Dehumanization and Minimization of Informal Caregivers Suffering: The Legitimizing Role of Justice Perceptions.

Informal caregivers, who provide unpaid care work to individuals with disabilities, are devalued despite their important contributions to society. Identifying the factors contributing to their devaluation is crucial for recognizing and valuing their work. In two experimental studies, we examined (a) whether informal caregivers are dehumanized; (b) the moderating impact of belief in a just world (BJW) on this process; and (c) the predictive impact of BJW and the dehumanization of informal caregivers on the perception of informal caregivers' suffering. In Study 1 (N = 180), a 2 (informal caregiver vs. non-caregiver) X 2 (female vs. male) between-participants design was used; in Study 2 (N = 205), there were two experimental conditions: female informal caregiver vs. male informal caregiver. Participants were randomly assigned to one description of a target and were asked to complete measures assessing the dehumanization of the target (Studies 1 and 2), the perception of the suffering of the target (Study 2), and a measure of BJW referring to themselves (Study 2). Results showed the expected dehumanization effect, such that participants attributed fewer uniquely human emotions to informal caregivers compared to non-caregivers, regardless of their gender (Studies 1 and 2). However, this effect was observed only among participants with higher BJW (Study 2). Furthermore, BJW and the dehumanization of informal caregivers predicted the minimization of the perception of informal caregivers' suffering (Study 2). These results establish a theoretical relationship between these research areas and offer insights for practical implications and future research.

Belief in a just world and fair behavior among clinical nurses: a moderated mediation model of empathy and observer justice sensitivity.

BACKGROUND: Exploration of the relationship between nursing staffs' justice in belief world and fair behavior is important to promote equity and access to health services in health organizations, as well as to enhance the quality of care. In order to further dissect the influencing factors of fair behavior among clinical nurses, the current study aims to investigate how belief in a just world influences the fair behavior among nurses. Based on the belief in a just world theory, the empathy-altruism theory and the protective-protective model, the current study aimed to provide a deeper understanding of the effect of belief in a just world on fair behavior by investigating the mediating role of empathy and the moderating role of observer justice sensitivity. METHOD: This was a cross-sectional study. 571 registered clinical nurses were included from five hospitals in Fuzhou through a convenience sampling method. Measurements included Chinese translations of belief in a just world scale, empathy scale, observer justice sensitivity scale, fair behavior scale. SPSS 22.0 was used to describe descriptive statistics and the variables' Pearson correlation coefficient. SPSS PROCESS macro Model 4 and model 14 were used to examine the mediation and the moderation between the relationship of belief in a just world and fairness behavior. RESULT: The results shower that fairness behavior was positively correlated with one's belief in a just world (r = 0.26, p < 0.01); (2)empathy mediated the relationship between belief in a just world and fair behavior. The mediation model explains 20.83%; (3) Observer justice sensitivity moderated the relationship between empathy and fair behavior. CONCLUSIONS: Belief in a just world, empathy, and observer justice sensitivity were motivations for nurses' fair behavior. Nursing administrators should focus on cultivating nurses' belief in a just world, their empathy abilities, and positive qualities of justice sensitivity to enhance fair behavior in a healthcare setting.

Downward social comparison positively promotes altruism: the multi-mediating roles of belief in a just world and general life satisfaction.

Introduction: This study examined the underlying mechanism of the relationship between downward social comparison (DSC) and altruism through two conceptually important but rarely studied factors: belief in a just world (BJW) and general life satisfaction (GLS). Methods: The study utilized a two-time-point design, spaced 2 months apart, with a sample of 1,764 college students from China. The study measured DSC, altruism, BJW, and GLS. Results: The findings revealed a significant positive predictive effect of DSC on college students' altruism and belief in a just world (BJW). Notably, GLS emerged as a multi-mediating factor in this relationship. The study also revealed that both subscales of BJW, namely personal belief in a just world (PBJW) and general belief in a just world (GBJW), played distinct roles in the mediation model. PBJW exhibited a stronger mediating effect, suggesting that DSC can foster individual altruism and BJW. Particularly, BJW was identified as enhancing GLS, subsequently promoting altruistic behavior. Conclusion: This study contributes to the existing literature on social comparison by shedding light on the relationship between DSC, altruism, and the mediating role of belief in a just world and GLS. The findings underscore the potential for promoting altruistic behavior among college students through interventions targeting beliefs in a just world, especially at the personal level, and enhancing GLS.

