scholarly journals Happy to Help? A systematic review and meta-analysis of the effects of performing acts of kindness on the well-being of the actor

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Oliver Scott Curry ◽  
Lee Rowland ◽  
Caspar J. Van Lissa ◽  
Sally Zlotowitz ◽  
John McAlaney ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Systematic Review ◽  
Meta Analysis ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Subjective Well Being ◽  
Community Members ◽  
Multiple Control ◽  
Total N ◽  
Multi Level ◽  
Behavioural Sciences

Do acts of kindness improve the well-being of the actor? Recent advances in the behavioural sciences have provided a number of explanations of human social, cooperative and altruistic behaviour. These theories predict that people will be ‘happy to help’ family, friends, community members, spouses, and even strangers under some conditions. Here we conduct a systematic review and meta-analysis of the experimental evidence that kindness interventions (for example, performing ‘random acts of kindness’) boost subjective well-being. Our initial search of the literature identified 489 articles; of which 24 (27 studies) met the inclusion criteria (total N=4,045). These 27 studies, some of which included multiple control conditions and dependent measures, yielded 52 effect sizes. Multi-level modelling revealed that the overall effect of kindness on the well-being of the actor is small-to-medium (δ = 0.28). The effect was not moderated by sex, age, type of participant, intervention, control condition or outcome measure. There was no indication of publication bias. We discuss the limitations of the current literature, and recommend that future research test more specific theories of kindness: taking kindness-specific individual differences into account; distinguishing between the effects of kindness to specific categories of people; and considering a wider range of proximal and distal outcomes. Such research will advance our understanding of the causes and consequences of kindness, and help practitioners to maximise the effectiveness of kindness interventions to improve well-being.

Comparing the Well-Being of Para and Olympic Sport Athletes: A Systematic Review

2015 ◽  
Vol 32 (3) ◽  
pp. 256-276 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hannah Macdougall ◽  
Paul O’Halloran ◽  
Nora Shields ◽  
Emma Sherry
Keyword(s):  
Systematic Review ◽  
Meta Analysis ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Subjective Well Being ◽  
Rigorous Study ◽  
Mean Differences ◽  
Meta Analyses ◽  
Study Designs ◽  
Olympic Sport

This systematic review included 12 studies that compared the well-being of Para and Olympic sport athletes. Meta-analyses revealed that Para athletes, compared with Olympic sport athletes, had lower levels of self-acceptance, indicated by athletic identity, d = -0.47, 95% confidence interval (CI) [-0.77, -0.16], and body-image perceptions, d = -0.33, 95% CI [-0.59, -0.07], and differed from Olympic sport athletes in terms of their motivation, indicated by a greater mastery-oriented climate, d = 0.74, 95% CI [0.46, 1.03]. Given an inability to pool the remaining data for meta-analysis, individual standardized mean differences were calculated for other dimensions of psychological and subjective well-being. The results have implications for professionals and coaches aiming to facilitate the well-being needs of athletes under their care. Future research would benefit from incorporating established models of well-being based on theoretical rationale combined with rigorous study designs.

scholarly journals Updated systematic review and meta-analysis of studies examining the relationship between reported racism and health and well-being for children and youth: a protocol

BMJ Open ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (6) ◽  
pp. e043722
Author(s):  
Naomi Priest ◽  
Kate Doery ◽  
Mandy Truong ◽  
Shuaijun Guo ◽  
Ryan Perry ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Systematic Review ◽  
Health Outcomes ◽  
Research Policy ◽  
Meta Analysis ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Children And Youth ◽  
Effect Sizes ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Critical Determinant ◽  
Health And Well Being

