Skip to main content

Research Repository

Advanced Search

Longitudinal Associations Between Humor Styles and Psychosocial Adjustment in Adolescence.

Abstract

This study assessed the concurrent and prospective associations between psychosocial adjustment and four humor styles, two of which are adaptive (affiliative, self-enhancing) and two maladaptive (aggressive, self-defeating). Participants were 1,234 adolescents (52% female) aged 11-13 years, drawn from six secondary schools in England. Self-reports of psychosocial adjustment (loneliness, depressive symptomatology, and self-esteem) and humor styles were collected at two time points (fall and summer). In cross-lagged panel analyses, self-defeating humor was associated with an increase in both depressive symptoms and loneliness, and with a decrease in self-esteem. In addition, depressive symptoms predicted an increase in the use of self-defeating humor over time, indicating that these may represent a problematic spiral of thoughts and behaviors. Self-esteem was associated with an increase in the use of affiliative humor over the school year but not vice-versa. These results inform our understanding of the ways in which humor is associated with psychosocial adjustment in adolescence.

Acceptance Date Dec 12, 2015
Publication Date Aug 19, 2016
Publicly Available Date Mar 28, 2024
Journal Europe's Journal of Psychology
Publisher PsychOpen
Pages 377 - 389
DOI https://doi.org/10.5964/ejop.v12i3.1065
Keywords humor; psychosocial adjustment; depression; loneliness; self-esteem; adolescence
Publisher URL http://ejop.psychopen.eu/article/view/1065/pdf

Files




Downloadable Citations