Opposing objective and subjective wellbeing outcomes within an environmentally vulnerable delta: a case study of Volta Delta, Ghana

Introduction

Despite a growing interest in the measurement and conceptualization of wellbeing, the integration within sustainability research, and the understanding of how different wellbeing outcomes relate, is limited. Many studies focus on singular, often objectively measured, outcomes, without acknowledging the breadth of available measures. This approach can result in crucial subjective information, which can be explored to understand actors' behaviors and responses, being omitted from research and policy. This study explores objective and subjective wellbeing outcomes, and how they relate, within an environmentally vulnerable context. Wellbeing and environmental services are intrinsically interlinked, therefore, appropriate policy solutions are required to address human needs and pressures on supporting ecosystems.

Methods

This paper uses binary logistic regression modelling, and qualitative participatory rural appraisal methods, to understand the environmental conditions, including climatic hazards and landscape characteristics, associated with households experiencing different objective/subjective wellbeing outcomes within Volta Delta, Ghana.

Results

The mixed method approach highlights a differing relationship between inland agricultural areas impacted by drought and erosion, and coastal/riverine, peri-urban landscapes exposed to flooding and salinization. Agricultural areas associate with "poor but happy" outcomes, whereas peri-urban landscapes associate with being "non-poor but unhappy." Drawing on existing literature, and both quantitative and qualitative results, these varying outcomes are hypothesized to be driven by differences in livelihood vulnerability, relative comparisons to others, responses to climatic hazards, and individualistic/collective wellbeing conceptualizations.

Discussion

Our study concludes that environmental conditions influence objective and subjective wellbeing through different mechanisms. Sustainable development research should incorporate both objective and subjective measures when implementing and monitoring policy to more comprehensibly capture, and improve, wellbeing in environmentally vulnerable locations.

Salutogenic health measures: Psychometric properties of the Danish versions of the Flourish Index and the Secure Flourish Index

Measurement of human flourishing represents a salutogenic approach to epidemiological and behavioral research emphasizing factors contributing to "good lives" rather than pathology. The objective of this study was to translate and psychometrically test the 10-item Flourish Index (FI) and 12-item Secure Flourish Index (SFI) in a convenience sample of Danish adults. A total of 325 participants completed a cross-sectional survey, with 148 of those participants completing the survey a second time (retest). Confirmatory factor analysis in a structural equation modelling framework was used to establish structural validity by comparing four different pre-specified models of the indexes. Additionally, internal consistency, convergent and incremental validity, and retest reliability were examined. The FI models exhibited superior structural validity compared with similar models of the SFI, although all models had good fits. Internal consistencies with McDonald's omega were 0.89 and 0.87 for the FI and SFI, respectively. The five (FI) or six (SFI) domains were happiness & life satisfaction, mental & physical health, meaning & purpose, character & virtue, close social relationships, and financial & material stability (λ4 = 0.51-0.91). Convergent and incremental validity tests supported predefined hypotheses. Retest analyses with the FI and SFI showed a high degree of retest reliability. Based on the psychometric evidence reported in this study, the Danish Flourish Index and Secure Flourish Index seem suitable for use with healthy adult Danes. The authors hope that this psychometric evaluation of the FI and SFI will stimulate research on patterns, health and economic outcomes, and predictors of human flourishing in Denmark.

Choosing Money Over Meaningful Work: Examining Relative Job Preferences for High Compensation Versus Meaningful Work

People sometimes must choose between prioritizing meaningful work or high compensation. Eight studies (N = 4,177; 7 preregistered) examined the relative importance of meaningful work and salary in evaluations of actual and hypothetical jobs. Although meaningful work and high salaries are both perceived as highly important job attributes when evaluated independently, when presented with tradeoffs between these job attributes, participants consistently preferred high-salary jobs with low meaningfulness over low-salary jobs with high meaningfulness (Studies 1-5). Forecasts of happiness and meaning outside of work helped explain condition differences in job interest (Studies 4 and 5). Extending the investigation toward actual jobs, Studies 6a and 6b showed that people express stronger preferences for higher pay (vs. more meaningful work) in their current jobs. Although meaningful work is a strongly valued job attribute, it may be less influential than salary to evaluations of hypothetical and current jobs.

