Mental, social, and physical well-being in New Hampshire, Oregon, and Washington, 2010 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System: implications for public health research and practice related to Healthy People 2020 foundation health measures on well-being

Happiness and Achievement Motivation among Iranian Nursing Students: A Descriptive Correlational Study

Background

Happiness and achievement motivation are two important concepts in students' lives. Therefore, this study was aimed at investigating the association between happiness and achievement motivation in undergraduate nursing students and examining their relationship with students' demographic characteristics.

Method

A descriptive correlational study was undertaken; 255 undergraduate nursing students enrolled in one nursing school in an urban area of Iran during the academic year 2017-2018 were included in the study using census method sampling. The demographic data questionnaire, Oxford Happiness Questionnaire (OHQ), and Hermans Achievement Motivation Questionnaire (HAMQ) were used for data collection. Data were analyzed using univariate analysis and multivariate linear regression analysis.

Results

The total mean (SD) of happiness and achievement motivation scores were 40.73 (11.20) and 82.61 (7.50), respectively. There was a direct significant correlation between happiness and achievement motivation (r = 0.36, p < 0.001). An inverse significant association between happiness and students 21-24 years old (β = −3.99, p < 0.03) was found. There was a direct significant association between happiness and being married (β = 5.33, p = 0.03) and interest in nursing (β = 4.78, p = 0.02). Additionally, achievement motivation was associated directly with female gender (β = 1.93, p = 0.03) and interest in nursing (β = 3.71, p = 0.005) and inversely associated with studying in the fourth academic year (β = −3.06, p = 0.03) and history of course drops (β = −3.45, p = 0.002).

Conclusion

Our study indicated that there was a direct significant relationship between happiness and achievement motivation in undergraduate nursing students. Therefore, officials and nursing education lecturers should consider programs to increase students' happiness, such as counseling or emotional support programs and workshops.

Can a collective-impact initiative improve well-being in three US communities? Findings from a prospective repeated cross-sectional study

INTRODUCTION

Communities are seeking to learn if and how they can improve the well-being of their residents. We therefore examined the impact of a community-led, collective-impact initiative, deployed through Blue Zones Project by Sharecare, aimed at improving health and well-being in one set of US communities.

METHODS

We used data from cross-sectional surveys of the Well-Being Index (2010-2017) to assess how the Life Evaluation Index (LEI) in Hermosa Beach, Manhattan Beach and Redondo Beach in California (Beach Cities) changed over time and how this change compares with change for similar cities (Beach Cities-like) and for the USA as a whole. We examined types of interventions, perceived impacts, and relationships between intervention type and change in LEI.

RESULTS

The Beach Cities experienced greater increases in LEI than Beach Cities-like communities and the nation. The entire portfolio of interventions was positively associated with change in LEI in the Beach Cities (+1.12, p=0.012), with process-oriented interventions most closely associated with improvement.

CONCLUSIONS

Community-led collective action that leverages community engagement and activation, strategic use of programming and large-scale built-environment and policy change can improve health and well-being at scale.

The association between three key social determinants of health and life dissatisfaction: A 2017 behavioral risk factor surveillance system analysis

Poor health outcomes disproportionately impact certain populations in the United States owing to the inequitable distribution of social determinants of health (SDOH). Using the 2017 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS), we estimated the association of three adverse SDOH (housing insecurity, food insecurity, and financial instability) with life dissatisfaction. Participants were from Wisconsin, Minnesota, and Ohio, the only states that included the SDOH and Emotional Support and Life Satisfaction modules (n = 25,850). Six percent of respondents reported life dissatisfaction. Those who reported housing insecurity (Prevalence difference (PD) = 14.2 per 100, 95% CI [7.6, 20.7]), food insecurity (PD = 10.9 [7.1, 14.7]), and financial instability (PD = 5.6 [4.9, 6.3]) had higher prevalence of life dissatisfaction. The differences in prevalence of life dissatisfaction, comparing those with and without an adverse SDOH, decreased with increased emotional support (for housing insecurity, food insecurity, and financial instability, respectively: low support, PD = 30.2 [11.6, 48.8], 22.1 [11.6, 32.6], 16.4 [12.0, 20.8]; high support, PD = 4.8 [-2.9, 12.6], 4.8 [0.0, 9.7], 1.7 [1.1, 2.3]). Participants with frequent mental distress (FMD) had greater prevalence differences than those without FMD (for housing insecurity, food insecurity, and financial instability, respectively: with FMD, PD = 15.4 [7.5, 23.3], 10.7 [4.7, 16.7], 14.4 [9.6, 19.3]; without FMD, PD = 6.1 [-0.5, 12.5], 5.3 [1.6, 9.0], 2.5 [2.0, 3.0]). Social determinants may not only influence physical health but also have an impact on psychological well-being. This impact may be altered by levels of emotional support and FMD.

