scholarly journals The genetic background of the associations between sense of coherence and mental health, self-esteem and personality

Author(s):  
Karri Silventoinen ◽  
Eero Vuoksimaa ◽  
Salla-Maarit Volanen ◽  
Teemu Palviainen ◽  
Richard J. Rose ◽  
...  

Abstract Purpose Sense of coherence (SOC) represents coping and can be considered an essential component of mental health. SOC correlates with mental health and personality, but the background of these associations is poorly understood. We analyzed the role of genetic factors behind the associations of SOC with mental health, self-esteem and personality using genetic twin modeling and polygenic scores (PGS). Methods Information on SOC (13-item Orientation of Life Questionnaire), four mental health indicators, self-esteem and personality (NEO Five Factor Inventory Questionnaire) was collected from 1295 Finnish twins at 20–27 years of age. Results In men and women, SOC correlated negatively with depression, alexithymia, schizotypal personality and overall mental health problems and positively with self-esteem. For personality factors, neuroticism was associated with weaker SOC and extraversion, agreeableness and conscientiousness with stronger SOC. All these psychological traits were influenced by genetic factors with heritability estimates ranging from 19 to 66%. Genetic and environmental factors explained these associations, but the genetic correlations were generally stronger. The PGS of major depressive disorder was associated with weaker, and the PGS of general risk tolerance with stronger SOC in men, whereas in women the PGS of subjective well-being was associated with stronger SOC and the PGSs of depression and neuroticism with weaker SOC. Conclusion Our results indicate that a substantial proportion of genetic variation in SOC is shared with mental health, self-esteem and personality indicators. This suggests that the correlations between these traits reflect a common neurobiological background rather than merely the influence of external stressors.

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Magdalena Wenzl ◽  
Jürgen Fuchshuber ◽  
Nikita Podolin-Danner ◽  
Giorgia Silani ◽  
Human-Friedrich Unterrainer

Background: Studies investigating the relationship between religiosity/spirituality and mental health have suggested both positive and negative associations, highlighting the importance of multifaceted assessment of these rather broad constructs. The present study aims at contributing to this field of research by providing a validated Swedish version of the Multidimensional Inventory for Religious/Spiritual Well-Being (MI-RSWB-S) and further examining how this instrument relates to Big Five personality factors, Sense of Coherence (SOC), and religiosity.Methods: Data were collected from a total of 1,011 Swedish students (747 females; age range 18–40) via completion of an online survey, including a new Swedish Version of the MI-RSWB-S, the Ten Item Personality Inventory (TIPI), the Sense of Coherence Scale (SOC-13), and the Centrality of Religiosity Scale (CRS-5).Results: Results revealed adequate estimates of internal consistency and substantial evidence for the postulated six-dimensional structure. However, confirmatory factor analysis yielded poor fit indices, resulting in the development and validation of a revised measure of Religious/Spiritual Well-Being (RSWB), comprising the subscales General Religiosity and Connectedness. Most of the MI-RSWB-S dimensions were positively correlated with the personality domains Extraversion, Openness to Experience, Conscientiousness, and Agreeableness and negatively related to Neuroticism. SOC was positively linked to Hope Immanent, Forgiveness, Hope Transcendent, and Experiences of Sense of Meaning, whereas CRS exhibited positive correlations with all MI-RSWB-S subscales except Hope Transcendent.Conclusion: The findings of the current study support the validity and reliability of the Swedish adoption of the MI-RSWB and confirm previously reported associations with the Big Five personality traits, SOC, and CRS. More in general, our results underline the putative substantial link between RSWB dimensions and mental health. Further research especially in clinical surroundings as well as by employing more representative samples is now warranted.


