scholarly journals Social Integration and Terminal Decline in Life Satisfaction Among Older Japanese

2019 ◽  
Vol 75 (10) ◽  
pp. 2122-2131
Author(s):  
Takeshi Nakagawa ◽  
Gizem Hülür
Keyword(s):  
Life Satisfaction ◽  
Individual Differences ◽  
Social Integration ◽  
Physical Function ◽  
Social Life ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Protective Role ◽  
Age At Death ◽  
Interindividual Variations ◽  
Functional Features

Abstract Objectives Well-being typically exhibits pronounced deteriorations with approaching death, with sizeable interindividual variations in levels and changes. It is less well understood how psychosocial factors contribute to these individual differences. We examined whether and how social integration is associated with terminal trajectories of well-being, indexed as life satisfaction. Method Data were drawn from 1,119 deceased Japanese participants of a 15-year longitudinal study (age at death: M = 79.2 years; SD = 7.7 years; 43.1% women). Life satisfaction, structural and functional features of social integration (e.g., frequency of contact with family and nonfamily, and perceived overall support, respectively), sociodemographic characteristics, and physical function were assessed. Results Social integration predicted individual differences in terminal decline in life satisfaction, after controlling for age at death, gender, education, and physical function: More diverse social relationships were associated with higher levels of life satisfaction at 1 year before death. In addition, individuals who exhibited more decline in social participation and perceived less support showed more pronounced decline with increasing proximity of death. Discussion This study suggests that social integration plays a protective role in late-life well-being and that sustaining an active social life and supportive social interactions may help mitigate terminal decline in well-being.

scholarly journals Real-time individual benefit from social interactions before and during the lockdown: The crucial role of personality, neurobiology and genes.

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maximilian Monninger ◽  
Pascal M Aggensteiner ◽  
Tania M Pollok ◽  
Iris Reinhard ◽  
Alisha S.M. Hall ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Social Integration ◽  
Social Interactions ◽  
Real Time ◽  
Social Life ◽  
Real Life ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Protective Role ◽  
Individual Risk ◽  
Amygdala Volume

Background: Social integration is a major resilience factor for staying healthy. However, the COVID-19-pandemic led to unprecedented restrictions in social life. The consequences of these social lockdowns on momentary well-being are yet not fully understood. Method: We investigated the individual affective benefit from social interactions in a longitudinal birth cohort study. We used two real-time, real-life ecological momentary assessments once before and once during the initial lockdown of the pandemic (N~6800 total observations) to determine the protective role of social interactions on well-being. Moreover, we used a multimethod approach combining the ecological assessment data with individual risk and resilience factors to analyze the moderating mechanisms of personality, neurobiology and genes. Results: Social contacts were linked to higher positive affect both during normal times and during the COVID-19 pandemic, highlighting the beneficial role of social embedding. Moreover, this relationship was moderated by amygdala volume, neuroticism and polygenic risk for schizophrenia. In detail, participants with a larger left amygdala volume and higher trait neuroticism exhibited an affective benefit from more social interactions prior to the pandemic. This pattern changed during the pandemic with participants with smaller amygdala volumes and lower neurotic traits showing a social affective gain during the pandemic. Moreover, participants with low genetic risk for schizophrenia showed an affective benefit from social interactions irrespective of the time point. Conclusion: Our results highlight the protective role of social integration on momentary well-being. Thereby, we offer new insights into how this relationship is differently affected by a person's neurobiology, personality, and genes under adverse circumstances.

scholarly journals Individual differences and changes in lifestyle behaviours predict decreased subjective well-being during COVID-19 restrictions in an Australian sample

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Emily Brindal ◽  
Jillian C Ryan ◽  
Naomi Kakoschke ◽  
Sinead Golley ◽  
Ian T Zajac ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Life Satisfaction ◽  
Individual Differences ◽  
Online Survey ◽  
Protective Factor ◽  
Health Behaviours ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Subjective Well Being ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Social Distancing ◽  
Australian Sample

Abstract Background Due to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, social distancing practices were introduced to curb infection rates in many countries. The purpose of this study was to assess the effects of these restrictions on behaviours and well-being and whether individual differences predict changes in well-being. Methods Australian adults participated in a cross-sectional, online survey during May 2020. The survey captured demographic information; health behaviours; personality traits; life satisfaction and COVID-19-related attitudes, financial concerns, perceived risks and impacts. Results In total, 3745 (86.8% of 4313) participants completed all items. Participants were mostly female (85.7%) and 56.4 years (standard deviation [SD] = 12.6) on average. Over 95.0% of the sample indicated they had been social distancing or isolating. Health behaviours and well-being had generally worsened, with social connections being the most negatively affected. Life satisfaction was significantly lower since restrictions. For changes in life satisfaction, extroversion was a risk factor and openness to experience was a protective factor. Conclusions Overall, well-being was negatively impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic and associated social distancing particularly in this sample containing mainly older women. In future, it will be crucial to understand why and who may be differentially affected, to encourage behaviours that are protective of well-being.

