scholarly journals Psychological, social and cognitive resources and the mental wellbeing of the poor

PLoS ONE ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (10) ◽  
pp. e0258417
Author(s):  
Deborah A. Cobb-Clark ◽  
Nathan Kettlewell
Keyword(s):  
Social Capital ◽  
Life Satisfaction ◽  
Mental Distress ◽  
Data Sources ◽  
Mental Wellbeing ◽  
Cognitive Resources ◽  
Unique Data ◽  
The Poor ◽  
Nationally Representative ◽  
Different Levels

Our study takes advantage of unique data to quantify deficits in the psychosocial and cognitive resources of an extremely vulnerable subpopulation–those experiencing housing vulnerability–in an advanced, high-income country (Australia). Groups such as these are often impossible to study using nationally representative data sources because they make up a small share of the overall population. We show that those experiencing housing vulnerability sleep less well, have more limited cognitive functioning, and less social capital than do those in the general population. They are also less emotionally stable, less conscientious, more external, and more risk tolerant. Collectively, these deficits in psychosocial and cognitive resources account for between 24–42% of their reduced life satisfaction and their increased mental distress and loneliness. These traits also account for a large proportion of the gap in mental wellbeing across different levels of housing vulnerability.

scholarly journals Income Redistribution Predicts Greater Life Satisfaction Across Individual, National, and Cultural Characteristics.

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Felix Cheung
Keyword(s):  
Life Satisfaction ◽  
Income Redistribution ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Negative Consequences ◽  
Cultural Characteristics ◽  
The Poor ◽  
Strong Hypothesis ◽  
Nationally Representative ◽  
The Rich ◽  
Over Time

The widening income gap between the rich and the poor has important social implications. Governmental-level income redistribution through tax and welfare policies presents an opportunity to reduce income inequality and its negative consequences. The current longitudinal studies examined whether within-region changes in income redistribution over time relate to life satisfaction. Moreover, I examined potential moderators of this relationship to test the strong versus weak hypotheses of income redistribution. The strong hypothesis posits that income redistribution is beneficial to most. The weak hypothesis posits that income redistribution is beneficial to some and damaging to others. Using a nationally representative sample of 57,932 German respondents from 16 German states across 30 years (Study 1) and a sample of 112,876 respondents from 33 countries across 24 years (Study 2), I found that within-state and within-nation changes in income redistribution over time were associated with life satisfaction. The models predicted that a 10% reduction in Gini through income redistribution in Germany increased life satisfaction to the same extent as an 37% increase in annual income (Study 1), and a 5% reduction in Gini through income redistribution increased life satisfaction to the same extent as a 11% increase in GDP (Study 2). These associations were positive across individual, national, and cultural characteristics. Increases in income redistribution predicted greater satisfaction for tax-payers and welfare-receivers, for liberals and conservatives, and for the poor and the rich. These findings support the strong hypothesis of income redistribution and suggest that redistribution policies may play an important role in societal well-being.

Social Capital, Social Cost, and Relational Culture in Three Societies

2020 ◽  
Vol 83 (4) ◽  
pp. 443-462
Author(s):  
Lijun Song
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Social Capital ◽  
Life Satisfaction ◽  
Social Cost ◽  
The United States ◽  
Social Capital Theory ◽  
Urban China ◽  
Capital Theory ◽  
The Status ◽  
Nationally Representative

Does who you know in the status hierarchy satisfy or dissatisfy your life? Does that effect vary by culture and society? To addresses these two questions, this study applies four theories and analyzes the association between accessed status (network members’ status) and life satisfaction using nationally representative retrospective data from three societies (the United States, urban China, and Taiwan). Social capital theory expects absolute and relative higher accessed status (network members’ higher status relative to individuals’) to improve life satisfaction and relative lower accessed status to diminish life satisfaction. Social cost theory asserts the opposite. The collectivistic advantage explanation anticipates social capital theory to apply more to urban China and Taiwan than social cost theory and social cost theory to apply more to the United States than social capital theory. The collectivistic disadvantage explanation predicts the opposite. This study measures nine indicators of absolute and relative accessed status on the occupational dimension and six domain-specific satisfactions. Results support both social capital theory and social cost theory in all three societies. There is tentative evidence for the collectivistic disadvantage explanation across the three societies. Theoretical and methodological implications are discussed.

