scholarly journals Life Satisfaction and Intercultural Tolerance Interrelations in Different Cultures

2015 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 167 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elena Chebotareva
Keyword(s):  
Life Satisfaction ◽  
Cultural Differences ◽  
Personal Growth ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Cross Cultural ◽  
Subjective Well Being ◽  
Cultural Interaction ◽  
Intercultural Interaction ◽  
Different Cultures ◽  
Jewish Religion

Summarizing the results of different researches on intercultural interaction, we can state that people feel tension in intercultural contacts when they perceive the situation as threatening their well-being. There are also many empirical evidences that people belonging to different cultures understand well-being in different ways. This understanding depends also on social, economic and other factors. Thereby it is important to study general relationships of subjective well-being and intercultural tolerance and cultural specifics of these relationships. Objectives of the empirical study was to analyze the satisfaction with life as an important factor of cross-cultural interaction; to reveal cultural specifics of modern representations of subjective well-being, and interrelations of the styles of intercultural interaction with subjective well-being in different cultures. Methods: Scales of: Psychological well-being (Ryff), Life Satisfaction (Neugarten, Havighurst, - Tobin), Subjective Happiness (Lyubomirsky - Lepper), General Communicative Tolerance (Boiko) and Ethnic Identity Types (Soldatova, Ryzhova), Student’s T-test, Spearman's rank correlation. Sample: 330 persons (18-55 years old) of 10 different nations and 5 religions. By the time of the survey, all the participants had lived in Russia for some (not less than 3) years, all of them lived in some biggest Russian cities.Results: It was discovered, that people’s satisfaction with their lives directly relates to general and intercultural tolerance. People, more satisfied with their lives, are usually better control their negative emotions, adapt to changing situations, forgive others’ mistakes. Such people admit their and others’ ethnicity and more rarely exhibit extremism in inter-ethnic relations, although they often avoid contact with other ethnic groups. Cross-cultural differences in well-being were revealed among residents of modern Russian big cities. In particular, people belonging to the Jewish religion, were significantly more satisfied with their lives than all the others were. People brought up in the Orthodox culture, were the least satisfied. In many subjective well-being indicators, representatives of the Buddhist and Muslim cultures showed quite good results. Different statistically significant connections between subjective well-being and tolerance were revealed in cultural subgroups. For example, for people belonging to Jewish religion, general tolerance is associated mostly with meaningfulness of life and openness to the world; and ethnic tolerance is associated to environmental mastery and personal growth. For Buddhists meaningfulness of life positively correlates with general and ethnic tolerance, and personal growth correlates only with ethnic tolerance. Muslims showed the similar results, but besides – the correlations of both types of tolerance with ppurposefulness and overall mood tone. For Orthodox Christians, both types of tolerance is mostly related to positive relations with others and overall level of subjective well-being. Conclusions: the life satisfaction and subjective well-being are important factors of intercultural interactions. There are common and culturally specific mechanisms of these factors interaction. In psychological support of cross-cultural interaction it is important to take into consideration cultural differences in well-being understanding and its relations with general and intercultural tolerance.

Why Do Easterners Have Lower Well-Being Than Westerners? The Role of Others’ Approval Contingencies of Self-Worth in the Cross-Cultural Differences in Subjective Well-Being

2016 ◽  
Vol 48 (2) ◽  
pp. 217-224 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cheng-Hong Liu ◽  
Yi-Hsing Claire Chiu ◽  
Jen-Ho Chang
Keyword(s):  
Cultural Differences ◽  
Well Being ◽  
The United States ◽  
Cross Cultural ◽  
Subjective Well Being ◽  
Cross Cultural Differences ◽  
Two Samples ◽  
Self Worth ◽  
The Cross

Previous studies have shown that Easterners generally perceive themselves as having lower subjective well-being compared with Westerners, and several mechanisms causing such differences have been identified. However, few studies have analyzed the causes of such differences from the perspective of the cross-cultural differences in the meanings of important life events such as whether people receive approval from others. Specifically, events regarding others’ approval might have different meanings to and influences on Easterners and Westerners. Thus, the degree of fluctuation of people’s views of self-worth in response to these events (i.e., others’ approval contingencies of self-worth [CSW]) probably differs between Easterners and Westerners. This may be a reason for cross-cultural differences in subjective well-being. We investigated two samples of undergraduate students from Taiwan and the United States to examine the mediating role of others’ approval CSW in forming cross-cultural differences in subjective well-being. The results revealed that Taiwanese participants exhibited lower subjective well-being and higher others’ approval CSW than American participants. In addition, others’ approval CSW partially mediated the cross-cultural differences in subjective well-being. Thus, one reason for lower subjective well-being among Easterners was likely that their self-esteem was more prone to larger fluctuations depending on whether they receive approval from others in everyday life.

