Positive experiences in early life stages are increasingly recognized as foundational elements that shape individuals' psychological resources and social competencies throughout adulthood. This study examined the impact of positive childhood experiences on young adults' communication and problem-solving skills, focusing on the mediating role of self-confidence. Participants included 696 university students (580 females, 116 males; M age = 22.1), who completed validated measures of positive childhood experiences, self-confidence, communication, and problem-solving. Structural equation modeling revealed that the influence of positive childhood experiences on communication and problem-solving skills was entirely indirect, fully mediated by self-confidence, with no significant direct effects. Additionally, self-confidence significantly predicted both skills. A gender difference favoring females was found only in communication skills. These findings underscore the importance of fostering self-confidence as a developmental outcome of positive early experiences and contribute to understanding how childhood shapes essential competencies in emerging adulthood.

Grounded in psychological flexibility theory, this study examined the mediating role of academic self-efficacy in the relationship between parental rearing styles and academic self-handicapping among Chinese university students. A sample of 520 undergraduate and postgraduate students completed measures assessing parental warmth, overprotection, and rejection, as well as academic self-efficacy and self-handicapping behaviors. Structural equation modeling indicated that both paternal and maternal warmth were positively related to academic self-efficacy, which in turn was negatively related to self-handicapping, supporting partial mediation. Overprotection from both parents was associated with lower self-efficacy and higher self-handicapping, with modest indirect pathways. For parental rejection, differentiated patterns emerged: paternal rejection was not significantly related to self-efficacy but directly predicted higher self-handicapping, whereas maternal rejection was negatively associated with self-efficacy and also positively associated with self-handicapping, resulting in a significant indirect effect. This suggests that role differences may not be universal across parenting dimensions but are more pronounced in contexts of rejection. Overall, the findings indicate that academic self-efficacy may help explain observed associations between parenting behaviors with students' tendencies toward self-handicapping.

Building on the Conservation of Resources theory, in this study we investigated the longitudinal relationship between videoconference fatigue (VF)-also known as Zoom fatigue-and psychophysical strain, defined as psychophysical symptoms associated with work-related stress. We also investigated the role of age and flexible work arrangement (i.e., remote vs in-person working) as individual and occupational factors that may affect the association between VF and psychophysical strain. A total of 155 workers from different organizations completed two self-report questionnaires, administered at Time 1 (T1) and two months later at Time 2 (T2). Results from moderated multiple regression analysis indicate that VF at T1 positively predicted physical strain at T2. However, it was not associated with psychological strain at T2. Additionally, a positive association was observed between VF at T1 and psychological strain at T2 in remote workers aged 55 or older. Our results suggest that VF may be associated with poorer physical health over time, and that it appears to be linked to poorer mental health among remote workers aged 55 or older. By identifying a particularly vulnerable group of workers, the study provides managerial insights into the use of virtual communication platforms at work. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.

This cross-sectional study (N = 572) examined how chronological age and individual risk perceptions influence the perceived usefulness of disruptive implant and wearable technologies, controlling for sex. Previous research has frequently examined age effects in technology acceptance but rarely employed differentiated measures of perceived risk, especially for body-integrated technologies. To address this gap, we developed and validated the Implant Risk Scale (IRS) to assess specific risk dimensions associated with implantable technologies. Ten potential risk dimensions were identified from prior research, and 50 items were developed based on the relevant scientific literature. Exploratory factor analysis of this item pool identified four distinct risk factors: ethical, physiological, psychological, and data hacking risk, accounting for 85 % of the total variance. Each risk could reliably be assessed with three items. In addition to age (β = -0.22, p < .01), physiological risk (β = -0.27, p < .01) and psychological risk (β = -0.16, p < .01) had independent negative effects on perceived usefulness. Moreover, moderation analyses indicated that each implant risk dimension enhanced the negative effect of age on perceived usefulness (ΔRs between 0.01 and 0.02, ps < 0.01). Differentiated risk dimensions should be considered when examining technology adoption behavior. The validated IRS provides a concise framework for capturing these risk assessments. Different demographic groups seem to be affected to varying degrees by these risk dimensions. Social inequalities between demographic groups due to the use of disruptive technologies might be widened by perceived risk.

