Buying what people like you buy: Personality Homophily and Well-being in Consumer Behaviour

Recommender systems and personalised marketing algorithms now proliferate our daily lives, harnessing similarity to other profiles to guide our purchasing decisions. Recent research indicates that this personalisation can be good for our well-being, as spending in a way that fits our personality, can engender happiness. Less well-understood however, is the impact personality homophily (where people prefer to connect with others of similar personalities) has on consumer well-being. In this study, we investigate whether individuals who exhibit homophily in their consumption patterns, by buying what others of a similar personality buy, report higher well-being. We analyse over 12,000 personality questionnaires measuring the Big Five and well-being, linked to 3 million loyalty card transaction logs from a multi-national retailer. Personality homophily, or `buying what people like you buy', is quantified by introducing a novel metric, Personality Alignment (PA). Findings show that PA on Extroversion, Agreeableness, and Neuroticism positively predicts well-being, and that effects are strongest for those higher in Neuroticism. Given the rise of algorithm-assisted decision making, along with growing attention to ethical-AI, these results show that personality homophily can be leveraged in the design of future personalised marketing mechanisms, not just for greater sales, but also customer’s long term well-being.

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Mandatory Reporting and Adolescent Sexual Assault

Trauma Violence & Abuse ◽

10.1177/15248380211030239 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 152483802110302

Author(s):

Caroline Bailey ◽

Jessica Shaw ◽

Abril Harris

Keyword(s):

Sexual Assault ◽

Sexual Violence ◽

Key Words ◽

Scoping Review ◽

Well Being ◽

Mandatory Reporting ◽

Age Group ◽

Long Term Consequences ◽

The Impact

Adolescents experience alarmingly high rates of sexual violence, higher than any other age-group. This is concerning as sexual violence can have detrimental effects on teens’ personal and relational well-being, causing long-term consequences for the survivor. Still, adolescents are hesitant to report the assault or seek out services and resources. When an adolescent survivor does seek out services, they may interact with a provider who is a mandatory reporter. This scoping review sought to synthesize the current U.S.-based research on the role, challenges, and impact of mandatory reporting (MR) in the context of adolescent sexual assault. Database searches using key words related to MR, sexual assault, and adolescence identified 29 peer-reviewed articles. However, none of these articles reported on empirical investigations of the phenomenon of interest and instead consisted of case studies, commentaries, and position papers. The scoping review was expanded to provide a lay of the land of what we know about the intersection of adolescent sexual assault and MR. Results of the review indicate that though implemented broadly, MR policies vary between individuals, organizations, and states and have historically been challenging to implement due to this variation, conflicts with other laws, tension between these policies and providers’ values, and other factors. Based on the available literature, the impact of MR in the context of adolescent sexual assault is unknown. There is a critical need for research and evaluation on the implementation and impact of MR policies, especially in the context of adolescents and sexual violence.

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COVID-19 Barometer: Social Opinion – What Do the Portuguese Think in This Time of COVID-19?

Portuguese Journal of Public Health ◽

10.1159/000513740 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 1-9

Author(s):

Ana Rita Pedro ◽

Ana Gama ◽

Patrícia Soares ◽

Marta Moniz ◽

Pedro A. Laires ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Health Services ◽