Parenting styles and personal belief in a just world among Chinese children and adolescents: gender, living location, and age as moderators.

Introduction: The positive development of the personal belief in a just world (PBJW) plays a vital role in academic achievement and mental health among children and adolescents. Therefore, it is necessary to understand the influencing factors of PBJW better. The association between parenting styles and PBJW has been well established, but whether this association varies among different groups remains an open issue. The present study aimed to examine the strength of the associations between parenting styles and PBJW among Chinese children and adolescents and the role of certain moderators (gender, living location, and age) in these associations. Methods: This study employed hierarchical regression and simple slopes analyses to examine data from the National Children's Study of China. The database includes 24,013 Chinese children and adolescents in grades 49 (M = 12.76 years, SD = 1.73), with 53.50% boys. Results: The results indicated that (1) authoritative parenting was positively correlated with PBJW; (2) both authoritarian and permissive parenting styles were negatively correlated with PBJW; (3) the positive relationship between authoritative parenting and PBJW was more prominent in urban regions; the negative relationship between authoritarian and PBJW was stronger in urban regions; and the negative relationship between permissive parenting and PBJW was more pronounced among girls and older children and adolescents. Discussion: These findings highlight important associations between parenting styles and the development of PBJW among Chinese children and adolescents, and suggest strategies for policy-makers, educators, and parents to improve PBJW for different types of Chinese children and adolescents.

Cancel culture in a developing country: A belief in a just world behavioral analysis among generation Z.

Cancel culture is a prevalent boycotting practice used to exert pressure, express disapproval, and enforce consequences online. While multiple studies have been done on cancel culture's history, evolution, and effects, none of them were focused on Cancel Culture for Gen Z, the most socially aware and digitally inclined generation. The study aimed to uncover the factors that influence Gen Z's intention to participate and actual participation in cancel culture by utilizing a newly established integrated framework of Belief in a Just World (BJW) and the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB). A total of 677 valid survey responses from Gen Z respondents were collected to thoroughly evaluate the belief and behavioral dimensions of cancel culture through the utilization of Structural Equation Modeling (SEM). The study's results showed that attitude towards cancel culture, the subjective norm of cancel culture, and perceived behavioral control, are strong facilitating conditions that drive Gen Z's intent and actual participation in canceling behavior. It was seen that BJW has no effect on actual canceling behavior and a reverse effect on the intention to participate in canceling behavior. For the canceling methods, 97 % will unsubscribe or unfollow accounts and 94.68 % will block or mute accounts. It was also discovered that Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube are the top social media platforms used by Gen Zs in the Philippines with at least a 94 % usage rate. The findings of this study may be utilized by businesses and policymakers on how to reduce the incidence and impact of cancel culture.

Who believes in a just world? A multilevel latent profile analysis of Justice Capital using the European Social Survey.

OBJECTIVE: Justice Capital provides a theoretical framework for explaining individual differences in the belief in a just world (BJW). However, this framework has yet to receive empirical validation. METHOD: Using Round 9 of the European Social Survey, a large (n = 43,209) multi-country (N = 29) sample, I conduct multilevel latent profile analysis and multilevel multinomial logistic regression to determine the latent profiles that emerge at a population level and map the demographic and experiential covariates of these profiles. RESULTS: Incorporating measures of general BJW, distributive and procedural justice, and the belief in equality of opportunity, I find three latent profiles: meritocrats, moderates, and egalitarians. Compared with egalitarians, meritocrats (strong just world believers) are more likely to be male; younger; have a higher income; have attained more years of education; to be politically conservative; and have no recent experience of discrimination or crime. Meritocrats were overrepresented in countries with a higher Human Development Index. CONCLUSION: This study demonstrates the feasibility of Justice Capital for understanding individual variation in general BJW and related justice beliefs; discussion centers on anomalous findings and extension of this theoretical framework.

Cumulative ecological risk and cyberbullying among college students: a chain mediation model.

