scholarly journals Humorous Coping With Unrequited Love: Is Perspective Change Important?

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Werner Greve ◽  
Johanna Hauser ◽  
Farina Rühs

A large number of studies suggest that humor is associated with mental well-being and effective as a means of coping. However, it is less well-understood which mechanisms are effective for this particular function of humor. The present study examines whether processes of change of perspective, which are often regarded as constitutive for humor, could be an effective coping-factor when facing unrequited love as a specific psychological burden. In a questionnaire study, N = 148 persons aged 18–65 years (w = 96) with actual or past experiences of unrequited love reported on their subjective burden due to this experience, their self-esteem and satisfaction with life, two scales for humor (Multidimensional Sense of Humor Scale: MSHS, and a self-constructed scale: Humorous Change of Perspective, HCOP) and a coping scale which measure change of perspective in the confrontation with goal blockages (Flexible Goal Adjustment, FGA). Results indicated that the burden of unrequited love [operationalized objectively as actuality of experience (dichotomous) or subjectively as burden experienced] and both indicators of well-being were negatively associated. Multiple regression analyses showed that humor was a significant moderator of this relationship in nearly all combinations of operationalizations of humor and indicators of well-being: Higher levels of humor are associated with better well-being even when the perceived burden was high. In addition, the study examined whether the coping effect of humor can be partly or mainly attributed to the individual's capacity to perspective change as captured by FGA. When including this scale as a covariate in the regression models, the moderation effect for MSHS did not persist; however, for HCOP the moderation effect remained unchanged: the moderator effect of humorous change of perspective proved to be independent of FGA. Taken together the results suggest that perspective-changing skills play a significant role in the coping effect of humor in dealing with psychological burdens. However, depending on which humor facet is measured, the entailed perspective change may or may not appear to go beyond what the individual's FGA can account for. This suggests that the coping effect caused by humorous change of perspective includes aspects that are also discussed for other coping resources as well as its own, humor-specific aspects. Potential avenues for future studies are discussed both with respect to the necessity for replication and extension of the present study and to the determination of other potential alleviativing effects of other facets of humor.

2009 ◽  
Vol 24 (S1) ◽  
pp. 1-1
Author(s):  
A. Moeller-Leimkuehler ◽  
M. Obermeier

Objective:The aim of the study was to identify the best predictors of the course of burden during a 2-year follow-up period. The study is part of the Munich 5-year follow-up study in relatives of first admitted patients with schizophrenia or depression.Method:A cohort of 60 key relatives was assessed based on a transactional stress model concerning objective and subjective burden, well-being, self-rated symptoms and global satisfaction with life. The stressors were defined as patients' illness variables, and the potential predictors included different dispositions and resources of the relatives. Effects were analyzed by regression models. In a first step, the main predictors of burden were identified at each assessment. In a second step, the resulting predictors were included in a Generalized Linear Modeling procedure.Results:Caregivers' burden improved significantly, but well-being and self-rated symptoms remained elevated. In the final regression model, expressed emotion, neuroticism, generalized negative stress response and life stressors resulted as the best predictors of burden. The effects were rather time invariant than time dependent.Conclusion:In order to effectively work on long-standing unfavourable patterns of stress response, family interventions should be long-term and targeted to vulnerable caregivers who could be identified by virtue of their personality traits.


2015 ◽  
Vol 18 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bruno Figueiredo Damásio ◽  
Sílvia Helena Koller

AbstractThis study sought to assess how the search for meaning interacts with crisis of meaning and with different categories of meaning in life (meaningfulness, crisis of meaning, existential indifference, and existential conflict). Furthermore, the moderation role of search for meaning between the relation of categories of meaning and subjective well-being (SWB) was also evaluated. Participants included 3,034 subjects (63.9% women) ranging in age from 18 to 91 (M = 33.90; SD = 15.01) years old from 22 Brazilian states. Zero-order correlations and a factorial MANOVA were implemented. Positive low correlations were found for search for meaning and crisis of meaning (r = .258; p < .001). Search for meaning presented a small-effect size moderation effect on the relation of the different categories of meaning with subjective happiness, F(6, 3008) = 2.698, p < .05; η2 = .004, but not for satisfaction with life, F(6, 3008) = .935, p = .47; η2 = .002. The differences on the levels of subjective happiness of those inserted in existential indifferent and conflicting categories differ depending on the levels of search for meaning. Further directions for future studies are proposed.


