Detecting concurrent mood in daily contact networks: an online participatory cohort study with a diary approach

ObjectivesThis paper examines how people express personal mood concurrently with those connected with them by one or two degrees of separation.DesignParticipatory cohort study.SettingOnline contact diary.Participants133 participants kept online diaries for 7 months in 2014, which included 127 455 contacts with 12 070 persons.Main outcome measuresDiary keepers rated a contacted person’s mood during each specific contact, as well as the strength of ties between any pairs of such contacted persons. Such rich information about ties and contacts enable us to construct a complete contact network for each diary keeper, along with the network members’ mood and tie strength. We calculate one’s overall mood by that person’s average mood score during the study period and take the shortest path between any given pair of contacted persons as the degree of separation. We further assume that two connecting persons in a contact network have made contact with each other during the study period, which allows us to examine whether and how personal moods occur concurrently within these contact networks.ResultsUsing mixed-effects models while controlling for covariates at individual, tie and contact levels, we show that personal mood score positively and significantly correlates with the average mood among those directly tied to the person. The same effect remains positive and significant for those connected to the person by two degrees, although the effect size is reduced by about one-half. The mood of anyone separated by more than two degrees is statistically irrelevant.ConclusionsApplying network perspectives and rich data at both tie and contact levels to inquiries about subjective well-being, the current study sheds new light on how an improved diary approach can help explain the sophisticated ways in which individuals express their personal moods concurrently during social interactions in everyday life, contact by contact.

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Is subjective well-being independently associated with mortality? A 14-year prospective cohort study in a representative sample of 25 139 US men and women

BMJ Open ◽

10.1136/bmjopen-2019-031776 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 10 (1) ◽

pp. e031776

Author(s):

Steven D Barger ◽

Timothy W Broom ◽

Michael V Esposito ◽

Taylor S Lane

Keyword(s):

Socioeconomic Status ◽

Cohort Study ◽

Prospective Cohort Study ◽

Prospective Cohort ◽

Representative Sample ◽

Cox Regression ◽

Well Being ◽

Inverse Association ◽

Subjective Well Being ◽

Self Rated Health

ObjectivesTo examine whether the inverse association of subjective well-being with mortality is independent of self-rated health and socioeconomic status in healthy adults.DesignA population-based prospective cohort study based on an in-person interview. Cox regression was used to examine mortality hazards for happiness alone and for a standardised summary well-being measure that included happiness, life satisfaction and negative emotions. Using prespecified analyses, we first adjusted for age and then additionally adjusted for self-rated health and then race/ethnicity, marital status, smoking and socioeconomic status.SettingProbability sample of adult US residents interviewed in their homes in 2001.Participants25 139 adults free of cardiovascular disease and cancer at baseline.Primary outcome measureAll-cause mortality 14 years after the baseline interview as assessed by probabilistic matching using the National Death Index.ResultsAge-adjusted unhappiness was associated with mortality (HR 1.27; 95% CI 1.11 to 1.45, p=0.001) but the association attenuated after adjusting for self-rated health (HR 1.01; 95% CI 0.88 to 1.16, p=0.85). A similar pattern was seen for the summary well-being measure in fully adjusted models (HR 1.00; 95% CI 0.99 to 1.00, p=0.30). In contrast, self-rated health was strongly associated with mortality. In the fully adjusted model with the summary well-being measure the hazards for good, very good and excellent self-rated health were 0.71 (95% CI 0.62 to 0.80, p<0.001), 0.63 (95% CI 0.55 to 0.71, p<0.001) and 0.45 (95% CI 0.39 to 0.51, p<0.001), respectively.ConclusionsIn this representative sample of US adults, the association between well-being and mortality was strongly attenuated by self-rated health and to a lesser extent socioeconomic status.