scholarly journals The Impact of Social Support and Pregnancy on Subjective Well-Being: A Systematic Review

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Buyantungalag Battulga ◽  
Marc Reginald Benjamin ◽  
Hong Chen ◽  
Enkhmandakh Bat-Enkh
Keyword(s):  
Social Support ◽  
Systematic Review ◽  
Life Satisfaction ◽  
Pregnant Women ◽  
Positive Association ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Protective Role ◽  
Subjective Well Being ◽  
Health Maintenance ◽  
The Impact

Background: Subjective well-being (SWB) has a protective role in mental health maintenance and is prone to change during short stressful moments, such as pregnancy. Longstanding research suggests that social support (SS) from the partner and family members of pregnant women directly or indirectly acts as a buffer against negative mental outcomes. For happier pregnancies, it is important to understand how SS and pregnancy affect the SWB.Objective: This review aims to examine the extended association of being pregnant and SS on the SWB of pregnant women.Methods: A systematic review was conducted in PubMed, ScienceDirect, and Google Scholar. Articles published in peer-reviewed journals were included regardless of the year and if they had assessed the impact of at least one SWB or SS outcome among healthy pregnant women. The tools of the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute were used for quality assessment.Results: Thirty-four studies that assessed the domains of SWB measurements, such as happiness, quality of life (QoL), life satisfaction, positive and negative effects, and well-being, were included and its association with either pregnancy or SS was summarized. Variable results, such as life satisfaction, happiness, and mental component of QoL, were found to be high during pregnancy, but positive emotion and physical components of QoL had decreased. Almost universally, SS during pregnancy was found to have a positive association with all measurements of SWB.Conclusion: This study had found that, despite some arising trends, pregnancy itself does not necessarily have similar impacts on SWB across healthy pregnant women. However, SS had a significant effect on SWB.

scholarly journals Heritability of life satisfaction in adults: a twin-family study

2005 ◽  
Vol 35 (11) ◽  
pp. 1581-1588 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. H. STUBBE ◽  
D. POSTHUMA ◽  
D. I. BOOMSMA ◽  
E. J. C. De GEUS
Keyword(s):  
Life Satisfaction ◽  
Individual Differences ◽  
Genetic Factors ◽  
Satisfaction With Life ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Satisfaction With Life Scale ◽  
Subjective Well Being ◽  
Dutch Version ◽  
Sibling Pairs ◽  
Genes And Environment

Background. Subjective well-being (SWB) can be partitioned into the components life satisfaction and affect. Research on factors influencing these components of well-being has mainly focused on environmental characteristics. The aim of this study was to investigate the relative contribution of genes and environment to individual differences in life satisfaction in a large sample of Dutch twins and their singleton siblings.Method. Life satisfaction of 5668 subjects registered with The Netherlands Twin Registry (NTR) was measured with a Dutch version of the self-reported Satisfaction with Life Scale. An extended twin design was used to obtain correlations in life satisfaction scores for monozygotic twins, dizygotic twins and sibling pairs and to estimate the contribution of genes and environment to the variation in life satisfaction.Results. No differences between males and females were found in the mean level of life satisfaction. Broad-sense heritability was 38%. Non-additive genetic factors explained all or most of the genetic influences. The remaining 62% of the variance in life satisfaction could be attributed to unique environmental factors, both persistent and transitory, plus measurement error.Conclusions. Individual differences in life satisfaction are determined in part by genetic factors that are largely or entirely non-additive in nature.

scholarly journals Integrating Humor and Positive Psychology Approaches to Psychological Well-Being

2014 ◽  
Vol 10 (3) ◽  
pp. 557-570 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nadia Brittany Maiolino ◽  
Nicholas A. Kuiper
Keyword(s):  
Life Satisfaction ◽  
Individual Differences ◽  
Positive Psychology ◽  
Positive Affect ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Depression And Anxiety ◽  
Regression Analyses ◽  
Humor Styles ◽  
Psychological Well Being ◽  
Trait Gratitude

