Spousal Breadwinning Across 30 Years of Marriage and Husbands’ Health: A Gendered Life Course Stress Approach

2017 ◽  
Vol 31 (1) ◽  
pp. 37-66 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kristen W. Springer ◽  
Chioun Lee ◽  
Deborah Carr

Objective: Wives increasingly outearn their husbands, and gender relations theory suggests this arrangement may undermine men’s well-being. We explore how long-term histories of spousal breadwinning may be associated with older men’s self-rated mental and physical health, and risk of nine health diagnoses. Method: Using 30 years of couple-level income data from the Health and Retirement Study ( n = 1,095 couples), we use latent class analyses to identify six classes that differ with respect to the timing and level of wife breadwinning. We link these classes to older husbands’ later-life health. Results: Classes that transitioned from husband breadwinning to wife breadwinning in early or later adulthood were associated with husbands’ poorer overall physical health and risk of cardiometabolic and stress-related diseases. Patterns persist net of sociodemographics, depressive symptoms, health behaviors, and adolescent health. Discussion: Violating cultural expectations, such as the masculinity ideal of male breadwinning, is associated with older men’s poorer health.

Author(s):  
Michael A. Cohn ◽  
Barbara L. Fredrickson

Positive emotions include pleasant or desirable situational responses, ranging from interest and contentment to love and joy, but are distinct from pleasurable sensation and undifferentiated positive affect. These emotions are markers of people's overall well-being or happiness, but they also enhance future growth and success. This has been demonstrated in work, school, relationships, mental and physical health, and longevity. The broaden-and-build theory of positive emotions suggests that all positive emotions lead to broadened repertoires of thoughts and actions and that broadening helps build resources that contribute to future success. Unlike negative emotions, which are adapted to provide a rapid response to a focal threat, positive emotions occur in safe or controllable situations and lead more diffusely to seeking new resources or consolidating gains. These resources outlast the temporary emotional state and contribute to later success and survival. This chapter discusses the nature of positive emotions both as evolutionary adaptations to build resources and as appraisals of a situation as desirable or rich in resources. We discuss the methodological challenges of evoking positive emotions for study both in the lab and in the field and issues in observing both short-term (“broaden”) and long-term (“build”) effects. We then review the evidence that positive emotions broaden perception, attention, motivation, reasoning, and social cognition and ways in which these may be linked to positive emotions' effects on important life outcomes. We also discuss and contextualize evidence that positive emotions may be detrimental at very high levels or in certain situations. We close by discussing ways in which positive emotions theory can be harnessed by both basic and applied positive psychology research.


Author(s):  
Alexis R. Stefaniak ◽  
Jessica M. Blaxton ◽  
C. S. Bergeman

The present study explores differences in daily stress across individuals of varying ages. Specifically, we explore whether age group (young adult, midlife, late midlife, later life) relates to differences in types of stress (family, friends, partner, health, finances, work), total stress exposure, and perceptions of daily stress intensity. Participants from the Notre Dame Study of Health & Well-being (NDHWB; N = 891) completed daily questionnaires assessing negative small life events and perceived stress for 8 weeks. Findings indicated that young adults reported a higher average number of family, spouse, finance, and work-related stress. Additionally, total daily stress was highest among young adults, and perceived stress was lowest among later life adults. Because daily stress relates to long-term mental and physical stress, gaining a better understanding of how individuals at different points in the life span uniquely experience stress can inform intervention and preventative care techniques aimed at promoting optimal well-being.


2015 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Urvashi Sharma ◽  
Dr. Ravindra Kumar

Health is a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity. Mental health refers to our overall psychological well-being. It includes the way we feel about our self, the quality of our relationships, and our ability to manage our feelings and deal with difficulties. Good mental health isn’t just the absence of mental health problems. People who are emotionally or mentally healthy are in control of their emotions and their behavior. They are able to handle life’s challenges, build strong relationships, and recover from setbacks. Positive mental health is a state of well-being in which we realize our abilities, can cope with life’s normal stresses, and can work regularly and productively. Physical health means a good body health, which is healthy because of regular physical activity, good nutrition, and adequate rest. Physical health can be determined by considering someone’s height/weight ratio, their Body Mass Index. Another term for physical health is physical wellbeing. Physical wellbeing is defined as something a person can achieve by developing all health-related components of his/her lifestyle. It can be concluded that mental and physical health is fundamentally linked. There are multiple associations between mental health and chronic physical conditions that significantly impact people’s quality of life. Just as physical fitness helps our bodies to stay strong, mental fitness helps us to achieve and sustain a state of good mental health. When we are mentally healthy, we enjoy our life and environment, and the people in it.


