In recent years, considerable research effort has been directed at the identification of relationships between psychological variables and Facebook usage indicators. However, the identification of ...homogeneous subgroups of individuals based on similar Facebook usage characteristics still presents a challenge. This study aims: (1) to empirically determine homogeneous groups of Facebook users based on variables regarding their personal experience on Facebook, by using a Latent Class Analysis; and (2) to examine the association between an individual's personality and interpersonal characteristics and the empirically-derived profiles of Facebook usage. Eight hundred and eleven Facebook users (aged from 17 to 61 years) provided data on personality traits, self-esteem, interpersonal difficulties, attachment styles, preference for online social interaction and information on general Facebook use. We found that a three-class model (Mild-users, Committed to Facebook, and Online Socially-Oriented groups) fitted well with our data. Individuals in the Online Socially-Oriented group reported greater openness to experience as well as a greater preference for online social interaction, whereas the individuals in the Committed to Facebook group showed high self-esteem, extraversion and need for approval, as well as low emotional stability. The results of this study provided a more comprehensive picture of individual characteristics associated with the different profiles of Facebook usage.
•The association between Facebook use and individual characteristics is unclear.•Three different subtypes of Facebook users were identified.•The Committed to Facebook showed high extraversion but low emotional stability.•The Online Socially-Oriented reported high openness and online interaction.•The Mild-users showed lower extraversion and self-esteem.
Fear-of-missing-out (FOMO) refers to feelings of anxiety that arise from the realization that you may be missing out on rewarding experiences that others are having. FOMO can be identified as an ...intra-personal trait that drives people to stay up to date of what other people are doing, among others on social media platforms. Drawing from the findings of a large-scale survey study among 2663 Flemish teenagers, this study explores the relationships between FOMO, social media use, problematic social media use (PSMU) and phubbing behavior. In line with our expectations, FOMO was a positive predictor of both how frequently teenagers use several social media platforms and of how many platforms they actively use. FOMO was a stronger predictor of the use of social media platforms that are more private (e.g., Facebook, Snapchat) than platforms that are more public in nature (e.g., Twitter, Youtube). FOMO predicted phubbing behavior both directly and indirectly via its relationship with PSMU. These findings support extant research that points towards FOMO as a factor explaining teenagers' social media use.
Objective
This systematic review and meta‐analysis aimed to examine: the pooled prevalence of symptomatic behaviours and mental health deterioration amongst individuals with eating disorders (EDs) ...and obesity during the COVID‐19 confinement. Moreover, we examined changes in EDs and distress before and during the confinement, and the association between psychosocial factors and EDs symptoms.
Method
A systematic search was carried out in biomedical databases from January 2020 to January 2021. Both cross‐sectional and longitudinal studies that used quantitative measures of ED symptoms and psychological distress during and after the COVID‐19 confinement were included.
Results
A total of 26 studies met inclusion criteria (n = 3399, 85.7% female). The pooled prevalence of symptomatic deterioration in EDs was 65% (95% CI48,81, k = 10). The pooled prevalence of increased weight in obesity was 52% (95% CI25,78, k = 4). More than half of the participants experienced depression and anxiety. Moreover, at least 75% of the individuals with EDs reported shape and eating concerns, and increased thinking about exercising. However, the pooled analyses of longitudinal studies showed no significant differences from pre‐pandemic levels to the first lockdown phase in Body Mass Index and ED symptoms, whereas only few studies suggested increased distress, particularly among individuals with anorexia nervosa.
Conclusions
The majority of individuals with EDs and obesity reported symptomatic worsening during the lockdown. However, further longitudinal studies are needed to identify vulnerable groups, as well as the long‐term consequences of COVID‐19.
Key points
Sixty‐five percent of the individuals with Eating Disorders experienced symptom deterioration during the COVID‐19 confinement
Fifty‐two percent of the individuals with obesity reported weight increase
More than half of the participants experienced depression and anxiety
However, the few studies that examined changes in symptoms before and during the confinement showed inconsistent findings
High‐quality longitudinal studies are needed to identify vulnerable groups, as well as the long‐term impact of COVID‐19
Introduction
Restrained, emotional and intuitive eating were examined in relation to each other and as correlates of participants’ weight status, body image and self‐esteem. In some past research, ...restrained and emotional eating have been associated with higher weight status and poorer mental health, while intuitive eating is more frequently linked to lower weight status and more positive well‐being. However, these eating styles have rarely been examined together and never in a large cross‐country sample.
