Beyond Money: Progress on an Economy of Well-Being

2018 ◽  
Vol 13 (2) ◽  
pp. 171-175 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ed Diener ◽  
Martin E. P. Seligman
Keyword(s):  
Well Being ◽  
The United States ◽  
Economic Indicators ◽  
Economic Policies ◽  
Subjective Well Being ◽  
National Accounts ◽  
National Academy Of Sciences ◽  
Human Flourishing ◽  
Academy Of Sciences ◽  
The Impact

In our 2004 “Beyond Money” article, we argued that national accounts of psychological and subjective well-being should complement the economic indicators that frequently guide policy decisions. We claimed that economic indicators fail to reflect important aspects of quality of life that well-being indicators capture. Since the time of our article, progress has been made, and scores of nations have used some forms of well-being measures. The National Academy of Sciences of the United States and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development both issued reports on accounts of well-being. Researchers have pointed to policies that are supported by the findings, such as environmental and economic policies. The emergence of “big data” has opened major new pathways for measuring well-being in inexpensive, unobtrusive, and nonreactive fashion. Psychological researchers now need to create superordinate combinations of subjective and objective measures of well-being to study the impact of the policies they advocate. The accounts can serve as a lever for convincing policymakers to enact policies that increase human flourishing.

scholarly journals Dimensions of Job Quality, Mechanisms, and Subjective Well-Being in the United States

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jonathan Horowitz
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Well Being ◽  
The United States ◽  
Job Security ◽  
Job Quality ◽  
Equation Modeling ◽  
Subjective Well Being ◽  
Individual Task ◽  
Quality Dimensions ◽  
The Impact

How does job quality predict subjective well-being in the United States? Prior research suggests that various job quality dimensions such as job security and individual task discretion affect subjective well-being, but the theoretical mechanisms are implied rather than tested and aspects of job quality are rarely tested together. I use structural equation modeling and General Social Survey data to assess the impact of five job quality dimensions-individual task discretion, monetary compensation, job security, low work intensity, and safe work conditions-on subjective well-being. Then, I show that job quality influences subjective well-being by improving social life, altering class identification, affecting physical health, and increased amount of leisure time. Finally, while I find that job quality dimensions do have statistically significant effects on subjective well-being, the way in which job quality affects subjective well-being differs by job dimension. In other words, job quality has a statistically significant impact on subjective well-being, but different job quality domains are connected to subjective well-being in different ways.Keywords: work, job quality, subjective well-being, happiness

scholarly journals Building the Science: Current Studies on the Impact of Arts Engagement on the Health of Older Adults

2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. 643-643
Author(s):  
Marie Bernard ◽  
Sunil Iyengar
Keyword(s):  
Healthy Aging ◽  
Task Force ◽  
Well Being ◽  
National Endowment ◽  
National Academy Of Sciences ◽  
Department Of Health ◽  
The Arts ◽  
Arts Engagement ◽  
Academy Of Sciences ◽  
The Impact

Abstract Nearly a decade ago, a federal interagency task force on the arts and human development was launched as the result of a research summit held by the National Endowment for the Arts and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to investigate the arts’ relationships to health and well-being across the lifespan. Soon afterward, the National Institute on Aging partnered with the Arts Endowment and the National Academy of Sciences to identify research recommendations to benefit healthy aging and the treatment of neurodegenerative diseases in older-adult populations. While this session will revisit some of those findings, it also will share more recent advances in biomedical and behavioral research being conducted by a growing network of “Sound Health” researchers at the nexus of neuroscience, music, and health==with direct implications for the future of research on the arts and aging.

scholarly journals Character Strengths Involving an Orientation to Promote Good Can Help Your Health and Well-Being. Evidence From two Longitudinal Studies

2020 ◽  
pp. 089011712096408
Author(s):  
Dorota Weziak-Bialowolska ◽  
Piotr Bialowolski ◽  
Tyler J. VanderWeele ◽  
Eileen McNeely
Keyword(s):  
Multiple Testing ◽  
Social Connectedness ◽  
Character Strengths ◽  
Well Being ◽  
The United States ◽  
Primary Study ◽  
Human Flourishing ◽  
Global Brand ◽  
Secondary Study ◽  
The Impact