In this study we investigated how individual differences and personality constructs taken from the positive psychology and humor domains of psychology may play an important role in psychological well-being. Participants completed measures assessing trait gratitude, savoring, and humor styles; along with several positive and negative indicators of psychological well-being (e.g., life satisfaction, positive affect, depression, and anxiety). We first examined the degree of empirical and conceptual overlap among the personality constructs from these two domains. Here, we found that higher levels of gratitude and savoring were associated with higher levels of self-enhancing and affiliative humor, whereas higher levels of aggressive and self-defeating humor were primarily associated with lower levels of gratitude. Subsequent regression analyses indicated that the positive psychology construct of gratitude was predictive of several different indices of positive and negative well-being, whereas savoring was most predictive of greater positive affect. In addition, these regression analyses also revealed that the humor styles of self-enhancing and self-defeating humor provided a significant increase in the prediction of several positive and negative indices of well-being, above and beyond the effects attributable to the positive psychology constructs alone. These findings were then discussed in terms of developing a broader and more integrated theoretical approach to the understanding of psychological well-being.

scholarly journals Happy just because. A cross-cultural study on subjective wellbeing in three Indigenous societies

PLoS ONE ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (5) ◽  
pp. e0251551
Author(s):  
Victoria Reyes-García ◽  
Sandrine Gallois ◽  
Aili Pyhälä ◽  
Isabel Díaz-Reviriego ◽  
Álvaro Fernández-Llamazares ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Life Satisfaction ◽  
Indigenous Peoples ◽  
Social Life ◽  
Satisfaction With Life ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Cross Cultural ◽  
Subjective Well Being ◽  
Cross Cultural Study ◽  
Cultural Research ◽  
The Tropics

While cross-cultural research on subjective well-being and its multiple drivers is growing, the study of happiness among Indigenous peoples continues to be under-represented in the literature. In this work, we measure life satisfaction through open-ended questionnaires to explore levels and drivers of subjective well-being among 474 adults in three Indigenous societies across the tropics: the Tsimane’ in Bolivian lowland Amazonia, the Baka in southeastern Cameroon, and the Punan in Indonesian Borneo. We found that life satisfaction levels in the three studied societies are slightly above neutral, suggesting that most people in the sample consider themselves as moderately happy. We also found that respondents provided explanations mostly when their satisfaction with life was negative, as if moderate happiness was the normal state and explanations were only needed when reporting a different life satisfaction level due to some exceptionally good or bad occurrence. Finally, we also found that issues related to health and–to a lesser extent–social life were the more prominent explanations for life satisfaction. Our research not only highlights the importance to understand, appreciate and respect Indigenous peoples’ own perspectives and insights on subjective well-being, but also suggests that the greatest gains in subjective well-being might be achieved by alleviating the factors that tend to make people unhappy.

scholarly journals Neki tipovi valjanosti i pouzdanosti dviju skala vjerovanja u pravedan svijet

2018 ◽  
Vol 38 (15) ◽  
Author(s):  
Vera Ćubela ◽  
Ana Proroković ◽  
Ljiljana Gregov
Keyword(s):  
Quality Of Life ◽  
Life Satisfaction ◽  
Individual Differences ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Just World ◽  
Psychometric Characteristics ◽  
Quality Of Life Scale ◽  
Personal Domain ◽  
Life Scale

Almost three decades of research on individual differences in the Belief in a Just World (BJW) provided strong evidence of their relationship with measurements of a number of other constructs such as authoritarianism, religiosity, locus of control, attitudes toward (under)privileged, neuroticism, life satisfaction and other indicators of well-being. This paper presents some psychometric characteristics of the General BJW scale (Dalbert et al., 1987) and the Personal BJW scale (Dalbert, 1993) that were established in their first administration to a group of 206 students at the Faculty of Science and Arts in Zadar. Both scales were found to be reliable, one-factor measures of two relatively separated aspects of the BJW. Consistently with findings at previous studies, the level of endorsement of BJW statements in our study was significantly higher for the Personal than the General BJW scale. The analysis of BJW scales correlations with the ratings of different aspects of life satisfaction, as measured by the Quality of Life scale (Krizmanić and Kolesarić, 1992), supported lite assumption that the BJW (especially in the personal domain) is a significant contributor in explaining the variance of life satisfaction ratings.

scholarly journals Life Satisfaction and Character Strenghs in Ecuatorian Adolescents

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paula Yépez-Tito ◽  
Marta Ferragut ◽  
Shally Cóndor-Guerrón ◽  
Maria J. Blanca
Keyword(s):  
Socioeconomic Status ◽  
Life Satisfaction ◽  
Family Structure ◽  
Latin American ◽  
Character Strengths ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Protective Role ◽  
Satisfaction Scale ◽  
Intact Families ◽  
Cognitive Component

