Correction:Association of volunteering with mental well-being: a lifecourse analysis of a national population-based longitudinal study in the UK

Abstract Background Previous literature has examined the societal costs of mental illness, but few studies have estimated the costs associated with mental well-being. In this study, a prospective analysis was conducted on Danish data to determine 1) the association between mental well-being (measured in 2016) and government expenditure in 2017, specifially healthcare costs and sickness benefit transfers. Methods Data stem from a Danish population-based survey of 3,508 adults (aged 16 + years) in 2016, which was linked to Danish registry data. A validated scale (WEMWBS) was used for the assessment of mental well-being. Costs are expressed in USD PPP. A two-part model was applied to predict costs in 2017, adjusting for sociodemographics, health status (including psychiatric morbidity and health behaviour), as well as costs in the previous year (2016). Results Each point increase in mental well-being (measured in 2016) was associated with lower healthcare costs ($− 42.5, 95% CI = $− 78.7, $− 6.3) and lower costs in terms of sickness benefit transfers ($− 23.1, 95% CI = $− 41.9, $− 4.3) per person in 2017. Conclusions Estimated reductions in costs related to mental well-being add to what is already known about potential savings related to the prevention of mental illness. It does so by illustrating the savings that could be made by moving from lower to higher levels of mental well-being both within and beyond the clinical range. Our estimates pertain to costs associated with those health-related outcomes that were included in the study, but excluding other social and economic outcomes and benefits. They cover immediate cost estimates (costs generated the year following mental well-being measurement) and not those that could follow improved mental well-being over the longer term. They may therefore be considered conservative from a societal perspective. Population approaches to mental health promotion are necessary, not only to potentiate disease prevention strategies, but also to reduce costs related to lower levels of mental well-being in the non-mental illness population. Our results suggest that useful reductions in both health care resource use and costs, as well as in costs due to sick leave from the workplace, could be achieved from investment in mental well-being promotion within a year.

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How Czecho-Slovakia Bounces Back: Population-Based Validation of the Brief Resilience Scale in Two Central European Countries

Psychological Reports ◽

10.1177/00332941211029619 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 003329412110296

Author(s):

Jana Furstova ◽

Natalia Kascakova ◽

Iva Polackova Solcova ◽

Jozef Hasto ◽

Peter Tavel

Keyword(s):

Convergent Validity ◽

Factor Model ◽

Age Groups ◽

Reliability And Validity ◽

Well Being ◽

Population Based ◽

Resilience Scale ◽

Significant Difference ◽

Mental Well Being ◽

Best Fit

Objective In recent years, resilience has become a focus of research in the medical and behavioral sciences. The Brief Resilience Scale (BRS) was developed to assess the individual ability to recover from stress (“to bounce back”) after experiencing adversities. The aim of the study was to validate the Czech and Slovak versions of the BRS. Methods A representative sample of the Czech and Slovak populations (NCZ = 1800, mean age MCZ = 46.6, SDCZ = 17.4, 48.7% of men; NSK = 1018, mean age MSK = 46.2, SDSK = 16.6, 48.7% men) completed a survey assessing their health and well-being. Several confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) models of the BRS were compared to find the best fit. Cronbach’s alpha and McDonald’s omega coefficients of reliability were evaluated. Convergent validity was assessed by correlating resilience (BRS), physical and mental well-being (SF-8) and psychopathology symptoms (BSI-53). Differences in gender and age groups were appraised. Results A single-factor model with method effects on the reverse items was evaluated to best fit the data in both the Czech and Slovak samples (χ2CZ(6) = 39.0, p < 0.001, CFICZ = 0.998, TLICZ = 0.995, RMSEACZ = 0.055, SRMRCZ = 0.024; χ2SK(6) = 23.9, p < 0.001, CFISK = 0.998, TLISK = 0.995, RMSEASK = 0.054, SRMRSK = 0.009). The reliability was high in both samples (αCZ = 0.80, ωCZ = 0.85; αSK = 0.86, ωSK = 0.91). The BRS was positively associated with physical and mental well-being and negatively associated with somatization, depression and anxiety. In both countries, a lower BRS score was associated with higher age. Czech men reported significantly higher BRS scores than women. No significant difference was found in the mean BRS scores between the two countries. Conclusion This study provides evidence of good psychometric properties, reliability and validity of the Czech and Slovak adaptations of the BRS.

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Compassion toward others and self-compassion predict mental and physical well-being: a 5-year longitudinal study of 1090 community-dwelling adults across the lifespan

Translational Psychiatry ◽

10.1038/s41398-021-01491-8 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 11 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Ellen E. Lee ◽

Tushara Govind ◽

Marina Ramsey ◽

Tsung Chin Wu ◽

Rebecca Daly ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Longitudinal Study ◽

Health Outcomes ◽

Rating Scales ◽

Well Being ◽

Community Dwelling ◽

Linear Regression Models ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Adult Lifespan ◽

Mental Well Being ◽

Over Time

AbstractThere is growing interest in the role of compassion in promoting health and well-being, with cross-sectional data showing an inverse correlation with loneliness. This is the first longitudinal study examining both compassion toward others (CTO) and compassion toward self (CTS) as predictors of mental and physical health outcomes including loneliness, across adult lifespan. We followed 552 women and 538 men in San Diego County for up to 7.5 (mean 4.8 and SD 2.2) years, using validated rating scales for CTO, CTS, and loneliness. Linear mixed-effects models were employed to examine age- and sex-related trajectories of CTO and CTS over time. Linear regression models were used to evaluate baseline and longitudinal relationships of CTO and CTS with mental well-being, physical well-being, and loneliness. CTS and CTO were weakly intercorrelated. Women had higher baseline CTO than men. While CTO was stable over time and across the lifespan, CTS scores had an inverse U-shaped relationship with age, peaking around age 77. There were significant baseline × slope interactions of both CTO and CTS predicting improvements in physical well-being in adults <60 years old. Increases in CTO and CTS predicted improvements in mental well-being. Higher baseline CTO and CTS as well as increases in CTO and CTS scores predicted lower loneliness scores at follow-up. Thus, CTO and CTS were associated with better mental well-being and loneliness across the adult lifespan, and physical well-being in younger adults, and are promising targets for interventions to improve health outcomes.

