This study examined a multilevel model of leadership climate, professional self-efficacy, and technostrain in a sample of 877 individuals across 76 teams in Spain and Uruguay. We hypothesized that high levels of professional self-efficacy would mediate the relationship between leadership climate and technostrain (i.e., exhaustion, skepticism, anxiety, and inefficacy related to technology use). Our findings reveal that a positive leadership climate significantly boosts professional self-efficacy, which in turn decreases the experience of technostrain. Moreover, perceptions of shared leadership are positively associated with reduced technostrain. In terms of practical implications, the results suggest that leaders can mitigate the technostrain experienced by workers by providing socio-emotional support, facilitating positive experiences with information and communication technology (ICT), and exemplifying ethical conduct in ICT use. Additionally, efficacy beliefs can be optimized through prior training and the perception of technological and social facilitators in the workplace, which will contribute to the development of positive technology experiences at work. Further implications and limitations of the study will be discussed.

This research builds on previous work showing that interpersonal synchrony in dyads is a social cue that informs bystanders about the dyads’ psychological attributes and influences their intentions to affiliate with members of dyads. Across two studies, participants were asked to observe dyads walking down a corridor during the TV show Shark Tank, rate the dyads’ collective efficacy, and express their own intentions to affiliate with them. The results replicate and extend previous work, suggesting that perceived synchrony, collective efficacy, and affiliation intentions are positively correlated, and that perceived synchrony can have positive spill-over effects on outcomes such as attracting business proposals and being liked by others.

Social decision-making is a multifaceted process where decisions impact not only the individual but also the larger group. Acute stress may influence individual decision-making, potentially increasing reward-driven choices and affecting learning and adaptive adjustment. However, studies examining stress’s impact on social decision-making have presented inconsistencies, potentially arising from assessing decision-making as a singular dimension. This article aims to test, using computational modeling, the stress effect on social decision making and cognitive subprocesses involved during the Ultimatum Game (UG). Seventy-three healthy participants underwent the UG, with only half exposed before to the virtual Trier Social Stress Test (TSST-VR). In our data, prosocial behavior—as indexed by the number of accepted offers and sensitivity to unfair distributions—did not show immediate alterations 15 min following stressor onset. However, stressed participants exhibited a diminished capacity to learn and adapt during the task, alongside a more perseverative decision-making pattern. These results support the negative impact of stress on social decisions and underscore the importance of considering its effects in mitigating challenges related to social integration and cohesion.

Sensory processing sensitivity (SPS) is a trait characterized by heightened responsiveness to external and internal stimuli. Past research suggests individuals high in SPS may exhibit depressive symptoms, possibly due to their highly sensitive nervous system. While the link between SPS and sleep quality remains unexplored, studies have established a strong association between depression and sleep. This study aimed to compare sensitivity groups concerning sleep quality and depression and to evaluate depression’s moderating effects on the SPS–sleep quality relationship. An online survey was administered to 1,122 Spanish participants (female 75.8%, n = 850), with a mean age of 24.5 (standard deviation [SD] = 11.2). Analyses of covariance (ANCOVAs) indicated that the high-sensitivity group experienced more sleep disturbances and severe symptoms of depression, considering gender, age, and monthly incomes as sociodemographic variables. Depression was found to significantly moderate the SPS–sleep quality relationship (F(2, 1116) = 5.717, p = .003), exacerbating the impact of SPS on sleep disturbances. The study findings suggest that highly sensitive people appear to indicate more severe depressive symptoms, as well as sleep quality disturbances, with the influence of gender, age, and monthly income. Also, depression seems to moderate the relationship between SPS and sleep quality, leading to greater sleep disturbances among highly sensitive individuals with severe depressive symptoms.