Method
Six‐thousand two‐hundred and seventy‐two (6272) emerging adults (M age = 21.54 years, SD = 3.13) completed scales from the Three‐Factor Eating Questionnaire, the Eating Disorders Examination Questionnaire, the Intuitive Eating Scale‐2, the Multidimensional Body Self Relations Questionnaire, the Rosenberg Self‐Esteem Scale, and provided weight and height information that was used to calculate body mass index (BMI). Participants resided in Australia, Belgium, Canada, China, Italy, Japan, Spain and the United States and provided information using an online survey.
Results
Path analyses for the entire sample revealed significant pathways between higher intuitive eating and higher body satisfaction and self‐esteem, and lower BMIs among participants. Higher levels of restrained and emotional eating were associated with lower body satisfaction and self‐esteem, and higher BMIs among participants. Minor cross‐country differences were evident in these patterns of relations, but intuitive eating emerged as a consistent predictor across countries.
Conclusion
Overall, findings suggest that efforts should be made to increase intuitive eating among emerging adults and to support individual and macrolevel interventions to decrease restrained and emotional eating behaviours.
Although recent research has provided empirical support for the codevelopment of group interaction (defined as development in a common direction of perceptions of group relationships), no studies ...have yet investigated the "causes" of codevelopment among group members in the long term. The aim of the current study is to examine how the perceptions of an individual group member, and other group members, regarding group relationships influence each other over the course of treatment. We analyzed group data from 168 adult obese patients who participated in (1 of 20) 12-session therapy groups for weight management. Group relationships were measured by the Group Questionnaire (Krogel et al., 2013), which was administered to group members in early, middle and late group sessions. The longitudinal version of the group actor-partner interdependence model was used to analyze the influence among members. Results showed that there is no mutual influence in the codevelopment of both positive bonding and negative relationship. However, positive bonding of other group members in the middle of the group influenced positive bonding of the individual group member in the late group session. Moreover, individual group member negative relationships in early and middle sessions influenced other group member negative relationships in middle and late sessions. Finally, there was evidence of mutual influence in the codevelopment of positive working early in the group. The findings show that the process of influence among members is complex with regard to the specific dimension of the group relationship assessed and the time spent in group treatment.
Public Significance Statement
This study suggests that there is a mutual influence between the perceptions of the individual group member and the rest of the group regarding group therapy relationships. Additionally, it highlights how an individual group member and other group members codevelop a similar perception of the group relationship. However, the specific type of influence was related to the stage of group development and the specific dimension of group relationships examined.
All versions of the Inventory of Interpersonal Problems (IIP) are broadly used to measure people's interpersonal functioning. The aims of the current study are: (a) to examine the psychometric ...properties and factor structure of the Italian version of the Inventory of Interpersonal Problems-short version (IIP-32); and (b) to evaluate its associations with core symptoms of different eating disorders. One thousand two hundred and twenty three participants (
= 623 non-clinical and
= 600 clinical participants with eating disorders and obesity) filled out the Inventory of Interpersonal Problems-short version (IIP-32) along with measures of self-esteem (Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale, RSES), psychological functioning (Outcome Questionnaire, OQ-45), and eating disorders (Eating Disorder Inventory, EDI-3). The present study examined the eight-factor structure of the IIP-32 with Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) and Exploratory Structural Equation Modeling (ESEM). ESEM was also used to test the measurement invariance of the IIP-32 across clinical and non-clinical groups. It was found that CFA had unsatisfactory model fit, whereas the corresponding ESEM solution provided a better fit to the observed data. However, six target factor loadings tend to be modest, and ten items showed cross-loadings higher than 0.30. The configural and metric invariance as well as the scalar and partial strict invariance of the IIP-32 were supported across clinical and non-clinical groups. The internal consistency of the IIP-32 was acceptable and the construct validity was confirmed by significant correlations between IIP-32, RSES, and OQ-45. Furthermore, overall interpersonal difficulties were consistently associated with core eating disorder symptoms, whereas interpersonal styles that reflect the inability to form close relationships, social awkwardness, the inability to be assertive, and a tendency to self-sacrificing were positively associated with general psychological maladjustment. Although further validation of the Italian version of the IIP-32 is needed to support these findings, the results on its cross-cultural validity are promising.