Introduction: Cyberbullying among college students has been receiving increased research attention. Previous studies have focused primarily on the impact of a single risk factor on cyberbullying among college students. However, individual behavior is influenced by multiple ecosystems simultaneously, including family, school, and peers. To explore the effects of a single risk factor alone is not in line with the reality of everyday life, and the effect of the single risk factor can often be overestimated. Therefore, this study aimed to explore the impact of multiple risk factors, namely cumulative ecological risk, on cyberbullying, while analyzing the mediating roles of belief in a just world and moral disengagement. Methods: A survey was conducted among 805 college students from two universities in Hebei Province, China, using the cumulative ecological risk questionnaire, the cyberbullying scale, the belief in a just world scale, and the moral disengagement scale. Results: The results showed that: (a) Cumulative ecological risk was positively correlated with moral disengagement and cyberbullying, and negatively correlated with belief in a just world. Belief in a just world was negatively correlated with moral disengagement and cyberbullying. Moral disengagement was positively correlated with cyberbullying; (b) Belief in a just world partially mediated the relationship between cumulative ecological risk and cyberbullying; (c) Moral disengagement partially mediated the relationship between cumulative ecological risk and cyberbullying; (d) Belief in a just world and moral disengagement played a chain mediating role between cumulative ecological risk and college students' cyberbullying. Discussion: This study provides valuable insight for the reduction of cyberbullying behavior among college students, and offers suggestions on how to create a more favorable online environment.

The Impact of the Need for Cognitive Closure on Attitudes toward Women as Managers and the Sequential Mediating Role of Belief in a Just World and Gender Essentialism.

This research investigated the relation between the need for cognitive closure (i.e., a desire for epistemic certainty) and attitudes toward women as managers among men and women. In a cross-sectional study (total N = 241) collected in Italy, we found that need for cognitive closure, controlling for participants' gender, was related to having more prejudice toward women leaders. Furthermore, the results revealed that the positive relation between the need for cognitive closure and negative attitudes toward women as managers was sequentially mediated by belief in a just world (i.e., the belief that people get what they deserve and deserve what they get and other people do not) and gender essentialism (i.e., the belief that women and men are distinctly, immutably, and naturally different, and thus have complementary skills to bring to the workplace). We suggest that men and women who are characterized by a need for cognitive closure are more sensitive to stereotypes of women as being incompatible with leadership roles. Either priming a low need for cognitive closure or providing contrary stereotypes could obviate the effect on beliefs in a just world and in gender essentialism that impedes progress towards greater gender equality in the workplace.

The effect of wrongdoer's status on observer punishment recommendations: the mediating role of envy and the moderating role of belief in a just world.

Our proposition postulates that the correlation between the wrongdoer's status and the punishment suggestions of onlookers is primarily influenced by group-oriented envy rather than the ascription of intentionality and is moderated by the belief in a just world. In three separate studies, 389 university students were asked to read scenarios describing a hit-and-run crime committed by either a rich or a poor individual and then report their opinions on intentionality attribution (Study 1 and Study 2), envy emotions (Study 2), punishment recommendations (all three studies), and belief in a just world (Study 3). Consistently, the findings indicated that those observing recommended harsher penalties to be imposed upon high-status perpetrators engaging in the same wrongdoing (such as hit-and-run) as their low-status equivalents. The effect of the rich receiving more severe punishment was predicted more strongly by envious emotions than by intentionality attributions to high-status wrongdoers and was only present for those observers who endorsed a lower belief in a just world.

The relationship of social support to posttraumatic growth in COVID-19 among college students after experiencing campus lockdown: the effects of belief in a just world and meaning in life.

Background: Campus lockdown orders were issued for the purpose of preventing and controlling COVID-19, which resulted in psychological problems among college students. However, the experiences they have during the pandemic may also lead to positive personal changes, including posttraumatic growth (PTG). The current study examined the mediating role of belief in a just world and meaning in life in social support and PTG during the COVID-19 campus lockdown. Method: An online survey was conducted on 1711 college students in Hebei Province, China. Based on the survey results, a structural equation model was established. Results: Social support positively predicted PTG. Furthermore, belief in a just world and meaning in life played a mediating role between social support and PTG respectively. Besides, social support could also predict PTG through the multiple serial mediating effect of belief in a just world and meaning in life. Conclusion: These results indicated mechanisms by which social support influenced PTG, and this provided insights into how to promote post-traumatic growth among university students in the post-pandemic period.

