Altruistic behaviour and social capital as predictors of well-being among older Canadians

2009 ◽  
Vol 30 (1) ◽  
pp. 157-181 ◽  
Author(s):  
KRISTINE THEURER ◽  
ANDREW WISTER
Keyword(s):  
Social Capital ◽  
Life Satisfaction ◽  
Social Services ◽  
Sense Of Belonging ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Role Identity ◽  
Group Activities ◽  
Helping Others ◽  
Two Measures ◽  
The Relationship

ABSTRACTSelf-reported altruistic activity and social capital were examined as predictors of perceived happiness and life satisfaction among a sample of 4,486 Canadians aged 65 or more years from the 2003 Canadian General Social Services Survey, Cycle 17. Altruistic behaviour was measured by number of volunteer hours per month and helping others (not including family and friends). Social capital was measured using dimensions of belonging to one's community, community and neighbour trust, and group activities. Drawing on generativity and role-identity theories, it was hypothesised that altruistic behaviour and social capital are positively associated with well-being (using perceived happiness and life satisfaction), and that social capital mediates the relationship. For both perceived happiness and life satisfaction, after controlling for demographic, health status, and social support variables, measures of altruistic behaviour demonstrated statistically significant associations. Once measures of social capital were entered into the analysis in the final block, however, the altruistic behaviour variables were no longer statistically significant. Robust associations were found for social capital and the two measures of well-being, particularly between sense of belonging, trust in neighbours, and perceived happiness and life satisfaction. The findings suggest that altruistic behaviour is mediated by social capital. The implications of these findings are discussed with respect to understanding the well-being of older Canadians.

scholarly journals Subjective Well-Being and Prosociality Around the Globe: Happy People Give More of Their Time and Money to Others

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kostadin Kushlev ◽  
Nina Radosic ◽  
Edward Francis Diener ◽  
Ed Diener
Keyword(s):  
Life Satisfaction ◽  
Prosocial Behavior ◽  
Positive Emotions ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Subjective Well Being ◽  
Happy People ◽  
Helping Others ◽  
The World ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Gallup World Poll

Subjective well-being (SWB) is positively related to helping others, but so far research has not explored the association of individual aspects of well-being with prosocial behavior across the world. We used a representative sample (N = 1,433,078) from the Gallup World Poll (GWP) to explore the relationship between each aspect of well-being and prosocial behavior. We explored these associations between and within 161 countries. We found that different aspects of SWB are not equally associated with prosocial behavior: While life satisfaction and positive affect consistently predicted being more prosocial, negative affect did not consistently predict being less prosocial. Our findings underline the importance of studying the effects of the different components of SWB separately, indicating that, across the globe, it is satisfaction and positive emotions—not the lack of negative emotions—that are associated with being prosocial.

Does Gender Moderate the Relationship Between Social Capital and Life Satisfaction? Evidence From Urban China

2018 ◽  
Vol 40 (8) ◽  
pp. 740-761 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nan Lu ◽  
Nan Jiang ◽  
Vivian W. Q. Lou ◽  
Yue Zeng ◽  
Meng Liu
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Social Capital ◽  
Life Satisfaction ◽  
Older Men ◽  
Urban China ◽  
Helping Others ◽  
Suzhou City ◽  
Quota Sampling ◽  
The Relationship

The present study aimed to test the moderating effect of gender on the relationship between social capital and life satisfaction among older adults in urban China. A quota sampling method was used to select 456 older adults aged 60 and older from 16 local communities in Suzhou city in 2015. Hierarchical multiple regression was employed to test the proposed models. The associations between family social capital and life satisfaction were higher among older men than women. Trust and helping others were stronger predictors of older women’s life satisfaction than their male counterparts. Citizenship activities affected life satisfaction among older men only. The findings highlight the important role of social capital in sustaining and/or improving life satisfaction among both older women and men. Policy and intervention implications are discussed.

scholarly journals The mediating role of social capital in the relationship between socioeconomic status and adolescent wellbeing: evidence from Ghana

2020 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Evelyn Aboagye Addae
Keyword(s):  
Social Capital ◽  
Socioeconomic Status ◽  
Life Satisfaction ◽  
Sense Of Belonging ◽  
Socioeconomic Inequalities ◽  
Health Resource ◽  
Mediating Role ◽  
Different Dimensions ◽  
The Relationship