Caregiver interactions, perceived control, and meaning in life of elderly: the moderating effect of the elderly-to-social worker ratio

BACKGROUND

Meaning in life is a widely accepted aim in promoting psychosocial health in institutional care. However, how caregiver interaction and perceived control impact meaning in life among the elderly remains unclear. This study explores the effect of institutional caregiver interaction, family caregiver interaction, and perceived control on meaning in life among elderly residents in China, and the potential moderating effect of elderly-to-social worker ratio in these associations.

METHODS

Multistage random sampling was used to recruit a sample of 452 elderly residents from 4 elderly care homes in urban China. A structural equation model was used to test the study hypothesis.

RESULTS

Institutional caregiver interaction is positively related to meaning in life, and perceived control among elderly residents has a positive impact on meaning in life. Moreover, the elderly-to-social worker ratio moderated the relationship between institutional caregiver interaction and meaning in life, as well as between family caregiver interaction and meaning in life.

CONCLUSIONS

Increase elderly's meaning in life is an important service target for the caring professions in institutional care. Social workers affect the effectiveness of interventions on elderly's meaning in life in institutional care. A higher elderly-to-social worker ratio could improve the effectiveness of interventions on meaning in life for elderly residents.

Delving into the role of creativity on meaning in life: A multiple mediation model

How to enhance the sense of meaning in life is a topic deserving of extensive research. The impact of creativity on finding meaning in life, however, has not been thoroughly explored in empirical research. This paper studies the relationship between creativity and meaning in life, and the cognitive and emotional factors underlying this relationship. The participants of this study were 359 Chinese college students (38 males and 321 females; aged from 17 to 41 years) in learning English as a foreign language (EFL). Four instruments were utilized in the survey, namely, the Kaufman Domains of Creativity Scale (K-DOCS), the Positive Affect Scale, the General Self-Efficacy Scale (GSES), and the Meaning in Life Questionnaire (MLQ). The correlation analysis shows that creativity, positive affect, general self-efficacy, and meaning in life are all positively correlated. According to a bootstrap method to assess the significance of the indirect effect, general self-efficacy and positive affect play multiple mediating roles in the relationship between creativity and meaning in life via three mediating pathways: general self-efficacy alone, positive affect alone, and the effect of general self-efficacy on positive affect. The mediating effect accounts for nearly half (44.18%) of the total effect. This study examines the theoretical connection between creativity and meaning in life, and uncovers the psychological process that underlies this connection. On a practical level, these results indicate that stimulating Chinese college students to engage in creative activities in various fields can enhance their sense of meaning in life.

Meaning in Life and Coping With Everyday Stressors

Meaning in life (MIL) has been proposed to improve coping and resilience. Yet MIL's association with coping has primarily been investigated in the context of extreme stressors and trauma, often using varied measures of MIL. Is MIL associated with varied coping strategies, coping self-efficacy, and distress in relation to commonly experienced, everyday challenges? Using diverse methodological designs, five studies (total N = 1,646) investigated the association between MIL and coping strategies/appraisals pertaining to varied challenging, stressful events. Across recalled (Studies 1 and 2), anticipated (Study 3), and experienced stressors (Studies 3-5), MIL was consistently associated with positive reinterpretation, proactive planning, coping self-efficacy, and stress. MIL was inconsistently related to threat/emotion-coping.

Social Mobility and Sense of Purpose From Midlife to Old Age: Examining the Role of Major Life Events

Purpose in life (PIL) has been linked with numerous health benefits and adaptive aging, yet it diminishes with age, possibly due to loss of social or familial roles through life transitions. Drawing from the longitudinal surveys of the Midlife in the US study (n = 3418), we use time-varying coefficient models to investigate how the trajectory of PIL differs across cumulatively (dis)advantaged, upwardly mobile, and downwardly mobile groups and the role of major life events in shaping these trajectories. We found the upwardly mobile group exhibits higher PIL than the cumulatively disadvantaged and downwardly mobile groups. The consistently disadvantaged group experiences more adverse events at non-normative times. Socioeconomic status disparities in PIL during old age decrease after controlling for life events. We discuss how and why well-being changes and the role of structural and social factors in facilitating or impeding the development or maintenance of PIL over the life course.

