Studying Subjective Well-Being during a Quarantine

Author(s):  
Samuel Browning ◽  
E. Scott Geller

To investigate the impact of writing a gratitude letter on particular mood states, we asked students in two university classes (a research class and a positive psychology class) to complete a 15-item mood assessment survey (MAS) twice a day (once in the morning and once at night). The research students who signed up for one or two pass/fail field-study credits in a research class also completed the MAS twice a day, but they did not write the weekly gratitude letter that was expected from the students in the positive psychology class. Each mood state was averaged per each day for the participants in each group and compared between the Gratitude Group and the Control Group. No group difference occurred for some mood states like “incompetent,” but for the “unmotivated” mood state, a significant difference was found. To investigate the potential effect of weekday, we compared the average mood rating between groups for each day of the week. For the mood state of “unmotivated”, a remarkable dip occurred on Wednesday for the Gratitude group, but not for the Control group. These results indicated that writing a gratitude letter increased the benefactor’s motivation, especially on the day when it was accomplished.

2020 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 269
Author(s):  
AliAyşe Nur Katmer ◽  
Ramazan Demir ◽  
Ali Çekiç ◽  
Zeynep Hamamcı

This study investigates the effects of psychodrama on adults’ anxiety and subjective well-being levels. A pre/post-test experimental pattern is used with experimental and control groups. The study sample consists of 24 non-thesis master’s program students at Gaziantep University, Human Psychology, and Communication. The State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI) and the Subjective Well-Being Scale were applied as a pre-test to the experimental and control groups. The psychodrama group practice was performed with the experimental group once a week for eleven weeks, 90 minutes per session, while the control group did not receive any practice. After the application, the post-test was administered to both groups. The data were analyzed with SPSS 23 statistical program. The Mann-Whitney U test was used to evaluate the difference between the experimental and control group, and the Wilcoxon Signed Rank Test was applied for the changes within the experimental group. The findings indicate that the individuals’ anxiety level in the experimental group significantly decreased compared to the control group. There was no significant difference between subjective well-being in the experimental and control group for pre-test and post-test applications.


2020 ◽  
Vol 152 (1) ◽  
pp. 91-115
Author(s):  
Sonja Scheuring

Abstract This paper examines the impact of fixed-term employment on well-being from a cross-national comparative perspective by testing (1) the effect heterogeneity across European countries, (2) to which extent Jahoda’s Latent Deprivation Model provides a sufficient micro-level explanation for the underlying mechanisms and (3) whether the macro-level factor of social cohesion weakens the micro-level impacts. We investigate the effects in both an upwards (permanent employment) and a downwards (unemployment) comparative control group design. Due to the mediating role of social contacts on the micro-level, we assume social cohesion on the country-level to moderate the main effects: A high degree of societal affiliation should substitute the function of social contacts in the work environment of individuals. Using microdata from the European Social Survey (ESS) 2012 for 23 countries and applying multilevel estimation procedures, we find that there is a remarkable variation in the effects across countries. Even though in each country fixed-term employees have a lower subjective well-being compared to permanent ones, the point estimates vary from .17 to 1.19 units. When comparing fixed-term employees to unemployed individuals, the coefficients even range from − .27 to 1.25 units. More specifically, a negative effect indicates that having a fixed-term contract is worse than unemployment in some countries. Moreover, pooled linear regression models reveal that Jahoda’s Latent Deprivation Model explains about three-quarters of the micro-level effect sizes for both directions. Eventually, social cohesion on the country-level diminishes the individual-level well-being differences between fixed-term employees and permanent individuals but not between fixed-term employees and the unemployed.


