scholarly journals Relations between character strengths and subjective well-being in children and adolescents: A brief overview

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (6) ◽  
Author(s):  
Marco Weber

This brief overview focuses on the relations between character strengths and subjective well-being in children and adolescents. The VIA classification of good character encompasses 24 character strengths, positive personality traits that contribute to a good life, which includes but is not limited to satisfaction, happiness, and success. Subjective well-being is a multi-dimensional construct that can be differentiated into positive and negative affect as well as global and domain-specific satisfaction. Cross-national results show that specific character strengths are positively related to positive affect, global life satisfaction, and domain-specific satisfaction. Furthermore, specific character strengths are negatively related to negative affect. Effect sizes are typically small to medium in magnitude. It is concluded that character strengths are clearly relevant correlates of young people’s subjective well-being. Because most - albeit not all - of the results are based on cross-sectional data, more longitudinal studies are needed to further validate these important findings. Nevertheless, the reported findings suggest that it could be very helpful for health-related and other youth-related professionals to be aware of a child or adolescent’s character strengths in order to better interpret their level of subjective well-being.

Author(s):  
Sergio Fuentealba-Urra ◽  
Andrés Rubio-Rivera ◽  
Mònica González-Carrasco ◽  
Juan Carlos Oyanedel ◽  
Cristian Céspedes-Carreno

Background: The relationship between physical activity habits and well-being is widely recognized; however, the interaction that these variables have with sociodemographic factors throughout life is only partially addressed in the literature, particularly in children and adolescents. The aim of this article is to analyze the moderating effect of sociodemographic factors and the possible interaction of these moderations in the relationship between physical activity and subjective well-being in children and adolescents. Methods: This cross-sectional study considered a sample of 9572 children and adolescents from 10 to 19 years of age, students of primary and secondary schools in all regions of Chile. Subjective well-being and physical activity habits were measured using self-report questionnaires. Socioeconomic level was established from the school vulnerability index (SVI) of each student’s school. Results: Simple moderation analyses revealed that the higher the age and the lower the SVI, the stronger the relationship between physical activity habits and subjective well-being. From a double moderation analysis, it could be observed that the age of the subjects is the most relevant moderator in the relationship between physical activity habits and perceived well-being in young people. Conclusions: This study highlights the importance of considering these factors and their interaction when generating programs or public policies to improve physical activity habits and well-being in children and adolescents.


GeroPsych ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 30 (2) ◽  
pp. 61-70 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lia Oberhauser ◽  
Andreas B. Neubauer ◽  
Eva-Marie Kessler

Abstract. Conflict avoidance increases across the adult lifespan. This cross-sectional study looks at conflict avoidance as part of a mechanism to regulate belongingness needs ( Sheldon, 2011 ). We assumed that older adults perceive more threats to their belongingness when they contemplate their future, and that they preventively react with avoidance coping. We set up a model predicting conflict avoidance that included perceptions of future nonbelonging, termed anticipated loneliness, and other predictors including sociodemographics, indicators of subjective well-being and perceived social support (N = 331, aged 40–87). Anticipated loneliness predicted conflict avoidance above all other predictors and partially mediated the age-association of conflict avoidance. Results suggest that belongingness regulation accounts may deepen our understanding of conflict avoidance in the second half of life.


Author(s):  
Emily Brindal ◽  
Jillian C Ryan ◽  
Naomi Kakoschke ◽  
Sinead Golley ◽  
Ian T Zajac ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Due to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, social distancing practices were introduced to curb infection rates in many countries. The purpose of this study was to assess the effects of these restrictions on behaviours and well-being and whether individual differences predict changes in well-being. Methods Australian adults participated in a cross-sectional, online survey during May 2020. The survey captured demographic information; health behaviours; personality traits; life satisfaction and COVID-19-related attitudes, financial concerns, perceived risks and impacts. Results In total, 3745 (86.8% of 4313) participants completed all items. Participants were mostly female (85.7%) and 56.4 years (standard deviation [SD] = 12.6) on average. Over 95.0% of the sample indicated they had been social distancing or isolating. Health behaviours and well-being had generally worsened, with social connections being the most negatively affected. Life satisfaction was significantly lower since restrictions. For changes in life satisfaction, extroversion was a risk factor and openness to experience was a protective factor. Conclusions Overall, well-being was negatively impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic and associated social distancing particularly in this sample containing mainly older women. In future, it will be crucial to understand why and who may be differentially affected, to encourage behaviours that are protective of well-being.


