Beyond Self-Report in the Study of Hedonic and Eudaimonic Well-Being: Correlations with Acquaintance Reports, Clinician Judgments and Directly Observed Social Behavior

The Impact of Mindful Learning on Subjective and Psychological Well-Being in Postgraduate Students

Mindful learning is widely known to improve learning outcomes, yet its association with students' well-being remains unexplored. This study aimed to investigate the impact of mindful learning on subjective well-being (SWB) and psychological well-being (PWB) in postgraduate students, using survey questionnaires and a randomized experimental design. In Study 1, correlation and regression analyses based on 236 postgraduate students revealed significant positive associations among mindful learning, SWB, and PWB. In Study 2, 54 students were randomly assigned to three groups: the experimental (which received Mindful Learning Coaching), active-, and blank control groups. The results from repeated-measures ANOVA showed that coaching significantly improved students' mindful learning. The participants' SWB and PWB significantly decreased in both the active- and blank control groups, whilst their SWB and PWB tended to increase in the experimental group. In conclusion, mindful learning, SWB, and PWB are significantly correlated, while the enhancement of mindful learning may be a protective factor in students' well-being.

The impact of Internet use on the subjective well-being of Chinese residents: From a multi-dimensional perspective

As cyberspace has become an important factor in modern-day life, the impact of the Internet on residents has also attracted more attention. Based on the data of China Family Panel Studies (CFPS), this study empirically examines the impact of Internet use on Chinese residents’ subjective well-being (SWB) from a multi-dimensional perspective. The research found that Internet use had a significant impact on residents’ SWB, which was mainly reflected in job satisfaction, happiness, social ties, and future confidence. The impacts of the Internet’s different application fields are not consistent. Applying its use more in studying, working, socialize and commercial activities has a stronger effect, but has no significant impact on entertainment. Further heterogeneity tests also found that the marginal effect of Internet use increases with age, male and low-income groups can obtain greater benefit from the Internet, and there is almost no difference between urban and rural areas. This research provides micro evidence of the social effects of Internet use and provides enlightenment for how to further promote the quality of Internet use to better benefit people.

Prevalence and Correlates of Anemia among Adolescents Living in Hodeida, Yemen

This study assesses the prevalence and correlates of anemia among adolescents living in the war-affected region of Hodeida in Yemen. A secondary objective was to examine the effect of a nutrition education intervention on hemoglobin levels among anemic adolescents. A cross-sectional study was conducted on a random sample of adolescents aged 15–19 years in Hodeida (n = 400). A questionnaire was administered to inquire about demographic, socioeconomic, lifestyle and clinical characteristics. Capillary blood was obtained, anthropometric characteristics were measured and stool samples were collected. As for the secondary objective, anemic adolescents were randomly assigned to an intervention group (nutrition education and iron supplementation) and a control group (iron supplements only). The prevalence of anemia was 37.8%. Female gender, khat chewing, excessive menstruation, and experiencing headaches, fatigue, or dizziness were independent predictors of anemia. In contrast, adolescents who attended private schools, and reported snack consumption or handwashing had a significantly lower risk of anemia. A sample of 116 adolescents participated in the intervention (3 months). Hemoglobin levels were significantly higher in the intervention group compared to the control. Our findings contribute to the identification of high-risk groups that should be targeted by context-specific interventions. The implemented multicomponent intervention may serve as a prototype for larger-scale preventive programs.

From human wellbeing to animal welfare

What does it mean to be "well" and how might such a state be cultivated? When we speak of wellbeing, it is of ourselves and fellow humans. When it comes to nonhuman animals, consideration turns to welfare. My aim herein is to suggest that theoretical approaches to human wellbeing might be beneficially applied to consideration of animal welfare, and in so doing, introduce new lines of inquiry and practice. I will review current approaches to human wellbeing, adopting a triarchic structure that delineates hedonic wellbeing, eudaimonic wellbeing, and social wellbeing. For each, I present a conceptual definition and a review of how researchers have endeavored to measure the construct. Drawing these three domains of research together, I highlight how these traditionally anthropocentric lines of inquiry might be extended to the question of animal welfare - namely by considering hedonic welfare, eudaimonic welfare, and social welfare as potentially distinguishable and complementary components of the broader construct of animal welfare.

