scholarly journals Theoretical Foundations to the Impact of Dog-Related Activities on Human Hedonic Well-Being, Life Satisfaction and Eudaimonic Well-Being

Author(s):  
Ana Maria Barcelos ◽  
Niko Kargas ◽  
John Maltby ◽  
Sophie Hall ◽  
Phil Assheton ◽  
...  

Cross-sectional comparisons of well-being between dog owners and non-owners commonly generate inconsistent results. Focusing on the uniqueness of the relationship might help address this issue and provide a stronger foundation for dog-related psychotherapeutic interventions. This study aims to evaluate the impact of dog-related activities (e.g., exercising the dog) on owner hedonic well-being, life satisfaction and eudaimonic well-being. It was also hypothesised that psychological closeness to the dog would affect these well-being outcomes. For this study, 1030 dog owners aged over 18 years old answered an online questionnaire about the impact of 15 groups of dog-related activities on their well-being. Ordinal regressions were used to estimate the mean response (and its uncertainty) for each outcome, while conditioning for psychological closeness to the dog and controlling for several key covariates. Tactile interactions and dog playing were significantly more beneficial than other activities for hedonic well-being, and dog training and dog presence for eudaimonic well-being. In contrast, dog health issues and behavioural problems were linked to decrements in these well-being outcomes. Higher psychological closeness to the dog predicted greater improvement in well-being in positive dog-related activities. Our quantitative study validates the general findings of previous qualitative work and lays the groundwork for future longitudinal studies.

Healthcare ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (5) ◽  
pp. 594
Author(s):  
Teshome Sirak Bedaso ◽  
Buxin Han

This study aimed to examine attitude toward aging as a potential mediator of the relationship between personality factors and mental health in terms of depression and life satisfaction among older adults. A cross-sectional study was conducted with 438 Ethiopian elderly individuals aged 60 to 69. The results of the regression-based path analysis showed that after adjusting for demographic data, the relationship between agreeableness and depression in older adults was partially mediated by attitude toward aging. Likewise, attitude toward physical change due to aging and psychological growth subscales jointly mediated the correlation between neuroticism and depression. However, a significant direct path between neuroticism and depression persisted. On the contrary, openness had no significant direct association with depression apart from an indirect through psychosocial loss. The link between life satisfaction and agreeableness as well as openness to experience were partially mediated by psychosocial loss. Therefore, a person’s attitude toward aging and personality characteristics should be taken into consideration while designing interventions for managing mental health issues among older adults.


2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (22) ◽  
pp. 9597
Author(s):  
Gabriella Nagy-Pénzes ◽  
Ferenc Vincze ◽  
Éva Bíró

Mental disorders are common in adolescents, and for effective interventions we should be aware of their determinants. However, there are only a small number of studies investigating the combined effect of multiple factors. Therefore, our aim is to assess the impact of socioeconomic status, social support, and health behavior on adolescents’ mental well-being. A cross-sectional health survey of 1641 children was carried out in accordance with the study protocol of the Hungarian Health Behavior in School-aged Children survey. Multivariate multiple regression was used to analyze the main determinants of mental well-being. The boys’ mental well-being was favorable compared to girls; lower subjective family wealth was associated with lower life satisfaction and depressive mood. Life satisfaction was positively related to healthy eating, social support, and physical activity. Unhealthy eating, sedentary lifestyle, and lower social support were associated with higher depression scores. Higher social support reduces psychosomatic symptoms, while unhealthy eating and spending a lot of time in front of the computer increase them. Both social support and healthy lifestyle seem to be protective against mental health problems among adolescents, and thus interventions should focus on these factors regardless of the socioeconomic status of the participants, with special attention given to girls.


2020 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 01-04
Author(s):  
Abdul Mohiuddin

On Valentine's Day, the sight of couples holding hands and hugging each-other might unleash a wave of jealousy in those who are single. However, there might not be much to be jealous about. Also, marital quality clearly colors one’s overall sense of well-being, and marital distress elevates health risks, says a leading clinical psychology journal. However, the simple presence of a spouse is not necessarily protective; a troubled marriage is itself a prime source of stress, and simultaneously limits the partner's ability to seek support in other relationships. The worst distance between two persons in a relationship misunderstanding. Indeed, the relationship between life satisfaction and marital quality is stronger than life satisfaction’s ties to either one's job or one’s health.


