Validity of Importance Weighting in Subjective Well-Being Research

2020 ◽  
Vol 14 (2) ◽  
pp. 212-222
Author(s):  
Chang-ming Hsieh ◽  
Qiguang Li
Keyword(s):  
Family Life ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Subjective Well Being ◽  
Life Domains ◽  
Chinese Adults ◽  
Present Evidence ◽  
Clear Cut ◽  
Importance Weighting ◽  
The Many

The practice of giving certain life domains (such as health, family life) more weight in calculating an overall score, known as importance weighting, has been a subject of debate in subjective well-being (SWB) research for decades. In this paper, we present evidence by analyzing data from 513 Chinese adults to caution readers that findings of importance weighting in the SWB studies should be interpreted carefully. Given the many unsettled issues in assessing importance weighting, findings are often not clear-cut or definitive and overgeneralization can mislead our understanding of well-being. Future research on the topic of importance weighting should acknowledge study assumptions and limitations to avoid potential overgeneralization of findings.

scholarly journals PHYSIOLOGY OF SUCCESSFUL AGING: IMPLICATIONS FOR HEALTH AND WELL-BEING

2019 ◽  
Vol 3 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. S434-S434
Author(s):  
Konstantinos Mantantzis ◽  
Denis Gerstorf ◽  
Thomas M Hess
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Successful Aging ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Empathic Accuracy ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Subjective Well Being ◽  
Use Of Data ◽  
Aging Study ◽  
Underlying Mechanisms ◽  
Relationship Factors

Abstract Research into peripheral physiology and its association with cognition, emotionality, and social/physical functioning has received considerable attention over the years. However, many of the underlying mechanisms are not well understood. In this symposium, we have compiled a set of four empirical projects that showcase current and future endeavors to address some of the long-standing questions about when, how, and why physiology shapes and is shaped by key psychosocial resources. Hawkley et al. make use of data from the NSHAP and HRS longitudinal studies to investigate whether social relationships such as number of friends predicts risk of diabetes among older adults. Wilson et al. use dyadic data from young and middle-aged couples to examine cardiometabolic similarity among spouses, and how such concordance is shaped by key relationship factors such as emotional closeness. Pauly et al. use data from two daily-life studies of older couples to investigate how physiological synchrony in cortisol is modulated by partner interactions, empathy, and empathic accuracy. Finally, Mantantzis et al. make use of multi-year longitudinal data from the Berlin Aging Study II to examine the role of glucose regulation capacity for trajectories of subjective well-being among older adults. Thomas Hess will discuss the importance of these papers, discuss strengths and weaknesses of the approaches chosen, and consider implications for future research.

The economic recession and subjective well-being in older adults in the Republic of Ireland

2016 ◽  
Vol 36 (2) ◽  
pp. 99-104 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. M. Duffy ◽  
K. Mullin ◽  
S. O’Dwyer ◽  
M. Wrigley ◽  
B. D. Kelly
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Older People ◽  
Urban Areas ◽  
Economic Recession ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Poor Health ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Subjective Well Being ◽  
Physical And Mental Health ◽  
Future Health

ObjectiveSubjective well-being in older people is strongly associated with emotional, physical and mental health. This study investigates subjective well-being in older adults in Ireland before and after the economic recession that commenced in 2008.MethodsCross-sectional data from the biennial European Social Survey (2002–2012) were analysed for two separate groups of older adults: one sampled before the recession and one after. Stratification and linear regression modelling were used to analyse the association between subjective well-being, the recession and multiple potential confounders and effect modifiers.ResultsData were analysed on 2013 individuals. Overall, subjective well-being among older adults was 1.30 points lower after the recession compared with before the recession (s.e. 0.16; 95% confidence interval 1.00–1.61; p<0.001) [pre-recession: 16.1, out of a possible 20 (s.d. 3.24); post-recession:14.8 (s.d. 3.72)]. Among these older adults, the pre- and post-recession difference was especially marked in women, those with poor health and those living in urban areas.ConclusionsSubjective well-being was significantly lower in older adults after the recession compared with before the recession, especially in women with poor health in urban areas. Policy-makers need proactively to protect these vulnerable cohorts in future health and social policy. Future research could usefully focus on older people on fixed incomes whose diminished ability to alter their economic situation might make them more vulnerable to reduced subjective well-being during a recession.

