scholarly journals Race, Ethnicity and Subjective Well-Being: Exploring the Disparities in Life Satisfaction Among Whites, Latinx, and Asians

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 51-72
Author(s):  
Tim Wadsworth ◽  
Philip M. Pendergast

While much research has been done on the causes and correlates of subjective well-being over the last two decades, a relatively small number of studies have addressed disparities in subjective well-being between various racial and ethnic groups. Recently more research has addressed the differences between blacks and whites, and begun to unpack the causes for these differences. A smaller number of studies have started to look at differences between white and Latinx respondents. In the present work we add to this literature by examining differences in life satisfaction between white, Latin and Asian respondents, as well as the persistence of these differences after controlling for a variety of social, economic and lifestyle variables. After assessing how much of the racial and ethnic disparity between these groups can be explained by such factors, we present additional preliminary analysis that begins to explore the role of culture in understanding the relationship between race, ethnicity and subjective well-being.

2018 ◽  
Vol 56 (2) ◽  
pp. 458-473 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hansika Singhal ◽  
Renu Rastogi

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to discover the role of psychological capital (PsyCap) as a predictor of subjective well-being (SWB) and career commitment (CC). Further, it aims to analyze the mediating role of SWB in the relationship between PsyCap and CC in the Indian manufacturing sector. Design/methodology/approach A quantitative survey-based research design employing data from 300 employees in the National Capital Region (NCR) of India was used in the present research. Findings The results demonstrated that PsyCap acted as a predictor for SWB and CC. Additionally, SWB partially mediated the relationship between PsyCap and CC. Research limitations/implications The limitations of the present research would have to do with the purposive sample set chosen during the data collection. The sample consisted of middle- and upper-middle-class Indian employees working in the NCR having knowledge of English language and computer skills. Perhaps, future research works should take into account a wider sample in terms of the regions across India and not only the NCR. Although the findings showed that SWB reduced the relationship between PsyCap and CC, still that relationship was significant statistically. Further research studies might also explore various moderators while simultaneously studying SWB. In the research, SWB acted as a significant mediator of the relation between PsyCap and CC, yet at the same time, it may be the scenario that employees who are committed toward their career would be more inclined to espouse a greater sense of SWB (i.e. mediator is caused by the outcome). Hence, the authors duly recognize the need to test this substitute model. Since, SWB places chief emphasis on respondent’s own experiences and perspectives; it does not denote a consummate understanding of their mental health as people may have psychological disorders even if they experience happiness. Hence, the use of other measures in addition to SWB in comprehending a person’s psychological health is desirable (Diener et al., 1997). Practical implications This study suggests that in order for organizations to have a workforce committed to their career and hence, their profession, the supervisors will need to train the employees having a higher incidence of PsyCap to increase their SWB. Consequently, the supervisors will, in turn, need to recruit employees already having the four dimensions of PsyCap, i.e. hope, efficacy, resilience and optimism at the workplace in order for them to have a higher life satisfaction, positive affect, reduced negative affect (three components of SWB) and increased CC. Social implications Employees who develop within themselves a state of being hopeful, efficacious, resilient and optimistic will also be strongly oriented toward having greater life satisfaction, positive affect and lower levels of negative affect. This, in part, would help them achieve the required commitment toward their career and hence, help them in sticking with their jobs. Originality/value The present study advances the existing work on positive organizational behavior by exhibiting the noteworthy role of PsyCap in predicting SWB and CC. Further, it helps in demonstrating the inevitable role of SWB in partially mediating the relationship between PsyCap and CC.


2020 ◽  
pp. 016402752096154
Author(s):  
Wen-Jui Han ◽  
Ying Li ◽  
Cliff Whetung

Using a sample of Chinese adults over the age of 50 from wave 1 of the WHO Study on Global Ageing and Adult Health (n = 13,367), we investigated the relationship between living arrangements and subjective well-being (SWB) in regard to life satisfaction, happiness, and control. We also looked at the moderating role of resources, proxied by income and hukou status. Multivariate regression results indicate that living only with a spouse was significantly associated with better SWB. Multigenerational living arrangements may not always promote SWB, particularly when resources are constrained. Yet, results also underscore the importance of daughters and daughters-in-law in promoting SWB among older adults. Older adults in rural areas had better SWB, including greater life satisfaction if living with grandchildren only, compared to their urban peers living with a spouse only. Findings suggest that context matters in the association between living arrangements and older adults’ SWB.


Author(s):  
Olefir V.O. ◽  
Bosniuk V.F.

