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Do coping strategies and the degree of satisfaction with one’s social life and parental attachment modulate gelotophobia, gelotophilia and katagelasticism? A study on young Italian adults

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Abstract

The aim of this study is to investigate three dispositions relating to ridicule, namely gelotophobia (the fear of being laughed at), gelotophilia (the joy people feel when they themselves are laughed at) and katagelasticism (the joy felt when laughing at other people). A sample of young Italian adults were questioned about how satisfied they were with their social life, their coping strategies when faced with difficulties and their interpersonal dimensions (specifically their parental attachment style). Three hundred and eleven undergraduate students (mean age 20.2 years) were asked to self report on their disposition toward ridicule (the PhoPhiKat<30> questionnaire), their coping strategies (the Echelle Toulousaine de Coping questionnaire), their interpersonal dimensions relating to parental attachment (the Inventory of Parent and Peer Attachment scale), and their degree of satisfaction with their social life (by means of a specific questionnaire). Two main results emerged. The first (in line with previous literature) revealed that a highly satisfactory social life is associated with low levels of gelotophobia and high levels of attachment to both parents. The second main result was that gelotophiles reported principally using control strategies to cope with difficulties, whereas gelotophobes mostly resorted to social support and withdrawal strategies when faced with problematic situations. The research provides new information on these three dispositions toward ridicule in early adulthood which represents a turning point in an individual’s transition from late adolescence to adulthood.

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Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank the two Reviewers and the guest Editors for their helpful comments, and René Proyer for his valuable suggestions on cut-off points. The completion of this paper was facilitated by a research grant from the University of Macerata, Italy (rif. Funds UA.A.DIP.FBCT.CANES) and the University Pablo de Olavide, Spain (rif. Funds PSI2015-65683-P [MINECO/FEDER, UE]). The authors are grateful to the financial supporters.

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  1. Department of Education, Cultural Heritage and Tourism, University of Macerata, Piazzale Luigi Bertelli, 1, 62100, Macerata, Italy

    Carla Canestrari, Angelo Carrieri, Alessandra Fermani & Morena Muzi

  2. Department of Education and Social Psychology University Pablo de Olavide, Ctra. Utrera, km. 1. Edif. 11, 41013, Seville, Spain

    Gonzalo Del Moral

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Canestrari, C., Carrieri, A., Del Moral, G. et al. Do coping strategies and the degree of satisfaction with one’s social life and parental attachment modulate gelotophobia, gelotophilia and katagelasticism? A study on young Italian adults. Curr Psychol 42, 16247–16258 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-019-00417-4

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