'Being Actively Confident in All Contexts': A Qualitative Exploration of Thriving as an Emerging Adult of Diverse Sexual Orientation

When one thrives, they grow, develop and succeed. For people of diverse sexual orientations (DSO) thriving within one's sexuality is often restricted by heteronormativity, minority stress and poor mental health outcomes. Particularly at risk, are DSO "emerging adults" aged between 18-29 years who seek stability before transitioning to adulthood. Therefore, this qualitative study interviewed 12 participants between the ages of 18-29 years to investigate perceptions of thriving within one's sexuality and factors that may foster or hinder its occurrence. The results indicated participants perceived thriving as a spectrum of states and processes involving a sense of personal safety with high levels of self-acceptance to believe one could exist freely as a person of DSO. The findings suggested thriving within one's sexuality during emerging adulthood is fostered through the factors of seeking personal growth, social representation/visibility, affirming social support and opportunities to support other DSO people. In contrast, identity denial, unsupportive social environments, erasure/tokenism, and experiences of discrimination eroded one's ability to thrive. Psychological interventions focusing on establishing a strong sense of identity, building a social support network and encouragement to seek thriving opportunities, may foster thriving experiences for Australian DSO emerging adults.

Wellbeing-responsive community: a growth target for intentional mental health promotion

With mental illness remaining a significant burden of disease, there is an ongoing need for community-based health promotion, prevention, and responses (or "mental health promotion activities"). The health promotion, community development, and positive psychology literature identifies significant heterogeneity in the design and delivery of these activities. This variability spans: (1) individual vs. group outcomes, (2) psychological vs. sociological determinants of change, (3) promoting wellbeing vs. reducing mental health symptoms, and (4) the degree activities are contextualized vs. standardized in design and delivery. Mental health promotion activities do not easily accomplish this level of complexity within design and implementation. This has led to the emergence of the complexity-informed health promotion literature and the need for innovative tools, methods, and theories to drive this endeavor. This article directly responds to this call. It introduces "wellbeing-responsive community": a vision and outcome hierarchy (or growth target) for intentionally delivered mental health promotion. The construct enables the design and implementation of interventions that intentionally respond to complexity and contextualization through the drivers of co-creation, intentionality, and local empowerment. It represents a community (support team, programme, agency, network, school, or region) that has the shared language, knowledge, methods, and skills to work together in shared intent. In other words, to integrate best-practice science with their local knowledge systems and existing strengths, and intentionally co-create and deliver contextualized wellbeing solutions at both the individual and community levels that span the "system" (e.g., whole-of-community) to the "moment" (e.g., intentional support and care). Co-creation, as applied through a transdisciplinary lens, is emerging as an evidence-based method to respond to complexity. This article describes the rationale and evidence underpinning the conceptualization of a wellbeing-responsive community through the integration of three key disciplines: (1) positive psychology, (2) ecological or systems approaches, and (3) intentional practice (implementation science). A definitional, contextual, and applied overview of the wellbeing-responsive community is provided, including a hierarchy of outcomes and associated definitions. Its purported application across education, mental health, community service, and organizational settings is discussed, including its potential role in making complexity-informed health promotion practical for all knowledge users.

Interrogating multisystem intended pathways to youth thriving and resilience: Benefits of inclusive human development theoretical framing

Moving more deeply into the 21st century and acknowledging the ongoing patterned needs of children, there continues to be broadly voiced sentiments about the importance of all children's thriving, adaptive coping, and resiliency. This paper notes that social science more broadly and developmental science specifically is a major resource determinative of the nature of remedies conceptualized, designed, and implemented. Evident is that the harms experienced by children and the solutions implemented by delivery systems are frequently unaligned. Efficacy and impact do not appear to be improved by multisystem integration delivery. This paper explores the benefits of incorporating inclusive and shared human development theory. As well, it examines the need to question the character virtue of the multisystem integration efforts intended to afford supportive solutions required for youths' thriving and resiliency. Specifically, it addresses whether democratic and equity relevant character values are integrated into public and privately funded intended supportive systems. The position taken is that whether considered under conditions of trauma illustrated by the global COVID pandemic or the efficacy of systems intended to aid the most vulnerable youngsters, the character of the content of support and its delivery matter and can benefit from inclusive human development interrogation and theorizing.