Subjective Well-Being and Events

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nanyi Nicole Yu ◽  
Judith Mair ◽  
Andy Lee ◽  
Faith Ong
Keyword(s):  
Well Being ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Sporting Events ◽  
Subjective Well Being ◽  
Measurement Tools ◽  
Final Approach ◽  
Local Residents ◽  
Psychology Literature ◽  
Western Perspective

The economic and social-cultural impacts of events are well documented in the existing events literature. The emergence of quality of life (QOL), well-being and happiness in the positive psychology literature has accelerated research on events and individuals’ subjective well-being (SWB). Taking a narrative synthesis approach, this study identifies a total of 46 peer reviewed journal articles on SWB and events and reviews how SWB has been discussed and investigated in the events context. The results of this study reveal three key approaches to SWB and events. The first approach takes SWB as synonymous with the benefits and impacts of events. The second approach examines SWB in terms of its relationship with the motivations and satisfaction of event participants and local residents. The final approach to SWB examines the relationship between SWB and the event (including festivalscape) experience. The review findings also identify areas of potential weakness in the existing literature. The existing event studies relating to SWB primarily focus on sporting events, with only a few festivals, are often undertaken from a Western perspective, and generally rely on quantitative approaches. More importantly, the extant event literature appears to use the SWB concept loosely without agreement on its structure or key components. Suggestions for future research lie in further conceptualisation of SWB in the events context with validated measurement tools and conceptual models, and closer examination of the causal relationship between event (experience) and levels of SWB.

Personal Values Across Cultures

2021 ◽  
Vol 73 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Lilach Sagiv ◽  
Shalom H. Schwartz
Keyword(s):  
Personal Values ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Annual Review ◽  
Publication Date ◽  
Subjective Well Being ◽  
Value Differences ◽  
Many Instruments ◽  
Value Priorities ◽  
The Many ◽  
Basic Personal Values

Values play an outsized role in the visions, critiques, and discussions of politics, religion, education, and family life. Despite all the attention values receive in everyday discourse, their systematic study took hold in mainstream psychology only in the 1990s. This review discusses the nature of values and presents the main contemporary value theories, focusing on the theory of basic personal values. We review evidence for the content and the structure of conflict and compatibility among values found across cultures. We discuss the assumptions underlying the many instruments developed to measure values. We then consider the origins of value priorities and their stability or change over time. The remainder of the review presents the evidence for the ways personal values relate to personality traits, subjective well-being, and the implications of value differences for religiosity, prejudice, pro- and antisocial behavior, political and environmental behavior, and creativity, concluding with a discussion of mechanisms that link values to behavior. Expected final online publication date for the Annual Review of Psychology, Volume 73 is January 2022. Please see http://www.annualreviews.org/page/journal/pubdates for revised estimates.

Benefits of Intergenerational Contact: Ageism, Subjective Well-Being, and Psychosocial Developmental Strengths of Wisdom and Identity

2021 ◽  
pp. 009141502110508
Author(s):  
Patricia Kahlbaugh ◽  
Christopher J. Budnick
Keyword(s):  
Successful Aging ◽  
Positive Mood ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Subjective Well Being ◽  
Younger Adults ◽  
Research Directions ◽  
Identity Processes ◽  
Future Research Directions ◽  
Identity Synthesis

The present study examines the benefits of an in-person intergenerational contact program called SAGE (Successful Aging and Inter-Generational Experiences). The SAGE Program pairs older adults (M age 85 years) and younger adults (M age 23 years) for 2 to 3-hour weekly meetings over a 7-week period, where participants can share memories, skills, and values, and foster new perspectives and friendships. We expected the SAGE Program to benefit both older and younger participants with respect to identity processes, subjective well-being, positive mood, and wisdom while reducing ageist beliefs compared to old and young participants serving as their matched controls. Overall, participants in the SAGE Program reported greater identity synthesis,subjective well-being, and positive mood. Exploratory analyses suggested that identity synthesis is a likely mediator of that effect. The SAGE Program did not reduce ageist beliefs, but age differences in ageism were found. We address additional results,limitations, and future research directions.

scholarly journals Effects of Self-Control on Subjective Well-Being: Examining the Moderating Role of Trait and State Motivation

2022 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Guojun Zhao ◽  
Fusen Xie ◽  
Yuchen Luo ◽  
Yixuan Liu ◽  
Yuan Chong ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Well Being ◽  
Ego Depletion ◽  
Self Control ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Subjective Well Being ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
State Motivation ◽  
Positive Effect ◽  
Moderating Role

It is well documented that self-control has a positive effect on individuals’ subjective well-being. However, little research has focused on the moderators underlying this relationship. The present research used two studies to examine the moderating role of both trait and state motivation on the relationship between self-control and subjective well-being using psychometric and experimental models, respectively. In Study 1, we explored whether trait motivation (including promotion vs. prevention motivation) moderated the relationship between trait self-control and subjective well-being using a psychometric model. In Study 2, we examined the moderating effects of both trait and state motivation on the effect of state self-control (measured via ego depletion) on subjective well-being using an experimental model. Our results indicated that self-control had a positive effect on subjective well-being, with this relationship being primarily moderated by prevention motivation. When state and trait prevention motivations were congruent, self-control had the most obvious impact on subjective well-being. This study suggests that current understandings around the association between self-control and happiness is limited, implying that motivation should be the focus of future research.