2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (4) ◽  
pp. 341-355
Author(s):  
Marina Petrash ◽  
◽  
Olga Strizhitskaya ◽  
Inna Murtazina ◽  
Gayane Vartanyan ◽  
...  

The article deals with the concept of “loneliness” and provides a modern view on the problem of studying the phenomenon. The data of an empirical study on the experience of loneliness and coping behavior in adults is presented. The study involved 256 respondents aged 21 to 73, including 153 women and 103 men. Most of the participants live in Vyborg, Leningrad Region (65.2%). The participants in the study are representatives of different professional environments (university teachers, schools, gymnasiums, medical workers, engineers, civil servants), 216 people have a higher education. It was hypothesized that there may be types of attitudes towards loneliness, differing in the level of severity of the characteristics of the phenomenon, and these types can be regulated in different ways by coping behavior. Also, it was suggested that sociotropism acts as a resource in the experience of loneliness, and problem-oriented coping strategies act as predictors of sociotropy. The research design included the following methods: Differential Loneliness Experience Questionnaire by E.N.Osin and D.A.Leontyev (DOPO-3k); Scale of social and emotional loneliness (SELSA-S) as adapted by O.Yu. Strizhitskaya et al.; Scale of psychological well-being by K.Riff as adapted by E.G.Troshikhina and L.V.Zhukovskaya (short version); Satisfaction with Life Scale E.Dinner; Coping test by R.La- zarus, Scale “Sociotropy — Self-sufficiency”; questionnaire. Four types of attitudes towards loneliness were identified, which differ in the severity of the characteristics of loneliness and their ratio: “adaptive”, “dependent”, “coping”, “self-sufficient”. The differences in the regulation of behavior among respondents with different types of attitudes to loneliness are shown, the structure of the relationship between coping strategies and the characteristics of loneliness is determined. The contribution of problem-oriented strategies to reducing the level of the feeling of loneliness is shown and the ambiguous contribution of the “self-control” strategy to the experience of general loneliness and social-emotional loneliness, depending on the type of experience of the studied phenomenon. As an indirect result, it is indicated that sociotropy can act as a resource in situations when loneliness is experienced.


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.


2016 ◽  
Vol 3 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ms. Anjali Sahai ◽  
Prof. (Dr). Abha Singh

Organizational Justice has the potential to create major impact on organizations and employees alike. These include greater commitment, trust, enhanced job performance, more citizenship behaviors and less number of conflicts. It has been reported that employees seem to have a universal concern for Justice that transcends the self and that many are subject to biases at various point of time in their work life. Sometimes these biases lead to adverse outcomes including decreased level of subjective well-being. Subjective well-being is a broad category that includes life satisfaction, positive affect, and low negative affect, such as anger, sadness and fear. Thus to study the relationship between Organizational justice and subjective well-being, a sample of 88 employees working in Private Universities of NCR region were examined. For this purpose, the Organizational Justice scales consisting of Measure of Procedural & Interactional Justice and Distributive Justice Index scale by Moorman, Blakely & Niehoff (1998) and Subjective Wellbeing Scales inclusive of the Satisfaction with Life Scale(SWLS),Scale of Positive and Negative Experience(SPANE) and Flourishing Scale (FS) by Ed Diener (2004)were used. Results indicate significant relationship between the three types of Organizational justice and subjective well-being of employees.


2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (10) ◽  
pp. 2187
Author(s):  
Omrit Feldman ◽  
Eran Goldstien ◽  
Benjamin Rolnik ◽  
Ariel B. Ganz ◽  
Shahar Lev-Ari

