Hannah Wetstone

This study implemented a culturally sensitive approach to understanding self-concept clarity and relationship breakup distress reported by emerging adults in Argentina and the USA. Due to cultural tendencies involving individuality and interpersonal connections, we expected that country would moderate the association between self-concept clarity and breakup distress, with Argentinians showing a stronger inverse association between self-concept clarity and breakup distress compared to North Americans. In a sample of 270 emerging adults (160 from Argentina, 110 from the USA), we first evaluated measurement invariance then used a structural model to test breakup distress regressed on self-concept clarity. The major analyses controlled for six relationship breakup-related potential confounds. Contrary to expectations, results indicated that North Americans demonstrated a stronger negative relationship between self-concept clarity and breakup distress compared to Argentinians. Our findings highlight the importance of further cross-cultural research in understanding the complexities of self-concept clarity in diverse cultural contexts.

Short empirically-supported scales or individual items are preferred in comprehensive surveys, brief screeners, and experience sampling studies. To that end, we examined the Short Almost Perfect Scale (SAPS) to evaluate empirical support for the interchangeability of items to measure perfectionistic strivings (Standards) and perfectionistic concerns (Discrepancy). Based on a large and diverse sample (N = 1,103) and tests of tau-equivalence (equal factor loadings) for each respective set of items, Study 1 advanced a subset of SAPS items to measure Standards (2 items) and Discrepancy (3 items). Cross-sectional gender and race/ethnicity invariance were supported, and in structural equations analyses, the SAPS5 factors were significantly associated with depression, state anxiety, life satisfaction, and gratitude. Study 2 cross-validated Study 1 measurement and structural findings with a new U.S. sample (N = 803). The three items representing the Discrepancy (perfectionistic concerns) factor also were supported in a cross-national comparison between the U.S. sample and a scale development sample in New Zealand (N = 3,921). For the most part, across both studies and all analyses, the three Discrepancy items were empirically interchangeable indicators of perfectionistic concerns and comparably strong predictors of psychological outcomes, supporting their use in studies or other contexts with space or time restrictions for measurement.

The COVID-19 pandemic negatively affected mental health worldwide and college students were particularly vulnerable to its adverse effects. This longitudinal study was designed to highlight and compare the COVID experiences of college students in Argentina and the USA (N = 361). Specifically, we examined individual factors (gender, emotional regulation, and social support) assessed prior to the pandemic for their role as predictors or moderators of COVID-fear and psychological stress during the first months of the pandemic. The results supported measurement invariance for brief measures of COVID-fear and indicated that, overall, COVID-fear was highest during the second wave of the study (March–April 2020), lowest during the third wave (June 2020), and then rose again during the fourth wave (September 2020). Several interaction effects emerged, revealing important country-level differences in COVID-fear effects for the emotion regulation and social support factors. More so in the Argentina sample than in the USA sample, higher levels of social support at Time 1 were associated with increases in the effect of COVID-fear on stress among students. We discussed the implications of these and other findings for future cross-cultural pandemic-related stress studies.

Recent college graduates are navigating a complex labor market due to the COVID-19 pandemic, changing economic conditions, and advancing technologies. Career adaptability, a psychosocial construct focused on managing career transitions, is critical for college students in this environment. Career adaptability interventions have shown promising results, but many are time consuming or involve one-on-one counseling, and none have focused on US college samples, which prompted this study. We tested a brief career adaptability training on a sample of 89 US college students and measured its effect on participants’ career adaptability resources (career concern, career control, career curiosity, career confidence) and career adapting responses (career decision self-efficacy, career planning). Results showed no increase in career adaptability resources or career planning but indicated an increase in career decision self-efficacy, suggesting that brief interventions may be effective for some desired outcomes but not others. Future research should examine which intervention ingredients are necessary to enhance career adaptability.