2009 ◽  
Vol 27 (15_suppl) ◽  
pp. 9603-9603 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. R. Garreau ◽  
M. Faries ◽  
X. Ye ◽  
D. Morton

9603 Background: Emotional state has been linked to cancer survival, but its influence on the outcome of early melanoma is unclear. The Multicenter Selective Lymphadenectomy Trial (MSLT-I) randomized patients with clinically localized cutaneous melanoma to wide local excision (WEX) plus observation or to WEX plus sentinel lymph node biopsy (SNB). Clinical endpoints included disease-specific and disease-free survival. A substudy of this phase III trial evaluated the impact of mood state on survival, and the impact of recurrence on mood state. Methods: Patients were asked to complete a 65-question form within 6 months of enrollment (baseline) and every 12 months thereafter. This questionnaire measured 6 identifiable mood states (vigor-activity, tension-anxiety, depression, anger-hostility, fatigue-inertia, confusion-bewilderment) of the Profile of Mood States (POMS), a validated mood scale for assessing responses to therapy. Self-reported data from the questionnaires were linked to demographic and clinical variables. Results: Of 2,001 patients accrued to MSLT-I, 1,620 completed the questionnaire at baseline. The baseline distribution of POMS variables was similar in the two treatment arms (data not shown). Patients with more vigor at baseline had a significantly longer disease-free and overall survival ( Table ), even after adjusting for age, tumor thickness, site, and ulceration status (p <0.001). Among 136 patients who completed a questionnaire within 6 months after recurrence, comparison of baseline and post-recurrence responses revealed significant changes in mood state: tension, fatigue and confusion increased, whereas vigor decreased (p = 0.0004, 0.0171, 0.0089, and 0.0028, respectively). Conclusions: Vigor, a measure of energy and optimism, is directly correlated with disease-free and overall survival in early melanoma. The negative impact of recurrence on mood state suggests that SNB as a tool for preventing recurrence might also improve mood state and psychological well-being. Supported by NIH CA29605. [Table: see text] No significant financial relationships to disclose.


2016 ◽  
Vol 33 (S1) ◽  
pp. s280-s281
Author(s):  
D. Cabezas Sánchez ◽  
A. Ramírez Macías ◽  
J. Sáiz Galdós

Introduction“Viaje del Parnaso” is a volunteering project developed at the Day Center Aranjuez2 (CD2) for helping adults with SMI to get a satisfactory and responsible occupation through their implication in a volunteering work in the community, while involved in the maintenance of a green area in the city of Aranjuez.Objectives/aimsThe aim of this study was to evaluate the impact of the project on the volunteers’ lives in terms of personal growth and environment conservation and compare its results with non-volunteers also attended at the CD2.MethodsThe project was carried once a week during 45 weeks. 11 volunteers participated on the project, plus 5 non-volunteers were considered as cuasi-control group. The instruments applied were an item on “environment conservation” and 2 subscale items of “Personal Growth” from the Ryff Scales of psychological well-being. Measures were applied at baseline, 6 and 12 months after.ResultsSignificant differences were found on the environment conservation item between volunteers at baseline and 6 months after (P < 0.05). Results also revealed a significant difference (P < 0.05) between volunteers and non-volunteers at both variables (“environment conservation” and “Personal Growth”) in baseline and 6 months after treatment.ConclusionsThe data from this study suggest that a volunteering program seems to be an effective intervention for bringing about improvements in well-being of people with SMI, and also for increasing their environmental awareness. These improvements may also help to change the stigma of SMI reinforcing mental health patient's contributions to society.Disclosure of interestThe authors have not supplied their declaration of competing interest.


2021 ◽  
Vol 14 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yadollah Abolfathi Momtaz ◽  
Parisa Mollaei ◽  
Parisa Taheri-Tanjani