Purpose of the work was to investigate the mediating role of psychological capital in the relationship between subjective perceptions of stress and person’s life satisfaction.Methods. Psycho-diagnostic methods “Stress Perception Scale-10”, “Psychological Capital”, “Life Satisfaction Scale” were used. Statistical analysis included calculation of descriptive statistics, correlations between variables (r-Pearson), finding differences between samples (ANOVA) and mediator analysis.Results. On the basis of a cross-sectional research of a sample of 460 people, the hypothesis that life satisfaction negatively correlates with the level of subjective perception of stress and positively with psychological capital was confirmed. Subjective perception of stress, in turn, negatively correlates with psychological capital. The hypothesis of the mediating role of psychological capital was partially confirmed, as the relationship between the perception of personal stress and life satisfaction remained statistically significant, although it decreased after psychological capital was added as a mediator. This result indicates that the cognitive assessment of stressors remains an important variable for predicting life satisfaction, even when regulating dispositional characteristics. Psychological capital as an integral personal resource is by a third statistically significant in determining the relationship between person’s perception of stress and life satisfaction. Affecting directly, subjective perception of stress explains 18.9% of the life satisfaction variance; at the same time the model mediated by psychological capital adds another 8.6%.Conclusion. Psychological capital is one of the integral personal resources, which provides a mechanism of response, processing and recovery from stressors, supporting the subjective well-being. It explains a third of the variance of the relationship between subjective perception of stress and life satisfaction. Psychological capital provides a partial mediating effect when people encounter stressors to maintain their well-being.Key words: life satisfaction, subjective well-being, psychological capital, perception of stress, mediator analysis. Метою роботи було вивчення опосередкованої ролі психологічного капіталу у взаємозв’язку між суб’єктивним сприйняттям стресу та задоволеністю життям особистістю.Методи. Використовувались психодіагностичні методики «Шкала сприйняття стресу-10», «Психологічний капітал», «Шкала задоволеності життям». Статистичний аналіз містив розрахунок описових статистик, кореляцій між змінними (r-Пірсона), знаходження відмінностей між вибірками (ANOVA) та медіаторний аналіз.Результати. На основі кроссекційного дослідження вибірки з 460 осіб підтверджено гіпотези, що задоволеність життям негативно корелює з рівнем суб’єктивного сприйняття стресу та позитивно – з психологічним капіталом. Суб’єктивне сприйняття стресу негативно взаємозв’язане з психологічним капіталом. Частково підтвердилась гіпотеза про опосередковану роль психологічного капіталу, оскільки взаємозв’язок між сприйняттям стресу особистістю та задоволеністю життям залишився статистично значущим, хоча і зменшився після того, як був доданий психологічний капітал як медіатор. Цей результат указує на те, що когнітивна оцінка стрес-факторів залишається важливою змінною для прогнозу задоволеності життям, навіть за умов контролю диспозиційної характеристики. Психоло-гічний капітал як інтегральний особистісний ресурс на третину статистично значуще визначає взаємозв’язок між сприйняттям стресу особистістю та задоволеністю життям. Суб’єктивне сприйняття стресу безпосереднім впливом пояснює 18,9% дисперсії задоволеності життям, а модель з опосередкуванням психологічним капіталом додає ще 8,6%.Висновки. Одним з інтегральних особистісних ресурсів, що забезпечує механізм реагування, переробки та відновлення після стресових факторів, підтримуючи суб’єктивне благополуччя, є психологічний капітал. Він пояснює третину дисперсії взаємозв’язку між суб’єктивним сприйняттям стресу та задоволеністю життям. Психологічний капітал забезпечує частковий медіаторний ефект, коли люди зіштовхуються зі стресовими факторами для підтримки свого благополуччя.Ключові слова: задоволеність життям, суб’єктивне благополуччя, психологічний капітал, сприйняття стресу, медіаторний аналіз.


2017 ◽  
Vol 30 (6) ◽  
pp. 978-988 ◽  
Author(s):  
Suchuan Zhang ◽  
Qiao Shi

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the effect of subjective well-being (SWB) on workplace ostracism, by focusing on the moderating role of emotional intelligence (EI). SWB is taken here as a construct of three components: life satisfaction, positive affect (PA), and negative affect (NA). Design/methodology/approach The theoretical model was tested using data collected from employees in different firms from different provinces in China. Analyses of multisource and lagged data from 677 employees indicate that as predicted, EI moderates the relationship between SWB (life satisfaction, PA, and NA) and workplace ostracism. Findings The findings show that when employees demonstrate high levels of EI, the negative relationships between life satisfaction, PA and workplace ostracism were strengthened, and the positive relationship between NA and workplace ostracism was weakened. Originality/value First, the results empirically demonstrate that EI is one moderator of the relationship between SWB and workplace ostracism. Second, the study contributes to the field of workplace ostracism by indicating some critical antecedents. Third, the present study examines the moderating role of EI in the relationship between SWB and workplace ostracism among Chinese employees.