Low Income Amplifies the Negative Relationship Between Nostalgia Proneness and Well-Being

Nostalgia is a sentimental longing for the past that can influence people's well-being. How this mixed emotion influences well-being may depend on current life circumstances. Nostalgia elicited in negative contexts could be particularly harmful to people's well-being, whereas nostalgia elicited in positive contexts may not be as detrimental. This hypothesis was tested at the level of individual differences with a nationally representative sample of Americans (N = 6,732) who completed measures of nostalgia proneness and several indicators of well-being. Income was measured as an objective indicator of current life circumstances. Results showed that nostalgia proneness was negatively related to well-being, and income was positively related to well-being. Importantly, these relationships were moderated such that the negative relationships between nostalgia and well-being were stronger among members of low income households than among members of high income households. Consistent with the hypothesis, nostalgia proneness was particularly detrimental to well-being under objectively less desirable circumstances. These findings support an emerging body of research that contends that the effect of nostalgia on well-being depends on the context in which nostalgia is elicited.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s11482-022-10066-8.

Meaning making in retirement transition: a qualitative inquiry into Slovak retirees

Purpose: This study is a qualitative inquiry into meaning making during retirement transition. The study focuses on how Slovak retirees reconstruct meanings during the transition and the factors which both help and hinder this process.Methods: Forty individuals (M = 63.36; SD = 2.47) who had recently transitioned into retirement were interviewed and data were analysed using the Consensual Qualitative Research-Modified approach.Results: The analysis generated five basic domains with categories and subcategories of the participants' responses. The analysis showed that once retired, the participants generally continued to rely on previous meaning sources such as work and family; however, there were changes such as switching from job-related work to work related to hobbies and housekeeping, or from financially providing for the family to maintaining family relationships and grandparenting. The main factors facilitating the meaning making process were positive attitudes and social support for meaning. The risk factors included lack of finances, poor health of retiree or a close person, and the loss of a spouse.Conclusions: In general, the research showed that the main features of the retirees' meaning making processes were maintaining accessible sources, compensating for sources lost during the transition, and managing beneficial and risk factors.

Exposure to authoritarian values leads to lower positive affect, higher negative affect, and higher meaning in life

Five studies tested the effect of exposure to authoritarian values on positive affect (PA), negative affect (NA), and meaning in life (MIL). Study 1 (N = 1,053) showed that simply completing a measure of right-wing authoritarianism (vs. not) prior to rating MIL led to higher MIL. Preregistered Study 2 (N = 1,904) showed that reading speeches by real-world authoritarians (e.g., Adolf Hitler) led to lower PA, higher NA, and higher MIL than a control passage. In preregistered Studies 3 (N = 1,573) and 4 (N = 1,512), Americans read authoritarian, egalitarian, or control messages and rated mood, MIL, and evaluated the passages. Both studies showed that egalitarian messages led to better mood and authoritarian messages led to higher MIL. Study 5 (N = 148) directly replicated these results with Canadians. Aggregating across studies (N = 3,401), moderational analyses showed that meaning in life, post manipulation, was associated with more favorable evaluations of the authoritarian passage. In addition, PA was a stronger predictor of MIL in the egalitarian and control conditions than in the authoritarian condition. Further results showed no evidence that negative mood (or disagreement) spurred the boost in MIL. Implications and future directions are discussed.

Contrasting Effects of Finding Meaning and Searching for Meaning, and Political Orientation and Religiosity, on Feelings and Behaviors During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Perceiving life as meaningful can buffer against negative experiences, whereas searching for meaning in life is often associated with negative outcomes. We examined how these individual differences, along with religiosity and political orientation, are associated with feelings and health-related behaviors during the COVID-19 pandemic (N = 7,220; U.S. nationally representative sample). Conservatism and religiosity predicted less negative effect; conservatives (but not the highly religious) were less likely to engage in preventive actions such as wearing face masks and social distancing. Controlling for political orientation, religiosity, and demographics, the presence of meaning in life predicted less negative affect and greater healthy preventive actions, whereas searching for meaning predicted greater negative affect and more preventive and risky health behaviors. Thus, the perception that life is meaningful not only predicts an individual's emotional well-being but is also associated with beneficial actions that can help protect others from the spread of the coronavirus.

Is Positive Affect Related to Meaning in Life Differently in Younger and Older Adults? A Time Sampling Study

OBJECTIVES

Prior studies have found that as people age, they value low-arousal positive affect (LAP) to a greater extent and high-arousal positive affect (HAP) to a lower extent. We aimed to investigate whether actually achieving those ideal affects was related to better well-being outcomes, measured in terms of meaning in life.