The conscientiousness-health link in depression: Results from a path analysis

BACKGROUND

This was the first study aiming to develop a theory-based model to analyze the relation between conscientiousness and impaired physical health as well as between conscientiousness and subjective health-related well-being within a large clinical sample with depressive symptomatology. In addition, a mediating effect of health risk behaviors regarding the association between conscientiousness and objectively impaired physical health as well as subjective health-related well-being were exploratory examined.

METHODS

Individuals with depressive symptoms (n = 943) with a mean age of 52 years (ranging between 20 and 78 years) undergoing intensive psychiatric rehabilitation treatment were investigated with the Big Five Inventory-10 as well as several self-report health questionnaires (Three-Factor Eating Questionnaire, Food-Craving Inventory and lifestyle questions assessing physical inactivity and alcohol consumption). Health-related well-being was measured using the World Health Organisation Quality of Life Assessment and the construct of impaired physical health comprised anthropometric measurements (Body Mass Index, Waist-to-Height-Ratio), blood lipids, and impaired physical performance capacity on the bicycle-ergometric test.

RESULTS

Structural path analyses revealed that unhealthy eating habits and physical inactivity partially mediated the negative relation between conscientiousness and impaired physical health as well as the positive relation between conscientiousness and health-related well-being.

LIMITATIONS

Possible limitations include cross-sectional study design, missing data, assessment of conscientiousness on a global level and self-report assessment of health risk behaviors.

CONCLUSIONS

The findings highlight the importance concerning the extended inclusion of personality aspects in the treatment of depression in order to improve health.

Differences in functional and structural social support among female and male veterans and civilians

PURPOSE

Social support is an important correlate of health behaviors and outcomes. Studies suggest that veterans have lower social support than civilians, but interpretation is hindered by methodological limitations. Furthermore, little is known about how sex influences veteran-civilian differences. Therefore, we examined veteran-civilian differences in several dimensions of social support and whether differences varied by sex.

METHODS

We performed a cross-sectional analysis of the 2012-2013 National Epidemiologic Survey of Alcohol and Related Conditions-III, a nationally representative sample of 34,331 respondents (male veterans = 2569; female veterans = 356). We examined veteran-civilian differences in functional and structural social support using linear regression and variation by sex with interactions. We adjusted for socio-demographics, childhood experiences, and physical and mental health.

RESULTS

Compared to civilians, veterans had lower social network diversity scores (difference [diff] = - 0.13, 95% confidence interval [CI] - 0.23, - 0.03). Among women but not men, veterans had smaller social network size (diff = - 2.27, 95% CI - 3.81, - 0.73) than civilians, attributable to differences in religious groups, volunteers, and coworkers. Among men, veterans had lower social network diversity scores than civilians (diff = - 0.13, 95% CI - 0.23, - 0.03); while among women, the difference was similar but did not reach statistical significance (diff = - 0.13, 95% CI - 0.23, 0.09). There was limited evidence of functional social support differences.

CONCLUSION

After accounting for factors that influence military entry and social support, veterans reported significantly lower structural social support, which may be attributable to reintegration challenges and geographic mobility. Findings suggest that veterans could benefit from programs to enhance structural social support and improve health outcomes, with female veterans potentially in greatest need.