scholarly journals Happy just because. A cross-cultural study on subjective wellbeing in three Indigenous societies

PLoS ONE ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (5) ◽  
pp. e0251551
Author(s):  
Victoria Reyes-García ◽  
Sandrine Gallois ◽  
Aili Pyhälä ◽  
Isabel Díaz-Reviriego ◽  
Álvaro Fernández-Llamazares ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Life Satisfaction ◽  
Indigenous Peoples ◽  
Social Life ◽  
Satisfaction With Life ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Cross Cultural ◽  
Subjective Well Being ◽  
Cross Cultural Study ◽  
Cultural Research ◽  
The Tropics

While cross-cultural research on subjective well-being and its multiple drivers is growing, the study of happiness among Indigenous peoples continues to be under-represented in the literature. In this work, we measure life satisfaction through open-ended questionnaires to explore levels and drivers of subjective well-being among 474 adults in three Indigenous societies across the tropics: the Tsimane’ in Bolivian lowland Amazonia, the Baka in southeastern Cameroon, and the Punan in Indonesian Borneo. We found that life satisfaction levels in the three studied societies are slightly above neutral, suggesting that most people in the sample consider themselves as moderately happy. We also found that respondents provided explanations mostly when their satisfaction with life was negative, as if moderate happiness was the normal state and explanations were only needed when reporting a different life satisfaction level due to some exceptionally good or bad occurrence. Finally, we also found that issues related to health and–to a lesser extent–social life were the more prominent explanations for life satisfaction. Our research not only highlights the importance to understand, appreciate and respect Indigenous peoples’ own perspectives and insights on subjective well-being, but also suggests that the greatest gains in subjective well-being might be achieved by alleviating the factors that tend to make people unhappy.

scholarly journals The relationship between proactive coping with difficult life situations and the level of mindfulness: A cross-cultural analysis

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 48-62
Author(s):  
Elena Belinskaya ◽  
◽  
Malika Djuraeva ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Coping Strategies ◽  
Cultural Differences ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Cultural Analysis ◽  
Cross Cultural ◽  
Proactive Coping ◽  
Main Stage ◽  
Subjective Well Being ◽  
Two Samples ◽  
The Relationship

The modern understanding of the processes of coping with difficult life situations, emphasizing the provision of subjective well-being as their function, raises the question of what factors ensure the final effectiveness of coping strategies. The inconsistency of the available empirical data on the relationship between personal and situational predictors as well as effective coping allows us to assume the presence of mediating variables. Their search can be centered both on the inclusion of parameters of a higher socio-cognitive level in the analysis, and on the procedural characteristics of coping, one of which is proactivity in coping. The mindfulness construct seems to meet both of these requirements. The article presents the results of the preliminary and main stages of an empirical study of the relationship between mindfulness and proactive coping strategies. During the preliminary stage, the questionnaire “scale of awareness” was adapted to correspond to the “Western” model of awareness. During the main stage, the results of the relationship of mindfulness indicators according to the “Eastern” and “Western” models with proactivity strategies in two samples (Moscow — Tashkent) were obtained, which allowed us to identify certain cultural differences. The results indicate that there are partial correlations between the indicators of the two mindfulness questionnaires, which is consistent with existing theoretical concepts and allows us to consider the two models of mindfulness as stages of a single process. It is shown that in both samples, indicators of “Western” awareness are associated with the attitude to potential difficulties as a source of positive experience and with reflection in the event of the occurrence of possible variants of behavior, cognitive assessment of one’s own resources and prediction of results, as well as with a proactivity strategy such as the search for instrumental support. Cross-cultural differences were noted on a scale corresponding to “Eastern” awareness: in the sample of Tashkent, it was associated with a strategy of proactive coping, and in the sample of Moscow — with reflexive coping. The obtained relationship between the two types of mindfulness and proactive coping strategies allows us to conclude that mindfulness has the potential of meta-cognitive function in the structure of human activity, especially in the situation of evaluating possible life difficulties.

Exploring Chinese Students’ Push and Pull Motivations in Influencing Life Satisfaction and General Well-being in Thailand

2019 ◽  
Vol 7 (3) ◽  
pp. 178-184
Author(s):  
Cheng-Yi Kuo ◽  
Jehn-Yih Wong
Keyword(s):  
Life Satisfaction ◽  
Personal Growth ◽  
Chinese Students ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Chinese Student ◽  
Jel Classification ◽  
Mental Wellness ◽  
Push And Pull ◽  
Push Factor ◽  
Practical Implications

