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While online disinformation practices have grown exponentially over the past decade, the COVID-19 pandemic provides arguably the best opportunity to date to study such communications at a cross-national level. Using the data provided by the International Fact-Checking Network (IFCN), we examine the strategic uses of non-verbal and verbal arguments to push disinformation through social media and websites during the first wave of lockdowns in 2020 across 16 European countries. Our paper extends the work by Brennen et al. (2021) on the use of visuals in COVID-19 misinformation claims by investigating the use of facial emotional expressions and body pose depictions in conjunction with framing elements such as problems identified and attribution of responsibility in the construction of disinformation messages. Our European-wide comparative analysis of 174 messages indexed by the IFCN during the months of April and May 2020 helps provide a rounder understanding of the use of non-verbal devices in advancing COVID-19 disinformation across the continent, and can provide the basis for a framework for further study of the strategic use of non-verbal devices in COVID-19 disinformation world-wide.

Knowing when an event is likely to occur allows attentional resources to be oriented towards that moment in time, enhancing processing of the event. We previously found that children (mean age 11 years) are unable to use endogenous temporal cues (line length) to orient attention in time, despite being able to use endogenous spatial cues (arrows) to orient attention in space. Arrow cues, however, may have proved beneficial by engaging exogenous (automatic), as well as endogenous (voluntary), orienting mechanisms. We therefore conducted two studies in which the exogenous properties of visual temporal cues were increased, to examine whether this helped children orient their attention in time. In the first study, the location of an imperative target was predicted by the direction of a left or right spatial arrow cue while its onset was predicted by the relative duration of a short or long temporal cue. To minimise the influence of rhythmic entrainment in the temporal condition, target onset time (500ms/1100ms) was deliberately chosen so as not to precisely match the duration of the temporal cue (100ms/400ms). Targets appeared either at cued locations/onset times (valid trials) or at unexpected locations/onset times (invalid trials). Adults’ response times were significantly slower for invalid versus valid trials, in both spatial and temporal domains. Despite being slowed by invalid spatial cues, children (mean age 10.7 years) were unperturbed by invalid temporal cues, suggesting that these duration-based temporal cues did not help them orient attention in time. In the second study, we enhanced the exogenous properties of temporal cues further, by presenting multiple temporal cues in an isochronous (rhythmic) sequence. Again, to minimise automatic entrainment, target onset did not match the isochronous interval. Children (mean age 11.4 years), as well as adults, were now significantly slowed by invalid cues in both the temporal and spatial dimension. The sequential, as opposed to single, presentation of temporal cues therefore helped children to orient their attention in time. We suggest that the exogenous properties of sequential presentation provide a temporal scaffold that supports the additional attentional and mnemonic requirements of temporal, as compared to spatial, processing.

Aim: To evaluate the longitudinal association of sedentary behavior, light and moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) participation with depressive symptoms and whether their possible association changed depending on the pandemic phase., Methods: This longitudinal study conducted secondary analysis from the Spanish cohort of the Remote Assessment of Disease and Relapse - Major Depressive Disorder (RADAR-MDD) study. Depressive symptoms were assessed by the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-8). Sedentary behavior and physical activity were estimated via wrist-worn devices. Linear mixed models evaluated the longitudinal associations of sedentary behavior and physical activity (light and moderate-to-vigorous intensities) with depressive symptoms., Results: In total, 95 participants (67.5% women, 53.0 [±10.5] years of age on average) were monitored pre-COVID-19 and included in the analyses. Pre-COVID-19, 73.7% of participants presented depression, and, on average, participated in 13.2 (±1.08) hours/day of sedentary behavior, 2.42 (±0.90) hours/day of light physical activity and 23.6 (±19.80) minutes/day of MVPA. Considering all the observations (from November 2019 to October 2020), an additional hour/day of sedentary behavior was longitudinally associated with higher depressive symptoms [ β std = 0.06, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.10 to 0.47], whereas an additional hour/day in light physical activity was associated with lower depressive symptoms ( β std = -0.06, 95% CI -0.59 to -0.15). Time in MVPA was not associated with depressive symptomatology. The association of sedentary behavior and light physical activity with depressive symptoms was significant only during pre-COVID-19 and COVID-19 relaxation periods, whereas during the strictest periods of the pandemic with regards to the restrictions (lockdown and de-escalation), the association was not observed., Conclusion: Sedentary behavior and light physical activity were longitudinally associated with depressive symptoms in participants with a history of MDD. The incorporation of light physical activity should be stimulated in adults with a history of MDD. Neither sedentary behavior nor light physical activity were associated with depressive symptoms during the most restrictive COVID-19 phases, whereas sedentary behavior (positively) and light physical activity (negatively) were associated with depressive symptoms in persons with MDD before and after the COVID-19 pandemic., Competing Interests: PA was employed by H. Lundbeck A/S. The remaining authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2024 Ibáñez, Condominas, Haro, Vázquez, RADAR-MDD-Spain, Bailón, Garcia, Kontaxis, Peñarrubia-Maria, Arranz, Llaosa-Scholten, Gardeñes, Hotopf, Matcham, Lamers, Penninx, Annas, Folarin, Narayan, Lima, Siddi and the RADAR CNS consortium.)