Author(s):  
Juan Pablo Pizarro-Ruiz ◽  
Nuria Ordóñez-Camblor ◽  
Mario Del-Líbano ◽  
María-Camino Escolar-LLamazares

Mindfulness-based interventions (MBI) are a recognized effective psychological practice characterized by attention control, awareness, acceptance, non-reactivity, and non-judgmental thinking obtained through the practice of meditation. They have been shown to be useful in reducing stress and enhancing well-being in different contexts. In this research, the effectiveness of an MBI was evaluated on variables that can promote successful job performance such as mindfulness trait, positive and negative affect, forgiveness, personality strengths and satisfaction with life. The intervention was carried out through a smartphone application called “Aire Fresco” (Fresh Air) during 14 days in the middle of the quarantine produced by the Covid-19 pandemic. The study sample was composed of 164 Spanish people who were distributed in two groups: control group and experimental group, which were evaluated before and after the intervention. The MANCOVA performed showed an overall positive effect of the intervention on the variables evaluated. The different ANCOVAs carried out showed that the intervention was beneficial in increasing mindfulness trait, reducing negative affect or increasing life satisfaction, among others. Our study is, as far as we know, the first to demonstrate the effectiveness of a brief intervention in mindfulness conducted using a smartphone application in Spanish.


Healthcare ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (5) ◽  
pp. 602
Author(s):  
Ing-Chung Huang ◽  
Pey-Lan Du ◽  
Long-Sheng Lin ◽  
Tsai-Fei Lin ◽  
Shu-Chun Kuo

Background: Apart from the workplace, drawing support from family and religion is critical to maintaining the well-being of high-technology employees. Relying on the job demands-resources model and the positive affective spillover effect, the aim of this study was to investigate the mediated relationship of family support, work engagement and subjective well-being, and the moderating effect of religious attendance on the mediated relationship. Methods: A cross-sectional research design was adopted. Mediation and moderated mediation were tested using the PROCESS macro v3.5 for the SPSS supplement. Purposive sampling was used for the distribution of questionnaires to high-technology employees in Taiwan. Results: Results from the data of 603 high-technology employees indicated that family support, work engagement, and subjective well-being exhibited a significant mediated relationship, and the mediated relationship was stronger among individuals with religious attendance experience. Conclusions: This study emphasizes the driving effect of family support on high-technology employee well-being and the moderating effect of religious attendance as a situational strength. We recommend closely attending to employee well-being because doing so is conducive to both the personal quality of life of employees and the sustainable development of organizations.


2021 ◽  
pp. 223386592110117
Author(s):  
Robert Davidson ◽  
Alexander Pacek ◽  
Benjamin Radcliff

While a growing literature within the study of subjective well-being demonstrates the impact of socio-political factors on subjective well-being, scholars have conspicuously failed to consider the role of the size and scope of government as determinants of well-being. Where such studies exist, the focus is largely on the advanced industrial democracies of the Organization for Economic Co-Operation and Development. In this study, we examine the size of the public sector as a determinant of cross-national variation in life satisfaction across a worldwide sample. Our findings strongly suggest that as the public sector grows, subjective well-being increases as well, conditional on the extent of quality of government. Using cross-sectional data on 84 countries, we show this relationship has an independent and separable impact from other economic and political factors.


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