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Urban Adolescence: The Role of Neighbourhood Greenspace in Mental Well-Being

Frontiers in Psychology ◽

10.3389/fpsyg.2021.712065 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 12 ◽

Author(s):

Marie A. E. Mueller ◽

Eirini Flouri

Keyword(s):

Physical Activity ◽

Urban Adolescents ◽

Negative Mood ◽

Antisocial Behaviour ◽

Positive Mood ◽

Well Being ◽

Self Esteem ◽

The Uk ◽

Mental Well Being

Mental health and well-being in adolescence are associated with many short- and long-term outcomes. The evidence suggests that greenspace may play a role in adolescents' mental well-being, but we do not know much about the specifics of this link. In this paper, we investigated the role of other factors in the association. In a cross-sectional study, we investigated the role of neighbourhood greenspace in emotional and behavioural outcomes in 11-year-old urban adolescents participating in the UK Millennium Cohort Study (n = 4,534). We used linear regression models to test for an association of greenspace with self-esteem, happiness, positive mood, negative mood, and antisocial behaviour. We also investigated effect modification/moderation by garden access, physical activity, and perceived area safety. We did not find a main effect of greenspace, but we did find interaction effects. First, in adolescents without a garden, higher levels of greenspace were associated with lower levels of self-esteem and positive mood. Second, in adolescents who reported lower levels of physical activity, higher levels of greenspace were associated with lower levels of negative mood. Third, in adolescents who perceived their areas to be unsafe, higher levels of greenspace were associated with higher levels of antisocial behaviour. Our findings suggest that merely more greenspace in the neighbourhood may not be sufficient to promote the mental well-being of urban adolescents in the UK. However, greenspace does seem to have an influence under certain conditions which should be investigated further in future studies.

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Characteristics and Outcomes of Pregnant Women Admitted to Hospital With Confirmed SARS-CoV-2 Infection in the UK: National Population-based Cohort Study

Obstetric Anesthesia Digest ◽

10.1097/01.aoa.0000732428.07454.af ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 41 (1) ◽

pp. 22-23

Author(s):

M. Knight ◽

K. Bunch ◽

N. Vousden ◽

E. Morris ◽

N. Simpson ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Cohort Study ◽

Pregnant Women ◽

Population Based ◽

National Population ◽

The Uk

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Psychocapital and Shangri-Las: How happiness became both a means and end to governmentality

Health Culture and Society ◽

10.5195/hcs.2013.132 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 5 (1) ◽

pp. 36-50 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

F. Mckay

Keyword(s):

Economic Growth ◽

Well Being ◽

Subjective Well Being ◽

The Past ◽

Means And Ends ◽

History Of ◽

The Uk ◽

Mental Well Being ◽

Politics Of Happiness

In this paper a paradox is revealed in the politics of well-being over the means and ends of happiness. That paradox, in brief, is that although happiness is argued to be the ultimate end of all governmentality, in order to serve as that end, it first needs to be translated into a means for bolstering the economy, for only that way can a teleology of happiness gain a foothold in a world which prioritizes economic growth as an end in itself. To show this the paper gives a history of subjective well-being (SWB) research, and contrasts it with the politics of happiness in the UK, where SWB has in the past decade been translated into a discourse around the psychological wealth of the nation via the concepts of mental capital (MC) and mental well-being (MWB).

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Research watch: Coronavirus (COVID-19), mental health and social inclusion in the UK and Ireland

Mental Health and Social Inclusion ◽

10.1108/mhsi-05-2020-0032 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 24 (3) ◽

pp. 117-123 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Sue Holttum

Keyword(s):

Mental Health ◽

Low Income ◽

Social Inclusion ◽

Design Methodology ◽

Well Being ◽

Anxiety And Depression ◽

Children And Young People ◽

Content Type ◽

The Uk ◽

Mental Well Being

Purpose This paper aims to examine recent papers on the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on mental health, including implications for some of the groups of people already less included in society. Design/methodology/approach A search was carried out for recent papers on mental health and the COVID-19 pandemic. Findings Two papers describe surveys of adults in the UK and Irish Republic in the first days of lockdown. Low income and loss of income were associated with anxiety and depression. These surveys could not examine distress in Black and minority ethnicities, who have higher death rates from COVID-19. Two surveys of children and young people report distress and what can help. One paper summarises a host of ways in which the pandemic may affect mental well-being in different groups, and what might help. Another calls for research to understand how to protect mental well-being in various groups. Originality/value These five papers give a sense of the early days of the pandemic, especially in the UK. They also highlight the needs of some specific groups of people, or the need to find out more about how these groups experience the pandemic. They suggest some ways of trying to ensure that everyone has the best chance to thrive in the aftermath of the pandemic.

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