Stuttering is a speech disorder that can cause disturbances in the timing and flow of speech. In addition to being a communication disorder, stuttering is often accompanied by a reduction in the quality of life and has impacts on social status, mental well-being, self-acceptance, and the chances of integration into the labor market. The Inquiry Based Stress Reduction (IBSR) program, developed in the United States by Byron Katie in 1986, is the clinical application of “The Work” method (Thework.com) and represents an emerging mindfulness and cognitive-reframing method. IBSR has been demonstrated to improve mental health and well-being in adults and may alleviate psychological and psychosocial symptoms of stuttering. The purpose of this trial was to examine the effect of a 12-week IBSR intervention on the overall stuttering experience and indicators of anxiety, psychological flexibility, and well-being among adults who stutter (AWS). This study was a randomized controlled clinical trial. Participants were randomized to IBSR (n = 28) and control (n = 28) groups. Validated questionnaires of overall stuttering experience (OASES-A), anxiety (STAI), psychological flexibility (PFQ), and satisfaction with life (SWLS) were completed before, after, and one month after the intervention. An intention-to-treat approach was implemented for analysis. Our results show that participants in the IBSR intervention group exhibited a greater improvement in their overall stuttering experience as compared to the control group, as well as in general information on stuttering awareness and perception, reactions to stuttering, communication in daily situations, and quality of life. In addition, we found a greater reduction in anxiety levels and an increase in satisfaction-with-life scores in the IBSR group. These results indicate that IBSR can improve the overall stuttering experience.


BMJ Open ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (4) ◽  
pp. e044193
Author(s):  
Matthias Christian Schrempf ◽  
Julian Quirin Petzold ◽  
Hugo Vachon ◽  
Morten Aagaard Petersen ◽  
Johanna Gutschon ◽  
...  

IntroductionPatients with cancer undergoing surgery often suffer from reduced quality of life and various forms of distress. Untreated distress can negatively affect coping resources as well as surgical and oncological outcomes. A virtual reality-based stress reduction intervention may increase quality of life and well-being and reduce distress in the perioperative phase for patients with cancer. This pilot trial aims to explore the feasibility of the proposed intervention, assess patient acceptability and obtain estimates of effect to provide data for sample size calculations.Methods and analysisPatients with colorectal cancer and liver metastasis undergoing elective surgery will be recruited for this single-centre, randomised pilot trial with a three-arm design. A total of 54 participants will be randomised at 1:1:1 ratio to one of two intervention groups or a control receiving standard treatment. Those randomised to an intervention group will either receive perioperative virtual reality-based stress reduction exercises twice daily or listen to classical music twice daily. Primary feasibility outcomes are number and proportions of participants recruited, screened, consented and randomised. Furthermore, adherence to the intervention, compliance with the completion of the quality of life questionnaires and feasibility of implementing the trial procedures will be assessed. Secondary clinical outcomes are measurements of the effectiveness of the interventions to inform sample size calculations.Ethics and disseminationThe study protocol, the patient information and the informed consent form have been approved by the ethics committee of the Ludwigs-Maximilians-University, Munich, Germany (Reference Number: 19–915). Study findings will be submitted for publication in peer-reviewed journals.Trial registration numberDRKS00020909.


2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (6) ◽  
pp. 3396
Author(s):  
Óscar Gavín-Chocano ◽  
David Molero ◽  
Inmaculada García-Martínez

(1) Background: Early intervention professionals are involved in the reconceptualisation of their service due to the exceptional situation caused by the COVID-19 epidemic, within the family context and aware of the children’s needs, with an impact on their emotional well-being to ensure sustainability. An analysis of their socio–emotional profile and training is increasingly needed to face their professional development effectively; (2) Methods: In this study, 209 early intervention professionals participated (n = 209), with an average age of 37.62 (±9.02). The following instruments were used: Satisfaction with Life Scale (SWLS), Wong Law Emotional Intelligence Scale (WLEIS-S) and the Utrecht Work Engagement Scale (UWES-9). The purpose of the study was to examine the relationship between early intervention (EI) and engagement as predictors of greater life satisfaction using Structural Equation Modelling (SEM). (3) Results: There exists a relationship between some dimensions of the instruments used (p < 0.01). The model obtained good structural validity (χ² = 3.264; Root Mean Square Error of Approximation (RMSEA) =.021; Goodness-of-Fit Index (GFI) = 0.991; Comparative Goodness of Fit Index (CFI) = 0.999; Incremental Fit Index (IFI) = 0.999). Subsequently, the results described above were verified through Bayesian statistics, thereby reinforcing the evidence provided; (4) Conclusions: Findings highlight the importance of providing professionals with emotional tools and strategies, from the educational context, in order to carry out their activity effectively and ensure the sustainability within the current situation, while remaining fully engaged.


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