scholarly journals Psychological Well-Being among University Students: A Comparative Study

2016 ◽  
Vol 3 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Dr Zulfiqar Ullah Siddiqui ◽  
Prof. Mohd Ilyas Khan

Discovering new constructs in the field of psychological health, positive psychology has been successful to introduce new resistance resources for coping with the stressful events, especially at universities students. Positive psychology, as a modern approach, emphasizes on perception and interpretation of happiness and well-being and prediction of the factors related to them as well. Psychological well-being is a multi-dimensional concept; optimism, self-control, happiness, sense of interests, free of failures, anxiety and loneliness has been considered as the special aspects of well-being (Sinha & Verma, 1992). Mc Culloch (1991) shows that positive mood, positive emotions and social support play basic role in constructing psychological well-being.

2019 ◽  
Vol 7 (5) ◽  
pp. 76
Author(s):  
Devrim Erginsoy Osmanoğlu

Open and healthy communication plays an important role in the determination of human relations. While people are interpreting the bodily feedbacks given by the people they are communicating with to understand their intentions, they rely on the information they give about themselves; that is, their explanations about themselves. The Johari Window technique is the technique that supports the creation of trust in interpersonal relations, as well as the elimination of problems arising in the communication used in counseling processes. According to this technique, the area including an individual's behaviors, attitudes, feelings, experiences, skills or clear information about how he/she looks is called the open area. This area’s being broad plays an important role in the individual’s developing close relationships with other members of society, in his/her happiness or in his/her living positive emotions. In many studies, it was determined that both the physical health and psychological health of the people who shared their knowledge about themselves were positively affected. The purpose of the current study is to expand the open area of the group members participating in nine-session group work by using Johari window so that their understanding and awareness of themselves can be improved and their understanding of others can be enhanced and they can be enabled to see interpersonal differences. The study group of the current research is comprised of 12 students; 5 females and 7 males, from the Department of Psychological Counseling and Guidance who participated in the study on a volunteer basis. In the current study, in order to collect data, the Psychological Well-being Scale, which was developed on the basis of Ryff's (1989) psychological well-being model and the Johari Window Evaluation Form developed according to the model proposed by Joseph Luft and Harry Ingham were used. According to the posttest results obtained at the end of the study, it was observed that the open areas of the university students participating in the group work were expanded and their scores taken from the sub-dimension “positive relationships with others” of the subjective well-being increased.


2010 ◽  
Vol 36 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Tharina Guse

Orientation: The development of positive psychology interventions have burgeoned internationally and are relevant to the professional training of psychologistsResearch purpose: The aim of this study was to explore the personal and professional impact of including positive psychology in the professional training of clinical and counselling psychologists.Motivation for the study: It is not known how students previously educated in a pathogenic paradigm experience the exposure to positive psychology, and resultant paradigm shift, as part of their professional training.Research design, approach and method: A qualitative research design was implemented. Data consisted of written documents submitted by the participants and was analyzed by means of thematic analysis.Main findings: Integrating positive psychology in the professional training curriculum was valuable and enriching on both a professional and personal level. The participants reported an experience of positive emotions and increased sense of self-understanding and psychological well-being. Professionally they experienced a sense of increased self-efficacy.Practical/managerial implications: Positive psychology should be considered as part of the basic training of psychologists since it may enhance the development of trainee psychologists’ professional self, enhance aspects of psychological well-being as well as prevent stress and burnout.Contribution/value-add: This is the first South African study to explore the impact of including positive psychology principles and interventions in professional training.


2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
S Imrie ◽  
V Jadva ◽  
S Golombok