Identifying characteristics of high-poverty counties in the United States with high well-being: an observational cross-sectional study

OBJECTIVE

To identify county characteristics associated with high versus low well-being among high-poverty counties.

DESIGN

Observational cross-sectional study at the county level to investigate the associations of 29 county characteristics with the odds of a high-poverty county reporting population well-being in the top quintile versus the bottom quintile of well-being in the USA. County characteristics representing key determinants of health were drawn from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation County Health Rankings and Roadmaps population health model.

SETTING

Counties in the USA that are in the highest quartile of poverty rate.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE

Gallup-Sharecare Well-being Index, a comprehensive population-level measure of physical, mental and social health. Counties were classified as having a well-being index score in the top or bottom 20% of all counties in the USA.

RESULTS

Among 770 high-poverty counties, 72 were categorised as having high well-being and 311 as having low well-being. The high-well-being counties had a mean well-being score of 71.8 with a SD of 2.3, while the low-well-being counties had a mean well-being score of 60.2 with a SD of 2.8. Among the six domains of well-being, basic access, which includes access to housing and healthcare, and life evaluation, which includes life satisfaction and optimism, differed the most between high-being and low-well-being counties. Among 29 county characteristics tested, six were independently and significantly associated with high well-being (p<0.05). These were lower rates of preventable hospital stays, higher supply of primary care physicians, lower prevalence of smoking, lower physical inactivity, higher percentage of some college education and higher percentage of heavy drinkers.

CONCLUSIONS

Among 770 high-poverty counties, approximately 9% outperformed expectations, reporting a collective well-being score in the top 20% of all counties in the USA. High-poverty counties reporting high well-being differed from high-poverty counties reporting low well-being in several characteristics.

Mental Health Services and Personal Recovery in California: A Population-Based Analysis

OBJECTIVE

Personal recovery measures have been examined among treatment-seeking individuals enrolled in high-quality care. The authors examined whether utilization of mental health services as typically delivered is associated with personal recovery among adults with clinically significant psychological distress.

METHODS

The Kessler Psychological Distress Scale (K-6) measured respondents' (N=1,954) psychological distress level. The authors also assessed five dimensions of personal recovery-hope, life satisfaction, empowerment, connectedness, and internalized stigma. Multivariable linear regression analyses were used to examine relationships between personal recovery and treatment, self-reported treatment completion, provider type, and adequacy of care, adjusting for covariates including K-6 score.

RESULTS

Participants who received care >12 months prior to the survey reported lower levels of hope (95% confidence interval [CI]=-0.36, -0.06, p<0.01), empowerment (95% CI=-0.26, -0.02, p<0.05), and connectedness (95% CI=-0.37, -0.06, p<0.01) than those who had not received treatment. Those who received care in the past 12 months reported lower levels of hope (95% CI=-0.47, -0.14, p<0.001) and life satisfaction (95% CI=-0.42, -0.05, p<0.01). However, treatment completion was associated with higher levels of empowerment (95% CI=0.02, 0.56, p<0.05) and hope (95% CI=0.04, 0.62, p<0.05) and lower levels of stigma (95% CI=-1.21, -0.21, p<0.01) compared with noncompletion. Differences according to provider type and adequacy of care were nonsignificant.

CONCLUSIONS

Utilization of mental health services was associated with lower levels of personal recovery, which may indicate that care-as typically utilized and received-does not promote personal recovery. Longitudinal research is needed to determine causal relationships underlying these associations.

A comparative analysis of the impacts of objective versus subjective neighborhood environment on physical, mental, and social health

Research on the relationship between neighborhood context and health outcome has attracted notable attention. However, few studies examine and compare the associations between the objective and subjective neighborhood environment and different dimensions of health. To this end, high-resolution remote sensing images and points-of-interest (POIs) data collected in Guangzhou, China, are used together with questionnaire survey data to measure the objective and subjective characteristics of the neighborhood environment. The sample includes 1029 adults selected from 34 communities in Guangzhou, China. Hierarchical linear modeling is then employed to analyze the associations between the objective and subjective neighborhood environment and three dimensions of health (physical health, mental health, and social health), as well as compare the relative strengths of and moderating mechanisms between these associations. The results indicate that significant variations in health outcomes are observed among neighborhoods, which can be explained by both personal attributes and the neighborhood environment. Although objective and subjective measures of the neighborhood environment are both linked to the three dimensions of health, physical health and social health are influenced more by objective measures, while mental health is affected more by subjective measures. Further, subjective measures have positive moderating effects on the relationship between objective measures and mental health but do not have significant moderating effects on the relationships between objective measures and physical and social health.

