Determinants of life satisfaction among women of reproductive age (15-49 years) in Bangladesh: A cross-sectional analysis

The life satisfaction of women is an essential component of their subjective well-being. It is an indicator of a woman’s life quality based on personal perception. Considering the importance of women’s subjective well-being, the United Nations (UN) has recognized this as one of its Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). To the best of our knowledge, no study has been done yet for Bangladeshi women aged 15-49 years using nationally represented data. This study is the first study, to our knowledge, that will identify the determinants of life satisfaction and investigate the association between these determinants and life satisfaction among women of reproductive age (15-49 years) in Bangladesh. This study examined the overall life satisfaction and impact of some personal and sociodemographic characteristics on it among the women aged 15 to 49 years in Bangladesh using the Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey (MICS) 2019 data, a cross-sectional data. In our study, information regarding life satisfaction was available for a sample of 64,283 women after categorizing the variable overall life satisfaction and adjusting the missing values. The variable overall life satisfaction was categorized into three categories, namely low (0-3), moderate (4-6), and high (7-10), according to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) guidelines. Results showed that 14.67% of women are low satisfied, 50.65% are moderately satisfied, and 34.68% are highly satisfied with their lives. A bivariate analysis was applied in this study to show the significant association between the determinants and life satisfaction. The multinomial logistic regression analysis was performed to draw valid conclusions about the effects of the potential determinants on life satisfaction. The study revealed that satisfaction increases with age, education level, and wealth status. For the variable marital status, which has three categories: currently married, formerly married, and never married, current marriage was strongly associated with higher life satisfaction. In contrast, a former marriage and a never marriage were associated with lower life satisfaction. Migration status was also significantly associated with life satisfaction, where women who changed their location were more satisfied than those who never changed their current location. Bangladesh aims to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030. To achieve the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 3, which promotes well-being, and the goal 5, to empower all women and girls, addressing the issues related to life satisfaction and applying appropriate intervention is a must.

Personality development in adolescence: Examining big five trait trajectories in differential learning environments

This study addresses two questions: Do Big Five traits change from early to middle adolescence? How do developmental trajectories differ between educational environments (i.e., secondary school tracks)? We used a representative random sample from Germany, following 6th graders (T1, N = 1662; age: M = 11.68; SD = 0.63; female = 47.4%; from N = 87 primary schools) to the end of compulsory secondary education over three measurement points (i.e., assessing students in 6th, 7th, and 9th grade). Results of latent change modeling indicated overall increases in mean levels for all personality traits from early to middle adolescence. Regarding selection effects, the results indicated that more conscientious, agreeable, extraverted, open, and emotionally stable sixth graders were more likely to transit into an academic rather than a non-academic secondary school track. Moreover, the results showed that these initial differences in personality traits seemed to diminish between 6th and 9th grade for all personality traits. Additionally, controlling for selection effects, a contextual effect was discernible for conscientiousness. This study highlighted the potential role of differential learning environments for modifying changes in personality traits during adolescence.

Subjective Well-Being Among Unaccompanied Refugee Youth: Longitudinal Associations With Discrimination and Ethnic Identity Crisis

Unaccompanied refugee youth (URY), who as children fled their countries to seek asylum in a foreign country without the company of an adult legal caretaker are described as being in a vulnerable situation. Many of them struggle with mental reactions to traumatic events experienced pre-migration, and to the daily hassles they face after being granted asylum and residence. Despite continuous high levels of mental health problems URY demonstrate remarkable agency and social mobility in the years after being granted asylum in their destination countries. A sense of subjective well-being (SWB) may enable resilient outcomes in people exposed to past or ongoing adversities. To fill the gap in the research literature about positive psychological outcomes among URY, the overall aim of this study was to explore the longitudinal associations between SWB and two taxing acculturation hassles: perceived discrimination and ethnic identity crisis. Three annual waves of self-report questionnaire data were collected from a population-based sample of URY; n = 581, M_age = 20.01(SD = 2.40), M_{length of stay} = 4.63 (SD = 4.40), 82 % male, mainly from Afghanistan, Somalia, Iraq, and Sri Lanka. The longitudinal associations between SWB, perceived discrimination and ethnic identity crisis across time were analyzed using auto-regressive cross-lagged modeling. The results revealed that perceived discrimination, but not ethnic identity crisis, negatively predicted subsequent levels of SWB. More importantly, high levels of SWB at one timepoint predicted decreases in both discrimination and ethnic identity crisis at subsequent timepoints. Further, increases in SWB from one timepoint to the next was associated with significant co-occurring decreases in both discrimination and ethnic identity crisis, and vice versa. Despite the negative effect of perceived discrimination on SWB, promoting SWB in URY can protect them from future hazards of acculturation hassles in complex ways. We underscore the need for more research on SWB among URY and other refugee youth. We further discuss the potential of SWB to foster resilient outcomes in young refugees and suggest that interventions to strengthen SWB among them should consider their transnational and multicultural realities and experiences.

Predicting subjective well-being in a high-risk sample of Russian mental health app users

Despite recent achievements in predicting personality traits and some other human psychological features with digital traces, prediction of subjective well-being (SWB) appears to be a relatively new task with few solutions. COVID-19 pandemic has added both a stronger need for rapid SWB screening and new opportunities for it, with online mental health applications gaining popularity and accumulating large and diverse user data. Nevertheless, the few existing works so far have aimed at predicting SWB, and have done so only in terms of Diener's Satisfaction with Life Scale. None of them analyzes the scale developed by the World Health Organization, known as WHO-5 - a widely accepted tool for screening mental well-being and, specifically, for depression risk detection. Moreover, existing research is limited to English-speaking populations, and tend to use text, network and app usage types of data separately. In the current work, we cover these gaps by predicting both mentioned SWB scales on a sample of Russian mental health app users who represent a population with high risk of mental health problems. In doing so, we employ a unique combination of phone application usage data with private messaging and networking digital traces from VKontakte, the most popular social media platform in Russia. As a result, we predict Diener's SWB scale with the state-of-the-art quality, introduce the first predictive models for WHO-5, with similar quality, and reach high accuracy in the prediction of clinically meaningful classes of the latter scale. Moreover, our feature analysis sheds light on the interrelated nature of the two studied scales: they are both characterized by negative sentiment expressed in text messages and by phone application usage in the morning hours, confirming some previous findings on subjective well-being manifestations. At the same time, SWB measured by Diener's scale is reflected mostly in lexical features referring to social and affective interactions, while mental well-being is characterized by objective features that reflect physiological functioning, circadian rhythms and somatic conditions, thus saliently demonstrating the underlying theoretical differences between the two scales.