METHODS

Using a time sampling design across 14 days (N = 162), we investigated whether the experience of LAP and HAP was related to the experience of meaning in life and how these associations differed across younger and older adults in Hong Kong.

RESULTS

Both LAP and HAP contributed to the experience of meaning in life for both younger and older adults. The global effect of LAP on meaning in life was stronger for older than younger adults, whereas the momentary effect of HAP on meaning in life was stronger for younger adults than older adults.

DISCUSSION

Findings suggest that achieving ideal affect is related to better eudaimonic well-being outcomes. People of different age groups know how they want to feel. Actually achieving the feelings endorsed by one's age group is associated with higher meaningfulness of life.

The Science of Meaning in Life

Meaning in life has long been a mystery of human existence. In this review, we seek to demystify this construct. Focusing on the subjective experience of meaning in life, we review how it has been measured and briefly describe its correlates. Then we review evidence that meaning in life, for all its mystery, is a rather commonplace experience. We then define the construct and review its constituent facets: comprehension/coherence, purpose, and existential mattering/significance. We review the many experiences that have been shown to enhance meaning in life and close by considering important remaining research questions about this fascinating topic.

Surviving and Thriving: Fundamental Social Motives Provide Purpose in Life

Purpose in life (PIL) is often associated with grand achievements and existential beliefs, but recent theory suggests that it might ultimately track gainful pursuit of basic evolved goals. Five studies (N = 1,993) investigated the relationships between fundamental social motives and PIL. In Study 1, attribution of a life goal pursuit to disease avoidance, affiliation, or kin care motives correlated with higher PIL. Studies 2 and 3 found correlations of self-protection, disease avoidance, affiliation, mate retention, and kin care motives with PIL after controlling for potential confounds. Study 4 showed that writing about success in the status, mating, and kin care domains increased PIL. Study 5 replicated the effect for mating and kin care, but not for status. Results imply that fundamental motives link to PIL through a sense of progress, rather than raw desire. Overall, this set of studies suggests that pursuit of evolved fundamental goals contributes to a purposeful life.

Effects of social support and cultural capital on global meaning among bereaved elders in rural China: A hierarchical linear analysis

This study explored the context effect in the relationship between capital (income, social support, and cultural capital) and changes in global meaning. We interviewed a sample of 352 bereaved Chinese elders from 18 communities in rural China and conducted hierarchical linear modeling for data analysis. The effects of social support and cultural capital in terms of traditional Chinese culture on changes in global meaning differed across communities. Social support earned its credit in buffering function against bereavement, whereas traditional Chinese culture posed a risk of elevating negative global meaning. More social support and positive global meaning are reliable predictors for enhancing the psychological health of bereaved elders.

Finding Meaning in Nostalgia

Nostalgia—defined as sentimental longing for one's past—is a self-relevant, albeit deeply social, and an ambivalent, albeit more positive than negative, emotion. As nostalgia brings the past into present focus, it has existential implications. Nostalgia helps people find meaning in their lives, and it does so primarily by increasing social connectedness (a sense of belongingness and acceptance), and secondarily by augmenting self-continuity (a sense of connection between one's past and one's present). Also, nostalgia-elicited meaning facilitates the pursuit of one's important goals. Moreover, nostalgia acts as a buffer against existential threats. In particular, it shields against meaning threat, and buffers the impact of mortality salience on meaning, collective identity, accessibility of mortality-related thoughts, and death anxiety. Finally, nostalgia confers psychological benefits to individuals with chronic or momentary meaning deficits. These benefits are higher subjective vitality, lower stress, and regulation of meaning-seeking in response to boredom. Taken together, nostalgia helps people attain a more meaningful life, protects from existential threat, and contributes to psychological equanimity.

Beyond the Search for Meaning

Recent advances in the science of meaning in life have taught us a great deal about the nature of the experience of meaning in life, its antecedents and consequences, and its potential functions. Conclusions based on self-report measures of meaning in life indicate that, as might be expected, it is associated with many aspects of positive functioning. However, this research also indicates that the experience of meaning in life may come from unexpectedly quotidian sources, including positive mood and coherent life experiences. Moreover, the experience of meaning in life may be quite a bit more commonplace than is often portrayed. Attending to the emerging science of meaning in life suggests not only potentially surprising conclusions but new directions for research on this important aspect of well-being.