The use of environmental scenarios to project future health effects: a scoping review

Environmental risks are a substantial factor in the current burden of disease, and their role is likely to increase in the future. Model-based scenario analysis is used extensively in environmental sciences to explore the potential effects of human activities on the environment. In this Review, we examine the literature on scenarios modelling environmental effects on health to identify the most relevant findings, common methods used, and important research gaps. Health outcomes and measures related to climate change (n=106) and air pollution (n=30) were most frequently studied. Studies examining future disease burden due to changes or policies related to dietary risks were much less common (n=10). Only a few studies assessed more than two environmental risks (n=3), even though risks can accumulate and interact with each other. Studies predominantly covered high-income countries and Asia. Sociodemographic, vulnerability, and health-system changes were rarely accounted for; thus, assessing the full effect of future environmental changes in an integrative way is not yet possible. We recommend that future models incorporate a broader set of determinants of health to more adequately capture their effect, as well as the effect of mitigation and adaptation efforts.

Thriving from Work Questionnaire: Dimensionality, reliability, and validity of the long and short form questionnaires

INTRODUCTION

Thriving from Work is defined as the state of positive mental, physical, and social functioning in which workers' experiences of their work and working conditions enable them to thrive in their overall lives, contributing to their ability to achieve their full potential at work, at home, and in the community. The purpose of this study was to develop a psychometrically-sound questionnaire measuring the positive contribution that work can have on one's well-being both at, and outside of, their work.

METHODS

We used both a qualitative and quantitative approach of item reduction, domain mapping dimensionality testing, development of "long-" and "short-" versions of the questionnaire, reliability, and construct and criterion validity testing. This was established in two independent online samples of US based workers (n = 1550, n = 500).

RESULTS

We developed a bi-factor model 30-item long-form and a uni-factorial 8-item short-version. The long-form measures both the latent construct of Thriving from Work and six domains (psychological/emotional; work-life integration; social; experience of work; basic needs; health). Both long- and short- forms were found to have high empirical reliability (0.93  and 0.87 respectively). The short-form captures 94% of variance of the long-form. Construct and criterion validity were supported. Test-retest reliability was high.

CONCLUSIONS

The Thriving from Work Questionnaire appears to be a valid and reliable measure of work-related well-being in United States workers. Further testing is needed to refine and test the instrument in specific industries, unique worker populations, and across geographic regions.

The influence of socio-cognitive mindfulness and resilience on middle managers' stress and thriving during COVID-19: results from two studies

Purpose

The purpose of this study was to examine the influence of socio-cognitive mindfulness on resilience, stress and thriving among middle managers in higher education at two separate periods during the COVID-19 pandemic. In Study 1, the authors examined how socio-cognitive mindfulness predicted perceived stress and whether the relationship between mindfulness and perceived stress was mediated by resilience. In Study 2, the authors replicated the first study and further hypothesized that the link between mindfulness and thriving was also mediated by resilience.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors conducted cross-sectional correlational studies to test the hypotheses using data from 163 middle managers in higher education early in the pandemic in Study 1 and 204 middle managers a year later in Study 2.

Findings

Study 1 findings showed socio-cognitive mindfulness predicted perceived stress, and that resilience fully mediated this relationship. In Study 2, socio-cognitive mindfulness did not predict perceived stress, but it did predict thriving, and that relationship was fully mediated by resilience.

Originality/value

This research is the first to address how socio-cognitive mindfulness directly impacts perceived stress and thriving and its impact through building resilience. To date, few studies have focused on stress in higher education middle managers or addressed the importance of building socio-cognitive mindfulness and resilience to thrive amid ongoing challenges. Implications of the pandemic's influence on the results are also addressed.

Development of thriving at work and organizational citizenship behavior through Islamic work ethics and humble leadership

This study examined the mediation and moderation models of the relationship between Islamic work ethics (IWE), thriving at work, organizational citizenship behavior (OCB), and leader humility. A total of 418 employees from two different sample groups (Islamic banks and educational institutions) in Indonesia were included. A multiple regression hierarchy with PROCESS was used to test the hypotheses. We found a positive influence of IWE and leader humility on thriving and OCB and thriving at work on OCB. Thriving was found to mediate the relationship between IWE and OCB, and the leader humility moderates these relationships. Thriving at work and OCB are dramatically under-represented in Islamic work ethics research, and this study attempts to fill this void. Furthermore, this study reveals the interactive role of leader humility and IWE in enhancing OCB preference and the mediating role of thriving at work in the IWE − OCB relationship.

Stressed at work and distressed out of work: Unveiling the implications of time-related work stress on work climate in the nonprofit sector

Time-related work stress is prevailing in today’s society. This is especially true in the nonprofit sector, where people are willing to self-sacrifice in order to contribute to organizational performance. Although literature highlights the shortcomings of time-related work stress, little is still known on its negative impact on work climate. The article contributes to fill this gap, shedding light on the consequences of time-related work stress on work climate in a large sample of people employed in the nonprofit sector. Secondary data were obtained from the latest wave of the European Working Condition Survey. Conditional process analysis was used to investigate the effects of time-related stress on work climate, considering the mediating role of work-life conflicts and work engagement. Stress caused by time constraints did not have direct implications on work climate. However, it expanded exposure to work-life conflicts and impaired work engagement, thus indirectly impoverishing work climate. Since it is hard to escape time pressures in modern work environments, precautions should be taken to protect employees against the backlash of time-related stress on work climate. Alongside empowering people to cope with work-related stress, tailored human resource management practices should be designed to address the sources of time pressures in the workplace.