Cognitive ability × emotional stability interactions on adjustment

Cognitive ability has been shown to moderate the relations between emotional stability and self‐reports of well being. The present study examined whether this interaction effect generalizes to non‐self‐report measures of well being. Male conscripts (N = 152) completed an emotional stability scale and a cognitive ability test. Several indicators of their general adjustment and competence were derived from self‐ and superior‐ratings, a psychiatric interview and from military archives. Cognitive ability moderated the association of emotional stability with both self‐report and non‐self‐report indicators of adjustment and competence. Low emotional stability was related to adverse outcomes only among low cognitive ability individuals. The results support the idea that cognitive ability buffers the influence of emotional stability on well being. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

The study of behaviour in personality psychology: Meaning, importance and measurement

The target paper was intended to initiate dialogue about challenges to personality psychology's progress as a truly behavioural science, and the commentaries' diverse reactions underscore the fact that these issues do indeed merit serious discussion. This response addresses several broad questions raised in the commentaries—what is behaviour, is behaviour of primary importance yet understudied, and what are the strengths and weaknesses of core types of behavioural data? In addition, it addresses an issue raised in several commentaries, but only briefly mentioned in the target paper—the fact that behaviour can be conceptualized and measured at multiple levels of abstraction. These issues have implications for the nature of personality psychology and for the research conducted by personality psychologists. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Dynamics of wellbeing co-creation: a psychological ownership perspective

Purpose

People are responsible for their wellbeing, yet whether they take ownership of their own or even others' wellbeing might vary from actor to actor. Such psychological ownership (PO) influences the dynamics of how wellbeing is co-created, particularly amongst actors, and ultimately determines actors' subjective wellbeing. The paper's research objective pertains to explicating the concept of the co-creation of wellbeing and conceptualizing the dynamics inherent to the co-creation of wellbeing with consideration of the influences of all involved actors from a PO perspective.

Design/methodology/approach

To provide a new conceptualization and framework for the dynamics of wellbeing co-creation, this research synthesizes wellbeing, PO and value co-creation literature. Four healthcare cases serve to illustrate the effects of engaged actors' PO on the co-creation of wellbeing.

Findings

The derived conceptual framework of dynamic co-creation of wellbeing suggests four main propositions: (1) the focal actor's wellbeing state is the intangible target of the focal actor's and other engaged actors' PO, transformed throughout the process of wellbeing co-creation, (2) PO over the focal actor's wellbeing state is subject to the three interrelated routes of exercising control, investing in the target, and intimately knowing the target, which determine the instigation of wellbeing co-creation, (3) the level of PO over the focal actor's wellbeing state can vary, influence and be influenced by the extent of wellbeing co-creation, (4) the co-creation of wellbeing, evoked by PO, is founded on resource integration, which influences the resources–challenges equilibrium of focal actor and of all other engaged actors, affecting individual subjective wellbeing.

Originality/value

This article provides a novel conceptual framework that can shed new light on the co-creation of wellbeing in service research. Through the introduction of PO the transformation of lives and wellbeing can be better understood.

How medical students' perceptions of instructor autonomy-support mediate their motivation and psychological well-being

Purpose: Medical student well-being is an increasing concern in medical education. Understanding the role instructors and programs have in supporting well-being is an important puzzle piece. This study explores the relationship between medical students' perceptions of instructor autonomy-support, motivation, and well-being. Using self-determination theory, we aim to provide a practical framework through which medical instructors can support student autonomy and well-being in the learning environment.Materials and methods: Students from the University of Saskatchewan completed a survey measuring perceptions of the learning climate (LC) (instructor autonomy-support), satisfaction/frustration of basic motivational needs (autonomy, competence, relatedness), and psychological well-being. Multiple linear regression was used to determine whether age, gender, and year of study affected students' well-being, before a mediation model was tested to assess the direct effect of the LC and indirect effects of students' basic need fulfillment on their well-being.Results: The response rate was 183/400 (46%). Higher ratings of autonomy-support significantly predicted better student well-being. This was mediated completely by students' feelings of basic need fulfillment. Relatedness satisfaction contributed most to ratings of instructor autonomy-support.Conclusions: Cultivating autonomy-support for medical students is critical to their well-being. Learning environments that optimize autonomy-support will also support students' feelings of relatedness and competence.