The use of observational methodology has become increasingly more common in psychological research, highlighting the need for tools that ensure methodological rigor. This study presents evidence of convergent/discriminant validity for the Methodological Quality Scale for Studies Based on Observational Methodology (MQSOM). A multitrait-multimethod (MTMM) analysis with Spearman’s correlations was used to examine the relationship between MQSOM dimensions and those of three instruments: the Methodological Rigor in Mixed Methods (MRMM), the Guidelines for Reporting Evaluations Based on Observational Methodology (GREOM), and the Mixed Methods Appraisal Tool (MMAT). Ninety-six articles were coded using MQSOM and the instruments for comparison. The MQSOM’s design converged with the MRMM’s mixed-methods design (ρ = .217, p = .034), GREOM’s design (ρ = .217, p = .034), and MMAT’s qualitative (QUAL) component (ρ = .212, p = .038). The MQSOM’s measurement and analysis aligned with MRMM’s data analysis (ρ = .611, p < .001), GREOM’s data quality control (ρ = .423, p < .001) and results (ρ = .328, p = .001), and MMAT’s quantitative (QUANT) (ρ = .214, p = .037) and mixed-methods (ρ = .643, p < .001) components. MQSOM’s design exhibited discriminant validity from MRMM’s data collection (ρ = .025, p = .807) and data analysis (ρ = −.051, p = .620), GREOM’s data quality control (ρ = .025, p = .812) and results (ρ = −.032, p = .759), and MMAT’s QUANT component (ρ = −.035, p = .733). This study reinforces the validity of MQSOM as a useful methodological quality scale.

Problematic Internet use, defined as excessive, disproportionate, or inappropriate use of the Internet leading to distress, significant time consumption, and impaired normal functioning in various crucial life domains, is emerging as a major issue in many developed countries. The growing interest in exploring this phenomenon has led to the proliferation of assessment tools designed to evaluate it. The present study aims to adapt Basque the Generalized Problematic Internet Use Scale-2 (GPIUS-2), a questionnaire specifically designed to assess the cognitive and behavioral aspects of problematic Internet use and its associated consequences, and to evaluate the psychometric properties of the new instrument. The study was carried out with two independent samples, one composed of adults (n = 283, 18–62 years of age, 56.5% female) and the other of adolescents (n = 943, 11–16 years of age, 52.0% female). Three models were tested by confirmatory factor analysis: a one-dimensional model, the original five-factor model, and a four-factor model. The results indicated that both the 4-factor and 5-factor models obtained adequate fit indices, and consequently, the most parsimonious model was chosen. Invariance testing revealed comparable measurement properties of the GPIUS-2 in both men and women, and adults and adolescents. Furthermore, the scores of the GPIUS-2 subscales revealed strong positive correlations with Internet addiction and moderate positive correlations with depression, anxiety, and stress. The results therefore indicate that the Basque version of GPIUS-2 is a reliable instrument with adequate evidence of validity that will enable professionals to assess problematic Internet use in this population.

Employees rely heavily on computer-mediated communication (CMC). While CMC provides significant benefits, it also presents some challenges. The theoretical mechanisms underlying these opposing effects remain poorly understood, limiting our ability to mitigate the drawbacks of CMC use while maximizing its advantages. This study leverages job design theory to unravel the complex relationship between CMC use and employee basic need satisfaction, an important determinant of employee well-being and performance. More specifically, we propose that CMC use can satisfy the basic psychological needs of relatedness, competence, and autonomy as defined in self-determination theory, by providing social support, a critical job resource. However, it may also impede psychological need satisfaction by introducing technology-induced job demands, such as interruptions and techno-workload. A daily diary study among 143 employees reporting on at least 2 days of working from home corroborated these hypotheses: CMC use was positively related to daily relatedness satisfaction through enhanced social support. Conversely, it was negatively associated with daily autonomy satisfaction through task interruptions and techno-workload. We discuss the theoretical and practical implications of these results, confirming the dual role of CMC in fulfilling and challenging basic psychological need satisfaction.

Including general options on items, such as None-of-the-above (NOTA), could lead to worse psychometric properties. Further, personality traits are related to academic performance and could influence NOTA effects. Therefore, this study aims to test the effects of NOTA by manipulating its appearance and its use as the correct option or as a distractor, while considering the examinees’ personality traits. The sample consisted of 449 psychology students who answered a statistics concept inventory. A crossed random-effects model was conducted to model the probability of answering an item correctly depending on items and students’ covariates. The appearance of NOTA negatively affects the probability of answering correctly and changes between examinees. Conscientiousness, Extraversion, Emotional Stability, and previous knowledge of statistics are also significant predictors. The results point to increased items’ difficulty when NOTA is included, although not all the examinees seem to show the same behavior when dealing with NOTA options.

