth fully mediated the relationships involving spirituality and feelings of happiness and sadness. Overall, our findings point to the importance of facilitating greater spiritual development among HIV-positive Indians, as well as promoting strategies that help them develop and apply stress-related growth coping methods in their lives.

The Relationship Between Multidimensional Spirituality and Depressive Symptoms in College Students: Examining Hope Agency and Pathways as Potential Mediators

In this study, we examined goal-focused hope as a potential mediator between the association of multidimensional spirituality and depressive symptoms in a sample of 319 college students. Results of conducting a series of multiple mediation tests indicated that hope agency, but not hope pathways, fully and significantly accounted for the associations of ritualistic, theistic, and existential spirituality with depressive symptoms. Overall, our findings offer support for the contention that hope agency plays an important role in accounting for the association between spirituality and psychological adjustment in college students. Some implications of the present findings are discussed.

Ethnic Variables and Negative Life Events as Predictors of Depressive Symptoms and Suicidal Behaviors in Latino College Students: On the Centrality of Receptivo a los Demás

In the present study, we examined ethnic variables (viz., multigroup ethnic identity and other group orientation) along with negative life events as predictors of depressive symptoms and suicidal behaviors in a sample of 156 (38 male and 118 female) Latino college students. Results of conducting hierarchical regression analyses indicated that the set of ethnic variables accounted for significant variance in both depressive symptoms and suicidal behaviors. The inclusion of negative life events was found to account for significant additional variance in both outcomes, beyond what was accounted for by ethnic variables. Interestingly, beyond main effects, results indicated a significant Other Group Orientation × Negative Life Events interaction effect to account for additional variance in depressive symptoms and suicidal behaviors. Some implications of the present findings are discussed, including the potential value for Latinos to broaden their attitudes and interactions with other ethnic groups.

Predicting eating disturbances in Turkish adult females: Examining the role of intimate partner violence and perfectionism

We examined the relationships between intimate partner violence (IPV), perfectionism, and eating disturbances, namely, excessive dieting and bulimia, in a sample of 149 Turkish female college students. Results of conducting hierarchical regression analyses indicated that IPV accounted for significant variance in both excessive dieting and bulimic symptoms. The inclusion of perfectionism was found to predict additional variance in eating disturbances, beyond IPV. Specifically, we found parental expectations to be a significant predictor of dieting, and personal standards, doubts about actions, and parental criticism to be significant predictors of bulimia. Some implications for understanding eating disturbances in Turkish women are discussed.

The Relationship Between Domestic Partner Violence and Suicidal Behaviors in an Adult Community Sample: Examining Hope Agency and Pathways as Protective Factors

We examined an additive and interactive model involving domestic partner violence (DPV) and hope in accounting for suicidal behaviors in a sample of 98 community adults. Results showed that DPV accounted for a significant amount of variance in suicidal behaviors. Hope further augmented the prediction model and accounted for suicidal behaviors beyond DPV. Finally, we found that DPV significantly interacted with both dimensions of hope to further account for additional variance in suicidal behaviors above and beyond the independent effects of DPV and hope. Implications for the role of hope in the relationship between DPV and suicidal behaviors are discussed.

Family Support as a Moderator of the Relationship Between Loneliness and Suicide Risk in College Students: Having a Supportive Family Matters!

In this study, we examined loneliness and family support as predictors of suicide risk (viz., depressive symptoms and suicide ideation) in college students. The sample was comprised of 456 Hungarian college students. Results of conducting hierarchical regression analyses, controlling for sex and age, indicated that the inclusion of family support provided further incremental validity in predicting both depressive symptoms and suicide ideation, beyond the variance accounted for by loneliness. Moreover, consistent with the notion that family support might buffer the negative effects of loneliness on suicide risk, evidence for a significant Loneliness × Family Support interaction effect in predicting both indices of suicide risk was found. Thus, beyond the role of loneliness in predicting suicide risk in college students, the present findings are the first to show how family support both additively and interactively represents a positive psychological resource that should be considered in understanding suicide risk among students.