Entrepreneurial well-being is tied to increasing firm performance because entrepreneurs possess additional resources to invest in their businesses. However, research integrating antecedents, specific mechanisms related to the emergence of entrepreneurial well-being (EWB), and performance is scarce. Furthermore, the collective impact of their roles as entrepreneurs and individuals outside the work context is yet to be investigated concerning venture performance. The present study addresses these issues by presenting and testing a comprehensive model employing entrepreneurs' psychological capital as an antecedent of EWB and, indirectly, performance. We investigate this relationship through a serial mediation mechanism enabled by work engagement and entrepreneurial satisfaction regarding entrepreneurs' work roles. Also, we employ work-life balance and mental health as mediators regarding their home roles. Drawing on data from 217 Romanian entrepreneurs, structural equation modeling analyses supported our model. PsyCap was a precursor of entrepreneurial satisfaction both directly and through work engagement. Also, PsyCap predicted entrepreneurs' mental health directly and through work-life balance. Furthermore, both EWB components - entrepreneurial satisfaction and mental health - were associated with business performance. Hence, our model provides valuable insights regarding the interplay between entrepreneurs' work and home roles and their relation to EWB and venture performance. It also provides the basis for future interventions that can psychologically prepare entrepreneurs to be successful in their entrepreneurial endeavors., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted without any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2023 Tisu, Vîrgă and Taris.)

Introduction: An academic environment with continuously more demanding tasks requires students to capitalize on their strengths to meet the challenges and engage in learning experiences. Engaged students are deeply involved in their work, are strongly connected with their studies, and are more successful in academic tasks. The present study aimed to test a model in that core self-evaluations (CSE) predicts academic engagement (AE) directly and indirectly by increasing personal resources (i.e., psychological capital; PsyCap) in the case of two different samples, Romanian and Serbian., Methods: Data were collected through three online questionnaires from 672 undergraduate students (Romania - 458; Serbia - 214)., Results: The findings confirmed that CSE was positively related to PsyCap, which was positively associated with AE, and PsyCap mediates the relationship between the two variables in both samples. A positive evaluation of one's characteristics (high CSE) mainly affects the cognitive and emotional mechanism of appraising the academic-related tasks one encounters (high PsyCap), ultimately shaping their motivation and engagement., Discussion: These results pointed out the importance of the CSE and PsyCap that support each other and increase students' AE, explaining the mediating mechanism of PsyCap. Also, they provide insight into the students' engagement from two different cultural and educational contexts, being helpful to universities in their effort to increase students' engagement., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2023 Paloș, Samfira, Vîrgă and Purić.)

The present research focused on bottom-up, proactive employee behaviors and personal resources that can contribute to more engagement and optimal functioning at work. Based on the Job Demands-Resources (JD-R) and Conservation of Resources (COR) theories, we tested direct and interactive relationships between strengths use (SU), daily proactive vitality management (PVM), and daily work engagement (WE). Eighty-seven ( N  = 87) employees from a multinational company completed self-reported questionnaires at the beginning of the study and throughout five consecutive workdays ( N  = 358), yielding a multilevel dataset. We have found a significant daily positive relationship between PVM and WE, which showed significant inter-individual variation and was significantly enhanced by SU at the individual level. This study showed that PVM as employee-initiated proactive behavior and SU as a proactive personal resource facilitate engagement independently but yield the strongest results when used together, suggesting an interactive mechanism between bottom-up effects postulated in the JD-R theory., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2022 Pap, Vîrgă and Lupșa.)