This study provides evidence supporting the validity of the Psychologically Rich Life Questionnaire (PRLQ) in a large Spanish sample, comparing its 17-item and 12-item versions and various measures of well-being and distress. Both versions show high internal consistency and adequate fit, although some elements could be interpreted as favoring the 12-item version. Analyses revealed significant associations between PRLQ scores and sociodemographic factors, with higher scores observed among older individuals, those with higher levels of education, and those with higher incomes, although effect sizes were small. We found a consistent pattern of positive correlations with well-being variables (e.g., resilience and meaning in life) and negative correlations with distress measures (e.g., depression, anxiety, and loneliness). This study, for the first time in Spanish, presents information on a questionnaire that addresses a novel concept complementary to traditional views of hedonic and eudaimonic well-being. Limitations, including digital literacy disparities and potential cultural or age-related biases, are discussed. Future research should explore the cross-cultural equivalence of the PRLQ and its utility in longitudinal and predictive contexts.

One factor that has been shown to mediate and protect against psychopathology is the ability to engage in meaning making in adverse situations during the COVID-19 pandemic. To date, the models that have attempted to explain the relationship between traumatic, stressful events’ meaning and clinical symptoms have been conducted in a piecemeal fashion. The objective of this study is to analyze which model (two-pathway model vs three-pathway model) has a better fit in explaining the association between the violation of global meaning and clinical symptoms such as somatization, anxiety, and depression in participants during the COVID-19 pandemic. The study sample consisted of N = 1106 adults. The results suggest that the violation of schemas affects depression and anxiety symptoms through three pathways: (a) Path one, directly, schema violation explains clinical symptoms; (b) Path two, indirectly, schema violation explains clinical symptoms through the search for meaning and negative effect; and (c) Path three, the presence of meaning explains positive affect and buffers clinical symptoms. The three-pathway model explains 90% of the variance in clinical symptoms. The three-pathway model has clinical implications for the assessment, prevention, and treatment of people who are coping with unforeseen negative situations.

We investigated the dual relationship between information and communication technology (ICT) use at work and employee well-being through the framework of the job demands-resources theory. Data were collected from the seventh European Working Conditions Survey (Eurofound), which involved 37 countries and a representative sample of 7,900 workers. The findings revealed that ICT plays a dual role. On one hand, ICT enhances job autonomy, which positively influences work engagement and, subsequently, improves well-being. On the other hand, ICT use increases workload, leading to greater job exhaustion and reduced well-being. Additionally, autonomy was found to be negatively related to exhaustion, offering a secondary positive pathway to well-being. The study also examined the moderator role of employee age. Results showed that age amplifies the negative relationships between ICT use, workload, and well-being. Overall, the study highlights the complex interplay between ICT use at work and employee well-being.

Employee well-being has become an urgent issue due to the consequences of the pandemic crisis. Studies have suggested that prosociality could increase well-being, but we do not have a clear understanding about the mechanisms through which prosociality is related to well-being. The study aimed to identify some of these mechanisms. Building on the prosociality literature, we proposed and simultaneously tested five theory-driven mediators: the satisfaction of the basic psychological needs (relatedness, autonomy, and competence), rumination, and work meaningfulness. The study sample consisted of 200 employees, and a panel design with three data collection points was implemented. The data were analyzed using structural equation modeling. The results demonstrated that the relationship between prosociality and well-being was mediated by the satisfaction of the need for autonomy. The findings provide valuable empirical evidence about the role of prosocial behavior in fostering employee well-being. We further discuss implications for theory and research on prosociality and well-being.

Although attribution theory remains central to organizational science, most existing instruments originate in clinical psychology, rely on hypothetical vignettes, and exhibit notable psychometric shortcomings. To address these deficiencies, we introduce the Attributional Styles at Work Questionnaire (ASWQ), a measure grounded in realistic, empirically grounded work events. Informed by a systematic review that identified the occupational situations most likely to trigger attributional processing, the ASWQ samples this content domain comprehensively, thereby ensuring contextual relevance and providing initial evidence of content validity. Across independent employee samples drawn from distinct cultural contexts, sequential exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses produced a replicable, theoretically coherent factor structure with satisfactory reliability coefficients, supporting the instrument’s internal validity. The ASWQ assesses responses to positive and negative work events along two core attributional dimensions (i.e., locus of causality and stability). As predicted, optimistic versus pessimistic attributional styles correlated meaningfully with positive/negative affectivity, the Big Five personality traits, and self-determined work motivation, providing validity in relation to these established measures. Moreover, the findings reveal nuanced attribution patterns for negative events across work domains, challenging a simple valence-based dichotomy. By clarifying the cognitive processes that shape employee behavior, the ASWQ positions workplace attributions as a pivotal construct for advancing organizational research and practice.