Bullying victimization and mental health of Chinese adolescents: The chain of tragedy effect of belief in a just world and health promoting lifestyle.

BACKGROUND: Experiences of being bullied in school can impair adolescents' subjective well-being and elevate the risk of psychopathology, suggesting the necessity of identifying factors that may protect against the deleterious effects of being bullied. This study expands upon prior research by examining the relationship between bullying victimization and adolescent mental health, specifically from the perspective of individual perceptions of justice and healthy lifestyles in the Chinese cultural context. METHODS: A total of 3873 Chinese adolescents in grades 7-11 (51.85 % female) completed bullying victimization, belief in a just world, health promoting lifestyle, depressive symptoms, and subjective well-being measures, and provided information on their demographics, including gender, grade, family structure, parents' educational background. RESULTS: After adjusting for demographic variables, bullying victimization was directly and positively related to depression, while directly and negatively related to subjective well-being. Bullying victimization also influenced depression and subjective well-being through three mediation pathways, with belief in a just world and health promoting lifestyle playing multiple mediating roles in the relationship between bullying victimization and mental health outcomes. LIMITATIONS: The data used in this study were self-reported by adolescents and measured via cross-sectional designs, thus precluding statistical examination of temporal causal relationships, and assessments of whether reported affects are stable over time. CONCLUSIONS: The study suggests that belief in a just world and health promoting lifestyle are important factors in understanding the impact of bullying victimization on adolescent mental health, and underscores the need for targeted bullying interventions for at-risk adolescents.

Belief in a just world and organisational loyalty: Trust as an underlying mechanism.

This research examined whether employees' personal belief in a just world (BJW) is associated with their organisational loyalty and whether this relationship is statistically mediated by organisational trust. To test these hypotheses, we conducted two studies with employees from China (study 1, N = 314) and Germany (study 2, N = 189). The results from both studies supported the proposed model. In addition, study 2 revealed that the relationship between BJW and organisational loyalty persisted when controlling for global personality traits. These suggest that managers and organisations may increase employees' loyalty by providing an environment that fosters their sense of justice and trust.

Belief in a just world and meaning in life among Chinese adolescents: The mediating role of basic psychological need satisfaction.

Previous literature has shown that adults with higher belief in a just world (BJW) experience greater meaning in life than those with less pronounced BJW. However, the role of BJW in adolescent meaning in life and the associated psychological mechanisms remain unclear. Thus, two studies were conducted to explore the roles of personal belief in a just world (PBJW) and general belief in a just world (GBJW) in meaning in life as well as the explanatory role of basic psychological need satisfaction among Chinese adolescents. Study 1 offered cross-sectional evidence that individuals higher in PBJW and GBJW displayed greater meaning in life, and basic psychological need satisfaction accounted for these associations. Study 2 provided longitudinal evidence that individuals higher in PBJW and GBJW at Time 1 exhibited greater meaning in life six months later (Time 2), wherein basic psychological need satisfaction at Time 1 served as a mediator. These findings contribute to understanding the adaptive benefits of PBJW and GBJW in meaning in life during adolescence and point to a crucial channel connecting BJW and meaning in life.

Relationship between sleep quality and subjective well-being: resilience as a mediator and belief in a just world as a moderator.

Background/Purpose: Sleep quality significantly impacts subjective well-being, yet its underlying mechanisms remain largely unknown from a scholarly perspective. Existing research has inadequately addressed the relationship between sleep quality and the subjective well-being of College students. This study primarily investigates the influence of sleep quality on the subjective well-being of College students and explores the mediating role of resilience and the moderating role of belief in a just world. Methods: The study sample comprises 3349 enrolled College students. Measures include the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index, the Subjective Well-being Scale, resilience scale, and belief in a just world scale. A moderated mediation model is employed to verify the mediating role of resilience and the moderating role of belief in a just world. Results: (1) Sleep quality among College students is significantly positively correlated with resilience, belief in a just world, and subjective well-being. (2) Sleep quality positively predicts subjective well-being among College students. Resilience among College students serves as a mediator between sleep quality and subjective well-being, while belief in a just world moderates the influence of resilience on subjective well-being. Conclusion: The results suggest that sleep quality can directly enhance the subjective well-being of College students and can also indirectly affect it through resilience. Additionally, belief in a just world can enhance the promoting effect of resilience on the subjective well-being of College students. These findings may contribute to understanding the impact of sleep quality on the subjective well-being of College students and its pathways. These research findings can serve as a reference for improving the subjective well-being of College students.

