The Mediating Role of Cognitive Flexibility and Suppression in the Relationship Between Ostracism and Psychological Wellbeing: A Longitudinal Analysis.
Ostracism is a significant psychosocial stressor that undermines core psychological needs, including the sense of belonging and perceived social worth. Such experiences may exert particularly pronounced effects during adolescence, a developmental stage characterized by heightened sensitivity to peer evaluation and social acceptance. However, longitudinal evidence on the enduring consequences of ostracism in adolescence is limited. Thus, the present study, conducted with high school-aged adolescents in Türkiye, investigated the longitudinal association between ostracism and psychological well-being, with particular attention to the mediating roles of cognitive flexibility and suppression. Participants were 302 adolescents aged 13-19 years (74.5% female; M = 15.63, SD = 1.31), assessed at two time points spaced approximately six months apart. Results indicated that higher levels of perceived ostracism at Time 1 prospectively predicted lower levels of cognitive flexibility and greater reliance on suppression strategies at Time 2. Furthermore, cognitive flexibility demonstrated a positive association with psychological well-being, whereas suppression exhibited a negative association. Lagged mediation analyses revealed that the impact of ostracism on psychological well-being operated indirectly via these two concurrent mechanisms. These findings contribute to the Need-Threat Model by providing empirical support for the proposition that ostracism undermines well-being through the frustration of fundamental psychological needs. Furthermore, the findings emphasize the role of cognitive flexibility and adaptive emotion regulation in promoting adolescents' psychological well-being, underscoring the value of interventions that strengthen these cognitive and emotional capacities.
This study investigated the associations between dimensions of temperament and loneliness in adolescents and further explored whether the associations differed according to adolescents’ psychological flexibility.
885 Finnish Grade 9 adolescents (
M
age
15.80, girls 56.4%) filled in questionnaires on their temperament, loneliness and psychological flexibility.
High levels of Negative affectivity (NA) and Affiliativeness (AF) were identified as potential risk factors for adolescent loneliness, while high Effortful Control (EC) was found to be associated with lower levels of loneliness. Additionally, psychological flexibility was found to buffer the effect of high NA and high AF on loneliness, suggesting that psychological flexibility can protect against loneliness in adolescents presenting temperamental risk factors.
In light of this novel finding, we posit that promoting adolescent psychological flexibility with values- and acceptance-based interventions, such as Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), can make important contributions in efforts to tackle adolescent loneliness.
Valter B Salin, Eeva Repo, Mari Tunkkari et al.· Cognitive Therapy and Resear...· 0 citations
Adolescence is a developmental period characterized by increased exposure to stress and elevated vulnerability to mental health problems. The present study examined the structure of perceived stress, its longitudinal stability, and its associations with mental health in adolescents. Data were collected from a probabilistic sample of 1679 Croatian adolescents who were in the first or second year of high school at baseline and were followed across three measurement waves approximately six months apart. Perceived stress was assessed across six domains (school, future, parents, friends, romantic partners, and self), and structural equation modeling was used to test factor structure, measurement invariance across time and sex, and temporal stability. Competing models supported a hierarchical structure comprising six domain-specific factors and a higher-order general perceived stress factor. The measure demonstrated strong longitudinal and sex invariance. General perceived stress showed high stability across the three waves, despite being assessed as a current subjective experience. Perceived stress was moderately to strongly associated with depression, generalized anxiety, internalizing and externalizing symptoms, life satisfaction, and happiness, with no evidence of sex differences in these associations. These findings suggest that adolescent perceived stress is best conceptualized as a hierarchical and highly stable construct that is closely linked to multiple indicators of mental health and well-being.
Maja Ribar, Josip Razum, Goran Milas· European Journal of Investig...· 0 citations
BACKGROUND
Guided by the cognitive-behavioral model of loneliness and the healthy context paradox, we tested whether cognitive flexibility mediates the link between peer victimization and loneliness in adolescents and whether social support moderates this pathway.
METHODS
Using a two-wave, short-term prospective design, we followed 833 Chinese first-year junior middle school students (Mage = 12.22, SD = 0.43; 49.1% male). At both waves, students completed validated measures of peer victimization, cognitive flexibility, loneliness, and perceived social support. Analyses included descriptives, mediation, and moderated mediation with bootstrap tests, adjusting for demographics and baseline outcomes.
RESULTS
T1 peer victimization predicted lower cognitive flexibility, which in turn predicted higher T2 loneliness, supporting mediation. Social support moderated these associations: the indirect effect was significant only under high support; victimization was negatively associated with cognitive flexibility only when support was high.
IMPLICATIONS FOR SCHOOL HEALTH POLICY, PRACTICE, AND EQUITY
Cognitive flexibility may represent one modest and potentially modifiable cognitive process to be examined in future school-based prevention and intervention research. Findings caution against assuming uniform benefits of global support. Schools should combine anti-bullying efforts with skills for flexible thinking and tailor supports to avoid inadvertent harm, ensuring equitable access.
CONCLUSIONS
Cognitive flexibility partially mediated victimization's effect on loneliness. Unexpectedly, high social support amplified adverse effects, underscoring nuanced, context-sensitive school strategies.