The Youth Physical Activity Promotion Model (Welk, 1999) has provided a specific framework to understand children’s and adolescents’ physical activity behavior. The objectives were (1) to analyze whether the data collected in Chilean and Spanish adolescents fit the proposed model and (2) to analyze the countries’ differences (Spain vs. Chile) in enabling, predisposing, and reinforcing as well as the demographic factors that influence physical activity. The sample comprised 2318 adolescents from Spain (Mage = 14.5, SD = 1.36; 51.9% females) and 734 from Chile (Mage = 14.7, SD = 1.47; 54.2% females). The variables measured were reinforcing factors: fathers’, mothers’, friends’, and Physical Education teachers’ social support; predisposing factors: perceived competence and enjoyment; enabling factor: body mass index; and demographic factor: country of origin. Results showed that the youth physical activity promotion model was supported by the data collected from Spanish and Chilean adolescents. Nevertheless, differences in the model were observed when comparing the Spanish and Chilean populations. Perceived competence and the father’s social support predict Chilean adolescents’ physical activity. In Spain, perceived competence and the mother’s social support predict adolescents’ physical activity. Therefore, the country of origin is a key factor in understanding physical activity because education and family culture may influence physical activity in different ways.

Rock climbing performance is affected by psychophysiological stress that can vary based on route difficulty relative to the climber’s ability. The purpose of this study was to investigate psychophysiological, emotional, and performance differences between climbers attempting a lead route above (CLLabove), at (CLL) or below (CLLbelow) their on-sight ability level. 61 intermediate to advanced climbers completed a single on-sight lead ascent. Measurements of climbing performance (technique, tactics, etc.), psychophysiological (heart rate, cardiovascular reactivity, cortisol, etc) and psychometric variables (somatic and cognitive anxiety, self-confidence) were taken before and after receiving the task instructions; and pre, during and post climb. The main findings of this study were: a) significant improvements in climbing performance with increased ability relative to the route (geometric entropy: p = .013); b) greater intensity of somatic (p < .005) and cognitive anxiety (p = .005) and lower self-confidence (p < .005) between CLLabove and CLL and CLLbelow; c) a significant difference in anticipatory HR between CLLabove and CLLbelow (p = .002), but no significant differences in salivary cortisol. Results suggested that increased difficulty relative to a climber’s ability, yielding an increased likelihood of a climber falling or being unable to complete the route, was likely to elicit a negative emotional response, increase anxiety, decrease self-confidence and disrupt performance.

This study introduces the development and cross-cultural validation of the Compassion at Work Leadership Behavior Inventory (CAW-LBI), a novel hetero-evaluative tool aimed at assessing compassionate leadership behaviors according to the three-dimensional model proposed by Kanov et al. The present research consists of two studies. The first study involved two samples of Italian workers (N = 431) assessing the scale’s psychometric properties, including its factor structure through exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses, internal reliability, and convergent and discriminant validity. The results supported the hypothesized three-factor structure, with the best fit for a 9-item scale. The scale demonstrated excellent internal consistency, with high Cronbach’s alpha and McDonald’s omega values. AVE, CR, and the Fornell–Larcker criteria were satisfactory regarding convergent and discriminant validity. In addition, the scale showed significant and appropriate Pearson’s correlations with other related measures. The second study includes 225 Spanish workers, confirming the 9-item structure and supporting all the findings from the first study. Further analysis showed strong measurement invariance across samples, indicating that the CAW-LBI reliably captures compassionate leadership behaviors in different cultural contexts. These results suggest that the CAW-LBI is a robust tool for assessing compassionate leadership in various organizational and cultural contexts, offering a valuable contribution to leadership research.