Abstract Background Social capital is generally portrayed to be protective of adolescents’ health and wellbeing against the effects of socioeconomic inequalities. However, few empirical evidence exist on this protective role of social capital regarding adolescents’ wellbeing in the low-and middle-income country (LMIC) context. This study examines the potential for social capital to be a protective health resource by investigating whether social capital can mediate the relationship between socioeconomic status (SES) and wellbeing of Ghanaian adolescents. It also examines how SES and social capital relate to different dimensions of adolescents’ wellbeing in different social contexts. Methods The study employed a cross-sectional survey involving a randomly selected 2068 adolescents (13-18 years) from 15 schools (8 Senior and 7 Junior High Schools) in Ghana. Relationships were assessed using multivariate regression models. Results Three measures of familial social capital (family sense of belonging, family autonomy support, and family control) were found to be important protective factors of both adolescents’ life satisfaction and happiness against the effects of socioeconomic status. One measure of school social capital (school sense of belonging) was found to augment adolescents’ wellbeing but played no mediating role in the SES-wellbeing relationship. A proportion of about 69 and 42% of the total effect of SES on happiness and life satisfaction were mediated by social capital respectively. Moreover, there were variations in how SES and social capital related to the different dimensions of adolescents’ wellbeing. Conclusion Social capital is a significant mechanism through which SES impacts the wellbeing of adolescents. Social capital is a potential protective health resource that can be utilised by public health policy to promote adolescents’ wellbeing irrespective of socioeconomic inequalities. Moreover, the role of the family (home) in promoting adolescents’ wellbeing is superior to that of school which prompts targeted policy interventions. For a holistic assessment of adolescents’ subjective wellbeing, both life evaluations (life satisfaction) and positive emotions (happiness) should be assessed concomitantly.

scholarly journals Subjective Well-Being and Prosociality Around the Globe: Happy People Give More of Their Time and Money to Others

2021 ◽  
pp. 194855062110433
Author(s):  
Kostadin Kushlev ◽  
Nina Radosic ◽  
Ed Diener
Keyword(s):  
Life Satisfaction ◽  
Prosocial Behavior ◽  
Positive Emotions ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Subjective Well Being ◽  
Happy People ◽  
Helping Others ◽  
The World ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Gallup World Poll

Subjective well-being (SWB) is positively related to prosocial giving and helping others, but so far, research has not explored the association of individual aspects of well-being with prosocial behavior across the world. We used a representative sample from the Gallup World Poll across 163 countries from 2006 to 2017 to explore the relationship between each aspect of well-being and prosocial behavior ( N = 1,797,630). We found that different aspects of SWB are not equally associated with prosocial behavior: While life satisfaction and positive affect consistently predicted being more prosocial across the globe, negative affect did not consistently predict being more or less prosocial. We further explore economic and cultural moderators of these relationships. Our findings underline the importance of studying the effects of the different components of SWB separately, indicating that life satisfaction and positive emotions—more so than negative emotions—consistently predict being more prosocial across the globe.

Different Future Time Perspectives Interplay in Predicting Life Satisfaction

GeroPsych ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 31 (3) ◽  
pp. 103-113 ◽  
Author(s):  
Minjie Lu ◽  
Angel Y. Li ◽  
Helene H. Fung ◽  
Klaus Rothermund ◽  
Frieder R. Lang
Keyword(s):  
Life Satisfaction ◽  
Time Perspective ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Future Time Perspective ◽  
Hong Kong Chinese ◽  
Future Time ◽  
Time Perspectives ◽  
Time Extension ◽  
Future Self ◽  
The Relationship

Abstract. This study addresses prior mixed findings on the relationship between future time perspective (FTP) and well-being as well as examines the associations between three aspects of FTP and life satisfaction in the health and friendship domains. 159 Germans, 97 US Americans, and 240 Hong Kong Chinese, aged 19–86 years, completed a survey on future self-views (valence) and life satisfaction. They also reported the extent to which they perceived future time as expanded vs. limited (time extension) and meaningful (openness). Findings revealed that individuals with more positive future self-views had higher satisfaction. However, those who perceived their future as more meaningful or perceived more time in their future reported higher satisfaction even when future self-views were less positive.