Pengwei Liang, Yi-Lin Yan, Xue Wen et al.· Journal of School Health· 0 citations
Emotional pressures experienced by fatherless adolescents such as low self-confidence and loneliness highlight the importance of environmental support in helping them continue to develop positively. In this context, social support serves as a key factor that strengthens an individual's ability to cope and enhances their self-perception. This study aims to examine the influence of social support on self-esteem, with resilience as a mediating variable among fatherless adolescents in Semarang City. The subjects were adolescents aged 15–17 years who were experiencing fatherless conditions, selected using purposive sampling. This research employed a quantitative approach with a cross-sectional design, collecting data through psychological scales and analyzing it using path analysis. The results showed that social support has a positive and significant effect on both resilience and self-esteem (p < 0.05), and resilience was found to mediate the relationship between social support and self-esteem. Furthermore, the coefficient of determination indicated that social support and resilience together contribute approximately 31% to self-esteem. In other words, the higher the social support received, the stronger the resilience developed, which in turn leads to improved self-esteem among fatherless adolescents.Tekanan emosional seperti rasa tidak aman dan kesepian yang dialami oleh remaja tanpa kehadiran ayah menunjukkan betapa pentingnya peran lingkungan dalam mendorong perkembangan positif mereka. Dalam hal ini, dukungan sosial menjadi salah satu faktor penting yang dapat memperkuat resiliensi sekaligus membentuk penilaian diri yang lebih positif. Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk menguji pengaruh dukungan sosial terhadap harga diri dengan resiliensi sebagai variabel mediator pada remaja tanpa kehadiran ayah di Kota Semarang. Penelitian melibatkan remaja berusia 15–17 tahun yang dipilih menggunakan teknik purposive sampling. Dengan menggunakan pendekatan kuantitatif dan desain cross-sectional, data dikumpulkan melalui skala psikologis dan dianalisis menggunakan analisis jalur (path analysis). Hasil penelitian menunjukkan bahwa dukungan sosial berpengaruh positif dan signifikan terhadap resiliensi dan harga diri (p < 0,05), serta resiliensi terbukti memediasi hubungan antara keduanya. Nilai koefisien determinasi menunjukkan bahwa dukungan sosial dan resiliensi memberikan kontribusi terhadap harga diri sebesar ±31%. Dengan kata lain, semakin tinggi dukungan sosial yang diterima, semakin kuat resiliensi yang terbentuk, yang pada akhirnya berdampak pada peningkatan harga diri pada remaja tanpa kehadiran ayah.
This study explores the links between school climate, self-compassion, and social adaptation among Chinese secondary vocational students, focusing on self-compassion’s mediating role. A three-month longitudinal study (
N
= 333; 33.3% male) with one-month intervals revealed downward mean slopes for school climate and social adaptation. Moreover, a significant negative correlation was observed between the initial level of self-compassion and its slope, indicating that students with higher initial self-compassion exhibited more stable trajectories. Both the intercept and slope of school climate positively predicted those of social adaptation. Additionally, initial baseline level of self-compassion mediated the relationship between school climate and social adaptation, whereas the mediation effect involving rates of change was non-significant. This suggests the importance of the initial level of environmental and personal resources rather than their short-term fluctuations. These results suggest interventions to improve school climate and foster self-compassion for better social and emotional development among secondary vocational students.
This study examined whether self-esteem mediates the association between perceived social support and youth mental health difficulties in a heterogeneous sample of school-recruited youths and clinically referred inpatient and outpatient youths.
The study included 312 children and adolescents (mean age = 14.36 years, SD = 2.19, range = 9–19; 37.5% boys, 62.5% girls). The primary analysis was a covariate-adjusted mediation model in the full sample, with perceived social support (MSPSS) as the predictor, self-esteem (RSE) as the mediator, and Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) Total Difficulties as the outcome. Hierarchical clustering based on SDQ, RSE, and MSPSS item profiles was conducted as a secondary, exploratory analysis.
Higher perceived social support was associated with higher self-esteem (B = 0.26, 95% CI [0.20, 0.31], bootstrapped
p
< 0.001), and higher self-esteem was associated with fewer mental health difficulties (B = −0.43, 95% CI [−0.50, −0.35], bootstrapped
p
< 0.001) in the covariate-adjusted full-sample model. The indirect effect via self-esteem was statistically detectable (B = −0.11, 95% CI [−0.14, −0.08], bootstrapped
p
< 0.001), indicating partial mediation. Exploratory cluster-specific analyses indicated that the indirect effect was significant in the lower-difficulties/higher-resources cluster (B = −0.05, 95% CI [−0.09, −0.02], bootstrapped
p
= 0.003), but not in the higher-difficulties/lower-resources cluster (B = −0.01, 95% CI [−0.04, 0.00], bootstrapped
p
= 0.077).
Self-esteem appears to represent one pathway linking perceived social support to fewer mental health difficulties in youth. Cluster-specific findings should be interpreted as exploratory and suggest that the strength of this pathway may vary across psychosocial profiles.
Tamás Földi, Eszter Wittmann, Olney Rodrigues de Oliveira et al.· Child and Adolescent Psychia...· 0 citations