Psychological fortitude model for digitally mindset working adults

Introduction

The inception of Industry 4.0 (which includes smart digital technologies and intelligence), as well as the rapidly enforced adoption of the technological revolution due to the lockdown regulations during the COVID-19 pandemic, brought new situational demands, challenges and opportunities for both employees and organizations across the globe. Individuals are required to develop personal enablers (both intrapersonal and intradigital attributes) to optimize their psychological fortitude. Research on the intrapersonal resources needed by employees to have the fortitude to adapt to remote working conditions as a result of the digital era, is currently lacking. The igital era brought about the question of how individuals' career adaptability and career wellbeing (as a set of agile adaptable attributes) relate to their perceptions of the value-oriented psychological contract, and whether these intrapersonal resources can contribute to a psychological fortitude model for remote working employees.

Method

This study utilized a survey method to investigate the correlations between agile adaptable attributes and the valueoriented psychological contract of global digital-mindset human resource and financial service organizations. Based on further canonical correlations, structural equation modeling was conducted to develop and recommend a psychological fortitude model for remote working adults in the digital age.

Results

Close theoretical and empirical associations were found between career adaptability and career wellbeing (as agile adaptable variables) and the perceived value-orientated psychological contract.

Discussion

This study proposed a psychological fortitude model (consisting of intrapersonal resources) that organizations and career practitioners can use as a basis to enhance employees' psychological fortitude in the digital age, as well as for further career research.

Perceived Strengths-Based Human Resource System and Thriving at Work: The Roles of General Self-Esteem and Emotional Exhaustion

Although extant literature has highlighted the importance of human resource system to thriving at work, we have yet to know whether perceived strengths-based human resource (HR) system has a significant relationship with employee thriving at work. Drawing upon conservation of resources theory, the current study sought to investigate the relationship of perceived strengths-based HR system with employee thriving at work and the mediating role of general self-esteem and the moderating role of emotional exhaustion in this relationship. Research data were gathered at three points in time from employees working in various organizations in China. Results of structural equation modeling analyses demonstrated that perceived strengths-based HR system is positively related to thriving at work even after controlling for perceived high performance work system, and general self-esteem partially mediates the positive relationship of perceived strengths-based HR system with thriving at work. In addition, emotional exhaustion negatively moderated the direct relationship of general self-esteem with thriving and the indirect relationship of perceived strengths-based HR system with thriving at work through general self-esteem. The current study is the first to empirically investigate the perceived strengths-based HR system and thriving at work linkage, which advances HR system and thriving at work theories and research.

Defining and Measuring Child and Youth Thriving: A Scoping Review

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES

Promoting positive child and youth health and development requires clear definitions and comprehensive measures of child and youth thriving. The study's objectives were to identify the scope, range, and gaps in definitions and measures of thriving for children or youth (birth through young adult).

METHODS

Systematic searches of Pubmed, PsycInfo, Health and Psychosocial Instruments, Education Resources Information Center, and Scopus were conducted for articles that included definitions, conceptual frameworks, or measures of child and youth thriving. Inclusion criteria were that the articles: (1) provided a new definition or measure of child thriving, flourishing, or well-being; (2) focused on normally developing children 0 to 24 years old; and (3) were published between 2009 and 2022 in an English language peer-reviewed journal. Studies were categorized by child age, study type, population, and community-identified domains of thriving.

RESULTS

Of the 14 920 articles identified, 113 met inclusion criteria: 34 unique definitions or frameworks, 66 validated measures, and 12 articles presenting both a framework and measure. One-third of the articles focused on early childhood (0-5 years old); 47% on middle childhood (6-11 years old); 72% on adolescence (12-17 years old), and 22% on young adults (18-24 years old).

CONCLUSIONS

Current child thriving definitions, frameworks, and measures could be expanded in their coverage of age and key domains, such as racial equity and safety. Additional frameworks and measures focused on early childhood (0-5 years) and assessing thriving over time are needed.

“Power of words”: impact, concerns and applications of nonviolent communication training

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the effectiveness of a training program on nonviolent communication (NVC) and assess its impact, concerns and applicability to the context of work. This study also focuses on the factors that influence the retention and application of the skills acquired during the training after three months of completion of the program.

