In the context of research on depression, previous studies have explained relationships between excessive-reassurance seeking and mental health from the perspective of interpersonal rejection by significant others. The present study examined the mechanisms underlying these relationships from the perspective of “emotionships”, which indicates the diversity of interpersonal networks for emotion regulation. We also examined how the most significant other’s interpersonal acceptance plays a role in processes that underlie the relationship between excessive-reassurance seeking and mental health as mediated through emotionships. 118 students completed three questionnaires. First, they completed measures of excessive-reassurance seeking, depression and well-being. Second, to assess emotionships, participants nominated individuals they seek in different emotion regulation scenarios. Third, participants selected the most significant other that they nominated previously and answered questions about this individual’s acceptance tendency. Moderated mediation analysis results indicated that in a case that the most significant other did not tend to accept others, those who engaged in excessive-reassurance seeking had fewer emotionships, and fewer emotionships predicted deterioration of well-being. In contrast, when the most significant other tended to accept others, these negative effects of ERS behavior on well-being via emotionships were not found. These findings suggest that maintaining interpersonal networks for emotion regulation and the most significant other’s interpersonal acceptance may be important for preventing deterioration of mental health among excessive-reassurance seekers.

Background: Although there is increasing knowledge about adjustment disorder (AjD) based on the new diagnostic criteria of the International Classification of Diseases (ICD-11), less is known on AjD in adolescents. This study aimed to examine the prevalence of AjD and its risk factors in Japanese and Lithuanian adolescents. Methods: The cross-sectional study sample comprised 1745 adolescents from Japan (n = 913) and Lithuania (n = 832). AjD was assessed using the Adjustment Disorder New Module-8 (ADNM-8). We compared the prevalence of AjD in Japanese and Lithuanian adolescents. Using multinominal logistic regression analysis, we examined the effects of age, gender, socioeconomic status, and cumulative stressors as societal and cultural factors, resilience as an intrapersonal factor, and loneliness and perceived support as interpersonal factors on adolescent AjD. Results: The prevalence of probable AjD was 11.7% in Lithuanian adolescents and 6.9% in Japanese adolescents. Gender, socioeconomic status, cumulative stressors, resilience, loneliness, and perceived positive social support were each significantly associated with AjD risk. Conclusions: This cross-cultural comparative study revealed characteristics of the stressors and prevalence of AjD among Japanese and Lithuanian adolescents. In terms of the socio-interpersonal framework model for the stress–response syndrome, sociocultural, intrapersonal, and interpersonal factors were found to be risk factors associated with AjD in adolescents.

Objectives: Stress management for human service professionals remains an international issue. Methods: We conducted a primary prevention program using Dohsa-hou designed to provide early-career nurses with an understanding of stress and physical relaxation skills that can be utilized to reduce negative and increase positive mood states. Results: A total of 56 nurses working at a general hospital in Japan participated in the program. As a result, negative mood states were significantly reduced at post-test from the intervention. Also, vigor as a positive mood state showed a marginal increase compared to pre-test. These findings were largely consistent with a previous study implementing Dohsa-hou movement tasks in a stress management program. Conclusions: Although there were some limitations, this study suggested that the stress management program using Dohsa-hou may be a useful approach for preventing burnout by promoting mood state regulation for nurses.

We investigated positive aspects of excessive reassurance‐seeking in interpersonal relationships. Previous studies have emphasized that excessive reassurance‐seeking leads to interpersonal rejection by significant others. However, Fowler & Gasiorek (2017) suggested that excessive reassurance‐seekers tend to make efforts to maintain relationships with their romantic partners, and that these efforts affect their own satisfaction with the relationships. We investigated whether the findings of Fowler and Gasiorek in students could be replicated in general heterosexual couples (N = 437 couples). Data were analyzed using the modified actor–partner interdependence model. Results indicated that excessive reassurance‐seeking had no actor or partner effects on the efforts to maintain the relationships, which predicted relational satisfaction. However, the actor and partner effects of excessive reassurance‐seeking on relational satisfaction through the efforts to maintain the relationships differed according to the relational duration. These findings, despite certain inconsistencies with Fowler and Gasiorek, suggest that excessive reassurance‐seeking might have positive effects on relationships.

Emerging adulthood is the time when identity questions are addressed. It is also a time of excessive stress and risk for mental health problems. Different identity statuses relate to different mental health outcomes. Yet, little research has addressed how identity status is interlinked with trauma exposure and post-traumatic stress reactions, especially in multicultural contexts. The current study aimed to explore whether different traumatic experiences are related to the current identity status of university students aged between 18 and 29 years and investigate to what extent trauma-exposed emerging adults of different identity statuses report symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and complex PTSD (CPTSD). In total, 2237 university students from Lithuania (n = 791) and Japan (n = 1345) participated in the current study. Identity profiles were revealed by using the Latent Class Analysis approach. Lithuania and Japan were comparable in terms of identity profiles and structure of PTSD/CPTSD. Trauma-exposed emerging adults reported a higher probability of being in troubled diffusion identity status; students in achievement identity status had a lower probability of CPTSD and lower rates of symptoms of disturbances in self-organization. The diffused identity of emerging adults from Lithuania and Japan is associated with trauma exposure, and positive identity is linked with fewer CPTSD reactions.