Culture and Well-Being

2010 ◽  
Vol 5 (4) ◽  
pp. 463-471 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shigehiro Oishi ◽  
Ulrich Schimmack
Keyword(s):  
Social Sciences ◽  
Social Relationships ◽  
Gross National Product ◽  
Adam Smith ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Fundamental Question ◽  
National Product ◽  
Subjective Well Being ◽  
Good Society ◽  
Wealth Of Nations

What is a good society? Philosophers from Plato to Bentham have argued that a good society is a happy society—namely, a society in which most citizens are happy and free from fear. Since the publication of The Wealth of Nations by Adam Smith in 1776, most economists have implicitly assumed that a happy society is a materially wealthy society. Thus, gross national product and related indices became the most popular indicators of the well-being of nations from the 1950s to date. Recently, however, prominent economists as well as political scientists, sociologists, and psychologists have shown that a happy society is not only a materially wealthy society but also a society in which citizens can trust one another, have a sense of freedom, and have close social relationships. The inquiry into the psychological wealth of nations, or the subjective well-being of nations, helps answer a fundamental question in philosophy and social sciences for millennia: “What is a good society?”

Patterns of Social Relationships and Psychological Well-being among the Elderly

1997 ◽  
Vol 21 (3) ◽  
pp. 417-430 ◽  
Author(s):  
Keiko Takahashi ◽  
Junko Tamura ◽  
Makiko Tokoro
Keyword(s):  
Human Resources ◽  
Social Relationships ◽  
Well Being ◽  
The Elderly ◽  
Self Esteem ◽  
Subjective Health ◽  
Self Report ◽  
Subjective Well Being ◽  
Psychological Well Being ◽  
Type Method

On the premise that social relationships among elderly adults differ in terms of the most significant, dominant figure, this study aimed to examine: (1) whether there were qualitative differences in supportive functions between family-dominant and friend-dominant affective relationships, and (2) whether “lone wolves”, who were deficient in human resources, had difficulties in maintaining their well-being. A total of 148 Japanese, over the age of 65, both living in communities and in institutions were individually interviewed about their social relationships using a self-report type method, the Picture Affective Relationships test, and their well-being was assessed using Depression, Self-esteem, Life satisfaction, and Subjective health scales. Results showed that there were no differences in psychological well-being between family-dominant and friend-dominant participants, but those who lacked affective figures had lower scores in subjective well-being than did their family-dominant and friend-dominant counterparts. The generalisation of these findings to other cultures is discussed.

Case Study From Bhutan

2020 ◽  
pp. 173-180
Keyword(s):  
Gross National Product ◽  
Well Being ◽  
National Product ◽  
Gross National Happiness ◽  
Economic Output ◽  
National Happiness

The term “Gross National Happiness” or GNH emerged in the 1970s, when journalists asked Bhutan’s Fourth King about his country’s gross national product. The young king’s reply, that “Gross National Happiness is more important than gross national product,” clearly articulated his vision that the happiness and well-being of the country, rather than simply its economic output, should be the focus of the country’s development....

scholarly journals Strategies to effectively control Aggression: A case study

2015 ◽  
Vol 2 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Kartiki Porwal
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Relational Aggression ◽  
Social Relationships ◽  
Nuclear Family ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Subjective Well Being ◽  
Physical And Mental Health ◽  
Social Scientists ◽  
Physical Form

Individuals who are socially connected are happier and healthier than their more isolated counterparts. Over the past few decades, researchers have established that both the quantity and quality of our social relationships are unequivocally important when it comes to our physical and mental health, and our risk of mortality. Although the link between social relationships and mental health is well established in a couple, we have only just begun to identify explanations for this link. Recently, social scientists have discovered that the link between social relationships and health is explained by our behaviours (e.g., smoking, exercise, diet), various psychosocial factors (e.g., social support, mental health, cultural norms), and physiological processes. Aggression in marital relationship is defined as a manipulative, physical or non-physical form of aggression meant to negatively impact the development of relationship by social exclusion or harming the social status of a victim by spreading or behaving negatively. Research findings suggest that even infrequent experiences with relational aggression victimization are associated with lower subjective well-being such as depression, loneliness, and positive affect. This case study investigates the existence of relational aggression in a couple and the relationship between relational aggression and own subjective well-being. The participant in the study is married and from nuclear family. The study tries to investigate aggression level through the case study method and relaxation, yoga, meditation techniques used which was used to resolve the aggression and helps to achieve well being.