Design/methodology/approach

This study uses a qualitative approach. Purposive sampling was used, and 14 semi-structured interviews were conducted to study the impact of an NVC training program titled “Power of words”. Thematic analysis based on Kirkpatrick’s model of training evaluation was used to arrive at the findings.

Findings

NVC training was found to have created a sustainable shift in perspective and behaviour of the participants; however, the learning and application of the NVC skills were found to be dependent on individual and contextual factors. The role of the facilitator was found to be crucial in creating safe spaces that were essential for open sharing and effective practice. NVC was found to be easier to apply to contexts of personal relationships; however, in a work context, it holds immense scope to create both organisational- and employee-level outcomes.

Research limitations/implications

This study has implications for developing theory on NVC and its consequences to humanistic management and employee thriving.

Practical implications

This study has implications for developing theory on NVC and its consequences for humanistic management and employee thriving. This study has practical implications for humanising communication at work and also has implications for leaders, managers, coaches, counsellors, HR professionals and OD professionals, to improve employee or client experiences. This study also has implications for the potential community development.

Social implications

This study also has implications for the potential community development as a consequence of NVC training.

Originality/value

The research on the application of NVC training to context of work is very limited, and also, there is very limited research on both the effectiveness of online training and the retention and application of the learning after three months of completion of the program. This study fills these gaps.

How does perceived respect affect innovative behavior? The role of thriving at work and spiritual leadership

Many enterprises use innovation to deal with the rapidly changing business environment and gain market competitiveness. How to internally motivate employees, especially the new generation of employees (e.g., employees born after 1980), to take initiative to innovate is receiving great interest from both academic and practical perspectives. Based on the broaden-and-build theory, this study presents a moderated mediation model of the impact of perceived respect on innovative behavior. SPSS and Mplus were used to analyze the data from 506 leader–employee pairs. The results show that perceived respect had a significant positive influence on innovative behavior through the effect of thriving at work, and the moderating effect of spiritual leadership was significant. When the effect of spiritual leadership was strong, the effect of perceived respect on innovative behavior through the effect of thriving at work was enhanced. This study reveals the dynamic mechanisms of improving employees’ innovative behavior, providing theoretical and practical ideas for promoting enterprises’ sustainable and innovative development.

The civic engagement community participation thriving model: A multi-faceted thriving model to promote socially excluded young adult women

Social policies to promote socially excluded young adult women generally concentrate on education, employment, and residence but tend to neglect thriving. The current article puts forward a Civic Engagement Community Participation Thriving Model (CECP-TM) that views thriving as a social policy goal in and of itself. It posits that civic engagement, beyond its contribution to social justice, serves as a vehicle for thriving through self-exploration and identity formation. Both are considered key components of successful maturation and thriving. Nonetheless, civic engagement and self-exploration tend not to be nurtured in socially excluded young adult women, a unique group experiencing intersecting discrimination. The model shows how active civic engagement in the context of a community of peers contributes to developing a sense of belonging and connectedness and promotes new self-reflection, identity formation, and agency capabilities. When situated within the context of intersectionality, these encourage the development of critical consciousness and new understandings of “who I am and how I fit into the social world in which we live.” These can provide a sense of meaning, contribute to identity formation, and promote the thriving of the self and the community. Several examples illustrate the model.

The effect of anxiety on thriving levels of university students during the COVID-19 pandemic

Background

During the COVID-19 pandemic, university students struggle with unexpected changes in their lives, which have adverse effects on their levels of anxiety and thriving. Thriving with its two subdimensions, namely vitality and learning, is a prominent concept for university students due to contributing the academic achievement and wellbeing.

Aim

This study aimed to examine the effect of anxiety on thriving levels of university students during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Methods

An analytical and cross-sectional study was conducted between December 1, 2020 and January 6, 2021. Data were collected using online surveys with convenience sampling method. The sample consisted of 322 university students from a health sciences school of a public university in Turkey.

Findings

The students' anxiety and thriving levels were found to be moderate with 10.38 ± 5.24 and 3.41 ± 0.85, respectively. The results also indicated that anxiety had negative and significant effect on thriving and its subdimensions of vitality and learning. In addition, anxiety level differed significantly according to gender, worried about getting COVID-19 virus and following the COVID-19 cases on a daily basis while thriving level only differed significantly according to the gender.

Discussion

Consistent with previous literature, university students experienced high level of anxiety during the COVID-19 pandemic according to the current study. The students with high level of anxiety had lower vitality and learning scores comparing to their peers with low level of anxiety. This result is crucial, because students with high levels of thriving can cope with stress and feel themselves better psychologically than others.

