Background: In a recent study, Schütz and colleagues [1] used the affective profile model (i.e., the combination of peoples’ experience of high/low positive/negative affect) to investigate individual differences in intentional happiness-increasing strategies. Here we used a merged larger sample, a person-centered method to create the profiles, and a recent factor validated happiness-increasing strategies scale, to replicate the original findings. Method: The participants were 1,000 (404 males, 596 females) individuals recruited through Amazon’s Mechanical Turk (MTurk) who answered to the Positive Affect Negative Affect Schedule and the Happiness-Increasing Strategies Scales. Participants were clustered in the four affective profiles using the software RopStat (http://www. ropstat.com). Analyses of variance were conducted to discern differences in how frequently the strategies were used among people with different profiles. Results: Individuals with profiles at the extremes of the model (e.g., self-fulfilling vs. self-destructive) differed the most in their use of strategies. The differences within individuals with profiles that diverge in one affectivity dimension while being similar in the other suggested that, for example, decreases in negative affect while positive affect is low (self-destructive vs. low affective) will lead or might be a function of a decrease in usage of both the mental control and the passive leisure strategies. Conclusion: The self-fulfilling experience, depicted as high positive affect and low negative affect, is a combination of agentic (instrumental goal pursuit, active leisure, direct attempts), communal (social affiliation), and spiritual (religion) strategies. Nevertheless, the affective system showed the characteristics of a complex dynamic adaptive system: the same strategies might lead to different profiles (multi-finality) and different strategies might lead to the same profile (equifinality).

The affective profile model was used to investigate individual differences in police personnel perceptions about the working climate and its influences on motivation. The Positive Affect, Negative Affect Schedule (PANAS) was used to assign police personnel, sworn and non-sworn (N = 595), to four affective profiles: self-fulfilling, low affective, high affective, and self-destructive. The work climate was assessed using the Learning Climate Questionnaire (Management Relations and Style, Time, Autonomy and Responsibility, Team Style, Opportunities to Develop, Guidelines on How to do the Job, and Contentedness). Motivation was evaluated using a modified version (to refer specifically to the individual’s work situation) of the Situational Motivation Scale (intrinsic motivation, external regulation, identified regulation, and amotivation). Self-fulfilling individuals scored higher on all work climate dimensions compared to the other three groups. Compared to low positive affect profiles, individuals with profiles of high positive affect scored higher in intrinsic motivation and identified regulation. Self-destructive individuals scored higher in amotivation. Different aspects of the work climate were related to each motivation dimension among affective profiles. Police personnel may react to their work environment depending on their affective profile. Moreover, the extent to which the work influences police personnel’s motivation is also related to the affective profile of the individual. © 2015, The Author(s).

Three studies were performed to examine positive and negative affect, stress and energy, and Type-A personality as a function of Gender and Affective profiles. In Study I, 304 university

students (152 male and 152 female), in Study II, 142 pupils at upper secondary school (95

male and 47 female) and in Study III, 166 pupils at upper secondary school (84 male and 82

female) completed self-report questionnaires pertaining to Positive affect and Negative affect

Scales (PANAS), stress and energy (SE), the Type A-personality scale and a Background and

Health questionnaire. The results indicated gender effects by which female participants

expressed a higher level of negative affect, stress and Type A-personality were found in all

three studies, as well as for energy in Study I. There were marked effects of Affective profiles

upon stress, energy and Type A-personality in all three studies. Regression analysis indicated

that Type A-personality could be predicted from a high level of Negative Affect (Study I, II

and III) as well as from high levels of stress (Study I and II). All three studies indicate a link

between negative affectivity, stress and Type A-personality with consequences for the

maladaptive behavioral patterns implying health hazards.

Previous meta-analyses investigating the effect of exercise on depression have included trials where the control condition has been categorized as placebo despite the fact that this particular placebo intervention (e.g., meditation, relaxation) has been recognized as having an antidepressant effect. Because meditation and mindfulness-based interventions are associated with depression reduction, it is impossible to separate the effect of the physical exercise from the meditation-related parts. The present study determined the efficacy of exercise in reducing symptoms of depression compared with no treatment, placebo conditions or usual care among clinically defined depressed adults. Of 89 retrieved studies, 15 passed the inclusion criteria of which 13 studies presented sufficient information for calculating effect sizes. The main result showed a significant large overall effect favoring exercise intervention. The effect size was even larger when only trials that had used no treatment or placebo conditions were analyzed. Nevertheless, effect size was reduced to a moderate level when only studies with high methodological quality were included in the analysis. Exercise may be recommended for people with mild and moderate depression who are willing, motivated, and physically healthy enough to engage in such a program.

The contribution of neuroimmune functioning and brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) to functional dysregulation in autism spectrum disorder was assessed in 29 patients under treatment in two specialized centers of Basilicata (Chiaromonte and Matera), Southern Italy, through analysis of serum levels of cytokines and BDNF. Elevated levels of the pro-inflammatory cytokine, including interleukin-1, interleukin-6, interleukin-12, interleukin-23, tumor necrosis factor-alpha and BDNF were observed, regardless of age and gender. Comparisons were made with age-and gender-related healthy controls. The present findings reinforce current notions regarding immunoexcitotoxic mechanisms contributing to the pathophysiology of autistic disorder.