Emotional Intelligence, Psychological Well-Being and Burnout of Active and In-Training Teachers

The main activating variables of psychological well-being and Emotional Intelligence that influence teachers include the process of evaluating well-being, their motivation, and their ability to perceive and regulate sources of stress and burnout. The relationship and influence of psychological well-being and emotional intelligence was analyzed with the adequate regulation of burnout. Those who participated included 386 active teachers (55%), and teachers in training (45%), studying for degrees in Pre-School and Primary Education, and Master’s degrees in Secondary Education Teacher Training of which 71.5% were women. The following were used: Psychological Well-Being Scales, Trait Meta-Mood Scale and the Spanish Burnout Inventory. Pearson’s correlation analysis and multiple regression analysis were performed. The results showed that enthusiasm for the teaching job is related to psychological well-being, especially domain of the environment and personal growth. Multiple regression analysis made it possible to establish a predictive model of well-being, showing that psychological well-being is the main adjustment predictor and/or the mismatch in the work of the teaching staff in both samples, through an adequate regulation of positive relationships, mastery of their environment and having a purpose in life.

Do We Know Whether We're Happier? Corroborating Perceived Retrospective Assessments of Improvements in Well-Being

To what extent do our beliefs about how our well-being has improved over time correspond to observed changes? Participants (N = 1,247 from Qualtrics Panels) completed questionnaires measuring dispositional well-being and ill-being (depressive symptoms) at three time points over the course of one year, as well as 44 weekly assessments of state well-being and ill-being over 52 weeks. They additionally completed measures of perceived improvements in well-being and ill-being at Weeks 45 and 52 as well as a measure of broad personality traits. We estimated latent change scores and latent growth curves, which allowed us to obtain more accurate estimates of the convergence between retrospective improvements and veridical change compared to past methods utilized. Stability in both global and state well-being and ill-being were observed. People who agreed more strongly that their well-being had improved (or their ill-being had increased) tended to show greater increases in actual well-being (or ill-being) across the past year. Additionally, we observed meaningful relationships between personality traits and perceived improvements. On average, people have some insight in assessing whether they became happier (or unhappier) over one year.

Determinants of life satisfaction among Ghanaians aged 15 to 49 years: A further analysis of the 2017/2018 Multiple Cluster Indicator Survey

The inclusion of life satisfaction in government policies as a tracker of the social and economic progress of citizens has been recommended. This has encouraged the scientific investigation of life satisfaction levels of people in tandem with factors responsible for these levels. Only a few studies have attempted to do this in Ghana with mixed findings. This study, therefore, extends previous literature by examining the determinants of life satisfaction among Ghanaians in two ways: a full sample and a gender-stratified sample. We analysed cross-sectional data from the 2017/2018 Ghana Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey Six (MICS 6). A sample of 20,059 women and men of ages ranging from 15 to 49 years participated in this study. The Cantril's Self-Anchoring Ladder Life Satisfaction scale was used to capture the life satisfaction of participants alongside relevant sociodemographic questions. About 35% of participants reported they were satisfied in life with males reporting more suffering levels [39.59%; 95% CI:36.38, 42.88] and females more thriving levels [36.41%; 95% CI:35.01, 37.84]. In the full sample multivariable model, gender, age, parity, education, marital status, wealth index, and region of residence were significantly associated with life satisfaction. Gender variations were also found across these associations. These findings collectively provide useful information for policymakers and practitioners to optimize interventions for the Ghanaian population aimed at improving life satisfaction. Evidence from this study also calls on the government of Ghana to begin tracking the life satisfaction of her citizens.

Changes in Size and Interpretation of Parameter Estimates in Within-Person Models in the Presence of Time-Invariant and Time-Varying Covariates

For several decades, cross-lagged panel models (CLPM) have been the dominant statistical model in relationship research for investigating reciprocal associations between two (or more) constructs over time. However, recent methodological research has questioned the frequent usage of the CLPM because, amongst other things, the model commingles within-person associations with between-person associations, while most developmental research questions pertain to within-person processes. Furthermore, the model presumes that there are no third variables that confound the relationships between the longitudinally assessed variables. Therefore, the usage of alternative models such as the Random-Intercept Cross-Lagged Panel Model (RI-CLPM) or the Latent Curve Model with Structured Residuals (LCM-SR) has been suggested. These models separate between-person from within-person variation and they also control for time constant covariates. However, there might also be third variables that are not stable but rather change across time and that can confound the relationships between the variables studied in these models. In the present article, we explain the differences between the two types of confounders and investigate how they affect the parameter estimates of within-person models such as the RI-CLPM and the LCM-SR.