Conclusion

This study showed that the students exhibited higher anxiety symptoms and had lower levels of thriving. Therefore, interventions, psychological support, and instrumental support are recommended to improve psychological health of university students.

Thriving in Neurology Residency: An Appreciative Inquiry Approach

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES

Enhancing resident well-being has become a top priority for medical educators as awareness of physician burnout continues to grow. Though significant effort has been made to understand contributors to resident burnout and develop effective interventions, relatively little is known about what characterizes the opposite of burnout, i.e., thriving in medical training. This phenomenological qualitative study applies Appreciative Inquiry as an interview technique with the aim of characterizing self-identified experiences of thriving among residents in the Yale Neurology program.

METHODS

Eight residents across all years of training in a single neurology residency participated in semi-structured appreciative interviews to identify experiences of thriving during neurology training. These interviews were transcribed and qualitatively analyzed with a phenomenologic perspective for common themes.

RESULTS

Numerous themes emerged spanning personal, interpersonal, and organizational domains. While some of these themes were congruent with established foundations of well-being and adult learning theory, others revealed the crucial contributions of stress and challenge to thriving. One of the strongest emergent themes was the tendency of residents to thrive during autonomous, high-challenge, high-stress situations, provided that adequate support was present and psychological safety was ensured.

DISCUSSION

These findings resonate with phenomena studied in positive psychology that are not currently being widely applied in medical education. To the degree conclusions are transferable to other training contexts, this study suggests an opportunity for medical educators to harness the positive aspects of stress and challenge in a supportive way that facilitates trainee well-being through experiences of thriving.

Being good, doing good: The role of honesty and integrity for health

Psychological traits, such as character strengths, have been already established in experimental studies as factors playing a favorable role for well-being and potentially reducing the risk of depression. Positive associations have been also reported between character strengths and physical fitness, self-reported physical and mental health. Yet, evidence with large scale, epidemiological data on the role of character strength of honesty and integrity (CSHI) in shaping subsequent health outcomes and daily functioning remains unexplored. We examined whether the character strength of honesty and integrity was prospectively associated with six physical health outcomes, two depression outcomes, and two daily functioning outcomes. We used data from the Health and Retirement Study obtained from a sample of 9813 older adults. We found that after a 4-year follow-up period, compared with individuals who scored the lowest in CSHI, participants who scored in the third tertile had a 18% lower risk of lung disease (RR = 0.824; 95% CI = 0.732; 0.927), and a 11% lower risk of depression (RR = 0.891; 95% CI = 0.806; 0.986). They also reported lower limitations in mobility (β = -0.048; 95% CI (-0.089; -0.008)] and less difficulty in instrumental activities of daily living [β = -0.088; 95% CI (-0.128; -0.047)]. These associations were independent of demographics, prior socioeconomic status, psychological factors, health conditions, and health behaviors. Policy makers and practitioners may consider the character strength of honesty and integrity as a factor for promoting healthy longevity, limiting risks of becoming physically inactive and reducing risk of physical and mental disease.

An exploration of thriving over time in recovery

INTRODUCTION

Emerging models of recovery have redirected the traditional focus on relapse prevention to an emphasis on wellness. According to this new framework of recovery, aspects of thriving can strengthen recovery and prevent relapse in substance use. However, the empirical support for these models is sparse. To fill the gap in the literature, the authors sought to predict the risk of relapse based on factors of thriving.

METHOD

Participants consisted of a stratified sample of 412 adults in early, middle, and late stages of recovery (based on length of time in recovery) who the study recruited via Qualtrics Online Panels. We utilized a sequential regression to examine the ability of factors of thriving, the influence of time in recovery and demographic variables to predict relapse risk.

RESULTS

Thriving, length of recovery, and demographics significantly predicted risk of relapse (p < .001, R² = 65%), with Thriving accounting for 55% of the variance (ΔR² = 55%).

CONCLUSION

These findings demonstrate that the natural developmental process that comes from the passage of time dedicated to recovery is significant but thriving or the quality of that time serves as a stronger protective factor preventing relapse. Addiction treatment and prevention specialists could benefit from including thriving in conceptual models and interventions for recovery. Further, these findings provide support for holistic models of addiction recovery.

Thriving Through Relationships in Sport: The Role of the Parent-Athlete and Coach-Athlete Attachment Relationship

The aim of this research was to examine whether attachment relationships to significant others, such as to parents and/or sports coaches, enable thriving and competition performance within sport. Two studies employing cross-sectional and prospective designs were carried out across different samples of athletes of varied skill levels and sports. In Study 1, we found athletes' attachment to their sports coach was significantly associated with athlete thriving and mediated by psychological needs satisfaction. Results of Study 2 found that athletes' secure attachment to their mother and/or father positively predicted the experience of thriving at the competition while athletes' insecure attachment did not predict thriving. Furthermore, athletes' attachment to both mother and father did not predict competition performance. Together, these two studies acknowledge the significant role that athletes' secure attachment relationships with parents and coaches play in facilitating thriving in athletes. These findings have significant implications for research and practice.