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The “good workplace”

Journal of Participation and Employee Ownership ◽

10.1108/jpeo-09-2018-0024 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 2 (1) ◽

pp. 60-90

Author(s):

Rafael Gomez ◽

Michael Barry ◽

Alex Bryson ◽

Bruce E. Kaufman ◽

Guenther Lomas ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Human Resource ◽

Employee Satisfaction ◽

Well Being ◽

Subjective Well Being ◽

High Involvement ◽

Content Type ◽

Non Union ◽

Employee Representation ◽

Union Representation ◽

Rich Data

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to take a serious look at the relationship between joint consultation systems at the workplace and employee satisfaction, while at the same time accounting for the (possible) interactions with similar union and management-led high commitment strategies. Design/methodology/approach Using new, rich data on a representative sample of British workers, the authors identify workplace institutions that are positively associated with employee perceptions of work and relations with management, what in combination the authors call a measure of the “good workplace.” In particular, the authors focus on non-union employee representation at the workplace, in the form of joint consultative committees (JCCs), and the potential moderating effects of union representation and high-involvement human resource (HIHR) practices. Findings The authors’ findings suggest a re-evaluation of the role that JCCs play in the subjective well-being of workers even after controlling for unions and progressive HR policies. There is no evidence in the authors’ estimates of negative interaction effects (i.e. that unions or HIHR negatively influence the functioning of JCCs with respect to employee satisfaction) or substitution (i.e. that unions or HIHR are substitutes for JCCs when it comes to improving self-reported worker well-being). If anything, there is a significant and positive three-way moderating effect when JCCs are interacted with union representation and high-involvement management. Originality/value This is the first time – to the authors’ knowledge – that comprehensive measures of subjective employee well-being are being estimated with respect to the presence of a JCC at the workplace, while controlling for workplace institutions (e.g. union representation and human resource policies) that are themselves designed to involve and communicate with workers.

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Public managers’ role in creating workplace social capital (WSC) and its effect on employees’ well-being and health: a protocol of a longitudinal cohort study (PUMA-WSC)

BMJ Open ◽

10.1136/bmjopen-2020-039027 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 10 (10) ◽

pp. e039027

Author(s):

Signe Pihl-Thingvad ◽

Sune W Hansen ◽

Vera Winter ◽

Michelle S Hansen ◽

Jurgen Willems

Keyword(s):

Social Capital ◽

Cohort Study ◽

Prospective Cohort Study ◽

Prospective Cohort ◽

Well Being ◽

Public Employees ◽

Public Managers ◽

Management Behaviour ◽

Rich Data ◽

Workplace Social Capital

IntroductionWorkplace social capital (WSC) has been shown to affect employees’ well-being and health, yet it is not clear how public managers can create WSC and which forms of WSC are most important. This study is the first prospective cohort study to examine the relationship between management behaviour, WSC, well-being and sickness absence. It uses a validated and detailed scale on WSC, which can distinguish between bonding, bridging, linking and organisational WSC over time. The study thereby provides rich data giving a much-needed detailed image of how WSC impacts on public employees’ well-being and health. Additionally, the study pays special attention to the fact that these relationships can be different for different types of employees and therefore tests a set of relevant employee and context-related variables.Methods and analysisProject preparations in terms of agreements and data preparation of existing data started in 2019. This prospective cohort study considers and collects organisational data from 2016 to 2025. Annual employee surveys of more than 8000 employees (in a large Danish municipality) will be combined with register data in all years. This generates a unique cohort of public employees in different professions that are traceable over several years. The annual surveys include information on the management behaviour, WSC and employee outcomes. Fine-grained information on sickness absences will be matched for all employees and years under study. Moreover, confounders and the nested nature of the data will be considered.Ethics and disseminationApproval has been obtained from The Regional Committee on Health Research Ethics from Southern Denmark and from the University of Southern Denmark. The results will be presented at conferences and published in international peer-reviewed journals and in a practice-oriented monography targeted at public managers. The result will furthermore be disseminated to the involved employees through seminars and workshops in the participating organisations.