The Role of Junior Adolescents' School Well-Being/Ill-Being Characteristics in School Anxiety Variations

Difficulties that junior adolescents (aged 11-13 years old) experience in terms of academic adaptation, which are indicated through school anxiety and academic wellbeing characteristics, often lead to a dramatic decrease in academic performance, behavioral problems, and deterioration of their health. The purpose of this investigation is to determine the structure of characteristics of school wellbeing/ill-being of junior adolescents and their role in variations of school anxiety, which largely define academic adaptation. In this study, based on positive psychology and a systematic approach, the level of distinctiveness of characteristics of school wellbeing is carried out with the help of comparative analysis; the factor structure of these characteristics is identified; the characteristics of wellbeing and their coordinated combinations (factors) are determined as predictors of school anxiety. The sample consisted of 120 students of the 5th-7th grades, aged M = 11.5; SD = 1.04 (49.2% girls, 50.8% boys) who attended Saratov secondary schools. To study the level of school anxiety, we used the Philips' School Anxiety Scale (SAS), and indicators of school wellbeing were measured with the original scales developed by the authors of the study. Statistical processing of the results was carried out with regression analysis and factor analysis. The results showed that the school wellbeing of junior adolescents forms a complex structure that includes cognitive, personal, emotional, social, and psychophysiological characteristics of school life. It was found that from 16% up to 53% of the deviation of variables characterizing school anxiety is conditioned by the assessment of variables characterizing emotional states, the ability of self-regulation, cognitive capabilities, and interest in learning. The study determined a high level of tension in adolescents in the field of emotions' self-regulation, unpleasant physical sensations at school, before and after attending school, in the course of planning their school day and reflecting on educational activities. The most powerful factors of school anxiety in junior adolescents are physical distress, low ability to self-regulate and social adaptation, lack of independence in a learning activity, and personal immaturity.

Association of Regular Leisure-Time Physical Activity with Happiness among Middle-Aged and Older Adults in Taiwan

The aim of the present study was to clarify the relationship between regular LTPA (i.e., 150-300 min of moderate-intensity or 75-150 min of high-intensity physical activity) and happiness among middle-aged and older adults in Taiwan. The cross-sectional study data were obtained from the Taiwan National Physical Activity Survey, a nationally representative survey of the Taiwanese population. A total of 12,687 middle-aged and older adults (45-108 years) were ultimately enrolled in this study. The questionnaire data obtained through this national telephone survey included sociodemographic characteristics, self-reported health status, self-evaluations (comprising height, body weight, and happiness), and zip code of residence. The results suggest a significant positive relationship between regular LTPA and happiness scores; that is, the middle-aged adults who engaged in more LTPA may report higher happiness occurrence than others. This study suggests that regular LTPA is an essential factor influencing happiness. LTPA is an essential form of physical activity that helps middle-aged and older people to relax.

When and how does the number of children affect marital satisfaction? An international survey

The present global study attempts to verify the links between marital satisfaction and the number of children as well as its moderators in an international sample. Data for the study was obtained from our published dataset and included 7178 married individuals from 33 countries and territories. We found that the number of children was a significant negative predictor of marital satisfaction; also sex, education, and religiosity were interacting with the number of children and marital satisfaction, while there were no interactions with economic status and individual level of individualistic values. The main contribution of the present research is extending our knowledge on the relationship between marital satisfaction and the number of children in several, non-Western countries and territories.

Concurrent and Longitudinal Relationships between Positive Youth Development Attributes and Adolescent Internet Addiction Symptoms in Chinese Mainland High School Students

In view of growing adolescent Internet addiction (IA) in the global context, there is a great need to understand the predictors of IA and design related evidence-based intervention and prevention programs. This longitudinal study investigated the relationships between Positive Youth Development (PYD) attributes and IA problems and the mediating role of life satisfaction using a large sample of Chinese high school students (N = 2648). Separated by one academic year, students completed a questionnaire evaluating their adolescent psychosocial adjustment, including validated PYD and IA measures. Multiple regression and structural equation modeling analyses were used. Consistent with the theoretical predictions of PYD models, results revealed a significant negative influence of PYD attributes on IA symptoms concurrently and longitudinally. In particular, general PYD attributes, such as emotional competence, spirituality, and resilience, showed strong and stable protective effects against IA. Life satisfaction also served as a mediator of the influence of all measures of PYD attributes on IA symptoms. The study underlines the importance of PYD attributes in promoting adolescents’ life satisfaction and preventing IA, and thus contributes to the design and implementation of evidence-based intervention and prevention programs.

Post-traumatic growth as positive personality change: Challenges, opportunities, and recommendations

OBJECTIVE

Post-traumatic growth typically refers to enduring positive psychological change experienced as a result of adversity, trauma, or highly challenging life circumstances. Critics have challenged insights from much of the prior research on this topic, pinpointing its significant methodological limitations. In response to these critiques, we propose that post-traumatic growth can be more accurately captured in terms of personality change-an approach that affords a more rigorous examination of the phenomenon.

METHOD

We outline a set of conceptual and methodological questions and considerations for future work on the topic of post-traumatic growth.

RESULTS

We provide a series of recommendations for researchers from across the disciplines of clinical/counseling, developmental, health, personality, and social psychology and beyond, who are interested in improving the quality of research examining resilience and growth in the context of adversity.

CONCLUSION

We are hopeful that these recommendations will pave the way for a more accurate understanding of the ubiquity, durability, and causal processes underlying post-traumatic growth.

Factors Related to the Behavior of People Who Have Never Used the Internet for Voluntary Reasons: Cross-Sectional Survey Study

BACKGROUND

If there are people who do not want to use the internet despite having the circumstances and conditions for using it, another policy consideration will be needed.

OBJECTIVE

The purpose of this study was to explore the factors related to the behavior of people who do not voluntarily use the internet.

METHODS

A cross-sectional survey was conducted in 2018. It used a proportional quota random sampling design to select a representative sample of Koreans. Accordingly, 6150 participants were included in the study. Multiple logistic regression methods were used to explore the predicting factors of the act of voluntarily not using the internet.

RESULTS

Age, education level, bonding and bridging social capitals, and daily life satisfaction for health status were found to be factors related to the behavior of not voluntarily using the internet. However, gender, household income, occupation, family size, and community type were not related to voluntary nonuse of the internet.

CONCLUSIONS

It was found that sociodemographic factors, such as age and education level, which are difficult to modify, along with psychosocial factors located deeper than the visible living conditions, such as social capital and life satisfaction, are involved in voluntary internet nonuse. These results also suggest that it is not desirable to proceed with policies related to information and communications technology on a separate track, but rather that they should be comprehensively approached with other social policies that design various social interventions in order to enhance equity within the society.