Thriving from Work: Conceptualization and Measurement

Work is a major contributor to our health and well-being. Workers' thriving is directly influenced by their job design, work environment and organization. The purpose of this report is to describe the qualitative methods used to develop the candidate items for a novel measure of Thriving from Work through a multi-step iterative process including: a literature review, workshop, interviews with experts, and cognitive testing of the candidate items. Through this process, we defined Thriving from Work as the state of positive mental, physical, and social functioning in which workers' experiences of their work and working conditions enable them to thrive in their overall lives, contributing to their ability to achieve their full potential in their work, home, and community. Thriving from Work was conceptualized into 37 attributes across seven dimensions: psychological, emotional, social, work-life integration, basic needs, experience of work, and health. We ultimately identified, developed and/or modified 87 candidate questionnaire items mapped to these attributes that performed well in cognitive testing in demographically and occupationally diverse workers. The Thriving from Work Questionnaire will be subjected to psychometric testing and item reduction in future studies. Individual items demonstrated face validity and good cognitive response properties and may be used independently from the questionnaire.

Measuring Well-Being in Sport Performers: Where are We Now and How do we Progress?

The importance of optimal well-being and mental health in elite athletes has received increasing attention and debate in both the academic and public discourse. Despite the number of challenges and risk factors for mental health and well-being recognised within the performance lifestyle of elite athletes, the evidence base for intervention is limited by a number of methodological and conceptual issues. Notably, there exists an increasing emphasis on the development of appropriate sport-specific measures of athlete well-being, which are required to underpin strategies targeted at the protection and enhancement of psychosocial functioning. Therefore, the purpose of this article is to review psychometric issues in well-being research and discuss the implications for the measurement of well-being in sport psychology research. Drawing on the broader literature in related disciplines of psychology, the narrative discusses four key areas in the scale development process: conceptual and theoretical issues, item development issues, measurement and scoring issues, and analytical and statistical issues. To conclude, a summary of the key implications for sport psychology researchers seeking to develop a measure of well-being is presented.

A recipe for thriving in nursing homes: A meta-ethnography

AIM

To explore contributors for thriving in nursing homes by evaluating, analysing and synthesizing peer-reviewed qualitative literature on the topic.

BACKGROUND

Thriving is a positive life-world concept that has been explored by several qualitative studies; however, descriptions of thriving and contributors to thriving have not been compared or contrasted among different studies and contexts, nor have they been reviewed and synthesized.

DESIGN

Qualitative meta-ethnography.

DATA SOURCES

Four electronic databases were searched in October 2019, with sources published between 2000 and 2019 included.

REVIEW METHODS

Sources of peer-reviewed literature that employed qualitative methods to explore thriving in nursing homes were evaluated. In total, 1,017 sources were screened at title-level, 95 advanced to abstract-level review and 11 were assessed at full-text level. Each source was evaluated by two researchers independently in relation to methodological quality and relevance to the study aim. Themes pertaining to thriving in nursing homes were extracted, interpreted and synthesized.

RESULTS

In total, seven sources of peer-reviewed literature were included. Two main themes illustrating the contributors to thriving were identified: ingredients for thriving (subthemes: personal contributors and social contributors) and environment for thriving (subthemes: spacial contributors and societal contributors).

CONCLUSION

Contributors to thriving in nursing homes include personal attributes, relationships with others, the lived environment and societal structures. Thriving for older people could thereby be defined as a holistic concept denoting lived experiences of situated contentment. Future studies should explore different temporal facets of thriving in the nursing home setting.

IMPACT

This meta-synthesis proposes a 'recipe' for thriving as comprising the right ingredients and the right environment, determined by the preferred 'taste' of the individual person. The proposed definition and contributors illuminate thriving as a positive life-world concept that is based on one's lived experiences and context.

An Integrative Review of How Healthcare Organizations Can Support Hospital Nurses to Thrive at Work

Background: Solutions that address the anticipated nursing shortage should focus on thriving at work: a positive psychological state characterized by a sense of vitality and learning, resulting in higher levels of work engagement, commitment, and wellbeing. Purpose: To synthesize international evidence on organizational factors that support hospital nurse wellbeing and to identify how the Social Embeddedness of Thriving at Work Model can support health managers to develop management approaches that enable nurses to thrive. Method: Conduct an integrative review of literature published between 2005–2019. Results: Thematic analysis identified five key themes: (1) Empowerment; (2) Mood of the organization; (3) An enabling environment; (4) Togetherness with colleagues; and (5) Leaders’ connectivity. Conclusions: The Social Embeddedness of Thriving at Work Model supports managers to develop management approaches that enable their nurses to thrive. Health managers should consider strategies to support nurses to thrive at work to improve nurse work engagement and wellbeing.