Violence is a known risk factor for health problems. In this epidemiological study across 5,385 male patients, we investigate the prevalence of perpetrated violence, exposure to violence, their overlap and the relationship between violence, mental, and psychosomatic health, as well as adverse health behaviors, such as self-harming behavior and the consumption of drugs. Participants completed an anonymous questionnaire addressing violence experience (i.e., both expose and perpetration), age of victimization/perpetration, frequency, and perceived severity of violence exposure. We considered physical, psychological as well as sexual violence. Information on health status and adverse health behaviors complemented the data. Results showed that 48.4% of the sample reported having experienced violence (perpetration, victimization, or both). The victim-perpetrator overlap formed the largest group, in which the incidence of having experienced multiple types of violence was significantly higher compared to victims and perpetrators. The age-crime curve flattened more slowly with increasing age in this group. Although the perceived severity of exposure to violence is lower in the overlap group, its health status and adverse health behaviors were worse. Interventions should focus on this group since they constitute a burden for the healthcare system., Competing Interests: RB is employed by “Berufsförderungswerk Düren GmbH”. He was not employed there during the project period of the survey and evaluation of the study. The “Berufsförderungswerk Düren” was not involved in the study. The remaining authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2022 Leiding, Kaiser, Hüpen, Kirchhart, Puiu, Steffens, Bergs and Habel.)

While online disinformation practices have grown exponentially over the past decade, the COVID-19 pandemic provides arguably the best opportunity to date to study such communications at a cross-national level. Using the data provided by the International Fact-Checking Network (IFCN), we examine the strategic uses of non-verbal and verbal arguments to push disinformation through social media and websites during the first wave of lockdowns in 2020 across 16 European countries. Our paper extends the work by Brennen et al. (2021) on the use of visuals in COVID-19 misinformation claims by investigating the use of facial emotional expressions and body pose depictions in conjunction with framing elements such as problems identified and attribution of responsibility in the construction of disinformation messages. Our European-wide comparative analysis of 174 messages indexed by the IFCN during the months of April and May 2020 helps provide a rounder understanding of the use of non-verbal devices in advancing COVID-19 disinformation across the continent, and can provide the basis for a framework for further study of the strategic use of non-verbal devices in COVID-19 disinformation world-wide., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2022 Dumitrescu and Trpkovic.)

This study provides a cross-lagged examination of the relationships between proactive vitality management, work-home enrichment, and entrepreneurial performance. Specifically, based on the Job Demands-Resources and Conservation of Resources theories, we postulate a mediation model where proactive vitality management leads to entrepreneurs transferring resources developed in their work role to thrive in their home role (i.e., work-home enrichment), resulting in augmented entrepreneurial performance. The hypotheses were tested with data collected at two time points, 1 onth apart-T1 ( N  = 277) and T2 ( N  = 249), from Romanian entrepreneurs. We analyzed autoregressive, causal, reversed, and reciprocal models to test the mediation model. In the linkage between predictor and outcome variable, the reversed model is the best-fitting model, showing that proactive vitality management is only a distal precursor of performance. However, the best-fitting models for the relationship between predictor and mediator and between mediator and outcome were the reciprocal models. Thus, proactive vitality management and work-home enrichment have reciprocal effects on each other over time, as was the case between work-home enrichment and entrepreneurial performance. These results are in line with the resource gain cycle perspective of the Conservation of Resources theory. Employing proactive behaviors to optimize functioning at work enables the transfer of resources to the home role. Potentiating one role through aspects of another will thus generate additional resources reflecting on entrepreneurial performance. Hence, this study provides insights into precursors and mechanisms that can shape entrepreneurial performance., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2022 Tisu and Vîrgă.)

Teachers' job satisfaction has been the subject of many studies that tried to identify its main sources. Based on the social cognitive career theory, the present study aimed to investigate the relationships between personality traits, goals orientation, and teachers' job satisfaction. A total of 321 Romanian teachers completed an online questionnaire. The results demonstrated new insights regarding the relationships between psychological variables (conscientiousness, dispositional resistance to change, and achievement goals orientation) and teachers' job satisfaction. Cognitive rigidity, as a mechanism to resistance to change, mediates between conscientiousness and teachers' job satisfaction. Moreover, the moderation role of learning goals orientation manifests in the relation between conscientiousness and job satisfaction. These findings emphasize that school management needs to offer teachers information and explain the change's benefits if they want to prevent individual resistance to change and decrease satisfaction related to their work., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2022 Paloş, Vîrgă and Craşovan.)