IntroductionRacism is a critical determinant of health and health inequities for children and youth. This protocol aims to update the first systematic review conducted by Priest et al (2013), including a meta-analysis of findings. Based on previous empirical data, it is anticipated that child and youth health will be negatively impacted by racism. Findings from this review will provide updated evidence of effect sizes across outcomes and identify moderators and mediators of relationships between racism and health.Methods and analysisThis systematic review and meta-analysis will include studies that examine associations between experiences of racism and racial discrimination with health outcomes of children and youth aged 0–24 years. Exposure measures include self-reported or proxy reported systemic, interpersonal and intrapersonal racism. Outcome measures include general health and well-being, physical health, mental health, biological markers, healthcare utilisation and health behaviours. A comprehensive search of studies from the earliest time available to October 2020 will be conducted. A random effects meta-analysis will examine the average effect of racism on a range of health outcomes. Study-level moderation will test the difference in effect sizes with regard to various sample and exposure characteristics. This review has been registered with the International Prospective Register of Systematic Reviews.Ethics and disseminationThis review will provide evidence for future research within the field and help to support policy and practice development. Results will be widely disseminated to both academic and non-academic audiences through peer-review publications, community summaries and presentations to research, policy, practice and community audiences.PROSPERO registration numberCRD42020184055.

Societal Conditions and the Gender Difference in Well-Being

2017 ◽  
Vol 43 (3) ◽  
pp. 329-336 ◽  
Author(s):  
Miron Zuckerman ◽  
Chen Li ◽  
Edward F. Diener
Keyword(s):  
Gender Difference ◽  
Negative Emotion ◽  
Meta Analysis ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Self Esteem ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Subjective Well Being ◽  
Quadratic Relation ◽  
Women And Gender ◽  
And Gender

Findings from a meta-analysis on gender differences in self-esteem (Zuckerman et al., 2016) suggest that the relation between the degree to which societal conditions are favorable to women and gender difference in self-esteem might be quadratic; when conditions improve, women’s self-esteem (relative to that of men) trends downward but when conditions continue to improve, women’s self-esteem begins to trend upward. Testing whether these relations generalize to subjective well-being, the present study found a quadratic relation between improving societal conditions and the gender difference in life satisfaction and positive affect (women are lower than men when societal conditions are moderately favorable compared to when they are at their worst and at their best); the relation was linear for negative emotion (women report more negative emotions than men when societal conditions are better). Directions for future research that will address potential explanations for these results are proposed.

scholarly journals The Perinatal Mental Health of Indigenous Women: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

2019 ◽  
pp. 070674371987702 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sawayra Owais ◽  
Mateusz Faltyn ◽  
Ashley V. D. Johnson ◽  
Chelsea Gabel ◽  
Bernice Downey ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Systematic Review ◽  
Mental Health Problems ◽  
Meta Analysis ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Health Problems ◽  
Indigenous Women ◽  
Perinatal Mental Health ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Increased Risk

Objective: Although Indigenous women are exposed to high rates of risk factors for perinatal mental health problems, the magnitude of their risk is not known. This lack of data impedes the development of appropriate screening and treatment protocols, as well as the proper allocation of resources for Indigenous women. The objective of this systematic review and meta-analysis was to compare rates of perinatal mental health problems among Indigenous and non-Indigenous women. Methods: We searched Medline, EMBASE, PsycINFO, CINAHL, and Web of Science from their inceptions until February 2019. Studies were included if they assessed mental health in Indigenous women during pregnancy and/or up to 12 months postpartum. Results: Twenty-six articles met study inclusion criteria and 21 were eligible for meta-analysis. Indigenous identity was associated with higher odds of mental health problems (odds ratio [ OR] 1.62; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.25 to 2.11). Odds were higher still when analyses were restricted to problems of greater severity ( OR 1.95; 95% CI, 1.21 to 3.16) and young Indigenous women ( OR 1.86; 95% CI, 1.51 to 2.28). Conclusion: Indigenous women are at increased risk of mental health problems during the perinatal period, particularly depression, anxiety, and substance misuse. However, resiliency among Indigenous women, cultural teachings, and methodological issues may be affecting estimates. Future research should utilize more representative samples, adapt and validate diagnostic and symptom measures for Indigenous groups, and engage Indigenous actors, leaders, and related allies to help improve the accuracy of estimates, as well as the well-being of Indigenous mothers, their families, and future generations. Trial Registration: PROSPERO-CRD42018108638.

scholarly journals A systematic review of the relationship between behavioral and psychological symptoms (BPSD) and caregiver well-being

2016 ◽  
Vol 28 (11) ◽  
pp. 1761-1774 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alexandra Feast ◽  
Esme Moniz-Cook ◽  
Charlotte Stoner ◽  
Georgina Charlesworth ◽  
Martin Orrell
Keyword(s):  
Systematic Review ◽  
Motor Behavior ◽  
Psychological Symptoms ◽  
Meta Analysis ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Future Research ◽  
The Individual ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Behavioral And Psychological Symptoms