Key concepts for managing organizations and employees turning towards the Fourth Industrial Revolution

The Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) brings radical changes for employees, organizations and societies. These changes are accompanied by unforeseeable challenges on cognitive, affective and behavioural levels, as well as fundamental questions that require a response. Work and meaning of work are changing. Organizations have to address employees' perceptions, and deal with rapid technological innovation, new work and employment concepts, as well as global and local power shifts. This conceptual article proposes selected key concepts for managing organizations and employees, namely creativity, positive emotions and solution-focus as keys to meaning-making in the 4IR. The aim of this article is to explore selected key concepts in managing 4IR organizations on a conceptual level and to stimulate future theoretical reflections and discourses of positive psychology (PP) and positive organizational psychology (POP) impacts within the 4IR transformations. Conclusions are drawn and provides recommendations for theory and practice.

The prediction of thriving in elite sport: A prospective examination of the role of psychological need satisfaction, challenge appraisal, and salivary biomarkers

OBJECTIVES

To examine (i) whether levels of, and changes in, athletes' basic psychological need satisfaction (BPNS) and challenge appraisals predicted in-match thriving; and (ii) if salivary biomarkers could be defined that were related to thriving.

DESIGN

Prospective study design.

METHODS

Fifty-one elite male hockey players (M_age=24.94 years, SD_age=4.73) completed questionnaires measuring their BPNS and challenge appraisals on seven consecutive days prior to a competitive match, as well as providing saliva samples immediately on waking, and then +0.5, +3, and +5.25h on the day of the match. Saliva was assayed for catabolic (i.e., cortisol) and anabolic (i.e., dehydroepiandrosterone [DHEA]) hormones. In-match thriving was assessed retrospectively using measures of subjective performance and well-being.

RESULTS

Latent growth curve modelling showed pre-match levels of BPNS and challenge appraisals to positively predict thriving. Although not statistically significant, small and moderate negative associations were found for thriving with cortisol concentration (+5.25h sample) and total cortisol exposure across the morning of the match, respectively. DHEA concentration shared a small positive, yet non-significant, association with thriving.

CONCLUSIONS

Athletes' pre-match levels of BPNS and challenge appraisal predict in-match thriving; thus, offering potential mechanisms through which both high-level performance and the experience of well-being can be facilitated. Furthermore, associations suggest that total cortisol exposure across the morning of the match, and cortisol and DHEA levels in pre-match samples may offer sport science and sports medicine practitioners potential biomarkers for thriving. Future research is required to substantiate this initial finding.

A Multi-Study Exploration of Factors That Optimize Hardiness in Sport Coaches and the Role of Reflective Practice in Facilitating Hardy Attitudes

Hardiness has been identified as a key personal characteristic that may moderate the ill-effects of stress on health and performance. However, little is known about how hardiness might be developed, particularly in sport coaches. To systematically address this gap, we present two linked studies. First, interviews were conducted with pre-determined high-hardy, elite coaches (n = 13) to explore how they had developed their hardy dispositions through the associated attitudinal sub-components of control, commitment, and challenge. Utilizing thematic analysis, we identified that hardiness was developed through experiential learning, external support, and the use of specific coping mechanisms. Key to all of these themes was the concept of reflective practice, which was thought to facilitate more meaningful learning from the participants' experiences and, subsequently, enhance the self-awareness and insight required to augment hardiness and its sub-components. To investigate further the potential relationship between coaches' reflective practices and their level of hardiness, we conducted a follow-up study. Specifically, a sample of 402 sports coaches completed the Dispositional Resilience Scale-15, the Self-Reflection and Insight Scale, and the Questionnaire for Reflective Thinking. Using latent profile analysis (LPA), we clustered participants into groups based on their reflective profiles (e.g., type of engagement, level of reflective thinking). We then examined differences in hardiness between the five latent sub-groups using multinomial regression. Findings revealed that the sub-group of highly engaged, intentionally critical reflective thinkers reported significantly higher levels of all three hardiness sub-components than all other sub-groups; these effect sizes were typically moderate-to-large in magnitude (standardized mean differences = -1.50 to -0.10). Conversely, the profile of highly disengaged, non-reflective, habitual actors reported the lowest level of all three dimensions. Collectively, our findings offer novel insights into the potential factors that may influence a coaches' level of hardiness. We provide particular support for the importance of reflective practice as a meta-cognitive strategy that helps coaches to develop hardy dispositions through augmenting its attitudinal sub-components. Consequently, our research makes a significant contribution by providing a comprehensive insight into how we might better train and support coaches to demonstrate the adaptive qualities required to thrive in demanding situations.

