Digital traces of activity on social network sites represent a vast source of ecological data with potential connections with individual behavioral and psychological characteristics. The present study investigates the relationship between user-generated textual content shared on Facebook and emotional well-being. Self-report measures of depression, anxiety and stress were collected from 201 adult Facebook users from North Italy. Emotion-related textual indicators, including emoticon use, were extracted form users’ Facebook posts via automated text analysis. Correlation analyses revealed that individuals with higher levels of depression, anxiety expressed negative emotions on Facebook more frequently. In addition, use of emoticons expressing positive emotions correlated negatively with stress level. When comparing age groups, younger users reported higher frequency of both emotion-related words and emoticon use in their posts. Also, the relationship between online emotional expression and self-report emotional well-being was generally stronger in the younger group. Overall, findings support the feasibility and validity of studying individual emotional well-being by means of examination of Facebook profiles. Implications for online screening purposes and future research directions are discussed.
13 September 2020 in British Journal of Educational Psychology
This study investigated the links between students' behavioral problems, student–teacher conflict, and students' involvement in bully, victim, and bully/victim roles in adolescence. The role of student–teacher conflict as moderator of the association between students' behavioral problems and their involvement in each bullying role was examined. Sample included 430 students from Italy (48.4% female; mean age 12.2 years; grades 6–8). Multinomial logistic regression analyses indicated that conduct problems positively predicted engagement in each bullying role, while peer-relationship problems predicted involvement in a victim role. Additionally, students experiencing higher student–teacher conflict were more likely of being victims and bully/victims, but not bullies. Finally, student–teacher conflict emerged as a moderator of the association between peer-relationship problems and both bully and victim roles, and between hyperactivity/inattention and victim role. These findings highlights the importance of considering students’ characteristics in relation to student–teacher relationship quality when investigating the factors influencing students' involvement in bullying behaviors.