TY  - EJOU
AU  - Zhao, Yuting 
AU  - Wang, Shaojie 
AU  - Meng, Junchi 
AU  - Chen, Jiayuan 
AU  - Li, Xinyi 
AU  - Xu, Xiumin 
AU  - Luo, Shuling 
AU  - Kuang, Yaqi 
AU  - Liang, Zhengzhen 

TI  - Personal Belief in a Just World and Adolescents’ Emotional Intelligence: The Indirect Role of Online Self-Disclosure in a Two-Wave Semi-Longitudinal Study
T2  - International Journal of Mental Health Promotion

PY  - 
VL  - 
IS  - 
SN  - 2049-8543

AB  - <b>Background:</b> Adolescents’ online interactions are important contexts for emotional development, yet little is known about how personal belief in a just world (PBJW) is prospectively associated with emotional intelligence (EI) through online self-disclosure. This study aimed to examine whether honest online self-disclosure (HOSD) and positive online self-disclosure (POSD) were indirectly associated with the prospective relationship between PBJW and adolescents’ EI. <b>Methods:</b> A two-wave survey was conducted with 567 adolescents from two junior high schools in Guangdong Province, China, over approximately seven months. PBJW, HOSD, POSD, and EI were assessed at both waves. In the focal structural equation models, T1 PBJW was specified as the predictor, T2 HOSD and POSD as indirect variables, and T2 EI as the outcome. Specific and serial indirect associations were tested using bias-corrected bootstrap confidence intervals. <b>Results:</b> T1 PBJW was positively associated with T2 HOSD, POSD, and EI. T2 HOSD was positively associated with T2 POSD, and both forms of self-disclosure were associated with EI. Significant specific and serial indirect associations were identified. The HOSD-specific indirect association was significant only for other-emotion appraisal, whereas the POSD-specific indirect association was significant for self-emotion appraisal and use of emotion. The serial indirect association through HOSD and POSD was significant for self-emotion appraisal, regulation of emotion, and use of emotion, but not for other-emotion appraisal. <b>Conclusions:</b> PBJW was prospectively associated with adolescents’ later EI through dimension-specific indirect associations involving online self-disclosure. These findings highlight heterogeneity across EI dimensions.
KW  - Adolescents; personal belief in a just world; emotional intelligence; online self-disclosure; serial indirect effects; two-wave semi-longitudinal study

DO  - 10.32604/ijmhp.2026.085638