Mindfulness ◽  
2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Julianna M. Lynch ◽  
Allison S. Troy

Abstract Objectives The current study investigated the hypothesis that the relationship between flow states and well-being is mediated by nondual experiences. Past empirical and theoretical work suggests flow states share similarities with nondual experiences. The current study expanded upon previous work by examining the relationships between flow, nondual experiences, emotion, and well-being. Methods Students enrolled in various artistic classes (N = 104) were surveyed once a week for four weeks. Participants reported on their experiences of flow, nonduality, emotion, and psychological and subjective well-being. Results Higher scores on measures of both flow (b = 7.03, SE = 0.82, p < .001) and nondual experiences (b = 0.17, SE = 0.02, p < .001) predicted increased positive emotion immediately after class. Nondual experiences partially mediated this relationship, such that when accounting for nondual experiences, the relationship between flow and positive emotion was significantly decreased (b = 4.30, SE = 0.45, p < .001). Longitudinally, nondual experience also mediated the relationship between flow and satisfaction with life (Sobel t = 1.94, SE = 1.06, p = .05). However, while flow predicted increased psychological well-being (b = 0.32, SE = 0.14, p = .02) after the four weeks, nondual experience did not (b = −0.003, SE = 0.002, p = .13). Conclusions These findings suggest that flow states may facilitate some features of nonduality and share similarities with meditative states. Additionally, the link between flow and well-being may be explained by its similarities to meditative states, and that creative activities could be useful in fostering well-being.


Healthcare ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (7) ◽  
pp. 787
Author(s):  
Daniela Almeida ◽  
Diogo Monteiro ◽  
Filipe Rodrigues

The purpose of this study was to analyze the mediating role of life satisfaction in the relationship between fourteen coping strategies and depressive symptoms in the Portuguese population. To undertake this work, 313 Portuguese adults aged 18 to 70 years (M = 30.73; SD = 10.79) were invited to participate in this study. Their participation was completely voluntary, and participants granted and signed informed consent previously to the filling of the validated Portuguese questionnaires. These questionnaires measured depressive symptoms, coping, and life satisfaction. The results revealed that life satisfaction displayed a mediating role in the relationship between adaptive coping mechanisms, specifically between active coping, planning, reinterpretation, and acceptance and depressive symptoms, showing a negative and significant indirect effect. Maladaptive coping mechanisms of self-blame, denial, self-distraction, disengagement, and substance use had a significant positive association with depressive symptoms, considering the mediating role of satisfaction with life. Current investigation provides initial evidence of how each coping mechanism is associated with satisfaction with life and depressive symptoms. This study clearly demonstrates that not all coping strategies are capable of influencing well-being indicators and that health professionals should focus on endorsing those that are significantly associated with lowering depressive symptoms and increasing overall satisfaction with life.


ATLAS JOURNAL ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 7 (43) ◽  
pp. 2094-2111
Author(s):  
Kenan ORÇANLI ◽  
Mustafa BEKMEZCİ

The aim of the study is to examine the mediating role of personal initiative in the relationship between job autonomy and subjective well-being in the Turkish education system. In this context, the research was carried out on a sample created by the convenience sampling method on the teachers working in the 2019-2020 Education and Training Period at the primary and secondary education levels within the borders of Ankara Metropolitan Municipality. The data of the research are collected by using three scala, job autonomy scale, subjective well-being scale and personal initiative scale. Relational scanning model was used to determine the direction and level of change between the variables subject to the research, and partial least squares-structural equation model was used for the structural analysis of the established model. SmartPLS package program and R programming language were used in the study. In the analyses, the assumptions that need to be provided about the data were checked first, and then the established model was tested. As a result of the analysis; It has been determined that there is a significant and same-sided relationship between job autonomy, subjective well-being and personal initiative variables, and personal initiative plays a full mediator role in the relationship between work autonomy and subjective well-being. It is considered that the study will contribute to the organizational behavior literature and that the results obtained from the research can form the basis for future studies. Key words: Job Autonomy, Subjective Well-Being, Personal Initiative


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