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The association between perceived social support in adolescence and positive mental health outcomes in early adulthood: a prospective cohort study

Scandinavian Journal of Public Health ◽

10.1177/1403494821993718 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 140349482199371

Author(s):

Andreas Lindegaard Jakobsen ◽

Claus D. Hansen ◽

Johan Hviid Andersen

Keyword(s):

Mental Health ◽

Social Support ◽

Cohort Study ◽

Health Outcomes ◽

Perceived Social Support ◽

Early Adulthood ◽

Well Being ◽

Positive Mental Health ◽

Mental Health Outcomes ◽

Subjective Well Being

Aims: The link between perceived social support and mental health has received much attention from numerous scientific fields in recent years. Most studies, however, have examined associations only over relatively short follow-up periods using global measures of perceived social support and dichotomous negative indicators of mental health. We investigated the long-term association between perceived social support from friends, parents and teachers and multiple positive hedonic and eudemonic indicators of mental health, including hope, meaningfulness and subjective well-being. Methods: This study used questionnaire data from 2004, 2007 and 2010 from the West Jutland Birth Cohort study with linked register data. The study population consisted of 3681 adolescents born in 1989. Multiple linear and ordered logistic regression were used to analyse the association between perceived social support at age 14/15 years and mental health indicators at age 20/21 years while controlling for possible confounders, including the Big Five personality traits and baseline symptoms of depression. Results: The results show that perceived social support from friends in adolescence was positively associated with all indicators of mental health in early adulthood. Furthermore, perceived paternal social support was positively associated with meaningfulness and subjective well-being, while perceived social support from teachers was positively associated with meaningfulness. Conclusions: Overall, the results from this study indicate that perceived social support in adolescence, particularly support from friends, could promote positive mental health outcomes in early adulthood.

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Association of low sense of coherence with poor subjective well-being: a three-month cohort study of new medical students in Japan

Japanese Journal of Health and Human Ecology ◽

10.3861/jshhe.82.20 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 82 (1) ◽

pp. 20-29

Author(s):

Midori NISHIYAMA ◽

Erina SUZUKI ◽

Michiyo HASHIMOTO ◽

Nobuko TAKAOKA ◽

Michiyo INABA ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Cohort Study ◽

Medical Students ◽

Sense Of Coherence ◽

Well Being ◽

Subjective Well Being

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Subjective well-being as a predictor of all-cause mortality among middle-aged and elderly people living in an urban Japanese community: A seven-year prospective cohort study

Geriatrics and Gerontology International ◽

10.1111/j.1447-0594.2006.00351.x ◽

2006 ◽

Vol 6 (4) ◽

pp. 216-222 ◽

Cited By ~ 19

Author(s):

Hajime Iwasa ◽

Chieko Kawaai ◽

Yasuyuki Gondo ◽

Hiroki Inagaki ◽

Takao Suzuki

Keyword(s):

Cohort Study ◽

Elderly People ◽

Prospective Cohort Study ◽

Prospective Cohort ◽

Well Being ◽

Subjective Well Being ◽

Middle Aged ◽

All Cause Mortality

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Oral health-related quality of life as a predictor of subjective well-being among older adults-A decade-long longitudinal cohort study

Community Dentistry And Oral Epidemiology ◽

10.1111/cdoe.12416 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 46 (6) ◽

pp. 631-638 ◽

Cited By ~ 6

Author(s):

Anna-Luisa Klotz ◽

Benjamin Tauber ◽

Anna-Lena Schubert ◽

Alexander Jochen Hassel ◽

Johannes Schröder ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Quality Of Life ◽

Older Adults ◽

Cohort Study ◽

Oral Health ◽

Well Being ◽

Subjective Well Being ◽

Health Related Quality ◽

Related Quality ◽

Health Related

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Conflict Avoidance in Old Age

GeroPsych ◽

10.1024/1662-9647/a000168 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 30 (2) ◽

pp. 61-70 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

Lia Oberhauser ◽

Andreas B. Neubauer ◽

Eva-Marie Kessler

Keyword(s):

