A Latent Profile Analysis of Greek University Students' Sexting Profiles: Associations with Big Five Personality Traits.

The aim of this study was to examine the associations between sexting profiles and five factor model (FFM) personality traits among Greek university students. A sample of 2913 participants predominantly aged between 18 and 25 years (M = 22; SD = 3.54; 69.6% females) completed a self-report online questionnaire that measured sexting behaviors and FFM traits. Latent profile analysis identified five distinct profiles which were labeled uninvolved, consensual sexters, non-consensual sexters, unwanted sexters, and highly involved sexters. The different sexting profiles were associated with distinct patterns of FFM trait scores. Specifically, the uninvolved scored higher on agreeableness, conscientiousness, and openness than those highly involved in sexting, consensual, non-consensual, and unwanted sexters. Furthermore, those who sent unwanted sexts were more likely to be emotionally unstable than the consensual sexters and those not involved. These findings indicate that sexting behaviors may be related to certain personality traits and emphasize the importance of considering individual differences when studying sexting behaviors. The practical implications of the findings are discussed.

Children's vocabulary and friendships: A comparative study between children with and without Specific Learning Disorder and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder.

Language skills are important in the formation and maintenance of friendships. Children with specific learning disorder (SLD) or attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) experience difficulties with their relationships and have language-related problems. This study aims to examine how expressive and receptive vocabulary may relate to friendships of children with and without SLD or ADHD. Participants were 64 children with SLD, 64 children with ADHD, and 64 typically developing (TD) children, aged 8-12 years (Mage  = 9.77 years, SD = 1.22), attending Grades 3 to 6 in inclusive primary schools of Attica, Greece. The Greek versions of the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test and the expressive vocabulary subscale of the WISC-III were administered along with the sociometric nominations of friends and the self-reports of best friendship duration. Results showed that children with SLD and ADHD reported best friendships of shorter duration and had significantly poorer receptive and expressive vocabulary. Children with ADHD had significantly fewer close and best friends than children with SLD, who in turn had significantly fewer close and best friends than the TD children. Children's vocabulary in all three groups was positively correlated with the duration of their best friendships and was found to moderately predict children's close friendships.

Indirect and direct associations between personality and psychological distress mediated by dispositional coping.

The present study examines the association between coping and personality, by testing the hypothesis that dispositional coping mediates the relationship between personality and psychological distress. Canonical correlations evaluated the degree of the association among personality and coping dimensions in a community sample (N = 489) from Cyprus. Results partially support the hypothesized mediation model with Agreeableness predicting distress through the full mediation of avoidant coping, expression of negative feelings and active-positive coping. Partial mediation was found for Neuroticism and Openness. Canonical correlations deciphered how coping relates to the Big Five dimensions. Neuroticism was mostly associated with maladaptive coping, whereas Conscientiousness and Extraversion with adaptive coping.

The Moderating Role of University Students' Humor Styles on the Association between General Mental Health and Subjective Well-Being.

This study investigated the associations among humor styles, general mental health (GMH), and subjective well-being (SWB) in a non-clinical sample of 662 university students (Mage = 21.35, SD = 4.14; 66.3% females) attending Greek public universities, via an online survey. In addition, it investigated possible moderating effects of humor styles in the association between GMH and SWB as well as gender differences. Positive correlations emerged between GMH and SWB, as well as among GMH, SWB, and benign humor styles. Malignant humor styles had a negative correlation with both GMH and SWB. The use of aggressive and self-defeating humor moderated the association between GMH and SWB in that at low levels of these humor styles the link between GMH and SWB was stronger. Finally, males scored higher on self-enhancing and aggressive humor than females. The findings expand previous research and are discussed in terms of their implications.

Understanding Academic Dishonesty in University Settings: The Interplay of Dark Triad Traits and Moral Disengagement.

Understanding the correlates of academic dishonesty is crucial for designing effective preventive interventions, as is the investigation of moderating factors that could affect these interactions. Despite increased interest in the Dark Triad personality traits and their potential link with unethical behavior, there is limited evidence regarding the moderating role of moral disengagement in the relationship. This study aimed to investigate academic dishonesty among Greek university students, its relationship with the Dark Triad, and the moderating role of moral disengagement, using gender as a covariate. Overall, 587 students attending Greek public Universities voluntarily completed an anonymous self-report questionnaire assessing the constructs under investigation. Results showed that male students had higher scores in unauthorized collaboration, plagiarism, Dark Triad, and moral disengagement. Moderation analysis indicated that moral disengagement had an effect in the relationship of psychopathy with unauthorized collaboration, especially among men. Overall, the findings of this study highlight the importance of psychopathy and moral disengagement in the prediction of academic dishonesty and have the potential to make a significant contribution to its prevention, particularly in Greek universities where relative initiatives are lacking.