2019 ◽  
Vol 3 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. S711-S712
Author(s):  
Shayla Thompson ◽  
Broderick Sawyer ◽  
Suzanne Meeks

Abstract Racial microaggressions are a common form of racial discrimination consisting of subtle or interpersonal slights. Racial microaggressions are linked to various kinds of psychological distress in younger adults, but have not been studied across the lifespan. We examined the relationship of racial microaggressions with psychological distress and anger rumination among younger and older adults identified as racial or ethnic minorities. We hypothesized that age would moderate the relationship between racial microaggressions and psychological distress and anger rumination, that is, the relationship would be weaker for older than for younger adults. Participants were recruited from Amazon Mechanical Turk and were compensated $1 for their participation. Preliminary tests of the hypotheses (N=220), using multiple regression analyses to test for moderation, failed to support the hypothesis that age would mitigate the impact of microaggressions on symptom severity. Both age and microaggressions were related to psychological distress and anger rumination, but contrary to prediction, older adults showed more exacerbation of distress in the face of microaggressions than younger adults. The results also differed by gender and ethnic groups, suggesting the importance of examining intersectional experiences of race, gender, and age in response to discrimination. These cross-sectional findings lend support to the importance of considering both subtle and overt discriminatory experiences in understanding the mental health challenges for minority groups in the U.S., but more work is needed to examine the intersection of ethnicity with other demographic variables, and to understand how the lifelong experiences of discrimination may shape older adults’ vulnerability, well-being, and resilience.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jon Jachimowicz ◽  
Ruo Mo ◽  
Adam Eric Greenberg ◽  
Bertus F. Jeronimus ◽  
Ashley Whillans

There is widespread consensus that income and subjective well-being are linked, but when and why they are connected is subject to ongoing debate. We draw on prior research that distinguishes between the frequency and intensity of happiness to suggest that higher income is more consistently linked to how frequently individuals experience happiness than how intensely happy each episode is. This occurs in part because lower-income individuals spend more time engaged in passive leisure activities, reducing the frequency but not the intensity of positive affect. Notably, we demonstrate that only happiness frequency underlies the relationship between income and life satisfaction. Data from an experience sampling study (N = 394 participants, 34,958 daily responses), a pre-registered cross-sectional study (N = 1,553), and a day reconstruction study (N = 13,437) provide empirical evidence for these ideas. Together, this research provides conceptual and empirical clarity into how income is related to happiness.


2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carlos Reyes-Valenzuela ◽  
Loreto Villagrán ◽  
Carolina Alzugaray ◽  
Félix Cova ◽  
Jaime Méndez

The psychosocial impacts of natural disasters are associated with the triggering of negative and positive responses in the affected population; also, such effects are expressed in an individual and collective sphere. This can be seen in several reactions and behaviors that can vary from the development of individual disorders to impacts on interpersonal relationships, cohesion, communication, and participation of the affected communities, among others. The present work addressed the psychosocial impacts of the consequences of natural disasters considering individual effects via the impact of trauma and community effects, through the perception of social well-being, the valuation of the community and the social exchange of emotions. The aim of this study was to assess the relationship between individual reactions (i.e., intensity of trauma) and the evaluation of social and collective circumstances (i.e., social well-being) after the earthquake of 27F 2010 in Chile, through collective-type intervention variables not used in previous studies (i.e., social sharing of emotions and community appraisal). For this purpose, a descriptive, ex post facto correlational and cross-sectional methodology was carried on, with the participation of 487 people affected by the 2010 earthquake, 331 women (68%) and 156 men (32%), between 18 and 58 years old (M = 21.09; SD = 5.45), from the provinces of Ñuble and Biobío, VIII region, Chile. The measurement was carried out 4 years after the earthquake and the results show that greater individual than collective involvements were found, mainly in the coastal zone of the region. The mediation analysis showed that the relationship between the intensity of the trauma and social well-being occurs through a route that considers social sharing of emotions and community appraisal. These results indicate that the overcoming of individual affectations to achieve social well-being occurs when in the immediate post-disaster phases the affected communities activate shared emotional and cognitive processes, which allow them to jointly face subsequent threats and abrupt changes.


PLoS ONE ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (10) ◽  
pp. e0258101
Author(s):  
Khalid Al-Mansour

The turnover intention of healthcare workers is a threat to the competence of health services, especially during COVID-19 time. This study aimed to investigate the association between stress and turnover intention among healthcare workers in Saudi Arabia and whether social support could affect this association. In this cross-sectional study, healthcare workers in primary healthcare centers in Saudi Arabia responded to an online questionnaire assessing their sociodemographic and occupational history, stress levels using the Perceived Stress Scale-10 (PSS-10), social support using the Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support (MSPSS), and turnover intention within the next few months. Path analysis was conducted to assess the mediating effect of social support on the association between stress and turnover intention. A total of 1101 healthcare workers (242 physicians, 340 nurses, 310 paramedics, and 209 administrative workers) participated in this study. The path between stress and support had a significant standardized regression weight (-.34, p < .05). The path between support and turnover had a significant standardized regression weight (.08, p < .05). The standardized total effect of stress on turnover without the impact of support was significant (-.39, p < .05). The direct effect of stress on turnover with the presence of support was significant (-.36, p < .05). The indirect effect of stress on turnover with the presence of support was significant (-.03, p < .05). Thus, there is evidence to show that support mediates the relationship between stress and support. Stress is associated with turnover intention among healthcare workers in Saudi Arabia. Social support had a mitigating effect on the relationship between stress and turnover intention.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anupama Y J ◽  
Arvind Conjeevaram ◽  
Ravindra Prabhu A ◽  
Manjunath Doshetty ◽  
Sanjay Srinivasa ◽  
...  

The COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted health care delivery globally. Patients on in-centre haemodialysis(HD) are particularly affected due to their multiple hospital visits and the need for uninterrupted care for their well-being and survival. We studied the impact of the pandemic and the national policy for pandemic control on the HD care delivery in Karnataka state in India in April 2020, when the first and second national lockdown were in place. An online, questionnaire based survey of dialysis facilities was conducted and the responses analysed. The questions were pertaining to the key areas such as changes in number of dialysis treatments, frequency, duration, expenses, transportation to and from dialysis units, impact on availability of consumables, effect on dialysis personnel and on machine maintenance. 62 centres participated. Median of dialysis treatments for the months of March and April 2020 were 695.5 and 650 respectively. Reduction in dialysis treatments was noted in 29(46.8%) facilities , decreased frequency reported by 60 centres. In at least 35(56.5%) centres, dialysis patients had to bear increased expenses. Cost and availability of dialysis consumables were affected in 40(64.5%) and 55(88.7%) centres respectively. Problems with transportation and movement restriction were the two key factors affecting both patients and dialysis facilities.This survey documents the collateral impact of COVID -19 on the vulnerable group of patients on HD, even when not affected by COVID. It identifies the key areas of challenges faced by the patients and the facilities and implores the care-providers for finding newer avenues for mitigation of the problems. Key words: COVID-19, India, Haemodialysis , dialysis care delivery, questionnaire-based survey


2020 ◽  
pp. 194855062097254
Author(s):  
Jon M. Jachimowicz ◽  
Ruo Mo ◽  
Adam Eric Greenberg ◽  
Bertus Jeronimus ◽  
Ashley V. Whillans

There is widespread consensus that income and subjective well-being are linked, but when and why they are connected is subject to ongoing debate. We draw on prior research that distinguishes between the frequency and intensity of happiness to suggest that higher income is more consistently linked to how frequently individuals experience happiness than how intensely happy each episode is. This occurs in part because lower-income individuals spend more time engaged in passive leisure activities, reducing the frequency but not the intensity of positive affect. Notably, we demonstrate that only happiness frequency underlies the relationship between income and life satisfaction. Data from an experience sampling study ( N = 394 participants, 34,958 daily responses), a preregistered cross-sectional study ( N = 1,553), and a day reconstruction study ( N = 13,437) provide empirical evidence for these ideas. Together, this research provides conceptual and empirical clarity into how income is related to happiness.


2021 ◽  
pp. 088626052110425
Author(s):  
Omar Saldaña ◽  
Oscar Wu-Salmeron ◽  
Emma Antelo ◽  
Álvaro Rodríguez-Carballeira

In the context of the adverse effects of psychological abuse, this study examined satisfaction with life, psychological well-being, and social well-being in survivors of social groups that are high-demand, manipulative, totalitarian, or abusive toward their members. We specifically tested the mediating role between group psychological abuse and current well-being of psychological stress suffered after leaving the group. An online questionnaire was administered to 636 Spanish-speaking former members of different groups, 377 victims of group psychological abuse and 259 nonvictims. Participants reporting group psychological abuse showed significantly lower levels of life satisfaction, psychological well-being, and social well-being compared to nonvictims. Greater differences in well-being between victims and nonvictims were related to positive relationships with others ( d = .85), self-acceptance ( d = .51), social integration ( d = .44), and social acceptance ( d = .41). Victims’ life satisfaction and well-being were positively correlated with the time that has passed since leaving the group, but nonsignificant effects were found regarding the type of the group (i.e., religious vs. nonreligious), the age at which they joined the group (i.e., born into or raised in the group vs. during adulthood), the length of group membership, and the method of leaving (i.e., personal reflection, counseled, or expelled). Moderate associations were found between group psychological abuse, psychological stress, and well-being measures, and results demonstrated that psychological stress mediated the impact of group psychological abuse on life satisfaction and well-being. Understanding the negative impact of group psychological abuse on well-being is important to promote survivors’ optimal functioning during their integration process into the out-group society.


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