Staying Down with the Joneses: Differences in the Psychological Cost of Unemployment across Neighbourhoods

This article demonstrates how the unemployment of neighbours can ameliorate the psychological costs of unemployment. In support of this premise, we find that while unemployment is always harmful, the gap in psychological well-being between employed and unemployed individuals is much less in relatively high unemployment neighbourhoods (particularly so for males and relatively older cohorts). Our proposed explanation is that people employ close points of social comparison with the result that any feelings of shame or embarrassment associated with unemployment are mitigated when surrounded by unemployed neighbours. One potentially important labour market implication of these findings is that it may be more difficult than anticipated to transition some people out of unemployment in high unemployment neighbourhoods. Apart from highlighting the place-specific nature of the relationship between unemployment and psychological well-being, our findings also highlight the importance of non-pecuniary factors, such as the social norm to work, in explaining the substantive negative psychological impact of unemployment.

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Instagram: Friend or foe? The application’s association with psychological well-being

New Media & Society ◽

10.1177/1461444819840021 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 21 (10) ◽

pp. 2160-2182 ◽

Cited By ~ 5

Author(s):

Samantha B Mackson ◽

Paula M Brochu ◽

Barry A Schneider

Keyword(s):

Social Comparison ◽

Psychological Impact ◽

Well Being ◽

Self Esteem ◽

Anxiety And Depression ◽

Depression And Anxiety ◽

Psychological Well Being ◽

The Social ◽

Anxiety Depression ◽

Insight Into

The current study examined the association between the social media application Instagram and its users’ psychological well-being. Participants, both Instagram users and non-users, were surveyed online on measures of depression, anxiety, loneliness, self-esteem, body image, and social comparison. Participants who reported having an Instagram account were also asked about their time spent on Instagram and Instagram anxiety. To understand the association between Instagram and psychological well-being, the study’s first aim was to compare participants who had an Instagram account with those who did not have one. Results revealed that participants with the application reported lower levels of anxiety, depression, and loneliness, and higher levels of self-esteem, than participants who did not have an account. Furthermore, loneliness and self-esteem mediated the association between having an Instagram account and depression and anxiety. The second aim of the study was to examine what factors are associated with Instagram users’ reports of anxiety and depression, focusing specifically on participants who reported having an Instagram account. Results revealed that anxiety and depression were predicted by Instagram anxiety and social comparison, respectively. Overall, these results show that Instagram is associated with psychological well-being. However, when Instagram users experience Instagram anxiety or engage in social comparison, it is associated with poorer psychological outcomes. This research provides an insight into the psychological impact that Instagram can have on its users.

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Well-being of unemployed people: relations with work values and time of unemployment

Estudos de Psicologia (Campinas) ◽

10.1590/1982-0275202138e190014 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 38 ◽

Author(s):

Ariana FIDELIS ◽

Helenides MENDONÇA

Keyword(s):

Work Values ◽

Well Being ◽

Total Sample ◽

Unemployment Duration ◽

Hierarchical Regression ◽

Psychological Well Being ◽

Political Field ◽

The Social ◽

The Unemployed ◽

The Relationship

Abstract This study aims to analyze the moderating power of time of unemployment in the relationship between work values and psychological well-being. The sample consisted of 265 unemployed individuals, 77 men and 188 women with an average age of 27 years (SD = 7.21), with complete secondary education in 48% of the total sample. The following data collection instruments were applied: Positive and Negative Affect Schedule, the Flourishing Scale and the Work Intrinsic Values Scale. The results of hierarchical regression analyses show that time of unemployment acts as a moderator in the relationship between the work values and the psychological well-being, so that the longer the unemployment duration the greater the individual’s psychological well-being. Consequently, the shorter the period of unemployment, more intense is the feeling of negative emotions. The result yield three important contributions: demonstration of the association between work values and psychological well-being of unemployed; identification that the period of unemployment is an important moderator to understand the unemployed well-being and review of the issue of unemployment in the social and political field in times of recession.