The interplay of domain-and life satisfaction in predicting life events

To better understand the occurrence of major changes in people´s lives like job changes or relocations, we test a model of motivational consequences of life and domain satisfaction using data of the German socio-economic panel study (SOEP) (waves 2005–2015; Ns between 2,201 and 28,720). We examined job and location changes as outcomes that people may actively initiate as a result of dissatisfaction with these domains. One of our results indicates that for similar levels of job satisfaction, individuals with higher levels of life satisfaction were more likely to report a subsequent job change, presumably because they possess necessary resources to actively initiate such a major life change. The patterns were similar for relocation satisfaction and subsequent relocation, but not all effects were significant. Generally, the effects of life satisfaction and domain satisfaction on life events were independent of affective well-being. Contrary to what we expected based on life-span theories, perceived control did not significantly moderate the tested mechanisms. These findings furthermore show that examining life satisfaction and domain satisfaction in isolation can lead to theoretically and empirically false conclusions. Contrary to previous research, high life satisfaction appears to not be a general driver for stability but rather should be seen as an indicator of resourcefulness that allows people to strive for changes in specific life domains.

Trajectories of Current and Predicted Satisfaction With One's Life Following a Cancer Diagnosis

Background

Poor physical and mental health is common among cancer survivors, but little is known about how cancer influences life satisfaction and expectations about one's future, both of which may subsequently influence health decisions and outcomes.

Purpose

The current study examined how a cancer diagnosis influences current and predicted future life satisfaction in seven domains, including family, finances, work, and health.

Methods

We leveraged data from three waves of the Midlife in the United States study (N = 6,389) and examined the relation between new and past cancer diagnoses on satisfaction using generalized estimating equations. We also compared participants' predicted satisfaction to the actual satisfaction they reported at later waves of data collection, and examined whether concordance between the two differed by cancer history.

Results

A cancer diagnosis was associated with a decline in satisfaction about one's present health and sex life, ps < .05, but satisfaction with all other domains remained steady or improved. In contrast, predictions about the future became and remained less optimistic than the predictions of those without cancer across all life domains except relationships with children, ps < .05. Within-subjects comparisons of predicted and actual satisfaction suggest those without a cancer history were optimistic in their predictions across all life domains except health whereas survivors were more accurate in their predictions.

Conclusions

Given the many ways in which expectations about the future can influence decision making, behavior, and health, survivors' attenuated optimistic outlooks may influence their health and well-being.

Mind the "Happiness" Gap: The Relationship Between Cohabitation, Marriage, and Subjective Well-being in the United Kingdom, Australia, Germany, and Norway

Many studies have found that married people have higher subjective well-being than those who are not married. Yet the increase in cohabitation raises questions as to whether only marriage has beneficial effects. In this study, we examine differences in subjective well-being between cohabiting and married men and women in midlife, comparing the United Kingdom, Australia, Germany, and Norway. We apply propensity score–weighted regression analyses to examine selection processes into marriage and differential treatment bias. We find no differences between cohabitation and marriage for men in the United Kingdom and Norway, and women in Germany. However, we do find significant differences for men in Australia and women in Norway. The differences disappear after we control for selection in Australia, but they unexpectedly persist for Norwegian women, disappearing only when we account for relationship satisfaction. For German men and British and Australian women, those with a lower propensity to marry would benefit from marriage. Controls eliminate differences for German men, although not for U.K. women, but relationship satisfaction reduces differences. Overall, our study indicates that especially after selection and relationship satisfaction are taken into account, differences between marriage and cohabitation disappear in all countries. Marriage does not lead to higher subjective well-being; instead, cohabitation is a symptom of economic and emotional strain.

Nothing going on? Exploring the role of missed events in changes in subjective well-being and the Big Five personality traits

OBJECTIVE

Missed events are defined as the nonoccurrence of expected major life events within a specified time frame. We examined whether missed events should be studied in research on growth by exploring the role of missed events for changes in subjective well-being (SWB) and the Big Five personality traits.

METHOD

The samples were selected from two nationally representative panel studies, the German Socioeconomic Panel Innovation Sample (SOEP-IS, total N = 6,638) and the Dutch Longitudinal Internet Studies for the Social Sciences panel (LISS, Ns between 4,262 and 5,749). Rank-order stability and mean-level change were analyzed using regression and mixed models. Type I error probability was reduced by using conservative thresholds for level of significance and minimal effect size.

RESULTS

Expected but missed events were more frequent than actually experienced events. For SWB, rank-order stability tended to be lower among those who experienced a missed event than among those who did not. For the Big Five personality traits, significant differences between those who did and those who did not experience a missed event were rare and unsystematic.

CONCLUSION

Missed events merit more attention in future research on growth and personality change, but the effects are probably weak.

Big Five Personality Traits and Life Satisfaction: The Mediating Role of Religiosity

Extensive empirical research conducted up till now has confirmed that personality represents one of the most significant predictors of life satisfaction. Still, no studies to date have empirically tested the path of influence from personality traits to religiosity and the effects of both on life satisfaction/positivity within the same model. In the current study, we aimed to verify whether the relationship between personality and satisfaction/positivity was mediated by religiousness, as it is considered motivational in nature. The sample consisted of 213 participants (72% women) aged between 18 and 75. The average age was approx. 32. We used the following tools: the NEO Five Factor Inventory, the Satisfaction with Life Scale, the Positivity Scale, the Personal Religiousness Scale, and the Intensity of Religious Attitude Scale. Our hypotheses (H1 and H2) found their confirmation to a large degree. In fact, life satisfaction positively correlated with extraversion, agreeableness, and conscientiousness. Moreover, life satisfaction negatively correlated with neuroticism. A similar pattern of results, even slightly stronger, was found in the case of positivity and personality traits. Contrary to our assumptions, neither life satisfaction nor positivity correlated with openness to experience. Extraversion and agreeableness correlated positively with religious attitude, personal religiousness and its four dimensions. Conscientiousness correlated positively only with faith, personal religiousness, and religious attitude. We also found negative and significant correlations between openness and all of the dimensions of personal religiousness. A lack of correlation was found between: (1) neuroticism and all of the dimensions of religiosity; (2) conscientiousness and religious practices, and religious self. Our research offers a contribution to the field by providing evidence that some personality traits predict life satisfaction/positivity because respondents display a personal religiousness/religious attitude.