Family Functioning and Life Satisfaction: The Mediatory Role of Emotional Intelligence

BACKGROUND

The functioning of the family of origin seems to be one of the key variables that contribute to life satisfaction. Since relationships with one's parents are associated with well-being throughout life, the purpose of our study was to examine the association between family functioning and life satisfaction among Polish adults. Moreover, because some researchers postulate that family functioning affects quality of life directly as well as indirectly through some other variables, we focused on investigating how emotional intelligence might affect the link between family functioning and life satisfaction, as the character of this relationship has received surprisingly little attention.

PATIENTS METHODS AND DATA COLLECTION

The sample consisted of 204 participants (86% women). We measured family functioning, satisfaction with life, and emotional intelligence. The data were collected using online forums through convenience sampling on the basis of availability and the willingness of the participants to respond.

RESULTS

The results showed that both life satisfaction and emotional intelligence correlated positively and significantly with cohesion, flexibility, communication, and family satisfaction. Life satisfaction correlated negatively and significantly with enmeshed, disengaged, and chaotic functioning. In contrast, emotional intelligence correlated negatively and significantly only with chaotic and disengaged functioning. Moreover, emotional intelligence partially mediated the relationship between six dimensions of family functioning (cohesion, flexibility, communication, family satisfaction, disengagement, and chaos) and life satisfaction.

CONCLUSION

Our findings provide evidence of an indirect association between family functioning and life satisfaction through the mediating role of emotional intelligence. They indicate that individuals who evaluate their family functioning as cohesive, flexible, communicative, and fulfilled, are more likely to process their own emotions and enjoy higher life satisfaction. Conversely, assessment of family of origin as disengaged and chaotic may diminish the ability to manage one's own emotions, which, in turn, can lead to lower life satisfaction.

Exploring the relationship between medical student basic psychological need satisfaction, resilience, and well-being: a quantitative study

BACKGROUND

There is increasing acknowledgment that medical training is stressful for students and can impact their well-being. An important aspect of this is self-determination and basic psychological need satisfaction. A better understanding of how medical student perceptions of the learning environment impacts their basic psychological needs for motivation, resilience, and well-being may help to create learning environments that support the needs of medical students and help them become better healthier physicians. We aim to add to the literature on this topic by examining this relationship through the lens of Self-Determination Theory.

METHODS

A total of 400 students from all 4 years of the medical program at our institution were invited to complete an anonymous online survey, measuring basic need satisfaction/frustration (autonomy, competence, relatedness) within the learning environment, resilience, and psychological well-being. We used analysis of variance to assess the effect of gender, age, and year on all variables, with t-tests to compare subgroups. Structural equation modelling was performed to test a hypothesized model in which support of medical students' basic needs would positively relate to their resilience and well-being.

RESULTS

The response rate was 183/400 (46%). After data cleaning, 160 remained: 67 males (42%) and 93 females (58%). There were 67 first years (42%), 35 second years (22%), 30 third years (19%), and 28 fourth years (18%). The sample mean age was 25.8 years (SD = 4.1). A well-fitting model was confirmed to fit the data, χ² = 3.15, df = 3, p = 0.369, RMSEA = 0.018, SRMR = 0.022, CFI = 0.999. Autonomy and relatedness satisfaction exerted direct effects on well-being. Competence satisfaction did so indirectly, through its direct effect on resilience. Female medical students had lower resilience scores compared to their male peers.

CONCLUSIONS

When medical students perceived their learning environment as supportive to their basic needs, it was associated with an increase in their psychological well-being. Satisfaction of competence, but not autonomy or relatedness, predicted an increase in their resilience. Fostering medical students' basic needs for motivation, especially competence, is recommended to support their resilience and well-being. Further research is required to generalize these results further.