This study establishes an integrative machine learning (ML) framework that bridges environmental psychology and data science to investigate the psychological well-being of older adults in urban green spaces (UGS). We applied decision tree (DT), random forest (RF), and artificial neural network (ANN) algorithms, complemented by SHAP interpretability, to multi-dimensional data from 536 seniors in Nanjing, China, aiming to identify key predictors of well-being. While DT achieved the highest accuracy (92.19 %), RF's ensemble approach (87.07 % accuracy) demonstrated superior robustness by effectively mitigating overfitting. Crucially, all models converged in identifying overall UGS satisfaction, a core subjective perceptual metric, as the paramount predictor, underscoring its primacy over traditional accessibility-centric paradigms. SHAP analysis further decoded this global satisfaction into actionable, psychologically salient elements, revealing nonlinear thresholds: wetland parks yielded significant well-being gains (ΔWOOP ≥3.5) only with frequent visits exceeding three weekly and high satisfactions of at least 4 out of 5, while safety facilities and vegetation diversity were identified as key design levers. Our methodology offers a replicable pipeline that balances predictive performance with psychological interpretability. These findings reposition UGS as scalable public health infrastructures for aging well, providing evidence-based, perception-centered strategies to enhance mental and emotional health in urban aging populations.

Mindfulness music training may reduce music performance anxiety (MPA) and improve technical precision.

This study develops and validates a Critical Thinking Disposition (CTD) scale specifically designed for Chinese high school students, addressing the need for assessment tools tailored to this particular demographic. Anchored in Facione's seven-dimensional framework and previous conceptual research, the study employed a rigorous three-phase process-item development, pilot testing, and final validation-using two convenience samples to examine the scale's psychometric properties. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses refined the instrument into a five-dimensional structure: Systematic-analyticity, Open-mindedness, Confidence in Reasoning, Reflective Skepticism, and Truth-seeking. The final model demonstrated optimal fit indices (χ/df = 2.173, CFI = 0.964, RMSEA = 0.043), confirming its structural stability. In addition, convergent and discriminant validity were supported by Average Variance Extracted (AVE), Composite Reliability (CR), and the Fornell-Larcker criterion. At the same time, internal consistency was evidenced by robust Cronbach's α (0.881) and McDonald's ω (0.908) values for the overall scale. Multi-group CFA further established measurement invariance across gender (ΔCFI <0.01, ΔRMSEA <0.015). Overall, the scale provides a reliable and theoretically grounded instrument for assessing CTD in secondary education contexts, enabling educators to evaluate the CTD of high school students comprehensively.

This longitudinal study investigates the role of implicit psychological processes in student success in digital higher education (DHE). In traditional study formats, implicit academic attitudes, as measured with implicit association tests (IAT), were excellent predictors of student success. Since no such findings exist for DHE, we conducted two separate IATs to predict study behavior in a large sample of students over six months. To gain a more detailed understanding of student success in DHE, analyses differentiated between the engagement and persistence of students, which were operationalized by the completion of examinations and dropping out of university, respectively. Predictors primarily included the student's implicit and explicit academic identification and -attitude. An Attitude-IAT (study + good) predicted engagement (completed examinations) in a logistic regression model, and an Identification-IAT (study + me) correlated with factors that are indirectly associated with persistence (educational background, self-efficacy, identification). The effect of the Attitude-IAT also remained significant after accounting for explicit measures. This shows that student success in DHE is predictable based solely on students' reaction times in a simple cognitive-psychological test. This test could potentially become part of a battery of items to identify students at risk of dropout. The findings also have important implications for understanding the relationship between student success and student motivation in DHE.

We investigate the role of individual adaptability (I-ADAPT) in newcomer socialization by exploring its effects on the proximal and distal outcomes of the work-role transition process. Based on I-ADAPT theory, our study assesses how I-ADAPT affects the three key indicators of newcomer adjustment (i.e., role clarity, task mastery, and social acceptance) and, in turn, their effect on the distal socialization outcomes of job satisfaction, turnover intention, and work withdrawal. Using a 2-wave prospective design, we collected data from 280 newcomers recruited through Prolific. Results indicated that I-ADAPT dimensions differentially predict newcomer adjustment, with learning adaptability affecting role clarity, uncertainty adaptability affecting task mastery, and cultural adaptability affecting social acceptance. Additionally, role clarity mediated the link between learning adaptability and distal outcomes, whereas uncertainty adaptability had an indirect effect on turnover intention and work withdrawal through task mastery. Our findings highlight the value of I-ADAPT as a newcomer characteristic for effective onboarding and offer practical insights to managers and human resource practitioners.

This study examines how health, depression, and relationship dynamics contribute to both relationship satisfaction and life satisfaction among couples, using data from 7213 German couples. The analyses show that the key predictors differ substantially between these two domains. For relationship satisfaction, intimacy and mutual partner satisfaction emerge as the strongest predictors. In contrast, life satisfaction is primarily shaped by personal health status and depressive symptoms, with relationship quality providing additional but less dominant effects. Importantly, partners' subjective evaluations of their relationship account for more variance in both outcomes than objective factors such as age, income, or health constraints. These findings challenge the view that individual characteristics alone determine well-being within couples and suggest that shared relational processes play a central role. The results highlight the need to consider dyadic dynamics when seeking to understand how couples maintain relationship and life satisfaction, particularly in the face of health-related and psychological challenges.

