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4 results on '"Schimmel, Michelle"'

2. Fictional friends and enemies as first aid after ostracism? Experimentally investigating the potential of para-/orthosocial relationships in belongingness need restoration and emotion regulation

Author

Technische Universität Chemnitz, International Communication Association (ICA), Lutz, Sarah, Schneider, Frank M., Reich, Sabine, Schimmel, Michelle, Oechler, Hannah, Beinlich, Laura, Technische Universität Chemnitz, International Communication Association (ICA), Lutz, Sarah, Schneider, Frank M., Reich, Sabine, Schimmel, Michelle, Oechler, Hannah, and Beinlich, Laura

Abstract

Being socially excluded seriously threatens individuals’ need to belong and emotional well-being. This article investigates to what extent different coping strategies help overcome these detrimental effects: thinking about real-life friends/enemies (i.e., orthosocial relationships, OSRs) and thinking about (dis)liked media characters (i.e., parasocial relationships, PSRs). Across three experiments (NPilot = 129, NStudy1 = 132, NStudy2 = 855), we first induced social exclusion using a virtual ball-tossing game. Afterward, we manipulated different relationship types and valences and compared them to non- or less-relational control conditions. As hypothesized, belongingness and emotional well-being increased from pre- to post-coping. This effect was fully mediated by perceived relationship closeness to the respective person(a). Highlighting that PSRs represent more than surrogates (i.e., secondary replacements of OSR), both relationship types did not differ in coping effectiveness. Moreover, positive relationships were more effective in fulfilling both coping goals than negative ones.

Published
2024

3. Coping Flexibility and Media Use

Author

Schimmel, Michelle, Wolfers, Lara, and Schneider, Frank

Subjects
Communication, Social and Behavioral Sciences
Abstract

Media has become a primary tool to cope with stress, allowing the pursuit of different coping strategies. University life is often considered a time that involves high levels of academic stress, and young adults are known to primarily use online in comparison to offline media. While in research on problematic internet use, using online media for coping is often considered maladaptive behaviour, other findings indicate that online media is a central and effective way of coping. The personality trait coping flexibility has emerged as one important factor for adaptive coping that is associated with outcomes such as psychological well-being and may predict whether coping using online media is adaptive, as indicated by elevated well-being, or maladaptive, as indicated by increased perceived stress. Moreover, a better understanding of personality factors that may influence the selection of media as coping tools is required. Thus, this study examines how coping flexibility relates to the use of different internet-based coping tools for stress regulation, and whether coping flexibility plays a moderating role for the relationship between the use of online coping tools and academic stress and well-being. Additionally, the prevalence of media use for coping is examined. Surveys will be administered at two times during the semester to students in a longitudinal design.

Published
2023
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4. Coping with the COVID-19 Pandemic by Using Media: Extending the Coping Goodness-of-Fit Hypothesis to Media Use.

Author

Wolfers, Lara N., Lüpken, Luca Marie, Schimmel, Michelle, Utz, Sonja, Nabi, Robin L., and Gaiser, Franziska

Subjects
*COVID-19 pandemic, *STRESS management, *MENTAL health, *MANAGEMENT philosophy, *EMOTIONS
Abstract

During the COVID-19 pandemic, people had to cope with stress in two different ways: engaging in problem-focused behaviors (e.g. seeking information) and regulating their emotions. In particular, during lockdowns, media played an important role in these coping processes. This short-term longitudinal study during the first stage of the COVID-19 pandemic in April 2020 in Germany (N = 348) tested how coping strategies related to two categories of coping effectiveness outcomes, situation-addressing outcomes (preventive behaviors and knowledge) and mental health outcomes (stress and perceived coping efficacy). We moreover tested which kind of media use is related to effective coping derived from a combination of the coping goodness-of-fit hypothesis and mood management theory. The study demonstrated that information seeking during the uncertain pandemic circumstances might have been a double-edged sword: Increased use of the coping strategy information seeking was related to increased stress but also to enhanced knowledge and better adherence to behavioral guidelines, however only on the cross-sectional level. Additionally, our results showed that using positive media content might have helped media users to reduce stress and to adhere to behavioral guidelines. Thus, a combination of seeking information at predefined, limited time points and using positive media content might have been a fruitful way of using media for coping during this situation of crisis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Published
2024
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