Perceived customer incivility can be a significant day-to-day demand that affects frontline service employees' job satisfaction. The current research focuses on job resources on multiple levels that serve as buffers in the face of this demand. We tested a multi-level model in which supervisor support (at the employee level) and participative climate (at the work-unit level) moderate the negative relationship between perceived customer incivility and job satisfaction. We used multi-level analysis with self-reported cross-sectional data collected from 934 employees nested in 107 work units of a large clothing shop chain in Belgium. The results showed that both supervisor support and participative climate moderate the negative relationship between perceived customer incivility and job satisfaction. The theoretical contribution of this study resides in an extension of the JD-R theory to simultaneously conceptualize resources on multiple levels. In the meantime, we focus on practical, hands-on resources that organizations can implement to protect service employees from the adverse effects of perceived customer incivility., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2021 Pap, Vîrgă and Notelaers.)

Transition to adulthood in countries that have seen recent historical structural changes in society as well as changes in what it means to be an adult represents important contexts for investigations of ways in which positive development and transition to adulthood are experienced. Situated in such context, this cross-sectional study aimed to (1) describe profiles of positive psychological strengths, as measured by the Five Cs of positive youth development (PYD) and (2) document how identified profiles might differ in relation to other aspects of positive and problematic development. Participants were 272 Romanian emerging adults attending university (76% female; aged 19-29 years old, M age = 21 years old). Latent class analysis was performed to identify patterns of psychological strengths using the Five Cs theory of positive youth development. Pairwise Wald chi square difference tests were then conducted to determine if the identified Five Cs profiles were associated with significant differences in other key outcomes. Findings indicated that, a two-class model emerged as the best fitting model, and in this model, Class 1 was similar to Class 2 on strengths of competence, confidence, and connection. However, the two classes were distinguishable by caring and character, with Class 2, the numerically more common profile (89%), being elevated on character and caring relative to Class 1 (which was a less frequently occurring profile, 11%). This finding highlights the importance of examining the diversity of positive development, even within the same theoretical framework. Further results indicated that the two identified classes showed similarities in problematic behaviors as well as in purpose in life and psychological complaints. Other group difference tests by profile/class indicated that Class 2 was higher in general and social well-being relative to Class 1, with a trend in the same direction for hope. However, an unexpected finding was that Class 2 was also elevated in somatic complaints relative to Class 1. These are important findings not only because of the contribution to the generalizability of the Five Cs theory and measure but also because of the implications of the findings to research, policy, and practice in the Romanian context and beyond., Competing Interests: The handling editor is currently organizing a Research Topic with the authors LF-W and NW. The remaining authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2021 Ferrer-Wreder, Eichas, Stefenel, Buzea and Wiium.)

The present study adopts The Developmental Assets and Positive Youth Development (PYD) perspectives which (in contrast to the deficit-based approaches which highlight risks and deficit in youth development) claim that young people have potencies to achieve optimal development if supported by their social environment. Extant research indicates that developmental assets are linked with a variety of thriving indicators. The present research aimed to contribute to the PYD research by examining the external developmental assets (support, empowerment, and boundaries and expectations) emerging adults ( N = 2055; age range = 18-28) perceived in their social environment and the level of their positive identity in four countries (Norway, Romania, Slovenia and Turkey), which have different rankings in economic, human, and youth development indices. The present study also tested a path model, which examines the links between external development assets and positive identity. Findings indicated that although there are differences in the reports of external developmental assets and positive identity, external assets and positive identity are similarly and positively linked across the four countries. The findings build on the existing literature by showing that developmental assets are conducive to positive outcomes cross-nationally despite country-level differences in the experience of external assets. Policy implications of the findings were discussed from the perspective of ecological theory as well as Developmental Assets and Positive Youth Development Frameworks., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2021 Dost-Gözkan, Kozina, Stefenel and Wiium.)