Purpose: We examined the impact of an orientation to promote good—one aspect of strengths of character, understood as having consistent thoughts and taking actions that contribute to the good of oneself and others—on flourishing outcomes. Design: We used data from 2 longitudinal observational studies. The primary study used 2 waves of data collected in June 2018 and July 2019. The secondary study used 3 waves of data collected in February 2017, March 2018, and March 2019. Setting: Two culturally different populations of adults were examined: (1) a large service organization based in the United States and (2) a Mexican apparel company in the supply chain of a major global brand. Subjects: 1,209 U.S. employees and 495 Mexican apparel workers were included in the study. Measures: Self-reports of orientation to promote good, Well-Being Assessment, Flourishing Index, the CDC Health-Related Quality of Life and the Job-Related Affective Well-Being Scale were used. Analysis: An outcome-wide approach and lagged regression analyses were applied. To combine the estimates across samples meta-analytic estimates were computed. Bonferroni correction was used to correct for multiple testing. Robustness of the results to potential unmeasured confounding was examined using E-values. Results: Orientation to promote good was positively associated with subsequently higher levels of life satisfaction and happiness (β = 0.14, 95% CI: 0.09, 0.19), self-assessed mental health (β = 0.11, 95% CI: 0.06, 0.15) and physical health (β = 0.08, 95% CI: 0.04, 0.12), social connectedness (β = 0.102, 95% CI: 0.06, 0.15) and purpose in life (β = 0.07, 95% CI: 0.03, 0.11). It was also associated with decreased anxiety (β = -0.11, 95% CI: -0.17, -0.06), depression (β = -0.07, 95% CI: -0.1, -0.02) and loneliness (β = -0.09, 95% CI: -0.13, -0.04). Possible effects on both positive affect (feeling happy) and negative affect (feeling sad, stressed and lonely) in general and while-at-work were also identified. Conclusions: Policymakers and practitioners should consider orientation to promote good as an important factor for improving population health and human flourishing while also at work.

scholarly journals Testing the effects of Facebook usage in an ethnically polarized setting

2021 ◽  
Vol 118 (25) ◽  
pp. e2022819118
Author(s):  
Nejla Asimovic ◽  
Jonathan Nagler ◽  
Richard Bonneau ◽  
Joshua A. Tucker
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Subjective Wellbeing ◽  
Controlled Trial ◽  
Well Being ◽  
The United States ◽  
Subjective Well Being ◽  
Intergroup Dynamics ◽  
Interethnic Relations ◽  
Current Events ◽  
The Impact

Despite the belief that social media is altering intergroup dynamics—bringing people closer or further alienating them from one another—the impact of social media on interethnic attitudes has yet to be rigorously evaluated, especially within areas with tenuous interethnic relations. We report results from a randomized controlled trial in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH), exploring the effects of exposure to social media during 1 wk around genocide remembrance in July 2019 on a set of interethnic attitudes of Facebook users. We find evidence that, counter to preregistered expectations, people who deactivated their Facebook profiles report lower regard for ethnic outgroups than those who remained active. Moreover, we present additional evidence suggesting that this effect is likely conditional on the level of ethnic heterogeneity of respondents’ residence. We also extend the analysis to include measures of subjective well-being and knowledge of news. Here, we find that Facebook deactivation leads to suggestive improvements in subjective wellbeing and a decrease in knowledge of current events, replicating results from recent research in the United States in a very different context, thus increasing our confidence in the generalizability of these effects.

scholarly journals Inequalities in Life Expectancy and All-Cause Mortality in the United States by Levels of Happiness and Life Satisfaction: A Longitudinal Study

2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (3) ◽  
pp. 305-315
Author(s):  
Hyunjung Lee ◽  
Gopal K. Singh
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Life Satisfaction ◽  
Life Expectancy ◽  
Global Health ◽  
Mortality Risk ◽  
Well Being ◽  
The United States ◽  
Subjective Well Being ◽  
All Cause Mortality ◽  
The Impact