Background: Mediation analysis investigates whether a variable (i.e., mediator) changes in regard to an independent variable, in turn, affecting a dependent variable. Moderation analysis, on the other hand, investigates whether the statistical interaction between independent variables predict a dependent variable. Although this difference between these two types of analysis is explicit in current literature, there is still confusion with regard to the mediating and moderating effects of different variables on depression. The purpose of this study was to assess the mediating and moderating effects of anxiety, stress, positive affect, and negative affect on depression. Methods: Two hundred and two university students (males = 93, females = 113) completed questionnaires assessing anxiety, stress, self-esteem, positive and negative affect, and depression. Mediation and moderation analyses were conducted using techniques based on standard multiple regression and hierarchical regression analyses. Main Findings: The results indicated that (i) anxiety partially mediated the effects of both stress and self-esteem upon depression, (ii) that stress partially mediated the effects of anxiety and positive affect upon depression, (iii) that stress completely mediated the effects of self-esteem on depression, and (iv) that there was a significant interaction between stress and negative affect, and between positive affect and negative affect upon depression. Conclusion: The study highlights different research questions that can be investigated depending on whether researchers decide to use the same variables as mediators and/or moderators.

Cognitive and behavioral changes during adolescence might be understood from the perspective of increased executive functioning that is expressed as gradual maturing character. Character profiles (combinations of low and high scores in three character traits: Self-directedness, Cooperativeness, and Self-transcendence) of 439 Swedish adolescents were used to evaluate the linear and non-linear relationship between character traits and self-reported positive and negative affect. Linear analysis showed that all three character traits were associated to positive and negative affect. Non-linear analysis showed that Self-directedness was associated with high positive affect and low negative affect when Cooperativeness was high. No association of higher Cooperativeness with positive and negative affect was found. Higher Self-transcendence was associated with higher negative affect when both Self-directedness and Cooperativeness were high. Although, Self-directedness, Cooperativeness, and Self-transcendence are associated to adolescents' affective experience, these character traits are not associated to positive and negative affect in the same manner or linearly. Self-directedness's positive relationship to high positive affect and low negative affect was present only when Cooperativeness was high. In other words, an autonomous adolescent (i.e., high Self-directedness) might experience more positive and less negative emotions as long as she/he feels as an integral part of society (i.e., high Cooperativeness). (C) 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The present study aims at identifying predisposing and protective factors for the purpose of showing their respective contribution and interaction for adolescents’ stress disorders and depressive states, and to find key attributes for the identification of pupils at risk in a normal population of adolescents. The study was performed with 211 high-school pupils over a period of 18 months. The results are reported from the pupils participating in 4 consecutive administrations of the instruments (N = 115). The following instruments were used: “Kutcher Adolescent Depression Scale”, “Stress”, “Helplessness”, “Hopelessness”, “Uppsala Sleep inventory”, “Barratt’s Impulsiveness Scale”, “Positive Affect and Negative Affect Scale”, “Life Orientation Test”, “General Self-Efficacy”, “Locus of Control”, “Situational Intrinsic Motivational Scale”. The Positive Affect and Negative Affect Scale were also used to categorize participants into four affective profiles: “self-fulfilling”, high affective”, “low affective” and “self-destructive”. Linear regression analyses showed that situational depression (hopelessness) was predicted by depressive. Negative affect predicted stress, which in turn predicted general and situational depressiveness. General self-efficacy, positive affect and Identified regulation were found to be protective factors to both general and situational depressiveness. Depressiveness was found to be linked to the “self-destructive” affective personality type. “Negative affect” and distractiveness are suggested as markers for pupils at risk, whereas positive affect, self-efficacy and identified regulation appear to have protecting roles.

The present study investigated the relationship between personality and Subjective Well-Being in a sample of 135 Salvadorian adolescents and young adults (age mean = 21.88 sd. = 4.70). Personality was assessed through self-reports using the Temperament and Character Inventory-Revised. Subjective Well-Being was also self-reported using the Positive Affect Negative Affect Schedule and the Satisfaction With Life Scale. Structural equation modeling was used to determine relationships between personality and Subjective Well-Being. Regarding temperament dimensions, Harm Avoidance was positively associated to negative affect and negatively associated to positive affect, while Persistence was positively associated to positive affect. Regarding character dimensions, only Self-directedness was related to Subjective Well-Being: positively related to life satisfaction and positive affect. The results presented here mirror findings using the temperament and character model of personality among European and North American adolescents. (C) 2013 The Foundation for Professionals in Services for Adolescents. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Background. The affective profiles model categorizes individuals as self-fulfilling (high positive affect, low negative affect), high affective (high positive affect, high negative affect), low affective (low positive affect, low negative affect), and self-destructive (low positive affect, high negative affect). The model has been used extensively among Swedes to discern differences between profiles regarding happiness, depression, and also life satisfaction. The aim of the present study was to investigate such differences in a sample of residents of the USA. The study also investigated differences between profiles with regard to happiness-increasing strategies. Methods. In Study I, 900 participants reported affect (Positive Affect Negative Affect Schedule; PANAS) and happiness (Happiness-Depression Scale). In Study II, 500 participants self-reported affect (PANAS), life satisfaction (Satisfaction With Life Scale), and how often they used specific strategies to increase their own happiness (Happiness-Increasing Strategies Scales). Results. The results showed that, compared to the other profiles, self-fulfilling individuals were less depressed, happier, and more satisfied with their lives. Nevertheless, self-destructive individuals were more depressed, unhappier, and less satisfied than all other profiles. The self-fulfilling individuals tended to use strategies related to agentic (e. g., instrumental goal-pursuit), communal (e. g., social affiliation), and spiritual (e. g., religion) values when pursuing happiness. Conclusion. These differences suggest that promoting positive emotions can positively influence a depressive-to-happy state as well as increasing life satisfaction. Moreover, the present study shows that pursuing happiness through strategies guided by agency, communion, and spirituality is related to a self-fulfilling experience described as high positive affect and low negative affect.