Percepción de la Población Pobre de Santiago sobre el Mercado Laboral en Chile al año 2011 y evolución desde el año 2003

Oikos ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 15 (31) ◽  
pp. 153
Author(s):  
Marcelo Yáñez Pérez
Keyword(s):  
Social Capital ◽  
Labor Market ◽  
Equal Opportunities ◽  
Capital Social ◽  
Union Power ◽  
Family Labor ◽  
The Poor ◽  
State Unemployment ◽  
Poor Population

RESUMENEl artículo muestra los principales resultados de la investigación Percepción de la Población Pobre de Santiago sobre el Mercado Laboral en Chile, realizada durante 9 años consecutivos desde 2003, por la Escuela de Administración y Economía de la Universidad Católica Silva Henríquez. El estudio incluye antecedentes sobre las concepciones de empleo y desempleo de este grupo de la población, así como la identificación de quienes –a su juicio– serían los responsables de que las personas pobres obtengan un trabajo y la calificación que le asignan a su gestión. También contempla sus percepciones en torno al apoyo del Estado, nivel de desempleo, influencia del capital social, respeto por los trabajadores, igualdad de oportunidades, poder de los sindicatos, entre otros aspectos, además del nivel de desempleo familiar y tipo de problemas laborales que han enfrentado.Palabras clave: mercado laboral, pobreza, percepciones, equidad.Este estudio ha sido realizado en el contexto de la investigación “Percepción de la población pobre de Santiago sobre las condiciones de acceso, equidad y satisfacción en la obtención de bienes básicos y públicos – año 2011: visión evolutiva desde el año 2003”, que es parte del Programa de Investigación de la Escuela de Administración y Economía de la UCSH. Esta investigación ha sido financiada desde sus inicios y en su totalidad con fondos propios de esta Universidad.Perception of the Poor Population from Santiago of The Labor Market in Chile in the year 2011 and evolution from 2003ABSTRACTThe paper shows the main results of a long-term investigation on the perceptions of the poor of Santiago of the labor market in Chile, which began in 2003 and was carried out by the School of Management and Economics at the Universidad Católica Silva Henríquez. The study includes background on the concepts of employment and unemployment in this group of the population, and the identification of those who, in his opinion, would be responsible for the poor to get a job and the rating assigned to their management. It also includes their perceptions of the support of the state, unemployment, social capital influence, respect for workers, equal opportunities, union power, among other things, besides the level of unemployment and type of family labor problems they have faced.Keywords: labor market, poverty, perceptions, equity.

Keeping up with the Wangs: A cross-sectional multilevel analysis of individual and contextual influences on mental wellbeing and depressive symptoms in China

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. Adele H. Wang ◽  
CMA Haworth ◽  
Qiang Ren
Keyword(s):  
Life Satisfaction ◽  
Depressive Symptoms ◽  
Social Comparison ◽  
Depressive Symptomatology ◽  
Marriage Rate ◽  
Contextual Effects ◽  
Mental Wellbeing ◽  
Population Census ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Average Education