2016 ◽  
Vol 33 (S1) ◽  
pp. s289-s289
Author(s):  
S. von Humboldt ◽  
I. Leal

IntroductionGrowing literature suggests that the sense of coherence (SOC) positively influences well-being in later life.ObjectivesThis study reports the assessment the following psychometric properties: distributional properties, construct, criterion and external-related validities, and reliability, of the Orientation to Life Questionnaire (OtLQ) in an cross-national population of older adults.MethodsWe recruited 1291 community-dwelling older adults aged between 75–102 years (M = 83.9; SD = 6.68). Convenience sampling was used to gather questionnaire data. The construct validity was asserted by confirmatory factor analysis, convergent and discriminant validity. Moreover, criterion and external-related validities, as well as distributional properties and reliability were also tested.ResultsData gathered with the 29-items OtLQ scale showed overall good psychometric properties, in terms of distributional properties, construct, criterion and external-related validities, as well as reliability. Three factors were validated for the OtLQ scale: (a) comprehensibility; (b) manageability; and (c) meaningfulness.ConclusionWe validated the 3-factor OtLQ scale, which produced valid and reliable data for a cross-national sample with older adults. Hence, it is an adequate instrument for assessing sense of coherence among older people in health care practice and program development contexts.Disclosure of interestThe authors have not supplied their declaration of competing interest.


Author(s):  
Guna Svence

<p><em>There are two different researches has been explain in this article. There is common idea of those two researches (Svence, Mihailova, Bebre, 2014)- does age as correlate statistical significant differ scores of mindfulness, wisdom and coherence.</em></p><p><em>The aim of the first research (Svence, Mihailova, 2014) is to make theoretical and practical analysis of correllations between sense of coherence, mindfulness and wellbeing among 25-45 year old women, as also make qualitative analysis in order to explore one of the sense of coherence categories – meaningfulness. Reserach has shown that there exists positive correlation between wellbeing and sense of coherence and between wellbeing and mindfulness, as aslo it has been shown that higher scores of sense of meaning in life is related to higher scores of wellbeing, yet there are nearly no research where the correlations between mindfulness and sense of coherece and/or meaningfulness would be explored. Yet there are enough research where the realaton of these concepts with other concepts such as self-efficacy, anxiety, stressreactivity is confirmed. Considering the above mentioned it is valuable to explore relations between sense of coherence, mindfulness and wellbeing. </em></p><p><em>Principal question of the research was to investigate if there is an association between sense of coherence, mindfulness and wellbeing, as also to make qualitative and quantitative analysis and acquire the broader understanding of this association. There were 36 participants in the research who were asked to fill three questionnaires via internet and to particiapate in the interview. Quantative methods were used in the research (Fife Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire, Orientation to Life Questionnaire to measure sense of coherence, Scales of Psychological Well-Being), as well as statistical methods (Pearson correlation) and qualitative method (content analysis of narratives). </em></p><p><em>Quantitative analysis confirmed the question of the research, since there were significant positive correlations discovered between all three concepts – sense of coherence, mindfulness and wellbeing. Content analysis of narratives was made and several typical content units were discovered whish are related to age appropriate meaningful life tasks, and to the processes of sense of coherence. Therefore the associatio between meaningfulness and other sense of coherence components was confirmed. </em></p><p><em>There is other research (Svence, Bebre,2014) about wisdom and meaningfulness scores- how they  correlates and differes in different age subgroups in adulthood.</em></p><p><em>There are some results show- scores of wisdom and meaningfulness are not significant differ in different age groups- early adulthood (20-35), middle age (40-55)  mathematical statistical significant, but differences has been finded about wisdom in early adulthood and middle age – according scores – wisdom is more higher in middle age as in early adulthood.</em></p><p> </p>


2019 ◽  
Vol 3 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. S931-S931
Author(s):  
Celeste Beaulieu ◽  
Jeffrey E Stokes

