Self-Expressive Creativity in the Adolescent Digital Domain: Personality, Self-Esteem, and Emotions

María del Carmen Pérez-Fuentes, María del Mar Molero Jurado, José Jesús Gázquez Linares, Nieves Fátima Oropesa Ruiz, María del Mar Simón Márquez and Mahia Saracostti
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María del Carmen Pérez-Fuentes: Department of Psychology, University of Almería, 04120 Almería, Spain
María del Mar Molero Jurado: Department of Psychology, University of Almería, 04120 Almería, Spain
José Jesús Gázquez Linares: Department of Psychology, Universidad Autónoma de Chile, 4780000 Santiago, Chile
Nieves Fátima Oropesa Ruiz: Department of Psychology, University of Almería, 04120 Almería, Spain
María del Mar Simón Márquez: Department of Psychology, University of Almería, 04120 Almería, Spain
Mahia Saracostti: Escuela de Trabajo Social, Facultad de Ciencias Sociales, Universidad de Valparaíso, 2653 Valparaíso, Chile

IJERPH, 2019, vol. 16, issue 22, 1-14

Abstract: Background: Although self-expressive creativity is related to cyberbullying, it can also reinforce strengths that contribute to positive adolescent development. Our study concentrated on the relationships between personality traits and self-expressive creativity in the digital domain in an adolescent population. For this, we analyzed the effect of self-esteem and emotional intelligence as assets for positive development related to personality traits and self-expressive creativity. Methods: The study population included a total of 742 adolescents that were high-school students in the province of Almería, Spain. The following instruments were used: Big Five Inventory (BFI) to evaluate the five broad personality factors, Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (RSE), Expression, Management, and Emotion Recognition Evaluation Scale (TMMS-24), and the Creative Behavior Questionnaire: Digital (CBQD). Results: The cluster analysis revealed the existence of two profiles of adolescents based on their personality traits. The analysis showed that the group with the highest levels of extraversion and openness to experience and lowest levels of neuroticism were those who showed the highest scores in self-esteem, clarity, and emotional repair, as well as in self-expressive creativity. Higher scores in neuroticism and lower scores in extraversion and openness to experience showed a direct negative effect on self-expressive creativity and indirect effect through self-esteem and emotional attention, which acted as mediators in series. Conclusions: To counteract certain characteristics that increase adolescents’ vulnerability to social network bullying, a plan must be developed for adequate positive use of the Internet from a creative model that enables digital self-expression for acquiring identity and self-efficacy through the positive influence of peers, which promotes feelings of empowerment and self-affirmation through constructive tasks that reinforce self-esteem and emotional intelligence.

Keywords: digital domain; self-expressive creativity; personality; self-esteem; emotional intelligence; adolescence (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2019
References: View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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