Abstract STUDY QUESTION What are the psychological health, relationship quality and perceived social support outcomes of heterosexual couples who have conceived an infant through identity-release egg donation? SUMMARY ANSWER Parents’ scores on all measures were within the normal range. Egg donation mothers had poorer perceived social support, and egg donation fathers had less optimal psychological health than a comparison group of IVF parents, although these differences were associated with the older age of egg donation parents, rather than being an effect of family type. WHAT IS KNOWN ALREADY There is limited understanding of the psychological health and couple relationship quality of egg donation parents, and no empirical data on parents’ social support, during the first year of parenthood. No studies have included families who have used an identity-release egg donor. The study offers the first examination of the psychological well-being of identity-release egg donation parents. STUDY DESIGN, SIZE, DURATION This study included 57 families created through identity-release egg donation, and a comparison group of 56 families who had used IVF with their own gametes, recruited through UK fertility clinics. Families were visited at home between October 2013 and June 2015. The sample forms part of a larger study examining family functioning in families created following fertility treatment. PARTICIPANTS/MATERIALS, SETTING, METHOD All families were heterosexual two-parent families with an infant aged 6–18 months. Mothers and fathers were administered standardised questionnaires assessing psychological health (Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale, Trait Anxiety Inventory and Parenting Stress Index-short form), couple relationship quality (Golombok Rust Inventory of Marital State) and perceived social support (Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support). MAIN RESULTS AND THE ROLE OF CHANCE Scores from the egg donation and IVF parents were within the normal range on all measures. Significant differences were found between the groups indicating less optimal social support in egg donation mothers compared to IVF mothers, and poorer psychological health in egg donation fathers compared to IVF fathers. These differences appeared to be related to the older age of egg donation parents or to twin parenthood, rather than to egg donation per se. No differences were found between the groups in the parents’ relationship quality. LIMITATIONS, REASONS FOR CAUTION It is possible that families who were managing the transition to parenthood less well may have been less likely to participate in research. Fewer IVF than egg donation fathers participated in the study, so the statistical power was lower for comparisons between fathers. WIDER IMPLICATIONS OF THE FINDINGS The findings are of relevance to UK clinics offering identity-release egg donation. That scores of egg donation parents on measures of psychological well-being were more similar than different to those of IVF parents should prove reassuring to individuals considering this treatment type. As less optimal outcomes were found for egg donation parents on several measures, and these were associated with parental age rather than conception type, it is recommended that clinics discuss with older patients how they may establish a social support network and signpost patients to appropriate post-natal support. STUDY FUNDING, COMPETING INTERESTS This research was supported by a Wellcome Trust Senior Investigator Award [097857/Z/11/Z] and a CHESS-ESRC studentship. The authors have no conflicts of interest to declare. TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER N/A


1993 ◽  
Vol 21 (3) ◽  
pp. 175-186 ◽  
Author(s):  
Manfusa Shams

Different forms of social support as affecting psychological health were studied on a sample of 71 unemployed British Asian men in the north of England. Social support was measured in respect of five different forms of help from others. Measures were also obtained of psychological distress, financial strain, employment commitment and unemployment stigma. Family support and specifically support immediately after loss of job were found to have positive effects on unemployed men's psychological health. The findings are discussed along the lines of existing empirical evidence and the need to examine longitudinally the impact of social support on the psychological well-being of other ethnic minority groups is emphasized.


2015 ◽  
Vol 25 (60) ◽  
pp. 9-17 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vanessa Barbosa Romera Leme ◽  
Zilda Aparecida Pereira Del Prette ◽  
Susana Coimbra

There is no consensus in the literature regarding the influence of family configuration on the psychological well-being of adolescents. Based on the perception of adolescents, this study evaluates the influence of family configuration, social skills and social support appraisals as potential predictors of adolescent psychological well-being. The participants were 454 adolescents aged between 13 and 17 years from nuclear, separated and remarried families. The adolescents were students in the first and second years of public high school. The data were collectively obtained in the classroom using the Social Skills Inventory for Adolescents, the Social Support Appraisal Scale and the Psychological Well-being Scale. The results indicated that family configuration is not associated with the psychological well-being of adolescents. The social skills of empathy, self-control, civility, social resourcefulness and affective approach as well as the social support appraisals from friends and family were the best predictors of adolescent psychological well-being. The implications of the results are discussed with respect to future research and interventions.


2019 ◽  
Vol 3 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. S490-S490
Author(s):  
Erik Blanco

Abstract The longevity revolution has led to more years of shared lives between older parents and adult children. Having these extra years together can be offset by the stressful life transitions of widowhood, health declines, and increased level of disability experienced by older parents. These transitions can lower older parents’ psychological well-being. Although social support to/from adult children has the potential to buffer these effects, most older parents wish to remain independent, even in later life, making them reluctant to accept social support from their adult children. The purpose of this paper is to examine whether the provision or receipt of social support between older parents and adult children, influences positive mood and negative mood. Secondary data on older adults (n = 461) with adult children who participated in the 2004 wave of the LSOG were used. The results revealed that the provision of social support by older parents to adult children significantly increased parents’ positive mood showing that it is better to give than receive. The results for the receipt of social support were more complex. Results suggest that when someone has a higher level of disability and does not receive social support their negative mood increases, but when someone has a high level of disability and does receive social support there is no effect on negative mood. This proposes that the receipt of social support is particularly important when the parent is in need of support and it is better to receive than give when parents are in need.


2009 ◽  
Vol 24 (S1) ◽  
pp. 1-1 ◽  
Author(s):  
T. Ronen

The founders of Positive Psychology promoted the study of the "positive end" of human functioning such as happiness, strengths, virtues etc". One of the major findings of a decade of research on the positive side of human behavior, cognitions and emotions is that the positive aspects are qualitatively different from the negative aspects on a number of dimensions (e.g., negative emotions occur automatically whereas one has to be active in order to produce positive emotions). Hence, we propose a new approach to psychotherapy that is based on current conceptualization of positive psychology: Applied Positive Psychology Therapy (APPT). It is a meta theory for a therapeutic approach based n positive psychology principles. More specifically, APPT is based on the following assumptions:1.The long range goals of most human beings are to feel good and be psychologically satisfied.2.Failures to materialize these goals are not a function of deep seated pathologies but lack of skills or knowledge how to materialize these goals.3.The goal of therapy is not to cure clients from their pathologies (i.e., the "causes" of their anxieties, phobia, or aggression) but to train them in self-control skills and other skills that would enable them to achieve psychological well being in the most effective way and in harmony with their long range goals.In the present paper I will bring two examples how APPT is practiced with aggressive adolescents and marital difficulties. In both cases clients are told to define the most essential goals of their lives and how they can master their strengths and skills in order to regain their basic life goals. In contrast to the prevailing disease model of psychological problems, APPT is based on a psych-educational model.