Do pregnant women living in higher well-being populations in the USA experience lower risk of preterm delivery? A cross-sectional study

OBJECTIVE

To determine if preterm birth, defined as gestational age <37 weeks, is lower for women living in counties with higher well-being, after accounting for known individual risk factors.

DESIGN

Cross-sectional study of all US births in 2011.

PARTICIPANTS

We obtained birth data from the National Center for Health Statistics which included 3 938 985 individuals.

MAIN OUTCOMES MEASURES

Primary outcome measure was maternal risk of preterm delivery by county; primary independent variable was county-level well-being as measured by the Gallup-Sharecare Well-Being Index (WBI).

RESULTS

Women living in counties with higher population well-being had a lower rate of preterm delivery. The rate of preterm birth in counties in the lowest WBI quintile was 13.1%, while the rate of preterm birth in counties in the highest WBI quintile was 10.9%. In the model adjusted for maternal risk factors (age, race, Hispanic ethnicity, smoking status, timing of initiation of prenatal visits, multiparity, maternal insurance payer), the association was slightly attenuated with an absolute difference of 1.9% (95% CI 1.7% to 2.1%; p<0.001).

CONCLUSIONS

Pregnant women who live in areas with higher population well-being have lower risk of preterm birth, even after accounting for individual risk factors.

Associations between provider communication and personal recovery outcomes

BACKGROUND

This study examined whether two types of provider communication considered important to quality of care (i.e., shows respect and explains understandably) are associated with mental health outcomes related to personal recovery (i.e., connectedness, hope, internalized stigma, life satisfaction, and empowerment). This study also tested whether these associations varied by the type of provider seen (i.e., mental health professional versus general medical doctor).

METHODS

This sample included participants from the 2014 California Well-Being Survey, a representative survey of California residents with probable mental illness, who had recently obtained mental health services (N = 429). Multiple regression was used to test associations between provider communication and personal recovery outcomes and whether these associations were modified by provider type.

RESULTS

Providers showing respect was associated with better outcomes across all five of the personal recovery domains, connectedness (β = 1.12; p < .001), hope (β = 0.72; p < .0001), empowerment (β = 0.38; p < .05), life satisfaction (β = 1.10; p < .001) and internalized stigma (β = - 0.49; p < .05). Associations between provider showing respect and recovery outcomes were stronger among those who had seen a mental health professional only versus a general medical doctor only.

CONCLUSIONS

Respectful communication may result in greater personal recovery from mental health problems. Respecting consumer perspectives is a hallmark feature of both recovery-oriented services and quality care, yet these fields have operated independently of one another. Greater integration between these two areas could significantly improve recovery-oriented mental health outcomes and quality of care.

Association of the Overall Well-being of a Population With Health Care Spending for People 65 Years of Age or Older

IMPORTANCE

New US health care payment models have increasingly incentivized health care systems to promote health and reduce health care spending at the population level, with Medicare beneficiaries representing one of the largest populations affected by new payment models. Identifying novel strategies to promote health and reduce health care spending is necessary.

OBJECTIVE

To assess whether the overall well-being of a population is associated with health care spending for people 65 years of age or older.

DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS

This US national, population-based cross-sectional study examined the association between county well-being and Medicare fee-for-service (FFS) spending. Population well-being, a holistic assessment of the overall health of the population comprising interrelated domains, including physical, mental, and social health, as measured by the Gallup-Sharecare Well-Being Index (2010), was linked to the mean spending per Medicare FFS beneficiary (2010) and county characteristics data for all US counties assessed. The data were adjusted for prevalence of 4 low-variation conditions (hip fracture, stroke, colorectal cancer, and acute myocardial infarction) and regional penetration of Medicare Advantage. Data analyses were conducted October 13, 2016, to October 31, 2017.

MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES

Mean spending per Medicare FFS beneficiary per county.

RESULTS

In total, 2998 counties were assessed using county-level mean values, with 4 to 7317 participants (mean [SD] number of participants, 755 [1220]) per county. The mean (SD) values of the demographic characteristics of the participants were 50.8% (1.3%) female, 74.9% (16.5%) white, 12.1% (13.0%) black, 4.0% (5.3%) Asian, and 13.7% (14.8%) Hispanic with a mean (SD) of the median county age of 38.2 (4.4) years. Medicare spent a mean (SE) of $992 ($110) less per Medicare FFS beneficiary in counties in the highest quintile of well-being compared with counties in the lowest well-being quintile. This inverse association persisted after accounting for key population characteristics such as median household income and contextual factors such as urbanicity and health care system capacity. Medicare spent a mean (SE) of $1233 ($104) less per Medicare FFS beneficiary in counties with the greatest access to basic needs than in those with the lowest access.

CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE

In this US national study, the overall well-being of a geographically defined population was inversely associated with its health care spending for people 65 years and older. Identifying this association between well-being and health care spending at the population level may help to lay the foundation for further study to first illuminate the mechanisms underlying the association and to second study interventions aimed at creating greater well-being and lower health care spending at the population level.

Population Well-Being Measures Help Explain Geographic Disparities In Life Expectancy At The County Level

Geographic disparities in life expectancy are substantial and not fully explained by differences in race and socioeconomic status. To develop policies that address these inequalities, it is essential to identify other factors that account for this variation. In this study we investigated whether population well-being-a comprehensive measure of physical, mental, and social health-helps explain geographic variation in life expectancy. At the county level, we found that for every 1-standard-deviation (4.2-point) increase in the well-being score, life expectancy was 1.9 years higher for females and 2.6 years higher for males. Life expectancy and well-being remained positively associated, even after race, poverty, and education were controlled for. In addition, well-being partially mediated the established associations of race, poverty, and education with life expectancy. These findings highlight well-being as an important metric of a population's health and longevity and as a promising focus for intervention.

Exploring factors behind pregnant women's quality of life in Iran: a qualitative study

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE

Pregnancy-related physiologic and psychosocial alterations can impact on the body and cause symptoms which may affect quality of life. Since qualitative studies can provide more in-depth understanding of quality of life and its determining factors, this study was conducted with the aim of exploring factors affecting pregnant women's quality of life.

METHODS

A qualitative descriptive study with conventional content analysis approach was made using the conventional content analysis approach on a purposeful sample of sixteen pregnant Iranian women in Hamadan, Iran from May 2015 to December 2015. Sampling was continued until data saturation. Data were collected through in-depth semi-structured personal interviews, and were analyzed using the conventional content analysis approach.

RESULTS

Data analysis resulted in three main categories, namely, the effects of pregnancy on different aspects of health (including psychological disorders, impaired interactions, disturbances in doing daily activities, disturbed body image, alterations in sexual relationships, physical disorders, and alterations in dietary habits and treatment regimens), pregnancy-related concerns (regarding the gender of the fetus, financial problems, childbirth, health, and the future), and coping with pregnancy (through strategies such as spirituality, positive attitude toward pregnancy, distraction and imagination, and support).

CONCLUSIONS

This study showed that different factors can affect pregnant women's quality of life. Nonetheless, prenatal care services are mainly focused on pregnancy-related physical problems, and other aspects of care are usually taken for granted. Consequently, healthcare professionals need to pay greater attention to pregnant women's quality of life and its contributing factors.

Associations between health culture, health behaviors, and health-related outcomes: A cross-sectional study

Background

To examine the associations between demographic characteristics, health behaviors, workplace health culture, and health-related outcomes in Chinese workplaces.

Methods

A total of 1508 employees from 10 administrative offices and 6 enterprises were recruited for a cross-sectional survey. Self-administered questionnaires mainly addressed demographic characteristics, health behaviors, workplace health culture, and health-related outcomes including self-rated health, mental health, and happiness.