The Young Adult Love Lives of Happy Teenagers: The Role of Adolescent Affect in Adult Romantic Relationship Functioning

This study assessed early adolescent positive and negative affect as long-term predictors of romantic conflict, anxious and avoidant attachment, romantic and social competence, and relationship satisfaction in adulthood utilizing a longitudinal, multi-informant study of 166 participants assessed annually at ages 14-17, and again at ages 23-25. Positive affect in adolescence predicted greater self-rated social competence during late adolescence and greater self-rated romantic competence and less partner-reported hostile conflict almost a decade later. Negative affect predicted lower social and romantic competence. Results generally remained significant after controlling for personality traits, providing greater support for the hypothesis that affect has a robust, direct relation to romantic development over time.

Childhood Motor Coordination and Adult Affective Experience Among Extremely Low Birth Weight Survivors

Poor motor coordination in childhood has been associated in adulthood with more negative affect, less positive affect, and an increased risk of psychopathology. While survivors of extremely low birth weight (ELBW; < 1,000 grams) are more likely to manifest poor motor coordination than people born at normal birth weight (NBW; > 2,500 g), they have had better mental health outcomes than those with NBW who have motor difficulties. How emotion is experienced is an important risk factor for mental illness; yet, little is known about the affective experience of survivors of ELBW who also have poor motor coordination. In this longitudinal study, we examined interactions between birth weight status and childhood motor coordination on affective experience among 88 ELBW and 89 NBW participants. We first assessed childhood motor coordination at eight years of age, using the Bruininks-Oseretsky Test of Motor Proficiency, and we later gathered self-report data regarding affective style, using the Positive and Negative Affect Scedule and the Affective Styles Questionnaire, when these participants were 30-35 years of age. We found a statistically significant interaction between motor coordination and birth weight status. As motor coordination worsened among ELBW survivors, positive affect increased, while we observed the opposite trend in NBW participants (p < 0.05). There was no interaction for negative affect. Positive affect may contribute to previous findings of better relative adult mental health among ELBW survivors with poor childhood motor coordination. Strategies aimed at optimizing positive affect may be fruitful for optimizing mental health outcomes among preterm survivors and others with reduced motor proficiency.

Subjective well-being is reciprocally associated with academic engagement: A two-wave longitudinal study

Previous studies have shown that subjective well-being promotes a wide range of adaptive psychological outcomes. However, the role of subjective well-being in the school context, as a potential facilitator of key academic outcomes, remains underexplored. The primary objective of this study was to examine the extent to which the different dimensions of subjective well-being-life satisfaction, positive affect, and (low levels of) negative affect-were associated with academic engagement through a two-wave longitudinal study. Three hundred and eighty-nine Filipino high school students participated in this research project. Cross-lagged analysis revealed that Time 1 life satisfaction positively predicted Time 2 academic engagement, and that Time 1 negative affect negatively predicted Time 2 academic engagement, even after controlling for autoregressor effects. We also found evidence of reciprocal effects with prior academic engagement predicting subsequent well-being. The theoretical and practical implications are discussed.

Advances and Open Questions in the Science of Subjective Well-Being

Subjective well-being (SWB) is an extremely active area of research with about 170,000 articles and books published on the topic in the past 15 years. Methodological and theoretical advances have been notable in this period of time, with the increasing use of longitudinal and experimental designs allowing for a greater understanding of the predictors and outcomes that relate to SWB, along with the process that underlie these associations. In addition, theories about these processes have become more intricate, as findings reveal that many associations with SWB depend on people's culture and values and the context in which they live. This review provides an overview of many major areas of research, including the measurement of SWB, the demographic and personality-based predictors of SWB, and process-oriented accounts of individual differences in SWB. In addition, because a major new focus in recent years has been the development of national accounts of subjective well-being, we also review attempts to use SWB measures to guide policy decisions.

Does Happiness Promote Career Success? Revisiting the Evidence

Empirical research demonstrates a relationship between happiness and career success. For example, happy people receive higher earnings, exhibit better performance, and obtain more favorable supervisor evaluations than their less happy peers. Researchers have posited that success leads to happiness, but Boehm and Lyubomirsky reviewed the relevant research in 2008 and argued that the alternative hypothesis—that happiness causes success—may be equally plausible. A decade later, we return to the literature to supplement studies we previously cited with new research and to determine whether the results of cross-sectional, longitudinal, and experimental investigations provide additional support for this hypothesis. We conclude that the evidence continues to persuasively suggest that happiness is correlated with and often precedes career success and that experimentally enhancing positive emotions leads to improved outcomes in the workplace.

Life satisfaction and inflammation in couples: an actor-partner analysis

Life satisfaction has been linked to lower cardiovascular disease mortality. However, much less is known about the biological mechanisms linking life satisfaction to physical health. In addition, the dyadic context of life satisfaction has not been considered despite increasing evidence that partners influence each other in health-relevant ways. These questions were addressed with 94 married couples who completed measures of life satisfaction and had their blood drawn for determination of interleukin-6 (IL-6) and C-reactive protein (CRP). Actor-partner models showed that higher actor levels of life satisfaction predicted lower levels of IL-6 and CRP (p's < .05), whereas partner levels of life satisfaction did not predict any measure of inflammation. The actor results were not mediated by marital satisfaction or health behaviors. Finally, no actor × partner interactions were significant and these links were not moderated by marital satisfaction. These data highlight inflammation as a potentially important biological mechanism linking actor reports of life satisfaction to lower cardiovascular mortality.