The physical health costs of positive adaptation to childhood adversity

Theories of allostatic load suggest that recurrent adaptive adjustments in contexts of adversity may have a negative impact on physical well-being. To test this hypothesis, this study evaluated 6-year-old children's ego-resilience and physical abuse experiences on behavior problems and physical illness at the age of 8 years. A significant interaction between ego-resilience and physical abuse exposure indicated that, although ego-resilience buffered physically abused children from internalizing problems, it also predicted more physical illness in that group. Findings contribute to the growing body of evidence suggesting that efforts to mobilize an adaptive response in contexts of adversity may exact a cost on physical well-being.

A Genetic Investigation of the Well-Being Spectrum

The interrelations among well-being, neuroticism, and depression can be captured in a so-called well-being spectrum (3-phenotype well-being spectrum, 3-WBS). Several other human traits are likely linked to the 3-WBS. In the present study, we investigate how the 3-WBS can be expanded. First, we constructed polygenic risk scores for the 3-WBS and used this score to predict a series of traits that have been associated with well-being in the literature. We included information on loneliness, big five personality traits, self-rated health, and flourishing. The 3-WBS polygenic score predicted all the original 3-WBS traits and additionally loneliness, self-rated health, and extraversion (R² between 0.62% and 1.58%). Next, using LD score regression, we calculated genetic correlations between the 3-WBS and the traits of interest. From all candidate traits, loneliness and self-rated health were found to have the strongest genetic correlations (r_g = - 0.79, and r_g= 0.64, respectively) with the 3-WBS. Lastly, we use Genomic SEM to investigate the factor structure of the proposed spectrum. The best model fit was obtained for a two-factor model including the 5-WBS traits, with two highly correlated factors representing the negative- and positive end of the spectrum. Based on these analyses we propose to include loneliness and self-rated health in the WBS and use a 5-phenotype well-being spectrum in future studies to gain more insight into the determinants of human well-being.

The relations among well-being outcomes, religiosity, and personality

A major focus of attention in psychology has been on the consequences and determinants of well-being. Religiosity and personality have both been shown to predict mental health and well-being, but the two predictors have not often been investigated together. In 4 studies involving 7 surveys (total N = 1,530) in various social and religious contexts, the relations among well-being, religious orientation, and personality factors were studied. Results showed that Extraversion was the single strongest correlate of higher levels of subjective and psychological well-being. Religiosity had null or weak positive relationships with well-being, and managed to explain variance in some aspects of positive functioning beyond personality factors. The null or week relationship of religiosity with well-being beyond personality was consistent across the HEXACO and the Big Five models of personality structure. It has been suggested that religion is relatively more important for eudaimonic than for hedonic way of living.

Try to find me: social anxiety and peer first impressions

Following initial interactions, some people are less willing to pursue ongoing contact with socially anxious individuals than with those who are not socially anxious. To better understand this process, we conducted two studies that examined peers' first impressions of target individuals. Unacquainted individuals (N=104 and 114) participated in round robin, unstructured interactions in groups of 3 to 10 and then rated each partner and themselves on items reflecting the Big Five personality dimensions. The ratings were analyzed according to Biesanz's (2010) social accuracy model of interpersonal perception, which distinguishes the positivity from the accuracy of social judgments. Study 1 revealed that perceivers did not view socially anxious targets more negatively or as less likable than non-socially anxious targets but were less able to recognize their unique personality features. Study 2 replicated those findings and indicated that perceivers' difficulties recognizing socially anxious targets' unique features were not due to negative biases in the socially anxious targets' self-ratings or to general psychological maladjustment. The findings are consistent with cognitive models, which underscore the role of self-concealment in social anxiety disorder.

Longitudinal study on reciprocity between personality traits and parenting stress

Reciprocal associations between the Big Five personality traits and parenting stress—including both parents’ feelings of their distress and perception of their incompetence as parents—were studied with 248 participants (49% of which were males). Longitudinal data, collected at ages 33/36, 42 and 50 years, were used. Cross-lagged path analysis revealed that in case of both mothers and fathers, neuroticism at age 33 predicted high parenting stress, and extraversion at age 33 predicted low parenting stress at age 42. Also, parenting stress at age 36 predicted high neuroticism and low extraversion at age 42. From age 42 to 50, only high parenting stress contributed to low neuroticism. Thus, more significant cross-lagged associations of neuroticism and extraversion with parenting stress were detected in early middle age, i.e., from age 33/36 to 42, as compared to later midlife, i.e., from 42 to 50 years of age. The reciprocal associations between parenting stress and neuroticism and extraversion were similar for both mothers and fathers. High conscientiousness at age 42, however, predicted low parenting stress at age 50 only in fathers.

