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The present study explores gender differences in adolescence with regard to meaning in life and self-control skills and in relation to positive and negative affect. Participants were 500 adolescents between the ages of 13 and 16 years. Outcomes revealed that females reported higher negative affect and self-control skills in comparison with males. Moreover, the association between self-control skills and negative affect was stronger among females than among males. In contrast to our assumptions, positive affect was not found to be higher among females although females scored higher in meaning in life than their male counterparts. In addition, self-control skills mediated the association between meaning in life and negative affect, and gender moderated the association between self-control skills and negative affect only among females. Considering these findings, gender seems to be vital in explaining differences in the use of self-control skills and meaning in life and their links to positive and negative affect.

AbstractSibling bereavement due to military casualties can produce psychological distress but can also elicit personal growth. This research explored the association between psychological distress and post-traumatic growth (PTG) among military-bereaved siblings via a moderated mediation model. Israeli military-bereaved siblings were recruited through a nonprofit organization devoted to bereaved siblings of military casualties. Participants (N = 155) completed questionnaires of posttraumatic growth, distress, commemoration, social support. Results supported the moderated mediation study model. Specifically, higher psychological distress was associated with lower social support, which was subsequently associated with lower self-disclosure, for the entire sample. This association was strongest for bereaved siblings with high relief-related commemoration, which was then associated with lower PTG. Pursuant to our findings, mental health professionals need to guide bereaved siblings toward involvement in commemoration activities that bring them relief, thus further enabling social support that facilitates personal disclosure and, subsequently, PTG. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Cervical cancer affects survivors' overall coping. Yet, specifically emotional and behavioral expression patterns among cervical cancer survivors have barely been examined. In addition, no study has focused on survivors' experiences of sequences related to coping. Understanding these perceptions can help provide a tailored response and improve psycho-social interventions. The aim of this study was to gain a better understanding of the emotional and behavioral motives involved in coping with cervical cancer recovery. Methods: Qualitative interviews were conducted with 15 survivors of cervical cancer (stages I and II), using a semi-structured in-depth questionnaire. The interviews were recorded, transcribed, and analyzed by three researchers using thematic analysis. Results: Six main themes emerged: (i) Reasons and benefits for keeping the disease a secret or sharing it with others; (ii) "When you get used to despair, there's also room for hope": Despair alongside hope; (iii) Self-guilt following the disease, but also knowing how to forgive yourself; (iv) Deep loneliness alongside a significant need for support; (v) Finding the way from passivity to activity; and (vi) When meaning in life is missing, and the importance of meaning when it is present. There was a balance between negative emotions and behaviors (despair, confidentiality, guilt, loneliness, passivity, lack of meaning) and positive emotions and behaviors (hope, openness, forgiveness, significant support, activity, meaning). Significance of the results: The study revealed that in some cases cervical cancer coping during the recovery period moves across sequences. The women's narratives portray past difficulties as the reason for present psychological health, and their experience of a healthy present is intensified by their past difficulties. Implications for practice are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Associations between fear of childbirth (FOC), diagnosis and symptoms of adjustment disorder (AD), and dispositional optimism as a personal resource were compared between women who experienced miscarriage versus stillbirth (N = 204). Severity of AD symptoms was higher among the women following stillbirth Severity of FOC components did not differ between the two groups. No differences were found between the women who experienced miscarriage versus stillbirth in the associations between dispositional optimism and FOC or between dispositional optimism and AD. Healthcare providers should acknowledge that although types of reproductive losses may differ, FOC did not differ following both miscarriage and stillbirth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Feeling vigorous throughout the workday in a medical facility despite exposure to daily job-related stress is essential for productive work-related behavior and for the subjective well-being of health-care professionals. The current study explored the contribution of an intra-personal resource (i.e. coping flexibility) and an inter-personal resource (i.e. social support) to the explained variance of vigor among nurses and physicians. Two hundred two hospital personnel completed self-report questionnaires regarding personal and professional data, vigor, coping flexibility and social support. The results revealed that the intra-personal resource coping flexibility, was positively associated with vigor while the inter-personal resource social support was not found to be associated with vigor. In addition, older age and higher self-rated health positively associated with feeling vigor. The current study shed light on the role of intra-personal resources in feeling vigorous throughout stressful workdays that characterize the workplace of hospital personnel. Tailoring interventions that may enhance coping flexibility among hospital personnel can increase their vigor which in turn may beneficially contribute to their job performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The role of serial mediators of coping flexibility and adjustment disorder (AjD) symptoms in the association of assumptive worldviews and prolonged grief disorder (PGD) symptoms was examined among 214 Israeli terror-bereaved family members. The present findings expanded those of previous studies and revealed: Higher loss of assumptive worldviews predicted lower coping flexibility, which subsequently predicted higher AjD symptoms, which subsequently predicted higher PGD symptoms. Simple mediation of AjD symptoms was found in the link between assumptive worldviews and PGD symptoms. Professionals working with terror-bereaved families should target AjD symptoms and coping flexibility abilities in their assessments and interventions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study focused on the negative affect of informal caregivers of older adults. In a novel investigation, the interplay of aging anxiety, caregiving burden, and resilience as a protective factor was examined, suggesting that aging anxiety and caregiving burden are mediators for the link between resilience and negative affect. In a cross-sectional design, 191 Israeli informal caregivers of older adults (65+) participated in the study. They completed questionnaires that assessed demographic and caregiving characteristics, resilience, aging anxiety, caregiving burden, and negative affect. The findings showed a serial mediation process in which higher resilience predicted lower caregiving burden, which subsequently predicted lower aging anxiety, which subsequently predicted lower negative affect. However, the indirect path from resilience to aging anxiety and negative affect was non-significant. Based on this study's findings, the aging anxiety of informal caregivers of older adults should be professionally addressed in the early stages of caregiving because it contributes to the caregiving burden and negative affect. Additionally, resilience should be enhanced by psycho-social interventions tailored to address informal caregiver challenges that often induce caregiving burden and negative affect. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]