Introduction: One of the consequences of aging is the prevalence of chronic and age-related diseases, such as dementia. Caring for patients with dementia has a negative impact on the caregiver's well-being. This study aimed to examine the impact of cyberspace-based education on the well-being of caregivers of demented elderly people. Methods: This experimental study was done on a sample of 86 caregivers of elderly with dementia in 2018. The study sample was selected from memory clinic of Taleghani Hospital and randomly assigned into groups (intervention n = 43, control n = 43 groups). The well-being was measured using the World Health Organization - Five Well-Being Index (WHO-5), before and two months after the intervention. Cyberspace-based educational intervention was conducted for one month. The SPSS software version 23 was employed in data analysis. Results: The mean age of the caregivers in the intervention and control groups were (M = 51.95, SD = 10.90) and (M = 51.36, SD = 15.12) respectively. No significant difference was found between two groups in terms of age, gender and level of education. The results of analysis showed that while the well-being of the intervention group was significantly increased (t (38) = -11.38, P<0.001) the well-being in the control group was significantly reduced ( t(36) =4.71 , P<0.001). Conclusion: The findings showed that cyberspace-based education can improve the well-being of caregivers of the elderly with dementia.


PLoS ONE ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (7) ◽  
pp. e0253952
Author(s):  
Eleftherios Giovanis ◽  
Sacit Hadi Akdede ◽  
Oznur Ozdamar

The first aim of this study is to investigate the role of the EU Blue Card programme implemented in 2012 in Germany. In particular, we aim to explore the impact on the participation in cultural activities of first-generation non-European Union (EU) and non-European Economic Area (EEA) migrants, such as attendance to cinema, concerts and theatre. The second aim is to examine the impact of cultural activities on subjective well-being (SWB), measured by life satisfaction. We compare the cultural participation and life satisfaction between the treatment group that is the non-EU/EEA first-generation immigrants and the control group that consists, not only of natives and second-generation immigrants but also composes of EU/EEA first-generation immigrants who are not eligible to the programme. We will apply a sharp and a fuzzy regression discontinuity design (RDD) within a seemingly unrelated regression equations (SURE) system using the Ordered Probit method. The empirical analysis relies on data from the German Socio-Economic Panel (GSOEP) survey over the period 2015–2018. The results show that the treated subjects experience an increase in cultural participation activities and an improvement in their SWB, as a result of the EU Blue Card programme, compared to the control group. Participation in classical music performance, opera or theatre influences more the SWB compared to other cultural activities. Policies that promote labour market integration and participation in cultural activities will enable immigrants to integrate into the social norms of the host societies and improve their SWB.


2021 ◽  
Vol 22 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
LIGIA C. OLIVEIRA-SILVA ◽  
JULIANA B. PORTO

ABSTRACT Purpose: The main purpose of this study was to investigate the impact professional fulfilment has on aspects of positive psychology, such as subjective well-being and flourishing at work. Originality/value: We analyse whether professional fulfilment, as a career aspect, influences only work factors, such as flourishing, or if it also contributes to subjective well-being in life. Additionally, few studies have focused on professional fulfilment because of its novelty. Therefore, this study contributes to advancing a new concept, as well as to the development of new models and theories in positive psychology. Design/methodology/approach: This is a quantitative, survey-type research study involving 358 participants who have a wide variety of jobs and professions. The questionnaire presented subjective well-being, flourishing at work and professional fulfilment scales, as well as socio-demographic questions. Data were analysed using bivariate correlations and multiple regression analysis. Findings: Results indicated that professional fulfilment predicts higher subjective well-being and flourishing at work. Therefore, the more people perceive they have achieved what they value in their career and demonstrate positive goal progress, the more they experience well-being in life in general and the more they flourish at work. There are major positive relationships between career goals, well-being and flourishing at work, which is consistent with previous studies. Future studies could analyse under which specific contextual conditions the pursuit of career goals has a higher or lower impact on subjective well-being and flourishing.