Background: Despite having one of the highest Gross Domestic Product (GDP) per capita levels, United States (US) ranks lower in subjective well-being, including happiness and life satisfaction, compared with European countries. Studies of the impact of happiness and life satisfaction on life expectancy and mortality in the US are limited or non-existent. Using a national longitudinal dataset, we examined the association between levels of happiness/life satisfaction and US life expectancy and all-cause mortality. Methods: We analyzed the 2001 National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) prospectively linked to 2001-2014 mortality records in the National Death Index (NDI) (N=30,377). Cox proportional hazards regression was used to model survival time as a function of happiness, life satisfaction, and sociodemographic and behavioral covariates. Results: Life expectancies at age 18 among adults with high levels of happiness and life satisfaction were, respectively, 7.5 and 8.9 years higher compared to those with low levels of happiness and life satisfaction. In Cox models with 14 years of mortality follow-up, all-cause mortality risk was 82% higher (hazard ratio [HR]=1.82; 95% CI=1.59,2.08) in adults with little or no happiness, controlling for age, and 36% higher (HR=1.36; 95% CI=1.17,1.57) in adults with little/no happiness, controlling for sociodemographic, behavioral and health characteristics, when compared with adults reporting happiness all of the time. Mortality risk was 107% higher (HR=2.07; 95% CI=1.80,2.38) in adults who were very dissatisfied with their life, controlling for age, and 39% higher (HR=1.39; 95% CI=1.20,1.60) in adults who were very dissatisfied, controlling for all covariates, when compared with adults who were very satisfied. Conclusions and Global Health Implications: Adults with higher happiness and life satisfaction levels had significantly higher life expectancy and lower all-cause mortality risks than those with lower happiness and satisfaction levels. These findings underscore the significance of addressing subjective well-being in the population as a strategy for reducing all-cause mortality. Key words: • Inequalities • Disparities • Happiness • Life satisfaction • Life expectancy • Mortality • Longitudinal • Social determinants   Copyright © 2020 Lee and Singh. Published by Global Health and Education Projects, Inc. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY 4.0) which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work, first published in this journal, is properly cited.

scholarly journals A Template For Enhancing The Impact of The National Academy of Sciences’ Reporting on Forensic Science

2019 ◽  
Vol 0 (0) ◽  
Author(s):  
Amelia Shooter ◽  
Sarah L. Cooper
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Forensic Science ◽  
Lie Detection ◽  
The United States ◽  
Forensic Analysis ◽  
Think Tank ◽  
National Academy Of Sciences ◽  
Bullet Lead ◽  
Academy Of Sciences ◽  
The Impact

Abstract The National Academy of Sciences (NAS), established in 1863, is the United States’ leading science and technology think-tank, with an active commitment to advising government. Over the last 150 years, the NAS has, both independently and in conjunction with the federal government, investigated and reported on various issues of importance, ranging from space exploration and biosecurity, to STEM education and immigration. Due to growing concerns about particular disciplines (and specifically their application in legal proceedings), one issue the NAS has reported on between 1992 and 2009 is forensic science. Specifically, the NAS has published six reports commenting on the status of forensic science evidence in the USA, namely DNA Technology in Forensic Science (1992), The Evaluation of Forensic DNA Evidence (1996), The Polygraph and Lie Detection (2003), Forensic Analysis: Weighing Bullet Lead Evidence (2004), Ballistic Imaging (2008), and Strengthening Forensic Science in the United States: A Path Forward (2009). The response of stakeholders (including from political, legal, and academic spheres) to these reports has varied, ranging from shifts in practice and full acknowledgement, to considerable struggles to effectuate systemic reform. Using the different experiences of two reports – Forensic Analysis: Weighing Bullet Lead Evidence (2004) and Strengthening Forensic Science in the United States: A Path Forward (2009) – as a vehicle, this article suggests how the NAS can strengthen the impact of its forensic science reporting, and how stakeholders can better harness the expertise of the NAS.

An influence of social isolation on the level of physical activity as well as on well-being and mental state of people during the coronavirus COVID-19 pandemic

2019 ◽  
Vol 129 (4) ◽  
pp. 127-131
Author(s):  
Agnieszka Parfin ◽  
Krystian Wdowiak ◽  
Marzena Furtak-Niczyporuk ◽  
Jolanta Herda
Keyword(s):  
Physical Activity ◽  
Social Isolation ◽  
Small Sample Size ◽  
Statistical Tests ◽  
Population Group ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Small Sample ◽  
Subjective Well Being ◽  
Tract Infections ◽  
The Impact