Results

The proportion of participants who reported good health-related outcomes was significantly higher in those working in administrative offices than those working in enterprises. The result of the potential factors related to self-rated health (SRH), mental health, and happiness by logistic regression analyses showed that age and income were associated with SRH; type of workplace, age, smoking, and health culture at the workplace level were associated with mental health; and beneficial health effects of direct leadership was positively associated with happiness. Moreover, there were some similar results among 3 multivariate regression models. Firstly, good SRH (Odds Ratio (OR) = 1.744), mental health (OR = 1.891), and happiness (OR = 1.736) were more common among highly physically active participants compared with those physical inactive. Furthermore, passive smoking was negatively correlated with SRH (OR = 0.686), mental health (OR = 0.678), and happiness (OR = 0.616), while health culture at the individual level was positively correlated with SRH (OR = 1.478), mental health (OR = 1.654), and happiness (OR = 2.916).

Conclusions

The present study indicated that workplace health culture, health behaviors, and demographic characteristics were associated with health-related outcomes. Furthermore, individual health culture, physical activity, and passive smoking might play a critical role in workplace health promotion.

The Association between Life Satisfaction and the Extent of Depression, Anxiety and Stress among Iranian Nurses: A Multicenter Survey

OBJECTIVE

The determinants of satisfaction of life (SWL) are poorly described among Iranian employed nurses. This study aimed to assess the effect of various factors including age, gender, marital status, depression, anxiety and stress on SWL among Iranian nurses.

METHOD

Employed nurses in three teaching hospitals were invited to participate in this study. Ninety-four nurses (65 women and 29 men) participated in this study. Depression, anxiety, stress scale (DASS-21) was used to measure the related variables. Satisfaction with Life Scale (SWLS) was used to assess SWL. Multivariate analysis was utilized to examine the relationship between multiple variables.

RESULTS

A noticeable proportion of Iranian employed nurses were either dissatisfied or extremely dissatisfied with life (45%). Severe depression was related to lower scores of SWLS (P: 0.001, r = -0.32). The similar outcomes were detected between anxiety and stress scales, and SWLS (P: 0.023, r = -0.23 and P: 0.008, r = -0.27 for anxiety and stress, respectively). Although females were more vulnerable to depression (P: 0.010) and stress (P: 0.013), the overall effect of gender on SWL was insignificant (0.41). Satisfactions with financial power and work environment were associated with higher scores of SWLS (P: 0.030 and 0.042, respectively). Marital status was not related to severity of depression, anxiety, stress and SWLS (P: 0.39, 0.38, 0.80, and 0.61, respectively).

CONCLUSION

This study revealed that poor satisfaction with financial status and work environment, depression, anxiety and stress are the major determinants of satisfaction with life among Iranian employed nurses.

Validity of silhouette showcards as a measure of body size and obesity in a population in the African region: A practical research tool for general-purpose surveys

Background

The purpose of this study is to validate the Pulvers silhouette showcard as a measure of weight status in a population in the African region. This tool is particularly beneficial when scarce resources do not allow for direct anthropometric measurements due to limited survey time or lack of measurement technology in face-to-face general-purpose surveys or in mailed, online, or mobile device-based surveys.

Methods

A cross-sectional study was conducted in the Republic of Seychelles with a sample of 1240 adults. We compared self-reported body sizes measured by Pulvers’ silhouette showcards to four measurements of body size and adiposity: body mass index (BMI), body fat percent measured, waist circumference, and waist to height ratio. The accuracy of silhouettes as an obesity indicator was examined using sex-specific receiver operator curve (ROC) analysis and the reliability of this tool to detect socioeconomic gradients in obesity was compared to BMI-based measurements.