Online Survey ◽

Well Being ◽

Point Of View ◽

Daily Lives ◽

The People ◽

Huge Impact ◽

The Impact ◽

Continue Monitoring

The COVID-19 pandemic brought new challenges to the global community, reinforcing the role of public health in society. The main measures to combat it had (and still have) a huge impact on the daily lives of citizens. This investigation aimed to identify and monitor the population’s perceptions about how it faced this period and the impact on health, well-being, and daily life. In this study, we describe the main trends observed throughout the COVID-19 pandemic in terms of mental health status, confidence in the capacity of the health services to respond to the pandemic, and the use of health services by participants. The online survey collected responses from 171,947 individuals ≥16 years of age in Portugal, over a period of 15 weeks that started on 21 March 2020. Participants could fill the questionnaire once or weekly, which enabled us to analyse trends and variations in responses. Overall, 81% of the respondents reported having felt agitated, anxious, or sad during the COVID-19 pandemic; 19% did not experience these feelings. During the confinement period, the proportion of participants feeling agitated, anxious, or sad every day/almost every day ranged between 20 and 30%, but since the deconfinement this proportion decreased. Around 30% reported having more difficulty getting to sleep or to sleep all night; 28.4% felt more agitated; 25.5% felt sadder, discouraged, or cried more easily; and 24.7% felt unable to do everything they had to do, women more frequently than men. Overall, 65.8% of the participants reported feeling confident or very confident in the health services’ capacity to respond to the challenges associated with the pandemic, and this confidence increased over time. Concerning the people who needed a consultation, 35.6% had one in person and 20.8% had one remotely, but almost 44% did not have one due to cancellation by the service (27.2%) or their own decision not to go (16.3%). At this unusual time in which we find ourselves and based on our findings, it is essential to continue monitoring how the population is facing the different phases of the pandemic until it officially ends. Analysing the effects of the pandemic from the point of view of citizens allows for anticipating critical trends and can contribute to preventative action.

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Impact of lockdown and school closure on children in special schools: a single-centre survey

BMJ Paediatrics Open ◽

10.1136/bmjpo-2020-000981 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 5 (1) ◽

pp. e000981

Author(s):

Tapomay Banerjee ◽

Amjad Khan ◽

Piriyanga Kesavan

Keyword(s):

Young People ◽

Significant Role ◽

Well Being ◽

School Closure ◽

Special Educational Needs ◽

Single Centre ◽

Special Schools ◽

Daily Lives ◽

Children And Young People ◽

The Impact

Special schools play a significant role in the daily lives of children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities. We explored the impact of the COVID-19-related first lockdown and resulting school closure by surveying parents whose children attended three special schools in Bedford, UK. We asked about anxiety and impact on emotional well-being and education. We received 53 responses from parents: 31 felt their child was more anxious during the lockdown period/school closure compared with beforehand and 42 felt their child’s emotional well-being had been affected. Children and young people attending special schools may have struggled both academically and emotionally during the COVID-19 pandemic.

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Coronavirus Pandemic: Coping with the Psychological Outcomes, Mental Changes, and the “New Normal” During and After COVID-19

10.36811/ojda.2020.110005 ◽

2020 ◽

pp. 07-19

Author(s):

Hiba Takieddine ◽

Samaa AL Tabbah

Keyword(s):

Healthcare Providers ◽

Well Being ◽

World Health ◽

Vulnerable Groups ◽

Public Health Response ◽

New Normal ◽

The World ◽

Health Organization ◽

The Impact

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a highly infectious disease that has rapidly swept across the world, inducing a considerable degree of fear, worry and concern in the population at large and among certain groups in particular, such as older adults, healthcare providers and people with underlying health conditions. Authorities around the world tried to prevent the virus spread by imposing social distancing measures, quarantining citizens and isolating infected persons. Apart from its physical impact, COVID-19 pandemic has brought numerous changes to people’s lives. It changed daily routines, caused worldwide economic crisis, increased unemployment, and placed people under emotional and financial pressures. It affected people psychologically and mentally especially in terms of emotions and cognition. During the acute crisis, everyone to varying degrees experienced fear of infection, somatic concerns, worries about the pandemic’s consequences, loneliness, depression, stress, as well as increased alcohol and drug use. As part of its public health response, the World Health Organization (WHO) has worked with partners to develop a set of new guidelines and messages that can be used to prevent, manage, and support mental and psychological well-being in different vulnerable target groups during the outbreak. Whether people like it or not, the psychological sequela of this pandemic will emerge and persist for months and years to come leading to long-term consequences. New lifestyles and “New Normals” will surely emerge. The main purpose of this review is to summarize the impact of coronavirus pandemic on the psychological and mental health of people around the world especially vulnerable groups. It also presents the relevant intervention actions and recommendations to cope efficiently and effectively with the psychological short-term and long-term outcomes, mental changes, and the “New Normal” during and after COVID-19. Keywords: COVID-19; Coronavirus, Psychological; Mental; New Normal