AbstractThere is empirical evidence that life satisfaction (LS) in adolescence is associated with adequate development and future well-being. Research into the factors underpinning LS can therefore help to promote healthier development of societies. The aim of this study was to extend knowledge about LS among adolescents in Ecuador, a Latin American country for which research on this topic is lacking. Specifically, we analyze the relationship between LS and character strengths, controlling for gender, age, socioeconomic status, and family structure. Participants were 659 adolescents (43.1% female) aged between 12 and 18 years who completed the Students’ Life Satisfaction Scale (SLSS) and the Values in Action Inventory of Strengths for Youth (VIA-Y). Their parents or legal guardians completed the Survey of Socioeconomic Stratification (SSES). Correlation analysis and regression modeling were performed. Results showed that LS was not related to age or socioeconomic status, but there was a significant association with gender and family structure, insofar as boys and adolescents living in intact families reported higher levels of LS. Overall, the majority of character strengths were positively related to LS. After eliminating overlap between strengths and controlling for sociodemographic variables, the strengths of hope, zest, love, and prudence significantly predicted LS. We discuss how these strengths, related to the cognitive component of well-being, may play a protective role against difficulties during adolescence. Character strengths-based interventions are proposed to promote healthy development in Ecuadorian adolescents.

Terminal decline in well-being differs between residents in East Germany and West Germany

2016 ◽  
Vol 41 (1) ◽  
pp. 115-126 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nina Vogel ◽  
Denis Gerstorf ◽  
Nilam Ram ◽  
Jan Goebel ◽  
Gert G. Wagner
Keyword(s):  
Life Satisfaction ◽  
Natural Experiment ◽  
East Germany ◽  
Late Life ◽  
Well Being ◽  
West Germany ◽  
Individual Development ◽  
Age At Death ◽  
East And West Germany ◽  
East And West

Lifespan research has long been interested in how contexts shape individual development. Using the separation and later reunification of Germany as a kind of natural experiment we examine whether and how living and dying in the former East or West German context has differentially shaped late-life development of well-being. We apply multi-level growth models to annual reports of life satisfaction collected over 20+ years since German reunification from 4,159 deceased participants in the Socio-Economic Panel ( NWest= 3,079, Mage at death = 73.90, 47% women; NEast= 1,080, Mage at death = 72.23, 48% women). We examine differences between East and West Germany in levels, rates of change, and onset of terminal decline in well-being and the role of age at death, gender, education, disability and time spent in reunification. Analyses revealed that West Germans reported higher life satisfaction than East Germans, and that these differences get smaller both with passing time since reunification and in late life. The gap between East and West Germany diminishes over the last 10 years of life by more than 25%. Taking into account key individual characteristics only slightly attenuated this pattern, with education and age at death moderating late-life well-being level and decline in East Germany. Our results are consistent with long-standing notions that contextual factors shape individual development and illustrate the plasticity of human development. After having experienced disadvantages in life circumstances for up to 40 years through living in East Germany, effects of this natural experiment diminish considerably with passing time since reunification.

scholarly journals Multidimensional Retirement Planning Behaviors, Retirement Confidence, and Post-Retirement Health and Well-Being Among Chinese Older Adults in Hong Kong

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chang Liu ◽  
Xue Bai ◽  
Martin Knapp
Keyword(s):  
Life Satisfaction ◽  
Hong Kong ◽  
Depressive Symptoms ◽  
Physical Health ◽  
Social Life ◽  
Service Providers ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Retirement Planning ◽  
Life Planning ◽  
Health And Well Being

AbstractMaintaining health and well-being in later life is becoming increasingly crucial because of rapid population aging and prolonged years in retirement. Retirement planning may effectively enhance retirement preparedness and confidence and contribute to better post-retirement outcomes. The present study aimed to examine Hong Kong aging adults’ engagement in multidimensional retirement planning activities, their retirement confidence, as well as the mediating effects of retirement confidence on the relationships between retirement planning and health and subjective well-being (i.e., physical health, depressive symptoms, and life satisfaction). Face-to-face questionnaire survey was conducted to collect data from 630 retirees aged 50 years and over. The results showed that retirement planning both directly and indirectly influenced physical health, depressive symptoms, and life satisfaction through retirement confidence. Among the four planning subdomains (i.e., financial, health, social life, and psychological planning), health, social life, and psychological planning were found to have positive impacts on physical health and life satisfaction through increased retirement confidence levels, while only social life planning influenced depressive symptoms through retirement confidence. Retirement planning in financial domain was not correlated with retirement confidence but could directly benefit life satisfaction in retirement. The findings reveal the need for the policymakers and service providers to improve public education to raise future retirees’ awareness of the importance of retirement planning and promote retirement planning activities, especially social life planning.

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