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Social Entrepreneurship and Psychological Well-being in Teaching Candidates: Mediator Role of Hope

International Journal of Research in Education and Science ◽

10.46328/ijres.1186 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 7 (2) ◽

pp. 505-524

Author(s):

Esra Asıcı

Keyword(s):

Social Entrepreneurship ◽

Well Being ◽

Psychological Well Being ◽

Psychological Traits ◽

The Social ◽

Mediator Role ◽

Ways Of Thinking ◽

The Relationship ◽

Teaching Candidates

The investigation and supporting variables related to the mental health of teaching candidates is important since teachers’ psychological traits will affect students’ personal, social, and academic development. In this paper, the intermediary role of hope in the relationship between the social entrepreneurship characteristics and psychological well-being of teaching candidates was investigated. The sample consisted of 855 teaching candidates were chosen randomly. The data were collected by using the Psychological Well-being Scale, the Social Entrepreneurship Characteristics of the Pre-service Teachers’ Scale, the Dispositional Hope Scale and a Demographic Information Form. In the analysis descriptive statistics, Pearson’s correlation, and regression-based bootstrapping method were used. The results showed that teaching candidates’ social entrepreneurship characteristics were positively and significantly correlated with psychological well-being and two components of hope (alternative ways of thinking and actuating thinking). Besides, it was found that alternative ways of thinking and actuating thinking had partial mediating roles in the relationship between teaching candidates’ social entrepreneurship characteristics and psychological well-being. The obtained findings were discussed in the light of related literature and suggestions were offered.

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Social problem solving as a mediator and a moderator of the link between stress and psychological well-beingStres ve psikolojik iyi olma arasındaki ilişkide sosyal problem çözmenin aracı ve düzenleyici rolü

Journal of Human Sciences ◽

10.14687/jhs.v14i1.4275 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 14 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Fulya Cenkseven Önder ◽

Engin Eşigül

Keyword(s):

Problem Solving ◽

University Students ◽

Perceived Stress ◽

Social Problem ◽

Short Form ◽

Well Being ◽

Social Problem Solving ◽

Psychological Well Being ◽

The Social ◽

The Relationship

The main purpose of this was to investigate the role of social problem solving as a mediator or a moderator of percieved stress and psychological well-being in university students. The participants of this study consisted of 350 females and 164 males, a total of 514 university students. Their ages ranged from 18 to 25 years. Data were collected by using the Percieved Stres Inventory (Cohen, Kamarck, & Mermelstein, 1983), Social Problem Solving Inventory Revised Short Form (D’Zurilla, Nezu, & Maydeu-Olivares, 2002) and Scales of Psychological Well-Being (Ryff, 1989). The results indicated that the percieved stress was negatively correlated with the social problem and the psychological well-being. The social problem solving was positively correlated with the psychological well-being. Hierarchial regression analysis showed that social problem solving partially mediated the relationship between perceived stress and psychological well-being. However, social problem solving did not moderate the relationship between perceived stress and psychological well-being. These findings were discussed in the light of related literature and implications were suggested for future research. ÖzetBu çalışmanın temel amacı üniversite öğrencilerinin algıladıkları stres düzeyleri ile psikolojik iyi olma düzeyleri arasındaki ilişkide sosyal problem çözme becerilerinin aracı ve düzenleyici rolünün incelenmesidir. Araştırma 350’si kadın 164’ü erkek toplam 514 üniversite öğrencisi üzerinde gerçekleştirilmiştir. Araştırmaya katılan öğrenciler 18-25 yaş arasında olup, yaş ortalamaları 20.09’dur (Ss=2.02). Araştırmada veri toplamak amacıyla Algılanan Stres Ölçeği (Cohen, Kamarck ve Mermelstein, 1983), Sosyal Problem Çözme Envanteri Kısa Formu (D’Zurilla, Nezu ve Maydeu-Olivares, 2002) ve Psikolojik İyi Olma Ölçekleri (Ryff, 1989) kullanılmıştır. Araştırma sonucunda algılanan stres ile sosyal problem çözme ve psikolojik iyi olma arasında negatif yönde anlamlı, sosyal problem çözme ve psikolojik iyi olma arasında pozitif yönde anlamlı ilişkiler olduğu tespit edilmiştir. Hiyerarşik regresyon analizleri sonucunda sosyal problem çözmenin, algılanan stres ve psikolojik iyi olma arasındaki ilişkide kısmi aracı role sahip iken, düzenleyici bir rolü olmadığı belirlenmiştir. Elde edilen bulgular ilgili alanyazın ve sınırlılıklar ışığında tartışılmış, daha sonra yapılacak çalışmalara ve uygulayıcılara yönelik öneriler sunulmuştur.