Neuroticism and Extraversion in Youth Predict Mental Wellbeing and Life Satisfaction 40 Years Later

Neuroticism and Extraversion are linked with current wellbeing, but it is unclear whether these traits in youth predict wellbeing decades later. We applied structural equation modelling to data from 4583 people from the MRC National Survey of Health and Development. We examined the effects of Neuroticism and Extraversion at ages 16 and 26 years on mental wellbeing and life satisfaction at age 60-64 and explored the mediating roles of psychological and physical health. Extraversion had direct, positive effects on both measures of wellbeing. The impact of Neuroticism on both wellbeing and life satisfaction was largely indirect through susceptibility to psychological distress and physical health problems. Personality dispositions in youth have enduring influence on wellbeing assessed about forty years later.

Personal Value Priorities and Life Satisfaction in Europe

The present study examined the relations of personal values to life satisfaction (LS) across 25 European nations. Multilevel statistics with country-level Human Development Index (HDI) as a contextual moderator tested its effect on the individual-level relations between personal values and LS. HDI moderated the relations between LS and 8 of the 10 basic values identified by Schwartz’s values theory. Across countries, high benevolence and hedonism values were associated with heightened LS, whereas high power and security values were related to lower LS. Achievement was positively related to LS in low HDI countries, but negatively in high HDI countries, whereas the opposite pattern occurred for universalism values and LS. Our results emphasize the importance of considering the broader context in which personal values are pursued when examining their implications for LS.

Preschoolers' emotion knowledge and the differential effects of harsh punishment

This study examined the influence of caregiver-reported harsh physical and verbal punishment on children's behavioral and self-system adjustment. Children's emotion knowledge was evaluated as a heretofore unrecognized moderator of these relations. We assessed 250 preschool-aged children (50% female; Mage = 49.06 months) from diverse backgrounds (50% Hispanic, 18% African American, 10.4% Caucasian, 21.6% multiracial/other) using various instruments through teacher, caregiver, self, and observer report in the domains of harsh punishment, conduct problems, self-concept, and emotion knowledge. Emotion knowledge moderated the relation between harsh punishment and child adjustment. Harsh physical punishment was associated with conduct problems for children with higher emotion knowledge, especially for boys. Harsh verbal punishment was associated with self-concept deficits among children with higher emotion knowledge, especially for girls. These relations were also specifically applicable to non-Hispanic children. These results highlight the importance of investigating hypothesis-driven interactive effects and the specificity of experience to understand the psychosocial sequelae of parenting practices broadly, and to clarify the mixed evidence in the punishment literature specifically. Clinical implications point to the salience of emotion processes in parent-child disciplinary interventions for understanding the prevalence and pattern of child behavioral adjustment and self-concept, as well as more broadly to the role of individual differences in children's responses to adversity and subsequent therapeutic needs.

Perceived social image and life satisfaction across cultures

We studied the relationship between perceived social image and life satisfaction in four different cultural groups. One-hundred nine Indian (63 females, 46 males), 67 Pakistani/Bangladeshi (36 females, 31 males), 76 White British (43 females, 33 males), and 94 European Americans (43 females, 48 males) completed measures on the cultural importance of social image, positive and negative emotions, academic achievement, and perceived social image. Indian and Pakistani/Bangladeshi participants valued social image more than White British and European-American participants. Consistent with this value difference, a positive perceived social image predicted life satisfaction among Indian and Pakistani/Bangladeshi participants only. For these participants, perceived social image predicted life satisfaction above and beyond the effects of emotions and academic achievement. Academic achievement only predicted life satisfaction among White British and European Americans. Emotions were significant predictors of life satisfaction for all participants.

