Yaşar Kuzucu

Depression, loneliness and Internet addiction: How important is low self-control?

Abstract This study aimed to explore both the direct and indirect relationships between depression, loneliness, low self-control, and Internet addiction in a sample of Turkish youth, based on a cognitive-behavioral model of generalized problematic Internet use. Data for the present study were collected from 648 undergraduate students with a mean age of 22.46xa0years (SDxa0=xa02.45). Participants completed scales for depression, loneliness, self-control and Internet addiction. Structural equation modeling was used to test the model in which depression and loneliness predicted Internet addiction through low self-control. The findings revealed that of the two factors, only loneliness was related to Internet addiction through low self-control. The results are discussed in terms of the cognitive-behavioral model of generalized problematic Internet use, and implications for practice are considered.

Cybervictimization and cyberbullying

Who are cybervictimized are more likely to engage in cyberbullying behaviors.Cybervictimization is positively and directly related to anger-in and anger-out.Cybervictimization is indirectly related to cyberbullying through anger-in. Recent research has revealed relationship between cybervictimization and cyberbullying, but the possible role of anger as a mediating factor between cybervictimization and cyberbullying remains an area for further clarification. The purpose of this study was to analyze the direct and indirect relationships among cybervictimization, anger expression styles, and cyberbullying, and to test whether anger expression styles mediates the relationship between cybervictimization and cyberbullying in the context of General Strain Theory (GST). Data for the present study were collected from 687 undergraduate students with a mean age of 22.45years (SD=2.42). Participants completed cyberbullying, cybervictimization and anger expression scales. Structural equation modeling was used to test two models: one to examine direct and indirect relationships and one to examine only indirect relationships in which cyberbullying predicted anger-in and anger-out which in turn predicted cyberbullying. Analyses of fit indices showed that both models were adequate fits for the data. The findings provide evidence of direct effects of cybervictimization on cyberbullying and indirect effects of cybervictimization on cyberbullying mediated by anger-in. Specifically, results showed that cybervictimization was positively and directly related to anger-in and anger-out, and indirectly related to cyberbullying through anger-in. Prevention programs in schools can be applied to improve students emotion regulation and anger control, not only in the context of overt aggression, but also in cyberspace.

Developmental Change and Time-Specific Variation in Global and Specific Aspects of Self-Concept in Adolescence and Association With Depressive Symptoms

Previous research has demonstrated that adolescents make differential self-evaluations in multiple domains that include physical appearance, academic competence, and peer acceptance. We report growth curve analyses over a 7-year period from age 9 to 16 on the six domains of the Harter Self-Perception Profile for Children. In general, we find little change in self-concept, on average, but do find substantial individual differences in level, rate of change, and time-specific variation in these self-evaluations. The results suggest that sex differences and adoptive status were related to only certain aspects of the participants’ self-concept. Depressive symptoms were found to have significant effects on individual differences in the rate of change and on time-specific variation in general self-concept, as well as on some of the specific domains of self-concept.

Self-determined choices and consequences: the relationship between basic psychological needs satisfactions and aggression in late adolescents.

ABSTRACT. This research examined the mediatory role of life purpose and career indecision in the relationship between the satisfaction of basic psychological needs and aggression. Data were collected from high school students (n = 466) and results showed that life purpose and career indecision fully mediated the relationship between basic psychological needs satisfaction and aggression. These findings suggested that unsatisfied basic psychological needs foster late adolescents’ aggression by promoting less clear life purposes and career indecision.

The gap that makes us desperate: Paths from language to mental health

Although past research provided some clues about the relation of language use with mental health, the mediatory functions of personality variables in this relationship have been ignored. This research examined the mediatory role of self-concept clarity in the relationship between language use perceived by individuals and mental health indicators including anxiety, depression, and alexithymia. Based on the theoretical framework suggested by Şimşek (2010), two studies sought to test two alternative structural equation models in data from university students in the first study (n = 250) and data from other groups in the second study (n = 331). The first model assumed that the relationship of language use with anxiety, depression, and alexithymia was mediated by self-concept clarity. The second model tested the mediatory role of both anxiety and self-concept clarity in this relationship. The results of the first study showed that the second model fitted better to the data than the first. Consistent with the first study, the results of the second study confirmed that the second model produced better goodness of fit statistics than the first model.

Intentional and Non-Intentional Assessments of Emotion Experiences: Comparisons of Old and New Measures

ABSTRACT In two studies, we compared intentional and non-intentional measures of emotional well-being in terms of reliability and validity. In the first study, we expanded on the findings of Şimşek (2011) by showing that an intentional measure of emotional well-being, namely the Emotional Well-Being Scale, accounted for unique variance in both negative and positive mental health indicators above and beyond the variance accounted for by Larsen and Dieners Scales (1992), which measures all dimensions of affect circumplex. The correlated traits-correlated uniqueness model results showed that the original-intentional version of the Emotional Well-Being Scale explained more variance in the measurement model than the non-intentional version. The second study showed that the results were similar for the intentional vs. non-intentional versions of the Positive and Negative Affect Schedules (Watson, Clark & Tellegen, 1988). The intentional version of the Positive and Negative Affect Schedules accounted for more variance in the criteria than the non-intentional version.