Work-family conflicts and pain interference among midlife adults: a longitudinal serial mediation via family strain and loneliness.

OBJECTIVE: Work-family conflict has been shown to adversely affect individuals' health and function, particularly among individuals with chronic pain. The current study's longitudinal serial mediation model examined whether work-to-family conflict predicted greater pain interference through higher levels of family strain and loneliness among midlife adults with chronic pain. METHODS AND MEASURES: The study consisted of 303 participants from two waves of the national longitudinal study of Midlife in the United States (MIDUS) at wave II from 2004 to 2006 (Mage = 57, SD = 11) and wave 3 from 2013 to 2014 (Mage = 66, SD = 11). Participants were employed at time 1 and had chronic pain at both time points, and 54.5% of participants identified as female. RESULTS: Family strain at time 1 (T1) and loneliness at time 2 (T2), respectively, significantly mediated the association of work-to-family conflict (T1) on pain interference at T2. Participants with greater work-to-family conflict perceived more family strain, felt lonelier, and, in turn, reported experiencing higher interference from chronic pain. CONCLUSION: Results suggest that unmanaged work-to-family conflict could be a risk factor that exacerbates chronic pain symptoms through worsening family relationships and loneliness among midlife adults with chronic pain.

Perfectionism, Prolonged Stress Reactivity, and Depression: A Two-Wave Cross-Lagged Analysis.

Perfectionism is a vulnerability factor for a wide array of psychopathology. Despite much evidence suggesting dysregulated stress response as an intermediary process that links perfectionism to psychopathology, the lack of a cross-lagged examination deterred researchers from making causal interpretations. This study examined the directionality of effects among perfectionism dimensions, stress reactivity, and depression. A total of 189 participants at time 1 and 94 at time 2 completed an online survey that consisted of measures of perfectionism, stress reactivity, and depression, one month apart. Cross-lagged analysis results showed that personal standards perfectionism predicted later prolonged stress reactivity but not depression at time 2. Self-critical perfectionism predicted later depression but not prolonged stress reactivity at time 2. Rather, prolonged stress reactivity at time 1 predicted self-critical perfectionism at time 2. Findings suggest that perfectionism dimensions are distinct in creating a dysregulated stress process. Future studies could incorporate other stress-related variables (e.g., coping) to further explicate the stress-generation process, in conjunction with stress reactivity.

Minority stress and academic outcomes among ethnic minority college students: Anxiety as a mediating mechanism.

Objective: The present study examines the relationship between minority stress and academic outcomes for ethnic minority college students in the U.S. We explore to what extent anxiety functions as a potential mediating mechanism for these relationships. Participants: Data were obtained from 347 undergraduate ethnic minority college students attending a public university in West Texas. Results: Results revealed that minority stress was significantly related to anxiety symptoms when controlling for ethnic minority group membership. Additionally, it was found that anxiety symptoms significantly mediated the relationship between minority stress and major satisfaction, controlling for ethnic minority group membership. Conclusions: This study contributes to the existing psychological literature on ethnic minority college students by highlighting the extent that minority stress is related to certain academic outcomes, taking a step further to investigate anxiety as a mechanism that may explain these relationships.

Cultural dimensions of individualism and collectivism and risk of opioid misuse: A test of Social Cognitive Theory.

BACKGROUND: Despite the critical role social and cultural contexts play in pain experience, limited theoretical and empirical attention has been devoted to the interplay between social, cognitive, cultural, and psychological factors in chronic pain management and the risk of opioid misuse. METHODS: Using structural equation modeling, the present study tested the Social Cognitive Theory (SCT) of chronic pain management and risk of opioid misuse in the context of intraindividual cultural dimensions of individualism and collectivism among 316 ethnically diverse adults with chronic pain in the United States. RESULTS: Social cognitive predictors account for a significant amount of variance in pain dysfunction and risk of opioid misuse in adults with chronic pain. Satisfaction with pain support was positively associated with both greater pain acceptance and greater pain self-efficacy. Individualism was found to be positively associated with satisfaction with pain support, pain self-efficacy, and pain acceptance but negatively associated with the risk of opioid misuse. Collectivism was positively associated with the risk of opioid misuse. CONCLUSIONS: The study findings not only empirically support using SCT for adults with chronic pain, but also provide a more thorough conceptual framework that highlights the intracultural diversity and interplay among social, cognitive, and psychological factors that affect pain experience and the risk of opioid misuse among adults with chronic pain.

Internalizing symptoms among Asian American language brokers: The moderating role of values enculturation.

Objective: Language brokering (LB) is an act of interpreting and translating that immigrants often engage in to help their family members who may not be fluent in the English language. The study examined whether adhering to Asian American values (ie, values enculturation) could moderate the association between LB and internalizing symptoms (eg, depression, anxiety) among Asian American college students. Participants & Methods: An online survey was administered to a sample of 159 Asian American college students who had engaged in LB. Results: Results from the moderation analysis indicated that Asian American values enculturation significantly buffered against the adverse effects of high LB frequency on internalizing symptoms after controlling for gender and generation status. Conclusions: The current study offered insights into the toll that LB could take on Asian American college students' mental health as well as the potential protective roles of values enculturation.