Abstract Previous research has suggested that informal socializing can be beneficial for mental health, whereas prior findings concerning solitary activities and mental health have been equivocal. Activity theory posits that involvement in activities – particularly social activities – can improve adults’ self-concept and self-esteem, leading to improved well-being. Solitary activities may perform the same function, though without any social reinforcement. However, social engagement and mental health may both vary by gender. Thus, we examined associations of informal socializing and solitary activities with depressive symptoms among 13,387 respondents of the 2012/2014 waves of the Health and Retirement Study, and further assessed potential gender differences. Results revealed that both informal socializing and solitary activities were significantly associated with lower depressive symptoms when analyzed separately. However, when both types of activities were modeled simultaneously, only informal socializing remained significant. Further, stratified analyses revealed that informal socializing was a significant predictor of depressive symptoms among women but not men, although these coefficients were not significantly different from each other. Overall, findings suggest that both informal socializing and solitary activities may be beneficial for mental health, yet results were clearly stronger for informal socializing. Socializing may benefit mental health not only by bolstering one’s self-concept, but also by linking adults with social ties and support networks that are instrumental for well-being in mid- and later life. Moreover, gender differences in effects were minimal and largely non-significant, indicating that activity involvement can bolster mental health for men and women alike.


2020 ◽  
pp. 003329412097263
Author(s):  
Ryota Tsukawaki ◽  
Tomoya Imura

The aim of the present study was to determine whether two types of teacher humor (Aggressive Humor and Affinity Humor) are predictors of students’ mental health. A self-report scale was administered to 500 elementary and junior high school students in grades 4 to 9 (mean age 12.04, SD = 1.76) asking questions about perceived teacher humor, stress response, emotional well-being, and self-esteem. Aggressive humor was a significant positive predictor of stress response and a significant negative predictor of emotional well-being. Affinity humor was a significant positive predictor of emotional well-being and self-esteem. These results suggest that the teacher’s humor is related to students’ mental health. We conclude that teachers should refrain from using aggressive humor as much as possible in favor of affinity humor.


2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (11) ◽  
pp. 3708
Author(s):  
Stefanie Jung ◽  
Jonas Kneer ◽  
Tillmann H. C. Krüger

Preliminary data indicates that the Coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 disease (COVID-19) pandemic may have a substantial impact on mental health and well-being. We assessed mental health in response to the lockdown in Germany between 1 April 2020 and 15 April 2020 using a cross-sectional online survey (n = 3545) with a mixed-methods approach. We found increased levels of psychosocial distress (Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ) stress module), anxiety, depressive symptoms (PHQ-4), irritability, and a decrease in overall well-being (WHO-Five Well-Being Index (WHO-5)), sense of coherence (Short Form of the Sense of Coherence Scale (SOC-L9)), sexual contentment, and sleep quality. The four-week-prevalence of interpersonal violence was yet at 5% and included verbal, physical, and sexual violence. Participants reported finding comfort in family, friends, conversation, exercise, and activity. Findings are also in line with research showing that women seem to have more trouble coping with the pandemic and lockdown measures. Our observations demonstrate that the COVID-19 pandemic and related measures lead to a mental health burden even in a highly developed Western country and should, therefore, be taken seriously. The findings for interpersonal violence are alarming. Thus, we should sharpen our focus on the matter and activate and enhance supporting systems to help protect those affected.


2018 ◽  
Vol 50 (1) ◽  
pp. 93-112
Author(s):  
Marija Sakac ◽  
Mia Maric

Psychological well-being is a significant determinant of mental health and success in profession of future class and preschool teachers. Hence, it is extremely important to investigate the individual factors that contribute to it. The aim of this research is to determine the contribution of personality traits, self-esteem and the locus of control in predicting the degree of subjective well-being in future class and preschool teachers. The sample included 418 students. The following instruments were used in the research: the Short Subjective Well-being Scale (KSB), the Big Five Plus Two questionnaire (VP+2), Rosenberg?s Self-Esteem Scale and the Scale for Measuring the Locus of Control (LO K IM-2). The results indicate that all three investigated categories of individual factors significantly predict the affective (64% of variance explained) and cognitive component (51% of variance explained) of subjective wellbeing, whereby personality traits proved to be the most important predictors. Neuroticism and extraversion contribute most to positive affectivity (N?=-0,801; E?=- 0,794) and a positive attitude towards life (N?=-0,701; E?=-0,736). The educational implications refer to the possibilities of encouraging and developing those individual personality traits that significantly contribute to subjective well-being of future class and preschool teachers. In this way, we can also contribute to their mental health, which is the necessary precondition of the accomplishment of educational work.