Genetic and environmental correlations between subjective wellbeing and experience of life events in adolescence

Some life events appear heritable due to the genetic influence on related behaviours. Shared genetic influence between negative behaviours and negative life events has previously been established. This study investigated whether subjective wellbeing and positive life events were genetically associated. Participants in the Twins Early Development Study (aged 16.32 ± .68 years) completed subjective wellbeing and life events assessments via two separate studies (overlapping N for wellbeing and life events measures ranged from 3527 to 9350). We conducted bivariate twin models between both positive and negative life events with subjective wellbeing and related positive psychological traits including subjective happiness, life satisfaction, optimism, hopefulness and gratitude measured at 16 years. Results suggested that the heritability of life events can partially be explained by shared genetic influences with the wellbeing indicators. Wellbeing traits were positively genetically correlated with positive life events and negatively correlated with negative life events (except curiosity where there was no correlation). Those positive traits that drive behaviour (grit and ambition) showed the highest genetic correlation with life events, whereas the reflective trait gratitude was less correlated. This suggests that gene-environment correlations might explain the observed genetic association between life events and wellbeing. Inheriting propensity for positive traits might cause you to seek environments that lead to positive life events and avoid environments which make negative life events more likely.

The More Negative the More Impact

Abstract. The present research investigates the relation between different domain satisfactions (e.g., health, income, etc.) and overall life satisfaction. Based on theorizing on the differences between positive and negative information, we assumed that specific domain satisfactions particularly are correlated with overall life satisfaction when the specific domain satisfactions (a) are low rather than high and (b) have declined rather than increased. Relying on a nationally representative sample of the German population (Socio-Economic Panel), we tested these considerations with both a cross-sectional and a longitudinal design. The findings strongly support that the more negative the domain satisfaction the more pronounced was the relation between domain and overall life satisfaction – both when negativity was assessed relative to other domains as well as when negativity was assessed relative to prior satisfaction with the same domain.

ENHANCE: Design and rationale of a randomized controlled trial for promoting enduring happiness & well-being

Individuals who are higher in subjective well-being not only feel happier, they are more likely have fulfilling relationships, increased work performance and income, better physical health, and longer lives. Over the past several decades, the science of subjective well-being has produced insights into these benefits of happiness, and-recognizing their importance-has begun to examine the factors that lead to greater well-being, from cultivating strong relationships to pursuing meaningful goals. However, studies to date have typically focused on improving subjective well-being by intervening with singular constructs, using primarily college student populations, and were short-term in nature. Moreover, little is understood about the impact of a well-being treatment delivered online vs. in-person. In the present article, we describe a comprehensive intervention program including 3-month initial treatment followed by a 3-month follow-up, ENHANCE: Enduring Happiness and Continued Self-Enhancement. One-hundred and sixty participants will be recruited from two different sites to participate in one of two versions of ENHANCE: in-person (n=30) vs. wait-list control (n=30); or online (n=50) vs. wait-list control (n=50). Assessments will be completed at baseline, three months and six months. Our primary outcome is change in subjective well-being across treatment (3months) and follow-up (6months). Secondary outcomes include self-report and objective measures of health, as well as a psychological mediators (e.g., psychological needs) and moderators (e.g., personality) of treatment outcomes. We hope to provide researchers, practitioners, and individuals with an evidence-based treatment to improve happiness and subjective well-being.

The Role of Perceived Stress and Self-Efficacy in Young People's Life Satisfaction: A Longitudinal Study

Life satisfaction is an important indicator of successful development. However, adolescents' life satisfaction tends to be relatively unsteady, and environmental influences play a critical role in shaping life satisfaction among adolescents in the transition to young adulthood. Given the paramount importance that education plays in adolescents' lives, adolescents' life satisfaction may vary as a function of school-related stress experience. At the same time, coping resources may help reduce adverse effects of stress on life satisfaction. With this in mind, we examined whether, and to what extent, perceived stress in education and general self-efficacy (a resource that facilitates coping) affect the life satisfaction of adolescents in transition to young adulthood. We distinguished between baseline levels of stress and self-efficacy and within-person change in stress and self-efficacy to determine whether life satisfaction is sensitive to fluctuations in stress and self-efficacy when person-specific levels of stress and self-efficacy are taken into account. Estimating growth curve models on data from a panel study on the life trajectories of compulsory-school leavers (n = 5126, 55.3 % female), we found that baseline levels of stress and self-efficacy, as well as within-person change in stress and self-efficacy, affected adolescents' life satisfaction. Moreover, our results showed that baseline self-efficacy mitigated the negative effect of baseline stress on life satisfaction. These findings improve our understanding of two major psychological determinants of adolescents' life satisfaction and extend our knowledge of life satisfaction trajectories during the transition to young adulthood.

Still Doing Fine? the Interplay of Negative Life Events and Self–Esteem during Young Adulthood

This longitudinal study investigated the bidirectional relationship between negative life events and self–esteem during the transition from adolescence to young adulthood (N = 2272). Drawing on theories of human development over the lifespan and just–world theory, we analyzed age–graded changes in self–esteem and their interplay with negative life events at three measurement points over a 12–year period. We addressed both the short–term and the longer term effects of single as well as multiple negative life events on changes in self–esteem (socialization effects). We further investigated whether the pre–event level of self–esteem affected the likelihood of negative life events occurring (selection effects) and, finally, whether it had protective effects in terms of helping people adjust to negative events. Latent change models yielded four main findings: (i) self–esteem increased during young adulthood; (ii) socialization effects were observed over shorter and longer timespans, but (iii) selection effects were only found for multiple negative life events, with low self–esteem predicting a high number of negative life events; (iv) high pre–event self–esteem acted as a protective factor, attenuating declines in self–esteem after experience of multiple negative life events. Copyright © 2016 European Association of Personality Psychology

Subjective wellbeing and longevity: Findings from a 22-year cohort study

OBJECTIVE

The health implications of positive affect (PA) are still a matter of debate. The present study examined the longitudinal relationships between subjective wellbeing (SWB) components (i.e., Life satisfaction, PA and negative affect (NA)) and all-cause mortality in older adults.