scholarly journals Screening Using the SDQ Total Difficulties Scale: An Analog Test of Three Cutoff Values

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tyler L Renshaw
Keyword(s):  
Well Being ◽  
The Self ◽  
Self Report ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Subjective Well Being ◽  
Analog Test ◽  
Research And Practice ◽  
Cutoff Values ◽  
Dependent Variables ◽  
Strengths And Difficulties

This brief report presents an analog test of the relative classification validity of three cutoff values (CVs; 16, 18, and 20) derived from responses to the self-report version of the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire: Total Difficulties Scale. Results from Bayesian t-tests, using several school-specific subjective well-being indicators as dependent variables, yielded evidence suggesting all CV models effectively differentiated between students with lower and higher levels of risk. Evidence also indicated that the lowest CV (16) was more effective than the higher CVs (18, 20) at identifying students with greater levels of risk, and that the higher CVs functioned comparably well. Implications for future research and practice are noted.

scholarly journals The Role of Psychological Well-Being and Life Satisfaction in Perception of Daily Stress

2018 ◽  
Vol 26 (4) ◽  
pp. 8-26
Author(s):  
L.A. Golovey ◽  
M.D. Petrash ◽  
O.Y. Strizhitskaya ◽  
S.S. Savenysheva ◽  
I.R. Murtazina
Keyword(s):  
Life Satisfaction ◽  
Perceived Stress ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Daily Hassles ◽  
Subjective Well Being ◽  
Life Domains ◽  
Financial Health ◽  
Satisfaction Scale ◽  
Psychological Well Being

The present paper considers daily hassles in different life domains, reveals their connections to the level of strain and perceived stress, investigates the role of psychological well-being and life satisfaction in the perception of the number of stressors and strain caused by stress. Methods: Inventory of daily stressors (Petrash et al.), Scale of perceived stress (Ababkov et al.), Psychological well-being scale (C. Ryff), Life satisfaction scale (E. Diener), a survey on satisfaction with different life domains. Sample: 334 adults aged 20—60 (118 males, 216 females). Results revealed hassles in all the life domains. Most pronounced hassles in women were those related to health, loneliness, competitiveness, job; most pronounced hassles in men were job-related, financial, health and family stressors. Perception of daily hassles was associated with an increase in the levels of stress overstrain and perceived stress. The number of stressors and the level of overstrain was higher in women. Psychological well-being, subjective well-being, and financial satisfaction were shown to be direct positive predictors of the number of perceived hassles and the level of overstrain.

scholarly journals Gratitude and Social Media: A Pilot Experiment on the Benefits of Exposure to Others’ Grateful Interactions on Facebook

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Simona Sciara ◽  
Daniela Villani ◽  
Anna Flavia Di Natale ◽  
Camillo Regalia
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Social Networking ◽  
Social Networking Sites ◽  
Ad Hoc ◽  
Satisfaction With Life ◽  
Specific Property ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Subjective Well Being ◽  
Pilot Experiment

Facebook and other social networking sites allow observation of others’ interactions that in normal, offline life would simply be undetectable (e.g., a two-voice conversation viewable on the Facebook wall, from the perspective of a real, silent witness). Drawing on this specific property, the theory of social learning, and the most direct implications of emotional contagion, our pilot experiment (N = 49) aimed to test whether the exposure to others’ grateful interactions on Facebook enhances (a) users’ felt gratitude, (b) expressed gratitude, and (c) their subjective well-being. For the threefold purpose, we created ad hoc Facebook groups in which the exposure to some accomplices’ exchange of grateful messages for 2 weeks was experimentally manipulated and users’ felt/expressed gratitude and well-being were consequently assessed. Results partially supported both hypotheses. Observing others’ exchange of grateful posts/comments on Facebook appeared to enhance participants’ in-person expression of gratitude (i.e., self-reported gratitude expression within face-to-face interactions), but not their direct and subjective experiences of gratitude. Similarly, exposure to others’ grateful messages improved some components of subjective well-being, such as satisfaction with life, but not negative and positive affect. Taken together, however, our preliminary findings suggest for the first time that social networking sites may actually amplify the spreading of gratitude and its benefits. Implications of our results for professionals and future research in the field of health, education, and social media communication are discussed.

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