2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sergi Ballespí ◽  
Jaume Vives ◽  
Carla Sharp ◽  
Lorena Chanes ◽  
Neus Barrantes-Vidal

Research suggests that the ability to understand one’s own and others’ minds, or mentalizing, is a key factor for mental health. Most studies have focused the attention on the association between global measures of mentalizing and specific disorders. In contrast, very few studies have analyzed the association between specific mentalizing polarities and global measures of mental health. This study aimed to evaluate whether self and other polarities of mentalizing are associated with a multidimensional notion of mental health, which considers symptoms, functioning, and well-being. Additionally, the level or depth of mentalizing within each polarity was also analyzed. A sample of 214 adolescents (12–18 years old, M = 14.7, and SD = 1.7; 53.3% female) was evaluated on measures of self- (Trait Meta-Mood Scale or TMMS-24) and other- mentalizing (Adolescent Mentalizing Interview or AMI), multi-informed measures of psychopathology and functioning based on Achenbach’s system, and measures of psychological well-being (self-esteem, happiness, and motivation to life goals). Results revealed no association between mentalizing polarities and higher-order symptom factors (internalizing, externalizing, and global symptoms or “p” factor). Self-mentalizing was associated with self-esteem (B = 0.076, p &lt; 0.0005) and motivation to life goals (B = 0.209, p = 0.002), and other-mentalizing was associated to general, social and role functioning (B = 0.475, p &lt; 0.0005; B = 0.380, p = 0.005; and B = 0.364, p = 0.004). This association between aspects of self-other mentalizing and self-other function has important implications for treatment and prevention. Deeper mentalizing within each polarity (i.e., comprehension beyond simple attention to one’s own mental states, and mentalizing referred to attachment figures vs. mentalizing referred to the characters of a story) revealed stronger associations with functioning and well-being. Because mentalizing polarities are associated with functioning and well-being but not with symptoms, a new hypothesis is developed: mentalizing does not contribute to resiliency by preventing symptoms, but by helping to deal with them, thus improving functioning and well-being independently of psychopathology. These findings support that promoting mentalizing across development may improve mental health, even in non-clinical population.


2021 ◽  
Vol 2 ◽  
Author(s):  
Moksha Pasricha ◽  
Suhaavi Kochhar ◽  
Ashumi Shah ◽  
Avantika Bhatia

Introduction: Pregnancy is associated with psychological, physiological and social shifts, and can be a vulnerable time in a woman's life. Despite a growing understanding of the importance of antenatal mental health, there is a paucity of research on psychosocial factors relevant to this phase, especially in developing countries. The aim of the present study was to investigate the associations of expecting mothers' sense of coherence, perceived social support, and maternal-fetal attachment with mental health outcomes.Method: Participants (N = 122) were nulliparous expectant mothers residing in urban India. Cross-sectional data was collected using an online questionnaire.Results: Participant reports of perceived social support and sense of coherence were negatively correlated with symptoms of antenatal depression, while reports of maternal-fetal attachment, sense of coherence, and social support were positively associated with antenatal well-being. In a multilinear regression model, perceived social support and sense of coherence uniquely contributed to symptoms of antenatal depression, while maternal-fetal attachment and sense of coherence uniquely contributed to antenatal well-being.Discussion: The findings of this study highlight the role of perceived social support, sense of coherence and maternal-fetal attachment in contributing to expecting mothers' mental health and well-being in urban India. These findings have implications for clinical practice and research, intending to the subjective experiences of pregnant women to improve antenatal mental health. Future research investigating these psychosocial factors using longitudinal designs is warranted and would help clinicians and practitioners identify women at risk for perinatal mental health concerns.


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