Although previous studies have established the crucial role of stigma in inhibiting psychological help-seeking, little is known about how distinct mental disorders shape this process through their specific cognitive characteristics. To address this gap, the present study takes Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD) as an illustrative case to explore how its core cognitive traits amplify stigma effects and suppress help-seeking intention. This study is a conceptual investigation that proposes the Cognitively-Sensitized Stigma Model, integrating the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) to elucidate how stigma influences help-seeking through the pathways of attitude, subjective norm, and perceived behavioural control. The model posits that three core cognitive traits of GAD-fear of negative evaluation, meta-worry, and intolerance of uncertainty-function as cognitive amplifiers that intensify the inhibitory impact of stigma. Attachment styles are further incorporated as moderating mechanisms, highlighting how different interpersonal regulation patterns may either magnify or buffer the "cognition-stigma-help-seeking" chain. Using Chinese culture as an illustrative context, the study demonstrates how collectivism, face concerns, and emotional restraint systematically heighten sensitivity to social evaluation and construct a cultural context of shame surrounding help-seeking. This conceptual framework bridges cognitive, cultural, and stigma theories, offering a foundation for future cross-cultural validation and culturally sensitive interventions.

Children raised in socioeconomically disadvantaged environments experience poorer health outcomes than their more advantaged peers. Evidence examining infancy, a period of intense neuroplasticity, remains limited.

Inhibition of return (IOR) refers to the longer reaction times (RTs) to targets presented at previously cued, fixated or attended locations. It has been suggested that there are two distinct forms of IOR. The input form, generated when the reflexive oculomotor system is suppressed, affects the sensory/perceptual processing. The output form, generated when the reflexive oculomotor system is not suppressed, biases responding. It has been demonstrated, using the locus of slack logic associated with the psychological refractory period (Pashler, 1998),that the input form of IOR operates on a pre-bottleneck stage of processing, Kavyani et al. (2017). Using the same logic, Klein et al. (2020) demonstrated that the output form of IOR operates at or after the bottleneck. Building on the methods of Klein et al. the present study used PRP paradigm to determine whether the output form of IOR operates at or after the bottleneck. The output form of IOR was generated by an initial saccade from a peripheral location to a central fixation point. Task 1 consisted of a manual response indicating the location (right/left) of a subsequent visual stimulus. Task 2 required participants to discriminate the frequency (high/low) of an auditory stimulus and make a key-press response with their other hand. The targets (T1 and T2) for the two tasks were presented in close succession with 200, 400 and 800 ms target-target onset asynchronies (TTOAs). Responses to T1 were delayed by IOR and responses to T2 were substantially delayed when the TTOA was brief. Statistical analysis of the amount of carry over of the IOR effect experienced by Task 1 onto the RTs for Task 2 strongly suggest that the output form of IOR operates after the bottleneck. Nevertheless, aspects of the results could be interpreted to support a weaker influence of IOR operating also at the bottleneck stage of processing.

This study explores the Supervisor-Graduate Student Relationship (SGSR) using text mining and introduces a 2 × 2 quadrant model based on "control level" and "direction level," identifying four relationship types: Juice Coach (High-Control, High-Direction), Shadow Hermit (Low-Control, Low-Direction), Pilot Captain (High-Direction, Low Control), and Alchemy Master (High-Control, Low-Direction). It also examines how these relationships vary across disciplines and geo-economic contexts, finding that social sciences favor Alchemy Master styles, while economically underdeveloped regions show stronger control. A dataset of 25,219 evaluation texts from 445 Chinese universities was analyzed using BERT-TextCNN, BERTopic modeling, and BERT embedding-based semantic similarity, showing strong performance in sentiment analysis and thematic clustering. The findings offer not only theoretical insights into SGSR dynamics but also concrete practical implications: the proposed framework enables institutions to systematically monitor supervisory quality, identify at-risk relationships through routine feedback, and trigger timely interventions-functioning as an early warning system to protect student well-being and support faculty development. This work thus provides both a novel typology of SGSR and a scalable, data-driven tool for improving research supervision in real-world educational settings.

Chinese Martial Arts (CMA) has been shown to benefit both physical and psychological well-being. However, the effects of skill-oriented versus spirit-oriented training on university students' mental health and character development remain under explored.

Despite theoretical links between dispositional hope and adaptability in education and their respective roles as key orientations that facilitate learning, their measurement in English as Foreign Language (EFL) students remains relatively underexplored. Previous validations of Snyder's Dispositional Hope Scale (DHS) and Martin's Adaptability Scale (AS) have primarily relied upon classical test theory rather than more sophisticated methodologies. This study assessed the psychometric properties of the Chinese versions of these scales (CDHS and CAS) in EFL college students using Rasch analysis, exploratory structural equation modeling (ESEM), and network analysis.