1971 ◽  
Vol 5 (3) ◽  
pp. 183-190 ◽  
Author(s):  
Beverley Raphael

This paper is a theoretical and methodological dissertation on the concept of crisis intervention as an instrument of primary prevention; appropriate current literature is reviewed. The concepts of crisis are discussed briefly, and a concept emphasizing the intrapsychic state of the individual is proposed. The relevance of crisis with its period of disturbed functioning and its potential immediate and long-term sequelae for mental and physical health and social adaptation is reviewed. The concepts of crisis intervention are explored and dealt with. Each is looked at from the aspects of epidemiologically established basis, forms of intervention, both actual and hypothesized, and methodology of evaluation of effectiveness.


Author(s):  
Woosang Hwang ◽  
Xiaoyan Zhang ◽  
Maria T. Brown ◽  
Sara A. Vasilenko ◽  
Merril Silverstein

We used classification analysis to examine change in religiosity among baby boomers from young adulthood to early old age and how religiosity transition patterns are associated with psychological well-being in later life. In addition, we tested the gender difference in the above association. We applied latent class and latent transition analysis to 392 baby boomers who participated in the Longitudinal Study of Generations in Wave-1 (1971) and Wave-9 (2016). We identified three classes describing religiosity at each wave (strongly religious, doctrinally religious, and weakly religious), and considered five types of change or stability in religious class membership from Wave-1 to Wave-9. Multiple regression with gender interactions revealed that men who stayed strongly religious over the period reported better psychological well-being compared to men who declined in their religiosity; no such pattern was found for women. Our findings suggest that maintaining strong religiosity over the life course was beneficial for baby boom men in later life.


2021 ◽  
pp. 105566562110599
Author(s):  
Nicola Marie Stock ◽  
Bruna Costa ◽  
Karen Wilkinson-Bell ◽  
Laura Culshaw ◽  
Anna Kearney ◽  
...  

Objectives Within current research, little is known about the long-term outcomes of craniosynostosis. A priority-setting exercise by UK charity Headlines Craniofacial Support identified 2 key questions in this area: (1) What are the long-term physical and psychological effects for individuals with syndromic and non-syndromic craniosynostosis? and (2) Are individuals with craniosynostosis likely to suffer from mental health difficulties, or are they more resilient? The aim of the current study was to conduct an initial investigation of these priority questions. Methods A comprehensive UK-wide survey consisting of 9 standardized psychological outcome measures and open-ended questions was distributed online. Thirty-six eligible adults (69.4% female) with a mean age of 30.8 years responded to the survey. Participants reported having single suture craniosynostosis (27.8%) or syndromic craniosynostosis (52.8%), with 19.4% being unsure of their diagnosis. Sample means were compared to published norms using independent samples t tests. Qualitative responses were analysed using inductive content analysis. Results Compared to the general population, participants reported significantly less favorable scores related to appearance concerns, attachment in adult relationships, anxiety, optimism, and resilience. Self-worth, depression, and social anxiety scores were similar to norms. Qualitative responses provided additional insight into participants’ satisfaction with appearance, physical health, medical treatment, employment, relationships, and recurrence risks. Few participants had accessed psychological support. Discussion This preliminary study illustrates the potential long-term implications for individuals with craniosynostosis. Improved treatment protocols are needed to address physical health concerns in adulthood, while dedicated psychological resources are necessary to promote emotional well-being, social confidence, and resilience.


2019 ◽  
Vol 111 ◽  
pp. 02047
Author(s):  
Sosui Nakamura ◽  
Shin-ichi Tanabe ◽  
Junta Fujisawa ◽  
Emi Takai ◽  
Sayana Tsushima ◽  
...  

In recent years, Mental and physical health of office workers is regarded as a problem and the office buildings which improve workers’ wellness. The WELL Building Standard was announced with the aim of improving the health condition of building users in 2014. The purpose of this study is to demonstrate the improvement of the health condition of the office workers who work at the office applying WELL Building Standard. To achieve this purpose, low-score office and high-score office for WELL Building Standard scores were created by changing the indoor environment and furniture in the office, and subject experiments in which we perform the work were conducted in each condition. From the experimental results, we propose environmental control and introduction furniture to verify changes in health condition of office workers, to improve the wellness of building users, and to bring synergy effects to health. It was confirmed that working at plural spaces which workers chose themselves.


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