METHODS

Discrete-time survival analysis within the structural equation modeling framework was applied to data from the PAQUID Cohort (n=3777, baseline age 62-101years) including ten time periods spanning 22years. Time-invariant (age, gender, baseline life satisfaction, diabetes mellitus and hypercholesterolemia status) and lagged time-varying (PA, NA, dementia, functional status and self-rated health) predictors were included sequentially in the analyses.

RESULTS

When included together in the model, only PA among the SWB components showed a significant association with longevity, which persisted (OR=.962, 95% CI=.938, .986) even after adjustment for the interaction between PA and NA, and after additional adjustment for prior medical conditions, functional status and self-rated health.

CONCLUSIONS

In congruence with positive psychology, PA proved to be an independent protective factor regardless of variations in NA, which did not seem to be a mortality risk factor.

Early Adolescent Affect Predicts Later Life Outcomes

BACKGROUND

Subjective well-being as a predictor for later behavior and health has highlighted its relationship to health, work performance, and social relationships. However, the majority of such studies neglect the developmental nature of well-being in contributing to important changes across the transition to adulthood.

METHODS

To examine the potential role of subjective well-being as a long-term predictor of critical life outcomes, we examined indicators of positive and negative affect at age 14 as predictors of relationship, adjustment, self-worth, and career outcomes a decade later at ages 23 to 25, controlling for family income and gender. We utilised multi-informant methods including reports from the target participant, close friends, and romantic partners in a demographically diverse community sample of 184 participants.

RESULTS

Early adolescent positive affect predicted fewer relationship problems (less self-reported and partner-reported conflict, and greater friendship attachment as rated by close peers) and healthy adjustment to adulthood (lower levels of depression, anxiety, and loneliness). It also predicted positive work functioning (higher levels of career satisfaction and job competence) and increased self-worth. Negative affect did not significantly predict any of these important life outcomes. In addition to predicting desirable mean levels of later outcomes, early positive affect predicted beneficial changes across time in many outcomes.

CONCLUSIONS

The findings extend early research on the beneficial outcomes of subjective well-being by having an earlier assessment of well-being, including informant reports in measuring a large variety of outcome variables, and by extending the findings to a lower socioeconomic group of a diverse and younger sample. The results highlight the importance of considering positive affect as an important component of subjective well-being distinct from negative affect.

Maintaining Perceived Control with Unemployment Facilitates Future Adjustment

Unemployment is a major challenge to individuals' development. An important personal resource to ameliorate the negative impact of unemployment may be perceived control, a general-purpose belief system. Little is known, however, about how perceived control itself changes with the experience of unemployment and what the antecedents, correlates, and consequences of such change in perceived control are in different ages. We use data from the German Socio-Economic Panel Study (N = 413 who experienced unemployment and N = 413 case-matched controls; time period of data collection: 1994 - 1996) to examine whether perceived control changes with unemployment, explore the role of socio-demographic, psychosocial and health factors in moderating such change, and investigate whether levels of perceived control prior to unemployment and unemployment-related change in perceived control predict unemployment-related outcomes up to five years following. Results indicated that, on average, perceived control remained relatively stable with unemployment, and that younger and older workers did not differ in this regard. However, there were sizeable individual differences in change in perceived control, with women and those with fewer years of education experiencing greater unemployment-related declines in perceived control. Lower levels of perceived control prior to unemployment and steeper unemployment-related decrements in perceived control were each associated with a higher risk of remaining unemployed in the 12 months immediately following unemployment. Steeper unemployment-related declines in perceived control also predicted lower life satisfaction up to five years following. We discuss possible pathways by which perceived control may facilitate adjustment to unemployment, consider the role of perceived control for better understanding the dynamics of unemployment, and suggest routes for further more process-oriented inquiry.

Coping with Unemployment: The Impact of Unemployment Duration and Personality on Trajectories of Life Satisfaction

Unemployment is a major life event that causes an enormous drop in people's life satisfaction. However, there is substantial variability in people's ability (or inability) to cope with the experience of unemployment. In the present study, we examined the causes of individual differences in trajectories of life satisfaction when people were faced with unemployment by taking into account the persistence of unemployment, pre–event personality and age. Analyses were based on data from the German Socio–Economic Panel. Using latent growth curve modelling, life satisfaction was investigated from 3 years before to 3 years after a person became unemployed in a total sample of 908 individuals. As expected, unemployment caused a substantial drop in life satisfaction that persisted for at least 3 years after the event. On average, individuals did not completely return to their previous satisfaction level. This pattern existed even for participants who re–entered the labour market. Moreover, our results showed that variability in coping with unemployment can be explained in part by personality traits. For people with short periods of unemployment, Conscientiousness reinforced the negative effect of unemployment, whereas Extraversion softened the effect. In sum, our analyses showed that (a) the negative effect of unemployment on life satisfaction differs according to the length of the unemployment period and (b) personality partially moderates responses to unemployment over time. Copyright © 2015 European Association of Personality Psychology

Does abortion reduce self-esteem and life satisfaction?

PURPOSE

This study aims to assess the effects of obtaining an abortion versus being denied an abortion on self-esteem and life satisfaction.

METHODS

We present the first 2.5 years of a 5-year longitudinal telephone-interview study that follows 956 women who sought an abortion from 30 facilities across the USA. We examine the self-esteem and life satisfaction trajectories of women who sought and received abortions just under the facility's gestational age limit, of women who sought and received abortions in their first trimester of pregnancy, and of women who sought abortions just beyond the facility gestational limit and were denied an abortion. We use adjusted mixed effects linear regression analyses to assess whether the trajectories of women who sought and obtained an abortion differ from those who were denied one.