Realizing, Adapting, and Thriving in Career Transitions From Gymnastics to Contemporary Circus Arts

The purpose of this study was to explore the career transition experiences of elite gymnasts who became professional circus artists. Eight (inter)national level gymnasts who worked as circus artists were interviewed. Using a constructionist approach to thematic data analysis, we identified a three-phase career transition process. High levels of psychological resilience characteristics were required in the first, “realizing” phase (i.e., motivation, hard work, social support, and optimism). The second, “adapting” phase involved balancing context-specific demands which included general stress, a loss of competence, social adjustment, taking calculated risks, and physical recovery. The third, “thriving” phase involved experiences of freedom, personal development, and social connectedness. During the career transition, changes from an athletic to circus artist identity were experienced. Practitioners are encouraged to support the psychological resilience and experiences of autonomy among circus artists during their career transitions. This is expected to facilitate circus artists’ wellbeing, safety, and career longevity.

Mapping the antecedents and consequences of thriving at work

Purpose

This paper aims to explore the antecedents and consequences of thriving at work, identifies existing gaps in the literature and proposes a framework, which encapsulates potential pathways for future research on thriving.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper follows a rigorous review of the extant literature on thriving mainly based on journal articles published between 2005 and 2020.

Findings

The paper proposes a feasible conceptual framework highlighting the antecedents and outcomes of thriving. Specifically, the review illustrates how contextual factors, represented by transformational leadership and organisational virtuousness (OV), act as antecedents of thriving and then proposes potential research direction where thriving is associated with psychological empowerment, psychological capital and innovative work behaviour.

Practical implications

Understanding how and when contextual factors such as transformational leadership and OV promote thriving is important for organisations and leaders who wish to know how and when they can shape resources and organisational features to enable thriving.

Originality/value

This unique review is one of a few studies adding to the growing research on positive psychology at the workplace. The proposed framework and future research directions have the potential to help unpack the unique relationship between work-related contextual factors and thriving.

Strengths use, deficit correction, thriving and performance of academics at universities of technology

Orientation: Research regarding strengths use, deficit correction and thriving of academics in higher education institutions is necessary, given the possible effects thereof on their task and contextual performance.Research purpose: This study aimed to investigate the relationships among strengths use and deficit correction, thriving at work and performance of academics. Furthermore, it sought to investigate whether performance-related pay moderates the effects of thriving on performance.Motivation for the study: No studies were found regarding the relationships among a balanced strengths- and deficit-based approach, thriving at work, and performance in the context of South African higher education.Research approach/design and method: A cross-sectional survey design was used, with a convenience sample of 276 academic employees from three universities of technology in South Africa. The participants completed the Strengths Use and Deficit Correction Scale, the Thriving at Work Scale, a scale that measured perceptions of performance-related pay and measures of task and contextual performance.Main findings: The results showed that perceived organisational support for strengths use, as well as individual strengths use and deficit correction, predicted thriving at work. Thriving predicted task and contextual performance. A significant interaction was found between thriving and perceptions of performance-related pay. The most robust relation between thriving and performance existed when performance-related pay was perceived to be good.Practical/managerial implications: Higher education institutions must invest resources to enable academics to thrive at work via the balanced strength- and deficit-based approach. This approach should be seen as a core development tool for academics to increase employees’ thriving at work.Contribution/value-add: This study contributes to scientific knowledge regarding strengths use and deficit correction, thriving and performance of academics in higher education institutions. It also resulted in new knowledge regarding the interaction effects of performance-related pay and thriving on task performance of academics.

Thriving on Pressure: A Factor Mixture Analysis of Sport Performers' Responses to Competitive Encounters

Although considerable research exists on performers' responses to sporting encounters, little is known about thriving in sport contexts. The current study examined if distinct response patterns existed between sport performers who thrived in competitive encounters compared with those who did not. Participants were 535 sport performers (134 women; M_age = 23.60 years, SD_age = 8.08; M_competing = 11.84 years, SD_competing = 7.11). Results of factor mixture analysis supported a four-profile solution comprising a thriving group (n = 146), a low-functioning group (n = 38), and two groups characterized by scores marginally above (n = 131) and below (n = 209) the sample mean. Profile membership was found to be predicted by personal enablers (viz., personal resilient qualities, psychological skills use) and process variables (viz., basic psychological need satisfaction and frustration, challenge appraisal). This examination of thriving in sport performers offers significant implications for research and practice.