The pervasive implementation of generative AI technology in art and design has made exploring students' learning intentions towards generative art a pivotal research topic in higher education. This study aims to explore the factors influencing university students' intention to learn generative art, providing a theoretical basis for teaching reform. A combination of Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modelling (PLS-SEM) and Artificial Neural Network (ANN) hybrid analysis was employed to analyse data from 556 valid questionnaires collected from 58 Chinese universities with art and design programs. A multi-dimensional factor prediction model was constructed, incorporating Cognitive Expectancy (CE), Learning Expectancy (LE), Social Context Influence (SCI), Affective Motivation (AM), Human-AI Co-creation Experience (HACE), and Ethical Responsibility Awareness (ERA). The findings indicate that AM and HACE exert the most significant influence on students' learning intention, with normalized relative importance values of 100 % and 91.6 %, respectively. This is followed by ERA (81.5 %), LE (77.7 %), CE (77.6 %), and SCI (76.9 %). The model's R value is 66.3 %, and its Q value is 0.657, indicating strong predictive power. The findings provide theoretical guidance and practical insights for generative art education, suggesting that teaching should focus on affective motivation and human-AI co-creation experience while integrating ethical responsibility education. Establishing a clear learning path will enhance the appeal of generative art, promote students' learning intention and creative innovation, and provide theoretical support and empirical reference for the development and expansion of generative art courses in higher education.

Previous research has suggested that high levels of internet use are associated with lower levels of physical activity. However, recent studies have yielded mixed findings.

The present study aims to examine fair decision-making in individuals with high trait anxiety (HTA) and to further explore the role of emotion perception in shaping their decision-making processes. A 2 (trait anxiety: high vs. low) × 3 (distributive fairness: fair vs. disadvantageous unfair vs. advantageous unfair) mixed-design experiment was conducted. Twenty-seven individuals with HTA and 27 control participants completed the experiment. We employed a modified ultimatum game to measure fair decision-making and to collect the participants' emotion perception ratings for each offer. The results indicate that individuals with HTA had significantly higher acceptance rates for disadvantageous unfair offers than did the control group. Moreover, emotion perception mediated the relationship between distributive fairness and acceptance behavior, with this mediating effect being significantly stronger in the control group than in the HTA group. In summary, individuals with HTA exhibit an impaired ability to flexibly adjust their acceptance behavior based on emotion perception, tend to accept disadvantageous unfair offers, and may rely more on alternative cognitive or contextual cues in their decision-making.

The popularity of TikTok is evident on a global scale, leading to its adoption by numerous companies as a promotional platform. The Stimulus - Organization - Reaction model has been validated in its capacity to describe the purchase process. The present study investigates the Hungarian manifestations of the factors of this model to develop a forecasting method that will allow for prediction of the success of TikTok impulse purchase marketing strategies. The prediction method under analysis is based on factor and regression analyses and validation. The exploratory part utilizes a questionnaire survey of 283 Hungarian university students. The validity of the results is measured on a different university sample of 104 active users of TikTok and users of alternative social media platforms. The findings indicate that the factors comprising the impulse purchase cycle involvement include the urge to buy impulsively, utilitarian value, perceived similarity, and co-promotion. The validation process revealed that the rates of agreement with the predictions among TikTok users exceeded 90 %, while the rate among users of other social media platforms reached over 80 %. The principal strength of this study lies in its quantification and transformation of questionnaire data into a pivotal key performance indicator suitable for companies.

This study employed a mixed-methods sequential explanatory design to investigate the interplay among perceived academic control, growth mindset, self-regulation, and life satisfaction in Chinese university students. The quantitative phase involved 381 students from various universities in Mainland China who completed surveys measuring these constructs. Structural equation modeling (SEM) revealed that perceived academic control and growth mindset were significant direct predictors of life satisfaction. Both constructs also positively predicted self-regulation, which, in turn, directly predicted life satisfaction. Self-regulation significantly mediated the relationships between perceived academic control and life satisfaction, and between growth mindset and life satisfaction. The qualitative phase involved initial semi-structured interviews with 30 students, from which a subsample of eight was selected for an in-depth Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA). The IPA focused on understanding the students' lived experiences and meaning-making processes. Qualitative findings illuminated the complex and often paradoxical ways students experienced academic control (navigating personal agency amidst external expectations), the cognitive and emotional labor involved in sustaining a growth mindset within a competitive, result-oriented culture, and the challenges of maintaining adaptive self-regulation to achieve balance. Integrating these findings, the study underscores the critical role of self-regulation and highlights how personal beliefs are experienced and negotiated within specific cultural and academic contexts. The nuanced insights gained offer practical implications for designing interventions to enhance student well-being and academic success in Chinese higher education.