Meaningfulness as a Mediator of Subjective Well-Being

2000 ◽  
Vol 87 (1) ◽  
pp. 156-160 ◽  
Author(s):  
William C. Compton
Keyword(s):  
Social Relationships ◽  
Structural Equation ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Equation Modeling ◽  
Subjective Well Being ◽  
Personality Variables ◽  
Canonical Correlations ◽  
Internal Locus Of Control ◽  
Community Residents ◽  
Significant Mediator

In a sample of 347 university students and community residents, measures of meaningfulness, self-esteem, internal locus of control, positive social relationships and optimism were given to predict subjective well-being, i.e., measures of happiness, life satisfaction, and affect balance. Correlations, canonical correlations, and structural equation modeling supported the hypothesis that meaningfulness is a significant mediator between personality variables and subjective well-being.

Self-reported hearing difficulty, subjective well-being and social relationships among older adults in Ghana

2020 ◽  
pp. 16-23
Author(s):  
Alfred E Yawson ◽  
John Tetteh ◽  
Isaac Adomako ◽  
Phaedra Yamson ◽  
Kafui Searyoh ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Hearing Loss ◽  
Older Adult ◽  
Social Relationships ◽  
Social Relationship ◽  
Well Being ◽  
World Health ◽  
Subjective Well Being ◽  
Unhealthy Lifestyle ◽  
Hearing Difficulty

Background: Hearing difficulty negatively impacts individual relationships with family and friends and other social relationships. Objective:This research was conducted to determine the factors significantly influencing self-reported hearing difficulty (SHD) and further to assess the influence of SHD on social relationship among older adults in Ghana. Methods: World Health Organization’s Studyon Global AGEing and Adult Health Ghana dataset for older adults 50 yr. and above was used for this study. Social relationship and hearing difficulty were the primary and secondary outcomes respectively. A modified Poisson with Mahalanobis distance matching within propensity caliper was employed to determine the different influences on social relationships by SHD. All analysis was performed using the statistical software Stata Version 15 and with a confidence interval (CI) of 95%. Results: The prevalence of SHD among older adults in Ghana was 19.5% (95%CI=16.9-22.3). Rao-Scott test of association showed that all covariates (demographic characteristics, self-rated health, quality of life, life satisfaction and unhealthy lifestyle) were significantly associated with SHD (p<0.05). Sensitivity analysis showed that, SHD predicted a significantly decreased probability count of social relationship among older adults with SHD [adjusted prevalence ratio(95%CI)=-0.08(-0.15-0.02)]. Binary and ordinal outcomes showed that among the older adults with SHD, only 35% and 70% respectively were likely to have a good social relationship [adjusted odds ratio (aOR) (95%CI)=0.65(0.46-0.90) and aOR (95%CI)=0.70(0.51-0.96)respectively]. Conclusion: Overall, the prevalence of hearing loss in older adults in Ghana was 19.5%, and was higher among older adult females. This high prevalence of SHD had significant negative effect on social relationships among the older adults. In line with global efforts to reduce effect of hearing loss, it is imperative that, clinical assessment of hearing loss should always consider the social characteristics of the older adult.

Interactive effects of extraversion, neuroticism, and social relationships on subjective well-being.

1989 ◽  
Vol 57 (2) ◽  
pp. 321-331 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stephen R. Hotard ◽  
Robert M. McFatter ◽  
Richard M. McWhirter ◽  
Mary Ellen Stegall
Keyword(s):  
Social Relationships ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Interactive Effects ◽  
Subjective Well Being

Optimism

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maria G. Mens ◽  
Michael F. Scheier ◽  
Charles S. Carver
Keyword(s):  
Physical Health ◽  
Social Relationships ◽  
Health Risks ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Subjective Well Being ◽  
The Future

Optimism is expecting good things to occur in your life. Such positive expectations are associated with higher levels of subjective well-being, better physical health, and a higher quality and quantity of social relationships. The benefits of optimism are partially attributable to the manner in which optimists and pessimists cope with adversity. Optimists tend to cope with adversity actively, attempting to solve problems when they can, accepting problems that they cannot resolve, and focusing on the positive aspects of their experiences. In addition to coping with adversity better, optimists also appear to engage in proactive efforts to prevent problems in the future, including taking actions to minimize various kinds of health risks. Although previous research has clearly demonstrated the benefits of optimism across a wide array of outcomes, there remains several unresolved issues concerning the effects of optimism and how optimism should be conceptualized, which are discussed.

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