Profiles of mindfulness and difficulties in emotion regulation and links to work-family-school conflict.

Objective We explored latent profiles based on mindfulness and difficulties in emotion regulation scores, and investigated each profiles' relations to work-family-school conflict (WFSC). Participants: A total of 194 first year college students (64.4% women) participated in this study. Methods: Latent profile analysis was utilized. Results: Three profiles emerged, characterized as the "healthy" profile (57.5%), the "observant yet judgmental" profile (33.3%) and the "unhealthy without strategies" profile (9.2%). The "healthy" profile showed (a) significantly lower scores on all conflict domains compared to the "observant yet judgmental" profile, and (b) significantly lower scores on all behavior-based conflicts regardless of the domains, compared to the "unhealthy without strategies" profile. The difference between the "observant yet judgmental" profile and "unhealthy without strategies" profile appeared in family-school time. Results indicate that mindfulness and healthy emotion regulation capacity function as protective factors to WFSC. Conclusions: Our findings hold strength in explicating profiles that would otherwise have not been detected when exploring mindfulness and difficulties in emotion regulation independently.

Longitudinal Stability of Work-Family Enrichment and its Association with Well-Being and Personality Traits.

Are higher levels of work-family enrichment a consequence or manifestation of certain personality traits and individuals' psychological functioning? Using random intercept cross-lagged panel models, this study examined the hypothesized stability of work-to-family enrichment (WFE) and family-to-work enrichment (FWE) over two 10-year intervals, the extent to which the within-person changes of WFE and FWE are associated with personality traits and psychological well-being (PWB), and possible gender differences. In this 20-year, longitudinal data analysis of employed adults (N=535), results indicated the robust nature of the stability of WFE/FWE. Our results suggest that personality traits were not associated with within-person change for either WFE or FWE, but PWB was associated with within-person change. Theoretically and conceptually, our findings provide strong evidence that work-family enrichment is not simply an "optimistic worldview" created by personality and well-being. The within-person results lend strong evidence that interventions that improve psychological well-being will also enhance work-family enrichment.

Prescription pain medication use among midlife and older adults with chronic pain: The roles of generativity and perceived family support.

INTRODUCTION: This study examined the roles of generativity (i.e., the need to care for and contribute to future generations) and perceived family support in prescription pain medication use among midlife and older adults with chronic pain. METHODS: The sample consisted of 826 participants with chronic pain from the Midlife in the United States data set (Midlife in the United States III, 2013-2014). RESULTS: The results of a moderated mediation analysis indicated that generativity significantly mitigated the negative association between pain interference and perceived family support, and those with high generativity reported consuming more prescription pain medications at all levels of pain interference. DISCUSSION: The findings indicated the protective roles of generativity in attenuating the detrimental effects of chronic pain on family support and suggested the potential roles of perceived family support and generativity in medication adherence among midlife and older adults with chronic pain. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).

Daily change patterns in mindfulness and psychological health: A pilot intervention.

OBJECTIVE: This study examined the differences in first-year college students' daily change trajectories in subjective happiness, depression, anxiety, stress, and state mindfulness. METHOD: A 5-day, online mindfulness-based intervention (MI) condition and stress management (SM) condition were employed in 247 first-year college students. RESULTS: Students in both the MI and SM conditions displayed similar significant linear declines in anxiety and stress, but there were significant differences between the two conditions, including: (1) the MI condition showing a significant linear increase in subjective happiness compared with no change in the SM condition and (2) the SM condition showed a significant linear decrease in depression compared to no significant change in the MI condition. CONCLUSION: Brief online interventions-whether MI or SM-can promote better mental health and reduce psychological distress. The results also lend support for MI's differential influence on first-year college students' happiness and SM's differential influence on their depression.

Social Contribution and Psychological Well-Being among Midlife Adults with Chronic Pain: A Longitudinal Approach.

Objectives: Contributing to the welfare of others has been shown to have positive effects on people's social and psychological well-being (PWB). The current study examined whether social contribution (SC) could alleviate the negative effects of chronic pain on PWB through perceived social support (PSS) among midlife and older adults. Methods: The study consisted of 520 participants with chronic pain from the two waves of the Midlife in the United States dataset (MIDUS II and III). Results: Results from the longitudinal moderated mediation analysis indicated that SC at Time 2 (T2) significantly buffered the negative effect of pain interference (PI) at Time 1 (T1) on PSS at T2, which indirectly alleviated the negative effect of PI at T1 on PWB at T2. Discussion: The study suggested the protective role of SC and prosocial behaviors in mitigating the detrimental effects of chronic pain on social support and PWB.