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Colonial Values and Asylum Care in Brazil: Reclaiming the Streets Through Carnival in Rio de Janeiro

International Perspectives in Values-Based Mental Health Practice ◽

10.1007/978-3-030-47852-0_18 ◽

2020 ◽

pp. 155-161

Author(s):

Julia Evangelista ◽

William A. Fulford

Keyword(s):

Local Community ◽

Well Being ◽

Colonial History ◽

Self Confidence ◽

History Of ◽

The Impact ◽

Mental Well Being ◽

The City

AbstractThis chapter shows how carnival has been used to counter the impact of Brazil’s colonial history on its asylums and perceptions of madness. Colonisation of Brazil by Portugal in the nineteenth century led to a process of Europeanisation that was associated with dismissal of non-European customs and values as “mad” and sequestration of the poor from the streets into asylums. Bringing together the work of the two authors, the chapter describes through a case study how a carnival project, Loucura Suburbana (Suburban Madness), in which patients in both long- and short-term asylum care play leading roles, has enabled them to “reclaim the streets,” and re-establish their right to the city as valid producers of culture on their own terms. In the process, entrenched stigmas associated with having a history of mental illness in a local community are challenged, and sense of identity and self-confidence can be rebuilt, thus contributing to long-term improvements in mental well-being. Further illustrative materials are available including photographs and video clips.

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Evaluation of Quality of Context Information in U-Health Smart Homes

Advances in Healthcare Information Systems and Administration - Telemedicine and E-Health Services, Policies, and Applications ◽

10.4018/978-1-4666-0888-7.ch008 ◽

2012 ◽

pp. 179-215 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

José Bringel Filho ◽

Nazim Agoulmine

Keyword(s):

Health Systems ◽

Smart Homes ◽

Well Being ◽

Context Information ◽

Context Aware ◽

Daily Lives ◽

Quality Of Context ◽

The Impact ◽

Health And Well Being

Ubiquitous Health (U-Health) smart homes are intelligent spaces capable of observing and correctly recognizing the activities and health statuses of their inhabitants (context) to provide the appropriate support to achieve an overall sense of health and well-being in their inhabitants’ daily lives. With the intrinsic heterogeneity and large number of sources of context information, aggregating and reasoning on low-quality raw sensed data may result in conflicting and erroneous evaluations of situations, affecting directly the reliability of the U-Health systems. In this environment, the evaluation and verification of Quality of Context (QoC) information plays a central role in improving the consistency and correctness of context-aware U-Health applications. Therefore, the objective of this chapter is to highlight the impact of QoC on the correct behavior of U-Health systems, and introduce and analyze the existing approaches of modeling, evaluating, and using QoC to improve its context-aware decision-making support.

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Telling

Out in Time ◽

10.1093/oso/9780190686604.003.0005 ◽

2019 ◽

pp. 67-90

Author(s):

Perry N. Halkitis

Keyword(s):

Gay Men ◽

Life Events ◽

Coming Out ◽

Life Stories ◽

Well Being ◽

Critical Life Events ◽

Short And Long Term ◽

The Impact

Gay men experience the process of coming out to various groups of individuals, in myriad contexts, and throughout the course of their lives. For many gay men, telling one’s parents and families represents the most significant act of disclosure. Methods used for coming out to parents, circumstances by which the men came out, and reactions of their families in both the short and long term are explored. A variety of different approaches are evidenced in the life stories. The impact of these critical life events is considered in relation to the well-being and health of each of the men. Coming out to parents and family is challenging in every generation, but the circumstances related to coming out are influenced and shaped by both the sociopolitical contexts of the time and the crisis of each generation.