AbstractIntroduction. The COVID-19 is the name of an infectious disease caused by a new strain of coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2). It was first diagnosed in December 2019 in patients in Wuhan City, Hubei Province, China. The symptoms are dominated by features of respiratory tract infections, in some patients with a very severe course leading to respiratory failure and, in extreme cases to death. Due to the spread of the infection worldwide, the WHO declared a pandemic in March 2020.Aim. An investigation of the impact of social isolation introduced due to the coronavirus pandemic on selected aspects of life. The researchers focused on observing changes in habits related to physical activity and their connections with people’s subjective well-being and emotional state.Material and methods. The study was carried out within the international project of the group „IRG on COVID and exercise”. The research tool was a standardized questionnaire.Results. Based on the data collected and the analysis of the percentage results, it can be observed that the overwhelming majority of people taking up physical activity reported a better mood during the pandemic. However, statistical tests do not confirm these relationships due to the small sample size.Conclusions. Isolation favours physical activity. Future, in-depth studies, by enlarging the population group, are necessary to confirm the above observations.

The link between coronavirus, anxiety, and religious beliefs in the United States and United Kingdom

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Francesco Rigoli
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
United Kingdom ◽  
Religious Beliefs ◽  
Well Being ◽  
The United States ◽  
Christian Faith ◽  
Stressful Event ◽  
Cultural Implications ◽  
The Impact

Research has shown that stress impacts on people’s religious beliefs. However, several aspects of this effect remain poorly understood, for example regarding the role of prior religiosity and stress-induced anxiety. This paper explores these aspects in the context of the recent coronavirus emergency. The latter has impacted dramatically on many people’s well-being; hence it can be considered a highly stressful event. Through online questionnaires administered to UK and USA citizens professing either Christian faith or no religion, this paper examines the impact of the coronavirus crisis upon common people’s religious beliefs. We found that, following the coronavirus emergency, strong believers reported higher confidence in their religious beliefs while non-believers reported increased scepticism towards religion. Moreover, for strong believers, higher anxiety elicited by the coronavirus threat was associated with increased strengthening of religious beliefs. Conversely, for non-believers, higher anxiety elicited by the coronavirus thereat was associated with increased scepticism towards religious beliefs. These observations are consistent with the notion that stress-induced anxiety enhances support for the ideology already embraced before a stressful event occurs. This study sheds light on the psychological and cultural implications of the coronavirus crisis, which represents one of the most serious health emergencies in recent times.

scholarly journals Determining the impact of postoperative complications in neurosurgery based on simulated longitudinal smartphone app-based assessment

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lion D. Comfort ◽  
Marian C. Neidert ◽  
Oliver Bozinov ◽  
Luca Regli ◽  
Martin N. Stienen
Keyword(s):  
Postoperative Complications ◽  
Feasibility Study ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Smartphone Application ◽  
Simulated Patients ◽  
Subjective Well Being ◽  
Longitudinal Assessment ◽  
User Friendliness ◽  
User Friendly ◽  
The Impact

Abstract Background Complications after neurosurgical operations can have severe impact on patient well-being, which is poorly reflected by current grading systems. The objective of this work was to develop and conduct a feasibility study of a new smartphone application that allows for the longitudinal assessment of postoperative well-being and complications. Methods We developed a smartphone application “Post OP Tracker” according to requirements from clinical experience and tested it on simulated patients. Participants received regular notifications through the app, inquiring them about their well-being and complications that had to be answered according to their assigned scenarios. After a 12-week period, subjects answered a questionnaire about the app’s functionality, user-friendliness, and acceptability. Results A total of 13 participants (mean age 34.8, range 24–68 years, 4 (30.8%) female) volunteered in this feasibility study. Most of them had a professional background in either health care or software development. All participants downloaded, installed, and applied the app for an average of 12.9 weeks. On a scale of 1 (worst) to 4 (best), the app was rated on average 3.6 in overall satisfaction and 3.8 in acceptance. The design achieved a somewhat favorable score of 3.1. One participant (7.7%) reported major technical issues. The gathered patient data can be used to graphically display the simulated outcome and assess the impact of postoperative complications. Conclusions This study suggests the feasibility to longitudinally gather postoperative data on subjective well-being through a smartphone application. Among potential patients, our application indicated to be functional, user-friendly, and well accepted. Using this app-based approach, further studies will enable us to classify postoperative complications according to their impact on the patient’s well-being.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document