Prevalence of Sexting among Greek University Students: A Matter of Relationships?

The study examines sexting among 3,171 Greek university students in the context of different relationship types (i.e. romantic partners, friends, strangers). Participants completed an anonymous online survey, assessing sexting during the last year along with demographic and relationship status information. Sexting was a common practice among participants, with the use of mobile phones and the Messenger application to exchange sexts. Sexting was more common among males and non-heterosexuals. Participants aged 25 and above were more likely to exchange sexts with strangers than those aged between 18 and 24. Romantic partners reported exchanging sexts more often than strangers. Hierarchical regression analyses indicated that non-heterosexual males in a long-distance romantic relationship were more likely to participate in sexting, and that non-heterosexual older males who have been single for the last year were more likely to exchange sexual or provocative messages with strangers. Findings are discussed in terms of their implications.

Temporal stability of relational aggression profiles in adolescents.

The current study explored the temporal stability in relational aggressor's profiles over a 6-month period. Data were gathered at two time points from a sample of 2207 Greek junior high school students (52.8% females) aged between 13 and 16 (M = 14.04, SD = 0.81) years. This study also considered the role of callous-unemotional traits and hostile attribution bias in predicting profile membership. Results of latent profile and latent transition analyses revealed three distinct relational aggression profiles (i.e., low relational aggression, moderate relational aggression/high reactive indirect relational aggression, and high relational aggression). The examination of the short-term longitudinal stability of these profiles over a period of 6 months showed that their basic structure remained stable at both the within-sample and within-person level across measurement points. In addition, this study showed that callous-unemotional traits and hostile attribution bias affect adolescents' possibility of membership in all three profiles. Adolescents scoring high on callous-unemotional traits and hostile attribution bias were more likely to be associated with the more aggressive profiles, namely with the high relational aggression, and to a lesser extent, with the moderate relational aggression profile. Overall, this study demonstrated that the basic structure of relational aggression profiles remained stable across a short-term time period and provides numerous crucial practical implications including social-cognitive reframing interventions, as well as enhancement of social skills and empathic reactions.

The effects of perceived psychological, educational, and financial impact of COVID-19 pandemic on Greek university students' satisfaction with life through Mental Health.

BACKGROUND: The purpose of this study was to provide an operating mechanism for understanding the effects of COVID-19's on satisfaction with life, subject to students' general mental health METHODS: A sample of 1653 Greek speaking university students (72.4% females, 65.3% undergraduate, M age=26.1) completed an online survey including measures for perceived psychological, academic, and financial impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, general mental health and satisfaction with life. RESULTS: A mediation model was tested to illuminate these relationships by considering students' general mental health as a mediator. Findings demonstrated that there were significant direct effects of perceived COVID-19 impact on participants' financial status on satisfaction with life and indirect effects of perceived COVID-19 impact on participants' financial status and academic performance respectively on satisfaction with life through general mental health. LIMITATIONS: The study's cross-sectional design, self-report data and snowball sampling. CONCLUSIONS: The findings add to our understanding of the relationship between perceived COVID-19 impact and life satisfaction among university students, and they shed light on the critical role of general mental health in mediating the relationship. Targeting the factors that influence general mental health can help to mitigate potential problems while also finding ways to improve mental health and well-being.

Individual and contextual parameters associated with adolescents' domain specific self-perceptions.

The present study examined the role of adolescents' self-esteem and perceptions of family and classroom contexts on their domain specific self-perceptions. 345 Greek junior high school adolescents aged 14-16 completed measures of domain specific self-perceptions, self-esteem, parenting styles and classroom climate. Hierarchical regression analyses revealed that both family and classroom contexts predicted students' self-perceptions, after students' demographics, academic achievement and self-esteem were controlled for. However, different patterns emerged in the relationship between family, classroom climate and self-esteem depending on domain specific self-perceptions. Academic self-perceptions (scholastic, mathematics and language competences) were predicted by classroom climate dimensions (order and organization, student involvement, rule clarity), whereas self-perceptions regarding relations with parents, close friends and behaviour conduct, were predicted by parenting styles. Given the fact that adolescence is a period of fluctuation in self-understanding which renders self-perceptions particularly malleable, the results support the critical role of the social environments where adolescents operate.