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Time Effects of Informal Caregiving on Cognitive Function and Well-Being: Evidence From ELSA

The Gerontologist ◽

10.1093/geront/gnaa114 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Jing Yuan ◽

Daniel Grühn

Keyword(s):

Cognitive Function ◽

Cumulative Effect ◽

Well Being ◽

Informal Caregiving ◽

Cumulative Effects ◽

Time Effects ◽

Socioemotional Functioning ◽

Lagged Effects ◽

The Impact

Abstract Background and Objectives As informal caregiving becomes prevalent, its consequences for caregivers’ cognitive and socioemotional functioning gain more importance for society. There are inconsistent findings regarding the direction of the impact of caregiving—whether caregiving maintains or compromises functioning—and the impact of time—whether the effects accumulate or are stable. In this study, we elucidated 3 time effects of caregiving—concurrent, cumulative, and lagged effects—on cognitive and socioemotional functioning. Research Design and Methods We used data from Wave 1 (2002–2003) to Wave 8 (2016–2017) in the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing (ELSA) and latent growth curve models with the time-varying predictor to investigate 3 time effects of caregiving on cognitive function (memory and executive function) and well-being (life satisfaction and quality of life). Results Over and beyond age effects, current caregiving (concurrent effect) was related to worse well-being and better delayed recall. Little robust cumulative effect was found on cognition and well-being. In addition, there were significant and differential lagged effects of caregiving after controlling for concurrent and cumulative effects; that is, caregiving was related to worse well-being and better memory functioning 2–4 years later. Discussion and Implications The differential concurrent and lagged effects of caregiving on cognitive and socioemotional functioning suggest separate mechanisms for different domains of functioning. The nonsignificant cumulative effects but significant lagged effects imply that even one-time caregiving has long-term (2–4 years) consequences for the caregiver’s future functioning, and the mechanism of long-term caregiving effects may be more qualitative than quantitative.

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THE OPIOID EPIDEMIC IN LONG-TERM CARE: A STAFF PERSPECTIVE

Innovation in Aging ◽

10.1093/geroni/igz038.2604 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 3 (Supplement_1) ◽

pp. S709-S709

Author(s):

Rachael Hemmert ◽

Gabriella E Dull ◽

Linda S Edelman

Keyword(s):

Pain Management ◽

Long Term Care ◽

Adverse Drug Events ◽

Well Being ◽

Educational Needs ◽

Opioid Use ◽

Term Care ◽

Opioid Prescription ◽

The Impact

Abstract Opioid-based analgesic therapy is a common treatment for moderate to severe pain among long term care (LTC) residents. It has been estimated that 60% of LTC residents have an opioid prescription. Of these, 14% use opioids as part of a long term pain management strategy. LTC residents are particularly vulnerable to opioid misuse, exhibiting higher rates of adverse drug events. However, addressing pain, polypharmacological needs and resident well-being in the LTC setting is challenging. More research and education regarding opioid use in LTC is needed. The Utah Geriatric Education Consortium conducted interprofessional focus groups with LTC partners to 1) determine educational needs of staff regarding opioid use, and 2) gather qualitative data about the pain management experiences of staff when working with residents and families. Staff identified the following training needs: pain manifestation and assessment; certified nurse assistant education on opioid use; non-pharmacological options for pain management. Review of staff’s perception of the intersection of opioids, family and staff in a LTC setting revealed that 1) family is concerned about opioid use; 2) conversely, staff may not see opioid use as a problem; and 3) non-pharmacological options for pain management are often costly and unavailable to those in LTC. Identifying educational needs of LTC staff will help guide the development of educational materials and provide baseline data for future assessments of the impact of opioid education on long-term care patient outcomes.

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