Results

Our study supports silhouette body size showcards as a valid and reliable survey tool to measure self-reported body size and adiposity in an African population. The mean correlation coefficients of self-reported silhouettes with measured BMI were 0.80 in men and 0.81 in women (P < 0.001). The silhouette showcards also showed high accuracy for detecting obesity as per a BMI ≥ 30 (Area under curve, AUC: 0.91/0.89, SE: 0.01), which was comparable to other measured adiposity indicators: fat percent (AUC: 0.94/0.94, SE: 0.01), waist circumference (AUC: 0.95/0.94, SE: 0.01), and waist to height ratio (AUC: 0.95/0.94, SE: 0.01) amongst men and women, respectively. The use of silhouettes in detecting obesity differences among different socioeconomic groups resulted in similar magnitude, direction, and significance of association between obesity and socioeconomic status as when using measured BMI.

Conclusions

This study highlights the validity and reliability of silhouettes as a survey tool for measuring obesity in a population in the African region. The ease of use and cost-effectiveness of this tool makes it an attractive alternative to measured BMI in the design of non-face-to-face online- or mobile device-based surveys as well as in-person general-purpose surveys of obesity in social sciences, where limited resources do not allow for direct anthropometric measurements.

Stigma, Discrimination, and Well-Being Among California Adults Experiencing Mental Health Challenges

Presents results of the 2014 California Well-Being Survey, which tracks mental illness stigma and discrimination, well-being, and exposure to prevention and early intervention activities among Californians experiencing psychological distress.

Investigating happiness and its related factors in married women referred to health centers of shahroud city

BACKGROUND

Happiness is one of the most important factors affecting women's mental health. Several factors contribute to happiness in different societies.

OBJECTIVES

The aim of this study was to investigate the level of happiness in married women and its related factors.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

This was a cross-sectional study with stratified sampling proportional to different age groups of married women in selected health centers (based on socioeconomic status). Subjects were 379 married women. The Oxford Happiness Inventory (scale: 0-87) was used to measure happiness. The Enrich Marital Satisfaction Inventory including 47 questions (scale: 47-235) and demographic information questionnaires were also used. Descriptive statistics, correlation, T-test, One-way ANOVA and Regression were used to analyze data.

RESULTS

The mean of happiness was 45.11 ± 14.40. Marital satisfaction was 164.68 ± 28.33 and 64% of the participants had a relative marital satisfaction. Univariate analysis of happiness showed significant effects of husband and wife education, husband job, economic status, stress in past six months, marital satisfaction and having social activates, but was not statistically significant for other factors (P < 0.05). Adjusting for the confounding effect of other variables, multiple linear regressions showed significant association of happiness with marital satisfaction, economic status and social activity.

CONCLUSIONS

Regarding lower level of happiness of married women in Shahroud comparing to some other studies in Iran and abroad, leisure time programs, training life skills especially stress management skills, increasing marital satisfaction and improving economic status should be considered.

Assessing the validity of single-item life satisfaction measures: results from three large samples

PURPOSE

The present paper assessed the validity of single-item life satisfaction measures by comparing single-item measures to the Satisfaction with Life Scale (SWLS)-a more psychometrically established measure.

METHODS

Two large samples from Washington (N = 13,064) and Oregon (N = 2,277) recruited by the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System and a representative German sample (N = 1,312) recruited by the Germany Socio-Economic Panel were included in the present analyses. Single-item life satisfaction measures and the SWLS were correlated with theoretically relevant variables, such as demographics, subjective health, domain satisfaction, and affect. The correlations between the two life satisfaction measures and these variables were examined to assess the construct validity of single-item life satisfaction measures.

RESULTS

Consistent across three samples, single-item life satisfaction measures demonstrated substantial degree of criterion validity with the SWLS (zero-order r = 0.62-0.64; disattenuated r = 0.78-0.80). Patterns of statistical significance for correlations with theoretically relevant variables were the same across single-item measures and the SWLS. Single-item measures did not produce systematically different correlations compared to the SWLS (average difference = 0.001-0.005). The average absolute difference in the magnitudes of the correlations produced by single-item measures and the SWLS was very small (average absolute difference = 0.015-0.042).

CONCLUSIONS

Single-item life satisfaction measures performed very similarly compared to the multiple-item SWLS. Social scientists would get virtually identical answer to substantive questions regardless of which measure they use.