BackgroundIn recent decades, China has experienced dramatic changes to its social and economic environment, which has affected the distribution of wellbeing across its citizens. While several studies have investigated individual level predictors of wellbeing in the Chinese population, less research has been done looking at contextual effects. This cross-sectional study looks at the individual and contextual effects of (regional) education, unemployment and marriage (rate) on individual happiness, life satisfaction and depressive symptomatology. MethodsData were collected from over 29,000 individuals (aged 18 to 110, 51.91% female) in the China Family Panel Studies, and merged with county level census data obtained from the 2010 China Population Census and Statistical Yearbook. To explore contextual effects, we used multilevel models accounting for the hierarchical structure of the data. ResultsWe found that a one-year increase in education was associated with a 0.17% increase in happiness and a 0.16% decrease in depressive symptoms. Unemployed men were 1% less happy, 1% less satisfied with life and reported 0.84% more depressive symptoms than employed men while minimal effects were seen for women. Single, divorced and widowed individuals had worse outcomes than married individuals (ranging from 2.96% to 21% differences). We found interaction effects for education and employment. Less educated individuals had greater happiness and less depressive symptoms in counties with higher average education compared to counterparts in less educated counties. In contrast, more educated individuals were less satisfied with life in more educated counties, an effect that is possibly due to social comparison. Employed individuals had lower life satisfaction in areas of high unemployment, while levels were constant for the unemployed. A 1% increase in county marriage rate was associated with 0.33% and 0.24% increases in happiness and life satisfaction respectively, with no interactions. We speculate that this effect could be due to greater social cohesion in the neighbourhood.ConclusionsOur results show that policies designed to improve employment and marriage rates will be beneficial for all, while interventions to encourage positive social comparison strategies may help to offset the negative effects of increasing neighbourhood average education on the highly educated.

scholarly journals Customization of Diet May Promote Exercise and Improve Mental Wellbeing in Mature Adults: The Role of Exercise as a Mediator

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (5) ◽  
pp. 435
Author(s):  
Lina Begdache ◽  
Cara M. Patrissy
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Risk Factors ◽  
Mental Distress ◽  
Rank Order ◽  
Principal Component ◽  
Dietary Factors ◽  
Mental Wellbeing ◽  
Modifiable Risk Factors ◽  
Food Groups ◽  
Dietary Practices

Diet, dietary practices and exercise are modifiable risk factors for individuals living with mental distress. However, these relationships are intricate and multilayered in such a way that individual factors may influence mental health differently when combined within a pattern. Additionally, two important factors that need to be considered are gender and level of brain maturity. Therefore, it is essential to assess these modifiable risk factors based on gender and age group. The purpose of the study was to explore the combined and individual relationships between food groups, dietary practices and exercise to appreciate their association with mental distress in mature men and women. Adults 30 years and older were invited to complete the food–mood questionnaire. The anonymous questionnaire link was circulated on several social media platforms. A multi-analyses approach was used. A combination of data mining techniques, namely, a mediation regression analysis, the K-means clustering and principal component analysis as well as Spearman’s rank–order correlation were used to explore these research questions. The results suggest that women’s mental health has a higher association with dietary factors than men. Mental distress and exercise frequency were associated with different dietary and lifestyle patterns, which support the concept of customizing diet and lifestyle factors to improve mental wellbeing.

scholarly journals Expanding Social, Psychological, and Physical Indicators of Urbanites’ Life Satisfaction toward Residential Community: A Structural Equation Modeling Analysis

2020 ◽  
Vol 18 (1) ◽  
pp. 4
Author(s):  
Chuanyu Peng ◽  
Guoping Yuan ◽  
Yanhui Mao ◽  
Xin Wang ◽  
Jianhong Ma ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Social Capital ◽  
Life Satisfaction ◽  
Community Engagement ◽  
Structural Equation ◽  
Urban Community ◽  
Community Identity ◽  
Equation Modeling ◽  
Geriatric Population ◽  
Residential Community ◽  
Green Area