Development of beliefs in a just world among Chinese early adolescents and the predictive role of family factors: A three-wave longitudinal study.

OBJECTIVE: This study explored how belief in a just world (BJW) develops among Chinese adolescents and the predictive role of family factors. BACKGROUND: The development of BJW in adolescence is an important but understudied topic, especially in non-Western contexts. METHOD: Using a three-wave longitudinal design, 1525 participants (48% girls; Mage = 12.47) were recruited to report their BJW, childhood SES, only-child or not, and parental psychological control in Wave 1 (Wave 2: N = 1262; Wave 3: N = 1124). RESULTS: The mean slope for personal BJW is positive and significant, but not significant for general BJW. Childhood SES predicted initial level of personal and general BJW and the rate of growth of personal BJW. Only-child predicted initial level and the growth rate of personal BJW. Parental psychological control negatively predicted personal and general BJW at three time points. CONCLUSION: Personal BJW increased during the observation period, whereas general BJW was stable. Individuals with lower levels of childhood SES had lower initial personal and general BJW but a higher growth rate in personal BJW than those with higher SES. Individuals having siblings had lower levels of initial personal BJW but a higher growth rate in personal BJW than those from only-child family. Parental psychological control may exert consistent and contemporaneous negative effect on BJW across time.

Associations between individual cognitive factors, mode of exposure and depression symptoms in practitioners working with aversive crime material.

Background: There is extensive literature on front-line officers and investigators exposure to trauma and its negative impact on them. However, there are analytical practitioners in law enforcement who indirectly work with the traumatic experiences of other people daily, but are seldom the focus of academic research.Objective: Our goal was to conduct the first international study with these practitioners to identify the risk of depression symptoms and establish whether potentially modifiable risk factors (belief in a just world, mental imagery and thought suppression) and work-related characteristics (medium of exposure) are associated with depression.Method: 99 analysts and secondary investigators employed in police and law enforcement organizations from the UK, Europe and Canada participated in the study. The online survey was advertised to employees via their employers but hosted without employer access. Multiple regression was used to analyze the data.Results: After controlling for age, gender, ethnicity, previous exposure to trauma, and marital status, four potential risk factors were identified. Analytical practitioners with vivid mental imagery, those exposed to crime material via auditory and visual means, those who suppressed intrusive thoughts, and those who believed in a just world reported more depressive symptoms.Conclusions: The majority of our sample reported clinical levels of depressive symptoms. Four potential risk factors accounted for just under half of the variance in depression scores. We consider strategies that can be used to mitigate the potential negative influence of these factors and suggest that these are established as risk factors for depression symptoms via future longitudinal research.

Analytical practitioners are exposed to aversive crime material on a daily basis. The impact of their work and the individual and work-related risk factors are currently unknown.In this sample, 52% of analytical practitioners had moderate depression symptoms, and 37% had severe depression symptoms.Modality of exposure (both auditory and visual exposure), belief in a just world, thought suppression, and mental imagery are potential modifiable risk factors.

Differences in and associations between belief in just deserts and human rights restrictions over a 3-year period in five countries during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Discrimination, which arose during the coronavirus disease 2019 outbreak, is a global public health issue. This study aimed to provide fundamental knowledge in proposing control measures to mitigate discrimination. We focused on two psychological variables: belief in just deserts (BJD, i.e., the belief that the infected individual deserves to be infected), a psychological factor that potentially promotes discrimination and prejudice, and human rights restrictions (HRR; i.e., the degree of individuals' agreement with government restrictions on citizens' behavior during emergencies). Differences in these items, as well as their annual trends from 2020 to 2022, were examined in Japan, the United States (US), the United Kingdom (UK), Italy, and China. In addition, the associations between BJD and HRR by country and year and the direction of the associations between them in Japan and Italy were analyzed. Online surveys were conducted annually, with 392-518 participants per country and year. The BJD was higher in Japan and lower in the UK. BJD increased significantly from 2020 to 2021 in all countries, except in China. Meanwhile, HRR was higher in China and lower in Japan. The HRR decreased from 2020 to 2021 in Japan and decreased from 2020 to 2022 in the US, the UK, and Italy. There were significant positive associations between BJD and HRR in Japan and Italy. Cross-lagged panel models revealed positive bidirectional associations between BJD and HRR in Japan and Italy, respectively, indicating that the HRR declined among those with weak BJD and that the BJD increased among those with high HRR. In Japan and Italy, the dissemination of public messages targeting those with a high HRR in the early stages of an infectious disease outbreak could potentially mitigate the adverse impact of the BJD, eventually reducing discrimination, especially when the infection is not attributed to the fault of the infected individuals.