Author(s):  
Juan Guo ◽  
Dongmei Li

Background: Autism significantly affects mental health and lowers subjective well-being (SWB). The rehabilitation therapy of autism is attracting widespread attention. We aimed to explore the effects of image-sandplay therapy on the mental health and SWB of children with autism. Methods: A total of 90 children with autism treated in Changchun Women and Children Health Hospital from Jan 2019 to Jun 2020 were enrolled by convenient sampling method. They were randomly divided into control (n=45) and observation (n=45) groups. The observation group had a 12-week image-sandplay therapy based on conventional rehabilitation therapy. In the image-sandplay therapy, the one-to-one intervention was provided once a week, 60 min in each. Autism treatment evaluation checklist (ATEC), autism behavior checklist (ABC), Conners parent symptom questionnaire (PSQ), satisfaction with life scale (SWLS), and positive and negative affect scale for children (PANAS-C) of the two groups were assessed. Results: After intervention, the observation group showed lower scores in ATEC scale and ABC scale than the control group, and the difference show statistical significance (P<0.05). Meanwhile, the observation group showed significantly lower scores in PSQ scale than the control group, showing a significant difference (P<0.05). The observation group shows higher scores in SWLS scale and positive affect scores than the control group, as well as significantly lower negative affected scores than the control groups, showing a significant difference (P<0.05). Conclusion: Image-sandplay therapy can improve the symptoms of children with autism and is conducive to promoting mental health and increasing SWB. It is a feasible and effective rehabilitation method.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cassandra Alighieri ◽  
Evelien D'haeseleer ◽  
Kim Bettens ◽  
Katrien Bonte ◽  
Hubert Vermeersch ◽  
...  

Abstract Background. To date, there seems to be no consensus on the long-term quality of life outcomes in patients living with a cleft of the lip and/or palate (CL/P) with regard to well-being and functioning. Some studies report a substantial influence of having a cleft while other studies report no influence of living with a cleft. The purpose of this study was to investigate the impact of living with a CL/P on esthetics, employment and functioning in Dutch-speaking adolescents and adults with a CL/P. Methods. 30 Patients with a CL/P (19 men and 11 women) were included in the study. The mean age of the participants was 26.93 years (SD = 11.688 years, range = 15 – 66 years). An age and gender matched control group was included consisting of 30 participants (19 men and 11 women) without a CL/P with a mean age of 26.87 years (SD = 11.729 years, range = 16-67 years). Esthetics, employment and functioning were assessed using different standardized self-report questionnaires. Results. No statistically significant difference in educational level, employment, monthly net income, marital status and having children was found between participants with and without a CL/P. In addition, the quality of life scores did not differ between the two groups. Within the group of individuals with a CL/P, the findings revealed that the proportion of participants who reported an influence of the CL/P on daily functioning, general well-being, social contacts, family life, applying for a job, work, education and leisure time differed by age. Older individuals experienced more influence of their CL/P compared to younger individuals. With regard to esthetics, the findings revealed that participants without a CL/P were less satisfied with the appearance of their jaws compared to participants with a CL/P. Conclusion. In general, the findings of our study revealed no significant differences between adolescents and adults with and without a CL/P with regard to employment and functioning. Considering age within the group of participants with a CL/P, however, the results demonstrated that older individuals were more likely to experience a negative impact of their cleft on well-being and functioning. These findings suggest that older individuals with a CL/P might benefit from additional socio-emotional support, for example peer contacts and support groups or psychological guidance. Longitudinal research on this topic is highly needed to determine possible fluctuations in the impact of living with a CL/P.


2020 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 49-60
Author(s):  
Ulin Nuha Rahmawati ◽  
Fuad Nashori ◽  
Ratna S. Rachmahana

This study aimed to examine the effectiveness of mindfulness teaching training in improving the subjective well-being of teachers in an inclusive school in Yogyakarta. This research used non-randomized pretest-posttest control group design. There were 22 respondents which divided into 11 respondents for treatment group and 11 respondents for control group. They were asked to complete a survey consists of the satisfaction with life scale (SWLS) and positive and negative scale (PANAS) before and after experiment. The results showed that there is a significant difference between the subjective well-being of inclusive school teachers group given mindfulness teaching training and that of the teachers in the teachers group without mindfulness teaching training. This finding indicates that mindfulness teaching training was effective to improve inclusive school teachers’ subjective well-being.


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