Young people transition to adulthood via diverse pathways; among the most significant are those dominated by education, employment, or social disadvantage. These pathways are determined, to a large extent, by the level of well-being and autonomy young people develop to help them face their own realities. The aim of this study is to analyze the relationship between young people's psychological well-being and autonomy - key factors in the transition to adulthood - and the relationship these factors have with the main pathways followed during transition. To this end, Ryff's Model of Psychological Well-being and the Transition to Adulthood Autonomy Scale (EDATVA) were used to evaluate a total of 1148 Spanish and Colombian subjects aged between 16 and 21. Correlations and differences between scores were subsequently analyzed. Subjects were also asked to identify the most relevant aspect of their transition to adulthood as either education, employment, or social disadvantage. Results from all three pathways for transition to adulthood show a trend in which higher levels of well-being correspond to higher levels of autonomy. In general, the results for the young people on the education pathway show high levels of autonomy and well-being, as well as a significantly higher level of critical thinking compared to young people on other pathways. The scores from employed young people reveal a greater capacity for self-organization in relation to the other two pathways. The results for disadvantaged young people show significantly greater socio-political engagement than that of young people on the education and employment pathways. However, the disadvantaged group also displays the lowest level of psychological well-being. These results provide elements for a better understanding of young people's different transition pathways to adulthood and constitute an important point of reference for future research. They also provide data that may be relevant in guiding potential educational, psychological, and social interventions within this population group., (Copyright © 2020 Melendro, Campos, Rodríguez-Bravo and Arroyo Resino.)

This study uses scales of autonomy and psychological wellbeing to determine whether young people's gender and romantic relationship status give rise to differences in relation to a series of specific dimensions. To this end, we used Ryff's Model of Psychological Wellbeing, which comprises several dimensions: self-acceptance, positive relations with others, autonomy, environmental mastery, personal growth, and purpose in life; and our own Transition to Adulthood Autonomy Scale (EDATVA), whose dimensions are: self-organization, understanding context, critical thinking, and socio-political engagement. As a result, a quantitative study was performed with 1,148 young people aged 16-21 from Madrid, Spain and Bogotá, Colombia, of whom 60.2% were female and 39.8% were male. The findings show that in the gender variable there are differences between males and females in the dimensions of positive relations with others, personal growth (wellbeing questionnaire), and understanding context (autonomy questionnaire); the female sample obtained the highest scores. In the relationship variable, differences were found in environmental mastery and purpose in life; higher scores were obtained by young people in a romantic relationship. However, no differences were found in the different dimensions in the autonomy questionnaire between young people in a relationship and those not., (Copyright © 2020 García-Castilla, Sánchez, Campos and Arroyo Resino.)

Knowing when an event is likely to occur allows attentional resources to be oriented toward that moment in time, enhancing processing of the event. We previously found that children (mean age 11 years) are unable to use endogenous temporal cues to orient attention in time, despite being able to use endogenous spatial cues (arrows) to orient attention in space. Arrow cues, however, may have proved beneficial by engaging exogenous (automatic), as well as endogenous (voluntary), orienting mechanisms. We therefore conducted two studies in which the exogenous properties of visual temporal cues were increased, to examine whether this helped children orient their attention in time. In the first study, the location of an imperative target was predicted by the direction of a left or right spatial arrow cue while its onset was predicted by the relative duration of a short or long temporal cue. To minimize the influence of rhythmic entrainment in the temporal condition, the foreperiod (500 ms/1100 ms) was deliberately chosen so as not to precisely match the duration of the temporal cue (100 ms/400 ms). Targets appeared either at cued locations/onset times (valid trials) or at unexpected locations/onset times (invalid trials). Adults' response times were significantly slower for invalid versus valid trials, in both spatial and temporal domains. Despite being slowed by invalid spatial cues, children (mean age 10.7 years) were unperturbed by invalid temporal cues, suggesting that these duration-based temporal cues did not help them orient attention in time. In the second study, we enhanced the exogenous properties of temporal cues further, by presenting multiple temporal cues in an isochronous (rhythmic) sequence. Again, to minimize automatic entrainment, target onset did not match the isochronous interval. Children (mean age 11.4 years), as well as adults, were now significantly slowed by invalid cues in both the temporal and spatial dimension. The sequential, as opposed to single, presentation of temporal cues therefore helped children to orient their attention in time. We suggest that the exogenous properties of sequential presentation provide a temporal scaffold that supports the additional attentional and mnemonic requirements of temporal, as compared to spatial, processing.

The attachment and the caregiving system are complementary systems which are active simultaneously in infant and mother interactions. This ensures the infant survival and optimal social, emotional, and cognitive development. In this brief review we first define the characteristics of these two behavioral systems and the theory that links them, according to what Bowlby called the "attachment-caregiving social bond" (Bowlby, 1969). We then follow with those neuroimaging studies that have focused on this particular issue, i.e., those which have studied the activation of the careging system in women (using infant stimuli) and have explored how the individual attachment model (through the Adult Attachment Interview) modulates its activity. Studies report altered activation in limbic and prefrontal areas and in basal ganglia and hypothalamus/pituitary regions. These altered activations are thought to be the neural substrate of the attachment-caregiving systems interaction.