Men, Chronic Pain, and Prescription Pain Medication Use: The Role of Gender Role Beliefs in a Longitudinal Moderated Mediation Model.

OBJECTIVE: Although past research has established that men with chronic pain are more likely to misuse prescription pain medications in a myriad of ways compared with women, little is known about men's medication use in the context of their gender role beliefs. The aim of the present study was to examine the role of men's domestic gender role beliefs on their use of prescription pain medication for chronic pain. METHODS: Using a nationally representative data set with 304 men with chronic pain, this study examined a longitudinal moderated mediation model in which pain interference mediates the longitudinal relationship between somatic amplification and prescription pain medication use, with domestic gender role beliefs as a moderator of the aforementioned mediated relationship. RESULTS: Results indicated a significant moderated mediation model in which pain interference fully mediated the relationship between somatic amplification and prescription pain medication use, with men's domestic gender role beliefs moderating this mediated relationship. Specifically, domestic gender role beliefs moderated the relationship between pain interference and prescription pain medication use. Men with higher levels of traditional domestic gender role beliefs strengthened the mediated relationship, contributing to increased prescription pain medication use. CONCLUSIONS: These findings suggest that although men's perceptions of somatic stimuli through its perceived interference contribute to their medication use, the extent to which they consume prescription pain medication depends on their beliefs in domestic gender roles during chronic pain.

A cross-cultural comparison of psychology of working theory among U.S. and Korean college students.

The cross-cultural validity of a modified version of psychology of working theory (PWT; Duffy, Blustein, Diemer, & Autin, 2016) was tested in samples of United States (n = 346) and Korean (n = 319) undergraduates. Participants completed measures of economic resources, work volition, career adaptability, occupational engagement, and future decent work perceptions. The results illustrated measurement invariance between the two samples. Thus, the hypothesized models were tested separately in the two samples and the results were compared regarding parameter significance, direction, and magnitude. Overall, the modified model generally fit well with both samples. However, there were notable cross-cultural differences: economic resources significantly predicted work volition, occupational engagement, and future decent work perceptions only in the United States sample and the future decent work perceptions and occupational engagement were negatively associated in the Korean sample. Explanations about the cross-cultural differences and invariances were provided and practical and research implications were discussed. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved).

Survive or Thrive? Longitudinal Relation Between Chronic Pain and Well-Being.

BACKGROUND: The minimal literature on the relation between chronic pain and both eudaimonic (EWB) and hedonic well-being (HWB) examines the relation cross-sectionally, and most studies have examined chronic pain's effect only on psychopathology. METHODS: Using a sample of 473 midlife and older adults with chronic pain, this study examined both the cross-sectional and longitudinal relations between chronic pain and EWB and HWB in addition to psychological distress. RESULTS: Multiple-group longitudinal structural equation modeling revealed that chronic pain was related significantly and negatively to EWB and HWB, and significantly and positively to distress among both men and women. When examined longitudinally, chronic pain at time 1 was associated significantly only with decreased EWB at time 2, suggesting chronic pain's risk to psychological functioning, especially because of its long-term effects on future EWB. CONCLUSIONS: Our study provides a comprehensive picture of the way chronic pain is associated both with EWB and HWB, in addition to psychological distress. Further, chronic pain may have a lasting influence on EWB, while it may have little predictive value for future HWB and psychological distress. Our study supports well-being's relevance to chronic pain research and has the potential to guide prevention strategies and treatment for chronic pain using a positive psychological framework.

Family Strain, Depression, and Somatic Amplification in Adults with Chronic Pain.

BACKGROUND: The associations between family strain, depression, and chronic pain interference vary across individuals, suggesting moderated relations, and one possible moderator is somatic amplification. The current study examined a moderated mediation model that investigated (a) whether depression mediated the relation between non-spouse family strain and chronic pain interference and (b) whether somatic amplification moderated the association between depression and chronic pain interference. METHODS: Data came from 933 adults who participated in the National Survey of Midlife Development in the USA. Participants completed telephone interviews or self-report measures. RESULTS: The relationship between non-spouse family strain and chronic pain interference was mediated by depression, and this mediation depended on the degree of somatic amplification. Specifically, individuals who experienced more non-spouse family strain were more likely to experience depression and higher levels of chronic pain interference. Somatic amplification significantly moderated the effect of depression on chronic pain, such that individuals with higher levels of somatic amplification and depression were likely to experience higher levels of chronic pain interference. The indirect effect of non-spouse family strain on chronic pain through depression was significant for low, middle, and high levels of somatic amplification. CONCLUSIONS: The presence of chronic pain has been associated with family dynamics changing, which may be linked with higher levels of non-spouse family strain. A negative family environment may be related to the development of depression, which may be associated with the severity and inability to cope with chronic pain. Somatic amplification may strengthen the association between depression and pain intensity.