RESULTS

Women denied an abortion initially reported lower self-esteem and life satisfaction than women who sought and obtained an abortion. For all study groups, except those who obtained first trimester abortions, self-esteem and life satisfaction improved over time. The initially lower levels of self-esteem and life satisfaction among women denied an abortion improved more rapidly reaching similar levels as those obtaining abortions at 6 months to one year after abortion seeking. For women obtaining first trimester abortions, initially higher levels of life satisfaction remained steady over time.

CONCLUSIONS

There is no evidence that abortion harms women's self-esteem or life satisfaction in the short term.

Why People Are in a Generally Good Mood

Evidence shows that people feel mild positive moods when no strong emotional events are occurring, a phenomenon known as positive mood offset. We offer an evolutionary explanation of this characteristic, showing that it improves fertility, fecundity, and health, and abets other characteristics that were critical to reproductive success. We review research showing that positive mood offset is virtually universal in the nations of the world, even among people who live in extremely difficult circumstances. Positive moods increase the likelihood of the types of adaptive behaviors that likely characterized our Paleolithic ancestors, such as creativity, planning, mating, and sociality. Because of the ubiquity and apparent advantages of positive moods, it is a reasonable hypothesis that humans were selected for positivity offset in our evolutionary past. We outline additional evidence that is needed to help confirm that positive mood offset is an evolutionary adaptation in humans and we explore the research questions that the hypothesis generates.

Studying Changes in Life Circumstances and Personality: It's about Time

Most theories of personality development posit that changes in life circumstances (e.g. due to major life events) can lead to changes in personality, but few studies have examined the exact time course of these changes. In this article, we argue that time needs to be considered explicitly in theories and empirical studies on personality development. We discuss six notions on the role of time in personality development. First, people can differ before the event. Second, change can be non–linear and discontinuous. Third, change can be reversible. Fourth, change can occur before the event. Fifth, control groups are needed to disentangle age–related and event–related changes. Sixth, we need to move beyond examining single major life events and study the effects of non–normative events, non–events, multiple events, and minor events on personality. We conclude by summarizing the methodological and theoretical implications of these notions. Copyright © 2014 European Association of Personality Psychology

Satisfaction with life during pregnancy and early motherhood in first-time mothers of advanced age: a population-based longitudinal study

Background

The trend to delay motherhood to the age of 30 and beyond is established in most high-income countries but relatively little is known about potential effects on maternal emotional well-being. This study investigates satisfaction with life during pregnancy and the first three years of motherhood in women expecting their first baby at an advanced and very advanced age.

Methods

The study was based on the National Norwegian Mother and Child Cohort Study (MoBa) conducted by the Norwegian Institute of Public Health. Data on 18 565 nulliparous women recruited in the second trimester 1999–2008 were used. Four questionnaires were completed: at around gestational weeks 17 and 30, and at six months and three years after the birth. Medical data were retrieved from the national Medical Birth Register. Advanced age was defined as 32–37 years, very advanced age as ≥38 years and the reference group as 25–31 years. The distribution of satisfaction with life from age 25 to ≥40 years was investigated, and the mean satisfaction with life at the four time points was estimated. Logistic regression analyses based on generalised estimation equations were used to investigate associations between advanced and very advanced age and satisfaction with life when controlling for socio-demographic factors.

Results

Satisfaction with life decreased from around age 28 to age 40 and beyond, when measured in gestational weeks 17 and 30, and at six months and three years after the birth. When comparing women of advanced and very advanced age with the reference group, satisfaction with life was slightly reduced in the two older age groups and most of all in women of very advanced age. Women of very advanced age had the lowest scores at all time points and this was most pronounced at three years after the birth.

Conclusion

First-time mothers of advanced and very advanced age reported a slightly lower degree of satisfaction with life compared with the reference group of younger women, and the age-related effect was greatest when the child was three years of age.

Is happiness good for your personality? Concurrent and prospective relations of the big five with subjective well-being

The present research examined longitudinal relations of the Big Five personality traits with three core aspects of subjective well-being: life satisfaction, positive affect, and negative affect. Latent growth models and autoregressive models were used to analyze data from a large, nationally representative sample of 16,367 Australian residents. Concurrent and change correlations indicated that higher levels of subjective well-being were associated with higher levels of Extraversion, Agreeableness, and Conscientiousness, and with lower levels of Neuroticism. Moreover, personality traits prospectively predicted change in well-being, and well-being levels prospectively predicted personality change. Specifically, prospective trait effects indicated that individuals who were initially extraverted, agreeable, conscientious, and emotionally stable subsequently increased in well-being. Prospective well-being effects indicated that individuals with high initial levels of well-being subsequently became more agreeable, conscientious, emotionally stable, and introverted. These findings challenge the common assumption that associations of personality traits with subjective well-being are entirely, or almost entirely, due to trait influences on well-being. They support the alternative hypothesis that personality traits and well-being aspects reciprocally influence each other over time.

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.

Yes, but are they happy? Effects of trait self-control on affective well-being and life satisfaction

Does trait self-control (TSC) predict affective well-being and life satisfaction--positively, negatively, or not? We conducted three studies (Study 1: N = 414, 64% female, Mage = 35.0 years; Study 2: N = 208, 66% female, Mage = 25.24 years; Study 3: N = 234, 61% female, Mage = 34.53 years). The key predictor was TSC, with affective well-being and life satisfaction ratings as key outcomes. Potential explanatory constructs including goal conflict, goal balancing, and emotional distress also were investigated. TSC is positively related to affective well-being and life satisfaction, and managing goal conflict is a key as to why. All studies, moreover, showed that the effect of TSC on life satisfaction is at least partially mediated by affect. Study 1's correlational study established the effect. Study 2's experience sampling approach demonstrated that compared to those low in TSC, those high in TSC experience higher levels of momentary affect even as they experience desire, an effect partially mediated through experiencing lower conflict and emotional distress. Study 3 found evidence for the proposed mechanism--that TSC may boost well-being by helping people avoid frequent conflict and balance vice-virtue conflicts by favoring virtues. Self-control positively contributes to happiness through avoiding and dealing with motivational conflict.