2019 ◽  
Vol 3 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. S530-S530
Author(s):  
Judith Robertson R Phillips ◽  
Edith Jimenez ◽  
Heather Nicholson

Abstract Social capital such as positive relationships and social support play an important role in older adults’ well-being. Typically, researchers have investigated family and friends as providers of interpersonal resources to older adults but there has been an increasing trend to explore companion pets as providers of social capital and to investigate the impact of pet companionship on older adults’ psychological well-being. Inconsistencies have appeared in the literature though as to whether there is a “pet effect,” the positive benefit of companion pets on older adults’ psychological health. The purpose of this study was to investigate whether having a companion pet would provide greater social connection and better psychological well-being among 83 community-residing older adults (meanage = 62.87 years; males = 38; females = 45) who owned a companion pet, a dog (n= 53) , cat, (n= 21) or both (n= 9), versus 42 community-residing older adults (meanage = 65.69 years; males = 25; females = 17) who didn’t own companion pets. Analyses revealed that no “pet effect” was found for any measure of psychological well-being: self-reported loneliness, happiness, life satisfaction, or mental health. This was especially true for cat owners in that the more one viewed a cat as a family member, the lower one’s life satisfaction and happiness. In addition, as the number of cats in the household increased, the perceived social support from a significant other, family, and friends lowered. Discussion will focus on the implications of these results for pets as providers of social capital.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Osmano Oasi ◽  
Chiara Rossi ◽  
Andrea Bonanomi

Abstract Background: The Coronavirus epidemic (COVID-19) had a strong psychological impact on the Italian population. Fear of infection, lock-down, social isolation, loneliness and uncertainty inevitably influenced people’s well-being. The current study represents one of the first Italian researches to provide data on the association between psychological health and personality traits during the COVID-19 outbreak.Methods: This explorative study was conducted to evaluate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on psychological health and to identify if psychological well-being could be influenced by personality traits. 2103 participants completed an online survey that included the PGWBI, the ITAPI-S and a general questionnaire. Descriptive statistics and hierarchical regressions were performed using SPSS software.Results: Vulnerability turns out to be a particularly relevant personality trait within the sample. In the regression analyses it influenced negatively PGWBI total score (β=-0.62), anxiety (β=-0.55), depression (β=-0.46), positivity and well-being (β=-0.51), vitality(β=-0.45), general health (β=-0.12) and self-control (β=-0.52). On the contrary, the dynamicity trait influenced positively vitality (β=0.12) and positivity and well-being (β=0.14).Conclusion: The results highlight that in order to prevent the risk of the onset of mental disorders, it is necessary to take care not only of who is already suffering from psychological disorders but also of the non-clinical population. Before the outbreak of the virus, people did not feel so helpless and vulnerable in the face of events thanks to the evolutions in every scientific field. COVID-19 awoke weakness aspects in terms of anxious and depressive states. The results may assist mental healthcare professionals in safeguarding the psychological well-being of the Italian community in the wake of the pandemic.


2018 ◽  
Vol 39 (1) ◽  
pp. 27-38 ◽  
Author(s):  
Giulia Fuochi ◽  
Chiara A. Veneziani ◽  
Alberto Voci

Abstract. This paper aimed to assess whether differences in the way to conceive happiness, measured by the Orientations to Happiness measure, were associated with specific reactions to negative events. We hypothesized that among orientations to pleasure (portraying hedonism), to meaning (representing a eudaimonic approach to life), and to engagement (derived from the experience of flow), orientation to meaning would have displayed a stronger protective role against recent negative and potentially stressful events. After providing a validation of the Italian version of the Orientations to Happiness measure (Study 1), we performed regression analyses of the three orientations on positive and negative emotions linked to a self-relevant negative event (Study 2), and moderation analyses assessing the interactive effects of orientations to happiness and stressful events on well-being indicators (Study 3). Our findings supported the hypotheses. In Study 2, meaning was associated with positive emotions characterized by a lower activation (contentment and interest) compared to the positive emotions associated with pleasure (amusement, eagerness, and happiness). In Study 3, only meaning buffered the effect of recent potentially stressful events on satisfaction with life and positive affect. Results suggest that orientation to meaning might help individuals to better react to negative events.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document