Fox, CL, Hunter, SC and Jones, SE (2016) Longitudinal Associations Between Humor Styles and Psychosocial Adjustment in Adolescence. Europe's Journal of Psychology, 12 (3). 377 - 389. ISSN 1841-0413

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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.

Item Type: Article
Uncontrolled Keywords: humor; psychosocial adjustment; depression; loneliness; self-esteem; adolescence
Subjects: B Philosophy. Psychology. Religion > BF Psychology





Divisions: Faculty of Natural Sciences > School of Psychology
Related URLs:
Depositing User: Symplectic
Date Deposited: 07 Sep 2016 11:06
Last Modified: 01 Apr 2019 13:52
URI: https://eprints.keele.ac.uk/id/eprint/2155

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