Objective - General well-being (GWB) is important for students’ mental wellness. This paper explores the motivations of Chinese students who study in Thailand and applies the push and pull model to explain how motivations influence life satisfaction (LS) and GWB. Methodology/Technique – 398 convenience samples from Dhurakij Pundit University were analysed. Finding - The results show that ‘personal growth’ is the most important push factor for motivation, whereas ‘the convenience to go to other cities’ is the most important pull factor for motivation. Moreover, overseas study motivations positively influence LS and GWB. Novelty - The theoretical and practical implications and study limitations are also discussed herein. Type of Paper: Empirical. Keywords: Push and Pull Theory; Life Satisfaction; General Well-being; Chinese Student; Thailand. Reference to this paper should be made as follows: Yi, C; Kuo; Yih, J; Wong. 2019. Exploring Chinese Students’ Push and Pull Motivations in Influencing Life Satisfaction and General Well-being in Thailand, Global J. Bus. Soc. Sci. Review 7 (3): 178 – 184. https://doi.org/10.35609/gjbssr.2019.7.3(2) JEL Classification: M10, M14, M19.

scholarly journals Individual differences and changes in lifestyle behaviours predict decreased subjective well-being during COVID-19 restrictions in an Australian sample

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Emily Brindal ◽  
Jillian C Ryan ◽  
Naomi Kakoschke ◽  
Sinead Golley ◽  
Ian T Zajac ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Life Satisfaction ◽  
Individual Differences ◽  
Online Survey ◽  
Protective Factor ◽  
Health Behaviours ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Subjective Well Being ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Social Distancing ◽  
Australian Sample

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.

scholarly journals Family Solidarity, Social Support, Loneliness, and Well-Being Among Older Adults in Rural China

2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. 319-320
Author(s):  
Xiaoyan Zhang ◽  
Merril Silverstein
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Life Satisfaction ◽  
Adult Children ◽  
Child Support ◽  
Structural Equation ◽  
Total Population ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Equation Modeling ◽  
National Bureau ◽  
Subjective Well Being

Abstract China is experiencing a large increase in elderly population. In 2019, China’s population aged 60 and above had reached 253 million, accounting for 18.1% of the total population (National Bureau of Statistics of China, 2020). By 2050, the number of adults aged 60+ would be up to 430 million, reaching one third of the total population (Du, Zhai & Chen, 2005). Considering such a rapid aging process and the existing large number of older adults in China, it becomes imperative to investigate how psychosocial factors affect this group’s subjective well-being. This study proposed that, among older adults, higher support received from each of the three relational sources (adult children, family and friends) were associated with reduced loneliness and improved well-being. Structural equation modeling was conducted using a sample of rural adults aged 60 and older (N= 1142) from the 2018 wave of data from the Longitudinal Study of Older Adults in Anhui Province, China. Findings indicated that support from adult children directly and indirectly decreased older adults’ depression and improved their life satisfaction through loneliness; while support from family members directly decreased depression but did not directly improve life satisfaction or indirectly improve well-being through loneliness. Although support from friends did not have a significant impact on older adults’ well-being, it indirectly improved well-being through reduced loneliness. Findings have implications for programs or interventions targeting both parent -adult-child support and friends support and reducing rural older adults’ loneliness.

scholarly journals How does area-level deprivation depress an individual’s self-rated health and life satisfaction? Evidence from a nationwide population-based survey in Japan

2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Takashi Oshio ◽  
Hiromi Kimura ◽  
Toshimi Nishizaki ◽  
Takashi Omori
Keyword(s):  
Life Satisfaction ◽  
Health Behavior ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Population Based ◽  
Internet Survey ◽  
Subjective Well Being ◽  
Individual Level ◽  
Self Rated Health ◽  
Level Data ◽  
The Impact

Abstract Background Area-level deprivation is well known to have an adverse impact on mortality, morbidity, or other specific health outcomes. This study examined how area-level deprivation may affect self-rated health (SRH) and life satisfaction (LS), an issue that is largely understudied. Methods We used individual-level data obtained from a nationwide population-based internet survey conducted between 2019 and 2020, as well as municipality-level data obtained from a Japanese government database (N = 12,461 living in 366 municipalities). We developed multilevel regression models to explain an individual’s SRH and LS scores using four alternative measures of municipality-level deprivation, controlling for individual-level deprivation and covariates. We also examined how health behavior and interactions with others mediated the impact of area-level deprivation on SRH and LS. Results Participants in highly deprived municipalities tended to report poorer SRH and lower LS. For example, when living in municipalities falling in the highest tertile of municipality-level deprivation as measured by the z-scoring method, SRH and LS scores worsened by a standard deviation of 0.05 (p < 0.05) when compared with those living in municipalities falling in the lowest tertile of deprivation. In addition, health behavior mediated between 17.6 and 33.1% of the impact of municipality-level deprivation on SRH and LS, depending on model specifications. Conclusion Results showed that area-level deprivation modestly decreased an individual’s general health conditions and subjective well-being, underscoring the need for public health policies to improve area-level socioeconomic conditions.

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