Blame others but hurt yourself: blaming or sympathetic attitudes toward victims of COVID-19 and how it alters one's health status.

OBJECTIVE: This study explored the relationship between blame/sympathy and blamer's/sympathizer's perceived health status. DESIGN: We recruited participants via an online survey platform. Study 1 was a cross-sectional study using data (N = 3304, Mage = 28.22, SDage = 7.92, and 39.3% female) collected from 30 provinces, municipalities, and autonomous regions of China on February 3, 2020. Study 2 used the daily diary method collecting data from February 4 to 9, 2020. Sample (N = 2456, Mage = 28.49, SDage = 7.49, and 39.4% were female) was obtained by inviting participants in Study 1 on the same platform. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Self-reported health status and life satisfaction. RESULTS: In Study 1, blame was negatively associated with perceived health status, while sympathy was positively associated with it. Negative emotions and risk perception are the underlying mechanisms, but neither of them has effects on the relationship between sympathy and perceived health status. Study 2 replicated these results using multilevel analysis. CONCLUSION: The results highlight the importance of people's attitudes on perceived health status. While sympathy is positively related to perceived health status, blaming has a negative association with perceived health status. Negative emotions and risk perceptions are the underlying mechanisms.

The effect of relative deprivation on aggressive behavior of college students: a moderated mediation model of belief in a just world and moral disengagement.

BACKGROUND: Previous research found that college students have exhibited a group of concern, and aggressive behavior occurs from time to time in daily life. In order to investigate the effect of relative deprivation on aggressive behavior of college students, this study conducted a moderated mediation model to examine the relationship between relative deprivation, aggressive behavior, belief in a just world, and moral disengagement. METHODS: 1169 college students(71.7% female; mean age = 19.41, SD = 1.3, range = 17-30years) participated in and completed measures of Relative Deprivation Questionnaire, Belief in a Just World Scale, Moral disengagement Scale and Aggression Questionnaire. The data were analyzed by using a moderated mediation model with SPSS and Process 3.1 macro. RESULTS: The results revealed that: (1) Relative deprivation significantly positively predicted college students' aggressive behavior controlling for gender, grade, and age (B = 0.45, p＜0.001). (2) Belief in a just world played mediating role in relative deprivation and aggressive behavior(indirect effect = 0.04, 95%CI = [0.002,0.007], accounting for 9% of the total effect). (3) The moderated mediator model test showed that moral disengagement regulates the first half of the mediator effect path (B = 0.71, p < 0.01). CONCLUSION: The present study analyzed the moral disengagement mechanisms deeply and shed light on how to decrease the aggressive behavior of college students.

How do people experience innocent suffering?

Introduction: The paper examines the psychological facet of innocent suffering. One can find a description of this phenomenon in social psychology as a factor that affects the belief in a just world, but there is a lack of qualitative scientific data about related psychological features, processes, copings, and consequences on the personality level. Methods: To study innocent suffering, semi-structured in-depth interview was conducted (31 respondents, ~223 minutes per respondent, 6,924 min in total) aimed to gather data about the experiences of innocent sufferings happened to participants. For the analysis of texts, a narrative and content analysis are used within the framework of grounded theory. The reliability of the results is based on expert assessment. Results and discussion: As a result, six essential properties of innocent sufferings were identified: complexity, stability, distress, injustice, casual incoherence, and breaks of integrity of a life story. The most "popular" life domains, in which participants reported about innocent sufferings, are violence, abuse (physical and psychological), and quitting romantic relationships. It is proposed a scientific definition of innocent suffering and the prototype of the phenomenon.