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Characteristics of Parental Communication as a Factor of Adolescents’ Psychological Well-Being

Psychological Science and Education ◽

10.17759/pse.2020250105 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 25 (1) ◽

pp. 51-62 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

M.V. Ermolaeva ◽

O.V. Smirnova

Keyword(s):

Social Skills ◽

Well Being ◽

Parental Communication ◽

Psychological Well Being ◽

Self Monitoring ◽

Communicative Skills ◽

Questionnaire Measure ◽

The Social ◽

Mental Well Being ◽

The Relationship

The paper presents results of a study on the relationship between psychological well-being of adolescents and features of their parents’ communication. The study involved 92 subjects: 46 adolescents aged 13—14 years, studying in one of the Moscow schools, and their mothers (46 females). The adolescents’ psychological well-being was measured with the Piers-Harris Self-Concept Scale (scales VI, VII and VIII), the Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Well-Being Scale, and with the questionnaire by I.М. Markovskaya. Features of parental communication were assessed using the social skills questionnaire by V.F. Ryakhovskiy, the Self-Monitoring Scale by M. Snyder, and the Questionnaire Measure of Emotional Empathy by A. Mehrabian and N. Epstein. The study revealed a five-factor structure of psychological well-being of the adolescents and of their perception of childparent relations. It showed a correlation between the level of parental emotional response and the adolescents' assessments of consent in their relationships with the parents. The adolescents’ satisfaction with communication with peers was also related to their parents’ social skills. Low and pronounced communicative skills of the parents are associated with high and average levels of adolescent satisfaction with peer communication respectively; normal communicative skills in the parents is associated with low satisfaction in the adolescents. The paper concludes with a discussion on the application of the obtained results in psychological counseling and psychological education of parents.

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Catch Them All: Exploring the Psychological Impact of Playing Pokémon Go

Journal of Communication Technology - Special Issue of Communication Technology and Well-Being (Part 2) ◽

10.51548/joctec-2020-004 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 3 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Ruoxu Wang ◽

Mu Wu

Keyword(s):

Sense Of Community ◽

Psychological Impact ◽

Well Being ◽

Self Determination Theory ◽

The Self ◽

Self Determination ◽

Psychological Well Being ◽

Special Items ◽

Pokémon Go ◽

The Relationship

Using the self-determination theory, this study examined the relationship between seven Pokémon GO features and three psychological outcomes – sense of community, sense of companionship, and psychological well-being. Results showed frequency of collecting Pokémon, customizing Pokémon, performing gym related activities, purchasing special items, and taking pictures with the Pokémon led to increased sense of community, sense of companionship, and psychological well-being. In addition, sense of community and sense of companionship mediated the relationship between frequency of using these five Pokémon GO features and psychological well- being respectively.

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The Italians in the Time of Coronavirus: Psychosocial Aspects of the Unexpected COVID-19 Pandemic

Frontiers in Psychiatry ◽

10.3389/fpsyt.2021.551924 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 12 ◽

Author(s):

Francesca Favieri ◽

Giuseppe Forte ◽

Renata Tambelli ◽

Maria Casagrande

Keyword(s):

Online Survey ◽

Psychological Impact ◽

Nationwide Survey ◽

Well Being ◽

Italian Population ◽

Psychological Well Being ◽

Indirect Contact ◽

Infected People ◽

The Social ◽

Other Information

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic is a worldwide public health emergency that forced the Italian Government to deliberate unprecedented actions, including quarantine, with a relevant impact on the population. The present study is one of the first Italian nationwide survey within the first period of the COVID-19 outbreak aimed to understand the social and psychological impact of the COVID-19 outbreak.Methods: An online survey collected information on sociodemographic data, history of direct or indirect contact with COVID-19, and other information concerning the COVID-19 emergency. The General Psychological Well-Being Index and a modified version of the PTSD Checklist for DSM-5, focused on the COVID-19 experience, assessed the respondents' general psychological condition.Results: Of 1,639 respondents equally distributed in the Italian territory, 5.1% reported PTSD symptomatology, and 48.2% evidenced lower psychological well-being linked to COVID-19 diffusion. Lower psychological well-being was significantly higher in women, younger than 50 years, and with health risk factors. Lower psychological well-being was also detected in individuals who did not know if they were infected, who have had direct exposure or were uncertain about their exposure to COVID-19, or who knew infected people. Regarding the social and behavioral consequences, respondents perceived worsening in demographic, economic, social, and relational conditions. Moreover, they reported increased film viewing, cookhouse time, social media use, and decreased physical activity.Conclusion: The COVID-19 pandemic appears to be a risk factor for psychological diseases in the Italian population, as previously reported in the Chinese people. About half of the respondents reported a significant psychological impact. Moreover, we confirmed the role of restraining measures that led to modify lifestyles, social perception, and confidence in the institutions. These results underline the need for further studies aimed to develop psychological interventions to minimize the consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic.

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