ABSTRACTBackground:Behavioral and psychological symptoms in dementia (BPSD) are important predictors of institutionalization as well as caregiver burden and depression. Previous reviews have tended to group BPSD as one category with little focus on the role of the individual symptoms. This review investigates the role of the individual symptoms of BPSD in relation to the impact on different measures of family caregiver well-being.Methods:Systematic review and meta-analysis of papers published in English between 1980 and December 2015 reporting which BPSD affect caregiver well-being. Paper quality was appraised using the Downs and Black Checklist (1998).Results:Forty medium and high quality quantitative papers met the inclusion criteria, 16 were suitable to be included in a meta-analysis of mean distress scores. Depressive behaviors were the most distressing for caregivers followed by agitation/aggression and apathy. Euphoria was the least distressing. Correlation coefficients between mean total behavior scores and mean distress scores were pooled for four studies. Irritability, aberrant motor behavior and delusions were the most strongly correlated to distress, disinhibition was the least correlated.Conclusions:The evidence is not conclusive as to whether some BPSD impact caregiver well-being more than others. Studies which validly examined BPSD individually were limited, and the included studies used numerous measures of BPSD and numerous measures of caregiver well-being. Future research may benefit from a consistent measure of BPSD, examining BPSD individually, and by examining the causal mechanisms by which BPSD impact well-being by including caregiver variables so that interventions can be designed to target BPSD more effectively.

scholarly journals How closely related are financial satisfaction and subjective well-being? Systematic review and meta-analysis

2020 ◽  
Vol 85 ◽  
pp. 101522
Author(s):  
Kayonda Hubert Ngamaba ◽  
Christopher Armitage ◽  
Maria Panagioti ◽  
Alexander Hodkinson
Keyword(s):  
Systematic Review ◽  
Meta Analysis ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Financial Satisfaction ◽  
Subjective Well Being

scholarly journals How strongly related are health status and subjective well-being? Systematic review and meta-analysis

2017 ◽  
Vol 27 (5) ◽  
pp. 879-885 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kayonda Hubert Ngamaba ◽  
Maria Panagioti ◽  
Christopher J. Armitage
Keyword(s):  
Systematic Review ◽  
Health Status ◽  
Meta Analysis ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Subjective Well Being

A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Subjective Age and the Association With Cognition, Subjective Well-Being, and Depression

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Felicia Alonso Debreczeni ◽  
Phoebe E Bailey
Keyword(s):  
Systematic Review ◽  
Depressive Symptoms ◽  
Meta Analysis ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Data Sets ◽  
Subjective Well Being ◽  
Subjective Age ◽  
Scientific Databases ◽  
Social Scientific ◽  
And Gender

Abstract Objectives A systematic review and meta-analysis were conducted to quantify the degree to which subjective age is associated with cognition, subjective well-being, and depression. Method A systematic search was performed in three electronic social scientific databases, PsycINFO, Scopus, and Web of Science in May 2018. A manual forward and backward citation search of articles meeting the criteria for inclusion, including a mean participant age of 40+ years, was conducted in November 2019. Twenty-four independent data sets were included in the meta-analysis. Results Overall, a younger subjective age was related to enhanced subjective well-being and cognitive performance, and reduced depressive symptoms (r = .18). This association was stronger among collectivist (r = .24) than individualist (r = .16) cultures. Mean chronological age across samples (ranging from 55 to 83 years), type of subjective age scoring, and gender did not influence the strength of the overall association. Further analysis revealed that subjective age was individually associated with depressive symptoms (r = .20), subjective well-being (r = .17), and cognition (r = .14), and none had a stronger association with subjective age than the other. Discussion The results indicate a small yet significant association between subjective age and important developmental outcomes.

scholarly journals Income inequality and subjective well-being: a systematic review and meta-analysis

2017 ◽  
Vol 27 (3) ◽  
pp. 577-596 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kayonda Hubert Ngamaba ◽  
Maria Panagioti ◽  
Christopher J. Armitage
Keyword(s):  
Systematic Review ◽  
Income Inequality ◽  
Meta Analysis ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Subjective Well Being
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