The mediating role of friendship jealousy and anxiety in the association between parental attachment and adolescents' relational aggression: A short-term longitudinal cross-lagged analysis.

BACKGROUND: Limited research has confirmed the effects of adolescents' interactions with parents on adolescents' engagement in relational aggression. Youth reporting insecure attachment with parents are more likely to be involved in Relational aggression, while the positive association of Relational aggression with emotions such as friendship jealousy and anxiety are well-documented. However, little is known about the longitudinal association between parental attachment and Relational aggression. OBJECTIVE: The current study expands upon previous research by investigating the short-term longitudinal associations between father and mother attachment (i.e., dependency, availability) and relational aggression, with friendship jealousy and anxiety as potential mediators of this association based on the theoretical framework of General Aggression Model. PARTICIPANTS: The sample consisted of 2207 Greek adolescents (52.8 % girls) attending the three junior high school grades. METHODS: Participants completed a self-report questionnaire at two different time points with a six-month interval during the school year. RESULTS: Results showed that that higher T1 father dependency (ß = 0.14) and availability (ß = 0.11), and lower mother dependency (ß = -0.12) and availability (ß = -0.11) were associated with higher relational aggression at T2. Further, the effects of T1 father availability (ß = - 0.02), mother availability (ß = -0.04), mother dependency (ß = -0.03) to T2 relational aggression through friendship jealousy were significant. Finally, the effects of T1 father availability (ß = -0.03), father dependency (ß = -0.02), mother availability (ß = -0.03), mother dependency (ß = -0.02) to T2 relational aggression via anxiety were also significant. CONCLUSIONS: These findings provide an understanding of the relational aggression during adolescence by emphasizing the role of both social parameters and affective characteristics of the perpetrators.

Job stressors, personality and burnout in primary school teachers.

BACKGROUND: Teaching is considered a highly stressful occupation. Burnout is a negative affective response occurring as a result of chronic work stress. While the early theories of burnout focused exclusively on work-related stressors, recent research adopts a more integrative approach where both environmental and individual factors are studied. Nevertheless, such studies are scarce with teacher samples. AIMS: The present cross-sectional study sought to investigate the association between burnout, personality characteristics and job stressors in primary school teachers from Cyprus. The study also investigates the relative contribution of these variables on the three facets of burnout - emotional exhaustion, depersonalization and reduced personal accomplishment. SAMPLE: A representative sample of 447 primary school teachers participated in the study. METHOD: Teachers completed measures of burnout, personality and job stressors along with demographic and professional data. Surveys were delivered by courier to schools, and were distributed at faculty meetings. RESULTS: Results showed that both personality and work-related stressors were associated with burnout dimensions. Neuroticism was a common predictor of all dimensions of burnout although in personal accomplishment had a different direction. Managing student misbehaviour and time constraints were found to systematically predict dimensions of burnout. CONCLUSIONS: Teachers' individual characteristics as well as job related stressors should be taken into consideration when studying the burnout phenomenon. The fact that each dimension of the syndrome is predicted by different variables should not remain unnoticed especially when designing and implementing intervention programmes to reduce burnout in teachers.

Dimensionality of coping: an empirical contribution to the construct validation of the brief-COPE with a Greek-speaking sample.

The construct of coping has received increasing attention over the past years in relation to psychological and physical health, yet its dimensional and conceptual understanding is not consistent across theoretical models. The present study investigates the dimensionality of coping in a sample of 1127 Greek-speaking adults using the Brief-COPE. Both exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses revealed a structure comprised of eight factors, four of which were broader, and included active/positive, avoidant, support seeking and negative emotional approaches. Results indicated adequate psychometric characteristics for the Greek translation of the Brief-COPE for this population. Associations between coping strategies with gender, education, and psychological symptomatology are also discussed.

The role of the teacher in identifying learning disabilities: a study using the McCarney Learning Disability Evaluation Scale (LDES).

The purpose of the study was to examine whether the Greek translation of the Learning Disability Evaluation Scale (LDES) can be used in the identification of learning disabilities. The LDES was completed by 165 teachers for one of their students, aged 5 to 14 years. The LDES was significantly correlated to students' grades in Math and Greek Language and to the Reading Ability Test. Scores on LDES from the above randomly selected sample were significantly different from scores on LDES for another sample of 47 students, who were manifesting learning disabilities, indicating that the LDES can distinguish between the two samples. The exploratory factor analysis revealed that the LDES maintains the original factor structure and the reliability values supported its internal consistency. Results and limitations are discussed.