Attention on, and interest in, life satisfaction has increased worldwide. However, research on life satisfaction focused toward the urban dwellers’ residential community is mainly from western countries, and the limited research from China is solely focused on the geriatric population via a narrowly constrained research perspective. This study, therefore, aimed to investigate urbanites’ life satisfaction toward their community, combining the psychological (behavioral community engagement, mental state of flow, and cognitive community identity), physical (PREQIs-perceived residential environment quality indicators: e.g., green area), and social perspectives (social capital). The proposed conceptual model was tested on a regionally representative sample of 508 urban community residents in the city of Chengdu, Sichuan province, China. Data were analyzed via a structure equation modelling approach in AMOS software. Findings suggested that all of the psychological, physical and social factors contributed to a prediction of life satisfaction. Specifically, social capital mediated the path from community engagement and flow to life satisfaction, and community identity mediated the path from flow experience and green area to life satisfaction. Additionally, social capital contributed to predict life satisfaction through its influence on community identity. Findings provide suggestions for urban designers and policymakers to focus on creating an urban community equipped with green area, which helps to promote physical activities that are flow-productive, to enhance residents’ identification to their residential community and, therefore, increase life satisfaction.

scholarly journals The Perceived Impact of Social Networking Sites and Apps on the Social Capital of Saudi Postgraduate Students: A Case Study

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 20
Author(s):  
Abdulelah A. Alghamdi ◽  
Margaret Plunkett
Keyword(s):  
Social Capital ◽  
Life Satisfaction ◽  
Social Networking ◽  
Social Networking Sites ◽  
Civic Participation ◽  
Social Trust ◽  
Political Engagement ◽  
Postgraduate Students ◽  
The Social ◽  
The Impact

With the increased use of Social Networking Sites and Apps (SNSAs) in Saudi Arabia, it is important to consider the impact of this on the social lives of tertiary students, who are heavy users of such technology. A mixed methods study exploring the effect of SNSAs use on the social capital of Saudi postgraduate students was conducted using a multidimensional construct of social capital, which included the components of life satisfaction, social trust, civic participation, and political engagement. Data were collected through surveys and interviews involving 313 male and 293 female postgraduate students from Umm Al-Qura University (UQU) in Makkah. Findings show that male and female participants perceived SNSAs use impacting all components of social capital at a moderate and mainly positive level. Correlational analysis demonstrated medium to large positive correlations among components of social capital. Gender differences were not evident in the life satisfaction and social trust components; however, females reported more involvement with SNSAs for the purposes of political engagement while males reported more use for civic participation, which is an interesting finding, in light of the norms and traditional culture of Saudi society.

scholarly journals Diet, Exercise, Lifestyle, and Mental Distress among Young and Mature Men and Women: A Repeated Cross-Sectional Study

Nutrients ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 24
Author(s):  
Lina Begdache ◽  
Saloumeh Sadeghzadeh ◽  
Gia Derose ◽  
Cassandra Abrams
Keyword(s):  
Young Women ◽  
Fast Food ◽  
Mental Distress ◽  
Young Men ◽  
Brain Morphology ◽  
Mental Wellbeing ◽  
Caffeine Consumption ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Men And Women ◽  
Negatively Associated

Customization of mental health therapies needs to consider the differences in degree of brain maturity between young (18–29 years) and mature (30 years or older) adults as well as brain morphology among men and women. The aim of this study was to identify the significant dietary and lifestyle contributors to mental distress in these sub-populations. Independent repeated cross-sectional sampling was performed for over a 5-year period (2014–2019) to collect data from different populations at different time-points and seasons. A backward stepwise regression analysis was used on 2628 records. Mental distress in young women was associated with high consumption of caffeine and fast-food, and it was negatively correlated with moderate-high levels of exercise as well as frequent breakfast consumption. Mature women shared several common factors with young women; however, high fruit consumption was negatively associated with mental distress. For young men, high exercise, moderate consumption of dairy, and moderate-high intake of meat were negatively associated with mental distress. In addition, high fast-food and caffeine consumption were positively associated with mental distress in young men. For mature men, strong negative associations between higher education, moderate intake of nuts and mental distress surfaced. Our results support the need to customize dietary and lifestyle recommendations to improve mental wellbeing.

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