The COVID-19 pandemic situation with the lockdown of public life caused serious changes in people's everyday practices. The study evaluates the differences between Slovenia and Italy in ...health-related everyday practices induced by the restrictive measures during first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The cross-sectional cohort study examined changes through an online survey conducted in nine European countries from April 15-28, 2020. The survey included questions from a simple activity inventory questionnaire (SIMPAQ), the European Health Interview Survey, and some other questions. To compare difference in changes between European countries we examined Italy with severe and its neighbour country Slovenia with low incidence and victims of COVID-19 epidemic. 956 valid responses from Italy (N = 511; 50% males) and Slovenia (N = 445; 26% males) were investigated.
During the survey, there was a 4.7-fold higher incidence and 12.1-fold more deaths (per 100,000) in Italy than in Slovenia. Barring periods and measures were similar, the latter more stringent in Italy. We found more changes in Italy than in Slovenia: physical inactivity increased (Italy: + 65% vs. Slovenia: + 21%; p < 0.001), walking time decreased (Italy: -68% vs. Slovenia: -4.4%; p < 0.001); physical work increased by 38% in Slovenia (p < 0.001), and recreation time decreased by 37% in Italy (p < 0.001). Italians reported a decrease in quality of general health, fitness level, psychological well-being, quality of life and care for own health (p < 0.001); Slovenians showed a decline in psychological well-being and quality of life (p < 0.001) but generally had a higher concern for their own health (p = 0.005). In pooled participants, changes in eating habits (meal size and consumption of unhealthy food), age and physical inactivity were positively correlated with increases in body mass, while changes in general well-being and concern for health were negatively correlated.
The study shows that the negative impact of COVID -19 measures is greater in Italy where the pandemic COVID -19 was more prevalent than in Slovenia with low prevalence. Additional consideration should be given to the negative impact of COVID-19 measures on some health-related lifestyle variables when implementing further measures to mitigate the COVID-19 pandemic.
•3931 individuals were assessed repeatedly during the pandemic (2020–2021).•Parallel-process latent class growth analysis identified distinct trajectories for depression, anxiety and stress.•Some ...vulnerable groups reported mild to moderate mental distress.•Expressive suppression and intolerance to uncertainty may be risk factors.•Cognitive reappraisal may be resilience factor.
Previous research suggested that during the COVID-19 pandemic, mental distress did not affect all people equally. This longitudinal study aims to examine joint trajectories of depressive, anxiety, and stress symptoms in a sample of Italian adults during the pandemic, and to identify psychosocial predictors of distress states. We analyzed four-wave panel data from 3,931 adults who had received assessments of depressive, anxiety and stress symptoms between April 2020 and May 2021. Trajectories of individual psychological distress were identified by Latent Class Growth Analysis (LCGA) with parallel processes, and multinomial regression models were conducted to identify baseline predictors. Parallel process LCGA identified three joint trajectory classes for depression, anxiety and stress symptoms. Most individuals (54%) showed a resilient trajectory. However, two subgroups showed vulnerable joint trajectories for depression, anxiety and stress. Expressive suppression, intolerance to uncertainty, and fear of COVID-19 were risk characteristics associated with vulnerable trajectories for mental health distress. Moreover, vulnerability to mental health distress was higher in females, younger age groups and those unemployed during the first lockdown. Findings support the fact that group heterogeneity could be detected in the trajectories of mental health distress during the pandemic and it may help to identify subgroups at risk of worsening states.
Background. A growing body of research has highlighted the negative effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on women’s mental health. Previous studies showed that women have higher levels of depression, ...anxiety and PTSD, and worse psychological adjustment than men, which also persisted after the earlier phase of the pandemic. This study aimed to evaluate changes in women’s psychological distress during the pandemic and to evaluate the factors that have a more significant impact in predicting women’s psychological distress. Methods. This two-wave longitudinal study (T1 = Italian first lockdown, and T2 = second phase, when the restrictive measures were eased) involved 893 women (Mage = 36.45, SD = 14.48). Participants provided demographic and health data as well as measures of psychological distress, emotion regulation processes, and ability to tolerate uncertainty. Results. No significant changes were found in women’s psychological distress between T1 and T2, i.e., during and after the first lockdown. Lower social stability status and higher maladaptive emotional coping predicted high psychological distress. Conclusions. Results showed that modifiable psychological variables play a central role in predicting distress and indicated that emotion regulation interventions might be helpful in increasing psychological resilience and mitigating the adverse impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic within the female population.
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