The aim of the present study is to investigate the effect of daily exposure to body-positive and fitspiration Instagram posts on young women’s mood, body satisfaction, and appearance comparison tendency. One hundred and twenty-two young Italian women (M age = 22.29 ± 2.26 years) were randomly assigned to three different conditions of daily exposure on Instagram (i.e., body-positive, fitspiration and neutral content) and followed with an experience sampling method over a period of 28 consecutive days. Comparisons between groups were performed via multilevel regression modelled as a linear growth model. Results showed that daily exposure to body-positive images was associated with the highest rates of growth of positive mood and body satisfaction. Daily exposure to fitspiration images was associated with the highest rates of growth of negative mood and appearance comparison. In conclusion, the body-positive movement may be considered in interventions aimed at improving young women’s body image. Fitspiration content on Instagram should be deemed inappropriate.
30 January 2019 in Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics
Background: Problematic social media use (PSMU) has received growing attention in the last fifteen years. Even though PSMU has been extensively studied, its internal structure is not fully understood. We used network analysis to evaluate which symptoms and associations between symptoms are most central to PSMU – as assessed by the Generalized Problematic Internet Use Scale-2 adapted for PSMU – among undergraduates. Method: Network analysis was applied to a large gender-balanced sample of undergraduates (n = 1344 participants; M = 51.9%; mean age = 22.50 ± 2.20 years). Results: The most central nodes in the network were the difficulty of controlling one’s own use of social media, the tendency to think obsessively about going online, the difficulties in resisting the urge to use social media and the preference for communicating with people online rather than face-to-face. This last element was strongly associated with a general preference for online social interactions and the feeling of being more comfortable online. The network was robust to stability and accuracy tests. The mean levels of symptoms and symptom centrality were not associated. Conclusions: Deficient self-regulation and preference for online communication were the most central symptoms of PSMU, suggesting that these symptoms should be prioritized in theoretical models of PSMU and could also serve as important treatment targets for PSMU interventions.
In recent years, the decent work agenda has called upon vocational psychologists to advance psychological research and intervention to promote work as a human right. Furthermore, the COVID-19 pandemic is having disproportionate consequences on vulnerable workers, such as unemployment and underemployment, highlighting the need to enhance access to decent work for these workers. As a response, the present perspective article advances job crafting as a promising way to shape decent work for marginalized workers. To this end, the article deals with decent work and job crafting, starting with the definition of decent work according to the psychology of working theory (PWT) and examining the evolution of the construct of job crafting. Subsequently, the literature on job crafting is discussed, focusing on variables related to the PWT model of decent work and their effect on vulnerable workers. Finally, possibilities for further research and intervention aimed at promoting decent work through job crafting are discussed.
To cope with the challenges of 21st-century careers, the research on psychology of sustainability and sustainable development complements the psychology of work perspective with an emphasis on factors that foster the workers’ well-being, decent work, and decent lives in healthy organizations. In this framework, individual eudaimonic well-being (EWB) is among the most relevant factors that may enhance decent and sustainable life projects and careers. Human capital sustainability leadership (HCSL) constitutes a resource for positive relatedness in organizations being linked to EWB. Innovative behaviors (IBs) are crucial for the sustainable development of organizations. This study investigated the relationships between IBs and EWB, testing the mediating role of HCSL in 353 Italian workers, controlling for participants’ age and gender. HCSL fully mediated these relationships and emerged as a promising resource in linking IBs and EWB, supporting workers to achieve sustainable careers, decent work, and decent and healthy lives.