Social Capital and Sustainable Health Care: An Analysis of Community Based Palliative Care Model of Kerala

2015 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Abdul Azeez. E.P
Keyword(s):  
Social Capital ◽  
Palliative Care ◽  
Social Services ◽  
Social Inclusion ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Vital Role ◽  
Voluntary Organizations ◽  
Community Based ◽  
The Social ◽  
Palliative Care Units

Social Capital is the most crucial asset which significantly influence the efficacy and resilience of any community. Social capital is a dependent variable that depends upon the competence and coherence of the individuals in the community and mode of social relationships, trust and networks they maintain. It is one of the most sustainable social resources that originate from human relations and results on the mutual support of people. Utilization of Social capital has a wide applicability in the process of social inclusion, especially in dealing with the vulnerable and disadvantaged sections in the community itself. Voluntary organizations are very keen to utilize the social capital for community/social services and community development in a sustainable manner. Community based de-institutionalized Palliative Care is one of the foremost among such organizations that made social capital in a strategic way for social inclusion and community well being. This paper analyses the extent to which different elements of social capital helps in initiating the sustainable community based palliative care movement by assessing the unique intervention strategies carried out by the palliative care. This paper explores conceptual questions of how social capital and voluntary community based services are correlated. A case study method was adopted for the study in which ten palliative care units were analyzed. The results show that a number of social capital elements are playing a vital role in the sustainability of community palliative care movement in Kerala.

Acculturative stress and life satisfaction of Chinese rural-to-urban migrants

2020 ◽  
Vol 48 (11) ◽  
pp. 1-11
Author(s):  
Dekuo Liang ◽  
Lei Wang ◽  
Liying Xia ◽  
Dawei Xu
Keyword(s):  
Social Support ◽  
Life Satisfaction ◽  
Acculturative Stress ◽  
Perceived Social Support ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Self Esteem ◽  
Construction Sites ◽  
Urban Migrants ◽  
Study Results ◽  
The Relationship

Little is known regarding the life satisfaction of rural-to-urban migrants in China. In this study we assessed whether self-esteem and perceived social support mediated the association between rural-to-urban migrants' acculturative stress and life satisfaction. We use convenience sampling to recruit 712 migrants who were employed at construction sites in Nanjing for the study. Results reveal that acculturative stress was negatively related to self-esteem, perceived social support, and life satisfaction; self-esteem was positively associated with perceived social support and life satisfaction; and perceived social support was a significant and positive predictor of life satisfaction. In addition, we found that self-esteem and perceived social support partially mediated the relationship between acculturative stress and life satisfaction. Our findings provide a better understanding of life satisfaction over the course of migration, and add to knowledge of psychological well-being and mental health among rural-to-urban migrants in China.

scholarly journals The #orthorexia community on Instagram

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Martina Valente ◽  
Sophie Renckens ◽  
Joske Bunders-Aelen ◽  
Elena V. Syurina
Keyword(s):  
Content Analysis ◽  
Sense Of Belonging ◽  
Mixed Methods Study ◽  
Therapeutic Interventions ◽  
Negative Consequences ◽  
Online Questionnaire ◽  
Level Of Evidence ◽  
Helping Others ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Share Information

Abstract Purpose This mixed-methods study delved into the relationship between orthorexia nervosa (ON) and Instagram. Methods Two quantitative data sources were used: content analysis of pictures using #orthorexia (n = 3027), and an online questionnaire investigating the experience of ON and the use of Instagram of people sharing ON-related content on Instagram (n = 185). Following, interviews (n = 9) were conducted with people posting ON-related content on Instagram and self-identifying as having (had) ON. Results People who share ON-related content on Instagram were found to be primarily young women (questionnaire = 95.2% females, mean age 26.2 years; interviews = 100% females, mean age 28.4 years), who were found to be heavy social media users and favor Instagram over other platforms. Questionnaire respondents agreed in defining ON as an obsession with a diet considered healthy, with bio-psycho-social negative consequences, though those who self-identified as having (had) ON were more likely to point out the negative impairments of ON. Interviewees deemed Instagram partially responsible for the development of ON. Instead, they agreed that Instagram encourages problem realization. Content analysis showed that ON is encoded in pictures of ‘food’, ‘people’, ‘text’ and ‘other.’ Interviewees revealed that they started posting to recover, share information, help others, and they felt inspired to post by other accounts. A sense of belonging to the #orthorexia community emerged, where people share values and ideals, and seek validation from others. Conclusion Conversations around #orthorexia on Instagram generate supportive communities aiding recovery. Individuals use Instagram for helping others and themselves recovering from ON. Understanding how people help each other, manage their health, cope with symptoms, and undertake recovery can inform the implementation of therapeutic interventions for ON. Level of evidence Level III, evidence obtained from well-designed cohort or case–control analytic studies.

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