Using Behavioral Mapping to Examine the Validity of the IPIP-IPC

Behavioral mapping, a method designed to relate behaviors to circumplex models, was used to examine the predictive validity of the International Personality Item Pool–Interpersonal Circumplex (IPIP-IPC). In this study, 96 participants first completed the IPIP-IPC and then were videotaped in a social interaction with a confederate. At the conclusion of this interaction, the Riverside Behavioral Q-Sort was used to code 64 different behaviors expressed by the participants. Results indicated that participants’ Riverside Behavioral Q-Sort interpersonal behaviors occurred in a manner predicted by their IPIP-IPC scores. Such findings suggest that the IPIP-IPC can predict a multitude of interpersonal behaviors expressed during a dyadic interaction.

Happiness and health behaviours in Chilean college students: a cross-sectional survey

Background

Happiness has been associated with a range of favourable health outcomes through two pathways: its relationship with favourable biological responses to stress and with healthy lifestyles and prudent health behaviours. There are a substantial number of cross-cultural studies about happiness, but none of them has studied the association of happiness with perceived stress and health behaviours in Latin American samples. Therefore, the aim of this study was to examine the association between general happiness and these variables in a Latin American sample.

Methods

We conducted a survey to examine the status of 3461 students aged between 17 and 24 years old (mean age = 19.89; SD = 1.73) who attended University of Santiago de Chile during 2009. The healthy behaviours indexes assessed were the frequency of daily physical exercise, fruits/vegetables intake, breakfast and lunch intake, smoking, alcohol and other drugs consumption. We also included the assessment of perceived stress and Body Mass Index. All of them were evaluated using a self-report questionnaire.

Results

The univariate and multivariate binary logistic regression analyses showed that being female and younger was related to a higher happiness, as well as that people self-reporting daily physical activity, having lunch and fruits and vegetables each day had a higher likelihood (OR between 1.33 and 1.40) of being classified as "very happy". Those who informed felt stressed in normal circumstances and during tests situations showed a lower likelihood (0.73 and 0.82, respectively) of being considered "very happy". Regarding drug consumption, taking tranquilizers under prescription was negative related to "subjective happiness" (OR = 0.62), whereas smoking was positive associated (OR = 1.20).

Conclusions

The findings of this study mainly support the relationship between happiness and health outcomes through the two pathways previously mentioned. They also underscore the importance of that some healthy behaviours and person's cognitive appraisal of stress are integrated into their lifestyle for college students. Additionally, highlight the importance of taking into account these variables in the design of strategies to promote health education in university setting.

What do conscientious people do? Development and validation of the Behavioral Indicators of Conscientiousness (BIC)

Typical assessments of personality traits collapse behaviors, thoughts, and feelings into a single measure without distinguishing between these different manifestations. To address this lack of specification, the current study develops and validates a measure that assesses a number of broad behaviors associated with the personality trait of conscientiousness (the Behavioral Indicators of Conscientiousness; BIC). Findings suggest that the lower-order structure of conscientious behaviors is mostly similar to the lower-order structure in extant trait measures. Furthermore, a daily diary method was used to validate the BIC against frequency counts of conscientious behavior. Overall, the results identify specific behaviors that conscientious individuals tend to perform and highlight possible advantages of this approach over broad trait assessment.

Subjective well-being, personality, demographic variables, and American state differences in smoking prevalence

INTRODUCTION

The present study was conducted to determine relations between smoking prevalence, subjective well-being, and the Big Five personality variables at the American state level.

METHOD

State smoking prevalence was based on the responses of more than 350,000 adults interviewed in the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System in 2008. Subjective well-being was based on the state-aggregated responses of 353,039 adults to the Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index phone interviews during 2008. Big Five variables were based on the state-aggregated responses of 619,397 persons to an Internet survey between 1999 and 2005, which included the 44-item Big Five Inventory.

RESULTS

Well-being and smoking prevalence were negatively correlated and remained so when state Big Five, socioeconomic status (SES), White population percent, urban population percent, and median age were controlled in a partial correlation. Hierarchical and stepwise multiple regressions showed (a) that SES and neuroticism were the prime predictors of well-being, (b) that well-being was the prime predictor of smoking prevalence, and (c) that openness to experience was the sole personality or demographic variable to account for differences in smoking prevalence when well-being was controlled, and it explained very little of the remaining variance.

DISCUSSION

Applied implications for state-tailored attempts to reduce smoking are briefly discussed, and suggestions for future research directions are put forward.