Gelotophobia and its predictors in a sample of Armenians in Lebanon.

Abstract

Gelotophobia is a new clinical construct, defined as the fear of being laughed at and ridiculed. It is measured by the GELOPH15 scale. According to the literature, puberty is the most sensitive phase for the development of gelotophobia. Humor research with ethnic Armenians living in Lebanon is scarce, and measuring instruments in the Armenian language are rare. The present study aimed at investigating gelotophobia, in relation to attachment styles, humor styles, global self-esteem, and collective self-esteem, in a group of ethnic Armenian-Lebanese high school students (adolescents), attending Armenian schools in Lebanon. A total of 652 students were administered the Armenian versions of the gelotophobia scale (GELOPH15), the Parental Bonding Instrument – Brief Current form (PBI-BC), the Relationship Questionnaire (RQ), the Humor Styles Questionnaire (HSQ), the Rosenberg self-Esteem Scale (RSES), and the Collective Self-Esteem Scale (CSES). A total of seven hypotheses were tested. Exploratory factor analyses confirmed the unidementionality of the Armenian GELOPH15. Correlational analyses supported all the hypotheses except one, lending further support to Titze’s theory on gelotophobia and attachment, humor, and self-esteem presented in Ruch’s (2004) gelotophobia model. Regression analyses showed that self-esteem, humor styles, and parental care contribute to the prediction of gelotophobia. Limitations and directions for future research are discussed.