While rates of youth homelessness appear to be increasing across different countries, young people experiencing homelessness face particularly critical situations, with a notably high prevalence of mental health problems and extended histories of stressful life events. This article analyzes the life trajectories and current health and needs of 392 individuals experiencing homelessness (207 men and 185 women) in the city of Madrid (Spain). People who had first experienced homelessness during their youth (under the age of 30) were, on average, younger but had experienced longer and more frequent episodes of homelessness. They had also been exposed to multiple stressful life events early in life and had a higher prevalence of victimization and criminal justice involvement throughout their lives. Likewise, youth-onset homelessness was associated with lower use of healthcare services, increased rates of mental health diagnoses and suicide attempts, and more symptoms of anxiety, depression, and substance dependence. The ongoing adversity experienced by individuals who experienced youth-onset homelessness suggests that social support systems may be failing to address the needs of vulnerable families and children. These deficiencies may contribute to the intergenerational transmission of poverty and disadvantage, and lead to situations of greater hardship for people experiencing youth-onset homelessness.

The Climate Change Anxiety Scale (CCAS), developed by Clayton and Karazsia (2020), assesses the negative emotional impact of climate change on well-being. However, its psychometric properties have not yet been sufficiently explored for Spanish spoken in Spain and Spanish culture. This research introduces the Spanish version of the CCAS (CCAS–S), examines its psychometric properties, and provides validity evidence supporting its intended purpose. Two studies were conducted: first, the original version of the CCAS was translated into Spanish using a committee approach to translation design; second, 806 participants completed the CCAS–S along with additional assessment instruments to gather validity evidence. The 13-item Spanish version showed adequate reliability and internal structure validity evidence for the two-dimensional model, aligning with theoretical expectations. Nevertheless, a refined 10-item version distinguishing metacognitive impairment, emotional distress, and functional interference dimensions optimized the scale’s intended purpose. The study discusses the conditions for using the CCAS–S measures and its practical implications.

The onset of an illness has the potential to induce profound changes in a person’s life. However, being diagnosed with a physical illness may not carry the same impact as being diagnosed with a mental health disorder. Among them, psychotic disorders exhibit the highest level of social stigma and acceptance challenges, along with compromised social functioning, diminished quality of life, and disruptions in personal, social, and vocational domains. The Impact of Illness Scale (IIS) measures how an illness has adversely affected a person’s life as perceived by that person. This study aimed to assess the psychometric properties of the IIS in a sample of 141 people with a first episode of psychosis (FEP) (mean age 35.7 years, 51.8% female). The study explored the factor structure, internal consistency, convergent and discriminant validity, and temporal stability of the IIS. The confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) model showed an excellent fit of the data, confirming a one-factor structure, internal solid consistency (McDonald’s ω = .95; Cronbach’s α = .94), theoretically coherent convergent and discriminant validity with measures of internalized stigma, negative beliefs, symptoms of psychosis and general psychopathology symptoms, and moderate test–retest reliability. Overall, these findings support the IIS as a reliable and valid tool for assessing the subjective impact of psychosis, offering clinical and research utility for understanding patient experiences beyond symptom severity.

People have the basic need to experiment control over the most important aspects of their environment. Even though the Sense of Control Scale is one of the most used instruments to measure sense of control, its psychometric properties have not been thoroughly assessed in a Spanish-speaking context. This preregistered study adapts the Sense of Control Scale into Spanish. To achieve this, 605 adults (Mage = 33.09, SD = 14.18) filled out an online questionnaire containing the relevant measurements. Evidence of the structure of two first-order dimensions and a second-order dimension was obtained (CFI = .960; TLI = .949; RMSEA = .044; RMSR = .039). The measure showed measurement invariance across gender at the configural, metric, and scalar levels. The perceived constraints and personal mastery dimensions, as well as the overall score of the Spanish Sense of Control Scale (SP-SCS) showed good reliability. Moreover, lower levels of sense of control, whether considering scores on its two dimensions (i.e., perceived constraints and personal mastery) or the overall score, were indicative of worse subjective well-being (i.e., life satisfaction and happiness), greater psychological distress (i.e., anxiety, depression, and stress), and higher perceived financial threat. The findings of this study reveal that the SP-SCS is a promising instrument to assess sense of control in the Spanish-speaking population.