Social Support ◽

Perceived Social Support ◽

Well Being ◽

Cross Sectional Study ◽

Conflict Avoidance ◽

Subjective Well Being ◽

Sectional Study ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Adult Lifespan ◽

Set Up

Abstract. Conflict avoidance increases across the adult lifespan. This cross-sectional study looks at conflict avoidance as part of a mechanism to regulate belongingness needs ( Sheldon, 2011 ). We assumed that older adults perceive more threats to their belongingness when they contemplate their future, and that they preventively react with avoidance coping. We set up a model predicting conflict avoidance that included perceptions of future nonbelonging, termed anticipated loneliness, and other predictors including sociodemographics, indicators of subjective well-being and perceived social support (N = 331, aged 40–87). Anticipated loneliness predicted conflict avoidance above all other predictors and partially mediated the age-association of conflict avoidance. Results suggest that belongingness regulation accounts may deepen our understanding of conflict avoidance in the second half of life.

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Leisure Activities and the Subjective Well-Being of Older Adults in Croatia

GeroPsych ◽

10.1024/1662-9647/a000179 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 31 (1) ◽

pp. 31-39 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Ljiljana Kaliterna Lipovčan ◽

Tihana Brkljačić ◽

Zvjezdana Prizmić Larsen ◽

Andreja Brajša-Žganec ◽

Renata Franc

Keyword(s):

Older Adults ◽

Leisure Activities ◽

Leisure Activity ◽

Later Life ◽

Perceived Health ◽

Well Being ◽

Hierarchical Regression ◽

Subjective Well Being ◽

Convenience Sample ◽

Financial Status

Abstract. Research shows that engagement in leisure activities promotes well-being among older adults. The objective of the current study was to examine the relationship between subjective well-being (flourishing) and leisure activities (total number of different activities in the previous year) in a sample of older adults in Croatia, thereby considering the variables of sex, marital status, financial status, and self-perceived health. The differences in the examined variables between the groups of older adults who reported to be engaged in new activities with those who did not were also examined. The sample of N = 169 older adults aged 60 years and above was drawn from a convenience sample of adult internet users in Croatia. Participants reported their self-perceived health and the number of leisure activities they engaged in over the previous year as well as completing the Flourishing Scale. Hierarchical regression analyses indicated that older adults who were engaged in more various leisure activities, who perceived better financial status, and who were married reported higher levels of flourishing. A comparison of the two groups of older adults with and without engagement in leisure activities showed that those engaged in at least one leisure activity were more likely to be women, reported higher levels of flourishing, and perceived their own financial status as better. This study indicated that engaging in leisure activities in later life might provide beneficial effects for the well-being of older adults.

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Intraindividual Variability and Stability of Affect and Well-Being

GeroPsych ◽

10.1024/1662-9647/a000094 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 26 (3) ◽

pp. 185-199 ◽

Cited By ~ 40

Author(s):

Christina Röcke ◽

Annette Brose

Keyword(s):

Age Differences ◽

Well Being ◽

Subjective Well Being ◽

Emotional Experiences ◽

Short Term ◽

Regulatory Processes ◽

Functional Implications ◽

Methodological Approaches ◽

Underlying Processes

Whereas subjective well-being remains relatively stable across adulthood, emotional experiences show remarkable short-term variability, with younger and older adults differing in both amount and correlates. Repeatedly assessed affect data captures both the dynamics and stability as well as stabilization that may indicate emotion-regulatory processes. The article reviews (1) research approaches to intraindividual affect variability, (2) functional implications of affect variability, and (3) age differences in affect variability. Based on this review, we discuss how the broader literature on emotional aging can be better integrated with theories and concepts of intraindividual affect variability by using appropriate methodological approaches. Finally, we show how a better understanding of affect variability and its underlying processes could contribute to the long-term stabilization of well-being in old age.

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